The Great Book Chase! Mystery and Romance

NOTE: Because I've turned off "captcha codes" to make it easier to comment, Blogger seems to isolate comments it thinks are spam and email them to me. Most of the time it's right, but this week I'm seeing Friends of Mabel appearing in my spam emails. Oh noes! So if your comment doesn't appear after you post it, it might just be temporarily lost in space.

The thrilling adventure of Which Books Will Make It to Nanaimo!

This edition: Mystery and Romance

Considering I own 100 mysteries (includes thrillers and horror) you'd think it's all I read. Sigh. I just like too many genres!! Annoying. Anyway, I managed to cull 30, only one of which had been bought new (3$ in a department store bin... I don't even know why I picked it, other than the pretty cover.)

I chose 10 contenders for the contest.

I did the romances too, though I don't know what to add to the pot. Probably just a thin Crusie, a Phillips, and a book called Indiscretion with good reviews. As I've said, I have quite a few ebook romances. I culled 16 Regencies, many of which I tried but couldn't get into it. Let's face it, if I want Regency I'll just reread Heyer.

I've decided to try reading Outlander before I leave Montreal. This way it won't take up space, but I can find out why it was the Da Vinci code of the mid 90s, and yet some people DETEST it. Let's hope I don't like it, cause I'm not sure I can read 800 pages before leaving, unless I skim. [Outlander in Hebrew, Japanese and... I forget.]

Haley's calling for her supper and I have to charge the ipad. Then I'll consider starting on the insanely bulging SFF shelves. Fernando's always bringing boxes of them home from the hospital. I also want to spread them out so he can see what's there AND READ SOME OF THEM while I'm gone.

Will report back. ...Coming Haley!

LATER: Okay forget Outlander. I opened it a third of the way in, read 20 pages, and quite literally hit my first joke about Jamie's big Scottish dirk. Plus all those dinnas and cannaes, it's like reading Oor Wully.

 

LATER Okay I read the belt scene, the rapey torture, and the summary on wiki. Can finally get Outlander out of my life!

CAT PHOTO!

cats is better thn books

 

Arrivederci kittehs!

Soon I'm going out west to spend a month with my family--with my dad and step-mother in Nanaimo, and some pop overs to Vancouver to see the mother and brother.

I will miss my furbitudes! Here are their latest pics...

Minion falls asleep on the heaters and falls off them. With the desk pushed up, as long as she sleeps by it, she's okay.

Sleeping on my hands works too.

 Knuckle pillow.

Here she is up on the grandfather boxes, communing with the spirits.

 

Haley's turn by the window...

We watched this poor gal struggle with one foot in a cast over the ice.

And here's one of the dog walkers I like to mock when I'm cozy and warm. (Until Shooter visited, then I couldn't mock so much.)

"Dogs in MY view?!"

I have a piece of fabric over my chair, in theory to keep the kitty nails out of it. Naturally Evil Minion got around it--decided it was a great game to leap onto the back of the chair, under the cloth. Then climb up and over to my side, and lean against my back.

This is the little mat in case she falls off the heater, but I discovered she likes to sleep on it. Most cats don't like to sleep on the floor, but this one does.

Random pic of her cave in the livingroom that I built for her, under a chair. She's into caves. When I tidy I put all her toys in front of it.

When we come in with groceries she comes a runnin'... first to look for cat toys, second to steal food, third to sit in the bags.

I'll miss them but I leave them in the capable hands of their beloved daddio.

       

The Hairy Menace

Our favorite massive lump of dark matter returned to Chez Nous this weekend, as his family ran off with my husband to the Carnaval.

Collecting material for his dissertation Urinary Markings of the Greater Montreal Canine. Or maybe he's writing a pop science or travelog... Pees of the World. Either way he is very detailed oriented, indefatigable in his quest to catalog every frikking mark.

What construction is so important that it's going on in winter, even on the weekend?

The Writing Corner: Updated

I had to turn my desk in a different direction recently--there's a rolltop desk in my room now. Yes, there's too much stuff. Anyway. 

I discovered I liked my new spot, able to see Kitteh on Heater as well as watch everyone taking their dogs out to pee. Possibly I also like that I can't see over the rolltop desk and book case next to me to see my messy room, or see behind me...

 

 My bookcase of England books (complete with bowler hat, stuffed rats, and Tom Servo.) But because it's next to the washer and dryer, I've been using it to sort clothes and drape clothes that need to be hung up. ...Possibly this should be my next project.

Anyway, my new corner was surprisingly practical, but looked ugly. So I moved a bookcase, and tossed up some decor. Here's the new corner.

On the chair is a sweater, and under the desk is a blanky. 

I haven't yet had to bring out the space heater and fingerless gloves.

 

Rolltop desk to the right. Pencils, pens, pic of old cats.

And a mini Calico on top.

View of the parking lot.

 

Found a use for my thesaurus, crossword dictionary, quotations dictionary, Chicago Manual of Style, and the two English dictionaries my grandfather gave me when I started my first degree in 1993. (I need the computer screen to be eye level.)

  

Also pictured: My 2nd hand but came in its original plastic Tsimshian Treasures--research for my book. About a collection of west coast artifacts that ended up in Great Britain, and were repatriated (to Canada, not to the Tsimshian people.)

 

A little purple flair for the book case.

Ergonomics: Adjustable chair, pullout keyboard.

 

Night View

Mega mug full of milky mint tea.

Realized we were missing some decor. So added Oscar and 3 postcards I bought in London, to the shelf with the writing books.

Créations Li dude and tea lights for the shelf with research for this and the next book.

Speaking of Li--the writing smurf she gave me years ago.

And for the kittons... a blanket for Minion to land on when she falls asleep on the heater and falls off.

The nearby shelf with boxes of my grandfather's papers (and an article about the room at the University of Alberta that they named after him) which Minion likes to lounge on. I assume she communes with his spirit up there.

 

One of her throughways. 

 

A rare visit from Haley. 

 

Minion checking out the new setup. Dost thou approve madam?

 

She doth.