Helenoel's 2015 adventures in reading

I'm in for another year. I'm a 61 year-old geologist living in south central Pennsylvania. Married to a retired geology professor with a son in college- who seems to be following the family trade. Besides reading, I knit, spin (not the stationary bicycle in a gym kind), dabble in other fiber arts, garden and cook. I read a lot of mysteries, some science fiction, and random other stuff- history, historical novels, non-fiction among them.

Reserved for book list.

1. Dirty Chick 1/1/2015 TIOLI #15
2. The Blessing Way 1/4/2015 TIOLI #22
3. Birdy audiobook 1/13/2015 TIOLI #12
4 - The Innocence of Father Brown 1/21/2015 TIOLI #1
5. The Land of Dreams 1/27/2015 TIOLI #12
6. The Snowman audiobook 1/29/2015 TIOLI #10
7. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children 1/29/2015 TIOLI #23
8. Shadows on the Coast of Maine 1/30/2015
9. Death of a Traveling Man 2/1/2015 Feb TIOLI #16
10. The Cold Dish 2/9/2015 TIOLI #1
11. The Map Thief 2/9/2015 TIOLI # 11
12. March audiobook 2/10/2015 RIOLI #5
13. Methusalah's Children 2/12/2015 TIOLI #14
14. Bossypants audiobook 2/16/2015
15. A Fatal Advent 2/16/2015 TOILI #12
16. Taken at the Flood audiobook 2/22/2015 TIOLI #13
17. Uncharted Territory 3/1/2015 March TIOLI #10
18, The Dancehall of the Dead audiobook 3/3/2015 TIOLI #6
19. No Strange Fire 3/09/2015 TIOLI #11
20. Saturnalia audiobook 3/12/2015 TIOLI #19
21. The Betrayal of Trust 3/13/2015 TIOLI #11
22. Back of Beyond audiobook 3/20/2015 TIOLI #20
23. Second Street Station 3/29/2015 TIOLI #4
24. Dreaming Spies 4/1/2015 April TIOLI #12
25. The Good, the Bad and the Emus 4/3/2015 TIOLI #16
26. Fish Tails 4/7/2015 TIOLI #2
27. Death Without Company 4/9/2015
28. The Nightingale Before Christmas 4/10/2015 TIOLI #16
29. Nine Lives to Die 4/13/2015 TIOLI #20
30. The Burgess Boys audiobook 4/14/2015
31. Yarn Over Murder 4/20/2015
32. The Care and Management of Lies: A Novel of the Great War audiobook 4/21/2015 TILI #17
33. Saving Fish from Drowning audiobook 4/27/2015
34. Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death 4/29/2015
35. The Angel of Death audiobook 5/3/2015 May TIOLI #18
36. Gateway 5/8/2015 TIOLI # 15
37. The House of the Seven Gables audiobook 5/14/2015 TIOLI #16
38. The Silkworm 5/17/2015 TIOLI #22
39, Listening Woman 5/21/2015 TIOLI #2
40. Ines of my soul 5/26/2015 audiobook
41. The Devil in the White City 6/2/2015 audiobook June TIOLI #12
42. An Available Man 6/2/2015 TIOLI #2
42. Ice Ship: The Epic Voyages of the Polar Adventurer Fram 6/11/2015 TIOLI #12
43. Mort 6/16/2015 TIOLI #4
44. Spider Web 6/19/2015
45. The bishop at Sea 6/20/2015
46. Shadow Dancer 6/22/2015
47. Kindness Goes Unpunished 6/25/2015
48. Tail Gait 6/27/2015
49. The Night Watch 7/3/2015 July TIOLI #18
50. People of Darkness 7/4/2015 TIOLI #7
51. Mapp and Lucia (Make Way for Lucia, Part 4) 7/14/2015 TIOLI #12
52. Caleb's Crossing 7/18/2015 TIOLI #19
53. Death of a Prankster audiobook 7/22/2015
54. Ancillary Justice Nook book 7/28/2015
55. Three can keep a Secret audiobook 8/1/2015 Aug TIOLI #10
56. The Long Earth 8/2/2015 TIOLI #21
57. Bittersweet (China Bayles) 8/7/2015 TIOLI #6
58. Another Man's Moccasins 8/10/2015 TIOLI #1
59 Proof Positive 8/12/2015 TIOLI #1
60. The Rebellion of Jane Clarke: A Novel 8/19/2015 TIOLI #6
61. the Mapping of Love and Death 8/22/2015 TIOLI #14
62. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 8/24/2015
63. Restless in the Grave 8/27/2015
64. A lesson in Secrets 8/28/2015
65. The Execution of Sherlock Holmes audiobook 9/4/2015
66. Still Life 9/5/2015 TIOLI # 9
67. Old Man's War 9/10/2015
68. Thyme of Death 9/13/2015 TIOLI #20
69. A Mercy audiobook 9/20/2015
70. The Dark Wind 9/25/2015
71. Zorro audiobook 10/2/2015 TIOLI #1
72. The Dark Horse 10/6/2015 TIOLI #17
73. The memory keeper's daughter audiobook. 10/9/2015 TIOLI #6
74. The Jupiter Myth 10/16/2015 TIOLI #13
75. A Burial at Sea audiobook 10/17/2015 TIOLI #2
76. the Hen of the Baskervilles audiobook 10/21/2015 TIOLI #6
77. Someone to Watch Over Me 10/21/2015 TIOLI #19
78. In the Company of Cheerful Ladies 10/29/2015 TIOLI #1
79. A Blink of the Screen: Collected Shorter Fiction 11/11/2015
80. knockdown 11/13/2015 TIOLI #8
81. The Ghostway 11/16/2015 TIOLI #10
82. The Subtle Serpent: A Celtic Mystery 11/21/2015
83. Headstrong 11/23/2015. TIOLI #16
84. A pattern of lies 11/28/2015
85. Rain - A Natural and Cultural History 12/2/2015 TIOLI #14
86. An Old Betrayal audiobook 12/12/2015
87. Junkyard Dogs 12/17/2015
88. Heart of Darkness audiobook 12/20/2015
89. The company She Kept 10/20/2015
90. Murder on the Rocks 12/29/2015

