fuzzi has 2020 Hindsight in 2021!

As I’ve done here on LT for several years, I'm planning to complete the 75 and 100 books read challenges again:



75 Book Challenge thread:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/327961#n7362088

100 Book Challenge thread:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/327962

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This past year I only read about 90 ROOT books, which meant I didn't complete my challenge of 100. But it's a nice, even number, so I’ve decided to repeat the 100 book challenge in 2021: I still have HUNDREDS of unread books on my shelves!



My ROOT Progress!!
https://www.librarything.com/topic/327956

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And here's a ticker for culled rehomed books, read or unread...because finding a good home for a book is important!



Books Culled Rehomed
https://www.librarything.com/topic/327960

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Here's my favorite thread on LT:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/177029

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Last year I decided to make a point of reading Newbery Award Medal winners and Honor books. Here’s my ongoing thread:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/316991#n7360207

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All my reviews can be accessed here: http://www.librarything.com/profile_reviews.php?view=fuzzi

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I didn't create a garden and butterfly thread last year...but if I do, I'll post it here:

fuzzi's Puttering Around the Demesne in 2021!
(url)

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I want to read through my Bible in 2021:

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Jump to February's Reads:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/327963#7362129

Jump to March's Reads:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/327963#7362130

Jump to April's Reads:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/327963#7362131

Jump to May's Reads:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/327963#7362133

Jump to June's Reads:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/327963#7362134

Jump to July's Reads:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/327963#7362135

Jump to August's Reads:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/327963#7362136

Jump to September's Reads:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/327963#7362137

Jump to October's Reads:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/327963#7362138

Jump to November's Reads:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/327963#7362139

Jump to December's Reads:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/327963#7362141

Jump BELOW the monthly posts for some discussion:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/327963#7362142

Let's GO!!!

*75 Book Challenge* and
*100 Books in 2021 Challenge*
See combined ticker above for progress!

---

*AlphaCATKIT Challenge* (unofficial)
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/327171)
January challenges are the letters "P" and "M" (yearlong challenge letters are X and Z)

"P"

The Confession of Brother Haluin by Ellis Peters - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed


The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène Du Bois (Newbery) - Read and reviewed

"M"

The Rescuers by Marjorie Sharp - Read and reviewed


Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey (reread) - Read and reviewed


Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

---

*American Author Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/327816)
January is "All in the Family"

The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman - Read and reviewed

---

*British Author Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/327759#n7359981)
January is "Children's Classics"

The Rescuers by Marjorie Sharp - Read and reviewed

---

*Classics-I-Have-Not-Read Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/314434#)
Possible reads for January:

---

*Green Dragon Group Read*

The Curse of Chalion - Read and reviewed

---

*HistoryCAT*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/327064#)
January is "Middle Ages"

The Confession of Brother Haluin by Ellis Peters - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed

---

*Louis L'Amour Reading Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/328390#7374016)

The Broken Gun
- (ROOT) - Read and reviewed

---

*Mystery KIT*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/327166)
"Water" - Did not participate this month

---

*Newbery Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/316991#)

The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène Du Bois - Read and reviewed

---

*Nonfiction Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/327929)
January is "Prizewinners and Nominees"
or *Genre CAT: Non-fiction January
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/327162#n7369597)
- Did not participate this month

---

*RandomCat Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/327222))
January is "LOL"

I Didn't Come Here to Argue by Peg Bracken - (ROOT)

And if I can't find my copy of that one, there's always this:


Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

---

*ROOT aka Read Our Own Tomes*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/327995#)
See ticker above for progress
ROOT Total This Month: 3

The Confession of Brother Haluin by Ellis Peters


Doorways in the Sand by Roger Zelazny


The Broken Gun by Louis L'Amour

---

*UN-official SFF-KIT*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/327234#7343331)
January is "Read an SFF book you meant to read in 2020, but never started/completed"

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb


Exit Strategy by Martha Wells


Doorways in the Sand by Roger Zelazny - (ROOT) - Did not finish

---

Books read and reviewed in January:
1. The Confession of Brother Haluin by Ellis Peters - (ROOT)
2. The Curse of Chalion (reread)
3. The Rescuers
4. The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène Du Bois (Newbery)
5. Dragonsinger (reread)
6. The Broken Gun
7. The Blessing Way

---

Books culled rehomed in January:
1. The Confession of Brother Haluin by Ellis Peters - (ROOT)
2. The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène Du Bois (Newbery)
3. Doorways in the Sand by Roger Zelazny - (ROOT)

---

Male authors read this month: 3 to date
Female authors read this month: 4 to date

---

Cumulative Stats
Books culled rehomed from my library: 3
Books read and reviewed: 7
ROOTs completed to date: 3

*75 Book Challenge* and
*100 Books in 2021 Challenge*
See combined ticker above for progress!

---

*AlphaCATKIT Challenge* (unofficial)
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/328725)
February challenges are the letters "T" and "K" (yearlong challenge letters are X and Z)

"T"

Afternoon of the Elves by Janet Taylor Lisle (Newbery Honor 1990) - Read and reviewed


Trading Jeff and His Dog by Jim Kjelgaard - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed


Jupie Follows His Tale by Neely McCoy - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed


Tall Tales of America by Irwin Shapiro - (ROOT) - DNF


The Polar Bear Twins by Jane Tompkins - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed


Mr. Tucket by Gary Paulsen - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed


Call Me Francis Tucket by Gary Paulsen - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed


Tucket's Ride by Gary Paulsen - Read and reviewed


Tucket's Gold by Gary Paulsen - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed


Tucket's Home by Gary Paulsen - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed

"K"

Rose in a Storm by Jon Katz - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed


Trading Jeff and His Dog by Jim Kjelgaard - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed


Double Challenge by Jim Kjelgaard - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed


Hi Jolly! by Jim Kjelgaard - (ROOT)


The Spell of the White Sturgeon by Jim Kjelgaard - (ROOT)

"Z"

Henry & Leo by Pamela Zagarenski - Read and reviewed


The Whisper by Pamela Zagarenski - Read and reviewed

---

*American Author Challenge*
February Did not participate

---

*British Author Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/327998#n7390533)
Wildcard for February Read off the shelves

---

*Classics-I-Have-Not-Read Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/314434#)
Possible reads for February:

---

*HistoryCAT*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/328701)
February is "Modern c.1800 to Now"

Mr. Tucket by Gary Paulsen (1840ish) - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed

---

*Louis L'Amour Reading Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/328390#)
February is Law of the Desert Born

- Read and reviewed

---

*Mystery KIT*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/328880#)
February is "Pastiche Mysteries"

The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer (an Enola Holmes book) - Read and reviewed

---

*Newbery Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/316991#)

Afternoon of the Elves by Janet Taylor Lisle (Newbery Honor 1990) - Read and reviewed


The Door in the Wall by Marguerite deAngeli (Newbery Medal 1950) - Read and reviewed

---

*Nonfiction Reading Challenge*
February Did not participate

---

*RandomCat Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/328736#)
February is "Fruits and Vegetables"

---

*ROOT aka Read Our Own Tomes*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/329394)
See ticker above for progress
ROOT Total This Month: 13

The Polar Bear Twins by Jane Tompkins


Jupie Follows His Tale by Neely McCoy


Double Challenge by Jim Kjelgaard


Rose in a Storm by Jon Katz


Trading Jeff and His Dog by Jim Kjelgaard


Mr. Tucket by Gary Paulsen


Call Me Francis Tucket by Gary Paulsen


Tucket's Gold by Gary Paulsen


Tucket's Home by Gary Paulsen


Tall Tales of America by Irwin Shapiro

(boxed set)
A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond

More About Paddington by Michael Bond

Paddington Helps Out

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*UN-official SFF-KIT*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/328832#)
February is "Sentient Things"

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells - Read and reviewed

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Books read and reviewed in February:
1. Exit Strategy
2. Nerilka's Story (reread)
3. Law of the Desert Born (reread)
4. Assassin's Apprentice
5. Henry & Leo
6. The Whisper
7. The Door in the Wall (Newbery)
8. Afternoon of the Elves (Newbery Honor)
9. Trading Jeff and His Dog - (ROOT)
10. Rose in a Storm - (ROOT)
11. Double Challenge - (ROOT)
12. The Polar Bear Twins - (ROOT)
13. Jupie Follows His Tale by Neely McCoy - (ROOT)
14. The Case of the Missing Marquess
15. Mr. Tucket by Gary Paulsen - (ROOT)
16. Call Me Francis Tucket - (ROOT)
17. Tucket's Ride
18. Tucket's Gold - (ROOT)
19. Tucket's Home - (ROOT)
20. A Bear Called Paddington - (ROOT)

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Books culled rehomed in February:
1. Henry & Leo
2. The Whisper
3. The Door in the Wall
4. Afternoon of the Elves
5. Rose in a Storm - (ROOT)
6. Tall Tales of America - (ROOT)
7. A Bear Called Paddington - (ROOT)
8. More About Paddington - (ROOT)
9. Paddington Helps Out - (ROOT)

---

Male authors read this month: 10 to date
Female authors read this month: 10 to date

---

Cumulative Stats
Books culled rehomed from my library: 9
Books read and reviewed: 20
ROOTs completed to date: 13

Read and reviewed, not assigned to any challenge:


Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb - Read and reviewed


Nerilka's Story by Anne McCaffrey (reread)

(Possible shared read of Around the World in Eighty Days


*****
Not finished due to real life, will resume at a later date:

Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

Move to another month:


Never Tell a Secret by Joyce Stranger - (ROOT)


The Pumpkin Rollers by Elmer Kelton - (ROOT)


Grey Seas Under by Farley Mowat - (ROOT) (mid 20th century nonfiction)

*75 Book Challenge* and
*100 Books in 2021 Challenge*
See combined ticker above for progress!

---

*AlphaCATKIT Challenge* (unofficial)
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/329750#)
March challenges are the letters "U" and "R" (yearlong challenge letters are X and Z)

"U"

Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by Jeff Gottesfeld and Matt Tavares (Early Reviewer) - Read and reviewed


Up Periscope by Robb White - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed


Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us
by Donald J. Trump Jr - (ROOT) - Did not read

"R"

Locked Rooms by Laurie R. King - Read and reviewed


Revolt in 2100 by Robert Heinlein - (ROOT) - DNF


Farnhams Freehold by Robert Heinlein - (ROOT)- Did not read


Up Periscope by Robb White - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed


The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame - Read and reviewed


The Story of Rose by Jon Katz - Read and reviewed

---

*American Author Challenge*
(url)
Did not participate

---

*British Author Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/327998#n7422923)
"Off the Shelves"

The Greyhound by Helen Griffiths - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed

---

*Classics-I-Have-Not-Read Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/314434#)
Did not read a classic this month

---

*GenreCAT*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/329889)
March is "Action and Adventure"

Puppet on a Chain by Alistair MacLean - (ROOT) - Did not read


Up Periscope by Robb White - Read and reviewed

---

*HistoryCAT*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/329754)
March is "Early Modern c.1500 to c. 1800"

Of Plymouth Plantation: The Pilgrims in America by William Bradford - (ROOT)- Did not read


Horse of Two Colors by Glenn Balch - Read and reviewed


Margaret Pumphrey's Pilgrim Stories by Elvajean Hall and Margaret Pumphrey - Read and reviewed

---

*Louis L'Amour Reading Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/328390#)
March is "Guns of the Timberlands"

- Read and reviewed

---

*Mystery KIT*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/329806#)
March is "Locked Room Mysteries"

Locked Rooms by Laurie R. King - Read and reviewed

---

*Newbery Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/316991#)

The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed


The Moved-Outers by Florence Crannell Means - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed

---

*Nonfiction Reading Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/330193#)
March is "Comfort Reading"

Poldark's Cornwall by Winston Graham - (ROOT) - Did not read


Native Dancer: Thoroughbred Legends by Eva Jolene Boyd - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed

---

*RandomCat Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/329793)
March is "It's a Surprise!"

Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by Jeff Gottesfeld and Matt Tavares (Early Reviewer) - Read and reviewed

---

*ROOT aka Read Our Own Tomes*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/330221#n7439389)
See ticker above for progress
ROOT Total This Month: 8

Up Periscope by Robb White


Native Dancer: Thoroughbred Legends by Eva Jolene Boyd


The Greyhound by Helen Griffiths


Revolt in 2100 by Robert Heinlein


Tiltawhirl John by Gary Paulsen


The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars


Conan of Cimmeria by Robert Ervin Howard


The Moved-Outers by Florence Crannell Means

---

*UN-official SFF-KIT*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/329751#)
March is "Fortune & Glory"

Conan of Cimmeria by Robert Ervin Howard - (ROOT) - DNF

---

Books read and reviewed in March:
1. Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - (Early Reviewer)
2. Martha by Gennady Spirin
3. Locked Rooms (reread)
4. Guns of the Timberlands
5. Up Periscope - (ROOT)
6. Native Dancer: Thoroughbred Legends - (ROOT)
7. The Greyhound - (ROOT)
8. The Reluctant Dragon
9. Margaret Pumphrey's Pilgrim Stories
10. Horse of Two Colors
11. Tracker
12. Tiltawhirl John - (ROOT)
13. The Story of Rose
14. The Summer of the Swans - (ROOT)
15. The Moved-Outers - (ROOT)

---

Books culled rehomed in March:
1. Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - (Early Reviewer)
2. Martha by Gennady Spirin
3. Revolt in 2100 - (ROOT) - DNF
4. Tracker
5. Tiltawhirl John - (ROOT)
6. Conan of Cimmeria - (ROOT)
7. The Moved-Outers by Florence Crannell Means - (ROOT)

---

Male authors read this month: 9 to date
Female authors read this month: 6 to date

---

Cumulative Stats
Books culled rehomed from my library: 7
Books read and reviewed: 15
ROOTs completed to date: 8

Read and reviewed, not assigned to any challenge:

Martha by Gennady Spirin


Tracker by Gary Paulsen

*75 Book Challenge* and
*100 Books in 2021 Challenge*
See combined ticker above for progress!

---

*AlphaCATKIT Challenge* (unofficial)
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/330563)
April challenges are the letters "A" and "W" (yearlong challenge letters are X and Z)

"A"


A Dog's Way Home by Bobbie Pyron - (ROOT)


After Its Kind by Byron Nelson - (ROOT)


Alida's Song by Gary Paulsen - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed

"W"


The Adventures of Maya the Bee by Waldemar Bonsels (shared read with CassieBash) - Read and reviewed


Westward the Tide by Louis L'Amour - Read and reviewed


Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory by Martha Wells - Read and reviewed


Warden Force: Masters of Destruction and Other True Game Warden Adventures by Terry Hodges - (Early Reviewer) - Read and reviewed


Black Wings: The Unbeatable Crow by Joseph Wharton Lippincott - (ROOT)


A Dog's Way Home by Bobbie Pyron - (ROOT)

---

*American Author Challenge*
(http://www.librarything.com/topic/331057#)
April is "Music and Creating"
Did not participate

---

*British Author Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/330948)
April is "Love is in the Air"

These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer

---

*Classics-I-Have-Not-Read Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/314434#)
Possible reads for April:

---

*HistoryCAT*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/330659)
April is "Ancient 8th C BC to 6th AD"

---

*Louis L'Amour Reading Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/328390#)
April is Buckskin Run

Read and reviewed

---

*Mystery KIT*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/330577)
April is "Senior Citizen as Detective"

Riviera Gold by Laurie R. King - Read and reviewed

---

*Newbery Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/316991#)

The Light at Tern Rock by Julia L. Sauer (1952 Honor) - Read and reviewed

---

*Nonfiction Reading Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/331055#)
April is "Ancient World (Prior to 546AD Old World"

---

*RandomCat Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/330599)
April is "Let's Go to the Library..."

I am "borrowing" this book from 2wonderY:

Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory by Martha Wells - Read and reviewed


Brian's Hunt by Gary Paulsen - Read and reviewed

---

*ROOT aka Read Our Own Tomes*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/331065#)
See ticker above for progress
ROOT Total This Month: 2

Alida's Song by Gary Paulsen


The Quilt by Gary Paulsen

---

*UN-official SFF-KIT*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/330569)
April is "Series"

Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory by Martha Wells - Read and reviewed

---

Books read and reviewed in April:
1. Riviera Gold
2. Alida's Song - (ROOT)
3.
4. Just Grandma, Grandpa, and Me (2 books in one)
5. The Light at Tern Rock
6. The Quilt - (ROOT)
7. Warden Force: Masters of Destruction and Other True Game Warden Adventures - (Early Reviewer)
8. Buckskin Run
9. The Three Billy Goats Gruff retold by Ellen Rudin
10. Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory
11. Westward the Tide
12. The Adventures of Maya the Bee
13. Brian's Hunt

---

Books culled rehomed in April: 3
1. The Dog Who Bit a Policeman (duplicate)
2.
3. Just Grandma, Grandpa, and Me
4. The Light at Tern Rock
5. The Three Billy Goats Gruff

---

Male authors read this month: 9 to date
Female authors read this month: 4 to date

---

Cumulative Stats
Books culled rehomed from my library: 5
Books read and reviewed: 13
ROOTs completed to date: 2

Read and reviewed, not assigned to any challenge:


Just Grandma, Grandpa, and Me by Mercer Mayer


The Three Billy Goats Gruff retold by Ellen Rudin

*75 Book Challenge* and
*100 Books in 2021 Challenge*
See combined ticker above for progress!

---

*AlphaCATKIT Challenge* (unofficial)
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/331419#)
May challenges are the letters "i" and "N" (yearlong challenge letters are X and Z)

"i"

The Lottery Rose by Irene Hunt - (ROOT)


Touring Iran: A Photographic Journey by Yassavoli - (ROOT)

"N"

Network Effect by Martha Wells


After Its Kind by Byron Nelson - (ROOT)


Good Intentions by Ogden Nash - (ROOT)


...And Now Miguel by Joseph Krumgold

---

*American Author Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/331870#n7494896)
May is "Mary McCarthy" - Did not participate

---

*British Author Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/327998#n7422923)
"Off the Shelves"

The Fox at Drummers' Darkness by Joyce Stranger - (ROOT)


The Potter's Field by Ellis Peters - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed

---

*Classics-I-Have-Not-Read Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/314434#)
Possible reads for May:

---

*GenreCAT*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/331446#)
May is "Short Stories and Essays"

World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

---

*HistoryCAT*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/331377)
May is "Dynasties/Civilisations/Empires"
- Did not participate

---

*Louis L'Amour Reading Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/328390#)
May is Last Stand at Papago Wells

- Read and reviewed

---

*Mystery KIT*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/331421#)
May is "Mysteries set in Europe"

Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express by Stuart M. Kaminsky - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed

---

*Newbery Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/316991#)

...And Now Miguel by Joseph Krumgold

---

*Nonfiction Reading Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/331846)
May is "Animal, Vegetable, Mineral"
- Did not participate

---

*RandomCat Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/331414#)
May is "Let's Play Monopoly!"

White Water, Still Water ("Water Works") by J. Allan Bosworth - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed

---

*ROOT aka Read Our Own Tomes*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/331867#n7504102)
See ticker above for progress
ROOT Total This Month: 3

White Water, Still Water by J. Allan Bosworth


Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express by Stuart Kaminsky


The Potter's Field by Ellis Peters

---

*UN-official SFF-KIT*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/331479)
May is "Time Travel"
- Did not participate

---

Books read and reviewed in May:
1. Last Stand at Papago Wells
2. White Water, Still Water - (ROOT)
3. Flight of the White Wolf
4. How to Make a Bird
5. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
6. Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express - (ROOT)
7. The Foxman
8. The Potter's Field - (ROOT)
9. Christmas Horse (reread)
10. The Pinballs by Betsy Byars
11. Annie and the Wild Animals

---

Books culled rehomed in May:
1. White Water, Still Water - (ROOT)
2. Brian's Hunt
3. How to Make a Bird
4. The Foxman
5. The Potter's Field - (ROOT)
6. Annie and the Wild Animals

---

Male authors read this month: 7 to date
Female authors read this month: 3 to date

---

Cumulative Stats
Books culled rehomed from my library: 6
Books read and reviewed: 10
ROOTs completed to date: 3

Read and reviewed, not assigned to any challenge:


How to Make a Bird by Meg McKinlay


The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy


The Foxman by Gary Paulsen


Christmas Horse by Glenn Balch


The Pinballs by Betsy Byars


Annie and the Wild Animals by Jan Brett

*75 Book Challenge* and
*100 Books in 2021 Challenge*
See combined ticker above for progress!

---

*AlphaCATKIT Challenge* (unofficial)
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/332190)
June challenges are the letters "C" and "D" (yearlong challenge letters are X and Z)

"C"

The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder - Did not read

"D"

The Left Hand of Darkness by Andre Norton - (ROOT) - Did not read


The Wreck of the Mary Deare by Hammond Innes - (ROOT) - Did not read


The Summer of the Danes by Ellis Peters - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed


A Dog's Way Home by Bobbie Pyron - (ROOT) - Did not read


Art & Max by David Wiesner - Read and reviewed

---

*American Author Challenge*
(url)
June is "Ken Kesey"

Did not participate

---

*British Author Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/332514#)
June is "The Victorian Era (1837-1901)"

- Did not participate

---

*Classics-I-Have-Not-Read Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/314434#)
Possible reads for June:

Adam Bede by George Eliot - (ROOT) - Did not read

The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot - (ROOT) - Did not read

---

*GenreCAT*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/332261#)
June is Historical Fiction

The Summer of the Danes by Ellis Peters (12th century) - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed

---

*HistoryCAT*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/332221)
June is "Military/War/Revolution"

The Summer of the Danes by Ellis Peters (12th century conflict for the English crown) - (ROOT) - Read and reviewed

---

*Louis L'Amour Reading Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/328390#)
June is "The Hills of Homicide"

- Did not read

---

*Mystery KIT*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/332211)
June is "Golden Age Mysteries"

Castle Shade by Laurie R. King (release date 6/8/21) - Did not finish, moved to July

---

*Newbery Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/316991#)

The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder - Did not read

---

*Nonfiction Reading Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/332592)
June is "Discoveries"

Running to the Mountain: A Midlife Adventure by Jon Katz - (ROOT) - Did not finish

---

*RandomCat Challenge*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/332200)
June is "Everything Old Is New Again..."

