Fortnightly Update #24: Waiting on 2017

I spent last week with family in Montana, and though I do have a lot to be thankful for this year, I'm not loving 2016. Keisha, my Dorkie, hasn't felt like herself since she began coughing in early November. We took her to the vet thinking it was kennel cough, when actually she has congestive heart failure. In addition to that, she doesn't like to eat much (or even at all) sometimes, which makes me eager to take her back to the veterinarian in hopes of a miracle pill. I'm not that hopeful, given the fact that she doesn't eat, and my last dog who suffered that way (Tsuki) had to be euthanized, despite our attempts at stirring his appetite with steroids. I'm firmly in the camp of euthanasia for severely suffering animals, given my aunt who died of colon cancer told me the next time one of her dogs suffered the way she was (not being able to eat or participate in life) she would put them to sleep without hesitation.

I hate to open my post with such a downer, but that's my state of mind at the moment. I love Keisha- she's the happiest dog I've ever met, but lately she can barely muster a tail wag. One thing I hate about adopting older dogs is you never have enough time with them- but I felt exactly the same way with Jewels, a dog I raised from puppyhood. The most important scientific advance we need for pets is a longevity potion.

Recent Acquisitions (or the Piling of the-Piles):

the-pile Additions:

None!

the-invisible-pile Additions:

Parable of the Talents (Earthseed #2) by Octavia E. Butler
I have the Parable of the Sower, which is the first book in this series, so I picked this one up to complete the series. I'm honestly beginning to feel like there aren't enough Octavia E. Butler books out there for my liking.

Currently Reading:

The Blood Mirror (Lightbringer, #4) by Brent Weeks 

I'm still working on this one- maybe I'll get it read by the end of the year. I'm just worried because the last book in the series didn't end in the happiest fashion, and an unhappy ending is not what I need right now.

Finished These Books:

Rock Addiction (Rock Kiss #1) by Nalini Singh

Because I enjoyed her writing in Slave to Sensation I picked this one up when it was a freebie, even though I'd promised myself not to read any more contemporary romances because I rarely if ever like them. Long story short, I'm sticking to her paranormal books.

A Dance with Danger (Tang Dynasty #5) by Jeannie Lin

I enjoy Jeannie Lin's Tang Dynasty series, though I've never given them a full review on my blog. Any book in this series should appeal to historical romance addicts, because it isn't a stereotypical English setting, though some of the gender roles and restrictions are similar. This one is different from her other books in that the heroine and the hero wed first and fall in love later.

Bloodchild: And Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler

My favorite book from the past two weeks, and probably of this month (or even the past two months)- Bloodchild and Other Stories includes Octavia E. Butler's thoughts behind each of her short stories and what inspired them. It also includes some articles she wrote about being an African American woman writing science fiction. I had looked up her bio, but I learned a lot more about her through reading this collection.

Mistletoe Murder (Lucy Stone #1) by Leslie Meier

This was a freebie I thought I'd try, despite it not being my usual choice of genre (I think this is a cozy mystery). I may have enjoyed it, but it has a lot of outdated, and even straight up offensive ideas. Beyond that, (slight spoiler) when Lucy's kids' cat dies suddenly, she barely bats an eyelash. Sure, her father died a few months ago, but for her to be so unaffected by it basically means I don't like her at all as a character. This book was published in 1991, and it shows its age.

In My Life:

Other than Keisha not feeling well, I naturally don't feel that up to par either. I'm looking forward to next year's appointment with the University of Utah, because although I do have some relief from what my doctors have given me, I feel like whatever I have is gradually worsening. My grandmother even noticed I walk a lot worse from when I visited her in July, which was when this all started.

One bright spot in all of this is that even though I've only read 90 books in 2016, I surpassed the page count I read in 2015 (when I read 100 books). I guess I've been reading longer books this year. If you keep track of your reading on Goodreads, you can look at your own stats to compare by going to your Goodreads profile and clicking the Stats button under your Bookshelves widget.

Are you on track for your yearly reading challenges?