Books: 2015
This year’s reading. Hmmm….
Four years running I have kept track of my reading. For the previous three years (2012 (85 books), 2013 (95 books), 2014 (106 books)) I have been posting all the books I read. So as again not to break with tradition, my first post of 2016 will once again share with the world the bizarre list of literary crapola I fill my mind with. How many this year? Well you’ll have to scroll down to find out.
So here they are, appearing in the order in which they were read, with a few months as subtitles:
January
Strong Arm Tactics Jody Lynn Nye (2013 [2005])
— ebook;
The Sleeper and the Spindle Neil Gaiman (2013)
– HC;
Oath of Swords David Weber (1995)
War God Book 1 – ebook; reread
The War God’s Own David Weber (1998)
War God Book 2 – ebook; reread
Humans of New York Brandon Stanton (2013)
-HC;
Wind Rider’s Oath David Weber (2004)
War God Book 3 – ebook; reread
War Maid’s Choice David Weber (2012)
War God Book 4 – ebook; reread
Caliphate Tom Kratman (2008)
– ebook
War Dogs Greg Bear (2014)
– ebook
Fortune’s Pawn Rachel Bach (2013)
Paradox Book 1 — ebook;
Honor’s Knight Rachel Bach (2014)
Paradox Book 2 — ebook;
Heaven’s Queen Rachel Bach (2014)
Paradox Book 3 — ebook;
Fireworks in the Rain Stephen Brust (2014)
Incrementalist Novella – ebook;
The Curse of Chalion Lois McMaster Bujold (2001)
Chalion Book 1- ebook; reread
Paladin of Souls Lois McMaster Bujold (2003)
Chalion Book 2 – ebook; reread
Stormdancer Jay Kristoff (2012)
The Lotus War Book 1 – ebook; reread
Kinslayer Jay Kristoff (2013)
The Lotus War Book 2 – ebook; reread
Endsinger Jay Kristoff (2014)
The Lotus War Book 3 – ebook;
Damnation Jean Johnson (2014)
Theirs Not To Reason Why Book 4 – ebook;
Dragon in Exile – eARC Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (2015)
Liaden Book 18 – ebook;
Strands of Sorrow John Ringo (2015)
Black Tide Rising Book 4 – ebook;
Karen Memory Elizabeth Bear (2015)
– ebook;
The Armor of Light Melissa Scott & Lisa Barnett (1988)
– ebook;
Ender in Exile Orson Scott Card (2008)
Ender’s Game Book 4 – ebook
Dauntless Jack Campbell (2006)
The Lost Fleet Book 1 – ebook
Fearless Jack Campbell (2007)
The Lost Fleet Book 2 – ebook
Courageous Jack Campbell (2007)
The Lost Fleet Book 3 – ebook
Valiant Jack Campbell (2008)
The Lost Fleet Book 4 – ebook
April
Relentless Jack Campbell (2009)
The Lost Fleet Book 5 – ebook
Victorious Jack Campbell (2010)
The Lost Fleet Book 6 – ebook
Unbound Jim Hines (2014)
Magic ex Libris Book 3 – ebook;
Stark’s War Jack Campbell (2000)
Starks’ War Book 1 – ebook;
Stark’s Command Jack Campbell (2001)
Starks’ War Book 2 – ebook;
Stark’s Crusade Jack Campbell (2002)
Starks’ War Book 3 – ebook;
The Future Falls Tanya Huff (2014)
Enchantment Emporium Book 3 – ebook;
Mutineers’ Moon David Weber (1991)
Dahak Book 1 – ebook; reread
The Armageddon Inheritance David Weber (1994)
Dahak Book 1 – ebook; reread
Heirs of Empire David Weber (1996)
Dahak Book 1 – ebook; reread
Warning Do Not Open this Book! Adam Lehrhaupt & Matthew Forsythe (2013)
-HC
A Fire upon the Deep Vernor Vinge (1992)
-ebook;
The Hub: Dangerous Territory James H. Schmitz (2001)
The Hub Book 4 – ebook;
June
Old Man’s War John Scalzi (2005)
Old Man’s War Book 1 – ebook; reread
The Ghost Brigade John Scalzi (2006)
Old Man’s War Book 2 – paperback; reread
Monster Hunters International Larry Correia (2007)
Monster Hunters Book 1 – ebook; reread
Monster Hunters Vendetta Larry Correia (2010)
Monster Hunters Book 2 – ebook; reread
Monster Hunters Alpha Larry Correia (2011)
Monster Hunters Book 3 – ebook;
Monster Hunters Legion Larry Correia (2012)
Monster Hunters Book 4 – ebook;
Monster Hunters Nemesis Larry Correia (2014)
Monster Hunters Book 5 – ebook;
Ancillary Justice Anne Leckie (2013)
