It’s been an incredibly wet Saturday–lots of rain, gusts of wind, and we’re supposed to get thunderstorns later. I’m not sure how much rain we’ve gotten, but as of 8:00 this morning it was about 2/3″ and it’s been raining pretty steadily all day, and they’re forecasting about another inch tonight. Mom and I went out for coffee this morning (I brought my knitting), but otherwise, it’s been a lazy, stay-at-home day. I read the new Elizabeth Peters book (not one of her best efforts), played with my new Lendrum (nice, but I still can’t get the hang of the long-draw method), balanced my checkbook, and that was about it.

 

I’m sorry to hear about the Pope, though not surprised. I think Annie said it best:

We can rage against the dying of the light, but we have to rest sometime. I pray for the Pope’s peaceful passing. I am not Catholic, but I do admire the Pope as a leader. I absolutely do not agree with the Catholic church on so many things, but there is no question that Pope John Paul II was a man who believed at his very core that he was acting and doing what in his heart he believed was the right thing for his followers. And I respect that conviction and that strength.

 

On the plus side, I got a call today–my friend and co-worker, Jimmy, became the father of twins today. Six weeks early, but mother, baby boy (Andy) and baby girl (Didi) are doing fine. He and their 22-month old have the house to themselves for a couple of days (the boy came through normal channels, but the girl went for a little drama and requested a C-section . . . I guess coming last after two brothers, she wanted to be sure her arrival was noticed!). The twins should be in the hospital, breathing in some extra oxygen for about two weeks, but they’re healthy, everybody’s fine, and Jimmy is over the moon. Beginnings as well as endings today, folks!

 

---

 

Now, without further ado, here’s my reading list for the month of March.

 

 

