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monado

From Toronto, Ontario Canada
Joined Saturday, November 23, 2002
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Extended Profile

In 2010-2011 I read A New Human. It describes the discovery of the first new human species from skeletal remains since Java Man 150 years ago. Homo floresiensis was a small human apparently descended from Homo erectus or some even more primitive human. They lived in isolation from about 800,000 years ago to as recently as 12,000 years ago! They lived on the small island of Flores in Indonesia. This was the first new human since Java Man in the 1890s. They may have been wiped out by a volcanic eruption nearby. You can read about them here:
Homo floresiensis.

Since then, some DNA in finger bones has been said to represent a different human species, but I can't get very excited about that: Denisovians.

Another new human species was discovered in 2013 and announced in 2015. This one is known from thousands of bone fragments of many individuals at an apparent burial site. They have been given the name Homo naledi. I got the book about it in 2022! Read more here: stunning assemblage of new human fossils. It turns out that Homo naledi is quite young.

Books read in 2022 (notable books in bold)
  • Cadfael 1-18 by Ellis Peters: A Morbid Taste for Bones, One Corpse Too Many, Monk's Hood, St Peter's Fair, The Leper of Saint Giles, The Virgin in the Ice, The Sanctuary Sparrow, The Devil's Novice, Dead Man's Ransom, The Pilgrim of Hate, An Excellent Mystery, The Raven in the Foregate, The Rose Rent, The Hermit of Eyton Forest, The Confession of Brother Haluin, The Heretic's Apprentice, The Potter's Field, The Summer of the Danes
  • Dresden Files 15-17 by Jim Butcher: Skin Game [re-read], Peace Talks, Battle Ground; and Brief Cases (stories) [re-read], Side Jobs (stories) [re-read]
  • Nightside 2-4 by Simon R. Green: Agents of Light and Darkness, Nightingale's Lament, Hex and the City
  • Moonheart 1: Moonheart by Charles de Lint
  • Moonheart 2-5 by Charles de Lint: Spiritwalk: sequels to Moonheart: "Tamson House, Ottawa, Ontario," "Merlin Dreams in the Mondream Wood," "Ascian in Rose," "Westlin Wind," "Ghostwood"
  • Someplace to be Flying [re-read] - Charles de Lint
  • Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel (SF)
  • Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb
  • The Martian - Andy Weir (SF)
  • Magpie Murders - Anthony Horowitz
  • Nero Wolfe 6: Some Buried Caesar - Rex Stout
  • Mercy Thompson 13: Soul Taken - Patricia Briggs
  • Phryne Fisher 23: The Lady With the Gun Asks the Questions - Kerry Greenwood
  • Out of the Ruins (stories) - Preston Grassmann
  • Dark and Stormy Knights (stories) - ed. George R.R. Martin
  • Down These Strange Streets (stories), ed. George R.R. Martin
  • Mean Streets (stories) - Jim Butcher, et al.
  • Shadowed Souls (stories) - ed. Kerrie L. Hughes
  • Blood Lite (stories) - ed. Kevin J. Anderson
  • Heroic Hearts (stories) - ed. Kerrie L. Hughes
  • Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron (stories) (YA or children) - Johathan Strahan
  • Bite (stories) - five contributors: MaryJanice Davidson, Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, Angela Knight, Vickie Taylor
  • House of Light (poems) - Mary Oliver
  • Sightlines (essays) - Kathleen Jamie
  • How to Manage Your Home without Losing Your Mind - Dana K. White
  • Why Diets Make us Fat - Sandra Aamodt
  • Almost Human (H. naledi) Lee Berger, John Hawks
  • Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human - Richard Wrangham

