SqueakyChu Goes for 75 - Page 7

The Race of the Butterflies will continue in this thread. My previous thread can be found here.







I'm posting two months to complete the year of 2011. Those butterflies are making me nervous now!

Are you wondering what TIOLI is? Private message me, and I'll tell you. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

November 2011


Pilgrims! - Photo by SqueakyChu

My November bookish plans:
1. Take bags and bags of gently used books from one upstairs bedroom to The Book Thing of Baltimore Inc. I'm overwhelmed with the number of bags of books and VHS tapes in my house at this time. :(
2. Attend a BookCrossing Meet-Up in Birdie's Cafe in Westminster, Maryland.

On my bookshelf for this month...
62. Suburban Safari - Hannah Holmes - TIOLI: Read a book with at least one animal mentioned on page 50
63. From the Holocaust to a new Dawn - David Shachar - TIOLI: read a book with an animal mentioned on page 50
64. Emma - Jane Austen - TIOLI: Read a book that someone has written in
65. War Dances - Sherman Alexie - TIOLI: Read a book written by a Native American author
66. Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and Other Backyard Wildlife - David Mizejewski - TIOLI: Read a book with an animal on page 50
67. Scenes From Village Life - Amos Oz - SqueakyChu - TIOLI: read a book not written in a lingua franca
68. Ring - Koji Suzuki - TIOLI: Book with a piece of jewelry in the title
69. Masks - Fumiko Enchi - TIOLI: Read a book written in a language not a lingua franca

December 2011


Shiver Weather! - Photo by SqueakyChu

My December bookish plans
1. A book exchange at our annual Bookcrossing holiday party

On my bookshelf for this month...
70. The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism and Asperger's - Temple Grandin - TIOLI: read a book with the same title as another book
71. We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson - TIOLI: Read a book that has the exact same title as another book on LT
72. Tokyo Fiancee - Amelie Nothomb - TIOLI: Read a book whose author’s first and last initials are “stepped"
73. What We Eat When We Eat Alone - Deborah Madison - TIOLI: read a book with a "stepped" (initials) author
74. The Shining - Stephen King - TIOLI: Read a book for your 11 in 11 challenge

I think I can. I think I can. I think I can. I think...

75. Goodbye Tsugumi - Banana Yoshimoto - TIOLI: Read a book whose author's last name has four syllables

I thought I could. I thought I could. I thought...

76. The Cat and the Curmudgeon - Cleveland Amory - TIOLI: read a book about a human-animal bond
77. Hope: A Tragedy - Shalom Auslander - TIOLI: Read a book with 5 or less reviews on LT (1)
78. Drinking: A Love Story - Caroline Knapp - TIOLI: read a book in which alcohol or alcoholism is one of the major themes

Seems like I'm first up Madeline!

Hi Madeline!

Starred you and eagerly awaiting further comments on reading Emma.

I'll follow Emma wherever she goes...

What's up with Emma today?

Hi everyone!

> 8

I haven't read today's chapter of Emma yet. That happens tonight!

By the way, as luck (?) would have it, I found a copy of Thomas Hardy's Far From the Maddening Crowd among my Bookcrossing books. Is that fate's way of telling me that classic book must be the next one I read? :O

Far From the Madding Crowd is a more cheerful (ultimately) book that many of Hardy's, so if you're really wanting a dark and doom-filled read, you'd be better off with Jude the Obscure or Tess of the Durbervilles!

Emma - Vol. 3, Chapter 9

...in which Jane Fairfax refuses a visit from Emma.

1. I'm not sure why Emma sees the necessity to be in Jane Fairfax's good graces now when all long Emma has not liked her at all. Is she just doing this act in order to improve her standing with Mr. Knightly? It seems so to me.

2. Why is Jane Fairfax so unfriendly to Emma as well? Is she jealous that Mr. Knightly likes Emma more? Did Mr. Knightly send the pianoforte to Jane Fairfax as a present just to keep her happy?

These two questions need no answer. I'll just...wait and see.

By the way, I was at a Barnes & Noble this evening looking at the classic books. I was proud of the fact that I'm almost finished my first (in my lifetime!) Jane Austen novel. Only 85 more pages to go! :)

P.S. I was shocked that Mrs. Churchill died.

I await with bated breath your next comments...

Me, too. The next chapter is a doozy.

I'm all caught up with you Madeline, except... I guess I didn't quite finish chapter 9... since I only just now learned about Mrs Churchill (no biggie, truly).

By the way, I'd venture to answer your first question by saying that Emma's probably grown to appreciate Jane Fairfax ever since that supremely obnoxious Mrs Elton has taken to bossing the poor girl around. And perhaps... she's growing somewhat and seeing her petty jealousies as far as Jane being more gifted than she for what they are?

Yesterday I was taken with la rage du ménage (I don't think it's an actual expression, but a bit of a wordplay with 'rage' pronounced 'raj' and 'ménage' as 'mainaj'), and it was about time I get into a housecleaning frenzy since I was living in a pigsty (a very nice pigsty mind you, but all the same).

What this means as far as Emma is concerned is that I listened for maybe 6 to 8 uninterrupted hours to Juliet Stevenson's exquisite narration of this novel and truly surprised myself by a) how much I was enjoying the book in all it's nitty-gritty details b) the fact that I actually like Emma, even though she's immature and a snob, which goes to show (I hope) that I'm nothing like her and must have matured quite a lot (hm hm) and c) that I actually understood a lot more than I realized I did, though this is probably because I've read quite a bit of 19th century literature (especially compared to you, Madeline) and three other JA books this year in group read setting (the Austenathon) and therefore was given some information about JA and the time she lived in before approaching this one.

In retrospect, I would have enjoyed Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice SO, SO, SO much more had Liz and Joyce been around to help me along on a one-on-one basis. As it was, most people participating in the group read were all Jane Austen disciples who could find no wrong, and I felt badly for being a voice of dissension, though I should credit the fact that some people proved very kind, patient and helpful (were you among them Liz? I can't remember now). I mostly GREATLY disliked S&S, and actually threw P&P against the wall at one point because it drove me absolutely nuts during a specific portion of the story, but the book practically bounced back into my lap, so I decided to finish it and sort of made peace with it by the end, even though it came so predictably and was wrapped up so conveniently that it made me groan. I should say by the way, that I actually enjoyed Mansfield Park, mostly by virtue of the fact that I found it very different from the first two and found the heroine Fanny Price to actually have a head on her shoulders and be sound of heart as well. I should say that even though I didn't derive any great enjoyment from the first two, I decided as I was reading them that I MUST revisit them in future as I was determined to understand what makes JA such a universally beloved author, even assuming that half the people who say they adore her are just saying it to 'fit in'.

I owe a great debt of gratitude to you Madeline for the fact that I've been enjoying Emma as much as I have been so far (how I'll feel about it by the end is a different story!), because you've been asking questions all along that I myself might not have thought to ask, or been embarrassed to, if only because I'm used to not understanding everything I read and just making what sometimes turn out to be correct assumptions. And of course am very grateful to you Liz, goes without saying.

I must say that I only yesterday caught two comments by Liz in former threads; the first being that she nearly fell over when she saw I found Henry James easier going than Austen. I should have qualified that by saying that so far, I've only read The Aspern Papers, The Turn of the Screw (two short stories) and Portrait of a Lady and that, having read and loved Anna Karenina when I was just 12 years old, I became fairly comfortable with late 19th century novels early on, especially as much of the morals and social norms of those days in many ways seem to be as familiar to me as if I'd lived in those times (which doesn't mean I'm not shocked by the extreme lack of social justice there was).

In the second comment, Liz *accused* me of being a Thomas Hardy fan (saying that with tongue firmly in cheek). In fact, I've not yet actually read any Thomas Hardy, though I did see the movie Tess, again, at about 12, when doomed 19th century female romantic heroines were all the rage as far as I was concerned. I now have Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Far from the Madding Crowd in my collections and am looking forward to exploring them, though remains to be seen whether I will actually enjoy them when I do.

Sorry about this very long screed, but I guess I've just packed in things I would have said in shorter bits over the last three threads.

Delurking to reply to msg 14 and say how sorry I am that the Austenathon reads were unhelpful but how happy I am that Liz and Joyce helped you enjoy Emma :-) And for Madeline to get within 85 pages of the end so far!

> 14

As it was, most people participating in the group read were all Jane Austen disciples who could find no wrong, and I felt badly for being a voice of dissension,

Haha! I've been ranting about this novel the whole time, and Liz has been letting me do so! :)

and actually threw P&P against the wall at one point because it drove me absolutely nuts during a specific portion of the story,

LOL! I'm trying to think what book I actually threw inthe past...but I can't remember that either. :)

I was determined to understand what makes JA such a universally beloved author

That's why I felt determined to read at least one JA novel in my lifetime. I still can't quite understand it, but to each his own.

I was determined to understand what makes JA such a universally beloved author

Well, since I, too have Far from the Maddening Crowd in my collection (to my dismay, maybe?), I might look into this as a possible future tutored read. I'm not saying how far into the future, though. Feel free to start ahead of me.

> 15? (how did we both have message #15?)

And for Madeline to get within 85 pages of the end so far!

Haha!

I'm glad people are finding my comments helpful. It's difficult for me to judge how much to say, amnd if always afraid of overdoing it because (i) I get carried away easily, and (ii) I know that nothing is more self-defeating than giving in to the temptation of forcing an author on someone.

Sorry, Ilana, I'm mixing you up with some other Hardy-phile, am I? Too many conversations!!

If we are going ahead with the tutored reads idea, I am very happy to put my hand up for any Austen reads or re-reads - even if it ends in, "I still don't get it!" :)

Emma - Vol. 2, Chapter 10

... in which Frank's engagement to Jane Fairfax is revealed.

1. Is Emma really unfazed by this? I don't think so. I think she's putting on a good show,

2. Once again, poor Harriet!

3. Were Frank and Jane Fairfax waiting to announce their engagement because they thought Mrs. Churchill would disapprove?

4. Do you think that Mr. and Mrs. Weston are truly happy that Jane Fairfax will be their "daughter" (that is, daughter-in-law)? I think they would have much preferred Emma.

5. Were secret engagements common to that time?

6. Was it that Frank was flirting with Emma that made Jane Fairfax not like her?

7. Was it Frank who sent the pianoforte to Jane Fairfax? If so, was that a token of love?

Ah, there we are... :)

1. She's not bothered emotionally, but I don't imagine she likes what she sees looking back over her behaviour for the past few months.

2. Well...

3. Because they KNEW she would disapprove - Jane is a nobody, a governess - and since Jane has no money Frank couldn't risk being cut off by going against his grandmother's wishes. As we discussed earlier, it was all about who held the purse-strings. (And when we say "they", it was certainly all Frank's idea.)

4. They certainly would - but unlike Mrs Churchill, they'll adapt themselves, and not make financial trouble.

5. A secret engagement was a BIG no-no...although that doesn't necessarily make them uncommon, I guess.

6. Or perhaps Emma flirting with Frank?

7. Love and thoughtlessness. He certainly didn't stop to consider the consequences in terms of the gossip and how Jane would have to pretend ignorance with everyone.

Emma is QUITE chagrined, not because Frank has a relationship with someone else, but because he was making up to HER under the eye of his fiancee, and mostly because she never guessed what was going on.

And being lured by your own vanity into letting yourself be used as a smokescreen is unpleasant however you look at it.

#15 Heather, maybe the Austenathon threads would have been more helpful if I felt more at ease about venting my frustrations with the works, as Madeline has done in these last three of her own threads.

#16 The only other book I've ever thrown before (that I can remember) was She's Come Undone back in the early 90s. It just seemed so unrelentingly bleak and depressing, and had received so much acclaim, and I struggled through every page and tried so hard to find something to like about it that I got furious with it one day and SLAMMED it into the garbage can. I do want to say that I do NOT believe in throwing books away, but I was truly driven senseless by that novel.

#18 It's difficult for me to judge how much to say, and I'm always afraid of overdoing it because...

If it were up to me, I'd say let it all hang out! I've found all your comments very interesting Liz. And I might very well call on your expertise to read the other two JA novels I haven't gotten to yet, which are Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. Though for NA, as I understand, in order to appreciate the humour it would be best if I read a gothic novel such as JA would have been likely to read (therefore from the 18th century, such as The Castle of Otranto) because as I understand it, she did a kind of sendup on the genre with that novel, only I would require some tutoring for THAT as well since I don't think I've read anything from the 18th century before and will surely be lost with it.

Well, that went incredibly fast, but I finished Emma today. I look forward to following along the rest of your progress Madeline, and might have a question of two for Liz when we get to the last chapters. I've posted my general impressions on why I truly enjoyed reading this one (spoiler-free) right here.

If you decide to go ahead with the other Austens, I would be delighted to be called on. For Northanger Abbey, it's more important to understand the conventions of the Gothic novel than to have read any specific one; there are a few references to details in The Mysteries Of Udolpho but you don't really have to "get" them - those moments are just to illustrate Catherine's state of mind.

The trouble with Gothics is that they tend to be LONG. (My friend Catherine Cuthbertson wrote one of those, too - and only four volumes!) People read The Castle Of Otranto not because it's a good example of a Gothic - it isn't - but because it's short. :)

I've been known to throw books on special occasions. The one I remember the best was Emma, which I threw across the room after finishing it because it took me four years to read. It would have been much more fun if I had friends to chat about it with, but I just couldn't get past how little happened (at the same time that Napoleon was ravaging Europe). I also didn't see the humour.

