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Recent Book Activity

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Birdie's Cafe (formerly the Pour House) reopened July 2010. The OBCZ shelf has been restocked, and will have regular book releases there. Hoping the books will travel once again, and wanting to keep the shelves nice, as always. I'm so happy it's back; I was missing it. Birdie's is the new-and-improved Pour House, which still looks mostly the same. Come see!



Yahoo Group for members in Carroll County, Maryland
If you would like to know about upcoming events in or near Westminster, Maryland, please join our Yahoo Group. I'm happy to get together to just chat or for local release events. I love meeting other BookCrossers.

About me

5/10/09 - I usually get pm's ok, but if you have trouble reaching me, use my em address - m v z r h at a o l dot com. Also, my addy is on Rabck.com.

I love this quote from Deepak Chopra. I think it characterizes what BookCrossing is all about.
"Giving connects two people, the giver and the receiver, and this connection gives birth to a new sense of belonging."

March 2008 update to my friends list - Previously, my BC friends list was people I'd chatted with online, traded with, and local BC members. As of today, I've updated my friends list to only people I've met in real life. If I've met you quickly (perhaps at only 1 meeting, or once at the book fair), and inadvertently left you off my list, feel free to pm me to remind me. BCers are my favorite people.

I am seriously addicted to this site!

In a previous life, I worked at Random House for more years than I care to mention and have lots of books! I thought joining this site would give me the incentive to read and release them, instead of just collecting them... cause I love to read, but I really do need to clean off my shelves! Little did I know ;-)

My Book Rings/Rays/Boxes

"Biographies of Things" bookbox (books such as Longitude, The Big Oyster, Imponderables books, etc.) Thread is here. Box is now travelling - no longer accepting new participants.

"Cat Stories" bookbox cat mysteries and fantasy, also non-fiction, readable stories, but no guides to breeds or care, no reference books. Thread is here. Box shipped on 3/24. Closed to new participants.

"Bookish Books" bookbox The last forum post is here. Box came home on 5/12, full of good books. I'm going to try to read quite a few of these, freshen up the box with a few new books, and hope to send this out again in late summer or early fall. Stay tuned.

Projects for 2012
Will continue my support of the OBCZ at Birdie's Cafe. Watch for books to be released here regularly!!

For anyone who's interested, although they're not listed as OBCZ's, there are publicly available BC shelves (in Carroll County, Maryland) at Mt. Airy Library and Carroll Community College library.

Civil War Releases
If anyone would like a Civil-War related release, I am 30 minutes away from Gettysburg PA, and would be happy to release something there for you. 2003 Gettysburg release for GoryDetails Gunfire at Gettysburg
2005 Gettysburg releases - for ThnxAndyc The Hearts of Soldiers
A recent Gettysburg catch (for Katekintail) during 2008 - Ghosts of Gettysburg
and Killer Angels and another one - The Tentmaker
And a couple of catches from 2011 -
God Rest Ye Merry, Soldiers
Lincoln at Gettysburg

2012 wild & OBCZ catches
Abby in Wonderland Released at the book fair in 2005 and caught in Michigan
Over the Edge Released at the book fair in 2005 (too) and caught in Crystal City, Virginia - my longest release-to-catch at 6 years, 4 months
Penguins Released at the Kensington book festival this year (on a disgustingly dreary rainy day) and caught immediately
The Nanny Diaries Released at the Kensington book festival this year (on a disgustingly drear rainy day) and caught a week later
The Miracle at Speedy Motors Released at my OBCZ in Westminster, MD and caught about 2 weeks later, by someone soon going to Africa
Into Thin Air Released at Birdie's about a month ago, and just caught. I think this is only about my 3rd catch at Birdie's in a year and a half. Oh well, at least someone's enjoying the books!
Skellig And another catch from Birdie's! Book was released 8 months ago, sat on the bookshelf for most of that time, and was finally caught at a middle school about 10 miles away.
Mother Ireland Yet another catch at Birdie's! This one was caught by a current BCer, but since the book was wild released where anyone could find it, it counts.

Trading Policy
Since I have a huge TBR mountain, and several OBCZs, I don't do many trades (although I can perhaps be tempted, and reserve the right to check out your shelf for something special). I do occasionally offer up RABCK's on the Wish List forum. I don't send many books overseas, although I may decide to if it's something small (& light).

