Paul's Race to 75 Part 23

La Vie En Rose - This is the best french restaurant in Kuala Lumpur for me. Great ambience and wonderful food - not as pretentious as Lafite in Shangri-La hotel but every bit as good.

La Vie En Rose - This is the best french restaurant in Kuala Lumpur for me. Great ambience and wonderful food - not as pretentious as Lafite in Shangri-La hotel but every bit as good.

Books read so far:
1 North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
2 The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff
3 The Guards by Ken Bruen
4 Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
5 Lyrics Alley by Leila Aboulela
6 Shadow by Karin Alvtegen
7 The Road Home by Rose Tremain
8 One Pair of Hands by Monica Dickens
9 Pure by Andrew Miller
10 The Appointment by Herta Muller
11 The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
12 The Battle of Pollocks Crossing by J.L. Carr
13 No Glossing Over It by Gary Edwards
14 Unknown by Mari Jungstedt
15 The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
16 Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald
17 Zoo Station by David Downing
18 The Troubled Man by Henning Mankell
19 Jack Sheppard by William Ainsworth
20 An Idiot Abroad by Karl Pilkington
21 The Fourth Man by K.O. Dahl
22 Christine Falls by Benjamin Black
23 Troubles by J.G. Farrell
24 My Life in Cricket by Dennis Lillee
25 Voyageurs by Margaret Elphinstone
26 The Affair by Lee Child
27 The Potter's Field by Andrea Camilleri
28 The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
29 The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman
30 Praying Mantis by Andre Brink
31 Parky by Michael Parkinson
32 All Men Are Liars by Alberto Manguel
33 The Detour by Gerbrand Bakker
34 The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin
35 Legion of the Damned by Sven Hassel
36 Treblinka : A Survivor's Memory by Chil Rajchman
37 L'Enver de Treblinka by Vasily Grossman
38 Open Season by C.J. Box
39 Divorcing Jack by Colin Bateman
40 The Chalk-Circle Man by Fred Vargas
41 Lovely Green Eyes by Arnost Lustig
42 The Devil in the Kitchen by Marco Pierre White
43 Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
44 Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
45 The Butterfly Effect by Pernille Rygg
46 Twist of Gold by Michael Morpurgo
47 Eternal by Craig Russell
48 Life by Keith Richards
49 The Caretaker by Harold Pinter
50 Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
51 The Half-Finished Heaven by Tomas Transtromer
52 Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet by Gerry Davis
53 War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
54 In the Heart of the Country by J.M. Coetzee
55 Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster by Terrance Dicks
56 The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill
57 The Day of the Daleks by Terrance Dicks
58 We Were Young and Carefree by Laurent Fignon
59 River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh
60 Thirty Three Teeth by Colin Cotterill
61 Doctor Who and the Ice Warriors by Brian Hayles
62 Bad Intentions by Karin Fossum
63 Sharpe's Eagle by Bernard Cornwell
64 Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne

Currently reading
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson, Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens, Andrew Jackson by H.W. Brands,Palace of Desire by Naguib Mahfouz,

Best Books of the Year so far:
Literary Fiction
1. The Road Home
2 Lyrics Alley
3 Wolf Hall
4 Dandelion Wine
5 Sea of Poppies
Thrillers
1. Zoo Station
2. The Troubled Man
3. The Potter's Field
4 Divorcing Jack

12 in 12 categories

1: Historical Fiction 7/12
2: 19th Century Fiction 3/12
3: Biography 8/12
4: In translation 7/12
5: Series Starts 7/12
6: Scandicrimesters 5/12
7: Sci-Fi 7/12
8: Noughties 4/12
9: One Word Titles 4/12
10: African Born Writers 4/12
11: Bought and Read in 2012 7/12
12: Off the Shelves 0/12 (IN RESERVE FOR THE END OF THE YEAR)

NOBEL CHALLENGE

NOBEL WINNERS READ WITH FAVOURITE WORK READ SO FAR:
2011 The Half-Finished Heaven by Tomas Transtromer
2009 The Appointment by Herta Muller
2007 The Good Terrorist by Doris Lessing
2006 Snow by Orhan Pamuk
2005 The Caretaker by Harold Pinter
2003 The Master of Petersburg by J.M.Coetzee
2001 A House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul
1998 The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis by Jose Saramago
1995 Station Island by Seamus Heaney
1994 A Quiet Life by Kenzaburo Oe
1991 July's People by Nadine Gordimer
1988 Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
1987 On Grief and Reason by Joseph Brodsky
1983 Lord of the Flies by William Golding
1982 A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
1976 Herzog by Saul Bellow
1972 Billiards at Half-Past Nine by Heinrich Boll
1970 Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
1964 The Age of Reason by Jean-Paul Sartre
1962 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
1961 Bridge On the Drina by Ivo Andric
1958 Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
1957 The Plague by Albert Camus
1955 The Atom Station by Halldor Laxness
1954 The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway
1953 History of the English Speaking Peoples by Winston Churchill
1949 The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
1948 The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot
1947 The Counterfeiters by Andre Gide
1946 Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
1938 The Good Earth by Pearl Buck
1932 A Man of Property by John Galsworthy
1930 Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
1925 Man and Superman by George Bernard Shaw
1923 Collected Poems by W.B. Yeats
1921 And the Gods Will Have Blood by Anatole France
1907 Kim by Rudyard Kipling

UNREAD NOBEL WINNERS ON THE SHELVES

2011 The Half-Finshed Heaven by Tomas Transtromer
2010 The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa
2008 The Interrogation by J.M.G. Le Clezio
2005 The Caretaker by Harold Pinter
2004 The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek
2002 Fatelessness by Imre Kertesz
2000 Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian
1999 The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass
1993 Jazz by Toni Morrison
1992 Collected Poems 1948-1984 by Derek Walcott
1990 The Labyrinth of Solitude by Octavio Paz
1986 Ake: The Years of Childhood by Wole Soyinka
1985 Flanders Road by Claude Simon
1981 Auto de Fe by Elias Canetti
1978 The Family Moskat by Isaac Bashevis Singer
1973 Voss by Patrick White
1969 Molloy by Samuel Beckett
1968 Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata
1965 And Slowly Flows the Don by Mikhail Sholokhov
1952 The Desert of Love by Francois Mauriac
1950 A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
1937 Jean Barois by Roger Martin du Gard
1936 The Iceman Cometh by Eugene O'Neill
1933 The Village by Ivan Bunin
1929 Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann
1920 Hunger by Knut Hamsun
1915 Jean-Christophe by Romain Rolland
1913 He (Shey) by Rabindranath Tagore
1905 Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz

List of my active series. Doesn't include series I own books but haven't started (far too many) or series that I have read all - Sherlock, Poirot, Marple, Dr. Who, Wallender, John Carter, Richard Hannay, Father Brown, Rougon MacQuart, etc etc etc

WRITER SERIES NEXT BOOK UP

1 Abbott, Jeff // Whit Mosley Black Jack Point 2/3
2 Adler-Olsen, Jussi // Department Q Disgrace 2/3
3 Akunin, Boris //Erast Fandorin Special Assignments 5/10
4 Atkinson, Kate //Jackson Brodie When Will There Be Good News 3/4
5 Aubert, Brigitte //Elise Andrioli Death from the Snows 2/2
6 Auel, JM //Earth's Children The Valley of Horses 2/6
7 Bateman, Colin //Dan Starkey Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men 2/7
8 Billingham, Mark //Tom Thorne Good as Dead 10/10
9 Black, Benjamin //Quirke The Silver Swan 2/5
10 Black, Cara //Aimee Leduc Murder in Belleville 2/13
11 Blake, Nicholas //Nigel Strangeways A Question of Proof 2/16
12 Block, Lawrence //Matt Scudder A Drop of the Hard Stuff 17/17
13 Block, Lawrence //Bernie Rhodenbarr The Burglar in the Closet 3/10
14 Blunt, Giles //John Cardinal Crime Machine 5/6
15 Box, C.J. //Joe Pickett Savage Run 2/12
16 Brand, Christianna //Inspector Cockrill Heads You Lose 2/6
17 Brookmyre, Christopher //Jack Parlabane Country of the Blind 2/5
18 Brown, Dan //Robert Langdon The Lost Symbol 3/3
19 Bruen, Ken //Jack Taylor The Killing of the Tinkers 2/9
20 Burke, James Lee //Robicheaux Neon Rain 2/19
21 Camilleri, Andrea //Montalbano The Age of Doubt 14/15
22 Carr, Caleb //Kreizler The Angel of Darkness 2/2
23 Chandler, Raymond //Philip Marlowe The High Window 4/7
24 Child, Lee //Jack Reacher A Wanted Man 17/17
25 Cornwell, Bernard //Saxon Chronicles The Burning Land 5/6
26 Cotterill, Colin //Dr. Siri Disco for the Departed 3/8
27 Crispin, Edmund //Gervase Fen The Case of the Gilded Fly 3/9
28 Dahl, KO //Frank Frolich The Man in the Window 2/3
29 Deaver, Jeffrey //Rune Death of a Blue Movie Star 2/3
30 Deighton, Len //Harry Palmer Horse Under Water 3/6
31 Deighton, Len //Bernard Samson Faith 7/9
32 DeMille, Nelson //John Corey Plum Island 2/6
33 Dibdin, Michael //Aurelio Zen Medusa 9/11
34 Downing, David //John Russell Silesian Station 2/5
35 Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan //Brigadier Gerard Adventures of Gerard 2/2
36 Dunnett, Dorothy //Francis Lymond Queen's Play 2/6
37 Eastland, Sam //Pekkala The Red Coffin 2/4
38 Edwardson, Ake //Erik Winter Frozen Tracks 3/6
39 Eisler, Barry //John Rain The Detachment 7/7
40 Finder, Joseph //Nick Heller Buried Secrets 2/3
41 Forbes, Colin //Tweed Double Jeopardy 3/24
42 Ford, Richard //Bascombe Independence Day 2/3
43 Fossum, Karin //Sejer The Caller 8/9
44 Fraser, George MacDonald //Flashman Flashman in the Great Game 5/12
45 Freeling, Nicholas //Van der Valk Because of the Cats 2/13
46 Fyfield, Francis //Helen West Shadow Play 2/6
47 Gadney, Reg //Alan Rosslyn Immaculate Deception 5/6
48 Ghosh, Amitav //Ibis Trilogy River of Smoke 2/3
49 Gilman, George G //Edge Hell's Seven 9/61
50 Gray, Alex //Lorimer A Small Weeping 2/9
51 Harvey, John //Resnick Cold in Hand 11/11
52 Harvey, John //Elder Ash and Bone 2/3
53 Hewson, David //Nic Costa The Seventh Sacrament 5/9
54 Hill, Reginald //Pascoe and Dalziell Ruling Passion 3/24
55 Hillerman, Tony //Leaphorn / Chee Dancehall of the Dead 2/18
56 Holt, Anne //Vik and Stubo The Final Murder 2/4
57 Hurley, Graham //Faraday and Winter Cut to Black 5/12
58 Iggulden, Conn //Conqueror Bones of the Hills 3/5
59 Indriadson, Arnadur //Erlendur Hypothermia 6/8
60 James, PD //Dalgleish A Taste for Death 7/14
61 James, Peter //Roy Grace Dead Tomorrow 5/8
62 Jardine, Quintin //Bob Skinner Skinner's Ordeal 5/22
63 Jecks, Michael //Medieval Mysteries The Merchant's Partner 2/31
64 Johnstone, William W //Mountain Man Ordeal of the Mountain Man 17/32
65 Jungstedt, Mari //Knutas The Killer's Art 4/7
66 Kerr, Philip //Bernie Gunther A Quiet Flame 5/8
67 Leon, Donna //Brunetti The Girl of His Dreams 17/21
68 Lovesey, Peter //Peter Diamond The Summons 3/13
69 Lucarelli, Carlos //Negro Day after Day 2/2
70 Ludlum, Robert //Bourne The Bourne Supremacy 2/3
71 MacBride, Stuart //Logan McRae Shatter the Bones 7/7
72 MacDonald, Ross //Lew Archer The Way Some People Die 3/18
73 Mahfouz, Naguib //Cairo Trilogy Palace of Desire 2/3
74 Manning, Olivia //The Levant Trilogy The Battle Lost and Won 2/3
75 Mantel, Hilary //Cromwell Series Bring Up the Bodies 2/3
76 Marklund, Liza //Bengtzon Paradise 2/6
77 Martin, Andrew //Jim Stringer The Blackpool Highflyer 2/8
78 McBain, Ed //87th Precinct Killer's Choice 5/55
79 McCall-Smith, Alexander Tears of the Giraffe 2/13
80 Nabb, Magdalen //Guarnaccia Death of a Dutchman 2/14
81 Nadel, Barbara //Ikmen Deep Waters 4/15
82 Napier, William //Attila The Gathering of the Storm 2/3
83 Nesbo, Jo //Harry Hole Phantom 7/8
84 Nesser, Hakan //Van Veeteren The Inspector and Silence 5/7
85 O'Brian, Patrick //Aubrey Post Captain 2/21
86 O'Brien, Martin //Jacquot Confession 5/7
87 Plaidy, Jean //Tudor Saga Uneasy Lies the Head 2/11
88 Price, Anthony //Audley The Alamut Ambush 2/19
89 Rankin, Ian //Rebus The Hanging Garden 10/18
90 Rees, Matt //Omar Yussef The Saladin Murders 2/4
91 Rendell, Ruth //Wexford From Doon With Death 3/23
92 Rickman, Phil //Merrily Watkins Midwinter of the Spirit 2/11
93 Robinson, Peter //Banks Watching the Dark 20/20
94 Russell, Craig //Lennox The Deep Dark Sleep 3/4
95 Russell, Craig //Jan Fabel The Carnival Master 4/6
96 Sandford, John //Lucas Davenport Buried Prey 21/22
97 Sansom, CJ // Shardlake Dark Fire 2/5
98 Sayers, Dorothy L //Lord Peter Wimsey Whose Body? 2/14
99 Sigurdottir, Yrsa Thora //Gudmundsdottir Ashes to Dust 3/4
100 Silva, Daniel //Gabriel Allon Portrait of a Spy 11/12
101 Simenon, Georges //Maigret The Crime of Inspector Maigret 9/98
102 Sjowall, Maj //Beck The Man Who Went Up in Smoke 2/10
103 Smith, Tom Rob //Demidov Agent 6 3/3
104 Taylor, Andrew //Dougal Waiting for the End of the World 2/8
105 Temple, Peter //Jack Irish Black Tide 2/4
106 Vargas, Fred //Adamsberg Have Mercy on Us All 2/7
107 Waites, Martyn //Joe Donovan Bone Machine 2/4
108 White, Stephen //Alan Gregory Privelged Information 2/19
109 Wilson, Robert //Javier Falcon The Silent and the Damned 2/4
110 Wingfield, RD //Jack Frost Frost at Christmas 3/6
111 Cornwell, Bernard // Richard Sharpe Sharpe's Gold 2/21

