2011 New Reads for MrsLee.

I seem to be more of a weekend reader lately. My energy slowly comes back on my days off, I can still read on Monday evening, and Tuesday, by Wednesday, I read a bit and then move on to the internet or a movie. Thursday I'm lucky if I can not look comatose, then Friday after work begins the reading cycle again. Don't know how long I will get weekends off, I suspect that will stop soon, but hopefully I'll still have two days off in a row, otherwise I'll never have the energy to read.

Anyway, that said, I read over 75 books last year, which makes me happy. I have a very loose interpretation of "read." Audio, comic collections, children's books, books I quit reading but read enough to know I didn't want to read anymore, they all count for me.

One of my favorite New Year activities has become the looking over of my reading stats. Seeing what types of books I read that year and such. In 2010 I read more fantasy than mystery. I blame this group. I liked it, too. :)

Right now, I'm still reading Introverts in the Church and liking it very much. I never knew that so many of my behaviors were actually a "type" and experienced by other people. For instance, the racing conversations that go on inside my head (and sometimes outside as well). Anyway, there is much meat in this book and it is helping me to understand much about myself and my spirituality.

Murder for Christmas has been delightful and I've found a couple of authors to pursue, not to mention enjoying my old favorites.

Dead to Rights is still great for short times of reading when my brain is about fried.

I am always delighted to read a book which tells me new stuff about myself; and, especially reminds me that I am not so gosh-awful unique. It is nice to be a card-carrying member of the human race, eh?

I join in your hoping that your job continues to allow you to have the needed energy for good reading. Happy New Year, MrsLee.

Thank you maggie! Although, I must say, I was a little sad to find that I was human and not an alien. ;)

I need to pick up Introverts in the Church. Ours is filled with engineers and geeks and such, and it's interesting to watch the dynamics sometimes. We've had some folks recently come to our church and complain that it's an unfriendly place, and once you talk to them it's clear that they're looking for a more extrovert kind of experience and we're not that!

I need to come to your church! I think the book is helpful for finding our unique spiritual gifts, rather than trying to mimic extroverts.

My brother gave me two audio discs of Sherlock Holmes. The Adventure of the Read-Headed League and The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle (the word carbuncle always makes me think of warts). They are narrated by James Alexander and I really enjoyed his reading. I believe they were probably cheapies bought at a dollar store, but fun for and hour of listening.

At the library, I picked up my next audio book for the car. I'm not sure how my plan of reading the audio books in shelf order will serve me. It is Scattered Suns by Kevin J. Anderson Book 4 of the Saga of Seven Suns. Not only is it the fourth in a series, but when I read the description on the back, most of the words were gibberish. Ah well, I only said I would try them, not finish them. :)

Hi MrsLee - I'm looking forward to following your reading this year!

Thanks! Same back at ya!

I ended up giving Scattered Suns a one day trial. I'm just not into that kind of fantasy. Very political war stuff and lots of alien names for stuff and characters. Don't get me wrong, I like interesting alien languages, but somehow this all started to sound comical and boring at the same time. Please, don't let my views stop anyone who likes lots of political intrigue and fantasy worlds from trying this series, but start from book one if you do try it! Oh, and the narrator wasn't bad, but I dislike men changing their voices for women characters. It always sounds lame to me.

I traded it in for Hard Truth by Nevada Barr. Since it is a mystery, it has a better chance of me listening to the end. :) I think I like the narrator, too.

Oh Happy! I snagged A Masque Of Days - From The Last Essays Of Elia - Newly Dressed And Decorated in the Early Reviewer program! It was the only book I requested this round.

I wonder which will arrive first, my ER book or my ST books? Any bets?

Finished my Christmas Mysteries book. Very enjoyable.

In listening to the Nevada Barr story, it is well done, I enjoy the narrator, but boy is the subject matter hard for me.

Still working on my other two books, but a lot of DVDs for Christmas and birthdays are getting in the way. :)

MrsLee, is this your first Nevada Barr? Some of hers are grimmer than others, but she does write in a somewhat hard-boiled detective style. Hard Truth was definitely one of the tougher ones, crime-wise and personnel-wise. Sometimes Anna lucks out and finds some likeable companions, but it's usually the scenery that is treated well.

Hope your ST books are more upbeat :-D.

Yes, it's my first. I do enjoy her scenery. One problem is that I'm pretty sure I know who did it and how and I'm only on disc 3. Makes me want to slip in that last disc and find out if I am right. If I were Morphy or littlegeek, I would!

Heh. You know me too well.

:)

Here is the link to the collection I set up of the books from my friend's estate. So many authors I'm unfamiliar with, but sound intriguing. Some I had decided not to read, but on further thought I might give them a try Devil in the White City and Chocolat.

http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?collection=118468

I am undecided on whether or not to keep and try some of the Philippa Gregory novels, so I haven't entered them yet. I am attracted by the ones revolving around the Tudor court, but don't know if I want to commit to them. :)

edit: forgot the link

???? That link takes me to MY library!! Is that just me or does it do that for everybody?

Yup. Me too

Me too.

:-) Glad you're visiting MrsLee, *chuckle*

It's the L-Space effect in action!

Weird, because it takes me to mine! Well, if you are interested in this, go to my profile and click on the collection that says "Rosie's (Kim's) books." Oh the mysteries of the internet. Though I prefer L-Space theory. :)

The catalog parameter defaults to the current user. Try this:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/MrsLee&collection=118468.

Thanks Jim!

I finished reading Dead to Rights. It wasn't a great mystery, lots of loose ends or last minute reveals, but the journey of Joanna Brady in her new roles is still good reading. I can't say these are high literature, whatever that is, but they fill my need for easy, brainless comfort reading.

In my mystery order, I would place Mott-Davidson and other cozy mysteries at 2, Jance and Jackson Braun at 3, Hillerman and Christie at 3.5, Chesterton, Doyle and Frazer at 4, Sayers, Peters, Stout and Laurie R. King at 5.

These are a few samples of authors and the place I give them. I try not to read any author in #2, but when trying new authors, sometimes it happens. Most mystery authors fall into the #3 place, and I can read them happily without ever needing a reread. Authors in the 3.5 and 4 write stories I can read again happily, but don't need to. The ones who write at the #5 level I must have all of their works and visit their characters yearly.

Now you know how I evaluate mysteries. I am reading a new author to me, Christopher Fowler, Full Dark House. It is intriguing, I love stories about WWII and such. However, I haven't advanced far enough into the book to know which group it falls into.

The Nevada Barr story I'm listening to is a #3.

I like your mystery rating. I haven't read any of your 2s & 3s but I'd add Ruth Downie and Charles Todd to the 3s and 3.5 respectively, and now you make me want to try Laurie R. King. I've got her first one on my iPod and will have to listen to it soon. And yeah, I visit with Sherlock, Wolf, and Wimsey too, maybe not yearly, but frequently.

Laurie King is one of my favorite authors, too. It's partly because of her Mary Russell books that I'm trying out the original Sherlock Holmes stories.

Have you tried Califia's Daughters? It's very different from her mysteries. She wrote it as Leigh Richards and is a post apocalyptic story set in a future where a mysterious virus has killed most of the men.

#23 - I would also put Ruth Downie in the 3 group. I haven't read Charles Todd, maybe I will pick one up one of these days!

#24 - Mary Russell books are my favorite of King's, I also loved Folly, which does not seem to touchstone. Anyway, I've read her other mysteries and some of her other novels, but not the one you mentioned. I didn't know she wrote under any other name.

Every thime I read the title of this thread I want to ask MrsLee how long she plans to take, to read 2011 new books

*hides behind bar, from flying tomatoes*

25 - It was the first book she started, though she didn't finish it until after she'd become know for her Mary Russell books. She published it under a pseudonym, I think, because her publisher was afraid King's readers would expect a mystery and be disappointed. I think it's the only books she's written not under her own name. I enjoyed it as much as her other standalones (except for Touchstone, which didn't hook me at all.)

I didn't finish Folly until the second time I read it. It really creeped me out the first time and I had to put it down. But I was ready for it the second time and I ended up loving this book as well.

Hi MrsLee! :)

I've starred your thread here and am enjoying it immensely. -hugs-

Also, can't wait to find out what you think of Full Dark House as it's on my 2011 TBR stack!

Much Bliss & Happy Reading!
~Pandora~

I just placed Full Dark House on ILL request at my local library. I would like for it to come soon, but I have plenty (too much) to read right now anyway!

Edited to add that I also placed a request through ILL for Folly.

*sigh* - I'll never catch up.

#26 - Smartypants. Actually, I was going to write something to the effect that considering I read less than 80 books in 2010, I wasn't sure how I would manage 2011 books this year, but chose the more sedate path. ;)

sandragon - Several of King's books take me awhile to want to pick up, but once I do, I always find them worth the read.

28 & 29 - I really enjoyed Full Dark House! Finally a mystery which I did not have any idea how it would resolve. It's been awhile since I've read one of those. Also, I loved the flow between past and present, the atmosphere of the London Blitz, the digging into Greek mythology and the way the author let the characters reveal themselves and each other through their actions and interactions. I am jazzed that I have his other Peculiar Crimes books on hand to read!

Sorry I'm an enabler....no, I'm not sorry. ;)

I haven't read a Pratchett yet this year, so chose Maskerade. Knowing that it has to do with the witches and the opera, I know I will love it.

Hi MrsLee, thanks for the update on Full Dark House. Yet another to add to the list. I like the rating system too. You're right, the occasional clunker is the risk you take in trying new stuff.

So, I was completely correct about the villain in the Nevada Barr book, to me it was very transparent. Possibly it was supposed to be? I'd rather just think I have exceptional perception. :) I'm still not enjoying it tremendously because of that, but don't hate it enough to quit and return it. This is when having a physical book would be easier than CDs, I could just push through and end it all.

I *loved* Maskerade.

#33 - "I'd rather just think I have exceptional perception."

I like the way you think...
:oD

Enough. I am still two discs away from the finish of the Nevada Barr book and it is pure yuck for me now. If I were reading a hard copy, I could skim, but since it is audio, I have to hear every yuck word. I have no desire to go any further into the psychopath's mind, nor do I want to hear about all the torture the women must suffer at his hands before they are rescued. I am done.

Good for you. I'm all for dumping books I don't enjoy. My reading time is for me. And I know what I like and I'm not wasting time of stuff someone else thinks is good.

Happy day today! A book came in the mail! Not my SantaThing, but my December ER book and I read it as soon as I opened the package. I hadn't realized it would be a children's book, or if I had I forgot, but it is lovely.
A Masque of Days from the Last Essays of Elia and illustrated by Walter Crane. Now I wish I had an Englishman familiar with the High Church here to explain some of it to me. I suppose Google will have to do.

Borrowed A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle in audio book form from the library.

Sorry about the exact same post in the January Bookcover thread. I posted it there and then became lazy and decided it would do here as well. :)

Oh, I'm loving Maskerade! Funny that I should happen to pick two books in a row which are a sort of take on Phantom of the Opera. Full Dark House was also in that theme.

I finished Maskerade, loving it all the way through.

I am hoping to finish my Introvert book soon, today or tomorrow, then I will begin Skeleton Canyon by J.A. Jance and David S. Terry of California: Dueling Judge by Albert Russell Buchanan.

I'm going to post my review of "Introverts in the Church" here because I think it says it all. This book has been monumental in my spiritual life and personal understanding. For those of you who are offended at such things, feel free to skip reading this. :)

I have spent 31 years trying to live a "good" Christian life as an extrovert. I was beginning to think that the Christian community, as in organized fellowship, was not for me. This book has helped me immensely. It has shown me that not only are my introvert leanings not "disobedient," they are a gift from God and useful to my Christian family.
Adam McHugh explains what an introvert personality is, how it is different from an extrovert personality and how one can use it for the glory of God. He also helped me to understand why church has been so exhausting and joyless for the last 10 years, because most of American Protestant churches are modeled on an extrovert example. It is refreshing and hopeful to read about what an integrated church could be like with both times of reflection and deep study, and times of fellowship and exhortation.
I have found many challenges to my spiritual life within these pages. I am learning to have a reflective time with the Holy Spirit before bed to review my day, rather than my thoughts going round and round in circles. Examining my days for times of reflection and times of action, being sure that both are present, has helped me to be more effective.
One chapter I wish had been included, would be on how to understand and work beside extrovert personalities.
This has been an important read for me, one which I am sure I will refer back to many times and also pass along to others.

Some of my favorite passages:
"Whereas in some church traditions you enter a sanctuary in a spirit of quiet reverence, in evangelical churches you walk into what feels like a nonalcoholic cocktail party."

"We go into the desert, into the depths and riches of solitude, to listen for the whispers of God who created us...and discover the gifts we have been given. The inward movement is not the end of the journey, though we will come back to it again and again. The other movement is toward others, toward community. We are not ultimately called to a life of self-fulfillment and comfort but to a life of love."

Beautiful review, MrsLee. Thank you.

I'm thinking the Lutheran church, which is the Swedish flavour of Christianity, would had been a better fit for you. Note though that I'm not talking about the Lutheran interpretation of the Christian creed but rather the general spirit of sacred reverence and quiet spirituality which is an integral part of church here. Even as a non-believer I can find that stillness soothing.

#42 I was brought up in that flavour of Lutheran church. Then we moved and I discovered the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and was completely and utterly turned off religion forever. What a difference.

I keep telling people that if they don't believe in organized religion, they should try my church. :)

#42 - I have a very close friend who is very like me, and after several years of non-church, she is finding rest and restoration in an early morning Lutheran service. When I'm ready to get my feet wet again, I will probably try that. I may also try to find an Abby that practices the rule of silence and see if they will let me spend some time there as a guest.

#45 - Many think Sweden a secular country, and we are, but there's some abbeys around.

A cousin of mine, who is very ill, have spent time in one, as a guest, and I know others who have done the same. I think the kind of retreat the abbey provides is much needed in our times when so much focus lies on individual success and performance, against all odds. To me personally a retreat to an actual abbey would not work as it would be difficult for me to embrace the rituals and practises, not to mention the underlying beliefs, but I some times feel a definite need to just back off, to leave this hectic bubble of life for a while.
So I hope you'll find your peace.

>45 MrsLee: You might also try a Quaker service.

#45 Now I wonder if we can get you to Africa (which would be tremendous fun) so you could go to the Buddhist place at Ixopo (Alan Paton country, barely 2 hours from here) where they do that. Touchstone not working, but it's in the area where Cry the beloved country is set.

I'm not aware of any Quaker services, but there is a Buddhist Abby near Mt. Shasta. I also found an Abby in the redwoods near the coast which sounds ideal. They have a guest house and invite guests to either partake of their devotions and work or rest and walk in the woods by the river. They serve vegetarian meals and make their own honey to sell. They also practice the rule of silence and the stay is only $70 a night. I have to say, that sounds about perfect to me, I may write and ask for an invite. More thinking is involved though. Here is the link to their page:

http://www.redwoodsabbey.org/Community/Guests/

Sounds down right lovely, MrsLee. You know how much I like silence. I might have to check this place out myself. After recently reading The Big Burn I am reminded how much I love the forests in the pacific northwest, and northern California, too.

Yesterday was a mostly AFK day for me (LT was down, so what's the point of the internet?) so I managed to read a whole book! Finished Skeleton Canyon by J.A. Jance. It was O.K. A hard crime for me to read about, and I'm not sure how I feel about all the convenient pairing up of couples going on, but it was O.K.

I also read in the Dueling Judge book. Rather interesting to read about California's wild and woolly beginnings with law and politics. The book and main character are not compelling, but the history is good enough to keep me reading.

I'll be reading Progeny: The Children of the White Lions by R.T. Kaelin next.

MrsLee you definitely need to let me know what you think of it!

Yep, I will!

By the way, I finally caved and looked to see what you chose for me in ST. I didn't want to duplicate with purchases. Looks fantastic! I can't wait until they arrive, you did a great job. :)

MrsLee, I'm curious about how you like A Fine and Private Place. I have fond memories of reading it a million years ago. Beagle wrote it before he was 20, which is astonishing in light of the characters. Gertrude Klapper is one of my all-time favorites.

