MickyFine Attends the Assembly Rooms in 2021, Final Cotillion

Obviously I fall much more on the swooning over Colonel Brandon side of things.

I'm Micky, 35 years old, librarian, and generally bookish nerd. I usually have a good mix of reads going on every year with strong doses of romance, sff, historicals, and a dash of non-fiction. My only reading project this year is a re-read of Jane Austen's six major novels - the ultimate comfort reads for me. I'm trying to be a bit more chatty on my own thread and others and in addition to my reading, I'll also discuss what I'm watching, and general life goings on often featuring my husband, Mr. Fine, and our two cats, Ash and Smee. Posters and lurkers alike are welcome.

January
1. Paper and Fire - Rachel Caine
2. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
3. Fangs - Sarah Andersen
4. I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are - Rachel Bloom
5. Not Quite the Classics - Colin Mochrie
6. Giant Days Volume 11 - John Allison & Max Sarin
7. Ash and Quill - Rachel Caine
8. Emma - Jane Austen (re-read)
9. Giant Days Volume 12 - John Allison & Max Sarin
10. Read It and Weep - Jenn McKinlay
Favourite(s):


February
11. How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse - K. Eason (re-read)
12. Giant Days Volume 13 - John Allison & Max Sarin
13. Death by Shakespeare - Kathryn Harkup
14. Lumberjanes Vol. 16 - Shannon Watters & Kat Leyh
15. How the Multiverse Got Its Revenge - K. Eason
16. Little Moments of Love - Catana Chetwynd
17. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline (re-read)
18. Clean: The New Science of Skin - Jame Hamblin
19. Giant Days Vol. 14 - John Allison & Max Sarin
20. Ready Player Two - Ernest Cline
Favourite(s):


March
21. More Than Words Can Say - Karen Witemeyer
22. Snug: A Collection of Comics about Dating Your Best Friend - Catana Chetwynd
23. The Noel Coward BBC Radio Drama Collection - Noel Coward
24. Mansfield Park - Jane Austen (re-read)
25. You Can Only Yell at Me for One Thing at a Time: Rules for Couples - Patricia Maxwell & Roz Chast
26. Redshirts - John Scalzi
27. Savor the Moment - Nora Roberts
28. Once & Future: The King Is Undead - Kieron Gillen & Dan Mora
29. It's in His Kiss - Julia Quinn
30. True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop - Annie Darling
31. Once & Future: Old English - Kieron Gillen & Dan Mora
32. Wishful Drinking - Carrie Fisher
33. An Infamous Army - Georgette Heyer
34. Black Widow: The Finely Woven Thread - Nathan Edmonson & Phil Noto
35. All Systems Red - Martha Wells (re-read)
36. Artificial Condition - Martha Wells (re-read)
37. On the Way to the Wedding - Julia Quinn
Favourite(s):

April
38. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Power - Ryan North & Erica Henderson
39. Rogue Protocol - Martha Wells (re-read)
40. Exit Strategy - Martha Wells (re-read)
41. The Jane Austen Society - Natalie Jenner
42. Valkyrie: The Sacred and the Profane - Jason Aaron, Al Ewing, & CAFU
43. The Martian - Andy Weir
44. Valkyrie: At the End of All Things - Jason Aaron, Al Ewing, Torun Grønbekk, Pere Pérez, CAFU, Ramon Rosanas
45. The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows (re-read)
46. Ours by Every Law of Right and Justice: Women and the Vote in the Prairie Provinces - Sarah Carter
47. Lumberjanes Vol. 17 - Shannon Watters, Kat Leyh, Kanesha C. Bryant
48. Shit, Actually - Lindy West
49. The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill - Julie Klassen
50. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel You Know It's True - Ryan North & Erica Henderson
51. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now - Ryan North & Erica Henderson
52. Network Effect - Martha Wells (re-read)
53. Siri, Who Am I? - Sam Tschida
54. Fugitive Telemetry - Martha Wells
55. A Midsummer Night's Dream - William Shakespeare
56. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: I Kissed a Squirrel and I Liked It - Ryan North, Erica Henderson, & Jacob Chabot
57. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
58. Much Ado About Nothing - William Shakespeare
Favourite(s):


May
59. Twelfth Night - William Shakespeare
60. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - Stuart Turton
61. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Like I'm the Only Squirrel in the World - Ryan North & Erica Henderson
62. Romancing the Duke - Tessa Dare
63. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Who Run the World? Squirrels - Ryan North & Erica Henderson
64. Yes Please - Amy Poehler
65. Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen (re-read)
66. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: I've Been Waiting for a Squirrel Like You - Ryan North & Erica Henderson
67. Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare
68. Lady Catherine and the Real Downton Abbey - Countess Carnarvon
69. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: My Best Friend's Squirrel - Ryan North & Erica Henderson
70. Klara and the Sun - Kazuo Ishiguro
71. Stories I Only Tell My Friends - Rob Lowe
72. The Mortal Word - Genevieve Cogman
73. The Anthropocene Reviewed - John Green
74. Sunshine Girl - Julianna Margulies
Favourite(s):


June
75. Dolly Parton, Songteller - Dolly Parton
76. Voyager - Diana Gabaldon (re-read)
77. The Snark Handbook: Sex Edition - Lawrence Dorfman
78. On Borrowed Time - Jenn McKinlay
79. The Fourth Bear - Jasper Fforde
80. The Soulmate Equation - Christina Lauren
81. Lumberjanes Vol. 18 - Kat Leyh et. al.
82. Persuasion - Jane Austen (re-read)
Favourite(s):

July
83. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrels Fall Like Dominoes - Ryan North and Derek Charm
84. Q-in-Law - Peter David (re-read)
85. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Life Is Too Short, Squirrel - Ryan North, Derek Charm, and Naomi Franquiz
86. The Heart's Charge - Karen Witemeyer
87. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Call Your Squirrelfriend - Ryan North and Derek Charm
88. The Other Miss Bridgerton - Julia Quinn
89. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: To All the Squirrels I've Loved Before - Ryan North and Derek Charm
90. The Flatshare - Beth O'Leary
91. Black Widow: The Tightly Tangled Web - Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto
92. Modern Love - Daniel Jones (ed.)
93. Black Widow: Last Days - Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto
94. The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free - Paulina Bren
95. Ms. Marvel: No Normal - G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona
96. Very Good, Jeeves - P.G. Wodehouse
Favourite(s):


August
97. Ms. Marvel: Generation Why - G. Willow Wilson, Jacob Wyatt, and Adrian Alphona
98. The Diary of a Bookseller - Shaun Bythell
99. Ms. Marvel: Crushed - G. Willow Wilson, Elmo Bondoc, and Takeshi Miyazawa
100. Any Way the Wind Blows - Rainbow Rowell
101. Ms. Marvel: Last Days - G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona
102. A Lady by Midnight - Tessa Dare
103. No Offense - Meg Cabot
104. The Penderwicks - Jeanne Birdsall
105. Imzadi - Peter David (re-read)
106. Triangle: Imzadi II - Peter David (re-read)
Favourite(s):


September
107. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (re-read)
108. Norse Mythology - Neil Gaiman (re-read)
109. Written in My Own Heart's Blood - Diana Gabaldon (re-read)
110. House of M - Brian Michael Bendis
111. Pirate Stew - Neil Gaiman
Favourite(s):

October
112. In the Heights: Finding Home - Lin-Manuel Miranda, Quiara Alegria Hudes, and Jeremy McCarter
113. Lumberjanes, Vol 19 - Shannon Watters & Kat Leyh
114. The Saturday Night Supper Club - Carla Laureano
115. The Book Charmer - Karen Hawkins
116. Poppy Harmon Investigates - Lee Hollis
117. Falling for Trouble - Sarah Title
118. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wild (re-read)
119. The Good Debutante's Guide to Ruin - Sophie Jordan
120. Lord Saville's Crime and Other Stories - Oscar Wilde
121. How the Penguins Saved Veronica - Hazel Prior
Favourite(s):


November
122. The Gown - Jennifer Robson
123. Smoke and Iron - Rachel Caine
124. Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller - Nadia Wassef
125. The Last Graduate - Naomi Novik
126. The Bromance Book Club - Lyssa Kay Adams
Favourite(s):


December
127. Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone - Diana Gabaldon
128. Lumberjanes: End of Summer - Shannon Watters et. al.
129. The Christmas Bookshop - Jenny Colgan
130. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (re-read)
131. If the Fates Allow - Rainbow Rowell
132. London's Number One Dog-Walking Agency - Kate MacDougall
133. Get a Life, Chloe Brown - Talia Hibbert
Favourite(s):

My rating system:

/ = Ran screaming in the other direction (aka did not finish)
* = Suffered through it for reasons I'm still not sure of
** = Had far more flaws than virtues
*** = A read I don't regret but could use some improvement
**** = A good, solid read that I might revisit
***** = Loved it beyond reason and will probably re-read in short order

Happy December! I've got my Christmas music playlist on the go and an Advent chocolate still waiting for me. Come on in and let's get cozy for the final thread of the year.