Imperial Radch Book 1 – ebook;
Ancillary Sword Anne Leckie (2014)
Imperial Radch Book 2 – ebook;
Green Jay Lake (2009)
Green Book 1 – ebook; reread
July
Endurance Jay Lake (2011)
Green Book 2 – ebook; reread
Kalimpura Jay Lake (2013)
Green Book 3 – ebook; reread
Lord Penric’s Demon Lois McMaster Bujold (2015)
Chalion Book 3.5 – ebook;
Space Viking H. Beam Piper (1963)
– ebook; reread
The Cloud Roads Martha Wells (2011)
Books of the Raksura Book 1 – ebook
The Serpent Sea Martha Wells (2012)
Books of the Raksura Book 2 – ebook
The Siren Depths Martha Wells (2012)
Books of the Raksura Book 3 – ebook
A Call to Duty David Weber & Timothy Zahn (2013)
Manticore Ascendant Book 1 – ebook; reread
A Call to Arms -eArc David Weber & Timothy Zahn (2015)
Manticore Ascendant Book 2 – ebook;
Fire with Fire Charles Gannon (2013)
Caine Riordan Book 1 – ebook
Earth Unaware Orson Scott Card & Aardon Johnstone (2012)
The First Formic War Book 1 – ebook
Live Free or Die John Ringo (2010)
Troy Rising Book 1 – ebook; reread
Citadel John Ringo (2011)
Troy Rising Book 2 – ebook; reread
The Hot Gate John Ringo (2011)
Troy Rising Book 1 – ebook; reread
Earth Afire Orson Scott Card & Aardon Johnstone (2013)
The First Formic War Book 2 – ebook
Earth Awakens Orson Scott Card & Aardon Johnstone (2014)
The First Formic War Book 3 – ebook
His Majesty’s Dragon Naomi Novik (2006)
Temeraire Book 1 – ebook; reread
Throne of Jade Naomi Novik (2006)
Temeraire Book 2 – ebook; reread
Black Powder War Naomi Novik (2006)
Temeraire Book 3 – ebook; reread
Empire of Ivory Naomi Novik (2007)
Temeraire Book 4 – ebook; reread
Victory of Eagles Naomi Novik (2008)
Temeraire Book 5 – ebook; reread
Tongues of Serpents Naomi Novik(2010)
Temeraire Book 6 – ebook; reread
Crucible of Gold Naomi Novik (2012)
Temeraire Book 7 – ebook; reread
Blood of Tyrants Naomi Novik (2013)
Temeraire Book 8 – ebook; reread
1632 John Ringo (2000)
Ring of Fire Book 1 – ebook; reread
Between Planets Robert Heinlein (1951)
– ebook; reread
Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen – eARC Lois McMaster Bujold (2015)
The Vorkosigan Saga Book 15 – ebook;
November
Arrows of the Queen Mercedes Lackey (1987)
The Heralds of Valdemar Book 1 – ebook;
Arrow’s Flight Mercedes Lackey (1987)
The Heralds of Valdemar Book 2 – ebook;
Arrow’s Fall Mercedes Lackey (1988)
The Heralds of Valdemar Book 3 – ebook;
An Ancient Peace Tanya Huff (2015)
Peacekeepers Book 1 – ebook;
Ancillary Mercy Anne Leckie (2015)
Imperial Radch Book 3 – ebook;
Uprooted Naomi Novik (2015)
– ebook;
The Human Division John Scalzi (2013)
Old Man’s War Book 5 – ebook; reread
The End of All Things John Scalzi (2015)
Old Man’s War Book 6 – ebook;
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower C.S. Forester (1950)
Horatio Hornblower Book 1 – ebook;
Hornblower and the Big Decision C.S. Forester (1951)
Horatio Hornblower Book 1.1 Short Story – ebook;
Lieutenant Hornblower C.S. Forester (1952)
Horatio Hornblower Book 2 – ebook;
Hornblower and the Hotspur C.S. Forester (1962)
Horatio Hornblower Book 3 – ebook;
Hornblower and the Crisis C.S. Forester (1967 – unfinished)
Horatio Hornblower Book 3.5 – ebook;
Hornblower and the Atropos C.S. Forester (1953)
Horatio Hornblower Book 4 – ebook;
Total: 92 books, 7.66 books a month, 1.77 books a week, .25 books a day
58 new books
34 rereads
92 is down from the last two years, but considering we spent half the year sailing, I think its not too shabby. There is much less leisure time available on the boat and generally what leisure time you have you dedicate to experiencing new things. And, since you are generally a bit more tired, the evening reading is much shorter than usual. That’s my excuse and I am sticking to it.