> 23

maybe the Austenathon threads would have been more helpful if I felt more at ease about venting my frustrations with the works, as Madeline has done in these last three of her own threads.

One of the nice things to look forward to in the "tutored" reads as they will soon take effect is to know that one does not need to "like" a book in order to read and appreciate it. I'll never like the book Emma, nor would I probably like any other Jane Austen novels. Emma might still be a 2 star read for me - even after I finish it. What would be a 5 star rating, though, is Liz's tutoring. She has taught me so much and encouraged me to read this entire book (although I'm not done yet!).

What Liz has helped me do is to understand Emma in the context of the time in which it was written and develop an appreciation for that. Such is the mark of a good instructor. I've had two memorable college professors who affected me that way when teaching me (1) Modern American History and (2) Organic Chemistry. What they do is bring more difficult subjects to a level of understanding and do so with grace and, often, humor.

In addition, I think more learning takes place if there is not simple acceptance of what is being taught, but that questions and controversy be brought to the forefront. I don't mean just the act of being contrary, but rather I mean to deeply examine those things that are off-putting to someone who is attempting to study a particular subject area. When dissected instead of ignored, these "disliked" subjects suddenly become more interesting because you are given free rein to say why you dislike them so intensely.

> 23

I find great relief in throwing a book that I utterly hate! Then I pick it up and give it to someone else (...assuming I haven't damaged it.) :D

> 25

The one I remember the best was Emma, which I threw across the room after finishing it because it took me four years to read.

LOL! I think that 2 months is a bit long for me to read a novel that is less than 400 pages, especially since I read only a few pages a night. Truthfully, I could not take more of it each day.

I cannot throw my copy of Emma, though, because it is too old and fragile. Its pages are dark yellow, and its brittle cover is being secured with packing tape. I do plan to Bookcross it so maybe yet another person will have a chance to read it.

I'm glad that you pointed out there was humor, Joyce. It's something I had to remember while reading this book.

I'll never like the book Emma, nor would I probably like any other Jane Austen novels. Emma might still be a 2 star read for me - even after I finish it.

I don't know about that ... never say never. Emma was a two-star read for me too, but I've now read all of the Austen novels, and not only did they get better, but Pride and Prejudice was a five-star read.

> 29

I was thinking about that today - the 2 stars, I mean. Maybe after I reflect on the novel more, the stars might increase. I've been known to change star ratings a long time after reading a book. It just depends on how much favor a book finds with me. My rating of Emma has already risen from 1.5 stars! :)

In addition, if I see others reading a Jane Austen novel now, I might just want to jump in as well. I know what you're saying, Joyce.

Don't forget that Emma is one of the more subtle (and thus more difficult for a first-time reader) of Austen's books. I really hope you read others at some point. They will be a piece of cake for you now :-)

#24 People read The Castle Of Otranto not because it's a good example of a Gothic - it isn't - but because it's short.

Liz, I believe that's why I had picked out that one too! lol. But based on the reviews I've seen, it isn't even particularly good, so if there's no real need to read a gothic novel first, I'll just take in what wikipedia has to say on the topic and go with that.

I'm fairly sure I want to go ahead with the other two novels, most probably in the next year, which is coming less than two months from now... yikes! I almost wish Madeline decided to go ahead with them too, if only because she does such a terrific job of commenting on the book, reading it as slowly as she does and probably taking notes along the way to know what questions to ask. I'll probably have to do the same and not breeze through them or else I won't be able to give you much material to work with.

#26 In addition, I think more learning takes place if there is not simple acceptance of what is being taught, but that questions and controversy be brought to the forefront. I don't mean just the act of being contrary, but rather I mean to deeply examine those things that are off-putting to someone who is attempting to study a particular subject area. When dissected instead of ignored, these "disliked" subjects suddenly become more interesting because you are given free rein to say why you dislike them so intensely.

I was nodding my head in agreement reading this entire paragraph Madeline. Very well put.

As far as ratings go, I quite surprised myself when I felt compelled to give Emma a 4.5 star rating. But weighing heavily in the balance was my experience of reading (or in my case, listening) this book along with you Madeline, and Liz and Joyce et al of course. For me, the rating is rarely based purely on the book's merit because I can never separate that from the entire experience, which in this case, greatly increased my appreciation of it. In other words, while I might have given it 3 stars reading it on my own, the 5-star tutoring weighed heavily in the balance.

> 32

I'm fairly sure I want to go ahead with the other two novels, most probably in the next year, which is coming less than two months from now... yikes! I almost wish Madeline decided to go ahead with them too, if only because she does such a terrific job of commenting on the book, reading it as slowly as she does and probably taking notes along the way to know what questions to ask. I'll probably have to do the same and not breeze through them or else I won't be able to give you much material to work with

I might just lurk on your threaed if you go ahead with the others. I really, really like the one-on-one tutoring. It allows/allowe me to progress at my own rate.

I read so few pages each night that I don't have to take notes. Ijust know what upstes me in each chapter! :)

It was Joyce who said to slow waaaaaay down when reading this boook. She was really right. Do that. You'll get much more out of what you plant to read. I was able to enjoy Emma more because I had the opportunity to learn more about each individual character (and relearn what I forgot from chapter to chapter). I also had the chance to ask about terms that I didn't know. Had I read many more pages at once, I probably would have skipped over many of those terms, thereby probably reducing the amount of information that I learned.

I think what might work for me might be a "parallel tutored read" by which I mean that I have my own tutor, but that we each read the same book on different threads. We can follow along on each other's threads if the chapters are clearly marked. That would keep each of us from moving ahead of where we want to be or discovering spoilers. It woudl not stop the other from asking questions on both threads, but it the tutee would be the one who would direct the read to his or her own needs.

I have another important obligation coming up this week through 2012 so I'm not sure how much reading for pleasure time I'll have. I need to begin studying for my home health coding exam which I'll take in February. It is so tedious and hard. The book I have to work through is humongous! I study a little a night - just as I did with Emma. However, I did read Emma for pleasure, not for certification in 19th century fiction! :)

If I can be of help, I am happy to answer questions on separate threads to allow each of you to maintain your own pace, which I think (I hope) is one of the attractions of tutoring.

#33 If anything Madeline, maybe studying for the home health coding exam will make you yearn to read more Jane Austen just for fun! :-)

#34 Sounds like a lot of work for you Liz doing it that way. But it's true, I hadn't considered what happens with different people reading at very different paces. This time round there was no problem because I jumped in at the last minute, so could follow the threads at my own much faster pace. Also, having questions on more than one thread means that you might have to answer the same questions more than once. Guess these are all things to consider for the tutoring experience as a whole, not just for you, Madeline and I and the other JAs.

It's certainly one of the things that will have to be worked out on the way through. I don't mind answering the same questions for different people; the object is to help each individual as they need it.

> 34

That is so sweet, Liz. It might just make me want to read whatever book Ilana chooses. I need more time in life!!

I am happy to answer questions on separate threads to allow each of you to maintain your own pace, which I think (I hope) is one of the attractions of tutoring.

That's one of the big attractions for me.

> 35

maybe studying for the home health coding exam will make you yearn to read more Jane Austen just for fun!

truthfully, I'd rather do anything else than study coding again. Yeah. Maybe I'd even read another JA novel along with you!

Maybe I'd even read another JA novel along with you!

I can see I'm going to have a very rowdy and intransigent class.

> 35

maybe studying for the home health coding exam will make you yearn to read more Jane Austen just for fun!

truthfully, I'd rather do anything else than study doing again. Yeah. Maybe I'd even read another JA novel along with you!

This time round there was no problem because I jumped in at the last minute, so could follow the threads at my own much faster pace.

Morphidae also started after I did and finished before I did.

Guess these are all things to consider for the tutoring experience as a whole, not just for you, Madeline and I and the other JAs.

I'm very curious as to how this tutored read will develop. Liz, please don't let me influence how you do this. There are so many people interested at this point, I don't want my opinions to interefere with how you move forward with this idea.

> 39

I can see I'm going to have a very rowdy and intransigent class.

LOL!!

#38 truthfully, I'd rather do anything else than study coding again. Yeah. Maybe I'd even read another JA novel along with you!

I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT!!!

I'm sure Liz might want to pipe in here, but the next two JA books up for me may not be the best ones to follow up with for you Madeline. I'd gladly do a re-read of Sense and Sensibility or Pride and Prejudice if not for the fact that I just read them this year... and I'm not so sure I'm ready for re-read quite yet!

#39 I can see I'm going to have a very rowdy and intransigent class.

Gee, I wonder what would make you say that? :-)

> 42

I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT!!!

Heh!

Emma - Vol. 3, Chapter 11

... in which Harriet declares her feelings are for Mr. Knightley, not for Frank Churchill.

Yeah, I did some out loud laughing at this chapter. Emma is really clueless, and this chapter is very, very funny.

I guess that Emma was a good teacher in love after all. She inspired Harriet to feel more secure in herself and aim higher in the man she sought Unfortunately, this backfired on Emma who did not want Harriet to aim too high after all.

1. Why was it so important for Emma to have Harriet marry someone other than Mr. Martin? Was it because Emma thought she would be a good friend by doing so, thereby elevating Harriet's status?

I don't think Mr. Knightley is interested in Harriet at all. I think he's in love with Emma. Poor Harriet will be hurt again.

2. Am I right? I know...wait and see.

I think Emma should pay more attention to understanding herself and less attention to changing the lives of those aournd her.

2. Would Mr. Woodhouse be sad that Emma didn't marry since she's his only daughter?

You LOL'ed reading Austen!? Then my work here is done!!

1. Partly that. Elevating Harriet's status would also make her a more proper companion - if she married a farmer, socially they would no longer be able to spend much time together. (A married woman's status was determined by her husband's, unless - and sometimes even if - she was of very high birth.)

2. Hee, hee...

3. Mr Woodhouse would be thrilled if Emma never married: in his philosophy, marriage = change, and change = EVIL!!

I think Emma should pay more attention to understanding herself and less attention to changing the lives of those aournd her.

My work here is definitely done... :)

> 45

You LOL'ed reading Austen!? Then my work here is done!!

LOL!! Now I'm laughing at your response. :)

1. How did Harriet get to be Emma's friend in the first place?

2. Wouldn't Mr. Woodhouse be sad if he had no heirs?

My work here is definitely done... :)

*LOL again*

I'm starting to see how this story is cute...

...but it took to many words to get the idea across.

I'm starting to see how this story is cute..

>#46

1. She was there.

2. He has Isabella's children - but having had no daughters, there will be no more Woodhouses. (Unless one of his grandchildren later changes his surname, as Frank did.)

but having had no daughters, there will be no more Woodhouses

I know you meant to say having had no sons, but wouldn't Mr. Woodhouse feel a bit sorry for Harriet never marrying and not having children of her own? Maybe that would be too stressful for him, though.

I know that Isabella's oldest son would be the primary heir.

Whoops, yes - thanks!

I don't think Mr Woodhouse ever really considers other people's feelings - he just assumes everyone feels as he does, hence "poor Miss Taylor" and so on.

I'm so excited for you to read the end :-) :-)

This is such fun - I'm glad you had a laugh-out-loud moment Madeline, after all your hard work reading this far!

> 52

I think I know what happens in the end as I read a sort of spoiler when I'd glanced over the tags (correction:) quotations for Emma, but that's okay. I've really grown to appreciate this book (i.e. its star rating is going up!) so knowing the very end won't spoil all too much for me. Now, off to read tonight's chapter...

> 53

I'm glad I could laugh at this book, too. That sort of stopped me from complaining so much! :D

Emma - Vol 3, Chapter 12

... in which Mrs. Weston returns from visiting Jane Fairfax.

Poor Emma! What a bleak outlook she has...or at least she has pictured for herself. I'm not sure all is as grim as she thinks. At least she knows that all of this is her fault:

"...the only source whence anything like consolation or composure could be drawn was in the resolution of her own better conduct..."

I have no questions for this chapter! :)

I have no questions for this chapter!

They grow up so fast, don't they?

:)

Emma - Vol. 3, Chapter 13

... in which Mr. Knightley declares his jealousy of Emma'a previous attraction to Frank (which, of course, she denies).

This was a wonderful chapter, but the outcome was not totally unexpected. I now remember where I saw the spoiler much earlier during my reading of this book. I added a quotation to Common Knowledge here on LT. The first quotation I saw on Common Knowledge was this one:

"I cannot make speeches, Emma...If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more." (Mr. Knightley)".

That gave it away. :(

Nevertheless, I admit that this story has become somewhat appealing. I still feel sorry for Harriet, though.

1. Why does it take everyone so many words to express themselves?

Why does it take everyone so many words to express themselves?

Bcuz txtspk dn xst.

Because language and elocution were equally arts and weapons. The ability to speak and write fluently was prized and exercised.

(On the other hand, you have a kindred spirit in Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey, who at one point remarks, "I cannot speak well enough to be unintelligible.")

"I cannot speak well enough to be unintelligible."

LOL! That's what reading this book feel like. However, that statement does make sense.

The ability to speak and write fluently was prized and exercised.

1. Was that another reason that the Westons were so eager to receive correspondence from Frank?

Because language and elocution were equally arts and weapons.

