For various reasons, I am moving to Exploding Steamboats for the bulk of my blogging activities. I will be archiving most of my posts here, but I will leave the book reviews and reading-related posts here until I find a good online home in which to gather them. You can also view my book reviews on Goodreads.

It seems that my Goodreads reviews are no longer showing up automatically here, and I’m not certain I have the skill or the inclination to sort it out. So if it’s my book reviews that interest you, you will have to go straight to the source, for now at least. As for the other stuff, I’m trying to decide how many blogs I really want to maintain. It is getting more and more difficult to compartmentalize my life, so perhaps it is time to do some consolidation of my personae.

At the same time, I am contemplating a proliferation of aliases because, well, it’s fun to name things, and it’s not like I have kids to name. I’ve named my car. I guess I could name my house. Would it be too weird to name my piano? Maybe it’s a sign that I should create some new fictional characters, but I’m still having fun with the ones I’ve already named. But if you learn that I have legally changed my name to Noctua Noctis, remember, you were warned.

I Can Barely Take Care of Myself: Tales From a Happy Life Without Kids by Jen Kirkman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Book #12 for 2014

I remember back in the old days of the Web, Amazon was tinkering with its recommendations programming. Having determined that I was a female of childbearing age, it persisted in recommending to me nothing but Barney videos, Playskool toys, and books with titles like Everybody Poops. After several weeks of steadfastly declining any and all of these recommendations, Amazon finally got a clue. Just one, though, because it then started recommending I read nothing but lesbian erotica. I have nothing against readers of lesbian erotica, but I am not one (I don’t even like straight erotica), and I resent the implications that a) the categories of “mommy” and “lesbian” are mutually exclusive, and b) these are the only two identifiable categories of female between the ages of 18 and 35. I probably don’t have to tell you that I didn’t buy anything from Amazon for quite some time.

I am finally old enough that people have quit telling me that I’ll change my mind about having kids. They do still tell me I will regret it someday, though, and people who don’t know me well simply assume that I already have kids. So the assumption that as a straight female I must of course need a child in order to be a whole and happy human being still rankles. Thus it should not surprise you that this title appealed to me.

This was amusing and hit on a lot of the things that bug the hell out of me about smug motherly types. Jen’s voice put me in mind of Tina Fey’s at times, but she was still a little lacking in the polish that comes with more life experience. I also thought Jen got a little rambling and repetitive at times. Still, it’s nice that somebody with a sense of humor tackled this topic. I would recommend this to others who, like me, are child-free by choice and want a little validation. I might have given it four stars instead of just three if I felt like it would do any good to recommend this to somebody who doesn’t understand our perspective and would gain insight from reading it. It’s more of a preachin’ to the choir kind of book.

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Magical Alienation by Kris Neri
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Book #11 for 2014

I’m a big fan of Neri’s Tracy Eaton series, but I just didn’t connect well with this novel. It may be partially because I hadn’t read the first book in this series, so I was bewildered most of the time, unsure of who everybody was and how they were connected. It may also because it shares some of the same elements as Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid series, but the storytelling style is completely different, so maybe my narrative expectations were a bit off.

I did really enjoy the wacky humor, though. I may not have understood a lot of it, but I could tell Neri had a fun time with these characters. I may just go back and read the first book sometime. But first I think I’ll get caught up with Tracy Eaton.

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I had a Goodreads goal of finishing 54 books in 2014, and I met it. Just barely, and it once again involved raiding a child’s bookshelf at a New Year’s Eve party, but I’ll take it. And after three years in a row, I think I can safely call it a tradition. (Though when the child starts reading chapter books, I’m going to have to ditch her parents’ party and find a friend with a toddler.) If you are interested in seeing what all 54 of the books were, Goodreads has gathered them all together nicely.

I also have a Goodreads shelf for my favorite reads each year, and here is my Top 10 for 2014:

1. Redshirts by John Scalzi was the winner of absolute favorite read for the year, but there was a great deal of very stiff competition for the other 9 slots, so I am listing those in alphabetical order by title.

2. As She Left It by Catriona McPherson. An atmospheric cold case set in Leeds.

3. Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow. We listened to this on our Winnipeg road trip this summer.

4. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I wasn’t expecting to like this one.

5. How Music Works by David Byrne. Another audiobook from the road trip, and I’d say it has something for just about anybody who has anything more than the most casual interest in music.

6. Maplecroft by Cherie Priest. I want to be Cherie Priest when I grow up.

7. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. So glad this high-concept book turned out to be so completely not lame.

8. Orpheus is Bleeding (Volume 1) by Don J. Baldwin. A highly evocative collection of poetry.

9. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. More than a little mind-bending, even 15 years later.

10. Timebound by Rysa Walker. Some of the best YA I’ve read in a long time.

The Stinker of the Year award also had several titles vying for it. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein may not actually have been the worst of the lot, but damn, I had such high expectations for it. Lots of people loved it, though, so YMMV.

My “Start Less; Finish More” efforts resulted in a huge epic fail. I was shooting for a Finish 2 : Start 1 ratio for 2014. I wound up with a 54 : 55 ratio instead. I was toying with the idea of setting an even harder goal for 2015, but I question the wisdom of simply intensifying my potential for doom. Instead I think I will track my ratio without setting a specific goal and then see how it compares. I’m a big fan of longitudinal data.

Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Book #10 for 2014

I think I liked this book. It’s really hard for me to say, as it was very foreign to me in a number of ways, and I mostly just had to let it sweep me along, in hopes that I would grasp enough of the story to make some sense of it. The overall concept and way of looking at the supernatural world was fascinating, but I had a tough time keeping the characters straight in my head. And I still don’t understand exactly what happened in the end.

