drneutron's 2014 Reading - Fourth Reel

It's only mid-April, but it's already time for a new thread! Here's my list so far:

Five Equations that Changed the World: The Power and Poetry of Mathematics
The Empire of Necessity: Slavery, Freedom, and Deception in the New World
Hellboy, Vol. 2: Wake the Devil
Kennedy & Nixon: The Rivalry that Shaped Postwar America
The Twelve
Death Comes for the Archbishop
The Hunters' Haunt
The Shadow of the Soul
Big Machine: A Novel
Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere
New Earth
The Final Descent
Maze
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
Netherworld
The Perfect Theory: A Century of Geniuses and the Battle over General Relativity
Hellboy, Vol. 4: The Right Hand of Doom
The Necromancer's House
1491
Trapped Under The Sea
Hellboy, Vol 3
Fiddlehead
Divine Fury
Black Light
Gerald R. Ford: An Honorable Life
All the Pretty Horses
The Aleppo Codex
The Resurrectionist
The Sorceress
The Third Gate
A Dance of Cloaks
A Wanted Man
A History of Ancient Egypt

Some stats:
Total Books - 33

Author Gender
Male - 27 (81%)
Female - 6 (19%)

Living/Dead
Living - 31 (94%)
Dead - 2 (6%)

Medium
Hardback - 12 (36%)
Paperback - 10 (30%)
eBook - 11 (33%)

Category
Fiction - 23 (70%)
Nonfiction - 10 (30%)

Source
Public Library - 29 (88%)
My Library - 4 (12%)

Misc
ARCs - 2
Rereads - 4
Series - 15
Publication Year

2014 - 4
2013 - 11
2012 - 2
2011 - 2
2010 - 2
2009 - 2
2007 - 1
2006 - 1
2004 - 2
2003 - 1
1999 - 1
1996 - 1
1995 - 1
1992 - 1
1927 - 1

Nice stats! Like you, I read more living authors than dead, but I don't keep track regularly and essentially depend on LT's stat page to tell me my total reading of living/dead (as well as male/female, which I also don't keep track of but enjoy the fact that it stays fairly 50/50 give or take a few without my trying).

Happy Easter!

I mostly pick books from the public library "New Books" RSS feed, plus recommendations from LT and other friends, so I tend to new fiction from living male authors, not that I'm trying to do that! :) The biggest bit of info out of these stats is that my ebook usage has jumped up to be about the same as hardbacks or paperbacks - I blame Overdrive. :)

I tend to "get around to" certain authors shortly after they die...

Happy Easter Jim.

>3 drneutron: Oh, doc! I never picked you for a misogynist! I love the concept of borrowing e-books from libraries.

>4 laytonwoman3rd: Um ...

>5 johnsimpson: Good point; happy Easter!

Happy Easter, Jim! Congrats on the new thread. And you're making great progress on the challenge, with 33 books already!

>4 laytonwoman3rd: Yeah, I got a list. :)

>5 johnsimpson: Thanks! Same to you.

>6 humouress: We have the best* library system in the country, and since I pay for it with pretty high taxes, I'm gonna get my money's worth! :)

>7 tymfos: Thanks! I'm actually a little behind - am trying for 120 this year to make a personal best. So I'm 3 or so books behind. But I'm pretty happy with what I've read so far this year.

*So says the Library Journal, who named Howard County the 2013 Library of the Year.

Jim, congrats on your latest thread and

Happy new thread Jim, and Happy Easter. I hope you and your family have a wonderful weekend :)

Great new thread and stats, Jim. Have a good weekend.

Happy New thread, Jim! Hope you have a great weekend planned.

Nice new thread for Eastertide!

Thanks everyone! I hope you're having a good weekend too. And thanks to our resident Book Warbler...

33. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor

I'm a sucker for time travel stories - I blame the physics degrees for that. There's so much opportunity for great storytelling, and the danger that the story can go really, really bad when we start playing with the space-time continuum. Don't worry, though, Just One Damned Thing After Another is one of the good ones!

I loved the humor, I loved the path Taylor took through the many conundrums time travel stories present, and I loved the idea of historians as action-adventure heroes! While the story has a few minor flaws, logical and otherwise, it's great fun and highly recommended.

Oh good! I'm so pleased that you liked the book, Jim. The series is good fun.

Happy New Thread and Happy Bunny Egg Weekend, Jim!

Happy new thread, Jim! Wishing for you a weekend full of fabulous!

>8 drneutron: Best Library System in the country? Yowza! I'm impressed!

>14 drneutron:, what >15 richardderus: said! Just started A Second Chance last night, late last night (damn it Richard). Love these books.

>14 drneutron: Adding the book to my TBR!

And now I've got the rest of the St Mary's series all queued up!

I loved the first St. Mary's too, Jim! Richard really got a lot of us with that marathon warbling rampage he went on, huh??

