2013 Reading List: August

AUGUST

41. Frozen Heat, by Richard Castle (Nikki Heat #4. Best guess at ghostwriter is still Tom Straw)
40. Under the Dome, by Stephen King
39. Into the Heart of Borneo, by Redmond O'Hanlon (for reading group. And no, it is not "the funniest travel book I have ever read," despite the claims on the cover)

JULY

38. Billy the Kid and the Vampyres of Vegas: A Lost Story from the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, by Michael Scott (ebook short tied to The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)

37. The Death of Joan of Arc: A Lost Story from the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, by Michael Scott (ebook short tied to The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)

36. *The Other Side of Dawn, by John Marsden (The Tomorrow Series #7)

35. *The Night is for Hunting, by John Marsden (The Tomorrow Series #6)

34. *Burning for Revenge, by John Marsden (The Tomorrow Series #5)

33. * Darkness be My Friend, by John Marsden (The Tomorrow Series #4)

32. *A Killing Frost, by John Marsden (The Tomorrow Series #3)

31. *The Dead of Night, by John Marsden (The Tomorrow Series #2)

30. *Tomorrow, When the War Began, by John Marsden (The Tomorrow Series #1. This is the first thing I've reread anything this year, apparently. Cool)

29. The Whale Road, by Robert Low (for reading group)

JUNE

28. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters

27. UnEnchanted, by Chandra Hahn (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale, Book 1)

26. Amethyst, by Heather Bowhay (Book One of the Guardian Series)

25. The Morville Hours, by Katherine Swift (for reading group. I may have disliked #16, but at least it had a plot. This just rambled on about nothing interesting, and while the writing itself was ok, the construction of the–I don't know, it didn't have a plot, or even really a reason for existance–whatever was chain-of-consciousness. It was dull.)

24. Death Comes to Pemberley, by P.D. James

MAY

23. The Age of Zeus, by James Lovegood (Book 2 of The Pantheon Trilogy)

22. The Saddlebag, by Bahiyyih Nakhjavani (for reading group)

APRIL

21. The CIA Lockpicking Manual, by the Central Intelligence Agency (not like it'll help, though at least I better understand the theory. The only locks I can successfully pick are TSA approved luggage locks. Real secure.)

20. 2BR02B, by Kurt Vonnegut (a very, very short story)

19. The Warlock, by Michael Scott (Book 5 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)

18. The Hippo with Toothache, edited by Lucy H. Spelman and Ted Y. Mashima (originally published in the US as The Rhino with Glue-on Shoes. I think it's fairly obvious why I checked this one out from the library. It's a bunch of zoo and wild-animal vet stories.)

17. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (I thought #16 might be a ripoff or variant of this. It isn't really, other than the reverse aging thing.)

16. I haven't Dreamed of Flying for a While, by Taichi Yamada (for reading group. This is one of the most self-important, boring books I've ever read.)

MARCH

15. The Necromancer, by Michael Scott (Book 4 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)

14. The Sorceress, by Michael Scott (Book 3 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)

13. The Magician, by Michael Scott (Book 2 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)

12. Plugged, by Eoin Colfer

11. The Ring of Solomon, by Jonathan Stroud (A "prequel" featuring Bartimaeus from The Bartimaeus Trilogy)

FEBRUARY

10. Weight, by Jeanette Winterson (for reading group. The parts where she wasn't naval gazing were ok. The parts where she was, well, yeah...)

9. The Lady of the Rivers, by Philippa Gregory (Book 3 of The Cousins War)

8. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot

JANUARY

7. The Walking Dead Volume 8: Made to Suffer, by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, and Cliff Rathburn (graphic novel)

6. The Walking Dead Volume 7: The Calm Before, by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, and Cliff Rathburn (graphic novel)

5. Love in the Afternoon, by Alison Packard

4. The Owl Killers, by Karen Maitland (for reading group)

3. The Bromeliad, by Terry Pratchett (actually a compilation of three of his books: Truckers, Diggers, and Wings)

2. Smitten, by Janet Evanovich

1. Witness, by Cath Staincliffe (for reading group)

The plot thickens

So...the fire was arson. At least the police are looking for an arsonist. But it gets better. There was also a fire in Linthwaite, at another old mill site. If I'm correct, that would be the site being considered for a Tesco Express.

So the question is, who is setting these fires? The developers, who want to make it more likely to get approval, because there is nothing left to preserve, and no (longer) bats in the buildings?* The people opposed to the stores going in,** who think this will somehow hurt the developers (nope, makes their job easier)? Stupid kids setting fires? That's happened before, but not usually 2 major fires within twelve hours of each other.

So yes, long on theories and conspiracies, but short on actual evidence. I'll be honest and say that I hope it was the developers who put someone up to it, because then they'll a) go to jail, and b) will most likely have their application denied. Still, the developers seemed evil, but not stupid.

