Lori's attempt at the 11 in 11 Challenge - Part 2

Welcome to my second quarter reading! For those new to my reading for this challenge, Part 1 can be found HERE.



I am really enjoying the challenge this year - great reading, an ever growing humongous TBR pile - thanks to everyone in the group!- and lots of fun. As I seem to be on track, I have decided to edit my requirements for completing this challenge from a minimum of 8 books per category to a minimum of 9 books per category.

Let the fun times and great reading continue....




1. "New to me" Canadian Authors
2. I Don't Remember THAT From History Class: - Historical Fiction (pre-1945)
3. Follow Thy Author: - More books by authors I have recently discovered
4. What a Debut!: - Author debut novels
5. The Envelope Please...: - Prize winners and shortlisted
6. Lost in Translation: - Foreign language novels translated into English
7. What is Stephen Harper Reading: List found at What is Stephen Harper Reading - explanation found below at message #8.
8. Steampunk
9. Next in Series
10. Off the Shelf
11. Grandma's Amazing Button Jar

1. "New to me" Canadian Authors:
I think I went a little overboard when I came up with my Trans Canada Journey last year. The goal of reading one author from each of the 10 provinces from coast to coast became a bit of a challenge for me so this year the only restriction will be that I haven't read books by any of the 'new to me' authors' before.

1. Unless by Carol Shields
2. Still Life by Louise Penny
3. Snowmen by Mark Sedore
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Completed First Quarter 2011 - see Part 1 thread

4. Letters to Omar by Rachel Wyatt
5. Into That Darkness by Steven Price
6. Kalila by Rosemary Nixon
7. The House of All Sorts by Emily Carr
8.
9.
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Minimum to complete the challenge

10.
11.

2. I Don't Remember THAT From History Class: - Historical Fiction (pre-1945)

1. What Alice Knew: A Curious Tale of Henry James and Jack the Ripper by Paula Marantz Cohen
2. The Maquinna Line: A Family Saga by Norma MacMillan
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Completed First Quarter 2011 - see Part 1 thread

3. Mr. Shakespeare's Bastard by Richard B. Wright
4. The Daughter's Walk by Jane Kirkpatrick
5. Belle by Lesley Pearse
6.
7.
8.
9.
__________________________________
Minimum to complete the challenge

10.
11.

3. Follow Thy Author: - More books by authors I have recently discovered

1. You Went Away by Timothy Findley
2. The Lost Garden by Helen Humphreys
3. Left Neglected by Lisa Genova
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Completed First Quarter 2011 - see Part 1 thread

4. The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
5. Irma Voth by Miriam Toews
6. Aiding and Abetting by Muriel Spark
7. Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
8.
9.
__________________________________
Minimum to complete the challenge

10.
11.

4. What a Debut!: - Author debut novels

1. The Sherlockian by Graham Moore
2. The Patterns of Paper Monsters by Emma Rathbone
3. Words by Ginny Yttrup
4. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
5. The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean
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Completed First Quarter 2011 - see Part 1 thread

6. Mr. Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt
7. The Ministry of Special Cases by Nathan Englander
8. The Fates Will Find Their Way by Hannah Pittard
9. When God was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman
__________________________________
Minimum to complete the challenge

10.
11.

5. The Envelope Please...: Prize winners and shortlisted

1. Digging to America by Anne Tyler - 2007 Orange Prize shortlist
2. The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields - 1995 Pulitzer Prize winner and 1993 Governor General Award winner
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Completed First Quarter 2011 - see Part 1 thread

3. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson - 2005 Pulitzer Prize winner for Fiction
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
__________________________________
Minimum to complete the challenge

10.
11.

6. Lost in Translation: Foreign language novels translated into English

1. The Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martinez
2. Frida's Bed by Slavenka Drabulic
3. Limassol by Yishai Sarid
4. A Dead Man's Memoir by Mikhail Bulgakov
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Completed First Quarter 2011 - see Part 1 thread

5. Comedy in a Minor Key by Hans Keilson
6. Margherita Dolce Vita by Stefano Benni
7. The Moon Opera by Bi Feiyu
8.
9.
__________________________________
Minimum to complete the challenge

10.
11.

7. What is Stephen Harper Reading:
Canadian author Yann Martel (Life of Pi, Beatrice and Virgil) has created a website (What is Stephen Harper Reading) that tracks Martel's vow to send a book, and accompanying letter, to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper every two weeks as of April 16, 2007 and for as long as Stephen Harper is Prime Minister of Canada, to remind Harper of the importance of funding culture and the arts. It is an interesting mixed bag collection of books along with the accompanying letters. Call it the Yann Martel version of the '1001 Books before you die'.

1. Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan
__________________________________
Completed First Quarter 2011 - see Part 1 thread

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
__________________________________
Minimum to complete the challenge

10.
11.

8. Steampunk:
I haven't come up with a catchy title for this one yet. I discovered Steampunk as a genre when I read Elizabeth Bear's New Amsterdam. I am not a big fan of sci-fi or fantasy but as a lover of historical fiction and the mechanical age, I feel as though I have now found something I can completely immerse myself in. This challenge is the test to see if that is true or not.

1. The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook
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Completed First Quarter 2011 - see Part 1 thread

2. The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia
3. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
4. The Buntline Special by Mike Resnick
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
__________________________________
Minimum to complete the challenge

10.
11.

9. Next in Series:
Self explanatory. The 1010 challenge was great for introducing me to a number of new series so I wanted to make sure I had a category put aside to capture those books.

1. A Murderous Procession by Ariana Franklin
2. Dead Cold a.k.a. A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny
3. The Bohemian Girl by Kenneth Cameron
__________________________________
Completed First Quarter 2011 - see Part 1 thread

4. A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley
5. Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
6.
7.
8.
9.
__________________________________
Minimum to complete the challenge

10.
11.

10. Off the Shelf: - Books I own TBR

1. A Sin of Colour by Sunetra Gupta
2. French Milk by Lucy Knisley
3. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
4. Building the Pauson House edited and introduced by Allan Wright Green
__________________________________
Completed First Quarter 2011 - see Part 1 thread

5. In the Company of Angels by Thomas E. Kennedy
6. Hotel Angeline by 36 writers
7.
8.
9.
__________________________________
Minimum to complete the challenge

10.
11.

11. Grandma's Amazing Button Jar: - Overflow and Everything else.
My Grandma had the most amazing button jar, where she stored every button that ever fell off, was ripped off, taken off or was just found on the floor in passing. To this day, it contains the most amazing surprises and even my teenage nieces have learned when they lose a button off of an item of clothing they ask my Mom, the current keeper of the jar, 'Where is the button jar?" and they always manage to find the perfect replacement button in that huge gallon jar. Books, like buttons, can be the perfect find at the perfect time which is why I have named my catch all category 'Grandma's Amazing Button Jar".

1. The Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri
__________________________________
Completed First Quarter 2011 - see Part 1 thread

2. Brunelleschi's Dome by Ross King
3. Box Bottle Bag by Andrew Gibbs
4. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
__________________________________
Minimum to complete the challenge

10.
11.

Whoops.... got carried away reserving spots. I am still reading and now really enjoying The Alchemy of Stone by Ekatarina Sedia. It started out as a bit of a sleeper for me but now that I am further into the story, I have some character favorites and I want to see what happens!

Nicely balanced reading categories! My own category reads are a little more teeter totter, some categories are done with bonus books and others shamefully empty.

Yay for spring! I love your neatly organized category posts, with their "completed" and "minimum" bars.

I wish I were as organized and had as good-looking a thread as you do, Lori! Mine is going to be a mess, as I completely underestimated how much I would be reading and only challenged myself to three in each category, and three categories are already finished now. There are going to be lots of "bonus" reads on there... Anyway, looking forward to more books and comments from you!

It certainly looks like Spring here on the West Coast, I just hope it starts feeling like it more often, I've had enough of the cold!

Looking forward to following your reading into this next quarter.

I've found and starred your new thread. Very neat and organized!

14 - 18: Hi Everyone - Thanks for stopping by my Spring thread! It is still too cold to start sitting outside to read - you are so right Joyce, I am as tired of the cold as you are! - but I hope the outdoor reading will start before I create the Summer thread.

Thanks for the comments about how organized the thread is. I am not quite as organized as you might think - the completed bars are really to help me know which thread I need to search through to locate a previously posted review. It is either that or start tearing my hair out in frustration ;-)

Lets see if some flowers will help bring the warm weather our way.

Book #30 - The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia
Category: Steampunk



Our protagonist is Mattie, an emancipated former servant trained in the art of alchemy. Mattie lives in the mythical city of Ayona, an ancient city ruled under a balance of power between the Duke and a Parliament comprised of members from the city's two powerful guilds - the Mechanics and the Alchemists - at odds with each other. This beautiful city of stone is also under the ancient watchful eyes of the Gargoyles, the original creators of the stone city. While conflict brought on by the industrial development of the city is brewing, Mattie is approached by the Gargoyles in the hopes that she will be able to free the Gargoyles from their bond with the stone - a bond that is gradually turning them to solid stone and killing them off, one by one. Mattie agrees to try to help the Gargoyles, a decision that does not sit well with her creator Loharri, a member of the Mechanics guild. You see, Mattie is an intelligent automaton with a clockwork heart and while Loharri has granted her emancipation, he has retained in his possession the key that winds her heart. Yah, I know, that doesn't exactly sound like emancipation to me either, but that is all I am going to say on that topic. When a terrorist bombing and an assassination occurs, civil war between the two factions ensues. While trying to help the Gargoyles and make sense of it all, Mattie uncovers dangerous and ugly secrets and befriends a Soul-Smoker, a fellow alchemist from foreign lands, a courtier and a mechanic in hiding from the guild.

Okay, I am really starting to enjoy my Steampunk category. Yes, I had a dud with Steampunk Prime that I ended up abandoning unfinished, but that is to be expected for any category. I enjoyed this nice twist of the main character being an automaton predominately interacting with humans and loved the first person voice that Sedia gave the Gargoyles in this story. The Soul-Smoker Ilmarekh and Mattie's experiments with alchemy gave the story a nice dose of magical realism. The whole political intrigue angle was good for helping move the plot along. I have to say that the Gargoyles were my favorite characters - I think it is the wisdom that Sedia gave them - and as much as I wanted to hate Loharri, I couldn't. Mattie is a different puzzle as I didn't always agree with her thoughts or feelings either.

Another good Steampunk read.

Rating: 4 Stars

Next Up: Not sure. I have Leviathan lined up for the group read but I think I have time to fit in one more book before I start it.

Edited post to add that I have decided I will start Gilead by Marilynne Robinson next as it fits both this challenge and the April theme read over in the Reading Through Time group.

I've just finished Mortal Engines and can definitely see myself picking up more steampunk titles in future. That one sounds good enough to add to the wishlist. Thanks for your review.

Great review for The Alchemy of Stone! The gargoyle crisis sounds very interesting. I've been wanting to read more steampunk, so I'm adding this one.

>2 lkernagh: re: Snowmen - thanks for this suggestion. I picked up the only copy available on PaperBackSwap (luckily I'm in the States so could get it....)

Hi Dave - Oooohh, I am adding Mortal Engines to my list of Steampunk books. Thanks!

Tanglewood - I hope you enjoy it!

Margaret - Good snag! I hope Sedore writes more stories.

There was a bit of buzz around Sedia's The secret history of Moscow when I first came to LT, but then I saw so many negative reviews I passed on it. This review rekindles my interest in this writer. Thanks!

Hi Anders - Thanks for stopping by. This is my first Sedia and I have to admit I am not sure if I will be picking up The Secret History of Moscow. I get the impression that it is a different genre from steampunk. I look forward to discussing Leviathan!

Book #31 - Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Category: The Envelope Please...



I love it when my favorite quote in a book appears in another review already posted here on LT. The quote is this:

"There have been heroes here, and saints and martyrs, and I want you to know that. Because that is the truth, even if no one remembers it. To look at the place, it's just a cluster of houses strung along a few roads, and a little row of brick buildings with stores in them, and a grain elevator and a water tower with Gilead written on its side, and the post office and the schools and the playing fields and the old train station, which is pretty well gone to weeds now. But what must Galilee have looked like? You can't tell so much from the appearance of a place."

Thanks akosikulot-project52!

It took me 8 days to finish this Pulitzer Prize winner, mainly because I wanted to savor it and would stop reading it to ponder a statement or thought presented in the book. I found this to be a fascinating mingling of fictional story telling with theological arguments and moral reasoning. Our narrator is the fictional Reverend John Ames. It is 1956 in Gilead, Iowa, a small "dogged little outpost in the sand hills, within striking distance of Kansas" and the Reverend, who is in his late 70's, is documenting for his young son his begets of three generations and any pearls of wisdom the Reverend hopes to pass on. The letter - or maybe it is a journal? - has a beautiful, melodious rhythm to it, at times confessional in nature, as the Reverend touches on the events that have happened in his lifetime - the droughts, the influenza outbreaks, the Depression, the three terrible wars - Civil War, World War I and World War II -and the relationships with and between his father and grandfather, both reverends in their own right.

Now, some of the theology in the book was a little over my head but I think the book, at least for me, was more about conveying a trip down memory lane and how with age and experience comes wisdom and the ability to examine earlier, younger impressions and judgments with a view that the earlier impressions may have been misguided or even harsh. The rambling nature of the narrative was comforting and inviting but I have to admit that on reflection, as much as I loved this story, I really cannot remember a lot of the points that were touched upon. I remember the argument presented regarding the 10 commandments but that is because I completely agree with it:

"There are the Ten Commandments, of course, and I know you will have been particularly aware of the Fifth Commandment, Honour your father and your mother. I draw attention to it because Six, Seven, Eight, and Nine are enforced by the criminal and civil laws and by social custom. The Tenth Commandment is unenforceable, even by oneself, even with the best will in the world, and it is violated constantly...... I believe the sin of covetise is that pang of resentment you may feel when even the people you love best have what you want and don't have."

Inward examination and reflection is an amazing ability we all posses and I felt this book was a perfect example of this. Balanced, with a perfect pitch and flow, I felt a peaceful harmony with the characters, the town of Gilead and the theological discussion that flowed from the pages like the slow flowing of molasses.

In a word: Beautiful

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Next Up: I have already started my next book Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld and loving it so far!

Great review of Gilead. It's been on my wishlist for ages, but I guess I'll have to move it up a peg in my reading priorities.

I'd love to join the Leviathan group read, but I'm already overbooked this month. I keep missing the group reads here for that reason. But then, there are far worse problems in life. :-)

eta: if you put your latest review on the main page, I'll be happy to thumb it!

Thanks Ilana! I have to say I probably wouldn't have gotten around to reading Gilead if it had not been such a perfect fit for another challenge.

Sorry to hear you won't be joining the Leviathan group read. There will probably be a thread set up so you can always join later if you find time to read it.

I see that you are currently reading The Rehearsal. I am really looking forward to hearing what you think of it when you are finished. I loved it but a girlfriend of mine abandoned it - she just couldn't get into the story.

Book #32 - Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Category: Steampunk



This was an amazingly fast, exhilarating page-turning read..... that is my take anyways as I spent my weekend quite happily hibernating at home reading Leviathan and working my way through a huge pile of laundry.

Leviathan is a great alternate history story of the summer of 1914 and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sopie, Dutchess of Hohenberg - an event that played a major role in the starting World War I. In Westerfeld's version of history, the Archduke had only one child - 16 year old prince Aleksander, heir to the throne. With the assassination of his parents, Aleksander isn't sure who to trust and is on the run from his own people, who have turned against him. He flees the family home, heading for the safety of neutral Switzerland.

Meanwhile, over in Britian, 15 year old Deryn Sharp is a commoner from Glasgow. Running from the stifling reach of the female members of her family, corsets, skirts and numerous teas, she poses as a boy in the hopes of joining the British Air Service. A series of unforeseen events cause Deryn and Alek's paths to cross and leads them on an adventure neither one knew was in the making.

