the_sheryl is next to me typing up a booklist and Malice Domestic review, which reminds me I haven't done a bookpost yet this year. So here are my reads from the first third of the year. It's a shorter list than one would expect given all my travel. OTOH, I've spent large portions of various flights on workstuff, and time at home catching up on newspapers after business trips, which eats reading time.

The list so far:
1. The Forest of Time and Other Stories, Michael Flynn
2. The Heart of Valor, Tanya Huff
3. Empire from the Ashes, David Weber (omnibus of Mutineers’ Moon, The Armageddon Inheritance, and Heirs to Empire)
4. Burning Bridges, Laura Anne Gilman
5. Night Train To Rigel, Timothy Zahn
6. High Steel, Jim Rasenberger
7. Remaking the World, Henry Petroski
8. Cradle, Arthur C. Clarke & Gentry Lee
9. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, Michael Chabon
10. A Thousand Words for Stranger, Julie Czerneda

Well, I meant to follow in my friends' footsteps and more precisely track my book reading this year. That didn't quite happen, but I can still post one last data dump. So here, sorted by author or editor,

( My Reads of 2007 )

In another stars-finally-aligned moment, we sallied downtown yesterday for the National Book Festival. Our primary interest was seeing Terry Pratchett, acquiring a copy of Making Money and getting it signed.

( Uncle Terry )

( Mike Agranoff )

Let's start off how we finished the last message...again, L'Shanah Tovah, and may you all be inscribed for a happy, healthy New Year.

Then I have an exceedingly busy week. First the weekend. A Whole bunch of errands to run during the day tomorrow, then we're heading to Arlington for an FSGW-sponsored Oscar Brand concert. Then we'll be making our annual run to the Maryland Renaissance Festival on Sunday. (If anyone else happens to be there, you can usually find us hanging out by the Pyrates or the Rogues.)

Then I get to spend most of next week back in the Pacific NorthWet again. Tacoma specifically, Monday afternoon through Thursday morning. Not a meeting I'm particularly looking forward to this time, probably going to be a contentious one.

Back home just in time for Yom Kippur, assuming NorthWorst doesn't strand me in Bloomington again. Then the Genesis concert on Sunday the 23rd.

Yeah, I'll be an exhausted kitty by the end of it all.

Meanwhile, for my fellow local Pratchett fans, if y'all didn't know already he's on the bill for the National Book Festival on the Mall Saturday the 29th. We're planning on going. He's doing a reading at noon and a signing at 1:00pm. Harry Turtledove, Ken Burns, and Judith Martin (yes, Miss Manners herself) are among the other guests.

And speaking of books, I'll leave you with this link ganked from mdlbear: breathtaking pictures of libraries. Books and architecture--two of my loves in one neat package!

Sneaking in a quick update before running out the door to 3LF...fairly quiet and lazy weekend here in Lake Wob...er, Rockville. Sallied forth on Saturday to finally mail in my passport renewal (which expired just *before* FKO--a fact which escaped the notice of both Canadian and US Customs) and to acquire a new lightweight jacket for wetter commuting days. Saturday evening we watched "Shaun of the Dead" on DVD. Much fun, and I was only squicked out once, surprisingly. Interestingly, since I'd finished a disk of '24' on Friday and Sheryl finished a disk on Sunday, this marks the first time since we started on Netflix that we have *no* disks in the house. Sunday I mostly spent either reading "Eifelheim" (on free download) or filing and cleaning stuff up in my study.

Other than that, not much to report. Have recently joined the ranks of those not sleeping well. Need to look into that. It's not life or job, both of which are going well.

Most of this week will be devoted to preparing for our looming trip to Seattle. We'll be spending Labor Day weekend sightseeing (Space Needle, EMP, Pioneer Square, possibly the Aquarium or Zoo, maybe a day trip to Rainier). Then I'll stay on the rest of the week for one of $EMPLOYER's three-times-a-year board meetings. We're quite looking forward to it. As some of you recall I spent two weeks on business in Seattle back in '98, with a side trip to Orycon. I enjoyed the city itself despite the fact the job assignment itself totally sucked. This time, at least, I'll even enjoy the working part of the trip too! 8-)

Following my fellow book addict, here are my reads for the year so far:

1. Vulcan’s Soul II: Exiles, Josepha Sherman and Susan Shwartz
2. Storm Front, Jim Butcher
3. The Jagged Orbit, John Brunner
4. Uniform Justice, Donna Leon
5. Quicksilver, Neal Stephenson
6. Staying Dead, Laura Anne Gilman
7. Polaris, Jack McDevitt

Current read: Body of Secrets, James Bamford