Mark's Reading Place #24: A Cozy B & B

This is just a stock photo but one that represents the B & B very well. I bet he's thirsty.

Books Read So Far...

September:

96) The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers by Thomas Mullen 4.2 stars (OTS)
97) Doomsday Book by Connie Willis 3.7 stars (audio)
98) Ship Fever: Stories by Andrea Barrett 4.5 stars (OTS)
99) Still Life by Louise Penny 3.7 stars (audio)
100) Nemesis: A Novel (Harry Hole) by Jo Nesbo 3.8 stars (audio)
101) A Cafe on the Nile by Bartle Bull 4 stars (OTS)
102) The Fifth Floor by Michael Harvey 4.2 stars (audio)
103) Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton 4.4 stars
104) The Man Who Smiled by Henning Mankell 3.6 stars (audio)
105) Die Trying (Jack Reacher, No. 2) by Lee Child 3.6 stars (audio)

October:

107) Perdido Street Station by China Mieville 3.8 stars (OTS)
108) Stiff by Mary Roach 4 stars (audio)
109) A Dance with Dragons by George R. Martin 3.8 stars (audio) OTS
110) Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick 4.5 stars (audio)
111) Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross 3.5 stars (OTS)
112) Ready Player One by Ernest Cline 4.5 stars (audio)

November:

113) Feed (Newsflesh, Book 1) by Mira Grant 3.8 stars
114) Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick 3.7 stars
115) We the Animals by Justin Torres 4.2 stars
116) Drama: An Actor's Education by John Lithgow 3.7 stars (audio)
117) Mudbound by Hillary Jordan 4.4 stars (OTS)
118) This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman 3.4 stars (audio)
119) Priest by Ken Bruen 4.3 stars (OTS)
120) The Legend of Colton H. Bryant by Alexandra Fuller 4.5 stars (audio)
121) Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson 3.6 stars (audio)
122) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 4.2 stars (G.R.)
123) Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays by Joan Didion 4 stars
124) Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett 3.8 stars (audio)
125) Fun and Games by Duane Swierczynski 4 stars

December

126) In the Garden of Beasts by Eric Larson 3.8 stars (audio)
127) The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker 3.7 stars (OTS)
128) The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes 4.3 stars
129) The Strain: Book One by Guillermo Del Toro 3.6 stars (audio)
130) Midnight Rising by Tony Horwitz 4 stars (audio)

**Cream of the Crop:
1) The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan 5 stars
2) Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell 4.8 stars
3) The Siege by Helen Dunmore 4.8 stars
4) A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood 5 stars
5) Radioactive: A Tale of Love and Fallout by Lauren Redniss 4.8 stars
6) Born to Run by Christopher McDougall 5 stars
7) Doc: A Novel by Mary Doria Russell 5 stars
8) The River of Doubt by Candice Millard 4.7 stars
9) The Legend of Colton H. Bryant by Alexandra Fuller 4.5 stars

I'm just awake and get to see two of my favourites...voluptuous beer and ladies. Looks like I'm first Mark!

Hi Mark, I followed you quite easily, have starred your new thread. Hope your evening brew gave you a little pick-up.

nice new digs Mark-man!

Nice thread, Mark, though I don't see any hunky guys or bottles of wine anywhere.

Actually, I'm not much of a drinker but I had a Tom & Jerry downtown at Miller's Pub this afternoon. Knocked my socks off. Basically, hot egg nog with brandy and rum.

Okay, we are doing a Group Read of Sea of Poppies. It will begin on Dec 7th. I'll post the G.R. thread in a couple days. If you are interested, I hope you can snag a copy in time. This, of course, will be my last G.R. for a few months. Next one, will most likely be David Copperfield, in April. Fill in those calenders, which reminds me, can anyone recommend a good book-lovers calender? And no, it does not have to feature an attractive woman, drinking a beer and holding a book. Although, that's not a bad idea. Let me know.

Everyone should have their Christmas Swap info and should be starting to "shop". Let's try to get the gifts mailed out, no later than Dec 15th. Any questions, you know where I live.

Paul- "voluptuous beer and ladies". Nice to see, I am not alone. Congrats on being Numero Uno! Have you read Duane Swierczynski? I just started Fun and Games. This is my 4th book by him and they are a lot of fun. Smart, violent and a little bit crazy!

Ellen- I'm glad it was a smooth transition! And yes, the brew has helped, although I plan on hitting the sack early.

Kath- Big waves! How's Queen of America coming?

Rats. I read Sea of Poppies a couple of months ago so I can't join in on the group read. I really enjoyed the novel. I might lurk a bit on your GR thread. :-)

Happy sleeping, Mark.

Hello, caught you staring at the first post again Mark!
Edited (again) to add, How about that Three Boys Beer I had (half of) last night, wheat beer with tones of coriander and orange. Yumm-O

Okay, back to books! I finished Slouching Towards Bethlehem. Didion is a terrific writer and I look forward to reading a lot more of her work. I had an itch for some crime, so I started Fun and Games, which should be a quick & entertaining read.
On audio, I am wrapping up Good Omens and it's been fun.

Linda- I'll leave the hunky guys & bottles of wine to the gal folk. I have my own priorities over here. Actually, the Tom & Jerry sounds good, especially on a frigid day.

Ellen- You are more than welcome to visit on the Sea of Poppies G.R. I take it, you'll be reading the next book in the trilogy?

Megan- LOL. You might catch me ogling up there, quite often. Ooh, I like the way that "Three Boys Beer" sounds!

Evening, Mark! Could you refresh my drink on the Christmas Swap - it's $25 total including postage, right? My brain got a little confused between shopping for that and for SantaThing.

Glad you had a pretty good day today, and hope tomorrow is quiet as well. I'm working tomorrow and Sunday myownself, and not terribly looking forward to it - do you think my massage clients would mind if I had an audiobook playing instead of relaxing music? ;) I need more Night Circus time! I started listening earlier tonight, when a neighbor stopped over for a chat and a glass of wine, and then I went out to dinner. Now I'm afraid I'm too tired to really pay attention, so I'd better leave it until tomorrow night. Ugh. One of these weeks I will make it past track #9 on disc 1!

Off to bed for me - Good Night!

LOL about the babes books and brew, Mark. You almost make me want to be a beer drinker! I might have to join you for SoP group read. I have a lovely copy waiting in the wings.

Oh Mark!! Hahahaha! I put you up to this! Well, it's one way to get people to your thread! Hmmm what can I put on my thread...the wood is burning!!;)
What, the B & B stands for Beer and Babes!! I thought it was going to be a cozy Bed and Breakfast where we could all discuss books whilst in our pajamas.

I'm on a Flavia de Luce readathon at the moment. Just started A Red Herring Without Mustard , Mark. Very dark!!;) So far a gypsy and Flavia have ventured accidentally into a bad area filled with religious nuts, The Buckshaw Estate maybe have to be sold as Flavia's dad is so behind money wise that he is having to sell of part of his philatelic collection....and Flavia is just sneaking out after an 2:30 am intruder was found in the kitchen... the suspense builds........ can you stand it?

>13 vancouverdeb: Well, I don't know about you, but I assume many of us spend much of our time discussing books on LT in our pajamas. I know I do! And sometimes there's a beer next to me and, if you credit the incredibly good-looking tuxedo cat who often curls up next to me, I got the babe, too.

Mark, yep, I'll join in some on the SoP GR, and I definitely plan to read the next one in the trilogy.

I might lurk or even comment on the group read thread for Sea of Poppies - I too read it earlier this year and really enjoyed it. Haven't read the next volume yet - I had it from the library but didn't get started straight away and it was requested by someone else so I could not renew it. But I'll definitely want to continue with the trilogy, the first was great fun.

Queen of America is going slowly... distractions..
Thanksgiving and visiting and so forth..
I am anxious to get further into it!

Haha... thanks for your explanation of B&B, Marky-Mark ... I actually thought it meant Books & Breakfast .

Nice to visit your B & B, Mark! Hope you're having a good weekend. I'm away from work all four days, so life is particularly relaxing right now. I finished The Sisters Brothers, which was darn good; Eli and Charlie were memorable companions. Now I'm nearing the end of a young adult book, Blood Red Road, which has been racing along at a fast clip. I'm going to have to dig into the unread books pile, because the wrong one came in at the library (I was trying to get Unbroken.

Good books and plenty of time to read - I could get used to this!

Another cruddy weather day! The rain never stopped. It wasn't cold, mid-50s, but when everything starts getting damp you get a chill. Glad that's behind me. Now, I can enjoy a couple days off.

I finished and enjoyed Good Omens and taking another famous left turn, I finally started the audio of In the Garden of Beasts. Like I've mentioned before, I'm a big fan of Larson and this one begins with much promise. Berlin 1933 is both a fascinating and scary time.

Laura- Yes, it's 25 bucks total. I need to post the rules on the Swap Thread. Like, Duh! I hope you have found more time for The Night Circus. How is Jim Dale doing?

Donna- I would love it, if you could join us on the Sea of Poppies Group Read. And if I could make you a beer-drinker too, what a bonus that would be!!

Deb- I'm hoping people visit my Thread because I'm a fascinating book-lover and if they get a joy out of the babes & beer, it all just gravy, my friend.
The B & B stands for Books & Brew, but I wish I could serve breakfast too, but then I would have to quit my job...hey that's not a bad idea!

Ellen- I'm not a pajama wearer but I can appreciate the appeal of discussing books while wearing them. LOL. Hey, if we have a great time with the Sea of Poppies G.R. maybe we'll do the 2nd book River of Smoke too! Although, that would be way off!

Genny- Nice to see you! And I'm glad you were a fan of Sea of Poppies.

Kath- Yes, I understand. Life's distractions! Can't life just leave us alone, once in awhile? Jeesh! I know you are a Larson fan. I think you would really like In the Garden of Beasts.

Caro- Books & Breakfast, huh? Sounds charming. Maybe Caro, after retirement could start a little place? I know you are a terrific cook, so that's a start.

Joe- It sounds like you are having a nice & relaxing long weekend, and getting in some choice reading time. I'm so glad you enjoyed The Sisters Brothers. It truly is a gem!
Also, good to hear you are liking Blood Red Road. I won an advanced copy of it, a couple months ago. I hope you get to Unbroken. It's an outstanding read, still one of my favorites of the year.

Needless to say..i love the Brews & Babes thing...because I love my Brews...but am certainly not a "Babe"

The Night Circus is on hold, for now...I'll wait a bit to read the damned thing...after the Hoopla dies down

;-}

Mark, check Cafe Press for book lovers calenders.

Oh! THOSE babes! I just caught up to your new thread.
Busy day today... but productive.

Another glorious day off tomorrow! Enjoy!

We still have the nephews over, so we watched "Captain America" on DVD. It's a good action film. Battling evil Nazis is always fun! We were supposed to have an outdoor fire tonight, with smores and stuff but it's still raining out there.

Jude- You will always be a serious babe in my book! I'm really enjoying Fun and Games. I love how this author changes gears with each book.

Cindy- Thanks, I'll check it out. Have you bought one from there?

Claudia- Now, you know what babes I'm talking about. Yes, I'm looking forward to my Sunday. I have a couple reviews to get to, plus a ton of reading and then the Bears game. Not a bad lineup!

Mark, you know me, I call it the way I see it, and while I've been impressed with many of your image choices... not so much this time. But I'll still be your friend if you'll have me.

Finished The Night Circus this evening. Was good fun! Like Kerry said on her thread, I hope this one remains a stand-alone and not the start of yet another series...

Just stopping by to say hi! Hmmm- that's me - the babe at the top of the thread. Mark, how could you use my image like that! I thought we were friends? Hmph!!! ;)

Yeah I know what you mean Ilana - those gals didn't do justice to the beer at all! Mark please find one of Rachel Weisz imbibing some of God's finest nectar!

I think I would like In the Garden of Beasts, too. I have it on my shelf :)

As for series.... well.. a series could mean more good books to read by a wonderful author and characters who go on to do more fascinating things. Last I heard, continuing a series is optional. There are quite a few that I have chosen to abandon for one reason or another. Some I have chosen to follow..Louise Penny for instance, and I look forward to the sequel to Angelology. I guess I can't quite understand hoping for a book to not be written, lol.

Happy Sunday everyone! Another gloomy start here, at least outdoors. I plan on kicking back today and jam in lots of reading and then enjoy the Bears game later, (minus our red-hot quarterback). I need to finish my latest graphic, it was due at the library on Friday. I'll be back with a couple reviews too!

