lit_chick's 2012 Reading (1)

Welcome, everyone! I joined LT part way through last year, so 2012 will mark my first full year of literary adventure here on the threads. Happy reading!




February

8. Hamlet, William Shakespeare
7. The Siege, Helen Dunmore
6. The Small House at Allington, Anthony Trollope

January

5. Voices, Arnaldur Indridason
4. The Weight of Water, Anita Shreve
3. The Outcast, Sadie Jones
2. The Girls, Lori Lansens
1. The Lure of the Labrador Wild, Dillon Wallace

Hey there, Nancy. This is so much fun seeing whose thread pops up next. What a cute chick for your mascot!

I simply can't believe you have been here less than a year. You have quite a following for a new kid on the block! Welcome back!

Hi Nancy! So happy to see you back again.

My thoughts are the same as Donna. The chick and the eggs are too cute!

I hope you have a great New Year filled with great books. :)

Hi Nancy! There will be literary adventures aplenty in these parts, I'm sure!

#2-4 Welcome Donna, Valerie, Ilana! Like all of you, I'm excited to see whose thread pops up next! In case of the mascot, the chick came after the egg, hehe! Yes, I'm sure we will enjoy literary adventures aplenty in these parts!

2011 Wrap-Up:

The Best:

The Twin, Gerbrand Bakker
The Sense of an Ending, Julian Barnes
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
Bleak House, Charles Dickens
The Return of the Native, Thomas Hardy
Where White Horses Gallop, Beatrice MacNeil
All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
The Return of the Soldier, Rebecca West
The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton

The Rest:

A Cupboard Full of Coats, Yvette Edwards
The Memory of Love, Aminatta Forma
North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
No Great Mischief, Alistair MacLeod
February, Lisa Moore
Out Stealing Horses, Per Petterson
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Shaffer/Barrows
The Warden, Anthony Trollope
The Book Thief, Markus Zusak

Hi Nancy!! Hoping you have a great New Year!!

Hi Nancy! Loved your top books of 2011 lists. No wonder you're bad for my TBR pile - 5 of your favourites were ones I've given 5 stars to (not all last year). Happy new year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, dear Nancy!
I'm bringing a star and a hope that 2012 bests 2011 in wonderful books and conversation!
(I'm grinning that Bleak House was among your top reads in '11. Of course it was!)

Happy New Year Nancy! And look at that...your best looks so good to me because it has so many of my favorites on it. Nice.

#7 Thanks, Chelle. Happy New Year to you, too!

#8 Welcome, Cushla! I love it that we share so many favourites!

#9 Thanks, Peggy. Happy New Year to you, too! I've dropped a star and a hope on your thread as well. I remember how much you love Bleak House : ).

#10 Thanks, Bonnie. Happy New Year to you, too! It's delightful when readers share so many favourites! I was struggling with how to "wrap-up" my year and got the idea of "The Best" and "The Rest" from your thread - so thank you for the great idea!

Nice to see you back for more Nancy. Enjoyed laughing along with you last year (my first too) and I'm sure we'll have more of the same this. Happy new year!

Happy New Year, Nancy! Glad you are back with us once again.

Happy New Year, Nancy!

Happy New Year, Nancy! Wishing you all the best in 2012!

#12-15 Welcome Paul, Stasia, Darryl, and Lynda! Happy New Year! And happy reading!

Hi Nancy - Happy New Year - I look forward to follow your first full year of literary adventure :)

There you are! I'm also looking forward to following a full year of your reading. Actually, I can't believe you've been with LT less than an a year, it feels like you've been here forever! In a very good way ;-)

#17 Happy New Year to you, too, Carsten! Exciting!

#18 Thanks, Dee! I've just found and starred your thread, too! Forward, ho ...

Welcome back!

Happy New Year Nancy!

Happy Reading Year, Nancy

#20-22 Thanks Jim, Leonie, and Genny! Looking forward to sharing another year of reading adventure with all of you!

Welcome back and Happy New Year!

Hi Nancy. I've started a discussion on this year's tutored reads thread about the tutored read of A Tale of Two Cities that we discussed last year. Would love to hear your thoughts if you're interested.

#24-25 Thanks, Heather. Happy New Year to you, too! I'll have a look at the thread on tutored read of A Tale of Two Cities. When is the planned read?

Finally I'm back and dropping some stars!! Happy New Year Nancy!! Drat!! I should have called myself Deborah instead of Vancouverdeb because I'm at the end of the line.. sigh.... life!! ;) LOL!!!!

PS - cool ticker that you chose! ;)

#27-28 Welcome, Deb! SOOO happy to "see" you!

Nice review of North and South - thumb up from me! I hope you are enjoying The Girls. It sounds quite interesting and I have a copy , but someone else had a negative view of it. But you know how taste in books varies!

Nancy - just stopping by to say hi. The frenetic pace from the beginning of the year is showing little signs of abating but I am still here daily to see what yer up to!

#30. Hi Deb, thanks for the thumb! I had high hopes for The Girls, but truthfully I am not finding it terribly interesting. The writing is lovely, however, and that's something.

#31. Hi Paul : ).

Convincing Deb speaking now: Nancy, I think you'd love The Siege by Helen Dunmore! What a well written and fascinating story so far. I'm learning so much about the Siege of Leningrad, and Helen Dunmore writes very well. It's hard to believe that she was not there herself. In addition to the actual Siege, there is a lot to the plot , but not too complex, nor a long arduous read either. Bits of it remind me of Alison Pick's book Far to Go in that a part of The Siege is devoted to the Russians in Leningrad trying to evacuate their children and many women out of Leningrad - kind of like the Kindertransport situation in Far To Go . Unfortunately, the results of the Russian Evacuation do not seem as successful. It's great historical fiction - not to be missed!;)

#33 Deb, The Siege sounds great! Onto the list. I remember reading (listening, actually) about the kinder transport in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. You haven't lost your touch for persuasion : ). I had Far to Go here over the holidays and didn't get to it, but it's another one I plan to read this year.

1.
The Lure of the Labrador Wild, Dillon Wallace



Rating: 4/5

In July, 1903 Leonidas Hubbard, Michigan journalist, and Dillon Wallace, NY lawyer, set out with their Indian guide, George Elson on an exploratory trip through northern Labrador. The plan was to follow the Naskapi River to Lake Michikamau, a region as yet unexplored by Europeans. It was Hubbard’s intent that the articles he would write of the adventure would secure his journalistic reputation. Alas, the trip was ill-fated from the start. Lacking an accurate map, the group mistook the Susan River for the Naskapi, resulting in an epic trip into the heart of Labrador until they at last admitted defeat and determined to head for home. It was too late, however, for Hubbard, who died of starvation in the wild.

“Beyond the circle of our bright-blazing fire the darkness was profound. As the wind in great blasts swept over the tops of the trees, its voice was raised to piercing shrieks that gradually died away into low moans. We thought of the vast wilderness lying all about us under the pall of a moonless and starless night. Where had all the people in the world gone to, anyway?” (Ch 11)

I enjoyed The Lure of the Labrador Wild. It’s well written, and while I’m afraid I have to agree with Hubbard’s critics that the expedition seemed pure folly, one would be hard pressed to find a more honest depiction of the rugged and beautiful but fatally unforgiving country that is Canada’s North.

#35: I will have to look for that one. Thanks for the review and recommendation, Nancy.

Wow. You know, it's easy to forget, living here, that this country is deadly. For me, going more than a few blocks away from a Thai restaurant counts as roughing it (for 51 weeks out of the year).

#36 Thanks, Stasia. It's not like anything I've read before; the closest would be Into Thin Air which is the account of an Everest tragedy.

#37 Welcome, Cynara! Yes! I lived in our far North for four years (many years ago now), and I know it is easily as deadly as it is beautiful. There's a passage in the book about the blackflies at their worst - the absolute madness they can drive a person to. Terrifying:

"Hard as it was, we should not have minded our work in the rapids so much had it not been for the flies. For the first time we now realised the full form of what had been told us about the fly pest of Labrador. We had considered them annoying at Rigolet and Northwest River, but as soon as we began to buck the rapids they came upon us in clouds. They got into our nostrils, into our ears, into our mouths, into our eyes even, and our faces and hands were streaked with blood from their bites. They were villainous, hellish." (Ch 4)

Great review, Nancy! Thumb up from me. It sounds a little to depressing for my tastes though. Thanks for reading it for me though:) Although.. you just never know. I love that description of the flies! Thank heavens in Vancouver we are not bothered by flies the way that they are in Manitoba, particularly in the lake area! I can certainly remember days in my childhood wearing a winter jacket, pants and blankets over my head to get away from the black flies and mosquitoes. Dreadful!

