calm counting - 75 and beyond in 2011 - part 5

Welcome to any visitors. I appreciate any comments and recommendations. I must admit to being a great lurker on other people's threads but I do try to say something occasionally. Though I tend to just sit in the corner and read:)



I read 180 books in 2010 so I'm setting my target at 200 (as I hate going over the end of the ticker) though I doubt whether I'll get there:)




I'm also taking part in The 11 in 11 Category Challenge. The thread is here

http://www.librarything.com/topic/105963

Unfortunately I haven't been posting there (just updating posts with books read in each category and managing the ticker!)

I have a target of a minimum of 5 books per category and I hit that on 17 November.

My categories are

1 Ideas - Religion and Philosophy (8/11)

2 The Past - Prehistory, Ancient History and History (non-fiction) (11/11) COMPLETED

3 I Want to Know More - other non-fiction (11/11) COMPLETED

4 Myth, Folklore and Legend - both original and retellings (11/11) COMPLETED

5 Books in Translation - fiction translated into English (11/11) COMPLETED

6 Around the World - contemporary fiction (11/11) COMPLETED

7 The Way We Used To Live - historical fiction (11/11) COMPLETED

8 Maybe - Fantasy and Science Fiction (11/11) COMPLETED

9 Arthurian and Celtic Tales (11/11) COMPLETED

10 It's a Mystery - stories with a twist. (11/11) COMPLETED

11 It's About Time - Classic Fiction (11/11) COMPLETED

updated 31 December - I managed to complete 10 out of the 11 categories. Oh well better luck next year;)

If you want to go back
thread 1 is here http://www.librarything.com/topic/104801
thread 2 is here http://www.librarything.com/topic/114942
thread 3 is here http://www.librarything.com/topic/119682.
thread 4 is here http://www.librarything.com/topic/122312

Thanks again to any visitors.

Time to get reading:)


glitter-graphics.com

Book list for this thread

Post numbers are where there are comments.

140) The Grass Dancer by Susan Power (post 7)
141) Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson (post 18)
142) A Very Long Engagement by Sébastien Japrisot (post 33)
143) The Woman who Gave Birth to Rabbits by Emma Donoghue (post 34)
144) Pagans and Christians by Robin Lane Fox (post 45)
145) The Hollow Hills by Mary Stewart (post 58)
146) Snuff by Terry Pratchett (post 63)
147) Babel-17 by Samuel Delaney (post 78)
148) The Birth House by Ami McKay (post 88)
149) Celtic Heritage by Alwyn Rees and Brinley Rees (post 89)
150) Persuasion by Jane Austen
151) Pooh and the Philosophers by John Tyerman Williams
152) A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
153) Strange Things: the Malevolent North In Canadian Literature by Margaret Atwood (post 112)
154) The Last Enchantment by Mary Stewart
155) American Indian Myths and Legends by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz
156) Embassytown by China Miéville (post 119)
157) A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas (post 120)
158) The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht (post 123)
159) She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth by Helen Castor (post 124)
160) The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder
161) The Crow Goddess by Patricia Finney (post 130)
162) Theogony by Hesiod
163) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (post 137)
164) Broken Evolution by Brendan Cody (post 170)
165) Sisters of Sinai by Janet Soskice (post 171)
166) Divine Endurance by Gwyneth Jones
167) The Box of Delights by John Masefield (post 173)
168) Searoad by Ursula Le Guin
169) Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (post 184)
170) Timaeus and Critias by Plato

Book list from previous threads

Post numbers are where there are comments.

Books read on thread 1.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/104801

1) The Magicians by Lev Grossman (post 33)
2) Homeland and Other Stories by Barbara Kingsolver (post 34)
3) Elf Love edited by Josie Brown (post 54)
4) The World Without Us by Alan Weisman (post 62)
5) Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster (post 81)
6) The Whirlpool by Jane Urquhart (post 82)
7) The Tower and the Emerald by Moyra Caldecott (post 106)
8) The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney (post 107)
9) Spirit : or, the princess of Bois Dormant by Gwyneth Jones
10) The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
11) Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
12) The Bell at Sealey Head by Patricia A. McKillip (post 111)
13) The Corner That Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner (post 112)
14) The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell (post 127)
15) Weaveworld by Clive Barker
16) The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (post 129)
17) the Normans and Their World by Jack Lindsay (post 130)
18) Crow Lake by Mary Lawson (post 138)
19) Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (post 143)
20) The Mouse God by Susan Curran (post 155)
21) The Mind in the Cave by David Lewis-Williams (post 156)
22) The Prodigy Project by Douglas Flanders (post 164)
23) Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquuivel (post 165)
24) Silas Marner by George Eliot (post 166)
25) A Time for Everything by Karl Ove Knausgård (post 167)
26) Old Man's War by John Scalzi (post 168)
27) The Last Light of the Sun by Guy Gavriel Kay (post 179)
28) JIgs and Reels by Joanne Harris (post 180)
29) Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow By Peter Hoeg (post 188)
30) The Genius of China by William Watson (post 189)
31) Religious Experience of Mankind by Ninian Smart
32) The Flowers of Adonis by Rosemary Sutcliff
33) Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier (post 192)
34) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
35) The Bhagavad Gita by Anonymous
36) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
37) The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi (post 200)
38) The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster
39) Citadels of Mystery by L Sprague de Camp (post 202)
40) Ambrosius Aureliana by Leon Mintz
41) The Last Colony by John Scalzi (post 208)
42) Awakening by S J Bolton (post 220)
43) The Lady in Blue by Javier Sierra (post 229)
44) China : the land of the heavenly dragon by Edward L. Shaughnessy (post 239)
45) When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Kay Penman (post 240)
46) The Game by A. S. Byatt
47) Rose Madder by Stephen King (post 245)

Books read on thread 2

http://www.librarything.com/topic/114942

48) The Alienist by Caleb Carr (post 4)
49) The Complete Idiot's Guide to Hinduism by Linda Johnsen (post 12)
50) Affinity by Sarah Waters (post 13)
51) How the Irish Saved Civilization : the Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe by Thomas Cahill (post 22)
52) The Lollipop Shoes by Joanne Harris (post 24)
53) The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (post 25)
54) The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (post 38)
55) Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft (post 39)
56) Bending the Boyne by J. S. Dunn (post 40)
57) Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson (post 43)
58) Sacrifice by S. J. Bolton (post 48)
59) Animal Folk Tales Around the World by Kathleen Arnott (post 59)
60) Mr Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt (post 60)
61) Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch (post 83)
62) Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov (post 85)
63) Irish Fairy Tales by Padraic O'Farrell (post 97)
64) Riddle of the Wren by Charles de Lint (post 138)
65) Blood Harvest by S. J. Bolton (post 139)
66) A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel (post 140)
67) Company of Liars by Karen Maitland (post 141)
68) Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (post 158)
69) Mythangelus by Storm Constantine (post 187)
70) The Crippled God by Steven Erikson (post 191)
71) The Dark World by Henry Kuttner (post 204)
72) Theodora : actress, empress, whore by Stella Duffy (post 206)
73) 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (post 211)
74) The Cats of Seroster by Robert Westall (post 225)
75) The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant (post 231)
76) The Testament of Gideon Mack by James Robertson (post 243)
77) The Night Watch by Sarah Waters (post 248)