2. Weapons in what way?

That's really too bad about the spoiler Madeline. Mind you, when you've read a couple of JA, you begin to see that happy love matches are bound to happen sooner—though usually, later. I saw that one coming from the first chapter, but then, it's such a well-known story that I might have heard about it before somehow.

Correspondence was a major aspect of life. It was the only means of regular communication at a time when roads were bad and travel was difficult and expensive. It was the only way to "talk" to anyone would didn't live within your restricted geographical area. It was also a time when "family" meant an incredible network of connections which kept in touch by letter-writing.

Certainly politically - and legally, also. This was the era of the professional talker - no cameras, no radio, no TV, no recording devices (other than shorthand), just the words and those who heard them and could be influenced by them. It was a century of protest - public speaking in a myriad of forms. And it was a time of very long, very serious novels, making serious points. If you knew how to use language, it gave you an enormous advantage over people without equal powers of expression.

(All of these cross over into "art", of course.)

And it was a time of very long, very serious novels, making serious points

Is that the reason all of these novels are so verbose? Honestly. I often look at the length of some of these older novels and the size of the print (usually very small) and think I'd just rather not tackle them.

A variety of reasons. Most of them were serialised, coming out in the magazines in monthly installments over quite long periods of time. It gave writers the chance to really create a world and to deal with issues and follow their characters over a period of time. This was the equivalent of a long-running TV series - people "tuned in" once a month.

But this really was a time when the power of the novel as a vehicle for social commentary, for protest and for highlighting issues was recognised and at its height.

It was also a time when libraries were very powerful (hard to imagine, isn't it?), and books were lent out a volume at a time - so if a book came in three, four or five volumes, it was a more profitable item than one than came as a single volume. (Libraries were businesses; you paid a subscription to borrow.) So authors were generally encouraged to write longer books.

So there was a mixture of motives.

Many people find that reading these books over a longer period of time, more or less as they were first published, in sections, is a good way of tackling them.

Many people find that reading these books over a longer period of time, more or less as they were first published, in sections, is a good way of tackling them.

Was Emma first published that way?

I'm surprised at how short the chapters are, especially for a book that is so long. I guess it really is not that long (about 400 pages), but the print in my mass market paperback is so small that it makes the book seem unusually long.

Reading Emma just a little at a time worked really well for me for a variety of reasons. It gave me a chance to learn much more about 19th century England in depth (thanks to you, Liz, of course, because I doubt I would have given myself so much self-instruction by merely looking up details). Small chapters gave me the chance to stop at natural places in the story and only read (what was to me) an acceptable amount of pages each day. Not hurrying through this book made it a much more enjoyable reading experience.

If the more volumes that were written, the more profitable it was to the author and to libraries, then I see the need for verbose books of that period. I also see the need that for having what was written be of relatively high literary standards because who would otherwise read suchy wordy books that were boring?!

I'm not sure I'd like to buy (or lend or rent) serialized books now. When Stephen King serialized The Green Mile, I waited until all of the chapters were available, then borrowed them all from the library at the same time. :)

Ah, but then they had to be available at the same time. And of course, there was frequently the situation of five members of the same family each getting hold of a different volume of a novel, and having to wait on each other - recipe for a bloodbath!

Emma wasn't serialised, but would have been released initially in three simultaneous volumes, before at some point (when volume publication went out of fashion in the late 19th century) being re-issued as a single book.

What was the purpose of releasing three separate volumes at the same time?

Actually, it was a thought a a classmate of my daughter (in law school) had. His books were too heavy to carrry to class so he had them separated and rebound into smaller volumes! I thought that idea was brilliant. I told my daughter that she should do that as well. She refused. She also refuses to carry her books on one of those rolling carts. She thinks that's too geeky! :)

It was just the way books were published - dictated by production issues such as the printing process, font size, paper quality and thickness, and the binding together of uncut pages, which had to be cut at the edges while the book was being read. There were sometimes cheaper editions for poor people, but those wealthy enough bought higher quality editions that were thicker and heavier than a comparable work would be today. Breaking books into volumes kept them manageable (as well as profitable).

Edited to add: Your daughter's classmate was using the same principles!

Emma - Vol. 3, Chapter 14

...in which Frank writes a letter of explanation and apology to Mrs. Weston and Emma.

1. Frank's letter was very long. Truthfully, it was very, very, very long. Did people really write such lengthy letters? If so, did men do that as well as women?

It's funny. I've read this entire book and have no sense of who Jane is as a person. Well, I guess this book was about Emma and not about Jane.

2. I didn't understand what Emma was trying to say about how she would continue to incorporate both her father and Mr. Knightley together into her life. Was she saying that she could not marry Mr. Knightley as long as her father was alive?

3. What's to become of poor Harriet? I know...wait and see.

I'm almost there! Only 43 more pages to go. I get to see my niece this weekend. I can't wait to tell her about my experience reading Emma!

1. Yes - and longer - and, of course, shorter. Letter-writing was a task usually left to women, though, who of course had nothing more important to do with their time {*sarcasm alert*}. Men generally stuck to business correspondence, but could and did write letters of this magnitude when necessary. (From Frank's perspective, it would be easier than saying it all in person.)

Jane has spent the whole novel hiding from people, emotionally even more than physically; we only get glimpses of her.

2. She's saying she will not leave her father and therefore cannot marry while he is alive.

3. Heh...

Why can't Emma marry Mr. Knightley, and then both of them would live with her father? Mr. Knightley is there visiting so much of the time anyway! What would be the difference?

So...Emma just wants to be engaged for, let's just say, ten years? Ha! My younger son who's getting married in May, has been dating his fiancee for about that long. :)

The point is (although unexpressed) that marriage for a woman meant ceasing to be her father's property and becoming her husband's. Marriage with Mr Knightley means leaving her father's house and becoming mistress of Donwell Abbey; those are the rules.

There's the further point that Emma getting married will throw her father into a total panic, and she's habituated to indulging him.

Emma - Vol. 3, Chapter 15

... in which Mr. Knightley reads Frank's letter.

Ha! The following line from this chapter reminds me... of me!

"It will be natural for me...to speak my opinion aloud as I read." :)

The last line of this chapter was so hilarious that it made me laugh out loud. It suggested that Harriet's forgetting about Mr. Knightly was too much to ask since Harriet had been in love with three men in one year. Of course, two of those "loves" had been "induced" by Emma. Funny stuff!

Why can't Emma marry Mr. Knightley, and then both of them would live with her father?

Ha! So Emma thought of that as well.

2. How would such a situation affect who inherits Donwell Abbey and who inherits Hartfield? Would both go to Henry?

Ha! The following line from this chapter reminds me... of me!

So you're casting me as Emma yet again??

So Emma thought of that as well.

Of course. But we need to recognise that in terms of the conventions of the time, it would be quite an unusual step, and a very generous step, on Mr Knightley's part to surrender his own home, albeit temporarily.

However, his doing so wouldn't affect Donwell, which would ultimately be the home of Knightley and Emma and their children. The question becomes Hartfield, which is likely to go to John and Isabella, I imagine, partly because she's the older daughter and partly because they "need" a country house. Also, bringing Isabella home would fit Mr Woodhouse's obsession with maintaining the statuis quo.

So you're casting me as Emma yet again??

:)

it would be quite an unusual step, and a very generous step, on Mr Knightley's part to surrender his own home, albeit temporarily.

Oh, what people do for love! ;)

Also, bringing Isabella home would fit Mr Woodhouse's obsession with maintaining the status quo.

1. So how do you think Mr. Woodhouse would have reacted if Emma's idea all along had been to marry?

2. Did fathers refuse to let a daughter marry sometimes simply so that they would have a caretaker in their old age?

1. I don't think it would have occurred to him that it was - but if it did, there would have been a great deal of fretting and fussing.

2. Yes, sometimes; although as the century wore on and the birth rate increased while the mortality rate decreased, there were usually unmarried daughters "left over" to do the family dirty work, whatever form it took. Unmarried women were expected to devote themselves to whichever member of the family might need domestic help, rather than live their own lives.

Unmarried women were expected to devote themselves to whichever member of the family might need domestic help, rather than live their own lives.

1. Was there a stigma to being such a woman? Were they considered "less" than if they would have married?

Oh, yes. Which is why a lot of women married anyone who asked them.

Emma - Vol. 3, Chapter 16

... in which Emma visits and is received by Jane Fairax

1. What is a reticule? ...as in "returns (the letter) into the red and gold reticule"

Yes! I've been waiting to ask that very same question! Glad you asked it for me Madeline!

:)

Update from my niece (whom I saw today in a production of Bat Boy put on by the Princeton University Players). In her 19th century lit class so far, she said she did not at all like reading Vanity Fair but so far is loving Woman in White and thinks I'd like it as well.

A reticule is a purse, usually with drawstrings, that can be worn around the wrist.

Your niece's reaction is understandable - as far as Victorian literature goes, those two books are poles apart.

This past week I read Remarkable Creatures, which I was not thrilled with, but it takes place in the early 1800s, in Lyme Regis, and Jane Austen makes a cameo appearance, so I appreciated having this thread for context.

Jane Austen makes a cameo appearance, so I appreciated having this thread for context.

Glad to help you out! :)

>79 SqueakyChu:, 80 A reticule is an old-fashioned drawstring purse

Emma - Vol. 3, Chapter 17

...wherein Emma tell her father of her engagement to Mr. Knightley

Here's a line I liked:

"These matters are always a secret till it is found out that everybody knows them." (Mr. Weston)

1. Why was Emma almost never going to call Mr. Knightly by the name of George? Did people only use first names for children? If so, when did girls and boys become Miss and Mister (or maybe Master?)? Obviously, a girl became a Mrs. when she married.

2. What was the most common age (edit: I just added the word "age") for a young man and woman to marry?

3. Why was Mrs. Elton so upset about the Miss Woodhouse/Mr. Knightley enagagement? Is it because she then could no longer then entertain Mr. Knightley in her own home?

I had to laugh at the fact that Mr. Woodhouse seemed to think that, the longer the period of the engagement would last, the less the possibility that an actual wedding might take place.

1. It's a reflection, I think, of the way she thinks of him and has always thought of him, as a person she admires and looks up to, rather than as a friend and contemporary - although of course they are friends, too. (All this aside from their romantic feelings for one another.) To put it in perspective, you can imagine, if things had been different, that Frank would always have been just "Frank".

The naming thing probably stems from the fact that for centuries, marriage was chiefly a business deal arranged by men, in which women had little to no say. A wife was chattel; her husband was "Mr ----" to her as much as to anyone else. And even when the woman was a willing participant, she was still considered a lesser being. It was not until the idea of marriage for love, of companionate marriage, really began to take hold that the nature of the relationship between husband and wife altered to the point where they would be "John" and "Mary" to one another rather than "Mr" and "Mrs".

Children were called by their first names; to the servants, and sometimes others, they would be "Miss Anne" and "Master Thomas" and so on. When they began to go into society, usually around the age of eighteen, the oldest girl would become "Miss ----" while her sisters would be "Miss Jane ----" and Miss "Susan ----". It varied with boys: the oldest might be known as "Mr ----", but if his father was still around he might stay "Mr Thomas ----" (but no longer "Master").

2. Is that question "most common age"?

Girls were usually married in their late teens and early twenties; by twenty-five you were moving into old maid territory. Men generally married older - it would depend upon their family situation, financial independence, etc. But an age gap of ten years or more between husband and wife was common.

3. Because as a married woman and mistress of Donwell (and Hartfield), Emma will be undisputed social leader of the neighbourhood. And because if Mrs Elton wants to have Mr Knightley, she will now have to have Mrs Knightley too. (And would no longer be able to fool herself that "Knightley" was there just for the pleasure of her company.)

Liz, I only have two more chapters and the Afterward to go! I will have made it all the way through this book soon. Unbelievable! You have been a perfect angel to support me through the entire reading of Emma. I can't thank you enough for all of the time and patience you have put into tutoring me. You have endured throughout it all despite my persistent cynicism.

I'll probably never love Jane Austen's writing, but I think I've developed an appreciation for it by virtue of your thorough explanations. I don't think I'm up for another Jane Austen novel just yet (notice I didn't say ever!), but I think it only fair to share you as tutor with others here among any 75-ers who are willing to give Jane Austen novels a go. best of luck with the soon-to-arrive "tutored reads". That's brilliant, isn't it?

When I was in New Jersey yesterday, I had fun talking to my niece about the characters in Emma and other 19th century novels. Obviously, she knows more about this theme than I do. The topic of her midterm essay was "Accomplishment and the Value of Women in Jane Eyre". We were in agreement that we like how the value of women has improved over time. :)

I was at Book Bank, a used book store in Alexandria, Virginia, today. I was very happy when I saw the Jane Austen classics lined up on a bookshelf. I felt proud to know that I'm very familiar with at least one of those books. Ha!

While at the bookstore, I caved and bought Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy due to comments recently made by others on this thread. I'm not sure when I'll start it, but if I'm allowed to read it very s-l-o-w-l-y as I did with Emma, I might be willing to take on this classic in the not-to-distant future.

Heh! I have Jude the Obscure in my "Books That Nearly Killed Me" pile, along with Moby Dick and War And Peace - I am very much looking forward to seeing how you go with it. :)

As for Emma, you are very welcome! It might have been a long road for you, but it's been fun for me. If you do end up girding your loins for another Austen, I hope you'll let me share the experience again.