The steampunk angle to this story is the mechanical war machines the "Clankers" - Germany and their allies - had. Fascinating armoured walking machines from swift two legged scouts to the enormous 8-legged Herkules. The "Dawinists" - Britain and her allies - have amazing bio-engineered ships and weapons, from the 'fabricated' bats that eat and excrete darts, the 6-legged hydrogen sniffers to Leviathan, the huge whale shaped living airship.

This story was one page-turning, non-stop adventure for me. I know this book tends to be classified as Young Adult (YA) - my local library has placed a Teen label on the inside cover of the book I borrowed - but I really loved this one. Great characters, non-stop action and the icing on the cake are the fantastic illustrations provided by Keith Thompson. If Westerfeld's great descriptions failed to paint a picture in my mind, Thompson's illustrations brought it all home for me.

This is my favorite steampunk story to-date. I did have a slight panic moment when I suddenly realized that the book was ending with a cliff-hanger, and me, for some unknown reason, with no prior knowledge that this was the first book in a series. Now, if I had planned my reading properly, I would have checked into the series angle and had book two waiting in the wings, just in case. Instead, I find myself left hanging on a Sunday evening with all bookstores and the library shut. Yes, kind of a "Duh" slap hand to forehead moment. Lesson learned. **sighs**

I have placed book two Behemoth on hold and hope to have it soon. Even better, my on-line research indicates that book three in the series, Goliath, has an expected release date of late summer/early fall of this year.

Summary: Loved it!

Rating: 5 Stars

Next Up: Comedy in a minor key, because it fits the challenge and I already have it readily available for reading.

Another steampunk book to add to the wishlist by the sound of things. Maybe I'm going to have to designate a whole category for the genre next year if you keep adding titles at this rate.

This one is on my wishlist already, you've just made me want to push it up closer to the top. Sounds like the kind of read I will really enjoy - pure escape!

I usually love reading your reviews, but I'm skipping over Leviathan because it's sitting on my shelf and I have every intention of reading it sooner than later.

I can understand why your friend had trouble getting into The Rehearsal. Catton has a very unique approach to storytelling and it's easy to get lost between what is 'real' and what isn't meant to be. I find myself finding it in turns brilliant and frustrating, so far—not quite halfway through yet.

(thumbed Gilead!)

>30 lkernagh: I've been thinking that I'd like to try some steampunk. Your great review of Leviathan has convinced me that this is the one to start with!

Dave, Judy, Ilana and ivyd - Leviathan was a fun read that I highly recommend!

Ilana - The Rehearsal is a bit of challenge as Catton assumes the reader is going to keep track of the bouncing around and piece the story together based on the information provided by the various characters. Unique, yes. I hope her storytelling approach doesn't get too frustrating.... I know I have abandoned books in the past when I have felt they author just wasn't getting to the point fast enough.

Book #33 - Comedy in a Minor Key by Hans Keilson Translated from the German by Damion Searls
Category: Lost in Translation



Originally published in 1947 and only recently translated into English, this short novella tells the story of an ordinary couple in a small town in German occupied southern Holland - Wim and Marie - who hide a Jew in their home during World War II for a number of months and then must later secretly dispose of his body when he dies of pneumonia. At times ironic, the story really is a psychological examination of both the hosts who risk exposure and arrest to secret the man in their home, the ordinary civilians that made up the Dutch resistance and the affects imprisonment, even self-imposed imprisonment for survival, can have on the human psyche.

It is a decent story. It had a rather blase feel to it for me and really didn't develop into anything fascinating until the final pages. I was more intrigued to learn the background history of the author - a Jewish German/Dutch novelist, poet, psychoanalyst and child psychologist who recently celebrated his 101st birthday. In World War II, Keilson was part of the Dutch resistance. That experience is conveyed when reading this book.

While I liked this story, I wasn't blown away by it. Maybe I need to analyze the subtly of the language for a deeper meaning in this story. I have to remind myself that his story was originally published shortly after World War II ended, in which case the story is probably in keeping with the social norms of writing for the time period, keeping in mind the topic of the story. Either way, I am glad I can across this book and I look forward to reading more of Keilson's works.

Rating: 4 Stars

Next Up: I was planning on reading Scales of Retribution by Cora Harrison only to discover it is book 6 in a medieval murder mystery series I have never read. While I wait for book one in the series, My Lady Judge to be ready for pick up from my local library, I guess I will read the LTER book In the Company of Angels by Thomas E. Kennedy so I can get that review written and posted.

ETA: Okay, seriously touchstones are not working for any of the Next up books.... maybe I should shift gears and find something else to read.

second ETA: have decided upon reflection that that really is a 4 Star book and have edited the rating accordingly.

That one is on my wish list. Even though you weren't blown away by it, the plot sounds like something I would enjoy. Maybe I'll get around to reading it one of these days.

Hi Lori - The more I mull over Comedy in a minor Key the more I appreciate the subtleties Keilson incorporates to present an ordinary couple dealing with extraordinary circumstances in, lets be honest, extraordinary times. He doesn't miss a detail so I am now thinking that this one really is a 4 Star book.

Stopped by the library this evening after work and was soooooo happy to discover both The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen and Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley were ready for pick up. Talk about two great motivators, for me anyways, to focus on reading and finishing In the Company of Angels, which I must admit is starting to get interesting. ;-)

Great review of Gilead -- I think you really captured its essence. I loved that book!

I forced myself to plow through the last few chapters of The Rehearsal yesterday just so I could finish it already. I did manage to follow the narrative, but it just seemed like too many mental gymnastics to me. Clever, but ultimately annoying. I saw the point she was trying to make right from the start, so when came the ending and she actually spelled it out for us I was just... bleh. Whatever. Not a great fan I guess. I'll review it soon enough. I want to put it into my "Published since 2009" category even though I know it was published in 2008 in Oz, but it only got published in the rest of the world in 2010, what do you say, think that'd be cheating?

Hi Ilana - I don't think putting The Rehearsal in your "Published since 2009" category is cheating. According to my public library the book has the following publication info: Toronto, Ont. : McClelland and Stewart, c2008-2010. Even they agree with you about the publication info - covering more than one year.

Mental gymnastics is a good way to describe the story style.

I'm glad you agree. About the publishing date I mean. And about the mental gymnastics too, why not. I just figure when a book proves to be more work than it's worth for me, then I may as well have it pay off and at least fit into a challenge or two!

Book #34 - In the Company of Angels by Thomas E. Kennedy
Category: Off the Shelf



This story has five narrators - Nardo, a Chilean torture victim of Pinochet's regime who now lives in Copenhagen earning a living as a translator of business documents; Kristensen, Nardo's psychologist at the rehabilitation center for torture victims; Michela, a woman with a sad family history who attracts Nardo's attention; Voss, Michela's younger, at times possessive boyfriend; and Michela's gritty father Mikhail who is bedridden in a treatment center, riddled with cancer. The story starts with Nardo and branches to the other narrators as he connects to Kristensen and Michela.

While the prose of the story is beautiful, almost lyrical, the negative feelings that control the characters are almost searing with emotions of pain, anger, fear, trepidation and even fear. All of the characters are psychologically damaged in some way - either from abuse at the hands of others or wrapped in a defensive shell of their own creation as protection from outward attack and rejection.

Don't get me wrong, the story isn't just a one-sided examination of the darkness each character faces. It is also a story about hope, being able to come out of the darkness to the light and to find strength in doing so. It took some time for me to warm up to the story but once there I found Kennedy's abilities for vivid character portrayals and his skill for steering the plot of the five loosely interconnected narrators as independently traveled journeys was evident and made what could have been at times a very depressing story, something beautiful.

This is a book I was happy to take my time reading to savor the words and experience. Part of Kennedy's Copenhagen Quartet, I look forward to reading his other books in the Quartet.

This book was courtesy of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

Rating: 4 Stars

Next Up: Letters to Omar by Rachel Wyatt.

Your Gilead review is excellent. I have this in my TBR pile, but I've seen a lot of mixed reviews for it. I hope I enjoy it as much as you when I get to it.

>45 Tanglewood: - Thanks Tanglewood. I really did find that one to be quite an enjoyable read told in such a beautiful storytelling manner.

So far I have read only 5 books for April but that will quickly pick up as this morning I start 10 blissful, relaxing days off from work.

Enjoy your time off, hopefully we will get a string of days with nice, warm weather!

Thanks Judy! I spent some time reading in the park this afternoon. Unfortunately the weather is still too cold for any long stretches of outdoor reading - my steaming lemon ginger tea wasn't enough to keep me warm for longer than 1 hour. **sighs**

Book #35 - Letters to Omar by Rachel Wyatt
Category: "New to me" Canadian Authors



I have to start of by saying that before picking up this book, I had never heard of Rachel Wyatt so I was a little stunned to discover that she is a prolific award winning writer of novels, short stories, stage and radio plays and has even written non-fiction. She was awarded the Order of Canada in 2002.

Letters to Omar focuses on three women - Dorothy, Kate and Elsie - entering their golden years who have decided to save the world, starting with the plight of the poor villagers in war torn Afghanistan, one charity dinner party at a time. When not coming up with hair-brained schemes for the dinner, Dorothy write letters to famous people, including the actor Omar Sharif, that she never mails; superstitious Kate compiles lists and worries about her young grandson in Afghanistan working for an NGO and Elsie, well, Elsie is trying to understand her husband's sudden obsession for opera. Add into this mix a gaggle of eccentric family members and one artist along with an independent publisher that has managed to insinuated himself into their lives and the story pretty much grows legs of its own.

Wyatt, herself in her 80's, has captured humanity quite vividly and has presented it here in a witty, insightful manner. The best way for me to sum up this novel is to describe it as The Golden Girls meets Four Weddings and a Funeral. A problem I had with the story is that we are only provided with glimpses of the gaggle of interesting characters and all the various sub-plots Wyatt has laced through the story. Sometimes the characters were referenced in a manner I found baffling until an explanation was provided later in the story, making it a little difficult for me to just relax and enjoy it.

I did enjoy the letters Dorothy would write that were interspersed throughout the book. They didn't always have an relevance to the plot, but they did provide an interesting glimpse into Dorothy's character. Dorothy's one-sided correspondence to Omar acts almost as the Dear Diary many have written to in their youth.

Overall, an interesting, witty contemporary story that would have been a great story if the characters and the sub-plots had seen more ink and the story didn't jump around quite so much, confusing the plot at times.

Rating: 3 Stars

Next Up: A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley as I am in the mood for fun, lighthearted reading right now. That, and I have been waiting to read this one for some time now!

Enjoy all that time off and all the time it affords you for reading!

Thanks Ilana!

Book #36 - A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley
Category: Next in Series



Bradley's Flavia de Luce series has a number of devout followers here on LT and I am one of them. Some readers find 11-year old Flavia too unbelievable for words, but I really find Flavia's precociousness and 'wisdom beyond her years' to be part of the charm of this cozy mystery series set in the quaint English village of Bishop's Lacey. The fact that Flavia has a knack for stumbling upon dead bodies and mysteries shouldn't surprise anyone - murders and dead bodies abound in English countryside villages, don't they? - so for a child to discover the bodies, well, that really is just the law of averages stepping in, isn't it?!?! Especially for one that doesn't appear to sleep and travels as far and wide as her faithful bike, Gladys, will take her in her investigations.

This time Flavia's desire to have her fortune read by a travelling gypsy at the village fete is what starts the chain of events rolling. Or is it? Either way, when things start happening, Flavia, and the family estate of Buckshaw, is in the thick of it as usual, much to the chagrin of Father and Inspector Hewitt. A statement from Flavia to Inspector Hewitt during the investigations is an apt one:

"You should think about opening an auxiliary police station here at Buckshaw," I said affably, trying to cheer him up. "It would certainly save on petrol."
The Inspector was not amused.

I love this series for what it is - a quaint, cozy mystery when I am in the mood for some fun escapism. I preferred this one over book two in the series - The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag, although I do admit that Bradley could have cut about 50 pages from the story without affecting it in any way.

Rating: 4 Stars

Next Up: Continuing my light, entertaining reading with The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen.

I have been wanting to start the Flavia series. The first is on my wish list, but I've wanted to get it from the library, and it's always checked out! I think I'll have to place a hold request for it.

@53

I like me some Flavia too. I think as long as you accept the main character and her age, you can really love the series for being, as you say, "a quaint, cozy mystery when I am in the mood for some fun escapism." I think I may like it a little extra because the writer is a Canadian man who had never even been to England before he wrote the first one - that's just funny! :)

>54 katiekrug: - Katie, reserving the books is the only way I have been able to get my hands on this series as well. It is a popular one!

>55 -Eva-: - the writer is a Canadian man who had never even been to England before he wrote the first one

Oh Eva, that is funny!

Book #37 - The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
Category: Follow Thy Author



Walls of Water, North Carolina is a town with a history, and a secret. Willa Jackson's great-great-grandfather played a major role in establishing the thriving town in its historical heydays and built the Blue Ridge Madam for his wife Rebecca. After decades of decline, Willa former classmate, socialite Paxton Osgood, has restored the Blue Ridge Madam with plans to turn the former family estate into an inn. Willa has been trying to establish her own life outside of the shadow of the Jackson family past, so she is hesitant when she receives an invitation to the 75th anniversary gala dinner for the Women's Society Club, the same society club Willa's Grandma Georgie had been a founder member of. With former classmates re-entering her life and the discovery of a skeleton on the Blue Ridge Madam grounds, running her organic sportwear store isn't the only thing occupying Willa's mind these days.

I have to say that this book did not have the same feel as Allen's three previous novels. Alison (RidgewayGirl) has a good review over on her thread that I re-read after finishing this one. For me, I have a bit of a struggle classifying this as a comfort read. There is a mystery to this story, and some dark undertones. The story is still a good one and it still contains elements of magical realism scattered throughout the story, but I had the impression of a new twist to the writing style, like Allen was taking her story telling to the next level. As you may have guessed, I am have a little difficulty in explaining what I mean here. I will be curious to read Allen's next novel to see if this trend in her writing style continues.

Overall, a good story but not one I will easily recommend as a comfort read like I do with her three previous novels. I am not trying to scare people away from this one, just pointing out that Allen's writing style appears to be shifting slightly, or at least I think it is.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Next Up: Mr. Chartwell a debut novel by Rebecca Hunt.

#53 well, that really is just the law of averages stepping in, isn't it?!?!

That made me smile. As did Eva's comment about the writer! I'm way behind on that series too and unlike Katie, have no excuse, since I purchased The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie brand new this year and it's been sitting on my shelf patiently awaiting it's turn. I look forward to seeing how I feel about Flavia, since I rarely have problems with finding children overly precocious in books, having been one of those children myself (in real life, obviously!) I'll obviously be commenting on that when I get to it!

Ilana - I will be curious learn what you think of young Flavia!

Book #38 - Mr. Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt
Category: What a Debut!



'You can call me Black Pat.'
'What's your actual name?'
'I think we'll stick with Black Pat Chartwell for now,' Mr. Chartwell said firmly. It was clear that this discussion was finished. 'Call me Black Pat.'

It is the summer of 1964. At his home in Kent, Winston Churchill is preparing to face the official announcement of his retirement from Parliament after 64 years of political service. Meanwhile, over in Battersea, Esther Hammerhans, a young House of Commons library clerk, is nervously awaiting the arrival of Mr. Chartwell, a potential tenant for the room she recently advertised for rent. To say that the arrival of Mr. Chartwell, in the form of a big, black talking and walking dog, comes as a shock to Esther is understandable. As this is all revealed by page 10, I am not really giving any of the story away by stating this here.

In this intriguing debut novel covering only the last five days in the lead up to the official announcement of Churchill's resignation, Hunt has taken the euphemism "the Black Dog" and under her pen, has given the black dog a voice, body and mannerisms. Now, some may say that you cannot give depression, or the spectre of it, shape and form. That it is wrong to do so. That may be true but then again, literary license is what makes fiction such a wonderful way to escape the real world and enter the realm of possibilities. Besides, the spectre of death as a cloaked and cowled skeleton holding a scythe in one hand, the good ol' Grim Reaper, is famous in his own right.