Books read on thread 3

http://www.librarything.com/topic/119682

78) If You Fall I Will Catch You by Eifion Jenkins (post 10)
79) River Thieves by Michael Crummey (post 19)
80) The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (post 22)
81) Books that Changed the World by Robert B. Downs (post 29)
82) The Gallows Curse by Karen Maitland (post 32)
83) The Book of Atrix Wolfe by Patricia A. McKillip (post 49)
84) Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver (post 57)
85) Angelology by Danielle Trussoni (post 64)
86) The Bone People by Keri Hulme (post 91)
87) Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (post 106)
88) The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter (post 107)
89) So Many Ways to Begin by Jon McGregor (post 108)
90) Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris (post 109)
91) Lucifer's Shadow by David Hewson (post 110)
92) The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas (post 144)
93) Visitation by Jenny Erpenbeck (post 145)
94) Watership Down by Richard Adams (post 162)
95) Ghostwritten by David Mitchell (post 163)
96) Emma by Jane Austen (post 185)
97) If I Stay by Gayle Forman (post 190)
98) A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman (post 204)
99) The Sky Mystery Magic and Myth by Jean-Pierre Verdet (post 205)
100) The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (post 206)
101) King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green (post 216)
102) The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin (post 225)
103) The Book of Human Skin by Michelle Lovric (post 245)

Books read on thread 4

http://www.librarything.com/topic/122312

Book list for this thread

104) Enemy of God by Bernard Cornwell (post 17)
105) Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson (post 27)
106) The Circle Cast by Alex Epstein (post 33)
107) The City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende (post 47)
108) The Remedy by Michelle Lovric (post 60)
109) The Inheritance and other stories by Robin Hobb/Megan Lindholm (post 66)
110) The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo (post 67)
111) A House for Mr Biswas by V. S. Naipul (post 68)
112) Enchantment by Orson Scott Card (post 87)
113) The Black Stiletto by Raymond Benson (post 88)
114) Mapping the Edge by Sarah Dunant (post 89)
115) The Great Transformation : the world in the time of Buddha, Socrates, Confucius and Jeremiah by Karen Armstrong (post 90)
116) Excalibur by Bernard Cornwell (post 105)
117) Early Celtic Art in Britain and Ireland by Ruth and Vincent Megaw (post 106)
118) Perdido Street Station by China Miéville (post 107)
119) The Memory Game by Nicci French (post 129)
120) Bee Season by Myra Goldberg (post 130)
121) The Darling Strumpet by Gillian Bagwell (post 131)
122) The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen (post 132)
123) The Scar by China Miéville (post 133)
124) Borderliners by Peter Høeg (post 139)
125) The Outlander by Gil Adamson (post 140)
126) Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (post 141)
127) The Iron Council by China Miéville (post 162)
128) The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher : or, The Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summerscale (post 163)
129) Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue (post 164)
130) The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson (post 165)
131) The Three Arthurs: History, Legend and Quest by Derek Bryce (post 166)
132) Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter (post 179)
133) Cannery Row by John Steinbeck (post 189)
134) The Giant Book of Vampires by Stephen Jones (post 206)
135) Nefertiti : a novel by Michelle Moran (post 207)
136) East, West by Salman Rushdie (post 208)
137) I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (post 209)
138) Dancing With Eternity by John Patrick Lowrie (post 217)
139) The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart (post 241)

I thumbed your reviews of the three China Mieville books Perdido Street Station, The Scar and Iron Council.....because he's one of my favorite writers, too...

;-}

I'm here!!!

Oh, Mieville :) :) he is good, I have only read Un Lun Dun but I loved it!!
I think calm you were the one that told me to start with Un Lun Dun to get a taste for his writing style :)
need to get to his other ones

Thanks Jude - he is a good writer.

Hi Kara - I might have. Just remember that Un Lun Dun was YA - his adult books are a bit darker but he does have a great imagination - I think I'll always be interested in what he writes in fact I've already got Embassytown on hold at the library - just have to get there:)

140) The Grass Dancer by Susan Power (6 - 8 November)

From the 1980's we go back through the history of two Sioux families in North Dakota exploring the connections as the myth that is Red Dress and Ghost Horse's story affects their descendants.

Taking in approximately one hundred years of North American Native history this does have an episodic feel as Susan Power's takes us back through time, highlighting certain critical events in the lives of the families. There are strong characters here and I would love to learn more about the lives. This is a good book but slightly disjointed and some sections and stories are stronger than others.

I did enjoy this book and the stories Power's tells. Obviously she has great respect for history and Native American heritage. I would definitely read more of her work.

Dropping off my star! I have yet to read one of Mieville's books but I have 4 of them sitting patiently and waiting their turn. :)

Plopping down to get comfy and watch the new thread grow..

Book 140 (140!@##!) looks interesting, Im in that part of the world at the moment too in Justice by Larry Watson. Id like to know more- on the list it goes!

Hi Valerie - I hope you manage to find the time to get to Mieville sometime soon.

Hi Kath - Thanks Kath - hope you are having a comfy day.

Hi Megan - what's wrong with 140 books ... I'm way behind on last year:) Hope you like the book.

As I navigate the threads this morning, I'm glad I made a bried stop in Wales to discover your new thread .

Your wise old owl looks good!

Popping in to say hello! The Grass Dancer looks interesting!

Oh .. I found my copy of The Grass Dancer.. in fact it dropped off the shelf the other day. Odd.

Good review of The Grass Dancer! I read that one before I joined LT...and was likewise impressed with her storytelling ability...dunno if she's written anything else, though

;-}

Lynda - thanks for visiting cold damp Wales. I like the Owl as well:)

Chelle - Hello! Well I liked it:)

Kath - it must be a sign! At least you know where it is:)

Jude -Thanks. Yes she is a good story teller. It looks like that she wrote a book of short stories Roofwalker.

congrats. calm on your 3 HOT reviews right now!!! :)

141) Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson (8 - 11 November)

This was a very impressive debut novel by Kate Atkinson, telling the story of Ruby Lennox and her maternal ancestors back to Alice in the 1888. Four generations of women with their families, hopes and disappointments. This is solid storytelling, well constructed and a good glimpse of twentieth century history.

There are real layers to this book as we dip back into family history - sparked by some small memento from the past. Life and death; war and peace, daily life are all revealed. Like all families there are things hidden and as the book goes on secrets are slowly disclosed and as you get to the end you realise that hints have been revealed, some subtle but some that hit you as obvious.

I must admit that this didn't live up to my expectations - but then so many people have been saying how outstanding this novel is that I should probably have realised that I was expecting something more. In the end I liked it but didn't love it.

Kara - 3! I've never had three hot reviews at once - I better take a look.

OK looked - I guess there are some Mieville fans out there and I did write them all more or less at the same time:)

#18 - Oh no! It's one of my favorites! I just did a motion where I pretend to drive a sword into my heart. (I'm being dramatic.)

I'm glad you at least liked it though : )

Kerri - I think that was part of my problem - so many people count it amongst their favourites that I was expecting too much - so my problem not the books. At another time, with no expectations things might have been different.

Also I just read Grass Dancer - that covers the same time scale, though in a very different place and with a different structure to the book which I connected to more. So maybe just bad timing for the Atkinson. I did give it the same number of stars as Grass Dancer though.

#21 - I get that. I think that's what happened to me when I read The Corrections and saw the film Taxi Driver (not at the same time, of course.) I thought - this is good, but why are people always going on and on about this stuff. It's a good argument against book gushing, which I might do too much of at times. (Oops!)

