Blog Without A Name

Books read in 2026

59  Pride of Chanur, C.J. Cherryh, narrated by Dina Pearlman
58  The Glass-Cursed, (Whispers & Wayfarers #1) P.H. Blackwood (e)
57  The Paladin, C.J. Cherryh, narrated by Stephen Bowlby
56  An Heir of Possibilities (Bad Heir Days #6), Grace Burrowes (e)
55  Bone and Blood, (Border Kingdom #2) C.E. Murphy (e)
54  Liberty’s Prison, Randall Liberty, Christine Graf (e)(bkclb)
53  Daggerbound, (Swordheart #2), T. Kingfisher (e)
52  A Gentleman of Modest Ambitions (Lord Julian #12), Grace Burrowes (e)
51  Swordheart, T. Kingfisher (re-read) (e)
50  Carousel Seas (Archers Beach #3), Sharon Lee, narrated by Elizabeth Rogers
49  Carousel Sun (Archers Beach #2), Sharon Lee, narrated by Elizabeth Rogers
48  Carousel Tides (Archers Beach #1), Sharon Lee, narrated by Elizabeth Rogers
47  Diviner’s Bow (The Redlands #3), Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
46  Ribbon Dance (The Redlands #2), Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, narrated by Alex Picard
45  Kin Right (Korval in Exile #7 AND Tinsori Light #3), Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (unedited manuscript)
44  Salvage Right (Korval in Exile #6 AND Tinsori Light #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
43  Trader’s Leap (Korval in Exile #5 AND The Redlands #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
42  Accepting the Lance (Theo Waitley #7 AND Korval in Exile #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
41  Neogenesis (Theo Waitley #6 AND Korval in Exile #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
40  The Gathering Edge (Theo Waitley #5), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
39  Alliance of Equals (Korval in Exile #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
38  Dragon in Exile, (Liaden Universe® beginning the Korval In Exile arc), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
37  Sourdough, Robin Sloan (e) (bookclub)
36  Necessity’s Child (standalone in the Liaden Universe®), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens.
35  Dragon Ship (Theo Waitley #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
34  Ghost Ship (Theo Waitley #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
33  Saltation (Theo Waitley #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
32  Fledgling (Theo Waitley #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
31  The Talisman Ring, Georgette Heyer, narrated by Joe Jameson
30  A Gentleman Far from Home (Lord Julian 11) Grace Burrowes (e)
29  Black Sheep, Georgette Heyer, narrated by Natalie Simpson
28  Cotillion, Georgette Heyer, narrated by Raj Ghatak
27  Platform Decay, (Murderbot) Martha Wells (e)
26  A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles (e) (bookclub)
25  Fair Trade (Jethri Gobelyn #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
24  Ribbon Dance (Liaden Universe #26), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Alex Picard
23  Trade Secret (Liaden Universe #17), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (e)
22  Sea Wrack and Changewind, Sharon Lee, narrated by Alex Picard
21  When the Wolves are Silent (Sebastian St. Cyr #21), C.S. Harris (e)
20  An Heir of Distinction (Bad Heir Days #5), Grace Burrowes (e)
19   Longeye (Fey Duology #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller***
18   Duainfey (Fey Duology #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller***
17  *Crystal Dragon (Liaden Universe® #10), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
16  *Crystal Soldier (Liaden Universe® #9), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
15  Seeking Persephone (Lancaster Family #1), Sarah M. Eden (e)
14   Theo of Golden, Allen Levi (e) book club
13  *Balance of Trade (Liaden Universe® #8), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
12  *Mouse and Dragon (Liaden Universe® #7), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
11  *Scout’s Progress (Liaden Universe® #6), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
10  *Local Custom, (Liaden Universe® #5), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
9   *I Dare (Liaden Universe® #7), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
8   Cuckoo’s Egg, C J Cherryh, (audio first time)
7   *Plan B, (Liaden Universe® #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
6   Getting Rid of Bradley, Jennifer Crusie (audio first time)
5   *Carpe Diem (Liaden Universe® #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
4   *Conflict of Honors (Liaden Universe® #2), Sharon Lee & Steve    Miller
3   *Agent of Change (Liaden Universe® #1), Sharon Lee & Steve                 Miller
2   A Gentleman in Possession of Secrets (Lord Julian #10), Grace             Burrowes (e)
1   Spilling the Tea in Gretna Green, Linzi Day (e)

________
*I’m doing a straight-through series read in publication order

**I screwed up and moved right on to I Dare from Plan B, therefore deviating from publication order.  I will now amend myself and go back to pick up Local Custom.

