rabbitprincess has a Master-ful 2024

(Cover art from the Big Finish audio production Masterful (2021)).

I will be embarking on a master’s degree in 2024. Because I’m combining part-time studies with a full-time job, I don’t imagine I’ll have much time for pleasure reading. But I couldn’t NOT do a category challenge of some kind, so here I am. I might just be lurkier than usual :)

Every year I recycle the same categories, which cover everything I could possibly read. This year, I’ve replaced the group reads category with one for my reading for my master’s.

Previous years’ challenges have featured Doctor Who in one form or another. This year, each of my categories is named for an actor who has played the Doctor’s archenemy, The Master.

2024 ROOTs ticker:



2024 2-for-1 TBR ticker:

General fiction - Roger Delgado
The first Master (from the era of the Third Doctor, Jon Pertwee) and arguably the most iconic.

1. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, by Satoshi Yagisawa (translated by Eric Ozawa)
2. The Defector, by Chris Hadfield
3. Elevator Pitch, by Linwood Barclay
4. The Satan Bug, by Alistair MacLean
5. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin

General non-fiction - Anthony Ainley
Ainley had big shoes to fill after Roger Delgado and took the Master in a different direction, more camp and arch than sinister. He was the Master for the rest of the classic series, facing off against the Fourth through Seventh Doctors.

1. Blood: The Science, Medicine and Mythology of Menstruation, by Dr. Jen Gunter
2. What Television Remembers: Artifacts and Footprints of TV in Toronto, by Jennifer VanderBurgh

Mystery - Michelle Gomez
There was a great deal of mystery surrounding Missy, Michelle Gomez's portrayal. She's one of my favourites (of course! she's the Capaldi Master!), so I chose her for a category I hope to read a lot of this year ;)

1. Mystery Man, by Colin Bateman
2. Exit Lines, by Reginald Hill
3. Trouble Follows Me, by Ross Macdonald
4. The Freelancer, by C.J. Fournier
5. Gideon's Risk, by J.J. Marric

History - Geoffrey Beevers
Beevers, who played the Master in The Keeper of Traken and has narrated a boatload of Doctor Who audios, is the oldest surviving Master from the classic series.

1. The Soo Line's Famous Trains to Canada, by Terry Gainer
2. Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens, by David Mitchell

SFF - John Simm
John Simm is the classic Master for me because I started watching Doctor Who with David Tennant. The story arc in which Simm's Master turns everyone on Earth into clones of himself is hilarious. My friends and I had a watch party for that episode and photoshopped pictures of ourselves to look like John Simm. Terrifying results :D

1. Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones
2. The Empress of Salt and Fortune, by Nghi Vo
3. Doctor Who and the Masque of Mandragora, by Philip Hinchcliffe
4. Winter's Gifts, by Ben Aaronovitch
5. Doctor Who: Apollo 23, by Justin Richards

Audio - Alex Macqueen
Macqueen has played the Master regularly in audio dramas for Big Finish. He was also on The Thick of It as the PM's advisor Julius Nicholson.

1. Voice Lessons: How a Couple of Ninja Turtles, Pinky, and an Animaniac Saved My Life, by Rob Paulsen (read by Rob Paulsen)
2. Dalek Empire 3.1: The Exterminators, by Nicholas Briggs (Big Finish audio drama)

French - Peter Pratt
Peter Pratt was the second actor to play the Master, in The Deadly Assassin. He doesn't come to mind as easily as other Masters, and French is the one category I keep neglecting, so it seemed a good match.

1. Les Poisons de la couronne, by Maurice Druon

Plays - Sir Derek Jacobi
Of COURSE I make the Master for my plays category Sir Derek Jacobi. He appears in David Tennant's second season, briefly, and has had a long second life in Big Finish audios.

Rereads - Eric Roberts
If you did a double-take on reading that name, you're not alone. Yes, the older brother of Julia played the Master in the 1996 TV movie of Doctor Who that featured Paul McGann as the Doctor.

1. Easy to Kill, by Agatha Christie

Books and articles for school - Sacha Dhawan
Sacha is the Master from the Thirteenth Doctor's era (Jodie Whittaker) and I love him to bits. Sacha and I are actually a couple of years apart in age, so that seemed as good a reason as any to have him helm my school-reading category.

1. Friendly Fire: The Accidental Shootdown of U.S. Black Hawks over Northern Iraq, by Scott A. Snook
2. Navigating Safety: Necessary Compromises and Trade-Offs - Theory and Practice, by René Amalberti
3. Reflecting on Jens Rasmussen’s legacy: A strong program for a hard problem, by Jean-Christophe Le Coze (article)
4. Understanding the "blues of safety professionals", by Jean-Christophe Le Coze (article)
5. Bad apples or corrupting barrels? Preventing traders’ misconduct, by Wieke Scholten and Naomi Ellemers (article)
6. ‘Bad apples’: time to redefine as a type of systems problem?, by Kaveh G Shojania and Mary Dixon-Woods (article)
7. Police corruption: apples, barrels and orchards, by Maurice Punch and Stan Gilmour (article)
8. The Human Contribution: Unsafe Acts, Accidents and Heroic Recoveries, by James Reason (extract)
9. From theory to practice: itinerary of Reasons’ Swiss Cheese Model, by Justin Larouzee and Franck Guarnieri (article)
10. Coping with complexity, by Jens Rasmussen and Morten Lind (article)
11. Skills, rules and knowledge: signals, signs and symbols and other distinctions in human performance models, by Jens Rasmussen (article)
12. Human error and the problem of causality in analysis of accidents, by Jens Rasmussen (article)
13. Coping with complexity: past, present and future, by Erik Hollnagel (article)
14. Reconstructing human contributions to accidents: the new view on error and performance, by Sidney Dekker (article)
15. Patterns in how people think and work: The importance of pattern discovery for understanding complex adaptive systems, by David D. Woods et al. (article)
16. MABA-MABA or Abracadabra? Progress on Human-Automation Coordination, by Sidney Dekker and David D. Woods (Article)
17. Human factors and folk models, by Sidney Dekker and Erik Hollnagel (article)
18. Situation awareness, mental workload, and trust in automation: viable, empirically supported cognitive engineering constructs, by Raja Parasuraman, Thomas B. Sheridan, and Christopher D. Wickens (article)
19. Flight Safety Foundation White Paper: Learning From All Operations: Expanding the Field of Vision to Improve Aviation Safety (article)
20. Barry Turner: The Under-Acknowledged Safety Pioneer, by K. Bills, L. Costello and M. Cattani (article)
21. Safety barriers: Definition, classification, and performance, by Snorre Sklet (article)
22. Preventing Industrial Accidents, by Carsten Busch (specifically Chapter 6)
23. 1984-2014. Normal Accidents: Was Charles Perrow Right for the Wrong Reasons?, by Jean-Christophe Le Coze (article)
24. The Self-Designing High Reliability Organization: Aircraft Carrier Flight Operations at Sea, by Gene I. Rochlin, Todd R. La Porte, and Karlene H. Roberts (article)
25. Safe operation as a social construct, by Gene I. Rochelin (article)
26. Issues in safety science, by Andrew Hopkins (article)
27. Heroes, organizations and high reliability, by Paul R. Schulman (article)