I think I'm still trying to get into the spirit of the thing, so to speak. I'm longing for a little action in the graveyard, but if it is going to be all metaphysical meanderings I can handle that, I just need to know that is what it will be. :) I do like Gertrude Klapper. A wonderful woman. I'm just at the part where Laura (?) arrives in the cemetery. A bit beyond that, actually, walking with Gertrude in her neighborhood.

Finished David S. Terry of California, the Dueling Judge. It never got more compelling, but remained of interest to the end regarding the formation of law and politics in our state. A large bit of it was spent on the struggle between states rights and federal rights, which led up to the Civil War. Can't say I'll ever understand men like Judge Terry. The arch typical Southern gentry. He was without doubt honorable, honest and sincere, but he took his honor so seriously that he was willing to kill others, himself and his career to make a point of it. I will also never understand the racial hysteria regarding the African Americans and the Chinese. I suppose much of it stems from fear, which I do understand, it's the unreasoning and blind hatred which goes with it that baffles me.

I'm happily working through Progeny and The Hounds of the Baskervilles.

Unfortunately, I think an uneducated and noncritical reading of the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, can lead to ideas of racial prejudice and the feelings associated with "We" and "They". I think many of the nineteenth century racists got many of their ideas from this source.

56 >

Wow. Those are about as opposite two books as one could choose to read at the same time. I think my brain would protest.

#57 - maggie, I'm sure that is true, but the fact is that racial prejudice has never been limited to Western civilization. As far as I can tell, it's an equal opportunity fear/belief.

#58 - Sometimes I have to give my brain/mind cooling off time when I read. Especially if it is a new world I'm jumping into. I need time away from the world to absorb the nuances. I was the same when I first read Jasper Fforde's books and Neil Gaiman's. In fact, I've noticed I only do this with books I enjoy. If I'm not enjoying it I push through as quickly as possible. :)

yes, MrsLee, you are absolutely right. The whole "we" vs. "they" thing seems to be a human nature characteristic which can be overcome with education, and effort.

#59

Want to hear something odd?

Yesterday, Progeny came out on Kindle, and I bought it. (Yes... I bought my own book). But I wanted to see how it read on a screen (you know... a Kindle screen).

Wow...three chapters in, I found a few dozen things I would change. Nah - more like 5 to 6 dozen things. But, still... I can understand what you mean. Despite the fact that Terrene is my creation, I had to try to do what you said (plus a bit more). I tried to let myself absorb the world (without being super critical of every fragmented sentence I wanted to change) that was my creation.

Add to that the fact that I had to do my darnedest to forget what happens in the rest of the book (while still analyzing the characters for consistency's sake) - not to mention what happens in the second...

Sorry for the mind dump - had a tough day trying to get past a point where I'm stuck in #2 - trying to decide between two different paths and I can't decide what a particular character would do for real. Perhaps I should read all the way through Progeny again on the Kindle... might answer the question I have.

Bah...Excuse me. Thanks for letting me use the thread for a cathartic exercise in trying to figure out where to go next. I'll go away now.... mumble, mumble...

Cathartic mind dumping exercise, my most frequent exercise! :)

I can imagine that rereading your work in a finished published version would be satisfying, frustrating and challenging. I know when I'm cooking there is always an end result I have in mind for my creation, but it hardly ever gets exactly there. Sometimes it's better, but usually I'm analyzing it to think how I could have done it better. Doesn't mean it isn't very good, it just didn't come out quite the way I had in mind. Happily, as a reader, I don't have that process. Just the tasting of a new work and enjoyment. :)

RT: I admire the fact that you can read your own stuff. I simply can't. I think it's because: a) my 'writing' is 'scholarship' (those are in typographical air quotes because I use them only in the loosest sense of the terms), b) by the time I've finished it, I've revised and re-written and revised so many times that I'm just sick of the thing. Oh, and I didn't realize you were in Columbus - I lived there for 7 years and now live about and hour NE of there. Possibly soon to move down to Cincinnati. Possibly. There are a lot of 75ers in Ohio - we really should put together a meet-up!

*waves*
Hi MrsLee! Sorry for taking over your thread. :)

#63 - 's O.K., I'm busy reading. ;)

I finished The Hound of the Baskervilles, really enjoyed reading it as a group, I saw more in the story and characters than ever before. Thanks!

Also finished Progeny by R. T. Kaelin. Wow. It was a great read, and I can see why it is compared to C.S. Lewis. Not because of the Lions, or theology, but because it is a wonderful and clean fantasy story. No torrid sex scenes needed or included. I stayed up way beyond my bedtime two nights in a row (it's a very long book) to finish, but mostly just to stay in the world. As I said in my review, it's been a long time since I've met characters in a book who felt so real, both the heroes and the villains. I want to see magic strands and the pretty ribbons!

Glad to see MrsLee that you like Progeny. Now you can join my camp for people waiting for number 2! I hope his first book does well for him.

*hugs for MrsLee*

Stopping by to give you Web Thread Love! :)

"#59 - Sometimes I have to give my brain/mind cooling off time when I read. Especially if it is a new world I'm jumping into. I need time away from the world to absorb the nuances.""

Ooh. Well put and described there, MrsLee! I do the same thing, if I am fully entranced with a book I have to literally Force Myself to stop thinking about it and applying the whims and ways of the characters as it seeps into the colors of my daily life.

> 65

Thanks for the review, MrsLee. Glad you liked the characters. I don't like black and white characters/situations in stories. Real people are flawed and the real world is made up of shades of gray. I like having the same thing in the books.

> 66

Me, too, readafew. Me, too.

So today, I would catch myself thinking about the story in Progeny and wanting to get back to reading it, then being all disappointed because I would remember I was done!

Also finished A Fine and Private Place. This book did not go down well for me. In my review I said that it was like sitting in a room full of young men and listening to them try to outdo one another with "profound" sayings. I'm not saying there was nothing good about the story, but overall, it annoyed me. I did like Beagle's reading voice and tone, which is probably why I stuck it out to the end.

Tomorrow, or the next day I will begin How to Lose a Job by Becky Bartness (thanks readafew, my Santa!) and The Rosetta Stone by E. A. Wallis Budge. I will have to wait until Tues. to get my next audio book from the library.

*waves* at Pandora. :)

Hi MrsLee. In 22, I was interested in your mystery rating system. I have never been attracted to Laurie R. King but if you put her on the level of Dorothy Sayers, I'll have to change that.

As an introvert who has never had religion in her life, I was fascinated by your insights in and the changes you've made re the book. I have always loved the idea of going to a Zen retreat but of course you can't read and therefore escape from yourself at such places. And as Morphy suggests, Quaker meetings have appealed, at least my idea of them. In both instances, the ideal is really self reflection and self knowledge which can be so hard to come by. I too find my thoughts whirling as I try to go to sleep, and I like your idea of using that time to reflect on your day.

I'm excited to read Progeny, and it's fun to have rt here commenting and sharing his progress on book 2. I have a problem with series though. I must have them all before starting. In 2009, I mistakenly read through both Songs of Fire and Ice, and the Malazan series, thinking they were finished. (Of course, I wasn't on LT then) Now I'll have to start from the beginning of each again if they ever are finished. NOt enough time in my reading life to continue this practice!

I'm greatly enjoying your thread.

Thank you, Kassy! The Laurie R. King books I put up there with Dorothy L. Sayers are the Mary Russell series. Part of that is my love of Holmes, I'm sure.

Here's what you do about reading a series before it's done. Read the book, enjoy it, then write extensive notes on the story to yourself on your profile here and archive it. That way it's accessible to you, doesn't spoil things for anyone else, and you won't have to read the whole book again to remember where the story is at. :)

I have been known to go to "retreats" and then ignore all the programmed special meetings, etc. and just walk out into the woods with my book. I, of course, took my Bible, any inspiring book would do, but I read just a bit and spent the rest of the time enjoying the natural world and pondering. Best retreat I ever had.

>71 MrsLee:...

"Here's what you do about reading a series before it's done. Read the book, enjoy it, then write extensive notes on the story to yourself on your profile here and archive it. That way it's accessible to you, doesn't spoil things for anyone else, and you won't have to read the whole book again to remember where the story is at. :)"

Or hope the writer is kind enough to include helpful reminders about earlier events within the context of the story in followup books in the series...

#72 - :)

I went to the library for another audio book to listen to on the way to work, it's The Venetian Betrayal by Steve Barry, narrated by Scott Brick. Mr. Brick's intonation is very intense. I'm on the wall about this, but only about 40 minutes into it. Again, not really my kind of story, but it will do. It certainly distracts from work thoughts.

Finished How to Lose a Job, it was a fun, quick read.

Now I'm reading Rattlesnake Crossing, trying to finish this series of books I've borrowed from a friend so she can loan them to another friend. The Rosetta Stone has suffered from my day spent watching Castle, season 3 to catch up. :)

Hee Hee, in last night's episode of Castle, the mom is going to a spa called...Serenity! Love it!!!

Yeah, we caught that one too. Catching Firefly references has become our favorite parlor game on Monday evenings! :)

I've only caught a few. Is there a Firefly reference in each episode? A friend says she catches Firefly props in Castle as well. I may have to rewatch the series again :o)

Finished Rattlesnake Crossing a couple of days ago, it was just O.K.

I've begun Caveat Emptor by Ruth Downie, and I wanted to catalog it, but I now have a 15lb. cat on my lap, so can't move to get the book.

Those cats can make such good weights. I totally understand not wanting to disturb it. My schnauzers can do almost as well, with Nicky willing to even growl at me if I move a little, as if to make him move.

Not to mention wonderful lap-warmers as well! My cat Gabriel loves nothing more than to curl up on my lap and keep me company as I read. He seems to have quite a "nose" for picking just the right time to do it too- usually just as I'm about to get up! LOL. :o)

I described myself the other day as a "bipedal body-heat purveyor" for my cat. Pretty well sums it up.

Yeah, what's with the growling if you move? Or heavens, make THEM move. I am not dog furniture!

*raises a fist*

MrsLee, Pandora, Mary, have you also been hit by feline gravity control? When they sit on your lap and decide you're not moving under them even if you want to, and then they suddenly weight several times their "scale-weight"?

Oh, yeah. Gravity-surges.

Oh yeah. I'm like OMG, you used to weigh 10, now you weigh 50. How could a little dog feel so heavy?

*nods head in agreement with all of the above* The only thing which saves me is if I'm cooking dinner and have the timer set. She leaps off my lap when that goes off, or the telephone, because she knows that means a trip to the kitchen, which always holds the possibility of food.

Finished The Rosetta Stone last night. My review.

I bought this book to use in schooling my children. Now that I’ve read it, I’m rather glad I never got around to assigning it to them to read. It is not a narrative tale, but rather a comparative study of the three different forms of writing on the Rosetta Stone. Aside from a short introduction of the finding of the stone, the power-plays involved in who got to possess the stone and the amusing criticisms the various translators of the stone had for each other; it is simply a comparative translation of the writing.
Now, that is interesting, because the author gives the translation of each language on the stone. I learned that there are only two languages, Greek and Egyptian, but that the Egyptian is written in two forms, hieroglyph and a form of cursive hieroglyph. The story of how the translators came to understand the meanings and sense of the hieroglyph is interesting, but more suited to a linguist or someone familiar with the study of languages. The only way I was able to pursue was to pretend I was Daniel Jackson from SG1, digging into the depths of the unknown and mysterious.

If you read the other two reviews this book has, you can see the difference between the review of someone who picked the book up blind with only a mild interest in the historical significance of the book (me), and an enthusiast who understands what they are reading about! :)

Next up from the massive TBR shelves, which I pick from randomly and blindly, is The Shaker Cook Book, by Caroline B. Piercy. Hoping it has some comforting warm recipes that I can sink my soul into.

#87: LOL! That actually sounds really interesting to me - in fact, I think it's already on the wishlist somewhere!

#88 - Want it? I would happily send it to you.

I have finished Caveat Emptor, and I liked it better than the last book by Ruth Downie. I know some people think her characters are cardboard, but I just find them very reserved in their emotions, which I actually like. The story of this one was a bit convoluted with a sort of grey ending, but I enjoyed it anyway.

I have decided to bite the bullet and start on The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I want to read it before I start the new Patrick Ruthfuss novel which is due to arrive any day now. It may be awhile before I'm through with this one!

Slipping in a reading of Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. I haven't read it in ten years, and it's one of those I intend to reread. Interesting how the impact is still there ten years later, but I'm identifying with different parts of it now.

I think I may have said this to you on Facebook earlier today, but Gift from the Sea is one of my favorite re-reads. Have you ever read her novel, Dearly Beloved? It's out of print now, I'm sure, but I liked it when I encountered it back in the '70's in the library.

No, I haven't read that. I knew a woman who had been Anne Morrow Lindbergh's camp counselor. This woman was up around 109 years old. Her grandmother had sat on Martha Washington's lap. :)

Finished A Gift From the Sea. Loved it again.

I borrowed another audio book from the library for my commute. The Collectors by David Baldacci. I'm a little appalled. They have yet another Baldacci book, then one by Steve Berry again! I have to go through all of those before I can move on? My system might have some fatal flaws in it.

I'm about half way through The Way of the Kings. It isn't by any means meh, but it isn't a gripping read yet, either. There are a few characters I'm very drawn to, but Shallah isn't one of them. Probably that's meant to be. Anyway, I am very much enjoying trying to get a grip on the world and its occupants, but I'm way past the stage in life where I like reading this big a tome. It almost feels like a chore to make any progress in it, and reading shouldn't be that-a-way.

Amendment to previous post: Shallan. Brandon does flawed heroic characters very well. Even if you don't like them much, you can still empathize with them.

I've finished the book! Yes, I liked it very much and will certainly continue the series and will try ever so hard not to resent him spending time writing other things and playing with his children. ;)

I thought it could have been shortened in some of the flashback type of scenes without losing much of the tale, but world and its people are wonderful. The illustrator did a fine job.

When I'm ready to delve into another book (it takes me a day or two to recover from a well done fantasy), it will be my ER book, A Trail of Ink by Melvin R. Starr.

Finished the audio book The Collectors. I found a danger of audio books on a commute. I was so into the story I missed my exit for work! Had to drive 12 extra miles to get there, but managed to clock in just in time.

Got a new one today which I have doubts about liking, We are all Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg. Not usually too fond of female drama books, we'll see.

My daughter read The Way of Kings over her Winter break and loved it, MrsLee. I'm glad you ended up liking it. :o)

#97 - My daughter read it and was angry because she hadn't realized it was the first in a series! She has made peace with that now and is looking forward to more. She told me something interesting, she said that there is a recurring character in all of Sanderson's books. Now I have to go read them again! I think his name is Hoit or something similar. She said it might have something to do with his plans to eventually connect all his "worlds." Food for thought. :)

I finished The Shaker Cookbook, which was interesting, with sound recipes which would fit right in with our fresh/local movement of today. Also many meatless recipes since they went through a period of "do no harm to any living thing." I liked the information about the Shaker movement, having known very little of it, but the author made them sound like the best thing on earth and if that is so, why are they no more? Ah well. Anyway, some of her food history facts also jarred me as being not quite so. But the recipes seem sound.

I did my blind grab off the TBR shelves for a second book to read and ended up with Russian Cooking by Helen Waite Papashvily. I didn't really want to read another cookbook so soon, but this is one of my favorite authors, along with her husband, George. So far I'm already enjoying their snippets of Russia, and it is interesting to read since it was published in 1969 and things are so different now politically.

What are you doing up so early? (Isn't it 4:45 AM your time?)

Yep, gotta go get ready for work. I start at 6am today. :P

My sympathies!

#98 reoccuring character? wow. That will be fun to spot. Across all authors works one of the most reoccuring (apart from obvious ones like Cain) I know is "Kincaid" who I've seen in many places. I have no idea about the history/links of this name.

#102 I thought Mr. Kincaid was the manager for the Partridge Family?

I'm really liking We Are All Welcome Here. The author does a great job of the reading.

I finished A Trail of Ink. It was not a stellar addition to medieval mysteries, but was O.K. So far, my review sounds harsh compared to the others, but then the author has to stand up to Ellis Peters and Margaret Frazer, and this one just doesn't. The book wasn't bad, simply not gripping or memorable. Oh well.

Now to begin Storm Front by Jim Butcher. My daughter says that is the name of a white supremacist movement and that the author should be ashamed for not doing research before he thought up his title. Me, I'm not that harsh. Why should that ugly movement have any power to change a good title? :) I really want to like these stories, I love the idea of, "Magic and wizardry meet hard-boiled detective fiction."