Good review Nancy! Sounds like an interesting read, I should read that for my Canadian Category in my 12 in 2012!

Oh, I 'm excited about those adventure-stories - folly or not - thanks for bringing my attention to this autobiography, Nancy - and the good review.

Have just downloaded the free Kindle-version. Don't you just love Kindle? :)

Thanks for the Kindle freebie alert. Since that's one of those that's always free, I decided to add it to my wish list rather than downloading it immediately.

For any interested Nook owners, it is also available for free for the Nook.

#39 Thanks, Deb. Yes, the flies! I remember a Chipewyan elder in northern SK telling me that the flies could "make a man crazy in the bush." I didn't understand what he meant until I had an experience just such as Dillon writes of. I've never forgotten it.

#40 Thanks, Chelle. You'll find a free Gutenberg edition for your Kobo; the copyright has expired.

#41 Carsten, I think you would enjoy. Yes, I do love Kindle, Kobo, iPad, whatever one's charm : ).

#42 Lori, I hope you will enjoy!

#43 Thanks, Stasia!

wow, that gives me even more incentive to read it then!
Loves me some free books ;)

Hi, Nancy. Fascinating review of the Labrador book. It's not quite my usual thing but you've got me intrigued!

Just stopping by to say hi! I've finished off The Siege by Helen Dunmore and it was so powerful , well researched and well written, I've already decided that it will among my favourite reads of 2012! I've yet to come up with a review though...

Hi Nancy, lovely review of The Lure of the Labrador Wild and one that I'm going to add to the teetering tower.

#45 Loves me some free books. Make me smile, Chelle.

#46 Thanks, Dee. Not my usual fare either, but it was nice to start the year off with non-fiction, a genre I don't often explore.

#47 Deb, delighted to know The Siege was excellent! Will await your review.

#48 Bonnie, I thought of you and what you've written about learning to enjoy non-fiction when I was reading The Lure of the Labrador Wild. I love all of the LT influences that follow me around : ).

Well, I'm not sure that I did The Siege justice in my review but I simply LOVED it! :) I'm starting on to the second what will be a trilogy by Helen Dunmore. I've started into The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore. It takes place I think in postwar Russia, but with Stalin still in power. I don't think Helen Dunmore started out to write a trilogy because The Siege is 2002 and The Betrayal is written in - hmm - 2008 or 2010 - I'm not sure.

How is The Girls going?

Nancy - I agree with all the other posters - great review of The Lure of the Labrador Wild.
Bonnie - love the alliteration teetering tower

#50 Deb, fantastic review of The Siege. Thanks for that! Dunmore is on my list! I'll finish The Girls and write a review in the next few days.

#51 Thanks, Paul.

>35 lit_chick: that one sounds heart wrenching, I immediately think of Into the Wild when I read your review. People underestimating the forces of nature.

#53 Megan, thanks for the reminder about Into the Wild; I didn't read it, but I saw the movie. Good comparison! You're absolutely right that we underestimate the forces of nature.

2.
The Girls, Lori Lansens



Rating: 3.5/5

Craniopagus twins, Rose and Ruby, are abandoned by their mother at birth and adopted by Lovey and Stash Darlensky. Raised in small town southern Ontario, the twins are known simply as The Girls. Their lives, simultaneously miraculous and unremarkable, are written about here in their own alternating voices. Rose, aspiring writer, observes:

“I thought my story’s path would be a straight one. A simple one. After all, it is the true story of my life, to the point I have already lived it, and for which I know even the most incidental detail. But the story isn’t straight. Or simple. And I see now, as I begin to think of the next chapter, that even the truth can spin out of control. My story. Ruby’s story. The story of Aunt Lovey and Uncle Stash. The story of me, and we, and us, and them. The story of then. And the story of now. How can the story of me exist without all of it?”

The Girls is a difficult novel for me to review. I found large chunks of the story simply did not hold my interest. And I disliked that the girls’ “story” was really a long series of random reminiscences – too much randomness, I thought. Still, Lansens is so authentic that I felt surprised when I realized the twins are fictional. And her writing is beautiful – so gifted. The sensory language in this next passage just captivated me.

“I was thinking of when Ruby and I were children, sleeping under the entwined-hearts quilt in the old orange farmhouse on Rural Route One. I was thinking of the soft bed beneath the open window. The lowing of livestock. The stinking sweet air. The mice in the corner under out chair The crows in the field. The kittens wet born. And the world beyond the whispering corn.”

Recommended for the beautiful writing, with the hope that other readers will find the story more gratifying.

I'm so fond of classics that very few modern novels slip into my reading. But I enjoy so much to read the reviews here, Nancy. A good way of keeping track - in a small way - of what's out there.

You're right - poetic sentences is not enough. I'm thinking: Whats the story about?

Great review of The Girls I have it as a second hand book. I'll won't rush to read it, but I may try it later, as you were so generous to say that another reader may enjoy it more. That said, we seem to have very similar taste in books. Thumb up from me. Hmm - what's that new book that you reading that is on your home page - something by or entitled Sadie Jones. Hmmm, I have not heard of it. I must rectify the situation. If you are reading it I at least have to check up on it!;)

Really windy here! Just took the dog out for " last call" and our huge heavy pottery planter was rolling around on it's side. Perhaps the wind will chase the clouds away... That would be nice!

Nancy, I had a really similar experience to you with The Girls when I read it five years ago. Like you, I kept losing interest and found the reminiscences too unstructured or random but yes, there was some lovely writing. It had been highly recommended by a friend and at the time, I felt I should have liked it more than I did!

#56 Thanks, Carsten. The story is a reminiscence of the girls' lives, of their love for one another. There is a beautiful line at the end of the story written by Rose that she would live her life again, as she had lived it, to be loved as she had been loved. I've looked at several of the other reviews on The Girls and they seem to run between luke warm and full-on hot. I'm obviously among the luke warmers.

#57 Thanks for the thumb, Deb. I'll be curious to know what you think if you decide to read The Girls. You might love it! The Outcast is one I read a brief review of some time ago, and it wasn't even at LT, gasp! Anyway, I see it's garnered some great reviews here, and I thought I'd have a read!

Hope Vancouver's wind has died down, and your winter skies are sunny!

#58 Thanks, Dee. I'm always glad to know that another has shared my reading experience. I also felt I should have liked The Girls more than I did.

I guess I just read The Girls at the right time in my life because it really clicked for me. I so loved the story these two girls had to tell and you're right, the writing was just soooo good. As a matter of fact, I raved about it so much that Linda (Whisper1) sent me another one of Lansens' books Rush Home Road which she thought I would also love. I need to get to that. Oh and thumb for your honest review:)

#60 Thanks, Bonnie. I remember how much you enjoyed The Girls! Will be curious to see how you like Rush Home Road; I hope the writing is as good!

I really liked The Girls as well. And then I read her The Wife's Tale and liked it even more! I can't wait to read Rush Home Road. All of them take place in the same community in Ontario, and characters from each book are mentioned.

There are so many books written from old men's perspectives, looking back on their lives and I never seem to identify with them - Gilead, The Sense of an Ending. I know there are more. I found the girls' memoirs refreshing and how they were essentially writing the same story but from such different perspectives. Even that their life experiences were so different yet they were attached!

#62 Hi Elizabeth! I'm delighted you enjoyed The Girls so much, and The Wife's Tale even more! I'll be anticipating your thoughts on Rush Home Road. Interesting that all three novels take place in the same town in Ontario.

You make an excellent point about there being much reminiscent literature from a man's point of view. It was to Lansens' credit that Rose and Ruby had such distinctive voices.

Hmmm - now, I could not get into The Wife's Tale for some reason and I forgot that both books were by the same author. Hmmm. That may be a strike against The Girls but eventually I'll try The Girls. Hmm! I can think of quite a few books that look back on life from a woman's point of view - just for interests sake - Natural Order by Brian Francis - I loved it! Stone Diaries - loved it but did not find it that believable in the end. Stewart O'Nan's Emily Alone was fabulous. I find that I enjoy books about older/ elderly people and how they look back upon life. Emily, Alone was especially touching. Well, so was Natural Order. Interesting that both of those books were written by men.

