The Best Urban and Supernatural Fantasy of 2017
The Best Historical Fantasy and YA of 2017
The Best Mysteries of 2017
The Best Comics of 2017

The Best Book Covers of 2017:
Mystery
Comics
Fantasy

The Book Covers I HATED This Year.

General note on links: Clicking on the text of a title should take you to my review. Clicking on the image of the cover should take you directly to the Amazon page for that book. Clicking on the author’s name should take you to my page for that author, which includes a chronological list of all their books I’ve read, and a compendium of my reviews for that author.

And now a bit of everything else:

Historical Romance

A Dangerous Deceit (2017) Alissa Johnson (8.5/10) – Gentleman Thief-Takers book 3

I loved the previous two books in this series, and so was happy to snatch this up. Although the two previous books are are closely tied together, with the main characters being sisters, this book is far more of a stand-alone, and far different from most historical romances.

For one, the female romantic lead has a disability. This seems minor to a modern reader, but at the time such disabilities were enough to cause people to be locked away; thus there is a great necessity for her to hide her disability even though it causes problems between her and the hero.

Secondly, there is a good mystery here as well.

I recommend all three books in this series, starting with A Talent for Trickery but this one can be read on its own.

Non-Fiction

What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions  (2014) Randall Munroe (10/10)

Not at all recent, but I finally got around to reading it.

If you have come across xkcd, you should definitely own and read this book. It is a marvel and a delight.

Passionate Minds: Emilie du Chatelet, Voltaire, and the Great Love Affair of the Enlightenment (2006) David Bodanis (8/10)

Again, not recent, but if you have any interest in the women who shaped science and mathematics and engineer, but we forgotten or hidden by the men of the day, you’ll want to add Emilie du Chatelet to your list of women to discover.

2017 Monthly Roundups
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Michelle’s All-Time Favorite Books

Although comics get more props than they used to, but not as much as they deserve, I’m mentioning comics that I loved this year, even though most of them are a little older.

Princeless: Vol. 1: Save Yourself (2012) Jeremy Whitley and Mia Goodwin (10/10)

Princeless, Vol 2: Get Over Yourself (2014) Jeremy Whitley and Emily Martin (8/10)

Princeless Vol 3: The Pirate Princess  (2014) Jeremy Whitley, Rosy Higgins, Ted Brandt (8/10)

These are utterly delightful. The oldest group of small people in my life are just reaching the sweet spot for these comics (9-11), so I’m looking forward to this coming year’s birthday gifts.

Princess Adrienne Ashe is a tomboy and a twin and does NOT want to be locked in a tower to await rescue by a prince. So she decides the best thing to do is rescue herself and her sisters.

Princess Ugg Vol. 1 (2014) Ted Naifeh and Warren Wucinich (8/10)

Princess Ugg Volume 2 (2015) Ted Naifeh, Warren Wucinich (8/10)

This is a similar theme to Princeless, except for it’s for teens and older (there is partial nudity, but it’s not sexy–it’s just a body; and there is acknowledgement of boinking).

Ulga wants to save her people, and believes that the only way to do so is to learn how to deal with the “civilized” world, so she goes down to into the low lands to the Princess Academy, which does NOT teach what she was hoping or expecting to learn.

It’s pretty marvelous.

Mockingbird Vol. 1: I Can Explain (2016) Chelsea Cain, Kate Niemczyk, Ibrahim Moustafa, Joelle Jones (9/10)

Mockingbird Vol. 2: My Feminist Agenda (2017) Chelsea Cain, Kate Niemczyk, Sean Parsons, Rachelle Rosenberg (8/10)

This is confusing as all get out, and takes a couple of reads, but is still fabulous.

Bobbi Morse has changed from secret agent to superhero after being given experimental drugs to save her life. Vol 1 is how she deals with the changes. Vol 2 is how she deals with her ex-husband being accused of murder.

It’s extremely confusing, yet extremely wonderful.

Rivers of London Volume 3: Black Mould (2017) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan

Rivers of London: Vol. 4 Detective Stories (2017) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Luis Guerrero, Lee Sullivan (8/10)

The best thing about the Rivers of London comics is they let you see more about secondary characters. Body Work showed us how Peter came to start working with Guleed, and Black Mould has them working together more and lets us spend more time with her.