A Dog's Way Home by Bobbie Pyron - (ROOT) - Did not read

---

*ROOT aka Read Our Own Tomes*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/332636#n7520675)
See ticker above for progress
ROOT Total This Month: 2

Survivors: Extraordinary Tales from the Wild and Beyond by David Long and Kerry Hyndman


The Summer of the Danes by Ellis Peters

---

*UN-official SFF-KIT*
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/332210)
June is "It's About the Journey"

The Left Hand of Darkness by Andre Norton - (ROOT) - Did not read

---

Books read and reviewed in June:
1. Venetia
2. Art & Max
3. The Summer of the Danes - (ROOT)

---

Books culled rehomed in June:
1. Venetia
2. Survivors: Extraordinary Tales from the Wild and Beyond - (ROOT)
3. The Summer of the Danes - (ROOT)

---

Male authors read this month: 1 to date
Female authors read this month: 2 to date

---

Cumulative Stats
Books culled rehomed from my library: 3
Books read and reviewed: 3
ROOTs completed to date: 2

Read and reviewed, not assigned to any challenge:

Venetia by Georgette Heyer

Go here:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/333431#7545440

Go here:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/333431#7545443

Go here:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/333431#7545445

Go here:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/333431#7545447

Go here:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/333431#7545448

Go here:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/333431#7545449

And the next one is for YOU!!

Great thread title! Happy new reading adventures in what has to be a better year...

Happy new year!

>1 fuzzi: I like the thread title too. :) Happy new year!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Thank you for all the well wishes and comments.

Here's to a better year, and the LT staff fixing Touchstones...

Happy New Year, fuzzi! Love your thread's title. SO glad 2020 is now hindsight.

Happy new year fuzzi! I hope it will be a good one for you in every way.

Happy New Year! And good luck with all your challenges, not to mention life in general!

Happy New Year, fuzzi. I was going to post this when I first saw your thread appear but you were in the middle of building your thread structure and I did not want to interrupt the flow. You are very organised. Good luck with your reading and have a wonderful 2021.

>24 pgmcc: thank you for restraining your need to add a post 😉 ...I usually rush through building my main thread, hoping no one pops in TOO soon. Glad to see you here!

>21 Storeetllr: me too! Get behind us, 2020!

>22 Sakerfalcon: >23 majkia: thanks you two, too. 😁

Welcome back. I was just thinking I had not found your thread yet. I'm glad to see you were just late getting it started and that I hadn't missed it. Enjoy your 2021 reading!

>26 thornton37814: glad to see you found my thread!

January 2

Books acquired and added to my library: 5

The Judas Tree
The Story of Ferdinand
Earth is Room Enough
Time Cat
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Books read so far in 2021: 0

>28 fuzzi: Hahaha, right?!?

Happy New Year! :)

Happy New Year!

>29 Storeetllr: yep...though to be fair to myself, I have been working on a Cadfael book, not to mention RL is hectic enough over the holidays.

>30 lesmel: >31 NorthernStar: thank you, back atcha!

And a Happy New Year from me too!

I do love your beautifully illustrated start-of-year posts.

>33 -pilgrim-: thank you!

I like to do some type of monthly theme. One year I used pages from Chicken Soup With Rice!

Happy New Year!

I'm glad to see you enjoyed The Heart of What was Lost, I thought it was a fantastic return to Osten Ard and a nice bridge to the new series. Have you gotten into the new trilogy yet? I hear there is going to be another stand alone novel this year, too.

>28 fuzzi: Start as you mean to go on! I'm in the same position.

Hi fuzzi, I'm the answer to "Who is Jim." Happy new year!

>37 Jim53: Jim, you have blown your cover.

Do you want an extraction team activated?

>35 Karlstar: just saw this. No, I have not yet started the new trilogy, though I have purchased the first book.

>36 Sakerfalcon: hahaha!

>37 Jim53: Happy New year, belatedly...

>38 pgmcc: here's a camo blanket to chuck over Jim 😁

:deep breath:

I'm still piddling through book #2 due mostly to Real Life. My dad was taken to the hospital by EMS on Tuesday morning, admitted that night. Tests, tests, imaging, and now a biopsy...he's got cancer. They have him scheduled for surgery on Tuesday, and will know more after they have pathology do their...stuff...tests.

My dad is in excellent health for 92, and is feeling better now that his pain level is down.

If you're a praying person, and feel led to pray, thank you. And if you'd like to think good thoughts or hold your thumbs, well, go for it as well. I appreciate all.

>41 fuzzi: Sorry to hear this. Holding you and your family in the light.

>41 fuzzi: (((hugs))) I will be thinking good thoughts and holding thumbs for you and your dad.

>41 fuzzi: I am sorry to hear this. And I will be praying for him (and you, as you stand by him in this).

>41 fuzzi:
Keeping you and your father in my thoughts and sending best wishes. Hugs!

>41 fuzzi: I'm sorry to hear this news. I will keep your dad in my prayers, and you too.

>41 fuzzi: I’m very sorry that you and your dad are having to deal with this. Best wishes for both of you, and many hopes that they’ll find an effective treatment option for him.

>41 fuzzi: Sad to hear the news. Hoping for the best on the surgery and his future recovery.

>41 fuzzi: Hoping for the best for you both.

>41 fuzzi: I'm so sorry to hear the news about your dad. Keeping you and your family in my thoughts.

>41 fuzzi: Praying for each of you. Strength, calm, peace, health.

What Lee and others have said.

Adding my best wishes for your dad. You too.

I'm hoping for the best outcome for your father and you.

Thank you all. He's out of surgery, was told it went well. I'm going to go over later to see him.

>56 fuzzi: Keeping both of you in my thoughts.

>57 pgmcc: That sounds provisionally promising. I will be thinking of you both.

>56 fuzzi: That sounds like good news so far. I hope your visit will set your mind at rest.

>41 fuzzi: >56 fuzzi: Very sorry to hear that, I hope it all went very well.

>41 fuzzi: Sending you all best wishes - you are in my thoughts.

My father is doing well, considering what he has just been through. He was sitting up when I visited him yesterday evening, grousing a bit but his "color" was good.

Thank you.

>62 fuzzi: That's great to hear!

>62 fuzzi: I he is feeling up to grousing, then that is a good sign! I am very glad to hear that.

When will you get the pathology reports?

>62 fuzzi: I am pleased to hear that news.

>62 fuzzi: Jolly good! Complaining is good.

>64 -pilgrim-: grousing and cussing (which he did, not typical of him) are a good sign. He's fighting, not giving up.

I have NO idea when they'll send the path, I have to keep reminding them that I'm supposed to be notified about his condition, etc. He's so lucid and "clear-headed" they don't think to let me know anything.

:grouse grouse grouse:

Keeping you and your dad in my thoughts.

>67 fuzzi: My impression is that hospital staff prefer to interact only with whichever party they find easiest to "handle" (i.e. whichever will acquiesce and not ask inconvenient questions).

Keep following up.

At previous hospital the doctors preferred to address my lodger (for whom English is a second language) rather than me. (I had started bringing him with me as a witness, to try to avoid disputes over what was said.) Maybe because he is male, maybe because he found their accents hard to follow, and so tended to just not to whatever they said.

It doesn't sound as if your dad will give them such an easy ride though!

Keeping your dad in my thoughts, fuzzi, and you as you wait for updates. It sounds like he is doing well so far.

Update: my dad was discharged on Saturday.

He's doing okay, but is still house-bound, in his 29' RV. I've been sleeping on the couch, staying 24/7 with trips back to my house for a shower. The wifi occasionally makes it to his RV (he's parked in front of our lot) but not enough for laptop use. I've been mainly using my phone.

I appreciate all of you.

>71 fuzzi: I am delighted to hear that. Keeping you both in my thoughts.

I hope the couch is at least reasonably comfortable.

>72 pgmcc: I've had worse beds, thanks for asking.

Fuzzi, just reading about your dad. I'm glad he's doing ok. I'll add my prayers to all the others that are praying.

I've been keeping up with threads very sporadically lately and only just saw this last night. It's good to hear that everything went well with your dad's surgery. Will be keeping your family in my prayers.

I'm late getting the news about your dad. (I have only been dropping in sporadically because I had house guests for a week, and I can not multitask.) I'm so sorry he had to have surgery, but glad it sounds like he's doing well. Keep us in the loop! Will add you to the list of GDers I am keeping in my thoughts.

Update: my dad is doing well enough to leave alone overnight. I slept in my own bed on Friday...ahh.

Later my dad said he was kind of lonely, he got used to me being there.

Tomorrow we're planning a ride to the grocery store, and if he feels up to it he'll go in with me. If not, he'll just enjoy being out and having a change of scenery.

Thank you, all.

>77 fuzzi: Great news about your dad.

I'm glad to hear your dad is doing well!

Dad continues to improve, slowly, but he is 92.

When he feels discouraged I just point out that he is making progress, is not Superman, and to be thankful he's not still in the hospital!

We went to the grocery store on Sunday, he rested Monday, and we went to the store again yesterday (Tuesday). Today will probably be a rest day, again, which is fine. His car battery died so we bought a new battery while we were out and about. He'll probably want to install it tomorrow, but with his grandson's help...that battery is HEAVY. I could barely budge it.

I haven't had the ambition or interest in tackling new reads, so I picked up one of my favorite comfort reads Dragonsinger. I reread it every year, never fails to make me smile.

>80 fuzzi: Your father is horribly impressive. He is more mobile than I am! Please give him my best wishes.

>80 fuzzi: I am in great admiration of your father.

>81 fuzzi: I have not read any of Anne McCaffery's books. I have a couple but never got round to her. I should. She was a great supporter of the SF fan community in Ireland.

>80 fuzzi: I'm glad he's doing so well. Yes, car batteries weigh a massive amount, and when they're out of the packaging they are even harder to manipulate into the tiny little real estate set aside for them under the hood. I had to change one in my daughter's Subaru a couple of years ago, and it was not fun. I'm glad he's going to have help!

>82 -pilgrim-: I will, thank you! He's been blessed with good genes (his mother made it to 89) and he's been faithful with good diet and exercise for about 40 years. He says there are many days when he doesn't want to get out of bed due to arthritic pain, but he makes himself do it. And until he wound up at the hospital in severe abdominal pain, he was taking a walk at Walmart every day.

>83 pgmcc: thank you. I'm thankful for having had extra time to get to know him as an adult.

If you've not read any McCaffrey, I would definitely start with Dragonsong and Dragonsinger. I read them out of order, but still love both of them. The third book Dragondrums isn't as good as the first two, but worth a read.

>84 clamairy: I'm sore from moving the battery from the shopping cart to the back seat of my car, and I'm not a wuss. I'm glad he'll be using his grandson to install the battery, it's good for both of them.

I installed my first car battery at 14. My dad was away, out of state, and the battery in our station wagon died. My mother and I went in our 54 Chevy (I loved that car!) to the auto parts store, found the proper battery, and carefully replaced the dead one. It was the first time either of us had attempted something of that nature, whew.

>80 fuzzi: I'm much encouraged by your dad, looking as I am down the barrel of my 72nd birthday. If Joe Biden can become President at 78, us oldies might have a bit left in us yet. Give your dad my absolute best wishes and my hope for his continued improvement.

>86 haydninvienna: thank you!

This afternoon my dad was contemplating removing the old battery, got tools out to loosen the brace, but after some thought he put the job on hold...he said the tool he needed was buried in his RV, and he'd have to move some heavy items to get at it. He's NOT supposed to lift more than 10 pounds, which I reminded him. He wants to do stuff, but realizes he can't, yet. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak...

>83 pgmcc:, >85 fuzzi: I second fuzzi's recommendation of starting Anne McCaffrey with Dragonsong. But my favourite novel of hers is The crystal singer, set in a different universe and with an unashamedly ambitious heroine.

