Lori's Wonderful World of Reading for 2012 - Part 1

Lori's Wonderful World of Reading for 2012

Previous thread: The Warm-up Thread

I am now ready to set up shop (put the shelves in order, sweep the floor, plump the pillows and put the kettle on) for my January 1st start date for this challenge. I have decided that I will aim for 6 books in each category, no overlaps allowed, for a total of 72 books. This will be my third category challenge and this time I have added candidates for some of the categories - more so I can keep track of the LT picked books that are now spread out over various categories - but also as a great way to keep other suggestions I have received (like for my poetry and plays categories) somewhere easy to locate.




The Categories:

1. Don't know much about history - Historical Fiction pre-1945
2. Don't know much biology - Medical discovery/illness as a theme (Fiction or Non-Fiction)
3. Don't know much about a science book - Science as a theme (Fiction or Non-Fiction) that does not fall under Medical discovery/illness
4. Don't know much about the French I took - Foreign language novels translated into English
5. But I do know that I love you - More books by favorite authors
6. And I know that you love me too - Poetry
7. What a wonderful world this would be - Plays
8. Don't know much about geography - Books set in foreign lands
9. But I do know that one and one is two - Next in Series
10. And if this one could be with you - "New to me" Canadian authors
11. Now I don't claim to be an "A" student - Prize Winners and Shortlisted
12. I can win your love for me - Books languishing on my TBR pile

... But I'm trying to be - Overflow (basically anything that does not fit in any of the 12 categories above so I can track all of my reading for the year in one location).

Thank you Sam Cooke!

**********

Book Statistics: I want to track some book stats throughout the year, in particular to see if I am purchasing more books than reading what I already own and have sitting waiting TBR.

Books purchased: 11
Books read: 21
Books read off TBR Pile: 5
Books read from local library: 14
Books read and borrowed from friends/family: 1
Free book download/ER book: 1
Books read by male authors: 13
Books read by female authors: 10
* two books read co-authored by male and female author so counted both here!

1. Don't know much about history - Historical Fiction pre-1945



1. Paris Requiem by Lisa Appignanesi - (review here - post 143)
2. Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey - (review here - post 179)
3. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - (review here - post 194)
4.
5.
6.

Candidates:
LT picked: Unholy Loves by Lisa Appignanesi - -Eva- (formerly bookaholic13) 1900 France
LT picked: The World Above the Sky by Kent Stetson - BCteagirl 1400's
LT picked: Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwartz - ivyd 1920's

2. Don't know much biology - Medical discovery/illness as a theme (Fiction or Non-Fiction)



1. The Making of Modern Medicine by Michael Bliss - (review here - post 198)
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Candidates:
LT picked: Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam - Smiler69
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukjerjee
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skoolt
Nemesis by Philip Roth

3. Don't know much about a science book - Science as a theme (Fiction or Non-Fiction) that does not fall under the Medical discovery/illness category



1. Science in the Renaissance by Brendan January - (review here - post 45)
2. Sciencia: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Astronomy For All Edited by John Martineau - (review here - post 245)
3.
4.
5.
6.

Candidates:
The Technologists by Matthew Pearl

4. Don't know much about the French I took - Foreign language novels translated into English



1. 1953: Chronicle of a Birth Foretold by France Diagle - (review here - post 118)
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Candidates:

5. But I do know that I love you - More books by favorite authors



1. Unholy Loves by Lisa Appignanesi - (review here - post 144)
2. The Hangman by Louise Penny - (review here - post 160)
3.
4.
5.
6.

Candidates:

6. And I know that you love me too - Poetry



1. The Conference of the Birds by Peter Sis - (review here - post 44)
2. Blackbird Singing by Paul McCartney - (review here - post 79)
3. Book of Longing by Leonard Cohen - (review here - post 114)
4.
5.
6.

Candidates:
Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Dispair by Pablo Neruda
One Secret Thing by Sharon Olds
Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff
Book of Longing by Leonard Cohen
Selected Poems by e.e. cummings
Human Chain by Seamus Heaney
Opened Ground by Seamus Heaney
Crank by Ellen Hopkins
The Conference of the Birds by Peter Sis
WISHR - Blackbird Singing: Poems and Lyrics by Paul McCartney

7. What a wonderful world this would be - Plays



1. Strawberries in January by Evelyne de la Chenelière - (review here - post 46)
2. Ivona, Princess of Burgundia by Witold Gombrowicz - (review here - post 186)
3.
4.
5.
6.

Candidates:
Mousetrap by Agatha Christie
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
Blithe Spirits by Noel Coward
Ivona, Princess of Burgundia by Witold Gombrowicz
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee
Far Away by Cary Churchill
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Fences by August Wilson
The Drawer Boy by Michael Healey
Thirteen Hands by Carol Shields
WISHR - Miss Julie by August Strindberg
WISHR - Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
WISHR - The Rez Sisters by Tomson Highway
WISHR - Six Characters in Search of a Play by Luigi Pirandello
Elizabeth Rex by Timothy Findley
Our Town by Thornton Wilder

8. Don't know much about geography - Books set in foreign lands



1. Gilgamesh by Joan London - (review here - post 78)
2. The Distant Hours by Kate Morton - (review here - post 100)
3. The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi - (review here - post 221)
4.
5.
6.

Candidates:
LT picked: The House Within by Fiona Kidman - cammykitty New Zealand
LT picked: The Likeness by Tana French - christina_reads Ireland
LT picked: Coastliners by Joanne Harris - paruline France

9. But I do know that one and one is two - Next in Series



1. Always Kiss the Corpse on Whidbey Island by Sandy Francis Duncan and George Szanto - (review here - post 92)
2. Never Hug a Mugger on Quadra Island by Sandy Frances Duncan and George Szanto - (review here - post 242)
3.
4.
5.
6.

Candidates:
LT picked: What They Wanted by Donna Morrissey - VictoriaPL
LT picked: The Likeness by Tana French - christina_reads

10. And if this one could be with you - "New to me" Canadian authors



1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Candidates:
LT picked: The Rules of Engagement by Catherine Bush - DeltaQueen50
LT picked: The Island Walkers by John Bemrose - GingerbreadMan
LT picked: What They Wanted by Donna Morrissey - VictoriaPL
LT picked: The World Above the Sky by Kent Stetson - BCteagirl

11. Now I don't claim to be an "A" student - Prize Winners and Shortlisted



1. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes - (review here - post 58)
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Candidates:
LT picked: The Island Walkers by John Bemrose - GingerbreadMan
LT picked: Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam - Smiler69

12. I can win your love for me - Books languishing on my TBR pile



1. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde - (review here - post 165)
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Candidates:
LT picked: Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson - bucketyell
LT picked: The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho - SouthernKiwi
LT picked: Widow for One Year by John Irving - katiekrug

... But I'm trying to be (the Overflow slot) - Basically anything that does not fit in any of the 12 categories above so I can track all of my reading for the year in one location.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Book Rating System:
Both decimal and LT star ratings will be applied to each book. My star rating system can be found on my profile page. For the decimal system, I have decided to assess each book on the following criteria (each on a scale of 1 to 5):

Plot Development
Character Development
Premise - Did the author deliver on the original premise that enticed me to pick up the book in the first place or do I feel as though I have been hoodwinked?
Writing Style
Imagery - was I able to visualize the story as I was reading it
Length - too long, too short or just right to convey the story

Now the challenge is going to be whether or not I stick to this plan!

With all the various challenges and group reads that I have decided to commit to this year, for my sanity I will maintain a monthly post with my planned reading so I can manage everything in one spot.

JANUARY - Planned Reading for the Month:

12 in 12 Challenge TIOLI sub-challenge:
~ ~ Science in the Renaissance by Brendan January - Finished
~ ~ Strawberries in January by Evelyne de la Chenelière - Finished

Group Reads:
~ ~ Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (Year Long Group Read)

Books chosen by LT members - to help me read books already on my TBR pile:
~ ~ Unholy Loves by Lisa Appignanesi - fits my "Don't Know Much About History" and my "I Can Win Your Love for Me" categories.

Poetry - For my "Year of Reading Poetry" (I plan to try to read at least one poem a day, everyday, as a way to get through my poetry category):
~ ~ The Conference of the Birds by Peter Sis - Finished
~ ~ Blackbird Singing: Poems and Lyrics by Paul McCartney - Finished
~ ~ Book of Longing by Leonard Cohen - Finished

Reading Through Time (RTT) Group topic/theme for the month:
~ ~ 1953: Chronicle of a Birth Foretold by France Daigle - for the "Number in the Title" January theme. - Finished

Orange reading - which will be year long, give or take a month here and there:
~ ~ Gilgamesh by Joan London - fits my "Don't Know Much About Geography" categories. - Finished

The planned reading is just a placeholder and will be subject to edits (additions, deletions, etc) over the course of the reading month.

And this thread is now open for business! Happy reading everyone! I am looking forward to my 2012 reading, where ever it may take me.

Now I just need to decide what book to start the challenge with.....

Looking forward to another great year, Lori! Starred!!!

***STARRED***

Found you and starred you! Will enjoy seeing how your decimal system unfolds!

>18 LauraBrook: & 19 - Hi Laura and Katie, thanks for stopping by! *** Waves***

>20 GingerbreadMan: - Great to see you here Anders! I 'test drove' the new decimal rating system with one of my free reads. I will say this, it does make me think more about the qualities the book has! First review using the decimal rating system is posted over on the 11 in 11 and can be found here (post 197). Still early days and I may need to fine tune the system a bit as I use it.....

Fences! Did I say this already. I got to see a live production of that at The Penumbra Theater. You'll love it. Looks like a great year of reading ahead.

>22 cammykitty: - LOL! Fences is listed as a candidate for my plays category, thanks to your earlier suggestion on my warm-up thread Katie! I looked into and added as candidates the suggestions received that my local library has available for borrowing and that caught my interest.

As someone who doesn't venture into reading poetry or plays, I have to say I was surprised - okay, I will admit I was actually stunned - to discover what a broad selection of poetry and plays my local library has on offer. There is a whole section of the library I never venture into, probably because it is on a different floor from my usual fiction reading, but whatever - The end result is I think I may enjoy these 'branching outside of my comfort zone' categories more than I originally envisioned!

I'm sure you're going to love them! When I was doing my Nobel Prize category, I had forgotten that playwrites and poets receive the Nobel too. It provided a nice change of pace. Figures I suggested August Wilson. He wasn't born in Minnesota and didn't live here either, but he premiered most of his plays in St. Paul at the Penumbra so we have a little local pride for him.

Got you starred - bet you're getting anxious to start. I know I am. Happy reading!

>24 cammykitty: - Hi Katie, I didn't think about the Noble prize as a resource for playwrights and poets to fill my categories! I was excited to discover that one of our national newspapers, The Globe and Mail, reviews poetry, along with the various book reviews. I will hunt out the Noble prize to see what else may be gleaned. Thanks!

>25 dudes22: - Hi Betty, glad to see you here! I am chomping at the bit to start... it doesn't help that my current 'free' read will not carry me over to January 1st. I think I will be starting my first challenge book a couple of days early. After all, it would seem pointless to start another new book just a few days away from starting this challenge!

Will of course be following your thread with interest. Good luck and happy reading!

what a broad selection of poetry and plays my local library has on offer

I work in a high school library and have to admit the only time I spend in those areas is to put an occasional book back. We have a series of books with the best plays of (insert year here). I started to read these some time back. Maybe I'll go back again. I certainly recognize the names of many of them. Poetry is another matter altogether. I just can't do it.

Posted a note to the other strand before I saw that you had closed it. So...for plays...you could spend the entire year reading plays with all the suggestions that have already been posted, but I'll add Elizabeth Rex by Findley and The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder. And for the science category I highly recommend The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. It was my favorite read of 2010, and I can't stop recommending it.

>27 AHS-Wolfy: - Hi Dave! Looking forward to following your reading as well!

>28 mamzel: - Hi mamzel, this challenge is the test to see if I can handle poetry.... up until now I have avoided it like the plague!

>29 Katethegreyt: - Hi Katethegreyt, I have added Elizabeth Rex to my plays candidates.... I had no idea Findley wrote plays! My local library has Thornton Wilder but the only book with the play "The Skin of Our Teeth" is an 800 page anthology of his works.... don't think I am up to tackling that just yet! They do have some others by Wilder so I will keep that name in mind as I work through the challenge. Thanks!

Looking forward to following your thread this year! The biology category, in particular, looks very interesting.

Great categories, Lori and a nice selection of books too. Good luck with your challenge this coming year.

>30 lkernagh: - Our Town is another good play by Thornton Wilder and a prize winner.

Great categories.

>31 mathgirl40: - Hi Paulina, I am looking forward to the 2012 challenge... can't wait to get started!

>32 Carmenere: - Hi Lynda, thanks for stopping by!

>33 hailelib: - I checked and my local library has Our Town by Thornton Wilder. I have added it to my candidates for the plays category. Thanks!

Love your topics, Lori! Looking forward to another fun year of reading! :)

Terrific topics. Happy New Year.

Looking good!! Starred thread - looking forward to following along in the new year!

Came by to drop my star off, looking forward to following your 2012 reading, Lori.

Hi Mimi, goddesspt2, Eva and Judy I am also looking forward to another fun year of reading!

Happy New Year Everyone! Let the reading begin!

I love your categories and the pictures :-) I've starred you and I hope you have a great reading year.

Hi, Lori! I've got your new thread starred now. Love those graphics!

Happy New Year!

Lori found and starred your new thread!

Hi Susan, Terri and Paul - Thanks for stopping by! I managed to hit the ground running with some short reads today - so short I almost feel guilty counting them for the challenge, but hey, atleast they offset the chunksters I will be reading as well!

First string of reviews coming up......

Book #1 - The Conference of the Birds by Peter Sis
Category: "And I Know That You Love Me Too" - Poetry



I want to start off by thanking Kerry (avatiakh) for her review of this beautiful book last year over on the 11 in 11 which enticed me to read this one. Illustrator and author Peter Sis has taken the classic 12th century epic poem by Farid ud-Dun Attar as the basis for the creation of this work. In Sis's adaptation of the Persian poem, the story follows the flight of birds through seven valleys - Quest, Love, Understanding, Detachment, Unity, Amazement and Death - while in search of the true king, Simorgh. The birds are lead on their journey by a hoopie bird sufi master, guiding them on their journey, a journey which ends in the realization that the the true king they seek is none other than the transcendent totality of the collective group that arrived at the end of the journey.

While greatly condensed from the original 4,500 lines, Sis has created such a visual treat with his adaptation of the poem I highly recommend it! It is also such a quick read!