Detective Stories not only lets us see Peter taking his detective tests, but we get see more of Leslie May’s past and the differences between Leslie and Peter. (I keep hoping all this means Leslie is working undercover.)

Plus, I just found them fun stories.

Rat Queens Vol. 1: Sass & Sorcery (2013) Kurtis Wiebe and Roc Upchurch (9/10)

THIS IS NOT FOR KIDS.

This has sex and drugs and drinking and fighting and is utterly delightful.

Vol 3 went completely off the rails, but I have hopes that the recent reboot will make it better,so we’ll have to wait and see.

But this first volume? Completely irreverent and utterly delightful.

The Books of 2017

My favorite genre after fantasy is mystery. Nothing like a good murder to make me feel better about my life. I have several mystery authors that I pre-order because even if those mysteries aren’t excellent, they are still thoroughly enjoyable.

Police

Strange Shores (2010/2012) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Victoria Cribb (9/10) – Inspector Erlendur book 9

This is not a super-recent book, but it’s a series I loved and that I don’t think got enough attention.

The Inspector Erlendur series set in Iceland; the main character is depressive and brooding, but very good at his job, which makes up for his moodiness. Erlendur suffered a terrible trauma in his childhood and that single event is a theme running through the entire series–and also why he is so tenacious on the job.

If you are looking for a good mystery series I highly recommend checking Erlendur out. Stranger Shores is the final book in this series, so do NOT start here. Go get Jar City and work your way forward.

Earthly Remains  (2017) Donna Leon (8/10) – Brunetti book 26

I love this series.

This is not a book for those unfamiliar with Brunetti, but if you’ve even read a couple of stories you should love it. The corruption in Venice and Italy are a theme of these books as much as the food and mysteries. For the most part, Brunetti accepts this corruption as the way things are done, but in this book it finally gets to him and makes him wonder why he bothers.

It’s an excellent addition to the series, but like the Erlendur series, I recommend starting at Death at La Fenice, the first book in the series.

Historical

Where the Dead Lie (2017) C.S. Harris (8/10) – Sebastian St Cyr book 12

This book is a bit darker than the previous books in this series. Sebastian and his wife, Hero, discover more about the abuse of children in London in the early 1800s than anyone would ever want to know.

This remains an excellent series and I recommend reading the whole thing, starting at What Angels Fear and going forward.

A Curious Beginning (2015) Deanna Raybourn (8/10) – Veronica Speedwell

I’ve read other Deanna Raybourn mysteries and found them ok, but I got bored and stop reading at some point, so I waited for the first book in this series to go on sale before I bought it.

I very much liked the first book–the adventures of a young woman alone in the world, embarking on adventures that may well have to do with her mysterious past.

I didn’t like the second book quite as well, but it was good.

The Books of 2017

Historical

A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent  (2013) Marie Brennan (8/10)

If I’d read this book when it came out, it’d certainly have made one of the best covers of the year. As it happens, I’m late to the game, but I do get to tell you how much I enjoyed the book now I finally read it. It’s more straight up fantasy than historical, except that it has a very strong feel of an historical, with dress and mores and discovery.

This is the first book in this series.

YA

Ghost Girl in the Corner (2016) Daniel José Older (8.5/10) – Shadowshaper Cypher novella

Shadowhouse Fall  (2017) Daniel José Older (8/10) – Shadowshaper Cypher book 2

One of the things Daniel José Older does extremely well is write female characters–especially teenagers. It’s obvious that not only does he have teenage girls somewhere in his life, but that he LISTENS to them. Not just their chatter, but what is important and the hassles they deal with every day.

The other reason I really like this series is that as a white woman from a rural area, I have no knowledge of what it’s like to be an person of color living in a big city–it’s just as foreign to me as being a Hobbit traveling through Mordor. But unlike Hobbits, teenagers of color exist. Hopefully this gives me a bit of understanding of something I can’t experience.

And the fantasy elements are MARVELOUS.

The first book in this series is Shadowshaper

Firebug (2014) Lish McBride (8/10)

This book is outside my normal window for the best books of the year, but I love Lish McBride’s writing and I only put off reading it because her books never go on sale, so I had to wait until someone bought it for me as a gift.

She writes stories where the fantastic is in our world, but most of us can’t see it, so these teenagers have to navigate both being teenagers and members of a world most people don’t know about–in this case the main character is a fire-starter and an orphan who has been raised by the past several years by a family friend, and is trying her hardest to remain outside of the supernatural cabal she had to choice but to join.