on hold for miscellaneous lists

I want to be on hold for something :)

Stasia - wonderfully quick! I would never put you on hold my dear. :)

LOL @ Paul

I wondered what was going on -- I peeked at this list, and only seconds later, three new posts. Even by Paul's standards, that's a land-speed record worthy of a gold medal!!

And a great name for that French restaurant!

Yay! Just in time for a new thread.

Where I'm from, La Vie En Rose is the name for a lingerie store chain so I had a little smile when I saw the caption under your picture. :)

Suz- hopefully I'll be back up to speed a bit more next week.

Ellen - it is not only the name that is great - the food is brilliant. Jean-Michel the chef is a typically demonic/ gallic patron and woebetide anyone who seeks his recommendation and then chooses anything else.

Valerie - if we were able to combine the two outlets it would be one heck of an interesting place to visit!

Another restaurant opens. Just dropping by the new thread. My dad tells me that Malaysia got a bronze in the women's diving; well done. Watching the mens - but Bryon Lomas doesn't sound like a Malaysian name.

Nina - If I'm not mistaken he is from Borneo where the ethnic mix has far more ingredients than on the main peninsular. I don't think Malaysia were expecting that one and he hasn't had that much coverage.

I see you have started Empire of the Summer Moon - hooray! I am a fan of it, and have just been thwacked by a book bullet in Caros thread with the vaguely similarly themed The Island at the Centre of the World. Im first in line at the library for it too, so it should be in my hot little hands by Tuesday.

Hi Paul - just checking into the new thread. Hope everything is well with you and yours.

Hi Paul - Just passing by. You do post some wonderful photos. Just having a lazy saturday morning, SWMBO is at work so put the washing out as instructed and now watching Tom Daley, yet another gold for UK, 200m canoe, that's 26 Golds. This is going to cost me a fortune with the stamps being produced when we get a gold, got the first two so 24 to get at the moment at £3.60 a time but it will be worth it for posterity. How are you and yours mate.

Stopping by to say hi! I see you have read Zoo Station earlier this year. I was so taken by Zoo Station I read right through the series earlier this year. Really an interesting series, at least for me.

My goodness, but you sure have a lot of books on the go!!! Enjoy! Have a great weekend!

>19: wait, is that another SWMBO or has Paul's SWMBO come for a visit?!

>21: Hi Laura, that's my SWMBO not Paul's, we both know our place, one step behind, although i fought against this and it took me a few years to realise the error of my ways,lol.

LOL ... I took a double take when I read that too, Laura.

Hi cameling, i think we both keep SWMBO away from these posts, it's our thing not theirs. SWMBO may be a Yorkshire thing, Paul may agree with this.

Good move, John ... you wouldn't want to encourage more rolling pins coming your way I'm sure. ;-)

You've got that right, i'm behaving myself and getting the jobs on the list done so i'm in the good books,lol. 30 years together and 28 as Mr & Mrs can't be too bad.

Endeavoring to keep up.... Hey, I found my rolling pin last week! Wonder if I should put it to use...
hmmm

Hi Paul! Far behind as usual :) What a beautiful restaurant! Great lists of books there! Would you recommend any?

Waving hello - not even trying to catch up - something like 160 posts behind...

La Vie En Rose... that reminds me of the song by Edith Piaf. Such a beautiful song, so it definitely fits the restaurant! I don't think I got the chance to say this in your other thread, but I am so happy and thankful that your mom will be all right. Good luck with your work, Paul, and happy reading. ^_^

Yay! Tom Daly's through to the finals. He's 18, and these are, what, his third Olympics? I haven't made it to one yet, even as a spectator.

I am so very late to the party. Congrats on your 23rd thread, Paul! Sorry to be delinquent!

Bright new thread--I'm salivating already!

Hi Paul, your threads are moving at the speed of light and I am racing to keep current!

Like Valerie, to me Le Vie En Rose is a place to go and shop for knickers, but I do dearly love french cooking (my waistline doesn't though) and if ever in KL this restarant would be on my "hit" list!

Happy weekend, Paul! Like Judy says, your threads are moving at the speed of light .... Love your continued restaurant theme. Great current reading! I love that LT has keeps writers like Steinbeck and Dickens not only current but popular! We rock!

Is anyone else getting SPAM on their profile from this user: http://www.librarything.com/profile/ipadwinwin

Just click on my profile to see what he's doing, although all the messages on his own profile are the same as what he posted on mine. Perhaps we could have a mass flagging party?

I have messages from that user, too.

Paul- Congrats on the new thread! That is a hellava current reading list! Wow! Good luck with that, my friend. Hope you are having a great weekend!

I am dizzy trying my best to keep up with you, Paul. What a lovely restaurant. You will certainly never go hungry in KL!

Hi Paul!
You certainly do NOT need to pick up any speed next week. This thread is going quite fast enough :)
Looks like your current reading is enough to keep you busy... a few I want to get to myself.

#36 - I got messages from that user, too! I deleted the messages they sent me (maybe I shouldn't have), but I'm up for the flagging party.

Oh, ipadwinwin is already toast. Went to flag him/her, and the account had already been suspended. Yay!

Finally, catching up here, if jumping in after ignoring numerous threads constitutes catching up... Life's been use, but good. Need to prioritize some more LT time! :)

Some great books up above, I remember seeing a movie called Divorcing Jack a few years ago, I can only assume the two are the same story.

Thanks. I was a bit surprised that he hadn't been suspended before I got to him. Thanks for helping. I'll delete my messages now. I just wanted there to be evidence around of the spamming.

ETA: Okay - they got deleted when he was suspended! I didn't have to delete.

When I eat at that restaurant, I will seek the chef's recommendations and then I will follow them!!

Paul, congrats on the new thread, but you know the group is called the 75 Books challenge, not 75 Threads! :-)

45> LOL!!!

#45 hahahahahaha!

Wow 12 hours away and I have already a lot of catching up to do.

Megan - The Island at the Centre of the World will go straight onto my humungous hitlist after I've responded to all my pals. Am immersed in Empire of the Summer Moon and possibly enjoying it the most of my present reads.

Calm - Nice to see you. All is good at the moment after a quiet start to Sunday - I slept in until 10.30 but then again I did stop up to cheer Mo Farah home in the 5000 metres and made it to bed around 5.00 am.

John - typically British producing stamps to commemorate their victories. Obviously the Royal Mail didn't anticipate so many victors. Another SWMBO? Not really a Yorkshire thing I guess (although since John and I are from less than 3 miles apart in West Yorkshire that would resonate). She Who Must Be Obeyed was of course "borrowed" by me from the late, great John Mortimer whose wonderful creation Horace Rumpole referred to his strident wife as such.
My SWMBO actually knows of her moniker and I believe revels in the fear and trepidation she instills into the household!
When next I'm in England John we have to meet and figure out ways in which we could be less obedient.

Deb - nice to see you blazing a trail as previously. The "Station" books certainly got off to a great start and I rushed and bought all the ones then available. I noted on your thread that you chugged straight through the series and it was definitely a temptation for me too.

Laura - Another SWMBO? Well I guess I'm not the only husband in the civilised world. SWMBO is a loving and slightly tongue-in-cheek acknowldegement that I wear the trousers in my household strictly on sufference.

Caro - hahaha - rolling pins are the least of my problems. Hani used to maintain very solidly constructed wooden ornamental fruit in a bowl in the kitchen. I would arrive home delighted to find her in the kitchen only to immediately irritate her by over-enthusiastically requiring to know what she planned for supper. I have dodged many a lethally intended teak apple, pear and mango happy in the knowledge that whatever she decides to cook will delight me.

Kath - rolling pin? Get yourself some ornamental fruit apparently SWMBO tells me that it is less effort and more fun - thankfully her aim remains dreadful.

#48: Happens to the best of us, Paul! lol

Callia - I am not as proficient at book recces as, say, Mark is but my best books of the year are @ #4.

Jenn - I am beginning to get the same feeling as you with my busy schedule of the last week or two it is quite daunting to see how much catching up I have to do myself. I have quite bottomless stamina most times so let's see how well I keep up next week. I have a full week of no office the week after when I will be ahead for sure!!

Eris - One of my favourite French torch-songs - Piaf sang with such passion and feeling didn't she? I am going to La Vie En Rose next week in fact - it is splendidly open on one side with a terrace overlooking the busy financial district - you could almost throw a stone into the KL Stock Exchange Building from the terrace. Jean-Michel is great entertainment and I have learned to get my order in quickly before he decides what I have to eat that evening. I usually leave guests to his whims and fancy and they are not often disappointed.

Nina - I can't pretend to understand the scoring at all (except the obvious poor entries and belly flops) but the diving competition yesterday was great theatre. Not sure the best man won or not - they all seemed really good and quite often the dives I thought were superb got a resounding thumbs down from the judges. The score seems to centre around a thing called "degree of difficulty" on the logical premise that you get more credit for pulling off the more difficult dives. Daley played it safe with his last dive and it cost him gold.

Mamie - I would never consider my favourite Indiana native house seller to be delinquent - always great to see you here from your own equally busy thread.

Roni - nice to see you, I really ought to start providing napkins to mop up some of that saliva!

Judy - If you were ever in KL dear guru you would be eating at that restaurant as my guest! Looking forward to plenty of interaction next month with the series and sequels.