Miscellaneous reads (graphic novels, short stories, etc.) - Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan played the Master in the Doctor Who Comic Relief special "The Curse of Fatal Death", featuring Rowan Atkinson (!) as the Doctor. Well worth YouTubing.

1. A Man and His Cat, Volume 8, by Umi Sakurai (translated by Taylor Engel)
2. A Man and His Cat, Volume 9, by Umi Sakurai (translated by Taylor Engel)
3. Heartstopper, Volume 5, by Alice Oseman
4. A Man and His Cat, Volume 10, by Umi Sakurai (translated by Taylor Engel)
5. The Evil Secret Society of Cats, Vol. 1, by Pandania (translated by Alethea and Athena Nibley)

Also going to shove the Bingo card in this post for now...



8. Three-word title: Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones
21. From LT "similar library": Mystery Man, by Colin Bateman (found in the libraries of JoeB1934, DeltaQueen50, Eowyn1, sesgreen25, VivienneR, booktruffler, and LSDWho)
23. POC author: The Empress of Salt and Fortune, by Nghi Vo
25. Paper-based item in plot: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, by Satoshi Yagisawa (translated by Eric Ozawa)
20. About friendship: A Man and His Cat, Volume 9, by Umi Sakurai (translated by Taylor Engel)

Wishing you well with your reading challenge and your studies. I hope we see you drop in sometimes as well as lurking.

Happy reading, and good luck with the Masters. Like Vivienne, I hope you won't be completely lurky, and will pop in when you can.

Good luck trying to juggle everything!

Happy reading and good luck with your studies!

All the best for your studies and hopefully plenty of free reading as well!

I hope you have a great year and look forward to seeing what you read no matter how little you manage with your studies.

I can't decide who was my favorite doctor.... Good luck with the challenge and the studying!

Hi RP, best wishes for your degree and I'm looking forward to seeing what you read no matter how much it is! Of course I still hope that you find some time for pleasure reading :-)

Here's hoping that 2024 brings you nothing but good things! Glad to read that you will be around, it wouldn't be the Category Challenge without the Rabbitprincess!

Drop in as much as you can, but it's understandable that your studies will take up your time. Good luck in 2024!

What an excellent set up, and inspired given your love of Dr Who *and* your Masters degree!

I hope the studying goes well (I did mine while working full-time too, many years ago) and that we do see you from time to time in here :)

Love your theme and glad you're sticking around, even if you won't be as active. Good luck with your degree!

Please let us know how the master's program goes. When I did a master's after some years out of school, I discovered I was a very different student--you may discover this as well. And happy reading in 2024!

Love the theme matching your theme of the year (achieving your master's). Good luck on the reading and your degree.

Finally getting a chance to come over here and thank you all properly for the visiting and the well wishes.

>13 VivienneR: Thanks, Vivienne! I'll be keeping tabs on your mystery reading!

>14 pamelad: Thanks, Pam! I'm looking forward to seeing what romance and others you dig up this year.

>15 Tess_W: Thanks, Tess! It will be a challenge for sure, especially given that I do a lot of reading in the day job.

>16 MissWatson: Thanks, Birgit! They will be interesting studies :)

>17 JayneCM: Thanks, Jayne! For free reading, luckily I have a stash of Doctor Who novels and comics to dip into for when my brain is fried :)

>18 dudes22: Thanks, Betty! Counting my university books will certainly help.

>19 majkia: Thanks, Jean! Ten was my gateway Doctor but Twelve is my favourite.

>20 MissBrangwen: Thanks, Mirjam! You all will essentially get my course reading lists from this challenge :D

>21 DeltaQueen50: Thanks, Judy! That's very kind :D I love hanging out here with all of you!

>22 mstrust: Thanks, Jennifer! Looking forward to lurking and seeing what swell stuff you dig up this year.

>23 Jackie_K: Thanks, Jackie! I actually cackled when the idea came to me. It was so perfect.

>24 christina_reads: Thanks, Christina! I really appreciate your taking the reins for me :)

>25 NinieB: Thanks, Ninie! Will do. I've dabbled in a couple of other continuing-ed courses but they didn't stick. Hoping that the third time will be the charm.

>26 lowelibrary: Thanks, April! I will definitely need luck fitting everything in!

Best of luck with the Masters!

>28 psutto: Thanks, Pete!

Nice set up for 24! Good for you going back for your Master's!

>30 mysterymax: Thanks, Max! It will be challenging but also fun!

Good luck with your studies, and even though you probably won't have time for "pleasure" reading , I hope you can fit in a few between class assignments and work!

>32 lsh63: Thanks, Lisa! I've already started my course reading, so right now my thinking is that I will read for pleasure on my commute and on breaks from work. I've been doing a lot of my course reading in the evenings, once I've shut off from work and had dinner. Seems to be working so far :)

The thought of doing all of that formal schooling again is rather daunting to me. Good luck with it! I look forward to seeing what you manage to slip in to read between everything else :)

>34 antqueen: Thanks! We had an introductory meeting for the program last week and it really brought home how little of a personal life I'll have for the next two years :D But it should be fun.