The Books of 2017

As usual, I read a lot of urban and supernatural fantasy, and most of the series I read as new releases fell into that category, so this is going to be the biggest post (as usual). There are a couple older books here that I didn’t know about or didn’t read when they first came out, but most of these books are from authors I pre-order when I see they have a book coming out.

The Rook (2012) Daniel O’Malley (9/10)

Stiletto (2016) Daniel O’Malley (9.5/10)

I had Rook on my wish-list forever, picked it up on sale, then it sat on my TBR pile forever. Once I started it, however, I wanted more and immediately read Stiletto.

This is an urban-fantasy-secret-agent thriller with amnesia and the British government and foreign spies.

You should really check it out.

The Ghoul Vendetta (2017) Lisa Shearin (9/10) – SPI Files book 4

Lisa Shearin’s SPI Files are an auto-buy for me. It’s secret agents and urban fantasy, which are my catnip, but it also has an intelligent and sensible main character who is NOT having a relationship with her handsome partner.

This series starts with The Grendel Affair.

Battle Hill Bolero (2017) Daniel José Older (8.5/10) – Bone Street Rumba book 3

Daniel José Older is fast-becoming one of my favorite authors. He writes of people and places I have no knowledge of, and creates amazing female characters (second only to Charles de Lint in my opinion).

This is the third book of the Bone Street Rumba, and the closing of that specific story arc.

This series starts with Half-Resurrection Blues but you could also begin with Salsa Nocturna.

Cold Reign (2017) Faith Hunter (8.5/10) – Jane Yellowrock book 11

Flame in the Dark (2017) Faith Hunter (8.5/10) – Soulwood book 3

Faith Hunter has been an auto-buy for me for quite awhile now. She has two series set in the same world: Jane Yellowrock (the Cherokee vampire hunter) and Soulwood (Nell, who left the religious sect/cult where she was raised).

Jane’s series has boinking, Nell’s series does not.

In both series the women are strong but also do not fit into society at all: Jane because she was found as an older child with no memory of her past; Nell because she was raised in an extremely strict and paranoid religious sect. Nell’s main story arc ended with this book. Jane’s is still going strong.

Additionally, if you like audio books I very much enjoy Kristine Hvam’s narration. I’ve been slowly listening to Jane’s series and am just about caught up. I also discovered that this has allowed me to retain the story elements without having to re-read the series to each new publication. (Not that I mind doing so–it’s just that we’re on book 11 now.)

The Jane Yellowrock series begins with Skinwalker. Nell’s series begins with Blood of the Earth.

New Watch (2012/2013) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield (8/10) – Night Watch book 5

I still haven’t read the sixth and final book of the Night Watch series, but did finally get around to reading the fifth.

That’s the problem I have with series I adore–I don’t want them to end, so if I know a book is the final book I’ll keep putting off reading it. Luckily, that’s easy enough to do with the Night Watch series because each book has three intertwining but self-contained stories.

If you’ve missed my previous million recommendations, it’s a Russian urban fantasy series, and I utterly love it. Go get Night Watch and read forward from there.

Who Killed Sherlock Holmes (2016) Paul Cornell (8/10) – Shadow Police book 3

Paul Cornell is quickly becoming an auto-buy. It took me forever to read the first Shadow Police book, but once I got into it, I loved it. But for some reason I put off reading the second book, which was also excellent, and after finishing it, I immediately started the third book. Although this series is clearly not over, a couple of important arcs were tied up in this book (as much as new arcs began).

A word of warning: this series is very dark, and a lot of bad things happen to the characters. But it isn’t gratuitous horribleness–in this book most of what happens to Quill is a direct result of his NOT dealing with the events in the previous book. And that, of course, is what makes me like the series so much.

You definitely want to start with the first book, London Falling, and read forward from there. Each book has a self-contained story arc, but a LOT happens in each book that has tremendous bearing on the following books.

The Furthest Station (2017) Ben Aaronovitch (8/10) – Rivers of London book 6

The Hanging Tree (2017) Ben Aaronovitch (8.5/10) – Rivers of London novella

I love the Rivers of London series: I enjoy the comics, I love Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s narration, and I adore all the story lines.