>87 fuzzi: Sounds like your dad is being sensible, if he stopped the job without needing to be told. It's great to hear that he is doing well and in good spirits.

So glad your dad is doing so well - well enough, in fact, to be planning to replace his vehicle battery. All I can say is wow! Late last year, I reread Dragonsinger, a favorite of mine too, and the rest of the subseries. I haven't read Crystal Singer for a long time, but I love that one too.

>89 Storeetllr: I'd forgotten about Crystal Singer, but I really liked it...and still have a copy of it and the sequel Killashandra.

My dad's always been a "doer". I've been working from home to monitor him, as per his surgeon's orders. Today he felt up to going for a ride, so we went to the propane distributor to fill a 5 gallon tank (he uses it to heat his RV), then to the ABC store for some vodka (wink, wink), and then to Walmart for a few groceries. He said that was enough walking for today, but still...!

>90 fuzzi: Glad to hear he is up and around and being somewhat careful about over exerting himself. I hope he continues to improve.

I agree that Dragonsong is a good place to start, it omits some of the problems of the early Pern books.

>91 Karlstar: Thank you. I have been wondering whether to try some of this series. I did read one, about 25 years ago, and had the feeling them that I had missed a lot by having started with a random volume.

What sort of problems are you referring to?

>92 -pilgrim-: some have objected to when the dragons are in mating flight, their psychic-bonded riders are "forced" into sex with each other.

I wasn't offended by it, as I saw it as just part of the symbiotic relationship of rider and dragon in the story.

Yeah, I read the first two dragonrider books Dragonflight and Dragonquest before reading the Harper Hall books, and I think the context was pretty helpful in grokking Dragonsong et seq. I too reread Dragonsinger, the only one I still own, every once in a while, particularly when I'm feeling low. I've never read The Crystal Singer, so maybe I'll try it; good shot, Claire.

Glad to hear your dad is progressing well. Feeling like doing more than he should is a very good sign, as long as he can restrain himself (voice of experience).

>93 fuzzi: It's much more a 1960s book than a 21st century book. Sometimes I think this century looks on us fossils as the Victorians looked at the naughty Regency goings on. It's both wrong and right and not a straight telling to get some understanding of where our heads were then. We were still trying to convince ourselves that sex was good and women could enjoy themselves and not too stuck on age boundaries for fictional or historic women.

>95 quondame: good points. I certainly wouldn't discount a book written 200 years ago because it accurately described the mores of the time.

I'm way behind on my ROOT reading. I picked up Assassin's Apprentice (not quite a ROOT, I bought it last May) one evening, burned through it in four days, and then started book #2, Royal Assassin. I expect once that is finished I'll pick up the third book Assassin's Quest, putting me further behind in my February reading "plans". Oh well. At least the reading is good.

>96 fuzzi: That's one of my favorite series, completely worth derailing one's reading plans over I think. ;) I'm glad you're enjoying it!

>96 fuzzi: I read the entire Realm of the Elderlings books in 2019. Enjoyed them immensely - and this is from someone that is not a huge high-fantasy reader. My interest flagged a bit during the Rain Wilds Chronicles, (because it swerved into angsty YA territory for a while), but Hobb/Lindgren finished it out strong once she got back to writing about Fitz and the Fool. All-in-all, it was one of the better series I have read in recent years. Glad to hear you are liking it.

>98 ScoLgo: thanks.

But...there are 16 books in the series?????? Wow.

I'm only 3 books into the Foreigner series by CJ Cherryh, and she's written 21.

Guess I'd better get crackin'!

>99 fuzzi: Yep. Four trilogies and a tetralogy. Each trilogy, (or quartet in the case of the Rain Wilds), tells a fairly complete story arc though so you don't necessarily have to read all 16 books. Stopping anywhere along the way provides adequate closure for that particular sub-series. I don't recommend reading out of order though as each part of the series does build upon events in earlier books/trilogies. IMHO, the 16-book journey is a worthy undertaking.

And... just in case that is not quite enough for you! There are also three related short stories in The Inheritance: And Other Stories collection... ;-)

I collected all 21 Foreigner books last year and am currently about 2/3 thru book 3, Inheritor. Cherryh makes it into my top 5 authors but this is my first time reading this particular series. It's quite good so far.

>100 ScoLgo: I started collecting unread books in the Foreigner series this past year, think I'm up to about 10, though I've only read 3. I will need to reread them, as it's been at least 20 years since I last visited those, and won't remember much of anything.

There's very little Cherryh has written that I have not cared for. Hestia was just okay, not something I want to revisit but still worth reading for completion. While I prefer her SciFi to her fantasy works, the Fortress series is very, very good. I read it just in the last few years.

>101 fuzzi: I hadn't begun 2020 planning to get the Foreigner books but then I kept finding copies on the 'For Sale' shelf at the library so I started buying them. A bargain at $0.50 each! When covid closed the library, I turned to Abe Books, Biblio, and eBay. Pretty soon I had almost all of the series in hardcover so I started selling the redundant paperbacks on eBay. I still have Explorer and Conspirator in mass market paperback. If you are missing either of those, I'd be happy to send them your way.

Hestia didn't knock my socks off either. Of her stand-alones, my favorite so far has been Wave Without a Shore. Most of what I have read from her is in the Alliance-Union universe. I also really, really liked The Faded Sun trilogy. Loved how the scope of that story just kept growing and growing throughout the three books. I have plans to get to the Fortress series and Chanur is another I have not yet read. She sure is a prolific writer with a huge catalog! ;)

>102 ScoLgo: I have Explorer but not Conspirator, would love to take it off your hands, thank you!

I agree about Wave Without a Shore, that one did knock my socks off. The Faded Sun and the Morgaine series are also very good.

For other stand alone books that are great reads I'd recommend The Paladin and Cuckoo's Egg.

The Chanur series is my most favorite of all her books, and Fortress is not far behind. I've written non-spoiler reviews for all of them, feel free to look them up (or I can link to them for you).

I always love talking about my favorite authors (did you notice?), of which Cherryh is close to the top.

>103 fuzzi: I just PM'd you to arrange sending Conspirator.

I haven't read Morgaine or The Paladin yet. Cuckoo's Egg was my first Cherry and it made me an instant fan. I was completely at sea for about 1/3 of the novel, (something I have since come to expect when reading Cherryh ;), but it really pulled together magnificently by the end. The World's Without End website lists Cuckoo's Egg as part of Alliance-Union: Age of Exploration - but that's what's so cool about most of her books; they work great as stand-alone novels while still being part of the larger picture. Even Wave Without a Shore is listed as part of Alliance-Union - along with Serpent's Reach - but I can't say I noticed any overt connections between the two while reading them... ¯\_(ツ)_/

>104 ScoLgo: I reread The Paladin about 18 months ago (about the time I reread Darwath and was struck by the mildly age-inappropriate relationships in both - young woman falling for a very much older man as a student-teacher relationship. Now it seems rather scuzzy, but I seem to recall that was something of a thing in books of that era.

>104 ScoLgo: when I went over to your profile I noticed you were reading a Harlan Ellison book. I used to watch him on "SciFi Buzz".

They even have him on YouTube...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtdEIG5OTjY :)

>105 Maddz: check out the old classics like Jane Eyre, where the age gap wasn't such a scandal.

>107 fuzzi: Agreed, but we are talking about something written 100 years later when we are supposed to be more enlightened on such matters. I know both are fantasy, but it just felt off to me. The Paladin was less objectionable in that it was pure fantasy and historically the teen-aged bride and much older bridegroom was a thing with maternal perinatal mortality, but I still found it noteworthy.

I will say both relationships were initiated by the women concerned but in both cases it was the teacher-student dynamic that I found off-putting. Jane Eyre doesn't have that dynamic - she was teaching Rochester's daughter, she wasn't Rochester's student herself. That came across as more a secretary-boss relationship; still a power imbalance, but less scuzzy.

Lindsey Davis touched on that teacher-student dynamic in The Course of Honour when she had Caenis comment on being 'half in love' with Narcissus in the way a gifted student loves the teacher who stretches her mind. However, Caenis never acted on it; that story was (as LD said) a secretary-boss romance.

I guess I don't look for enlightenment in my reads, I just want to enjoy stories.

>106 fuzzi: Yeah, I enjoy Harlan's rants quite a bit. Have you watched Dreams With Sharp Teeth? It's free to stream for Amazon Prime members and is well worth a watch, IMHO.

>108 Maddz: Which brings us back to Cazaril and Betriz in the recent group read of The Curse of Chalion. I didn't find it overtly squicky but it did give me pause because of the age difference. I must admit that the teacher/student relationship didn't occur to me at the time I read the book, but I definitely reconsidered that aspect of their relationship when you all brought it up in the group read.

>101 fuzzi: I got through the Rusalka books when my depression was full blown and somehow survived them. Cherryh has done a re-write on them since (2010-2012), as they were too depressing even for her or maybe she was too depressed when she wrote them.

>104 ScoLgo: I think that the only real connection between Cherryh's earlier stand alone books, my favorite is Hunter of Worlds is that she doesn't re-invent history or the routines and mechanisms of space travel for them.

>103 fuzzi: I haven't read nearly enough of Cherryh's work, but so far I'd have to agree with you that Chanur and Fortress are my favourites. I'm really looking forward to reading the Morgaine series and The faded sun, both of which I own in omnibus editions.

>111 quondame: I never read her Russian novels, although I'm pretty sure I read a little of the first, just to see what it was about. They didn't interest me for some reason, possibly because they were fantasy as opposed to SciFi. It took me years to finally read Cherryh's Ealdwood books, and the Fortress series, probably because they were fantasy (I burned out on fantasy at one point of my life and stopped reading the genre).

And surprise: Hunter of Worlds is one Cherryh I have not yet read! I have it in an omnibus with Brothers of Earth, which I liked a lot. I think I'll go ahead and put that on my TBR soon list.

>110 ScoLgo: nope, but I'll keep that title in mind.

>112 Sakerfalcon: ooh, lucky you! There are a few Cherryh titles I've not read, but very few (aside from catching up on the Foreigner universe).

Fortress was one I almost didn't read, as Fortress in the Eye of Time started so sloooowly, but I knew the ride would accelerate eventually.

From my review in 2016:

...As most of her writings, Fortress in the Eye of Time starts very slowly, almost slow enough for me to throw in the towel. But I was determined to give this story my best try, and I'm glad I did.

As with most of her works, this author does not feed you all the background and minor bits of information, but puts you immediately into an ongoing story, like being dropped into a swiftly flowing river, and you have to work in order to keep afloat, but it's so worth it.

The characters are three-dimensional, the plot is believable, and the intrigue and politics are not overstated, but perfectly balanced with the rest of the book. I got so involved with the story that I did not put it down at night until I could not keep my eyes open.

This is a thinking-person's fantasy novel, and highly recommended.

>114 fuzzi: That's a perfect summation of the book! The world building is so rich that it's a pleasure to be in the book, even if events are not moving as much as you might wish. You have time to stand and stare, as it were.

>113 fuzzi: For a while there fantasy all seemed epic quests with unreadable maps and those kept offering less and less novelty - I remember expressing a fierce hunger for a fantasy novel or series that took place within the bounds of a city - a wish that has been ever so glutinously fulfilled. It did seem that just as fantasy quests and lost heirs and dragons had eaten up all the fantasy landscape that McKillip's The Book of Atrix Wolfe hit the scene and Terry Pratchett hit his stride. It took a while for me to catch more because RL, and I mostly missed or overlooked the first shoots of urban fantasy aside from Mercedes Lackey books, but I know I never stopped either F or SF though the SF I read is mostly space fantasy.