What's on the agenda: After dropping off Mr. Fine at the bus, I filled up the car (the secret to short lines at the Costco gas station is to go early in the morning), and put our Christmas cards in the mailbox. Work today will be a few small tasks, vendor lists, flipping through the new issue of AudioFile, and some time with publisher catalogues. Plus my weekly group meeting with my co-workers. This evening when I pick up Mr. Fine, we'll head up to the PetSmart to get some cat things and then either pick up or go out for dinner - it's his choice this week so not sure what we'll do.

Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone progress: 40% complete

What we're watching: A few episodes of Big Bang and then I rewatched an episode of Gilmore Girls while working on cross-stitch after Mr. Fine went to his weekly virtual D&D game.

Happy new thread, Micky!

Happy new thread! I am also swooning over your photo up top. And I'm wearing my first pair of Christmas socks today -- I went understated with my reindeer socks, which just look brown unless you see the top part.

Happy new thread, Micky!

Happy new one!

Happy new thread, Micky!

Happy new thread, Micky!

Happy new thread!

Happy new one, Micky.

Happy new thread!

Thank you, Katie, Foggi, Anita, Jim, Mary, Natalie, Steve, Paul, and Susan for the new thread well wishes.

>8 foggidawn: I only have a couple pairs of Christmas socks. One pair are like your reindeer socks as they just look like navy socks from the ankle down but actually look like this:

What's on the agenda: Interesting drive back and forth to the bus station to drop off Mr. Fine. Thankfully we did not get the freezing rain that was potentially in the forecast but there were very wet flurries coming down for the whole 20 minutes or so I was out, which made identifying lanes a little tricky. I also had a chuckle as during the drive the radio station I had on started playing Michael Buble singing "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" A little on the nose, radio. Work today will be customer suggestions and then going through issues of Library Journal and AudioFile. I've also got a meeting with a co-worker to discuss logistics for our department's virtual social gathering next week, during which we'll be doing a couple rounds of holiday trivia. After work I need to pop in to the library to return things and pick up some holds for Mr. Fine. Another new recipe tonight, it involves chicken and a lot of sauce apparently.

Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone progress: 46% complete

What we're watching: First Christmas movie under our belts. I went with the new Netflix holiday romance starring Brooke Shields and Cary Elwes, A Castle for Christmas. It was soooo cute and definitely of the better quality of the genre. Also, I love that they made a romance film with stars who are in their fifties. Romance is not just for twenty-somethings! Afterwards we watched the new episode of Hawkeye and boy, do they love the end of episode cliffhangers on that show.

I also watched A Castle for Christmas last night and really enjoyed it! Let's put Carey Elwes in more romcoms, please.

I'm so glad to hear A Castle for Christmas is good! It's on my list of stuff to watch so I should get to it in approximately (*checks notes*) March

Happy December thread, Micky! I have not read The Anthropocene Reviewed (or even heard of it which just goes to show that my long absences from LT are hurting me), but it sounds like a must-read, as well as a great book to give. Thank you!

>18 curioussquared: Right? He's around my parents' age but somehow still pretty dreamy.

>19 norabelle414: Snort. Well it's only particularly Christmas-y in the second half so it should work in March. :)

>20 AMQS: I hope you enjoy it Anne and if you gift it that your giftee likes it too.

Happy new thread Micky!

>1 MickyFine: Colonel Brandon/ Alan Rickman; oh yeah.

>22 humouress: Thanks, Nina! It's probably my favourite of Alan Rickman's roles.

What's on the agenda: Had time to do some cross-stitch before work this morning. A big chunk of this page of the pattern has been half stitches so it goes much faster than I thought it might - although I'm starting to get to more colour switching, which is far more time consuming whether it's cross-stitch or half stitch. Work today will be customer requests in OverDrive, updating a spreadsheet (super inside baseball stuff so I won't get into the details), and going through issues of LJ and Audiofile. Burrito bowls for dinner tonight, made with ground turkey since we have no ground beef so we'll see how that goes.

Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone progress: 52% complete

What we're watching: The Lego Batman movie was the first of Mr. Fine's December picks (he doesn't do Christmas-y movies until closer to Christmas). And then some episodes of Big Bang.

What's on the agenda: Mr. Fine's daughter is coming to hang out for a chunk of today so we're starting the day with a big breakfast together. I'll watch church this morning as usual. They'll be trimming the tree at some point today and I'm not sure what else we'll get up to while she's here. A little after 3 we'll head out to drop her off at her boyfriend's work (he works in a garage at a car dealership here in our 'burb) and then we're off to visit friends of ours who live in a small town on the opposite side of the city from us (yay for ring roads). We're doing pasta for dinner and then probably some sort of Mario Kart tournament as their kiddos (who are 7 and 5) are apparently obsessed with it.

Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone progress: 60% complete

What we're playing: Several rounds of Dungeon Mayhem, a cute and fun card game from the D&D designers. We both won a couple games.

We have Dungeon Mayhem but haven't played it yet. Soon, hopefully.

Oh my gosh I might have to read/watch Sense and Sensibility again!

>26 scaifea: We really enjoy it. Mr. Fine being the expansion fiend he is has the big box with more characters including Blorp (a gelatinous cube) and Mimi Lechaise (a killer chair). I hope you have a good time with it when you try it.

>27 sibylline: I heartily endorse that choice!

What's on the agenda today: Up for breakfast soon and then a full day ahead. The usual cleaning and bill sorting as always and then I'll be using my Kitchen-Aid mixer for the first time and making Christmas cookie dough. The recipe is one that needs to chill for 8+ hours so baking will wait until tomorrow (I've got my earned day off on Monday). Dinner tonight will be pizza from scratch and I'm excited to try the dough hook attachment on my mixer (it's really being put through its paces today).

Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone progress: 64% complete

What we're playing: Lots of Mario Kart. Lots and lots and lots. Our friends' oldest kiddo is super into it.

Hi Micky. I have a great Christmas cookie recipe that you can try out to test your wonderful dough hook accessory here.

Also, I delurked to ask you for some advice...
Can the librarians really not resurrect a lost holds list?

When I logged in this morning, I was so disappointed to see this.

Belated Happy New Thread wishes!! And good luck with the cookie baking. I am making pumpkin bread right now, yes late at night. LOL. Have to check out the Alan Rickman role...!

>30 SandyAMcPherson: Thanks for the recipe, Sandy. This year's baking will just be my usual Christmas cookies and butter tarts.

And your library isn't fibbing, there's not a lot we can do if your holds disappear. Because we're very big on privacy we retain almost no historical data tied to customer cards in our back end system (the integrated library system or ILS). This means that while we know Romeo and Juliet has gone out 35 times over its life in the collection, we can't tell who contributed to those checkouts. Same thing with holds - if your hold expired or was accidentally canceled, we wouldn't be able to check historically because we don't retain that data.

>31 Berly: You've never seen Sense and Sensibility, Kim?! Oh the delights ahead of you.

What's (been) on the agenda: I have the day off but Mr. Fine doesn't so still had to get up at 5 to take him to the bus this morning. After I did that I came home, washed last night's dishes, and baked Christmas cookies with the dough I made yesterday. Then I went to my massage therapy clinic. Tried a new therapist today who did some techniques I hadn't tried before and while bordering on painful, it did release the knot in my right shoulder which has never happened before (lefty's knot is still hanging around but definitely looser). Having some leftovers for lunch right now and then I'll tackle gift wrapping this afternoon. Depending on when I wrap that up (ha! see what I did there?), I'll squeeze in some stitching and/or reading time before I start dinner. Mac n cheese from scratch on the menu tonight. Virtual craft circle for me this evening.

Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone progress: 69% complete

What we're watching: I watched half of Operation Christmas Drop (Netflix) while making dough yesterday. My actual Christmas flick pick was Christmas with a Prince, which was pretty terrible but fun to make fun of (plus Charles Shaughnessy was in it and I'll always have a soft spot for him). Mr. Fine's pick was Kung Fu Panda. Then we watched the first episode of Blown Away: Christmas and a couple Big Bangs.

>32 MickyFine: OK. Remorse on my holds because I didn't save the list anywhere independently of the library.
To have the whole thing blanked like that is strange, because I certainly didn't have anything expire (nor was I in there deleting anything). I filed a note to the "ask us" link in case there was a system-wide problem.

My reading history is still there plus the books I have on a WL so I'm going to be cautious and see about down loading those two pieces of data.

>34 SandyAMcPherson: There could have been an error in the ILS, it happens.

Your reading history and wishlist would still be there because those are stored by the OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue), in your case probably Bibliocommons. While Bibliocommons saves that data for you (if you choose), it isn't saved in our ILS. The two systems communicate but in very limited ways.

>35 MickyFine: I am lost with all this lib-tech jargon!
But thanks for taking time to answer.

>32 MickyFine: I had a hold disappear once. It was just one book so it was easy for me to ask for that one specifically, and they put me back in my place in line (it just so happened I was first ...).

I didn't realize that privacy entered into this though, Micky. In many ways that's a good thing. I appreciate your behind-the-scenes explanation.

>36 SandyAMcPherson: Lib-tech jargon translation: there are two different systems that don't talk to each other. The one that saves the history & WL only does so because you gave it permission. The one that manages holds doesn't allow for that.