How exciting to do a Master's! Your theme is perfect for the year :-)

Good luck with meeting all your goals in 2024. I hope you do find time for some pleasure reading as well!

>36 susanj67: Thanks, Susan! It wasn't what I thought this year's theme might be -- usually I try to raid my stash of theme ideas -- but this was too perfect to resist.

>37 sturlington: Thanks, Shannon! I have a feeling it will be a lot of comic books and crime novels :)

Happy new year! Best wishes with the master's degree. I hope you get a lot of pleasure from the things you're required to read!

Hi RP. Love the thread topper! Wow, part time studies (Yay for going for your Masters!) with full time employment! That will keep you busy. Wishing you a wonderful year in 2024.

Good luck with your programme - and what a great connected theme for 2024.

From your theme intros, your watch party as a group of John Sims sounds like a great idea. Although also a bit freaky.

Good luck with the degree and finding some time for non-work related reading.
Looking forward to following along for another year.

>39 cbl_tn: Thanks, Carrie! I've been reading some books in the field for a couple of years now and am really enjoying the opportunity to read even more (and buy myself lots of books, haha).

>40 lkernagh: Thanks, Lori! It certainly will! The program is actually designed for people to work full time while doing it, so they're very aware of other responsibilities.

>41 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte! It was a bit freaky to see John Simm's face Photoshopped onto a picture of me from a party wearing a silly bow on my head. The best part was making that my Facebook profile picture with no context and seeing people's confused reactions :D

>42 Helenliz: Thanks, Helen! Glad to have you along :D

I was ordering one of my course books from the University of Chicago Press, then I found the "free ebook of the month" page on their website, which I seem to recall Jackie_K mentioning at some point. So naturally, I had to give myself a freebie as a treat. Capital Culture does look really interesting! I can't wait to read it sometime in 2032 :P

>44 rabbitprincess: Yes, I still get their monthly email, although I have been very good and don't always get the book every month. I've had some really excellent reads from there.

Hope you have time for a lot of pleasure reading along with work and school!

Wishing you all the best with your Master's studies and reading for pleasure adventures. It sounds like 2024 will be a busy but fulfilling year. :-)

>45 Jackie_K: I bookmarked the free ebook page of the website so that hopefully I'll just go check "when I think of it", which won't be too often :)

>46 hailelib: Thanks, Tricia! I inadvertently got a big chunk of pleasure reading this morning because I woke up at 5 (not by choice).

>47 Ann_R: Thanks, Ann! It definitely will be both those things :)

A couple of books on the board to start the year.

A Man and His Cat, Vol. 8, by Umi Sakurai (translated by Taylor Engel)
Category: Jonathan Pryce
Source: library
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/254099355

Nice to start off the year with a short read! I love this series and will be caught up for now once I get my hands on Volume 9.

Friendly Fire: The Accidental Shootdown of U.S. Black Hawks over Northern Iraq, by Scott A. Snook
Category: Sacha Dhawan
Source: University of Chicago Press
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/209592530

I definitely learned a lot from this book! There are certainly parts I'll revisit to make sure I fully grasp it.

The Friendly Fire book sounds interesting. I don't think it is one I'll read with all the other books calling my name, but it does sound interesting.

>48 rabbitprincess: I get an email reminder the first business day of each month about the free U of Chicago Press ebook. I must have signed up at some point, but I don't remember where.

>51 cbl_tn: I get that too. I make my decision there and then as to whether or not I'm interested, if not it's no bother to delete!

>44 rabbitprincess: I used to subscribe to the UC notices for the free ebook (and sales!); but I found dnloading the book and getting it into an ereader a frustrating and annoying challenge every time!. Still have a lot of their books from their catalogue on my wishlist though! 🙂

>50 thornton37814: There are lots of books like that on my to-read list, where it sounds interesting but will probably not get to my reading pile. And yet I can't bring myself to remove them from the list, just in case.

>51 cbl_tn: Hmmm maybe I'll get an email in February!

>52 Jackie_K: If they're emailed to me I will 100% download every single one :D I did this with the Tor.com ebook of the month club, which seems to have dried up.

>53 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I did notice there's some sort of app I have to get, so I might figure that out this week. I don't particularly want to read the ebook on my computer.

Catching up on a few reviews.

Les Poisons de la couronne, by Maurice Druon
Category: Peter Pratt
Source: Les Librairies
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/255301336

According to my tags, I’ve wanted to read this one since 2021, when I earmarked it for one of the CAT challenges. Better late than never.

Navigating Safety: Necessary Compromises and Trade-Offs - Theory and Practice, by René Amalberti
Category: Sacha Dhawan
Source: AbeBooks
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/255301336

School reading continues apace. This one had only five chapters, but chapter 3 was really long.

Howl’s Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones
Category: John Simm
Source: library
Rating: 4.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/255649880

This was delightful. I would probably have loved this even more had it made its way to me when I was about 10 or 11.

>55 rabbitprincess: I read the entire Druon series in 2021 and as a whole I thought it to be very good. A few of the books may have been a bit long-winded, but all in all I learned a lot.

Hello. A little late getting to threads. Good luck with your degree and what a perfect theme! Love seeing this little history of the different Masters throughout the show (I think my fave is Missy). I've been slowly making my way through the classic Doctor Who episodes and am only up to the third Doctor, but I think I'm getting close to the end of his run. Everyone seems to love the fourth Doctor, so I am excited to get to him to see if I agree. Looks like you've been able to sneak in some pleasure reading with the school reading, so hopefully that will keep up. The Druon series looks interesting, added book 1 to the tbr.

Good luck with your masters! And with finding time to read as well!

>57 staci426: Hi Staci! Thanks for stopping by. That's so much fun to be going through the classic series! The Fourth Doctor is truly iconic.

>58 bookworm3091: Thanks! I have been reading this week, but mostly articles rather than full books. The work is really about to begin.

