Mary's (bell7) Year of Reading Whatever I Want, Thread 1

Hello and welcome, one and all! This is my second year of participating the 75 Book Challenge, and I'm very much looking forward to it. I've been in some of the category challenges in the past, but I've decided to take an even less planned than usual approach to my reading in 2011.

Here's the plan: I will try to focus my reads on 1. books already on the ever-growing TBR list and 2. books on my own shelves. I'll incorporate the TIOLI challenges particularly in choosing books of my own to read in a given month. At the same time, I'm giving myself full permission to follow up a series should I enjoy it, read other books by an author prompted by enjoying a book, or to pick up a book on a whim. Basically, I'm going to be reading whatever I want.

I'll be reviewing the books I've finished and adding comments about each. I try to review in such a way that even if a book doesn't share the same appeal for you as it might for me, you can still read it and determine if you might enjoy it, regardless of whether I do or not. My star ratings are a measure of how much I enjoy a book, rated something like this:

1 star - Forced myself to finish it
2 stars - Dislike
2.5 stars - I really don't know if I liked it or not
3 stars - Sort of liked it; or didn't, but admired something about it despite not liking it
4 stars - I liked it, but it's probably not reread worthy
4.5 stars - Excellent, ultimately a satisfying read, a title I would reread
5 stars - A book that I absolutely loved, would absolutely reread, and just all-around floored me

So make yourself at home and feel free to comment on reviews, books, or what have you. I love bookish discussion, and welcome your comments whether you happen to agree with me or not about a book. I think that's one of the things that makes reading most interesting, to see what each reader brings into a book and what they get out of it, what the similarities and differences are in our interpretations of the books we read.

Hi, Mary. Your plan is much like mine - all those books on the shelves! I hope we both have fine book adventures this new year.

I always mean to read the books on my shelves, but it never seems to happen....

Mary! Heavens, I was worried that the difficult trip back from my birthday celebration would've led you to shun any place I might be! ;-P

Glad to see you another year, and hopefully in RL again sometime soon.

Glad to see you back with us again for 2011, Mary!

Hi Mary, I'm new to the 75 group this year but it looks like we share some similar tastes, so I've starred your thread. Look forward to seeing what you read this year!
Fiona

>2 ffortsa: Plan? What plan? I lay out a plan and then give myself permission to break my own rules. :) Seriously though, I would like to get to a good number of my 80+ unread books on the shelves. Here's to hoping that both our plans to get to those books turn out better than we hoped!

>3 _Zoe_: You and me both, Zoe!

>4 richardderus: Good gravy, of course not! Anyway, all I did was go the wrong way down a major highway for a few minutes. I was good as gold once I was on 95, and I didn't even end up in the wrong state. We've definitely got to have another RL get together sometime soon.

>5 alcottacre: Glad to see you too, Stasia!

>6 fabtk: Hi, Fiona, and welcome to the 75 group! I look forward to seeing what you read over the year as well.

Hi Mary! I'm fairly new to LT and definitely new to this 75 in 2011 challenge. I love the way that you clarified your rating scale. Would you mind terribly if I copied/used your scale?

Thanks!

Kate :)

Good luck with the TBR pile! That is my plan too after accumulating so many books last year. Seems impossible with this group though....:)

Mary, I like your non-plan. I've managed to read quite a few of my own books this past year and will continue in that vein. I also like being open to reading a series or a particular subject as the mood strikes. Here's to serendipitous reading in 2011!

MAry,
I signed up in 2010 for the Books of the Shelf challenge to read 53 of my own books. I managed 50 but got 71 new ones so I lost ground. Watch out for those new books that sneek into your house!

>8 Kwidhalm: Kate, you can totally steal that! I've definitely tweaked it over the years, partly based on what I saw other people saying about their reads. Welcome to LT and the 75ers!

>9 RosyLibrarian: Thanks, Marie. We'll see how long my good intentions last...

>10 Donna828: Thanks, Donna! I'm looking forward to it. The challenges were fun, too, but I'm looking forward to reading rather whimsically instead of trying to fit a read into a predefined category.

>11 cyderry: Cheli, I signed up for the Books Off the Shelf challenge to read 40...and I think I might've read 15, including new books and ER books. Oops! So part of my...attempt (I shall not say resolution, as this is the year of reading what I want) will be to do better in 2011!

>13 bell7: I did about the same as you with my Off the Shelf challenge. Now I'm trying to convince myself to take the ultimate step and dispose of unread books that I'll probably never get to, but I can't quite bring myself to do it yet.

>14 _Zoe_: I can only do that about 10 at a time, in order to give the books to the library book sale before I by as many back (if not more...).

my 80+ unread books on the shelves

Oh you poor thing.

>16 tloeffler: LOL Terri, you must know I'm a lightweight in this group when it comes to the TBR books already on the shelves. Of course, my actual TBR list is substantially longer, but I can't be as precise about the number because I refuse to count.

>17 bell7: Yup, if it's any consolation, I was at 802 unread books on my shelves.

Dare I mention that I have over 1000 unread books on my floor? I refuse to discuss the size of the BlackHole. It intimidates me :)

I just found you and decided to star you. You know, if you did like Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins and the rest of The Hungar Games trilogy, I would recommend another one of her series I read before The Hunger Games was probably thought of. It's called Gregor the Overlander part of the Underland Chronicals. It's really good. It's about I think a 12 year old boy (which the only thing I don't like about the books is that Gregor is so young) and his baby sister named Boots. After Boots falls down in a hole in their apartment building, Gregor discovers a world right under New York City with humans who's been there for generations and have never seen the sun ever. And the weird part is, the humans have giant bats which they bond to and 5-6 feet rats that terrorize everything. And suddenly Gregor is identified as some sort of "warrior" prophesized by the underlander's ancient leader named either Barthalamew of Sandwich or Sandwhich of Barthalamew; I cant remember, but I'm sure it's the latter option. Anyway, the books are a very good read and I think they are better than The Hunger Games mostly because I'm an originalist.

So, Stasia - how many pounds do you suppose those unread books weigh and is your house on a concrete slab or does it have a basement? Just concerned that the whole thing might collapse under the weight of all those books....

#21: No concrete slab, no basement (those are rare in Texas). The people who lived in the house before us had it well shored up as they had a 2-ton safe in it.

Well, that explains it. And is that just perfect or what?

Yep, 2 tons is a lot of books :)

Welcome back!

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

Hello Mary! Good luck with making a serious dent in the TBR pile!

>18 _Zoe_:-19 See? I'm a lightweight.

>20 DragonFreak: Thanks for the recommendation. Gregor the Overlander is on the TBR longlist, but I liked The Hunger Games so much that I think it would be hard for Gregor to top it. I see your point about liking the original, but when I start with an author's books after they've developed their writing, style, etc., it's often hard for me to go back and really enjoy those first efforts in the same way, even for favorite authors.

>21 Fourpawz2:-24 LOL

>25 drneutron: Thanks! Looking forward to my 2011 reading!

>26 richardderus: Same to you, Richard. It would have been better if the Giants had won, but can't really complain.

>27 pokarekareana: Thanks, Jen!

Well when you do or if you read Gregor the Overlander, please tell me, because I'm the only one I actually know who can have a conversation on any of Suzanne Collins's books.

Hi Mary....good to see another sox fan here. I'm also lookin forward to clearing some books from my shelves. I don't buy many, but tend to find tons just being in the library. I think I keep the ILL service in Maine in business, and now have gotten to the point where I get my husband to go pick up ones that I've requested online, because I know I'll pick up at least 3-4 more everything my toe crosses the threshold.

Can't wait to see what you're reading for the new year.

>29 DragonFreak: Sure thing. I daresay you'll find a good number of people in the 75-ers that share at least some of your reading interests. :) We're a pretty varied group, and though I couldn't keep up with everyone last year, I did find a few people who tend to like the same types of books as me to follow.

>30 tututhefirst: Hey Tina, the library is also where I get the majority of my books. I have instated a loose limit for myself - I try to have about 5 books from the library at a time. I have, um, not had more than 13 since instituting the limit (but this is better than before, honest!) This is the primary reason I haven't been keeping up with books on my own shelves - they don't have due dates, making them rather less urgent in my head. So it'll be interesting to see if I'm more successful this year than in the past in tackling the books-owned TBR.

Hi, Mary!
Wishing you all the best in 2011! By the way, for Christmas I finally got my daughter the first Fruit Basket book which I think you recommended for her to me long ago. She is going to share some of her graphic novels / manga with me this year.
--BJ

A happy new year to you, BJ! I can't believe how quickly 2010 flew by - can you believe it's almost time for the Australian Open again? I hope your daughter enjoys Fruits Basket; that series remains one of my favorite manga.

Happy new year!

I have your thread starred!

greetings from your SecretSantaThing - I've starred your thread (and hope you get your books soon)

NOTE - you were already one of my tags, because I wishlisted a book (The Lexicographer's Dilemma) you had reviewed.

Does it count that I started two in the last week of 2010? I'm part way through The Three Musketeers and Dracula, both books on my TBR Classics list.

Also I just finished Underground by Kat Richardson which is on my Fluff list.

FYI: I've shamelessly copied your ratings scale. This is exactly how I think of my books but could never put it into words before. Thanks!




I hope you get your SantaThing books soon. I too am eagerly waiting for mine.

>34 tymfos: Hi Terri! A happy new year to you too!

>35 pbadeer: Hi Patrick! I have not yet received my SantaThing books, but am waiting with bated breath (don't spill the beans with what you got, though, I'm looking forward to the surprise!).

>36 HunyBadger: Hello and welcome, HunyBadger. Shamelessly steal away! :) Since there's never a time I'm not in the middle of a book, I always count the books that I finished on a given date/year, as opposed to when I started. So my first couple of books from 2011 will have been started in 2010, too. Do you have a thread up for your book lists? I like to at least star the threads of people who've commented on mine, though I'm often terrible about keeping up/posting.

Found your new thread Mary - happy reading in 2011!

>38 souloftherose: Hi Heather, looking forward to seeing what you're reading this year. :)

1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

(Note: I started this on audio, but read more than half of it, so I'm counting it in my book stats)

In his sixth year at Hogwarts, Harry is going to have private lessons with Dumbledore, there's a new teacher (again), and Harry begins the path that will ultimately lead him to a showdown with Voldemort.

So, I started the new year with a reread, a rather odd fact when you consider that generally about 10% of my reading a year is rereading. This is the first time I've reread the book since it came out, so as you can imagine, there were a lot of details I forgot, and I hugely enjoyed rediscovering them. The story definitely held up to my memory of it as one of the best in the series. 5 stars for a sentimental reread.

I'm shamelessly stealing this list of the 75 Book Challengers' favorite books from 2010 from Zoe's thread:

Nonfiction
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
84, Charing Cross Road
My Reading Life
On Hallowed Ground: The Story of Arlington National Cemetery
Packing for Mars
The Devil in the White City
Mountains Beyond Mountains

Fiction
Bury Your Dead
Room
Harry Potter (series)
Middlemarch
Fingersmith
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
Wolf Hall
Cutting for Stone
The Lacuna
The Imperfectionists
Soulless
The Doomsday Book
The Elegance of the Hedgehog
The Graveyard Book
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
The Help
Matterhorn
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Shades of Grey
The Siege
Troubles
The Uncommon Reader
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Crossed out books - already read.
Italics - currently on my TBR list

Though looking down the list, I may be adding more of these to my TBR list. Anyone want to chime in with recommendations for favorites?

