souloftherose's 2011 reading, thread the first

A warm welcome to my thread to old friends and new!

My 2010 best of list can be found here and my blurb on the introductions thread can be found here.

This year I am also taking part in the 11 in 11 challenge (here) and the Orange January/July challenge (here) but all the books I read will be listed in this thread so if you are overwhelmed with threads just stay here and you won't miss anything.

So you can get an idea of the things I would like to read in 2011, here are my 11 in 11 categories:

1) Fairy tales, myths and legends
2) The best of science-fiction and fantasy
3) Historical fiction
4) Old friends - classic rereads
5) All things book related
6) I've started so I'll finish - ongoing series
7) Young at heart - children's and YA books
8) New to me - authors I haven't read before
9) Lost in translation? - translated literature
10) Non-fiction
11) Graphic novels

Counter for books read in 2011:



Counter for books acquired in 2011:



The aim is to stay under 120 (10 a month) rather than reach that goal! This includes books acquired second hand and from bookmooch but not books acquired by my husband.

Books acquired:
January: 38!
February: 14
March: 17

January
#1 The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney
#2 Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik
#3 Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
#4 The Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud
#5 The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham
#6 Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin
#7 The Help by Kathryn Stockett
#8 The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
#9 Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
#10 Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney
#10.5 One Hundred Ways for a Cat to Train its Human by Celia Haddon
#11 The White King by Gyorgy Dragoman
#12 The Inimitable Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse
#13 Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

February
#14 Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
#15 Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer
#16 Cart and Cwidder by Diana Wynne Jones
#17 The Very Bloody History of Britain by John Farman
#18 The Vile Victorians by Terry Deary
#19 Carry On, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse
#20 The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
#21 Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe
#22 The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger
#23 Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud
#24 Native Tongue by Suzette Haden Elgin
#25 Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer
#26 Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
#27 Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet by Xinran
#28 Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
#29 A Study in Scarlet (annotated) by Arthur Conan Doyle
#30 The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin
#31 The Red Coffin by Sam Eastland
#32 Terry Pratchett: Guilty of Literature edited by Andrew M. Butler
#33 Rowdy Revolutions by Terry Deary

March
#34 Sorcery and Cecilia by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
#35 Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction by Tom Raabe
#36 The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud
#37 Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
#38 South Riding by Winifred Holtby
#39 The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde
#40 First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde
#41 One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde
#42 The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle
#43 The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd
#44 Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
#45 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
#46 Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
#47 In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce
#48 The Woman Who Rides Like a Man by Tamora Pierce
#49 Monk's Hood by Ellis Peters
#50 Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
#51 Remember, Remember!: The Selected Stories of Winifred Holtby by Winifred Holtby
#52 God's Philosophers: How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations of Modern Science by James Hannam
#53 Always Coming Home by Ursula Le Guin
#54 The Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe

I'm here too!

Found you! I'm off for dinner too now - look forward to seeing your thread when you've properly 'moved in' and got all the furniture in place!

Just dropping by with a plate of virtual cookies, which I'm sure you don't need.... Glad we're back!

Hey there Heather. :)

Hi! Thank you for visiting my new thread and Happy New Year!

Welcome back!

Happy New Year, Heather! Glad to be back on your thread for 2011.

Happy New Year!!! =)

Hi Heather - good to see your thread finally appear in here.

Hello, hello! I'm also here! *grabs a cookie*

Hi Heather

Happy New Year

Happy New Year, Heather! I would have sworn I posted that on your thread earlier today, but I sure don't see it here. I had you starred, so know I visited.

Hey, Heather! Glad you are back with us again. Post lots of cat pics, will you? :)

Happy New Year Heather.

Checking in! I second Stasia - I love the cat pics.

Checking in for the New Year!

Hello again Heather. Looking forward to hearing about your first books for 2011.

*waves to everyone*

OK, I have finally got up to date on the introductions thread and I think I've found and starred most people's threads (and probably starred more threads than I have a hope of keeping up with!). I still need to add links back to my 2010 threads and write my own introduction but I am going to add my January reading plans first:

January reading plans

Orange January:
The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Group reads:
Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (reread)

Other possibilities:
The Confessions by Saint Augustine - TIOLI challenge - read a book that predates the printing press - I've had this in my currently reading collection since my holiday in September, I think I'm on page 2.
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi - library book
Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin - TIOLI challenge - proper nouns
Terry Pratchett: Guilty of Literature edited by Andrew M. Butler
The White King by Gyorgy Dragoman - TIOLI challenge - read a book about Hungary (Hungarian author)
Fool Moon by Jim Butcher - library book
Stop the Train by Geraldine McCaughrean - library book
The Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud - library book

As loads of other people have posted, I am going to try and limit the number of books I acquire in 2011. Stasia and Linda have a limit of 10 books a year but there is no way I could ever manage that so I'm setting myself a fairly arbitrary goal of 10 books a month (that's a lot less than I acquired last year).

As I only read 104 books from my TBR piles last year that will mean I still need to read less library books and more books off my shelves to be left with fewer books in my TBR piles at the end of 2011.

So my 4-step plan to acquiring less books in 2011:

1) I will go to the local charity bookshop monthly rather than weekly. Good news is I haven't been in January yet - woo! Bad news, I've already ordered so many books over the internet for group reads that I've almost hit my January book limit so I really shouldn't go at all this month :-(

2) I am not allowed to acquire any books by authors if I own books written by that author that I haven't read yet. Unless I'm trying to read through a series in order or the books are sufficiently rare that I just have to get them when I see them (have I given myself enough exceptions yet?)

3) Books bought for my husband don't count. Even if I will read them at some point.

4) I'm going to record any books acquired in my thread in the hope that it will shame me into some self control.

So far the only books that have entered the house in January are some late Christmas presents for my parents (although admittedly I have bought them books that I want to read!).

I could've sworn I'd already posted here, but I think it was on your Orange thread!

I hope you like Case Histories too. It's good to kick off the year with some really good books.

I love that you are going to limit book buying too, and I have started keeping track in my thread of where the books come from. I know I'll get absolution for my sins from this group but I really have got so many great books sitting here that I don't need more. And I'm lucky to be miles away from secondhand bookshops. I'm probably doing a trip to London some time, though, and will be letting myself run wild in the bookshops there...

And I predict that your husband is going to get lots of presents this year!

Good call, Cushla!
I think the idea of recording on my thread what I get from where is a good but scary idea. I'm going to do it too. In fact, I'm going to start it now since I am the worst offender in the buy & stack category.

Hallo Heather! Happy New Year - just checking in to star your thread before my library session runs out - will catch up properly soon!

Hi, I'm new to your thread, I think but it seems your interests are much like mine and I think I'll lurk around for a bit. No promises of really clever comments or anything like that. I, too, am keeping track of books purchased this year. My goal is to stay under 100. And given that I only read 50 books last year, I should probably have a smaller goal. Maybe I'll try for keeping it under 50. I'm running out of years to read in...

Happy new year! I've starred your thread as it seems we have a fair few interests in common. Good luck with the 2011 reading.

#21 Hello Cushla - I'm going to try and limit book buying. I tried at several points last year and it never lasted longer than a week so we'll see how we go in 2011.

Trip to London?! I've been thinking about starting a thread for discussing a potential UK meet up but thought I would give us all a couple of weeks to get settled in first. When would your trip be?

#22 It is scary Peggy, particularly if I acquire as many books as I did last year. I still can't admit how many, it's that bad. And I had no idea until I counted at the end of the year. I even did a graph but I was too embarrassed to post it on my thread. Maybe I should look at the graph everytime I feel like buying books this year...

#23 Fliss! *waves*

#24 Hi Karen, you're more than welcome to lurk but I definitely don't require comments to be clever otherwise I wouldn't be able to post on the thread either! Given how many people are trying to acquire fewer books this year maybe we should all be trying to acquire only 75 books in the year rather than reading 75 books?

#25 Welcome Katie!

Books acquired
Native Tongue by Suzette Haden Elgin from abebooks for ronincats' future women group read


I won't normally post the book cover for every book I acquire but I thought this one was so hilariously bad I had to share it! Apparently in 1985 they thought that cover would sell books.

Hi Heather! Quite an impressive group of books you plan on reading.

#26 That is one horrible book cover :P! You are a very brave woman for succumbing to that purchase.

And some books read:

Book #1 The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney



Acquired: Dec 2010 from the aforementioned charity bookshop
Why I read it now: It fit the Orange January challenge and lots of other people in the group seemed to be reading it
Library books:TBR books ratio = 0:1 woop!

It's winter in Canada in 1867 and a trader has been brutally murdered in the small, isolated settlement of Dove River. The seventeen year old son of one family has mysteriously disappeared and as suspicion falls on him, his mother sets off against the frozen landscape to find him and prove his innocence.

This story took me a while to really get into. The narration is shared between several characters, unusually one of the narrators tells the story from a first person perspective whilst the others are all third person. It may be that this was why I felt a bit distanced from the characters at first. What really struck me about the book was the way Penney so vividly managed to get across the cold and the frozen landscape of Northern Canada. I live in a country where we a few inches of snow gets us panicking but I felt like I knew what it would be like to walk through the wilderness for miles when it is so cold that the tearducts in your eyes freeze.

I particularly liked the ending of this book; there's enough resolution to give a good ending but not so much that there was nothing left for me to think about after the book had ended.

3.75 stars

#27 Thanks Linda. The horrible cover was cheaper second hand - can't think why!

Book #2 Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik



Acquired: Library book
Why I read it now: I needed to take it back to the library
Library books:TBR books ratio = 1:1

This is the fifth book in Naomi Novik's Temeraire alternate history/fantasy series and they really do need to be read in order.

I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as I enjoyed the previous book in the series. I think this may partly be because this book really shows the results of the characters' actions in the previous book, and they're not all good results. When reading the previous book I'd been convinced that Laurence and Temeraire had done the right thing, but reading this book made me question that conclusion. I think it was very well done but led to a slightly more uncomfortable and less enjoyable read.

Otherwise, I think I might be feeling a little bit tired of this series so I am going to take a break before reading the next book.

3.75 stars

And shamelessly stealing this from Zoe's thread:

List of the 75 Book Challengers' favorite books from 2010:

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
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

I had no idea I was so with the trend!

Hi Heather, I love these end-of-year lists and beginning-of-year lists and wish lists and...well, you get the idea. Happy New Year and best of luck to you in reaching your reading goals. I must say that your goal of acquiring 10 books or less per month is more achievable than those who are going cold turkey. What are they thinking??? ;-)

Found you! I've also got an ambition to read more from my shelves and acquire less. Mount TBR is currently standing at over 130 books (if I include Christmas presents) and I'd like to have it under 100 by year end.

Erm, that's actually not that big a goal...

Although I do have rather a lot of Christmas vouchers to use up and most of them are book vouchers...