My theory is that Ben Aaronovitch keeps writing side-stories that he can’t put into the novels, so those have become the comics, a novella, and a single stand-alone audio short story.

It means there is a lot to keep up on, but is also means that there is generally something coming out to further the story along. Even more importantly, it also means we get to learn more about secondary characters, such as Guleed, who is utterly marvelous.

This series begins with Midnight Riot.

White Hot (2017) Ilona Andrews (8/10) – Hidden Legacy book 2

This is the middle book of Ilona Andrews’ Hidden Legacy series. One reason I don’t adore this series is that there is a lot of boinging and complicated romantic entanglements. I’d have prefered more about the secondary characters and way less boinking. But it’s still a good series.

The Books of 2017

I have a list of mystery authors I tend to auto-buy, however, only two of those authors made this list. The others were books I found on sale or had on my wish-list and received as gifts.

Publisher Tally
Berkley: 3/4

A Study In Scarlet Women (2016) Sherry Thomas (Berkley)

This is a gorgeous cover, letting you know that this is an historical mystery and the main character is a woman who goes out and does things. I think the light streaming from the opening door is a particularly nice touch.

This is the first book in this series.

Where the Dead Lie (2017) C.S. Harris (Berkley)

I’ll be honest, I don’t much like this model as Sebastian. However, they did a fantastic job despite the model not matching the description of Sebastian, so although this isn’t my favorite of her covers, it’s still beautiful.

This series begins with What Angels Fear

Earthly Remains (2017) Donna Leon (Atlantic Monthly Press)

All of her covers are scenes from Venice, and even if they don’t necessarily grab your attention the way other covers do, they are pretty, and they let you know that you are getting a Brunetti mystery.

It may be at this point I just have a Pavlovian response to this covers, knowing that within is not just a mystery, but the atmosphere and food of Venice.

This series begins with Death at La Fenice

A Perilous Undertaking (2017) Deanna Raybourn (Berkley)

This is a gorgeous cover. It’s really a piece of art.

It makes me wish I loved the story as much as the cover.

This is the second book in the series, which starts with A Curious Beginning

The Books of 2017

If you can’t figure out why I like these covers, then there is no hope for you.

Mockingbird Vol. 1: I Can Explain (2016) Chelsea Cain, Kate Niemczyk, Ibrahim Moustafa, Joelle Jones (Marvel)

Mockingbird Vol. 2: My Feminist Agenda (2017) Chelsea Cain, Kate Niemczyk, Sean Parsons, Rachelle Rosenberg (Marvel)

Rivers of London Volume 3: Black Mould (2017) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan (Titan)

Rat Queens Vol. 1: Sass & Sorcery  (2013) Kurtis Wiebe and Roc Upchurch (Image)

Princeless: Vol. One: Save Yourself (2012) Jeremy Whitley and Mia Goodwin (Action Lab Entertainment)

The Books of 2017

There are a lot of reasons for me to like a book cover. I (despite what always being told) have always judged books by their covers when searching for new authors, mostly because I’d usually only have a limited time in the book store whomever I was with got bored, so I tended to gravitate towards covers I liked, and covers similar to books I already liked.

And now, with so many eBooks coming at me from sale emails and book blogs, I still simply bypass a cover that is unappealing, unless that book was specifically recommended.

Publisher Tally
Ace: 4/12
DAW: 2/12

Street Magicks (2016) edited by Paula Guran (Prime Books)

I like a lot of things about this cover, from the woman in an active pose (she is obviously doing something) to the colors and swirls making things look mysterious.

Stiletto (2016) Daniel O’Malley (Little, Brown and Company)

This book is similar to the previous book, letting you know the two are tied. But the simplicity is what I particularly like. It’s not busy and although it tells you very little about the book, it definitely made me take a second glance, as it stands out.

Who Killed Sherlock Holmes (2016) Paul Cornell (Pan)

All three covers in this series so far have foggy and mono-chromatic views of the London skyline, but there is much more that is hidden than shown, which is perfect for the stories.

A Long Day in Lychford (2017) Paul Cornell (Tor.com)

Like his Shadow Police series, these covers are also foggy and mono-chromatic, yet they have a different feel, because the backdrop is a forest road rather than a city skyline. And like the previous books in this series (note: these are novellas) the covers all have a similar look, with a single color pallet for each book. And like the other series, the colors and fog give you a sense of mysteriousness, but in this series feeling less threatening.

