My Year in Books (Part One)

I've kept lists of the books I have read for years and I usually post a goal for the new year along with some book challenges to tackle and a list of the books that were read during the year. Here we go with part one of "My Year in Books". I met my goal of reading 75 books and actually read 76, so kudos to me for reaching that goal. I am going to keep that same goal this year as well while secretly hoping to best it by one or two more books. Maybe you will find a few books you have or will enjoy from the list. Best to all in 2017!!

My 2016 Reading List, with quick comments about each one.

I reached my year end goal of reading 75 books!

1. Mycroft Holmes Casebook by David Dickinson

A nice collection of detection stories, solved by Mycroft Holmes, brother of one of the most

famous detectives in the world. Conveniently available in electronic format (Kindle). Mystery.

2. The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott

The first book in a series with teenage twins (a brother and a sister) as the main characters who

have adventures with an ancient alchemist (who really was a historical figure, but these

adventures are fictional). Mythology and fantasy in a modern setting.

3. Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Could be categorized as utopian fiction, aimed at the YA market, but interesting enough for

adults, too. Part of a Divergent series, which has also been made into a movie. Takes place in a

world where ones life path is determined in a special ceremony when a teenager. The world is

suffering the aftermath of some huge disaster.

4. The Tale of Halcyon Crane by Wendy Webb

A nice Gothic piece which takes place in the present day. It has been called 'tourism horror' by

one reviewer, but I don't necessarily agree with the horror label, it is a good Gothic to me;

Heroine finds out about her true identity after moving in to the mansion left to her by her family

in an idealistic setting, discovers family secrets and all the rest that I love about the Gothic

genre.

5. Fated (Alex Versus #1) by Benedict Jacka

While mourning the fact that there were no more Dresden Files books to read (I'd read them

all), a book loving friend sent me the first book of the Alex Verus series. Kind of a knock off of

the Dresden Files but has interesting characters that get involved in the paranormal in today's

world.

6. Homo Sylvanus by Amber D. Sistla

A Sci Fi novelette I gave a try to on Kindle because it was either free or it cost one dollar. About

genetic engineering, a father tries to help his teenage daughter illegally. I don't remember much

about it so that means, to me, it was kind-of forgettable.

7. Detection by Gaslight by various, including Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert W. Chambers, Baroness Orczy, etc. (Victorian and Edwardian Crime Stories)

I absolutely loved this old collection of stories about Crime solving and “Occult” Detectives. I

never realized this was a category, but it opened up a new sub-genre to me that I realized I

enjoyed, Harry Dresden, Alex Verus, and the Greywalker Series with Harper Blaine, to mention

a few.

8. The Life and Times of Jesus from Child to God by Joseph Lumpkin, a collection put together by the author from varied ancient sources telling mostly about the childhood of Jesus.
   
   
9. Atlantis Rising Magazine volumes: 99, 100, 101, 112,113, 114

Atlantis Rising is a new age magazine that comes out 6 times a year. The kindle version is about

half the price of the printed version and makes for interesting middle of the night reading when

I am unable to sleep due to discomfort from a chronic health condition. I don't believe

everything I read in it, but it definitely gives one food for thought. I have been slowly catching

up on back issues on my kindle (all caught up now). My least favorite section is the astrology

because the lady goes on and on about it, so it is good for putting me to sleep, when I reach

that part.

10. The Cabinet of Curiosities by Preston and Child (Agent Pendergast #3)

Wow, I did not know what I was getting myself into when I started this series last year. I was

browsing the audio book section of the local library and found the “Gideon” books by these

authors. I enjoyed listening to them in my car, so I started looking for other books by Preston

and Child as well. I have became obsessed with the Agent Pendergast series and have finished

them all, racing through them this year. I stayed up late way too many nights reading on and on.

Well worth the effort!! Now I am looking to read everything these guys have written, as a pair

and individually. This particular story is important to the rest of the series as it is when the

character Constance Green is introduced. She eventually becomes an important part of the

series. I am going to re-read this one in 2017, to make sure I did not miss any important plot

points about Constance and also because I know her appearance will be better understood in the

later books after I re-read it. Slow down while reading this one to integrate what comes in the following novels.

11. Still Life with Crows by Preston and Child (Pendergast #4)

Another fast paced Pendergast novel, introduces Corrie Swanson, a character who also appears in later books in the series.

12. Amazed by Grace by Sheri Dew

Inspirational reading from a well loved woman of faith.

13. Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sedgwick

One of my most favorite books for the year. This book still “haunts me”. It is a bit surreal but it grabs you into unusual circumstances you are not really sure you understand and pulls you straight into the story. I'm still there on that island with these characters. Amazing.

14. Haunted Utah by Andy Weeks

A collection of folklore and local ghost stories specific to Utah.

