HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!!!!!! and 2009 book final count

My final count on books read in 2009 is 135. For a list, see below:

1. Living with the Dead - Kelley Armstrong
2. Wish You Were Here - Rita Mae Brown
3. Rest in Pieces - Rita Mae Brown (1/7/09)
4. Murder at Monticello - Rita Mae Brown (1/9/09)
5. Pay Dirt - Rita Mae Brown (1/11/09)
6. Murder, She Meowed – Rita Mae Brown (1/14/09)
7. Hot Cops – Shane Allison (ed) (1/15/09)
8. Murder on the Prowl – Rita Mae Brown (1/16/09)
9. Cat on the Scent – Rita Mae Brown (1/19/09)
10. Pawing Through the Past – Rita Mae Brown (1/21/09)
11. Catch as Cat Can – Rita Mae Brown (1/30/09)
12. The Tail of the Tip-Off – Rita Mae Brown
13. Whisker of Evil – Rita Mae Brown (2/5/09)
14. Men of the Otherworld – Kelley Armstrong (2/6/09)
15. The Lost Temple of Karttikeya – Laura Baumbach (2/7/09)
16. Roughhousing – Laura Baumbach (2/10/09)
17. Out There in the Night – Laura Baumbach (2/10/09)
18. Furies of Calderon – Jim Butcher (2/17/09)
19. Academ’s Fury – Jim Butcher (2/20/09)
20. Catechism of the Catholic Church (2/21/09)
21. Cursor’s Fury – Jim Butcher (2/24/09)
22. Living Islam Out Loud – Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur (ed) (2/25/09)
23. In the Land of Invisible Women – Qanta A. Ahmed, M.D. (2/28/09)
24. The Caged Virgin – Ayaan Hirsi Ali (3/5/09)
25. Infidel – Ayaan Hirsi Ali (3/11/09)
26. An Exorcist Tells His Story – Gabriele Amorth (3/17/09)
27. Captain’s Fury – Jim Butcher (4/10/09)
28. Princeps’ Fury – Jim Butcher (4/14/09)
29. Tangled Webs – Anne Bishop (4/15/09)
30. Welcome to the Jungle – Jim Butcher (4/16/09)
31. Storm Front – Jim Butcher (4/25/09)
32. Caged Slave – Yuiko Takamura (5/2/09)
33. Qur’an – Abdullah Yusuf Ali (trans.) (5/9/09)
34. Fool Moon – Jim Butcher (5/10/09)
35. Happy Hour at Casa Dracula – Marta Acosta (5/14/09)
36. Grave Peril – Jim Butcher (5/30/09)
37. The Orthodox Church – Kallistos Ware (6/1/09)
38. Dragon Actually – G.A. Aiken – (6/3/09)
39. The Orthodox Way – Kallistos Ware (6/8/09)
40. Summer Knight – Jim Butcher (6/14/09)
41. Storm Front Vol. 1: The Gathering Storm – Jim Butcher (6/15/09)
42. The Pretend Wife – Bridget Asher (6/16/09)
43. Blood Rites – Jim Butcher (6/27/09)
44. Tempt Me With Darkness – Shayla Black (6/27/09)
45. Dead Beat – Jim Butcher (7/1/09)
46. Proven Guilty – Jim Butcher (7/3/09)
47. White Night – Jim Butcher (7/4/09)
48. Small Favor – Jim Butcher (7/5/09)
49. Backup – Jim Butcher (7/5/09)
50. Mean Streets – (anth.) Jim Butcher (7/7/09)
51. Turn Coat – Jim Butcher (7/8/09)
52. The Sacred Bones – Michael Byrnes (7/10/09)
53. Sarah – Orson Scott Card (7/12/09)
54. Rebekah – Orson Scott Card (7/13/09)
55. Rachel & Leah – Orson Scott Card (7/14/09)
56. Kushiel’s Dart – Jacqueline Carey (7/19/09)
57. Kushiel’s Chosen – Jacqueline Carey (7/22/09)
58. Kushiel’s Avatar – Jacqueline Carey (8/1/09)
59. An Exorcist: More Stories – Fr. Gabriele Amorth (8/6/09)
60. Kushiel’s Scion – Jacqueline Carey (8/15/09)
61. Kushiel’s Justice – Jacqueline Carey (8/19/09)
62. Kushiel’s Mercy – Jacqueline Carey (8/23/09)
63. Naamah’s Kiss – Jacqueline Carey (8/24/09)
64. Santa Olivia – Jacqueline Carey (8/26/09)
65. The Devil You Know – Mike Carey (9/7/09)
66. Vicious Circle – Mike Carey (9/9/09)
67. The Accidental Human – Dakota Cassidy (9/10/09)
68. Let Us Attend – Fr. Lawrence Farley (9/22/09)
69. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay – Michael Chabon (9/24/09)
70. The Lost Symbol – Dan Brown (9/30/09)