Yes, the wind did die down and we saw the sun today!:)

thanks for the suggestions Deb. I have Emily Alone on my radar, and I forgot about The Stone Diaries, which I wasn't enamoured of. But I did really enjoy Margaret Laurence's The Stone Angel. There! about a woman, by a woman.

#64 I haven't read all of those, Deb, but here's to by a woman, about a woman, for a woman!

#65 Elizabeth, I also enjoyed The Stone Angel more than The Stone Diaries. Have not read Emily Alone, but Deb is incredibly persuasive ...

Oh, I have The Stone Angel to read. I wonder if I could fit it under that TIOLI challenge where a word can be used as a verb and another part of speech.

Hmm - eventually I will need to read The Stone Angel. It looks to be a good book! Thanks for the nudge!

I have to tell you that Emily , Alone was a wonderful, realistic look into the details of older people's lives. I wrote a review for it and you can read it. But I tell you that you shouldn't miss it!!!!!! It's a gem! It moves very slowly, but describes the lives of older people in such touching detail. The main character lives alone as a widow , and does things like open her blind to a certain level so that her neighbour knows that she is still alive and vice versa. The story talks about how life revolves around very mundane happenings - like getting together with a friend in an inexpensive lunch place and having a conversation once a week, getting together at funerals. When Emily's closest friend has a spell and is hospitalized, Emily has to fire up her old car from many years ago because she has not driven for many years. Stuart O'Nan writes with such precise and touching detail, you don't want to miss Emily, Alone. It's a slow but revealing look at old age and so many of the things rang true for me. I think as a society we try hard to avoid thinking about old age to much.

Natural Order is a a faster moving story ,but very touching . The woman who is the main character is in a old folks home, eating jello, needing help to use the bathroom.Most of the story does not take place in the care home, but some does. It's heartbreaking and fun at the same time. I can't remember the name of the main character, but she looks back on her life as a wife, friend, and mother and wonders whether she has done her best. I had tears in my eyes as I closed the book. I've written a review for that one too.

Okay, off my soapbox!;) But I really loved reading such touching and true to life stories about elderly people...;)

Morning , Nancy! :)

Oh! BTW - Emily, Alone and Natural Order were among my top reads of 2011..... persuasive - me?:)

#67 Hi Dee, sounds like The Stone Angel will fit one of your TIOLI challenges : ).

#68-69 Hi Deb, I remember you reading both of those books and how much you enjoyed them. Awesome that both made your list of top 2011 reads! Impressive! (Your innocent persuasive - me? doesn't work here, LOL! I've got the TBR list to prove it! You are too much!)

I know! Such a troublesome pesky person on your thread - that's me!;) Have a great day, Nancy!

#71 Oh, Deb, you're the best!

Oh you are so kind , Nancy! A Dancing star for me!! That's got me cheered up already! I was out yesterday late in the day, and picked up a book for myself as treat. It took me ages to decide.... but I finally chose out a new Scandi Crime - The Boy in the Suitcase. It will have to wait it's turn though, as I am still reading Betrayal , which is a fabulous story about postwar Russia with Stalin still in power. Once again the story is told through just one family, but it's so fascinating and frightening to think about how you could not trust many people because of spies for the government.

Comrade Nanski, I hope you have a wonderful day today! :) signed, Comrade Deborushka.

#73 LOL @ Comrade Deborushka! Glad you treated yourself to a new book! I've taken your lead and have requested The Siege at my library. The Outcast is proving an enjoyable read though I'm not yet halfway through. Can't decide if I'll read an escape next (maybe the next in the Mankell or Indridason series I've got going) or one more Orange. But I like to choose my books on spur of the moment, so I'll decide later.

No more fraternizing on this thread comrade Nanski and Deborushka. You are out of order. Last warning, signed comrade Carstenovitch

#75 Aye, comrade Carstenovitch! Perfect response! LOL!

heheheh! I'm still in Russia! Yes sir, Comrade Carstenovitch!;)

>75 ctpress: LOL!

Please read Child 44 if you haven't already you three and the Skis and the Ovitches really don't get along there too well! By the way shouldn't it be "Nanska" not "Nanski"?

#77 Deb, we must fraternize carefully here, hehe!

#78 Hi Megan!

#79 Paul, Child 44 is a must then! And I have no idea about "skas" versus "skis."

heheh yes, we must fraternize carefully, Comrade Nanski, or Nanska! :) shh I hear the sounds of the black vans -and anyone among us - especially Paul - may be a spy for Stalin... oh! I should not have said that! I'm using my the computer at my dacha right now - a dacha is a sort of a summer home, but it is very rustic - in other words, - well, let's just say I'm off the grid!;) Hahahah!! I cannot help being ridiculous , comrades!

Yes Paul, I too have put Child 44 onto my wish list. Hey Meganorushka, how are you? I only know so many suffixes to add on to name to make them sound vaguely Russian. Maybe ski is to Polish or Jewish, is that it, Paul? I have no idea.

#81 Hi Deb! Now that I think on it, I think "ski/ska" may denote masculine/feminine (not that it matters for our purposes, LOL). I need a dacha - off the grid sounds perfect! Later, comrade!

Good morning, Nancy aka Nanska! I'll second Deb's enthusiasm for The Siege and The Betrayal. If you two decide to do a shared read of Child 44, I'd gladly join in. I need a little bit of a nudge to read this for some reason. My husband thought it was great but he wasn't sure if it was "my kind of book." I'm not even sure if I know what my kind of book is these days with the variety of books I'm trying due to all the LT recs!

Ack! Too much to hope to catch up! I don't think I'd much like The Girls although I do like your review. I have Helen Dunmore yet to read. And I'm one of those LTers who absolutely loved The Outcast. There.
Oh - Hi, Nancy!

Nancy - ski ska ouschka ova super-nova - all ok! A lot of Polish guys have Ski's with or without snow on the piste. Nanska does seem to fit but I guess you will always be hot lit chick!

Deb - I'm not in the pay of Stalin - I married his reincarnation!

Well, Im half Latvian anyway, so maybe I dont need a Russian name. And just quietly, the family I still have in Latvia dont really like Russia prefer other nationalities!

>85 PaulCranswick: Paul, ouch, poor SWMBO ;)

#83 Hi Donna, appreciate your further endorsement of Helen Dunmore. I'll get there! To be honest, I'm not sure whether Child 44 is my kind of book either. As a spring fling, a few of us plan to read Gerbrand Bakker's second novel, The Detour - would love to have you join us. Not sure if you've read The Twin, but it is wonderful!

#84 Hi Peggy! I'm also loving The Outcast. Will be curious to know how you like Helen Dunmore once you get to her.

#85 Paul, make me smile, as always : ). You are a dead man if Hani ever sets up here at LT!

#86 Hi Megan, too funny! There's just no accounting for families, hehe!

Comrade Pavel aka Paul, you crack me up!!! Hani will have your head if she ever gets on LT!!! Careful, Comrade!;) I'm still laughing though.

Hey Nanksa, good to see you! I still have not written up my review, but I'm very much enjoying India in The Hero's Walk. It seems like I am having a slow but wonderful start to reading in 2012! Next thing I'll be yacking about our different Caste's and our Sari colours I've got light blue on today. ;) Ha!!!!!

#88 Hi, comrade Deb! Make me smile! Indeed, you are having a wonderful start to your 2012 reading adventures. Now you're in India! (nice to get out of that dank Russian prison!)

Though I am in India - lol! I made a return to Russia and have finally written up a review of The Betrayal. It's really a fantastic read!

Must admit that I do occasionally read some of the posts to SWMBO both to gauge the state of her mood as well as to show her what a great bunch of friends I have made here. I do of course edit which posts she gets to see!

#90 Deb, thumb on your terrific review of The Betrayal. Thanks for that!

#91 Pavel, I should say that you edit what Hani sees! Smart man, hehe!

Now Helen Dunmore has jumped to the top of my list!

#93 Hi Mary, Deb is very persuasive! I'm also looking forward to Dunmore.

Thanks for the thumb, Nancy! Dunmore, oh yes, both you and Mary should read at the very least The Siege - and I strongly suggest The Betrayal as well!;)

>87 lit_chick:: Oh yeah, I read and loved The Twin. I'll see if I can get hold of The Detour for the spring fling.

