LauraBrook's 12-12: Chapter One

*****As of August 17th, 58 of these count for this challenge

Back for another round! I'll be doing a stepped challenge this year in the optimistic hope that I'll be working more and will therefore have less time to read. Whatever happens, I know I'll be able to finish this amended version and still have some "free" reading time before the year is up.

A. Stalled - finish one book that I stopped reading halfway through

B. First Friday - two books from my real life Contemplate a Classic bookclub (nearly 10 years strong!)

C. Work It! - three from my Work bookcase

D. Armchair Traveler - four from my Travel bookcase

E. Peer Pressure - five from the LT threads

F. Be My Guest - six from the bookcases in my guest room

G. Hobo's 'R Us - seven stragglers found in random places in my house

H. You Have To Read This! - eight rec'd by my friends Nan and Jenna (4 each)

I. Initium Abecedarium - nine from authors A through L on my shelves

J. Abecedarium Cessatione - ten from authors M through Z on my shelves

K. Three Week Fling - eleven library books

L. Blindfold - twelve picked by LT members

A. Stalled - finish one book that I stopped reading halfway through

1.

B. First Friday - two books from my real life Contemplate a Classic bookclub (nearly 10 years strong!)

1. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (Jan 6) 208 pgs
2. Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg (Feb 28) 60 pgs

C. Work It! - three from my Work bookcase

1. The Path of the Dream Healer by Adam (Jul 4) 225 pgs
2.
3.

D. Armchair Traveler - four from my Travel bookcase

1. 1900 House by Mark McCrum (Jul 30) 192 pgs
2.
3.
4.

E. Peer Pressure - five from the LT threads

1. Tsar: The Lost World of Nicholas and Alexandra by Peter Kurth (Feb 1) 230 pgs - from Linda/Whisper1
2. World War Z by Max Brooks (Jun 7) 344 pgs
3. Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James (Jun 20) 514 pgs
4. Fifty Shades Darker by EL James (Jul 6) 532 pgs
5. Japan Ai by Aimee Major Steinberger (Jul 29) 185 pgs

F. Be My Guest - six from the bookcases in my guest room

1. Chucaro: Wild Pony of the Pampa by Francis Kalnay (Apr ?) 115 pgs
2. Hyacinth Bucket's Hectic Social Calendar by Jo Rice (Apr 22) 160 pgs
3. Keeping Up Appearances: Hyacinth Bucket's Book of Etiquette for the Socially Less Fortunate by Roy Clarke (Apr 22) 192 pgs
4. The Golden Pencil by W. F. Hertel (Jun 9) 64 pgs
5. Holly's Inbox: Scandal in the City by Holly Denham (Jun 9) 535 pgs
6. The West Wing by Edward Gorey (Jul 4) 64 pgs

G. Hobo's 'R Us - seven stragglers found in random places in my house

1. Hurricane Story by Jennifer Shaw (Jan 1) 92 pgs
2. Frog and Toad All Year by Arnold Lobel (Feb 17) 64 pgs
3. Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel (Feb 17) 64 pgs
4. Cinderella by Beni Montresor (Apr 25) 32 pgs
5. Topsys & Turvys by Peter Newell (Apr 25) 74 pgs
6. When I Were a Meerkat by Andrew Davies (May 10) 144 pgs
7. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley (Jul 4) 297 pgs

H. You Have To Read This! - eight rec'd by my friends Nan and Jenna (4 each)

1. The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo (May 30) 200 pgs
2. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (Jun 27) 579 pgs
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

On tap: Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, Julia's Chocolates by Cathy Lamb, The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo, and Homeland by Barbara Hambly. (Jenna's Choices)
Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James DNF, A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, Recipes for a Perfect Marriage by Kate Kerrigan, Write It Down Make It Happen by Dr. Henriette Ann Klauser, Sacred Space by Denise Linn (Nan's Choices)

I. Initium Abecedarium - nine from authors A through L on my shelves

1. A Midnight Carol by Patricia K. Davis (Feb 18) 200 pgs
2. The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley (Feb 2) 12 hrs
3. The Weed That Strings The Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley (Feb 2) 364 pgs
4. Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins (Mar 16) 327 pgs
5. Kim by Rudyard Kipling (Apr ?) 253 pgs
6. A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley (Apr 20) 359 pgs
7. The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott (May 10) 306 pgs
8. Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde (May 5) 436 pgs
9. Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson (May 31) 319 pgs

J. Abecedarium Cessatione - ten from authors M through Z on my shelves

1. Becoming Jane Austen by Jon Spence (Mar 5) 294 pgs
2. Dracula's Heir by Sam Stall (Apr 21) 88 pgs
3. Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell (Apr 21) 7 hrs 35 min
4. The Kingdom by the Sea by Paul Theroux (Mar 30) 14 hrs 26 min
5. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (Jun 6) 8 hrs 16 min
6. Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani (Jul 29) 306 pgs
7. Catch & Release: An Insiders Guide to Alaska Men by Patricia Walsh (Aug 1) 142 pgs
8. A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny (Aug 17) 342 pgs
9.
10.

K. Three Week Fling - eleven library books

1. Peter Doig by Judith Nesbitt (Jan 3) 160 pgs
2. Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America by Leslie Knope (Jan 10) 240 pgs
3. Fanny by Holly Hobby (Jan 15) 33 pgs
4. Priscilla and the Splish-Splash Surprise by Nathaniel Hobbie (Jan 15) 32 pgs
5. Beach Ball by Peter Sis (Jan 15) 28 pgs
6. Madlenka by Peter Sis (Jan 15) 48 pgs
7. Madlenka's Dog by Peter Sis (Jan 15) 40 pgs
8. Komodo! by Peter Sis (Jan 15) 32 pgs
9. The Three Golden Keys by Peter Sis (Jan 15) 64 pgs
10. The Paris Apartment by Claudia Strasser (Jan 30) 160 pgs
11. The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World by Guillaume de Laubier (Feb 1) 248 pgs

L. Blindfold - twelve picked by LT members, will bold once read

1. Franny & Zooey by J. D. Salinger (picked by Betty/dudes22)
2. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (picked by Linda/lindapanzo)
3. Holly's Inbox by Holly Denham (picked by Ilana/Smiler69) (Jan 15) 667 pgs
4. Thames: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd (picked by Alison/RidgewayGirl)
5. The Complete Book of Massage (picked by Lisa/jonesli) (Feb 3) 144 pgs
6. When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron (picked by Judy/DeltaQueen50)
7. An Area of Darkness by V. S. Naipul (picked by Lori/lkernagh)
8. The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg by Mark Twain (picked by Anders/GingerbreadMan) (Mar 27) 84 pgs
9. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (picked by Eva/bookoholic13) (Jun 30) 290 pgs
10. The Palace Under The Alps by Bill Bryson (picked by Renee/ReneeMarie)
11. The English Landscape ed. by Bill Bryson (picked by paruline) (Jul 30) 460 pgs
12. Schloss Schonbrunn guide (picked by Victoria/VictoriaPL) (Mar 26) 63 pgs

Monthly Totals - Number of books / Pages / Audiobook Time

September: 5 / 1,173 / 0

August: 4 / 828 / 0 (what a terrible reading month!)

July: 10 / 2,712 / 0

June: 13 / 3,603 / 8 hrs 16 min

May: 7 / 1,581 / 0

April: 15 / 2,230 / 29 hrs 21 min

March: 21 / 2,307 / 23 hrs 38 min

February: 13 / 1,822 / 20 hrs

January: 15 / 2,136 / 0

Bonus Books

1. Gaga by Johnny Morgan (Jan 30?) 176 pgs
2. Impressionists by the Sea by John House (Jan 30?) 156 pgs
3. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling (Feb 18) 4 hrs 30 min
4. 100 Unforgettable Dresses by Hal Rubenstein (Feb 7) 208 pgs
5. The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis (Feb 23) 2 hrs 30 min
6. Bringing Tuscany Home by Frances Mayes (Feb ?) 240 pgs
7. Mrs. 'Arris Goes To Paris by Paul Gallico (Mar 4) 157 pgs
8. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (Mar 3) 2 hrs 29 min
9. Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus by Peter Sis (Mar 3) 38 pgs
10. Play, Mozart, Play! by Peter Sis (Mar 3) 26 pgs
11. Tibet: Through the Red Box by Peter Sis (Mar 3) 62 pgs
12. Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei by Peter Sis (Mar 3) 36 pgs
13. The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis (Mar 3) 50 pgs
14. The Tree of Life: Charles Darwin by Peter Sis (Mar 3) 37 pgs
15. Pilgrimage by Annie Leibovitz (Mar 3) 246 pgs
16. Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale (Mar 13) 288 pgs
17. Chopsticks by Jessica Andrews and Rodrigo Corral (March 14) 304 pgs
18. Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books by Leah Price (March 10) 208 pgs
19. Through No Fault of My Own by Coco Irvine (March 14) 87 pgs
20. The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis (March 14) 3 hrs 5 min
21. Crossed by Ally Condie (March 23) 10 hrs
22. Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis (March 25) 3 hrs 20 min
23. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis (March 27) 3 hrs 44 min
24. Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke (Apr 7) 310 p
25. Full Service by Scotty Bowers (Apr 4) 288 p
26. The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis (Apr ?) 3 H 35 M
27. The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis (Apr ?) 3H 45M
28. A Month of Summer by Lisa Wingate (Apr 20) 359 pgs
29. Firefly: The Official Companion, Volume 1 (May 4) 176 pgs
30. Evan Only Knows by Rhys Bowen (Jun 9) 230 pgs
31. Niagara Falls: An Intimate Portrait by John Grant (Jun 7) 154 pgs
32. Harry Lipkin, Private Eye by Barry Fantoni (Jun 14) 208 pgs
33. Tale As Old As Time: The Art & Making of Beauty & The Beast by Charles Solomon (Jun 15) 176 pgs
34. Werewolves of Wisconsin by Andy Fish (Jul 4) 122 pgs
35. TroubleMaker 2 by Janet Evanovich (Jun 28) 109 pgs
36. Houses of the National Trust by Lydia Greeves (Jun 23) 400 pgs
37. Big Cherry Holler by Adriana Trigiani (Aug 5) 272 pgs
38. Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich (Jul 30) 320 pgs
39. Albert and the Others by Guy DeLisle (Aug 17) 72 pgs
40. How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less by Sarah Glidden (Sept 1) 208 pgs
41. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (Sept 2) 382 pgs
42. Horse, Flower, Bird by Kate Bernheimer (Sept 2) 189 pgs
43. Marcus of Umbria by Justine van der Leun (Sept 1) 218 pgs
44. Pyongyang by Guy Delisle (Sept 6) 176 pgs

Books Purchased - I'm hoping I read more in 2012 than I buy, but I'm not holding my breath.

1. Monsieur Lambert by Sempe (purchased at the Milwaukee Art Museum for their Impressionists exhibit) $14
2. The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt by Caroline Preston (purchased w/a gift card at bn.com) $9
3. Dido and Pa by Joan Aiken (from Amazon, used) $7
4. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (from B&N.com, w/coupon) $16
5. Is & Cold Shoulder Road by Joan Aiken (from Amazon) $9
6. The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry (from Amazon, used) $8
7. Sense & Senbility by Jane Austen (from Amazon) $12
8. Geek Love by Katherine Dunn (Half Price Books) $2
9. Thornfield Hall by Emma Tennant (Half Price Books) $2
10. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by the Countess of Carnaervon (Daedalus Books) $9
11. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (Barnes and Noble) $29
12. Kovel's Antiques and Collectibles Price Guide 2012 by Terry Kovel (through their website) $19
13. In A Dark Wood Wandering by Hella S. Haasse (HPB) $2
14. Edith Wharton: An Extraordinary Life by Eleanor Dwight (HPB) $8
15. Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins (HPB) $8.50
16. Late Bloomer by Melissa Pritchard (HPB) $2
17. Sin in the Second City by Karen Abbott (HPB) $2
18. Queen Camilla by Sue Townsend (HPB) $2
19. Divergent by Veronica Roth (Amazon) $13
20. A Sleep and a Forgetting by William Dean Howells (Amazon) $10
21. May Day by F. Scott Fitzgerals (Amazon) $9
22. A Simple Heart by Gustave Flaubert (Amazon) $7
23. The Complete Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby (Amazon) $9
24. The Girl with the Golden Eyes by Honore de Balzac (Ammy) $8
25. Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins (Ammy) $14
****Marker: Today is March 15****
26. Cathedrals and Castles by Henry James (HPB) $2
27. Forgotten Tales by Edgar Alan Poe (HPB) $1
28. The Fall of the House of Usher and other tales by Edgar Allan Poe (HPB) $5
29. West from Home by Laura Ingalls Wilder (BWB) $4
30. Green Mansions by W.H. Hudson (BWB) $4
31. Romola by George Eliot (BWB) $4
32. Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky by Chris Greenhalgh (BWB) $4
33. Laura, the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Donald Zochert (BWB) $4
34. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende (BWB) $4
35. The Healing Earth by Philip Sutton Chard (Ammy) $12
36. Tales of Belkin by Alexander Pushkin *(Ammy) $9
37. How the Two Ivans Quarrelled by Nikolai Gogol *
38. Lady Susan by Jane Austen*
39. The Lifted Veil by George ELiot *
40. The Dead by James Joyce*
41. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle *
42. The death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy*
43. Freya of the Seven Isles by Joseph Conrad*
44. Michael Kohlhaas by Henirich Von Kleist*
45. Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia by Samuel Johnson *
46. Stempenyu: a Jewish romance by Sholem Aleichem*
47. Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville*
48. The Beach of Falesa by Robert Louis Stevenson*
49. Adolphe by Benjamin Constant*
50. Insurgent by Veronica Roth (Ammy) $11
51. Daddy Long Legs & Dear Enemy by Jean Webster (Ammy) $12
52. Sepulchre by Kath Morton (Dollar Store) $1
53. Coffee with Mozart by Julian Rushton (Dollar Store) $1
54. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James (B&N) $11
55. 1900 House by Mark McCrum (Ammy) $10
56. Lucky Break by Esther Freud (B&N) $9
57. Harry Potter Page to Screen (Ammy) $42
58. The Awakening by Kate Chopin (Ammy) $9
59. The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett " "
60. The Private Realm of Marie Antoinette by Marie-France Boyer (Ammy) $14
******* Today is June 10 ********
61. Journals and Letters by Fanny Burney *$18
62. The West Wing by Edward Gorey *$10
63. Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink (-Bookcloseouts.com) $2
64. Serendipity Market by Penny Blubaugh (-) $2
65. Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan (-) $3.50
66. Moominpappa's Memoirs (-) $1.50
67. Madlenka by Peter Sis (-) $1.50
68. The Book of the Maidservant by Rebecca Barnhouse (-) $2.50
69. I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend by Cora Harrison (-) $2.50
70. The 100 Best Poems of All Time by Leslie Pockell (-) $1.25
71. Jim Henson's Doodle Dreams by Jim Lewis (-) $0.87
72. The Crabby Cook Cookbook by Jessica Harper (-) $1.75
73. Britain and Ireland: A Visual tour of the enchanted isles by Robin Currie (-) $7.50
74. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness (LRB) $30
75. The White House Garden by William Seale (Dollar Store) $1
76. Essence by A.L. Waddington (*) $18

"hoping I read more in 2012 than I buy"

That's what I'm hoping for me too!

*Starred*

Hi Laura: Glad to see you're up and running for next year. As always, looking forward to seeing what you're reading/planning to read etc.

Got you starred :)

Nice challenge to work through your TBR. Looking forward to following your reading once again!

@12 & 13 it would be nice to achieve that ;-)

12 & 13 Aren't we all?

Ah, there you are. :)

Here's to reading, reviewing and discussing in 2012.

Hi Laura, glad to see you "open for business"! Looking forward to following along with you on your challenge.