Ilana- Sorry I left you unimpressed. The beer & babes thing was purely goofing around. You know I like my levity. I want to get back to some classic paintings, so I plan on hitting you up for some artist recommendations.
Glad you enjoyed The Night Circus. This one seems to be a winner all the way around.

Deb- More the blond, than the brunette, right? Glad you are enjoying your Flavia books!

Paul- If I only could find a picture of Rachel Weiss drinking a beer! I would LOVE IT!

Morning Kath- I'm not very far into In the Garden of Beasts but Larson has pulled me right in. Talk about being in a pit of vipers!

121) Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson 3.6 stars

Okay, brace yourself for another apocalypse! I know, I know, how many of these things are we going to face? Hey, at least we aren’t battling zombies, but a slightly more plausible adversary: the robot.
We have reached a point where robots are doing everything, from the absolutely menial, to practically running the country and they feel completely under-appreciated. They are fed up to here and decide to rebel, in a big way.
Structured, like the more superior World War Z, it’s told in an episodic format, following various characters, as they take on a very daunting enemy. WWZ narrative was consistently strong and engaging, where Robopocalypse is more uneven, but there is still much to recommend it, as the author comes up with many fresh, exciting ideas. I still give it a nod, with some reservations.
I do love that cover art!

Yup, Mark, seems like we had similar feelings about Robopocalypse!

122) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 4.2 stars

There are many wonderful reviews of this debut novel, so I’m going to keep my comments plain & simple (most will think this is what I normally do, but whatever!).
I was totally charmed by this story. The author creates an enchanting atmosphere of magicians, artists, fortune-tellers and circus followers. There is love, magic and bold challenges.
I read this as a part of a Group Read and it seems to be beloved by all!

Makes you yearn for her next book, doesn't it Mark? But it took her ten years to write The Night Circus so I don't know how fast she'll churn out a new one.

>33 brenzi: Really? 10 years? Missed that. Phooey - I'll be blind by then.

Think I'll pass on Robopocalypse, Mark. I'm sure it's super-exciting (not) but I'll be busy this coming month. I went through my books (haves and have-nots) to pick out the ones I REALLY want to read in 2012 and tagged them. Looks like it will take at least half my year if I'm lucky enough to get to 75 again. That's daunting! What about all the pretty blue words between now and then? Not to mention I keep changing my mind! :P~~~ (I won't mention that)

Has anyone run into someone who didn't like this book? Just curious..

Katie- I heard Spielberg bought the rights to Robopocalypse. It feels tailor-made for a film and almost ideal for him. We will see!

Bonnie- Mortenson should have the confidence now, although that will also be coupled with high expectations. We'll have to just wait and see. At least we have plenty of other books to keep us company in the meantime.

Claudia- I wouldn't think Robopocalypse would be a good fit for you! That's a great idea about tagging your books for '12. Good luck with it. I just have to adhere to my "Must Read Now" shelf, which is always kept well-stocked.

Kath- I'm sure there are some negative reviews out there but I sure haven't seen any on LT.

I looked for a photo of our favourite babe, Rachel Weisz holding a beer, but didn't find one. Dang!

There is one of her holding a giant bottle of perfume (i.e. alcohol) but I didn't think that'd cut it...

Speaking of film rights, do you want to bet The Night Circus gets snapped up soon, if it hasn't already? I kept seeing the movie in my head as I was reading it. Two different star actors for Marco's role, obviously.

Mark - In the acknowledgments, Wilson thanks the people at DreamWorks for showing interest in the book in its early stages. It almost made me wonder if he wrote at least parts of it with a film in mind, as there were some times it struck me as very "cinematic."

Sorry to hear you had a crappy weather day, Marky-Mark but I hope it allowed you to just put your feet up and read?

Good review of Robocalypse. I've got that in my obese wish list already.

You ought to read Daniel Wilson's How to Survive a Robot Uprising. There have been lots of progress in robotics since he wrote this, but it's still an interesting read.

Thanks for the clarification, Mark! Bought books and they're on their way to me as we speak, really looking forward to opening our Swap presents. :) I've finally put Night Circus on my iPod instead of just listening to the discs at home, and I'm nearly done with the first one! Jim Dale is one of my favorite narrators, if not my very fave, so I'm really loving this performance of his. It's got such great atmosphere, it's making driving around like a crazy person seem like a pleasure instead of a chore.

And, I'm hoping that tonight after The Girls leave, I'll be able to tackle volumes 2, 3, and 4 of Locke & Key since they're all due on Tuesday! Speaking of having people over, I should be picking up the house and sweeping floors instead of lurking around LT. See you later - hope you enjoyed the game and some quiet time!

Ilana- I would love to see a photo of Rachel Weisz drinking a beer. Thanks for looking. I'm sure a film company will snatch up The Night Circus, but it's all going to depend on the right film-maker. What made the book work was atmosphere and tone. I can almost see a foreign director capturing the feel of the book, with the most success.

Katie- I think I heard Robocalypse was slated for film release in 2013. I would love to see a smaller grittier production, instead of a big mindless, Transfomer-like movie. But that's just me.

Caro- I didn't know Wilson had wrote an earlier book. Funny, he seems to be following the Max Brooks blueprint. Brooks' 1st book was The Zombie Survival Guide.
And yes, I've managed to get plenty of reading in. Yah!

Laura- I just finished Locke and Key: Crown of Shadows. I love this series. Sure, it's dark & disturbing, but it's such a smooth entertaining read. Can't wait for 4. I hope you can squeeze a couple more in before you have to return them.
The Bears are losing. Offensively, they just can't get it together, which was expected, with a new QB. But still...

You may be right about following the Max Brooks blueprint, Marky-Mark because The Zombie Survivor Guide was published before Wilson's robot guide, I think. Thanks for reminding me about this book though because I remember reading it but not completing it. It was funny and I enjoyed it, especially the line drawings, but I remember getting a little bored of zombies by the halfway mark and decided to put it aside to finish reading another day. I should dig it out again and try and finish it.

Caro- Believe it or not, I have never read it, but have a brand new copy languishing on a shelf. Sad. Actually, it sounds like it might work as a tweener book. What do you think?

If Spielberg an DreamWorks are involved, it's almost a sure bet to be a mindless, big budget production, but I agree with you that something else would work better and be more interesting.

Daniel H. Wilson has written several books, according to the frontispiece in my library copy of Robopocalypse.

Absolutely a tweener book, and one you might to break up into sections as well because funny though it was, it's a big book to just talk about zombies

wow, I'm off LT for one weekend and I miss a new thread and 46 posts already! ;)
Hope you enjoyed your weekend Mark!

#41- Laura, just finished up vol 4 of Locke & Key this weekend. It was awesome! I'm loving the whole series...

Like I mentioned to Laura, I wrapped up Locke and Key: Crown of Shadows. This is easily one of my favorite graphic series. A potent blend of horror & suspense. I started Liar's Kiss. A good tough noir graphic, simply drawn but with a nice punch.

Katie- Spielberg has made some smaller and effective sci-fi thrillers like "Minority Report", so he has the talent. We will see!

Caro- A tweener book it will be. Maybe I can squeeze it in during the Sea of Poppies Group Read. See, I'm always thinking.

Chelle- Good to see you and glad you caught up. Hope your weekend went well!

Mark

I'm simply stopping by to thank you for arranging the holiday book exchange. Thanks for taking time from your busy schedule to coordinate this!

Stopping by to say hi! Nice new photo!! I'll bet if I read Robopocalypse I would give it a poor review, simply because it's just not my genre!;) Enjoy it though! We had a bit of sun today and tomorrow is supposed to sunny again!

I just noticed the new photo. You didn't change it on my account, did you? Just for the record, I'll never complain about a photo of the sublime RW. ;-)

Hi Mark.

I finished the last episode of Masterpiece, "Song of Lunch". I am so glad this was less than an hour long because I'm not sure I could have handled listening to or looking at that insufferable ass, played by Alan Rickman. OMG. Emma Thompson barely got a word in edgewise but she was lovely as ever.

Any "Justified" fans out there? I FINALLY watched the pilot episode. It's a modern western setting, written and produced by Elmore Leonard. It was terrific and I look forward to continuing.

Linda- You are more than welcome. The Swap will be a lot of fun. You saw the link, right?

Deb- I can't see you reading Robopocalypse either. It wouldn't fit you. You know I like pure escapism at times and this was a fun audio listen.
BTW- I plan on starting The Twin tomorrow!

Ilana- You reminded me that my "joke" may have wore out its welcome and I wanted to pick something more representative of my thread, or I hope I did anyway. RW??

Morning Ellen- Big wave!

I too, have been thinking that a movie is not out of the question.. we shall see..
I think it would be quite spectacular!

Ten years Bonnie? I had no idea! Bonnie, I lost you.. Have to find your thread..

Enjoying Queen, Mark!

124) Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett 3.8 stars

Armageddon. Heaven and Hell. Angels and Demons. Witch-hunters, bikers and dastardly nuns. Leading this fantastical charge is the Anti-Christ, a precocious eleven year old, named Adam and his faithful, but meek hellhound, “Dog”.
Of course, this is all filtered through the twisted, satirical eyes of Gaiman and Pratchett. Laughs abound, along with the rock group Queen playing steadfastly in the background.
This is a lot of fun but it does feel over-stuffed at times, which derails the narrative here and there. I’m not sure this is a good start, for trying Mr. Gaiman, but for seasoned fans, this should work like a charm.
I listened to this on audio and the reader was Martin Jarvis, who did a fantastic job!

>56 msf59: What would you recommend as a starter for trying Mr. Gaiman? I'm not sure this stuff is at all up my alley, but "you can't win if you don't play."

Started reading Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy this weekend. Got to chapter four. I will start reading it in earnest this week. Are you ready to listen along?

I finished Chime by Franny Billingsley and boy was that a waste of time. I should have stopped reading it long before I came to the end. Really poor book even if it was nominated for a National Book Award. For more of my rant on this you can check out the other thread. I gave it 2 1/2 stars and that was being generous.

Hi Mark - like your new photo; looks more comfy. His partner is off getting him a beer. I'm sure of it!

Not a reading day for me :P Too many chores & errands.
Maybe tomorrow...

I had a productive day today. Ran some errands, went to the library, came home, straightened out the garage, put up the Christmas lights, (hard, crappy job) and did some serious reading too! And we just watched the mid-season finale of "The Walking Dead", which was very good, although it sucks it won't be back on until Feb.

Kath- Big wave! Glad you are enjoying "Queen"!

Ellen- My first Gaiman was Neverwhere, which I really enjoyed but I think The Graveyard Book is the best place to start with him, and it's still my favorite.

Benita- I'm still waiting for my audio of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy to come in. Hopefully this week. Once I get it, I should be able to knock it out quick.
Sorry, chime was such a disaster.

Claudia- Glad you like the picture. It's more relaxed. A beer on the table would have been perfect. Hope you can return to the books tomorrow.

Hi Mark, I feel your pain with those Christmas lights! But they are always so worth it! They look so nice. We finally upgraded to LED lights this year and breathed sighs of relief that we didn't have to deal with random outages anymore. We did have one problem - the day after we put them up, a squirrel chewed one of the lights off and so the whole strand went out. Luckily, it was the bottom one on the tree and we had an extra set.

I have Sunday's The Walking Dead to watch tonight - I heard it was a good one!

Take care, my friend!

I hate putting up Christmas lights and so does the hubster .... so we've dispensed with the outdoor lighting. We'll decorate inside only now... with the exception of the wreath on the front door.

No christmas lights here - the indians put out their lights for Deepavali and the end of fasting is a well lighted hari raya puasa celebration. Never did like putting up the lights in the UK and, being, inept at such things leave all such exercises at home to the far more proficient SWAMBO.

I've put The Graveyard Book on hold at the library. A whole new author (and genre?) for me.

We put up "winter lights" --- the winters are so dark, the days so short --- we put up lights around Thanksgiving and leave them up until Valentine's Day. I hate putting them up but I love the extra illumination.

Okay, finished fun and Games, (Thanks Jude). A fast, very violent romp and thoroughly enjoyable. Next up, is The Twin, this one thanks to Deb. I know several LTers who are big fans of this one. And I can't wait to get back to in the Garden of Beasts.

It supposed to be windy and cold out there today, with rain and maybe a bit of snow mixed in. NOOOOOO...!

Joanne- What made it harder this time, was the fact that we lent our extension ladder to someone, a few months ago and they have not returned it. I had to use a smaller a-frame ladder because I couldn't get on the roof.
It will look nice, that's all that matters. I'll have to look into the LED ones. I'm not familiar.

Caro- That sounds like the more practical approach. I'm just glad I did it, the weather looks like it will be turning more winter like this week.