Decimal Rating: 4.42
4.5 - Plot Development
4.0 - Character Development
4.0 - Writing Style
4.5 - Premise
5.0 - Imagery/Visualization
4.5 - Length

~Note - it is a little difficult to rate a poem on plot and character development (a downside to my new decimal rating system) and will make a point of adjusting the decimal rating system on an as-needed basis for future reviews.

Star Rating: 4.5 Stars

Book Stats:
Format: Hardcover
# of Pages: 160 pages - mainly beautiful images with some text
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

Book #2 - Science in the Renaissance by Brendan January
Category: "Don't Know Much About a Science Book"
Alternate category: "Don't Know Much Biology
Part of the TIOLI sub-challenge (January themes)



I was so excited to discover a book that fit the January TIOLI sub-challenge that it wasn't until I picked up this book from my local library that I realized it was a slim Youth non-fiction. Still, it does fit the requirements so I am still going to count it as part of my challenge reading as an offset for some of the chunksters I have committed to reading this year - like Don Quixote!

January captures the high points of the decline of the Greek and Roman empires, the rise of the church during the Medieval Period and the birth of the Renaissance, where scholars thirsted for knowledge, scouring the ancient Greek and Roman manuscripts that had been preserved and now distributed thanks to the invention of the printing press, as well as becoming keen observers of the world around them.

The Renaissance period is the time when perspective drawing, utilizing the knowledge of mathematics and geometry, came into importance. Dissecting human bodies, frowned upon by the Church, lead to anatomical drawings and the study of the human body by such greats as Michelangelo, Da Vinci, and Andreas Versalius which changed the study of anatomy. Paraclesus'
belief that illness is not the result of an imbalance within the body, but something that needed to be observed and treated separately from the symptoms lead the way for the advent of modern medicine. Copernicus, Brache and Kepler studied the skies and rejected Ptolemy's theory that the heavens revolve around the Earth. Closing with Galileo and his contributions to science, January presents the history of science in a clean, easy to follow journey designed to wet the reader's appetite to learn more about this fascinating time in history and science in general.

From my perspective, I am glad I took the time to read this primer at the start of my challenge as I hunt out further books to fill both my "Don't Know Much Biology" and "Don't Know Much About a Science Book" categories.

Decimal Rating: 4.00
0.0 - Plot Development
0.0 - Character Development
4.0 - Writing Style
4.0 - Premise
4.0 - Imagery/Visualization
4.0 - Length

~Note - I have decided that Character and Plot Development really aren't factors to take into consideration for this non-fiction book - that would be like using those criteria to rate a textbook!

Star Rating: 4.0 Stars

Book Stats:
Format: Hardcover
# of Pages: 64 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

Book #3 - Strawberries in January by Evelyne de la Chenelière; translated by Morwyn Brebner
Category: "What a Wonderful World This Would Be" - Plays
Alternate category: "Don't Know Much About the French I Took" Translated Works



What a fun play to read! Evelyne de la Chenelière has written a delightful entertaining romantic comedy set in Montreal with a 1940's or 1960's atmospheric feel to it. With only four characters the play has a dynamic quality to it as the story includes scenes from the present, the past and the dreamlike fantasies of the characters.

As someone just getting started to enter the world of reading plays as opposed to seeing them being presented, I am so happy that my first one for this challenge was so readable. It is easy to see how spotlighting could work to shift the audience's attention as the scene shifts and focus moves to a different character. I can also see how this play could be pulled off with a minimum of props and setting. The banter of the characters is fresh and fun and I enjoyed how slowly the audience is brought to understand the relationships of the four characters. On the downside, but a minor one, I did find it a little confusing when the characters would shift from conversing on stage to making an aside for the benefit of the audience as there wasn't always written indications when the shift happened.

At the start there is an interesting comment from the playwright, regarding her thoughts on the play:

"When I am asked to sum up Strawberries in January, I never know where to begin. But what stays with me, when I think about it, is a feeling that happiness is often closer than we think, and less complicated than we claim. I'm also left with human frailty, our need to dream, our fear of not measuring up."

If I haven't sold you on this delightful play, maybe the teaser from the back cover will entice you to track down a copy:

If only life could be like the movies! This fizzy concoction takes the classic ingredients of romantic comedy, love, humour, coincidence and fantasy and serves them up with a surprisingly touching twist in this tender and witty comedy by an extraordinary new voice from Quebec.

Decimal Rating: 4.29
4.5 - Plot Development
3.75 - Character Development
3.5 - Writing Style
4.0 - Premise
5.0 - Imagery/Visualization
5.0 - Length

Star Rating: 4.5 Stars

Book Stats:
Format: Paperback
# of Pages: 69 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female

Currently Reading and Up Next:


The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
The Sense of the Ending by Julian Barnes
Blackbird Singing: Poems and Lyrics by Paul McCartney

To think I passed over this when I was looking for a Jan read for the TIOLI. Just didn't think reading a play would be interesting. Guess I was wrong.

I don't think I've read any plays for the last 15 years or so, but your review of Strawberries in January makes me want to pick them up again!

I'm not a huge verse-reader, but your (and Kerry's) review of The Conference of the Birds make it very tempting.

Looking forward to seeing what you think of The Sense of the Ending. It's obviously gotten lots of accolades, but why I'm really intrigued is because on LT's recommendations section, it's been recommended to me because I own I Am Half-Sick of Shadows and A Week at the Airport and that just makes no sense at all! :)

Hi Betty and Debbie - I am surprised at the readability of Strawberries in January as well. It probably has something to do with the fact the play is more about dialogue than any action or visual interpretations based on the behaviors of the actors. They could be sitting on an empty stage in a semi-circle and still convey 80% of the play with ease!

Hi Eva - If you come across a copy of The Conference of the Birds and find yourself with a spare 15-20 minutes I say go for it!

it's been recommended to me because I own I Am Half-Sick of Shadows and A Week at the Airport and that just makes no sense at all!

Huummm.... interesting. I am currently 25% of the way through The Sense of an Ending and I am not seeing the connection at all! LT recommendations seem to have a glitch. It is an interesting story so far, very readable and will see if it continues to carry through as such.

You're off to a great start, Lori, with a trio of varied and interesting reads!

I'm really looking forward to following your reading experiences for both your poetry and play categories - both areas that I tend to avoid - perhaps you'll entice me over the year to change my mind.

Hi Lori, found your thread and got you starred. I'm happy to read your Conference of the Birds review as this one is coming from the library for me next week and also ordered because of Kerry's recommendation last year!

I also love the way you organized your 12 titles and was singing along as I went through your list - I love that song!

Hi Lori - Great start to the challenge! I'll be interested to hear your final comments on The Sense of an Ending - most people seem to either love it or hate it (I'm in the former camp) - very little "in between" feelings on that one.

Wow, you have a great start to this year's challenge! I'm looking forward to seeing your comments on The Sense of an Ending. It's on my TBR list as well.

A flying start Lori! That's the third strong endorsement I see for that Juilan Barnes book. I've never read him, but perhaps it's time? My only real experience with Julian Barnes is really the disappointment I felt when pulling his books out, hoping for Djuna, during my early second hand book hunts.

As for the song: I think I am kind of in between! I find it charming, but it's a little stigmatized in Sweden for being the theme song for a rather silly quiz show in the nineties.

Hi Judy, Leonie, Katie, Paulina and Anders - Thanks for stopping by and dropping a line.

Judy - I have avoided both poetry and plays for years and I am so happy that I have been able to start the year off with winners. Stinkers would have turned those categories into a challenge, for sure!

Leonie - I think you will find the Conference of the Birds to be a quick read and a nice visual treat! Enjoy!

Katie and Paulina - I get that impression as well from the reviews that have been posted. The review I am about to post puts me in the love it camp.....

Anders - The Sense of an Ending is my first Barnes so I have no focal point to compare it to any of his other works. I can see where the song Blackbird Singing can have an immediate memory response for people! Luckily, the book is a collection of poems and lyrics, and contains a number of poems I have never read before. I admit, it is hard to read the lyrics for a song and not have the song start playing in your head!

--------------

I finished The Sense of an Ending on my lunch break today - the wet, rainy weather made it ideal to stay indoors in the office building's atrium where I work reading rather then venturing outdoors to run errands.

Book #4 - The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
Category: "Now I Don't Claim to be an 'A' Student" - prize winners and shortlisted

"Again, I must stress that this is my reading now of what happened then. Or rather, my memory now of my reading then of what was happening at the time."

"History is that certainty produced at the point where the imperfections of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation."

No, I haven't read anything written by Julian Barnes before now. Another 'new-to' me' author I get to review! Given all the interesting drama around the Booker judges mentioning that they were looking for 'readability' in the search for the Booker prize winner this past year, I decided I wanted to form my own opinion of their choice.

They, or I should say Barnes - give credit where credit is due - hit readability with this one, no doubt about that. Reading this I was immediately reminded of the conversational, introspective reminiscing/personal examination approach to story telling used by Carol Shields with her book Unless and to a greater extent by Marilynne Robinson with her book Gilead. Loved both of those books so you can probably already guess that I loved Barnes' book as well.

Hitting a perfect pitch and just the right length, Barnes presents the reader to two stages of our narrator Tony Webster's life - Chapter one for his youthful 'the world is my oyster' and Chapter two for his aged examination as a man now in his twilight years looks into his past and the world around him when a bequest opens up old wounds, cobwebbed memories and a search for answers.

A very good story and a page-turner for me but not to the extend the book is billed as being: "A novel so compelling that it begs to be read in a single sitting, with stunning psychological and emotional depth and sophistication". it is great, but not that mind-blowing an experience. Visualizing the workings/reminisces of the human mind and soul is a tricky business and the rating I have given the book reflects this.

Overall, highly recommended. You don't even have to be an armchair philosopher to enjoy and get something out of this one!

Decimal Rating: 4.37
4.5 - Plot Development
4.0 - Character Development
5.0 - Writing Style
4.0 - Premise
3.7 - Imagery/Visualization
5.0 - Length

Star Rating: 4.5 Stars

Book Stats:
Format: e-book
# of Pages: 160 pages
Source: BCL e-book system
Male/Female Author: Male

That sounds fascinating---I have it on my wishlist now.

I love reading plays and Strawberries in January is Canadian? I must look for that one. Also...Gilead is one of my all time favorite reads. It was the first novel by Robinson that I read. Glad I checked in today and caught up on your reading!

Nice to see another fan of Sense of an Ending. That was my 1st Barnes too, be interested to see what you read next. Unsure what to try myself.

>57 lkernagh: I read your answer and didn't get the reference to Blackbird Singing at all. I scrolled back up and realised I had read posts 53 and 54 too sloppily. Kiwinyx was talking about What a wonderful world, and how you themed your challenge around it. Katiekrug then said that that song (the way I read it, in reality she was referrering to Barnes' book) seemed to be one you either hate of love - to which I replied that I am kind of in between, quiz show yada yada.

Not sure what you thought I was going for (is Blackbird singing an important part of Barnes' book?), but thank you so much for making the effort to try and answer :)

Good review by the way ,as usual!

>59 banjo123: bajo123 - It was a great read. Hope you enjoy it when you get to read it!

>60 Katethegreyt: Katethegreyt - Yup, Strawberries in January is by a Canadian playright. I hope you are able to track a copy. Gilead is great isn't it!

>61 clfisha: - Hi Claire, I do plan on reading more of Barnes' works after reading this one. Next up for me is Joan London's Gilgamesh for a tandem read over on the Orange Group for Orange January.

>62 GingerbreadMan: - LOL Anders, that is too funny! I admit I was a little confused but I figured it was just me as I was posting and commenting rather late last night. Figured I had brought the confusion on myself!

UPDATED: Currently Reading and Up Next:


The Distant Hours by Kate Morton - on hold for now (loving the gothic feel of it but finding juggling multiple books a tad challenging for me right now!
Blackbird Singing: Poems and Lyrics by Paul McCartney - in progress (15%)
Gilgamesh by Joan London - I am about to start a tandem read over on the Orange group for Orange January so this will be my primary read for the next couple of days.

Sounds like I should put The Sense of an Ending on the wishlist (it should be doable - I wasn't aware it was only 160 pages).

LOL - I think I have seen a variation on that marketing sentence ("A novel so compelling that...") on several books and very few actually live up to the covers' praise. :)

Excellent review, Lori!

Also Like the review of sense of an ending I really enjoyed it also but understand that the hype about it is a little over-hype which is a shame

Strawberries in January sounds great -- thanks for the review. I have a plays category in my 12 in 12, too, so I'll try to get ahold of a copy (it's not in my library system).

I'm looking forward to hearing about the other plays you read!

> 65 - Eva, I am always tentative when a writer I haven't read is plugged as being 'amazing', 'fantastic' and any other buzz words you can imagine. The Sense of an Ending is a quick read for a book that takes the reader down the road of philosophical meditations of one's life and worth the short time invested to read it.

> 66 - Thanks Katie!

> 67 - Hype can really turn a reader off a book if it doesn't meet their expectations, which is why I have an issue with over-hype of a book. It's like they don't trust the reader to reach their own judgements/conclusions, they have to inform the reader what they should think and feel about the book. **sighs**

> 68 - Thanks! After that one, I won't be avoiding my plays category so there will be more coming down the pipeline!

---------

Spent the day shoe shopping and enjoying my usual Saturday book haunts and in the process came home with two new books to add to the TBR bookcase full of books:


Amsterdam by Ian McEwan
The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

As I have made a promise to track my purchases this year and seeing how that compares to my TBR reading, this make the current tally:

Added to TBR pile: 2
Read and removed from TBR pile: 0

I am currently half way through Gilgamesh by Joan London - a book taken from my TBR pile so I hope to be able to change that tally soon. Should be finished in the next day or so.

That's a nice-looking edition of Sarah Waters' book. A good read too!

>69 lkernagh: I just picked up a copy of Night Watch too! I could have sworn I had one, but then I couldn't find it anywhere. I am hoping to get to it sooner rather than later, but there's no way I'm going to start tracking my book purchases this year. I have been on a book buying spree like nobody's business lately! Eek!

>70 GingerbreadMan: - You know how it is.... once you read one great book by an author, you want to lay your hands on everything else they have written! I have heard great things about The Night Watch and your added plug for the book makes me confident it was a good purchase to make!

>71 _debbie_: - LOL - great minds think alike! I have mentally made a promise that I will not overflow my bookcase.... an overflowing bookcase means the book-buying stops. Luckily, the bookcase in question is a big one - 80cm X 178cm with a depth of 30cm which means I can stack books two deep on the shelves. I currently have 263 books and the bookcase is only half full. I don't, as a rule, keep books after I read them - I find them good homes with friends, family, neighbors, etc - so I will be shocked if and when the day comes that the bookcase is overflowing.... although there are enough enablers here on LT, it's not outside of the realm of possibilities!