I wish you the best of luck with your Master's degree! It's great that you're undertaking this, and even better that you can incorporate your reading into this challenge.

More good wishes from me for your studies as they intensify.

I love a freebie, your discussion above reminded me about the U of Chicago ebook offer. I will try and remember to check the website more often.

>60 mathgirl40: Thanks, Paulina! This past week was the first week of the course, and it was intense but fun.

>61 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte! Intensifying they most certainly are. I feel like the first assignment for this course will be pretty good because I'll have had much more time to focus on it. The rest of the semester will be a whirlwind.

When reading time is at a premium, novellas are not a bad way to boost the numbers.

The Empress of Salt and Fortune, by Nghi Vo
Category: John Simm
Source: Tor.com ebook of the month club
Rating: 2.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/227011183

This novella's number came up in the #Roll100 challenge on Litsy. I thought this was OK but might have preferred a longer book. There is a lot of world alluded to in this story and what was presented felt incomplete. Hence my "almost liked it, but not quite" rating.

Dropping in to say hi. Sounds like your school semester is starting off well.

>64 mstrust: Thanks, Jennifer! It's going all right. First assignment is due Sunday. My draft is at a point where I think if I mess with it much more, I'll make it worse. It's a pass/fail course rather than letter grades, so I have to believe I will at least pass ;)

My reading of papers tapered off as I started writing my assignment, but I did manage to sneak a couple of books in to end the month.

Mystery Man, by Colin Bateman
Category: Michelle Gomez
Source: Sleuth of Baker Street, Toronto (via a friend)
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/219217405

It is distressing how many of the Man with No Name's neuroses I could relate to as I read this book. It was darkly funny and I would read another in the series if I happened to come across it. Although I hope the actual owner of No Alibis was OK with this fictional counterpart of his.

Easy to Kill, by Agatha Christie
Category: Eric Roberts
Source: pilfered from grandparents
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/work/115985/reviews/70475698

I can't believe I read this 15 years ago... or that the Marple-fied adaptation aired that long ago, which is when I first read the book. This is a stand-alone book originally (although sometimes billed as a Superintendent Battle book even though he shows up for only one chapter). A nice fast read.

January recap

In my first month of a master’s program, I read 13 books or papers:

1. A Man and His Cat, Vol. 8, by Umi Sakurai (translated by Taylor Engel)
2. Friendly Fire: The Accidental Shootdown of U.S. Black Hawks over Northern Iraq, by Scott A. Snook
3. Les Poisons de la couronne, by Maurice Druon
4. Navigating Safety: Necessary Compromises and Trade-Offs - Theory and Practice, by René Amalberti
5. Howl’s Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones
6. Reflecting on Jens Rasmussen’s legacy: A strong program for a hard problem, by Jean-Christophe Le Coze (article)
7. Understanding the "blues of safety professionals", by Jean-Christophe Le Coze (article)
8. The Empress of Salt and Fortune, by Nghi Vo
9. Bad apples or corrupting barrels? Preventing traders’ misconduct, by Wieke Scholten and Naomi Ellemers (article)
10. ‘Bad apples’: time to redefine as a type of systems problem?, by Kaveh G Shojania and Mary Dixon-Woods (article)
11. Police corruption: apples, barrels and orchards, by Maurice Punch and Stan Gilmour (article)
12. Mystery Man, by Colin Bateman
13. Easy to Kill, by Agatha Christie (reread)

Favourite book this month was Howl’s Moving Castle. I remember little of the movie, but I remember hearing that the book and movie are somewhat different from each other. Both are great.

Least favourite book was The Empress of Salt and Fortune. It had an intriguing world behind it but felt incomplete.

Currently reading

I finally marked Critical Thinking as “read” and put Foundations of Safety Science in hibernation (after recording where I’m at in the book—just over halfway).

The Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, Culture, and Deviance at NASA, by Diane Vaughan — I’ve picked this back up and am at Chapter 7.
Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney, translated by Hermann Pálsson — Still hoping to unearth it.
Un jardin au bout du monde, by Gabrielle Roy — Another book I should just DNF.
Voice Lessons, by Rob Paulsen — This has kept me company on a couple of train trips. I’ll finish it soon.
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, by Satoshi Yagisawa (translated by Eric Ozawa) — I’m looking for nice short books to fill the gaps when my brain hurts from school and work, and this will definitely fit the bill.

February plans

I might add another course textbook to the pile just to make more headway. Unless I kick my butt in gear and finish Vaughan!

>63 rabbitprincess: I've found that I feel that way about a lot of novellas, especially fantasy ones where the worldbuilding is important. I almost always want something more. I read The Empress of Salt and Fortune and don't remember too much about it now, but I read When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain first, and liked it better. Probably because war mammoths and shape-shifting tigers and conflicting versions of stories (oh my).

I'm not sure whether to be glad your thread is safer for me this year or not. I mean, I'm sure Navigating Safety: Necessary Compromises and Trade-Offs - Theory and Practice is fascinating, but the BB just passed me by...

Good luck with your Master's! I'm very impressed with everything you're reading, including the fun stuff.

I have The Challenger Launch Decision on my shelves as well. For my work in process safety, I am always interested in why things go wrong and working to prevent recurrence.

I have to confess that I have never watched Doctor Who (egad!), but I do think I would enjoy it. I'm about 80% certain I will be retiring this year, and perhaps it's something I can put on my retirement bucket list...

Looks like I'll be in Ottawa the week of 06 May! All members of the Ottawa Chapter of LT need to be at this get-together! I suggest we go back to our first venue - the Chateau Laurier!

>68 antqueen: Yeah, I think war mammoths would be a bit more interesting! And given all the BBs flying around here, I'll gladly supply a safe harbour for the next couple of years ;)

>69 LisaMorr: Ooh you work in process safety? Very cool! Would love to hear more about your job if you're OK sharing about it -- send me a PM!

>70 mysterymax: I've put the date in the calendar! That's good timing, because I'll be between courses for my master's then (if what I know of the schedule is correct). The Chateau sounds good to me!