Paul- Thank God for the SWAMBO! Sounds like a deity, which she probably is. LOL.

Ellen- If The graveyard Book turns out to not be your "thing", you move on, at least you gave it a try. That's admirable.
We probably won't turn our lights on for another 10 days or so.

Hmmm , Mark, would Coraline be a good start for a Gaimen neophyte , like myself? At the moment I too am completely engaged in escapism, in the form of A Red Herring Without Mustard. I'm loving it, nearly finished! Have a great day!

ohhh just noticed that you are going to try The Twin .I'll be interested in what you think of it. If you loathe it, no problem. Taste is a funny thing.

Yeah... I was underwhelmed by Good Omen, too...

Damn, where are those babes??? I miss 'em!

You asked for "Justified" fans.....here I am, a proud one! Never read the Elmore Leonard story from which the series sprang.....but I own the first season on DVD...it's set in/around Harlan, Kentucky...I guess Appalachia is the modern day version of The Wild West...without the "elegance"....Besides, I think Timothy Olyphant is a major babe....and not too shabby an actor...I'm looking for Season 2...either on DVD (if I can find it cheap) or I'll get it from Amazon Instant Video...

You're very welcome.....for Fun and Games......i'm looking forward to the rest of the trilogy..

No Christmas lights here...but, I have a fiber optic angel-with-a-fiddle! No tree this year...Kitteh would demolish it in an hour...

;-}

I hope you enjoy The Twin I put it on my list of books to read simply because of Deb's glowing recommendation. It also had good reviews elsewhere in the library stuff I read from time-to-time.

Those of you looking for a place to start with Gaimen - Graveyard Book and Coraline are good ones. They are both YA (Young Adult) books so they are short and easy to read. They give you a good idea of the kind of thing that Gaimen writes. For adult trade fiction I would recommend Stardust. This is a fairy tale for grownups and though it is not YA it reads fast and easily. From there I would move on to some of his other more complicated works like American Gods and Good Omens. If you like graphic novels you could try the Sandman series. These are the books that really made him famous, and after those gave him a base from which to work he branched out.

RE: Justified
Mark! We are a Justified-loving household! I am really looking forward to the new season in January. Timothy Olyphant is one of my favorite actors. I hope you enjoy the rest of the series.

Hi Mark, another Justified fan here. We watched last season but never saw any of the first season. We're looking forward to this season.

Mark, Not sure deity is quite right - more like supernatural! btw Jude lol.

Oh..i bought the Second season of JUSTIFIED.....for $15.99

at Amazon Instant Video (via ROKU)

neener neener

Hi Mark, gone for a boy-babe in top post now I see? :)

Still warm over here, although we're promised a cooling towards the end of the week. As I was driving home, I saw a number of houses with their Christmas lights already out. I actually like the ones with the icicle lights on their roofs... so pretty and Christmassy.

you sure that's not you in that top pic. ? :P

Justified...yes sir!! your late to that party mister Mark, but better late then never :) wait to you get to season 2!

I have drooling causing mountain pictures for you on my thread :)

It did not rain but boy was it gusty! Ruthless north wind! Fortunately the base temp was around 40, so the wind didn't have serious teeth! That helped.

OMG- It's great to have this many "Justified" fans chime in! See, we don't just have impeccable taste in books, we know our TV too, (among other things)! I've only watched 2 episodes but plan on churning them out. I've also been a big fan of Elmore Leonard, since the early 80s. I haven't read him much, in the past 5 plus years, but I will get back to him.

Deb- Now, what would make you think I would loathe The Twin? And this is from a guy that loves everything...almost? Okay, I read the 1st 50 pages and I am really enjoying it. I'm sure this has been said before, but immediately I thought of Out Stealing Horses, which of course.....I loved.
In regards, to Coraline, I have not read it yet, so I can't honestly answer that. I did see the film and they did an excellent job on that.

Kath- Good Omens is not for everybody, but if you can tap in to that nutty style, I think you can find some rewards.

Jude- The babes are on hiatus! Just serious guys reading. I would have tapped you as a "Justified" fan. It has all the right elements. Even the music kicks ass. Timothy Olyphant is perfect! Well, I know we both loved him from "Deadwood", the holy Grail of westerns. I also like Walton Goggins, (from "The Shield") as crazy Boyd.
You'll have to show us a pic of your "fiber optic angel-with-a-fiddle". Sounds cool!

Benita- Have you read Out Stealing Horses? The Twin has that type of feel. Thanks for your thoughts on Gaiman. We seem to share the same feeling toward his work. I just snagged the audio of Stardust. Maybe, I can squeeze it in. Have still not got to The Anansi Boys either.

Jennifer- Good to see you! Glad to hear you are a "Justified" loving family! We're you guys also fans of "Deadwood"?

Bonnie- You have purely Good Taste...period! You should try to go back and see the 1st season.

Paul- So the DW is supernatural, huh? Sounds interesting and a bit scary.

Megan- Wasn't going for the boy-babe thing, just a little ole reader, like myself.

Caro- We went out for dinner and on the way home, there were a lot of Christmas lights already on. We had the icicle lights. That's all I do outside. It's enough.

Kara- No, that's not me in the picture, although I should get more pictures of me reading in assorted places. Yes, I was late to the "Justified" party, usually I'm ahead of the curve on those. I'm watching less and less current TV lately, so it's freeing me up to watch other things.

I watched Coraline recently with Cory.....good one.

I haven't seen the movie of Coraline, but I did like the book. (But I like everything Gaiman does!)

Christmas lights! They're up around the city, I might take the kids to see them when the holidays start. At the moment, it gets dark quite late so it would be well past their bedtime by the time we got home if we did it now. There's a lot of positives for a summery Christmas, but a lot of the more traditional things just don't work so well!

We don't do Christmas lights (well, we have a string of solar-powered fairy lights on the front verandah, but they've been up for a couple of years solid so no longer really count as Christmas lights), but we will be getting a tree.

Oh No! Mark, say it isn't so ... no more "Walking Dead" until February. I will be getting withdrawal pains. I still have last Sunday's to watch. From the look of it, I wish I did get "Justified", I will have to see if I can pick up a DVD of it somewhere.

Well, Mark, since I recommended The Twin so highly, I want to feel free to loathe it, just in case you do. However, I think you may prefer to Out Stealing Horses which I have in my TBR pile and plan to read soon. Still - embarressingly - on my Flavia kick!!;) I was going to take a break from the Flavia series but no, I'm plunging right into I am Half Sick of Shadows.... ;)

Hi there, Mark. I cannot keep up with your threads! But at least I have this one starred now.

Morning Kath- Big Wave!

Tania- How are the books treating you? I'm enjoying in the Garden of Beasts and I'm looking forward to Sea of Poppies, which we start early next week.

Judy- The "Justified" love, over here, surprised me too! Hey ,the gang has good taste! What else can you say?

Deb- Early on in the Twin, I was thinking that Helmer was treating his father, less than nice but I am starting to see that there is a dark history there. Good stuff.

Terri- You have no idea how much you've missed over here! (tongue firmly in cheek) Hey, at least you found me now.

The Twin - yes, perhaps darker than Out Stealing Horses which I will read NEXT!!!! Then I can compare the two!!! Enjoy!!!

Out Stealing Horses ... that one had lots of really good reviews at one point I think..

Hi mark!

Hi Mark! Hope the weatherman is kind to you today! We are getting our first snow storm today, actually sticking to the ground now. So pretty but I'm inside looking out. Lots of car accidents in our area today, people seem to forget how to drive in snow!

I'll be keeping an eye out for your thoughts on Sea of Poppies, might have to be a 2012 read for me.

Yes Mark, I am definately a fan of Deadwood as well. Andy and I were very dissapointed in the way it ended.

We are watching Hell on Wheels right now as well. It is not nearly as good as Deadwood, but it still acceptable. It takes place shortly after the Civil War ends. Lincoln is dead. It centers around the building of the railroad.

Andy and I watch a ridiculous amount of TV. We don't watch "reality" TV, but we watch a lot of the serial one-hour shows.

>88 ChelleBearss: takes a good snowfall to remind people about slippery tyres! Happens all over I'd say

IMO Coraline the book was MUCH better (creepier) then the movie.

Hell on Wheels....yup, watch that one also :)

Wow, November turned out to be a great reading month, especially after a lean October, due to reading a couple hefty tomes. I read 13 books, including audios and this does not include several graphics that I squeezed out. This is turning out to be one of my favorite reading years! A lot more on that later!
How did everyone else do in November?

Deb- I'm just over a 100 pages into The Twin. His brother's girlfriend has just showed up. Excuse my language but Helmer needs to get laid!

Kath- Out Stealing Horses got some raves about 2 years ago. I loved it, but that's not a big surprise, right?

Chelle- The weatherman, or better yet, Mother Nature was wonderful today. The wind died down, with lots of sunshine.
I wish you could join us on Sea of Poppies. Do you own a copy?

Jennifer- HBO didn't pick up "Deadwood" for a 4th season, so it did end abruptly, but at no fault of the show. I heard they were supposed to make a couple 2 hour episodes to close the show out but it never came through.
Are you guys fans of "Sons of Anarchy"? It's been very good this season. Looking foward to the final 2 episodes.

Megan- Big wave!

Kara- Good to know! I will definitely will read or listen to Coraline. I think I will wait until the smoke settles on "Hell on Wheels", before I check it out. I've also heard some negative things about it too!

Hi Mark: A whole lot nicer out today, huh.

November was my best reading month of the year. I finished 18 books this month (12 or 12 is more typical).

The New York Times best books of 2011 list is out now. Some interesting choices.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/books/10-best-books-of-2011.html?_r=1

I've got the Stephen King time travel one and want to read the baseball novel and the Civil War book. Will have to investigate the others further.

Actually no, that's not one that I own yet. It looks quite good but I really don't think I will read much in December as we have our cruise and Nate will be home for three weeks (lucky guy!). I'll keep an eye on your group read though, live vicariously through you all ;)

I managed to knock off 9 books this month, and half of the monster that is 11/22/63. Not too shabby ;)

ETA: Linda, I'm surprised that the Stephen King book is on the top 10 list, it just came out less than a month ago. (It is quite good though :)

#94 I'll be eager to hear about that one. I think it sounds terrific but oh so long...

When I start it, I expect I'll be reading it at home. Too heavy a book to be lugging it around everywhere.

hehehehe Mark!! I'll say no more.... but I think that you will find The Twin very interesting!!! ;) I know I did!

November wasn't a bad reading month. Started with some top-notch quality Australian fiction, That Deadman Dance. And finished it reading The Secret River, another top-notch quality Australian fiction. (Still reading that, so it'll officially count as a December read, however.)

Got to read Dahl with Mr Bear, we read The Witches together, and he had a great time. So did I!

And Neverwhere was a great read, can't believe I hadn't gotten to that one before now. And the very charming The Night Circus was also one of the best books for me.

Then a few other less good, but still had redeeming features. And then The Library of Shadows and I'm wondering why I gave it 2.5 stars. Should have given it less... (Yes, I know other people liked it. I didn't.)

TV-wise, I'm currently watching "The Hour" with Dominic West from "The Wire", only with an English accent. It's not perfect (a bit melodramatic), but it's fascinating, and well-done as only the British can do. (Until HBO that is, I think they're giving BBC a run for their money quality-wise!) And occasional episodes of the US "The Killing" (I was too tired last night to watch it, so skipped). It's excellent, but I feel like I've gone through an emotional wringer by the end of each episode.

One thing I'd like to say about my November reading or any of my reading. It really isn't about sheer numbers. I am not obsessed about that. I really can't read much faster than I do, but making even the slightest dent in this daunting mountain, is always an excuse for celebration...in my book anyway!

Linda- Thanks for supplying the NYT List. It's a bit lean for my tastes. I've only read SWAMPLANDIA! and I have the Art of Fielding & the new King book on the WL.
Not familiar with the NF books.

Chelle- Glad you're enjoying 11/22/63. It's been getting many raves. I'll have to read that one sometime next year. I've been a King fan for over 30 years.

Deb- You know I'll be giving you updates. Have you read Murakami? Some of Bakker's style reminds me of him.

Tania- I NEED you to start nagging me about reading Kate Grenville. I've had The Secret River in the stacks for nearly 3 years. She has such a strong fan base over here on LT too! I need a nudge or better yet...a shove!
I loved the 1st half of "The Killing" but it started to unravel for me and became incoherent by the end. I hope it works better for you.

Hi Mark, congrats on a good November. My reading was very varied, as always, with a smattering of outstanding books, so I can't complain. It was nice not to overbook myself for once. I think I might continue with that approach for a while. It's much more relaxing not constantly thinking that there are five more books to read for every one completed in any given month.