I think it's a books in equalling books read problem, so my TBR pile is mainly books bought more than a year ago that never get read. So even if just end up with Mount TBR shorter than it currently is by year end, I'll have done a good job :-)

# 30 I have read only the Harry Potter books and have none of the other books on my TBR/Wishlist from the list of the 75 Book Challengers' favourite books from 2010. I kind of knew that I was so not with the trend! ;-)

Ugh, I can definitely sympathize with the goal to acquire less books. I kept count last year until the number got over 100 and then I couldn't bear to keep track anymore.

Until I whittle down the stacks, I'm not allowing myself to buy any "no prior knowledge" books. Sure, you can find gems that way, but I've already got plenty of those to work through.

Heather, I love your 4 step plan to aquire less books. I have the same problem but have not reached the stage of a plan to address it.

I'm also glad you said it took you awhile to get into The Tenderness of Wolves. I'm only about 70 pages in and just starting to settle in with it. I'm also somewhat thrown off by the different narrators and different tenses.

I love your 4 step plan too and have thought the same thoughts especially #2... I have four books by Rose Tremain, six by Margaret Atwood, etc etc in my TBR pile so now I just feel too guilty even looking at their other books at the library etc.

I highly recommend Persepolis and it is a quick read as a graphic novel.

I am thinking the Linda and I are insane :)

>33 Porua:: I kind of knew that I was so not with the trend!

And that's what we like about you, Porua. You don't have to jump on the 'popular' books bandwagon to be well read.

Confessing that I'm a "trendy" person who has read 18 of the books on the LT 2010 Favorites list...and there are a few more I want to read...but no Harry Potter for me. ;-)

>37 alcottacre:: LOL, Stasia. I would never call you two 'insane.' I'm just glad I didn't drink the kool aid!

# 38 Thanks, Donna! You’re kind, as always. :-)

I’ve got to confess I loved the Harry Potter series but that probably has something to do with my literally growing up with it. The books remind me of my entire childhood.

Hmmm, I've read 9 books from the list, 2 of the nonfiction and 7 in the fiction, and plan to read 3 more of the fiction ones at some point.

I've read 8 and five-sevenths of the entries on the list, and I have three and one-seventh in the TBR pile. Call it twelve in total between the read pile and the TBR, because I have every intention of reading the final instalment of Harry Potter at some point.

I'm not sure whether that means I am on trend or not. (If I am, it will be about the first time ever.)

Adore your list of 4 ways to curb book-buying. I seriously wish you the best!

I lost you for awhile -- glad you put up your intro on the intro thread. Happy New Year.

#31 Thanks Donna. I could never restrict myself to 10 books a year, I am struggling to restrict myself to 10 books a month!

#32 That's my goal too; more books I own read than books acquired.

#33 It might just show that I am easily distracted from my reading plans by books other people have recommended!

#34 I know what you mean Tabatha, but I am determined to keep counting this year regardless of how much I embarrass myself in the process.

#35 I've had lots of people comment that it took a while to get into The Tenderness of Wolves Pat, so we are definitely not alone. Hope you find it picks up soon.

#36 I think I have 4 unread Margaret Atwoods and I still find myself itching to pick up more when I see them second hand. The author with the largest number of books in my TBR pile is probably Margery Allingham. I own 17 of her books which I haven't read, mostly from her Albert Campion series. I have recently bought the first book in the series so I can read them in order so there is no excuse anymore!

#37 Yep, but we love you both anyway.

Thanks, Heather! I will be sure and let Linda know too :)

#38 - 41 It's very interesting to see how much we all influence each other with book suggestions.

#38 Seconding what Donna said!

#42 Glad you found me Lucy! The group seems even busier than last year and I didn't think that was possible.

Thank you all for the support on the book buying plans. I need all the help I can get as you can see from the list of books that have come into the house since msg 26.

Books acquired

From book depository:
Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney - for the group read
Beowulf: Dragonslayer by Rosemary Sutcliff
The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens - to replace my battered cheap edition with a nice new Penguin Classics edition with the original illustrations, introduction and notes etc.

From ebay:
The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens - again replacing my old edition with a Penguin Classics

From abebooks:
Gibbon's Decline and Fall by Sheri S. Tepper - for a group read
Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin - for a group read

From bookmooch:
Friday's Child by Georgette Heyer
Tea with the Black Dragon by R. A. MacAvoy
Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
At the Sign of the Sugared Plum by Mary Hooper
Bellwether by Connie Willis
Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie - at a stretch I could argue that I got this for the husband
The Highly Sensitive Person in Love by Elaine N. Aron
Momo by Michael Ende

Which brings the total acquired so far this year to 16 :-(

In my defence, these were all ordered/requested before 1 Jan.

I can easily restrain myself from placing ebay/amazon/book depository/abebooks orders because they feel like they cost money, but it's very hard to stop myself from using bookmooch...

I could remove the Dickens from the list as they're replacement copies rather than increasing the size of my library but I am going to leave them in for now and then do some fancy footwork at the end of the year if I exceed my target!

And I still have more books I requested from bookmooch in Nov/Dec on their way to me and I have a birthday at the end of this month. Oh dear.

Wow! That is a lot of books! Congratulations on your haul, Heather!

Hi Heather- I found you and starred you! Your categories look wonderful and I have a horrible feeling you will be contributing to my wishlist this year!

#46 No, not congratulations Stasia, I am not supposed to be getting so many books remember!

#47 Muah ha ha! I'm sure I will just be returning the compliment.

#48: Yeah, but if you are going to be bad, you might as well be really bad! Besides, if they were all ordered before 1 January, they do not count as being bought this year :)

Do books bought with Christmas money and gift cards count?

#19- Wow, that's a lot of planned reads for January. If you didn't like Victory of Eagles I would definitely suggest you take a break from the series for a while. I found the 6th book very depressing - things just keep getting worse for them.

Good books! Great haul from BookMooch--I often have difficulty finding books I want there, but you got some great ones.

That is a good crop of new books, even if you are meant to be cutting down! I'm glad you've got the first of the Campion series now. Once you start reading through those, you'll eat into your TBR pile as they are quite quick reads mostly. I've still got a couple left to finish my complete read, then I might move on to complete (re)read of D L Sayers, I think.

I agree, a great selection of books. I'm bad too, I've been at the Borders clearance sale and couldn't not get some books today, though most of my booty was foreign film dvds.

Hi Heather, a great start to the year. Your four point plan is good although your recent internet haul is good as well. My new mantra is 'Budgets are my friends' although I'm not convinced it will work, still haven't bought a book so far this year.

Not so much a book funk today as an 'updating my thread' funk. To be updated later:

Book #3 Case Histories by Kate Atkinson



Acquired: Charity book shop
Why I read it now: Orange January and if I'm honest it seemed less daunting than some of the other Orange nominees in my TBR pile
Library books:TBR books ratio = 1:2

A compelling book but difficult to describe. Brenzi described it as 'so much more than a detective novel' in her review and I think that's a good description.

Case Histories opens with the events leading up to three different cold cases and then switches to the present day with an introduction to Jackson Brodie, a police detective turned private investigator with a messed up private life. He's asked to investigate a couple of the cold cases. So far, it sounds very much like a typical detective novel but it's really not.

Whilst in a traditional detective novel the focus is very much on 'who dunnit' in Case Histories the focus seemed to be more on the effect these crimes had on those affected by them. The characterisation was fantastic and quirky. Although parts of the book were fairly gritty and dark there was also a lot of humour.

Anyway, if you're interested, look at the reviews on the book page sorted by votes. There are some wonderful reviews of this book which put things much better than I could.

4.25 stars

Book #4 The Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud



Acquired: Library book
Why I read it now: I wanted something a bit more light-hearted after Case Histories
Library books:TBR books ratio = 2:2

I don't like describing books as being like other books but the best description of this series that my brain can come up with at the moment is Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell meets Harry Potter meets Artemis Fowl. Which makes Stroud's series seem like it must be a very calculated marketing ploy or extremely derivative but it actually reads as a fairly fresh and original series

I've really enjoyed the two books I've read in Stroud's Bartimaeus series so far but something stops them from being a truly memorable read for me and I'm still not sure what that something is. But I'm still looking forward to reading the third book in the trilogy and the recently released prequel, but they are definitely library books for me rather than books to buy.

4 stars

Book #5 The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham



Acquired: Ebay
Why I read it now: Still wanted something light to read
Library books:TBR books ratio = 2:3

A British 1920s murder mystery complete with a house party, an international crime ring, men who are bold and 'gels' who are plucky. It was Allingham's first book and I'm not convinced it all made sense but I enjoyed seeing where her Albert Campion series started. Another reviewer has described it as 'pure, unadulterated hokum' which I think is a fairly good summary.

Probably not recommended as a starting point if you haven't read any of her books before. I've read another two in this series, the second (Mystery Mile) and the eleventh (Traitor's Purse). I thought there was a marked difference between the earlier two books and the later book, particularly with regards to Mr Campion's character, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the series develops.

3.25 stars

ETA: Correct book covers - the dangers of copying and pasting!

And I'm still reading:

Beowulf
Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin
Terry Pratchett: Guilty of Literature edited by Andrew M. Butler

Enjoying all of them but progress feels slow (which is my own fault for always trying to read so many books at once!)

Ah, Heather, I feel your pain. I try from time to time, but I never really like Allingham. I sort of like Lug, but the rest has never jelled for me. On the other hand, I have all kinds of respect for Claire Tomalin.

Terry Pratchett: Guilty of Literature sounds like an interesting one: I'll be interested in your eventual verdict on it.

Heather, I didn't like the The Crime at Black Dudley either, but I've enjoyed the others in the Campion series. I'd forgotten about this one actually, so thanks for the nudge.... must go to my TBR Tower and find some of the other ones I haven't yet read but I know are in there..... somewhere....

The only Allingham I've read is one of her most acclaimed ones, the Tiger in the Smoke and it didn't make me want to try the others.

I like your summing up of the Stroud -- I really wanted to like this series, but I literally 'got bored' with them at some point. I couldn't care enough about any of the characters, even though I felt that it might be a more accurate picture of how real witches and warlocks might behave (eg be pretty darned wicked!). So, my problem was, I just couldn't care. It was evil without soul, or I might have?

Well I'm glad you've made a start on that pile of Allinghams! I agree the early ones are different in tone - very much lighter and full of rather impossible adventures. I don't know the Stroud books, but did enjoy all the Kate Atkinson series, so I'm glad you've enjoyed that first one; I look forward to your further thoughts when the brain is co-operating!

Waiting until you finish the third Stroud to make comments--don't want to do any spoilers!

I will probably not wait for my working library to get money to buy The Ring of Solomon and will probably buy it myself and donate it. I hate it when budget woes are taken out on libraries. We haven't been given any money to buy books in three years!

love your categories!