>32 MickyFine: I'm curious and can't adding to the lib-tech jargon.

Are OverDrive hold queues stored in your ILS? My library has only just signed an agreement with OverDrive and is working through configuration, but we share a catalog with several other libraries who have been OD customers for years and loaded bib records for OD materials. But the OD titles aren't requestable through the OPAC, which makes me think -- in our setup at least -- the OverDrive hold queues have to be stored on OverDrive servers.

Would troubleshooting this be worth a call to OD customer support to ask, "Hey our patron's holds disappeared. Any idea what happened?"

>38 swynn: My library system uses Bibliocommons Cloud Records for Overdrive, so absolutely nothing from it is in our ILS. Overdrive records only appear in our OPAC and the OverDrive interface. We used to download MARCs from them but found the record maintenance for expired content too much for our cataloguing staff. If you lost OverDrive holds, you could reach out to them but I'm not sure how much data they hold on to (although it's definitely more than any self-respecting ILS).

>39 MickyFine: Ah. The whole ILS/Bibliocommons/Overdrive configuration is unfamiliar to me too, but I think I'm getting it. Is Bibliocommons able to show a reading history that includes both traditional checkouts and OverDrive checkouts?

Our own system (III Sierra) definitely keeps circ transaction data in the ILS (for about 2 weeks) and we sometimes dig into it to puzzle out weird circulation problems. But we won't have access, I'm pretty sure, to OverDrive checkouts/history/holds. (Short of an API nobody has told us about, anyway, and which I'd have to be *really* motivated to mess with.)

>35 MickyFine:, >37 lauralkeet:, >38 swynn:, >39 MickyFine: When I read here that the WL had a different 'rule' (that permission thing Laura and Mickey mentioned) I looked in my Overdrive WL again. There were still 3 titles (of the 8 hold-titles) wish-listed, so I can re-request them. Maybe I'll remember the others by looking through the Talk lists of books read in the most likely members, lots of my starred threads, to keep track of where I visit the most.

Obviously the WL doesn't lose the title just because the patron requested it in the hold system (& now I know why...). I should have remembered that. My habit is to use the Overdrive WL for all the BBs that I decide to read (that are e-books) (from seeing book reviews on LibraryThing or on Talk).

To avoid the ol' cascade-all-at-once event, I put holds on only a few books at a time. Often I forget to remove the title from the WL. So, I have at least recovered 3 of my 8 holds.

This has been a very useful discussion. Thanks to you all for chiming in.
Although I am still lost on some of the finer points, especially since the library software in my province seems to differ somewhat from Mickey's system. I have no idea if we have this Bibliocommons thingy. I have never knowingly selected a 'yes' to saving data in anything. Unless it was implied in some overarching agreement.

Now I know why this educational field is called "Library Science". Heh.

>40 swynn: Nope, borrowing history from OverDrive isn't saved in the Biblicommons interface and I don't have the technical knowledge to tell you why.

>41 SandyAMcPherson: Saskatchewan is an extra brand of weird because y'all have a provincial library system. I did a quick peek at the website and your interface isn't a Bibliocommons product. :)

Several years ago my library updated their version of OverDrive, which caused users' whole accounts to be wiped clean. The library gave lots of notice that checkouts and hold lists would be wiped and librarians were at the ready to help users record their checkouts/holds in the old system in preparation for transition to the new one, but there was no notice that wish lists would be wiped as well, so I lost mine. The librarians were apologetic but by that point there was nothing anyone could do about it.

>43 norabelle414: Oof, that sucks.

What's on the agenda: Back to work and I don't wanna be. Got in some cross-stitch time before work this morning at least. Work itself will include catching up on email from yesterday, updating our Lucky Day collections, and customer suggestions. My pick for take out night and we're getting Swiss Chalet because I want the Festive Special.

Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone progress: 72% complete

What we're watching: With the baking and gift wrapping yesterday, I had several things on as background viewing including the second half of Operation Christmas Drop (not bad but not great), Single All the Way (cute), and a few episodes of Gilmore Girls. Actual viewing with Mr. Fine last night was Love Hard, which was quite funny and adds yet more fuel to the Die Hard as Christmas movie debate for Katie and Amber. :P

>45 MickyFine: - I'm planning to watch Love Hard this weekend. So glad it's a good one!

And really, there's no debate about DH as a Christmas movie. People are just right or wrong ;-)

>46 katiekrug: LOL. I mean, I fall into the it is a Christmas movie camp...

Not trying to catch up, Micky, after a week+ away, just dropping by to say Happy Tuesday!

>45 MickyFine: Looking forward to your thoughts on Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone when you are done with it.

Pretty much what >48 alcottacre: said...I do see, in a rapid scan, that you're in the home stretch of Go Tell the Bees, so I'm looking forward to hearing about your impressions.

*smooch*

>48 alcottacre: >49 richardderus: Nice of you both to drop in. Trying to figure out how to summarize 900+ pages of goings on in a review already and I've still got a quarter of the book to go (and things are a-happening right now).

Oooh a baking and gift-wrapping day sounds lovely. Hope the transition back into the work week went smoothly. Yay for getting close to the end of the latest Outlander book! If I'm not mistaken, our library order for it *still* hasn't come in, and I bought two to deal with all the holds that were there before the book even came out (our patrons are not known for putting early holds on, so it's going to be popular). And my SIL has started the series, I think she's on book 3 and has been compulsively reading and thinking about the story. Anyway, all that to say I look forward to your thoughts on it!

Die Hard was our first holiday movie of the season. ;) Batman Returns is also a favorite xmas movie in our house.

We just watched Single All the Way this weekend, and were pleased - it's a gay Hallmark movie, which is exactly what it should have been. Rare Exports has become one of my new favorite holiday movies, and we enjoyed both the original and remake of Black Christmas this year.

I can't wait to watch Hogfather again - but we're waiting until recovery when I'll be on my butt for days at a time.

>51 bell7: It was a lovely day off. Work is... work. I'm only slightly counting down to the Christmas break (with Christmas and Boxing Day on the weekend this year, I get a four-day weekend). My work library still hasn't received print copies of Bees either (we're sitting at 181 holds). My home library system does have their copies though, lucky them. I hope your SIL continues to enjoy the series. When I got into it hardcore about 6 years ago, I managed to pinch a nerve in my finger from reading so many chunksters back to back. So tell her to read carefully, lol.

>52 London_StJ: Nice! We save the annual must-watches for closer to Christmas so Die Hard isn't on our schedule until the week before Christmas. Single All the Way was very cute and I'm quite fond of Michael Urie as an actor so it was nice to see him in the lead rather than as the gay best friend. Have you watched Happiest Season? Queer friends of mine really loved it when it came out last year. In Canada it's on Prime but in the US it looks like it might be on Hulu.

>53 MickyFine: Huzzah for gay leads instead of sidekicks! It was one big silly smile. And oh, Happiest Season. I'm a bit of a Scrooge about it. The film isn't bad, but it was gay trauma rather than gay love; the wife and I thought it was more of a queer movie for straight people. I loved KS in the role, though - she was fabulous.

What's on the agenda: Freezing rain this morning made me super glad Mr. Fine is on early shift as there were very few cars out as I navigated roads that ranged from slushy to ice rinks. Hoping the sunshine we're supposed to get later will melt a bunch of it. Work itself is wrapping up customer suggestions, attending two different meetings, and maybe some AudioFile and vendor list time. Grocery shopping after work (thus my hope for some significant melting today). Costco dinner for supper (Mr. Fine's pick this time).

Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone progress: 83% complete

What we're watching: Kung Fu Panda 2 was Mr. Fine's pick last night followed by a couple episodes of Big Bang.

>55 MickyFine: Ugh, driving on ice is the worst! Glad you were able to navigate it safely.

>42 MickyFine: Thank you Mickey. Appreciate all this arcane (to me) knowledge.

As to our provincial library system, it was made that way because our population is low (barely over 1 million people) and the communities widely scattered except in Saskatoon and Regina.

So to make loans equitable throughout the province (IIUC), the holdings at all libraries can be shared. Saves duplicating and conserves the funding for the small hamlets with a library patron count of maybe only 100 card holders or less.

Some titles are hard to borrow if you aren't in the holdings area because those patrons have first call for requests. I learned this when I kept being stalled out on hold requests at number 3 or 4. I think it is a decent system so that the 'wealthier' communities can circulate out of their region and share the resources.

>56 foggidawn: Thanks, Foggi. Thankfully the grocery trip was less eventful. Main roads were either slushy or clear. It's residential roads and parking lots that are the trickiest (and are likely to be for a few days as temperatures are staying below freezing until the weekend).

>57 SandyAMcPherson: The Saskatchewan system definitely makes sense. We have a variation on that here in Alberta with regional library systems. The province is divided into zones and libraries in those areas are members are members of the larger regional library system - it allows for sharing of resources between systems, especially for smaller communities (although neither Edmonton nor Calgary are members of regional library systems). We also have a pretty robust interlibrary loan system that works for the entire province.