Someday I've got to finish the Harry Potter series, but it will probably not be until I have grandkids to read them with. These books are really representative of a generation, aren't they? You're the first generation, like the sixties and the Beatles for me. :-)

>42 bonniebooks: I think so too, Bonnie, that they really represent my generation in a big way. Though I was a little on the older end - I didn't read them until I was an adult (but just barely - I was 18, and it was the first winter break I ever had in college). I think the series has staying power too, though maybe not quite to the extent of the Beatles. :) My sister read them this summer and loved them just as much as my brother and I, if not more. Though I daresay at 12 she was the prime age to be reading them, and both of us were older. I hope you do get to the rest of the series -- someday. Until then, there's always the movies (my mom watched the first 6 before she started reading the series).

That list is a riot. It demonstrates to me how much my reading is influenced by my friends here. There's hardly anything on the list that I haven't read or that I'm not contemplating reading this year.

Ha! We keep cross posting. Just hitting 7:00 here. Shows what an LTer I am. (Using my iPad, this site is the first place I visit before I even get out of bed.)

I'm impressed by how much of it you've read already. I'll just emphasize the recommendation for Room, even though I see it's already on your TBR list.

43: We must be around the same age because I agree that they represent our generation. We've been reading and watching the movies for over a decade. It's quite amazing. I remember I was so sad to finish the last book. I felt like a relative had died. I'm sure the last installment of the movies will make me feel the same way.

>44 bonniebooks:/45 Yeah, most of the books on my TBR list are there because of LT, and many of the books I have already read were helped along by the praise they received from LT readers. Only a few were books I managed to discover on my own. :)

>46 _Zoe_: That it is, Zoe, but I should really think about moving Room up the list soon. It's still really popular in my library system, but the holds are calmed down a bit so I could probably get it in a week or two when I decide to pick it up. Most of the books in the list were ones I read for the first time in the last two years, with the exception of 84, Charing Cross Road and the Harry Potter series.

>47 RosyLibrarian: Yeah, I remember that feeling of reading the last book...I really wanted to know what happened, but I didn't want it to end, and it was with a sort of mingled anticipation and dread that I noticed the pages to the right decreasing. I agree, I'm sure I'll feel the same way about the movies, too.

2. My Reading Life by Pat Conroy

"In a reading life, one thing leads to another in a circle of accident and chance."

Taking a quote from the final chapter in Conroy's book was the closest I could come to describing the book itself. I suppose it's most accurate to call this a book of vignettes, all tied to the reading, writing, and most of all life of Pat Conroy, all three of which are closely related for him as he makes clear in this collection.

I came to this book having never read Conroy's fiction, or in fact any other book he's ever written. I found an author interview in a magazine that intrigued me, so I put the book on my list to read. I picked it up ready to rush through - enjoy, of course, but read quickly - because it was due back at the library soonest, and I love books about books. But Conroy wouldn't let me rush. I read quickly, yes, but because I had chunks of time here and there and I put aside my other reading to make time for this, because each part of his story wanted me to give my full attention. Every sentence wanted to be considered. One essay made me cry, another made me laugh, and I had to wait before I read the next so that I could separate them out and give each its due. Conroy made me want to pick up War and Peace to read right now, and maybe to add Military Brats to my list of books to check out from the library. He made me want to read at least one of his novels to see if I like his fiction as well as his nonfiction. I thoroughly enjoyed this glimpse of his love for literature, for story, and for language. 5 stars.

#49: I loved that one too, Mary! I am glad you enjoyed it.

>49 bell7: Mary, That one is on my list for this year. I was hoping to check it out over our Christmas break, but it was checked out. I'm hoping that it will be available in February since I'm close to overcommitted on my January reading.

>50 alcottacre: Yup, it's going directly onto the wishlist.

>51 thornton37814: I hope you enjoy whenever you get to it, Lori. I totally understand being overcommitted (or close to it) in a given month!

>40 bell7:
Last year, I re-read the first three Harry Potter books, and I was surprised by how the movies had colored how I remembered the books. I'd like to re-read the rest of the series later this year maybe before the final movie comes out in June.

My Reading Life has been on my TBR list for a while; I've heard so many good things about it.

49: I've never read any of his fiction either, but I want to now!

>53 Tanglewood: The movies have definitely colored what I remember for the books. In my case, I think it's more true for the later books (4-7), since I've read the earlier ones over more and know the stories better than the later ones. I definitely found more in books 5 and 6 in particular, each of which I'd only read once or twice since they've come out.

>54 _Zoe_: I hope you enjoy it when you get to it, Zoe! My library has LT for libraries, so I was looking at the reviews. I was really surprised to see it rated 3.5 stars, since it's been so highly rated on LT. Come to find a library user of LTFL had rated it one star. All the LT reviews in the catalog had high ratings, which doesn't surprise me because I think we tend to have affection for books about books. :)

>55 RosyLibrarian: I do too! Based on what he said about his own books, though, I think I will not start with The Great Santini.

Anyone who's read Conroy's fiction want to jump in with a recommendation? I really know very little about his books, other than what he shared in his essays.

I just borrowed a Conroy book from Stasia called South of Broad, and I thought it was a great read.
--BJ

It's been a while since I read a Conroy book, but I remember quite liking The Lords of Discipline, which is about cadets at The Citadel military academy, and also The Prince of Tides, which you may remember as having been made into a movie starring Barbra Streisand, among others. As usual, the book was better than the movie.

I have also heard very good things about The Water Is Wide, which I believe is a nonfiction account of his teaching career.

One of the things I like about Conroy is that the setting is usually as vivid a character as any of the people.

Thus far, the only Conroy book I have read other than My Reading Life is South of Broad, which I really liked.

Mary, I was in the exact same spot as you coming to My Reading Life, and your review captured perfectly how I felt about it as well.

I feel left out - I Kindled (it's a verb!) the first chapter of My Reading Life and, well, felt totally nonplussed about it. Am I weird?

>BJ, Julia, and Stasia - thanks for the recommendations! I haven't decided for certain yet, but based on availability and my mood at the moment (it'll change), I'm leaning towards The Water is Wide and South of Broad. At the moment, I just have the plan to read "another book by Pat Conroy" on my list.

>60 ronincats: Hey Roni, glad I could capture another reader's response. :)

>61 pokarekareana: I don't think it makes you weird, Jen. Each reader is so different in what they look for in a book, the mood at the moment, their interests and experiences, that I don't think one book could ever be loved by everyone. To tell you the truth, while I remember enjoying the comments about how his mother could find a book about anything at the library, I wasn't completely won over 'til the chapter that was an homage to his high school teacher (I think this was the third chapter - it made me cry).

3. Plain Kate by Erin Bow

Katerina was always known as Plain Kate, ever since her father introduced her, as a baby, to the butcher. She has eyes of different color, and her features are rather plain. Her father teaches her to carve, and carve well, but the townspeople are suspicious of her abilities. Then her father dies in a plague that the people blame on witches. Alone and poor, Plain Kate is again under suspicion when a sleeping sickness moves through the towns. A real witch offers to give Kate the desire of her heart if she gives him her shadow. Only after she makes this bargain does she begin to learn the cost.

This debut offering has an interesting premise and wonderful writing. I enjoyed the descriptions, which used a few well-chosen words to paint a picture in my mind leaving me to fill in the details. Kate and her cat, Tangle, are delightful characters, though I wished more was made of the secondary characters, like Drina, Behret, and Linay. I wanted to know them better than I did, but instead felt like I was never quite sure what they were like, what they would do or choose. Tangle, on the other hand, was great. The very fact that he is a cat is never forgotten, and he made me laugh several times. This is definitely a writer I'll be watching. 4 stars.

Edited to add - Put on the TBR list due to Steph's (stephxsu) review.

#63: That one is already in the BlackHole, so I can dodge that particular BB. I probably added it to the BlackHole as a result of Steph's review too.

>64 alcottacre: Darn, a week's worth of reading and I haven't managed to get you yet, Stasia! :)

So at this point last year, I hadn't actually finished a book yet. I was reading The Letters of C.S. Lewis Vol. 1 on a trip down to a conference in Atlanta, but stopped when I got back because I wanted to read Surprised by Joy first (yeah, I just finished that a week or so ago...). Then I read Wolf Hall, which took me 'til January 14. I read a grand total of 4 books in January 2010, when my average for the rest of the year was more like 2-3 a week.

Got me with #3--onto the wishlist it goes!

Plain Kate sounds great! Wishlisted!

Mary, chiming in late, but I'll second Zoe's emphasis on the Room recommendation. A very, very good book.

#65: Oh, I have no doubt but that you will get me many times over the course of the year!

63 - Duly wishlisted!

>66 ronincats:, 67, 70 - Ha! Nice. Love to be the one adding books to people's TBR lists. (It sort of feels like playing laser tag after awhile). Hope you all enjoy it when you get to it!

>68 tloeffler: Thanks, Terri. I'll definitely be trying to read it early this year, though exactly when is still to be determined. :)

>69 alcottacre: Oh yes, I will. :) Though the first two books I read were, I think, books you've already read and the third we probably put on the TBR list at the same time. I think that's also the case for most of the books I'm reading now, but I've got a few good ones lined up next...

Hmm, Plain Kate would easily be on the top-rated books of the year list, and has enough raters, just not enough owners. I'll try to get to that one eventually.

Neither of your last two books are available at my library yet Mary. I definitely like the sound of Plain Kate.

Hi Mary, Plain Kate has caught my attention, I have added it to my wishlist - Thanks.

>72 _Zoe_: Hope you enjoy it if/when you get to it, Zoe. I've been looking at the top-rated books list wondering if I could fit one in, but I don't think I can manage it this month.

>73 souloftherose: Darn! There's the benefit of working at two, I suppose. I got one out of each of them.

>74 DeltaQueen50: You're welcome! Hope you like it, Judy!

Unlike Stasia, I don't particularly like snow but I do like snow days, which is what I have today!

Here's the view from my window:


Looking forward to all the reading I can get done today!
And ...ahem...things like cleaning, too, of course.

Alas, we didn't get enough show in NYC for a snow day, and by the time we headed out to work, the lovely part was GONE and the streets plowed, the corners slushy, and everything gray except in the parks. Oh well. Maybe there will be another!

We have piles of snow here in Ontario, which would be lovely to look at, but I have an hour's drive out of town tonight... I'm hoping the streets are clear by then, but it's still coming down so who knows... o_O ...I hate the slushy look too, but at least it means safer traveling!

Happy "Reading" Day!

>77 ffortsa:

Sniff, sniff. I really thought we were going to get a snow day here in NYC. We hardly have any students, but more might show as the hours trickle by.

Now it's brightly sunshiney and the snowfall's *gone* so I suspect it's business as usual today. Maybe eight or nine inches...enough to be trouble, not enough to get us off the hook. Drat!

76: I miss snow days. One of the perils of moving to southern Arizona...

Lovely picture!

