Mamzel's 12 in 2012

To try and come up with a theme for my new thread, I thought of what comes in dozens - eggs. I went through the ex- section of my dictionary and came up with a dozen words then tried to match them with categories. I doubt that I will be able to finish 144 books but I will instead use this format to limit myself to no more than 12 per category. This will be eggs-citing!

I. Eggs-acerbating - books from the piles around my room that have been aggravating me for some time.

1. The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood (2009) ****
-
2. Catilina's Riddle by Steven Saylor (1993) ****½

II. Eggs-asperating - a term frequently ascribed to kids - here used to indicate YA titles.

1. Matched by Ally Condie (2010) ***
2. The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (2011) *****
3. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray (2011) ****
4. Chime by Franny Billingsley (2011) ****
-
5. Ash by Malinda Lo (2009) ***

III. Eggs-cavating - digging for facts in nonfiction books.

1. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall (2009) ****
-
2. Atlantic by Simon Winchester (2010) ****

IV. Eggs-ceeding - books from the best sellers lists that everyone is reading and raving about.

-
1. The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht (2011) ****

V. Eggs-emplifying - classics that have been proven to be wonderful reads.

1. Don't Stop the Carnival by Herman Wouk (1965) ***½

VI. Eggs-hausting - books with more than 500 pages.

1. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (2008) ****

VII. Eggs-huming - murder mysteries.

1. Death Comes to Pemberly by P.D. James (2011) ****
-
2. Roman Book by Steven Saylor (1991) ****

VIII. Eggs-patriates - non-American authors.

1. Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear (2005) ****

IX. Eggs-aminating - ERs and ARCs.

1. The Dogs of War by Lisa Rogak (2011) ER ***
2. Shatter by Michael Robotham (2012) ER ***½

X. Eggs-cruciating - books that had subject matter that made them uncomfortable to read - but worthy.

1. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (2011) ****
-
2. Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History and Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began by Art Spiegelman (1973) and (1986) ****

3. We of Nagasaki by Takashi Nagai (1951) ****

Hahaha! Great idea!

XI. Eggs-stensions - books from series I have been following (please let there be another Temeraire!). edited to add - put a hold on it at the library. Yippee!

1. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley (2011) ****
--
2. The House of the Vestals by Steven Saylor (1997) ****
--
3. Crucible of Gold by Naomi Novik (2012) ***½
4. Roman Blood by Steven Saylor (1991) ****
5. Arms of Nemesis by Steven Saylor (1992) ***½
6. The Venus Throw by Steven Saylor (1995) ****
7. A Murder on the Appian Way by Steven Saylor (1996) ****½
8. Rubicon by Steven Saylor (1999) ****
9. Last Seen in Massilia by Steven Saylor (2000) ****

XII. Eggs-traneous - books that don't fit in another category or are overflows from other categories.

1. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen (2008) ***
-
2. It Gets Better edited by Dan Savage and Terry Miller (2011) ****
--
3. The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi (2009) **** Group Read
4. The Alchemist by Paolo Bacigalupi (2011) ****

Love your themes! Very nice.

Thanks so much! I surprised myself being creative so early this morning.

LOL - very funny categories!!

Welcome to the challenge and congratulations on setting up a good one. I wish you luck and happy reading!

Welcome to the Challenge. Love your creativity!

Love your theme... and agree hope there is another Temeraire. Maybe we should send a message to Naomi Novik here on LT and let her know that we're waiting - (and not patiently LOL)!

Brilliantly creative! Love your categories!

Hi Mamzel and welcome to the challenge. Love your creative categories, and I will be following along with eggs-uberence!

Nice thread and theme! Looks like you are all set ;-)

Eggs-cellent categories! (Someone had to do it.)

a perfect eggs-stravaganza of categories and reading! Starred!

The pun is contagious, isn't it? Thanks everyone. I'll be working on a summary of 2011 today to close my 75 thread and continue catching up on threads here to meet everyone. From experience I know that being caught up is usually only possible at the very beginning of the year.

Very clever themes. Made MrMorphy and I laugh!

>20 cyderry: coming in March!!!

Crucible of Gold

@ 28 -- Woohoo! I've only read the first three books so far, but four through six are sitting impatiently on my shelves, waiting to be read!

Welcome to the 12 in 12 group! Love your categories.

OK, I've touched base with everyone who has started a thread so far and I'm ready to get this party started. I am almost finished with Pardonable Lies so this will be my first entry, possibly tomorrow. Good night, everyone.

ahhh Maisie Dobbs... I've read the first two in the series.. Maisie is such a likeable character, tough and sweet. I need to get back into her series...

Love the categories, I'll be checking in regularly. Enjoy your 2012 reading!

Welcome to the 12 in 12 challenge. I love your creativity. Have a great year of reading!!

It had been a long time since I read the first one and though I remembered loving the book, it wasn't until I was halfway through this one that I recalled Maisie's backbone and intelligence.

I've dusted of Pardonable Lies myself... read the first 30-40 pages last night before bed... still the same Maisie I remember

Hi Mamzel - I put up an inquiry on the group reads thread to see if anyone is interested in a year-long group read of Don Quixote. If you're interested, chime in over there. Thanks!

Eggs-ceedingly creative categories:)

Oh, very good, calm!

Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear
Masie Dobbs #3

The young policewoman stood in the corner of the room.

I read the first book of this series several years ago. While I don't remember much about the plot I do remember that I was very impressed by Maisie and made a note-to-self to find and read more of the series. (The series has 9 books as of this date.) It's been a while but since then I have picked up a few at different book sales.

I was struck with the quiet strength of the young woman. This book opens with her interviewing another young woman who may have committed a murder and was refusing and/or unable to answer questions. Maisie was called in and managed to crack into the girl's fragile shell, not by asking questions, but showing compassion for her situation.

Maisie subsequently accepts two missions. One to honor a dead woman's last request to find her son who was reportedly killed in France but was confident in her motherly instinct that he was, in fact, still alive. The other was to locate the grave of another soldier who died in France. To accomplish these tasks meant that she had to return to France where she served as a nurse in a field hospital and face her recurring nightmares of that time.

This is one gutsy lady, highly intelligent, and capable of Composure with a capital "C". She is also very lucky to have loyal friends and family members who are very supportive of her and always concerned for her well being. While having such a marvelous support system, I wish that Maisie would trust in her ability to stand alone on her own two feet better and resist help from others. This character should show more independence.

I am hoping that this will become apparent in future episodes of this series. I have a couple more hanging around to read so I will be back.

Some of us started talking about a group read of Don Quixote and I made a big mistake. (Darn that Kindle and being able to lay in bed and order books that instantly appear!) I admit that I am intimidated by books written before 1900. To commit to reading a book written at the same time that Shakespeare wrote his (to me) overwhelming masterpieces was big. I saw that a version was offered for free so I downloaded that to see if I would find it readable. I not only found it readable, but enjoyable. The version I downloaded was translated by John Ormsby and includes a biography of Cervantes and a brief overview of Spain at the time and a little history of the book itself. This morning I had completed all of this and the first four chapters! I like the writing advice his friend gave him noted in the prologue:

...but merely to take care that your style and diction run musically, pleasantly, and plainly, with clear, proper, and well-placed words, setting forth your purpose to the best of your power, and putting your ideas intelligibly, without confusion or obscurity. Strive, too, that in reading your story the melancholy may be moved to laughter, and the merry made merrier still; that the simple shall not be wearied, that the judicious shall admire the invention, that the grave shall not despise it, nor the wise fail to praise it.

Chickens around the world are rejoicing at your category titles! All hail the fowl. :)

I keep meaning to read Maisie Dobbs....I think I might even own the first book in the series. Enjoyed your review.

@ 41 -- That's great writing advice!

Ha! I love the egg theme. So creative. Looking forward to seeing which books you place in which categories.

#28 A new Temeraire novel !!??!! Woohoo. Must find somewhere to squeeze that one into the challenge. Thanks for the info.

>42 Her_Royal_Orangeness: - I have 5 feathered ladies: 2 Ameraucaunas, 2 Silver-lace Wyandottes, and one Rhode Island Red (the boss). They live on one side of my house and are treated with plums and figs that fall off the trees there. I particularly like that I have never had to pull weeds in their area.

>43 christina_reads: I plan to share it with any students that attempt NaNoWriMo next year.

>44 VioletBramble: March will soon be upon us. I'll be keeping an eye for a listing in my county library so I can put a hold on it.

Fun category titles! I've starred your thread.

Great categories! Maisie Dobbs is a favorite of mine also.

Hello! Thank you for dropping by my new thread. My thread isn't as clever as yours. I love your theme! I have you starred.

I have read many reviews of the Maisie Dobbs series. I will have to look into it.

>45 mamzel: - You have fresh eggs AND plums AND figs all from your very own backyard? Jealous much!

glitter-graphics.com

To all my friends here, may you enjoy the season with RL friends and family! Happy holidays!

Happy Holidays mamzel! Love the festive season graphic!

Alas, Santa must have had doubts that I was as good as custom would expect and on Christmas morn began to suffer the ills that a wicked microbe did accost upon the vacant spaces inside my poor brow. So great the pressure inside that my eyes were a red more suited for seasonable garb and they were wont to stay closed making it most difficult to continue adventuring with the noble Don Quixote. Perusing the pleasures available on the clever box called Roku, I did, to my great delight, discover the first season of a story produced by the estimable BBC called Downton Abbey. Thus did I spend the day with an English family in the early part of the twentieth century, and their friends, and staff below stairs. It reminded me much of a previous series much enjoyed with the name Upstairs, Downstairs, the story of which paralleled this series though it took place in the city of London rather that the pleasant countryside and a smaller house at that!

Boxing Day found me equally afflicted and unwilling and unable to rejoin the gallant knight and his squire. A search showed that subsequent seasons of the excellent BBC series was unavailable. What was an ill and bored Anglophile to do? My eyes lit upon a volume I had paid good money for at the large and delightful shop known as Costco called Death Comes to Pemberly. Though taking place a century earlier than the tales of my other diversion, I opened up this novel, and to my delight was able to enjoy its story.



Death Comes to Pemberly by P.D. James (2011) ****

It was generally agreed by the female residents of Meryton that Mr. and Mrs. Bennet of Longbourn had been fortunate in the disposal in marriage of four of their five daughters.

I will not present myself as any authority of Jane Austen but it sure felt like this picked up right after P&P and I was reminded of all the characters and relationships, secrets, and stories that made up that book. The Pemberly household is gearing up for their annual ball. Guests have been invited, provisions laid in, crystal and silver polished, and Elizabeth and Darcy are ready. Not to be left out of the picture, Elizabeth's sister, Lydia, plans on sneaking onto the estate the night before and crashing the party, sure that her sister would not dream of turning her away. As they make their way through the thick woods, her husband's friend, Capt. Denny, leaps out of the carriage and runs into the woods. Wickham, the husband, leaps out after him entreating him to get back into the carriage. Soon after, Lydia and the carriage driver hear a couple of shots. In typical confusion she tells the driver to continue to Pemberly where she arrives disheveled and hysterical. Darcy forms a search party and they find Wickham bent over Capt. Denny covered with blood and professing that it was all his fault. So begins the search for the truth.