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, by Satoshi Yagisawa (translated by Eric Ozawa)
Category: Roger Delgado
Source: library
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/256882714

I am definitely here for this trend of book-related fiction from Japan. No cats in this one, but there is a nice-sounding coffee shop.

>72 rabbitprincess: I had this on my list this summer, but lost track of it. I've officially added it to my TBR. Thanks for the reminder.

Oh my gosh rabbitprincess! What an exciting challenge for you, and adding in my congratulations to the many, many other voices on this thread to your Master's studies. i love the Dr. Who reference (David Tennant was the first Doctor I could watch an entire episode of the show, so I can see how he was your gateway). And I have seen many versions of the hand-knitted Dr. Who scarf over the years. I totally get that you will add and join in as you can, and whew! Best of luck with it all.

>73 beebeereads: Happy to help!

>74 threadnsong: Thanks so much! Submitted my first assignment yesterday; that one's the most nerve-racking because you're going in without really knowing the expectations of the profs. The next assignment will have me on more solid footing.

>71 rabbitprincess: Yahoo!

You are doing well to be keeping up with coursework and get in a little light reading as well.

>76 mysterymax: Maybe I'll buy a new hat for the occasion :D

>77 hailelib: Thanks, Tricia! I managed to sneak in another light read today. Doctor Who novels are perfect for that!

>78 rabbitprincess: Yes, ladies should always wear a hat for tea!

Doctor Who and the Masque of Mandragora, by Philip Hinchcliffe
Category: John Simm
Source: apparently a book sale at work
Rating: 2.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/135781105

I finished this a week ago but hadn't got around to reviewing it. This was OK, not one of my favourite novelizations.

The Defector, by Chris Hadfield
Category: Roger Delgado
Source: library
Rating: 1.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/256956905

I have so little time for pleasure reading that I can’t push myself to read books I’m not enjoying. On to a course textbook instead.

Dropping in to say hi, and hoping your studying isn't too arduous.

>67 rabbitprincess: Yagisawa......that is book 1, there is a book 2, and currently book 3 is being written! I'll wait for your review before I decide if I want to read it soon;)

>82 mstrust: Thanks, Jennifer! It's a fairly steady rhythm, so as long as I put in some time each day it's not too bad.

>83 Tess_W: Added book 2 to the to-read list! Thanks for letting me know :)

Winter’s Gifts, by Ben Aaronovitch
Category: John Simm
Source: library
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/256957177

I'm always going to snap up a Rivers of London novel(la) if there's a new one for me to read. This was good. Probably more of a 3 than a 3.5 if I'm honest, but I was just happy to be reading something familiar and reliable after my last read.

Elevator Pitch, by Linwood Barclay
Category: Roger Delgado
Source: Chaptigo
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/173514687

Thrillers, mystery novels, sci-fi... it all works for non-school reading. I was glad to make a bit of a dent in the Barclay backlog (although I had to pause buying them because they're big trade paperbacks and I'm out of shelf space).

>86 rabbitprincess: Glad you liked that one--it's on my TBR!

>86 rabbitprincess: I loved that one too! Mind you, I've never read a Linwood Barclay book that I didn't love.

>87 Tess_W: I hope you like it!

>88 VivienneR: Agreed. Some I like better than others, but time is always well spent with a Barclay novel!

February recap

With assignments underway, I managed to read 10 books or papers this month.

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, by Satoshi Yagisawa (translated by Eric Ozawa)
Doctor Who and the Masque of Mandragora, by Philip Hinchcliffe
The Defector, by Chris Hadfield
Winter’s Gifts, by Ben Aaronovitch
The Human Contribution Unsafe Acts, Accidents and Heroic Recoveries, by James Reason (extract, not rated)
From theory to practice: itinerary of Reasons’ Swiss Cheese Model, by Justin Larouzee and Franck Guarnieri (article)
Elevator Pitch, by Linwood Barclay
Coping with complexity, by Jens Rasmussen and Morten Lind (article)
Skills, rules and knowledge: signals, signs and symbols and other distinctions in human performance models, by Jens Rasmussen (article)
Human error and the problem of causality in analysis of accidents, by Jens Rasmussen (article)

Favourite book this month was Days at the Morisaki Bookshop because it was so cozy and heartwarming.

Least favourite book was The Defector, which was a slog and which I bailed on.

Currently reading

The Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, Culture, and Deviance at NASA, by Diane Vaughan — At Chapter 9 of 10!
Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney, translated by Hermann Pálsson — Still hoping to unearth it.
Un jardin au bout du monde, by Gabrielle Roy — Another book I should just DNF.
Voice Lessons, by Rob Paulsen — This has kept me company on a couple of train trips. I’ll finish it soon.
A Stake in the Kingdom, by Nigel Tranter — Sometimes historical fiction works as a bus book. This one doesn’t. It’s an at-home book for sure.
Joint Cognitive Systems: Foundations of Cognitive Systems Engineering, by Erik Hollnagel and David D. Woods — Another course book that I’m inching my way through.
Blood: The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menstruation, by Dr. Jen Gunter — Really well put together and interesting. I may have to buy my own copy.
Exit Lines, by Reginald Hill — Picked this off the shelf as a bus book because the Tranter wasn’t working as a bus book. Judy had read it a while ago and I’d been meaning to read it since her review. It’s not bad so far.

March plans

I have a ridiculous amount of non-fiction out from the library and need to put a dent in it!

Just dropping in to say that I hope your studies are going well and that you're still able to find some time for fun reading!

Hi RP, I hope all is well. Have a Happy Easter!

>91 mathgirl40: Hi Paulina! Thanks for stopping by. Getting into the home stretch, working on assignment 5 of 6 for my first course. I haven't had much time for fun reading, especially because last week Stardew Valley's latest update, version 1.6, was released -- I spent a LOT of time starting a new farm :)

>92 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy! Thanks for checking in on me. All is well, busy at work and school, but looking forward to a long weekend! Happy Easter to you as well :)

****

I haven't had much time or energy to read for fun or write reviews, so I'll be back at the end of the month for a wrap-up.

Just stopping by to see how you are doing. Hope the studies continue to go well.

