Since the early flowers are blooming (those that didn’t die because of the early warm spell) we went to the Botanic Garden.

Tibbs Run

First rhododendron of the year!

Grape hyacinth

These tiny daffodils are adorable.

Saturday it rained off and on, so although Sunday was overcast, we took advantage of the minimal precipitation and headed out to Coopers Rock.

Location: Coopers Rock
Distance: ~6 miles
Elevation: 1920-2421 feet
Temperature: 35-41 F

We went a bit earlier than usual, so it was quiet and we saw very few people, which was nice.

It was still muddy on the roadside trail, however, so we ended up walking the road part of the way back, just to avoid the mud.

It was a gorgeous day for a hike.

Location: Coopers Rock State Forest
Trails: Advanced Ski, Resoivoir Ski, Scott Run Trails
Distance: 4.6 miles
Elevation: 1857-2289 feet
Temperature: 28-34 C

Since it’s International Women’s Day, here are some recommended books written by women!

First, lemme natter on a bit about a couple of the authors.

Patricia C. Wrede writes primarily young adult fantasy, however, don’t let the modifier “young adult” put you off. That simply means it’s fantasy without any boinking. She has an amazing series set in a magical United States, where the founding fathers created a barrier along our Mississippi to keep out the dangerous magical creatures. Eff is the thirteen child in her family, and her twin brother is a seventh son of a seventh son. The first book is Eff’s young childhood, but the other two books are her teenage and adulthood. It’s an absolutely lovey series with amazing world building.

Megan Whalen Turner also writes YA fantasy where the YA means to me there just isn’t any boinking. The first and fourth books are my favorite–the first being almost perfect. A young thief is pulled from prison to see if he can help with the recovery of a magical item. Even after multiple readings, the surprises in this book and series take my breath away.

Kate Ross was a lawyer who wrote four books in her Julian Kestrel historical mystery before she lost her life to cancer. Julian is a dandy who gets inadvertently involved in murders. But it is so much more than that. Grandmom also loved this series.

C.S. Harris writes another historical mystery series that I adore. Sebastian St Cry has returned from the Napoleanic wars with what would today be considered PTSD. Two unfortunate accidents made him the heir, but it’s only when he is accused of murder that he awakens to some degree fro his dissolution. This series has had some incredible twists and turns.

I’ve got only one female author who writes a modern police mystery that I adore, and that’s Donna Leon. Her series is set in Venice, and I love these glimpses of a place that is disappearing.

I categorize books as historical fantasy if they are set in a past and/or place that didn’t exist, or feels much like our own past would (if our past had magic). Ellen Kushner‘s Swordspoint has only the magic of her writing, and is one of my all-time favorite books.

I read a lot of urban and supernatural fantasy and there are some very good series out there (many of which I’ve noted below) but I’m going to point out the women who are doing something different from the vampire/werewolves bits that make up much of supernatural fantasy.

First is Jane Lindskold. Her characters are not warriors who fight monsters, but instead have to figure out who they are and how they came to be where they are. I adore her writing.

The other urban fantasist author I want to make note of is Nina Kiriki Hoffman. Her Fistful of Sky is another of my all-time favorite books. It has magic hiding under the surface of our world, which means that humans with magic have to learn how to fit into that world without giving away secrets. Her stories are often based around family, which adds to their complexity.

For straight up historicals, I really love Diana Gabaldon‘s Lord John series. I can’t read her Outlander, because I can’t stand time-travel stories, but Lord John is a soldiers whose only anomaly is being a homosexual in a time and place where it would mean his death if he were caught. She’s tried very hard to get the historical bits as accurate as possible, which makes the series all the more fascinating to me.

Tracy Grant also writes as Teresa Grant, and has two main series, one of which is primarily romance with bits of mystery, and the other is mostly historical mystery, with a married couple who are keeping secrets from each other. Many of the latter stories were written out of the story chronology order, so you can in many cases read them books in any order you wish.