I have not read any of P.D. James' other books. I was not a fan of the Inspector Dalgliesh series on TV or I might have. It surprised me to learn that she is around 90 years old! Bless her heart!

I enjoyed reading this book, and as one might perceive, I may have overdosed a little on highfaluttin' language.

I thoroughly enjoyed the description of your holiday entertainment - Sorry to hear about your migraine/ailment suffering but happy to see that you are able to write about it in good cheer. I have been meaning to start viewing the Downtown Abbey series - my local library has some if not all of the DVDs - and your review of James' Death Comes to Pemberley does make that one sound like something I would enjoy reading!

@ 52 -- Glad you liked Death Comes to Pemberley, as I'm sure it will be one of my first reads in 2012! I also loved the first season of "Downton Abbey," and Masterpiece Theatre will be airing season two (in the US) starting on January 8. I believe season three is about to be aired in the UK -- lucky them!

Ooh! I got up to speed just in time! Thanks for the good news!

What an eggcellent & eggceptional eggstravaganza of categories!

DS
(Bruce's evil twin - the tater counter who no longer works for the egg company :-))

I am eggcited having read all of these entries. Needless to say...I love your creativity. Maisie Dobbs is one of my favorites! I've read the first three books and believe there are 7 now. She won't let you down in your desire for her to show more independence.

LOVE Downtown Abbey! Glad you discovered it. As a huge Jane Austen fan, I usually stay away from spin off novels, but this one sounds kind of fun. Maybe if I happen across it at the library . . .

DS, it is an infectious word trick, isn't it?

Kate, I'm glad to hear she becomes more independent. I will continue the series then.

Japaul, look for the book in new releases.



Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen (2008) ***

Every smiley moon, without fail, Claire dreamed of her childhood.

And with that opening line I thought to myself, "Oh, boy. Chick lit." (Read with a slight lack of enthusiasm.) This was the first of three books sent to me by participating in SantaThing. I quickly reminded myself, that the person who chose this book for me must have loved this book to want to share it with a stranger so I went on to read the story of the Waverly women of Bascomb, North Carolina.

Claire works as a caterer preparing food and drinks using flowers from her garden in combinations that somehow persuade the consumer to do or think something he/she would presumably not have arrived to on their own. Holding center stage in her garden is an apple tree whose apples show a person the most important event of their life. Claire's mother ate an apple and what she saw made her leave her two daughters with their grandmother. Eventually she died in a car crash. Did she leave to ensure that neither of her daughters would be in the car crash she foresaw?

I have to admit that this town reminded me of Twin Pines, the darling Canadian town in Louise Penny's terrific series. It could be the gay couple that own a food store or the irascible old woman driven to give people items that seem absurd at the time but turn out to be indispensable later. In any case, I found that I enjoyed this book and perhaps because of these similarities.

A quick enjoyable read with a touch of magic and fantasy.

I read Garden Spells when it first came out. I don't usually care for fantasy, but it was light enough that I did enjoy the book. I liked the NC setting.

Yikes...my problem when I start reading all of these threads is I begin making even longer Wish Lists of books.

I love your categories! Thanks for the review of Death Comes to Pemberley. I'm planning to read this one myself. I am a big fan of P.D. James's mysteries, but I wasn't sure this sort of setting would work for her, so I'm glad to see that you enjoyed the book.

I am reading Death Comes to Pemberley some time in January and I believe @christina_reads is as well. We'll all have to compare notes!

So glad you enjoyed Garden Spells, it's one of my favorites. I really liked The Sugar Queen too - have you read that one?

Lori, I agree that the fantasy had a light touch. No major history of a curse for the reason of the powers, no evil power trying to usurp the powers, or other typical aspect of a heavy-handed fantasy.

Kate, my problem exactly! *hears an evil Bwa-ha-ha somewhere in distance*

Paulina, I hope you like it. It is very different from what little I know of the Dalgliesh books.

Victoria, I have not read that one but I will look into it. Thanks for the recommendation.

I am still putting up with this cold. Monsieur has been very nice fetching cups of tea and making soups. I've drunk enough hot liquids to float a battleship! It has progressed from my sinuses downward and has now settled in my lungs. Hopefully not much longer until I'm better or I'll have completely blown my vacation!

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood (2009) ****

In the early morning Toby climbs up to the rooftop to watch the sunrise.

I read the first book, Oryx and Crake, a long time ago and since I realize I remember very little of it, I think I will look for it to reread. TYofF stands alone very well as a story of the lives of three main characters whose lives interweave as the human race is decimated by a man-made plague and civilization collapses. They all have in common a cult called God's Gardeners whose members have forsaken all animal meat and products as well as anything manufactured and train the young ones in such topics as composting and foraging. They have a slate of saints who have dedicated their lives to the preservation of nature like Dian Fossey, Rachel Carson, Mahatma Gandhi, and many others I was unfamiliar with.

This training serves them well as they have to deal with the remaining populace who were resistant to the disease and were not as well trained to survive.

While this is an excellent story full of survival, love, and terror, it is also a blatant lashing out at current genetic research aimed at creating new combinations of species, new means of controlling those species, and a real lack of responsibility when things get out of control.

Highly recommended for scifi and dystopia fans.

I really love your egg-cellent categories.

Wishing yu a happy new year!

Mamzel, what great ideas you have! This promises to be an interesting thread.

I, too, am suffering the effects of the ever-expanding, never-controllable WishList.

I too am looking forward to Death Comes to Pemberly - great to hear it's good. I did buy a copy, but sent it to my mum so I didn't get a chance to read it myself. Soon, I hope. :)

Oh, Downton Abbey is so great, isn't it!! Can't wait for the second series to start next weekend and am so happy it's been picked up for a third.

Hope you have a great new years!

-Eva-
(formerly bookoholic13)

Just checking in to drop a star, mamzel! Love your clever categories!

Maisie Dobbs was my favorite new (to me) series last year. I'm looking forward to reading the 2 latest ones this year.

Teri, good to see you. Thanks for stopping by.
Gail, a wish list is like having more books up your sleeve waiting to be read. It's a place to keep those titles that sound so good!
Eva, New Year, nice new short name. Good idea! I already have Downton Abbey set to record in case I get distracted by something else.
Ivyd, Maisie Dobbs is definitely a favorite around these parts!

To all my Library Thing friends, I hope for a year of good health, good friends, and, above all, GOOD BOOKS!


glitter-graphics.com

Happy New Year!

You're topics are so cool and creative. I'm planning on reading Atwood's Oryx and Crake in January and then Year of the Flood in 2012.

Lori, and the same to you!

Goddess, I hope you enjoy them!

Well, the holidays are behind us and the blitz of retailers trying to tear dollars away from us is over, for a few months any ways. I went to the grocery store last Friday and *gasp* Valentine's Day junk was out already. I feel tired.

I start the new year having completed an ER I had neglected. I chose this one to see if it would be good for my high school library and it is.



The Dogs of War by Lisa Rogak (2011) ***

This was a fact filled book that I imagine was thrown together immediately after the assault on Bin Laden's compound last March. One of the attackers was a Belgian Malinois named Cairo and I'm sure he raised a lot of interest in MWDs (Military Working Dogs). In her research Rogak met lots of handlers with their dogs and shared their stories with us while educating us on the way the dogs are selected, trained, matched with handlers, are used in the field, are cared for while in service, and what happens to them after.


A Belgian Malinois with his gear on

It was a very informative book and I can't think of any topic that wasn't covered from what kind of food they ate to the question of neutering. There was also information about how troops adopted strays, very much against regulations, and how they fit in.

While someone interested in warfare might be more interested in how the dogs are used, a bleeding heart like me is more interested in what happens after their service is complete. One of the heart wrenching facts was that after the Viet Nam War, dogs were left behind and not returned to the States. This gave rise to a law that requires the services to make all attempts to retrain dogs, return them to good health, and find homes willing to adopt an aging old soldier. There even was one dog that was accepted as a member of an American Legion post.

An interesting and quick read that I will purchase for my library.

#73 That one sounds very good. Unfortunately, our library doesn't have it yet so I'll have to keep a very close eye on the new acquisitions.

>73 mamzel: Nice review, mamzel! I'm going to look for it, too -- I know someone with a birthday coming up and she'll love it.

Me three!!! :)

Happy New Year, Mamzel.

sjmccreary - I hope it comes in soon.
ivy - It walks a thin line between a book for people interested in war and people interested in animals. So do the armed forces in this matter.
Kathy - I hope you'll enjoy it.
Judy - Thanks so much.

Since none of my other favorite series on the premium channel were returning any time soon, I fell into catching up on the totally irreverant series, Shameless, starring William H. Macy and a group of amazing kids. I watched the first four of the first season and the shocks and surprises were nonstop.

I admit I watch a lot of TV. The quality of programming has increased to theater levels in many ways and Monsieur has indulged me with an HD flat screen TV, satellite service, Roku (Netflix and Amazon), and surround stereo over the years. This week I am looking forward to new seasons of Downton Abbey and another favorite, Merlin. By next Sunday I should be caught up with Shameless and ready for their new season. Goody, goody, goody.

Nice TV set-up!!!! I could get seriously sucked into TV-watching if I didn't curb it a little. I record the shows I watch on TV, so I can at least fastforward through commercials and save some time. :) Netflix and Amazon streaming are dangerous, though.

>78 mamzel: She loves animals and reads quite a lot about (and is quite knowledgeable about) war. And she doesn't have a lot of time for reading at the moment, so quick is good, too. I think it will be perfect.

>79 -Eva-: Netflix is so very dangerous. I've been working my way through the early seasons of Law & Order. I was 4 when the show debuted and too young to watch it then. I love crime drama shows almost as much as mystery novels. I've also been re-watching season 3 of Dr. Who (the one with Martha Jones). It's my favorite season, although I'm roughly 2 seasons behind what's currently available on Netflix.

Eva - I forgot to mention the Tivo! Handy to record one program while watching another, doubling the viewing pleasure.

Ivy - I hope she loves it.

Casvelyn - It's almost like there is no bottom to the well of Dr. Who which is great! When I remember to, I like to look around for documentaries and animes which I normally don't watch. I liked Martha since she was so educated and professional, not as girly, swoony, as some of the others.

Finally found your thread. Love your categories and I'm also a Downton Abbey fan. I usually watch a lot of scifi over the Xmas/New year break but this year have been indulging in crime and have been rewatching all the Prime Suspect episodes as well as some Wallander.
I like the idea of The Dogs of War and will have to put in a purchase request to my library as I'm sure it will be a popular resource.

I'm excited that Downton Abbey Part 2 is starting this coming Sunday. I recorded last year's episodes and was so enthralled that I sat and watched the whole thing in one go!

