2017 Books Read

Well, I think I can safely put this year’s books read into the record books – there’s no way I’m finishing another book on New Year’s Eve.

1. Lonely Planet Iceland
2. Shades of Grey – Jasper Fforde
3. Fool – Christopher Moore
4. The Star of Kazan – Eva Ibottson
5. A Curious History of Cats – Madeline Swan
6. The Blue Sword – Robin McKinley
7. The Goldfinch – Donna Tartt
8. In the Woods – Tana French
9. Lirael – Garth Nix (reread)
10. Abhorsen – Garth Nix (reread)
11. It Itches – Franklin Habit
12. A Quiet Life in the Country – T. E. Kinsey
13. The Reluctant Widow – Georgette Heyer
14. Waistcoats and Weaponry – Gail Carriger
15. The Palace Job – Patrick Weekes
16. The Winter Sea – Susanna Kearsley
17. Dead Man’s Ransom – Ellis Peters
18. Warbreaker – Brandon Sanderson
19. Impossible Things – Connie Willis
20. Goldenhand – Garth Nix
21. The Paper Magician – Charlie N. Holmberg
22. The Perilous Sea – Sherry Thomas
23. The Immortal Heights – Sherry Thomas
24. A Darker Shade of Magic – V. E. Schwab
25. Uprooted – Naomi Novik
26. An Everlasting Meal – Tamar Adle
27. Exile’s Song – Marion Zimmmer Bradley
28. Wishful Drinking – Carrie Fisher
29. Wilderness and the American Mind – Roderick Nash
30. The Seventh Bride – T. Kingfisher
31. Goldmayne – Kate Stradling
32. Ivan Ramen – Ivan Orkin and Chris Ying
33. Sylvester: or the Wicked Uncle – Georgette Heyer
34. The Magician’s Ward – Patricia C. Wrede
35. The Hanging Tree – Ben Aaronovitch
36. The Wine of Angels – Phil Rickman
37. Ink and Bone – Rachel Caine
38. Risuko – David Kudler
39. Magic Bites – Ilona Andrews
40. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street – Natasha Pulley
41. The Blue Girl – Charles de Lint
42. Grail – Stephen R. Lawhead
43. A Sampler of Wayside Herbs – Barbara Pond
44. Epic Tomatoes – Craig LeHoullier
45. The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder – Marta McDowell
46. Bath Tangle – Georgette Heyer
47. From a High Tower – Mercedes Lackey
48. Avalon – Stephen R. Lawhead
49. Heart’s Blood – Juliet Marillier
50. The Pilgrim of Hate – Ellis Peters
51. The Secrets of Wildflowers – Jack Sanders
52. The Medival Underworld – Andrew McCall
53. The Nonesuch – Georgette Heyer
54. Clean Sweep – Ilona Andrews
55. Defying Mars – Cidney Swanson
56. Miles Errant – Lois McMaster Bujold
57. Elementary – ed. Mercedes Lackey
58. Cloaked in Red – Vivian Vande Velde
59. A Discovery of Witches – Deborah Harkness
60. Shadow of Night – Deborah Harkness
61. The Scarlet Thread – D. S. Murphy
62. Station Eleven – Emily St. John Mandel
63. The Book of Life – Deborah Harkness
64. The Hero and the Crown – Robin McKinley
65. P.S. from Paris – Marc Levy
66. Sunshine – Robin McKinley
67. Chalice – Robin McKinley
68. Magic Burns – Ilona Andrews
69. Magic Strikes – Ilona Andrews
70. Magic Bleeds – Ilona Andrews
71. Oak and Ash and Thorn – Peter Fiennes
72. The River’s Gift – Mercedes Lackey
73. Shadows of Self – Brandon Sanderson
74. Planting in a Post-Wild World – Thomas Rainer and Claudia West
75. An Excellent Mystery – Ellis Peters
76. The Furthest Station – Ben Aaronovitch
77. A College of Magics – Caroline Stevermer
78. Sorcerer to the Crown – Zen Cho
79. Blue Lily, Lily Blue – Maggie Stiefvater
80. West of the Moon – Margi Preus
81. Chew Volume 1: Taster’s Choice – John Layman and Rob Guillory
82. The Fire Sermon – Francesca Haig
83. Magic Slays – Ilona Andrews
84. Saga Volume 1 – Brian K Vaughn and Fiona Staples
85. A Study in Sable – Mercedes Lackey
86. Chew Volume 2: International Flavor – John Layman and Rob Guillory
87. Gulp – Mary Roach
88. The Serpent’s Shadow – Mercedes Lackey
89. In Calabria – Peter S. Beagle
90. Jack the Giant Killer – Charles de Lint
91. Drink Down the Moon – Charles de Lint
92. Longbourn – Jo Baker
93. The Dark is Rising – Susan Cooper
94. A Book of Wayside Fruit – Margaret McKenny and Edith F. Johnston
95. Wildflowers of Maine – Kate Furbish
96. The Grey King – Susan Cooper
97. Faro’s Daughter – Georgette Heyer
98. Kingfisher – Patricia A. McKillip
99. Seaward – Susan Cooper
100. Saga: Volume 2 – Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples

I actually read 100 books this year.  Partially, because this was the year of the comfort reread, and partially because this was the year I got really sick of tv, and a read away a few Saturday or Sunday evenings I might have otherwise knit through with the tv going.

I also got a real Kindle, so was able to read ebooks in bed more easily than on the Ipad, so I read ebooks outside of vacation this year.

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2017 Knitting Projects

It was not my most productive year ever – part of that is that I did finally complete a sweater that I actually like wearing, and I was knitting that in the height of summer, so I really didn’t get as much done in the summer as I might have in years past.

It was also clearly a hat heavy year, for whatever reason.   This was also the year I really took to colorwork.     That will probably continue for a bit next year – I have a few more things I want to work out in that vein.   I think I’m also going to work on a shawl next year – I have a few in the queue that are more art ideas or blankets than shawls, since it’s so hard to wear those.

Seaward – Susan Cooper

Here’s another reread. This story is somewhat based on Celtic mythology, but draws in two young people from the “real” world. Westerly and Cally have both lost their parents, and in their grief are both drawn into another world where they met Lugan and Taranis – who both have extraordinary powers. They both know that they must reach the sea, and that their parents may be there, but Taranis will do all that she can to prevent them. They must find their way together.

This is a very sweet story – it was published in 1983, so predates the current YA craze, and it’s therefore a lot shorter than you might expect if you came up reading those books. It ages beautifully – the parts of the world that West and Cally come from are recognizable, but not sketched in such a way that they’re limited to any one time.

Knitting Notes

Pattern: Constellate by Hunter Hammersen
Yarn: Dun Roving Yarns Frolicking Feet in the Rock Creek colorway
Needles: Size 3 circs and DPNS

This was a fun pattern – just challenging enough to keep things interesting, and it knits up to a nice, chunky fabric.    We’ll see how it does against our current cold snap.

The yarn’s nice, very pleasant to work with, and I really like this color scheme.

Kingfisher – Patricia A. McKillip

This story is set in a kingdom with such modern devices as cars and cellphones, but where magic is alive, and religion is still very much a force in the kingdom.

Pierce is a young man who grew up in Cape Misbegotten – far from the capital of Severluna. He’s always known his mother was a sorceress, but when several knights stumble onto the Cape, he learns that she fled there away from his father, who is himself a knight, and that she left his brother behind. He sets out to find them.

Along the way, he stops at Chimera Bay, where a ritual is enacted every night at the Kingfisher Inn, but it’s clear that something is not right there. Carrie is one of the townsfolk working at the Inn, and she’s trying to figure out what’s wrong in the bay.