71. Dead Men’s Boots –Mike Carey (10/3/09)
72. Murder in the Raw – C.S. Challinor (10/3/09)
73. Sea Dragon Heir – Storm Constantine (10/7/09)
74. The Thorn Boy & Other Dreams of Dark Desire – Storm Constantine (10/10/09)
75. Wraeththu – Storm Constantine (10/11/09)
76. Star Trek – Alan Dean Foster (10/13/09)
77. Frostbitten – Kelley Armstrong (10/16/09)
78. Sharpe’s Tiger – Bernard Cornwell (10/19/09)
79. Sharpe’s Triumph – Bernard Cornwell (10/22/09)
80. Thicker Than Water – Mike Carey (10/26/09)
81. The Naming of the Beasts – Mike Carey (10/28/09)
82. Sharpe’s Fortress – Bernard Cornwell (10/29/09)
83. Sharpe’s Trafalgar – Bernard Cornwell (10/30/09)
84. 52 – Greg Cox (10/31/09)
85. Iron Man – Peter David (10/31/09)
86. Catering to Nobody – Diane Mott Davidson (11/1/09)
87. New Moon – Stephenie Meyer (11/4/09)
88. Dying for Chocolate – Diane Mott Davidson (11/5/09)
89. The Cereal Murders – Diane Mott Davidson (11/7/09)
90. The Last Suppers – Diane Mott Davidson (11/9/09)
91. Killer Pancake – Diane Mott Davidson (11/12/09)
92. The Main Corpse – Diane Mott Davidson (11/16/09)
93. The Grilling Season – Diane Mott Davidson (11/19/09)
94. Bread & Water, Wine & Oil: An Orthodox Christian Experience of God – Archimandrite Meletios Webber (11/21/09)
95. Prime Cut – Diane Mott Davidson (11/21/09)
96. Tough Cookie – Diane Mott Davidson (11/22/09)
97. Sticks & Scones – Diane Mott Davidson (11/25/09)
98. Chopping Spree – Diane Mott Davidson (11/27/09)
99. Double Shot – Diane Mott Davidson (11/29/09)
100. First Lord’s Fury – Jim Butcher (12/01/09)
101. Burning Alive – Shannon K. Butcher (12/01/09)
102. Anything Goes – John Barrowman (12/02/09)
103. The Didache: Text, Translation, Analysis and Commentary – Aaron Milavec (12/04/09)
104. Eclipse – Stephenie Meyer (12/05/09)
105. The Face Behind the Veil – Donna Gehrke-White (12/07/09)
106. Dark Tort – Diane Mott Davidson (12/09/09)
107. Ghost in the Mirror – Leslie Rule (12/10/09)
108. Breaking Dawn – Stephenie Meyer (12/12/09)
109. Heart Full of Lies – Ann Rule (12/13/09)
110. Sweet Revenge – Diane Mott Davidson (12/13/09)
111. Abraham’s Children – Jon Entine (12/14/09)
112. Dead Over Heels – Mary Janice Davidson (12/14/09)
113. Demon’s Delight – Mary Janice Davidson (12/14/09)
114. Sleeping with the Fishes – Mary Janice Davidson (12/15/09)
115. Swimming Without a Net – Mary Janice Davidson (12/16/09)
116. Fish Out of Water – Mary Janice Davidson (12/17/09)
117. Hello, Gorgeous – Mary Janice Davidson (12/18/09)
118. Drop Dead, Gorgeous – Mary Janice Davidson (12/20/09)
119. Mysteria – Mary Janice Davidson (12/22/09)
120. Undead and Unwed – Mary Janice Davidson (12/23/09)
121. Cravings – Mary Janice Davidson (12/24/09)
122. Undead and Unemployed – Mary Janice Davidson (12/24/09)
123. Undead and Unappreciated – Mary Janice Davidson (12/24/09)
124. Undead and Unreturnable – Mary Janice Davidson (12/25/09)
125. Undead and Unpopular – Mary Janice Davidson (12/25/09)
126. Undead and Uneasy – Mary Janice Davidson (12/25/09)
127. Undead and Unworthy – Mary Janice Davidson (12/26/09)
128. Really Unusual Bad Boys – Mary Janice Davidson (12/26/09)
129. The Royal Treatment – Mary Janice Davidson (12/27/09)
130. The Royal Pain – Mary Janice Davidson (12/28/09)
131. The Royal Mess – Mary Janice Davidson (12/28/09)
132. Dead and Loving It – Mary Janice Davidson (12/29/09)
133. Derik’s Bane – Mary Janice Davidson (12/30/09)
134. Secrets Vol. 6 – Mary Janice Davidson (12/31/09)
135. Secrets Vol. 8 – Mary Janice Davidson (12/31/09)

