Finally! The first hike of 2015!

Between illnesses and unpleasant weather, we didn’t get out to hike until today, but it was a gorgeous, glorious day for the first hike of the year. Even better, last year I purchased snow pants, which means that I wasn’t afraid to kneel down in the snow to get closer to interesting things, and I didn’t come out of the woods soaking wet from the knees down.

Because the entrance gate is closed, there are a limited number of trails to hike (unless you want to walk into the park and then start your hike, which I don’t), so we took my favorite trail, Scotts Run.

Trail: Scotts Run
Elevation: 1168 feet
Distance: 4.4 miles
Time: 2:13

GPS map of the hike.

A little slow getting this done–I got very sick midway through January so I read a lot–and didn’t do much of anything else. I’m still dealing with the dregs of the illness, but mostly better.

My favorite books in January were: The Spymaster’s Lady by Joanna Bourne (10/10), which is a historical romance mystery. I LOVED the mystery here.
Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch (9/10) which is the next Rivers of London book; I was expecting to love it, and did.
The Dragon Conspiracy by Lisa Shearin (8.5/10) is the second SPI Files book. It’s a fun supernatural spy romp.
And finally The Devil You Know, Audible Version by Mike Carey and narrated by Michael Kramer (9/10) which is another British supernatural fantasy.

Historical Romance
The Spymaster’s Lady (2008) Joanna Bourne (10/10)
How to Catch a Wild Viscount  (2009) Tessa Dare

Supernatural Fantasy
Foxglove Summer (2014) Ben Aaronovitch   (9/10)
The Dragon Conspiracy (2015) Lisa Shearin   (8.5/10)
Cursed Moon  (2014) Jaye Wells  (7.5/10)
Wild Card  (2014) Lisa Shearin (7/10)
Charming (2013) Elliott James (6/10)
Owl and the Japanese Circus  (2015) Kristi Charish   (4/10)
Gunmetal Magic  (2012) by Ilona Andrews

Historical Fantasy
Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot  (1988) Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (10/10)
The Grand Tour: or the Purloined Coronation Regalia  (2004) Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (7/10)
The Mislaid Magician: or Ten Years After  (2006) Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (7/10)

Epic Fantasy
Castle of Wizardry  (1984) David Eddings (8/10)
Enchanters’ End Game (1984) David Eddings (9/10)
Guardians of the West (1987) David Eddings (8/10)
King of the Murgos  (1998) David Eddings (7/10)
Demon Lord of Karanda (1988) David Eddings (7/10)
Sorceress of Darshiva  (1989) David Eddings (7/10)
Seeress of Kell  (1991) David Eddings (7/10)

Audio Books
The Devil You Know, Audible Version  (2006/2007) by Mike Carey and narrated by Michael Kramer   (9/10)
Gunmetal Magic, Audible Version (2012) by Ilona Andrews and narrated by Renée Raudman  (DNF)

Everything I read was an eBook, but I did listen to two audio books. And more than half of what I read was a re-read. When I’m sick, I want comfort reading, and don’t want to take a chance on starting something I won’t like.

eBook : 19
Audio : 2
Multiple Formats : 13
Re-read : 13

Most of what I read was fantasy, and the mysteries were mostly fantasies that were also mysteries.

Fantasy : 19
Mystery : 7
Romance : 5
YA : 10

And for the first month of the year, male and female authors are running neck and neck.

Male : 10
Female : 9
Joint : 2