Smiler: Speedier than Lightning in 2011. Part Un.

Welcome to my place! This is where I hang out most every day so I figured I may as well show you what it looks like! So excited about 2011: a whole year to beat my previous record of 51 (ETA: finished with 56) books. With this gang, who knows how far I'll go? Or maybe I'll freeze under the pressure? But more likely, I'll spend all my time socializing and even less time reading!

I'll be following the same format as my 2010 thread, meaning this first post will be regularly updated with books I've read so far with direct links to reviews. My 2011 resolution is to have neat and tidy threads, which might influence me to keep a neat and tidy home in RL too...

My rating system is as follows:

★ - hated it (and/or didn't finish it)
★★ - it was just ok
★★★ - enjoyed it (good)
★★★★ - loved it! (very good)
★★★★★ - all-time favourite (amazing)

Books read so far:
1. Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler (TIOLI: Christmas Gift) ★★★★ (review)
2. La Belle au Bois Dormant (Sleeping Beauty) by Tahar Ben Jelloun (TIOLI: Christmas Gift) ★★★★ (review)
3. Regeneration - 1st of the Regeneration Trilogy by Pat Barker (TIOLI: New Series) ★★★★★ (review)
4. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane ★★★ (review)
5. Sanderson: The Essence of English Decoration by Mary Schoeser ★★★★½ (review)
6. Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart

Currently Reading: Doors Open by Ian Rankin

Hey, if that works out, let me know! Maybe I'll try it out too.... :)

I do not believe in neat and tidy. Just as well:)

Judging by the looks of my house, I don't think it works with the rest of the house - only the books. They are neat and tidy - a place for everything and everything in its place. But as for the rest - Chaos! (And might dusty chaos, too.)

If it wasn't for the cleaning service, my house would be filthy chaos. I hate cleaning. Feel free to be as untidy as you like! It'll make the rest of us feel less inadequate.

Welcome back!

>2 LauraBrook: Hi Laura: well one can always hope, right? And yes, you can be sure I'll be bragging so you'll hear all about it if it works!

>3 alcottacre: Stasia: I figure there's so many more interesting things to do. Unless I'm on a neat & tidy kick which happens... oh maybe three or four times a year, *if that!*

>4 Fourpawz2: Ok so I'm going to ramble *a bit.* Just so you know, before I respond to people on threads for the first time in this group, as a newcomer, I have a look at their profile to have a sense of who I'm talking to. So I went and read about your library, which made me laugh out loud. I happen to be particular about book condition and only recently started buying used books, because prior to that just the *idea* that someone else had handled them and left their DNA on every single page grossed me out. So that blood and puke comment? was hilarious to me. I've since also joined BookMooch and found out how different people's ideas about book condition are, because I always ask before mooching and somehow get surprises...

Recently, someone from BM sent me a book—East of Eden, and I LOVE John Steinbeck—which was supposedly in *very good* condition, and there was water damage, which is a huge turn-off, so I decided to send it off to someone else and not even read that copy. I'll probably buy a new one since I'll want to keep it anyway. Someone else sent me The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, almost new, and very kindly also included The Restaurant at the End of the Universe which had dark brown, crumbling, dirty pages, and I though the gesture was so sweet, that I would maybe try to read it (but definitely not in bed.) That book is less than 200 pages but when I got to page 45 I found a short hair in the crease which was not mine, not from either of my cats or my dog. I gagged, but still I FORCED myself to go on. I was getting more and more nauseous as I was turning the pages and just had to stop at page 50. True story.

So to make a long story short, I looked at your profile and then was curious about your Amazon wishlist (I'm not always that thorough, and not a stalker I promise you) which I looked at very briefly—am very curious about the Cat in the Stacks Mystery, by the way—and I saw your name there. So I'm rambling all this time because basically I got nervous and said to myself, if I respond and use her name she's going to think I'm a freak and a stalker *for sure*. Ok, end of reply.

p.s. if you're at all curious, have a look here to see how neatly I keep my books now.

>5 richardderus: Richard: I'm coming up with a theory and if you tell me how, I might put up a poll to verify it: I'm thinking people who love to read aren't big on housecleaning. The replies I got here so far and then the fact that my mom, who's been known to devour books all her life has NEVER been clean or tidy, and my dad on the other hand who's always had difficulty reading is a clean freak (could-eat-off-the-floor type of thing) seems to support my theory. I can't afford a cleaning lady, but I have her come over every three months or so anyway, just to make sure the floors get cleaned and some dusting gets done once in a while. Lucky for me, I must be naturally tidy (tidiness being VERY relative), so my place manages to not be completely gross, even with the animals. But YAY FOR CLEANING SERVICES!

>6 drneutron: Jim: Thanks, the pleasure is mine!

How To Conduct A Poll:

{vote}Would anyone here admit to being more interested in cleaning than reading?{/vote}

Now replace curly braces with pointy brackets. ">" if that wasn't clear.

> 7:
I will be the first to say your theory is wrong, housekeeping does a good job calming me down. I never like to start, but when I am on a roll I can go on for hours. Especially cleaning windows and other things when you REALLY see a difference LOL
And it helps that my dear husband is allergic to dust-mites...

Anita may be the exception that proves the rule! Not least in being willing to admit to liking cleaning - though she doesn't say she likes it more than reading. I've never had the slightest interest in cleaning myself, nor am I at all tidy - though my books are probably more organised than anything else in my house...

All right, I think it's time to put this poll up (thanks Richard for providing the code, and yes, I understand from pointy brackets, no sweat!)ETA: oops, sorry to the person who just voted "No", I had to rephrase the wording (migraine precludes clear thinking).

I see Richard has started a trend: I just saw you edited your first message, as did I LOL!

Nice composite photo up top Smiler! Well done!

>12 FAMeulstee: yep, I totally copied Richard! I was thinking I should maybe give him some kind of credit for the original concept... lol
I'll go see what you've done.

>13 teelgee: Thanks much Terri! Liza Jane is so sweeeet!

#7 - Glad you liked my profile comments - nothing I like better than making people chuckle. (And I wouldn't have thought you were a stalker or anything.) Uh, that hair it wasn't one from *urk* 'south of the border' was it.....? I think that would have been a bit much, even for me. And I applaud your ability to stay with that book as long as you did. Love your re-vamped living room. And your well-behaved kitty who knows that scratching posts are for scratching and not for ignoring in favor of BOOKCASES!
Not surprisingly, I voted for reading over housecleaning. Hey, that dust is only going to circulate around the joint for a minute or two and then lay down right where it was before.

Oh, nice photo! Like the place's look, too. What's that Imp of Satan doing in the window?

Hi Ilana, I like the looks of your place, too. Very comfy. Where are all the other furkids I saw on your profile page? I have one dog, but that's about all I can handle! Looks like I need to get a cat in order to be a real book person. I wonder what Lucky will think about that?

Hi Ilana, I'm a one-dog person also but both my adult children have cats so I'm around them pretty regularly. Hope that allows me to qualify as a reader:)

>Charlotte (since you indirectly gave me permission to use your name—or so I decided—I am doing so.)

re: that hair it wasn't one from *urk* 'south of the border' was it.....?
Would you be surprised if I told you I honestly didn't look all that closely and that all I can say is that if it IS from *down there*, then he or she was almost certainly Asian. TMI? I continued with the book as long as I did because I try to push my own boundaries once in a while, but I think that killed off any further attempts at reading less-than-pristine books for me in future.

Glad you enjoy my new living room. I added the photo up top after my reply to you earlier of course, so not sure if you saw it from here or the blog because there's another picture that shows how one of the shelves continues around the corner for that extra 'designer' touch. My friend was talking about putting up a sophisticated shelving system on the facing wall too, but considering how long it took to get these relatively simple shelves up, I won't hold my breath. Piles of books are already starting to topple over on a side table!

That scratching post: I shopped and shopped and shopped to find the perfect post which would nearly guarantee that the cats would use it. Mimi (sitting on the top) uses that exclusively, but my eldest Ezra likes to use the dining room table too. He always leans on the top the same way and leaves these neat little vertical grooves (my cat must be a designer at heart too!) so I just turned the table around so that they'd be even on both sides and now it looks like it was designed that way!

As for dusting, I live downtown in an old triplex from early 20th century (or earlier) and within eyesight from a major highway overpass, so the dust situation is horrible. Within just a few hours after my cleaning lady comes there's a fresh new coat—so to speak—covering every single surface again. Full time dusting? Not for me thanks.

ETA: I'm very very chatty today, in case you haven't noticed...

Love your bookshelves!

>16 richardderus: Imp of Satan?!? But but but... she's my little *angel*! I got Mimi two years ago from the SPCA and I chose her because the way she was patiently sitting there and staring at me, she looked like she was ready to get picked up and go already. That and she purrs like a machine. She's very sweet but yes, she's a little devil too.

>17 Donna828: Donna: Ezra is probably sitting on the printer which is on my desk to the right and just out of the picture frame and Coco is usually on a divan to the right and also not in the shot. I'll have to post more photos of everyone on my profile or maybe even here to brighten up the page more. As for you, a cat is a must, and nothing but a rescue will do! In my experience, I'd say Lucky probably won't have a problem with it, but kitty will. I didn't ask the cats what they thought about the idea and just brought Coco home one day from the shelter. Six months later and they're still skittish around him and refuse to play, but at least nobody's fighting!

>18 brenzi: Hi Bonnie and welcome. I'll have to think about whether we can talk to you. I'll ask the cats about it and we'll let you know when they're good and ready to give me an answer. By the way, what's the worst part of censorship? I don't get it...

>20 tloeffler: Hi Terri and thanks for stopping by with a compliment!

#19 - I know what you mean about street dust, Ilana. It's so invasive. My grandmother, who lived in this house before I was born, used to despair about the dust situation. She'd no sooner finished dusting the house when the first things she done were dusty again. (And there wasn't much furniture in the house in those days.) As she was a very, very neat person (who did not pass those genes down to me) it about drove her crazy.
Mimi looks to be very sweet. I like her picture with all the snowy branches at the top of your blog. Very pensive.

Hi there - I love new starts - get to visit all the people in the 75ers that I never found before :)

When it comes to tidy - at work I am anal - a place for everything and everything in its place. I must get it out of my system because I am more relaxed in my attitude to housework at home. Only thing that is consistently tidy are my books :)

Love the picture of your reading space - and puss fits in perfectly

Hi there, I'm enjoying your thread and it isn't even 2011 yet.

I love your picture, and voted in your cleaning poll - I tend not to clean house myself because having a cleaning service has risen in my budget to level of necessity, like food and clothing, maybe higher. Here's the fun part - I sit and read while my cleaning service cleans!

Love your bookshelves

Hi, I liked your 2010 thread and just starred this one. Looking forward to your reviews in 2011.

I also voted in your poll - reading clearly has the higher priority for me!

Dropping by to say hello on your thread. It looks like a fun thread too...picture and surveys! Mine is never so glamorous! Good luck with your challenge this year. I'm sure you'll hit it, cereal boxes and all. :)

What a lovley room (and of course, a lovely cat). Good luck with your reading.

Oh, I'm so jealous of those who use a cleaning service - not really a luxury we can afford right now, and even so, I'm self-conscious enough about my house that I'd probably clean before the cleaning person got there anyway! I haven't voted in the poll because my answer wouldn't be a simple yes or no: I certainly don't like cleaning more than reading, but if my house isn't tidy, I can't be in the right mindset to sit down, relax and read, if that makes sense.

Love the picture - what a cozy and chic place!

I have a free cleaning service....my awesome boyfriend can't stand clutter and mess so he keeps things together while I curl up with the kitties and book!

>24 Fourpawz2: You know Charlotte, I think one of the reasons I don't like cleaning (and especially dusting!) is that you have to keep it doing it over and over again and really, how boring is that? All this talk is making me think I need to just call a spade a spade and stop pretending I'll wash the floors *tomorrow*, rearrange my finances and get my cleaning in here on a regular basis.

>25 sally906: Hi Sally :-)
I came in to the 2010 group kind of late in the season, so I'm glad for this new beginning. I have to say I could get used to having visitors drop by, especially when they're so friendly!

>26 mlnelson01: Hi Mary Lynne, so glad you like the thread so far. I have to say I'm positively chuffed to have all you folks come over with all the nice compliments! Bless your heart for doing things as they should be done; too many people clean up before the cleaning lady comes, which is just so silly. I say let them do their job and get out of the way, and what better way to do that than reading a good book?

>27 Deern: Hi Nathalie, wow I didn't realize anyone bothered with my 2010 thread. Haven't posted there in a while since I've been spending so much time in 2011 getting acquainted with everybody. Who has time to read with all that socializing going on? lol. Thanks for starring me and don't be shy to say hi once in a while!

