AnneDC's 75 in 2012--Part 1

Happy New Year and welcome to everyone, friends, visitors, lurkers alike. I am happy to be back for my second year in this fabulous 75 group. Last year I read three sets of 75 books. This year I am aiming for 150 books, but I'm hoping to get into a regular habit of posting reviews or at least comments, since I really slacked off last year. I also am participating again in the 12 in 12 Challenge, Orange January/July (thread here), and of course my favorite addiction, TIOLI. New groups for me this year: the Author Theme Read focused on Japanese authors, Reading Globally, and Non-Fiction (thread coming). I will post about all my reading here.

From If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino
In the shop window you have promptly identified the cover with the title you were looking for. Following this visual trail, you have forced your way through the shop past the thick barricade of Books You Haven't Read, which were frowning at you from the tables and shelves, trying to cow you...And thus you pass the outer girdle of ramparts, but then you are attacked by the infantry of the Books That If You Had More Than One Life You Would Certainly Also Read But Unfortunately Your Days Are Numbered. With a rapid maneuver you bypass them and move into the phalanxes of the Books You Mean To Read But There Are Others You Must Read First, the Books Too Expensive Now And You'll Wait Till They're Remaindered, the Books ditto When They Come Out In Paperback, Books You Can Borrow From Somebody, Books That Everybody's Read So It's As If You've Read Them, Too. Eluding these assaults, you come up beneath the towers of the fortress, where other troops are holding out:

the Books You've Been Planning To Read For Ages,
the Books You've Been Hunting For Years Without Success,
the Books Dealing With Something You're Working On At The Moment,
the Books You Want To Own So They'll Be Handy Just In Case,
the Books You Could Put Aside Maybe To Read This Summer,
the Books You Need To Go With Other Books On Your Shelves,
the Books That Fill You With Sudden, Inexplicable Curiosity, Not Easily Justified.

Now you have been able to reduce the countless embattled troops to an array that is, to be sure, very large but still calculable in a finite number, but this relative relief is then undermined by the ambush of the Books Read Long Ago Which It's Now Time To Reread and the Books You've Always Pretended To Have Read And Now It's Time To Sit Down And Actually Read Them.







Currently Reading:




1Q84 - Haruki Murakami
God's Philosophers - James Hannam
Comet in Moominland - Tove Jansson (aloud)
Deep River - Shusaku Endo
Capital and Its Discontents - Sasha Lilley, ed.

Books Read in 2012
January
1. The True Deceiver - Tove Jansson (OMB)
2. If on a winter's night a traveler - Italo Calvino (OMB)
3. Silence - Shusaku Endo (L)
4. Snow - Orhan Pamuk (audio) (L)
5. Fall On Your Knees - Ann-Marie MacDonald (L)
6. A Spell of Winter - Helen Dunmore (OMB)
7. Inside Out and Back Again - Thanhha La (OMB)
8. The Quiet American - Graham Greene (audio) (OMB)
9. Lassie Come-Home - Eric Knight (aloud) (L)
10. In the Bleak Midwinter - Julia Spencer-Fleming (L)
11. Kokoro - Natsume Soseki (L)
12. In the Woods - Tana French (audio) (L)
13. Dragonsong - Anne McCaffrey (L)
14. Still Life - Louise Penny (audio)
15. On Canaan's Side - Sebastian Barry (L)
16. Train Dreams - Denis Johnson (OMB)
17. Cannery Row - John Steinbeck (e-book)
18. Property - Valerie Martin (L)

February
19. A Fountain Filled With Blood - Julia Spencer-Fleming (e-book)
20. The Warmth of Other Suns - Isabel Wilkerson (OMB)
21. The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern (OMB)
22. The Fire Next Time - James Baldwin (OMB)
23. The Arabian Nights (aloud) (OMB)
24. February - Lisa Moore (L)
25. Bleak House - Charles Dickens (audio/paper) (R) (OMB)
26. Wise Blood - Flannery O'Connor (audio)
27. The Likeness - Tana French (audio)

*OMB=Off My Bookshelf
L=Library

New Books Acquired in 2012
1. The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears - Dinaw Mengestu
2. Through Black Spruce - Joseph Boyden
3. God's Philosophers - James Hannam

If it is bold, I bought it new and at full or close-to-full price.

Favorite reads of 2011:
Favorite fiction
Case Histories - Kate Atkinson (series)
Selected Stories - William Trevor
The Memory of Love - Aminatta Forna
Pereira Maintains - Antonio Tabucchi
The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes
Visitation - Jenny Erpenbeck
The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid
The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears - Dinaw Mengestu
Small Island - Andrea Levy
Song of Solomon - Toni Morrison
and also:
The Plague of Doves - Louise Erdrich
Paradise - Toni Morrison
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet - David Mitchell
Three Day Road - Joseph Boyden
Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adicie
The Tiger's Wife - Tea Obreht
The War of the End of the World - Mario Vargas Llosa
A Visit From the Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan
Sea of Poppies - Amitav Ghosh

Favorite classics
The Portrait of a Lady - Henry James
Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers
North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell
My Antonia - Willa Cather

Favorite Non-fiction
Zeitoun - Dave Eggers
City: Urbanism and Its End - Douglas Rae
23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism - Ha- Joon Chang
Ill Fares the Land - Tony Judt
King Leopold's Ghost - Adam Hochschild
Chasing Goldman Sachs - Suzanne McGee

Favorite memoirs:
Life - Keith Richards
I Shall Not Hate - Izzeldin Abuelaish
Just Kids - Patti Smith
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother - Amy Chua

Favorite audiobook:
The Return of the Native - Thomas Hardy, narrated by Alan Rickman

Favorite new-to-me children's/young adult books:

Emily Climbs - L. M. Montgomery
Luka and the Fire of Life - Salman Rushdie
When You Reach Me - Rebecca Stead
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - Joan Aiken
The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman
The Hunger Games trilogy - Suzanne Collins

Favorite read-alouds:
Winnie-the-Pooh - A.A. Milne
Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone - J. K. Rowling
Little House on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - C. S. Lewis
Dancing Shoes - Noel Streatfeild
A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

Least favorite book
On the Road - Jack Kerouac

And, just for fun, here are my 12 categories from the 12 in 12 group: (my 12 in 12 thread is here)

1. Next in Line (series)
2. The Envelope, Please (prize-winning books)
3. Oranges Are the Only Fruit (Orange Prize for Literature)
4. Bright Young Things (2011 and 2012 publications)
5. Author, Author (author theme read group, focused this year on Japanese literature)
6. London Calling (books about or set in London)
7. From Russia With Love (books about or set in Russia)
8. I Have a Dream (African-American literature)
9. It’s About Time (neglected classics, classic re-reads, or 1001 books you should have read by now)
10. The Meaning of Life (religion and philosophy)
11. That’s My Story and I’m Sticking to It (memoir)
12. Just the Facts, Ma’am (non-fiction. Maybe at least one or two should have to do with science?)

Anne so third is me. Look forward to keeping up in 2012. Happy new year!

Happy New Year Paul! Will "see" you in 2012!

Glad to see you Anne and a happy New Year! Will try my best to follow your thread in 2012. :)

Welcome back!

Hi Anne, really looking forward to adding to my wishlist from your books again! Happy new year.

Hi Anne, happy reading!

Glad to see you back with us again, Anne! Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Anne! I like your 12 in 12 categories, particularly because we'll have a lot of overlap in our reading goals. I think we're both planning to read Kokoro this month, and I'm curious to see which books by Shusaku Endo you'll read for the Author Theme Reads challenge.

2: Several of those 12 categories are likely to produce books for my wishlist...

Happy New Year!

starring Anne because though I'm currently living overseas, I'm DC born and bred...

Hi Valerie, Jim, Cushla, Nancy, Stasia, Darryl and Katherine--Happy New Year and I'm glad to have you all back too.

>12 ForeignCircus: Welcome Colleen--it's nice to get a visit from a native Washingtonian.

Hi Anne - Just dropping off a star....

January Reading Plans:

I've been averaging about 15 books a month, so this list is still ambitious. Most of them fit into both a TIOLI category and another group or my 12 in 12 challenge.

I have to return all my library books by February 5 to take advantage of the DC Library's fine amnesty--which I think means that even if they are overdue now, I won't be charged overdue fees if I return them between now and the beginning of February.

Library Books
1. Dragonsong - Anne McCaffrey (TIOLI)
2. Snow - Orhan Pamuk (Reading Globally/1001) COMPLETED
3. In the Bleak Midwinter - Julia Spencer-Fleming (Series/TIOLI) COMPLETED
x4. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China - Jung Chang (Memoir/TIOLI)
5. Silence - Shusaku Endo (Author theme/1001/TIOLI) COMPLETED
6. The Bridge on the Drina - Ivo Andric (Reading Globally/1001/TIOLI)
7. Agaat - Marlene van Niekerk (New/TIOLI)
8. Kokoro - Natsume Soseki (Author Theme/TIOLI) COMPLETED
9. On Canaan's Side - Sebastian Barry (New/TIOLI)

Books off the shelf:
x1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain (1001/TIOLI)
x2. The London Train - Tessa Hadley (Orange/London/TIOLI)
x3. The Road Home - Rose Tremain (Orange/Prizewinner/London/TIOLI)
4. A Spell of Winter - Helen Dunmore (Orange/Prizewinner/TIOLI)COMPLETED
5. The True Deceiver - Tove Janssen (TIOLI) COMPLETED
6. 1Q84 - Haruki Murakami (Author Theme/Group Read/New/TIOLI)Readingvery very slowly
x7. The Marriage Plot - Jeffrey Eugenides (New/TIOLI)
8. The Warmth of Other Suns - Isabel Wilkerson (NNF/NF/TIOLI) Reading
x9. Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman - Richard Feynman (physics) (Memoir/TIOLI)
10. Inside Out and Back Again - Thannha Lai (New/Prizewinner/TIOLI)COMPLETED
11. If on a Winter's Night a Traveler - Italo Calvino (1001/TIOLI) COMPLETED

And, just to demonstrate how my reading plans evolve, books marked with an x are ones I no longer plan to read this month, while the following books have crept onto the list:

Fall On Your Knees - Ann-Marie MacDonald COMPLETED
The Quiet American - Graham Greene (audio) COMPLETED
Property - Valerie Martin
Cannery Row - John Steinbeck
The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern
Train Dreams - Denis Johnson

Hi Anne! I'm looking forward to your reviews of books about or set in Russia. I love those :-)

Great list, Anne. Will be watching for your thoughts on several of these. I quite enjoyed On Canaan's Side in the fall, and I listened to Huck Finn last year, too, which was enjoyable! (LibriVox recording of Huck Finn, reader's name is Annie Coleman - wonderful southern voice).

Definitely, definitely want to see what you think of some of your reads in January. Great list! :)

Ambitious list of 20 Anne - good luck. Will be joining you on the Tremain. Read Andric and Calvino last year. Drina was rich and rewarding but a tad difficult, Calvino just difficult as the story is very multilayered but has one of the best openings I have ever read.

Wow, that's an ambitious list! I just read Italo Calvino (Invisible Cities), which wasn't as successful for me as I'd hoped. If on a Winter's Night a Traveler was warmly recommended. Hope all your reading is wonderful!

15: I'm interested in your reaction to The Bridge on the Drina- I started it more than once when living in Sarajevo, but just couldn't seem to get into it. I might give it another shot now that I'm a few years removed from that situation...

I loved The Bridge on the Drina - it was one of my top picks several years back - so I hope you like it better than Colleen did :)

Stopping by to star you, Anne. Have a great 2012!

Another star. I'm looking forward to your thread!

Very ambitious list, Anne! At least Dragonsong will be a quick and enjoyable read.

Psst . . .

DC Spring Meet-up planning thread

I've seen this meme floating around and thought it was fun. Using my 2011 book titles:

Describe yourself: The Bluest Eye

Describe how you feel: Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It

Describe where you currently live: City

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Around the World in 80 Days

Your favorite form of transportation: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Your best friend is: The Portrait of a Lady

You and your friends are: Just Kids

What’s the weather like: Anything Goes

You fear: The War of the End of the World

What is the best advice you have to give: Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim

Thought for the day: Food Matters

How I would like to die: with The Sense of An Ending

My soul’s present condition: I Shall Not Hate

>16 norabelle414: (and 26) Hi Nora. A lot of these will be rereads--I read a lot of Russian lit in college, but it's been a while. My big goal is War and Peace, which I've never read. And, thanks for the DC meetup link.

>17 lit_chick: Nancy, On Canaan's Side is overdue to the library, so I hope to get to it soon and, surprise! it fits my own TIOLI challenge (a word with three vowels the same). I have a free copy of Huck Finn on my new Kindle, so I think I'll test it out.