Books read in 2021
  • Terry Pratchett: Hogfather [re-read] and A Blink of the Screen [re-read]
  • Dorothy Sayers & Jill Paton Walsh: Thrones, Dominations [re-read] and A Presumption of Death [re-read]
  • Jill Paton Walsh: The Attenbury Emeralds and The Late Scholar
  • Nero Wolfe by Rex Stout: Triple Jeopardy
  • Nero Wolfe by Robert Goldsborough: Archie Meets Nero Wolfe, Murder in E Minor, Death on Deadline, The Bloodied Ivy, The Last Coincidence, Fade to Black, Silver Spire, The Missing Chapter, Murder in the Ball Park, Archie in the Crosshairs, Stop the Presses!, Murder, Stage Left, The Battered Badge, Death of an Art Collector, Archie Goes Home, and Trouble at the Brownstone
  • Victory Point (graphic novel) by Owen D. Pomery
  • Shetland 6-8 by Ann Cleeves: Thin Air, Too Good to be True (novella), Cold Earth, and Wild Fire
  • Devon 1 by Ann Cleeves: The Long Call
  • The Forever Detective 3: Forever in Deep by Helen Krummenacker
  • Inspector Ian Rutledge 11-18 by Charles Todd: A Matter of Justice, The Red Door, A Lonely Death, The Confession, Hunting Shadows, Proof of Guilt, and Racing the Devil
  • Jane Yellowrock 10-14: Shadow Rites, Cold Reign, Dark Queen, Shattered Bonds, and True Dead by Faith Hunter; Easy Pickings with C.E. Murphy
  • The Number One Ladies Detective Agency 11-19 by Alexander McCall Smith: The Double Comfort Safari Club, The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party, The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection, The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon, The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café, The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine, Precious and Grace, The House of Unexpected Sisters, and The Colours of All the Cattle
  • Isabel Dalhousie by Alexander McCall Smith: The Sunday Philosophy Club and Friends, Lovers, Chocolate
  • James Asher 8: Prisoner of Midnight by Barbara Hambly
  • Queen Betsy 11-13: Undead and Unstable, Undead and Unsure, and Undead and Unwary and Undead and Underwater (novellas) by MaryJanice Davidson
  • Arcane Arts 1: Heir of Images by D. K. Duske (Phyl Good)
  • Dick Francis novel by Dick Francis & Felix Francis: Crossfire
  • Dick Francis novels by Felix Francis: Gamble and Bloodline
  • Patricia Briggs: Mercy Thompson 12: Smoke Bitten (2021); Alpha and Omega 6: Wild Sign (2021)
  • Barker & Llewelyn 6 & 7 by Will Thomas: Fatal Enquiry and Anatomy of Evil
  • The Inheritance and Other Stories by Megan Lindhom / Robin Hobb
  • Bewere the Night (stories about werewolves) edited by Ekaterina Sedia
  • The Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2009 - ed. Rich Horton
  • Firebirds Rising (anthology) - ed. Sharyn November
  • Year's Best SF 18 - ed. David Hartwell
  • Year's Best SF 31st Annual - ed. Gardner Dozois
  • Silver Birch, Blood Moon - ed. Ellen Datlow, Terri Windling
  • Temporally Out of Order - ed. Joshua Palmatier, Patricia Bray
  • Down These Strange Streets (stories) [re-read] - edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
  • Fantastic Hope - ed. Laurell K. Hamilton, William McCaskey
  • The Murderbot Diaries 1-7 by Martha Wells: All Systems Red, Artificial Condition (novella), Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy, Network Effect, Fugitive Telemetry, and Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory (novella)
  • The Knitting Circle Rapist Annihilation Squad by Derrick Jensen and Stephanie McMillan
  • Anita Blake 27 by Laurell K. Hamilton: Sucker Punch
  • Beekeeper 14 by Laurie R. King: The Murder of Mary Russell
  • The Misenchanted Sword - Lawrence Watt-Evans
  • Nightside 1: Something from the Nightside - Simon R. Green
  • The Animals in That Country - LJ McKay
  • This is How You Lose the Time War - Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone
  • Poetry and prose by Mary Oliver: Dream Work (1986), Winter Hours: Prose to Poems (1999), Long Life: Essays and Other Writings (2004), Red Bird (poems) (2008), A Thousand Mornings (poems) (2012), Dog Songs (poems) (2013), Felicity (poems) (2015), Devotions: Selected Poems of Mary Oliver (2017), Blue Horses (poems) [re-read], Upstream (2016) [re-read], Blue Pastures (prose) (1995), The Leaf and the Cloud (prose poem) (2000), Blue Iris: Poems and Essays (2004), American Primitive (poems) (1983), Why I Wake Early: New Poems (2004), Swan: Poems and Prose Poems (2010)
  • Poetry by Ursula K. Le Guin: So Far So Good: Final Poems and Late in the Day: Poems 2010-2014 [re-read]
  • How Lovely the Ruins - Annie Chagnot
  • A Language Older Than Words by Derrick Jensen
  • The Long, Long Life of Trees by Fiona Stafford
  • High Tide in Tucson (essays) by Barbara Kingsolver
  • Warthogs, Warriors, & Wisdom - Lyall Watson
  • Statistics Done Wrong - Alan Reinhart
  • Religion for Atheists - Alain de Botton
  • The Skull in the Rock (A. sediba) - Lee Berger
  • Some Assembly Required - Neil Shubin
  • A Rare Benedictine (Brother Cadfael 0) - Ellis Peters