Some friends of mine are watching Hell on Wheels and really like it. They did not watch Deadwood so don't have anything with which to compare it. I don't have HBO or a DVD player so can't watch much of this stuff. I do have a friend who records some things on a DVD for me. I then take it home and watch some of it at my sister's house. I don't think I am a TV snob, because I do have a TV and cable. I just tend to watch newsy stuff and PBS. I love most of the BBC stuff, but find the HBO series a bit on the bloody nasty side for me. The older I get the less I like gore and violence. I read it, (hey, I made it through the grisly scene in Wind-up Bird Chronicle and others) but I don't enjoy seeing it. After the tornado hit last spring I didn't have cable for a month and almost decided to quit TV completely. I was thinking of reevaluating my decision to keep it when along came the Jackson Brodie series and I realized that I really liked Masterpiece Theater. This last month I have had the local weather channel on most of the time because they are playing Christmas music and I can listen to that and do my baking and reading. But I am asking myself why I am doing that as a radio is much cheaper than paying that cable bill each month. I am sure that one of these days I will kick the habit and get rid of the TV completely.

I haven't read Out Stealing Horses but have it on my list of things to read. I will start reading Sea of Poppies this weekend. I don't read as fast as you so don't worry that I am jumping the gun on this one. I still have Mexico Set to finish up as well. I haven't read anything at all on Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy this week.

Mark an echo to your sentiments - if I read much faster I will not really enjoy doing so - and I could never compete with superhumans like Suz and Dee reading more than a book a day! I'm happy mixing up my reading and. as you, fairly content with my lot. Not a bad reading month for me too but the opposite of a dent in my reading stocks I'm afraid.

Paul- It's not just about speed either! I feel comfortable reading a certain amount a day and I stick with that. Forced reading is not fun. My book-blessing is audiobooks, which helps me add 40-50 titles a year. I can't imagine all the books I would not have got to, if it wasn't for this technical miracle. Print books still rule the day but audios have also been triumphant.

Ilana- I have found my niche: One print book, one audio, one graphic. That recipe serves me well. On occasion, I'll try 2 print books but I prefer focusing on one.

Benita- I'm really not a TV fanatic. I just don't have that kind of time. Between books & LT, it doesn't leave me much leftover time, but there are some shows that are just "Must-See TV", that give me great joy to watch. I have very little patience though. Once a show starts to flag, I'm outta there!

I want to share this from "the Book Case": "We told you this morning that Erik Larson’s In the Garden of Beasts is #10 on our Best Books of 2011 list, but now I have another exciting tidbit to share. The Hollywood Reporter has, well, reported that Universal has optioned the rights to Larson’s riveting nonfiction book about the first year of Nazi rule, with Tom Hanks to produce (and possibly star).

I second what Mark said about audio books. It has enabled me to "read" more fantastic stories than I would if I read every one of them. I listen to them in the car all the time and would listen to them on weekends if I had a CD player in the house. Instead of listening to books or reading on weekends I listen to BookTV on my cable. By listening to authors talk about their books I can feel like I have read them. Sometimes listening to the authors inspires me to read one of their books. I do think it is harder to listen to non-fiction than it is fiction, so most of my listened to books are works of fiction.

I find it amazing how many books I have listened to while just driving around town doing normal errands. If I walked around delivering mail I am sure that my listened to books list would be much longer than it is.

Hi Mark - you read so many books and have so many visitors, I can barely keep up here. But I'm trying.

You have had a great November! I'm ok with my reading this month... it included Night Circus! What more could I want?

Please send me some cold weather - and wind is always welcome!

Mark, I envy you and others that have success with audiobooks. With me, it's literally in one ear and out the other! Apparently if I don't see it in print and hear my own voice in my head, it doesn't register.

I've had a good reading month and a good reading year. I hope to slow down a bit next year as I've felt book pressure a time or two. It's my addictive nature and the fact that I set too many goals for myself. Saying that, I have to go read my book for my face-to-face book group tomorrow night. After that, I have to come home and read my assignment for my last class on Friday! See what I mean about book pressure that I put on myself? Lol.

I'm glad Mother Nature was kind to you today. We had our coldest morning so far this fall. It was 17 degrees when we walked the dog. He didn't mind a bit. ;-)

>105 Donna828: I was no good at university as couldnt take in information aurally....I would have to write out my notes and re-read them and that seemed the way I learned it all. I dont hold out much hope for an audio book sinking in!

I gave up on listening to non-fiction. It just didn't work for me. Some of the lighter non-fiction works in audio format. Things like Tony Horowitz and Sarah Vowell whose books are almost like travel books, but I tried to listen to a Joseph Ellis book and gave up. I kept wanting to look up stuff and ended up getting the book so that I could flip pages. I figured that if I was going to do that I might as well read the book. However, fiction works for me. I think it is because it is a story and flows. In particular I like to listen to mysteries. They keep me alert on long driving trips, as do things with humor in them. I know that Mark doesn't have problems with non-fiction and listens to non-fiction all the time. However, it just doesn't work for me.

I'm another one who just can't get into audio books. Not that I haven't tried. It seems I have to see the words on the page. Oh well.

Another audiophile checking in. Just finished The Night Circus in the pool this afternoon. What a terrific read. I don't usually read anything like this but too many of you had too many great things to say about it, so when i saw the audio available, I nabbed it. So glad I did!

December 1st! Where does the time go? It needs to slow down a bit, we have some serious books to read. Speaking of audios, I'm enjoying In the Garden of Beasts. It's an interesting perspective but what a dark & scary time.
Yah! I just got a notice from the library, that The Sense of an Ending FINALLY came in. Now, I'll need to kick it in gear, so I can finish it before the G.R. on Tuesday.

Claudia- Once again, I'm so glad you loved The Night Circus. Does my heart proud. And don't worry, it's December, you will get plenty of cold, wind & snow, soon enough.

Donna- It supposed to stay in the low 40s for the next few days, which is FINE with me. Good luck with the Book Group! What book are you discussing?

Megan- Audios aren't for everyone, that's for sure. I only just started 2-3 years ago. If it works for you though, it's a terrific experience.

Benita- Yes, I love listening to NF. For some reason, it really keeps me on task. The only type I have a problem with is more dense literature, where I need to savor the words. It's not easy or practical to keep rewinding back.

Bonnie- I am always so impressed that you can read as fast as you do! You don't need any stinkin' audios! Were you going to be reading Midnight Rising soon? I have it slated for later in the month.

Tina- Great to see you and I'm glad you enjoyed the Night Circus. It's a fun read. Yah, another audiophile!

I'm not in to the numbers so much either, Mark, as I am a very,very slow reader. However, thanks to some great Graphic Novels and YA's I'm close to reaching 75 for the first time, so I'm psyched. After I achieve that I won't stress on it again.

November used in the past tense just gave me a start ! I refuse to believe that it's December..

HI Mark
Not so much in the way of numbers for me either, however I do enjoy the months that I can knock more books off my TBR shelf!
Although I find that when Nate is home more often, I do read less. Once he is home full time and we have a normal life again I guess we will get into our comfy routine of me reading while he watches tv or plays on the computer.

Hi Mark. Congrats on a satisfying November of reading.
I have both The Twin and The Secret River newly on my teetering TBR stack, so I feel your pain (or is that pleasure?) at wanting to get to them..... eventually. :-)

Was surprised to see that November was a pretty good reading month for me - 7 books - and it might have been more if it weren't for the fact that 1. Willie thinks the day begins at around 5:30 so I begin to fold up at an early hour and 2. reading time is much reduced by the fact that we recently came off 17 months of 4 day work weeks (Yay!). Still, I hope to get to 75 this year.

Lynda- For some reason, I don't even add my graphics to my book total. There are so many GN series books and little short ones, that I don't even bother. Cuts down on the clutter.
Good to hear you will be reaching 75.

Kath- I know, whenever I had to write the date down today, I started writing 11, caught myself and corrected it.

Chelle- LT has increased my reading, no question. BLT, I read between 40-50 books. Within 2 years that number skyrocketed to just over 70. (print books only). One of the many things I grateful for the blessing of LT.

Ellen- We should set a plan for January and read The Secret River. How's that sound?

Charlotte- I give you mothers a lot of credit, for being able to squeeze in any kind of reading time. So, I take you you liked the 4 day work week?

Ooh! I'd join in for Secret River in January. It's been sitting on my TBR for two years now, so maybe it's time has come.

Mark, I didn't thank you for introducing me to audiobooks. Or if I did, I didn't thank you enough. I honestly didn't think much of them or of people who listened to them before, assuming they were just too *lazy* to do *real* reading. But they've really transformed my reading life and my quality of life in general as well. Since I live with just my pets, I'm plugged in anytime I'm doing things around the house (as opposed to tethered to the computer for most of the day). It's helped cut back a lot of negative thinking since I'm mostly concentrating on the narrator and keeps my mind engaged in more interesting things than constant worry, which is my usual fare. Not to mention the fact that it's doubled my reading capacity, since I'm a slow reader as well. It's true they're not for everybody, and I often get distracted, but then I just use the auto-rewind feature on my iPhone (which backs it up 30 seconds) a lot, which isn't much different from when I'm reading a paper book, since my mind often wanders off the page, or often the words don't have any meaning to me unless I go back and read entire sentences and often, entire paragraphs all over again.

Mark, I'm halfway through The Secret River and it is excellent. I think you'd like it! It'd also be great reading your comments soon(ish) after I finish it.

ETA: And The Sense of an Ending can be read in one short burst, it's quite short. But excellent, I'm looking forward to your comments there too!

>118 wookiebender: I loved The Secret River. That is definitely one you'd like Mark.

Ilana- I'm sure you've thanked me for the audiobooks before, but you are more than welcome. I was probably just the nudge you needed. We've all done each other favors around here. It's another thing we do well around here. Sharing the book love!
Glad you are interested in joining a couple of us for The Secret River. I can't believe January is already starting to fill in. We are all completely nuts.

Tania- I'm hoping to start The Sense of an Ending over the weekend. I heard the author on an NPR Book podcast this morning. Interesting guy!

Bonnie- Now, I am reading it for SURE! LOL!

Good night, guys! See you on the flip side!

Just stopping by to say hi, Mark.

Hope you're liking The Twin.

I think you mentioned Deadwood somewhere up above. I read today that its creator, David Milch, is going to be doing some Faulkner adaptations for HBO.

I'm sorry, Mark - I forgot that I've only stopped lurking here fairly recently so you couldn't possibly know that Willie's a cat and my only child. I'm kind of a faux-mother.

I kind of liked those furlough days - especially for the extra reading time, but I really did not like the reduction in pay (a loss of around 6 or 7K) so all in all I'd rather be working a full week. Truly I always did really like it best when we were crazy busy and getting that way again seems like a sign of an improving real estate market - the area that my job is connected to.

stopping by and waving hi.

Well, Mark, just checking in.. how goes The Twin . Has Helmer taken the action that you recommended for him yet? ;) Of course I know the answer .....

#117
I too listen sometimes to recorded books while working around the house. However, I mostly use that time to listen to BookTV (CSPANN-2) on the weekends. I have been listening to Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke while driving around town and commuting. Last night I got so engrossed in the story that I didn't want to stop listening to it when I got home. I took the CD into the house with me and after supper sat and listened to it while knitting. I should finish listening to it this weekend. I loaned by recorded copy of the first and second Flavia deLuce books to my sister to listen to while they were making the long drive from El Paso. When they arrived home they weren't finished with the second book and spent a couple of evenings listening to the last of the second one while knitting. She said that it reminded her of people sitting around the radio back in the 1930's and 40's. They enjoyed their time with Flavia and I enjoyed my time with all the characters in the Inkheart series.

I will be cracking open the Sea of Poppies this weekend.

Trips sometimes inspire me to read things that I have had on the back burner for some time. Tomorrow I will be making a trip to north Alabama to tour the Rosenbaum House in Florence. This is the only building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright that is in Alabama. I have T.C. Boyle's book The Women in my collection so perhaps over Christmas I will be inspired to read that book. But Sea of Poppies comes first.

20th Century Ghosts....... 4 stars :) review on my thread

have a great weekend Mark!

Hey everyone! Do you stinkin' believe I caught a virus on my desktop? Nothing is loading and I am bummed. This happened about 6 months ago and had to have it taken in. I believe it cost 60 or 70 bucks. I'm very diligent about keeping up with the security and running a full scan a couple times a week. Grrrrrrrrr!!!

Joanne- I am enjoying The Twin. I only have about 50 pages left. That's good to hear about Milch's next project. He really hasn't succeeded in anything else since "Deadwood".