One negative: that is not a modern-looking woman which gives the book a slightly historical feel, which it does not have. But it’s still a beautiful cover.

Shadowhouse Fall (2017) Daniel José Older (Arthur A. Levine Books)

This cover is so beautiful.

The model is obviously a teen, obviously a minority, and gorgeous but NOT sexualized. She’s not in an active position, and looks like she thinks someone might be following her, yet she doesn’t appear week. She might perhaps be scared, but she is not going to just let things happen to her.

Battle Hill Bolero (2017) Daniel José Older (Ace)

Sasha is clearly going to kick someone’s ass, and she’s going to kick ass while wearing reasonable clothing–she can totally run in those clothes (as well as kick and slash and stab).

I adore all the covers in this series, although I admit that the Kia cover is my favorite.

The Furthest Station (2017) Ben Aaronovitch

The Hanging Tree (2017) Ben Aaronovitch (DAW)

These continue the pattern of the previous books in the series (if you ignore the first American cover) showing a hand drawn map of the various areas in which the stories take place, with line drawings of various items related to the story. I really like how the drawings are both super simple and extremely complex. I try not to get high res images of the covers, lest I fall down the hole of looking at all the details of all the maps.

You know immediately that this is a new Rivers of London book.

The Ghoul Vendetta (2017) Lisa Shearin (Ace)

This is a series that I started because of its cover–Mac is in an active pose and on an equal footing with her (male) partner. She is not simpering or subservient or clinging. She is going to take care of herself, and she and her partner will take care of each other.

Firebug (2014) Lish McBride (Henry Holt and Co)

This cover immediately drew my attention, because those are the hands of a girl who works with her hands.

And sets things on fire.

Cold Reign (2017) Faith Hunter (Ace)

I adore this series, and the covers for this series. Even when they were not able to get a Native American model, they did their best to play up the way the model looked like Jane–and when they did get a model, the covers became even better.

Additional, from the get-go, Jane is on control and acting. This cover is a perfect example: she’s dressed in her fighting leathers, she’s got her gorget on, and she is definitely going to stab someone.

Even when the outfits were obviously low budget, they did the best they could with what they had, making Jane look as dangerous as they could with what they had. Even in the earlier covers where they have Jane in a sleeveless leather outfit, they make a point of showing how strong her arms are. Which is something you don’t usually see on female covers.

But I have to admit I especially love this one because she is in full fighting leathers here, no skin to be easily broken by fangs and claws

Flame in the Dark (2017) Faith Hunter (Ace)

Same author, but a very different cover here. While Jane is a brawler, Nell is an ex-church woman who has joined PsyLED and generally follows the rules. The swirling around her does a lovely job of portraying all the chaos and change in her life, and even hits at some of the events in this book (while not depicting anything specific).

The one negative is that Nell doesn’t wear sleeveless dresses. But given the rest of the cover, I’ll give that a pass.

The Books of 2017

Let me remind you again that I know that authors have little-to-no say in their book covers. I don’t blame the authors in the slightest for these covers. But I do blame the publishers, and so will point out covers that are so terrible that I would have refused to buy the book if it wasn’t already an author I love.

Tally
Avon: 3/3

White Hot (2017) Ilona Andrews – Hidden Legacy book 3 (Avon)

I hate all the covers in this series. HATE them. They just look cheap and tawdry and just awful. Which is unfortunate, because this books are SO MUCH MORE than boinking.

This specific book has a passage that I utterly adore them for putting in, not just because of what it says, but because it makes sense.

The man bent his head slightly toward me. His voice was deep and quiet. “Do you need help?”

I had no idea what he was talking about.

“Do you need help?” he repeated quietly. “One word, and I’ll take you out of here and none of them can stop me. I’ll make sure you have access to a doctor, a safe place to stay, and a therapist to talk to. Someone who understands what it’s like and will help. ”

The pieces clicked in my head. The bruise. Of course. “Thank you, but I’m okay.”

“You don’t know me. It’s difficult to trust me because I’m a man and a stranger. The woman speaking with Augustine is my aunt. The woman across the floor in the white-and-purple gown is my sister. Either of them will vouch for me. Let me help you.”

“Thank you,” I told him. “On behalf of every woman here. But I’m a private investigator. I’m not a victim of domestic abuse. This is a work-related injury and the man who put his hands on me is dead.”

