Cushla's (cmt's) 75 books in 2010 - Chapter 2

This is my second thread - the first is over
here:

My top 5 books of Q1 are in bold.

January
1. Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin - 5 stars
2. So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba - 4 stars
3.A Dry White Season by Andre Brink - 5 stars

February
4. Excellent Women by Barbara Pym - 3 1/2 stars - Europe challenge
5. The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill - 3 stars
6. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery - 5 stars - Europe challenge
7. The Lost: The Search for Six of Six Millionby Daniel Mendelsohn - 4 1/2 stars
8. Hot, Flat and Crowded by Tom Friedman - 4 stars

March
9. A Girl Made of Dust by Nathalie Abi-Ezzi - 3 1/2 stars
10. Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Helperin - 4 1/2 stars
11. The Last September by Elizabeth Bowen - 2 stars - Europe challenge
12. Arms of Nemesis by Steven Saylor - 4 1/2 stars
13. How Markets Fail by John Cassidy - 3 stars
14. The Greatest Trade Ever by Gregory Zuckerman - 3 1/2 stars

April
15. Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain - 5 stars - Europe challenge
16. Provincial Daughter by R M Dashwood - 3 stars -Europe challenge
17. 1984 by George Orwell - 5 stars
18. A Wall in Palestine by Rene Backmann - 4 stars
19. The Last Resort: A Zimbabwe Memoir by Douglas Rogers - 4 1/2 stars
20. The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri - 3 1/2 stars - Europe challenge

May
21. Aleta Dey by Francis Nelson Beynon - 3 1/2 stars - TIOLI May Challenge
22. March Violets by Philip Kerr - 4 stars - Europe Challenge
23. A Glass of Blessings by Barbara Pym - 3 1/2 stars
24. The Big Short by Michael Lewis - 3 stars
25. Imperium by Ryszard Kapuscinski - 4 1/2 stars
26. In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin - 4 stars
27. The Guernsey Literary and Potato-Peel Society - 3 stars
28. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell - 4 stars
29. A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson - 4 stars

June
30. Chasing Goldman Sachs by Suzanne McGee - 4 1/2 stars
31. On Travel by Charles Dickens - 4 stars
32. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress - Rhoda Janzen - 3 1/2 stars
33. The Anonymous Venetian - Donna Leon - 4 stars

July
34. The Help - Kathryn Stockett - 4 stars
35. Home Truths - David Lodge - 3 stars
36. No Signposts in the Sea - Vita Sackville-West - 4 stars
37. A Venetian Reckoning - Donna Leon - 4 stars
38. Death in a Strange Country by Donna Leon - 3 1/2 stars

Fiction: 24. Non-fiction: 14
Women authors: 18 Male authors 20
German language: 0
War and Peace progress: 200 pages read, many to go...

Currently reading:

Ich bin dann mal weg: meine Reise auf dem Jakobsweg by Hape Kerkeling - more slowly than he's walking the Jakobsweg
This Time is Different by Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff - in limbo
Troubles by J G Farrell

found you and starred you.

Starred!

Gotcha! *pounce*

Found you again, Cushla!

Hi! I figured I should start a new thread. Amazing - this group is so busy this year compared even to last. Will be back on Monday, hopefully with at least one book read. I'm going away for the weekend on my own and hopefully will get up near the top of the Jungfrau, or as far as the train takes you. If the scenery is great I might not get much reading done on the train!

I'm somehow in the middle of 4 books. Oopsie. Bought a new one today at Bider and Tanner that only 25 people have got on LT - it's a memoir about Zimbabwe, called The Last Resort. It's queue-jumped everything else and is really good so far.

The other 3 are all good, just not good all the time. This Time is Different is as close to an economic history textbook as I've read in a few years, but extremely interesting and well written. It's a hardback so no good for the tram and the zoo. The German book is fine, just a bit slow going and I am missing half the jokes. And the Philip Kerr book is too scary to read in bed and part of a 3-in-1 so also too big for the tram and the zoo.

#6: I look forward to your thoughts on The Last Resort. I have read a couple of good books on Zimbabwe in the past couple of years and would like to know more.

Cushla, you might be interested to know that after a long hiatus (6 months or so), Mr Bear (seven-and-a-half years old) requested another couple of chapters of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator so we've been having fun reading that the past two nights. Out of nowhere!

(He originally asked for his very good Maps and Mapping book - like many kids I know, he's fascinated by maps and this is an excellent book with interesting facts and fold-out maps, etc. But then decided he wanted a story, and couldn't find his joke book (!!! since when did"waiter, there's a fly in my soup" joke books contain stories?), so I suggested we return to Charlie since it was still on the bedside table, and he agreed quite excitedly!)

Wookie, that's nice that he liked the next Charlie one. (Fletch doesn't have a joke book yet - that's a good idea!) We read Charlie and the Choc Factory and he loved it, but we haven't done the next one. I don't like it as much but he may well do... I need a new series because we have almost finished all the Astrosaurs books.

Book 19: The Last Resort: A Zimbabwe Memoir by Douglas Rogers - 4 1/2 stars

This is a sad but funny book about Zimbabwe. It was a random buy at Bider and Tanner last week - I'd never heard of it, but the cover was nice, it said "Radio 4 book of the week", and I hadn't read a book about Zimbabwe. Lyn and Rosalind Rogers, the author's parents, are white Zimbabweans. Their ancestors have been in Africa for hundreds of years. This book is the story of how they and their backpackers' lodge, Drifters, survive Mugabe's regime.

Douglas is one of 4 kids. He leaves Zimbabwe in the 1990s to move to London, where he lives in a squat and tries to make a living as a travel writer. In 2000, Mugabe's government started to take land off white farmers, and that's when Rogers starts the story. He goes home for a visit to his parents, who built and ran a successful tourist lodge near Mutare, close to the border of Mozambique. Right from the start of the book, Lyn and Ros Rogers have guts and personality. Lyn has had crazy schemes all his life - as well as being a lawyer, they had a chicken farm during the War of Independence in the late 70s, then a grape farm - but this one worked out well. Ros rolls her eyes and is more cautious, but just as brave. Before the land grabs started, they were well off. By 2000, the tourists have stopped coming. It gets a lot worse from there. They survive by adapting. They lose the title to their farm, and their passports. They lease the lodge bar, turn into the local brothel, and grow dope. They carry Zimbabwean money in bricks of notes in their car boot. They use sawdust to fuel their kitchen stove, and the house is overrun with insects and an albino frog that hops in and out of the kitchen. They write a recipe book called Recipes for Disaster. But they don't leave.

The collapse of Mugabe's successful black society with really high levels of education and literacy in the 1980s to his brutal, utterly corrupt dictatorship with a rampant AIDS epidemic is terrible to read about. The last few chapters had me on the edge of my tram seat. Rogers' parents are quiet supporters of Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC. The book ends in 2009 with Tsvangirai in a power-sharing agreement (sort of) with Mugabe. It's not a happy ending - Mugabe is hanging on only because of his campaign of terror after the 2007 elections, which the MDC won - but it has a bit of hope.

Highly recommended.

#10: I am adding that one to the BlackHole. Thanks for the recommendation, Cushla.

ETA: I read a couple of good books about Zimbabwe in the past few years so this book being of more recent vintage is good news for me. It will catch me up to the current situation.

#10 I have added this to my wishlist too Cushla, I know very little about what has been going on in Zimbabwe but after Small Wars Permitting had a section on the evils of Robert Mugabe, I have wanted to read more. Thanks!

Ceri, I forgot that I'd read Small Wars Permitting! Thanks for visiting.

#10 I think I heard a bit of that on radio 4 & it sounded interesting. Your review makes me want to get hold of a copy.

Another interesting book is by Christina Lamb, House of Stone, who I think wrote Small Wars Permitting.

Do not forget An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina either.

OK, I've added both those to the wishlist....thanks!

Just finished Book 20: The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri and gave it 3 1/2 stars. I mooched this one 2 years ago and didn't get past the first few pages the first time I picked it up, but I really enjoyed it and will track down the rest of the series. I liked Inspector Montalbano a lot, and the descriptions of Sicily and local politics were great. But it didn't make me go "wow I have to buy all these books now", which is what happened when I read The Dogs of Riga by Henning Mankell or Last Seen in Massilia by Steven Saylor.

I just checked on my 2009 list, and at the end of April last year I'd read 26 books. I need to get my skates on! I know it's not about getting to 75 books, but I'd like to get closer than last year's 61.

#17: I own the Camilleri book. I need to bump it up some!

>17 cushlareads:: I'm also don't have a "Wow!" reaction to Camilleri, but I felt a lone voice. So many people absolutely love him.

I wasn't at all impressed by The Shape of Water - somehow I couldn't remember anything I read when I was actually reading it.

I want to say a word in favor of Camilleri - The Shape of Water might not be the best, but most of the books' plots are fairly interesting, have great descriptions of food, and are a good comfort read! Plus they're set in Italy, which is always nice to read about.

>21 JanetinLondon:: Plus they're set in Italy

My friend here at the office...whose family is from Sicily...just said, "No, they're not. They're set in Sicily." ;-D

I've read the first three of the series. I feel I've given it a fair go and it just didn't click with me. I prefer Donna Leon's stories.

>22 TadAD: - you're right, of course - Sicily really is different from the rest of Italy! I haven't tried Donna Leon yet, but lots of people say hers are better so I really must.

Janet, I've read the first Donna Leon and really liked it - still not as much as the Henning Mankell. The Mankell had me really scared and up reading till very late. Steven Saylor and Donna Leon don't do that, but I really like them. But I enjoyed the Camilleri and yes I liked all the food (and the way he wasn't a sleaze.)

I am in the middle of the 2nd Donna Leon, but have been since our first week in Basel - it's the first book I bought in German. I need my mysteries to go FAST! Will get back to it soon, but I think my preferred genre in German is a travelogue so that it doesn't matter if I miss the odd word. Which reminds me, I need to finish my book about the St Jacques de Compostela pilgrimage. The author's taking a long time to get there and so am I.

#24 What's the book about the pilgrimage? Fiction or non-fiction? I have friends walking there at present, and have walked bits of it myself (in the Pyrenees) some years ago - and I dream of one day having a go at the whole thing...

Non-fiction and a bestseller in German. It'\ good - was huge over here, I think because Hape Kerkeling is a famous German comedian. It's called Ich bin dann mal weg and it's been translated into English.0001 s
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t\r Oops, sorry that was +he 3 y/o* 0 not going to bed.
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#10 The Last Resort: A Zimbabwe Memoir has gone on the wishlist. My husband spent his gap year out there (just before it all went really bad) so I'm always interested in books about the country

#26 Sounds interesting (especially the toddler's additions!). The only Camino book I have read is Bettina Selby's A Pilgrim's Road, about doing it on a bicycle.

Catching up again on your threads, I've still to read a Donna Leon, as I need to track down book one of the series but might will try Henning Mankell. So which one was it that kept you up all night?
I've just started my first Batya Gur, Murder on a Kibbutz. I enjoy the Camilleri books but only read them occasionally to spin them out.
Your son might like the Geronimo Stilton books, my daughter loved them for a while. One of her favourites was an older Margaret Mahy - Raging Robots and Unruly Uncles.
Loved all the lego talk on your other thread, I've kept all our lego and it still gets used from time to time.

Genny, I hadn't realised how many books there are on the St Jakobs Weg till I clicked on the book you've read. Which bits did you walk? I would love to do at least a chunk of it one day, maybe when I have lots of time and the kids are big. I plodded through another 10 pages last night.

#27 Souloftherose, I hope you enjoy it - your husband must find reading about Zimbabwe even harder than most people. I hadn't realised what a beautiful country it was till I read Last Resort.