Now I want a hard-boiled egg. Weird.

Sheesh, and now all meteorologists aren't allowed to say storm front either?! No, don't give groups like that any power.

I'm not usually that harsh either. Granted, I'll probably blissfully not know that either. And know I want a hard boiled egg. No wait, maybe some of those egg halves with fancy egg yolks on top, I forgot the name.

Deviled eggs.

Uh oh. We should be ashamed of calling it that because of those Satanic groups!
Bwhahaha.

Satanic, er deviled eggs sound really good right now. It's lunchtime, and I forgot to get my lunch out of the fridge this morning. *stomach growls loudly*

>107 Morphidae: That's it. For some reason I thought they were Doubled Eggs, but that didn't sound right.

I once made something like this for the cookbook I wrote for my son, but I can't find a photo of mine. This is from Flicker.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kyoungquist/4027043683/in/photostream/

>:{
http://www.flickr.com/photos/timbroyer/2495043103/

Not sure how to share photos from Flicker anymore, maybe you can't when they are someone else's.

Yes, you can share others' pictures. Go under "Share..." and copy the code.

I quite enjoy the whole Storm Front series - apart from the massive cliffhanger by just fingernails over the biggest drop you can ever imagine ending in the most recent Changes. Butcher really needs shooting for being allowed to do that. Each story more or less works on its own, but I'm impressed with the overarching plot and details that run through the series. It isn't apparent in Storm Front, but becomes more so over time.

Curious to see how you get on with them.

Those eggs are fantastic.

I sat almost all afternoon and into the evening enjoying Storm Front. Harry is just the kind of smart ass detective I like! Also there is thinking involved, and a little philosophy. Fun action, scary monsters and a little vavoom. Very happy to have found this. :)

maggie, which code? 'Cause when I tried to do image post with the above codes, it didn't. Thank you for doing that one.

When you are at the picture's page you'll see: Favorite, Actions, and Share this

Under Share This you'll find Enter email address. bla bla bla

and below: Grab a link
Grab the HTML/BBCode
Blog it

Under Grab the HTML/BBCode you'll see copy and paste...and the code in a box. Copy the entire code with a Ctrl C (on your computer keyboard) and go back to your thread, and post the code

When you submit it, it should show the photography

Thanks, I tried that with one of the photos, I thought, and it didn't work, but maybe I didn't get the whole code.

I enjoyed Storm Front when I read it a few years back. A friend had told me I *had* to read it because the Archivist reminded her of me.

Have you tried any of the medieval mysteries by Priscilla Royal? On the light side, but not outrageously anachronistic. The first in the series is Wine of Violence

jillmwo, no, I haven't tried those, thank you for putting it in my thread, now I can find it when I need a new author to try!

Happily, I just won A Century of Detection by John C. Gruesser from the ER program, so I'll have a large bit of mystery reading to do. It sounds very educational.

I am really enjoying the audio book, We are all Welcome Here. She reads it very well, though sometimes can sound a bit nasal-droney. The story is very good.

I finished Storm Front, and really liked it! Very glad I bought the next in the series, because I want to start it RIGHT NOW! As soon as I can read without falling asleep, I'm going to begin Fool Moon.

Just a warning about reading too many Dresden books in a row. Eventually they start getting exhausting. Butcher is brutal to his characters. You might want to take a break after a few or be sure to spread them out a bit. But, yes, they are a bit addictive!

Well, guess I won't have to worry about that. A real April Fool on me, the book I bought wasn't Fool Moon. I could have sworn it was! So, think I'll wait. This does seem to be a series which needs to be read in order. I agree Morph, about how hard he is on the characters.

I thought Storm Front promising. Fool Moon, on the other hand, not so much.

I just looked over my ratings for the Dresden Files and they all got 7's or 8's except for White Knight (#9) which got a 6. The 8's were Storm Front, Summer Knight (#4), Blood Rites (#6), and Side Jobs (short stories).

I might qualify my low rating of it with "I really REALLY can't stand werewolves or vampires or zombies, outside of Discworld" ;-)

Now I'm curious. Busifer Why not? They're no less belivable than wizards? I though tit was Butcher's portrayal of women in them than you didn't like.

No, it was the above mentioned elements that really got to me. Some kinds of wizardry could be strange tech ;-) but werewolves and such is just too much for me.
I can barely stand them in classic fantasy but urban fantasy as a whole is one step beyond what my imagination can accept, even hypothetically.

Storm Front was a fun romp but Fool Moon took it from there and into the the truly ridiculous. Made me think of real cheap television.

For me, Fool Moon was a low point, but the series got much better after that. For me, it's addictive fun.

I'm not reading them for believability :) I'm reading them for fun, and I loves me some fantasy werewolves, as long as they aren't in a souped up romance novel.

For fun - Yeah, I know, but to me ultimately werewolves and the like is a representation for the Other. And the role they play often takes it well into the realm of what would be perceived as racism if for example Zombie is replaced with Jew.

Even if it wasn't meant that way by the author.

I don't judge those who enjoy these books. Clearly a lot of people think they're fluffy fun. It's just that I am unable to do so.

ETA - With the Dresden books it was more a case of finding the first one fun fluff but the second inane. But then my husband says I lack humour ;-)

#129 - I knew you weren't judging, and I like it when you share why you do or do not like things. That's why I share that stuff too, to reach understanding of myself and my reading habits and to understand others.

Finished the audio of Elizabeth Berg's book, We are all Welcome Here. I gave it four stars, even though the ending was a bit of that word I don't know how to spell, you know, the one where the machine comes in and makes everything O.K.? Still this is one author who knows how to read aloud. It was a pleasure.

Now, my new audio which was chosen merely because it was the next one on the shelf at the library, is Quentins by Maeve Binchy. It's about a woman who decides to write about the history of a restaurant in Dublin. That's all I read on the back of the case, because I like to be surprised for the most part. I've read a book by Ms. Binchy before and I find her a tolerable writer, though she doesn't write the kind of books I like to read very often.

Also, for my light reading selection, since I do not have Fool Moon at hand, I am going to read Yellow Lies by Susan Slater. I've not read her mysteries before. This takes place in the Southwest, which is a good thing in my book, and so far nothing has turned me off in it. However, I've only opened it a couple of times on the rare days I've had a lunch break at work, and on those days, I only got to read 5-10 minutes, because coworkers think someone is lonely or bored when they are reading so they come along to visit. :(

Swinging by to *wave* and say hi!

:)

Also waving - and picking up Progeny: The Children of the White Lions as something that needs to go my wishlist ;-) (I've been looking for something to read on the iPad, so I might just pick up the ebook version).

MrsLee: deus ex machina?

It's a fun book, Tane.

Yes, MerryMary. Why must they use such weird spelling? ;0

Latin, isn't it?

Yes maggie, I'm just foolin' around.

I am finding that once again I am not liking a Mauve Binchey novel. The woman writes well, but she ticks me off. Perhaps it is intentional, since I haven't gone very far into the book, and the dynamics of the characters may change, but I'm not sure I can be patient for that change. I give it one more day.

#130, 137

I've got all Binchey's books. I re-read them all last year, and wondered why I had kept them. After re-reading them, I thought they would all have been better as short stories, or maybe novellas. Her short story collections I'm keeping, because those stories are mostly good. The novels are now in my "going away" pile.

I like Binchey but she's on my "borrow from the library" list because I can't see wanting to re-read them.

I really like most of Binchy's books. The best I have bought, because I will and have re-read them. Some I re-borrow from the library and a few I won't read again. Binchy's books are for me what I call hygge bøger. Translated it would be something like cozy book. Books I read when I just want to be cozy and relax with an easy read

What made me angry with this one is the storyline, and it might not bother most people, but it does bother me. The girl who is too perfect to be true, falls for a married man, and when she attempts to end it, he makes her feel like she is to blame for her "lack of faith" in his love. The b*stard can't commit to his wife and family and pour himself into making that commitment work, but he blames her for not believing in his love?! What's worse, is that she falls for that rotten line. Now it seems that the author is making this all O.K. I get very angry at people who manipulate others in relationships and others who allow it.

I finished it. Please just shoot me if I ever pick up another one of her books to read. Women without backbones make me too angry to read about. :P

Oh, don't shoot me if there is another audio book of hers, I have to read them in order.

#141 and #142 I am so with you there MrsLee. I've worked with abused women and anything that makes that behavior 'romantic' or 'acceptable' makes me nuts. Well, nutser than I already am. ;)

Me, three!

If I concur as well, does that constitute a quorum?

At least a four-um.

142: But why listen to them if you're not enjoying them? Is the audio selection at your library very small?

147 - Yes. Just one rack, and I don't want to spend the money asked for new audio books. When I've gone through all of these, I will probably invest in some sort of apparatus that can play audios I download from online.

I have to say, that although most of them are not my preference, I have found one or two authors to return to, which I never would have tried otherwise. Inexpensive torture, my cup of tea. ;) Also, I don't have to finish them. I never would have finished the above if I my interest hadn't been captured by the restaurateurs in the story.

Today I finished Yellow Lies. It was a solid three stars for me. Nice cultural tidbits and such, but the end became repetitive and one of the characters I actually liked broke character to "tell" the story. Left me rather flat. Oh well.

Now on to a Pratchett. I feel a need of silliness and all that he brings to my imagination. I have read Carpe Jugulum, but since I am reading the witches storyline and that is next, I will happily read it again. :)

A small adjustment to the rules guidelines.

I so do not need to read any more Steve Berry, Maeve Binchy or any others I really dislike. I also do not have to read the third Baldacci, even though the first two weren't bad, because I really don't want to read that type of story.

I do however, have to at least try to listen to The DaVinci Code, when it comes up. However, before I get there, I have some promising mysteries to listen to. The present audio book then, is Badlands, by Peter Bowen. It has promise. The narrator is acceptable, the story takes place in Montana among the Metis and the sleuth is named Gabriel Du Pré, which is a cool name for a sleuth.

When do you mostly listen to your audiobooks, MrsLee? Is your commute such that it makes sense to listen while you are driving? Or do you listen when you do housework? I'm just curious because I know there are people who really like audio-books because they have no opportunity to read text but can pay attention to what they hear.

I drive 20 - 25 minutes each way to work, so that's at least 40 minutes of listening time. Sometimes my audio books are the only ones I make progress in because I'm too tired when I get home to read a book.

I've only missed my exit once, and I only forgot to pick up the friend I was commuting with once. Both times I managed to redeem myself and get there in time. I chalk that up to always leaving 15 minutes earlier than I have to. :)

*both thumbs up*

*hugs for MrsLee*

About the Dresden Files:

I've had this series exuberantly recommended to me by several of my like-minded literary friends. But for some reason Storm Front has eluded me on several occasions as of late. It seems not to want to be found by me! I can't seem to find a copy of it anywhere, much to my dismay! :(

All of the REST of the series has no trouble at all, they seem to taunt me at every bookstore I've looked at. LOL. "ReAd me!" they taunt me... However, I've been admonished not to read ahead in the series, so I've looked them in the spine and replied with a firm, "No."

Ah well, perhaps it is a book that can only be found when one isn't looking for it. :O)

~Pandora~

They are not easy to find at used bookstores, which I regard as a good sign. That means no one wants to give them up, right? I found my copy at Amazon. :) But Amazon is cheating if you are a serendipitous shopper. :P

LOL! Ah, MrsLee, you make me giggle with glee! :O)

I suppose calling ahead is rather cheating then, too. :P~

*big hugs*
~Pandora~

I've begun reading my ER book, A Century of Detection. Twenty short mysteries compiled by a professor to act as a textbook for courses devoted to detective fiction. His introduction and reasons for choosing the tales he chose to highlight was interesting. Even though he didn't choose even one of my favorite authors, I will enjoy this because of the different authors included and the angle of detective fiction they highlight.

#153 - I do hate bookshops that don't stock an entire series, especially the 1st of a series. I appreciate with some series' it gets a bit difficult to find space for 15+books but how else is a reader going to be introduced to them. YOu could always ask them to order it in for you. It might even be in your library system.

#156 - sounds fun. 20 different detectives? and not an already known favourite amoung them wow?

Not 20 different detectives, 20 different stories. Some of the authors I've read, Poe, Twain, Hart, Doyle, Chesterton, but others are unknown to me and none of them modern, so it will be exciting.

I'm especially interested in the stories by African Americans/Black authors (they aren't all Americans), because I can't recall ever reading/knowing about any mysteries by authors who were not Caucasian before. At least not off the top of my head. I know there are some mysteries by a Chinese author, but I haven't had a chance to read them yet.

The only African American mystery author I can think of is Walter Mosley, but I've never actually read one of his mysteries. The only book of his I've read is 47, on audio. It's a young adult book about slavery in the American south of the 1800s, and time travel. Really enjoyed it.

I don't remember Murder in the Rue Morgue being such a yawner. I suppose the last time I read it I was young and not tired all the time.

Yes, for a "classic" mystery, I was disappointed that The Murders in The Rue Morgue was a yawner, and to me, nowhere near as mesmerizing as other Poe stories.

@161-162, Thanks for that. It's currently residing on my tbr shelves. :( Maybe I'll have forgotten it's not too good by the time I get to it as it does have quite a few companions on those shelves.

Isn't the draw for The Murders in the Rue Morgue that it is touted as being the first detective mystery? Possibly I'm "misremembering," as my grandmother used to say.

millhold, it is that, or at least the first "modern" mystery which set up the genre. I see many similarities to Holmes and Doyle, so it is obvious that Poe was Doyle's inspiration, but Doyle managed to take the yawn out of the method. Poe's detective goes on ad nauseum about his reasoning.

MrsLee, do you think--maybe--that was a result of the drugs/alcohol Poe was ingesting? Having been married to an alcoholic (long ago) I vividly remember how *eloquent* he thought his powers of reasoning were, when he was under the influence of "demon rum."

Edited to get rid of a personal pronoun, for clarity.

It's possible, which doesn't mean that they are not eloquent, I mean they are, but simply too wordy for me to have patience with at this time of my life. I think it may also be a matter of age. I remember eating this stuff up when I was younger, and my young adult children can go on and on with this kind of philosophical stuff. *shrug*

I needed a small book to read on my lunch hour at work, so picked up The Pooh Perplex by Frederick C. Crews, which I have been wanting to read. I've read one essay and loved it, but would probably have more understanding if I had taken some college literature/critique classes.

I know what you mean about not having so much patience with certain types of discourse. I like to read stuff that does not "wrap around the axle" so much.

Now you've got to explain 'wrap around the axle' in the curious expressions thread, maggie.

*wanders over to curious expressions thread for enlightenment*

"wrapped around the axle" is a visual image... can you see a chain getting caught in the axle of a large truck, can you see it getting wrapped around and around, can you see the truck stop dead, and then can you see the red face of the driver of said truck?

When someone gets that upset about something, one can say "oh, don't get wrapped around the axle"! But be prepared to duck! Can you see flying objects coming in your direction?

*waves to MrsLee*

Oh hai there! :O)
I've been enjoying your thoughts on Poe, he is a favourite of mine... However, like cough syrup, I think his prose is best when devoured in small portions at a time. It helps to savor the particular flavor of his tone, IMHO.

BTW, speaking of Poe, and this is for Millhold as well:

165:
"MrsLee, do you think--maybe--that was a result of the drugs/alcohol Poe was ingesting?."

If you are interested in Poe and the particular matter of questionable influence of alcohol on his work (and the mysterious events of his death), I heartily recommend The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl! Fascinating read, and really sheds some light on the subject. :O)

.

Thanks, Pandora, I'll look into that. :)

maggie, that is an expression that must be added to my vocabulary!

I confess I do use it verbally relatively often. It is strange how often people can get "wrapped around the axle" about this or that thing in their lives. Life is so much easier if you do not waste adrenaline on the passing ups and downs. You are welcome to adopt the expression, without attribution.

Hello MrsLee! Just read your lovely thread--I'll definitely look for Introverts in the Church. I love the quotes you posted in message 40.

It reminds me of conversations I've had with a friend. She thinks the church I attend is spiritually dead. The church she goes to reminds me of the descriptions of crowd frenzy in Eric Hoffer's book The True Believer which I was forced to read in school a loooooong time ago.