15. Dinosaurs in the Attic by Douglas Preston

I told you I was searching out everything Preston and Child have written.....Preston writes about

his time employed at the Museum of Natural History in NYC. Quite interesting, and relevant to

the Agent Pendergast series, too, as the museum is the setting for several of the investigations in the novels.

16. The Lost Stones by Paul Rimmasch

A novel exploring the possibilities and realities of the seer stones of the Jaredites, (which

the Utah crowd/LDS members can relate to).

17. Adventure Stories #4 by Seabury Quinn and Others

A kindle freebie and pretty interesting if you like oldish literature, Conan Doyle, Kipling, and

such authors.

18. Forget Me Not by Dieter F. Uchdorf

Inspirational reading from a well known and well loved religious leader.

19. Lirael by Garth Nix

The second book in the Abhorsen series by Nix. I thought I really liked Sabriel, the star of the

first book in the series, but I realized I absolutely loved Lirael even more, after reading this

book. I also fell in love with the “disreputable dog”, a great character in this book. Could be

described as a zombie story for those that don't really like zombie stories or maybe a zombie

story that was written before zombie stories were “cool”. Nothing like the Walking Dead, which

I think is kind of boring and soap opera-ish (from only watching two episodes on TV, read

The Road by Cormac McCarthy instead, WD is a rip off of it.

20. Brimstone by Preston and Child (Pendergast #5)

Another spine tingling, fast paced, Pendergast adventure.

Teaser Tuesdays...Sparking your interest in books!!

Mixed in with my usual Fantasy/SciFi reading and my growing addiction to Richard Preston and Lincoln Child's action packed novels of the many faceted life of secret agent A.X.L. Pendergast, I recently managed to get in some non-fiction reading. The latest is entitled "Skeletons on the Zahara- A True Story of Survival" by Dean King. It was so gripping I found myself wanting to read during every spare minute I had. I have also been recovering from some new health challenges so I have had a bit more down time than usual trying to regain my health. Not good for so close to preparations for the holidays, but not something I have much control over. 

The story tells of a true event that happened in the early 1800's, of a trading ship Commerce, captained by a mostly, New England crew that took cargo across the Atlantic Ocean to sell and was shipwrecked on the rocky coast of northern Africa, on the edges of the Sahara desert. The crew were captured and taken as slaves by the indigenous peoples there and sold and traded to various masters. Most, but not all, of the crew obtained their freedom after the British consul in Morocco paid a ransom for them and because of one dedicated Arab owner who believed the Captain's word that it would be beneficial to them both if he brought the crew to 'civilization' in the city on the edge of the desert.

The book is based on journals, written afterward, of two of the crew that had these experiences, one of them being ship's Captain- James Riley. These journals were best sellers in their hey day of the early 1800's and the story was widely known then. The author, Dean King, actually went on a trek in 2001, sponsored by National Geographic, that roughly traveled the same route as the crew members did during their ordeal. 

The camel is a truly alien to us but it is an indispensable animal in these parts and although I don't think I would ever want the experience of herding, riding or eating the parts of one, this strange beast is a real blessing to people in these desert areas.

It is almost too awful to contemplate the trauma, both physical and mental these men endured. It is an amazing feat that they survived to tell about it, it was also eye opening to me to learn about cultures that many of us have no clue about. Even though the incident took place in 1815, the author traveled to the area and made the trek and knows first hand that much has remained the same in the nearly timeless sands of the Sahara.

Highly recommended- Skeletons on the Zahara- A True Story of Survival by Dean King.

Teaser Tuesday...to spark your interest in books!! Kevin Hearne-Iron Druid Series

Shattered by Kevin Hearne (The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 7) (Fantasy) NY Times Best Seller!

"Granuaile raised her hand. I have a problem with this plan to stab my father in the head and the heart!" (pg 66)

Hunted by Kevin Hearne (The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 6)

“Atticus speaking: "Do you mean Pi, the mathematical symbol?"

Oberon the Irish Wolfhound: "< No, Atticus, I mean Shepherd's Pie. I'm not going to confuse that with math. Shepherd's Pie is delicious and desirable, math is not.> " (pg 67)

The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne have, for the most part, been an entertaining and fun series for reading. I just barely finished the 8^th book in the series called “Staked”, and to me, it didn't seem as good as the other volumes. I got a bit bored with all the Norse mythology stuff being rehashed over and over again, could it be the author was struggling for ideas? (Not surprising after writing seven volumes about the same characters.) I just wanted to read about Atticus (the main character) and his latest adventures. I stopped reading “Staked” about 2/3 through and put it away for a few months, then I pulled it out again the other night and completely finished it within a few days. It's not my favorite one of the series but the story is still entertaining and witty. I will continue to be a fan of the author as he creates more adventures for these characters. The one unique thing about the latest book is that it bounced around between three main points of view- Atticus (main character and the one known as the iron druid) his female student and now a full druid Granuaile, and Owen, Attticus' old druid master who was rescued from being trapped in time. It is an interesting story telling device having the three points of view, it also was sometimes a bit confusing. I can't say if I liked the technique or not yet, I am reserving judgment on that for now. Throughout the series there have always been parts of the story including “conversations” between Atticus and his dog (and the dogs point of view), these are some of the best parts of all the books. Oberon, the Irish Wolf Hound is the dog, he is one of the characters I love in this series.