What's on the agenda: Despite it being a short week for me, I still desperately want it to be Friday and it's not. Le sigh. Dealt with dishes and did some cross-stitch before work this morning. Work today will be customer suggestions, finishing up with the new issue of AudioFile, and then vendor lists and pub cats. I've also got our department's virtual holiday gathering today, during which I'll be hosting trivia. Hopefully it's fun. Beef and broccoli got moved to tonight so that meat could marinate (we had Costco chicken alfredo for dinner last night instead). This evening I've got a haircut and I'm not sure whether I'm going to keep the length I have to make pulling it up in winter easier (dry winters sap the life out of my curls) or cut it a little shorter so that my curls can bounce a little more. We'll see if my stylist has an opinion.

Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone progress: 88% complete

What we're watching: Snowbound for Christmas on Netflix is terrible and definitely shows its Harlequin roots - the writing is not great and the actors are the same. I had fun making of fun of it at least. Then we watched the second episode of Blown Away: Christmas.

EIGHTY-EIGHT PERCENT *pants*

You are motoring through that chunkster! Impressive. And, even though it's not Friday, it will be in a few hours. (Eight for me.)

Have a lovely trivia time, and w00t for being so up on Blown Away! I enjoy that show.

>60 richardderus: I've gotta motor, RDear. It's due on Tuesday at 4 p.m.-ish. Hoping to finish it before the weekend but we'll see how I do.

Trivia was fun and I'm pleased to say I have not lost my trivia hosting chops.

I haven't watched season 2 of Blown Away yet but the Christmas episodes are only half an hour so it's an easy palate cleanser after a mediocre holiday film. :)

Happy Thursday, Micky! Glad to see that *Bees* is going right along.

Book 127



Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone - Diana Gabaldon

With Bree, Roger, Jem, and Mandy returned to the past and Fraser's Ridge, Jamie and Claire are satisfied to be home again with so much of their family around them. As the Frasers work to build a new house on the Ridge, they settle back into life in the back country but even there they are not completely safe from the ongoing Revolutionary War as conflicts between Loyalists and Rebels come to a head. As a series of events cause some of their family to travel away from the Ridge for periods of time, Jamie and Claire remain behind and must grapple with the knowledge that the war will touch their lives in the mountains, thanks to information from one of Frank Randall's books that Bree brought back from the future. At the same time, William continues to struggle to figure out who he is now that he knows who his natural father is, while at the same time doing his own work to keep various members of Lord John Grey's family safe. As everyone strives to make it through the war relatively unscathed, there is also the lurking fear that the dangers that forced Bree, Roger, and the kids to seek refuge in the past may eventually follow them through the stones.

Dramas big and small are scattered throughout the latest Outlander chunkster, with plenty of quieter domestic moments that filled my heart with cozy feels. All of these characters are so dear to me now that whatever Gabaldon cares to share about their lives I will eat up with the spoon whether it's Jamie and Claire or another member of the increasingly large Fraser clan. With the knowledge at the back of my mind that Gabaldon has stated this is the penultimate book in the series, several plot points feel even more fraught knowing there's only so much space left to resolve them. Several surprises crop up throughout the novel that had me gasping aloud in shock and occasional delight, including the mild cliffhanger of the ending. Fans of the series should be very pleased with this entry.

Rating: *****

>63 MickyFine: *aaahhh* The Full Five! I'm so pleased for you. I love a series that either doesn't sag, or overcomes it, and keeps delivering the goods.

Happy weekend-ahead's reads, now that your plate is clear.

>63 MickyFine: - That will be a tough act to follow, read-wise!

What's on the agenda: Dropped off Mr. Fine at the bus station, then came home for a shower and did a little bit of cross-stitch before starting my work day. Work today will be customer suggestions in OverDrive, vendor lists, and publisher catalogues reviewing. Chicken stir fry for dinner tonight.

What I'm reading: Finished Bees last night (as you can see from the review above) so now I'm on to the final volume of Lumberjanes. I'm pretty sure I'm going to cry.

What we're watching: Squeezed in the newest episode of Hawkeye and one of Big Bang before I went out for my haircut last night.

>64 richardderus: I have to say that the whole series (for me) has been reliably enjoyable throughout - I definitely I have books I prefer over others based on the goings on plotwise but I've yet to pick up a Gabaldon novel and been disappointed.

>65 katiekrug: I think Lumberjanes will be a good choice for following it up. The book after that might have a rough time...

Book 128



Lumberjanes: End of Summer - Shannon Watters et. al.

The summer is drawing to a close but the Lumberjanes have one final threat to face down before they all head home. It may just take all the campers plus the many friends they've made during the summer to defeat it.

It's lovely to see appearances from all of the many characters to crop up over the course of this series and as with previous volumes the friendships are heartwarming and the final message sweet. A solid final entry but didn't quite hit 5-star territory for me. Fans of the series should be very happy with this wrap-up.

Rating: ****

>63 MickyFine: I did not know that Go Tell the Bees was the penultimate book. That only makes my desire to re-read the entire series more pointed. I will definitely be doing that in the new year.

>68 MickyFine: I enjoyed the Lumberjanes books that I got to read, but unfortunately my local library does not have them all - including that one. *sigh*

Have a wonderful weekend, Micky!

Glad to see Bees really hit the spot. As someone who hasn't read the series at all, I'm curious, were there some books that were kinda "meh" or did it have a consistently high rating for you? (It's so nice, but rare, when they're all fabulous...)

Glad you loved the latest Gabaldon! I must get to book #3 soon. They always intimidate me just because of their size, but I really enjoyed the first two books.

>69 alcottacre: Yeah, Diana Gabaldon has done a few interviews lately where she's said she always envisioned it as a 10-book series. So in theory the next one should be the final one.

Does your library have a suggestion for purchase system? Typically we do try and maintain a whole series, if we can.

>70 bell7: All of the books have been 4 or 5 star reads for me, Mary, with no "meh" ones in the bunch.

>71 curioussquared: I know what you mean, Natalie. Tackling a chunkster always feels like such a feat but the pages do fly by in these books, I find. Book 3 is one of my favourites of the series, if that helps motivate you. :)

What's on the agenda: Awake pretty early this morning so doing quiet things until Mr. Fine joins the conscious world. We'll do our usual fry up for breakfast and watch virtual church. Afterwards, since the temperature is above freezing today we're going to do our best to clear the ice from the public sidewalk and hopefully more of our driveway, as both are pretty rink-like after the freezing rain earlier this week. Afterwards we'll probably play a board game or two and do a double feature this evening. Beef stew and biscuits for supper tonight.

What I'm reading: Started The Christmas Bookshop last night, which has been decent so far.

What we're watching: Nothing really. After dinner last night we cozied up in the basement to enjoy our Christmas tree and the gas fireplace. Then Mr. Fine video chatted with his daughter before we headed to bed early.

>73 MickyFine: What a perfectly pleasant winter evening

>63 MickyFine: I've never started the series, partly because of the love triangle thing in the first book. Are there any time travel paradoxes?

>74 London_StJ: It was really lovely.

>75 humouress: No paradoxes. While there is time travel in the series, it's not a huge focus of the series. The characters who travel aren't completely sure why they can travel nor precisely how it works (although they do try to figure out the logic of it sporadically throughout the series). The time travel is more fantasy than science fiction in its leanings and I'd class the novels as far more historical fiction than sff.

Sunday's adventures: The usual cleaning and bill sorting plus I did the second half of my Christmas baking and made butter tarts. Afterwards there was a lot of cross-stitching in front of various Christmas viewing options.

What's (been) on the agenda today: Dropped off Mr. Fine at the bus station this morning and then squeezed in a detour to the gas station before I came home to start my work day. Work was customer suggestions, going through the December issue of Library Journal, and then getting sucked into a rabbit hole involving our purchase alerts ordering. We maintain a ratio of ~5 holds to every 1 copy in our system and titles that go above that ratio are flagged in a report to be ordered by our vendor (with overview by us), but somewhere in the process between us and the vendor titles are being missed. Dinner tonight is supposed to be soup and sandwiches although I'm planning to have leftover stew from Saturday night for soup. May do some shoveling this evening depending on when the forecasted snow arrives as we're supposed to get 5-10 cm (2-4 inches) overnight.

What I'm reading: Still working my way through The Christmas Bookshop. It's a quick read, I just haven't been picking it up much.

What we're playing and watching: Did manage a game of Between the Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig on Saturday afternoon, which Mr. Fine won. Lots of vegging on the couch in front of the TV this weekend. Viewing included: Kung Fu Panda 3, The Man Who Invented Christmas, The Santa Clause, Mickey Mouse's Christmas Carol, Noelle, and a smattering of Big Bang episodes.

I've been reading, and surprisingly enjoying, The Santa Suit. I generally run a mile from her straight-lady hoo-hah, but this one snuck under my defenses. I am sufficiently shocked to mention it to you, Library Person.

