LauraBrook digs some ROOTs in 2016

Conversazioni2016 ROOT Challenge - (Read Our Own Tomes)

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LauraBrook digs some ROOTs in 2016

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1LauraBrook
Modificato: Gen 8, 2017, 7:48 pm

Hello everyone! I'm so happy to be back in this wonderfully supportive group once again!

Last year I had a goal of 60 ROOT, which I met a little easier than I expected to (had a final total of 82), so I wanted to give myself a little more challenge. This year my total will be 75 ROOTs! I'm hoping to shoot past that, of course, but any ROOT read (and ideally gotten rid of) is a step in the right direction. As of January 1st, I have 1,351 physical books to be read in my house. !!!!! This does not include a few boxes of ARCs that I have packaged up downstairs, either. Clearly, something's gotta give, and hopefully it's not my floors! ;)

Jan 10 total: 1,356
Feb 10 total: 1,364
Mar 1 total: 1,393
Aug 1 total: 1,533 (!!! Ack !!!)
Nov 1 total: 1,600 (!!! Double Ack !!!)


I read 98 ROOTS in 2016

Can't wait to see what everyone else reads!

2connie53
Gen 1, 2016, 1:05 pm

Hi Laura! So glad to see you again. Happy new year and happy ROOTing!

3rabbitprincess
Gen 1, 2016, 2:53 pm

Yay! Laura's back! Looking forward to following your ROOT adventures and I hope the floors hold up!!

4lkernagh
Gen 1, 2016, 6:08 pm

Good luck with your ROOT reading!

5lindapanzo
Gen 1, 2016, 8:33 pm

Yay, Laura's back!!

Kudos to you for counting your books. I have no idea how many I have but I'd guess I have at least that many. My focus this year will be trying to read as many physical books, not Kindle books, as I can. Most of my reading, no doubt, will be Kindle books though.

6LauraBrook
Gen 2, 2016, 12:09 am

Hi ladies!!!

Linda, I thought I had everything listed, and I so don't. Crap. It's the only way I have a chance of keeping track of what I already own. So happy I've got tons of space on my Kindle!

Three down already!

Books 1 & 2: Saga Volume 4 and Saga Volume 5 by Brian K. Vaughan
More greatness in this series, and I can't wait to see what volume 6 will contain! 4 stars each, and keepers

Book 3: Wytches, Volume 1 by Scott Snyder. At first, I really didn't like this dark comic, but about halfway through it totally captivated - and really scared - me. I'll hang on to this for now, in the hopes that whenever volume 2 is published I can find out what happens next. It's like Mr. Snyder crawled into a part of my childhood fears and pulled some stuff out. Yikes! 4 stars, keeper for now.

7Tess_W
Gen 2, 2016, 2:09 am

Good luck with your rooting!

8Jackie_K
Gen 2, 2016, 9:23 am

Oh my, 1.3K+ TBRs - I feel positively frugal in comparison! Good luck with making a dent in that lot this year!

9avanders
Gen 3, 2016, 4:49 pm

Welcome back & Happy 2016 ROOTing!
And congrats on 3 down already!!

>8 Jackie_K: lol I know, me too! Someone w/ more physical TBRs here than I have! (I'm sure there are a few, but sometimes I worry... ;))

10MissWatson
Gen 4, 2016, 6:22 am

Welcome back, Laura, and a happy year of wonderful reading to you!

11bragan
Gen 5, 2016, 11:50 am

>1 LauraBrook: Is it terrible of me to say that I'm always weirdly glad to see people with even bigger TBRs than I have? :) I wish you much luck in making your way through them (and much good reading, too).

(Also, one of these days, I really must get to Saga.)

12LauraBrook
Gen 10, 2016, 9:35 pm

Hiya, and happy Sunday to you!

I feel the same way whenever someone has a larger physical TBR than I do. Mostly because it doesn't seem to happen that much! ;)

Book 4: Peril At End House by Agatha Christie.
Eh. I'd recently seen the excellent TV adaptation, so there weren't any surprises here, but it's always nice to spend time with Hercule, Arthur, and James. 3 stars, keeper bc I'm keeping the whole series

Book 5: Is SHE Available? by Igor Goldkind
An ER win that was overdue for a review, this was just an okay read for me. I liked the artwork better than the poetry. 2.5 stars, and I think I'll get rid of it in a bit.

Book 6: Doctor Who: Wooden Heart by Martin Day
A fun audiobook featuring #10 and Martha Jones, it was good but not great. I started to lose interest in the last 3/4. 3 stars, and out the door!

13avanders
Gen 11, 2016, 12:01 pm

Congrats on 3 more ROOTs pulled!

14LauraBrook
Gen 23, 2016, 9:22 pm

>13 avanders: Thank you!

Book 7: Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding
I know the most recent addition to the Bridget series wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but I loved reading this book. I didn't realize how much a part of my DNA was hooked into the characters and this world until I got a few chapters in, and then it was like visiting old friends once again. Brilliant! I sincerely hope that there will be more of Bridget Jones and her friends in future. 4.5 stars, keeper

Book 8: Black Coffee by Agatha Christie
Eh, this was fine. It feels different than her other work (because this was originally a play written by Christie and then rewritten into a novel by Charles Osborne), but it's still an Agatha story. I figured out whodunit early on, though I was never confident in that thought, so that's saying something. 3 stars, and a keeper since I'm collecting the series.

Every year about this time I feel like I can see the rest of the year already finished and laid out before me and I get a bit depressed. I start to feel like not only will my life not improve at all, but all the of the book plans I made won't happen. It's strange, but at least I'm hip to my own crazy! This too shall pass.

15connie53
Gen 24, 2016, 2:54 am

>14 LauraBrook: At least you know you feel that way every year and you know it will pass. I think it's the January blues. I hope you feel better soon.

16Soupdragon
Gen 24, 2016, 6:02 am

Hi Laura. I hope you're okay.

I think we all have our own rhythms and times of the year that are more challenging for us than others. It's great that you recognise that it will pass. I'm weird in that August tends to depress me. I always start to feel that I should be doing more fun stuff and being more extrovert than is naturally me!

Happy reading!

17LauraBrook
Gen 24, 2016, 3:14 pm

>15 connie53: Thanks, Connie. It is the January blues. Bah! I still feel a bit crap today, but I'm trying to remind myself that it's only temporary...and annual.

>16 Soupdragon: Thanks for your lovely reply, SD! I'm hanging in, having given myself permission to lay around and be a slug today. Have finished one book already, and am taking a small break to watch some Top Gear before hitting the books again. Love Sundays for this kind of thing.

18Soupdragon
Gen 25, 2016, 2:13 pm

Sometimes one really needs a sluggish Sunday! Hope Monday went well.

19LauraBrook
Gen 25, 2016, 9:29 pm

Sluggish Sunday is kind of my motto. Monday was fine, thanks! I had two of my favorite clients today, both for 90 minute massages, and I had a two hour break in between. There was plenty of time to take the first load of laundry home, make and eat lunch, load my new cabinet into the car, and get it set up at work before my second client arrived. And, in an unusual circumstance, when I came home I wasn't totally exhausted! After dinner I scrubbed the shower, which was overdue, and put some small things away. After I get off of the computer I'm hoping to finish up a couple of library books that are almost done.

Hope you had a great Monday!

20connie53
Gen 26, 2016, 1:29 am

>19 LauraBrook: That sounds like a productive day, Laura.

21avanders
Gen 26, 2016, 4:42 pm

>14 LauraBrook: oooh, I've been meaning to read... that whole series (Bridget Jones). Some day.... I do own them all, after all. ;p I Loved hte movie!

Aww, sorry you are going through annual sadness :(
But, yes, being aware must be very helpful! You're right: This too shall pass!

>19 LauraBrook: sounds like a great Monday! I'm sure days like that help the January Blues slip away... :)

22LauraBrook
Modificato: Mar 1, 2016, 11:48 am

I'm hanging in! I saw one of my doctors last week, and the results of my hair analysis came in. I have virtually no adrenal function (0.01%), and no traceable amounts of potassium. Anywhere! So that helps to explain not only the depression/sadness but the inability to function much at all physically or mentally. It's a relief to know that it's not just in my head! And it will be awhile before it gets close to normal, so I'm taking my supplements and resting as much as possible. (Knowing that I have the okay from a doctor to rest often - she said it would be best if I could be on bedrest for a full year! - has helped the mental struggle with this. Though clearly, that's not a realistic possibility, the goal is to rest as much and as often as I can.) Phew!