But all of these authors are very good, and you can almost certainly find something you’ll like in the list below:

Fantasy, YA

Historical

Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
Sorcery & Cecelia -OR- The Enchanted Chocolate Pot (1988), The Grand Tour (2004), The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After (2006)

Patricia C. Wrede
A Matter of Magic (2010): Mairelon the Magician (1991) and The Magician’s Ward (1997)
Frontier Magic: Thirteenth Child (2009), Across the Great Barrier (2011), The Far West (2012)

Megan Whalen Turner
The Thief (1996), The Queen of Attolia (2000), The King of Attolia (2006), A Conspiracy of Kings (2010)

Urban / Supernatural

Susan Bischoff
Talent Chronicles: Hush Money (2010), Impulse Control (2011), Heroes ‘Til Curfew (2011)

Lish McBride
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer (2010), Necromancer: A Novella (2011), Necromancing the Stone (2012)

Historical Mystery

Agatha Christie
Miss Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage (1930), The Body in the Library (1942), The Moving Finger (1943), The Thirteen Problems (1928, 1929, 1930, 1933), A Murder Is Announced (1950), Murder with Mirrors (1952), A Pocketful of Rye (1953), 4:50 from Paddington (1957), The Mirror Crack’d (1962), A Caribbean Mystery (1964), At Bertram’s Hotel (1965), Nemesis (1971), Sleeping Murder (1976), Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories (2013)

Kate Ross (British 1820s)
Julian Kestrel: Cut to the Quick (1993), A Broken Vessel (1994), Whom the Gods Love (1995), The Devil in Music (1997)

C.S. Harris (England 1810s)
Sebastian St. Cyr: What Angels Fear (2005), When Gods Die (2006), Why Mermaids Sing (2007), Where Serpents Sleep (2008), What Remains of Heaven (2009), Where Shadows Dance (2011), When Maidens Mourn (2012), What Darkness Brings (2013), Why Kings Confess (2014), Who Buries the Dead (2015), When Falcons Fall (2016)

Deanna Raybourn (England 1887)
Veronica Speedwell: A Curious Beginning (2015), A Perilous Undertaking (2017)

Candace Robb (England 1360s)
Owen Archer Mysteries: The Apothecary Rose (1993), The Lady Chapel (1994), The Nun’s Tale (1995), The King’s Bishop (1996), The Riddle of St. Leonard’s (1997), A Gift of Sanctuary (1998), A Spy for the Redeemer (2002), The Cross-Legged Knight (2006), The Guilt of Innocents (2006), A Vigil of Spies (2008)

Anna Lee Huber (Britain 1830s)
Lady Darby: The Anatomist’s Wife (2012), Mortal Arts (2013), A Grave Matter (2014), A Study in Death (2015), A Pressing Engagement (2016), As Death Draws Near (2016)

Madeline E. Robins (London 1810)
Sarah Tolerance: Point of Honour (2003), Petty Treason (2004), The Sleeping Partner (2012)

Mystery, Police

Donna Leon (Venice)
Commissario Guido Brunetti: Death at La Fenice (1992), Death in a Strange Country (1993), Dressed for Death (1994), Death and Judgment (1995), Acqua Alta (1996), Quietly in Their Sleep (1997), A Noble Radiance (1998), Fatal Remedies (1999), Friends in High Places (2000), A Sea of Troubles (2001), Willful Behavior (2002), Uniform Justice (2003), Doctored Evidence (2004), Blood from a Stone (2005), Through a Glass, Darkly (2006), Suffer the Little Children (2007), The Girl of His Dreams (2008), About Face (2009), A Question of Belief (2010), Drawing Conclusions (2011), Beastly Things (2012), The Golden Egg (2013), By its Cover (2014), Falling in Love (2015), The Waters of Eternal Youth (2016)

Fantasy, Historical

Ellen Kushner
Swordspoint (1987), The Fall of the Kings (2002), The Privilege of the Sword (2006)
Thomas the Rhymer (1990)

Susanna Clarke (Napoleanic era, magic, fey)
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (2004)