Charlotte- I'm clear now on the pets/kids thing, thanks!

Linda- Big Wave!

Deb- Like I mentioned to Joanne, I'm nearly done with The Twin. I like the relationship with Helmer and the boy Henk.

Benita- Do you know I picked up my audio copy of Tinker Tailor and saw that it was a full cast edition, which sounded cool but then I realized it was just a 3 hour production. That sucks! Back to square one.
I've been wanting to do the Women forever, maybe I'll join you on audio.

Kara- I'll have to stop by and check out your review of 20th Century Ghosts. Glad you enjoyed it.

oh ! I do love Ghost stories :)

Sorry to hear about your travails with the computer Mark. After it is sorted have a great weekend.

Sorry to hear about your computer woes, Mark. Hope you can get it all worked out.

Happy weekend!!

Ew, sorry to hear about your computer issues! Hopefully it gets figured out easily and cheaply

These phone tech guys are to expensive, I'll just have to take it to a PC repair place, I use. What a hassle! Thankfully, I have the wife's laptop.

I finished In the Garden of Beasts. It might be my least favorite of his, but it's still a good read and it definitely sparked my interest in the rise of the Nazi nation. Has anyone here, read The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich? I think that will be one of my next big history challenges.
On audio, I took another sneaky left turn and started The Strain. It's the 1st of a vampire trilogy and in case some of you don't know, Del Toro is also an accomplished film-maker. He directed the excellent "Pan's Labyrinth" and both "Hell Boy" movies.
And as an added bonus, on the audio, it's read by Ron Perlman. And he's doing a fantastic job.
I also have The Sense of an Ending in my greedy little hands!

Kath- I hope all of us like a good ghost story! Have you ever read Ghost Story? It's easily one of my top horror books.

Paul, Linda & Chelle- Thanks for your concern guys! Much appreciated. It's a very minor catastrophe but one that still SUCKS!

Mark I haven't yet read Shirers tome but I have read one third of Richard J Evans trilogy on the third reich which is heavy going but informative. The other two await on my shelves but don't know when I'll get round to them because they do take an effort of concentration.

Ohhh hope you love The Strain! I have the third one to start and I think I might take it with me on my cruise.

I really empathize with you, Mark. It truly sucks when the computer doesn't cooperate. :(
It's like being in an auto accident - traumatic, expensive, inconvenient and it hurts! ouch.
Good luck! Seriously.

Mark, I think Deborah (arubabookwoman) read The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.

Hi Mark, I loved The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich when I read it (which must have been 20 to 30 years ago). My copy was a very beat up paperback by the time I finished and I got rid of it at some point. The last time I looked it was hard to find a replacement (very expensive if I remember correctly) and I gave up. I'd definitely read it again. It was a great read and very informative.

>117 Smiler69: I love your description of audio book-reading, there's hope for me yet!

Paul & Bonnie- I quickly checked on Amazon for some onfo on the The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, mainly it's length. The 1st page did not have a page count but it did say it weighed a 1.4 pounds. LOL. It is a big boy, clocking in at 1600 pages. It also stated that the author sifted through nearly 500 tons of documents. WOW!
Yes, the monumental length is daunting but this will be one I will attempt. I sound like Sir Hillary.

Chelle- I am a couple hours into the Strain. It's a slowburn set-up but so far so good.

Claudia- No one likes our life upended! Damn virus! I will persevere, my friend. Maybe, more time for reading? Hey, never a bad thing.

Pat- It's great to see you! Glad you were a fan of the third Reich. At that monster-size, no one wonder it was beat-up! I think I would try it on audio, first.

I read the Shirer book years ago. Simply outstanding. I'd like to read the Evans trilogy but probably not til my chronological focus arrives at that time period. (In 2011, my historical focus was on the Civil War.) So, it'll be a couple of years, probably.

Hi Mark, I had committed to read Sea of Poppies with the GR but I'll back out. I have recently read his The Calcutta Chromosome and liked it immensely. Too much of a good thing is bad so I'll pick it up later.

I love the tv series recommendations and am liking justified season one.

I have tried audiobooks but can only enjoy them when I have the book open in front of me along with the audio.

So what is going on with your computer? I missed that and can't find it now..
I am having some issues since the new Flash downloaded.. nothing dire, but

I am probably going to uninstall it...

Happy Saturday, everyone! Decent day today, supposed be about 50, with rain moving in later. I miss my PC and I won't have a chance drop it off til Monday. Sad face.

Linda- That's great to know, that you loved the Shirer book. I NEED to return to my Civil War reading. I've been seriously neglecting it.

Gautam- No problem sir! Thanks for checking in.

Morning Kath- My PC caught a virus. Funny, I had just run a full scan on it too! Shit! Did you see my question in #132? Have a great day!

Ack, fell way behind as my work-week got totally crazy.
Mark, I'd love to do a shared read of The Secret River in January.

I read Rise and Fall of the Third Reich 20+ years ago...back-to-back with The Arms of Krupp...was feeling particularly masochistic, at the time...and was, oh so curious about my German Heritage (not!)....

Both books are certainly worthwhile..but require a strong stomach..and the ability to distance oneself from the horrors therein... Perspective, is the word..

Other than that..have a great weekend!

Very quiet on the threads today, huh? Are you telling me people have a life other than this sacred place? The nerve!
Long heavy day on the route. There was a light rain until early afternoon and then it cleared up nicely and even saw a little sunshine. I had the Strain to keep me company, Ron Perlman does have a soothing set of pipes.
We are going to see a Pink Floyd cover band tonight, at a local sports bar. I'm not expecting a whole lot but I hope they have decent beer on tap. Of course, my love affair with Floyd goes back to the early 70s.

Jude- This is why you are one of my heroes, (heroines?) over here. You have such an impressive reading history While I was reading a slew of crime fiction during the 80s and early 90s, you were immersed in the "real stuff"!

Ellen- It'll be nice to have some company reading The Secret river. I plan on starting the year with The Invisible Bridge. I've also been sitting on that one for awhile.

I read Ghost Story a million years ago Mark and don't remember a thing about it. That was during my Peter Straub/Stephen King/Dean Koontz period. I know!

Hi Mark, so sorry to hear of your computer woes. Very interested in your opinion of The Strain as it's another I have set aside for my 12 in 2 Challenge next year.

Hey Mark, I was away for a good part of the day, but surely that can't explain a slow day on the threads...

Sorry to hear about the 'puter problems, that really sucks. Hope it ends up getting cleared up for a reasonable fee.

I'm still immersed in Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter at the moment, and it's a lot of fun, but also really looking forward to The Elephant's Journey, which is up next.

#125 I've tried listening to audiobooks by just playing them off my computer for example, but I find without the earphones on, I'm just not really capable of focusing on the narrator and end up treating it as background noise. So I'm always plugged into my iPhone, basically.

#138 I think they're at least worth a try or two. :-)

Plans fell through for tonight! A couple people got sick! the wife was up for staying home too! Oh well, at least I have good brew here. Always a good thing!

Bonnie- I read all those guys too! Remember John Saul? Big in the late 70s and 80s. I'm still reading King but gave up on the others a long time ago.

Judy- I don't know if I'm just getting impatient, in my reading, but I really like a book to move along. I've been enjoying The Strain but it seems to take forever to unfold. I understand this is a trilogy but are they just stretching things out? I had this problem with feed too!
I hope I don't spook anyone, because there are some fresh ideas here. It's like taking the vampire genre through the richard Preston & Michael Crichton route, which is cool.

I finally wrote my review of The Elephant's Journey -- one of the hardest reviews I've ever written. I gave the book five stars so it's interesting that it was so hard to write about. I think I didn't feel like I could say anything that would do it justice.

I'm not sure it's the same one, but they made a movie a long time ago called "Ghost Story" and they filmed it in my small central Florida hometown.

I read Rise and Fall many years ago. I had a paperback copy that I carried around with me in the pick-up, trucks, combine, and tractor. I think it took me a couple of years to read it through. Then I read Rising Sun by John Toland. Then I took up Arms of Krupp then American Ceasar. I carried them around with me everywhere and my Dad and Uncles got tired of me carting them into and out of different vehicles. I got lots of reading done while auguring grain from one bin to another. Not so much while feeding cattle. It was hard to turn the pages with gloves on and I got to feed cattle in the winter so gave up trying to read while standing there.

My copy was a paperback that must have been about 5 inches thick. I remember that one time it got stuck under the clutch of the combine and when I went to stop the machine I couldn't because I couldn't engage the clutch all the way in. I finally stomped on it so hard that I tore off about the first 150 pages of the book plus the cover. Thereafter I carried it around sans cover and first part. Oh, and fortunately I didn't hit anything with the combine header while trying to figure out why the dumb machine wouldn't stop.

I also recall that Shirer wrote it soon after the war because he was so horrified that nobody saw the Holocaust coming that he wanted it all the events documented ASAP so that naysayers couldn't naysay. Remember when you read it that it is a political history - not a military history.

Will start on Sea of Poppies later. I haven't finished Mexico Set yet. But as soon as I finish the one I will start the other. Just post it if you set up a thread for it. If there is going to be just you and me then maybe we can just discuss it here.

Mark, sorry to hear about the computer. You might want to try SpyBot before you take your computer in. You can either run it on your computer directly from their website, or you can burn the program to a cd and run it from there. I am not particularly computer savvy and I have fixed my computer with it a couple of times.

Hope that helps.

Hey Mark - Was finally able to catch up on your thread! Sorry to hear about the computer troubles!

Ah, sorry your plans fell through! My husband is big Pink Floyd fan or I should say he used to be!! I'm onto Out Stealing Horses and enjoying it very much. I confess, I plan to write out my Christmas cards tonight... oh that life away from books! Dash it all! Hope your computer is healing - or something. Nothings is worse than computer troubles! Okay, maybe a few things.

I hate it when my electronic world falls apart, Mark. Let's hope that SpyBot comes to your rescue. I'm still planning on the Sea of Poppies group read but may be joining a little late as I have a few library books to keep me busy the first part of the week. I also need to get going on my Christmas cards. Bah humbug!

Ellen- Yes, there was a film version of Ghost Story made in the early 80s. Not bad either, with a cast of older actors like Fred Astaire. It was mainly set in New England, but there may have been sections that took place in Florida.

Benita- You sound like a true farmer's daughter! I love the fact that you read the Third Reich while working the fields. Priceless. Anyone else read in your family?
I already posted the Group Read thread, for Sea of Poppies, so we might as well use it and maybe we can get a couple of others to join us.

Jennifer- Thanks for the Spybot advice. Unfortunately, I can't access the internet from my diseased PC. Unless I DL the program from my laptop, burn it on a cd and try putting it in the PC. I'll try it later.

Brit- Nice to see you!

Deb- I liked The Twin. The plot twists were not what I expected, which is a good thing. I'm not sure I understood all the homosexual undertones. I don't think I was imagining it. I hope you are enjoying Out Stealing Horses. It's more straight-foward.
I saw Pink Floyd, during the "Animals" tour, circa 1977. It will always remain one of the very best concerts I ever saw.

Donna- I thought there were a few more people interested in the Group Read. I think a couple bailed on us. I will post the link again and I'm glad you can join in, it's always a pleasure to have you on board.

I enjoyed Sea of Poppies a lot, Mark. I hope you and the others in your group read do too.

ooops! no, I missed the question.. but you can be darned sure that I will read that book.
I haven't read a Straub in MANY years. I don't remember which it was that I read. but..
it terrified me! Not easy to do with a spooky story. I don't think that is why I quit reading him..
he just sort of fell off my radar. I will be looking for this one :)
Thank you Mark!

Here's the link to the Sea of Poppies G.R.- Group Read
I hope a few more can join us. The more the merrier, as they say! It begins on the 7th.

Stasia- You just made my morning! Yah! And I'm glad you are a fan of sea of Poppies!

Kath- I have read ghost Story a couple times but it's been a long time. I'll have to re-visit it one of these days.

Hi Mark! Hope you have a nice and relaxing Sunday with a beer in your hand and a book in your lap! I'm off to work soon (boo!), and am hoping to get a little more listened to in The Night Circus. I know I'm hopefully behind on the already-finished-GR, but I'm really enjoying it. The weird thing is, I think my iPod is screwing up the order of the CDs. I don't know if I know what's really going on and I might have to stop and either buy a physical copy or go on the loooong waitlist at the library for it. Oh no!

Laura....I had the problem of CDs being out of order on a book I had ripped and realized after a while that I had the "shuffle setting" on....can't remember if I had to re-rip, re transfer or simply start over with the random/shuffle button off. I know that's not much help, but that's where I'd start.