Book 9: No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor. The fifth in one of my new favorite series, this one does not disappoint! Packed with adventure and love and jokes and suspense and time travel and most of all, History! 4.5 stars, keeper

Book 10: Howards End Is On The Landing by Susan Hill. This has had good and bad reviews here on LT, but for me it was the perfect book at the perfect time. I loved that I could read one or two or three shortish chapters and then ponder what she wrote about for awhile. 5 stars, keeper.

Book 11: Off Kilter by Hannah Reed. The start to a new series, I thought I'd breeze through it and be able to get it off of my shelves - I did breeze through it, but I'll be keeping it! I loved the setting (Scotland!), the main character (about my age, responsible, and had just been through caring for her mother's devastating illness that recently took her life), and the fact that that cops weren't unbelievably stupid. (Seriously, not one person could pass any kind of police examination in real life in most of these cozies.) I enjoyed the book so much that I forgot all about the murder and whodunit for large chunks, it was just a nice read. 4 stars, and I'm already into book two!

23rabbitprincess
Feb 10, 2016, 7:40 pm

Yikes!! I hope you have lots of opportunities to rest and that it is good rest! Sounds like you have been having some good reading to keep you company as well. Take care of yourself.

24LauraBrook
Feb 10, 2016, 7:51 pm

Thanks! Mostly it's been just acknowledging that I'm exhausted and laying down, instead of ignoring it and pushing through all the time. Plus, it's increased my reading time, and that's always a good thing!

25saraslibrary
Feb 11, 2016, 1:47 am

>1 LauraBrook: Best of luck with your ROOT goal! :) I really should join this group since my TBR pile is about as big as yours. *fingers crossed both our floors don't give way* ;)

26connie53
Feb 11, 2016, 2:42 am

>22 LauraBrook: I hope you get all the rest you need, Laura. A year of bedrest is really a very long time. I hope you feel better soon.

27Caramellunacy
Feb 11, 2016, 8:11 am

>22 LauraBrook:, That's really tough, but I know it is somewhat easier when you have "permission" to be exhausted and rest rather than pushing through. I hope your recovery (and reading time!) go well and that you're feeling better soon.

28avanders
Feb 11, 2016, 10:26 am

>23 rabbitprincess: >26 connie53: >27 Caramellunacy: I couldn't say it any better
Hope you feel better soon!

29Jackie_K
Feb 11, 2016, 1:09 pm

>27 Caramellunacy: Yes, I think Caramellunacy put it perfectly. Permission to rest sounds exactly what you need.

30LauraBrook
Feb 12, 2016, 8:22 am

>25 saraslibrary: Join us! Join us! Join us! Join us! ;) Kidding, no crazy chanting here, Sara, but it'd be fun to see your face over in this here group if you're interested!

>26 connie53:>27 >28 avanders: >29 Jackie_K: Thank you all. Last night I spoke to a good friend of mine who has been in the hospital for the last for 4 days for exhaustion and low potassium, so it's really hit home again that I need to rest and take care of myself. My doctor would like to give me a month of supplements and rest before doing bloodwork and potentially admitting me to the hospital, to see how much I can improve on my own. If it's a lot, then I can just keep doing what I'm doing and not sit in a hospital room for a few days, going crazy. (Though perhaps the "going" crazy part is debatable! I kid, I kid.)

31connie53
Feb 12, 2016, 9:58 am

>25 saraslibrary: Yes, please do join us!

>30 LauraBrook: That's a good way to start, Laura. If you can do it at home I would choose that option.

32Tess_W
Feb 14, 2016, 8:50 am

Hope you are feeling better and resting a lot!

33saraslibrary
Modificato: Feb 28, 2016, 1:54 am

>30 LauraBrook: & >31 connie53: :D Nothing like a little pressure. ;) Actually, as soon as I figure out how to join and add my ticker, etc, I'll link my roots thread here, if that's ok. :)

ETA: My ticker on the main ticker thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/208665#5491488. I'm surprised I'm almost halfway done with my goal; but I wanted to start with something manageable.

34LauraBrook
Mar 1, 2016, 11:56 am

>31 connie53: >32 Tess_W: It's still a work in progress, that's for sure. It's been hard to not over-do things - I'm starting to feel a little better and get a little energy back, so I want to Do Things and use it up, but when I do, I crash all over again. When it comes to caring for myself, I'm a slow learner. Oh well, I'm working on it! The next two days are really busy with a lot of physical work, so Thursday should be interesting (read: will be needing nap time for sure).

>33 saraslibrary: Yaaaaaaay, Sara! Whoa, kudos to you, you are really kicking butt so far!

Book 12: A Haunting Dream by Joyce and Jim Lavene. #4 in the series. It was good, but it didn't grab me like the second and third book did. Part of the problem may be that it was my "purse book" for a few months and didn't see much action. And another part is that I don't find "missing children" stories that interesting in general. In real life, yes, but not in book format, true story or not. Oh well. 2.8 stars, and keeper for now - once I read more in the series, I'll decide if I want to keep them all or not.

In reading life, I'm totally in a book funk. I'm still buying books like a crazed person, though, so I suppose that's something? Probably not, but I'm grasping at straws here. After "currently reading" 11/22/63 for months, I decided to throw in the towel and try again later. I really like alternate history stuff, so I thought maybe this would be the Stephen King that made me a fan. But no, not really. I've tried his stuff several times before, but with the exception of a short novel (Cycle of the Werewolf) and an audiobook (Cell - listened to during my horrible desk job years) I don't like his stuff. I know I'm in the minority, but there you have it. There are still about a dozen I'm reading and whenever I pick one up, I just don't feel like reading, so I flip through magazines instead.

35rabbitprincess
Mar 1, 2016, 5:34 pm

Glad to hear you are getting some energy back and that you're persevering with caring for yourself! I do hope some more energy gets diverted to your reading mojo. Reading funks are no fun!

36MissWatson
Mar 2, 2016, 6:06 am

Best wishes that the reading funk may be over soon!

37connie53
Mar 2, 2016, 9:42 am

Good to hear you have more energy, Laura. And I can relate to overdoing things. I tend to do that too.

38saraslibrary
Mar 3, 2016, 2:46 am

>34 LauraBrook: Thanks! :) I decided to start with a small number, because I definitely have more than 50 unread books I own. ;) *ahem* Let's just say I could start my own library at this point.

Sorry to hear you're in a book funk. And I know what you mean about still buying books even when you don't feel like reading them. I do the same thing.

No worries on not being a Stephen King fan. :) Not everybody is. I like him, but it's been about five years since I've read anything by him. (That was On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, which I enjoyed more as an autobiography than a writing reference.) And to be honest: 11/22/63 probably won't ever make my want-to-read list. *shrugs* So toss that clunker away and find something better. :)

39avanders
Modificato: Mar 3, 2016, 1:01 pm

>35 rabbitprincess: >36 MissWatson: >37 connie53: I echo these sentiments :)

>38 saraslibrary: you know, sometimes I wonder if I could start my own mini bookstore... But then I think about someone buying one of my unread books, and I decided to just keep it in the book nook until I've read it ;)

And >34 LauraBrook: I agree that it's perfectly okay to not like Stephen King... lots of people don't! I happen to like him, but I also definitely have to be in the mood. I haven't read 11/22/63 yet, but I do actually plan to. But of his older books, some of my favorites were the Dark Tower series, which is fantasy, and The Dark Half, which just really impressed me when I read it .. I think it was one of the first books that I read that really explored the dark psyche and how it can do crazy things. :) (I read it way back in the mid 90s ;))

40saraslibrary
Modificato: Mar 3, 2016, 11:02 pm

>39 avanders: :D I'm the same way! I'd be like, "Oh, wait! That's reserved for another customer! Oh, and that one, too..." ;)

Actually, it would be fun to run a bookstore, wouldn't it? In theory anyway. :)

41avanders
Mar 4, 2016, 10:32 am

SOOO much fun. Someone (was it Merryann?) had the brilliant idea of opening a Night Bookstore (maybe it was Schutzie?). It's stuck with me....

42Tess_W
Modificato: Mar 4, 2016, 1:29 pm

>39 avanders: Oh Ava---11/23/63 is so good!

43saraslibrary
Mar 5, 2016, 12:18 am

>41 avanders: A Night Bookstore, as in only open at night? If so, I would so be in on that! I'm a regular owl. :)

44avanders
Mar 7, 2016, 2:17 pm

>42 Tess_W: very much looking forward to reading it! :)
>43 saraslibrary: I think that was the thought.. a place for people to browse and read and drink warm beverages :)

45saraslibrary
Mar 7, 2016, 7:08 pm

>44 avanders: Sounds like heaven! :) Good idea.