All but four were ebooks. On the other hand, that means my ebook collection is up to 429 ebooks. W00t! And with the Hornblower collection I moved away from my Sci-Fi/Fantasy fetish a bit more than I have in previous years. Good for me.
Interestingly, all but 11 books were part of series of some sort. I guess I am a lazy reader and once I find something I like I don’t want to explore further afield. And it gives me an excuse to go back and reread the first few books in a series to get caught back up.
Books that are part of a series: 81
Total different series: 30
Series read/reread in their entirety: 16
Total authors: 35
New authors: 6
Books published in 2015: 10
Oldest book read: 1950
I pretty much stuck with my Kobo Aura. It is a pretty damn good little reader if you can get over the proprietary nature of the hardware—and obviously I still haven’t. I really can’t understand why the publishing industry is letting booksellers control distribution like that; it marginalizes one of the more significant aspects of publishing and leaves them increasingly more prey to the booksellers’ predatory instincts. Yup, still not over it.
Speaking of the Aura, one of the boons of the ebook is that I can remain in denial about my need for glasses. With adjustable text size and backlights I can comfortably read in bed in the bad light and pretend its all like it used to be. A print book however necessitates the use of reading glasses in anything other than perfect lighting. Sigh. I do have a few print books on my pile—I just keep putting them off.
And that was 2015.
As for the people who started this nonsense, here is Earl’s list for 2015 and Leslie’s limited contribution as well.
My cellphone sees…
Xmas Eve at the Empress and a glass of Armagnac. Perfect.
Have a Fabulous Festivus!
My cellphone sees…
Still not used to this… December20
My cellphone sees…
Back in the saddle again. And my forearms aren't happy! #cragx #climbingfool #nottooold
Preventers
In an old post I mentioned the importance of preventers. But given the nature of the Never for Ever‘s B&R rig and our cockpit enclosure, I have never managed to rig one the completely satisfied me. A preventer, in case you are wondering, is a method of preventing the boom from swinging accidentally and sometimes violently from one side of the boat to another. When sailing downwind your mainsail is generally out as far as possible and when gybing (moving the sail from one side to another as your stern moves through the wind ), one always centers the boom before turning the boat to ensure the boom is moved from one side to the other under control. But in the case of an accidental gybe, the boom can fly across the cockpit generating line-snapping forces and being a huge danger to anyone in its path.
There are all sorts of fancy boom brakes available but the simplest way to rig a preventer is by tying the boom into position. The issue on our Hunter 386 is that the only place to tie off a preventer that I have access to is midway down the boom and it isn’t easy to tie that off to anyplace except the chain plates (or worse a stanchion). The angles involved don’t give me much reassurance about the rig’s ability to handle any of the massive forces an accidental gybe can generate.
Well I decided the other day to shake off the old Google-fu and see what the internet had to say. And lo and behold Selden’s website pointed out the obvious solution. Their downloadable Hints and Advice Guide from the rigging section spelled it all out and also solved a minor mystery for me.
One of the lines that came with the boat (that I had previously used to try and rig a preventer with) was a length of about 8 feet of braided line with a eye splice in one end. I could never figure out why this line was a part of the boat’s inventory, but used it as a handy line when I needed a short length. Turns out it was used as part of the preventer but not in a way I had imagined.