Hmmm, I think the enablers might get you :-) I haven't overflowed mine, if you just don't look at the little pile in front of it. Oh, or the coat cupboard in the hall. Definitely don't look there.

You probably right - the enables will get me! ;-)

just don't look at the little pile in front of it. Oh, or the coat cupboard in the hall

LOL!

Thanks for the great review of The Sense of an Ending. I'll need to move it up on my TBR list! However, I was intrigued by the comparison to Carol Shields. I've read a couple of her books and I think I must fall in the category of people who just don't "get" her novels. I can see why people think she is a brilliant writer, but I've found it difficult to relate to her characters.

I'm impressed you're tracking your TBR pile. I really ought to do that, but it might become too depressing. I do have a "dust collectors" category, though, to help motivate me to get through the really, really old TBRs.

Hi Paulina - I hope you find The Sense of an Ending as interesting a read as I did! As for the TBR pile, curiosity has lead me to tracking it. I figure I am already tracking so many other stats, what is a couple more? ;-)

------------

It has been a slow reading week for me what with RL returning to it's usual non-holiday routine but I did manage to finish Gilgamesh last night for my Orange January reading. Need to ponder this one a bit before writing my review but I can quickly comment that I found the sparse writing beautiful and the story, although written with a gradual build to the plot, did manage to draw me in and make me curious to find out what would happen.

You've been reading some interesting books this month.

> 77 - Thanks!

---------

Well, the work week is finally over - I thought it was never going to end! - and I now look forward to a couple of days of relaxing reading. I have finally gotten around to writing down my thoughts for the books I have recently finished and will post these below.

Book #5 - Gilgamesh by Joan London
Category: "Don't Know Much About Geography" - Books set in foreign lands
Alternate category: "Don't Know Much About History"



Gilgamesh is a sparely written epic tale and London's debut novel. Longlisted for the Orange Prize in 2004 it is the story of three generations of Clarks - Ada and Frank Clark, their daughters Frances and Edith and Edith's son Jim - spanning two world wars and journeying across half the world from England to Australia and back to Eastern Europe of Turkey, Armenia and Syria.

The story shows the reader glimpses into the troubles lives of the Clarks - Ada's withdrawn personality; Frank's quiet, determined nature; Edith's desire for change, Frances resignation of how things should be - as we learn about the struggles of homesteading in the Australia bush during post World War I depression era and being outcast as different from the community at large. It is when Edith's English cousin Leopold and his Armenian friend Aram arrive unexpectedly on the path to their dusty homestead that Edith's life changes forever.

This story has a quiet build to it, focusing on the introduction of the characters, the scenery and dropping tidbits of information for the reader to glean if they choose to. So subtle is the build that I was taken by surprise to discover what had started out as an interesting story had somehow captivated me and become a page-turner as I followed Edith and Jim on their epic journey that takes them to Eastern Europe during the dangerous beginnings of World War II and their time in Armenia and Turkey while Russia and Germany waged war on their adopted doorstep.

While the physical journey that Edith and Jim embark on was fascinating to read, their internal spiritual journey/struggle is there lurking beneath the surface for the reader to examine. As mentioned above, the writing style is sparse and a number of details are only lightly alluded to leaving it up to the reading to fill in the details as they wish, making it easy to suddenly find oneself saying, 'Wait a minute, what just happened there? Did I miss something?' No complicated, flowery language here to bog the reader down and detract the reader from focusing on the plot.

..... and for anyone that is interested in understanding if this story has any connection to the epic poem by the same title, it does. **SPOILER Alert** The poem Gilgamesh is referenced in the story as a favorite of cousin Leopold. The telling of the tale of Gilgamesh is part of the catalyst for the epic journey that Edith and Jim take and this story loosely follows the plot of the poem in that Edith also returns to the family homestead a transformed character. **End SPOILER Alert**

I am so glad that KimB suggested reading this one over on the Orange Group and recommend it for anyone with an interest in the time period and a portrayal of a rural community in Australia in the 1920's- 1950's.

Decimal Rating: 4.12
4.5 - Plot Development
4.0 - Character Development
4.0 - Writing Style
3.7 - Premise
4.0 - Imagery/Visualization
4.5 - Length

Star Rating: 4.0 Stars

Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 256 pages
Source: TBR pile
Male/Female Author: Female

Book #6 - Blackbird Singing by Paul McCartney
Category: "And I Know That You Love Me Too" - Poetry



What can I say about this collection of Paul McCartney's poems and lyrics except to say that it is an interesting trip down memory lane for any fan of the Beatles music, with approximately half of the collection comprised of the lyrics to various Beatles songs. The poetry is for the most part free verse and an interesting spectum of poems of reminiscing, ordinary scenes of daily life, tributes to lost friends and loved ones and the occasional activist piece. As explained in the introduction by Adrian Mitchell:

Paul is not in the line of academic or modernist poets. He is a popular poet in the tradition of popular poetry.

For me, reading this was a fun way to start my mornings - I used this as my commute to work book - reading poems that did not require a lot of mental effort to analyze the meaning and listening to the songs play in my head when I was reading lyrics. Nothing stellar here... in fact a number of the poems left me with a 'meh' feeling.

Decimal Rating: 3.0
0.0 - Plot Development
0.0 - Character Development
0.0 - Writing Style
3.0 - Premise
3.0 - Imagery/Visualization
0.0 - Length

Star Rating: 3.0 Stars

Book Stats:
Format: Hardcover
# of Pages: 158 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

UPDATED: Currently Reading and Up Next:


The Distant Hours by Kate Morton - Yes, I will get back to this one!
Always Kiss the Corpse on Whidbey Island by Sandy Frances Duncan - This is book two in her Islands Investigations International mystery series and is due back at the library soon.

Nice reviews, Lori. I've been curious about Gilgamesh, and it sounds like a book that I'd like.

Oh, Lori. I will definitely read Gilgamesh this year, but I make no promises to The Distant Hours (or maybe it's The House at Riverton). The Night Watch was my first Sarah Waters, and I quite enjoyed it and have picked up her others and even read Fingersmith. And you think you have problems with acquisition vs. actual reading!

You've piqued my interest with your reveiw of Gilgamesh, Lori. Book bullets are flying all over LT today.

Hi Ivy, Peggie and Alana - Gilgamesh was a surprise for me. It has been languishing on my bookshelves for a couple of years now and probably would still be there if it wasn't for the Orange Group and Kim.

You are right Alana, I noticed a lot of great books being mentioned/discussed on LT when I was getting caught up on threads!

-------------

Well I woke up this morning to find Victoria dusted in snow. YAHOO!!!!

For those of you that are trying to understand why a Canadian is all excited to see snow in January you have to understand that winters here in Victoria (at sea level) seldom if ever involve snow.... it is usually a wet, grey and overall blah winter filled with endless days of overcast skies and no sunshine for days on end. The prairie girl in me still misses the snow, the sharp crisp air and clear blue skies of a prairie winter (although I understand from my folks that even they don't get the winters of my memories anymore), so 'yahoo' for snow for the short time we will have it and the small amount there is of it!

I was looking at Gilgamesh in a charity shop the other day. I'll have to check out if it is still there next time I'm in town. Thanks for your thoughts.

I loved Gilgamesh, it was one of my favourite reads last year.

Hi Lori, I woke up here in the suburbs of Vancouver and found snow when I looked outside as well. Being a native of the coast, I did not say "YAHOO"! :)

And the snow even got all the way down here to Portland! Just a sprinkle, but they're predicting more tonight...

I've just read through your thread, and I'm a big fan of your rating system!

>86 calm: - Here is hoping it is still there calm!

>87 Soupdragon: - Thanks Dee!

>88 DeltaQueen50: - Sorry Judy, I will try to contain my happy snow dance influence away from the lower mainland.... ;-) The snow didn't last very long..... it was all melted by mid afternoon in my neighborhood. *** sighs***

>89 ivyd: - Oh Ivy, here is hoping you don't get a huge dump of snow! One downside to snow that even I am not a fan of is the havoc it can cause for a Monday morning commute!

>90 DorsVenabili: - Thanks Kerri! Some books are easier to use the rating system with.... others, not so easy.

Book #7 - Always Kiss the Corpse on Whidbey Island by Sandy Francis Duncan and George Szanto
Category: "But I Do Know That One and One is Two" - Next in Series
Alternate category: "Don't Know Much Biology"



Whidbey Island General Hospital nurse Sandro Vasiliadis has supposedly died of a heroin overdose. When at the viewing his mother claims the body in the casket is not Sandro, Kyra Rachel and her partner Noel Franklin are called in to investigate. As the two investigate they encounter hesitant friends, a secretive family and more questions. What on the surface should be a simple case of identification of the body proves to be anything but simple as our investigators find themselves uncovering secrets that certain individuals wish to keep secret.

This is book two in the Islands Investigations International mystery series set on the islands off the coast of British Columbia and Washington State. I read book one Never Sleep with a Suspect on Gabriola Island back in 2009 as a interesting find while browsing the shelves of my local library.

After reading this book, I can happily report that I do enjoy this mystery series. The setting is familiar, it is easy to relate to the Canadian-American banter between Bellingham-based Kyra and Naniamo-based Noel and the mysteries are not as simple as they appear to be on the surface. I enjoyed this one for a number of reasons. The characters are a nice range of humanity (the good, the bad and everything in between). Of particular interest for me was that it deals in part with the fascinating medical/scientific topic of transgendered sexual identity and sexual reassignment procedures. There was enough information provided here that I could easily fit this book into my 'Don't Know Much Biology" category. I thought I would mention this as a heads up for any readers that might not be comfortable reading about this topic when they thought they were picking up a murder mystery. The main characters - Kyra and Noel - have developed nicely from their introductory roles in book one and show signs of further character development to come. Lastly, I like how the reader is privy to the various viewpoints and activities of key players in this mystery, which our investigators (and the other key players) are not necessarily aware of, without giving away the whole story.

Not a gripping police procedural or fast-paced thriller but a good page-turning mystery nonetheless and a great way to spend a lazy Sunday reading! Happily, book three Never Hug a Mugger on Quadra Island is already out and I look forward to another interesting mystery adventure with Kyra and Noel.

For anyone interested in the series, here is the link to co-author George Szanto's website where the three books in the series so far are summarized: George Szanto

Decimal Rating: 3.90
4.25 - Plot Development
3.75 - Character Development
3.5 - Writing Style
3.7 - Premise
3.75 - Imagery/Visualization
4.5 - Length

Star Rating: 4.0 Stars

Book Stats:
Format: Hardcover
# of Pages: 301 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female/ Male (two authors so each one counts here)

I do like the names of these books. Will need to go add to the wish list, although it may be awhile before I actually get to read them.

I can't do snow (I did move 6,000 miles to escape it), but I agree that it beats the endless grey-overcast. Hope it stays and doesn't turn to slush immediately (as it would in my home town).

>93 dudes22: - Hi Betty, You can be like me and have a 'just in case I run out of reading material' list of series to reach for when the mood hits you. Of course, it helps if the books are readily available!

>94 -Eva-: - Eva, I can understand moving away from snow - we kind of did that ourselves 20 years ago when we moved from Alberta to Victoria.

Our dusting of snow early Sunday morning (which evaporated by Sunday afternoon) was replaced overnight - just enough to give the appearance of winter and is already gone from the roads, including our side street. I hope to enjoy another relaxing afternoon of reading before my return to the office tomorrow morning.

It has been a few days since I have posted here so I thought an update was in order. Weather wise, the hints of winter over the past few days turned into the really thing last night, waking up to a winter wonderland of some 5cm of freshly fallen snow early this morning.... very pretty but not recommended for driving in if not comfortable with driving under snowy/icy road conditions. I rely on public transit for my commute to work - leave the driving to the experts! - so was able to sit back, enjoy the ride and happily walk through a couple of blocks of freshly fallen snow surrounded by falling large, fluffy snowflakes to arrive at the office.

One the reading front, I am over 300 pages into Kate Morton's The Distant Hours. I wish I could read it cover to cover without stopping. While it has a Gothic feel to it, it has taken a while for the pieces of the story to fall into place. Overall, I am enjoying the pace of this one and looking forward to curling up for the evening with it.

@79 And here I actually thought you were reading Gilgamesh the epic poem, and was quietly very impressed. This seems nice too though ;-)

Snow reports: January has had a distinct feeling of spring to it from the get-go. A little bit of snow, but kind of warm in the air, and with birds chirping. Which feels nice and hopeful - until you remind yourself there's probably three months of winter left in reality.

>97 GingerbreadMan: - Hi Anders, you are not the first one to see the title and make the initial connection with the epic poem! I did read the poem back in 2008 - gave it 4.5 stars (love LT for tracking this stuff for me!!!! **whew**) and ALMOST was entices to pick it up once again after reading London's novel.

Winter hasn't been very predicable this year. Now that I have said that I have to remind myself that Victoria has one of these shock horror winter episodes pretty much every year.... you would think we as humans would learn from experience....... NOT! ;-)

Well, it is the weekend and the snow is now gone - thanks to the weather combination of warmer temperatures and a deluge of rain and 60 - 80 km/hour winds - so today I went venturing forth to my usual book haunts for some window shopping.....

Okay, so I didn't exactly window shop, but I was still selective in my book purchases - had Wolf Hall in my hands and decided to put it back - and came home with the following purchases:


Potshots by Hal Sisson
The Gatekeeper of Lies by Anthony Bruce
The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

A nice balance of male/female authors and we won't discuss the fact that I have only read one book off my TBR bookcase so far this year!

The wind is keeping things on the cold side so I have a large pot of jambalaya cooking on the stove right now.

Book #8 - The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
Category: "Don't Know Much About Geography" - Set in England



I was intrigued to read this one when I saw this one being recommended for readers that enjoyed The Thirteenth Tale and The Meaning of Night. Visitors to my 11 in 11 Challenge threads will remember I loved The Thirteenth Tale and while I have yet to read The Meaning of Night - it is languishing on my bookshelves - I was mesmerized by The Glass of Time. So when my friend offered over her copy to read, I was ready to settle in for a Gothic mystery suspenseful treat.

Not quite as Gothic in feel as I was hoping for, with some rambling, meandering storytelling. Is it me or do all Gothic tales have a meandering storytelling approach? Anyways, this wasn't the spell-binding page turner I was hoping for, but it wasn't a dud either. Yes, we have a mystery, a decaying castle filled with three aged eccentric spinsters, generations of family history steeped and murmuring within the castle's stone walls - 'the distant hours' of the castle - and flashbacks to help piece the mystery together. Part of the story dragged and I was at a loss at times as to why the story took the direction it did - flipping perspectives and timelines - but Morton did an amazing job pulling almost everything together for me with a very nice, tidy and rather surprising ending I was happy to encounter as I read the final 50 pages. Some of my questions remain unanswered, but I guess it might be too much to expect the writer to get into the mind of every reader and anticipate when they want more information and when too much has already been provided!