A man with his Irish Wolfhound.

Author Kevin Hearne

Teaser Tuesdays- To Spark Your Interest in Books of All Kinds!!

Notes to Myself (My struggle to become a person) by Hugh Prather (self-help, philosophy) (1970, 1983)

"All I want is for you to accept me as I am."

"Yes, and all I want is for you to accept my not accepting you."

A small volume that takes the reader on a ride of introspection. Interesting and inspiring, good for pondering, mindful. These are collected thoughts from the author's journal. Lends itself well to reading in bits and pieces, thoughts about oneself, handling life, relationships, human emotions. Put together in an unusual format with no page numbers.

“Next time I will ..."
"From now on I will ..."
- What makes me think I am wiser today than I will be tomorrow?”

“Now that I know that I am no wiser than anyone else, does this wisdom make me wiser?”
― Hugh Prather, Notes to Myself: My Struggle to Become a Person

The author was a lay minister, author of self-help books, and a counselor. The book had sold over 5 million copies and has been translated into 10 languages. Prather died of a heat-attack in 2010 in his Arizona home.

Teaser Tuesdays...to spark your interest in books!

Never Argue with a Dead Person by Thomas John (Manhattan medium)

True and unbelievable stories from the other side.

Quotes from the book:

"A quizzical look on my face must have betrayed my thoughts as Detective Caprini immediately answered the question I asked only in my mind." 

" She hung herself. Nasty scene; we've been at her penthouse since 3:00 this morning..."

"So what is it that you do?" The taller cop asked..."I talk to spirit people...I channeled her son."

This book is written by a man who is known as a medium, he has the ability to channel, and communicate with the dead. The stories are heartwarming especially since they usually bring comfort and some closure to people that have lost a loved one. I do believe in life after death and it

is helpful to me to know that our loved ones are not gone forever from us when they go from one form of existence to another. While I have never really 'talked' to a dead person, I have had a few choice dreams where I have been in dreamland, with people I have known, that were deceased and do get “impressions” from people and places. I think some persons have special spiritual/supernatural gifts that may allow them to communicate with people after death. There are many examples of spiritual gifts and supernatural things in the Bible, burning bushes, heavenly manna, miracles of preservation (think Daniel in the lions den) and healing (Christ), banishing devils into swine, prophecy being pronounced and then fulfilled.

To me, mediumship seems to be a part of what we are as spiritual beings sojourning on earth, some people just have more developed spiritual senses than others. But this type of thing seems to be frowned upon by a lot of religions and is sometimes called evil. Maybe one reason it is not encouraged is that it may show a lack of faith and that one is not trusting in God by wanting to communicate with a person who has moved to the next spiritual realm, even though you do believe in it. These are the thoughts that clutter my mind when I consider mediums, or those called clairvoyant, because I am certainly curious about the afterlife, like I am sure many other people are.

Faith and actually knowing are not the same thing, which reminded me of a scripture:

Hebrews 11:1 (King James Version of the Bible)

 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Your thoughts??

The Nautilus - Pretty Shell, Aqua-Propelled...

The Nautilus - Pretty Shell, 

Aqua-Propelled...an 

amazing nautical creature.

The Nautilus is part of a family of sea creatures which have seemingly made their way into today's oceans from a rift in time. It is the only remaining member of the family Nautilaceae, they look like they have for millions of years and have even been called 'living fossils', because they have existed in the ocean since the dinosaurs. In fact, they have existed longer than the dinosaurs but are not extinct. Scientists have used fossil data to determine that this species has not changed significantly in millions of years.

The nautilus is considered a marine mollusc, this is a category of marine animals that do not possess a backbone. They are also in a category of marine animals known as Cephalopods, characterized by a large head and including arms or tentacles (meaning head-foot). Other examples of cephalopods include octopi, squid, and cuttlefish. They also have bilateral symmetry, which means if you chopped them in half, the halves would be mirror images of each other. Another characteristic of cephalopods is that their blood contains hemocyanin, a protein that carries oxygen to their body tissues. Hemocyanin is blue colored when it contains oxygen (the opposite of people, where the protein hemoglobin is red when carrying oxygen). No other cephalopod has an external shell except the nautilus and it can hide completely in its shell if it needs to.