>115 Sakerfalcon: thank you!

I have the impression that I have never actually read a novel by C. J. Cherryh, although I did like the character that she contributed to Thieves'World, Ischade.

But since I like the sort of detailed world,-building that you describe, you are tempting me. Where would you suggest I start?

>118 -pilgrim-: What are 2 of your favorite space stories and what are 2 of your favorite fantasy books? Cherryh's use of language is somewhat unusual and bothers some people. I have to get into it each read and if I'm doing a long run my mind ends up a bit re-wired.

>116 quondame: true. So much sword and sorcery, Tolkien ripoffs, floods of magical books in the 1970s and 1980s. I read and loved Katherine Kurtz' Deryni series until they became too dark, discovered the world of Amber by Roger Zelazny (which I still love), and fell hard for Tad Williams' Ostenard series Sorrow, Memory, and Thorn, which I consider to be on a par with Tolkien, sacrilege!

I dabbled with Piers Anthony, Mercedes Lackey, Andre Norton, and Anne McCaffrey as part of my fantasy diet. And a friend introduced me to the wonderful world of Elfquest by Wendy Pini, whose artwork is to die for! And Peter S. Beagle and Ursula K LeGuin and Jane Yolen and ...

But Cherryh pulled me more into SciFi, which I'd been exploring with Heinlein's works and the first three Dune books. I can't recall the first Cherryh book I read nor when, but I suspect it was The Pride of Chanur. And since then I've loved almost every book she's written.

>120 fuzzi: Wendi Pini is another of the author/artists I've met through my SF group and sat around chatting with at parties. Not that she'd remember me at all, and in fact I always had trouble recognizing her because she often changed her look dramatically and has a sort of generically pretty face - also most of the parties we both attended were for Halloween or some other dress up and she was good - of course - at face paint.

I would almost certainly have started reading Cherryh's Chanur books - I was LASFS librarian at the time and was adding all books by women to the collection as fast as I could, and who could resist those covers!

>118 -pilgrim-: well...probably The Pride of Chanur, which is my favorite. Although I'd never heard of the term until a few years ago here on LT, it's considered a "space opera", and an excellent story about people (not humans necessarily), situations, and politics. Another book I love and have reread several times is Merchanter's Luck.

>119 quondame: I'm curious what you mean by that, the "language" aspect of Cherryh's stories?

>121 quondame: lucky you! She and Richard came to a comic book signing back in the early 1990s and I got to meet them, got a picture with them too (which has since disappeared, bummer).

I love her earlier works the best, at least through Kings of the Broken Wheel but the later series just seemed to be missing something, "heart".

Can't beat those Michael Whelan covers!

>119 quondame:

Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs
Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Doomed City by the Strugatsky brothers (if that is actually science fiction!)

>122 fuzzi: I think she constructs her sentences differently than most other authors, though that may not be it at all. When I read her the next sentence is often less expected than I'm used to and I'm somehow required to read at a different pace - though I'm so used to the way the Foreigner books are these days that it seems normal to watch Bren calculate. Gene Wolfe's writing has an even stronger effect on my thinking - though not the ideas, more the imagery I use.

>124 -pilgrim-: Oh, I think you'll do fine with Cherryh, and yes Pride of Chanur is a good start. Meanwhile I'm off to get my hands on a copy of Dragon Bones, a Briggs I don't recall reading.

>118 -pilgrim-: My first Cherryh was Cuckoo's Egg. It is part of Alliance-Union but is a stand-alone story.

If you just want to dip your toe, Wave Without a Shore is an excellent example of Cherryh's use of language and world-building. It is also one of her shorter books; my DAW paperback is 176 pages.

The only thing that would give me pause about recommending Pride of Chanur is that it is book #1 in a 5-book series. Having not read it myself, I have no idea how well it works as a stand-alone though so it may very well be a great starting point.

>122 fuzzi: I get the language thing quondame is talking about. Cherryh uses run-on sentences with lots of commas, sometimes digressing a thought mid-sentence only to complete the original thought just before the period. I often have to re-read a passage to 'get' the cadence of her delivery. It's not a bad thing, (for me). I enjoy it because, like quondame says, it makes me think different. And I agree wholeheartedly that Gene Wolfe does much the same thing, albeit in a different way.

>124 -pilgrim-: Of those, I have only read The Curse of Chalion. Cherryh, like Bujold does in that book, often writes in a tight third-person voice. The information you, the reader, receives, is only what is filtered through the perception of the protagonist. I am currently reading the Foreigner series, (early days as I just completed book #3), but there is literally no information forthcoming that is not delivered via Bren Cameron, the main character. It's almost like reading first-person with the exception that there is no question of an unreliable narrator. Cherryh uses Bren's character to disseminate different thoughts and plot possibilities along with actual events to the reader. I get the feeling that many readers will probably find this type of technique either annoying or bewildering. I love it because, again, I have to think things through along with the character.

For people that like Cherryh, I also recommend checking out Mark W. Tiedemann. He has a tendency to write in a similar style, which makes him another favorite author of mine.

Sorry for the long post. I meant to write a short one when I began... ;)

I've noticed a strangeness with comment references not pointing to the correct comment and one comment notice being doubled up - there were for a time two #125 comments on this thread. So double check, the comment you may skip over could be addressed to you and if you're confused by what has your name on it, well it may have been meant for the comment before or after yours.
I saw this on another thread of another group earlier today and thought it was a typo, but on this thread it happened to me - twice.

Briggs started out with straight fantasy, and I like it better than her urban fantasy (which is great! but I like Hurog, and the Raven, and the Hob, better).

>128 jjmcgaffey: I just checked. I read Dragon Bones in 2016 after I'd read a bunch of Briggs urban fantasy and was catching up on her earlier books.

>124 -pilgrim-: ooh...recommendations...

I really liked The Curse of Chalion, just completed a reread last month. It reminded me of Cherryh's style, which is a slow beginning and then a WHAM! And you can't put it down.

>122 fuzzi: I'd never noticed how Cherryh writes, I just know I enjoy her works.

>126 ScoLgo: The Pride of Chanur does well as a stand-alone. There's no cliffhanger at the end as there is with the others...

>126 ScoLgo: now that you've shot me, which Tiedemann should I start with???

>131 fuzzi: Oops, sorry. I didn't know the BB gun was loaded! ;)

Remains is a good stand-alone novel and is the first one that I ever read.

He also wrote a trilogy in Asimov's Robot Universe, (Mirage, Chimera, and Aurora), that in my opinion, compare favorably with the original works from Asimov. The story arc covers three volumes but the first one wraps up nicely & can be read by itself without commitment to continue, if you don't like it.

For a sampler, Gravity Box and Other Spaces is a nice collection of short stories that was his most recent published work.

There's a space opera trilogy called The Secantis Sequence that consists of Compass Reach, (short-listed for the PKD award), Metal of Night, and Peace & Memory. Probably not the place to begin with his catalog though...

>128 jjmcgaffey: I agree with you completely, both that her urban fantasy is good, but her straight fantasy is better. And I am very glad to find someone else with a love for Ward and Oreg.

Thank you >130 fuzzi:, >126 ScoLgo: and >125 quondame:.
I have just ordered a copy of The Chanur Saga, which seems to be The Pride of Chanur and 2 other stories in an omnibus at about the price of a modern paperback.

>120 fuzzi: We seem to have been reading a lot of the same things, back in the day..

>134 -pilgrim-: ooh! I'm excited for you, but you'll need to order one more if you want to finish the first series: Chanur's Homecoming. Chanur's Legacy was added later, and is good, but you don't NEED to read it.

We're probably the same age...

>132 ScoLgo: yep, you hit me.

I'll see if the local used book store has any of those titles. Thanks...

Personal note, here:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/327961#7421811

>137 fuzzi: I am so sorry to hear that. Hang in there.

>138 -pilgrim-: thank you. My faith is helping, tremendously.

>137 fuzzi: Prayers, as requested. *hugs* too.

>137 fuzzi: Keeping you, your father and your dh in my thoughts.

>137 fuzzi: Hugs (virtual) and prayers!

>137 fuzzi: Keeping you and your family in my thoughts.

>139 fuzzi: I am very glad to hear that. My prayers are with you also.

>132 ScoLgo: well, I found a "Like New" copy of Remains online for a good price. It's been ordered...

>140 MrsLee: >141 pgmcc: >142 thornton37814: >143 Narilka: >144 -pilgrim-: thank you, very much.

>145 fuzzi: Wow, I sure hope you found it cheaper than this! --> Remains on Amazon

>147 ScoLgo: I saw that one, must be a typo.

I used bookfinder.com, it was less than $5.00 US including shipping.

>137 fuzzi: Ack. I am so sorry. :o( Hang in there. Read happier books.

>137 fuzzi: So sorry to hear your news. I'll keep you and your family in my prayers.

And bailing on the Assassin trilogy was absolutely the right decision for now.

>149 clamairy: >150 Sakerfalcon: thank you.

I didn't want to bail on the Assassin trilogy, it was so good. I intend to go back, soon.

>137 fuzzi: Sending virtual hugs

>152 NorthernStar: thank you so much. Everyone has been so caring, and I appreciate it.

I've already posted reviews on my other pages, but I wanted to share that I'm really enjoying this series by Gary Paulsen, and have even put in a hold at the library since I don't own the next book!


Call Me Francis Tucket by Gary Paulsen

One of my favorite Louis L'Amour short story collections Riding for the Brand is on sale today for $1.99 US at Amazon (and others):

https://www.amazon.com/Riding-Brand-Western-Louis-LAmour-ebook/dp/B00W0LW7JO?_bb...

One of my best friends in RL has just published his first book. I've read it in some of its draft forms, even gave him my input, so I am very excited and happy!

If any of you want to check it out, it's available on Amazon (of course!) and free if you have Kindle Unlimited.

https://www.librarything.com/work/26167786/book/197120580

The print edition is forthcoming, it is just going through some final corrections.

ETA: print edition is now available, yippee!

>156 fuzzi: Good luck to your friend with their book. I see you are the first proud owner of the book on LT.

>157 pgmcc: yes! I was pleased to see it come up immediately on an Amazon search.

I'm waiting for the print version before I reread it, as it was "tweaked" a little bit prior to publishing.

That's so exciting! Congrats to your friend, and kudos to you for being a beta reader!

>159 Storeetllr: thank you!!! I enjoyed being part of the process.

The Unspoken Name by AK Larkwood

Free download at Tor.com before March 5th:

https://ebookclub.tor.com/?utm_source=exacttarget&utm_medium=eblast&utm_...

>93 fuzzi: Am I correctly understanding that readers of a fantasy series are objecting to the behavior of some of the characters? because characters in fiction shouldn't do things that the readers don't like? or because the author isn't supposed to have ideas like that? or what? [semi-boggled]

>162 Meredy: yep. Welcome to the New World.

ETA: I love this...

Beware...language warning:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9_bI789Gog

>162 Meredy: >163 fuzzi: When Dragonflight was written there were complaints that there was sex at all. I'm like maybe people are complaining about different things, but the complaining is pretty much a constant.

>164 quondame: some people just aren't happy unless they're complaining.

Life's too short to waste time and effort complaining about something like the society in a fantasy book. Go find someone else to read if you don't like it, really...