What's next on your reading list? I wouldn't advise going right from Labrador to a cold Russian winter. Maybe you should join Deb in India to warm up a bit. ;-)

#96 Donna, wonderful that you'll try to join us in The Detour. It's not being released until mid-April (ish) in Canada; I wonder if it's the same for the US? (eta: just went to Amazon to check on dates; as far as I can tell, both Canada and the US can expect the novel Apr 24)

I'm finishing The Outcast in the next couple of days and haven't yet decided what to read next. But I think you're right in that I need to get warmed up before heading to Russia!

Really, really , now Nanska, surely a Canadian girl like you can handle a little cold in Leningrad, eh? :) Orders from the Top, Comrade - read The Siege next. You know, audio com has it , and I downloaded it but only listened to the first few chapters before turning to my book. Jilly Bond ( or Gilly Bond? ) was a lovely narrator, oh so much better than Juliet Stevens !!!!!

I was going to ask , is it cold enough for you, Comrade, but this talk of disobeying orders and not knowing what to read next ... well, I had to change my plans!;)

As I say , Orders Come From the TOP, Comrade Nanska!!!!! :)

It's cold enough for me, that I can tell you!!! - but oh I am sweating in India! ;)

#98 LOL, Deb! Definitely cold enough here - freezing my Canadian butt off! Our winter has been so mild until this week. Woot! On that note, delighted you are sweating in India! On the reading front, I finished The Outcast tonight - an excellent, recommended read! Will try to get my review posted tomorrow. Then, let's see ... I have books all over the place right now, and I want to read them all. So I need to make a decision ... this can be a problem for me when the choices are too broad! I'll KYP.

For your 100th thread Nancy and entrance onto the league table (!) I will commiserate with you all on the temperature over there (I saw a video from Ilana taking her dog for a walk in sunny Montreal and even Coco with all his fur and a doggy jacket looked freezing running around). Extreme cold is not one of the problems I have to put up with over here.

#100 Paul, thanks for launching me into the league table! Would that Canada could be one of the tropics for Jan/Feb. Better yet, I'd like to take these two right off the calendar - more Julys is what we need!

3.
The Outcast, Sadie Jones



Rating: 4/5

Lewis Aldridge is a young boy in 1950s rural England when he witnesses his mother’s drowning. Within weeks, his distant father, Gilbert, has emptied their family home of her belongings; and within months, he is remarried to a much younger woman, Alice. The accident is not spoken about, and Lewis’s grief is never acknowledged. “The silence around her memory became brittle and dangerous and neither dared break it.” (69)

Not surprisingly, Lewis is unable to cope. His grief manifests itself first as defiant behaviour; but as time goes on, the unresolved childhood trauma will take him to much darker places. Gilbert’s response to his son is cold, punishing aloofness; and Alice seeks solace in alcoholism. Finally, Lewis is completely lost:

“I feel like I’m falling away from everything, like the world’s just far away from me. And dark. And I’m dark too. Just recently I don’t know if I can get back.” (233)

Kit Carmichael instinctively knows what Lewis needs and seeks to help him. But Kit is a young girl and herself the victim of a cruel and abusive father. Dicky Carmichael, also Gilbert’s boss, detests Lewis and forbids Kit’s association with him. Lewis’ descent accelerates, aided in no small measure by the deliberate ignorance of 1950s society as concerned the “private” matters of mental illness, alcoholism, and domestic violence.

Jones’ debut novel is impressive; her spare and to-the-point style suits her purpose well. The Outcast is a compelling read, the enduring gift of which, for me, is the reminder of the residual damage which results from a society’s chosen ignorance.

“If one didn’t mention a thing afterwards, it was as if it hadn’t happened.” (75)

Great review, Nancy. I have this to read but have been putting it off because it sounded depressing. Your review makes it sound well worth reading, nonetheless.

Great review, Nancy! Thumb up from me. Hmmm - it does sound a little depressing but I like the sounds of the spare prose and this from your review - The Outcast is a compelling read, the enduring gift of which, for me, is the reminder of the residual damage which results form a society’s chosen ignorance.

#103 Thanks, Dee. I do think The Outcast is well worth reading.

#104 Hi Deb, I didn't find The Outcast depressing, but it was very real! Thanks for the thumb : ).

I was drawn in to the story just reading your review, wanting to know more about the fate of Lewis in a world where nobody is listening. Another great review, Nancy.

Ohhh Nancy I loved The Outcast too; so well written that I went out and picked up her Small Wars too. I think I'll save that for Orange July.

Nancy I read The Outcast last year on a transatlantic flight and I remember standing in the immigration line and hoping it would go slow so I could finish my book. I agree with, it wasn't ultimately depressing--although parts of it certainly brought tears to my eyes.

#106 Thanks, Carsten. I also found myself drawn into Lewis's world.

#107 Bonnie, I'll have to look up Small Wars; I'd definitely read more of her work.

#108 Anne, you know it's a great read when you're hoping the immigration line moves slowly! Agree there are some wonderfully moving passages.

Nancy...great review of The Outcast and you seem to hit the nail on the head. My favourite month used to be July with the commencement in UK of the school holidays and the Tour de France. Over here although it is also the school holidays I don't feel it so markedly as there is no perceptive change in the seasons.

Nice review Nancy, Outcast has gone on my wishlist.

You've had a nice Orange January, Nancy! Great reviews. I remember seeing what you are reading next on your homepage,but now I have to go have a peek....

Ahh- The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve. I confess I have read nothing by her yet. I will look for you review/ comments! :)

Ooh, The Weight of Water! I really liked that one. Shreve is sort of my comfort reading go-to author. She writes well enough and tells an interesting story, usually. I really felt TWoW was a cut above her usual stuff... Don't bother with the film version - it was not well done.

I've read four Shreves but not The Weight of Water. I loved two of them and the other two left me cold. Don't know if it's Shreve or me who's inconsistent!

Dee - I find her very inconsistent. Her later books, especially, have not been nearly as good, IMO.

Thanks Katie. The two I enjoyed were earlier ones so that makes sense!

#110 Thanks, Paul. I LOVE July! It is absolutely my thing : ).

#111 Thanks, Heather! I think you will enjoy The Outcast.

#112-113 Hi Deb, The Weight of Water is an Orange book; thought I'd try to get one more in, and it caught my attention. I generally use Shreve as escape, so I was surprised to see the Orange nomination.

#114 Hi Katie! Appreciate the endorsement of The Weight of Water (book, NOT film!). I use Shreve the same way you do. Looking even more forward to reading to this one now.

#115 Hi Dee! I've read two other Shreve novels and had the same experience as you. Fortune's Rocks I enjoyed very much, but Sea Glass did next to nothing for me. I think she's inconsistent; it can't be you or I!

#116-117 Katie agrees with us, Dee - the inconsistency is Shreve's! Interesting comment, Katie, about her earlier/later work. I went to check and, sure enough, Fortune's Rocks precedes Sea Glass (though only by a year).

Both The Girls and The Outcast were LT discoveries for me and I loved them, especially The Outcast, which was one of my top books back in 2008 (I think.)

Some great readiing, Nancy! I hope your reading year continues this way!

Glad you enjoyed The Outcast - it is definitely time for Jones to write a third book!

#119 Hi Stasia! Delighted you enjoyed both The Girls and The Outcast, and that the latter made one of your top books from 2008!

#120 Hi Cait! I have yet to read Jones' Small Wars, but I've read your endorsement and it's on my list!

Hey there Nancy!! I hope you enjoy The Weight of Water - I've never read an Anita Shreve. It's perfect that you can read it for escape as well as another Orange book! I note that you have one of your favoured classics on the go - The Barchester Chronicles or is it The Barchester Towers? I admire how you've always got a classic on the go!! Good for you!! I wish I could say the same!

Happy Sunday to you , Nancy!

#122 Hi Deb, happy Sunday to you, too! I'm enjoying The Weight of Water. As Katie commented, this one is not quite so escapist as what I've come to expect from Shreve - hence the Orange nomination, no doubt.

I'm listening to The Small House at Allington which is the fourth of five books in The Barchester Chronicles, aka the Barsethire Chronicles. Barchester Towers was the second novel in the series. I'm always walking, as you know, and I like to always have an audiobook on the go.

Hi Nancy - you are way ahead of me in the Barchester-series now...Actually you are on book five of six in the series, if I remember right. My next Trollope is nr. four - Framley Parsonage......