Nothing wrong with book gushing Kerri - we all chose the books we read and I do try to not let other people's opinions effect my own reaction ... most of the time:)

I love Kate Atkinson's work...pre-Mysteries....Behind the Scenes at the Museum, Human Croquet, and Emotionally Weird are my favorites.....but, these books can be a bit of an "acquired taste" (she does try to be "quirky")

Any who...good review!

;-}

Thanks Jude -I do like her writing. I've already read Human Croquet and liked that one as well. Still want to get to Emotionally Weird someday ... not so sure about the Jackson Brodies ... too much hype and not really my genre.

just wanted to stop by the thread of our biggest hottie :)

Hi Kath - thanks:)

I hate book gushing -- until I feel the need to indulge in it myself!!

It does raise expectations to unsustainable levels. That said, I do need to read Atkinson's non-Brodie novels (while awaiting the next Brodie!)

Suz - I guess we are all the same about books:)

As I'm in the middle of three books and am unlikely to finish any in the next few days I thought I would do something a bit different.

Back a thread or two someone asked for photos of where I live and, as I finally worked out how to upload stuff from my phone, I'm going to share some pictures I took earlier this year.

where I live

the view from my house

a walk through the woods

looking across the valley on the same walk

and my furry friends

Muzzy

Circe

Odysseus

Oh calm!!! You live in a beautiful lace ! and your furkids are gorgeous!!!
I think it looks cozy and warm and lush and .. well.. calm :)
Thank you so much for posting these!

Hi Calm. Lovely pictures, looks like you live in a great place!

Thanks Kath and Chelle.

142) A Very Long Engagement by Sébastien Japrisot (11 - 14 November)

This is a wonderful story about one woman's search for the truth about her fiance's fate in World War I. We learn right at the beginning that in 1917 five men are marched with bound hands to No Man's Land, between the opposing trenches, and left to their fate. Manech, Mathilde's fiance is one of the men. A couple of years later another soldier tells Mathilde this story. From there it is a long search for her as she seeks the truth - could her lover possibly have survived?

Mathilde is very determined and the horrors of the war - physical, psychological and emotional - are slowly revealed to her and the reader. We are also given the stories of the relatives and friends of the five and hear the tales of other soldiers involved in that day. This is a convoluted, multi-layered story that is not lightly read - there are many characters but at the centre is Mathilde and her story focuses the plot.

I must say that I first saw the film, many years ago, which might have helped me keep the overall picture in mind. I thought the film was very good but I'm so pleased to have finally read the book - it's brilliant.

143) The Woman who Gave Birth to Rabbits by Emma Donoghue (11 - 15 November)

I think this collection could be described as "filling in the gaps of history". Various unusual and quirky things that have caught Emma Donoghue's interest over the course of her research are filled out - from the titular woman who gave birth to rabbits, to people mentioned in folk songs, to minor historical figures - all given their possible story. A nice touch is that Donoghue gives a brief description of where she sourced her ideas in brief notes at the end of each story.

This is an interesting collection full of fascinating possibilities but, for some reason, I didn't really warm to many of the characters. This could be because I felt that there is a certain detached quality to the stories and the narrators weren't always appealing. I'm not sorry that I read this collection but I don't think it is one I'll want to re-visit.

Hi calm. Lovely photos of your fur buddies, house and surrounding area. I love the look of those old-stone cottages.

Glad you enjoyed the Mieville trilogy - there's no chance I'll manage it in 2011 but perhaps I can finish that one off in 2012.

I think The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits will be a library book rather than a purchase based on your review. I'm not always sure how I feel about the short story format either.

Catching up again - I was just back on your old thread seeing what I'd missed there... I didn't realise there were additions to the Mary Stewart Merlin trilogy: I might have to do a re-read of the first three (read when I was about 15 I think) and then read the follow ups.

I heard a Radio 4 radio play about the Woman who gave birth to rabbits about 6 months ago - presumably based on Donoghue's story: I didn't realise she was the author.

Hi Heather - Thanks, it is a scenic area, difficult to take a really bad photo when everything is green and lush. I like old houses/cottages but then I'm a history fan and like thinking of all the generations that have also spent time here.

I just found PSS so good that I wanted to see where he went next - actually I've got his latest - Embassytown - waiting at the library, I better get into town soon.

Yes I borrowed it as well. I do like short stories but there was something sad about this collection. I admire what Donoghue has done but it also left me slightly cold.

Hi Genny - I knew about The Wicked Day (the fourth book) but not the fifth. Like you I first read the original trilogy in my teens and it was definitely time for a re-read. I'm reading the second at the moment.

I didn't hear the play but it sounds likely that it was based on the Donoghue story or at least inspired by it. Then again weirder coincidences have happened and sometimes these old stories just have a revival.

Hi calm! what gorgeous pictures! It's just like I imagine Wales to look. I wouldn't want to leave that cozy corner of the world for anything..........well, books and food.......maybe.

I am not a fan of short stories, most of the time.. I do have The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits on the shelf.. I don't know when I will ever get to it.. someday.. :P

Lynda.. from the teeny speck of Wales that I have seen.. I would have to say that it is
one of the coziest places I have ever been. The people ( aside from the spawn of satan) were absolutely
fantastic, and friendly and I loved them !

Hi Kath - hope you do manage to get to it someday:)

Managed to get to the library today and am very excited to have The Birth House by Ami McKay, Snuff by Terry Pratchett and Embassytown by China Mieville on the to read very soon shelf:) Snuff will be up first as there are lots of other people who want to read it so I can't renew it.

Of course being in town I couldn't avoid falling into my favourite "somewhere I could buy books place" - to be fair it is a short cut between supermarket and bus stop:)

So additions to the shelves of shame are

North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell - I might lurk on the group read
English Passengers by Matthew Kneale - this is one that was on my automatic recommendations list
Our Tragic Universe by Scarlett Thomas - I liked The End of Mr Y and I did try to snag this from ER (twice! - once in 2010 and again at the start of this year) so was very pleased to finally find a copy
The Women's Decameron by Julia Voznesenskaya - the shop is still doing its buy one get one free offer and this caught my attention.

In other book news I have finished Pagans and Christians - it will probably be a day or two before I can form some semi-coherent thoughts about this. Enjoyed the subject matter but certain things about the author's style irritated me and distracted from what he was saying.

I didn't realize you were reading P&C too! Please come over to our thread and talk about it--Lucy and I have 80 and 90 pages to go respectively to finish it.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/124036

Roni - I've been lurking ... It seems to be my natural habitat:) Your read and LizzieD's (Peggy's) review prompted me to borrow the book from the library. I'll try to get my thoughts in order and actually try to say something ... maybe:)

Hi calm - nice collection of library books :-) You're racing through the Mieville's now.

Hope you enjoy Our Tragic Universe; I really liked it but Scarlett Thomas does write unusual books.

Thanks Heather - unfortunately after this one the library only has Looking for Jake so I'm going to have to keep searching the second hand shops for the rest of his books - but I think that everything of his that I've already read will go on the "I want to read it again list" so I'll probably end up owning all his books - someday.

Our Tragic Universe sounds right up my street - I like unusual - pity the ER algorithm didn't agree:)

144) Pagans and Christians by Robin Lane Fox (15 October - 17 November)

This is a tough book to write about. Maybe I am not in the target audience for this - I do like reading about history and religion but I am no expert on this particular period of history. Robin Lane Fox has obviously done a vast amount of research and does convey a picture of the time and people's beliefs. His use of historical sources is outstanding and I definitely know more now.