This year (2010, for those not paying attention), we will include my manga tankoubon, because I think they should count. But not comics or magazines, cause that would just be *silly.*

Health and Books Update

Briefly, nyah *points down* are all the pills I'm currently taking daily. However, only one of them is prescription - the rest are all herbals, etc.



I'm currently taking Levothroid (tiny purple pill) which is the synthetic thyroid hormone. Then, next to that (the brownish looking pills) are my bladderwrack. I've been on the bladderwrack for about a month, and it's been great. Seriously, I wouldn't have believe you if you told me that three little pills a day would make my life so much better. The muscle/joint aches/pains are gone. I'm sleeping better and not dead tired when I wake up. I'm to the point where I'm going to start getting up earlier in the morning to exercise again, which is something I had to give up as the fatigue got worse.

The big clear pills in the next two slots are fish oil - that way, even when I'm not eating fish, I'm getting some fish.

The reddish pills are acai, which...I just thought I'd try. :)

And the two big white pills are calcium citrate.

Everything except for the bladderwrack and levothroid is new, because I wanted to see if the bladderwrack would do any good. It has, so now we're branching out, trying new things.

I also picked up some dulse which Anna mentioned. Um....it's seaweed. And it tastes like what it is. Like the ocean. Not something I'm going to be snacking on any time soon. However, put it in something, and it's good. The woman at the store claimed that if you fried it it would taste like bacon, but I haven't tested that one out yet.

On the subject of probably TMI, but I'm sharing anyway, my libido has rediscovered me. Which is good, because that's one of my symptoms, but bad, because...well...temptation of the physical nature hasn't been an issue for me until just now. So. Working on that.

Books: I'm up to 68 which means that I'm 7 books behind my schedule. Bugger. Luckily I have the last week of October off, and intend to do nothing but read to catch up. That is the plan. I *will* make my 100 books by the end of the year.

Books: 1st Half of Kusheline Cycle

Jacqueline Carey is a fantasy author. I adore her, truly. She's not for everyone, but I find that she writes a world so rich and detailed that you want to (and half believe that you can) reach out and touch it.

She has three series (four, I guess, if you separate the Terre d'Ange books, but I don't) - Terre d'Ange, The Sundering, and Santa Olivia. I *love* the Terre d'Ange books. Love, love, love. The Sundering...I found...dry? Ah. High fantasy, but it was missing *something*. Santa Olivia I have but haven't read yet. Though it has werewolves (or werewolf-like characters), so how can it go wrong? Don't answer that. I have faith in Ms. Carey.

