Fortnightly Update #26: A New Hope

I've been a bit busy with dog-related things since I brought home a new dog on the 3rd, but I'm trying to get back into reading and blogging again for the new year. I hope you all had a great time over the holidays.

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

the-pile Additions:

None!

the-invisible-pile Additions:

The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith
I tend to like books about art and paintings, so we'll see how I like this one. Usually in books that are centered around a painting, I can deal with multiple time periods and storylines.

Kushiel's Dart (Kushiel's Universe #1) by Jacqueline Carey
I've been avoiding this book, but I'm just curious enough about it to read it. Something tells me it's not my thing, but I've been wrong about books like this one before.

Currently Reading:

I'm actually not reading much lately, but I've been trying to finish Lotus by Lijia Zhang. I'm smitten with the cover and the idea that it's based on the author's own family history.

Finished These Books:

I haven't finished any books since 2016, but some stand outs from the last month of last year were:

Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming

Not your normal celebrity autobio (or at least, I didn't think so) Not My Father's Son made me alternate between cringing and wanting to shut it (because of the abusive portions), and speed reading so I can find out what exactly is going on with the Cumming family dynamic. I will never see Alan Cumming in the same light again, and it's a good thing.

One Fell Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles #3) by Ilona Andrews

Of course, even though this was online for free for quite some time (and I read most of it) I bought the ebook to have for my library and to see the final edits. This series is well worth reading for those of you who like snarky and sweet paranormal books set in a bit of a sci-fi version of the universe/our earth.

In My Life:

Princess Leia, who looks like a mini wolfhound or a gray and black Dorkie on stilts

On New Year's Eve day, we went to the local animal shelter (you know, the place we got that cat/criminal mastermind George from) and found a dog who seemed like the right fit for our little island of misfit pets. Her shelter name was Princess, but my mom and I don't really approve of titles for names, so she was redubbed Princess Leia, or Leia for short. I'll be whipping up a post about her shortly, but it's safe to say she will continue to be part of our household.

Happy 2017!

Month in Review For December 2016: Thank God It's Over

I haven't been around the blogosphere much (at least for me) in the latter part of 2016. I was a bit afraid of what might happen if I flung around too many positive aspirations, as last year seemed centrally interested in my downfall. However, I think I can start again this year with a degree of optimism that I didn't feel confident in last year. It's a new year, I have a new doggie, and my appointment to the University of Utah neurology department is less than 30 days away.

Statistics:
 Total Posts: 5
  Total Critiques: 0

Most Popular Posts of December:
SFF: The 5 Books You're Excited to Read in 2017
Fortnightly Update #25: The Odd Case of the Cat Condo

Flashback Post (From December of a Previous Year):
An Ugly (Dog) Sweater Holiday Card, and Where to Find My Guest Post

Pageviews for the Month: 1491
Comments: 8

Reading Challenges Updates:

Travel the World in Books Challenge

Applicable Books:
None!
Total for 2016: 17 of 15 Books, 11 of 5 Countries (Completed/Overachiever Status)

Reading Stats:

Books read this Month: 6

Book Stats:
Has a Diverse Main Character: 1
Doesn't Have a Diverse MC: 5
Female Main Character: 5
Male Main Character: 1
Pair and/or Group of Female/Male Main Characters: 0
Genre:
 Sci-fi: 1
 Historical Romance: 3
 Memoir: 1
 Graphic Novel: 1
Published in 2016: 3
Published in 2000-2015: 3
Self-Published, Small Press, or Other: 1
Traditionally Published: 5
Series Books: 3
Standalones: 3
Ebook Version: 6
Paper Version: 0
Favorite of the Month: One Fell Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles #3) by Ilona Andrews
Least Favorite of the Month: Wicked Intentions (Maiden Lane #1) by Elizabeth Hoyt (I felt the ending was fumbled)
Most Interesting of the Month (or Book I Learned the Most From): Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming (I'm not a fan of celebrity memoirs, but this celebrity memoir was well worth the read)
From the-pile: 0
From the-invisible-pile: 0
Recently acquired: 6
Added to the-invisible-pile: 3
Books bought: 0
Pages Read in 2016 (according to Goodreads): 31,899 pages

Ratings:
5 Stars: 0
4-4.5 Stars: 2
3-3.5 Stars: 2
2-2.5 Stars: 2

Author Stats (1 = 1 book read by x author):
Male: 2
Female: 3
Male/Female Team: 1
Diverse: 1
Not-so-Diverse: 5
Living: 6
Deceased: 0

Planning to Read in 2017:

I'm hoping to finish Lotus by Lijia Zhang before January is out, along with some other books, hopefully. I've been attempting to stop a hyper, allergy-ridden terrier mix from scratching her spay incision for the past four days, which has been an adventure in the use of "NO! STOP!". Being on a hair trigger for that phrase is really not conducive to reading.

Upcoming Posts:

I'm hoping to do a Best of 2016 booklist, along with an introduction post for Princess Leia. One must have a careful balance of book and dog posts on their book blog.

Happy Reading!

SFF: The 5 Vintage Sci-fi Books You Recommend (For Vintage Sci-fi Month!)

Sunday Fun Five #70:

#60: The 5 Literary Characters Who Should Run For President

#61: The 5 Authors You Wouldn't Mind Having as Your Teacher

#62: The 5 Comfort Reads You Depend on For Difficult Days

#63: The 5 Reasons You Need More Than One Patronus

#64: The 5 Supernatural Creatures/Beings You Prefer Reading About

#65: The 5 Books You Read in 2016 That Were More Addictive Than Pumpkin Pie Spice-d Things

#66: The 5 Times You Found the Right Book at the Right Time (Or Did It Find You?)
#67: The 5 New-To-You Authors of 2016 You Wish You'd Read Sooner
#68: The 5 Characters You Won't Soon Forget That You Read About in 2016
#69: The 5 Books You're Excited to Read in 2017
#70: The 5 Vintage Sci-fi Books You Recommend (For Vintage Sci-fi Month!)
For the 15th of January: #71: The 5 Excuses for Buying New Books You Use on Yourself

A Countdown of

The 5 Vintage Sci-fi Books You Recommend (For Vintage Sci-fi Month!)

5. Wild Seed (Patternmaster #1) by Octavia E. Butler (Published in 1980)
I heartily recommend anything and everything Octavia E. Butler has written, despite not having read it all yet myself- I just love her writing style. I like her Patternmaster series because of the idea of superhumans who aren't exactly superheroes, and how they live their lives.

4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #1) by Douglas Adams (Published in 1979)
I wasn't at all impressed with the first half of this book, having watched the movie edition prior, but the second half turned my opinion of it upside down. This is an excellent comedic space adventure.

3. Kesrith (The Faded Sun #1) by C.J. Cherryh (Published in 1978)
C.J. Cherryh's books are lasagna in a world filled with potato chip sci-fi books- the worldbuilding drives the plot, but it can also feel a bit on the heavy side. Still, after you finish one piece/book, you think of how good it was and how much you want another.

2. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (Published in 1932)
This book is startlingly advanced for the period in which it was published- and as someone interested in the history of advances in medical science, it caught my fancy. You have to keep in mind, though, that this book is less of a story driven book and more of an idea driven one.

1. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (Published before you were born, unless you're a vampire or otherwise mortally challenged)
Some people think of this more as a horror story than anything else, but I consider it more sci-fi, since reanimation reminds me more of sci-fi than horror. I was initially hesitant to read this book last year, but ended up loving it despite never getting around to publishing a review.

Which science fiction books have you read and enjoyed that were published prior to your birth?