>77 ffortsa: Yuck about the slush and gray! But as least the streets are clear, wouldn't want to have to drive in a mess too.

>78 dk_phoenix: I hope you have a nice, clear drive in the end, Faith! I was rather surprised (but thrilled!) at how early my libraries were closed.

>79 Tanglewood: Too bad about no snow day. :(

>80 richardderus: Sorry it wasn't quite enough to get you off the hook, Richard! I guess Boston got it even worse, but I was in the portion that's set to get 18"+ when all is said and done. It's still coming down at the moment, and it's piling up by my bedroom window (second story, above the porch, so I can see that a few more inches have come down since I got up this morning!).

>81 RosyLibrarian: Thanks, Marie. I wouldn't miss the snow and shoveling, but I would miss snow days. Do you get cold days if the temperature gets down below 40 (my cousins in Florida have)?

Yeah, we've had some colder nights that dip into the 30's and 40's, but it seems to only happen a few weeks out of the year. Native Arizonians like to freak out when this happens, but I've only been here for about two years.

And I so do not miss shoveling snow! Or defrosting my car...in fact I don't even own a scrapper anymore.

>84 RosyLibrarian: Or defrosting my car...in fact I don't even own a scrapper anymore.

Ooh...I'm jealous! I have yet to clean off my car today, though my excuse is it's still snowing (but it will make it easier if I do it once now and again later...yes, I know this too).

>41 bell7:: I'm putting in my two cent's worth for The Siege. Absolutely spellbinding! My review is on the book's page.

Are you planning to read all the books on the list, Mary? It's a good one to follow with lots of variety.

>49 bell7:: Woo Hoo! Another fan of My Reading Life. I haven't read all of Conroy's fiction works (yet!) but he is definitely among my favorite authors. Warning: he's a southern boy and can get quite flowery in his descriptions.

Enjoy your snow day, Mary. Beautiful view from your window. I hope you get to stay inside all day. I heard on the weather summary that every state in the U.S. has some kind of snowfall on the ground with the exceptions of Hawaii and Florida. More of that global warming!

>86 Donna828: Donna, The Siege and Troubles both sound good. I don't think I'll be making it precisely one of my reading goals for the year, but I may very well end up reading a good many of those that are on the TBR list and at least consider adding more. I didn't mind most of the flowery descriptions in My Reading Life, though I'm not sure how I'd react to it in fiction - it's probably a mood thing more than anything else, but I often have no patience for long descriptions. I remember even as a kid skipping over the really long paragraphs in the Little House books.

I did indeed get to stay inside for most of the day yesterday. I managed to get my room in pretty good order and polish off a book. The snow on the porch is still covering half of the bottom pane of my window, and I had to brush off 18"+ off my car (definitely the most I've ever had to in one go) to move the car for the plow (that was an adventure...sitting the car out in the street, and meanwhile the poor kid driving the plow got stuck and had to be towed out by the home owner...). But we got through it alright and I'm hoping for (mostly) clear streets to get me to work today for a short afternoon shift.

4. Duty and Desire by Pamela Aidan

The second book in the "Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman" series starts pretty much where the first one left off. The Bingleys are in London, and Darcy is on his way to Pemberley for Christmas, and to see Georgiana.

Since this is the time period in Pride and Prejudice where the Bennets are in Hertfordshire, Jane visits London, and not much is said of the Bingleys or Darcys, Aidan could more fully explore her character, his thoughts and actions, and his fashionable set. The result was a bit more mixed for me than the first book. I thought her character's actions and thoughts were completely believable. Georgiana, too, is excellently fleshed out as a character in the beginning of the book; she is shy, but has left behind her depression as a result of her companion, Mrs. Annesley, and her new-found faith. Darcy sees this change in Georgiana, and must choose between this and a decidedly darker path, one that appears to me (and in all honesty, this may be my ignorance of the time period) far too black and white, good or evil. There is a mystery introduced about halfway into the story, but in all honesty I was never in doubt about the ultimate cause, only ignorant of the particulars. All this being said, I enjoyed the story thoroughly, read it quickly, and am looking forward to reading the next one. 4 stars.

I remember stumbling upon Pamela Aidan's website quite a few years back when the trilogy was still a work in progress. Before she decided to get her work published, she posted chapters of her manuscripts as she completed them for visitors to read, along with footnotes that helped explain historical details for those who weren't familiar with the time period (which I really enjoyed having and almost wished she had included them in her published novels).
Have you read the third book in the trilogy yet? She decided to publish her work before she had posted the entire third book and I've never gotten around to reading it. I wonder if it's worth buying or trying to get it through ILL.

>89 Cailiosa: Hi Jenn! Nope, haven't read the third book in the trilogy yet; I just finished Duty and Desire last night. But your post reminded me that I wanted to get These Three Remain through ILL myself (one of the libraries where I work had the first two, and not the third...I think I will ask our adult services librarian to rectify that).

5. The Problem Child by Michael Buckley, narrated by L.J. Ganser

The third book in the Sisters Grimm series essentially begins right where The Unusual Suspects left off. Sabrina, having used one of the Little Match Girl's matches to go to where her parents are meets a young girl in a red cloak who has clearly been painting red hands everywhere in the room. Sabrina's parents are there, alright - in an enchanted sleep - but a Jabberwocky chases her away before she can do anything.

Listening to this now made me that much more aware of how much mood can affect my enjoyment of a story. I really enjoyed The Unusual Suspects when I read it, and I'd be hard-pressed to tell you what made the difference between that and this book. But what was I thinking as I listened? How naive Sabrina seems for her age, how annoying she can be and how clearly poor some of her choices are, and what a hodge-podge of fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and certain chosen classic fantasy (think Alice in Wonderland and the Oz books) Ferryport Landing is. More and more characters from more and more tales are introduced, with no apparent rhyme or reason to which are included and which are not. This was true in the second book too, so I'm not sure why it would irritate me now and not then. I was left with the feeling that I would probably share them with children of the appropriate age, but I will wait awhile before continuing the series for myself. 3 stars.

#91: I only read the first book in that series. I really must get back to it one of these years.

>92 alcottacre: one of these years - brought a smile to my face. Do get back to it eventually. So far the second book is my favorite. Based on my own experience, though, I'd say space 'em out. Little information has been left to the reader's memory; I think I could easily wait a year and pick up where I left off. Though I do want to get back to it eventually myself...

6. Book Lust to Go by Nancy Pearl

Readers of her earlier Book Lust books will know what to expect as far as format goes: book lists are divided up by theme, a few short paragraphs list books with titles in bold, along with a short description of each of them. In Book Lust to Go, uber-librarian Nancy Pearl specifically chooses books for armchair traveling. She includes nonfiction, fiction, books set in the chosen location, and books by authors from that location. Most impressively, these are all books she's read.

I enjoyed Book Lust when I read it earlier this year, so I was really excited to win Book Lust to Go from Early Reviewers. Perfect, I thought, to have a reference book to turn to in trying to read more globally. I tried to be selective in adding books to the "to be read" list, since I can keep this book and refer back to it whenever I have need. But Nancy (I feel I can call her by her first name, since she's given me such an insight into her mind as a reader) also includes such compelling reasons for enjoying each title, such a palpable enjoyment of all these books she's read, and most dangerously from time to time quotes from her favorites that I couldn't help myself. Even being "selective," I added a few pages to my TBR notebook. Yet these books are so varied, so informative, so internationally eye opening that I think it will be totally worth it to read all I added and more (remember, I was being selective). My only quibble is that sometimes instead of listing several books, she lists books in one long sentence with many semicolons, making it extremely hard to follow. Though my uncorrected proof does not have this, a lovely feature of the finished copy is the maps in the front of the book with page numbers indicating where each country is covered for easy reference to where you want to travel. So open your TBR notebook, your Excel spreadsheet or what have you, and open up Book Lust to Go to start your armchair traveling. 4.5 stars.

Nice review! Now I want that book, too!
--BJ

Nancy would give some of our members a run for their money if she was in this group!

#94: I have been slowly but surely making my way through a copy of that book. I am glad you enjoyed it, Mary.

>95 billiejean: Thanks, BJ! I hope you enjoy it when you get to it. I think her Book Lust books are definitely great to own. They're perfect for when you're stuck for "what do I read next" (not that I have this problem in general, as I have many, many books to be read, but picking the next one can be a little more challenging).

>96 mamzel: I think so! It's one of my dreams (not quite a goal) to be able to read as widely and make connections between books as well as she does.

>97 alcottacre: Hope you're enjoying it, Stasia! I found it extremely dangerous to my TBR list...I think I added two pages to my notebook as a result of that book alone...

Hi Mary

I finished Pat Conroy's My Reading Life this morning.

Your review is great!

7. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

Yeine is a daughter of an heiress who abdicated and a man from a backwater tribe in the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. When her maternal grandfather invites her to Sky - the city and the palace - Yeine knows she cannot say no to someone with so much power, even if she wanted to. And while she doesn't know what her grandfather wants, she has a purpose of her own: to find out why her mother died.

It's hard to do justice to a story as complicated as The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms without giving away major plot points, so suffice it to say that the above merely scratches the surface of the plot. This is a debut and the first in a fantasy series with incredibly complex world-building, political intrigue, and its own system of religions. In this world, the Arameri are all-powerful and even the gods serve them. Yeine narrates her story as she navigates this new world, her sense of morality, and her determination over whether she will ever truly be an Arameri. She could be just a pawn, but her character is too fleshed out for that. The gods, too, have incredible character development, seeming at once human and otherworldly. While I often wrinkled my nose at the amorality (and, yes, immorality) of Sky and its people, I am intrigued enough to continue reading the series when The Broken Kingdoms is available. 4 stars.*

*Note: This was a tough one to rate. Usually, I break down the difference of 4 to 4.5 stars by the thought: "Would I reread it?" If the answer is unequivocally "Yes," it's 4.5 stars. If there is more hesitancy and my response is "As part of a series, yes, but maybe not otherwise," it gets a 4. I lean just a tad more in that direction.

>99 Whisper1: Why thank you, Linda! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, and I look forward to seeing what you have to say about it, too!

8. A Whole New Mind by Daniel H. Pink

In A Whole New Mind, Pink argues that in an age of computers and outsourcing, as well as relative abundance at lost cost, what we think of as "right brain" behavior will be what gets us ahead in the business world. Specifically, Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play, and Meaning, will be ways in which you can gain ground in a world that no longer has to be purely logical and utilitarian, since we have more time and more money to concentrate on aesthetics. He uses left brain/right brain as a metaphor, while emphasizing that a holistic approach is important.

I first heard of this book when I was reading a professional journal talking about what librarianship was going to be like future. The author suggested reading this book to get an idea of the qualities that we would need to have to be relevant in an increasingly electronic age. I read thinking about ways in which this is true: we make connections between books, movies, mood, a particular reader (Symphony), and we definitely need Empathy to figure out what kind of information someone is looking for, or finding the right book for someone whose taste is completely different from my own. I definitely have some food for thought about my profession.

