Smiler's 2012 Miscellany: Part One

Photo: children bundled up against the cold winter weather, sitting on a bench on Gogolevski Boulevard in Moscow, Russia, December 1959. Photographer: Carl Mydans



Currently Reading:
Paris: Made by Hand by Pia Jane Bijkerk
Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
♫ To Fear a Painted Devil by Ruth Rendell

    




12/12 Challenge
1. The First Half 1901-1951 0/12
2. Tea with Georgie, Vickie & Eddie - 18th & 19th Century Classics 0/12
3. Picked for me - chosen from my shelves at random by LTers 0/12
4. Guardian Knows Best - Guardian 1000 0/12
5. The Dark Side - Crime & Mystery 0/12
6. Going Places - International authors & places 1/12
7. Young at Heart - Children/YA/Fantasy 0/12
8. Hot Off the Press - Published since 2011 0/12
9. Visual Treats - books on art, photography, design, or just beautiful books 0/12
10. Beyond Fiction - non-fiction 0/12
11. Litérature Française - contemporary & classic French lit (read in French) 0/12
12. From My Treasure-Trove - off the shelf (acquired before 31/12/11) 1/12

Books completed in January
1. A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin (review) ☀
2. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (review) ☀
3. ♫ Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson (rating & review coming soon) ☀



My rating system:
★ - hated it (may or may not have finished it but listing it for the trouble)
★★ - it was just ok
★★★ - enjoyed it (good)
★★★★ - loved it! (very good)
★★★★★ - all-time favourite (blew me away—will read again)

⅛ ¼ ⅓ ½ ¾ ⅞

♫ = audiobook
✔ = off the shelf
☀ = TIOLI




Suggested reads for January

☛ The Secret River by Kate Grenville (group read, TIOLI Challenge #9: Read a book with the name of a body of water in the title, 12/12 Category #12: From My Treasure-Trove)
☛ Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh (TIOLI Challenge #9, 12/12 Category #12)
☛ Cannery Row by John Steinbeck (TIOLI Challenge #1, Steinbeckathon, 12/12 Category #1: The First Half 1901-1951)
☛ ♫ Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson (TIOLI Challenge #11: Read a work of narrative non-fiction, TIOLI 12/12 Category #8: Hot Off the Press )
☛ The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan (TIOLI Challenge #11, 12/12 Category #10: Beyond Fiction)
☛ ♫ Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick (TIOLI Challenge #11, 12/12 Category #10)
☛ Zarafa: A Giraffe's True Story, from Deep in Africa to the Heart of Paris by Michael Allin (TIOLI Challenge #11, 12/12 Category #6: Going Places)
☛ ♫ Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk (TIOLI Challenge #8: Read a book where a word in the title can be used as a verb, 12/12 Category #4: Guardian Knows Best)
☛ L'Assomoir by Émile Zola (TIOLI Challenge #19: beverage mentioned on page 10, 12/12 Category #11: Litérature Française)
☛ From the Mouth of the Whale by Sjón (ER book, TIOLI Challenge #13: Read a book written by someone who was already famous for something OTHER than writing, 12/12 Category #6)

More Options:

☛ Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (Orange January, TIOLI Challenge #6: long or shortlisted for or won the Orange prize)
☛ ♫ On Canaan's Side by Sebastian Barry (TIOLI Challenge #17: word with three identical vowels)




* = must read
♫ = audiobook
✔ = off the shelf
❉ = library
☛ = TIOLI

Favourite reads of 2011

Literature
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
""Jean Louise," she said, "you are a fortunate girl. You live in a Christian home
with Christian folks in a Christian town. Out there in J. Grimes Everett's land there's
nothing but sin and squalor." "Yes ma'am."" The first reading of many to come.
The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht
Multilayered, with a slow build-up of different narratives forming a rich tapestry.
Regeneration by Pat Barker
Brilliantly written and thoroughly engaging, anti-war and pro-sanity.
From the Land of the Moon by Milena Agus
A beautiful and heartfelt short story about desire and self-delusion.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
An unlikely heroine sees her life transformed like a 1930s middle-aged Cinderella.
Monsieur Linh and His Child by Philippe Claudel
A touching story about loss, displacement and friendship with an unforgettable ending.
By a Slow River by Philippe Claudel
A love letter to a long-dead beloved wife. Almost unbearably beautiful.
Animal Farm by George Orwell (re-read)
One of the best novels of all time. And best of all: it's about animals. Sort of.
Brighton Rock by Graham Greene
A despicable young thug, a gullible maiden, and gripping tension from beginning to end.
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
If you thought you didn't like Westerns, this will change your mind.
The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West
An affecting reflexion on the insanity society imposed on WWI combatants.
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
a richly told, multilayered gothic story which satisfies at every page.
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
A thoroughly charming, deftly handled story about an unlikely love affair.
Memento Mori by Muriel Spark
The biggest surprise is to find a book about old age and dying which is quite this funny.
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
A family saga set in pre-revolutionary China. Explores universal themes with utter simplicity.
Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx
A short story filled to the brim with emotion, gorgeous prose, and vivid imagery.
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
A surgeon looks back on growing up as a twin amidst great personal and political turmoil.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Gorgeous prose on being black and the tyranny of the cult of beauty.
Imperial Woman by Pearl S. Buck
A gripping tale about an imperial concubine becoming the all-powerful Empress Tzu Hsi.
1984 by George Orwell (re-read)
A powerful reminder that the "free world" should never be taken for granted.
Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley
A celebration of the love of books and adventure. Delightful.

Honourable Mentions: Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler, The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt, Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh, Dubliners by James Joyce, Scenes from Village Life by Amos Oz, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski, Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, Gros-Câlin by Romain Gary

Non-Fiction (will read more in 2012)
Sanderson: The Essence of English Decoration by Mary Schoeser
Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet by Jennifer Homans
The Tiger : A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant

Classics
The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (re-read)
Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant
Emma by Jane Austen
King Lear by William Shakespeare
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Honourable Mentions: The Turn of the Screw and The Aspern Papers by Henry James, La Fortune des Rougons by Émile Zola, La Curée (The Kill) by Émile Zola, Three Men in a Boat (to say nothing of the dog) by Jerome K. Jerome, Le Père Goriot by Honoré de Balzac

Mystery/Spy/Thriller
Zoo Station by David Downing
The Crocodile Bird by Ruth Rendell
The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey
Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers

Honourable Mentions: Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris

Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Just for fun
A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Primary Phase (BBC Radio Collection) by Douglas Adams
Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach (for the audio version)
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

YA Fiction
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Honourable Mentions: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn

Graphic Novel & Illustration
The Arrival by Shaun Tan
Lost & Found by Shaun Tan
Le carnet rouge by Benjamin Lacombe
The Three Golden Keys by Peter Sís
Selma by Jutta Bauer
Un Lion a Paris by Beatrice Alemagna
Madlenka by Peter Sís
Flotsam by David Wiesner
June 29, 1999 by David Wiesner
Blanche Neige by Benjamin Lacombe
Grimoire de Sorcières by Benjamin Lacombe
Nasreddine by Odile Weulersse
Grandpa's Angel by Jutta Bauer
Binky the Space Cat by Ashley Spires
Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears by Emily Gravett
Wolves by Emily Gravett

Honourable Mentions: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick




... And the Least Favourite:

Black and Blue by Ian Rankin
Numerous awards and honours didn't help me like it better.
Dead Souls by Ian Rankin
felt like it dragged on and on and on... and on
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney
The first book made me laugh out loud. The second one was wimpy in comparison.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Made me so upset I threw it across the room.
My Reading Life by Pat Conroy
He has legions of fans, but just too wordy for me.
Sandman: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman
Truly disturbing.
Invisible River by Helena McEwen
Father's an alcoholic and makes daughter's life hell. Then things get worse.
The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton
I got brain sprain from too many mental gymnastics.
Playback: A Graphic Novel by Raymond Chandler
Some truly bad drawings ruined a Noir classic.
L'argent facile (Easy Money) - Stockholm Noir 1, by Jens Lapidus
Four despicable young guys mixed up in get rich quick drug scheme. 'Nuf said.
Emma, Volume 1 by Kaoru Mori
Guess I'm not a fan of manga after all...
The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger
A depressing story not helped by bad artwork.
In Search of Klingsor by Jorge Volpi
Only physics freaks need apply.
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
Story about self-important jerk wins Booker Prize. End of story.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
This 10th anniversary edition audiobook with 12,000 extra words made my ears bleed

2012 Planning

Steinbeckathon:
January: Cannery Row (208*) - Ilana/Smiler69**
February: The Wayward Bus (288) - Mark/msf59
March: The Winter of Our Discontent (304) - Lynda/Carmenere
April: The Moon is Down (112) - Linda/lindapanzo
May: The Grapes of Wrath (496) - Ellen/EBT1002
June: Of Mice and Men (112) - Brit/weejane
July: East of Eden (640) - Ellen
August: The Red Pony (112) - Ilana
September: In Dubious Battle (384) - Mark
October: Tortilla Flat (224) - Ellen
November: Travels With Charley and The Pearl (256 + 96) - Ilana
December: Sweet Thursday (288) - Mark

* approximate # of pages
** names indicate who will be heading up the threads.

Anyone is welcome to join in at any point, for as many or as few books as is desired.

Group Reads
January: Orange January, The Secret River by Kate Grenville (75ers), Cannery Row by John Steinbeck (Steinbeckathon)
February: Fantasy February, The Wayward Bus by John Steinbeck (Steinbeckathon)
March: Christine Falls by Benjamin Black, The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi (12/12), The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck (Steinbeckathon)
April: The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (12/12), David Copperfield (75ers), The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck (Steinbeckathon)
May: Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez (12/12), A Game of Hide and Seek by Elizabeth Taylor (Virago Modern Classics)
June: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (12/12, tutored read), Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Steinbeckathon)
July: East of Eden by John Steinbeck (Steinbeckathon), Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks (12/12), Angel by Elizabeth Taylor (Virago Modern Classics)
August: The Red Pony by John Steinbeck (Steinbeckathon), Middlemarch by George Eliot (12/12)
September: In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck (Steinbeckathon), Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams (12/12)
October: Blindness by José Saramago (12/12), Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck (Steinbeckathon)
November: Travels With Charley and The Pearl by John Steinbeck (Steinbeckathon)
December: Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck (Steinbeckathon)

Books my fellow LT pals picked from my shelves for 12/12:
Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood - Picked by MickyFine
Études de Femmes by Honoré de Balzac - Picked by bucketyell
The Global Forest by Diana Beresford-Kroeger - Picked by msf59
Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Branddon - Picked by avatiakh
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John Le Carré - Picked by casvelyn
Arabian Nights: Four Tales from a Thousand and One Nights by Marc Chagall - Picked by Donna828
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - Picked by DragonFreak
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver - Picked by calm
No Great Mischief by Alasdair MacLeod - Picked by KiwiNyx
The Glass Room by Simon Mawer - Picked by DeltaQueen50
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk - Picked by Deern
Le Grand livre de la tendresse by Jacques Salomé - Picked by LauraBrook
Blindness by José Saramago - Picked by Whisper1
Caravan of Dreams of Idries Shah - Picked by PiyushChourasia
The Amulet of Samarkand (The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 1) by Jonathan Stroud - Picked by -Eva-
Candide by Voltaire - Picked by Fourpawz2
Native Son by Richard Wright - Picked by EBT1002

Other books I'd like to read in 2012

(coming soon)

Books Acquired in 2012




January
♫ Persuasion by Jane Austen (Au)
♫ Just Kids by Patti Smith (Au)
A Murder of Quality and Call for the Dead by John le Carré (CI)

AU = Audible
CI = ChaptersIndigo

Thanks then Ilana I'll take up the first non-reserved space here if you don't mind ever so. Happy 2012 for so it is in my sunny neck of the woods.

Happy New Year, Ilana. Love the picture on the thread.

How are you enjoying Steve Jobs? I gave that to my husband as one of his Christmas presents and he's had his head buried in it from Day 1.

Hi Paul! My, but you did find me, and fast too! :-)

I have to reserve spots when I start my threads since, as you've probably figured out by now, I like to keep my threads organized, at least to start with... and then, let the mayhem ensure! ;-)

Hi Caroline! Thanks for stopping by and Happy New Year to you too!

Steve Jobs is quite fascinating actually. I forgot to put my little "audiobook" icon ➤ ♫ as that's the version I'm with. At one point towards the beginning I got a bit discouraged because it was all about how much he was into tech as a kid and gave lots of details about some of his experiments, which might be interesting to someone into engineering and tech, but not really my thing. But now we're into his young adult years when his personality is starting to emerge and I'm quite into it.

Happy New Year, Ilana! Hope 2012 is full of all good things for you.

Love the pic!

I found this gorgeous image and had to share it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!

Hi Mary! Great to see you here. For the image, I was looking for winter scenes with children and just fell in love with this one. It was taken in Russia in the 50s.

Happy New Year to you too!

Oh, my, Ilana - I love that photo up top! Is it a family photo? And the gorgeous image, too.

I'm looking forward to reading Cannery Row in January for the 'thon. Happy New Year!

You're here my friend!

I've been waiting patiently to STAR you. :D

Hi Joe! Thanks for the visit. I just went and did a search in my history on Safari to find the image again, as I'd meant to include information on it and forgot to bookmark it. So the answer obviously is no, it's not a family photo unfortunately, though it was taken in Russia, where my father was born, so who knows? They might be relatives...

Here's the info, that I'll also include up top:

Children bundled up against the cold winter weather, sitting on a bench on Gogolevski Boulevard.
Location: Moscow, Russia
Date taken: December 1959
Photographer: Carl Mydans

Hi Valerie! I've missed you these past... has it been months? It sure felt like a long time. I put off starting a thread and starring anyone in this group till the last minute, to avoid overlap as much as possible. But I've devoted the day to catching up with everyone so I can start the year on the right footing! :-)

I'll seek out your thread as soon as I have a chance. xx

It's a beaut. My wife has Russian ancestors, too. Who knows?

That is a beautiful picture, Ilana.

I will have to get a copy of Steve Jobs from the library. I can't read my husband's copy because he's a member of the Highlight Bandits ... he hightlights passages in books that he reads all the time, and at times, writes comments in the margins .... it drives me crazy! I can't read books that have been marked.

Hello Ilana! Happy New Year! I love that photo!

It has been awhile. I have no idea what happened to my December. But since I will be staying at home this year, hopefully I can keep up with everyone and STILL have time to read since that's the whole point right??

I hope you have a great New Year! :)

Welcome back! 'bout time you showed up. :)

#19 I completely understand Caro, it would drive me nuts too. It took me long enough to feel comfortable with second hand and library books, but that kind of abuse... no. Does he actually go back and refer to his notes again?

#20 Hi Brit!

#21 Thanks Val, same to you.

#22 Hey Jim! Well... I did say I'd put it off till the last possible minute, and there's still almost six hours left to this year, so I'm actually in advance! ;-)

Hi Ilana, you're reading some of my favorite books in January: Nothing to Envy, The Worst Hard Time, The Secret River, and Sea of Poppies. That's quite a line up.

I can't believe how late I am to the party. And so late to star you! Am hugely impressed by all your lists and plans. I am so not a planner. But I admire planners and planning.

I did get Cannery Row and will start it soon. Truthfully, I can't say I'm excited about it, but I think, based on The Grapes of Wrath last year (this year, really), that he might be one of those writers who always turns out to be better than I expected him to be. Some actors are like that for me. I never get excited about Tom Hanks, but he pretty much always seems to do a really first rate job. Maybe Steinbeck will turn out to be like that for me.

I'm going to try to keep up with your incredible reading pace Ilana - at least for the first thread! And I love your plans for the year.

#23 : If he highlights something, he actually remembers the passages, if not word for word, then the gist of it. And he only highlights phrases or ideas he finds well articulated or important. He reads 99% non-fiction and has his own method of shelving because he fairly easily finds the books he's looking for, if he wants to look something up again. I've seen him often talking to someone on the phone, and walking to one of his shelves, pull out a book, rifle through and stop at something he'd either highlighted or commented and share it with the person he's talking to.