Hunt has created a unique story here, no doubt about that. The personality of Mr. Chartwell, Black Pat as he wants to be called, adds levity and humor to what could have been a rather dark story. While I found some of the puns to be dry and rather off, and was lost on some of the literary references that were being made, I did find this to be a charming story. I think that Hunt did a good job of capturing the personality of Churchill and did a decent job presenting depression as an unwelcome house guest.

Overall, a good, unique debut novel.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Next Up: Mr. Shakespeare's Bastard by Richard B. Wright.

I am slowly catching up on 11-11 threads.

I agree with your assessment of The Peach Keeper. I actually felt a change in The Girl Who Chased the Moon. I think it's interesting to watch an author evolve, even when you're not enamoured with the direction they go in. I wonder how long we'll have to wait for her next one?

Thank you for your review of Letters to Omar! I am also surprised I have not heard of Rachel Wyatt and will be keeping an eye out for her work now :)

> 61 - Victoria, now that I think about, you are correct, The Girl Who Chased the Moon did have a slightly different feel to it.

> 62 - Hi Janice, I have to admit I was surprised that I had never heard of Wyatt before now. Maybe it is because the majority of her works have been radio plays. I seem to remember reading somewhere that she has written 100 of those.

Book #39 - Mr. Shakespeare's Bastard by Richard B. Wright
Category: I Don't Remember THAT From History Class
Alternate category: "New to me" Canadian Authors



Starting in the Elizabethan age and ending with the death of Cromwell, Mr. Shakespeare's Bastard is a easy flowing narrative that transports the reader from the Oxfordshire countryside to the teeming streets of London of the time period. The story's main protagonist is Aerlene Ward. Aerlene has reached her 70th year after decades of service to the Easton family. With failing health and cataracts, Aerlene enlists her young mistress Charlotte to transcribe Aerlene's memoir, including the great secret that Aerlene is the illegitimate daughter of the playwright, William Shakespeare.

I liked this story for a number of reasons. One, I felt that I was transported back in time 17th century England, getting a taste of the time period without being bogged down in it, including the 'god-spellers' and the interesting polarity of the puritan values in contrast with those of the crowds that filled the Globe and the Rose playhouses to see Shakespeare's and Marlowe's plays. The role of women is captured quite well, especially the tenuous nature of a woman's place as one that is almost entirely dependent upon her virtue, or is ruined by her loss of virtue, or even 'perceived' loss of virtue. Following first the story of Aerlene's mother Elizabeth, how her mom came to meet Shakespeare in London and then Aerlene's own journey to London 15 years later, it was tempting to draw parallels between the two journeys. I also loved how the story retained a consistency in style and content to the very last page.

Overall, I found this to be a very easy, light reading trip through Cromwell's England. It is not a masterpiece, but it is a good story. Wright is a "New to me" Canadian author. His most famous work is probably Clara Callan, which won both the Giller and the Governor General Awards. After enjoying this story, I will try to fit Clara Callan into my reading for later this year for my prize winner's category and I look forward to reading his other works.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Next Up: Back to Steampunk with Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld.

Hi Lori! I'm such a dimwit I did not know that you had a 75 books in 2011 thread! Well, now I've starred it and will keep up with it! I'm here too - under Vancouverdeb. Come visit my thread when you get a moment.

Oh! By the way - I loved Clara Callan - what an interesting trip back to the early 1900's - if memory serves, and what it was to be an unmarried woman in a small town at that time. I real eyeopener. Even I really enjoyed it! ;) Maybe I will try Mr. Shakespeare's Bastard later on.

Book #40 - Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
Category: Next in Series
Alternate category: Steampunk



I will make this review short and sweet:

The Leviathan trilogy love-fest continues!

Short enough for you? :-)

Picking up where Leviathan left off, this entertaining adventure continues in Westerfeld's version of the Ottoman Empire. No spoilers here.... if you want to learn anything beyond the fact that the story continues to captivate and transport the reader to a glorious world full of wondrous mechanical 'things' and biological 'beasties', you are going to have to pick up the series and read it yourself.

But I will close off with some teasers: I LOVED, loved, loved the library in Istanbul. I would live in that library if it existed in our world. And Bovril is adorable! No, I am not talking about beef tasting tea. Bovril is a character in Behemoth and that is all I am going to say of that topic. Also, I really want to go to Istanbul, even though I will never get to the Istanbul of Westerfeld's world. His Istanbul is still an amazing place of silks, spices and coffee. Some things should never be tampered with!

Enough said. If you haven't read or started to read the series, book two is, in my opinion, just as good as book one. Even the ending in book two was, can I say, better than the ending in the first book (i.e., not quite as shoddy/lame).

Now, I just have to twiddle my thumbs waiting for book three to come out.

Damn.

Rating: 5 Stars

Next Up: Back into the realm of historical fiction with The Daughter's Walk by Jane Kirkpatrick.

>66 lkernagh: Fun review, Lori! I have been meaning to read Leviathan for a while now. Must.Get.To.It.Soon.

Good to know the second book is on a par with the first. Definitely a series I want to check out at some point.

5 stars, wow! I had a trip to Istanbul booked about 12 years ago and didn't make it. Don't feel too sorry for me though, because I had planned to do some island hopping in Greece and end up in Turkey, but ended up staying put in Crete for 5 months because I loved the place so much. I kept calling the airline to push my flight forward in time until that option ran out. For many years afterwards though (and even now, on occasion) I still dream that I'm either on my way there, and/or that I miss the connecting flight or the flight gets highjacked and lands somewhere else instead! Guess part of me really wants to go to Istanbul, huh?

Enjoyed your review btw. As you know, I still need to get to Leviathan first.

64,65: I adored Clara Callan as well. It was one of the books that got me back into Canlit in 2009. Well worth reading!!

Hi Katie, Dave and Ilana - Yup, the Leviathan trilogy is great fun. I am tempted to check out Westerfeld's Uglies series but I may save that for next year. I seem to be lining up a number of trilogies, etc.

Ilana - I can see where island-hopping in Greece can turn into an extended stay! I did a 5 day cruise through the islands years ago and would love to make a repeat visit. You never know, you may still get to Turkey one day!

Janice - good to hear you enjoyed Clara Callan. I am thinking I will get to that one sooner rather than later. Maybe as a June read.... it strikes me as something I would enjoy reading sitting in a park under a shady tree for some reason.

April Re-Cap

I doubt I will finish my current book by this evening so I will post my re-cap for the month of April now.

What started out as a rather slow reading month picked up only because I had some time off from work and was able to spend the days going for walks and reading! Sadly, it is back to the work grind on Monday so we will see how the May reading goes. I have tried to balance my reading in each category but appear to have failed miserably with my What is Stephen Harper Reading category. Good news is that Martel has sent such an mixed selection of books to Harper I can see myself taking a month to just focus on that category and hopefully not find myself in a reading funk in the process. My catch-all category, Grandma's Amazing Button Jar I am trying to keep free until closer to the end of the challenge.

Favorite book for the month is two books, Leviathan and Behemoth, which makes Steampunk my favorite category for the month.

'New to me' Canadian Authors (4/11 read)
~ ~ Letters to Omar by Rachel Wyatt - 3 Stars

I Don't Remember THAT From History Class (3/11 read)
~ ~ Mr. Shakespeare's Bastard by Richard B. Wright - 3.5 Stars

Follow Thy Author (4/11 read)
~ ~ The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen - 3.5 Stars

What a Debut! (6/11 read)
~ ~ Mr. Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt - 3.5 Stars

The Envelope Please (3/11 read)
~ ~ Gilead by Marrilynne Robinson - 4.5 Stars

Lost in Translation (5/11 read)
~ ~ Comedy in a Minor Key by Hans Keilson - 4 Stars

What Stephen Harper is Reading (1/11 read)
No books read this month

Steampunk (4/11 read)
~ ~ The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia - 4 Stars
~ ~ Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld - 5 Stars
~ ~ Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld - 5 Stars

Next in Series (4/11 read)
~ ~ A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley - 4 Stars

Off the Shelf (5/11 read)
~ ~ In the Company of Angels by Thomas E. Kennedy - 4 Stars

Grandma's Amazing Button Jar (1/11 read so far)
No books read this month

Di (bruce_krafft) posted a link to this great Steampunk fashion quiz! So, of course I rushed off and did the quiz..... with the following results:

Your result for The Steampunk Style Test...

The Officer

50% Elegant, 48% Technological, 57% Historical, 60% Adventurous and 14% Playful!

You are the Officer, the embodiment of steampunk’s military sensibilities. It is an inevitable fact that advances in technology find some way to advance warfare; indeed, it is often the case that military necessity provides the means of developing new technology. You may be attracted to the technological appeal of steampunk weaponry, or perhaps you enjoy the glamour of Victorian uniforms. You combine a readiness for danger and a technological aptitude with a very sharp sense of fashion. You may be an army engineer, a mechanized dragoon, or an airship captain, but regardless you approach fashion with military efficiency and with style.

Try our other Steampunk test here.

Take The Steampunk Style Test at HelloQuizzy

I love these quizes!

I took the quiz - I was hoping for something a little more girly, but I got the same results as you, "The Officer"!

71: I think you would love it as a summer read. It is written in the form of letters/diaries so is perfect for reading outdoors/ while travelling, etc. :)

I haven't been doing monthly recaps until now, but seeing your now made me envious (I love lists, as I mention on my 11 in 11 thread), but I think I'll start doing so over on my 75ers thread as of... now!

I hadn't realized you were in that group as well. Now I'm not sure what to do; early on, I decided to limit the amount of threads to follow to minimize thread-anxiety, and I do follow a couple of people in both places, but find that's pretty redundant in the end. Except of course, that the conversations are different. Sigh. What would you do Lori?

Hi Judy - I kept playing with the quiz after getting the results I did and found it difficult to get a more girly outcome. Still, lots of fun!

Hi Janice - Well now that you have mentioned that Clara Callan is written in the form of letters/diaries, I am almost tempted to hold off reading it until next year so I can include it in my 'epistolary' category.

Hi Ilana - recaps are fun and frustration rolled into one. That is usually when I realize that I am either 1) behind on my challenge goals; 2) caught up on my challenge; or 3) completely neglecting a category or two. As for the 75 group, I toyed with the idea of joining this year but held off. I may take the plunge next year. There are so many threads to keep track of, I can see where it would quickly become overwhelming. I do follow a couple of threads over on the 75 group, but those are people that are either not here in this group or people that are in both groups but spend most of their time over in the 75 group. Other than that, I am at a loss on how to keep up to date on everyone's threads, other than giving up sleeping, eating and of course, working. ;-)

I joined the 75er's this year, and it is quite overwhelming at times. They are a very friendly and talkitive bunch and I find myself spending far too much time on the computer these days. I do feel as if I have let my 11 in 11 Challenge thread slip a little, and that makes me sad as since this was my first place and it feels like home. I was thinking about next year, but I really want to stay here and do the 12 in 12 challenge, so I will probably continue with both. Luckily I am retired and have a fair amount of time on my hands!

Sorry Lori, for some reason I was under the impression you were with the 75ers too, but I'm more than fine with one less thread to worry about, and this one suits me just fine!

Judy, I know exactly what you mean about spending too much time on the computer. I also have time on my hands, but I sometimes wish I was a bit more disciplined so I could do other things... like actually read, and sleep at *normal* hours.

Judy - you have hit on why I shied away from joining the 75 group this year - they are so friendly and talkative I am afraid I just wouldn't have the time to keep my hand - or posts - in.

Ilana - No worries. Like I said, I will probably take the plunge next year, but I am sure there is no way I will be able to stay on top of what everyone is posting!!!!!

I understand the worry about keeping up when you belong to both groups. I do belong to both but what I do is star the threads I really want to keep up on and then randomly read the others when I get a chance. After I read a few and find I have nothing in common (reading genres, etc.) I mark them off and don't worry about them again. I'll be honest and say that some threads I only read once a quarter and others I check for every day.

There are quite a few persons with whom I have almost nothing in common in the 75 books thread. I've found that keeping up hasn't been quite as big of a challenge as I thought. Like Cheli, I star the threads for the persons with whom I have the most in common (for it and other challenges such as this one). I can always go to my starred threads and read just those. Then as I have time I read or skim the others. I usually ignore the banter back and forth on threads for persons with whom I have little in common. I skim the books, but I can usually ignore many threads almost completely because they are just so opposite from me in reading tastes. That's not to say that they don't occasionally have a book that is to my taste and upon which I might comment, but for the most part those threads go rather quickly.

I employ similar strategies as Lori (#82) and Cheli (#81). I have found the 75ers who have the most interesting-to-me threads and I star those and read them regularly. When I have extra time, I peruse the others. In addition to my 75ers and 11in11 threads, I have one over on Club Read as well. It's a different kind of group -less chatty, more book-only oriented - but I have discovered some great threads and thoughtful readers over there. I guess I am more thread-focused, as opposed to group-focused.

Thank you everyone! You have all provided great advice. I feel more confident about taking the plunge next year with the 75 group AND continuing with the 12 in 12 Challenge. I enjoy the category challenges and feel that is more of a home base for me.

Book #41 - The Daughter's Walk by Jane Kirkpatrick
Category: I Don't Remember THAT From History Class



A mother's tragedy, a daughter's desire, and the 7,000-mile journey that changed their lives.

Starting in 1896 at Mica Creek, Washington State, the story starts out with Norwegian American Helga Esterby accepting a published wager from the fashion industry to walk from Spokane, Washington to New York City within seven months in an effort to will/earn the ten thousand dollars prize money offered to save the family farm. On this journey, she takes her eighteen year old daughter Clara. Helga's husband, Ole does not approve of this journey, and the older children that will be remaining on the farm to help their father take care of the farm and the family, are also skeptical. As part of the wager, Helga and Clara will wear and promote the new shorter, 'bicycle skirts' that promote the growing suffrage movement and women's rights. Understandably, young Clara has her own doubts about this journey.

While the story starts out as a fictional travelogue of sorts following this historic trek, it soon delves into a personal journey for Clara as she learns a shocking truth while making the walk with her mother, with a lingering impact that leads Clara through a number of life altering decisions.

According to the author bio, Kirkpatrick is the author of more that 15 historical novels that are based on the lives of actual women. This story is no exception. Kirkpatrick has built this story based upon the extensive census, employment, deed and mortgages records, newspaper clippings and first person family descendant recollections. Where gaps in the facts existed, Kirkpatrick has allowed her imagination to step in and take over.

I loved Kirkpatrick's descriptions of the locations, politics, and moral sentiments of the time period, (1896 to 1942). As fascinated as I was by her detailed descriptions of the fur fashion industry and advancements in furriers/trapping/farming of the period, I found my appreciation for the story being dragged down by my lack of interest in the characters. Bogged down may be a better term. I just could not connect with the characters, except on a superficial level, mainly because I found the characters rather 'lacking' in substance considering they were supposed to be representative of strong women that chose to conduct business and engage in business ventures that were, for the time period, considered a man's purview.

Overall, a solid historical research piece with vivid descriptions for the time period that are, in my opinion, at times overshadowed and hindered by weak character development.

Rating: 3 Stars

Next Up: Miriam Toews newest release Irma Voth.

Great review of a book that I was considering, but I know a book where the characters have little appeal doesn't work for me so I will probably pass this one by. Too bad, cause the subject matter is very appealing.

Hi Judy - I was rather disappointed with this one, mainly because I already had another Kirkpatrick book on my reading pile and thought I was onto another great new author for historical fictions. I will cleanse my reading palette with different books and then consider possibly picking up one of her other books to see if I had possibly started with a bit of a lemon.