*Bats are a protected species in the UK, and if they are found living in a building, that building cannot be torn down/renovated unless permission is granted to have what is essentially a bat-removal specialist come in and relocate that bats. Yes, bats get a higher priority than people, which I think is awesome.

**As a sidenote, while I'm opposed to the Aldi in Slathwaite, but not to a Tesco Express in Linthwaite, because the only businesses in Linthwaite are takeaways, a Premier–basically a quikie-mart–and a Co-op, which is essentially a glorified quickie-mart. Slathwaite actually has real businesses: a butcher's, a pharmacy, an optitian, a mens' wear shop, a green grocer, a newsagent, a couple of shops that sell "stuff," a hairdresser, a bakery, an antique shop, an independently-owned quickie mart, and several cafés, all off the top of my head. We also have a Co-op, which is somewhat better than the one in Linthwaite, if not much.

Rampant Speculation

So there's a fire basically down the street from us. I went out to gawk because it looked like it could have been a) close enough to make me want to start packing up the important items (which is everything, but you know) or b) it could have been the bakery.

Thankfully, it's neither--so far--but the location is quite interesting. Unless you're local, you probably don't know that Aldi (a third rate "supermarket") is trying to get a site here in Slaithwaite. Unfortunately for them, EVERYONE in the village is opposed to it. And I do mean everyone. I haven't spoken to a single person who wants it or thinks it'll be good for the village (the money it brings in won't stay local, unlike the local shops, which will potentially face closing). Perhaps if it were a Sainsbury's, which actually stocks quality stuff, people wouldn't be so opposed to the notion, but Aldis are not unlike a large Quik-E-Mart in all ways except the slushie machine. Unfortunately, no one in the village knows how Kirklees (our local council) will respond, though we're all hoping that they'll listen to those of us who have to live with it. We have raised some compelling concerns beyond "Aldi sucks."*

Anyway, all that to say that the site Aldi has asked for planning permission is currently burning down. They were going to have to demolish half the stuff on the site anyway, but some of the site has listed buildings and the like, so it was all very confusing.

But now it's burning. And I have to wonder if a) it's arson and b) if it is, was it started by ai) the developer or bi) someone opposed to to the development.

In other news, I like listing lists within lists. List list list.

So yes, very interesting. I don't know if this will help or hurt either side, though I imagine it will at least slow down the planning permission application process. However, if it's approved, it will speed up the building.

The only thing I do know is that neither Adam nor I started the fire. How do I know this? Because it's blazing like a mofo, and neither of us can build fires worth shit.** When I went out to check about 40 minutes ago, it didn't look like the firefighters were even approaching it, and at least one entire building was engulfed. So it's definitely big. I'll go back out in a bit, and I'll post more if I find out more, but at the moment, I'm betting arson. By, who, though, that's the question.

*We've raised that, too, but were told that it wasn't a valid argument.

**This could be a problem should the apocolypse come.

2013 Reading List: July

JULY

38. Billy the Kid and the Vampyres of Vegas: A Lost Story from the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, by Michael Scott (ebook short tied to The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)
37. The Death of Joan of Arc: A Lost Story from the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, by Michael Scott (ebook short tied to The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)
36. *The Other Side of Dawn, by John Marsden (The Tomorrow Series #7)
35. *The Night is for Hunting, by John Marsden (The Tomorrow Series #6)
34. *Burning for Revenge, by John Marsden (The Tomorrow Series #5)
33. * Darkness be My Friend, by John Marsden (The Tomorrow Series #4)
32. *A Killing Frost, by John Marsden (The Tomorrow Series #3)
31. *The Dead of Night, by John Marsden (The Tomorrow Series #2)
30. *Tomorrow, When the War Began, by John Marsden (The Tomorrow Series #1. This is the first thing I've reread anything this year, apparently. Cool)
29. The Whale Road, by Robert Low (for reading group)

JUNE

28. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters

27. UnEnchanted, by Chandra Hahn (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale, Book 1)

26. Amethyst, by Heather Bowhay (Book One of the Guardian Series)

25. The Morville Hours, by Katherine Swift (for reading group. I may have disliked #16, but at least it had a plot. This just rambled on about nothing interesting, and while the writing itself was ok, the construction of the–I don't know, it didn't have a plot, or even really a reason for existance–whatever was chain-of-consciousness. It was dull.)

24. Death Comes to Pemberley, by P.D. James

MAY

23. The Age of Zeus, by James Lovegood (Book 2 of The Pantheon Trilogy)

22. The Saddlebag, by Bahiyyih Nakhjavani (for reading group)

APRIL

21. The CIA Lockpicking Manual, by the Central Intelligence Agency (not like it'll help, though at least I better understand the theory. The only locks I can successfully pick are TSA approved luggage locks. Real secure.)