46LauraBrook
Mar 28, 2016, 6:07 pm

It does sound like heaven! Don't think I have any ROOTs to update (will have to check goodreads to see for sure), but the book funk continues! So frustrating. But, I'm still reading in dribs and drabs. I've even gotten 100 pages into a book, and I really like it, but can't seem to get myself to pick it back up again. Is that still a funk? Or some other weirdness? I don't know. But I'm trying to get back to being here more regularly.

In my absence, I've seen a couple of doctors and there's talk of me having Addison's disease (where your adrenal glands don't work at all), so I'm still trying to find a decent endocrinologist in my insurance plan, and trying to take it easy on myself. It's very much a work in progress, but some of the guilt I've been applying to myself is starting to go away, so that's good.

47saraslibrary
Mar 29, 2016, 1:20 am

I'm sorry to hear about your book funk. :( I know how that goes. And yeah, your current read might be affected by The Funk. *snort* Nice name for it, huh? ;) I say just take it easy. At least you're enjoying the book so far.

Addison's disease? Wow. I know nothing about it, but I'm sorry to hear that! *HUGS* And, yes, no guilt-applying to yourself. Not good. I'm sure you'll find a good endocrinologist in time. Just hang in there in the meantime. I'm sending good vibes your way! :)

48rabbitprincess
Mar 29, 2016, 6:19 pm

Sorry to hear about your book funk! I hope it goes away soon and that you can find an endocrinologist who can tell you whether or not you have Addison's. Keep taking care of yourself! We are all here for you :)

49avanders
Modificato: Mar 30, 2016, 10:46 pm

Ditto.. hope your book funk and Addison's/endocrinologist insurance issue resolves quickly!

50connie53
Apr 5, 2016, 12:27 pm

So sorry to hear about your book funk. It will pass, that happens al the time eventually.
Good luck with your search for a good endocrinologist! Don't feel guilty about being ill. You can't help being sick. It's not something you choose to be! Hugs for you!

51LauraBrook
Apr 20, 2016, 6:09 pm

Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, I think my book funk is finally starting to go away! Hurrah!!!! This time a romance novel (of which I've just started reading the genre, and I like it!) and a YA book (why yes,of course it's the start to a series) did it. Plus, this Saturday is Dewey's Readathon, so that helps too.

I don't think I've finished any owned books yet, but pages are being turned on a regular basis, so by this Sunday I should be back here with some numbers to update. :)

It took longer than I thought, but I finally found an endocrinologist! My client, K, (well, her adult daughter who has learning disabilities) sees here and loves her, and she was in my insurance plan! My first appointment is in a month, so I just have to hang in until then. In the meantime, I've been cutting through the nervous anxiety and just letting myself do what I feel like I have energy for (no surprise: not much). Lots of resting and sleeping (and binge-watching Archer and Parks & Rec) has been going on, and the more I rest the more tired I am. I'm okay with it, though, because it's going to get worse before it gets better. And I've been reading up on Addison's and autoimmune stuff in general, and SO MUCH of it rings true for me. I've had endocrine problems for over 20 years, I now realize, so I'm glad to have some help on the horizon. Other than that, things have been just fine here.

Oh, and I forgot - I got glasses! They're mostly for distance/reading, and it's not a strong prescription, but I do have them. In my head, I was hoping I could make it to 40 before needing glasses (my Mom has had them since she was 10, and my Dad got them when he was 40), but no such luck. Oh well! I'll try and hunt down a couple of pics to post here so you can see my giant glasses head in all its' glory. ;)

Hope you're all doing well, and kicking butt with this challenge!

(p.s. I'll be copying and pasting this, or a version of this onto my other challenge pages, so I apologize for the repetition.)

52MissWatson
Apr 21, 2016, 5:15 am

Great to hear you're out of your book funk! Hopefully everything else will work out, too.

53Caramellunacy
Apr 21, 2016, 7:18 am

I love romance, which one has helped you out of this funk? I'm always on the look-out for new recommendations!

54LauraBrook
Apr 21, 2016, 10:34 am

Thanks, ladies! Caramellunacy, I'm reading Sarah MacLean's The Rogue Not Taken. I found a bunch of her books at Half Price last week, and I've got a few more by various authors on my Kindle. What are some of your favorites?

55avanders
Apr 21, 2016, 11:17 am

>51 LauraBrook: yay on your book funk going away! :)
Great about finding an endocrinologist too!
AND congrats on getting glasses! I always love getting new glasses... (though I've had to wear glasses since I was 8 ;))

56LauraBrook
Apr 22, 2016, 4:28 pm

>55 avanders: Triple thanks to you! :) I'm getting a skin reaction where my glasses hit my face, though - is this normal for "beginner bespectacled babes"? ;) Maybe it's the material they're made out of. Currently, it looks like I have a red ring of irritation and blemishes in the shape of glasses on my non-glassed face.

57avanders
Apr 24, 2016, 1:56 pm

>56 LauraBrook: oh gosh, I don't know! I've had them for so long, i can't remember... but I'm sure someone else will chime in :) It makes sense, though... your face isn't used to having something there!

oh, you mean, not just at the nose where they rest? Yeah I don't think that's normal... I'd call your eye doctor!

58LauraBrook
Apr 27, 2016, 12:40 pm

>57 avanders: It's gotten a bit better - they're made out of what feels like slightly rubberized nylon - but it's just about "that time of the month" for me (sorry if that's TMI) and my skin gets extra sensitive anyways, so we'll see what happens then. If it gets bad again I'll be lining up at my optometrist's office as soon as possible.

This past Saturday was Dewey's readathon, and I managed to accomplish something! I finished 7 books and started an 8th, and almost all of them were ROOTs!

Book 13: Wayward, volume 1: String Theory by Jim Zub. I enjoyed this collection, set in Tokyo, about a girl with unusual powers she didn't know she had. I'm curious to see where the story goes, but I think I'll check the next volumes out from the library instead. 3 stars, and a keeper for now, depending on how I like the story.

Book 14: William Shakespeare: His Life and Times by Kristen McDermott. A fun, oversized, interactive biography of good ol' Bill. It had a decent amount of info, and I really liked that there were envelopes to open with letters to read, and things to unfold - it made the early hours of the readathon more riveting than usual. 3.5 stars, keeper.

Book 15: I'm Over All That by Shirley MacLaine. I like Shirley and what she thinks. We agree on a lot of things. This was a super easy read, and I appreciated that there were some very short chapters/essays. 3.7 stars, keeper for now.

Book 16: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. This has been moving around my living room since it was first published, and I picked it up thinking I'd finally give it a shot to see what I thought. 70 pages later, I looked up and realized that I was deep into the story. Some of the accompanying photos really creeped me out and I couldn't look at them, but they were mostly fine. I enjoyed where it went, and the vocabulary used, and the idea of time loops. 4.25 stars, keeper, and I'm checking out the next two books this week!

Book 17: Dirty Rowdy Thing by Christina Lauren. Book two of the Wild Seasons series (I wish these books had less shouty covers and less ridiculous titles, but they are what they are. Despite being stalled in this sucker for a couple of months, I was determined to finish it, and I ended up liking more than I would have thought. These two weren't my favorite couple (they're coming up in the next book), but I enjoy these books for the fun that they are. And they're so dang readable, it's almost too easy to ignore everything else and keeping turning pages. 3.5 stars, keeper.

Book 18: Kaoru Mori: Anything & Something by Kaoru Mori. Ms. Mori is one of my favorite manga artists and authors, so this collection of her short work and one-offs for signings, things she drew for Japanese magazines, etc, was a treat for me. 4.25 stars, keeper.

I'm still working on a few more titles of my own, thankfully, before I get seduced by requested library books again. And I'm so happy that I finally have some numbers to add to the group!

59avanders
Apr 27, 2016, 11:03 pm

>58 LauraBrook: glad to hear it's getting better!

& Congrats on finishing so many books!

60lilisin
Apr 27, 2016, 11:21 pm

>56 LauraBrook:

A skin rash where the glasses hit your face is pretty normal as your face adjusts. For example it might be producing more oil in those areas than usual thus creating blemishes. It should go away with time.

61avanders
Apr 28, 2016, 10:24 am

>60 lilisin: interesting! Maybe I just didn't experience it because I started wearing glasses so young ;p

62connie53
Apr 30, 2016, 2:13 am

I see the book funk has passed! Great news! And all the other new things are great too.

I don't mind wearing glasses, but mine don't touch my skin anywhere. Perhaps a partial touch on the bridge of my nose, that's all.

63Caramellunacy
Mag 4, 2016, 6:44 am

>54 LauraBrook:,
I've definitely enjoyed some of Sarah MacLean's in the past. I really enjoyed most of the Anne Gracie romances I've read, particularly The Perfect Rake (despite the somewhat heavy subject matter, it's remarkably light-hearted), and I like Maya Rodale - her current book out Lady Bridget's Diary was fun, but my favourite of hers is The Rogue and the Rival - artist heroine!