I've already given up on reading more of my TBR than I add to it, but at this point, I'd love to break even.

Hello Everybody!

I know, it's probably a futile goal (what really does me in are those library sales - a whole paper bag of books for $3!), but if I'm at least attempting to restrain myself some of the time it makes a good dent in my apparent effort to own every book that looks remotely interesting that's ever printed.

Library sales are my downfall also.

>22 LauraBrook: I'm coming to your library's sales--it's $5/bag at my library book.

casvelyn - what a rip-off! $5 for a whole bag filled? ;) It's normally a little bit more than $3 for me, but I tend to go during the last hour of the sale when everything is half-off on purpose.

Library sales are so dangerous. And, the worst part of it is (well, shelf-wise) that it's for a great cause, so I always donate a little extra and I feel like I have to make at least a few purchases. If I ever get a job there I'm so screwed since I'm sure part of it will be allowing us to get first dibs on the book sale. Yikes!

I know 2012 will be here soon enough, but I'm excited to start this challenge! Some of the books chosen for me to read I'm really looking forward to, and I'm seriously planning on getting rid of quite a few books once I've read them. One of my goals this year (well, technically it always is) is to let as many books go as I can. There are SO MANY that have been sitting on my shelves for over 10 years, unread, and quite a few that are from other places in my life that I know I won't want to keep but would at least like to read since they've been around for so long, that I'm confident that I can let go of at least 30 percent of what I'll read.

Ok, gotta dash, plumber is here (again) and they (plumber and Dad) need my help to shift some stuff in the basement.

Five dollars a bag isn't too bad--if you know what you're doing and you don't buy huge books, you can fit 20-30 books in one bag.

Oh, those dastardly book sales! One is going on in my town as we write! My friend found a book that I have been looking for for years there. Remember those Time/Life cookbooks? I have been looking for the wire bound book of Indian recipes. There is a recipe for coconut chutney that I have been dying to try again. She gave the book to me for my Christmas present last night.

I recently bought Death Comes to Pemberly and I'll be reading that this year, too.

Hi Laura! I've got you starred. Your categories sound fun. The blindfold category is a great idea. I may steal that next year. Unless I just pick 13 chunksters to read as my challenge next year.

I've been doing my own version of a blindfold category at times by having books on slips of paper and drawing the titles out of a box, although I've sometimes been more distracted by the TIOLI challenges and prioritized differently. I keep certain categories in envelopes with authors (and all their books in my TBR piles) on slips of paper. That way I can make sure that I get the next in series if it is a series title. If it's not the last book on the slip, it goes back in the envelope after I've read the book listed. If it is, it goes in an envelope marked "completed." I've actually got my Europe Endless challenge countries in envelopes along with the options I've identified that are available locally or via ILL. If there's not a book that clearly fits a specific thing I'm trying to accomplish that month such as a TIOLI challenge, I draw one of the slips and figure out what I need to do to get that book read that month -- go to the library and check it out, put in an ILL request, or make a purchase (if I absolutely must). I've also got most of the books that a friend lends me after she reads them on these slips. So far, I've only drawn from the hat once or twice for these because I'm usually able to fit several each month into the TIOLI challenges so I feel I'm making in progress in getting them returned! I finished my US and Canada challenges by this blindfold approach.

Basically just here to click the star. Two more days to go...

>12 LauraBrook: You know, I've actually achieved this in the last two years, thanks to me and Flea keeping a strict "buy ONE book a month" diet. But that still means 24 new books coming into the house a year - and with gifts and other loopholes the dent in the TBR isn't exactly massive. I guess it shrunk with something like twenty books in 2011 though - and that's at least something, right?

Some interesting ideas on how to start making some progress in my physical TBR shelves. Hmmm, will have to ponder over them and see what I think will work the best.

This is repeated from my 2011 threads, just in case everyone has already transferred over to 2012.

In no particular order, here are my top reads of 2011. They weren't all 5 star reads, but they all stood out for one reason or another.

1. Wisconsin's Own by M. Caren Connolly
2. Daddy Long Legs and Dear Enemy by Jean Webster
3. Still Life by Louise Penny
4. The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde
5. Dresden by Lord Gerald Hugh Tyrwitt-Wilson Berners
6. The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure
7. Doctor Dolittle's Journey by N. H. Kleinbaum
8. Radioactive: A Tale of Love and Fallout by Lauren Redniss
9. Habibi by Craig Thompson
10. The Diary of a Young Lady of Fashion, 1764-5 by Cleone Knox
11. Divergent by Veronica Roth
12. Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton
13. The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson
14. The Library, The Money Tree, The Gardener, and The Friend by Sarah Stewart
15. Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins
16. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
17. Black Diamond by Martin Walker
18. Naughty in Nice by Rhys Bowen
19. Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich
20. Alice in Sunderland by Bryan Talbot

Here's hoping that 2012's reading is just as good!

Indeed, here's hoping!

Divergent is on my list for 2012. I am looking forward to it.

Ah, here you are. I've seen your comments around the board, but was never able to find your thread. :) I look forward to following your reading through the year.

Thank you for posting your top reads of 2011! I think we have similar tastes in books.

I am now adding The Big Over Easy to my must read list, and you have re-instilled my interest in Rhys Bowen, who I have always considered reading but haven't felt motivated to pick up Her Royal Spyness. I'm going to go check out your library...I'll also star your thread in case you have any more great suggestions.

Hello everyone, and welcome! This year is off to a strange start for me. Work was very busy during the holiday season, and has suddenly dropped off to virtually non-existant. Good for the free time, bad for the pocketbook. So I'm searching for jobs once again *big sigh* in-between running around for the occasional client here and there. As things have slowed, I've been reading more, which is a very good thing. :)

1. Hurricane Story by Jennifer Shaw
Beautifully presented and told mostly through soft-focus images, this story of Ms. Shaw and her family escaping Hurricane Katrina in the early morning hours and the birth of their son the next day, is a haunting and powerful account that can be added to the LA art and fiction that has been born of this national tragedy. The format might not work for some, but it worked for me. 4 stars

2. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
There is something to be said for reading the right story at the right time. While I enjoyed the story of Mole, Rat, Badger, etc, I feel like I would have enjoyed it more had I read it when I was small, and if I had an edition with more pictures. It was nice to finally read the source material after seeing so many adaptations over the years. 3.5 stars

3. Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America by Leslie Knope
If you're a fan of "Parks and Recreation" like I am, you will really enjoy this book. Like reading a long episode of the show, it was a great companion to both fill in some historical Pawnee gaps and pass those weird chunks of time while waiting for an appointment. 4.25 stars. The only thing that could have made it better would be to have a little more Ron Swanson. :)

4. Peter Doig by Judith Nesbitt
I first heard about Peter in December - a new book of his paintings kept showing up on shopping lists for art lovers in several magazines - and thought I'd see what his work was like. I liked about half of it, and the other half just left me "meh". It's always interesting to learn about a new artist and to see what their world is like - in this case, I'm glad that I used the library instead of laying out money. 2.75 stars

That's it for now! I've got about 200 pages left in a chunky book that I'm hoping to get done today. Otherwise, it's back to life as usual!

Fingers Xed that work picks up! Reading time is good, but money to buy books with is equally good. :) Hurricane Story has been intriguing me for a while now - it's moving higher up the wishlist.

Here is hoping things pick up on the work front for you!

I just read The Wind in the Willows for the first time in December. I thought it was a cute story, but I agree...it would have been much more enjoyable when I was a child. I also kept cringing at Toad's behavior! It kind of reminded me of dealing with an incurable alcoholic...I found it more disturbing than funny. A child probably wouldn't make those associations though.

Thanks for the work wishes everyone! I think I'll (unfortunately) need them.

And Hibernator, I'm glad you said that - frog was more disturbing than funny for me too! Every time he'd show up I'd skim-read just to spend as little time with him as possible. I've got a couple of TV/movie versions coming up soon in my Netflix list, and Frog always seemed tolerable (at the very least) when he was on-screen.

I laughed during Downton Abbey last week when the mother teased her daughter that her driving was like Toad's.

Eeek! Forgot to update what I've read recently!

Books 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9: Beach Ball, Komodo!, Madlenka, Madlenka's Dog, and The Three Golden Keys all by Peter Sis

Ilana, I can't thank you enough for introducing me to Peter's work! The illustrations are wonderful and amazing, the two in the Madlenka series are charming and worldly, and my favorite of the bunch, The Three Golden Keys, was haunting and smart. I've found a new favorite author and illustrator and will be looking for copies of all of his books for my own shelves.

Beach Ball is a nearly wordless picture book in the vein of Where's waldo?, only this time you follow the lost ball and Mary as they travel along the beach. 3.75 stars

Madlenka and Madlenka's Dog tell the story of Madlenka and her adventures around her block - first, she needs to tell all of her friends (all international to boot) about her loose tooth and with each friend she meets we learn a little about their home countries. Plus, there are wonderful square cut-outs throughout the book, something that's in both volumes. In the second book, Madlenka takes her imaginary dog out for a walk and we meet some old and new friends of hers. Along with the cut-outs are also integrated flaps that you open to see which kind of dog each person has or had in their past. 4.25 stars each

Komodo! tells the story of a little boy who loves komodo dragons. His parents surprise him with a trip to Komodo island and while it's a fairly straight-forward, "simple", story the illustrations make it all the more charming. 3 stars

And finally, The Three Golden Keys tells the story of Peter's own childhood and his experiences and stories that were a part of his life growing up in Prague. Beautifully illustrated, filled with haunting details, it felt like stepping into someone else's childhood recollections. 5 stars

Book 10: Priscilla and the Splish-Splash Surprise by Nathaniel Hobbie
Picked up on a whim, this was a cute story about Priscilla and how she learns how rain is a good thing for the world around her even if she has cabin fever and wants it to stop. 3.5 stars

Book 11: Fanny by Holly Hobbie
A smart little girl who is self-reliant and resourceful, Fanny wants a celebrity glamour doll of her own. Her parents can't afford to get her one, so she makes her own doll, sewing it all herself. A great story for little girls to read, it even made me a little inspired to be more resourceful! 4.25 stars

Book 12: Holly's Inbox by Holly Denham
With blurbs from highly respected literary sources like Heat and OK! magazines, I was expecting nothing more than a fluffy, feel-good, brain candy read. While there certainly was an element of that to this chunkster of a book, there was more here than I expected, and more than a few serious moments came into play too. I have to agree with Heat, sadly, and say that it is a compulsively readable book. It's also a quick read since the entire book is written in emails - how fast do most of us read those?!? It was really a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel in the near future. 4.5 stars

Beach Ball sounds like fun. I always enjoyed the where's waldo books!

ETA: Hit save before commenting that I am glad to see Holly's Inbox was such a hit. I am pretty sure you mentioned it last year as something that was sitting on your TBR pile.....I seem to remember already being hit with that book bullet.

That Holly's Inbox book bullet might be hitting me too...I'll have to do a little research on it!

Book 13: Impressionists by the Sea by John House

Book 14: Gaga by Johnny Morgan

Book 15: The Paris Apartment by Claudia Strasser

All fine books with lots of pictures, all nice ways to pass a few hours - 3.5 stars each

I have to apologize to all of my LT friends - 2012 has been keeping me away! First, there was the new iPhone (many, many distractions), then lots of work, then not so much, now a fairly normal amount. And then earlier this week, I seem to have gotten my email hacked and it's been a superfun week of trying to fix it on my end. No luck. Tomorrow my trusty Mac laptop goes in to the Genius Bar to see what they can fix on this baby. Any internet access will be from my iPhone, so commenting/visiting will be minimal until things get straightened out. And, I've somehow stumbled into a reading lull - not a slump, a lull - that I can't seem to shake. Later this afternoon (after I've finished my tax work before my accountant appt on Monday morning - blech) I'm planning on starting A Discovery of Witches. I've been assured by many friends that it will suck up all of my time and that I'll love it, so I hope it's all true!

How are all of you doing? What's new, what're you reading?

Fingers Xed they can fix your computer!!! Good luck with the taxes too - I finished myine today and it's a huge load off my shoulders.

Reading lulls will go away - for me, a marathon of a great TV- or movie-series and then a reread of an old favorite seems to work best. :)

Thanks, Eva. I took a break to eat dinner 3 hours ago and got caught up finishing the last 2 discs of the first season of Gilmore Girls. Now I started watching the first season of Happy Endings and started reading ADOW, so while I don't think I'll totally finish my taxes tonight, I do believe that my reading lull may be over! :) *fingers crossed*

Excellent! Anyways, how can anyone think of taxes when on the verge of getting out of a reading-lull?! :) I managed to make a ginormous batch of Irish Cream Brownies and will now settle down with some tea and a couple of seasons of Jonathan Creek (which I finally got on DVD!). No reading for me tonight! :)

Ooooohhhhh.... Irish Cream Brownies... Yum! Enjoy Jonathan Creek!

For me, reading a couple of graphic novels seem to do the trick when I've been in a lull. It's strange, isn't it. As long as you're going from book to book, it seems impossible to ever be out of reading. But just a few days without a book and a little resistance starts to build. Hope your computer problems sort themselves out!

I've got my fingers crossed for you, Laura. Nothing worse that computer problems! Glad to hear you are easing out of your lull.

I had a small reading lull when the books planned for the new year were done and I had to find new ones.

Hi, Laura. What a pill about the computer. I hate it when we have problems.

I've been reading about 5 books, finished a couple, but nothing that's really sticking with me. Hope that changes sooooon.

Yikes! about your computer. I went for a year and a half without my own computer (just last year) and it sucked. So I know what you're going through.

I'm currently reading The House on Mango Street and a horror-western novel called A Rope of Thorns.

Okay everyone, computer seems to be fixed! YAHOO!!! It was weird to get email again (even though it'd only been a few days w/o it), and I could be crazy, but I swear my internet connection is speedier than ever. Hopefully, I'll be back in the swing of things from now on - especially considering the fact that work has dried up to virtually nothing. Not that there aren't about a billion things to do for my business and around the house, but they don't pay any money right away, so...

Eva - I've never seen Jonathan Creek, what's it about? I'm too lazy to google. If you have any of those brownies left, I'll take one. :)

Lori - want to share that brownie? Nope, me either. ;)

Anders - The lull seems to have passed, thankfully. I was thinking about picking up a GN, but realized that I have a bookclub for A Discovery of Witches tonight, so I started reading that one. Boy, is it a good read so far! A great book to get me back on track. How're things going with the move? And how is Minna doing?

Judy, I think your finger-crossing worked. Thanks!

Alison, I think I might have to put a couple of my current reads on the back burner for a bit. They're all good, but I'm just stalled with them. They can keep my dozens of half-read books company.

Gail - That's great that you've finished 5 books, but not having anything that pulls you back to it is kind of a bummer. Found anything magnetic yet?

Andrea, I'm impressed that you could make it a year without a computer. The luddite half of me is all for it, and the other half, not so much. :) I could have sworn that I had a copy of Mango Street somewhere around here, but I don't know where it is! How do you like it so far? And horror-western sounds like an interesting genre, it's totally new to me. Doesn't sound like something you'd normally read, but I hope it's enjoyable!

I'm on page 67 of 580 - I'll totally finish A Discovery of Witches by 5:30 tonight, right?

"weird to get email again"
We are crazy creatures of habit, are we not?!

Jonathan Creek: Brilliant British comedy/mystery series starring Alan Davies who plays a creative consultant to a magician (basically the guy who comes up with the tricks) and who uses his knowledge to figure out locked-room mysteries.

The remaining brownies were hidden at the back of the freezer until I found out how great frozen brownies taste!! :)

>55 LauraBrook:,
Glad to hear you've got your computer up again! I made it through the computerless year by invading my mom and other family member's homes to use theirs. I'm very glad to have a computer now, though I still don't have the internet installed at my apartment yet.