Seems as if you are still reading quite a bit in spite of school! I'll take a BB for the Japanese bookstore!

Hello and glad you are still able to balance some "you" reading and some course reading. Hang in there!

>91 mathgirl40: Glad to hear all is going well with the studies! I now have to go check out the new Stardew Valley updates!

>94 hailelib: Thanks, Tricia! My current assignment is a bit of a slog, but we'll get through it.

>95 Tess_W: I did manage to read 11 things this past month (wrap-up is coming) but more than half of them were papers, so the actual LT count looks really low, haha.

>96 threadnsong: Thanks, threadnsong! My final assignment is due on April 21 so I'll be able to breathe a little bit easier after that.

>97 mathgirl40: There are SO MANY new things added to the game! The developer recommends starting a new farm if you want to see everything through fresh eyes, but older saves will work just fine. Lots of new items to collect and secrets to discover.

March recap

It's Easter and we're going to a family dinner this afternoon, so I will wrap up my March reading here. I did manage to read 11 items:

Blood: The Science, Medicine and Mythology of Menstruation, by Dr. Jen Gunter
Exit Lines, by Reginald Hill
Complexity: learning to muddle through, by John M. Flach (article)
Coping with complexity: past, present and future, by Erik Hollnagel (article)
Reconstructing human contributions to accidents: the new view on error and performance, by Sidney Dekker (article)
Patterns in how people think and work: The importance of pattern discovery for understanding complex adaptive systems, by David D. Woods et al. (article)
A Man and His Cat, Vol. 9, by Umi Sakurai (translated by Taylor Engel)
MABA-MABA or Abracadabra? Progress on Human-Automation Coordination, by Sidney Dekker and David D. Woods (Article)
Human factors and folk models, by Sidney Dekker and Erik Hollnagel (article)
Situation awareness, mental workload, and trust in automation: viable, empirically supported cognitive engineering constructs, by Raja Parasuraman, Thomas B. Sheridan, and Christopher D. Wickens (article)
Doctor Who: Apollo 23, by Justin Richards
So Fetch: The Making of Mean Girls (and Why We’re Still So Obsessed with It), by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

Favourite book this month was Blood: The Science, Medicine and Mythology of Menstruation. So much useful information! I will be getting my own copy.

I read so few books that calling Exit Lines my "least" favourite feels ungenerous, but it's just because of all the books I read this month, it's the one I'm not keeping. It was actually an early Reginald Hill that I enjoyed; some of the early ones can be uncomfortably sexist (as police procedurals written in the 80s can be), but this one was all right.

Currently reading

The Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, Culture, and Deviance at NASA, by Diane Vaughan — I am determined to finish this one this month because it will be featured in my second course for my master's.
Voice Lessons, by Rob Paulsen — Almost done. It's really good!
A Stake in the Kingdom, by Nigel Tranter — I'm debating DNF'ing permanently (rather than just marking this as to-read-own again). The main character is not someone I particularly want to spend time with. I might give this to my mum and see if she can change my mind.
Joint Cognitive Systems: Foundations of Cognitive Systems Engineering, by Erik Hollnagel and David D. Woods — I read one chapter of this for an assignment and will finish the rest eventually, but I'm going to have to start reading books for the next course soon.
The Satan Bug, by Alistair MacLean -- I started this as a bus book, then put it down for a bit and am finding it hard to pick back up again.
We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin -- Picked this up for a re-read after pamelad mentioned it. I absolutely loved it when I read it for a university course. I still like it now but I'm finding most books hard to stick with these days.
Apollo Remastered: The Ultimate Photographic Record, by Andy Saunders -- This is a GORGEOUS book that I haven't been able to spend much time with either. But the pictures are heartbreakingly beautiful.

April plans

I'm finishing up my first course for my master's this month AND moving house (to an actual house, not an apartment), so who knows how much reading will get done. I have a long list of audios to choose from for packing boxes, though!

I'll be there from the 5th of May till the 12th! Book signing is at Perfect Books the afternoon of the 11th. (No sure of the time yet) Maybe meet up before or after the event for "tea"?

>100 mysterymax: That sounds like a great idea!

It looks like you are balancing reading and your studies very well RP! Good luck with the house also!

>102 lsh63: Thanks, Lisa! We're keeping the apartment until the end of May, which will give us plenty of time to move things in gradually. We've booked a week off in the middle of the month to do the heavy lifting and officially transfer all the utilities.

Good luck on the house move. May it go smoothly.

>99 rabbitprincess: Apollo Remastered sounds interesting! One of my earliest memories is watching Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon.

Good luck with the moving! I hope all goes smoothly for you.

>104 hailelib: Fingers crossed! There's so much to do and I don't feel like doing any of it :D

>105 cbl_tn: I bet you'd really like this book! It's a huge coffee table book and the images are extremely crisp and clear.
Thanks for the good wishes re the move. I haven't had to move house in 16 years so I am out of practice!

Wishing you a happy moving day (week? month?). I have moved so many times in my life that I'm quite expert at it.

Moving is the worst, but having a fresh new space, especially a bigger space, is fun. I hope you enjoy your new home.

>107 VivienneR: Thanks, Vivienne! I consider myself adept at packing book boxes, but everything else I'd just throw in a bag and call it done :D

>108 mstrust: Thanks, Jennifer! I am looking forward to a nice big space...one where I can buy a couple more bookshelves!

Good luck moving. Having the apartment and the house overlap makes for a much easier move.
We last moved 14 years ago. We have started discussing moving when we retire, but that's not going to be any time soon. And that would probably be to something smaller - not looking forward to that at all!

Good luck with the move!

I've got The Challenger Launch Decision on my TBR, and this reminds me I need to get to it!

>110 Helenliz: Yeah, we wanted to make sure that we had plenty of time to move out and to make sure we were fully out before prospective replacement tenants came knocking on the door!

Oof downsizing would be hard! I am trying to get rid of some things even though we're moving into a bigger space. The less we have to take with us, the better.

>111 LisaMorr: I've been reading that one for so long I need to read it again, haha. It is super interesting though, and I will definitely want to hear your thoughts on it!