There was an underlying fatalism that simultaneously intrigued me and bored me. In this way it put me in mind of The Russia House and The Tailor of Panama. I realize Le Carre is not a Russian author, but maybe there is something about those Cold War tales that points to very Russian sentiments. And maybe I just don’t really care for the Russian literary worldview. I’ve always prized the concept of balance, but perhaps I am coming to realize that balance can mean stasis and stability can mean stagnation.

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The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book #9 for 2014

This was a fascinating concept for a book, and I really appreciated both the flower dictionary in the back and the acknowledgment that not all such dictionaries use the exact same translations. In fact, that was key to the story in some spots. The main character of Victoria Jones was interesting in how she brought all of these floral meanings to life. There was a touch of magical realism to her, and though I think I might have liked the book better if it had been full-on magical realism, it made me appreciate her as a character even when I shook my head at the mess she was making of things.

Diffenbaugh did a good job pacing character development and interactions, and her use of description throughout the book was well done, pulling me into scenes rather than holding me at arm’s length. I do have enough minor quibbles that this isn’t quite a five-star book for me, but the theme of forgiveness is rendered so touchingly that I would recommend this to anybody looking for a refreshing tale of redemption that blends the modern and the vintage to good effect.

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Time Travel Trio by Sam Knight
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Book #8 for 2014

How odd that I am a total sucker for time-travel stories, yet I have a hard time understanding them. Well, maybe it isn’t so much that I don’t understand them as I feel the need to thoroughly analyze their structure and so rarely have the leisure to do so. Fortunately for me, this little trio is short enough that I should be able to re-visit them and try mapping them out more clearly. For now I will have to say just that all three were intriguing and I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up bumping the rating higher once I’ve had the chance to pick them apart and see how they work.

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Some of you may be aware that on Saturday, October 9, 2004, I very nearly died. It’s very strange and unlikely (some people I know would employ the word “miraculous” here, and while I don’t think the word quite fits, it’s pretty damn close) that I did not. This past Thursday being the 10th anniversary of the event, I felt that I should celebrate. I was, however, at a loss as to how to do this. For one thing, I had to work most of the day. And then there was book club. Don’t get me wrong, the Strange Worlds book club was, as always, excellent. But it is a fairly routine occurrence in my life. (And the book selection, Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer, did not make me feel all warm and fuzzy about being alive.) (I’ll review it later, but I did actually like it. Sorta. Well, I gave it 9/10 for quality. And 4/10 for enjoyability. So a solid 6.5/10 overall.)

So Thursday night I found myself driving into Old Town with no special celebratory plans. But as I parked on Pine Street, I noticed that the new chocolate shop, Nuance, had opened. And I had about half an hour to kill. It was Destiny. Or, well, you know, just how things worked out. And one of my Strange Worlds friends apparently had the same idea — or Destiny, if you will — so we had a little pre-club chat about the book while sipping our respective chocolaty beverages. Mine was half TheoBrew and half coffee. And I had never even heard of TheoBrew before. It’s brewing chocolate that is ground much in the same way as coffee beans and then brewed. And it’s delicious!

After book club, I went home and treated myself to some fancy cheese and a glass of lovely red wine, and then I picked out an appropriate bead to add to my charm bracelet (right next to my medical alert charm). It made for a nice end to my evening, but it wasn’t anything truly new and different for me. And I think that’s what I was looking for — a chance to expand my horizons a bit. The TheoBrew wasn’t some incredibly mind-blowing experience or daring adventure, to be sure, but it was something new and different. So in honor of this extra bit of life that I have been granted, I am renewing my commitment to seeking out new and different ways, whether on a small or a grand scale, of appreciating life.

If you’ve been reading this blog for a very long time, you may remember that I occasionally made posts related to monthly “Do Something Different” challenges from the BookCrossing forums. So this idea in and of itself is not a new thing for me. But from now on, I won’t be waiting till the end of the month to see if I can remember doing anything different. Instead I will record them here, thus reviving my much neglected blog!

So, Thursday – TheoBrew! Friday…I learned how to play a game called Cluster Fight. I think I won. (Well, I played the Chuck Norris card, so yeah.) And today? I went to a flute convention for the first time ever. It was a small one, the Colorado Flute Fair, but it was a totally new experience for me, attending a masterclass and participating in workshops with a big roomful of other flautists. Katherine Kemler and Christina Jennings both provided very helpful guidance and I hope to incorporate these techniques into my practice. Maybe next year I will actually participate in the flute choir.

His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book #7 for 2014

This is the first book of the Temeraire series, and the premise — Napoleonic Wars, with dragons! — is just awesome. I found myself really enjoying this world that Novik created. I did have a hard time following some of the battle scenes, but I think that has more to do with my usual lack of patience for fight scenes. After reading the bonus material in the back of the book, though, I think much of it would have helped a lot in that regard had it been interspersed throughout the action of the story instead of saved for the end.

My only real complaint about the story is that until very near the end, it seemed to lack any serious conflict beyond the war in general. It seemed so impersonal. But it did ramp up the conflict and personal involvement finally, and the overarching themes of honor, duty, and loyalty were timeless.

I’m tempted to recommend this to anybody who likes dragons and/or the Napoleonic Wars, but I’ve noticed that a surprising number of people in those categories have been surprisingly unenthusiastic about this book. So it’s hard to predict who will like it. All I can suggest is that if it sounds interesting, give it a try, and don’t be afraid to skip to the bonus material if you find the battle scenes challenging to envision.

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