>18 jolerie: Valerie, I do hope to be posting book comments in something close to real time this year--we'll see.

>19 PaulCranswick: Paul, I won't be reading all 20 books but it's nice to dream. And, anyway, I enjoy the lists. Interesting the comments on Bridge On the Drina--there seem to be some mixed reactions so I will be interested to see how it goes. I see what you mean about the Calvino (which I've started) but for now I'm intrigued.

>20 AMQS: Anne, I will let you know how that one goes. I've not read anything by Calvino before but I've had this one on my "read now" list for months.

>21 ForeignCircus: and 22 Colleen and Stasia, it is so interesting to pick up a book when others have reacted so differently to it. We'll see!

23 Hi Madeline! Thanks for the star!

24 Welcome, Karen!

25 Hi Roni. Fortunately, I never worry when my lists are overly ambitious. Dragonsong is a carryover from December, when I didn't quite get to it, and I'd better read it soon because it is a library book and it is overdue.

Anything Goes for weather sounds like Texas! Love your answers to the meme, Anne.

I'm reading War and Peace right now! My goal is to finish it by the end of the year ;-)

2011 wrap-up:

Total Books Read: 236
Non-fiction: 44
Fiction: 192, of which
Childrens or YA: 66
Poetry, short stories, plays: 13
Novels: 113

Audiobooks: 23
Rereads: 53 (39 childrens or YA)
ebooks: 1

71 new-to-me authors (adult fiction)
Recurring authors:
Toni Morrison (5)
Charles Dickens (4)
Kate Atkinson (3)
Edith Wharton (3)
William Trevor (3)
Louise Erdrich (2 + 1 children's book)
Willa Cather (2)
Thomas Hardy (2)
Carson McCullers (2)
Mario Vargas Llosa (2)
V.S. Naipaul (2)
C. J. Sansom (2)
Barbara Kingsolver (1 fiction + 1 non-fiction)
John Lanchester (1 fiction + 1 non-fiction)

Male authors: 68
Female authors: 58

Classics (arbitrarily defined as books published before I was born): 39
Contemporary: 85

Favorite Books of 2011:

Favorite fiction
Case Histories - Kate Atkinson (series)
Selected Stories - William Trevor
The Memory of Love - Aminatta Forna
Pereira Maintains - Antonio Tabucchi
The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes
Visitation - Jenny Erpenbeck
The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid
The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears - Dinaw Mengestu
Small Island - Andrea Levy
Song of Solomon - Toni Morrison

Favorite classics
The Portrait of a Lady - Henry James
Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers
North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell
My Antonia - Willa Cather

Favorite Non-fiction
Zeitoun - Dave Eggers
City: Urbanism and Its End - Douglas Rae
23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism - Ha- Joon Chang
Ill Fares the Land - Tony Judt
King Leopold's Ghost - Adam Hochschild

Favorite memoirs:
Life - Keith Richards
I Shall Not Hate - Izzeldin Abuelaish
Just Kids - Patti Smith
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother - Amy Chua

Favorite audiobook:
The Return of the Native - Thomas Hardy, narrated by Alan Rickman

Favorite new-to-me children's/young adult books:

Emily Climbs - L. M. Montgomery
Luka and the Fire of Life - Salman Rushdie
When You Reach Me - Rebecca Stead
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - Joan Aiken
The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman
The Hunger Games trilogy - Suzanne Collins

Favorite read-alouds:
Winnie-the-Pooh - A.A. Milne
Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone - J. K. Rowling
Little House on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - C. S. Lewis
Dancing Shoes - Noel Streatfeild
A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

Least favorite book
On the Road - Jack Kerouac

Very impressive . . . Yours is one of my favorite threads for lurking because I enjoy seeing the width and depth of your reading.

Anne: What a great year in reading. I hope your 2012 is as wonderful.

Nice end-of-2011 summary, Anne! Like Beth, I hope your 2012 is just as wonderful as last year was.

Stopping by to say hi and drop a star, Anne! I wrapped up my summary of reading on my 2011 thread. Yours is most interesting! I too loved Case Histories , Long Song , The Memory of Love . Happy reading!

Anne - very impressive roundup of 2011. Considering the subject matter your 236 is a heck of a performance. Noticed three William Trevors. -one of my absolute faves.

Wonderful 2011 round-up, Anne!

Loved reading your 2011 lists - it cornfirmed for me how much overlap we have in books. Out of your favourite fiction, I loved Case Histories, The Sense of an Ending, Pereira Maintains, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, The BTTHB, and Small Island. The Visitation and The Memory of Love are on their way in our container. Perhaps I should just dump all the others onto my WL right now!

Am looking forward to seeing what you think of Snow. I started it in 2005, read at least half and was loving it and the vivid images of a part of Turkey I'd never heard of, but then I just put it down and never got the urge to restart (it was when our son was a baby and I did that much more than I do now.) Might have to add it to the 2011 list. I'm trying to do better with the Reading Globally themes this year.

1. The True Deceiver – Tove Jansson

Reason for reading: I got this book mid-year (after seeing favorable reviews by Darryl and others) and have been trying to make time for it ever since. The wintry setting and theme made it particulary suited to an early January read, and it will fit into the wintry cover scene challenge for this month.

Rating: 4.5

It had been snowing along the coast for a month. As far back as anyone could remember, there hadn’t been this much snow, this steady snow piling up against doors and windows and weighing down roofs and never stopping even for an hour. Paths filled with snow as quickly as they were shoveled out.

What is truth? What is kindness? Katri Kling lives with her younger brother Mats and unnamed dog in a small Finnish village. Mats is considered “simple” by the other villagers, and they don’t trust Katri—her eyes are yellow in a place where everyone else’s are blue (and they don’t like her dog either). Katri is good with numbers and doesn’t believe in social niceties—she is honest to the point of rudeness. Her transactional view of social relations makes her surprisingly good at resolving conflicts between other neighbors, but her advice always leaves people feeling mistrustful of one another and as a result slightly worse about life in general.

Katri’s focus is on providing for Mats, and she sets her sights on the “rabbit house,” the home of Anna Aemelin, a wealthy local artist, somewhat of a recluse, at least in the winter. Anna is famous for detailed drawings of the forest floor, mysteriously populated by rabbits with colorful flowery fur. Contact between the two women sets in motion changes that are at once subtle and dramatic, and change both of them.

The True Deceiver reminded me of Shirley Jackson, (I recently re-read We Have Always Lived in the Castle) because of the sharp psychological character study and a small town mentality that transcends the differentness of the two settings.

I loved this book. It is a quick read, beautifully written (and beautifully translated) and it is one I continue to think about. It would be a wonderful book to spark a book group discussion. I’m passing it on to both my mother and daughter in hopes that one of them will read it. A great book to start the year with.

Hello Brenda, Beth, Stasia, Deb, Paul, Nancy and Cushla, and thanks for stopping by!

I had a great 2011. When I started the year, I noted that in 2010 I had read about 60 books--so this was explosive growth in my reading, and a lot was due to LT. I'll need to scale back a little in 2012, but I'm very excited about the year and my book plans.

I've been agonizing about the list of favorites because I keep seeing that Top 5 thread and thinking 5? 5? I can't possibly pick only 5. I couldn't even restrict myself to 5 categories, and even so my contemporary fiction required a Top 10 (and I may have to tack on a "runners-up" category because I'm feeling bad about some wonderful books that didn't make the list.

Deb, I will have to go and check out your Best Of list.

Paul, I actually feel like I read more like 7 William Trevors, because his Selected Stories, a massive tome, is a compilation of four earlier volumes of short stories. I enjoyed the two novels immensely, but I LOVED the short stories, and I'm not generally much of a fan of short stories. So that is a recommendation indeed.

Cushla, I'm pretty sure a couple of those favorites (The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears and Pereira Maintains) came directly from your thread, so that overlap is both dangerous and rewarding. I'm enjoying Snow, although I'm not very far into it. It's been on my list for a while but the Reading Globally Balkans challenge has inspired me to get to it now.

Nice review, Anne. I think I have this one on my TBR shelves...

Great review, Anne. I wish my local library had some of Jansson's books. Glad to see that your 2012 reading is off to a good start!

Oh dear. I didn't star your thread until after the DC meetup last year, and I seem to have missed things. Your nicely arranged list of favorites suggests several for the wishlist...

I'm adding The True Deceiver to my list. It sounds like you're off to another excellent reading year.

Hi Anne, I like the different categories for your favorite reads. You can fit more in that way, right? Good thinking.

I love that Calvino passage that starts off your new year of reading. A lot of truth there!

>41 katiekrug: It's a good one, Katie, and a quick read too.

>42 alcottacre: Stasia, they are hard to find, it seems, even in a bookstore. Maybe that will change.

>43 qebo: Katherine it's possible you may have missed things because I never got around to writing about them. I'm still pondering what to do about all those 2011 books, especially the ones towards the end of the year. Make a clean start and forget about them?

>44 BLBera: Hi, Beth. It's always great to start the year with a good book. So far I'm on a roll.

>45 Donna828: Oh, Donna, you figured out my secret motive. Truly, I couldn't restrict myself to just a few books, and it seemed wrong anyway to compare Winnie-the-Pooh with The Sense of an Ending.
I loved Calvino's various categories of books one might be tempted to buy, although I've personally never thought of books as a hostile force--more like potential friends. Maybe if I could think of them as an armed and dangerous adversary, I would buy fewer books.

More 2011 statistics (the ones I've been avoiding):

Books read off-my-bookshelf (i.e. they were "on the shelf" as of 12/31/10): 79
Library books: 65
New books (acquired in 2011): 92 (note 9 of these were originally library books but I liked them so much I had to decided to buy them)
Books acquired in 2011: approximately 250
Books acquired in 2011 but not yet read: approximately 158
Total number of books in my library marked "owned but unread": 248 (and that is an understatement since I'm sure they're not all catalogued.)

I've been mulling over how this should affect my reading goals for 2012. I've been following the thread devoted to TBR reduction and may join in.

It is interesting that the number of books I bought last year is pretty close to the total number of books I read last year, and also close to the total number of unread books. Hmm.

I'm not so concerned that I have 250 unread books--that strikes me as a nice thing, like living in a library. And I don't mind about the 90 books I got last year and read right away--that says I really wanted them, right? I do get worried at the thought of adding 150 more books to the unread stack every year--that has to stop or the books will take over the house (have I mentioned that I hate to get rid of books?). So...

Goals for 2012

Read 150 books (i.e., fewer) and reflect on them more.

Keep using the library—it’s free, and the books go away when I’m done.

Aim for a 1:1:1 ratio of library books, books from my shelves, new books, so 50 of each

I like the idea of earning the right to buy new books by reading other books, that I’ve seen on the TBR reduction thread. For myself, I would set that at 2 books to 1—for every 2 books read from my existing collection or the library, I am allowed to buy a new one.

For my purposes, e-books and audiobooks don’t count. For one thing, they don’t occupy shelf space, which is my main issue. And with audiobooks, I don’t have a backlog—I only download them when I need a new one and I listen to them right away.

Use TIOLI as a means of reading books from my shelves and not as an impetus to buy new books. I counted and there are at least 20 of the 92 new books read that I bought specifically because they fit a TIOLI challenge. There may be even more that I bought for a specific challenge and then didn’t read!

Goals related to what I read are more or less covered by my 12 in 12 categories above, and relate to interests more than goals, so no need to spell them out here.

Wow Anne. You do have a plan. I see as I catalog that I have 400 + books that I haven't read. And all of my books are not listed. So I think your plan is great. While it's nice to have unread books around, maybe fewer would be OK.

46: I'm still pondering what to do about all those 2011 books, especially the ones towards the end of the year. Make a clean start and forget about them?
I spent a chunk of my "vacation" the last week of December getting caught up on LT, almost, still have one review hanging. I started fresh in 2012, intend to write that review when I find myself with extra time. Hah! I'm already behind in 2012...

47: More 2011 statistics (the ones I've been avoiding):
Those numbers are impressively... unbalanced. :-)

Ah - my best of list is on my last thread of 2011 - it is linked on my profile page.

I love the sounds of The True Deceiver - I think it may have to go on the wish list.

I'm mainly a spontaneous reader, though I do have flexible mental list in my mind...

Just read on the Orange Jan thread that you are hooked on Fall On Your Knees. Yay! I couldn't put it down when I read it; it remains an all-time favourite.

Anne - Thought your comments on your goals for the coming year made extremely interesting reading. I have my 2:1 read to buy ratio set for the year with the carrot of monies to charity ensuing. So far I have read four books. Am entitled to buy 2 books. Have bought 0 books. There is a relocation sale going on for one of the major bookstores in KL and I am trying to avoid going anywhere near the particular mall it is situated in.