***I’ll be re-issuing Duainfey and Longeye as an e-omnibus later this year, and so I need to read them!

Reading the past

The coon cats were keeping a Very Close Eye this morning.  Photographic proof here

Wednesday. Sunny, clear, and cool.

The misdelivered box came home this morning. The heat pump situation has been rectified and a tutorial received. I’ve read 150 pages/24,000ish words of an incomplete Jethri novel which I think was being set up to explain why Jethri’s genes were all over Spadoni Station in “Revolutionists,” with a side of Shakespeare. Written in 2020.

The bit I remembered is part of the Spadoni Station/Shakespeare fragment (if you can call a quarter-book a “fragment”), and while it could be hammered into what I’m working on, I think it will better serve as what’s nowadays called a “short novel” (Remember when ALL novels were 50,000 words? Yeah, yeah, and cost 25 cents.). It won’t be canon, but we’ve done this before. So! This bit gets put aside for later finishing and publication through Pinbeam Books.

I still have 37,000ish words to read of yet another “failed” piece — this one recognizably coming off of Fair Trade, written in September 2022. Fair Trade was published in May 2022.

Just for fun, I also have 3700ish words of a short story, that I wrote in November 2001, passed to Steve, and it got set aside in the Press of Other Business. What in Ghu’s name were we even doing in November 2001? We were still with Meisha Merlin, and Balance of Trade wasn’t published until 2004. Why was Jethri even — oh, wait. “Balance of Trade,” the novella, would have already been published in Absolute Magnitude. That’s why Jethri was even, and makes more sense of the story, too. We were thinking ahead, as we tended to do. Anyhow, I’ve only glanced at it, not really read it. Might be able to be finished without too much trauma, if I get enough flex in the rest of life.

Pay copy comes first.

The rest of today is, alas, chores.

I finished reading The Glass-Cursed last night — it’s a cozy, I guess, because the decision was made to let the Group Handle It, rather than allow one of their number to take the whole cost of the thing onto herself, despite her part in having created the problem in the first place. “Many hands make the work light,” and also “Grace to those who fought.” I did finish it, but it was starting to wear on me after a bit, which I means that, for me, it could’ve been shorter. Also, there are serious timing problems at the end when the characters don’t seem to know if something took two days or seven months, and the Really Important Question of How a certain thing got produced, given that there’s no X, and also Y is completely ignored.

I started the book club book at lunch, The Burgess Boys, by Elizabeth Strout, partially set in Shirley Falls, Maine, which is big enough to have a hotel, so it can’t actually be set in Skowhegan, which was where my mind went.

And that? Is all my news.

What’s yours?