Happy Palm Sunday!

Hi streamsong, glad you are here! :) I love your description of the two churches. Happily, there seem to be a type for every personality. ;)

Blessings to you!

#169 - it's one of the few hazards a Roomba can face - any long piece of string/thread or carpet edging, can get caught on the brushes and the corner-flicker-brush, ending up with a sad Roomba with red lights on.

reading_fox, you should never have mentioned how to kill a Roomba here. There are some enemies of the creatures in this pub, you know.

* scatters long bits of raffia, rushes and string all over the pub floor*

*evil laughter*

HEY! HEY! HEY!

*fiddles with Roomba evil minions to add super-duper-pre-sweepers*

*changes mind and adds "lasers" (air-quotes)*

Jeepers! Everyone with long toes, better not wear sandals in here!

I got my mom and dad addicted to Badlands, the audio is really good, although I think the author uses a few too many "he said" "she said" moments. I cannot believe the actor who is reading. I would say he is my favorite next to Neil Gaiman.

Neil Gaiman has such an oddly comforting voice to me. Even when he is talking about something creepy or disturbing.

If I was on a plane that was about to crash-land, and Neil's voice came over the intercom informing us we were all about to die (but would, of course, all receive complimentary bags of salted peanuts); I would smile blissfully and contentedly relax and enjoy the ride. :O)

ROFL! Pandora, I think I feel the very same way!

*big grin*

Just one of the MANY reasons why you are so fabulous in my (cat-like green) eyes! :O)

Finished Badlands today, I can't say it's the best book, there are definite problems with the writing in my opinion, but the narration totally makes up for them. I wonder if I would have liked it as much without the reader? I think not.

I'm going to get the other one our library has, just to hear him some more.

Read The Golden Spiders for the D.N.B.R. day. It is comfort food for me to read Stout. Golden Spiders is so Wolfish. It isn't the idea of justice which spurs him into taking action, but the idea that two people who came seeking his help are dead, even though he declined to help them. "My office is not to be used as a waiting room for the morgue."
I'm thinking this quip from Archie is a dig at McCarthyism and the Senate Hearings? Archie asks someone to name his accuser, when the person won't say, Archie says, "If you were a United State's Senator, naturally I wouldn't expect you to name my accuser, but since you're not, go climb a tree."

Also finished Fool's Moon. I was warned. It's not that I'm against werewolves, I like them as much as the next monster, but I get the idea that Butcher knew he had to include them in this series, and so decided to throw in every kind he could think of to get it over with. Also, there are so many cliffhanging moments when Dresden by all rights should die, that I began to tire of them. I was wanting him to have some moments of character development instead. I have the next two books in the series, but if Dresden doesn't grow any in them, I will probably give up.

I picked up Coyote Wind in audio from the library. I'm liking it. I'm going to work on finishing some of the other books I've got going before I start anything else.

MrsLee, don't worry, Dresden grows as do the characters around him. Read the next one and you'll be just as hooked as the rest of us. I'm currently reading book 12 of the series, Changes, and am still more than happy to be doing so.

Well, for me Fool Moon definitely put me off from further Dresden endeavours, but that's no secret ;-)
And as for me I decided there's thousands of unread books out there, waiting for me. No need slogging on with a series whose niche - light entertainment - can be filled in other ways :)

#184 - fortunetly those annoying cliffhanger moments fade away later in the series as well. It takes a few more books I think. It's almost as if he were writing for TV and leaving room for ad breaks. I found it very very annoying. The next two grave peril and Summer knight are much much better. Harry does start to develop as a character and the beginnings of the larger story arc develop.

#185 I'll say ARRRGHH for you now, for when you reach the end.

#187 " It's almost as if he were writing for TV and leaving room for ad breaks.
This is EXACTLY how I felt when I read Fool Moon! It was there in Storm Front as well but in Fool Moon it's full tilt ahead. One of the reasons I decided not to continue the series.

I actually become positively irritated, usually, when I read something which is obviously written for either TV or a movie. I think the readers should be the author's first audience and the author's concern for his/her readers should be paramount. Then, if it is a good story and the characters are compelling, a screen play could be written. But if the author starts by writing for the producers of various screen experiences, it leaves the readers in the dust. I think that is where those books belong...in the dust bin.

I have made an exception for The Game of Thrones and its series as it is so well done. "It is the exception which proves the rule".

I'll echo the comments on Fool Moon. The series gets much better after that.

@187, Thank you, I needed that ARRRGHH. Was hoping that there might've been some sort of clue in Aftermath, the final story of Side Jobs which I've just read, but no such luck. At least Ghost Story isn't too far off the release date.

I finished reading my Russian Cookbook last night. I gotta say, not much of the food in it inspires me. Maybe the flavored vodkas. Not that the recipes sound bad or anything, they just don't inspire me to try them right away. Could be my mood, too. Maybe I should read The Gulag Archipelago that my daughter wants me to read to set the mood, but I don't think so. Her recommendation went something like this, "It's a great book to read when you want to be really depressed." Like, never?

I'm trying to finish a couple of the other books I've got going before I start the next Butcher novel, but I doubt if my resolution will hold up for very long.

Couldn't resist, started reading Grave Peril last night. My mind is kinda skittering with the Michael dude. Did I miss something somewhere? He showed up out of the blue? Maybe the details will be filled in later.

Grave Peril is finished. I did like it better than Fool Moon. Not sure Harry has changed much, but perhaps he is getting a glimmer that he isn't the only one who can do anything about all the evil? As a Christian, I love Michael, The Fist of God. It is so rare that an author who isn't writing a specific Christian book takes the time to portray the power of a good man of faith. Much easier to fall back on all the failures in that area.

Now I really must finish A Century of Detection. I'm past the authors I've already known and into the unknown.

Glad to hear that the Dresden series took an upturn for you.

*whispers* I have a confession. I started Summer Knight last night instead of doing the reading I should be doing. My excuse is a tired brain that is allergy ridden. I don't have to think very hard to read the Dresden files, just enjoy them.

Summer Knight was one of the favourites for the series so far for me.

I just requested Summer Knight from my library. It should be ready for me to pick up in a day or two. Can't wait. Yay.

I finished Summer Knight today. Definitely my favorite so far. I loved the descriptions of the realms of Faerie and the characters there. Harry is more likable and there was a story, not just non-stop action. My problem now? I am trying to restrain myself from jumping on Amazon and buying the next four books. Just made some major purchases there recently, but I'm feeling sorry for myself at the moment.

Think I'll work on my Discworld novels first. I already own all of them. Oh, and the other two books I've started but which stare at me reproachfully while I read the Dresden books. I had thought to make great inroads on them tomorrow, the second day of my weekend, but just found out I have to work tomorrow instead. I am not taking it well.

I sometimes find it a good idea to take a break from a series for a while as it seems to keep the characters fresher that way. When I was playing catch-up on the Dresden series I read them in batches of 2 or 3 and it seemed to work out well for me.

Working when you should not be is not fun. Not working when you should be is much better ;) I'm now not back in work until Tuesday night.

Picked up Thunder Horse from the library today for my audio book in the car. This is the last Peter Bowen story they have.

The Peter Bowen mysteries sound super! Living here in Montana, I'm wondering how I haven't come across them before....way too many books, too little time and MT TBR has almost 300 inhabitants as it is. (But then western MT is supposed to be full of mountains, is it not?)

LOL! The setting for these mysteries is somewhere around the Wolfe Mountains, I think? The name of the tiny town is a French one. They are full of strong language, but I still recommend the audio versions. I don't know what they would read like in print, because so much of the personality and style is in the accent and phrasing of the narrator.

I'm still working my way through A Century of Detection and I've found two unknown to me authors which I might want to pursue.

Anna Katharine Green - Her father disapproved of novel writing, so she wrote her first novel in secret, then sold over a million copies! Her story, "Missing: Page Thirteen" was kind of fun, a lively female detective, Violet Strange.

Susan Glaspell - More known for her plays, I think I had heard her name before. The story in this book, "A Jury of Her Peers," has a tremendous atmosphere. In a way it reminds me of Daphne Du Maurier. Certainly worth pursuing, I would like to read one of her novels.

203 > I read the Peter Bowen mysteries in print and I really enjoyed them. Maybe because I'm slightly familiar with that kind of Metis dialect, but I could hear the voices in my head beautifully. Excellent series.

You might keep an eye out for The Golden Slipper and Other Problems for Violet Strange by Green as well, MrsLee. She's a debutante detective! Her clients have to be introduced to her very selectively. Oooh, the joys of the Gilded Age.

#206 - Thank you, I will! I am also interested in Green's other female detective, a pre-Marple elderly woman.

I finished the book last night, and I must say that the African American stories were well written for the most part, though not really what I consider "mysteries," but they were too sad for me to pursue the authors. Glad I read those though. One of them, by Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins, was fascinating considering the time it was written, from both the race and the gender aspect. The views expressed in it, well, I found them interesting in that they were expressed so plainly, but not attractive. It was from a white man's position of intermarriage, both the for and against position, but said white man was married to a woman who had a minute trace of Negro blood in her genetics and it was made such a big deal of by him. Sometimes it's just hard for me to understand the position and thoughts of people on these matters.

I also read more of the essays from The Pooh Perplex. I found the one by the "angry modern man" and the Ecclesiastical writer to be hilarious. I think the idea of Eeyore as the "Saviour" type is hysterical. Of course Eeyore is my favorite of them all, now I know why! ;) I can't read too many of these in a row however, so I picked up another for fun book to read in between.

Now reading The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. Already loving Tiffany. That she would use her baby brother as bait for the monster, well.

Finished Wee Free Men and The Pooh Perplex yesterday. Loved the Tiffany Aching book, want to start another right away, but I'm going to start my ER book, Outlander, instead. Also, for my "other" book selection, I will start Trailmakers of the Middle Border by Hamlin Garland.

Neither of these will be read much until I'm caught up on Dr. Who Series 6, just found a place online to watch them, and Neil Gaiman's episode is coming up!

The Pooh Perplex was skimmed at the end. Too much for one who hasn't the background to enjoy it all. Problem is, I found that kind of critic tortuous anyway, so even reading someone spoofing it became tiresome for me.

I've been way too tired to read lately, and catching up on Castle and Dr. Who instead.

I did start a new audio book from the library called Black Jack by Max Brand. I am quite disgusted with it. The people in it are stupid beyond redemption. I'm giving one character the chance to redeem the story, but I'm sure he won't because there wouldn't be any "drama" if he did. Don't know how much longer I can take it. Probably a victim of the era it was written in, but I've become intolerant of the style.

Sounds like TSTL syndrome - Too Stupid To Live

LOVE the "jump to the bottom" button!

I've started reading my first ebook, Death Masks by Jim Butcher (dang, touchstones tells me Ellis Peters wrote a book by that name, now I have to go see if I've read it).

Also committed to seriously read Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I've dabbled in it for two weeks, but haven't read much of anything for over a week. Just too tired, and lots of company.

Death Mask by Ellis Peters, well, considering that I am the only one who has reviewed it here, I guess I've read it. :)

LOLOL!!!

Finished Death Masks, these books are like crack. I find myself wanting to dive into the next one immediately, and thinking about them when I'm not reading them.

They are very quick reading with hardly time to catch your breath between scrapes for Harry and the gang. At this rate you'll soon be caught up with the rest of us that are eagerly awaiting the next instalment to be published.

Same experience here. I came upon these when I was laid up with a hip replacement and raced straight through the first 8 or so (all that were published at that time). Since then I've gotten my hands on every new one asap.

I FINALLY found the missing disc from the Black Jack audio book I wanted to return to the library. Was very afraid I would have to buy the stupid thing! Anyway, picked up Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold and will begin listening to it tomorrow. I confess. I skipped Dan Brown. I just had to. I've heard a lot about Bujold here, and even though I suspect this is the middle of some series, at least I will have an idea whether or not I like the writing enough to pursue.

O.K. I give up. I have to quit reading Outlander because it is making me not want to read at all. I'll have to write one of those "others might like it" reviews. Definitely not for me.

I'm enjoying theBujold book in my car. Nice mystery set in another world.

When I get this new netbook set up with Calibre, I'll start the next Dresden book, I can't remember which one at the moment, and for a solid tree book, it will be Trail-Makers of the Middle Border by Hamlin Garland. It's one of the books I inherited and I'm trying to read through them.

Sounds as if you'll be kinder to Outlander than I was.

LOL! Yours was even shorter than mine. I read one review which voiced my opinion eloquently and thoroughly, otherwise this book was rated very high. Go figure. Good thing there are lots of different styles of writing for lots of folks.

Finished reading How to Achieve Healthy Aging, by Neal Rouzier, M.D.

A friend gave this to me to read. I want to look into natural/bio-identical hormone replacement, but I was hoping for a little less "snake-oil" salesmanship and a few more practical details. Such as how to find a doctor who will do the testing needed and is familiar with the process. Honestly, by the time I was finished, I wondered if they are really any good at all this guy was pushing them so hard and putting forth that they are a cure for all the ills of humanity. Or at least for aging. Hard for me to believe.

I know zilch about hormone things but my mum is now officially off the meds against high blood pressure and high count of lipovitamins. She read somewhere that a couple of sweet almonds every day was just as good and she did the substitution herself. Then she went to the doctor for a check-up, and was cleared.
So clearly there's some cases were good old tricks are as good as, medically speaking, medicine as pills and not having nearly as many side effects. Eating healthy is, I believe, a good way to live long and prosper ;-)

Very interesting. I love almonds, not sure I'm brave enough to experiment like that, though. Good to know it's working for her.

MrsLee, we've had some on going legal problems with a clinic where there was "pushing" these natural hormones. Do lots of research. There is lots of snake oil in this arena since every woman sooner or later will want to think about their hormone levels. I tried both natural methods and medically prescribed hormone replacement. Luckily, I no longer need them. But in my experience, the prescription worked very well but does have unwanted side effects.

In my mother's case it was an issue of the meds causing side effects worse than the original problems, and it was a very controlled experiment. But in a similar vein I read somewhere, ages ago, that studies indicated that three bananas equalled one tablet of Losec (ulcer med), as far as effects went. I'm certain it's not true but at least for me bananas are like heaven to my stomach when my gastritis acts up.

Of course, modern medicine is important. Most big surgeries, like hip replacements, wouldn't be possible without antibiotics (which is why it's so important to keep bacteria vulnerable to antibiotics, of course, or we'd soon be back in medieval times, medically speaking). Still, I think there's a lot to go for eating right.

Hormones, now, though... those I'd not want to play with.

I'm not allowed to use hormone therapy (because I nearly died from bloodclots), and quite frankly, other than ongoing hotflashes I'm fine.

Definitely going to look into it more. However, I have some ongoing issues which I am not ready to live with yet, so I'll be seeing several different types of doctors to find out what they recommend. Family physician, gynecologist and possible an endocrinologist.

On a lighter side: I started reading Blood Rites last night and that makes me a happy girl.

Yay! I've enjoyed the Dresden series (so far only to book 4), It's been a lot of fun to read, hope you enjoy.

I am having a wonderful reading time right now. I LOVE Miles Vorkosigan, and Bujold! Anothor, author discovered, hurray!

I'm also really enjoying Trail-Makers of the Middle-Border, and of course the Butcher book I'm reading. Very rare to have three winners at the same time.

haha! I never loved Miles, I confess. Mostly, I wanted to kick him soundly in the arse. OTOH, I adore the worlds and his friends.

Hmn, Bujold has been on my "need to check" list for ages and ages. I think I need to find me the first Vorkosigan book...

#231 - The Hardback of cryoburn (the last in the series) comes with a CD containing all the books as ebooks. I Think this package is also available from Baen books. I found them a bit variable but generally fun throughout.

That's good to know because I am in the same boat as Busifer. I have been meaning to look into the Miles Varkosigan series, but was frankly too lazy to dig up any series list that would provide them in the right order.

#233- there are of course two series orders - published and internal chronology. The LT series page is pretty comprehensive on this one. IIRC the ebooks are all in Omnibuses (omnibii?) following the internal chronology. Eg starts with shards of honour, Barrayar, and Warrior's apprentice whereas Barrayar doesn't appear until book 8 in published order

So, should I read in order of publishing or internal chronology?

I often chose publishing order but it's not a given that's what's best?