Sarah Zettel (Camelot)
Paths to Camelot: In Camelot’s Shadow (2004), For Camelot’s Honor (2005), Under Camelot’s Banner (2006), By Camelot’s Blood (2008)

C.E. Murphy (Regency England, magic)
Magic and Manners (2016)

Fantasy, Supernatural

Faith Hunter (Vampires, werewolves, witches, shifters)
Jane Yellowrock: Skinwalker (2009), Blood Cross (2010), Mercy Blade (2011), Cat Tales: Four Stories from the World of Jane Yellowrock (2011), Raven Cursed (2012), Have Stakes Will Travel (2012), Death’s Rival (2012), Blood Trade (2013), Jane Yellowrock World Companion (2013), Black Arts (2014), Broken Soul (2014), Dark Heir (2015), Blood in Her Veins (2016), Shadow Rites (2016)
Soulwood: Blood of the Earth (2016), Curse on the Land (2016)

Jeaniene Frost (vampires)
Night Huntress: Halfway to the Grave (2007), One Foot in the Grave (2008), At Grave’s End (2009), Destined for an Early Grave (2009), This Side of the Grave (2011), One Grave at a Time (2011)
Night Huntress World: First Drop of Crimson (2010), Eternal Kiss of Darkness (2010)
Night Prince: Once Burned (2012), Twice Tempted (2013), Bound by Flames (2015)

Patricia Briggs (werewolves, shifters, fey, witches, vampires)
Mercy Thompson: Moon Called (2006), Blood Bound (2007), Iron Kissed (2008), Bone Crossed (2009), Silver Bourne (2010), River Marked (2011), Frost Burned (2013), Night Broken (2014), Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson (2014), Fire Touched (2016)
Alpha and Omega: On the Prowl (2007), Cry Wolf (2008), Hunting Ground (2009), Fair Game (2012), Dead Heat (2015)

Jane Lindskold (magic)
Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls (1994), The Buried Pyramid (2004), Child of a Rainless Year (2005)

Carrie Vaughn (werewolves, vampires)
Kitty Norville: Kitty and the Midnight Hour (2005), Kitty Goes to Washington (2006), Kitty Takes a Holiday (2007), Kitty and the Silver Bullet (2007), Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand (2009), Kitty Raises Hell (2009), Kitty’s House of Horrors (2010), Kitty Goes to War (2010), Kitty’s Big Trouble (2011), Kitty’s Greatest Hits (2011), Kitty Steals the Show (2012), Kitty Rocks the House (2013), Kitty in the Underworld (2013), Low Midnight (2014)

Lisa Shearin (fey, magic, magical creatures, law enforcement)
SPI Files: The Grendel Affair (2013), The Dragon Conspiracy (2015), The Brimstone Deception (2016), The Ghoul Vendetta (2017)

Rob Thurman (monsters, fey, immortals)
Cal Leandros: Nightlife (2006), Moonshine (2007), Madhouse (2008), Deathwish (2009), Road Kill (2010), Blackout (2011), Doubletake (2012), Slashback (2013), Downfall (2014)
Trixa: Trick of the Light (2009), The Grimrose Path (2010)
Korsak Brothers (science fiction): Chimera (2010), Basilisk (2011)

Liz Williams (gods, demons, law enforcement)
Detective Inspector Chen: Snake Agent (2005), The Demon and the City (2006), Precious Dragon (2007), The Shadow Pavilion (2009), The Iron Khan (2010)
Emma Bull
War for the Oaks (1987), Territory (2007)

Nina Kiriki Hoffman (magic)
A Fistful of Sky (2002)

Romance, Historical

Courtney Milan (boinking)
(1840s) Unclaimed (2011), Unraveled (2011)
The Brothers Sinister (1860s): The Duchess War (2012), The Heiress Effect (2013), A Kiss for Midwinter (2012), The Suffragette Scandal (2014)

Carla Kelly (England, early 1800s, boink-free)
Miss Grimsley’s Oxford Career (2012), Summer Campaign (2012), Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand (2012)