Kerry, I'm not clicking on that Murder on a Kibbutz because I have too many crime series on the go. I will resist!! But tell me if it's really good.

We've got a Geronimo Stilton here - I liked the look of them in Borders a few years ago. But I suspect he won't like it because there has to be ACTION, preferably in space, with shooting, or dinosaurs, or rockets fuelled by dung. Etc. But I'll see. Luckily the 3 y o is a girly girl and I won't be reading about dinosaur poo forever. Her favourites are the Pearlie the Park Fairy books by Wendy Harmer, which I love (except for the very girly bright pink covers.)

#30 I just did some short sections in the Pyrennees around St Jean Pied de Port. It was a group walking holiday staying in a Basque farm house each night and being transported to the start and finish of a different bit of the path every day - not really doing the proper pilgrim thing!

The best walk was the the last day when we walked up and over the border into Spain - over the high mountain pass and then down through endless glorious beech forests (this was in October, the colours were spectacular) until we arrived in Roncevalles, famous for its connection with the medieval Chanson de Roland. It felt like walking through legend

One thing among many I regret with not having children is not being able to see them explore books as they grow up (I do what I can with my god-children's reading) - but at least I have not had to put up with dinosaur poo or bright pink covers! :)

--> 30

Kerry, you can tell *me* if Murder on a Kibbutz is good as I have it on my shelf already. :)

# 32 - Madeline, it's getting off to a slow but interesting start. The murders are all mixed up with kibbutz politics and ideology, with the old timers wanting no change, and the younger generation saying change is necessary for the kibbutz movement to survive.

#31 Genny, those walks sound great. The book is a bit light on lovely detail about the scenery. Or maybe my German is a bit light.

#33 Kerry and Madeline, I have put my fingers in my eyes, but too late - that sounds like I'd really enjoy it!

Book 21: Aleta Dey by Francis Marion Beynon - 3 stars - read for the May TIOLI Read a Canadian Author challenge .

I picked this up when I saw Bonnie's Read a Canadian Author May TIOLI Challenge - I have tons of Virago Modern Classics over here, but haven't read one for a while. It also ticks the Manitoba box on my Canadian challenge, which I started last year but immediately stopped reading anything Canadian!

This is the only novel that Francis Marion Beynon wrote, and it reads like her autobiography. Aleta Dey grows up in a strict Methodist farming family in Manitoba in the 1890s. She is surrounded by rigidity - her father beats them; her school teachers are shocked when she wonders if God often changes his mind. She has doubts about the English history they're getting taught, but doesn't voice them, unlike her friend Ned who gets expelled for saying that the history books are full of lies - at the time, Canada had troops fighting in the Boer War. After she leaves school, she rejects religion, becomes an active suffragist, and works as a journalist for a pro-suffrage newspaper. Unfortunately, we don't see the development of all this, and leap ahead a few years from school to when she's already working and a suffragist. She falls in love with a conservative journalist called McNair. This story takes up a lot of the book. McNair goes off to France to fight in World War 1, and Aleta Dey becomes more and more opposed to the war.

I enjoyed the first half of the book, about life on the prairies, more than the second. I think if I hadn't just read Testament of Youth I might have rated this book higher, but felt a bit speechy by the last 50 pages. A good enough read, but I'm not raving about it.

Well that is one Canadian author I have never heard of before, Cushla. Debating whether to put it on the list.

#30> Luckily the 3 y o is a girly girl and I won't be reading about dinosaur poo forever.

Mine's a girly girl too (only she's about to turn five). I'm sure she'd still get a kick out of dinosaur poo (never underestimate the influence of an older brother), but he's rather fond of the Milly Molly Mandy books, as well as the Rainbow Fairies by Daisy Meadows. (Those last ones are marketed rather slickly, but aren't that bad a read. No "let's bake cookies for the boys!" or "maybe he'll like me if I wear makeup" sentiments. Just a couple of sensible young girls helping fairies. A friend who is a teacher librarian read one of the Mary Kate and Ashley books in her school library after some parent complaints, and was shocked by that sort of plot line. Personally, I might pop any M-K & A books I see into the recycling bin...)

I'll join you in an anti Mary Kate and Ashley story crusade! Let's get them out the way before our little ones are old enough to come across them...

Karen, it was very quick book. At first I thought I was going to love it but it went off for me towards the end.

Wookie and Bekkajo, ugh - I haven't seen much of Mary Kate and Ashley but am already avoiding skanky girls' magazines for Teresa. Count in on the crusade. The Swiss supermarkets are full of magazines for kids, mostly with a little toy, and some are very sweet (too sweet) but they're all mixed in with icky tweenie ones. I am pretty strident on the topic of girls' books and stereotyping, even though I grew up on a diet of Enid Blyton.

Wookie I'm going to look for the Rainbow Fairies ones on Book Depository now.

Fletcher has just got a new series that looks good - Gargoylz by... somebody. Very smart marketing - they put a bookmark in his last Astrosaurs one (Book Depository again) and he could see there was a gargoyle and a promise of a sticky gooey toy gargoyle.

>34 cushlareads: I have never heard of this Canadian author either but you don't exactly give a ringing endorsement either so I think I'll pass for now.

It also ticks the Manitoba box on my Canadian challenge, which I started last year but immediately stopped reading anything Canadian!

LOL at that one because isn't that what happens to all many of us whenever we make a committment?

Also - Wookie - I LOVED Milly Molly Mandy and am going to look for them too...sigh...

Bonnie, I think Manitoba is big so I'll get to colour in a lot of map! I will have a look at the rest of the TIOLI wiki to see if I can double up on one of the Canadian titles.

Today I discovered that reading This Time is Different is an excellent hangover cure. I think I am strange. I got through about 50 pages in the bedroom very quietly and slowly.

As a mother of 2 daughters now in their teens, #s 36-38 really resonated with me. I had to fight the children's and "tween" magazines as well, with their glossy covers and toys masking some icky messages. Mary Kate and Ashley are awful! Cushla and Wookie, as your daughters get older they might enjoy books by UK author Jacqueline Wilson. Not sure how well they will stand the test of time, but when my daughters were in primary school I found them to be good reading, dealing with real-life issues through strong female characters.

We need to constantly strive to help our daughters develop a positive self image and counteract all the messages they receive -- not just in the media but even in how their peer interactions.

Jacqueline Wilson is good - I still enjoy her stuff now from time to time!

I think I'm just going to try and circumspectly head Cassie towards the fantasy/sci fi section - it's just easier! She already loves Pratchett's Where's my Cow? so fingers crossed.

Bekka, never heard of Where's My Cow. Going to look now. I don't do sci fi at all!!

Laura, you are going to be a great source of wisdom on girls' books. Will have a look at Jacqueline Wilson when dinner is on the table and kids are in bed.

Edited in case my mother reads LT!

#44 Curious as to what you had written before your edit! I said something about my dad the other day (truthful, but he might not have wanted to read it) and then later realised that he is also a member, although not a frequent user.

Will send you a message. It wasn't that bad!

I haven't seen much of Mary Kate and Ashley but am already avoiding skanky girls' magazines for Teresa. Count in on the crusade.

I don't think you have to worry too much about Mary Kate & Ashley--they were already yesterday's news by the time my now-13 year old daughter was old enough to read those books. And I don't think my 10 year old knows who they are. Hannah Montana has firmly eclipsed them (not that we ever considered reading books about her--if they exist. Which I'm sure they do). There's so much good stuff out there that I find it easy to weed out the trash.

In addition to the bad messages these MaryKate and Ashley books throw out there, (isn't one of them anorexic??) there's also the influence on how to dress that I find pretty appalling in tween girls. I pity the mother that has to buy clothing for young girls these days because it's a tough thing to do with all the influence that those teen idols have over the choices that are made available by the manufacturers.

I have a 10 year old daughter and I have had fits in the past trying to get her to pick books to read that actually have something to say. She has found the Sisters Grimm stories which at least have imagination and a plot. Mary Downing Hahn is also one of her favorites. I've tried to steer her to some things I read when I was younger but she is a hard sell. It is often difficult to rely on what is popular to pick reading material for your kids. I started reading the Princess Diaries series in preparation for the day my DD would want to read them. Boy, am I glad! The Disney version is nothing like Meg Cabot's! DD won't be reading those any time soon!

Mary Kate & Ashley don't seem to be models of wonderful humans as adults either. They kind of skulk around in their emaciated fashion and seem to feel terribly entitled. Blech.
Odd, I read a lot of really old-fashioned girls' books as a child, yet it never had that kind of impact on me. Of course, the "tween" phenom really didn't exist. Because I was fascinated by history, I devoured Geoffrey Trease and still have most of his books. I also loved the Chalet School books, written from the 1930s to the 1960s, despite the fact that they are deeply old-fashioned. I think there are parts of them that simply went right past me, and I focused on what interested me.

I have a 10 year old daughter and I have had fits in the past trying to get her to pick books to read that actually have something to say.

I really can't say I've had this problem at all. I find my daughters have never been interested in the low-end, TV tie-in type books or the really lame series, and I think it's because I've always made sure they had better quality books at hand. Sure, I'll let them try one or two of those types, but I find that they're really not interested and don't usually even finish them. Both my daughters (10 & 13) are long-time Roald Dahl fans. At 10, my older daughter was really into Harry Potter and the Warriors series. My other daughter hasn't really picked up on those yet. She's more into historical fiction (the My Story series which are diaries written by girls during various historical events such as the Tudor era, the 17th century plague, the Irish famine and the Blitz of London). She's also into a series called Little Fur by Isobelle Carmody which involves fantasy, girl heroes and environmentalism. She also liked Cressida Cowell's How to Speak Dragonese books. And she likes Philippa Fisher and Emily Windsnap. Not sure about those last two--they look pretty girly, but they also look like something I would have liked when I was that age.

Here are some more that they both liked: the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary; Toots and the Upside Down House; by Carol Hughes; books by Andrew Clements; Mr. Poppers Penguins, by the Atwaters; Pippi Longstocking, Astrid Lindgren; books by Judy Blume; Poppy, by Avi; Mrs Piggle-Wiggle, Betty MacDonald; Freaky Friday, Mary Rodgers; the Dear Dumb Diary series by Jim Benton (I read one of those and thought it was hilarious); Babe the Gallant Pig, Dick King-Smith. Is your daughter old enough to read Kate DiCamillo (eg: Because of Winn-Dixie) yet? I can't remember when her books were popular with my older girl.

My younger daughter was really into the Fairy series books a few years ago, and I didn't really like them, but they got her interested in books. I think she liked collecting them more than the stories themselves. But it got her spending time on her own with books. I think at that level the books by Emma Thompson (yes, THAT Emma Thompson) are better . . . can't remember the series name but I'll look it up and get back to you.

Really, there is a lot of quality literature for girls available, and once they get a taste for it, they'll lose all interest in the lame stuff.

I'm going to look for the Rainbow Fairies ones on Book Depository now.

As Wookie said, the marketing on these is rather slick, and I have mixed feelings about them. As she described, they're about girls helping fairies, and they're okay, but Charlotte never read them more than once. She mostly liked to spread them out on the floor and have the fairies on the front cover talk to each other. Along the same lines, I preferred the Emma Thompson books, which I've looked up, and they're called Felicity Wishes. They're harder to get in here in Canada, but you can order them from the Book Depository. Emma Thompson is an English major, and won an Oscar for writing the screenplay to Sense and Sensibility, so you can expect her books to be a bit better quality. But the Flower Fairies by Daisy Meadows are fine too.

Joyce, if your younger girl is interested in history, do try and find some of the Geoffrey Trease books. Cue for Treason should be readily available. It's ordinary boys and girls (slightly older than the target reader) involved in major events. In Cue for Treason the two major characters foil a plot assassinate Queen Elizabeth. There's a subtext there about no one needing to feel they are required to live the life assigned to them at birth -- both characters leave their homes to join a troupe of traveling actors, and find happiness that way.