Why was Emma almost never going to call Mr. Knightly by the name of George?

Knightly had a name other than Knightly? Who knew? Austen stud-muffins are always just their last names to me. Darcy. Willoughby. Cpt Wentworth. Col Brandon. Bingly. Wickham. Etc. Do they have given names?

I think when you get to Jude, you'll do fine. The chapters are very short. I've been reading one chapter a night, so I have not made a lot of progress. But bit by bit, I'm getting through it. I don't find it difficult at all.

>#91

Fitzwilliam Darcy, John Willoughby, Frederick Wentworth, Charles Bingley, George Wickham. I'm not sure that Brandon's first name is ever mentioned, but that probably goes with being a colonel. :)

Colonel Christopher Brandon

But is that actually from the novel or did they invent it for the movie?? That was the name that came to my mind, too, but then I wasn;'t sure.

But is that from the novel or did they invent it for the movie?? That name came to my mind, too, but then I wasn't sure.

> 90

If you do end up girding your loins for another Austen, I hope you'll let me share the experience again.

Hehe! Liz, if you can put up with me, I'll definitely be knocking at your door for help if I choose to try another Jane Austen novel in the future. In the meantime, if others use your help for Emma, I'll probably just lurk on those threads.

Emma - Vol. 3, Chapters 18 and 19

...in which Emma learns that Harriet will wed Mr. Martin

and

...in which Emma and Mr. Knightley are wed

1. Are all the novels by Jane Austen wrapped up so cleanly? Not only did Harriet all of a sudden find happiness back with Mr. Martin, but also Mr. Woodhouse suddenly favors his daughter's marriage due to a turkey robbery (of all things!), necessitating the presence of Mr. Knightley at Hartfield so he would feel safe. Come on! :)

Anyway...

THE END!!

My deepest gratitude, Liz, for tutoring me on this novel. I'm going to miss your daily visits with gems of information and spots of humor. Stop by frequently. You're always invited here onto my thread. Best of luck with your new feature, the "Tutored Reads". I predict that it will be very successful.

Thanks, all, for stopping by, but the biggest THANK YOU of all goes to Lyzard, my Emma tutor!!

And now...

I hereby release you to all the other Jane Austen readers on LibraryThing! :D

64. Emma - Jane Austen



This book will get no review from me as it has been reviewed a gazillion times before, nor will I rate it. I will however, give my tutor, lyzard, a 5 star rating! Hurray!!

Congrats!!

And yes, all Austen novels tie up all the loose ends very nicely. That's one of the good things about them :-)

1. Generally, yes, and it's one of the things people find disconcerting about Austen. Personally I've always thought this tendency was her riposte to the sentimental novels that were popular at the time, which expend ridiculous amounts of time and energy in putting obstacles in the way of their hero and heroine.

The turkey stealing, on the other hand, is there to put all of Mr Woodhouse's fussing and fretting into perspective. His objections are nonsense, and so are the way they are overcome.

As for the rest---

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! on an ENORMOUS personal effort, Madeline. I can honestly say, this has been my pleasure, and that I sincerely do hope we meet up again next year!! :)

Edited to add:

The turkey stealing, on the other hand, is there to put all of Mr Woodhouse's fussing and fretting into perspective.

I thought that was really funny. I also laughed at the following line:

"The wedding was very much like other weddings where the parties have no taste for finery or parade; and Mrs. Elton, from the particulars detailed by her husband, thought it all extremely shabby and very inferior to her own".

Such nonsense! Each wedding is exquisite in its own right.

Liz, this has been great fun. I truly would never have put so much effort into reading this book had it not been for your encouragement and working with me on a daily basis until it got done. I really did have to smile when I saw those Jane Austen books at the bookstore the other day. I'd always wondered what it would be like to read one, but was never, ever willing to give it a try.

I think that, of all the TIOLI challenges I've done to date, this was my very biggest one. I TOOK it when I could have LEFT it. Ha! I'm really glad I "toughed it out".

All that, AND you finished it in about 3 years and 10 months quicker than I did. Well done.

Hey - you're in The Jane Austen Book Club!!

Early 19th century weddings tended to be low-key and fairly brief affairs. It wasn't until after Queen Victoria's wedding that big, fancy ceremonies with numbers of attendants and long services became fashionable. It was also Victoria who popularised the wedding-gown. Before that, women just wore a new dress (often coloured) which they could wear again on other occasions.

Note, though, that Mrs Elton wasn't invited. :)

you finished it in about 3 years and 10 months quicker than I did

LOL! Joyce, you're too funny!

I think the very best advice about Emma came from you. By reading it very slowly, I didn't feel overwhelmed by either the language or the content. It was quite "stuffy" reading, but talking to everyone about it, being tutored by Liz, and being able to complain about it kept me entertained the whole time I was reading it. :D

> 104

Note, though, that Mrs Elton wasn't invited.

Would she have thought better of it had she been invited?Was that proper? To not invite the vicar's wife? Can I not invite our rabbi's wife to my own son's upcoming wedding? (Just kidding because I really love our rabbi's wife!)

Addendum note: Sadly, our rabbi is retiring after over thirty years of service to our congregation, but, very specially, my son's wedding will be the last wedding ceremony he will perform before he officially retires.

> 104

Hey - you're in The Jane Austen Book Club!!

What is The Jane Austen Book Club? I thought that was the name of a book!

>#106

I'm sure she'd think better of anything she was invited to. But clearly Emma and Mr Knightley preferred to keep it within the immediate family, rather than feeling obliged to extend the circle of guests.

>#107

Just kidding - what I meant was, now you can look down your nose at people and gasp incredulously, "You haven't read Jane Austen - !?" (I know - not that you would!)

That's certainly good news / bad news about your rabbi, Madeline. It sounds like his replacement will have big shoes to fill.

> 106

Just kidding - what I meant was, now you can look down your nose at people and gasp incredulously, "You haven't read Jane Austen - !?"

Liz, I most certainly will do that - with pleasure! ;)

> 108

Our rabbi is so dear. One thing he said he wouldn't give up when he retires is books. He started a yearly Jewish used booksale at our synagogue and hopes to help the congregation keep that up. I really have to laugh at him because he's just as avid a bibliophile as all of us here on LT are. Come to think of it, he also has an LT account! Anyway, I was talking to his wife today who mentioned all the books he has all over their house. I can certainly relate to that. :)

He's so funny. About the used book sale, he says, "We are the people of the book, not the Nook". Hehe!

65. War Dances - Sherman Alexie



This is a book of short stories and poems by Sherman Alexie who is a very popular Native American author. I was kind of disappointed in this small volume and wonder if that was because I'd recently seen this author in person and was so totally entertained by his deadpan humor. It doesn't come across that way in his book. I think the best story was one called "Salt" in which a Native American teenager who works for a newspaper is called upon to write an obituary for the obituary writer who just died. I'm still going to look for Alexie's most popular book called The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian.

Rating - 3 stars

Grumblings about "Group Reads"

Okay. So my very first group read experience is not going well at all. I chose to join Mark's group read of The Night Circus. No sooner did I do that than the book, which I borrowed from the library, was due back with no renewal. :(

I've read about 25% of that book so far. This morning I was #207 (!) in the library queue to get that book back. Later this morning, however, I saw that the library added a large print copy of this book. I reserved that as well today - so I'm now #3 (much better!) in the queue for that copy.

Now I see that readers of The Night Circus are posting arbitrary comments about the book in the group read thread. To me, this is disconcerting because I have no idea where people are in the book so posts about things I've not yet read are already in the thread. The thread is numbered by week not by chapter number. One spoiler was marked (which I skipped), but other comments were about things I had not yet read. :(

I can see that group reads are not for me. I have my own rate of reading a book. Perhaps I'll go back to read that thread after I read the entire book. I'm the kind of person
who likes to know almost nothing about what I'm going to read so that I'll be totally surprised. I feel that way about some films as well. As a matter fo fact, I belong to an international film festival series (all films are captioned - I'm hearing impaired). Many times I don't even read about the films ahead of time because I know they've all been chosen with a special eye for selecting the most excellent or controversial films.

I loved doing my own tutored read with Liz (lyzard) because I was able to not only read at my own rate, but also to talk about each of the chapters in detail. That was such a rewarding experience. It seems to me that group reads are too "free for all" for me.

*sigh*

I'm very much looking forward to a tutored read of Jude the Obscure (probably after the first of the year). I've never read a book by Thomas Hardy so I'll be eager to tackle that book. All will be invited to follow along and comment at that time.

I'm still so excited that I've been able to tackle a Jane Austen novel successfully!

*smiles to self proudly*

I'm also doing the group read of The Night Circus and already posted in the group thread that I wouldn't come back till I'd read to the end point as I also felt the comments were too spoiler-ish for me. I have several other books on the go, so am reading at a slower rate than most of the others. Mark noticed that the discussion was advanced and posted a second thread for those who were reading ahead.
I'm generally not a group read person either. I can never read at the pace of the other readers as I'm always reading other books, mostly library books with due dates giving them priority. The Night Circus GR does appeal as I want to read the book around now.
I'm enjoying reading the comments on the current American Gods GR. I read the book last year so no problems with spoilers.

I generally prefer reading the book myself and then looking at the group read thread only afterwards. So like Kerry, I'm also enjoying the American Gods discussion because I've already read the book.

> 113

I'm also doing the group read of The Night Circus

I don't want to interefere with Mark's group read, Kerry, but doesn't it make more sense that, if the chapters are not "assigned" for a certain time period, that the threads be arranged by chapter number rather than by date? In that way no one is cast ahead into unwanted territory.

My idea of a group read is a book that people read together. So, from Mark's thread, it looks as if some people have already finished the book, some have just started it, some are well into it, some haven't gotten quite into it yet, and some (I wonder who?!) have started it but now can't finish reading it!

Oy va voy! ...if group reads were taught that way in school! :D

I generally prefer reading the book myself and then looking at the group read thread only afterwards

...except, Zoe, for the fact that you've then not participated in a group read. You've done a "group read rehash". :D

>116 SqueakyChu: True. Basically just a book discussion, but I'm happy with that :)

I'd say your definition is too strict, though. In my mind, people are reading "together" if they all read the same book in the same month or so. I don't think they have to go page by page at the exact same time ;)

Not all group reads are the same, so don't necessarily count yourself out yet! There was recently a group read of Jude the Obscure somewhere on LT that no one even showed up for! The one person who did read it commented that it's a book that people like to vote on but not actually read ;-) . There was recently a group read of Shindler's Ark at the 1001 books thread where everyone commented after they finished the book, which perhaps isn't the ideal way to do it, but I think the conversation was still worthwhile. Personally, I like the structure where the threads cover chapters 1-4, 5-8, 9-14, etc and so on.

> 117

I'd say your definition is too strict, though.

Zoe, you know that I don't mean that they should read each book together page by page!! We do group reads in TIOLI every month when we share books. It's just that, if we want to discuss books that we read "together", there has to be a way on the fora to be able to follow these books chapter by chapter so that we are not suddenly thrust into a discussion of what happens three chapters ahead of what we are currently reading!

By the way, Zoe, what was the book Tim bought you? Wasn't it great fun meeting him? What happened to Abby? Wasn't she at the meetup? I'm so happy that Jeremy is social media and meet-up friendly. Kudos to him!!

> 188

There was recently a group read of Jude the Obscure somewhere on LT that no one even showed up for!

Joyce, that was before I got "into" reading classics (thanks to Liz!). Ha!

Personally, I like the structure where the threads cover chapters 1-4, 5-8, 9-14, etc and so on.

Something like that would work better for me as there would be "check-in points" to converse about a book before finishing it without the introduction of informtaion from later chapters.

What other groups reads have you done? What was the most successful one for you personally and why? Just curious. I'm not thinking of further developing a currently existing feature. :D

>119 SqueakyChu: Both Abby AND Kate were at the meet-up, though only the later portion (dinner). They were so nice!

Is Kate her assistant? Abby is so sweet!

Hehe, I know, I was just teasing a bit. I do agree that it makes more sense to split the discussion up into several threads based on chapter, plus one with no spoilers at all. I just wouldn't say that the different points that people are at in The Night Circus makes it less of a group read. A less well-organized one, maybe, but still a group read :).

(Speaking of which, I'll probably do a "group read rehash" of that one as well--I'm #311 on the hold list! Though there are a lot of copies. I have mixed feelings about whether I even want to read it, too; on the one hand there's fantasy and magic and a very high rating, but on the other hand there's the dreaded "magical realism" tag....)

The book Tim bought me was Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic Among the Azande. The meetup was definitely great fun! I only wish you could have been there. Abby was there, but only for dinner; Tim was there at the first couple of bookstores in the morning and then again at dinner. Only Nora, Mary, Jeremy, and I participated in the whole day's itinerary. I'm very happy that Jeremy supports meetups, and I'm already looking forward to the next one!

>122 SqueakyChu: Yep, Kate is the assistant librarian for LTFL. She's hilarious.

I've been following your posts on reading Emma--it was sort of like reading it all over again! Emma is my favorite Austen novel. Kudos for finishing it and to lyzard for her expert tutoring!