Maybe we should start a thread for Downton Abbey viewers! They do such an amazing job of making us care for people many of us would never come in contact with much less befriend.

If someone starts a thread I will check out the DVDs I know my local library just ordered in and get up to speed. it looks like such a great series!

Chuckling over the television commentary here. LOL I have been without television for a year now - got fed up with the cost of cable. I do miss it and have been considering picking it up again. But I do more reading without it.

Since I read over 100 books last year (and the S.F. Chronicle every day), I don't think TV cut too much into my reading. When I was growing up, the only TV station didn't come on until 3 in the afternoon so I started out being a big reader. I did much of my reading at night in bed and found that, no matter how tired I was, I had to at least look at a printed page before nodding off. My 'default' book was Gone With the Wind. If I didn't have anything else at hand to read, I would pull it down off the shelf, open to a random page and read from there. I preferred very long books and loved Michener for that reason. Stories are stories and there are some real corkers on TV.

I have also been without TV for about a year. At home, anyway. I still put in the occasional DVD, tho. At work, I'm able to watch some TV online, so when I've got something I need to sit and do and it doesn't require the use of the computer, I pick a show I like and have got lots of work done while watching TV. I have also needed to read before going to sleep, Mamzel. Even just a little bit. I used to keep junk reads around just so I'd have something to go to if I finished my book and didn't have another lined up already!

I am in love with my PVR, it records the programs I like and allows me to choose when I want to watch them. I am a bit of a night owl so I am often found late at night watching my prerecorded programs. But no matter how late I stay up, I still can't sleep until I've read a chapter or two of my current book!

I was the same way before I cut the cable. My problem is that I work long hours. We're on winter hours at the moment, so I'm here from 10am-9pm Tues, Wed, Thurs, 10am-6pm Fri & Sat, and noon to 5pm Sun. Only closed on Mon. Then add in transit and that makes for a long day. I used to come home and watch a show or two, fast-forwarding commercials, then to bed to read a bit and sleep, only to get up and do it all over again the next day. Our regular hours the rest of the year are 10am-8pm Tues. - Sat. and noon - 5pm Sun. It helps to be a little more regular the rest of the year, but I do enjoy those couple of days I get to go home early in the winter. The other problem with my PVR was that it would fill up with all my favorite shows, so I'd spend a lot of time "catching up" before it deleted something to make room for something else! That's when you wish for a lot more memory.

I read before sleep, too - it's rare that I don't get a couple of chapters in!

I’m going to have to keep a close eye on your reading, Mamzel. I read the first Maisie Dobbs book years ago but have never followed up with the series, although I’m planning to this year. I’ve got Death Comes to Pemberley on hold at the library (no telling how long it’ll be before I get it) and Garden Spells is part of my mount TBR. I hope to fit Oryx and Crake in this month with the intention of reading The Year of the Flood later in the year. Oh, and I’ve read GWTW more times than I can remember.

So, what are you reading next?

Glad to see others addicted to Downton Abbey and at least one other devotee of Law and Order.

Mamzel, I really enjoyed the first Maisie Dobbs last year and have the second one waiting on the e-reader. Also would like to try Oryx and Crake this year, sometime.

Kathryn, I don't think I would be happy without a TV. It's like having company. Like now, when I am the only person on campus working, I have a little portable DVD player with A Maltese Falcon playing. It's too eerie otherwise. I love that you have later hours in the winter. Most places around here have longer hours in the summer.

Delta, It is so nice to be able to place a record order when are thinking of a program and then not having to worry about remembering the time it comes on. It's like putting a hold on a book before the library actually has it and then receiving a notice it's available.

Dejah, I hope the readers ahead of you are fast so you get it soon. Garden Spells is a fast read so you can probably fit it in somewhere.

Bohemima, The S.F. Chronicle had a rave review of the new season this morning. (So jealous they get to see the whole season!)

>94 mamzel: Mamzel, I agree...TV is like company. One thing I find I miss is music, tho. I haven't set up my stereo since I moved, haven't got to that yet. When I'm working around the house, tho, I do miss the music. I don't really feel I'm without TV, just not the convenience of having it available at home. I still do watch DVD's occasionally at home, and I have access to a lot of TV shows over the internet at work. The thing I like, tho, is that I do a lot more reading instead of coming home and just plopping down in front of the TV. :)

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall (2009) ****

For days, I'd been searching Mexico's Sierra Madre for the phantom known as Caballo Blanco - the White Horse.

Yesterday I left work early to do one of my favorite things; I went to the book store and bought books for the library. Our local bookstore gives us a very generous discount and with our meager book buying funds I would just as soon support them than a big company. I ran into the librarian who covers our middle schools and asked her for a little advice in the sports section since she is a runner. Unfortunately she didn't see much that would be helpful in our library and briefly pointed to this book with a comment about a hidden tribe of runners. After walking around the store collecting books, I felt drawn back to the book and discovered that they were in Mexico! Arriba! I grabbed it and took it home. That evening as I was watching my soap operas, I couldn't help but think about the book again and I just had to go to the car, pull it out and start reading it. I finished it this morning.

I am, nor have ever been, in any way, shape, or form, a runner. (You can't run very far on a sailboat.) In college I had to run for PE but smoking cut into my stamina and "shin splints" was a new term added to my vocabulary. Why I found this book so interesting is beyond me except to say that reading is easier than doing in this case.

We meet the author, Christopher McDougall, who is not at all bashful about tooting his own horn, loves to come up with new words to describe the amazingness that is him, (but can't do basic math). He visits a doctor after trying to run and developing a problem with his foot. That leads him to so called superathletes who run endurance races of 100 miles in searing heat, freezing cold, high altitude, on mountain trails and highways. Eventually he learns about an American who has shrugged off civilization to live with, and study, a shy ancient group in Mexico with an amazing ability to run up and down mountains like we run up and down the aisle of a supermarket. This man, nicknamed El Caballo Blanco, has an idea to import any American insane enough to try it, to race against these people on their own turf (or lack thereof). And a handful of crazy runners do including McDougall who is committed to finish the race as well as chronicle it.

Woohoo! I just checked my library system and they had a listing for Crucible of Gold so I placed a hold and I'm No. 1 on the list. *happy dance*

>96 mamzel: It looks like Born to Run is something I will have to read. it has some interest for me since I ran the Leadville 100 the same year the Tarahumara Indians ran it, and yes indeed they ran it in sandals. I only made 50 miles since I didn't make the cutoff time, but I have run other ultras and did finally finish a 100 miler in the mountains when I was 46.

Surprise! You don't have to be a super athlete. I certainly am not; I just made up my mind that it was something I was interested in finding out if I could do. The main criticism I have heard about this book is the hyberbole. The information about running barefoot is not for everyone, nor can a 64 year old beat a well trained younger runner. It is true that older runners often beat many younger runners because they know how to pace themselves in these long distance runs. That being said, the book sounds interesting, and the Tarahumaras are truly amazing.

I gave Born to Run to my son-in-law for Christmas a couple of years ago and he loved it. His is a runner. I'm not! :)

Donna, I would love to read your comments if/when you read it. Besides pointing out that youth is not always a factor in winning, but women do very well, too. I chalked up the hyperbole to the fact that a jock was writing. I had to chuckle at all the words he created.

MM, What? He didn't lend it to you after he read it? You might find you'd like it even though you are not a runner.



Matched by Ally Condie (2010) ***

Now that I've found the way to fly, which direction should I go into the night?

For some classes coming in, I will be accumulating books to fit under the umbrella genre, Speculative Fiction, and this one will fit nicely. A terribly anti-septic world where all choice is taken away finds a young woman named Cassia wanting to make her own choices. The first of a trilogy, this creepy world is set up nicely with Society narrowing such choices as songs, poems, and pieces of art to a neat 100, one's mate is chosen for them, and meals are delivered with the exact amount of calories and nutrients to sustain. But something outside of their central area is not quite right and Cassia and her family are torn away from their home and her match and friends and relocated in one of the unnamed Outer Provinces.

There might be concern about the use of drugs in this book. Every citizen is given three pills. The green one is a tranquilizer and can only be used once a week. The red one removes memory and the blue one is for survival. My view is that this is another way Society controls its citizens. If things don't add up and a person is concerned enough to cause anxiety, taking the pill would mean the person wouldn't think too much about what made them anxious. Citizens can be ordered to take the red pill so that they forget seeing events that can make them think not all is well. We have yet to see the blue pills in action. It's not too dissimilar from how Catniss was drugged in the last of that series, Mockingjay.
To be continued...



I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley (2011) ****

Tendrils of raw fog floated up from the ice like agonized spirits departing their bodies.

I love, love, love Flavia de Luce. 11-years old since the beginning of the series, she is precocious to a fault. Able to build her own fireworks, she still believes in Santa Claus and has a plan to trap him this Christmas. To support his family and maintain his wife's estate, Buckshaw, Flavia's father has allowed a film crew to use the mansion in one of their cinemas. They show up right before Christmas. The town's vicar is not shy in asking the esteemed actress, Phyllis Wyvern, to put on a performance to raise money for the church's roof. She and her costar agree to put on the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet and they set up in the spacious foyer. Half of the town of Bishop's Lacey show up as a blizzard moves in. They are stuck over night making for a large pool of suspects when Flavia discovers Phyllis dead later that night, choked by a length of film strip.

Some people are put off by the contrast of a brilliant mind in the body of a young girl but I think it's magic. She makes me smile when, in one thought she is rattling off the chemical name of a poison in holly and then skips off singing Christmas carols. The inspector who responds to the call for police is familiar with her talent and though he would prefer she not be underfoot, listens to her when she gives him observations he missed. He would not, however, recognize her contribution, but she can't help but blurt them out. She is an excellent manipulator of adults and feeds them lies they want to hear so they do what she wants them to do.

Flavia's family has never gotten of the death of her mother. Her father is under pressure to marry someone wealthy so the estate can stay in the family. Her two older sisters are wrapped up in themselves and seem to never have any time for her. The only one who has her back is Dogger, her father's comrade from his war days who helps around the house. He suffers from PTSS and has daymares that Flavia can help him come back from. He appreciates her intelligence and in turn helps her when she gets in over her head.

This is the fourth book of the series and they just get better and better.

The big Flavia fan in me agrees with you and your review of I am Half Sick of Shadows. Love the series!

Love Flavia, Mamzel, even though I've only read the first one. I'm saving the second for one of those book emergencies...

Flavia is quite lovely, isn't she. I hope Bradley stays the course with the series. So nice to sit down with a new Flavia book and a cup of tea!

It's been a few days since I've checked in. Want you all to know that I do have a physical TV and watch DVDs and videos, and I DO miss having television. As a teacher, my computer use at work is limited strictly to work. There are web censors plus our usage is monitored. I am very careful about that.
I love Flavia, but there were some historical errors in the first book that I blame on poor editing. I hope they were corrected in later editions.

