90:100 Dragon's Code by Gigi McCaffrey

Piemur was in Southern Hold, after running away from Harper Hall, doing surveying (and a bit of spying on the Weyr) for the MasterHarper.  He is starting to get the feeling that something is up at the Weyr but other things are preoccupying his Master's thoughts as rumor's about an attack on Jaxom are starting to take a more ominous tone so Piemur doesn't push his views too much.

And then the unspeakable happens and Ramoth's queen egg is stolen off the hatching grounds at Benden Weyr.  Dragons and their riders are ready to start a war on the Southern Weyr when the egg is mysteriously returned.  Piemur doesn't know who did it as he has returned to the North to try and find out more about what people may be trying to do to Jaxom and of course, being Piemur, he finds much more trouble than he expected.

The first book with the characters first created by Anne McCaffrey in many years as Gigi McCaffrey takes up the tales of her mother's characters.  This is really the retelling of part of the events from The White Dragon but from Piemur's perspective rather than Jaxom's and gives much more depth about what was going on in Southern Weyr during that time period.  I felt that Gigi did a good job with the voices of most of the characters and it definitely felt like a return home reading it.  I hope to read more books from her.



Page count: 251p/16,596p ytd/308,612p lifetime

89:100 The Book of Money by Daniel Conaghan & Dan Smith

I was trying to find a simply but fairly comprehensive economics book and this certainly did the trick. This book provided basic economic principles in easy to understand ways and also made sure to show how they affect society and the people which I always find as a more effective way to grasp a concept.  Are there more indepth books out there, of course, but I think unless you are planning to go further in your economics studies this is really does a good job of laying out the basics.



Page count: 256p/16,345p ytd/308,361p lifetime

88:100 The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Vasya's mother knew that her daughter was destined to be something special and she told her husband so at the same time she told him that she was expecting again, making him promise to take good care of their daughter when that time come sensing that she would not be there to raise her.  She died shortly after Vasya was born.

Vasya was raised primarily by her nurse who had helped raise her mother.  Surrounded by a family who loved and understood her, filled with the tales of the house and nature spirits, Vasya was never a typical girl preferring to run in the woods to sewing quietly in the house and her father feels that she would do better with a motherly influence so goes to court to find a wife. What he does not expect is to be given the daughter of the Czar, an extremely pious girl who wanted nothing more than to become a nun so she could be in a place where she could no longer see the demons that seem to be everywhere.

Now Anna is here to help Vasya's father with the house so he can take care of his lands and people but she still sees the demons. Except where she sees demons, Vasya sees the house and nature spirits that have been protecting them forever from the Winter demons.  Now that Anna is there, along with the new Father, they are turning people from the old ways and their caring of the spirits and weakening the protections of the village with their insistence on worshiping only their one god.  Vasya is trying to keep the spirits strong but she is only one girl and the village is starting to turn against her as her stepmother and the Father are.

But winter spirits are hungry and the village is becoming a ripe target.

This book kept popping in suggestions for me all over the place and I though it looked interesting so I finally broke down and picked it for my book club to read when it was my turn.  I am so happy I did. I couldn't put it down. The characters were so engaging, the tale deftly woven.  It had all the hallmarks of beautifully crafted fairy tale and it never disappointed. I'm now desperately trying to find time to read the rest of the series.

Page count: 338p/16,089p ytd/308,105p lifetime

87:100 George's Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking

George's parents do not believe in the positives of technology, only its dangers to the planet.  There is no tv, no phone, no computers but George did manage to talk them into letting him have a pet pig.  Except one day the pig escapes into his neighbor's backyard and he meets Annie who introduces him to her father and their supercomputer, Cosmos.  With Cosmos's help, Annie's father is able to journey through the solar system to explore so much further.  Of course, George ends up accidentally telling one of his teachers about Cosmos and that teacher has been looking for Cosmos for his own purposes.

I really wanted to like this book.  I mean, a children's book written by Stephen Hawking and his daughter about space?!  It should be awesome!  My 12 year old loved the entire series and was finishing each one in about two days.  However, the plot was so unbelievably simplistic and predictable it was a slog to get through.  Yes, the science is sound but it was less woven in and more just graphs and extra information that broke up what flow there was in the story (which wasn't much).  I can't bring myself to try and read any of the others in this series but my son recommends them to the late elementary/middle school science geeks.


Page count: 295p/15,751p ytd/307,767p lifetime

86:100 All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, and Jamie Grant

Superman has saved the planet again but this time taken a lethal dose of radiation that will kill him as soon as he finishes his 12 great tasks.  Of course his parents, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olson are there but so is Lex Luthor, Bizarro from the backwards planet with Zibarro, Ultra-Sphinx, alternate Supermans from may other dimensions and time lines, and so much more.

This was another in my son's college Comics as Literature class. The stories were good and solid and well illustrated but none really stood out for me but I can definitely see what it was part of the class.


Page count: 304p/15,456p ytd/307,472p lifetime

85:100 The Ancient Near Eastern World by Amanda H. Podany & Marni McGee

Review from 2013:
Middle-school The World in Ancient Times series by Oxford Press.  Looking at the kingdoms of the Middle East including Mesopotamia and Babylon as well Hammarabi, Gilgamesh, the founding of the Jewish religion and Israel, the five great kingdoms and their relationships, the last Mesopotamian king, and the rise of the Persian Empire.  

I really love how the book always takes time to explain how we know the things that we do, what we have found, and why we believe what we do about those findings.  It brings it alive for me much better than just a dry recitation.  There are also stories of people who lived during that time, not just the kings but the regular people as well.  Truly one of the most fun history series for kids I've come across.



Page count: 174p/15,152p ytd/307,168p lifetime

84:100 Curran POV Collection by Gordon Andrews

A collection of short stories written from Curran's point of view that take place between Magic Bites and Magic Bleeds, much of them focusing on his relationship with Kate.  Always fun to see the events from the other perspective and Gordon definitely delivers.


Page count: 157p/14,978p ytd/306,994p lifetime