Isabel Allende
Zorro (2005) translated by Margaret Sayers Peden

Lucia St. Clair Robson (Japan 1702)
The Tokaido Road (1991)

Georgette Heyer (boink-free)
These Old Shades (1926), The Masqueraders (1928)

Laura Kinsale (boinking)
Midsummer Moon (1987)

Diana Gabaldon (England, late 1750s, boinking)
Lord John: Lord John and the Private Matter (2003), Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (2007), Lord John and the Hand of Devils (2007), The Custom of the Army (2012), A Plague of Zombies (2012)

Michelle Diener (boinking, mystery)
Regency London: The Emperor’s Conspiracy (2012), Banquet of Lies (2013), A Dangerous Madness (2014)
Susanna Horenbout and John Parker (England 1525): In a Treacherous Court (2011), Dangerous Sanctuary (2012), Keeper of the King’s Secrets (2012)

Alissa Johnson (England, 1872, boinking, mystery)
A Talent for Trickery (2015), A Gift for Guile (2016)

Tracy Grant (mystery, boinking)
The Lescaut Quartet (Europe 1810s): Dark Angel (1994), Shores of Desire (1997), Shadows of the Heart (1996), Rightfully His (1998)
Charles & Melanie Fraser / Malcom & Suzanne Rannoch (Napoleonic Europe): Beneath a Silent Moon (2003), The Mask of Night (2011), The Paris Affair (2013), The Paris Plot (2014), The Berkeley Square Affair (2014), London Interlude (2015), The Mayfair Affair (2015), Incident in Berkeley Square (2015), London Gambit (2016)

Non-Fiction

Mary Roach
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (2003), Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife (2005), Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal (2013), My Planet: Finding Humor in the Oddest Places (2013)

Jenny Lawson
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: (A Mostly True Memoir) (2012)

Ruth Reichl
Tender at the Bone (1998)

The governor wants to switch from an income tax to a consumption tax. Since I am pretty sure this is, if not the dumbest thing a WV politician has suggested, it’s certainly close, I decided to take a look at the census data and see what that told me.

—

A tiny bit of background.

West Virginia is surrounded by five other states: PA, MD, VA, KY, OH. [A]

West Virginia has four Interstates running through it: I64, I68, I77, I79. For towns along those interstates, it should be no more than two hours to a bordering state. [B]

—

West Virginia has 14 counties that contain major food deserts [C]–cities are were more than 20 miles from “grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and healthy food providers.” The entire county of Gilmer is a food desert. Nine (9) of those counties with food deserts are NOT along the state border, and nine (9) of those counties also have a mean yearly income less than $50,000.

WV has seven (7) counties with a mean household income over $60,000. With the exception of Kanawha, all those are border counties, meaning residents can easily drive to another state to make purchases. There are 16 counties with a mean income over $55,000, [D] 12 of those counties are border counties. Of those remaining four, only Nicholas and Taylor counties do not have an Interstate running through them.

There are 18 counties with a population over 30,000. [E] 13 of those counties are border counties. Of the remaining five, only Logan county does not have an Interstate running through it.

With me so far?

When you step back and look at the big picture, you see that the wealthiest and most populated counties tend to be border counties, where people can easily drive to another state to shop.

Of those interior counties, nine (9) have areas that are food deserts, four (4) have unemployment rates over 5.5%, ten (10) of those counties have a mean income of less than $50,000, and eleven counties have populations of less than 20,000 people.

Those who will be contributing most to the taxes to keep the state afloat are predominantly going to be those who can least afford the extra burden, while the wealthy will be able to avoid paying the consumption tax by easily driving over the border to another state. [F]

This idea could only have been come up by someone either profoundly ignorant of the population of the state, or profoundly ignorant of human nature.

Either way, it is the poor who will get screwed.

—

This is the Excel file I used to collate the data downloaded from the Census bureau and USDA.