Sandy K

that was before I got "into" reading classics

Oh, listen to the expert!! :)

This conversation has crossed over something that I've been pondering with regard to the tutored reads. I've been thinking that we'd have a thread per book and that people can join in as they need to, but now I think we might need a thread per book per person - because if Reader A gets a long way ahead of Reader B, there will end up being spoilers for Reader B.

On the whole my observation is that group reads work better with assigned sets of chapters, as with the recent The Age Of Innocence read, so that spoilers are headed off.

> 125

Hi Sandy!

Thanks! Reading Emma turned out to be a much more enjoyable project than I had expected.

> 126

I think we might need a thread per book per person - because if Reader A gets a long way ahead of Reader B, there will end up being spoilers for Reader B.

Truthfully, what made it work for me is that it was *my* read at *my own pace*. If I had a preference, I'd have one thread per book per person. Otherwise, it really turns into a mini group read.

Spoilers are the thing I hate most about group reads, reading book reviews, reading book jackets, etc. Unfortunately, I hit that spoiler for Emma when entering a quotation into Common Knowledge. There is no accounting for when they will appear. The main point, though, is to try to prevent them from happening.

Oh, listen to the expert!!

Hehe!

Other than Emma, the only classic book I've read in recent memory was Bram Stoker's Dracula - which I loved*, by the way! I needed to be talked into reading that book as well. I think it had been recommended by someone on LT after I read The Historian and had given that book a lukewarm review.

*I'll never love the book Emma, but I will be fond of that character from now on. I think Emma had a good heart. I'm glad for Emma and her dad that things worked out as they did. :)

I love Dracula, too - I'm glad you enjoyed it!

And yes, I feel your pain - with any well-known book, I've learned to stay well away from the CK section until after the read. Even the characters lists and important events / places give you more pre-knowledge than you should have.

I get caught out sometimes, because for about 80% of my books I'm the only person who's ever read them, and that makes me careless. :)

When we get set up for the tutored reads, I will raise the issue of spoilers. I don't want to dictate how this is done for everyone, but it's something people need to be very conscious of.

When we get set up for the tutored reads,

I can't wait! If I'm allowed to read more difficult (for me) books very slowly, I know I'll give them more than a fighting chance.

Madeline - after you mentioned the spoiler quote on the Emma workpage, I moved that particular quote to the end of the quotes so now it doesn't appear unless you click on 'see all quotes'.
I also hate spoilers in reviews and book talk, it happens even when you are trying to avoid them.

> 131

That's a good idea, Kerry. I would have seen that particular quote anyway because I was adding some quotes at the time. I know I'd have read them all before adding more.

66. Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and Other Backyard Wildlife - David Mizejewski



I'm still enjoying selecting books from the Powell's gift card given to me at the end of 2010 by an extremely sweet and thoughtful group of TIOLI challengers. This book is one I chose for my permanent collection to help me along in creating a nature habitat in my backyard. What a fun hobby! I even joined a local club to help me along in this pursuit.

This book is really just an introduction to what will become for me an ongoing hobby. Beautiful pictures, valuable information, and fun projects make this a "go to" book for the beginning backyard naturalist. Hopefully it is also an incentive for its readers to end up turning yet more land into a "certified nature habitats" through a certification program created by the Nationall Wildlife Federation to slow or end the decimation of natural habitat for native plants and animals.

Rating - 4 stars

Madeline, I didn't congratulate you on your successful completion of Emma. CONGRATULATIONS! :-D

And once again, it's amazing how helpful it was to me to read your cynical comments (so that I didn't have to make my own) alongside Liz's ever-so-patient explanations. I never would have appreciated this book as much as I did in any other context, I'm sure.

I too look forward to tutored reads. And I agree that they have to be handled quite differently from group reads. Speaking of which, I agree with others that group reads are very different depending on several things, including the book itself, who organizes the threads, who participates and so on. The most successful book read I participated in this year was for The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James, which I thought was good fun because we had lots of great discussions about it. Also helped that the threads were separated by chapters.

I agree with you Madeline that spoilers are no fun and can quite ruin the experience. I'm currently reading American Gods and went over to the group thread and had to stop before I'd gotten halfway through because there were so many comments that contained spoilers already. Sure I can see how it must be fun to follow along for those who've read the book already, but it just turned me off altogether and I don't think I'll go back to join the discussion until I've finished it myself.

Same think for Night Circus. I'm getting started tonight and I know people will already be far ahead, and now that you've made your comments about that thread, I think I'll avoid it too. Sometimes I just post something like "just coming in to say hi, don't want to see any spoilers, so I'll be back when I'm done".

I might join you for Jude the Obscure, even though I don't have that particular book yet but DO have to other Thomas Hardy books. I just saw on Audible that they have a version narrated by Josephine Bailey, a reader I happen to like a lot, so that is a likely option.

I'd better get ready for bed if I want to get any reading done tonight!

Lehitraot! :-)

Thanks, Ilana. For me, finishing Emma was truly an accomplishment.

I had to make cynical comments because that was exactly how I felt. I was bringing my true reactions into my tutored read. I think that Liz's patience with me was "just what the doctor ordered" to make me see what this book had to offer. I would never have truly appreciated its contents without her assistance. For all the remarks I made about what I did not like, there always seemed to be forthcoming rational explanations. It's amazing what a little understanding can do!

I too look forward to tutored reads

I think they are going to be a very special and important part of both the 75-ers and of LT itself. It will be nice to take advantage of those LTers who have specialized knowledge in certain areas of literature and who so unselfishly are willing to share that knowledge with others. The price is right, too! :)

Also helped that the threads were separated by chapters.

Such separations would be good for me as well.

I liked American Gods but not as much as my husband did. I actually liked the sequel, Anasi Boys, much better. Even better than that, though, is seeing Neil Gaiman in person. :)

I don't think I'll go back to join the discussion until I've finished it myself.

So, if people fear reading a thread because of spoilers, what makes it a group read? That's what I want to know. :)

Lailah tov!
Chalomot paz! (...as my aunt Emma used to say)

Just thinking, but it's almost like we need a "Looking for a Tutor" group. Then readers can post "Someone help me read WHATEVER" and someone else can post "I think I can help with Virginia Woolf" or whatever. The catch is, people would need to know this group existed, and to check it out.

I know that a few years ago when I was an OLD student at university I was completely daunted by my required Shakespeare course. I don't know where I posted, but somewhere I said exactly that: "I have to study Shakespeare, and I'm completely daunted!" I think was perhaps the post. I got a whole bunch of fabulous tips, but the best one was from LT member Cariola, who happens to teach Shakespeare at uni in Pennsylvania, and she helped me more than I can ever say.

I'm willing to start the group, but others need to give me all the details .... name, how it will work, etc.

No, Joyce! Don't start the group (but thank you for your interest and eagerness).

Liz (lyzard) is already working with Jim (drneutron) on this. They are carefully thinking through how they would like this to run before starting it. It looks as if it will not be an LT group but rather a 75er feature (like the TIOLI - both good reasons to join this group, Joyce. Ha!). Trust me. It will work. There is already massive interest in participating both from the tutor and tutee perspectives. It will most likely begin with the new year of 2012. Just hang in there a bit!

More information can be found on this thread.

I got a whole bunch of fabulous tips, but the best one was from LT member Cariola,

"Enhanced (tutored) reading" can make most books enjoyable - even if we personally don't like them. I very much liked the opportunity I had to complain about Emma for six entire weeks! :)

Okay - I was just thinking out loud.

Yes, I've had talks with Jim about this, though nothing's yet set in stone - this first phase of tutored reads will very much be a learning process of what works and what doesn't. It will be confined to the 75 group, however.

At the moment I am envisaging a list of reads on the main 75ers wiki, as for group reads, and a list somewhere of volunteer tutors and their specialties. However, I think this will end up being predominantly administered through the threads. I'm planning a "rules" thread where we can work out how to do this amongst ourselves, and a "hook-up" thread where tutors and tutees can find each other. Beyond that I'm inclined to let people run things themselves (it's called delegation!).

Yeah, that's how I see things as well. I'm of a mind to facilitate the connection, then allow utter and tutor to figure out how best to implement that read. Madeline's use of her thread worked well for a single reader. One could also start a new thread just for that tutored read. (In fact, that's probably my recommendation so that the thread can be linked to the book for future reference as a stand-alone entity.) The concept could work as a group read, but clumsily I think, since readers will read at different paces.

By the way, I'm awful at group reads too since I always get out of synch with others. My strategy is to read at my own pace and comment after the fact.

My strategy is to read at my own pace and comment after the fact.

That was always my strategy as well, but it was so great to be able to comment about everything the entire time I was reading my book. It felt so...liberating!

Since I believe that one of the main attractions of the tutored read idea is that individuals can read and absorb at their own pace, I think much of what we organise should be focused on finding the best ways to facilitate that.

I also liked the fact that because it was on your own thread Madeline, there were other people who were able to comment and answer questions from different points of view as well. For this reason, I'm not sure I'm in agreement with your comment on the Tutored Reads thread that there should only be one tutor assigned per book. If other people want to come in and share the knowledge, then who are we to stop them?

Also, I see the advantage of having a thread assigned specifically for tutoring so it can be linked to that one book, but the whole question of letting each person read at their own pace and ask questions as they go along is a huge draw, as Liz pointed out above.

I guess I should post this comment on that thread huh? Want to do other things now, and there are other comments to answer to over there, so I'll copy/paste when I get there.

If other people want to come in and share the knowledge, then who are we to stop them?

I'm not saying that others cannot share knowledge or comments. Just that there be one "official" tutor to each tutee. There can be as much discussion as everyone wants on those threads. However, the basic relationship that will run through each thread will still exist between the person who is reading to learn and the person who is engaged to teach.

In the future, it probably would be best to keep the tutored read as a separate thread so it can be to one book only through the use of the "about" button.

By the way, I just love Amos Oz's Scenes From Village Life so far. While reading it, I have to keep stopping just to think about things I remember from Israel - feelings, places, people. This book has been very resonant with me. I'm finished the first three stories. I love how the residents of Tel Ilan are gently intertwined with each other in the different stories.

I felt the same way about Scenes from Village Life, I could tie so much of what was in the book with my own experiences of being there.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi Luxx!

A happy Maryland Thanksgiving to you and your family, too! :)

A Thanksgiving Question

Did I mess up my pumpkin pie?

I did not have the right ingredients so I subsituted heavy cream/half-and-half (too much, as a matter of fact) for the evaporated milk and used fresh frozen, pumpkin (NOT the sugar pumpkin) for the pie. The pie is now in the oven so this question will be answered later. :/

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

148: It is not possible to mess up a pumpkin pie.

I'm sure your pie will be delicious. Have a great Thanksgiving Madeline and a great day with your loved ones!

It was all wiggly when I took it out of the oven, but it seems to have settled down somewhat. The true test will come later when we all eat it. :D

Happy holiday, Katherine and Ilana!

Right, the proof will be what the pie tastes like. My father's late older brother would always make 6-8 sweet potato pies for Thanksgiving, which looked absolutely perfect, but tasted horrible.

> 148

My taste said the pumpkin pie was only a 4 star recipe. It was good, but it could have been better. I'll not use jack o'lantern pumpkin again. I'll probably try a sugar pumpkin next time. I don't want to use canned pumpkin any more. Sweet potato pie is great but is not good if sweet potatoes is also a main dish (which it was during today's meal).

I don't know why it always* has to be pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. Why not a different, original desert? I left the pumpkin pie at my sister-in-law's but brought home the remains of my apple crumb pie (5 star!) and the cranberry nut bread made by my older son.

*My sister-in-law requested pumpkin and apple pies.

which looked absolutely perfect, but tasted horrible

I have a better recipe. Trust me! :)

67. Scenes From Village Life - Amos Oz



This sad, but hauntingly beautiful, book is composed of stories of individuals who live in the fictitious rural century-old village of Tel Ilan in Israel. Since all of the stories take place within this small village, characters from one story often make cameo appearances in other stories. The stories are rich and layered. All except the last one dwell upon the psychological depths of an individual (each different) at a particular place and time. For readers who are familiar with life in Israel, the characters and their feelings seem very familiar. There is no resolution to the issues posed in the stories, a fact which makes each story significantly unsettling.

Although I loved reading most of this book, I was taken aback by the last story (“In a Faraway Place at Another Time”) which seemed totally incongruous with the rest of the book. I just wish it hadn’t been included in this otherwise slim and perfect volume.

My favorite story was “Relations” in which Dr. Gili Steiner, a physician, awaits the arrival of her soldier nephew Gideon, newly released from the hospital following a kidney infection.

This book is a pleasure to read with its poignant and evocative writing. However, I would advise reading this book slowly as there is much to savor in each individual story. Plan to take the time to feel the depths of each one by itself.

Rating - 4.5 stars

I would have requested pumpkin pie having only had it once in my life- I loved it. I might make it my new years resolution: make pumpkin pie sometime in 2012
Hi btw :)

Hi Megan,

We'll just sit and enjoy pumpkin pie together. Next time I'm using the right ingredients for the pie that I make, though! :)

Madeline, we celebrate Thanksgiving in October here in Canada, and since I don't have much family here, I don't celebrate it at all. But thanks for the holiday wishes all the same! :-)

You're welcome, Ilana.