At the same time, I discovered a lot about myself while I was reading. I found that I am very logical, analytic, and detail-oriented in my approach. Unlike many people (apparently), I have an easier time remembering random facts than stories. I found that I have a tendency towards a "male" brain - that is, tending towards logic, and not as good at reading facial expressions (I kind of knew that already, but some of the exercises in the book just confirmed that for me). Also, I like the Three Stooges just fine, which apparently is also more of a male tendency. On the other hand, I connected a lot more with his chapters on Play and Meaning, and these were the two chapters that I was most intrigued by his list of activities designed to help you stretch that sense in your own mind. Unfortunately, the stories and arguments Pink uses become repetitive after awhile, especially if you're reading several chapters in one sitting. Still, his ideas provide excellent food for thought, and I've added a few more books to read as a result. 3.5 stars.

#102: That one interests me. I will have to give it a go some time. Thanks for the review, Mary!

> 100

I liked The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms a lot, too! I think Jemisin's world is fascinating and I loved the gods.

96: Or vice versa! :-)

>103 alcottacre: You're welcome! I hope you enjoy it, Stasia.

>104 Aerrin99: It had some incredible world-building, didn't it? So complex and fully believable because of it.

>105 bonniebooks: LOL this is true too! :)

9. Magyk by Angie Sage

The first in a series and an enjoyable children's fantasy story. This was a reread to lead up to the newest book in the series, Queste, which I still haven't read. I listened to it on a Playaway before going to bed every night, and as a result I remember the gist of the story (enough to continue my reread of the series), but can't really put my thoughts together for a proper review. I will say that while I still enjoyed it, I thought there was a little too much information given about everyone (was it really necessary to sum up the stories of all the secondary characters at the end?) and the identity of Boy 412 is not as much of a mystery for me as an adult reader than it might have been if I read these books as a kid.

On to Flyte.
Oh, and a note about why I'm listening to them - I could probably read them pretty fast, but the intentional misspellings of things and the way those words, like "Magyk" or "Flyte," are also in a different font and bold in the text really takes me out of the story, so I prefer to listen to them so I don't get distracted or irritated by it.

Mary

You are really clipping along! Nine books thus far! Way to go!

I still smile thinking of your gentle spirit and how lovely it was to meet you are Richard's BD party last September.

Wow, yeah. I might be able to handle Magyk, but Flyte would drive me straight up the wall. What is the point of doing that?

#107: I read that series and enjoyed it. I hope you continue to do so too, Mary!

>108 Whisper1: Linda, your comments always bring a smile to my face! Thanks for the encouragement. I'm thinking of you today and hope everything goes well in your surgery.

>109 Aerrin99: I think it points out when they're talking about magic or spells. I may not have found it as jarring if I had begun the series by reading the books, but I wasn't picturing words like Magyk or Darke (referencing Darke Magyk, for example or a Darke spell), so seeing it after listening to two books kind of took me by surprise.

>110 alcottacre: I've read all but Queste, but it's been awhile and I definitely need to refamiliarize myself with what's happened so far. I'm listening to Flyte now, and so far knowing ahead of time that it had a different narrator prepared me for the differences in how the characters sound.

>109 Aerrin99: I think I've heard about those books before. In fact, I thinnk I want to read them.

>112 DragonFreak: Hope you enjoy them when you get to them! I do remember enjoying them quite a bit when I first read them, though looking back at my reading list it looks like it was over 3 years ago...no wonder I've forgotten most of the details.

I'm listening to Flyte now.

107: B&N does Free Fridays for Nook (or non-Nook) people and Magyk was the selection for today. So now I have a free copy. :) Click here if anyone wants to download it.

Yup, I've confirmed I did want to read it. It's been on my Wishlist of Books that Come from My Friend Who has too Many Books for about one to two years. I told her recently to list all of the books she has that I may like, so I can see what I want to read.

Just found your thread, and having read through it, you're definitely being starred. I've also stolen your rating system (with some adaptations), as long as that's okay?!

>114 RosyLibrarian: Hurray for free copies! Hope you enjoy it, Marie.

>115 DragonFreak: Cool, hope you like it when you get to it.

>116 lunacat: Welcome! And steal away with the rating system. :) Mine was a modification of another system using check minus, check, check plus (and yes, things in between like check to check plus) that I use in my reading notebook and a bit of tweaking after reviewing on LT and reading other people's systems. (So some of my 4's this year and last would have been 4.5's - or check pluses - before that, but oh well.)

10. One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

One summer in the late sixties, Delphine and her sisters, Vonetta and Fern, fly to Oakland to visit their mother, Cecile, who left them when Fern was just a baby. The girls have grown up in Brooklyn with their grandmother and father raising them, and eleven-year-old Delphine had to grow up fast. Cecile doesn't seem to want them now, either, and sends them to a Black Panthers breakfast and summer school every day to get them out of the house so she can work on her poetry.

If you were following the Mock Newbery Awards before the official announcement of the ALA youth media awards, you've probably heard this title bandied about. A lot of people predicted it would win, so I was not surprised to see it on the Newbery Honor list this year. When I needed an audiobook for my commute and saw it available at work, I snatched it up. I wasn't really sure what to expect. At first I was a little disappointed by the lack of action in the story. The tight focus on Delphine, our first person narrator, and her family made this extremely character-centric. Though 1968-69 was a very intense time, the plot of this story is much more subdued and introspective. The number of historical details expertly laced into the story struck me only after I'd finished the book and started looking in to some of the events and people mentioned. We learn naturally, as Delphine mentions things like her uncle being away, or sorting newspapers. The family interactions, especially between Delphine and her sisters, ring true and were made all the richer by Sisi Aisha Johnson. While I'm not sure it's the type of story that many children would choose on their own (and I'm pretty sure I may not have picked it up without prompting), it would make an excellent read-aloud and discussion starter. 4.5 stars.

You know those books that you finish and it's only upon reflection that the story grows on you? This was one of those books for me. I wasn't sure what to make of it at first...nothing much happened, though the characters were realistic and changed in believable ways over the summer. I liked Delphine, and I even sort of understood Cecile even though she made me mad by ignoring her daughters. But once I had some time to reflect on it, I realized it was the kind of story I would read again and probably catch more of the historical references, too.

#94 As wonderful as all the Book Lust books sound, I am resolutely not reading any of them. My TBR and wishlist are telling me that I do not need to read any books which recommend more books to read. Nuh-uh. I will be strong etc.

#100 I've seen quite mixed reviews about The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. I think I would like to try it but it's not at the top of the library list.

#118 That one sounds interesting Mary. I'm also going to try listening to audio books on my commute to work. I have the fourth Artemis Fowl book, The Opal Deception, downloaded from the library to try tomorrow.

>116 lunacat:: I had to go back to the top to check out your rating system again, Mary. It pretty well matches mine (on my profile), except for the wording of course. It is so hard for me to rate books; it's such a personal thing. Sometimes I'll use comparisons between books to determine a rating, and I've even changed a rating or two at the end of the year when I make my list of books according to the number of stars I've given them.

>119 souloftherose: I do understand why you wouldn't read the Book Lust books, Heather. I will probably avoid the Book Crush books (same idea, but for kids and teens) for the same reason. I do love listening to audiobooks on my commute, to the point where I start to get nervous when I'm getting near the end and I have to prepare to choose another....

>120 Donna828: Rating can be tough. It has so much to do with mood and whatever I read before, and I often find when I look back over the year that some of the books I rated a little lower turn out to be more memorable long-term than another book I rated higher right after finishing it...I also didn't put it in my rating list but my "3.5" rating is essentially splitting hairs - I use it when I'm not quite sure what to rate a book but it was either better than my last 3 star read or slightly worse than my last 4 star read.

HI There Mary

Naturally, I'm adding your latest read to my tbr pile. ....rushing off to do a search of my local library to see if I can get a copy in the next few days..............................

>122 Whisper1: I think One Crazy Summer will be right up your alley, Linda. Your reading through the Newbery Awards inspired me recently to go add all the medal and honor books that I've read to my LT collections. I'm thinking about adding the list of Newbery Medals (and Honors, since there are some years that I like an honor book better than the winner) to my lifetime reading goals.

Mary
My goal is to read all the honor and medal books. I've made a dent, but have a long way to go.

My library does have a copy of One Crazy Summer. I've placed it on hold and hope to have it soon.

I hope you are warm and dry. It is a cold, cold night.

That is an excellent goal, Linda, and I've enjoyed seeing your reactions to the books you've read. I hope you enjoy One Crazy Summer! I am warm and dry - outside here is very cold, but I've let the dog I'm caring for out for the night and I'm curling up in my chair with a good book and Australian Open tennis. Hope you're having a cozy evening yourself.

11. Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

The following necessarily contains ***spoilers*** for Incarceron.

After escaping Incarceron, Finn and Claudia find themselves in a battle of wits with Queen Sia, who does not want Finn - possibly the missing Prince Giles - to inherit the throne. Meanwhile, Attia, left behind in the prison, lives by her wits and tries to hold on to the belief that Finn did not abandon them. But the prison has plans of its own - can anyone stand against Incarceron itself?

Given the revelations at the end of Incarceron, I'd hoped for a little more backstory about Claudia and Finn. Instead, we fast forward a mere few months to Finn already trying to fit into the court and Claudia struggling to keep her position in court as the Warden's daughter. The plot moves along quickly as Attia and those in Incarceron works towards escape while Finn, Claudia, and Master Jared work on the Portal, trying discover Incarceron's secrets. The ending left me a little confused and disappointed, wondering if I'd missed something or I wasn't a smart enough reader to put all the pieces together. I'm not sorry I read it, but like other readers, I didn't like it quite as much as the first book. 3.5 stars.

Mary, I forgot to tell you that the Daniel Pink and Jemisin books were solid hits on my defenseless book-bullet-vulnerable zone! Very nice reviews in general, of course, but those did their evil work a bit too well....

>127 richardderus: *happy dance* I made Richard read the blue words.... I look forward to seeing what you think when you read them!

Mary

I was able to obtain a copy of One Crazy Summer. It is next up on the reading list after I finish If I Stay by Gayle Forman..another good YA book that I recommend.

I hope you enjoy it, Linda! I could've sworn I had If I Stay on my TBR list, but I couldn't spot it in a browse through, so I'm off to add it.
Honestly, I would've thought that I'd be safe from book bullets on my own thread... ;)

12. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Todd is nearly a man - he'll be thirteen thirteen-month years. He is the last boy of the community in Prentisstown, a town of all men who have Noise, a condition which means that all your thoughts are heard by the community, a germ that Todd was told caused all the women to die. But when Todd learns that some things he has been told all his life may not be true, he has to re-evaluate everything he has taken for granted for the past thirteen years. How many secrets do the men of Prentisstown keep?

I bought this book on November 19, 2009 and it has languished on my bookshelves ever since. (In case you're wondering, no, I don't usually remember with that amount of precision - I found the receipt inside the book as I was reading.) I picked it up now for the "first book in a series" TIOLI challenge when I saw another participant list it, figuring it would finally get me to pick it up off the shelf. When I started it, I was a little taken aback by the dialect (words like "yer" and "attenshun"), and the way in which Noise of sheep, dogs, and men were portrayed. But then I hit page 50, and from there the pages just flew by. I noticed the spelling less as I became caught up in Todd's flight, and my own increasing desire to understand what was going on. I would ask "Why did I put it off for so long?" except for one minor detail - it ends on a cliffhanger, and I was really happy that not only did I wait until all three books were published, I have the second one out from the library ready for me to begin tonight! 4.5 stars.