Nancy - pats on backs all round are in order. Ilana et al who have spent the year engaging us with their Steinbeckathons have helped to keep America's premier writer (my view for what little it is worth) riding high in the threads January through August. Peggy has her daily Dickens, we have Darryl opening up the Middle East in his inimitable style, we have Liz and her championship of a bygone but very worthy fiction in addition to her efforts with Austen and now Trollope, we have had group reads of Gaskell and others whilst two months of the year turn Orange. Linda is battling through the Nobel winners with yours truly one of many in her wake, we have Gillers and Bookers and Pulitzers (if they ever get awarded) and we have Suz whose acutely observed commentary on Tudor England helped many through the intricacies of Hilary Mantel - we have readers and listeners and e-book adventurers and most of all a wonderful kindred community where books are the foundation for erudition, good humour and care.

Lori - I am glad I slept through the spammer - why the heck would they think anyone would be interested. Thankfully flagged out of existence already.

Mark - thanks mate. I am prioritising somewhat. Gwynne, Cornwell, Brands and Mahfouz will be taking centre stage for now. Steinbeck and Charlie D will join Denis Johnson in being polished off during my weeks holiday when I can give them the attention they clearly deserve and haven't received yet.

Donna - Hunger is not a present fear of my I would concede - fasting notwithstanding. My choice of food to break fast today so we are going out to our favourite Mexican restaurant.

Cee - I feel like I have been treading water a bit this week but it is not reflected in the speed of this thread (except Friday possibly). I have felt it more in struggling to get round all the threads. Will catch up some more this evening. I got round about 30 threads yesterday afternoon but unable to skim effectively due to the very engaging content on most of them forcing me to read line-by-line!

Tania - Lovely to see you! I thought the absence of Australian golds had caused a diplomatic incident! I haven't seen the movie but Divorcing Jack was a fun read and I would recommend it heartily. Is it cold in Oz at present?

Ellen - it is a good idea to follow Jean-Michel he has impeccable taste as he keeps telling me!

Ilana - hahaha let's see how close we all get to 75 threads.

Stasia - cross posted. I realised that I better edit it as I accidentally pressed "post-message".

hmmm good idea! I actually have pretty fair aim. I toss things often :)

That spammer.. wow, how did they DO that... LT get them down pretty quickly though.
Nothing too exciting happening in my world.. hope yours is calming down a bit?

Wonderful! Thank you Paul!

Kath - nice quiet and pleasant Sunday over here. Planned to go to my favourite Mexican restaurant but our Persian friend invited us over for supper as her son was lonely with his dad back in Iran and Kyran went over to keep him company. Wonderful kebabs and very nice company which made up for suffering one of the worst barley soups it has ever been my "pleasure" to endure. Azita, our friend, is doing catering work at the moment and we served as guinea pigs. I don't think the soup will make her menu anytime soon.

Callia - Happy reading my dear.

Oh, Paul, I am loving the culinary tour of KL!!

I am surprised to see The Atom Station by Halldor Laxness on your Nobel list -- I guess I had always assumed he won for Independent People which is well worth the read, too. Hope you have a wonderful week!

Anne - the Nobel Prize for lietrature is awarded for the body of work and not a specific one - although there have been times when the committee have made specific reference to one work. My list is my favourite of those I have read from the specific writer. I haven't read Independent People and didn't much care for The Atom Station either!

Oh no; I missed the diving final. Did Daly come that close to gold? We went out for lunch to my aunt's place, and with all the talk about the meaning of 'SWMBO', you might appreciate a plaque they have up on their wall:

"A successful husband is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful wife is one who can find such a husband".

Thankfully, I seem to be a successful wife, and I have enough funds to support my book-buying habits (not to mention other shopping)!

Just making sure that I stay caught up over here. So sorry about the barley soup, Paul - how unfortunate! Perhaps barely soup would be a more appropriate title?

Looks like you got all caught up, Paul.
I watched the diving final last night and it was rather exciting. I was rooting for Daly but since he had to settle for Bronze, I was pleased that the US guy got his act together and won gold. I hate when they come too close to the platform......

Thank you Paul, and you as well!

Nina - love the quote; glad to see that you struck gold - I think I am still on probation with SWMBO.

Mamie - Barely Soup. Hahaha very apt actually - if I had that to look forward to this evening I think I would keep on fasting.

Ellen - Yes I also wince when I see how close their heads get to the platform edge on the way down.

Callia - You have a week to go to school term again? My three will be back at school in about three weeks and are agitating for a trip away as I promised rather too rashly several moons ago.

Hello Paul! (Note to self: Must really log-on at weekends or risk falling far behind on threads). Hope you are enjoying the Cairo Trilogy - I read them back to back and, really enjoyed them. Totally jel that you spent so much time in Cairo - I took a flying visit but thought to myself 'I could live here, easily' - truly captivating place. And I found the Caireans to have a great sense of humour!

Hi There Paul.

Thanks for visiting my thread so frequently. And thanks for posting such lovely photos -- as always.

Prue - Mahfouz was a truly great writer wasn't he? Thanks to Darryl for reminding me to dust off his work. I lived in Alexandria - well in a small seaside village called Hannuville. Wonderful experience in my early 20's - I was working on what was then the world's largest textiles complex El Amria. Alex is a place of shabby charm and its people proud, hopeful, humour-filled if a little dishevelled and ultimately very, very hospitable.

Linda - Hugs to you dear lady - I wouldn't miss my visits to your thread for the world.

Eating in our undergarments? It could totally be a themed restaurant. You should do it! ;)

Hi Paul!
Flying by on the way to pick up my bed time reading.
Had a very relaxing day - and now I think of you starting a new and busy week. Hope it's a good one!

I start school on the 20th so in about 8 days. I am excited for school except for the early mornings!!

Valerie - sounds like a very risky or should that be risque business strategy.

Cee - Nice to see you have had a very calming day. Had a dreadfully hectic morning and I am having to shuffle staff to take account of four meetings that will all proceed at 3.00p.m. - nightmare of planning for my small band I'm afraid.

Callia - I used to look forward to term time after the long summer break with excitement at rekindling friendships with school chums I haven't seen in several weeks but with a heavy heart as the balmy and heady days of permanent sunshine give way to autumnal studies. I cannot remember a single days rain in my schooldays of yore!

One of the pleasures of being on holiday is finally catching up on some threads I've been missing, which feels like a kind of homecoming.

If I were being more energetic (which I ought to be after the example of the Olympic athletes, but somehow cannot manage) I would sprint back to look at your previous threads and see what you thought of Keith Richards' Life, which I'm half way through on audiobook, and also what you made of the first Colin Cotterill, which I read recently and really enjoyed. I assume you must have too, since you've gone on to the next one.

Genny - I gave a thumbs up to both books. Life is everything you expect of Keef and quite a bit more. Lovely to see you around and about again. btw love the pictures from Llangollen and Chester (where my best schooldays friend relocated to).

Barley soup? I make a good barley soup.. but mine is more beef & barley. Lots of celery, potatoes, carrots and other odds and ends :)

The Keith Richards book has gotten a lot of good reviews here.. but doesn't tempt me...
thank goodness!

Kath - this one was cat vomit masquerading as soup - I'm sure that yours would be magnifico. SWMBO thankfully also commented on the soup and apparently all the ladies were ladling it back into the tureen when the host's eyes were averted.
I think you would be pleasantly surprised by Life but then again there are more than enough books we actually fancy reading to go at.

We have plenty of rainy days here! Actually, there's more snowy days. The rain is in the summer! But I am excited to see my friends and I am very excited about the classes I'm taking!

1975 and 1976 were especially fantastic summers in England but checking the records most other summers during my schooldays were actually damp squibs; its just that I've managed to shut out the memory of any rainfall happening.

Rain in England? Don't be daft, man.

It (rain there) does seem so unlikely.

Congrats on the new thread, Paul! That looks and sounds like a great restaurant. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you enjoy the Sharpe books.

Nina - so memory doesn't lie then - the rainfall records don't show therefore that it rained everywhere else except on my village a la Dandelion Wine!

Joe - You can uncross them mate - almost done with the first of the Sharpes' - (publication order) and it is pretty much as I expected it to be. I love his Uhtred Saxon series and this promises to be pretty addictive.

Ah, good! Addictive is right. And yet nutritious for the brain. Good combo . . .

Morning, Paul.
I've gotten out of my habit of checking in on your thread while standing in my kitchen with my coffee in the morning.... must resume habit.

Books as brain food - the better the book the better I eat Joe!

Ellen - Thank you I am honoured my dear indeed - it is morning here - early hours in fact.

Hi Paul, I can't believe it's the 13th already... which means I've managed to miss ALL of the Olympic games basically. Not proud of that, because there are lots of events I like to watch, but this has been an extended period when I simply haven't felt like switching the telly on. Oh well. Don't see the point in watching the closing ceremonies either. Kind of like... I was going to come up with an analogy, but only a very bad one comes to mind: kind of like smoking a cigarette without the sex first. But considering a) I don't smoke and hate cigarettes and b) I don't partake in the other either and am mostly grossed out by the notion of that too, all thanks to plenty of antidepressants, it's a pretty distasteful analogy to come up with all round, yes? ;-)

Dear Ilana - I have to admit that I am not a avid watcher of closing ceremonies but I did enjoy watching many of the sports. I don't smoke cigarettes either which is one vice that cannot be lodged against me. As for the other I don't see me giving that one up for the foreseeable future - great for keeping me in some sort of shape - you do have your yoga after all. I have changed though over the years and have been a one woman man for 16 years - I do think that in a loving relationship where there is a meeting of minds (the mind more important than certain other organs as we get older!) there would be no grossing out at the notion. x

Hmmm. I'm pretty sure I've given up on s-e-x for life. Goodness knows I've had enough to last many many lifetimes, with more partners than I... well, never mind. All that time I could have spent reading too... breaks my heart! ;-)

All that time I could have spent reading too... breaks my heart! ;-)
BRILLIANT! lol
Love that reflection Ilana.
I had a friend who in our early 20's said she'd "rather read her book" when it came to sex....Im starting to agree with her these days, but I put it down to tiredness and lack of time to myself more than anything else.

I can promise you my self-esteem would have benefited from less sex/more books. But then again... boy do I have stories to tell, if only they were the kind of stories one could tell! But I never would. "Kiss" and tell. ;-)

Ilana - Do like Sean Connery and never say never again! With my red blood cells a-pumping it would have to be one heck of a good read - although I have spent many an evening tucked up in bed with a good book and an expectant wife at my side only to carry on reading until her snores tell me that she's expectant no more!

Megan - Children and a busy lifestyle do impose on partners enjoying their time together to the full. What was important once upon a time is less important later as companionship exceeds but hopefully fails to replace frenzied passion completely.

Hmm. No ah, helpful or informative comments to offer on most recent conversation. Especially since I have a child who visits LT occasionally...wouldn't want him throwing up in his mouth just a little.
Did like the imagery of the wives ladling disgusting soup back into the tureen.

I really enjoyed the Olympics. Mostly watched swimming and track & field, but also a little volleyball and some shooting. We watched via internet streaming, so we got the British commentary. I really got a kick out of it. My favorite was the quote at the end of the women's marathon - "That was a cracking good race!" The swimming commentator (female) nearly drove me out of my mind. She was completely obsessed by who was wearing a nose plug. She couldn't stop talking about it. Weird. Anyway, it was fun.

Jenn - point taken! I enjoyed the cycling most I must admit followed by the athletics and then the rowing.

Called my Mum today as 14 August is her birthday. In Europe this is celebrated as VJ Day (Victory over Japan) and she was duly christened 68 years ago as Vivienne Joy.
She seemed a bit more chipper to be fair. She had her full MRI yesterday and goes back on Thursday for the results.

Had a bit of a lump in my throat and a small tear welling in my eye as she was "braving it out". Could tell that she is struggling a little as she asked me the same question about SWMBO and the three terrors in the space of four minutes. I trust that she will get by OK on Thursday.

Lots of prayers for your mum, and my heart goes out to her, it really does. I hope she'll be all right. ((hugs))

Sending best wishes to you and to your mum Paul. xx

Continual prayers for you and the family, Paul! I'm sure you mom must really appreciate the phone calls even if you can't be right beside her.

#90 It must be tough for you both to be so far apart. Thoughts and prayers to you both for Thursday.

Eris, Ilana, Valerie and Heather

Thanks so much. It is sometimes difficult to live so far away from the family.

I love the story of the origins of your Mum's name. Glad you managed to speak to her on her birthday.

