ILONA ANDREWS

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author

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Stuff. So Much Stuff.

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First, Michelle would like you to know that “there are 6 copies of Magic Triumphs at Waterstones Piccadilly in London – if we sell out over the weekend, they’ll let me order in more copies!”

Den of Geeks made a cool intro to Kate Daniels feature, available here. 

If you are attending Dragoncon, the best way to keep up with it is to download the app to your mobile device here: http://app.core-apps.com/dragoncon18. Someone asked if our books will be available for signing there, yes, they will be. 

We are still hoping to get the innkeeper to you today, but we are also trying to get through all of our errands.  This week was… eventful. Artha the Granddog had a cancer scare and was diagnosed with future hip dysplasia. Kid 1 moved yesterday and is now trying to navigate the box jungle in the new place. I still haven’t picked up dry cleaning for the trip. Argh.

I have two requests.  Flying isn’t my super-favorite and I deal with it by listening to audiobooks and knitting.  As long as I am knitting and have an audio book, I am cool as a cucumber.

So, I need a knitting project suitable for travel.  Something that doesn’t require too many color changes, not too awfully charty, and is not blanket-large. You know, varied enough just to keep your interest.

Lost Fleet Invincible, close up of a man in a spacesuit.

I also need some audiobooks.  My go-to is Jack Campbell’s Lost Fleet series.  I have no idea why listening to spaceships blow up steadies me, but it does. Sadly, I just can’t get into the sequels past the original series. The Martian also works for me.  Something about the measured pace of it reassures me. So if you are a fan of both and can recommend something in the same vein, it would be much appreciated. 

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Comments

  1. Have you tried David Weber’s Honor Harrington Series? Or pure fantasy series beginning with The War God’s Own?

    • Honor Harrington is AMAZING, and i was going to recommend it, too. Double bonus – there are multiple books in the series so it keeps on giving. If you are interested but don’t want to make the LEAP into the Honorverse, you can try his Stephanie Harrington Series which is equally as awesome but with a lot less politics and war.

    • First book is “Oath of Swords”, “The War God’s Own” is book two. (I had to look it up.)
      I love that series. My cats were Bahzell and Brandark – Maine coon and MC mix – in honor of large size and amazing ears!

  2. Have you tried David Weber’s Honor Harrington Series? Or pure fantasy series beginning with The War God’s Own?

  5. Um. Maybe the Kris Longknife series?

    I don’t remember the author but I remember alot of ships blowing up, especially as the series progressed.

    Also Lost in Space by something Barnes. I think the author is right. That doesn’t have anything blowing up but is an interesting space drama ish.

    (I always remember either the title or the author or some weird plot point but never the first two together? My brain is weird.)

  10. Have you read Linnea Sinclair?? Her Dock Five Universe is really good! Not sure if it’s in audio or not, though.

    • Some of the dock 5 are and Accidental Goddess is definitely on audible. I wish more Linnea Sinclair were audio. I like Accidental Goddess quite alot, I’ve only read Gabriel’s Ghost of dock 5 and it’s good not sure on the audio.

  11. I don’t have many audiobooks and the books are older but I enjoyed the Crystal Singer Trilogy on audio book by Anne McCaffrey. I go back to re-read or re-listen every of couple years.

  12. I second the David Weber suggestions- both of them. Even if you’ve already read the books, the narration is well done in both.

  13. There is the Vatta’s War Series by Elizabeth Moon and the obligatory Honor Harrington by David Weber. Then we have Evan Currie and his Oddysey series and pretty much all book series by Glynn Stewart.

      • Definitely Elizabeth Moon’s series. There are the Vatta and Serrano series. Remnant Population is very lovely although deeper than the others, less space opera. The Planet Pirate trilogy is also quite fun. Also, The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey, another co-author team who writes under one name. I’m trying to read Ancillary Justice which has gotten great reviews and I was gifted in a book exchange.

        As for knitting, I tend to knit hats and scarves and the odd shawl. So not a whole lot of variation in most of those but a fair bit of functionality.

        • I second The Expanse. Currently starting book 6 and there aren’t very many series other than Ilona’s that I will read more than a couple.

    • And the Master and Commander series is really wonderful in audio. The narrator is outstanding!

  17. I’ve been enjoying Charles Stoss’s The Laundry Files, and my friend got me into Lockwood and Co. the Shreiking Staircase. I also love the Haunting by Shirley Jackson. And that last one has multiple versions with different narrators.

  20. Recently read Honor among thieves by Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre. It is a young adult novel about a living spaceship. It was such a good read, I just couldn’t stop.

  21. Try the series Vatta’s War by Elizabeth Moon. The first book is Trading in Danger. Loved the whole series!

  22. Okay. So, if I am not listening to your books, then my go to series are Anita Blake, Merry Gentry, The Hallows, and Mercy Thompson. I like the audio versions of all the series I listed above. I can’t suggest any knit projects. That is too personal. Good luck.

  23. You guys do such an amazing job with all of your stories!

    For knitting, it depends how much you like garter stitch. I love it with the right self-striping yarns. “Left Right Left Scarf” and “Wingspan” on Ravelry are my two favorite patterns. Neither relies on you having the pattern in front of you constantly. My other favorites are toys – especially “Hamsterbeans”, though any of the monsters by Rebecca Danger are also fun and don’t tend to be over-complicated.

  24. Socks are my go-to travel project. Easy enough to find one with an interesting but simple stitch pattern. If you want to get fancy, self-striping yarn is always fun (and looks impressive). My fave combination of those two elements is the Geek Socks from Knitty Spring + Summer 2015.

  25. I tend to work in the round on flights- i’d reccomend a cowl. They are usually fairly quick, and you don’t end up elbowing anyone. I liked the alpaca lace ring in luxury one skein wonders, but did it in lace weight.

  27. I’d recommend either the poor man’s fight series by Elliott Kay or the Odyssey One series by Evan Currie

  28. If you like Space stuff, Tanya Huff’s Confederation series starting with Valor’s Choice. For some edgy first contact alien books, R. lee Smith’s Cottonwood ( the aliens come here in the vein of District 9) or Last Hour of Gann ( we go there).

  29. Have you tried the “Duchy of Terra Series?” By Glenn Stewart. I can’t remember if you recommended it. But the main character is female.

  30. It’s definitely worth trying Dennis E Taylor “We are Legion” Bobiverse books. Great narration and some interesting Sci-Fi, things also get blown up, so it could very well suit you.

  32. Try the Liaden series by Steve Miller and Sharon Lee. Start with Agent of Change. String characters with space, intrigue, gun battles, deception, and love. The whole series is worth listening to and you get giant turtles.

  33. David Drake RCN series – spaceships and quirky heroes there
    Sharone Lee – Liaden series – spaceships, strange cultures and intriques
    Wen Spencer – Tinker series – no spaceships there but elves in Pittsburg are even better 🙂

  34. I’m bybno means a knitter, but my mom loves to do pieces of a whole, like the flowers or stars that get knitted into a thing. This doesn’t sounf helpful, but they are quick, small, intricate things that keep your hands busy and then you can knit them into hats or throws.

  35. Also recommend the Bujold Vorkosigan series, and also her Chalion series, both are great to read and listen to. As for patterns, have you knitted up a Reyna? super easy!

  38. Have you tried RCN series by David Drake? It’s more light-hearted and tongue in cheek than serious space navy, but not so much that it’s pure satire. The best part is there ISN’T a romance between the two main characters like you get with a lot of books that have a male and female main characters.

  42. April series by Mackey Chandler was a good read, but I have not heard the audiobook version. Good luck!

  45. I’ll second the Honor Harrington books. It’s a VERY long series and the quality sometimes varies, but overall they are worthwhile. They are interesting and a LOT of thought went into that Space Navy.

  46. For knitting on the go i like hats. a simple pattern on circular needles so i dont loose one. I also crochet and will choose a pattern that is motifs that you sew togther at the end.

  47. I read a lot of teen books on audio and I would recommend Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older. The audio is read by the same person who voices Tiana in the Princess and the Frog movie and she even sings in some parts! Her voice is heaven wrapped in a cloud of decadent chocolate. And the story is set in a world that’s present day with unique twist. I also love Graceling by Kristen Cashore on audio – it’s full cast! Plus the sequel Bitterblue is one of the most thoughtful books about the aftermath of abuse I have ever read.

  49. Galaxy Outlaws by J S Morin. You can get all 8 books for the price of one on Audible!

    Synopsis: “Meet the galaxy’s unluckiest outlaws.

    Carl Ramsey is an ex-Earth Navy fighter pilot turned con man. His ship, the Mobius, is home to a ragtag crew of misfits and refugees looking to score a big payday but more often just scratching to pay for fuel. The crew consists of his ex-wife (and pilot), a drunkard, four-handed mechanic, a xeno-predator with the disposition of a 120kg housecat, and the galaxy’s most-wanted wizard.

    Along the way, the Mobius crew crosses paths with the Black Ocean’s vilest scum, from pirate fleets to criminal syndicates, and most law-abiding scum, including Earth Interstellar Enhanced Investigative Organization, ARGO high command, and the Convocation of Wizards.

    Time and again, riches lie just out of reach, because for all the talents Carl Ramsey and his crew possess, they’ve also got an outlaw’s greatest weakness: a conscience.”

    Enjoy!

  50. I don’t know if it is available in audiobook but a read recently « A long way to a small angry planet » from Becky Chambers. As a classic I am a big fan of David Weber’s work : Honor Harrington series especially the first four books and the prequel.
    More on the humoristic/romanced side I liked the Mandrake compagny.
    I did read the anthology « Infinite Stars »
    From a purely mititary standpoint and alien fist contact , liked very much the 2 trililogy from Micheal R. Hicks.

    Thans you so much for the tips about Jane Doe and Tsumiko and the enslaved fox. I had got time while waiting for Magic Triumphs. So thanks you for Kate and Curran, for Nevada and Connor.
    Just please be well and happy and keep your amazing work.

  51. have you tried making the cute sacks for newborns? my SIL made one for my first son, looks like a blueberry with a matching stem hat. it was so adorable i’ve made sure to use it for all my babies.

  52. I don’t know if you’ve read it or not. I don’t know if it is on audio book or not. I don’t know if it’s your style or not. However, if you want a book that makes me laugh out loud and occasionally cry, try Rock Chick by Kristen Ashley. She has an entire series and I laughed my way through it. (The crying happens in some of the later books, but there is still plenty of laughing.)
    The series is called The Rock Chicks.

  53. I’m currently listening to Act Like it by Lucy Parker on Audible. Fake dating among London stage actors and oh so dry. Very good narration too but if British accents aren’t your thing I’ve also enjoyed the Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi.

    Any of the Ben Aaronvitch Peter Grant books are fantastic on audio if you want a different flavor of urban fantasy than your own.

  54. I don’t know Jack Campbell, but since you once recommended Emperor’s Edge, have you tried Lindsay Buroker’s Fallen Empire series? It’s sort of a space opera action adventure (with lots of space ships getting blown up). The romance is secondary, but one of my favorite, despite featuring a hero that is kind of impotent for most of the series 🙂 Only Buroker could get away with writing something like that…

  57. My go-to is Dresden Files. I typically stick to Urban Fantasy but I need to expand my horizons more. Scarves are simple to do and you can never have too many scarves. Then again, I live where the air hurts my face.

      • Yep yep yep + 100x
        The audio versions of Dresden Files are read by James Marsters and are ADDICTING. Something about his voice makes this books come alive. I sped read through the series and then went back about a year later and did the whole series again on the audio version and it was CRAZY good. Even good my mom who is a genre fiction virgin to listen to them and she’s hooked.

  58. Knitting pattern: Haast Shawl. Check it out on Ravelry. 2 skeins of yarn, fingering weight, first part is all garter with these little YO tabs on either side. Just finishing one now.

  62. Red rising. The audiobook is phenomenal. The narrator is so good. And the story is just on point.

    I would wash all my dishes by hand just for an excuse to stand in my kitchen and listen to it.

  63. Have you seen the knitted covers that go over the swiffer mops? If you use a good cotton blend yarn and a thicker pattern they are very good. You can just toss them in a small laundry bag and wash them as needed.

    I could use some in any colors, thanks!

  65. So, I am similar. I must have my knitting and my audio books. I can’t help on recommendations, because your books are amoung the top tier if my favorite books to relisten to for travel. I also enjoy Eileen Wilkes for that as well. Or Sharon Lee Liad books?

    But socks are my go to travel project for knitting. They are (can be) small, can be as cable/color change/lace as I am feeling, I can do them up in chunky yarn, or thin yarn, I can do baby socks, or socks for me… they are easy to stuff into my purse, whatever

    Oh, I also try to use circulars with long cords, I use the magic loop method, and that way I can’t loose my needles, and security is less likely to take them away.

    • Have you read any of Sharon Lee’s solo titles? I’ve been known to recommend the Archer’s Beach books to customers who like Ilona Andrews and the audio books are great! Love the Maine accent.

  66. I loved Elizabeth moon Vatta series( and it has a dog) I inhale Patricia Bishop and her series
    Liked Charles Stross Merchant Clan series , alternate universe ,Miriam is main character and she grows on you. Also like Nalini Singh psy-changing series. Silver Silence was great and had werebears .
    Mercedes Lackey series based on fairytales are good.
    And Tanya Huff Vampire series 4/5 books all starting w Blood in the title are fast and good reads
    Safe travels , reading and knitting.

    • Patricia Briggs and Anne Bishop have toured together on book tours the last 2 years and they are indeed amazing authors!

  67. So I’ve recently gone on a sci fi audio book binge. Marketers got to me, and I listened to Bobiverse (first is We are Legion [We Are Bob] by Dennis E Taylor). It isn’t pew pew pew space fight, but it does have space fights in it :).

    Of course, I’ve read alot of the non audio book suggestions above (ie Vorkosigan, RCN are the ones I second…). In fact The Warrior’s Apprentice in the Vorkosigan saga (#2) is a book I have read at least every other year for nigh on 15 years, and I still giggle at it. I know nothing about the narration of it, but the book itself delights me to no end and if you haven’t read it, I kinda feel like you’re missing out. Such strong characterization. 🙂

  70. I loved Charming (Pax Arcana) by Elliot James. I bought it as an audiobook for a long trip. The story was awesome and an interesting take on old fairy tales. Also the narrated did a really good job.