>28 RosyLibrarian: Hi Marie, nice to see you in these parts. Don't know if I'll have time to make this thread quite so entertaining in the long wrong, but nothing wrong with trying, right? ;-)

>29 Ygraine: It is a lovely room isn't it? I feel blessed every day to live in my place! My only furry daughter Mimi was a great addition when I adopted her two years ago. She's beautiful and a sweetheart too, what more can I ask for?

>30 scaifea: Oops, just read your message now Amber and wondering if I should go back to #32 and edit my response to Mary Lynne? I totally *get* what you mean though, used to be I felt really guilty about having the cleaning lady come into my mess. But I've had the same lovely woman on and off for the last 15 years and she's almost like family now. If it wasn't for her quarterly visits I'd be living in a pigsty!

>31 jasmyn9: Jasmyn, your boyfriend sounds like a keeper for sure! I had a boyfriend who was a neat freak a few years ago who kept my place spotless. I did enjoy that part a lot but he was also a major drama queen (though I'm pretty sure he wasn't gay) and finally I opted to start paying for the cleaning service again. More time to read that way! ;-)

Ok. This is a cry for help. I spent the last two days socializing with a bunch of you guys and while it was really fun, I did precious little else. Today I woke up with what felt like a very real hangover even though whatever drinks I consumed the previous day were purely virtual and then when I looked at my talk page, there were so many starred threads to keep up with that I almost fainted. I know Richard and Stasia somehow manage to keep up with everybody, but I don't have the stamina for it. All this and the year hasn't even started yet (in RT that is). What to do??? Suggestions welcome and needed. Thanks for listening.

I keep my "Your World" lightbox, which is up on the left side of the "Talk" page, always set to "Your Posts" instead of the broader, and completely unmanageable for me, "Your Groups". I star threads of people I *must* follow or suffer terrible consequences, and select "Your Starred" when I need to check in on them. Lastly, since I have more than one thread on the go at one time, I use "Started by You" to keep up with myself.

And folks still get lost. I'm sorry about that, but it's the way it is in a group this big and this social. I'm always trying to be sure I "speak" to everyone in my own threads, but sometimes fail at that, too. Without ever meaning to, I'll hurt someone's feelings by seeming to neglect them, or ignore them; but we're all grown people, and if one person wants to speak to another, they should do it!

That is how I manage my time here...but I also have an at-home job looking after the aunt of my partner, The Divine Miss. She's a handful (and so is auntie!), but I have stretches where I have nothing much to do except house stuff.

#36: Do not sleep. That is how I keep up with everyone. I do not use Richard's way of doing things, but his method seems quite reasonable :)

#34: LOL! No worries - I fully accept the fact that I'm helplessly silly about such things.

I feel the same way about all these threads and posts - I've been trying the last couple of days to keep up, but pretty soon I'm gonna have to return to real life, I think.

Richard speaks wisely.

I also keep a lot of threads starred, although I my default is Your Groups.

If I'm short of time and there are heaps of starred threads to catch up with, sometimes I sort them by unread posts and just read threads with (for example) more than 10 unread posts. Then, at the next visit, I do the same again. And then when I have a couple of hours to go through the threads properly, I catch up on everything. I find it much more time-efficient to do that than to read a couple of posts here and there in a vain attempt to keep permanently up to date with all my starred threads. In an ideal world, I would like to be up to date all the time - but there just aren't enough hours in the day.

I star the people I love to follow, and then try to catch up on just the front page of the group. That way if I miss something interesting, there's still a chance I'll stumble upon it.

>37 richardderus: Richard: I'm an 'at-home mom' to my furry kids here, but never have enough hours in the day to do all the things I want and trying to wean myself off the computer besides. Thanks for the tips. Something tells me I'll have to find some kind of middle ground between online life and RL meaning I'll be a bit more sociable here than in RL but also retreat to my beloved solitude as needed.

>38 alcottacre: Do not sleep silly Stasia :-b
I'm realizing that as well-intentioned as you and R are, you're probably the last people I should ask for that kind of advice considering you're both the life and soul of the party! I'm no wallflower, but I certainly won't try to keep up with either of you either! lol

>39 scaifea: but pretty soon I'm gonna have to return to real life, I think.
I've been known to be quite the internet addict, but RL in RT is quite a peaceful place to be sometimes too...

>40 Eat_Read_Knit: just aren't enough hours in the day
... especially if you're like me and need about 10 hours of sleep just to be functional!

>41 jasmyn9: I think I'll do something similar Jasmyn. There's something to be said for stumbling upon things! :-)

#42: I'm realizing that as well-intentioned as you and R are, you're probably the last people I should ask for that kind of advice

You may have a point there, Ilana :)

Love your shelves and keep going back to admire your composite picture. Wish I knew how to do that!

I have no method re: keeping up, Ilana. Mostly I just keep up for as long as I can and when it gets out of hand - well, that's when the bitching starts.

For the most part, I'm totally overwhelmed and find it impossible to keep up. Unlike Stasia, I require at least a few hours sleep so that option is off the table. I use My Starred for the most part and try to read at least a few of those every day but may try Richard's plan since mine doesn't seem to ever succeed so why not try something else.

>44 alcottacre: Yes well, I figure best leave the professionals to do what they do best while we amateurs watch you go! :-) Must say I do admire your stamina and hoping it'll somehow rub off on me through electronic contact!

>45 bonniebooks: Bonnie, I'm in love with my shelves too and all the more so since my best friend designed and installed them AND decided to put my as-yet unfinished painting there. I look at them every few minutes as the sight of them puts a big smile on my face. As for composite images, I'm pretty handy with Photoshop so it was a no-brainer for me, but I'm sure there are other programs that let you do that pretty easily as well.

>46 Fourpawz2: I think I'll be using your method Charlotte, sounds just about like how I tend to handle such things! lol

>47 brenzi: From what I've been reading so far on the threads, it appears Stasia is more machine than human and Richard is some sort of social director/party animal, so I'll just let them do what they do best and let myself sleep all I need, which is lots and lots. ;-)

Just popping in to say that while I would prefer to read over housecleaning, I find it very hard to enjoy reading if my house is a mess. Catch 22.

I know what you mean Jenn, but just looking at our poll just now it seems that 30 to 2 would still keep reading over cleaning. My resolution for 2011 is to get the cleaning lady to come over more often so I can read in peace and neatness! :-)

I just left a note over on the Classics thread--I'm reading Rougon-Macquart this year too. We should encourage each other.

I'll be following your reading in 2011, and welcome.

I saw your note on the Classics thread as well, Ilana, and will just throw in my two cents on Germinal - I loved it!

ETA: I am not a machine or a cyborg, Richard's opinion notwithstanding :)

>51 arubabookwoman: Great! I'll go over to that thread next and see what you wrote me there!

>52 alcottacre: Stasia, I'm almost certain we read Germinal in high school but I'd be hard-pressed to say what it was about since I wasn't all that interested back then, but of course I know better now!

And of course nobody *actually* thinks you're a cyborg, but it's just that reading as much as you do, keeping up with everybody's threads as you do, and sleeping as little as you do are all individually rather unusual feats, so all three combined does make one wonder how you manage to keep going without an electrical charge! lol

Hey, I slept a whole hour today I will have you know :)

Gee, is that some kind of record for you Stasia? I had a NAP that was longer than that today. I'm really envious. To think, all the things I could do if I didn't require so much sleep...

Do you suppose she's got some gene that we don't have, Ilana? I would kill for it if there was one. I mean, here it is - Tuesday (it was still Monday when I started catching up on all the threads here) - and I HAVE to go to bed. And sleep, not read, even though I want to do that very much. Damn, this working thing! And cats that won't let a virtuous human being sleep past 6 AM! And snow that has to be scraped off the car in the AM. Not to mention the ice, that I am sure is lurking beneath it.

#55: Nope, that is not a record for me. I have been known to stay up 40+ hours at a stretch. I will then sleep for 5 or so before being back up again.

57> Oy, I fear that I'm the exact opposite. I can sleep for a 40+ hour stretch, then can only stay awake 5 hours before falling back asleep. (Exaggeration these days, but not when I was a teenager!)

#58: It is definitely some kind of genetic fluke in my family. My father is the same way, as is my oldest daughter. We just do not seem to need as much sleep. My sister, on the other hand, has to have at least 10 hours a night. I figure I balance her out :)

>56 Fourpawz2: Charlotte: it's definitely some kind of mutant gene, and I'm terribly envious. I have times when I can get away with just 3 hours for a couple of days at a time but then I pay for it dearly and have to go on sleep marathons for weeks at a time. My furry kids don't usually wake me which is a problem because I sleep in so late that I barely get to see daylight!

>57 alcottacre: Kerri, I've been known to stay in bed and sleep well over 48 hours at a stretch in the past few years. But then again, that is probably linked to various health problems or sheer laziness; the jury is still out on that one!

>57 alcottacre: & 59 For future reference Stasia, whenever I compare you to a machine, mutant, or any sort of electronicoïd freak, it is out of sheer envy, pure and simple. xx

#60: I will try and bear that in mind :)

When George Steiner was asked some years ago how he managed to read and write so much more than other people, he replied in a complete deadpan "Some people think they need to sleep."

I myself keep waiting to become old enough not to need at least 7 hours a night.

Judy: those times when I can manage with just 3 hours per night for days or weeks at a time are wonderfully creative and productive periods. Just too bad I then have to take mega-doses of anti-depressants to get out of the ensuing slump!

As evidenced here.

Gotta catch me first! It's a long, long way from Montreal to NYC!

#64: Sorry, Ilana, there is no way I can vote for Richard to be burned at the stake. Tortured a bit, maybe :)

Ilana- I've got you starred! Anyone who is a fan of Murakami, Cormac McCarthy and Charlie Huston, is a friend of mine!

Sorry I love the lug. He is a wee bit misguided, but I do know a secret so..

And besides.. I really don't like polls. so I have to abstain. Looks like you are having a good turnout though!

>65 richardderus: Like I said Richard, "I've got people in NYC". Hardcore cat people at that, so watch your back next time you go pick up the milk!

>66 alcottacre: Stasia, I'm thinking torture is the way to go also.

>67 msf59: Mark: how quickly we rise, how quickly we fall. I'm waiting to see if my SecretSanta got me one of the Huston books on my wishlist. Otherwise I'll get a couple for myself and you'll be first to know!

>68 mckait: I didn't think quite so many people would bother to vote honestly. Obviously people feel pretty strongly about it... other than those 'undecideds' that is!

ooooooooooooooooo! pretty!

Starred!

Ilana, I can perform something evil locally here in NY... *smirk*

As a fellow cat person (oh, and I get migraines, too...), I have given up on converting Richard to even tolerance or acceptance. Violence may be the only solution.

Oh, and I definitely pick books over housecleaning. Especially because the stacks of books make cleaning rather tricky. C'est la vie.

>70 mckait: Kat: thanks for starring me but... 'pretty'? What did I miss?

>71 Chatterbox: Hey Suzanne, finally, someone who's got a little bit of sense! I wouldn't even try to convert Richard, but if only he's stop spreading the hatred! I wouldn't mention migraines in the same sentence as *cats* though, as he's sure to pounce on that as having some kind of correlation.

Well, I think we cat people should feel very virtuous - after all, we haven't turned on dogs or anything, now have we? And dogs do have many natural flaws that we might very easily take advantage of. But we wouldn't do that. We are too nice. Unlike some people.

Merry Christmas, Ilana! Have a beautiful day!

>73 Fourpawz2: Well of course you're right Charlotte, but in my case I can hardly call it virtue since I also have my little Coco, a little toy poodle mix who came from a rescue shelter some six months ago (have several pics of him on my profile page), so technically I'm an Animal Person more than purely a Cat Person I guess, since I really do love a very great variety of animals, and if I could, would have some kind of cross between a farm and a zoo; I've been giving serious thought to adopting an elephant, but I don't think they much like apartment living. ;-)

>74 msf59: Thanks so much for the kind wishes Mark. This turned out to be the nicest Christmas in a very very long time for me. As I mentioned on one of Richard's threads (couldn't say which though!) not spending it entirely on my own sure helped make it more pleasant, but also the fact that I spent all day with my father and didn't blow a fuse and actually enjoyed myself as much as I did was especially great. Getting books is also always great fun too!

Ilana- I'm glad you had a good Christmas and enjoyed your time with your father.

Well, yes, you are right Ilana. Perhaps 'virtuous' is not quite the right word. But I think we are still pretty doggone nice. As for Coco - why he's/she's just the cutest thing. That little sweater! (Yes, I've been to your blog.) Those little boots! That sweet little furry face! I love dogs - don't get me wrong. I have many dog friends, but the discipline of the dog does not fit into my life right now. Dogs seem so much more needy than a cat. The walking, the separation anxiety, the potty issues. Cats come pre-programmed potty-wise and they don't care if you go off to work, just as long as you come home in time to dole out the stinky goodness. If I ever make old bones and retire (*shudder*) I think that I would like to have a dog, for then I would have time for the whole walking thing (which would be good for us both) and all the rest of it. Of course this future dog would have to earn the cat seal of approval, but I figure that is do-able. Just not with Willie.