I'm glad to see you like The True Deceiver. I read Jansson's The Summer Book over the summer and plan on reading the more wintery book this winter.

The Summer Book was great if you haven't read it.

Nice review of The True Deceiver, Anne; I loved that book as well. I would also recommend The Summer Book and Fair Play by Jansson, although I liked The True Deceiver best. I'll review all three books for a Trio article in Belletrista later this year.

2. If on a winter’s night a traveler – Italo Calvino

Rating: 4.0

Not the book I was expecting, and it took me a little while to figure out where it was going, but overall I enjoyed the ride.

The Reader sets out, with great anticipation, to read the latest novel by the author Italo Calvino, If on a winter’s night a traveler, only to find that the volume he has purchased has been misbound, and contains the same 32 pages over and over. He goes to the bookseller to complain and get a replacement—where he is introduced to Ludmilla the Other Reader and embarks on a novel’s worth of thwarted reading adventures—10 openings of 10 completely different novels, each of which is broken off for various reasons at a dramatic moment and not resumed. Don’t expect any of these stories to ever be resumed, because they won’t be, but the real novel is about The Reader (and his quest to finish a book).

This is an experimental novel, told in the unusual second person you. It is not exactly a gripping read--it is intentionally too disjointed for that, and it lends itself well to setting aside at the end of a particular segment and reading at a leisurely pace.

Reading this for me was a similar experience to Vargas Llosa’s Aunt Julia and the Scriptwiter with its cliffhanger soap opera installments alternating with the main body of the novel. Where that book was about being/becoming a writer, If on a winter’s night is all about being a reader. And it is filled throughout with meditations, both humorous and serious, about the practice of reading.

In the process Calvino also touches on various threats to reading, including censorship, commercialization, market research, plagiarism, unscrupulous translation, excessive literary analysis and ideological critique, the Organization for the Electronic Production of Homogenized Literary Works...

By the end I found byself surprised by surprisingly unsurprising ending, if that makes sense.

3. Silence - Shusaku Endo

Why: I read this for the Author Theme Reads group, which is focused this year on Japanese authors. I am surprisingly unfamiliar with Japanese fiction—while I haven’t consciously avoided Japanese authors, I don't seem to have read many, so there is a lot of new territory to cover.

4.2

Set in 17th century Japan, Silence tells the story of Father Rodriguez, a Portuguese missionary. Rodriguez and another missionary secretly enter Japan to serve as priests to the secret Christians in Japanese villages, and to see if they can find out the truth about Father Ferreira, their respected teacher, who is reported to have apostatized or renounced his faith. While Christianity had earlier been accepted in Japan, in this time period it has been outlawed and Christians are relentlessly persecuted and tortured. One of the central themes is the silence of God in the face of suffering, and the crisis of faith and doubt this sparks in Rodriguez. Endo raises many challenging questions around faith: If one can end the suffering of others by complying with a demand to apostasize, what is the Christian course? And who is the audience for one's faith--God or the Church? Silence is spare and powerful, bleak and sad, and leaves a lot to think about. I am curious to read more Endo, which I will do throughout the year.

While reading this, I found myself thinking about The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell which, though set in Japan at the end of the 18th century, references this history.

4. Snow - Orhan Pamuk

Why: Read for Reading Globally First Quarter: Balkans. Also, it fits the TIOLI wintry cover scene. And Snow, and Pamuk, have been on my "to read" list for a while.

Rating: 4.0

Exiled Turkish poet Ka, who has been living in Frankfurt for the past twelve years, goes to the city of Kars, “the poorest, most overlooked corner of Turkey,” after attending his mother’s funeral in Istanbul. His ostensible purpose is to report on impending municipal elections and investigate a suicide epidemic among young women in Kars. Although maybe he is really traveling to Kars to search for his lost childhood, or to reacquaint himself with beautiful former classmate Ipek, with whom he seems intent on falling in love even before they meet. As he arrives, heavy snowfall cuts off the city from the outside world, setting the stage for a bizarre political coup led by members of an acting troupe and backed by the military.

Telling the story is the novelist himself, Orhan Pamuk, an old friend of Ka’s who already knows the outcome of his story. The backward-looking narrative gives the story an aura of menace, as it is clear from the start that there is not going to be a happy ending.

The novel is long and dense, and Pamuk uses it to cover a lot of territory, including Turkish history, Islam vs secularism, the role of Turkey vis a vis Europe, the intellectual in society, art, gender, etc. I found the political and religious themes to be fascinating, and the background to be as interesting as the plot, which was quite interesting too. I should say that I listened to Snow rather than read it, and it this format I found it to be a very engaging story.

The novel is atmospheric, and snow (which is falling constantly) is a steady theme, serving many purposes. For Ka the snow reminds him of god, and shakes him from his intellectual position of atheism. The new poems he suddenly begins to write are on the theme of snow—he conceives of a snowflake with six axes, with the 19 poems aligning themselves along the axes around a central poem (I, Ka). I really loved the imagery of this and it made me want to read Ka's poems, which, unfortunately, don't really exist.

I found Ka himself to be something of a cipher—a poet who stops in the middle of dramatic events around him when he feels a poem coming on, self-consciously planning for love and happiness, apolitical and yet involved in strange ways in the turmoil in Kars. I found him possibly the least compelling of the vast array of characters in the novel, but a useful vehicle for exploring the tensions and contradictions of modern Turkey.

Terrific reviews, Anne, and I love the Calvino quote at the top of your thread. I know exactly what he's talking about! Hope you're having a good weekend.

Great reviews, Anne. I loved If On a Winter's Night a Traveler, and I'll read Silence and Snow within the next month or two.

Anne: I have these books and will definitely be moving them to the top of my "read soon" pile. You do a great job of capturing the essence of these books. You are off to some great reading this year.

Love the reviews! Thanks for reminding me I need to get around to reading Calvino's book, as well as Pamuk's, which is sitting on my bookshelf unread as I write this post. I will pass on Silence.

Fine review of Snow, Anne. I read it several years ago and was impressed enough to try My Name is Red, which I really appreciated and liked much more. I'll have to go back to see the Calvinos. Another one I haven't read at all!
Meanwhile, I PMed you a comment about Fall on Your Knees so we don't spoil it for anybody else.

Hi Anne, Darryl, Beth, Lori, and Peggy

Anne, yes, I guess anyone who's ever walked out of a bookstore with more books than they intended to buy (or, speaking for myself, more books than they can carry) can relate.

Darryl, I can't wait to see your thoughts on those--good luck getting to them. I don't know what my next Endo will be, it probably depends primarily on what's available from the library.

Beth and Lori, always happy to encourage movement off of those shelves!

Peggy I'd like to read My Name is Red, which a lot of people seem to like better--and I'm so enjoying your thoughts on Fall on Your Knees.

So I have finished the amazing Fall On Your Knees (review to follow) for Orange January, and am now well into my second Orange book, A Spell of Winter by Helen Dunmore.

I'm also listening to The Quiet American by Graham Greene, at the request of my daughter who just read it for English class and found it amazing. Funny, it seems like I read it for English class too, way back when, based on the fact that I have a copy with my name in it and some marginal notes that look suspiciously like they came from English class--but I have no recollection of it.

And to stick with a Vietnam theme I am reading Inside Out and Back Again--a "re-gift" from my 8-year-old daughter who thought (I guess) that I would appreciate the book more than she did and wrapped it up for my Christmas present. It's a children's book in poem form that tells the story of a Vietnamese girl whose family moves to Alabama.

And I succumbed to buying two books from bookcloseouts.com that just arrived today--Through Black Spruce and The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears. In my defense 1) They were cheap cheap 2) I initially loaded 8 books into my cart but put 6 back 3) I have read 5 books, including 2 from my bookshelf, and so am perfectly within my self-determined 1 book purchase for every 2 books read goal 4) TBTtHB I read last year, so it doesn't even get added to my "owned but unread" count.

Aargh, I'm not getting enough reading done to keep me happy, and every time I visit your thread I add something!

Well done on putting 6 books back...I do that quite often. Makes me feel super-virtuous.

I loved your review of Snow and I will definitely start it again some time this year.

Wonderful reviews, Anne. I'm interested particularly in Snow. Thanks!

Great reviews, Anne! Snow captures my interest! As for Spell of Winter , please let me know what you think of it. I really enjoyed The Siege by Helen Dunmore as my first Orange for January, and it grabbed me so hard that I went on to read The Betrayal , a bit of a sequel to The Siege. I'm now on my second Orange , The Hero's Walk - but my heart is still in Russia! ;)

Oh just had to come by to say hi! I noticed that you had rated a Spell of Winter with 4 stars. I'll have to move that book further up in my TBR pile!

Some great reviews there Anne. Read the Calvino last year and found it in turn perplexing, frustrating and enthralling. Parts of it were conceptually magnificent; I love the opening section for example but you are right I could have happily done without some of his stranger meanderings.

Read the Pamuk a few years earlier and remember enjoying (if that is the right word) its elegiac tone and the themes it presented.

Haven't read any Endo but hope to eventually and your review will certainly encourage me to prioritise it.

Well, putting six books back is exceedingly virtuous. Good for you! I even do it sometimes. The only problem is that I almost always buy the put-backs later and chafe and chastise myself until I get them in my grubby little fists.
And Anne, your thoughts about Fall on Your Knees were much more revelatory than my own. I'm off to see whether you've posted your review.

Oh, you beat me so badly, Anne! I only read 25 books off the shelf of the 170 books read, and 43 books were library books. Of the 137 acquired last year, I read 67 of them in the same calendar year. The other 35 books were re-reads, which was about half of what I reread the year before. Now, I expect to acquire fewer books this year as I won't have various Borders stores going out of business. I am NOT counting the Kindle free books I am adding nearly every day.

Great reading and reviews here! I love the quote from If on a Winter Night--when I read it several years ago, that was the quote I copied into my reading journal, and it has stuck with me.

I'm doing the Author Theme Read this year too, and Silence is the book by Endo that I have on board to read first. I hope to get to it later this month or early next month.

An interesting book related to Vietnam that I read last year was Last Night I Dreamed of Peace by Dang Thuy Tram. It's the diary a young (age about 23) female Viet Cong doctor kept while she was serving in the war. She was killed by American forces, and one of the US soldiers found and kept her diary. Thirty-five years later, he traced her surviving family, and returned the diary to them. It was published in Vietnam, where it became a bestseller, and is now available translated.

de-lurking to say its not too late for me to de lurk and join the conversations!

>57 AnneDC: Snow looks very interesting, but the long dense nature of it does put me off a tad, I confess.

>64 AnneDC: orange January seems to be going well for you, Im keen to join in on orange June (or is it July, I always forget)

Anne have a lovely weekend and keep reading such fascinating stuff!

5. Fall On Your Knees - Ann-Marie MacDonald

Why I read: On the Orange longlist, I've had this book checked out from the library for so long they don't even seem to know I have it, so I will return in with a great sense of relief.

Rating: 5 stars

I loved this book, and I don’t hand out 5 stars often. It had everything I appreciate in a book: beautiful writing, a perfectly rendered setting, unforgettable characters, and a storyline that kept me turning pages right up to the last page, and then going back to revisit sections and images.

Although my copy of Fall On Your Knees is over 500 pages long, I never would have called this a long book. I read other books this month that though shorter, felt much longer.

The setting is Cape Breton Island, off Nova Scotia, just before World War I. James Piper, whose mother had taught him “to read the classics, to play piano and to expect something finer in spite of everything,” moves to Sydney, the only city on the island, to try his luck tuning pianos for a living. He falls in love with Materia Mahmoud, the twelve (yes, twelve) year old daughter of a Lebanese family whose piano he tunes. They run off and get married, and are disowned by her large and prosperous family. Mrs. Mahmoud, who reads fortunes in tea leaves, feels both sorrow and “a chill. For she had seen something in his cup.”

Bad things happen to the Piper family and the four Piper sisters, Kathleen, Mercedes, Frances and Lily. In fact, very bad things. It is a grim family saga laced with dark humor. But although this is a story about damage, it is also about resilience and love.

Breathtaking writing:

The night is bright with the moon. Look down over Water Street. On the lonely stretch between where the houses end and where the sea bites into the land, a tree casts a network of shadow that stirs and bloats in one spot, as though putting forth dark fruit that droops, then drops from the bough. It’s a figure come out from under the branches and onto the street. It stops, drifting in place like a plant on the ocean floor. Then it travels again all the way down the street to the graveyard.

Humor:

Lily’s foot is bleeding. She doesn’t know it, because the bagpipes are drowning out the pain. This is what bagpipes are designed to do.