No t.v.
Well.
Not sure if I'd really miss it or not; mostly what I watch are dvd's, whether of movies or old/obscure/odd television series. I've often thought I'd like to try life without t.v., but Dh would go mad, probably, even though he watches about 2 shows a week, some sports, some news, not much else.
Oh, and I did note a couple of oddities in the first Flavia, but not enough to spoil the series.

I've also only read the first Flavia book, and loved it. I was disappointed to learn how many others DID NOT like it, since I though she was charming. I'm glad to hear that the series improves - yet another one that I need to make an effort to get back to!

#105 I could say exactly the same thing about television. For years, I've threatened the family to have the cable disconnected. Since most of the kids have left home, and the rest of us mainly watch netflix or DVD's, I think it would be pretty easy. Except my husband, who loves to watch football. But now that the season is nearly over, and we got a letter in the mail notifying us of yet another rate increase, he says it's OK to cancel if they won't lower the price. He sometimes talks a big talk - we'll see how he feels when the time actually comes.

Glad there are so many Flavia fans! Historical mistakes in the first book? I didn't notice. Could they have been an 11-year old's misconceptions? I don't remember them but I'm not such a whiz at history that I would have.

I never would watch TV or movies when students were around. I only do that on work days when school is not in session.

I've started Don't Stop the Carnival. It's the story of a New York man who buys a hotel on a Caribbean island having never spent time in the Caribbean or owned a hotel. I just finished his first day as a hotel owner complete with everything wrong that could go wrong. Too funny!

We just canceled our cable. We're paying almost $70 a month for me to watch the news in the morning. That's it. I watch Glee online and we watch other tv shows and movies from Netflix. It seemed silly. I find that I'm struggling with not having it on. I'm trying radio instead and it's taking a bit to get used to.

Morphie, I hope you have a good NPR station to listen to. I usually only listen to radio when I'm in my car and I have really enjoyed some of their programming. Yesterday they interviewed Susan Orlean about her new book about Rin Tin Tin.

#96 - I'm a little behind, but I wanted to pop in to say I enjoyed your review of Born to Run. I read it last year and enjoyed it, although, as someone else pointed out, there's a wee bit of hyperbole there, regarding the topic of barefoot running. It's still a fascinating story. One of my categories is books about running (and football). I have to keep myself motivated!

I enjoyed your reviews of Matched and I Am Half-Sick of Shadows. My daughter has a copy of Matched here at home and I've been meaning to read it. I've not read any books in the Flavia series but I've been intrigued by it.

I've heard Born to Run is good and have been thinking of reading it. Another running book that looks good (but I haven't read) is Why We Run: A Natural History. You might take a look at it, too, if you're interested in athletics books.

Paulina, I hope you will try the Flavia books soon and that you'll enjoy them as much as I do.

Rachel, The surprising thing about my liking Born to Run is that I don't, as a rule, like books about sports and athletes since I have never been interested in sports in general. I mainly bought it for my library thinking that the athletes in the school might find it interesting. Imagine my surprise when it called to me like it did.

I am always amazed at what people can create with a little imagination and a lot of time. This video is an example.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKVcQnyEIT8&feature=youtu.be&safety_mode=...

That's such a great video, isn't it?!

Love the book video, very clever!

@ 114 -- All I can think of is how much TIME it must have taken to create that video! Kind of amazing though!

Love the creative egg theme!! I need to get back to the Maisie Dobbs books. I read that third one early in 2011. I also need to give Flavia a chance. I've not read any of those.

Judy and Christina, I'm so glad you liked it.

Linda, I will continue to read the Maisie Dobbs books as they cross my path. I hope you will have a chance to read the Flavia books and like them. I love the combination of a brilliant mind in the body of a child, likely to be treated as such by those who don't know her or appreciate her talent - a big mistake!



The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (2011) *****

I'll never forget the night it snowed over Calcutta.

I loved this book! It has setting, characters, history, menace, fantasy, horror, and it carried me away.

I have had Ruiz Zafon's book, The Angel's Game, sitting on my shelf for some time and this book will definitely nudge me to get to it soon!

One of the things I love about this book is the extraordinary language and vocabulary which has been noticeably lacking in other YA books of late.

I recall that May morning as the first sign of a storm that was relentlessly closing in on us, shaping our destiny, building up behind our backs and swelling in the shadow of our complete innocence - that blessed ignorance that made us believe we were worthy of a special state of grace: Because we had no past, we felt we had nothing to fear from the future.

A group of orphans from St. Patrick's Orphanage in Calcutta in 1932 celebrate their sixteenth "birthday", the anniversary of their arrival at the orphanage and eve of their release back to the streets. Given a European education they all exhibit a special individual talent. Ben, however, is haunted by a menace who has been waiting for this day. An old woman arrives at the orphanage demanding to speak to the director. With her is a 16-year old girl who the group invites to the last meeting of their secret group, the Chowbar Society. She also is being stalked by an evil presence.

The only criticism I have (and it is a very slight one) is that each of the orphans has a European name and I had to keep reminding myself that they were Indian.

The Midnight Palace is already on my radar screen for reading so happy to see another positive review for it!

Really enjoyed reading The Shadow of the Wind last year but have yet to try anything else by the author. Looks like I should.

Lori & Dave, It inspired my to start The Angel's Game which is excellent so far.



Don't Stop the Carnival by Herman Wouk (1965) ***.5

A humorous story of a New York Jew who buys a hotel on a small American Caribbean Island named Amerigo (or Kinja) and has to learn how to do things Caribbean style. My family moved to St. Thomas when Wouk lived there and most of what they probably had to deal with was over my head at the time. It's that much more fun to read this book now.

I would recommend this to people who enjoy books like A Year in Provence which make fun of how hopeless Americans can be when immersed in the life of a foreign country. It's one thing to visit but totally different to work overseas.

I love Herman Wouk, and this looks like an interesting read... not sure where to fit it into my reading plan for the year however... oh well I may just have to chuck a few in that I didn't plan on. After all, I own the challenge, it doesn't own me!

That's the spirit!

The Midnight Palacesounds intriguing!

Just stopping by to admire your eggcellent categories and reviews.

Cool book shelf featured in the blog, CA Home & Design. Not that it would do much of us any good but it would be cool for our all time favorites. ;-)

That's gorgeous!!! But no, not very practical. :)

You could put 1,000 of them together and use it for walls or even the foundation of the whole house. Oh wait, that would still not hold them all. Back to the drawing board ...

Eva, Debbie - Yeah, I'm not putting in an order for one any time soon. I do love the concept. I might be too tempted to chop veggies for dinner on it.



The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (2008) ****

A writer never forgets the first time he accepted a few coins or a word of praise in exchange for a story.

I think the reason I bought this book was because there was a lot of hype for it and I was intrigued. It has been on my shelf for a couple of years waiting for me to pick it up which I did after reading his YA book, The Midnight Palace.

Somehow (I think the holes in the sieve that is my brain are getting bigger by the day), I had no idea what this book was about which is fun when it turns out to be a real page turner. I like surprises.

David Martín knows he wants to write but the only job he can land is writing for a small newspaper. He is eventually given a contract by a publishing company that wants him to produce a novel each year for 20 years. He is able to buy an old deserted mansion that had fascinated him for years, complete with an abandoned typewriter in a tower and now the fun begins. He secretly helps his very rich friend write his book by conspiring with the assistant who brings his work to David's house, David rewrites it, the assistant (David's love interest) types it up and returns it.

One day he is approached by a mysterious French publisher who wants to commission David to write a book that would spark the creation of a new religion. David would love to take this job but alas, he is bound by the other contract. No problem, there. A fire destroys the publishing house and one of the publishers dies, the other fatally burned. What a coincidence!

David doesn't realize what kind of trouble he is in and the story gets more and more involved as he learns more about the French publisher and the mansion he has leased. What starts out as a story about a struggling writer evolves into a story of terror and mystique.

I would recommend this to mystery readers who would like to try something different from the cozies. It's not at all cozy!

Happy to see you recommend The Angel's Game and happier still, no book bullet as it is already sitting on my TBR bookcase waiting for attention!

I've seen a few mixed reviews for The Angel's Game comparing it unfavourably to The Shadow of the Wind which I loved so I'm still undecided about picking it up. Glad to see that you liked it.

What a creative challenge Mamzel! I like how you include a quote with your reviews - I think I may borrow that idea. And a great start with your reading! Matched, The Midnight Palace and The Angel's Game are all added to my wishlist.

Chalk me up as another who always reads before bed!

And silly me, I picked up The Year of the Flood when it first came out, but did not realize that it was the sequel to Oryx and Crake. So, I'll guess I'll be digging that one out for a re-read...!

Your review of The Angel's Game makes it sound interesting. I like very non-cozy mysteries. Onto The List!

ETA to add -- Oops! It's already ON the list -- and county library has it! So it moves UP the list!

The cook book shelf, however, is not going on my wishlist. Great concept, but not at all practical.

I have a copy of The Angel's Game, but I clearly had no idea what it was about either. Your description makes it sounds great, though, so I should pick it up soon!

Lori, I hope you enjoy it when you get around to it.

Dave, Sounds like I should find Shadow of the Wind and give it a try.

Lisa, The quote is the first line. I love first lines of books. Some of them are really memorable.

Terri, Nothing like a good nudge or reminder, I say.

Eva, Enjoy!



Shatter by Michael Robotham (2012) ***½
received from ER program

It's eleven o'clock in the morning, late September, and outside it's raining so hard that cows are floating down rivers and birds are resting on their bloated bodies.

This is the third book of a series about a psychologist who gets involved with a police investigation. In this case, he is called by the police from his comfortable suburban Bath house where he lives with his wife and daughter. A totally nude woman is perched on a bridge and seems to be committing suicide. Joe O'Loughlin is asked to see if he can talk her down. She ignores him, not even giving him her name, gives him a furtive look, drops her cell phone, and jumps.

Case closed, right? However, the woman's daughter shows up at Joe's house to convince him that she was so terrified of heights she would never choose that way to kill herself. A second suspicious death gives him the ammunition to get the police to investigate these deaths as murders.

Written in the first person, we are given an intimate look at living with Parkinson's as Joe is suffering from this insidious disease.

I'm usually in the dark when I read mysteries, and I'm happy to go along with the story to discover the truth in the last pages. However, I was actually a step or two ahead of Joe for the whole book. This did not interfere with my enjoyment of the story since I came to like him and hoped that everything would turn out for him.

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (2011) ****

They took me in my nightgown.

A fifteen-year old Lithuanian girl is taken with her mother and younger brother in the middle of the night. They are loaded into a cattle car with other Lithuanians by Russian soldiers. Thus begins the tragic and horrifying story of what happened to millions of Baltic people at the hands of Stalin.

Her art sustains her as much as her mother's love and the three of them stay together as they eventually end up in a labor camp well above the Arctic Circle. They suffered from scurvy, lice, dysentery, typhus, and starvation.