On a scale of my recent forays into Gothic stories, I still place The Thirteenth Tale and The Little Stranger before The Distant Hours for atmospheric Gothic feel and story-telling, but I have to say this ranks up there as a good one worth reading!

I will return this book to my friend with solid positive feedback - she hasn't read it yet - and I look forward to reading the other Morton books that I have recently acquired and haven't gotten around to reading yet.

Decimal Rating: 3.89
4.0 - Plot Development
3.5- Character Development
3.8 - Writing Style
4.5 - Premise
3.8 - Imagery/Visualization
3.75 - Length

Star Rating: 4.0 Stars

Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 576 pages
Source: Borrowed from a friend
Male/Female Author: Female

UPDATED: Currently Reading and Up Next:


Book of Longing by Leonard Cohen - continuing my adventures in poetry reading
1953: Chronicle of a Birth Foretold by France Diagle - off my TBR bookshelf for the RTT January theme "Book with a number in the title"
Don Quixote by Cervantes for the year long group read

Oh, you got The Tenderness of Wolves - looking forward to finding out what you think of it!! Pettigrew is on Mt. TBR and I'm hoping the good words I've heard about it are true.

Any leftover jambalaya can be shipped to me. Just for the record. :)

Nice haul, Lori. I loved Major Pettigrew, I look forward to reading your thoughts on that one.

I too liked The Thirteenth Tale and have The Distant Hours along with at least one other of hers in the TBR pile, so good to see your thoughts on it. Not sure if I will get to it this year or not.

Hi Lori! I'm finally getting a chance to catch up on threads. You've read some good books already this year. Thanks for the review of The Sense of an Ending. I've been avoiding Booker prize winners for a few years now. Good to know that this one was good.
I'll have to look for the Island Investigation books at B&N. They sound good.
I hope you enjoy Book of Longing more than I did. It's my least favorite Cohen book.

>100 lkernagh: I enjoyed The Distant Hours but my favorite book by Kate Morton is The Forgotten Garden. She's supposed to have a new book late this year.

Hi Ivy! Forgotten Garden is definitely on the reading list.... glad to see it is your favorite! I will keep an eye out for Morton's new book.

Whoops! Just realized I had missed all the posts above.....

> 102 - Eva, the jambalaya was good but not great..... that is what I get for following a recipe instead of doing my usual 'toss in a bit of this, a pinch of that and see what comes out'! Not sure when I will get to the new purchases but I am rather excited to read them ***whispers last quietly so other books on bookcase don't hear***

> 103 - Thanks Alana! Major Pettigrew has been on my radar screen for a while now what with all the great reviews I have been reading here on LT.

> 104 - Hi Betty, thanks for stopping by. I hope The Distant Hours is as enjoyable a read for you as it was for me when you do get to reading it!

> 105 - Hi Kelly! I am with you.... the Booker winners have been a hit and miss which has made me rather tentative when I do decide to read one of the winners. I just never know if their idea of a great book is the same as my idea! I haven't read any of Cohen's works yet so this could prove interesting.

Good review on the The Distant Hours I have the forgotten garden on my TBR shelf for a while. Major Pettigrew is a good read, it's worth moving up on the TBR list.

> 109 - Hi Julie, Nice to see you drop by! The consensus seems to be that I read Major Pettigrew sooner rather than later.... which should be do-able if I would just quick surfing my local library's on-line catalogue.... and LT threads for that matter! ;-)

I'm a huge fan of Leonard Cohen's music. I've not read any of his collections of poetry, but I did read Beautiful Losers many, many years ago. Looking forward to your review.

> 111 - I am with you as a fan of Leonard Cohen's music. I have only started to dip into the poems so a little early to form an opinion. I am hoping to get in some reading time this weekend - not much reading happening so far this week!

I was late to the party and I'm still making the rounds, but wanted to say I love the originality of your theme and categories! I like how you are tracking male/female and plan to adopt that idea (actually I like a lot of your tracking and rating mechanisms, but if I adopted them all, I know I would fail miserably at keeping up with anything in my thread this year!). I've looked at your star definitions before and have been tempted to adopt yours, with some modifications - but then I would have to go back through and re-rate all my books here...hmmm, but maybe I need to do that...

Anyway, sorry for all the introspective musings on how I'd like to borrow all your stuff!

But I have added the following to my wishlist...Gilgamesh, The Sense of an Ending and The Distant Hours - I really enjoyed Morton's The House at Riverton.

> 113 - Hi Lisa, Nice to see you stopped by! Feel free to engage in introspective musing here. Sorry for the book bullets - I try unsuccessfully to avoid them when visiting other threads but it is kind of an known hazard!

----------------

I managed to finish Cohen's Book of Longing this afternoon while tackling a huge pile of laundry. I hope to try and finish another book this weekend... having Monday off will help me tackle my reading backlog and so will the cold damp weather we are experiencing right now.

Review for Book of Longing coming up!

Book #9 - Book of Longing by Leonard /Cohen
Category: "And I Know That You Love Me Too" - Poetry



For those that don't recognize the name, Leonard Cohen is a rather famous singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. I do enjoy Cohen's music so when I came across this book in the poetry section of my local library I decided to give it a try.

This is not an easy collection of poetry to review, as reading it was more like reading journal entries complete with line drawings, pictorials interspersed with what I would call mini-blogs of Cohen's thoughts, feelings and impressions - everything from women, sex, religion, existential theory, friendship, depression, travel, etc, predominantly in poetry format but some did stray into the paragraph blog style, with a focus on his writing during his 5 year stay at the Mt. Baldy Zen Center near Los Angeles (a time of seclusion for Cohen). While most of the entries left me with a 'meh' feeling, some of the poems were quite good - "By The Rivers Dark", "Boogie Street", "Seperated" and "Nightingale". For the most part, it was like reading Cohen's secret journal, and overall it became a rather unusual and slightly disturbing experience.

Buried on page 196 is a Dear Reader note that appears to have been written to accompany the Chinese translation of Cohen's Beautiful Losers, something I haven't read. Without meaning to, Cohen succinctly captures my impressions of Book of Longing with the following section from his Dear Reader note for Beautiful Losers:

This is a difficult book, even in English, if it is taken too seriously. May I suggest that you skip over the parts you don't like? Dip into it here and there. Perhaps there will be a passage, or even a page, that resonates with your curiosity. After a while, if you are sufficiently bored or unemployed, you may want to read it from cover to cover. In any case, I thank you for your interest in this odd collection.

Thank you Leonard for providing such a succinct review which surpasses anything I could have pulled together!

Interesting reading but one that provided me with a glimpse of Cohen's inner thoughts, feelings and beliefs that I could have quite happily continued my living life not knowing about. Overall, this was just not for me.

I will close off with one short, pictorial poem near the end of this collection that did capture my interest:

"the road
is too long
the sky
is too vast
the wandering
heart
is homeless
at last"

Decimal Rating: 2.65
0.0 - Plot Development
0.0 - Character Development
0.0 - Writing Style
2.75 - Premise
2.5 - Imagery/Visualization
0.0 - Length

Star Rating: 2.5 Stars

Book Stats:
Format: Hardcover
# of Pages: 240 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

That Dear Reader note is very generous (or brave?). :) Sounds an interesting read if you are a big Cohen-fan.

I think you are right Eva, it would be more appropriately geared toward a Cohen-fan. A bigger fan than I am anyways.

Book #10 - 1953: Chronicle of a Birth Foretold by France Diagle Translated from the French by Robert Majzels
Category: "Don't Know Much About the French I Took" - Translated Works



I started reading this one during the work week, grabbing snatches of time to read it when I could. I soon discovered the story to be more complicated than I had originally envisioned. As I was unable to give it my full attention, I decided to set it aside for when I could start again at page one and give the book my full, undivided attention.

What an unusual story. I just don't know what to make of it. The premise sounded very promising: During a year of world-making news events - the deaths of Stalin and then Queen Mary of England, Winston Churchill being awarded the Nobel prize for literature, Elizabeth II's coronation, the United States testing of the first H-bomb, the Rosenbergs executed, etc - Baby M is born with celiac's disease in Moncton, New Brunswick.

Diagle presents her story in a very nonlinear format, choosing to create something that I can only attempt to describe as a cross between radiating circles of story telling with a variation on the Six Degrees of Separation concept. Diagle tries to connect her characters to history with things like Baby M's mother celebrating her birthday on the same day as Winston Churchill but I felt that this didn't work as well as possibly hoped. She does a better job giving the reader Baby M's mother and Nurse Vautour's impressions of the world news events as they read them in the French language Moncton newspaper l'Evangeline, which Baby M's father is the editor of.

Daigle's presentation of the various events in history during the early 1950's does make for interesting reading. Her writing style is fluid and easy to settle into, even when she decides to take the reader down unique pathways of metaphysical and philosophical reasoning or digressions into Roland Barthes's Writing Degree Zero. I haven't read Writing Degree Zero, which may be part of the problem with my understanding of this novel.

The purpose of the story - what it means to be born a writer in the middle of the twentieth century - has missed its mark with me. While I can see the literary use of Baby M, her parents and Nurse Vautour to provide a 1953 viewpoint of events, they are overshadowed by the historical, literary and philosophical discussion Diagle engages in to the point of being mere props, and minor ones at that. I could see the connection she was making at the start of the book to tie the various components of her story together, but as I continued to make my way through the book, the connections started to thin out or fail entirely.

Overall a great story I would recommend solely for the historical events of the early 1950's discussed within its pages and for a glimpse into Acadian Moncton, New Brunswick of the time period. Beyond that, I am at a loss to explain this one unless it is an attempt to show a parallel between the struggle for life of Baby M, her turning point in her health and the turning point the entire world faced, but that is grasping at straws a bit.

Decimal Rating: 3.16
2.3 - Plot Development
2.7 - Character Development
4.0 - Writing Style
3.2 - Premise
3.75- Imagery/Visualization
3.0 - Length

Star Rating: 3.0 Stars

Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 176 pages
Source: TBR pile
Male/Female Author: Female

UPDATED: Currently Reading and Up Next:


Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes - I hope to finish Book 1 before January ends and catch up with the other readers for the year long group read
Unholy Loves by Lisa Appignanesi - Historical mystery set in 1900 France
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - for February Group Read

IMHO, 1953 was an extraordinary year. ;-)

> 120 - You are so right! It wasn't until I had finished reading 1953: Chronicle of a Birth Foretold that I remembered all that happened in the world during that time period. Interesting times!

There is no way I will complete another book before February so I have decided to post my month end stats wrap-up now.

------------------------------

January Re-Cap:

Books read:


Overall Book stats:
Books purchased: 6
Books read: 10
~ Books read off TBR Pile: 2
~ Books read from local library: 7
~ Books read and borrowed from friends/family: 1
~ Books read by male authors: 6*
~ Books read by female authors: 5*
* one book read co-authored by male and female author so counted both here!
Overall Pages read for the month: 1859
Average pages read per day: 60

Favorite book (decimal rating): The Conference of the Birds by Peter Sis - (4.42 decimal rating)
Least favorite book (decimal rating): Book of Longing by Leonard Cohen - (2.65 decimal rating)

CATEGORY SUMMARY:
Don't know much about history - Historical Fiction pre-1945 - (0/6 read)
No books finished this month

Don't know much biology - Medical discovery/illness as a theme - (0/6 read)
No books finished this month

Don't know much about a science book - Science as a theme - (1/6 read)
~ ~ Science in the Renaissance by Brendan January -

Don't know much about the French I took - Translated works - (1/6 read)
~ ~ 1953: Chronicle of a Birth Foretold by France Diagle -

But I do know that I love you - More books by favorite authors - (0/6 read)
No books finished this month

And I know that you love me too - Poetry - (3/6 read)
~ ~ The Conference of the Birds by Peter Sis -
~ ~ Blackbird Singing by Paul McCartney -
~ ~ Book of Longing by Leonard Cohen -

What a wonderful world this would be - Plays - (1/6 read)
~ ~ Strawberries in January by Evelyne de la Chenelière -

Don't know much about geography - Books set in foreign lands - (2/6 read)
~ ~ Gilgamesh by Joan London -
~ ~ The Distant Hours by Kate Morton -

But I do know that one and one is two - Next in Series - (1/6 read)
~ ~ Always Kiss the Corpse on Whidbey Island by Sandy Francis Duncan and George Szanto -

And if this one could be with you - "New to me" Canadian authors - (0/6 read)
No books finished this month

Now I don't claim to be an "A" student - Prize Winners and Shortlisted - (1/6 read)
~ ~ The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes -

I can win your love for me - Books languishing on my TBR pile - (0/6 read)
No books finished this month

Overall, not a bad reading month but I really didn't see me making the quick headway I have in the Poetry category!

What a wonderful summary for the month! I look forward to seeing what you read next month as well

>123 fmgee: - Thanks! I keep messing with how best to summarize my monthly reading and I think this time I have found the formula! Of course, there is always next month...... ;-)

I've been meaning to read Dickens for a long time, so maybe I'll join in the read-a-long as extra incentive. Don Quixote is another book that's been wanting my attention - to many books not enough time. Kudos for you for tackling so many chunckster books at once.

Thanks for the thoughtful review of Book of Longing. I also enjoyed your monthly recap. Looking forward to hearing about your next month's reading!

#122 - I enjoyed your reading re-cap! I plan to post mine later today (nerd excitement).

That's a really good summary. It's a good idea to summarize what you've read, I only thought to post a prediction on what I might read next month. :) Good luck with your reading in February!

Great summary @Lori. Always good to do a recap to see how you're doing and I think you're off to a good start with the challenge.

Great summary and a great start on the reading year! I didn't do monthly roundups last year, but they're fun so I think I might this year.

Great summary Lori, I have to hurry and get The Conference of the Birds from the library I think.

I don't read enough to justify monthly recaps, but I'll do quartery ones this year too. Some great stats in yours there!

Thanks everyone! January was a rather productive reading month, which is a good thing as I think I will be hard pressed to find time in February to read the books I plan on reading.... RL will be taking front and center for a while.

As I am an eternal optimist, I have prepared my February planned reading list with hope so being able to complete it:

----------------------

FEBRUARY - Planned Reading for the Month:

12 in 12 Challenge TIOLI sub-challenge:
~ ~ Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey - Finished
~ ~ February Light by Heather Trexler Remoff - Removed from reading list

Group Reads:
~ ~ Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (Year Long Group Read) - Finished planned February reading
~ ~ Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - Finished
~ ~ The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (for Fforde February) - Finished

Books chosen by LT members - to help me read books already on my TBR pile:
~ ~ Unholy Loves by Lisa Appignanesi - Finished
~ ~ The Island Walkers by John Bemrose - fits my "And if this one could be with you", Now I don't claim to be an "A" student" and "I can win your love for me" categories.