I'm reading a Conan book right now, that would probably cause a melt-down in some people.

While reading and replying on CassieBash's thread, I discovered that I have a LOT of horse books to read.

These are all from my ROOT collection (on the shelves over a year, unread):

The Crumb by Jean Slaughter Doty
Horse in the House by William Corbin
Native Dancer by Eva Jolene Boyd
Hoofbeats by John Taintor Foote
Beyond Rope and Fence by David Grew
Black Storm by Thomas C. Hinkle
Cinchfoot by Thomas C. Hinkle
Wild Palomino by Stephen Holt
Mountain Pony and the Elkhorn Mystery by Henry V. Larom
Mountain Pony and the Rodeo Mystery by Henry V. Larom
For Love of a Horse by Patricia Leitch
Golden Sovereign by Dorothy Lyons
The Golden Stallion's Adventure at Redstone by Rutherford Montgomery
Sand Dune Pony by Troy Nesbit
The Stallion by Joyce Stranger
Khazan: the Horse that Came Out of the Sea by Joyce Stranger

Many of these are from when I found books from the Great Horse Stories series sold in lots on eBay.

I didn't realize I had so many, I think I need to get started on this list...

Note: I've fixed the Touchstones to link to the correct books.

I just wrote this long detailed dissertation on the ridiculousness of the outrage trend that seems to have gone a bit overboard, and something happened and bam. It all disappeared. Grrrr. Suffice it to say I am not on board with censorship of books written in a different era just because they reflect the mores of those times.

And you're right: such depictions and language usages SHOULD make us uncomfortable, then make us more resolute that they will not be allowed to continue/come back.

>166 fuzzi: Wow, that's a LOT of books about horses!

>167 Storeetllr: I appreciate your shorter dissertation about censorship. I can read about the dissipation of Gatsby's crowd without approving of their behavior. I also can appreciate Laura Ingalls Wilder's stories despite a century's societal differences. And I'm richer for viewing a Gauguin, without condoning or condemning his morals and actions.

Reading ideas which no longer are considered "okay" won't make me into a monster, and might give me reflection about progress we have made. I recently read The Oregon Trail and was horrified at the blasé attitude towards wholesale slaughter of bison just for "sport". I wouldn't want to censor, remove that book, we need to remember our past.

>168 fuzzi: And adding onto that, we wouldn't want to read (or watch) stories anyway where everyone is a model of best behavior. Often a story gets launched only when somebody makes a mistake. (In B movies, the line "Let's split up" spotlights that moment.) Where would we be for plot and character conflict if there were no antagonists, no story villains? And how would we learn right from wrong if we were never shown any choices?

Also it would be a shame to look back a century or two in literature and not be able to see that we have made any progress at all. By some future standard, some of what we're doing right now will seem pretty primitive. I'd still like those future progeny of ours to try to understand how we think and maybe even treat us with a little charity.

>169 Meredy: good point. The moral-preachy books irritate me. Everyone being good isn't very interesting, either. Where would Jane Eyre be if everyone was nice to her? Life's not like that.

When I read older books, I'm sometimes amazed at the attitude toward other races, cultures, etcetera, but unless the author is promoting something that I find reprehensible (in which case I "drywall" the book!), I take from the story what is good and ignore the rest. The "dame" attitude of some older pulp/noir stories makes me roll my eyes, but generally I enjoy them anyway, I'm not that thin-skinned. Women authors like Peg Bracken and Erma Bombeck's positions on motherhood, housewifery, etc. are kind of fun to look back upon, too. I enjoy reading their outlook on life, as they were my mother's generation.

If one doesn't like what one is reading, put the book down and find something better, don't burn/remove them for others to find. The removal of Dr. Seuss books troubles me, it appears to be an overreaction to stereotypes that really didn't damage anyone/anything in the long run, just hurt someone's feelings.

>170 fuzzi: I think the difference between adult readers and children is relevant here. Stereotypes in children's books don't just hurt the feelings of those being stereotyped; they also teach the children to think in terms of those stereotypes, which can lead to lasting prejudice and various forms of harm.

>171 Jim53: I read lots of books with stereotypes, didn't wind up with prejudice. My parents taught me better.

By being exposed to stereotypes I came to understand how some things are wrong, and some are right. Treating people according to the color of their skin is wrong, content of character is what we need to consider. MLK Jr was correct, too bad people aren't listening.

Children learn what they SEE, what their family teaches them, but it's not a guarantee of what they will become. If the parents are bigots, the children might be...or then again, they might not be. I saw bigotry, my parents were against it, and I decided on my own that they were right.

Banning books does not work, it never has, it never will. Point out the flaws in the books instead.

No books were banned. The Suess family just decided not to continue publishing some of the books, which is their right for whatever reason.

>172 fuzzi: It was often the aim of publicisers of books, theatre, music etc. to get their works banned by the apartheid government. It was a sure way of increasing their circulation / audience several-fold and either making a profit or increasing profits. Bystanders like me often wondered if the Mother Grundies of the Publications Control Board and the Dutch Reformed Church realised how much they were being manipulated.

>172 fuzzi:
The examples that you have given are quite overt - if a book contains racial slurs, then a parent is likely to realise this as soon as the child says, "Mummy, Daddy, what does this mean?" Likewise judgmental attitudes towards particular groups are either going to be so pervasive in the book that the parents will have heard of that, or only the attitude of some characters, which starts a helpful discussion on such attitudes.

But would you still feel that something more subtle is OK? I mentioned this in Jim's thread; I will use this example again here.

William Mayne is an award-winning children's author. He was also convicted of paedophilia.

There is a scene where a stranger invites some (prepubertal) girls, who have got very dirty in the course of their adventures, to take a bath together at his house. They dry themselves in front of him.

It is not an overtly sexual scene. But its inclusion implies that there is nothing wrong in a strange man inviting children to bathe at his place. (This was something Mayne actually did to the poorer local children, using the enticement of hot running water.)

Such actions could have an innocent motive - the explanations in both story and real life are plausible. But they also facilitate abuse, by making such an invitation appear reasonable and having it accepted by the protagonists.

Not all parents can pre-read all the books their children read. (My mother initially tried, but by six I was reading too many books per week for her to keep up.) As it is not a pivotal scene, it is unlikely to come up in discussing the book with their children.

Would you feel happy about such a scene being in a children's book ( target age around 7), and relying on your children realising that your teaching of "stranger danger" should override the message in this book?

Moreover, it is a fact that some children have crappy childhoods, with parents who are taking very little interest in them (whether because they are seriously ill, concentrating on caring for sick relative, alcoholics, drug users, or just terrible people). Such children are often well aware that their experience is different to the norm and use books to learn what normal childhoods are like. They are likely to be vulnerable to books aimed at them, which normalise unhealthy attitudes.

I agree completely with your earlier argument for not censoring books for adults (or older children). And that no good can come of sanitising the past. But I think a certain level of maturity is needed to detect the more subtle manifestations of dubious messages - and so we should not expect young children to necessarily be able to detect them.

As regards works of art by morally reprehensible people, I think it depends whether they are alive or dead. If alive, I might decide that I personally do not want to fund their lifestyle, but if they are dead, then I consider their behaviour irrelevant in assessing whether their art is worth seeing /hearing /reading.

>173 jjwilson61: and they are no longer available on Ebay, Amazon, and the like.

If the books are not available to read, not available for purchase, isn't that censorship?

>174 hfglen: it might have worked with eBay, some of the Seuss books that were no longer available for purchase were being bid into the thousands of dollars. But eBay stepped in, because these were books that were being pulled for racist reasons, and prohibited their sale.

>175 -pilgrim-: is the author you mention Dr. Seuss? No.

I prefer to focus on the particulars right now, and not get sidetracked by other books that aren't necessarily something we'd give to our own children to read.

Let's see why his book The Sneetches was targeted for removal by the SPLC:

“The solution to the story’s conflict is that the Plain-Belly Sneetches and Star-Bellied Sneetches simply get confused as to who is oppressed. As a result, they accept one another,” Smith wrote for Teaching Tolerance.

“This message of ‘acceptance’ does not acknowledge structural power imbalances. It doesn’t address the idea that historical narratives impact present-day power structures. And instead of encouraging young readers to recognize and take action against injustice, the story promotes a race-neutral approach,” the SPLC writer complained.

So this book was chosen for removal not because it taught racism, but because it didn't go far enough to balance power structures...really?

If you don't like a book, don't buy it. If we start censoring for trivial stuff like this, we will see an avalanche of books being pulled for not being "woke" enough.

Just chiming in to say that the Seuss books weren't banned or censored by the government; the publisher made the decision.

“Dr. Seuss Enterprises listened and took feedback from our audiences including teachers, academics and specialists in the field as part of our review process,” the company told the Associated Press. “We then worked with a panel of experts, including educators, to review our catalog of titles.”

“These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” the company said in a statement. “Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ catalog represents and supports all communities and families.”- From the Washington Post, March 2, 2021.

I should clarify that my comments in >167 Storeetllr: about book censorship was in relation to adult books, not children's books.

>178 fuzzi: But The Sneeches was not one of the books withdrawn. There have certainly been some very poor reasons for banning books.

>178 fuzzi:
I prefer to focus on the particulars right now, and not get sidetracked by other books that aren't necessarily something we'd give to our own children to read

Well, that was rather my question. Is it that you genuinely cannot conceive of a reason for banning/withdrawing what has been a popular children's book in the past? Or simply there are certain particular books that you miss and cannot conceive of being harmful? ( I have no idea of the connect of these Dr Seuss books; they didn't become a thing over here until a lot later.)

You have stated that you think censoring children's literature because of past attitudes isalways wrong. Yet all your examples appear to about racial attitudes.

I would agree with Meredy that views on many themes have advanced over the last few decades.

>179 Storeetllr: the Biden administration chose to remove Dr. Seuss from "Read Across America".

The publisher decided to remove six books (for now) from future publication. They have not ruled out removing others.

Some Dr. Seuss books have already been targeted for removal, including the one referenced above, The Cat in the Hat (looks like a minstrel?), and The Sneetches.

Once we start removing books for "hurtful" or other subjective reasons, the door is open to ban books.

Do we want to go there?

Ever read Babar?

In the 2007 book, 'Should We Burn Babar?,' the author and educator Herbert R. Kohl contended that the 'Babar the Elephant' books were celebrations of colonialism because of how the title character leaves the jungle and later returns to 'civilize' his fellow animals.

One of the books, 'Babar's Travels', was removed from the shelves of a British library in 2012 because of its alleged stereotypes of Africans. Critics also have faulted the 'Curious George' books for their premise of a white man bringing home a monkey from Africa.

And Laura Ingalls Wilder's portrayals of Native Americans in her 'Little House On the Prairie' novels have been faulted so often that the American Library Association removed her name in 2018 from a lifetime achievement award it gives out each year.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9316387/6-books-nix-books-Dr-Seuss-work...

If you don't like the book, don't buy it, don't read it, don't give it to your children.

But censorship, while often well-meaning at the beginning, never ends well, it avalanches.

>182 fuzzi: I'm of two minds about this issue as a whole, so I don't want to weigh in on censorship overall, but I do have to say that I am dismayed by the Laura Ingalls Wilder situation. I read those books avidly as a child in the late 1970s, and accepted her portrayals of Native Americans as being representative of the general sentiment at the time they were written. I certainly didn't adopt those ideals for myself, without needing to be told that by parents or teachers. My family has Native heritage, and there were plenty of other, more recent examples of Native peoples available as counterpoint. I didn't find Ingalls' portrayal to be damaging or offensive, just dated.