Books read in 2020: Maybe it was the pandemic, but I read 35 books instead of a hundred.
  • The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
  • Late in the Day: Poems, The Unreal and the Real: Selected Stories, Volume 1: Where on Earth, The Unreal and the Real: Selected Stories, Volume 2: Outer Space, Inner Lands, by Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Ursula K. Le Guin: The Last Interview by David Streitfield
  • Shetland 1-5 by Ann Cleeves: Raven Black, White Nights, Red Bones, Blue Lightning, and Dead Water
  • No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: Tea Time for the Traditionally Built and The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith
  • Queen Betsy: Undead and Unworthy [re-read], Undead and Unwelcome, Undead and Unfinished, and Undead and Undermined by Mary-Janice Davidson
  • Jane Yellowrock 7-9: Black Arts, Broken Soul, Dark Heir, Cat Tales (stories), Cat O' Nine Tales (stories), Black Water (stories), and Blood in Her Veins (stories), by Faith Hunter
  • Kicking It (stories) edited by Kalayna Price
  • Inspector Ian Rutledge: A False Mirror and A Pale Horse by "Charles Todd" (Caroline Todd & Charles Todd)
  • Bess Crawford: A Cruel Deception and A Hanging at Dawn (Simon Brandon) by "Charles Todd"
  • Blood of the Earth (Soulwood 1) [re-read] by Faith Hunter
  • Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen
  • Mistletoe Mysteries (stories) - edited by Charlotte MacLeod
  • Becoming by Michelle Obama
  • Beekeeper's Apprentice: The God of the Hive [re-read], "Beekeeping for Beginners" (novella), Garment of Shadows, Mary Russell's War and Other Stories, and Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King
  • The Lily Hand and Other Stories and Dark is the Colour of My True Love's Heart [re-read] by Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter)
  • Bride of the Rat God [re-read] by Barbara Hambly
  • A Planet of Viruses (science) by Carl Zimmer