Hi, Mark. Sounds like a lot of good reading you've got going on. I look forward to hearing what you think of The Sense of an Ending, too. I sat with someone last night at a wedding reception dinner who had read it (she actually read it twice), and it was fun to trade our various reactions to it.

Next up for me is the one Ilana has been reading, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter.

Laura- sorry to hear your audio troubles with The Night Circus. How frustrating! Like most books, it really helps reading it in order. I know you like vampires: have you read The Strain? Actually, the audio is very good, read by Ron Perlman.

Tina- Yep, having the shuffle on can wreak havoc with the audio experience. LOL.

Joe- I just started Sense of an Ending and it grabbed me right away. I plan on reading some more before game time.
Have you read any other Barnes? I started an interesting new graphic, 1st in a series, called 'Scarlet", (can't find the right touchstone). It's dark & violent but very well done.

Hi Mark: Hope you're having a restful Sunday, maybe even enjoying the Bears game.

If you're grabbed already, Mark, you're probably going to like The Sense of an Ending, because it only gets better.

The other Barnes I've read is Arthur and George, which also is really good. It's based on a true story in the life of Arthur Conan Doyle.

Let's hope the Bears start doing better . . .

Linda- Can't say I'm enjoying the game! This might be their worse offensive performance of the season. My books are treating me well though!

Joe- Their offense is awful! At this point, they do not deserve to win this one. Arthur and George sounds good. I need to get it on the List.

That hail mary pass right before halftime was unbelievable.

I shut the game off and put Christmas music on and am doing Christmasy-type things for now. I am hearing lots of yelling from the living room though.

157 re: SpyBot. That's what I meant Mark. Use your other computer to download it to a disc and then put the disc into the computer that is not working. If you don't have a CD, you should be able to use a thumb drive.

126) In the Garden of Beasts by Eric Larson 3.8 stars

Yes, we have another apocalypse building, but this one was does not involve zombies or vampires but an equally terrifying threat: the Nazi party.
Early in 1933, William Dodd was perfectly content, working as a history professor in Chicago, leading a quiet and humble life. This all changes, when he is chosen to be the new ambassador to Germany. He accepts and soon relocates to Berlin, along with his wife and his son and daughter, both in their early 20s.
This places the family smack in the middle of a dark and rising evil. Anti-Semitism is running rampant. Fear and terror become an everyday occurrence. After a few months, Dodd begins to realize Hitler’s scary objectives and starts to sound the warning, but no one seems to be listening…
Larson is one of our finest non-fiction writers and he has broached another interesting subject. The narrative is a bit dry at times and it doesn’t quite pack the punch of his earlier work, but it’s still strong enough to recommend.

Great review Mark! I'll have to add this one to my 12in12 for my non-fiction category! :)

I generally shy away from anything involving WW2 in Europe, but this book just sounds so fascinating that I'm adding it to my TBR right now!

Thanks for the good and compelling review!

Nice review, Mark! I do have to say I'm interested in the book, although I'm a bit burnt out on the Holocaust.

(btw, up in #139, you said "Pat- It's great to see you! Glad you were a fan of the third Reich." Um, this may just be because I'm not getting a link on 'Third Reich' which would make it obvious you're discussing a book, but I'm thinking you may want to rephrase that a bit.)

I'm almost finished The Secret River, and am looking forward to your future comments on that one! I've also starred the GR thread for Sea of Poppies, although I did read it in 2009-10 or thereabouts and no longer have a copy. (Bum!) I do have the second book though, so hopefully your comments will refresh my memories before I tackle that one.

Mark, you were in non-fiction 1933 Germany, and I'm currently in a fictional 1939 third Reich, which is every bit as scary, especially as things were already quite horrible by then. The book in question in Zoo Station by David Downing. It had been on my wishlist for quite some time and then when Benita raved about the series, I just had to get it (from Audible) and make it a priority. I'm glad I did; it's quite gripping stuff.

Thanks to Jennifer, I was able to install Spybot on my infected PC and I am currently running a scan. Fingers crossed this takes care of the problem. I'll find out when I get home from work.

I am 70 pages into The Sense of an ending and it's been wonderful. I love his prose.

Chelle- Thanks! Have you read Larson before?

Brit- Okay, I have to ask: Why do you shy away from WW2 Europe?

Tania- If it's any consolation, In the Garden ends in '37, but the horror is well on it's way. Thanks for the heads-up on the "Third Reich". LOL. Of course, I was referring to The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. I don't think Pat is a fan of Hilter.
I am glad you will be popping in on the Group Read.

Ilana- I NEED to get Zoo Station on my WL. You are correct, Benita loves these books. I'm glad you are enjoying it.

Hi Mark
I have not read Larson before, but I have seen The Devil in the White City in the book stores and it looked interesting. I haven't really given non-fiction a chance much in the past, hoping to change that up a bit this year!

Hope you have a dry day if you are working, it's been pouring rain here today. All our snow has melted :(

I have In the Garden of Beasts, and I think it will be one of my first reads of the new year ... I love Larson!

#173, 175 Tania, that's pretty funny. I didn't catch that the first time. The Third Reich is the last thing I'd want people to think I was a fan of!

I think that part of the power of the David Downing, Alan Furst, and this book by Eric Larson is the sense of impending doom. We know what will happen because the events are past history, but the people in those books don't so they often don't react the way I think that they should. That makes me as a reader want to shout "Get Out!" I think what Downing and Furst do so well is work that tension and that makes these books exciting to read. I am not a big fan of Eric Larson (I think that he tends to make mountains out of molehills) and suspect that is what he manages to do with In the Garden of Beasts. However, in this case ther is grounds for his over wrought hyperbole.

I saw a great interview with Max Hastings this weekend on BookTV. The interview was about his new book Inferno. This is a history of WWII from the perspective of people who were in it. He stated that more people died of starvation in WWII than any other cause and he has interviews with people from East Bengal, Vietnam, Kenya, Yugoslavia, etc., places that we tend to think of as untouched by WWII and yet were devastated by it. It was a fascinating interview. This is another book to put on my list of books to be read.

There are others in my family who read. Not many who carry books around with them in their vehicles. One of my cousins built a small storage shed in her yard for all of her books. My sisters read, but not as much as I do. My mother has started reading now that she is retired, and my Dad and Uncles read. I guess we are all readers, but most of them don't read as much as I do. I was notorious for carrying around a book. Farming was much like the military. Hurry up and wait. Short bursts of intensive activity followed by long periods of waiting. When I was waiting I was reading.

Yay for Ron Santo. He should've been voted into the Hall of Fame a long time ago. It's too bad that they couldn't have done this while he was alive.

176: Gogs--Larson is great for people who normally do not read nonfiction. He writes like a fiction writer. Devil in the White City is a good one to read too. Makes you realize that the crime rate now is not so bad!

Other easily readable nf writers are Mary Roach and David Grann. Usually it takes forever for me to read a nf book, I cannot get over the academic writing. I hate it! And I want good maps and charts and photos to help bring things to life for me.

It may make me a bit of a dullard in wanting these easily readable options, but I have a limited amount of life. I do not appreciate spending a month of my life reading a dry, overly-long academic nonfiction book; when I could spend a few days reading a witty or exciting, easily readable nf book that covers the same information. Granted it may not be as in depth, but I will enjoy it a hell of a lot more. And then if I really want to read more, I then can pick up the more in-depth text.

Anyone have other suggestions of authors that write easily readable nonfiction?

Unfortunately, the jury is still out on the health of my PC. Spybot seemed to have removed many bad things but then it prompted me to restart and when it opened back up, another scan begun again and then everything froze up. The drama continues...

Heavy volume today! All I hear about lately is, declining mail volumes but we have had plenty to deal with, these past couple weeks. Not complaining, hope it continues.

Chelle- It was a cloudy and chilly day, with a very light rain mixed in. Overall, not bad. You should enjoy The Devil in the White City. It's an amazing read. Follow that up with Isaac's Storm. Some of my favorite books of this year have been NF, so please give it a try!

Kath- You will like In the Garden of Beasts. It will be a nice way to kick off the year.

Pat- I was hoping you weren't a big fan of Adolph! LOL.

I'm quite enjoying Out Stealing Horses, but only on page 70 as yet. Both my husband and eldest son have early December Birthday's, so we took some time out to celbrate last night. As you know, I really loved The Twin. I'm trying to get my Christmas cards out too, trying to keep Canada Post busy!;)

Sorry to hear about your PC woes, Marky-Mark. A pox on the people who actually think it's funny to develop bugs to infect computers and put people out of commission and $$. I really don't understand why they can't put their talents to more productive and helpful ventures.

I'm going to try and get all our Christmas cards out by this weekend .... I think I hear my inner reality spirit laughing though .... hmm.. maybe next weekend

#175 & #178> Thanks Mark, I didn't think anyone who hangs out here would be a fan of Hitler or the Third Reich, but I had to have that fixed, because it just looked so wrong. Made me a little twitchy.

Finished The Secret River and it was excellent. One of the few 5 star reads for this year. Looking forward to your comments in the new year!

(Hey, have you set up a 2012 thread yet? We're not organised yet over in the 100 Book group, but we will be!)

Hope you get the glitches out of the computer Mark - maybe you should try IPA instead of Spybot - then even if it doesn't work you wouldn't mind quite so much.

Benita- I like your comments on the Nazi years. It's still a fertile subject. I'm a fan of Larson and have liked all of his books. There is such a glut of talent in the non-fiction field, that he has major competition.
Thanks for your thoughts on Max Hastings and the interview. It all sounds fascinating.

Linda- Yah for Santo! This Old Cub finally had his day!

Jennifer- I have been feasting on some incredible narrative NF, for several years now and the quality and quantity are growing more all the time. Several of my favorite books of this year are NF. Check my Cream of the Crop, up above!
Of course, I would recommend jon Krakauer, Sebastian Junger, Timothy Egan, Sarah Vowel, anthony Horowitz and I can return with many more...

Deb- Sounds like you've been busy! Hope you can get back to Out Stealing Horses.

Caro- I bet it's nice being back home? I'm on my PC right now, it's a bit sluggish and not quite right, so I'll have to see if I'll still bring it in.
We split up our Christmas cards, so I should start doing my portion, here in the next week or so.

Tania- I do not want to make my friend twitchy! Error corrected. You gave The Secret river 5 big ones, huh? Wow! I can't remember, is this your 1st Grenville?
I'm going to wait til the end of the month before starting my '12 Thread. I started it early last year and it ended up being a hassle.

Paul- "maybe you should try IPA instead of Spybot" Excellent idea, my friend! I like the way you think!

Excellent review of In the Garden of Beasts Mark. That's one I hope to get to at some point. Benita's remarks about the new Max Hastings book Inferno reminds me that i need to put that on my Amazon WL.

Grrr-no TS for the Hastings book.

I'll be interested to see how you end up liking The Sense of an Ending, Mark. I liked it a lot and I agree that his prose is beautiful, but it lost a bit of its focus (for me) in the last third or so. I still gave it four stars, and I'm wondering if it's a book that sits differently for men and women.

So, I'm just catching on -- your a Bears fan, eh? Also Cubbies (she asked hopefully)?

Mark - I know it took me many posts to get back to you, but I shy away from WW2 Europe because it is just so depressing. If I'm going to read books I would like them to be slightly uplifting at least. I find that life is too short for a depressing and sad book. I think I would like In the Garden of Beasts though because it is about the rise of Hitler, which I have found fascinating. . . We'll see!

Mark, have you seen this?
http://www.rr.com/news/topic/article/rr/55254887/57044275/New_Charles_Dickens_co...

Morning everyone! I 'm enjoying a day off today. I have a full slate of things to do, hopefully that includes some reading. I'll be finishing the Sense of an Ending and probably doing a preview of Sea of Poppies.

For you Doc fans out there, I saw they are doing an HBO series, based on the book, with Ron Howard attached. Let's hope HBO gets it right!

Bonnie- Thanks! I know you've been enjoying NF lately and I hope this trend continues well into next year. And yes, the Max Hastings book does look promising.

Ellen- Yes, I'm really enjoying the Barnes book. I just have 40 pages left. Yes, I'm a Cubbies fan from way back, but hardly watched them at all this past season, due to a lousy team. I'm not die-hard enough to watch crap.

Brit- I guess you are right, it's hard to find a book from that time frame that's uplifting. The Larson book just gives a peek into the rise of Hitler, it's told mostly throught the eyes of the American family.

Lynda- Thanks for sharing that tid-bit! It looks like a big year for Dickens!