64LauraBrook
Mag 26, 2016, 10:01 am

>59 avanders: Thank you!

>60 lilisin: Thank you, you're right. Once it got used to something being on it all the time, my skin stopped freaking out. :)

>61 avanders: Maybe? Did you have nose pads? Neither of mine do, and I think that made my skin freak out all the more. Next time I need a new pair maybe I'll go for something with pads.

>62 connie53: Thanks, Connie! I'm picturing you wearing pince nez like Hercule Poirot. ;) I'm assuming that's not right.

>63 Caramellunacy: Caramellunacy, thanks for the recommendations! I've heard of Maya Rodale, but not Anne Gracie. I'll add both of them - probably both of those books, specifically - to my library checkout list.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, I squeaked in under the one-month mark here. Yikes. Book reading continues, I'm happy to report, though I wish I hadn't gone crazy at the library quite so much. My personal books have taken a hit. But, my pocketbook didn't, and that's the important thing right now.

Book 19: Doctor Who: The Crawling Terror by Mike Tucker
This is the first Doctor Who novel I've read (I did an audio of another one), and I really liked it! The story, about a mysterious fenced-in science lab in the English countryside, the appearance of killer giant insects, and an ancient stone circle, was a lot of fun! (Plus, I'm afraid of insects generally speaking, so this freaked me out properly.) Scary, funny, time travel, Nazis, alternate planets - whatever Doctor novel I read next will have a lot to live up to! 4.5 stars, keeper.

Book 20: Hooked on Ewe by Hannah Reed
An okay read. This is the second in her Scottish cozy mystery series, and while I still liked the main heroine, the setting, and all of the characters, this one didn't hold my attention as well. The third title is released in July, so that may be my deciding factor on whether or not to keep reading this series. 3 stars, keeper for now.

Book 21: Adulthood is a Myth by Sarah Andersen
This collection of short comics really hit home for me. They deal with being an introvert, a book nerd / reader / buyer, anxiety, etc... Hello, me! A few of the comics led me to believe that the author is at least a decade younger than me, so there were a few I couldn't relate to, but on the whole I loved reading this book! (Plus, it's got a fuzzy cover, so it's fun to touch!) 4 stars, keeper

Book 22: Thirst by Mary Oliver
One of my favorite poets. This collection (I think some were published elsewhere previously) dealt with grief, which was a surprise at first but really felt like the right time after a few poems. Lovely! 4.25 stars, keeper

Book 23: Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman
A 2014 SantaThing gift from pmarshall, I loved this book! It's a collection of poetry aimed at kids (but this 38 year old and her 72 year old mother both loved it) and meant to be read aloud by two people. The first few poems didn't hit me so much, but I ended up reading them all out loud by myself, hearing someone else's voice in my head. And the illustrations are fabulous! They remind me of the illustrations that were in books when I was a child - beautiful, detailed pencil drawings of the natural world. Eric Beddows, the illustrator, has a new fan in me! This won the Newbery Award in 1989, and reminded me that I need to get back to my task of reading all Newbery winners. 5 stars, a keeper, and a future Christmas present to my friends with children!

Book 24: The Rogue Not Taken by Sarah MacLean
A fun, feisty heroine, a pompous, equally feisty hero, and a road trip through the British countryside towards Scotland! Hello, Laura, welcome to romance novels! I really liked this book, and it made me a fan of Ms. MacLean's nearly right away. The ending of this one was a little drawn-out in my newbie opinion, but it was still a lot of fun! 3.5 stars, and a keeper - at least until I've read the rest of the series.

Book 25: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
If I hadn't recently watched the excellent TV adaptation, I probably would've enjoyed this more. I partially read and partially listened to the story (excellent narrated by Dan Stevens), and while I liked it, the suspense wasn't quite as suspense-y as it was meant to be. 3 stars, keeper for sure since I know I'll reread it again.

Book 26: The Pharos Gate: Griffin & Sabine's Missing Correspondence by Nick Bantock
An ER win, this felt like the book that was missing from the last trilogy of G&S books. There is an ending, but it's still an opening for more new stories with these characters, which is kind of perfect. 4.5 stars, keeper!

Book 27: Le Road Trip: A Traveler's Journal of Love and France by Vivian Swift
Another new favorite! Full of honest advice about love, life, and travel, Vivian Swift is one of my new favorite authors, never mind that this book made my favorites list too! Nearly each page has a beautiful watercolor picture of some sort, and the whole book looks as though she printed it with watercolors too! Amazing and beautiful, I could get lost in this book again for hours. 5 stars, keeper!

Book 28: A Practical Guide to Addison's & Adrenal Fatigue: Advice for dealing with Addison's/adrenal fatigue from a female over-achiever diagnosed at 31 by Regan J. Heineken
I've already written the only review for this book, and that says it all. Though expensive for how few pages there are, this is an indispensable read for anyone who has or thinks they may have serious adrenal issues. 4.5 stars, keeper

Book 29: The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1 by Kieron Gillen
I've heard nothing but good things about this series, and so far I agree! Gods live on earth with humans, and every 80 (or 90? can't remember exactly) years they are remade into a human who is incredibly famous, lives for 2 years, and then dies. A different concept, and interesting choices for gods/powers. 4 stars, keeper for now, until I read more of the series.

Book 30: Beautiful Boss by Christina Lauren
Another in-between-er novella in the Beautiful series, this was just fine. The couple in this book, Will and Hanna, were my favorites from the original novels, and this story involving them getting married was just okay to me. Keeper for now, I guess - 3 stars

Book 31: Beauties by Marguerite Bennet
This comic-book retelling of the Beauty and the Beast myth was nice, but didn't do a ton for me. Partially it's because the art wasn't my favorite, and partially because it felt awfully rushed, even for 32 pages. A keeper at 3 stars, primarily because it's digital.

Books 32-37: Fresh Romance volumes 1-6 by Sarah Kuhn
Another digital comics purchase, so it's automatically a keeper. Three stories are told in each issue: one, a group of a few high schoolers deal with two of them being gifted (as in, can change their physical appearance and repair broken objects with magic); two, a girl working in a coffee shop is a cherub or angel of some sort and needs to make so many love matches before she can advance, and her last one is to fall in love herself; and three, set in 1800s England, a woman marries a man she does not love and they both have mysterious pasts. I didn't really like the first, the second was fine, and the third I really really liked! There was more depth there and things were left open-ended for more in the future. 3 stars over all, and 4.5 for "Ruined" the comic that I loved.

Book 38: Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie
A plot I wasn't familiar with (and don't remember the TV adaptation at all, either), I liked this story with all of its' twists and turns. Mr. Satterthwaite fills in for the roll of Hastings as our congenial but slightly slow eyes and ears, and while I figured out whodunit earlier, I did not see all of the inner workings and reasonings for their actions. Brilliant! 4 stars, keeper

Phew! I'm in the middle of a few library books right now, but I'm still trying to keep one or two of my own titles going at the same time.

65MissWatson
Mag 26, 2016, 10:33 am

Wow, that's a ton of reading!

66Tess_W
Mag 26, 2016, 10:49 am

Wow, a lot of rooting!

67avanders
Modificato: Mag 26, 2016, 3:03 pm

>64 LauraBrook: my first pair didn't have nosepads, from what I can remember (though that was a very very long time ago). I've switched back and forth over the years... I get a new pair of glasses every 1-2 years. The pair I have now doesn't have nosepads... I think my last pair did ;)

And I agree w/ Birgit & Tess - that's a ton of reading/rooting!
Glad you enjoyed Pharos Gate :)

68rabbitprincess
Mag 26, 2016, 5:29 pm

I'm looking forward to getting Adulthood is a Myth from the library and am glad you liked it! Also, yay, Doctor Who novels! I am glad you enjoyed it. Hadn't seen many reviews of the Twelfth Doctor novels, so to see you enjoy one so much (and for it to be your first) is good news.

69bragan
Mag 27, 2016, 12:32 pm

Adulthood Is a Myth looks right up my alley. (Although I suppose it's not exactly too surprising that there are lots of us bookish introverts on LT. :)) Onto the wishlist it goes!

70connie53
Giu 5, 2016, 4:05 am

>64 LauraBrook:

No that's not right. It looks like this

71LauraBrook
Lug 4, 2016, 12:01 pm

>65 MissWatson:, >66 Tess_W:, >67 avanders: Thanks, ladies!