An interesting article from Reactor Magazine about letting go of the need to "keep up" with reading: https://reactormag.com/on-letting-go-of-the-idea-of-keeping-up/
Exactly what I needed to read in a year where I am reading way less than usual and trying not to angst about it!

>113 rabbitprincess: Thanks for this link. A friend and I were talking about this a few weeks ago and we decided we both had a more pleasing reading life when there was no internet. One of the reasons is because we have so much information available to us we sometimes spend more time reading about books than we do actually reading books.

We reminisced about going to the library and wandering through stacks looking for a book to read, something neither of us has done for a long time. That's because at any time we could make a long list of books we already know we want to or should read. Slowly we've allowed this greatest pleasure to be more and more job like.

>114 clue: Ha I definitely think reading about books and actually reading are two different hobbies (with buying books being another hobby again)!

I think the internet has helped and hindered my reading. It's helped because I hear about a lot of really neat books in genres and on topics that I wouldn't think about otherwise, and it makes it easy to order books from elsewhere if I can't get them here. But at the same time it's hindered because I too don't really wander the stacks at the library anymore -- I always have a bunch of holds to pick up!

>114 clue: That's an interesting thought and a very true one for me as well. I can get lost for hours scouring various sites for new books and reading about them. Sometimes I buy them and then they sit on my shelf or Kindle for ages. Reading about books would be a great hobby if only I could control my buying urges.

>113 rabbitprincess: Thanks for sharing the link! The bookish internet gives me a lot of great information about (1) new books coming out and (2) books that I think I'd enjoy. As a result, I do end up liking the vast majority of books I read! But there's also less variety, and I don't get the serendipity of stumbling on a book that doesn't sound like "my thing" but turns out to be amazing.

Hope moving goes smoothly for you!

>118 Tess_W: Thanks, Tess! The work begins tomorrow evening. I've already packed some books...

>119 rabbitprincess: Yikes, it's come round quickly! I hope the move is smooth and the stress is minimal.

>121 rabbitprincess: Yes, we were able to get in a bit earlier! We just moved over a couple of carloads' worth of stuff today. All the books are in piles on the floor until the bookshelves arrive and I figure out where to shelve everything.

>121 rabbitprincess: Good luck with your move!

I have to be at Perfect Books at 12:30 on Saturday the 11th for a 'briefing'. Event is 1 - 2:30. Thinking an early lunch or tea and goodies somewhere close to there would be good. Are you in? Suggestions for place?

>123 mysterymax: I've suggested a venue in a group chat with Julie :)

Apparently I haven't reported here on my reading since the beginning of the month, although I did keep my ROOTS thread somewhat up to date. Here are the books I've managed to squeeze in this month:

The Satan Bug, by Alistair MacLean (category: Roger Delgado): 2 stars. Started out OK but the ending became convoluted, especially as the narrator untangled all the threads of the conspiracy (and re-tangled them again a bit for me, to be honest).

Trouble Follows Me, by Ross MacDonald (category: Michelle Gomez): 1 star. I noped out after about 15 pages when the characters launched into an extremely racist conversation.

Voice Lessons: How a Couple of Ninja Turtles, Pinky, and an Animaniac Saved My Life, by Rob Paulsen (category: Alexander Macqueen): 4 stars. I've been reading this off and on for quite some time and it's great. The print book is probably great too, but if you like audio, do the audio. Narf!

The Soo Line's Famous Trains to Canada, by Terry Gainer (category: Geoffrey Beevers): 3.5 stars. A quick read, lots of information, a bit repetitive in places but not bad.

>113 rabbitprincess: Yes, thank you for this link. It's good to give oneself permission to read a book, however long it takes (remember those days?), and not worry about a particular count finished.

Wishing you best of luck on your move as well. Certainly having plenty of time is a sign of your wisdom, probably gained from reading books!

>126 threadnsong: Yeah, we didn't want to be rushed at all by having the next tenants ready to pounce. We also had a small quantity of Really Good Boxes (TM) that we wanted to reuse, so carloads of stuff worked out well as a moving strategy. Unpacking as we went also felt a bit less overwhelming (although there are still boxes everywhere and I'm not sure where I want to put everything yet).

Good luck with your move, rp. It sounds like you have everything under control. It's so fun to find new permanent homes for all the things and to figure out how you want it all to look, but it's also a fair amount of work.

>128 RidgewayGirl: Yes, and now that we have more room I don't have to use "ruthless efficiency" as my sole criterion for shelving books! The shelves will breathe a bit more easily now.

Managed to squeeze in a non-school-related book:

What Television Remembers: Artifacts and Footprints of TV in Toronto, by Jennifer VanderBurgh (category: Anthony Ainley): 3 stars. This met my expectations. It's an academic book and that definitely shows in the language, but I love that this book was written and hope there are many more books about Canadian television. (I think one like this book but about Vancouver's TV industry would be interesting.)

>127 rabbitprincess: I LOLed at "Really Good Boxes." It's so true -- you have to hold onto them when they come your way!

>131 christina_reads: Especially when they have built-in reinforced handles, or are just the right size for holding a manageable amount of books!

The Freelancer: A Denny Durant Novel, by C.J. Fournier (category: Michelle Gomez): 3 stars. It's set in Montreal, which I liked, and the story was fine. I very nearly didn't start, though, because the font annoyed me. I am glad I continued, though ;)

One more book slides in under the wire for April.

Dalek Empire 3.1: The Exterminators, by Nicholas Briggs (category: Alexander Macqueen): 3 stars. The Dalek Empire audio dramas are pretty reliable entertainment. This one also happens to feature a pre-Tenth-Doctor David Tennant.