But we're talking about Terre d'Ange here. The first three books in this universe are Kushiel's Dart, Kushiel's Chosen, and Kushiel's Avatar. They're the story of Phedre no Delaunay.

I don't want to say too much about the actual plot of the books, because it's thick and complicated. If you like adventure and political intrigue set in ancient times, these books have it in spades. Sword fights and great battles, invasions, magic, trips to distant and fantastic lands only recognisable through the veil of fantasy. There is, however, a lot of sex in the books. Believe it or not, it's important to the plot. I promise, it is. And it's handled delicately - not there for titillation. And violence. And violent sex. No one should take what occurs in the books as realistic. It's a fantasy novel, fiction, and the society is very permissive. And still, it's part of the plot. Really. Phedre is... different, and necessary.

But here's the basic set up of the universe:

About 800 years ago, Yeshua ben Yosef, the only begotten son of the One God was crucified. When his blood and the Magdalene's tears mingled in the earth, they created a child, Elua. Elua was divine, through his father's line, but also part human, through his mother. He wandered the earth, claiming no place for his own, and was eventually imprisoned in Persia. Eight angels (Naamah, Cassiel, Kushiel, Anael, Azza, Camael, Eisheth, Shemhazai) took exception to this state of affairs, and descended to earth. Naamah lay with the King of Persia for Elua's freedom, and then the nine of them wandered the earth, looking for a place to settle. They were run out of every country because the people feared their old gods' reaction to Elua and the One Gods' angels' presence in their lands. They came to a land without a name, where the people had no gods. And they settled there and began to breed into the population. *Eventually*, the One God sent an angel (and then another, both of whom failed) to call them all back to Heaven. Otherwise, he said, their offspring would over run the earth, since they were essentially immortal. Elua refused on behalf of himself and the Companions and their children - they weren't meant for his Heaven, Elua claimed, as it was bloodless, and he was not. So the One God made for them a separate place, the True Terre d'Ange to Come, where they could go and all their descendants.

So that's the creation myth of Terre d'Ange. Of course, eight centuries later, the D'Angeline's don't show a whole lot of the angelic bloodline, except that they are all unfailingly beautiful and haughty and healthy. Left with the one precept of Blessed Elua - Love as Thou Wilt. They have their own intricate society and...Phedre is born. God-touched. Kushiel's Dart mars her eye. And she's born with a deeper purpose that no one can guess. The Companion's playing a gods' game with their offspring, to preserve them from a fate they don't know is coming.

The second half of the Kusheline Cycle is Imriel's story (I can't explain who he is, it's an integral part of the first half of the Cycle). It starts with Kushiel's Scion. And the first two lines of the book always speak to me:

What does it mean to be good?

When I was a child, I thought I knew. It was easy then.

The State of the Amber Address

We're gonna do this nice and simple. :)

1. I'm thinking about going back to school. I've never, actually, graduated college, because I kept screwing around, changing what I wanted to do. My work will actually pay for classes, because the owner feels that better educated employees are better employees. I hadn't taken advantage of this before, because it used to be that they would only pay for classes that led to a business degree, and I knew I definitely didn't want to be a business person. And my mother wants to apply for a grant that would cover the books...

2. Related to 1, my mother wants me to be a High School English teacher. She also wants me to quit my job so I can go to school full time, but that's not happening. I have *always* had a job. I've worked since I was 14. Also, I suspect that this specificity has something to do with the fact that my Opa was a HS English teacher.

