Katherine Nabity's Blog, page 176

Best of 2015

This survey has been put together by Jamie @ The Perpetual Page-turner

I usually shy away from these sort of surveys because I don’t read that many books in a year. This year though, I read a lot of good books, but I’ve been having trouble deciding what to highlight. Enter the 2015 End of the Year Book Survey.

1. Best Book You Read In 2015?

Magic is my bailiwick. By far, the best book I had the opportunity to read this year was volume two of House of Mystery, edited by Todd Karr and Teller. It contained all the crunchy bits that were missing from my understanding of David P. Abbott.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

This designation goes to my first read of 2015: Raylan by Elmore Leonard. It was the weakest of his books that I read and far inferior to Justified.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. …And not in a good way. Considering how beloved this book is, I was pretty underwhelmed. Sorry, everyone!

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

I was really happy that at least one blogger I know read Michael Pronko’s Beauty and Chaos because of me (I think).

5. Best series you started in 2015? Best Sequel of 2015? Best Series Ender of 2015?

I don’t read enough series to have an ender as well as a beginner, but I was pleased to start J. A. Lang’s Chef Maurice series.

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015?

Despite my disappointment with Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier is a writer I’m really excited to read more of. I also read her anthology Don’t Look Now and the novella “The Birds.” Lots of good stuff there.

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

The Ghost Shrink, the Accidental Gigolo, & the Poltergeist Accountant by Vivi Andrews. This was a super fun little romance. Not too steamy. ;)



8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

Motherless Child by Glen Hirshberg. I think I read this in a day. I don’t read books in a day.

9. Book You Read In 2015 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Okay, time to be “boring” again. My most likely two-years-in-a-row reread is River City Empire by Orville Menard. Totally a research book, but really good none-the-less.

11. Most memorable character of 2015?

I’m going to have to go with a duo here: Vera Van Slyke and Lida Prasilova from Tim Prasil’s Help for the Haunted.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?

This goes to a reread: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2015 to finally read?

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Seriously, how did I miss reading this for 30 years?

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2015?

I don’t keep track of quotes, so I looked back on my Kindle highlights. Maybe not my favorite quote, but something that’s been going around in my and Eric’s writerly heads lately:

All enduring popular literature has this open-ended quality, and extends this invitation to the reader to continue, on his or her own, with the adventure. Through a combination of trompe l’oeil allusions, of imaginative persistence of vision, it creates a sense of an infinite horizon of play, an endless game board; it spawns, without trying, a thousand sequels, diagrams, and Web sites.  ~Michael Chabon, Maps and Legends

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2015 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I didn’t think I’d like it as much as I did.

21. Best Book You Read In 2015That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

Well, since it’s Gothic, not solely based on peer pressure, but after reading Bellman & Black, I was strongly advised to read The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. And I liked it! But probably not as much as I liked Bellman & Black. Sorry, everyone!

23. Best 2015 debut you read?

I didn’t read many true debuts, but I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend The Witch of Lime Street by David Jaher.

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

On the River, Down Where They Found Willy Brown by Theodore Wheeler. I love Wheeler’s depiction of 1910’s Omaha. Definitely looking forward to his Kings of Broken Things in 2017.

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

Aside from Chef Maurice and a Sopt of Truffle, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 1 by Ryan North and Erica Henderson was the most fun I had reading this year.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

The Rise of the Indian Rope Trick by Peter Lamont. Okay, I knew it was going to be pretty good, but I really liked the take on history and research that Indian Rope Trick presented.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015?

The Castle of Otranto Horce Walpole. A novel published in 1764 and the basis of a genre might be an odd choice for the most unique, but seriously, how many books have giant stone helmets falling from the sky?

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and The Future of Neurodiversity by Steve Silberman. I’ll have a review of this coming up in the next couple of weeks, but some of the very backward attitudes people have toward autism really, really get to me.

I did skip a few questions, here and there. I’ll have a stats update in the New Year.

What Else in December

I’m returning to using What Else as my monthly round up of stuff I haven’t posted about/monthly summary/update post.

Short Stories

In the past week, as a part of #COYER, I read two short stories:

“Escapology” by Chris Winterton – “Escapology” is a pretty short short story juxtaposing a bridge jump by Houdini in 1910 Australia and the life of a grimy undertaker. Not a bad effort, all in all.

