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Linkity listens to the howling wind and watches the snow blow by

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  • Look! Over there! In the sky!

“Hmm. The socks appear even when there aren’t any naughty boys around…” -Mayhem

And without Mayhem:

Ravelry project page, if you’re curious about the yarn, etc.

Knitting, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity wishes you a happy new year

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Randonymity

  • This turned out pretty well – it’s a gift, for a late Christmas gathering later today:

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Reading Update
Down on the Farm (The Laundry Files 2.1) by Charles Stross. Good paranormal short in which Bob is sent to the Laundry’s psychiatric in-patient facility to investigate a patient complaint.
Equoid (The Laundry Files #2.9) by Charless Stross. Free online. Good paranormal horror short about Bob being sent forth to hunt for unicorns, which have rather more tentacles and carnivory than Bob (or the reader) expects. This won the Hugo for Best Novella this year.
Overtime (The Laundry Files #3.5) by Charles Stross. Good short paranormal holiday story about Bob working overnight in the office on Christmas Eve. Of course he doesn’t have a quiet night.
The Rhesus Chart (The Laundry Files #5) by Charles Stross. Good paranormal horror thriller in which computational demonologist Bob discovers what seems to be a nest of vampires, except everyone he works with is convinced that vampires can’t exist. While this didn’t end with a cliffhanger, it did end with me exclaiming, “Wait, what?!” and looking for additional pages…
Halting State (Halting State #1) by Charles Stross. Weird but good scifi novel about a crime (or not) that may (or not) have occurred inside a virtual reality game. It’s told in second person (to give you the feel of playing a game, I think) from the alternating perspectives of three people who are trying to figure out what happened (or didn’t). Definitely took me a bit to get used to the unusual storytelling mode.
Rule 34 (Halting State #2) by Charles Stross. Rule 34: “If it exists, there is p0rn of it. No exceptions.” Good scifi thriller about memes, spam, and life in the surveillance state, told in alternating second person (mostly) from three main points-of-view, although the POV number ratchets up toward the end. While there’s no POV character overlap with the first book, one of the main POV characters played a significant role in the first book. Again, it took me a while to get used to the storytelling mode, but once I did I was immersed.

“More socks! Are you feeling ok, Mom?” -Mayhem

And without Mayhem:

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Holidayish linkity

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Make sure you enter the contest for Even the Score (Knight Errant #3) by KD Sarge! Closes 7 pm CST, December 29.

Stop by and enter the contest for Dear Alex (2nd ed) by Clare London! Closes 7 pm CST, December 29.

Don’t forget to enter the contest for the Brit Boys: On Boys box set by Clare London, Ashe Barker, MK Elliott, Lucy Felthouse, KD Grace, Lily Harlem, Sarah Masters, & Josephine Myles! Closes 7 pm CST, December 29.

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Reading Update
Ghost of a Chance (Ghost Finders #1) by Simon R Green. Made it to page 66, then put it down for a few weeks and have no interest in going back to it. Elspeth’s review nails it.
The Atrocity Archives (The Laundry Files #1) by Charles Stross. Good paranormal thriller about Bob Howard, a guy who works for a secret British intelligence agency, the Laundry, in a world where mathematics can open portals to other, far less friendly, universes. Inspired by HP Lovecraft and the Cold War-era British spy thrillers (and acknowledges such). This edition also contains The Concrete Jungle [The Laundry Files #1.5].
The Jennifer Morgue (The Laundry Files #2) by Charles Stross. Good paranormal thriller as Bob teams up with a partner from another secret agency and is caught up in a very specific hero archetype geas… This edition also contained the short story PIMPF, which I’d subtitle Bob Gets an Intern and Almost Lets Said Intern Die…Whoops. (Because of the book’s title, I had “27 Jennifers” by Mike Doughty stuck in my head for a few days.)
The Fuller Memorandum (The Laundry Files #3) by Charles Stross. Good paranormal thriller, leaning toward horror as Bob learns an awful lot about his boss after his boss goes missing. And then he has to deal with fanatical Elder Gods’ cultists, leading to Bob’s Very Bad, No Good, Completely Horrific Day.
The Apocalypse Codex (The Laundry Files #4) by Charles Stross. Good paranormal horror thriller in which Bob, our computational demonologist, heads to America to check out an evangelist who’s taken an interest in the British Prime Minister.
Hockey Confidential: Inside Stories from People Inside the Game by Bob McKenzie. Good collection of true stories about an assortment of Canadians related in some way to the NHL, from Karl Subban (PK’s dad) to Connor McDavid to a skating coach.

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Mayhem

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Linkity’s guide to yet more gift guides

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Congrats to Nancy, who won Blood in the Water (An Act of Piracy #1) (2nd ed) by Tami Veldura! Tami is releasing Blood in the Water today.

Congrats to Kate, who won Holding the Edge (Cold War #2) by Keira Andrews!

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Reading Update
The Magicians (The Magicians #1) by Lev Grossman. DNF at 65-70%. Pretentious. Feels like Harry Potter and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe crossover fanfic. I hate everyone in the book and can’t be bothered to pick it up again.

“No, no, nothing’s wrong. Why do you ask?” -Mayhem, whose superpower is looking pathetic – she makes the vet feel guilty for just entering the exam room!

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Linkity’s guide to even more gift guides

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Congrats to Irene, who won Fire and Water by Andrew Grey! Fire and Water will be released by Dreamspinner Press on December 15.