3. Religious Ed - I'm feeling...let's go with 'uncomfortable' with this idea, more and more. As someone who *just* finished RCIA, I'm not feeling terribly qualified - surely there are others who are better grounded in the faith? The perhaps inappropriateness of me, as a woman, teaching the faith has come up, and while I'm not entirely sold on it, it is a consideration. I do *not* like the Religious Ed. Director. Let's be honest, if I had kids, and she was the teacher? I would have a *problem* with that, and would pull my kids out. And I'm feeling that, while I *want* to teach, on the one hand, so I can try and make certain the children are being taught correct information, on the other, I'm beginning to think that I shouldn't lend my unspoken support by participation to an activity that I have issues with. Also, there are a few things that, in our initial 'meeting' with her, were left out. Like the classes throughout the year that teachers are required to attend, and the cost thereof. It's not prohibitive, I'm just unhappy that she never even mentioned it. Of course the 'meeting' was not really one, except in theory. And the classes that I'd have to attend? If I go back to school, they would become impossible. And I have to decide, which is more important? And I'm leaning towards my schooling. All of these things keep adding up, and it makes me unhappy, because I wanted to teach, but I'm beginning to think that, at least in this setting, at this time, it's not going to happen.

4. I haven't been sleeping well - I have *very* vivid, half-awake nightmares. I actually came totally awake trying to beat off the little person that was attacking me. The 'little shadow person' was actually the recumbent bike at the end of my bed, and I was whipping it with my sheet. Piglet was staring at me from the pillows at the top of the bed, 'wtf?' clearly expressed in little doggy eyes...

5. I stayed up *way* too late last night reading Dresden Files. Jim Butcher is a dangerous, dangerous man, and should never be allowed to stop writting.

6. I am thinking about wearing my jilbab out on Sunday.

7. My foot continues to hurt. I'm considering taking a couple days off from exercising to see if that helps.

8. 2009 Book List checkup - 42 books. 8 books behind schedule.

Books, Books, Books

Three things, but all on the same theme: books.

Item 1:

Some people bargain hunt for clothes, some hunt animals, shoes, whatever. Lo, I am the great hunter of books! Out BAMM has large bargain tables, and they get library books as well, and every so often I go through them. Today, I feel I have done excellently. :)





Item 2:



Okay, goal of the year is to read 100 books this year. As of the end of March, I have read:


Living with the Dead - Kelley Armstrong
Wish You Were Here - Rita Mae Brown
Rest in Pieces - Rita Mae Brown (1/7/09)
Murder at Monticello - Rita Mae Brown (1/9/09)
Pay Dirt - Rita Mae Brown (1/11/09)
Murder, She Meowed – Rita Mae Brown (1/14/09)
Murder on the Prowl – Rita Mae Brown (1/16/09)
Cat on the Scent – Rita Mae Brown (1/19/09)
Pawing Through the Past – Rita Mae Brown (1/21/09)
Catch as Cat Can – Rita Mae Brown (1/30/09)
The Tail of the Tip-Off – Rita Mae Brown
Whisker of Evil – Rita Mae Brown (2/5/09)
Men of the Otherworld – Kelley Armstrong (2/6/09)
Furies of Calderon – Jim Butcher (2/17/09)
Academ’s Fury – Jim Butcher (2/20/09)
Catechism of the Catholic Church (2/21/09)
Cursor’s Fury – Jim Butcher (2/24/09)
Living Islam Out Loud – Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur (ed) (2/25/09)
In the Land of Invisible Women – Qanta A. Ahmed, M.D. (2/28/09)
The Caged Virgin – Ayaan Hirsi Ali (3/5/09)
Infidel – Ayaan Hirsi Ali (3/11/09)
An Exorcist Tells His Story – Gabriele Amorth (3/17/09)



22 books. So, I'm a little behind. Clearly, I need to read more.



Item 3:



I have lots of books. Some, I have decided to get rid of. Before I take them to either Goodwill or the used book store (to exchange for more books), I thought I'd query the couple of people who read here. Would any of you like some of my books? Right now the backlog of books I want to get rid of consists mainly of Star Wars books, but eventually there will be others. If you guys are interested, or know anyone who is, let me know and I can work out how to do this. Keep in mind, I'm *giving* the books away. No charge, no shipping, nada. I'd rather mail them to someone who wants them than dump them off at Goodwill where they might languish forever, or take them to the store, where I will just get more books, which, since my current library is somewhere around 1,500 books, we'll all agree I don't really need. :)