Marissa reads on in 2024

Happy New Year! I'm looking forward to much exchange of friendly fire this year.

I saw the new year in last night re-reading Fugitive Telemetry in preparation for System Collapse, which I hope is not an omen for 2024.

I've had to do that a couple times this year as well - play catch up for a new series installment. It's pretty fun, but can be time consuming.

>2 Bookmarque: Ah, but I have lots of time for Murderbot. Fortunately the next series release I'm looking forward to this month, Relight My Fire,
won't need it as I just read the first three this past fall.

Happy reading in 2024!

Glad to know you're keeping busy and reading good stuff! Happy new year!

Happy New Year!

I have read a couple of series where they do a nice reminder of things in the first books without being super obvious about it. That’s always a bit nice when there’s been lots of time between books.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year. Many thanks for the recommendations in the past, and I expect more!

Happy New Year and Happy New Thread! I look forward to the hail of bullets that you'll undoubted fire with deadly accuracy!

Happy new thread and a busy, happy, and productive new year, featuring plenty of hanging out with us.

Finished System Collapse, which I enjoyed very much (I mean, how could I not? It's Murderbot!) The concept of a construct with PTSD and how it might deal with it was intriguing. I wonder if it will continue to struggle with it in future books?

It's hard to follow up on a Murderbot story with more fiction, so I'm reading the first non-fiction of the year--Mercies in Disguise: A Story of Hope, a Family's Genetic Destiny, and the Science that Rescued Them. The author's previous book about the 1918 Flu Flu was excellent, so I have high hopes for this book, about a family's struggle with a rare, strange inherited disease.

>11 Marissa_Doyle: System Collapse was excellent! I love Murderbot's character arc, and I am glad this series exists.

Happy New Year!

I thought the pub might find this interesting: https://wapo.st/3TWXvkD

It's an article in the Washington Post about American reading habits, broken down six ways to Sunday. :)

>14 Marissa_Doyle: That's fascinating, and a bit depressing. I subscribe to The WaPo, and I'm not sure how I missed that article, so thank you!!

>14 Marissa_Doyle: Interesting stuff there. All I can say is that I should be making a lot more money. Guess I don't have time because I'm reading books.

>15 clamairy: What did you find depressing? The fact that so many are reading so few books? I wonder if that is a bit skewed though. I don't think it necessarily means that information is not being shared and learned. My husband and sons read a variety of essays and articles daily online. While these are not "books" they are certainly educational, so I wonder how many others do this and simply don't fit in the category of "book" readers? My fellas read articles and blogs on history, economics, health, science (and pseudo-science *eyeroll*), plus a lot more from cooking, to cocktails to child care and well being. So I can't say they don't read, they just don't read books (one son also reads and owns lots of books).

>16 MrsLee: Yes, I know a lot of people are much too busy. My son for example only reads books occasionally because he's working full-time, he's in a band, he's a gym rat and he's working on a master's degree. I was also depressed about the households with no books in them. Or with just one book.

>17 clamairy: Oh yes, that makes me sad too. To me, a house feels lonely and empty without books to visit with on my shelves.

>14 Marissa_Doyle: >15 clamairy: >16 MrsLee: I don't think the Post was particularly careful in how it asked the questions. The concepts covered in the phrase "reading a book" represent different things to various sectors of the population. Because the survey lumps every kind of reading – purposeful, immersive, deliberative, analytical, etc. – into the same bucket, Different kinds of books demand different degrees of attention. They didn't say anything about fiction vs. non-fiction. My issue is that the investigators were using a REALLY big umbrella phrase. (Note: I like that I'm one of the 1%. But in responding to any survey that these guys did, I'd be more particular in describing what kind of reading my reading experience of 50+ books involved.)

Finished Mercies in Disguise, about prion diseases in general and one family's battle with an inherited one. It was both fascinating and heart-rending, and I deeply appreciate the family's openness with the author. I might have liked a little more info on how prions do what they do, but this was published some years ago (2015, IIRC?) so there's a research gap.

I needed something NOT heart-rending after that, so am happily reading The Windsor Knot a cozy mystery featuring Queen Elizabeth II as the sleuth. It's a clever conceit--as is pointed out in the story, she spends (spent) a great deal of time observing, so it doesn't feel too far-fetched--and her character has a brisk sort of sweetness. I'm about halfway through; if it continues as enjoyably, I'll look out for the others in the series.

>14 Marissa_Doyle: More on that Washington Post story mentioned up there in #14
https://countercraft.substack.com/p/who-is-reading-what-and-why

Thought you might find it interesting as a follow-up.