Sounds good! I'll hunt that one down.

Joyce, thanks for all the fantastic book ideas. Some are familiar from when I was a kid. I've already bought Pippi Longstocking for when the kids are a bit bigger. I loved the Ramona ones too but had forgotten them. I'm going to start a list. I think some of these ideas will be great for our son too - although at the moment we're having a great run on books for him. It's so cool seeing him desperate for us to read even on the tram coming home from school.

I bought T a Felicity Wishes book but it was too fairy-ish for me (and I was having to read it a gazillion times a night) so it got lost in the move...I might try another one.

Suzanne, I was a huge Chalet School fan too and someone else on here was too... I think it's cdvicarage.

I bought T a Felicity Wishes book but it was too fairy-ish for me (and I was having to read it a gazillion times a night) so it got lost in the move...I might try another one.

When my children were very young, I heard the editor of the New York Times Best Books for Children say that if she doesn't like a book, she only reads it to her kids once, and then it mysteriously disappears. I have adopted that rule and it's worked well for me.

I would never suggest that YOU read the fairy books (be they Daisy Meadows or Felicity Wishes!). They're for your young readers to read on their own. If I had to hear more than a few minutes of them, I'm afraid I'd run out of the room screaming.

If you are reading out loud, you might want to try Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery. I read that to Charlotte when she was eight, and it was a huge hit. The vocab is rather sophisticated, and I had to stop and explain things quite often, but she loved it.

I highly recommend the New York Times Parent's Guide to the Best Books for Children, as well as Let's Hear it For the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14, by Erica Bauermeister. The second one may be out of print, but you can probably pick up a cheap copy on a used book site (eg: Abebooks).

Oh, and if you're reading out loud, you may also want to take a look at Jim Trelease's The Read-Aloud Handbook.

Edited to say . . . which I see you already have in your library. Never mind.

Great suggestions!!! Thanks. I am going to see about finding the Bauermeister book.

There are so many great books out there for children it's a shame to let them read series books, but they do love them. My daughter also read the Rainbow fairies for a while but quickly moved on from them, they are written by a variety of writers under the name of Daisy Meadows. Gwyneth Rees does longer fairy books. I have to mention Humphrey Carpenter's Mr Majeika books and Kaye Umanskay's Pongwiffy ones. The Naughty Little Sister books are possibly worth looking at for a young girl.
I know that younger readers get hooked into The Secrets of Droon & Animorphs and try to read every one.
Rowan of Rin is a good adventure set of about 5 books for younger boys, she also wrote the Deltora Quest books, I like these as they are shorter reads. Charlie Small Journals is a new series that looks fun and The Time Warp Trio by Jon Scieszka has been another popular series.

There are so many great books out there for children it's a shame to let them read series books

They all seem to be part of a series these days! I guess it's the publisher's best chance to sell books, and stay in business, and then publish more books. So I can't fault them on it too much. But I know what you mean. Luckily, a series is not a series is not a series. The quality does vary.

#60 - Yes, I agree. The publishers want to make money. Children seem to thrive on the series idea - they know they are getting another episode of something they like.

My 13 year old just read a book that she says is very pro-female, and she says a 10 year old can read it: the Anybodies, by N.E. Bode. Highly recommended, apparently.

Oh, there's some brilliant ideas here! I'm hopefully getting a copy of Pippi Longstocking for Miss Boo's birthday (this Friday! cutting it fine...) - the Lauren Child illustrated one. I haven't read that yet, myself, so, yes, it's probably one of those books that I'm buying more for me than for her. ;) I'm also looking forward to discovering Anne of Green Gables. :)

I like the idea of The Naughty Little Sister, I think Miss Boo would find a lot to identify with that title, at least.

I'm looking forward to her being old enough to enjoy some of my childhood classics - Treasure Island, Black Beauty, Little House on the Prairie. But she's not that focussed as yet (which is why the Daisy Meadows fairy books are pretty good - they're SHORT). Will definitely look for the Emma Thompson fairy ones too.

My local bookshop has a good kids section - and the woman who maintains the kids books was also one of the contributing editors of a slim little (Australian) volume called Don't Leave Childhood Without.... So she's also always worth checking with, and I must see what I've done with my copy of Don't Leave Childhood, it must be somewhere...

Cushla, love the idea of losing books in the move. I could have done that very happily with a number of Star Wars books...

#50 + #55

I still LOVE the Chalet School books - a guilty pleasure, but a definite pleasure. I have managed to collect all the original Brent-Dyer stories and will be trying to make Cass read them when she's older.

I'm looking forward to her being old enough to enjoy some of my childhood classics - Treasure Island, Black Beauty, Little House on the Prairie.

I loved Black Beauty as a child, and read it 3 or 4 times between the ages of 10 and 12. Somehow my copy even followed me into adulthood, and I set out to read it to Charlotte after we finished Anne of Green Gables. But I couldn't do it--I thought it was just awful--really poorly written. So I "lost" it into the recycling bin. Charlotte said she was enjoying it, but I think she was just enjoying being with mummy.

BekkaJo & Cushla,

You know you're addicted to the Chalet School stories when you read about a film actor named Paul Bettany and promptly wonder how he's related to Madge and Joey...

Ha - yes - who is Paul though?!
Book Depository has the Tony Judt book you've just read for 15 Euros. I'm resisting till at least tomorrow!!

Lol - totally :) Came across a somebody Maynard and did the same...

#67 -- played leading roles in A Beautiful Mind, Master and Commander, The Da Vinci Code, Firewall and other stuff.

#69> And you get to see his naked bottom while he's playing Geoffrey Chaucer in "A Knights Tale", one of the stupidest-yet-oddly-entertaining movies ever made.

Hey, it was a highlight for me.

He was also good in Wimbledon.

OK. Google is my friend. I know exactly who Paul Bettany is! I saw a Beautiful Mind and Wimbledon - in fact I saw Wimbledon (and really didn't like it) when my son, now 6, was about 2 months old, at one of those baby movie sessions.

I'm going to make a spreadsheet with the kids' books recommendations I get from LT, so that I don't forget the ones for older kids. Joyce, I found the Jim Trelease book at the annual Downtown Mission bookfair a few years ago, and it is really good - but in a box in NZ i think.

Kerry, I think you recommended the Timewarp Trio to me a while back and I found them in Wgtn library. Fletch was too little then, but probably not now. (See why I need a spreadsheet!)

I am trying to write a wee review of March Violets but I keep having to go and cut out bits of newspaper or read Gargoylz. The Gargoylz books by Jan Burchett are a hit - the only thing I don't like is that words have z's instead of s's. But the gooey gargoyle that comes on the cover of each book is adding to the enthusiasm, and the story line is quite good - 2 (naughty) boys find that the gargoyles on the church next to the school are real. Have just ordered 8 more from Amazon. I love seeing the series books on Fletcher's bookcase - we have over 20 Astrosaurs now. (I love them only if I love reading the series...)

Right, it's 39 messages since I talked about a book I've finished, so here goes:

Book 22: March Violets - Book 1 of the Berlin Noir trilogy by Philip Kerr - 4 stars

This is the first book in the Bernie Gunther private investigator series. I bought it because of Suzanne (chatterbox) - I think this is the first time that one book recommendation from her has turned into six! I'm sick of reading crime novels out of series, and she was raving about A Quiet Flame or The One from the Other, and there I was on Book Depository buying the whole lot. Luckily I liked it a lot, but I will need a breather before I move onto book 2.

**no spoilers**

March Violets is set in Berlin in 1936. My quick summary is "gritty". Bernie Gunther is an ex-policeman turned private investigator. He gets hired
by Hermann Six, a prominent industrial magnate, to figure out who stole his daughter's diamond necklace, but really to find out who killed the daughter and his son-in-law in a fire. The plot is complicated, but very well done, and the detail about life in Nazi Germany is what really made this book stand out for me. There's murder, bodies, violent sex, animals getting hurt, and much more harrowing stuff that I don't want to give away. And a lot of the ominous feeling comes from the violence of the Nazis, as well as what actually happens. I gave it 4 stars, not more, because it is very violent and very masculine.

Bernie's description of his new secretary should give you an idea:

" That morning she was wearing a dress of dark-green cotton with a fluted collar and cavalier cuffs of stiffened white lace. For a brief moment I fed myself on the fantasy that had me lifting her dress up and familiarizing myself with the curve of her buttocks and the depth of her sex."

OK, whatever. And there are a lot of metaphors and one-liners, e.g. (about a prostitute): "Her breasts were like the rear ends of a pair of dray horses at the end of a long hard day. Maybe she still had a few clients, but I thought it was a better bet that I'd see a Jew at the front of a Nuremberg pork-butcher's queue."

It's no wonder I felt like some Barbara Pym after this one!

Two more books finished...both quite good.

Book 23 : A Glass of Blessings by Barbara Pym - 3 1/2 stars

This is my second Barbara Pym and I like her enough to want to read more, but she is still not knocking my socks off. This one is all about Wilmet, a 30ish Englishwoman who has everything in her life except passion for her husband or anything else. It's set in London in the early 1950s. Wilmet doesn't work, doesn't have kids, and has plenty of money but not gallons of it. She and her husband met in Italy during the war, and he's lost his appeal.

There's lots of nice observation of the local characters, especially the 3 vicars in the high Anglican church. Wilmet has men falling at her feet, or so she thinks at first. I really liked her mother-in-law, Professor Root, and some of the other characters but was less taken with Wilmet.

Book 24 : The Big Short by Michael Lewis - 3 stars

Yet another book about the financial crisis, and actually I think I'll ding it down to 3 stars. Nowhere near as good as Liar's Poker, but that could be because this is now the 3rd version of the subprime story that I've read. Lewis chooses one of the same people to profile as Greg Zuckerman did in The Greatest Trade Ever, and 2 others, but in many ways the books are nearly the same. The rating agencies come off looking even worse from this book than from the others I've read.

I got this one out of the library on Saturday and it's going back today, which is much better than my usual track record!

#73 I'm a big fan of the Bernie Gunther novels. And Kerr's other stuff as well, although some have been a bit putdownable. Recently, Kerr has been adding to the Gunther trilogy. They're now set in Argentina after the War. I must get around to reading the last two: A Quiet Flame and If The Dead Rise Not. There's also one due out this year, Field Grey.

Oh no, not another one! I have those last 2 waiting here. So that means I've got 5 left to read before Field Grey...

Yup, there are four following on from the original trilogy.

Also good is Hitler's Peace, which is unrelated but also set during WWII.

I've got to read a Barbara Pym. Everybody seems to like her.

78- Yes, do! :) I really need to read a 2nd Barbara Pym one of these days...I've only read one and I'm trying to space them out so they last longer.

Angela (amwmsw04)

#78 Angela, which one did you read? I have Jane and Prudence here (from a second hand book sale back in NZ) and haven't read it yet.

#77 Bonnie, most other LTers seem to like her more than I do. I *do* like her but I have finished both books feeling slightly bemused. I kept thinking that I didn't quite get Wilmet, the main character. Also wanted to tell you that I bought a book based on your review today - In Other Rooms, Other Wonders. It looks really good. (And it has a lovely yellow cover!)

Cushla- A good friend is reading and raving about The Big Short, so I'll probably get to it in the next month or so. I read March Violets a few years ago and loved it but never read the others. The book I have has the 1st 3 books too! Maybe this will inspire me!

80- No Fond Return of Love which seems to be the favorite of many. I liked, but didn't love it, at first. But by the end, I was smitten.