Welcome back!

Hi! I'll be following you again this year.

> #4 Thanks Lois - I see you just added The Breakfast book. Christmas Present? I like a lot of the recipes in that one.

>5 Helenoel: Not a Christmas present, just an old favorite!

Hi there! Just stopping by to drop a star.

Greetings from across the river.

Book # 1 - Dirty Chick by Antonia Murphy

A LTER-ARC - memoir of an American family moving to rural New Zealand and their adventures in small scale farming among other things. Formal review in progress.

Dropping a star - This is my second year here and I'm hoping to get to know more of the regulars this year.

Happy New Year, Helen!

I just spent a bit of time adding books that are on my Nook to LT. An eclectic bunch because I am cheap and not really fond of reading on the nook - Probably just a matter of familiarity. I have grabbed a bunch of free stuff- some promotional and some classics. This was triggered by a book on my wishlist showing up in a promotion for $2.99. It is early, but I am counting it for my Thingaversary acquisitions. Since I spent a chunk of yesterday dusting and vacuuming the corner where much of my TBR mountain sits beside the bed, I am really trying not to buy too many physical books for a bit. The TBRs are now in a stack of boxes- so more stable than the artfully developed stack that grew over time....

And # 2 - from the library for the Navajo Mystery(Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee)/Walt Longmire Project - The Blessing Way

I really need to learn to resist book bullets. We just saw The Imitation Game, so now I want to read more about Turing. And I just got The Land of Dreams from the library. This is not making progress on the TBR piles.

>14 Helenoel: magicians_nephew said last year that Alan Turing: The Enigma is the one, and it's the basis for the movie, sort of. 675 pages. I'm about 1/4 through. I'd welcome company. :-)

>15 qebo: I'll see if I can find it at the library or abebooks- I have a Thingaversary coming up.

# 3 - Finished the Audiobook of Birdy this morning on the way to work. hard to describe, but very good book.

>17 Helenoel: Oh, I remember that one, and a couple others by William Wharton. Alas only vaguely, read probably 30-35 years ago.