1. BANISHING VERONA by Margot Livesey (321 p). An interesting little love story . . . Verona shows up one day and disappears the next, leaving Zeke trying to find her while she tries to find her brother, who is in trouble . . . kind of sweet.
2. ALLERGY AND ASTHMA CURE by Fred Pescatore (232 p.) Pretty much what it sounds like—a diet/supplement/exercise approach to solving (or at least helping) allergies and asthma.
3. A DOG YEAR (209 p.)
4. DOGS OF BEDLAM FARM by Jon Katz (251 p.) Life of an author with Border Collies. The first tells the story of Devon, a troubled dog, who comes to live with the author and his two Labs. The second tells how he bought a sheep farm for his (now) three Border Collies . . . I still like the first a little better, but both were good and touching. I love a good dog story, and this man tells a good one.
5. JOUST (442 p.)
6. ALTA (434 p.) by Mercedes Lackey. The first two of a fantasy trilogy that takes place in an Egyptian-type world with dragons. Some of her best work since she conceived Valdamar, I think, and Kvetch is a wonderful protagonist as a serf who is taken to be a Dragon Boy. I’m looking forward to the third one, coming out in May.
7. ESSENTIALS OF YARN DESIGN by Mabel Ross (126 p.) Ways to spin consistent yarn, to specifications (instead of just taking what you get!)
8. WIZARD’S SHADOW by Susan Dexter (277 p.) Classic fantasy story. The peddlar Crocken makes a deal with a shadow (yes, a literal shadow) to take him on a journey . . . pretty standard kind of story, but a wonderful author . . . I wish she were still writing!
9. 1812 by Walter R Borneman (204 p.) A look at the War of 1812, which I know very little about. Well-written, well-researched, informative, and enjoyable. Good history.
10. SUPERFOLKS by Robert Mayer (231 p.) On the surface, the plot of this book sounds a lot like the plot of the movie the Incredibles . . . but I didn’t think it was nearly as good. Basically just a comic book about a washed-up superhero, but without the graphics or pictures or colors . . . and therefore, not nearly as much fun. Interesting, though—it was written in the 1970s and some of the references to “current” public figures was kind of neat, in an anachronistic kind of way.
11. GUARDIAN OF HONOR by Robin Owens (409 p.) Another fantasy book, but not as good as the others—a young, lawyer gets pulled into an alternate world to be their “savior” and, naturally, she is incredibly powerful and incredibly smart, and of course, she falls in love with a man whom she can’t stand . . . not horrible by any means, but pretty predictable. Average.
12. MARCH by Geraldine Brooks (280 p.) So . . . while Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy were getting to know Laurie and John Brook . . . what do you suppose Mr. March, their father, was doing off in the Civil War?? Great idea—I always enjoy knowing what’s been going on behind the scenes—but I was disappointed in this book. I didn’t find his story to be nearly as interesting as it could have been. I’d been looking forward to this for months and felt pretty let down.
13. CRYSTAL SOLDIER by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (321 p.) If you’ve read any of their Liaden books, you’ll understand when I tell you this is the story of the roots of Korval—the meeting of Cantra and Jela, way back before anything resembling Liad even existed, and when there is a galactic war going on . . . Their writing is always good. I missed the “universe” I was familiar with, though, so I followed this with:
14. BALANCE OF TRADE (451 p.) A stand-alone by the same authors. Well before the stories of Val Con, Miri, Shan, and Patricia, but with Liad and Terra firmly established as trading partners/competitors. Jethri is a great character, and I hope they give him a little more to do in the future.
15. NICCOLO RISING (470 p.)
16. SPRING OF THE RAM (469 p.)
17. RACE OF SCORPIONS (534 p.) by Dorothy Dunnett. The first three books of her 8-book series, The House of Niccolo. Favorites. Elaborate. Complex. Amazingly detailed. Historical, 15^th century Fiction. Working on book #4 right now.
18. GENERAL WASHINGTON’S CHRISTMAS FAREWELL by Stanley Weintraub (176 p.) I was disappointed in this one, just like I was the last book of his I read—great concept, great story, but . . . the writing just bored me.
19. TREASURE FOREST by Cat Bordhi (284 p.) Ugh. A young adult book that, if I’d read when I was about 10, I probably would have loved . . . Now, I still read young-adult level books, I think the writing is as good if not better than many so-called grown-up books, but this was just . . . ugh. Wordy. Sentimental. Hard to follow. Too little plot . . . Boring.
20. TWO-END KNITTING by Anne-Maj Ling (203 p.) Knitting book that looks at the Scandinavian technique of “twisted” or “twined” knitting. It’s a great technique, and it’s nice to see another book about it, but I thought the (out-of-print) book, “Twined Knitting” was a better description of the technique.
21. SUNSHINE by Robin McKinley (389 p.) A coffee-shop baker, famous for her cinnamon rolls, is kidnapped by vampires, but happens to meet up with (and rescue) a vampire who actually has a sense of honor . . . completely unlike her other stories, but written with the same attention of detail and the same creativity. Considering I’m not overly fond of vampires . . . this is the third time I’ve read it.
22. HISTORY LESSONS by Dana Lindaman and Kyle Ward (372 p.) Two things to say about this book—it looks at the way U.S. history is portrayed in textbooks in other countries, which is fascinating. Seeing how schoolkids are taught about is is enlightening. A very good thing. Nicely edited book, lots of work, lots of approaches. All good. The problem is that, this way, you end up reading the same kind of thing over and over . . . the Revolutionary War from the British perspective, the French, the Caribbean. . . and, sadly, reading the same facts again and again gets kind of . . . boring. Not to mention that, since all the excerpts are drawn from text books for children, the tone is . . . less than challenging! I think this makes a great reference, but as a “straight read,” it was less than ideal—not the book’s fault!
23. KNIT HAPPENS by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (328 p.) This small gem of a book is just a delight for anyone who knits (or who knows a knitter). It’s filled with little essay-like “meditations” about knitting, obsession, family, stashes of yarn . . . all things that any person who knits can appreciate. Each entry is short and sweet–some only a paragraph long, some a page or two–but they’re unreservedly fun. Each is headed by a delicious quote, too, by knitters and non-knitters alike, and then summed up in her own, sparkling way. I read her blog every day (http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/) and her book is a delight.
24. MYSTIC AND RIDER by Sharon Shinn (440 p.) The newest book by one of my favorite authors, and the first of a new trilogy. Much more classic “fantasy” than she usually writes, but great characters, interesting story, and . . . well, she’s a favorite for a reason!
25. SURELY YOU’RE JOKING, MR. FEYNMAN by Richard P Feynman (346 p.) He’s famous, of course, for being an expert in physics, but this book is like sitting down with him and listening to him tell funny story after funny story—the tone of voice is perfect and accessible and this was entirely enjoyable to read. (Like, the time he learned how to break into safes while working in Los Alamosduring WWII; or the time he . . . )
26. OPINIONATED KNITTER by Elizabeth Zimmerman (128 p.) A reprint of a decade’s worth of her “Woolgathering” newsletters—patterns for knitted items interspersed with friendly chattings . . . and tributes from her daughter and others, since of course, she passed on several years ago. She is renowned in the knitting world!
27. REVERSING ASTHMA by Richard Firshein (341 p.) Another “how-to” kind of book, whose title pretty much says it all.

 

Currently reading: “American Brutus,” “Suburban Safari,” “How Dogs Think,” “Scales of Gold”

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:March Reading //