You are such a considerate son - friend, husband, employer, father, etc...
Really.
Glad you got a chance to connect with your Mum. Wishing for the very best result for her and hope you get a chance to see her in good health before long.
pssst - did you get your passport sorted out yet?

Genny - thanks - it is funny that over here they record that victory was achieved on 15 August 1945 whilst in Europe and North America it is 14 August 1945 due to time differences. We live with that situation every day on LT.

Cee - I am blushing as profusely as I am undeserving. Don't do nearly enough for the old girl IMHO.
Don't feel that I can answer your last question for fear of being scolded! Will sort it out next week when we have holidays here.

63.

Sharpe's Eagle by Bernard Cornwell

Fast paced beginning to the quite famous Sharpe series featuring our intrepid and seemingly indestructible hero this time in Portugal and Spain on his way to single handedly thwarting Boney at Talavera.
Eminently readable and I am certain to gobble all these up if a tad unbelievable and with cartoonishly bad villains.

7/10

Wait until you meet the odious Obadiah Hakeswill, Paul! Simmerson does make a reappearance in Sharpe's Regiment.

Joe - great names aren't they just. Almost Dickensian in their suggestibility.

I'm back from the hinterlands of the great middle - of the U. S. that is. It was wonderful. Hot at the beginning of the vacation and then cool for the last part.

I would second the motions above on reading the entire Station series by David Downing very good books. I also loved the Sharpe books. The villains were villains and the heroes were heroes, all wrapped up in some great action. The package also includes wonderful historical tidbits about military history that were fascinating. Glad to see you are enjoying them. I started on the more disturbing In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin. So far this is very interesting and thought provoking. It is a series of inter-related short stories set in Pakistan. I added the Cairo Trilogy to my reading wish list earlier this year. I went to the library to get them and could only find one book by Mahfouz. I put in a request to have them ordered only to get an e-mail from the librarian telling me that we had a long list of his works in the library. I had misspelled his last name. Maybe soon I will get to them.

Best wishes to your mother, Paul. I imagine it's very hard on both of you to be so far away. Thinking of you.

Benita - nice to see you returned refreshed from your adventures in the "hinterland". Bernard Cornwell as usual mixes fascinating historical fact with a decisive role for his heroes and villains.

Anne - thanks - today (Thursday here already) is a pivotal day for her as she gets the results of her MRI later.

Another new thread, another restaurant photo! I'm glad I checked in before this one is gone too.

Thinking good thoughts about your mother--I hope you get good news.

uh-huh. right. :-}
What's open on holidays?
*heavy sigh*

But I can't admit to you w/o blushing how long it took me to renew my passport. Years. *hangs head*

Sending lots of love your way, Paul. I really sympathize with the long distance from family. I hope your mum has a good birthday and continues to be more chipper... and to get good news from the docs.

Paul, just catching up here - dreadfully behind, but I love that your Mum was born on VJ Day and has those initials. How sweet! Sending good thoughts your way and hoping that the MRI results bring good news.

Hello Paul - you and your mum are much in my thoughts and I have everything crossed. When I lived in Britain for 7 years, being away from family was the hardest thing - especially in times of celebration and heartache. But you are a good son - and I am sure she is sp proud of your achievements, she wouldn't have you be anywhere else.

Anne- Books, food, music, books, ladies, good conversation, sport, family, friends and of course books are my interests and all of them get plenty of attention in LT. Thanks for your kind thoughts re:the old girl - sustenance for me certainly that I have so many genuinely lovely and loving people here who actually care what happens to me and mine - you are all wonderful!

Cee - Monday and Tuesday are holidays here - Wednesday I will be too busy but Thursday I can get along to the High Commission and get the forms submitted and the ridiculously high fees paid.

Ellen - I think what I mentioned above in response to Anne could be repeated so many times that it would become a slog for everyone to read - thanks so much! :) xx

Mamie - Hope you are feeling better - it is amazing how keenly felt was your temporary illness induced absence. It certainly shows how much of an impression you have made on so many of us since March. VJ night is not something I explain at any great length to my Japanese friends.

Prue - Two weeks to you landing in KL! "times of celebration and heartache" - very nicely put.

Hi Paul,
catching up, but too preoccupied with the rugrats to comment much further! Crikey, they need nearly ALL of your attention, dont they? ;)

ETA: just settled Wilbur in doing the vacuuming....now...how can I employ Lenny?

Wow Wilbur is doing the vacuuming? What about Lenny washing the clothes? Put the clothes in switch on the machine and tell him to watch the tube as it spins round and round - he will be fascinated for at least 45 minutes! Worked on a maid we employed from a village in furthest Indonesia but hopefully Lenny would soon grow out of it.

What a lovely name your mom has and such a lovely reason for it! I am just lucky I am not Helga Hazel or vice versa, as my dad wanted to name me after my grandmother's. Thankfully my mom's name's ideas prevailed!:)

Paul

I'm stopping by to see if there is news re. your mother. I'm so sorry that she is going through all this.

Hi Paul- Whew, way behind on the threads! It looks like I can't go away anymore. It sounds like you are enjoying "Empire". It's such a great read and I'm sure you are appreciating "the Searchers" references.
Happy belated Birthday to your dear Mum!

I'm in the same predicament here as I am on Mark's and Joe's threads - simply too far behind to catch up in any honorable way. I did scan for news of your mother, and I'll continue to keep her in my thoughts, as I did throughout our trip through Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.

Results from Mum's MRI yet? Anxiously waiting with you

>112: oof!

I like the way your grandparents thought when they named your mum.

Paul - Good thinking to not share that story with your Japanese friends. Speaking of names, my mom wanted to name me Candy - can you imagine? SO glad my Dad won that argument! Honestly, I just don't have the wardrobe to pull that name off!!

And I am feeling much better - nasty sinus infection for which I now have drugs! Back to my old self - of course, so is our erratic water heater which is once again demanding attention.

Results for your Mum?

MUM UPDATE

======================

Not wonderful news really I'm afraid. Whilst the MRI tests didn't reveal any definite cancer signs there were apparently a few "borderline patches" whatever the heck that means and a couple of large cysts in her ovaries. The consultant has therefore scheduled a full hysterectomy for her and it will take place within the next 2-3 weeks. She is less than comforted of course but I told her in my practical manner that it could be better - she told me she is going to lose her tackle just as she was planning to get me a little brother or sister. I am presently dry-eyed but heavy hearted.

She also told me that Peter (my twin) is having trouble making his mortgage payments and his wife is worried that the bank is getting impatient - I'm never going to be a rich man!

Helga I mean Deb, names given for a good reason are of course to be encouraged. My mum wanted Yasmyne for my first and Hani acquiesced, We enjoyed Kyra Sedgewick in Phenomenon with John Travolta and therefore Kyra was added and SWMBO wanted Amanda. Therefore we finished up with Kyra Yasmyne Amanda.
The boy came along next and I was fresh from lapping up Braveheart so I volunteered Mohamed Zachary Wallace and was roundly shouted down. We She decided to follow the KYA formula so we got Kyran Yousof Adrian (my middle name). By Belle's time we were struggling with the Y and she got Karyn Ysabelle Amylea. All the inventive spellings are not my doing by the way!

Linda - just to let you know I have redeemed your voucher with many many thanks dear lady.

Mark - I am at the part where Ms. Parker has been "rescued" from her family. Engrossing stuff indeed.

Amber - I had a spell last week when I utterly floundering. Notice that you have had a few days away last week so I sympathise with the skimming that you now need to do!

Reba - Thanks for your concern my dear - I put the news above as I'm sure you've seen - less than the very worst news I suppose which should make us thankful for small mercies.

Nina - It was my grandpa apparently who named her - he was a deputy at the pit (coal mines) and died weeks before I was born with his lungs and full to the brim of coal dust. A wonderful club singer and inverterate ladies man apparently - my Gran and Mum loved him with an absolute passion and I only needed to sing a bar or two of his most requested songs (Try a Little Tenderness, Danny Boy, Young at Heart, A Blossom Fell) to have my Gran reduced to tears. Sorry I am a bit on the sentimental side this evening.

Mamie - I can imagine you as Candy actually - you are so sweet!
My Japanese friend is an extremely proud man with limited english and a literal take on whatever he is told and a full understanding of very little. The subtlety of any humour relating to the last war would be doomed for sure.
Glad to see you back to the good old Mamie - you're right Candy wouldn't have worked half as well.

The Latinist in me just loves the name Amanda for a daughter, and it's appropriate for yours, as it literally means "she who must be loved".

Amber - it is interesting that Amanda was at the insistence of SWMBO and she spends most of her time in a battle of wills with her eldest daughter. I spend most of time trying to avoid the cross-fire!

>122 : Sentimentality is excused. It's a good reason.

Personally, since having my youngest, I tend to cry at the drop of a hat. It can be quite embarrassing sometimes. Once, I fell apart at my eldest's parent-teacher conference, because I welled up at her story of something nice he had done. I nearly had her going, too! so she said she couldn't tell me about something else he had done. Sometimes at the cinema, I start sniffling at things the old cynical me would have snorted at (not literally, of course; I'm a lady), and hope that the darkness is enough to camouflage it from my kids. (The last time was when we watched 'Brave', and mum and daughter were reunited).

Could just be lack of sleep, of course.

Thanks for the update, Paul. Will continue to keep your family in my thoughts. I know personally how hard it is to hear any discomforting news about the family when you aren't living in the same city and are helpless at the moment to do anything other than offering an encouraging word. Any firm plans about whether you can travel back to be with your mom?

Nina - I am normally regarded as something of a toughie, albeit of sawn-off proportions so a little sentimentality occasionally is a welcome change. I do feel my own heart swell up when my kids do something praiseworthy so I can identify with your comments perfectly.

Valerie - Distance sometimes doesn't assist in times like today. Want to put my arms around my mother but can't reach so far - her voice has a tremble when her fear of what lies ahead surfaces but I cannot help or be of comfort as much as I would like to. Will look to get back soon to see her.

I hope you get back to see your mom soon, Paul. I know how tough it is to live far away from the ones you love, especially when they're suffering. I'll keep praying for her and for you, too, Paul. ((more hugs and prayers))

Poor mum, that's tough news. Keeping you and mum both in my thoughts.

Sorry to hear the news for your Mum is not so good; hard for you both to be so far apart just now...

Amber's mention of the Latin meaning of Amanda reminds me of how the root meaning of 'agenda', ie 'things to be done' usually gets lost sight of in most meetings where the agenda is a list of things to be talked about rather than getting on and doing them!

Love the description of the naming of your kids, Paul.
And I'm so sorry the news isn't better about your mum. I hope the hysterectomy goes well and that the borderline patches (yeah, I'm with you "whatever the heck that means") are thereby not allowed to become whatever a borderline patch can become. And I'm sorry to hear about Peter's financial woes. Rats. It's a tough month for you and your loved ones.
xo

I'm sorry to hear the news about your mum, Paul. My mother had a similar scare last year, and had to undergo exploratory laparoscopic surgery (w/o hysterectomy) for pelvic masses which looked worrisome on an MRI. Fortunately they were all benign, and she continues to do well. I hope that the same holds true for your mum.

I am also sorry to hear about your Mum, Paul. I am sure all this difficult news from England is hard on you as well. Take care and although you can't be there in person right now, I am sure she takes great comfort in your being in touch often.

My sympathy, too, Paul, re your mum. Hard to be that far away, I'm sure. I hope it goes well for her.

Sorry to hear the news about your mum and your brother's financial woes Paul - it can't be easy for any of you right now.

Sorry to hear the medical news about your mum, can't imagine how your feeling with being such a distance from her side but i will be thinking of you both.

So sorry about your Mum and brother. Will keep them both in prayers (and you too as you serve as family strength)

Oh Paul, I am so sorry. Keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers. Please know that even though physically you are far away from your Mum, she understands that your heart and your thoughts are right there with her, and that is a strength all it's own.

Oh dear, your poor mum having to go through such an ordeal. I like her sense of humour about it, though - I assume you get yours from her? When my father was dying and I told him that I would be caring for mum in his place, I added dedpan: "Well, at least until she re-marries". As she had already had her major stroke, he laughed. We always shared a slightly black humour.

I will keep you all in my thoughts but, as you know, we women are tough!

I'm just popping in so I don't lose you completely. Can't. Catch. Up. :(

Sorry to hear of your Mum's upcoming surgery Paul and will keep her and your family in my thoughts and prayers.