This is an interesting book which would introduce a teen to the genocide as well as possibly nudging them to discover the art of Edvard Munch.

A riveting read!

I kept thinking about your review for Robotham's Shatter, trying to figure out what sounded familiar about the book. I finally figured out - thanks to clicking the link to the book page - that I already have it sitting on my bookshelf, but currently unread.

I know my local library has Between Shades of Gray so I am happy to see your very positive review for it! Now, then big question is if and when I might get around to reading it...... ;-)

Miss you over on the 75ers. Since I am over here with a little regularity I thought I'd check on your progress and say hi! Starred.

Lori, BSoG is a YA book so you could probably squeeze it in between others. It's worth it.

Paul, I look in on the 75ers once in a while. It was so nice of you to stop by and visit me here. I'll head over now to see what you've been up to.

I have Between Shades of Gray on my TBR shelf -- it's one I've been meaning to get around to for months now. I have ancestors from Lithuania, so it's of particular interest to me.

Foggi, It's definitely one of those books that tears your heart out. It always astounds me how one person can be so cruel to another and it also astounds me how much a person can withstand.

This book was the antithesis of Shades of Gray.



Beauty Queens by Libba Bray (2011) ****

A Word From Your Sponsor
This book begins with a plane crash.

This book was laugh-out-loud funny. 14 teen beauty queens are the only survivors of a plane crash on the way to the Miss Dream Teen Pageant. The pageant is sponsored by the Corporation which produces all of the beauty products used by the girls and which are product-placed all through the story. It takes a while but the girls finally stop competing with each other and start cooperating. Along the way their runway facades drop and their surprising real selves come out.

"I've been thinking about that book about the boys who crash on the island," Mary Lou said to Adina one afternoon as they rested on their elbows taking bites from the same papaya.
"Lord of the Flies. What about it?"
"You know how you said it wasn't a true measure of humanity because there were no girls and you wondered how it would be different if there had been girls?"
"Yeah?"
Mary Lou wiped fruit juice from her mouth with the back of her hand. "Maybe girls need an island to find themselves. Maybe they need a place where no one's watching them so they can be who they really are."

But this story is not just about them. There is a pirate ship loaded with the members of a reality show featuring trust fund, gorgeous hunks. The Corporation has a secret installation on the island where they are converting their hair removal product into explosives and they are conducting arms sales to MoMo B. ChaCha, a dictator and the lover of the pageant's organizer. Oh, what a tangled web we weave!

I highly recommend this to all teen girls and other fans of YA literature!

Beauty Queens sounds hysterical -- I may have to give it a try! Thanks for the review.

136 I tried and abandoned the first book in Robotham's Joe O'Loughlan series because it used one of my all-time, least-favorite plot devices (protagonist suspected/accused of murder by a thick-headed cop) and took a plot turn I neither expected nor liked. I had written off the series, but after reading your review of Shatter, I think perhaps I should give it another chance. (I should know by now that first-in-series books are often not up to the level of later installments.)

Terri, I wouldn't put aside other books to seek these out but if one turns up at a convenient time I would go ahead and read it.



Chime by Franny Billingsley (2011) ****

I've confessed to everything and I'd like to be hanged.
Now if you please.

Between the sea and the land, between the old and the modern, at the edge of civilization, is a small town called Swampsea with a gallows in the middle of the square. Twin girls, Rose and Briony live here with their father, the parson. Briony thinks she is a witch since she speaks with the magical beings that live here: Boggy Mun, Mucky Face, Brownies, Strangers, and the Unquiet Spirits. Her sister, Rose, lives in her own world, and is prone to screaming spells that take care and experience to quiet. Rose knows what really happened between Briony and their dead stepmother. They want to drain the swamp and build a railroad into the area but Boggy Mun won't let Rose recover from swamp cough if Briony doesn't stop them. Briony thinks she can but can't let anyone find out she is a witch or she would be hanged.

The language and setting managed to keep me off-balanced. In a good way. Briony not only relates the story to us but also shares her thoughts which show us her intelligence and cleverness.

"I don't have the swamp cough." Rose came into focus. She smiled her anxious-monkey smile, which is the only smile she knows how to make.
"Of course you don't," I said, just as Rose hunched herself into her chest for a comfortable paroxysm of coughing. What exquisite timing. If she weren't Rose, you might think she was indulging herself in a paradox. In a paroxysm of paradoxysm.

This book deserves the high praise it has earned from reviewers.

Chime is on my wishlist, so it's good to see it getting some praise!

The deadline for signing up for World Book Night is fast approaching, Feb. 1. If you are interested in joining the effort to put free books in people's hands, join me. The authors of the books have waived their royalties for this event. It will take place in the U.S. as well as the U.K.

World Book Night website

How the hens have produced so far:

I. TBRs - 1
II. YAs - 4
III. Non-fiction - 1
IV. LT Faves - 0
V. Classics - 1
VI. Doorstops - 1
VII. Murder mysteries - 1
VIII. Non-American author - 1
IX. ERs - 2
X. Tough reads - 1
XI. Continuation of series - 1
XII. Miscellaneous - 1

Total read: 15! Really??? Oh, my! I did start this challenge mid-December. Vacation was good reading time I guess. I'm glad I'm keeping to the plan of not focusing on one or two genres. The YAs, well, they are needed to be read for my job so I'll chalk them up to an occupational hazard.

> 147 - I'd join, but they're not doing it in Canada yet. Can't wait until they do! Such a wonderful idea!

Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories by Simon Winchester (2010) ****

The ocean romance that lies at the heart of this book was primed for me by an unanticipated but unforgettable small incident.

I don't read many nonfiction books. Why? I don't know. Because every one I have read I really enjoyed. Like this one. I started it last year but was distracted by something. It sat patiently on my shelf until I got back to it again.

Having swum, sailed on, enjoyed the view of, flew over, worked on, eaten from, etc. the Atlantic ocean, I am reminded how vast, powerful, and yet terribly fragile this body of water is.

One cannot but hang one's head in shame and abject frustration: we pollute the sea, we plunder the sea, we disdain the sea, we dishonor the sea that appears like a mere expanse of hammered pewter as we fly over it in our air-polluting planes - forgetting or ignoring all the while that the sea is the source of all the life on earth, the wellspring of us all. The Atlantic, first to be found, to be crossed, and to be known, is by far the most polluted, the most plundered, the most disdained, the most dishonored of the world's oceans.

Peppered with black and white photos and bits of trivia, this was a very readable book.

I'm int he middle of reading Shadows on the Gulf and your review speaks to me in the same manner. Going on the wishlist.....

I know exactly what you mean about not reading non fiction; even though I enjoy most I read, unless I'm making a conscious effort I pick up fiction. Being active on LT really helps me be more aware of my choices - in part, I think, because I read about all the wonderful non fiction books everyone else is reading!

On that topic, Atlantic sounds terrific. I've read two of his other works: Krakatoa and A Crack in the Edge of the World. They were both very good, but Krakatoa was my favorite. I think I'll try to read all of his books I've missed this year. We'll see.

BTW, I have Beauty Queens checked out from the library -- I'm looking forward to it!

Great reviews! I also read Year of the Flood along with Oryx and Crake this year so it was interesting to see your perspective. I found some interesting names among the 'saints' as well including saint Farley Mowat. I may go back and read Oryx again in a year or so... now that I have read Year of the Flood I want to pay closer attention to the brief mentions of God'd Gardeners in Oryx.

Thank you also for the review of Matched.. that is a book I have been considering, and I may have to add it to mount TBR :)

Kathryn, I've seen several members who are reading Shadows. That will go on my wishlist.

Dejah, I've read Krakatoa, too. I want to read The Madman and the Professor by him soon. He makes nonfiction very readable. I hope you get a kick out of Beauty Queens.

Janice, At first I thought they were touches of humor but then I saw the pattern and appreciated this nod to so many enviromentalists. Thanks for stopping by.

__

Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History (1973) and Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began (1986) by Art Spiegelman ****

Art is a cartoonist and discovers that his father's saga of life in Poland during World War II by listening to his stories. The Jews in these graphic novels are portrayed as mice and the Germans as pigs. When a Jew is trying to pass as a German he wears a pig mask. Not very subtle, perhaps, but very dramatic.

Any story about the Holocaust is heart breaking but this story is doubly so because of the tension between Art and his father. Art loves his father and wants to hear his story but feels tremendous guilt because his father drives him nuts and he can only stay around his dad for a short time before losing his patience. His father is ill and wife number 2 seems to be experiencing her own frustrations with him.

This is a classic graphic novel and, in this library, shares shelf space with books about the Holocaust, not Spiderman. It is very moving and anyone who doubts the value of graphic novels should check these out.

P.S. I received notification that I have been accepted for the World Book Night book giveaway. I look forward to handing books out to kids. If even one reads the book then I consider the effort worth while. My first choice was The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.

Congratulations on being accepted for the world booknight giveaway! I hope you have a great time.

I was also moved when reading Maus, and I remember thinking that the using of different animals for different nationalities was quite unique at the time. I am trying to remember what the other animals were..

Congrats on the World Book Night! I haven't read that particular book yet, but I'm a huge Alexie fan so I can only assume it's a great choice! :)

Maus is such a great story - in all aspects of that word.

Janice, The Nazi soliers were cats and there was one Frenchman portrayed as, what else, a frog.

Janice and Eva, Thanks for your congrats. I had never heard of this program and was a little hesitant that it was a scam until I saw it popping up in respectable places. I also did a reverse link search to see what websites had a link to it. I especially liked the news that the authors of the featured books waived their royalties for the books handed out. How cool is that!

Getting caught up here. Nice string of reviews and I echo the congrats on World book Night!

World Book Night sounds like so much fun! And Sherman Alexie is great- super choice for a giveaway.

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin (2007) ****

Here they come. From down the road we can hear harnesses jingling and see dust rising into the warm spring sky.

Vesuvia Adelia Rachel Ortese Aguilar is one of the most remarkable characters I have enjoyed and Ariana Franklin unfortunately died leaving us with only four of her adventures. She peppers her stories with Latin and old French along with archaic terminology but this only serves to add to the ambiance of her stories. Those things that need to be translated or explained for the sake of following the story, are.

Adelia was found abandoned on the side of a mountain in Sicily and adopted by Jewish parents who educated and trained her in the art of medicine. She specialized in forensic medicine, an even more unfeminine endeavor at the time. When King Henry II sent to the King of Sicily for help solving the murder of some children in the town of Cambridgeshire, she was his number one choice. The Jews who lived and worked there were immediately blamed and had to take shelter in the sheriff's castle. Even more deaths after their self-imprisonment didn't change the locals' minds on their guilt. Adelia arrives in town in the company of a Jew named Simon and a Saracen named Mansur, a eunuch who played at being the true doctor that Adelia supposedly translated for.