I admire Fox's scholarship and this book is undoubtedly thorough on the subject but I must admit that certain of his habits - especially his use of quotation marks - distracted me from what he was discussing. Another minor quibble is his endnotes, which are all references to other books and articles and as he says himself - "In each part I have amalgamated as many notes as possible under a single number in the text, so that they often refer to a sequence of statements just before or just after the number itself." I found this confusing and I ended up ignoring them. That's it for the negatives and they are just my personal opinion.

This is a fascinating look at a turbulent time. Not an easy read but one worth persevering with and I am pleased to have read it.

I am so behind.. I havent seen roni's thread or terri's thread in I don't know how long.. :P
I have got to get to it!

I look forward to your comments on Pagans and Christians

Done Kath:)

Good review!
That is one book I have not tackled (and probably won't)

(eta: fixed my crappy grammar ...)

Thanks Chelle - it was interesting but probably only for those who are really interested in the subject:)

Calm, maybe we could do a home swap sometime??? If I promise to leave my library behind... Sigh, that looks blissful. Do you know much about the history of the cottage? Looks to be at least early 17th century, but that's one of those classic styles. Would be fascinating to know a bit about the people who lived there... (and that's my inner history junkie talking.)

Off to listen to the nightly arguments between the panhandlers at the subway entrance across the street. Whoops, that's not going to convince you to consider a swap, is it??

Hi Suz - me in NY! I very much doubt it:) I don't really do crowds and it is hard enough going to the local town - population between 12 and 20 thousand people depending on if it is term time at the Uni. I like my peace and quiet:)

Unfortunately I don't know much about the history of the cottage, until 15 years ago it was just a one room traditional (probably 18th maybe early 19th century) cottage. There is now an extension with a couple of bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom and the original house is the living room. So in living memory a couple lived here in traditional style with no electricity and I have heard stories about them but nothing before that.

So you will be writing a book about the house's life before you then?

* pre-orders*

Eeeks!!! I am no writer ... flees own thread in horror

Oops! Lost track of you for a while, but found you again now, so all is well. Will have to come back to catch up, but my star is in place in the meantime. :-)

Thanks Ilana.

re #53 ... I think it would be worth a shot.. I think it would be fascinating :)
I know that I am intrigued! lol

Nothing too exciting going on with me, thank goodness! Hoping to read again today.

No way Kath:) I'm a reader not a writer.

I noticed you finished The Night Circus and I hope to be able to get hold of the library copy soon. Anything good lined up next?

145) The Hollow Hills by Mary Stewart (15 - 20 November)

For me this is one of the great Arthurian re-tellings as Mary Stewart continues the story started in The Crystal Cave. After the events at the end of that book Merlin returns to his cave and waits for the birth of Arthur and then the responsibility of protecting the child.

Most people know something about Arthurian mythology but Stewart's Merlin gives an interesting perspective on the story. I love the character of Merlin and the way events unfold seems fresh and plausible. This is just great story-telling and I'll be reading the third book in the series, The Last Enchantment, very soon.

I've been meaning to reread all of these sometime in the not too far future, -- and there aren't there some later ones? I've never read those. Did you?

Hi Lucy, there are five in the series - as I found out when I looked at the LT series page - I have read the first three before and have the fourth, The Wicked Day, on my "shelves of shame" so am re-reading them before going on to that one. I don't think I've ever seen a copy of The Prince and the Pilgrim which seems to be a companion novel so I'm not that bothered about tracing it down ... maybe, someday:)

I read the original trilogy by Mary Stewart back in the day (i.e., when they first came out) and loved them. The last two books were written some time later and since they cover the parts of the story that always tear me up inside (who else came out of the movie of Camelot weeping passionately?), I have never felt tempted to read them.

Hi Roni Yes the end of the story is sad - don't blame you for weeping.

It's also interesting if you look at the OP dates of her first 4 Arthurian books
1. The Crystal Cave (1970)
2. The Hollow Hills (1973)
3. The Last Enchantment (1979)
4. The Wicked Day (1983)

and then the fifth - The Prince and the Pilgrim (1995)

So it feels right to read the first four but that last one not so much. Actually looking at the dates I probably have read The Wicked Day but I'm not certain - I'll know when I get around to reading it:)

146) Snuff by Terry Pratchett (20 - 21 November)

In Snuff Sam Vimes is on his first holiday and "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a policeman taking a holiday will barely have had time to open his suitcase before he finds his first corpse." So while visiting Lady Sybil's country estate Sam comes across a mystery and his copper's instincts come into play as he uncovers the truth behind a death, smuggling and various nefarious goings on.

What to say about the latest in the Discworld series? I love Pratchett's work — his writing; his characters; his stories — but, in some ways his later books are getting less subtle. I don't go into his work expecting laugh out loud humour, more a recognition of the way societies work and the intrinsic humour of life and Snuff delivers. This is another great addition to the series and as long as he goes on writing I'll keep on reading.

I never read the fifth of the Stewart series.. .. did I say that already?

I plan on Queen of America next.. bad timing though.. kinda busy at the moment..
I hope to start it today but?

Yes Kath you did but that's OK:) It was published so long after the first four that I don't think it is a priority.

No big surprise in being busy ... Thanksgiving is coming up soon isn't it? Hope you manage to get some reading time in though.

It is.. and I am not ready for it and Christmas looming.. and I need to do some re-organizing here.
I bought a piece of "furniture".. a bench of sorts that hides a litter box. I currently have it at the foot of the steps to my upstairs. I put it there in a desperate move years ago, when a 20 year old cat of mine
at the time (Fidge) wasn't able to do the steps to the basement. Anyway.. I need to move it. This means that a book case has to go. ( It's a small one ) or it needs to find a new home. or something. dunno.

#63, well, calm, you've convinced me to start reading Pratchett...

I been wanting to pick up a Pratchett too, calm. I just can't imagine what makes his books so good but I look forward to finding out.

#63 It's probably quite ironic that I bought this book but still haven't got round to reading it in the time it's taken you to get to the top of the library waitlist :-)

I still need to reread Night Watch and Thud! but have got distracted by other books.

Calm, since I am so ridiculously behind, I had to skim to catch up, but I did catch the pictures you posted of your home. The forest picture in particular looks absolutely magical! Hope you are doing well and based on all the reviews, it looks like you are getting a lot of reading done! :)

Im doing a fly by visit like Valerie! Hello!

Kath - good luck in finding the perfect place for your bookshelf.

Suzanne - I hope you like his work. I'm never to sure where to recommend starting with the Discworld ... the early ones are different as I think it took him 3 or 4 books to find his own voice. I think the most popular starting places are Guards, Guards (city watch sub-series) or Wyrd Sisters (witches). There are also some stand-alones and of those maybe Small Gods or (given your background) The Truth about the first Ankh-Morpok printing press/newspaper would work for you.

Lynda - like I just said to Suz start with either Guards, Guards or Wyrd Sisters. Though maybe you (and your son) would enjoy The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents or the Tiffany Aching stories.