Chiming in to add that I read all of B. Pym back in the 70's when I discovered her but have only reread Excellent Women a couple of times. I did the same with Elizabeth Bowen. I think that they are both wonderful in their way, but I would never require that either be a Jane Austen or a Herman Melville or a William Faulkner. I guess I must enjoy having my socks pulled off gently and my feet tickled a little in the process.
(And I own March Violets - saw it day before yesterday, in fact, when I was looking for something else. I must add that having carefully tagged the location of every book that I entered here, I have since moved them and haven't kept up. Oh well.)

Lizzie, I mean Peggy, I read a Elizabeth Bowen last month - The Last September - and I really didn't like it much! (It was back in thread 1.) I can see the overlap but I like most of Pym's characters, even if their outlook is so different to mine because of when they lived. Am giggling that you can't find your books!

Angela, I'll look for No Fond Return of Love.

Oh Cushla I do hope you enjoy In Other Rooms, Other Wonders. I guess I'll half heartedly give Pym a try and see which camp I fall in.

Oh Cushla, I'm afraid that if you don't like The Last September you don't like Bowen. By all means read Pym!! I'm reading To the North with a friend right now, and while Bowen says up front that several characters are not admirable, I'm enjoying her wit and beautiful writing. (I don't really think of her as overlapping much with Pym whose wit is equally telling but less skewering.) I just read a bit where luncheon guests overhear their hostess on the phone speaking disparagingly of them. They "...had exchanged less than a glance and, all raising their voices, maintained a strenuous conversation till she came back. They were not English for nothing."
(What is more frustrating than not being able to find my books!????? I can find every other one that I own by the same author but not the one I want. GRRRRRRR.)

Hi - Thanks for stopping by my thread. I feel the same way about the Barbara Pym I read a couple of years ago (Excellent Women), nice but not outstanding. As for the Berlin Noir trilogy, I read those all in a row last summer and enjoyed them very much, but definitely needed a break afterwards. I would like to read the others eventually though.

I could have sworn I posted in this thread but scrolling up and down it doesn't look like I did. Maybe LT ate my post. Maybe I have Alzheimer's. Now I did! I think.

You like Joseph E. Stiglitz? He's been neck-deep in economics for most of his career. I got Freefall from the ER program. I think he's best known for his information asymmetry ideas. This book is kind of an overview of the 'great recession'. He is not a believer in efficient markets, rather, he thinks they are as rare as hen's teeth. The problems are systemic and have been for decades. I think I know where he's going to end up but he might surprise me.

Book 25: Imperium by Ryszard Kapuscinksi - 4 1/2 stars

I bought this as soon as I'd read (and loved) The Shadow of the Sun a few years ago, but it sat on the shelves. It was never quite the right time to read it until this month's one word title TIOLI challenge.

This book paints a really vivid series of pictures of the hell that was life in the USSR - Kapuscinski starts out with a chapter describing his life as an 8 year old in Poland when the Russian troops and NKVD occupied his village (the NKVD was the forerunner of the KGB). The next 2 chapters are snapshots of 1958 (the Trans Siberian railway) and 1967, when he does a quick trip through 7 of the southern republics. Then there are 250 pages set in 1989-91 when the USSR was beginning to break up. It's hard for me to do justice to the breadth and depth of his writing, and my book is covered in sticky notes.

Kapuscinski was a journalist, but his books read like novels. Some doubt has been thrown recently on how accurate his reporting was, but I didn't care - this was a great book. It isn't a straightforward one - the republics, their ancient cultures and histories, and the terrible things that happened vary hugely. The chapter about Stalin's camps in Kolyma, the coal mines in Vorkuta in the Arctic Circle, and the forced starvation of the peasants in the Ukraine were the grimmest parts of the book for me, but every chapter was sad. Most of it is about the past, not the breakup of the USSR - Lenin's Tomb by David Remnick is really good for that. You need a strong stomach for reading about repression and needless poverty, and a map - I've dinged it half a star for Granta Press's omission of a map in a book that is all about geography!

Highly recommended but only if you are in the mood for something heavy.

#86 - Peggy, actually the bit you quoted from your Elizabeth Bowen sounds funny. But I think it'll be a while before I try her again.

#87 scohva, thanks for visiting me back!

#88 VG, I think Stiglitz is really smart but I haven't read any of his books yet. He's doing some interesting work on GDP for the French government at the moment that was in the paper this morning (the International Herald Tribune - the NYT for furriners). Will look forward to reading your review.

#89 Imperium sounds interesting but rather hard-going. I'm trying to increase my non-fiction reading and would love to tackle something as serious as this, but maybe I need to work up to it!

"Bemused" That's a good word to describe my reaction to Barbara Pym as well. I loved the movie of The Shadow of the Sun; I'll have to check out the book, and Imperium sounds well worth reading. I'll put it on the wish list, but hold off reading it for awhile. I want the information, but those kinds of books don't do anything for my faith in people or governments.

#89 - I am a big Kapuscinski fan, although I haven't yet read Imperium. Coincidentally, I am just this very minute starting to read his The Soccer War, a collection of writing about various places. I agree with you that although it may be disappointing on a moral level if he made a lot of it up (and if he was a spy), on a reading level it just doesn't matter at all!

I enjoy following your thread as you're reading the books I'd like to read but am not giving priority to at present.
I think I've already noted Kapuscinski as someone to read from earlier discussions of Travels with Herodotus. I've read about the accuracy debate, but everyone seems to like his books regardless.
I'm hoping to get to Elizabeth Bowen's The House in Paris at some stage this year, and I'm still to try Barbara Pym, I have a copy of her Excellent Women.
I've also read the first chapter of The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million but haven't had time to get back to it.

Imperium sounds good; I'm adding it to my wish list.

Adding Imperium to the BlackHole. Thanks, Cushla!

Imperium sounds fabulous, but I'm not surprised. I recently read Shah of Shahs and thought it was great. I'm keeping my eyes open for any and all of his books!

(Edited to fix touchstone.)

Thanks for all the visits. I love it when you guys say hi.

Bonnie, I had no idea that there was a movie of The Shadow of the sun (doesn't matter though, I have watched about 2 movies since I had the kids - yep 2 in 6 years...).

Genny, if you want a really fast non-fiction read on Russia Lenin's Tomb was terrific.

Janet and Tania, I am struggling to remember where i have put Shah of Shahs. I can't find it here but I'm sure I wouldn't have put it in a box. I found it at the annual book fair at home and grabbed it. The Soccer Wars is hard to find in Wellington - even the very good library didn't have it. And somebody had stolen Shah of shahs, or moved it, or something weird - apparently books about Haile Selassie are in demand, seriously, but I can't remember who for.

I'm very excited because I just got my copy of Suzanne's book (Chasing Goldman Sachs )and it looks GREAT. Of course I am in the middle of 3 other books but I feel a book bumping coming on...

#98 Thanks for the recommendation!

Sorry to say, The Soccer War was not up to the standard of his others, in my opinion. I need to think about why that was for a bit, and then eventually I'll try to post a review, but I honestly wouldn't rush right out and get it, unless it's the last Kapuscinski you haven't read.

#98: You got it! Great!!

Eagerly awaiting your thoughts on Suzanne's book too.

A new site that you might want to check out - bookTV.nz, is bringing reviews and interviews to the web, not just New Zealand writers but festival events etc etc. The link takes you to a blog entry about it.

Very much enjoyed The Shadow of the Sun and Imperium, though it's a few years since Imperium. The first Kapuściński I read was The Emperor, about Haile Selassi, and since then I read every book of his that comes my way. Looking for Shah of Shahs.

The right touchstone won't load for The Emperor.

Found you CMT. Always good to see another Kiwi book lover. Your reading list for the year is very impressive btw.

Janet, sorry to hear The Soccer Wars wasn't up to Kapuscinski's usual standard. Pamela, Book Depository have got Shah of Shahs for 8 Euros. (It really is too easy for me to click buttons on their website...)

Kerry, that website is really good, thanks, and I've just clicked on their FB page to get their updates. I really like Unity in Auckland (not as much as Unity in Wgtn though!) and the Women's Bookshop and will be interested to see their reviews.

Hi KiwiNyx! Thanks for popping in.

I have just finished Book 26: In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin and gave it 4 1/2 stars. I really liked this collection of short stories set in Pakistan. I don't often read short stories, but have loved the last 3 collections that I've read - this one, the View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro, and Waiariki by Patricia Grace.

The subjects of these stories are all linked to the family or servant network of K.K. Harouni, a wealthy Pakistani landowner. The stories cover the 1970s (I think) to current Pakistan, and they show what life is like for people across the spectrums of wealth and power. I thought Mueenuddin did a great job at writing women's stories, as well as describing every day life beautifully. As usual, it made me very happy to have been born in a society where women are not usually treated like property. Having said that, one of the characters who made my skin crawl in this book was the extremely rich mother of Sohail in "Our Lady of Paris". She really knew how to work her position.

I'll be buying Mueenuddin's next book as soon as it's out - I'm sure he's working on another one. The wikipedia entry on him is really interesting.

I already have In Other Rooms, Other Wonders in the BlackHole. I am just waiting for my local library to get a copy. Glad to see you enjoyed it, Cushla!

Cushla - Just caught up with your thread. Good reading as always. On Camilleri (message #17), I'll just say that I'm a huge fan, and when I threw out / gave away 99% of my fictional books, I actually kept his Montalbano series.

So glad you enjoyed In Other Rooms, Other Wonders too, Cushla. What an incredible writer!

You're a perfect person to read chatterbox's book, Cushla! I'm looking forward to reading her next one on genealogy.

OK, I am going to sound grumpy and out of step with most of you and the world now, but I just finished Book 27: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and I won't be needing any sugar in my coffee for another week. I gave it 3 stars because I had to keep reading, but.... but - something. It was too sweet for me, and too cute, and now I sound kind of bitter - and really I am not!!

I liked the epistolary novel format, and I enjoyed reading about the occupation of Guernsey in WW2. The only other thing I'd read about the Channel Islands during the war was in Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre. But the characters wound me up - they were all a bit one-dimensional and predictable.

**spoilers coming, if you are the only person apart from me who hasn't read this one: **

I'm sorry but could Elizabeth have been any more perfect? It would have been enough to have her go to the concentration camp, without then two acts of heroism - taking the blame for someone else's stolen potato, then HELLO, stepping out of the line to attack the overseer for being vicious to someone else? I've read books by camp survivors, and just staying alive was enough of an act of heroism. I can believe that she take blame for the stolen potato, but I have not read of anyone being openly rebellious to a camp official. There were lots of things like this that bugged me. Juliet arrives, child falls in love with her, despite already having lots of caring people looking after her who are locals. Juliet decides to stay on island forever.

It just felt like they tried to put too much in - like the letters from Oscar Wilde (I liked that bit) almost getting stolen by the evil journalist's girlfriend ...

Anyway, cute, nice, and I liked it enough to keep going. And I liked Sidney, even though I'm not so sure that he'd have told Isola he was gay in 1946 when he'd known her 24 hours.

I await the tomato throwing from all you fans!!

I defend your right to not like one of my favorite books, Cushla. (just do not ever speak to me again)

No book is going to please everyone, so no big deal as far as I am concerned. No tomatoes from this direction heading your way.

#110 Hmmm... I picked this up in a sale recently and haven't gotten around to reading. I kinda feel I ought to, since it's written about the island next door. Now I'm thinking I'll leave it a while longer. I'm not really into sugary sweet...

I liked it, but I didn't think it was totally great. It generated a lot of hype when it first came out. The other book at the time that lots of people loved that I hated was The boy in striped pyjamas.

>110 cushlareads: Finally......someone who feels the same way as I did when I read the Guernsey book. Vindication. I only gave it two stars and only finished it because it was so short.