>20 Marissa_Doyle: Whoa, you got me with a BB right there. As an unrepentant anglophile, I've just ordered the Kindle edition of The Windsor Knot, which for some reason cost $0.

>22 Meredy: I picked it up on sale for .99 on Barnes & Noble, which is how I find a lot of new-to-me authors. Still enjoying it, three-quarters of the way through. It's lacking in any cutesiness, which I deeply appreciate. I hope you'll like it.

>23 Marissa_Doyle: Absence of cutesiness is a major plus for me. I'm reading Phantom of the Opera right now but will probably pick up that title right afterwards. I've been having a heavy dose of vampires recently.

>24 Meredy: My patience for vampires is limited; 2-3 in a series and I just can't read any more for a few years.

After The Windsor Knot I've been reading Paladin's Grace, which is pleasant enough about a third of the way through, but the romantic angst is wearing a bit thin. If the rest of the series is similar, I may not want to continue. I'll finish this one, though, and then it's on to the next Emily Wilde book, Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands which landed in my Nook today. Wheee!

>25 Marissa_Doyle: Ooh, I'm eagerly waiting to see what you think of the second Emily Wilde book!

>26 Sakerfalcon: I, er, was a trifle side-tracked by a collection of haunted house stories, House of Fear, but Emily Wilde will be next.

>27 Marissa_Doyle: I understand completely! I am always being hijacked by books I did not intend to read ...

>28 Sakerfalcon: I'm quite glad I was side-tracked. There are some very good stories in this collection--much creepier than the usual ghost story anthology, without involving a lot of blood and gore.

>29 Marissa_Doyle: Thank you. I will put that on my wishlist, and save it for next October!

>25 Marissa_Doyle: I have indeed moved on to The Windsor Knot, which I'm hoping will be a palate cleanser after all the vampires and other weirdities. I've never been into vampires before this sudden recent spate of them, incuding a lesbian vampire novel that wandered in from somewhere. I'm wondering now what a normal novel might be.

>31 Meredy: I hope your palate is pleasantly cleansed. :)

I'm back from my unexpected detour into House of Fear; like any anthology it has its stronger and weaker entries (I get the feeling that some of the contributors were a bit strong-armed into writing their stories, and it shows), but the good ones were especially good, I thought. Worth picking up if you like haunted house stories.

Now I'm happily reading Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands, and 40 or so pages in, it's shaping up nicely as a sequel to the first. Emily and Wendell are a hoot together, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens to them in Austria.

Not much reading yesterday as we were busy welcoming a new family member:



Her name is Penelope--Penny--because the fur on the back of her head and neck is just the color of a new penny. She is settling in nicely, as you can see.

>33 Marissa_Doyle: What fun! Enjoy getting to know Penny, she is beautiful.

>33 Marissa_Doyle: Oh, what a beauty. I just want to pet her. That fur is magnificent. Do you still have any others, or will she be an only?

I have come to appreciate all of the hard work & pleasure that goes with owning (or being owned by) buns. (My daughter has two, and is currently bunny sitting for a third, which may soon become hers.)

>33 Marissa_Doyle: she’s so cute! Do you have her use a litter box? I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have a bunny.

>33 Marissa_Doyle: Oh, she is beautiful! So cute.

>34 MrsLee: Thank you! I think she's going to be a fun bun.

>35 clamairy: We're getting her settled before we decide that; she's still recovering from her spay surgery, so that needs to happen first. While we were at the HRN shelter she did have a bit of a meet and greet with another bunny, and the signs were positive that they might take to each other, but we'll see. She has to go back up for her RHDV vaccines and I hope she can have another couple of meetings with him.

>36 catzteach: Yes, she's completely litterbox trained. Bunnies are very tidy as far as that goes. They're wonderful pets; I'm a cat person but my husband is allergic to them, so we tried bunnies, and he's fine with them. They're very different to cats and dogs--you have to learn a whole new "language" to understand them--but they're so much fun.

>37 Alexandra_book_life: Thank you! She is a lovely girl.

Aww bunny! I'm terribly allergic, but wish I could have one. They are fun.

>33 Marissa_Doyle: She is beautiful and looks so comfortable!

Finished Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands; while not as good as its predecessor, it was still very enjoyable. There were a few too many maneuverings of characters into doing things that ran counter to their characters for the purpose of furthering the plot, which always bugs me on a "professional" level, and I hope that the promised third book in the series can avoid them.

On to Relight My Fire, the next in the Stranger Times series. There's something so relaxing about starting a book that you know will be good...