Books read in 2026

58  The Glass-Cursed, (Whispers & Wayfarers #1) P.H. Blackwood (e)
57  The Paladin, C.J. Cherryh, narrated by Stephen Bowlby
56  An Heir of Possibilities (Bad Heir Days #6), Grace Burrowes (e)
55  Bone and Blood, (Border Kingdom #2) C.E. Murphy (e)
54  Liberty’s Prison, Randall Liberty, Christine Graf (e)(bkclb)
53  Daggerbound, (Swordheart #2), T. Kingfisher (e)
52  A Gentleman of Modest Ambitions (Lord Julian #12), Grace Burrowes (e)
51  Swordheart, T. Kingfisher (re-read) (e)
50  Carousel Seas (Archers Beach #3), Sharon Lee, narrated by Elizabeth Rogers
49  Carousel Sun (Archers Beach #2), Sharon Lee, narrated by Elizabeth Rogers
48  Carousel Tides (Archers Beach #1), Sharon Lee, narrated by Elizabeth Rogers
47  Diviner’s Bow (The Redlands #3), Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
46  Ribbon Dance (The Redlands #2), Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, narrated by Alex Picard
45  Kin Right (Korval in Exile #7 AND Tinsori Light #3), Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (unedited manuscript)
44  Salvage Right (Korval in Exile #6 AND Tinsori Light #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
43  Trader’s Leap (Korval in Exile #5 AND The Redlands #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
42  Accepting the Lance (Theo Waitley #7 AND Korval in Exile #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
41  Neogenesis (Theo Waitley #6 AND Korval in Exile #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
40  The Gathering Edge (Theo Waitley #5), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
39  Alliance of Equals (Korval in Exile #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
38  Dragon in Exile, (Liaden Universe® beginning the Korval In Exile arc), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
37  Sourdough, Robin Sloan (e) (bookclub)
36  Necessity’s Child (standalone in the Liaden Universe®), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens.
35  Dragon Ship (Theo Waitley #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
34  Ghost Ship (Theo Waitley #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
33  Saltation (Theo Waitley #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
32  Fledgling (Theo Waitley #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
31  The Talisman Ring, Georgette Heyer, narrated by Joe Jameson
30  A Gentleman Far from Home (Lord Julian 11) Grace Burrowes (e)
29  Black Sheep, Georgette Heyer, narrated by Natalie Simpson
28  Cotillion, Georgette Heyer, narrated by Raj Ghatak
27  Platform Decay, (Murderbot) Martha Wells (e)
26  A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles (e) (bookclub)
25  Fair Trade (Jethri Gobelyn #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
24  Ribbon Dance (Liaden Universe #26), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Alex Picard
23  Trade Secret (Liaden Universe #17), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (e)
22  Sea Wrack and Changewind, Sharon Lee, narrated by Alex Picard
21  When the Wolves are Silent (Sebastian St. Cyr #21), C.S. Harris (e)
20  An Heir of Distinction (Bad Heir Days #5), Grace Burrowes (e)
19   Longeye (Fey Duology #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller***
18   Duainfey (Fey Duology #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller***
17  *Crystal Dragon (Liaden Universe® #10), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
16  *Crystal Soldier (Liaden Universe® #9), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
15  Seeking Persephone (Lancaster Family #1), Sarah M. Eden (e)
14   Theo of Golden, Allen Levi (e) book club
13  *Balance of Trade (Liaden Universe® #8), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
12  *Mouse and Dragon (Liaden Universe® #7), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
11  *Scout’s Progress (Liaden Universe® #6), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
10  *Local Custom, (Liaden Universe® #5), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
9   *I Dare (Liaden Universe® #7), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
8   Cuckoo’s Egg, C J Cherryh, (audio first time)
7   *Plan B, (Liaden Universe® #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
6   Getting Rid of Bradley, Jennifer Crusie (audio first time)
5   *Carpe Diem (Liaden Universe® #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
4   *Conflict of Honors (Liaden Universe® #2), Sharon Lee & Steve    Miller
3   *Agent of Change (Liaden Universe® #1), Sharon Lee & Steve                 Miller
2   A Gentleman in Possession of Secrets (Lord Julian #10), Grace             Burrowes (e)
1   Spilling the Tea in Gretna Green, Linzi Day (e)

________
*I’m doing a straight-through series read in publication order

**I screwed up and moved right on to I Dare from Plan B, therefore deviating from publication order.  I will now amend myself and go back to pick up Local Custom.

***I’ll be re-issuing Duainfey and Longeye as an e-omnibus later this year, and so I need to read them!

Collaboration

Tuesday. Sunny and cool.

Today’s writing was chasing down partials and half-remembered notes from Steve’s side of his computer. I had a couple of bad minutes when I thought I was going to have to drag out his old Windows machine and do a forced march through that hard-drive, but just when the night seemed darkest, I found the piece I was looking for.

Which, as it happens, is not, as Steve had insisted at the time, wrong; it was just in the wrong place. This happens a lot, especially in the writing of novels. Which is why you might take That Piece There out of the active file, but you never throw it away.

Having found the files, I have some reading to do, but that’s for tomorrow. For today, I’ve spent every available spoon going through Steve’s indexes, which was a reminder–yet again–that, no, we didn’t think alike–and that’s why we worked.

