Books of 2018- Installment #17

81. I'd Rather be READING: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel
My friend saw this book and learned about her podcast and forward the link to me. I put the book on hold at the library and the podcast in my queue. I have enjoyed the podcast and was pleased by this book. She's really got a great way about books and a lot of interesting things to say, even if it was just preaching to the choir!! I'm happy to hear it all reinforced!

82. Underneath by Heather Marie Adkins
This was a novella my friend suggested I read ages ago and for reasons unknown, I took awhile to get there.

83. Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King & Own King
My friend suggested I read this book, and while I've never considered myself a Stephen King fan, I really enjoyed 11.22.63. So with her recommendation and my own feelings about 11.22.63 I decided to check it out. Earlier I had tried to read a book called Rage Becomes Her by Soraya Chemaly which has made reading this book in a little different light. [It's challenging to read about how much women are treated poorly as we are getting screwed by the Republicans and freakin' confirming freakin' Brett Kavanaugh!]

84. I'd Rather be Reading: A Library of Art for Book Lovers by Guinevere de la Mare
When I was looking for the Anne Bogel book in the library catalogue, I got this one as well. I decided I had to read it too! It was super cute! Lots of great art and essays. And a lovely contrast to Sleeping Beauties. What a heavy (but awesome) book that was!

85. Catalysts, Explorers and Secret Keepers: Women of Science Fiction edited by Monica Louzon, Jake Weisfeld, Heather McHale, Barbara Jasny, & Rachel Frederick
I was excited to read this anthology. It sounded so interesting. Here's the premise from their kickstarter page, which I read after it was published.

“In response to the overwhelming support for our Journal of Science Fiction, the Museum of Science Fiction is pleased to announce Catalysts, Explorers & Secret Keepers, an anthology of science fiction showcasing how women have been an integral part of science fiction as authors, as readers, and as characters for more than a century. With content curated by Museum staff, this anthology will include a variety of original and reprinted fiction from preselected authors and new fiction selected during an open call for submissions.” - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1608905146/catalysts-explorers-and-secret-keepers-women-of-sf

There were several pieces that I really enjoyed and others that weren't for me.

Books of 2018- Installment #16

76. The Brightest Fell by Seanan McGuire
Well, this is the last of my run of Toby Daye books. While there is one more published novel, I can't read it until my hold comes in. Am I going through withdrawals? Of course!! Does it suck to have to wait to read the next one?? Oh, yeah!! Sigh...

77. The Lost for Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland
Wow!! This book was awesome!! It was so moving!! It starts off sweet with a little something looming over the tale and then wow! I couldn't put it down and was crying at the end!!

78. Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
Okay, so I'm super into Seanan McGuire right now and cannot seem to control myself. So here I am reading another Seanan McGuire- sure it sounds like someone else, but Mira Grant is her pen name for her more Sci Fi/thriller novels. Imagine my delight when I hoped this book and it's set in freakin' Monterey!!! Joyous whoops!!!

79. Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant
Look I tried to read some other books, I really did! But they didn't grab me (or I'm still reading them and they're a little harder to zip through), so here I am once again on Seanan McGuire's doorstep. But hey, that's cool! She's awesome!!!

80. Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
I love Murderbot and the whole series, so this was a no-brainer. Had to read it!!

Books of 2018- Installment #15

71. The Mere Wife by Maria Dahvana Headley
Wow what a book!! I had heard all this praise for this book and the premise intrigued me. A modern retelling of Beowulf. Then I was thinking about how I don't really know the Beowulf story. Sure I've watched some movie adaptation, but I couldn't recall any details. I checked out the gist of the story on Wikipedia. Then I dove into this book. And what a great story!! My understanding (from Wikipedia) is that the poem is alliterative. And while there is alliteration in this beautifully written book, I would say one of its strengths is the stunning prose! Maria Dahvana Headley knows how to craft beautiful sentence after beautiful sentence. She sets the style of her writing with the first words and maintains this incredibly powerful style throughout! Amazing! So that is I think a nod to the source material. Then on top of that it is an incredible rendering of the lives of women. So good!

72. Chimes at Midnight by Seanan McGuire
This book was very hard to get. I had stumbled on it accidentally. There's the normal portal I use to find library e-books, but it didn't show this book as an option. I felt this was odd and checked the relatively new app on my Kindle, and there it was in the catalogue. I put it on hold, but it never showed up in my holds list in the normal portal. Eventually it became available to read, but I couldn't get it through the normal portal. I had to open a new portal on my computer, but eventually I was able to check it out. All this is to say, I loooooooooove October Daye and Seanan McGuire, and it absolutely was worth all the work to read this 7th book in the October Daye series!

73. The Winter Long by Seanan McGuire
Obviously I love Toby. I rarely read two books in a series one after another, but I just had to know. I just had to know what was going to happen next. And let me tell you, every single book in this series goes somewhere I didn't expect. Every time!

74. A Red-Rose Chain by Seanan McGuire
So here I am again, just devouring the Toby Daye books like I'm a night-haunt! I like to think that Seanan McGuire would be okay with it since she's such a prolific writer!!!

75.Once Broken Faith by Seanan McGuire
What can I say? I had free time and couldn't stop reading about Toby!!!

Great Short Stories I've Read Online

These are some great stories, and I'll keep adding to it as I find more and more great stories online!