Book #42 - Irma Voth by Miriam Toews
Category: Follow Thy Author



I am going to cheat here and copy the first paragraph from the book cover as descriptive background:

In a small, reclusive Mennonite community in the shadow of the Sierra Madre mountains, Irma Voth, eighteen and longing for more than the stifling life offered her by her family, falls in love with a Mexican boy, Jorge, and marries him secretly. Cast out of the house and shunned by her father, they struggle to survive in a Mexico where young men are never far from the seduction and corruption of the drug lords, and Irma's world narrows further, when, despite their love for each other, her new husband inexplicably deserts her.

So, we have an eighteen year old bride shunned by her family, abandoned by her husband, trying to figure out which way is up when a film crew arrives and moves in next door to start shooting a movie about the Mennonite community. Did I fail to mention that this community is in a remote area of the desert and that Irma's family arrived in the area six years ago from a Mennonite community in Canada?

I read and thoroughly enjoyed Toews' previous novels, The Flying Troutmans and A Complicated Kindness. With this novel, I am seeing a pattern emerge regarding the plot and overall theme of Toews' works. In my opinion, Irma Voth is A Complicated Kindness taken to the next level - If you didn't enjoy A Complicated Kindness, you might not enjoy this one.

With this book I had no problem connecting with the characters. I did have a problem with the substance and direction, which I will call hap-hazard at best, for the plot. I know that Toews is known for her quirky, offbeat stories but I think the Mennonite theme might be done by now. Time to move on to other topics, I think.

Overall, great characters, interesting but offbeat storyline that made for a just 'okay' read.

Rating: 3 Stars

Next Up: Into That Darkness by Steven Price. This in a debut novel I am looking forward to reading as it is an apocalyptic novel set in my home town of Victoria BC after a massive earthquake hits the entire west coast with devastating results. I have gone through enough earthquake preparedness drills at work and seen more than my fill of local newspaper articles on this pending doom prophecy to make this one catch my eye.

Great review of Irma Voth! Thanks Lori!! I'll be giving it a miss, as I have with all of Miriam Toew's books. They simply did not appeal to me. I won't push you - but I really loved the short stories - Mennonite's Don't Dance by Darcie Friesen Hossack. I felt that the writing and stories transcended the Mennonite beliefs and lifestyle, in large part, and was more of a book about families and relationships - some which were bitter, some which were lovely - simply a book of families and friends .

Hi Deb - Thanks for stopping by! I have been considering Mennonite's Don't Dance. Good think I have a catchall category for the challenge. That is the only place it will fit if I get around to it this year.

Book #43 - Into That Darkness by Steven Price
Category: "New to me" Canadian Author
Alternate category: What a Debut!



If you are not a fan of apocalyptic themes, feel free to move on. As a general rule I do not gravitate to these types of novels but then again, I usually steer clear of science fiction and I have Steampunk as a category for this year's challenge.

Set in our current time lines, this story starts out as any ordinary day. 68 year old Arthur Lear makes a trip into town to visit a coffee shop and his favorite tobacconist. At the coffee shop, the shop owner Anna Mercia serves customers while keeping an eye on her 10-year old son Mason who is supposed to be working through math problems at a table in the shop. It is a school day and while Mason is in the shop instead of joining his classmates for a field trip to the local museum, Anna's older daughter Kat is at her school.

Against this backdrop of normalcy, a massive earthquake hits the region, with devastating results. Covering a period of five days, the reader steps into a world where suddenly the only help immediately at hand is the help of fellow survivors. Survival instincts take hold - both altruistic, in coming to the aid of total strangers and more sinister in nature - and builds with the shock, fear, the lack of trust, and the desperate search for missing persons.

I was literally blown away by this one. The overall writing style and Price's tenacious grip on the reader was reminiscent of my experience while reading Jose Saramago's Blindness last year, another novel that I highly recommend. With a perfect balance of nail-biting tension, descriptive prose and moments for reflective thoughts from the characters, I found this to be a vivid, and hauntingly accurate portrayal of the scramble for survival in the aftermaths of massive devastation. Not only is Price able to capture the scenery and the devastation with sharp effect - loved the description of the earthquake as it hit - he has also crafted complex characters that shift before the reader as they try to adapt to the alien environment they now find themselves in. The icing on the cake for me is that this novel is set in my hometown. For the average reader with no understanding of the city, this story will still come across as an apocalyptic set in "any town". For people with a local understanding, the subtle local references that were scattered throughout the story were great 'extras' to an already great story for me.

Overall, my favorite story so far this year, hands down.

Rating: 5+ Stars

Next Up: Aiding and Abetting by Muriel Sharp.

Wow,Lori, you really read a variety of books! Gilead sounds like a great read! Wonderful review! I must confess I have not read any steampunk books. I'll have to look into that.

I'm trying to read most of the Orange Prize 2011 Shortlisted books. I'm about 150 pages intoMemory of Loveby Aminatta Forna. Initially it seemed quite daunting, as the book is told in a non linear timeline , and there are several main characters. I think I've caught onto the who is who, and the timeline issue is no longer a problem for me. I picked up Grace Williams Says it Loud by Emma Henderson. It looks like it will be fascinating and probably quite a sad book in many ways. All of my interest in the Orange Prize happened because I read Long Song by Andrea Levy - which lead me to Small Island. It really something how one book leads to another :) As for this years Orange Shortlist - I've already read Annabel and I've had Room in my TBR pile for months.... I guess I'll have to get to that one too!

Enjoy Aiding and Abetting.

>91 lkernagh: Ooh, Into That Darkness (correct touchstone not available) sounds excellent!

Wow, I have to read "Into That Darkness"! I was interested before I read your review and saw you gave it 5 plus stars. Now I really want to get my hands on it! My husband (mainlander that he is) is always teasing me that Vancouver Island is there as a buffer for the mainland. It's supposed to get the earthquakes and tidal waves that are headed our way!

edited for touchstones - can't get them to work!

>92 vancouverdeb: - Hi Deb, just trying to keep up with the motto "Variety is the spice of life." LOL
Did I see somewhere that you will joining us over on the Orange January/July Group for Orange July? That's great! I see you have been making great headway on the finalists for this year's prize. The only one I have read so far is Room but I keep seeing great things about The Memory of Love so I may try to get my hands on a copy for the July reading.

>93 katiekrug: - Hi Katie, Into that Darkness is the kind of apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic novel that grabs and holds my attention - some brief graphic details but the story rides more on its ability to place the reader in the setting, both visually and emotionally, and that is the type of novel I enjoy for this genre.

>94 DeltaQueen50: - Hi Judy - Vancouver Island is there as a buffer for the mainland. It's supposed to get the earthquakes and tidal waves that are headed our way! LOL and this is not the first time I have heard that us 'islanders' are the breakwater to stop the really bad 'stuff' from hitting the mainland. I tell you, the sacrifices we make ...... *sighs*

:-)

If you can get your hands on a copy, I think this is one that you would enjoy.

As for the touchstones not working - I think I recently read somewhere that there is a time lag on some of the new/newer works being connected to touchstones while LT works on some new developments. It wasn't in LT's library before this weekend. Forced links are the only way to trip it, at least for now.

I'm not normally a reader of the apocalyptic genre, either. But Into That Darkness sounds like the kind of disaster tale I could get into.

I, too, love books set where I live, or have lived. Doesn't it just bring the action a whole world closer?

Note: I still had to use a forced touchstone. And I had trouble finding the work page to get the work number to insert! Too many books with Darkness in the title -- and who knew there were so many authors named Steven Price?

Lori, I started a bit of a thread in the Orange Prize area. Yes, I am reading a number of the shortlisted books for 2011 - I can't remember which of the books I have read off hand - but as I noted - I'm now nearly finished Memory of Love is my bet on the book that will take the prize.... but of course, time will tell. I have another book I plan to read pre Orange Prize announcement - Grace Williams Says it Loud but I'm leaning towards The Memory of Love as the front runner.

Question - how do you create a forced touchstone?

>96 tymfos: - Hi Terri, You are so right. Reading books set in your home town just makes the action closer, dare I say, relevant to the reader...... I see you managed to force the touchstone for Into That Darkness!

>97 vancouverdeb: - Hi Deb, I will have to go over and find your thread on the Orange January/July Group! The Memory of Love does sound like a good one. I had it out from the library earlier but didn't have time to read it before returning the book for the next lender. Time to place a new hold on the book.

A forced touchstone is where you add the book work number to the touchstone. For Into That Darkness, the book work page is located at http://www.librarything.com/work/book/73096024, and the work number is "73096024". To force the touchstone you would type 73096024::Into That Darkness within the square brackets, to produce the touchstone. It doesn't always work, but I have found it to work more often than not.

Adding my praise to your review of Into that darkness! My favourite thing with books set in places I know is when they don't need to namedrop every street and park and corner, but where it's clear where they are anyway to someone with local knowledge. When it almost feels like a secret between you and the author.

I'm a big fan of Muriel Spark, so I look forward to reading your review on Aiding and abetting (which I haven't read myself yet).

Hi Anders, Just bounced through your thread. I agree. I love books that don't turn into a namedrop of every street and corner. With Into That Darkness I had a lot of fun trying to guess which are of town the coffee shop ad tobacconist were to represent as Victoria is really comprised of 'pockets' of communities.

I am enjoying Aiding and Abetting so far but reading has been sidetracked for the past few days by work and now by my favorite book buying event, the local newspaper sponsored 2-day book sale with all funds going to promoting literacy in the region. I had a lot of fun today at the sale - came home with 37 'must own' books! - and I plan to go back tomorrow for more. I will provide a list of the acquisitions after tomorrow's shopping fun!

"37 'must own' books"

Only 37?? Love it!!! :D

I have spent the past 2 days happily digging through thousands of boxes of books - I am not kidding about that! - at the annual book sale. Came away with great finds and home to my fantastic other half who took one look at my purchases and calmly said, "you need another bookcase. Leave that with me."

The weekend purchases are (organized slightly):

More Orange Prize books:
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, by Marina Lewycka
The Very Thought of You, by Rosie Alison
Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett

Other Prizes:
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, by Roddy Doyle - Booker Prize winner
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy - Pulitzer Prize winner
Hotel Du Lac, by Anita Brookner - Booker Prize winner
Arthur & George, by Julian Barnes - historical fiction and Booker Prize shortlist in 2005
Ilustrado, by Miguel Syjuco - Man Asian Literary Prize winner
Eucalyptus, by Murray Bail - Commonwealth Writer's Prize for Best Book in 1999
The Time in Between, by David Bergen - Giller Prize winner
Quarantine, by Jim Crace - Booker Prize shortlist, Whitbread award as well
Home Schooling, by Carol Windley - Giller shortlist
The Hours: A Novel, by Michael Cunningham - Puliter Prize winner
Childhood, by Andre Alexis - Giller Prize shortlist
Clara Callan, by Richard B. Wright - Governor General Award winner, Giller shortlist - I have previously mentioned that I plan on getting to this one soon and it suddenly materialized before my eyes!
The Children's Book, by A.S. Byatt - Booker shortlist
The Butcher Boy, by Patrick McCabe - Booker Prize shortlist

"I loved the cover and the story description caught my eye"::
The Island of the Day Before, by Umberto Eco
The Hatbox Letters, by Beth Powning
Puccini's Ghosts, by Morag Joss
Here on Earth, by Alice Hoffman

Historical Fiction fascination/obsession:
Caliban Shore, by Stephen Taylor
The Illuminator, by Brenda Rickman Vantrease
Tulipomania: The Story of the World's Most Coveted Flower & the Extraordinary Passions It Aroused, by Mike Dash
The Lion of Venice, by Mark Frutkin

Series I am meaning to start.... or have already:
The Eyre Affair: A Thursday Next Novel, by Jasper Fforde - I keep hearing about the Thursday Next series so I grabbed book one when I found it today.
The Brutal Telling, by Louise Penny - I am slowly working my way through the Three Pines series so this can safely sit on my bookshelves while I work my way through the earlier books in the series.
The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larsson - I have been meaning to start this series and figured I might as well start getting my hands on the books as they appear. This copy cost me $1.00

Just Because...:
Half Broke Horses, by Jeannette Walls - another book I have been meaning to pick up, so I did.
Where Angels Fear to Tread, by E. M. Forster - Adding to my small classical literature collection.
Come, Thou Tortoise, by Jessica Grant - Debut novel by a Canadian author that looks like it could be a fun read.
The Confessions of Max Tivoli, by Andrew Sean Greer- a novel along the lines of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which was enough to have it land in my bookpile.
Loving Frank, by Nancy Horan - this one looked interesting, so it came home with me.
Luck, by Joan Barfoot - I have been meaning to read Barfoot's novels and I am kicking myself that I let Exit Lines slide into someone else's hands at the booksale. I just wasn't thinking!
What They Wanted, by Donna Morrissey - another Canadian author I have been meaning to read
The Given Day, by Dennis Lehane - Loved the movie Shutter Island so when I say this one I just grabbed it assuming it must be good!
Suite Francaise, by Irene Nemirovsky - won't be able to find time to read it with the group read, but another book I have been meaning to get around to.
Snow, by Orhan Pamuk - I was going to get this one from the library. Now I don't have to.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon - Another book I just grabbed as soon as I saw it.
City Of Falling Angels, by John Berendt - loved Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and didn't even know he had written another book until I came across this one.
The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold - I seem to be collecting Sebold's books and will probably get around to reading them at some point.
The Palestinian Lover, by Selim Nassib - I love Europa Edition books so was stunned to find this one in one of the boxes of books. MINE!
Broken Glass Park, by Alina Bronsky - the second Europa Editions, quickly snagged by me.
The Case of Lena S., by David Bergen - Another one of Bergen's books I have been meaning to read.
Gilgamesh: A Novel, by Joan London - Just because.....
The Little Stranger, by Sarah Waters - My first foray into Sarah Waters and a find it was as I did not see any other books by her at the sale.
Afterimage, by Helen Humphreys - One of Humphrey's novels I haven't read yet.

I also snagged three Timothy Findley novels that I haven't read yet:
Spadework, The Wars and The Piano Man's Daughter

Lastly, I discovered, as I made my way through the thousands of books, that I kept coming across books that are part of Jan Karon's cozy Mitford Years series. I had book one already at home and over the course of the two day sale, managed to locate all of the other books in the series, except for the allusive book 6:
A Light in the Window, Book 2
These High, Green Hills, Book 3
Out to Canaan, Book 4
A New Song, Book 5
In This Mountain,Book 7
Shepherds Abiding, Book 8
Light from Heaven, Book 9

Overall, a great shopping weekend that involved reading book covers and excerpts, with no progress whatsoever on my current reading.

Edited to add: Touchstones stalled at Arthur and George. May try to fix later.

Oh, Lori, I'm so jealous. I need a good book sale soon. Like you, I usually come away with lots and lots of books. I don't understand people who go and come out with one book. Just not possible for me...

Anyway, lots of good stuff in there - some I've read and loved and some I have waiting patiently to be read. And I also love Europa Editions. I will buy almost anything with that pretty bird on the spine because I am that confident it will be good.

And your other half sounds like mine :) Definitely a keeper!

Wow great finds!! You will love Jasper Fforde and his books make great summer reads :)

Thanks also for the review of Into That Darkness, I love Canlit and Dystopian so I added that one to my wishlist immediately :)

Hi Katie and Janice - I admit I live for this book sale, and nothing else! Okay, that is probably not true but at this time of year, it is the main event! This time I went prepared with a list of what I own, which is usually what I haven't gotten around to reading yet - and save myself from buying books I already own.

The sale was a great success.... the local paper has already provided a summary, with the following details:
- books donated to the sale = over 225,000 (the Greater Victoria Region has a combined population of only 330,000)
- # of volunteers to sort the donated books pre-book sale and help on sale days = 300
- attendance over the 2 days = 6,464 book buyers
- total revenues brought in over the 2 day sale = $155,500 (Money from the sale goes to Raise-a-Reader, which distributes cash to literacy programs on Vancouver Island).
- On Monday, non-profit groups and school librarians will be able to haul away as many books as they want for free. Last year, 77 groups took advantage of the opportunity to restock their bookshelves

Good books AND a good cause!