Heather - well I can't keep for long it as it's a library book and not renewable as there are other people who want to read it. Also it's Terry Pratchett and I have never been able to keep his books unread for long after getting hold of a copy. Also I didn't need to do any re-reading before starting it:)

Valerie - pleased you managed to catch up and that you like the pictures. Yes I'm managing to get some reading done:)

Hi Megan:)

Thanks for the tip, Calm. I'll look into them and if my son likes The Amazing Maurice all the better.

Happy day!

>63 calm: Calm, I haven't read any of Pratchet's books. I know I have at least one in my library, but I keep on putting it off. I will get round to it one day!

Alan/TT

I am pleased to say that I have sorted out the bookshelf issues and now I just need to find a home for a few books. ( nope.. library doesn't want them they don't do the sale table thing around here. )

Dan actually decorated the outside for Christmas while I was cooking yesterday.. so we are moving along.......

Lynda - hope you like it and if your son does that is just a bonus:)

Luxx - lovely to see you here, hope you and your boys are doing well.

Alan - great to see you back on LT - hope you are fully recovered. Just looked in your library and yes you do have a Pratchett - Thief of Time - I think you could read that as a stand-alone, though there are some recurring characters.

Kath - That's good to hear, good luck in finding new homes for those few books - is there a US equivalent to UK charity shops? Places where you donate things that are sold to make money for a good cause.

pleased that your Turkey day went well and that prep is under way for Christmas:)

147) Babel-17 by Samuel Delaney (21 - 22 November)

I can definitely see why this has been included in the SF Masterworks series. A female poet, Rydra Wong, is asked to help decipher what are thought to be coded messages that are heard around the time of sabotage attacks on Alliance territory. This is Babel-17.

This is a very interesting work. There is enough detail of the future society to give a picture of the characters and the places visited but it is conveyed in a very poetic, succinct and beautiful way. The actual story does jump from incident to incident without much to connect the episodes but enough information is given so I didn't get lost.

In less than two hundred pages Delaney manages to convey a picture of a futuristic society; the way language shapes our perceptions and connections and also tell an entertaining story. I really enjoyed this book.

#78 - Great review! I'm hoping to get to this soon.

Thanks Kerri - I hope you do get to it soon.

That one sounds pretty good too..

So, what is going on in your world? anything fun or interesting? Do shoppers
there pepper spray and shoot each other like they do here?
Curious minds and all..

If you like classic SF Kath it is a good one. Delaney writes well.

Nothing interesting around here as far as I know.

Sounds scary Kath - I know things can get pretty OTT for big sales but nothing like that as far as I know. There is no way that I would go out on such a day:)

Delaney is one of the greats! I need to reread that one, for sure. I'm having a blast right now reading Leigh Brackett and her Eric John Stark series.

I could not agree more. Scary. I despair when I see how we behave here..
It just seems to get worse and worse. People have such an ingrained feeling of
being more deserving than the next one, and more brutal. I know that there are still
good people, but days like friday .... well, every time I watch the news... it is sickening.
Yesterday they reported someone shooting horses in a pasture. This is not the first time
that has happened around here. Sickening .

I've not heard of Delaney, calm. Thanks for the heads up, I'll see if he's in my library.

I wouldn't do Black Friday if they were selling red Ford Mustangs for 1/2 price! I'm an internet shopper. Jammies, coffee and the ads.

have a good day, calm :0)

Hi Lucy - it's sometimes great to go back to those classic SFs - great stories:) I don't think I ever read Leigh Brackett though:(

Kath - I tend to avoid watching news programmes. They tend to be dumbed down and over-sensationalised. I do read bits online - headlines and some articles if I want to know more.

Lynda - I haven't read much of his work but he has written some good stuff.

Black Friday sounds really scary I wouldn't do it either.

Back later with some book thoughts:)

I was reading yr. thread while you were posting on mine..... !

148) The Birth House by Ami McKay (23 - 25 November)

Dora Rare is the first girl born in five generations of the Rare family. Living in Nova Scotia at the beginning of the Twentieth century as winter comes on her father no longer thinks it appropriate for a girl to be living in the same house as several brothers and she is sent to stay with the local midwife. Dora's life changes as she becomes apprenticed to the midwife and then comes into conflict with the new doctor who believes that modern methods are "better".

For a debut novel this is very impressive. There is a lot of background history used in this novel and I liked the use of diary entries, letters, newspaper articles and advertisements that gave a very timely feel to the story. In some places I do think that Ami McKay tried to pack in too many facts about the period but overall she manages to give us a very interesting story. I'll definitely be reading more from this author.

149) Celtic Heritage by Alwyn Rees and Brinley Rees (17 - 27 November)

This contains three parts - "The Tradition"; "The World of Meaning" and "The Meaning of Story". In the first part the authors look at the various story cycles in Celtic mythology; in the second certain themes are covered and in the third various stories are linked by theme.

As the stories only survive in oral tradition or as written by medieval monks a lot has been lost or given a Christian slant. The Reeses have connected certain themes back to Indo-European sources and show the similarities to stories told in India and elsewhere in the world.

This is not the book for you if you are just looking for the stories but if you are interested in how stories survive and adapt this is a very interesting and readable book.

150) Persuasion by Jane Austen (26 - 29 November)

151) Pooh and the Philosophers by John Tyerman Williams (29 - 29 November)

I read the Tao of Pooh many years ago, calm. I remember loving it, but that was before I took notes or quotes from books and have no idea what I took away from it. So perhaps I'll revisit that one and wishlist the Williams work as well.

>77 calm: calm. It has been six months since my heart attack, and although I feel well I have extensive heart disease and I am still waiting for an assessment of my test results from my cardiologist as to whether I need to have a bypass or not. Meanwhile, I will keep on writing and publishing my books!

I have been struggling with some technical details of producing a Kindle version of my book The Confession of Sandy Harris but I think I may have got the answers now so I am hopinbg to upload it tomorrow.

I will get round to reading Thief of Time sometime!

Alan/TT

ooooh ! Can't wait to hear what you think of the birth house!!!

Lynda ... me too!

eta

I have to actually GO to Ikea though... they charge more than 10$ to send a gift card!

Hi calm. Babel-17 sounds really interesting. I have quite a few books from the SF or Fantasy Masterworks series (I really like the cover design) but I have been really bad about reading them.

Hi Lynda - I still haven't got around to reading Tao of Pooh (or Te of Piglet) though they have been on my shelves for a few years. I might get around to it in December - it would fit my religion and philosophy 11in11 category.

Hope everything goes well with the cardiologist and the kindle version of your book, Alan.

The Birth House grew on me Kath - there was a very disturbing (to booklovers) scene near the beginning but it was very interesting and topical as there has been a recent news report on the different benefits of home birth/ midwife assisted birth/ doctor assisted birth.

Heather - I like the SF/Fantasy Masterworks series as well and still have a few on my TBR shelves.

Glad you liked The Birth House calm :)

It was a good one Kara:)

152) A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (29 - 30 November)

thumb for Celtic Heritage :)
sounds interesting, will check this one out!

Thanks Kara.

I went out today, visited Nant yr Arian Red Kite Centre - (http://www.forestry.gov.uk/bwlchnantyrarian) tried to take pictures of Red Kites swooping down for their food but those birds are fast. So here's something from the website



I think I might have an acceptable picture of the lake which I will get uploaded sometime in the next couple of days.

Coming back into town I picked up a few books:)

Added to the shelves of shame

Ten little Indians by Sherman Alexie
Illywhacker by Peter Carey

From the library

The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht
The Box of Delights by John Masefield
She-Wolves : the women who ruled England before Elizabeth by Helen Castor
Strange Things : the malevolent North in Canadian literature by Margaret Atwood.