A sense of place:

Mrs. Luvovitz looks at the sea and thinks, when did this become my home? When I buried Benny here? When the second war came? She cannot discern the moment. She just knows that every time she returns to Cape Breton, she feels in her bones, this is my home. That is why she has declined to move permanently to Montreal. She spends half the year there. She loves her daughter-in-law, would you believe? And her five grandchildren who are only each perfect. They speak French at home, English at school and Yiddish with every second shopkeeper. Real Canadians.

One more thing about this book that spoke to me in a personal way: The Mahmouds are Catholic, and the Piper children are raised Catholic, so elements of Catholicism permeate the novel. It is a Catholicism of childhood—rosaries and guardian angels and purgatory and penance and Saint Bernadette--and it felt comfortingly familiar to me, taking me straight back to my own childhood.

I didn't realize I had had so many visitors! Too busy reading I guess...

>65 cushlareads: Cushla, the thing about putting those books back is it makes the reduced number I do buy seem so very restrained. I hope you get back to Snow.

>66 lit_chick: Hi Nancy. I really enjoyed Snow, but I'm not sure it's peoples' favorite Pamuk novel. I'm hoping to read My Name is Red later so it will be interesting to compare.

>67 vancouverdeb:/68 Hi Deb! Yes, I've been seeing your glowing reviews of The Siege everywhere. It's on my list, and also on my shelf, though I won't get to it in January. I liked A Spell of Winter quite a bit and I'm curious to see what Dunmore does with the siege of Leningrad setting (I spent some time in Leningrad in the 80s and you really can't avoid hearing in detail about the siege.) A Spell of Winter is more of a Gothic novel kind of a read, atmospheric and a little bit creepy.

>69 PaulCranswick: Paul there were definitely moments were I thought "Calvino is much cleverer than I and much cleverer than I have the patience for at the moment" but I found enough of it straightforwardly engaging to be worth the time.

>70 LizzieD: I don't know about revelatory, but I really enjoyed exchanging ideas with you Peggy. It's true, once a book goes onto the wishlist it's just a matter of time before I end up with it, so taking it out of the shopping cart may just delay the inevitable. Sometimes, though, I can stave it off by getting it from the library. That just means that I sometimes have to buy books I've already read.

Look, I finally posted my FoYK comments!

>71 ronincats: Roni, I don't know if I'm beating anyone at anything except the number of unread books on my shelf. I didn't calculate how many of the books read from my shelves last year were re-reads--I expect a lot of them would have been, and I'm not sure that really counts as reducing the number. I think reading 67 out of 137 in the same calendar year sounds pretty good--it's more than half! Plus, you are getting rid of books.
I am thinking book buying may be kind of a cyclical thing--I went on a huge book-buying-binge last year, so this year I should slow down and read the ones I bought. Then in 2013 I can justify more books!

>72 arubabookwoman: Hello, Deborah--nice to see you and thanks for stopping by. I hope to be seeing you over in the Reading Globally group too. Probably all of us book-obsessed people can identify with the Calvino quote. Silence is short and powerful--not hard to get through and I'm looking forward to reading more. I just got The Sea and Poison and Deep River from the library. Thank you for the book suggestion--it is interesting to follow a reading theme and see where it takes you.

73 Welcome, Megan, and thanks for de-lurking. I'm a terrible lurker myself--hoping to post a little more this year. When I looked at other reviews, it seems a lot of people found Snow dense and slow, but I really did not--Pamuk packs a lot of background in, but I didn't ever feel bogged down. It might be because I listened to the book and was drawn in by the reading, or maybe I just found the details more interesting than others did. It's Orange July, but you can also do what I do and read an Orange a month--so many great books to choose from.

Hi again Paul!

Wow, Anne, what a compelling review, and very moving quotes. Thank you.

Oh, Anne, that's a 5* review of Fall On Your Knees. So glad you loved it! It's one (of a very few) of my all-time favourites, and was a 5* read when I read it a few years ago. A perfect book, really.

Lovely review of Fall on Your Knees, which I own but have not read (story of my life, it seems....)

Okay I will need to add both the Calvino and Fall On Your Knees to my TBR list!

Anne! Why isn't that sterling review on the main book page? Please, please put it there. Too many people in the later reviews have been put off by the darkness, and none of them gets to the sensitivity of your review. And how are you going to abide not owning your own copy???

6. A Spell of Winter – Helen Dunmore.

Why I read: My second for Orange January (1996 Winner)

Rating 3.8

Source: My very own bookshelf

It is always tough to move on from a 5 star read, so I might have loved this book more at another time, still, it was very good, and made me want to read more from Helen Dunmore.

First sentence: "I saw an arm fall off a man once," said Kate.

In an old house that is slowly but surely crumbling to ruin around them, Cathy and her older brother Rob live virtually unattended except by Kate, the young Irish servant who is both caretaker and companion. Lurking in the background are Miss Gallagher, Cathy's former teacher who is sinisterly obsessed with Cathy and dislikes Rob, and their remote and slightly frightening grandfather. Their mother has gone away, and their father is in an institution--both absences have an aura of mystery around them. Cathy and Rob are very close--I'll just leave it at that--and a series of increasingly disturbing things happen. Everything in this novel is presented from Cathy's point of view, and it shifts in time from the present to various memories from her childhood. As readers, I don't think we ever see anything more than what Cathy herself sees and understands in a given scene.

Dunmore beautifully captures details of the seasons, the decay of the house (and family), a former prosperity reduced to barely surviving, the impact of wartime privation on the countryside. The strength of this novel is definitely in atmosphere rather than storyline. Although it came to a satisfying conclusion (for me), I found too many questions left unanswered along the way.

7. Inside Out and Back Again - Thanhha Lai

Why I read: This was regifted to me by my eight-year-old at Christmas; it fit a January TIOLI challenge

Rating: 4 stars

Source: My bookshelf

No one would believe me but at times I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime in Alabama.

Inside Out And Back Again begins in February 1975 and depicts a year in the life of a ten-year-old Vietnamese girl. Ha’s parents moved from the north to the south after the communists came to power, and now Ha’s father is away fighting in the navy. As Saigon is about to fall, Ha, her three brothers, and her mother are able to flee on a navy ship, and end up settling in Alabama.

The poignant story, based on the author’s own experience, is very effectively told in verse through Ha’s eyes. She describes her home and her beloved papaya tree, the sadness of leaving, the trials of sea travel, and the difficulties of a new country, as well as the kindness of new friends and the strength and reslience of her family. This book won the 2011 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

Peggy, I will! I don't always, especially if I don't have much to say, but I'll put this one up for sure. Thanks!

And it is true, I will need my own copy. I will be on the lookout when I peruse the offerings at my local used bookstores. It is bound to turn up.

8. The Quiet American - Graham Greene

Why I read: My daughter just read this for English class and loved it; she wanted me to read it so we could discuss, something I'm always happy to encourage. (Conveniently there's a beverage on page 10)

Rating: 4.2

Source: Kate's bookshelf

“Sooner or later,” Heng said, and I was reminded of Captain Trouin speaking in the opium house, “one has to take sides. If one is to remain human.”

Set in 1950’s Vietnam as the French Army struggles against the communist Vietminh, The Quiet American juxtaposes the jaded and cynical Fowler, a British reporter in Saigon, and the naively idealistic American Pyle, newly arrived in the Economic Aid Mission, whose ideas of a ”third force” alternative to European colonialism and communism come straight out of the books he read at Harvard. A love triangle involving the two men and Fowler’s Vietnamese mistress Phuong parallels the political storyline.

This book is brief and brilliant. I had to doublecheck the publication date, as it reads as if Greene had the benefit of knowing what was to come later regarding American involvement in Vietnam. But no—published in 1955, it could have been taken as a warning. It could even now.

9. Lassie Come-Home - Eric Knight

Why I read: A bed-time read-aloud with my daughter (a dog lover), fondly remembered from my own childhood

Rating: 4.5

Source: Library

Classic saga of a steadfast dog’s journey through all kinds of obstacles to return to her Yorkshire home and family. I remember this one well from childhood, and it makes me cry every time. Something new on re-reading was Knight’s depiction of unemployed miners in Yorkshire and the impact of this on Lassie’s family, which I didn’t really pay attention to as a child. A good ‘un.

10. In the Bleak Midwinter - Julia Spencer-Fleming

Why I Read: This is a series I’ve been meaning to get to, it has lots of fans on LT. Winter seemed like the right time to get to it.

Rating: 4.0

Source: Library

A well-paced and interesting whodunit, with compelling characters, this read like an episode of a TV show—one that you’d tune in regularly to see.

On a cold midwinter night in the Adirondack town of Millers Kill, Clare Fergusson, the newly arrived Episcopal priest of St. Albans Church, steps outside to find an abandoned baby on the doorstep. The body of a murdered girl turns up soon after in this normally quiet town, and Reverend Clare manages to get herself involved in the investigations alongside Chief of Police, Russ Van Alstyne.

This book had its share of “oh, come on” moments—this army-trained former helicopter pilot doesn’t have the sense to get a decent pair of boots or to tell someone where she is going before she heads out into a snowstorm? And she seemed implausibly and inappropriately involved in police business for a civilian, never mind clergy. Still, I enjoyed it and I’ll definitely move on to the next in the series.

The Quiet American is one of my very favourite books and I normally choose it in my top ten lists. Very prescient piece of work as your rightly point out Anne.

whew--all caught up with reviews--now back to the Readathon!

Hi Anne, Nancy, and Katie, and thanks for your comments.

>80 lalbro: Welcome Liz!

>81 LizzieD: Done, Peggy!

You've been busy, Anne! Thanks for thoughtful reviews. I'm particularly interested in A Spell of Winter; Helen Dunmore is everywhere right now. I've not yet delved into Julia Spencer Fleming, but I loved your description of this one as a whodunit TV show one would tune in to watch regularly - that appeals! How wonderful that you and your daughter read The Quiet American at the same time to discuss; I've had that one in front of me, but still haven't read. And Lassie is so fondly remembered from my childhood, too.

Hi Anne,

De-lurking to say that I enjoyed getting caught up on your thread. I guess I'm not the only one trying to read more books on my shelf and use the library more often. Actually, I think we're all trying to do that but you have a nice written plan to make yourself more accountable (to yourself). Great plan!

I see we have a lot of the same favorites and I see you've started the Julia Spencer-Fleming series. I started it last year too and I'm up to the fifth book and really loving the series.

Excellent reviews! I read and loved Fall on Your Knees eons ago. You say you succumbed to purchasing Through Black Spruce but that's one purchase I don't think you'll regret.

Thanks so much for your review of A Spell of Winter and your many others! Wow, you have been busy! In the Bleak Midwinter catches my interest as well. Yours is a dangerous thread to visit, as you have so many wonderful reviews and book that I now want to read.

Anne: I loved The Quiet American. Lovely write up about it. Greene is not exactly in fashion right now, but your review makes me want to revisit some of his books. I remember liking them a lot.

You've started off the year with some good reads.

You are contributing to the expansion of my ever-growing TBR list. I already have one book by Dunmore on it, but I'm going to have to add this one. The Saigon-Alabama story sounds interesting as well.

>90 lit_chick: Nancy, I am just loving being able to read books with Kate. She's reading some great stuff in her 12th grade English class and it's fun to try to keep up with her. The Julia Spencer-Fleming book was a fun and pretty quick read, I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

>91 brenzi: Hi Bonnie, nice to see you here. We have many many books in common and I get great ideas from lurking on your thread (lately you've sold me on Sorry and Old Filth to name just a few). Last year I went on an out-of-control LT-fueled book buying binge so I suppose it's only natural to want to pull back and actually read some of those books. And I am kind of addicted to my library. It's a block and a half from my house and I can reserve anything I want from home with a click of my keyboard. I may need to institute a check-one-out/return-one rule for myself.

I don't think I'll regret Through Black Spruce either. I see it ended up on your favorites list for the year. I read Three Day Road last year and loved it.

>92 vancouverdeb: Deb yes, I've been busy reading, but making a conscious effort to pause at least once a week before I forget what I've read.

>93 BLBera: Beth, I haven't read much Greene, at least, not that I can remember, although I do have a number of his books on my shelves and a vague feeling that they were assigned at one time or other. I'm planning to read The End of the Affair this year and maybe The Power and the Glory. I also have Brighton Rock if time permits.

>94 thornton37814: Lori that's what LT is all about, right?--the ever expanding TBR list. The Saigon book was a children's book and a quick and lovely read.

I have to agree with Deb- your thread is a dangerous one to visit. Many books to add to my TBR. I actually get most of my books from the library - one of the great pleasures of living in Arlington.

Busy busy reading days for you it looks like! Nice collection there. I love how you read along with what your daughter is reading so you can discuss.