Poetry - For my "Year of Reading Poetry" (I plan to try to read at least one poem a day, everyday, as a way to get through my poetry category):
~ ~ Anatomy of Keys by Steven Price - Removed from reading list

Reading Through Time (RTT) Group topic/theme for the month:
~ ~ Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey - Finished

Orange reading - which will be year long, give or take a month here and there:
~ ~ Taking a break this month.... too much already on the reading pile

Keep in mind this is just the planned reading based on predetermined group and theme reads and how I have organized my Poetry and LT picked TBR readings - which is alphabetical by author's last name, just in case anyone was wondering!

The planned reading is just a placeholder and will be subject to edits (additions, deletions, etc) over the course of the reading month. Will I pull it off....... time will tell!

Impressive planning! I heard that the Island Walkers is really good.

>115 lkernagh: - ikernagh - Back in high school, we had to do a report for one of our classes. We were given a list of names, and I chose Leonard Cohen without having a clue who he was. I don't recall if I ever read any of his poetry at that time, but then the songs he has written are really poetry put to music. Reading about his life and music led me to purchasing one of his records....yes, the vinyl kind...I'm that old! To this day I can still hear that gravely, monotone voice singing "Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river.........and you want to travel with her, and you want to travel blind.....for she's touched your perfect body with her mind." I don't remember all the words, but thought he was very charismatic. I think I'll have to find a copy of Book of Longing, maybe dig out my old record, and take a little stroll down memory lane! Thanks for the interesting review!

Looks like a good plan!

Will be interested in what you think of The Island Walkers!

Nice plan for February. I'm contemplating the Great Expectations group read myself. I'd read it in high school and loved it.

> 134 banjo123 - Thanks! I am looking forward to reading The Island Walkers!

> 135, Hi Kathryn, thanks for stopping by! I agree, Cohen has a unique voice that is easy to recognize..... although I do admit that I prefer k.d. lang's cover of his song Hallelujah. Enjoy your trip down memory lane!

> 136 - Thanks Rachel! Sadly, three days into February and I have already digressed slightly from the planned reading........ ;-)

> 137 - Hi Janice, I will try to push it towards the forefront of my planned reading!

> 138 - Hi Paulina, It has been a number of years since I last read Great Expectations so I thought the group read was a good time to revisit Pip and Miss. Havisham!

-----------------------

First things first: On the reading front I started Unholy Loves by Lisa Appignanesi and then discovered that it was a sequel to a book I haven't read yet. As luck would have it, my work moved offices on February 1st and I am happily working back in the downtown, one block away from the main branch of the local library and within easy lunch-hour visiting distance of a number of bookstores - dangerous I know! Anyways, I bought the first book, Paris Requiem and will be reading the two books back to back.

Not sure how busy things in RL are going to be for the next couple of weeks so I may become - for a short time anyways - just a weekend poster/visitor to LT. This is temporary until the 'busyness' calms down, which I hope happens sooner rather than later, but no promises......

You have a nice plan for February. I'm not that good at sticking to reading plans. I have a list of a few books I want to read this month, but that keeps changing. I want to read Great Expectations this month too (among other Dickens books). Good luck reaching your goals for February.

I'm planning to read Haunting Violet this month, too, Lori. I just received it as a gift.

> 140 - Hi Jules, February is proving to be a very busy month so my reading is bound to be impacted! Great Expectations will be a re-read for me so I should be able to plow through it at a pretty fast clip for such a big book.

> 141 - Hi Terri, Haunting Violet does have an interesting premise. I am looking forward to reading it, so I will be keeping an eye out for your review of it as well!

-----------------

Yay, the weekend! It has been a crazy work week - still settling into the new offices and trying to stay on top of everything with one colleague out for the month and the other one in only occasionally while I have been recovering from a nasty bug that had me bed-ridden for three days starting last weekend. I am back to full health and I have managed to get some reading in..... not while I was sick (too sick to care about reading) until after when I developed a case of insomnia for two nights. Insomnia is not a good thing to have when you have a busy work day to look forward to!

Will try to finish a book later today and get two reviews posted.

Book #11 - Paris Requiem by Lisa Appignanesi
Category: "Don't Know Much About History" - Historical Fiction



From the book back cover:

Paris, 1899. The city is a glittering hub of fin-de-siecle activity. Theatres and galleries are vibrant with artistic energy. The new metro is under construction, and so is the site for the centennial Universal Exhibition. But there is also violent political upheaval. The Dreyfus Affair has released a riotous surge of anti-Semitism. Asylums and jails are overcrowded. Death and madness hover like a cloud over the city. Bostonian lawyer James Norton has been sent by his mother to bring back his invalid sister Ellie and his younger brother Raf, a journalist. But the violent deaths of the actress Olympe Fabre, and then of her sister Judith in the asylum of the Salpêtrière, draw the siblings into a dark web of violence.

I found this psychological period thriller to be a compelling, page-turning read. The Belle Époque period is captured well here as one the author has explored in great detail, relying on historical newspaper articles, etc to get the vibe and feel of the period, best described quickly as:

Here was the Paris of dream and history, with its spacious boulevards, its elegant women and dapper men, its majestic buildings a stage set for the theatre of everyday life. This was the Paris the newspapers lauded in their evocation of the belle epoque. But there was nothing beautiful about the underbelly of the city. It festered in poverty and gave off a distinct aroma of menace.

The worlds of American money - the Norton family - and European titled family - the Comtessa Marguerite de Landois - treat the reader to a political Paris, the morality police and Paris' seedy underbelly of brothels, white slave trade, and antiquated police techniques of racial and familial hereditary as explanations for crimes committed. With more than enough suspects to choose from and a fast pace to keep things from getting boring, the plot kept me reading and questioning right along with the lead character as he struggles to puzzle out the mystery, get to the bottom of an ever growing list of secrets and keep his hotheaded brother in check. The story is also an introduction to the Comtessa Marguerite de Landois and Chief Inspector Durand, who play lead roles in the sequel to this book, Unholy Loves.

Overall, a smartly written mystery thriller period piece and one I recommend for anyone that enjoys the genre or has a keen interest in the Belle Époque period.

Decimal Rating: 4.18
4.75 - Plot Development
3.8 - Character Development
3.75 - Writing Style
4.5 - Premise
4.25 - Imagery/Visualization
4.0 - Length

Star Rating: 4.0 Stars

Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 429 pages
Source: Bookstore purchase
Male/Female Author: Female

Book #12 - Unholy Loves by Lisa Appignanesi
Category: "But I Do Know That I Love You" - More books by favorite authors



Picking up 6 months after the end of Paris Requiem, it is now January of 1900 and the Comte de Landois has ordered his wife, Marguerite, from Paris to his side. Her journey into the pastoral quiet of the Loire valley is shattered by the appearance of a man dead on the railway tracks. As unsettling as that was, particularly for Marguerite's young travelling companion, what is in store for her to try and unravel and the missing person she hopes to find has Marguerite calling Chief Inspector Durand away from Paris to join here in examining a tangled world of small town secrets, familial greed and unholy loves.

While not as good as Paris Requiem, I still found this an interesting, quick story to read and left me really pondering all that goes on in the so-called quiet country-side. We also learn a great deal more about Marguerite - Appignanesi has created a very fascinating, multi-layered character here - but the story had more of the formula titled manor-house heroine uncovering bodies and encountering danger instead of filling her days with needlepoint, painting and social events.

After having read both books, I can now see why fantasticfiction lists the books as stand-alone novels.... you can get away with reading Unholy Loves without having read Paris Requiem first, but I still recommend that any interested in reading the books start with Paris Requiem. Sadly, she has only written the two books with these characters. I would have enjoyed seeing more books in the series/grouping. Sadly, I do have to comment that the book could have used a proof reader, but the errors weren't frequent or distracting enough to take me away from the story.

Overall, Appignanesi's sequel to Paris Requiem continued to intrigue me and I am so happy that -Eva- choose this book for me to read in an effort to get more books off my TBR pile. Good choice Eva!

Decimal Rating: 3.80
3.8 - Plot Development
3.5 - Character Development
3.75 - Writing Style
3.8 - Premise
4.25 - Imagery/Visualization
3.75 - Length

Star Rating: 4.0 Stars

Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 333 pages
Source: TBR Pile
Male/Female Author: Female

"too sick to care about reading"
That's rubbish - what a bad way to be sick. Sorry, just kidding - good to hear you're feeling better!

Good to hear "my pick" was a good one - I'll have to put Paris Requiem on the list!!

> 145 - What can I say..... I am a woose when I am sick. ;-)

That's the trick, isn't it, to find the balance - too sick to be at work, but not too sick to read. :)

Good to here you're feeling better Lori. Hope things at work settle down for you soon!

My sympathies! I'm just getting over the too sick to care about reading part in my illness. Probably the same one, sweeping the countryside... leaving dead bodies for manor house heroines to find... Kidding. I don't think this cold has killed anyone yet. Unholy Loves does sound like a fun one.

> 148 - Thanks Alana!

> 149 - Yes, this cold/flu does seem to be making the rounds. Unholy Loves did have its fun moments - some really good one-liners that had my giggling - It was more of a fun read.

----------------------

Since I am not in the mood to dive into Great Expectations just yet, so I have decided to read my Fforde Ffebruary book The Eyre Affair first instead. Then it is back to Don Quixote to catch up on the February reading for that group read and then I may be in the mood to pick up Great Expectations.......

The Eyre Affair is wonderful -- I hope you enjoy!

Hi Lori, you've hit me with a couple of book bullets, both the Lisa Appignanesi books are being added to my wishlist.

Ay, group reads! I have this feeling I said I'd be in one but still too sniffly! The Eyre Affair sounds just perfect fro recooperative reading. Enjoy!

I hope you eventually get to Great Expectations as I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. I decided to join in, and I'm about a quarter of the way through.

> 151 - Hi Dejah_Thoris, I decided to get caught up on my February Don Quixote reading which didn't take very long and I am already 4 chapters into The Eyre Affair. So far very interesting and entertaining!

> 152 - Hi Judy, Sorry about that. I would like to say it is all Eva's fault - she did pick Unholy Loves for me to read in the first place - but I am happy to take the blame. Hope you enjoy the books as much as I did!

> 153 - Hi Katie, Here is hope you are feeling better soon! It sucks to be sick!

> 154 - Hi Paulina, I will definitely be reading Great Expectations this week - I have downloaded the e-book version so I have it with me where ever I go - and will try to be finished with a review for next weekend!

Sorry to hear that you were sick -- especially too sick to read! (That's the pits!) Glad you're feeling better.

Hi Lori. Just catching up on your thread. I hope you're feeling better. Enjoy The Eyre Affair; it's very good.

> 156 and 157 - Thanks Terri and Kelly!

Reading is dragging this week. I am currently reading both Great Expectations and The Eyre Affair and seem to spend most of my time flipping between the two.... read two chapters of Fforde, get bored, pick up GE, read a couple of chapters, put it down and pick up Fforde again for a chapter or two, back to GE....... I am just not loving either one of them enough to give it my full attention, but I am making progress on both books and not really compelled to abandon either one.

Maybe its the weather.......

My reading continues to drag..... I seem to be spending more evenings this week watching Midsomer Murders and other movies (we watched The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo last night even though I haven't read the book that is sitting on my bookshelves).

I have made some headway on both Great Expectations and The Eyre Affair but it is slow progress. I decided to take a detour to see if I am in a reading funk in general so I picked up Louise Penny's novella The Hangman. The good news is I am not in a reading funk (review to follow)..... I am just not enjoying the challenge reads I have set for myself this month.

With the damp, grey weather we are having this morning I will probably settle in this afternoon for some serious reading.... after all my shopping and errands are done.

Book #13 - The Hangman by Louise Penny
Category: "But I Do Know That I Love You" - More books by favorite authors

On a cold November morning, a jogger runs through the woods in the peaceful Quebec village of Three Pines. One his run, he finds a dead man hanging from a tree. Did the man take his own life? Or was he murdered? Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called to the crime scene. As Gamache follows the trail of clues, he opens a door into the past. And he learns the true reason why the man came to Three Pines.

When I saw this novella mentioned by Chelle (Gogs81) on her thread, I automatically went and placed a hold on the copy my local library has. For anyone that has been waffling/debating about dipping into Penny's Inspector Gamache/Three Pines series, this is the perfect starting place to see if the series might be something you would enjoy reading. For readers already familiar with Three Pines and its residents, this is a quick, fun murder mystery re-visit to the quaint little village and can easily be read over a lunch break or when someone has an hour or two to spare.

The only downside I had with this short story is that I felt the story could have been a few pages longer to tie the clues together in a neater package.... this one felt a tad bit rushed, but I guess that is to be expected when you are cramming your usual murder mystery into 87 pages!

I was not aware of the Good Reads project. According to the project's website, ABC Life Literacy Canada (the organization behind the Good Reads books) is a non-profit organization that inspires Canadians to increase their literacy skills. Supported in part by funding from the Government of Canada's Office of Literacy and Essential Skills, Good Reads books bring Canada's authors to readers that want to experience the joy of reading and want to get into the reading habit. A list of the current Good Reads books is available at the following website: http://abclifeliteracy.ca/goodreads/books I hope this program continues to expand!

Decimal Rating: 3.5
4.3 - Plot Development
3.3 - Character Development
3.0 - Writing Style
3.7 - Premise
4.0- Imagery/Visualization
2.7- Length

Star Rating: 3.5 Stars

Book Stats:
Format: Paperback
# of Pages: 87 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female

>160 lkernagh: I've been curious about The Hangman. I think I read somewhere that the Good Reads books are supposed to be on 3rd grade reading level, and one of the things I like about Louise Penney is her sophisticated writing style. But I can't get enough of Three Pines and Inspector Gamache, and I think I'll look for this book.

>158 lkernagh: & 159 We seem to be in the minority in not loving The Eyre Affair. I thought it was very clever and I enjoyed it, but my attention kept wandering while I was reading it.

Glad you're feeling better!

Hi Lori, I also wasn't a big fan of The Eyre Affair either, I don't know exactly why, but like Ivy, I found my attention wandering as well.

As for Great Expectations, I liked the story well enough, but I did think I was never going to reach the end!

Thanks for the review of The Hangman. I did notice recently that there are quite a number of new adult literacy books written by Canadian mystery authors. I'd seen some from Orca's Rapid Reads line and I recently picked up Clouded Vision by Linwood Barclay. I've been volunteering with an adult literacy centre the past couple of years and love the fact that my favourite authors are now accessible to the students there!

> 161 - Hi Ivy, you are correct. The GoodReads books are written with a less diverse scope of language and you can see the stories are written more for that reading level. I think Penny still managed to convey her story with this in mind. As for The Eyre Affair I finally finished it last night. It did improve over the last third of the story but it was a bit of a slog for me to get to that point. Review to come.