I love it when you share pictures of your area, whether you take them or not :)

There are some interesting reviews for Illywhacker.....
I look forward to hearing your thoughts in that and also Tigers Wife :)
I was a dissenter on that one.. many folks here loved it!

Hi Kath - Thanks. I'm readathoning this weekend, so with that and SantaThing I'm not going to be uploading any of my own pictures for a couple of days.

Well Illywhacker is already added to the "shelves of shame" - along with around 200 other books - so who knows when it will emerge to be read:)

The Tiger's Wife will be read sometime in December so I can return it to the library. I know there has been a lot of hype over this one but I'm going into it not expecting too much so hopefully I won't be disappointed.

>96 calm: Calm, I am pleased to say that I finally managed to sort out my technical issues and the Kindle version of The Confession of Sandy Harris is now up and running!

>99 calm: calm, this year I read most of the Sherlock Holmes novels and stories and I have all the short stories on CD with Jeremy Brett as Sherlock. I plan to watch them all, b ut spaced out to savour them!

Alan/TT

Hi calm. I was one of the people who enjoyed The Tiger's Wife so I hope you like it. The Box of Delights is a nice Christmassy read too.

I like the look of Celtic Heritage, I love that stuff!

Have fun with the readathon!

That's good to hear Alan. I tend to watch Sherlock Holmes on television, along with other things like Miss Marple or Poirot, rather than read them but it was good to go back to the printed word.

Heather - I hope I like The Tiger's Wife as well. At the moment it is a toss up between that and China Mieville's Embassytown for my next read - after I finish The Last Enchantment.

Lucy - I think it is a good one if you already have some knowledge of Celtic Mythology. I wouldn't recommend it as a starting place:)

Hi Kath - I'm still not doing much daytime reading, though a bit more than I would normally. I have managed to read Margaret Atwood's Strange Things - a series of four lectures on Canadian Literature that she gave at Oxford in the 1990's - which I really enjoyed. And I also picked up a book I've been dipping in and out of for months and managed to read a sizeable chunk:) So all in all it is going well.

Just checking in :)

And here I was thinking about kites, as in the ones kids fly....noooow I get it!

Hi Kath - good to see you:)

Hi Megan - yes they are amazing birds.

Here are some pictures that I took last week
Kites circling




Swooping in for food


Just the lake as the kites seem to have disappeared from this one:)


Also I managed to finish 2 books during the Readathon and another yesterday. I am really going to have to get working on some book thoughts:)

153) Strange Things: the Malevolent North In Canadian Literature by Margaret Atwood (2 - 3 December)

This a series of lectures on Canadian Literature that Margaret Atwood gave in Oxford in the 1990's. One about the Franklin Expedition, a disastrous attempt to find the North-West Passage, and the personification of the Canadian Wastes. One about Grey Owl, a white man who pretended to be an Indian and wrote books about nature and ecology, so also talking more generally about going native and ecology. One about the Wendigo, a kind of monster, and the various incarnations that it takes. Also one about female Canadian writers and, possibly, why there are more famous female writers from Canada when generally major writers in other countries are men.

Even though this book is nearly twenty years old there is still a lot of interest to anyone with a liking of Canada and the stories that come from there. I found these lectures both witty and informative.

154) The Last Enchantment by Mary Stewart (30 November - 5 December)

155) American Indian Myths and Legends by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz (15 May - 6 December)

Hi calm, nice shots of kites in flight! Looking forward to your thoughts on Strange Things

Thanks Lynda - I liked Strange Things - a series of lectures on Canadian Literature that she gave in Oxford in the 1990's - one about the Franklin Expedition; one about Grey Owl (a white man who pretended to be an Indian),so also about going native and ecology; one about the Wendigo (a kind of monster) and one about female Canadian writers. I found them both witty and informative.

American Indian Myths and Legends by Richard Erdoes....good one :)

looking forward to your book thoughts.........

It was one I took slowly and I did get irritated by some of the editorial comments but I really liked the actual stories especially the trickster and animal tales.

156) Embassytown by China Miéville (5 - 9 December)

Definitely not an easy read but one well worth persevering with. Miéville plays with language and ideas, building up his story through the eyes of Avice a girl from Embassytown. On the edge of the known universe, on a planet with some very alien aliens.

Miéville's worldbuilding and imagination is as good as ever. In some ways this is more subtle than some of his earlier books and a lot depends on the reader to keep the ideas and incidences together. This definitely doesn't make for an easy read but as the story unfolds, if you like this sort of thing, it is rewarding.

I just chose the plainest cover available as I read and listened to this online



157) A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas (10 December)

I listened to Dylan Thomas reading this and it is a wonderful evocation of childhood. Quirky and with a beautiful flow to the prose. Highly recommended for the quality of his story telling.

If you want to listen to it this is the online link that I used (just under 20 minutes) - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xfpf66_dylan-thomas-a-child-s-christmas-in-wale....

and here is the online text I read http://www.bfsmedia.com/MAS/Dylan/Christmas.html

Thanks for the links!... not sure If I will
go for it or not... feeling sort of humbug :P

That's alright Kath ... I'm not feeling very Christmasy either .. Bah Humbug indeed! :)

Well my SantaThing parcel arrived today. I'll open it at Christmas. Majorly behind on book thoughts and have finished some more:(

Must get book thoughts down for the library books so I can return them.

158) The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht (9 - 12 December)

I did like this though it is rather uneven. There are various stories intertwined into the one but in the end it is really the story of Natalia and her grandfather's fascination with tigers and The Jungle Book. In an unnamed Balkan country the effects of war and superstition are woven into a fantastical tale of Natalia's grandfather, as a boy, with the Tiger's Wife; also his relationship over the years with the Deathless Man.

This is a good book and Téa Obreht is an author to look out for.

159) She-Wolves : the women who ruled England before Elizabeth by Helen Castor (4 - 13 December)

This starts with the death of Edward VI, in 1553, and the unthinkable fact that the only heirs to the English Throne were female. Helen Castor then takes us back in history and looks at the lives of four women who, in one way or another ruled or attempted to rule the kingdom. So there are four main sections to this book Matilda: Lady of England (1102-1167); Eleanor: An Incomparable Woman (1124-1204); Isabella: Iron Lady (1295-1358) and Margaret: A Great and Strong Laboured Woman (1430-1482). Then we go back to the Tudor succession and Lady Jane Grey, Mary I and Elizabeth I.

This is a very good overview of Medieval history focusing on the four women and their lives. The social and political mores of the time meant that women were thought "lesser" than men and the idea of a woman ruling in her own right was unthinkable and unfeminine. Caught up in the political machinations of the times Castor has managed to bring these women, their lives and problems to life. A very good and readable history.

160) The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder (12 - 13 December)

Right that's book thoughts up for the three library books - Embassytown; The Tiger's Wife and She-Wolves.

Only six from off the shelf to catch up on. I will definitely try to get them all filled in before the end of the year:)

Now I can go to the library tomorrow and pick up The Night Circus. Unfortunately I couldn't get hold of it in time for the group read. Still sounds like one I'll enjoy.