I normally choose internal chronology, in this case I guess either works well enough, and probably depends on how/when/which books you manage to get hold of. There is little in the way of story arc over the series, each book stands alone - although you will wonder why some characters are/aren't present in some stories no matter which way around you read it.

OK, thanks. I'll see what's on the shelf when I amble off to the SF bookshop next time!

I love Miles Vorkosigan and those books. I live with somebody who is very much like Miles, right down to the stubborn jaw and the physical problems.

I don't feel lost in this book, though I can tell things have happened before. The author does a great job of setting up the characters, even the seemingly emotionless Hote (sp?)

I was hoping they might be included in the ebooks my husband's friend shared with me, but no such luck. I'll look into that hardcover deal. :)

Finished Blood Rites, as usual, I want to jump right into the next one, but will make myself read my hard copies of books first. I adore the last line in the book, "Hey. Why did you get large breed Puppy Chow?"

Well, I held out for a day and a half, does that count? I did read quite a bit in my Hamlin Garland book, but I like it too much to feel that it is dreary, and the pace does lag a bit, so I thought I would take a little break and begin Dead Beat by Jim Butcher. :)

the dresden books are addictive, aren't they? :)

O.K., Cetaganda is finished, I loved it to the end in spite of the narrator whose voice annoyed me. He did read well and the story was good enough that I stopped hearing "him." I rarely like sci-fi, but I liked this very well.

I've also finished Dead Beat, loved it, but am very worried for Harry. :( I adore Butters.

Have begun a new audio book from the library, The Murder Room by P.D. James. This narrator I love! He reads Dalgliesh just as I imagine he would sound.

Recieved my ER book, The Story of Charlotte's Web by Michael Sims, but I'm going to try not to start it until I'm further along in my Middle-Border book. Good book, but paced rather slow compared to Jim Butcher. ;)

most any book has slow pacing when compared with a Jim Butcher ;-)

Oh yeah!

*murmers* So I've begun Proven Guilty.

OOooh! I've been reading good reviews of the Story of Charlotte's Web here on LT. I think you're in for a treat on that one. I may have to add it to the almost 300 books on MT TBR.

Finished Proven Guilty tonight. Butcher is forgiven and has once again earned my trust, at least for one more book. ;) Dresden is one of my favorite characters for his humanness. One of those "Boromir" men. I will probably start the next book very soon.

Finished Trail-Makers of the Middle Border. It is a book of the 20s, meaning somewhat sentimental, racial issues and a bit flowery, but not enough to make it stick in my throat. The good of it out-shines that stuff. I love the way it explains the motivations of people for the emigration and participation in the Civil War.

Now I've begun to read The Story of Charlotte's Web by Michael Sims. Starting out well.

Spent the whole day today reading Predator by Patricia Cornwell. Started at about 7:30am and finished at about 7:00pm. Not sure why, I just needed to escape from my body and reality I guess.

ETA: I probably won't read any more of her works. Bit more hard core gore and crime than I enjoy, though I think she writes well.

I'm enjoying all my current reads. Began A Hat Full of Sky a couple of days ago, thought I would die laughing yesterday while reading about the stagecoach and the scarecrow. The book had to be put aside while I finished wiping the tears out of my eyes.

Finished A Hat Full of Sky and next up on my fiction list will be In the Company of Others by Jan Karon, though I probably won't start it until tomorrow or the next day.

Are you still reading The Story of Charlotte's Web? Bogged down? or did you finish and just have not told us what you thought of it? Or did I miss something? I'm curious.

LOL, I finished it yesterday. :) It wasn't a book I wanted to read quickly, rather I wanted to poke along in his life. I don't know a lot about E. B. White, never having read a New Yorker magazine or his essays, I've only read his children's books and The Elements of Style, but I've read a book of a collection of letters between Katharine (White's wife) and a Southern woman who wrote gardening reviews and books. It made me like the Whites as a couple and as people.

After reading this book, I still do. I loved the way the author, Sims, brought up all the little threads throughout White's life which led to the writing of Charlotte's Web. I'll put my review here, but I have to say, there are some other very impressive reviews on LT about this book. I would encourage you to read them, they are humbling to this poor amateur. :)

The Story of Charlotte's Web - review by Lee
Charlotte's Web was a favorite of mine as a young girl, inspiring me to raise pigs for 4H, rather than the cattle my siblings had raised. Of course I named my first pig Wibur and yes, my Wilbur was Some Pig, too. So I was thrilled to receive The Story of Charlotte's Web by Michael Sims. Having read one other book by Mr. Sims I was looking forward to this biography and was not disappointed. He begins with E. B. White's early life and influences, helping us to see the events and people who shaped his worldview and writing. The book really picked up interest for me when White married Katharine Angell and they moved to the farm. The events and details which conspired to inspire him to the writing of Charlotte's Web were fun to read about. Mr. Sims has included lots of notes and references at the end, which I always enjoy reading. I had never paid much attention to Stuart Little before, it not being my favorite, but now I think I will read it again, possibly with more insight. Thank you Mr. Sims, for giving us a glimpse into this wonderful writer's life.

Thanks for your review on The Story of Charlotte's Web.

Were you a 4-Her in your growing up years?

Yep, at least until high school. I learned so many things in that program! Sewing, cake decorating, pig farming, cooking, public speaking, and a bunch of other stuff. Now that I'm an adult I wonder at all the dedicated souls who taught the subjects. Do they have such programs in the cities, I wonder? Seems like a great way to supplement all the classes which have been cut in schools due to budgets.

Thanks, MrsLee. I appreciated your review, and will hope to find time to read that book.

I agree that all those subjects are ones which kids today would benefit from learning. Unfortunately, too few adults are available to spend quality time with kids, I think. Too many "two income needed" and single parent families, I guess. Sad.

Yay for 4-H! The only animal projects I had were my horses but otherwise all the same things as well as a yearly competition of putting on plays, photography and vet projects, camp, trail rides, and putting on horse shows and clinics.

Sadly my kids weren't interested. I think they weren't all that proud of being rural and sewing machines and canning couldn't compete with video games.

Perhaps now that I'm on my own it's time to explore putting on my volunteer hat with 4-H since Maggie has a very good point about parents trying to fit impossible things into limitted time.

I think probably we elder baby boomers, if we can afford it, could be a wonderful resource to continue passing some skills on to the next generations. Canning is a great way to conserve food grown in the home garden which is an excellent way to deal with this dang recession which seems interminable. Sewing may not be so economical since we get so many clothes from "cheaper labor markets" but it is a great way to have clothes which actually fit the body. And taking care of the family pets will always be a winner! I hope you can find the time to do this, streamsong.

I grew up in a large town / big city (I can even remember when we bumped our status up when we had enough people) and never heard of 4-H until I moved away and made a friend who grew up in a very small town. And she took me to my first country fair. I was very envious of her, to me, fun and exciting childhood. It was the kind of childhood I fantasized about after reading Charlotte's Web.

The biography sounds great. I'll have to put it on the wishlist.

I was only in 4-H in one place where we lived because we didn't live in farming country very often. I liked the group, and for some reason my best memories of it are Blueberry Buckle and Brown Betty and one meeting where the instructor was supposed to teach us how to sit like ladies. She read that lesson straight from the book: Sit straight up, legs together, cross you feet at the ankles, and squeeze your buttock muscles.

My mother taught me sewing, embroidery and a bit of cooking. She tried to teach me knitting but that usually ended with an extremely frustrated "HOW on EARTH did you do THAT?!!!" I learned a lot of stuff from Home Economics in school and the rest I taught myself.

I go back to the days of "Groom Your Room" and "Quick Trick Skirts."* My mom was a leader, and so was my grandmother. I took all the cooking and sewing projects and went to State Fair once with my biscuits. (Got a blue ribbon and $1.25)

When my daughter was old enough, I helped too. She took a genealogy project once that went to State Fair. She made a family tree with string-and-stickpin connections to a map of where her family came from. She also mapped the small local cemetery and put all the information on a floppy-disc database.

*"Groom Your Room" was a clean, organize, and decorate your room project. And "quick trick skirts" were great. You took a length of material (twice your waist measurement, I think). sewed the short ends together for a seam, put a casing and elastic on the top, a hem on the bottom, and you were done. Easy-peasy.

I made a skirt and top which went to the State Fair. I seem to remember it winning something there, but I'm not sure. Mostly I remember the chocolate covered grasshoppers someone else entered. I was so proud of that outfit. It was true 70s fabric, polyester, dark green background with livid orange and yellow flowers all over it. :) Most of our 4H teachers were mothers of my friends, except Mr. Pratt, the pig adviser. He was also my 4th grade teacher. A very stern seeming man with a big ol' soft heart inside.

I would love to be a pig advisor, but alas, I know nothing about raising pigs. I've heard they make great friends and pets. I'd like to experience that but I think my homeowners' association might have problems with my turning the backyard into a pig pen.

I decided to read Charlotte's Web today. It's as though E.B. White was there in my childhood writing down all the best bits. Especially when he describes the barn. I had two barns to love and spent most of my summers in them.

Finished In the Company of Others. I enjoyed it for the relaxing read that it is, though I had issues with it as well. It dragged at the beginning, the changes in story were abrupt and sometimes difficult to follow. My review says the rest.

I'm going to start Pride's Castle next. I have no idea what it is, except that it is off of my TBR shelf of books I inherited from my husband's uncle. I am not committed at all to finishing it. If it tanks, I'll probably go for another Dresden book or a mystery, then I may be up for The Wise Man's Fear, or if I can't face that I'll read a Terry Pratchett book.

ETA: Just read up a bit on Frank Yerby and he sounds very interesting, so I'll certainly give this book a shot. However, sounds as if it is about a robber-baron, not so much into that.

EEP! Nope, not reading Pride's Castle. Pure romance. Good descriptions of the time and place, the author certainly did his homework there, but each of the chapters I read had the main character (who was a very dull and uninteresting caricature of what makes a great man) forcibly kiss different women until "their knees melted and their brains turned to butter." Those were not the author's exact words, they were my parody of them. Ick.

So to reward myself for trying it, quiting it and eliminating it from my bookshelves, I'm reading White Night by Jim Butcher instead.

You are a brave woman MrsLee... Romance... ugh. I find myself utterly turned off by any book cover image with some guy's bare chest with abs because I assume it's pure romance.

Oh, dear! And here I was hoping for something interesting about robber barons!

I almost picked up a Dresden book yesterday while in Borders but then ended up picking up a hard science fiction novel, Daemon instead. Will be interested in hearing your review of White Night.

MrsLee, someone once recommended Frank Yerby to me so I looked him up and found this review:

"Golden haired Kit Gerado is filled with all kinds of lust. There's his lust for revenge against the Spanish grandee, Don Luis del Toro. There's lust for wealth from the Spanish Main as he goes gadding about in his pirate ship. There's lust for the flame haired Rouge, a rape victim who turns pirate herself to exact revenge against all men. And there's lust for Bianca, the delicate betrothed of Kit's mortal enemy. Bianca falls in love with Kit after he does such romantic things as holding her hostage on a cesspool of an island where she's almost raped, is eaten up by tropical insects, and nearly becomes lunch for an alligator. I ask you, how could she NOT love him after all that?"

I have not tried to look for that book. I am obviously weak of heart.

#270 - LOL! What a grand review! Just put the word "robber-baron" in place of pirate, and you probably have a good review for Pride's Castle as well!

Frank Yerby was one of the first African-American authors to make lots and lots of money with his writing, so I guess he knew what he was doing, we just aren't the crowd for it. :)

majika - I almost wish it had one of those covers instead of being a tan hardcover with only the author's name on the front. Would have saved me some time. ;)

Finished The Murder Room today. A three star book because I'm not sure the author really supports the villain's motive or means. I rather disagreed with some of the conclusions and thought that Dalgliesh would come to see my point of view, but he didn't. Also, as much as I enjoy reading the characters in a James book, they are very well done, they don't make me laugh. A mystery only gets four or five stars from me if it makes me laugh. Loved Charles Keating as a reader though, he's very good.

I'm not sure what sort of mood I was in at the library, but I picked out The Da Vinci Code for my next audio book. I must see for myself.

I'm probably going to read The Da Vinci Code soon.

I know what you mean about Dalgliesh, he is a bit of a gloomy poet. Even though he is the reoccurign character I always feel the books are centred around around someone else, Kate Miskin stars in a few. I too gave the murder room an average rating, but I do like James' books. Haven't read any for a while now.

I hope you enjoy The Da Vinci Code but I can't imagine listening to it instead of reading it, just because it is so *visually* interesting with all of the descriptions involved. We constantly used an atlas and as many pictures as we could find as we were going through the story, since we've never been to any of those places or seen much of the pictures. And then we bought a second copy of the book that came with full explanations of the places and artworks and history, and included pictures. The story definitely took second place for us.

I'll be really interested in reading your thoughts about the book!

I was also disappointed in The Murder Room; however the next title she wrote -- The Lighthouse -- I found to be more satisfying. I think that was the last one of hers I read.

#276 - Because James is an author I can always read, but don't really love, I haven't bothered to read her books in any order. I may have read The Lighthouse, but it doesn't have much of Emma in it does it? Aren't they helicoptered out to an island where the Germans were for a short time? Or am I confusing it with The Guernsey Potato Peel Pie and Literary Society?

#276 - If I like the story, I may read it as you suggested. That is my preferred method of reading a book which moves you around a lot, I keep a world Atlas by my reading chair, and now with my netbook I can look up references to art and such too. But I only do that with books I'm loving, to make them last longer.

I loved The Da Vinci Code so much that I bought the illustrated version. It was so much fun to see the paintings and places mentioned.

I'm not loving it so far. The reactions of the symboligist (I made that word up because I can't remember his name) to the murder scene and the way the policeman revealed it seem very lame to me. However, just as I was getting very disgusted at a lame interpretation, the policeman brought it back to reality, then I had to get out of the car. We shall see. The intricate symbols and suppositions are fine, but if the characters don't behave in a natural and real manner, then I might as well just read a book on symbolism. You know? I think the audio version might be off-putting as well. I HATE the voice of the albino and the policeman. Not terribly fond of the others, either.

#277 - I could be wrong but my recollection is that Dalgleish is primarily on his own in The Lighthouse. I don't think the girlfriend is there or if she is, it's only in brief spurts.

Finished White Night, of course I liked it a lot, though I'm not sure what the point of Elaine is. I don't trust her, but I want to. I like what happened with Molly and Harry in this book, and the rest of them too.

So, I'm going to lurk on the TIOLI thread and use them mercilessly without contributing to their effort. Anyway, I'm shamelessly using them for a random way of choosing books off of my TBR shelf to read. So tonight I'm doing the one about having a direction in the title and have chosen "Wagons West" by Glorianne Weigand. She interviewed and researched many of the original settlers to my stomping grounds in N. CA and then wrote up the stories.

Since I'm not thrilled with the other books I'm reading at the moment, I took Wintersmith for our overnight at the hotel. It's pretty good, though not my favorite Tiffany book.

I'm going to quit on The Da Vinci Code tomorrow and exchange it at the library. My main gripe with it is that I feel the author is treating his readers as imbeciles. As though we are too inept to catch a clue, so he has to repeat them ad nauseum just to make sure we "get it." Actually, it did give my husband and I some laughs on our trip. Husband: "There's no way he's gonna describe that key again, is there?" Sure enough, several more times! The pacing seems unnatural to me as well. Guess I don't have the patience to put up with that kind of writing now. Please authors, give me a little credit?

# 40 Hi MrsLee, it has been a long long time since i was on librarything. Hi everybody else.

I was looking for a thread that discussed the debarcle the US has got themselves in with disasterous wars and disasterous economy - but couldn't find anything. Maybe everyone just thinks the problems are too big to solve.

Re your comments in the introverts in church and your excellent quotes. I really think I understand. You know, the tragedy is that church doesn't even seem to work for extroverts either.

I think God understands the frustration; maybe even intended it. Natalie and I often discuss this and remember the few truly saintly people we have met in churches who seem to really care for people and are full of grace and ...it seems, joy. I just reckon we have to stay on a path to try to become more like Jesus who must have felt as you do when he saw the churches of his day - where too many people are really in it for hat they can get for themselves: following, power, prestige, something to feel part of etc.