  71. I haven’t listened to the audiobook, but I really love Elliott Kay’s “Poor Man’s Fight” series! Super-satisfying military sf with awesome characters. I just checked, and it’s on Audible. 🙂

  73. You should totally read Linnea Sinclair: spaceships blowing up, some good humor, and a little romance.

  74. You have lots of book suggestions so I will go with knitting. I just finished the trio shawl. Fingering weight mindless knit, increases at the edges. There is always the hitchhiker shawl. Irregular shape, fingering weight, looks great in a variegated yarn. And wingspan is a personal favorite. Interesting construction but not something you have to have the chart in front of you. All off the patterns are on Ravelry. Good luck with your trip.

  75. The Indranan War Series by K.B. Wagers (the first is Behind the Throne). Strong heroine who’s a space gun runner who is also in line for the throne of a galactic empire.

  76. I won’t lie – not in the same vein – but Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime was great to listen to – funny, touching, and his accent is awesome. I listened to it on the long trio to New Zealand from LA. Entirely autobiographical – so nothing in the area of current politics that he does now.

  77. For knitting, have you looked at the Beekeeper’s Quilt? It’s made up of “hexpuffs” which can all be the same color, or as many different colors as you want.

    For audiobooks, I’ve been SUPER impressed by/loved both Martha Wells Books of the Raksura (book 5 isn’t on audio tho) and NK Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy.

    • I love the Beekeeper’s Quilt. I have 225 hexapuffs, but want more. I just haven’t had the time to knit lately….

  78. Do you know the Honor Harrington books by David Weber? There’s a lot of them and many many spaceships. Quite a lot of them explode. ?

  79. I really enjoyed the audiobook of New York 2140, although it has nothing in common with the books you mentioned. 🙂

    More useful, the audiobooks of the Expanse series are excellent. And very long.

  80. I really loved the Red Rising trilogy by Pierce Brown. Lots of space ships blowing up ;). Safe travels!! Hope to see you in NYC on the next tour!

  81. Clean Sweep by… oh wait =P
    Anne Bishop Others series, Love the reader.
    No spaceships, but the story line drew me in. Loved listening to it as I knitted a blanket.
    The Dragons of Dorcastle By Jack Campbell
    Again no spaceships, but lots of action and mystery, and Sci-fi style.

    Owlie Sleep sack is fun at the beginning at least and the rest is fast. Plus a good gift.
    Drifter Hats are one of my favorites.
    Baby Blanket, bigger but traveled well for me for car trips.
    https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-addictive-baby-blanket

  82. The How to Train Your Dragon series is a delight. Yes, it’s a MG book, but it’s read by David Tennant and he does the most amazing voices.

    On a more adult side, I’d recommend Simon R. Green’s Secret Histories series. It’s read by Gideon Emery who played Fenris in Dragon Age 2. The Man with the Golden Torc is the first one. His Deathstalker series is more space opera-y, though. I loved the books, but haven’t had a chance to hear the audio.

    As for knitting patterns, if you’ve got some cotton kicking around, you can do different dish clothes. They’re quick and can be as easy or as complicated as you like. Some freebie patterns here: https://www.yarnspirations.com/knit-patterns/home-decor/dishcloths

  83. The red rising trilogy is phenomenal. If you haven’t read or listened to them, you really should. Neal Stephenson is an author I have a really hard time reading but love to listen to because of the slow pace. One of his last books, Seveneves, is a really good listen and like “the Martian” in a lot of ways.

  85. Not quite the same vain, but the “Temeraire” series by Naomi Novik is excellent.

    The narrator does a wonderful job & books are just so good.

    Napoleonic wars… with dragons?

    Thank you for all your lovely books, I enjoy them immensely & always recommend you.

  86. I like to knit washcloths and dishtowels when I travel. You can make them in whatever size you like, in any color as you like. They also make great gifts when you are done, and if you travel a lot as you obviously do, the end result is a bunch to gift during the holidays. I use 100% cotton yarn that doesn’t snag on everything and holds up better under the duress of travel. You can also use short circulars to knit them because they fold up easier in your carry on bag. Feel free to email me if you want some easy patterns, I’ve got a bunch of them.

    I’m no help on audiobooks, being ridiculously attached to my paper books. I always find room for a paperback in my bag, of late usually one of yours. 🙂

  87. I just just finished knitting a Read Between the Lines shawl with Scheepjes Whirl. It is so much fun watching the illusion stripes grow and the colors change. It is also small and portable when you start and big when you’re done, so mileage may vary.

    My favorite tiny, mindless project is fingerless mitts with sock needles. Linda K’s Yummy Mummy Wrist warmers has this nifty little cable repeat that I copy on a note card and have memorized after the third repeat. There’s a rhythm to it, the big cables turn every four rows, the small every two, and there’s a knit through the back loop line up the side that helps me keep track of even/ odd rows. And the finished product has great stretch and feels lovely.

    I haven’t listened to an audio book in a bit, but I just finished The Calculating Stars. More like the precursor to a space opera, but lots of pilots and high stakes.

    I spent a fun year living in Atlanta (Kate’s world was my introduction, it was fun seeing the inspiration after I had enjoyed your crumbling world). I made it to two DragonCons before moving again, wish I was still close by! Have a wonderful trip.

    Also, thanks to the rest of this comment thread, I am going to keep creeping for project and listening ideas.

  88. Hi. Nothing space-shippy… but this great book come to my mind immediately: The Rook from Daniel O’Malley. Is available as audio book. Have a great time.

  89. Have you tried the Red Rising Audiobooks. They’re awesome and so well done. I even got my dad hooked on it and he’s listened to the audiobooks several times now. He’s typically a Trekkie (sp?) and a huge fan of space sci-fi of all kinds. It’s one of those books that got him to start reading (or at least listening) to books….and then he went to ur series and he loved those too!

  90. You might try Sharon Lee and Steve Miller SF/F Fledgling and Agent of Change are both free to try. I would second the Lois Mcmaster Bujold. I’ve read everything she has written and she didn’t win all those Nebula awards for nothing. I also loved everything Elizabeth Moon wrote both the straight SF and the fantasy. Do you have the Libby app which lets you down load ebooks and audio books from the library using your library card. I love the app no having to drive to the library to get the books or return them and you can put up to 35 books on hold.

  91. I strongly recommend L.E. Modessit’s Imager Portfolio. It’s the only series other than yours that I will re-read over and over. The first half of the first book is a bit of a slog but after that its dynamite.

    • The Magic of Recluce is my favorite book by Modesitt. The Recluce saga is ridiculously long and after a while they start to kind all sound the same but for steady pacing you can’t beat it. His books always seem to include whatever skill he’s currently featuring (this one’s MC is woodworking) and the work towards mastery in this skill and the descriptions are always so soothing. Not sure how the audio sounds though.

      • Your right, and I have read them all too. But after 20 years of them I got a little bored. The corean chronicles aren’t bad either if you like things a little more on the sci-fi side of fantasy.

  92. For scifi humor try Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi, narrated by Wil Wheaton (yes, that Wil Wheaton).

    • Not really a fan of Scalzi’s writing but I second on the audiobook. Wil Wheaton is fantastic!

      • Yep, Wil makes all the difference. I’ve started reading Ready Player One and it is narrated by Wil Wheaton as well. Actually, since this one is based on gaming it might be a recommendation for the AL. I’m enjoying the book but don’t have any interest in the movie.

  93. For knitting, I like this wavy, dropped stitch scarf for travel knitting. The pattern is easy, but with enough changes to be interesting. Here’s a link to the pattern on Ravelry. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/drop-stitch-scarf-2

    My current sci fi crush are the Murderbot Diary novellas. The first book is All Systems Red. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet is a good standalone novel, and the Bobiverse trilogy is excellent. The first book is We Are Legion We are Bob. All of these are on Audible.

    Good luck! May you have safe and serene travels!

  94. The kids and I listened to Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman, on our first drive from New Jersey to North Carolina. We started with Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy but my 11 year old kept falling asleep. I know its not blowed up spaceships but I thought both were funny. Also the narrator for Anansi got the accents pretty close to reality and that kept me steady while driving down I95. Being from the Caribbean myslef it felt like I was listening to people I knew.
    Good luck and good vibes on the trip!

  95. A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
    His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novak
    The Grendel Affair by Lisa Shearin
    Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series
    Anything by Anne McCaffrey
    My apologies as I don’t knit I don’t have any idea for that ?‍♀️

  96. I like starship’s mage series by glynn Stewart.

    You mention the sequels from Campbell. I assume you also tried the prequels?

  97. Do you knit socks? The socks on a plane pattern can be fun in self striping yarn. Martina Behm also has some great shawls like hitchhiker or leftie that are super addictive.

  98. If you can get the Innkeeper up, COOL, but if you can’t, it’s no biggie. Also on that note, with the traveling you have ahead of you I personally do not expect an Innkeeper next friday and am fine with it. Focus on your book tour and relaxing in what ever little time you get during it.

    Has far as knitting goes, I’m not a knitter so I do not know much about it. My suggestions are scarf’s, winter is coming up, or gloves, or even booties. (I have a set of knitted booties which I wear around the trailer, saddly, they are wearing out.) If it was cochet (which again I do not know much about), I would say do some some small dolly’s to go under lambs, or table centerpieces, or even gloves or hair nets.

    I am not familier with The Lost fleet series, though I do love The Maritan (movie) so I can not really give suggestions based on them. I also do not listen to audiobooks, I perfer reading a real book, or an eBook.) Still I have suggestions. Jayne Ann Krentz Archane and/or Harmony series, neither which has starships blowing up. Then theres The Host by Stephenie Meyer. Again, no starships blowing up. Or The Demon Breed by James Schmitz. (It’s a OLD sci-fi and does NOT have Demon’s in it, it’s just a nick name for the alien’s.) It does have some ships blowing up towards the end though.

  99. Coals are great travel projects! On ravelry: purl shop’s Bandana Cowl, Honeycowl, aenead are just couple of sugestions.

    Drink ginger al, I take a half of a xanax, listen to renae raudman, reading you.

    Have a great trip! Are there any yarn shops where you are going?

    Best wishes,
    Dawn

  100. Lost Fleet is great and favorite of mine. Putting on my librarian’s readers advisory hat and scrolling through my similar audiobooks, I recommend:
    Mike Shepherd’s Kris Longkife series, Ryk Brown’s Frontiers series, Glynn Stewart’s Starship Mage series, David Weber’s Honor Harrington Series, and SK Dunstall’s Linesman series. I also just finished listening to Schooled in Magic by Christopher Nuttall, lots of fun. Have fun at Dragoncon!

    • “Mike Shepherd’s Kris Longkife series, Ryk Brown’s Frontiers series, Glynn Stewart’s Starship Mage series, David Weber’s Honor Harrington Series, and SK Dunstall’s Linesman series. “- SandyF

      Very similar combat in Mike Shepherd ‘s Kris Longknife to Lost Fleet. Instead of rediscovering fighting in formation ( Lost Fleet) Kris Longknife ship fights are about squeezing every last advantage out of fleet technology and crew training with a little help from the first A.I.s

      Glynn Stewart Starship Mage and SK Dunstall ‘s Linesman series are both good but deal with one in a trillion super Starship Mage/ Linesman and how they shake up their societies with their unique abilities.

      David Weber is good but more an exploration of two societies ramping up to war.

      P.S. Not what you requested, but like several others I think Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells is good. More robot & hybrid robot combat without ship battles.

      Several others have mentioned Long way to a small angry planet by Becky Chambers and it’s two sequels (all good). Almost no ships exploding. More a future slice of life with multiple aliens. I actually read A Closed and Common Orbit ( 2nd book ) first and enjoyed a ship A.I. Exploring having a biped body.

  101. Have you tried All Systems Red the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells? It’s just a novella, part of a set of 4 (last one’s not out yet) , sci-fi space opera-ish with a definite twist. Or alternatively I’d recommend the early Honor Harringtons by David Weber but those are old enuf you’ve probably already read them if u were gonna.

  102. Scheepje’s Whirl yarncakes are really long and really fun to work with, basically pick your favourite shawl and go wild. (Bonus: feeding the stash!)

    • I just peeked at the yarn cakes and wow are the colors gorgeous! I don’t knit or crochet – for some reason that defies science my tension is perfect but my edges are ragged. I just love all the colors and kitten soft yarns so I look at others projects with the longing of a little kid who is too small to play. I wonder what the Scheepje’s whirl looks like in a (properly) completed project…

  103. I highly recommend the Tanya Huff Valor Novels, which then become the Peacekeeper series. Great series. All of her various aliens and human characters are folks with whom I’d love to hang out.

    • Echoing this recommendation. Tanya Huff’s Valor and Peacekeeper series. Read/Listen in order for maximum enjoyment.

    • Second (or possibly third/fourth at this point) this – the Valor/PeaceKeeper novels are hard to put down.

      I’d also recommend Lindsay Buroker’s Fallen Empire series, but Buroker has a more light-hearted/comedic style than Huff.

      Sadly, I’m a crocheter so not much I can recommend for knitting projects. Shawls and scarves are pretty straight-forward as far as repeating a row over and over. Maybe a cowl or eternity scarf?

      • I’ll fifth/sixth? the rec for the Peacekeeper series by Huff and add in Elizabeth Moon’s Vatta series.

  105. For a fantasy series…I just finished relistening to The Raine Banares series by Lisa Shearin….first book is Magic Lost, Trouble Found….it’s a fun entertaining series

    • If we’re talking sword and sorcery, have you tried David Weber’s fantasy series that starts with “Oath of Swords”?
      It’s not well known and really well done. (Fair warning, the protagonists are non-human and generally not popular with the locals.)
      The first story arc is complete and the first book of the second arc is out. He doesn’t issue one often. I’m guessing his other series are the big money makers.
      You’ll enjoy adventuring with Bahzell and Brandark, much more than they do, as they are often cold / wet /on the run / etc.

  106. Take care of you and yours – not saying I wont be smashing refresh looking for a new chapter of Innkeeper 🙂

    My go to for knitting these days are socks, preferably in the round knit stage (foot & leg) and no thinking needed. Wash cloths sound nice and mindless too.

    For books, if you havent read/listened it I recommend Old Man’s War by John Scalzi. Wit is up there with The Martian and Dresden Files (another recommended series). Another good spacey series is Theirs Not to Reason Why Series by Jean Johnson

    • John Scalzi is great! And the Expanse series by James SA Corey (aka Daniel Abrahams and Ty Franck) – if you want space ships. Also, anything by Diana Wynn Jones but especially Howl’s Moving Castle or Charmed Life, for younger young adults really but so much fun. And, finally Good Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aarons is keeping me entertained.