“Chef Maurice and the Rather Fishy Tale” by J. A. Lang – This Chef Maurice tale is a special freebie given by the author for signing up for her email list. It’s a complete little mystery in 30 pages. Worth the effort!

Writing Work

I’ve spent December on sabbati-hiatus. I’ve taken the “down-time” to get our promo ducks in a row, look at ways to improve our listings on Amazon, and improve our newsletter. I’m also working on putting together an anthology of my short works.

Other Life Stuff

December has been December with all the associated holiday stresses. I have to admit, I really didn’t get into the Christmas spirit this year. It feels like 2016 should have started two weeks ago. Are there Happy New Years cards I can send to the half of my Christmas card list I didn’t get to?

Been continuing to take Coursera classes. I finished up “Using Python to Access Web Data” and “Grammar and Punctuation” and started “Using Databases with Python,” “Introduction to CSS3,” and “Superhero Entertainments.” The grammar class was a nice refresher, though I’m still not sure I could explain the differences in verb tenses. Similarly, the CSS course’s main purpose (for me) is to teach me the correct way of doing things rather than often wrong self-taught manner I’ve been using. Funnily enough, the set of web pages we’ve been styling is about ultimate frisbee. (The other thing I’ve been pouring time into during sabbati-hiatus has been finally giving the VOTS pages a good update.) And I’m taking “Superhero Entertainments” because I thought it might be interesting.

Looking Forward

Bout of Books starts in a week! I’m totally going to readathon it up. I’ll have an official post next week.

My parents are coming to visit/house hunt at the end of January. They’re strongly considering moving to Prescott.

At the very end of the month, we’ll have our yearly ultimate frisbee tournament. I’m planning to play one day and otherwise generally help out. Spring league sign-ups will be starting too.

Deal Me In, Week 52 ~ “The General”

Hosted by Jay @ Bibliophilopolis

“The General” by Carol Emshwiller

Card picked: Seven of Clubs

From: Thrilling Tales, edited by Michael Chabon

Thoughts: Sadly, for the last story of the year, I don’t have a lot to say about “The General.” Maybe it’s just that I’m looking forward too enthusiastically to 2016.

The tale is told in alternating POVs. One is “We,” a conquering military dictatorship searching for an escaped traitorous general. The other POV is the man they are looking for. Originally one of the subjugated people, the man had decided to become a perfect prisoner and later a perfect soldier, a general in fact, in an effort to lead an uprising, or at very least escape. He does escape and is taken in by a little girl, Loo, and her grandmother. Whose side are they on, living off the land in the mountains? And what will the man do when Grandma becomes ill and the only help is in the city he escaped from?

The dictatorship is as loathsome as you’d expect. They had taken pride in turning the man into a prized soldier and are confident that they will be able to track him down. If they are worried about him, it’s not like they’d ever tell anyone…

 

Saturday Cinema ~ The X-Files

 History

The X-Files premiered in the fall of 1993. I was a brand-spanking-new college freshman that year and had, luckily, fell in with a group of fellow speculative fiction fans. To show my utter geekiness, I have fond memories of a Friday night ritual that included a Target/Super Saver run, take-out food, and watching The X-Files and whatever unfortunate show was in the death slot before it. When I moved out of the dorms (with their free basic cable) in 1997, I lost track of most TV shows. Seriously, Lincoln, NE has many great things, but its over-the-air TV reception was utter crap. When I could afford cable again, a couple seasons later, I was totally lost. The over-arching “mythology” of X-Files had gotten the best of me.

In mid-November 2015, I had the chance to binge the series via a free month of Amazon Prime. With the mini-series coming in January, I thought I’d try to get a little caught up.

“Thexfiles” Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.
Observations

I didn’t watch every episode. After two seasons, I started watching mythology episodes and what are considered the best of the series. I didn’t make it very far into season 9.
I think that X-Files was important to TV by bringing in the concept of over-arching plots to series television. Unfortunately, I don’t think the mythology episodes are very good. By season 9, things have gone in very odd directions.
I don’t watch a lot of television, but I don’t know of many shows that are brave enough to regularly do out-of-the-ordinary episodes. A lot of the crime dramas I watch get very repetitive. X-Files kept things fresh. There are mythology episodes and monster of the week episodes, but also great comedy scripts, artistic episodes shot in black and white, and other experiments from its writers, directors, and actors. Some worked, some didn’t.
While not a fan of seasons 8 and 9, I like John Doggett. I have a soft spot for the solid, loyal characters who are good at their job, but not extraordinary, and get tossed into screwy situations.
I’ve been cynical about a number of nostalgia projects/reboots, but I’m looking forward to the X-Files mini-series. I like that it isn’t a reboot with a new, young cast. I want to see older Mulder and Scully.