I think Jesus must have been right in the middle between introvert and extrovert - I'll explain why if anyone wants to know,

...the long absent David Webb

I'm glad someone else had that problem with The Da Vinci Code MrsLee, I found it very annoying to be constantly told 'Look. This is important reader, pay attention'. It's like he's following a strict set of rules for creative writing and has no intention of not following them to the letter. That said it was a rip roaring yarn that didn't take too much time or effort to get through, but in some ways this was worse - there are some genuinely interesting themes and ideas in this book that in the hands of a more gifted writer could have been crafted into something more I thought.

Anyway I'm glad to hear you're still enjoying the Dresden books. I'm looking forward to the release of the new one next week!

#283 - Hi David, glad to know you are still here! I would be happy to talk with you on those subjects by private messaging on our profiles, not here, because they cross over the neutral territory in the pub of no religion or politics. :)
Our reading threads are a bit flexible, but I like to keep any discussion strictly to the books themselves if we read on a topic which is likely to be touchy for others here.

Stillman, I think part of the reason it is too annoying for me to go any further, is the narrator of the audio book I'm listening to. He is trying too hard to give each character their own "voice." I cringe at many of them. One problem or the other and I could probably muscle on, but both together make it not worth my time. :) Those and I find the pace to be dragging. Every time they are supposed to be putting distance between themselves and danger they stop for a trip down memory lane and to repeat information again. And again. I mean, Harry could have beat three demons, destroyed a vampire court and made love two times in the time it takes these characters to get down a staircase. ;)

That's the problem with audio books - it's really hard to skip over the padding. When I read the Da Vinci Code, I spent most of the time looking things up on the web and in my reference books and shooting past the unnecessary stuff.

Ha ha ha, indeed he could... although possibly he'd have stood around being socially awkward, gone home to take a cold shower and muse on what might have been had he not been quite so socially inept and damaged...

287 - :) O.K., I'll give you that one.

I copied these questions from Morphy's thread, 'cause I love filling out questionnaires. :)

Favorite childhood book? I learned to read in Mother Goose. I loved the illustrations of the copy we had and would pour over it again and again, the riddles were my favorites. I also loved every book my grandmother gave me. She was very careful picking them out. Later it was Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys.

What are you reading right now? Wagons West by Glorianna Weigand, Curry Cuisine and soon to be Pirate King by Laurie R. King. Oh, always the Bible and sporadically Jesus Calling by Sarah Young.

Bad book habit? I cannot pass a used book by without at least inquiring of it if it wants to live with me. They often do.

Do you have an e-book reader? I read my ebooks on my netbook.

Do you prefer to read one book at a time or several at once? Usually several, though sometimes I will concentrate on one if it is really engaging or if I want to finish one to move.

Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog thread? Not much, perhaps I'm reading a bit more? That might just be my mood though.

Least favorite book you read this year (so far)? The Da Vinci Code

Favorite book you’ve read this year? Those would be the Dresden Files and the Pratchett books I've read.

How often do you read out of your comfort zone? I don't do percentages, but the audio books I'm listening to are often out of my comfort zone because I'm going in order by author from the library.

What is your reading comfort zone? In order: Mystery, Fantasy, memoir/biography, history, fiction, nonfiction

Can you read on the bus? No bus. Also, I get motion sickness.

Favorite place to read? In my comfy, cozy reading chair.

What is your policy on book lending? I figure that any book I "lend," I will never see again and plan accordingly. Ditto, but it doesn't stop me from lending them.

Do you ever dog-ear books? No, I have special bookmarks.

Do you ever write in the margins of your books? Only if I'm arguing with the author, or being very inspired.

What is your favorite language to read in? English is the only option.

What makes you love a book? Likeable characters, a sense of humor or joy, lovely usage of words, really heroic or sacrificial actions on the part of everyday people.

What will inspire you to recommend a book? I ask what the other person likes and make recommendations based on that from the books I have loved.

Favorite genre? Per above, mystery.

Genre you rarely read (but wish you did)?Natural history. I love learning how things work.

Favorite biography? Abigail Adams

Have you ever read a self-help book? Yes, I've even enjoyed and learned from some of them.

Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)? Introverts in the Church

Favorite reading snack? Mostly I like to drink coffee, ice tea, or whatever. Eating is complicated when reading.

How often do you agree with critics about a book? I rarely read critics.

How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews? I review for myself first, then my friends. I'm not going to tell my friends lies which might lead them to read something which is under par.

If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose? If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

Most intimidating book you’ve ever read? the Bible

Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin? The Gulag Archipelago.

Favorite poet? Ogden Nash

Favorite fictional character? Lord Peter Wimsey

Favorite fictional villain? The White Witch of Narnia

Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation? Something within my comfort zone and a long slug to work through.

The longest I’ve gone without reading. A month or two, just lost the yen for awhile.

Name a book that you could/would not finish. The last one was The Da Vinci Code

What distracts you easily when you’re reading? My husband and children, but it isn't easy, I fight them every step of the way.

Favorite film adaptation of a novel?LotR

Most disappointing film adaptation? Oh so many.

The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time? No idea, probably it was textbooks though.

How often do you skim a book before reading it? Never

Do you like to keep your books organized? Yes

Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them? I only keep books I think I will reread, want to loan to my friends and family or use for reference. The others are out the door.

Are there any books you’ve been avoiding? Ulysses by James Joyce. Also any horror books.

Name a book that made you angry. A book on child rearing and punishment with the rod. I seethed.

A book you didn’t expect to like but did? The Dresden Files books.

A book that you expected to like but didn’t? Wuthering Heights

Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading? Don't feel guilt for any reading. I suppose mysteries and fantasy

My new audio book for the commute: Hour Game by David Baldacci. More icky than I usually like to read, I'll see how it goes. I really hate serial killers. Give me a crime of passion, greed or hate.

Also, for the bathroom, I have begun something ambitious, but don't know how long it will last, Invitation to the Classics by Louise Cowan. The book itself is rather thick and small print, but I also intend to read the classics it speaks of, so this may take a good long while. :)

You remind me....I need to put Discovery of France back into the bathroom. It is a perfect book for those nice tub soaks! A couple three pages and I'm ready to get out of the tub, with stuff to think on....

First classic up: The Iliad of Homer translated by Richmond Lattimore

I have no idea how this man is as a translator, but this is the copy I have on my shelves, inherited from my OH's aunt.

Finished the Wagons West book. It was somewhat painful to read, in that the author really needed a proofreader/editor to help her out. Still, the stories of many people I grew up around are interesting enough for me. A question. Twice the author said, "he contacted Typhoid fever." Well, she used the word contacted in that way. Is that correct? I would have said it should be "contracted" but when I checked two of my dictionaries, neither word seemed clear for that usage. Anyway, it grated on me to read it the way she used it, but then I questioned myself, being far from a grammar queen. Any help out there?

I will now begin Pirate King by Laurie R. King. Speaking of which, at the HP movie last night, I saw a preview for the next Sherlock Holmes movie. Wondering if it will be even more outrageous than the last one. I will watch it, nonetheless. :)

I think you have it right, MrsLee. One contracts a disease -- that is to say, you take it into your body. Seems to me she needed a proofreader, because contact wouldn't be correct in the sentence you quoted. That usage makes it sound as if Typhoid Fever can be reached by cell phone or at the very least has an office number.

or, just to be contrarian, can one contact a disease as one can make contact with the counter top? touch?

I'm just chattering....

Actually, maggie, in the dictionary, contagion is not far below contact. In the def for contagion it talks about getting a disease by contact.

But I still don't think you contact the disease, anyway, this is why I was confused, but my heart goes with the explanation jillmwo gave.

Finished Pirate King, still have to review it, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVED it!! It was a refreshing palate cleanser compared to the last two Russell books, which were good, but pretty heavy. This was so fun!

Now, inspired by the TIOLI folks, I'm reading Hittite Warrior by Joanne Williamson, to fit in that category of double letters. This has them in the tittle and the author's name, so I couldn't resist. It's also a YA novel, historical fiction.

Nice. Laurie King is an author I tend to buy as soon as a new book comes out. Glad to hear you enjoyed it.

Have finished Hittite Warrior, an historical fiction for Young Adults from the book of Judges in the Bible. Liked it more than I thought I would. Author did a fine job of showing how intertwined the cultures of the ancient world were and of making tribes into people and individuals.

Now will begin City of Dreaming by Walter Moers. I already like it just reading the end-notes by the author and the introduction by Yarnspinner. Also love the author's illustrations.

Working on City of Dreaming Books, interesting. Almost finished with the introduction to the Illiad (55p. of it), which is probably necessary, but I really just want to read the main event. I checked out a new audio book from the library for my drive to work, The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley. Hoping it is a good one, I know several folks here have enjoyed this author.

"If one of your sentences puts you in mind of and elephant trying to pick up a coconut with its trunk, better give it some more thought."

Little snippets like this are what keep me reading The City of Dreaming Books.

OK finished it finally. I am at the wrong moment in my life or something to read that book. Found myself becoming very impatient with it.

I'm going to start The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley now. Ordered it on Amazon for Kindle a couple of days ago.

Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is fun. I did it with my library book group and they found plenty to talk about. I think you will enjoy it a lot.

OoooooOoooh, I have Sweetness, too. Can we do the "my friend is reading it too" August TIOLI challenge? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?

How does that work, Morphy? *She asks, at the risk of hijacking MrsLee's thread*

It's fine with me, Morphy, only I don't know how if I have to do more than read the book. :) I'm enjoying it tremendously, but it's a little confusing reading two of the same series at the same time. Couldn't help myself though, I love them, and they are just what I needed reading-wise, a little laughter and lightness.

Tell me if I need to do something more for it to count, O.K.?

jillmwo - I am a firm believer in hijacking threads. ;)

MrsLee, nah, you don't need to do something else. I just have to read the same book as a friend this month.

jillmwo, the 75 Books Challenge group has a set of 20 or so challenges every month. One for August is to read a book with a friend.

OK, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. I'm enjoying them both so much right now! To think I might have found another mystery author to enjoy is wonderful. :)

jillmwo, I bookmarked the link to the wiki where the Challenge thread lists the various challenges each month. I look there for inspiration when choosing a book off my TBR shelves. That is unless I know very well what I want to read next.

I finished The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, loved it very much and am so glad that at the age of 70, Alan Bradley decided to start writing. I'm also glad that Flavia found him.

Picked up a book from my TBR shelves that I've been studiously avoiding. It being given to me by a friend as a "must read" but me hating romances and it looking and sounding suspiciously like a romance novel. However, I thought the best way to remove it from my shelf was to give it a shot. So far, it's actually not bad, and might turn into a simple decent fiction. The name is Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher.

I've read some of Pilcher's books and so has my mother. We both have described them as being inexplicably engrossing. Somehow they are like getting into a comfortable armchair.

Also, I have read The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie which I really wanted to like because of the wonderful title, but I found Flavia to be really irritating. Or maybe it wasn't her so much as the ease with which the solutions were written for her.

I wish I had her house and laboratory. I had to play with MY chemistry set on the floor.

I was never as smart as Flavia, but I had a friend who was very much like her. Perhaps that's why I enjoy her so. The mysteries didn't bother me, though I had no trouble spotting "who done it" in Sweetness, I still haven't spotted the killer in the Hangman's Bag, but then, I'm not trying very hard, either.

Finished The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag while my husband and I were on our road trip. Dear man that he is, he let me listen to the last two discs. At first, he said, don't fill me in, I don't care, it sounds dumb anyway. After about 10 minutes he paused it and said, O.K., fill me in. Then, after we had finished listening and arrived at our destination, he was still asking questions about it. I think he quite enjoyed it too. That is partly due to the reader, who was fantastic!

#310 - I am almost finished with the Pilcher novel, and "inexplicably engrossing" is a PERFECT description! I can hardly put it down, and I can't explain why.

#312: That's exactly what my mother said when she read it.

Finished Winter Solstice, lovely comforting read. Now, I need something with a bit more spice and salt, I will begin Small Favor by Jim Butcher. :)

At least we agree on the goodness of Butcher's Dresden!

:)

Started Macho Macho Animals by Stephan Pastis, and it is only a coincidence that it fits one of the TIOLI challenges (duplicate words in a title) I copied out today, hence, though I will put it on my list, I am still doing my list from top to bottom.

Tried the audio of The Teeth of the Tiger by Tom Clancy, but I'm way out of that genre mood, and though the narrator wasn't bad, I don't like them trying to do lots of different accents. *shrug*

I've been listening to the Miles Vorkosigan series for awhile now, but just finished Cetaganda and decided to go on to Butcher's world, so started Storm Front last night, thanks to all the good things I read here about it. Wonderful! I love it. Delightful, another whole series to look forward to! :-)

I haven't read Rosamunde Pilcher in years, but know I really enjoyed Winter Solstice. You might like The Shell Seekers too.

Yes, I'll be getting the Shell Seekers when I can find it inexpensively to read. I'm glad you've begun the Butcher adventure! Remember, the first three books (well, really just Fool Moon), are a bit glitchy, but after that they become loads of fun and good reading. :)

I was looking at Amazon for the Vorkosigan saga today. I WILL have them. But not at the price right now. It's off to our used paperback store to see if they have any of them. I wonder if they can be read out of order? I didn't feel that I was lost when listening to Cetaganda.

#320 No, the Vorkosigan series does need to be read in order. For MAJOR reasons. BTW Cetaganda was my favorite out of all of them.

Agree - in order. And Cetaganda has been my favorite, too.

Publication order or chronological order?
I'm sure I have asked before but cannot remember the answer?

I'd say chronological order. But I wouldn't start with Falling Free. I'd start with Shards of Honor. You could skip Falling Free Mountains of Morning Ethan of Athos Labyrinth and Borders of Infinity if you needed to. Those are nice, but not essential to the series.

Thanks. I'll probably get around to it sometime not too far in the future, as I have been meaning to check these books out for probably more than two or three years but never really managing to.

My husband just finished reading the whole series (just finished Cryoburn last night) and I keep thinking I should start it. I have them collected in omnibuses so I was thinking of reading them in omnibus publication order. But the titles collected in an omnibus doesn't seem to match the publication order. (Did that make sense?) Hope that doesn't muck with comprehension and spoilers.

The LT listing of the series exist in a Chronological Order variety, so I guess that's what I'd take as a master reading order list - http://www.librarything.com/series/Vorkosigan%3A+Chronological+Order

Finished Small Favor last night, and I feel like reading it again right now. My favorite so far, even though it tore me to pieces. I have a love/hate relationship with Jim Butcher, but I don't think he is aware. ;)

Will begin The Doll by Daphne du Maurier when I get home from work tonight.

Only three more Butcher's to go!

Oh no! Then you'll be like the rest of us, biting your nails waiting for the next installment.

I know! I'd like to draw it out and savor, but like a really delicious ice cream cone, you can't eat it slow. I do have to read one other book in between though, so I can catch my breath and get a new tissue box.

*skips home happily from the library and used bookstore*

Where I found:
A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley (my commuter audio story)
The Shell Seekers By Rosamunde Pilcher (recommended by various and sundry peoples here and at home)
Mean Streets by Jim Butcher and others :)
The Vor Game
Komarr
Cordelia's Honor
Brothers in Arms all by Lois McMaster Bujold, the beginning of my collection of the Vorkosigan Saga. Cetaganda was there as well, but since I've read it I thought I would focus on the others first.

All for $20.53.

#326 - That's how Bujold wanted them released (as ebooks with Cryoburn) and the order I read them in. Made perfect sense to me reading them that way. It is useful to remember that it is chronological order though, as just occasionally a later/earlier story has/n't details that you'd have expected from the previous book, due to it being published many years before/after.

#332 - Good haul!

Wow! Excellent haul! I love the Bradley stories too, Flavia is wonderful. The sisters dynamic is great, having three sisters of my own, I can relate to that, lol.

I can't say enough good things about The Shell Seekers. Hope you love it half as much as I did. :o)

I read The Shell Seekers longer ago than I can remember but I do have very positive recollections of enjoying it. I hope you do, too.

All that treasure for twenty dollars and change? You are good!

According to my log I read it in 1989!

I really need three heads and loads of time, since there are about six books/series I want to be reading NOW. So hard to choose which comes first.