Oddly, he can't stand to read books other people have highlighted in and he doesn't like library books because he can't use his highlighter or pen on them.

Happy New Year, Ilana! I love the photo at the top! I was just a few months old, when that was taken.
I'm looking forward to another fun-filled reading year with you! It looks like we have an action-packed time ahead of us!
I have the Steve Jobs bio, saved on audio, so I'll be watching for your thoughts!
Hugs!

Now I will say Happy New Year here, only a few more hours to go!

#24 Hi Bonnie, I don't know if you know this about me, but I really like making lists. This doesn't mean I actually follow them to the letter, because most of my lists are far too ambitious, but one can always hope that there will suddenly be an extra 12 hours to every day. ;-)

#25 Charlotte, you are not late at all! I just got this thread started this afternoon.

I can completely relate to what you're saying about not being excited about authors and actors and then being impressed with their work once you actually read/see it. I wish I could think off the top of my head right now who does that for me, but if I think of it I'll tell you. Also, my planning is there to give me the impression that there is structure to my life. LOL.

Oh, and welcome!

#26 Cushla, I considered slowing down considerably in the New Year so I can take my time and savour the books more, but I've already overbooked myself for January, so that's probably not a good sign. ;-)

#27 Wow Caroline, your husband's power of recall is so impressive. I've always wished I could have that kind of memory, but unfortunately it didn't come bundled with my software. I can completely understand why he wouldn't want to have someone else's marks all over a book, since he uses them as working tools basically, right? Tell him I'm impressed (and not being sarcastic either)

#28 Are you the one on the left or right Mark? Oh wait, these kids are all too old to be you, duh. :-D
You're right, this coming year sure is looking busy for us, isn't it? I'm sure it'll be lots of fun too. Thanks for dropping by. I'll return the visit soon.

#29 Hey Lucy! I decided that all my New Year wishes were going on people's 2011 threads, and that I was just doing one general wish to everyone on this thread. It's looking like I'm spending New Year's Eve right here, trying to catch up with everyone and starring threads aplenty, but I'd already planned for that weeks ago. :-)

#30 Hi Kath! That's a very cute little guy, thanks for dropping by.

Hi Ilana, I'm glad you're not late to the party. I love both pictures you've posted so far. I look forward to following your life in books this year.

I'm starting the new year here, too... but I have to take frequent breaks to finish the last 100 pages or so of my last book for 2011. My husband and dog will have to party without me. ;-)

Helo, my dear! How are you?

You have some massive planning done...I'm still trying to figure out just what I'm going to do for January!

That photo at the top is marvelous; I well remember the days of being bundled up so much it was hard to move.

Looking forward to 2012 and chatting, joking, etc. with you, Dearie.

I'm looking forward to Cannery Row, Ilana, maybe for similar reasons (better than expected). I liked The Log from the Sea of Cortez much more than I expected.

HI Ilana! Thread up 7 hours and 34 posts already! Wow! :)
Love the picture in post 12, I just set it as my desktop here at work

Hope you have a great New Year!
Here's my star for your thread so I won't lose you

I adore the photo you opened with and the NY one, too! Excitedly gathering threads for our new 2012 adventure! Btw, went to find you in the threadbook, and you're not there yet ... hint, hint : ).

Checking in for another great year of reading.

Starred! This is going to be a great 2012!
Love both the photos, Ilana :)

Hopefully I will do a better job of keeping up with you in 2012, Ilana!

#32 Hi Donna. I'm glad you've got your priorities straight as far as New Year's celebrations go. We wouldn't want that to get in the way of reading now, would we? ;-)

#33 Hi Gail, I'm doing very well today, thank you. I've been having fun spending the better part of the day transitioning between the 'old' group and this new one. One day I'll figure out to make all this LT time pay off. Somehow. Maybe you can help me figure out how. Two heads make better than one, right?

#34 Joe, The Log from the Sea of Cortez is one of his titles I was not familiar with in the least. I'm really excited to see all this interest in the Steinbeckathon. I have a feeling it's going to be quite rewarding.

#35 Hi Chelle! Things move fast around here, that's for sure. I haven't managed to stop by and star all the threads I'm hoping to keep up with this year. It's looking like there'll be lots more lurking, and less commenting on my part in 2012 so I can try to follow as many people as possible.

#36 Oh yes... threadbook, completely forgot about that. I'll go there now before I forget about it again. Glad you like the pics Nancy. I've looked into the future and seen more visuals coming up for this thread. ;-)

#37 Hi Kerry!

#38 Claudia, yay!

#39 Stasia, it'll always be my pleasure to see you here, but I'll understand if you can't keep up all the time too. You're going to be one very busy woman this coming year!

Yup! I'm yer new fwiend and you can't lose me now! ;-)

Keep smiling :D
hugs and more hugs!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, dear Ilana!
I"m bringing a star and a hope that 2012 bests 2011 in wonderful books and conversation!

Happy New Year, Ilana!

Happy New Year, my dear friend Ilana! I love the lists at the top of your thread. I notice that one of the "picked for me" books is The Bean Trees -- I read that before anyone knew Barbara Kingsolver and instantly fell in love with it and with her. It's been years but I recall it as a wonderful read.

You and I will be sharing many reads this year, I think, starting with Cannery Row in January. I'm looking forward to them all.

Happy New Year, Ilana!

Once more Happy New Year, Ilana (can't be wrong to say it twice?)! I hope you had a good New Year's Eve and the crackers and fireworks didn't disturb Coco or the cats. Here in my town the kids were lighting crackers already in the early afternoon, which made the poor dogs go almost crazy.

45 messages already, and all those lists - that's a very impressive start! I'll try to participate in some of the Steinbeck group reads, should I find the books in my library. So far I only read Of Mice and Men in Italian, Steinbeck is on my list of so-far-neglected-authors.

Happy New Year Ilana. As it is now 2012 I think it's time to start dropping off some



Here's to another good year of reading:)

Good morning Ilana, it's New Year's Day and I'm looking forward to following your reading adventures during 2012.

Have a good day!

hi Ilana
found and starred
I saw you were reading A Clash of Kings too, I am about halfway.

Your illustrations are beautiful in black & white too.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Ilana! I love the photo of the Russian children, and especially the fireworks next to the Tower Bridge. I look forward to great reading and good humor and conversation from you in 2012.

Happy New Year, Ilana! I hope you have a great day! Whew, LT has been hopping this morning! We are a crazy & chatty bunch!

#41 :-)

#42 Peggy, 2011 was pretty amazing, so I hardly see how this year could get any better, but I guess there's always room for improvement!

#43 Same to you Charlotte!

#44 Ellen, I'm sure we'll end up sharing more than Cannery Row this month. I'm seriously thinking of picking up Bel Canto next, since I didn't have anything picked for Orange January and missed it both times last year. You've just reminded me I need to create the Steinbeckathon main thread still... my but a New Year sure is a lot of work, isn't it? ;-)

#45 Thanks Stasia, same to you!

#46 Nathalie, it was relatively quiet here when the new year rolled in. There were fireworks off at a good distance, and some cheering rose up from some parties in the neighbourhood, but no firecrackers, thank heavens. They're not really popular here, which suits me fine.

As for Steinbeck, Nathalie... you mustget your hands on some of his books in English. You'll thank me later for insisting. ;-)

#47 Hi Calm, it's always nice to see you here!

#48 There are plenty of adventures ahead Genny!

#49 Anita, I let A Clash of Kings drag on for too long the last few months and finally finished it in the small hours of the morning. I really loved it. My only regret is I let it drag on so long.

#50 Hi Katherine! Illustrations? What illustrations?

#51 Hi Darryl, that picture up top makes me smile every time I look at it. Hope it does the same for my visitors. I'll try not to let you down this year. ;-)

#52 Hi Mark! Chatty to be sure. I'm not making and rigid resolutions this year, but one resolution I'm making around LT is that I'd like to visit as many people as possible, while reducing the amount of time I spend here (which is practically full-time), so I can do things like... oh... read maybe? And also work on my art, which I really miss doing at this point. The problem with you lot is you're just too much fun! All this to say that I'll probably be lurking a lot more, so hope you won't hold it against me!

Hi Ilana! I am completely impressed with your thread organization. Sounds like you have lots of good reads ahead!

Finished my first book of the year, which, as I said to Anita just above, was A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin. I let it drag on and on these last months while trying to get ahead on everything else and just had a couple of chapters to finish last night, and now I can't wait till the next book, but I'll give it a rest so I can concentrate on it properly next time.

I just finished putting together a thorough list of Favourite Reads of 2011 back up top. I won't copy it here again because it's too long to repeat twice, so just click on the link and it'll take you there. Not taking responsibility for damages caused by book bullets! :-)

I need to start the Steinbeckathon threads, both the main thread and the one for Cannery Row, which we're reading this month (anyone is welcome to join). I'll post the link here when it's up, put it on the wiki, and also post about it on a few other threads to get the word around (like the bulletin board maybe?). I won't do this right now as need to get away from the computer, take Coco for a walk, etc, but it'll get down within the next 24-48 hours.

I'm not sure what I'll pick up next. I'm tempted to pull out Bel Canto because for one thing it fits in for Orange January, and for another it would be a good show of faith in the way of making efforts to read off the shelf as it's been sitting there since 2008-12-16, according to my work page.

Did I mention that I had a teeny tiny little mad-dash shopping spree last night at around 11:48 p.m.? Well I did. More on that after Coco's walk.

Hi and Happy New Year! I don't think I've posted on your thread(s) before. Cannery Row is a great read! Enjoy!

Ilana, what a wonderful list of memorable reads. I saw several books that didn't make my list and now you've got me rethinking... I've brought home the dvd, Bright Young Things, which is a 2003 film adaption of Vile Bodies.
It's my birthday in a couple of days so I'm allowing myself one last splurge before I kick in my austere 2012 book buying resolution. Declaration: I have too many books and a troubling addiction to procuring more of them.
On a positive note, I'm looking forward to following the Steinbeckathon, though I won't be participating as it doesn't match my reading plans for the year. I read a few of his books in my teens and really liked them.
Bel Canto was a 'did not get past chapter 2' for me, but I might pick it up again as so many LTers put it on their memorable reads lists.

There you are! I feel as though I have been circling the group and finding almost everyone else but your thread. Happy New Year Ilana! Starred!

... oh, and before I leave I want to shamelessly plug Bel Canto.... Excellent story and good choice for an Orange read!

53> my but a New Year sure is a lot of work, isn't it? ;-)

Yes, I can't tell you how many hours I've spent in the past few days just "keeping up" with all the new threads! Luckily, this is probably the only time all year I'd have time for such fun.

and 55> Did I mention that I had a teeny tiny little mad-dash shopping spree last night at around 11:48 p.m.? LOL!!

This group has done more to normalize (and, dare I say, encourage) my compulsive book-buying than anything I can imagine. Thank goodness I don't have kids for whom I have to save towards college.

You've got, among other things, my two favourite "Pettigrews" on your favourites list, Ilana: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, and Major Pettigrew's Last Stand.

Saving for kids going to college: our youngest in his last semester, hooray! (And he has a job when he's done). Looking forward to being even more ridiculous about buying books. :P

Hello Popular Lady
60 messages already

I admire that it must have taken an incredible amount of time compiling your lists.

Hugs

Sign me up for Steinbeckathon! His books have been sorely neglected and it's about time I remedy that, or at least try. :)

Happy New Years, Illana!

Happy New Years Ilana! Leaving my star and am very impressed by all your plans so far. My life is positively chaotic in comparison. Will look forward to you review of 'Clash' as this one is on my radar for very soon and it has been ages since I finished the first book now. I am determined to read this 2nd before season 2 of the TV show comes out.

#56 Hi Joanne, first time or not, you're always welcome! Happy New Year!

#57 Kerry, I had noticed they had Bright Young Things at the library, but at the time still had Vile Bodies on my wishlist. Meanwhile I've read the novel, but forgot about the movie, so thanks for reminding me about it.

I don't know how you are about making austere resolutions, but I don't dare. I'm just too scared it'll backfire on me. That being said, I'd like to buy no more than 4-5 books per month (on average), which would be far more reasonable than the nearly 300 I got in 2011.

I haven't been so keen of picking up Bel Canto, because after I got it I started seeing comments much like your own. I believe Madeline is another person who wasn't a taker. I guess I'll find out soon enough when I pick it up myself.

#58 Hi Lori! Thanks for dropping by. I love how everyone has their own take on any given book. Keeps things interesting for sure!

#59 Ellen, I agree that this group is not ideal for those who might be looking for a more disciplined approach to reading/book-buying and time spent online. As far as visiting threads go, I spent most of the day yesterday going on a first round, and am going to try pacing myself more to try to get more time off the computer, because I really overdid it in 2011. We'll see how that goes... it's just too much fun hanging out in these parts!

#60 Joe, I couldn't help but notice that there were two Pettigrews on my best of list. I wonder if that name ensures a surefire hit? I'd be curious to see how many other books there are with that name in the title... (checking) so far I've also found: Singing for Mrs Pettigrew: Stories and Essays from a Writing Life by Michael Morpurgo, and Mr. Pettigrew and the Bell-Ringers by Leonard Clark. There's also Jane Pettigrew's Tea Time. A Complete Collection of Traditional Recipes.

I've added the Morpurgo to my wishlist because I've read a couple of his books (which happen to be on my best reads list), and obviously like him, as for the other two... I don't know, but they don't seem very popular on LT, for one!

Congrats on the surplus income you now have to spend recklessly on more books! Maybe you can get one of the above and let us know how it turns out so we can verify that theory?

#61 Linda, while I'm making lists, I'm not getting into all kinds of trouble, so it's time well spent. I guess. ;-)

#62 Valerie, you're more than welcome to join us. We're starting with Cannery Row this month, and I'm already being completely irresponsible as I'm supposed to get the thread up, which I'll either do later tonight or tomorrow. Just come as you are!

#63 Leonie, I read Clash of Kings precisely because I wanted to be prepared for Season 2. Now I guess I have time to fit in the third book, A Storm of Swords and perhaps more, but I don't want to read them too fast and have to wait around for him to write the finale.

eta: #54 Sorry Amy, I almost skipped over you there. I guess we posted at the same time earlier, which is why I missed you. Please don't let appearances deceive you... just because I've made all those lists is by no means indicative of me being an organized person. :-)

So up in #55 I was owning up to having gone for a last minute shopping spree, just minutes before midnight. The purpose (because there was one), was to ostensibly have those books count as "off the shelf" reads in 2012, since I arbitrarily decided that any books purchased before Jan. 1 would count as such. But let me assign blame first: it was Darryl's/kidzdoc's fault. First, he posted the link to the list of forthcoming titles at New York Review Books a little while ago. Then yesterday he mentioned the NYRB Book Club, saying he was thinking of signing up so that he'd keep getting books in 2012, but since he's supposedly going on a book-buying ban, he'd still be in the clear, as they'd have been paid for in 2011. That made perfect sense to me (book addicts of the world, unite). The Book Club isn't viable however, because there's a $144 surcharge for shipping to Canada, so I went to BookDepository instead (for the FREE WORLDWIDE shipping) and pre-ordered some titles there. Far better, since I get to pick the titles I want instead of the folks at NYRB choosing for me. But since they'll only get charged as they get shipped out, this totally defeated the purpose of last-minute shopping, since they'll count as 2012 purchases after all. But who's thinking clearly in these moment? Anyway, here are the books I've ordered:

Walkabout by James Vance Marshall - Published: 17 January 2012
A Game of Hide and Seek by Elizabeth Taylor - Published: 14 February 2012
Angel by Elizabeth Taylor - Published: 14 February 2012
Berlin Stories by Robert Walser - Published: 08 March 2012
The Sun King by Nancy Mitford - Published: 17 April 2012
The Expendable Man by Dorothy B. Hughes - Published: 15 May 2012
He Was There from the Day We Moved in by Rhoda Levine - Published: 25 June 2012

If none of the titles or authors are familiar to you, don't worry about it, I wasn't familiar with them before seeing the preview list either.

