a bit more ACD for the list before the year runs out

I've finished reading some more Holmes.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (34)
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (35)

The Hound I had read before (there was a version, with illustrations and annotation, that I seem to remember from school libraries that was, I think, my first introduction to SH), and it's cool. It was even more fun having seen the recent BBC remake with Bernard Cummberbund; I enjoy how the writers and producers of that remade series take some of the basic elements and create a whole new story with, essentially, the same characters.

I had thought that none of the short stories were new to me (we had all the books when I was a teenager, either at home or in one of the four libraries that we regularly plundered), but I'm almost positive that a couple of the tales in Adventures were totally new to me. Curious.

Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the War Against the Taliban by Stephen Tanner
The Interpreter by Robert Moss
Boer Commando by Denneys Reitz
In the Skies of Nomonhan by Dimitar Nedialkov
The Fort by Bernard Cornwell
Through a Howling Wilderness: Benedict Arnold's March to Quebec, 1775 by Thomas Desjardins
The Western Front: Ordinary Soldiers and the Defining Battles of World War I by Richard Holmes
Knights of the Cross; or, Krzyzacy by Henryk Sienkiewicz
Tales of Terror and Mystery by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling

this can't wait for the new year

It's been far too long since I had a regular exercise regime. Looking back at what records I have, the last time I was exercising regularly was the winter of 2010/2011 and the last time I was cycling regularly was 2009. Ugh. I used to do 2-5 miles 5-10 times a month in the old neighbourhood in VA. Here I used to do about 2 miles once a week at least. Then it fell to about once a month. I switched over to jogging for a while and was doing that 2-3 times a week.


So, Rupert and I went out for a bit of a spin. Because I dawdled and did other things, it was getting dark and actually started to rain a little as I headed back, but it was a nice ride. I only did about 2 miles, but I didn't have any shortness of breath or lead legs the way I sometimes do when I start back exercising again. The burn in the lungs, but that's pretty much normal for me every time I've gotten real exercise from age 12 onwards. Had to detour off the bike trail for a bit as there was a medical emergency; first time in a while I've ridden in traffic (OK, hardly any traffic, but still). Not wild about it, especially as I found that my rear bike light has a dead battery (and is probably screened by my rear pannier anyway). Need to fix that and find a secondary light to mount if I have the pannier on.