Happy St. Stephen's Day! Or Boxing Day! Whichever you prefer, Ilana, may it be a happy, happy occasion.

>77 msf59: Thanks for dropping by Mark! My New Years wish it to make it back onto your VIP list! lol

>78 Fourpawz2: You're absolutely right about dogs being needy Charlotte. While I was working at my intensely *intense* job, I didn't have time for pets at all, but eventually got my first cat Ezra, because I knew cats can take care of themselves. He was pretty lonely while I was away working crazy hours though. When I went on long-term disability over three years ago, I adopted Mimi from the SPCA and then a year later started seriously wanting a dog, since I now had time to care for one. I wanted the unconditional love a dog can give you and also to force me out of the house and get moving a bit, since I'd become a total recluse and didn't get out for weeks at a time if I could get away with it. I took into account the fact that once I eventually do get fully recovered, I'll have to make plenty of time to take care of myself and my furry kids.

Adopting an adult dog has the not negligible benefit that he/she has already been housebroken and learned some manners. But I'll just as soon discourage someone from getting a pet if they don't feel like they can give it the care and time an animal needs and as you say, a dog is is a way bigger commitment than felines will ever be. Mind you, if adopting a lion or a leopard, I'd imagine one would have to devote one's full time to making sure the feline in question is well fed and doesn't escape and devour all the local toddlers! LOL

ETA: I'm technologically-challenged today, so have to keep editing everything I try to post. UGHHHHH!

ETA: posted just part of the message before I had even finished typing. Did I say UUUUUGGGGGGHHHHH???

ETA: this was wayyyy too long! Had to cut back a bit. :-S

>79 richardderus: Thanks Richard! It was quite a nice day indeed, only it went back too fast as I was mucking about for hours trying to put up a post with a bunch of photos I took today of my Christmas decorations and am now a bit grumpy now because of the millions of edits I had to do to get it right. Or right enough, I guess. I'll post the link next if you or anyone else is curious to see said pics. Hope your day was a lovely one Richard dear. :-)xx

So I thought I'd post some pictures I took today on my blog. I estimated that editing and correcting the photos and actually posting them would take me a couple of hours AT MOST. Then I ended up spending half the day at it (don't ask). Me very grumpy now. Off to take Coco for a walk around the block in a minute, but if you're curious to see the fruit of all that hard labour(!), by all means do go ahead and visit. Of course you can do as you please, but comments are always much appreciated! :-)

Oh my goodness, Ilana, the current header on your blog weirds me out so much! Any time I see pictures of snow doing...that, it gives me eery shivers. I know it's normal and all, but it seems so unnatural to me. One day, I need to experience snow properly, and not in the 1-2inch way we had 21 years ago when I was 5.

Your photos are very lovely!

>84 keristars: I'm curious what you mean when you say 'snow doing...that'. Care to explain? I've lived with snow half of my life (i.e. practically 6 months/year) so I've seen snow do lots and lots of things in the course of any one winter.
That said, I was considering changing my header today, but will have to do so another time... can't look at my blog anymore, I spent so much time on it today I'm totally sick of it... for today anyway. Thanks for the visit and for the compliment on the photos! :-)

Oh, the way it piles up all strangely on branches and ... I don't know how to describe it. It's just weird. But, again, I've lived in the subtropics my entire life and the only time I've seen snow, it was a mere 1-2 inches and I was only five years old.

(I'll add that my little sister was super excited this year, because she's spending the week in Indiana with her boyfriend, and it's the first time she'll be seeing snow - she was only 3 during our freak snowfall in '89 and doesn't have even vague memories of it. We wouldn't even own things like hats and gloves, except the wind gets bitterly cold coming off the ocean, and the temperature dips below freezing a few times a year.)

Wow....just dropping in to get started on the 2011 group...I'll back track if I may to say that while I detest housework, I've found that I tolerate it much better and actually do more of it since I got addicted to audio books. It's amazing how much laundry, clutter plucking, dusting, and bed changing one can do while listening to a great story. The habit has even gotten me to often wear one of those dozens of aprons I inherited from various relatives because aprons have big pockets to hold the MP3 player....

Of course, getting the spouse to do the housework is much more preferable and his mother (god bless her soul in heaven) trained him well. We each have pieces of housework we do better than the other, and the split works well. But when it comes down to rock/hard place, we both abandon the brooms and mops for a good book often.

Just waving as I head through the threads, Ilana!

I loved your blog posting, especially the frog ornament pic. I think I might be a little bit addicted to the TIOLI Challenge here with its frog mascot. I'll be looking for doodads with frogs and books together this year.

Thanks, Ilana, for all the work you put in on your montage of pictures. Coco looks like a real sweetie...and so cooperative with getting gussied up for the photo shoot.

I love the pictures, Ilana. Coco is so adorable.

>86 keristars: I have to say that even as a Northener and well-accustomed to snow, every year the first few snowfalls and certainly the first snow-storm is a little bit surprising. It almost seems surreal seeing this white stuff falling from the sky and accumulating everywhere. I wouldn't say there's anything remotely disturbing about it, unless you count the times that you go to bed seeing trees and ground and cars and buildings and wake up to a blanket of whiteness... but even that is kinda cool in it's own way!

>87 tututhefirst: You know Tina, every time someone talks about audio books, I think I should try them because I probably would end up doing lots of other productive things. But then what would happen to the pleasure I get from just lounging and not doing anything but concentrating on the words in front of me?

That said, having a spouse who helps with housework is definitely a huge plus. Either that, or one who agrees to pay for a cleaning service! I had a BF a while back who was a neat freak and I definitely benefited from that, except for the fact that he was in other way a big pain in the neck. Took a while for me to decide whether I was willing to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but I did what had to be done and now can peacefully say I prefer living in a pigsty than with the wrong guy for the right reasons. When they right kind of neat freak shows up at my door, I'll be more than happy to keep him around for a while! :-)

>88 alcottacre: YAY!!! The very first animated GIF on my thread! I was hoping someone would break out the cute little graphics. (Coco and Ilana wave back at Stasia, but not the cats because they don't wave. Not cat-like.)

>89 Donna828: Thanks Donna, glad you enjoyed the fruit of my labour. I like frogs too. Apart from being incredibly cute, they're a powerful symbol of renewal in Native Indian animal medicine. I have a beautiful little planter with a frog on it and just remember now that I never posted it as meant to on my blog. Will let you know when it's up!

>& 90 Glad you liked the pics! :-)
Coco... well I couldn't have asked for a better dog honestly. I'm blessed to have him. He brings me joy every single day! Hard to believe someone found him as a stray isn't it?

Hi there Smiler! Nice to meet a fellow Canadian. I read in the introduction thread that you live in Montreal. Well - hi from Vancouver!

Am totally in love with Coco now. Mercifully, Willie does not know anything about it, so am safe from puke on pillow revenge or something similar. I have no particular problem with snow - which after today is a good thing. Somehow the dry snow wafting across the dry roads has a particularly desolate look - kind of what I imagine St. Petersburg (in Russia not FL, natch) probably looks like. But, it will be gone in a few days - or so they say.

Coco just *thinks* Coco's fan club is bigger than mine. *I* know different!

LT will do many weird things to your reading, not least is someone from Djibouti recommending Robert Service or a lovely Kiwi announcing his reverence for Paul Quarrington or something. (Whale Music is not to be missed, BTW.) A Texan recommending St. Urbain's Horseman will seem perfectly ordinary to you quite shortly.

and that's before Richard starts trying to add you to the growing fan club of Anthony Bidulka's Russel Quant series.

>94 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, thanks for dropping by... and all the way from the West Coast too! I love Vancouver. You live in one of the most beautiful places in the world and I often wish I could just bring Coco for a stroll in Stanley Park.

>95 Fourpawz2: Charlotte, if I were you I would make sure to keep this new love affair under wraps. You never do know how a cat is likely to react to anything perceived as disloyalty. Kind of ironic when you think of it. I always imagined St. Petersburg as a place weighted down with snow à la Dr. Zhivago.

>96 richardderus: Richard, Coco says he's not going to dignify that with a response. He says he knows what's what and let's leave it at that. Me, I don't want to be caught in the middle, so if you two have more to say to each other, just talk amongst yourselves.

I'm not familiar with either of those authors you've mentioned by the way. Guess will have to look them up. I'm just finishing up The Grapes of Wrath and was thinking to myself today how much a non-English reader must miss out when reading a translation, or even one who doesn't know what the accent Steinbeck wrote so much of the book in sounds like. But then great writing transcends so many of these superficial considerations, which is why it can be appreciated by people from wildly different cultures and places. I'm sure glad to be finishing up the year on such a masterpiece. A re-read for me, but I may as well have never read it before considering the impact it's had on me this time.

>97 cameling: Caroline: another new writer to me. Not sure if Richard will ever get around to that what with all the time he spends beating his big muscular hairy chest and generally showing off. :-D lol

I just spent the last hour or so coming up with a list of books I want to read in January. It's a wishlist in many ways because I've got so many selections that I'm not entirely sure this is realistic for me at all given it takes me at least a couple of days to get through an average 300-page book, but there's nothing wrong with having lofty goals in life! Some of these books are listed here because I MUST read them in January or else (I've promised a bunch to fellow BookMoochers and I don't want to keep them waiting). Here is my list so far (not in any particular order):

1. The Bells by Richard Harvell (an ER book I really need to review as had it for a while)
2. Regeneration by Pat Barker - reading
3. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (group read)
4. Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler - COMPLETED
5. Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart
6. La Belle au Bois Dormant by Tahar Ben Jelloun - COMPLETED
7. Egon Schiele: The Leopold Collection by Rudolf Leopold - reading
8. Sanderson: The Essence of English Decoration - reading
9. Three Seconds by Anders Roslund (another ER book)
10. Migraine by Oliver Sacks (currently reading... for the past several months!)
11. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
12. Doors Open by Ian Rankin
13. The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
14. Black and Blue by Ian Rankin
15. The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt
16. Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart

ETA: added #15 & 16!

#102: Some terrific reading on that list, Ilana! Good luck.

The Sanderson book looks interesting, Ilana. I am toying with the idea of putting it on the giant freaking wishlist.

>102 Smiler69: Stasia, considering it usually takes me more like 3-4 days (or more) to read a book and that there are more I haven't yet added to my January list, and not also that *I'm not YOU*, I'll need all the luck I can get! :-)

>104 Fourpawz2: Charlotte, I've only read chapter one of the Sanderson book, and it's interesting reading so far but to tell you the whole truth, I bought it because it's so incredibly GORGEOUS. If you like beautiful books, then you can't possibly be disappointed with this one!

Ok, I've just beat my record of 51 books in 2008 with 54 read this year* so far... Well, 55 if you count my mom's as-yet unpublished manuscript—which is excellent by the way! I've been wondering for a while now, can I actually count that as a book? I'll start a poll on it. Your input is appreciated (and that goes for you too Kat, even though you say you hate polls!)Since Richard has no qualms about spamming his polls all over the place, I'm doing the very same!

*finished reading The Grapes of Wrath at 4 a.m. What a journey! I'm thinking of posting the review here even if I'm counting it toward 2010 since nobody is reading that thread anyway** and even I am keen on leaving behind all the 2010 threads at this point...

ETA: ** other than Stasia and a couple of others of course!

Of course unpublished manuscripts count.

Reading Sense and Sensibility in January also.

Can't recommend Shutter Island highly enough. Though, have you seen the movie yet? If not, definitely read the book first.

I'm still reading 2010 too - for the next couple of days! I read Grapes of Wrath many years ago - maybe its time for a re-read... I might be joining in with the Sense and Sensibility read too in January.

Coco is very cute and adorable, by the way.

Ilana- Grapes of Wrath is my favorite book of all time, followed closely by Native Son. I need to read more Steinbeck in the New Year.

>107 blackdogbooks: Looking at my little poll, half a dozen people in favour of listing it is good enough for me! I think it's also a good push and a nod to the universe to consider it as a book... might help along the way of getting it published!
I look forward to that S&S group read. Makes my first reading of Jane Austen less intimidating. As for Shutter Island, I really did have every intention of reading the book first, but then the movie came on the Movie Channel and I couldn't help myself. It's generally advisable to read books before seeing the movie versions, but in most cases, I end up enjoying the book more whether I see the movie before or after.

Genny: I'm convinced Grapes of Wrath just keeps getting better with age. There are just a handful of books that I've read twice, and even less that I've read thrice, but it's likely to be the case with this one.

Mark: I'd have a hard time choosing that ONE favourite of all time, but GoW is joining that precious selection immediately after I finish writing this. I need to post a review and am a bit intimidated to do so... I mean, what more could I possibly say about it that hasn't been said already. Maybe instead of trying too hard I'll just stick to one word like; Brilliant. or... Perfect. or something like that. Have Native Son on my shelves. Look forward to getting to it.