  107. I am a crocheter not a knitter. But my mother in law knits. She has made the self fringing shawl multiple times https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/self-fringing-shawl

    She uses Scarfie yarn from Lion Brand instead of the Noro. I think she is on her 5th one. She normally doesn’t repeat patterns that much. Another good one is the Wonder Woman shawl. I saw it is in crochet as well as knit.

  109. Been re-reading Joel Shepherd’s Cassandra Kresnov series and wondering if you’d read it. I keep thinking you guys might like. Turns out it is on Audible. I don’t know the other books you mention, but the series has lots of action, great dialogue, plenty of of seriously bad-ass female characters, and addresses real issues about what it takes to be human. You might give it a look.
    Can’t help with knitting as I can’t do it. My daughter did some cool “jughead” hats she downloaded from Ravelry, though, and all her friends want them.

  110. Not the same subgenres, but for the same deliberate pacing as Jack Campbell, I like CJ Cherryh’s Foreigner series (scifi) or LE Modessitt’s Imager series (fantasy).

  111. For airplane reading – “Agnes and the hitman” by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer, “The Spellman files” by Lisa Lutz and “Speak Now” by Margaret Dumas. Don’t know if they come in audio but they should!

    • I am listening to Gun’s Above by Robyn Bennis it is Airships fighting an alternate version of the Franco -Prussian war with female officers who no longer need to pretend to be male . I also enjoy Kate Elliot Spritwalker trilogy

  113. Lois McMaster Bujold, the Vorkosigan saga. Lots of spaceships, many explode, great Characters and great narration. Audible has all of them. Start with Shards of Honor, you won’t regret it. The second book Barrayar is one of my favorite books of all time.

    • I second the Vorkosigan series recommendation — “Ethan of Athos” is my fave — but didn’t like the audio books. Similar to Robin McKinley’s “Sunshine”, the books are so good but the choice of reader and/or direction/tone doesn’t align. Very disappointing.

  114. This isn’t an audiobook rec, but have you tried to listen to podcasts? I just started listening to podcasts that review romance novels and I am completely hooked. Heaving Bossoms is currently my favorite. Good luck with your travels!

    • Also podcasts, but rather different, the BBC’s Infinite Monkey Cage. Science and comedy – what’s not to love? They are genuinely fascinating. I find that I learn something from each one, even though there are whole chunks I don’t understand. And they are funny – in a natural, not forced way. They are co-hosted by a scientist and a comedian, and they always have at least one comedian or comedy-adjacent guest (with a science bent / interest) as well as the phenomenally big brained people they also have on.

  115. I haven’t heard the audio version, but March to the Sea by David Weber and John Ringo is the start of a fantastic series. Lots of battles and follows the story of a spoiled Imperial prince who is protected by a Marine bodyguards that learns valuable life lessons from his protectors as they give their all to get him safely home after being stranded on a dangerous planet far away from home across the Galaxy.

    • Loved that series and the Audible version is really well done! Not a lot of exploding spaceships in the second book – it is about struggling across a planet – most of the time.

  116. They’re not new by any means, but have you read any books by the late, great Anne McCaffrey? She is the author who first got me into scifi/ fantasy with her Dragonrider series, decades ago. She had many great series’. Is recommend her Crystal Singer series, but some idiot decided to produce the audio version in abridged format, so they’re better read as books. Most of her Dragon stories are in audiobook, though, as are the Pegasus, Tower and the Hive, and Petaybee series’.

      • Funny, Circejane! I just today went to Audible to see if Crystal Singer was there. And there is just that horrible abridged version, complete with static and a bad reader. Hmm, who do we lobby to get a good audio version?

        Do the other McCaffrey books have good narrators?

  118. seems like we love a lot of the same authors. 🙂 If it were me I’d download a dozen or more free samples and decide what to buy when I’d devoured the lot. I’d definitely add “Starship’s mage” by Glynn Stewart (not Glen) to the list and maybe the Imager series by LE Modesitt or his older ecologic envoy series – slower paced & thoughtful.

    Have you read any LitRPG? you love games as well as fantasy.. so why not? What happens if you put an AI that passes the Turing test in charge of an MMO and tell it to make a game that people want to play? What happens if you develop game capsules so people don’t have to log out all the time? Survival quest starts Vasily Mahanenko’s shaman series. btw the russians are fathers of the genre 🙂 Definitely try samples before buying with litrpg – it’s a very mixed bag.

  119. Do you know red rising by pierce brown? It’s a bit dark, but a lot of scifi and action, so very distracting :))

  120. I know you crochet as well. If you are up for a crochet project instead of knit I would be happy to gift you either of my patterns. It is the least I can do for all the amazing, and often free, work you give to us. If you are interested just let me know the e-mail address or Ravelry name you would like the pattern sent to. https://www.ravelry.com/designers/brittney-butterfield

  123. Just curious, they let you on the plane with knitting needles? I would think they kind of look too weapon like & stabby.

    • Knitting needles are allowed. They are even listed on the allowed section of the TSA website. Most of the time you will have no issues but everything comes down to the individual TSA agent you get. They can choose to ignore their own rules and take your needles away from you so I wouldn’t try to take your favorite or best needles. Crochet is a little safer option because hooks look a little less weapon like so they are even less likely to be taken away.

  124. I’m working on the Hemisphere half-pi shawl by Donna Druchunas. Pattern on Ravelry is here:
    https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hemisphere-3
    or Craftsy has a kit. The yarn is so fine that the whole project doesn’t take up much space. The pattern is well written and quite clear. There are charts, but there is enough repetition that I don’t have to spend all my time peering at the little squiggles.

  125. I just finished two good world building books by Diana Marton, The Hardstorm Saga (just two books).

    I enjoyed the world building, the story, the writing, and the battles. Safe travels!

  126. Hi, hope you find something suitable to knit, can’t help you there.

    I have no ideas about those books, because I don’t know them. But I really liked the audiobooks of Michelle Diener’s Dark: Class 5 series. Those are set in space too, but they focus on the romance most of the time. The first one is Dark Horse and it’s a trilogy. I’ve read (listened to) them many, many times. Almost as much as Kate 😛

  128. While I have not read the books you mentioned, I love spaceship and distant settings for books. I have been a C.J. Cherryh reader from way back and can highly recommend several of her works. The Chanur series is my favorite, but Cyteen, The Faded Sun trilogy and Foreigner books are all exceptional as well.
    Enjoy your trip.

  129. It may have already been suggested, but Nathan Lowell’s A Trader’s Takes series is fabuloys on audio. Jeffery Kafer has a voice that would calm a stormy sea!

  130. I highly recommend R.S. Belcher’s audiobooks. I read all three series (Nightwise, Brotherhood of the Wheel and The Golgotha Series). They are wonderfully written and brilliantly narrated. Bronson Pinchot is an amazing narrator!!! And The Golgotha books are Graphic Audio books with full casts! They are truly fantastic audio reads!

    As for knitting, I’m really enjoying Dayna Scoles. Her patterns are for loom knitting but you are an experienced needle knitter so I imagine you would have very little trouble understanding them. I like her scarfs, hats & shawls most. https://www.daynascolesdesigns.com Also check out http://www.vintagestorehouse.com/
    My gosh her samples are so pretty!!! And her yarn choices are gorgeous!

    On a separate note, you and Gordon work so hard that I worry you are under too much stress. I hope that you can manage some time off between all the hustle. You deserve wonderful lives!

    Hope you like theses suggestions! Safe travels- Christine

  133. While I would love a new Inkeeper installment, this is your victory lap for Kate 10; enjoy it! I’m sorry to hear about Artha’s hip dysplasia. Hope it can be managed. I don’t have any travel recommendations. Lately, I just fall asleep. Side effect of my blood pressure meds, I think. Have a great trip and don’t work too hard!

  134. For reading/listening, try Jasper Fforde’s “Shades of Grey.” (No “50” anywhere in here). I don’t have a particular go-to knitting project, although I agree with the socks idea for portability. There’s a delightfully quirky yarn shop called ReBelle about 10 minutes away from where you’re doing your signing in Lexington. I found it when I was doing the Bourbon Trail a couple summers ago and made a point of returning when I dragged my husband to Kentucky this past February (he enjoyed the distillery tours and tolerated my need for more fiber). Safe travels!

  135. Have you tried you tried Jack Cambell’s JAG in Space series. This was before the Lost Fleet series and mirrors the authors service as both a young ensign and the ships legal officer in a US Navy Destroyer.

  136. Have you tried Jack Campbell’s Space JAG series writing originally under his real name?

    I found those much easier to get into than his lost in space books?

  137. I used to listen to audiobooks all the time at work – before digital downloads – and still do when I’m drawing or crafting. Jim Daly’s read of the Harry Potter books is always a favorite as are the original Lorelei King read Stephanie Plum books (by Janet Evanovich).

    Also great is the Simon R. Green’s horror noir Nightside series on audio. They don’t have the same reader for each book but they are very close in tone and speed. “Howl’s Moving Castle” by Diane Wynn Jones and both the audiobook and radio drama of Gaiman’s “Neverwhere” are all strong with both good stories and voices.

    If you don’t mind non-fiction, Jon Ronson’s “So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed” is a great author-read audiobook. I also have an odd love of William Hughes’ read of “Too Big to Fail”.

    • Ooh, Simon Green and Diana Wynne Jones. Two entirely brilliant writers – even if Green sometimes strays too far into pastiche territory. His blood moon and Haven books are fabulous. No idea if they are on audio.

  138. Elizabeth Moon is a lot of fun. Remnant population is different. Main character is a 79 year old woman. But her Vatta books and Heris Serano series and Deed of Paksennarion are also great. I liked K.M. Shea”s Twelve dancing princesses and Snow Queen books.

  139. I knew a couple of artists, that also loved to knit. One of their projects ended up on the news a few years back. They made, I guess it would be called sleeves, then put them on trees (I never new I could rhythm). They also made a few more for things like, your Timmy’s cup, the bannister and even a couple of hard cover books. Anyway if you want to have some fun and put a few knitted things around your house. You could do that?
    As for an audiobook recommendation. I use to not like audiobooks, because it was hard for me to pay attention, but then one of my favourite authors, Drew Hayes made an audio where. I think his friends. Spoke as a different character in the book. Anyways, I loved these different voice actors and the characters they played. They made me laugh and made me think which fairytale they were apart of. Anyway, if you want to try this fantasy. I recommend it!!!

  140. Bookwise, after Lost Fleet I liked some of Christopher G Nuttalls’ series (he has two that are relevant, imho, the Ark Royale is the closest to the Lost Fleet). Then there is Glynn Stewart, who has a variety of series from urban fantasy to space opera style (Castle Federation, Starship’s Mage, and some others). Finally, just now finished reading Terry Mixon’s Empire of Bones Saga. All three authors strike some similar feelings and contemplations as the Lost Fleet books.
    Also enjoyed the Linesman series, but I believe you were the one who recommened it here on the blog in the first place!

    Have safe travels, hope you enjoy the trip, and thanks a lot for all the effort you put into your books!

  141. Have you read The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher yet, as I second that recommendation? The audio books are read by James Marsters and he does an epically awesome job.

      • This is not however the same genre, but wanted to throw it out there since the audio books are so excellent.

    • I’ve never been very into audio books but now I am very tempted just because I always had the biggest crush on Spike.

  142. I just finished “the collapsing empire” by John Scalzi and really enjoyed it. Sorry I crochet so can’t help much with that however of late my go to travel project has been shawls

  143. Have you tried the Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher? Not spaceships but airships. Explosions, fabulous quirky characters, an extraoridinary world and a narrator with a glorious voice. And do not forget the cats!!!!

  144. I highly recommend Nathan Lowell’s Quarter Share and the five (?) other books in the series. Or anything else by him. ?. I like knitting socks or shawls when I travel. Happy travels.

  145. I am not a knitter, so should probably stay away from this one,,, but I had a friend who always knit on planes to stay calm, and she did rectangles, and when she got back home she would crochet them together and make lovely shawls or afghans.

  147. Hmm. Patterns. Well, there’s the Auspice shawl. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/auspice. My knit group did it for a KAL in April and it turned out rather nice. I also discovered a pattern for a cowl called Honey. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/honey-cowl. Haven’t tried it yet, but I have three skeins of Malabrigo in Whale’s Road just BEGGING to be used up. As for books, I have no suggestions. Currently listening to Iron and Magic, so my automatic “Here’s what I’ve liked recently” won’t fly 😉
    Safe travels!

  149. Altered Carbon by Richard K Morgan – dark and gritty but good
    The Expanse Series by James SA Corey.

    Fantasy recommendation:
    His Dark Materials – Phil Pullman

    Thank you for all your amazing work! Your books have gotten me through difficult times. My sister and I are hooked on the kate series. Love everything else you have written as well. Thanks!

  150. I just read the description of the Lost Fleet books, and it makes me want to recommend “An Accidental Goddess” by Linnea Sinclair. Space stations, exploding spaceships, romance and parrots–what more could you ask for? Available from Audible.

  151. I read through the comments and saw a lot of things posted that are awesome.
    For great listening experiences:
    -Dresden Files, Codex Alera, Cinder Spires. – all have fantastic nerrators (I’m partial to Dresden though)
    -The Thief (Megan Whalen Turner) – great for measured pacing and love the use of subtext
    The Runaway King (Jennifer Neilsen) – middle grade but great story and good listening.

    Others that are Great eads but haven’t heard audio so can’t offer recommendations on them.

    Ouarter Share- Nathan Lowell. Series Space ships. No aliens and little fight action. Very paced and more about intrapersonal relations between people. Basically Master and Commander in Space.

    Fallen Empire- (Lindsey Buroker) – Star Wars meets Firefly with romance 🙂 what’s not to love.
    She had a spin off series from this one that I loved but she only has 3 books in it so far with no plans to resume any time soon (as far as I know)

    Magic of Recluce ( L.E. Modesitt jr) fantasy
    Very paced. MC spends a lot of time on skill mastery ( in this case wood working)

    • I second the Dresden Files audiobooks. James Marsden really does such a fantastic job as Harry’s voice.

    • I would like to add the following to your list:
      Lois McMaster Bujold – anything but especially Curse of Chalion and the new Penric series. Grover Gardener narrates and he is wonderful
      Kevin Herne’s Iron Druid series with Luke Daniels narrating. Oberon the wolfhound steals the show.