Books read in 2019
  • The Life-changing Manga of Tidying up by Marie Kondo
  • By Murder's Bright Light (The Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan) by Paul Harding (Paul Doherty)
  • Hatchet, by Gary Paulson
  • Convergence and Emergence by C. J. Cherryh
  • Blood Maidens [re-read], The Magistrates of Hell [re-read], The Kindred of Darkness, Darkness on his Bones, and Pale Guardian by Barbara Hambly
  • Channel of Peace: Stranded in Gander on 9/11 by Kevin Tuerff
  • The Day the World Came to Town: Gander on 9/11 by Jim Defede
  • Harry's Trees by Jon Cohen
  • Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying up by Marie Kondo
  • Sleep and His Brother (Inspector Pibble Mystery) and King and Joker [re-read] by Peter Dickinson
  • Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Blue Moon [re-read], Obsidian Butterfly [re-read], Narcissus in Chains [re-read], Cerulean Sins, Incubus Dreams, Micah, Danse Macabre, The Harlequin, Blood Noir, Skin Trade, Flirt, Bullet, Hit List, Kiss the Dead, Affliction, Jason, Dead Ice, Crimson Death, Strange Candy (stories), and Serpentine by Laurell K. Hamilton
  • Out of this World (stories) edited by J. D. Robb
  • A Little Book of Gargoyles by Mike Harding
  • Strange Brew (stories) edited by P. N. Elrod
  • Cassandra Palmer: Touch the Dark and Claimed by Shadow by Karen Chance
  • Jane Yellowrock: Have Stakes will Travel (stories), Cat O' Nine Tales (stories), (stories), by Faith Hunter
  • A Fantastic Holiday Season (stories)
  • The Emerald Circus (stories) by Jane Yolen
  • Inspector Rutledge: A Fearsome Doubt by "Charles Todd" (Caroline Todd and Charles Todd)
  • Mashup (stories) edited by Gardner Dozois
  • The Mammoth Book of Alternate Histories edited by Ian Watson and Ian Whates
  • A Little Book of Language by David Crystal
  • The Blood Road by Stuart McBride
  • The Pomodoro Technique by Francesco Cirillo
  • Jane Yellowrock: Skinwalker, Have Stakes Will Travel (stories), Blood Cross, Mercy Blade, Raven Cursed, Death's Rival, and Blood Trade by Faith Hunter
  • Kiss (five novellas) by Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, et al.
  • Forever's Too Long and Forever Haunted by Helen Krummenacker
  • Queen Betsy: Undead and Unwed, Undead and Unemployed, Undead and Unappreciated, Undead and Unreturnable, Dead and Loving It (four novellas), Fiend in Need, Undead and Unpopular, Undead and Uneasy, Dead Over Heels (three novellas), and Undead and Unworthy by MaryJanice Davidson
  • Everything in its Place by Dan Charnas
  • Down These Strange Streets (stories) edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
  • The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith
  • Soulwood: Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter
  • Mercy Thompson: Silence Fallen [re-read], Storm Cursed, Fire Touched, and Shifting Shadows by Patricia Briggs
  • Mercy Thompson: Homecoming (graphic novel) by Patricia Briggs and David Lawrence
  • Phryne Fisher: Queen of the Flowers [re-read] by Kerry Greenwood
  • Raven: Raven's Shadow and Raven's Strike by Patricia Briggs
  • Soulwood: Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter
  • Urban Fantasy Anthology [re-read] edited by Peter S. Beagle and Joe R Lansdale
  • Wyndham Werewolves: Derik's Bane and Wolf at the Door by MaryJanice Davidson
  • The Last Unicorn (graphic novel version) by Peter S. Beagle
  • The Drawing of the Dark [re-read] by Tim Powers
  • The New Voices of Fantasy edited by Peter S. Beagle and Jacob Weisman
  • Witches of New Orleans: The King of Bones and Ashes by J. D. (Jack) Horn