You all must be so let down since you thought a while ago your mum had the all clear didnt you?
*big sigh for you all*
**not that its helpful, I know**
Fingers crossed anyway, and hopes the skillful surgeon can work their magic with great results.

>121 I love to hear the history behind the names. And I love your kids matching but not matching initials!
I think my sister was going to be called Cinnamon, but my dad wouldnt hear of it. And I was to be Gabrielle, but dad put his foot down again. I dont hear what his choices were, but if he's like my lovely other, baby name options were few and far between.

Thankyous to all of you who have sent me such warm hearted and comforting messages over the last week or two regarding my mother and yesterday to : Eris, Laura, Genny, Ellen, Darryl, Judy, Joe, Heather, John, Reba, Mamie and Prue - you are all the best!
I will answer as many individual posts as I can later when the rush in the office dies down a bit - last day before holidays

Hi Paul - I'm just catching up. So sorry to hear the not-so-good news and adding my sympathy. I hope the operation solves the problem. Take care.

Also chiming in with best wishes and sympathy for your Mother. I hope all goes well. Even though you can't be there, your mother knows you're thinking of her.

Hi Paul. I want to add my sympathy for your mother's diagnosis, but it is at least good that they will take care of it at this stage, before it has the chance to develop into full blown cancer. I hope she will have caregivers around that can support her. I am so sorry you have this to worry about from such a distance. Life does throw some nasty curve-balls.

Paul, just catching up and adding my belated sympathy and best wishes for happier news on the horizon.

Kerri, Jenn, Linda and Katie - Thanks so much for your kind messages. I have mentioned it before of course but this site and especially this group is the most marvellous source of solace and support.

Paul

I'm so sorry for all this stress in your life...and prayers are sent for your mother.

Here is a rainbow

Treated myself in KLCC this evening at Kinokuniya given that I got a little cash bonus this afternoon and fasting finishes tomorrow. Not done much book shopping this month and there were a few new Scandis amongst others:

Sharpe's Gold by Bernard Cornwell (second in the series : publication order)
The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco
A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse
Cell 8 by Roslund and Hellstrom
Unwanted by Kristina Ohlsson
The Dinosaur Feather Sissel-Jo Gazan
A Life Elsewhere by Segun Afolabi
Conqueror by Conn Iggulden
Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kastner
A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn

Thanks Linda - I always believe that there is a rainbow somewhere every grey day.

I'm intrigued by your reading the Richard Sharpe series in publication order, Paul. It means you're going to read these, including Sharpe's Rifles (the one I started with), with a different perspective than I had. I'm going to enjoy following along as you read them.

Joe - I have to be honest in that I would have preferred to have read them in chronological order but I couldn't find Sharpe's Tiger in time so I switched to publication order. Whether that gives me any insight or confuses me more as I move through the series we will no doubt see.
What did surprise me were the references in the first Sharpe novel to events that had preceded Talavera. This probably meant that Cornwell had the entire series mapped out before her ever sat down to write the detailed novels.

Hi Paul- Nice book haul! I had a mini-one yesterday myself. Always a joy! I see many Scandi-Crime titles listed. You sure love your SC!
Have a great weekend and I hope you can read a few more pages of "Empire".

Emil and the Detectives! I haven't thought or heard of that since reading it at school!

Wishing the best for your mother and agreeing with everyone who says how difficult it must be to be so far away from her. Glad you had a chance for a book haul!

Checking in late today after a couple of hours gardening, and I'm 48 messages behind!!!

Sorry your mom has to have the surgery, Paul, but hopefully this will clear up the problem completely. *Hugs*

Emil and the Detectives is a classic. You should enjoy that particular children's classic.

And I loved the Emil movie when I was a kid -- Disney???

Sorry about your Ma, hoping for the best outcome for all.

Mark - I don't think I am alone in enjoying my Scandi! A few new ones in Kristina Ohlsson and Sissel-Jo Gazan to add to my burgeoning list of writers from the oft frozen North.
Jussi Adler-Olsen
Karin Alvtegen
Mikkel Birkegaard
Anders Bodelsen
Camilla Ceder
Arne Dahl
K.O. Dahl
Leif Davidsen
Ake Edwardsson
Kerstin Ekman
Kjell Eriksson
Thomas Enger
Karin Fossum
Inger Frimansson
Sissel-Jo Gazan
Frode Grytten
Jan Guillou
Anne Holt
Jorn Lier Horst
Arnaldur Indriadson
Mari Jungstedt
Matti Joensuu
Christian Jungersen
Mons Kallentoft
Lars Kepler
Camilla Lackberg
Jens Lapidus
Par Lagerqvist
Asa Larsson
Stieg Larsson
Henning Mankell
Liza Marklund
Jo Nesbo
Hakan Nesser
Harri Nykanen
Kristina Ohlsson
Leif Persson
Kjersti Scheen
Roslund Hellstrom
Pernille Rygg
Yrsa Sigurdardottir
Jarkko Sipila
Maj Sjowall
Gunnar Staalesen
Johan Theorin
Helene Tursten

Are amongst the scandi-crimesters on the shelves and waiting for attention or re-acquaintance.

Genny - Emil and the Detectives caught my eye because there is a new series of childrens classics released by Vintage and it was the only one I didn't have!

Rebecca - Book buying can prove to be excellent theory!

Roni - I wouldn't be too keen on gardening here; the snakes might not appreciate it!

Benita - I have heard of the book of course but I have not seen it in the stores before.

Lucy - I will look up the film and see if it gives me further insight.

Hi Paul, been away from the computer most of the day, but wanted to get news from your mum (and you too of course). You have all my sympathy dear, things in your world aren't looking so rosy right now, but hopefully they'll get easier soon. If I was the praying kind, I'd pray for you, your mum and your twin brother, but I'll send them warmest wishes instead... hope that'll help in some way. Hugs to you. xx

Thanks Ilana - actually I'm in a good frame of mind today. Fasting will be over in 7 hours or so and I have a few days holiday to rest and catch up on reading. Hugs gratefully received anyways and returned with a modicum of manly squeezes.

Spent a happy few hours undisturbed by work or women (well ok one particular woman) catching up to threads and posting over 40 messages. Back to preparation for our trip South, choosing reading material and music for the journey.

Glad you've had a good run of undisturbed Paul time! It can work wonders cant it. Happy Eid (soon anyway....) to you and the family. It must be a treat to eat during the day again.
Here's to a great break away...where are you off to?

Thanks so much Megan - off to Johor Bahru and Hani's mum's place (actually it is her Dad's place but he is similarly submerged in the shadow of his sweetheart as am I!). SWMBO is agitating for a trip away for a few days after the holidays if that makes any sense.

Paul - I've been a bit behind over the last few days - just sending my best wishes as well for your Mum's operation. I hope it all goes well and turns out to have been just precautionary.

Thanks Rhian - she is in very good spirits now actually that she knows it is not quite as desperately bad as she had feared.

Want to go back and respond to some of the specific non-mother messages I received almost two days ago and to which I had responded with a lazy carte-blanche thankyou.

Eris - you are right the distance separating you from family at times of either consternation or celebration can be very very trying.

Genny - good point on "agenda" - I usually bore my staff (who have heard the spiel severally) with a little ditty about meetings being to solve problems not create them at the kick-off meetings to my projects.

Peter is a fighter and a winner Ellen. I am sure that he will be successful eventually but getting there is pretty taxing for him presently.

Darryl - laparoscopic is a word I haven't seen before. I'm not sure that the British heath service is quite so patient in undertaking tests and exploratory operations - money is tight and they normally act in anticipation rather than the actuality of problems.

Prue - gallows humour is prevalent in my family too - your parents clearly had a sense of humour and your tales from last year were a role model for how to face down adversity and smile with a tear in your eye.

Megan - I think Cinnamon is a sweet name (hahaha). Very good name for a pet or a pet name for a girl.

64.

Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne

Not sure about Summer Moon as this wonderful history details the dying days of the Comanche nation as it was free upon the buffalo plains of the South West. It is a blood thirsty and curdling tale of raids, rapes, scalpings, burnt farms, and indian villages, revenge and lost culture.
Quanah Parker was a half-breed but full hearted war chief and the last of the bands to give in to the dictates of the american forces and come in to the reservation. His mother was taken captive at a bloody raid upon a Texan fort and grew up loving her adopted tribe with a passion even after she was captured back. The basis maybe for The Searchers but the reality was far from John Wayne's portrayal.

The best book of its type that I have read for a good while.

9/10

>170 Laparoscopic surgery, also known as minimally invasive surgery, is a technique in which much smaller surgical incisions are made, and instruments are introduced into the surgical field to explore and incise tissue. These techniques have been around for at least 20-25 years in the US, and are definitely the standard of care here for appropriate procedures, such as appendectomies (lap appys) and exploratory abdominal and pelvic surgeries (ex laps). Because the incisions are much smaller, the length of hospital stay, recovery time, and complication rates are far less than with more extensive procedures, such as open appendectomies or hysterectomies:



I was diagnosed with appendicitis on a Sunday morning in November 1997 (which I brilliantly self diagnosed as food poisoning as a very inexperienced intern), underwent surgery that afternoon, and was discharged home the following afternoon after lunch. I have two tiny surgical scars, identical to the ones in the second diagram above, instead of a large scar similar to the one in the first diagram.

My mother had an exploratory laparatomy last year, and was discharged home on POD #1 (postoperative day 1, or the day after the procedure) as well.

The NHS does offer a variety of surgical techniques for hysterectomies, including a laparoscopic option:

Hysterectomy - How it is performed

Rachael (FlossieT, who unfortunately is not a member of our group this year; she lives in Cambridge) had appendicitis in 2010 (I think), and underwent a lap appy as I did, so I knew that the technique was available in England.

hmmm I believe I will leave the Scandi's to all y'all and carry on with my own TBRs :)

Hi Paul - I'm catching up with your news. I hope everything goes well with your mother. My thoughts are with you. Enjoy your holiday; I see you are in the middle of a few hefty tomes -- will you finish some of them while on holiday?

Paul, your list of Scandi authors is one I am saving to my favorites, for future reference. Only two of those authors jump out at me as being ones I have read, although I did enjoy them both.

I also enjoyed seeing another good review of Empire of the Summer Sun. I think that many of us in this country do not have sufficient knowledge of the history of our Native Americans, myself included.

Paul- WOW, to that Scandi-Crime list! Let's make it a double WOW! That scene has really exploded.
Good review of "Empire". I'm so glad you loved it too! It's such a special book, plus I learned so much. The introduction to the horse, the gun, hunting & fighting tactics. Great stuff.
Enjoy your time off!

Yes - standing up for the NHS as well - I had a laparoscopic procedure at least 18 years ago. I was under the impression that it was the normal way to do a lot of operations.

Adding my hugs and sympathy, Paul. Is Peter close enough so mum gets a visit and a physical hug often, and a proxy one for you? It's hard to have such a distance between you when you know she's scared. I hope you get to see her soon.

Sorry also to hear of Peter's troubles, but he's lucky to have a generous and caring brother. Hopefully things will turn around for him soon...does it look like work will pick up for him? I'm sure he hates being in the position he's in now and worried about how he's to support his family, in addition to worries about mum.

Love the book haul. And what a great list of Scandi crime writers too. I went down the list to check off the ones I haven't read yet and have added them to my Eye On Authors list. Maybe I'll have time at the airports on Monday to look into some of the titles they've published and pick one from a few to try.

Selamat Hari Raya Puasa in advance.

Cool (cold?) Scandi crime list, Paul, and good review of Empire of the Summer Moon. I hope all goes well with mum and bro. Have a great weekend!

>178 Right, Rhian. The laparoscopic approach is standard of care for many surgeries, including cholecystectomies (removal of the gall bladder), appendectomies, oophorectomies (removal of the ovary) and uncomplicated colectomies.

So, Paul; I'm getting lost between posts; is your mum having a laparoscopy? 2-3 weeks; not shabby for the NHS!

Ah; for the layman - keyhole surgery. The only major operations I've had were two caesarian sections, which couldn't be keyhole. ;-) Your mum must be glad she doesn't have to face that! Thankfully, my dear husband looked after me, and the babies, which helped the recovery process. Now don't let him know I'm getting soppy; I endeavour to be SWMBO in our household. Not much chance, though, with two boys who take after their dad and think they have to stand in when he's not around.