I'm on a strict "buy one book a month" diet since a year and a half. Which is good (a bit like nicotine bandaids), but looking at a shameless splurge like yours still sends shivers of envy through my spine.

I thinik it's good for the soul to splurge every now and again. Of course I would say that since I went a little crazy this weekend while on the Island. I started at Bolen Books but really finished it today with a stop at a few of Sidney's bookstores on my way to the ferry. I managed to snag nine new and/or used books.

Oooo I love shopping out Victoria's bookstores. If you ever go to Montreal you will have a grand time, it seems to be the used bookstore capital of Canada :)

I am trying to be strict on buying books as well, until I have read a certain amount. Not working the greatest so far, but I have cut down at least :P

wow! Such a treasure trove of books that you've purchased at the book sale! Enjoy, Lori!

>106 katiekrug: - I agree Katie, a really good reason to go book shopping!

>107 GingerbreadMan: - Anders, if it is any consolation, I am probably finished book shopping for the remainder of this year. I need to start reading the books I have, without adding to the collection further.

>108 DeltaQueen50: - Judy - Sounds like you managed to grab some good books yourself while over on the island and glad to hear you managed to hit the Sidney shops as well.

>109 Bcteagirl: - Janice - If you ever go to Montreal you will have a grand time, it seems to be the used bookstore capital of Canada. And to think my brother has been giving me other reasons to make a trip to Quebec - used bookstores tops everything he has been offering as enticements! ;-)

>110 vancouverdeb: - Thanks Deb! .... now I need to try and shift gears from buying books to reading the books I have already bought.

Book #44 - Aiding and Abetting by Muriel Spark
Category: Follow Thy Author



This was a fun story to read. In writing Aiding and Abetting, Spark has allowed her wicked, satirical wit to turn a real life mystery into a fun, fictionalized, convoluted examination of morality, the social values of the peerage - or lack there of - and friends of the peerage in an interesting game of 'cat and mouse' involving a number of characters. The real life story that Spark has touched upon here is the disappearance of Richard John Bingham, aka "Lucky" Lucan, the 7th Earl of Lucan, in the early hours of November 8, 1974 following the murder of his children's nanny, Sandra Rivett, and the attack on his estranged wife. Wikipedia has a good summary of this murder and disappearance: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bingham,_7th_Earl_of_Lucan

In true Spark's form, Lord Lucan appears to be alive and still on the run - wrong word as I am sure Lord Lucan never runs! - some 25 years after that fateful event in 1974 and seeks out the celebrated psychiatrist Dr. Hildegard Wolf. Dr. Wolf has her own mysterious, and shady past as a con woman. A past she would rather did not re-surface. When a second patient also claims to be Lord Lucan, Dr. Wolf decides to get to the bottom of the matter.

Part P.G. Wodehouse, part Agatha Christie and pure Muriel Spark, this laid-back, and intellectually witty novel pokes fun at Lucan's network of friends, the bumbling of the police during the original investigation, and individuals in hiding from the law in general. Under Spark's wicked pen, Lucan's agenda, Dr. Wolf's agenda and the agenda of individuals connected to Lucan's disappearance.... yes, the hunt is still afoot!.... made for a refreshing, entertaining read, and a perfect recipe for blackmail skullduggery. Who wins this battle of wits, you may ask? You will have to read the book to learn that answer.

How close to the truth is Spark's story, you may ask? Well, we will probably never know ;-)

Overall, another entertaining story.

Rating: 4 Stars

Next Up: Margherita Dolce Vita by Stephano Benni.

Great review, thank you! I have no Spark read planned for this year, but your words remind me of why I find her work so remarkable. Perhaps I can squeeze The Mandelbaum Gate, the only unread Spark I have on my TBR shelves, in somewhere? Hmm. Did you read that one?

>112 lkernagh: I think I need to try a Muriel Spark book. Aiding and Abetting sounds great -- any other recommendations? I've seen the play The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, but haven't read it...

I finally caught up with your thread again! I fell behind on quite a few and it seemed quite hopeless for a few days there. What a great book haul from that book sale! You have quite a few books that are already on my bookshelves waiting to be read. Too many to mention in fact, though I will mention Loving Frank since I picked that one up several weeks ago at a book sale at a local community centre. Hotel du Lac, The Road and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Timeare three of my all-time favourites. Hours and hours and HOURS of reading ahead! Hope you enjoy them all!

I read The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, my first Muriel Spark novel this year and was quite disappointed. Maybe I had built it up in my mind too much, and it bothered me A LOT that Miss Brodie seemed to have fascist leanings. I still borrowed the audio for The Girls of Slender Means from the library, have you read that one yet?

Hi Anders, ivyd and Ilana - Aiding and Abetting was a lot of fun. I haven't read many of Spark's books so unfortunately cannot provide any comments on The Mandelbaum Gate or The Girl of Slender Means. As for recommendations, I do know that Anders posted an excellent review for Momento Mori.... might have been over in the 1010 Challenge?!?!.... which has placed it high on my 'Next Spark' list.

I think I might plan a Spark's category for next year. She has written more than enough books to make that an easy category to fill!

@115 But surely being bothered by that is part of the point? Miss Brodie is full of things not to like, and to me the core of the book is very much her unhealthy manipulations of the young girls. Mind you, it's been many years since I read it, so I can't go into detail.

As for Spark recommendations, I think Memento Mori is a good place to start. I also often recommend her short, sharp book The driver's seat. Other books I've especially enjoyed are Not to disturb, The ballad of Peckham Rye and her short stories. But I still have many books left that I haven't read. You can find my review of Memento Mori (thank you lori!) as post 109 on this thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/92440

>116 lkernagh: & 117 Thanks for the information, Lori & Anders! Not sure when I'll get to them, but I have them on the list.

#116 Lori, Aiding and Abetting does sound like a lot of fun. I guess I had no idea what I was getting into when I read Miss Brodie. Wicked, witty and satirical is right up my alley usually, but somehow I managed to miss that altogether. Don't know where my head was, really.

#117 Anders, I did consider she meant us to dislike Miss Brodie, but having no background on Muriel Spark (other than knowing she's a celebrated author) and not having had the opportunity to discuss this book when I read it, I really felt like I was missing some essential elements. So thanks for your insights.

I really enjoyed your review of Memento Mori and will add it to my obese wishlist. Have also starred your thread, so I'll be seeing you!

Hi Ilana - Aiding and Abetting is definitely a more openly satirical piece of work, compared to The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

I started coming down with a sore throat earlier this week and thought I had done enough to stop a head cold from developing so I could enjoy the long weekend. No such luck. By Friday afternoon I was on the hunt at the local pharmacist for anything OTC that would stop my running nose. The weather seems to be sympathizing with me - it is wet, cold and miserable out - not good long weekend weather but it makes it easier to spend the day at home in bed reading books and sleeping.

Sorry you're not feeling well Lori. Hope you get better soon and enjoy your bed-in!

Book #45 - Margherita Dolce Vita by Stefano Benni, Translated from the Italian by Antony Shugaar
Category: Lost in Translation



The narrator of this story is 14 year old Margherita, Margherita Dolce Vita as her Grandfather Socrates calls her. Margherita describes herself as: I am almost fifteen, my hair is blond, with strangely shaped curls - let's just say that they look sort of like a fusilli farm. I have bewitching blue eyes, but I'm a little overweight.... I do reasonably well at school, and when I grow up I'd like to become a poet. My specialty is bad poetry. Think about it: the world is full of mediocre poets, but it's hard to find truly bad poetry. I am a good dancer and have a slight heart problem.

Let's meet Margherita's family!

Father Fausto - He is tall and skinny, and he is meteoropathic, meaning his moods change with the weather. His hair is thinning and he tries to cover it up with a comb-over. By profession, my father is a retiree, but also a public defender of objects. He is the only repairman for miles around who knows how to treat bicycles afflicted with pedalitis, hoarse radios, asthmatic washing machines, and impotent coffee pots.

Mother Emma - She isn't as beautiful as when she was young, she looks a little tired - actually, to be completely accurate, she looks like a used teabag. She is a good housekeeper and an excellent cook. Mamma Emma is good as gold, but she has an addiction. She is a tear junky. She records soap operas so that she can watch them all alone late at night. Mamma stopped smoking years ago but she still smokes imaginary cigarettes. She always has to have an ashtray on the table to flick her imaginary ashes.

Brother Giancinto - Is eighteen, and he's like a really stupid version of me. He is messy. His room always looks as if the local police have just searched it, without a warrant. He reads only sports magazines and Victoria's Secret catalogues. He has two consuming interests in life: watching soccer on television and watching soccer at the stadium. He roots for Nacional, a loser team that unfailingly chokes during important matches; it's the same team that Dad roots for.

Brother Erminio - Also known as Heraclitus, is twelve years old, and he is a ball-busting likeable little terrorist genius. He has the fastest video game finger in the West. But he is also a scientist and an inventor. He has a space all to himself in the shed for his absurd experiments. He thinks that the world will end in a few years. Last of all, he is in love with his math teacher.

Grandfather Socrates - Is a remarkable character. He has done it all: from sailor to oasis salesman, from helmet-tester to a stint wearing a sliced-cheese costume in a supermarket. He lives in our attic and leaves the house once a week to fill up on disgusting filth. He says that we are surrounded by toxins and spoiled food; he is terrified of dying of food-poisoning, so he is mithridatizing himself, slowly habituating his organism to toxins by consuming small quantities of them. Every Friday night he dances tangos with a ghost and then fights a duel with the ghost's husband, and nobody gets any sleep.

The family's idyllic lifestyle on the edges of suburbia is shattered by the arrival of the De Benes family, who moves to the vacant lot next door and lives in an instantly built, hermetically sealed black Cube, replacing the grass with astro-turf, real flowers with fakes, and attacking the nearby meadow with pesticides. Margherita has suspicions about their new, instant neighbors, and the affect their arrival is having on her family. Margherita believes that the De Benes have sinister intentions and she is determined to put a stop to whatever they are up to.

This contemporary, albeit eccentric fable is a fun, satirical look at politics, consumerism, environmental decimation and the growing pains of a teenager. Benni has created a likeable heroine in Margherita, and has left the precociousness to reside in young Erminio. Margherita is a keen observer of her world with an ability to think fast on her feet. As much as I enjoyed this story, I have to say that the ending was not what I was expecting and caused me to downgrade my overall rating of the story.

This was another Europa Editions read for me, and i continue to be impressed with the books they have published. According to the author bio, Benni is one of Italy's foremost novelists with a trademark mix of social satire and magical realism. I hope more of his books are translated into English.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Next Up: Trapped by Michael Northrop.

>122 lkernagh: Nice review, Lori. I like Europa Editions, too. I'll have to keep my eye out for this one...

I abandoned Michael Northrop's Trapped at page three - realized pretty quickly that I just wasn't in the mood for that one - and now have two books on the go: the non-fiction Brunelleschi's Dome : How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture by Ross King and for fiction, The Ministry of Special Cases by Nathan Englander.

#121 - Thanks Ilana, I am enjoying the rest AND the books and feeling better by the hour!

#123 - Katie, I think you will enjoy Margherita Dolce Vita. I found this one at my local library and suspect they have more Europa Editions tucked away in the stacks..... ;-)

My library has Margherita Dolce Vita - but I love the look of Europas so much, I may just have to save my pennies to buy it...

I have The Ministry of Special Cases on my TBR shelves - I look forward to your comments on it!

Sorry to hear you are not feeling well! I hope you are feeling much better soon. I was just reading through your various 11 in 11 categories -and one more plug for Mennonite's Don't Dance ;) by Darcie Friesen Hossack.

It's debut book, it was shortlisted for the Commonwealth New Book Prize -and it's a new author to you -and Canadian!!;) What more could you ask!! ;)

BTW - you've got me on the hunt for fiction by Muriel Spark. My city library does not carry a single book by her. I need an interlibrary card... fast!

Hi Deb - Thanks for stopping by! You have convinced me..... I have placed a hold on Mennonites Don't Dance. My local library has it on order so not sure how long it will be before I can read it ;-)

Sparks is witty and fun... I was surprised your local library doesn't have any of her books. Good luck with your hunt!

I'm a dreadful bother, nudging Mennonites Don't Dance at you! ;) Have a great long weekend - or what is left of it! :)

Book #46 - The Ministry of Special Cases by Nathan Englander
Category: What a Debut!



Kaddish Poznan is an hijo de puta. The son of a whore. The son of a Jewish whore, living in 1970's Argentina, which means that Kaddish lives as a Jew outcast from the Jewish Community in a predominantly Catholic country that distances itself from the Jews that live amongst them. Kaddish, his intelligent wife Lillian and their university student son Pato live life on the social periphery in downtown Buenos Aires, within walking distance of the Pink Palace and government offices.

While Lillian provides for her family with an office job in the insurance industry, Kaddish makes money in a more unreliable manner with nocturnal visits to the Jewish cemetery to remove names of embarrassing ancestors off of tombstones for Jewish clients that are desperate to make their familial pasts 'disappear'. Lillian comes from a respectable Jewish family and while she loves Kaddish, his consistently making the wrong decisions is starting to wear thin with her.

What starts off as a darkly comic novel about Kaddish's fractured family life, life as a social outcast and the 'deals' that Kaddish brokers with his 'clients' - nose jobs for his family from a plastic surgeon with a gambling addiction and a losing streak - turns into a suspense-ridden journey when Pato disappears from the family apartment, at the hands of the authorities, leading Kaddish and Lillian in a desperate attempt to save their son.

Englander has written a sharp, incisive novel set against the historical backdrop of the start of Argentina's Dirty War that commenced in 1976 with the ousting of Martínez de Perón and Argentina's decent into the corrupt rule and state-sponsored terrorism under Jorge Rafael Videla's military dictatorship and the juntas. It is not a pretty novel. Shocking and heartbreaking, the reader finds themselves exposed to a lot that, by rights, shouldn't have to occur - priests bribed, generals blackmailed, rabbis beseeched, neighbors threatened. As one reviewer has aptly put it:

It's about fathers and sons and mothers and faith and community and war and hope and shame.

Overall, A stunning debut novel that packs quite the emotional punch.

Rating: 4 Stars

Next Up: Still reading Brunelleschi's Dome by Ross King and will now start Kalila by Rosemary Nixon, an LTER book and have the e-book The Fates Will Find Their Way by Hannah Pittard loaded ready for reading.

Wow - I need to get used to the changes that LT rolled out yesterday. I kept looking in the old places for the edit button.....

I am starting to make minor edits to my categories. I noticed that I am quickly filling up my What a Debut! category to other categories in need of some books to fill them.

And I have officially joined the world of e-books this past weekend - The Ministry of Special Cases was my first e-book. I have discovered that it makes for easier nighttime reading so time will tell if I am comfortable reading more than one book at a time.

Welcome to the world of e-reading! While it will never replace the total joy of reading a 'real' book, I find it certainly has it's uses. I used to always read one book at a time, but I have gotten into the habit of reading two at a time in the last year or so. Usually I switch back and forth until one or the other captures my attention and demands exclusivity.

Nice review of the Englander book, Lori. i am loking forward to getting to that one!

I, too, was late to the e-book party but am now loving it.

Book #47 - Brunelleschi's Dome by Ross King
Category: Grandma's Amazing Button Jar



As part of the Reading Through Time Group's Renaissance period topic for May, I picked up King's biography of Filippo Brunelleschi to read about the creation of the cupola of the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Italy. A cathedral that took 140 years to build, with over 16 of those years just to build the cupola.

The story goes to great lengths to explain the intricacies of the design, without becoming a complete snooze-fest for the architecturally naive reader, such as myself. King brings to life the time period - the feuding and political struggles of 1420 - 1436 and the limitations of both the materials at hand as well as the scientific, mathematical and architectural hurdles Brunelleschi had to overcome to build the cupola without employing centring to support the masonry. Considered one of the greatest architectural puzzles of its age, when it was finally completed in 1436 the dome was hailed as one of the great wonders of the world. To this day, it remains the highest and widest masonry dome ever built.