I hope all's well, Heather. Are you getting lots of reading done, or is work and other RL stuff getting in the way at present?

#26 *waves back!*

A London meet up sounds like fun.

"I won't normally post the book cover for every book I acquire but I thought this one was so hilariously bad I had to share it!" - made me cackle anyway!

#30 Ah, now I wish I'd been internet-connected to put in my 2p on favourite books for 2010... We seem to have read pretty much the same books from that list - I may have to nick it from your thread now too...

#36 Going to second the recommendation for Persepolis...

#42 Me too - particularly liked: "3) Books bought for my husband don't count. Even if I will read them at some point." ;o)

#45 Yay!!! I'm so glad you've got Beowulf: Dragonslayer!! This was one of the reasons I suggested Beowulf in the first place ;o)

#55 Ah, I'll look forward to your comments on Case Histories, I'm thinking of reading that for the January TIOLI.

I like the sound of The Golem's Eye too...

#56 How are you finding Jane Austen: A Life? I'm not very good at reading biographies, but I'd like to find a decent one for Jane Austen to compliment the letters that I already have.

Ohhh.......a London meet-up?? I could do that!

Just stopping by to see if you were home. :)

London meet-up sounds good to me too!

Depending on timing, I'd love to try to join in with a London meet up too...

I'd also love to try to join a London meet up, also depending on timing.

(Remind me again why I live way down here?)

Heather? Are you here? It's been over a week--I hope all is well with you and yours.

I'm finally back! I think I have been having and am still having a general January funk, nothing serious, just a bit of a cold and lots and lots of tiredness which is annoying.

I've added my thoughts about Case Histories to msg #55.

#57 & 59 I did enjoy reading The Crime at Black Dudley but at the same time I didn't think it was that good a book (if that makes any sense). I found some parts quite funny because they seemed so stereotypical of that type of crime novel and therefore slightly ridiculous but I'm not sure whether Allingham intended those bits to be funny for that reason.

So not a bad book by any means, but this is the rare case where I wouldn't recommend someone start with the first book in the series.

#58 You've reminded me that I haven't actually read any more of it since I last posted Caty!

#60 I haven't read that one yet Luci but I think it is considered her best so if you didn't enjoy that one it may be that Allingham's not for you.

#61 Re the Stroud, I'm not bored yet but I don't think I could read them back to back like I did with the Harry Potter books at the end of last year. But yes, I think it's probably a more realistic picture of what London would be like if magicians existed. I think Kitty is the only character I feel I care about so far and I liked the second book more because it had more of Kitty in it.

#62 Thanks Genny - only 16 more to go!

#63 No spoilers is good! Hopefully I will get the third book next time I go to the 'big' library.

#64 No new books for 3 years - eek! All the local councils are planning library cutbacks but so far they are planning to reduce opening hours rather than cut back on new books. Which is better for me but worse for the library staff...

#65 Thanks Susan and thanks for the book recommendation. I've added it to the long wishlist!

#66 Thanks Genny. I have been reading but not keeping up with my talk threads. I'm hoping to make some progress this weekend...

#67 Hi flissp. Thoughts on Persepolis and Jane Austen: A Life to come.

#68, 70-72 Ooh meet up! Maybe we should start a separate thread?

#69 Hi Pat - thanks for stopping by!

#72 Because of the lovely countryside?

#73 Oops, yes I am here - sorry!

So, I think I have 10 days worth of reading to catch up with as well as 10 days worth of posts. Rather a daunting concept but I've made a start. Book updates to follow. I was hoping I would manage more before the tiredness hit again but I think I need to sign off for a bit. Sorry for neglecting you all :-(

So long as you are not neglecting you, we'll be happy when you come and happier to hear you're back to 100%!

I'll be interested what you think of the 3rd Stroud book although we differ slightly as I loved them a lot more than Harry Potter and read them all back to back. Will be finding time to fit in the prequel in the next few months as well and have only read very good things about them.

And I second some 'you' time.

#75 & 76 Thanks guys!

Some more book catchups

Book #6 Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin



Acquired: Charity book shop
Why I read it now: Preparation for the Austenathon
Library books:TBR books ratio = 2:4

I haven't read any other biographies of Jane Austen so I don't have much to compare this one to, but for what it's worth, I thought this one was very good.

I thought this biography was very readable and well referenced and I was fascinated by the history of Jane Austen and her relations.

4.5 stars

Book #7 The Help by Kathryn Stockett



Acquired: Borrowed from my Mum
Why I read it now: Orange January
Library books:TBR books ratio = 3:4

I had seen so many rave reviews of this book before I read it that I was rather worried that it wouldn't live up to all the hype, but in the end I read the whole thing in a day and stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it because I couldn't put it down.

Having said that I gave it 4.5 stars rather than 5 stars. It was a gripping and very enjoyable read and I can understand why it's been so popular but I felt that it wasn't quite as well written as some of the other Orange nominees for 2010 (particularly Wolf Hall and The Lacuna which were 5 star reads for me).

Book #8 The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi



Acquired: Library book
Why I read it now: I wanted to read more about Iran and the Iranian revolution after reading The House of the Mosque last month
Library books:TBR books ratio = 4:4

The Complete Persepolis includes Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood and Persepolis: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi. These are graphic novels except that they're actually an autobiography so not a novel at all!

The Story of a Childhood is Satrapi's tale of growing up in Iran during the Iranian/Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq which followed. Satrapi is a spirited young girl, brought up to question what she is taught rather than accepting things blindly and eventually this outspokenness means that her parents think she will be safer if they send her abroad to Austria.

The Story of a Return tells of Satrapi's time as an older teenager in Austria before she eventually returns home to Iran. In some ways this was the hardest part of the book to read. An immigrant in a country where Iranians are perceived as terrorists, Satrapi has known of friends and family tortured and imprisoned by the regime in Iran but suddenly has to learn to try and fit in with other teenagers who are only interested in boys and lipstick. She experiences complete culture shock as well as all the normal angst experienced as a teenager and she has no one to turn to for help. Her return to Iran is also very hard for her to deal with as she experiences the same culture shock in reverse.

A very moving account of a young woman's coming of age. 4.5 stars

I've been resisting The Help but no more, thanks to you. Also tossing in the Claire Tomalin.....

Glad you liked the Jane Austen bio as I have it myself somewhere in TBR-Land. Looking forward to it...

I read and really enjoyed Jane Austen's Letters, but I've never read a biography about her. Jane Austen: A Life sounds like a good one to try out.

And a couple more.

Book #9 Fool Moon by Jim Butcher



Acquired: Library book
Why I read it now: I wanted (another) fluff read
Library books:TBR books ratio = 5:4

This is the second book in the Dresden Files series featuring Harry Dresden as a private investigator in Chicago who also happens to be the city's only wizard. I've been assured by other people that this series gets a lot better after the first 3/4 books which is why I'm continuing because at the moment they are enjoyable enough but fairly formulaic and forgettable.

3.5 stars but only because I quite enjoy the formula.

justchris has done a wonderful review of the whole series here and that has given me the reassurance I need to keep going with the series.

Book #10 Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney



Acquired: Book depository, Jan 2011
Why I read it now: Group read
Library books:TBR books ratio = 5:5

I'm not really sure what to say about Beowulf or how to rate it. I don't read poetry as a rule and I've never read any epic poetry before but I found this more readable than I thought I would. I spent a few extra pounds to get the bilingual edition which shows the original Anglo-Saxon on one page and Heaney's translation on the other. I'm very pleased I read it and although I haven't really commented on the group read page I probably wouldn't have had the courage to read this on my own but it seems incredibly presumptuous of me to give Beowulf a star rating. I went for 4 stars as a nice average rating.

I know what you mean -- with some books the star system seems so irrelevant as well as a bit cheeky!

On the other hand -- Heaney's translation is amazing -- so much better than anyone else's..... I think I rated it from that angle.

#78-80 Hope you all enjoy the Tomalin. I have been running my eye down the list of other biographies she's written and so many of them look so interesting! I can't believe I had this one in my TBR pile for a year before getting round to it...

#80 I've never read Jane Austen's letters but I would very much like to, although I understand a lot of them were destroyed by her family. I was thinking I might treat myself to a copy once we've read through all her novels in the Austenathon.

#82 Exactly - how could I rate the only (or one of the only) surviving pieces of work from that time?

I haven't read any other translations although I think I have Kevin Crossley-Holland's as part of a larger anthology I picked up. As well as Heaney's translation being superb, the layout of my edition made reading it so easy. The Crossley-Holland has the whole poem squeezed as few pages as possible which makes it seem so much harder to read.

I love the idea of having the original anglo-saxon on one page and the translation on the other. It would make it much more interesting and enjoyable for me I think.

I've been resisting both The Help, because of all the hype, and Persepolis, because I've seen the movie and it was pretty depressing, but your reviews have renewed my interest so thanks for that. Glad to see you back on LT--I missed you!

#85 Having the Anglo-Saxon there made me feel very literary and studious despite the fact that I didn't understand a word of it! I did find some videos on youtube of someone reading Beowulf out loud in the original Anglo Saxon and it made more sense hearing it spoken rather than reading it.

Time for the books in confessional. January has been a very bad month for book acquisitions (or a very good month depending on how you look at it).

I've been starting to feel that the universe is somehow conspiring against my decision to try and acquire fewer books. One book that I had requested from someone on bookmooch back in December arrived with two others in the same envelope! When I emailed the owner to check she hadn't accidentally included someone else's books she said she was having a clear out and thought I might enjoy the extra ones based on my wishlist. I won another two books on a blog giveaway which I entered but didn't expect to win and I received a brand new Virago Modern Classics edition of South Riding from the publisher which completely mystified me as there was no slip explaining why they'd sent it to me. I eventually remembered that I'd joined the Virago Book Club and there had been some mention of a free book but I thought I'd signed up too late.

Anyway, the books themselves:

Bookmooch
They Came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie
The Labours of Hercules by Agatha Christie
Blitz Boys by Linda Newbery
One Hundred Ways for a Cat to Train its Human by Celia Haddon
King of Shadows by Susan Cooper
The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie
God Stalk by P. C. Hodgell
A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson
Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer

LT Early Reviewers
The Red Coffin Sam Eastland (aka Shadow Pass)

Blog giveaway
The Sentinel Mage by Emily Gee
The Laurentine Spy by Emily Gee

From publishers
South Riding by Winifred Holtby

Which brings the grand total acquired this year up to 32! There is no hope...

#86 Thanks Pat, I've missed LT! I didn't find Persepolis the book depressing, but it was sad and very moving. I haven't seen the film, I've been considering renting the DVD.

I think The Help lived up to the hype. I haven't found anyone who was disappointed with it yet...

One Hundred Ways for a Cat to Train its Human is very funny, and scarily true based on our four cats, and previous ones.