Yesterday was my eighth Thingaversary-
New books so far:
Ancillary Justice Nookbook
Without a Trace Nookbook
Uncharted Territory
Praying the Scriptures
Alan Turing: The Enigma ordered- not here yet.
Pogue's Basics: Essential Tips and Shortcuts

I can get three more - Hope to hit the used bookstores this weekend - we'll see.

Finished book # 4 - The Innocence of Father Brown a dozen short mysteries by G. K. Chesterton Gentle and entertaining.

Project Gutenberg - on the Nook.

and # 5. The Land of Dreams by Vidar Sundstol A book bullet from our own drneutron. from the library. Good beginning of a mystery series set in Minnesota but written by a Norwegian. The ending leaves a lot unresolved- so I guess I'll look for the second in the series.

Yup, very unresolved. And the second is pretty thrilling. :)

For #6 - finished listening to the audiobook of The Snowman on the morning commute. I'll probably try more of Nesbo- this audiobook worked well - probably better than text.

and #7 - finished Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs over lunch hour.

and making 8 for the month- Shadows on the Coast of Maine by Lea Wait - entertaining cozy mystery- a quick read, which was nice.

And first in Feb, #9 for the year audiobook of Death of a Travelling Man by M. C. Beaton. A Hamish Macbeth mystery. I am sometimes surprised that I like Hamish - I don't like her other series with Agatha Raisin - they are both rather silly characters. This was narrated with a delightful Scots accent where appropriate.

I feel exactly the same way about the M. C. Beaton series. I hated Agatha Raisin but I kind of like Hamish.

# 10 and 11 - The Cold Dish and The Map Thief both good.

#12 Finished the audiobook of March - very good- I have only read People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, though I own some others- will have to read more.

# 13 Methusalah's Children last read a long time ago- had to re-enter in LT to fix the edition- Heinlein is still good reading, but my perspectives on his philosophy have changed over time.

>30 Helenoel: my perspectives on his philosophy
I haven't read anything by Heinlein since my early 20s, dunno what I'd think now.

>31 qebo: Ditto. Will need to re-read a few some day ...

finished two from the library #14 - Bossypants by Tina Fey enjoyable, but as I have posted elsewhere I do not have a lot of common experience - I rarely watch TV, etc. But combined with the 40th anniversary of Saurday Night Live last night, it was an enjoyable combo.

and #15 - A Fatal Advent by Isabelle Holand Episcopal Church mystery set in a New York cathedral (nameless but likely reckognizable ot those who know New York). Pretty good- I'd read the earlier ones in the series if they are at the library or jump off the shelf at a used bookstore.

# 16 audiobook (from the library) of Taken at the Flood by Agatha Christie. I like Miss Marlple better than Hercule, but he is still reliable and Christie has good plot twists as always.

# 17 and first for March - Uncharted Territory by Connie Willis. cute novella - pseudo western setting with planetary explorers - bureacracy, indigenous creature, plot twists.
Good airplane reading.

#18 - The Dancehall of the Dead by Tony Hillerman
audiobook from the library. Good story - Joe Leaphorn character development, Navajo-Zuni tension, archeologists and drug dealers.

# 19 - No Strange Fire by Ted Wojtasik . Fiction based on a series of barn fires in an Amish community in central Pennsylvania. Claims to acccurately represent Amish life in 1990s in the area. Much better reading than the few Amish romances I've tried. Thanks to witchyrichy who listed it in the February TIOLI challenge.

#20 - Saturnalia by Lindsey Davis - Audiobook from the library. Falco being Falco- rather more of his family since this is set at the major winter holiday. Nice english accents from the narrator - Christian Rodska. well done.

# 21 The Betrayal of Trust by Susan Hill Some mention on LT put on to this series- Thank You ! Good characters, comle lead in to mystery which was not revealed until the end.

# 22 - Back of Beyond audiobook by C. J. Box. This is the Cody Hoyt series. I don't like his character as much as I do Joe Pickett, but it is well written and a gripping story. More people seemed to die than I think the story really needed, but others may differ.

# 23 - Second Street Station by Lawrence H. Levy. An LTER-ARC, novice woman detective in early 20th Century New York. 3.5 stars.

# 24 - Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King .
Mary Russell and Sherlock in Japan and further adventures. I always wish these books took longer to read. But I can't put them down either.