I'm enjoying Mango Street. The short vignettes are entertaining, though don't really give a sense of an overall narrative. It's more like poetic snapshots of memories from the young narrator's life when she lived on that street.

>55 LauraBrook: Minna is in a mood lately. A No sitting down for you, parent kind of mood to be specific. Only happy when being carried around - and then barely. Probably stepped up a rung on the perception of the world ladder, which always creates a little unrest in babies :) On the other hand, she's started laughing. And hearing that gurgly, happy sound makes everything worth it!

As for the mood, we've made the 160 kilometer return trip a few weekends to look at places. So far no good though. We could easily have gotten either of the two places we've seen. But they weren't for us. Will keep you posted!

Book 16: The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World by Guillaume de Laubier

As a bibliophile I couldn't pass this oversized beauty up. Slightly disappointing (partly because it was a lot of Very Fancy libraries (some of them most of us couldn't enter) and partly because you miss out on that great old-books library smell) but still beautiful, filled with just enough narrative info for each one. There are a few fold-out "centerfold" type photos throughout and I felt a little dirty ogling the pictures like a perv. :) A great collection of libraries, to be sure, but I'd prefer something a little more "of the people" than "of the priviledged". 3.5 stars

Book 17: Tsar: The Lost World of Nicholas and Alexandra by Peter Kurth

Massive thanks to Linda/Whisper1 for reading and recommending this book - without it, I never would have heard of this title, and I'd really have missed out! A lifelong fascination of the Romanovs and a love for beautiful photography, especially in an historical context, made the book sort of a Perfect Storm for me. If the illustrations and narrative were separate I still would've liked the books a lot, but put them together - WOW! - and it's gangbusters. Pretty much the perfect book for me. With enough "before" of the story to understand and invest yourself into the book, and with immensely gorgeous and juicy photography of the real locations (both then and now), I found myself slowing down to read the book so it wouldn't end too quickly. Of course it did, and now it's firmly on my Must Buy For Myself list. The story might not be brand new, but it felt like it to me. 5 stars for sure, and one of the best books that I'll read this year, without a doubt.


The Palace of Gatchina, preferred palace of Alexander III, the Tsar before Nicky, and where Nicky spent many happy hours outdoors


The Alexander Palace, where the family lived, in Tsarskoe Selo


The Ipatiev House, or the House of Special Purpose, where the Romanovs spent their last days. They were killed in the basement, and in 1977 the house was destroyed by order of Boris Yeltsin.

Hi Eva - I'll certainly add Jonathan Creek to my Netflix Queue. Alan Davies is great, and I don't know how I've missed out on the series before!

Hey Andrea - I think I must've gotten rid of my copy of The House on Mango Street, it's nowhere in my house. I'll pick it up when I'm at the library next - thanks for the rec and reminder!

Hola Anders! Sorry Minna is at that fussy stage, but every time a kid laughs it does make up for it! It's one of the best sounds in the world. Good luck on the house search, I know it's not an easy thing to find that just-right place. :)

To feed your bibliophile love, here's an article with the 20 most beautiful bookstores in the world: http://flavorwire.com/254434/the-20-most-beautiful-bookstores-in-the-world

(^_^)

WOW... thank you for posting that!

great link :-)

my job takes me to Paris quite often and I like to visit Shakespeare & co which although a bit touristy does have a good selection of books

I felt a little dirty ogling the pictures like a perv
*Snerk, snarkle*

>61 andreablythe: I had a hunch Livreria Lello in Porto might be in there (the place with the jugend staircase)! Me and Flea went to Porto for our honeymoon, and just loved that place. Not muny books in English in that store though, sadly! My personal favorites on that list would be the Mexico bookstore with all the plants, the church and the Bratislava staircase, I think. But they were all gorgeous in their own right!

Some great pictures. I could almost lust after some of them.

The Peter Kurth book does sound fascinating! Love the pictures!

Hello to all! I'm not sure exactly where the last couple of weeks have gone, but they're gone! I've been catching up on magazines, and reading bits and pieces of a few books, but aside from the few that I'll quickly list below, not much has really gotten crossed off of my TBR list. Somehow I've managed to deaccession a few books from my physical TBR shelves, and while it feels great (it's only 4 books) there's a long way to go.

Book 18: A Midnight Carol by Patricia K. Davis

A saccharine and sentimental fictionalization of how and when Charles Dickens came to write A Christmas Carol. I probably would've enjoyed this more if I'd read it closer to the season, or if I was feeling weepy, but as it was, it was only okay. 2 1/2 stars, and off of my shelf it goes!

Book 19: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

I like Mindy Kaling, and her quirky, fast-talking, judgmental style, and listening to her read her own book was a great way to get a little dose of Kaling in my weekend. Enjoyable, funny, and quick, I'm glad I read it (and I'd recommend it to Office fans) and I'm also glad that I got it from the library. Not one I'm likely to reread, but a good time nonetheless. 3 stars

Books 20 & 21: Frog and Toad Together and Frog and Toad All Year by Arnold Lobel

A duo of sweetly simple books about two friends and their (mis)adventures. 3 stars each

In real life land, work has slowed a little, and I got news that my 2nd job will be going away as of this summer (maybe earlier, depending on classes that get scheduled). It's really okay that it's over with as I've been getting sick of the amount of paperwork that has crept all over my house over the last 4 years, and the hours spent answering a dozen questions of prospective students who can't spell/use punctuation correctly has been getting very very old. Yes, it's a few hundred bucks a month (very important to bill paying!) but it also opens up a bunch of time and space in my life in a lot of ways. I've been looking at non-scammy work-at-home jobs (simply because my work #1 and #3 schedules are so all over the place that a more flexible job schedule is important), and feeling a little more positive about my place in the working world and in life. It feels like I'm getting back to myself, as corny as that sounds.

Hope to be back here more frequently, I've missed my LT friends!

And we've missed you! We trust you do important things like living and working and stuff, though. Glad to see you here when you can!

Hi Laura, you have been missed but as we all know RL has to come first!

Hi, Laura!
Sounds like you have a lot going on. Sometimes having one job go can be the best thing. I was working three jobs at one point and it was rough. When I finally started whittling them down, I was relieved despite the money loss, too.

I know the feeling of having real life get in the way of your reading. I think my own has suffered somewhat with things I have going on too. The books aren't going anywhere, unless you have to return them to the library that is, and will still be there for when you have the time to get back to them.

Good to see you here - sounds like you're keeping busy, though, if not in the way you would have preferred! :) Keeping my fingers Xed that some really good work comes your way!

Thanks everyone! I've been beavering away on the books I have in progress over the last few days. While only 1 is finished with, there were a couple other books that I finished in my absence that I forgot to post before! :-O

Book 22: The Complete Book of Massage by Clare Maxwell-Hudson

One of my Blindfold category picks, I'm relieved to have this one off of the TBR heap. Full of photos (some of which were helpful and some of which were essentially late 80's soft-focus "erotic"-esque pics) and lots of step-by-step massage routines, this book is certainly for the non-professional/home masseuse. As a professional, there are lots (and lots) of things that I kept disagreeing with both in my head and out loud, and while I'm all for learning new techniques and ways of doing things, I can't imagine that I'll be putting anything from this book into my own practice. Personally I'd give this a 2, for the non-professional who wants to learn how to massage their partner I'd give it a 4, so I'll go in the middle for my final grade of 3 stars. I'll keep this book only as a reference - I've been asked if I have an interest in teaching a community class on how to massage backs/ neck and shoulders / etc, and this will help to remind me of the language to use.

Book 23: 100 Unforgettable Dresses by Hal Rubenstein

What seemed like a fun book with beautiful pictures actually had more substance (and more surprising picks) than I expected. If you've any interest in the history of fashion and how styles change, I'd highly recommend this book. One for my wishlist to ooh and aah over the photos whenever I want to. 4 stars

Book 24: The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley

An audiobook that I started at the end of November, this was a fun and un-perfect historical fiction / romance, great for whiling away the hours spent in traffic. At times I'd sit in my car to listen to what happened next, and at others I wondered why I was still listening. One part that I never quite understood what how the whole time-slip-ness worked - it seemed like the people in the past accepted the fact that someone from the 21st Century could just pop up at any place and any time a little too easily than you'd expect. Maybe it was something that I missed in the listening though, and would've been more noticeable in print. All in all, an enjoyable book, and I'm looking forward to reading more of Susanna's work in the future. 3.75 stars

Book 25: The Weed That Strings The Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley

The second Flavia de Luce book, it was a nice welcome back to the series for me. (I've still got to read #3 before I can take care of my ER win of #4.) Nothing earth-shattering to be found here, just a pleasant setting (despite some gruesome murders) and a good mystery. 4 stars

Book 26: The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis

This is my first visit to the land of Narnia. Somehow when I was growing up, a set of the books never crossed my path, and over the years I just kept putting them into the Someday Pile. Well, my friend has a lovely set of these on audio CD, and since I've had them for a few months I thought I'd better get cracking on them. This afternoon I've listened to this whole book, and it was quite charming and entertaining. Done by a whole cast of actors and featuring music and sound effects, this would be a great way for children who want to experience the books in a new way. as it is, the adult me gives this book 3.5 stars

Book 27: Bringing Tuscany Home by Frances May

A title that's long been on my wishlist simply from my love of Under the Tuscan Sun, I grabbed it at the library (the copy with all of the pictures, not the one that's just text) to see what it was really like. Well, it's still on the wishlist. :) I really enjoy the way Frances writes, and it was wonderful to see so many pictures of both Bramasole and their house in California, and to get some recipes too. It made me miss Tuscany all over again. 4.25 stars

Whew! I think that catches me up! Somewhere around LT, I can't remember where, there was some talk about the card game Authors. Well, I've got my parents copy of the game here, and as soon as I upload some pictures I'll do a little post about it. Okay, off to eat an early dinner and relax for a bit before heading out to my Water Zumba exercise class tonight. See you all soon!

That 100 Unforgettable Dresses looks so great. I added it to the to-buy-list when Dejah_Thoris reviewed it - it'll be the perfect gift for my mum. Great to hear a second endorsement!!

How on earth did you miss Narnia as a kid?! Although, I'm quite jealous that you get to read them for the first time. :)

I'm not sure how I missed Narnia - I even remember my "sister" having all of the books and we read and shared titles constantly - but I did. I hope I don't miss anything fun or roll my jaded adult eyes at anything. ;)

It's tricky since you read with a sort of unbridled enthusiasm when you're a kid and tend to ignore the parts your adult self would scoff at or dislike. I do hope you finish the series and enjoy it!!

I'm going to have to look at Under the Tuscan Sun sometime, but not until the farmer's markets are back!!! Just no fair looking at sunshine when all the produce is pale and shipped in from another hemisphere!

I had the full collection of Narnia books as a kid, but only every read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I loved it as a kid, but enjoyed it less so as an adult. Still, I'm curious to read the rest of the series.

77: Very true, Eva! I read the next book yesterday, and there were a few times where my adult self said "hey, wait a minute..." but it was still a lot of fun. On to book #3!

78: Good call, Katie! I bought strawberries at the grocery store this week, even though it depressed me to find that they're not from the US, just because I was craving them. I'm really looking forward to the return of farmer's markets too - such good stuff!

79: Hi Andrea! I think that this series in particular is best for kids. There are lots of kids series that adults can read and enjoy on other levels, but this doesn't seem to be one of them. If your first experience with them was when you were small and then revisited, that's different. But reading these for the first time at 33, I can see some story "gaps" that my younger self certainly wouldn't have noticed. They're still good though, and I'll certainly finish the journey.

Hi Laura: How're you doing? I'm getting tired of this gray, chilly, and sometimes snowy weather. I want spring!! I want to be able to sit outside and read again.

Hoping that we can work out the timing and get plans together for the meet-up soon.

Hi Linda! Well, spring certainly has sprung, hasn't it? Yesterday it was 80 degrees here, and today it was 75. It's beautiful oustide, my crocuses (croci?) have almost finished blooming, and lots of green shoots are pushing up out of the ground around my yard. Here's hoping that we don't get a freak snowstorm that kills everything off - unless it somehow could just kill off the bugs and mold/spores/allergens/etc and leave the plants alone. :)

Well, I did it again, and managed to somehow barely appear here on LT for a couple of weeks. I keep on trying to start reading the oldest messages first, and there's so much to catch up on that by the time I get a phone call or go to the bathroom or get distracted by a shiny object of some sort I forget what I was doing and end up doing something else. Plus, this iPhone has been seriously disturbing both my LT time and my reading time. I keep thinking "I'll play Words/Hanging With Friends just one more round" or "Just one more try at Doodle Jump" and next thing I know it's been 45 minutes. *sigh* Dammit.

At least I have a couple of things that are motivating me to put down the phone and accomplish something that actually needs to be done. Thing #1: I'm losing my 2nd part time job in a month (or two, tops) instead of the four months I was expecting, so lots of paperwork/organizing needs to get done. Thing #2: I joined another book club (in my defense, I thought it was going to be online only, so expected an hour or two of time a month instead of a whole evening) and it's my turn to host our next meeting, on March 27. That means that all of my spring cleaning (and de-cat-hair-ing) needs to happen very soon, along with at least 2 of my major sorting projects. Yikes.

In the mean time, I used a bunch of picture books to break my reading slump, and then got a couple of "regular" books finished up too. Instead of doing a mini-review of each, I'm going to save myself some time and do one-word reviews. Here goes....

Book 28: Becoming Jane Austen by Jon Spence Thorough (3.5 stars)

Book 29: Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris by Paull Gallico Charming (4.25 stars)

Book 30: Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale Fun (4.25 stars)

Book 31: Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books by Leah Price Drool-inducing (4 stars)

Book 32: Pilgrimage by Annie Leibovitz Beautiful (4 stars)

Book 33: The Lion, The Witch, and Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis Adventurous (3.5 stars)

Book 34: The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis Meh (2.6 stars)

Book 35: Howl & Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg Disturbing (3.75 stars)

Book 36: Through No Fault of My Own by Coco Irvine Delightful (5 stars)

Book 37: Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral Stirring (4.25 stars)

Books 38-43: Follow The Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus, Play, Mozart, Play, The Tree of Life: Charles Darwin, Tibet: Through the Red Box, Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei, and The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Wall, all by Peter Sis Outstanding (4.5 stars each)

Done! I'm giving the Narnia (audio) books a break to listen to Crossed by Ally Condie, and I'll soon be starting The Franchise Affair and The Night Circus for book clubs. (I tried to listen to Night Circus earlier this year, but my iPod kept shuffling the tracks and I had no idea what was going on. This time I bought a physical copy, so any missing bits are no one's fault but my own.) On the job front, I've applied for 3 different jobs and have received rejection letters from all of them. Poop. I know I keep on saying it, but I have to give the whole selling-things-on-ebay another crack, it seems to be the only way I can make any money without breaking my body down doing massage.

That's all for now. I'll be back later to check up on things (and try to catch up on everyone's threads) - for now, it's almost time for my Water Zumba class! :) Later!

Love your one word reviews, Laura!

There you are! Glad to see you are back posting and have still been busy reading.... puts my reading to shame ;-(

I love the one word reviews too! Good luck on the job front. Can't wait for our little "recession" to end.

The one-word reviews are fabulous! ^_^
I can definitely see that Unpacking my Library would be very drool-inducing.

LOL @ the reviews. And congrats at making it through quite a few of those TBRs!

Water Zumba sounds like fun - it must look hilarious at least. :)

Not having a clue what Zumba is, I googled it and learned it is a fitness program set to a latin dance beat. So does Water Zumba mean you are dancing in the water latino style?

I tried to listen to Night Circus earlier this year, but my iPod kept shuffling the tracks and I had no idea what was going on.

Right there it is! The excuse that this luddite over here will be using as an argument for not getting into e-format audio books for another decade or so ;-) Good to see you here again!