I also own One Hundred Ways for a Horse to Train its Human which is the same idea, but even funnier. Of course, you only understand it if you work with, or own, a horse though!!

Hi! I’m back too after a hiatus of two weeks. Am trying very hard to catch up with everyone.

Ooh Agatha Christie books from BM! Haven’t read They Came to Baghdad but love The Labours of Hercules! A friend I recommended them to also loved them. The Body in the Library is also good.

Oh, God Stalk! Drop everything and read it for Fantasy February--superb!

So, (and that's a Beowulf 'so') I now have to add God Stalk to my tbr list.
Heather, I downloaded several interesting lectures from Oxford University via itunes podcasts about Old English a couple of years ago. They were at the introductory level and the lecturer was really passionate and fun.
I don't have much luck with bookmooch, nothing on my wishlist comes up or if it does they won't send internationally, and I deleted my listings as it took me a couple of weeks to find the last book someone mooched from me. I have heaps of points saved up too.

I love Kate Atkinson and need to find a copy of When Will There Be Good News so I'll be ready to read her new one.

My husband asked me the other day if I had more than 20 books in the house that I've haven't read yet. I looked at my LT collection "own but haven't read" and saw that I have 197 and decided to keep that information to myself. I sympathize with your efforts to limit your new books.

Ooh, you got A Crooked Kind of Perfect! I'm very excited to hear your thoughts.

Good luck with the Dresden Files books! I enjoyed the first couple but didn't get hooked until I hit the fourth one, Summer Knight, and I haven't looked back since.

Great recent acquisitions and I had to laugh at ronincats comment on God Stalk. It sent me straight to the reviews page and went straight on to my list that I really shouldn't be adding to.

I need to read God Stalk too. I have owned it a couple of years now!

#89 Jenny, your message prompted me to pick up One Hundred Ways and I spent an enjoyable evening chuckling over it! I also have One Hundred Ways for a Dog to Train its Human which could probably do with a reread but I probably wouldn't understand the horse one.

#90 I'm trying to collect her books and at some point reread them.

#91 God Stalk is definitely on the list for Fantasy February Roni! As well as The Curse of Chalion which you've been telling me to read for ages too!

#92 That's a shame about bookmooch. Unfortunately I think it probably does work better if you're in the UK or US as there are more members in those countries.

#93 197 unread is very restrained Pat - your husband should be proud of you!

#94 I looked for it on bookmooch after your review Faith and it was available! Now I just need to find the time to read it...

#95 Thank you. I've heard so many people say they love the series that I really want to get into it more.

#96 Roni and justchris recommended God Stalk so highly that I am sure I am going to enjoy it. Hopefully you will too. I think God Stalk itself is out of print but they're reprinted the first two volumes of the series together as The God Stalker Chronicles.

#97 It will be just the thing for Fantasy February Stasia :-)

Book #10.5 One Hundred Ways for a Cat to Train its Human by Celia Haddon



Acquired: Bookmooch, Jan 2011
Why I read it now: msg 89

I'm not going to count this in my total because it's so tiny but it did make me laugh so much when I was reading it.

"A series of high-pitched human shrieks can mean either delight or fear. When these noises follow the gift of a mouse on the bed, we can safely guess that the reaction is one of delight at such a delicious present."

Book #11 The White King by Gyorgy Dragoman



Acquired: Library
Why I read it now: TIOLI challenge to read a book about Hungary
Library books:TBR books ratio = 6:5

Definitely an interesting and unusual book but for some reason it left me cold.

Set in an unnamed country, the story follows the adventures of an 11 year old boy called Djata over a period of two years. Although the country is unnamed in the book I think it's supposed to be similar to Romania in the 1980s so there has been some sort of war/revolution and the country is now under the control of an unnamed, brutal and violent totalitarian regime. Djata's father has been taken away and much of the book is focused on Djata's thoughts and fears for his father.

The writing itself is fast and fluid, with the words almost falling over themselves as you read through each sentence. It's exactly like a young boy would talk and feels as if Djata is there telling you his story in person.

I think part of my problem with the book was due to the format. Although we follow Djata over a two year period, the book is almost a collection of short stories rather than one continuous narrative and I found myself thinking 'but then what happened?' at the end of each one. That's probably more to do with me not liking short stories than any fault of the author.

The other thing I didn't like so much about this book was the violence. The adventures Djata and his friends had in some ways seemed quite natural for boys of their age; they played with toy soldiers, there was a lot of bragging and swaggering but then two gangs of children had a war and started stabbing each other. In such a violent regime, I'm sure some of this would rub off on the children growing up in such a regime. If all they see is violence then that's all they'll know, but I didn't really like reading about it.

And I didn't understand the ending! Which again, is not the author's fault but I find it so frustrating.

I feel like I've been rather unfair on this book. It is a good book; it's interesting, unusual and well written. But I don't think I liked it.

3.5 stars

Hey, Heather. I'm just catching up and couldn't leave without speaking. I am your Short-Stories-Are-Not-My-Preference Sister.

I think I liked The White King slightly better than you, but I really find very long sentences/paragraphs offputting.

Do see if your library has a copy of The Invisible Bridge - too late for this month's challenges (those of us reading or who have read it under TIOLI listed under last year's top rated LT books but it would have also fitted the Hungary challenge.

I've listed Archer's Goon on Bookmooch with a reservation in your name on it. Please let me know whether or not you still need it.

I love your list of acquired books -- author giveaways are particularly cool!

Hi Heather

I've added The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi to the tbr in 2011 pile.

My copy of A Hundred Ways for A Cat arrived from Amazon today and is amusing my family greatly. I couldn't resist it after reading various quotes from it.

It is quite reassuring for us as we adopted a cat last year. I'm not used to cats, having beeen brought up in a dog loving family and thought our cat might be a bit unusual in her fickleness and food fads. Now I realise she is just engaging in standard human training behaviour!

Thank you for introducing me to this little gem!

Hello, Heather! *waves*

# 98 I have all of her Marples and most of her Poirots. After I round up one or two of the remaining Poirots I still want to read I’m going to concentrate on her non-series books.

I have all of her plays too. Unfortunately, none of her radio plays have ever been printed. Such a shame really because some of them (like Butter in a Lordly Dish and Personal Call) sound really good.

Happy Almost Birthday Heather!

I hope tomorrow is a very special day for you!

I'm lurking here today, and no telling where I'll be tomorrow, so I'll wish you an early...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

What a lovely lady in Linda's post. Would she be walking through a field of heather? We can always pretend. ;-)

I hope your special day involves books, laughter, good food...and maybe some flowers to remind you that spring is coming.

A Happy (almost) Birthday from me too- I hope you have a lovely day!

Oooh, it's your birthday tomorrow? Happy Birthday!

#101 Re Archer's Goon - Luci, she does still need it. Heather, you definitely need it ;o)

#92 "So, (and that's a Beowulf 'so')" ;o) Kerry, I think that every sentence starting "So" will be a Beowulf "So." from this point on...

#87 Good haul! How lucky with your Bookmooch sender - out of interest, what book and which did she add to it?

#81 Yep, I found it hard to rate Beowulf too...

#95/81 Re the Dresden Files series. I hadn't realised that general opinon said that the series doesn't really get going until the 4th book. I read the first one on the recommendation of a mate several years ago and was completely nonplussed - I've been slightly stymmied as to why most people on LT seem to love them, but maybe I just need to break through to the 4th book!

#77 Glad you enjoyed Persepolis! ...and good to know re the Jane Austen biography. I've currently got my parents copy of Elizabeth Jenkins biography, which I skimmed a few years ago, but I didn't really draw me in last time I looked. I'll investigate this one...

Can't remember which post you mentioned the letters in now, but I've got a copy of those too and I found them much more readable (probably for obvious reasons given my Jane Austen addiction). It is sad to me the great chunks that are missing, but I can understand Cassandra's need to get rid of the letters in which Jane spilled her heart out.

Happy early birthday!

A little early happy birthday wish for you!

...ooh, and there's now a thread for a possible London meet up HERE

I hope you have a wonderful day for your birthday, Heather!!

I'll wish you happy birthday now for the morning.

Happy Birthday Heather - you share your birthday with my daughter, Dana, who has just turned 14.

A very happy birthday to you!
Hope it's full of books! :)

I hope you have a very happy birthday, Heather!

Enjoy your Birthday Heather, spoil yourself rotten and have a great day.

Happy Birthday, Heather!!!! Many Happy Returns of the Day - and Many Happy Books!!!!!

Hope you have a wonderful birthday, Heather! I can't wait to hear what books you got.

Just stopping by to wish you a very happy birthday, Heather.

Happy birthday! Wishing you lots of book-shaped parcels

Happy birthday Heather!

glitter-graphics.com

Happy Birthday!

I hope you have a happy birthday, Heather! :)

Felicem Natalem! Happy Birthday, Heather!!

Hope you are having a great Birthday, Heather! Many happy returns!

Happy Birthday, Heather!

Wishing you good friends, good books and good health.

Happy Birthday! Hope it's a good one.

Wishing you a Happy Birthday!

Bonne Anniversaire!

Happy Birthday! Today is also my Mom's birthday. I bet you never forget then the challanger exploded.

Sorry I came a little late to the party, hope your birthday was the best ever!

Another sluggard here - hope it was a good one!

Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes! We made good use of some Clubcard vouchers to book a short hotel stay between Bristol and Bath this weekend so we spent my birthday in Bath (including a lovely birthday lunch at The Pump Rooms and then saw some friends in Bristol yesterday. (For those outside of the UK this is a supermarket reward scheme a bit like airmiles where you can cash in your points for days out, hotel trips etc.)

The Pump Room restaurant:



More photos to follow...

And did someone mention books?

Serendipitously, after reading my Jane Austen bio I received a slew of Jane Austen related books for my birthday (nothing to do with them being the most recent additions to my amazon wishlist!)

Jane Austen's Letters by Jane Austen, edited by Deirdre Le Faye
Catharine and Other Writings by Jane Austen
A Memoir of Jane Austen by James Edward Austen-Leigh

And some more bookmooch acquisitions (shameful face but how could I not mooch three Connie Willis books?):

Passage
Remake
Lincoln's Dreams

And I did finish some books while I was away so thoughts to come later this week but hopefully not too much later.

Heather, I was just about to PM you. I was wondering why you hadn't been on LT. What a relief to see it was because you were away celebrating. Sounds like a great birthday. I loved that picture and can't wait to see more!

Glad to hear you had a terrific birthday, Heather!

Glad you had such a lovely birthday. What a great way to spend it, visiting Bath! Your books were very topical, given your location.

Oooh, your getaway sounds lovely!

Wow all around! You know how to celebrate, and I'm glad!!

Looks like you had a wonderful birthday! Nice book presents too.

Sorry I missed your birthday - I've been very behind in checking threads for the past week. The Pump Room restaurant looks lovely, I hope the food was good!