Coming by to wish you a:

Special for you Jim, Here's what I get when I google bunnies and atoms..



Happy Easter

Happy Easter, Jim! Stephanie and Richard got me with those St. Mary's books, too!

>14 drneutron: Argh! Fine FINE FINE! I'll get the book. Everybody is reading it and pushing it in my face! FINE! :D

Happy New Thread and Happy Easter Jim!

Just have to get those St. Mary's books, obviously - such a broad range of readers I respect are enjoying them!

>23 Carmenere: *snerk*

>24 Crazymamie: I suppose this means we have to give him credit for having reasonably good taste, then, hmmm. :)

>25 Morphidae:, >27 sibylline: come, join the Collective... :)

>26 Smiler69: thanks!

HI Jim - yep having a great library system is not to be taken lightly. I'm fortunate to have access to two of them. I work in one county and live in another and it's rare that I can't get something from one or the other.

>21 drneutron: Jim, I was bereft when I finished the 3rd one. That doesn't happen to me often.

>28 drneutron: - Oh dear.... I joined the Collective?! Nooooooooooooo. *sobs*

Fine. Just call me 1387.

Nice review. ;-)

I can't stand to be left out, i added all the St Mary's series as well

Mwaa haa haa!!

Lovely shiny new thread! Happy Friday!

Jim, it looks like RD has been up to his book bulleting mischief whilst I have been on my un-interneted travels. Not heard of the series but I am sure that I'll fall under its spell too eventually.

Congratulations on your new thread.

>32 beeg: same here! Just added the first in the series to my ereader.

Who can argue with FREE? I mean! (Of course, now the eeeeevilllllll plot to hook you will become obvious, but hellfire folks it's only $8.97!)

Okay, dang it. I got the Just One Damned Thing After Another on my iPad. And it wasn't free. It cost me a whole 99 cents. Probably will be a couple of weeks until I get to it though. I have several books coming due.

Hi Jim -- just stopping by to wish you a happy weekend!

Thanks!

I liked Just One Damned Thing After Another, too... I'm totally addicted to The Iron Druid series, too.

And books 4-5 are not free... book 7 however, I got from vine, so I have to read the rest of them, right?

I've only read the first Iron Druid. Reading the rest will have to wait until the income situation has been remedied. And I've read all the St. Mary's Chronicles. Like Richard I am salivating for the next to come out.

I've got access to the Iron Druid series through Overlook and my public library. So it's on the list, but I really need to get some half-finished series done first... :)

I messaged Hearne on FB... he only plans 9 books. I suggested that he consider a nice round dozen.....
or a bakers dozen :)

Our library does NOT have the ebooks. drat. At least, they didn't the last I looked. They tend toward romance and thrillers more than anything it seems.

Have a good one Jim :)

35. Spies, Patriots and Traitors by Kenneth A. Daigler

Many think that the US began using professional intelligence and counter-intelligence services in and after World War II. In fact, as early as the Revolutionary War, intelligence collection and counter-intelligence operations were used to support the smaller, less capable Continental Army against the British. While some of the early uses suffered from amateurish execution or leadership, several of the military leaders were, in fact, quite capable intelligence officers and operatives, notably Washington himself. Dailgler's new Spies, Patriots and Traitors gives a history of this aspect of the Revolutionary War from the perspective of an experienced, modern intelligence officer.

I especially liked Daigler's analysis of the various aspects of the history - tradecraft (or lack thereof), planning, how operations affected the war itself. His point of view as a retired CIA operative and historian was unique and interesting to consider. My only negative comment - the book is written in a more academic style. A bit more narrative feel would have really made the book shine. Still, recommended, especially for history buffs.

I don't know how you manage to stay on top of everything here in this group, based on the fact that you were the first on my thread and I suspect more times than not, you are the first on most new threads! Secretly maybe you're a cyborg??..haha! ;)

>45 drneutron: I saw that book and was intrigued. Thanks for the review.

And also thanks for working on the glitch for the 75ers home page. The links seem to be working now...

I wish my library had the Iron Druid series...alas it is not there in hardcopy nor on the Overdrive system. I guess I will just have to buy them....maybe an Amazon gift card will be coming my way for Mother's Day! ;)

>46 jolerie: Actually, I usually only hit LT a couple of times a day - once in the morning at my desk before starting work, and in the evening after we've settled down to relax in the living room. But I do read every thread. Ok, if I'm behind, I'll skip to the end of some of the long threads! :) And I try to make it a point to welcome everyone who starts a thread.

>47 michigantrumpet: No sweat, it was an odd one. It looks like the management changed the code that displays group page text to truncate long strings like URLs. Once I saw what was happening, I just switched over to embedded HTML and everything worked fine!

>48 Cobscook: It's another of those series folks have been warbling about, so I figure I have to give it a try... :)

I got books from Kriti! I got books from Kriti!!