I remember having mixed feelings about Fall on your Knees, even though I usually like dark novels, this one seemed very bleak to me. I think I rated it a 3.5, and if I did Im about to upgrade it to a 4 because it has stayed with me since the months and months ago that I read it.

I'm with Deb, as well. This thread is becoming a danger to my TBR reduction plans. Fall On Your Knees and The Quiet American have been added to my wish list, after your compelling reviews.

Re-reading your review of Fall on Your Knees nearly has me convinced that I need to read it. You certainly have had a wonderful month of reading! I've not read Through Black Spruce but I own Three Day Road by the same author and I need to nudge it off the shelf eventually . Boyden is a much celebrated writer here in Canada.

Anne want to bring up your 100th post for the year with my wish that you have a lovely day!

Hi Anne -- just wanted to say hello. Love your comments about your books. I don't think I ever read Lassie Come Home, but may need to remedy that. I've also had Graham Greene in my sights for awhile. Hope you're having a good week.

Stopping by and waving hi

Anne: I have The End of the Affair on my shelf. That's one I haven't read yet -- maybe this year? After The Quiet American, the one I remember the most is The Comedians.

Well, I have just had some shocking news. My younger brother, who has been in Zanzibar since right after Christmas doing some volunteer work on sustainable fisheries, collapsed yesterday with a pulmonary embolism. He is 45. He was medivac-ed from Zanzibar to Dar es Salam, and it seems will be transferred to Johannesburg tomorrow to receive treatment. He appears to be in stable condition, but it's really hard to know from this far away. Finding it hard to concentrate...

Anne
I'm so sorry about your brother. Do you have any recent news since your post this morning?

I send prayers and hugs.

Anne, I'm very sorry to hear about your brother's trouble. I'm sure you are finding it hard to concentrate. I also am sending prayers and a hug and will hope to have an update of better news tomorrow. I'll save whatever I was about to say - and I can't remember - for another day.

Anne, I'm so sorry to read about your brother. I hope he gets transferred to Jo'burg successfully tomorrow and makes a full recovery.

So sorry to hear, Anne. Hope all will be well with your brother.

Anne: Sorry to hear about your brother. My thoughts and best wishes are with you.

Anne, Thinking about you and your brother . . . I hope you receive good news today.

Finding it hard to concentrate...
I can imagine. Hoping for good news today.

I pray that your brother is resting comfortably and is on his way to a complete recovery, Anne. You must feel so helpless being so far away from him at this time.

Oh Anne, I am so sorry to hear about your brother. What a helpless feeling to be so far away. Thinking of you.

I hope that your brother makes a speedy and full recovery, Anne.

how terrible to be so far from your brother - i hope you hear some good news soon. Fingers crossed and thoughts your way.

Thanks everyone for your kind thoughts. I finally have information that he is airborne on the way to Johannesburg, which also means that the medical evacuation team determined he was in stable enough condition to travel. So good news.

For most of today he's been bogged down in the logistics of trying to arrange for medical care, and not yet receiving treatment. The hospital he was at did not have the capacity to treat him, and yet getting discharged to go elsewhere proved to be a long and expensive process. And it sounds like the last 24 hours have been spent solving problems like taking out cash from every ATM machine in Dar es Salaam in $200 increments, trying to get enough money to pay the helicopter pilot who brought them from Zanzibar. Fortunately he is not alone there but is with his girlfriend--I don't know what you would do in a situation like this if you had the misfortune to be traveling alone.

And I was looking for a book last night that would not be too taxing and finally turned my attention to Dragonsong, the first in a YA fantasy series that I've never read, for one of my TIOLI challenges. It was lovely and just what the doctor ordered. Thanks to Morphidae for posting not one but two challenges it was relevant to.

116: the last 24 hours have been spent solving problems like taking out cash from every ATM machine in Dar es Salaam in $200 increments
Sheesh. Glad things are looking up, and that he's got someone there.

Best wishes for your brother's recovery.

And going back to book talk:

96 Liz, well, LT is a pretty dangerous place to hang out if one is trying to avoid suggestions for even more books that need to be read, so I guess I'm happy to contribute to the danger. I never imagined that LT would cause quite the explosion of my "books I want to read" lists that it has. And I love my library too!

>97 LovingLit: Megan, reading books with my daughter is one of the unanticipated rewards of having a teenager. I have this kind of reading relationship with my own mother, but there is of course no guarantee that it will turn out that way. I'm grateful that both my teens are big readers, although my son is not very apt to want to talk about a book.

I can easily see why someone could hate Fall On Your Knees just as much as I loved it (not suggesting that a 3.5 is hating it, but I can picture it sparking all kinds of reactions). It has very dark themes and disturbing elements, and moments of real tragedy, but for me it was primarily beautiful and thought provoking and brilliantly constructed. And haunting. And although I found it terribly sad, I saw rays of hope there too.

>98 kidzdoc:. Darryl, I'd apologize, except then I think about how much damage you've done to my TBR piles. I guess we're all just co-conspirators (enablers?) in the endless expansion of TBR lists.

>99 vancouverdeb: Deb, see above. It's probably not a book for everyone, but I personally thought it was wonderful. And as a Canadian you should read it.

>100 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul--thanks for that nudge over the 100 mark and the good wishes. I am in awe of your data monitoring.

>101 AMQS: Anne, I think you would appreciate Lassie Come-Home. Think The Incredible Journey but with only one dog, and starting from the Scottish Highlands.

>102 Whisper1: Thanks Linda for stopping by! It is amazing to me how much territory you are able to cover in this super-active 75 group.

>103 BLBera: I'm not at all familiar with The Comedians. Greene certainly was a prolific author, wasn't he?

And thank you again to Linda, Peggy, Cushla, Nancy, Beth, Brenda, Katherine, Madeline, Anne, Darryl, Megan and Roni for your thoughts and kind words. I am feeling much better and now just waiting for confirmation that Matt is comfortably settled into a hospital and receiving treatment.

Hail, Enablers All! I really love this place!!!
Anne, thank you for giving us the good news about Matt.Scary stuff!
Glad that you found the perfect book.....I'm reading and enjoying and trying to finish 1Q84 this month. I've had it hanging around partially read long enough. For someone who prefers character-driven novels, I'm proving a sucker for this one populated with weird, unreal people. Thanks for the reminder that I really need to get to Three Day Road not to mention taking another spin with Greene.

Anne - devastating news about your brother. Zanzibar is so exotic but that is little help when we need proper attention and FAST. At least his girlfriend is with him - there is nothing worse than being ill and in pain and alone. Do keep us updated and the prayers of my family are winging their way to both you and he with all due haste. I am 45 myself, unduly stressed supporting a family, three youngish children, a maid, a driver, my mother, my in-laws, sundry others, my business and its wonderful employees, the pressure of cash-flow, a warring family in UK fighting over the family business there, and all with insufficient exercise and little rest. SWMBO's constant refrain is to take better care of myself but at least I have a secret weapon ~ it is all of you!

Speedy recovery to him.

Anne, Glad to hear your brother is set to receive treatment. What a nightmare for him and his girlfriend. . . They must have been as frantic as your family was stateside.

Anne - just getting caught up here. Sending good thought vibes that all goes well for your brother.

Anne - I've been rather behind on all the threads.... So sorry to hear about your brother. I had a colleague who had a pulmonary embolism on a work trip in November but he is doing just fine now. Best wishes for the same kind of positive result for your brother!

De-lurking to add my sympathies about your brother - how awful to be so far away and unable to help! I'll be keeping him and you in my thoughts.

So sorry to hear about your brother, Anne. I hope he is well on the way to a full recovery now.

Anne, sending thoughts and prayers to you and your family - I hope your brother is on the road to recovery.

Peggy and Paul, and Brenda and Lori and Katie, Amber, Deb, Liz--thank you, thank you, thank you for stopping by and for your kind wishes and prayers. And thank you again to all those who stopped by before.

My brother is now comfortably established in a hospital in Johannesburg waiting for the blood-thinning drugs to kick in, he is out of intensive care and very grateful to feel safe and in good hands. I'm hoping to talk to him today but my mother talked to him yesterday and reports that he is in good spirits, and beginning to think about things like plane tickets and insurance.

Matt is not a big traveler--he rarely leaves his little corner of the world, so experiencing third world conditions during a medical crisis was probably not the ideal introduction. Very scary.

Meanwhile I've been distracting myself with the February TIOLI--book picks to follow.

Reading planspossibilities for February

Books I was planning/hoping to read in February, before the February TIOLI challenge came out:

The Arabian Nights (bedtime read-aloud) (TIOLI #1) COMPLETED
The Warmth of Other Suns - Isabel Wilkerson (NF/African-American) (TIOLI #6 Scrabble value 16) COMPLETED
1Q84 - Haruki Murakami (Japanese author theme read) (TIOLI #6 Scrabble value 16) READING BUT STALLED
Agaat - Marlene van Niekerk (TIOLI #1) RETURNED TO LIBRARY UNREAD :(
I Am a Cat - Soseki Natsume (Japanese author theme read) (TIOLI #10)
Deep River - Shusaku Endo (Japanese author theme read) (TIOLI #18) READING
The Bridge on the Drina (Reading Globally Balkans) (TIOLI #3 anagrams)
February - Lisa Moore (Orange) (TIOLI #15) COMPLETED
Bleak House - Charles Dickens (Dickens anniversary) (TIOLI #17) COMPLETED
In the Garden of Beasts - Erik Larson (TIOLI #14) RETURNED TO LIBRARY UNREAD :(
Every Man in this Village is a Liar - Megan Stack (TIOLI #15)
Wise Blood - Flannery O'Connor (TIOLI #11 2 words) COMPLETED
The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern (TIOLI #3 anagram) COMPLETED
The Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison (TIOLI #15)
Beloved - Toni Morrison (TIOLI #8 blurb)
God's Philosophers - James Hannam (JanetinLondon memorial) READING

And books TIOLI has now tempted me to read, all but two from my shelves:

The Likeness - Tana French (set on an island) COMPLETED
Harry PoTTer and the Deathly HaLLows - J.K. Rowling (TT, LL)
The School of Night - Louis Bayard (know the author)
Lords of Finance - Liaquat Ahmed (economics)
What Matters: Economics for a Renewed Commonwealth - Wendell Berry (economics)
The Swerve - Peter Greenblatt (NYT 2012 Notable Nonfiction)
Faceless Killers - Henning Mankell (LL)
Scottsboro - Ellen Feldman (TT)
State of Wonder - Ann PatcheTT (TT)
The Stranger's Child - HoLLinghurst (LL)
Mrs. DaLLoway - Virginia WOOlf (LL, OO)
The Siege - Helen Dunmore (2 word title)
The Shape of the River - William Bowen (Princeton University Press)
The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins (Oxford University Press)
Egypt on the Brink - Amos Oz (Yale University Press)
Charles Dickens: A Life - Claire Tomalin (Dickens)
Out Stealing Horses - Per Petersson (ungulate)

We'll see.

Anne, I'm glad to hear that your brother is stable, and in good hands. How scary! Thanks for the update.

Anne: What a lot of wonderful possibilities for Feb. Good luck deciding. Mrs. Dalloway is one of my all-time favorites.

Glad your brother is doing better, and awed by the list of books lined up for February! You are aware that it's a short month, even though it's a leap year, right?? (Of course, who am I to talk...)

Joseph Boyden was one of my big discoveries of last year, even though a friend in Manitoba had to chivvy me into reading Through Black Spruce, since I was sure it couldn't measure up to Three Day Road. Whoops; it was even better. David Bezmogis is another Canadian author I want to watch, The Free World was an excellent book that I discovered when it ended up on the Giller shortlist. Not quite up to Boyden, or The Cat's Table, but still excellent.

Hi Anne. I've been thinking about you and your brother, so I was glad to read your update and to learn that he is doing well.
I enjoyed reading through your potential reads for the upcoming month. We have some titles in common . . .it will be fun to compare notes.

Anne - great news that Matt is out of ICU and God willing is on the mend. Give him all our best wishes when you can ~ it must have been a heck of a scary experience.

Your reading list for February is extremely formidable. You do know that there are only 29 days in the next month don't you! A wide array of chunksters there. I have to plug Lords of Finance which was the best non-fiction book I read a couple of years ago.

129: Anne, so glad your brother is receiving good medical treatment. What a scary situation for all. Now I know why I'm such a homebody!

Those are some great book lists. So, are you planning to sleep in February? I'll be reading February and The Night Circus. Thanks for pointing me toward the TIOLI challenges they fit into.

Glad your brother is doing much better and is in a safe place!

If you get through all those books, you'll qualify for LT Reader of the Month! Wow!

