Books Read in 2007

Carnival, Elizabeth Bear
Thunderbird Falls, C.E. Murphy
Miss Melville Regrets, Evelyn E. Smith
Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al Madinah and Meccah, Sir Richard Burton
Changeling, Delia Sherman
Girl Genius, Omnibus Volume I, Phil and Kaja Foglio
An Assembly Such As This, Pamela Aidan
Definitely Dead, Charlaine Harris
To Ride a Rathorn, P.C. Hodgell
Deliverer, C J Cherryh
Agatha Heterodyne and the Circus of Dreams, Phil and Kaja Foglio
Agatha Heterodyne and the Clockwork Princess, Phil and Kaja Foglio
Tam Lin, Pamela Dean
Duty and Desire, Pamela Aiden
Unshapely Things, Mark Del Franco
Narbonic, Volume 4, Shaenon K. Garrity
Grey, Jon Armstrong
Time's Child, Rebecca Ore
The Margarets, Sheri S. Tepper
All Together Dead, Charlaine Harris
The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman (re-read)
Ilario: The Lion's Eye, Mary Gentle
Ilario: The Stone Golem, Mary Gentle
Hellspark, Janet Kagan  (re-re-re-re-re&c-read)

Storms, Stones, and Dragons

We got clipped by the least edge of the truly impressive line of thunderstorms that crossed the state last night. The air cooled and the wind came up and we got to turn off the air conditioners (and the lights, and the computers) open the windows and listen to the weather over a companionable glass of wine.

This morning was foggy and damp, but the Weather Beans promised cooler and dryer later. We stepped out early to the gem and mineral show, where I scored four Chinese coins with dragons on them. Seems like the silver content might range from Lite to .9 across the four of them, and they're well worn. But, hey, dragons at a buck the each. What's not to like?

I went food shopping yesterday -- not the best plan, it being Friday and tourist season. As expected the store was full of People from Away, many of whom had apparently never been inside a grocery store before. I escaped being run down several times by various people in a state of sensory overload, and twice by two overstimulated children. The boy of this pair was pushing the cart, his sister was kibitzing. They were doing wheelies and cutting capers behind their mother's back. The first time they just missed involving me, I ignored them. The second time, I said, "If you keep driving like that, they'll take your license away." Whereupon, their mother whipped around, grabbed the girl by the arm and the boy by the basket and said, loudly enough for me to hear, but without ever once acknowledging my existence -- "Didn't I tell you to behave yourselves here?"

Which gives rise to the question of which "here" exactly was under discussion. Didn't I tell you to behave yourselves in the store? Didn't I tell you to behave yourselves in this scary, barbarian state? Didn't I tell you to behave yourselves on this planet? Really, I wish she would've looked at me, so I could have explored these matters with her, but -- no. And so I remain curious, and unsatisfied.

Or at least curious.


Progress on Duainfey

41,160 / 100,000 (41.2%)

Today's Special:
"So," he said to Ganat, "when will you summon the giant birds to bear us to Sea Hold? If you wish to arrive for dinner, it had best be soon."