The man studied me for a long moment and slid a card into my hand. “If you decide that the injury isn’t work related, call me.”

That passages tells so WAY more about the book than the cover does.

Wildfire (2017) Ilona Andrews – Hidden Legacy book 3 (Avon)

I do appreciate that he is wearing a shirt in this cover, but I don’t feel a white undershirt really qualifies as being dressed. So still: ICK.

And once again, there is so much more to this story that the cover would suggest.

“I told you twenty-six years ago that if you married him, you would pay the price. I told you to let him go. You didn’t listen. You raised them to fight. They’re not going to cut and run now.”

“They will do what I say,” Mom ground out. “I’m their mother.”

Grandma Frida squinted at her. “Aha. And how did that work out for me?” Mom opened her mouth and clicked it shut.

You’d never guess the book had awesome passages like that if all you knew was the cover.

Into the Fire (2017) Jeaniene Frost – Night Prince book 4 (Avon)

This is not an overtly horrific book cover, except that the main character is repeatedly described as always being impeccably dressed.

(A)s usual, only his face, neck, and hands were bare. The rest of him was covered, the elegant cut of his clothes simultaneously flaunting and concealing that lean, muscled body.

–Once Burned (2012)

As usual, only his hands and face were bare. The rest of him was covered by boots, black pants, and a smoky gray shirt buttoned up to the neck. Unlike most well-built men, Vlad didn’t flash a lot of skin, but those custom-tailored clothes flaunted his taut body as effectively as running shorts and a sleeveless muscle shirt.

–Twice Tempted (2013)

He wore sand-colored pants and a white silk shirt, an open button at the neck showing only the cleft at the base of his throat. The rest of his body was concealed by the rich material, which stretched to highlight his muscles as he moved with his usual stalking grace. The effect was sexier than all the bare-chested men I’d glimpsed around the pool earlier. Vlad didn’t show off his seething masculinity by wearing fewer clothes. Instead, he wore more to taunt people with what he didn’t allow them to feast their eyes on.

–Bound by Flames (2015)

That is why I hate all the covers in this series so very much.

So those are the worst three covers this year. They weren’t bad books, they just had terrible covers that would have–back when I read paper books–walk past without a second glance.

The Books of 2017

CHRISTMAS BAKING ROUNDUP! WOOT!

First, a whine. Who decided that slice-and-bake cookie are easy?

I mean, they act like it’s easy to create a perfectly round log of the desired thickness, refrigerate it, and then cut off perfectly circular rounds.

I’ve tried refrigerating the dough in empty paper towel tubes, rotating the dough with every slice–doesn’t matter. They always turn out misshapen and I have to neaten them up before baking.

If I’m going to go to that much work, it’s much easier to just roll the dough out and use cookie cutters. Or even cut the cookies with a knife.

This? Bah humbug.

Now, onto the good (and the yummy)!

The Essential Baker by Carol Bloom:

Lemon Shortbread Coins

Fine Cooking Cookies:

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

The Good Cookie by Tish Boyle:

Rum-Raisin Sandwich Cookies

Brandied Eggnog Cookies

Simply Sensational Cookies by Nancy Baggett:

Praline-Pecan Coconut Bars

Chocolate Brandy Balls

The All-American Cookie Book by Nancy Baggett:

Iced Lemon Shortbread Cookies

Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich:

Shortbread

Chocolate Wafers

Vanilla Sugar Cookies

Pure Vanilla by Shauna Sever:

Vanilla Frosting

The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion:

Poticza

Bread Illustrated:

Cranberry Walnut Bread

Coconut Rum Balls

Bourbon Balls

Pumpkin Bread

Eggnog

Apple Cider

As I’ve mentioned before, this is one of my favorite hikes. It’s very short, so it’s good for small kids, but you walk through different habitats and it’s just gorgeous.

This is the first time the Blackwater river has been frozen when we’ve hiked here.

This is the point at which someone went through the ice–and that someone was NOT me.

Picture taking had been curtailed after someone (NOT ME) got their lower leg wet. But I still got a couple shots I really liked.

Friday was overcast and snowing, which was beautiful in its own way, but not very photogenic.

By Saturday afternoon, skies were clear and the sun was out. It was beautiful.

It was a beautiful hike on a beautiful day with lovely company.