Edited to correct my grammar...

>131 bell7: Huh! Imagine that. Now I have to avoid Mary's thread, too...three strikes of the book-bullet, you are OUT, mademoiselle. Farewell.

'Need a poo, Todd.'

I loved Manchee. I still need to read the sequel.

>132 richardderus: I'm...honored? Isn't it a little counter-intuitive on a, um, book website? (Edited to add - *smug smile at hitting Richard three times in less than a month*)

>133 mamzel: I know, wasn't Manchee great? I have book 2 here ready to start after my committee meeting tonight, and I put book 3 on hold at the library today. Basically, I'm going to blow off the books that are due next week to read the series now...

> 131 I know what you mean, it killed me to wait 3 days for the next book to come in.

Those cliffhangers are /brutal/. The next two books are just as good, though! In fact, I liked the second one best.

When I read The Knife of Never Letting Go, it included enough of a next-book preview to negate the effect of the cliffhanger.... and actually resulted in me not yet bothering to read the following book. I should do that someday.

Mary

Many thanks for recommending One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia. I finished it tonight. What an incredible book!

>135 Tanglewood:/136 - At the rate I'm reading The Ask and the Answer, I probably will have to wait a bit for book 3 to come in on interlibrary loan (neither of the libraries where I work own Monsters of Men?!). There's an outside chance I'll get it today, but it's much more likely I'll get it Monday.

I'm pretty sure I read all of Patrick Ness' books in one sitting. You almost have to, with nearly every chapter ending in a cliffhanger. They are just such intense reads that you feel like you can't catch your breath until you finish.

I like books like that.....if, like you said, I could read them in one sitting. You just stop in a place where the whole book changes in the last sentance of a chapter or book. Cliffhangers torture me.

I guess I will have to wait to read The Knife of Never Letting Go until I get the other two books. I hate when an author ends a book on a cliffhanger!

>140 Cailiosa:-141 Reading it in one sitting would be excellent, but alas, I finished The Ask and the Answer last night and will not have Monsters of Men in my hands until Monday night. :( (I shouldn't complain, I put it on hold on Thursday and it's being sent pretty quickly as far as getting library books from another town goes - it's just bad luck that I did it right before the weekend when there are no deliveries...)

Oh well, it's the perfect excuse to read Moon Over Manifest which is this year's Newbery Medal winner and due back at the library soon. I put it off to read The Ask and the Answer right away.

>142 alcottacre: Yes, I think you'll definitely want to wait 'til you have all 3 in front of you, Stasia! I'm usually not one to be driven crazy by cliffhangers, but these were doozies - more like he was writing one long story, almost every chapter a bit of a cliffhanger and the end of each book a slightly bigger one than most... Just intense, as Jenn described them.

#143: OK, then I will hold off on reading the one that I own.

>114 RosyLibrarian: Looking forward to seeing what you think of the series, Stasia. Neither of the libraries where I work had the third, so I had to ILL it. I had no idea I would read through the series so fast or I would've asked a co-worker if I could borrow hers...

13. The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

**Spoiler warning for The Knife of Never Letting Go**

Haven was supposed to be their hope, but when Todd and Viola reached it at the end of The Knife of Never Letting Go, Mayor Prentiss of Prentisstown was the only one who showed up to greet them. Taking up the story where it left off, Todd and Viola describe what happens to them after reaching Haven, which agreed to a peaceful take over rather than fight. Now separated for the Mayor's (or President, as he now wishes to be called) manipulative purposes, Todd and Viola have to decide whose side they're on in a coming war in which neither side seems to have a pure motive.

Is there any pure motive in war? What would you do to be "free," or would you compromise to minimize loss of life? What choices would you make, and what kind of person would they make you? These are the questions at the center of The Ask and the Answer, and they're tough ones to come to grips with. Todd and Viola, Mistress Coyle, the former Mayor of Haven, and a healer named Corinne are just some of the characters making these decisions and whether you agree with them or not, you can see the kind of people they are as a result of past and present decisions in a book just as intense as the first. I'm waiting on tenterhooks until the third book comes in from interlibrary loan. 4.5 stars.

January in review -

1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
2. My Reading Life by Pat Conroy
3. Plain Kate by Erin Bow
4. Duty and Desire by Pamela Aidan
5. The Problem Child by Michael Buckley
6. Book Lust to Go by Nancy Pearl
7. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
8. A Whole New Mind by Daniel H. Pink
9. Magyk by Angie Sage
10. One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
11. Sapphique by Catherine Fisher
12. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
13. The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

Books read: 10
Audiobooks listened to: 3
Books abandoned: 2*
Rereads: 2
Library books/Mine: 10/3 (3 were ILL requests)
Fiction/Nonfiction: 10/3
Children's: 4**
Teen: 4
Adult: 5
Picture Books: 2***
Graphic Novels / Manga: 0
Standouts: My Reading Life, Book Lust to Go, The Knife of Never Letting Go

*Not necessarily forever
**I know the dividing line between children's/teen can be fuzzy, so I'm generally going by my hometown library's classification and, if I did not get the book from the hometown library, based on how most of the libraries in the shared system catalog the book. Loosely, my definition is chapter books through grade 5 in children's and anything about 6th grade+ in "teen."
***There were not listed up-thread, but they were Interrupting Chicken and A Sick Day for Amos McGee, a Caldecott Honor and the Caldecott Award winner, respectively - I recommend both of them!

Thoughts:
I'm impressed that I finished this many books - it's a pretty high monthly number for me (I generally get in about 10-12), and last year January I only finished 4 books.
I'm surprised by how even my number of books read in each age bracket was.
I'm also surprised I read as much nonfiction as I did, though I suppose two books about books are not entirely unexpected choices for me.

Books about books = my favorite genre of books :)

Nice summary, Mary!

>148 alcottacre: Thanks, Stasia! Books about books is definitely one of mine too, though I have to be careful because they tend to make the TBR list grow exponentially. I think I'm going to track how much books about books make up my nonfiction reading, since I know I don't tend to read as much, well, other nonfiction, and I'm trying to branch out a bit more. Sometimes just being aware of the numbers helps me do that. :)

By the way, I wish I could ship some of our snow down to you. We've already got a few feet on the ground, and apparently we're getting a snow/ice storm Tuesday into Wednesday. They're saying 3-6 inches by Tuesday evening (I seriously hope my libraries close early and I'm not driving in 6 inches of snow...) changing over to sleet/freezing rain plus windy on Wednesday. They're not saying how much the total accumulation might be yet. UGH. I've had enough snow, I'm ready for spring.

#149: We are supposed to be getting either snow or ice down here this week too. I really hope it is the snow and not the ice. I hate ice!

>150 alcottacre: I hate ice too, especially since I slipped and fell on my parents' stairs yesterday. I fell on my backside and have a 6 inch wide bruise on my butt. It hurts to sit properly, I have to lean forward (yet another reason I'm hoping I don't have to work tomorrow, as I expect it will hurt worse then).

#151: Ouch! I expect it will probably hurt worse tomorrow too. I hope you end up not having to work and can soak in a good hot tub.

>152 alcottacre: Ohhh...that would be lovely. I hope so!

I guess if you do not get the day off tomorrow you could always soak tonight, just in case :)

> 146

I was really impressed with the hard questions asked in The Ask and the Answer - and how accessible Ness makes them to teens. There's a lot of moral meat in there. It'd be a great book to /teach/! I also really loved his exploration of what a gender-based telepathy means - the paranoia, how women suddenly become awesome at certain things and men at others, the lack of privacy.

Ness does some really interesting things with this story.

Looks like you had a good reading month!

147: Can you believe the first month of 2011 is already over? Looks like you spent yours reading some good books. I'm just about to finish the 6th Harry Potter book too...ah, it's so sad.

>154 alcottacre: I think I've sat enough, and porcelain will not feel so good right now. :( I'm going to try reading in bed by lying on my side and see how that feels, hoping the dog won't jump up on me.

>155 Aerrin99: Yeah, he definitely covered a lot of issues without making it overtake the story. I thought it was really well done and thought-provoking. I have Monsters of Men home from the library now, and I'm debating whether to start it now or hold off for a possible snow day.

>156 BookAngel_a: Thanks, Angela, I thought so!

>157 RosyLibrarian: No, I really couldn't believe how fast the month went by. I'm debating whether I should start rereading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in February or wait 'til later, maybe after I finish catching up on the Septimus Heap series? I've been re-listening to those, too, so I can finally finish off the series. I read the first four from 2007-2008 and never read Syren. Apparently, my timing's not too bad, though, because Darke is due to come out in June. Hmm...decisions...

Ah, Mary, YOU were the other one who recommended Plain Kate. I finished it today, bawled like a baby, and loved it!

>147 bell7:: What a great reading month you had in January. My Reading Life was a standout book for me for last year!

So sorry about your fall. That ice is nasty -- and it is in our forecast for tonight. I'd rather wake up to a foot of snow than a coating of ice. Problem is, we're supposed to get that coating of ice and then get a foot of snow on top of it.

>159 ronincats: Oh good, Roni, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

>160 Donna828: We're supposed to get the reverse, I think - around a foot of snow today and tomorrow, then changing to a lovely "wintry mix" to cap it all off with ice. I kind of expecting to work at least a bit today and have tomorrow off, but we'll see...

Well, these snow days are certainly helping my reading numbers stay up there with last year's, at least so far. Here's my first read of February, appropriately the 14th book of the year:

14. Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

Abilene Tucker rode the rails with her father, Gideon, until the day she got hurt and he sent her to Manifest. She knows Manifest because of her father's stories; she knows from his stories that this small town holds a significant place in her father's heart. During the summer of 1936 while she stays with Shady, the fourteen-year interim pastor of the Baptist church, Abilene hopes she can learn more about Gideon Tucker.

Where do I start with my thoughts on this book? I suppose to start at the beginning, I should say that before it won the Newbery Medal, I hadn't even known the book existed. Ever since 2007, I've tried to read the current Newbery Medal winner and at least one honor book, so as soon as the award was announced, I requested it from the library. When I first started reading it, not all that sure what sort of story I was in for, I first noticed the wonderful descriptions. Here's how Abilene describes her father and his stories about Manifest: "His words drew pictures of brightly painted storefronts and bustling townsfolk. Hearing Gideon tell about it was like sucking on butterscotch. Smooth and sweet. And when he'd go back to not saying much, I'd try recalling what it tasted like. Maybe that was how I found comfort just then, even with him being so far away. By remembering the flavor of his words. But mostly, I could taste the sadness in his voice when he told me I couldn't stay with him for the summer while he worked a railroad job back in Iowa. Something had changed in him" (2). Then before I knew it I was hooked not only by Abilene's story but the story from 1917 about Jinx and Ned. I grew truly attached to these characters and the many who populate Manifest in both time periods. This was a truly delightful book that I would recommend to children and adults who enjoy good but not overly long description and memorable characters. 4.5 stars.

I'm skipping your review because I'm already planning to read the book, so I hope I remember to come back to it afterwards....