> 162 - Hi Judy, ditto my comment to Ivy about The Eyre Affair. I am with you on Great Expectations.... I am finding, so far anyways, that Dickens has a nice way of bringing the reader along for the literary ride, but I am only about 1/3 of the way through it so far!

> 163 - Hi Paulina, I agree, I think it is great that more and more adult literacy books are available and written by well known Canadian authors.

----------------------

As promised in yesterday's post, after getting completely drenched running errands in town in the morning I stayed home and read - and napped! - for the afternoon. Managed to finish one book and make further progress on another book on the go. Overall, a rather productive Saturday!

Book #14 - The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Category: "I Can Win Your Love For Me" - Books languishing on my TBR pile



As there have been a number of reviews posted around LT and in this group recently for this book and 335 posted on the book page, I will just jump in here with my comments.

Unique... yes.
Surreal.... yes.
Fascinating... not so much.
Captivating... hardly.
Fun.... probably for a number of readers but not for me.

Yes, I kind of expected flat characters, bantering dialogue and unusual things occurring a la Douglas Adams and his Hitchhikers' series. What I didn't expect was to have the story ramble mindlessly like it did. It wasn't until Jane Eyre showed up in the story that things started to get interesting for me. I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised by this one - my first Fforde book - but sadly, it wasn't for me. I don't think the fact that I haven't read either Martin Chuzzlewit or Jane Eyre had anything to do with my lack of appreciation for this story - in fact Fforde does an excellent job summarizing Jane Eyre so it is obvious he had this in mind while writing The Eyre Affair. Some parts did amuse me. One of my favorites being the following dialogue between Rochester of Jane Eyre fame and Thursday Next:

"I should not trouble yourself with them," he added, indicating Flanker, Acheron and Snood, who had started to argue in the corner of the room near the bookcase. "They are merely in your dream and thus, being illusionary, are of no consequence."
"And what about you?"
Rochester smiled, a forced, gruff smile. He was leaning on the mantelpiece and looked into his glass, swirling his Madeira delicately.
"I was never real to begin with."

Will I consider reading another Jasper Fforde novel? Possibly, but not anytime soon, fun as his stories can be. The good news is this is now one more book off my TBR pile!

Decimal Rating: 3.175
3.25 - Plot Development
2.0 - Character Development
3.0 - Writing Style
4.5 - Premise
3.3- Imagery/Visualization
3.0- Length

Star Rating: 3.0 Stars

Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 384 pages
Source: TBR Pile
Male/Female Author: Male

I've only read one book by Fforde - Shades of gray - and I liked it well enough. But I can see from your review that the stuff I might have had a beef with in that one (ideas all over the place and one-dimensional characters) very well could be issues in any Jasper Fforde read. Ideas in abundance goes a long way with me, so I'm sure I'll read more of his. But with a little caution.

> 166 - I am wondering if maybe his Nursery Crime series might be something I would enjoy more. Shades of Gray has an interesting premise so if and when I do venture back into Fforde's works it will probably be with one of those books.

------------------

I just noticed it has been a while since I last posted my "Currently Reading" list so here it is:

UPDATED: Currently Reading and Up Next:


Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - Currently somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 of the way through the book - reading an e-book version so difficult to gauge.
Ivona, Princess of Burgundia by Witold Gombrowicz - Play for my Plays category
Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey - for the February TIOLI - book with Violet in title.

While The Big Over Easy was my first Fforde book, I later found that one of the Thursday Next books was a sort of prequel to the Nursery Crime books. However I really enjoyed that first book, maybe more than The Eyre Affair.

I'm sorry The Eyre Affair didn't end up being really fun for you. I tried Shades of Grey and gave it up pretty quickly and have never felt motivated to try the Nursery Crimes series, but I'll be interested to know what you think if you try them.

I've never heard of Ivona (nor has my library system, apparently). Where did you find this one?

I really hope you enjoy Gombrowicz' play - it's one of my favorites! A really clever fable about our contempt for weakness. Remind me, was it me who nudged you towards it?

> 168 - Good to know. Thanks!

> 169 - My frame of mind for reading may have also played a role in my downgrading of The Eyre Affair..... I will probably look around at the ratings for Fforde's other works and see what, if anything, might grab me. As for Ivona, I had help...... see comment below......;-)

> 170 - Yes Anders, you did recommend Gombrowicz's play. I don't think I would have found the play on my own, although the copy I have is courtesy of my local library system! I am looking forward to reading it this week.

Oh, dear. Everything you disliked about The Eyre Affair was much the same as what I disliked about Shades of Grey. I really hoped The Eyre Affair would be better. :( It just must be Fforde's style.

Love the way you have organised your reviews!

Hi Lori! Just stopping by! What a great way to rate your books and do your monthly wrap -up! Great looking thread! Gilgamesh is one of your books that I hope to get to later this year. I can't wait until this years Orange Longlist comes out - I read about 6 of the books from last years Longlist and really enjoyed them. Great writing and very enjoyable reads. For some reason I have had myself a very" mysterious " February - that is , I have found myself reading mysteries.. I blame it on the rainy dull weather - I need an escape....

->159 lkernagh:
Did you watch the American version or the Swedish? I've only seen the Swedish one, so I was wondering how the American one stacks up.

I've read a few of the Thursday Next books, but it was quite a while ago. I do remember finding them very funny, but I stopped reading the series because they were clever but not "filling" if that makes sense. They were appealing enough for me to want to finish the series at some point, though.

> 173 - Hi IrishHolger, thanks for stopping by!

> 174 - Hi Deb, nice to see you as well! I remember you had quite the Orange read last year. I am looking forward to seeing the longlist as well. Here is hoping you are enjoying your mystery reading February!

> 175 - Hi Eva, it was the Swedish version that we watched. I am not a big Daniel Craig fan so I wasn't keen on seeing the American version and luckily, we had a choice! As for Fforde's books, I am sure I missed a lot of his puns and humorous remarks while reading The Eyre Affair. Since I am reading Great Expectations right now it might be fun to read the Fforde book that touches on that Dickens' story!

I haven't decided if I want to see the American one yet, but they filmed it in Sweden and I have few friends who worked on it (thank you Hollywood for bringing your cash to Sweden!!), so I may have to. Not in the theater, regardless, since I have to be able to fastforward through at least one scene! :)

> 172 - HRO, some how I missed your earlier post! I think you are right.... it is probably Fforde's style of storytelling that makes it more of an 'okay' or 'meh' read.

> 177 - I may breakdown and see the American version at some point..... always fun to make comparisons, but I agree - best to watch a DVD where you can fast forward through a scene!

Book #15 - Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey
Category: "Don't Know Much About History" - Historical Fiction

Violet Willoughby has participated in one too many fake seances to believe in the supernatural - especially after watching her mother fool widows and old men into handing over their fortunes. But she is forced to reconsider her jaded views when she has a frightening vision during her mother's latest scheme at the country estate of prominent Spiritualist Lord Jasper.

Yes, I was hoping for more when I picked up this historical YA fiction set in 1872 England. While it did have its moments, for the most part it was a rather fluffy and flippant YA female narrated historical fiction piece that kept bringing images of the movie "The Sixth Sense" to my mind as I was reading it. I know, one cannot use the terms 'fluffy' and 'flippant' to describe the movie "The Sixth Sense" but my mind kept on making a connection between the two.

This might be a fun read for anyone looking for a light period piece with elements of formal dress balls, country estates, the peerage, ghosts and a behind the scenes view of rigged seances but beyond that, I wouldn't get your hopes up for a gripping or page turning story. Even the mystery element to the story - was a young girl's death accidental or deliberate - tends to get lost in the mess of the protagonist coming to terms, rather difficultly I might add, with the fact that she can see ghosts and the ever important element of YA love.

As you can see, I am a bit disappointed with this one - I had such high hopes for it!

Decimal Rating: 3.05
2.7 - Plot Development
2.5 - Character Development
3.0 - Writing Style
3.9 - Premise
3.2- Imagery/Visualization
3.0- Length

Star Rating: 3.0 Stars

Book Stats:
Format: Hardcover
# of Pages: 352 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female

Good news is I now have a three day weekend ahead of me and I am looking forward to long periods of uninterrupted reading!

Too bad about Haunting Violet. The number of books with fake Spiritualists that start running into the real spirit world is starting to make me appreciate The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead more. In that one, the fakes stayed fake.

Thanks for the review of Haunting Violet. My daughter had read it and liked it (but not loved it), and the premise looked intriguing. However, it sounds like I might be better off giving it a miss.

Great news about your three day weekend! I'm doing the best I can with my two days, but I've done quite a bit of reading so far.

Haunting Violet had looked somewhat interesting (I don't read much YA), but after your review I'll be giving it a pass.

Thanks for the review and enjoy your long weekend!

> 181 - Hi Katie, I would like to think that a good book can be written along that premise, but I haven't come across it yet!

> 182 - Hi Paulina, my problem with the book was it remained rather superficial on all of the elements it was trying to incorporate into the story. I have to say that I was rolling my eyes at some of the activities the 16 year old heroine and her peerage friend get up to - climbing fences, roaming muddy fields, kicking people in the shins, ungracefully flopping into chairs, etc - which seemed, to me anyways, a bit out of character for the 1872 period.

> 183 - Hi Susan! I need to get caught up on what you have been reading.

> 184 - Hi Dejah, Thanks for stopping by!

Book #16 - Ivona, Princess of Burgundia by Witold Gombrowicz - Translated from the Polish by Krystyna Griffith-Jones and Catherine Robins
Category: "What A Wonderful World This Would Be" - Plays
Alternate category: "Don't Know Much About The French I Took" - Translated Works



Originally written in 1935 and set in the ancient fairy-tale kingdom of Burgundia, the prince of the kingdom falls in love with a peasant girl and wishes to marry her. That is as far as the standard fairy tale premise holds here as the court of Burgundia is filled with farce-like figures with the prince Philip proposing to the peasant girl Ivona - who is unattractive and for the most part mute - in part as a rebellion against boredom and to offend his parents and probably the court in general.

This is not an easy review to write, in part because it is difficult to pigeon-hole this play into a specific category. It is a dark satirical fable with some choice funny lines but not something that can be categorized as a comedy. Gombrowicz takes great stabs at autocratic rulers and the jellyfish backbones of court followers so this play would fit in nicely with other satirical fables conveying philosophical or political messages. From a psychological perspective, it make for interesting reading as it presents glimpses into the twisted logic and irrational mindsets of the characters as they react to a silent Ivona. There is something to be said for a play where the pivotal character all the action circles around has a whole 9 lines in the entire play! I can see where a production of this play would enjoy the benefit of exaggerated costumes, make-up and gestures while conveying the story to the audience.

A good play that is easy to read and I am so glad Anders (Gingerbreadman) recommended it as a possibility for my plays category!

Decimal Rating: 3.67
3.0 - Plot Development
3.8 - Character Development
3.0 - Writing Style
4.5 - Premise
3.7- Imagery/Visualization
4.0- Length

Star Rating: 3.5 Stars

Book Stats:
Format: Paperback
# of Pages: 96 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

185: Your description actually matches what my daughter said. She thought that the book had "a little bit of everything" -- romance, suspense, fantasy, mystery, etc. It seems that the natural consequence is that it doesn't have much depth in any of those things. :)

If you're looking for YA historical fiction set in England in the late 1800's that's of a more realistic nature, you might enjoy Folly by Marthe Jocelyn.

>187 mathgirl40: - Thanks Paulina! I have made a note of Folly and will keep my eyes open for a copy as it does look good!

-------------------

Enjoying my reading weekend, while still accomplishing the needed chores around the house and I am happy to report that I am now past the halfway mark for Great Expectations! I am finding that I have to read this book in sections..... I just cannot sit down and read this one start to finish without reading other books at the same time. That isn't to say I'm not enjoying the story.... maybe I am I am just more suited to reading this in original publication format of a serial, similar to how I am enjoying my reading of Don Quixote. Still going to try and have Great Expectations finished before I head back to work on Tuesday morning!

It is a nice sunny morning so if the weather holds I may enjoy some of my reading today sitting out in the sunshine!

>186 lkernagh: I'm glad you enjoyed it! It certainly is pretty different isn't it? I've seen it a couple of times, and the only failed production of it I've seen was the one where they tried to do it in a sort of contemporary night club setting, getting rid of all the fairytale elements. It fell flat and just felt cynical. The play seems to need the exaggeration you talk about to balance it's cruelty.

> 189 - Contemporary night club setting..... No, no no, .... I can see where that would NOT work. The fairytale/fable elements are key to making this play work, but that is just my opinion.;-)

I'll definitely look out for that one - hope I get to see it! (Not the night club version, though...) :)

I was disappointed in Haunting Violet, too, Lori. In fact, I didn't bother to finish it. I think a teenager might enjoy it more than I did but, as you said, it really lacked any depth.

> 191 - Hi Eva, It does seem like an interesting play to see performed!

> 192 - I agree. While some YA books are great for both teens and adults, Haunting Violet was really geared for the YA reader, IMO.

--------------

I am happy to report that I did manage to finish Great Expectations yesterday! Still thinking about my planned reading for March and will probably post the list up sometime this weekend. In the meantime, one more review and a monthly re-cap coming up!

Book #17 - Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Category: - Don't Know Much About History - Historical Fiction

"My father's family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip."

So begins Dickens' novel Great Expectations, with a line I remember from my high school days, when I last read this story.

It took a some time for me to make my way through this re-read.... pacing myself and only reading a few chapters at a time while I was reading other books and being distracted in general. This time, I developed a much greater appreciation for Dickens' skill for delivering social commentary, his keen observational skills and his gift for descriptive writing than I had formed in my teens. This time I found Great Expectations to be filled with rich, complex characters and a plot that does - finally - reach its destination, albeit acquiring an excess of some 200 pages of story telling while journeying from start to finish. Dickens does know how to tell a story!

I can now safely shelve Great Expectations for another 20 years before I revisit Pip, Estella, Herbert, Miss Havisham, Wemmick, Joe, and Mr. Jaggers once again. That is not to say that I am now finished with Dickens..... I was happy enough with my re-read to think of picking up other unread Dicken's novels and will probably read them in the same manner.... a couple of chapters at a time.

One personal observation that I will note here is I found it surprising that I kept visualizing the story in black and white... even when colours where mentioned, in my mind it was all black, white and shades of grey. Weird!

Decimal Rating: 3.85
3.8 - Plot Development
4.5 - Character Development
4.0 - Writing Style
4.0 - Premise
4.25 - Imagery/Visualization
2.6- Length

Star Rating: 4.0 Stars

Book Stats:
Format: e-book
# of Pages: 560 pages
Source: free download
Male/Female Author: Male

February Re-Cap:

Books read:


Good Grief - looking at the book covers it appears as though I was focused on dark and dismal reading material during the month!