Our own kgodey ran a contest on her book blog to give away A Natural History of Dragons and The Tropic of Serpents from the publisher, and she picked me! They arrived today, and I'm really looking forward to diving in. Stay tuned for reviews!

Congrats, doc!

Very cool!

>50 drneutron: Ooh, I've been hearing good things about those books!

>50 drneutron: Yay! You're going to love them! Once you're done with those, the author & Tor/Forge are having a contest for the 3rd book - if you design your own dragon and write a description, you could win an ARC of the third book AND your dragon could actually be featured in a future book in the series. (http://torforgeblog.com/2014/04/28/from-the-memoirs-of-lady-trent-series-design-your-own-dragon/)

Orbiting around planet LT and stopping by to say hello!

>49 drneutron: "...No sweat, it was an odd one. It looks like the management changed the code that displays group page text to truncate long strings like URLs. Once I saw what was happening, I just switched over to embedded HTML and everything worked fine!"

I read that and it's like Charlie Brown's teacher talking in the background. No clue what's being said. Just glad someone knows what's going on around here.

HA! Good news there, Jim. Glad you got some books.. will you be designing a dragon? If you do, can we see?

Just checking in to see if The Martian has been cracked...

Mark - I've been working late every night this week, so haven't been by the library yet. Tomorrow's the DC meetup, so I'll pick it up Sunday - just in time for the trip to Louisiana!

Hi Jim, here's the new book swap thread: 75ers book swap

And books added...

36. Locke & Key, vol 6 by Joe Hill and Gabtriel Rodriguez

Finale to the very good Locke & Key graphic novel series written by Joe Hill and drawn by Gabriel Rodriguez. Of course I liked it. :)

37. The Necromancer by Michael Scott

4th in the Nicholas Flamel YA fantasy series. The story's moving along nicely, but I'm wondering if he can sustain I through two more books. There are moments when it's really YA-ey, to coin a term. :)

38. White Nights by Ann Cleeves

Second in the Shetland Islands Quartet - or given the latest one, maybe quintet. It's very good, follows some of the characters from the first, and still has that flavor of locality I liked about the first.

So yeah, looks like I'm in the midst of series completion! :)

>61 drneutron: Jim, I love Locke & Key, a friend gets them for me. Well, he sent me the 1st and I told him he was responsible for feeding my addiction. So far, I only have two.

>31 lkernagh: and others LOL... I'm now part of THE COLLECTIVE!!! I feel special! ;)

Now that I keep hearing St. Mary's #3 is a huge cliffhanger, I'm not sure I want to be left in the lurch!!!! I just bought the darn thing last night after staying up late finishing #2...

Do we know when she's releasing #4???

39. My Life Among the Serial Killers by Helen Morrison

Morrison began in-depth interviews of serial killers in the 1970s and continued to work with them into the 2000s, along the way developing some expertise leading to work as an expert witness on the question of legal insanity of these defendants. My Life Among Serial Killers is partly about several of the more well-known ones and her interaction with them, and partly personal memoir of her life in this field of study. In the end she lays out her theory of why some people kill in this way, one that isn't the usual spouted on TV shows like Criminal Minds.

The book is an interesting look at a somewhat narrowly defined set of killers. Morrison's writing is pretty journeyman - not bad, but not up to better writers of narrative nonfiction. On the other hand, she's not a professional writer, so that's ok. My main disappointment, though, was that she stuck to the famous killers - ones that have already had so much written about them. A broader perspective may have led to a deeper understanding.

I'm not sure I completely buy her theory. In her thinking, someone who exhibits a certain set of behaviors and psychological traits is a serial killer and was born that way. She believes that all these people discussed share some sort of brain characteristic or structural defect that presents as that set of symptoms. Maybe so, but there's no evidence one way or another - basic humane treatment of prisoners doesn't allow testing, even non-invasive MRI and such - even with the prisoners' permission. So her belief is just that, and seems to neglect environmental influences that others think are significant.

Final conclusion? It was worth reading, but nothing to get too excited about.

>64 drneutron: Jim, I think I'm going to skip My Life With Serial Killers based simply upon her theory that they're just born that way. Maybe some are, but most are bred in horrifically abusive situations which warps them.

Yeah, I just keep coming back to the idea that environment has to matter.

>56 michigantrumpet: Not just me, then. Phew!

>65 AuntieClio: No, I can't believe that 'they're just born that way' either.

Jim, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

Popped the first Anne Cleeves on the list for the spousal unit - those look intriguing.

Happy too that you read the above book about serial killers and reviewed it convincingly. Any kind of 'no exceptions' attitude toward just about anything (hmm except that if you get sucked over the event horizon you will not come back in your original form, or maybe ever) is suspect.

Just dropping by to catch up and say hi Jim! Hope you're having a great weekend.

Ilana! Thanks for dropping by!