Books read in 2018 (partial)
* Alpha and Omega (Charles and Anna) 0.5-5 by Patricia Briggs: Cry Wolf, Hunting Ground, Fair Game, Dead Heat, Shifting Shadows (stories), and Burn Bright
* Hobb's Bargain by Patricia Briggs
* Inspector Barnaby 1-7 by Caroline Graham: The Killings at Badger's Drift, Death of a Hollow Man, Death in Disguise, Written in Blood, Faithful Unto Death, and A Ghost in the Machine
* On the Prowl (four novellas) by Patricia Briggs, Karen Chance, et al.
* Foreigner: Betrayer, Intruder by C. J. Cherryh
* Hooked on Ewe, Off Kilter, and Dressed to Kilt by Hannah Reed
* In Space No One Can Hear You Scream edited by Hank Davis
* Sianam: Masques and Steal the Dragon by Patricia Briggs
* Hurog: Dragon Bones and Dragon Blood by Patricia Briggs
* Mercy Thompson 1-10 by Patricia Briggs: Moon Called, Blood Bound, Iron Kissed, Bone Crossed, Silver Borne, River Marked, Frost Burned, Night Broken, Fire Touched, and Silence Fallen
* A Fete Worse than Death by Dolores Gordon-Smith
* Edwardian Vampires (James Asher) 1 & 2 by Barbara Hambly: Those Who Hunt the Night [re-read] and Travelling with the Dead [re-read]
* Five-Minute Sketching: Buildings
* Do You Believe in Magic by Paul Offit, M.D.
* Bess Crawford 1-10 by "Charles Todd" (Caroline & Charles): A Duty to the Dead, An Impartial Witness, A Bitter Truth, An Unmarked Grave, A Question of Honour, An Unwilling Accomplice, Tales (stories), A Pattern of Lies, The Shattered Tree, A Casualty of War, and A Forgotten Place
* The Walnut Tree (Elspeth) by "Charles Todd"
* Inspector Rutledge 1-9 by "Charles Todd" (Caroline & Charles): "The Piper, "Cold Comfort, "A Guid Soldier," A Test of Wills, Wings of Fire, Search the Dark, Legacy of the Dead, Watchers of Time, A Fearsome Doubt, A Cold Treachery, A Long Shadow, and A False Mirror
* Enchantment Emporium 3 by Tanya Huff: The Future Falls
* Peacemaker, Tracker, and Visitor
* Naked City (stories) edited by Ellen Datlow
* Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (J. K. Rowling)
* Brief Cases (stories) by Jim Butcher
* Shadowed Souls (stories) edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie L. Hughes
* Sweet Silver Blues by Glen Cook
* Space Cat by Ruthven Todd, illustrated by Paul Galdone
* Bellwether [re-read] by Connie Willis
* Urban Fantasy Anthology edited by Peter S. Beagle and Joe R Lansdale
* The 45% Hangover by Stuart MacBride
* The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, 50th Anniversary Edition, edited by Edward L. Ferman
* The Mystery of Grace, Moonheart, and Into the Green by Charles de Lint
* Men Explain Things to Me (essays) by Rebecca Solnit

Books read in 2017: Oddly, it looks as if I didn't keep a list.

Books read in 2016 (partial)
* The Fast & Furious Five-step Organizing Solution by Susan Pinsky
* Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD [re-read] by Susan Pinsky
* Phryne Fisher: Cocaine Blues, Flying too High, Murder on the Ballarat Express, Death at Victoria Dock, Murder at Green Mill, Blood and Circuses, Ruddy Gore, Urn Burial, Raisins and Almonds, Death Before Wicket, Away with the Fairies, Murder in Montparnasse, Queen of the Flowers, The Castlemaine Murders, Death by Water, Murder in the Dark, Unnatural Habits, and Murder and Mendelssohn by Kerry Greenwood. I believe that I also read Dead Man's Chest, but didn't make a note of it.
* Matt Helm: Death of a Citizen by Don Hamilton
* How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer
* Night Watch [re-read] by Terry Pratchett
* Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron edited by Jonathan Strahan
* Nero Wolfe [re-read]: Fer-de-lance, The League of Frightened Men, The Rubber Band, The Red Box, And Four to Go, Too Many Cooks, Some Buried Caesar, Over My Dead Body, and Where There's a Will by Rex Stout
* Naked City edited by Ellen Datlow
* Hex Appeal and Dark and Stormy Knights edited by P. N. Elrod
* Songs of Love and Death edited by George R. R. Martin
* The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Flavia de Luce 1) by Alan Bradley