Well, Nancy, I feel obliged to put my money on The Outcast too. I really enjoyed it and, like Bonnie, look forward to Small Wars in July. I own a Shreve or two including *Weight* never tried them because of suspected lightness. I'll be interested to see your final verdict on it. I guess I'm wrapping up my Orange January with a new book by an Orange nominee - Arcadia by Lauren Groff. Hmm. I could be reading Trollope too, but I've opted for Dickens instead in this year of his bicentennial. Maybe next year or the next....

Hi -

This is my first appearance on a thread, hello everyone! I wanted to weigh in on Shreve - I totally agree that her earlier works leave much more of an impact. I have found more recent works more reminiscent of Jodi Picoult-esque light reading (though I still can't help reading them just in case!), but her earlier works, particularly The Weight of Water, Fortune's Rocks, The Pilot's Wife and The Last Time They Met definitely made an impression on me. Though I was a teenager when I read them, maybe standards were lower!

I enjoyed your review of The Outcast - I'll definitely keep an eye for that one!
Happy reading,
Orlaith

#124 Carsten, you're right - I'm on book five of six in the Barsetshire Chronicles. Thanks!

#125 Hi Peggy! The Weight of Water is a decent read so far, but I was still surprised to see Shreve on the Orange list. What are you exploring in terms of Dickens? As you know, Bleak House was one of my top ten last year. SO fabulous!

#126 Welcome Orlaith! You've read more Shreve than I, but seem to be on the same page in advocating that she is inconsistent, and that her best work is her early work. I don't read her often, to be honest, but it's Orange January; and I wanted to fit in one more.

Agree with Orlaith (nice to see you posting here by the way!) on Shreve ~ her earlier work was quite effective. SWMBO is a big fan of hers. I particularly liked Eden Close and Resistance. Consider her a sort of highbrow lite - well written, serious subjects but somehow easy reading.

Thanks Paul and Nancy! Happy to be here. Although now I have force myself off this thing and actually pick up a book....:)

#128 Hi Paul, "highbrow lite" is a perfect description.

#129 Ah, Orlaith, you are going to fit right in here at LT!! Welcome again.

"Highbrow lite" - I think that Paul has created a new genre of fiction - or even non-fiction. Good one!

#131 Agreed! Highbrow Lite is a new genre. Thanks, Paul!

Good afternoon, Nancy! I quite like the new genre that Paul has come up with! Very rainy and blustery here today. Ugh... better than snow, though...

>102 lit_chick: I think I took Outcast off my WL, but maybe i need to put it back on? Nice review.
lol re: "highbrow lite", for those who are on a Dostoevsky Diet!

Highbrow Lite is a great little category. Thanks, Paul!
(Hi, Nancy)

#133 Me, too, Deb (like Paul's newly named genre, that is)! A Vancouverite I am definitely not. I detest rain in the winter! Can't ever get warm in the damp. White stuff for me, please, if we MUST leave Jan and Feb on the calendar.

#134 Hi, Megan! The Outcast is a worthy read, and I hope you'll enjoy. Don't think I'd include Dostoevsky in Paul's new genre - it's definitely well written, serious subjects, but I think not easy reading! (not for me, anyway).

Oh dear and there with a flippant phrase I go and coin a new genre! Any other authors you want to put up for this genre....not quite deserving of the literary section of the bookstore but definitely beyond lit-chick and pulp fiction....Barbara Delinsky? Melvyn Bragg?

#135 Hi Peggy! (we cross-posted!) Paul's new genre is taking off, hehe!

#137 Hi Paul, I don't know either Barbara Delinsky or Melvin Bragg, but if they transcend chick lit and pulp fiction but fall short of literary pastiche, then they belong in Highbrow Lite. You must patent your newly minted genre so that you receive full credit for its inception!

hehehee!! I think I may have purchased a Highbrow Lite in Sister but until I read it , it remains to be seen.. Yes Paul, super new genre! We must get the word out!

Sniff -nose in the air - Sister by Rosumund Lupton is said to be comparable to the works of " Kate Atkinson, Patricia Highsmith and Ruth Rendell" according to a review, so perhaps that takes it out of the Highbrow Lite and into errr - psychological suspense territory? I dunno!;)

#139-40 Thanks for the chuckles, Deb! I must agree that Kate Atkinson is beyond Highbrow Lite, so will await your valued opinion on Rosamund Lupton and Sister : ).

>136 lit_chick: by Dostoevsky Diet I meant keeping off the Dostoevsky...although in rethinking that it seems to mean the opposite
Im (if I say it enough it'll happen , right?) reading one of his this year.....Crime and Punishment...that's right, highbrow full cream.

#142 Hi Megan, I'll say highbrow full cream! I did confuse your Dostoevsky Diet initially, but I'm good now (duh moment!). Admire your plans to read Crime and Punishment.

4.
The Weight of Water, Anita Shreve



Rating: 3.5/5

“I wonder this: if you take a woman and push her to the edge, how will she behave?” (Ch 1)

The Weight of Water moves back and forth between past and present as photo journalist Jean Janes explores the 1873 murder of two Norwegian immigrants, Anethe and Karen Christensen, on the Isles of Shoals, off the New Hampshire coast. The gruesome murders were witnessed by a third woman, Maren Hontvedt. Jean discovers Maren’s voice in letters long since archived and forgotten.

The novel is well written, and an easy and compelling read. Shreve draws several parallels between the past and present narratives, between Jean’s life and Maren’s. Truthfully, I was surprised to find The Weight of Water nominated for an Orange Prize; but this is solid work, and Shreve deserved the recognition.

Sounds interesting, Nancy. I just looked at the trailer of the movie version to get an idea of the story. I haven't read anything by Shreve yet.

Nice review, Nancy. That does sound worth a look. Maybe I won't completely give up on Shreve. I really enjoyed The Pilot's Wife and Light on Snow, though a friend returned the copy of The Pilot's Wife which I lent her, unfinished saying it was too depressing!

Nice review, Nancy. Thumb from me. One book I may read by Shreve would be The Pilot's Wife . I felt a frisson of excitement when I saw on your home page that you are reading Voices by Arnadular Indriason. !! :) Such good time ahead of you! Eventually I'll get back to my thread - maybe tomorrow? I finished up Last Resort a memoir by Linwood Barclay and found it to me a most interesting read. Now I've moved onto a book I picked up at the book store a few nights ago - As Long as the Rivers Flow by James Bartlemen. I'm only about 20 pages in, but it's the story of young girl abused at a residential school and how that affects further generations. After I purchased it I read that the publisher has submitted the book for the Giller Prize, or some such thing. so, I hoping to get something from it , as in a greater understanding of that entire debacle in our history.

See you on my thread when I get there - just been busy!

#145 Hi Cartsten, The Weight of Water is an interesting story, particularly that of Maren, and I thoroughly enjoyed the read. I've not seen the movie.

#146 Hi Dee, Light on Snow is on my TBR, and I loved the movie The Pilot's Wife but have not read that book. The Weight of Water is well done, and in my opinion worthy of a read. Personally, I don't find Shreve's work depressing, but I can certainly see how some might.

#147 Hi Deb, appreciate the thumb! And thanks for the endorsement of Indridason's Voices. Have you seen the movie The Pilot's Wife? It's well done. Your reading adventures continue to impress! Glad you enjoyed Last Resort, and I'm sure you'll get something from your latest. Residential schools were a shameful debacle in our history.

Thanks for a good review, Nancy. If I get around to Shreve, The Weight of Water is the one I'll get around to - and I might do it now. Well, not now now, but sometime as opposed to never.

#149 Hi Peggy, I think you would enjoy! Your clarification of "now" is perfect! I'll be hanging on to those words!

Hi Nancy - hope you enjoy Voices - I bought a couple of scandi-crimes last year - and I see that my next Indridason will be Silence of the Grave - it have to stand politely on the shelve for a while - my next scandi-crime will probably be Jo Nesbo's The Redbreast - Paul recommendation from last year.

Whoops now I'm on tenterhooks already hehe.

#151 Carsten, I'm very much enjoying Voices. Will be curious to see what you think of Nesbo. Outside of Larsson (master!), I've only ventured as far as Mankell and Indridason in terms of Scandi Crime writers. I enjoy both and think will branch out this year to include Karin Fossum.

#152 Indeed, you are Paul!

Hi Nancy, nice review of The Weight of Water. I read three of hers many years ago, before LT, but I never warmed up to her and didn't continue. Of the three I read this one and The Pilot's Wife were the best.