I'm back! I had a very busy 4 days of work, followed by 2 days of recovery, and now I'm trying to catch up once again. It's never-ending! :)

Hi Judy! Thanks. Yep, it's doing mambo, cumbia, etc all in the water. I also do a regular beginner Zumba class on Monday nights, and they're both a good workout, but I prefer the one in the water. It's just easier on my joints and there's FAR less sweating. Plus, the water instructor is a stereotypically gay man, so there's lots of extra flair during the routines and he tells us about how his hair color is running in his eyes, and a lot of "oh... my... gosh, you guys?..." in his conversations. It's more fun than a normal class would be, just because of his personality. :) Hope you're doing well on your reading goals so far this year!

Hi Lori - don't be too impressed, they're mostly children's picture books. :) But they still count!

Hi Katie - thanks! I know, this recession thing is ridiculous. I just heard that "it's getting better out there" and I see absolutely no difference from what it's been like the last couple of years, either for me or for my friends. :( And, I'll take your good luck wishes - looks like I'll need them!

Thanks, Andrea! At first I thought just doing one word would be hard, but I kind of like it. I'm going to try and keep it up. And the Unpacking my Library book was drool-inducing in an interesting sort of way. Most of the libraries and the bookshelves themselves were rather ordinary, but seeing how people sort and display their books was interesting. And, there were some groupings that made me wish they lived in my house too! You should check it out! It looks like there's one for architects and their libraries too, so that's next on my library list. :)

Howdy, Eva! Thanks, and yes, it does look hilarious sometimes. Though I'm at the front of the class (like most classroom situations, the ladies at the back of the class are too busy talking closet together to get much of a workout - I'm not there to socialize!) I can't always see everyone, but when we do turns it's pretty funny to see how some people have zero rhythm at all! Makes me smile. :) I was bad and skipped class last night, though. I was so tired that the thought of pulling on my suit, driving over there, working out, drying off, getting dressed and driving back home was just too much. Next week is the last week though, so I'll be there for sure.

Hi Anders! How're things in your neck of the woods? Any luck on finding a house yet? I've never really had a problem with other e-audio books before, and I know that this time the fault lies in my iPod. Ever since I got it, it's had issues with shuffling things that aren't shuffled, and sometimes when things are supposed to be shuffled, it only does it by whole album, not individual song. I probably should have dealt with it when I first noticed it (4 years ago), but it's been okay for the most part. *shrugs* Oh well. Not much of a problem to worry about. And, this whole problem is also because I pulled the tracks off of CDs from my library (shhhh!) instead of doing a direct download and that's always a little problematic.

Enough babbling for now, I think! I've only managed to finish another couple of books (one of them in under 24 hours!) but I'm hoping that I can both read my 2 book club books in time for their respective meetings AND finish a couple more that I'm getting close to being done with some point in the incredibly near future. Fingers crossed!

Book 44: Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins Fantastic! 4.75 stars

Hmmm, I guess I only finished one, not two... Oh well.

Hi, Laura, welcome back! :D

Thanks, Andrea! Glad to be back. :)

Book 45: Crossed by Ally Condie Decent. 3.5 stars

I'll eventually get around to finishing this trilogy, but when I read these book, there isn't anything that really grabs me to read them right away. Oh well.

I've spent the last few hours very happily alphabetizing my Read bookcase in my room (while listening to Crossed). I didn't take any "before" pics, but I'll update my "afters" in just a minute or two...

Ah, sometimes I use the phrase "I'll eventually get around to" as a sign to ditch something off my overflowing shelves, although 3.5 stars ins't a bad rating. Just not a really good rating. Glad you're back, & I wish I was in your water dance class. Sounds like a blast.

I've been looking at the Matched series as well, but although people seem to like each book, I'm not hearing the gushing that normally comes from those kind of series, so I'm thinking I'll pass.

When you rip an audiobook CD, after the disk has ripped, highlight all tracks and (under "Advanced") click "Join CD Tracks." Then, (under "Options") change "Media Kind" to "Audiobook" and check the "Skip when shuffling" checkbox. That should alleviate frustration. :)

Hi Katie and Eva! I know, I was all set to devour this trilogy, and while they're entertaining and good, it's not something that I'm likely to rave over with friends, you know? I do like the books, but there's nothing that makes me "crave" the next one, so if you haven't started them, I think it's okay if you skip them. If you're ever in a mood to get involved in another trilogy, or feel like getting something from the library, then these would be good books for that. But otherwise, I say don't worry about them.

My water zumba class is a lot of fun, and the last class is tomorrow night. While it's sort of a bummer, I'm also okay with not leaving my house at 7:30 at night and getting home at 9:30. I'm going to look for either a morning water class for the summer, or for one that meets earlier in the evening. Maybe I'm a grandma, but I like to stay home once I'm home for the night, you know?

Eva, thank you so much for the audiobook tips! I'll have to give that procedure a try the next time I get an audiobook from the library. I thought there must be some way to keep things "in order" aside from just unclicking the shuffle feature, but no one else I know has a Mac or uses iTunes as much as I do, so... Thanks for the tip!

In the last few days I've managed to knock a few more books off of my "currently reading" stack...

Book 46: Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis Blech. 2 stars

Book 47: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis Adventurous! 4 stars

Book 48: Schloss Schonbrunn (guidebook) by Beate Ellmerer

I'm breaking my new one-word-reviews to say a little more about this book because it's part of my Blindfold category. This title was chosen for me by Victoria/VictoriaPL. This is the guidebook for Schonbrunn castle just outside of Vienna, Austria. This was the first grand house/castle I've ever visited in real life, and it made a whopping impression on me. (I have a life-long fascination with these large homes and palaces - it's still strong to this day!) I couldn't believe how BIG it was, and that Gloriette at the back of the garden! Ack! It was all so much to take in and made me incredibly happy; in fact, I'm smiling just at the memory of it. While I've flipped through this slim book over the last 12 years, I've never read it thoroughly - I'm glad that I finally had an "excuse". I didn't realize how many historical moments have happened here - including the relatively recent history of Kennedy and Krushchev meeting in the Great Gallery in 1961 - or how much the property was ruined during WWII. Very interesting, and it made me feel very nostalgic. 4 stars

Book 49: The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg by Mark Twain

Another one for my Blindfold category, this novella was chosen by Anders/GingerbreadMan. I'm not entirely sure if I enjoyed this book or not, if I'm honest. I have a difficult time reading Twain; I need to change how I read somehow and it tends to take me at least halfway through the work to really "get it". This being 84 pages, I slogged through it. If it'd been any longer I most likely would have abandoned it simply because I didn't really care about what was happening. It's the story of a mysterious stranger who embarrasses the hypocritical "incorruptible" town of Hadleyburg and its residents through a fraudulent sack of gold and set of letters "naming" who is entitled to it. Once I got the hang of his writing, I thought that this would make a good short play - very dramatic, lots of crowds shouting during the "trial", etc - but that it really wasn't my cup of tea overall. Fine, but nothing to write home about. 3 stars.

Hmm, Interesting that Prince Caspian wasn't great. Have you read The Magician's Nephew, which is the first book in the series?

"Blech."

Oh dear. :)

I read Haddleyberg - I thought it was typical Twain funny, and it's funny that you should mention it as a play because as I was reading it, I was seeing it as a tv playlet - kind of like a non-sf Twilight Zone. It has that feel to it. It also feels a bit like an old folktale that's been fleshed out.

>95 LauraBrook: Ah, well. Sorry about that. Or semi-sorry at least :) Thanks for asking about our house hunting. We're getting there - just an inspection away from our new home now!

Hello again, friends! Yet another delayed absence from me, it's sadly the norm this year. :( Since I was here last, things in my life have really hit the fan - I lost one of my jobs, and one of my steady massage jobs will be going away in the next month, everything I apply for I get rejection letters from, I've had the flu (which refuses to leave me entirely, so I get dizzy/nauseated/sweaty/feverish/etc at least 3 times a day out of nowhere), 3 migraines, and despite the fact that I'm eating much less and mostly organic and have been exercising regularly, I'm gaining weight like there is no tomorrow. I've avoided saying anything just because I feel like every time I'm here I'm Debbie Downer (wah wah) and I know that it all could be worse, but I don't want to bum you guys out or want you to avoid me. So, I just didn't post anything. Joe sent me a very nice and encouraging message (thanks Joe!) that set me straight, and I'll do better from here on out.

This weekend is the spring Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon, and I'm so excited for it! I haven't had much chance to prep my house/kitchen/book piles for it this week, so I'll kind of be winging it this weekend. The only goal I have is to finish at least 1 book that I'm currently reading, and that hopefully won't be a problem. But, before I post over the weekend I need to update the books that I've read in the last few weeks, so here goes!

Book 50: Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke The second in the series, it was a fun read. I figured out whodunit right away, so most of the book was spent just watching what happened until the killer was revealed. I'll continue with the series, but there isn't a rush. 3 stars

Book 51: Full Service by Scotty Bowers A very dishy tell-all by one of Hollywood's unexpected "pimps" from the 40's to the 70's. While it's a curtain-twitching look into the private lives of the stars, Bowers' own life seemed sad and lonely, and it's clear that he got caught up in all of the glitz and glamour of the stars lives like any other farm kid would have. The writing left a little to be desired, but it's not trying to be a Murakami book or anything. 3 stars

Book 52: Kim by Rudyard Kipling I started reading this for the group read that probably ended in February or something and only finished it recently. A story of a white boy, raised as a native and fending for himself in India is considered a classic for many reasons, and I'm sorry to say that I didn't particularly enjoy it. I've read another book or two of Kipling's and I think that he's just not the author for me. Reading Kim was fine, but I don't think I'll pick it up for a re-read at all. 2.6 stars

Book 53: Chucaro: Wild Pony of the Pampa by Francis Kalnay A Newbery Honor book from 1958, it feels like it's a product of its' time. While that's neither a good thing nor a bad thing, it does feel like when it was written, if that makes sense. A story of a boy who finds and tries to keep a pink pony found eating alone on the Argentinian pampa where he and his family live, it's got action, adventure, family, and a real small-village feel to it. Pleasant and enjoyable. 3 stars

Books 54 & 55: The Last Battle and The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis These final 2 books from the world of Narnia complete my first reading of the series. I thought they were both okay. My reading them as an adult was certainly a hindrance to the reading experience. And while I listened to excellent audio versions done by a wonderfully talented group of actors (a major plus), these just aren't my thing. I'm by no means sorry to have read them; just sorry that I didn't like them all more. 3 stars each

Book 56: A Month of Summer by Lisa Wingate I really did not enjoy this overly melodramatic story of a middle-aged, bitter, therapist-less daughter coming home to take care of her Alzheimers-ridden Father, his step-wife who is in a nursing home recovering from a stroke(?) and her adult half-brother who is autistic(?) and about how betrayed they all feel by different things and hold on to old hurts and resentments but ultimately have a skippy, bird-chirping, Leave It To Beaver, "aw shucks, isn't life funny and a blessing" kind of endings, made me want to throw up on the book it was so sickeningly sweet and contrived. I couldn't skim-read this baby fast enough (nor return it to the library fast enough either) for my upcoming bookclub meeting. Apologies if you enjoyed this book and/or this type of book but it is so very much not what I'm ever interested in reading. I did enjoy the authors writing, and if she wrote anything in another genre I wouldn't hesitate to pick it up, but upon researching a bit it looks like her stuff is all in this vein. I'm sorry to say that her books do not have this reading nerd as a fan. 1 star

Book 57: A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley The best of the Flavia books so far! This entry in the series finds Ms. de Luce befriending a Gypsy, joining in an obscure religious group, adventuring with her trusty bicycle sidekick Gladys, and finding and solving more murders than you'd think possible of an 11 year old girl. A cracking good read, I can hardly wait to (finally!) start reading the latest book in the series to see what she gets up to next. 4.5 stars

Okay, I really need to get my behind moving here - it's 4:22 and I need to leave by 5:00 to go to my best friends Nursing School Graduation (2 hrs minimum) and dinner out afterwards with her entire extended family, and I have to do something with my hair, put on some makeup and find something dressy to wear that will fit me. Wish me luck, and I'll see you all again tomorrow for sure!

Hi Laura, long time no chat.

I've been mired in probably the worst reading slump of my life. During about the past month or so, I think I've finished one book. Maybe two. I think I am starting to come out of it a bit though.

Hi Laura, good to see you back. Have fun at your friend's grad and dinner tonight.

Hi Laura - nice to see you posting!

I don't want to bum you guys out or want you to avoid me.

That would never happen! ;-)

Please feel free to share whatever's going on. You're far from being a permanent pessimist and it is your thread, after all.

Welcome back, Laura! I'm sorry to hear things aren't going so well lately, but here's hoping they will turn around soon! I hope you enjoyed Dewey's read-a-thon and look forward to seeing lots of good reviews from you. :)

Hi Ladies, thanks for stopping by and sticking with me.

Well, the Read-a-thon ended at 7 this morning, and I was asleep! I had a hard time settling down to read, so my grand total was only 2 books finished.

Book 58: Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell I listened to the audio version, and Sarah's distinctive voice took a little getting used to. After that though, I really enjoyed the book - this was a fun, informative, interesting history of Hawaii. I'm glad I have a couple of her other titles on my shelf, I don't want to wait too long before I revisit her writing again. 4 stars

Book 59: Dracula's Heir by Sam Stall So much fun! A continuation of the Dracula story, this follows Jon Kelso as he receives a mysterious package as part of the estate of a Lady he knows nothing about, including a note from her saying that his life is threatened and can be saved if he can figure out what all of these documents have in common. The book is a publication of the contents of this package, published under his orders, hoping that someone out in the public will be able to figure out the mystery since he cannot. A believable and well-woven story follows, complete with letters, notes, and photographs in envelopes that you have to open and read, a newspaper, and, best of all, the final chapter is sealed so as to prevent your sneaking ahead and finding out what's what. I love interactive books like this, and the fact that it was a great story too - well, not much could be better! 4.75 stars

Then this morning (well, afternoon, by the time I finally woke up) I finished 2 more.

Books 60 & 61: Hyacinth Bucket's Hectic Social Calendar and Keeping Up Appearances: Hyacinth Bucket's Book of Etiquette for the Socially Less Fortunate
A long-time fan of "Keeping Up Appearances", these were fun books to read, "written" by Mrs. Bucket ("That's Bouquet, dear") herself. Her Book of Etiquette could have been a bit better without much extra effort - as it is, while members of her adoring public write in to ask her questions, and the answers are all excerpts from the show, with a some photos thrown in on most pages. Her Hectic Social Calendar was much better, IMO. A handwritten diary of 1996, with ticket stubs, pressed roses and other ephemera scattered throughout the year, it was much more entertaining and less of a re-hash of TV episodes. Fun reads for any fan of the show, 3 stars for Etiquette and 4 for her Calendar.

Not too bad in a weekend, I suppose.

Hey, always love to hear from you, regardless of mood! You always manage to be funny and personal, even when times are bad - which is one of the great things about your thread.

Sad to hear so much crappy stuff is going on in your life right now, though. I really hope you had a great time at your friend's graduation, and that things in general will turn for the better soon!

I'm agreeing with the others: it's always good to hear from you, whatever mood! Hope things pick up soon - sending as many good thoughts as I can!!

LOL'ed at the Read-A-Thon - I tried one of those and have never been so sleepy! :)

107: Hi Anders! Thanks for the encouragement. The graduation was nice, and dinner with her family was even better - I forgot what a blast they all are! Now all I have to do is find a couple of nice wedding presents for her and I'm set!

108: Hi Eva! I'm such a terrible slacker, I couldn't tell you the last time I was at your thread - something to be fixed ASAP! Thanks for the good thoughts, I'll take 'em, and yeah, the RAT was so tiring this time, though I don't quite know why. One of my fellow book lovers and friends always has to work the weekends of the Deweys RAT, so we're trying to plan our own with sleeping time built in. Hopefully that'll go better!

A few more to add to my total, thankfully these all count for my 12-12...