# 25 - The Good, the Bad and the Emus by Donna Andrews - Meg Langslow and her whacky family - in which we learn more famliy secrets. Fluffy mystery, good fun.

# 26. Fish Tails by Sheri S. Tepper. A real tome- 700+ pages of what ssem the culmination of a nuber of other books, none of which I've read. Good. I've liked all of Tepper that I've read. Science fiction with eco-feminist, socialogical, world shaping...

# 27 - Death Without Company by Craig Johnson. Read for the Chee/Leaphorn and Longmire series.

# 28 - The Nightingale Before Christmas by Donna Andrews - more fluff from the library..

# 29 - Nine Lives to Die
by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie
Predictable, but comfortable cozy mystery.

Nine Lives to Die -- it's 2nd on the "others" list.

See http://www.librarything.com/topic/189572 for kindred complaints...

# 30 - The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout audiobook from the library. I enjoyed Olive Kitteridge by the same author, so picked this up. Strout does a good job with family stories- she builds interesting characters and the relationships work.

# 31 - Yarn Over Murder by Maggie Sefton Although it claims to be a knitting mystery , this is mostly a description of life in the midst of a mountain forest fire area. which I think is decently done. There is a murder and our heroine solves it. As a knitter I found remarkably little knitting in it (and some of that badly described) though the heroine spends lots of time in the yarn shop petting the yarn and drinking coffee. Not a bad cozy mystery, but I need to remember not to expect any actual knitting content. Alpaca farming, accounting, running a yarn shop, all ok, but written as though the author read some magazine articles about each and took it from there to describe activities.

I'm just grumpy tonight - but do all cozy mysteries now need to include both a knitting pattern and a recipe? I have cookbooks and pattern books a plenty and they are all over the internet for free too.

#32 -The Care and Management of Lies: A Novel of the Great War by Jacqueline Winspear
Stand-alone novel by the author of the Maisie Dobbs series. Follows three main characters through the beginning and early years of WW I in England and France. I much enjoyed the audiobook version.
four and a half stars.

# 33 - Saving Fish From Drowning by Amy Tan Audiobook of the week. I grabbed it in a hurry as the library was closing and was pleasantly surprised. A group of tourists are entangled in Burmese politics and reality, the story is narrated by a dead former tour leader. Pretty good.

# 34 - Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death by James Runcie Got his from the library after the Grantchester TV show came on, but never actually got to watch the TV version. Good characters- interesting structure with several mini-mysteries in the book.
I'll probably read more in the series.

# 35 - The Angel of Death by P.C. Doherty - in the Hugh Corbett meieval mysteries series - audiobook. King Edward and murder and mayhem in the church. my first book in this series- will watch for more.

# 36 - Gateway by Frederik Pohl Good old 1977 Science Fiction.
From my sons collectioin - but I don't think I read it before. Interesting to read from this vantage point in time- minor sub-stories dabble in bisexuality/homosexuality and psychoanalysis,within a larger theme of environmental degradation of Earth, lost alien civilization, etc. Good read.

# 37 - The House of the seven gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Audiobook of the week. I had never read it - The prose is wonderful, but I bogged down in the long descriptions and metaphysics.

# 38 - The Silkworm finally showed up on the shelf at the library. Good but a bit gory for my taste.

# 39 - Listening Woman - read for the Leaphorn/Chee - Longmire project.. I'm enjoying going back to the old Hillermans - I had read some, but not all before.

# 40 Ines of my Soul by Isabel Allende
Someone recommended Allende, and the library had this when I was looking for n audiobook. 4 stars

# 41 The Devil in the White City - an abridged audiobook- two almost totally unconnected stories in the same city and time period- I hope the unabridged book connects them better, but I'm not sure. I did learn quite a lot about the Columbian Exposition (Chicago World's Fair) in the 1890s. Was less entranced with the psychopath murderer, but that was done with reasonable taste and discretion. An interesting non-fiction look at a place and time. A great deal of documentary detail, but less tying together than I might have liked.

# 42 Ice Ship: The Epic Voyages of the Polar Adventurer Fram a LT-ARC that has been overdue to finish. Very good - "biography" of the ship Fram, which went both Farthest North and Farthest South in four voyages with Fritjof Nanasen and Roald Amundsen. Mostly tales of men and exploration, but with the ship as a focus.

and #43 Mort because Pratchett...