The line was meant to be pre-tied to the outer end fitting of the boom and then temporarily attached spliced eye end to the kicker slider. This means you don’t have to worry about accessing the end of the boom when at sea (something that due to our bimini I gave up on almost immediately).
Then, when rigging the preventer, you tie off a “preventer guy” to the loop and lead it forward to the bow cleat (or a snatch block if I ever get a spare). If the line is long enough you can lead it back to the cockpit so you don’t have to go forward to release the setup.
The manual also stated “The preventer guy must not be fitted to the centre of the boom since that could cause damage, especially if the end of the boom goes into the water as a result of rolling” which is what I had been doing and had been wholly dissatisfied with. Turns out I am getting some good sailorly instincts after all…
—Captain Why #Equipment, #Posts
My cellphone sees…
A great day to wander Sidney!
My cellphone sees…
We're not in Kansas any more Toto! #Victoria #December10
Lost Overboard
Whether sailing across open water or sitting at a dock, one thing you need to get used to in boating is that if you drop something, or don’t fasten something down securely , once it hits the “ground” it is likely you will never see it again. Decks have lots of slopes, docks have lots of cracks and gaps and once it hits the the water, it is generally too deep and too cold to get it back.
So you take extra care with winch handles and always put you binoculars in a safe place. I put tethers on things like my crescent wrench (reminiscent of my theatre days) and multitool and try to use a cloth to put small things down on so they won’t roll away. Stuff on deck is tied down or clipped to rails or bungied to some part of the boat. But inevitably something is forgotten, a clip isn’t strong enough or a bungie not secure and over she goes. It’s usually not one of the most important things so you get careless. My most common error to date is forgetting that I put something down and then when I pick up whatever container I put it in, it rolls out and then I have that oh-so-lovely, slow-motion, self-recriminatory moment where you call yourself several kinds of idiot as the one bolt you mustn’t lose hits the surface of the water and then glitters like a precious jewel as it slowly sinks to the bottom. Notice I said common…you’d think I’d learn.
Tools and docks just don’t seem to mix.
And your pockets also become suspect. The number of times I check my pockets in any given hour has increased tenfold. You spend a lot of time bending, crouching and squatting and things just have a way of working themselves out. Followed by the inevitable splash. This reminds you once again that things are different on the water and you just have to increase your situational awareness. I have a friend who lost several iPhones not so much to carelessness as to momentarily forgetting… I am especially paranoid about my electronics.
There is also the stuff that just disappears. It was there one moment and the next time you glance out, you can’t quite put you finger on just what is different — until it occurs to you that something that was “secured” no longer is. In fact it’s no longer there. You read stories of missing dinghies occasionally… but anything not tied down is susceptible to the wind and the heel and occasional wave coming over the bow. So securing things becomes a bit of a mania. I believe the reason sailors are so into knots isn’t just to pick up girls, but because they get tired of things disappearing. Because once that knot goes, it is unlikely that you are getting that expensive whatever-it-was back.
Sure the solar shower is strapped down tight…
Sometimes you get lucky. I read a story the other day where the harness on an outboard gave way and the young man in the dinghy was able to grab the handle before it disappeared completely. Didn’t save the motor from a thorough soaking but at least it wasn’t lying on the bottom.
I imagine in the tropics where people regularly dive to check their anchor, rescuing things is more plausible, but here in the PNW it has to be a pretty expensive item to make me want to jump in and search.
So here’s a fun list: a few of the almost important things that I have dropped overboard and been unable to rescue — all from one short season of boating…
- The bolt that fastened the BBQ to the stern rail (Thanks to R Shack Island for a spare.)
- A solar shower (crossing the Strait of Georgia)
- Her bath towel (no idea where it went)
- A $85 pair of linesman pliers (not mine unfortunately)
- The restraining nut for the dingy’s oarlock (luckily we were on the dock so it was only a small inconvenience)
- A bright yellow pair of briefs (in case you find them)
We’ve lost a bunch more stuff overboard — hats being the big ones — but always managed to rescue them. And thank god buckets float for a few minutes before they sink. Talking to others dockside, I can believe I have gotten off pretty easy. Leave a comment if you want, and tell us what you’ve lost overboard…
—Captain Why #Equipment
My cellphone sees…
Lighted trick parade!
