flemmings | (no subject)

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reading_20,
rl_20

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I've had the sideroom window closed and shuttered all year while south neighbour was doing dusty renovations, and only now has the room become stuffy. So I opened it up today, now that autumnal temps are here for a bit, and the sweet smell of autumn comes into the room.

So now I've finished all the Judge Dees and am assailed by missing scenes. Some I only imagined- the useful chart at the end of Judge Dee At Work sent me to a bit in The Willow Pattern that I seem to have ignored while reading, where Ma Joong's marriage to the twins is mentioned as a future event, not something that's actually recorded. But there's another bit where Judge Dee asks his Third Lady to help him in an investigation and she's disappointed that it's not as exciting as she thought it would be. I can't remember oming across that at all, this read-through, but I'm sure I didn't imagine that one. And charts don't help there.

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That bit with his Third Lady is in The Phantom Of The Temple, I think.

That's where she prepares a poultice for his headache, which prevents him from getting his skull broken. This must be when they're at home because he speaks to her separately in her room. It's always possible that I read it this time and didn't note it, or that I hallucinated it in the first place. Age, I tell you.

No, the poultice bit is in The Haunted Monastery - the one with the Taoist monastery, the acting troupe and the bear.

The Phantom of the Temple is a different book, and is the one which starts off with the Judge buying a jade box as a present For a wife and finding a note from a missing girl inside it. Also involves Tartar witches and stolen gold.

The mystery is solved! I was conflating the two books and I haven't in fact read The Mystery of the Temple onaccounta that book has gone walkies as well. (Deep sigh) But thank you for the relief. Shall go put a hold on it at the library.

Not a problem. Only wish I could run across unexpected Judge Dee which I'd never previously read.

Unread Judge Dee would be nice. Read but forgotten has to do instead. And of course The Phantom of the Temple was sitting on the Judge Dee shelf where I saw it a dozen times while doing my reread, and every time thought Oh there's my duplicate Haunted Monastery do I really need two of those?

Well, at least you don't have to wait for the library loan now... And aren't you glad you didn't get rid of it?

Yes, but did I really need reinforcement of the principle 'never throw things out, you don't know when they'll come in handy'?

I'm sure the universe will contradict itself soon enough.

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