>68 Ameise1: Gorgeous! Passion flowers (or is that passion fruit flowers or passion fruit plant flowers? Whatever; one of my favourites).

Yeah, those are some spectacular flowers. Not something I've ever seen before.

>72 humouress:, >73 drneutron:: Indeed, those are passion flowers. I'm glad you like it.

Just ducking in to say hi.

"HI!"

Hi!

wandering through to say hello!

So many posts! Jim those flowers look just right for a guy like you :)
Kinda funky and space-y and yet...flowery!

Hope all is well !

>77 SuziQoregon: Hello back!

>78 mckait: Reasonably well. We spent last week in Louisiana with my family, now in a different part of Louisiana with mrsdrneutron's family. Hence my relative quiet on the threads! :)

40. The Bedlam Detective by Stephen Gallagher

Nicely done mystery set in pre-WWI England with an unusual main character. Sebastian Becker is an investigator for the Crown who determines whether mentally ill peers are able to manage their estate. In the course of investigating one who lost his family - and all his party - in an Amazonian exploration gone wrong, Sebastian stumbles into the search for the killer of two small girls. And the prime suspect is the person he's investigating.

41. The Martian: a novel by Andy Weir

Wow. Just wow. A highly technically accurate story of an astronaut left behind for dead on Mars after a deadly storm and fast evacuation of the team. The story is very well done, but what impressed me were the details that Weir worked into the story. This is one impressive piece of work!

Wow? That's it? LOL! I am so glad you loved it, Jim! I had a feeling this one would be right in your wheelhouse!

Try to track down Annihilation. It's not in the same league but a nice introduction to a dystopian trilogy.

Yeah, a short review, but I really struggled with giving away too much. :)

Oh I've seen The Martian around other people's threads but if you say it is "wow" it is definitely one I want to read. Thanks for the BB:)

Obviously have to get right on acquiring The Martian!!!!!

Another fan of The Martian here, Jim. So glad it rang true for you. Richard found an interesting video of the author talking about the book, its creation and its publication - those who haven't read the book probably won't want to watch it, due to some spoilery: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMfuLtjgzA8

Hey Drneu, what part of La, I'm down here in the south.

This week, I'm in Shreveport/Bossier City. Last week was Alexandria. You're further south, right.

>80 drneutron: >85 jnwelch: Glad to know you also enjoyed The Martian, Jim! I thought it was fabulous, but to know it was factually accurate makes it even better! Thanks for the link, Joe! Can't wait to watch the interview!

Yes, I'm in the crack of the boot :)

>80 drneutron:: The "Wow" one is in my pile, Jim! After that recommendation I can't wait to get to it.

>54 norabelle414: Oh no! I should've visited this thread sooner. The daughter of friends has been designing dragons since age 8 or so.

Happy travels to you, Jim!

Happy Friday! Hoping you have some wonderful eating amongst your travels.

The Martian sounds intriguing. Thanks for not giving away too much...

Just to let everyone know, there's now a way to let everyone know about our favorite obsession. 75er t-shirts!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/174116

Are you still in NOLA?

Kevin Hearne
11 mins ·
It's been a wild few days in New Orleans. Very good times with my friends and I've met some super spiffy readers! Hoping to meet many more today. There's a giant signing thingie from 11-2 with 500 authors! Open to the public, books for sale, etc. at the Marriott on Canal Street! If you happen to be in the area come on by!

The Iron Druid author and more! ... thought I would share just in case :)

Oh, it sounds like so much fun! I've never been to New Orleans.

I'm going to NOLA next month. I checked Five Days at Memorial out of the library yesterday. I'm reading one other book now, but I may start it since the other book I'm reading is fiction.

And we're back in Maryland!

Glad to hear that you are safe home!

Glad to hear you returned safely, but what a shame miss such a great event!

Thought you might want to know about a new thread called Friends of Nancy P.

Part therapy for for the completists in our group, and part a safe haven to blow off some steam about those books you want to throw against the wall. Kudos to Steve the Curmudgeon for setting it up!

>101 michigantrumpet: Thanks for the heads-up on the FoNP thread! I've added it to the group wiki.

Thanks Jim! It is more the work of Julia and Steve but I thought I would help pass the word.

So what's up in the life of a rocket scientist?

We spent last week moving my mother in law and nephew to Maryland with us, so we've been busy sorting out living arrangements and social services. It's been a bit of a whirlwind. :) Plus, I got almost no reading done for about a week. :( but we're making progress and things are settling down, so hopefully we'll get things back in order.

I really, really want to get to The Martian. It sounds fabulous!

I hope you start getting some time for reading soon.

Wow, that sounds like a life changing week!

Glad to hear that things are settling down, now.

hugs

A week without reading?! Eek! Hope things settle down for you soon Jim.

Jim, I hope things do settle down for you soon, and that your MIL and nephew make the adjustment to a new place. Are they living *with* you, or *near* you?