Also, for good measure, I ordered Music and Silence and The Colour by Rose Tremain, as they've both been on my wishlist for quite a while and we don't want them languishing there for too long, because they're far better off languishing on my tbr. Makes sense, right?

Hey Ilana! I'm very excited about the Steinbeckathon! I just found out that our school's library has a book contained 4 of Steinbeck's short novels. Clearly I will be checking that out on Tuesday! :)

Ilana! You naughty, naughty girl! I love you! You make me feel so under control! LOL
OTOH, now I want to splurge too... I don't care what year it is. No book buying resolutions for me. From what I can tell here on LT - it makes the resolved reader crazy and sneaky!
Hey, look at it this way.... you saved $144! You frugal woman, you! ;-)

ETA: I have Cannery Row and will be starting that soon. I read it a long time ago and I remember liking it - but now don't remember too much about it... so, time for a re-read.

Hi Ilana- Even though you threatened to lurk more and post less, I will continue to stop by here, read, window-shop and leave a dry, sometimes clever message. Now, put that in your pipe and smoke it!

As far as the Martin books go, he writes so slow, you'll have plenty of time to get caught up. Although, I heard he will be giving out some teaser passages from Book 6, this spring or summer. Cool.

But let me assign blame first: it was Darryl's/kidzdoc's fault.

Wait a minute. First Caroline, and now you? And Rebecca was speaking about me unkindly on her thread this afternoon. This is the thanks I get for introducing you to enticing NYRB Classics titles?

My word dear Ilana you have been a busy girl. Agree with you totally that Book Depository an its free shipping is a godsend. Amazon does not offer free delivery to Malaysia so I made some saving last year when Prue put me in the know.
I have the Nancy Mitford somewhere (it is a re-issue of course she's been dead for longer than I've been in Malaysia). She was quite a card in life apparently - one of the smart set in the 1920's and 1930's she flirted with fascism in the UK and was linked to the Mosleys in some way I think. Later disavowed all of it when she actually understood what evil it really represented.
Agree also with your comment about visiting other threads more and also that it is easier said than done. I am looking some sort of tiered visiting system based on activity of threads and personal preference of course in order simply to keep up. Lurking without commenting is fine too in theory but in practice less easy to do!

#66 Brit, that sounds like just the ticket!

#67 You make me feel so under control!

What can I say Claudia, I aim to please. :-D

Hey, look at it this way.... you saved $144! You frugal woman, you!

Just what I was thinking Cee, but I was being modest you know... didn't want to toot my own horn. LOL

#68 I know I made threats Mark, but first give me time to implement them, and for that I need to get some practice. I enjoy shooting the... stuff too much to keep my fingers off the keyboard for very long. G.R.R.M.... how old is he? Just checked, young still, but he doesn't look all that healthy. That worries me. Should it?

#69 Darryl, face it, you're just a book pimp daddy.

#70 Paul, now I just *know* I've heard of Nancy Mitford before. I just can't recall in what context. Sounds like her life story is fit for a novel.

Quite apart from her, it looks like a great number (all?) of the titles at NYRB are reissues. I mean to get my hands on The New York Stories of Edith Wharton and The New York stories of Henry James issued by them, which they have at the library, along with quite a few (46) other books from them.

I am looking some sort of tiered visiting system based on activity of threads and personal preference of course in order simply to keep up.

Sounds like you're going to have to come up with a spreadsheet to figure out what thread to visit when. When you've figured out a good system, care to share it?

Darryl, face it, you're just a book pimp daddy.

LOL!

Re: Nancy Mitford - I read a really, really good family biography of the Mitfords last year - The Sisters . It was one of my favorites for the year.

Happy New Year, Ilana. Wow, I came home early and I am still way behind here. Spent most of the morning checking out the TIOLI Challenges (I think we have a joint read with Sea of Poppies).

I'm looking forward to following your adventures (both reading and otherwise) in 2012. Here's to a great reading year!

Happy New Year, Ilana!

>65 Smiler69: getting off on a technicality there with your last minute purchases!

Hello btw. I admire your lists and planning for the year. I am planning to make more plans and lists this year :)

Way to sneak in the purchases Ilana!
I bought a bunch of books for Christmas as well and they haven't arrived yet, BUT I am counting them towards purchases made in 2011. I am going to TRY (operative word is TRY) to be better about my book buying this year. I have way too much books just sitting around that I should get to instead of being lured by new and shinier reads. :/

Happy New Year Ilana--I'm looking forward to following your reading this year, as well as the adventures with Coco--and of course your beautiful art work. I'll be continuing on with the Rougon Macquart.

Your haul from NYBR looks luscious, Ilana! I'm still trying to decide whether to give the club a try (I have until 1/15 to get the deal) -- since I'm in the US, I can get the free shipping.
But I can also order and/or buy these at my local booksellers, so I'm not sure it makes sense to join the club and not necessarily get the exact books I want. The ones you chose look just right to me.

I haven't read all the messages yet, but just created an account with Book Depository. Didn't know about them until today, so thank you for a new book source!!

Edit: I just ordered the Kindle sample of Cannery Row. I have no idea what the plot is about, but confused the so far unknown expression "cannery" with "canary" - I thought the title meant sth. like "Canary Street". Well - one of the first sentences is
"... for if the canneries dipped their mouths into the bay (up to here it makes still some sense) the canned sardines which emerge from the other end would be metaphorically, at least, even more horrifying".
Yeah - quite horrifying indeed if you think he is speaking of canaries...

So I learned a new word today and I guess I'll join you for the group read.

Love the list of your favorites from 200, Ilana. Thanks for sharing them!

Finally caught up with your new thread Ilana!

#65 I love your justifications for the last-minute book spree :-) My resolution to reduce my 2012 book acquisitions hasn't gone too well so far either (and it's only the 2nd January!). As I mentioned on my thread the Virago group is reading all of Elizabeth Taylor's novels this year to celebrate the centenary of her birth and if you wanted to join in the discussions for the two books you ordered I'm sure you would be very welcome. I don't think there's a month set for those two books yet but the general discussion thread is here.

I got a really ancient copy of The Sun King by Nancy Mitford out from the library this last year and found it a very enjoyable read so I hope you enjoy it. The other authors and titles are all new to me so I will look forward to your thoughts :-)

And I can't remember if I said this yet, but Happy New Year in case I didn't. I'm very much looking forward to another year of friendship with so many people in this group.

...just realized I hadn't starred you yet!!! So... here you go! *

Hi Ilana,
I agree with Charlotte - I second The Sisters. It's a good book (I gave it 4 stars) and you get an overview of the whole family.

Have a sweet day - hugs for you and the furkids!

>81 Deern: LOLOL!!! too funny - poor little canaries :(

Good grief, Ilana!! I skip one day online to host a New Year's Day "Nosh" (Yiddish word for snack - this was really just an open house, and an especially fun one at that), but then I come here to find you already have 85(!) messages on your thread. How on earth am I supposed to keep up with you this year?!

At least, having now starred your new thread, I'll be able to find you. Don't disappear! :)

Hi, Ilana. I like your shopping spree!

Re the value of using Pettigrew in your book name, I agree. It seems like a surefire way to make it popular. I thought the author of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children really missed a bet for that reason, although he(?) (is Ransom Riggs a he?) seems to have done all right anyway.

Just found myself musing about your title: Smiler's Miscellany. I like it.
I hope you and coco and the felines are well today, Ilana.

That's a nice little book haul to end the year on. I read a Nancy Mitford omnibus a few years ago, it was wonderful, the first book was The Pursuit of Love. I have an older paperback of Walkabout which I've told Darryl I'll try to read this month, once I locate it.

I'm not announcing a withdrawal from buying books, I just need to curb my overenthusiastic approach to acquiring books, and a New Year's resolution is a good place to start. Being part of the LT75ers group for three years has 'sort of' accelerated my hobby of creating a book collection into a bookbuying addiction that is possibly no longer 'pretty'.

Stopping by to finally wish you a Happy New Year, Ilana!
Lots of good conversation here and I'm happy to report I am completely caught up!
Very much looking forward to a reread of Cannery Row. My heart skips a beat when I think how many books I've commited to for January. Deep breath, deep breath..................

Hi Ilana. Just checkin' in. I hope your day was okay, that you spent it reading and taking Coco for a couple of walks (still too cold?), and maybe hanging out with a friend or two.

Happy New year!

Saw you just finished Clash of Kings, me too! Game of Thrones was one of my top reads last year and I know already this one will make my list for this year. It's good to start off the year with a great book.

Wow! What a great lot of messages to come 'home' to! (Make that my cyber home, obviously). I only just logged onto the computer maybe 90 minutes ago, did a bit of lurking and then got a gentle reminder from Mark/msf59 that I needed to get the Steinbeckathon threads up and running. Of course, since I never do things in half measures, it took me the better part of an hour to create said threads. Here they are:

Steinbeckathon Main Thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/130105

Cannery Row: http://www.librarything.com/topic/130108

Both threads are already up on the wiki, but I encourage anyone seeing this message who has even a passing interest in the Steinbeckathon to copy and paste the above and post it on your own threads in case some of your visitors might be interested too.

Wow, it is very busy here!

I've been admiring your lists and photos--Happy New Year.

Thanks for starting and posting the links for the Steinbeckathon! I'll be joining in for January and hopefully a few more.

Love the Mydans photo!! I'm a massive fan of those mid-20th century documentary photographers, including Capa and Cartier-Bresson. Fab images. I have a cherished photo by John Dominis of a solitary skater in 1940s/50s garb -- long coat, hat, arms behind his back -- above my fireplace.

Re the image itself -- did you know that Soviet diplomats used to get hardship pay for living in Ottawa in winter? True fact. I used to chortle over that.

Not going to be joining the Steinbeckathon, alas. Just not feeling up to it -- unless the RL book circle opts to read one of those tomes, that is.

#73 Darryl, I had second thoughts right after I posted that comment and for a moment feared that you might find it offensive, which of course, was not my intention at all, so am relieved that you thought it was funny, as it was meant to be. And I think, quite accurate, considering the circumstances. It's like the overweight person going on a diet who encourages everyone else to stuff their faces. Sheesh. That being said, I love you for it.

#74 A HA! That's it Charlotte. I had a vague recollection of your review, but as I didn't have a context for Nancy Mitford at the time, it didn't register clearly, though I do believe I added The Sisters to my wishlist then since it sounded fascinating (checking)... well it's on there now. :-)

#75 Hi Judy! It's a full time job keeping up with this group on any given day, never mind at the start of the New Year! Yikes! I look forward to following you as well.

#76 Hi Roni!

#77 Hi Megan! I like making lists. Quite a lot. Which doesn't mean I feel obligated to follow them to the letter however. I'll always be a bit of a rebel, which is probably why I took such pleasure by being so naughty with the last minute shopping. Silly, but there you have it. I could do worse, and have, so it's all good. :-)

#78 Val, I spent time reorganizing my shelves and stacks to make room for that giant splurge I had... when was it? Last week? Have something like 50 books on the way from my end-of-the-year shopping frenzy, and now have the space to stack them, so all is well. :-)

I now have an added incentive to NOT buy books, which is an upcoming trip in April to visit my mum in France. If I want to have any spending money at all, I have to save somewhere!

#79 Hi Deborah! I haven't listed the Rougon Macquart in my lists anywhere, but it's definitely one of my continuing goals. I'll probably not finish the series this year, but I hope to read at least one book every other month, if not monthly. Nice to know I have a partner in crime!

#80 Ellen, in the end, I think even if I did live in the U.S. I would not have joined the NYRB Club because of the fact they choose the titles for you. I had a look-see again at their upcoming publications and there are a few that I'm not so keen on, so it wouldn't really have made sense. Especially considering that it came out cheaper for me to buy those 7 books from BookDepository than it would have been to get them directly from NYRB, even at their club price.

Ooooh, a trip to France. Nice. (Not the city) Hope that it goes well and seeing your mom in person will be a pleasure.

I see you've bought a few books, as well. My goodness! I knew I was in trouble when I got my last shipment; absolutely no room for them. No. room. Perhaps I can slow down this year; I've got a plan, but usually I just have a super fail when trying to control the addiction.

#81 Nathalie, I read your message of confusing "canneries" for "canaries" a few times and it makes me chortle every time! lol. Very cute. In a gross kind of way. ;-)

#82 Just sharing the wealth Stasia, it's my pleasure!

#83 Heather, I've been trying to visit as many threads as possible tonight, but it's proving impossible to keep up with everyone else and keep up with my own thread tonight! In any case, thanks for posting the Virago Group's thread for Elizabeth Taylor. I've starred it and have included both A Game of Hide and Seek and Angel in my "group reads" planning in May and July respectively, according to what seems to be the group plan (reading them by publication order, one per month).

#84 Hi Faith, and welcome!

#85 Claudia, I've added The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family to the wishlist and will look into it once I've read at least the one Nancy Mitford book I'll be receiving (i.e. The Sun King).

#86 I'm not going anywhere Madeline! Right here in my cozy living room *as seen on my profile pic* :-)

#87 Hey Joe, I've seen lots of people comment on Miss Peregrine, and plenty of people seemed to like it, but for some reason I'm not inclined to adding it to the wishlist. I might be missing out, but so be it. So many books to get to anyway...

#88 Ellen, it took me a while to come up with a title I could live with. I just wish I'd put the "2012" part elsewhere, or left it out altogether. But no matter, there's always the next thread. ;-)

Today was... well, I wrote all about it and then was hesitating to post the update, because I don't really want to be receiving endless "hope you get better" messages after, I really don't. Do you think I can request that? LOL

#89 Kerry, I've located a reasonably recent version of The Pursuit of Love & Love in a Cold Climate: Two Novels at the library (1994). Recent enough to keep me from immediately ordering it from BookDepository, in any case. In the meantime, I've also added Madame de Pompadour and Voltaire in Love to the wishlist. The former is already available as a NYRB edition, and the latter is forthcoming this year... very dangerously tempting, I tell you.

I'm never safe from wishlist additions, library reservations, immediate acquisitions on my very own thread when you come around Kerry!

#90 Lynda, I too am completely overcommitted for January in terms of books, as I am usually every month. I tried to under commit once, and it felt quite good. I thought I'd start on that footing this year, but failed miserably! It's all for a good cause, right?

And congratulations on being caught up on my thread. Something I'm struggling to do at the very moment! ;-)

#91 Ellen... ok. I said above that I typed up the story of today and then hesitated about posting it. It's kind of long, but as you know I have a hard time being brief. So I'll post it, but first,

A DISCLAIMER: I post the following for information only, but would prefer not receiving a series of messages wishing me well, as by tomorrow I'll have moved on already. Thank you.

I had a very strange day today. I had to get off the computer early last night as had a nasty migraine. I then went to bed quite early (all things being relative). Started reading Bel Canto, which I was enjoying quite a lot, though only managed to get a few pages in before I more or less passed out. My dad's been giving me wake-up calls, but this morning when he called I felt like someone had slipped me some weird psychotropic drugs that caused such strange dreams that I couldn't wrench free from them on waking. I tried to get up, splash water on my face, etc, but was so dizzy that I had no choice but to lie down again.

I was supposed to have lunch with my 93-year-old friend Liselotte, but then ended up slipping in and out of more strange dreams right until this evening at around 6 p.m. Have I mentioned before what an angel my little Coco is? He didnt do a single *thing* in the house that whole time! He doesn't like to sleep in bed with me usually, but both he and Mimi got worried about me I think, because he jumped up and cuddled up with me, and she at one point started giving me a back massage (for those who don't know, Mimi is a cat) which felt pretty great. Anyway, Liselotte called, but I truly couldn't make it, couldn't even wake enough to have a coherent conversation. She called me again this evening and said I'd sounded really strange on the phone. Sheesh. Turns out all this is (probably) caused by a certain auntie Rose's monthly visit, that I somehow didn't see coming at all. Hormones sure can do a number on us.