A goldsmith and clockmaker by profession, Brunelleschi proved to be a true Renaissance man from an architectural viewpoint, in that he managed to move architecture from its then considered low place in human achievement - an occupation of manual labor and unfit for an educated man - to one on par with the higher arts: Filippo's work at Santa Maria del Fiore set architects on a different path and gave them a new social and intellectual esteem. Largely through his looming reputation, the profession was transformed during the Renaissance from a mechanical into a liberal art, from an art that was viewed as 'common and low' to one that could be regarded as a noble occupation at the heart of the cultural endeavor.

After reading this book I really feel that some of the world's more recent great achievements are still humbled in comparison to the great feats achieved by historical visionaries like Filippo Brunelleschi. That, and I want to read Dante's Divine Comedy to see if I can see the comparison of the design of Brunelleschi's dome to that of Dante's Paradise, as King alludes to at one point in the book.

Rating: 4 Stars

Next Up: Still have Kalila by Rosemary Nixon, and the e-book The Fates Will Find Their Way by Hannah Pittard on deck as next in line reads.

Brunelleschi's Dome sounds really interesting, Lori. I'll have to try and find it here.

Up in post 98 we were just talking about forced touchstones. Well, since they made the changes in the LT talk format this week, I haven't been able to get a forced touchstone to work for a book I just read. Seems that if it's not on their "other" list now, you can't touchstone it. Bummer.

>136 tymfos: - Hi Terri - I went and played in my previous posts - and came across an incorrect link in the process that is now fixed! - and was a little surprised to see forcing touchstones no longer works. Hummm...... So, it would appear that when the proposed touchstone doesn't appear in the "other" list, resorting to HTML coding is the other approach - and plan "C" from my previous experience - to creating a touchstone-like hyperlink in a post to a book's work page.

Maybe the ability to force touchstones will return in the near future.

Book #48 - Box Bottle Bag by Andrew Gibbs
Category: Grandma's Amazing Button Jar



I came home tonight in the mood to just veg and do nothing... at least that was until I spied this book my other half walked in the door with. He is currently taking a product design class. As I was in the mood for eye candy, he was quickly relieved of this book, with promises that he would have it back later this evening.

From the creator of the website blog "The Dieline", this book is 211 pages of images and sparse descriptions of what the author defines as the world's best packaging designs from his design blog website, and categorized into 6 categories: Luxe, Bold, Crisp, Charming, Casual, and Nostalgic. I had never visited the website before this evening so I sat back to enjoy the book and what it had to offer.

Flipping through the pages of the book it quickly became apparent that Gibbs appreciates some of the basic marketing principles that I have always believed in: clean lines, sharp focal point, keep the design under control from becoming 'too busy' unless being busy is key to the identity of the product (think Juicy Couture), etc. Some pretty designs and a number of products I had not heard of before - the focus here was global - made this book fun, and informative page flipping. I didn't always agree with Gibbs' choices of what design fit into what chapter category - Nostalgia was the only chapter that was, IMO, true and consistent with the theme - but did enjoy viewing some really interesting designs. Loved the package design for JACK Cellars wines, built on JAQK origins of being named after the jack, ace, queen and king in a deck of cards, and their motto 'play a little (http://jaqkcellars.com/).

Two other favorite product designs from the book were:

Solerno Blood Orange liqueur bottle design - inspired by the glassmakers of Murano with the punt of the bottle designed around a classic orange juice squeezer. Because of the desired base design, the bottle took two years to get into production.



Jonathan Crisp - To expand on a niche market, the brand was positioned as 'Crisps for Snobs', with upper-class caricatures created to depict each flavor, with the copy on the back of each package scripted to read like an extract from Who's Who - FUN!



What the book had to offer, like I said, was eye candy. It wasn't quite as fascinating or riveting as I was expecting, but was still full of good ideas and a great way to unwind at the end of the workday. I have now bookmarked the website and will probably continue to follow it on a regular basis. Also, you can't see it from the book cover image, but the "BOX BOTTLE BAG" on the book cover is actually a stencil cut out of the hard cover, showing the glimpses of the product montage that covers the inside first page of the book.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Next Up: Still reading Kalila by Rosemary Nixon, and the e-book The Fates Will Find Their Way by Hannah Pittard.

Book #49 - The Fates Will Find Their Way by Hannah Pittard
Category: What a Debut!



On Halloween night, 16-year old Nora Lindell disappears. Her disappearance isn't discovered by her father until the following morning, at which time the phones in the suburban community start ringing off the hook as calls are placed to and between the parents of Nora's friends. Told as the collective narrative of a group of neighborhood boys Nora attended school and hung out with, this story is the rambling narrative of memories, snatches of neighborhood gossip and vague tidbits of information all rolled up into multiple scenarios to explain Nora's disappearance, each one in its turn presented as a believable outcome. The story spans, on a rough guess, some 25 years. The teenage boys grow into men, husbands and fathers but their obsession with Nora's disappearance continues.

I had a hard time rating this one. My impressions of the story kept shifting back and forth between "LOVE It!" to "Enough already, get to the point!". The story jumps around a lot - which appears to have been the whole point of the collective narrative - and while I don't have a problem with this type of rambling story-telling, this one left me with more questions than answers at the end. The story gives a window into a suburban enclave that faces suicide, substance abuse, infidelities, miscarriages, and paedophilia, and while this added to the credibility of the story, I found it hard to connect with characters that view a mark of adulthood as throwing your own pool party rather than asking everyone round to your parents and as adults continue their childhood habits at parties of congregating in the basement with a careful eye on the door for the appearance of any wives or mothers. Mind you, I didn't grow up in a neighborhood where everyone had a pool in their backyards and all the kids, except for one, attend the same private school.

Overall, an interesting debut novel that had potential to be something great, but unfortunately, left me wishing there had been more to it.

Rating: 3 Stars

Next Up: Still reading Kalila by Rosemary Nixon, which is turning out to be a bit of a slog but as it is an LTER book, I need to finish it. Next up is Mike Resnick's The Buntline Special, a steampunk novel set in America's wild west.

Hmm, I have The Fates Will Find Their Way on my wishlist. I don't think I'll be bumping it up to "Get Me Now!" status.

Catching up on your thread! Shame about The fates will find their way, it sounded interesting in a Mystic River sort of way. Good looking book too!

@119, Hi Ilana, thank you so much for starring my thread! :)

Hi Katie and Anders - I note that my 3 start rating for The Fates Will Find Their Way is on the low end compared to other readers here on LT so it is possible that it just wasn't the book for me. I was intrigued to see a number of published reviews mentioned the similarity of Fates to The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides so I am thinking of giving that book a read to see if I see the connection between the two.

Book #50 - Kalila by Rosemary Nixon
Category: "New to Me" Canadian Author



Meet Maggie, Brodie and Kalila. Maggie is a care support worker in a seniors retirement facility. Brodie is a high school Physics teacher. Kalila is the baby daughter of these new, first time parents. The story starts after the birth of Kalila has occurred and a harsh reality weights on the parents: Kalila has been born with medical issues and is in the Neonatal ICU. As Brodie states on page 1: "You prepared. You prepared for a child to be born. You have not prepared for this."

The story is told through a series of very short chapters - maybe chapter breaks is a better way to describe them - with each chapter break entitled the name of the character who's viewpoint is being presented. I felt that this story really packs an emotional wallop, and differing perspectives, that made me thankful for the short chapters breaks so that I could put the book down when the raw, or sometimes overwhelming numb emotions conveyed by the characters made me feel like a voyeur to Maggie and Brodie's inner thoughts and feelings. The ending left me confused, and I can only assume that what I think the ending is meant to convey is how I understand it!

Overall, it is a well crafted story that makes use of sparse, concise prose to draw the reader in to a rather raw, emotional environment that may have a different impact on different readers. I am glad I read this book but I am at a loss as to who I would consider recommending this story to, given the subject matter.

This book was courtesy of the LT Early Reviewer program.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Next Up: Started Mike Resnick's The Buntline Special, and look forward to focusing on it as it is due back at the library tomorrow... I think it will be going back a little on the late side!

May Re-Cap

I know I won't finish my current book by this evening so I will post my re-cap for the month of May now.

I thought this was a bad reading month but it appears I still managed to finish 10 books, making a total of 50 books read so far this year. I am leaving my safety net (9 books in each category) in place for now.

Favorite book for the month: Into That Darkness by Steven Price
Least favorite book for the month: Appears to be a three-way tie between The Daughter's Walk, Irma Voth and The Fates Will Find Their Way ..... hummm, I have never had a three way tie for least favorite before.....

'New to me' Canadian Authors (6/11 read)
~ ~ Into That Darkness by Steven Price - 5+ Stars
~ ~ Kalila by Rosemary Nixon - 3.5 Stars

I Don't Remember THAT From History Class (4/11 read)
~ ~ The Daughter's Walk by Jane Kirkpatrick - 3 Stars

Follow Thy Author (6/11 read)
~ ~ Irma Voth by Miriam Toews - 3 Stars
~ ~ Aiding and Abetting by Muriel Spark - 4 Stars

What a Debut! (8/11 read)
~ ~ The Ministry of Special Cases by Nathan Englander - 4 Stars
~ ~ The Fates Will Find Their Way by Hannah Pittard - 3 Stars

The Envelope Please (3/11 read)
No books read this month

Lost in Translation (6/11 read)
~ ~ Margherita Dolce Vita by Stefano Benni - 3.5 Stars

What Stephen Harper is Reading (1/11 read)
No books read this month

Steampunk (4/11 read)
No books read this month

Next in Series (4/11 read)
No books read this month

Off the Shelf (5/11 read)
No books read this month

Grandma's Amazing Button Jar (3/11 read so far)
~ ~ Brunelleschi's Dome by Ross King - 4 Stars
~ ~ Box Bottle Bag by Andrew Gibbs - 3.5 Stars

Book #51 - The Buntline Special by Mike Resnick
Category: Steampunk



Tombstone, Arizona 1881 and the historic gunfight at the OK Corral becomes, under Resnick's pen, a weird wild west tale of steampunk technology courtesy of Thomas Edison and Ned Buntline, magical spells courtesy of Geronimo and Hook Nose with a zombie and a large flying bat thrown into the mix.

In this alternate history, the United States of America ends at the Mississippi River, with everything west of the Mississippi is Indian land. America's territorial expansions west have been stopped by the magic powers of the Medicine Men of the various Indian nations. Thomas Edison is in Tombstone as an agent of the government to try and discover a scientific way of counteracting the magic. Wyatt Earp and his brothers Morgan and Virgil are hired by the American government to protect Edison. Wyatt in turn recruits Bat Masterson and Doc Holliday to help out in what becomes a standoff against the Apache wizard Geronimo and the Clanton gang. When Johnny Ringo arrives on the scene, well, this story goes from weird to weirder.

I enjoyed the steampunk technology Resnick brought to the story - robotic and cyborg call girls in Kat Elder's whore house, the horseless steam powered stagecoaches, and all the various gadgets Edison and Buntline fabricate to help the Earps - as well as the refresher on some of the basic details of the lawless west of the 1880's and the historical figures of the time period. Some of the one liners were good for a chuckle or two.

On the down side, I found the story to be cheesy and at times beyond believable even for a fictitious tale. There was a lot of repetitious plot and dialogue - if I had to read Doc Holliday comment one more time about having no fear of dying because he is already dying of consumption I think I would have screamed - and almost no action which was surprising, and disappointing, for me. Edison came across as a Richie Cunningham ("Happy Days") boy wonder and completely out of place in an environment like Thombstone.

Overall, as fun as the idea of the story was, the delivery of the plot made this a ho-hum book for me.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Next Up: Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly.

->145 lkernagh:
I've been looking at that one after a mention somewhere on LT, but I think I'll pass - poor dialogue is a pet peeve of mine. So, definitely, thanks for that review!

@145 I have a sad feeling we'll see more and more of these books as Steampunk gains popularity: ticking off genre "requirements" with no real heart.

Hi Eva - I recommend a pass on The Buntline Special unless you are in the mood for a plot of repeated character posturing with no real substance.

Hi Anders - That is my fear..... that we will see authors writing Steampunk for genre even though they don't have a grasp on the genre they are writing. Well it is obvious that Resnick has researched his topic for background historical facts, it was painfully obvious he didn't research the 'how to' to write a good Western story..... and that is where The Buntline Special fell apart for me.

Good to know to pass on The Buntline Special. So who does steampunk well? Cherie Priest?

Hi Katie - I haven't made it to Cherie Priest's Clockwork Century series yet but do plan on reading the first in the series, Boneshaker later this year. You have probably seen all the good comments for Westerfeld's triology and another author that is high on my TBR pile, China Mieville.... I WILL get to Perdido Street Station this year as I have just discovered I can check out the ebook from my library system, which will make it a lot easier for me to carry the book around with me!

I still haven't read Mieville, but people seem to either love him or hate him, no in between. I didn't realize he wrote steampunk. I thought it was some other sort of historical based fantasy, often with a dystopian bent. Maybe I'm way off.

Just catching up with all your great reviews! I'm hoping to read Perdido Street Station later this year too. I loved The City and the City -- one of my favourites from last year.

Hi Lori, it had been quite a while since I had stopped by... I took a couple of days off LT and then the backlog of posts just got completely out of hand! Interesting reviews here, as always.

Miéville is not sticking to one genre. His debut King Rat is urban fantasy a la Gaiman, The Bas-Lag books are New Weird, The city and the city is noir with a Borgesian twist, Embassytown seems to be rather straight sci-fi. That being said, there are steampunk elements in books like Perdido Street Station in the aspect there's that type of technology. But if you're looking for victorian elegance, manners and Verne-like clarity, you should look elsewhere. New Crobuzon, where PSS is set, is dark, sprawling, strange, grotesque and distorted. I love it, but can (I suppose) see how one might not ;-)

Hi Katie - I still haven't read Mieville, but people seem to either love him or hate him, no in between I have heard the same thing, which makes me keen to pick up one of his books to see what I think! The City and the City has already caught my eye, glad to learn that was one of your favorites form last year.

Hi Paulina - Great to see you! We will have to compare notes when we both get around to Perdido Street Station!

Hi Ilana - Hope all is well with you. When I find the time, I lurk on your 75 Group thread - that is one busy thread!

Hi Anders - Love the Miéville summary you provided - Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting it here! - I will probably steer clear of Bas-Lag, The City and the City is one I have been leaning towards attempting (I tend to stay away from noir but the story looks like one I will enjoy and you have now intrigued me with the Borgesian twist!). Embassytown also shows some promise .......

Book #52 - Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
Category: Follow Thy Author



I read and thoroughly enjoyed The Tea Rose a few years ago so I was looking forward to Donnelly's newest release.

Andi Alpers is a 17-year old musical genius. Andi attends Brooklyn's most prestigious private school. A school filled with the elite of New York's privileged next generation. Two years ago a shocking event occurred that has driven Andi into a downward spiral of bad grades, clinical depression and full on attitude that her dysfunctional family life doesn't help stem. It is December. Winter break has commenced and Andi's father, discovering that Andi is failing her classes and needs to submit her graduation thesis or she will be expelled from school, takes her on his business trip to Paris to keep an eye on her and to get her to complete her thesis outline. While grudgingly in Paris, Andi comes across new information for her thesis outline and discovers a mysterious diary written by a young Parisian, Alexandrine Paradis, hidden in a secret compartment of a 200-year old guitar case. A diary written during the French Revolution.

Donnelly has a great gift for bringing history to life and she has accomplished this once again with her story of Alexandrine, the French royal family and the French Revolution. I usually enjoy books that flip between present day and the historical past, so it was no surprise that this one was easy to slide into. I enjoyed how Donnelly stitched together this time travel portal for me to enjoy both the present day and 18th century Paris. The character of Andi was grating at times - very wrapped up in her personal misery - and one that Donnelly could only offset with some caring, feeling characters or the story would have been unbalanced. Let just say she made sure there was some Ying to go with the Yang.....