And finally, Prince Diamon, the illegitimate son of the king, has finally learned about his mother, at the same time that he’s fallen in love, and these women will play an important role in the action of the story.

This book is all about how the stories of these three people intersect – it’s hard to map out quickly. It’s very typical McKillip, where she throws you right into the middle of a story, and wraps it up neatly for you by the end.

Knitting Notes

Here’s another hat (it’s currently -5 out, and has been like that for several days, and promises to be for several more – I have cold on the mind).     The pattern is Oh Brother by Fran Carle, and I’m using the Berry Farm Heritage Alpaca I picked up at Garlic Fest this year.    It’s been a joy to work with- so silky!

Faro’s Daughter – Georgette Heyer

Lord Maplethorpe is just about to reach his majority when his mother pays his older cousin, Max Ravenscar, a visit. It seems Maplethorpe has become completely enamored with a girl at one of the gaming houses, and means to marry her. Ravenscar is himself a noted gamesman, so quickly heads over to get a lay of the land.

Deb Grantham lives with her aunt, Lady Bellingham, who has gotten in a bit over her head trying to make ends meet. Their gaming house is a little less genteel than originally planned, but with a mortgage hanging over their heads, they have little choice but to continue on. When Ravenscar attempts to bribe Deb to leave Lord Maplethorpe alone, she’s so offended she vows to marry Maplethorpe just to annoy Ravenscar.

I wasn’t a huge fan of this book. Neither of the protagonists were actually particularly likeable, and their schemes were just ridiculously far-fetched. I did make to the end – there was just enough fun there to make me wonder how it would ultimately work out.

The Grey King – Susan Cooper

I can’t reread The Dark is Rising without also rereading The Grey King. The other books in the series I have to be more in the mood for, but The Grey King to me is totally linked to The Dark is Rising. It’s actually the first book I read in this series (back in the days when you had to track down hard copies of books, and there was no internet to aid your search).

I can’t tell you what it is about this book that I love so much – it might be the atmospheric descriptions of Snowdonia in Wales, or the way that Cooper seamlessly integrates ancient magic into the modern day (and though this was published more than forty years ago, it has a very timeless quality to it – sure, the kids would have cell phones today, but you don’t miss them).

This book was a Newbury Medal winner, and very rightfully so.

 

Wildflowers of Maine – Kate Furbish

This book was an incredibly thoughtful gift from my manager for Christmas this year. She knew I loved wildflowers, but what she didn’t know is that Melissa Cullina, who wrote the forward for this book, is who I took a class with this summer. She told us about Furbish’s work during the course of the class, and I got to see the larger editions that have her complete paintings. (Available for a mere $350! This will probably be the pinnacle purchase if I get really serious about this collection I’ve started.) This was the nicest gift I’ve ever gotten from a manager.

Kate Furbish lived from 1834 to 1941, and during her lifetime, traveled all over the state of Maine to paint the flora. She even found a new species (Furbish’s Lousewort – Pedicularis furbishiae), in her travels in northern Maine. When you think about the fact that she was a woman, in that timeframe, her accomplishments are even more enormous.

She donated her work to Bowdoin College, to be used to educate future botany students, but it’s really only being published now. This book is a quick survey – the art is lovely, though I can tell you the full size versions are even better.

A Book of Wayside Fruit – Margaret McKenny and Edith F. Johnston

I seem to have unintentionally started a collection of older botanical illustration of New England flora. I suppose it was inevitable, as I decided to make all the wildflower pictures I was taking into more of a thing, and we do frequent a fair number of used bookstores, where I will generally look for subjects that are on my mind.

This book is fruit specific, and seasonally oriented. It’s a little less scientifically minded than the last book I picked up, so the labeling has held up over time better. (The originally purchaser of the book added a dedication dated 1/11/47 to the person they gifted it to.) I did enjoy seeing some of the different common names for familiar plants – like black elder for winterberry.