Coco really needs a walk, so I'll go release him and come back to respond to the remaining messages before bed.

Hi Ilana, we'll be in France in June so I can't wait to hear about your travels there. Which part does your Mum live in? I've only been to Paris previously so hoping to see more of the smaller towns this time around and the gorgeous countryside. Are you planning any side trips while in Europe?

#92 Hi Susan! I see you rated A Clash of Kings as a five star, wow! I certainly enjoyed it, but as I'm rather new to that genre of fantasy, I get a little bit lost when it comes to keeping track of all the bannermen and knights and clans and whatnot. Still, a very enjoyable read.

#94 Hi Anne—I know, I couldn't believe how many messages were waiting for me today! Happy New Year to you too.

#95 My pleasure Chelle. I'll try to join them all, save for Grapes of Wrath which I thought was fantastic when I read it this past year.

#96 Suz, from what you tell me, it looks like we share similar tastes for photographers. I've always had a great love of black and white photography. I wasn't familiar with Carl Mydans before (or if I was, forgot his name), so I'll definitely have to look him up. I see he lived to be 97 years old!

I did not know about the situation for Soviet Diplomats. You're the one with all the *in's* on the diplomatic world!

#98 Gail, the trip to France is actually a source of great stress for me. I haven't seen my mum in person in so long (Christmas 2003) that I have no idea how it'll go, even though we both want it to go well, obviously. We're just both such strong personalities and so very different in our outlook on life that it's not always so very simple between us, especially given our loaded history together. Also, I know she disapproves of my current situation, which has been a cause of tension between us these past few years. I must try to be more optimistic about this trip, I know. Maybe we can chat about it privately sometime.

I've got a plan, but usually I just have a super fail when trying to control the addiction.

Isn't that the problem with addiction? I know I get such a rush from purchasing and receiving books in the mail, then opening the wrapper... just the thought of it makes me want to go over to BookDepositor and click for a purchase or two. Online shopping certainly doesn't help control our urges, does it?

#102 Leonie, my mum lives in a small town called Graulhet, which is approx. 50 kilometres from Toulouse, in the Midi-Pyrénées. It's not at all on the tourist track, so not many people have ever heard about it, but it seems to have quite a lot going for it. I don't think there'll be any side trips this time, partly because I'll be bringing Coco with me, so getting around might be tricky.

All right, it's beyond late, back to bed I go!

Hi Ilana. I've started a discussion on this year's tutored reads thread about the tutored read of A Tale of Two Cities that we discussed last year. Would love to hear your thoughts if you're still interested (and if you can squeeze it in - your group reads list in msg 4 is pretty impressive!)

#104 Thanks Heather, I just swung by that thread and left my comments. Hope they make sense. And as I've said over there, I can definitely fit in A Tale of Two Cities, especially as I have it on audio, which gives me more "reading" opportunities.

>99 Smiler69: I feel the same way about Miss Peregrine's, Donna, despite also seeing lots of positive comments. If she had just called it Miss Pettigrew's I'd probably view it differently. :-)

Joe: funny, we just cross-posted at the exact same minute! What are the odds? But it seems to happen fairly regularly in this group. Still need to get to that cup of tea though...

We can whip up a fresh cup for you at your convenience, Ilana.

A trip to France would definitely be an excellent and motivating incentive to refrain from book buying. If only there was a way to buy a plane ticket by bartering the existing books from mount TBR. Now that would be one SWEET deal! :)

#108 I'm reaching the bottom of my cup Joe, so I'll be on my way soon. ;-)

#109 NO WAY am I getting rid of books from my tbr!!!

Actually, my dad offered to pay for the ticket, which is immensely generous of him, especially considering my parents have been separated since I was a baby... but he thought it would be beneficial for me to see her. He's very caring that way and tries to spoil me whenever he can.

I just need to save up to have some spending money so I can spoil my mum a little, pay for my share of food and whatnot, buy little mementos and such, you get the idea.

I was just now visiting threads when I was rudely interrupted by my very loud and very obnoxious doorbell, but OH JOY: it was the mailman coming to deliver a couple of packages from BookDepository.

I received Paper Cutting: Contemporary Artists, Timeless Craft compiled by Laura Heyenga, a GORGEOUS book that I will no doubt enjoy perusing for many years to come. I rarely purchase books from the "suggestions" section, but when I was getting this one from BD, there was a suggestion for The Gift by Carol Ann Duffy and Rob Ryan, the latter being one of the 26 artists featured in PC:CA,TC who also wrote the intro to that book. I don't even want to leaf through that one so I can keep the images as a surprise when I read the story. I've posted the covers on one of my threads last year, but here they are again for those who haven't seen them (and because I haven't posted nearly enough visuals here so far!)

            

Glad to see you again, Ilana. And I think you can request anything you want on your own thread! :-D

Thanks for creating the wiki's for our Steinbeck-a-thon. I've starred both threads and I love the covers you uploaded. We're going to have FUN!

I'm back at work today so my rate of posting (and of reading, I might add) will necessarily drop. Probably just as well...... I'm amazed at how much time I can spend on this website!

Keep taking care, dear. And hug Coco for me.

Ellen, we've been posting on each other's threads recently I see. Today is much better, though I'm still a bit *off*, so taking it easy. Coco, aka my angel is amazing. I get up quite late in the morning, and as it's always taken me a long time to come 'round after waking, I'm not fond of stepping outside immediately. But he's just gotten used to sleeping while I do my thing here until I take him out later in the day. Mind you, I take him out for his third walk of the day in the wee hours of the night, but still, he's amazing.

I see it's much calmer on LT today already, as no doubt many people have gone back to work and various obligations. Hope you don't get too swamped though.

I'm laying on my couch with my laptop where it's meant to go and blanket over my legs, which is a frequent place to hang, and as usual, I have both Coco and Mimi lying right on top of me. Don't have my iPhone at hand, otherwise I'd take a picture...

I'm laying on my couch ... and as usual, I have both Coco and Mimi lying right on top of me.

ahhh, that's just right. It sounds very familiar, too. Enjoy.

#114 thanks doll! :-)

Though I'll have to budge soon to take my angel out for a shuffle on the ice that's covering up 75% of the surface on the roads and sidewalks...

In other news WOOT!!! Yet another mailman came by just a short while ago and delivered two more books! I think January 3rd is turning out to be my favourite day of the year. I also got an email confirmation from BookCloseOuts.ca that they'd mailed my 25 books to me, so the avalanche is only just beginning. I say bring it on!

The two books were:

Via AbeBooks, the original French edition of Suite Française, which is ridiculously expensive normally (as are almost all French books—smaller market), but cost me a third of the regular price. This one came directly from France and is brand new too!

From BookDepository the ginormous The Autobiography of Henry VIII with Notes by His Fool, Will Somers. Can't wait to dig into that one. When that'll happen... is a different story.

>101 Smiler69: breaking the rule to comment that you animals sound lovely for looking after you when you were feeling off colour.

Beautiful book covers, and Im sure contents, in #111. And, yay for waterfalls of books arriving!

What beautiful book covers. I bet the illustrations inside are just as pretty. Are they instructional manuals giving you ideas for papercutting art, Ilana? I can see me, an X-acto Knife ....and then lots of blood everywhere .....

#116 Megan, I'd say probably most pets are great at providing comfort for their humans, which is one of the many reasons why we love them so. It's so true that they give us more than we can ever return to them. Though one can always try.

#117 Caro, you, the x-acto knife and blood everywhere made me laugh for some reason. Quite morbid of me I know, sorry about that. ;-)

To answer your question, no the paper cutting book isn't a manual. It's more an art book that presents various artists and their different approaches. I tend to stay away from manuals for some reason, and prefer getting art books that stimulate my imagination. I've never tried paper cutting of that sort and don't know if I ever will, but this approach certainly intrigues me. I'm quite handy with a blade, but am always extremely cautious and lean towards paranoia even to take every precaution possible, so might give it a try sometime. I'll post some images from the book when I get around to reviewing it.

Happy Evening to you!

#111: I love the covers of the books, Ilana. Great haul you had today! Congratulations - looks like your acquiring for the year is off to a good start.

#119 Hi Linda!

#120 No no no... didn't acquire them this year Stasia, these are 2011 books. Am waiting for a quite a few more, which will all get tagged as 2011 acquisitions, because they are, see? ;-)

I'm about halfway through Steve Jobs and quite discouraged. Do I really have to go through twelve more hours of this?

So to resume: I didn't like the beginning, then warmed to it and thought it was interesting when they were describing how the Apple II came to be, and now, five hundred thousand and fifty eight stupid anecdotes later, 1,784 mentions of his Reality Distortion Field, and countless (rude expletive alert) "shitheads" and every variation on the f-word possible, I'm just losing interest. For the first half of the book, he basically comes through as a... well, a big jerk with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. And all the details, details, details!!! puh-lease! At times, it comes off more like office gossip than a proper biography. Not that I've read that many biographies, but still! Also, I'm listening to the audio version, and the narrator is reading the book as if he's 1) reading it for the first time himself and 2) reading it to a bunch of first-graders, making sure to meticulously enunciate every name or "big" word he comes across, and worse, it sounds like these were spliced in from a separate recording. Yet it got a super high rating by thousands of people on Audible, so clearly, people like to a) read about jerks, or people who are made out to be one-dimensional jerks and b) be read to like they're complete morons. But I'm not one of them. However, now that I've got such a time investment in this thing, I really don't want to just drop it, and yet, just the thought of having to listen to any more of this crap is just... soooooo depressing! UGH!

Which reminds me, I've been meaning to put together a list of "Worst Reads of 2011". I'll try to put it together tonight maybe.

Right, off to take Coco for a walk in -28 degree Celcius (or -18 F) weather, while listening to more boring crap about someone who by this account, really isn't someone I would have ever wanted to spend any time getting to know.

Ilana- You've been busy over here, my friend! Everyone is at Smiler's House! I hope you are feeling better this evening. I can't believe the interest the Steinbeckathon has stirred up. That was such a great idea and all the credit goes to you.
Sorry about the Jobs book, I had high hopes for that one too!

Ilana - Now that I have read about 1000 posts here, I'm going to attempt getting in a word or two!
You have been soooo busy - I've checked out your 2 Steinbeck threads - great job! I think I'll read Cannery Row before I read the thread. But I have to finish with my Tiger first...
I'm seriously contemplately ordering the book you got with seeral Steinbeck's short novels.

I love hearing about your book deliveries! You lucky lady! When I go on a moderate binge (can't do the big ones), I often wonder what my postmaster thinks... he's probably jealous!

Sweet dreams tonight! Hugs!

Wow, I thought I was feeling chilled here until I read about Montreal! That said, my heating is very ineffective. Downstairs, it's at about 60. Upstairs, when I turned on the heaters, it was 49 and hopefully has warmed up a bit! Outside? 13. All Fahrenheit.

I have little interest in reading the Jobs bio. There's such an Apple cult... and I'm just not interested, even though it doesn't sound v. hagiographical. Am not a tech junkie, and not interested in reading more than a New Yorker profile about Jobs. I'm more interested in reading about the intersection of technology & design, especially after spending a few hours at General Assembly, a NYC-based incubator.

Hi Ilana, I am sorry about the Jobs experience. I am using Mac products, and yes, I think he was a genius in his area, and I am sorry he died so early, but I was never interested in reading the book, maybe because it was almost forced on me on all the amazons and on audible ("if you bought this or looked at that you might also be interested in the Jobs bio", no matter what I had looked at, which was usual some classic). I guess the author's intention was to make it "easy" for his readers by adding all those anecdotes and swear words.

25 books??? Sounds like a dream come true.

Looking forward to the list of "Worst Reads".

Wow, -28°C? The coldest I can remember is sth. around -20 and that was very very cold! In my place here it's actually too warm for the season, all the little snow we had has long melted away.

While I, too, enjoy apple products, it somehow doesn't surprise me that Jobs comes off as a serious jerk; especially in the early years.

#121: I am confused. If you just received the books yesterday, how can they be 2011 acquisitions? Did you not acquire them the day you received them?

I've listed my Least Favourites of 2011 here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/129672#3127593 (just scroll to the bottom).

#126 You're right Nathalie, I should have known better about the Jobs book; I'm usually highly suspicious of books that are marketed so aggressively, but I let my fascination with all things Apple get the better of me. Serves me right.

#127 Brit, it's not so much that I was surprised about him coming off as a jerk so much as the fact that he seemed to have no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Or maybe what annoys me so much is that Isaacson seems to toss aside his genius and his appreciation and insistence on great design as if they were of no consequence. He's probably secretly a Bill Gates fan.

#128 Stasia, apologies for the confusion. I guess in this case, I'm using the word "acquisition" as a synonym for "purchase" just because I'm doing all kinds of contortions to convince myself I'm being "good" and reducing my book-buying in 2012. But who am I kidding? Not you, obviously. ;-)

Hi Ilana. You've got some great books on your favorites list, looks like it was a great reading year for you! was that the first time that you had read To Kill a Mockingbird or was that a reread?

I was surprised to see Sense of an Ending on your least favorites list. I keep seeing that one around and recommended.

Hope 2012 is a wonderful reading year for you

1. A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin ★★★★⅓
(Read for TIOLI Challenge #2: Read a book in honor of Dragon Appreciation Day and 12/12 Category #12: From My Treasure-Trove)

This review contains many spoilers for those who haven't read book one, A Game of Thrones.

Now that King Robert Baratheon is dead and that his alleged son Joffrey, a vicious and sadistic young teen, has taken over the Iron Throne, the people of King's Landing are starving nearly to death and the Seven Kingdoms are being disputed by three other kings. There is Robb Stark, the heir to house Stark (now that his father Ned Stark is dead), who has been proclaimed King of the North, and Robert Baratheon's two brothers, Lord Stannis and youngest brother Renly, each vying to take over the throne. As can be expected, much bloodshed ensues, but there is also plenty of intrigue and adventure all through the massive novel which proceeds along at a fast and exciting clip.

Once again told through the different points of view of various characters, we follow the story as the narration alternates between Tyrion Lannister, now the king's hand in his father's stead, who must plot against sister Cercei and nephew Joffrey to keep his place and his head; Catelyn Stark, on a mission to broker peace and convince the Baratheon brothers to unite with Robb against Joffrey and his people; Sansa Stark, still held captive in King's Landing, who keeps hoping her knight in shining armour will rescue her from Joffrey's cruelty and bring her home; Arya Stark, presumed dead by the rest of her family and forced into servitude at Harrenhal after having been made prisoner by Lannister's people, which doesn't stop her from continually plotting to overthrow the enemy; Bran Stark, a mere boy coming into his own powers with the huge responsibility of holding down Winterfell while older brother Robb wages war against the Lannisters; Jon Snow, on a dangerous mission north of the Wall, with the Night's Watch; Theon Greyjoy, Lord Ned Stark's former ward, now returned to his family, who fancies himself a great warrior; Daenerys Targaryen, accompanied by her three baby dragons, attempting to amass the small fortune she needs to acquire ships so she can reclaim the throne, and finally Davos Seaworth, a former smuggler who has been knighted by Stannis Baratheon, who brings us into the heart of the battle.

With the story fragmented is so many different parts, one might think much confusion would ensue, but part of Martin's genius is he manages to hold it all together and keep the narration firmly moving along. I had plenty of opportunity to put his skills to the test too, as it took me several months to get through the first half of the novel, simply because I was trying to read too many other things at the same time. But somehow, both his characters and the events they take us through were so memorable that even I, with my poor faculties of recall, still followed the thread of the story without trouble, and by the time I got to the halfway mark, found I simply had to put everything else aside and rush through till the end. If in the first book, we loved to hate snot-faced, evil bastard prince Joffrey, the real villain in this novel is Theon Greyjoy, who's delusions of grandeur and sense of entitlement lead him to acts so despicable, he manages to make us forget Joffrey with his barbaric schemes. The ending comes as a very pleasant surprise and has me impatiently looking forward to the next in series.

I completely agree with your review of A Clash of Kings :-)

#129: LOL! I can certainly understand trying to convince yourself you are being good!