Ah–there will be some, I suppose, who will wonder why I’m ferreting out these bits and pieces–surely, it would be easier to “just” write on in a forwarder direction? And, yanno? Maybe it would be. But this was Steve’s book, and God She knows he broke not a few brain cells on the thing, and it’s my intention to tell the story he intended–he wanted–to tell. Insofar as I can, being as we didn’t think alike, but I’m the one left standing.

In so-called Real Life, the heat pump in my bedroom seems to be On Da Fritz, so I’ll be calling the heat pump company in a few to see what they can do for me.

This evening is needlework, which I really want to go to. I skipped last week because my back wasn’t up for the chairs.

And that would be the contents of my brain on this fine morning.

What’s filling up your brain today?

Wobbling into Monday

Monday. Cool and cloudy. Mixed night and slow morning. The cats piled in and did what they could, last night, and finally set their purrboxes on auto so at least they could get some sleep.

I perhaps forgot to mention that one of Hannah Pingree’s workers stopped by yesterday afternoon — Hannah Pingree being the Democrat running for Maine governor. Said worker asked what my outlook was, and kind of sighed and nodded when I said “pessimistic.” We talked very briefly about was I going to vote, and did I want any literature, or perhaps a lawn sign. I mentioned that my house is made of windows, and she nodded, and went on her way.

In-house news includes the fact that the light bulb went out in the refrigerator, and the one-size-fits-all-GE-fridges manual is not being very helpful. I think I’ve found the latch for the light cover, but I haven’t quite worked out how to get it off–it’s either lack of hand strength or lack of the correct latch, and it would be nice to know which. In the meantime, Steve did lay in quite a number of flashlights, so it’s not like I can’t function. On the freezer side, the light still comes on, but the ice maker has truly died the death, so I’ve been making ice by hand and using the handy bin to stockpile it. The cold-making equipment is still doing its thing, so that’s good.

Book club in a couple hours and! I need to make some phone calls, so I’d best do that.

How’s the week starting out at your place?

Sunday wrap-up

So, that was a little more harrowing than I thought it would be. I’ve deleted thousands of emails–which would feel like more of an accomplishment if there weren’t thousands more to sift through. I finally managed to stop automatic payments on the last two of Steve’s accounts that had automatic payments, and got caught up with various bits of bookkeeping that I had let slide because — I don’t know? Because everything’s pointless? Something like that. Though bookkeeping, of course, is never pointless.

I finished listening to The Paladin and have Pride of Chanur lined up in the audiobook library. Still reading The Glass Cursed, and starting to get a little grumpy with it, but the voice is still interesting enough to keep me reading.

The “spaghetti” was good for lunch. Rook is insisting that it IS TOO Coon Cat Happy Hour RIGHT NOW. Alas that Rook is incorrect.

Tomorrow is book club. I guess I should stop at the grocery while I’m out, since the milk went over today, and I seem to be out of fruit, not to mention running low on wine. Also, I need to check the state of the ice cream supply. Won’t do to run out of the essentials.

So! Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. I’ll check in tomorrow.