“XFilesCreditsS1-7” Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.
My Top Ten X-Files Episodes

In series order:

“Beyond the Sea” s1, e13 – Amid so many great images from the first season (a season that included Eugene Tooms in “Squeeze”), the ghost of Scully’s father sitting in her Christmas decorated home was one that caught me by surprise. It was a scene that I forgot I remembered. Plus, this is a great performance by Brad Dourif as serial killer, and maybe psychic, Luther Lee Boggs.
“Humbug” s2, e20 – The first of four episodes written by Darin Morgan (five with the upcoming mini-series). All of his episodes mix in comedy, which makes them lighter, but not necessarily less serious. “Humbug” is set in a Florida freak show retirement park. Guest cast: Michael J. Anderson, Vincent Schiavelli, Jim Rose, The Enigma.
“Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose” s3, e3 – Peter Boyle is a life insurance saleman who can see how people die. Darin Morgan brings a light touch to a character that could simply be tragic.
“Jose Chung’s From Outer Space” s3, e20 – The last Darin Morgan on my list, and the most overtly funny. It’s a homage to pulp literature and UFO culture. Guest cast: Jesse Ventura & Alex Trebek as Men in Black.
“Home” s4, e2 – “Home” is a nasty piece of business, obviously inspired by 70’s horror films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It’s also really beautifully shot by cinematographers Jon Joffin and Ron Stannett.
“The Post-Modern Prometheus” s5, e5 – Talk about an out-of-the-ordinary, kind of bizarre episode. Shot beautifully in black and white, this is from the other end of the horror inspiration spectrum, borrowing from James Whale’s 1931 Frankenstein. With a soundtrack by Cher.
“How the Ghosts Stole Christmas” s6, e6 – Ed Asner and Lily Tomlin as Christmas ghosts. And that’s how Chris Carter does a bottle episode with four actors and one set.
“Milagro” s6, e18 – Not the most well-regarded episode, but I found John Hawkes performance as a writer obsessed with Scully to be really claustrophobic and discomfiting. If Joyce Carol Oates wrote an episode, this would be it.
“The Amazing Maleeni” s7, e8 – Why is this one of my favorites? Magicians. Ricky Jay as Maleeni and Jonathan Levit as his rival. Plus, it’s more of mystery than an X-File, and a pretty well done one.
“Je Souhaite” s7, e21 – It took The X-Files seven seasons to get to djinn. While not as funny as a Darin Morgan episode, Vince Gilligan does a good job with a cynical genie who is fed up with the stupid wishes that humans make. Humans including Agent Mulder.

Deal Me In Lunar Extra ~ “The Cold Embrace”

Hosted by Jay @ Bibliophilopolis

“The Cold Embrace” by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

Card picked: A nine.

From: Available online at Gaslight. I originally heard about this story at Paula Cappa’s blog. That particular entry also features Kelly Link’s “The Specialist’s Hat” which was my first Lunar Extra of 2015.

Thoughts:

He was young, handsome, studious, enthusiastic, metaphysical, reckless, unbelieving, heartless.

And being young, handsome and eloquent, he was beloved.

The “he” above is a student and the ward of his uncle. The student pledges to marry his cousin Gertrude, who is very much in love with him. And he is in love with her, at least for the moment. Of course, the uncle wants better than the student for his daughter, and the two are forced to declare a secret engagement. The student vows:

I would return to you from the grave, Gertrude. My soul would come back to be near my love. And you–you, if you died before me–the cold earth would not hold you from me; if you loved me, you would return, and again these fair arms would be clasped round my neck as they are now.

Gertrude, being fairly pious despite keeping secrets from her uncle, replies that people who die and are right with God, go to heaven. Heaven is better than earthly love. “…[I]t is only the suicide–the lost wretch on whom sorrowful angels shut the door of Paradise–whose unholy spirit haunts the footsteps of the living.”

Of course, our handsome, heartless student goes off to Italy and forgets Gertrude. The uncle finds a rich suitor for her and she is contracted to be married in June. Gertrude, still desperately in love with he student, remembers his vow to her even if he doesn’t…

While maybe a tad predictable, this is still a nicely told tale. The end scene, with the student in Paris for Carnival, brings to mind Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Man of the Crowd.” A good end to my Lunar Extra experiment.