>78 richardderus: Always lovely when a book surprises you. Hope it's leaving you feel a little more festive. *smooch*

What's on the agenda: Woke up to a decidedly wintery morning with the full 10 cm (4") of snow that was promised (plus another 2-4 cm forecasted for today). Made for an interesting drive back and forth to the bus station to drop off Mr. Fine but I made the whole trip safely. Then I shoveled a path from the front door to the end of the driveway and cleared the public sidewalk before I had to start work. Likely more shoveling on my breaks and after work today. Work itself will be continuing my purchase alert rabbit hole work, going through the December issue of Library Journal, and then vendor lists if I have time. Plus our monthly department staff meeting. Corned beef hash for dinner tonight.

What I'm reading: Still plugging away at The Christmas Bookshop.

What we're watching: One of my favourite Hallmark Christmas movies, A Crown for Christmas, which has Danica McKellar and Rupert Penry-Jones in it. Then a couple episodes of Big Bang.

Any corned beef hash left? It's perfect the next day!

>81 richardderus: Sadly, no. We finished it all last night. But don't be too sad, I had pastrami on sourdough toast for lunch and it was delish.

Book 129



The Christmas Bookshop - Jenny Colgan

When the department store where Carmen has worked since she finished school closes, she is left at a loose end until her mother arranges for Carmen to stay with her sister, Sofia, in Edinburgh. While Carmen and Sofia have never gotten on, Sofia has arranged a job for Carmen at the bookshop owned by one of Sofia's law clients. Sofia also hopes that perhaps Carmen will help with Sofia's three children as Sofia's energy levels are low due to her pregnancy and the nanny can't always be around. As Carmen digs into her job in the bookshop she finds a small community of friends but her relationship with Sofia remains rocky.

An exceedingly festive read that made me desperately wish I could travel internationally again. Colgan describes Edinburgh in the weeks before Christmas so beautifully that it's hard to resist booking a ticket straightaway. Her cast of characters is very charming and while her style of switching character perspectives for paragraphs at a time can be disorienting, each of them are lovely to spend time with. There's plenty of discovery of the value of family and a dash of romance as well, plus enough bookishness to give most readers delight. Not a perfect read but if you're looking for something to read during the holidays that will give you all the cozy seasonal feels, this will definitely fit the bill.

Rating: ***1/2

What's (been) on the agenda: Pretty quiet morning before work as my only task completed before starting (besides, you know, getting dressed and fed) was replacing the battery in my car key fob. Work has been vendor lists, my weekly group meeting (the last of the year due to vacations and the holidays), and this afternoon will be core collection tome time. We're getting take out from the mac n cheese place tonight and this time I'm trying their pesto chicken mac n cheese. Stay tuned for opinions.

Also, didn't happen today but I'm very excited to say that Mr. Fine and I snagged tickets for the Broadway Across Canada production of Hamilton that's coming to Edmonton next June. Yay!

What I'm reading: Started my final Jane Austen re-read of this year and read the first couple chapters of Sense and Sensibility on my lunch break today.

What we're watching: Mr. Fine likes Arnie movies so Jingle All the Way made an appearance on our screen last night. I ate dinner, bought the aforementioned tickets, and cross-stitched during it as I am not really a fan (although there are other Christmas movies he likes that I more vehemently dislike). At least it's short. We followed it with a few Big Bangs before Mr. Fine went to virtual D&D and then I watched some Gilmore Girls before turning in.

>84 MickyFine: - The CHristmas Bookshop sounds lovely. I will check the library for it. I really loved Edinburgh the one time I visited. Scotland is high on the list of places TW and I plan to go once things get back to normal (if ever).

We watched Jingle All the Way recently (first time for both of us) and we didn't really enjoy it. Ah well. Enough other holiday movies out there!

ETA: And hooray for the Hamilton tix!

>83 MickyFine: I really want to visit Scotland someday. Edinburgh sounds like a great city to explore.

>84 MickyFine: Yay for Hamilton tickets!

>85 katiekrug: It just came out this year so there may be a holds queue. If you don't get to it this year, stick it on the list for next year. :)

I don't like Jingle All the Way but at least it's not National Lampoon's Christmas (apologies to all those who love it but it is most decidedly not for me).

>86 foggidawn: Scotland is on my travel bucket list too, Foggi. One day. Hopefully.

It'll be my second time seeing Hamilton live (I went to see it in Chicago as a 30th birthday present to myself) but it'll be Mr. Fine's first time seeing it on stage so that's exciting.

What's on the agenda: Brr. It is a cold one out there this morning at -25C (-13F) with a windchill of -32C (-25F). After I dropped off Mr. Fine and returned home, I managed to crochet the foundation chain for another dish cloth - now that I've finished the ones for Mr. Fine's daughter I can go back to making some for us. Work today will be customer suggestions and then looking through spring publisher catalogues. It's once again that time of year where it's freezing and snowy outside and I'm ordering spring gardening books for work. After work I need to pop by the library to pick up a couple holds. Frozen pizza with a side of salad for dinner tonight.

What I'm reading: Sense and Sensibility is as enjoyable as ever. The Dashwoods have moved to Barton Cottage and Colonel Brandon has made his first appearance.

What we're watching: Borrowed Hearts, a made-for-TV Christmas movie that I have been watching (usually with my Mom) since I was a kid. Followed it with the third episode of Blown Away: Christmas and a little Big Bang.

It was 15C/59° here today! Icky, either way.

I'm glad you're enjoying the re-read of Jane, and hoping that you've got a good 2022 on tap. I'm formulating my plan of attack....

>72 MickyFine: Does your library have a suggestion for purchase system?

If it does, I have never heard of it. BTW - According to older interviews with Gabaldon, she originally envisioned it as a 7 book series. Just sayin'

Happy Thursday, Micky!

>89 richardderus: Oof, 15C in December is just wrong (unless you're much further south). Hope you're having fun plotting your 2022 reading plans. Mine are mostly set.

>90 alcottacre: Some libraries keep it on the quieter side to avoid being inundated. You can always ask staff at the desk if there's any way to suggest items for the collection. Or just mention to them that you'd love to see the rest of the Lumberjanes comics in the collection. We do try to keep whole series together if we can.

What's on the agenda: Another cold one out there this morning but the car started like a trooper. After I dropped off Mr. Fine, I did a bit of cross-stitch. Work today will be customer suggestions in OverDrive and more time with spring and summer publisher catalogues. Perogies and sausage for dinner tonight. Maybe a board game or two this evening or possibly just snuggling and enjoying our tree. We'll see.

What I'm reading: Sense and Sensibility continues. Willoughby has just departed for London, the bounder.

What we're watching: Elf followed by the newest episode of Hawkeye.

Hope your Friday goes by quickly and you have a wonderful weekend! I've been pondering an Elf rewatch this season. It's already only a week 'til Christmas Eve, which just seems bizarre to me.

>93 bell7: ...oughta be illegal, it's not December yet...
...oh wait...

>92 MickyFine: Ah, the 2050 skirt cometh apace, doth it? *smooch*

>93 bell7: Thanks, Mary. I have to admit that Elf is more for Mr. Fine than for me. I don't hate it but Will Ferrell is a little over the top for me. I'm in it for Bob Newhart and Zooey Deschanel.

>94 richardderus: Snort. Thanks for the confidence, darling. *smooch* I'll have you know that it's looking like I might finish the first page of the pattern by Christmas. The complete pattern is 14 pages (8.5x11), although due to the reality of putting a semi-circle on a rectangle, one page is blank and another has only a handful of stitches on it. So really I'm nearly 1/12 done.

>83 MickyFine: Hi Mickey: The Christmas Bookshop looks a good one for my holds list.
After what you said about WL being handled differently, I'm now WL-ing when putting titles on 'hold' at the same time, for back up. !!

This post is also à propos the earlier comments about library holds and so forth.
Actually, not the holds this time. I hope it is okay to ask library book management here...

I have not been able to download recent PL e-book loans onto my Kobo e-reader (I hadn't run into this problem until last month, then had 3 different titles be inaccessible). The loan becomes available according to my laptop Overdrive log-in, but never appears in the e-reader notification; nor if I try to sync (or connect directly onto my lap top), does the file even appear in the e-reader.

I submitted an "askus" and the local librarian had the following answer from the 'Overdrive' folks (for my current loan attempt) (I'm reading it on my laptop, in iBooks, because it does not show up on the Kobo at all):

---quoting the Overdrive staff ---
After taking a look, it appears that the ISBN for Death in an English Cottage does not match in the Kobo store and the copy that your library owns. For a title to sync to a Kobo, your library needs to own the same version in order for the title to sync to your user's device. (SM says What??!? Is that true?)

Since they borrowed the EPUB of the title and it's not syncing to their Kobo (that would be me, SM), I can share with you a technique that has worked for other users that have encountered similar trouble.

They have shared that in cases where one title has trouble transferring from ADE when other titles do transfer successfully, they can usually get the troubled title to transfer if they batch transfer (transfer both at the same time in ADE) the title with another title that has been transferred successful. We do not know that this will help in every case, but do suggest your user please try this.
/quote ****

So have you ever heard of this as a fix? I haven't quite got my head around how to check out the Kobo vs the Overdrive ISBNs, so if you have any insights... I'd love to hear what you think.