Cushla, I loved this line from your review:

I won't be needing any sugar in my coffee for another week.

I felt exactly this way after reading The Secret Life of Bees. At least the Guernsey book had some interesting literary references and a peek into some WWII history that whetted my appetite to learn more.

No tomato throwing from me. I always appreciate the truth. I put this in my "good but not great" category which means I won't be revisiting it and I won't be buying it for my permanent collection.

Cushla, you simply confirm what I had suspected: this book is not for me. Thanks!

I agree with all of your comments on Guernsey. I, however, liked it better and rated it higher because 1. I really expected to hate it, and 2. I found it charming. I think when I reviewed it I said something along the lines of "this book has several faults but I overlooked them because I enjoyed it". Usually I'm not so forgiving, but I gave this one a pass. Always good to hear from someone who has an opinion different from most others.

I do agree with your thoughts re the Guernsey book. Nonetheless... I enjoyed it despite the saccharine factor, in the same way that I'm now finding myself enjoying the utterly anachronistic and downright silly books by Lauren Willig (The Secret History of the Pink Carnation). I suppose I have a category of books that I exempt from my normal judgments because they appeal to me in some other way; in Guernsey's case, it was because it was a "comfort book".

Glad the book made it there safely... pls check any book quotes with me or against a finished copy, however, as there are lots of changes, updates, etc. There's a new preface, and all but one of the typos/errors that I know about have been fixed. (The exception is in the dramatis personae, where of course everyone will catch it!!)

Thanks for that useful review, Cushla. It wasn't on my wish list, and I definitely won't read it now.

Splats cmt with big, juicy, rotten, putrid, worm-eaten tomato. Actually, I never finished the book. I just like to pelt people with tomatoes.

I think a lot of people felt the same way, Cushla. Count me in--I just didn't say it as cleverly. Coming to town and immediately taking over the care of Elizabeth's daughter and then adopting her wasn't at all believable either.

Oh well, just goes to show what I have always said: I have pedestrian tastes in reading material :(

Interesting reading your comments - I didn't really hate it, and I still gave it 3 stars. And I suspect I'd have liked it more if it hadn't been hyped to the moon.

BekkaJo, I'd been wondering which island you were on - are you on Jersey? You should definitely read it!

Donna, I will go and look at your review of The secret life of bees...

#118 Suzanne - I will send you a PM if I find any typos etc. I'm giong to start it soon, but I have **got** to finish the stupid (good, just stupid reader) German book before my lesson on Wednesday. And review it in German. Yee haa. My Dad was here last week visiting and spied your book, and read the first 10 pages while he was babysitting the kids - he thought it was great and very readable! (He loves following financial markets, so I will probably buy him a copy for his birthday.)

#123: Cushla, I am about 130 or so pages into it and am also finding it very readable.

>123 cushlareads:: Alas, you won't find my review of The Secret Life of Bees because I read it before I knew of the existence of LT. Those were the Dark Ages of reading for me! However, I do have a few reviews where I went against popular opinion. Unfortunately, I wasn't as kind and tactful as you were. See my cranky review of The Lace Reader which can be found here.

Sometimes it's more satisfying to write a caustic review than fling the book against a wall! I'm just grateful that I enjoy 99% of the books that I read.

Edited to work on my link again! I think I finally got it.

Cushla/Stasia -- thanks for the feedback. You guys are among the very first "outside" readers for this. I'm hoping to see the real hardback version for the first time today when I go for "media training".

Don't worry about sending me PMs re typos -- I think most have been fixed. (If this were the final hardcover, I'd definitely want to know...) Don't know which I hate more, this waiting period or what is going to happen post June 15. Very nervous indeed.

Oops! Maybe I won't get around to reading that library copy of Lace Reader. Couldn't find your review, by the way, but you're probably one of the reasons why I kept adding and deleting it from my wish list.

I didn't get the feeling that you hated The Guernsey... Just that it was a bit "sweet" which was how I felt about it. And agree on the unrealistic bits too that add to the "cuteness" factor.

Donna, I think I remember your review of The Lace Reader - I have passed over it several times now at Bider and Tanner!

I'ev just done a HUGE shop at Book Depository for the kids from all your ideas earlier in the thread. I've spent 80 Euros and have 15 books coming, including the New York Times guide for kids' books that Joyce talked about. Thank you for all the ideas, especially Kerry and Joyce - I am so thrilled that there will be white envelopes flooding in soon. You know you are getting somewhere when your reluctant to read 6 year old comes home and says MUM can we go on Book Depository and look for Gargoylz books?

Good for Fletcher, coming around on the reading front!

Oooooh, have not been here for awhile and that was a big mistake. Lots of new to me authors to add to my wishlist
Mueenuddin and Kapuscinksi
and Guernsey will slide down a bit on the wishlist. It sounds too Maeve Binchyesque and God knows I own too many of hers waiting in the wings ready to give me a suger high never before attained.

Just saw the Booklist review for Chasing Goldman Sachs -- can't post it until June 1, but it's a good one!

I wasn't enamored by Brunonia Barry either; am in no rush to read her second book. Not that it was giving me a sugar overload, just that large chunks were unconvincing.

#123 Ah - yes I am on Jersey, the largest and totally best of the Channel Islands... you can just feel the rivallry right? We call them Donkey's they call us Crapauds (Frogs) or probably something more unpleasant!

i think I will read it... just maybe not this month :) I do have two 10 hour train journeys next week (not on my island, we have no trains and are only 9 miles by 5!) so am trying to pick out my selection to pack.

Hi Cushla
Ich sah, dass Du Cranford liest. Ich will es auch mal lesen, aber bin noch nicht überzeugt, es auszuleihen.

I have seen that you are reading Cranford. How do you like it? I put it on my wishlist, but i'm not fully convinced if I should borrow it from the library.

#133: Paul, ich habe es fast ausgelesen, und werde es am Montag mitbringen!
Paul, I've almost finished it and will bring it with me on Monday!

#131 BekkaJo, that's funny about the rivalry. Have fun planning your 20 hours of reading time.

Lynda, my grandmother **loved** Maeve Binchy, but her name and the covers of her books have put me off forever - Maeve reminds me of Mavis in Coronation Street!

Right, I am going to exercise discipline and finish Cranford now. Back when it is read! I'm enjoying it a lot and it is a good one to read in 10 minute bites.

#134: I finished Cranford this week and loved it. I hope you do too, Cushla!

Echoing Stasia's enthusiasm for Cranford - hope you enjoyed the end of it too.

Oh, thanks for all the promotion for Cranford. I try it when Cushla brings me the book. Vielen Dank im Voraus. Bis Montag

Finished Cranford, and A Guide to the Birds of East Africa, and thoroughly enjoyed both of them. I gave each 4 stars.

I was surprised how easy Cranford was to read. I have read very little "proper" English lit from the 1800s, except for Jane Austen, and will definitely read another Gaskell. It felt like a quiet book with not much going on on the surface, but in the end a lot did (I'm trying not to give anything away!)

A Guide to the Birds of East Africa was a lovely story set in Nairobi (I'm sure the whole of LT has seen Richard's review so I'm not doing one!). It's a while since I read a book where I really wanted the main character, the widowed and middle-aged Mr Malik, to get the girl (Rose Mbikwa), but he was so shy and honest and lovely and his rival was so slimy. It could have got too cutesy for me, but it didn't. And the author worked in more about Kenya than I'd expected.

I'm so happy that I have read 9 books in May! I'm not sure how that happened - there weren't any chunky non-fictions in there, except for Imperium.

Now I'm going to read Suzanne's book, Chasing Goldman Sachs, and Troubles, which just won the Lost Booker Prize. I'm also doing the group read of the Aeneid (and waiting for my copy to arrive any day from Book Depository). June might be a sloooooooow month because The Aeneid is going to be a chunkster!

I am glad you enjoyed Cranford too, Cushla! I loved it. You might try Gaskell's North and South.

I already have a copy of A Guide to the Birds of East Africa on its way to me. Hopefully, I will get it in soon.

I am also reading Suzanne's book for the June TIOLI challenge. Thus far, what I have read of it has been very readable, considering I know next to nothing of economic matters.

Stasia, I posted Arms of Nemesis to you at last, so it should come soon!

#140: Thanks, Cushla! I really appreciate it. Let me know what I can do to reciprocate.

Ha, nothing and it's my pleasure - just keep reading all those great books that end up on my wishlist!!!

#142: I shall endeavor to do so :)

Cushla, glad you enjoyed Cranford. I haven't read it -- I watched the dramatization with Judi Dench and several other notables, which was very good, and haven't really wanted to read the book. However, I have read North and South and Wives and Daughters, and enjoyed them both. N&S is shorter than W&D, but W&D is interesting because Gaskell died before she could finish it and her publisher had to fill in the ending.

I am intrigued at how my book could fit into the June TIOLI challenge, Stasia; is it a book about problems?!?!

I'll be re-reading it, for the 27th time, this week in order to pull out data points, anecdotes, etc. for the book promotion stuff.

Cranford was great... Somewhere I have the DVD that I bought cheaply in London but have yet to watch, figuring that it couldn't be as good as the book was!

#145: No, it is for calm's challenge: a book that has no reviews posted on LT.

Ahaaa -- which is because it isn't officially "out" yet! ;-)

#147: Which makes it a natural choice for the challenge, and since we are all reading it anyway . . .

Cranford is a new Must Read for me, one supposes. I've been avoiding reads of Mrs. Gaskell because they're so deeply enmeshing.

Chasing Goldman Sachs is AWFUL, Cushla, don't bother to read it! Writing's bad, reporting's substandard, it's just the dog's breakfast and will be pulped as soon as Crown realizes the howler they've made by bringing it out.

(Pssst...that's for Suzanne's benefit...actually it's quite good)

Richard, yep I know. I read 70 pages today and was reading it in the school playground and in the supermarket cafe. And the housework is not done (well that's normal). I have no idea why. At this rate I'll be done with it by tomorrow.

*harumph*

Yes, I live in daily fear of pulping. 2 weeks to launch... I'm about to post the Booklist review in my thread.

So, Cushla, just so you're fully in the loop, here's my multi-thread announcement:

I've finished my second read of Chasing Goldman Sachs and posted my review. It's also on my thread...post #145. I'd've posted it to Amazon but I can't yet; Powell's has it up, though.

Read it. You *should* be scared as you do!

Just read it, and was about to thumb it - and nice that there are no spoilers because we already know what happened!

I've finished Chasing Goldman Sachs, and have just posted my review.

Book 30: Chasing Goldman Sachs by Suzanne McGee - 4 1/2 stars

This book should be required reading for all new MBA graduates who're about to start working for an investment bank, and every one who cares about what happens to the financial system and wants to understand how we got to the disaster of 2008. This is the 5th book I've read about the financial crisis this year, and it's one of the best. Whether you are working in financial markets or are someone who skips the business pages because you find them really boring, you'll get a lot out of this book. It's extremely readable, and there isn't the snide tone that comes through in lots of financial crisis reporting. Throughout, McGee is balanced in her coverage of why decisions were made and what was wrong. The most interesting parts of the book, and the bits that will be new to readers who've already read Too Big to Fail or The Big Short, is the excellent discussion of the private equity boom and the changes that go back 20 years, not the most recent stuff. The chapter on regulatory failure was great, but could have been 5 times as long as it was. The fragmentation of the regulatory agencies and their incentives to placate the companies they regulate in the US have a lot to answer for. I also think there isn't enough in the book about how CDOs have been a good development - there are plenty of Americans who benefited from securitisation of home loans through greater housing affordability. Not everything that comes out of a bubble is bad. But these are minor quibbles.

Disclosure: the author is an online friend, and sent me an early review copy of the book. I tried not to let this affect my review.