#131: Nope, still not touching that series of books until he finishes writing them, no matter how many good reviews I see.

You're so organized! I love the 2011 acquisitions arriving in 2012. I agree with you, Christmas purchases are 2011, even if they don't get delivered until 2012.

I was just over checking out your least favorite books of 2011.

I loved your reaction to The Rehearsal:

"I got brain sprain from too many mental gymnastics."

You have a way with words, my dear!

You know, Ilana, I didn't think I wanted to read Steve Jobs and your comments are cementing my first instinct!

Now to go check out your list of the worst of 2011. :-)
eta: I love your worst-of list! Made me laugh! I didn't dislike The Sense of an Ending as much as you did, but I certainly didn't like it as much as some of our favorite buddies here on LT.

Just checked out your 2011 favourites and misses and I gotta say you should teach a class on organization! I was chuckling because I saw Emma on your didn't like it list and I just finished it a couple of days ago, but I really enjoyed it. Goes to show the different reactions people have to different books. :)

Hi Ilana- Great review of A Clash of Kings! I gave YOU 5 stars and a big ole' thumb!

Loved your review, Ilana. Thumbed you. Thank goodness I already have this in my TBR Tower, or I'd definitely have to add this to my obese wish list.

Ilana - witty list of the "rubbish" you read last year! A Clash of Kings is not really my bag in terms of genre but you almost manage to sell it. #135 Judy is right you do have a way with words!

I reeeeally want to read your review, Ilana, but I haven't read A Game of Thrones yet. I will sometime... and now I'm thinking sooner than later as everyone is as nuts about your review as you seem to be about the book. Can't ignore 4.5 stars!

I just got 3 Kindle books today - and it felt so GOOD! Three books for less than $4.
Galileo's Daughter
Longitude
and
A More Perfect Heaven
all by Dava Sobel

OK. 3 is nothing compared to your book spree, but I'm excited to get those books. One of them was an ER book that I requested but did not win. So HA! Got it anyway ;-)

hugs!

#132 Thanks Anita. It's hard writing a review when you know there are so many fans out there!

#133 a) I'm having qualms though. I'm figuring, since I'm listing them on my 2012 thread, makes it even harder to pass them off as 2011 purchases. Having existential questions about that, if you want to know.
b) That makes you incredibly patient, since I understand it takes him 8-10 between each book. I figure if I pace myself right, he'll always be at least one book ahead of me. If I can wait that long between novels.

#134 Marie, I realized today—when 4 more books came in—that some of them were only charged to my card in 2012, so they'll HAVE to count as purchases from this year...

#135 Thanks Judy! I've been working on that list for a while, since I want to post a version of it on my blog too, but can't just dump it as it is since it's a different readership. Now I'm trying to write one-liners for all the other books too, but as it is, it's just one superlative after another, which won't do, so I'll be fiddling for a while on my favourites.

#136 Valerie, me? teach a class on organization? that would be a disaster! lol. However, I have to correct you, because Emma actually turned out to be on my favourites list, whereas the other version, Emma Vol. 1 by Kaoru Mori, is a manga comic book that has no relation to the novel. I can see that might be confusing, so I'll have to find a way to make it clear.

Right, Coco must get out, no matter how cold it is. brb.

Yeah, I was referring to Emma Vol.1 as the manga that I actually enjoyed that you didn't get so I actually did catch the difference. :)

#138 Thanks for the thumb buddy, you know it's always appreciated. :-)

#139 Thanks Val Caro, you're a bud too! I've started calling MY wishlist morbidly obese... I don't know what the step after that is though...

#140 You know Paul, I would never have thought that A Game of Thrones and the whole series following it was up my alley either, but last year during Fantasy Februrary, I was astounded to see how many people were reading it, and it was so repeatedly suggested to me that... I still didn't want to read it. ;-)

But then I saw the first season of the HBO series they made from it, and I was SOLD. They're coming out with season 2 in the spring (?) I believe, and I wanted to make sure to have read book 2 before it came out, so mission accomplished!

#141 Claudia, not to be too finicky, but I actually rated it 4.33 stars, which is vastly different. But who's counting?

I've never heard of Dava Sobel, nor of course of any of those titles, so I'll look forward to your comments. And for the record, no book haul is too large... or too small. ;-)

#141 Aha! But I wouldn't have known that unless I'd clicked on the touchstone, which I'm not in the habit of doing when a book I think I know is casually mentioned in conversation, so you were kind of sneaky about it... heh.

Really really tired today. What's up with that? Not like I don't get enough sleep, goodness knows! Well, whatever. Same old same old.

In more important news, 4 more books came in today, to my great excitement. One of them is completely obscure to all of you I'm sure, called David Milne Watercolours, an art book about one of Canada's great artist who, among other things, was commissioned by the gov't during WWI to go out to Europe and take down impressions of the war, which makes for some pretty powerful stuff, and not at all the "flowery watercolours" most of us might imagine when thinking of this medium. I saw this book at my art school, and as with several others, just had to have it.

Other books are

Friendship: An Exposé and
Snobbery: The American Version
both by Joseph Epstein, a new-to-me essayist who was much recommended by an LT member during SantaThing.

And also a book containing both A Murder of Quality and Call for the Dead by John le Carré, which I ordered because someone chose The Spy Who Came in from the Cold off my shelves for one of my 12/12 challenges, and I wanted to start from the beginning of the series, so those two will have to come first. This last book actually counts as a 2012 purchase, since ChaptersIndigo only charges for books the moment they're actually shipped, so it'll go on the list of "Books Acquired in 2012" in message #6.

While checking my credit card statement, I saw that BookDepository on the other hand charges pre-order books right away (I don't think I've ever gotten a pre-order before), so that part of the New Year's Eve last-minute shopping frenzy will indeed count as 2011 purchases. The two Rose Tremain books however got charged on the 1st. Guess I was getting awfully close to the wire there, so they'll count for this year after all. I'm not sure why I keep on about this 2011/2012 thing, especially as I didn't make a firm resolution or anything, but I just can't help myself.

Also to go on the list are two audiobooks I sneaked in because of another of the blasted Audible sales... this time I got Persuasion by Jane Austen narrated by Juliet Lewis Stevenson, which I will very likely read in a tutoring setting with Liz, the very same one who tutored Madeline with Emma and helped me appreciate it a great deal more than I would have on my own in the process. On a completely different register I also got Just Kids by Patti Smith, as read by the author, which came highly recommended by other listeners.

I think my plan to slowly take over the world is working. You are the second person today that has called someone else Valerie....mwhahaha! I think you were referring to Caro in message #139, but Joe called Chelle, Valerie as well, so you are in good company. :D

Oops, just went and fixed it. You are in my thoughts night and day, dontcha know? ;-)

>118 Smiler69: re: cats, Im sure our cat woke me on purpose just as/before the mag 7.1 earthquake we had here 1.5 years ago. I remember thinking "what are you doing nuzzling into me like that and waking me up?" and then sure enough.....the earth shook and cat was out the window in a flash. We didnt see him for 2 days poor little thing.

>145 Smiler69: Good idea on Just Kids, was one of my faves of 2011. Ive also got Patti Smiths book of poetry Auguries of Innocence (the only book Ive EVER bought on EBay) which is lovely.

Hi Ilana, wow so much to read. Firstly, what a great idea to take Coco to France with you, what do you have to do to get animals to another country, are there quarantine rules to go through? Your mum lives close to Carcasonne and after reading Kate Mosse's book Labyrinth a few years ago, I've always wanted to go there.

I enjoyed your lists from 2011 but was surprised when I saw you threw Pride and Prejudice across the room. I never knew that wee book could cause such a reaction!

Lastly, all you new books look devine but the paper art one has me positively salivating. What a gorgeous cover. Book Depository was good to me last week and sent me the wrong book so now they are sending me the right book and I get to keep the wrong book - score!

Lovely review of A Clash of Kings, Ilana. And I'm sorry to hear about the nosedive of the Steve Jobs book. I've got to un-hold that book from my library as it doesn't sound over-all like a book I can finish. Don't need another one of those on my record. Think I'll replace it with Blue Nights by Joan Didion - the only other book I've got planned, right now, to get from the library.

Re: Mimi - I wonder if she gives back massage lessons? I love a good kitty back massage, but Willie does not seem to be able to do one properly. Stomping across my back and then leaping off the bed is not a massage - no matter what he says.

#131: No, I don't want to start reading fantasy, I don't want to start reading fantasy, I don't want to .... *sigh*

Wonderful review, Ilana, but I won't put this one on my WL for now. I fear if I start reading another genre, my mount tbr will simply explode (or would that be implode??).

Still very tempted to join more than just the one Steinbeck group read, staring at the 6 short novels book at least 3 times a day and wondering if it is worth the investment ... (yes, I know the answer, it is!)

Hi Ilana,
Woolly (my old lady kitty) is a great masseuse too! I only object when she pounces on my stomach while I'm trying to read in bed and starts her routine.

Out of curiousity, what is the difference between a rating of 4.5 and 4.33? Don't say .17! Do you have a formula for your ratings? Or is it just a feeling that a 4.33 book is not quite as deserving as a 4.5? I do think 5 points is insufficient for rating books, but I don't know how to remedy that.

Have a wonderful day - walk cautiously! :)

Just feel like saying hello...... it's snowing in a lackadaisical way, pretty. I should be working, but I'm here instead. Sigh.

#148 Megan, that's an impressive story about your cat waking you before the quake, but then, animals are much more sensitive to the warning signs, being attune to their senses much more than we humans have been for millennia. I'm glad to know he came back to you after making his escape. He must have been absolutely terrified, and you, very worried.

I can't say I've ever really listened to any of Patti Smith's music, and am actually more familiar with Robert Mapplethorpe's photography, but this will be a good way to (re)discover her.

#149 Taking Coco with me is an essential part of the trip. I think I'd be miserable leaving him behind for more than a week, and while I used to be quite the jet-setter (not really, figure of speech), I've because scared to leave the house, so he'll be like my therapy dog throughout! The rules for brining in animals differ from country to country, but France is very lax. All you need are papers to prove the animal has had all necessary shots (including rabies obviously) and that's it! I know England is the opposite and has strict quarantine rules, so I probably wouldn't bring him there unless I planned to live there.

You're right, my mum does live close to Carcassone (I guess you looked it up on GoogleMaps?). When I visited my mum last, she and her (now ex-)husband were living in an altogether different place and were only just considering buying a house in Graulhet, so we went for a day drive, but the region is quite blurry in my mind, so it'll be an entirely new discovery for me. I'll be taking loads of pictures obviously, and maybe do a watercolour or two?

BookDepository have amazing customer service. Twice I got books from them that were slightly damaged, and when it comes to art books I'm all the more demanding on book condition. The first time they sent me a second copy and the second time they credited a $60 book because I told them it was "slightly dented"! That makes me a very loyal customer.

#150 Lovely review of A Clash of Kings, Ilana

Wow, coming from you Charlotte, I take that as a huge compliment, especially knowing what a huge fan of the series you are! Thank you thank you thank you! :-)

It's funny about Steve Jobs. There are moments when I just want to drop it and never have anything to do with it ever again, and moments when I find it really interesting. Usually when I bitch and groan about it, it starts getting interesting immediately after, so go figure. At the moment I'm about three quarters of the way in, and they've described how the iPod, iTunes and the iTunes Store came to be, which I found quite fascinating. I think this book is probably a must for people who are into business, and/or marketing and/or product development and/or fans of Apple products and services. I'm the latter, and have always been curious to know more about the thinking behind it all, so in that sense I'm getting my money's worth.

I wish Mimi would become a more dependable masseuse. Unfortunately, in the (three? lost track) years I've had her, she's only given me maybe two or three of them, so it's by no means a habit of hers. If only! Ezra drives me nuts sometimes. He'll be sitting on me purring contentedly, licking my hair and face (yuck!) and generally being a pussy cat, and suddenly and very rudely jump off me in the most jarring way. Upsets me every time. He's a bit of a head case that one. But Mimi is a sweetheart. If only she'd massage me more... to think I didn't get a massage once last year, when insurance covers it. Will have to rectify that this year.

#151 Well Nathalie, if anything, I'm glad I've managed to take you from a firm resolve not to read fantasy to... could it be nearly burning curiosity—or a least lukewarm? ;-)

Of course you are more than welcome to join any of the Steinbeck reads. And yes, you do know what the answer is. :-)

#152 Out of curiousity, what is the difference between a rating of 4.5 and 4.33? Don't say .17! Do you have a formula for your ratings? Or is it just a feeling that a 4.33 book is not quite as deserving as a 4.5?

That's a good question Claudia, especially as I am continually re-evaluating my evaluation process, but in the end keep coming back to the one I've devised. I see lots of people using a decimal system, which makes a lot of sense to me, and the only reason I don't use it myself is because I'm very fond of my visual system, with fractions doing a fairly good job of reproducing the decimal system.

I feel like being pedantic about this, so let's review my rating system, shall we?

My rating system:

★ - hated it (may or may not have finished it but listing it for the trouble) - need to have read at least 50-100 pages to rate it.
★★ - it was just ok
★★★ - enjoyed it (good)
★★★★ - loved it! (very good)
★★★★★ - all-time favourite (blew me away—will read again)

As you say yourself, limiting your system to just five points leaves a lot of room for improvement, because there's a big difference say, between HATING something and thinking it was just alright. For me especially, I use the decimals when the rating is between three and four stars, or four and five stars. Some books I really loved, but some I've loved a tad better than that, though they're not necessarily halfway to being all-time favourites. Hence, the extra ⅛, ¼ or ⅓. It's just a question of degrees. My system is really imperfect when compared to decimals, because ⅛ ¼ ⅓ ¾ ⅞ convert to 0.125, 0.25, 0.33, 0.75 and 0.875, but I'm willing to live with that.

To make a very long and boring story short, a book that I rate as a 4.5 will end up on my "best of" list, while lower than that will probably only get an honourable mention, although I reserve the right to re-adust my rating at the end of the year. Also, a 4.5 means I really want to read it again (and therefore will keep the book), while less than that means I really enjoyed it the once, but probably won't read it again (and hence can get rid of it).

eta: I hope this helps.

And yes, I wish I'd bought those boots with the retractable system with nails on the soles when I saw them last year. So it'll be more shuffle-walking for a while.

Ilana, we've certainly gotten some interest in the Steinbeck-a-thon. Fun!

152, 156> You know, the whole rating thing is interesting to me. I look back on my ratings in 2011 and I think I was not very consistent. This year (only my 2nd on LT), I tried to spell out (as you did above) what my ratings "mean" --- I'll be interested to see if that helps me be more consistent. In any case, I like looking at others' schemes to see if I can develop a system that works for me.

One thing I liked from someone's thread was the note that he (whomever it was) rates books vis-a-vis their genre -- so he's not comparing a mystery novel with War and Peace. I like (and borrowed) that approach because it will help me give myself permission to give five stars to an outstanding example of any genre -- even if I know it's not "great literature." I think you've used this approach for a while, Ilana, yes?

#153 Lucy, every time I end up spending hours here (which is every day), I know I could be doing a million more productive things. But where else can we find this kind of camaraderie at the touch of a button?

#157 Ellen, I'm quite thrilled about the interest it's generated so far too. But then... Steinbeck is STEINBECK!

But then... Steinbeck is STEINBECK! That he is.

**chuckles and smiles**

LOL - ask Ilana a question, get a great answer! I like the notion that books rated 4.5 and up get on the list of bests and below that do not. Kinda how I think too.

I also like the idea of changing the rating after some time has gone by - sometimes the perspective of distance gives me a better view. For instance, I really loved The Tiger's Wife by Obreht but at the time I was reading it there was a strong negative feeling about that book. I think it made me question my rating. So I only gave it a 4 and I easily should have given it a 4.5. I'm gonna go change that right now!

Now... go get a massage! :)
Maybe you will be rejuvenated and not feel so tired?