Favorite New Authors Discovered thru BookCrossing
Bill Bryson
Geraldine Brooks
Pat Conroy
Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum series)
Pauline Gedge
Barbara Kingsolver
Erik Larson
Beverly Lewis
Connie Willis
Simon Winchester

Books Read in 2012

57. All Our Yesterdays: A Century of Family Life in an American Small Town
56. Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women
55. Chopping Spree
54. The Johnstown Flood
53. Explosive Eighteen
52. Apple of My Eye
51. Triangle: The Fire that Changed America
50. Helen Keller: The Story of My Life
49. Life's Little Annoyances: True Tales of People Who Just Can't Take it Anymore
48. Blue Moon
47. The Bourne Supremacy
46. Permanent Passenger: My Life on a Cruise Ship
45. Sticks and Scones
44. The Wildwater Walking Club
43. Lost in a Good Book
42. Whale Tales: Tales from America's Leading Marine Life Artist
41. Kate Remembered
40. The Creation of Eve
39. The Monumental Discovery
38. Comfort Me with Apples
37. Town in a Blueberry Jam
36. The Bourne Identity
35. The Murder of King Tut
34. Asterix in Britain
33. Dave Barry's Greatest Hits
32. A Taste of Chicken Soup to Inspire a Woman's Soul
31. Bridge Across Forever
30. Elixir
29. The Xibalba Murders
28. Sunshine
27. The Personality of the Cat
26. Chamomile Mourning
25. The Egyptologist
24. The Lost Jewels of Nabooti
23. The Jasmine Moon Murder
22. Still Me
21. Catfantastic II
20. Tender at the Bone
19. Thunder Dog
18. 102 Minutes
17. Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope
16. Gritty Grace
15. Playing for Pizza
14. Deadly Valentine
13. The Measure of all Things
12. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
11. Blind Justice
10. Heaven is for Real (ring)
9. How the States Got Their Shapes
8. Cat Crimes 3
7. An Alchemy of Mind
6. The Cat Who Covered the World
5. The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell
4. The Private Life of the Cat Who
3. How Does Aspirin Find a Headache?
2. Catnap
1. Sand in My Bra and Other Misadventures

Books Read in 2011 98. The Curse of the Pharaohs 97. The Cat Who'll Live Forever 96. Color: A Natural History of the Palette 95. Crocodile on the Sandbank 94. Treasures of Tutankhamun93. Smokin' Seventeen 92. Robbing the Bees: A Biography of Honey - The Sweet Liquid Gold that Seduced the World 91. The Christmas Crimes at Puzzel Manor 90. Red, White and Drunk all Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass 89. Deck the Halls 88. The Reluctant God 87. Longitude 86. The Goddess Queen 85. Live Bait 84. Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World 83. The Sky's the Limit: Passion and Property in Manhattan 82. Light Elements: Essays on Science from Gravity to Levity 81. Tough Cookie 80. The Swallows of Kabul 79. The Secret Life of Lobsters 78. The Clothes They Stood Up In and The Lady in the Van 77. Burnt Offerings 76. Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing up Iranian in America 75. People of the Book74. The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel 73. A Pound of Paper: Confessions of a Book Addict 72. The Eyre Affair 71. The Big Oyster 70. Pride and Prejudice 69. Out of the Mold 68. The Jane Austen Book Club 67. Inkdeath 66. Prime Cut65. Reading New York 64. Publish and Perish: Three Tales of Tenure and Terror 63. The Grilling Season 62. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society 61. So Many Books, So Little Time 60. The Lost Symbol 59. Nathaniel's Nutmeg: How One Man's Courage Changed the Course of History 58. The Wife's Tale 57. Mint Julep Murder 56. Miss Zukas and the Stroke of Death 55. The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel 54. Framed in Lace 53. The Scent Trail: How One Woman's Quest for the Perfect Perfume Took her Around the World 52. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows51. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 50. God Rest Ye Merry, Soldiers 49. Do Penguins have Knees? 48. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 47. Southern Ghost46. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 45. Books: A Memoir 44. The Victim in Victoria Station43. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 42. The Polysyllabic Spree 41. Magical Kittens 40. The Book of Books 39. Lady Oracle 38. Catherine, Called Birdy 37. Wake Up, I'm Fat! 36. Plum Lucky 35. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets34. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 33. The Summer of my Greek Taverna 32. Life Among the Savages; Raising Demons 31. The Midwife's Apprentice 30. Bachelor Brothers' Bedside Companion 29. Whiskey and Tonic 28. The Dream of Scipio 27. The Main Corpse 26. Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions 25. Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise 24. Sleep Demons: An Insomniac's Memoir 23. Sun, Seasons and Souvlaki 22. Cat Raise the Dead 21. Stitching a Revolution: The Making of an Activist 20. Pictures at an Exhibition 19. Murder at the Opera 18. Murder at the Washington Tribune 17. Murder at Union Station 16. Bake Sale Murder 15. Moon Pies and Movie Stars 14. Annette Vallon: A Novel of the French Revolution 13. Life is so Good 12. Bodies in a Bookshop (bookring) 11. The Olive Farm: A Memoir of Life, Love and Olive Oil in the South of France 10. The Darwin Awards 4: Intelligent Design 9. The Queen's Fool 8. I'm from Jersey 7. Sizzling Sixteen 6. A Treasury of Great American Scandals 5. Fairest4. The Secret Life of Bees 3. Charm City 2. Dispatches from the Edge 1. Baltimore Blues