#154: the author is an online friend, and sent me an early review copy of the book. I tried not to let this affect my review.

I just finished that one up too, Cushla, and tried to do the same thing when I wrote my weekly blurb! I am glad you liked the book.

#154 That's a nice review, Cushla. I'm itching to get my fingers on a copy!

>154 cushlareads: Good stuff, Cushla! I agree that the chickens will come home to roost re: "regulatory" lapdogs...I mean, agencies...and it won't be pretty.

I suspect there is a whole book to be written on the regulatory question -- that is the part that hasn't been tackled yet. (Only in a finger-pointing context, or in an incidental way, as when Michael Lewis et.al. refer to the policies surrounding Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae.) The regulatory chapter was nearly 60 pages long in the previous draft, and only got "shrunk" when I realized I couldn't easily break it into two chapters!

You're very right about the positive elements of financial innovation. When products like CDOs or credit default swaps arrive on the scene, the reason they are created & exist is that they serve a purpose; they are valuable. It's only when they become less profitable/more commoditized that those marketing them start pushing the envelope. As a source of mine put it, you can ramp up the volume of the transactions, or dial up the leverage, to keep profits high. Or both. And either affects the quality of the transactions and increases the risk.

Glad you enjoyed the opus, Cushla... One week and one day to launch...

Great review Cushla. Thumb. Now all I have to do is get to it.

You wrote a fine balanced review, Cushla. I can't wait to read the book myself!

Thanks for the thumbs, and Suzanne it's really interesting hearing the bits and pieces about how you changed things as you wrote it!

It's going to be ages before I finish another book. I'm reading Troubles and The Classical World by Robin Lane Fox, and will start The Aeneid soon. And it's the end of the school year here and it's suddenly really busy with concerts and trips. Then I have 9 weeks of 2 kids at home - gulp.

Lots of the Book Depository kids' books have arrived, and I have orders to buy more of the Mr Majeika series already - thanks Kerry for a great recommendation. We all really liked the first one. HOLY MOLY there are tons of them! Just ordered another 10. Pongwiffy is also very good, but Teresa has yet to get the idea that we keep reading from where we left off - I have had to read her the first chapter 4 times now!

Oh, I hope you like Troubles, Cushla. I started The Siege of Krishnapur the other day, but have not gotten very far - too many other books, especially library ones, in the way.

I will be interested in seeing what you think of The Classical World. I think I would like that one, but the library does not have it.

Stasia, come back in August at the rate I'm reading The Classical World!!

But I forgot - I did finish a book, just this morning. It was my first Early Reviewer one and it was very good.

Book 31: On Travel by Charles Dickens - 4 stars

Confession time: till last week, I had got through 30-something years of reading without any Dickens. I asked for On Travel in LT's Early Reviewer programme because it was short and I thought it was about time I tried. It's a collection of his travel writing just published by Hesperus Press, who're publishing unloved classics and lots of works in translation. I'm really glad I did - I enjoyed the 6 essays in the book and will try to tackle one of his novels soon. His writing is so vivid, and often really funny. If you like AA Gill, you will probably like this - like all good travel writing it's a mixture of where Dickens goes and how the travel makes him feel.

Two of the essays describe the train trip from London to Paris, 20 years apart. Another one, my favourite, describes the misery of the sea voyage from London to Boston and everyday life onboard. Another one starts in Verona, then onto Mantua before he heads north through Switzerland. I especially liked the two paragraphs about Basel - the hotel he mentions, the Three Kings, is still here 160 years later (and very posh). The first essay is about two London characters - "The Last Cab Driver and the First Omnibus Cad", and the last is about a Londoner called Mr Booley who turns 65 and sees the world. It took me till the last page to realise the joke. The introduction is interesting too (read it last, if you want to avoid a spoiler for the 6th essay) and it's a nicely produced book.

This one was free for me, but I have a feeling they'll end up making money from me very soon!!

Edited to say their blog is good: http://hesperuspress.wordpress.com and they're on twitter.

Troubles and The Siege of Krishnapur are two of my favourites. Alcottacre, how could you stop in the middle of The Siege of Krishnapur? Hope you like it as much as you did Troubles.

Glad to know that your kids are enjoying Mr Majeika and if you check out a bio of Humphrey Carpenter you'll see he was a really interesting personality and wrote lots of great biographies.

I haven't read much Dickens but highly recommend his Our Mutual Friend.

#163: As I am a Dickens fan, I will definitely be looking for On Travel. Thanks, Cushla.

#164: Trust me, it was not for lack of interest in the book, simply too many library books that have to be returned!

#163 Another Dickens fan here so I'll have to check that one out!

I read something of his on traveling in American a million years ago that was tremendously interesting -- wait -- I looked it up, it's called American Notes I think he was over here on a sort of book and talk tour. I could easily read those again. It was in college, America from the POV of others. A great course!

#168: I just read American Notes a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it.

The best of the 6 essays was from American Notes. Hmmm, maybe I'll start with that.

Speaking of travelogues, I really enjoyed those of Henry James, especially those he wrote in France.

On Travel sounds really interesting, I own a lot of Dickens but am ashamed to admit that I still have yet to read any although one of my favourite books as a kid was the graphic novel version of Oliver Twist.

Posting on here to bump it up when I return to my computer later - Emma Thompson was also an active member of the Puffin Club.

Elkiedee, and here I was thinking you were bumping my thread up to say GO THE ALL WHITES! (The game starts in 20 minutes, but I will have to find the score out through internet because my duaghter is plonked in front of Mickey Maus Clubhaus and will not let me change channel.)

KiwiNyx, you're ahead of me with Oliver Twist in any form and it sounds lovely!

On Travel does sound good - and rare Dickens being short! I've read some of his (including Bleak House for A level English) but have seen more film/TV adaptations than I've read the originals. He's not my favourite 19th century writer - but it would be interesting to try some non-fiction.

I don't really watch football. My aunt is going to cheer on New Zealand in the pub (my grandparents, her and my mum's parents, were from NZ).

Going back a month, I've read the rest of the thread and saw that My Naughty Little Sister was recommended - my mum gave a couple of these books to my cousin's children, a 6 year old boy and an older girl - they had a naughty little sister and a new baby sister at that time who is now about 16 months (3 days younger than my Conor).

I'm not really into celebrity written children's books but I would think Emma Thompson wouldn't produce total rubbish, however, I wouldn't want to read her books in case they were total rubbish and I'd be very upset by it...

An online friend elsewhere has been raving about the more recent Bernie Gunther books and I bought an omnibus edition of March Violets and the others in the series.

Well, I was supporting NZ, and I was absolutely thrilled by that last second equaliser. That's what the World Cup is supposed to be about. I don't think they'll have much chance against Italy, though.

my daughter is plonked in front of Mickey Maus Clubhaus and will not let me change channel

*Chuckling! When I was growing up, adults were "in charge" of what was on TV or what station the radio was turned on to in the car. My stepfather even used to get upset that he had to push a button to get back to his station when he got in the car. The nerve of me! Lol! Now, kids get to choose--it's just not fair they changed the rules! ;-)

I have received an ER copy of On Travel too and am now extra looking forward to it ... if only I could find it. To add to the Henry James travelogue recommendation, I recently read some extracts from Mark Twain's travel writing and really enjoyed it.

Janet, the whole country was thrilled about that goal!! I doubt much work got done the next morning.

Bonnie I am embarrassed that Teresa gets to determine what's on the TV. She's such a tantrum thrower that I tend to pick my battles... am about to pick one now and you might hear her in the US.

Wandering_star i hope you find it! I got another ER book this week - Fighting in France or something like that by Edith Wharton. It looks great too. Hesperus Press are about the only ones who'll send ER books to Switzerland and in NZ there were none available, so I'm happy.

I am **still** reading my Robin Lane Fox book, The Classical World and am up to 400 BC. It's soooooooooooo dense. When I know the subject matter it's fast - like Aristophanes, whom we read in classics at school - but most of it is new to me. Roll on the ancient Roman bit.

Just downloaded the Wharton book for my Kindle; it was quite affordable. :-)

Didn't get it from ER. "Won" another book that never materialized, instead!!

Cushla, I respect and enjoy RLFox a lot, but he does demand concentration! I have to check to see whether The Classical World is on my wishlist; I think so.

Ooh, I got Fighting France too! Yay for Hesperus Press posting overseas! :) Looking forward to it, I'm a not-so-closet Edith Wharton fan, and it's been a while since I read anything by her.

I just had to pop in and say that I have read nothing at all today but NZ just drew with Italy in the World Cup. Even for someone who's not a sports freak, this is one of those miraculous sporting moments! I really wish I was at home tomorrow.

Wow! NZ played Italy to a tie. I really didn't think that would happen. Congrats!

Thanks VG, I am still smiling (possibly the vino is helping...). Next up is Paraguay. Our last WC was 1982 and we didn't even score a goal that time.

¡Felicidades a los Nuevos Zilandios (los Todos Blancos)!

Cushla - the game was on at 2am, so those of us that stayed up for it are feeling very bleary eyed this morning. The NZers played really well and deserved the draw, the ref was quite hard on them in contrast to the Italians. As I'm not a rugby fan it is great to see football dominating the TV screens here for a while.

Hi Cushla - I watched it, wearing my Italian flag (in honor of my new home), but in the end I was dancing for NZ. Yay! That was totally awesome! :-))

Now let's see how Switzerland will be playing today.

Cushla - all this football talk reminded me of a really good German movie - Das Wunder von Bern or The Miracle of Bern which is about postwar Germany and the 1954 World Cup final in Bern.

Hi Cushla

Glanzleistung der Neuseeländer! Und der von >191 avatiakh: empfohlene Film (Das Wunder von Bern) ist sehenswert.

Am still happy today. Just came home from a trip to town, where we were served by a lovely Italian woman - I couldn't help but tell her where we were from! Yes, Kerry, it is so great to see rugby out of the headlines (although I still care about huge games, like maybe one every 3 or 4 years). I will look for that movie if I ever start watching movies again. Deern, I bet people are a bit subdued about it today, but I suspect our moment of glory is over - we play Paraguay next.

Teresa just distinguished herself in Bider and Tanner by stripping down to her undies while I looked for a book. Sigh. At least they are lovely in there and there weren't too many customers...

I am giving up on Robin Lane Fox for now. I am just sick of not wanting to pick up my book - so he's getting dumped for a Mennonite in a Little Black Dress. I'm pretty sure this was a recommendation from Joyce... I need something light and fluffy that I can read in 2 page bursts and RLF is not it!

"I am giving up on Robin Lane Fox for now. I am just sick of not wanting to pick up my book..."

Bravo! Life's far too short!

RLF strikes me as being good "winter reading"

Just had to say that I am not a soccer fan but I stayed up until 4.30 in the morning yesterday to watch that incredible game against Italy. Was very bleary-eyed at work but worth it. Fingers crossed for the Paraguay game.

Teresa just distinguished herself in Bider and Tanner by stripping down to her undies while I looked for a book

LOL! There's reader for you! I bet she just wanted to get comfortable. I can relate!

Katie used to do that too! Middle of Little Gym class, on a sidewalk to pretend she was a dog... I have a picture of her at about two watering the veggies in the buff, except for her rubber boots!

Ha, yes, I am sure the stripping in Bider and Tanner will be a story for her 21st. At this rate we won't be short of them... Lisa, I am not even going to mention your daughter's dog act in front of her in case she decides to copy!

Well, my book funk is over. I ripped through Book 32 - Mennonite in a Little Black Dress in just over a day. It was such a fast read that I even managed a few pages on the tram while we were counting flags and bikes.