My favorite quote from Revolution, by one of Andi's teachers, is a quote I think sums up this novel nicely:

"History is a Rorschach test, people," she said. "What you see when you look at it tells you as much about yourself as it does about the past."

Overall a good story but Donnelly has produced better, IMO. This one has the feel of being geared towards the YA crowd, which I am not ;-)

Rating: 4 Stars

Next Up: The Moon Opera by Bi Feiyu.

Great review and the quote is excellent, I like that a lot.

Yes, great review. I need to read more of Jennifer Donnelly's books. I've only read A Northern Light which is great.

Just stopping by to say hi!!You know, I've got Gilead out from the Library and I'm looking forward to reading it, on your advice! However, I'm in the midst of a British Social Comedy by Barbara Pym entitled Excellent Women. It's written in the 1950's and is a humorous take on spinsters in Britain, as well as social classes, love interests. It reminds me somewhat of a modern Jane Austen. Once again - it was your interest in Muriel Sparks the sparked my interest in the book. I now own an omnibus of short stories by Muriel Sparks.

As much as I would like to get to Gilead I've signed up for a group read of Thousand Autumns by David Mitchell next week , here on LT.

Maybe I will fit Gilead before the group read.. as you say, variety is the spice of life! ;)

I'm not part of the YA crowd, but I have a couple of them - aged 26 and 21. They keep me on my toes!;) They even influence my reading choices....

Ohh Helen Humphreys. I've got several of her books out from the Library. I think Coventry looks appealling! I think my eyes are bigger than my capacity to read.

>159 vancouverdeb: Gilead is one of the books I had actually thought I might get around to reading this year. I just keep finding other things I want to read. I found a copy for $1 at our used bookstore a year or two ago. I'll get to it eventually; it may just be later in the year!

Hi Lori, I was glad to see you enjoyed both Jennifer Donnelly's Revolution and The Tea Rose as I have both books sitting on my TBR shelves. I have had The Tea Rose for far too long, I've picked it up a couple of times but it is so massive, it's one that I wish I had on my Kindle, it's going to be a tough one to lug around.

@159 Sparks collected Short stories is a fine book, hope you enjoy it!

KiwiNyx - Thanks! The quote was a keeper, IMO ;-)

Katie - Thanks! I need to add A Northern Light to my Donnelly TBR pile!

Deb - I will be curious to see what you think of Gilead, when you find time to get to it.

Lori - I love finds like the one you came across for Gilead... it is just like Christmas!

Judy - I agree, I read The Tea Rose as a summer vacation read - otherwise the size would have been daunting to lug around, even as a paperback. I still need to get around to the other two books in that series - The Winter Rose and The Wild Rose. e-readers are a salvation for those really BIG books!

Book #53 - The Moon Opera by Bi Feiyu Translated from the Chinese by Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-chun Lin
Category: Lost in Translation
Alternate category: What a Debut!



Yes, I am going to start this review off by commenting that it was the cover art that made me check this book out from my local library.

This novella is what I would call a Chinese version of singing divas and diva jealousy set in the world of the Peking Opera. I didn't know anything about the Peking Opera - well, definitely not enough to engage in an intelligent conversation on the topic - before picking up this slim volume. The writer goes into some detail to explain the modern Peking Opera while still keeping the story focused on the drive, passion and jealousies that can occur when being the star of the troupe is the brass ring each waxing and waning star strives to grab hold of.

This one was a little difficult for me to get into. it was rather technical in explaining the Peking Opera and the Hualian and Qingyi roles. The story itself did not flow very well, but that may be a limitation of reading an English translation of the original Chinese story. I almost gave up on the book numerous times and I have to say that the ending is what redeemed this book IMO. Without that ending I would have given this book a frighteningly low rating!

As you may have already guessed, this review doesn't really capture the story properly, but to do that I might as well just add the following from the book cover:

In a fit of diva jealousy, Xiao Yanqui, star of The Moon Opera, disfigures her understudy with boiling water. Spurned by the troupe, she turns to teaching. Twenty years later, a rich cigaretty-factory boss offers to underwrite a restaging of the cursed opera, but only on the condition that Xiao Yanqui return to the role of Chang'e. So she does, this time ultimately believing she has fully become the immortal moon goddess.

Overall, this one was a bit of a challenge for me and I would have abandoned it if it had been larger story than the slim 117 pages it is.

Rating: 3 Stars

Next Up: Hotel Angeline, a novel I am really interested in reading as it was written by 36 authors over the course of just six days at a Seattle bar. My first glimpse at a truly "Collaborative" piece of fiction.

That funny that you mentioned the cover art on The Moon Opera first. I was reading the post right above but my eye kept getting caught and drawn to the cover of the book - it really is a striking cover!

It is a beautiful cover, but I think I'll pass on the book. My favorite Chinese Opera movie is Farewell My Concubine, and I don't think it's any kinder a movie than that book.

Book #54 - Hotel Angeline: A Novel in 36 Voices
Category: Off the Shelf



What happens when you cross improvisational theatre with a literary event looking to create a truly collaborative novel? For me, the answer to that question is Hotel Angeline, a novel written in chapters penned by 36 participating authors, an author per chapter - including two chapters with a graphic novel approach to the story - over the course of 6 days. A writing marathon, if you will. The end result: a fun, refreshing and quirky coming-of-age story that has its unexpected left turns while still retaining a unified, collective voice.

The story focuses on 14 year-old Alexis Austin, our narrator. Alexis lives in the Hotel Angeline, a run down residential hotel/apartment building her mother Edith runs, with Alexis' assistance, on Seattle's Capitol Hill. The Hotel Angeline has an interesting past, as a former mortuary, and an eccentric group of residents that are as much a part of the building as the creaky stairs and the bad plumbing. While only fourteen, Alexis has been doing more around the hotel to help out since her mom became sick. When one of the residents, LJ, informs Alexis of a phone message he took for Alexis' mom, Alexis takes on adult responsibilities in an effort to keep the life she knows at the Hotel Angeline intact.

That is all I will mention about the plot as it is difficult to summarize the plot without giving away the interesting plot developments. I loved this novel for a number of reasons. First off, The characters are fantastic. Second, the story is unpredictable, which provided an extra level of interest for me as I am not a fan of formula plots where I can generally predict what will happen next. Third, it is not just a coming-of-age story. It has a nice mix of mystery, YA, fantasy, comedy and tragedy. Lastly, I loved the fact that you could feel the story shift and develop in unique and wonderful ways under the pen of each author as they took they turn picking up the story where their fellow authors had left off, and just running with it!

If you are expecting exceptional literature, well, as mentioned in the forward written by Garth Stein, "It was never our intention to accomplish in six days what took James Joyce eighteen years to accomplish with Ulysses; we knew we were not writing a literary masterpiece. It was our intention to build a solid, fun story that was a collaboration between three dozen writers, various editors, and an audience both live and virtual - what we created was a community."

I think the group hit their mark with Hotel Angeline and I can confidently say that this is a novel I recommend for anyone that is looking for a fun, offbeat and endearing coming of age story.

Rating: 4 Stars

This book was courtesy of the LT Early Reviewer program.

Next Up: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs. I saw this one in a recent LTER list of books and was happy to see it appear in the e-books catalogue of my local library system. I am looking forward to reading this one!

I'm supposed to be getting Miss Peregrine's Home too. It hasn't shown up yet. It will be fun to compare notes.

Hi Katie - Hopefully you will get your book soon. Miss Peregrine's wasn't available to Canadian LTER requestors :-( but I have found that if I surf all the books offered through the LTER program and then search my local library I sometimes get lucky and can place a hold on a book I wasn't able to request through LTER.

Yes! Our library gets things surprisingly quickly. Sometimes you've got to be patient with the hold list though!

I love the idea of an author per chapter for Hotel Angeline, it looks really interesting.

Thanks for your review of Hotel Angeline. I like round robins so I'll probably check it out.

Just checking in to say hi! I just started Behemoth and I am loving it already! Can't wait till Goliath comes out.

Just a quick hi for now Lori. Whenever I miss a day or two of thread-hopping, I end up with a backlog for WEEKS! But I always love your reviews so I'll be back to catch up on the last couple ones that I missed. By the way, my thread over on the 75ers used to move very slowly, but this month is quite active for some reason. And Lord knows it's not because of my reviews, since I've hardly posted any so far. Methinks it's the 50s men in bathing costumes that have the crowds going wild! ;-)

Hi Alana and Victoria - I thought the author per chapter used in writing Hotel Angeline was such a neat approach to writing a novel! It reminded me of my high school drama days - the drama teacher was really big on theatre sports and some of the chapter endings had me wondering if the next author up was thinking to themselves things like "What am I going to do with the _______ in the basement!?!?!" or "I have a great plot twist for that!" ;-) What I forgot to mention in my review post is I was surprised to at the number of Seattle-based writers I recognized that wrote chapters: Erica Bauermeister, William Dietrich, Jamie Ford, Elizabeth George, Erik Larson, David Lasky and Indu Sundaresan. I also really enjoyed getting to see the writing style for 'new-to-me' authors.

Hi Cindy - Great to see you here! Westerfeld's triology is fun reading and I am already with you in impatiently waiting for Goliath to be released.

Hi Ilana - Thanks for stopping by! I am going to have to go check out your thread over on the 75ers!

Lori!! I so loved Small Island and I'm so glad that I read it! First I read Long Song and and I enjoyed it so much -that I went onto Small Island. I think I can guarantee that you will enjoy and find it very interesting. I read somewhere - maybe on the net that Small Island is the most Orange of the Oranges in that it has sold more than all of the other Orange Prize books - I'll have to find the details. I'm so Andrea Levy mad , that I've also purchased Every Light in the House Burnin by the same author. I'm in the midst of another book -but I''ll find my way to my next Andrea Levy book so enough! :) I hope to read more Orange prize related books in July too. So many fabulous books -and not enough time!

Just catching up now after some summer travels. Bottle, Box Bag is on my wishlist and I am jealous that you got to read a copy. Thank you for including a few pictures, they were really fun to look at!

Hotel Angeline also sounds interesting and I will have to keep an eye out for it.

Hi Janice - I hope your summer travels were enjoyable. I hope you get your hands on a copy of Bottle Box Bag - I do love books like that (and interior design books, and fashion books, and ...... but I digress) - as they are always full of new products and great ideas!

Book #55 - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Category: Grandma's Amazing Button Jar
Alternate category: What a Debut!



Okay, how can anyone resist at least glancing at a book with such a Gothic title and the intriguing cover photo as shown above? Not me, that is for sure!

the YA narrator of this story is 16 year old Jacob. Like most kids, Jacob was fascinated by the strange, outlandish tales his grandfather would tell Jacob of his time spent at a home on an island off the coast of Wales during the second World War. A home filled with, according to the tales Jacob's grandfather told, peculiar children with unique abilities. As a teenager, Jacob grows to question his grandfather's tall tales as myths and lies until the day of his grandfather's unexpected death, leaving Jacob facing nightmares and countless sessions with a therapist. When Jacob discovers a mysterious letter, he decides to journey to Wales to visit the place where his grandfather grew up.

This story drew me in with the prologue and I settled in expecting a haunting, Gothic ride of creepiness and, well, peculiarity. The first couple of chapters, after the prologue, left me a little disappointed and wondering where the story I was expecting had disappeared to. I was starting to feel that a bait and switch had occurred and I wasn't overly amused at that prospect, but the odd sniff of a creepy Gothic mystery would peek out at me from time to time, along with the intriguing Victorian-like photos of unusual portraits that cropped up from time to time, so I continued reading. I am so glad I did. Yes, the story did grow into something fascinating and did finally became a page-turning adventure for me. Not quite the Gothic horror I was expecting but still enough creepiness - and monsters, lets not forget monsters! - to make this a fun, October/Halloween read for anyone that like to ramp up their creepy, suspense reading during that time of year.

Overall, a good alternate reality adventure with a bit of Gothic creepiness, Victorian weirdness (courtesy of the photos scattered throughout the book) packed in a time travel ride I think both YA and adults will enjoy. The ending left off with the potential for a sequel so, one can always hope that there is a book #2 in the works under Riggs' pen.

Rating: 4 Stars

Next Up: I am in the mood for more historical fiction so I will be reading Belle by Lesley Pearse. Hummm, touchstones not able to locate that one!

->180 lkernagh:

I looked at that one on the LTER list, but opted to request another one (which I did win, luckily, although it hasn't arrived yet). This one still sounds great and it's definitely going on the wishlist!

I would have asked for that one through ER, but somehow, it wasn't available in Canada... so how did you get your hands on it, hmmmmmmm?!?

Enjoyed your review by the way. :-)

Miss Peregrine looks great, I'm adding that for sure. I wish we had more ER books available for New Zealand, there are always so many every month that look great but I can't sign up for.

Hi Eva and Ilana -I also tend to request books I really want to read through the LTER program.

Ilana - As for how I got my hands on Miss Peregrine's, it was available through the electronic library gateway system in BC ( British Columbia Libraries: Your Library Without Walls), where a large number of local libraries have banded together to offer downloadable e-books and audiobooks through one main on-line access portal. It was recently added as an e-books in that system. Whether my local library picks up a paper copy for circulation within their local system remains to be seen.

Hi KiwiNyx - It appears I was busy typing while you were posting. ;-)

Hopefully, more publishers will start to see the global nature of LT and add more books that are available in other countries. I think that is an uphill battle for Tim et al that run LT and get publishers to offer books through the LTER.

185: The advent of Ebooks is helping with that a little bit :) I do hope more publishers will offer books worldwide.

Thumbed your review for the Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children . It sounds interesting! I beg of you - read The Poisonwood Bible for Orange July! :) I just loved it!!! One of my favourites! Currently I am reading a big long book - A Thousand Autumns for a group read here on LT. It was slow going initially - with over 130 characters, I kept having to return to my who is who list -but now I'm in the homestretch. There is,I suppose a dystopian stretch of the book - perhaps 1/3 of the book -but Lori - on one hand I so enjoyed the creepiness of it - and on the other hand- it's so outlandish it has had me chuckling to myself. What a read!! On a certain level - it's hilarious ! Mitchell can sure spin a good yarn.

ooo dystopian... now you have my attention :P But 130 characters? Oh my!

Hi Deb - I have to second Janice's comment - 130 characters? - that reminds me of my nightmare read through War and Peace. When I need a score card to keep track of Who's Who, I tend to shy away unless I know i will have a lot of uninterrupted time to piece everything together. Tossing A thousand Autumns on my TBR list reserved for extended stays on a deserted island ;-)

I have enough trouble with one Chekhov play, let alone 130 characters! You are a brave woman Deb :P

Well - Janice and Lori - thankfully somone in the group read compiled a PDF or something of the characters, chapter by chapter -and I was able to download the three pages of characters. I would have been lost without it , at least initially. Were it not a group read - I might have tossed the book aside -but now that I have stuck with it - I'm really enjoying a book that is very different from something I would chose on my own.

#184 Ah, e-book, that explains it!

I'm reading Thousand Autumns in the same group read as Deborah and didn't bother with the list of characters, since I never can keep it straight when there are more than a handful of them anyway (which happens with most books), so decided to wing it and figure things out as I go along, as I usually do. It's not really as bad as it sounds.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is so going on my wishlist! Great review, you've really perked up my curiosity about this book.

What a great review you wrote for Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. I have added to my TBR list as it sounds fascinating.

Ah... I'll save reading your review for later. I haven't found Miss Peregrine yet, just the home.

191 - Deb, notes do help with books that have that many characters! Thousand Autumns has seen some rave reviews here in LT so I may get to it one day!

192 - Ilana, So, if I just go with the flow of the story and not worry about keeping people straight, I should be okay? ;-)

193 & 194 - Thanks!

195 - I think I have figured out where you are in the book Katie. I am looking forward to seeing your review when you finish!