  152. I like to take baby blankets to knit when traveling. My favorite book is Leisure Arts Our Best Knit Baby Afghans. I am working on Blue Tranquility right now but making it in yellow. I copy the pattern and use circular needles for easier transport. They are also easy to store for future gifts or donate to a women’s shelter.

  153. Have you read the David Weber, Honor Harrington series. Best space navy battles I’ve read.

      • How about David Weber’s Furies duology or Safehold series? Or John Ringo’s Looking Glass series? Not a whole lot of space battle in any of them but there is some in each series plus many other types of battles. The Safehold books also have lots of sea battles with cannons. Either way have fun and travel safely. ?

    • Love those. And the young adult ones where the tree cats are first discovered- gems!

      My go to lately has been March Upcountry through We Few. Something about that snotty prince battling his way across the nasty planet of Marduk with his Marine contingent to become a tough, capable man just grabs my heartstrings.

    • Janny Wurts is one of my favorites. I have read all of her books. I like the Honor Harrington books – strong woman as the central figure. Have you read Michelle Sagara also known as Michelle West. I think I have read most of her books as well.

      I actually prefer e-books to most anything. The library can travel with me and it does not add any extra weight. My husband prefers that I read ebooks because the shelves are already crowded. Because I read quickly it is faster to read than listen.

      I read between 5 and 6 books a week and have since I first met a bookmobile. It was stocked with books that the librarians must have picked out just for me. When I started HS I taught myself to speed read. Ilona and Gordon make me stop and slow down. There prose is delightful to read. They pay attention to the details.

      Thank you.

  156. Dennis Taylor’s “We Are Legion”, the first in the We Are Bob series. Ray Taylor is the narrator. Both book and narrator are great (and funny).

  157. knitting and crochet virgin here, just took a course in the spring and can successfully crochet you hand warmers and have now ventured to dish clothes – why not go back to basics, dish clothes – w kids moving out they may need some!!!!

  158. You’ve had plenty of good suggestions for audiobooks, I just wanted to add in A Lee Martinez, there’s something very soothing about his audiobooks. My favourite is Automatic Detective, it’s about a retro-futuristic 50’s city where a chunk of the population is mutants and Mack Megaton the hapless robot (who was designed as a lethal killing machine) just wants to find his next door neighbours who have been kidnapped.

    There’s something very charming and heartfelt about it and the way it captures Noir without being depressing.

    • Emperor Mollusk and the Sinister Brain is another A Lee Martinez that is terrific. The narrator is just so perfect. I would recommend this to everyone.

  159. Sharon Lee and Steve Miller’s Liaden Universe series. Agent of Change is a fine place to start. I think it is only $1.99 for the audiobook. Should keep your brain off of turbulence.

    • Ahhh. This series I began following way back before it was a series. It was a mere trilogy that had been left to gather dust and a small but fervent following. Space Opera at its finest. The chapbooks we got every Christmas are now available as collections. I adore this far flung, complicated and honor bound family. When I re-read this universe for the (mumbletysus) time I start talking like their writing and dreaming the events.

  160. If you want to listen to a book series that will make you laugh out loud, Jana DeLeon’s Miss Fortune series is a hoot. The narrator is fantastic!

    Sorry can’t help with knitting. =(

    • Oh, sweet gods, yes! I spend so much time in the bathroom with that series. (That sounds so odd when you say it, but better to be dry than have to change your pants!)

    • Sooo funny. I love the inhabitants of Sinful, LA. The heroine is pretty much the “straight man” for all the mayhem, and the poor uninformed cop… He tries so hard to figure things out and gats nowhere.
      Even if you don’t go for the audiobook (I am afraid I don’t listen to them – too slow!), give the books a look.
      (The “Kindle World” books don’t interest me, so I can’t help there either. Sorry.)

  161. I don’t listen to audiobooks, but my favorite non-IA series is “Theirs Not to Reason Why” by Jean Johnson. (Bonus points: The main character is Ia.) Book 1 is “A Soldier’s Duty.” Space ships, aliens, military, battles, and Time.

  162. I am not a knitter, so I won’t be any help there. Here are some audiobook suggestions where I loved the book and the narrator:
    Alpha and Omega (and the rest of the Charles and Anna series) by Patricia Briggs — I love the narrator’s voice. He could read a phone book, and I’d listen…)
    Bellwether by Connie Willis — what’s not to love in a story about a statistician/fads researcher and a chaos theorist?
    Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (layered and lovely YA fantasy)
    The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas (also a YA fantasy)
    Blind Waves by Steven Gould (Renee Raudman narrates 🙂 ) — submarine, Shakespeare, and the world after climate induced flooding…

    Not SFF or UF:
    Act Like It by Lucy Parker — sarky, dry look at fake-dating in the London theater scene
    The Masqueraders — Georgian romantic adventure story

    • I second the Alpha & Omega. I also love Ann Bishop’s “The Others” series. Great books and really good narration. They aren’t space books, but they are good.

    • Ha! I am exactly the opposite, like the narrator for the Mercy series but not the guy who does the A&O series.

    • anything by Patricia Briggs is great- especially Mercy and Adam. The audio books are great too. They are my favorite couple after Kate and Curran.

  163. For an easy travel knitting project, I suggest a cowl knit in the round. I usually make one with sock-weight yarn, which means you can get an entire project out of one skein. This will all fit in one medium-sized baggie. Depending on the texture, your needle size (and speed) can be as small/slow as size 4, and as big/fast as size 6 or 7.

    I usually invest in a fun color changing yarn with a nice feel. And if I am only “in like” with the finished project, it can be a great gift. If you are on ravelry, I recommend the “august loop” or september circle” patterns by the Knitting School Dropout (gotta love the name) which I have made with a sale-priced Schoppel Zauberball and some delightful MadelineTosh.

    Happy knitting, safe (and non-frustrating) travels.

  164. I really love the Kushiel series. Maybe Kushiel’s Dart might be interesting. No spaceships, but a great series, and I hear the audio books are good too.

    • Great series, some of them were a little long, but well written. Don’t know how thane audio sounds though.

  166. I dont have any audio book recs, but I looove this slouchy beanie pattern I found on.. ravelry, I think. its super easy and works up pretty quickly.

  167. I don’t do audio, so I don’t know about the quality of the recordings, but my favorite go-to re-re-readings are Elizabeth Moon’s Space Opera series, especially the Heris Serrano and Ezmay Suisa series (start with Heris, a three-book arc). Elizabeth has similar humor to yours (DON’T let them give you to the Aunts!), is ex-military, and is very knowledgeable about science and space battles. Elizabeth also knits her own socks and she has tips on how-to and pix of her end products on her Facebook page.

    Another author to read is Lois McMaster Bujold. She has just won back-to-back Hugos for Best Series (the first two years it has ever been presented) for her Vorkosigan Saga (Space) and her World of the Five Gods (fantasy, sword-and-sorcery) series. Of the Vorkosigan series, I still like the ones that feature Cordelia best, but the space ones feature her son, Miles Naismith.

    BTW, thanks for Sweep of the Blade. It is excellent!

  168. I recommend “A Discovery of Witches”
    Part 1 of Deborah Harkness’ All Souls Trilogy – it got me through a 20 hour bus ride.
    ….don’t know a knitting project for you but I will keep checking the best sites around here.
    Have a safe and relaxing trip!

  169. I agree with dishtowels and dishcloths for a quick and easy project. Personally, I like knitting socks to de-stress. I start with the cuff end.

  170. An old one: Dean Koontz and “Fear Nothing” – not his usual horror piece but fascinating.

  171. Good luck, have as much fun as you can, stay as healthy as you can and I love listening to Dune on audible, it’s got a full cast (the first one, I’ve never listened to the others). I crochet, haven’t learned to knit yet but I do hair bands and hair kerchief type things…https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lacy-crochet-kerchief.
    Here are some knitted ones:

    https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#query=hair%20band&availability=free&view=captioned_thumbs&sort=best&craft=knitting&photo=yes

    https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#query=hair%20kerchief&view=captioned_thumbs&availability=free&page=1&sort=best&photo=yes&craft=knitting

  173. Have you tried Artemis? It’s the newer book by The Martian author Andy Weir, and Rosario Dawson does a great reading.

  175. I do the whole craft-while-listening-to-a-book thing, too, so here goes:

    For ships blowing up, go with Tanya Huff’s Valor series. First book is “Valor’s Choice”.

    For laughing your ass off, go with Jana DeLeon’s Miss Fortune series. First book is “Louisiana Longshot”.

    From Mercedes Lackey, go with her Hunter trilogy (possibly my favorite female narrator to date). It’s fairly short and recent, and you *know* the writing is solid, because Mercedes-freaking-Lackey! I’m not a huge fan of some of the narrators she has on her other series, though, and besides some have been running since the eighties! (Looking at you, Valdemar.)

    Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series is pretty funny, too, with solid narration.

    Everything Ursula Vernon (aka T. Kingfisher) has ever written. Try “The Seventh Bride” or “Clockwork Boys”.

    Last, but certainly not least, Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid series. There are a couple short story collections and Oberon’s Meaty Mysteries if you want a sampler of the writing and narration. Fave male narrator for this series.

      • Lol. I tried so hard to get through the Iron Druid but kept comparing him to Harry Dresden. The Druid just wasn’t for me. I’d bought all the books though so I set them by my husband’s side of the bed. He really enjoyed them.

      • Crystal have you read/listened to Kevin Hearne’s A Plague of Giants yet?
        It was very difficult to put down!!
        IDC was one of my audiobook gateway drugs!

  176. For an audiobook rec: All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai. It’s like a mashup of the science nerdy fun of The Martian with characters that feel straight out of The Magicians. Oh and there’s time travel.

  177. I would recommend Mary Robinette Kowal’s newest books … Calculating Stars and Fated Sky… it’s a Lady Astronaut duology, and dynamite! Or her Ghost Talkers an alternate history a mystery thriller in WWI with ghosts … there’s even some knitting too… Mary narrates her own stories and she’s great…

    • Along the lines of Lost Fleet with space battles, I would recommend the Kris Longknife series by Mike Shepherd. The first in the series is Kris Longknife: Mutineer. It is fantabulous.

  179. Audiobooks: “Others series” by Anne Bishop. “Mercy Thompson series” by Patricia Briggs. Or (if I am traveling with my husband), any of the suspense novels by Nora Roberts or the “In Death series” by her other name, J. D. Robb.

    Knitting projects: I knit socks when I travel. 1 sock takes 1 ball of yarn. Even with DP needles, the whole project is easy to wad up and stuff in a corner of my purse. And, it is fairly mindless so I can put large portions of it “on autopilot” if I want to watch what is going on around me. I buy the self-patterning sock yarn so color changes aren’t a problem.

  180. Strangely my go to distraction listen is the Empire Trilogy by Raymond Feist and Janny Wurtz. It’s D&D meets Shogun. I have read it so many times and it recently came to Audible. Female protagonist in a male dominated culture, political intrigue, alien races, cunning and strategy to save the day, it has it all.

    Sending good juju to the poor puppy.

    • I loved those books as it was great to meet a female main character with brains ❤?❤
      I liked Pug the magician and Riftwar books too …

    • Raymond Feist’s start of the Riftwar Saga was amazing. Magician was published in 1982, a mammoth book! (Sigh, I was 27…) It was later split into two books, Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master. They are in audio, and I just downloaded the first book to revisit the series.

      I lost track of the series about 10-12 years ago, but the early books are wonderful.

  181. I crochet soooo no help there. Maybe knit fingerless gloves for autumn? For a ‘spacie’ audiobook I recommend We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor, narrated by Narrated by: Ray Porter. It’s pretty funny.

  182. Michelle (if you’re reading these comments), you’re telling me its already available in the UK and I’ve been waiting for the Amazon release like a crazy person? I hope you’re on shift tomorrow lunch time, you’ll be getting a VERY excited visit from me.

  183. Oh my! I spend a lot of time driving for work or in bed with pain due to autoimmune stuff, so I have SOOO many wonderful audiobooks! You might like the Sirantha Jax series by Ann Aguirre, anything by Patricia Briggs, Harry Potter is the best narration by Jim Dale, Fredrik Backman is a lovely writer, Catherynne Valente’s fairyland series is simply gorgeous. I hope your trip is wonderful and you find some new world to explore.

  184. Audiobooks:
    – The Expanse audiobooks
    – Stark’s War trilogy
    – Rivers of London series, not sci-fi but great anyway

  186. I just finished the Find Your Fade shawl by DreaReneeKnits. I only used three colors. It was an easy knit, mostly garter stitch with a basic yarn over lace pattern. Increases on both sides for a while then only on one side, so the shawl has a cool trapezoid look.
    https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/find-your-fade

    Audiobook was Full Catastrophe Living by Jon-Kabat Zinn.

  187. The Lost Fleet is still lost? OMG? I read the early books and they contain the best space ship battles anywhere. Very easy to visualize them. Right now I’m listening to all of your books on audio. But someone above mentioned Howl’s Moving Castle, that might be fun on audio. I don’t knit but think scarfs are always kool (the weirder the better). Safe travels!

      • A book, a couple of others set in the same world and out of forty years worth of books published there were maybe three Diana Wynne Jones books that I have not re-read obsessively.
        Most are at least technically ya, but all are fascinating in different ways. All her books can be read as stand alone, even when part of a series, so it’s pretty much dive in wherever.

  188. As a knit project- how about an Aran. I usually do a baby blanket but they do have sweater patterns and no color changes. The stitches usually complex enough. As for audiobooks, I know you asked for for SF, but hoe about At Knit’s End? It’s a humorous knitters’ philosophy. It kept me in stitches as a learn how to knit.

  191. Maybe Mary Robinette Kowal’s Lady Astronaut books, The Calculating Stars and The Fated Sky. Both are available in audio

  192. I only wish Kate 10 was available this week. I need the distraction from the Hurricane Lane that beating down my door.

  193. This is the moment I’ve dreamed of for years! I get to share my audiobook knowledge with people who won’t think I”m out of my mind!!
    I reccommend the following:

    Naomi Novik:
    Uprooted (So good! )
    Spinning Silver (Just finished this one, it is a slavic reimagining of Rumplestiltskin.)

    Kevin Hearne:
    The Iron Druid Chronicles (The last druid lives in Arizona and faces off aginst the Fae)
    A Plauge of Giants (Avatar The Last Airbender esque, so much as there are 6 elemental based nations, however the invasion comes from creepy fanatical bone giants!)