I couldn't stop reading this book, but I didn't love it - I gave it 3 1/2 stars. Some of the self-help stuff didn't work for me. If you're looking for a book about Mennonites, this might not be the one - but as a memoir of an abusive relationship it's not bad, and it's amazingly upbeat. I won't give too much away - the back cover tells you that Janszen's husband leaves her for a guy called Bob, the same week that she has a car crash. The first chapter tells you that in the previous year she had a botched hysterectomy. Next time I'm feeling grumpy about yet another trip on the tram with the kids, I'll try to think of her.

But as the book goes on, you realise that the loss of Nick, her total loser of a husband, is the best thing that could have happened to her. She peels off layer after layer of their story. To start with I wondered why she didn't just tell her story in one go, but the onion peeling really worked for me.

I thought the book had a bit much left in it, and cringed at some of her stories - but not in a good way. What was the point of the story about her friend's badly behaved (but not *terribly* badly behaved) 3 year old? And all the stuff about bad dating stories with her sister? A bit more editing would have helped. And I wonder if her family coped with the book's publication - especially her sister in law, and the brother-in-law's sister's, um, hair problems.

Unlike other reviewers, I really enjoyed the material about bad Mennonite food, although many of her "shame" stories about her school lunchbox were a bit OTT. I happily ate sardine sandwiches as a kid in NZ in the 1970s, and never got to take a thermos to school! I have also sent Fletcher to school with pancake sandwiches, without complaint. (I'm an allergy mum - novelty is hard to come by without eggs or dairy!)

The other big thing that I learnt when I read the reviews is that this isn't really about Mennonite religion, but about the Mennonite Brethren - a smaller sect. I learnt that from Joyce's review when I reread it. I suspect it's like the difference between standard Catholics and Opus Dei followers!

I'm 4 books behind... we've been on holiday and I've been reading instead of being on here!

Book 33 was the 3rd Inspector Brunetti mystery, The Anonymous Venetian. I liked it - I haven't read the 2nd yet, but have it in German... Much less gritty than the other crime novels I've read this year, and I've bought the 4th one today. ( 4 stars)

Book 34 was, at last, The Help. I stayed up very late reading the last 100-odd pagse of this, but I still don't want to give it more than 4 stars. I can't articulate the problem I had with it very well, but it goes something like this: Skeeter, and all the rest of the Junior League crew, couldn't get up the nerve to tell the appalling Hilly where to shove her abhorrent bathroom idea. I found it a bit hard to believe that she'd be willing to risk driving to Aibileen's place several times a week, or that nobody would figure it out - and that she'd really be willing to put the lives of the women at risk. She was simultaneously so clueless about race in Mississippi, yet so saintly. And the relationship with Stuey did not ring true to me either - that you would feel strongly enough to undertake a project like hers, but not let the guy you were getting close to marrying know that your core values were so far from his.

But I couldn't put it down, so it too gets 4 stars.

Kids squawking, back with the next 2 books soon!

#200: Glad to see you back, Cushla! I hope it was a great holiday for you.

Hope your holidays are going well and have lots lined up to do with the children. Seems like you are enjoying your holiday reads especially the Brunetti series. The Help doesn't sound like it's for me, just as well as I have piles of book lined up to read.

You know Cushla, everything you said about The Help crossed my mind too, but the fact that I was compulsively reading the book allowed me to overlook those things. I literally could not put it down for more than twenty minutes.

I'm actually more intrigued to read Stockett now than I was when all I heard was unmitigated praise... I'll report back later in the summer!!

Happy holidays -- I've got some Brunettis hanging around here that sound like ideal summer reading.

Bonnie, I couldn't put it down either - I kept sneaking it places. I nearly gave it 5 stars, then I nearly gave it 3 because something was bugging me. While I was reading it, I really liked Skeeter and was towed along by the book like I am by a really good soap opera with slightly hard to believe plot elements. (OT: in my yoof I went through a Days of Our Lives phase - while i was at grad school! I think my brain needed a rest.) Suzanne, you have to read it and see what you think - I usually respond badly to books with hype so 4 stars from me for a very hyped book is pretty good.

The holidays are going well. We had a week in a village in France near Annecy and it was great to have a house with lots of space and a bbq. We did a few castles and les Gorges du Fier, a rock formation over the river - you walk along a footpath 20-odd metres above the river. It was well fenced but still quite exciting especially because I am pretty useless with heights.

On Friday I'm taking our son over to England for the weekend. Most of the time we'll be in Kent visiting friends, but we'll have from about 9 - 3 in London on Friday doing kids's stuff. And I am going to find a bookshop!! So - lurking Londoners, where am I going? I can probably only squeeze in one and it needs to have a great kids' section. Even better if it's close to the London Eye or Victoria Station, but I can tube wherever I need to.

I'd love another day in London!
Not a Londoner - but we enjoyed the Waterstones in Trafalger Square, it's impressively big compared to other bookstores and there was a dalek in the children's section.
Foyles had a reasonable children's area. The only bookstore I went into on the Southbank wasn't catering to children it had mainly arty type books.

Thanks Kerry! That sounds good. It's going to be so nice to be in a big English bookshop again, even though the ones here are great considering Basel is German-speaking.

I have wrested the computer back from the 6 yo so I can quickly write about the next 2 books i've finished. Both of them were for the "ISBN ends in a 4" TIOLI challenge, and both had been sitting on the shelves for ages.

Book 35 was David Lodge's Home Truths, a novella based on a play. I love reading a book in an afternoon and it hardly ever happens these days! I enjoyed it but it was obvious that he'd converted it from a play. The main character, Adrian, is a retired novelist living in the country with his wife Eleanor. An old friend of theirs, Sam, gets skewered in an interview in the Sunday papers. They decide to get back at the interviewer by having her interview Adrian. Etc. If you like David Lodge, you'll probably enjoy it too but his longer novels are better. 3 stars.

Book 36 was the very very very sad No Signposts in the Sea by Vita Sackville-West. This was one of the first 2 VMCs that I bought. There are lots of reviews and commentary saying what a flawed novel this is, but I got sucked into Edmund Carr's life for the 24 hours it took me to read it. Do not read even the back of the book first - there is a spoiler, not a huge one but enough. It is set entirely on a long boat trip. Edmund Carr, a prominent journalist for a London newspaper, is on a cruise around the world. He's in love with the flawless Laura, who has no clue that he's on the boat because of her. I am not going to say any more because I can't without giving things away but the writing is reflective and beautiful, and it reads like an autobiography in places. Opinions seem be be split on this one though and there are plenty of 2 and 3 star reviews on here! I gave it 4.

EDITED TO STOP SHOUTING AT EVERYONE.

Hallo Cushla, schön, dass Du wieder da bist.

I turned the volume down, so you may go on shouting...
I started Gaskell now, but it takes me some time to find my way into it. The characters are nicely described but ... I feel like listening to someone telling me some stories during coffee break without knowing what it's all about. But I enjoy the language - it takes me longer to read, though, but I learn some new expressions.

Cushla, I think you need single brackets around title #35.

And No Chance In Hell am I reading any Vita Sackville-West! She's damned good and depressing! Thanks for the reminder lest I get tempted.

Trying to think where the London Eye is. There's a huge Waterstones near Piccadilly Circus. I think there's a small branch near Victoria itself but it is just little.

It's across the river from Victoria Embankment. I guess Piccadilly Circus isn't too far from there...

You can get to Piccadilly quite easily. The giant Waterstone's is the one I'd recommend, and I'm fairly sure it has a massive children's section. (everything else there is massive...) It's on the south side of Piccadilly, just past Picc. Circus. (Used to be a menswear department store called Simpsons, and still looks like a clothing retailer, very 1930s retro.) So if you're walking, put the Circus at your back and your face towards Green Park; it's on your left. If you have time/energy to try something smaller, Hatchard's is only about a 5/10 minute walk further along Piccadilly. Can't remember what they do for children's books, but I'm sure they have a department. It's the 18th century venerable institution, although I gather it is now also owned by the ubiquitous Waterstone's. Still, its stock tends to be different. I wouldn't recommend Foyle's for munchkins -- too confusing and crowded, hard to navigate with a stroller (if you have one).

You guys rock - thank you!!!

No stroller, he's 6 and I'm leaving T at home here.

I gave The Help 3 1/2 because like you I thought there were too many unrealistic plot points, but I was compelled to keep reading it as fast as I could.

Oh, and sign up online for a Waterstones loyalty card - they give you 3p in the pound in points (online or in the shop) and you don't have to have a minimum amount to redeem, and you can pick up their quarterly magazine free in the shop. I realise you might only get in once but if you're in the UK or anywhere in Europe they have a branch the scheme seems to operate across all of them.

Am back from London and made it to the enormous Waterstone's. By that stage we were exhausted - it was 31 and I was carrying 2 backpacks, because the queue for left luggage at Victoria was half an hour! What a fantastic shop. I was extreeeeeeeemely restrained - bought Brodeck's Report, The Siege of Krishnapur and The Cellist of Sarajevo, all 3 for 2 books. Also bought 6 or 7 books for Fletcher.

It was great seeing our friends in Kent (and Leeds Castle, and the London Eye) but I am still catching up on everything. I am never flying EasyJet again. Our flight home on Sunday night was cancelled and their communication was appalling! One minute we were getting put on another flight, the next all EasyJet staff had evaporated and when we arrived at the rescheduled gate nobody was there. It all worked out ok in the end, but we had a 3.30am wake-up call on Monday to get a flight back to Zurich.

Book 37 for me was another Donna Leon - The Anonymous Venetian, 4 stars. I think this might be my favourite of the 3 I've read so far. The last few chapters were very sobering reading and I nearly missed my tram stop. I have a feeling his daughter, Chiara, is going to come up more and more often and that's fine with me - I like reading about Brunetti's wife Paola and their kids.

Right, now I am going to read a few thousand lines of the Aeneid with a coffee while the kids entertain themselves...

Paul, I'm glad you're enjoying the language in Cranford. It took me a few chapters to get into too - it seemed too slow at first, then I really liked it.

How cool it must be to be just a hop skip and a jump away from so many European destinations. I read my first Donna Leon a few weeks back and enjoyed the Venetian storyline.

Glad you enjoyed London. And yes, EasyJet, well, there's a reason cheap airlines are cheap. At least they're not cheap AND evil, like that other cheap European one I won't mention in case they read this and sue me.

I am a new Donna Leon reader - are you reading them in order, and do you think I need to? I read Doctored Evidence, the first one I found, and it didn't seem like I would need to read them in order, but I'm not sure?

I admire your self-discipline, Cushla! (ETA: only three books??? I emerge from there with at least a dozen!)

Btw, had lunch with an American friend who now lives in Switzerland, Cushla. May send him your way. (He's in Luzern; nice guy, despite the fact that he comes from a family of Republican pols...)

>219 Chatterbox: I'm glad you don't blame people for their families. My mother was a major fundraiser for the Repulsivecans...apparently morning sickness and a Caesarean for her are the reason Kennedy was elected in 1960, so I routinely got the "blame."

#216: The Waterstone's near Piccadilly Circus sounds great. I haven't been to that branch, but I'll have to stop there later this year.

I didn't know that there was such a long queue for left luggage at Victoria Station! I was thinking of checking luggage there on my upcoming trip in the fall, but I can't imagine standing in line for a half an hour after a long flight from Atlanta.

What else did you do in London?

I prefer Waterstones in Gower Street, Bloomsbury (the university branch, also quite big), though I haven't been into either for some time.

#222, That's the one that used to be a Dillon's, isn't it?

#221, why would you need to leave your bags at Victoria? If you're staying in London, you can always leave them at your hotel/B&B. Or if you fly into Heathrow, the left luggage at Waterloo used to be less onerous.

Yes, it used to be Dillons. Many years ago, when I was a child, my aunt worked there, and I used to spend my book tokens there to get her staff discount. She got out when Robert Maxwell became the chain's owner. She then worked for the Economist bookshop before setting up her own specialist law/medical bookshop which went out of business a couple of years ago.