Thanks for all the good thoughts! My MIL is moving to an apartment close by in a couple of weeks. It's a really nice senior living apartment , nearly new, in a great location. The nephew will be with us for a while until we can figure out some sort of independent living arrangement close by. We're already getting social services started for him and have some programs we're looking into. He's got some learning disabilities and other issues, so we're taking things a little slower with him.

In spite of that and recovering at work from being away, I am managing to get some reading done - I finished A Natural History of Dragons (thanks Kriti!) and am in the middle of a couple of others. Plus, tomorrow's our annual Prairie Home Companion event at Wolftrap!

You deserve stars in your crown for taking the time to help your MIL and nephew settle down. It is SO hard to find programs to help people like your nephew--really a gap in our services. (just a bit of unsolicited advice: have you checked out the local chapter of NAMI? They can be a great resource.)

Wow - what a whirlwind! Good to hear things are settling down and you'll be getting some social services assistance.

Another fan of The Martian. Really want to get my hands on that one now. Would you say the science in the book hard to understand? It doesn't take away from the story? Sometime I find SF books get so technical that the story just becomes bogged down with details that not many people would understand??

Nope, the science/engineering is done at a really good level, and for me, adds quite a lot to the story. Technically, it's all pretty accurate too - no magic bullets or anything like that, everything's pretty real. Although the hero is a pretty lucky guy at some points. :)

Jim, I hope you'll find a good place and program for your nephew. I wish you a wonderful weekend.

Wishing you a happy Memorial Day. Hope everyone is settling in nicely and you are snatching a few reading moments.

Well, May pretty much killed my hopes of making 120 books this year. :) I've had that as a goal for a long time, but the closest I've ever come is 111. Ah well, at least I've read some good ones.

42. Red Bones by Ann Cleeves

Third in the Shetland Islands Quartet-with-five books-and-now-maybe-a-sixth. So far, all I've read have been high star books for me. I really like the atmosphere and the relationships among the characters. Plus, I've been surprised at the ending by 2 of the 3 I've read!

>117 drneutron: Time to read some graphic novels ;-)

>117 drneutron: That trend will continue with the Shetlands books. This I promise you.

Excellent! I'm starting the 4th this evening.

Big book in the series, fer sher.

Poetry and graphic novels.... you can do it! And older sf - remember how short the books used to be? The James White's are 200 or less!

Very kind what you are doing for your family.

:) yeah, I'm gonna have to pump up the graphic novels!

AND the older science fiction, like Lucy said!!

43. A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

A Natural History of Dragons is a fantastic (in both senses of the word!) memoir of the world's foremost expert in dragons. Ok, it's not our world, but one remarkably close to Victorian-era Europe. And one that's remarkably fun to visit. Brennan has a great sense of character, and her writing hits the right voice perfectly.

Hi Jim! I'm glad you enjoyed A Natural History of Dragons! I loved both the world and the way Isabella's character was written.

Best of luck with the MIL and nephew transitions. Such a wonderful thing for you to do, and I'll be sending thoughts your way for the whole family. Thought of you when we were in Legoland, as they have as part of their mini-town area an entire NASA section, which was very cool!

Oh, cool! NASA Lego stuff! Did you get some pics?

44. Prayer by Phillip Kerr

Gil Martins is an FBI agent working in domestic counter-terrorism. He's also a former Catholic, former evangelical Christian, current atheist, to the disappointment of his wife. But it's hard to let go of those older beliefs, and when he finds skimpy evidence of a series of suspicious deaths of prominent anti-religion folks, he prays that God would prove His existence - if there's really a God there. And that simple thing sets off a seriously mind-bending story.

Prayer is one of those books that pushes the reader into that territory where we're not sure whether we're reading a suspense story or a story of a serious mental breakdown. That twistyness is the fun of a book like this. And Kerr delivers in the end - once the reader gets through a bit of a lag in the middle section, the book's only flaw.

>128 drneutron: Of course we did! Ha! Here's a few of just the NASA bit, but the whole thing was amazing - I highly recommend a visit.

Wow, that's a pretty accurate representation of the VAB and the shuttle launch facility!

Cool! I didn't really know, as I've not been there, but it sure looked neat to me!

Great photo's Jim, glad you had a good time there.

Great photos of your trip, Amber! I'm glad that you, Charlie and Tomm had such a good time (and that you apparently avoided the inevitable pileups on I-285 around Atlanta).

>134 kidzdoc: Darryl: I think it helped that we managed to pass Atlanta at non-peak traffic times. And my excellent driving skills, of course ("I get my underwear at Kmart"). Ha!

Hmm. I'm now doubly confused. Why did I post this message on Jim's thread instead of yours? And what does Kmart underwear have to do with traveling on I-285???

I think I need a nap. :)

I think Amber was referencing the movie "Rain Man."