>67 avanders: I never thought about having nosepads (or not) on glasses before - even though both of my parents have talked about it, and they usually had them. Something to think about for the next time I need some new ones.

>68 rabbitprincess: I think I'll read more 12th Doctor stuff now, versus 9-11. I've got Doctor Who Silhouette on my Kindle, so that one will probably be next. I think I saw that you read Adulthood is a Myth on Litsy? Maybe? I'm getting confused by all of these new, fancy bookish apps.

>69 bragan: I predict you'll identify with at least 75% of the stuff in there. :) And you're right, there are lots of us bookish introverts here - that's why it's such a great place!

>70 connie53: Connie, I LOVE THAT PICTURE!!! And I'm envious of your shelves, and the table right there to read? Amazing. Do you have space for me and my two cats and 2,500+ books too? ;)

I don't know how I do this, but it seems to be I'm here once a month. I'm annoyed at myself, but as I've been working on myself (more than usual) and I'm realizing I've fallen into these strange patterns for the last couple of years in trying to cope with the loss of my Dad and my Mom's cancer. Not a bad thing, but since it's been 2 1/2 years I'm finally feeling okay to face some things and let some things go.

One big thing that's happened recently is that all of the wood in my basement from my grandfather (who died a year before I was born) is finally out! One of my dearest friends and her husband came over a few weeks ago and we opened the basement window and loaded all of it into his enormous covered trailer. Almost a third of my basement is now free!!!!! In my spare time (I should say when I've got some energy to spare) I've been gathering and sorting my scattered books from throughout the house and loading them into labeled plastic bins. I've got some extra shelving assembled, and today I'll be filling up shelf #2 between doing loads of work laundry. I'm so excited to finally be getting some things put where I've wanted them to be for the last 13 years! And I've got plans to get about half of those books back upstairs and onto new shelves once I can sell our vintage pump organ and get some bookshelves put in its' place. Yay!

Some reading has been happening, but I'm afraid the bulk of it was probably from the library.

72Jackie_K
Lug 4, 2016, 12:21 pm

>70 connie53: I love that picture, Connie! Although you do look like you're not too impressed with the photographer interrupting your valuable reading time!

>71 LauraBrook: I hope that the basement decluttering helps you feel better! I know when I look at my equivalent room (the Room of Doom) I always feel so much better if I've been able to clear stuff out. At the moment, because of our terrible summer weather, I have to hang my washing in there to dry, rather than outside, so there's no room for anything and I can't see the floor, and that doesn't make me feel so good.

73LauraBrook
Lug 4, 2016, 12:59 pm

Book 39: Lizzie Newton: Victorian Mysteries, Volume 1 by Hey-Jin Jeon. The first of only two volumes of this Victorian-set manga was clever and cute, and the mystery was interesting, if strangely paced. It's hard to get a hold of this book (and I had to buy mine used for far more than I wanted to pay) so I'll keep it for now, based on how volume 2 goes. 3.5 stars

Book 40: Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie. I'm still having a good time with Poirot & Co, and I was especially looking forward to reading this one after one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes, "The Unicorn and the Wasp", featured it. I was a little disappointed though, and I'm not entirely sure why. I think maybe I was expecting something a little more similar to the show's plot, instead of what it actually was, which was another good mystery with the same mystifying murder to solve at its core. I vaguely remembered some things from the TV show adaptation, but I'd been purposely avoiding it in my Poirot series rewatch, just so the plot would stay fresh. (I'm reading The ABC Murders now, and if the show was faithful to the book, I totally know what's coming.) At any rate, this was a good entry in the series, and to console myself I may "have to" watch the Doctor Who episode again. ;)

Book 41: Old Filth by Jane Gardam. I think I listened to this one wrong. I've yet to see anything less than a "good" review of this book, and while I was confused during my first half hour of listening, I suddenly was really invested in the story and really enjoying it. And somehow I lost what was happening with 2 hours left. I'll try it again at some point, since I know it was me and not the book. But an average 3 stars from me, and a keeper because it's audio.

Book 42: Healing Walks for Hard Times by Carolyn Scott Kortge. I'd started this previously and then left it sitting for awhile. Finally getting through about half of it (but not actually doing the walking yet), I'm counting it as being read since I know I'll follow the program once I get some energy back on a regular basis. 4 stars for this book existing and for the author for writing it and acknowledging how hard it is to try and cope with life when life is hard. Keeper.

And sadly, that's it! I've read lots of Ms. Marvel, the whole Aurora Teagarden series by Charlaine Harris, some Roald Dahl, and a few other random comics/graphic novels in the last month, but they were all from the library. Good for my pocketbook, but not for going through my shelves! Still, having to sort through the small random stacks hidden everywhere was good for me - it reminded me of what I had that I still really want to read! And, I figured out that if I maintain the number of books I read a year (approx. 150) it will take me 10 years to read everything I own!!!!!! If that's not cause for concern, I don't know what is. I pulled 5 books out that I can reasonably skim-read today, and most likely get rid of, so that's something. And there's a lot that I impulse bought because someone online recommended it, which isn't the greatest idea, either, so I'm hoping that it won't be up my alley and I can move it along.

Such a great problem to have, and sorting books always calms me and makes me happy. :)

74rabbitprincess
Lug 4, 2016, 3:39 pm

>71 LauraBrook: You are correct! I did indeed read that on Litsy. Also holy heck is that app ever addictive. I keep checking it compulsively!

Enjoy going through your books! Sorting is so much fun.

75LauraBrook
Lug 5, 2016, 2:47 pm

>72 Jackie_K: Jackie, I feel SO much better when I can get some decluttering and organizing done. I have to take a whole enormous pile of metal stuff (tubing, scrap) to the recycling center some time soon. That's the next giant pile of things to have to go out of the house. Once the bulk of that is done I can move my wrapping paper and bins of gift bags downstairs, plus my essential oils. And THAT will really be another big difference. I can hardly wait! Hah, at your "Room of Doom". One of my friends has one of those too, and she takes a week off of work every other year and spends every morning in there resorting and decluttering and her afternoons reading. Sounds like fun to me, sadly! Hope you can get some more floor space in there soon - and that the weather improves so you can hang clothing outside to dry!

>74 rabbitprincess: I know, I refresh Litsy all the time. So addicting!!! Sorting is the next best thing to reading.

76connie53
Lug 29, 2016, 3:10 am

>71 LauraBrook:. Thanks! That the dining table you see there. It has 6 chairs but since it's only Peet and I now the kids have moved out we just need 2 chairs to eat. The remaining 4 spots are cluttered with our stuff, like books and little piles of things we like to keep nearby.
You can see 'my' side of the table. I've space for you and the cats, but the books??? I have trouble with my own as it is. ;-))

Good to hear you are getting organized, shelves and labelled bins sounds excellent. And working on your self is a good thing too! You go!

>72 Jackie_K: I think I asked Peet to take those pictures (there are some more). I always think I look too stern in pictures. I'm really very positive in my mind.

77LauraBrook
Ago 1, 2016, 10:36 am

>76 connie53: Thanks for your kind words, Connie. Still working on myself (and the books) and suspect they will both be lifelong jobs.

Book 43: Venetia by Georgette Heyer I think I read/listened to this one wrong since everyone else seems to love it and I though it was just fine. Part of the issue is that I was listening to the audiobook (read by the lovely Richard Armitage) and not only did it take me a few weeks to get through (it's only 6-ish hours) but with the bluetooth connection in my car I often missed the first part of every word. (For example, "Venetia" became "Neesha".) And there were two names that sounded similar so I kept confusing them... See? It was me. I'll try again in a couple of years, and a print copy at that. 3 stars, keeping audio copy and already got rid of the paper copy because I didn't like the edition too much.

Book 44: The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie
Yay for Poirot! Unfortunately for me, I'd fairly recently watched the TV adaptation so remembered whodunit, but it was still enjoyable as always. 4 stars, keeper.

Book 45: Buzz Off by Hannah Reed
The start to a cozy mystery series set in Wisconsin (and close to my house/our old lake house!), I really enjoyed this one. Story, our main character, is new to bee-raising and her mentor gets killed in suspicious circumstances. Can she prove what/who really killed him? Clear her name from scandal? Save the bees? And get her horribly ex-husband to move out of town? Lots of fun, and I'm reading the second book now. 4 stars, keeper

Book 46: Someone Please Have Sex With Me by Gina Wynbrandt An impulse buy online after seeing lots of glowing reviews stating it was funny and sarcastic, and well-illustrated. I just thought it was kind of awful and a whole lot of nothing. Despite the title, it wasn't really tawdry or salacious, just felt like it was trying too hard to be "hilarious". 2 stars for her effort - already gone and out of the house.