Catching up on messages:

#101 Thanks for The Invisible Bridge rec and Archer's Goon! I have mooched away :-)

#104 Glad you are enjoying it Dee. I had never had a cat before our current one (who has now been with us 4 whole months) and she has definitely been training us up over the last few months!

#110 The book I requested was King of Shadows by Susan Cooper and she also sent me Blitz Boys by Linda Newbery (children's book I think) and One Hundred Ways for a Cat to Train its Human. Very generous of her :-)

Re the Dresden Files, I will let you know what I think when I get to the next few books in the series. According to wikipedia, Jim Butcher wrote the first book in response to a request from his writing class tutor to asked him to write something similar to Laurell K. Hamilton (who I haven't read) and to quote:

"When I finally got tired of arguing with her and decided to write a novel as if I was some kind of formulaic, genre writing drone, just to prove to her how awful it would be, I wrote the first book of the Dresden Files."

I didn't think the first book was awful but it didn't exactly bowl me over either.

And happily I received a copy of Jane Austen's letters for my birthday so the Austen addiction should be properly fed this year :-)

And thanks for the London meetup thread link!

#144 No apologies necessary Genny. I think it's now officially impossible to not be behind with everyone's threads.

And I have three books I've finished to post thoughts but realistically that's not going to happen until the weekend now.

Hmmm, maybe I should read a few more of the Dresden File books then too. I read the first one to see what the fuss was about and didn't feel like continuing.

Just a quick note to say that I was hoping to update things here and catch up with people's threads but it has been a real humdinger of week for various reasons and I don't think things are going to ease off soon.

Whilst I very much want to follow the threads it's actually making me feel quite anxious at the moment so I am going to give myself a temporary break. Hopefully I will be back sooner rather than later.

Sorry to hear you're so stressed, hope you can find time to escape with a good book.

A break sounds like a good idea at present - don't let thread-following add to the current stress - we'll all still be here when things ease up, which I hope they will soon for you.

Hope things ease up for you soon.

What everyone else said, Heather. Thread-following is not required here. You take care of yourself first :)

Absolutely! I think the idea is to have fun! (When it's not that, stop.)

Take it easy, sort the humdingers out and we'll see you when you've had a well-deserved break.

Thank you all, I stayed quite late at work yesterday but I do feel more on top of work stuff as a result. I do seem to have caught a cold from a colleague who was suffering yesterday but as today is my day off anyway, hopefully some rest will sort it out.

I'm going to try and do some catching up here and then stop.

Book #12 The Inimitable Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse
Book #19 Carry On, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse



I really enjoy P. G. Wodehouse's books but I do find the Jeeves and Wooster stories blur in my mind and I can never remember the details after having read them. I can't be 100% sure but I think this was my first read of The Inimitable Jeeves and a reread of Carry On, Jeeves. Both books are collections of short stories featuring Bertie Wooster and his gentleman's valet, Jeeves. Both books feature Wooster getting himself into scrapes which Jeeves has to extract him from or Wooster's friends (all seemingly called Bingo, Biffy, Bicky, Corky or other such ridiculous names) getting in trouble, either by getting engaged to the wrong girl or not getting engaged to the right girl and again, Jeeves is called on to sort it all out.

Bertie Wooster's formidable aunts didn't feature as much as I dimly remember hem featuring in the Jeeves and Wooster books. The Inimitable Jeeves included The Great Sermon Handicap which I think I saw mentioned on CatyM's thread last year and have wanted to read ever since. And it was very good.

Very enjoyable, both 4 stars.

I hope you get the rest you need today, Heather!

Wodehouse is a great comfort read. Hope you feel better soon and have a nice relaxing day. Take care of yourself.

Hi Heather. I've never read anything by Wodehouse but I keep seeing him mentioned here on LT. Do you have a favorite of his that you'd recommend starting with?

Hope you have a restorative day off!

Saw The Inimitable Jeeves at my favourite book shop. It is very tempting but I am very much broke at the moment (being a student sucks!). Asking dad is out because have already used up the early birthday present scheme on him for The Complete Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton. Let's see if I can persuade mom to make an early birthday present!

Hooray for Wodehouse when we need a bit of sunshine and laughter!

Woo to being more on top of work - hope you've been enjoying your day off and have managed to de-stress!

My day off included a short walk into town and a browse in the charity bookshop. I was quite good and only got 4 books :-)

The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Penman - I have been looking for this for ages :-)
Blood River: A Journey to Africa's Broken Heart by Tim Butcher - non-fiction
The Groovy Greeks and the Rotten Romans by Terry Deary - because it was a lovely hardback and I'm quite into the Horrible History books at the moment
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton - because I spotted a nice Virago Modern Classics edition to replace my cheaper edition

And Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie arrived from bookmooch last week.

#157 Pat, re Wodehouse, you're in for a treat! He wrote quite a few different collections of books featuring the same characters but although these are listed as series in LT they can generally be read in any order.

My personal favourite is Leave it to Psmith which was my introduction to Wodehouse. Although it's second and fourth in two series I think it worked well as a starting point. Otherwise Carry On, Jeeves is one of his more well-known books and acts as a good introduction to his Wooster and Jeeves stories.

Ahhhh, I devoured Horrible History books as a kid. I insisted my mum kept them, so hopefully they're around somewhere :)

I second the Yay for Wodehouse, I love those books.

#161: Nice haul, Heather!

I've still got all my Horrible Histories books. They were great!

I wish I had known about Horrible Histories a little sooner. Oh well.
And I am a Wodehouse addict although I find that a very little goes a long way. (I don't think I could read 2 books of short stories back to back, Heather.) If I were recommending, I say read The Code of the Woosters for a full dose of Jeeves and Bertie or some of the The World of Mr. Mulliner stories for typical Sir Plum.

Just catching up on threads. I'm VERY late to the party- Belated Birthday wishes. Glad you had a good b-day.

# 154 - Thank you for the reviews of the two Jeeves. Last year I read Carry On, Jeeves but it was just so and so. Very good stories and some stupid ones.

This year I read one of his novels Right Ho, Jeeves. It was hilarious and I can recommend it. But maybe my enthusiasm this time was the fact I read him in the original in stead of a danish translation. You cannot translate Wodehouse. My next Wodehouse will be an audiobook-version. Read hopefully with stiff upper lip.

Ooh, good to see lots of Horrible Histories and Wodehouse fans.

#166 Those are two by Wodehouse that I haven't read Peggy so I will look out for them.

#168 I can imagine Wodehouse would be quite tricky to translate Carsten. Hope you enjoy the audiobook version.

Some more books read. Skipping pictures for now.

Last book finished in January:

#13 Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

Read for the group read (which I still need to catch up on). A very clever novel made up of six related short stories/novellas in a range of writing styles and genres. I think this is the sort of book that will reward rereading but it was still excellent on a first read and the comments made by people in the group read were very insightful. 4.5 stars

February:

#14 Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

The sequel to Leviathan, a young adult, steampunk/adventure novel in an alternate WWI setting. Very enjoyable and good fun. 4.25 stars

#15 Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer

Fourth in the series, listened to as an audio book on my commute to work. The narrator was Nathaniel Parker who I thought did a superb job. This isn't my favourite children's/YA series but listening on audio works very well and I have started looking forward to my commute! 4 stars

#16 Cart and Cwidder by Diana Wynne Jones

First in the Dalemark quartet. Not her best but an enjoyable tale of travelling performers who discover they have a magical instrument. 3.5 stars

#17 The Very Bloody History of Britain by John Farman

One of my husband's favourite childhood books, this covers British history from ancient times to WWII but I found the humour jarred and was too quick to play on stereotypes. Maybe if I were a 10 year old boy I would have appreciated it more. 2.5 stars

#18 The Vile Victorians by Terry Deary

How humourous children's history books should be done! Particularly focused on the plight of children during Victorian times, I thought this combined humour with enough interesting facts to make it a worthwhile read. 4 stars

#19 Carry On, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse

See msg #154

#20 The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

A fantasy novel but one that focuses on a group of thieves. Imagine Ocean's Eleven set somewhere a bit like medieval Venice with the occasional bit of magic.

At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book. The first few characters we are introduced to are very unsympathetic and the beginning of the book felt quite slow, but the pace picked up and there were characters I liked after the first few chapters and I actually enjoyed this a lot. 4.25.

#21 Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe

I'm trying to read through Wolfe's science fiction series, The Book of the New Sun of which Shadow is book 1 of 4. I first read this book back in 2009 and then immediately ordered the rest of the series but I've only just picked them up to read (shame!) It's definitely a work that divides opinion. I found Shadow of the Torturer fascinating on both my first read and my reread but would struggle to say precisely why. I spent some time reading a lot of the criticisms levelled at the book and I think they're valid for the most part (I think the main ones were: not a lot actually happens, misogynistic view point and all the women the male character meets seem to want to sleep with him) and yet, and yet... I think it's an amazing book.

I read somewhere that the four books need to be considered as one work. I will hopefully start book 2, The Claw of the Conciliator later this week.

#22 The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger

Someone pointed out that this short graphic novel (33 pages) is available in its entirety on The Guardian website so I read it online this weekend. It wasn't what I was expecting. Niffenegger seemed to be saying something about the cost of reading but it seemed strange for an author to be saying 'Hey, perhaps we all need to put down our books and get out more.' I may have missed her point though. 3 stars

#23 Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud

The final book in the Bartimaeus trilogy and the best. While the first two books were enjoyable I didn't feel much connection with or concern for the characters but in the third book we get a lot closer to the characters and I was really drawn in. I particularly enjoyed finding out more about Bartimaeus' relationship with Ptolemy. 4.5 stars

And currently reading:

Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer - audio book on my commute
The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud - a Bartimaeus prequel
Native Tongue by Suzette Haden Elgin - for the group read
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - paused 100 pages from the end a couple of weeks ago and for some reason never picked it back up

And on the TBR shortlist:
The rest of The Book of the New Sun
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War by Clive Barker
The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens (but it's big and it's scaring me at the moment)
The Red Coffin by Sam Eastland
Sky Burial by Xinran
God Stalk by P. C. Hodgell

Oops, I hadn't realised quite how long that message had got!

You have been very busy! I also never finished Sense and Sensibility but I didn't get as far as you did. I think I have the book funk. I'm not able to finish anything lately. :(

Wow, you've been super busy. Will look forward to your review of the Bartimaeus prequel as I have that one to read in the next couple of months and loved your comment on the Dickens book. I think I feel the same way about many of his volumes.

Wow, Heather!

Hi Heather, caught up on your thread this morning and I'm about to check my library for Wodehouse and I've never heard of the Horrible Histories before today so I'll look into those as well.
I'll be looking forward to your thoughts on Sky Burial.

I need to read The Red Coffin soon too.

Heather, you are definitely laying down a path I'd like to follow. Your choices seem quite interesting. Thanks for all your work in commenting on each one.