>41 Marissa_Doyle:
I am reading Relight My Fire too, as is MrsLee. McDonnell is reliable for a bit of fun.

>33 Marissa_Doyle: Penny is absolutely adorable!

>43 Narilka: Thank you! She's now quite comfortable here now, and is expressing her ardent desire to get out of my office and go explore the rest of the house. After I bunny-proof some electrical cords, we'll let her venture forth this weekend.

Finished Relight My Fire, which was an excellent addition to the series...and very happy to note that more appear to be coming if the epilogues are to be believed. I do wonder if Pilgrim and his "organization" will be reappearing down the line, perhaps drawn in as an ally to the bad guys.

On to What Happened in London; I'm liking it better than the other books by this author that I've read, but not convinced that I'll be reading any more of her. :(

>45 Marissa_Doyle:
I trust Brian will be in future adventures.

>46 pgmcc: I hope he is!

>45 Marissa_Doyle: I was seeing the Pilgrim More as something like the Auditors in Discworld, but there is also something very fishy about him that makes me wonder if he is who he says,etc.

>48 MrsLee: Yes, me too! Definitely something fishy with him.

Finished What Happened in London. It was okay, but something of a slog toward the end--too many words and not enough plot. I don't think I'll read more by this author. On now to Starter Villain, which was not so much a book bullet as book grapeshot. I think it will perk me up, because Scalzi.

Well, Starter Villain was great fun, even though I could tell where it was going. But the journey is often better than the destination, at least in reading.

On to The Spellman Files, which is hard to categorize--a funny, often tongue-in-cheek story about a dysfunctional private investigation firm which happens to be a family. More on it when I finish.

>51 Marissa_Doyle: Yes, Starter Villain was very nice, and I laughed a lot. The dolphins were cool. One of my favourite scenes was the Zoom call with one of Charlie’s uncle’s “acquaintances”.

>51 Marissa_Doyle: I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I would love a cat who could communicate! And those dolphins were hilarious.

>50 Marissa_Doyle: too many words and not enough plot *snort* Too many books that may be described that way...

Had to come back and say how much I'm enjoying The Spellman Files--very funny (I mean, how could a dysfunctional family of private investigators not be?) but there's a lot going on under the humor and crazy situations. I'm glad there are more books to follow this one.

>33 Marissa_Doyle: Penny! She's delightful!

>56 libraryperilous: She really is! We've never had a bun as light-hearted as she is--she's constantly binkying and having zoomies.

Finished The Spellman Files and have moved onto the next in the series, Curse of the Spellmans, which is delivering more of the same craziness as the first book. I can see these stories not being for everyone--most of the characters roll as chaotic neutral, so to speak, so even the main protagonist/narrator, Izzy Spellman, is not always sympathetic. But they're very much worth a try.

Do bunnies snuggle like kitties?

>59 catzteach: Yes, but like kitties, some are snugglers and some are not. Not yet sure if Penny will become a snuggler. She definitely likes to hang out near me.

>57 Marissa_Doyle: I had to Google binkying. What a delight that must be to see. I'm glad she's such a happy bun.

>61 clamairy: It really is--both hilarious and heartwarming.

Finished both the second Spellmans book, Curse of the Spellmans as well as the third, Revenge of the Spellmans, and am on the fourth, The Spellmans Strike Again. Still enjoying these very much as light entertainment.

Finished The Spellmans Strike Again and enjoyed it very much, but am going to put off reading the last two books for a bit as they're rather like a strong-flavored food--delicious, but best not consumed for multiple meals in a row. So now I'm on to the newly-released next book in Laurie R. King's Russell and Holmes series, The Lantern's Dance. I hope it's more in the vein of the earlier books in the series with a serious mystery and not just a sort of historical travelogue as the last few books have been.

>64 Marissa_Doyle: I will be interested to hear what you think about The Lantern Dance. This is another series I have fallen behind in. I remember reading the one with Holmes and Russell in Japan, not sure if I've read any since.

>64 Marissa_Doyle:. Like >65 MrsLee:. I too have dropped behind on this particular series (although I loved the many of the titles appearing early on). I don't remember when I stopped automatically buying them. I will look forward to hearing your feedback, Marissa!
;'

>65 MrsLee:, >66 jillmwo: Will report back. I'm enjoying it so far. It refers back to a couple of earlier books, but it's not really necessary to remember (or have read) them.