About the Author: I kept trying to remember how Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s name was familiar to me when I was certain I hadn’t read her before. Her novel Lady Audley’s Secret is on my Gothic TBR.

Pinned: #COYER ~ Back to the Basics

Join us December 19th to March 4th with the Clean out your E-reads Challenge hosted by Fantasy is More Fun, Because Reading & Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! and start cleaning out your free or nearly free E-reads!

I’m a little late jumping in, but better late than never, right?

While I’m really going to  concentrate on reading what I already own in 2016, I’ve still been adding to my hoard in 2015. First up for cleaning? The December downloads that I want to read before March 4th:

Ghostwriter Anonymous by Noreen Wald, ARC from NetGalley – at 38%
The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne, free via Amazon
Good Girls by Glen Hirshberg, ARC from NetGalley
“One Drink” by Max Florschutz, free from Amazon
“Chef Maurice and the Rather Fishy Tale” by JA Lang, free via author’s webite
“Escapology” by Chris Winterton, free from Amazon

Downloaded previous to December and need to be read in the near future:

Mrs. Houdini  by  Victoria Kelly, ARC from NetGalley
Deadlands: Ghostwalkers by  Jonathan Maberry, ARC from NetGalley – at 27%

Investigating the Cozies ~ Chef Maurice & Giulia Driscoll

Chef Maurice and a Spot of Truffle by J. A. Lang

“They say one should never trust a thin chef. By this measure, Chef Maurice was very trustworthy indeed.”

Take one sleepy Cotswold village, mix in one Poirot-esque murder mystery, add a larger-than-life French chef with an appetite for solving crime, and season with clues and red herrings galore . . .

It’s autumn in the Cotswolds, and Chef Maurice is facing a problem of mushrooming proportion. Not only has his wild herb and mushroom supplier, Ollie Meadows, missed his weekly delivery—he’s missing vital signs too, when he turns up dead in the woods near Beakley village. Soon, Chef Maurice is up to his nose in some seriously rotten business—complete with threatening notes, a pignapping, and an extremely well-catered stake-out. Can he solve Ollie’s murder before his home-made investigation brings the killer out for second helpings? (via Riffle)

I picked up this cozy on the advice of the Puzzle Doctor  at In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel. True to the Doctor’s word, this is  worthy read.

Sure, fine, maybe it’s not on the level of “worthy” as Shakespeare or Dickens, but there is a place for those guys and a place for a French chef solving crimes in an English village with his restaurant critic sidekick, Arthur, and his soon-to-be-well-trained truffle-snuffling micro pig, Hamilton.

Often, I’ll look at a book in terms of what could go wrong. There are a lot of moving parts in Chef Maurice. After a previous cozy, when I started reading, I listed characters because there seemed to be many of them. I didn’t need to do this because Lang gives the supporting cast enough personality that it was easy to keep the characters separate. There are a couple of scenes from Hamilton’s POV. I’d recently seen the convention of scenes from an animal’s point of view done rather poorly. In Chef Maurice, these are kept light and appropriate. Most importantly, though, the mystery is good and it’s Chef that does the detecting.

It’s also very funny. (Why don’t I read more funny books?) Chef Maurice and a Spot of Truffle is going on my list of books to recommend during readathons. It’s light, well-written, and entertaining.

Publishing info, my copy: Kindle ebook, Purple Panda Press, April 2015

Acquired: Sept. 19, 2015, Amazon

Genre: cozy mystery

“Changing Habits” by Alice Loweecey

A GIULIA DRISCOLL MYSTERY SHORT STORY

The day Giulia Falcone jumped the wall—that’s code for leaving the convent—her sole possessions were the clothes on her back. Four years later, she’s an official Private Investigator juggling a rash of church vessel thefts and her complete inability to find a wedding gown that doesn’t require her to steal a gold chalice for herself. She’s about to marry her boss despite all the advice about office romance. Giulia is a champion multitasker. The Church is on her back to find the thief. Her all-natural co-worker is insisting she walk down the aisle to the soundtrack for The Sound of Music. Her fiancé’s relatives are overwhelming her with plans and advice and excitement. Piece of cake. She can find the clue that unmasks the thief. She can keep an eye on the music. All she needs is a wedding gown for her own wedding. In four days. What could possibly go wrong? (via Riffle)

“Changing Habits” wasn’t as successful for me as Chef Maurice and a Spot of Truffle, but that’s probably mostly me. For example, my wedding was super low-key and that was pretty much ideal. But I did want a taste of Giulia Driscoll. I’ll say that it’s quite possible that I’ll pick up Nun Too Soon one of these days. Maybe this series doesn’t entirely fit the cozy mystery pattern–Giulia is a PI, and I enjoyed the more contemporary urban setting–but there was a lot of warmth and humor.