—

[A] OH is somewhat problematic, since there the Ohio river is the border between WV and OH, and thus you can only cross at bridges, which are predominantly in the wealthier counties.

[B] There are other major roads that criss-cross the state, but most are good roads for only a portion. FREX, Most Rt 50 from Clarksburg to Parkersburg is a relatively flat and straight divide four lane divided highway. From Bridgeport East to the border, it’s two lanes, windy, and with several 7-9% grades. So I only counted Interstates with consider ease of access to other states.

[C] Food Deserts: Barbour, Fayette, Gilmer, Jackson, Kanawha, Lewis, Lincoln, Mason, Mingo, Monroe, Roane, Upshur, Webster, Wetzel

[D] Income over $55k: Berkeley, Brooke, Cabell, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Kanawha, Marion, Marshall, Monongalia, Nicholas, Ohio, Pleasants, Putnam, Taylor, Wood

[E] Population over 30k: Berkeley, Cabell, Fayette, Greenbrier, Harrison, Jefferson, Kanawha, Logan, Marion, Marshall, Mercer, Monongalia, Ohio, Preston, Putnam, Raleigh, Wayne, Wood

[F] And I do mean driving. Public transportation is abysmal in much of the state, and in rural areas, you are trapped without a car; you cannot get a job, go to the doctor, get groceries, etc.

—

All data from:
US Census Bureau – WV
USDA – Food Deserts

Although for a different reason.

In 1952 and 1969 and at least 11 other times, the Cuyahoga along Cleveland Ohio caught fire. (Ohio History Central) (Washington Post)

Let’s take a look at something that’s a little more personal–the water quality of the Monongahela River, which runs past Morgantown and is the source of my water. The Mon River also has had a long history of pollution, especially from acid mine drainage.

The Monongahela River watershed was considered to be one of the region’s most intensely polluted by acid mine drainage in the United States until about 1970. (USACE)

Look at the change in pollution from 1974 (1) to 2000.

(WVU Extension Service)

See also: (1964 Department of the Interior Report) (Morgantown Utility Board 2015 CCR)

Access to clean water is not a problem for 3rd world countries, it is a problem in many areas of West Virginia (and elsewhere in Appalachia). (Inside Appalachia)

Clean water is something many take for granted nowadays, but this is something that has come about through regulation and work. It does not come through the actions of private industries who don’t give a shit about those living downstream.

(1) The Clean Water Act was implemented in 1972, so this sampling is from two years after that.

In 1952, England had a Great Smog that killed at least 4000 people (History.com) (The Guardian), although the history of killer smog in London dates back to the 1800s. (Guardian)

In 1966, at least 50 people were killed by a smog that covered the city of NY over Thanksgiving weekend. (Business Insider) (US Dept of Health, Education and Welfare Report from 1966)

In 1948, smog killed at least 20 people in Donora PA (a town south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River, north of Morgantown). (History.com) (Pittsburgh Post Gazette) (NPR)

Current smog in the western US comes from uncontrolled emissions from China (Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics), and it’s possible that one third of deaths in China come from smog. (Business Insider)

Why do we need the EPA?

Because industry will not regulate itself. Because without regulation people die.

Weather was pretty much horrible most of this month, so I did a lot of reading. Mind you, the tail end of that was comics (which are shorter) but I also read a lot of new books.

So what was good this month? Honestly, most everything.

Mystery had be finishing the Erlendur series by Arnaldur Indridason. The final book was excellent–I very much enjoyed the series, and the glimpse into a non-English speaking country. I also read the first two Veronica Speedwell books by Deanna Raybourn, which were good (I got fed up with her other series and stopped reading. So far this one doesn’t have the bits that irritate me about the other series.)

All the new books I read that were part of an ongoing series were excellent. Daniel José Older concluded his Bone Street Rumba, and it was of course excellent (there are other books set in this world, even if the main arc for Carlos is done). Ben Aaronovitch‘s newest Rivers of London was long delayed, but I didn’t mind the wait. Lisa Shearin‘s latest SPI Files was also a fun romp. And then there was Paul Cornell‘s latest Shadow Police. The last three are all supernatural police books, but all three are as different as it’s possible to be. And all three were thoroughly enjoyable. If you don’t like dark, avoid the Shadow Police, if you don’t like lighter romps, skip the Lisa Shearin.