Re Thousand Autumns: I read it a couple of months ago (but wish I had waited for the group read) and I think Ilana is right. The ones you need to pay attention to become obvious as the story progresses. I did need to thumb back to previous comments about some of them, but Mitchell does a great job of tying it together.

Re Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children: I couldn't resist your review, Lori, and ordered it yesterday!

Just like (virtually) everybody else here, I'm very stoked about Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children after reading your review! The setup sounds a little bit like Burton's Big Fish, doesn't it?

197 - Go to know thanks ivyd!

198 - I did a Google search of "Big Fish" and came across the movie trailer - that looks like a fun movie! Anders, now you are adding to my TBV ("To Be Viewed") pile ;o
.... and you are right, it does appear to have a similar setup to Miss Peregrine's, with a different twist for Miss Peregrine's.

Thank you for the review of Miss Peregrine's. I had a couple of chances at a review copy, but was worried that the pictures would make the story too creepy. When I was young I would check out Victorian ghost photography books out of the library because they scared me. I thought this book might be like that. I'm happy to hear that it is a good read.

I'm still not done with Miss Peregrine, & still haven't read your review, but Gingerbreadman, Big Fish is an apt comparison, although I'm still not sure how far Riggs will go with the fantasy element.

#196 Truth be told, I was a little bit lost trying to figure out who was who in Jacob de Zoet, but it's true the main characters come to the fore. Thing is, there's so much going on with "minor" characters as well, that it must be more rewarding to really know who's who. But my guess is the only way to do that is to read the book more than once. I was quite happy with it, but several of us over on the group read thread agree that calling it a "masterpiece" and "a work of genius" was going over the top for what is a very good book, but no more.

Okay, I finished Miss Peregrine last night. Should we call it monster-lite? It was creepy, but campy. Very funny and amusing, especially with characters like Olive and her weighted shoes. I actually found Enoch and his toy soldiers creepier than the hollowghasts. I can decide if this is a three star or a four star. Very amusing, but I don't think it goes very far past being amusing.

Should we call it monster-lite?

Love it! I agree, Enoch and his toy soldiers were creepy.... a true mad scientist in the making. I have my fingers crossed that: 1) a sequel is in the works, and 2) that this book was the intro to the characters and set the stage for the further development and refinement a sequel can offer. Amusing is a good word to describe Miss Peregrine's. I did recognize a couple of the Victorian pics used in the story and have spent the past week trying to remember where I recently saw one of the pics..... so far, no luck on that memory surfacing! Glad to see you enjoyed it Katie!

Sorry, responding out of order this evening ;-)

>200 craso: - Hi Caroline, thanks for stopping by. Thankfully, the author restricted the number of pictures included in the book to less than 50 in total if I remember correctly and the majority of them had that sedate portrait 'feel' to them.... a couple of creepy ones but not as many as might be expected. Mind you, I can understand where your memories of checking out Victorian ghost photography books might make you leery of picking this one up.

>202 Smiler69: - Hi Ilana, this discussion around Jacob de Zoet has peeked my interest in the book so it will stay on my TBR pile until I have time to really focus on it.... not read it in dribs and drabs whenever I can grab a few minutes like most of my other reading!

Regarding the discussion about Miss Peregrine's and the possible similarities with Big Fish, I have discovered that my local library has a copy of both the DVD of the movie adaptation and the book Big Fish so I might see if I can find time down the road to examine both in preparation for the movie adaptation of Miss Peregrine's.... I am always curious to see how different the movie can be from the book!

Book #56 - Belle by Lesley Pearse
Category: I Don't Remember THAT From History Class!



I was intrigued when I first saw this book being offered through LT's Member's Giveaway. I haven't read any of Pearse's works before now but the story was of enough interest to send me searching my local library system for a copy when I, sadly, did not win a copy of the book through LT. I was happy to discover that this one was available for borrowing in e-book format.

The story starts out in the Seven Dials district of London, England. it is 1910 and Belle Cooper is a 15 year old lass that has lead a sheltered life, even though her mother Annie is proprietor of one of the local brothel houses. To say that Belle is a bit on the naive side of her mother's 'business' would be an understatement, as well as a testament to just how much of the 'business' has been keep from Belle's attention - pretty much everything. Now, Belle is a sharp and observant girl and is quick to pick up on things that do manage to come to her attention. Belle's life is turned upside down when she suddenly learns the true nature of her mother's business, witnesses a murder and is abducted from the very streets of her neighborhood and finds herself on a journey that spans two continents.

I am a big fan of historical fiction, especially when there is a nice balance between descriptive detail of the time period, character development and of course, an interesting plot. This one is what I would classify as a historical fiction/light romance piece. Definitely not a bodice ripper, especially given the subject matter. Pearse's descriptive details of prostitution and human trafficking were, IMO, well researched and added to a plot that could have been developed further. I had a little difficulty with Belle's character - she would slip back and forth between youthful naivety and wisdom beyond her years - but, overall I did find this one to be a good story. At close to 600 pages in length, this is a bit of a doorstop which is why I was happy to be able to read it in e-book format. The copy of the book I read provided a teaser chapter for Belle's War, the sequel to this book with an estimated publication date of Spring 2012.

As I read this one I was reminded of Michael Faber's The Crimson Petal and the White, a great historical fiction piece that also had a focus on prostitution, and Jennifer Donnelly's The Tea Rose. I enjoyed Belle enough that I will be keeping a watch out for the sequel when it comes out and will look into other novels by Pearse to see if she has written anything else that may peak my interest.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Next Up: Two books - When God was a Rabbit, the debut novel by Susan Winman, as well as The House of All Sorts, by the Canadian painter Emily Carr.

Hi Lori. I have read a few Lesley Pearse books and on the most part have enjoyed them all. She often bases her books on the "woman in peril" theme, but she always delivers a good story. I would recommend one of hers called Trust Me that was based on the shipping of British war orphans to Australia and the abuse some of them suffered in this system. Remember Me was also set in Australia and was based on the true story of Mary Broad, a woman who was one of the first convicts to be transported there in 1786.

Edited to add: I will definitely be on the lookout for Belle.

Thanks for your review of Belle, Lori. I've never read any of Pearse's work before but have had my eye on this one. Maybe I'll be quicker about picking it up now :-)

(Touchstone doesn't appear to be working)

Hi Judy - Thanks for the recommendations for Trust Me and Remember Me. They do have historical themes I would find interesting. Upon scanning Pearse's works I am also adding Gypsy to the TBR pile as it appears to be a story about immigration and ends up in Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush.

Hi Alana - I hope you enjoy it...... I know, touchstones not working for Belle **sighs** ;-)

Book #57 - The House of All Sorts by Emily Carr
Category: 'New to Me' Canadian Author



"THE HOUSE OF All Sorts could not have been quite itself in any other spot in the world than just where it stood, here, in Victoria, across James' Bay and right next to Beacon Hill Park."

I am a bit embarrassed to admit that while I knew about Canadian painter Emily Carr's paintings, I wasn't even aware that she was also known for her writings as a early chronicler of life in British Columbia. I used to walk past the Emily Carr House, a national and provincial historic site, every day when I worked in James Bay, so, when I discovered this book with stories of her time as a landlady renting out sections of her studio home as an apartment dwelling to help pay the mortgage and taxes on her house on Simcoe Street, as well as to sustain her, I picked it up out of curiosity more than anything else.

I am not a huge fan of Emily Carr's paintings - they are just not my style - but I was quite taken with her writing style and the stories she told in this autobiography of sorts. The writing style has a beautiful, even flow to it. It also provided a very candid portrayal of her thoughts and feelings of the closed world of the Victorian art society (they had turned their backs on her for 'experimenting' with her artwork), the trials and tribulations of being a landlady to the "All Sorts" that trooped through her door over the years, and her menagerie of animals (the Bobtails in her kennel, her Persian cat and her monkey Woo) she loved so dearly.

Originally published in the later half of 1944, the last full year of Carr's life, the volume was a combination of two groups of short stories: The House of All Sorts comprises 41 short stories or vignettes of Carr's landlady apartment house days, and Bobtails with 25 vignettes related to the kennel Carr keep to breed and sell Old English Bobtail sheepdogs. The version I read also contained an Introduction provided by the local Victorian poet Susan Musgrave. Now, Musgrave in her own right is a bit of an original free spirit and an apt choice to write the introduction to an edition containing Emily Carr's writings. Musgrave is also the owner of a truly distinctive car that is easily identified when seen driving down the road or in a parking lot - as a picture is worth a thousand words and there is no way I can adequately describe this, a picture of her car can be seen here ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yewco/237661124/ ).

I found the stories in The House of All Sorts to be fresh, vibrant with description and feeling and short enough that they could easily be read in a postal line-up, on the bus or anywhere else where a reader can grab a quick five minutes to read a story. Myself, I devoured all of the stories in less than 24 hours and came away from reading this one as if I had found a kindred spirit. I have already managed to locate more of Carr's literary works and will be reading them - and posting about them - in the coming months, but July is reserved for Orange reading!

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Next Up: Need to start When God was a Rabbit as it is due back at the library very soon.

Just a quick drop in, Lori! I once had the great fortune to get myself to the Vancouver Art Gallery and see paintings by the Group of Seven! Oh how I enthralled I was with that. House of All Sorts sounds intriguing! I'll have to see if my library has that.

Do let me know what you think of When God Was a Rabbit which is on my TBR shelf. It's a Heather's pick from Chapters - but I've not gotten to it as yet. And I'm off to the library myself. I have a few overdue books. Off I go!

Book #58 - When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman
Category: What a Debut!



Winman's debut novel starts out in England in the 1960's and 1970's. Elly, born in 1968, is the narrator of this novel that spans 4 decades. The story focuses on Elly, her relationship with her older brother Joe and Elly's unique childhood best friend Jenny Penny. Other important characters are her parents, her Aunt Nancy, family friends Arthur and Ginger, and Joe's school chum Charlie. This story, told from Elly's perspective, is a multifaceted theme, touching on topics such as love, friendship, family, sexuality, abuse, beliefs and loss.

I heard so much buzz about this book before I started reading it that I am finding it difficult to write a review. I REALLY wanted to enjoy this one and now that I have finished it, I feel deflated and,.... well, .... kind of let down. My overall impression is *meh*. Not encouraging, I know. While I enjoyed the earlier sections of the story where the characters were introduced, the explanation for the title was provided and the overall landscape is established, I am struggling to say anything overly positive about this one. I know there is a message in this story somewhere for the reader. Maybe it would be better to say that there exists the potential for a number of different messages as each reader is apt to take something different away with them after reading the story. I came away from this one feeling as though Winman tried too hard to pack the story with themes, sub-themes and innuendos. I finished the book with questions unanswered, and the sad realization that I am probably not the target audience for this book.... but I am also unsure of just what the target audience would be.

Overall, this is probably a great book full of meaning for some readers, but for me I started losing interested half way through and while my interest didn't completely wane - I did want to find out what would happen with the characters - it didn't pick up either as I made my way through the rest of the book. Yes, I am a little let down by this one and prepared to think it might just be me that didn't fully enjoy this one.

Rating: 3 Stars

Next Up: I was hoping to start Small Island by Andrea Levy on July 1 for Orange July only to have fate - in the form of the local library system - land the following three books in my hands: the Historical Fiction Bride of New France by Suzanne Desrochers, China Mielville's Perdido Street Station for my Steampunk category, and Geraldine Brook's latest, Caleb's Crossing. Good thing I have a four day weekend a head of me!

Thanks so much for the review on When God Was A Rabbit. I'll nudge that back on my TBR pile... Doesn't sound so promising at all. BTW - there a couple of thread re the group read of A Thousand Autumns. I say very meh about that. If you look on my thread - you can see what I thought. Overlong,much too wordy, honestly I had to force myself to read the to the end. Some did enjoy the book very much - but just as many did not. I LOVED Bride of New France when I read it several months ago, so I'd say you are in for a treat there. And you know I love Andrea Levy and Small Island as well as Long Song and now I have Every Light in the House Burnin by the same author in the TBR pile.

I am also planning to read some books for Orange July. Case Histories by Kate Anderson, Lullibies for Criminals, Brick Lane by Monica Ali and I have a couple of more possibilities .

But I understand how the library has it way!!! :) Feast or famine.

->212 lkernagh:

That's so disappointing when a book you've been looking forward to doesn't speak to you at all. You'll be in for a treat with Perdido, though - it's not a fast read, but it's well worth the while!

Looks like you are all set for a nice long weekend. I am planning on spending tomorrow mostly reading as well. Happy Canada Day!

>213 vancouverdeb: - Hi Deb, While When God was a Rabbit ended up not being the book for me, you might enjoy it but you have some great books already lined up for reading - I am also planning on trying to get to Lullibies for Criminals! - and as the saying goes "life is too short to waste on a bad book." ;-)

>214 -Eva-: - Hi Eva, I am really looking forward to Perdido Street Station! I have heard good things about it from you, Dave (Wolfy), Anders (GingerbreadMan) and others so this is going to be an early summer treat!

>215 DeltaQueen50: - Hi Judy, Thanks for popping by. Happy Canada Day!

June Re-Cap

# books finished this month: 8
# books read so far this challenge: 58
Minimum # book to read to complete challenge: 99

I have decided that I will fix my challenge to 9 books in each category. I thought I could stretch it out to 10 in each category but the current reading pace shows that to be a tad on the unrealistic side!

Favorite book for the month: The House of All Sorts by Emily Carr - 4.5 Stars
Least favorite book for the month: The Buntline Special by Mike Resnick - 2.5 Stars

'New to me' Canadian Authors (7/9 read)
~ ~ The House of All Sorts by Emily Carr - 4.5 Stars

I Don't Remember THAT From History Class (5/9 read)
~ ~ Belle by Lesley Pearse - 3.5 Stars

Follow Thy Author (7/9 read)
~ ~ Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly - 4 Stars

What a Debut! (9/9 read) - CATEGORY COMPLETED!
~ ~ When God was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman - 3 Stars

The Envelope Please (3/9 read)
No books read this month

Lost in Translation (7/9 read)
~ ~ The Moon Opera by Bi Feiyu - 3 Stars

What Stephen Harper is Reading (1/9 read)
No books read this month

Steampunk (5/9 read)
~ ~ The Buntline Special by Mike Resnick - 2.5 Stars

Next in Series (4/9 read)
No books read this month

Off the Shelf (6/9 read)
~ ~ Hotel Angeline by 36 writers - 4 Stars

Grandma's Amazing Button Jar (4/9 read)
~ ~ Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs - 4 Stars

SECOND QUARTER RECAP

Books Planned to Read for Challenge: 99 (9 per category)
Completed in 2nd Quarter: 29 (same number I completed in 1st Quarter - at least I am showing consistency!)
Balance to Read: 41

Category

1. "New to me" Canadian Authors: 7/9
2. I Don't Remember THAT From History Class: 5/9
3. Following Thy Author: 7/9
4. What a Debut!: 9/9 - CATEGORY COMPLETED!
5. The Envelope Please: 3/9
6. Lost in Translation: 7/9
7. What is Stephen Harper Reading: 1/9
8. Steampunk: 5/9
9. Next in Series: 4/9
10. Off the Shelf: 6/9
11. Grandma's Amazing Button Jar: 4/9

While I am happy to discover I am passed the halfway mark of 9 books in 11 categories, I do not feel confident enough at this point to consider raising the bar to 10 books in 11 categories. We will see how things are at the end of the third quarter.

Top 5 Reads of the Second Quarter (in order of preference):

Into That Darkness by Steven Price
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
The House of All Sorts by Emily Carr

I was interested in your thoughts on When God Was a Rabbit, especially since I just received my ER copy in the mail today!

>219 katiekrug: - Hi Katie, I hope you enjoy it more than I did. There were parts of the story I did enjoy and the characters were an interesting bunch so I have hopes you might enjoy it!

As we are officially at the end of the second quarter and Spring has made way for Summer - and I have high hopes that the warm weather will make an appearance soon! - I am closing this thread and invite everyone to join me over on my SUMMER thread here .