45 Lake Silence, Anne Bishop
44 Getting Rid of Bradley, Jennifer Crusie (read aloud w/Steve, re-read for me; first time for him)
43 Mort, Terry Pratchett (re-read) (e)
42 Network Effect, Martha Wells (e)
41 Lord and Ladies, Terry Pratchett (read aloud w/Steve, re-read for both)
40 Trouble in Triplicate, Rex Stout (e)
39 The Outlaws of Sherwood, Robin McKinley (e)
38 Agnes and the Hitman, Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (re-read aloud w/Steve, because Steve had a Notion about alligators, specifically Moot; the Talmadge Bridge, and Savannah in general)
37 Warprize, Elizabeth Vaughan (e)
36 Who Speaks for the Damned, C.S. Harris
35 Don’t Look Down, Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (read aloud w/Steve)
34 Blood and Circuses, Kerry Greenwood
33 The Cat Who Came to Breakfast, Lilian Jackson Braun (Steve read to me)
32 One Fell Sweep, Ilona Andrews (e)
31 Sweep in Peace, Ilona Andrews (e)
30 Clean Sweep, Ilona Andrews (e)
29 Getting Rid of Bradley, Jennifer Crusie (e)
28 Raven Heart, Murphy Lawless (e)
27 Iron Kissed, Patricia Briggs (re-read)
26 The Cat Who Said Cheese, Lilian Jackson Braun (Steve read to me)
25 Blood Bound, Patricia Briggs (re-read)
24 Moon Called, Patricia Briggs (re-re-read)
23 War for the Oaks, Emma Bull (re-re-re-re-&c read)
22 The Widow of Rose House, Diana Bill (e)
21 False Value, Ben Aaronovitch
20 Charity Girl, Georgette Heyer (read aloud w/Steve re-read for both)
19 Minor Mage, T. Kingfisher (e)
18 The Green Mill Murder, Kerry Greenwood
17 Tell Me Lies, Jennifer Crusie (read aloud with Steve)
16 Murder at the Brightwell, Ashley Weaver
15 Crazy for You, Jennifer Crusie (read aloud with Steve)
14 A Conspiracy of Kings, Megan Whalen Turner
13 The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner (re-read)
12 Ocean Light, Nalini Singh (read aloud with Steve)
11 Nerdy, Shy, and Socially Inappropriate, Cynthia Kim
10 Witches Abroad, Terry Pratchett (read aloud with Steve)
9 The Kiss Quotient, Helen Hoang (e)
8 Fall into Spring, Amy Lane (e)
7 Resurgence, C.J. Cherryh (read aloud with Steve)
6 2K to 10K: Writing Faster, Writing Better…, Rachel Aaron (e)
5 Unmasked by the Marquess, Cat Sebastian (e)
4 Jimmy the Kid, Donald E. Westlake (e)
3 Wanted, A Gentleman, KJ Charles (e) (read aloud with Steve)
2 The Book of Atrix Wolfe, Patricia McKillip (e) (re-read)
1 Proper English, KJ Charles (e)
Notice you just read Anne Bishop’s *Lake Silence*. It’s a favorite of mine, more than the next book, *Wild Country*. Just wondering how you liked it.
I’ve been giving it a lot of thought, actually. Initially, I was aggravated by the arrant stupidity of the Bad Guys, but then I looked around me, and thought, Well, OK; you can’t argue with an author taking from life. Especially when there’s so much material.
I’m still struggling with the…scope of the story. Something there doesn’t work for me, and I’m trying to figure it out. I read the “Meg” books, previous to this one in the series, and the tight focus on Meg and the Courtyard worked because she was the naive viewpoint, and the reader came to understand the shape of the world as she learned it. In Lake Silence, all of us — characters and readers — already know the shape of the world, and the story feels lopsided to me, because of that — i.e. we don’t get anything new, or a deeper insight, to compensate for the lack of the slow reveal that made the previous books so compelling (to me).
On the other hand, it was…cathartic to watch the Elders at work. 🙂
Thank you. Yes. I was annoyed by Our Heroine’s propensity for saying, usually from nerves, the absolutely wrong thing, beyond naivete/awkwardness. Meg’s faux pas were more from lack of exposure to norms.