>182 fuzzi: I guess the inverse is also correct: If you like a book and want it on your shelves, you can always find it somewhere and buy it even if it's been banned or taken out of circulation due to the derogatory mischaracterization of a group or the espousal of a reprehensible ideology.

As far as the claim about Biden "removing" Dr. Seuss from "Read Across America," the truth is that he simply did not mention him in his address to mark the day. Neither Clinton nor Bush even addressed the day; that "tradition" was begun by Obama, so it's not really relevant.

>183 Darth-Heather: Speaking as someone who read the Laura Ingalls Wilder books as a young English child (aged about 5), I found the attitudes portrayed in the books immensely educational.

Her mother comes across as a lovely person in the books - that is how her daughter chooses to portray her, I had heard it suggested that the reality may not have been quite so simple. So when someone that you like turns round and says: "The only good Indian is a dead Indian", it came as a real shock.

That taught me about endemic racism in a way that the mere statement could not. I had heard of racism, in the sense of "bad people judge others on the colour of their skin", but that point here is that it was not a "bad, nasty person" who was doing it. The fact that a "good person" could come out with something like that showed me that the problem was not "bad people" being intentionally nasty, but something fundamentally wrong with society that such attitudes were accepted without question.

Remove such attitudes from an account of pioneering days, and you make what was done to indigenous populations incomprehensible.

It was a few years later that I realised the deeper implications of what was not included in the books - that Pa Wilder's new land grants were taken from Native American peoples in defiance of treaties.

When I first read Ma's hostility to "Indians" it seemed regrettable, but comprehensible, as they were entering her house when she was undefended and she felt threatened.

The realisation that their behaviour was quite moderate, given that they had just found a house built on their land gave a whole new perspective to the account.

So, on the one hand, I learnt a lot from it; on the other, I originally misinterpreted it due to lack of historical context.

>185 -pilgrim-: I see your point. I guess I wrote that kind of thing off because it was the attitude of Laura's parents, so I assumed that it represented an older generation's outdated beliefs. In the same way that we rolled our eyes when my grandmother told racist jokes or my father-in-law pointed out people (publicly, and loudly because he was deaf) "i remember when those folks couldn't sit at the front of the bus!". He was born in 1921, so it was true, but nobody wanted to hear it...

btw, Fuzzi, sorry we seem to have hijacked your thread with all our opinions :)

>186 Darth-Heather: it's okay. I appreciate the calm manner in which our dissenting opinions are being discussed.

My life has been so crazy lately, sorry to neglect the thread!

>187 fuzzi: And thank you for starting, and hosting, an interesting discussion.

>186 Darth-Heather: That was in itself an interesting reminder that our background experiences are very different.

When I was a child, I never heard genuinely racist remarks - only spiteful kids attacking any point of difference, whether of background or appearance. (Maybe my parents just managed to protect me well, but I think it was just generally agreed that racist remarks from adults were completely socially unacceptable.)

It is only as an adult that I have encountered people who say "all X are Y" (where X is a particular ethnic group and Y is a slur) with every appearance of actually believing it. (My actual background is rather complicated, but I am usually taken by strangers for completely English, so the people making such remarks often have no idea that it is my relatives whom they are insulting!)

ETA: I am not clear whether the anoint means this country is getting more racist or less polite.

But my point is that I think the different experiences of what constitutes the current situation will affect what reactions we can expect children to have to attitudes in older texts.

I picked Up Periscope as my night/bed read last night. I had a hard time putting it down. I think it was originally aimed at a teen audience but it's a gripping read about World War II post Pearl Harbor. Watch for my review, probably later tonight.

I decided to start reading Revolt in 2100 by Robert Heinlein last night, as it's been on my shelves for a while, unread. The first novella progressed nicely, but then it got tiresome. It should have been edited down to a short story imo. Not sure if I'm going to continue.

Addendum: Nope. I decided not to finish it, time's too short and too many books await me on my shelves. Bye.

Since my last visit here I've read:

The Greyhound
Native Dancer: Thoroughbred Legends
The Reluctant Dragon
Margaret Pumphrey's Pilgrim Stories
Horse of Two Colors

What will I pick next...?

Conan of Cimmeria is partially read, waiting for me to finish
One Eyed Cat isn't appealing to me right now
Puppet on a Chain is a possibility...?

(edited due to a complaint about a reference to a Christian holiday...)



Happy (censored) Sunday to all!

>192 fuzzi: He is risen indeed. Alleluia.

WOW! New book by Martha Wells in the Murderbot universe: "Home" (no Touchstone) is only 99 cents for pre-order at Amazon today!

https://www.fantasticfiction.com/w/martha-wells/home.htm?utm_source=ff&utm_m...

I've been reading the same book for a week. Some nights I am too tired to read more than a chapter, but the book is quite good and will be finished hopefully by the weekend: Riviera Gold by Laurie R. King.

>195 fuzzi: Is that a Russell/Holmes? I got off track reading those and need to catch up.

>196 MrsLee: yes, it's the latest if you don't include the one about to be published.

https://www.librarything.com/nseries/2675/Mary-Russell-%7BChronological-Order%7D

I feel she lost something with The Language of Bees, The God of the Hive, and Pirate King, but was back with Garment of Shadows.

My favorites are The Beekeeper's Apprentice, A Monstrous Regiment of Women, O Jerusalem, The Moor, and especially Locked Rooms.

I can't remember if I've read Garment of Shadows.

>198 MrsLee: amnesia story. :)

>199 fuzzi: lol, I was posting that at work and got interrupted. I was going to say that I have to check my Kindle, because it sounds familiar. Mom and I enjoyed those stories, but towards the end she couldn't concentrate enough to read, and I kind of quit for awhile there, too. I still can't read very long at a time.

I just noticed that you DNF'd Doorways in the Sand. That is something that I have been hunting for a long time; could you say what you didn't like about it? Should I strike it off my Wishlist?

>201 -pilgrim-: It's been a very long time since I read Doorways in the Sand, but I remember loving it and I still have a copy. I wonder if the Suck Fairy has visited it?

>201 -pilgrim-: well, I really like Zelazny, love the Amber series, and most of his other books are at least 3 star reads, but I couldn't get into that one. I wrote that it just didn't grab my interest enough to keep reading.

>202 tardis: I loved the Amber books as a teen. When I reread the first series a few years ago I was thrilled that I still enjoyed them, tremendously.

Yard Sale Newbery Award Gold Strike!!!!

The Grey King by Susan Cooper (Medal 1976)
The Light at Tern Rock by Julia L. Sauer (Honor 1952)
Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer (Medal 1937)
A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck (Honor 1999)
The View From Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg (Medal 1997)

I see that The Grey King is part of a series...anyone know if it would work as a standalone read?

>204 fuzzi: It's been a long time since I read The Grey King, but I would not really recommend it out of sequence. The characters are well established by this point, and there is an overarching story.

>205 -pilgrim-: okay.

::pushes The Grey King to the back of the bookcase::

Yeah - start with either The Dark is Rising or Over Sea, Under Stone. You should be able to find the series in the library - most libraries have it.

The weather has been delightful here, not the usual hot and humid we usually have at this time of year, so I've been outside doing yardwork and enjoying the flora and fauna. From this weekend:


Southern Leopard frog, just chillin'


Toad


Crescent butterfly

Lovely to see your garden visitors! The frog looks like he is just waiting for his drink to arrive! Great photos.

>208 fuzzi:, >209 Sakerfalcon: LOL, the way the frog’s legs are positioned in the water really does make it looks like he’s standing and leaning over on a counter or a bar!

Great pictures, all three of them!

>208 fuzzi: That reminds me of a song from the old children's musical "Down by the Creekbank." The song was called "Bullfrogs and Butterflies."

>209 Sakerfalcon: >210 YouKneeK: that's what I thought, too, like a fancy hotel where there's a bar at one end of the swimming pool!

>211 thornton37814: I'm not familiar with that one. Got a link handy?

Thanks for stopping by!

>212 fuzzi: I found the musical on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owr7_EfLHUo The song I was thinking of was apparently not in that album, although it also has bullfrogs in it. The song I was thinking of is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5q-1KMIRAo

>213 thornton37814: oh, that's a cute song, I've never heard it before!

Thanks for sharing it.

Personal note: my dad (92yo) lives in an RV, parked in front of my house. Insects regularly invade his "rig", including water bugs and roaches, which live outside here. He commented to me the other day that when he squishes bugs on his night trips to the bathroom the bodies are missing in the morning when he goes back to clean them up. This was a puzzle to both of us.

Yesterday the mystery was solved: he saw a lizard in his kitchen area, and identified it as a Broad-headed skink from an online photo. Yippee, eat dem bugs little skink!

Here's the photo:

>215 fuzzi: That is a serendipitous solution :)

>216 -pilgrim-: a serendipitous serpentine solution?

>217 fuzzi: Or even a sneaky serendipitous serpemtine solution?

>215 fuzzi: Now he just needs to train the skink to eat the bugs before he has to squish them!

I shan't add a surreptitiously snarky statement saying, "Sneaky serendipitous serpentine sustenance solutions should support squish stoppage."

>218 -pilgrim-: >219 YouKneeK: I read your posts to my dad, he laughed. Thank you.

>208 fuzzi: "Belly up to the bar, boys!" is what I thought on seeing the frog photo. How lovely to be working in the garden so early in the year. I remember some years in Colorado when it was still snowing around the end of April. Made it hard to believe spring had sprung.

Wonderful pictures! I'm envious of you folk who have lizards; northern Indiana is lizard-free (though I believe the southernmost areas do have one or two species). Leopard frogs (the northern variety) do live in our area but they seem to be rare. Bull and green frogs are what we've got in our pond. I'll try to snag pics of them to share; there's a beautiful pair of green frogs hanging out in the skimmer right now.

Technically, since skinks are lizards, they aren't serpentine (relating to snakes), but I love the tongue twisters you're all coming up with!

>221 Storeetllr: Unsinkable Molly Brown!

We're still having unseasonably cool temps here, possibility of FROST later this week!!! Our average last date of frost is usually about April 1st.

>222 CassieBash: pairs of frogs means tadpoles, woo!

I have a couple really large tadpoles in one of the ponds, so I'm wondering if the bullfrogs left their calling cards last fall.

Skinks aren't serpentine? Details, details!

>223 fuzzi: My daughter in Cincinnati woke up to snow on the ground this morning. She had 18C temperature yesterday.

>224 pgmcc: I lived in Cincinnati as a very young child, don't recall anything about it though.

When I was a little older we lived in Connecticut, and I recall getting snow as late as mid May, though only an inch or less. It was kind of funny waking up to a white lawn on Mother's Day, which happened on several occasions!

It was 38F here this morning, is expected to get down to 36F tomorrow morning, just above freezing. I'm going to water all my transplants tonight, before dark, as moisture helps to protect the tender annuals from frost damage.

EDIT: removed NOAA link as it is reflecting current temps, not the ones I was referencing back on 4/22/21...

>224 pgmcc: >225 fuzzi: Cincinnati may be my favorite place I've ever lived. It was a long drive to where my parents lived. I got a little closer by moving to East Tennessee, but as retirees they spent a lot of time in this area because they were owner/members at a campground in Pigeon Forge. The added time off at the Tennessee job also gave me more time to spend with them in Mississippi or to drive them in their RV to other places they wanted to see. I think there are good points and bad points about anywhere one lives. The distance was the worst thing with Cincinnati.