Henry II was very interested in clearing the Jews since they provided much needed money to his coffers and performed a most un-Christian act - that of money lending. Franklin gives us a 12th century setting filled with the clerics and artisans and government agents of the time. The feast scene is rich and full of details about the food, music, dress, and dance of the era.

This series works as the best in two genres - mystery and historical fiction. I learned about it on the 75ers thread who raved about the stories. About 5 pages into the first book, I took a quick break to go online and order the rest. I was not disappointed. With all the fine books on my shelves waiting to be read I usually don't take time to reread anything but I have been dying to revisit Adelia and her friends for a while now and couldn't wait any longer.

If you have not heard of this series, run, don't walk, to the library or Amazon and get them. You will not be disappointed.

Excellent review of Mistress of the Art of Death! I've been meaning to read it, but it just never seems to happen. Years ago I read and loved The Vizard Mask, a novel written by Diana Norman, the real person behind the pen name Ariana Franklin.

Ah! I saw Mistress of the Art of Death as a CD audiobook a while back and almost got it for my car trip. But I wasn't sure about it, so I ended up taking a different book instead. Thanks for the review. I'll keep it in mind for my next car trip.

HRO, I did not know that Franklin was not her real name. I read the other book, not in the series, called City of Shadows. I'll look for her under her real name, too. Thanks for that info!

Rachel, I would imagine that, with the right voice, these books would make for good listening. I hope you have a chance to listen to it soon.

So, I got all caught up with the brutally violent series, Spartacus, on Showtime. The gallons of fake blood and gore are not to be believed. The stylized cinematology is gorgeous, however. I liked the original actor better than this season's. I can't help but compare the arena games to the spectacles we have today, notably the "wrestling" and, dare I say it, football games.

Hi! Someone loaned me a copy of Mistress of the Art of Death and I read it a while back. I, too, was impressed and have the next in the series on my shelf. Must get to it!

My daughter has copies of Maus I and Maus II here in the house and had recommended I read them. I definitely should do that, especially after seeing your review.

Terri, You should. They just get better.

Paulina, They are very moving. Did your daughter like them?

Yes, my daughter thought the Maus books were great. They were recommended to her by one of her school friends.

The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht (2011) ****

The forty days of the soul begin on the morning after death. That first night, before its forty days begin, the soul lies still against sweated-on pillows and watches the living fold the hands and close the eyes, choke the room with smoke and silence to keep the new soul from the doors and the windows and the cracks in the floor so that it does not run out of the house like a river.

I don't know how to classify a story like this. It took place in a fictitious country with towns with Slavic names but with the real cloud of a German invasion. The main characters are a woman doctor and her grandfather who was also a doctor. The story bounce around between her present and his childhood and times in between. Basically it is how the two of them found medicine to be their calling and why they chose to fight death.

Her grandfather's past included events which include an escaped tiger which terrorized his remote mountain village and "the deathless man" who pops up.

It's the kind of story in which you just have to go with the flow and see where it takes you. It is well worth the trip.

Oh, and by the way, I love three day weekends! Happy Birthday, Abe!

Ash by Malinda Lo (2009) ***

Aisling's mother died at midsummer. She had fallen sick so suddenly that some of the villagers wondered if the fairies had come and taken her, for she was still young and beautiful.

Nicknamed Ash, Aisling's story follows Cinderella's where her father remarries a woman with two daughters who run through his money, he dies, and Ash is left serving her stepmother and stepsisters. Beyond this, the story takes a very different twist.

Ash meets a fae named Sidhean who protects her from other fae who would take Ash into their world. Ash also meets and is attracted to the King's Huntress, Kaisa. The King also has a son, Prince Aidan. Who will end up with Ash's love? And here is the biggest twist.

I will keep an eye out for more of Lo's books since they treat LGBT issues more matter-of-factly and naturally than I have seen. No one is shocked or scandalized. It just is. Nice.

Loved your review of The Tiger's Wife. I already had it on my wishlist, but you made me want to read it, too.

Great review of Ash. It's going back on the WL. Another YA book that treats LGBT as just a fact is Solitaire by Kelley Eskridge. I'm a bit tired of seeing books where girl has meltdown when boy she likes is gay. In reality, girl would have bigger meltdown if boy she likes just didn't like her. :)

SJ, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Cammy, So true! Although, it sometime seems that very little is necessary to make some girls have a meltdown! ;-)

If you are a big Amazon shopper like my family, you may be interested in the new feature where you add a button in your tool bar that allows you to add the book you are looking at to your wishlist. I just went to the page for The Coroner's Lunch, clicked on the button and the correct book popped up and went right to my wish list. They had not listed LibraryThing but it does work on our site.

175 Oooh, I think that might be dangerous . . . ;)

Luckily it goes to the "wish list" and not straight to your "shopping cart"!

The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin (2008) ****

The two men's voices carried down the tunnels with reverberations that made them indistinguishable but, even so, gave the impression of a business meeting. Which it was. In a way.

The second book in the series, Henry II's mistress dies of mushroom poisoning. If the fault is the Queen Eleanor's or is perceived to be hers, the country could be immersed in another civil war. Henry can't allow this to happen so Adelia is called on to prove that the fault lies elsewhere. On her way to the Rosamund's castle, she comes across another mystery, that of the death of a young man whose body was left on a bridge with his horse with its tendons cut so it could not run away.

Another excellent reread!

Moving on to a book purchased several years ago and has been sitting in a box ever since - Catalina's Riddle, a Roman mystery.

I admit I read every one of the Mistress of the Art of Death books in quick succession just a couple of years ago. Some of the books were better than others but that is typical for a series!

Catalina's Riddle looks interesting.... looking forward to seeing what you think of it!

If your review of Mistress in the Art of Death hadn't already motivated me to get it from the library, your review of The Serpent's Tale probably would have done it!

Mystery March is coming up....

I am planning on reading The Mistress of the Art of Death next month, both for Mystery March and for the Reading Thru Time Challenge. I have heard so many good things about this series, I am looking forward to finally getting a start on it.

Lori, I'm 3/4s through CR and loving it.

Dejah and Judy, I hope you both become Adelia fans, too. Enjoy!

The Serpent's Tale looks interesting. Henry II is my favorite British king. Thank you for the review.

I too have Mistress of the Art of Death on Mt. TBR - good to hear that the series continues well.

I'm happy to bring this series back to others' attention. They are definitely worth it!

The Wager by Donna Jo Napoli (2010) ***

A version of the "making a deal with the devil" story, this book is a spin on an old Sicilian fairy tale. A young man inherits his family's fortune and squanders it thinking that money is the only way to make friends. When the money runs out he is approached by a man who offers him a purse that will provide him with however much money he wants. The deal is that he cannot bathe, change clothes, or cut his hair for three years, three months, and three days.

Ew!

Ew is right!

It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living edited by Dan Savage and Terry Miller (2009) ****

What follows is not the first line of the book but is one of the reasons for its creation.

Justin Aaberg was just fifteen when he killed himself in the summer of 2010. He came out at thirteen, and endured years of bulling at the hands of classmates in a suburban Minnesota high school. Justin hanged himself in his bedroom: his mother found his body

And as a mother, those words broke my heart. I work in a large high school library and kids like Justin must walk in here every day. We had a TA who worked in here several years ago. I was extremely honored when he showed me a letter he had written to his mother to out himself. That he was gay was no surprise to me but that it took him this long to share was.

If you know a teen that is suffering, give him/her this book!

If you work with teens, read this book!

Bryan Johnson (Momma Mia!): You know why everybody's making videos and writing their stories for this project? Because you matter. You matter. Don't let anyone define you with their hateful words and actions. Believe in yourself, no matter what they say or do. Love yourself. Be good to yourself. Life is so wonderful with all its heartaches and joys. And the world is such an incredible, beautiful place. You deserve to be around to enjoy it. You deserve to have an amazing life.

@186 Ew & LOL! Medieval times, no one would notice but now???? I've been meaning to read Di Napoli for a long time. Sounds like I should get around to it.

It Gets Better looks good. Have you seen the documentaries from Teach Tolerance? They have one on a gay boy in Wisconsin who was being "bullied" in school. Really, it was assault and the school system did nothing (good) about it. I can't remember the name of the documentary, but I watched it with a homophobic group of boys and they were really moved by it. It broke through their prejudices.

Here it is: http://www.tolerance.org/teaching-kits "Bullied"

I didn't make it clear, but the book did take place in some undesignated medieval time but he got so bad that people really noticed.
Thanks for the link. I will take a look at it.

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler (2011) DNF

Argghh!

Daniel Handler is better known as Lemony Snicket, the author of the wonderful series, The Series of Unfortunate Events. Why he has wandered into the realm of YA chick lit is beyond me.

Written as a letter by Min (short for Minerva) to her ex-boyfriend, Ed, this book is a regurgitation of their relationship which accompanies a box of momentos that she drops on his doorstep.

Read too soon on the heels of It Gets Better, I slammed it shut after this exchange where Min remembers how Ed was given a math award.

"The point is that it's embarrassing, and Trevor and everyone gives me shit about it."

"I don't. Who would do that? It's math, Ed. It's not, like, I don't know, you're a really good knitter. Not that knitting--"

"It's as gay as that."

"What? don't--math's not gay."

"It is, kind of."

"Was Einstein gay?"

"He had gay hair."

*students look up as librarian slams book shut in anger*

Shame on you, Mr. Handler!

Oh, dear, that's just awful!

OMG, that is really bad. Even the kids have quit using "gay" to mean everything stupid, thank heavens! Just because it's current (now not so current) slang doesn't mean he has to use it... & besides, what a dumb passage anyway. Yawnsville!

See, when I read the book, I took Ed's casual homophobia as one of the reasons Min was giving for "why they broke up" -- it's certainly one of the things that bothers her about him throughout. I thought the book was a pretty good description of a relationship that was pretty much doomed from the start, with both characters thinking that they could change the other in one way or another.

Foggi, too bad I can't get past this part. It just riled me too much. I might have let it slide except that I had just been reading all of the expressions of support for victims of high school gay bullying. Simple little exchanges like that may not mean much to someone who has not endured bullying but it still sticks like a thorn to someone who has. The other expression that has been around for a long time, seemingly innocent, but dastardly in its implication, is "girl" as in "girly man" or "don't be such a girl". It is such a slam at women and it makes me cringe every time I hear it used.

Having endured a fair amount of bullying in my own school days, I know how hurtful a word can be. (It's been some time since then, but I still would not want to be around those eighth-grade boys who used to bark at me when I walked down the hall, no matter how much they may have changed in the intervening years.) I just don't fault any author for putting hurtful words in the mouth of a character, particularly one that's not written as entirely sympathetic. I have my own hot-button words, so I can see how it would make you not want to read the book any more, though -- and I'm all for putting down a book you're not enjoying and reading something else!

->196 foggidawn:
You made me think of a friend who had a hard time in High School because of idiots, but went on to be a High School teacher anyway since she loved the topics she would be able to teach. Only to find on her first week back that her own "hot-button words" were still in usage and when she overheard them used, the past just came rushing back. She has since gone back to school and is now teaching college instead. It does stay with you.