I enjoyed Lantern Dance, though not as much as the earlier books in the series. These last few books have featured lower stakes, so the tension is less...but so is their un-put-downable-ness (no, that is not a word, but it should be.) That doesn't mean they aren't good--simply that they're not as compelling and lack the exciting mystery elements that characterized the first ten or so books in the series. Just as The Murder of Mary Russell told Mrs. Hudson's backstory, so does this book tell the story of Sherlock Holmes's mother...and make it clear how he became who he is. Always fun to return to this world.

Also read The Uninvited, which was also enjoyable--a bit depressing as it deals with the autumn of 1918 in small town Illinois, when the Spanish Flu was beginning to hit hard and when paranoia about people of German ancestry was at its height. But it was very well written and with a heck of a twist toward the end, which I won't even reveal behind a spoiler, but will say that the author did an excellent job of lacing signs and clues through the story so that the twist was fully believable even while being unexpected. Don't go in to this looking for a cheerful read, but the ending IS satisfying. I'll be looking into more of Cat Winters's books.

>68 Marissa_Doyle: Thank you for that report on Lantern Dance. I would like to pick these up again, but have to figure out where I stopped. I enjoy King's view of the world of Sherlock. It rings true for me.

Because I liked The Uninvited so much I picked up another of the author's adult works, Yesternight, about a child psychologist administering tests in 1920s Oregon schools who is drawn into family drama over a child who has distinct memories of having lived a previous life...because she suspects she may have as well. Intriguing premise, but unsatisfying story on many levels; in the last third of the story, the child's story (which was the more gripping) fades out. I think the author was drawn into inserting too many plot elements to make the twist at the end of the story work out, but it simply ended up feeling contrived. Not anywhere as good as The Uninvited, but I will still be keeping an eye out for her future books.

Not sure what's up next...

Mexican Gothic is what's up. Finding it a somewhat slow start and not very Mexican, but the gothic elements are certainly there. We'll see...

The Uninvited sounds intriguing, especially with the German heritage element. My grandfather had always told us he didn’t know any German because he wasn’t allowed to speak it. I figured it was because of the paranoia around Germans.

>72 catzteach: It could well have been! That issue plays a huge role in The Uninvited.

Mexican Gothic turned out to be a disappointment. The writing was uninspired and at times clunky, the pacing was poor, and while it gets points from me for its creative backstory-- a sort of horrific, weird symbiotic relationship between a family and a fungus that gives them powers, it loses them for too many squicky descriptions of fungoid fluids. Furthermore, the story could really have been set anywhere--the "Mexican" aspect is almost non-existent. However, I've been totally sucked into The Hacienda, a Mexican Gothic story that is truly both--the history of Mexican independence plays an important role in the story (which takes place in the 1820s), and the culture is front and center. Also, the writing is gorgeous. I'm only about a fifth of the way in, but it has me mesmerized.

>74 Marissa_Doyle: I didn’t particularly enjoy Mexican Gothic, either. I couldn’t figure out all the hype.

>75 catzteach: No, me either.

If you're looking for a much better book, try The Hacienda. Much creepier--overtones of The Haunting of Hill House--and much more rooted in its place and time--it's as much historical fiction as it is gothic fiction. A young woman, desperate to escape a life of servitude in her nasty aunt's house after her father, a general, is assassinated by his political enemies, jumps at the proposal of a wealthy landowner whom she barely knows. She goes to settle on his country estate, where she faces resentment from both the living and the dead--and by the way, the dead CAN hurt you. Wonderfully atmospheric, beautifully written, and very satisfying despite the ill-fated romance...though the ending makes me wonder about what might happen next. It's not that it demands a sequel, but small clues leave plenty of what-ifs to think about. Definitely recommended.

I guess I'm in a mood for creepy because I picked up Elizabeth Hand's Black Light, which I'm also enjoying very much. It has a similar feel to Peter Straub's Shadowland, which I also loved.

>76 Marissa_Doyle: ooh direct hit! You got me with The Hacienda. I enjoyed Mexican Gothic, at least the characters were interesting, but would have liked it to involve more of the time and setting. I also liked Shadowland, so probably took a glancing blow on Black Light as well. Good shooting :)

>76 Marissa_Doyle: The hacienda was a great read! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I have the author's next book, Vampires of El Norte on Mount TBR.
I like most of Elizabeth Hand's work, but it's been a while since I read Black light.

>78 Sakerfalcon: Vampires of El Norte is on my wishlist. I'll look forward to hearing what you think of it.

>77 Darth-Heather: My first exposure to her was her retelling of The Haunting of Hill House, which itself didn't impress me much, but I did like her writing. I'm enjoying this book much more.