I'm a bit disappointed. Is that the right word? Not really, but The Doll is not quite what I had hoped it would be. I'll explain later, not quite done yet.

reading_fox, is there a good list of the books in the order you mentioned? I have one printed out for my Discworld reading, it would be great to have one for the Bujold books.

I used the Vorkosigan Saga Wikipedia article for the correct chronological order:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorkosigan_Saga

Thanks Morphy.

I finished The Doll, but I'm too tired to do a review tonight. It wasn't exactly what I expected. Mostly depressing relationship failure type of stories. There were about three stories I liked. The rest reminded me of the tone of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Faulkner. Blue baby, blue.

Finished Macho, Macho Animals by Stephan Pastis. :)

I'll be reading "Harry's Day Off" by Jim Butcher today, a short story, then beginning Turn Coat. I have decided I must get through these Dresden books because they are preying on my mind. I know horrible things are coming and I want to get them over with. I wonder if Butcher has had threats to his health from wackos like me for the way he treats his characters?

Oops, three books snuck home with me from the used bookstore. They did manage to get paid for though.

Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold
Young Miles by same
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis - Now I have the whole set in hardback. :)

Oooh, Memory! one of my favourites and one I re-read often. "Miles hits 30, 30 hits back" as it says in the chronology in the back of the books. Good stuff.

Haven't had much time on my days off to read, but they have been nothing like "Harry's Day Off," a short story I just finished by Jim Butcher.

Now I begin with trepidation, Turn Coat. I do NOT like the sound of that title.

Hey, MrsLee. I had no idea you were such a meanie...

From Acknowledgments in Just a Geek by Wil Wheaton:

"Mrs. Lee. In 9th grade, you told me that I was a terrible writer who would never amount to anything, because I was a stupid actor."

*jaw drops* I would never say that! Happily, Lee is not my surname. But you know that. :)

Well, I made it through Turn Coat, I cried at the very end, but was not devastated, so that's O.K.

I better take a break and work on The Illiad and my curry cookbook for a bit before I pick up something else so compelling. Found myself reading until 3am last night, which would be O.K. if I could just bring myself to sleep later than 9am. But I can't, so I will be pretty tired tonight. Hopefully it will be a slow day at the hotel.

Oh, by the way, at 3am, I went to bed with about 20 pages to go in a DRESDEN book. Yep I did.

Oh, by the way, at 3am, I went to bed with about 20 pages to go in a DRESDEN book. Yep I did.

Such willpower!! :o)

I envy you Memory - it's one of my favourite Bujold books - I think it's the one where Miles really grows up. He's a much more interesting person at the end of that book than at the beginning.

That's good to know. I'm saving up my Bujold books for when I am all caught up in Dresden and out of Pratchett. I've only got a couple more Pratchett books to read, until Snuff comes out.

Finished reading Curry Cuisine, I gave it five stars. Loved it and will treasure it, as well as cook frequently from it. If I ever get some days off again, I intend to cook Bunny Chow in honor of @hfglen. :)

A book from my TBR shelves, picked with the help of the TIOLI category of "A book with an animal in the title"

Conversations with Bullwhackers, Muleskinners, Pioneers, Prospectors, '49ers, Indian Fighters, Trappers, Ex-Barkeepers, Authors, Preachers, Poets & Near Poets & All Sorts & Conditions of Men by Fred Lockley.

I think the title of the above book just about says it all. ;)

Interesting. The extremely long title in the above post does show up as a touchstone in the side list, but doesn't link from the post.

A quote from the above book, "Have I any children? What do you take me for? That's a nice question to ask an old bachelor."

Note how he doesn't answer the question!

#350 - the curry Cuisine looks interesting - I'm always on the lookout for authentic curry recipes. How much detail does it give about the spice blends? I find many receipes just call for 'curry paste' which is convenient but useless, and others for a specific blend without detailing the composition - also useless. However you also don't want to attempting to track down some rare ingrediant never normally sold outside of a tiny Indian province. Your review make sit sound like it covers many parts of the world?

353- If you can see the tags I put on it, they list the countries covered.

As for the spices, each section has the main spices, herbs and seasonings used for that part of the world. A lovely photo, as well as a description of the properties of each. Some of the recipes call for pastes or blends, but they also tell you how to make your own. I don't like buying prepared products, and this gives enough info that you don't have to. There is also a nice selection of mail order and online sources in the back of the book for more out of the way ingredients. Some of the rarer types, the recipe will give you an acceptable alternative ingredient.

Thanks MrsLee - I've added it to my ever expanding wishlist!

Just a reflection - I've bought curry paste in Thailand, from the maker, and that is far better than anything I can prepare myself from scratch... so sometimes prepared products can be nice ;-)

Busifer, the cookbook mentions that too! They tell how the locals prefer the paste which is purchased sometimes, so I imagine it depends on what you have access to and its quality.

I have to put a quote from my present book here because I like it. The book is a collection of interviews made in the 1920s by Fred Lockley who had the foresight to talk to various pioneers before they were gone from the earth.

This is a quote from Wilson Benefiel, a cemetery keeper.
"We do not inquire as to the character or lack of it of those who buy lots here. As a consequence I can point out to you the graves of women who were famous in the red light district when Portland was a wide-open town. I can point out men who have been hanged. There is no line of social cleavage among the dead. No matter how much better or finer clay a person thinks himself when he is alive, when he dies he finds that if he is a general, he will not outrank the private whose body lies nearby, and the judge and the prisoner he has passed sentence upon find equality and oblivion in the grave."

This is why I enjoy these types of books. The wisdom (or lack thereof) of the ages is found in them.

That quote makes me want to read the book. Love to read about old timers and their views of the world

Well, a lot of it is heartbreaking and appalling at what went on with the natives and the settlers, but also interesting to see how many settlers were appalled by it as well.

ETA: Finished A Red Herring Without Mustard today. Delightful, now I stand in line until the next installment is released. This one stretched credibility even further than mine could stretch, but the character interactions and Flavia's take on them are still wonderful.

Picked up from the library: The Cat Who Went Bananas by Lilian Jackson Braun audio version to listen to on my way to and from work. I'm sure I've read it, but it doesn't really matter if the narrator is good. I'll let you know tomorrow if he is. :)

Finished the book of interviews with Pioneers and all. I guess the author also compiled a collection of interviews with pioneer women as well. I would love to read that as a companion to this one, just to see the different perspectives.

For a simple happy break, I've begun I Shall Wear Midnight.

Done with The Cat Who Went Bananas. This is my review.

I thought I had read this already, but didn't seem to recall any of it. It didn't matter because I wanted to hear the audio version. Not having read any of the Jackson Braun books for some time I found this one to be a collection of thoughts and ideas not really pursued. The end left me puzzled and feeling as if a CD had been left out of the case. I didn't enjoy the narrator much because, although his voice is attractive and he reads well, I dislike the way he reads women's voices. I refuse to believe that we are all lisping and sound like effeminate men who are putting it on. Despite the annoying and incomplete bits, I still love KoKo and YumYum, which is why I ever read them in the first place.

Excuse me, I have to pay some concentrated attention to the cat who just shoved my netbook to one side so she could sit on my lap. :)

Finished I Shall Wear Midnight. I enjoyed it very much. A fitting end to the Tiffany series, if that's what it is. I just saw a link about the Foo Fighters and the Westboro whatever creepy dudes, and thought the message of this book very timely. Hate and spite are never good, and should be fought with every method except hate and spite. At first I thought the book just a tad preachy, but it's a necessary message.

I am puddling along in the Illiad, not sure I will finish it, the gods make me so mad.

I think I will probably read Mean Streets, a short story compilation, next, then The Moon is Down by Steinbeck.

ETA: Also picked up Love You More by Lisa Gardner, and audio for my commute.

Finished Mean Streets today. Interesting collection. Of course the story by Jim Butcher was my favorite. As with all the stories with Micheal in them, I loved this one. I did not enjoy the Simon R. Green one as much, it was sordid and hopeless, not really to my taste, although the detective and Dead Boy were somewhat interesting. Kat Richardson's tale was good enough that I will seek out more of her work, especially if she has written more about Harper Blaine. Loved the whole Mexico and Day of the Dead stuff. The last story by Thomas E. Sniegoski was bizarre, but good reading. I'm torn whether I like it enough to try more or not. Probably I will try at least one more story by him.

What I love about the collection as a whole is that it is Noir detective fiction with a supernatural twist. As a whole, it works very well.

Next up: The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck.

May be awhile getting through it though, I'm too busy painting and doing other projects to get much reading time.

I am LOVING The Moon is Down. I almost finished it in one sitting this morning. An example of why one can never dismiss Steinbeck, even though much of what he writes is depressing:

"Down toward one end of he village, among the small houses, a dog complained about the cold and the loneliness. He raised his nose to his god and gave a long and fulsome account of the state of the world as it applied to him."

I could hear that dog howl even though the word howl was never mentioned. Love it.

ETA: This was a five star read for me. Simple and profound.

Couldn't help myself. I began Side Jobs this morning.

@MrsLee, Don't read the last story in Side Jobs if you haven't yet read Changes.

Thanks for the warning!

O.K., I'm to the last story now, so I suppose there is nothing for it except to start Changes! :) Please, don't twist my arm so hard. ;)

I enjoyed these little stories very much. My least favorite might have been the one about Mac's brew being tampered with. The ending felt hurried and rather vague somehow. Still fun though. I think my favorite will always by The Warrior. I also enjoyed the little intros from the author. He does seem to be a bit obsessed with hurting our Harry though.

Finished Changes, but I have to say, I put it just above Fool Moon in my like category. It was just too much and over the top for me. Doesn't that sound silly when talking about Dresden? But that's how I felt.

So I read the last story in Side Jobs, which was OK, I enjoyed Side Jobs as a whole.

So I ordered Ghost Story from Amazon and now have to wait for it to arrive. Could have got it on my Kindle, but I really want hard copies of these books eventually, so I just bit the bullet. Not sure what I'll read until it arrives, but I won't have much reading time in the next few days anyway.

Finished listening to the audio of Love you More. Pretty intense and creepy for me, but even though the characters annoyed me, I needed to finish the story to find the answers. Guess that means it was a good read? I'm not sure. I probably won't read more of the author's work because it's a darker road than I like to travel.

Finished Ghost Story on Wed. I didn't love it, but didn't hate it either. Did like the ending with Mab very much.

I've begun an audio book, Scarpetta, by Patricia Cornwell. Don't love it either, but it will fill the time on my commute.

I want to begin reading White Corridor by Christopher Fowler, but haven't had time to begin it yet. That will be next.

Ghost Story is so much a transitional book. Necessary but not all that lovable. For me that's double since I want more of Thomas!

373 - I wasn't fond of sknwkrs before, just from reading Tony Hillerman's books, but I hate them especially much now for what happened to Thomas. :( I was a bit startled at the insight to his problem at the end of GS, but then thought, well, duh, that was an obvious solution.

Been awhile since I've updated this. I haven't been reading for a couple of weeks, except for *whispers* bathroom books. Sooo, I finished Fox Trot: en masse by Bill Amend, a book of cartoons, which unfortunately I think I've outgrown. It didn't appeal to me too much.

Also finished Real Ponies Don't go Oink! by Patrick F. McManus, which was very good for making me laugh.

Aaaaand, I finished Faeries by Brian Froud and Alan Lee, which is much too beautiful to be a bathroom book. I loved it.

Now I've put Foxfire 2 in one bathroom. It had Ghost Stories in it, so seemed to suit the season. In the other one is Da Brudderhood of Zeeba Zeeba Eata by Stephan Pastis

I should find more time to read now that my rooms are done, so I will begin Floating Worlds: The Letters of Edward Gorey & Peter F. Neumeyer which I received through the ER program here. It is a lovely book! Can't wait to dig in.

Seems like these threads aren't getting read much anymore, or at least no one has anything to say here except me! I'm going to keep on to 500 posts, or the new year, whichever comes first.

I finished the audio Cornwell book I was listening to, Scarpetta. Think it is the last of hers I will read. Too much ick, no humor (or very little) and I simply don't like most of the people around Scarpetta. Also, she herself rather annoys me now too.

I have another audio from the library, Gracie Allen for President 1940, it should be more amusing than the above. :)

Still loving Floating Worlds, but it isn't one I can read quickly.

MrsLee, I am still reading your thread but I don't seem to be able to settle into any book lately (I feel like my best friend died when I can't read) so I haven't had much to say. However, whether you decide to stop the thread or you continue, please know that you have given me some good info for books and I thank you.

I'll qualify that (I always seem to qualify things) by saying I have tried a few times to read the Dresden books but I just can't get into the guy. When I read one of the earlier ones, I kept wishing he would just have a shower, eat, sleep and put on some clean clothes before he rushed off someplace. It really got in my way that he never did any of those things. Silly, isn't it to think like that? ;) Anyway, I keep seeing recommendations for those books, so likely I'll try again.

Oh yes, I didn't like the Cornwell books either for exactly the reasons you listed, and neither did my mother and sisters.

What nhlsecord said, about reading and the value of these threads.
Definitely.

Oh no - definitely worth it! I've been very slack with reading since our Do Nothing But Read Day as things have got hectic but I do try and keep up with what everyone else is reading eventually - and I've now added Floating Worlds to my TBR pile!

I know what you mean about Ghost Story, but for me it was a book that was far more about the characters than the narrative. I'm keeping up with Green's Nightside books as my Dresden substitute at the moment but I do find those a little grating still.

I'm reading too! You've pointed me towards some great reads (Dresden... Yippee!) and away from some others. Thank you. I very much enjoy hearing your take on what you're reading.

ETA: I forgot to mention, I'm still loving Nero Wolfe. I just treated myself to the first DVD of the Timothy Hutton series. It doesn't seem to have been shown over here - I've got a Dutch version of the French release! (In English, thankfully) I'm having to ration them, as there are only three episodes in the set. :0)

I'm here too! I wasn't able to finish the first Cornwell and never tried her again.

I thought the ending with Mab in Ghost Story was another cliffhanger-type ending or rather a "What the Heck?"

I read your thread regularly but just haven't had much to say.

I do note that all of the Green Dragon seems so quiet compared to what I see as "the good old days". I wonder if since we started the individual threads we didn't sort of shut down the conversational potential. I think I am going to start a thread to see if I can't get a little more dialoging going on... I may be whistling into the wind, but it seems worth an effort.

ETA: Oh, I guess I've already tried that, sort of, in this thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/123604

Thanks for the input all, I hate to go fishing, but it does seem so egotistic to simply post to one's self. :) I'll try to remember that and post on the other threads too, as I read them all.

About the slow down in posts in general, I don't know. Sometimes it seems as if the last year or so has been very hard on many of us. I wonder if that has carried over into a sort of general lack of enthusiasm?

well, many of us are busy with NaNoWriMo. But I do take time out to read almost every GD post!

IF we've slowed down, so has the rest of Talk. We're still the fourth busiest group!

well, MrsLee, sorry for the thread hyjack...

but we used to be in regular competition for busy #1 and #2. I know 75 books has left us in the dust, but we should be #2 at least.

OK, I know in the grand scheme of things this really is not important, but I am curious to know what people are thinking.

I'm here too. I've enjoyed your comments this year.

I've been preoccupied with life away from keyboard for a long time now - not that I don't enjoy the talk here but because life leaves me kind of drained - very ill relatives, turbulent times at work, tough times with our landlord, son needs lots of attention for his special needs (and seriously - he comes first, whatever else happens).
Seems a lot of other people in here have been in somewhat like positions?

Yes, Busifer, life gets in the way. I have been troubled by, well, troubles and depression and not being able to read and not feeling that I have much to say to people. I have x'd a lot of groups that I used to read because of that, but I always read drneutron's and MrsLee's and your reading threads because they have seemed the closest to my tastes. I'm sure there are a lot more but still too many for me. I also sometimes have memory problems and that keeps me from adding to book discussions or writing reviews.

You guys are right about things being quieter on LT. I love reading about people's lives on LT but often those groups get taken over by "quipy" stuff which can be fun but which I can't join in on because I'm not good at it. I liked the "what are you doing right now" kind of stuff but you need lots of people to join in.

Well, I guess that's enough said from me. Here's hoping things will pick up!

Anyhoo, I finished Floating Worlds, I posted my review, but since my cat is occupying my lap underneath my netbook, it's a bit difficult to type, let alone do a link.