Ask her if she also needs to be home by five to catch "Wapner" ;-)

I am so sad the shuttle program was discontinued. It was always a dream to be able to see a launch.

Tell you what - I'll let you know when we launch in 2018 and you can join us! :) Delta IV Heavy night launch is pretty impressive...

Oh holy cow! That would be such an honor. I would totally love that. :-)

>136 kidzdoc: Ha! Sorry, Darryl - I seem to have that effect on people sometimes...

>137 katiekrug: Good eye, Katie! *snork!*

>139 drneutron: Oooh, LT meet-up at the launch! How awesome would that be?!

Jim, I'm glad you're enjoying the Shetland series. I'm currently reading the 5th and enjoying it.

>137 katiekrug: I think Amber was referencing the movie "Rain Man."

Ask her if she also needs to be home by five to catch "Wapner" ;-)

Ohhh. I got it. I think. Nooo, I don't got it...

>143 kidzdoc: - Ha ha! Great gif!

>143 kidzdoc:: *snork!!*

I love that gif!

Morphy saves the day and explains all!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cso7nzw8j0I

>147 Morphidae:



Now I get it! Thanks, Morphy!

45. Blue Lightning by Ann Cleeves

Ann, oh Ann, how could you? Here we are at the end of your Shetland Island quartet and you did that? At least you had the decency to write another (and a sixth?) to make up for it...

As with the others, Blue Lightning is a great mystery filled with fascinating characters in a place I'd love to visit someday. It's no wonder this is such a popular series of books.

>149 drneutron: Oh dear, yes. Sad.

Hi There Jim! I haven't been as active as other years. I'm stopping by to thank you for your kind posts on my thread. It means a lot to have you visit.

Love all the Rainman references!

>149 drneutron: Book warbling a Series! Thanks a lot Jim!!! I've just added the first to my WL. How could I resist when I went to book's work page and the series is recommended for me based on my liking the Louise Penny series?!?

Thanks for all your comments on The Martian a while back. It really made a difference to know that all the technical aspects were realistic. I loved the book - an unexpected pleasure!

Hi Jim... just popping in to catch up and hopefully find out more about your space program news!

Do you call it "Space Program for Dummies" at the office when you tell them how you have to explain it to us, LOL???? ;)

>154 TinaV95: heh, no. We actually have a pretty active public outreach aspect, so this sort of thing is typical.

>139 drneutron: I think an LT launch viewing party in 2018 would be AWESOME! Just saying.

>139 drneutron: >156 ronincats: I second that! Or should it be "third" that?

All in favor say Aye!!!!! AYE!!!!!!

Nay (Silence)

The Ayes have it!

(That's how we do the votin' here at Town Meeting)

Oh, I'm sure everyone will be well informed as we get closer to time! :)

Jim, I do believe that I am in good time to wish our dear administrator a very happy birthday. Have a wonderful day and I wish to say again how grateful I am for all the sterling work you do for us all here in this sustaining group.

What Paul said

I want to wish you a Happy Birthday here, as well.. with a hug because I'm sad to have missed meeting up with you this time... :)

Mucho Happy

I didn't know it was your birthday, Jim! I hope you had a wonderful day.

Happy Birthday, Jim! Best wishes for a lovely day.

Happiest of happies, Jim!

Have I stumbled into a birthday celebration? Happy Birthday, Jim!

Oh, Happy Birthday, Jim!!

Oh, hope you had a lovely birthday, Jim! And thanks from me too...this group is such a great part of my life. Don't know what I'd do without it.

Thanks everyone! It was indeed a pretty good day. We made some progress at work on a couple of technical problems that have been plaguing us, the family made me a great steak dinner that we got to enjoy outside on the deck, and mrsdrneutron got a lawn service to mow our yard this week so I wouldn't have to do it! Plus key lime cupcakes from our local bakery for dessert... :)

Happy belated birthday!

Yummmm, key lime cupcakes . . . .

Happy Birthday, after the fact!

Happy belated birthday from me too!

Me, too, Jim. Happy belated birthday! I love key lime cupcakes.

Happy belated birthday. Steak dinner sounds gorgeous.

Sounds like a very good day all around, Jim.

Happy belated birthday - sounds like you had a good one!

Happy belated birthday greetings Jim from me and Karen, hope you had a good day and got lots of presents.

Thanks, everyone!

Belated happy birthday wishes, Jim! Hope you have a wonderful birthday weekend!

Happy Birthday Jim! I am woefully behind on your thread, but off I go to try and catch up! Have a great weekend.

Jim, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

A belated:

I've had a chance to add two more!

46. Dark Eden by Chris Beckett

Wow, what to say...

Ok, suppose a man and woman are left behind on a planet quite different from Earth while their three companions try to get back to Earth in a crippled ship. And suppose this planet has no Sun, but is instead heated by internal volcanism, and has evolved life based around this ecology.