Well.. we don't agree on Tiger's Wife.. but I bet we do on Night Circus !
I did love that one :)

Hi Kath - it is a beautiful looking book and I'm hoping to start it in the next day or two:)

So I went to the library ... and they were having a booksale! This is a semi-permanent thing as they are moving to new premises nest year. So I was very restrained but am delighted to say that I got a copy of Coraline by Neil Gaiman and a four book fantasy series - The View From the Mirror by Ian Irvine.

I borrowed The Night Circus; Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and Sisters of Sinai which I spotted in the Best Reads of the Year thread and actually fits into my poor neglected Religion category for 11in11.

I also managed to fit in a visit to my regular second hand place and found Number9dream by David Mitchell and Dark Fire the second in the Shardlake series by C. J. Sansom - I'm sure I'll come across the first one someday:)

Edit to add that my SantaThing has arrived ... but I'm holding off until Christmas to open it:)

Delurking to say you've been reading and listening to great stuff!

161) The Crow Goddess by Patricia Finney (13 - 16 December)

This is the second book about Lugh Mac Romain and I haven't read the first, at least partly because Patricia Finney says in the introduction that it would work as a standalone. I must agree with her but there are enough details about the plot of the first, Shadow of Gulls, that it will be a long time before I try to track down and read a copy. That said I really enjoyed this story with its fusion of history and mythology.

It is the second century AD and the setting is Britain and Ireland. There is a good mix of historical and mythological characters and Finney's invented main character links the two in a very readable and enjoyable manner.

Unfortunately there are no more books about Lugh and I would have liked to follow his story further. Maybe I need to search out her Elizabethan novels written as Grace Cavendish or P. F. Chisholm.

Hi Lucy - thanks for delurking.

Actually A Child's Christmas in Wales is the only thing I've listened to and that was very good but I still prefer the printed page. I'm a bit of a Luddite that way:)

Nice list from the book sale.. amazing to get a 4 book series!!
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and Sisters of Sinai have piqued my interest...
Reading is being elusive just now for me ...
eta

Crow goddess looks good too

I read several books by Morgan Llywelyn .. and this looks as if it may be simiar ?

Hi Kath - I haven't read Morgan Llywelyn in years (though I have one on the shelves of shame) so I can't say for sure but, from what I can remember, if you like her work you would probably like the Finney. Though if you get the chance I'd say try to read the first one - there are enough details in Crow Goddess to make it sound as though it will be very good:)

There have been so many good comments about Extremely Loud and Sisters of Sinai that, as the library had them, they were both worth a try.

Yes it was lucky to get all four books - and they aren't even ex-library stock. Not that I have read any of his work yet but the ratings on LT seem to suggest that they will be good.

I'm reading both The Night Circus and Sisters of Sinai at the moment and it looks like both are going to be added to the Best Books of the year list:)

Just a quick hello! Waiting for your thoughts on nIght circus and extremely loud

Hello Lynda good to see you - Night Circus sometime next week. Extremely Loud will be a bit longer - I need to read the Member Giveaway when I finish NC:)

Well this contains three works and I have just read the first:)



162) Theogony by Hesiod (14 - 15 December)

163) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (16 - 19 December)

Night Circus was a mixture of wanting to savour every word and needing to know how it ended. For me it was the perfect combination of historical fiction and fantasy. It is the Nineteenth century and two magicians start a contest between their apprentices. Bound to their fate Celia and Marco don't know what the stakes are but the venue is the magical Night Circus. Told in short chapters, darting backwards and forwards in time, with many different characters Morgenstern weaves the threads of her story to a fitting conclusion. I loved it.

Just seeing that cover makes me smile!
What a great book Night Circus is !
( well, imo, anyway )

It's wonderful Kath:) Letting the thoughts come together as I only finished it a few hours ago.

Theogony! Why ever?

Can I just pretend that I have been here for all 139 posts I have missed? :)

Glad to see that someone else enjoyed The Night Circus. I have really liked what I have read of the book. I put it aside for a bit while Catey is home, but I will finish it up when she goes back to school.

Why not Richard?

Stasia -No need to pretend just lovely to see you here. Night Circus was a mix of wanting to savour every word and needing to know how it ended - beautiful writing:)

I think it's the creation myth allergy flaring up. They're always so absurd to me. The two creation myths in Genesis make me a lot more itchy and annoyed than Theogony, but I can't say I specially enjoy any of them. I project my irritation onto others, it would seem, so I shall decamp quietly and cross my mental River Lethe to root this issue out.

Sending mistletoe smooches

Of course they're absurd that's half the fun. I must admit that part of the reason I read it is that I put a religion and philosophy category in my 11in11 challenge and I'm going back to basics after attempting Zarathustra - that was too much like diving into the deep end:0)

*smooches to you*

#142: Night Circus was a mix of wanting to savour every word and needing to know how it ended

The wanting to savour every word is why I have put it on the back burner until Catey is safely ensconced back in Longview!

The book will be patient - enjoy your time with Catey.

I agree with the description f Night Circus >142 calm:

I've had She-Wolves on my wishlist for months now; I think I'll have to pick it up with any holidays gift cards.

Hi calm! Everyday that goes by I feel that I really missed something in Night Circus. Oh well, missed the boat, once again. She-Wolves looks rather interesting, I'll check my library for it.
and as things are getting hectic, let me wish you a very merry Christmas now before it goes unsaid and all the best in 2012!

Hi Kath - :)

Luxx - hope you like it, I found it fascinating.

Thanks Lynda - I have read a lot of fantasy and historical fiction, Night Circus was a great combination:) Not everyone is going to see it the same way though ... wouldn't it be boring if we all liked the same books:)

Hope your library has a copy of She-Wolves. Helen Castor did a good job.

and a Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Well I went out today, in the torrential rain:( Didn't intend to go book buying but the ticket machine on the bus was broken ... so the driver let everyone travel for free:) So I did treat myself with a couple of second hand books - my own copy of Children of God - yes I have read it but I think it's one I'll want to re-read someday and A Visit From the Goon Squad.

I've also finished a couple of books and I'll try to get back soon to update this thread:)

Shopping has just arrived ... back soon:)

Not back soon ... maybe tomorrow for the books:)

But for now I'll just say I hope everybody who celebrates has a wonderful time

Hi calm, I'm scrambling to keep abreast of threads and had let your get ahead of me... my loss really. Will try to do better from now on. One can always try, right?

Wishing you a Happy Christmas!

Peace to you calm :)

Merry Christmas, calm!

I'm starting The Night Circus next.

I just picked up The Night Circus from the library today, so I've got three weeks to read it & decide what I think! Hoping it's a winner...

Happy holidays!!

Calm, happy christmas and a peaceful and prosperous new year to you and yours. Look forward to keeping up with you better in 2012.

Ilana - Just happy for you to say hi occasionally:) It is so difficult to keep up on the threads - my trick is to just read them and very rarely post:)

Thank you Kara and the same to you:)

Roni - thank you for the wonderful book tree:) Hope you enjoy Night Circus.

I hope it is a winner for you Suzanne. Happy Holidays to you as well.

Thank you Paul. Hope you and the family have a wonderful year. SWMBO - sounds like an amazing women:)

Merry Christmas Calm!

mistletoe smooches!

Merry Christmas calm. The rain was absolutely horrible yesterday wasn't it? I got caught out a bit too... and I also bought some books but I didn't have the excuse of a free bus ride!

Wishing you all the very best calm!

Chelle - Merry Christmas to you as well.

Richard - *smooches* to you as well dear one.