I'll be starting on Barney's Version tonight—my first book of 2011 as I doubt I'll finish it before Friday at midnight... if I do, it still counts toward my 2011 goal!

I voted 'Yes' to your poll, Ilana. I refuse to discuss Richard's ridiculous spamming of the threads with his :)

That is my plan. I want to read some of the good books languishing on my shelves.. I will start a new book on the first. I am sure that I will finish the digital one that I am reading now before then.. so it will work out perfectly.

I'm not such a stickler on the book before the movie thing, but with Shutter Island I thought the book conveyed a much darker and more ambiguous message, where the movie seemed to make a choice about what was going on.

Dibs this spot on the couch!

I fixed the Wiki link, which was going to copper's thread instead of yours for some reason. Now the world can find you!

Stasia: thanks for the vote. Since the good people of 75 Books voted mostly in favour, I beat my former maximum of 51 books and got to 56. And that was done with hardly any reading in the first 3 months of the year, so I'm fairly confident that I should reach my goal of 75 in 2011. If not, there's always next year, right? As for Richard's poll... of course it's completely silly. I votes "undecided" simply because I'd be glad to follow your thread in 2011, and think you deserve to be encouraged in that direction, but shaming is not the way to go for sure. Btw, I just found the new thread you started a while back for 2010... I'd been wondering where everyone had gone... hopefully I'll be better at keeping track in the next year!

>114 mckait: Kat: As I've said before, I don't think you need to have a plan. I've never made one before and haven't suffered in the least! But the one you came up with sounds good to me! I haven't been around for long, but I've already figured out that Richard likes to push people's buttons. Of course he does it in such a charming way (sometimes) but really, don't let him bully you if you prefer to fly free!

>115 blackdogbooks: When I saw the movie, I was very much impressed with the first half. And then the second half came along and I thought they probably had a hell of a time adapting what must have been less clearly defined in the book, which made me want to read it even more. And now your comment confirms my suspicion. I certainly look forward to reading it!

>116 teelgee: Terri, would that be on the middle, the left hand or the right hand side of the couch? You're the first one who's claimed a spot, so the choice is all yours! Thanks for fixing the wiki, though I'm not exactly sure what you mean. If you tell me what I overlooked, I might be able to do it right next time...

Barney's Version is a book I fell in love with and a prime candidate when I buy gifts for people. I think you'll like it. Starred you. Wish you a happy new year

Yeah, Ilana, I think Kathleen and I are okay, we've been pretty close outside LT for three years now. But no thanks to you and your snotty little comment. Ignored, red x'd and good-bye.

ETA comment that I found offensive, from post 118 above, unedited at 8.05p:

I've already figured out that Richard likes to push people's buttons. Of course he does it in such a charming way (sometimes) but really, don't let him bully you if you prefer to fly free!1>

I have to agree. Richard and I are friends.. many here are friends of his.
There is a playfulness in the 75 group that you may not be familiar with..
one that has evolved over time. He is charming.. and supportive, caring and a good listener. He makes me laugh. He has listened to me cry and offered kind words to help. There are other kindnesses that I know about that I am not at liberty to share. I am grateful to have him in my life. I suspect that I am not the only one here who would say that. I just wanted to make sure that you understand How I feel. Not bullied, but befriended, cared about and grateful.

120: Yeah, Ilana, I think Kathleen and I are okay, we've been pretty close outside LT for three years now. But no thanks to you and your snotty little comment. Ignored, red x'd and good-bye.

121: There is a playfulness in the 75 group that you may not be familiar with..

That's great, Kathleen, to support Richard and explain how the two of you are friends, etc., but for someone who is himself extremely sarcastic, Richard is awfully quick to get his feelings hurt and jump on someone who was trying to be sincerely supportive to you. I know Richard has lots of friends, and deservedly so, but friends speak up when their friend gets out of line. I don't know how Ilana is going to receive it, but Richard's comment felt mean-spirited and was upsetting to read even though not addressed to me, and this is not the first time this has happened. I hope you'll be as sincerely supportive of Ilana as you are to Richard. One shouldn't negate the other.

>118 Smiler69: Iliana -- it's the 75 group Wiki I was referring to, not the TIOLI wiki - http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/Groups:75booksin2011 I think Jim added most of the threads - but the link for your thread wasn't going to yours. It is now.

I'll take the left end of the couch please!

Oops. Sorry about that. It was likely a cut-n-paste error on my part. Thanks for fixing it!

No problemo, Jim. That was a lot of work you did!

>123 teelgee: Thanks for clarifying that Terri, and all the more so for fixing it! :-)

and yes....

>124 drneutron: you've got plenty of work keeping this group as well organized as it is Jim, a little slip here and there is bound to happen, we're only human, right?

#117: I will make my last entry for 2010 on my existing thread, Ilana, as it will cover reads up through Friday. I will probably not start a 2011 thread until I actually have something to say.

Ilana- I've been following Richard around here for awhile now and have to believe he was only kidding around. Or at least I hope so!
Happy New Year! And here's to a headache free weekend!

I have let richard know what you had to say Ilana. One never knows what will hurt someones feelings. It is not in me to just allow someone who is an actual friend be hurt and not have their back. I feel that it is one thing to not be confrontational, but completely another to stand up for someone you care about. You will see me stand every time.

I agree, it is often difficult to interpret tone in text. I myself have reread and toned down comments plenty of times.

alrighty then.. I am moving on..

>117 Smiler69: Sounds perfectly reasonable to me Stasia.

>129 msf59: Mark: Amen to that!

I hope you are feeling better today, Ilana!

Thanks Stasia, this week has been one long pretty intense migraine, but at least I get to cuddle up with Coco and read and relax as much as I want/need to, so I really can't complain!

Happy New Year Ilana, hope you are feeling well today.

Thanks for the good wishes Kerry. I've got all three of my furry kids giving me lots of affection today, so what more can I ask for? :-)

> 135: that is no doubt one of the best medicines :-)

Happy New Year, Ilana (a little late, I know). Hope you and the young'uns are doing well.

Gotta love those furfriends who stand by you no matter what. Lucky is our best friend, despite his weird issues. He is NOT happy here on our little week-end getaway in Texas. He squeezed his 85 pounds under the bed last night to sleep, ignoring his new $60 memory foam bed. We had to lift the bed this morning so His Nibs could get out without struggling too much. He's a funny guy.

I'm glad your headache is better. Have a good Sunday.

Anita: people often say that when they rescue an animal, it's actually the animal that ends up rescuing them, and I must say this is certainly the case for me!

Charlotte: you need never worry about being late with me. It's my specialty, so I'm always happy to see I'm not the only one who's always behind! As for the young'uns, Ezra is sulking as usual, Coco is sleeping (as usual) and Mimi is staring into nowhere and not snoring this time (not so usual). :-)

Donna: I'm guessing Lucky is your dog—because, no matter how much I love cats, I don't even want to IMAGINE what an 85lb cat would look like!—what kind is he and how old? I'm always getting doo-dads for my kids and the cats promptly ignore them and prefer hanging out in cardboard boxes of course. But a memory foam bed sounds pretty good to me... maybe you can send it over if Lucky doesn't take to it!

Playing catch up - sorry to hear you had a migraine - I get them rarely but when I do its horrible and leaves me shaken for a day or so after- I really emphasis with you.

You know what the biggest pain about migraine is? Not being able to read - and in my case can't cope with noise either so can't even listen!!

Sally, I only found out about two years ago that I've actually been a chronic migraine sufferer for the better part of my life. I've had many bouts of migraine over the years, some that have lasted just a few hours or days, and sometimes almost two whole months non-stop (!). There are times when I can't stand any light or noise at all, and times I can't speak or form words (verbally that is), and times when just thinking is too painful. But I never realized that the constant tension headache I've always known is something that most people don't have! I've been seeing a very good neurologist and we're trying to work out the best treatment for me. Lately, I find I'm able to read through the pain anyway which helps get my mind off things. But then I started reading a very good book which appropriately enough is called Migraine by Oliver Sacks, but the font is really small and the jargon way over my head so it makes my head throb whenever I get around to it. But I'll persevere as am curious to understand more about this strange condition which as I understand it, encompasses much more than 'just' the *head* and *ache* components, but also include a slew of other strange phenomena.

I finished reading Barney's Version just before dawn. Also finished the re-interpretation of Sleeping Beauty. I'll review both here soon, but first have to write up reviews for the two last books I read in 2010, which were Grapes of Wrath and Jonathan Livingston Seagull. I'll come back to add a link to those reviews here so you can view them if you're curious.

I had a boss at work ask me if I could tell the difference between a headache and a migraine - I told her if she needed to ask then she has never had a migraine!!!!!

Mine are triggered by changes in air pressure - so this time of the year (Monsoon - so cyclone season) there are some huge changes - not always triggering an attack but when the do - wow!!!

This time of the year I take feverfew daily

I told her if she needed to ask then she has never had a migraine!!!!!

I'd say that's a pretty good way of describing it!

I just posted my review of The Grapes of Wrath which I read for the second time at the end of December. You can find it right here.

Ilana- Excellent review of The Grapes of Wrath. You already know this book is very special to me! Have you ever seen the film version with Henry Fonda? It's also a classic!

>145 Smiler69:: great review ... I read this book 3 years ago and it's remained with me -- very powerful.

Mark: I have a very selective memory and I know that I saw East of Eden when I was 16 or so and in the throes of a huge crush on James Dean. I saw lots of classics around that time so couldn't say if I saw Grapes of Wrath or not. But I'd love to see it regardless. Henry Fonda was such a great actor! Glad you liked my review, it took me a long time to get up the nerve to write it and then it must have taken me at least a couple of hours to edit it to it's present state. The better the book the harder I find it is to write about them—I get so intimidated! Does that make any sense? lol

Laura: the first time I read it was back some time between '85-87. It made a strong impression on me then, but this time it really blew me away and because of my faulty memory, it was like reading it for the first time since I didn't remember any part of it except for a few sentences in the beginning. It's one of those books I'll want to read again and again.

I'm a big fan of East of Eden, the book and the film. Whenever I talk Steinbeck, it reminds to read more of him. BTW- I gave you a big thumb for the review. Excellent job!

Great review, Ilana .. I read that book a few years ago and your review's made me want to re-read it.

1. Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler ★★★★

Barney Panofsky is an aging Jewish businessman from Montreal who’s made the bulk of his fortune producing schlock Canadian television programs. He decides to write a memoir relating his own version of events when an old acquaintance from his time spent in Paris as a young man publishes a book which features unflattering mentions about him. What’s clear from the beginning is that Barney is an unpleasant old coot who takes pride in offending people and their various sensibilities, and also that he has a faltering memory (he calls one of his sons in London when he needs help remembering the names of the seven dwarves), which makes him a delightfully unreliable narrator. We also quickly learn that Barney is a heavy drinker who enjoys his Macallan single malt scotch with plenty of cigars, morning, noon and night.

The novel is divided into three parts which are ostensibly dedicated to his three former wives, and we eventually learn the details of how he came to be married to them and how the marriages have ended, although Barney’s storytelling is far from linear and tends to jump all over the place, so there are anecdotes aplenty. Barney may or may not have killed his best friend, the talented writer Bernard “Boogie” Moscovitch, who has disappeared without a trace, and he aims to redeem himself and come clean once and for all about the events which led to his arrest for that alleged murder, but as he progresses in his storytelling, his lapses in memory become more and more frequent until he can no longer be certain of what had taken place on that fateful day.

I must admit it took me a good 100 pages or so before I began to enjoy this book and very nearly decided to drop it because Barney jumps into a bunch of jumbled-up stories, naming places and individuals and incidents big and small and skipping through time willy-nilly from the very beginning, which made it hard to figure out what was going on. But as I progressed, I began to see that there was some kind of method in the madness and the story that does emerge is well-worth the initial confusion. All told, a great way to start the year with a masterful novel that doesn't lack in originality. The book was a Christmas present from my dad and we've already agreed to go see the movie version together, which is due out in cinemas on January 14th.

Want to give my review a 'thumbs up'? Go right here!

Mark: I'm the same as you, whenever I think of Steinbeck or see him mentioned anywhere, I also think that I need to read (or re-read) more of his work. I've got several of his short stories at hand, but I also wouldn't mind re-reading East of Eden since it's been more than 20 years since I read that one as well. Thanks for the thumbs up! :-)

I read that book a few years ago and your review's made me want to re-read it.

What a fantastic compliment, thanks Caroline!

>139 Smiler69:: Yup, Lucky is our rescue Lab. He is very high-strung -- but who wouldn't be after being dumped? He likes to get in tight corners to sleep but is too big to fit under any of our beds.