Book 47: Lizzie Newton: Victorian Mysteries, Vol. 2 by Hey-Jin Jeon Even better than the first volume - makes me wish there were more! Lizzie proves an "unsolvable" case, winning not only respect from her peers and enemies, but also a signed first edition book and the equivalent of a gift card to a bookshop! Fun! 4 stars, keeper.

Book 48: Mary Anne and the Search for Tigger Baby Sitters Club #25 by Ann M. Martin. Received as part of an 80s nostalgia package from etsy, this was a fun little trip down memory lane, though the mystery and even the girls themselves were a little annoying. Things were so much simpler then, and common sense seemed to be a thing that even these young teens had. Sigh. 3 stars, but since it wasn't an old favorite, it's gone.

Book 49: Hot Dog Taste Test by Lisa Hanawalt Received as part of a Landfall Freight box, in flipping through I thought this would be an easy one to read and get rid of since the style of artwork wasn't my favorite. But once I started reading, and got that it wasn't just a collection of random drawings about food and eating, but that there were short memoir stories in there too, I liked it more and more. It even made me chuckle out loud a couple of times. Not what I was expecting, but I liked it none the less. 3.5 stars, keeper for now.

Book 50: Paper Girls, Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan Purchased bc of instagram and the fact that it was sci-fi set in the late 1980s, I enjoyed this one more than I suspected I would. There was more of a mystery (and a cliff-hanger) than the cover (and other reviewers) would have you think. I especially liked the color palette - very on-point - and it took me back to being a teen myself. (Geez, I'm getting more nostalgic here.) 3.75 stars, keeper for now.

Book 51: Octopus by Michael Gallagher Won through the ER program here, I enjoyed the heck out of this book, the second in a series. (It's okay to read out of order - I don't think I missed anything by not reading the first book first.) Set in 1850's London, our main character, Octavius "Octopus", is the head of the street kids. But when his friend gets murdered it's up to him to figure out who killed her, and take care of his younger brother, his father who seems to have appeared out of nowhere, and help his friend Bertram/Bertha protect himself and live how he'd like to live. With an excellent eye for period detail, it made me want to Google the characters and search the maps to follow their trail. Really excellent, and I've already purchased everything else by the author. 4.5 stars, keeper!

Book 52: The Twelve Terrors of Christmas by John Updike (illustrated by Edward Gorey) A cute, funny, dark little bagatelle of a book, perfect for a stocking stuff. Wonderfully creepy. 4 stars, keeper

Book 53: Downton Tabby by Chris Kelly. Punnier and more detailed than I'd expected, this was a whimsical little book featuring cats instead of humans, their rules, poking fun at the plot lines and characters, and at some fan favorite things (like The Dowager Countess' sayings). Cute, and a good gift for any DA fan. 3.5 stars, keeper for now.

Books 54 & 55: Harrow County, Volume 1 and Vol. 2 by Cullen Bunn. These were fine. Received from yet another Landfall Freight box, they're creepy and horror-esque, with haints and lots of supernatural stuff happening. The artwork is wonderful, especially the landscapes, but the story doesn't do a whole lot for me. 3 stars each, and I'm letting these go, though I will read the third collected volume when it's released this fall.

***********************

That's it for me for now! If I could stop using the library so dang much I'd get more of my own books read, but it's saving me money, so...

Health-wise I'm on my second type of birth control pills and they seem to be helping me out! (The first kind my doctor put me on made me go crazy. After 6 days I felt inescapable and mounting panic and anxiety and cried or sobbed in public multiple times. Not good and really not fun!) One of my cats, Sweetpea, has been having some issues (throwing up for days on end for no reason and she's acting fine), so after taking her to my regular vet three times in a week ($$$!) I took her and her brother to a holistic vet I've heard raves about for years. She's fairly healthy otherwise, her heart is in good shape (despite it racing out of control) and we've switched her thyroid meds since that's what we're pretty sure was causing her vomiting issues. (My regular vet had no other options for medication, just the one she'd been on.) And, I'm very slowly working towards getting both of my cats on an all-raw diet. This could take 1 to 3 months. So far, so good, though!

Work-wise I'm still pretty much the same. I'm working on my client letter today, referring the bulk of my clients to my business partner and another massage therapist at my office, and I'm working on my resume and networking a little more too. Feeling better has helped me to have some more energy and be less depressed, and I can only hope it keeps improving.

I think that's about it! Hope the rest of you are doing well. And as always, I'll update my ticker but not the group ticker. I don't trust myself to remember if I've updated the main one and don't want to screw it up for our wonderful fearless leader. :)

78rabbitprincess
Ago 1, 2016, 10:40 am

Yay, nice big update! Hope all goes well on the job front. Resumes and networking I always find stressful. Sending you good thoughts!!

The ABC Murders is one of my favourite Poirots. :)

79avanders
Ago 30, 2016, 1:13 pm

wow, you sure have been reading a lot! Congrats on your progress!! You're more than 3/4 done!

>77 LauraBrook: Glad your new medicine seems to be going better! I know that birth control pills can wreak havoc on some people's bodies.. I know several people who stopped taking them altogether for that reason (and switched to some other method). Glad you found one that's working better :)

& Good luck w/ the job situation!

80LauraBrook
Set 11, 2016, 1:17 pm

>78 rabbitprincess: Job situation is still the same, but I did send out my letters to the bulk of my clients this week. Feels very good to have that done. Resume is still the same, but I'm okay with that for now since I know I'll have lots of time on my hands and it can be a task for me to check off a to-do list once I start feeling antsy.

>79 avanders: Thanks, though it sure doesn't feel like it! Birth control pill is still going okay, though I wish it would just hurry up and get to the regulated part. It's better every week, and compared to where I'm started it's a lot better, but there's still a ways to go. If this doesn't work and the pill ends up being something that won't "fix" my PCOS I'd be okay with trying to find something else instead. And thanks for the job luck. I'll take it! :)

Other than that, I don't want to jinx it but both of my cats seem to be doing pretty well. Sweetpea hasn't really had any bouts of feeling badly, and her thyroid meds on a new regimen seem to be the trick. Chico is..well, he's my big baby boy. :) With weather FINALLY changing to fall, I've had a few migraines, but I don't care as long as cooler, less humid weather comes at the tail end of it. I'm able to have my windows open for the first time in weeks, thanks to this 70 degree weather. Yahoo!

A friend of mine, L, moved out to Sedona, AZ (about 2,000 miles away) two weeks ago and she had nothing planned regarding directions or anything. So I spent a whole day printing daily routes, rewriting directions into English vs Google Maps speak, getting them all in page protectors and their own binder. Nearly every day she called me sobbing hysterically because either she got lost and used a wrong freeway, or got lost in the city where she was supposed to be spending the night. Then she'd call me from AZ, first in Flagstaff, then Sedona, then, small towns around Sedona - she couldn't find a safe and affordable place to live. Her next plan was to go down to Phoenix and stay with a friend for a few days and see if she had any luck there. This was this past Tuesday. She called me not even 24 hours later, in sobbing hysterics, because she took a wrong turn somewhere in Oklahoma and didn't know where she was. Apparently, she decided not to go to Phoenix and just drive home instead! I spent hours on the phone with her, calming her down, finding a new route, etc. I pleaded with her to get a hotel room for the night and call me when she was checked in and ready for bed and I'd talk her through directions for the next two days. (She'd spent nearly every night sleeping in her car with her dog in gas station parking lots. She didn't want to spend the money on a hotel after her laptop got stolen in Amarillo after she left the safe hotel I found for her and stayed in a sleazy roadside one instead to save $15 (no I'm not kidding), and she "needs to save all her money to move her two pods back to Milwaukee" - tried to explain that she could earn back that $100-whatever dollars fairly easily by selling some jewelry or doing a massage or two and she refused. AAAAAHHHHH!) SO, I didn't hear from her and figured she collapsed in a heap in bed once she checked in. No problem, I thought, I'll send her easy directions via text and she can call me in the morning when she wakes up. She did call me in the morning - from three hours away from where she was supposed to have spent the night! She got back on the road after we talked (despite flash floods everywhere in Arkansas and Missouri), drove two more hours and slept in another gas station parking lot. She's so incredibly frustrating!!! And then she called me three more times asking for clarification of directions (there was literally no possible way to make them easier to understand), the last time being about an hour from home. She said she'd call when she got back to her friends house where she was staying - I have yet to hear from her. I'm not surprised. This woman, whom I love dearly and is a good friend, is almost twice my age and seemingly has no logical thought processes at all. How does she get through the day?!? A mutual friend of ours got a couple of phone calls from me, very frustrated after talking to L and helping her function again, and it was helpful to have someone to vent with about this who understands how L's brain "works". BUT STILL! So annoying.