Publishing info, my copy: Kindle ebook, Henery Press, Dec. 2014

Acquired: Dec. 12, 2015, Amazon

Genre: mystery

Merry Magic Monday!

I like Mondays. On Monday, I am refreshed from the weekend and exhilarated by the possibilities of the week ahead. I also like magic. I like its history, its intersection with technology, and its crafty use of human nature. I figured I’d combine the two and make a Monday feature that is truly me: a little bit of magic and a look at the week ahead.

A little holiday magic from magician Jen Kramer:

It’s Monday, What Am You Reading?

I *will* finish McSweeney’s Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales this week because it contains my last story for Deal Me In. I would have read more of The Magician and the Cardsharp last week, but my hands were achy and it’s a lovely, heavy hardback. Started Ghostwriter Anonymous by Noreen Wald. So far, so good.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading, hosted by Book Date!

On the Blog

Tuesday: Review of Chef Maurice and a Spot of Truffle
Friday: Lunar Extra – “The Cold Embrace” by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Saturday: Saturday Cinema – My X-Files Binge
Sunday: Deal Me In – “The General” by Carol Emshwiller

Deal Me In, Week 51 ~ “The Man Who Boxed Forever”

Hosted by Jay @ Bibliophilopolis

“The Man Who Boxed Forever” by Edward D. Hoch

Card picked: Eight of Diamonds

From: Murder on the Ropes, ed. by Otto Penzler

Thoughts: Simon Ark, one of Edward D. Hoch’s signature characters, might be immortal, so it comes as no surprise to *him* that boxer Desmond “Dragon” Moore might be 100+ years old. Our intrepid narrator, Ark’s sidekick for this adventure, isn’t so sure about either. Isn’t it more likely that the birthmark that links Dragon to a boxer in 1892 New Orleans is just a clever tattoo to match an intriguing story? When investigative reporter Roger Russel turns up dead in the middle of a training ring, beaten upside the head with an ancient cestus, all the “evidence” points to Dragon.

Cestus on the Boxer of Quirinal. MatthiasKabel assumed (based on copyright claims). Licensed under CC BY 2.5 via Commons

This was something a tiny bit different for my last story from Murder on the Ropes, but I was disappointed that the story wrapped up so abruptly.

About the Author: This seems to be one of the last stories that Hoch wrote in his prodigious and prestigious career. Simon Ark featured in his first published short story in 1955.

Review ~ The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 1: Squirrel Power by Ryan North, Erica Henderson (Illustrator)

Wolverine, Deadpool, Doctor Doom, Thanos: There’s one hero that’s beaten them all-and now she’s got her own ongoing series! (Not that she’s bragging.) That’s right, you asked for it, you got it, it’s SQUIRREL GIRL! (She’s also starting college this semester.) It’s the start of a brand-new set of adventures starring the nuttiest and most upbeat super hero in the world!

(via Goodreads)

Doreen Green is just a regular college student. Except that she can talk to squirrels (just ask her best friend Tippy-Toe), has size-equivalent squirrel strength (which makes moving in a cinch!), is occasionally late for class because she’s out besting baddies, and is a computer science major (not your run-of-the-mill “girl” major). Okay, so Doreen is not a “regular” college student. And Squirrel Girl isn’t your average, ordinary superhero either. She defeats cosmic villains with wit, rhetoric, and occasionally an army of squirrels. And, she has a theme song!

“Squirrel Girl, Squirrel Girl! Powers of both squirrel and girl! Find some nuts, eat some nuts! Kick bad guuuuuys’ evil butts!”

This book is so much fun. I have a soft spot for insanely confident, cool-with-being-corny characters. And puns. There are lots of puns. This volume includes volumes 1-4 and Marvel Super-Heroes #8 from 1990, which is the first appearance of a kinda deranged looking Squirrel Girl.

Publishing info, my copy: Marvel, Aug. 2015, paperback

Acquired: Purchased in December 2015 from Amazon

Genre: superhero