I made roast turkey for Shabbat dinner tonight because we had dinner at my sister-in-law's yesterday, and both my husband and I want turkey leftovers! :)

Madeline - I loved your review of Scenes from Village Life and I was also very taken with the same story about the aunt and her nephew.

> 159

I wonder if I was so taken by that story in particular because of my dearest Israeli relative, my (late) aunt Emma (my mother's sister). It seemed as if she were always waiting for me to arrive. In addition, I feel for Israeli soldiers who have to quietly serve their country in dangerous situations. I can't help but wonder how hard that must be for them since they never seem to have everyone's support and often can't be sure who hate them and who do not.

...or am I reading too much into this book and all the stories? What I especially liked about most of them was the way they gently induced my thoughts to drift into scenes of my personal life experiences in Israel and with Israelis. I'd stop for long moments to remember; then I'd return to whatever story I was reading. Did that happen to you as well?

68. Ring - Koji Suzuki



Oh, wierd! This is the story of Japanese journalist Kazuyuki Asakawa who found a correlation between the deaths of four teenagers, one of them being his niece. He decided to investigate these deaths with the help of Ryuki Takayama, a high school classmate. The story goes into the occult, and the two friends try to work out the charm that not only causes the teens' deaths but is also threatening the lives of Asakawa, his wife, his daughter, and Ryuki.

I wasn't sure how much I liked this story as I was reading it. It seemed that whatever the theory the two friends had turned out to always be correct. It didn't seem like a realistic investigation. However, the ending was a surprise and one which made me laugh out loud. This is quick reading, and kind of fun. If you don't take the story too seriously, you might like it.

Rating - 3 stars

I'm now reading The Shining by Stephen King. It's Stephen King at his best. I can't believe that it's already been 35 (imagine!) years since that book was written. Although I've never seen the movie with Jack Nicholson, I can see in my mind Jack Nicholson's freakily smiling face while he (as Jack Torrance) is walking wildly through deep snow. I'm not up to that part in the book yet, but I'm loving it so much.

I have the story as a CD which I borrowed from the library. The narrator (Campbell Scott) is just so good. What a fun read! I'm glad I have not yet read all of King's books. In that way, many more of them are "out there" for me to enjoy in the future.

I first read The Shining back in the early 1980s. I was working as a sports "stringer" for the local newspaper (which meant I sat by the phone on Saturday nights and waited for coaches to call in their teams' scores). There were long stretches between phone calls, perfect for catching up on reading. One night, I decided to take along my current book -- you guessed it. Picture it: 18 years old, all alone in an old newspaper office, glass doors behind me rattling in the wind ... I have never been so freaked out and scared in all my life! Every time the phone rang, I jumped in my seat and let out a little squeal.

What a great book.

> 162

Every time the phone rang, I jumped in my seat and let out a little squeal.

LOL!!

Hi Julia!

Too funny (although you didn't think so at the time!) about reading The Shining when you were alone at night. I was listening to it while driving home from a friend's house late last night. It was an hour drive. I was at the part in the book where (if you remember it) Danny (the 5-year-old child) was looking in the bathroom of room 217 (where he was not supposed to be anyway). I had a feeling that, when he pulled back the shower curtain, there was going to be something scary there (I was right). I only hoped that the narrator wouldn't scream and scare me into driving right off the road. (I made it home safely). :)

What a great story The Shining is turning out to be! Stephen King has a way of making things very scary. When King writes well, he writes very, very well. His stories are of people who seem so normal (until things get weird).

I love his dialogues. I think they are so well written. I can imagine real people in his conversations. I think that might be so what's so scary. He makes his characters seem so real.

Once, my husband read (Stephen King's) It (which I never read because he told me the whole story as he was reading it. He was so spooked by that book that he started imagining seeing clowns everywhere. The book really frightened him. I love horror books, but I don't want to be scared by them. Go figure! :)

The Shining is already a 5-star read for me, and I'm only finished half of it. It will definitely remain around as a classic for a long, long time.

I shudder to imagine listening to an audiobook of The Shining alone in a car at night! Kudos to you for not driving straight into the ditch. I don't suppose you saw many other cars late at night, but I'm amused to imagine if any drivers could have seen your face as they passed -- wondering what caused that look of utter horror on your face!

I think you've hit on King's appeal, Madeline. The thing about his writing is that it is not highbrow or flowery or breathtakingly brilliant. Even outside of the dialogue, he writes in such an everyday vernacular, if that's the right term, that it's like sitting next to him listening to him tell you the story.

The Shining certainly is a change from your reading of Emma, isn't it, Madeline? I very much enjoyed following your progress in your "tutored read", and I think the whole idea is brilliant. I can't wait to see how it blossoms next year!

I read The Shining over a long weekend when I was in my 20's. I don't know what possessed me in my choice of reading material, but I was housesitting my father's bed and breakfast inn in rural Pennsylvania for the weekend. I can't remember whether there were any guests or not, but it felt like I was all alone in this rambling old farmhouse. I was terrified--and yet I couldn't put the book away.

I am really missing the Emma commentary, by the way

I once stayed at a big, fancy hotel in the Colorado Rockies. It was off-season and we arrived a few days early for the conference, and so we were one of three rooms in the whole place that were rented. Having read The Shining and seen the movie, needless to say, we looked over our shoulders and made sure the door was triple-locked. Very creepy experience.

> 165

Even outside of the dialogue, he writes in such an everyday vernacular, if that's the right term, that it's like sitting next to him listening to him tell you the story.

I also love Stephen King's sense of humor. Sometimes he comes up with lines that crack me up. At times, they are even in his scariest stories and simply provide comic relief.

Yeah. The Shining is quite a jump from Emma, and, needless to say, I like reading The Shining better. However, I do miss the tutoring from Liz. That was so great. I'm very excited as well to see how the tutored read will progress in 2012. I'm eager for them to begin. I have my book lined up. It will be Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy. Will you be participating in a tutored read, Julia?

> 166

I was terrified--and yet I couldn't put the book away.

Haha! What is it that makes us read these horror stories in places that scare the hell out of us?

I am really missing the Emma commentary, by the way

Yeah. This thread seems kind of empty now! ;)

Anne, I can't wait to see who is going to be tutored by Liz next. I'd advise anyone who is going to read a Jane Austen book to get dibs in on her early! :)

> 167

needless to say, we looked over our shoulders and made sure the door was triple-locked

Haha! Joyce, I want to rent the movie after I read the book. I really like Jack Nicholson and want to see him play the part of Jack Torrance.

>168 SqueakyChu: Will you be participating in a tutored read, Julia?

I hope so! I've read Austen and enjoyed her, but I could definitely use some help with some of those old classics. I'd like to read some Henry James next year, and that I would definitely be interested in being tutored for.

Hmmm? Maybe I'll have to try a Henry James after I do a Thomas Hardy! Those are all authors I've avoided like the plague in the past.

With Emma, in the bitter end, I gave that book a 3 star rating! It was good, but a bit of rough riding for me. I'd been jiggling those stars up and down for about 6 or 7 weeks while I was reading that book. At one point, I think it had been down to just 1 1/2 stars. :)

>164 SqueakyChu: I was terrified by reading It all those years ago as a teen, I consider it an awful book for all the damage it did to me!

>172 SqueakyChu: I want to read A Portrait of a Lady by James next year. We could share!

> 174

I'm going to be selfish, Morphy. I don't want to share a tutor. The fun of reading Emma for me was the fact that I had help for myself along the way and was able to read the book at my own pace. Of course, I don't mind comments of others on my tutored read, but I want my own tutor. I think it was definitely the one-on-one relationship that was the impetus that made me determined to read that whole book. I certainly have no trouble completing a book on my own if it's one that I like to read.

P.S. I still don't like group reads. I tried to get into the group read of The Night Circus, but the book had to go back to the library with no renewal after I finished only a third of it. I get annoyed that everyone is at a different place in the book and comment about things I have not yet read. I think I'm going to avoid group reads once again.

> 173

I consider it an awful book for all the damage it did to me!

Yikes! It seems like a book I should listen to on CD as well. The only problem is its size. It's huge!

69. Masks - Fumiko Enchi



Masks is a fitting name for this intriguing novel. Not only are they part of the story, but they are also a metaphor for one's not knowing people as well as one thinks.

In this story, there is a puzzling relationship between Yasuko Tokano and her mother-in-law, Mieko Tokano. After Akio, Yasuko's husband and Mieko's son, dies in an avalance, two men try to win the affection of the beautiful Yasuko. One of the men is a Tsuneo Ibuki, a married man with a three-year-old child, and the other is Toyoki Mikame, a single man who also happens to be Ibuki's very good friend.

This was a beautiful story. I love the way it flowed. It had a final twist, though, that I should have seen coming. I guess I was too caught up with the characters as they were interacting with one another to think that far ahead. Some stories do that to me.

This story had footnotes to explain some lesser known facts about Japanese historical figures mentioned in the narrative. It also described some Japanese customs with which I was not familiar. An example of this would be the description of several masks as they related to Japanese Noh drama. Stunning imagery was provided by descriptions of women's clothing, the weather, and the ambient scenery.

I'd never before read any books by this author, but I will glady look for more now as I found her style of writing quite enchanting.

Rating - 4.5 stars

LT's Secret Santa and Concord Free Press

This year I decided not to participate in LT's Secret Santa. There are enough participants in that program to deem it a success without my being a part of it.

Instead, I will be requesting a free book from Concord Free Press in return for which I will be making a monetary donation to Manna Food Center. After buying so many suet cakes and seeds to feed wild birds, I thought it was about timfor me to help feed the hungry in my community.

I think this will be a win-win situation. I'll get a book and others (besides birds) will get a meal.

BookCrossing and Occupy DC

You know me. I've already contacted the person in charge of Occupy DC's People's Library. Ha!

There are more books in this library than just the 16 on LT. Their other books have not yet been registered because of equipment and other demands of time.

Now I want to see if my local Bookcrossing group, BCin DC, will want to help me collect some topic-relevant BC-registered books to donate to that library. I hope so. This will be a new cause for me (...as if I really needed a new cause!).

Gah! Will I make it to 75 books this year? I'm running out of time...

179: You can do it! 69 books in 11 months is average over 6 per month. You have 6 books and 1 month to go. Choose wisely. (Talking to myself... I too hit 69 at the end of November...)

> 180

I too hit 69 at the end of November

Hey! We're in this together, Katherine. This week I started reading a very short book, but I hated it! That backfired. I gave it up, and now it's back to books I like to read. We'll see what happens...

Men and refrigerators

I'm now reading What We Eat When We Eat Alone by Deborah Madison. Madison's husband, Patrick McFarlin, does some *fabulous* illustrations for this book! One is a very funny picture of a man looking inside a refrigerator - a scene all too familiar to me.

That got me to thinking. In my house, when a man looks into the refrigerator, it's not to see what ingredients to use for a meal, it's to see what ready-made food is there to be shoved into the microwave to be heated up! :/

Go Madeline Go! May be time for some graphic novels or children's books to get those numbers up?

I have taken to reading novels, because I don't care as much about understanding / remembering / reviewing as I do for non-fiction. This is not actually a bad thing.

In my house, when a man looks into the refrigerator, it's not to see what ingredients to use for a meal, it's to see what ready-made food is there to be shoved into the microwave to be heated up!

Sounds like me... only I usually keep hummus around so I can have it on crackers with a side of tomato or something as I'm not so fond of the microwave.

> 183

I do have one graphic novel I can look for, Ilana. I want to finish those books I've already started first. I've simply had too many books going on at the same time for a while. That always takes the wind out of my reading.

> 185

Sabra brand hummus with warm pita is my favorite "go to" food for when I need a meal and no one else is around. When I lived in Jerusalem and was doing home visits, my lunch was always in a cafe where I would order pita, hummus, and a Coca Cola! It was cheap and tasty.

#182 - I've been interested in that one for a while. I have one of her cookbooks and it's FANTASTIC.

182,185: Heh. Me too. My I got my attitude toward cooking from my mother, who got it from her mother: "If you learn how to cook, you will always have to."

> 188

Kerry, I started out not liking this book too much (others than its illustrations), but now that I've gotten to the part about canned fish (sardines - which I love!, tuna, salmon, etc.) and pasta, I'm liking this book a lot more. :)

> 189

"If you learn how to cook, you will always have to."

Truer words were never spoken! :)

I think they (Occupy DC) need a copy of Chatterbox's book! Chasing Goldman Sachs

True, Jennifer. However, if I had a copy of Suz's book, I'd keep it to read for myself! But you're right. Her book is certainly topic relevant.

I'm only at 67 for the year, but still cautiously optimistic. I'm reading a big fat book that I'm really enjoying, too, instead of strategic small ones. But last year at the end of November I was only at 68, and managed to end the year at 77... so we'll see. The short ones may come out soon ;)

Zoe, the fun's in the trying. If I make it to 75 this year, that will be a first for me. Then I won't feel the necessity to do it again - ever! :)

Five threads behind? arrgh!

:)

70. The Way I See It - Temple Grandin



What a good book! This is a collection of essays, well organized into relevant chapters that present Temple Grandin’s way of viewing individuals along the autism spectrum. She herself is autistic so, in this volume, she explores autism and Asperger’s syndrome from the inside out.

Her book can be used in many ways. It can be read cover to cover, as I did, to get as much information out of it as I could. It certainly is useful as a parental resource to be referred to chapter by chapter, depending on the information needed at the time. In addition, it would be effective comfort to anyone on the autistic spectrum as an aid to begin to view oneself by his ability rather than the disability that others assume him to have.