#44. Spider Web by Earlene Fowler gentle, cozy mystery - Benni Harper series- in which a sniper is targeting police officers in the small town, nice twist in the plot ending. I like this series for relaxed reading.

# 45. The Bishop at Sea by Andrew Greeley - Good light fiction- Bishop Blackie saves the US Navy from its sexist attitudes.

# 46. Shadow Dancer by Margaret Coel. Vicki Holden and Father John - bad guys here are a cult of pseudo historical Native American practitioners. Good quick read on a hot day.

Lots of quick reads lately -
# 47. Kindness Goes Unpunished - by Craig Johnson - for the Navajo mystery project. Third in the Walt Longmire series.

and # 48 Tail Gait by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie. A brand new LTER-ARC.
Enjoyed both - will review one and comment on the project thread on the other.

# 49. The Night Watch by Sarah Waters - read for the One LibraryThing, One Book discussion.

and # 50. People of Darkness by Tony Hillerman read for the Navajo mystery project. I got this from the library and realize I had read it long ago.

# 51 Mapp and Lucia (Make Way for Lucia, Part 4) by E.F. Benson. I see why the person who recommended this book likes it - and it is an entertaining glimpse at one view of society in 1920s England. I mostly felt however that I was watching a group of middle school girls battle it out for most popular. Manners were better, plot devices witty, but I won't seek out the other books in the series.

# 52 - Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks I've erad ot listened to three books by Geraldine Brooks and all were winners.

# 53 audiobook of Death of a Prankster by M. C. Beaton
Beaton certainly has a talent for creating unlovale characters. Hamish and Priscilla are the only good guys here and we don't see much of them in this story.

# 54 Ancillary Justice on the nook - Good science fiction- vary innovative.

# 55 Three can keep a Secret by Archer Mayor
This is the first time I've listened to an Archer Mayor audiobook- As good as reading it. I like Mayor's books- set in Vermont with a senior cop, lots of local color and a good cast of regular characters. Generally good stories. This one involves the aftermath of Hurricane Irene and its major flooding, a lost patient from the state hospital and old politics. All tie nicely together. At least two secrets being kept by trios.

# 56 - The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter.

I had held off reaqding this because I know I'd like it and wanted ot keep the enjoyment going. Now I have ot see how long I can delay reading the sequels.

# 57 - Bittersweet by Susan Wittig Albert - Who knew there were so many books titled Bittersweeet- a long list in touchstones..
China Bayles mystery - Texas herbalist former lawyer, China Bayles continues doing good - on the topic of invasive species both animal and vegetable. a bit preachy in the beginning but eventually the mystery takes over and it gets better. Obligatory recipes at the end actually look interesting.

# 58 - Another Man's Moccasins by Craig Johnson - for the Navajo Mystery project. I enjoyed this, but there is a lot more flashback to Longmire's Vietnam experience and back story than American western cowboying. We have a Native American (Crow and Cheyenne) presence and further developments in family and friends of Walt.

# 59 Proof Positive by Archer Mayor - very good as are most of Mayor's Vermont crime//mysteries. Steady development of characters and their interactions through the series as well.

# 60 - The Rebellion of Jane Clarke: A Novel by Sally Gunning - historical Novel set on Cape Cod and in Boston at the time of the Boston Massacre.

#61. the Mapping of Love And Death by Jacqueline Winspear I have liked all of the Maisie Dobbs series but this may be the best yet.

# 62 a re-read of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone I never read the last two books, so decided to start over and catch them all.

# 63 - audiobook of Restless in the Grave by Dana Stabenow - Kate Shugak finds the bad guys and more- and avoids death several times. Southwest Alaska - snowmobiles and four-wheelers and native villages and fishing and airplanes- lots of airplanes. Good stuff...

# 64 A lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear - The next Maisie Dobbs book - Not quite as good as the last one, but I'll keep reading the series.