Book 62: Topsys & Turvys by Peter Newell A popular turn-of-the-last-century artist and author, this is a selection of his two collections of "topsy-turvy's". A picture with verse that looks like one thing, but looks like something else when turned around, this is a charming book that kids would really like. Heck, I liked it too. 3 stars

Book 63: Cinderella: from the opera by Gioacchino Rossini by Beni Montresor This is the story we all know, with illustrations that have a definite 60's feel and look. A fun read. 3 stars

Book 64: The Kingdom by the Sea by Paul Theroux An interesting look at coastal Britain, written in the early 80's during the Falklands War. Great writing, warm humor, chock full of lots of curious bits of information. 4.25 stars

Ah, you are so not Debbie Downer. Dracula's Heir sounds fun and in keeping with the original. Part of what made Drac a classic is all the letters and diary entries. Too bad Dracula didn't write much. ;)

Thanks Katie. :) Dracula's Heir is pretty great, I hope you can find a copy somewhere out there.

Book 65: Firefly: The Official Companion, Volume 1
Aw man, I love me some Firefly. It was great to see the scripts and some of the "inside" information for how some scenes and costumes came to be. Too bad there were a few pages missing from my library copy. 3.75 stars

Book 66: Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
I totally adored this book, and everything about it. Jasper is one of my favorite authors - what a mind and imagination he has! - and while I might not always know where he's heading, I always enjoy the trip. 4.75 stars

Book 67: The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott
An ER win, and not one that I terribly enjoyed. The story follows a poor seamstress as she lucks out and becomes Lady Duff Gordon's personal maid about 3 minutes before boarding Titanic, how she survives (the sinking happens in chapter 2), and her almost-too-hard-to-believe-it rapid ascent in Lady DG's dress shop and her love life (which always seemed a little slap-dash to me), and the sort-of following of the White Star trial. Oh, and there's a reporter and some suffragette stuff thrown in for good measure. It was all a bit to hodge-podge, jumping POVs, didn't have any roots kind of a thing for me, though there seem to be more than a few glowing reviews on the books' page. 2.5 stars
p.s. If you read JaneSteen's review on the book page, it's what I wanted to write but couldn't. She's spot on.

I'm a bit torn on a book and don't know what to do. I'm listening to Wicked, and am halfway through, but it's not something I really care to finish right now. I mean, it's interesting, and I could easily just leave the cd's on while I'm working at home to get it finished, but... I kind of don't want to. Nothing against the book, I'm just not feeling it. I don't know - what do you guys think? Should I hang in there and it'll be great?

Book 68: When I Were a Meerkat by Andrew Davies

One of my friends (and former co-workers) leant me this book - we called another co-worker a meerkat since she'd pop up out of her cubicle at every sound to see what was going on. Mean, perhaps, but still accurate and funny. This was such a cute book, and I loved the Welsh-esque language. Now all I have to do is find the other two books When I Were A Nipper and When I Were a Lad! 4 stars

And, I've decided to give up on Wicked - it's an enjoyable book, but bad timing. I'll put it back on my shelf to be picked up at a later date - maybe after I've read a few original Oz books?

Did you ever catch that TV series about the meerkats (Discovery Channel maybe)? They are fascinating.

Only bits and pieces, and most of the time I giggled through it, giving my own narration. (It was on when the whole meerkat-coworker thing started.) I should go back now and watch it though, I'm sure it was an excellent series. Thanks for the (inadvertent) reminder!

Oooo I hate it when I get a bad ER book. The Dressmaker sounded like it had promise. I can tell I wouldn't like it either from what you said.

At least I didn't cause some damage to your TBR heap, right?!?!

Book 69: The Anglo Files: A Field Guide to the British by Sarah Lyall

To quote from the back of the book, this "part anthropological field study, part memoir" was a great read. Funny, slightly biased, and wide-ranging in topics ( from sex to parliament to hedgehog lovers to the rapid changing of the consumer culture), Sarah's "outsider" observations as a New Yorker who married an Englishman are seemingly spot-on. I learned quite a bit about Britains that I didn't know before - or rather, I learned more details about things I already knew a little of. Like what life is like in boarding schools (freezing and horrible), that the seemingly constant interior darkness in English houses is something of a hold-over from post-War times (just this morning I was wondering why I could hardly see what the hell was going on in Midsomer Murders - the latest in a long string of dark shows/movies), and the extent of how childish and mis-behaving members of Parliament can be (disgustingly and shockingly so). It's a wonderful book, and if you're an Anglophile like I am, I highly recommend this book. (I listened to the audio version, and the narrator did an excellent job.) I also have the paperback version and when I got home each night, I'd go back and read the footnotes that aren't narrated - they're great! 4.25 stars

is interesting to see an outsiders point of view so I may track that down

Hi Laura! I found and starred this thread. I'm intrigued by your stalled category - very brave. Do you know which book you'll pick for this?

The Anglo Files looks like great fun. I'll definitely add that to my nonfiction list. :)

Hello to all! psutto, I hope you like it when you get a chance to read it. And Andrea, I'm sure you'll like it!

Kerri - that's one category that I'm kind of dreading. I have over a dozen book to choose from, and right now I'm leaning towards finishing Armadale by Wilkie Collins. It was a bookclub pick a few years ago and we went to see the play based on the book for our meeting, so I already know what happens (fairly loosely if nothing else). But the book is enormous (818 pages, not including notes & things) and I'm on page 118 - a challenge if ever there was one. I might chicken out and pick Out of Africa instead since it's shorter and I'm halfway through it, but I'm hoping I can ignore my qualms and finish Armadale. I really liked it, and like reading Collins in general, but b/c of its size and the fact that we were supposed to read it in a month I never got a chance to finish it. I'm hoping that this is the year to check it off of my TBR list!

>120 LauraBrook: Will you be picking it up where you left off you think, or will you start over?

I'll pick up where I left off. Even if it takes me a few pages to remember (or I have to go back a few pages to recall what's going on) it's 100+ pages that I don't have to read again! I'm lazy, and I'm in the middle of so many books that I'll take whatever kind of leg up that I can get. :)

#120 - I've been hearing a lot about Wilkie Collins (mostly The Woman in White), but haven't read him yet. Maybe there's a chapter by chapter summary somewhere that you could use to catch up. Good luck!

Oooh, good thought! Then I'd have to make myself stop reading the summary! ;) The first book I read by him was The Law and The Lady (I think it's the first book to feature a female lead in a mystery), and I was impressed by how readable it was and how good it was. When someone is a contemporary and friend of Dickens, you never know how similar they're going to be. Not that I dislike Dickens, far from it, but he's not a very easy read sometimes.

Armadale looks intriguing so I may attempt that one sometime after I tackle The Woman in White which I plan on reading next year.

I've had The Anglo Files on the wishlist for a long time now and I just saw that my library carries the audioversion - definitely picking that up!

We have a meercat in my office as well!! She pops her head up every time anyone talks about anything and also if there's cake around. :)

Lori, I hope you like Collins! It seems like he's getting more well-known lately, always a good thing in my book.

Woot! Eva, I think you'll like Anglo Files. And, I love your co-worker - cake turns a lot of people in meercats!

Book 70: The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

My first DiCamillo, but certainly not my last. This sweet story with pitch-perfect illustrations was just what I needed to help shake me out of my reading rut. Full of flawed characters and loss and longing and hope, though everything seems like it won't work out, in the end it does. 4.25 stars

Book 71: Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

I really liked this book. I've been reading her blog (thebloggess.com) for years, and while she's warped and crazy and curses like a sailor, she's also honest and funny and heartwarming and sincere - she's totally her own person. Reading the book helped me to understand her life (her stories of growing up always seemed so heightened on her blog that I didn't quite believe them - now I do, 100%), and the inclusion of pictures was a great extra. I'm passing this book on to all of my Bloggess-loving friends. 4 stars.

p.s. If you can find the audio book, Jenny reads it herself, footnotes and all. Plus, there's a bonus chapter that was cut from the book, and about 15 minutes of her out-takes, talking to the people in the booth and being her random self. It's great.

p.p.s. I'd forgotten all about Jams until she brought them up - thanks for that, Jenny. :)

I've also read a few Edgar Allen Poe stories for a bookclub (don't think I really like him so much any more), and read part of 44 Scotland Street before giving it up. A whole lot of nothing happened in 60-some pages and I didn't feel like forcing myself to get invested. So I didn't.

I'm glad you're out of your reading rut. Those things are terrible.

I read The Bloggess, too! I would not like to have any taxidermied animals, clothed or unclothed, in my house!

We're in agreement with the taxidermied animals. Though hers always seem less creepy than humorous. My parents have a stuffed owl that my great-grandfather shot. I used to be scared of it when I was small, thinking that its glass eyes were following me as I went up the stairs. Now I'm so used to it I don't notice it at my parents house.

I have The Magician's Elephant on my list for sometime later this month. I've read some of her other books, but still glad to hear this one is good too.

I love the Blogess, so I'll have to pick up her book. It sounds really great. :)

Am I the only one who's never heard of The Bloggess? *goes off to check out the blog* :)

The Magician's Elephant is great, and if you like the blog at The Bloggess, you'll love the book!

Book 72: Leviathan by Scott Westerfield

I think I missed something by not reading a physical copy. I'd be perfectly fine never hearing certain words/phrases again ("Barking spiders!", "bumrag", "blisters!"). Alan Cumming did an outstanding job, don't get me wrong, but some things just constantly jumped out at me while I was listening. The story was interesting, and I enjoyed the book, but it wasn't as fantastic as I thought it would be. 3.5 stars, and when I read the next in the series, I'll be reading a real copy.

I don't remember those phrases sticking out in the text, so this is clearly an instance when the audio doesn't work. But even worse, you're missing the illustrations - those are sometimes the best bits. I almost wonder why they bother - although listening to Alan Cummings reading could be reason enough. :) The worst case I've come across is when they made Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children into an audiobook - the photos are the whole point of the story!!

I agree with Eva, the illustrations are gorgeous and are definitely not to be missed, so the physical copy is definitely the way to go.

#133 - Sorry you didn't quite enjoy the book, but thank you for letting me know that Alan Cumming narrates audiobooks!! I'm off to do a search on audible.

I know, I was such a dope to not get an actual copy. I just got all excited when I saw Alan's name as narrator, so I impulse bought it on audible. Dagnabbit! I think when I'm at the library next I'll grab a real copy and see what I missed out on.

Can't believe Miss Peregrine was an audiobook - that just seems like all kinds of wrong.

I've heard he narrates Macbeth: A Novel. I've got that on my wish list.

Oooh, he does (also on my wishlist), and he narrates (at least partially) the newest audio version of Dracula. It's got a red and black cover. I'm always so glad to see him when he introduces Masterpiece Mystery, and having him read to me while driving around made the time a little cheerier. :)

Sorry to learn the audiobook experience of Leviathan was a letdown..... the terms you mentioned don't have the same predominant effect when reading it so I think it was the emphasis provided by the reader that would have made those terms stand out so prominently. Now I am saddened that your Leviathan experience was possibly impacted by the reader and not the story itself.

Ooh, need to look into Cummings' Dracula!! That sounds like it could be great!!

I forgot to pick up Leviathan and Dandelion Wine at the library yesterday :( but will make a point to do so when I go back early this week. Somehow I requested a CD on Friday and was #15 on the waitlist and yesterday it was "in transit" - ???? Strange how that works sometimes.

Book 73: World War Z by Max Brooks

I almost gave up on this book. I couldn't find a smooth reading style, it was always jerky and halting, and after 50 pages I was ready to throw in the towel. However, Mark (msf59) encouraged me to keep going, and I'm glad he did! Now I'm not a zombie-type person, and I bought the book last year simply b/c of all of my fellow LTers gushing about it, and when I joined a new bookclub a few months ago (yes, I am crazy) I chose this to read for a couple of reasons. One was that I thought that I'd never really pick this up on my own, and the other was that no one in this new club would have picked this book otherwise either. Aside from one person (who can't stand interview-style writing), we all loved it! The amount of research that Brooks put into this is amazing, it's so real, and well-written, that once I stopped trying to read this book as fiction and instead read it as fact, the pages flew by. The only quibble I have with it is the sheer amount of characters can be confusing. But, the greatness of the novel is the amount of characters and therefore all of the stories and POVs they have. If you haven't read this, please do so. 4 stars

Book 74: Evan Only Knows by Rhys Bowen

The seventh in the Evan Evans series, this was another great installment. This time around Evan and his fiancee Bronwen escape their small North Wales town to take a trip and meet their respective parents for the first time. However, when they arrive in Evan's hometown of Swansea, the kid who shot and killed Evan's father is up for killing a young girl. What starts out as Evan having a quick chat with this kid leads to his unofficial involvement in both the current murder investigation (he doesn't think the kid really did the crime this time) and in to his father's murder. Fun, funny, and interesting, I'm sad to be nearing the end of the series. 4 stars

Book 75: The Golden Pencil by W. F. Hertel

Terrible. With an innocuous cover, I bought this book in the kids section of my library sale some time last year. A short story collection, I thought "hey, why hasn't anyone bought this, it could be interesting", and picked it up. Well, yikes. Each story is fairly ridiculous, and Jesus and His Might and Power seem to feature largely into the punishment of a child in each story. Example - in "Humpy", and little girl with a hunchback doesn't like being picked on by all of the bullies in her class. So when her one friend and protector cannot come with her and the other children to pick berries on their way home from school, she tells herself that she will be okay and that Jesus will protect her. Well, the bully, Bob, ruins her basket, takes and smashes whatever she has picked, and mildly beats her up. Instead of coming home w/o food, she stays out in the (inevitable) rainstorm to pick whatever meager amount she can, comes home, and gets incredibly sick. Bob starts to feel a little bad, the girls' friend asks Bob why he did it and didn't he know that Jesus could see everything he did and what if she dies, so Bob, filled with guilt, takes his allowance to buy a new basket, fills it with berries, takes it to her house and gives it to the girls Mom. He comes back later, after talking to his pastor, to talk to the little girl, and peace comes to his heart and he's forgiven by the girl. You'd think that's the end, right? Wrong. "And peace came to the heart of the little hunchback. In the night her tired soul climbed the golden ladder and is now playing in the sunny meadow at peace with the world, for the healing hand of the Master had touched her. The hillside cemetery above the village has one grave on which the roses are never missing. Such roses are found only in the garden of Bob's home." Umm, what? That's a terrible ending! All in all, depressing and ridiculous. 1 star
p.s. This book doesn't seem to exist anywhere at all, on any website. I'm really not surprised, and I don't feel guilty sending this book to the great big recycling plant in the sky.

Book 76: Holly's Inbox: Scandal in the City by Holly Denham

The last in the Holly series (is 2 books a series?), this wasn't as fun as the first was. Holly is still working at reception, and is with Toby, her boyfriend whom she got together with at the end of the previous book. She gets offered a trial managerial position, drama ensues with a nasty co-worker and with her boyfriend, her parents and granny are crazy as ever... really, it's just a continuation of the first book. If you liked that, then you'll like this one, only maybe slightly less. 3 stars

>Book 75. Are you sure it shouldn't rather be W.T.F!? Hertel? From your description this sounds like the worst kind of condesending crap behind a thin veil of sympathy. Just describing a child as "the little hunchback" (as if her handicap is what she is) is offensive to me. Good review of what sounds like a horrible read.

Aren't you glad some innocent child didn't pick this up instead?

Thanks for the review on World War Z. I picked it up at a library book sale. I'm looking forward to it.

I'm glad you were able to get into WWZ, because I'm rather fond of it. Like you, I loved the research that went into it and I really appreciated that it was told from the point of view of people of different nationalities, rather than being U.K. or U.S. centric, like so many zombie books. It made the zombie apocalypse seem almost possible and the news style was quite engaging.