Black Light was wonderful, rather like James Frazer having been on a serious acid trip in New England when he wrote The Golden Bough. I loved it--the anthropological and mythological underpinnings, the 70s timeframe, the whispers of Nathaniel Hawthorne and H.P. Lovecraft in the setting, the dark gorgeous language--all of it. I'm on to Waking the Moon which I probably should have read first, but what the heck.

>80 Marissa_Doyle: Okay, I definitely have to reread Black light soon!

>76 Marissa_Doyle: I’ve asked for The Hacienda from my library. It sounds good!

>82 catzteach: I hope you enjoy it!

>81 Sakerfalcon: I hope the Suck Fairy hasn't visited it for you. I'm enjoying Waking the Moon almost as much as I did it.

It turned out that it wasn't really necessary to have read Waking the Moon before Black Light. I think I enjoyed the latter book a little more--it felt more polished and cohesive. Not that Waking the Moon wasn't, but it was such a huge, sprawling story, spanning twenty years and huge swathes of mythology and religion, that character occasionally got a little lost in all the plot and the gorgeous storytelling. I maybe liked the first half a little better than the second--it was more character focused. It's a little hard to summarize the story--it covers secret societies and magic and ancient religions and masculine vs. feminine theologies and chosen ones and destiny, and I'm still not sure how I feel about the story's resolution. I'd love to hear what other readers have thought about it.

I'm still loving Elizabeth Hand, though, and have moved on to Wylding Hall, which I'm also enjoying. More when I've finished it.

Have you read Mortal Love? I'm hit and miss with Hand and I really liked it and need to schedule a re-read sometime soon.

>86 Bookmarque: No, I haven't. Onto the list it goes...

It's fab. I'll read it with you if you get it and put it in the queue. Let me know. Sumptuous.

>88 Bookmarque: You're on! I downloaded it to my Nook and will start tonight for my pre-bed read.

You are quick, lady. Now I have to go get my hardcover. I remember Meredy really loving it, too.

ETA - do you want to start a separate thread for this?

>90 Bookmarque: Starting a new thread is probably a good idea. And anyone can join in.

>85 Marissa_Doyle: I loved Waking the moon but I agree with you that I preferred the first half. That's really just because I love school/college settings! I remember that it was only loosely linked to Black Light. I definitely need to reread both books. Wylding Hall was a lot of fun too - like a supernatural Daisy Jones. I also really like the Winterlong Trilogy, which are weird SF/dystopian.

>90 Bookmarque: >91 Marissa_Doyle: If I can find my copy I will join you for the read! I will be offline until next Monday though so won't be able to comment until then.

>93 Sakerfalcon: Please do!

Wylding Hall was excellent. I think it could have been perhaps a little longer to fill out a few things and I'm not sure the coda where Julian is seen in Corfu works--I might have preferred it to end with the finding of the watch in the excavation of the Neolithic site--but it was still excellent. I liked the storytelling through the characters looking back on that summer's events--you got not only multiple points of view looking at the same events, but also what they chose to remember.

I'm about 60 pages into Mortal Love but the past several days have been a little hectic with my son and his fiancee visiting, so my reading time has been choppy. DH and I are taking a short vacation on Jekyll Island, GA starting Thursday, so I may go back to the beginning and try to read it in bigger chunks.

I'm back from Jekyll Island (which was delightful) and still reading...

I finished Mortal Love but think I want to re-read it before commenting. I liked it a lot, but have a few things to say which I'll do on the book discussion thread.

Since then, I've read Murder at the Castle which was deeply underwhelming: an amateur sleuth portrait painter goes to Scotland to paint an aristocrat's American fiancee, and discovers a couple of dead bodies on the grounds. Characterization was meh, the red herrings not well controlled, and the copy editor should have been sent before a firing squad. Not going to read any more in this series.

DNF'ed The Ladies Rewrite the Rules--first DNF of the year. A Regency romance which has a promising semi-premise--a group of wealthy widows and spinsters take umbrage at a directory of their number written for impecunious second sons to fortune-hunt with--but the execution was poor. The historical world-building was mediocre and the characters unappealing; Georgette Heyer it was not.

However, the next book I've picked up I'm enjoying very much: The Housekeepers. Think of Ocean's Eleven set in Edwardian London with a gaggle of housekeepers, milliners, seamstresses, and so on planning to empty a house in Park Lane on the night of an elaborate costume ball. The writing style is interesting--on the spare side, without a lot of explication. More when I'm done.

I'm glad you let us know about Ladies rewrite the rules because it sounds like a fun premise that I might have fallen for. The things that led you to DNF it would be deal-breakers for me too.