We went hiking on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Black Friday, that Sunday, and Sunday the 3rd. I forgot my camera for the first two hikes, and only pulled it out once when I did remember it.

The thing about the woods in fall is that it’s beautiful, but I can’t say it’s especially photogenic.

At Coopers Rock, unless you’re hiking Ravens Rock, pretty much every trail is down hill on your way out, and then uphill on your way out.

Here you’re at the bottom of the Rhododendron trail. Mont Chateau is off to your right. Henry Clay Iron Furnace, Clay Furnace Trail, Clay Run Trail, and Advanced Ski Trail are all behind you. Several of those trails have trails branching off of them, so you can make a variety of loops.

But it’s all going to be uphill from here, unless you go down to the lake. Then it’s even more uphill upon your return, unless you have someone to drive you back from the lake up the mountain to where you left your car.

Here is one of the two bridges by Henry Clay Iron furnace. This is the area where multiple streams meet to then run down to the lake. Going up most of the trails you can see the streams turn from running water to run off areas that are flowing only after a rain or when the snow melts.

But down here, there is always water.

And then leaves piled up in the stream.

I can spend, literally, hours wandering around these streams, building rock towers, knocking down leaf dams and moving sticks that are blocking the stream.

My excuse is that I want to keep the streams and run-off areas from backing up onto the trails, which makes them a muddy mess that is exacerbated by all the mountain bikes, but truly, I just like playing in the water.

Holy Cats! How is it December already? We did a fair amount of hiking in November, since the leaves were at least two weeks late changing color across the state.

Mostly re-reads this month. But that means most of what I read was stuff I loved, so that’s a good thing, right?

Some particular favorites are: Patricia C. Wrede‘s Thirteenth Child and the rest of that series. It’s an alternate history of the frontier US, only there is magic. It’s YA and it is NOT cowboys (the magic kept North America from ever being settled by humans).

Diana Gabaldon‘s Lord John series. Although characters from Outlander appear here, there is NO time travel. At their core, these books are historical mysteries set in the 1700s. The main character is both a military man, and gay at a time when that was a hanging crime.

I’m also reaching some of my favorite books in Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series. This month it was Walking Shadow. However, I had to switch to reading because the narrator after Michael Prichard is just plain awful.

Fantasy, Historical

Thirteenth Child (2009) Patricia C. Wrede (9/10)
Across the Great Barrier (2011) Patricia C. Wrede (8.5/10)
The Far West (2012) Patricia C. Wrede (9/10)

Fantasy, Supernatural

Once Burned (2012) Jeaniene Frost (8/10)
Twice Tempted (2013) Jeaniene Frost (8/10)
Bound by Flames (2015) Jeaniene Frost
Into the Fire (2017) Jeaniene Frost (7.5/10)

Mystery

Spenser
Double Deuce (1992) Robert B Parker (8.5/10)
Paper Doll (1993) Robert B Parker
Walking Shadow (1994) Robert B. Parker (9/10)

Mystery, Historical
Barker & Llewelyn
The Limehouse Text (2006) Will Thomas (7.5/10)
Lord John
Lord John and the Private Matter (2003) Diana Gabaldon (8.5/10)
Lord John and the Hand of Devils (2007) Diana Gabaldon (9/10)
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (2007) Diana Gabaldon (8/10)

Graphic Novel

Rivers of London: Detective Stories Vol. 4 (2017) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Luis Guerrero, Lee Sullivan (8/10)

Audio Book

Spenser
Stardust, Audio Version (1990/1991) Robert B Parker narrated by Michael Prichard (8.5/10)
Pastime, Audio Version (1991/1992) Robert B. Parker narrated by David Dukes
Sonchai Jitpleecheep
Bangkok 8, Audio Version (2003) John Burdett narrated by Paul Boehmer (8.5/10)

So here’s how things turned out this month.

Mostly ebooks this month, almost all re-reads:

Trade Paperback: 1
eBook: 14
Audio: 3
Re-Read: 16

More than one genre this month, though I think half those were historical of some sort

Fantasy: 8
Mystery: 10
Romance: 4
YA: 3
Comic: 1

Gender-wise, pretty evenly split between male and female authors, with women holding a slight lead over men for the year 41% : 44%. Mostly because I’m re-reading the Spenser series, and those are quick reads (it’ll go slower once I can get back to listening).

Male: 8
Female: 10

And those are the books of November.