    Anything by David Sedaris is also wonderful, his newest Calypso is good, but a bit sad for those with estranged/far away elderly parents.

    Ian Doescher:
    William Shakespeare’s Star Wars (Very funny and easy to listen to)

    Neil Gaiman:
    Anansi Boys (The semi sequel to American Gods, but in my opinion much better!!)
    Good Omens

    Stephen King’s 11-22-63 (The one that got me started in audiobooks! Very long, but very good!)

    Caitlin Moran’s How to Be a Woman (Hilarious, and insightful!)

    Connie Willis’ To Say Nothing of The Dog Or How we found the Bishop’s Birdstump (A man with time jet lag, or timelag, has to go to Victorian England to return a cat.)

  194. For laugh out loud distraction, Larry Correia’s Monster Hunter series is a favorite go-to. Any author who figures out how to defenestrate their newly-turned psycho werewolf asshole boss in Chapter One gets my full attention! For the knitting project, I love the knitting without patterns book. It explains the method behind the madness of patterns…and then you never need a pattern again, you just…knit! No knitting to gauge, you just adjust your gauge to your knitting–whatever size needles, whatever yarn you happen to pick–there you go. There is math, and a few check points, but for travelling especially, you can’t beat the freedom. Unfortunately, I’m travelling at the moment, and didn’t bring my book. I do, however, have emergency yarn and needles in the glovebox! Have a tranquil trip and a ton of fun!

    • Omg – “defenestrate their newly-turned psycho werewolf asshole boss.”
      ??

      If I hadn’t already read this series, this would’ve sent me to buy it immediately. And yeah, you’re right, it’s a great scene!

    • I read this and it is funny, but MHI is based on the KKK (as per the narrative, they get started by putting together a lynching party and end up burning the undead on a cross, in Alabama, in 1895).

      So while the story is amusing, I found the basis (and the white nationalist talking points) to be problematic.

  195. I recommend socks for travel knitting. They’re lightweight and a round doesn’t take that long so you’re always near a stopping point. I magic loop on circular needles. I recommend a self striping colorway for potato chip knitting. I almost entirely knit plain vanilla self striping socks. My favorite heel is the Afterthought heel but the Fish Lips Kiss heel is super easy. I’m posting a picture of some Desert Vista Dyeworks Viso yarn (my crack) with the FLK heel. There are thousands of patterns on Ravelry. Monkey Socks by Cookie A are a pretty charted pattern if you like that. I like the No Purl Monkey pattern on Ravelry too. Outside of socks I would suggest blanket squares, (either separate or a mitered scrappy blanket), a cowl, or an easy shawl like Age of Steam and Brass or something by Martina Behm.

  196. Additional application for knitting needles:

    I read the panellists of the DRAGONCON and there is this really important question:

    Are Authors and their sh… -ähm- strange ideas contaminous?

    Nightmare. Awful Nightmare!
    Do you want an image?

    One horror-vision is „55. Novella in Secret-Love-Life-of-Lord-Soren-Series: The kinky quintuplets by Ilona Andrews“.

    Please utilize your knitting needles as tools of self-defense and fend these infectious authors off. 😀

  197. If you like multiple narrators to go with your space battles, try MK Eidem’s Cassandra’s Challenge. Other good books are Terminal Alliance by Jim C Hines, Perilous Waif by E. William Brown, and Linesman by SK Dunstall.
    If you want relaxing non-fiction, try American Pharoh by Joe Drape.

  198. My audio book recommendations for you, if you like lost fleet try some of his other work like the Pillars of Reality set, its not spacey but its very Campbell.

    For a new recommendation rather than a same vain option you should try either the demon accords books by John Conroe or the Kings Dark Tidings set by Kel Kade. Both are my repeat reads.

  199. I agree with the dishcloth suggestions but I’ve also made scarves to donate to local charities.

    As for books, I like JD Robb’s In Death series, Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter and Psy/Changling series, or (new favorite) The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes by Leonard Goldberg. The Modern Scholar lectures are also very good. (Principles of Economics = A++)

  200. Have you done any WestKnit shawls yet? Dotted Rays is easy, fun, and looks great as a finished object. I wear mine all the time because it’s simple to wrap.

    Fingering weight project – especially with a lot of garter stitch – are my favorite for flights. But Dotted Rays is a little more interesting (IMO) to knit than a basic Hitchhiker.

    https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/dotted-rays

  202. I love to listen to Cabin Pressure. It was a radio show and the episodes a half an hour.
    It’s a comedy based on a the crew of an airplane, their passengers and the trips they go on. It’s incredibly funny and easy to listen to.
    Among others it is narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, Roger Allan and Stephanie Cole
    You can listen on Audible

  203. Sirantha Jax series by Ann Aguirre is a great story, and Dresden Files has some excellent audiobooks ^_^

  204. First – definitely bookmarking this list. About to fly 23 hours Alaska to Australia for a 25th anniversary cruise round New Zealand cruise. Going to need these ideas.

    Second – Ilona, I took a class on naalbinding two years ago and found there’s less cramping and arthritis pain in my hands. The Facebook group is amazing and there are beaucoup YouTube videos. I recommend Oslo stitch to start if interested. Plus needle fits in a shirt or pants pocket. Pic is my first project. I felted it to keep out cold, wet wind. Last fall I taught a beginner class complete with step by step pics. Email me if you want a copy.

  206. You might try Orson Scott Card’s Shadow series. Book one is Bean’s POV of Ender’s game, and skippable (though very interesting) if you read Ender’s Game. The one that will probably interest you most is book 2, Shadow of the Hegemon–lots of political intrigue and military maneuvering with excellent characters and intricate plot. The readers are excellent, particularly Scott Brick, who plays Bean’s POV on the audiobooks.

  207. Simone St. james has some errie awesome ghost story audio books. Imjust finished The Broken girls..but really anything on audio by her is captivating!

  209. Did you ever listen to Lindsey Davis’ Falco series? The BBC did them in full cast audio and they’re wonderful.

    • Agreed. This was a very good series. I haven’t really gotten into her Flavia Albia books yet but they are on my list.

      I would also recommend Ruth Downie’s Medicus series. I liked Falco a bit better but these are still pretty good.

  210. I would recommend Castaway Planet by Eric Flint and Ryk E. Spoor, it’s a space adventure series very much like the Martian in that every time they go “we got this” something else goes wrong.

  211. I like to knit cowls while flying. Not a big project. Generally done by the end of the trip and knitting using the loop means you don’t have super long needles. As to audio books have you listened to the Vorkosegen series by Louis McMaster Bujold? Good series has that steady storytelling that is relaxing and the storyline has my favorite dry humor.

    Now can we have Innkeeper please?

  212. I like Glyn Stewart’s Starship Mage series and I really love the narrator for Jodi Taylor’s Chronicles of St. Marys

    • I have to second both of these.

      I especially loved the Starship Mage series, which was an excellent space opera. I’ve been looking for more books in this style as I love the combination of magic and technology.

      However, the Chronicles of St. Marys series will have you on a roller-coaster of emotion ranging from laughing so hard at times you may need an emergency bathroom break to crying so hard you need a box of tissues. I do love the snarky humor though.

      • I third the Starship Mage series. Absolutely brilliant storytelling, and very intriguing premise.

  213. Have you read Scalzi? Wil Wheaton reading Scalzi is one of life’s great pleasures. The Collapsing Empire is great to listen to, and he has many space series, though my favorite Scalzi book is Lock-in (narrated by either Wil Wheaton or Amber Benson), but it’s not about spaceships (Book 2 is Head-On). With regard to airplane projects, I tend to like hats. It takes me a day to knit a hat, so I only need to bring 1 crochet hook and enough yarn for a hat. You can change color as much as you like in a hat, though I tend to like simple stockinette and self-striped yarn because. I knit socks using the Magic Loop method and it takes me a few days to knit a sock, so that is a great project to bring on the plane, though my eyes are bad so if the light isn’t adequate, I will drop a lot of stitches.

  214. I didn’t know they let you take knitting needles on a plane, don’t they know they’re a deadly weapon. Rakshasas beware!

    • You can if the needles and plastic “string” (I don’t know what else to call it) are separated. If they allow circular needles (meaning the points and plastic string are put together) wow. 🙂

  215. Try Lion Brand or Red Heart websites for free patterns and ideas. I find great patterns on LB.

  216. Knitting projects… booties, you can use any stitch you want for the first two thirds and then a rib and then a decrease for the toe. You can make it as complex of a first stitch as you want. Or you can make patches for a quilt. Use up small batches of pretty, yet too small balls for anything else, yarn. Safe travels!

  220. Elizabeth Moon’s Vatta’s series or even Christopher Nutall’s Angel in the Whirlwind series. Both are interesting and fun reads.

  221. Try the Indrannan Empire series by K.B Wagers. First book is titled ‘Before the Throne’. Here is the blurb….

    …. Meet Hail: Captain. Gunrunner. Fugitive.

    Quick, sarcastic, and lethal, Hailimi Bristol doesn’t suffer fools gladly. She has made a name for herself in the galaxy for everything except what she was born to do: rule the Indranan Empire. That is, until two Trackers drag her back to her home planet to take her rightful place as the only remaining heir. But trading her ship for a palace has more dangers than Hail could have anticipated. Caught in a web of plots and assassination attempts, Hail can’t do the one thing she did 20 years ago: run away. She’ll have to figure out who murdered her sisters if she wants to survive.

    A gun smuggler inherits the throne in this Star Wars-style science fiction adventure from debut author K. B. Wagers. Full of action-packed space opera exploits and courtly conspiracy – not to mention an all-out galactic war – Behind the Throne will please fans of James S. A. Corey, Becky Chambers and Lois McMaster Bujold or anyone who wonders what would happen if a rogue like Han Solo were handed the keys to an empire.

  222. No help on the knitting project, but for the audio book I highly recommend Lois McMaster Bujold’s Miles Vorkosigan series. Start with Warrior’s Apprentice. Space opera with great characters, funny but also thoughtful.

    • Bujold – More Miles please. Cordelia is good too. Melanie Rawn – Dragon Prince and Dragon Star are very good trilogy. Elizabeth Moon – Legend of Paksenarrion. There are so many books to read. Just not enough time.

  223. Iron Druid is fun via audio. JD Robb’s Eve and Roarke mysteries can hold my attention. An odd distraction for me is planning themed menus for parties. As a former caterer I get a charge out of the mental painting and virtual palate design. Then I rework the recipes for friends with dietary restrictions. Think Apple Cobbler with Amaretto, Frangelica, honey substituting almond flour for all the wheat flour. I get rave reviews the Thanksgiving I brought it to a potluck.

  225. Have you listened to Martha Wells Murder Bot Diaries? This takes place in outer space. I also enjoy Wells’ Raksura series. I also enjoy the light Jayne Castle series in Harmony that has psychic skills on a new world called Harmony. The Dust Bunnies are great sidekicks.

    • Love the Raksura too! Up for a Hugo for best series but lost to the Chalion series, which I also really love.

  226. I’m too late because the 3 I immediately thought of have been recommended but definite +1 for Nathan Lowell. Quarter Share is the first and he has the most soothing voice in the world

    I’m pretty sure you MUST have already done the Miles Vorkosigan series – such modern classics – and funny and lots blows up and … and … and the audios are wonderful with Grover Gardener as the narrator.

    Not sci-fi but wonderfully narrated if you like a Brit accent is the Jodi Taylor series. Snark abounds and they do not Time Travel … they “investigate major historical events in contemporary time.” Just genius.

  229. Have been reading T S Paul’s Athena Lee series. Hopefully available as audio. Set in space. Only knitting i can think of are scarves or shawls done in variegated wools.

  230. I know it’s not knitting, and you asked for knitting projects, but have you ever tried monster crochet? They look complicated but they’re actually relatively simple patterns usually and they crochet fairly fast. There are lots of patterns online for them.

  231. As to knitting projects, I recommend socks. Small and very useful. You don’t have to do any color changes, just get variegated yarn.

    As for space opera, I LOVE it. I have a couple recs. I love the Linesman series series by SK Dunstall. I read these so I can’t comment on the narrator. Also, I am LOVING the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. I am collecting these all on audio – Kevin Free is great. Anne – Books of My Heart

  232. Fallen Empire series by Lindsay Buroker. The first 3 books are available in an Omnibus for free on kindle and you can add the Audiobook for a nominal amount (considering its 3 books.). It’s really entertaining Space sci-fi and easy to understand.

  236. I would recommend Tantamount (Free Lanes book 1) of Thomas J. Radford. It is a weird mash up of steampunk and space opera, a real ship sailing in space, but the character and world building are amazing. I read the book, but there is audible as well.

  237. My sci-fi go-to is nothing new but endlessly entertaining and thought provoking. The Vorkosigan Saga, any or all. Grover Gardner is the perfect narrator.

  238. David Weber’s Honor Harrington series is one of my faves. Excellent world building; complicated (in a good way) bad guys … just great space Navy stories.

  239. As to knitting, here are a few suggestions from someone with similar plane travel needs:

    BusyMonkey’s Geology shawl: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/geology-shawl

    Wonder Woman wrap: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wonder-woman-wrap-knit — (seems appropriate)

    Swallowtail shawl — one skein of fingering weight and a beautiful result:

    https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/swallowtail-shawl

    Concavus — just made this one with a wave edging ending.

    https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/concavus

    I tried to include a pictures without success. 🙁

  240. First of all – you listen to The Lost Fleet series, and that is amazing! I should have guessed based on Innkeeper, but I had no idea you were an SF fan. Then again, you are also a David Gemmell fan, and anyone who loves Gemmell is awesome. (Seriously, when are we getting a Druss movie? Or Waylander?? But good. Like GoT level quality.)

    Anyway.

    You already have SO many great suggestions. For the specifics you are looking for, might I add my voice to those suggesting David Weber’s Honor Harrington, Lois Master Bujold, and some of Anne McCffrey’s? Scalzi’s Old Man’s War was also quite good. I will add the caveat that I have not listened to any of these on audiobook, specifically, and I am fairly picky about narrator voice, so I can’t comment on that.

    I’d recommend my series as a SF adventure (and I love my narrator), but there are fewer explosions and more stabby and psychic stabby (ie, magic in space) deaths in the first book than there are ship-to ship combat scenes.