20. 2BR02B, by Kurt Vonnegut (a very, very short story)

19. The Warlock, by Michael Scott (Book 5 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)

18. The Hippo with Toothache, edited by Lucy H. Spelman and Ted Y. Mashima (originally published in the US as The Rhino with Glue-on Shoes. I think it's fairly obvious why I checked this one out from the library. It's a bunch of zoo and wild-animal vet stories.)

17. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (I thought #16 might be a ripoff or variant of this. It isn't really, other than the reverse aging thing.)

16. I haven't Dreamed of Flying for a While, by Taichi Yamada (for reading group. This is one of the most self-important, boring books I've ever read.)

MARCH

15. The Necromancer, by Michael Scott (Book 4 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)

14. The Sorceress, by Michael Scott (Book 3 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)

13. The Magician, by Michael Scott (Book 2 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)

12. Plugged, by Eoin Colfer

11. The Ring of Solomon, by Jonathan Stroud (A "prequel" featuring Bartimaeus from The Bartimaeus Trilogy)

FEBRUARY

10. Weight, by Jeanette Winterson (for reading group. The parts where she wasn't naval gazing were ok. The parts where she was, well, yeah...)

9. The Lady of the Rivers, by Philippa Gregory (Book 3 of The Cousins War)

8. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot

JANUARY

7. The Walking Dead Volume 8: Made to Suffer, by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, and Cliff Rathburn (graphic novel)

6. The Walking Dead Volume 7: The Calm Before, by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, and Cliff Rathburn (graphic novel)

5. Love in the Afternoon, by Alison Packard

4. The Owl Killers, by Karen Maitland (for reading group)

3. The Bromeliad, by Terry Pratchett (actually a compilation of three of his books: Truckers, Diggers, and Wings)

2. Smitten, by Janet Evanovich

1. Witness, by Cath Staincliffe (for reading group)

2013 Reading List: June

JUNE

28. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters

27. UnEnchanted, by Chandra Hahn (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale, Book 1)

26. Amethyst, by Heather Bowhay (Book One of the Guardian Series)

25. The Morville Hours, by Katherine Swift (for reading group. I may have disliked #16, but at least it had a plot. This just rambled on about nothing interesting, and while the writing itself was ok, the construction of the–I don't know, it didn't have a plot, or even really a reason for existance–whatever was chain-of-consciousness. It was dull.)

24. Death Comes to Pemberley, by P.D. James

MAY

23. The Age of Zeus, by James Lovegood (Book 2 of The Pantheon Trilogy)

22. The Saddlebag, by Bahiyyih Nakhjavani (for reading group)

APRIL

21. The CIA Lockpicking Manual, by the Central Intelligence Agency (not like it'll help, though at least I better understand the theory. The only locks I can successfully pick are TSA approved luggage locks. Real secure.)

20. 2BR02B, by Kurt Vonnegut (a very, very short story)

19. The Warlock, by Michael Scott (Book 5 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)

18. The Hippo with Toothache, edited by Lucy H. Spelman and Ted Y. Mashima (originally published in the US as The Rhino with Glue-on Shoes. I think it's fairly obvious why I checked this one out from the library. It's a bunch of zoo and wild-animal vet stories.)

17. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (I thought #16 might be a ripoff or variant of this. It isn't really, other than the reverse aging thing.)

16. I haven't Dreamed of Flying for a While, by Taichi Yamada (for reading group. This is one of the most self-important, boring books I've ever read.)

MARCH

15. The Necromancer, by Michael Scott (Book 4 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)

14. The Sorceress, by Michael Scott (Book 3 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)

13. The Magician, by Michael Scott (Book 2 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)

12. Plugged, by Eoin Colfer

11. The Ring of Solomon, by Jonathan Stroud (A "prequel" featuring Bartimaeus from The Bartimaeus Trilogy)

FEBRUARY

10. Weight, by Jeanette Winterson (for reading group. The parts where she wasn't naval gazing were ok. The parts where she was, well, yeah...)

9. The Lady of the Rivers, by Philippa Gregory (Book 3 of The Cousins War)

8. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot

JANUARY

7. The Walking Dead Volume 8: Made to Suffer, by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, and Cliff Rathburn (graphic novel)

6. The Walking Dead Volume 7: The Calm Before, by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, and Cliff Rathburn (graphic novel)

5. Love in the Afternoon, by Alison Packard

4. The Owl Killers, by Karen Maitland (for reading group)

3. The Bromeliad, by Terry Pratchett (actually a compilation of three of his books: Truckers, Diggers, and Wings)

2. Smitten, by Janet Evanovich

1. Witness, by Cath Staincliffe (for reading group)