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Reading Update
Hockey Prospectus 2013-2014 by Timo Seppa, Ryan Schwepfinger, and Jesse Spector. Ok preview of the 2013-2014 NHL season, with a detailed section on each team. Probably most useful for serious hockey number crunchers or for those with a fantasy hockey team.
What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe. Delightful, humorous, and thought-provoking read in which Munroe answers a wide array of “what if…?” questions sent to him by blog readers and proves, yet again, that science can be fun. Now, if only Munroe would write a high school physics textbook…

“It is good to be free of the cone.” -Chaos (His cornea is completely healed!)

*creepin’ in the background* -Mayhem

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Linkity gives thanks

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Congrats to tea58, who won Baited by Tami Veldura! Tami will release Baited today.

Congrats to Jess1, who won The Fifth Son (2nd ed) by Blaine D Arden! The Fifth Son will be released by Cayendi Press today.

Congrats to Sally, who won Stardust by Andrew Grey! Stardust will be available as part of the Dreamspinner Press holiday collection Celebrate! on December 1.

Randonymity

  • Briefish linkity today because of my holiday weekend. 🙂

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Reading Update
Casino Infernale (Secret Histories #7) by Simon R Green. Another ok addition to this series. Once again, only Eddie can save the family Drood and the world, blah blah blah.

“I disapprove of this bear and of the coworkers who sent it to you with all of those terrifying ‘Get Well Soon’ balloons.” -Mayhem

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Linkity limps along

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Congrats to Melandra, who won Out of Time by Clare London!

Congrats to Ardent Ereader, who won Making It Pay by JL Merrow!

Randonymity

  • I spent Wednesday evening in the emergency room with what they initially thought were kidney stones, but which turned out to be a ruptured hemorrhagic ovarian cyst. Yay, painkillers!

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Reading Update
All Clear (All Clear #2) by Connie Willis. No reviewette I write can possibly do this book (or really, the single book composed of Blackout and All Clear) justice. Amazing. Epic. Subtlety of detail that had me paging back to confirm something hinted. Love. Loss. Loyalty. Uncertainty. Hope. Humor. Tragedy. The triumph of the human spirit. Connie Willis has outdone herself with this amazing tale of time travel so deeply rooted in place. Her Hugo and Nebula awards for Blackout/All Clear bring her lifetime totals to eleven Hugos and seven Nebulas. Make sure you have both books on hand and clear your schedule for a few days…
Fire Watch by Connie Willis. Pretty good short that introduced us to the time-traveling historians of Oxford. When comparing this to Blackout/All Clear, you can really see how much Willis has honed her craft over the years.
To Say Nothing of the Dog, or How We Found the Bishop’s Bird Stump at Last by Connie Willis. Delightfully excellent romp through 1888 and 1940 with the time-traveling historians of Oxford. If you’re reading it for the first time, don’t be concerned when you have absolutely no idea what’s going on for the first quarter of the book. You’re in the narrator’s headspace and he has no idea, either.
For Heaven’s Eyes Only (Secret Histories #5) by Simon R Green. Ok continuation of this James Bond-inspired paranormal series. Yet another cliffhanger. Don’t be surprised when I suddenly stop reading the series, even if I have the next book on hand. Cliffies really piss me off.
Live and Let Drood (Secret Histories #6) by Simon R Green. Another ok continuation of this paranormal series. At least it wasn’t a cliffie!

“…zzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity is taking a four day weekend, falalalalala!

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Randonymity

  • Finished a Christmas gift:

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Reading Update
The Spy Who Haunted Me (Secret Histories #3) by Simon R Green. Ok paranormal thriller in which Eddie is teamed up with five other agents, who must work together and compete against each other to solve five great mysteries. The best part of this was Walker from the Nightside being one of the agents.
From Hell with Love (Secret Histories #4) by Simon R Green. Ok continuation of this paranormal thriller series. I would’ve been severely annoyed about the cliffhanger ending if I hadn’t had the next book on hand.
Blackout (All Clear #1) by Connie Willis. Very good story about the delightful chaotic time traveling historians of Oxford. Of course things go terribly awry. 🙂 Be warned that this is the first half of a story and things stop at a precarious point, so have All Clear on hand to continue. *hopes that someone returns an ebook copy to my library very, very soon*

“Socks socks socks socks socks!” -Mayhem

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Linkity fears winter is drawing nigh

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Reading Update
Daemons Are Forever (Secret Histories #2) by Simon R Green. Pretty good continuation of this paranormal suspense series loosely (very loosely) based on James Bond: Eddie Drood is Bond, the Armourer is Q, Penny is Moneypenny, the Matriarch is M, and the books’ titles are hauntingly not-quite-familiar.
Libriomancer (Magic Ex Libris #1) by Jim C. Hines. Good contemporary fantasy about a wizard whose power is being able to make things from books real. Due to a magical mishap, he’s been relegated to working as a librarian in the UP (Michigan’s Upper Peninsula) and not using magic… until the shit hits the fan, of course.
Codex Born (Magic Ex Libris #2) by Jim C. Hines. Ok continuation of this contemporary fantasy series about a UP book mage and the dryad he loves. That’s a radical simplification of things, but I’m still annoyed about the ending – it wasn’t a cliffie, but things were left way too wide open. If that happens with the next book, I won’t continue reading the series.

“Mom, I’m pretty sure you should back away slowly from the photo effects.” -Mayhem

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Halloweenity!

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Reading Update
The Man with the Golden Torc (Secret Histories #1) by Simon R Green. Good paranormal thriller about Eddie Drood, the black sheep of a massive family that quietly protects the world from the supernatural. I was completely surprised by all of the turns this one took! *still  boggled* This isn’t rated higher because there was an awful lot of exposition that felt unnecessary and at times unending.

“I wish the windows were open. Mom is mean.” -Mayhem