>163 _Zoe_: Sounds good to me, Zoe! Were I in your shoes, I would do the same thing. :)

Off to read Monsters of Men now, and hoping for a 2nd snow day tomorrow to give me time to finish it!

Nice review! One more for the wishlist!
--BJ

>165 billiejean: thanks, BJ, hope you like it!

15. Flyte by Angie Sage, narrated by Gerard Doyle

**Spoiler warning** for Magyk.

Septimus Heap has been restored to his family and become the apprentice to the ExtraOrdinary Wizard, Marcia Overstrand. His parents, Silas and Sarah, have moved into the castle with their foster daughter, Princess Jenna. When Simon, Septimus' oldest brother, arrives on a Darke horse and carries Jenna off, no one seems to take this as seriously as Septimus does. He is determined to save his sister whether he has help or no.

It's hard for me to sum up my reactions to rereads. I have both current and past ideas of the story so wrapped up together that it's hard to make head or tails of it. For example, when I first listened the story, I remember being really taken aback by the change in narrator, and the resulting change in every character's voice. Expecting that this time, and remembering odd bits of the plot, I was not as enamored of the story as before. I still like the characters, but I find myself getting more annoyed with the narration, which tends to add tangents and unnecessary background to the story such as how Nicko learned to swim in a passage discussing his work at the boathouse. While I still think it's necessary for me to reread the books in order to remember what's going on when I finally read Syren for the first time, I often remember plot points just before the story reveals them, which takes the edge off any tension. Though on a first read all the books were a 4.5 read for me, I think this reread is knocking them all down to 4 star reads. Still a series I'd recommend, but I'm not feeling a need to reread them again when I've finished.

I hope you are enjoying Monsters of Men, I loved that series. I did the waiting between books though, I think it was 10-12 months wait for each one to get published.

>167 bell7: I'm reading those series next!

>167 bell7: Mary, thank you for using 'enamored of'. I've heard so many misconstructions of this phrase recently - it's really nice to see it as I believe it should be!

#162: Already in the BlackHole.

#167: Already read.

Whew! All book bullets dodged :)

drive-by hug, Mary

>168 avatiakh: I am enjoying it, though for some reason I don't have the same urgency to read it as I did with the others. I wonder if it's because of my pause over the weekend while I waited for it to go in? I think my reading mood changed over the weekend is all, and I wanted something a little more contemplative and not as driving of a plot.

>169 DragonFreak: Hope you enjoy them, Nathan. I guess book six is coming out in July.

>170 ffortsa: Just out of curiosity, Judy, what are some of the misconstructions you've heard? I didn't even notice that I'd used it until you pointed it out and I had to look for it. I don't suppose its a regional thing? Though I'll be the first to admit I don't always talk like folks in my region or my age bracket because I have a tendency to pick up on the language from the books I'm reading... (My dad still laughs at me for the time I told him to stop putting football game tickets in his checkout just to see what the prices were and "let some other poor sod have a chance to buy them.")

>171 alcottacre: I'll get you yet, Stasia! :P

>172 richardderus: (hugs) and *smooch* back at ya. Hope you get a chance to rest up today.

Edited to correct my numbering.
What can I say, I was an English major.

#173: I have no doubt!

>173 bell7: Thanks! My friend has been recommending them for what seems like years and I haven't got around to it. I know she has at least three.

>173 bell7: Recently, I've seen a lot of 'enamored with', which sounds wrong to me. I don't have a background in Latin or Greek or even French, where this seems to come from, but 'with' sound so wrong to me I flinch.
Thinking it over, I suppose it could be ok - a movement toward the more 'standard' structure of the language. Not for me, though.

I've also seen 'enamored to', which can't possibly be right.

>174 alcottacre: It's only fair that we add to each others' after all.

>175 DragonFreak: I'm listening to the third book, Physik, now. I was planning on reading/listening right through to Syren, but now I'm thinking of taking a break and fitting in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on audio just so I don't get to sick of the series all in one go.

>176 ffortsa: Huh. "Enamored with" sounds...ok by "enamored to" is just a jangle to my ear. I wonder if that's just going to be a change in the language (kind of like "whom" dropping out of usage) in the next few generations. Speaking of language change, I'm reading a set of lectures by Arthur Quiller-Couch and in one of them he mentions how much he dislikes the word "antibodies" and how terribly wrong it is going back to the Latin/Greek roots. The word sounds so normal to me in today's world that I found his comments on it rather amusing.

16. Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness

**Spoiler warnings for The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer.**

"War makes monsters of men," Ben warns Todd in The Knife of Never Letting Go. Right from the start, we see this play out in the war between the Mayor's people and the Spackle, the indigenous population of New World. Meanwhile, Mistress Coyle tries to get the upper hand by meeting with the newly arrived ship carrying Viola's people to resettle the land. All Todd and Viola want is peace, but at what price will it come?

Carrying on from the questions of motives, choice, and character that The Ask and the Answer put forth, Monsters of Men focuses more exclusively on war and what kind of people desire war over peace. I struggled more with the story because the themes appear to me to have more of an agenda than in the earlier books. While I hesitate to take universals out of a particular story, in science fiction and fantasy especially its hard not to see these as more "universal" ideas and ideals that can be - and sometimes are meant to be - applied to the real world. I don't mean that the author specifically had an agenda in writing this story, just that it was hard for me not to read it that way, and I wasn't sure I always agreed with the conclusions. Once again, the plot generally hums along, keeping you caught up in events and wondering what's going to happen next even while causing you to grapple with the larger themes. A few times, I wasn't sure if I would end up mad with the author's designs for his characters, but all in all I was happy with the way the series wraps up. 4.5 stars.

#178: Skipping the review since I still have not read The Knife of Never Letting Go :)

>179 alcottacre: Looking forward to your thoughts when you get to that series, Stasia! Looking over my library books, I'm afraid I've got a few more series books but I should be reading some nonfiction and standalones soon. :)

#180: I am not sure when I will get to the series. I own the first book, but not the last two, and I hate to read just the one. Because of the book-buying ban, it will be at least next year before I can get the other two though.

17. The Goblin Gate by Hilari Bell

At the end of The Goblin Wood, Makenna opens a gate into the Otherworld and goes into it with her goblins and Tobin to avoid capture by the priest who is after her because it's illegal for anyone who is not a priest of the Bright Gods to use magic. Left behind, Tobin's brother Jeriah is frantic to get his brother back when this same priest, Master Lazur, tells him that Tobin will die soon if he does not leave the Otherworld. But Jeriah is no hero, and he knows he can't do it alone, which means some dangerous scheming that may hurt his family even more than losing the oldest son and heir.

Is it weird to say that a book lacked urgency when I read it in one day? This book rather did, maybe because I know there's another book coming, so I never really believed that these characters were in any real - or, at least, immediate - danger. I was happy to learn more about Jeriah, who was a secondary character from The Goblin Wood, the ne'er-do-well and conspirator that Tobin loves enough to lie for and take his punishment. I wish there had been more about Makenna, Tobin, and the goblins in the Otherworld, but the main focus of the story is Jeriah and the politics of the court of the Hierarch. Sometimes plot elements were rather clearly forecast before Jeriah picked up on them, which might also account for the lack of urgency I felt. Still, I enjoyed this story and look forward to reading the final book in the trilogy when it comes out in the fall. 4 stars.

#182: I just found out that both of the Bell books are available for the Nook. I will be waiting to get them until next year - especially since the third book is not out until the fall. I hate waiting.

>183 alcottacre: I read enough series that I just try to pace myself...I don't have the patience to wait for the whole series to come out before starting. :) So I usually end up waiting at least some of the time, and usually (yes, that would be the operative word) I'm OK with that. I was not good about waiting for Monsters of Men, however.

Oh, and I guess she's starting a new series, too, that I had no idea about. I just put in an ILL request for Trickster's Girl which came out last month (how did I have no idea about this? Honestly...) But if you're not into waiting, be warned - book 2 is not coming out until 2012.

What I'd really like to see is another book in the Knight and Rogue series...Michael and Fisk are my favorite of her characters.

A minor grumble...does absolutely *everything* have to be a series now? I don't see that many stand-alone books published in the F/SF world. Just leaves me with a slight suspicion that publishers are mystery-izing these genre.

Hasn't been a stand-alone mystery since before Mary was born!

"Enamored of" is correct; "enamored with" is okay. "Enamored to"? SURELY it was a typo.

>185 richardderus: Ah series.... I think you're probably right that science fiction/fantasy/mystery genres were already primarily series genres before I was born. I surely don't remember to many standalones of many, except mysteries, actually. I generally don't mind having two or three books, or even seven on occasion, to spend time with characters, just not at the expense of, well, having a story or something to say.

(Graphic Novel #1) I See the Promised Land by Arthur Flowers, illustrated by Manu Chitrakar and Guglielmo Rossi

This graphic novel biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. tells the story by blending oral storytelling tradition with the Patua scroll painting of India. If that sounds strange, I will say that the format takes some getting used to but is really an excellent use of the graphic novel format. I have little enough of an art background to comment on the illustrations, but the colors chosen and the use of white-on-black to quote from King's speeches or highlight a point is extremely well done.

I chose to read this soon after seeing a History Channel overview of King's life on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day this year. I'm glad I had that as a background, because this biography is not one I'd recommend reading as a first exploration of King's life and works. While a short glossary in the back reminds you about historical references such as Reconstruction, the NAACP, and the Black Panthers, this is a brief overview of the many nonviolent events in which King was involved that does not give an in-depth look at any one of them. Quite frankly, I would've been a little lost had it not been for the History Channel. While it didn't add much new information, I enjoyed the storytelling format once I got used to it. I only wonder what King would have thought to the reference of "the Gods" having an impact on his life and his Fa (I cannot find a definition for this or I'd provide it, but from the context I'd probably call it "fate" or "destiny") - but again, this was part of the storytelling device. I think it would make a great read-aloud with middle or high schoolers studying the 1960s. 4.5 stars.

"The Gods"? His "Fa"?

Dr. King, leader of the Southern --->**CHRISTIAN** Leadership Conference would have been offended and horrified.

>188 richardderus: Yeah, that's kinda what I was thinking. One of the reasons it didn't get 5 stars from me, though I get that the author was trying to use a particular storytelling device.

#188: I am with Richard on that one. I think I will have to give that particular graphic novel a pass.

#187-190 Agreed! Dr. King was a Baptist minister, as was his father before him. Why portray his religious beliefs/background otherwise?

>190 alcottacre:-191 It wasn't quite that he portrayed his religious beliefs and background differently - he made a point at the beginning of the story to comment on the long tradition in King's forebears of being in the ministry. It was more a storytelling device, I think (but I'm really not an expert here) trying to hearken back to African oral storytelling, and I agree that that element of it especially didn't work and felt like layering on something that didn't belong. Maybe 4.5 stars was generous, but at this moment I'd consider rereading it - maybe after reading more history/biographies of Martin Luther King, Jr. and see if my impressions remain the same or if I come away with an entirely different impression (I daresay I would).

Just wanted to add - rereading it my last post could sound a bit defensive, but I don't mean it that way. I know that my ratings are generous and whenever I have a book in my hands I'd consider rereading - even if I struggled with some things, and often because of that - it automatically gets 4.5 stars.