I've heard they are working on a movie version of the book, but I'm not that excited at this point, because I've also heard that it's going to be focused on one small area -- Scotland -- which pretty much destroys the internationality of it, making it just like every other zombie movie out there. (If I'm wrong about that, then I'd be very happy.)

"the great big recycling plant in the sky"

Yes, please, don't pass that one on to a human! That sounds just terrible.

Apparantly he's at least not contemporary: http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/tc&CISOPTR=40473&am...

Hah! Anders, WTF Hertel would be much more apt. And thanks for the extra research on him too. If he was contemporary, I'd be even more scared for the state of the world than I already am. :)

Honestly, you guys, I can't believe how awful that book was in many many ways, but briefly skimming the bio on the link Anders has in the above message, it totally fits him. *shudder* I don't think I would have made it to the age of 20, let alone 34, without accusations of "Witch!" at the very least being hurled my way.

Andrea, thanks for the movie info. I knew they were going to make one, but didn't know anything else about it. I agree, if they localize it to only Scotland, that does the book a big disservice. Poop on them.

sometimes bad books spawn the best reviews so thanks for the WTF Hertel review!

142> Hertel's book sounds like a cross between the horrible pseudo-ethical crap in the McGuffey readers and the social Darwinism of Herbert Spencer's "survival of the fittest." Of course the little hunchback must die.

All in all, I'd rather read Jacoby's Freethinkers. And, actually, I am....

Hi psutto! You're welcome!

OMG, HI RENEE! Was just thinking about you at work this morning (unrelated, and don't worry). And, of course you're reading Freethinkers. :) Have you started on Romola yet?

Book 77: Niagara Falls: An Intimate Portrait by John Grant

I've been thinking about Niagara Falls for a few months now, for whatever reason, and wanted to learn a little more about it. My most recent library visit produced this book, which I picked up solely because the pictures were so nice. This is a companion book to the PBS special (which I now have to try and find), and while it's full of information, somehow it wasn't quite what I was looking for. Nothing wrong with it, but it didn't "scratch the itch" I have for information. If you're interested in the Falls, certainly pick this book up (the photos of wire walkers cooking on a stove and doing their laundry are worth the price of admission) - it's the People Magazine of N.F. info. 3.5 stars

Book 78: Harry Lipkin, Private Eye by Barry Fantoni

He's a man who's not afraid of anything - not even a cup of caffeinated coffee at midnight. He's Harry Lipkin, the world's oldest private detective. His client wants to know who is stealing precious objects from her, and the cast of suspects is fairly typical (butler, maid, chef, chauffeur, etc). Using his contacts from his years on the force, Harry investigates whodunit, throughout 200 enjoyable pages. He's a great character, and while the culprit was not a surprise to me, I'm so glad that I got to know Mr. Lipkin. I'm recommending this to all of my mystery-loving friends. 3.5 stars (I won this through the ER program.)

(I realize that my copy is an ARC, and that typos and things are to be expected. But this was by far the worst I've seen, with mistakes on nearly every page - one page had 5 errors alone! I didn't correct them along the way like I usually do, and I'm glad I didn't start, I'd never have finished the book so quickly!)

OMG! I hope they fixed those errors! Most uncorrected proofs are better than that, but it sounds like it was worth it, even if you winced a bit while fighting the urge to pick up a red pen. Was it a small press book? I've heard some of the small presses are saving money by making it the author's responsibility/option to hire a proofreader. Aiyee! Not a great way to save money.

I was looking at Harry Lipkin when it came out on ER, but with my precipitous Mt. TBR, I skipped it and it sounds like that was a good idea - I don't mind some typos in an ARC, but there's a point where I start paying more attention to the errors than the story. I'll get in the queue for the final copy at the library instead. :)

Hi ladies - it's definitely worth a read, a nice little enjoyable mystery - and I sincerely hope that they've fixed the errors in the final pub copy. It's a good choice for a library book, I don't think you necessarily should run out and buy it. The comparisons to Alexander McCall Smith are appropriate, though more happens in Harry than in any Smith book that I've read. The publisher is Doubleday, and I'm pretty sure I've read ARCs from them before without this problem. Bummer. I'd really like to work as a proofreader/editor on a part-time basis, and while I don't have the 3-5 years experience that's apparently needed to get hired in that area, I do find and fix mistakes in nearly every printed format. 2 weeks ago I corrected a 10 year old library book 4 times. I've been known to carry a fine-tipped Sharpie with me to correct menus and the like. I think I've got a pretty good eye for that kind of thing, and if there are people out there missing stuff like what's in this ARC, I'd be a shoe-in! *sigh* /rant

Okay, I've gotta dash - a friend and co-worker is coming over to my house to give me a massage, and I haven't set anything up yet! I'm really really excited, it's been far too long since I've had a decent massage. See you all later!

Excessive typos are maddening! I haven't had too many problems with ARCs, but I've had problems with older books that are converted to ebooks using optical character recognition software and then apparently not properly copy-edited by the publishers! Because of this, I've made a point to only purchase recently published books in ebook format.

152> Been carrying it with me, but haven't been reading anything lately. Too hot. Too busy with cats. Working both jobs. Coworker's last day is Friday, so I have to find cardamom to make pulla bread. Was going to make aebleskivers, but changed my mind.

156> Doubleday is part of Random House. If anybody's got the money for proofreaders, it oughta be them. Of course, maybe that's why they've got money....

Hadn't thought about that Kerri, but will keep it in mind if I ever get an e-reader. :) Have fun at the ALA!

Renee are you working at OWW in the heat? Yikes, I think I'd faint pretty fast. Hope things are calming down a bit for you! You may be right about why they have money, if that's the case. Surely, proofreaders don't cost that much?!?!?!? I need to start cracking on Romola if I want to have a prayer of finishing it in time. :)

Book 79: Tale As Old As Time: The Art and Making of Beauty & The Beast by Charles Solomon

I loved this book. "Beauty & The Beast" is my favorite Disney movie, and considering what a Disney Nerd I used to be, that's really saying something! It details everything about how the movie was made - from how staffing changes affected (effected? always get that one wrong, my one grammatical hangup) the plot, to the various incarnations of each character and setting, it's got everything you could want in a book about the movie. Plus, it's got wonderfully oversized pictures of stills and backgrounds. Let's just say this is firmly on my wishlist! 4.5 stars

Book 80: Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Yep, I read it. I kept reading reviews about how awful the writing was, and that the plot was non-existent, blah blah blah, so my expectations were as low as you could get. Maybe it was because of that that I don't think the book is that terrible. No, it's not the best writing in the world, but it's readable and I've read worse, the plot is a little thin, but things move along. And yes, there's a fair amount of BDSM sex, but since that doesn't "do it" for me, I could skim for pages at a time. In all, I'm guessing I spent maybe 4 or 5 hours reading the whole thing. Do I think these characters are ridiculous? YES. Do I think this should be qualified as a romance? Um, no. But will I read the next two books to see what happens? Yes, I will. I'm curious to see what kind of "dark troubles" Christian has, and if Ana will ever grow the hell up. There probably won't be any real surprises in store, but since they're easy to read, I can pound these out (pun intended) in a couple of days. 2 stars. (I might have given it three, after the whole "Gigli" effect - all I heard was how awful it was, so a friend and I watched that and that Kelly Clarkson Justin Whatever movie and after that atrocity, "Gigli" should have gotten an Oscar in both of our opinions - but on a little consideration, 2 stars sounds right.)

I've read all the negative reviews about 50 Shades, too, but I'm going to have to read it regardless, because my sisters and friends are in love with it (they like the sex and the "romance"). I'm sure I'll have about the same reaction you had. My expectations are low, and I'm expecting a quite and possibly fun read.

As an interesting side note, my sister has met people who live these kinds of sub-dom relationships, and apparently these kinds of contracts are very real things. The whole contract thing (along with the whole innocent virgin thing) was one of the things that's sounded completely ridiculous when I first heard about it. But now that I know they do exist in life... I'm feeling a little less critical of the idea.

I noticed a woman at the airport buying the book. It seemed to me that her eyes were shifting to make sure no one she knew was around.

LOL - I saw it at the airport too! Who wants to sit next to the person who's reading that on a plane?!? :)

Haha. I think if I saw someone reading 50 Shades in public, I would try to make eye contact, so I could wink and nod, a kind of I-know-what-you're-reading look, just so I can see their blush.

I thought that was why you'd get en ereader - so that nobody would know you're reading a "shamey" book. :)

The moms I watch soccer practice with were all openly talking about it. I think part of the allure is that it's an acceptable book to own -- which, however badly it's written (and I haven't gotten past the first fifty pages), can only be a good thing.

Some of my really good friends ADORED this series (readers and non-readers alike) and couldn't read them fast enough, so I had to find out for myself what all the talk was about. While on the one hand I think it's great that people are reading physical copies so openly (who cares who is reading what? plus, I like the nosy-ness of it too), I'm also a little surprised/shocked when I see it (they're really okay with everyone knowing they're reading a "BDSM light" book?!?). And I agree with Alison, I'm just glad that it's got people reading more. Though I have to say that if I was near someone on the plane reading the books and we hit turbulence.... yikes, and no thank you very much.

Had a fantastic lunch today with Mark (msf59) and Sue at The Wicked Hop! Hardly any book talk (I know - shocking!), wonderful conversation, great weather - the highlight of my week!

I had to Pearl Rule a book this afternoon - Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James. I listened to the first 2 CDs (of 13) and I just didn't care about any of it. Not that it was bad, necessarily, just that it didn't hold my attention at all. In fact, I couldn't tell you anything about it! So back to the library it goes. The only "problem" is, I now don't have any picks for half of one of my categories. I need to start bugging my friend Nan for more selections. My friend Jenna (the other half of the book pickers) has given me another 4 picks just in case, but I'd at least like to read a couple of books that Nan chooses for me. If I can't get anything out of her (which is really surprising, given that she's a Super Reader and worked at B&N for years so is willing to rec dozens of books to strangers - I've seen it live and in person), I'll just read some of the books she's given me as gifts. That's pretty close to her picking titles for me, right? Hope so, could use the shelf space.

I've got a client coming over at 7:30 tonight and should be picking up a little more around this place, maybe doing some laundry - instead, I'm on Facebook (a true rarity) eagerly waiting for wedding pics from one of my BFF's. She got married a couple of hours ago in Jamaica, and since I couldn't get there, it's the next best thing!

Just chiming in on the Fifty Shades talk, since I jumped in the band wagon too :) I like the fact that's its so popular and openly read. Nothing to do with its literary value its nice and refreshing to see erotica loose its murky reputation :-) I saw it stacked up in the supermarket aisles the other day (it didn't sell any other books) which was amusing and it would be amusing if anyone tried to read it over your shoulder!

Ok admit I bought an ebook version but then I am a reserved English sort of person.. (oh and yes I liked the 1st book, 2nd.. meh)

I have seen someone read it on the plane but think getting a nod and a wink from a man wouldn't send the same message? ;-)

its been on the BBC today as well:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18576914

Hah. Yeah, people might take a wink and a nod from a gent a little differently. lol.

Great article though. I like seeing how different people perceive this sort of thing.

"The giggly sort, not the type who would normally read a book."

That was funny!!

Pearl Rule? Not sure what that means. By the context, it sounds like it means a "did not finish" kind of thing.

Nancy Pearl's rule for dumping a book if it doesn't grab your attention after the first 50 pages or so.

I've heard a rule about 200 pages minus your age. The older you get, the less time you have to "waste" on a book that doesn't fit you. :)

Oh, I like the book dumping rules. Nice!

I don't know, I don't think there should be a rule specifying the number of pages. It took me a good 200 pages to get into AS Byatt's Possession, and that was well worth it. Other books, I've known they weren't worth reading by the second chapter. Once I knew it was bad by the second paragraph, but it was an Early Reviewer book so I read the whole thing, only to agree with my initial reaction.

Just, a bad book is a bad book and wasting the time to read 50 pages is time lost. Other books, often older books or ones that are experimenting with how they say things, can be challenging and difficult and frustrating, but end up worth the effort, like Umberto Eco or David Foster Wallace or Xenophon.

Sometimes if I don't like a book, I'll just give up, guilt-free. But when I'm not sure which way to go (and for no real reason, I can't or don't want to admit that I truly don't want to finish it but I feel like I should) I use the Pearl Rule. Then, I don't have any guilt. Of course, this probably makes me a nutjob, but I'm okay with that label. :)

I agree with Alison, there are books out there that take a little time to get in to, and there are some that are "bad" straight away and don't get any better. But there are also a few that are just middle-of-the-road for whatever reason, and those are the ones I often have guilt about and worry over either abandoning or pushing through. I don't use the Pearl Rule that often, but I'm glad that I know about it to save me the appearance of any gray hairs. They can stay away for as long as possible.

It is very rare that I don't finish something. And when I do, I think about it for ages afterwards and usually end up finding a copy and finishing. I find that there are just some books that I am not in the mood for at the time but I just know that they are probably worth the effort so I try again later. Of course, there are others that start off bad and just get worse but even those I tend to read to the end in the hopes that there is something redemning about them (there never is).

Yeah, I tend to hold on and soldier through the "middle of the road" books. Even if a book is boring plot wise, I'll keep reading if the writing style is compelling (as I'm sure is the case with a writer like Umberto Eco).

Usually, if I quit a book, it's of the sort that I don't feel bad about quitting.

If I quit a book, I do try to give it one more chance later, just in case it's a mood thing. I have gotten a lot better(?) at giving up books that don't entice me (unless it's a "should-read") - there are just too many books in the world I want to read and time is running out (to get a bit morbid about it...). :)

I'm really good at stopping books part-way through, and leaving them for weeks/months to then pick them up again where I left off. Weird. Some books I do hang on to to try again later, thinking that it's just bad timing, but every once in a while I get a book that I don't like and don't want to deal with hanging onto "just in case". My house is crazy-full of stuff "just in case", mostly from my Grandparents (the basement looks nearly exactly like it did when my Grandfather died ... the year before I was born), and since I'm working on the house, the least I can do is not keep every book that I've got. If I had more space and/or less books (eep!) I'd LOVE to be able to keep everything. But, especially with Death Comes to Pemberley, I'd read so many "meh" reviews and friends of mine who read it weren't thrilled with it, so this one can wait a year or 10 before I revisit it.

I'm hosting a very casual July 3 - 5 read-a-thon over in the 75 group, if anyone wants to join in! I don't have any plans for the holiday, and what better way to spend time off than with a book in my hand! Hope to see you guys there! Here's the link: http://www.librarything.com/topic/139076

Count me in, Laura.

Alas, I have off only on the 4th but I think it's going to be really quiet and slow on the 3rd and the 5th.

I only have the 4th off as well. I am hoping to get some reading done. I may not be able to spend the entire day reading (although if the temps continue in the 100s, I would probably prefer that to cooking out).

Yay, two more L's are joining in, even if it's just for a bit! And agreed, if it's still in the hundreds temp-wise I doubt I'll be doing anything more than laying around in air conditioning, reading and taking naps. Maybe I'll be brave and dash outside to throw water on plants while the sun is still up, but that's it!

I have the 4th off from work as well and the plan is to spend the whole day in my jammies, reading books! :)

159> I'm at the museum one day a week. Right now the only dress they had that fit me is light wool and lined. Add that to the corset and chemise and petticoat and drawers and apron and stockings ....

Last time I worked they didn't have me cook. Not sure if that was to keep me from heat exhaustion, or because there are fire bans thanks to the lack of rain. I did spend some time outside watering the pig and working in the gardens.

Time before that I had to mix and bake three loaves of bread. Woodstove and bake oven both going. It was a bit cooler that day, though.

Still having a hard time reading. Not just the heat. I'm reading All Other Nights for historical book group and an historical error made me say "oh, sh*t" early on. And it wasn't even a detail that would be hard to check. After the discussion on proofreaders it made me check to see who published it: W.W. Norton. I found the author note irritating, too. I don't even want to finish the book.