And then there were the comics.

If you have not read Princeless, then you must immediately stop what you are doing and go find a copy. ESPECIALLY if you have small people in your life. Princeless is a delightful take on the princess trapped in a tower fairy tale trope. It’s truly lovely–the first book was a ten for me.

Along a similar vein is Princess Ugg, which is more for older kids and younger teens, and I liked it quite a bit.

And then for something completely different AND NOT FOR KIDS was Rat Queens, which I really really liked. I said not for kids, yes? I mean it. It’s a snarky RPG story with sex and drinking and drugs and I really liked it.

Fantasy, Supernatural

Battle Hill Bolero (2017) Daniel José Older (Bone Street Rumba) (8.5/10)
The Hanging Tree (2017) Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London) (8.5/10)
The Ghoul Vendetta (2017) Lisa Shearin (SPI Files) (9/10)
Who Killed Sherlock Holmes (2016) Paul Cornell (Shadow Police) (8/10)

Comics

Rat Queens Vol. 1: Sass & Sorcery (2013) Kurtis Wiebe and Roc Upchurch (9/10)
Princess Ugg Vol. 1 (2014) Ted Naifeh and Warren Wucinich (8/10)
Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: Blood (2012) Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang, and Tony Akins
Thor Vol. 2: Who Holds the Hammer? (2016) Jason Aaron, Russell Dauterman, Matthew Wilson, Jason Aaron, Noell Stevenson, CM Punk
Mighty Thor Vol. 1: Thunder in her Veins (2017) Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman

Comics, Kids

Princeless
Princeless: Vol. 1: Save Yourself (2012) Jeremy Whitley and Mia Goodwin
Princeless, Vol 2: Get Over Yourself (2014) Jeremy Whitley and Emily Martin
Princeless Vol 3: The Pirate Princess (2014) Jeremy Whitley, Rosy Higgins, Ted Brandt

Lumberjanes Vol. 1 Beware the Kitten Holy (2015) Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, Brooke A Allen

Mystery, Historical

Veronica Speedwell
A Curious Beginning (2015) Deanna Raybourn (8.5/10)
A Perilous Undertaking (2017) Deanna Raybourn (7.5/10)

Mystery, Police

Erlendur
Voices (2003/2006) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder
The Draining Lake (2004/2007) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder
Arctic Chill (2005/2009) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder and Victoria Cribb
Hypothermia (2007/009) Arnaldur Indridasontranslated by Victoria Cribb
Outrage (2008/2011) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Anna Yates
Black Skies (2009/2012) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Victoria Cribb
Strange Shores (2010/2012) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Victoria Cribb  (9/10)

Non-Fiction, Science

My Planet: Finding Humor in the Oddest Places (2013) Mary Roach

Audio Books

Legion (2012) Brandon Sanderson read by Oliver Wyman (8.5/10)

So how did the stats come out? 24 books this month, nine of which were trade paperback (the comics), one audio book, and the rest (14) were ebooks. The six re-reads were all the Inspector Erlendr mysteries–I had re-read the older books so I could finish the lat two books in the series.

Genre-wise things were relatively evenly split:

Fantasy : 13
Mystery : 10
Comic : 9
Non-Fiction : 1

Well, except for that single non-fiction book there.

Gender wise men have taken the lead for the year.

Male : 14
Female : 5
Anthology : 5

Part of that was reading the entire Erlendur series, but the rest of it was reading comics, which are male dominated. Yes, there were female writers and artists, but although there were comics written completely by those bearing the Y chromosome, this month had only a single comic whose crew had all X chromosome comics. (Lumberjanes is very good, but it also is not my thing.)

And that’s how things worked out. Here’s hoping for better weather so I can get out more.