>96 SandyAMcPherson: Yup, your library is steering you right. Unfortunately Kobos have gotten much trickier to use with library ebooks lately due to the ISBN issue. And that one is all Kobo, neither your library nor Overdrive can really do much about it. As a user, you won't be able to see what ISBN your library has to compare it against the Kobo shop ISBN so it really will be trial and error. It's more likely to crop up for titles that are more than a few years old but beyond that it's just a case of sometimes it will load to your Kobo smoothly and sometimes it won't.

What's on the agenda: We have leftover turkey sausage from dinner last night so Mr. Fine is going to make pan scramble for breakfast. Afterwards we'll watch church. It remains pretty cold so I'm not sure if we'll bundle up and do a walk or not. Definitely will play at least one board game this afternoon. Also need to have a chat with my family about what our Christmas plans will be (we were waiting for the updated gathering guidelines from the province) to figure out who's comfortable with what given the rising number of omicron cases (all the grown-ups are vaccinated but my grandparents are all in their 80s). Chicken and broccoli pasta for dinner and then we're having a bit of a date night watching holiday rom coms by the tree and fireplace. ❤

What I'm reading: Sense and Sensibility still on the go.

What we're playing: Ended up playing Mario Party last night. Mr. Fine won as usual.

>97 MickyFine: Thanks so much for confirming this issue.
I have to see if I can resolve at least comparing the ISBN in each application. I guess using Libby doesn't address it either, since as you say, it is a Kobo situation. At least I can get the reads up on iBooks on my laptop.

Have a cosy-warm weekend in Edmonton! And yeah, video-chat meals are how we're doing family gatherings. WestJet travelling at Christmas time is always crazy, even if there weren't the virus hassles!

>98 MickyFine: Happy Saturday wishes! You've got the right kind of activities planned to make it so, so just adding a little *oomph* to the Universe's plans for y'all.

*smooch*

>99 SandyAMcPherson: My side of the family mostly live close together so it's just a matter of figuring out who wants to come and picking a house to host as we can all easily drive to meet up. Mr. Fine's family is in Newfoundland so it's always video chats on Christmas with them.

>100 richardderus: Thanks, Richard. *smooch*

Happy Saturday, and best wishes for figuring out your Christmas plans. It's been tough making those decisions, for sure.

>102 bell7: Yup it's further complicated by my Dad's crazy work schedule (he works in maintenance in a long-term care facility) and regularly gets called in when things break. So trying to catch him at home so we can actually have a discussion becomes a bit of a hurdle.

What's on the agenda: Just finished breakfast so usual Sunday routine is about to start. Usual house cleaning and bill stuff, plus meal planning (leaving a blank for Christmas as that's up in the air for a few more days at least). After that's done I'm going to drive downtown to go to my work library and pick up a few things from my desk (2022 calendars, holiday treats, my 5-year recognition gift). Once I'm home again probably some cross-stitch and reading. Lamb chops with potatoes and veggies for supper.

What I'm reading: Didn't manage to crack a book yesterday.

What we're watching: Took a walk around our neighbourhood after dark last night to check out all the lights and then came home and had hot chocolate while watching The Holiday. Lovely date night.

>104 MickyFine: It sounds like the perfect date night! Happy week-ahead's reads, to make up for the bust that was yesterday.

Hi, Micky. I hope you’ve been having a good weekend.

I enjoyed The Bromance Book Club. Thanks for the tip. . It would have been a crime if those two didn’t get back together. But he did need that wake-up call.

Now i’m reading a funny novel from Stephen Fry, called The Hippopotamus.

>105 richardderus: Thanks, Richard. We'll see what reading time I manage to carve out for myself this week.

>106 jnwelch: Nice to see you, Joe! And glad to hear you enjoyed The Bromance Book Club. The upside to reading romance is those happily ever afters (or at least happy for nows) are guaranteed. :)

What's on the agenda: Bit of a yo-yo week this week as Mr. Fine is on early shift but he's got a couple days off. This morning we were up at 5 and after I dropped him off I took a shower, watched the chunks of my nieces' school Christmas concert video that they were in, and did some cross-stitch. Work will be customer suggestions and time with spring and summer publisher catalogues. Butter chicken for dinner tonight. Virtual craft circle for me this evening.

What I'm reading: I've been going pretty slowly through Sense and Sensibility but Elinor and Marianne are finally off to London so we'll see if I blitz through the second half as all the things happen.

What we're watching: Love Actually and Arthur Christmas last night.

Yesterday I finished the first page of my cross-stitch pattern so sharing that progress here:

>109 MickyFine: It's very lovely! All those soft wintry hues and the pop of some red really makes it.

>109 MickyFine: Very nice Micky! Like Richard I like the soft hues, and teh way it uses various shades of blue/gray to create a more subtle look. You say this is the first page of the pattern. Does that mean the design continues to the right of what we see in the photo? How many pages are there?

>110 richardderus: Thank you, kind sir.

>111 lauralkeet: Thank you, Laura. The designer has definitely managed to pull off an almost watercolour effect with the way the hues blend. The pattern is technically 14 pages but due to being a semi-circle on rectangular pages, it's really more like 12 and a smidge. So yes, this section will be continued to both the left and right and below.

What's on the agenda: Mr. Fine is off today so I got to sleep in a bit this morning. He's going to see the new Spider-Man movie with some friends of ours a little before noon. Sadly, I've got to save my vacation time so I still have to work. Le sigh. Work today will be updating our Lucky Day collection, checking on print titles with high holds to see if we've got digital copies (if available), and then more time with publisher catalogues. Take out for dinner tonight and I'm leaning towards Greek food.

What I'm reading: Finished volume two of Sense and Sensibility last night. Lucy Steele and her sister have just gone to stay with John and Fanny Dashwood so poop is about to hit the fan. *rubs hands in glee*

What we're watching: My absolute must-watch holiday movie, White Christmas.

>113 MickyFine: White Christmas is a lovely story, isn't it? And I realize how hopelessly uncool this makes me but I like the song, too.

>114 richardderus: Hey, I think it makes you very cool! *smooch* I've been watching White Christmas since I was 5 years old or thereabouts so I'm completely unable to objective about it. I just love it all.

What's on the agenda: I am so tired and it is not Christmas break yet and why??? (If you can't tell from that, it was a 5 a.m. wake up this morning). Dropped off Mr. Fine at the bus, came home and showered, and then did a bit of cross-stitch. Work today will be a few small recurring tasks, time with publisher catalogues, and also some core collection tome time. After work we're going grocery shopping and boy howdy do I not wanna. Alas, needs must. Afterwards, there will be pasta of some kind for supper.

What I'm reading: I'm hoping to finish Sense and Sensibility today but we'll see how it goes.

What we're watching: Mr. Fine opted for a bunch of Big Bang episodes before he went to virtual D&D.

Just spreading the news on some of the more active threads...

There's this new thing I made... https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/23588/75-Books-Challenge-for-2022

Happy holidays!

>117 drneutron: Ooh, thanks for that, Jim! I've joined immediately but thread set up will wait a bit longer.

>108 MickyFine: I am doing a complete re-read of all of Austen's novels in 2022, so Sense and Sensibility will be first up for me.

>109 MickyFine: Lovely!

BTW - I am adding a boardgamer's thread to the new 2022 group, in case you are interested. I will not be doing it until closer to the beginning of the new year though.

>119 alcottacre: I hope you have a great time re-reading them, Stasia. I've really enjoyed my re-reads this year.

Ooh, I will keep my eyes peeled for your board game thread and star it when it appears. :)

>120 MickyFine: Yay! I was hoping you would join in the fun on the board game thread!

Thanks regarding the Austen. There are at least 2 that I know I have never read, so I am really wanting to make sure that I get all the novels done next year.

>121 alcottacre: Ooh, which ones haven't you read?

Book 130



Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (re-read)

I've read Jane Austen too much to be able to be objective about any of her novels. I can't even conceive of how to summarize it or even really review it. I continue to love the novel and I'm always delighted with exploring Elinor and Marianne's characters and enjoying the cast of characters, some swoonworthy and some ridiculous, that surround them. Another satisfying revisit with this novel.

Rating: *****

What's on the agenda: Last day of getting up at 5 a.m. (on purpose) this year! Woot! Dropped off Mr. Fine at the bus station and had enough time before I was on the clock to finish a book and do some cross-stitch. Work itself will include customer suggestions and core collection tome time. And despite my hope that it was going to be canceled as it's my manager's first day back after 3 days off, I've got my one on one with my manager as well. After work, I'll be going to the Italian Center Shoppe to pick up the charcuterie platter for two that I pre-ordered for Mr. Fine and I to consume tomorrow night. Then we'll pop into the library and pick up holds. I'm considering loading up with some extra books as case numbers here are exploding due to omicron and I'm worried they might do closures again (not that I'm lacking for things to read on my own shelves :P). Pre-made manicotti from Costco for supper tonight.

What I'm reading: I've got the Rainbow Rowell festive short story If the Fates Allow on docket next. It's free to Amazon Prime members and features Reagan from Fangirl so I'm looking forward to it. After that I'll be starting London's Number One Dog-Walking Agency, which even as a cat person I think looks like a cute memoir.