Lucky apparently doesn't like to travel to new places. This was his first trip to Texas. My son and DIL have two dogs; one he loves and the other....not so much, although she is a lovely female Black Lab!

I say more Steinbeck in 2011! Great review of The Grapes of Wrath, Ilana.

Donna: it's true that lots of rescue dogs tend to have nervous behaviour. How long have you had Lucky? Coco didn't show any signs of stress at first, but over time I'm discovering issues, but I knew what I was getting into when I decided to get a rescue. Now that Lucky's been to Texas once it'll be probably be easier next time right?

Glad you liked my review for TGoW.

Great reviews, Ilana!

Looks like I should soon read The Grapes of Wrath. Great review!
Of Steinbeck's books I only ever read The Pearl ages ago and can't remember much except that I liked it.

Almost forgot: Happy New Year!

#156: Glad you enjoyed the review Stasia!

#157: I read The Pearl last year for the first time and loved it. I'm going to try to make room for plenty of Steinbeck this year, I seem to be in the mood for it. Happy New Year to you too!

I'll soon post a couple more reviews. Stay tuned! :-)

The Tahar Ben Jelloun La Belle au bois dormant is a book I wish would get translated into English (btw, typo in author's name in your first post next time you edit it). I read his This Blinding Absence of Light last year and will try something else of his this year...and resettings of fairy tales are something I like. Unfortunately, though the title gets translated a lot, the text appears to still be French only. :-)

Tad: it's a great little story and you're right, would be nice for English-speaking people to be able to read it, especially since many of the lessons it teaches are universal, as is usually the case with fairy tales. My guess is Ben Jelloun doesn't have much of an English market, if I'm to judge by how many people carry his books here on LibraryThing (thanks for pointing out the typo by the way, I'm terrible with those!) I discovered him with a collection of short stories some years ago, Amours Sorcières which I absolutely loved and promised myself to read more of his work. You've just reminded me I still need to make good on that and what better time than now, so thanks!

ETA: btw, my review of La belle au bois dormant is coming up later today.
Also, not sure what you meant in the last sentence (?)

Good thing I didn't make any resolutions about not buying books this year! After replying to Tad (see above) I immediately went online searching for books by Tahar Ben Jelloun. I found a book that had both The Sand Child and The Sacred Night in a single edition (albeit the original French versions). It was the last copy so of course I pounced on it!

I also got my first Daniel Silva book: The Kill Artist which is the first in the Gabriel Allon series based on several glowing recommendations I've seen from 75ers. Look forward to it, even though I promised myself I wouldn't start another mystery series yet as have so many going already! At least I held back a little because I almost ordered all three first books in the series. But then I made up for that by also getting The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri, the first of the Inspector Montalbano Mysteries. I got that in the French translation as I have it from a knowledgeable source that the French is more true to the original (nice to have that option, I do realize!)

I'm also very tempted to get Autobiography by Agatha Christie. But... Must... Resist!!!

>160 Smiler69:: I went to a lot of sites to see if anyone knew of a translation in the works. Each of them dutifully said "La belle au bois dormant (Sleeping Beauty)". I'm not certain why they need to translate the title if the target audience is solely Francophones. :-)

I see what you mean... that's so silly of them!

Never resist the call of the book-acquisition siren, Ilana. Never, never, never.
Loved your review of TGoW. Have never read that one - another HUGE hole in my book-reading. Have to get a copy - and a side order of five or six sets of new eyeballs.

Another pat on the back for your review of The Grapes of Wrath. I read it years ago, and I see this was a re-read for you, it certainly is a book that I bet I could get a lot more out of now at my (advanced) age!

Hi Ilana, I really enjoyed your review of The Grapes of Wrath. I've had my mum's old copy on my shelves for ages but never really felt like reading it. Perhaps 2011 will be the year?

Oh I loved The Pearl was a small book packed with suspense and morals :)

Ilana- You know what might be a nice companion piece to Grapes, is The Worst Hart Time. It's NF and it's fantastic. Have you read Egan?

Never resist the call of the book-acquisition siren, Ilana. Never, never, never.

:-))) Charlotte, you make me LOL! If I was to follow your advice, I'd have to move to a ground floor apartment or risk having the floors cave in from the sheer weight! And yes, you MUST read TGoW. And then hurry up and tell us what you thought of it. There's a new review of it on the main page now and the lady who wrote it completely disagrees with my view of it, but at the same time I must say she made some very good points.

#165 Judy: I think it's the kind of book that benefits from multiple readings over the course of one's life, since it can be read on so many different levels. But regardless, when read from a more mature point of view you would definitely be able to appreciate a lot more of the subtleties.

#166 Heather: I think there's something about this book which is completely relevant now, some 70 years later, what with all the scandals we've seen with executives and CEO's being caught stealing red-handed while millions are living in near-starvation conditions in the USA today, and of course, similar flagrant injustices and abuses of power around the world.

#167 I agree Sally, it's a very short book but still, I couldn't put it down for a second.

Have you read Egan?

I have not Mark, but I absolutely love your suggestion, all the more so since I'm really fascinated by that period of time in America—the Great Depression and dust bowls and so on—and how it impacted people back then. I love the idea of a companion piece to Grapes and I also want to start reading more NF, so The Worst Hard Time is going on my WL and STBA (soon-to-be-acquired) list right away!

I want to say a big



to all who've given my Barney's Version and Grapes of Wrath reviews the thumbs up, as far as I know, it's the first time I've made it to hot reviews! :-))

Congrats, Ilana! I've only made it onto Hot Reviews once, and it was so fleeting an appearance that I never actually saw it myself.
Ordered The Grapes of Wrath this afternoon. I should have read it a long time ago. I remember that it was something my mother and grandfather read aloud to one another a long time ago and that they really liked it. Wonder where that copy went....

Ilana- Congrats on the Hot Reviews! Smokin'! Do you do audiobooks? I love listening to NF.

#173 Charlotte: wow, you weren't joking about not letting the call of the book-acquisition siren go unheard eh? I hope you enjoy it, or at least, that it makes a strong impression on you. I couldn't imagine how it could not, but like I said, I read that other more recent review and I could see how someone might feel that way about it. I'll be dying to read your review so hurry up and read it already! Haven't you started yet??? Oh right, you have to wait till they mail it to you... right. ;-)

Mark: haven't tried audiobooks of any kind yet. I really should, because then I could combine several of my favourite things at the same time, like drawing or painting or baking cookies or walking Coco along with *reading*... but... I don't know. I've started to look into it since I joined this group but I'm a bit put off by how expensive the recordings seem to be. Or am I just not looking in the right places?

I've just had a minor epiphany now that I'm nearing the end of Pat Barker's brilliant Regeneration which is situation in a psychiatric war hospital in Scotland during WWI. One of the main characters under treatment there mentioned a book toward the beginning of the story by Edward Carpenter, called The Intermediate Sex. Not being familiar with the writer or the book and not having taken the time to look it up, I didn't know for sure when they mentioned someone by the name of 'Wilde' if they were actually referring to Wilde as in Oscar (obviously an iconic gay figure). And as I'm reading I thought there might be allusions to the character in question being gay (which is not what he was being treated for, so didn't seem to matter in the story) but then towards the end his being gay is practically spelled out. That in itself isn't at issue—whether a character is gay or not—but it's just that I realize that I've completely missed some of the subtler points the author was making all along and am having to go back and read some sections now to grasp the full intended meaning.

Note to self: when in doubt, look it up, because you might miss out in a big way otherwise!

I also found Intermediate Sex online in the meantime. I'll be perusing that as soon as I get a chance. It's here, if anyone else is curious.

I just finished reading Regeneration. An outstanding and momentous read. Really remarkable. I hope I find the proper words to describe it when comes time to write my review.

#161: I will be reading Christie's Autobiography this month for my personal 'biographies/memoirs' challenge for the year. Maybe that will put you over the edge :)

#178: I have had Regeneration in the BlackHole forever now. Maybe some century I will actually get my hands on the trilogy.

Tell you what Stasia, I KNOW your review of Autobiography will clinch it for me, and I can only HOPE that my review or Regeneration—when I get up the nerve to write it—will also convince you to dig into your BlackHole. I've already reserved the two other books of the Regeneration trilogy and will pick them up this week. Will no doubt read them this year while the first one is fresh in my mind.

Ok, so this message is sort of a *note to self* because I have countless book lists in my head that I need to get down somewhere. Which doesn't mean I'll actually stick to this list in any way! So (in no particular order):

Books I'd like to complete in January:
1. The Bells by Richard Harvell (an ER book I really need to review as had it for a while)
2. Regeneration by Pat Barker - - COMPLETED
3. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (group read - Jan 15)
4. Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler - COMPLETED
5. Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart - COMPLETED
6. La Belle au Bois Dormant by Tahar Ben Jelloun - COMPLETED
7. Egon Schiele: The Leopold Collection by Rudolf Leopold - reading
8. Sanderson: The Essence of English Decoration - - COMPLETED
9. Three Seconds by Anders Roslund (another ER book)
10. Migraine by Oliver Sacks (currently reading... for the past several months!)
11. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane - COMPLETED
12. Doors Open by Ian Rankin - reading
13. The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
14. Black and Blue by Ian Rankin
15. The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt
16. Through a Glass Darkly by Donna Leon
17. The Naming of the Dead by Ian Rankin
6 down, 11 to go

Books I'd like to read this year
1. Prodigal Summer and/or The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
2. Polio: An American Story by David M. Oshinsky
3. Of Mice and Men and Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
4. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
5. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
6. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
7. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
8. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
9. La Fortune des Rougons by Émile Zola (Rougon-Macquart 1)
10. La Curée by Émile Zola (Rougon-Macquart 2)
11. Le ventre de Paris by Émile Zola (Rougon-Macquart 3)
12. The Moment of Seeing by Stephanie Comer
13. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
14. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
15. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
16. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
17. Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
18. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
19. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
20. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
21. The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald
22. Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky
23. Samarcande by Amin Maalouf
24. La vie devant soi (The Life Before Us) by Romain Gary
25. Stupeurs et tremblements (Fear and Trembling) by Amélie Nothomb
26. L'enfant de sable (The Sand Child) by Tahar Ben Jelloun
27. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
28. Crete by Barry Unsworth
29. Blindness by José Saramago
30. Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey
31. Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
32. The Difference Engine by William Gibson
33. The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

Books I want to get soon
1. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
2. The Worst Hard Time
3. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of The Oxford English Dictionary
4. Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet
5. Agatha Christie's Autobiography
6. The Sun and the Moon
7. A Russian Journal by John Steinbeck
8. Wave of Terror by Theodore Odrach
9. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
10. Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene

(still editing)

#180: My problem with Regeneration is that my local library does not have it! I have had it on my PBS wish list for a while now, but so far, no luck.

BTW - I meant to mention regarding Steinbeck, he has an omnibus available of his short novels entitled The Short Novels of John Steinbeck. If you can locate a copy, it is well worth the read. It contains Tortilla Flat, The Red Pony, Of Mice and Men, The Moon is Down, Cannery Row and The Pearl.

Tell you what Stasia, once I've read the other two books in the Regeneration trilogy, I'll know if I want to keep the whole trilogy or not. If I find I'm willing to part with them, then I can let you know at that point if you're still interested in obtaining it at that point and haven't managed to convince your library to get it. You should start a petition though. They MUST carry it. It's a masterpiece. Or part 1 of what I imagine is a masterpiece, anyway.

Love the suggestion of John Steinbeck's Short Novels, only thing is I have most of those already, except Tortilla Flat and The Moon is Down but I'll definitely seek out those two.

It's a deal.

I enjoyed The Moon is Down a lot. Tortilla Flat was OK, but not great for me. I had never read Of Mice and Men prior to reading this book, so I was surprised at it :)

Ilana- I don't buy audiobooks! It would cost me a fortune. I take them out from the library or download them from the internet.
I have heard very good things about The Bells. Keep me in mind when you finish it. I'm on BM too!
Your To-Do-List is impressive! Good luck. I'm planning on reading The WindUp Girl during "Fantasy February". Join me?

Mark: ok, that makes sense to me that you don't buy them. I mean, they cost double what most paperbacks do from what I've seen. We should friend each other on BM. I have the same handle there as here, and I'm happy to send out any book that I don't necessarily want to read again... and as I only hold on to those I rate 4.5-5 stars usually, I send out quite a lot!

Be happy to join you in Feb for Windup Girl!

Btw, NOT a to-do-list. I repeat: IT IS NOT A TO-DO-LIST. It's just a list because I like lists, but not necessarily following them! lol

2. La Belle au Bois Dormant (Sleeping Beauty) by Tahar Ben Jelloun (TIOLI: Christmas Gift) ★★★★

"Once upon a time there were a king and queen who were very sad and discontent, for they could not conceive a child. They had tried everything, following the advice of several doctors and midwives and even a few sorcerers. One adviser went as far as suggesting to the king that he follow as special diet and eat at regular hours while holding the queen's hand. But in vain. One day, the king and his wife went to the Mountain of Childhood, where they stayed for seven days and seven nights drinking the brackish and warm water of the Source of Life. They often felt nauseous and vomited their meals, but without complaining. When they returned to the palace, they made their prayers before entering the chamber of love..."