Now imagine that some 160 years later, the children and grandchildren of those original two are still waiting for rescue - camped out in the valley between high, cold mountains with no idea what the world around them is like. Their knowledge and their ability to innovate is being replaced by a traditional and religious society based on the mythology of the original couple.

And suppose a young man who thinks differently, broadly, creatively about the world around him in contradiction to tradition is born. And this man changes everything...

Dark Eden is allegorical and inventive, and a right good read. Highly recommended!

47. The Crossword Century by Alan Connor

Alan Connor's The a Crossword Century is a fine little book on the history, cultural impact and appeal of crosswords over the last 100 years. It's fun and informative, but pretty light and fluffy. If you're a crossword fan, there are interesting nuggets here, but a longer, deeper book would have been better.

I thought Dark Eden was compelling, too, though I found its style a bit too stylish after a while.

Dark Eden is in my tbr pile. I'll get to it...soon?

>183 drneutron: I saw that crossword book on the ER list and was intrigued. Seems I should keep looking for the definitive book.

Hope you had a wonderful birthday.

Belated happy birthday Jim.

I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers during this journey with your MIL and nephew. This is a good thing you are doing. Take care of yourself and make sure your wife does to.

Thanks for coming by my thread.

Oh, Dark Eden sounds good! Wishlisted!

Sigh. Got me. I now HAVE to read Dark Eden.

Thanks for your post on my thread..... it both cracked me up and was informative :)

48. Raising Stony Mayhall by Daryl Gregory

A very different sort of zombie story - one where an undead baby is found and raised by a single mom. Yep raised. Somehow this baby grows up...and there's the tale.

Gregory's a great writer with inventive characters. Highly recommended.

That's a new take on the zombie tale!

It was. For folks who don't like the usual zombie book, this would be a great way to dip into the genre. It's more character-driven than the usual and isn't the gore-fest that some books are.

>183 drneutron: I enjoyed Dark Eden a lot as well when I read it last year.

Belated birthday greetings! Hope it was a good one!

Ah, the 4th book in the Shetland series....tough one. I'm so glad she decided to continue the series. The next book is very good, too.

Happy 7th Thingaversary, Jim!

Your Thingavesary is so close to your birthday Jim. Did you chose your books yet?

Happy Thingaversary!

Happy Thingaversary, Jim! I can't imagine LT and the 75ers group without you, so here's to the next 7 years.

Happy Thingaversary!

Happiest of happy Thingaversaries, Jim!

Happy Thingaversary to you, Jim!

Happy Thingaversary, Jim. 2007?! Go buy yourself some books!

Happy Thingaversary! Do us proud, now.

Happy Thingaversery, Jim!

A very happy Thingaversay to you, Jim!

Happy Thingading, Jim!

Happy thing-a-versary!

Thingaversary!! Yay!

Happy Thingaversary Jim, hope you choose some good books.

Happy Thingaversary Jim.

Jim, I wish you a wonderful weekend.

Hope you had a wonderful book haul on your Thingaversary!

Wow, I go away for a weekend and come back to 18 messages! Thanks for remembering, everyone - I'd completely forgotten and now need to do some book shopping!

Saw this on a car this weekend, had to hunt it down...

49. Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch

4th in Ben's Rivers of London series combining police procedural with urban fantasy. Really good as a whole, but I think this one drags just a bit. Still, it's a fun read and I can't wait to see where the next one goes!

Hi Jim, glad you have liked these books so far, they are on my pile to be read.

Thought of you this weekend, Jim, as we were on Florida's "Space Coast". Is that where the Solar Probe Plus will launch from?

Oh, I missed your birthday and your Thingaversary, Jim! Oops! Happy, happy belated Birthday/Thingaversary wishes! I hope both days were stellar!

>217 katiekrug: Yup, in fact I'm headed down there at the beginning of July for our first meeting with the launch folks!

>218 tymfos: Yup, both good days!

>219 drneutron: You have my sympathies. Florida in July is the pits!

Happy Sunday, Jim! I hope it will be a wonderful one.

Just stopping by to say hello... and that I'm thinking of you...
Hope you are all happy and stuff :)

Hi Jim! It looks like I have been tardy over here. Happy Thingaversary! And thanks again for all you do around here. You do not realize how much we all appreciate it. Man Hug!

I have Broken Homes on my audio stacks. Better slot it in...

>221 Ameise1: - That's a beautiful pic! Thanks!

>222 mckait: keep us in your thoughts. The mother in law signed the lease on her new apartment Friday, so we spent most of yesterday with friends trucking her stuff over from our house. It went pretty smoothly - most was still packed from the move from Louisiana! Now to figure out a long term plan for the nephew... :)

>223 msf59: Mark! Man hug back!! I do it because this is such a great place packed with cool people. :) and yeah, Broken Homes is worth getting to...