Ruthie and Eliza - April 2021

>226 thornton37814: I'm happy to hear you found a way to spend more time with your parents. My dad is 92 and lives in an RV (currently parked at my house) but my mom passed at 66, way too young.

I love eastern NC for everything but the humidity in the summer, and the mosquitoes. We rarely get snow and I get to garden 7-8 months out of the year, so it balances out.

ETA: the other thing I don't love about where we are living is it is almost 1000 miles from my granddaughters, see post above.

>227 fuzzi: Adorable! Aren't grandkids THE BEST!!!

>223 fuzzi: Yes, I think those frogs are a pair. We've had tadpoles both frog and toad in the pond and the bog but we usually don't see the frog tadpoles often until they get big. Since our pond is naturalized and has rocks all around the walls and floor, I think they must wriggle around in tiny caverns until they get big enough to hold their own with the fish. We've had the same thing with goldfish fry--we usually don't see them until they're at least an inch or two long, often bigger.

>227 fuzzi: Such cuties!

>227 fuzzi: They’re so cute! :)

I did not read AT ALL this weekend, too much going on, but did get back to Westward the Tide last night. I should finish it this evening and on to my "shared" read with CassieBash Maya the Bee.

>137 fuzzi: just a quick update for anyone who saw my reference in post 137:

Things are not going well on the home front, there's definitely a progression of my dh's condition, and more meds have been prescribed.

Don't take your loved ones for granted, death isn't the only possibility that can shatter your complacence.

>233 fuzzi:
Thinking of you and sending good wishes. Wishing you strength at this difficult time.

>233 fuzzi: That is sad to hear; I know how hard it can be to see the health of someone you love deteriorate, and it's hard to be the caregiver. I hope the meds help his condition. Prayers and good vibes headed your way.

>233 fuzzi: Sending virtual hugs. I hope the meds help. Wishing you strength.

>234 pgmcc: >235 CassieBash: >236 NorthernStar: thank you, very much.

>233 fuzzi: That sound harrowing. Thanks for the reminder.

>233 fuzzi: I am very sorry to hear that. I had been hoping that, in your situation, no news has meant good news.

>233 fuzzi: Oh no :( Keeping you and your family in my thoughts.

>233 fuzzi: Very sorry to hear that, I hope it improves.

>233 fuzzi: Strength to you both; it sounds like you need it.

>233 fuzzi: I'm sorry to hear your news. I will keep you and your dh in my prayers.

>238 quondame: >239 -pilgrim-: >240 Narilka: >241 Karlstar: >242 hfglen: thanks to all. You kindness is greatly appreciated.

There is no "getting better", medications merely retard the progress. And they're not working very well.

My gardens help, but mostly {religious reference notice} my faith keeps me going. I've got peace and strength at times that I can only attribute to my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

Now, back to books...

NOTE: I am a Christian. As this thread is in The Green Dragon group I try to abide by the No Religious Discussion rule. After receiving a complaint about my Easter greetings post, I have decided to use spoilers here, and in the future, for religious references.

If my occasional musings about my faith bother you, I would respectfully request that you not click on the spoilers link, but scroll past. In my friends' threads I scroll past that which I don't care to see, and hope others would reciprocate in my thread.

The other option, which would make me sad, is to not visit my thread. I would recommend it if any reference to my faith is upsetting you enough to have you complain to LT.

Thank you.

>233 fuzzi: May you find the strength and courage you need to carry you through these difficult times. *Hugs*

>233 fuzzi: I’m very sorry that things aren’t going well with your husband. I hope you’re able to get some occasional help with the caregiving. I only had a brief one-month stint as the caregiver for my mother during the last month of her life, but it was such a difficult experience, difficult in so many different ways, even for that comparatively short time.

>246 MrsLee: >247 YouKneeK: thank you SO much, my friends.

I think I'm ready to tackle another Newbery.

>233 fuzzi: oh, I’m so sorry. Hugs

>233 fuzzi: So sorry to hear this. {{{hugs}}}

>245 fuzzi: I'm glad you have your faith to get you through the hard times.

>244 fuzzi: as I am a devout atheist, I do not share your faith, but am deeply glad to know that you have it to sustain you. We all choose what supports us in our time of need, and whatever works for you is a blessing.

>250 Storeetllr: aw, thank you.

>251 Darth-Heather: I really appreciate that. Really. Thank you for offering your well wishes.

Stay strong, fuzzi. Virtual hug!

>253 CassieBash: thank you, friend!

5/26/21 - First Monarch butterfly sighting of the year!


5/22/21 - Summer heat brings out the dragonflies (probably a juvenile Eastern Pondhawk)

>255 fuzzi: Those are beautiful!

Caught this one earlier this week, wheezing for supper:



We've been hearing the squeaking from the box, and been watching Mum & Dad shuttling in and out. I think they've flown now.

>257 Maddz: what is it, some type of tit?

>256 -pilgrim-: thank you. I never realized how intricate insects were until I started photographing them.

Well, with all that's going on at work and home, May turned out to be a pretty bad bust.

Here's to June!

Yay for monarchs! I've got lovely milkweed already beginning to flower in the garden, just waiting for their first customer. BTW, they overwintered here! I was pleasantly surprised.

>257 Maddz: Aww :) Will the birds use the box again next year?

>244 fuzzi: Very sorry to hear of your husband's condition, I wish both of you strength in this difficult time.

>258 fuzzi: Yes, a fledgeling blue tit.

>262 Narilka: We've had the box for 4 or 5 years now, and this is the first year there's been a brood in the box, although it gets routine inspections and we've found partially built nests in there. So, hopefully now it's been used, it will get used again. Apparently, it takes time for them to get used to a new box (plus the smell of the new wood...)

>255 fuzzi: What great photos! I can never get good pics of dragonflies as they don't seem to stay still for long enough! They are amazing creatures.

>255 fuzzi:
Super shots.

>255 fuzzi: Beautiful pictures and I'm glad to hear of a monarch sighting! That means they're also on their way to us. I've seen precious few butterflies so far even though my butterfly magnet, my dwarf lilac, is in full bloom. Usually the swallowtails (particularly tigers) are covering that thing by now. Tomorrow, though, I start collecting some nettle-eating Red Admiral caterpillars, like this photo from 2015:



Dragonflies with wings are fully mature, not juveniles. I will say that as perfect as his wings are, he may have just recently entered his mature state; he is a beaut! Almost all insects undergo some sort of metamorphosis; dragonflies undergo a partial one (they don't have cocoons or pupa) but their young do look different from them, and are wingless. Their wings develop under their next-to-last skin so when they molt for the final time, their wings, all shriveled and folded, are there waiting for them to pump fluid and air into them, causing the wings to unfurl and take shape. Cicadas have the same type of metamorphosis; because they live underground until they are adults, you don't find any skins from previous molts above ground. All cicada skins you find are the final molt. Likewise with dragonflies, who are aquatic until that final molt. And it's a good thing, too, because dragonfly larvae eat water insects including mosquito larvae!

Here's a juvenile dragonfly larva picture from BugGuide.net. If you look on its back carefully, you can see the young wings starting to grow.



When I clean our pond skimmer, I have to keep an eye out for these guys because they will die if kept out of water eventually. I don't like picking through the nasty rotting vegetation and stuff caught in the skimmer net/filter but I do love finding these guys and putting them back in the pond. :)

>267 CassieBash: Dragonfly herding! Cool!

>261 Storeetllr: happy for you. My milkweed pop up everywhere, often 15-20' or more from the raised bed where I originally planted them!

>263 Karlstar: thank you.

>264 Maddz: I love titmice and chickadees, same family. Chickadees are my favorite bird.

>265 Sakerfalcon: >266 pgmcc: thanks. I take dozens of photos for one good one. I have learned to stalk, and provide attractive distractions to assist in getting close. By mid-summer there are so many flowers blooming in my gardens that the butterflies stay put in a small area for longer periods of time. I've observed that when disturbed dragonflies tend to circle back and land in the same place. I just wait about a minute and they show up.

>267 CassieBash: sorry, I was imprecise with the terminology. Newly emerged dragonflies are referred to as immature with coloring that gradually changes to adult type. I've uploaded unusual dragonfly photos to bugguide.net only to be informed that my specimen is an immature, and therefore harder to identify.

Nice photos as always.

>268 quondame: Never thought of it that way but when you call it that—yes, it does sound cool!

>269 fuzzi: Yep, that makes sense. Unlike butterflies and moths, dragonflies do change colors as their new skins harden. I’m going to guess that they term the cicadas the same way because they also go through color changes.

I have been fortunate to witness the final molt of a dragonfly nymph only once. Before we had the current huge pond, we had a smaller one built into the hill by the pond. (Technically it’s still there but it needs repairs before it can be in working order.). We would clean it periodically and one time we found a dragonfly nymph and put it aside in a child’s wading pool, set on a wooden picnic table to keep raccoons out of it, with a stick leading out of the pond water we filled the pool with. One morning it got onto the stick and my younger sister and I just happened to be there to see the immature dragonfly emerge. Like watching a butterfly emerge, it’s just a plain awesome sight. I’ve also watched a few cicadas emerge. It’s definitely something to try to see at least once if you can, and it’s about the only time you’ll be likely to hold a healthy dragonfly in your hand.

>270 CassieBash: I watched a damselfly nymph molt, kept coming back to check on its progress. Unfortunately the wings were damaged, twisted, and so I put the little guy on a lily pad, knowing what was eventually going to happen. Sad.

>271 fuzzi: Sorry to hear that your experience was marred by an unsuccessful molt. Believe me, it happens every year with some of my butterflies and I never get over the sadness of having to put them in as comfortable a spot as possible knowing a bird, toad, or another insect will probably get it.

Update: Real Life is still interfering with my reading. I was hoping to meet my 75 goal by the end of June this year...not QUITE going to happen. Oh well...

>273 fuzzi: Keeping you in my thoughts.

>274 pgmcc: aw. Thanks.

>273 fuzzi: Hope things get better soon.

>273 fuzzi: Numerical goals are meaningless when circumstances change.

Do what you have to do, and enjoy what you do manage to find time to read.

This is going to be a long haul. Don't waste energy regretting the trivial things. Hang in there.

>276 Narilka: thank you. Some days are better than others.

>277 -pilgrim-: you are right...so many important things suddenly aren't that important when circumstances change. I appreciate the good days, when my husband is more like his "old self".

One day at a time, truly.

Thank you to ALL my friends and well-wishers here.

Wow. I'm a TENNER!

It's my tenth Thingaversary!

How many books do I buy myself?

>279 fuzzi: Congrats!

Happy Thingaversary!

>279 fuzzi: Happy Thingaversary! I think the number is 11. At least 10 though.

>279 fuzzi: Congratulations on your 10th Thingaversary!

>279 fuzzi: Congratulations! I hope that you enjoy some book shopping.

>279 fuzzi: Happy 10th Thingaversary!

>279 fuzzi: Good show! Buy as many books as you please.

>283 pgmcc: >284 -pilgrim-: >285 Narilka: >286 haydninvienna: thank you, all!

Happy tenth, and buy yourself as many (or as few) as you want! 📚

Happy 10th Thingaversary! The usual number of books you buy yourself is 10 plus 1, but as clam said, buy as many or few as you want.

>288 clamairy: >289 Storeetllr: decisions, decisions...