Happy New Year

[J Peters]

Goodbye to 20201. (Good riddance?)

Here's to 2022.

Gemini

[Skatha]

Seconded! Motion filed.

Hope 2022 goes better!

-skatha

[J Peters]

Gemini pulls out a copy of Roberts Revised Rules of Order, circa 1973.
"Found this while sorting out the bookshelves over the holiday. Had to
make room for books we got for Christmas. Who knew it might come in
handy?!"

[Skatha]

"Oh wow! You have me beat there! All I have is..." Skatha rummages around "...Roget's Thesaurus, or an old copy of Hoyle's Official Rules of Card Games. When it comes to the rules of procedure, I'm mainly just parroting things I've heard from other people - or probably television, to be honest."

[J Peters]

Gemini recalls her grandparents' bookshelves, and her uncle, the English
Lit professor. She looks at the Harvard Classics, from the one who went
to Radcliffe. There are two volumes of Shakespeare's Sonnets, from
different branches of the family. Some Bibles. Roget's Thesaurus.
Elements of Style. Everything from Dune to Doonesbury.

"We have lots of books."

[Skatha]

"Lots of fancy books! My shelves tend towards science fiction, fantasy, or some mystery. Then there are the strange reference books that I keep picking up, just in case. I mean, do I really need an English/Ukrainian dictionary? Probably not, but when that one in a million chance comes up, boy will I be ready!"

[J Peters]

Gemini looks at the big shelf of well-loved children's books. Some of
those are fancy. Handed down from grandparents, with the lovely
illustrations and the onion paper page before the colorful page.

She looks over the mystery shelf, with Ellis Peters, Poe, PD James,
Hillerman. Then the SF shelf, with the autographed Douglass Adams.

The reference shelf is modest. After all, there's Google for that.
Even does translation.

[Skatha]

"Aside from the cheap paperback copies of Louis L'Amour westerns, I can't say that I have much that's technically been passed down from my grandparents - and none of them are particularly valuable. I have a few signed books, but I've had to get them all on my own. Larry Niven, Neil Gaiman, Lois McMaster Bujold - oh, I suppose I do have a signed Marion Zimmer Bradley, but that was technically dedicated to my mother." Skatha grins. "It's mine now, though."

[J Peters]

Mom's parents met teaching English at a private school. Dad's Mom was
also a teacher. So, a love of books was passed down.

My favorite author autographs - Naomi Novik and J Michael Straczynski.
Not that Douglass Adams isn't awesome. But he was a bit cranky. He
canceled an event shortly after that day, citing back problems.

[Skatha]

"Back problems would make anyone cranky! Less excusable would be Terry Brooks and Orson Scott Card, who were able to talk long enough to reveal themselves to be kind of awful people. I have both of their autographs because I waited in line for them, but I'm not as thrilled about them as I am about the other autographs I have. I don't think I've heard of Naomi Novik, though!"

[J Peters]

I don't actually have a Naomi Novik book autographed. She was promoting
_Uprooted_, a YA-ish fairy tale type of novel. She wrote the Temeraire
series, SF stories about the Napoleonic wars, with dragons. She
autographed a mug for me.

JMS was promoting his memoir, _Becoming Superman._ (Quite the tale,
that one.)

I've heard that Orson Scott Card is a piece of work. My son, who loved
the Ender stories, was disappointed in him.

[Skatha]

Luckily I never got into the Ender series, so there was less disappointment for me. I had heard rumors about him just before the signing, but even so I was surprised at how blatant he got towards the end.

I've met Emma Bull twice, she's always been nice.