Ring in the new!

To honor the passing of the year, J. paused his videogame battle (Crystal Claus, Baba Yaga, and Belsnickel vs. two Laboratory Experiments, a Pyrodactyl, and a Roach Mage), and we noted some things we'd liked about 2019, then counted down the last 10 seconds and toasted the new year with marionberry cider while listening to the boom of fireworks throughout the neighborhood.

Happy New Year, my LJ friends!

2019's Books Completed

Fun - I organized my list. It looks like I'm averaging one book every four days. Hm, let's add a star for the ones I especially recommend.

FANTASY - Lois McMaster Bujold, World of Five Gods
★ The Curse of Chalion
★ Paladin of Souls
The Hallowed Hunt
★ Penric's Demon (read twice)
Penric and the Shaman (read twice)
Penric's Mission
Mira's Last Dance
Penric's Fox
The Prisoner of Lemnos

FANTASY - Elizabeth Moon, Paksennarion series
Oath of Fealty
Kings of the North
Limits of Power
Surrender None
Liar's Oath
Crown of Renewal

FANTASY - L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Imager series
Assassin's Price
Endgames

FANTASY - L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Recluce series
The Mongrel Mage
Outcasts of Order
The Mage-Fire War

FANTASY - OTHER
The Redemption of Althalus, by David and Leigh Eddings
Rose Daughter, by Robin McKinley
The Tiger's Daughter, by K Arsenault Rivera
Quidditch Through the Ages, by J.K. Rowling
Among Others, by Jo Walton
Thirteenth Child, by Patricia Wrede


SCIENCE FICTION - Charles Stross, Merchant Prince series
The Bloodline Feud
The Clan Corporate
The Merchants' War
The Revolution Business
The Trade of Queens

SCIENCE FICTION - Mary E. Lowd, Otters in Space series
Otters in Space
Otters in Space II: Jupiter Deadly
Otters in Space III: Octopus Ascending

SCIENCE FICTION - OTHER
The Pool of Fire, by John Christopher
The Tea Master and the Detective, by Aliette de Bodard
European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman, by Theodora Goss


MYSTERY - Stephanie Barron, Jane Austen Mystery series
Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor
Jane and the Man of the Cloth
Jane and the Wandering Eye
Jane and the Genius of the Place
Jane and the Stillroom Maid
Jane and the Prisoner of Wool House
Jane and the Ghosts of Netley
Jane and His Lordship's Legacy
Jane and the Barque of Frailty
Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron
Jane and the Canterbury Tale
Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas

MYSTERY - Lindsey Davis, Flavia Albia series
Pandora's Boy
A Capitol Death

MYSTERY - Alexander McCall Smith, No.1 Ladies series
The House of Unexpected Sisters
The Colors of all of the Cattle
To the Land of Long Lost Friends

MYSTERY - Tony Hillerman, Leaphorn and Chee series
The Fallen Man
The First Eagle
Hunting Badger
The Wailing Wind
The Sinister Pig
Skeleton Man

MYSTERY - OTHER
The Secret of the Old Clock, by "Carolyn Keene" (really Mildred Wirt Benson)
The Labors of Hercules, by Agatha Christie
Still Life, by Louise Penny


GENERAL LITERATURE
Dolly and the Nanny Bird, by Dorothy Dunnett
The Paragon Hotel, by Lyndsay Faye
Wild Life, by Molly Gloss
The Jump-Off Creek, by Molly Gloss
★ The Hearts of Horses, by Molly Gloss
Falling from Horses, by Molly Gloss
Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen
The Proposal, by Jasmine Guillory
The Plotters, by Un-So Kim
Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan
China Rich Girlfriend, by Kevin Kwan
Rich People Problems, by Kevin Kwan
My Italian Bulldozer, by Alexander McCall Smith
The Second-Worst Restaurant in France, by Alexander McCall Smith
Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owen
★ The Overstory, by Richard Powers
I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith
Saving Fish From Drowning, by Amy Tan
August Folly, by Angela Thirkell
Under the Feet of Jesus, by Helena María Viramontes
Before Green Gables, by Budge Wilson
Serve the People!, by Yan Lianke
The Explosion Chronicles, by Yan Lianke


NON-FICTION: MEMOIR
Red Dust, by Ma Jian
Becoming, by Michelle Obama
The Autobiography of Malcolm X

NON-FICTION: HISTORY AND CULTURE AND POLITICS
★ Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes, by Tamim Ansary
This America: The Case for the Nation, by Jill Lepore

NON-FICTION: OTHER
The Everything Essential Music Theory Book, by Marc Schonbrun

Note: I did read quite a lot of non-fiction, but my rule here is to include only books that I read from cover to cover. Books of which I read the vast majority but skimmed a bit (like Steven Pinker's "Enlightenment Now") don't get to be included, let alone those from which I only read the interesting or relevant bits.

_______________________________
94 total, 33 by men, 19 rereads

Justin Herbert

Four years ago, the University of Oregon's Heisman-winning quarterback, Marcus Mariota, graduated, and in the coming fall, our new coach decided that Justin Herbert was the best candidate to replace him. Herbert was only a freshman, and a shy boy, hoping he'd get to play a game or two his first year, but they ended up using him all season. The team did poorly, with a 4-8 overall record, although it clearly wasn't Herbert's fault. They fired the coach and hired a fancy one, but the new guy only stuck around for a year. That year, Herbert was injured and didn't play much. After the fancy coach left, his assistant Mario Cristobal was promoted to become the new head coach, and he's done quite well. Last year, Herbert did fabulously, and he could have chosen to drop out of college and enter the NFL draft for a contract likely to be in the millions. Instead, he decided to stay and play his senior year (which is a gamble, because he could have a career-ending injury and never see all that NFL money). So he did. And the Ducks did great, ending the season in 6th place nationally and qualifying to play in the most prestigious of the traditional bowl games, the Rose Bowl, on New Year's Day.

That was today, and a thrilling game it was, too. Our defense did extremely well, stripping the ball from the Wisconsin players twice, right out of their hands, and also intercepting the ball once, from which they scored a touchdown. As for the offense, well, they did okay too. Herbert himself scored our other three touchdowns, running them into the endzone, with one starting maybe 30 yards from the goal. And the final score was Oregon 28, Wisconsin 27 - a wonderful victory to end his college career.

Now, normally I wouldn't be quite so happy for a quarterback. Mariota, after all, was by all accounts a fine human being, yet I wasn't jumping up and down with excitement for him. Justin Herbert, though, he's different. He's local, for one thing, growing up perhaps a 20-minute walk from the Oregon stadium. But the thing that I really, really like about Justin Herbert is that he's a serious student. The typical football player chooses a very lightweight major and is heavily coached by tutors to be able to pass their classes. Not Herbert. His original plan was pre-med, and he completed a degree in biology, with a better-than-A average. He even won an award last week for the best student athlete in the United States. So, you know, if the NFL thing doesn't work out, if he gets injured... he can always fall back on his original "become a doctor" plan. Here's to you, Justin Herbert.