Best wishes to your mum and brother.

Hi Paul!
Lots going on in your world. Hope things will sort out soon and things look up for all... especially you... since you are juggling a heavy load.
I'm with Hani - never enough vacations! It seems like you could use one right about now.

btw - I am hoping to hear on Friday that your passport forms have been submitted and no loose ends ;-)
You'll have one thing off your mind when it is done and I will stop nagging you.

Darryl - Thanks for all the information. Must admit that it reinforces my certainty as to my profound ignorance of all things medical. I'm not sure which of the three methods of operation described in your link she will be undergoing but I do know that it is a total hysterectomy.

Kath - there are more than enough books to go round for us both to have burgeoning TBRs

Beth - Thanks - I have taken a goodly number of books down to Johor with me. The Andrew Jackson I expect to finish and I should make progress with Mahfouz. I also have a Doctor WHO and the latest Jussi Adler-Olson with me as well as Fatelessness to add to my Nobel challenge. Charlie D, Steinbeck and Denis Johnson will take their places when Andrew Jackson is finished.

Linda - Mankell opened the way to Scandi for me as Steig Larsson, Karin Fossum or Jo Nesbo seems to have done for others. Atmosphere and sense of place normally abounds - like their realism and the trait to make the heroes normal.
According to the latest estimates there are about 10,000 Comanches in the USA which is less than Apache (50,000), Sioux (100,000) and Navajo (200,000). The history is fascinating but heart rending.

Mark - I thought you would like my impromptu list of authors - I really ought to have checked my database as I am sure that there would have been one or two Scandi practitioners I missed off-the-cuff.

Rebecca - My original query to Darryl was because I had never heard the word laparascopic before. Lapar in malay means hungry by the way which is perhaps interesting but totally irrelevant.

Rhian - I have checked with my Mum and she is not having keyhole surgery - must admit though that I will check with my SIL who is a nurse just to make sure as she thought such a procedure was when people are watching you from another room!

Caro - Peter is about a 5-10 minute drive from my Mum and my sister lives walking distance so the cuddles part is covered (separate cuddles as Peter and Julie are not on terms - my father stopped paying Peter's sons school fees to pay Julie's daughters as a way to get her loyalty in his fight to the death with Peter - cynical in the extreme - Peter's son Ryan had a stroke as an infant of days old and needs considerable care and special needs; still they will manage).
Wouldn't know where to start to recommend from the scandi list.
Thanks for the Raya wishes. Fasting finished and am in Johor already.

Joe - thanks mate - I can now go over to the cafe at all hours as fasting has finished now over here. Huge tankard of english beer is coveted at the moment.

Darryl - I should have known better than to make sweeping and clearly inaccurate assumptions of the NHS - 18 years away from the old country what would I really know anyway. I do know that my poor mum had to undergo the MRI test twice as the first machine broke down halfway and the hospital had no idea when it would be fixed. Two of the local hospitals had no such machine so she had to go to a fourth hospital to get the thing done so I think I ought to be forgiven for not expecting too much of em.

Nina - I'm glad you supplied the keyhole part - that one I've heard of!
SWMBO (mine that is) also had a Caesarean section to deliver Yasmyne but numbers 2 and 3 were normal births. I was there at all three births although pretty useless in the operating theatre. You ladies go through a hell of a lot more than we guys do in the reproductive process that is for sure!
I would back you to sort your boys out.

Cee - What an ally you are to a lady who needs such scant assistance! Will sort out the passport this week I promise.

Hi Paul, getting caught up and sorry to learn your Mom will be facing some further health intervention in the form of surgery. I will continue to keep her and your family in my thoughts.

On a more celebratory note..... Selamat Idul Fitri!

Enjoy your time away, Paul. And good job on catching up on all the threads, and with your own messages. :)

Woot! That's quite the list of Scandi crime authors! I am waiting for my copy of Jussi Adler-Olsen new book. Sorry to hear about your mom, but on an encouraging note, my friend with ALS/ Lou Gehrigs/ Motor Neuron Disease - which ever way you know it as, just underwent a laprascopic gall bladder surgery yesterday ,and while she is in the ICU for close monitoring for a day or two, she is doing excellently! I wish the best to you and your mom.

Oh, sorry, Paul. Well, not too sorry. You do need encouragement at times as we all do when it comes to documentation hassles :}
Didn't know Hani was on the case... I will back off (a little) and let the professional take over.
Happy feasting!

Okay, I cannot catch up on missed threads - I am sorry! And given the time difference also to late to wish you a happy Sunday, so instead I wish you a week full of good news!

And sending good thoughts re. your mother, I hope everything goes well!!

161: Holy cow, that's quite a list. Can you please put stars by the ones that are recommended? Lol. I downloaded a debut book, The Gingerbread House by Carin Gerhardsen (Swedish?) on the iPad - because it was cheap and sounded good - but who knows when I'll get to it.

Paul, I'm sorry about your mother's upcoming surgery, especially after receiving more favorable news. It sounds to me like she can still avoid full-blown cancer, but I am sorry about the fact that you won't have a little brother now! I like your mum's sense of humor.

I'm sure you guys are all enjoying family time and making up for the fasting during Ramadan. Open house today ...but only starting at 3pm because we had guests all week, so we sent out a notice to the usual culprits who come over each year that doors will be open only at 3pm to give us time to clean up after the last guest had left.

Lori - thanks for the season's greetings and your thread fly-past. It wouldn't be the same without your appearance per thread!

Thanks Megan - We broke our final fast of the year at our favourite Japanese restaurant at the IOI Marriott Resort near Putrajaya on our way (sort of) down to Johor Bahru. Being a smart Alec I took an alternative route to avoid the traffic and couldn't then find the resort arriving 20 minutes late to break fast.
We coincided the dinner with a birthday celebration for Erni. This year she is going back to her home island for the Haj holiday rather than the post-fasting one. It is her birthday on Thursday actually but she likes the place so what the heck. We bought her a touch-phone mobile from Samsung and it was nice to see her little face beaming. Even funnier was watching her first encounter with raw oysters - the oyster won and her face was indescribably funny. She is 26 on Thursday and has been with us since the age of 15 - more a little sister than a maid certainly. I pointed out that when she first arrived her passport Indonesian style proudly stated that she was 26 - she has finally caught up with her passport age and looks no different!

Deb - nice to see your friend is coping so well with her surgical adventures. Spoke to my mother yesterday as she was at my brothers house for supper and she seems relieved that it is allin process. She was also happy that we had covered the cost of her cancelled holiday - poor old girl was not really in a position to lose GBP400 on the trip. I joked with her that the operation was at least sparing her the pleasures of the Isle of Wight.

Cee - Your encouragement is always welcome whilst SWMBO's is invariably strident. I have the day off from the family today but more of that later.

Natalie - I am beginning to wonder how any of us really manage to keep up. The group is now well over 1000 members and growing daily. If the newcomers are all like Mamie then we are going to get buried in a sea of posts but go down smiling. I wish you a wonderful week too and will catch up with your news shortly after this.

Donna - I have an idea for a few more lists actually. I am going to list a GENRE HALF-DOZEN for a while and I should start with Scandi. It will be one book per author maximum of course as I usually do. There are a fair few on my list which I have not read yet and the shelves are humming with tomes pleading for attention. I haven't go The Gingerbread House and will be interested to see what you make of it.
I am a tad devastated that surgery will ensure no more siblings!

Caro - Open houses are great fun but depending upon who is hosting it! In your case I'm sure it woulf be a blast. Do you have a lot of Singaporean Malay friends over there. SWMBO and the kids are in Singapore today trailing around to the four aunties and one great uncle's house. I am in a new "resort" hotel catching up with you all.

Well a day away from the threads and celebrated EID with my in laws as usual.
Went to the mosque for celebratory prayers with Kyran - Dada (Grandpa) didn't follow as he was exhausted from his trip to Singapore the evening before delivering food to the relatives. MIL cooked my favourite biriyani as usual with dall cha (a rich lentil and beef broth), ayam masak merah (literally red cooked chicken), beef rendang and other delights. Unfortunately she also went to the mosque and left my elder SIL in charge of finishing off - youfinish off the rich biriyani by adding a slosh of evaporated milk into the mixture to give it a lovely creamy taste and texture. Yabo my SIL misheard the instructions and put the whole tin in and turned my precious biriyani into near porridge.
Lazy afternoon with visits from and then to a couple of Johor based relatives. Later I checked into a hotel with Hani and Belle (the other two were not interested). This is on the pre-text that with my passport being full and unable to follow today to Singapore, I would be a most unsuitable host for any relatives stopping by to my in-laws place (Malays do not ever announce their intention to visit). MIL thought it a great idea.
We checked into a new hotel KSL resort hotel in JB - the front office manager is a former colleague of SWMBO, Matthew and we got the room half-price for a staggering RM160 per night (around US$50) - which is not bad for a five star hotel (those stars not fully deserved I must add) at Peak Holiday season.
800 room hotel and everybody seems to want to use the same lift at the same time.
Things started to go wrong last night when I started purging dreadfully - thanks for your help with the biriyani Yabo! and this continued into the morning.
Things got worse when I realised I had not packed my lap top charger.
SWMBO was like a bear with a sore head as she couldn't find a lighter for her toilet cigarette (don't ask me why she needs this) and she couldn't get near the place anyway as I was hogging it. She drove out to a 7-11 and bought a lighter only to immediately find one in her purse - hahaha she should quit anyway.
Breakfast this morning was hair raising with a 1000 pax coffee shop full house and immense queues for every morsel of food. I managed to sweet-talk a very pretty waitress to fetch me all my food and drink (much against the regulations I may add) but then again a) SWMBO stayed upstairs and b) I probably looked in need of help after 8 hours of purging had left me paler than usual and devoid of my usual tummy.

SWMBO and Belle off to Singapore to rendezvous with the rest of the tribe and I have the day to myself, to my books (Mahfouz, Adler-Olson and Brands' Andrew Jackson), and to LT (managed to buy my Toshiba charger in the attached Mall downstairs) and have air-con and coffee aplenty to sustain me today. Heaven!!!

Sounds like quite an eventful day, Paul! I'm sure the purging was not on your agenda of planned events, but hopefully that has come and gone and you are back to your regular self. All the food you described sounds yummy, minus the can of evaporated milk, as that sounds much too rich for me!
$50 a night is a steal and I guess that's a good thing since you spent a majority of the time out of commission.
Enjoy the day to yourself, and hopefully, mostly away from the washroom. ;)

Lentil and beef broth - mmmmmmmmmmmmmm... *faints and falls off swivel chair*

Oy! I hope you won't have any more problems with food coming back up. Purging is a nasty business, and it makes me feel so bad when someone has it. I'm glad that you're doing a bit better, though. Have fun having the day to yourself!

GENRE HALF-DOZEN - SCANDI CRIMESTERS

In no particular order and with only one book per author allowed:

The Dogs of Riga by Henning Mankell (Sweden)

Voices by Arnaldur Indriadson (Iceland)

The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo (Norway)

Mercy aka The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olson (Denmark)

Unseen by Mari Jungstedt (Sweden)

Missing by Karin Alvtegen (Sweden)

ICELAND MADE YOUR LIST! WOOT WOOT! I feel so proud. :) :) :) I should check out that book now.

Valerie - I normally have quite an iron constitution but there must have been a little corrosion in there somehow. A couple of hours without the call of the porcelain already so I have my fingers and toes crossed.

Eris - the dall cha is yummy - one of my MIL's specialities and a staple of Malay celebrations for weddings or festivals.

Eris - How remiss of me not realising that Narnia was in Iceland!

Narnia travels about a bit, but it's been stuck in California for a while now. I wish it would pick up and go to Iceland, though! My family is from there. :D

My own family is a strange brew of Old England, Celtic and Norse so all things Scandanavian are bound to delight and intrigue. Year after next a Scandanavian tour is on the cards for sure.

Hi Paul, the purging sounds dreadful mate, hope your feeling a bit better, did you get any sympathy from SWMBO or was it the usual, it's your own fault. A day to yourself with books, LT, air-con and coffee will perk you up. >48, i agree, next time you are over here we will have to meet up and compare notes on how we deal with our respective SWMBO's and make sure we are not doing anything wrong and work out a strategy to make sure we don't do anything wrong. Still thinking about you and your mum, enjoy your break.