So begins the tale of Sleeping Beauty as retold by Tahar Ben Jelloun, born in Morocco and a respected French writer and poet who was awarded the Legion of Honour by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008. I have here given a rough translation of the first paragraph or this familiar fairy tale as retold in the original French, but with a Middle-Eastern flavour. Here, sleeping beauty is awakened not by the tall blonde green-eyed prince she imagined but by a short, skinny brown-haired one who must first deliver her from the snakes of the desert that are defending her door, and when Sleeping Beauty—here known as Jawhara—emerges from her hundred-year nap, her skin turns black as the night. After some time the prince must bring his beloved and their two small children back to the family palace where his mother, a cruel woman filled with prejudice, believes that all black people should be slaves. She tries to drown their children at sea and hires an ogre to cut out Jawhara's liver which she intends to eat, but of course her plan is thwarted when the ogre, upon seeing Jawhara, is so charmed by the light emanating from her beautiful face that he comes up with a plan to defeat the evil queen instead...

A charming story, and an original retelling, and the book itself is a sheer pleasure to behold, with cover art and illustrations that add tremendous appeal to the overall experience. It was a Christmas gift from my mother who lives in France and whom I haven't seen in six years now. I had perused the book before, but this was the first time I actually read the story, and because of the beauty of the book and the sentimental attachment I have to it, I can only say that I cannot find fault with it and was put under its spell.

Nice review, Ilana! Thumbs up from me.

>183 Smiler69:: ah, I was going to ask if you were planning to read the entire trilogy ... I heartily recommend it. The character's sexual orientation is more obvious in the second book (if we're talking about the same character, that is !!)

Laura: I was referring the Siegfried Sassoon in this case, but I believe you're referring to someone else, from what I've read in the blurb on the second book, yes?

Nice review of the Sleeping Beauty book, Ilana. And I've tossed Regeneration on the Giant Freaking Wishlist. Probably/possibly it will be the next book I buy. And no, The Grapes of Wrath has not been delivered yet, but I expect I will get it tomorrow. And then - just for you - I will start it and not make it work it's way through the system (that is to say, my goofy system) which could take about 3 years, before reading it.
We got our vacation calendars today, so I'm going to have to come up with some winter days soon. How I wish that I knew which week will have the most snow so that I can pick that one for the ol' vacation. I've always wanted a winter vacation where I would get snowed in and then I could stay in the house reading, reading, reading and not be obliged to come out for anything. And then, on the sixth day, all the snow will melt so that I don't have to shovel in order to go back to work.

Ilana- Good review! Sounds interesting. Okay, "IT IS NOT A TO-DO-LIST". I get it now, but it's still impressive. I love the mix of classic and contemporary. I plan on reading more classics this year, myself. LT side-tracked me the last couple years. Bad LT.

FYI: You have Super Sad True Love Story on your Jan. list twice. So don't stress over having 18 books that you might think about reading in Jan., cause you only have 17.

Charlotte: as I was saying before my response to you vanished into thin air, I completely understand about the 'system' which isn't one in my case but which does usually mean that any books I get sit on the shelves for so long that they eventually become like unwanted relatives, so that by the time I get around to reading them and in the event that I actually like them, I feel like I'm discovering a long-lost family member I've always liked.

Vacation time is hard to choose no matter what the season. In summertime, everyone wants the crystal ball to choose only the sunny days. I do hope you get your wish of snow/blizzard days, but I don't know about the last part of that, i.e. snow melting magically on the day you have to set out to work again, that's sounds like something right out of a fairy tale!

Mark: glad we have understanding. I started getting cold sweats when I saw you describe it as that dreaded 'to do'. Ugh. I think my lists reflect my approach to book in general. I love mixing it up and moving from one completely different world to the next from book to book. This time around there is a relationship between the just-finished Regeneration and just-started Shutter Island as they both take place in psychiatric facilities, albeit very different kinds of hospitals and at very different periods of time.

#193: Jennifer, thanks for pointing that out to me. One less book in the month does come as a relief since there is very little chance of me actually making it through that list in just one month! I'm surprised I didn't repeat just one volume though, as my 'method' for putting the lists together was not exactly well organized.

Sorry to be so late in finding your thread. Yours is a busy one. There were 196 messages posted by the time I found you. All good wishes for a happy year of reading.

No troubles Linda, now you know where to find me. Thanks for the good wishes! Maybe you'll want to join us for the following?



Welcome one and all! I've just posted our new thread for our Jan 7-8 read-a-thon
so come on over and join the discussion there!

Definitely use the library, Ilana. My library even allows you to download books--you don't even have to go to the library. I would still rather read a book though. It's interesting--sometimes it's faster to get an audiobook version of a popular book from the library than a hardcopy. (Requesting a large print version is another trick that works too.)

>190 Smiler69:: ah, yes. I was. :)

I don't have a to-read list, but I do have a separate shelf for all the books I haven't had a chance to visit yet (there's even notecard placeholders for my Nook Books). I try to keep with the system of reading the oldest first, but sometimes that one just doesn't want to be read yet. So back to the shelf it goes until it starts to call my name again.

Wow Ilana, your Readathon has really taken off. Looking forward to it.

#199: I don't know Bonnie... I'm really resistant to using the library for some reason. I don't like getting out much, or having a definite timeline for reading anything, and yes, I still prefer reading books for now. If I get an iPad eventually, I'll start looking into places that let you download stuff free, but I can't be bothered right now.

#200: I just picked up the other two books in the trilogy at the used book store today. I think I'll give it time before I jump in again... want to let myself savour the first one for a while, but I do look forward to re-entering that world again.

#201: Jasmyn, as it happens, almost all the books that I keep on my shelves are books that I haven't read yet. I only keep a very small proportion of books otherwise as there aren't that many cases when I want to read a book again. I 'only' have less than 300 books on hand I believe, but it can be a bit overwhelming sometimes trying to decide what I want to pick up at any one time, and like you, I only pick up a book when the timing seems right.

#202: I know, we're getting quite a nice turnout aren't we? Now I won't be able to sleep tonight as I'll probably worry about doing a good job with it! lol

I am here to report, Ilana, that my copy of The Grapes of Wrath came in today. It's an old Penguin edition and in very decent condition except for the pages being somewhat yellowed. I expect to start it by tomorrow. I've got so many books going right now that I despair of ever finishing any of them anytime soon.

Wish I could do your read-a-thon, but I know that I would crash and burn far short of the goal. Good luck with it! I'll be watching to see how it goes.

Charlotte: there is no real 'goal' to this read-a-thon. The point of having it over a 24h period is just so people with different availabilities and in various time zones can participate too. So do join us when you can, would be nice to have you!

All right well, here we go! The beginning of our read-a-thon!

I've just put an apple crisp in the oven which will be nice have for desserts and snacks (ok, maybe will count as meals too along with a bit of vanilla yogourt!). My first book will be Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane which I'm already almost halfway through and which I'd like to finish within the next 24 hours. I'll also be finishing Sanderson: The Essence of English Decoration sometime in the next few hours.

Have fun everyone and I'll be back in an hour with reading updates and our first hour meme!

Hey everyone! Here are my stats so far:

I've been reading: Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 35
Reading time: 40 minutes
Posting time: 12 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 35
Total time read: 40 minutes
Total time posting: 12 minutes

FIRST HOUR MEME

1. Where are you reading from today?
Half laying on my couch as I usually do with a blanket over my legs and Coco on top of me.

2. Three facts about me:
1. I don't cook much these days, but I often bake cookies or apple crunch.
2. I've always wanted to move away to another country, but somehow made my home here in Montreal.
3. If it weren't for my dog Coco, I'd practically never get out of the house!

3. How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
319 according to my 'to read' collection. But I'll be happy if I finish Shutter Island and Sanderson: The Essence of English Decoration and make progress on a couple of other books I have in the works and then maybe start on another book or two.

4. Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on threads)?
Read as much as I can?

5. If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?
I've never done this before, but the advice I've given myself and could share with others is "Don't worry about specific goals, just have fun".

2nd Hour Update (6:00 pm)

I've been reading: 13697::Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 17
Reading time: 20
Posting time: 35

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 52
Total time read: 1 hour
Total time posting: 47 minutes

I spent lots of time editing posts and making sure the information in the first post of this thread is accurate. Then put groceries away and helped myself to a nice big portion of apple crisp with vanilla yogourt. All of that didn't leave much time for reading, but that's okay.

Hi Ilana- Good luck with your Read-a-thon! I was not a fan of Shutter Island or the film version either. I hope you enjoy it more. I love Lehane's work though. Mystic River is one of my absolute favorites!

#209 Mark: as I'm reading it, I'm really sorry I saw the film first because much of the surprise element is gone, but I know there'll be lots that will be new to me in the second half.

3rd Hour Update (7:00 pm)

I've been reading: switched to Sanderson: The Essence of English Decoration this last hour. There's only one chapter to go so I'll finish it between now and tomorrow.
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 30
Reading time: 40 minutes
Posting time: 16 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 82
Total time read: 1 hour 40 minutes
Total time posting: 1 hour 3 minutes

I'm going to take a few minutes more to post the questions for the 12th hour meme in the first message on the read-a-thon thread. Those who want to continue until the end of the readathon can of course wait, but for those who can just read with us for a few hours, you can answer the questions when you're about halfway through the time you've allotted for reading.

Sorry Mark, but I loved Shutter Island, it made my top ten last year. I still haven't seen the movie, not sure if I will, but the book totally sucked me in. I had no clue what to believe. Good luck with your read-a-thon Ilana.

#212 I'm not sure how I feel about Shutter Island at this point. Not loving it, not disliking it, but to be fair, seeing the movie first definitely is ruining the experience for me in this case.

4th Hour Update (8:00 pm)

I've been reading: am back with Shutter Island and slowly making progress
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 27
Reading time: 28 minutes
Posting time: 29 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 109
Total time read: 1 hour 40 minutes
Total time posting: 1 hour 31 minutes

I need to walk Coco and feed my furry kids and... maybe eat a real meal myself also. Not sure I'll get any reading done this next hour, but I'll try!

5th Hour Update (9:00 pm)

Didn't manage to do any reading at all what with taking care of the animals and getting my meal ready. Am having homemade sweet & sour chicken (when I cook I make huge batches and have defrosted a portion) which I'm having with basmati rice. Should have a green veggie too, but can't bother.

I've been reading: Nothing for this hour
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 0
Reading time: 0
Posting time: 21 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 109
Total time read: 1 hour 40 minutes
Total time posting: 1 hour 52 minutes

Now I will eat in front of tv for a bit and then back to reading.

6th Hour Update (10:00 pm)

I ate while watching a bit of CSI NY (not sure how I can manage that, but apparently I can!). Hopefully I'll have more actual reading time in the next hour.

I've been reading: Shutter Island
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 32
Reading time: 35 minutes
Posting time: 10 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 141
Total time read: 2 hours 15 minutes
Total time posting: 2 hours 2 minutes

7th Hour Update (11:00 pm)

I've been reading: Shutter Island
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 40
Reading time: 41 minutes
Posting time: 15 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 181
Total time read: 2 hours 56 minutes
Total time posting: 2 hours 17 minutes

8th Hour Update (12:00 am)

I've been reading: Shutter Island
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 52
Reading time: 48 minutes
Posting time: 13 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 233
Total time read: 3 hours 44 minutes
Total time posting: 2 hours 30 minutes

I'm almost finished with Shutter Island. Can't say I enjoyed it all that much. Seeing the movie a few months ago kind of stole the element of surprise and I thought there would be more to the book but not really...
Anyway, I'll finish it now and see what else I'll move on to.

I have not watched the movie, so I am hoping I enjoy the book more than you are, Ilana, if and when I ever get around to reading it :)

#220: Stasia, I sort of answered your comment below. I do hope you enjoy it more than I did.

9th Hour Update (1:00 am)

I've been reading: Shutter Island and Sanderson: The Essence of English Decoration
Books finished: 1
Pages read: 32
Reading time: 35 minutes
Posting time: 18 minutes

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 265
Total time read: 3 hours 44 minutes
Total time posting: 3 hours 05 minutes

I finished Shutter Island. I have no way of knowing how I would have reacted to the book had I not seen the movie first. But I can't say I'm overly impressed with it. But that's just my opinion of course. I won't post my review of it yet since it takes me ages to write reviews and I'm still one behind on my thread to begin with.

Have to go walk Coco for the last time tonight, and then I'll finish up with the Sanderson book and then... the sky's the limit, but I'm thinking of starting the first of the detective Montalbano series with The Shape of Water. We shall see.