  241. Mike Shepherd’s Kris Longknife series is excellent. If you are looking for humorous, try Space Opera by Catherine Valente.

  242. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman is good. It’s ~$11 on Amazon. The villain is narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch and is a little under 4 hours. What more could you want from a book?

    • Don’t forget Christopher Lee and James McAvoy.

      And for those that don’t like radio dramas, the audiobook is fantasric too.

  243. Any of the Star Wars books are epic. They’re like listening an old radio show—sound effects, music, etc. Chuck Wendig’s AFTERMATH trilogy started a month-long binge last year. ALSO, Andy Weir’s THE MARTIAN is the best narration I’ve ever heard, and the story is pretty great too. See you at Dragon Con! ?

  244. Have you listened to Martha Wells’ MurderBot diaries? They’re awesome novellas and the audio recordings are well done. The first one is All Systems Red.

    I don’t know how they compare to the examples you gave, but I find them totally engrossing. I’ve listened multiple times and always make sure I have a long period of time in which to listen so I don’t have to stop.

  246. Well, I tried this one once without success. Forgive duplication, if it occurs

    Knitting suggestions:

    Geology Shawl: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/geology-shawl

    Architexture: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/architexture

    Pointed Firs: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/pointed-firs

    Swallowtail: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/swallowtail-shawl

    Concavus: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/concavus

    For listening, ANY Georgette Heyer, but especially those narrated by Phillips Nash or Eve Matheson.

  247. Linesman by S K Dunstall is first of a great sci fi trilogy. Black Dog by Rhys Ford is great fantasy. Have a safe trip!

  248. I believe you once recommended Michelle Diener’s Dark Minds series and I’ve been meaning to give you a big THANK YOU forever; they’re fantastic! I believe you said at that time that you had not finished them. It looks like they’re all available in audiobook if you’re still interested. I just love the use of music in them, really adds a lovely layer to the spaceships exploding. ?

  249. I know nothing of knitting, but The Expanse audiobooks by James S. A. Corey are absolutely wonderful. I’m obsessed with the world building of that series, as well as the intricacies of the social and political landscapes all the characters try to navigate with varying degrees of success. So much complexity is laid out in an attempt to explain the basic notion human nature. It’s definitely engaging enough to distract. I know I got absolutely nothing done each time a book dropped, which is ironic because the whole reason I listen to audiobooks is so that I can read while working on other things. I actually don’t regularly read military, political, or much sci-fi in general, so the fact that this series makes my top ten list of favorite books is saying something. If you haven’t checked it out already, you might want to try a sample to see if it piques your interest. Have a good trip!

  250. I recommend A Harmless Little Game trilogy by Meli Raine. It is romance, not science fiction or fantasy, but there is so much political intrigue and deep state stuff, it’s fun. The next trilogy, A Shameless Little Lie is great, too. There are 4 trilogies, all related, but you don’t need to read them in order. Also, The Wild Hunt series by Yasmine Galenorn is great. I don’t know if it is available in audio, but my Nook reads to me. The robotic voices creep out my husband and kids, but I adjusted the settings to the way I like it.

  251. The Martian writer also wrote Artemis – about a woman in a colony on the moon. Have you read the Vorkosigan series? It’s space-battle related.

  252. Lindsay buroker/ruby drake scifies are awesome. I love me some Lindsay Buroker/Ruby Drake she’s an understated funny. As for knitting if I’m in a stressful situation something super simple and repetitive like a scarf of KKP to keep me occupied and calm. Something too complicated just increases my agitation.

  253. I enjoy listening to th Vorkosigan saga. Also The Linesman series is awesome. But for snarky heroines you can’t go past Molly Harper with Amanda Ronconi as narrator!

  254. I really like The Spaceship Next Door. The narrator is fantastic. The book is a slow burn – it seems to take a number of meandering detours, but then it all gets tied into a neat little bow at the end.

    Plus, the protagonist is a 16 year old girl who is neither stupid nor helpless and that’s always a plus.

    • Hope some of these aren’t repeats: Liaden series by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon, Old Man’s War series by John Scalzi, Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly, Bob series by Dennis E Taylor. Good luck!

        • Also the only author to win both the Hugo and Nebula Award,
          Ann Leckie. Her writing is amazing, and there were many times I had to re read a paragraph and go “wow”. Three book series: Ancillary Mercy, Ancillary Justice and Ancillary Sword.
          Again…..amazing books.

          • I love this series so much. I’ve read the next in that universe – Provenance – and like the Authorlords, Anne Leckie has sublime world building and fully rounded characters.

          • I tried the audio just a second ago and I don’t think I could listen to this for hours. Something for the reading pile, though, definitely.

      • Lee & Miller’s Liaden Universe (especially the Agent of Change sequence and its prequels) is one of my favorites; I don’t know if I’ve ever “succeeded” in re-reading just one.
        I also love Remnant Population, with its unusual protagonist (an older woman, the last human on-planet for a major portion of the book), though it’s not a very things-blowing-up story.
        I don’t use audiobooks, myself, though, so I can’t rate the narrators.

  256. Audio book ideas?…maybe Artemis by Andy Weir …or Fortunes Pawn by Rachel Bach? I just finished reading The Rules of Luck by Catherine Cerveny… which was pretty good too!

    • Yes to Rachel bach. Thumbs up. Decker’s war series, Eric Thompson’s imperial sunset. Another excellent but not space starships read Sherwood Smith’s inda fox series. Life on the high seas. Pirate Fox and inda … and Tau and jeje!! Also best clean romace I ever read is Sherwood’s crown duel…just saying..??.

  257. If you are an Audible member, David Webers Honor HArrington “On Basilisk Station” may be free. Space Navy, no dragons, but a grand series. Eric Flings 1632 is 7.49 audible. Love both series. Hope you have a good flight!!

  258. I enjoyed The Forgotten Engineer by TS Paul. The books are a little short but the series is enjoyable. Wilson the AI is a blast and so funny as you move further into the series.

  259. Cancun Lacy box top is on my needles right now. Looks complicated but is repetitive enough to not need a chart in front of you for the lace sections. Also perfect the warm weather we get in Hill country.

  260. The Rivers of London Series – author is Ben Aaronovitch, truly fantastic narrator is Kobna Holdbrook-Smith.

    Also Wayfarers series, author is Becky Chambers, narrator Rachel Dulude.

    The Others (which I read bc of rec on this site so just yeah), author Anne Bishop, narrator Alexandra Harris.

    Currently I appear to only knit ponchos for toddlers out of random madelinetosh so I will just not pipe up.

    • +1 River of London Series. I am in love with Thomas Nightingale. Not Space Opera but ripping good tales and the the narrator Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is a true pleasure to listen too.

  261. If you are willing to podcast and have overnight flights, I find 99% Invisible both interesting and yet soothing enough to sleep to.

  262. Oh yes, and I endorse Rivers of London and add the Expeditionary Force series. The guy who reads it is hilarious.

  263. Some good sci fi audio books to check out: Castle Federation series by Glynn Stewart. Books by H. Paul Honsinger. Linesman series by S K Dunstall.

  264. If you haven’t already, try the Vatta’s War series by Elizabeth Moon (Trading in Danger is book #1) – I read, didn’t audio, but it’s one of my go-to fav space series. Also, Once a Hero is another excellent space adventure by Elizabeth Moon (although that series somewhat fizzles at times – but Once a Hero is really good, and easily functions as a stand alone).

  266. In Death Ground and the Shiva option (star fire early novels and the best) – by Steve white/David Weber; John Scalzi – old mans war, the collapsing empire, the dispatcher, red shirts; Michelle Dieners ‘Class 5 Series’; Jack Campbell’s ‘Dragon of Dorchester’ interesting premise – (by the way – Thank you for your recommendation on JC -I now have all the books and audio books due to a recommendation you made a couple of years ago); anything Shelly Laurenston/GA Aiken;

  268. Nalini Singh is absolutely one of my favorites for reading and listening to the readers for both of her series are wonderful.

  269. For Spaceships blowing up, try John Ringo’s Troy Rising Trilogy. Now you say , you can’t get into the sequels to the Lost Fleet but did you try the prequel series?

    For Sci Fi you might not have tried yet, there is Anne Leckie. All her books are great but, the back cover paragraphs that are supposed to hook you are terrible. Just be prepared to be confused about gender. Despite multiple reads, I am still unsure which characters are male and which are female.

    • The Lost Fleet prequels also have the ancestors to folks we know and love which made it even more interesting. And they are better than the after books.

  270. I can recommend the audiobooks for Tanya Huff’s Confederation series, Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan series, Elizabeth Moon’s Vatta series and Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series. I loved reading the books and the audio books give a new dimension and enjoyment to the stories.

  272. I love Annie Bellet‘s Twentysided Sorceress – urban fantasy at its finest.
    And she writes great short stories, too.

  273. Avery good friend said this was one of the most talented voice actors he has ever listened to and he cried when the book was over because he wanted the story to go on and on. Book is Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. The voice actor is Humphrey Bower. 43 hours of listening pleasure to cover all your flights. He acts out all the voices.

  274. Jim Butcher has a book called Aeronaut’s Windlass that has some features of a space odyssey swirled with sailing ships. The audio version is well read, too.

  275. I love listening to Lois Mcmasters Bujolds Vorkosigan series, I love all of her stuff really but you said spaceships so…
    have an amazing trip and a smooth and comfy flight 🙂

    • <3 <3 <3 Miles Vorkosigan/Naismith! Everything I've read by LMB (which is almost everything she's written) is brilliant, though. From laughter to tears and back, exciting and suspenseful, clever and thought-provoking, and with truly fine writing throughout. I don't do audio, so I can't speak to the narrator, though.

  277. I highly recommend Tanya Huff’s Confederation series. The first one is Valor’s Choice. Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan series. Catherine Asaro’s Skolian Empire is good too. It’s a series, but most books are stand alone. The first few books of the Honor Harrington series are very good (they get tedious towards the end. Lots of talking, very little doing). Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Diving Universe. Although I don’t know if it’s very relaxing. Alan Dean Foster’s Commonwealth. Elizabeth Moon’s Serrano Legacy. John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series. Joe Zieja Epic Failure. (not finished yet) I could go on and on.

  279. For a beautifully read book, try Behind the Throne by K.B. Wagers. I fell in love with the series. A matriarchal society based on Indian culture. Hail is a Princess and has made her living as a pirate while searching for her father’s killer. Dragged home because her sisters were murdered and she is the next queen. The narrator’s accent is delightful.
    We are Legion by Dennis Taylor is also good and if you love SciFi, the cultural references throughout the book will be a delight.

    • Yes, the Bobiverse, We are Legion, is fantastic and a funny series. The books are great. The Audio books are even better!

  280. David Weber’s Honor Harrington series. Space Ships blowing up galore and a very strong heroine. First one is On Basilisk Station and it is available in Amazon Audible.

  281. I’ve just been reading all the audiobook suggestions.. so .. nothing much I can add there. (Other than to second the bob series) but for the knitting! I like to knit socks when I travel (or am in hospital (more likely for me) as they are small, can be as intricate as you want, or as plain as you want. with the heel to add fun. there are heaps and heaps of patterns available on ravelry. go have a browse… (then maybe go sock wool shopping??? lol)

  282. Just one off screen explosion. But I adore the audio of The Goblin Emperor. And if you haven’t heard Charlaine Harris’s Grave Sight series it’s engrossing and fun!

  283. Project: A knitter friend of mine made my husband and me illusion scarves with kitties. Could be fun.

    Books: I love Elizabeth Moon’s Deed of Paksennarion. She has a more space/sci-if series that I haven’t read, but sounds like you might want to look. Also, Anne Mccaffery’s Freedom series came to mind.

  285. Have you listened to the first few audios of Kristine Kathryn Rusch’ s Retrieval Artist series? They are fabulous!

  286. For knitting try a standard triangle shawl but use two colors , dividing the colors in the middle with a cable of greater or lesser difficulty. Good with a color blended yarn on one side and a solid on the other.

  288. I’m marathoning Glynn Stewart at the moment…great sci-fi 🙂
    Castle Federation
    Duchy of Terra
    Starships Mage
    All great series….

  290. Knitting – anything by Casapinka! Shawls – One and Done uses one skein of an overdyed yarn. Rainbow Warrior uses one overdyed yarn and a contrasting solid. Both are really fun.

  292. Redahirts by John Scalzi (meta not-quite-parody of Star Trek with surprising depth) and Forging Haephestus by Drew Hayes (unusual supers world mostly from the point of veiw of a up and coming villain, and a retired one that becomes her mentor to join the villains guild).

  294. I like the kutherian gambit series. nice space odessey type book. it starts with vampires and weres, but they are really genetically enhanced by aliens. There is swearing but I think its a great book. Your mileage may vary.

  295. Im no help with the knitting (sigh).

    As far as audiobooks, I recommend the Honor Harrington series by David Weber, the first book is On Basilisk Station. Granted, I red it not listened to it so cannot attest to narrator but the story is fantastic (if a bit dark at times in later books).

    On a completely different genre I would try Lady Trent’s series by Marie Brennan. Well written and great narrator. The first book is A Natural History of Dragons. It’s written as an autobiography by a victorian era like woman from a country comparable to England.

  296. I would recommend the Bobiverse by Dennis E Taylor. Very funny and nerdy! It helped me when me when I was traveling.
    Also, The Expanse by James S.A. Cory. It’s a classic space opera with alien’s and space colonization.

  297. The Vorkosigan Saga starting with “Shards of Honor” by Lois McMaster Bujold is a great space opera series that is really enjoyable on audio book. I don’t usually like male narrators, but these are well done.

  298. I was disappointed not to be able to recommend Andre Norton’s Beast Master series because after listening to the narrator mispronouncing the protagonist’s name. It would be a form of torture to keep listening to it being mispronounced over and over. On the otherhand, it could be a great distraction now that I think it over.

  299. Not sure if audio versions are available but the Pip and Flinx series from Alan Dean Foster is excellent. The bulk of them are older (first one was published in 1972) but he publishes a new one from time to time. The latest was in 2017. The older ones still hold up really well. I reread the series last year when I found out a new one was coming and enjoyed as much as I did when I first started reading these in the 80’s.

  300. You are probably inundated with patterns and books. I give you both in one post. They are not the book type you wanted, but I thoroughly enjoyed them. They are children’s books by Sarah Prineas: The Magic Thief trilogy. In one, a scarf was knitted by one character for another one. The pattern was printed in the third book. You can get the free pattern online by searching for magic thief scarf knit pattern. It is all one color, but has a keyhole in each end. I’m sure you could do whatever you want to embellish. I tried to add a picture and it didn’t want to paste. Enjoy yourselves as you meet and greet.