#154 Thanks, Bonnie. I haven't read The Pilot's Wife, but the movie is worth a watch if you come across it. I understand not warming up to Shreve; her work seems very uneven.

Hi Nancy, I was reading your review for The Weight of Water thinking this all sounds very familiar and I've realized I saw the movie. I think it was pretty good, the plot stuck with me at least. And this is all reminding me that I have The Pilots Wife unread around here somewhere.

#156 Hi Leonie, I haven't seen the movie, The Weight of Water. I have seen the movie The Pilot's Wife which was very good, but I haven't read the book.

5.
Voices Arnaldur Indridason



Rating: 4/5

It’s Christmas, and Reykjavik is besieged with international tourists seeking an exotic holiday vacation. The festive mood is interrupted at a five-star hotel when Santa is discovered murdered – his body found in a dingy basement room, and in a most compromising position. Erlendur heads up the ensuing investigation which unfolds over five days. He soon learns that Santa, also the hotel doorman, was a child star, an unsurpassed operatic soprano whose original recordings have recently been determined to be worth millions. Motive?

True to form, Indridason has a couple of subplots in the works as well. Eva Lind, Erlendur’s addict daughter, has been straight for some months following a very near brush with death. But she’s struggling again and doesn’t know how much longer she can “hold out.” And Erlendur’s colleagues are working a case involving a young boy whose been badly beaten, allegedly by school thugs. But the facts of the case don’t ring true; and although the boy remains steadfastly silent, the father looks awfully suspect.

Indridason’s trademarks are on full display here: a layered and intricate plot; suspenseful, quick-moving story; varied and interesting characters; and last, but not least, a love interest (or at least the hint of one) for Erlendur. Recommended!

Fab review, Nancy! I have this one to read, having enjoyed the first two in the series and am looking forward to getting to it when I'm in the right mood.

Ooh, a love interest for Erlendur? That's a first isn't it, even if it's only a hint of one! I hope it cheers him up a bit ;)

Great review, Nancy. You lure me in to read on in the Erlandur-series. Looking forward to follow the development of the character and his relationship with his daughter. Very tense as I recall from the first novel in the series. Killing Santa is a brave move :)

#158 Nice review Nancy. That's another Scandi-crime series that has been on my wishlist for a while...

Voices is my favourite Erlendur so far Nancy and you unearthed a very good cover for it. Have a great weekend.

#159 Thanks, Dee! I have to be in the right mood for Scandi-crime, too, but I very much enjoy it. Erlendur does need some cheering up, so I'm rooting for him on the love front! (but not holding my breath).

#160 Yay, Carsten, glad I could lure you further into Erlendur's world. Your comment Killing Santa is a brave move make me laugh! Indeed!

#161 Thanks, Heather. I'm always tickled to discover another LTer who imbibes in Scandi-crime! It was Larsson's millennium trilogy, which I inhaled last winter, that made me want more. Prior to that, I didn't know Scandi-crime was a genre (shhh).

#162 Thanks, Paul. Voices was a good one! Glad you like the cover, but I must give that credit to my public library.

This is a series that I need to look for Nancy and you make this particular one sound very, very good. Thumb for your review.

#164 Thanks, Bonnie! Good Scandi-crime is hard to put down! Dare I hope we've found another convert? : )

>158 lit_chick: well, now you've got me interested.
Grrrrrr, another one for the Get-asap-from-the-library List, my card is nearly worn through lately!

Eta: there are many copies available, now....to make space on my bedside table and in my schedule.....

#166 Glad I could helpwith the overworked library card and the overcrowded beside table, Megan! Finding time in your schedule with two young children - that's another matter all together!

Well, as you know , HOT lit chick, I gave your fabulous review of Voices a thumb a day or two back. Finally I've caught up on my thread and my review... ahh! Now I'm trying to catch up on peoples threads. Oh yeah, Erlendur does get himself a love interest.. and gets more interested in his kids / daughter as the series goes on....

BTW - loved The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar. A 4. 5 read for me!! What a fabulous read - but oh so heartbreaking - at least for me. I didn't write up a review for it like I did for As Long the Rivers Flow but I really loved the book.

I 've had so many fabulous reads so far this year, I am not sure what to read next - what will measure up? ;)

That's a sign I need to be on LT where the book bullets come thick and fast.....What are you reading at the moment? I'd better have a gander on your home page - wait - are you reading The Siege!!!! Blimey, I'm so excited for you, Nancy!! You are in for a treat!

Your HOT now, Lit Chick - spotted your review of Voices on the LT frontpage - thumbs up :)

#168 Hi Deb! Ooh, I've got a HOT review! Thanks for your part in that : ).

I also loved The Space Between Us. And thumb for your excellent review of As Long as the Rivers Flow. Presently reading and very much enjoying The Siege. Thanks for the rec! Can't wait to see what you're up to next ...

#169 Thanks, Carsten, yes HOT! Appreciate your part in my literary acknowledgement, hehe!

Hey Hot chick! I'm not quite sure yet what I'm going to read next. I am tempted to read another book byThrity Umrigar but I'd also like some sort of escape fiction. I did really love The Space Between Us - but oh what a heartbreaker for me.. I listened to a bit of an interview by Thrity Umrigar that I found on the computer and she is a very intelligent, thoughtful woman by the sounds of it. Excellent writer.

#171 Deb, I'll be watching to see what other work of Thrity Umrigar you decide to pick up. Excellent writer, indeed!

6.
The Small House at Allington, Anthony Trollope



Rating: 4.5/5

The Small House at Allington
2007, Blackstone Audiobooks, Read by Simon Vance

Lily and Bell Dale, along with their widowed mother, reside in the small house at Allington, as dependents of their uncle, old Squire Dale. As the novel opens, both girls are of age to marry. The Squire wishes Bell to marry his nephew and heir, Bernard Dale. But Bell will have none of it; she loves Bernard as a brother, nothing more. Lily, however, the younger of the two, falls hopelessly in love with Bernard’s London friend, Adolphus Crosbie. Mr. Crosbie, a government official, is stylish, charismatic, socially adept, and, as it turns out, a “confounded scoundrel.” Whilst engaged to Lily, his unapologetic social climbing leads him to also engage Lady Alexandrina De Courcy – a move he will justly live to rue. Before poor Lily has time to recover herself, well-meaning but hopelessly awkward Johnny Eames, declares his abiding love and asks for her hand. Johnny, foil to Crosbie’s suave charisma, is, as Trollope wittingly informs, “hobbledehoy”:

“Such young men are often awkward, ungainly, and not yet formed in their gait; they straggle with their limbs, and are shy; words do not come to them with ease, when words are required, among any but their accustomed associates. Social meetings are periods of penance to them, and any appearance in public will unnerve them. They go much about alone, and blush when women speak to them. In truth, they are not as yet men whatever the number may be of their years; and as they are no longer boys, the world has found for them the ungraceful name of hobbledehoy.” (Ch 4)

The Small House at Allington is completely endearing as the inexperience of youth navigates courtship and matrimony: the dilemma of romantic love versus practical match versus financial alliance. Indeed, where love is concerned, Trollope observes that, “It may almost be a question whether such wisdom as many of us have in our mature years has not come from the dying out of the power of temptation, rather than as the results of thought and resolution.” (Ch 14)

Each time I finish one of the Barsetshire novels, I think that it must be the best one yet, so delightful have I found this series. It is no different for me with The Small House at Allington. And Simon Vance as narrator continues to push the limits of excellence. Highly recommended!

I'm glad you enjoyed your Barsetshire novel so much! Great review, Nancy! Thumb up!

Ok. That settles it. I will continue with the Barchester-series after the two I'm reading now. You are so right Nancy. It is a strong series and the first three have been wonderful reads. Love the quotes. The first made me laugh, the second made me think. Wisdom and ironic humour abounds in equal measures in Trollopes view of human interaction. He's so perceptive.

Wish I had two thumbs...oh I do, I know, but I can only use one for your review:)

I'm looking forward more and more to getting on the Barsetshire train later this year :-) Well deserved thumb from me.

#174 Thanks, Deb : ).

#175 Carsten, I'm tickled you will explore the rest of the Barsetshire series! Love your line, Wisdom and ironic humour abounds in equal measure in Trollope's view of human interaction. Beautifully said! Oh, and double thanks for double thumbs!