Ouch! sorry about the ongoing computer issues Mark....
and 181... I agree Larson is great for people who normally do not read nonfiction.
He writes like a fiction writer

Yay for days off and a man who sends out Christmas cards. Mine are ready and waiting for ME to address and add some personal notes. I'm tempted to write the dreaded "Christmas letter" but will stay with the personal touch and a few photos of the grands.

I woke up to snow this morning. Dave is driving to Texas pulling a trailer. Crossing my fingers that he drives out of it when he gets to Oklahoma.

Sea of Poppies looks festive on my coffee table. One more library book to go, then I'll dive in.

127) The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker 3.7 stars

Helmer is attending school in Amsterdam and is suddenly called home, when his twin brother abruptly dies. Home is a small farm in the Dutch countryside, a life Helmer was never comfortable with.
Thirty-five years later, Helmer is still at the farm, caring for a dying father, maintaining the livestock, including a pair of precocious donkeys and leading a simple, lonely life. Things begin to change, when a teenager arrives, the son of his brother’s ex-fiance. Now in his mid-50s, Helmer finally begins to awaken.
This is a languid tale, simply told, capturing the mundane lifestyle of a middle-aged man, dealing with bitter isolation and second chances. It’s reminiscent of Out Stealing Horses, although darker in its tone and themes. This debut novel may not be for everyone, but I enjoyed its quiet beauty.

Nice little review, Mark. I have The Twin on my TBR shelf and I'm looking forward to it. "...quiet beauty." I like that.

Enjoy your day off!
eta: And I can completely resonate with your sentiments about the Cubs. I'm a Mariners fan and I went to a handful of games last season, but most of the time I've got much better things to do. Like the laundry.

Kath- I'm taking my PC in, a little later this morning. Sad face. Hope you are feeling better.

Donna- I plan on cracking Sea of Poppies later today, just a taste. I hope Dave has a good safe trip.

Ellen- I'm glad you have a copy of the Twin. Were you a fan of Out Stealing Horses? Yes, in regards to the Cubs & Mariners, I too, prefer doing something more rewarding. LOL.

Good review Mark!

It is "Dead Week" or "Study Week" at UA so that means that I get to work nights. I will be working tonight from midnight until 7:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. (Don't even ask me why these kids think they need the library to be open all night. As my Dad says, "What do they think they are going to do?") At least I get straight time for working the extra hours. Since I am a salaried employee I don't get comp time or overtime. I will end up with three extra days of vacation out of this so that will enable me to spend three extra days in Kansas after the 1st of January. I will be bringing Sea of Poppies with me tonight and hope to crack it open and get something read.

Working late tonight might also explain the odd times at which you might see some of my posts to this and other threads.

I just have to add that I am in the process of writing my Christmas Letter. I do send out one of those dreaded epistles. I don't put pictures in mine and I don't talk about grandkids. I only talk about what I think are the highlights of my year and I always take one paragraph to expound on my outstanding books of the year. My local post office loves me as last year I sent out 125 Christmas letters. I figure that my friends, relatives, and acquaintances are worth 44 cents per year, and I love the letter format. I have some family members who also write wonderful letters. My cousin, Jed, teaches school in Russell KS and his letters are always full of facts and adventures about his school year. My Aunt Mary once sent out a Christmas letter that had all the proper form of a letter and it said, "I have 13 hens, 2 goats, 1 white cat that is deaf, and Joe to take care of each day. I have lots of eggs to give away to friends." And then signed the letter. It was priceless. And yes, she put a stamp on it and mailed it.

I for one, hope that you (Mark) have bags and bags and bags and bags of letters and packages to deliver. I love the Post Office and hope you get to keep your job forever, and that the good citizens of this country will opt to keep the Postal system. Towards that end I am going to reach far afield and send lots of cheap Christmas letters.

Nice review, Marky-Mark. I miss the snow and cold ! It's December and I'm in short sleeves and a skirt with bare legs at the office today.

It's good to be home, if only because I've got my darling bookshelves and all the books in my TBR Tower to read again. I'm giddy for the choices .. haha.. and I'm just starting 3 different books now, and will probably whittle myself down to concentrate on 1 or 2, especially since 2 of them are non-fiction.

Stopping by to say hi!!! I'm glad that you enjoyed The Twin and I'm interested in the fact that it has darker tones and themes than Out Stealing Horses , which I am about 75 pages into. I'm enjoying Out Stealing Horses and while I can see similarities in the prose, the themes of isolation - the story seems to be quite different from the other book - though I am suspecting it to still be dark .

Chelle- Thanks! I see you are reading The Marriage Plot. I am very jealous. I do have this one on my current WL, so you never know. Hope you are enjoying it. It has received glowing reviews.

Benita- I love the idea of a Christmas letter. I'm to lazy or my life is to mundane, for me to attempt something like that. Do you include any LTers, or are we just chopped liver?
Good luck with "Dead Week". At least you have a good book to keep you company.

Caro- Don't worry you will get plenty of cold and snow soon enough and then you'll be yearning to wear a skirt with bare legs. Mid-30s here and low-30s tomorrow. Winter is inching it's way here. Please, take your time.

Deb- I don't remember Out Stealing Horses getting that dark or dense. At least, nothing like The Twin.

Hey Mark!
I'm noticing your ratings are getting tougher - or the books haven't been as good lately?

Adding my cheers for Devil in the White City! Does that surprise you?
I loved the World Fair half - and cringed but tolerated the crime half. Have rec that book to many.
So, perhaps I should try In the Garden of Beasts? What say you? (knowing me a bit)

Hi Mark,

Glad you liked The Twin. Sorry to hear of your ongoing computer issues. One of our laptops crashed over the summer. I still haven't taken it anywhere to be looked at. I probably should. I hate to spend any money on it.

Stay warm!

Happy mid-week everyone! We are settling into more winter-like temps, here, but no real snow in sight. Yah! Just bundling up.
I finished and enjoyed The Sense of an Ending and will definitely be reading more of Barnes. I just started Sea of Poppies for our Group Read, which begins today. Anyone else interested in joining, let me know!
On audio, I'm still making my way through The Strain.

Hey, I'm about halfway through season 1 of "Justified". I'm really enjoying it.

Claudia- you might be right about my "tougher" ratings but I haven't done it consciously. Funny, most of my books still fall in that 3.5 to 4.5 range. I guess it can't be helped.
I'm glad you appreciate some good NF. Everyone should. NF has come a long way, baby! And yes, check out the latest Larson.

Joanne- I'm hoping to hear something today about my PC. The repairman told me, that with all the viruses out there, you should run a full scan every day. Wow. I was doing it twice a week.

Good Morning Mark!

Ha! Mark, now it's my turn to say to you - I like the Dark Side.. re The Twin - though I did not find it too dark at all. Try some Canadian Lit and I'll show you dark!;)

I've got Dave reading something besides Robert Parker - he picked up a book by Harlan Coban - and I got him a book by C.J.Box from the library, because I think I recall you recommending that author.

How is the computer?

Brit- Big wave!

Deb- Yes, I over-stated my comment about The Twin being a "dark" book. It really isn't. Of course there are some deep issues going on here but not in the dark realm.
You know, I like the dark-side too and would gladly take any Canadian recs in that direction.
I think those are a couple good suggestions for Dave. I really like Coben and he writes stand-alones too, which I never read.

Kath- PC still in the shop and they haven't called. I'll give them a ring tomorrow.

Just stopping by to say hi mate - not much spare time this week as I have Clients here from Montreal and Scotland the latter of whom none of my other staff can understand. Keep warm, keep enjoying your reading and hopefully the PC shop will put you back in full operation as soon as possible.

I join you with PC woes, Marky-Mark .... mine seems to have decided it's feuding with my wireless network and refuses to speak to it. I've tried threatening it, but it still refuses to make nice, so tomorrow I'm bringing it into see the Torturer .... my techsupport guy at the office. For now, I'm borrowing the hubster's... until he needs it back.

Hi Mark, so you finished The Sense of an Ending and enjoyed it. I thought you would. I have The Twin sitting on my shelf and will get to in that sometime....soon.

Hi Mark, looks like you've been doing lots of interesting reading, as always. Not sure The Twin is for me, but thanks for the review. Sorry I can't join you on Sea of Poppies at this time, but goodness knows we'll have plenty of opportunities to share reads.

>195 msf59: but I enjoyed its quiet beauty
I like books with quiet beauty too :)

I think we have another winner here. I started sea of Poppies. What an engaging story! The slang may take some getting used to, but it looks like it will be worth it.
I finished The Strain. Another fun read but another one that felt way to long. Isn't that the point of writing a trilogy, you don't have to jam everything in a single volume? Maybe, it's just me getting impatient, who knows.
Left turn time, as I start the audio of Midnight Rising. It looks like, I've been following Bonnie along, all year, like a big loyal puppy. She reads one and then I get to it. And since she has such perfect taste, I win every time.

Paul- Good to see you sir! Good luck with your clients!

Caro- It looks like we are sharing our PC grief. I hope to hear something today. And we should be thankful that we have wonderful spouses we can borrow from. yah!

Bonnie- I hope you saw my comments, up above ^. I plan on doing a short review of the Barnes book and look forward to reading more of his work.

Ilana- I do enjoy reading along with friends! One of those small pleasures. I'm curious how Sea of Poppies would play one audio. With the right narrator, it could be a real joy!

Megan- Yes, we love books with quiet beauty!

Hang in there with you computer woes. . .

Glad to see you have so many great books to keep you occupied! :)

You are on quite the good book roll! :)

Finished up with Mexico Set by Len Deighton last night. This trilogy keeps getting better and better. In this book, the second in the series, Bernard Samson is still fighting the demons brought about by the desertion and defection of his wife. Not only has she deserted him but she has defected to the Russians and this casts doubts on all aspects of his life. His he a bad husband? a bad man? a bad spy? Then to top it off he is fighting the inter-Nicene plots and intrigues found within his own department. He not only has to deal with his self-doubts he has to deal with the dispersions cast on his loyalty that come from within his own department. He was married to a spy, mole, and a defector so how could he still be loyal to his country and comrades? To prove his loyalty he is sent out to convince his counterpart in East Germany to defect. The author has continued to explore issues of loyalty and the intersection of professional and personal life that makes for very cerebral reading.

My reading of the third book London Match and other Cold War spy classics will have to wait now until after Christmas. Today at lunch I will start Sea of Poppies with the others in the group read.

Mark, early in my reading of Sea of Poppies, I thought "oh no, I'll go crazy trying to read an entire book with this much unfamiliar slang..." --- and I hung in there. I'm so glad I did! The slang becomes less intrusive and the story is charming. It's one of my favorite recent reads.

Mark, since I have the book, I won't get the audio, but I still went to check on Audible to see about Sea of Poppies. They have it, but in my opinion, the narrator is all wrong. Good, that way I don't have a temptation to bypass the beautiful book up on my shelf.

Just stopping by to say hi!! Like 218, I just loved Len Deighton Game, Set , Match Trilogy - back in the day!;) I also loved his other Cold war spy books! I recall that's when my grandpa and my dad all realized we had an author in common. Hmm , am I showing my age?

too many posts to read.. I have had a VERY busy day.. a good one though.

>215 msf59: nice that you and Bonnie have a sure-thing book-go-to-person in each other :) As if LT wasnt enough of a source in itself!

Winter is here. Mid-30s again today, mid-20s tomorrow, but no snow & ice, so I'm a happy camper. On audio, I did start and listened to a nice chunk of Midnight rising. I do love this era in American history, so I am eating it up. John Brown is such a fascinating figure. As we know LT is such a bully, so I have sadly neglected my Civil War reading. I am planning to get to Shelby Foote's 1st volume Fort Sumter to Perryville, early next year.
And Sea of Poppies is wonderful. This will be a slower read for me but it's necessary to truly appreciate the flow of his narrative.

Brit- PC is still not ready! He said they were still running the scans. Virus-ridden, again? Unbelievable.

Chelle- Nothing is sweeter than being on a good book roll! Let's hope it continues for weeks, months...

Benita- Glad you are enjoying the Deighton trilogy. Like, I mentioned before, I read it and loved it years ago. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on the Group Read. It's so good!
I thought of you, while reading the John Brown book, since a few pivotal moments happen in eastern Kansas. What a bloody mess that was!
I'm finally picking up my audio copy of Tinker Tailor, the correct one this time. Should get to it early next week.

Too much happening here

but i will weigh in on Midnight Rising...regarding John Brown and the Harpers Ferry raid...have you read Cloudsplitter by Russell Banks??