Sorry, I guess I had to vent about it some more! It took up so much of my time and energy to help her out every day, not just before she left, but all along her journey. And I'm happy to help someone in need, especially a friend, but it just became so ridiculous that I could hardly stand to talk to her pleasantly near the end. Do any of you have a friend like this? If so, how do you deal with it?

And now that I've blabbed endlessly, I'll start a new message box with my ROOTs. :-/

81Tess_W
Set 11, 2016, 2:36 pm

>80 LauraBrook: Glad she has you as a friend, not many people could cope!

82lilisin
Set 13, 2016, 4:13 am

>80 LauraBrook:

Oh gosh just reading that story drove me insane. I've had friends ignore all maps and directions I've given and then complain to me that they got lost because they didn't have any 'bearings'. Maybe if they actually looked at the conveniently marked map I sent them they would have had their bearings straight.

It's tough.

One friend I just told her that she gets my help three times. If after three times she still ignores all my advice, she no longer gets to receive help or complain about that topic anymore. That has done wonders.

83LauraBrook
Set 13, 2016, 1:15 pm

And now I've apparently gotten distracted by TV and work for the last two days. Oops! Sorry. Without further ado...

Book 56: Trinity Seven: The Seven Magicians by Kenji Saitou. The first in a manga series, this had a promising storyline to start - but the amateurish teen boy fantasy aspects were too much for me to ignore. Not good and not bad. 2 stars, and already out the door.

Book 57: The Other Side of Secret by Yoshikawa Hideaki. Same as above. Disappointing that a potentially exciting and unusual plot and world was destroyed (for me) by overly sexualizing the main female characters. No thanks. 2 stars, and already out the door.

Book 58: What Would Jane Austen Do? by Laurie Brown/Potter Style. A cute little gift book of Jane Austen quotes. Fun, keeper, but nothing stupendous about it. 4 stars.

Book 59: Only in Naples by Katherine Wilson. An ER book, a memoir about the author's life and finding love not only in an eventual husband but also in a mother in law, this was only okay. I can't put my finger on why this wasn't a raging success for me. Everything here seems like it's in my wheelhouse, but I had a hard time keeping my mind on reading and following along with the story. Not bad, but nothing outstanding. 3 stars.

Book 60: Mo' Meta Blues by Questlove. Really interesting, and it answered some questions I've had about why I feel an affinity for Ahmir. The way he talks about music in his brain when he was growing up reminded me a lot of me. While I was less interested in the up-and-coming-ness of The Roots, I liked hearing about his life. 4 stars, keeper

Book 61: Mind Your Own Beeswax by Hannah Reed. Book 2 in the Queen Bee series, I enjoyed this one less than the first. It's still fun, and nice to see my area of Wisconsin in print, but her sister's constant text-speak is annoying, and I'm not a big fan over how much the main character seems to want/need a man in her life. But I like everything else here, and I'm looking forward to the next one. 3 stars, keeper.

Book 62: Sex with Shakespeare by Jillian Keenan. Another ER book, I enjoyed this part memoir of her life and sexual awakening/kink and part critical interpretation of Shakespeare's plays and characters. Easy to read, unusual, and interesting, I enjoyed this book. However, I can't imagine rereading it, so it gets 3 stars and it's a goner.

Book 63: Murder in the Mews by Agatha Christie. Eh. These three short stories featuring Poirot were okay. I was disappointed in one of my favorite stories/TV adaptations, Triangle at Rhodes. 2.5 stars, keeper since I'm keeping this whole series.

Book 64: You Had One Job! by Beverly L. Jenkins. A cute, kind of one-off coffee table humor book, gathering mistakes people have made on the job and can be easily found online. It genuinely made me laugh out loud a few times. 3 stars, keeper for now.

Book 65: Eating for England by Nigel Slater. Wish I would've read this earlier. A collection of essays and ramblings about all things to do with British foods, traditions, and childhood associations. Perfect for a readathon. 4 stars, keeper, and thanks to Ellie for finally getting me to bump it to the top of my TBR!

Book 66: Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne, narrated by Tim Curry. Wish I would've read this one when I was a kid, I think I would've enjoyed it more and not been annoying by the pacing (or lack thereof). Curry has one of my favorite voices, and while his narration was just fine, I think the story detracted from it. Still, not bad, and I'm looking forward to watching some movie adaptations finally. 2 stars, keeper since it's an e-audiobook.

Book 67: A Finder's Fee by Joyce and Jim Lavene. Book 5 in the Missing Pieces/Duck, NC cozy series, I enjoyed this visit back to Duck. The story seemed a little out of character for nearly everyone involved, and it seemed to start in the middle of the story in some ways, but I still liked it. For sure read these in order. 3.5 stars, keeper.

Book 68: Hollow City by Ransom Riggs. The Second of the Miss Peregrine books, it suffers just a tad from "middle book syndrome", but develops in lots of interesting ways too, and I'm very much looking forward to what happens in the third and final books. Lots of twists and turns and exploration of worlds, just a lot of fun! 4 stars, keeper.

Book 69: Bride of the Water God by Mi-Kyung Yun. Recommended online somewhere as a good manga story, I found this first volume to info dump and character dump like crazy, and I couldn't make heads or tales out of it, and don't care to try in future. 2 stars for decent artwork, and it's already gone.

84connie53
Set 18, 2016, 2:41 am

>80 LauraBrook: Oh no! What a story you told us there. I would be frustrated too! And angry! Why start on such a journey without a map or an app on your mobile phone! That's just stupid.

Lots of book read, Laura!

85avanders
Set 22, 2016, 11:49 am

>80 LauraBrook: wow that's a lot of work!
Yeah, I have friends (& family?) like that.. I think how I deal with it depends on the situation.. sometimes, I just do the things. Sometimes, I make myself a little unavailable to force them to do some things themselves (or learn when they don't)... just depends :) Was nice of you to do all that though!

>83 LauraBrook: nice list!
I love the Book 64 website - hilarious ;)
Re Book 68 - I agree.. suffers from middle-book syndrome. Unfortunately, despite checking it out twice now, I can't bring myself to start book 3.. I'll wait and see what peole say, I suppose ;)

86LauraBrook
Nov 3, 2016, 5:25 pm

>81 Tess_W: Thanks, Tess!

>82 lilisin: I should try that "three times" thing and see if it works. I have a feeling it won't - or she won't talk about it at all, which is good (for me) but bad (for her, because she doesn't have anyone else to talk to about it. Her words, of course).

>84 connie53: I know, it's insane to drive anywhere without either knowing where you're going or having a map/route/gps/app to get you there. And thanks! I'm hoping I'll have completed my challenge now. Not that I won't still need to keep going on reading my own books, or anything, just that it'll all be gravy from here on out. Mmmm, gravy.

>85 avanders: I've been more unavailable for her since she moved back here. I worry about her, but not enough to drop whatever I'm doing and spend an hour on the phone with her freaking out three times a week. I've got the third Miss Peregrine book here, waiting to be opened... like so many others. :)

87LauraBrook
Nov 3, 2016, 6:13 pm

Book 70: Chase by James Patterson. This is one of his BookShots series, and it was an entertaining half hour of reading for me. I'm not familiar with any of his series aside from the Women's Murder Club (is that the right title?), so I didn't know the main character or what was going on. But that didn't matter. It was a nice escape for a little bit. 3 stars, and it's already gone.

Book 71: The Jolly Postman, or Other People's Letters by Janet Ahlberg. I only wish I'd read this interactive book when I was a kid. I love, love, loved this one, and my Mom did too! 5 stars, keeper.

Book 72: A View From A Broad by Bette Midler. Eh. I like her as a person, and I like the work she's done (not that I've seen that much), but this was so much navel-gazing naiveté that I couldn't really take it. And I really don't know her early work, which of course this was all about. 2 stars, already gone.

Books 73 & 74: Dae's Christmas Past by A Watery Death by Jim & Joyce Lavene. The last two books in the Duck, NC series, they were enjoyable, very readable, and sometimes very tense little mysteries. I'll miss these characters and these authors quite a lot. 4 stars each, keepers.

Book 75: Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie One of my favorite Poirots, both book and TV version. Keeper for sure, 4.5 stars.

Book 76: The 5-minute Iliad and Other Instant Classics by Greg Nagan. Eh. Didn't like this one too much - seemed too simplistic (which, given, the subject, is saying something) and man-focused. If you want to hear an educated dude-brah talk about classics, this is your book. 2 stars, already gone.

Book 77: Beowulf on the Beach by Jack Murnighan. Even more dude-brah-y than the other one. Big no thanks. 1 1/2 stars, already gone.