This book may seem a tiny bit repetitive, but that’s only because this is not a straight non-fiction book but rather many Temple Grandin articles which had previously be published elsewhere. What I liked most about this book was the advice that Grandin gave to parents, mentors, and teachers. Much of that advice could be useful advice for dealing with any child who is “different” from those to whom she refers as “neurotypical”. Down to earth and practical, this is a must read for anyone who wishes to learn more about autism spectrum disorders in general or simply learn how an autistic individual sees the world.

Rating - 4.5 stars

*spent a greater part of this evening trying to figure out in what TIOLI challenges to put all my books*

:)

71. We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson



I love reading books that are somewhat “off” in tone, and this book was no exception. This novel, first published in 1962, was recommended to me as a quick read by two LibraryThing members (_Zoe_ and richarderus).

The story begins with eighteen-year-old Mary Katherine Blackwood (also known as Merricat) returning to her large and lovely home after a shopping trip to the nearby village. She seems very paranoid around the townsfolk, but, before the first chapter is finished, our curiosity is aroused as to why. We go on to learn that Merricat lives with an older sister and an ailing Uncle Julian because both of her parents are dead. As the story progresses, we learn more details about the deaths Merricat’s parents as well as the concurrent death of Julian’s wife Dorothy.

The odd remaining family members live together fairly well secluded until cousin Charles Blackwood arrives and precipitates a turbulent change to thier precarious living situation. Disliked intensely by Merricat, Charles becomes the target of her hexes in an effort to drive him from their house.

I loved this book. It was a short, but utterly compelling, read in all of its gothic finery. I found its prose very lyrical as themes repeated in a kind of a rhythmic beat.

Merricat, said Connie, would you like a cup of tea?
Oh no, said Merricat, you’ll poison me.
Merricat, said Connie, would you like to go to sleep?
Down in the boneyard ten feet deep!

I understand this novel’s becoming a cult classic. As a result, I very much look forward to reading other writing by Shirley Jackson.

Rating - 5 stars

I very much look forward to reading other writing by Shirley Jackson.

Do you mean to tell us that you escaped the experience of reading "The Lottery" in high school?

http://english.learnhub.com/lesson/6889-the-lottery-full-text

No. I never read "The Lottery". I don't have time to read it now, but I'll be back to it as I saw references to it all over the place when I was reading about Shirley Jackson. Thanks for that link, Joyce!

201: LOL!

72. Tokyo Fiancee - Amelie Nothomb



As this book opens, twenty-one year old Amelie has just left Belgium to return to Japan, the country in which she was born. Having not been in Japan since the age of five, she deicided that “the most efficient way to learn Japanese...would be to teach French.” It didn’t take long for her to encounter Rinri, a twenty-year-old Japanese university student of French, who wanted to hire Amelie as his teacher.

It was at this point in the book that I wanted to check if this book was an autobiography or simply fiction. I found out that it was “autobiographical fiction”. Well, okay.

Amelie and Rinri begin to keep each other’s company until the relationship began to look more like boy-friend and girl-friend than teacher and student. Never mind. The beauty of this book, beyond Amelie’s relationship with Rinri, was her becoming reacquainted with Japan. Sometimes together with Rinri and sometimes alone, a status important to her, Amelie began to experience true Japanese culture, from the okonomiyaki (a shrimp and cabbage pancake, more or less) that Rinri made for her, to the nasty remarks of Rinri’s mother, to the remarkable sight of Mount Fuji when discovered from another mountain top. It is these kinds of experiences that give this little book its grace.

I’m not sure how I feel about the ending. Maybe I was a little let down. Anyway, this is not my story. It’s Amelie Nothomb’s. Let her tell it to you.

Rating - 4 stars (which is what most other reviewers also gave it!)

By the way, if it seems as if I'm reading mostly skinny books now, I am. I'm working on getting to 75 books before year's end.

Best quote from Tokyo Fiancee was this:

Belgium...must have sounded like one of these obscure American states no one ever talks about, like Maryland.

If you have not yet guessed, I live in Maryland. :)

I have a very dear friend in Maryland.

Or rather, I have another very dear friend in Maryland. :)

I thought that line was so funny. She could have picked any state, yet she picked Maryland. :)

In what city, Liz?

He's in Crofton - famous for its wandering snakehead fish, I gather. :)

Yeah, there are a lot of states out here in "flyover" country that would have done just as well!

> 208

famous for its wandering snakehead fish

Ew! Think I'll stay way from Crofton! :)

> 209

there are a lot of states out here in "flyover" country that would have done just as well

I wonder if there was anything special that made Nothomb pick on Maryland...

Probably a private joke - maybe she has a very dear friend in Maryland too?

Madeline / Liz - delighted to see that there is a Crofton in Maryland. I was born in a smallish villag in West Yorkshire, England called...Crofton.

Today is our annual BC in DC (Bookcrossing) holiday party. We exchange books by wrapping gently used books in holiday paper and only writing the first line of the book on the outside of the package. The line is read aloud by our "Santa", and we choose whatever book we want by how much we like the first line.

We also will have a "wish granted" book feature in which we give away books to a fellow Bookcrossing member who has wished for a specific book.

In addition, we have a "book buffet" of unwrapped books of which we may take any books we might like.

My goals is always to come home with less books than I take. I'll report back later!

I'm taking 25 (!) books. Of these, 12 are "Book Buffet" unwrapped), 8 are "first-liners" (wrapped) and 5 are "wish (granted" (wrapped).

> 212

delighted to see that there is a Crofton in Maryland. I was born in a smallish villag in West Yorkshire, England called...Crofton.

They should be "sister cities"! That's a real program that we have here in Maryland that twins cities in our county (Montgomery County) to other cities in the world. My city of Rockville is twinned with Pinneburg, Germany, and also Beit Shemesh, Israel. I think it would be even more fun to "twin" cities of the exact same name.

> 213. I love your Bookcrossing Party events . . . what a fun and creative way to share books. Have fun!

The BC holiday party sounds amazing!

I win! I always consider it a "win" when I return from the annual holiday party with less books that I bring to give away. !

These are the books I brought back home because no one chose them from the Book Buffet:
1. Memoirs of a Woman Doctor - Nawal El Saadawi
2. The Master - om Toibin
3. Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
4. Twilight - Stephanie Meyer
5. The Accusation - Curt Finch

These are the books I chose in our "first-line" wrapped book giveaway:
6. The Devil's Arithmetic - Jane Yolen
7. Pretty Girls - Garret Weyr

This is a book I bought at a thrift store we all visited immediately after our luncheon. It just happened to be located next door to the Old Country Buffet, and the paperback books were on sale (8 books for one dollar!):
8. Shalom Japan - Shifra Horn

These books were donated to me for a collection I'm starting of books to be donated to Occupy DC:
9. Hegemony or Survival - Noam Chomsky
10. The Great Risk Shift - Jacob S. Hacker

This book was given to me to give to my daughter (a law student):
11. The Howls of Justice - Harry T. Shafer - This is a book of lawyer jokes. :)

I brought 25 books and came home with only 11. That's very good.

The funniest moment of the aprty was when a three-year-old member of our group was given permission to choose a wrapped book. He chose a book by Kafka! :)

73. What We Eat When We Eat Alone - Deborah Madison



This book looks beautiful. Its layout, the bright white dust jacket, the recipes (printed on pale green paper), and the comical illustrations by Patrick McFarlin are a feast for the eyes. The remaining contents, though, were disappointing to me.

This is a book which is divided into chapters which asked individuals what they eat when they are alone. Various people responded to this question, after which Deborah Madison created recipes for her readers to try out these very recipes. Some of the later chapters in the book had cute themes, such as men cooking for themselves, women learning to cook, and either trying to seduce a lover. However, I was sadly uninspired by most of them and consider this a cookbook that does not quite fit into my personal cookbook collection.

I made the recipe for Steamed Kale with Sesame Oil and Rice Wine Vinegar. My husband and I found it exceptionally good. I also made the recipe for Brooke's Chicken Fajitas with Black Beans. Then I ran out of recipes that I wanted to try. I'll now pass this book along to someone else who might get more out of it than I did.

Rating - 1 1/2 stars

74. The Shining - Stephen King



Reading books by Stephen King are so much fun if you like to be horrified. His books, at least the ones I’ve read, that are horror are just enough “off” so that they are not gruesome in the way that realistic murder novels are. A bit of fantasy or surrealism can actually make horror entertaining. This Stephen King classic is no exception. I loved the experience of reading it, both in hardcover, and listening to the CD version narrated by Campbell Scott. Now I very much want to see the movie version which was directed by Stanley Kubrick and stars Jack Nicholson.

The story is of former alchoholic Jack Torrance who loses his job as English professor at a university due to a fit of rage in which he injured a student. Being at loss for better work, Jack accepts a job as winter caretaker of the Overlook, a prestigious hotel with a notorious history. To this isolated location on a mountaintop in Colorado, he brings his wife Wendy and their five-year-old son Danny.

As in all of King’s lengthy novels, I am amazed by this author’s ability to keep me hooked for hundreds of pages. Generally I wouldn’t even pick up a novel that seems too bulky in size or weight. In this novel, there was repetition, but it was needed in order to get the details right and show the subtle changes in Jack as well as the changes in the environment.

I love the weird statements that King comes up with in the middle of his scary books. They always come in times of utter horror and bring much needed comic relief. For example, to show the fear of Dick Hallorann near the end of the novel, King uses this description:

Hallorann’s testicles turned into two small wrinkled sacs filled with shaved ice.”

That line is so “Stephen King”. I had to burst out laughing after reading it.

This novel of King’s has proven its worth by being around for a long time. It was originally published in 1977. Please read it now and enjoy it. Then stick around for some of this author’s newer works which are even better.

Rating - 4.5 stars

Almost there...

75. Goodbye Tsugumi - Banana Yoshimoto



Banana Yoshimoto’s novels usually have sweet, wistful characters. This novel did not. Its main character was a girl by the name of Tsugumi. She was rude and nasty. She was also dying. Thin, frail, but beautiful, Tsugumi never found favor with me as she did all sorts of spiteful things to others, even to her own cousin Maria. I could never understand why Maria and all others put up with her foolishness. It was very hard not to just close this book and be rid of Tsugumi once and for all.

In this story, Maria, a year older than Tsugumi, comes back to the oceanside Japanese town in which she previously lived to spend one last summer at the inn which Tsugumi’s parents run. Maria, for some odd reason, actually enjoys the company of Tsugumi. Maria also spends time in the company of Yoko, Tsugumi’s older sister, and Kyoichi, Tsugumi’s boy-friend. Not much happens in this story other than the kidnapping of a dog. Yes, I think that’s the highlight of this story.

There’s another lowlight, but I’ll leave that for you to discover should you decide to read this book. What happened was truly not believable so I was rather glad to finish this book and move on to something else.

Rating 1.5 stars

The blue butterfly wins! (FYI: 75 books read in 2011)

*does happy dance*

Congrats!

And considering that one particular book took you as long as the remaining 74 put together... :)

Sorry that #75 was a downer, but congrats on the journey!

Thanks, Jim and Liz. That was a bummer that I disliked that last book so much. I've liked all the other books of Yoshimoto's that I read before. I just really, really disliked that character Tsugumi and could see no reason for Maria to like her either. Harumph!!

Yesterday, I got the DVD of The Shining from the library so I hope to have a chance to view it this weekend. That should be fun.

At least now I won't feel as if I have to race through any more books. I'll just slow down and enjoy all sorts of books for the upcoming TIOLI challenges - even fat books! :)

Congratulations and yay for blue butterflies!

> 224

And considering that one particular book took you as long as the remaining 74 put together...

I wonder how much time I actually spent on reading Emma? It was about 400 pages, but it worked out perfectly because I only read about 5 to 10 pages a day so it didn't get to drag. In addition, I forced myself to read it daily. That got me through it in a reasonable amount of time.

Now I have two more books to finish that I think are only lukewarm, but I want to finsih them so I can get back to reading only one book at a time (*she says again*).

> 226

Thanks, Kerri.

I'm really surprised that I did finish so many books so far this year. This is the most books I've ever read in such a short period of time.

Hooray! From a fellow medium-volume reader, congrats! :-)

> 229

Thanks, Nora.

Aren't you about finished as well? I thought we were running neck and neck.

Congrats on making your 75, Madeline! I hope 76 is more of a winner for you.

Thanks, Mary.

Now that I've made 75 this year, I won't feel compelled to push myself to do that again! :)

I'll be a lazy reader from now on...

>230 SqueakyChu: I've been in a bit of a slump for the last month or so; I have 3 books left. I really can't see any circumstances under which I would not meet my goal this year, though :-)

I daresay I know few enough people who read more than 12 books in a year (outside of LT, of course!), so if your final count is in the 60s next year I will hardly be calling you a lazy reader. :)

I usually read about 50 books a year. I started out in that LT group three years back. However, that group was sooooooooo boring. I liked this chatty bunch so I stuck around here among the 75-ers, never imagining that I would some day actually reach the golden 75 (books, not years)!

I should start counting my husband's books as well. He reads a lot, especially in the winter when he has almost no (construction) work.