#176 Thank you, Heather! I hope you will enjoy your ride on the Barsetshire train as much as I have. One more to go. Eventually, I'll "ride" the Palliser series, too. I mostly listen to Trollope, and he makes for a fabulous audiobook!

Am with you on the Penguin Classic covers and content. I reckon they are the best too, glad you liked your latest.

Oh you're reading Trollope? Question from someone who hasn't read any of them yet Nancy: is there any particular order to the Barsetshire series?

#178 Thanks, Megan. Here's to Penguin Classics!

#179 Hi Bonnie, I think you'd enjoy Trollope's Barsetshire series. The order:

The Warden
Barchester Towers
Doctor Thorne
Framley Parsonage
The Small House at Allington
The Last Chronicle of Barset

This delightful BBC adaptation covers The Warden and Barchester Towers (and earned 5* from me):

Thanks for the list of Barsetshire series, Nancy. Today I was browsing in the bookstore - a bad activity, I know! I saw one copy of The Warden - Penguin Edition and I did not purchase it. Now I wish I had.....I like my Penguin Editions too. Shhh I purchased The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar - her new one which has a zillion holds at my library, and The Betrayal of Trust by Susan Hill. I've read all five in the Susan Hill series of Simon Serraller and this 6th in the series will just be like a comfy pair of old slippers for me to read.

Nancy, you are such an enabler by posting the Trollope list. I can't add another series as I've neglected the ones I've started. So why did I mark MSG. 180 as "add to favorites"? I am so weak...but I thank you.

Yep Nancy - I'm with you on all things Trollope. (Please note the e by the way - I mention this as I am typing this in Bangkok beset as it is with more trollops per square mile than any other place on earth)
Starting the Palliser series later this year.

#181 Hi Deb, enjoy your new purchases! Glad you found another Thrity Umrigar; I'll look forward to what you think of it. I need to look up the Susan Hill Series, although (as Donna says in the next post) I need another series like I need ... (add cliche of choice)!!

#182 Donna, make me smile - you're so welcome! Just returning the favour for the goods I've scored from your place. As Bonnie has said, "My job here is done." : )

#183 Paul, don't get trollopped to death! I want to read the Palliser series, too, though I'm not sure it will be this year.

A thumb for your wonderful Trollope review, Nancy. I've never read any Trollope though I expect I will one day!

#185 Thanks, Dee! Oh, to find the time for all wonderfu literature!

Trollope is definitely on my list of most-neglected authors. One day I will get to him...

#187 Hi Anne, it's really only been a couple of years since I picked up Trollope, too. I know you listen to a lot of audiobooks, and I think you'd appreciate Trollope a la Simon Vance.

>187 AnneDC: Trollope is definitely on my list of most-neglected authors. One day I will get to him...
me too! Along with.....I wont even start with this line actually.....needless to say Im happy that I will not run out of books to read in this lifetime!

#189 Hi Megan! Happy to report I will also never run out of books; in fact, since LT, I've accumulated enough for several lifetimes!

Just dropping by to see what sort of havoc you are up to on your thread!;)

>188 lit_chick: Nancy, I wil take that suggestion and file it away fro future reference!

Hi Nancy. I saw you are about to finish the Barchester-series with the last novel. This week I've started on Framley Parsonage - Simon Vance the narrator. I enjoy it very much. Other reading will be slow for me the next week. But my audiobook follows me around. Good weekend - hope you enjoy the ending.

#191 Hi Deb, havoc? me? LOL

#192 Anne, enjoy!

#193 Carsten, I loved Framley Parsonage and hope you will, too! Like you, my reading is sometimes slow during the week, but I love to have an audiobook follow me around when I'm walking, which is something I do most every day. Enjoy your weekend, too!

7.
The Siege, Helen Dunmore



Rating: 4/5

“General Winter stood in his great coat of snow, and greeted General Hunger, as all great generals greet one another once enough of their people have died and they can open their talks.” (Ch 6)

Leningrad is under siege by the German army in WWII. Protagonist Anna Mikhailovich is a motherless, twenty-three year old, responsible for not only her own life, but the lives of her much younger brother and injured father. Aided by an old lover of her father’s and a young Siberian doctor, Anna prepares for the gruesome reality of The Siege. Her story is at once a stark portrayal of the inhumanities that we are willing, when desperate, to visit one on the other; and simultaneously, a testament of the indomitability of the human will to survive against all odds.

Dunmore is well-written, and I think she does an excellent job here of putting a human face to this particular brutality of WWII without succumbing to sentimentality. Recommended!

“Frost and snow gather, thickening centimeter by centimeter on windows, roofs, parks, railways, and the bodies of the dead. Slowly, the city sinks down, like a great ship sinking in an ice-field. Its lights have gone out. Its water no longer flows. Production in factories has all but stopped. The ship is poised, ready to dive into the blackness of death. Only its people keep on stubbornly living, as if they don’t know that it’s all over for them.” (Ch 21)

Good review Nancy. Sounds like a compelling and also disturbing read about a part of WWII-history that I'm not that familiar with.

Actually I'm also reading about the siege of Leningrad. I've just begun another scandi-crime - Jo Nesbø's Redbreast in which one of the story lines is a little group of norwegian men who have joined the German army in the siege of Leningrad. But it's not the main storyline....

Nancy - Dunmore doesn't take much selling to me but what little bit was needed you did just fine.

Nancy, you chose the best quotes in the book (imo and poor memory) to relate the sense of hopelessness that was evident in the seige of Leningrad. Will you go on to read Betrayal? It didn't pack quite the wallop of The Seige although I appreciated the sense of closure to one example of a horrid time in history.

#196 Thanks, Carsten. Hope you enjoy Redbreast; I haven't gotten to any Nesbo Scandi-crime yet, but he's on the list.

#197 Thanks, Paul : ).

#198 Thanks, Donna. Not going to read Betrayal right now, but perhaps at a later date. I do like the idea of a sense of closure to The Siege. Glad you also really enjoyed Dunmore.

As ever Nancy, you've really caught the essence of the book in your review of The Siege, well done! I've just started Dunmore's new book, The Greatcoat and should have finished soon as its very short. Its a ghost story published by Hammer so a bit different from The Siege but the writing is as stunning as you'd expect.

#200 Thank you, Dee! Sounds like you're reading another excellent Dunmore selection in The Greatcoat. Will anticipate your comments : ).

Thumb! I'm reading a really good NF about WWII Nancy and just finished the part about the Siege of Leningrad and it's even grimmer than I anticipated. Dunmore really painted a detailed picture of the feelings of the citizens as they dealt with the horror.

Thumb up for The Siege . Can I say " I told you so." :) Glad to see you have The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie at the ready! :) I'll be back more fully in few days...

#202 Thanks, Bonnie : ). I wasn't familiar with the Siege of Leningrad until Dunmore, but you're right in that she paints a vivid picture of the feelings of the citizens in dealing with the horror.

#203 Thanks, Deb! Yes, you told me so, hehe! Looking forward to seeing more of you in a few days.

The Siege was a BB for me, and a good one.

#205 Hi, Megan : ). Glad you enjoyed The Siege. OK, I can admit this on my own thread - I know BB stands for Book Bullet, but I don't really know what it means. Will someone explain, please. (another duh moment for me)

Book bullets are those blue bits of text that shoot straight to your wishlist or TBR! I can't remember just which thread it started in, but I think it was Stasia's.

#207 Thanks, Jim! Make me smile : ). Makes sense that Stasia would be the root of BB. She also coined the term BlackHole to lovingly refer to her TBR list!

I've finally caught up on my thread, though not on other threads! I am making great use of my kindle and I am having a great mystery and Mayhem February, it would seem!;) That is supposed to happen in May!

By the way.... I saw The Betrayal in paperback in my local bookstore the other day........................................ don't wait too long! ;)

Delighted to "see" you back, my friend! Great that you've been getting so much use out of your Kindle. I'm also an avid ereader. I make extensive use of my iPad, but have just recently bought a Kindle - so recently that I haven't even received it yet!

Thanks for the heads up on The Betrayal. I've read very little this past entire week. Work has been over-the-top demanding, and I've managed to come down with yet another sinus infection. I'll eventually get another book read and have something to post ...

Thumb from me, too, Nancy, for that good The Siege review. That one may be next for me, based on your comments and those of other LTers.

#211 Welcome, Joe! I hope you do read The Siege; I'll be following along over at your delightful book cafe to see what you think of it : ).