Just to clarify, there's no possible way I will get to all those books. I was just noticing, that I already had in mind about 15 books for February, which I could reasonably do in a good month, and which seemed like a good plan, and then the TIOLI post came along and gave me ideas for at least 15 more. Now what? I will be interested to see whether I stick more with my original list, or gravitate more towards "books set on an island" or "books by authors you know". Ah, TIOLI!

>131 AMQS: Thanks Anne!

>132 BLBera: Hi Beth. Mrs. Dalloway would be a reread, but overdue. I hope I get to it.

>133 Chatterbox: Suzanne--oh, no--only 29 days? Say it isn't so. You could probably read all those books in a month, but I couldn't. (Well, I could if I could eliminate some of those annoying barriers to reading, like children and work, but) I like to think of my advance list, as crazy as it appears, as a way of narrowing my options.
I'm pretty sure you're responsible for my discovery of Joseph Boyden, and I'm looking forward to Through Black Spruce, though not in February (although come to think of it, Boyden yields a decent Scrabble score). Nice to know you thought it was even better than Three Day Road. And I have The Cat's Table waiting patiently by the side of the bed (hmmm--another qualifying surname).

>134 brenpike: Thanks Brenda. I'll have to drop by and see what you're planning for February. You've read some great books in January that I really want to get to as well. Some day.

>135 PaulCranswick: Paul--formidable, and intentionally unrealistic. The only thing I can say is that some of the chunksters (The Warmth of Other Suns, 1Q84, and the Arabian Nights) I've already started, and Bleak House is an audiobook, which means I can listen along while doing other things. I've been trying to get to Lords of Finance for a while--too bad it is so long.

>136 Donna828: Donna, scary doesn't begin to describe it, but I like to think the worst is over. I haven't posted most of my books on the challenge wiki yet, but I did spend quite a bit of time figuring out where they could go. Glad that it's helpful. I will have to let someone else find a spot for God's Philosopers--that was the only one I couldn't wedge in.

>137 ronincats: Roni, I'll never finish all those books, and I'll never be reader of the month--too much competition.

Ha -- you made me think that I could squeeze in Boyden's collection of short stories this month... On the other hand, who am I kidding?? I'm embarrassed even to post my list of possible reads. And I'm not even going to try to read a Dickens, because it's just ain't happening...

ETA: Yes, I have no life, other than work, that is. Which helps with the reading, if not my sanity. But I suspect sanity is highly over-rated.

Great lists, Anne! I found The Siege in a box that we unpacked at the weekend, and Faceless Killers too, so if you read them you may well bump me into doing the same. And I bought In the Garden of Beasts when I was in Berlin last year - hopefully we'll overlap a bit this month.

I thought February, Lords of Finance and the stranger's child were all fantastic, and I got a lot out of God's Philosophers too.

Glad the news about your brother is sounding better - hope he can make it home soon.

Great news about your brother, Anne! I wish him a speedy and uneventful recovery.

>139 Chatterbox: Well Suzanne, if I see you reading Boyden's short stories I'll know where you got the idea. I am not, however, adding anything more to my list.

My solution to Dickens is to listen to him, and I'm listening to Bleak House now. I don't know if I get the dishes done faster or slower, but it's definitely more entertaining.

If sanity is over-rated, I expect "having a life" is similarly over-rated. I have been known to tell my children to "leave me alone, I'm reading." Or to wait, teeth gritted, for a conversation to end so I can get back to my book. Bad Mom, bad Mom.

>140 cushlareads: Cushla I just can't pass up the chance to read February in February. And I've been looking at Lords of Finance for a long time, and have to atone for not reading a single non-fiction book in January, so this may be the month I get to it.

>141 SqueakyChu: Thanks Madeline--uneventful, in particular, is what we're looking for. I think he'd say he's had enough events for a while.

Since my last book post I've read Kokoro - Natsume Soseki, In the Woods - Tana French, Dragonsong - Anne McCaffrey, Still Life - Louise Penny, On Canaan's Side - Sebastian Barry,
Train Dreams - Denis Johnson, Cannery Row - John Steinbeck, Property - Valerie Martin.

I'll be back at some point with comments, but for now, I have to work on college financial aid forms, so if you see me around here, remind me to get back to work.

Yay, pesky forms are done. Back to the books

Hurray! Books over all!

Anne: I love the idea of listening to books while cleaning the kitchen! Genius.

Hi Anne, glad to hear that your brother is on the mend. What a frightening experience!

That's quite an ambitious TIOLI list. I find myself doing the same thing and then towards the end of the month I have to go into the wiki and start removing half of the books I listed. Hey, we can dream can't we?

I'm reading Bleak House myself right now and really enjoying it.

Hello Anne - will be very interested to see your review of Kokoro which is on my shelves of shame. May I recommend House of the Sleeping Beauties by Yasunari Kawabata - it's a beautiful and very Japanese story. I have read one of Sebastian Barry's books and really enjoyed it. Some really interesting choices on your lists of possibilities....I think I have Fall on your knees on order - glad to hear it's a good 'un.

Looking forward to following your trail this year as always! mwah!

More Bleak House fans! Anne, what a great list of books you've covered recently - looking forward to your thoughts.

Just stopping by to say I love the breadth of your reading and your reviews and can see I'm going to get some great additions for my TBR list from you. Cannery Row is already there for later in the year once I've read more 19th century American literature first.

Anne, I usually listen to audios only in the car, but when I'm captivated (or close to finishing), then I'll listen while I cook and clean, too. Certainly it makes the chores more enjoyable!

Hi Anne! Stopping by! My, what a list you have lined up for February!! I can highly recommend Out Stealing Horses as well as The Siege. LOL! Maybe I should try to read February in February! Brilliant idea! As for Dickens, I think I might try to read Oliver Twist this month, but I make no promises! I do like Dickens, or maybe I should say I loved him when I was younger. It's been a long time since I've read Dickens.

Hi Roni, Beth, Bonnie, Prue, Nancy, Helen, Anne and Deb! I've been busy in RL for a couple of days but it's so nice to have visitors.

Bonnie, I don't know what I would do without my ambitious TIOLI list. And not a month goes by when I am not deleting at least half a dozen titles from the wiki. I used to hate to have to delete but now I think it is part of the fun. I read Bleak House in college and like it then, and I am enjoying my reread (in honor of the Dickens anniversary).

It's nice to see you Prue and thanks for that recommendation. Review of Kokoro coming up in a few minutes.

Thank you for stopping by, Helen. Next I will go and look for your thread too. Good luck with the 19th century American literature--a bit of a gap for me, in fact.

Anne, for me it really does make the chores enjoyable, and it means less arguing over who is going to do the dishes, since I really don't mind if I'm eager to carry on with a book. My car trips tend to be too short to really make satisfying progress.

Hi Deb--I doubt I'll get to Out Stealing Horses this month, since it's not one I currently own. And I do know you highly recommend The Siege!

11. Kokoro – Natsume Soseki

Why I read: Another Japanese author theme read, my first by Soseki. This novel is considered a classic in Japan.

Rating: 4.0

Kokoro is a story that is told very simply but with a steadily building sense of doom. The unnamed narrator, a university student, somewhat randomly makes the acquaintance of an older man, whom he comes to call Sensei (teacher) and to see as a sort of mentor. It is obvious that Sensei’s past includes some kind of melancholic secret which even his wife does not know the details of.

Kokoro, which apparently translates to “heart” or “the heart of things,” iunfolds in chapters of little more than two pages at a time, which gave me something of the feeling of someone dealing out a deck of cards—steady and inexorable. It is divided into three sections: “Sensei and I” and “My Parents and I” are both told by the student narrator, and the third section, “Sensei’s Testament, “ is in the form of a letter from Sensei to the student. Betrayal and moral failure are at the heart of the story. There are also historical overtones, reflecting the end of the Meiji period and the beginning of modern Japan.

12. In the Woods - Tana French

Why I read: I kept being tempted by the third book in this series, without realizing it was a series, so I finally checked out the first book as an audiobook from the library.

Rating: 4.0

A cold case from 1984: Three 12-year-olds went to play in the woods near their home in Knocknaree, Ireland, a small community outside of Dublin, and didn’t come home. One of them was found later, frozen in terror against a tree, his shoes filled with blood, and no memory of anything that had happened to him. The other two children were never seen again.

Fast forward 20 years or so—Adam Ryan, the surviving child, now goes by Rob (his middle name) and is a murder detective on the Dublin police force. When a case involving a twelve-year-old girl found dead in the same woods lands on his desk, it reopens the past. Are the cases connected? And is it really a good idea for Rob to be investigating the murder?

I had one set of thoughts when I finished this book and another after a couple of days when I couldn’t stop thinking about it. At first, I thought: enjoyable and gripping read, slightly frustrating ending, plus the self-destructive behavior of the narrator got on my nerves. Later, I came to think that the things that bothered me about the book were perfectly intentional on the part of the author and were part of a much more complicated story than I initially thought. I love the author’s skillful use of an unreliable narrator and the way she created enough ambiguity to merit thinking about this book for a while. If I had a paper copy of this book in hand, I’d be tempted to read it again. Since I don’t, I will have to move on to the next book in the series.

In the Woods is a crime novel but it had a bit more to it than the standard detective fare. French’s characterization is very strong—I especially loved Cassie Maddox, Rob’s police partner.

Anne, love your review of Into the Woods; I'm sold! Actually, I had it here months ago on loan from the library, but it was one of those which had to be returned before I got to it. Have to fix that ...

13. Dragonsong – Anne McCaffrey

Why I read: My first Anne McCaffrey book, read for a McCaffrey memorial challenge :(

Rating: 4.5

I ended up really loving this book. I say this because while I enjoy fantasy, especially children’s and young adult fantasy, I have a pronounced aversion to discovering anything new in the genre. Don’t ask me why. When I’m in the mood for fantasy, what I really like to do is reread Tolkien. Or my childhood favorites from Narnia, The Dark is Rising series, or Lloyd Alexander. Or Harry Potter, which I initially resisted for similar reasons.

However, I loved entering the world of Pern with its mortal threats and heroic dragons and dragonriders, and I loved the main character Menolly. The plot is classic: an unappreciated heroine discovers her talents and comes into her own, overcoming the rigid provincialism and gender restrictions of parents and community. Thoroughly satisfying in every way.

More book bullets; sigh... I do have one of the Tana French books (won it on Twitter, oddly enough!) so will check and see.

"kokoro" is rather untranslateable -- like someone's center core, a combination of spirit, soul and heart.

Bleak House is on my must-read list for the year, but it won't happen this month! I have several chunksters on the menu already...

Glad to see you enjoyed In the Woods.

Glad to see that you enjoyed In the Woods . For some reason I've yet to try Tana French even though I have one of her books on my TBR shelf. I'll get there yet!

Hi Suzanne, Lori, And Deb.

Yes, I did really enjoy In the Woods and now have checked out the second book, The Likeness, from the library, also in audio form. However I'm currently listening to Bleak House, quite a serious chunkster and even longer as an audiobook (no skimming), so that may well take all my listening time this month.

January summary

18 books read (19 if I count "Letter From the Birmingham Jail", but I'm counting it only for TIOLI)

2 new books purchased (both discounted, 1 already read)
0 full-price books purchased
1 book added to TBR stack, 6 read from TBR stack, net -5 for January (-5 for 2012)
6 Books Off My Bookshelf, 10 Library books, 1 new e-book, 1 new audiobook
4 audiobooks
1 e-book
13 regular books

18 fiction, 0 non-fiction (!)
3 children's/young adult fiction
1 re-read
2 chunksters (over 400 pages)
3 Orange January
7 1001 Books list
4 new series started
5 translated books
4 classics (published before 1960):

15 new-to-me authors
9 male/9 female
5 American (including 1 Vietnamese-American), 5 British (including 2 Irish), 2 Canadian, 2 Japanese (also Finnish, Italian, Turkish,)

Favorite Book of the Month: Fall on Your Knees - Ann-Marie MacDonald

Other notables:
The True Deceiver - Tove Jansson
Silence - Shusaku Endo
The Quiet American - Graham Greene
Dragonsong - Anne McCaffrey


A shocking absence of non-fiction, I started The Warmth of Other Suns but didn't finish it by the end of the month so am carrying it over to February. Aside from that, a great reading month, I enjoyed every book.

161: A shocking absence of non-fiction,
Shocking indeed. Kokoro looks interesting. The Warmth of Other Suns plus 18 other books would seem a bit insane.

wow! You are really moving along with your reads! Great job! I think I read Bleak House back in my twenties, but I can't actually remember for certain! Duh! That would be one long audio book! Oh yes, and I've remembered who is the person on LT who is going to Hawaii!;) Neither of the Anne's - but rather EBT1002 aka Ellen! I finally remembered. ;) How shocking! I'm showing my age , mixing up people in the 75's! Oh dear Anne!