I did...it's a "great book"

;-p~~~~~

Hi, Mark! Skimming through your very busy thread . . . so sorry to hear that your computer is sick. Our library computers caught a virus this week, and it was a real mess for a while.

Let me join those who thank you for encouraging audio book listening. It has greatly increased my reading totals and also my access to books, as I've got a good selection now through library downloads. I listen in the car and while doing mindless housework. That's how I "read" The Sense of an Ending.

I actually did the first volume of Shelby Foote's The Civil War with a combination of audio and hard copy, and it worked really well for me. I was able to look back when necessary, but didn't have to invest so much time sitting and holding that chunkster. I plan to do the same with the other volumes.

I loved Ghost Story, which I read a number of years ago.

Ellen- Thanks for chiming in, on Sea of Poppies. I agree, you get used to the slang pretty quickly. I flipped back to the glossary a few times, early on, some words were not even in there, and gave up soon after. I just let it flow.
Do you have the 2nd book yet?

Ilana- What did the audio of SOP, sound like? Was it an Indian reader? I would think that might work. Although, I'm so glad I am reading the "real" book.

Deb- I read several Deighton books too, including that trilogy. He was a good writer. I don't read much spy fiction, right now. I do love LeCarre too! Probably my favorite.

Kath- I'm glad your busy day was a rewarding one. Always a good thing!

Megan- Bonnie has been one of my go to LTers for 3 years now. She is nearly always spot on!

Jude- I love Russell Banks and I have Cloudsplitter in the stacks, along with his latest but have not read either. Bad Mark.
What do you mean "Too much happening here"? You supposed to keep up, so that's never an issue. 'Sup with that?

ooh

regarding the Civil War...Shelby Foote ...I never knew until lately

In my youth..Bruce Catton was the Man.....just follow the "link" to his name..okay?

;-}

>227 msf59:

I'm "supposed to"keep up, here..with your Fan Club, et al???

Yeah, sure...I have a Life here...sort of

Sorry, friend...I am lazy...

;-P

Maybe I was too harsh about the narrator. Phil Gigante doesn't sound Indian to me, but you never know as it's probably a stage name. You can check it out for yourself right here. He seems to have done quite a lot of recordings and I might like him, but not for this.

You're such a prolific reader, Marky-Mark ... do you go through book funks and what do you do to get out of them?

Terri- I'm blessed that I have a job where I can listen to audios, a couple hours a day. It makes the time go quick and I stay constantly entertained. This can also distract me from the nasty winter weather, which I'm sure is right around the corner.
Funny, you mentioned that about reading/listening to Fort Sumter to Perryville, because that is exactly what I intend to do. Excellent idea. I wish Foote would narrate his own books. He has such a wonderful voice.

Jude- I also have Catton's Civil War trilogy and I have read the 1st volume. I NEED to get back to it. Books are very selfish & needy things, aren't they?
I hope you are part of my fan club, no? Bats eye-lashes!

Ilana- I haven't heard of Phil Gigante. I'll look into him, thanks! BTW- I requested War Horse and since it's a shorter read, I should get to it before the end of the year.

Caro- This is a No Book Funk Zone. Nope, we don't believe in it. Actually, I don't have those nasty episodes. On ocassion I might not like reading much, but it doesn't last very long.

Ohhh I have the first edition of Catton's trilogy too Mark and it had been relegated to the bottom tier of my teetering tower but perhaps it should get kicked up a few notches???

My godson is going to give me War Horse for Christmas. I picked it up at the store the other day & handed it to my sister and said, "Here. Have Luke give me this for Christmas." I'm very anxious to read it!

hi Mark! Finished a good book that you had recommended-- The Abstinence Teacher-- really enjoyed it. Lord knows it's tough to do a fair treatment of Christian fundamentalists-- but I found it pretty damn honest.
Glad to see you mention the new Russell Banks. I'm about half way through Lost Memory of Skin -- very interesting story of homeless man with few options. Oh, and the new Stephen King is in at the library, so really looking forward to my weekend off. Stay warm and happy! :o)

227,229, I just started the audio of Sea of Poppies and find the narrator to be quite pleasant. It reminds me very much of the audio of Cutting for Stone which I loved, although they are different readers. I also have the first 71 pages on my NOOK (downloaded the sample) so I can let my eyes soak up the words while my ears (and brain) get the cadence of the words. It will definitely be a slow read, but one I'm going to enjoy.

Mark, I don't have the second book yet. I'll either wait for it to come out in paperback or get it from the library.

Woke up to a coating of snow out there! It supposed to be very slick on the roads. I'll have to leave a few minutes early. Oh, well! It is December!

Bonnie- It's funny, some readers prefer Catton and others Foote. I like both. The good thing about the 1st Catton volume is, is that it's less than half the size of Footes.

Terri- It's nice picking out your own gifts, like that! LOL. Since it's a shorter read, I should be able to squeeze it in by the end of the month.

Jenny- I'm glad you liked The Abstinence Teacher. It seems to have gotten mixed reviews around here. His latest book sounds very good too. I'm happy you are enjoying Lost Memory of Skin. I have that one in the stacks too. Opinion has varied on that one too!

Tina- Thanks for chiming in on the audio of SOP. Try to stop by the Group Read thread and leave a comment or 2. There's only a handful of us over there.

Ellen- If SOP is a big hit with us, maybe a G.R. for the 2nd book, will be in our future. You never know.

Hope you have a dry day Mark! It's snowing here as well, but I don't think it will stick because it is still fairly warm here.

waves.....(Angus lap again..)

Kath - I'm going to start pointing out those posts when I have a punk on my lap! :)

Hey Mark - be careful out there! Send snow! :)

An El train broke down today when I was at the Chicago Ave stop, so I ended up having a long walk to work. It's nippy and slippery out there - hope it isn't too bad in your neck of the woods.

It was cold today! A little slick in spots, especially in shady areas, but I survived. I know, I know, this is just the beginning...

Chelle- Some outlying areas got about an inch of snow, our area got maybe half of that, which I can more than handle.

Kath- Big waves!

Claudia- No snow to send, my friend! How are the temps there?

Joe- Sorry to hear about the EL break-down. Bummer. How far did you have to walk? Another cold one tomorrow but above normal temps next week. That'll be nice.

It got to be winter here as well. I think that my outdoor plants finally froze last night. I will know for sure in a few days. I took the plunge today and sent in my notice that I am not renewing my apartment lease. That means in six months I will have to move. Got to take some time to go look at apartments and get something new nailed down. Gosh I hate moving, but it is time to clean up and clean out. For me, moving is a good motivator to make me do that. Two Men and a Truck will be working for me one day this spring.

I have started on Sea of Poppies but haven't read that much. I have read enough to notice that the writing is very evocative of place. I will put the spy novels on hold for the time being and will be taking a few books home with me over Christmas. I just haven't decide which ones yet.

Google Maps says it was 1.4 miles, Mark. From Chicago and Orleans to near the Sears Tower (can't get myself to use the other name). A bit of a warm-up after tomorrow would be welcome. Hope it's a good weekend for you.

Expand your No Book Funk Zone over my way will you, Marky-Mark? I don't suffer from it often, thank goodness but occasionally, I can't get into anything new I pick up. So I keep my go-to books to re-read for when I'm in a book funk and they usually get me out of it after a while.

Didn't read much of Sea of Poppies today. It is so good but I do have to concentrate. I might try to squeeze in a few more pages tonight. I listened to about 2/3rds of Midnight rising. Of course, it's giving me much more detail into the actual Harper Ferry fiasco, than I ever knew.

Benita- I FINALLY got the correct audio edition for Tinker Tailor. I'm copying it to my itunes, as I awkwardly type. I'm over a 120 pages into SOP. You are going to love this stuff.
Good luck on the new apartment hunting! I know you have a lot of time yet.

Joe- That's a long walk, on a slippery surface and with this kind of cold. Glad you survived. You have a nice weekend too!

Caro- I'm not sure if I ever suffered through a book funk! Knock on wood. Maybe, subconsciously, I feel like I have way to many books to read, to screw around not reading.

Mark - hopelessly behind after my busy week. Samson and Smiley are both wonderful creations - I would give the edge to Deightons but not by very much.
All the talk of slick roads, plummeting temperatures and frozen plants leaves me grateful for my tropical existence. Have a great weekend.

Ohh sorry to hear that you had a snowy day to slog through, Mark. I hope you are fast asleep and nice and warm as of now.

BTW - in case you interested, I did create a review of Out Shooting Horses on the main page. As you say, it's a very special book! I've got I Curse the River of Time by Per Petterson in my TBR pile, but I have a few reads I have to do before I get to that book . I have some library books to read, plus an early review book which just arrived, so I want to get it done before the " Christmsas Rush."

Happy Saturday, everyone! Hope you have a nice weekend. Cold morning out there, with a full moon shining. I'll be back later today to start a new & final thread for 2011.

Paul- I read lots of spy fiction back in the 80s and early 90s, along with a ton of crime stuff, but haven't read much of the spy genre in the past few years. LeCarre is my favorite though and I am going to re-visit his Tinker Tailor next week, in anticipation of the new film adaptation coming out.

Deb- I loved your review! You gotta Thumb! I would like to read more Petterson. Have a great weekend!

Hi Mark - Just passing through, trying to catch up a little.... Hope it's not too bad today and that you have a restful Sunday!

HI Mark
Popping in to say hello! Enjoy your Saturday

Checking in before you start your new thread, Marky-Mark. Had a nice visit with my favorite neighborhood post office peeps this morning and brought them a tin of cookies I baked last night.

LT is a graveyard today! Is everyone Christmas shopping? I'm actually here for just a few minutes and then we are out for the evening. We are in the midst of our wii bowling league, which is a lot of fun. Good friends and good refreshments...if you know what I mean.

Katie- Good to see you! Looking forward to my Sunday, although we have family coming over for a birthday party.

Chelle- Big wave! Hope you are having a nice weekend too!

Caro- You are so nice to your postal people! My heart soars! One of my customers baked me banana muffins today. They are so good.

Love the Wii, away from LT to watch awesome Army Navy game -and now off to do more cooking baking, and listen to another disc of Sea of Poppies.

Brit... Do that! lol.. If I didn't usually look like a bag lady at home with hair that has never met
a taming implement... I would use the webcam.. but then it's also usually darkish .. (hint?)
Hi Mark.. I am reading a vine book.. fluffy
in between wrapping and misplacing gift cards ...sigh

I too want to read more Per Petterson and to that end, I already have I Curse the River of Time in TBR pile.

I hope you have a fabulous evening!
Just wanted to let you know that I purchased Mudbound from my local bookstore as per your recommendation. When I'll get to it is another story, as I have a lot of books vying for my time.... ;)

I think that everyone was out shopping today. I live very close to our local mall and I had long waits at stop lights and lanes of traffic. Not my cup of tea. I do most of my Christmas shopping via the phone and U. S. Mail.

I am at work tonight from midnight to 6 a.m. The library is open 24/7 so that all of these silly college students can stay up all night studying for those terrifically sough finals. :-) I think it is much ado about nothing, but then why am I volunteering to work? I simple answer, I get extra vacation time for doing so and will put that time to good use starting next week when I go back to Kansas for my Christmas vacation. I plan on getting more read in Sea of Poppies tonight as well.

#248 - I really like the Deighton books and so will be anxious to see how the classic Tinker, Tailor, stacks up against them. Of Le Carre I have only read Russia House and somehow never got to the Smiley books. You would think that as much reading as I do that I would have read these books long ago, but the Smiley books are up next on my list. I wanted to finish the Deighton books before doing Le Carre, but the release of the movie moved my TTSS on my list of reading. I don't like to see the movies until I read the books and I know that this movie is one that I want to see because it has been getting such good reviews. That also means that I must get through Clash of Kings before the next season starts of that show on HBO.

I finished reading Jane Eyre tonight. I had started this with the group read and just plain got bored with it. Now I can say that I have read one of the classics this year. Now on to Clash of Kings on the Nook.

I finished the audio of Midnight Rising. It's a good book and I learned quite a bit about John Brown. Next up on audio will be Tinker Tailor. A re-read. I haven't read Le Carre in many years. And sea of Poppies has been wonderful. It's a slow read for me but I am savoring every word and every page.

Tina- The wife and I kicked butt in bowling last night. Yah. I wish "real" bowling could be this easy.

Morning Kath- You need a fluff book now and again. I hope it's good fluff.

Deb- Mudbound is such a good read. I hope you feel the same way.

Benita- Wow, it looks like you have a full plate of books to get through. Good luck. clash of Kings is fantastic. I'm sure you haven't got far in SOP, but it is an amazing read.

New thread is up! I hope I can stretch this one to the end of the month.