I should go back to last year to see why you threw *P&P* - I checked twice to make sure it wasn't *P&P&Zombies*. Nope. The real thing. Oh well. Otherwise, it was a lot of fun reading through your thread.

#160 :-)

#161 Claudia, fyi, after much deliberation, I decided to re-edit that explanation. If you feel so inclined, go and have a peek. ;-)

You're right, a massage could do wonders. Just have to get a doctor's note and then I'll make an appointment.

#162 Peggy, I can see why my reaction might seem out of proportion for such a tame novel. It's funny how when we least expect it, any given book can go and poke out memories we'd rather leave behind. To make a very long story short, I ran away from home as a teenager and put myself through some pretty soul-destroying stuff. So when the whole uproar about Lydia was going on and on, it just stirred up a lot in me and the comparison between her situation and mine became intolerable. But I'm over it now. Sort of. Now you know. :-)

#129 Re least favourite books:

"Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Made me so upset I threw it across the room." reminded me of Mark Twain's quote:

“Every time I read Pride and Prejudice, I want to dig Jane Austen up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone.”

So you are not alone! :-)

#131 I'm skipping your review for now but I am definitely going to start that series this year.

#154 The UK is uber-strict about quarantine for animals but I think it's partly because we've largely managed to avoid having rabies (so far).

#156 I often worry that my ratings are horribly inconsistent and I also feel like I rate books too highly (to me a 3 star book is only ok) - I've been slowly trying to get myself to give lower ratings but 3 seems to be the line below which I rarely go.

> 154 & 164: The rules for taking your pet to the UK are per January 1st, 2012 the same as the rest of Europe. When the new rules started 5 years ago countries could opt for extra rules for 5 years, the UK did.

The thing that's always struck me about that Mark Twain quote is he's obviously reading P & P multiple times. Something keeps drawing him back to it. :-) Full disclosure: yes, I'm a P & P fan.

#165 Ah, thanks Anita. As a country, we normally drag our heels as much as possible about coming into line with the rest of Europe...

Hi Ilana, I have spent the better part of the last month poring over western europe maps trying to plan our holiday this year so I know the names of many small villages in many strange places now. A wee confession, I am actually a geography nut and spent my early childhood reading the Atlas! I would study it and quiz myself and make sure I knew every part of the world. I guess I was bitten by the travel bug very early!

And had to say, I'm not reading your review of Clash of Kings yet as I've just started the book myself. I'll come back in a few weeks and catch up on your review then.

#166 : It's funny you should say that, Joe .. that's what I've always thought too. When I don't like a book, I certainly never go back to read it multiple times.

I love getting books in the mail, so I can understand your glee, Ilana.

The hubster is still enjoying Steve Jobs immensely ..but then he's a major Apple fan and has the iPhone, Macbook, and iPad. He used to have an iPod but I commandeered if after he got his first iPhone. :-)

Hi Ilana- Always something interesting going on over here! I like the ratings discussion. And yes our ratings systems are flawed, but I think it gives you & others a quick idea and your comments color in the rest. I love the decimal system, (thanks Donna!), it seems to give me a little more elbow room. I laugh at myself sometimes, thinking if I should give a book 4.1 or 3.9, it does get silly.

*waving* at Ilana as I check threads

The ratings biz is indeed a puzzle...... I sometimes go back and tweak a book up or down.... then I think, really, does it matter so much? That might have been TadAd who mentioned the genre specific ratings - but I definitely do that too. I'm thinking about other sf books when I rate sf, for example, or other contemp. fiction.

And hello, hello, by the way!

All our rating systems are bizarrely subjective mine included! I am always interested in whether those whose opinions I value (most of the 75ers to be honest) actually like a particular book, why and whether they would recommend it. I look back at the marks I gave a lot of the books last year and I don't even agree with myself!

*head dizzy from trying to catch up on this thread*

... :D

Got about half-way through here, Dearie, but now must run. Back tomorrow for a fuller exploration...love paper-cutting art.

We had dinner, two ladies from my watercolour class and I over at K's, where I had ALL OF 1.5 glasses of wine. Ok, maybe 2, and I am simply hammered. Not so much drunk, but have a headache and am exhausted beyond measure. It was a nice dinner though and the most RL socializing I've done in weeks. Which may be the real reason for such fatigue. In any case, I wanted to socialize a little bit here tonight too, but must drag myself to bed now, even though I'm immensely pleased to see all these lovely messages some of you have left me, and I will of course respond ASAP tomorrow (or later today I guess).

In the meantime, I saw one more reference to Downton Abbey on one of the threads I was lurking on, which tipped me over the edge. I did a search online and found I could get the first season on iTunes, which is what I did. It's downloading now, and I can't wait to start watching it. But tomorrow. Everything can wait till tomorrow...

Yes, it can and I hope you can get some rest, Ilana.

Downton Abbey is wonderful! Enjoy!

Ilana, I'll be interested to see if you like Downton Abbey. I absolutely love it.

>146 jolerie:: I frequently call people by the wrong names, both in real life and here on LT. In my case, it's a symptom of old age. I'll be glad when I become officially old later this year so I can quit worrying about my faux pas(es)! See, I don't even know how to form the plural of French words. ;-)

I love the ratings discussion. I use percentages to make it easier to list my books (for my personal use) - in order from No. 1 to No. 234 in 2011 - at the end of the year. I've done this ordinal thing for years. It's very subjective. My No. 1 book this year was a sentimental favorite, Anatomy of A Murder, and one that I probably wouldn't recommend to everybody... and my No. 234 book was...(no surprise) McTeague, one I had to finish for my American Realism class.

Downton Abbey. YES!!!

Have a great weekend, Ilana.

Oh my, Donna, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who messes up names here.

I'm going to have to look into getting Downton Abbey.

Tiptoeing in to leave you a quiet message...
hope you are inspired now to pay more attention to your art, after your dinner out with fellow artists. You're very good at it and painting helps relax the brain :)

*little cyber hugs for the party girl!*

#164 “Every time I read Pride and Prejudice, I want to dig Jane Austen up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone.”

Thank you sooooo much for sharing this quote here with me Heather! I'd never heard it before, and I must say I never had particularly strong feelings about JA before or after P&P, but the whole fiasco with Lydia really had me raging for reasons I explained to Peggy in #163. And I agree with others that isn't it funny that MT kept reading it even though he obviously hated it so much? Mind you, sometimes there are things/people we love to hate, so maybe such was the case with him and JA. For all that, I'll be revisiting P&P also, because I know most of my issues with her novels are very personal and also due to lack of understanding of the conventions of her time, which means there are lots of details I miss completely. I may call on Liz as a tutor for that eventually, if she's up to it since she did such a good job of helping me appreciate Emma.

Ratings: as you've probably figured out about me by now, I'm not shy about expressing my opinions, whether good or bad, and consequently feel no remorse about giving a bad rating to a book that truly disappointed me. For two main reasons, the first being that I have a poor memory and my own ratings along with my reviews help remind me of why and how much I appreciated a book or not, and also because it factors into the average rating of any one book, which I think is a useful tool if everybody uses it in the correct way. Hint hint. ;-)

#165 Anita, I'm very surprised by also pleased to find out that this rule has been change in the UK. I assumed that it was so because it's an island and therefore more vulnerable to certain illnesses affecting the animal population of the whole country. If ever I decided to travel all over Europe, with my Coco, there's nothing to stop me from visiting the UK as well, which I'd love to discover a whole lot more of sometime.

#166 Joe, who knows? I may join you among the ranks of P&P fans someday with the right tutoring since I've already been converted to one of her books this year (Emma)...

#168 Leonie, I'm impressed with both your passion for geography and your capacity for retention. I've always had a mind like a sieve, but then if I'd given geography a chance, might have done ok with it since maps are visual after all, and my visual memory is much better than the rest, not surprisingly I guess.

I'll look forward to your impressions to A Clash of Kings, though I can predict you'll simply love it!

#169 When I don't like a book, I certainly never go back to read it multiple times.

That is mostly the case with me too Caroline, but sometimes with certain books, I think it's worth giving them another chance. With JA, I've shown such resistance to her work that I know it probably means that there's something there I need to work on, because such a passionate dislike (as opposed to indifference) obviously means she touches off things that need to be resolved in some way. Admittedly, I wouldn't do this for most authors, but for one who is so universally well-loved, I want to at least understand what it is about her books that makes people such ardent fans.

Case in point: Steve Jobs. It's one of those rare books, much like JA's works, that has me constantly going back and forth between love/hate deep interest/utter indifference. I guess that's what the man must have provoked in most people too. At the end of it all, I'll be glad to have read it, because it'll have satisfied my deep curiosity about the man who created an empire out of excellency in design, something I've always been passionate about. I've been a fan of Apple since age 12, when the Apple II had recently come on the market, and have never touched anything else since, either for work or for leisure.

#170 Mark, the thing around here is with such an interesting bunch of people, there's ALWAYS something interesting going on on ALL the threads!

#171 *Waves back at Stasia*

#172 Hi hi Lucy! :-)

I need to start doing that "genre-specific" rating thing too, but I've still got tweaking to do with that. For instance, I tend to rate mystery/crime fiction quite a bit lower than literature which is quite unfair. I really enjoy crime fiction, but I've never taken it seriously and treated it as filler between two more "serious" works. Which again, isn't fair, especially given how few of them made it to my "best-of" list this year. For some reason I don't have a hard time rating fantasy fairly, but maybe that's because I'm fairly new to that genre so don't have a reference? It's all just a question of mind-set I guess.

#173 Paul, our opinions on books can't be anything BUT subjective, considering how many factors are at play in our general appreciation, besides the objective quality of the work itself, if there is such a thing. This is probably why there are some works I like to revisit over the years, which gives me some insight to how I've changed and my understanding has evolved in some ways. It frequently happens that within months, or even weeks and days, my opinion on any given book will go through quite a bit of transformation. But in general my opinions hold quite true over time.

#174 Faith, that's how I feel about ALL the threads, though I admit I find it difficult to keep up with my own thread too a lot of the time!

#175 You know you are always welcome with open arms here Gail, and that I always look forward to your comments, no matter how short or long. xx

#177 I did indeed get a good rest and feel much better today Stasia, thanks!

#178 I think as soon as I'm done responding here I'll go watch the first episode Mark. I can't wait!

#179 Ellen, I think one of the major things that swayed me to look into it (apart from comments from lots of people who's opinions I trust), is when you made the comparison to Upstairs/Downstairs. That was truly one of my favourite TV shows of all time. I hadn't realized it was a period piece, and didn't know all these great actors were in it, etc, so that I know beyond a doubt I'll love it. :-)

#180 Donna, I've always been terrible with names. In fact, because my visual memory (right brain) is so much stronger than my verbal memory, I have a hard time remembering even the simplest words, especially when I'm in conversation, which makes for some truly awkward pauses. I've learned over time there are tricks to remembering names though, so in some ways I'm getting better with that because I make more efforts, and I'm surprised actually with how well I remember people's names here on LT. But then, maybe that's because I check against their profiles so many times that it's bound to eventually stick (something I can't do in RL obviously)!

Have a great weekend too Donna! I'll be back to lurk some more on your thread soon! :-)

#181 Joe, you can be sure I'll be sharing my impressions of the show as soon as I get to watch it (counting the minutes... 8, 7, 6, 5...)

#182 Claudia, I DID manage to work on one teeny tiny piece this week. Kind of a doodle in watercolours, more than anything. Our classes start in ten days and I sort of promised myself there's be at least 15-20 works done by that time, so I'd better get cracking... all my materials are laid out on the dining room table to encourage me to jump right in, but I keep getting delayed right here on LT. Go figure! ;-)

OK. Off to watch Downton Abbey, and then to meet with Avis at Lili & Oli with Coco. She's the lovely woman who invited me to join the Montreal Book Bloggers (she's also joined our group this year, so we might hear from her yet!). I met her twice and really liked her and enjoyed her company. Helps that she laughs at everything I say, as if I was the cleverest, funniest person she's ever met. Sure makes me feel good! :-D

See you/visit you all later and thanks for dropping by, I always love getting visitors!

*Downton Abbey here I come!!!*

Thanks for your *P&P* explanation, Ilana. I love the book, but she wrote other wonderful things, so I don't know that you need feel any pressure to try a reread.
I don't think I've ever even heard of Downtown Abbey. Sounds like I should do some research.
The thing that just occurred to me about the book rating system is that this is exactly the same problem an English teacher faces when putting a grade of some kind on student writing. Of course, it's entirely subjective. You can devise a rubric, but all that really does is give your students some general idea of what's important to you. (Incidentally, I taught with teachers who attached their rubrics to the front page of student work - Organization C, Mechanics - C, Coherence - B-, etc., with not another mark on the paper. How was that helpful?) In the end, the best I could do was to try to be consistent. I'd look at old work blind occasionally to be sure that the original grade was pretty much the same as the grade I would have given it the second time through.

Ilana, I let the hubster read me passages from Steve Jobs that he thinks I may be interested in. I admire the man's genius when it comes to design and standing firm on how he saw Apple products being used by the community, but I don't actually like the man himself. I've watched him on interviews many times and I'd thought he was an arrogant man, and at times quite a nasty person. I found myself disliking him when I found out he abandoned his own child despite his ongoing personal agony over having been abandoned and thereafter adopted himself. I couldn't fathom how someone who never got over being abandoned as a baby, could go on to the same thing to his own child.

Hey Ilana - I hope you enjoy Downton Abbey. I know my wife does!

I watched Downton Abbey this afternoon (episode 1) and just as I thought... I ADORED it. In fact, the opening credits were still rolling when I knew for sure this was my kind of show. No. The first image is what convinced me. Just a great quality production on so many levels. I'm really glad I decided to bite the bullet and just purchase Season 1 when I couldn't find it anywhere else for free. Well worth the fifteen dollars (for the HD version, only $10 for regular).

After that, met with my new friend Avis—she who invited me to be part of the Montreal Book Bloggers. She's been an LT member for a long time, but just joined our group right here after I went on and on about it to her repeatedly. I'm sure everyone will give her a warm welcome when she decides to de-lurk (hi Avis!). We had a great time talking about books and LT and actually spent time on the site together checking out some info from my iPhone.

It's a very cold day today and as we were making our way home, a young boy stopped us to ask if we could call the SPCA as he'd seen a dog wandering by himself, collar-free for the past hour around the park we were walking by. I tried to call a bunch of no-kill shelters, couldn't get through to anyone, and finally called the city, which told me I had to deal with Berger Blanc, which is a HIGH kill shelter with zero compassionate animal treatment and in fact so terrible that it made a scandal in the news last year. Yet, my district still uses them exclusively. But then the moment the city employee was telling me this, the boy came and told me the owner had shown up with some ridiculous story about his dog having run away which made no sense at all, but at least he won't be out in the cold tonight. Still, I'm very depressed about this Berger Blanc situation. I know there have been all kinds of petitions going around, and still... breaks my heart. Nothing like some LT time do distract me from that unpleasantness!

*186 Peggy, I urge you to look up Dowton Abbey. I know all of season 1 is available through Netflix for you in the U.S., which would come out cheaper than getting it on iTunes probably, but as with so many other movies and programs, it isn't available here in Canada through them.

Your description of your experience of grading student work and how book ratings made you think of that is really interesting. At least with book ratings, there aren't any consequences to fear or any ire from students and parents to face!

#187 Caro, I agree with everything you say about Jobs. There is not much that is likeable about him, but he was undeniably a genius in his own way, and more often than not, genius comes with mighty strange personality traits that usually don't mesh all that well with other humans. I admire that he refused to compromise and that the integrity and excellence of the products he put out were his main concerns, something that is all too rare in most consumer goods to be found on the market today. Which is why I've always been a fan of Apple products. As a designer, that's always been my mind-set as well, and I hope I was never a tyrant to the people who worked for and with me, but I think quite the opposite happened—when I was forced to compromise (not being a billionaire like Jobs who could lay down the law), I just self-destructed instead of lashing out. Perfectionism always comes at a high price, either to oneself and/or to the people around us.