That's a lot of reading, Heather! I hope it has been a helpful distraction...

Wow, I'm impressed! And you've reminded me I need to reread Book of the New Sun, it's been ages.

Heather

You are zipping along with your reading.

I hope that reading all these books provides stress release for you.

Thank you all for your comments. I am not exactly in a book funk but I am feeling very tired at the moment so rather than reading the books I was planning to read I have decided to start a completely new book and so I've picked up South Riding by Winifred Holtby to curl up on the sofa with.

I finally finished Sense and Sensibility, Native Tongue and also Sky Burial which was a very quick read. Proper thoughts to come at some point...

I see that the dramatisation of South Riding on BBC starts tonight at 9pm - are you going to watch that too, or ignore it until you've read the book?

#182 I'm ignoring it until I've read the book - thank goodness for iplayer! It sounds really good though; it's one of the reasons why I picked up the book to read now.

I read the first section of the book this afternoon and I like the heroine's bright red hair and feistiness. One of my favourite quotes so far is:

"I was born to be a spinster, and by God, I'm going to spin."

#181> I think that's a great idea, I always feel refreshed when I take a bunch of unread library books back to the library, suddenly I'm not feeling the pressure.

#183 I've not read it, but listed to a radio dramatisation on BBC 7 last year when I was off sick. Probably much abridged, but I enjoyed the story. I think I may watch the TV version next, as I don't have a copy of the book yet, and read that in due course to get the 'proper' version in the end.

South Riding is already one of my favourite books so far this year. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I didn't watch South Riding last night as I plan to use the catch up TV facility (can't record anything because can't catch up with existing recordings). I'm also nervous given what I've heard re the adaptation. I've just bought the DVD of a previous dramatisation from 1974, though I'm not sure where I'll find a spare 13 hours to watch it!

If anyone does watch it first and doesn't like it, don't give up on the book though, you might feel differently about that,

Whew, all caught up with you once again, Heather. You've been doing lots of good reading lately. I wouldn't worry about keeping up with the thread. It's kind of like housework. You get it all done and then have to start right back in before things start piling up again! I go in stages and keep up for awhile and then give myself a break - both in my housework and here on LT.

I hope you have a good week. South Riding looks interesting. As if I need another book to put in my ever-growing dream book.

Heather, if you liked the first chapter of South Riding, the rest of the book will blow you away!

#184 I've got better about returning library books unread but I rarely come away from the library without another couple of books under my arm! Today I returned one Georgette Heyer that I've decided to leave for a while and came away with Fingersmith by Sarah Waters because I happened to see it on the shelf.

#185 If I didn't have a copy of the book to hand I think that's what I'd do but I'd be worried about being disappointed with the book if I read it straight after watching a TV adaptation.

#186 Thank you, I'm fairly sure yours was one of the many reviews prompting me to read it.

#187 13 hours is fairly substantial! I haven't really heard much about the latest adaptation other than the Radio Times review - have they changed much from the book?

#188 Hi Donna! Thanks for stopping by.

#189 I've finished the first book, Peggy and it's all good.

Just stopping by to see how you've been doing and what you've been reading! :)

Me too! I know what you mean about the adaptations -- I waited to watch Middlemarch until finishing the book, but then the family found it too slow, and I simply don't have the time to find a place to squeeze it in, so it has to wait, for heaven knows when. I was loving it, but all the moaning and groaning in the background was ruining my pleasure.

Hi Angela and Lucy, thanks for stopping by!

Well, I haven't got any further with South Riding and after a rubbish day at work my plans to catch up on reviews of books I have finished has fallen by the wayside and instead I have started yet another book, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin which I was prompted to read by one of this month's TIOLI challenges and it's a book that seems to have been mentioned a lot lately.

@193: I picked up The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms last year because of some LT hoopla, and because I've been sporadically visiting the author's blog. Haven't read it yet though.

#194 It was partly some of the author's posts on her blog that prompted me to reserve The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms at the library.

I'm going to copy calm and post covers of the books I've read in the hope that I will actually update them with some thoughts later...

Book #24 Native Tongue by Suzette Haden Elgin - 3.5 stars



Acquired: Abebooks
Why I read it now: Future Women group read
Library books:TBR books ratio = 10:12 (excludes rereads)

Set in the future in a society which has stripped women of their legal rights and mankind is in contact with alien races. Linguists are more important than ever as people are needed who can learn these alien languages and assist at trade negotiations which are vital for Earth's continuing prosperity.

Because of the potential power they have, the linguists are hated and feared by society in general whilst women, both linguist and non-linguist, are considered little better than children (and annoying children at that). The book focuses on the linguist women in particular and their attempts to create a language just for women called Láadan (which Elgin actually worked on in quite a bit of detail).

Elgin is a linguist herself and I found her ideas about how mankind would learn to communicate with alien life forms fascinating. I found the feminist angle to the book harder to swallow. The book was published in 1984 shortly after the Equal Rights Amendment failed in the US. Being born in the UK in the 1980s myself, it's difficult for me to imagine and appreciate the effect of the failure of this amendment.

From reading this book it felt like Elgin really wanted us to hate her male characters; they're completely misogynistic with no redeeming qualities. And it worked; I did hate them and when one of them died I felt like cheering. But such one-dimensional characters don't really make for a great novel and it made her exploration of this future culture harder to believe in for me.

Still, an intriguing book even with its flaws and one I'm glad I've read.

Book #25 Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer - 4 stars



Acquired: Library
Why I read it now: Audio book for my commute
Library books:TBR books ratio = 11:12 (excludes rereads)

The fifth book in the Artemis Fowl series which I listened to on my drive to work and I think this was the best one in the series so far. Artemis has really developed as a character over the last two books and has become a character I actually care about rather than a slightly annoying child genius/criminal mastermind.

Book #26 Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - 4.5 stars



Acquired: Either a birthday or a Christmas present many years ago
Why I read it now: Austenathon group read
Library books:TBR books ratio = 11:12 (excludes rereads)

A reread for the nth time as part of the Austenathon group read. I was a bit worried that this wouldn't be quite as good as I remembered but although it's not my favourite Austen it was still an excellent read.

Book #27 Sky Burial by Xinran - 3.75 stars



Acquired: Library
Why I read it now: TIOLI challenge in honour of the Lunar New Year: Chinese author
Library books:TBR books ratio = 12:12 (excludes rereads)

Calm and carmenere both recommended this short book by the Chinese journalist Xinran to me.

Xinran tells the story of Dr Shu Wen, a Chinese woman whose husband of only a few months was killed whilst serving as a doctor with the Chinese army in Tibet in the 1950s. Unable to accept that her husband is dead, Wen volunteers to serve as an army doctor herself and sets off for Tibet to find him. Shortly after she arrives she is separated from the army and ends up living with a nomadic Tibetan family for many years as she slowly learns the Tibetan language and way of life.

This is a beautiful, compelling story and it was fascinating to learn about the people of Tibet and their beliefs and customs. The book is based on a true story as told to Xinran although written like a novel. I felt Xinran's writing style was probably more suited to factual narrative (she is a journalist rather than a novelist) but this was still a good book and I will probably read her other books about China at some point.

@195: I've found some of the blogs out there quite interesting to read, and it has tempted me to explore authors new to me, thanks to their perspectives on the U.S. fantasy and science fiction community--addressing fandom, editors, authors, etc. It's gotten me out of my own little bubble.

Book #28 Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood - 4 stars



Acquired: Library sale, March 2010
Why I read it now: TIOLI Canada Reads challenge
Library books:TBR books ratio = 12:13 (excludes rereads)

Book #29 The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle - 4 stars



Acquired: Late birthday present, February 2011
Why I read it now: The book is gorgeous!
Library books:TBR books ratio = 12:14 (excludes rereads)

Book #30 The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin - 4 stars



Acquired: Library
Why I read it now: TIOLI challenge to read a book by an African American woman
Library books:TBR books ratio = 13:14 (excludes rereads)

Yeine Darr is an outcast from one of the barbarian Northern kingdoms. Her mother was an heiress of the ruling race but eloped with Yeine’s father and abdicated her position. Now both Yeine’s parents are dead and she has been summoned back to the court by her grandfather and named as one of his potential heirs. But two of her cousins have also been named heir and Yeine quickly discovers that no one at court expects her to succeed to the throne or even to survive her time in the city of Sky.

I have to admit that one of the reasons I wanted to read this book was because I fell in love with the gorgeous book cover and I loved the world building in this book; the city of Sky, the gods, the court and the cultures of the different kingdoms.

There is a strong sense of mystery throughout this book. The story is narrated by Yeine but as the opening passage of the book makes clear, she is an unusual narrator who forgets things or misses things out. Why this is so, is something that only becomes clear at the end of the book.

Although I enjoyed this book, I feel like it’s been one of my ‘guilty pleasure’ reads. I felt the romantic relationship that develops between Yeine and one of the other characters is one of those, ‘man is dark, brooding and dangerous making girl go weak at the knees with desire for him’ relationships which always make me roll my eyes but I have to admit that I did get caught up in it and enjoy reading about it. In Jemisin’s defence, the end of the book goes some way towards explaining why Yeine has such strong feelings for this person.

This book has grown on me since I read it and writing this review has made me realise that it impressed me more than I realised when first reading it. I would like to reread it to see if all the foreshadowing Jemisin includes matches up to the twist at the end and I would definitely like to read the sequel so I‘ve increased my rating to 4 stars. This was far from a perfect novel but a strong debut with some unusual ideas.

Book #31 The Red Coffin by Sam Eastland - 3 stars



Acquired: LT Early Reviewer program, January 2011
Why I read it now: Early Reviewer book, TIOLI challenge second in series
Library books:TBR books ratio = 13:15 (excludes rereads)

I’d heard good things about Eye of the Red Tsar which is the first book in this series so I was really pleased to hear I’d won a review copy of The Red Coffin (published in the US as Shadow Pass). My only concern was whether I would find this book too gritty for my tastes as it’s set in Stalinist Russia in 1939. The blurb on the back of the book when it arrived also sounded exciting – it talks about the world standing on the brink of Armageddon, years of revolution, fear and persecution, and the grim realities of Stalin’s Soviet Union. I was expecting to read a gritty, realistic historical thriller. That’s not what this book is.

I am by no means an expert of any kind on Russian history but I thought this book required too great a suspension of disbelief for my tastes. Pekkala used to be the trusted advisor of Tsar Nicholas II and you get to see their relationship through the many flashbacks Pekkala experiences throughout the book. After the Revolution, Pekkala was imprisoned before being released by Stalin on the condition that he worked for Stalin as his top and most trusted investigator. The Stalin depicted in this novel seems to bear no relation to the man who sent millions to penal labour camps. Although Pekkala often talks about how risky his position his, whenever we see him with Stalin, Stalin comes across as having all the menace and authority of a rather cuddly bear.