>235 SqueakyChu: Yeah, I started in the 50 book challenge too. (I regularly read, um, more books than that, but figured I'd start small.) Eventually I wanted more discussion and was already following some of the chatty people here who left the 50 books group, so I moved on as well.

Congratulations! 75 books, plus managing TIOLI.
I was exactly with you at the end of November, now I'm officially at 70, but actually mostly done with 2 others, and partly done with a 3rd, so I'll get there...

Great Job, Madeline! Next stop 100!

Madeline . . . congratulations! Well read.

That said . . . who cares about the number? Some years you read 40 or 50 fabulous books. This year you read a bunch more. But in the end, what is important is that you had another great year of reading. I know that you're someone who cares about what she reads, and is thoughtful about her reading. I know there are other people who are all about numbers. Okay, so they've read 162, or 330, novels that were variations of the same thing--big whoop. Or others, who race through novels, but don't actually slow down enough to grasp everything they're reading. You could have roared through Emma, but would you have gleaned from it what you did if you hadn't chatted about it with a whole group of Janites? If someone told me they were going to spend a year reading Proust's In Search of Lost Time I'd think they were crazy, but I'd also be impressed--yet at the end of the year, they'd have only read one book. As the saying goes, it's not the destination that's important, but the journey.

So good job on reading 75 books because it was a new challenge, but really, congrats on a year of great, thoughtful reading!

Madeline also want to add my congratulations on reaching the 75 target! An excellent achievement especially given your superb administration of the TIOLI challenges throughout the year for which I fo 1 am extremely grateful. Must finally read some Stephen King and will proceed with care with Ms. Yoshimoto.

Congrats on 75!

> 238

Thanks, Katherine.

> 239

Next stop 100!

I don't think so, Cheli!! :)

Congratulations Madeline:)

(An older version of me wildly applauding Madeline's accomplishment)

> 240

congrats on a year of great, thoughtful reading!

Thanks, Joyce. For sure, what's important to me in a year's worth of reading is variety. I would become quickly bored by reading many books back to back if they were similar in genre or theme.

What was new for me this year was reading Emma, a classic! Never in a million years would I have thought I'd read such a book. The irony of the situation was that it was my own challenge that inspired me to tackle that Jane Austen classic. :D

> 241

Paul, I'd love for you to join me in reading Stephen King novels. As a warning, some of his books are just "meh", but the good one are "Oh, so good!" Choose carefully.

Banana Yoshimoto writes sweet and sad books which I usually like. It was the character of Tsugumi whom I found distasteful, and I didn't like reading about her.

> 242

Thanks, Morphy!

> 245

Darryl, that's hilarious! Thanks. I love the expressions of the others who are watching (the older version of) you going beserk applauding. :)

Congrats on getting to your goal! Now you can sit back and bask in the knowledge that you can get there if you want to, or not, if you don't.

I'm counting down (or up?) to 75 myself - I have 9 to go and might make it. If not, not. (shrug)

Judy, I was just too close to say "not" this year. As you say, from here on in, it's only leisurely reading for me.

Woohoo! Congratulations!

I started out in that LT group three years back. However, that group was sooooooooo boring. I liked this chatty bunch so I stuck around here among the 75-ers, never imagining that I would some day actually reach the golden 75 (books, not years)!

Oh, this was me as well! I think I read 40 books the year I was in the 50-book challenge, but I moved up anyway because this group was so much more interesting. And I was amazed when I actually reached 75 books last year. Unfortunately I don't think I'll make it this year since I'm only at 69 and currently reading George R.R. Martin, but you never know. I do have a teensy Gordon Korman trilogy in my TBR pile that I might sneak in just to boost the numbers ;)

Zoe, graphic novels are also good for boosting your book count.

That's true. I've been meaning to read Scott Pilgrim for ages....

> 252

Yeah. It was way too quiet in the 50-ers!

If you stop by the library, read a few new kids' books. They count, and they could be fun!

The 100 book wasn't any better. I blow through 75 books in a quarter or so. The 75 Books Challenge is the bestest though. :D

> 256

The 75 Books Challenge is the bestest though.

Phew! At least I won't feel compelled to read any faster. :)

I started out in the 50 Book Challenge as well, but I read 60 books my first year so I figured I needed to be more ambitious.

Scary to contemplate considering how it now dominates my life, but it's only a year since I stumbled on all this more or less by accident (Tim will be thrilled to know I came for the cataloguing!). And while the 75ers was obviously where the action was, it was TIOLI that hooked me - I was doing that before I was an official group member.

So it's ALL YOUR FAULT!! :)

So it's ALL YOUR FAULT!!

...and I am so GLAD!

LOL!!

Haha! I'm reading Hope: A Tragedy, the new book by Shalom Auslander, another book of his which, like his biography Foreskin's Lament, is sure to outrage readers everywhere. I'm finding this novel very amusing, though. Reminiscent of lines from Egar Allen Poe's famous poem "The Raven", the following lines from Auslander's novel had me laughing out loud:

Upstairs.
In the attic.
A ticking?
A tapping.
As if some mouse were gently crapping, crapping on his attic floor.

This book may not be for everyone, but I find Auslander's style of writing very different and oddly entertaining.

Bring on more...

Psst, don't forget to post about your achievement on the "bragging and backslapping" thread, so everyone can congratulate you! :-)

Uh. Okay.

76. The Cat and the Curmudgeon - Cleveland Amory



I think this book can best be described as witty and charming. There is much affection and great attention to detail in Mr. Amory's description of his relationship with his cat. Cleveland Amory has a fabulously funny way of describing his cat Polar Bear's personality.

Amory seems less funny when he describes his own life. However, when he gets to talking about animal advocacy, a role that he took with much seriousness during his life, his writing once again begins to shine.

This book is light reading. Don't miss the part where Amory talks about his experience trying to pill his cat. Polar Bear simply does not take pills!

This a perfect book to read all the way though or simply one chapter at a time when you need a laugh and would especially enjoy some laughs about a cat.

Rating - 3 stars

FYI, Madeline---

I've been fiddling with the Tutored Reads wiki, and I've put your read of Emma in there as an example with the proper dates. We were working on that for six weeks - so although it may have felt to you like it took you forever to wade through, it was not that much longer than your average group read. It was just more intense, I guess.

I picked 30th September as our arbitrary start date, as that was when you were most vocal about how much you hated it and wanted to give up. :)

>265 lyzard:

We were working on that for six weeks - so although it may have felt to you like it took you forever to wade through

It was only six weeks? I thought it was six years! ;)

that was when you were most vocal about how much you hated it and wanted to give up

Haha! That was the most fun I ever had in my life complaining about a book!

Today I watched the Stanley Kubrick movie of Stephen King's "The Shining". That was so much fun to watch. Jack Nicholson was great as Jack Torrance, although the movie was a bit different from the book.

It was only six weeks? I thought it was six years!

Well, that's curious: for me the time just flew by! :)

LOL!!

That's because I was reading the actual book, and you were only answering questions. ;)

A very belated bouncy guy for you, Madeline.




Congratulations on hitting 75!

Thanks, Stasia.

Congrats on finishing 75 books!

Thanks, Terri.

I'm just takin' it easy now...

Happy Holidays! Cool you met your reading goal.

Happy holidays to you, Ren.

I'm glad the pressure is off me now...for reading, at least! :)

Anyone feel like thread-hopping? If so, skip over to this thead and say hi to Cathy (Petrini1). She's an author, a Bookcrosser...and my friend. I'm very excited that she has decided to join our 75-ers group. Please make her feel welcome here.

Happy Hanukkah, Madeline!

Hi Stasia!

Thank you. Have yourself a Merry Christmas!

77. Hope: A Tragedy - Shalom Auslander



Think: Chuck Pallahniuk's rhythms meets the Holocaust. If that doesn’t appeal to you, don’t read this book. If you still remain curious, here’s more about Shalom Auslander’s first novel. True to form for this author's writing, some readers may find his subject matter offensive, so proceed with caution…

Solomon Kugel moves with his wife Bree, his young son Jonah, and his mother to a farm house in Stockton, New York. Bree is extremely unhappy about “Mother” living in their house, but Kugel maintains that she will soon die. In the meantime, Mother amuses herself by visiting her garden and “picking” vegetables which, in reality, had been purchased in a grocery store by Kugel. Mother, born and bred in New York state, thinks she has been a Holocaust survivor despite Kugel’s many attempts to convince her otherwise.

Kugel, a writer, has great difficulty sleeping. Much has to do with a constant tapping that he hears through the air vent of his house. The funniest lines of the book have to do with this.

Upstairs.
In the attic.
A ticking?
A tapping.
As if some mouse were gently crapping, crapping on his attic floor.

What Kugel actually finds in the attic is a total surprise and how he deals with this situation is even more intriguing.

Though this novel might be considered by some as funny, its deeper pervasive theme of death made it only "borderline funny" to me. However, the story slowly evolved into quite the family saga. Though Auslander strikes hard at areas we wish he'd not approach, his is a unique voice and one whose thoughts make for quite an interesting read. This particular story could have been a little lighter on bodily functions for my own reading taste, but, other than that, I found this book very likable in its own weird little way.

Rating - 3.5 stars

#278: Thanks!

The Auslander book sounds intriguing, especially since I haven't read more than a short story or essay of his. thanks, I'll keep it in mind.

Madeline, it looks like you are having a stellar reading year. Seventy-five books and counting... a successful tutored read of Emma... and another creative TIOLI year. Thanks for making the 75-book challenge more fun for many of us. Happy Holidays to you, and please keep those creative juices flowing in 2012!

> 281

Judy, that Auslander book was weird, weird, weird...but I liked it!

> 282

This was indeed a great reading year for me. I'm surprised, too, that my read of Emma didn't slow me down.

Have a wonderful holiday season, Donna!

I'm in the 75 books club, too, now! Hooray for us!

*does happy dance along with Nora*

Coming: Sunday, April 22, 2012

Kensington Celebrates the Day of the Book

11am - 4pm

Be there!

I am late, but congrats on reaching 75. I feels really good to hit that 75th book for the first time, and then realize you never have to worry about it again because you did it!
I am reading The Count of Monte Cristo as my 75th book. It is really good but I may not finish it before the end of the year, which is ok since I hit 75 last year.

Thanks, Jennifer. Yeah, I love that the stress is off now!

My older son just read The Count of Monte Cristo because he was able to download it onto his Kindle. He liked the story very much.

Yes, the story is very engrossing and it moves fairly quickly. I do get some of the characters mixed up now and then, but that's ok.

Madeline - thanks so much for hosting TIOLI in 2011. Have a very merry christmas and a wonderful new year and beyond. Look forward to more of your challenging challenges in 2012.

It was my pleasure, Paul. It's nice to have had you with us this past year. Have a great holiday season!

Wishing you a happy holiday and looking forward to more TIOLIing next year:)

LOL!! Calm, that is soooo cute. Have a Merry Christmas and a terrific 2012, my friend.

I'll be buzzing around all day and evening with only scattered bits leftover for LT, but I see you're making the rounds of holiday greetings in the midst of Chanukah cooking, so... happy holidays to you too! Sorry you can't get to NY for the meetup, but there will surely be photos, and future opportunities.

Thanks, Katherine. Chanukah cooking is over...and the latkes are all gone! Today I'm baking Christmas cookies for my husband's family. At this time, I'm still on my LT break from cooking/baking. :)

So you're covering two holidays! Double the fun...

All the more to eat! :)

Happy Holidays Madeline . . . Thanks for all work you do to make LT such a fun place!

Enjoy all the holidays, and best wishes for a healthy and happy new year.

> 298

Brenda, my "work" here on LT is really all pleasure. Have a great holiday with family and friends!

> 299

Judy, have a safe and fun holiday season. All the best for the new year!

mistletoe smooches!

Happy holidays, Madeline, and best wishes for a happy, healthy & blessed 2012!

> 301

Hugs, Richard! Here's hoping I get to meet you sometime in the not too distant future.

> 302

Thanks! Have a great holiday season, Mary!

Wishing you all the very best Madeline!

Happy Holidays, my dear friend! I'm very happy that I've gotten to know you better this year, and I hope that we can meet in person sometime next year.

Hope you are having a bright and blessed Channukah, Madeline!

Happy holidays Madeline! I hope I'll get to see you often in 2012.

Happy Holidays!

Best wishes, Ilana, Darryl, Roni, Nora and Katherine for the most amazing holiday season ever! May all good things come to you in 2012. Ever onward...

Hi, Madeline - hope you and your family are enjoying the season. Thanks so much for all the fun this year, both TIOLI and tutoring!

Hi Liz!

I wish you and your family all the best for the holidays and the coming year.

Thank you again for being my tutor this year. That experience was truly great fun.

Best of luck with your new "tutored reads" project here on 75-ers group. I predict it will be a fabulous success!

Happy holidays Madeline (and congratulations on getting to 75).

I echo the thanks expressed here for TIOLI, which has been one of the highlights of my year. (I hope that doesn't sound too pathetic--I really do have a life.)

Hoping to see you at another DC meetup in the future.

Hi Anne!

All the best wishes for 2012!

78. Drinking: A love Story - Caroline Knapp



The author tells about her experiences as a young woman and as an alcoholic. The main gist of the story is that it's so easy to fool oneself into believing that an excess of drink has no adverse effects on one's life. That simply is not true. Her story explains why.

Rating - 3 stars