About the fact that he abandoned his child... that is certainly despicable, unforgivable. Yet (and this by no means excuses it), it is a undeniable fact that many people who have suffered from serious issues in their childhood, such as abandonment or abuse to name just those two, have then gone on to inflict those things on their own children. Some people react by becoming more loving and caring, while others can't help but inflict suffering as well. It's very sad, but it seems to be the way of the world. I wish I could say something more cheerful to end this note...

I'm at the part about the iPhone and it's really interesting.... ! :-)

eta: #188 Brit, see the first paragraph above. Now my only 'problem' with the show is I can't decide whether I should pace myself to make the pleasure last, or if I should just give in to the craving I have to just do a DA marathon!

Ilana - hope you have a great reading, listening and viewing weekend. Don't forget to wrap both yourselves up warm and take Coco for a spin every now and then between D.A. episodes!

I don't know if it's the dog thing that's brought up a bunch of unpleasant things I don't want to deal with to the surface or what, but I feel unbearably sad and anxious tonight. I tried to change my mood by visiting some threads, but no. So I think this calls for an emergency session of Dowton Abbey. For medical purposes of course. Must keep the depression from taking over.

#190 Thanks Paul. I don't know though... the weekend is starting on a low note. Hope D. A. lifts the spirits a little. Haven't felt quite this horrid in some time.

Don't want to leave my thread on such a downer. Here's something to lift the spirits:

I want that room! Gimme, gimme! :)

I hope the emergency session of Downton Abbey works for you, Ilana, I really do.

Sending hugs Ilana, I hope Downton Abbey was a good distraction.

Gorgeous!

Sorry to hear about the dog situation and your low spirits, Ilana. I hope a new day and some Downton Abbey have helped. My wife is up for viewing Downton Abbey, too, so we'll be getting a hold of it in the near future.

Ilana, You did a valiant job trying to place the "lost" dog. You can only do so much. It IS depressing to think that all dogs do not get the attention and love they deserve. Same goes for other animals, people, Mother Earth, etc. We do what we can and hope the little that each can accomplish will make a difference. You are giving enormous love to your furkids and they are are very lucky.

LOVE the shelves in #192. I like to arrange things by color in my closet. But how would you find a book by color? Oh heck, I can't find my books now without a bit of an ordeal. Must organize!

#192 oooohhhh pretty book shelves!

Ilana, I hope your emergency session of DA helped. I'm glad the dog is not going to be out in the cold tonight .. and I certainly hope the owner takes better care of his dog!

I love that room with the color coordinated books ... yours? I WANT! ;-)

Ilana - I know how you feel! Sometimes I feel that way about good book; want to keep reading, but am afraid that if I keep reading it will be over too quickly.

I think it was brilliant that you called for an emergency watching of Downton Abbey. Whitney and I watched the season finale last night and I was even starting to enjoy it!

Skimming through -- I worked ten hours yesterday and came home to watch a mediocre dvd from netflix ("The Young Victoria" -- we've been on kind of a Victoria & Albert binge at our house of late), errands and a women's basketball game today.... anyway, I would feel exactly the same way about the dog and "shelter" thing --- any kind of animal neglect or abuse, or even just animals facing hardship, gets to me more than anything else. So, I appreciate the posting of the wonderful colorful bookshelves. Nice!!

I'm glad you're loving Downton Abbey. Clearly, we could watch the tube together. :-)

xo

#192 - *Gasp! It's beautiful!

Glad you are loving Downton Abbey. I watched the last episode of Season 1 last night to get me all current for Season 2 tonight. Am thinking maybe I should buy the first season myself....

High kill shelters are an abomination. They've no right to call themselves 'shelters'. Concentration camp would be more like it. (Is that over the top?)

Downtown Abbey is a secret pleasure of mine as well and I can't wait for season 3. In fact, I can't wait so much that I think I need to purchase seasons 1 and 2 and rematch them in the interim. I'm so please you love it as well Ilana.

>189 Smiler69: are you talking season 1 of Downton Abbey? I have heard great reviews of it and also that the second season cashes in on the first season's success a little bit. I hate that....but I havent actually seen any of it so couldn't comment reliably.

I am so far behind here...it's embarrassing

DOWNTON ABBEY..i did see the first season through Netflix...funny, i recognized many of the "character" actors from other British TV shows/series...and, yes, I love(d) it!

Regarding stray animals/animal abuse.....I used to see too many stray cats, on my lane...Heck, that's how I got KITTEH.....but, the Humane Society doesn't take cats any more...neither does the Dog Catcher...the only animals that "rate" are Hunting Dogs..that go astray...and then the person who finds the stray dog has to secure it first.. Not a pretty picture..

Other than that..not much to say

except I am still here...if only in spirit

;-}

Ilana, I finally read Dogs and Wolves by Emily Gravett. As you predicted, I thought the former was cute and the latter was wonderful!! I'll be seeking out her other tales for children.

Off to be sure my DVR is set for Downton Abbey tonight.

Downton Abbey: I ended up watching all of season 1 of Downton Abbey over the weekend. Watched the last show today, and thought I'd start with season 2 tonight, but for all kinds of complicated reasons that involve the cable company charging extortionary fees so I can get the American channels, including PBS, I decided to just wait until the episodes become available on iTunes and to purchase them there. Needless to say I absolutely love the show.

Reading Life: I finished Bel Canto last night and will try to review is ASAP (tonight?). Immediately followed that up with Cannery Row, which I'm finding very interesting, though a lot of it is going right over my head. The language he uses here is unlike anything else I've read by Steinbeck and is throwing me off. Also finished Steve Jobs about an hour ago, thank heavens. That review will be short and sweet to be sure. Followed that up with Fight Club, mostly because it's a short audiobook at just 5.5 hours and also because it was chosen for me for one of my 12/12 categories. Am about an hour into is and as bleak as I expected, having seen the movie a couple of years ago. I'm also browsing through The Art of Reading: Forty Illustrators Celebrate RIF's 40th Anniversary and might start on one of the YA books I have from the library to lighten things up a little. Have The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Field Guide on hand, which is very tempting.

Personal Life: Blue. Very much, painfully blue. Tried to take walks with Coco, but it's too cold outside to enjoy. Tried to do some artwork, but only made a disaster (truly), tried sleeping it off, but had one disturbing dream after another. Oh the joys of clinical anxiety and depression. I wouldn't wish this sort of pain on my worst enemy.

I confess that not only did I order Downton Abbey 2 from the UK on DVD -- but that soon I will be the proud owner of the special 2-hour Christmas DVD (apparently resolving the cliffhanger at the end of Season 2, which i won't mention and thus spoil for you lot!

the UK has eased up on quarantine a lot. When I moved there in '98, poor Clea-the-cat had to go into quarantine. It was expensive and six months??? How unnecessary. The way that rule was structured was very clearly to benefit the kennels industry, NOT to protect the UK from rabies. I think Australia's rules are now the world's most rigid.

I actually hate reading more about cruelty to animals than cruelty to adult humans. Not sure what that says about me...

Oh dear, your personal life update makes for upsetting reading. I hope you get some relief soon, or at least some distraction! A film maybe?

Dear Ilana - v upset to read about your blues. Needless or not will repeat that my own view is that you are a wonderful, thoughtful, insightful, humourous, intelligent, caring and sensitive individual who has in less than one year become a dear friend albeit in this very modern medium of ours. Hate the thought of you miserable and brooding alone (sorry Coco) in your apartment. Look forward to your summer in South Western France and I only wish SWMBO and I were closer to Montreal to take you in hand and cheer you up with (her) fine cooking and (my) wonky humour and shopping predilictions! Chin up.

Hi Stasia, Heather, Peggy, Joe, Claudia, Chelle, Caroline, Brit, Ellen, Charlotte, Leonie, Megan and Jude—thank you all for visiting and commenting, and keeping my thread alive while I... do whatever it is I do when I'm not feeling especially sociable.

#193 I love that room too. All that organization and colour flow is really calming, isn't it?

#194 Thank you Heather. xx

#196 Joe, I'm really hooked on the show and can't wait to view season 2

#197 Claudia, first of all, thank you for understanding. Needless to say, what ails me goes a bit further and is more personal than that, but seeing animals in any kind of distress really does a number on me.

Every time I see this kind of colour scheme approach to organizing books I think how beautiful it looks, but also absolutely impractical.

#199 Caro, I wish I had all that shelving available to me, would give me room to expand my collection further though, which may or may not be a good thing...

#200 Brit, the finale certainly ends on a distressing note, although of course it was an inevitable one.

#201 Ellen, I saw The Young Victoria a while back and didn't think it was horrible, but not great either. As for D.A., I'll have to re-watch season 1 episodes while I wait for the next season to become available to me. Should be very soon I expect.

#202 I'm glad I bought the first season and also advance purchased season 2. It's such a gorgeous production that it'll be worth watching more than once.

You didn't go at all over the top using the term 'concentration camp', because that's what that place is like essentially. Among many incredibly abusive practices, they don't have a scanner to look up microchips, and so even animals that are properly identified with one aren't reported as having been found to their owners. I shudder to think of it. My kids are all chipped and collared and tagged, but still.

#203 Leonie, makes me smile to think that I've found such a great group of individuals who have a wide range of tastes like I do, from Game of Thrones to Downton Abbey certainly is worlds apart, but they do share an excellence of conception and production.

#204 Megan, as far as I'm concerned, they can do no wrong!

#205 Hi Jude, nice to see you here. Do not worry about catching up. Who has the time? ;-)

#206 You remind me that i need to seek out more of Emily Gravett's work as well. I'm glad you loved those too. Wolves is one book I would definitely enjoy revisiting.

#208 Suz, one advantage of purchasing Dowton Abbey from iTunes is they too have the unedited UK edition. I don't know whether they'll have the Christmas special though... will have to wait and see!

Thanks for the insights on the quarantine rules in UK and Oz. I've always thought that six months was insane and incredibly cruel to owners and pets alike. I too am much more distressed about animals being in distress and have always wondered what it said about me too. But thankfully, that last part of that statement is something I do NOT make myself sick over, as I do with most other things! ;-)

#209 Megan, I'm sorry that I've upset you. One reason I stayed away from LT these past couple of days is that I didn't want to cast a pall of doom and gloom. I did consider whether I should just leave out that part entirely, but have to admit that it's a heavy burden to carry and sharing it with others does make it a little bit easier to bear.

#210 My dear Paul. You are as always ever so sweet and kind. The Spring trip to France and the fact that I can't seem to get excited about it is unfortunately the principal cause of all my distress lately. Thankfully I'll be able to talk it out with my therapist this week.

Please dont add upsetting me to your list of worries! Im more upset for you. Please go ahead and share....I for one would be happy to carry some or any of the burden if I can. Hopefully it will pass soon, and if not we'll all still be here.

Nice post Megan....ditto.

2. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett ★★★★
(Read for Orange January, TIOLI Challenge #6: Read a book that was long or shortlisted for, or won the Orange prize and 12/12 Category #6: Going Places - International authors & places)

"A kiss in so much loneliness was like a hand pulling you up out of the water, scooping you up from a place of drowning and into the reckless abundance of air."

In an unnamed small South American country, Mr. Katsumi Hosokawa, the head of a powerful Japanese electronics company, has been invited to celebrate his fifty-sixth birthday, in hopes that he will consider opening a plant in the host country. Mr. Hosokawa has so far refused all the advances the country has made, and has no intention of developing his business in a part of the world that is plagued with drug trafficking and guerrilla revolutions. But the government has finally succeeded in securing a visit from him by having his favourite opera diva, Roxanne Coss, make a personal appearance and sing a short selection from her repertoire at an exorbitant rate. No expense is spared for this soirée to ensure the guests are well taken care of in the luxury to which they are accustomed.

Just as the singer has finished the last song and her audience is still floating on the echoes of the soprano's enchanting voice, the grand living room in the Vice-Presidential mansion is invaded by a group of terrorists who demand that the President be surrendered to them. Only the President has cancelled his appearance at the very last minute so that he would not miss his favourite soap opera, and so the guerrillas decide they will hold the VIP guests from various nations as hostages instead. The rest of the novel takes place within the house over the course of many weeks, as the guests and captors negotiate terms among each other and surprising connections are formed and evolve, in no small part due to the highly developed language skills of Mr. Hosokawa's personal interpreter, Gen Watanabe. This is certainly not a novel for those seeking story and action. Instead, it is a reflection on human nature as a social animal, and on the real love and affection that can be present within a confined setting, even among people of opposing factions, when the pressures and conventions of time and real life are taken away, which I suppose is best summed up as being an excellent portrayal of the Stockholm Syndrome. Some fascinating character studies in a beautifully written novel that has left it's mark on this reader.

Fabulous review of Bel Canto. Thumb! Thanks for that, Ilana.

#213 & 214 Thank you Megan, that is very kind of you to say. And Paul... ditto. ;-)

#216 Oooh, thumbs are always appreciated, thanks Nancy!

*****

I was going to also review Steve Jobs, but that's all I can manage for now. I'll try to stay on top of my reviews this year and not let them accumulate as I did before, which might mean that I'll both make use of speed-reviweing with very short summaries (if I can manage it), and also opt out of reviewing certain books altogether (again, if I can manage that!)

Great review Ilana! I read that last year and remember being very impressed with it! Thumb for you!

Ilana, better than The Young Victoria (imho) is the 2001 Victoria and Albert with Victoria Hamilton and Jonathan Firth. If you can get it on the cheap, I think you'd enjoy it. It might be just the kind of thing for the kind of mood you're in these days (and you know how sorry I am to hear about the mood -- and I'm going to respect your preference not to have that become the focus of your thread).

I'll watch Downton Abbey II later this week, as it comes on too late for a Sunday night. Although I'm enjoying my re-read of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe so much that I fear I may not get to sleep as early as I should......

I do hope to get the Bel Canto for Orange January. Wonderful review you wrote.

Know that I'm thinking of you, my friend. Hug Coco for me.

>212 Smiler69: I'm holding out for the British version of DA season 2 instead of watching the American version on PBS. According to an article I read, the producers chose to cut out the details about entailment and why women couldn't inherit and British inheritance laws of the period in general, plus some of the historical background, because they feared that American audiences wouldn't understand. It annoyed me, as one of my pet peeves is when other people, particularly those who don't know me at all, try to dictate what I can and cannot understand.

Hi Ilana, just dropping by to share a hug and leave my very best wishes. I hope you are feeling better soon.

I am PVRing Downtown Abbey and planning on not watching until I have a bunch that I can lose myself in.

I have been finding my reading is slowing down this month, as I am spending more and more time on LT trying to visit all the threads, but I have decided that I may just have to cut back a little cause I get very "antsy" when I don't get enough reading time!

BTW I have started Sea of Poppies and am really liking it so far.

#215 Great review of Bel Canto Ilana. It feels like LT is conspiring to make me watch Downton Abbey at the moment!

Also wanted to say sorry you've been feeling so blue and wish there was something we could do to make it go away for you.

Good Morning Ilana, I hope you're feeling better today. Sorry I picked Fight Club for you - feel free to abandon it anytime or to put it on hold before it adds in any way to your feeling blue.

Bel Canto sounds great, but also like something I might not be able to deal with right now. I'll put it on my watchlist.

I've never heard of Downtown Abbey (which doesn't mean anything since I've mostly been ignoring new TV shows since moving to IT). Reading the comments here I might better keep avoiding it, it sounds quite addictive.

Re. Cannery Row: I was considering getting this as an audiobook using my monthly credit, but decided against it after having read the Kindle test chapter. I found the language beautiful, but often had to re-read sentences to get their full meaning, which would have been difficult with the audio version.

Hi Ilana - I've also been away from most of the threads these past few days so am now paying for it with all the catching up I have to do. I hope you can get your feelings about your trip to France worked through with your therapist, anyway all I can do is send positive thoughts your way.
After reading your review of Bel Canto I'm definitely going to have to give it another try.
Downton Abbey was a surprise hit with all members of my family and we have been on the library request list for season 2 for a while now so will be getting it soon I hope.