10th Hour Update (2:00 am)

I've been reading: Sanderson: The Essence of English Decoration
Books finished: 2
Pages read: 18
Reading time: 21 minutes
Posting time: 17 minutes

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 283
Total time read: 4 hours 05 minutes
Total time posting: 3 hours 22 minutes

Finished Sanderson: The Essence of English Decoration. I got this book because it's so beautiful to look at. Can't say the text was exactly fascinating, but I couldn't expect a book about a wallpaper company to be BOTH beautiful AND thrilling. So there we go. Will start on something else in the next hour. A bit dispirited that out of 10 hours, I've only actually spent 4 hours reading and a whopping 3 hours 22 reading and posting here! Argh!

You said: A bit dispirited that out of 10 hours, I've only actually spent 4 hours reading and a whopping 3 hours 22 reading and posting here! Argh!

Ha! The story of my life! There are many days when I realize I could have read a book in place of my time on LT, but what's the fun in that? :-)

#222 Makes me glad I don't keep track on most days. I'm sure I spend more time on LT than reading on any given day, that's for sure.

11th Hour Update (3:00 am)

I've been reading: Super Sad True Love Story
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 28
Reading time: 50 minutes
Posting time: 8 minutes

Total books read: 3
Total Books finished: 2
Total pages read: 311
Total time read: 4 hours 55 minutes
Total time posting: 3 hours 30 minutes

Started Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteynhgart, which was a Christmas gift from my dad (will add it to the TIOLI challenge later). It's intriguing so far. I'm starting to have a hard time keeping my eyes open, but I'll force myself to keep reading till the next hourly update. After which I will probably konk out for a while.

12th Hour Update (4:00 am)

I've been reading: Super Sad True Love Story
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 25
Reading time: 38 minutes
Posting time: 17 minutes

Total books read: 3
Total Books finished: 2
Total pages read: 336
Total time read: 5 hours 33 minutes
Total time posting: 3 hours 47 minutes

12th HOUR MEME (or halftime meme)

1. What are you reading right now?
Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart
2. How many books have you read so far?
This is my third book
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-Thon?
I don't know about the second half of the read-a-thon but right now what I'm looking forward to most is falling into my bed.
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day (or the hours you're spending with us)?
Not really. Just told a couple of people I'd be out of contact for the day and avoided visiting all the threads here on LT.
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Nothing unexpected. Had to walk my dog Coco, but the fresh cold air was actually nice.
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-Thon, so far?
How slowly I'm reading. I knew I was a slow reader but not THIS slow.
7. Are you getting tired at this point?
I don't understand the question, can you speak up?
8. Do you have any tips for other readers, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
When your book falls on your face, that's probably a sign you should consider taking a break!

All right folks, I'm off. Will sleep for several hours and try to be up again around 10 am. Maybe earlier if I can, but six hours is far less than my typical night's sleep. Have fun a happy reading!

Slept 6 hours, got up at 10 and finally settled down for a few minutes of reading.

19th Hour Update (11:00 am)

I've been reading: Super Sad True Love Story
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 4
Reading time: 7 minutes
Posting time: 30 minutes

Total books read: 3
Total Books finished: 2
Total pages read: 343
Total time read: 5 hours 40 minutes
Total time posting: 4 hours 17 minutes

I spent the better part of the last hour trying to get my eyes to focus, then served myself a heaping portion of apple and cranberry crunch with organic vanilla yogourt (soooo yummy!) and reassuring my little furry friends that mommy loves them very much. Now I'll make myself a pot of gorgeous espresso and have café au lait and... what else? Oh yeah... READ! :-)

20th Hour Update (12:00 pm)

I've been reading: Super Sad True Love Story
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 18
Reading time: 29 minutes
Posting time: 10 minutes

Total books read: 3
Total Books finished: 2
Total pages read: 361
Total time read: 6 hours 09 minutes
Total time posting: 4 hours 27 minutes

Another hour more or less lost to a bunch of little things... I don't do so well for several hours after waking up. I'm much better in the afternoon really. Will go out with Coco now since we both need fresh air and to move around a bit. Doubt I'll get any reading done this hour, but I'm enjoying Super Sad True Love Story so far. My dad has a way of choosing books for me that I wouldn't necessarily pick up myself, but end up being really interesting/enjoyable. Surprising for a man who reads relatively little!

21st Hour Update (1:30 pm)

I've been reading: Nothing, Nada, Rien du tout.
Books finished: 0
Pages read: A big fat zero.
Reading time: (see first answer)
Posting time: 41 minutes
Cups of Coffee managed to drink so far: 0.75
Portions of Apple/Cranberry Crumble eaten: 1.5
Time spent outside walking Coco in the refreshing cold air: 40 minutes or so.
Time spent gabbing on the phone with my best friend: 22 minutes.

Total books read: 3
Total Books finished: 2
Total pages read: 361 (unchanged)
Total time read: 6 hours 09 minutes (no change here either obviously)
Total time posting: 5 hours 08 minutes

Ok, so I'm not kidding myself, I don't think I'll get any reading done for the rest of the hour. Scary, there's only just a little over 2 hours left to this read-a-thon and I've only spent 6 hours out of 22 reading and a whopping 5 hours posting! Then again, I did sleep a healthy-ish 5.5 hours which was very needed or I'd be an incoherent grumpy mess right now. Or rather: incoherent-er and grumpier. :-)

Will now post the final meme for those who have either already finished their reading stint or want to finish before the final 24th hour. You can find the questions in the first message up top. I'll of course re-post them along with my answers at hour 24.

Go Team Go, Go Team Go, Go Team Go!

22nd Hour Update (2:00 pm)

I've been reading: Nothing, Nada, Rien du tout, well, ok, caught up with some posts and updated the TIOLI wiki page and lists on my thread to reflect what I've finished reading and what I've started, etc.
Books finished: 0
Pages read: A big exta-extra large zero.
Reading time: (see first answer)
Posting time: 40 minutes
Cups of Coffee managed to drink so far: 1
Time spent feeding my furry kids/ordering more food for them on phone: 10 minutes.
Time spent looking for a fun 'animated cheering gif': 3 minutes.

Total books read: 3
Total Books finished: 2
Total pages read: 361 (still unchanged)
Total time read: 6 hours 09 minutes (don't ask)
Total time posting: 5 hours 48 minutes

No reading done in the rest of the hour I had left either. That was taken up by the posting of last meme, etc. I'm going to buckle down and really READ in this second to last hour we have left, officially at least. Here's more cheering for the green team (whoever that is!); I don't know about you, but I need all the encouragement I can get!

Go Team Go, Go Team Go, Go Team Go!



ETA: had to change cheerleader gif because the green team wasn't that reliable. Humph!

Congratulations on hosting a successful Readathon, Ilana!

Ilana, just checking in to say thanks for hosting the readathon.

#229-30 I was glad to do it! Thanks to you both for being part of it!

Posting this quite a bit late, but it's a re-posting from our main event thread and I mostly want to have it here for my own benefit.

24th Hour and FINAL Update (4:00 pm)

I've been reading: Super Sad True Love Story
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 55
Reading time: 90 uninterrupted minutes!
Posting time: 19 minutes

Total books read: 3
Total Books finished: 2
Total pages read: 416
Total time read: 7 hours 39 minutes (759 minutes)
Total time posting: 6 hours 07 minutes (367 minutes)

I'm glad I finished with more time spent reading than posting! That'll me my goal for the next read-a-thon I participate in for sure! :-)

The End-of-Event Meme

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
I'd say the last hour before I went to bed, between 3 and 4 am (the 11th hour) as I wanted to be able to post the halftime/12 hour meme at all cost! Also those hours that I practically didn't do any reading at all, though really, I wasn't that bothered.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a reader engaged next time?
As others have said, that's a highly personal choice, but I would tend to stay away from overly serious texts which require lots of thinking as that tends to wear me out very quickly! I think thrillers are very suited to this kind of thing: entertaining, easy reading! I also have to say that it was highly satisfying to complete a couple of books along the way, so I would definitely include books that are already at least partially read.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the next read-a-thon?
I loved our cheerleaders (thanks so much Stasia for that fun animation and all you lovely people who came in to encourage us!) I would like to have a better organizer next time. I thought this one sort of slept on the job and didn't make enough individual comments. :-b

4. How many books did you read?
Three in total though I strongly considered reading a couple more at various points.

5. What were the names of the books you read?
Shutter Island (finished it)
Sanderson: The Essence of English Decoration (finished it)
Super Sad True Love Story (about halfway through)

6. Which book did you enjoy most?
It's a tossup between Super Sad True Love Story and Sanderson: The Essence of English Decoration although I only enjoyed the latter because of the gorgeous visuals.

7. Which did you enjoy least?
Either Shutter Island or Sanderson: The Essence of English Decoration. In the first case, seeing the movie ruined the experience for me. This isn't normally an issue since the movies rarely convey the full experience of the novel, but in this case, the novel didn't have anything more to offer while the movie had the added benefit of great visuals. The latter book, thought it's a gorgeous coffee-table book was on the whole very very boring.

8. How likely are you to participate in another read-a-thon?
Yes please! Who's hosting it next? ;-)

What I've learned
Next time as a participant (as opposed to organizer) I probably won't check in every hour so I can have longer bouts of uninterrupted reading. I already knew I was a slow reader (I often go back and re-read whole sentences of paragraphs for some reason), but I'm shocked by just how slow I am!

Thus, at 1600 hours Eastern Time on the dot, ended the second 75ers 24-hour marathon read-a-thon of 2011!. I already look forward to the next one which will very likely take place this Mon.-Tues. with Ellie as the organizer again. Go Ellie!

We now resume regular activity. I have 3 books to review, so I need to get cracking!

I applaud your great effort, not sure I could even accomplish as much as you did. Sorry you didn't enjoy Shutter Island I'm guessing it had to do with see the movie and knowing what was coming. I just finish Super Sad this afternoon and really loved it. I could do without the epilogue type ending but the book really was aptly named.

#234: Hi Susan, I think I'll have to review my score for Shutter Island and try to factor in my enjoyment of the movie as I thought it was really original not just for the visual impact, but also because of the story. I felt parts of it were a little too contrived, but I'll try to be fair when I write up my review... which is coming sometime later today, or so I hope.

ETA: haven't decided what I think of Super Sad yet, but it's definitely entertaining, I'll give it that!

Ilana- Super Sad has been on my WL for awhile now! It sounded so good but reaction here seems to be mixed. I would still try it.
Have you read any other Lehane?

Hello! Just a little shameless advertising since you're signed up again... :-)

Roll up, roll up, for another 24 hour read-a-thon! Call me a stickler for punishment, but I'm liking the way those pages are mounting up, so I'm doing it again! Monday to Tuesday, kick-off 8pm GMT, come join us at the new thread!

#236: Mark, I can well see why there would be mixed feelings about Super Sad. After all, it's a dystopia in a future which might just be around the corner where the USA is a police state and dependent on China with the dollar indexed to the yuan! And then add to that the fact that people are dependent on this little electronic device for all their social interractions (hm, that's no so far from our current reality is it?) and that he's in love with an obnoxious younger woman and that he's insecure about his age and looks... well there's plenty to love, or hate, depending on your viewpoint. I don't know what I think about it yet. I'm just going along for the ride.

Lehane: I've read two from the Kenzie & Gennaro series; A Drink Before the War and Sacred (not in that order). I have mixed feelings about them, but still more than willing to continue with them, so not sure what that says about me. To that purpose, I have Gone, Baby, Gone on my shelves, though I think I'd rather read the second book before moving on. I also have Mystic River, which I'll get to eventually. I think you said that was your favourite of his?

#237: I don't see it so much as shameless advertising but rather a public service to keep our members informed of this wonderful activity you're putting yourself through the trouble of organizing for us, so good on you Ellie!

3. Regeneration - 1st of the Regeneration Trilogy by Pat Barker (TIOLI: New Series) ★★★★★

It is 1917 and WWI is still going strong. The Craiglockhart War Hospital is an institution where officers suffering from very serious cases of shell shock and deemed mentally unsound go to be healed so they can return to the front and continue the vicious battle against the Germans. Dr. William Rivers—a brilliant psychiatrist at the institution—has a cure which is at once successful while being highly unusual for his time. Instead of having recourse to violent and painful courses of therapy prevalent in other hospitals, such as submitting the patients to painful humiliation tactics and high voltage electric shocks, he helps his patients cure themselves by encouraging them to face their fears and the horrors they have witnessed in battle instead of attempting to repress them. Even with the advances in psychology brought on by Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, such an approach would have still been especially novel in the mainstream, at a time when men were conditioned and expected to be impervious to fear, never acknowledge weaknesses, and generally keep their emotions in check.