I doubt I'll have Eliot's Romola done for Friday. I turned to Ferney by James Long to avoid the Dara Horn book. I haven't sent the book group reminders yet, nor the writing group reminder, and my e-mailbox is about to explode. It's Sunday evening so it's British TV on PBS.

And Mike and Emma won't play nice together. Mike's twice her size but she still sends him running when she hisses and swipes at him. I close him in the spare bedroom whenever I'm not home. I'm going to look into a pheromone diffuser to see if that will calm them down.

How are you doing with Romola? Will it be part of your July 3rd?

This link about the life cycle of a book came through one of my historical fiction listservs.

Woo hoo for 4th of July reading!

Renee, how are you holding up in the heat this week at OWW? Thinking about you, hope you stay safe and don't pass out!

I doubt I'll have Romola done for Friday either. It sounds really interesting, but I have a bad track record with Eliot, so I don't think I'll get very far. The book will for sure be part of my July 3rd 'thon, probably where I'll get most of my reading done for the week - the rest of my non-working time will be split between eBaying and searching for jobs. See you on Friday!

I've got a few books that I've finished and need to be put here, but I'm pooped and I hear ice cream calling my name, so I'm logging off for the night. See you guys tomorrow at noon for the read-a-thon!

Slowly but surely catching up on three week's worth of threads... Re: being seen in public with racy literature: I still remember the dread of reading Kathy Acker on the tram when those full page drawings of vaginas and penises suddenly showed up and seemed impossible to flip away - they just kept on and on an and on! I read The story of O a couple of years ago, and with that cover it stayed firmly at home. Even with only a tie on the cover, I am way too shy about it to be seen in public with a book like Shades of Grey, should I read it. Then again, as someone who isn't necessarily a stranger to a bit of BDSM erotica, I think I'd be more intrigued than apalled to see someone else read it in public. We'll see how it goes - I'm sure a Swedish translation is upcoming!

Hi Laura - I hope the read-a-thon was successful! Have a lovely holiday!

#188 - Ha! I think I have the Kathy Acker novel you speak of, but I haven't read it yet. Thanks for the warning.

Hi Anders! You did an AMAZING job at the fotrally! Some nice reading time is in order, I think. :) And, thanks for your thoughts on reading racy lit in public - can't imagine reading that book on the tram! Yikes!

Hi Kerri! I've never heard of Kathy Acker before both you and Anders mentioned her. Perhaps a little investigating is in order? One of my best friends is in love and obsessed with the Grey books and wants to keep reading similar things once she's done with them. (She is not really a reader, so I'll encourage anything that involves her and a book.) Do either of you - or anyone else out there - know of anything similar? I've seen ads for Bared To You and that it's similar, and someone else rec'd the Summer trilogy by Summer Daniels, but that's only available on Kindle (which she doesn't have). I'll take whatever you guys have and hand it over to her. Thanks in advance!

#190 - Kathy Acker is post-modern bizarro-ness, so I'm thinking it might not be what your friend is looking for. Honestly, the only really racy thing I've read is that Anais Nin book, and that's old, but from what I remember, it's pretty racy - Delta of Venus.

Yeah, yikes, I doubt Kathy Acker would be her cup of tea at all. I'll add Delta of Venus to her list, though. Thanks!

I agree with DorsVenabili. Kathy Acker is absolutely not something to give to someone who doesn't read books. I agree with the Anais Nin suggestion - but those are really erotic scetches rather than stories per se. If it's the whole dom-sub romance thing your friend likes, then I'd say it's not necessarily a fit. A BDSM classic is Venus in furs by Sacher-Masoch (the author's name is why it's called "masochism"), but it's more interesting than hot. The story of O takes hedonistic slavery to the next level, but might be too strong for your friend. Hm. I'm sure there are people much more well read in light dom-sub erotica who could give you less literary and more flirty titles. Perhaps over at the erotica group?

Thanks for the feedback Anders - and duh! I didn't realize there was an erotica group here. I'll mosey over there and see what they have to say....

Okay, still haven't mosied over to the erotica group, but OMG, look what I picked up today!!!!!!



I have to do some updating here ( I finished 4 books during the read-a-thon yesterday, and have a few others that never made it to LT), but I think I need to get some serious reading time in my new book!

Haven't read the "grey" books, and don't have plans to, but would suggest the books Anne Rice wrote as A.N. Roquelaure: The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, Beauty's Punishment, and Beauty's Release. She may also want to look at the books of Thea Devine.

Bared To You by Sylvia Day is *clearly* intended to compete for "grey" readers - just look at the cover. Have not read any Lora Leigh, Maya Banks, or Shayla Black, but they may be worth a look, especially if she requires contemporary fiction.

Did read Menage by Emma Holly, as well as her historicals Beyond Innocence and Beyond Seduction. Liked all three, as well as books by Robin Schone: Awaken, My Love, The Lady's Tutor, Gabriel's Woman, and The Lover. I also enjoyed The Portrait by Megan Chance.

Of course, for your friend who isn't the reader but did enjoy the "grey" books, the question might be *what* did she like about them? The explicitness, the intensity, the alternate lifestyle? She may want to read the original Stephenie Meyer series, instead.

Thanks for worrying about me, Laura. Happily, the next day I work at the museum it should be cooler. I just need my apartment to cool off: it's about 97 degrees right now. Mike is panting with his mouth open. I keep tossing him in the tub and putting bags of frozen vegetables on his head. He's probably going to start running when he sees me, soon.

See you tomorrow night. Good luck on the job front.

->195 LauraBrook:
Now, that's a happy face!! :)

Renee, Thanks so much for the rec's! I'll pass them on to G tomorrow night. How is your back? Can you move independently yet? Bookclub was nice, it was just myself, Nan and Jen. Suzanne had to work. We decided that since we hardly talk about books at all anymore, that we'd take turns talking about other books we were reading, and it was really nice! Do you think we could keep that part up? And YAY for cooler weather!

Yes it is, Eva! I'm so excited - the only bad thing is that I have yet to start reading it. My BFF (G, mentioned above) had a question about the end of book two in the Grey series, so I had to read the whole book Thursday afternoon and evening and then I was on a roll to just finish the darn things already. So, I've got about 400 pages left in 3 AND THEN I can finally start Shadow. :D

LOL! A friend read me a passage from one of those Grey-books over the phone and I almost gagged - they are well off my interest-list. :) It's always fun when you find books you just want to mow through, though, isn't it!? Hope you finish soon and get to read the Harkness book instead.

Laura, thanks for asking: the back's better, but not good. Getting lots of advice from people who've had similar issues. Missed two days of work and two book groups. Tomorrow's a day off, so will have more time to heal (when I'm not at vet or grocery store).

As far as I'm concerned, the conversation at book group can range as widely as it wants -- it always does. Not sure y'all will want to hear about _The Rise of the Dairy Industry in Wisconsin: A Study in Agricultural Change, 1820-1920_, though. (Yikes, LT didn't recognize it.)

I only care that what we read remains classics, since it was a classics group I joined. And if everybody else wants to read stuff other than classics, well, then I'd have two book groups instead of three, and would just read on my own. Not a huge deal. What does Nan plan to do, BTW, when she runs out of Josephine Tey?

Picked up Cranford at the library today. I own several by Gaskell, but not that one, I think. I have to figure out where I put The Family Nurse by Lydia Maria Child for my museum book group for August. I'm hoping LT can help tell me where it is based on what else went into the database at the same time....

I know, Eva, they're not really my kind of thing either (lots of eye-rolling happens here at my house), but they're entertaining enough and require hardly any mental work, so... yeah. BTW, have you guys heard the awesome audiobook version? Here it is...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K1RcKJVbHA Makes me laugh just thinking about it.

Hi Renee, glad to hear that your back is improving at the very least. Are you back to work yet? Re: Book Club, there's no way we're changing what we're reading, just trying to incorporate more "book talk" into our, you know, book club. :)

And now on to some randomness - I'm thinking of starting a new blog, and I'm having a hard time finding a good name for it. Here are a few options, let me know what you guys think of them. (And, if they all stink, let me know that too!)

The Copper Peanut
Not Wet Enough (no, Stephen, this is not gross, it's an old inside joke)
Better Late Than
Awkward Anglophile

That's all I've got for now. Thoughts?

Oh, Gilbert... :) Yep, those passages sound like the one my friend read me. Ew. I was disturbed by the abusive relationship in Twilight, so a forced BDSM relationship version would hardly be my thing either. :)

I'd stay away from the "Not Wet Enough" - it will ensure that you'll get a lot of "interesting" SPAM...! :)

Oooh, good point about that name, Eva. Hadn't thought about the SPAM aspect - DUH! Thanks, friend!

I like The Copper Peanut.

I like The Copper Peanut, too. It's eye-catching and makes me want to know more about it.

Time for some quickie reviews...

Book 81: Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James

Better than the first, and I have to admit that I turned off my brain to read this one - I enjoyed it much more than I expected to! The pages flew by, and I'm reading book 3 now. 3 stars

Book 82: I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley

Wonderful, fun, macabre, excellent holiday installment in the Flavia series. Looking forward to book #5! 4.25 stars

Book 83: The Path of the Dream Healer by Adam

Interesting, thought-provoking book that deals with energy work, self-healing and jives with my worldview. Pretty great. 4 stars

Book 84: The West Wing by Edward Gorey

Gorey is just great and this is wonderfully creepy. 4 stars

Book 85: Werewolves of Wisconsin by Andy Fish

A quick, graphic novel of American myths and urban legends. Fun to read and look at, and an ER win to boot! 3.75 stars

Book 86: Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

A sweet book about nothing in particular in small town England, made all the more enjoyable by reading an 1892 copy with illustrations. 4 stars

Book 87: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Simply put, a great novel, one of the best of the year for me. 4.6 stars

Book 88: TroubleMaker 2 by Janet Evanovich

Good, and the graphic novel aspect is fine, but I much prefer reading these in a regular book format. 3 stars

Book 89: Houses of the National Trust by Lydia Greeves

Drool-inducing and made me want to go to the UK even more than I did before, which is really saying something. 4.5 stars

And another DNF - Romola by George Eliot. For some reason, I have a really hard time reading her work. The book sounds very interesting though, so I've saved it to try again at a later point in my life.

Going over my categories, it looks like I could use some work in 4 of them (Stalled, Work It!, Armchair Traveler, and Have To Read). Maybe I should return some of my library books and pick up one of my own instead?!?!?

Houses of the National Trust looks like great eye/brain candy for me! I love all those old stately homes.

Me too! I didn't want to give it back to the library.

Ah, well being stalled on "stalled" makes perfect sense. I'd clean through those books really quickly and take a bunch of them to 1/2 price books. There may have been a reason you quit reading them!

I have to ask how many werewolves there are in Wisconsin. I read a non-fiction book, The Beast of Bray Road, years ago and it was obvious that the author was running out of material to fill up her pages.

Looks like you've had a streak of good books. No wonder the ones from your Work shelf have been lonely. ;)

I think you're right re: the stalled books. There are 3 of them, off the top of my head, that I do want to finish, but the others? (And there are dozens of them.) They can probably be let go of. My Work shelf - ugh, they all should really be read. I've forgotten so many things in my field it's staggering, and I sincerely need a refresher on some basics like correct muscle names (and not the "laypersons" word for them), muscles involved in major joint movement, etc. The weird thing is, for years now I've purposely not read some of these books b/c when I get home from work the last thing I wanted to do was read about work, you know? But now that my schedule has changed so much and I've changed so much too, a revisit is in order. (Note to self: Don't start with a giant book like A Massage Therapist's Guide to Pathology or something - it's too big and overwhelming to read straight through!)

And, as far as I know, there's just the one werewolf in Wisconsin. I picked up that book last year, thumbed through it for a bit and returned it to the library. There isn't a lot to say about it, so I have no idea how much "filler" she could have piled in. I did see an hour-long TV show about mythical American beasts, and they devoted probably 15 minutes to the Beast of Bray Road - that seems like it's the right amount. It's an interesting story, and I don't see why it's not possible. It's one of those "fun" things that are out there in the world - a non-depressing thing that's a distraction from the suckage that is real life sometimes and sparks that imaginative part of ours brains that we have as children and so often lose as jaded adults.

I clearly have been overdosing on mysteries - my brain somehow added the word "forensic" in front of "Pathology" in the title of that massage-book and wondered why anyone would give a dead person a massage.... Oops. :)

Oy and gross to that! Rigor mortis sets in quicker than I expected and it's entirely too creepy for me. Or anyone.

(I realize that that sounds suspiciously disturbing, but when my Grandmother died it was just she and I in the room and I held her hand until the ambulance got here 45 minutes later...yeah, it was already starting to happen.)

Have you read Stiff? About the most eye-opening and amazing book I've ever read about the functions of that body we all schlep around!

#190 I'm a bit behind in the conversation, but your friend may enjoy the 'Sweet Series' by Maya Banks The whole series, (6 books in all), is erotica, with BDSM quite heavily in a couple of the books. But they all have alpha males and they're all laugh out loud funny. Banks is one of my fave authors, never fails to make me laugh.

Yep, I listened to Stiff last year - it was eye-opening and a little stomach-turning - but I didn't connect anything in there to my Grandmother. Yeesh.

Thanks for the rec, cataluna! I'll add it to her list. I wandered over to the Erotica group, and their consensus seemed to be that it was really BDSM Light and not really all that representative of Erotic fiction but they thought that it was a good thing if it got people into trying things in real life and introduced them into the genre. While I'm not sure what it was about the trilogy that she enjoyed so much, I'll just give her a big list of titles and see if she finds anything else she likes. :)

You can chunk up some of those work books and count every 250 or so pages as 1 book, although 250 pages on forensic massage ;0 could read more like 500 pages.

I'd watch 15 minutes about the beast. A whole show? Maybe not.

>201 LauraBrook: Not sure if there are any hidden connotations to Copper Peanut, but I like the ring of it! You seem to be on a reading roll lately. I'm looking forward to starting the Flavia series - they seem like they might be my kind of mysteries!

Blerg.

Yet another long absence on my part. I've been spending far too much computer time on sites like etsy and Pinterest (which I'm sure is sponsored by some kind of Time-Wasting Demon), and I've been thoroughly enjoying my first viewing of The Gilmore Girls! I finished season 4 last night (what a cliffhanger!) and am picking up season 5 in a couple of hours. Oh yeah, and the Olympics! I've been a good chunk of daytime TV hours watching that too. And, because I'm a soppy, sentimental girl, I cried through most of it, in the good way.

I have some potentially good news on the job front - I have an interview tomorrow morning! It's for a part-time editorial assistant at a local publishing company. In a strange twist, just after I hung up from setting up my interview, a friend and client sent me a text. I replied back and asked her if she could cross her fingers for me since I had an interview this week. I told her where it was and what it was for, and she had that exact same job just after she got out of college! She's still friends with people who work there, so she sent one of them an email saying that she knows me and how nice and talented I am. In the 24 hours since then I found out that a different client of mine works there and that my grandmother worked there in the late 70s/early 80s. Crazy, hey?!? I'm trying not to get too hopeful (and trying not to get too nervous), but this is the most promising job that I've applied for in the last decade. If you guys wouldn't mind, could you cross your fingers for me too?

And of course I've gotten a little reading done too. Ready?

