Yes, I'm a bit tired of waiting for Martin to finish Game of Thrones.

I've also given up on Patrick Rothfuss' wonderful series. I guess he'll never finish it now.

It is sad when real life concerns and problems interfere with the creative works we love. There are many examples of unfinished books and plays as well as works of art and music. As much as it frustrates us, I think it must be so much worse for the author, playwright, artist or composer when they realize one of their works won't be completed. Sometimes someone else can finish a work that the original creator couldn't, but often it's just not possible. I remember being sad when Sue Grafton died with just one more book to go in her alphabetical Kinsey Millhone mystery series, but I'm not sure anyone else could have done the final book justice.

Hagatha, the Durrell books about his family's adventures were great fun to read. I also liked his semi-historic novel Rosy Is My Relative.

Lex, my husband was a great fan of Kipling's writing and could quote passages from Gunga Din and some of his other poems.

Your animal books for adults list looks good. I would add the humorous book Why Peacocks?: An Unlikely Search for Meaning in the World’s Most Magnificent Bird by Sean Flynn and the wonderful book of nature essays called World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil.

I highly recommend The Measure by Nikki Erlick, which came out last year. On an ordinary morning in March, all adults in the world receive a wooden box holding their destiny: the exact number of years they will live. The author gives us characters whose lives are interwoven by the choices they make, the main ones being whether or not to learn their fates, and if they do, how to live their lives with that knowledge. It’s an uplifting story that reminds us to live life to the fullest. I give it 5/5 stars.

Writing a good novel is hard enough without the pressure of life interfering, I'm sure. It's just that an unfinished series is bad for the writer and bad for the reader. The problem is that readers no longer trust a writer after that, unless it's a stand-alone novel, because it's just too disappointing to become invested in a world and characters only to realize the story will never be done. I've got to the same point with TV series, too; I tend to wait until they're complete before even starting them unless they're runaway hits, and even then it's risky business.

Am about halfway through Weaveworld which I never finished years ago for reasons I can't remember. Am enjoying it a lot.

I'm still working my way through The Last Kingdom novels, which are starting to be a slog. Too many battles, not enough story. I think these are best read one at a time and some time apart; I bought an omnibus edition of Kindle and I think that was a mistake. I might put it down for a while.

Currently enjoying a bit of a binge on Steve Cavanagh's Eddie Flynn legal thrillers: very far fetched and tongue-in-cheek but great fun!

I just finished reading "The Magpies" by Mark Edwards. It's a psychological thriller about "The Neighbors from Hell". Monsters aren't just demons or vampires but maybe your next door neighbors.

I finished Saint Odd, took almost 4 months. Well, getting better anyway. I am going to attempt Flesh and Blood by Patricia Cornwell next even though I know these books usually take me a longer time to read. I'll see how it goes.

Flotsam,
I read Barker’s Weaveworld when it came out in the late 1980s. I remember being swept up in it because of the uniqueness of a world in a rug, and I’m overdue for a re-read of it and a couple other of the author’s books.

I just finished The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten. Her main character is a young woman of the streets named Lore, who has an affinity for a dark and illegal kind of magic called Mortem. When she gets caught by the king’s men, she expects to die, but the king has other plans for her. Although it’s the first book in a planned series, it thankfully doesn’t end with a cliff hanger but does allow the reader to speculate as to what will come next.

I also read two other books by Whitten, a duology called For the Wolf and For the Throne. It’s about twin princesses whose fates diverge due to the kingdom’s religion. It’s best if they’re read as one extra-large novel.

In the first book, the second daughter, Red, must go to the Wilderwood in the hopes that the Wolf will release the ancient god-kings they worship. There she finds that the Wolf is a man who protects the Wood from the gods of the underworld who have become monsters. Red realizes it's her calling to help him.

In the second book, the first daughter, Neve, becomes lost in the Shadowlands when an evil plan goes awry. It’s a dangerous underworld that mirrors the world above, and Neve must travel through it with the rogue king, Solmir, to keep the gods from escaping and wreaking destruction on the world.

I'm with you hagatha. The first two Rothuss books are wonderful.

I have seen a few of his movie versions LK but haven't read anything else. I have the Books of the Art series and on the strength of Weaveworld would certainly read some more of his work. Do you have any recommendations?

I remember liking both Imajica and The Great and Secret Show, Flotsam, and I just realized I have two of his books I haven't read yet, Everville and The Scarlet Gospels. I never saw any of the Hellraiser movies, but evidently the latter book features his Pinhead character.

Everville is the second part of the Book of the Arts series so that sounds like a good one to read next.

The Great and Secret Show is the first in the Book of the Arts series, but I don't know the 3rd one. I'll have to check.

I think there is only the two LK

I just started "Killer of the Flower Moon", sent to me by a cousin. Seems interesting so far.

Still reading The Last Kingdom. I think I'm on book 7 of 8 now.

Killers of the Flower Moon sounds interesting and I was unaware of the wealth enjoyed by the Osage people. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/29496076#CommunityReviews

Reading Princess of Mars and thoroughly enjoying it.

Reading "All That's Dead," the latest in my favourite crime series of all time, Stuart McBride's Logan McRae novels. Wonderful stuff. I highly recommend the series (in order, of course).

I have just launched into The Mote In God's Eye, SF blockbuster by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle which looks promising if a little dated.

They are dated, but they were amazing in their time. The Mote in God's Eye is a true classic.

I always enjoyed the books by Niven and Pournelle, both jointly and separately. The Gripping Hand is the sequel to The Mote in God's Eye and is a worthwhile read, too.

I recently read The Bone Shard War, the 3rd book in the Drowning Empire trilogy by Andrea Stewart. It's the longest of the 3 books and perhaps could have been pared down a bit in spots, but it had some good twists and resolved everything very well.

After pigging out on fantasies, I was ready for something different. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus is a beautifully written novel about a brilliant female chemist who struggles for equality in the male dominated field in the early 1960s. She's a strong character that the reader can't help admiring and cheering on. One of the book's narrators is a dog, which adds wonderful layers to the story. It's both a heart-wrenching and heart-warming gem! I give it 5/5 stars.

LK, Lessons in Chemistry sounds good and I have downloaded the kindle sample!

Let me know what you think of it, Lex.

I'm currently reading Stephen King's The Colorado Kid, which is now in reprint. I like the story so far.

I also read The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina. It's a novel based on a real place in Japan, where the worst of the 2011 tsunami hit. The phone booth in a private garden has a disconnected phone, and grieving people come there to speak through the "wind phone" to those they have lost. It's a very touching story and one that will stay with me for a long time.