We of Nagasaki by Takashi Nagai (1951) ****

I can remember when I was little, but mostly bad things; I mean, mostly times when I was scared and things like that.

The first narrator in this short book was four years old when Nagasaki was flattened by an atomic bomb. There are more memories of that fateful day related to Dr. Takashi Nagai, five years after the event.

The survivors carried the guilt of their actions or inactions for a long time and this, according to Dr. Nagai, is the real aftermath of a disaster of this magnitude.

This is a very short and very powerful book that has beckoned me from its shelf for many years. I'm sure the images I gained from reading it will stay with me for many more years.

That does sound good. A bit deeper than Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. Wishlist! It looks like you're the only one who has read it even though it is old. Is it hard to find?

It was originally published in 1950 and is a rather slim volume, not as well known as Hiroshima by John Hersey. My county library's catalog is down at the moment so I can't see if it's available there. A peak at Amazon shows two quite expensive used copies available. I wish you luck if you try to find it!

I looked for We of Nagasaki and they don't have it at my library, unfortunately.
Why we Broke Up does sound annoying, but I had to laugh at the idea that Einstien had gay hair. Maybe the author meant it to be ironic? Since Einstein was quite a womanizer, and if he'd been gay he would have had much nicer hair.

Catilina's Riddle by Steven Saylor (1993) ****½
Roma sub Rosa: The Investigations of Gordianus the Finder (3)

"According to Cato..." I said, and paused, squinting at the scroll. Bright summer sunlight from the window glared across the parchment, obscuring the faded black letters.

Ah! I finished reading this book this morning and feeling an almost indecent glow from the enjoyment of it I looked around to see what book I would start next. I couldn't find anything that would come close. I succumbed to opening my Kindle and immediately ordered the first of the series that CR was the third of. What a slut I am!

A merger of my two favorite genres, mystery and historical fiction, this series features Gordianus, a Finder, who lives in Rome around 60 B.C., after the revolt of Spartacus and before the rise of Julius Caesar. He is married to a woman who had been his slave and who he freed before marrying. He has three children, two adopted sons and a daughter with his wife.

A friend of his died and left him a farm surrounded on all sides by properties owned by cousins of the dead man, all of whom thought that they should have inherited the land. Gordianus, tired of city life and all its noise and politics, moves his family leaving his oldest son in Rome. Stirring up his quiet is a messenger from Cicero who asks Gordianus to receive Catilina in his home if he should show up on his way to cities in the north. Soon on his heels, a headless corpse shows up in the barn. Is there a connection?

We meet Gordianus' neighbors, meet the maligned Catalina, travel with the family to Rome to celebrate the coming of age of his son, Meto, witness an election, and walk around ancient Rome to hear, see, and smell all of the sensations. And the intrigue! It was kind of fun to follow all the shenanigans of the politicians at this time. It was also interesting to read comments about the slave revolt since I am also immersed in the extremely violent series, Spartacus. The stars aligned for me in the timing of reading this book.

A side note - having started the first book of the series, it was a wonderful shock meeting the slave he would marry and the boy who becomes his oldest son. I found it enjoyable knowing what kind of family they would eventually turn into.

Mamzel --

You make this series sound very appealing! For some reason I always seem to hesitate to read books set in Ancient Rome -- no idea why, as I've most of the ones I've brought myself to read. I think I'll look for the first in the series to try.

Thanks for the review -- your shorter offical review got a thumbs up from me.

@201 Einstein was a womanizer? I thought he had Aspergers and therefore wouldn't be too successful at that. LOL! Seems like history is turning up a lot of womanizers.

I'm going to check interlibrary loan for We of Nagasaki. DS's husband is looking for an audio book project. Perhaps we should sic him on this one. ?

& Catalina's Riddle You hit me with another book bullet. I went through my WL today and tried to get it below 13 pages. Alas, I give up. Surrender!

Here's the scoop on Minnesota copies of We of Nagasaki. There are about 2 copies supposedly available through interlibrary loan. There is also a reference copy in the Special Collections at the downtown Minneapolis library. They may even make you wear special gloves to look at it. :) I was tempted to request it right away, but we've been studying WWII and the Holocaust for MONTHS at the school I work at. I think I'll enjoy it more if I wait a few more months.

DT, I think the reason I like this series so much is the protagonist, Gordianus, is so likeable. And I think I may be a bit inured to the violence. Thanks for the thumb!

Cammy, I find it interesting that this book is hard to find but not terribly surprised. Like Dr. Nagai feared, it's easy to sweep away the agony felt by the survivors like dust off a shelf. I'm glad I have it on my library's shelf. Oh, and put on your flak jacket...



Roman Blood by Steven Saylor (1991) ****
Roma Sub Rosa: The Investigations of Gordianus the Finder (1)

After thoroughly enjoying the third book of the series, I went back to the beginning and I think I am officially hooked!

The first story about Gordianus the Finder has him hired by Cicero to help him in the defense of a man accused of murdering his father. The Roman way of handling murder cases is to offer the defendant a chance to leave the city and go far, far away thereby not needing a costly and potentially rabble-rousing trial. The death sentence for a person found guilty of parricide (the killing of a relative) is incredibly nasty so most accused people take the opportunity to flee, guilty or not. So why isn't Sextus Roscius moving to the boonies?

Along with learning facts about the investigation, the reader learns about Lucius Sulla, the dictator who initiated a system of proscriptions where a person is accused of being an enemy of the state, is killed by someone for the bounty, then all his belongings becoming property of the state to fatten Rome's coffers or be auctioned off to Sulla's friends and supporters for a ridiculously low price. History is full of examples where systems such as this are abused by people envious of what their neighbor has or want to get rid of someone but too gutless to handle it themselves.

And....off to book 2, The House of the Vestals.

Oh noes, Roman Blood sounds good too.

That's done it -- I've requested Roman Blood from the library. I already have far, far too many books set aside to read in Mystery March over on the 75 thread, but how could I resist?

Book 2 (chronological date, not published date) is actually short stories!

Updating the egg count:

I. TBRs - 2
II. YAs - 5
III. Non-fiction - 2
IV. LT Faves - 1
V. Classics - 1
VI. Doorstops - 1
VII. Murder mysteries - 2
VIII. Non-American author - 1
IX. ERs - 2
X. Tough reads - 3
XI. Continuation of series - 1
XII. Miscellaneous - 2

Total - 23 - fiarly well balanced except for the YAs (occupational hazard)

The House of the Vestals: The Investigations of Gordianus the Finder by Steven Saylor (1997) ****
Roma sub Rosa #2

This series of short stories were written later but fit chronologically between books 1 and 2. Each story has a little mystery involved, a little danger, and an aspect of Roman life to become acquainted with. My favorite is "The Tale of the Treasure House" which shows the close relationship between Gordianus and his Egyptian slave, Bethesda. In it, Rome is experiencing an extremely hot night and the two of them are reclining on couches into the peristyle, the open courtyard in the middle of a Roman house. Under the stars Gordianus asks Bethesda to tell him a story of her native land. She tells him the story of King Rhampsinitus who built a treasure house for his silver. The architect died right after the construction was completed. However, on subsequent visits to his treasure, the king noticed items missing even though the seal on the door had not been tampered with.

Other stories feature his friend Cicero, the great orator, his wealthy friend, Lucius Claudius, and his adopted son, the bright and mute Eco. We get glimpses of Roman life like the celebration of Saturnalia, where slaves and masters switch places, the Vestal Virgins, the plague of pirates, and even simple bee keeping.

Still loving this series. I'm taking a break to join the group read of The Windup Girl and review an ER.

I'll be back...

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi (2009) ****
Reread for Group Read

The first time I read this I didn't make as much effort to understand the different factions involved in the struggle of future Bangkok. Two of the main organizations are the Environment Ministry and the Trade Ministry. Environment (the White Shirts) is working hard to keep out all of the genetically engineered crops being planted that can resist the genetically engineered plagues that kill off the native species. Trade is responsible for bringing in the pumps needed to keep the city dry and the seed for crops to feed the populace, bribed by the big foreign corporations to allow their products to enter the county.

Among the peripheral characters are Hock Seng, a Chinese man who was the owner of a fleet of cargo ships, now reduced to working as secretary to a foreigner and Emiko, a New Person abandoned by her Japanese owner because it was cheaper to buy a new one when he returned home. Emiko epitomizes the influx of artificial lifeforms that can turn lethal to native lifeforms when provoked and let loose.

Very different, very strong read.

The Windup Girl is a book I've been uncertain about reading - thanks for the review.

I have to admit the Steven Saylor mysteries are probably more my speed!

Yeah, I've been skeptical about The Windup Girl because I hear there are some rather graphic (and unnecessary) rape scenes. I am a huge non-fan of rape scenes and only tolerate them when they are handled tactfully and are an important plot point (like with The Kite Runner).

I was looking forward to hearing what people think of The Windup Girl. It's been on the maybe-list for a while, so I love that the group read is going on so I can hear all the different opinions!

I've heard it's brutal too, but well worth plowing through the uncomfortable stuff. I'm so sad that I'll be missing the group read this month but I know I'm not up to it right now! Good review Mamzel.

Rachel, Katie, I certainly respect your view on rape. It is a hard thing to read about. The victim in this story is the windup girl, Emiko, an android, of sorts, who was abandoned in Bangkok by her Japanese owner because it was cheaper to buy a new one back home than to pay her passage and all the bribes to get her out. She was taken in by a bar owner and was the featured entertainment. The rape scenes helped to illustrate her complete frustration and helplessness of her situation, due both to her submissive training and her political situation. She was pushed to her limit which far exceeded a human's limit of pain and degradation before her "subroutines" kicked in and she lashed back. I think the rape scenes, which were not nearly as graphic as they could have been, were necessary for the story. In comparison, there was much more graphic detail about the removal of a dead "metadon" from a factory floor.

I have no idea why this book fascinates me the way it does. This was a reread for me which was triggered by the Group Read. It has been in the back of my head since I read it a year and a half ago and I regretted that I had given away my copy. I know I appreciated it much more the second time around.

D.T., Eva, This is a brutal and gritty book. If you liked the movie, Blade Runner, I think you would like this book.

Mamzel - It's interesting you should compare it to Blade Runner. I barely go through Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? last month and gave up on watching Blade Runner partway though. I think I'll skip The Windup Girl for now.

Interestingly, I'm reading a rather dark SF book from the same publisher that put out The Windup Girl - Night Shade Books. God's War by Kameron Hurley is one of the Nebula Nominees this year (and of course, The Windup Girl won in 2010). I'll let you know what I think of it when I'm finished - it's rather slow going for me.