• An Account of the Sky Whales by Que A and translated by Andy Dudak (2017) Science Fiction
•  Annie’s Day by Andy Weir (2011) Fiction
•  The Ballad of Marisol Brook by Sarah Grey (2013)
•  Beholder by Sarah Grey (2013)
•  BettyKnox and Dictionary Jones in The Mystery of the Missing Teenage Anachronisms by Jack Campbell (2011)
• Black, Their Regalia by Darcie Little Badger (2016) Fiction
•  Brass Canaries by Gwendolyn Clare (2009) Fiction
•  By Degrees and Dilatory Time by S. L. Huang (2015) in The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy 2016
•  Cat Pictures Please by Naomi Kritzer in Cat Pictures and Other Stories (2015) Science Fiction
• A Christmas Haunting by Craig Dominey (2009) Supernatural
• The Christmas Show by Pat Cadigan (2013) Supernatural
• The City Born Great by N. K. Jemisin (2016) in The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy 2017
• Continuity of Parks by Julio Cortázar (1964) Fiction
•  A Debt Repaid by Marina J. Lostetter (2014) Fiction
• The Egg by Andy Weir (2009) Science Fiction
• Evil Robot Monkey by Mary Robinette Kowal (2008) Science Fiction
• Fable by Charles Yu (2016) Fiction
• The Fermi Paradox Is Our Business Model by Charlie Jane Anders (2010) Science Fiction
•  A Fist of Permutations in Lightning and Wildflowers by Alyssa Wong (2016) Science Fiction
• The Flames of Sligachan by Amy Brannigan and Caroline Brannigan (2010) Supernatural
• The Fly by Katherine Mansfield (1922) Fiction
• Friends by Richard Crompton (2010) Supernatural
• gezhizhwazh by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (2013) Fiction
• Goodnight, Melancholy by Xia Jia translated by Ken Liu (2015) Science Fiction
• The Great Silence by Ted Chiang (2015) Science Fiction
• The Greatest One-StarRestaurant in the Whole Quadrant by Rachael K. Jones (2017) Science Fiction 
• Greetings, Humanity! Welcome to Your Choice Of Species! by Adam-Troy Castro (2018) Science Fiction
• Harvey’s Dream by Stephen King (2003) Fiction
• Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez? by Isabel Yap (2014) Supernatural
• Help Me Follow My Sister into the Land of the Dead by Carmen Maria Machado (2014) Supernatural
• I Stand Here Ironing by Tillie Olsen (1961) Fiction
• I Was a Teenage Werewolf by Dale Bailey (2016) in The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy 2017
• Interesting Facts by Adam Johnson (2015) in The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy 2016
• July Tale by Neil Gaiman (2013) in Trigger Warnings
• The Last Banquet ofTemporal Confections by Tina Connolly (2018) Fantasy
• Like Daughter by Tananarive Due (2014) Science Fiction
• The Lovers by Eleanor Arnason (1994) Science Fiction
• Lullaby for a Lost World by Aliette de Bodard (2016) Science Fiction
• Madeleine by Amal El-Mohtar (2015) Science Fiction
• Of Ash and Old Dreams by Sarah Grey (2013)
• NoFlight Without the Shatter by Brooke Bolander (2018) Science Fiction
• Not by Wardrobe, Tornado, or Looking Glass by Jeremiah Tolbert (2016) in The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy 2017
• The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. LeGuin (1973) Science Fiction
• Our Faces, Radiant Sisters, Our Faces Full of Light! by Kameron Hurley (2017) Fantasy
• Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu in Paper Menagerie (2011) Fiction
• Planet Lion by Catherynne M. Valente (2015) in The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy 2016
• Smear by Brian Evenson (2016) in The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy 2017
• Social Phobic’s Guide to Interior Design, The by Sarah Grey (2013)
• Tea Time by Rachel Swirsky (2015) in The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy 2016
• Teenagers from Outer Space by Dale Bailey (2016) Science Fiction
• These Constellations Will Be Yours by Elaine Cuyegkeng (2017) Science Fiction
• They’re Made Out of Meat by Terry Bison (1990) Science Fiction
• The Things by Peter Watts (2010) Science Fiction
• Triquetra by Kirstyn McDermott (2018) Fantasy 
• The Venus Effect by Violet Allen (2016) in The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy 2017
• Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station| Hours Since the Last Patient Death: 0 by Caroline M. Yoachim (2016) in The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy 2017
• What Kelp Remembers by Eric Schwitzgebel (2014) Science Fiction
• The Witch of Orion Waste and the Boy Knight by E. Lily Yu (2016) in The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy 2017

Books of 2018- Installment #14

66. Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson
In my quest to read the books I own but haven't read, I chose this book that I apparently picked up at a used bookstore for 25¢. This short book is densely packed and full of information not only about the bard but about the bard's time.

67. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
I knew that I wanted to read this book when I heard that it was coming out. I had read Uprooted and so I knew I enjoyed her writing. Now some time has passed since I read Uprooted, and perhaps would feel differently if I were to reread it right now, but I feel Naomi Novik's writing has gotten better! This book is super engaging!

68. The Hunger by Alma Katsu
This book is a great fictionalized account of the Donner Party journey. It was utterly gripping! I would say my biggest complaint is that it was over far too soon!

69. The Card Catalog: Books, Cards, and Literary Treasures by Carla Hayden
I read so many good books in a row that it set the bar really high, and I struggled to find a book I wanted to read next. I picked up and tried several... a couple of fiction and a couple of nonfiction. Not much suited until I read this one. It's a fast read full of really interesting information and cool pictures! Loved it!

70. Rocket Fuel: Some of the Best from Tor.com Non-Fiction edited by Bridget McGovern & Christ Lough
I have loved reading Tor.com essays and this collection (free for download) is awesome!!! There is quite an array of topics: writing related to specific groups, in-depth analysis of texts, censorship/banned books, love of reading, and more! It's wonderful and full of amazing authors!!

Palimpsest Drawings

These are my doodles in my copy of Palimpsest.

My drawings are just little sketches but check out this amazing artist's work!!

https://www.tor.com/2018/09/05/bullet-journaling-as-a-fantasy-writer/