I think that the discussion is an interesting/good one to have. How much does a format give or take from a story? For me, I really liked the inclusion and choice to highlight quotes from Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous speeches, and I thought it was an overall good introductory story to the topic. This overrode some of my reservations about the storytelling device (something I feel a little unable to comment on given my lack of knowledge) of African oral tradition, which included the (fictional) narrator's references to Gods, plural, and a "Fa." On the other hand, I could definitely see how someone much more knowledgeable than me about the 60s, Martin Luther King, Jr., or even oral storytelling would feel much differently. :)

It will probably be awhile before I finish a book, so here's a bit about what I'm reading now:

On the Art of Writing by Arthur Quiller-Couch - I would like to be able to say that I enjoyed "Q's" lectures as much as Helene Hanff (author of 84, Charing Cross Road), but I'm afraid the passage of nearly 100 years has dated these extremely. I enjoy what I can understand, but feel that I'm missing a lot by not having the same mental library as an English literature major of that time would be expected to have. I did find his railing against the use of the word "antibody" rather amusing, if only because *wrong* as it etymologically may be, it's absolutely acceptable in today's speech.

35565::These Three Remain by Pamela Aidan - the third in the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman series wrapping up the story of Pride and Prejudice from Darcy's point of view. I'm only about 25 pages into it, but I expect I'll be devoting much of my reading time to it over the next few days.

The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis Vol. 1 - I've been reading this off and on (mostly off) since the beginning of last year. Now that I've read Surprised by Joy, I feel like I can go ahead and read his letters from that time period without being afraid I will read the gist of his autobiography in the footnotes. Reading this slowly, either between books or before bed.

Edited to try to fix touchstones. I know it will work now that I've added it, but here's the link to the Pamela Aidan book. :)

#194: Not good news about Q for me. I have both his On the Art of Writing and On the Art of Reading to read some time this year.

I've been curious about On the Art of Writing since I read 84 Charing Cross Road. I still want to read it one day, but it's dropped a little further down on my wishlist.

I love reading letters. Right now I'm very, very slowly making my way through Vincent van Gogh's Complete letters, volume 1. I look forward to hearing more of what you think of C.S. Lewis' letters when you finish them.

>195 alcottacre: Stasia, as you're more widely read than I am, you may be pleasantly surprised. I couldn't help but think that someone like C.S. Lewis, who had been grounded in the Greek and Latin classics, would have no trouble with these lectures. I, on the other hand, am much more familiar with American and English literature that was published far after Q was writing (Beloved by Toni Morrison and Death of a Salesman were texts in more than one class) and have a very different set of books in my mental library. I did enjoy On the Art of Reading, but I'm finding On the Art of Writing very slow going.

>196 Tanglewood: I would recommend reading On the Art of Writing soon after reading Q's Legacy if you go on to read Hanff's other books regarding 84, Charing Cross Road. In the beginning, she talks about how she discovered Q and what stood out for her. I found it made me take notice of things in the lectures I might have hurried past otherwise. C.S. Lewis' letters might take me another year, but I'll let you know my thoughts. :)

Do you know, I don't think Quiller-Couch has much to offer myownself. I think Dorothea Brande, she of Becoming a Writer fame, has more to offer. Her advice, written in 1934, can withstand modern technology much more readily than Quiller-Couch's crotchets and cavils and crankery.

#131 *Makes mental note to get all 3 of the Chaos Walking books out of the library at once*

#158 re Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I started it in December and had to put it on hold because (potential spoiler warning) someone dies at the beginning of book 7 and it was all too much for me to cope with straight after the end of book 6. So give me a prod whenever you start as hopefully that will get me to pick it up again.

#194 That's interesting about the Quiller-Couch book. I also wishlisted his books after reading Q's Legacy so I will be interested in hearing your final thoughts on On the Art of Writing.

I had to wishlist Q's Legacy. I found Helene Hanff fascinating. I wanted to be her.
--BJ

#197: as you're more widely read than I am

That is a falsehood if ever there was one, but I appreciate the sentiment.

#198: Adding the Dorothea Brande book to the BlackHole.

>198 richardderus: Glad to hear it's not just the ignorance of youth making him a bit obtuse. Oh, and making a mental note to look up Dorothea Brande. (It's not really fair to give me book bullets on my own thread, you know!) :)

>199 souloftherose: Definitely have all three Chaos Walking books at once. They will go quickly, I promise. I'll let you know when I get to Deathly Hallows - I'll be finishing Physik first, and I'm on CD 4 of 11 so it might be a week or two.

>200 billiejean: Hey BJ, nice to see you! How'd you like the Australian Open? I'd rather hoped the men's final would be prolonged at least a set; as it was, I only got up in time for the last few games. I hope you enjoy Q's Legacy. I liked all three books, but 84, Charing Cross Road is still my favorite of the set.

>201 alcottacre: I doubt it's really that far off from the truth. After all, I've had fewer years to get to the classics and I read less in a year than you do. :) The main trouble is, I haven't read The Iliad or The Odyssey, I haven't read much of John Donne's poetry and that was back in high school or... pretty much any book he references or quotes. Except Shakespeare. I've read a good 15 or so of his plays and his better known sonnets, so when Q quotes Shakespeare I'm on good ground. Oh, and in lectures six and seven he talks quite a bit about the Bible and while I'm not hugely familiar with the King James Version specifically, I know my Bible well enough to follow his points there (when I understand enough of his long sentences to know what points he's making).

I admire Helene Hanff for taking the books he mentions and going back and reading them. I don't have that kind of stamina, I think. I need more fluff in between.

I enjoyed the Australian Open quite a bit, and although not that many sets, I enjoyed the competitiveness of the Men's Final. It was close for a 3 set match. (At least, I think it was a 3 set match. Not really sure now.) I loved to see the matchup for the Final because early on the commentators were basically saying no way could anyone but Nadal win. I am a big fan of Nadal, but I didn't like how they made it sound. Almost like why watch, it will end this way. I did cringe to see Venus Williams playing with so much pain. How she hung on to win was a mystery to me. I didn't see the next round where she had to drop out.
--BJ

Yes, it was a 3 set match. I didn't get to watch much, getting up with the dog I was watching around 6AM, and I wasn't able to watch the replays, so I can't really say how competitive it was overall. It was nice to see new Australian Open champions on both the men's and women's sides, though. (And just an aside...the commentators should talk less and show us more tennis. I love watching it online now 'cause I can get just that.)

MARY!! Go ***immediately*** to the stacks and check out Robert Fitzgerald's translation of Iliad and Odyssey! They're action-packed, pithy, and made of lovely English sentences.

No more YAs or shilly-shallying! GO and educate yourself (really the only kind that makes any difference) in these source-texts of our shared Western culture. If you haven't read the KJV before, I think you should go get one and read the Song of Solomon in the committee's astoundingly beautiful translation of the exquisite torture of longing for your beloved. Modern versions sound like Rod McKuen's poetry...you see what they're aiming at, but missing by so wide a mark that it's embarrassing. Also, the first creation myth in Genesis comes out so much better in the committee's sonorous, sweeping language than in the flat moderns.

Sorry, Richard, I must disagree. I much prefer the Robert Fagles translations - crisp, funny (at least in the case of the Odyssey) and contemporary without being goofy.

I should take your advice about the KJV myself - never did read it, although it's on my shelf. Of course, the 23rd psalm that I know is straight from there, but the version we read in my Jewish religious education was not quite the same. And of course, none of that new stuff. I do know the basics of the 5 Books, Kings, Job, Esther, Prophets, etc etc. But the KJV is so central to so much English lit I should have a little more of it in my head.

Mmm...Fagles...not sure about his fidelity of spirit, but they are (it is, really, I've only read his Odyssey) crisp!

Hi Mary
I'm simply stopping by to say I hope you are feeling better.

>205 richardderus:-207 I own the Robert Fagles translation of both The Iliad and The Odyssey, purchased in the hope that eventually I would get to it, and the translator chosen because even though it was verse I actually understood what he was describing in the opening of The Odyssey.

Richard, I'm most familiar with the New American Standard version of the Bible, but I do have a parallel Bible with the KJV as one of four - I'll make sure to read the Song of Solomon and the beginning of Genesis. :)

>208 Whisper1: Hi Linda! I'm feeling good most of the time, though I'm still wearing my looser pants when I can help it and have found I need to be careful about lifting heavy boxes. For the most part, I'm comfortable sitting and just have to sleep on my side. The bruise is definitely improving.

Here's my final verdict on Q - the short version: dated. The long version:

18. On the Art of Writing by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch

Dear Miss Hanff,

First off, let me say that I adore your books. 84, Charing Cross Road is my favorite, but I also enjoyed learning about the origins of your love of Literature in Q's Legacy. You made me want to read the lectures of Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch - "Q" - and love them as much as you did.

I confess I did not. I read On the Art of Reading first. It was slow going, but I have him the benefit of 80 plus years' change in the English language for what I didn't understand and liked what I did. Then I came to On the Art of Writing, the lectures you fell in love with.

Miss Hanff, were we reading the same book? In nearly one hundred years, these lectures have not aged well. Q comments about such neologisms as "antibody" - he deplores the word as incorrect - a statement that is reduced to humor now that it has become such an acceptable word in our language. His argument that Beowulf was not the beginning of English Literature, then 30 years out of vogue (as he admits in his lecture) is now 120 years out of date.

He had a tendency to quote Greek, Latin, and myriads of authors. Actually, I freely take the fall for that issue. The scholars of that time undoubtedly had a different mental library from my own, and studied Greek and Latin as a matter of course. I am much more familiar with works that were printed after Q's lectures, such as Death of a Salesman and Beloved than I am with The Iliad.

Finally, he is short on practical advice (though what he advises is practical and practicable, I grant you) yet long-winded. I admire you, Miss Hanff, for having the stamina to go back and read the many works from which he quotes. I certainly count not. Most of the time I was trying so hard to decode his point and how a given quote illustrated it that I neglected to admire the Literature you were so taken with.

Please be assured that this will not diminish my enjoyment of your books; I will, however, refrain from reading any more of Q's lectures.

Nice review!

Looking back over my thoughts on the Men's Finals elsewhere, seems like I fell asleep during the match! :D So I did not see the whole thing. I guess the part I saw was competitive, but I can't say for the later parts. Well, I am sorry that my memory is so faulty. Maybe I saw some sort of replay highlights? I can't remember.
--BJ

A couple of years ago I joined a group at the American Association of University Women who were reading the Odyssey out loud once a month. We used the Fagles translation, and it was eminently readable, understandable, and often funny. I haven't read the Iliad in his translation yet - waiting on that famous Mt. TBR - but I have great confidence that he has crafted a translation that lends itself almost effortlessly to being heard, as the original of course was.

RD, I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'fidelity of spirit' - I enjoyed reading the work immensely, as did my fellow readers.

>211 billiejean: Thanks, BJ! My memory of the men's final is not that great either, as the dog had been getting me up at 6AM for a week and I was rather sleepy at that point. :)

>212 ffortsa: Judy, I always have extra trouble finding readable and understandable verse, so I'm glad to know that this translation will most likely fit the bill for me. One of my professors made fun of me for saying I didn't understand a passage of Milton's Paradise Lost (I was supposed to read Books 1, 2, 4, and 9 - I think I got part way through book 4), but it was true, I really didn't *get* it and felt incredibly stupid when another student explained what was happening. Some sort of weird mental roadblock I have.