>162 qebo: Actually now that I think about it I did read Letter From the Birmingham Jail, which would make for one non-fiction read. I was inclined not to count it because it is so short, and a re-read. Good to know I haven't completely neglected the genre!

>163 vancouverdeb: I read Bleak House in college so this is a re-read, and yes--it is a very very long audio book, six parts on my Audible mobile account, each 6-8 hours long. At least I bought it with my monthly credit--that's getting my money's worth!

It is funny my best friend when I was a kid was named Ellen, and people were always calling us by each other's names, so it doesn't seem strange to me at all to be confused with an Ellen. Meanwhile I have an acquaintance now named Ellen, who I always want to call Nancy. No idea why. (Actually I did discover why--it's because she reminds me of a character from a television show, but I'm too embarassed to explain this to her.)

13. Still Life - Louise Penny

Why I read: Everybody else has!

Rating: 3.5

Retired schoolteacher and beloved community member Jane Neal, seemingly without an enemy in the world, is found dead in the snow. A hunting accident by a careless out-of-towner or something worse?

I feel like I am just about the last person on LT to get to this mystery series. I loved the setting in the small village of Three Pines in Quebec and am interested in following Chief Inspector Gamache of the Quebec Surete on more adventures. I found this at times funny, charming, and insightful, but at other times trite and predictable, and the underlying premise of the crime struck me as ultimately a little unconvincing. Still, this book was just about exactly what I was expecting, and I would be happy to read more.

14. On Canaan's Side - Sebastian Barry

Why I read: Probably because it was on the Booker longlist last year, and I saw it at the library. I read it now because it was overdue.

Rating: 4.0

Written in the form of a memoir or journal, with chapters entitled “First Day Without Bill,” “Second Day Without Bill,” 89-year-old Lilly Bere, grieving the death of her grandson, looks back on her life. Lilly’s memories shift back and forth from her childhood in Ireland as the youngest daughter of an Irish policemen, to a forced refuge in America which turns out to be no refuge from tragedy. Grief, loss, and violence of all kinds shadow Lilly for the whole course of her life, and yet her memories are full of the people she has loved and moments of beauty and joy. Beautifully written in a particularly Irish way, with haunting and lyrical images. I’d put in a quote or two, but I had to return this to the library. Very sad, and very beautiful.

15. Train Dreams: A Novella - Denis Johnson

Why I read: Christmas present, New York Times 2011 list of notable fiction

Rating: 4.0

He’d started his life story on a train ride he couldn’t remember, and ended up standing around outside a train with Elvis Presley in it.

This is a short work that can be read in one sitting and probably should be. It is a collage of memories and moments in the life of Robert Grainier, and captures a sense of the Pacific Northwest in the early part of the 20th century, home to rugged loggers and vast projects. As you might expect there is no real plot. To me this is a book about landscape--both exterior landscapes and the interior landscape of one fairly ordinary man, whose life is etched by work, loss, and lonely visions. It also reflects the passage of time and how the world changes.

Sample quotes:
Grainier’s experience on the Eleven-Mile Cutoff made him hungry to be around other such massive undertakings, where swarms of men did away with portions of the forest and assembled structures as big as anything going, knitting massive wooden trestles in the air of impassable chasms, always bigger, longer, deeper.

and

Grainier relished the work, the straining, the heady exhaustion, the deep rest at the end of the day. He liked the grand size of things in the woods, the feeling of being lost and far away, and the sense he had that with so many trees as wardens, no danger could find him.

and
The farther north he hiked, the louder came the reports of cracking logs and the hiss of burning, until every charred tree around him still gave off smoke. He rounded a bend to hear the roar of the conflagration and see the fire a half mile ahead like a black-and-red curtain dropped from a night sky. Even from this distance the heat of it stopped him. He collapsed to his knees, sat in the warm ashes through which he'd been wading, and wept.

I have both Still Life and On Canaan's Side unfinished on my ipad - I was enjoying On Canaan's Side but got sidetracked about 40 pages in by The Sense of an Ending and The Stranger's Child (I got it when the Booker shortlist came out). I must sync them both to the kindle so that I can read them in bed...

I need to give Still Life another go. I didn't love the first few chapters at all, but they are so beloved on LT that I want to read at least the first one.

Finally, someone else with roughly the same take on the Louise Penny/Gamache series!!

Anne--I see you are a member of Reading Globally. Would you mind posting your Kokoro review on the Classics in Their Own Country thread for Asia? Thanks!

Anne some great reading recently (as usual actually!).
I haven't gotten to Louise Penney either but with so many series read I would be quite surprised if predictability wasn't common place nowadays.

eeeeeeeee a mouse just ran across the floor

EEK!

Oh, Anne! I had that happen recently and had to go get some of the little hotel-type traps. You'd think that with a cat around the house that I wouldn't have to worry about it! I need to get something stronger to put around wherever that one got in, but with a cat in the house, I don't dare put it where the cat could get to it.

Have a friend who doesn't mind mice set a humane trap and then release the mouse at a great distance (some miles or more) from your house. Over the 30+ years we've lived in the same house, my husband has successfully "relocated" three mice. I also "relocated" a mouse from an office I used to work at in Hyattsville (Maryland). :)

Then be sure to seal any areas around the perimeter of your house/apartment through which a mouse can gain entrance.

video

You can also buy inexpensive humane traps which are very easy to use at any local hardware store.

P.S. Stop screeching, ladies! That mouse is more scared of you than you are of it!

I haven't read the Louise Penny book either, but I have it reserved at the library. Like you, I'm reading it because everyone else on LT has.

Good luck with the mouse!

When I lived in Johor Bahru, near Singapore a number of years ago I somehow managed to scare myself senseless by catching a rat in a cage in my kitchen. Being the most macho of machos I of course didn't have the heart or guts to finish the creature off until SWMBO, then my girlfriend, came to her most masculine of rescues!

175: P.S. Stop screeching, ladies! That mouse is more scared of you than you are of it!

I actually like mice, raised oodles of them when I was a kid, though I don't necessarily want them skittering freely about my house. The neighbors with whom I share a wall have complained about mice, but I have cats, who occasionally get intensely interested in kitchen crevices, and have so far prevented an invasion.

Wonderful reviews, Anne. The Sense of an Ending I also very much enjoyed. I'm with you in being some of the last women on LT who haven't read Louise Penny; but I've finally downloaded the series and will get to it sooner than later I hope - thanks for further encouragement! I'm not familiar with Train Dreams but love the vivid quotes.

Anne: I added Train Dreams to my list. It sounds great.

About Penny. I find the books pleasant and well written with, as the series progresses, some interesting questions about human nature. The books probably aren't as thought provoking as Johnson's Train Dreams, for example, but I am not always in the mood for thought-provoking books.

About mice. I can deal with mice. I once had bats -- those are terrible. My daughter's screams as the bat flew through the house still ring in my ears.

180: I once had bats
One night a bat got into my niece's bedroom, probably because she'd left the balcony door open. Her older brother in the bedroom next door heard her screaming, dutifully woke and informed their parents in eyerolling exasperation ("Umm, she's screaming about something? Maybe there's a bug."), and promptly went back to sleep. My brother wins a parenthood medal for getting his panicked daughter out of the room, capturing the bat, letting it go outside, and having the presence of mind to take photos for Facebook.

How is that Feb list coming along? Talk about great plans. Great reviews too, and good news that your brother is on the mend.

>172 AnneDC: he he, I had a mouse run over my legs (over the covers) in bed one time, I didnt like it at all. But it was better than when my old boyfriend has his fingers nibbled by one while he was sleeping! YUCK

set a humane trap and then release the mouse at a great distance (some miles or more) from your house
Good idea, worked for me back in the day when I lived in an old house full of mouse-entry-gaps. (see above finger-nibbling story)

> 181

having the presence of mind to take photos for Facebook.

Heh! An absolute must in this day and age!

Just passing through.... great reading! Re: the Three Pines - I agree about the unconvincing premise and find this to be true of the three I've read so far. What does improve is the characterization and sometimes thought-provoking ruminations on human nature and good and evil.

>168 cushlareads: Hi Cushla, On Canaan's Side wasn't a terribly long read--well, longer than The Sense of an Ending, so I hope you find time get back to it. I am trying to recall the first few chapters of Still life and find I can't, so I'm not sure what that says.

>169 Chatterbox: Suzanne, I'm assuming you've read further on in the series and am curious on your sense of how it develops from here.

>170 arubabookwoman: Deborah, done. Thanks for the reminder. There are probably a few others I should cross-post, although as I'm sure you've found yourself, I feel a little on shaky ground determining what is someone else's classic.

>171 PaulCranswick: Hello Paul. True, a certain amount of predictability comes with the territory. I didn't necessarily find the storyline formulaic, though--it was more some of the writing, where I felt I could complete the author's sentences.

No more mouse sightings (but I know s/he's there...)

Thanks Brenda, Lori, Madeline, Susan, Paul, Beth, Katherine and Megan for the mouse sympathy as well as practical advice.

Undoubtedly the mouse was terrified of me, but I still don't like to see it darting out from under my bed (cute or not). I've gotten used to mice in the kitchen, although we haven't had any lately, but I've never seen them upstairs before. I hope they aren't chewing on my books!

176 susanj67 I had Still Life on my LT-inspired wish list for a while and then saw it for relatively cheap as an audiobook and couldn't resist.

> 177 I of course didn't have the heart or guts to finish the creature off Paul, Having been in a similar situation myself (with an injured mouse, not a rat), I agree that it's a colossal failure of both heart and guts, isn't it? I realized at the time that my difficulty with "putting the mouse out of its misery" had nothing to do with kindness and everything to do with being a total wimp.

>178 qebo: Katherine, that is fortunate for you that your cat is holding the line against a rodent invasion. We have ruled out cats because of my husband's allergies but I am thinking it may be a good time to move ahead on the terrier puppy we've been promising my daughter practically since she could talk.

>179 lit_chick: Hi Nancy--I'm guessing you mean On Canaan's Side since, although I read and loved The Sense of an Ending last year, it is one of the many that slipped through the cracks of my reviewing system.

>180 BLBera: I am not always in the mood for thought-provoking books. Beth I couldn't agree more. I read a lot of "thought provoking books" (and some of them are just plain provoking) but it is sometimes great to settle down with a book that asks relatively little of you.

Bats! yes, I can be grateful that it was neither a bat nor a rat.

>181 qebo: Katherine, I am always amazed that so many people seem to have the presence of mind (or something) to capture various domestic crises on video. I can barely remember to record predictable moments like family vacations and weddings (and I chronically forget that my phone is also a camera). I would have been so traumatized by a bat that the thought of filming it would never have entered my head.

>182 LovingLit: Megan the list is coming along rather slowly, due I think to my decision to lead off with some rather fat books--Bleak House, The Warmth of Other Suns, and 1Q84. But I just raced through The Night Circus and am deciding which of the many on that list to pick up next.

running-over-legs and finger-nibbling---EEEK!

>184 katiekrug: Hi Katie. I was pretty content with Still Life and interested in seeing how the series evolves, especially since flashes of "ruminations on human nature" were one of the things I enjoyed in the first one.

16. Cannery Row - John Steinbeck

Why I read: January Steinbeckathon

Rating: 4.0

I think the best way to describe Cannery Row may be to use John Steinbeck’s own words, with which this short novel opens:
Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noice, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream. Cannery Row is the gathered and scattered, tin and iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy lots and junk heaps, sardine canneries of corrugated iron, honky tonks, restaurants and whore houses, and little crowded groceries, and laboratories and flophouses. Its inhabitants are, as the man once said, “whores, pimps, gamblers, and sons of bitches,” by which he meant Everybody. Had the man looked through another peephole he might have said, “Saints and angels and martyrs and holy men,” and he would have meant the same thing.

This is a portrait of a place and community, complete with vivid and colorful characters, who exist more or less on society’s margins. The book is a gently meandering series of sketches, with only the hint of a plot (let’s throw a party for Doc!). What surprised me the most about Cannery Row is that I was expecting something grim, based on my only other experiences with Steinbeck, but although the denizens of Cannery Row could certainly be called down and out, this is not by any means a tragic story as is, say, Of Mice and Men. I think I would call it celebratory.

One of Steinbeck's many memorable characters:

Hazel’s mind was like wandering alone in a deserted museum. Hazel’s mind was choked with uncatalogued exhibits. He never forgot anything but he never bothered to arrange his memories. Everything was thrown together like fishing tackle in the bottom of a rowboat, hooks and sinkers and lines and lures and gaffs all snarled up.