  301. All Systems Red
    by Mary Wells

    A 4-part series called Murderbot for short

    It’s about a Security AI system that overrides its programming, gaining some self-awareness and thus, tries to figure out who/what it is.

    It hates everyone, and ‘vants to be alone,’ but keeps getting tasked to fix situations not of its own making

    It calls itself (silently) by the name Murderbot.

    In the mean time, situations arise which cause “Ripper Cushions.”

    I admit it’s not all blowing up spaceships, but it does grab you, if you’re in the mood for the thought process.
    About 160-175 pgs each, they might work better for the stop and go of air flight, than a massive
    tome.
    Winner: 2017 Nebula Award for Best Novella
    Winner: 2018 Alex Award
    Finalist: 2017 Hugo Award for Best Novella
    One of the Verge’s Best Books of 2017
    A New York Times Bestseller

  302. Have you ever looked at the Kris Longknife series? It’s military sci-if, but not what I’d call “hard scifi“. But still a fun series to enjoy. Currently 12 books in the series, and it’s still going. And that doesn’t count the multiple spinoff series.

  303. And the list of new authors gets longer. Jane Lindskold has three space stories that I like. They are on the short side and not sure if on audio. Also , Company Daughter by Callan Primer, not sure about audio in it either.

    Hope your travels go well and people are polite!

  304. Dennis E. Taylor, we are legion.
    Bob Johansson has just sold his software company for a small fortune and is looking forward to a life of leisure. The first item on his to-do list: spending his newfound windfall. On an urge to splurge, he signs up to have his head cryogenically preserved in case of death. Then he gets himself killed crossing the street. Waking up 117 years later, Bob discovers his mind has been uploaded into a sentient space probe with the ability to replicate itself. Bob and his clones are on a mission to find new homes for humanity and boldly go where no Bob has gone before
    Its quirky and surprisingly heart wrenching at times. I really liked it, thought you might as well.

    • Don’t know why my phone posted a picture, omg I’m dying lmao, if anyone can delete it that would be great.
      Thanks

      • I’m laughing so hard right now. Not at your picture but at your response to it auto posting. Great pic and great recommendation!! Didn’t think many others had read it!

      • Well that’s not how I would have imagined a sentient space probe to look but everything goes in Sci Fi right? ;D (was my first semi-conscious thought until I read your comment) Hehehe! Watch out, maybe your phone is the one that’s becoming sentient and starting to rebel! 😛

  305. I found the Wolkig cowl to be pleasingly repetitive and fun as it knit up without being complex at all.

  306. Jack Campbell has a series called JAG in Space that I enjoy. I also like Nathan Lowell’s Ishmael Wong and Elizabeth Moon’s Data Series. You might be able to get Nathan Lowell as a free podcast at Apple store.

  308. David Weber did a one off book called In Fury Born that is Amazing if you haven’t read it. I would gift it to you because I love it that much. I also loved Sassinak and the Serrano Legacy by Elizabeth Moon. I lately read and enjoyed S.K. Dunstall’s Linesman books.

  309. If you want to do socks, The pattern vanilla is The new black is fast and really fun to do. No heel flaps!

  310. Michelle Sagara’s Chronicles Of Elantra. First book is Cast in Shadow and she’s published up to Book 14, Cast in Oblivion. Excellent series

  312. I like Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Diving the Wreck series, but don’t do audiobooks myself for the most part, so I am unsure if those are even available as audiobooks.

    Under normal circumstances, my one place to listen is in the car. I can’t pay attention to an audiobook and drive simultaneously. On trips, we sometimes listened to the Tony Hillerman Leaphorn/Chee books. Not the category you’re looking for, but they’re good books. When I was confined to bed with a broken ankle, I listened to Agatha Christie novels, and those knocked me right out.

  315. I don’t have any audiobooks for space battles.

    Of the audiobooks I do have I recommend the narration of Tony Britain. I bought quite a few of the Dick Francis novels narrated by Tony Britain because he was a good vocal performer. Dick Francis wrote murder mystery, usually associated with horse racing. But his main characters have a gritty perseverance that is similar to most space military novels.

    Of Dick Francis novels I liked Enquiry, the Edge (an intercontinental train tour), Bolt (jockey kit fielding), and quite a few others. (but avoid flying finish and rat race – both are airplane themed – interesting, but probably not distracting from traveling on an airplane).

    Regarding space battles, I’ve only read the novels. Elizabeth moon’s vatta war and the Serrano/Suiza series, I liked the character of Esmay Suiza a bit better than Serrano. Weber’s on basilisk station (honor harrington). And of course Campbell. Regarding space infantry: Marko kloos (thank you for the recommendation). tanya huff’s valor series. And, well, I like the concepts of the power suits in heinlein’s Starship Troopers, and the infantry scenes are interesting, but I don’t think I would recommend that as an audiobook.

    Not military, but scifi. I just listened to audiobook for Frank Herbert’s Dune, unabridged. I liked the primary narrator, but they would intermittently switch to a cast of actors, sometimes in the middle of a scene, which was annoying. But overall, it was a pretty good performance. But it’s very long.

  317. So many recommendations already but I thought I’d add mine too. Here’s some sci-fi series I enjoyed. I’m not sure how the audiobooks are but I really enjoyed the printed/ebooks.

    Ann Aguirre- Sirantha Jax series and The Dred Chronicles series. Both set in the same universe.

    Jack Campbell- Stark’s War series. I believe he wrote theses before the Lost series.

    Jean Johnson- Theirs Not To Reason Why series. First book is called A Soldiers Duty

    Gini Koch- the Katherine “Kitty” Katt series. Not really serious sci-fi but hilarious nonetheless. First book is called Touched by an Alien.

    And on a different note, these are more fantasy than sci-fi.

    Gaie Sebold- Babylon Steel

    A.A. Aguirre- Apparatus Infernum series. The first book is called Bronze Gods.

    Hope your trip is easy and not too stressful.

  319. Jana De Leon, Miss Fortune series, Cia agent in a small town posing as a Beauty Queen and librarian trying to hide due to price on head, its hysterical as she know’s deserts but not small town Louisiana,

  320. Hahahaha! This is weird, it’s like you sat down and deliberately crafted a question just for me. I obsessively listen to audiobooks, they are background distraction, and my current three are lost fleet, the martian and expeditionary force by craig alanson. They have a few structural problems but they don’t really show until book 3. And frankly I’d probably listen to skippy and joe go to the shops by that point. Bonus: its narrated by the martian narrator.

    Starks war by jack campbell is also good but i find more Jack Campbell makes me notice a certain thematic repetiveness that makes me enjoy the lost fleet less and worryingly question what it is i like about them. Heroic humans win out heroicly win out anyone?

    In the past I’ve also listened a short history of everything by bill bryson. Very soothing. Also agatha christie and Terry Pratchett. In the unlikely event that you’ve never tried them men at arms is a good place to start.

  321. I just got into audiobooks, am loving anything narrated by David Tennant. Lots of the Dr Who ones were great to listen to in the background while doing boring processing work.

  322. A lot of my favourites audio books have already been mentioned but I will recommend the Koban series by Stephen W Bennett, Flynn Stewart’s Starship Mage series, and Leonard Pettraci’s Places of Power (though I’ve only read the first one so far).
    On the knitting side Heart Motifs Baby Blanket is all small squares with the same motif so easy pieces that can be joined together later on, or the Sweet as Honey which uses hexagonal in the same way (I am adapting that one by making all the hexagon in various colours and omitting the appliqued bees). Both of these are easily adapted to make blankets of any size too whilst keeping the actual crocheting to individual small pieces.
    If you prefer knitting whilst travelling you might like to make the Basket Weave Pillow. I think cushion covers are so nice as gifts if you make them in colours that the recipient likes.

    • Wow! Kelly, I love these cowls and plan to make the men’s cowl on my drive up to CT from ATL. Sorry to miss Dragoncon but family calls the heart.

  324. Pippa Da Costa 1000 series. Anything by Linnea Sinclair. I hope the flying isn’t too bad for you.

  325. Knitting: Match and Move shawl by Martina Behm – easy travel knitting but not boring, plus great stashbuster!

    Listening to space stuff: I just read Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells – hilariously sarcastic narrator who is very pleased not to be a real human, because they do dumb stuff against the advice of the very clever narrator all the time.
    Also Ancillary Justice series by Anne Leckie – the AI that runs a space ship ends up sort of downloaded into one body, and is on the hunt to find out who blew up his/her/its ship and killed all the other component parts. Explores the idea of an AI having personality, preferences, and psych issues.

    My all time favourite though is anything by Elizabeth Moon – I’m about to read the Serrano Legacy *again* because seriously fab female protagonists plus believable battle scenes and military stuff.

  327. Oh Ilona – you asked , and you received. In spades. Happy travels – and if you meet Shayne Silvers at Dragoncon say hi – you have a lot of happy readers in common!

  328. Artemis by Andy Weir is just as clever and well paced as the Martian. Plus kick-ass heroine to boot. ?

  329. I recommend John Scalzi’s “Old Man’s War”. Or if you’re in the mood to laugh yourself silly while still listening to an outer space saga where things blow up try his “Fuzzy Nation”

  330. I love The Expanse, though I’m not an audiobook fan and thus don’t know whether the audiobooks are any good. But The Expanse really suprised me. I thought it was going to be very boring and dry, or else too Game of Thrones-ey. But no, the series is actually gripping and only gets better. To me it’s all about the most basic questions we have: What does it mean to be human? What is humanity? Can or should humanity be saved? And some really great, inspiring characters who struggle with these questions. The first book is arguably centered around two white dudes, but the later books are quietly and magnificently diverse in their main characters. It’s wonderful.

  331. Anne Mccaffrey – The Ship Who Sang. It’s the first sci fi book I broke my teeth on at 11 years old and I still own the well loved copy my dad bought me over 35 years ago. A complex beautiful story which I get more from every time I read it. I don’t do spoilers but it’s a read you wouldn’t regret.

    • I just saw this and need to tell you that although The Ship Who Sang was not my first sci-fi book (I teethed on Andre Norton), it was my first Anne MacCaffery and I have been a fan ever since.

      Ah, Andre Norton. The Witch World series. The Hosteen Storm series. etc. etc.

  332. The League series by Sherilyn Kenyon.

    Nightside series by Simon R Green.

    Any book by Molly Harper

  333. How about the David Weber Honor Harrington series. I always listen to them when I can’t figure out anything else.

  334. Space stuff:
    Tanya Huff’s “Valour” series (completed, including the spin-off trilogy), reread umpteen times, complex, great characterisation, and accurate military aspects.
    Jean Johnson’s “Theirs not to reason why” series (completed), original, absorbing, can’t put down reading.
    I have no idea how they’d be as audio books, but I read each series compulsively and would recommend both.

  335. I hope your hands are better and we would love an update. For audioboks i agree Bujolds Vorkosigan series is great and so is the Miller Nissan universe. How ever for a rip roaring humanity against the Krag series…H Paul l Honsingers Men of War series is great. Also consider Nathan Lowells Solar Clipper series of is not a war series but is a great space series it is about trading fleets. I am sure you will find a series that suits you with all the suggestions

  337. For reading/audiobooks, what about Becky Chambers? Any one of her three would be great, though I confess I have not listened to them. Definitely for listening, all things Georgette Heyer, especially those read by Eve Matheson or Phyllida Nash.

    For knitting:

    Geology shawl: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/geology-shawl

    Concavus shawl: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/concavus

    Swallowtail shawl: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/swallowtail-shawl

    Architexture: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/architexture

    Wonder Woman (this one seems appropriate): https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wonder-woman-wrap-knit

  338. Have you seen the yoga shawl on Ravelry? It has a bit of a simple chart on the edges and the middle is all stockinette. I want to try that one next! I also am knitting the lace cowl on tincanknit. I am at a lower skill level though.

  339. John Scalzi’s Old Man’s war series – some space opera but focused on excellent characters and their interactions.

  341. I highly recommend the Indranan War series by K. B. Wagers. Starts with “Behind the Throne”. Lead is Princess Leah crissed with Han Solo. Main character is a princess from a matrilineal society. Mad for reasons, she changes her identity and becomes a gun runner. 20 years later, her sisters and niece are dead and her mother is dying. She has to come back and help save the empire from civil war.

    So very very good.

  342. Ilona – a gazillion (selfish) thanks for your request. I (mistakenly) have patted myself on the back numerous times on how much I read. Well… in looking at the above posts, I see there are numerous books and series that I had not yet discovered! I do second the recommendations on the T Huff, S Kenyon, S Green, J Scalzi, and M Sagara books/series.

    I am sorry that I don’t have any knitting recommendations. Regrettably, I don’t know how to knit. I never had the chance to learn as a child and just couldn’t find the spare time as a working woman/wife/mother. I am now retired, soon to be a grandmother, and knitting is a skill/hobby I really want to learn. If anyone has any recommendations re: a good “how to learn” class series, would greatly appreciate them. I have been doing research and there are tooo many choices!

    • Liz, several knitting podcasters credit Staci from verypink.com for teaching them how to knit. (Her style of knitting is called flicking.) If her videos don’t show the style you want to knit, then Youtube is full of other knitting tutorials by people showing how they do things.

      If you learn to cast on, knit, purl, and bind off…you can do anything. Then, as patterns ask you to increase or decrease or yarn over or make 1, just check Youtube for instructions. Being able to Google knitting questions makes me a more confident knitter. Someone, somewhere has dealt with this problem before and has written or made a video about it. I don’t have to figure it out on my own.

      Good luck.

  343. For knitting, try the Wingspan shawl, (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wingspan-2) short rows keep it interesting, you can do as many colors as you want or use a space dyed yarn for interest.

    For something simplier, but still fun one of my own free patterns for a scarf ( https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/softly-pleated-scarf ) the pattern is easily memorized, plus you can determine the next row most times, by looking at the work in progress. Instructions cover how to calculate for most any yarn weight.

    As far as audio books, I like both Tanya Dalton and Dave Ramsey’s pod casts. Also Quiet series by Susan Cain and Option B.