Dr. Rivers doesn't question the inherent contradiction in the fact that he is expected to bring these men back to a balanced mental state so that they can in turn continue fighting in suicidal missions in a war with countless casualties. But things start changing for him when he comes in contact with Siegfried Sassoon, a decorated war hero who has decided to take a stand by writing a declaration which condemns the continuation of what he is convinced is a war of aggression and meaningless slaughter. Sassoon's hopes of being court-marshalled for his insubordination and thus creating noise and a public outcry around his cause are dashed when he is instead declared mentally unstable—precisely to avoid attracting attention to the issue—and sent to Craiglockhart and Dr. Rivers to be 'cured'. Our good psychiatrist quickly appraises that Sassoon's actions stem from true conviction, and that the best he can do in his case is to help his patient come to accept that he has no other choice than to return to the front, since any further efforts on Sassoon's part to continue campaigning against the war will simply be interpreted as the actions of a man who is mentally unsound.

From the beginning, Siegfried Sassoon, a man of great culture and a published poet, makes no bones about his sexual orientation. He makes mention of an indirect connections to Oscar Wilde and his veneration for Edward Carpenter, a socialist poet, pacifist, and gay activist who's book The Intermediate Sex has been a great influence in helping him find his true identity. There is a running theme in the novel, which is the question of what constitutes 'real' and 'acceptable' manifestations of manhood in a time of war. The question of sexual orientation is intrinsically linked to those concerns, as is best expressed in the following excerpt, taken from a conversation between Rivers and Sassoon, who are discussing the prevailing attitudes toward homosexuality:

Sassoon: 'I thought things were getting better.'
Rivers: 'I think they were. Before the war. Slightly. But it's not very likely, is it, that any movement towards greater tolerance would persist in wartime? After all, in war, you've got this enormous emphasis on love between men—comradeship—and everybody approves. But at the same time there's always this little niggle of anxiety. Is it the right kind of love? Well, one of the ways you make sure it's the right kind is to make it crystal clear what the penalties for the other kind are.'

This is a powerful novel and many of the themes at it's core, such as the manifestations of the instinct for self-preservation and what constitutes sanity and mental instability are weighty stuff, and the brilliance of Pat Barker's approach is that she manages to present her subject with a light and even humorous touch, with brilliant dialogue that is absolutely true to life. Her observation of her cast of characters and their complex motivations fully brings out their multi-dimensionality and each of them is a fascinating study of the workings of the human mind.

Craiglockhart, Sassoon, Rivers and other persons, places and events are taken from real life, and the way Barker has woven fact and fiction is masterful: entirely believable and wonderfully entertaining. This book came highly recommended from various sources and I must say I was most impressed. I'm much looking forward to reading the other two books in the Regeneration trilogy during the course of the year. Wholeheartedly recommended.

Wow -- what a powerful review! A friend recommended that trilogy a few years ago. After reading your review, I'm more interested than ever. Adding it to my wishlist -- thank you for the recommendation!

I wanted to write a couple more reviews but I've spent hours catching up with threads and t-o-t-a-l-l-y pooped out now. Tomorrow's another day!

#241: How cool! I was just about to go to bed and just saw your comment. I'm very happy my review helped sway you in favour of this book.

Yes, I definitely have to get my hands on that one some how! Great review, Ilana. Thumbs up from me.

This is a great review! Thumbed - and the book is wishlisted (for later this year when my 3months book buying ban is over).

Great review, I loved Regeneration too, I need to get to the rest of the trilogy (I think I posted on your 11in11 thread as well!).

#240 Great review Ilana and congratulations on completing the readathon.

Just came over to say thank you for the readathon yesterday and star your thread since it looks awsome. Thank you!

>240 Smiler69:: Excellent review of Regeneration, Ilana !!

Morning Ilana- What a fantastic review! Believe it or not, I have read this and completely forgot about it. Lost in the vortex or something. A re-read is imminent!

Just delurking long enough to say HELLO, Ilana.

*retreats*

Mark and I are both Lehane fans! Don't feel obligated to read the second in the series before Gone, Baby, Gone as your likely to have the same mixed feelings and you'll love Gone, Baby, Gone. It was a favorite for the year for me.

Shutter Island definitely suffers from seeing the movie first. The anticipation and mystery is gone, and the movie makes a choice instead of leaving things more ambiguous.

#244: Thanks Stasia and Nathalie for helping get my review on the Hot Reviews list. I never did make it there until I joined this group and must say it's kind of a nice feeling to have people recognize the effort it takes to do a half-decent job of it!

#246: Thanks Kerry. I saw you posted a whole bunch of other reviews last night (or whatever time of day it was for you). I was too wasted at that point to read them but I'll go back soon to comment on them.

#247: Thanks Heather! Loved the experience and will jump into it again tomorrow for Ellie's read-a-thon (our 3rd this month already!) this Mon-Tues. Starting at 8 pm GMT I believe. The link is right here #237. Will you be joining us? If you can't, encouragement is always appreciated!

#248: Thanks Emma, I'm glad you enjoyed it and was nice having you among us. See my reply to Heather in the message above (hint hint!) :-)

#249: Thanks Laura. I'll come by your thread to read your reviews too soon.

#250: I've found that no matter how good the book Mark, I tend to forget the detail or in fact, the whole thing relatively quickly. 'Live in the moment' they say. Well I guess I must do that quite effectively because everything that takes place outside 'the moment' tends to completely escape my mind. It's a good thing AND a bad thing. I loved this book so much, I'm happy I was able to do it justice a little bit and that some people are now wanting to read it too. Though of course I can't help but wish I'd added a whole bunch of other things too, but that probably happens to everyone who writes in just about any capacity, right?

#251: Awwww Stephen, so sweet of you to delurk that way. 'Delurk'. Doesn't that sound kinda gross? Like 'Beurk', which is the french sound for barfing of course. Glad I made you barf Stephen. Or I mean...

#252: Good, I'll take your word for it, which means I can spend my money on something else and actually give priority to a book that's already taking shelf-space here. I'm about to write my review for Shutter Island and I've decided to take the my experience of the movie into consideration in my rating of the novel. After all, it's not Lehane's fault that I ruined the surprise by seeing the movie first and I did quite like the movie until it kind of became too contrived to me and I couldn't continue suspending disbelief.

Glad I made you barf Stephen.

Don't get too excited! With my social phobias that reaction isn't uncommon when I'm spoken to, especially by bookish ladies!

Ok ok, maybe I've never actually vomited, though that sounds much more preferable than actually trying to carry a conversation. :P

4. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane ★★★

Ashecliffe Hospital sat on the central plain of the island's northwestern side. Sat benignly, I might add. It looked nothing like a hospital for the criminally insane and even less like the military barracks it had been before that. Its appearance reminded most of us of a boarding school. A mansarded Victorian housed the warden and a dark, beautiful Tudor minicastle served as the quarters of our chief of staff. The compound was composed of lawns and sculpted hedges, great shady oaks, Scotch pines and trim maples, apple trees whose fruit dropped to the tops of the wall in late autumn or tumbled onto the grass...

This rather charming depiction of the setting, from the prologue by our narrator, the elderly Dr. Lester Sheehan, comes in sharp contrast with the disturbing quality of events that transpire over a four-day period in 1954. The story begins as U.S. Marshals Teddy Daniels and his partner Chuck Aula are making each other's acquaintance on a ferry bound for Shutter Island. They have been sent there to find a patient, one Rachel Solando, a delusional woman interned for murdering her three small children. The case quickly takes on surrealistic overtones when it becomes apparent that the patient has vanished from her locked room which offers no possible exits, in a building heavily guarded by numerous staff members. Marshall Daniels becomes convinced that a cryptic note left behind by the woman holds important clues. But a thorough search of the island fails to produce any trace of Rachel Solando and the note proves impossible to decode. Concluding that he and his partner can't help with the case any further, Daniels soon decides they should leave island, but is told there will be no ferry service and that the lines of communication have been cut off from the mainland due to a violent storm that is rapidly headed in their direction.

I found it difficult to form a fair opinion about this book, as I saw the movie adaptation only a few months ago. While the book does leave a little bit more to the imagination, the movie was a fairly accurate rendition of the story, so that the reading of it proved disappointing since the surprise elements of this psychological thriller were lost on me and there was little else to sink my teeth into. Because of this, was inclined to give the book a fairly low rating. However, I decided to take into account the positive impressions of the movie which I found engrossing, filled with unusual characters and situations (not to mention visually stunning). The first half of the story held me captive. I was awed by the thrilling twists and turns and more than willing to suspend disbelief and go along for the ride, but about halfway through it all began to fall apart for me as one improbable thing after another kept piling up and I caught on to the outcome much too early. Again, to be fair and give credit where it's due, the payoff at the end is quite good and I won't give anything away so as not to spoil the experience for anyone. Unfortunately for me, I saw the signs all along and while I wanted to root for Lehane for the way he built up all the elements of what is ultimately a well told fantasy, I couldn't help but wish the surprise element had been greater. All in all a good book. Just be sure to see the movie after reading it.

As a side note, it’s interesting that I didn’t see that this book and the one I read previously (see my review for Regeneration) both shared the setting of a mental hospital until I had read quite a few chapters. But then again, these two books couldn’t be more different from one another in every other way, except for the fact that in both cases, the psychiatrists are depicted as people who truly had the wellbeing of their patients at heart and adopted humane courses of treatment, even though the periods in which the stories take place can be compared to the dark ages of psychiatry when invasive approaches we now consider barbaric were more commonly used to cure mental disorders.

#255: LOL @ Stephen. Silly boy! :-b

I've just skimmed a huge number of posts... this thread moves so quickly! Stopping by to say hello, at least.

I know the feeling Zoe. I try to stay in touch with people as best I can but sometimes the sheer amount of messages and threads just makes my head spin! Thanks for stopping by.

Ilana, about time for a new thread? Stephen will not be able to drop by if this one gets much longer. . .

5. Sanderson: The Essence of English Decoration by Mary Schoeser ★★★★½

I need to be clear from the onset: the only reason I gave this book such a high rating is because it is visually stunning. Well designed and filled with top-quality photography, it helps that Sanderson's archives of fabrics and wallpapers contains innumerable samples of patterns and designs representing the best of European decorative arts since 1860, when the company was founded by Arthur Sanderson. Very well documented, the text describes the evolution of this venerable English firm and contains a wealth of information about the many innovations which helped establish the firm as one of the leaders in the field. there is much to admire here, but the appeal of a story about the evolution of wallpaper, no matter how well researched, is limited for the average reader. This book was produced to mark Sanderson's 150th anniversary and continued success, though sadly, Arthur Sanderson & Sons no longer exists today and has become yet another brand name with no ties to the family or local craftsmen and women who originally helped put the name on the map.

#261: Pretty! The one pattern almost reminds me of William Morris.

New thread before the read-a-thon, Ilana? The pics of that book are gorgeous!

Ilana, I thought your review of Shutter Island was perfect. You gave nothing away except your impressions. I listened to this one on a road trip last year and didn't see the end coming at all. I think it was a great psychological work, but imo wasn't Lehane's best effort. I'm no expert on him but so far The Given Day is far and away my favorite Lehane book.

Re: Shutter Island -- for some reason I had the idea that this was a sequel to another Lehane novel, and that I should read that other one (titled? no idea!) first. Is that true, or have I officially descended into addlepation?

Ilana- Good review of Shutter Island! I wasn't a big fan of the book or the film, but you nailed it! Lovely pictures!

#262: You nailed it Stasia, Sanderson did in fact carry William Morris design and if I recall that one is in fact by him (checking...) Actually, that flower pattern was produced in the 1890's and inspired by William Morris. I've been wanting a book of his designs for a long time now. Ought to put that on the WL.

#263: Ellie, I've started one but won't do much with it until we finish with said read-a-thon. I don't want to bog down the new thread with a bunch of updates.

#264: Thanks so much Donna. It's always a bit tricky to make sure there aren't any spoilers especially in a thriller where the surprise element is so important!

#265: Julia, that book is not part of a series so you can jump into it any time and be sure you won't miss anything. You've just taught me a new word by the way!

#266: Mark, can't say I'm a big fan either obviously. However the film really had me quite involved and for that first half, I was really impressed with it.

Fair review of Shutter Island. Well written, obviously. The fair part was about your opinion on the book not your writing.

Thanks for the compliment Mac. I thought the review I read on your thread was very well written too. And yes, I did understand your meaning when you used the word 'fair', so it's all a-ok! :-)

The images from the Sanderson book remind me of the samples of fabrics and wallpapers that Persephone Books uses as illustrations for their endpapers and bookmarks.

Thanks, Ilana! The good news is now I can request it from the library. The bad news is that I am now officially addlepated. Win some, lose some. :-)

#270 I'm not familiar with Persephone Books Kerry, but I do know that Sanderson were very influential in popularizing these kinds of prints.

#271 Not to worry Julia, I think I must have been addlepated since birth!