Commissar Kirov, Pekkala’s assistant, is a perfectly nice chap but has been given a bumbling, humorous role to play similar to Inspector Morse’s sidekick Lewis and again, given the setting of this book, I felt this just didn’t work. Could anyone actually survive in that time period with that much innocence?

And that, for me, was the problem I had with the whole book: everything about it felt wrong given the historical setting. Putting aside the points above, it wasn’t a bad read, but it felt surprisingly bland and isn’t a book I would recommend to anyone.

Book #32 Terry Pratchett: Guilty of Literature edited by Andrew M. Butler - 4 stars



Acquired: Book depository, October 2010
Why I read it now: Well, I've actually been reading it since December
Library books:TBR books ratio = 13:16 (excludes rereads)

Ooh, you've been reading some good ones. I've got The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms here scheduled for a read for my March discussion group, and I would love to read the one about Pratchett.

Wow, some great reading here, can't wait to read the reviews for some of those.

Yes, wow is the right word!

Wow, wow! Wow! (That's three of us.)

Just stopping by to say hallo!

Thank you for the all the wows! I don't know that my brain will be able to come up with anything very interesting by way of reviews. Lots of stressful stuff at work means I have been reading quite a lot because I escape into a book as soon as I get home but I don't know whether I will be able to pull any coherent thoughts together about those books.

For what they're worth msg 196 and msg 197 have been updated with my book thoughts.

I'm hoping to do some more today but first my final read for February:

Book #33 Rowdy Revolutions by Terry Deary - 3.5 stars



Acquired: Charity bookshop, October 2010
Why I read it now: I started it way back in October and kept putting it to one side. Finally decided to just finish it!
Library books:TBR books ratio = 13:17 (excludes rereads)

Another Horrible Histories book but for some reason I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the last one. This looked at various revolutions from ancient times through to the 20th century so it may be that I just prefer the books that focus on a single period. Most of the revolutions featured were European or American and although there were some brief mentions of China I would have been interested in a less Western-centric approach.

Still quite an enjoyable read, the section about what happened to Oliver Cromwell's body after his death was particularly gruesome.

Edited for basic grammar - doh!

February summary

Books read = 20
Books read for TIOLI challenge = 8
Pages read = 5,207
Books from the TBR pile = 11
Library/borrowed = 7
Rereads = 2
Fantasy February reads = 7
TBR pile @ 28/02/2011 = 390! Not good

February books of the month:

Children's/YA:
Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud
Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

Fiction:
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

Non-fiction:
Terry Pratchett: Guilty of Literature edited by Andrew M. Butler

So overall a good reading month. None of my reads really bowled me over but there were a lot of good, solid 4 star reads

And another update on books acquired in February:

From bookmooch:

Archer's Goon by Diana Wynne Jones (thank you Luci/elkiedee!)
Jacob Have I Loved by Katharine Paterson
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Green Rider by Kristen Britain

And some late birthday presents:

Green Gables: Lucy Maud Montgomery's Favourite Places by Deirdre Kessler from a friend who holidayed in PE Island this year
Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman purportedly from my brother but I suspect my parents actually bought it
And a very generous birthday present from my parents, the three volume New Annotated Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle and edited by Leslie S. Klinger - squeee! :-)





So that brings February's acquisitions up to 14 which is a lot better than January but still over my target of 10. And I only read 11 books from my TBR pile in February so the TBR piles have increased (again) over all.

For March I am aiming to read far fewer library books to try and read more from my shelves than I put on them.

March plans

Future women group read:
Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin

Austenathon:
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (reread)

Library books:
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier - audio book
The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud

TIOLI challenges:
I started to list these out and then realised I had gone completely crazy and added far too many books to the wiki.

Others currently reading:
South Riding by Winifred Holtby - half way through and so good so far!
Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe - for mystery March and because A Study in Scarlet referred to Poe's detective stories about Dupin a lot

I also really want to start The Pickwick Papers by Dickens for my Dickens reread. I made the mistake of trying to read the introduction to my copy and it really put me off. I don't know if it's just me but I can never read introductions before reading the book, only afterwards. I'm going to try diving straight in after I've finished South Riding.

Oh, what a beautiful edition of the Holmes!

I just read The Ring of Solomon and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Great Feb summary, if I can squeeze in Ring of Solomon this month I'll read it with you.

I REALLY want that edition of the annotated Sherlock Holmes...I'm SO happy for you...and jealous! :)

That is a beautiful edition of Sherlock Holmes ... almost makes me want to replace my (slightly) battered copies:)

...must get a copy of South Riding...

Sooooo looking forward to the P&P reread this month. Not sure I'll last out until the 15th.

marvelous loot there!

>208 souloftherose:: I'm loving my adventure of reading Sherlock Holmes, although my copy of Vol. 1 of The Complete Sherlock Holmes is nothing special. I may be a shallow reader, but a beautiful copy of a book makes it a more enjoyable read for me.

#209 I know, isn't it?

#210 Thanks mamzel, I did enjoy reading about Bartimaeus again.

#211 I already have too many books that I want to try and squeeze into March Leonie so I know how you feel...

#212 Sorry Angela :-(

#213 Thanks calm. Battered copies can be wonderful too. My first copy of The Lord of the Rings is practically falling apart but I would be so upset to part with it.

#214 Yes, definitely get a copy of South Riding Fliss. And I'm also looking forward to our P&P read later this month. I've been watching the mini-series of Lost in Austen which is fairly silly but fun in preparation!

#215 Thanks Lucy!

#216 I definitely don't think appreciating beautiful books makes you shallow Donna. And I think I also find beautiful books more enjoyable to read if I'm honest.

And on the subject of books, a parcel from Waterstones arrived today containing the following:

The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde
One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde
God's Philosophers: How the Medieval World laid the Foundations of Modern Science by James Hannam
Sisters of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Found the Hidden Gospels by Janet Soskice

Which is my birthday money and gift cards all used up. So that's it, no more books til Christmas.... Sure.

ETA: Forgot two which arrived from bookmooch:

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

217: Along the lines of your copies of The Lord of the Rings: the first book I remember owning as a small child was The Hobbit illustrated with stills from the 1970s animation. It was not a particularly high-quality large-format paperback, and the glue on the binding failed rather quickly. I carefully kept it together through multitudinous childhood moves and my even more peripatetic early adulthood (admittedly, mostly stayed in storage by that time). When I finally settled down a few years ago, I found a local book bindery and had it rebound as a hardback. They scanned the original for the new cover and gave it back to me, with my six-year-old's signature on the inside. Quite a keepsake. My querido found me an original hardback edition at Half-Price Books last week, and I pointed out that it contained only an infinitesimal fraction of the value of my rebound book at home.

#218 I'd never thought of having it rebound Chris, what a good idea. At the moment I actually quite like the fact that it's almost falling apart as it reminds me of how well loved it was when I first got that copy.

I still need to comment on books #28-32 from February but I'm going to try and get up to date with books read in March first.

Book #34 Sorcery and Cecelia, or, The Enchanted Chocolate Pot: being the correspondence of two Young Ladies of Quality regarding various Magical Scandals in London and the Country by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer - 4.5 stars



Acquired: Bookmooch, October 2010
Why I read it now: For March's TIOLI challenge to read a book whose title includes an individual letter which is repeated exactly 13 times
Library books:TBR books ratio = 13:18 (excludes rereads)

A delightful young adult book set in an alternate Regency England and told in an epistolary style (I love that word) with a bit of magic, a bit of romance and a bit of humour. I originally gave this four stars but based on the warm and happy glow I get every time I think about the book, I’m increasing it to 4.5 stars.

Book #35 Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction by Tom Raabe - 2 stars



Acquired: Bookmooch, June 2010
Why I read it now: It's been in my currently reading pile for months and I wanted to get it over with
Library books:TBR books ratio = 13:19 (excludes rereads)

I’m starting to wonder if there is something wrong with my sense of humour as this is the second humourous book I’ve read in the last couple of months which I didn’t find funny.

This is a short book of essays about biblioholism or book addiction. Originally these were written for a newspaper article and then expanded to make a short book (163 pages). As a newspaper or magazine article, I think I would have enjoyed reading this but from a book I expect more. I also felt there was quite a lot of snobbery in the book, particularly with respect to whether you are a reader or a book collector and whether you manage to read the ‘latest thing’ before it wins any awards. So, I think Mr Raabe and I just don’t see eye to eye in respect of how we feel about books and reading, but other people have read it and enjoyed it so it might still be worth a try. I gave it a grumpy two stars.

That's a lovely haul of books!! I loved The Bean Trees and hope you do too.

The biblioholism book sounds disappointing. What was his argument about collecting books? Was it that you should read everything you own, or something? (oh dear for me...)

#220 No, not at all, more the opposite in fact. He seemed to divide people into those who collect books and those who read a lot but aren't bothered about owning the books and implies that those who 'just' read a lot (who he calls readaholics) read trash and don't remember what they read.

Well based on what I know of people in this group I think that's complete rubbish. There are a lot of people who read a lot and borrow books from the library but they do not read trash (in fact they read much more high brow books than I manage to a lot of the time) and I think Mr Raabe is just talking rubbish in order to be funny.

Having said that, it is meant to be a tongue in cheek book so I could be taking it far more seriously than the author ever intended. But the book annoyed me a lot - I should probably have invoked the Pearl rule but I kept thinking it would get better!

I noticed that my copy of The Bean Trees has a city on p. 17 so it would count for this month's TIOLI challenge but I have so many other books lined up that would also fit one of the challenges that I very much doubt that I'll be able to squeeze it in.

Book #36 The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud - 4 stars



Acquired: Library
Why I read it now: To complete the series
Library books:TBR books ratio = 14:19 (excludes rereads)

Another enjoyable adventure featuring Bartimeaus, this one set in Jerusalem in the time of King Solomon (and I should know roughly when that was but I don't).

Not much to say about this one except if you liked the other books in the series then you'll probably also enjoy this. As it's a prequel, it could actually be read before The Amulet of Samarkand and its sequels.

Book #37 Remarkable creatures by Tracy Chevalier - 3.5 stars



Acquired: Library audio book
Why I read it now: I wanted to try listening to an adult book
Library books:TBR books ratio = 15:19 (excludes rereads)

Set in Regency England, this novel tells the stories of Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot who were both fossil collectors in Lyme Regis.

Their story was told through a first person narrative which alternated between Elizabeth and Mary and the narrator of my audio book, Hattie Morahan, did a superb job of giving each character a distinctive voice.

Although I did enjoy this book and would like to read more about the subject, I had the same problem that I had when reading The Girl with the Pearl Earring which is also by the same author. I really struggled to like and care for her characters. They were interesting characters but when I was roughly around 2/3 of the way through the book I found myself getting rather fed up with them.