Books 90 & 91: Big Stone Gap and Big Cherry Holler by Adriana Trigiani

I really liked BSG and just liked BCH. The main character, Ave Maria, was so scarily like me that I got a little freaked. Fun, easy reading books - I always enjoy Ms. Trigiani! 4 and 3 stars, respectively

Book 92: The English Landscape: Its Character and Diversity by Bill Bryson

In actuality, Bryson only wrote the intro, and the rest of the book is a lovely combination of photographs, maps, and essays on each small part of England written by people, some famous and some not. A beautiful book (though heavy, sheesh!) to sit and dream with. 4.25 stars

Book 93: Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich

I'm so glad that Janet returned to this series, this is such a fun little world she's built (similar to Stephanie Plum's New Jersey, with a little extra spookiness and special abilities thrown in for good measure). This second outing deals with finding the second SALIGIA stone (and sadly I don't remember what that stands for) and lots of laughs are to be had along the way. 4 stars

Book 94: Japan Ai by Aimee Major Steinberger

Similar in style to French Milk, this is an illustrated travel memoir of a trip to Japan by a tall self-proclaimed cute-obsessed nerd and her two friends who are equally nerdy in their own way. Fun and interesting (who knew about Japanese ball-joint dolls and the VOLKS store?!? Not me!), I'm glad I finally checked this one out of the library. 4.5 stars

Book 95: Catch & Release: The Insiders' Guide to Alaska Men by Jane Haigh, Kelley Hegarty Lammers and Patricia Walsh

Funny and really very honest, it was a nice read, though I have to wonder what made my Grandmother purchase this on her last trip to visit my Uncle. Hmm, best not to think about it too much. 3 stars

Book 96: 1900 House by Mark McCrum

Actually, this book was better than the series. I didn't like the family much (lots of whinging) and had to semi-force myself to finish watching it. The book included some world and local history which was very nice, and to see stills of the series was a nice treat. 3 stars

Thankfully this is it, I need to dash off to meet a client! See you all soon!

Fingers crossed. Toes also.

And, yes, Etsy is a time suck. Don't check out Regretsy!

Thanks! And I forgot all about Regretsy! That will be my reward tomorrow when I get home. :)

consider my fingers crossed - good luck!

Fingers Xed for the interview!!!

Oh dear, Regretsy is hilarious!

Ug, the Time-Wating Demons get to me too...

LOVE the Gilmore Girls. My sisters got me addicted and I've seen all the seasons. (Jess is often a jerk, but I think he's my favorite of the boyfriends.)

I'm glad you loved Japan Ai! It's made me kind of obsessed with travel narratives presented as comics (and lead me to read French Milk. Shenzen is another one, but it's more dry, because the author didn't have that great of an experience.

Good luck with your interview! My fingers are crossed and I'm waiving pom-poms in the air, going Woo-woo!!

Don't mean to be potentially mean/offensive, but is 224 a spammer? They don't have any books listed and they joined LT today. Hm.

Thanks for the crossing of fingers and positive thoughts - it went really well! I had 3 computer tests and 2 interviews (1 with an HR lady and the other with the editor) and I think I did a very good job on all of them. Everyone was very nice, especially the editor, and I hardly felt awkward or self-conscious once I got the computer testing out of the way. I didn't ask for a time frame for their decision (duh!) but the job is listed as open to apply for until the end of August, so who knows? I'll keep picturing myself sitting at that desk and I'll know when I know. I'll be sure to keep you guys posted!

Andrea, I think you were the one who turned me on to Japan Ai, probably a couple of years ago now. Thanks, and I've got Shenzen making its library way towards me as I type. :) Do you, or anyone else out there, know of any other books that are that same genre of illustrated travel narratives? I've read Blankets, which is more memoir-y, and French Milk, but that's all that I can recall off the top of my sleep-deprived, adrenaline-come-down-y brain right now.

In other, book-buying, news, I was at the Dollar Store yesterday, in the book aisle looking at envelopes, and somehow a book just jumped into my arms. Crazy how that happens, hey?!? (BTW, it's The White House Garden.)

I wouldn't click any links like that without any introduction. :) Looks spammy to me.

How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less may work for you if you want graphic travel narratives.

I mis-spoke before, Shenzen isn't at my library, it's Pyongyang that is heading in my direction.

And thanks, Eva! I just requested HTUII6DOL, and have flagged that message. :D

227, 228,
Two books added to my TBR list.

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you on the job front too, Laura. It's strange how those books just jump into your arms, isn't it. Happens to me all the time!

Andrea, you're welcome! *evil grin*

Thanks Judy! Those books sure are sneaky little fellows, aren't they?!?

I am late with the initial finger crossing for your interview. The fingers are crossed now for good news on the job front!

I'll take it, Lori! Thanks!

Ah, I didn't realize there were books to go with the 1900 house and the other time periods that they filmed too. Yes, they whined a lot in 1900 house, but they handled it better than manor house or pioneer house - where the guy had his real life employees make him a still to bring along, and then called in a doctor when he began losing weight because he was actually getting exercise for the first time in his life. The best one was the WWII house. I'd read a book on that one.

Good luck on the job! Keep us posted.

Hey Katie! I've seen Manor House (and have the book here too) but didn't make it through Pioneer House, I couldn't stand any of the people. WWII House is still waiting in the wings, but the one I enjoyed the most was Regency House Party. (Of course I have the book.) ;) No word on the job yet, I'll be sending the HR lady an email shortly.

Book 97: A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny

In this second installment of the Inspector Gamache series, we find Gamache simultaneously trying to solve two murders - one of a homeless woman killed on the streets of Montreal and the other of a despicable, selfish b---- who recently made her home in Three Pines and was electrocuted in the middle of a frozen lake - and whether they're related or not. Also, that idiot Agent Nichols reappears.

I don't know why I waited so long to return to this series, it's so enjoyable. As ever, I see more and more of myself in Myrna. (God, I hope that she doesn't turn out to be a horrible person in other books.) Even though it took me a little bit to get back into Ms. Pennys rhythm, once I did, it was hard to break the spell. I cannot believe that Yvette has the gall, or whatever, to come back and join the team, even though she was ordered to. And I have a few questions about why she is the way she is, and about the whole Arnot case, but I'll figure it out in the next book or not. I can't say I blame whodunit in CC's murder, but in Elle's I certainly do - what a twisted, sick individual. A great reading experience, and I already have the third book pulled from my shelves. 4 stars

Book 98: Albert and the Others by Guy DeLisle

This quick, illustrated, no-words book about 26 men and their unreal lives seems almost like a peek into their respective heads. My first DeLisle, certainly not my last. Don't know why I like this so much, but I do. Quirky. 3.5 stars

I tried and failed to read the first Louise Penny book, but the idea that you see yourself in a character has me wishing I liked them.

You're not the only out there who isn't in love with the series, and I'm sure there are fictional characters out there that remind you of yourself. Are there any?

Actually, does anyone out there have fictional characters that remind them of themselves?

ETA: I got an email late this afternoon from the job people - they hired someone else. :( Crap. Looks like I'd better chill that bottle of wine for the night....

Crap. They are idiots who will regret it later.

Thanks, Alison!

Yes, they are idiots and they will regret it later. Here's hoping a better employer snaps you up soon!

Pioneer house was pretty dysfunctional. I can see why you quit watching it.

Oh noes. Enjoy the wine, though, it's their loss.

Sorry you didn't get the job. My mom likes to say, "This or something better." I'm wishing you the something better, on its way, soon.

I'm trying to think of a character I think of myself as, and I don't know. I always feel as though I dive into each character a bit, but more because I want to be like them or find them fascinating rather than seeing myself in them. More often I see myself a bit in the main characters I write rather than the characters I read.

Sorry to see your news on the job. Here is hoping something better comes along soon for you!

Their loss! Better luck soon.

I haven't come across any character that remotely reminds me of myself. Maybe I should just get off my keester and write one! I do wish, as I get older, that I could be as sharp as Miss Marple. Alas, it seems that boat has sailed.

Hello ladies. :) Sorry, haven't been here much lately. Real-life and TV on DVD have kept me away.

My plans for this weekend are:
Today - clean up this house, for real this time, and participate in the readathon
Tomorrow - meet 2 friends for breakfast in the middle of nowhere-ville, work on a client at 1:30, and then more readathoning
Monday - same as today

I'm glad to have some time off when everyone else does, it feels a little more "normal". Plus, I keep starting more books and not picking up the ones I'm already reading, so to avoid the avalanche starting shortly, my focus will be on finishing the ones I've been "currently reading" the longest. Hopefully, I can get some of the 10 library books read and out the door this weekend too, that would help my poor coffee table quite a lot. And, finish up 2 mix CDs for friends (and not spend any $$ at iTunes in the process). Oh yeah, and I should look for jobs too, but I don't want to, and it's depressing, and it's a holiday weekend, and I'm avoiding it like a petulant teen. The deal I made with myself was that I'd have at least 2 days off from job-searching each week, but I really can't afford to hold that deal up any more. *sigh* It just sucks. So, avoidance is the answer!!!!

Remember that you can always recheck those library books out another time! I say, return them and get them off your conscience. Once I had a huge jigsaw puzzle laid out staring at me for months. It nagged and nagged at me until one day it dawned on me that I didn't have to complete it. I felt a huge load had been taken off my back when I brushed all the pieces back into its box. Returning the books might give you a little focus to attempt your job search. Good luck!

Plans for the weekend - cooking and reading and watching telly. Maybe a walk on the beach once it cools off a bit. No cleaning! :)

Great to hear you join us in a "normal" holiday weekend! And, of course, keeping my fingers Xed for the job-situation!

Mamzel, you inspired me - 7 are going back to the library today! I know it's strange, but sometimes I need an "okay" to do the obvious thing. :) The three I'm keeping are a graphic novel, a short YA, and a novel that I'm listening to the audio version of and want to see how far I am. (Plus, if I miss something or have a question, it's easier to flip through the book and catch up than try to backtrack and listen to see what I've missed.) AND, I cancelled a few holds I had on books - I don't need to read them now, and I saved them to my "to read" list on the library website, so I'm good! A small weight is off of my shoulders!

Sounds like you had a good weekend planned, Eva - did it all work out? It was quite nice for a "normal" weekend for me, despite having to work on Sunday afternoon for a couple of hours. Thanks for keeping your fingers crossed for me - I re-start the search this afternoon between my chair massage job and a client at my office. (Doesn't that sound weird, to look for jobs between 2 other ones?!?) Oh well, such is life.

Book 99: Horse, Flower, Bird by Kate Bernheimer

A quirky, melancholic, slightly "off", collection of modern fairy tales. A rec from Richard (years ago!), I'm glad I finally got around to reading it! 4 stars

Book 100: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

There's not much to be said about this book that isn't already out there. In short, I thought it was excellent, a very fine example of narrative non-fiction, and richly deserving of the accolades that it's received. Can't imagine that it wouldn't be that way for most people. (One thing, though, and I hope I don't get in trouble for saying this - the family annoyed me to no end in the last half of the book, and when they weren't annoying me, I was almost holding my breath, waiting for them to annoy me again. Yes, I understand each of their individual viewpoints, and their experiences, and why they felt and thought the way they did, but it still bugged me.) All in all, a great book. 4 stars

Book 101: How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less by Sarah Glidden

A rec from Eva (a totally awesome chick)!!!!! In this graphic novel/travel memoir, Sarah takes a Birthright Israel tour to both understand her Jewish roots and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. What follows is a very honest book about changing emotions and opinions that have her wondering about her beliefs and who she really is. Like Eva said, she doesn't necessarily have a super-great time, but it was a detailed (and wonderfully illustrated/watercolored) look at a modern gals experience in an historic country. Very glad I read it, and I'd recommend it to others who enjoy this kind of book. 4 stars

Off to start my day!

"Doesn't that sound weird, to look for jobs between 2 other ones"
It should be weird, shouldn't it - you're not the only one I know who has to do that, unfortunately.

Yes, I did manage - my holiday was reading, reading, reading, and a bit of cooking. Very relaxing and nice!

Very pleased to hear Glidden's book worked for you!

Hi Laura: I just finished another one of the books you chose for me in my "books chosen by friends" category. This one was the Bill Bryson book about hiking the Appalachian Trail. Loved A Walk in the Woods and now want to track down more of his books.

Earlier, I'd read another one you chose, Peter Lovesey's The Last Detective and really enjoyed that one too.

Your third choice, about Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, is one I'll most likely save for my 2013 music category for the 2013 category challenge.

Thanks for all the great choices!!

Yup Laura - I've got two jobs & really need to get my butt in gear and look for one to replace them. Problem is I really love one of my jobs, but finding another job that supplements the income enough without driving me insane is a problem. Procrastination! I love procrastination!!!

Great review of Henrietta Lacks - and good luck on the job front!

249: Yay for a relaxing holiday, Eva! I think having multiple jobs is the way things will be for more people every year. Sad, but true.

250: Thanks for having so many great books to choose from, Linda! I added quite a few titles to my TBR list courtesy of yours. :) Bryson is one of my favorite authors, I hope you like him just as much as I do!

251: I hear you, Katie! And procrastination has become a fine art in my house, unfortunately. :/ Thanks, and good luck on the job front to you too!

Book 102: Marcus of Umbria by Justine van der Leun

A short and sweet story of a girl in Italy, looking for love and ultimately finding it with a nervous dog, her perfect companion. Nice writing, and a nice story, but nothing I'd jump up and down for everyone to read. 3 stars

Book 103: Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle

A memoir/graphic novel of the authors time spent in North Korea for a job. So many things lately have been pointing me to that country, this being the tail end of a string, though the first that I've read. This was the right place, right time for me to read this book. Excellent illustrations, an interesting experience, and a very unique culture. Recommended - 5 stars

Both 102 & 103 sounds interesting - since I'm adjusting to life with a nervous dog after having a life with a confident dog. As for North Korea, it seems to be the hidden country, so a graphic memoir sounds really appealing.

Marcus seems like half-dog story and half-girl-in-Italy story. Marcus (the dog) is a nervous breed, I think, don't know how much temperament your dog has from the breed or just from personality - just to clarify. And the illustrations in Pyongyang were really evocative of what life was like for him... it all seemed so dark and unpopulated and isolated. I've just pulled Nothing to Envy off of my shelf to continue on my mini-North-Korea theme. Hope you like both of them when you get to them!

I'm sure I will!

Well! I'm coming off of the end of a fairly casual read-a-thon with a friend, and it was mostly a success. I say mostly because I didn't meet one of my goals (to read 100 pages in a certain book I've been reading since July *ahem*), but it was still a good way to spend 24 hours! We started Friday afternoon at J's house, she made potato soup, I brought crusty bread and ice cream, and her sister joined us with veggies and dip. A lot of laughs were had (we all kept reciting lines from "Tommy Boy" and laughing hysterically), and some nice chats, but decent page-turning happened too. Then, the sister and I left around 9:30/10 last night. I came home, prepped and partially cooked the breakfast casserole for today, did some cleaning, and read 50 pages before going to bed at 1:00.

Alarm went off at 6:30 (ugh), and i did more cleaning and breakfast prep. J came over around 8:30, we ate and chatted, and then she did what we were supposed to, and sat and read. Me? Oh, I read for a half hour, then washed a load of dishes, then read for a few minutes, wrote a card and put it in the mailbox, read for another few, then got some coffee, etc. Not so great on the reading today, I can tell you. We ordered Chinese for lunch, tried not to fall asleep, got the fireplace going, and read for a while longer. J left around 3, and I've been reading and putzing ever since. I think I may need a nap (even thought it's 7pm) and I'm hoping to finish another book today. Don't want to stop and play here on LT to update what I've been reading, I think I'd better get back to it (or sleep) and leave that for later tonight or tomorrow. More later....

Hah, sounds like a successful readathon anyway - you're mistake was hosting it at your house. :)

I know, and I read 1 and finished 2 others, so it's not like nothing happened. Hosting at your own house is always a "mistake" - the temptation to screw around and sort things, etc, is too strong when I'm meant to be relaxing and enjoying myself. BUT, if I'm supposed to be doing something else entirely, I'm more than happy to sit for hours and read. *eyeroll* What does that say about me?!? Hope you're having a nice weekend, Katie! Do you guys have a frost warning? I know we have one for tonight.

No - no frost yet, but the heat is on in the house. & I know totally what you mean. I'm great at reading when the dirty laundry pile has grown feet and is wandering through the house growling. Bit if I have to read something, it's another story.