#220: I can't believe they cut out so much for the American audience, I thought that the entitlement law was basically what the show was about.

Wonderful review of Bel Canto !
I now think I have a better idea of what this is about. Thumb for you! I will push this book up the TBR list :)

Hope you have a better day today.
HUGS and more hugs!

Great review of Bel Canto, Ilana. I'm happy to hear you liked it so much - me, too.

I hope the blueness passes soon. I know someone well who suffers in a similar way. And I hope Cannery Row starts working for you.

Hi Ilana- I'm just skimming your Bel Canto review! I am hoping to get to this one soon. I've had it withering away on the shelf for far to long. I also want to get to her latest book. Do you have it yet?
I'm so glad you enjoyed DA! It's quite infectious. I saw the 2hr premiere last night and loved it.
Sorry to hear about those nasty blues, I hope today's a better one for you. Hugs!

Not reading the review as I have this on my TBR soon pile. Pleased you liked it though.

Hope things improve for you soon and that you and Coco have a good day.

>224 avatiakh: Yep, the inheritance laws form a large part of the plot. What's interesting is that according to the viewing surveys, the core American audience for Downton Abbey are the people, mostly women, who love BBC period drama in general--the most popular of these dramas in the US is the Pride and Prejudice miniseries from the 1990s. If you're familiar with Pride and Prejudice, then you're familiar with entailment. The concept also comes up in other British novels, although I can't think of any others off the top of my head.

ETA: Lord Peter Wimsey entails his property when rewriting his will prior to his marriage to Harriet Vane.

Ilana, you got your 11th thumb from me on your review of Bel Canto and you've convinced me to give it another try. I started it years ago and found it slow going so put it aside.

Just wanted to thank you again for setting up the Steinbeckathon threads. I finished Cannery Row yesterday and loved it and would never have read it if not for your enthusiam for Steinbeck.

I hope today is a sunnier and warmer day in all ways for you. Sending lots of peaceful thoughts your way.

Your comments are all so much appreciated and truly helpful. I'll come back a little bit later to respond to each of you individually.

I just finished watching part 1 of the season premiere of Dowton Abbey. Keeping the second part until later in the week. But who am I kidding, it'll be a miracle if I can hold off any longer than this evening.

I must take Coco outside, the sun just came out, and apparently it's not TOO cold. We'll see about that momentarily...

Firstly, I want to thank all of you who've made my take on Bel Canto a Hot Review. Must say that feels rather good!

Also, I want to thank Chelle, Ellen, casvelyn, Judy, Heather, Nathalie, Kerry, Claudia, Joe, Mark, calm, and Pat for all these wonderful messages you've left me today, which were truly a gift to come to my (second) home to.

#218 This book had been sitting on my shelves for a few years now Chelle, and the comments I read about it were mostly negative, which didn't encourage me to pick it up. But I'm glad I finally did.

#219 Ellen, you are always such a tremendous support when I take a plunge and struggle to re-emerge. Thank you for that my friend.

I searched and searched (and searched) for Victoria and Albert and finally it seems it's only available through Amazon & co., which is quite a lot more than I'm willing to pay for a movie. No matter, I've still got part 2 of the Downton Abbey season II premiere to look forward to!

Saw the movie adaptation of Fried Green Tomatoes and quite liked it, though I barely remember it—it seems like it came out a lifetime ago... of course there was Julia Roberts' smile taking up quite a bit of space... I imagine the book must indeed be very good. Look forward to your review. xx

#220 Your comment makes me doubly glad I chose to purchase both seasons via iTunes instead of re-instating a slew of TV channels I don't want to watch or pay for. They have the original and uncut UK version, which is what convinced me to get it there. Hard to believe that they'd cut out everything to do with the entailment since it is such an important part of the story. I didn't know about entailment until last year when I was reading... can't recall now if it was a character in Portrait of a Lady or Sense and Sensibility, when someone here on LT kindly explained what it involved. So absurd to cut it out!

#221 Hi Judy and thanks for the hug. That's one of the rare things I do miss sometimes, and though I hug my little furry friends, it's not quite the same.

Strangely enough, even though I end up spending a great portion of my days on LT and barely have time for reading (and I know what you mean about getting antsy), I've read more books last year than I ever did in my life. So something's working for sure! :-)

I can't wait to read Sea of Poppies, especially with all the glowing comments I've seen about it, but as I was saying on Ellen's thread (I think it was there, not sure now), I have a list of books that are all "must reads" this month, and there's little chance I'll be able to read them all, unless I take a prolonged break from LT and start reading full time. But no. I love this group and all the kind and wonderful people we can exchange with here.

#222 Heather, Downton Abbey is one of those shows that become compulsory viewing. It's very addictive and the storyline is very good.

About the black dog that won't leave me be lately, as my mum likes to remind me: "This too shall pass". It might be helpful if someone called the black dog away, but I wouldn't want to stick him with someone else—that would just be cruel. ;-)

#223 Nathalie, please don't feel bad about having picked Fight Club. First of all, you picked a book at random and couldn't know you'd choose that one, and secondly, no one is forcing me to read it right now. It's a short audiobook (only 5.5 hours) and yes, it's very bleak indeed, but somehow it's also providing a kind of .... (have been searching for the English word of exutoire for the last half hour, it's on the tip of my tongue and driving me nuts!...) catharsis, which I guess is the whole point of the story.

Re: Cannery Row did you finally decide to go with the Kindle version?

#224 Hi Kerry. Thanks for the good thoughts and encouragement. It's funny about Downton Abbey—every single person I've seen mentioning it here only has high praise to say about it. They've managed to make a universally well loved series, which is quite an accomplishment.

I don't even want to think right now of all I've been missing on the threads. I do go around and lurk about quite a lot though, so it shouldn't be too much work to catch up with everyone. Or so I hope, because after I'm done on my thread, I absolutely MUST go and read!

#225 Claudia, you're as sweet as ever. Sorry haven't responded to the message you sent me. It often takes me quite some time to respond to those, especially when it involves personal issues. I hope you understand. Thanks ever so much for the thumb, and the hugs... all very much appreciated. xx

#226 Joe, I quite like Cannery Row, it's just that it took me quite a while to settle into this novel. I knew from the start that it was more about the place and characters than a story, but just felt a bit lost with the language and some of the details he mentions. For instance, what is a boiler and how can people live inside one? Guess I should be asking that on the CR thread, right?

#227 Mark, I hadn't picked up State of Wonder yet, because I had no idea whether I'd like Bel Canto or not before reading it, and wanted to make sure that her prose would somehow resonate with me first. It does. So it's just a matter of time now when SoW makes a leap from my wishlist to the TBR shelves...

#228 Thank you calm. Coco is a little bundle of love always and a great comfort to me.

#229 Having only read the first book in the Lord Peter Wimsey series, I haven't come to the part when he meets a woman quite yet, though I do have Clouds of Witness standing by, which I hope to get to in near future.

#230 Pat, thank you so much for your visit and your encouragement. I haven't had a non-hormone-induce enduring case of the blues like this is quite a long time. I think people who have never experienced it can't imagine what it's like. I envy those, like you who can take on a positive attitude about even the most trying experiences and just forge ahead. I try to do it in my own way, but I guess I'm not one to suffer in silence for very long. Hopefully the sun will shine again in my heart and take away the pain I literally feel in my heart.

Glad you liked Cannery Row - of course the area he wrote about has been all tidied up and touristed now.....

{{{Ilana}}}

Kind of have the blues going on at my house, too, Sweetie. It's no fun.

I loved Bel Canto and will thumb your review as soon as I type this message.

Did I mention how much I loved the look of those paper-cutting books? Sooo painstaking to do that work.

Must run--will thumb.

I'm glad you ended up picking it up and liking it! I read it this summer and really enjoyed it!

>233 Smiler69: Then forget I said anything!

stopping by and waving hi. Your review of Bel Canto is excellent!
I hope this day has some rays of sunshine for you. You are a wonderful, kind, sensitive soul!

#234 Lucy, it's very possible that I've visited that area without even knowing it's literary significance. I was an au pair in the Bay area back in the late 80s and traveled quite a bit up and down the coast.

Still have a ways to go (and enjoy) the novel as am just at chapter 16—exactly halfway through.

#235 Sorry that I'm not in my more cheerful mood as I would probably be posting things that might lift your spirits a little. Thank you ever so much for the thumb on my review. I don't think I've had such success before! That's something to feel good about right there. I just hope those are not just a bunch of sympathy thumbs!

#236 Yes, and it's made me really want to discover more of Ann Patchett's writing too.

#237 Done! ;-)

#238 Thank you sweet Linda, you have given a very good description of yourself in your kind words to me. xx

I was hoping to write another review or two today and catch up with threads, but that will all have to wait till tomorrow maybe as I'm having trouble keeping my eyes open tonight. I did get a bit of reading and listening done today, and finished The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Field Guide, which is a very fun little book and the start of a YA series that I'm inclined to continue reading.

On a whole different register, also finished listening to Fight Club in the last hour. I'll have to think about this, but I think this may be a rare occasion where I preferred the movie adaptation.

Will start on another audiobook as I take Coco out for his last run outside before bed. Not up to anything from my planned reads right now, so think I'll go with To Fear a Painted Devil by Ruth Rendell who's Crocodile Bird I enjoyed so much at the end of this last year.

Ilana, I decided to add Fight Club to my tbr this year. Not as a 'punishment' for picking it, no worries, but with 5 1/2 hours it must be quite short and it's a 1001 and my library owns it. I need some of those short books this year to balance out the extremely long ones I am already reading.

I read Cannery Row in Italian in the end, and it was a very good translation. My library has most of the Steinbeck-a-thon books in their basement magazine and for saving money purposes I will stick to those where possible. I will buy 1-2 in English though, but I haven't yet decided which ones. The prices are almost equal, so I think I'll buy the longer ones (more pages for my money).

Edit: Something that might cheer you up - I just found this wonderful website with phantastic pictures of VIPs and 'normal' people and with this interesting dating guide. Maybe you already know the site, given your magazine background:
http://vintage-everyday.blogspot.com/2012/01/proper-etiquette-of-woman-dating-in...

It's good to see you posting again and please don't feel that you should suffer in silence or that you need to apologise for not being more cheerful.

"I have a list of books that are all "must reads" this month, and there's little chance I'll be able to read them all, unless I take a prolonged break from LT and start reading full time."

I made two piles out of all the books I wanted to read this month and put them on bedside table (thus risking death by book suffocation if they got knocked over during the night) and it's almost half-way through the month and the piles of books don't seem to be getting any smaller.

>233 Smiler69: I'm glad you were able to settle into Cannery Row, Ilana.

A boiler is a big container/contraption for heating water. I'm not good at shrinking images or I'd post this, but here's a model of the one in Cannery Row from the Steinbeck Center: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3160/2565431733_6376bcd0a7_z.jpg

Hi Ilana, I hope things are rosier in your world today. I share the love and enthusiasm for Downton Abbey. I'm excited to know that there is a Christmas special available. I'm going to be like Judy (Msg. 221) and save up a few of the new episodes and watch them marathon style!

I started Cannery Row last night and am going to begrudge the time I have to spend on things other than reading today. I love the way Steinbeck has of creating visual images. That starfish expedition was fantastic! Thanks so much for the work you did setting up the Steinbeckathon. I think it will be yet another way to bring a sense of closeness to this big group.

Ilana, I think we got Victoria & Albert from our library, but I'll check at home tonight. It's not worth buying from Amazon, but I am now on a mission to figure out a way for you to see it. We watched episode one of season two of "Downton Abbey" last night and loved it, loved it, loved it. Planning to get the first part of season one from Netflix if we can. It's worth re-watching.

Almost done with Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe and am very much enjoying this re-read. I've laughed out loud again! But, Ilana, you may need to see if your library has the DVD because there was no Julia Roberts in this one --- Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson..... it's one novel-based movie that I think is worth it.

I guess I'm feeling better by degrees today. Had a good long cry, used up half a box of tissues, and actually came out feeling a bit better afterward. This is a strange year for me now, because April will mark the fifth anniversary since I went on leave from work, and while I do my best not to stress out about the future, I can't help but feel like I'm wasting my best years away. But enough of that. I don't want to come off as so bleak and negative. I just don't have many people to talk to on a day to day basis, so hope I'm forgiven.

I was reminded of the Little Engine that Could today in The Art of Reading. Think I'll have to keep telling myself "I Think I Can, I Think I Can, I Think I Can" for a while! :-)

That's a great picture and image, Ilana. And, I'm a big believer in talking about what's bothering you so post away! I actually sometimes think of the 75ers as a big therapy group. I'm glad you're feeling better today.

#246 What Pat said.

Ilana, I hope the little engine mantra helps you. Isn't it strange how a good cry can make us feel so much better afterwards? I've noticed that myself and where I used to try to be strong, now I believe that if I feel a cry coming on, I should just let it all out.

The Little Engine that Could was a weird mantra throughout my childhood...and, I survived

You will, too...Ilana....

;-}

Little Engine - the only way is upwards and onwards. xxx

#241 Nathalie, I actually quite enjoyed Fight Club, though "enjoyed" is probably not quite the right word. There was so much I could relate to, which I'm tempted to write about here, but which I should really save for my review. Which should be coming soon as I am determined to keep on top of them this year, and no matter that I've already fallen behind. :-)

If I may, I would suggest that if you chose one book to read in English, and maybe even decided to go with an audio version, then you should choose The Grapes of Wrath. The language used by the "Oakies" is so particular that I can't see how it wouldn't be completely lost in translation. Sort of like trying to translate Sicilian idioms into any other language.

Thanks for pointing me to that blog posting... it was a lot of fun! In some ways... we've come a long way, although that kind of mentality is still very much present in this day and age! Great photos too, the actors must have had fun with it!

#242 Heather, I worry for your safety, and urge you to move the tbr piles somewhere safer. It would be a real shame to lose you to a book avalanche! ;-)

#243 As I said on the Steinbeckathon thread Joe, thanks so much for providing the link to that photo. I knew what a boiler was, just had no idea what kind of size they could be. My water heater for instance might fit my three pets, but they wouldn't have much room to move about poor dears. Hard to imagine anyone could live even in a large one, but I guess some people have no choice but to make a dwelling out of whatever materials they can find.

#244 Donna, I basically what Judy said with season 1 of Downton Abbey. Watched all seven episodes (which is how they're set up in the original UK version) over the weekend which was great. The only trouble is that you're always left wanting for more! I'm now up to date with season 2 as well, as of this morning. That show is such a treat, ever though it doesn't exactly broach what one would call "light" topics.

Cannery Row is filled with surprises. Definitely one of those books I'll have to revisit, and which must yield greater meaning with each reading.

#245 Ellen, the first place I looked for Victoria & Albert was at the library obviously, but no luck there. Couldn't find it on our Netflix selections either (which are much more limited than in the U.S.)

I must have confused Fried Green Tomatoes with another movie I saw many years ago. Could it be that I confused it with Steel Magnolias? Heavens! Something tells me by the time I read your review I'll have no choice but to add it to the grotesquely obese wishlist! The good news is that movie is available at the library.

#247 I actually sometimes think of the 75ers as a big therapy group

Pat, when I originally joined the group I was prepared to talk about books exclusively, but quite quickly saw that a lot of people got quite personal on their threads. It surprised me at first, but as you can tell, it wasn't long before I started doing the same!

#248 :-)

#249 Yes, that little engine mantra certainly has merit to it. I'd forgotten all about it till today. So very simple and so very encouraging!

#250 I wonder, why weird Jude?

#251 Speaking of upwards and onwards Paul, it's looking like I'll need to start a continuation thread very soon. Was going to post some reviews here, but I guess I'll hold off till my new thread is up. Just have to find my image, and we're good to go on a whole new page! :-)

Why weird???

Because my parents spent so much time hating each other, that they never figured I'd 'do" anything..

that's "why"

;-}

#254 Now that Claudia's given me such great lovely hugs, I'll share some with you (((((Jude))))).

#255 That is ever so sweet. Thank you Claudia. xx