It was great. However, it made me acutely aware of how much I haven't read, let alone hear of. I found it poignant. Gorey seems content with himself and a lost soul at the same time. his mind is off in more directions than I ever knew existed. It is a peek into a moment o a friendship.

I'm now reading White Corridor, by Christopher Fowler. Difficult to get into, but I'm not sure whether that is the book or my mood at present. I haven't been reading much at all this month.

Also picked up a new audio book, the Gracie Allen one got old fast. It's called Two Little Girls in Blue by Mary Higgens Clark. I'm not really looking forward to it, but hope it passes quickly.

Why do I put up with this cat?

I will to confess to not reading all the GD threads - although I haven't seen many people posting to them either - but I read far more than I stop by to comment. I'll normally do so only if I've read the books in question and have something to add. It's just been a busy year for me, not problematical, just busy, hence less time for everything.

Ha ha - I thought with cats it was the other way around - they put up with us!

I liked your review of Floating Worlds and I'll certainly pick it up - I know nothing at all about Gorey although I've loved his work for a long time.

I'm not sure why reading seems to be such a, well, chore, at times. I've been finding it difficult to get into anything lately and have picked several books simply because they are short or easy 'chewing-gum-for-the-brain' books. Very sad.

I've had that problem Stillman, I think I need to choose a "chewing-gum-for-the-brain" book for my next read. Nothing seems to enchant at the moment.

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

:D

You know, I even have that book on my shelves to read. I inherited it from my sweet friend. Think I will read that when I finish my Fowler book.

Finished Garden Spells in almost one sitting, reading until 4:30am, despite the fact that I have to work today! I have mixed feelings about it, but think that I will like it more as it simmers in my head.

I'm leaving for our Anniversary trip tomorrow so will be AFK for a couple of days. Headed to the coast and a cozy hotel with a window to read by. I will be taking my short story books which contain a Butcher story in them and probably a more serious read that I'll pick from the TIOLI list.

Enjoy and have a safe trip.

For some reason Garden Spells hit me just right. I've thoroughly enjoyed each one of hers. But I like a touch of magic realism more than some.

Woke up too early, like I always do before a trip. These are the titles I selected to take:
Dark & Stormy Knights
Naked City
The Unadulterated Cat
Phantom Army of the Civil War

Heh, I kinda didn't realize that at least 3 of the books selected have to do with ghost/undead stuff. Hope that doesn't foretell anything!

No more Mary Higgins Clark for me. I did not enjoy Two Little Girls in Blue. Lame. Too much telling or something.

Finished Dark & Stormy Knights, I liked most of the stories.
Also finished The Unadulterated Cat, loved it!
Decided I won't be reading Phantom Army of the Civil War. It isn't very well written and ghosts don't entertain me much.
Now I'm reading Naked City, but it might take awhile since I'm home where all the chores are. :)

Meh. I gave up reading the Illiad. I really don't like the gods, they are so annoying. I read a synopsis instead. I think I'm in a one book at a time mode right now.

I always liked The Odyssey better than The Iliad.

Yes, I enjoyed The Odyssey too, that's why I thought I should read the Illiad. Maybe if I had started it when I was in my twenties I would have had more patience with it. But after all, I've watched Troy, so how much more do I need to know? ;)

In my readings from Invitation to the Classics, I read Agamemnon today. This is my first introduction to Greek tragedy. I like the book I read it in, Four Famous Greek Plays, because the introduction helped me to visualize how the drama was done in the times it was written.

Now, about this play and the Illiad. It galls me that not only the writers of the poetry, but also the translators and expositors don't seem to have any problem placing all of the blame on Helen and Clytemnestra. No, that's not fair. Homer and Aeschylus simply told us how the men in the story placed all the blame on them, but those who are telling us about the stories seem to stop there. They want me to feel sorry for the poor Greeks who went to war because of Helen's betrayal or to hate Clytemnestra because she was so tricky in killing Agamemnon when he got home. Sorry. I'm rooting for her! He was a right bastard in my book and I wanted to cheer her on. And if a man/king thinks it's OK to call a war and have thousands die just because their pride was wounded, well, I have no truck with them. So there.

Good for you MrsLee! If the Greeks ever declare war on North America, I know where to hide ;)

#406 - Oh yes, I have some bones to pick with their gods, too! :D

I've begun I am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley. It was my ER win and my SIL is dying to read it, so I'm trying to finish it before Saturday.

Finished the Alan Bradley book. It was enjoyable, there may be hope for that family after all, but Flavia will get herself arrested if she continues interfering with scene of the crime sites like she does! I enjoyed it, as usual, a fun mixture of innocence and precociousness.

Inspired by KayElund, I have searched my TBR shelves and come up with two Christmas themed books so far, mysteries. Why do murder mysteries lend themselves to Christmas so well?
Sugar Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke
Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich

I have one set of shelves still to go through, but my husband is napping in there right now.

Sugar Cookie Murder was a wash. Very inconsistent writing, I thought. Her characters veered from good potential to wooden and stupid. One moment I would find them interesting, the next, they were dull as dishwater. Also, this one line was a deal-breaker for me.

"Excuse me Miss Swensen?" he said, phrasing it as a question.

Well, yeah, I kinda got that from the QUESTION MARK!!!! Made me want to quit right there. However, I finished it, and as a mystery it was a wash, too. She set up some nice possibilities and clues, then totally ignored them to pull a resolution out of thin air. Anyway, more than half of the book is recipes, so I'll read through those to see if they sound reasonable. I'll try one more of her books, just to make sure this story wasn't a "fluke," but if the writing isn't any better, I'll be done.

ETA: The recipes all look serviceable, but nothing you couldn't find in any other community cookbook. Way too much use of Jell O for my tates. :)

Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich

Woot! What a fun story. Sort of a combination of Bad Santa, Miracle on 34th Street, Elf, The Bishop's Wife and X-men combined with a New Jersey family flair. Just what I needed to kick off my Christmas reading, now I will be very excited to read other Stephanie Plum novels. I love her sense of humor and no-nonsense approach to men, her family and odd things thrown her way.

ETA: I'm going to break up the holiday reading with The Histories by Herodotus, translated by Aubrey de Selincourt with notes by John Marincola. We'll see if I get along better with Herodotus than I did with Homer.

ETA2: I'm also going to have a copy of Hogfather to hand for when Herodotus begins putting me to sleep. You know he will.

hmmm...I have The Landmark Herodotus, maybe I should join you.

That would be great! I worked through the notes tonight, I'll be beginning on the main stuff tomorrow, but not until the evening. I'll post here after each book. You can too, if you decide to read with me. :)

Sounds like a plan!

I might try Hogfather in December. I haven't had much luck with Pratchett but I suppose I could give him one more shot.

#40, 41. A Penguin Classics Herodotus has been lurking on Mt TBR since I won it as a school prize, almost 50 years ago. Maybe I should join you ladies.

Hugh, that's the one I'm reading, I think you should join us!

Morphy, I love Hogfather on many levels, but my husband couldn't stand it. Pratchett isn't for everyone, that's for sure! It helps to know the various mythologies/religions surrounding Christmas, plus a healthy helping of English traditions and lore.

410>> MrsLee: regarding Evanovich/Stephanie Plum. You have several of the basic series in your library (One for the Money, Two...), but I'm not sure if you've read those already. Just wanted to point out that the "holiday" ones have the mystery/fantasy crossover flavor. The numbered series have even more of New Jersey feel without any supernatural aspects. Same setting and characters, but no Diesel. Hmmm, Ranger seems to verge on supernatural, especially with locked doors or locating Stephanie, but I think it's technology and training that create a smoke and mirrors effect.

Having said all that, I don't think I have ever found another series with as many laugh out loud moments in every book. I think Jennifer Cruisie is the only other one who comes close.

Thanks littleshell, good to know! I inherited these from a friend, and this is the first one I've read, but I did love the flavor and will be trying more to break up my "serious" reading. :)

I started Book 1 of Herodotus (my sources say that in some collections the books are named after the Greek Muses, but mine aren't). It's a lot more spicy than I expected! I'm not sure I like this translation, very casual, but then, I can read it easier. I certainly can imagine it being entertaining as oratory.

Does anyone take a degree in the Classics anymore? Are there still scholars who learn Greek and Latin so they can read these things in the original language? I want to know that they are, that the Balliol library is still filled with musty old scholars like Tolkien and Lord Peter and so forth.

Always a glutton for punishment, I bought an audio of The Oresteia because it was on sale. :) Now I'm listening to it in the car. Still makes me angry, but hearing it performed is grand. They have birds twittering in the background so you feel as if you are outside in a Greek theater.

I also have the Penguin Classic Herodotus The Histories on my TBR. I will admit I have been scared off by its sheer size. This could be a very limited but interesting group read.

I think you will like it, clamairy! I'm finding it very funny. :) In a bit of a twisted way? I keep expecting or hearing comments from Monty Python or Terry Pratchett. You can take it a book at a time. I'm still on book one being amazed at their "mixing bowls" which hold 5000 gallons of wine. That is some mulled wine party!

Before I contribute more on Herodotus, is anyone going to actually read it with me? If so, shall I start a separate reading thread? I am still finding it hysterically funny/horrifyingly gruesome/tedious only in skimmable places. I've finished Book 1 and my husband has banned me from quoting any more to him, but my son is still tolerating it. His typical response goes, "OMG, they used that in Southpark!"

I finished Hogfather today.

Have used the TIOLI (I've taken the challenges from all of them and put them in a Word document, so they are not from the present one) challenge to pick my new read.

Pick a title to do with Sweaters. I thought about Marco Polo, but that seems too similar to Herodotus, or I could have chosen another Pearls Before Swine, but instead I chose:
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, on the theory that both mice and men are detrimental to sweaters and I have wanted to read it for a long time. :)

I do plan on catching up to you with the Herodotus. My job is changing this Tuesday; I'm hoping after that my mind will be a little less frazzled.

Why oh why didn't you all tell me not to read Of Mice and Men? Garagh! I have very mixed feelings about Steinbeck.

Anyway, I'm now reading Shards of Honor so I can recover.

I'm waiting to start book 2 of Herodotus until I hear from people whether or not we want to read together. I don't mind waiting Dayna, until you are at a good place to read.

MrsLee, in response to #419, the college I went to had a Classics major and I have a few friends that learned Greek and Latin for that very purpose, and even went to graduate school in Classics! I believe one of my friends even applied to a Ph. D. program, but got rejected from everywhere - so there is still stiff competition to study Classics.

My college even has a Classics themed wing in one of the dorms.

>419 MrsLee: Two of my son's college friends were Classics majors. One studied Greek and Latin, and the other took both of those plus Hebrew. One of the things they all did one weekend was to attend a Latin symposium where, as I recall, talks were given in Latin. This was six or seven years ago.

My son's former girlfriend also studied Latin, and he taught himself first-year Latin over one summer so he could take second year with her in the fall. While still an undergraduate, she signed on to teach a group of public-school fifth-graders, who were interested enough to get up for a 7:30 a.m. Latin class.

So even though the classical languages aren't as prominent in a standard curriculum any more, yes, young scholars are still taking them up with considerable enthusiasm.

#427 For a hopeful moment I thought you were going to say he did first-year Latin in order to chat her up in the language! (That would be an interesting challenge, and different from the botanical descriptions that are my "classical" staple.)

426 & 427 - Thank you! As I'm reading through these ancient works I see shadows of more modern writings and ideas, which is why I hope people are still studying them. They add such depth. I found the beacon signals which were portrayed in the LotR movies in Agamemnon, and a very good description of Minas Tirith in Herodotus. :)

Finished reading Foxfire 2 yesterday. The part about haintings & spooks was fun. I've now begun a book about pirates for the new bathroom read. I'm also enjoying Shards of Honor.

I would be up for reading Herodotus - as long as we take it slowly! It's been on my wishlist for a long time.

ETA Hey..is this what the dreaded thread police look like?

*looks around* I don't see anything? Did you post a picture?

see very bottom of page..

"Continue this topic in another topic"
As hints go... that's rather a large one!

But they can't make me continue it, can they? I mean. I was waiting for the New Year. Or for an opinion about a special thread for Herodotus. Or until I hit 500. Or maybe I won't continue it at all! How would they like that? :)

I think that's an option on every thread now? Or does it only appear after a thread reaches a certain length?

just for the ones over about 250 posts. ignore it, I say!

I've just started to notice them today in all the longer threads - I would just continue as planned.

I guess the issue is that for some people's slower computers the longer threads are agonizingly slow in "loading". I have no issues with it. Loads fine, here.

I finished reading Shards of Honor by Bujold. I enjoyed it, but found it to be somewhat brain candy? And borderline romance novel. I'm going to read The Warrior's Apprentice for my next Bujold and see if it is more suitable for my husband. I don't think he would like Cordelia and Aral unless he really liked Miles. We shall see.

First though, I'll be reading Christmas is Murder by C.S. Challinor, which I just purchased for $1.99 for the Kindle.

Started Herdotus tonight! I'm still on Book One - lots of Delphi oracle action going on.

Dayna, Yay!

I finished the Oresteia last night. I like the audio dramatized version. I'm not sure they sold me on what a great new world of justice and mercy it ushered in. Mostly it seemed to me that Athena won the Furies over by bribery. It was very good and creepy. Those Furies are something!

Dam. Looked at Mt TBR and realised my memory deceived me ( or I was having an Alzheimer's moment. The school-prize book was Thucydides, not herodotus. *mutter mutter grumble grouse*

:) Well Hugh, maybe it's time to give yourself a prize! I think you deserve it.

I've just started on the Herodotus too. I think I'm going to be pretty slow! However, it's already good fun - I loved the bit about the abductions:

"Abducting young women is not..a lawful act, but it is stupid after the event to make a fuss about it. The only sensible thing is to take no notice; for it is obvious that no young woman allows herself to be abducted if she does not wish to be" !!!!

And all this while using the technical term "rape" for such abductions! After all the recent talk about how women are treated in some modern fantasy, it's nice to see where such ideas actually began.

OK, I'm going to start a group thread on Herodotus. Athabasca, will you copy and paste your above post to it? Or do you mind if I do? When I have more time, I'll go through and put other thoughts over there too.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/128517

Done! Thanks for setting up the thread. I'm looking forward to having some company while reading the Herodotus.

I'm working on Pirates: Terror on the High Seas from the Caribbean to the South China Sea by David Cordingly. This is a bathroom read, so will take awhile to finish.

For my audio: The Warden by Anthony Trollope

Fiction: The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold - I'm liking it.

Nonfiction: Herodotus, book 2

MrsLee, The Warden is my favorite Anthony Trollope. But I would love to know who is doing the audio narrative? Is it someone famous?

#446 - Simon Vance, it's from Blackstone audio. I like him.

I've finished reading The Warden, and loved it in spite of being sad at the end.

Also finished The Warrior's Apprentice, and loved it.

Today I read Welcome to the Jungle through in one sitting (it is rather short), and loved it.

I doubt I'll have time to finish another book this year, so my next post will be my year end statistics and that will finish this thread. :) Meanwhile, I'll continue to read Herodotus.

My grand total of books read this year is 111. They are all here
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/MrsLee&tag=2011
except for Cetaganda which for some reason, even though tagged "2011" isn't. I can't get it in there.

Here is the long and the short of my statistics for the year:
Categories - some books fit more than one
Mystery: 45
Fantasy: 31
Fiction: 22
Graphic Novel: 1
Drama: 2
Children: 1
eBook: 8
Audio: 26
Short Stories: 11
Sci-fi: 3
Comics: 3
Humour: 5
Poetry: 1
YA: 4
Cookbook: 3
Nonfiction: 16
Reread: 6
Unfinished: 8

Totals
Fiction: 95
Nonfiction: 16
Total: 111
Ratings:
Loved it, will probably reread, definitely keep ***** 18
Liked it lots, will recommend, possibly keep to loan **** 40
Liked it, will probably not keep *** 37
Didn’t like it, but others might ** 16
Hated, probably didn’t finish *

It was a pretty good year for reading! Thank goodness for audio books, or my total would be much less. Also for the fact that I don't mind quitting on a book which doesn't move me.

Wow, great stats. I will try to do something similar with mine.

Thanks! I'm carefully avoiding finishing any more books this year, because I love the number 111. :)

Eleventy-one!

:)