Challenges entered
SIY (Set-it-Yourself) Reading Challenge (Ibis3/Nu-knees)
NancyNova's Country-Hopping Reading Challenge 12 books in 2012
Goal for 2012 - read all other BCers books I've acquired before 2010 and additionally all books I've registered before 2005 (only exception is if they're part of a series, which I'm not yet ready for)

Top of my TBR pile
The Olive Season
Cross Country
Excavation
Have His Carcase
Night Bites
Tempting Fate
Beach Music
The Bestseller
Hades' Daughter
Intrusions
Abundance
The Boleyn Inheritance
Reliquary
Pigs in Heaven
The Kite Runner
The End of Mr. Y
Booknotes
Great Books
In a Glass Lightly
A Year in the World
The History of Love
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher
The Outstretched Shadow
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The Red Queen
The Once and Future King
Cryptonomicon
Tipping the Velvet
Smilla's Sense of Snow
Possession
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Love in the Time of Cholera
The Name of the Rose
Murder Must Advertise
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
The Great Gatsby
Journey to the Center of the Earth
A Tale of Two Cities


In an attempt to organize books that I've received as trades or RABCKs (and to finally getting around to reading the ones I've had the longest), I need to list them here. They're beginning to spread around my house, so physically keeping track of them is getting a bit daunting.

Received in 2006 -
Dance of Death
Pawing Through the Past
My Lost Mexico

Received in 2007 -
The Saint-Germain Chronicles
A Flame in Byzantium
The White Raven
The Silver Wolf
Hexwood
Realm of Shadows
The Sugar House
Ahab's Wife
Magic Kingdom for Sale

Received in 2008 -
Liberty
The Templar Legacy

Received in 2009 -
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
The Last Tsar
The Courts of Love
The Etruscan Chimera
Blue Diary
The Book of the Film of the Story of My Life

Received in 2010 -
The City of Falling Angels
The Bad Behavior of Belle Cantrell

Received in 2011 -
Familiar Oasis
Don't Know Much about History
Murder Inside the Beltway
The Five Greatest Warriors
A Taste for It
A Wizard of Earthsea
Blood Orange Brewing
Through the Grinder
Latte Trouble
Decaffeinated Corpse
Loving Frank
The Pillars of the Earth
Monet Talks
Death in Deep Dish Pie
Farewell to the Flesh
Crazy Ladies
Ireland
The Chocolate Snowman Murders
The Nitrogen Murder
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
The Virgin Blue
Forever
American Eve
Buttertea at Sunrise: A Year in the Bhutan Himalaya
The Great Stink
The Lost Explorer

Received in 2012 -
The Chocolate Bridal Bash
Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos
Dragonwell Dead
A Murderous Yarn
The Touch
The First Man in Rome
The Grass Crown
The Persian Boy
Uppity Women of Ancient Times
Murder in the Place of Anubis
Caravan
A Short History of a Small Place
The Silver Needle Murder
The Penelopiad
Making Rounds with Oscar
Miss American Pie
Saint Peter's Fair
A Walk Across America