Books read in 2026

57  The Paladin, C.J. Cherryh, narrated by Stephen Bowlby
56  An Heir of Possibilities (Bad Heir Days #6), Grace Burrowes (e)
55  Bone and Blood, (Border Kingdom #2) C.E. Murphy (e)
54  Liberty’s Prison, Randall Liberty, Christine Graf (e)(bkclb)
53  Daggerbound, (Swordheart #2), T. Kingfisher (e)
52  A Gentleman of Modest Ambitions (Lord Julian #12), Grace Burrowes (e)
51  Swordheart, T. Kingfisher (re-read) (e)
50  Carousel Seas (Archers Beach #3), Sharon Lee, narrated by Elizabeth Rogers
49  Carousel Sun (Archers Beach #2), Sharon Lee, narrated by Elizabeth Rogers
48  Carousel Tides (Archers Beach #1), Sharon Lee, narrated by Elizabeth Rogers
47  Diviner’s Bow (The Redlands #3), Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
46  Ribbon Dance (The Redlands #2), Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, narrated by Alex Picard
45  Kin Right (Korval in Exile #7 AND Tinsori Light #3), Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (unedited manuscript)
44  Salvage Right (Korval in Exile #6 AND Tinsori Light #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
43  Trader’s Leap (Korval in Exile #5 AND The Redlands #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
42  Accepting the Lance (Theo Waitley #7 AND Korval in Exile #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
41  Neogenesis (Theo Waitley #6 AND Korval in Exile #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
40  The Gathering Edge (Theo Waitley #5), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
39  Alliance of Equals (Korval in Exile #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
38  Dragon in Exile, (Liaden Universe® beginning the Korval In Exile arc), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
37  Sourdough, Robin Sloan (e) (bookclub)
36  Necessity’s Child (standalone in the Liaden Universe®), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens.
35  Dragon Ship (Theo Waitley #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
34  Ghost Ship (Theo Waitley #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
33  Saltation (Theo Waitley #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
32  Fledgling (Theo Waitley #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
31  The Talisman Ring, Georgette Heyer, narrated by Joe Jameson
30  A Gentleman Far from Home (Lord Julian 11) Grace Burrowes (e)
29  Black Sheep, Georgette Heyer, narrated by Natalie Simpson
28  Cotillion, Georgette Heyer, narrated by Raj Ghatak
27  Platform Decay, (Murderbot) Martha Wells (e)
26  A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles (e) (bookclub)
25  Fair Trade (Jethri Gobelyn #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
24  Ribbon Dance (Liaden Universe #26), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Alex Picard
23  Trade Secret (Liaden Universe #17), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (e)
22  Sea Wrack and Changewind, Sharon Lee, narrated by Alex Picard
21  When the Wolves are Silent (Sebastian St. Cyr #21), C.S. Harris (e)
20  An Heir of Distinction (Bad Heir Days #5), Grace Burrowes (e)
19   Longeye (Fey Duology #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller***
18   Duainfey (Fey Duology #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller***
17  *Crystal Dragon (Liaden Universe® #10), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
16  *Crystal Soldier (Liaden Universe® #9), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
15  Seeking Persephone (Lancaster Family #1), Sarah M. Eden (e)
14   Theo of Golden, Allen Levi (e) book club
13  *Balance of Trade (Liaden Universe® #8), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
12  *Mouse and Dragon (Liaden Universe® #7), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
11  *Scout’s Progress (Liaden Universe® #6), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
10  *Local Custom, (Liaden Universe® #5), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
9   *I Dare (Liaden Universe® #7), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
8   Cuckoo’s Egg, C J Cherryh, (audio first time)
7   *Plan B, (Liaden Universe® #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
6   Getting Rid of Bradley, Jennifer Crusie (audio first time)
5   *Carpe Diem (Liaden Universe® #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
4   *Conflict of Honors (Liaden Universe® #2), Sharon Lee & Steve    Miller
3   *Agent of Change (Liaden Universe® #1), Sharon Lee & Steve                 Miller
2   A Gentleman in Possession of Secrets (Lord Julian #10), Grace             Burrowes (e)
1   Spilling the Tea in Gretna Green, Linzi Day (e)

________
*I’m doing a straight-through series read in publication order

**I screwed up and moved right on to I Dare from Plan B, therefore deviating from publication order.  I will now amend myself and go back to pick up Local Custom.

***I’ll be re-issuing Duainfey and Longeye as an e-omnibus later this year, and so I need to read them!

Sunday morning IRL

Important things first:  Proofs of life, with coon cats here

Sunday. Dim and cool enough that I switched station air to “heat.”

I also put another blanket on the bed, ably assisted by the girl cats, who are now resting atop their labors.

Breakfast was a couple slices of last night’s baking and a cup of cottage cheese. I’m thinking lunch will be left-over macaroni dressed with red sauce, served with meatballs, which I’ll be calling “spaghetti,” thank you.

Today–or at least this morning–I will be catching up with all the emails and other business I’ve been ignoring for the last two weeks, and cleaning out my inbox of Stuff, which just keeps accumulating.

I have Notions about my two problems with the current WIP, but they need some time to themselves, hence today’s curriculum of tidying up IRL.

Rook is currently on duty in my office, positioned so that the warm air from the heat pump is flowing down on him.

I think that’s all the news that’s fit to print.

What’s for lunch at your house today?