John - thanks mate - I am presently ignoring any tummy twinges and have had a steak sandwich and my first glass of wine for over a month -so life is good.

Depending on my mum's progress I may make it over fairly soon actually so let's see.

Keeping an eye on Johnny Bairstow making a fist of the final test at Lords.

I am thinking unkind thoughts about your dad. Sorry. Where I don't think that adult children should be supported by their parents financially... when there are multiple adult children and one has more need than another.. well then, help if possible, should be given. But given where it is needed most.

My mom and stepdad paid private school fees for my sister's children ( so they didn't have to mingle with the riff raff in public schools, you know, like my kids ) , and even helped with cars, text books in college. Fine, their money their choice. When steel left the country and we lost...everything... one time, one...time.. I asked for help to feed my kids. I was given one bag of groceries ( 4 kids) and told it would be better if I didn't ask again. It has made me a little touchy on that subject. :P

Kath - I think unkind thoughts on my Father on a regular basis. M mum never really recovered from his philandering ways - my brother will struggle to recover from his blatant and nigh maniacal attempts to ruin him and steal the business that they grew together without giving Peter a penny piece in compensation. Peter now realises why I chose to stay here and not get involved with the pair of them in business directly. SWMBO has an unerring sense of judgement when it comes to telling which people to trust and work with and which to leave alone. She has never trusted my father.

Glad you're into what sounds like very enjoyable post-fasting and purging times, Paul. Sorry your father isn't a better person, but he and your mother turned out one heck of a son. I hope Peter's situation improves.

I had (non-hungry) laparoscopic, minimally invasive surgery to replace both hips (sports and arthritis, darn it), and my mind is still boggled by the small scars and relatively easy transition back to normal life. (Well, lots of physical therapy for a month and a half each, but that ain't bad). It's amazing what can be done, and done well, these days.

Joe - I have always thought you were an all round great guy but I never realised that you were bionic!

Joe - I cannot believe my eyes - laparoscopic surgery for hip replacement? Really?! Craig has had one hip replaced, well, he had a Birmingham hip arthroplasty - but that is very invasive. He will eventually have to have the other one done. He was just in his very early forties when he had it done, so he is "young" for hip replacement.

Gheesh - got so excited about Joe's hips that I forgot to say hi to you, Paul! Apologies! SO glad that your fasting is over because it was making me feel guilty. Hope this week is less crazy for you, and that your Mum is doing well. Have they scheduled her surgery?

Interesting topic Joe/Mamie. It seems Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) is only really used for younger patients as it requires healthier bones. Seems that they retain more of the bone than in the more standard procedures. So far my hips are fine (I think), although SWMBO does seem dubious when shaking them on the dancefloor leads incipiently to extreme embarrasment.

Late in the evening in Johor Bahru and a relaxing day passed by in room 2222 of KSL resort. Steak sandwich, white wine and a ginger tea concoction with mint has helped stem my trips back-and-forth to the little boys room.
Steady progress with Mahfouz, Andrew Jackson and Department Q.

SWMBO and Belle are back satiated from their trip visiting relatives in Singapore. Hani managed to catch all her Aunts and a few more cousins besides. Belle is pleased as punch as the generosity over there abounded in her favour and she came home with almost $100.

Belle and I have hatched a plan to go for breakfast at 6.30 tomorrow to beat the crowds in the 1000 pax dining room. Looked a splendid spread this morning but I could only see it from a distance and my stomach would have probably rejected it in any event.

We will go back to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow late afternoon. In the morning it will be a few more relatives and friends - I want to see my wife's friend's father who is very close to me and who has a recurrence of cancer after fighting off colon cancer four years ago.

Hi Paul, all caught up again here. Now I see why the reference to going to the bathroom on my thread. I got a little huffy when I saw that and thought perhaps we were getting a little bit too familiar with each other, but all is explained now. I wouldn't mind having what you got once in a while because all my meds give me the opposite problem, which might explain why I'm so stuck-up! (sorry, in poor taste, but couldn't help it).

Empire of the Summer Moon sounds interesting, though I'm not sure I could handle it. The few references I come across here and there about the treatment of natives both in the Americas and Australia make me sick to my stomach as it is. The Secret River, although fictional did give quite detailed descriptions on the treatment of native Australians and was really difficult to take.

I've rigorously ignored all references to Scandi crime writers because my wishlist is already close to topping 1000 books and I haven't even started exploring that genre yet...

I'm adding Empire of the Summer Moon to the list, between you and Mark (was it Mark) saying such good things about it.
And I'm loving the lists of Scandis. I've read Mankell and Larsson but not much else.

>211 You're probably a hop, skip and a jump from Chicago, Mamie. Dr. Lalit Puri did mine, and I'm sure others here do, too, and maybe some docs in Indiana. One of my bionic accoutrements is 4 and 1/2 years old and the other a year and a half. For me it's been a life-changing experience, as I imagine Craig would appreciate. That pain can drive you right around the bend.

>212 Hah! I'm not the dancer I once was, Paul, but then I'm not sure that's a great loss.

I hope your stomach has regained its normal iron constitution by now Paul - glad to hear you manage a glass of wine and a steak sandwich to break your fast at least!

Sympathy for the stomach problems Paul but it sounds like you're managing to have an enjoyable Eid despite that.

Hi Paul, well first looking at the menu from your celebratory dinner I thought, Gosh, that sounds so good." But the post-dinner result sounds very, er, uncomfortable. Hope you're on your way to better health.

As far as the Scandi-crime series go, I loved the Steig Larsson trilogy but then never read any other books in that genre. I'm not really much of a crime reader but I do own The Snowman by Jo Nesbo and Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell so I'm not sure what I'm waiting for.

Glad to hear you are feeling better Paul! And sounds like the rest of your family enjoyed their break. You are such a generously thoughtful employer, father, husband - I am more agog with the anticipation of meeting you than the rest of my trip!

Ilana - unexplained toilet references are a little too familiar perhaps! Your Scandi avoidance is probably akin to my sci-fi and fantasy blind spot. Empire of the Summer Moon can be harrowing in its depiction of what happened to Indians and Settlers alike and if that part of it phases you then the book wouldn't be for you.

Ellen - I bought the book last year but it was Mark's enthusiasm for it that made me prioritise it and - as usual - Mark's taste was spot-on.
There has certainly been an explosion of Scandi in recent years and my list of 46 (post #161) is certainly not exhaustive; it is merely those on my shelves already.

Joe - my problem area as a cyclist was my toes with me always pushing down in my cycling shoes. Had big-toenails removed extremely painfully on numerous occasions until (thankfully) neither grow properly any longer. Ankle also slightly weak from my days playing rugby scrum-half and twisting it once too often.
I am just the dancer I was and always have been mate and that is the problem with my beloved who wouldn't be seen dead on the dancefloor with me.

Ah; so you're a good dancer. It's just the people around you who have issues (and squashed toes). Got it.

Hope you've fully recovered now. I hate having to go through that kind of thing, and would rather avoid foods if I know in advance they'll produce that result.

Now we know exactly where you are at this moment - room 2222 KSL ... if only we knew what KSL meant.

Genny - Iron constitution not quite there yet as I have awoken on Tuesday morning with rumbles in the jungle still, but nothing on the scale of yesterday.

Heather - I have enjoyed getting away from Kuala Lumpur and work stresses for a few days. The only usual site I didn't open yesterday was my e-mail to see what my overseas clients were complaining about - that can wait for Wednesday.

Bonnie - Yes I'm afraid I was equally delighted and even more subsequently despondent as my SIL's handiwork bit back. It seems I was the only one to brave the over-creamy biriyani in capacious quantities and therefore the most affected. Kyran also had a fair bit and was under the weather too but not to the same extent thankfully.
It is funny that I loved the atmospherics of Faceless Killers and that is the book that set me onto Scandi and yet I have seen very mixed reviews of it.

Prue - At least you are able to make me blush even in my present parlous state of well-being! Don't think I can compete with the mysteries of Angkor Wat, the drama of the Killing Fields or the tranquility of a tropical island but I will be as considerate a host as I can come 30 August!

Hi Paul! I've been in Aspen for the weekend and already 99 messages behind! I'll be sending thoughts to you and your mother!

Nina - hahaha you are so right I have rhythmn to spare it just invisible to the naked eye!
I have also no idea what KSL stands for - it is probably the initials of a chinese businessman if I was called upon to guess. Thought I would put up the number as it is apparently a lucky number to the chinese.

Callia - I have heard all about your heroics in Aspen and surely that is worth getting nearly a 100 posts behind for my little Songbird! Thanks for your kind wishes to me and my stomach and to my mum who is surprisingly in sprightly form just for now.

I don't know if my mom told you, but the first thing I did on the tour was pass out :) oh well. Thank you!

>211 I am also in shock about arthroscopic hip replacement!
He was just in his very early forties when he had it done, so he is "young" for hip replacement.
I was but a babe too when I had a hip replacement/reconstruction at age 29. I was in a ward filled with elderly ladies and one was overheard speculating on what kind of accident I must have had. Someone thought a sporting accident, as they had seen sneakers in my bedside locker. Sneakers=must be a sports person! lol But no, it was just your run of the mill degenerative joint-mangling from it being dislocated since my birth.

>216 life-changing event for me too Joe. I used to become very anxious walking around town if I couldnt see a seat or a low fence that I could take a rest stop on. It had got that I could barely walk 300 metres without a break!

>196 Paul your holiday sounds action packed and drama filled! But all round a good one, no? I love Hani's lighter story! My mum has recently given up (GO MUM!) after possibly nearly 50 years of smoking (although not when pregnant with us kids), and now if we ever need fire, there is none! We can no longer count on her for our BBQs, bonfires or for our billy boiling needs.
I used to like the odd smoke, but not any longer.

Callia - your mum was too full of parental pride not to pass over a few seconds of unconciousness!

Megan - There could be a sub-group forming here with the 75er's Hip Replacement Society having an august and austere sound to it. It must be painful though to have a dislocated hip and not be able to get around as you would like - especially given the suitability of New Zealand for walking.
SWMBO's smoking is a secret by the way. Her two sisters also both smoke and both attempt to keep it away from the notice of their parents - both of whom....smoke. To be fair Hani's occasional drag apparently helps her digestion and helps toilet functions to get a move on - she should try her sister's biriyani!

GENRE HALF DOZEN - ITALIAN DETECTIVES

Given that Montalbano is my favourite I thought I would consider who are his rivals over there. Includes detectives whose creators are not Italian:

Inspector Montalbano - Andrea Camilleri of course but also:

Commisario Brunetti - Donna Leon
Nic Costa - David Hewson
Aurelio Zen - Michael Dibdin
Commisario Soneri - Valerio Varesi
Michele Ferrara - Michele Giuttari
Marshal Guarnaccia - Magdalen Nabb

...and not be able to get around as you would like
I got around fine, netball, skiing, tramping. Only it was with the aid of increasingly stronger pain medication! Not any more though :)

Oh, and with regards to smoking and bowel regularity....my mum feels the same way! After quitting, her calendar has gone out the window. Enough said perhaps.

I'm a fan of both Camilleri and Donna Leon and am very pleased that I still have several in each series to read. The other authors are new to me. Paul, I'm loving the various lists you continue to create -- although they do wreak havoc with my library hold list!

Running can help with the calendar issue, too. ;-)

Hi Paul, I'm so sorry that you had some stomach problems, but it sounds like you are over that, so the less said the better I guess.

I am here to blatantly advertise that the September Series & Sequels thread is up and running. Everyone's welcome to join in and let us know what series they are planning on reading during the month.

Hope things are going better for your mom. I will be thinking of her during her surgery and sending healing thoughts her way.

Hmmm, I'm used to checking in and seeing lots and lots of posts already on your thread, Paul. I hope your day is going alright and that you are well and that things are going as well as can be hoped for your mom with her surgery. xo

ETA: I also know it's the time of the post-fast holiday celebrations but I don't know enough about how long the holidays last, etc. Just know I'm thinking about you.

I am sorry to say that I have several of the Italian detective series, or parts of them at home, and haven't read any of them except the Aurelio Zen books by Dibdin. I have read four of those. I took them with me when I was doing plane trips. They kept me occupied and I didn't mind the trip so much while reading them. I have Dona Leon and the Inspector Montalbano books but just haven't gotten to them.