  344. Space/sci fi audio books: The Murderbot diaries….They are short but amazing.
    https://www.audible.com/pd/All-Systems-Red-Audiobook/B076XSGP65?qid=1535205091&sr=sr_1_3&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_3&pf_rd_p=e81b7c27-6880-467a-b5a7-13cef5d729fe&pf_rd_r=32QXF1RXAC8B42Y0CGQK&amp;

    or Galaxy outlaws 85 hours on the same story line for one credit! I am about 1/2 way through and they are nice, relaxing and you can take breaks, obviously inspired by firefly
    https://www.audible.com/search?keywords=galaxy%20outlaws%20the%20complete%20black%20ocean%20mobius%20missions%2C%201-16.5&ref=a_pdAlSsRdAdB07Xs6_t1_hdrSrc

  345. I like to travel with socks. They are small. They do not require a ton of yarn and since the yarn is a smaller weight even their skeins are smaller. Depending on the pattern you choose they can be complex or easy. With all of that said I have to admit that I crochet much more than I knit but I believe all of the points mentioned are true for either method.

  346. My sister recommends the Wen Spencer Elfhome series. The first one is Tinker. Not necessarily space opera, more fantasy, but engrossing none the less. And since you have dogs, how about a simple dog sweater. Just the ones that go over the back and have a strap around the belly. They’re pretty easy, and can be done in limited colors, your dogs will appreciate them as they age.

  347. I haven’t gone through every page of comments so far, but it seemed that people were pretty much (other than Heinlein) recommending the new stuff.
    I would like to recommend Andre Norton’s The Beast Master (unabridged). Although on a new planet setting, the references to the world/galaxy-space war the resulted in the protagonists setting (and impact on storyline), including his earth Amer-Indian backstory, make for very interesting listening.

  348. I like to listen to Ben Aaronovitchs River of London books. They are read by Kobna Holdbrook Smith, who has a great voice (and the books are good as well). Not Space opera, but Fantasy, but that voice…

  349. Knitting: Shine
    by Janina Kallio
    Super easy travel – your stitches change by the time you are tired of the current stitch. Plus – it’s pretty!

  351. you could knit something and either auction it off or do a raffle at dragon con. you could donate proceeds to your favorite charity.

  353. How about a Koozie mitten?
    Cast on 40 stitches. K2, P2, in round for 3 inches. Stockinette for 3 inches (this makes the cuff). Bind off 20 stitches. (this is at the wrist where the loop will join in.) Cast on 20 stitches at end of row. Continue in stockinette for 9 inches (this is the part where the hand goes and what wraps around the can). Make Icord 18 inches long. 3 stitches in Icord to create the coiled base.

    This makes a tube with a stockinette cuff. You are joining the open (smooth) end of the tube to one side of the tube at the junction of the stockinette and the smooth, creating a ring/loop. You then use the Icord to close in the “bottom” to look like a braided rag rug almost. You can then insert a beer/soda can in the looped part and the rag rug part holds the can in the loop. You put your hand in at the open end of the stockinette cuff.

  354. Elfhome series is great and technically speaking have a scientific (why does that spelling look weird..?) basis so sort of SF criteria – however not space opera per se. Definite seconding to Elizabeth Moon (Vatta, Serrano), Lois McMaster Bujold (Vorkosigan), Tanya Huff (Valor, Peacekeeper) and David Weber (Honor Harrington etc) but how about a touch of Deathstalker from Simon R. Green? Or Enders Game and sequels and sides by Orson Scott Card (non SFwise I enjoyed his Alvin Maker & Mither Mages series). David Feintuch’s Seafort Saga depressed the heck outta me yet I still reread them twice (go figure). And Ann Leckie’s Imperial Radch is pretty damn good stuff.

    • I think Peacekeeper by Tanya HUff would be perfect! May I also recommend The Dred Chronicles by Ann Aguirre? They are sort of the same awesomeness.

    • I can also endorse the Elfhome series by Wen Spencer. Starting with Tinker and set in Pittsburgh/Elfhome.

      • I enjoyed Tinker /Elfhome as well. Dred Chronicles was awesome. Linesman series and their new one Stars Uncharted.

  355. Audiobooks: Alexis Carew series by J A Sutherland, the first book is, “Into the Dark.” I loved Lost Fleet, so I hear you about a good space battle. Elizabeth Moon’s Vatta series also has battles, but not as many and doesn’t mange to stay in space.

    • Way up ther someone mentioned Lindsay Buroker and I’ll chime in. Her fantasy books are dragons/steampunk, not sci-if, but there are some fine fight sequences, especially the aerial dog fights in the Blood series. “Balanced on the Blade’s Edge,” is the first book.

  356. I like Honor Harrington because of the equality, your ability matters. In 1977 I was in the second company at The Basic School (TBS) to go through the same training as the men. Marine officers go to Officer Candidate School (OCS), are commissioned, then TBS, which is ground level infantry training. 20or so years later a female cousin became one of the first female USMC fighter pilots. Now rge Corps has its first female infantry platoon leader! We are getting there Honor!

  357. Socks are nice and portable…and I second and endorse the Honor Harrington recommendation.

  358. Adding another vote for socks as an excellent travel project, especially when knit with magic loop rather than DPNs – no worries about losing a needle under the seat!

    I don’t know how good any of these are in audiobook form (or if you’ve read them already!), but these are some of my favorite SF/SFR books:

    Fortune’s Pawn by Rachel Bach
    The Mandrake Company series by Ruby Lionsdrake
    Anything written by Linnea Sinclair, but Hope’s Folly is my favorite (there’s a ship cat!)
    Shades of Treason by Sandy Williams
    Zoe Archer’s 8th Wing duology
    Song of Scarabaeus by Sara Creasy

  360. I recall you’ve already read the murberbot diaries too have you read Ann leckie? If not do. I also love Tanya huff confederates/peacekeeper series – more on the ground action than space warfare but it’s great. I did also very much enjoy the series by Elizabeth bear (more of the space battles). And probably stating the obvious but John scalzi’s old man’s war series. Random aside – the goblin emperor by Katherine Addison is also excellent.

  361. I recently read the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown. Lots of space wars there for you!

  362. Tanya Huff’s Confederation series (Valor’s Choice, The Better Part of Valor, The Heart of Valor, Valor’s Trial, and The Truth of Valor) is wonderful kick-ass female military space opera, and is extremely satisfying. I like Torin Kerr better than Honor Harrington or Herris Serrano.

  363. Spaceships exploding?
    Lois McMaster Bujold
    Shards of Honor (says book 2 but Falling Free Book 1 is technically a pre-quel to the series)
    Narrated by Grover Gardner, I can walk a few miles engrossed in listening and I did it while heavily pregnant and uncomfortable.

  364. Not space ships blowing up but loved Nathan
    Lowell’s series of Traders Tales from the golden age of the Solar Clipper.
    I don’t knit but a lady I know would recommend slippers, just in time for northern hemisphere winters. Enjoy your trip …or at least may ther be bright spots.

  365. Try kris longknife:audacious. The rest of the series is uneven (the dude does not write belivable female characters), but this book was seriously good space opera and can be read as a stand alone. Excellent escapism.

  366. I liked the Hitchhiker shawl by Martina Behm for travel. It’s small, all garter stitch and has one mildly exciting thing every 8 rows, so easy to memorize the pattern. Or the Pincha, if you’re good at keeping track of short rows.

    Audio: Audible just offered up the entire Black Ocean series by J. S. Morin under the title Galaxy Outlaws. 85 hours of audio (10 tracks), I forget how many novels and novellas, but all lighter space opera with an interesting twist on what magic is and how it works. Good narrator too. Not excessively excited, but also not drone-y.

    Hope your trip goes well!

  367. Greetings! Aside comments in a mix. I knit slippers and givevthgem away to veterans and homeless shelters. Usually get nice verigated earth tone colors and use four way or circular needles for less thinking. Regarding reading suggestions I read everythingbyou all have written repeatedly but other reading tastes we don’t share. Space ships nope. Enslaved fox–dnf. I still listen to suggestions but think variation in book styles weirdly interesting.

  368. Greetings! Aside comments in a mix. I knit slippers and givevthgem away to veterans and homeless shelters. Usually get nice verigated earth tone colors and use four way or circular needles for less thinking. Regarding reading suggestions I read everythingbyou all have written repeatedly but other reading tastes we don’t share. Space ships nope. Enslaved fox–dnf. I still listen to suggestions but think variation in book styles weirdly interesting.

  371. So many of my audiobook recs have already been mentioned, but I’ll repeat: Sharon Lee and Steve Miller’s Liaden books, David Weber’s Stephanie Harrington books (on-planet exploration) and Honor Harrington (space battles), Wen Spencer’s Tinker series (this is my “if you like Innkeeper” rec), Anne Bishop’s The Others series, Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series, Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson and A&Ω series, Lois McMaster Bujold (any series by her, depending on what you’re in the mood for) … and listening to Meljean Brook’s Iron Seas series is a treat.

    I’d recommend Kit Rocha’s Beyond series, but it really isn’t for public listening. Not if you want to use your hands for knitting instead of fanning yourself constantly.

    KNITTING:

    The Simple (no need to make decisions while knitting): 1 skein of yarn, 1 circular needle, 4 stitch markers, 1 easily learned pattern repeat (the Wolkig cowl by Martina Behm) http://knitty.com/ISSUEff17/PATTwolkig/PATTwolkig.php

    The As Complicated As You Want To Make It (all the decisions to make while knitting): several colors…or 2 colors…or just 1, a circular needle, 1 stitch marker. (Villapesupinnat by Pirjo Lakkapää and Katri Raunama)
    This pattern can be treated as a recipe. Not all of the color and texture suggestions in the pattern are “correct,” but no matter. Make it work for you. The numbers are correct, and the increases and decreases should be followed, but otherwise, it’s pretty much choose your own texture. Also, I suggest you do the central decrease as a centered double decrease for a crisp look, but it’s your choice. Take a look at the finished and in-progress projects, everyone has made it their own. Also, if you don’t want to do the second wing in brioche, it can totally be done in garter stripes, or continued the same as the first part of the shawl, whatever floats your boat.
    https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/villapesupinnat

  372. Wow what a great intro from den of geeks, I’ve been reading since book 3 came out which was hard as I’m in the UK and they weren’t easily available. And it’s my favourite series and I have re-read and listened to it at every new book or novella and sometimes inbetween…including just now and this intro makes me want to start over again…which I am going to but I’ll use audible this go round…it will keep me busy till Magic Triumphs comes out…does anyone know when the audible version will be out in UK? And keep up the great work…

  373. for book suggestions I ran across a couple, the Bob series (Bobiverse) is pretty good(first title is “We Are Legion”), and the latest one I found that I like is called Columbus Day, Expeditionary Force. Both start with humans having no experience with alien species and end with interesting explorations into potential problems and ideas peppered with enough humor to keep you going. Both are good to listen to. Of course, I rely on text-to-speech while folding clothes and doing dishes or driving…so…yeah. Oh, and there was another that was really fun: All Systems Red, part of the Murder Bot series.

  374. Clearly you’re covered as far as sci-fi recommendations go but just in case you’re in the mood for something different, I listened to Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce over the weekend. It is sweet and heartbreaking in equal measure but ultimately quietly triumphant. Great for fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Narrator was perfect for the character and story. Happy travels and happy almost book release day!!

  377. I don’t knit, I quilt. So no recommendations there. But, I’d like to say thank you to everyone who made recommendations! I’ve been filling my wish lists over at Audible with lots of new choices!!

  379. I’m having fun readin everyone’s choices — so many that we have all read and loved; so many new ones to check out.

    I don’t know if anyone has yet suggested CE Murphy’s Walker Papers. The first book is Urban Shaman. Also not Space Opera but find reading for anyone interested in Urban Paranormal.

    There is also Lorna Freeman’s 3 book series, Borderlands. The first book is Covenants and it is also fantasy but is wonderfully set up in terms of characterization. Too bad only 3 books from this author.

  380. Listen to
    Endurance by Scott Kelly
    It’s a great read true about Scott’s year living on the international space station
    My husband read it to me..we do that ,it was very like the Martian but true

  381. Highly recommended: Kris Longknife series by Mike Shepherd. (Dunno if already been mentioned. Immediately thought of it.)

  382. I know I’m super late but have you read any of the novels from Nalini Singh? Her amazing characters mixed with her epic world building is everything!

  383. Not at all in the vein of spaceships, but I think David Suchet’s performance of Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie was excellent. As far as spaceships, I think the Binti Series by Nnedi Okorafor are pretty interesting. And for more a magic plus space try Starship’s Mage by Glynn Stewart.

  384. I like audiobooks by Nathan Lowell when I drive long distances. His narratives are very soothing. You can space out super easily.

  386. Perhaps a little late for this trip, but for future trips:

    With starships, Evan Currie’s Odyssey One and On Silver Wings are both solid series with decent narration. They switch narrators a couple times and I like some more than others. Odyssey One is Earth’s first venture into the unknown in the not too distant future. On Silver Wings is a separate universe in which a soldier and her team investigates the lack of communication a human colony. It eventually involves larger ship battles mixed in with ground combat.

    Marko Kloos writes the Frontlines series, beginning with Terms of Enlistment. It follows the story of an inner city kid who enlists to escape the slums. It follows his soldiering career, first as a peacekeeper in the slums, and eventually a special operative on spaceships.

    Ryk Brown’s Frontiers Saga is another spaceship adventure. It is a bit lengthier and slower paced. Humanity’s first reunion after a digital plague separates all of the far flung worlds.

    Outside of spaceships, Jeff Wheeler has several fantastic series that tie together to form a bit of an epic. They end up being a bit reminiscent of older stories. Arthur, Joan of Ark, Adam and Eve, etc. I would probably start with The Queen’s Poisoner of the Kingfountain series. I believe the narrator perfectly embodies one of the main characters.

    I am sure you have read or are aware of many of the series in similar genres of your own, so I will just recommend both Briggs’ Mercy Thompson and Harrison’s The Hollows series for their solid narration. Bishop’s The Others is a wonderful series, but I don’t like the narrator as much.

  387. This is a super late comment, but if you aren’t averse to YA, I really enjoyed The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. It’s a trilogy of books with a really interesting ephemera-based reading experience that they managed to translate to the audiobook editions. Kristoff, describing their first book: “ILLUMINAE is the classic tale of Girl Meets Boy, Girl Loses Boy, [a]nd Parents, [a]nd Planet, and Ends Up on a Crippled Spaceship with a Mad Computer and a Deadly Virus Outbreak in the Middle of an Interstellar War.”

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