Heather - well it doesn't take much of an excuse to buy books:) Hope you and yours have a wonderful (and dry) Christmas.

Ilana - thankyou and the same to you and your furkids:)

Well as it is Christmas day I opened my SantaThing books and am delighted by my Santa's choices.

Confessions of a Pagan Nun by Kate Horsley - never heard of it but this looks very good
Shogun by James Clavell - I haven't read it though I did see the TV adaptation many years ago
and The Dragon and the Unicorn by A. A. Attanasio - the first in an Arthurian series that I haven't read.

My Santa obviously chose very carefully and I'm looking forward to reading them all:)

Once again I'll say Merry Christmas to all visitors and lurkers. I hope you all have a wonderful day and a happy and healthy New Year full of good books and good friends.

Well Jim set up the new group but I won't be posting there, much, until 1 January - it's still 2011 and I'm sticking with this thread until the end of the year. Just couldn't resist the shiny new group:) So here's next years first thread - http://www.librarything.com/topic/129166

oooh! I like the PEACE pic :)

just keeping track of you..

Thanks Kath - it's from the Hubble Site as they do some printable Christmas Cards. Here - http://hubblesite.org/gallery/holiday/ . Maybe one year I'll actually get around to printing some to send:)

Calm, I'll probably be spending my New Year's Eve starting a new thread and starring a whole bunch of them too, but till then, am staying clear away. Will be sure to star yours then. Meanwhile, I'm doing all I can to keep up with you over on this side. :-)

Thanks Ilana - I'm so far behind on book thoughts that I scarcely dare count them:)

Also just spent several hours with my father and step-mother - some very nice wine; better not mention the food except for the fact that I helped make Chinese pancakes - not my most successful culinary experiment - though my stepmothers crispy duck was very good and I borrowed a lovely Folio Box Set of British Myths and Legends. So not a complete disaster:)

Off to check out some threads - who knows I might even post on some:)

*waves*
starred your 2012 thread :)

Thanks Kara:)

164) Broken Evolution by Brendan Cody (19 - 22 December)

I quite enjoyed this near future thriller. There are interesting moral and ethical issues of biotechnology and it is also a fast paced action thriller. A CIA analyst with connections to Japan is sent to investigate and things then move rapidly. There is a certain cinematic feel to the action but that is not a bad thing and the human flaws of the main character made for interesting reading.

If you are looking for a fast paced, action novel this is well worth a look.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not part of the review but I did receive the ARC of this book directly from the author, through LT Member Giveaway, in return for a review. Accompanying the book was a letter saying that the typos have been fixed for the finished book. In fact I have seen worse instances of typos in other, non-ARC books and here they didn't even jar me out of the story.

165) Sisters of Sinai by Janet Soskice (16 - 23 December)

This is a fascinating biography of two Nineteenth century women, twin sisters who from an early age were rewarded by their father for learning new languages by a visit to that country. Later in life as independently wealthy women they travel extensively and their interest in biblical study takes them to Greece and Egypt and the Orthodox monasteries where ancient manuscripts are to be found.

Despite a close connection with Cambridge and its colleges women were not allowed to be awarded degrees and their work, though recognised, was seen as an adjunct to male scholars. I'm not sure if Janet Soskice has swung the pendulum too far the other way when she writes about the men who accompanied them on one of the journeys but overall I found this very readable and interesting.

166) Divine Endurance by Gwyneth Jones (22 - 25 December)

167) The Box of Delights by John Masefield (25 - 26 December)

This was a favourite of mine as a child and I decided to re-read it for my Christmas book this year. I still enjoyed the story and recognised all the things that made it a favourite all those years ago but, with adult eyes, I didn't find it quite as delightful. But as a children's adventure story that was originally published in the 1930's I think it has stood up to time reasonably well. There are certain attitudes that modern children would probably not connect with so I'm not sure if it would appeal. Apart from that I enjoyed this visit to the past even though I don't feel the need to go there again.

Printing cards?? Interesting idea...

I received a card yesterday from a young man I met online 11ish
years ago.. when Knowpost was my daily addiction.. the site is long gone..
but a few friends remain..

It was hand made and so wonderful! I was so touched.
Printing cards sounds intriguing .. as I am not crafty..
also .. another friend sent me a card yesterday.. it is from a site
where you create a card and it prints it and mails it for you!
Not quite as touching.. lol but interesting..

Kath - my stepmother makes cards and other crafty things - bookmarks, jewellery, knitting and crochet - which she sells at craft fairs. As my old cranky desktop is her old computer it has some card making related software - I keep thinking it might be interesting to at least try - but I would need a better printer so have not got around to it yet.

Printers are the enemy.
They hate me.
To be honest, I think they hate most of humankind.. which is another deterrent for me. :P

#172 - I have Gwyneth Jones on my list of authors I'd like to read. Did you enjoy this, or have you read any of her other books that you would recommend? I was going to try Life.

Kerri - That was my first Gwyneth Jones - I did like it. I must admit to being a bit confused sometimes but not so much as to rule out looking for more of her books.

I've just looked at how many books I've read this year and not written any comments for ... with some dating back to January ... eeks 23 and I'm still reading! . I'm beginning to wonder if I should just give it up for this year and start afresh in 2012. I'll see how I feel between now and the new year.

I say start fresh in 2012 unless out of those 23 there is something you really want to say about them :)

maybe a list with some quick thoughts?

The Box of Delights was a great read -- found it in the books my mil saved, read it 2010 I think, and loved it.

Thanks Kara - I think I have to write proper reviews for at least 2 of them as I received them from the authors. Of the rest we'll see but if there aren't many reviews on the work page I like to say something. But I'll do some quick thoughts for the books on this thread at least.

Lucy - yes it was childhood favourite of mine and a recent conversation in the Green Dragon reminded me of it ... as the library had a copy I thought I would make it one of my Christmas reads this year - still great fun:)

Nice to revisit an old book friend, and even nicer to still enjoy it !

Yes - probably not quite as much as when I was younger but I can see all the elements that made it so enjoyable for my younger self:)

Three more books sort of completed since I was last here not sure if I'll get any comments up any time soon but we'll see how the evening goes. I won't bother with my usual post per book just put them all here for now.



168) Searoad by Ursula Le Guin (27 - 28 December)



169) Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (29 - 31 December)



This an extremely inventive and incredibly clever book but I also felt very uncomfortable reading it. Young Oskar lost his father in the Twin Towers and a while later finds a strange key amongst his father's possessions. This leads him on a search through New York to find the lock that the key fits. Woven with this story is the tale of Oskar's grandparents.

There is a very clever use of images but I must say that one that is used is one that I find extremely distressing and I don't even know anybody involved with the horror of that day. I can understand Oskar's motivations and thoughts but find the way his mother and grandmother leave him so much freedom to wander around a city on his own inexplicable. But this is a novel and I can understand Foer's need to use his characters in a way that makes the story move.

Overall I found this moving, distressing and clever but, for me, there is too much that leaves me uncomfortable to recommend it. Even so I am pleased to have read it and would read more from this author.

170 Timaeus and Critias by Plato (29 - 31 December)

So all that's left to say is



Thanks to all posters and lurkers. Hope to see you all in 2012

I'll be here - http://www.librarything.com/topic/129166

calm, I want to wish you a very Happy New Year and look forward to following you again in 2012!

Happy New Year!

Thanks Ilana and Kerri:)