# 65. The Execution of Sherlock Holmes audiobook from the library - ok for commuting - reasonable effort at creaqting new sherlock stories in the old style.
# 66. Still Life by Louise Penny - First of the Inspector Gamache series and the first I've read by her. I understand her popularity- an interesting collection of characters and a decent mystery.
http://www.librarything.com/topic/185110#

# 67 Old Man's War by John Scalzi good shoot em up Sci fi doing a decent job updating and mimicking Heinlein.

#68.Thyme of Death by Susan Wittig Albert
The first of the China Bayles series. I've read others but this was fun. Good vacation fare.

# 69 - audiobook of A Mercy by
Toni Morrison

# 70 - The Dark Wind by Tony Hillerman for the Navajo Mystery project. I've read lots of Hillerman, but missed most of these early ones. A good story and more development of the Navajo traditions.

# 71 - Zorro by Isabel Allende - as an audiobook. Allende is a good storyteller- this fills in a backstory for Don Diego. much enjoyed.

and
# 72 The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson for the Navajo mystery project.
I think this may be the best Longmire book yet, but it has only a bit of Henry Standing Bear and no spirituality to speak of.

#73 The Memory Keeper's Daughter
by Kim Edwards audiobook from the library
Not my usual type of book but a goodstory told in lovely language .

# 74. The Jupiter Myth by Lindsey Davis A taste of Falco- I've read almost all of the series and hate that I might have no more new ones- I have read the new series featuring Albia. They are good, but I need my Falco fix from time to time.

And # 75 ! A Burial at Sea by Charles Finch an audiobook from the library. Pretty good entry in the series of Charles Lennox.

# 76 - the Hen of the Baskervilles by Donna Andrews
fluffy mystery audiobook.

and #77 Someone to Watch Over Me by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
Good Icelandic thriller.

I missed seeing you cracked 75. Congrats!

# 78. In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith audiobook from the library. The Ladies Number One Detective Agency is good commuter listening fare. fun and engaging but not too demanding. Narrator Lisette Lecat is South African, so the pronunciations are handled well- also fun for listening.

79. A Blink of the Screen: Collected Shorter Fiction, by Terry Pratchett
This was interesting for Pratchett fans, but might be a bit much if you're not already familiar with his collections. Many of the short pieces were later developed in some of the novels.

80. Knockdown by Sarah Graves. One of the home repair murder series books, this one doesn't have much to do with the old home repair until near the end but it comes through. interesting psychological thriller - a bit of a change for this author.

#81 The Ghostway for the Navajo mystery project. In which we see more of Jim Chee and his development. Good story.

and #82 The Subtle Serpent: A Celtic Mystery - Sister Fidelma solves the mystery and we learn more about religious and legal matters in ancient Ireland.

#83. Headstrong, a library thing advanced reader copy. This collection of minibiographies of women scientists deserves wide distribution. My review is posted.

#84. A pattern of lies by Charles Todd. A Bess Crawford mystery. Good story set in the last weeks of WW I .

# 85. read and reviewed Rain: A natural and cultural history by Cynthia Barnett . A nice microhistory of a topic relevant to all. my review is posted.

#86 An Old Betrayal byCharles Finch. victorian England and Charles Lennox, investigator turned Member of Parliament saves the say and a royal personnage. And the story in this serial advances.

And
# 87- Junkyard Dogs by Craig Johnson for the Navajo mystery project. This is possibly the best of the Johnson books so far - but gets away from the Native American theme..

# 88 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad audiobook.
I figured I should try this classic- probably did not give it adequate attention in audiobook mode - meh.

>98 Helenoel: Heh. I just read this, because it's short and I'm aiming for 75.

# 89. The Company She Kept by Archer Mayor Joe Gunther in Vermont - mystery. I like this series. Somehow I missed entering this in order, as I read it back in October. Joys of cleaning up lists befreo the end of the year. Will I make it to 90 before Thursday night??

# 90 Murder on the Rocks
A so so mystery - pretty good character development and ok plot, but as the story rose to its climax, the prose got rather purple. I was also annoyed that the author had not bothered to learn much about small boat handling, since it is a key pert of the story. Alas, the story was rife with mis-used terminology and concepts. An outboard propeller does not fall off if the shearpin shears - you don't hold the rudder to steer an outboard, etc. etc. The book needed a good editor.

Happy New Year, Helen! May it be filled with good times, good friends and lots of good books!