Still, although this was lovely and enjoyable, I have to say I liked but didn’t love it. I read it on my relatively new Kindle, and it’s given me some thoughts about the device. You know how sometimes you watch a movie and think—"this really deserves to be seen on a big theater screen, and not on this tiny little airplane screen"--sometimes the viewing conditions can even ruin a movie for me. I think Cannery Row deserved to be read as a real book, and that I might have appreciated it differently if I were turning the actual pages. Just a thought.

Great review, Anne! Love this: “whores, pimps, gamblers, and sons of bitches,” by which he meant Everybody. Had the man looked through another peephole he might have said, “Saints and angels and martyrs and holy men,” and he would have meant the same thing.

My mother once walked into her bedroom and confronted a bat... In the house I owned in Toronto, squirrels somehow got into the fascia on the main bedroom, which I had rented out to a woman who proved to have disgusting habits (you can be as messy as you want in your own space, but when you share...) and then they ate their way through her ceiling and into her closet. It took her a while to discover what was going on, which was disturbing. It wasn't until the day she opened the door and a squirrel ran OUT that I knew what was going on. Thousands of dollars later...

Mice, we've got. Actually, they are the neighbor's mice, who are fleeing the seemingly-endless construction activity. Since the upstairs neighbors just got a cat in self-defense, they are trying my place again. Just a matter of time before Tigger drops one on my face in the morning again.

Anne I miss turning pages when reading Our Mutual Friend on the iPad. I think that's why I gave up on it last fall. It seemed somehow like cheating to me! I discovered I have the print version as well so I'm going back and forth with better results. I do want to get my Dickens read finished for his birth month.

Re: the mouse. Think of Reepicheep. ;-)

Hi Nancy!

Suzanne, that is a horrible squirrel story. At my parents' home in Connecticut, we used to leave the dog's food out in the garage in a dish. A squirrel (the regular outside kind) decided the pellets of dry dog food were some kind of squirrel bonanza, and took to squirreling them away in its hiding place--which happened to be the tailpipe of the car! This wasn't immediately a problem, but cumulatively caused major and mysterious mechanical trouble. A very amused mechanic eventually solved the mystery.

Donna, now if it was a TALKING mouse, who came out from under the bed, bowed, and placed himself at my service, I think we could probably work out an arrangement.

I am having a little trouble with Dickens as an audiobook, too, although it's minor since I have the paper book at hand. I find for a while it goes along well, and the narrator's accent does throw me into Victorian London and carry the plot along nicely--but there are far too many characters to keep track of without occasionally thumbing backwards in the actual book, and sometimes I just want to savor the language. So I am kind of reading, actually rereading, Bleak House both ways--which I don't mind at all, except that it will take me even longer to finish.

17. A Fountain Filled With Blood - Julia Spencer-Fleming

Why I read: Next in the series, of course. And the Kindle version was on sale.

Rating: 3.2

Here we return to Millers Kill in the Adirondacks, where a a gay man has just been brutally attacked. Throw in a resort development, an environmental protest movement, more hate crimes, and a murder, and the Reverend Clare Fergusson and Chief Alstyne are off and running.

I liked this one less than I liked the first book. Still, I find the series enjoyable enough to continue with, at my leisure. As I noted after reading In the Bleak Midwinter, it feels like a TV series with an endearing cast—now I’d add, with possibly hit and miss episodes.

My gripes (specific but minor):

I found the way the Clare got herself involved to be annoying and not very natural, and although her active role is certainly necessary for the book to work, I found it difficult to suspend disbelief graciously. This is mainly an issue in the beginning of the book; after that her role seemed more authentic.

I saw the general outline of the plot very early on and figured out the villain. Sometimes this doesn’t bother me—it just makes me feel clever--but I have the feeling it was intended to be more of a puzzle.

I’m not crazy about the romantic attraction between Russ and Clare. It feels so inevitable, and I really wish he weren’t married. I suspect he won’t be for long, and that makes me feel kind of depressed.

Finally, and I hate to sound nitpicky here, but I encountered lots of typos and inconsistencies. I don’t understand how the spelling of the name of a neighboring town could change from the first book to the second book. Did the author forget how she decided to spell the name of the imaginary place? And Russ’s sister is in one place Janet and at another place Janice. Minor, but once I noticed them it made me want to look for more.

So I have set a goal to reduce my purchases of paper books, but apparently that gives me free reign to buy other things--like the DVD of the first season of Downton Abbey, and four new audiobooks in an Audible sale (they were offering deals on "first-in-series" books--why do I feel like that's a little like drug peddling?)

My copy of God's Philosophers arrived in the mail today so I will be getting started on the group read.

HI Anne

I'm stopping by to say I'm thinking of you and praying that your brother is much better.

>194 Whisper1: Yes, Linda, I spoke to him briefly this morning again and he is so much better. He is still in South Africa but will be coming home on the 16th. He was very lucky and we are grateful. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

That is very good news Anne.

Great news on your Brother Anne, I wish I was as thoughtful as Linda - what a lady! amid all her problems she is the first to remember anothers.

>191 AnneDC: How do you know he's not a talking mouse?! Have you tried talking to him? Maybe he's just waiting for you to make the first move . . .

Good news about your brother! I'm glad he's okay, and is coming home.

Appreciate your review of A Fountain Filled with Blood. I'm going to explore this series, too, so it's good going in to know that there will be hits, misses, and some eye-rolling.

>198 norabelle414: LOL re the talking mouse. I want one of those, altho I suspect the non-verbal cats wouldn't let him speak in his own defense...

I love the story about the car troubles caused by the "squirreled" dog food. I'll have to have our mechanic eliminate that the next time we have car trouble (except ours will be cat food and racoons).

I'm glad to hear your brother's on the mend and on his way home.

And thanks for posting on Reading Globally--I have a few I need to post over there too. I especially liked the extra comments you made!

>193 AnneDC: So I have set a goal to reduce my purchases of paper books, but apparently that gives me free reign to buy other things
Good philosophy....we really can rationalise anything if we want to cant we :)

Thank you Brenda.

She is indeed Paul.

Nora, oh no! I totally got off on the wrong foot with that mouse. The telltale shriek probably does not encourage conversation.

Nancy, there is nothing wrong with a good eye-roll once in a while.

Suzanne, who knows? The non-verbal cats might be so taken aback by a talking mouse that they would find their own power of speech. Or something.

Hi Deborah--happy to cross-post. And I like to follow directions whenever possible, hence the extra comments. Plus, I really like the idea of people engaging with the themes.

And Megan, yes, we can. I also think it's an interesting example of a measurement effect--I'm meticulously tracking how many books I bring into the house, but I haven't made myself accountable for anything else in quite the same way. So it will be interesting to see if repressing the book-buying shows up somewhere else.

I am in the middle of reading February and I came across this passage which, well, described perfectly something that happens to me all of the time, but that I didn't think anyone else did.

She began to read her book again but she noticed that her eyes were closed. They had closed by themselves and she tried to open them but she couldn't. She couldn't see the words but she was generating the story herself so she would not have to open her eyes.

I can't even begin to say how many times this happens to me, and I always really believe that I am still reading the book, until I somehow make my sleeping self remember that it is impossible to read with your eyes shut (The Dr. Suess book of that title notwithstanding).

Ditto. . . .

Anne, I'm about half way through In The Woods after seeing it on this thread, and really enjoying it. Thanks for the recommendation!

>204 AnneDC:: That happens to me, too. I think we can get so immersed in a book that it takes over our subconscious (dreaming) state. Either that, or I need to quit reading boring books!

>205 brenpike: Hi, Brenda.

>206 susanj67: Susan, I hope you continue to enjoy it! I have the sequel, The Likeness, checked out from the library and will be getting to it soon I hope.

>207 Donna828: Donna, I blame tiredness and not boring books. Boring books are easier to put away before falling asleep.
There are actually two things I do--one is drifting off while reading, and thinking I'm still reading and that the dream is merely the next paragraph. But the other is dreaming that I'm actually reading a book--and when I wake up I am devastated to realize that the book and its story don't really exist and I will never find out the ending!

I just finished February by Lisa Moore (comments to follow, but I loved it) and am deciding what to read next.

A question--I'm going to start a new thread soon, and I want to post a photo but I've discovered I don't know how. (Book covers, I can do.) All my photos are in my iPhoto library and therefore I guess they are not web images. What do I do?

Anne
I love the passage re. falling asleep while reading. This happens each and every night. Last night I feel asleep while reading the Newbery Medal winner Dead End in Norvelt. Then, I awoke around 1:30 a.m. and read more...eyes closed and then 3:00 a.m. awoke again and read more..eyes closed until 5:30 a.m. and thus throughout the night I managed to read 245 pages.

I hope all is well with your brother.

>204 AnneDC: that passage rings true with me too! All the time these days....I persist as I really want to be reading, but in reality my mind is so jumbled after these half real/half made up stories, I usually have to go back 2 precious pages and start again the next time!

>209 Whisper1: wow, Nancy, that is a lot of on off reading/sleeping! I wish you could sleep better.

I'm happy that you loved February, Anne!

The way I've got photos into my thread is to go into my junk drawer on LT and upload the pics from my hard drive (Or I Guess iPhoto). From there, you can use the same code to post the photo as for q book cover. Does that help? Edited to add that it's called "member gallery" and to find it, go into your profile, then look at the top lefthand corner of the page.

Way behind, but I'd stop by and say hi!! I've been having a Mystery Reading February so far! Enjoyable escapism!!!

In the Woods has been on my shelf for ages- might be time to bump it up in the queue.

#208: Yes, I loved In The Woods and picked The Likeness up from the library today.

>209 Whisper1: Linda, I am impressed with your perseverance with reading/sleeping! When my husband informs me that I am not reading, but actually sleeping, I usually react indignantly and tell him he's wrong. But eventually I have to concede the point and turn off the light--I really never can wake up enough to continue reading. So 245 pages in between nodding off is impressive! But, I guess not producing a very restful night :(

My brother is home and very happy to be there.

>210 LovingLit: Megan, I think I'm mostly kidding myself if I try to read in bed, especially if it's very late. I like the idea of it, but when I've read the same paragraph ten times and don't recognize it, it's time to give up.

>211 cushlareads: Thanks Cushla! I've experimented a little bit with the junk drawer and that seems to work. Maybe there will be photos in my next thread. Comments on February, coming soon. I've gotten very behind again, and after such a promising January.

>212 vancouverdeb: Glad you're enjoyed some mystery-reading Deb. I've been reading more crime stories than usual lately and have been enjoying them.

>213 ForeignCircus: I recommend taking it off the shelf, Colleen, and then moving right along to the sequel. (which I just finished)

>214 susanj67: I'm glad you liked In the Woods Susan--I just spent most of the past week literally immersed in the audio version of The Likeness, which I have now finished. The audiobook is long--over 20 hours, and I kept looking for reasons to listen just a little bit longer.

>215 AnneDC: he he. I know it. Last night I tried to out-fox the heavy eye lids and sneak into bed early for a half hour read before getting up and watching a dvd with my partner. What actually ended up happening was I had a half hour NAP, and then got up and watched a dvd with my partner.
Sheesh!

Hi there Anne, just getting caught up here and have to say that I have the exact same reading problem. I like to read when I go to bed but don't last very long before I nod off and wake up half an hour later to find myself on the same page. Not much progress in getting through the book in that manner. And I can also be reading with my eyes closed and I know they're closed but I can't open them no matter how hard I try. Some kind of semi-conscious state I guess. On the other hand, I never dream I'm reading.

The Clare/Russ romance is a detraction for me in that series but I'll still be reading the fourth book next month, so I guess I've just accepted it. Spencer-Fleming should have invented Russ as a divorced man or widower IMO. It's also annoying when she inserts herself into the investigation because you know that could never happen in a real police investigation, but then again I keep reading the series and there would have to be a completely different storyline if Clare weren't helping to solve the crimes. And even though I'm complaining I'm really enjoying the series. I don't think this is making much sense so I'll just shut up now.

Bonnie: I know what you mean about series. I don't remember which one I was reading, but the protagonist had put herself in danger -- again -- and I asked myself, "Don't you remember your injuries last time you did this?" Still, we do forgive things when the characters, plots and writing make up for the annoyances. And mysteries do offer the comfort of good triumphing over evil -- at least most of the time.

Hi Megan, Bonnie, and Beth

I am moving on to a new thread.

Bonnie--Don't worry, you're completely making sense. I guess it's a question of what we expect from a book or series. I'm planning to read on in this one too so I guess my complaints are minor ones. And maybe I'm just complaining to show that my critical faculties are still intact.
And I agree, widower or divorced man (or confirmed bachelor) would have worked better for me.