Book 78: Life as a Victorian Lady by Pamela Horn. This slim "gift-sized" edition was a nice taste of non-fiction, though I'm glad to have full-length books of hers to sink my teeth into. 3 stars, keeper for now.

Book 79: Gooseberry: Send for Octavius Guy by Michael Gallagher. Absolutely adored this one! Thanks to LT's Early Reviewer program, I won the second in the series earlier this year. I loved it so much that I went out and bought everything else he's ever written. I bet if I'd read The Moonstone I'd love it even more, since he follows some of the characters after the events of that book. A truly excellent historical fiction book, every part of these stories feels real to me. 5 big stars, keeper for sure!

Book 80: Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death by James Runcie. Of course I read this after watching "Grantchester" on PBS, and I have to say that for the most part I enjoyed the TV version better. A collection of chronological short stories, a few were TV episodes, and most weren't. There were a couple that had me flipping the pages (or tapping the screen) faster and faster to see how it ended. But overall, nothing overly exciting to write home about. I do own a couple other Sidney Chambers books, so I'll read those too, but I"m not necessarily rushing out to do so. 3 stars, keeper for now.

Book 81: Trains and Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith. A gentle book about strangers who meet on a train (I think) and tell their love and life stories. Sometimes I found myself underlining wonderful passages, but overall this was an overly gentle book. (I haven't read his Botswana series, but I lost interest in his Isabel Dalhousie series after a few books - seems like his writing doesn't generally hold my attention. 3 stars, keeper.

Book 82: House of Holes by Nicholson Baker. I have no idea how or why this book came into my house, other than it must have been an impulse purchase after reading an online booklist of some sort. It's already gone, or I'd verify this, but there's a blurb on the cover that says something like "if Doctor Seuss had written erotica, this would be it" and that seems astute and accurate. 2 stars, primarily for how imaginatively pervy it was.

Book 83: Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster. After adoring her first book, I went out and bought the bulk of her work over the next couple of years without a revisit. In this second of her memoirs, I think the bloom has faded a little. I can't relate that much to someone that narcissistic (chalk that up to my narcissistic Uncle and how that behavior played a major part in disappointing and screwing over his family, i.e. my Mom and I), and sometimes the book seemed just slightly dated, technology-wise. Which, of course it is, it's probably 10 years old. Still, she's funny and wry, and oh so very readable. In fact, I read this in 2 sittings in under 24 hours. 3 stars, and keeper for now.

Book 84: Double Sin and Other stories by Agatha Christie. A nice audiobook (different narrators for every couple of stories, which nicely held my attention during the latest Dewey's Read-a-Thon), nicely narrated, and a nice way to spend 5 1/2 hours. 3 stars, keeper.

Book 85: A Ghostly Road Tour of Michigan's Upper Peninsula by Jan Langley. Spooky, especially since I have family that lives there (and ancestors from there), and I've been to some of the places mentioned. 4 stars, keeper, and it's coming with me the next time I head Up North.

Book 86: Camera by Jean-Philippe Toussaint. Eh, not my thing, and thankfully it was short. If you like oddly paced 1960's French movies where nothing much happens and you just follow around a conceited young man, then this book is for you. Otherwise, give it a hard pass. 2 stars, already gone.

Book 87: Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers. If I were a tween I'd probably have liked this one, but it really didn't stand the test of time to me. I just really didn't like it. Instead, I'm going to shockingly recommend any of the dozens of body-switch comedy movies out there. But it did have an Edward Gorey cover, so that's something! 1 1/2 stars, already gone.

Book 88: William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope by Ian Doescher. I'm not a Star Wars super fan, though I do like Shakespeare, so this was kind of lost on me. Enjoyable, but nothing I want to write home to Mom about. 3 stars for cleverness, already gone.

Book 89: The Woman in Black by Susan Hill. Brrr, this modern gothic classic sent shivers down my spine - I'm glad I read it during the day! I haven't seen the movie version yet, though if it's anything like this book, I should probably skip a nighttime viewing. 4 stars, keeper.

Book 90: My Name is Aram by William Saroyan. A SantaThing present, I wish I enjoyed this more than I did, especially since this was one of my Santa's favorite books. But I just didn't dig it. The writing and illustrations are just fine, and I liked that they were shorter linked stories about his Armenian family in California in the early 1900s (I think). But that was about it. It reminded me in some ways of Kerouac and the whole counter-culture, Beat movement, and that stuff just doesn't appeal to me. Sorry. 2 stars, and already gone.

Book 91: Sex Criminals, Volume 3 by Matt Fraction. After volume 2, I wasn't sure where the story was going, and now I'm still not sure but in a better way. I really like Jon and Suzie, and the others in their odd little world are endearing in their own way. 3 stars, and looking forward to the next volume! Keeper.

Book 92: We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. If you have a half hour, read this short book or watch her TEDx talk on which it's based. She's right, we should all be feminists. 5 stars, keeper.

I think that's it for now! I'm glad to be officially done with this challenge (yay!) and am hoping I can add at least a dozen more by the end of the year.

88Tess_W
Nov 3, 2016, 6:57 pm

Congrats on reaching your goal!

89rabbitprincess
Nov 3, 2016, 9:26 pm

Hurray! Congrats! :D

90MissWatson
Nov 4, 2016, 5:31 am

And with one bound she surpassed her goal! Congratulations! Gooseberry: Send for Octavius Guy looks very enticing...

91avanders
Nov 8, 2016, 10:11 am

Woot! Congrats on meeting & passing your ROOTs goal!

92LauraBrook
Nov 20, 2016, 10:14 am

Thank you so much, >88 Tess_W:, >89 rabbitprincess:, >90 MissWatson:, & >91 avanders:!!! It feels good to meet my goal, and with time to spare. :)

And Miss Watson, I think you'll really enjoy the Octavius Guy series. Check it out!

93LauraBrook
Nov 20, 2016, 10:30 am

Book 93: What Could Possibly Go Wrong? by Jodi Taylor. Another excellent St. Mary's adventure, this time to Joan of Arc's France, Max as a Training Officer, a baby mammoth, a Father of History (but not quite), and lots more, these books just clip along and are nearly impossible to put down. 4 stars, keeper!

Book 94: Sheet Pan Suppers by Molly Gilbert. A library checkout at first, I scored this for $6 recently at Barnes & Noble online. Full of relatively easy supper ideas, I've really enjoyed going through this again, and after Turkey Day this Thursday, I'm planning on doing a few of these dinners for myself. 3.5 stars, keeper.

Book 95: Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. I love Hardy's writing. Yes, it's depressing and unfair, but he uses such lovely language and has such wonderfully fine descriptions that it should be a crime. Tess is frustrating, and certainly has the short end of the stick when it comes to available men and the time period she lives in, but I rooted for her nearly the whole book. This is an old ROOT for me, my copy being given to me on Christmas 1995 by my friend Erin (this was the last Christmas of senior year in high school), my fellow nerdy bookish friend. I'm glad to not only have read this copy (one I'll never get rid of), but to have finally finished the book. (This was my third try.) 4 stars, more for beautiful language than anything else, and a keeper.

Books 96 and 97: Death of a Cad and Death of an Outsider by M. C. Beaton. These second and third books in the Hamish MacBeth series are pleasingly comforting mysteries. Originally written in the late 1980's they show their age a bit, but not much. If anything, I'm enjoying the nostalgic fashion trends of my youth! I liked the plot of "Cad" better than "Outsider" and was only too glad when Mr. Mainwaring was the dead body. What a jerk! At any rate, I'm glad to have finally gotten around to this series, and I'm glad that they're relatively short too, like Beaton's Agatha Raisin series (which I'm also gobbling up). 4 and 3.5 stars, respectively, and keepers.

Book 98: The Very First Damned Thing by Jodi Taylor. This novella covers how St. Mary's got started, and while it was released after book 6, it's numbered as 0.5. However, I recommend reading this series in published order, not by this numbering system - otherwise, there's no way to appreciate the wonderfulness of this short book. 4.5 stars, a keeper, and I'm about to get started on the 7th book!

Only two more to go to hit 100! Can't wait to cross that threshold. And, I've just checked - I'm at book #196 overall this year, so that means that half of what I've read this year has been from my own shelves. I'm impressed with myself, as I all too easily succumb to the siren song of the library, typically leaving my own purchases in the dust. :)

94rabbitprincess
Nov 20, 2016, 11:48 am

Woo hoo! Excellent work on reading so much and so much from your shelves!

95avanders
Nov 21, 2016, 10:02 am

>93 LauraBrook: Whoa - 100 ROOTs! So impressive! And 196 overall!