Books read in 2015
* Barker & Llewellyn mysteries: The Limehouse Text , The Hellfire Conspiracy, and The Black Hand by Will Thomas
* Carpe Jugulum, Sourcery, The Truth, The Thief of Time, Making Money, Guards! Guards!, Men at Arms, Night Watch, The Fifth Elephant, Jingo, Unseen Academicals, Thud!, Snuff, Monstrous Regiment, The Wee Free Men (Tiffany Aching 1), Raising Steam, The Wit and Wisdom of Discworld, The Folklore of Discworld, A Blink of the Screen, The Colour of Magic, Interesting Times, and The Last Continent, The Wee Free Men (Tiffany Aching 1), [re-read], A Hat Full of Sky (Tiffany Aching 2), Wintersmith (Tiffany Aching 3), and I Shall Wear Midnight (Tiffany Aching 4) by Terry Pratchett
* Memory and Dream by Charles De Lint
* An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor
* Dresden Files 15 by Jim Butcher Skin Game
* Holding Wonder by Zenna Henderson [re-read]
* Lord Peter Views the Body [re-read], Striding Folly [re-read], and Five Red Herrings [re-read] by Dorothy Sayers
* Voyagers in Time, edited by Robert Silverberg
* The State of the Art by Iain M. Banks
* Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
* In the Frame by Dick Francis [re-read]
* To Sail the Century Sea by G. C. Edmonson
* Island in the Sea of Time (Nantucket 1) [re-read], Against the Tide of Years (Nantucket 2), On the Oceans of Eternity (Nantucket 3), and Dies the Fire (Emberverse 1) by S.M. Stirling
* Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD, 2nd Edition by Susan Pinsky
* The Quiller Memorandum by Adam Hall

Books read in 2014
* Dinosaur Beach by Keith Laumer [re-read]
* Mort, Reaper Man, Pyramids, Wyrd Sisters, Equal Rites, Witches Abroad, Small Gods, Moving Pictures, Lords and Ladies, Soul Music, The Light Fantastic, Maskerade, and Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
* The Fourth Omni Book of SF
* Lord Demon by Roger Zelazny, Jane Lindskold
* The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
* Jed the Dead by Alan Dean Foster
* Redwork by Michael Bedard
* Andromeda Breakthrough by Fred Hoyle, John Elliot
* The Curse of the Labrador Duck by Glen Chilton
* Someplace to be Flying by Charles De Lint (re-read)
* The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
* Dresden Files 1-14 by Jim ButcherSide Jobs (stories) [re-read], Storm Front [re-read], Fool Moon [re-read], Grave Peril , Summer Knight, Death Masks, Blood Rites, Dead Beat, Proven Guilty [re-read], White Night, Small Favor, Turn Coat, Changes, Ghost Story, and Cold Days
* The 30th Anniversary DAW Fantasy
* Barker and Llewelyn mystery 1: Some Danger Involved and Barker and Llewelyn mystery 2: To Kingdom Come by Will Thomas
* Enchantment Emporium 2: The Wild Ways; Confederation 5: The Truth of Valor; and Victoria Nelson 6: Blood Bank (stories & a screenplay) by Tanya Huff
* Edwardian Vampires (James Asher) 3 & 4 by Barbara Hambly Blood Maidens and The Magistrates of Hell
* Bloody Fabulous (stories), edited by Ekaterina Sedia
* Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle
* Lord Demon by Roger Zelazny, Jane Lindskold

Books read in 2013
* Pegasus in Flight by Anne McCaffrey
* The Martian Chronicles Ray Bradbury [re-read]
* The Architect of Sleep by Steven Boyett [re-read]
* Locked Rooms by Laurie R. Hamilton
* Year's Best SF 8 (stories) edited by David G. Hartwell (re-read)
* Gryphon by Crawford Kilian
* Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
* The Year's Best SF, 23rd Annual Collection (stories), edited by Gardner Dozois
* Side Jobs (stories) by Jim Butcher
* Storm Front by Jim Butcher
* Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
* Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher
* Changes by Jim Butcher
* Chanur's Legacy by C. J. Cherryh
* The Fenris Device by Brian M. Stableford
* Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
* Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchet
* How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
* Island in the Sea of Time by S.M. Stirling