That will no doubt be a bit harder, but something will come along. I will be sending positive energy for that resolution to be speedy :)

Checking in -- hoping you've had a lovely weekend and have survived the moving of MIL belongings. Nothing a little Thingaversary book buying spree won't remedy!

50. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, pastor and theologian in the German Lutheran Church, literally spent his life opposing Nazi efforts to subsume the church in Germany and "purify" Germany of undesirables - to the point of imprisonment and hanging by the Gestapo for his role in helping Jews escape from Germany and in the Valkyrie plot to assassinate Hitler. Metaxas has written a very good biography of Bonhoeffer, offering not just what happened, but also how what Bonhoeffer believed led to what he did. Excellent book about a fascinating man.

51. Crusoe: Daniel Defoe, Robert Knox and the Creation of a Myth by Katherine Frank

It's relatively well known that Daniel Defoe based the story of Robinson Crusoe on real-life Alexander Selkirk, who was shipwrecked for four years off the coast of Chile. But many parts of the story - and subsequent books - parallel the story of Robert Knox, a sea captain who was held hostage for twenty years on Ceylon and later in life, had voyages and experiences published in his popular autobiography. Frank uses a parallel biographical approach to Defoe and Knox to show how their lives intersected and how Knox's story affected Defoe's writing. It's an interesting story, mostly because Knox was well traveled and not so well known, and because Defoe was surprisingly scoundrelish.

>228 drneutron: Crusoe
BB. Sigh.

>228 drneutron: TWO BBs. *sigh* *sigh*

Dark Eden sounds intriguing.....

Ah, yes. My work here is done... :)

Yep, adding the Bonhoeffer book to the list.

Jim, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

Happy weekend Jim!

Thanks to both of you!

Only half over--there is still Sunday left!! : )

The Bonhoeffer is mighty tempting, Jim. I think I'll have to add it to the wishlist.

Belated Happy Birthday and Thingaversary wishes.

Thanks for the BBs :0/ The Martian, Dark Eden, Crusoe ... Creation of a Myth ... this thread is dangerous!

I like the idea of an LT 2018 launch party.

Many (many) years ago, we were in the States for a cousin's wedding, and some of the families went on to Orlando. One day, an uncle said he'd heard on the radio there would be a launch early the next morning (not the shuttle, unfortunately, but still a once-in-a-lifetime experience), so we all got up at about 4 and raced towards what we assumed was the launch site, but as the take-off time approached and we weren't at the site, we pulled over so we could at least see something. So there we were, the only lights in the darkness of the Florida swamp, attracting all the mosquitoes - and no launch. After all, we would have spotted any blaze of light that went up. I think we discovered later that the launch had been postponed and I think we were heading for the wrong place anyway; but the memory stays with me.

I, too, read and enjoyed ( with some reservation) the Metaxas Bonhoeffer biography. I felt Metaxas had a Evangelical perspective into which he tried to shoehorn Bonhoeffer. While Bonhoeffer's early theology may have been more amenable to that treatment, his growth after his time in the US and in the WII years outdistanced that.

There is a new Bonhoeffer biography out by Charles Marsh which has gotten quite a lot of press. A good review is here.

Much is made in reviews about Marsh's take on Bonhoeffer's friendship with his friend and confident Bethge. Of course, that is a small part of the book.

A lifelong Lutheran, I was raised on Bonhoeffer. I've got the latest bio on my wish list.

Hope you had an enjoyable weekend!

Thought you might want to take a look at this...

It is a new thread started in order to brainstorm ideas for LT anniversaries. : )

https://www.librarything.com/topic/176863#4748269

Just stopping by to catch up and wave 'Hello' ;-)

Hi there Jim! How's it hangin' there, old sport? Thought I'd mention a little something I ran across...a mystery set in 1816 London and featuring a returned British Army captain with what we today would call PTSD and a bad case of the honorables as our sleuth, righting wrongs and causing malefactors much discomfort.

While I know you're not a huge fan of mysteries, The Hanover Square Affair is in fact free for the Kindle...and there are a few others in the series...maybe, I don't know, ten or so...

*Satanically Book Warbleswhistles innocently off*

Oh, here's a link just in case.

An " LT 2018 launch party"? Now, I am intrigued...

Hey Jim -

I've missed so much! Happy belated birthday and Thingaversary! and I hope all is going well with your MIL and nephew.

You've hit me with some book bullets: The Martian, Dark Eden, The Bedlam Detective and Crusoe. Sheesh! I obviously need to ignore your thread in the future.....

>242 SuziQoregon: hi back!

>243 richardderus: oh, I've been hearing the call of the warbler as he wanders through the threads... Ok, fine, dammit, I'll go get it!

>244 msf59: Cocoa Beach, here we come!

>245 Dejah_Thoris: Hey, I like to live, er, read dangerously! :)

New thread... Stop by for a visit!