What we're watching: Love at the Christmas Table, another made-for-TV movie that I love enough I've got it on DVD. Then we watched the finale of Hawkeye. I've really solidly enjoyed the whole series and was pleased with how they ended it.

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

>125 SandDune: Thanks, Rhian. Same to you!

Book 131



If the Fates Allow - Rainbow Rowell

Reagan was a pro at social distancing even before it was required. But she doesn't want her recently bereaved grandfather to spend Christmas 2020 alone and so she has isolated for two weeks and done everything to make a visit with him as safe as possible. And while she and her grandfather have never been particularly close, the visit holds several surprises including a chance encounter with the neighbour's son, Morgan.

I really loved this short story (really it's somewhere between a short story and a novella as it does have two chapters) featuring Reagan, who fans of Rowell will remember from Fangirl. While reading a pandemic Christmas story still feels a little raw (especially right now as omicron cases spike), the story is so lovely and entirely worth remembering what life was like a year ago. If you're an Amazon Prime member, you can snag the ebook for free so why not squeeze in one more short festive read during the holidays?

Rating: *****

I didn't love Fangirl (and don't remember Reagan), but as a sucker for Christmas stories and free stuff, I think I'll take a chance :)

>128 katiekrug: I hope you enjoy it, Katie!

What's on the agenda: Happy Christmas Eve! I'm the collections librarian on duty today so I'm working from 8 until the library closes for Christmas at 2 p.m. I'll spend the day doing customer suggestions in OverDrive and then core collection tome time, I think. When I finish work we're immediately going to watch Muppet Christmas Carol. Dinner tonight is the fancy charcuterie platter for two we picked up from the Italian Centre yesterday. It's so beautiful, I'll try and share a picture at some point. Then probably some board games and alternating stuffing stockings while the other is out of the room. Should be a lovely and quiet Christmas Eve.

What I'm reading: Read the first couple chapters of London's Number One Dog-Walking Agency before bed last night and it's shaping up to be an excellent memoir.

What we're watching: Mr. Fine's must-watch every year holiday movie, A Christmas Story. Followed by a couple episodes of Big Bang.

>130 MickyFine: I'm reading His Holiday Crush, much the same sort of story but with best friend's little brother is now a hot hometown cop. Goofy fun.

Smoochings for the next few days being fun and free from stress.

>130 MickyFine: Oh, what a splendid evening! Cheers and happy holidays to you and Mr. Fine

Have a lovely holiday, Micky.

Happy Holidays Micky!

>131 richardderus: Thank you, Richard. *belated mistletoe smooches*

>132 London_StJ: Thanks, London. Hope yours was lovely also.

>133 ronincats: Thank you, Roni.

>134 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul.

>135 quondame: Thank you, Susan.

Yesterday's Christmas adventures: After being awake for a bit around 4, went back to sleep and properly woke up at 8:30. Lounged in bed then had a fry up for breakfast. Afterwards did stockings and presents and was ridiculously spoiled by Mr. Fine (again). But don't worry, he feels spoiled too. Afterwards Mr. Fine prepped the sides we were responsible for bringing for Christmas dinner while I got ready and loaded up the car. Then we drove out to my brother's farm, which was thankfully uneventful although some of the rural highways were a little icy in spots. My parents opted for a brief masked visit with everyone as they dropped off gifts and a pan of turkey for the meal (my Dad gets one from work as his Christmas gift that we share). We had a lovely dinner and visit with my brother's family and the kiddos were very pleased with their gifts. Another uneventful drive home in the dark. Mr. Fine and I had snacky supper and watched some TV before turning in for the night.

What's on today's agenda: Just finishing up my breakfast of toast and a London fog (with gorgeous foam from my new milk steamer/frother). Need to do a bit of cleaning and laundry today. Will probably also do a bit of online Boxing Day shopping (just hair products as I stock up when it's on sale). Possibly some board gaming as Mr. Fine and I both got some new ones yesterday. Later this afternoon we'll pick up Mr. Fine's daughter from her work and she'll spend the next few days with us. Dinner tonight is turkey soup (with frozen turkey from Thanksgiving).

What I'm reading: Nearing the halfway point of London's Number One Dog- Walking Agency.

What we're playing and watching: Christmas Eve night we played Fairytale Fluxx and then assembled a Lego kit of Amelia Earhart's plane (a freebie Mr. Fine got when he purchased something else). Last night we watched a couple episodes of TNG.

>123 MickyFine: I am looking forward to my re-read of Sense and Sensibility in the new year!

I hope you have a lovely Sunday, Micky.

Merry Christmas, Micky - it sounds like yours was lovely.

These were our family ornaments this year and, despite COVID, a merry time was had by all. It sounds like the same is true for your holiday and here's to next year!!

>138 alcottacre: Thanks, Stasia. Hope you're having a lovely holiday break.

>139 AMQS: Thanks, Anne. It's been pretty great.

>140 Berly: Those are adorable, Kim. Hope your holidays continue to treat you well.

For anyone who also uses it BookRiot has finally posted their 2022 Reading Log spreadsheet in Google sheets. Yay for easy stats tracking for another year!

Book 132



London's Number One Dog-Walking Agency - Kate MacDougall

Disillusioned by her soul-crushingly monotonous job at Sotheby's where she constantly moves paper around and never once gets to use her art history degree, Kate MacDougall decided to start a dog walking business. The idea was still a relative novelty in London in 2006 but eventually her business went from a handful of dogs in her neighbourhood to a thriving business with around 100 dogs being walked by an ever-changing group of dog walkers. As Kate recounts her years starting the business she also shares how she went from an uncertain young adult living with her boyfriend in a grotty flat to a wife and mother in a few different houses. The tales recounted here are sometimes sweet, often funny, and occasionally a little sad but with excellent food for thought. While the dogs get plenty of attention, just as much goes to the personality of their owners and the walkers which are fascinating in their own right. The writing is descriptive and immediately charming, making you feel like you're catching up with an old friend. A wonderful read (even for this not really a dog person).

Rating: ****

For Amber because I think this might be a book for you: One dog dies peacefully of old age but you could skip that chapter (and I'm happy to tell you specifically which one) and you wouldn't lose anything from the rest of the book.

What's (been) on the agenda: I made cinnamon buns from scratch for breakfast and then we did Christmas morning with Mr. Fine's daughter (their tradition of long standing as he'd usually get her on Boxing Day and then they'd do Christmas the next morning). She was very pleased with all her gifts (including the dish cloths I made) and also got us both some very lovely presents. Called my grandfather for his birthday (83 today) and had a nice chat with him. Made edits to the 2022 Reading Log for the things I care about. This afternoon there will probably be gaming of both the board and video variety. Roast chicken with potatoes, carrots, and dressing (Newfoundland-style stuffing) for dinner tonight. Likely a movie for dinner but not sure what yet.

What I'm reading: Starting Get a Life, Chloe Brown, which will probably be my last book of the year.

What we're watching: Black Widow, which was a rewatch for us but a first viewing for the step-daughter. Necessary prep so she can now watch Hawkeye.

ETA: And Mr. Fine and I played Big Book of Madness yesterday afternoon and beat it for the first time ever!

>142 MickyFine: Oh dear, I've never logged with so much detail, but I'm intrigued and may have to start! Thanks for sharing. Sounds like your Boxing Day was fun!

>145 AMQS: There's a simplified version for thee and me, Anne: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AZDbbLoGrZOnrmQxlYimW6VPEdtEZ4GjAuJAASmZ...

The big boy scares me leaky.

>142 MickyFine: Well, I didn't get all the way, probably not halfway, through 2021 logging books, but maybe next year....

>145 AMQS: I really love being able to pull so many fun stats but also will delete any columns I don't care about tracking (and this year I added one for my own personal challenge). But as Richard noted below there is also a much simpler spreadsheet option if that's more your speed.

>146 richardderus: *smooches*

>147 quondame: I love a good spreadsheet but I know they're not for everyone, Susan. Wishing you much luck if you attempt it next year!

What's on the agenda: Last day of my Christmas long weekend (but don't feel too bad for me, I only work 2 days this week). Woke up much too early so was quietly doing various online tasks and playing games on my phone while Mr. Fine was sleeping. Not sure if I'll have a cinnamon bun for breakfast or maybe make oatmeal. We're having a ridiculous cold snap (it was -40 last night) so I'm leaning towards oatmeal. I have a bit of laundry to fold and put away but the rest of the day should be all fun things. I'm hoping for reading, cross-stitch, and board game time today and there's a good chance of video gaming as well. Mr. Fine's daughter will go home today but not sure when (her boyfriend is picking her up after he finishes work). Lasagna for supper tonight.

What I'm reading: Get a Life, Chloe Brown is off to an excellent start.

What we're playing and watching: Taught the step-daughter Everdell, which she quite enjoyed (I won). Last night's viewing was In the Heights as the step-daughter hadn't seen it yet and I am always willing to watch it.

>142 MickyFine: oh yay, I've been looking for that! If tonight's super quiet as I suspect it might be, I'll work on setting it up my way (I usually delete a few columns and add some genres and countries).

Hope you have a good day!