I stayed up far too late last night reading Thirteen Hours by Deon Meyer. This series is great. They are set in South Africa and I like the hero, Benny Griessel so much better than Harry Hole. Benny is also an alcoholic but somehow I like him better. I would highly recommend that you put books by this author on your list of mystery/thrillers. The books are certainly action packed and full of tension, but not sadistic, the way I find Nesbo to be. The Snowman just totally turned me off. Although, I did finish reading it, there won't be another, unless I go back and read the first ones in the series.

Classes start tomorrow so I will be very busy at work, and then there is always packing for the move. I need somebody to help me come put the original curtains back up in the apartment before I move and can't find anybody willing to do so. Oh well, that's the way it goes.

Popping in to keep up with you :)

How's the tummy, Paul?

Alas, I have no more Singapore Malay friends in Boston, so the Open House was unattended by a single Muslim this year. Instead the regulars (a mixture of Jews, Hindus, Christians and atheists) just enjoy coming for the food, which I refuse to cook in such abundance at any other time of the year. Last year we had a part-time Muslim - she converted to Buddhism (her husband is German, lived in Thailand and embraced the religion) but reclaimed her religious heritage for the day when her husband informed her of the Open House.

So, still game to for another MeetUp in KL next month? When are you meeting Pru? I'll be in KL between Sept 12 - 15. I can do Thursday or Friday evening, if either is convenient and if you are willing and available. If you have plans, don't sweat it ... as Arnold would say, I'll be baack!

Just popping in to keep my spot in here somewhere...

Sorry you were ill. No fun at all, especially at the end of the fasting. Hope you are much better now. :)

Megan - bowel regularity is not a problem for me presently - it is a damn sight too regular for comfort at the moment. Had a poignant visit last night to an old friend, sometime mentor and fishing buddy Pak Ismail (Packik is the Malay for uncle and older people we normally shorten to Pak as a form of respectful address) - he is having a gall bladder operation tomorrow which is a concern since he has had a couple of ops for colon cancer and other ills. He and his wife are very close to me and I was busy making plans with him for a boat fishing trip off the Johor coast in December with prayers cast quietly to the wind that he will be up to it. His wife makes the best marble cake in South East Asia and, as usual, I got back in the car with two huge slabs to hinder my diet.

Ellen - I like Donna Leon's Brunetti series but I have found that the recent few I read seem to be spinning the wheels somewhat. Dibdin's Zen seems to travel around Italy (or he did, Dibdin sadly passed away a few years ago), Nabb's Guarnaccia is a light-hearted fellow a la Camilleri but with less flair, Hewson's Nic Costa is set in Rome (with a brief excursion to Venice) and is fairly standard fare but well plotted generally, Michele Giutarri was a policeman and his creation is realistic whilst Valerio Varesi sets his in the Po Valley with supernatural interludes, but setting of scene is wonderfully evocative.

Judy - I am looking forward to September Series and Sequels and glad to host your plug/ reminder.

Velma - lovely to see you commenting here; welcome to my humble abode! Thanks so much for your kind comments; my mum is awaiting a date from the hospital for her procedure to take place - should be within 3 weeks apparently.

Ellen - my thread has been a little less active than usual as I have been travelling around celebrating the end of Ramadhan in Johor Bahru and most of yesterday travelling back to KL with stop offs to friends and relatives along the way.
You really are a good, warm and thoughtful pal Ellen - thanks as usual for your kind words.
Running to and from the library would keep you fit, wouldn't it?!

Benita - I have noted and already acted upon your enthusiasm for Deon Meyer. Good luck with your move and the upcoming classes - one of my enduring regrets is that Benita does not have her own thread as I am sure it would be a great source of lively, informative conversation teeming with the wit and vitality you put into your posts across the threads.

Kath - keeping up with me is not so tough this week. Unless that is it is in terms of rushing backwards and forwards to the toilet, which has in fact been quite frenetic. In the 5 days of the long holiday here (three of which have effectively kept me away from the computer - Richard has dominated posts with an incredible 163 posts; Joe 142, Mamie 140, Mark 108 and myself 100 - Valerie has 98 and you have weighed in with 96).

Caro - tummy is slowly improving with more will-power than medicational assistance in truth. Loved your description of your get-together and especially of the part-time muslim attendee. That would officially be frowned upon of course but it is actually hilarious and somewhat understandable to my non-fundamentalist liberal ways.
Of course I am game for a meet-up with your goodself at any time. Either date will be fine but you may have to suffer my driving as Amin has not yet been replaced. Would you be a darling if possible and get me The Age of Doubt as I am entirely frustrated by its absence in the shops here. I'll reimburse you when we meet up. Prue is here on 30 August 2012.

Jenn - You are assured of a place here always my dear. Stomach woes still niggling but slowly I am getting better. Working today (although my office is officially closed) but will leave for home at around 4:30.

Stopping by to say hi! Sorry that your stomach has been bothering you - never fun, that's for sure.

Love your list of Scandi crime books, of which I am a fan! :)

Paul - Drink lots of Gatorade to replenish the electrolytes you're losing through the frequent offerings made to the porcelain god.

Awww...I'll miss Pru's visit then. How about Thursday evening then? I've been in the car with a one-eyed driver (I didn't know he only had one eye at the time) so I'm sure your driving can't be as bad ...that said, maybe I'll bring a pair of blindfolds ... for myself, not you! Age of Doubt will definitely be snuggled in my luggage. Anything else you'd like me to get for you, SWMBO or the kids? Wait, there's a caveat ... it must be able to fit in my luggage and cannot weigh more than a 7 month old fully fed tiger cub.

Deb - thanks for stopping by - I remembered that you were among the readers hooked on Scandi. Fossum is your favourite if I'm not mistaken?

Hahaha Caro just bring yourself and a crash helmet! We'll manage ok - I have four eyes.

Hi Paul, enjoying your genre lists. Sounds like you've had a busy few days.

I've fallen too far behind to read everything, but I'm back home now and will do better. Hope your Mum does OK.

Kerry - things should settle down nicely in the next few days. I am back in Kuala Lumpur and only half-working until Monday (the office is officially closed) so reading and LT should get plenty of attention.

Lucy - notice that you have been quiet in the last few weeks and will have to get along to Chez Vous to read all your news.

Hi Paul- I hope you get plenty of relaxing in, for the rest of the week and get lost in a few books.
I'm enjoying my current Nesbo read. I'm including Midwinter Blood for my S&S agenda. I don't think it's the 1st book in the series but since I have an advanced copy, I figured I would try it.
ETA- It does look like the 1st book. Yah!

Ah - wondered where you'd got to. Hope everything settles down, now you're safely back at home.

Hi Paul!
Sounds like a hectic holiday - you will need to get back to work to rest :}

Hi Paul, Hope you enjoy your visit with Prue -- I'm jealous!

Sorry to hear that you've been feeling poorly. Tummy troubles are awful, and it sounds like yours have lingered. Any more news about your mother? Thinking of you.

Paul, I'm a bit behind on threads at the moment - hope you're feeling better.

Is that a hint that you don't want me on your thread? If so :-(

I stayed up late and finished Thirteen Hours and I have to say that the second in this series was a better book than the first. I put in my Inter-Library Loan request for the third in this series tonight. I hope it gets here in time for the September Series group read.

um... if it is bathroom issues instead of just tummy issues.. licorice root... just saying..
Hope you don't need to hear that by now.

Mark - I am on half-power so to speak work-wise; only need to check that the project sites are moving a little during the holiday period with a quick trip around town. It is lovely as there is very little traffic about as Malaysians like to go back to the family villages during the long break leaving Kuala Lumpur very navigable.
I also have Midwinter Sacrifice on my shelves and I have not yet decided what makes the cut next month.

Nina - a short break will hopefully have done me good. Feeling full of beans this week not having to worry too much what is happening in the office - it's closed.
SWMBO's best friend re-located with her french husband to Bangkok for an indefinite period yesterday and she went to the airport to see them off - tears abounded apparently. I called August (the husband) and Marina separately and both had tears in their voices. My kids will miss their two younger kids as they are contempories whilst the eldest is presently working at my place during the summer off university and I will be a sort of surrogate safety-net for him with the two of them a little too far to help out.

Cee - You will b pleased to note that it is the High Commission for me tomorrow morning to get that passport sorted. I will probably go back to the UK for a few days when my Mum's operation date is confirmed.

Anne - I am looking forward to meeting Prue I must admit. One of my first friends on LT I missed her contributions greatly when she had a few months clogged with RL issues earlier this year.

Rhian - thanks, I am back in rude health and looking forward to the rest of the week.

Benita - NEVER! It is precisely because I revel in your contributions here that I wish you had your own thread too so that I could add to my enjoyment!

Kath - I will keep licorice root in mind next time - it was a very severe attack actually and I am as relieved as the procelain that it seems to have passed.

Hello Paul - sshhh don't tell Cee, but I am collecting my new passport tomorrow,(having discovered - or rather not discovered - my current passport was not in the place it should have been. It must be at the farm somewhere and I am sure i will find it at the weekend when i am down to do some more packing up. But that would be really cutting things fine.....

another person dicing with danger when it comes to passports and international travel!

I hope the tummy is better, Paul. No fun, no fun at all having digestive distress.
Sending healing thoughts your way.

And thank you for the snapshot of some of the Italian mystery/thriller series. I have The Snack Thief on my shelf, so I'll read it soon (ha) and will investigate some of the others as soon as they officially increase the library hold limit from 25 to 50..... :-|

btw, what does one say at the end of Ramadhan? I feel I should know the traditional well-wishing words, but whatever they are, know that I'm acknowledging the end of the fast (Eid?) from afar.

xo

I forgot to mention about Emil and the Detectives, I saw that new classics collection at my local bookshop the other day. Did you know that Erich Kastner wrote the original Parent Trap book, Lottie and Lisa.

I remember seeing Lawrence Block in your list, Paul. I'm not sure if they are available outside the U.S. or not, but today's Kindle "Daily Deal" is 7 Lawrence Block books for $1.99 each. I also don't know if other e-book vendors are matching prices or not. Sometimes they follow; sometimes they don't. Just thought I'd mention it.

Glad to hear your tummy troubles seem to be over.

Hi Paul, I'm terribly delinquent so rather than read everything I skim and I'm sorry to see all is not as well as it should be in your world. Big bear hug of support.

Once again I'm too far behind to catch up properly, so I'm again guilty of skimming. I will say that I had my gall bladder out a few years ago by the lapro-whosit technique and the recovery was unbelievably easy. Still sending good thoughts mum-ward and Paul-ward...

I hope that you're feeling better today, Paul!

Prue - it's not surprising we have always got along swimmingly - as we have the same habits with not organising travel documents very well being amongst them.

Megan - yep guilty as charged.

Ellen - thanks; I am digestively back in the peak of form today.
I will start a new thread after this and I think the genre today will be scottish based mysteries.
In Bahasa Melayu one would say Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri for the day to celebrate the end of Ramadhan. My youngest SIL was born on 'Hari Raya' and is called Nur FITRIA Quriatul Aini - Fifi for short.

Kerry - The series is very attractive actually and I am trying to persuade my bunch to spend some of their festival money on some of them (don't see it though as they know I'll do the buying anyway). The Parent Trap was a movie as well wasn't it?

Lori - I have all the Matt Scudders up to the latest one and most of the Bernie Rhodenbarrs. He has written very prolifically certainly and is usually entertaining.

Morphy, Thanks - it may be my only way of reducing my weight but I wouldn't recommend it as a strategy.

Lynda - Thanks my dear it is difficult to keep up with everyone and read every word of all the threads of all the people you star - I would probably add another 10 books or so to my reading if I spent more time skimming but I tend to get engrossed in so many of the threads.

Amber - I had the same problem recently over worked and a few days not really keeping up an suddenly it is quite overwhelming to try to do so. Mum's operation is not apparently keyhole but my friend and mentor in JB is removing the gall bladder in that manner and I understand everything has gone fine.

Darryl - thanks I am much better mate and increasingly impressed by your progress through the Booker longlist.

Hope most of your stress is behind you and life proceeds in a more friendly way. Is it tomorrow morning yet? Passport all set?

Passport will be applied for tomorrow morning dear lady I promise you!