Glad you are feeling a bit better Mary.

Great review of book#18!

>214 Whisper1: Thanks, Linda! (On both counts) I had fun writing that review; it almost made up for pushing through to finish the lectures. :)

When I read The Iliad a couple years ago, I read the Fagles translation and really enjoyed it. I still need to get to The Odyssey though.

>216 alcottacre: See? I knew you were better read than me! :)

Edited to fix awkward phrasing. ("better read" rather than "more well-read")

Well, dang. I left my book at work! And not the library I'd be working in today, oh no, the one I'm not working in again 'til Monday. So now of course I'm making a special trip out to get my book. Because even though I am reading multiple books, this was the only fiction non-audiobook and I don't really want to start another one (the others are Gilead and Physik on audio, and I just started reading Strength to Love but since it's a book of sermons, I'm reading those one at a time).

:::sigh::: At least now I have a key so I can show up at 9AM when the other librarians get there instead of waiting 'til the library opens at 10...

#217: One book hardly makes me better read :)

#218: I hate when that happens!

>219 alcottacre: Yeah, I know, but it was too good to pass up. :) I hate it too - though it worked out nicely. I stopped by the library to pick it up and swung out to visit my mom at the same time. We had a nice visit, talking about some of the books we'd been reading and other things.

Fidelity of spirit...hmmm...can I illustrate, instead of explain? Kristin Lavransdatter, being written in some barbaric non-English tongue that about 50 people on the frozen fringes of the world speak, was translated in the 1920s by someone who thought of the original in somewhat those terms, and his mental snorts and harrumphs come across in the turgid, unpleasant-to-read translation. Charles Archer should be dug up and kicked around for what he did to those books!

Then along comes Tiina Nunnally, whose modern translation of The Wreath, Kristin Lavransdatter II: The Wife, and Kristin Lavransdatter III: The Cross restores the emotional balance and the verve of the text. Even though I can't read Swedish, I *know* this is a more faithful translation because it's got character and individuality and some certain something that can't be pinned down with one English word but means honesty and guts and grit and delicate sensitivity.

Now, for those, substitute Fagles and Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald's translation rings like a bell during the Latin Mass, where Fagles's sounds like the laughtrack during a sitcom.

Still, YMMV, and whatever brings people into Homer's tent is good.

Lovely review, Mary!

>221 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! And I like your explanation of "fidelity of spirit," though I've read none of the books you use to illustrate I think I get the idea. I'll stick with what I've got for now, and may look up the Fitzgerald translation depending on my reaction to these when I, um, get to them...someday! :)

19. These Three Remain by Pamela Aidan

The final book in the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman series wraps up the re-imagining of Pride and Prejudice from Darcy's point of view. Lately returned from his visit to an old friend's, Darcy and his cousin prepare for their yearly trip to Aunt Catherine de Bourgh's.

Ah yes...back on familiar ground. Knowing Pride and Prejudice as well as I do, I was not surprised by the main events in the plot but rather had growing anticipation for favorite scenes revisited. Secondary characters like Fletcher and Dy Brougham really come into their own, sometimes in unexpected ways. It was one of those books that I was so busy enjoying reading that now I'm at a loss to explain what I loved about it. All in all, I thought this was a fabulous series with a believable take on Darcy's perspective. 4.5 stars.

Just popping in to say Happy Valentine's Day (or as I like to think of it, Singles Awareness Day). :) Have a day of pampering yourself whether single or no.

I will be spending the evening reading A Game of Thrones. I'm hoping to make a dent in it this week, but considering the length, I may be taking a veeerrrrry long time with this one.

Happy Valentines Day! I will be spending my evening with a book too - sounds like a good way of celebrating to me!

Me too! Jim and I had an extremely crowded weekend, with visitors and entertainment every evening. All of it was enjoyable, but after a while, it's too much. So we are taking this evening as recovery time, each in his and her separate cave, undoubtedly with books books books.

>225 RosyLibrarian: and 226 Yeah, I gave myself a relaxing evening. I worked pretty much 9-8 (Monday is my long day) came back home, went in the hot tub for a bit, and then knit in front of the second part of the extended edition of The Fellowship of the Ring. So, a nice relaxing evening all told, and an excellent way to spend Valentine's if I do say so myself. ;) I even got a Valentine's Day gift from a cute guy - a tulip from one of the kids I watch in nursery at church every week.

Jim sent me an amazing bouquet of flowers, which he said was titled 'Monet's Garden' and it did look like that - lots of rich purple offset by light, bright colors. Gorgeous. Unfortunately, the poor boy is under the weather and I might not see him tonight either.

>228 ffortsa: Ohhh, how nice! That sounds like a lovely bouquet to brighten up a February! I hope Jim's feeling better soon.

20. Physik by Angie Sage, narrated by Gerard Doyle

When Silas Heap finds a counterfeet colony and decides to hide it in a Sealed room in the castle, he inadvertently lets out the ghost of Queen Etheldredda and her pet. The pet lets loose a Sicknesse and Queen Etheldredda schemes to send Septimus Heap back 500 years into the past.

The third book in the Septimus Heap series continues with the positive and negatives that I have noticed in my reread of the series. The story has an inventive world and believable characters. I like seeing their development and what troubles they will overcome next. I still find the books to be overly long, and really don't understand the need to include in a sort-of appendix with the rest of the story (or in this case, often the backstory) of every minor character, filling in cracks that were already sufficiently handled in the body of the story. 4 stars.

I'll be taking a short break from my reread of the series to listen to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (finishing my reread of that series).

21. The Scientific American Day in the Life of Your Brain by Judith Horstman

Ever wondered why you're quicker to anger in the morning, drowsy right after lunch, or what's going on in your brain while you sleep? All these subjects and more are covered in The Scientific American Day in the Life of Your Brain, essentially a compilation of many of the findings in brain research that have been published in articles in The Scientific American and The Scientific American Mind.

Organized by hour of the day, from 5AM to 4AM, each chapter covers one aspect of your brain - including diverse subjects such as humor, music, emotion, stress, sex, sleep, and dreaming. Some chapters are more loosely organized than others depending on the subject being covered, and are given an hour in which it's fairly likely that someone with an average circadian rhythm would be experiencing what's being discussed. Each section of the chapter refers to one or more articles, which are listed in the back. None of the subjects can really be explored in depth, but this eminently readable collection of facts may spark interest in a particular element of neuroscience. 4 stars.

231: Ooo, that looks interesting. Is it dumbed down enough for someone like me who isn't a science wiz?

>232 RosyLibrarian: Hey Marie, I'm no science wiz either, and had an easy enough time following. The only thing I wish there were more of is diagrams - they're all stuck in the middle together, so you might want to keep one finger there while you're reading other chapters to be able to see where the amygdala and other parts of the brain are located. (I really don't get why they're all together like the photographs in the center of a biography - they're tied to specific chapters and should be inserted there IMO).

#231: That one looks good to the science nerd in me. Thanks for the recommendation, Mary.

>234 alcottacre: Hope you enjoy it, Stasia. Knowing your need for footnotes/sources, I will note that though there are none in the text, each section of a given chapter is an adaptation of one or more articles, each of which are referenced in an appendix.

22. Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Andi just wants to dull the pain, so she's been cutting classes and prescribing herself a little extra of the drugs that her psychiatrist has her taking. Her mother is wrapped up in her own pain, painting portraits of Truman, Andi's brother, who is dead. Her father never takes much of an interest in her life, but when Andi is in danger of getting expelled from her super-expensive prep school, he takes her to Paris while he performs DNA research on a heart from the time of the French Revolution.

I'm glad I'd been warned ahead of time that Andi is a tough character to like, or I probably would have given up on this book even before my regular 50-page rule. She is pricklier than Mary Lennox and definitely has a rougher mouth, but once she goes to Paris the plot really takes off. The second storyline told through a girl's diary from during the Revolution was compelling, and I did start to warm up to Andi once I understood a little more about why she was so sad and angry. I was fascinated by the historical and musical references throughout the book, and was really glad to see a thorough list of information and books to go to next in the back. Though one decision towards the end of the book threw me for a loop, I would readily recommend it to teens and adults, whether they think they'd be interested in the French Revolution or not. 4 stars.

Hey Stasia - one of the books the author mentions in the note in the end is The Rest is Noise. I think I'm going to have to bump it up on the TBR list. :)

#236: one of the books the author mentions in the note in the end is The Rest is Noise. I think I'm going to have to bump it up on the TBR list.

I know. I am glad you are finally bumping the book up!

>237 alcottacre: I just put it on hold from library before I forgot... I'm doing really good on my library book limit at the moment. I only have 3 books out to read (though a few more will be ready to pick up for me on Tuesday), so I've taken a short break to read one of my own books. Thank goodness for the holiday - I'm looking forward to some quality reading time!

#238: I hope you get the quality reading time tomorrow, Mary!

Hope you get some good reading time over the holiday. I still don't really want to read HP7 for some reason, other books keep calling to me!

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly is definitely on the wishlist but I managed to find A Gathering Light second hand a while back so I need to read that one first.

>239 alcottacre: Thanks, Stasia! I expect I will.

>240 souloftherose: Hi Heather! I read Northern Light (the title in the US - no idea why the powers that be change titles for countries that share a language...) first too, years ago. I hope you enjoy it!

Stopping by to say Hello. :)

>242 BookAngel_a: Hi Angela! Nice to see you. :)

23. East by Edith Pattou

Ebba Rose was the youngest in a large family. Her brother, Neddy, looks after her and she drives her mother, Eugenia, to distraction because, like a north-born child, Rose can't help wandering. Then her sister Sara becomes sick, and a strange, sentient white bear offers to make her well if Rose comes with him.

This is a retelling of the Norwegian fairy tale, "East of the Sun, West of the Moon," a tale with which I was completely unfamiliar before reading Pattou's re-imagination of it. The locations such as Njord and Fransk, sounding familiar yet strange, and the existence of a White Bear and Troll Queen as narrators along with Rose, Neddy, and their father, blend reality and fantasy giving the story a surreal atmosphere. Somewhere in the reading, I stopped worrying about it so much and the narrative began to click for me. I wish that Rose's and the White Bear's relationship was explored a bit more; their camaraderie seems suddenly strong to me. Now, however, I have to go look up the original tale. 4 stars.

Oh, I've added East to my wishlist. I love fairytale retellings. There is an edition of East of the Sun, West of the Moon illustrated by Kay Nielsen that is beautiful.

I love retellings of fairy tales, so I've added East to the TBR list... and I should refresh my memory of the original as well, as it's been a looong long time...

>245 Tanglewood:, Just the cover looks lovely. I will have to try to track down that edition!

>246 dk_phoenix: Hope you enjoy it, Faith!

#244: I already have that one in the BlackHole. Maybe I will get to it eventually.

>248 alcottacre: Hope you enjoy it whenever you get to it, Stasia!

I had kind of hoped I could at least make the thread last 'til the end of February, but I guess not. Here's Thread 2 and I hope you'll join me there!