>150 bell7: Fingers crossed it's quiet, Mary!

>146 richardderus:, >148 MickyFine: Thanks, Richard & Micky! I did end up modifying the big boy... we'll see if I use it.

Glad you had a nice Christmas! And yay for the Book Riot spreadsheet. I used it for the first time this year and while I found all the data entry a little arduous, I think it's worth it for me for all the fancy charts. And I like the book spending tab to keep me a little accountable, lol.

Hi Micky... delurking to say all the best in 2022.
Life was a bit overwhelming this month so I wasn't very much into posting anywhere. However, I kept up annotating my profile with "books read" and made sure to complete the book reviews (on the book page)!

Thanks again for being informative about the library software, the way there might be glitches and work-arounds and simply taking the time to turn library-speak intelligible for us non-librarians to navigate.

>142 MickyFine: Thanks for posting the link to the spreadsheet. We'll see if I actually fill it out now!

>152 AMQS: I hope it's fun/useful for you, Anne.

>153 curioussquared: I do love the charts. I had fun sharing screenshots of them on social media at the end of last year and I plan to do the same this year.

>154 SandyAMcPherson: Thanks, Sandy. Hope you have turned into a popsicle with the polar vortex. :)

>155 Berly: Good luck, Kim!

What's on the agenda: Back to work this morning. Grateful I'm still working from home full time as I don't have to go out in the -30C (-22F) this morning and instead can wear sweats and an oversize hoodie while wrapped in a blanket. I've got some small weekly tasks to do, some vendor lists, and, of course, customer suggestions. It's the end of the month and we've had a polar vortex over a chunk of the Christmas break so I'm expecting a fair number as people get bored and make more suggestions. But maybe they'll surprise me and have been busy doing other things. After work I'll go with Mr. Fine to M&M's to nab various finger food nibbles for our NYE celebrations at home. Take out for dinner tonight and it's Mr. Fine's pick.

What I'm reading: Over halfway through Get a Life, Chloe Brown and really liking it.

What we're playing and watching: My step-daughter gave me Calico as a gift for Christmas so played a round of that with Mr. Fine yesterday afternoon (he won). Viewing last night included a rewatch of the 1995 Sense and Sensibility, the last episode of Blown Away: Christmas (the person I wanted to win, did win!), and an episode of Gilmore Girls while doing some cross-stitch.

>157 MickyFine: It sounds like it was a very, very good day. Yay for good visits!

>156 MickyFine:, >152 AMQS: You're braver than I am, Anne, but you're following a Librarian so you can't go wrong, really.

>109 MickyFine: That's pretty; looking forward to seeing more as you complete it.

I would like to wish you and your family the very best of the season and good health and happiness for 2022.

>158 richardderus: Thanks, Richard. *smooch*

>159 humouress: Thanks, Nina. Wishing you the same!

What's on the agenda: Last day of work for the year! Woot! Yesterday was quiet and slow and I have a feeling today will be the same. I've got more customer suggestions to respond to and then I'll spend the rest of the day going through spring and summer publisher catalogues. I'll also be drinking lots of tea since it's still freezing outside and my basement work space remains chilly. Homemade pizza for dinner tonight.

What I'm reading: I've got 100ish pages left in Get a Life, Chloe Brown so I should wrap that up today. And then wrap up this thread. :)

What we're watching: The first episode of The Book of Boba Fett and a bunch of Big Bang.

How fun to wrap the year with a finished book and a fresh start.

*plops on moving quilts to await wrap-up*

>162 London_StJ: Well, I did start a new book last night but it will definitely be carried over to next year.

>163 richardderus: Patience, grasshopper.

Book 133



Get a Life, Chloe Brown - Talia Hibbert

After nearly being hit by a car while out for a walk, Chloe Brown realizes that her obituary would be the most boring paragraph ever and so she makes a Get a Life List. First on it is moving out of her family home where her parents, her grandmother, and her sisters are constantly coddling her due to her fibromyalgia. Shortly after moving into her new flat, however, she begins to butt heads with the building superintendent, Redford Morgan. But one chance encounter between Red and Chloe and a kitten leads the pair to discover that they may have completely misjudged each other. As Chloe recruits Red to help her with a few items on her list their relationship heads in a whole new direction

An extraordinarily cute contemporary romance that I really loved. Hibbert realistically deals with Chloe's disability while at the same time writing a very steamy romance. Red comes into the relationship with his own baggage, which is also dealt with very sensitively. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know these characters and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. Recommended for contemporary romance readers.

Rating: ****

What's on the agenda: Very chill NYE ahead. Lazed in bed for a few hours before getting up and having breakfast. Spent some time setting up spreadsheets for next year's budget and bill stuff. Next will be wrapping up this thread and starting one for next year. Afterwards maybe a movie with Mr. Fine or possibly video games. Our plans for the evening are board games and finger foods (there will be samosas and spring rolls among other things), with absolutely no intention of even trying to make it to midnight.

What I'm reading: Started All Adults Here last night, which I'm pretty sure was a BB from Katie. It's been a while since I've read something on the literary fiction side of things so I'm still settling my brain into that mode but enjoying the book so far. The 13-year old character is delightfully snarky and is my favourite so far.

What we're watching: A bunch of Fringe and a couple episodes of Big Bang.

December Summary




Numbers in parentheses are for year to date. Note pages read/hours listened for abandoned books are included in totals.

Books read: 7 (133)
Books abandoned: 0 (9)

Fiction: 6 (110)
Non-fiction: 1 (23)

Adult: 6 (100)
YA: 1 (31)
Children's: 0 (2)

Library: 5 (104)
Mine: 2 (28)
Borrowed elsewhere: 0 (1)

Re-reads: 1 (20)

Female authors: 7 (87)
Male authors: 0 (59)
Non-binary authors: 0 (0)

Pages: 2,528 (32,455)
Hours: 0 minutes (4 days, 13 hours, 21 minutes)

Average rating: 4.01

Average time to read book: 3.89 days

Favourite book(s): Surprising no one, Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone takes the prize this month.

I'm so glad to see you liked Get a Life, Chloe Brown. It's been languishing on my Kindle for too long - I am going to try to get to it in January!

And YES! for All Adults Here. I absolutely loved it.

Year Over Year Comparison

My reading trends for the past five years. Some categories were new last year (thanks to the Book Riot reading log) so only two data points for those.

Books Read
2021: 133
2020: 170
2019: 164
2018: 116
2017: 91

Pages Read
2021: 32,455
2020: 33,853
2019: 46,462
2018: 35,832
2017: 30,562

Time Listening
2021: 4 days, 13 hours, 21 minutes
2020: 11 days, 7 hours, 33 minutes

Format Breakdown
2021: 98 print, 16 digital, 19 audio
2020: 75 print, 40 digital, 55 audio

Audience Breakdown
2021: 100 adult, 31 YA, 2 children
2020: 130 adult, 21 YA, 19 children
2019: 120 adult, 37 YA, 12 children
2018: 92 adult, 20 YA, 2 children
2017: 105 adult, 11 YA, 3 children

Fiction Books
2021: 110
2020: 109
2019: 133
2018: 101
2017: 72

Non-Fiction Books
2021: 23
2020: 61
2019: 31
2018: 15
2017: 19

Most Read Genre/Topic
2021: Fantasy
2020: Fantasy

Re-reads:
2021: 20
2020: 18
2019: 6
2018: 2
2017: 2

Author Gender Breakdown
2021: 87 femal, 59 male
2020: 102 female, 73 male, 2 other*
2019: 123 female, 49 male
2018: 76 female, 42 male
2017: 71 female, 23 male
*other are works authored by institutions/organizations

Owned vs. Borrowed
2021: 104 library, 28 mine, 0 elsewhere
2020: 150 library, 20 mine, 0 elsewhere
2019: 121 library, 33 mine, 0 elsewhere
2018: 91 library, 9 mine, 16 elsewhere
2017: 73 library, 6 mine, 12 elsewhere
2016: 103 library, 16 mine, 1 elsewhere

Average Time to Read a Book
2021: 3.89 days
2020: 3.72 days
2019: 2.76 days
2018: 5.12 days
2017: 7.09 days

Oops - sorry for interrupting your wrap-up posts!

>168 katiekrug: Oh good, I hope you like Chloe and Red as much as I did!

>170 katiekrug: ETA: No worries at all!

>167 MickyFine: *gasp* I simply cannot fathom where you got the idea for December's yummiest read! Such a step outside your habitual haunts.

Don't you love it when Authors give us their best even when we're almost done with the series? Genevieve Cogman's still doing that with the Invisible Library series, long may it reign; Jodi Taylor's habit of ripping my lungs out to cushion my heart as it plops on top of 'em is still in full force, too.

>165 MickyFine: I went to add that one to the BlackHole only to discover that it was already there. Hopefully my local library will get a copy.

Congratulations on 130+ books read in 2021, Micky! Happy New Year!

>172 richardderus: It's shocking, isn't it?

>173 alcottacre: Fingers crossed for you, Stasia.

All right friends, that's it for me here. Come on over to my 2022 THREAD.

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

Happy New Year, Micky.