The airport trains from Heathrow come into Paddington, or depending on luggage and where you're staying, you can get a Piccadilly line tube straight into all sorts of central London places (not that I'm keen to encourage people to visit the Kings Cross/Russell Square area near where I work!)

How funny, I literally just mentioned Robert Maxwell in a BBC radio interview...
Oh, how I miss book tokens. They used to be my fave birthday presents!
And Paddington also has a left luggage place -- when you leave the platform, turn left, and it's tucked off in a corner.

#222: Is the Bloomsbury Waterstone's close to the Oxfam Bloomsbury Bookshop?

#223: I am a Delta frequent flier member, like many traveling Atlantans, and I've taken nonstops from Atlanta to London on both of my trips. Delta flies into Gatwick, not Heathrow, and I take the Gatwick Express train from the airport to Victoria Station. The flights arrive in the early morning, and both times my hotel room wasn't ready by the time I took a cab from the station to the hotel in mid-morning (check in was after 2 pm at both places). So, I had to leave the bags at the hotel, find something to do, then return to the hotel later in the day, which seemed to be a waste of time.

Also, I'll probably go to Paris for a few days, and it would be less expensive to check one of my bags at Victoria (or, better yet, St. Pancras, where the Eurostar trains depart for Paris and Brussels) instead of leaving it in the hotel and paying for an empty hotel room, as I had originally planned to do last summer.

#224: I like Bloomsbury and the surrounding area: British Museum, London Review Bookshop, Russell and Bloomsbury Squares, the Wellcome Museum on Euston Street, etc., and nearby Soho (Foyles, Monmouth Coffee, Ronnie Scott's jazz club, etc.).

#225: Thanks, Suzanne. I'll look for the left luggage area in Paddington, especially if I stay at the same B&B I did last year (a budget B&B on Sussex Place, midway between the Paddington and Lancaster Gate tube stations).

#217 Lynda, yes it is so amazing to be in the middle of Europe. We are here till the end of next year and I'm starting to pin down my list of places I **have** to get to. I am definitely going back to London for a kid-free weekend to do bookshops and the British Museum again. And my husband has agreed to take some leave so that I can go to the Hay Festival next year for a few days (I am extremely excited about this, and have to start figuring it all out.) I'm going to Berlin for a long weekend in September, Duesseldorf with 2 friends for the Christmas markets in December, and a few Swiss daytrips. We are packing 20 years of Europe into 2!! The other place I really want to go to is Warsaw - that'll be next year.

If any of you have any tips on Warsaw especially, I would love them!

Janet, I don't think you have to read the Donna Leon series in order but it's better if you do - there's a lot about his family and the kids start off as 13 and 16ish. I've read 1,3,4 and am on 2 now and so far she hasn't had any spoilers about the murders from earlier books.

Darryl, I don't think the queue for left luggage was normal - we picked a terrible time to see London. I've never seen it so crowded. I didn't mention the queues for airport security (80 minutes for non-EU passports), for the tube (10 minutes for the machines), for Leeds Castle (15 minutes) or the local swimming pool in Kent (20 minutes). Luckily we had FastTrack tickets for the London Eye, because there was a swarm of people for tickets and the ride. We didn't do much in London because we arrived at 7.15 but it took till 10 to get into Victoria because of the customs queue!!!! Did the Eye, had lunch, met a relly for coffee, then took the hot and sticky bus to Hamley's (huge toy shop) and walked to Waterstone's then got the train out to Kent.

Suzanne, I was in agony picking 3 books to fit into hand luggage only. But I had a scratchy kid to hurry me along and I was already grumpy because he spent the day talking about Ben 10... kids just do not see the world through tourist glasses!

Darryl, when's your trip?

Hey Cushla! Just checking in as I attempt to catch up on threads.

Glad you made it home safely despite EasyJet!

PS Suzanne, definitely tell your friend to get in touch if he comes up to Basel. Weekends are best by far till the end of August though - non-stop kid stuff until then. Depending on what species of Republican he is, I'm sure he will be lovely...

ETA that I could replace "Republicans" with "Democrats" in that last sentence, in case anyone is feeling maligned!

Hi Cushla and Suzanne - can I join the LT meeting in Basel? I like meeting other people, whatever ....can the are.

I enjoyed London very much, too, but that was in the '80 of the last centenary and was in book stores then but I can't remember the names.

I enjoy reading Cranford now - especially because of the language (it's the first time I see pussy and ejaculations in proper context). The way the ladies are interactring with each other and how everything is described - well, I like it.

Today I go the Hauptprobe of Tattoo - I got free tickets yesterday evening, I am looking forward to that.

#228: Cushla, that is far more crowded than it was when I was there in '07 and '09. I've never been to Heathrow, but the Customs queues for non-EU arriving passengers at Gatwick were no more than 10-15 minutes (although I and other childless passengers raced ahead of the others getting off of the plane to save some time in the queue), and I've only rarely waited for more than 5 minutes to top up my Oyster card for the tube.

I haven't made definite plans, but I'll probably go in the first half of November. I haven't taken any vacation time yet this year, and I've only requested a week and a half off in October. I'll look at the schedule and my remaining days next week, and I'll hopefully be able to get at least two weeks off, and preferably three. Last year I stayed in London for 18 nights, and that wasn't long enough!

Sounds like I need to find a book entitled England the easy way for I was completely confused just reading your posts. Is it similar/as hectic as flying into NYC?

I think I would need at least a month to see all I want to see in England, Wales and Scotland.

>228 cushlareads:: If any of you have any tips on Warsaw especially, I would love them!
Drink vodka. Chilled. :)

OK, I added a permanent/favorite link to one of the posts here, so when I finally get to England/Europe, I can come back and ask you all for advice--and a translation, because I can't quite figure out the whole leaving of luggage at Victoria Station business. Terribly jealous of you all, btw.

I know what you mean, Bonnie. I'm taking notes for my next trip to London. I know I made some tactical errors last year that I don't want to repeat. England is sooooo small compared to the distances we are used to in the Pacific Northwest, but it can take vast amounts of time just to get across London. And yes, terribly jealous of those who get to just flit in and out of London.

I have to add that I've been tactically developing a trips-to-England method. My heritage is Dutch, and my husband is Italian, so no relatives to go visit in England. So, since birth, I've been brainwashing my children with a heavy dose of British children's literature. Well, it paid off. Although my husband had little interest in visiting England last summer during our trip to Europe, I insisted on it. The girls--especially my 13 year old--fell in love with it. Nina's mission now is to live in England when she's older. Preferably to go to university there. I'm going to do my best to see it happen.

Paul, I hope the Tattoo was good - I've seen all the posters on the trams for it for ages now! And yes, if Suzanne's Lucerne friend calls me I'll let you know.

Darryl, I am jealous of your 18 nights in London last year! I could easily spend that long there. I can't imagine living there though and don't love it like I love New York, but it is still a great city.

For anyone planning trips, I have found the Fodor's forums excellent - www.fodors.com then go to Forum/bulletin board/community). I've never posted there and there are some silly flame wars and opinionated people, but it's easy to lurk and search the forums.

Lynda, I don't find arriving in London hard, as long as you allow tons of time - it sounds confusing above because of how I've described it, but once you know which airport you're flying into there are straightforward options for all of them and very good public transport into the city.

Joyce, that is really cool about Nina loving England because of the reading. Most of my reading as a child was English too.

Laura, the only place I've drunk chilled vodka was at the Ice Hotel in the far north of Sweden!! The glasses were made of ice, and the bar t the hotel was sponsored by Absolut. Poland is going to be quite an adventure...I've had a look and am going to try to do Krakow as well.

Just finished book 38 - another Donna Leon, the 2nd in the series: Death in a Strange Country. I thought this one really dragged in the middle and am glad I went out of order, or I mightn't have stuck with them. Gave it 3 1/2 stars. The usual - a murder, but turns out to be linked in to Big Problems In Italian Society, this one tied into the Americans still at the base in Vicenza since after WW2 and what they are allowed to get away with. Enjoyed it, especially the last few chapters - she writes very good endings!!

Am going to start a new thread now that I'm halfway through the 75 books.

Yes, Bloomsbury's Oxfam bookshop is on Gower Street, I think, a bit further down from Waterstones - on the way to Charing Cross Road (Foyles and various music places) and one of my favourite secondhand bookshops, Any Amount of Books. As far as I know, Bookends which is a remainder shop but one which has some more literary remainders, is still there.

#239: Gower Street turns into Bloomsbury Street, right? I know where the Oxfam Bookshop in Bloomsbury is, as I dropped off a stack of books there just before I left London last summer, but I didn't remember seeing a Waterstone's on Gower Street. I rode the 24 bus between Victoria Station and Soho, Bloomsbury and Camden Town at least 2-3 times per week, so I though I would have seen it.

I'll have to check out Any Amount of Books and Bookends later this year.

Lynda, et al.: I don't find London to be more hectic than NYC, and, as Cushla said, the public transportation system there is quite good. I tried to learn as much as I could before my trip, by reading the Access London guidebook (which I highly recommend, for London and other major cities, especially San Francisco), information I received from Visit London, the official organization for visitors to the capital, and Travel.State.Gov, the US State Department's informative web site for travelers and passport applicants. I also ordered my tickets for the Gatwick Express (train from Gatwick Airport to Victoria Station), a preloaded Oyster card (for riding the Underground, buses, trams, etc. on the Transport for London system), and British banknotes before I left, which made it much easier for me when I arrived in the UK (especially since I didn't sleep well on the overnight flight and was a bit groggy when we arrived).

Darryl, the Waterstone's would be at the upper end of Gower Street, just north of where RADA is, on the same side.

Arriving in London is actually easier than arriving in NYC (having done a lot of both...) Do the planning that Darryl suggests, and I also have found it easier (when possible) to take a daytime flight, meaning that I can go straight to bed when I arrive and get up fresh the next day, rather than staggering around in a jet-lagged haze.

Sigh, I miss London and Paris. May have to do something about that. In my spare time.

I came across this new range of city-lit books by Oxygen today that look rather good for getting a literary feel for a city, the series includes London (City-Lit Series).

The Berlin one looks interesting. I probably won't buy it because I'm trying to be Good at the moment but I'm looking at who's in the anthology! I've just bought some Christopher Isherwood, and I've read Stasiland.

Pity that they haven't got to Warsaw yet!

Cushla my old, I know it's unlikely, but you're welcome: Go here!

Hmm, far too long since I've had a trip to London - being right at the other end of the country has reduced the frequency of my visits, though the train connections from Newcastle to London are very fast and good. For anyone planning to visit there, among other travel tips given already, I would particularly second the recommendation to get yourself an Oyster card and pre-load it with some money before you travel. This gives you cheaper rates on public transport, and more convenient as you are not queuing for tickets.

Sorry Cushla, I don't know anything about Warsaw. What other places are on your wishlist to visit?

Right, now I am going to read a few thousand lines of the Aeneid with a coffee while the kids entertain themselves... You've reminded me that I've completely neglected my Aeneid group read - I'm still stuck on Book 2, finding it interesting but slow going and I put it down for weeks on end. Are you enjoying it?

Genny, I am being really slack on the Aeneid. I've been sucked into Every Man Dies Alone and now Mountains beyond Mountains, but I'm hoping to get back to it. I am enjoying it but want to get moving - I am still only on book 4 and need momentum.

The other huge place on the wishlist is Berlin and I've just booked 4 nights there in September at the same time as a friend from home is visiting there. I can't wait - am going to try to jam in lots of Berlin books in the next 2 months.

I forgot to put a link in here to my new thread, so here it is...
http://www.librarything.com/topic/95336