This is a very good history of the Black Death. There is some repetition in some of the lectures - just general introductory statement type of repetition. But Armstrong looks at all aspects of the Black Death in various different countries.

Regency Box Set: (completed one month ahead of schedule)

1. His Jilted Bride (Banks Brothers Brides #3) by Rose Gordon 1 star

2. My Lady of Deception by Christi Caldwell 1 star

3. Much Ado about Dutton by Claudia Dain 0 stars

TBR Read Down:

4. The Dilemma of Charlotte Farrow (Avenue of Dreams #2) by Olivia Newport - 2 stars

5. Say Yes to Death (Debutante Dropout #6) by Susan McBride - 4.5 stars

6. Revelations (Blue Bloods #3) by Melissa de la Cruz - 3 stars

7. The Van Alen Legacy (Blue Bloods #4) by Melissa de la Cruz - DNF

8. The Carousel Painter by Judith Miller - DNF

9. Tempted by Midnight (Midnight Breed #12.5) by Lara Adrian - 2 stars

10. Her Christmas Earl by Anna Campbell - 3 stars

Non-fiction Challenge: (37/50; 74% completed)

11. The Mercy of the Sky by Holly Bailey - 5 stars

12. The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon - 3 stars

13. The Whole Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson - DNF

14. What I Know Now edited by Ellyn Spragins - 2 stars

15. F5 by Mark Levine - 3 stars

16. Not Left Behind: Rescuing the Pets of New Orleans by Troy Snow/Best Friends 5 stars

17. Not Just the Levees Broke by Phyllis Montana-LeBlanc - 0 stars

18. Hell on Earth: The Wildfire Pandemic by David L. Porter w/Lee Reeder 2.5 stars

Summer Bingo:

19. Brave Like My Brother by Marc Tyler Nobleman - 2.5 stars

20. Othello by William Shakespeare - 2 stars

Reading Challenge: 125 out of 150 books (83% completed) - this is according to GoodReads, as BL did not have two of the novels in the regency box set as a separate books, just as part of the box set.

Events:

DoD-MWR Summer Reading Program (ended August 12th)

COYER (ends today)

Bout of Books cycle 17 (August 22th-28th)

Moonlight Reader's Summer Bingo

Final Thoughts:

This has been a busy summer and the autumn season looks just as busy reading-wise. I had to DNF three books (two in one day), and let one series go (bye-bye Blue Bloods). I started reviewing on GR (just one days BL was running extra slow), but I am looking at backing up my reviews on my Blogger page in case BL's servers/motivation to look after the site goes down further.

Done with another challenge - the Regency box set was completely read one month ahead of schedule thanks to my participation in Bout of Books cycle 17. Speaking of challenges, I blacked out my card for Moonlight Reader's Summer Bingo. I won the adult division of my base library's Summer Reading Program and received a Kindle Fire (5th gen). And I had a lot of fun talking with other readers/bloggers in the COYER FB group while also getting many books read off my NOOK.

I am very ready for autumn - cooler temps, pumpkin spice EVERYTHING, and reading about all things paranormal/supernatural. Little man starts Kindergarten in a few days, and I am both excited and teary-eyed. Bring on Halloween Bingo to keep me occupied.

Happy 30th Anniversary to Ann M. Martin's The Babysitters Club. I glommed this series when I was a kid. Claudia was my favorite, with Mary Anne a close second; Dawn was my least favorite.

So, I have one of these appointments later today.

And wouldn't you know it, I left my Ipad on my end table with all of my Netgalley titles.

Would you:

A. Cancel Appointment

B. Leave work early, go 25 minutes out of your way to run home and grab the Ipad first.

C. Suck it up and stare mindlessly at the tv they provide which seems to be permanently stuck on some awful reality tv channel.

D. Read the only book you have nearby which is a book you've attempted to read off and on for 8 years but cannot get into.

I'm so mad at myself. I bring that Ipad with me every single day and today is the day I forget it?!  I'm leaning towards B since it's dead here and my car may blow up if I postpone the appointment again. Ugh, nerd problems.

Copied and pasted from my review on GR:

A historical look at the Super Outbreak of tornadoes that hit the south/mid-west on April 3, 1974 as seen through the eyes of those living in Limestone County, Alabama.

The story is choppy, with many different people profiled from just prior to the thunderstorms through to the recovery and clean up phases of the storm. It is really hard in the beginning 25% of this book to keep everyone straight in the reader's head. There is a great story here, but too much excess on politics, the end of Vietnam, and national news (such as the oil crisis) suffocates the tornadoes story. The long science lecture on how thunderstorms and tornadoes are made I could have done without; it slowed down the story considerably. Likewise, the chapter on the different disasters happening that same year was a snooze.

I did enjoy the side journey of Mr. Fujuita, the scientist whose life-long work gave us untold information about tornadoes - this side journey eventually crossed into the story of April 3, 1974, making the two stories cohesive. The story is at times gory, with descriptions of injuries; if you are sensitive to those things, please take heed. There are descriptions of children dying and recovery of dead children.

I'm still glad I read this book, as it gave me an understanding to how natural disasters were handled before the 1990s introduction of disaster prevention and response and the birth of the Emergency Management career field.

GR Cleanup Read February 2011

Lindsay and Anais grew up together and were the best of friends. Now grown, Lindsay desires his friend Anais and wishes to make her his but he is unsure if she shares his feelings. In the meantime, he’s been spending his time in opium dens, biding his time in drug fueled dreams where he imagines Anais naked and wanting him and only him. When he finally makes his move and the two declare their love, Lindsay makes a dumbass mistake that will forever change the course of their lives. After losing the trust of his beloved, things go into a downward spiral for both of them. Without the love of Anais, Lindsay gets lost in opium and becomes a full blown addict. He is torn by his two loves and may not be strong enough to choose one over the other and now Anais harbors a secret that is too painful for her ever to reveal.

Lindsay is a sensitive, loving, beautiful, f-ing mess. He can’t survive without Anais, he’s needy and weak, and completely lacks self-control. His opium hazed dreams almost intoxicate the reader and glorify his drug use for much of the book. He’s a very different sort of “hero”. He’s also remorseful, guilt-ridden and in so much pain you can’t help but hold out hope that the love of Anais will “fix” him. In reality, this situation is anything but romantic but here it’s compelling and though Lindsay and Anais are both imperfect I never felt either of them were anything but genuinely in love with each other. That’s what made their situation all the more painful.

This story is devastating its portrayal of an addictive personality and the havoc it wreaks not only on Lindsay but on those who love him most. It’s a grueling, often heart-breaking read and written with a lush beauty that drew me in and kept me breathless until the end. I can’t recommend it highly enough for those looking for something different, something sensual with very sharp edges.