Great reviews! I'm glad you enjoyed Sorcery and Cecilia. I discovered that just a couple years ago and loved it. Sadly, I haven't been able to acquire the sequels yet. Sounds like Biblioholism is a pass for me.

# 208 Ah New Annotated Sherlock Holmes sounds great! I have the Bantam Books edition of The Complete Sherlock Holmes Volumes 1 & 2. They were a gift from my uncle. He is a bookaholic's dream come true! Be it birthday or the holidays his gifts (books) are always welcome. He going to visit us soon and I have heard rumours that a few new books might be coming my way. So yay me!

I do love visiting your thread! Yours is one of the few that I follow regularly. Love the pics of the covers and your comments on your reads. Keep it up! :-)

Thank you both so much for the kind comments. For the last couple of months I have been feeling like I am just blindly hammering away at the keyboard when trying to write my thoughts on any books I've read so it's nice to know they are at least intelligible to others!

#223 I think Sorcery and Cecilia is probably going to become one of my 'go to' comfort reads Chris. I haven't got the sequels either but I've added them to the long list of books to purchase at some point.

#224 It's good to see you Porua. Your uncle sounds great! Most of my family groan when they hear I would like books for birthdays or Christmas presents. I hope your uncle brings you something nice.

The Annotated Sherlock Holmes volumes are gorgeous. I was trying to find some pictures of the inside of the book to post but haven't been able to find any so far. The only real downside is that the size and weight of the volumes means they're books to read sitting at a table or in bed propped up on your knees.

And on my current reads, I've been struggling to get into Always Coming Home by Ursula Le Guin for the group read, more because it seems very densely written than because I'm not enjoying it. So, I'm off to try and devote some undistracted reading time to it.

Hello, Heather. I've been having the same problem with reviews as of late. It seems like every time I finish a book I sit down to write a review and think "Crap...now what am I going to say." I sympathize!

I've read all three Sorcery & Cecelia books and really enjoyed them too. Just the right touch, I bet they had fun writing them.

I sympathize about writing reviews too. I have tons of thoughts in my head about the books I've read but struggle with getting them in written form.

@225-226,228: I'm afraid I have the opposite problem. I have way too much to say, which means my reviews end up feeling like high school book reports, and I need to figure out when I can afford to take a few hours to pull one together. I keep meaning to try to be more succinct, but it hasn't happened yet. Each one is an essay, sigh. This may be because I tend to wait weeks, if not months, before putting fingerpads to keyboard. Good luck organizing your thoughts and getting it all out there where we can read it.

227: Did you find the sequels in the library, or are you lucky enough to own them? It took me over a decade of patient searching to find the Mavin Many-Shaped books by Sherri S. Tepper, and I'm hoping that the Sorcery & Cecilia books don't take quite as long.

Sorcery and Cecilia is, I think, the only one that for many years was very hard to find (I held on tightly to my copy), but when the sequels were written, it was reprinted, and all should be fairly easy to find now.

#227> I was lucky that my library had all three, and last year I got book 1 in a library sale, it's a bit tatty but I got it so my daughter can read it.

#221 Oh dear, I guess I'm a readaholic too instead of a collector. That's so snobbish - I'm so happy that we have great libraries at home still so that I don't have to buy everything.

I've ummed and aahed about Remarkable Creatures for a while, and I think I'll keep doing that.

And I have trouble thinking of what to say about what I've read too. Your thoughts are more than intelligble so whatever you are doing is working well!

Stopping by to catch up a bit, say hi and have a great day.

It's a shame about the Biblioholism book. I left it on my wishlist but I'm less excited about it now. Too bad you had to spend time on a book you didn't really enjoy!

# 225 Well, most of my family groans too. My parents think they are a waste of money. Only one or two others think books are good gifts. The rest are hell bent on giving me other ‘useful’ things!

#235> This makes me very glad that I come from a family of bookaholics, so they feel that books (or book tokens) are perfectly useful gifts and never trying to 'anticipate' me with other off-list things :-)

I've had the odd friend who thinks decorative candles are more interesting than whatever is on my Amazon list (how can you need more books? they cry), but they tend to be the ones who haven't read since school and don't intend to start reading now.

Trying to catch up with people ... hope things are going well with you.

Oh dear ... I've got Remarkable Creatures on hold at the library. I hope I like it:)

I have to agree about the reviews, I'm still waiting for the right head-space to write a review of the book I finished last week. I always have so many thoughts during the reading but come up blank when I'm finished.

Woah, busy on here today!

#226 Thanks Stephen, good to see you over here :-)

#227 I think there was a note in my copy of Sorcery and Cecilia explaining that it started as an exchange of letters purely for entertainment and only when they'd finished did they think 'Hey, this could be a book!'. I think the enjoyment they got from writing them shone through in the book.

#228 It's bizarrely good to hear that so many other people struggle with the same thing Pat.

#229 But I enjoy your essays Chris!

#232 Hooray for readaholics! I think Mr Raabe is missing out anyway.

#233 Hi Lynda - thanks for stopping by! I was back at work today after a long weekend so it was actually definitely not a great day but the sentiment is appreciated. And I managed to talk myself out of my 2:30pm 'I hate my job' depression so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

#234 Maybe I need to learn to stop reading books I'm not enjoying rather than trudging through. Other people have enjoyed this book a lot though - I don't want my grumpiness to put you off reading a book you might enjoy.

#235 Quote Erasmus at them! “If I have a little money I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes.”

#236 I'm not really a decorative candle person, I always forget to burn them and they just gather dust.

#237 Oh dear, I hope you like it too! It was definitely interesting, just hard to like the characters sometimes.

#238 Hi Leonie, here's hoping we both find ourselves some head-space soon!

Regarding Remarkable Creatures, I really liked it, but looking back I have to agree that the characters weren't that easy to like. What I enjoyed was how it showed women's place in society in those times. How they weren't credited for their contributions to natural science and how hard it was for them to even make that contribution. I enjoyed the sections set in London at the (can't remember now) society, where she had to sit on the back stairs and also her visit to the auction rooms.

I thought I had checked by here at least day before yesterday, and here I am 18 posts behind! Heather, I'm in your corner as far as not being able to read Always Coming Home. I wanted to like it very much - loved the idea of it - but after 100 or so pages, I gave up and have never gone back. Alas. I'm not trying again now.

Hello Heather, finally catching up on your thread. I've got Remarkable Creatures waiting in my TBR piles so was interested to hear your take on it. I think I've found her characters more sympathetic in the past than you have, so maybe I'll enjoy it more.

I sympathise about writing reviews. I am about 10 behind now, maybe more. I keep putting off even attempting them at present because I'm anticipating that I'll struggle each time to find the right words to sum up what I thought/felt. And of course, the longer I leave it, the less fresh the memories are so I forget some of the things I wanted to say anyway. Perhaps I should try to write a one sentence only report just to catch up.

I have my copy of Always Coming HOme but have not even started trying to read it. I must say that reading people's reactions to it so far has not made me want to rush to it.

#217 South Riding duly borrowed from my mum and added to my March TIOLI list ;o)

I enjoyed "Lost in Austen" too - very silly!

#219 I've had Sorcery & Cecelia etc on my Bookmooch wishlist forever - I'm thinking that I should maybe just cave in and buy it/them!

Me too with the reviews. It's not something that comes naturally to me, so if I don't write them straight away, I sometimes struggle to get myself to do them - particularly if it's something I want to do justice to (like an ER review or a book that really made me think)...

I've been awol. Sorry to have missed your bday and I hope it was great! Re: humor. I wouldn't worry. I understand Jeeves is hilarious. I almost fall asleep each time I try to get another chapter read in the book I have while I find just about every page in Bibilioholism hilarious. Different strokes....

xox

Hi Heather, Just checking in to say hello and I hope you're having a good day.

hope all's okay!

Hello, Heather. Just dropping by to check in as I head through the threads.

I knew it had been a while since I'd posted on my thread but I hadn't realised it had actually been nearly 4 weeks! March has been a bit of a crazy month for various reasons but I did manage to get some good reading done.

March reading continued (now that I am this far behind I am just going to list the titles):

South Riding by Winifred Holtby - 5 stars
The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde - 3.5 stars
First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde (reread) - 4 stars
One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde - 4 stars
The Sign of Four (annotated) by Arthur Conan Doyle - 4 stars
The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd (audiobook) - 3.5 stars
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters - 4 stars
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (reread) - 5 stars
Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce - 4 stars
In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce - 3.75 stars
The Woman Who Rides Like a Man by Tamora Pierce - 3.5 stars
Monk's Hood by Ellis Peters - 4 stars
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman - 4.5 stars
Remember, Remember!:The Selected Stories of Winifred Holtby by Winifred Holtby - 4.5 stars
God's Philosophers: How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations of Modern Science by James Hannam - 4.5 stars
Always Coming Home by Ursula Le Guin - 3.5 stars
The Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe - 4.25 stars

which brings me to a total of 21(!) books read in March.

Top fiction reads were:
South Riding by Winifred Holtby
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Remember, Remember!:The Selected Stories of Winifred Holtby by Winifred Holtby

Top children's/YA reads were:
Sorcery and Cecilia by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer

Top non-fiction reads were:
God's Philosophers: How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations of Modern Science by James Hannam

March summary

Books read = 21
Books read for TIOLI challenge = 17
Pages read = 5,982
Books from the TBR pile = 14
Library/borrowed = 5
Rereads = 2
TBR pile @ 28/02/2011 = 393 (increased by 3 since end of Feb)

And some more books acquired in March - I was doing really well until the end of this month when I indulged in some second hand book buying therapy...

From bookmooch:
A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie
Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain (happy dance)
The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers

From charity bookshop:
Summer by Edith Wharton
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
The Girl Who Married a Lion by Alexander McCall Smith
Lirael by Garth Nix (I read this series last year but think I would like my own copies)

From library sale of unwanted stock(only 25p each!)
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

Which means I acquired 17 books in March but until the library/bookshop splurge I had only acquired 10 which was spot on target.

Wow! Fantastic reading job for March.

#248/249: Great summary, Heather! Congratulations on reading so many good books during the month.

#250 & 251 Thanks! As this thread has hit the magic 250, I've started a new Spring thread here.

What great reading you did in March. And such backbone you must have to not get on LT when you are busy.

The Magicians seems to hit folks one way or the other. I was Ok with it, but I expect fantasy to riff of of other fantasies.... some folks don't like that at all.

I am slightly demented about Summer - I think it's a very special book. Not Wharton's 'best' if you are talking structure and art, but maybe it is the best as far as heart and soul go. Deeply felt.

Wow, you have been busy! I don't seem to have completely managed to get out of my winter book slump yet this year. Enjoying South Riding, although it took me a little while to get into though...

#254 Sorry to hear about your book slump Fliss. New thread here.