Nautilidae are protected by smooth, whorled shells which shield their soft bodies from predators. Like other cephalopods, the nautilus has lots of tentacles but it has even more of them, up to 90! Their tentacles are retractable and they do not have little suckers on them like an octopus does, instead they have grooves for gripping. There are two small tentacles by the eye of the nautilus that are used for smell, this is the main way they find their food. The nautilus has a parrot-like beak with specialized teeth which is used to scrape food off of rocks and to help crush and shred their scavenged meals, which include the discarded shells of lobsters and hermit crabs; but nautiluses will also eat just about any discarded carrion they come across. The nautilus has a four-chambered heart and arteries and veins, it has nervous tissue but scientists do not believe it has a brain. Though scientists once believed that these ancient creatures had very limited intelligence, studies now show the presence of memory and an ability to improvise and change behavior relative to changing stimuli. Most species of nautilus are about 8 inches in diameter (20cm), but one particular dwarf species has a shell averaging 115mm, about 4.5 inches. 

The chambers inside a nautilus.

Nautiluses have a unique shell that can withstand ocean pressure to a depth of about 800 meters (2600ft). The shell is composed of two layers, a shiny inside and a flat white with brownish stripes outside. The shell is divided into chambers. As the nautilus grows it creates new larger chambers to grow into and seals off the older, smaller, chambers as it moves out, these chambers aid the nautilus with buoyancy. A newly hatched baby nautilus starts out with a four chambered shell and as it grows its shell can contain 30 or more chambers by the time it is mature.

If you look at a shark or an orca whale from above and below you can see that it is camouflaged to blend in well with its environment. Animals having darker markings on the top and white or lighter markings on the bottom to help them blend in are said to have counter-shading. The nautilus also uses counter-shading. When viewed from above the darker markings on the top of the shell help it blend in with the darker ocean water. When viewed from below, the white underside helps the animal blend in because it is viewed towards the lighter, sun touched, surface of the water. Cool!  

 

countershading on a nautilus

 

Nautiluses "swim" in an amazing way, using a complex inner plumbing system with siphons, they draw water into and out of their shells, propelling them forward, up or down, a bit like a submarine filling or emptying its dive tanks. Nautiluses do not suffer from the bends and can raise and lower themselves quickly in the water without pressure damage.

The nautilus is difficult to raise in captivity and in the wild their eggs can take up to a year to hatch. They are a creature that matures late in life, up to 15 years and they only live about 20 years, so they reproduce slowly. They live in the Asian and Australian regions of the ocean, on the deep slopes of coral reefs and they like cooler water, only surfacing to warmer, shallower regions of water at night to feed. These interesting creatures are hunted for their beautiful shells and the meat is used as food. The inner shell is sought after for its iridescent beauty called 'mother of pearl'.

 

There have not been any regulations regarding the hunting of the nautilus and there were concerns that they were becoming endangered as a species from over hunting. As I was writing this article I found out that on October 3, 2016, a proposal to protect the nautilus was approved by CITIES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) at a meeting in South Africa, now the nautilus will hopefully be a bit more protected. I think the nautilus is a beautiful and fascinating creature and I had to cut a lot of information out from the research I did for this article to make it a manageable length, because I realize not everybody will be as enamored of it as I am, but I wanted to share some interesting facts about this wonderful creature.

Sources:

USFish and Wildlife.gov

Aquarium of the pacific.org

(National Aquarium) Aqua.org

Savethenautilus.com

Teaser Tuesday...Sparking your interest in books!

Anthem by Ayn Rand 1938 (Science Fiction)

"There is fear hanging in the air of the sleeping halls, and in the air of the streets. Fear walks through the city, fear without name, without shape. All men feel it and none dare to speak." (pg 46)

I had a literature class in my senior year of High School entitled “Utopian Literature”. We read things like Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984, Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand and had great discussions in class. I don't remember much about The Fountainhead, but that class really got me interested in the subject of Utopian and Dystopian literature because of the interesting explorations of political and social organization that the books explored.

I like to frequent thrift stores just to check out the books. It's like a little bit of heaven to me to spend an hour rummaging through the stacks to see what I can find. I always found a few copies of Anthem, every time I went to look at the books. Finally, I purchased a copy of Anthem for myself and proceeded to read the slim volume. This book is disturbing and odd. Something that might be better enjoyed with a group of readers you can discuss it with. I'm not sure what to make of it.

  

Author Ayn Rand was controversial then and continues to be so now. She did not worship at the altar of political correctness, in fact she rallied against it. She grew up in the Soviet Union, at a time when collectivism and statism were King and individualism was scorned. She proceeded to give her strong opinions on the subject back in the 1930's. Anthem was published in 1938. I wonder if any public high school would even dare to have her books on their reading lists now, it might offend someone or cause a riot!