February Book stats:
Books purchased: 1
Books read: 7
~ Books read off TBR Pile: 3
~ Books read from local library: 3
~ Books read and borrowed from friends/family: 0
~ Free book download/ER book: 1
~ Books read by male authors: 3
~ Books read by female authors: 4
Overall Pages read for the month: 2241
Average pages read per day: 77

Favorite book (decimal rating): Paris Requiem by Lisa Appignanesi - (4.42 decimal rating)
Least favorite book (decimal rating): Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey - (3.05 decimal rating)

CATEGORY SUMMARY:
Don't know much about history - Historical Fiction pre-1945 - (3/6 read)
~ ~ Paris Requiem by Lisa Appignanesi -
~ ~ Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey -
~ ~ Great Expectations by Charles Dickens -

Don't know much biology - Medical discovery/illness as a theme - (0/6 read)
No books finished this month

Don't know much about a science book - Science as a theme - (1/6 read)
No books finished this month

Don't know much about the French I took - Translated works - (1/6 read)
No books finished this month

But I do know that I love you - More books by favorite authors - (2/6 read)
~ ~ Unholy Loves by Lisa Appignanesi -
~ ~ The Hangman by Louise Penny -

And I know that you love me too - Poetry - (3/6 read)
No books finished this month

What a wonderful world this would be - Plays - (2/6 read)
~ ~ Ivona, Princess of Burgundia by Witold Gombrowicz -

Don't know much about geography - Books set in foreign lands - (2/6 read)
No books finished this month

But I do know that one and one is two - Next in Series - (1/6 read)
No books finished this month

And if this one could be with you - "New to me" Canadian authors - (0/6 read)
No books finished this month

Now I don't claim to be an "A" student - Prize Winners and Shortlisted - (1/6 read)
No books finished this month

I can win your love for me - Books languishing on my TBR pile - (1/6 read)
~ ~ The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde -

-----------------

Overall Book stats - Year to date:
Books purchased: 7
Books read: 17
Books read off TBR Pile: 5
Books read from local library: 10
Books read and borrowed from friends/family: 1
Free book download/ER book read: 1
Books read by male authors: 9
Books read by female authors: 9
* one book read co-authored by male and female author so counted both here!

Surprisingly, for what felt like such a slow month I managed to read more pages and more pages per day that I did on January...... I think I have Dickens to thank for that!

Congrats on finishing the Dickens! And you did manage quite a few other little gems this month, so congrats on that too. :)

Lori, I was the same, read less books in February but more pages - I also think it was the Dickens!

> 196 - Thanks Eva!

> 197 - Hi Judy, I think you are right..... Dickens did have a way with producing 'voluminous' works!

----------

One more book down..... actually it was a short one I could have finished in February but I deliberately held off so I could count it as a March book over on the Reading Through Time group for the March theme read "Medicine/Healing".

Book #18 - The Making of Modern Medicine by Michael Bliss
Category: - Don't Know Much Biology - Medical fiction/Non-fiction
Alternate category: - And if this one could be with you - "New to me" Canadian authors



The Making of Modern Medicine is a Canadian medical historian's view seen through Michael Bliss' eye and extensive research of what he sees as some of the key medical turning points in the transformation of medical care - having patients discard fatalism and a religious acceptance of medical suffering to believe or develop some faith in health care and the capacity of doctors to treat disease. Centered on the time period of 1885 - 1922 in North America, Bliss presents readers to the shift in modern medicine from a physicians' helplessness in the face of an epidemic disease towards medical researchers' abilities to wage war against the ravages of disease.

To communicate this transition, Bliss divides the book into three sections meant to highlight what he sees as the key transitions on the path to modern medicine. The first transition - away from fatalism - focuses on the devastating smallpox epidemic in Montreal of 1885/1886, when 3,164 Montrealers - 2% of the city's population - died of smallpox. This epidemic raised alarming questions as almost all of the deaths were of people who had never been vaccinated against smallpox. Yes, a vaccine against smallpox did exist at the time but attempts to stem the epidemic were hampered on numerous fronts including discovery that the public vaccine supply was contaminated and the vocal outcry against vaccination by prominent anti-vaccinationist physicians and church leaders. This in turn fueled the already existing ethnic tensions that divided the French-Canadians from the English and the "English notion" of vaccination. The fact that 91.2% of Montreal's deaths were among the French-Canadian population and 85.9% of the victims were children under the age of 10, is a chilling statistic to read. The result: vocal public opinion urging for expansion of public health measures so that such ghastly events should never happen again.

The second transition - secularism - is the movement in America for educational reform in medicine and the establishment of prominent medical schools, such as Johns Hopkins. At the time, institutions such as Harvard's medical school were notorious medical diploma mills and reform was needed. This section focuses on the Canadian physician Dr. William Osler, who was made head of medicine at Johns Hopkins and was one of the four founding medical fathers of that great institution. Osler is credited with bringing clinical clerkships to American hospital wards and expanding the intern system to create a category of resident physicians and surgeons to produce in time highly qualified specialists. This section also focuses on Harvey Cushing who made large advancements in the then infant field of surgery.

The third transition - mastery - focuses on the discovery of insulin in Toronto in 1922 by Fred Banting, Charles Best and James Collip made possible by the establishment of research centers funded by wealthy philanthropic patrons like Eaton, Flavelle and Rockefeller.

While this book has a decidedly Canadian focus to it, Bliss does an amazing job communicating his vast knowledge into a highly readable account of the great leaps made in medicine and medical research during the time period. As Bliss mentions in his epilogue:

Human history is often a tale of woe and misery and evil, but not always. Medical history is often a tale of setbacks, quackery, misery, and, ultimately, always death.

Yes, life is finite, or to use Osler's term has a fixed period that physicians cannot cure. As amazing as the discovery of insulin may have been, it is a maintenance therapy only, and as Bliss says, an imperfect one at that. Since the discovery of insulin, the total amount of diabetes in the human population has increased, with diabetes mellitus a greater menace to human health - via the surge in late onset type 2 diabetes - than it was in the days of Osler, Banting Best and Collip.

Overall, a good introduction for anyone with an interest in the development of modern medicine in North America during the time period. Now if only they could have chosen a better cover.....

Decimal Rating: 3.85
Star Rating: 4.0 Stars

Book Stats:
Format: hardcover
# of Pages: 112 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

>I love your monthly recaps. Trust Dickens to keep any page count up! :)

The making of Modern Medicine sounds interesting.

Sounds like a great book. I agree with you about the cover - it's dreadful!

> 200 - Thanks Anders and I agree, Dickens is good for increasing page counts!

> 201 and 202 - Hi Tricia and cbl_tn, it was a fascinating read. Apparently he has written books on medicine and history so I will be checking my local library to see if they have any more of his books.

------------------------

I have been struggling to whittle my planned reading down to a manageable level for March - the usual too many books to read and not enough time to read them is going to make March a bit of a struggle.....here is the reduced list:

MARCH - Planned Reading for the Month:

12 in 12 Challenge TIOLI sub-challenge:
~ ~ March by Geraldine Brooks

Group Reads:
~ ~ Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (Year Long Group Read)
~ ~ 2666 by Roberto Bolano - Part 1 for March - Finished
~ ~ The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

Books chosen by LT members - to help me read books already on my TBR pile:
~ ~ The Island Walkers by John Bemrose - Really, I will get to it this month!
~ ~ The Rules of Engagement by Catherine Bush - Adding here as the next in the pile, just in case I blaze through my March reading, but I think this one will carry over into April

Poetry - For my "Year of Reading Poetry" (I plan to try to read at least one poem a day, everyday, as a way to get through my poetry category):
~ ~ None planned for this month

Reading Through Time (RTT) Group topic/theme for the month:
~ ~ The Making of Modern Medicine by Michael Bliss - Finished
~ ~ Possibilities (if I have time): Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Orange reading - which will be year long, give or take a month here and there:
~ ~ None planned for this month

Early Reviewer Books
~ ~ Underground Time by Delphine de Vigan - fits Prizes category

Books from the Library I hope to find time for this month:
The Day Before Happiness by Erri de Luca - Translated Works
Lenin's Embalmers by Vern Thiessen - Plays
Sciencia: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Astronomy for All by Burkard Polster - Science
The Anatomist's Apprentice by Tessa Harris - Historical Fiction (also fits RTT March theme)
Mrs. God by Peter Straub - doesn't really fit any of my categories but looks good!
My Inventions and Other Writings by Nikola Tesla - Science

What with the groups reads and the scatter gun approach to reading I adopted last month I don't think I will bother posting any Currently Reading lists, I will just rely on using the 'currently reading' feature here on LT.

Now off to decide what book I want to start my weekend reading with......

Wow that is a busy month but it should be good! I loved People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks so I look forward to hearing about March.

You have some great books planned for March -- in theory I'll be joining you for March. We'll see!

Very good review of The Making of Modern Medicine. I've put this on my wishlist. Good luck with your March plans!

The Making of Modern Medicine sounds right up my alley, but I too am agreeing about the cover - that's terrible! :)

> 204 - Thanks fmgee! I think my planned reading is do-able and is helped by the fact that the March reading for Don Quixote is only 105 pages long and Part 1 of 2666 is only 161 pages (I have already made it to page 95 in that book!), but time will tell if i h ave bitten off more than I can chew.

> 205 - Thanks Dejah! I hope to get to March mid-month so look forward to your comments if you join in in reading March. I know Judy (DeltaQueen50) has already finished March and posted a good review of the book over on her thread and the book page.

> 206 - Thanks Paulina, I made need the luck! ;-)

> 207 - Hi Eva, I know the book was a university press publication but still.... a little effort in presentation goes a long way in selling books!

-------------------------------

I have been taking it pretty easy all weekend. I have managed to come down with another head cold and I am having an awful time shaking this one. I am run down after a number of busy months (too much work/stress, not enough rest, nasty unpredictable weather, etc) and my body has decided to reward me by becoming a magnet for every bacteria, virus and germ out there. I have spent the weekend napping and drinking lemon ginger tea with lots of lemon and honey added. Good old chicken noodle soup tonight, another hot bath, more tea and hopefully I will be in better shape tomorrow!

Sorry you're under the weather, Lori. It sounds like you could use a week or two basking the sun at a posh beach resort!

I hope the tea and chicken noodle soup does the trick Lori. I'm interested to see that your getting through 2666 at a good pace. I'm making a determined effort to finish A Short History Of Nearly Everything so I can get started on 2666.

> 209 - Thanks Judy...... a week or two basking in the sun at a posh beach resort would be divine right now! Sadly, things are too busy for time off - I was at work today and will be going back in tomorrow - but I have my fingers crossed I will be able to take time off in April.

> 210 - Hi Alana, the teas, chicken soup and hot baths are helping. Beef vegetable soup tonight - a little more protein and substance to aid recovery along - and then early to bed with 2666. I am rather surprised at how quickly I found myself being drawn into the story! I will still only tackle one part per month to free myself up to tackle the other books on my planned reading list. I am really looking forward to the discussions for this one!

One of my favorite remedies for a head cold is Chinese Hot & Sour Soup. Not only do you have the chicken broth base but a blast of spice to loosen up the gunk in the sinuses. Get well soon!

> 212 - Hi mamzel, Chinese Hot & Sour Soup sounds good! I am on the mend. I had Lebanese Lentil Soup for lunch today. I love lentils so when I saw this as the soup of the day at a shop near the office I was overjoyed to say the least. Another day or two and I should be back to my normal self!

Hope you continue to feel better, Lori!

> 214 - Thanks Terri, I am almost fully recovered - still dealing with a bit of a stuffy nose - and looking forward to a relaxing weekend.

----------------------------------------

On the reading front, I finished part one of 2666, which is as far as I am going to read it for this month. I really love Bolano's writing style - fluid, intellectual prose presented in a reflective narration that I think works well with the story he is telling.

Still reading Sciencia and trying to decide if I will start March or The Windup Girl today.

Hi, Lori! Glad to hear that you are feeling better.

I haven't started 2666 yet. Good to know that you're enjoying it!

> 216 - Hi Ivy! I have found 2666 to be quite an engrossing page turner. I like how it is broken down into small, easy to pick up and read sections. The only reason it took so long for me to finish Part 1 is that my other half and I have spent the past few evenings watching back to back episodes of Garrow's Law, an 18th century English court room drama series.

YouTube has a lots of video clips of this series.

I just started 2666 last night, and the writing style is the first thing that impressed me.

I really wanted to join in on the 2666 group read, but I didn't have time this month to physically read such a long book. I thought about trying to audiobook, but thought that the plot might be a little too dense to follow as an audio. What do you think?

> 219 - Hi Rachel, I am taking the full 5 months to read 2666 and I will be hanging around the discussion threads for the remainder of the year, so feel free to join in at anytime! I found Part 1 of 2666 to be a quick read and the whole book can probably be read over the course of one month time permitting. As for an audiobook.... that is tough. I don't have any experience with audiobooks, but as there is an omnipotent narrator I don't think a audiobook should necessarily confuse the story. if you can get your hands on an audiobook from your local library to try out, that might be the way to go.

--------------------------

I finished The Windup Girl today - which I highly recommend! - continue to read Sciencia and will now pick up The Island Walkers.

Book #19 - The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
Category: - Don't Know Much Geography - Books set in foreign lands
Alternate category: Don't Know Much Biology

What happens when calories - foodstuffs - become currency? What happens when bio-terrorism becomes a tool for corporate profits, when said bio-terrorism's genetic drift forces mankind to the cusp of post-human evolution?

If you have read and enjoyed China Miéville's Perdido Street Station, then there is a good chance that you will also enjoy reading Bacigalupi's novel, a page-turning adventure/social commentary of corporate greed, racial fundamentalism and political scheming set in an alternate reality Thailand. Bacigalupi's Thailand is one that struggles to survive after the global oil collapse of the Contraction and the decimation of foodstuffs and human life as bio-engineered plagues send waves of destruction over everything in their path.

The world-building here is well developed, detailed and easy to visualize. The plot is tight and even though the story has multiple narrators, it is not confusing to follow. I loved Perdido Street Station but found the world-building and the plot development in that book required more of an intellectual focus on my part as I was reading it. With The Windup Girl, I was able to sit back, easily accept the changes Bacigalupi had made to create his alternate world Thailand and allowed me to concentrate on the intricate plot and the characters.

There are no saints in this book. The characters have their flaws, their weaknesses, even the genetically created ones. For me, the book actually exceeded my expectation - which is always nice to experience! - as the premise never grabbed me as something that I would want to read. I am really glad the group read was proposed, as I don't think I would have gotten around to reading this one with out that extra nudge to do so.