I can live with brutal and gritty, as long as it's not for its own purpose - there has to be a reason. So far, it's staying on the wishlist. :)

I respect the person who recommended it to me when it first came out. Your description sounds like it's well done, but I'm not sure I can take it. I tried reading Altered Carbon, which was also a well-received but violent science fiction novel. I couldn't do it, but regret that I couldn't because I think it brought up some interesting themes. The Windup Girl is staying on my wishlist too.

OOOOO! Goody! Goody! Goody!
Notification received that Crucible of Gold is waiting for me at the library. This will be a loooooong day!

Mamzel I hope yo enjoy it! While I've only read a few books in this series and am obviously not the devoted fan you are, I completely understand what you mean. I had a long night last night - I got my hands on Patricia Briggs' Fair Game which was just released and I basically read it in one sitting....

Have a wonderful day!

I've got Fair Game on hold at the library and it will be in my hot little hands this evening. I can't wait!

Crucible of Gold by Naomi Novik (2012) ***½
Temeraire #7

Arthur Hammond prided himself on a certain degree of insensibility in the cause of duty - an indifference to physical discomfort and even to social awkwardness - a squelching of the natural repugnances, when these should interfere with the progress of a diplomatic mission.

I should have been in a better or different mood to give this book the love and attention it deserved. I adore this series, an alternate history/fantasy that takes place during the Napoleonic Wars and includes beautiful, complex, loyal dragons. The series takes us around the world where we see dragons in all different positions in the human world. Temeraire is a most regal, intelligent, and sensitive dragon who advises his human, Laurence and keeps him alert to the needs and feelings of the dragons.

I still love this series and highly recommend this to anyone who would like to explore a new world with a different world order especially if they like swashbuckling stories like Horatio Hornblower.

My whole review can be found here.

Eep, can't read your review of Crucible of Gold yet since I'm still in the middle of Victory of Eagles -- but I'll be back once I've caught up with the series!

I have the first in the series on my wishlist - dragons and swashbuckling sounds good to me. :)

It was sitting on my desk so I decided to re"read" The Arrival by Shaun Tan. It is still the most stunning graphic novels I have even enjoyed. It is truly a work of art. If you have never tried a graphic novel thinking that it is just a fancy name for a comic book, this should be your introduction to this genre. The story is a common one - a man leaves his family to find work in a different country and has to overcome a language and culture barrier. He meets many helpful people who are immigrants like him, and help him learn his way around. What is so fascinating is that the language, the food, the animals, are foreign to us, too, so we get a sense of his alienation and learn along with him. Eventually his family joins him in this new country. His trust in his new surroundings is illustrated by him sending his daughter out to buy something by herself. While out, she is able to help someone else and the circle is complete.

I love the arrival and Shaun Tan generally!

Arms of Nemesis by Steven Saylor (1992) 3.5 *
Roma sub Rosa #2

For all his fine qualities - his honesty and devotion, his cleverness, his uncanny agility - Eco was not well suited for answering the door. Eco was mute.

Eco was the orphan that Gordianus adopted from the first episode of this series. He had witnessed something so horrifying that it robbed him of speech. Gordianus recognized that Eco was extraordinarily bright and has no trouble understanding him.

His guests were there to accompany him to the coastal town of Baia to help investigate the murder of one Lucius Licinius, the cousin of the very wealthy Marcus Crassus. Slaves are suspected since two of them disappeared. Unless Gordianus can find an alternate answer, all 100 of the estate's slaves will be put to death in the arena by Crassus' soldiers.

Gordianus has become very sensitive to the issue of slavery. Spartacus and his gladiators are rebelling and trying to incite all slaves to join them. The finder and his son are transported to Baia on a trireme where they witness the horrible treatment of the slaves chained to their benches. And now it is up to him to save these 100 innocent souls.

I am still totally enjoying this series. I have the next two from the library: The Venus Throw and A Murder on the Appian Way. And spring break...

The Alchemist by Paolo Bacigalupi (2011) ****

It's difficult to sell you last bed to a neighbor. More difficult still when your only child clings like a spider monkey to its frame, and screams as if you were chopping off her arms with an axe every time you try to remove her.

I got this short story for my Kindle since I was curious. It was a quick read, a story about the consequences of magic. Every time someone uses magic, a terrible invasive bramble is fed. Jeoz develops a device which destroys the bramble, its roots, and its seeds. However, when he takes this device to the mayor of the town, things don't go the way he hopes.

The Venus Throw by Steven Saylor (1996) ****
Roma sub Rosa #3

"Two visitors at the front door, Master." Belbo looked at me from under his brow and shifted from foot to foot uncertainly.

Saylor has another story full of intrigue and insight into the life of Romans, weaving both real and fictitious characters to flesh out the story. This time Gordianus is asked to investigate the murder of an Egyptian envoy, Dio, who died in the house of a beautiful and wealthy woman, Clodia. She accuses an ex-lover, Marcus Caelius, and directs Gordianus to find proof of his guilt.

Cicero returns in this story as Marcus is his protege. He gives another amazing defense speech. An interesting quote attributed to Cicero from another trial: "When rendering their verdict, judges must consider the good of the community and the needs of the state."

This story has lots of twists and turns and a very unexpected finale. On to the next one...

A Murder on the Appian Way by Steven Saylor (1996) ****½
Roma sub Rosa #5

"Papa! Wake up!"
A hand gripped my shoulder and shook me gently. I pulled away and felt cold air on the back of my neck as the blanket slid away.

As Rome is headed for major change, so we see major changes headed for Gordianus's household.

The people of Rome are split into two factions: the patriarchs (called the Best People) and the plebeians. Representing them are Milo (friend of Cicero) and Clodius (brother and rumored lover of Clodia) who was from a long line of highborn Romans who boast, among other achievements, of building the Appian Way, a stone-paved road wide enough for two ox carts to pass without leaving the road, running southeast from Rome.

On one fateful day, Milo and Clodius meet on the road and would have passed peacefully except that Clodius couldn't stop himself from tossing a slur over his shoulder to the two monster gladiators at the end of Milo's entourage. What resulted was the death of Clodius. His body was found in the road by a senator who gave up his litter to carry the body back to Rome. Clodians, bereft by his death, cremated his body in the fire set in the Senate. It looked to patriarchs that Rome would end in flames that night.

No less than three people come to Gordianus, known as the most honest man in Rome, to investigate the crime to see how events actually unfolded. First was Cicero, a friend of Milo's. Second to come to his door was Clodia, who brought Gordianus to meet Fluvia, Clodius's wife. It was here that he gets his only glimpse of the body. Third was Pompey. Waiting in his villa outside of Rome, he is waiting in the wings for an opportunity to help bring peace back to Rome, his way.

Saylor continues to bring us an insider's look at Rome and introduces us to the major players. At the same time we get to know his growing family.

Now to wait for the next ones to become available at the library...

You are running through these Steven Saylor books! I've got the first one out from the library, but I'm feeling a little burnt out on mysteries this month. Soon....

Dejah, if you like historical fiction you will appreciate this series as well. The mystery almost takes a back seat in some of the books. Enjoy!



The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (2012) ****

Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death.

I haven't bawled like I did when I was reading this book in a long, long time. I purposely avoid books that I expect will cause me to have leaky eyes since I really hate the puffiness, blurriness, redness, and headache which accompany a good crying jag. However, John Green writes the best books and I had to read it.

Teens with cancer fall in love. Have tissues handy.

After I finished the Green book I needed something that wouldn't pull my emotions any more so I took up and reread the third of the Arianna Franklin series, Grave Goods. I think this was my favorite because of the King Arthur twist. I am now into the next Steven Saylor, Rubicon. This week is spring break at my school and I worked Monday, Tuesday, and half of yesterday helping with an inventory of textbooks. Those puppies are freaking heavy! Hopefully we won't have to do that again any time soon. After work yesterday I went with my friend and my daughter and saw the movie Hunger Games. They did a great job bringing the book to life. It amazes me how many adults have read this book and went to see the movie. I had staff members request the book (but I always loaned it out only if a student didn't want it) more than any other book I can think of.

Rubicon by Steven Saylor (1999) ****
Roma Sub Rosa (6)

"Pompey will be mightily pissed," said Davus.
"Son-in-law, you have a penchant for stating the obvious."

Gordianus takes us into the heat of battle in this book. We get to see the battle of Brundidium from both sides; first from Caesar's camp and then from inside the fortress walls with Pompey.

Longer review on the book's page. On to book 7.

What a nice review! Roman Blood is on the shelf waiting for me....

I truly hope you enjoy it as much as I did!



Last Seen in Massilia by Steven Saylor (2000) ****
Roma Sub Rosa #7

"Madness!" I muttered. "Davus, I knew it was a mistake to leave the road. Shortcut, indeed!"

No sooner does Gordianus return home to Rome with his son-in-law, Davus, than he receives an unsigned note that his son, Meto, had been killed in Massilia (modern day Marseilles). He and Davus take off to discover if he really is dead and how it happened.

When they arrive they find the fortified city under siege by Caesar's troops where they are building siege weapons and ramps to move them up. It is as much work as building a city. No other than Vitruvius the engineer, himself, describes the work to Gordianus. He also tells him about the tunnel nearing completiong. Gordianus now knows how he and Davus will enter the city and investigate Meto's supposed death. Little do they know that the tunnel comes up under a reservoir.

The gods and the brute strength of Davus are with Gordianus and they alone make it into the city to the surprise of the inhabitants curious about why the reservoir suddenly dropped. They are gathered up by Hieronymus, the scapegoat, who is being given sumptuous quarters and food in anticipation of being returned to the gods to protect the city.

Again, Saylor has treated us to a detailed description of the taking of the city and, even if it can be considered miraculous, Gordianus's entry into the city is the only way it could have been accomplished.

Seven down - three to go (on their way from the library)!

In the interim, I reread the fourth book of the Mistress of the Art of Death series, The Murderous Procession. Alas, vacation ends and it's back to work tomorrow. Figures that today is sunny outside!

I'm wishlisting The Fault in Our Stars

I think I have a copy of Last Seen in Massilia that I picked up somewhere ... must they be read in order?

Banjo, John Green is a really good YA author. I hope you like it.

Clif, Since a large part of the story has to do with his family, I would recommend reading them in order, but he does fill in any necessary information at the beginning of each book for you. I started with the second and went back to the first without any major trouble following. He does refer back to the previous cases to let one know how a person fits into the scheme of things. They are pretty fast reads. Enjoy!

March Madness:

I. Off the shelves - 2
II. YAs - 5
III. Nonfiction - 2
IV. Bestsellers - 1
V. Classics - 1
VI. Chunkers - 1
VII. Mysteries - 2
VIII. Non-American authors - 1
IX. ERs - 2
X. Tough reads - 3
XI. - Continuations of series - 9
XII. Miscellaneous - 4

The Steven Saylor series were the major reads of the month accounting for the bulge in category XI. 33 in three months and I did not count the rereads of the four Ariana Franklin books. I was on quite a tear this past week!

The egg adventure continues here.

The Alchemist sounds good. Now I'm off to following you to your next thread.