Books read in 2012
* The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (fantasy)
* Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn
* Grass for His Pillow by Lian Hearn
* The Harsh Cry of the Heron by Lian Hearn
* Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay (fantasy)
* A Play of Heresy by Margaret Fraser (mystery)
* In the Frame by Dick Francis (mystery) (re-read)
* Nerve by Dick Francis (mystery) (re-read)
* For Kicks by Dick Francis (mystery) (re-read)
* The Anything Box by Zenna Henderson (re-read)
* The People: No Different Flesh by Zenna Henderson (re-read)
* Betrayer (First Contact 11) by C. J. Cherryh (science fiction)
* Hawks and Owls by Chris G. Earley (nature)
* Old Man's War by John Scalzi (science fiction) [re-read]
* The Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler (science fiction) [re-read]
* Mind of my Mind by Octavia E. Butler (science fiction) [re-read]
* Bloodchild by Octavia E. Butler (science fiction)
* The Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler (science fiction)
* To Die in Italbar by Roger Zelazny (science fiction) [re-read]
* Hot Money by Dick Francis (mystery)
* A Naturalist Buys an Old Farm by Edwin Way Teale (nature)
* Rumpole a la Carte by John Mortimer (mystery) [re-read]

Books read in 2011
  1. Proof by Dick Francis (mystery) (re-read)
  2. The Evolution Man (humour)
  3. Birds: 185 Families (nature)
  4. Tales Before Tolkien (fantasy)
  5. Longshot Dick Francis (mystery) [re-read]
  6. Shattered by Dick Francis (mystery) [re-read]
  7. Deliverer (First Contact 9) by C. J. Cherryh (science fiction)
  8. Conspirator (First Contact 10) by C. J. Cherryh (science fiction)


Books read in 2010:
  1. For Us, the Living by Robert A. Heinlein (science fiction)
  2. Real Mummies Don't Bleed by Susan Whitcher (children's)
  3. A Million Open Doors by John Barnes (science fiction)
  4. Gifts by Ursula K. Le Guin (science fiction)
  5. The Best of Eric Frank Russell (science fiction)
  6. The Graveyard by Neill Gaiman (children's)
  7. Someplace to be Flying by Charles De Lint (fantasy)
  8. Stephen Hawking's Universe (science) by John Boslough
  9. The Day of the Triffids (science fiction) by John Wyndham [re-read]
  10. The Kraken Wakes (science fiction) by John Wyndham [re-read]
  11. The Chrysalids (science fiction) by John Wyndham [re-read]
  12. Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse 1) (fantasy) by Charlaine Harris
  13. My Parents Are Sex Maniacs (young adult) by Robyn Harding
  14. The Pendragon Banner (Bone Pedlar 2) (historical fiction) by Silvian Hamilton
  15. No Room in the Ark (outdoor & nature) by Alan Moorehead
  16. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler


These have been moved to my personal blog:



Modern classics in fiction:

Enjoyable fiction books:

Modern classics in nonfiction:

Excellent nonfiction books:

How to solve cryptic crosswords.
Favourite book review: The Beak of the Finch

A book might be available—if I can find it: many of my books are in boxes. If you see a "permanent collection" book that you want to trade for, perhaps I can help you to find a copy.

If you think I have forgotten to mail something, please send me an e-mail reminder. I have updated my email lately and am accepting messages again.

In this list:
- (ed.) is editor
- (ill.) is illustrator
- (tr.) is translator
- (a) means autographed
- (f) means that I think it's a first edition
- z drops books about a specific technology (some of which I've written) to the end of its category, if you use alphabetical order


Story lengths in science fiction:
- Vignette is less than 4 pages or 1,000 words (abbreviation "vi")
- Short story is 4-20 pages or 1,000-7,499 words (abbreviation "ss")
- Novelette is 21-45 pages or 7,500-17,499 words (abbreviation "nv")
- Novella is 46-100 pages or 17,500-39,999 words (abbreviation "na")
- Novel is more than 100 pages or 40,000 words (abbreviation "n")

In non-fiction:
- A monograph is under 10,000 words.


Science news:
- Wrathful Dispersion theory in linguistics
- oldest complex fossils are found in Newfoundland, Canada
- Clear evolutionary transition for whales

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