Overall, a great story and one that I highly recommend.

Decimal Rating: 4.58
5.0 - Plot Development
4.5 - Character Development
4.25 - Writing Style
4.5 - Premise
4.75 - Imagery/Visualization
4.5- Length

Star Rating: 4.5 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: hardcover
# of Pages: 359 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

I've made a very brief start on The Windup Girl today so I'll have to skip your review for now. Glad to see that you enjoyed it though and score so highly throughout.

> 222 - Hi Dave, I am looking forward to reading your review when you finish The Windup Girl. I had a few quibbles with the story but I thought it best to post those over on the spoiler thread for the group read, just in case I missed something!

#221 - Great review! That sounds like one for the wishlist.

Thanks for the review! (I went to thumb, but it's not up yet.) Windup is on the wishlist and I'm looking forward to it - great worldbuilding and flawed characters sounds promising and then with a little Miéville in there, it becomes a must-read. :)

Hi Lori, just skimming your review of The Windup Girl as I have just started it. Did notice that you gave it an overall rating of 4.5 stars which sounds like I have an excellent read in front of me.

> 224 - Thanks Kerri!

> 225 - Sorry Eva. I didn't think to post that review to the book page. I was having a bit of a frazzled afternoon. It is posted now.

> 226 - Judy I am really looking forward to your thoughts. I really did enjoy this one..... and I usually steer clear of stories tagged as being 'dystopian'.

Hi Lori, just came back to actually read your Windup Girl review. I think you, Dave and I all had a similar positive reaction to the book. I am also very glad this was a group read as I don't know when I would have gotten around to it otherwise.

> 228 - Hi Judy, I was just over on you thread commenting on your great review for The Windup Girl and a general question about the weather we have been experiencing!

--------------------

One the reading front, I haven't read a single page in a book since Monday afternoon. I anticipate my reading stats for March are going to be on the low side. I have already returned a number of library books I was hoping to read and just never got around to.

The weather has been rather crazy this week with gusting unpredictable wind storms on and off since early Monday morning. Today was no exception with everything from wind, rain, sunshine and even a beautiful rainbow at one point against the backdrop of a dark, dark grey sky. Crazy weather!

Crazy weather indeed, just to update my weather report on my thread, at 4 pm this afternoon we got quite the hail storm. We have skylights over the kitchen and I was a little nervous there for awhile. Fairly big pieces of ice were tumbling around. Then the sun came out and all is peaceful again.

> 230 - Yikes! Hail and skylights do not make a good mix. Okay, hail and just about anything breakable/damageable does not make a good mix. The prairie girl in me remembers the freak hailstorms and the damage to cars, house siding, etc when the golfball-sized hail starts dropping from the sky. Glad to see the it passed and with damage to report!

I have had a great Saturday.... slept in late, soaked up some natural vitamin D from the unimpeded sunshine we had today, ran the necessary errands which included grocery shopping, shopping for a new ironing board cover and hit a couple of book haunts in the process. Restrained myself and come home with two books purchased:


Curiosity by Joan Thomas
Inamorata by Joseph Gangemi

Update on where these purchases compare to my TBR reading this year, this make the current tally:

Added to TBR pile: 9
Read and removed from TBR pile: 5

Not bad, as two of my current reads are from my TBR pile, with more to be read this month...... provided I actually sit down and do some reading!

Now off to make dinner - beef and bean enchiladas.

I hope everyone has been having an enjoyable weekend!

Well, St. Paddy's Day here in Southern California has turned into rain and strong winds, so we've renamed it Free Carwash Day this year. :) I'm still struggling with sitting down to read for some reason, eventhough the book I'm in the middle of is really captivating. I'll just have to accept that reading-slumps take a while to get out of...

Great book-haul! Both look very intriguing. And, feel free to send some enchiladas over here - corned beef isn't a huge favorite of mine. :)

> 233 - Thanks Eva! I am with you.... I am not a huge corned beef fan myself unless it is in sandwich form on rye or pumpernickel bread with lots of mustard and sauerkraut! Sadly, I cannot ship the enchiladas your way.... U.S. Customs would confiscate the shipment for sure. ;-)

-------------------------

A nice relaxing Sunday has enabled me to pick up a book and get in some quality reading time..... the first time in the last 6 days. I am now over 100 pages into The Island Walkers and while it was slow at first, I am now happily ensconced in this story. I hope to hit the halfway mark this evening.

>221 lkernagh: Between yours, DQ's and Wolfy's reviews I'm more than convinced. I'll need to pick up The windup girl.
>232 lkernagh: That's two very nice looking new additions. Somehow matching too.

Yes! I wouldn't have been able to walk away from those books either.

> 235 - Anders, I think you will find The Windup Girl and interesting world build read!

> 236 - Thanks Katie.... bookstore visits can be dangerous!

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I have been reading.... really, I have! This month has been a bad month readingwise - too busy at work and at the end of the day I would rather sit back and watch movies than read. Sad I know. I will finish the three books I currently have on the go before the month ends - due dates at the library have reshuffled my reading priority. On the way to the dentist today for a routine check -up and clean I hit one of my usual used book haunts and came away with the following two purchases:


The Navigator of New York by Wayne Johnson - I haven't read anything by this author and having heard good things about this one so thought I would give it a go.
The Cure for Death by Lightening by Gail Anderson-Dargatz - I read her Miss Hereford Stories and loved them so looking forward to reading more by this author

Update on where these purchases compare to my TBR reading this year, this make the current tally:

Added to TBR pile: 11
Read and removed from TBR pile: 5

Now.... off to see if I can finish at least one of the books I am currently reading!

Just catching up with your great reviews. I enjoyed reading your comments on The Windup Girl, which so many people have praised, and also the side comments on Perdido Street Station. Mieville's book is next on the reading list for our local independent bookstore's steampunk book-club, so I will be picking it up shortly.

> 238 - Oooohhh Perdido Street Station is, IMO, the perfect entrance into Miéville's works - it has a little bit of everything! A bit of a tome page wise but well worth the read if you are able to immerse yourself in the world build!

I just read Cure for Death by Lightning and am looking out for more of her books so Miss Hereford Stories has to go on the list:)

> 240 - As soon as I saw your post above I had to go to your thread and check out your review. Now I am even happier about my book purchase!

Book #20 - Never Hug a Mugger on Quadra Island by Sandy Frances Duncan and George Szanto
Category: - But I Do Know That One and One is Two - Next in Series



Book three in the Island Investigations International Mystery series finds our two detectives Noel Franklin and Kyra Rachel once again asked to investigate. This time they are hired by Noel old high school friend Jason Cooper. Jason's oldest son Derek is in a coma in the hospital, the outcome of what appears to be a senseless attack on the young twenty year old that does not appear to have any known enemies. Jason's middle son, Shane, is a promising up and coming figure skater being groomed for the Olympics. As such, the figure skating world is largely captured in this book and explains the choice of cover image.

This one was a let down for me after the first two books in the series. There is more focus on the personal lives of our detectives here and, sadly, it was rather easy for me to figure out who did and there weren't too many surprises this time to keep me guessing. On the negative side, this book was in need of a continuity review prior to going to publication. I have an issue when I am reading a story with a character named Sam only to have his name change part way through the story to Jim with no explanation and then to discover further on a new character by - you guessed it - the name of Sam. Stuff like that drives me crazy! ***small rant over***

Overall, an okay read that fit my purpose of something non-taxing to read as a way to relax after a hectic work week, but nothing amazing to write home about or to recommend.

Decimal Rating: 3.15
3.30 - Plot Development
3.10 - Character Development
3.20 - Writing Style
3.00 - Premise
2.80 - Imagery/Visualization
3.50 - Length

Star Rating: 3.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: hardcover
# of Pages: 260 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female/Male

Now, off to see if I can get another book finished......

Continuity errors annoy me too - I read something somewhat recently when a character was standing in front of his house talking to another character and then went out his front door and out to the street. How can nobody have noticed this before publishing?

> 243 - Totally agree with you Eva .... don't they have someone read the book that hasn't been involved right at the start, just to catch errors everyone else consumed in the book misses because they have read it so many times their eyes just glaze over these kinds of details?

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Finished another book last light - one I have been plugging away at over the month.

Book #21 - Sciencia: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Astronomy For All Edited by John Martineau
Category: - Don't Know Much About a Science Book - Science as a theme



As the title suggests, this is a compendium of six popular scientific titles from the Wooden Books series. Edited by John Martineau, the various scientific topics are presented in snapshot format - one page (the left hand page of the book) containing text touching on a specific topic with corresponding charts, diagrams, pictures and images to exemplify the topic displayed on the right hand page. Efforts have been made by the various authors to present the scientific topics in layman's terms, and the visuals do help with this.

This has its pros and cons. On the pro side, the book is great for quick overviews of various topics of interest. on the cons side, if you want to delve into a topic in greater detail, you will need other resources to do so. As mentioned by Moff Betts in the introduction to Book V - the Human Body:

"So when asked to write a tiny book about the human body, I protested that the topic was too large and complex to fit into such a small space. As it turned out, the book had ideas of its own, but is necessarily dense and in places a fairly simple version of what we know."

One of my favorite quotes from the book, and a great example of the layman's explanatory approach to science is the following quote from the topic on Immunology:

"The shapes that identify cells as yours are mainly MHC proteins, and lymphocytes brandish other proteins which dock with these. If docking falters, the lymphocyte smells a rat, and sends messages that amplify far and wide to bring the white cavalry. To avoid whimsical wars being waged, several white cells agree to arouse each others' martial sides before letting full hostilities commence."

My takeaway from this book and the various 'little' books contained in it is I found parts of it to be a great refresher for stuff I had learned back in my school days, parts of it difficult to grasp - like quantum theory - as being over my head and some parts -like the great detailed run through on the periodic table - absolutely fascinating as I now finally understand the elements of the periodic table in relation to one another! Why couldn't my high school teacher explain it to me this way!

Decimal Rating: 3.50

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: hardcover
# of Pages: 410 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

Sorry that the mystery involving the figure skating was a disappointment. It's a sport/art that has always fascinated me, and I don't think I ever read a novel with a figure skater as a major character. The kind of continuity error you described drives me crazy. I understand how they happen, but a fresh reader needs to go through and catch them.

The science book sounds like one that I might want to investigate. I don't have a real brain for science. It might help me with the basics.

I'm also a huge figure-skating fan and had kids participating in the sport (in a recreational rather than competitive way) for many years. I'd love to read a good mystery set in the figure-skating world, but this doesn't sound like it will be the one.

> 246 & 247 - Hi Terri and Paulina, the mystery was okay and you are right, there don't appear to be too many mysteries with a figure skater as a major character. It was the focus on a certain 'situation' of one of the lead characters that made the story less appealing to me but might be more interesting for other readers, which only works if the reader has read the first two books in the series and has the personal background information from those stories to work from.

Terri - Sciencia is a book that I stumbled across by chance while browsing the new arrivals at my local library and is something that can easily be read in small spurts over a long period of time!

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Well. March is almost over but I believe there is still enough time left in the month for me to read Geraldine Brooks' March for the TIOLI challenge and to get one more book off my TBR bookcase. That is the current game plan anyways... now if only I can stay away from all the DVDs of Murdoch Mysteries I have from the library.... I recently stumbles across this TV series and love it!

I'm adding Murdoch Mysteries to my Netflix list and now I'm going to try and forgot I heard of it - I have too many books to read! :)

Well, I never did manage to finish March in time to include it in my March tally of reading. Time for the monthly and quarterly recaps:
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March Re-Cap:

Books read:


4 books completed over the month is the slowest reading month I have had on record. The good news is that April will be a better reading month - if anything, to complete some of the following books where the reading is still in progress:

Books currently in progress:


March Book stats:
Books purchased: 4
Books read: 4
~ Books read off TBR Pile: 0
~ Books read from local library: 4
~ Books read and borrowed from friends/family: 0
~ Free book download/ER book: 0
~ Books read by male authors: 4
~ Books read by female authors: 1
* one book read co-authored by male and female author so counted both here>
Overall Pages read for the month: 1300

Favorite book (decimal rating): The Windup Girl by by Paolo Bacigalupi - (4.58 decimal rating)
Least favorite book (decimal rating): Never Hug a Mugger on Quadra Island by Sandy Frances Duncan and George Szanto - (3.15 decimal rating)

CATEGORY SUMMARY:
Don't know much about history - Historical fiction - (3/6 read)
Don't know much biology - Medical discovery/illness as a theme - (1/6 read - 1 new)
~ ~ The Making of Modern Medicine by Michael Bliss - (review here - post 198)
Don't know much about a science book - Science as a theme - (2/6 read - 1 new)
~ ~ Sciencia: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Astronomy For All Edited by John Martineau - (review here - post 245)
Don't know much about the French I took - Translated works - (1/6 read)
But I do know that I love you - More books by favorite authors - (2/6 read)
And I know that you love me too - Poetry - (3/6 read)
What a wonderful world this would be - Plays - (2/6 read)
Don't know much about geography - Books set in foreign lands - (3/6 read - 1 new)
~ ~ The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi - (review here - post 221)
But I do know that one and one is two - Next in Series - (2/6 read - 1 new)
~ ~ Never Hug a Mugger on Quadra Island by Sandy Frances Duncan and George Szanto - (review here - post 242)
And if this one could be with you - "New to me" Canadian authors - (0/6 read)
Now I don't claim to be an "A" student - Prize Winners and Shortlisted - (1/6 read)
I can win your love for me - Books languishing on my TBR pile - (1/6 read)

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As the first quarter is now behind us, time for the quarterly re-cap.

First Quarter Re-Cap

Overall Book stats - Year to date:
Books purchased: 11
Books read: 21
Books read off TBR Pile: 5
Books read from local library: 14
Books read and borrowed from friends/family: 1
Free book download/ER book: 1
Books read by male authors: 13
Books read by female authors: 10
* two books read co-authored by male and female author so counted both here!
Overall Pages read for the quarter: 5777 - (books completed and still in progress)

Favorite book for the quarter (decimal rating): The Windup Girl by by Paolo Bacigalupi - (4.58 decimal rating)
Least favorite book for the quarter (decimal rating): The Book of Longing by Leonard Cohen - (2.65 decimal rating)
Largest book read (# pages) - The Distant Hours by Kate Morton at 576 pages
Smallest book read (# pages) - Strawberries in January by Evelyne de la Cheneliere at 69 pages

This seems to be a good time to move the reading over to a new thread.... so off to try out this continuation tool and see if I make a complete mess of things in the process. It is April Fools Day after all!

Looks like the continuation thingee worked!

I invite everyone to follow the continuation link below. This thread is now

Wayne Johnson is great The Colony of Unrequited Dreams and Custodian of Paradise were wonderful reads that I would recommend.