And my Hall of Shame - number of registered books I still have from previous years still on Mt. TBR (I will try to read some of the oldest ones first) - as of 2/29/2012
2002 - 17
2003 - 5
2004 - 46
2005 - 41
2006 - 77
2007 - 69
2008 - 48
2009 - 44
2010 - 20
2011 - 35
2012 - 32

What kind of bookcrosser are you Your Result: Thematic dropper   You release in themes. The pianotuner in a jazzbar, a suitable boy at the gifttable of a wedding of a friend, the Minotaur in the centre of a maze, a prayer for Owen Meany in a baseball stadium, name the title, you release it somewhere suitable.
Obsessive releaser
Love to meet
Playfull RBACKer
ring in bundles
Talk of the toy
strange looking bystander
lucky lurker
What kind of bookcrosser are you Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

I'm working on several mystery (and other) series, and although I've listed some of the next books on my wishlist, I also wanted to list these here to help me keep track of them.

Donna Andrews - I've read all the books in the Turing Hopper series; the last one was Delete all Suspects. I've recently read the first 2 books in her Meg Langslow series, Murder with Peacocks and Murder with Puffins. I'm looking forward to finding more of these.
Rita Mae Brown - Mrs. Murphy series - I've read the first 2 in this series, and the next one up is Murder at Monticello. I have the next 3 in this series, plus several of the later ones.
Joanna Carl Chocoholic mysteries - I've read the 1st 4 in this series, and the next one I need is The Chocolate Mouse Trap.
Laura Childs Tea Shop Mystery - I've recently read Chamomile Mourning, and have the next couple. The rest are on my wish list.
Diane Mott Davidson - I'm working on a Diane Mott Davison-fest right now. I have the next several books to be read starting with Chopping Spree.
Jo Dereske Miss Zukas series - I recently read the 3rd in the series, the Stroke of Death, and I have a couple of the later books in the series. I have several more of the earlier ones on my wishlist.
Carole Nelson Douglas - I've recently read Catnap, and enjoyed it very much. I have a couple others in this series, and am starting to look for more of these.
John Dunning Cliff Janeway series - I've read the first 3 books, Booked to Die, The Bookman's Wake, and The Bookman's Promise, and absolutely loved them all. (All bibliophiles should read these mysteries.) Now I need to find the remaining 2.
Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum series - I've just borrowed Explosive Eighteen from a friend and will be reading it soon. Stephanie Plum is a hoot!
Joanne Fluke Hannah Swenson series - I have the next 3 to be read starting with The Lemon Pie Murder - the next one I need is the Peach Cobbler Murder.
Laurell K. Hamilton - 2 recently read Mistral's Kiss, and am eagerly looking forward to finding a copy of A Lick of Frost (which is on my wishlist).
Anita Blake series - I'll soon be reading Blue Moon and have a couple of the later books.
John J. Lamb - I met him on 10/4/08 at Boyd's Bear Country, and bought all his books, including The Clockwork Teddy. (Released The Mournful Teddy there). I've read all of these now, and really enjoyed them. Still need to pick up the most recent, The Treacherous Teddy.
Laura Lippman - I recently read the 1st 2 books in this series, Baltimore Blues and Charm City. Still need to find a copy of the next book, Butcher Hill.
G.A. McKevett - Savannah Reid series - Just finished reading Sugar and Spite and loved it. Have added the first several books to my wishlist.
D.R. Meredith - Murder by the Yard series - I've read all 5 of the books in the series - the last was Murder by the Book (I'm hoping for more to be written).
Shirley Rousseau Murphy - I've recently read the 1st 2 books in her Joe Grey series - Cat on the Edge, and Cat Under Fire. I have the next few books in this series, and will soon be reading the next, Cat in the Dark.
Tamar Myers - I've just gotten around to starting the Magdalena Yoder series, set at the PennDutch Inn. I've recently read the 1st 2 and am looking forward to finding more in this series.
Elizabeth Peters - Amelia Peabody series - I've just started reading this series, and have finished the first 2. I have a few of the later books, but need to find the next one The Mummy Case.
Margaret Truman - I've recently read 3 of the later books. There are only 2 remaining for me to read, K Street and Inside the Beltway.
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - I received the next several books in the Saint Germain series from LyekkaMarengo, and have recently read Path of the Eclipse. The next one is Tempting Fate.