April recap

Ending the month with 10 items read:

The Satan Bug, by Alistair Maclean
Trouble Follows Me, by Ross Macdonald
Flight Safety Foundation White Paper: Learning From All Operations: Expanding the Field of Vision to Improve Aviation Safety (article)
Voice Lessons: How a Couple of Ninja Turtles, Pinky, and an Animaniac Saved My Life, by Rob Paulsen (audio, read by Rob Paulsen)
The Soo Line’s Famous Trains to Canada, by Terry Gainer — 3.5 stars
What Television Remembers: Artifacts and Footprints of TV in Toronto, by Jennifer VanderBurgh
The Freelancer, by C.J. Fournier
Barry Turner: The Under-Acknowledged Safety Pioneer, by K. Bills, L. Costello and M. Cattani (article)
Dalek Empire 3.1: The Exterminators, by Nicholas Briggs (Big Finish audio drama)
Safety barriers: Definition, classification, and performance, by Snorre Sklet (article)

Favourite book this month was Voice Lessons: How a Couple of Ninja Turtles, Pinky, and an Animaniac Saved My Life. An audio memoir by one of my favourite voice actors! Yes please.

Least favourite book this month was Trouble Follows Me for the racist conversation on page 14 that caused me to bail on the book entirely.

Currently (actively) reading

The Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, Culture, and Deviance at NASA, by Diane Vaughan — I think this is actually being read closer to the second half of the course, so I have a bit of time to finish it.
A Stake in the Kingdom, by Nigel Tranter — I'm debating DNF'ing permanently (rather than just marking this as to-read-own again). The main character is not someone I particularly want to spend time with. I might give this to my mum and see if she can change my mind.
Joint Cognitive Systems: Foundations of Cognitive Systems Engineering, by Erik Hollnagel and David D. Woods — Still in a pile where the coffee table will be.
We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin -- Picked this up for a re-read after pamelad mentioned it. I absolutely loved it when I read it for a university course. I still like it now but I'm finding most books hard to stick with these days.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin -- I've been on the holds list for a long time for this one and am really enjoying it so far.

May plans

Course 2 of my master's begins pretty much immediately, so I'm in reading mode for that. Apparently I started reading one of the suggested papers for the first assignment back in January, so that makes my current reading job a bit easier :)

It's amazing that you are able to read so much while studying and moving! Enjoy your new home!

Loved seeing you on Saturday!

>136 VivienneR: Thanks, Vivienne! We are enjoying the new home very much :)

>137 mysterymax: It was so much fun to see you!

So apparently I haven't updated on any of the books I've read this month. Oops.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin (category: Roger Delgado) -- 4 stars. I really enjoyed this story of Sam and Sadie, two video game fans and developers. They are around my age (a bit older, if I remember correctly), so although I wasn't a gamer until maybe 2 years ago, I do have similar memories of the games of the period.

Gideon's Risk, by J.J. Marric (category: Michelle Gomez) -- 3 stars. This was a pretty good entry. The main storyline was interesting and wrapped up nicely.

Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens, by David Mitchell (category: Geoffrey Beevers) -- 4 stars. This is by the British comedian and actor (not the Cloud Atlas author). If you like said actor and have an interest in English history, you'll probably like this. He doesn't endnote, but he does provide a list of further reading that contains some good sources. I actually bought the audiobook of this with a Libro.fm credit because he reads it, as he should.

>138 rabbitprincess: Have a good start in your new home, how exciting!!!

>139 rabbitprincess: I had been wondering about Unruly. Knowing he narrates as decided me, its on borrowbox and I've reserved it.

Just read your review of The Devil's Flute Murders on the book's page. While the motive underlying the murders was, as you say, distasteful, I wonder if it's a political critique of Japanese pre-war society and its ruling class. The only really off female character belonged to that class, so I didn't see her depiction as sexist. She's an embodiment of corruption.

>140 MissBrangwen: Thanks, Mirjam! It is nice to have more space.

>141 Helenliz: Hope you like it!

>142 pamelad: Good point! It could very well be. I really need to read more Japanese history so that I can pick up that context.

Rewarded myself for completing an assignment yesterday by reading a graphic novel.

Heartstopper, Volume 5, by Alice Oseman (category: Jonathan Pryce) -- 4 stars. I'm continuing to like this series very much.

Hello rabbitprincess and congratulations on your many achievements. Reading, moving, getting a masters - my hat is off to you!

>145 threadnsong: Thanks, threadnsong! It is certainly not dull around here.

A couple more graphic novels to round out the month.

A Man and His Cat, Vol. 10, by Umi Sakurai, translated by Taylor Engel (category: Jonathan Pryce) -- 4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this installment. It dealt with a heavy topic very well (rescuing cats from extremely inhospitable conditions).

The Evil Secret Society of Cats, Vol. 1, by Pandania, translated by Alethea and Athena Nibley (category: Jonathan Pryce) -- 3 stars. This was cute and very funny in places, but not something to read in large doses. I'm also not sure I will actively seek out the rest of the series.

May recap

Ending the month with 12 items read:

Preventing Industrial Accidents, by Carsten Busch (specifically Chapter 6)
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
Gideon’s Risk, by J.J. Marric
Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens, by David Mitchell
1984-2014. Normal Accidents: Was Charles Perrow Right for the Wrong Reasons?, by Jean-Christophe Le Coze (article)
Heartstopper, Vol. 5, by Alice Oseman
The Self-Designing High Reliability Organization: Aircraft Carrier Flight Operations at Sea, by Gene I. Rochlin, Todd R. La Porte, and Karlene H. Roberts (article)
A Man and His Cat, Vol. 10, by Umi Sakurai (translated by Taylor Engel)
Safe operation as a social construct, by Gene I. Rochelin (article)
Issues in safety science, by Andrew Hopkins (article)
The Evil Secret Society of Cats, Vol. 1, by Pandania (translated by Alethea and Athena Nibley)
Heroes, organizations and high reliability, by Paul R. Schulman (article)

Favourite book this month was A Man and His Cat, Vol. 10. I love this series!

I had two 3-star reads this month, so I'm not going to declare either of them a least favourite.

Currently (actively) reading

I have a whole bunch of books languishing on the coffee table, so I'm going to stop mentioning them :D The book I most recently started is The Missing, by Tim Gautreaux, which I chose from my to-read list with a random number generator.

June plans

I'm travelling for two weeks so I hope I'll get some audiobook reading done in between coursework.