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Hi all,

Been trying to get all ready for the holidays! Got all my out of state/country Christmas cards out, will hopefully get in-state ones out tonight. Been getting things clean and decluttered in preparation for company coming. Have meals semi planned, baking in freezer ready to be thawed. Still need to wrap presents!

Hope those celebrating are also doing well on holiday prep!

This week I finished:

Sweet Paprika, Vol. 1Sweet Paprika, Vol. 2, trying to start to poke at my comic backlog. This is a cute one so far, if spicy.

The Brightest Fell - continuing with the october daye readthrough.

System Collapse - I love murderbot so much! This was a great one. The only problem is...I'm now out of Murderbot.

Currently reading:

Night and Silence - continuing on with more October day, one more after this and I am caught up to where i left off. Then into new territory!

Sweet Paprika, Vol. 3 -finishing up what's out of the series, bit at a time.

QOTW: Now that it's the end of the year, what are some favorite reads of the year?

A handful of my favorites are:

System Collapse - can't go wrong with murderbot
Bookshops & Bonedust - a great follow up/prequel to Legends and Lattes.
Stealing from Wizards: Volume 3: Kidnapping- So charming and fun.

Happy Thursday!

All our presents are wrapped, but Christmas Eve will be the Day of Cooking for me: I have to make two lasagnas, one with meat and one without, for dinner on Christmas.

Finished:
Paladin's Faith by T. Kingfisher - 5 stars - T. Kingfisher never lets me down. This was a sweet romance and a great adventure story with fun characters.

Comics & manga:
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Vol. 1 - I've been watching this anime and it's very good. It's almost like the anime version of a cozy fantasy, except that there are higher stakes battles.

Currently reading:
A Little Too Familiar - this is a really fun urban fantasy/paranormal romance so far.

Upcoming/Planned:
The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman for Popsugar's book featuring a 42-year-old character
I'm trying to time this to be my first book for my 2024 challenges, so I will probably start reading it next.

QOTW:
My top 10 books this year:

I reread Little Thieves before reading the sequel Painted Devils by Margaret Owen
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
Witch King and System Collapse, two very different books by Martha Wells but both great
Paladin's Faith and Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

I'm only giving two presents to small children, and will be traveling rather than hosting, so I'm in good shape.

Squid Empire: The Rise and Fall of the Cephalopods - This is a fairly slim volume on the evolutionary history of cephalopods (such as was known in 2017, anyway; mysteries remain). If you think that sounds interesting, you'll probably like it, as it's engagingly written. Also you should at least skim the endnotes for the story of the haiku contest.

QOTW: Once again I don't feel like it was a huge year in terms of favorites, but I looked through the list and found a few.
Belly Up - I can't belive it was this year that I read this; it feels like a long time ago. I've already read the next in the series and I expect to continue to enjoy the rest.
The Mind of a Bee - A fascinating topic superbly presented.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches - I wouldn't call this a personal favorite, but it gets an honorable mention as the best surprise of the year, being much more delightful than expected.

We have started our travels to the middle of Pennsylvania to a large lodge home with 18 of us, none of whom live within 5 hours of the place. Last year we battled the bomb cyclone. This year's drive so far has been so much less stressful.

The only finish I have this week is the short holiday related audiobook we listened to A Very Scalzi Christmas. It was about 3 hours and was the perfect length for part of the drive.
We have several others ready to go. I otherwise don't have a "walk alone" audiobook in progress.

I'm still reading a holiday fluff novel Season of Wonder. It is fine and not too taxing.

I'm also still reading System Collapse although mostly not in favor of the holiday book.

QOTW: I have several favorites:
The Last Devil to Die - the 4th Thursday Murder Club book.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches - this was just a fun book.
Lady Tan's Circle of Women - this was a surprise to me that I enjoyed it as much as I did.

Other surprises that were 4-star for me were:
Dark Matter
The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race