Hi Nancy, The Siege does sound great and is on my great wish list of immense proportions. Hope the sinus infection clears up, I hate those and not being able to breathe or pronounce words properly is very annoying!

Hah! Thanks, Nancy. I thought I'd like to own this one, and they don't have it in our downtown bookstores near me. They have the next one, The Betrayal, but not The Siege. What kind of sense does that make? So I may have to order it. In the meantime, I've started The Tiger's Wife, which is very good so far.

#213 Hi Leonie, I hope you will enjoy The Siege. I am feeling much better, thank you.

#214 Hi Joe, doesn't make sense at all! There's simply no accounting for some things! I was going to read The Tiger's Wife for Orange January but changed my mind. It's one that has incited much discussion and very varied reviews. Looking forward to see what you think.

Hamlet, William Shakespeare



Rating: 4/5

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark!” (1.4) Indeed!

I thoroughly enjoyed a recent reread of Hamlet, and was much impressed with its layers of illusion, ambiguity, and deception – absolutely brilliant!

And I had forgotten how many great lines, still used today with regularity, had their origin in Hamlet; “To be or not to be …” is the most obvious and unforgettable, of course, but there are many more! How about “This above all: to thine own self be true” (1.3), or “What a piece of work is man!” (2.2). And, in some modern English equivalent, who has not said, “Though this be madness, yet there is method in ‘t” (2.2). The wise old adage about the danger of doing business with friends is from Hamlet, too: “Neither a borrower nor a lender be,/For loan oft loses both itself and friend” (1.3). But alas, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks” (3.2).

Finally, I couldn’t but marvel at Shakespeare’s continued influence some four hundred years after his time; and this lead me to wonder who, if any, among our contemporary writers, will we (well, not you and I, but others) be quoting four centuries hence?

Love, love, love Shakespeare, Nancy and Hamlet is probably my favorite. Thanks for the reminder about all the memorable lines. The man was pure genius. My love for him came from my eleventh grade English teacher. Her love for him came through in her teaching. She took our class on a field trip to see Richard Burton in Hamlet (I know I'm giving my age away here) in Toronto, about an hour away from our homes. That made the play come alive for a bunch of young, impressionable teenagers.

I can't think of anyone writing today who will have a lasting memory, at least not for four centuries. Let me think about that some more.

#217 Bonnie, how fabulous that your eleventh grade teacher inspired the gift of Shakespeare! I can certainly see how a trip to Toronto to see Richard Burton play Hamlet would have left an impression! Like you, I also can't think of anyone writing today who will have a lasting memory, at least not for four centuries. Talk about a tough act to follow, pun intended.

>217 brenzi: - Brenzi, If it comforts you, many of Shakespeare's contemporaries would have been flabbergasted that we're reading and performing him now. I mean, he didn't even have a university degree....

#219 Welcome, Cynara! Flabbergasted contemporaries aside, I think Shakespeare's lack of formal education makes his accomplishments even more impressive!

Well, he did have some education - he would have done Latin and math and whatnot at the Stratford school - but he certainly wasn't a university man. His plays were not the most highbrow entertainment available.

True, true....Something IS rotten in the state of Denmark.
Thanks for reminding me, Nancy :)

I had the privilege to hear and see Hamlet performed some years ago in The Globe in London - on the cheap seats standing for three magical hours among the crowd and dream myself back to the glory Elizabethan days....do visit The Globe if you ever come to London :)

Your reading remind me of my plan of reading more Shakespeare. I'll have to take on one or two of his plays this year. Well, Hamlet will always be one of my favorites.

#221 Thanks for interesting background, Cynara.

#222 Hi Cartsen! I thought of you when I read that infamous line about the state of Denmark! Definitely will visit The Globe if ever I decide to travel to London. I'd like to read Shakespeare more often, too; time is always the block in that regard.

Great review of Hamlet, Nancy! I read it eons ago, but you nearly tempt me to read it once again! As for the sinus infecton, I've got one too! Headache etc - not pleasant are they!

#224 Thanks, Deb! So sorry to hear you are also down with sinus infection. Definitely NOT pleasant. Get better!

I read Laertes' part at school when we studied that play. Didn't do much to foster any thespian tendencies in me, but good to have read.

#226 Hi Megan, how awesome that you read Laertes at school! My thespian adventures began and ended as abruptly as did yours, but I was Ebeneezer Scrooge!

Nancy catching up. Long time since I sat down and read a complete play but Shakespeare is always so rewarding of readers. Always thought that an audio book of Shakespeare to read along with the book in front of me would be a close approximation of heaven! Have a nice weekend.

Hahaha your thespian adventures - I have been severally Oliver Twist and the Pied Piper of Hamlyn - off to find SWMBO to see if she is interested in making a romantic short story!

#228 Hi Paul! I agree that Shakespeare is best served as an interactive experience, whether listening or viewing, (or acting!), along with reading. You've had quite a thespian career : ). I expect you and Hani, along with all of your musketeers, make a wonderful ensemble cast.

I'm afraid I've caught your sinus infection Nancy! Please be more careful when posting online in future!;) I hope that you are enjoying The Sweetness. I really did enjoy it - and all of the books that came after it!:)

Hahaha Nancy - you are right but too many chiefs and not enough indians!

#230 Hi Deb, hope you are feeling better soon! The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is the smartest, funniest YA fiction I've read. Still, my reading time has been uber-slow these daysweeks.

#231 Hi Paul, indeed! LOL.

Oh, you've reminded me how much I loved Hamlet when I studied it for A level at eighteen after having been left cold by The Merchant of Venice and Coriolanus at sixteen. I must revisit it some time!

#233 Hi Dee, I'm surprised that you studied The Merchant of Venice and Coriolanus at sixteen! Not much wonder you didn't like them. Our secondary curriculum includes Shakespeare, but easier plays: Midsummer's Night Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Hamlet.

234: That seems to make more sense. It's coming up to thirty years ago so hopefully things have changed now. I will find out next year when my older boy starts his GCSE English.

Even back in " my day" in high school , we only read Hamlet as part of the Grade 11 or Grade 12 curriculum. In university, - well, I can't remember what Shakespeare we read. I read quite a few plays myself, Coles notes in hand to interpret the Middle English!;) That was back in the day when I could afford to go plays and ballets etc." Hobnobbing" as one of my friends mom's used to tease us! :) I even took in a few Opera's! Ugh!!!

#236 Hi Deb, when I lived in Ottawa (which is many, many years ago now), I went often to the National Arts Center for theatre performances. Enjoyed "hobnobbing" for several years, I did!

On the Flavia front, I read the most interesting Alan Bradley interviews today, with the National Post and the Globe and Mail respectively. I didn't know that until fairly recently, he lived in Kelowna. He retired there from SK, but was originally from ON. What an interesting man! (I have in common with him that I was born in ON and gradually worked/lived my way across the country!). And I wouldn't have known about the Flavia series but for you, Deb, so thanks for that!!

>233 Soupdragon: we read The Merchant of Venice also and had to memorise a soliloquy. I still remember the first part.....

The quality of mercy is not strained.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown.

Every time my mother used to berate me for remembering advertising slogans and songs, I would quote this to her and that would shut her up! T'was such fun :)

#238 Hi Megan, nothing like memorizing a Shakespearean soliloquy to keep the mind sharp. I still remember the first several lines of one I had to memorize, too, from Macbeth (grade 11, I think):

If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well
It were done quickly: if the assassination
Could trammel up the consequence, and catch
With his surcease success; that but this blow
Might be the be-all and the end-all here,
But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,

Nice tactic with you mom! Make me smile : ).

Cough, cough, erhem Nancy, did you call The Sweetness YA!!! Gasp!! It's in the fiction and literature section of my library and Chapters. Please give credit where it is due!!!!!;)

Now, things like The Hunger Games and many other series and books are classified as YA, but Alan Bradley books are not. Please respect the books. :)

He is an interesting man. I had read a little about him and I knew that he used to live in Kelowna. This Saturday there is an article in the Globe and Mail on how " It's all Kidlet now and that's just fine. It mentions how The Hunger Games, The Twilight Series and books by Philip Pullman have large audiences both with YA and Old Adults like us!;) Just don't put The Sweetness there. I have to laugh at the comments in the article - some kids are amazingly precocious .....By contrast, some adults never outgrow the simple minded pop - cultural confections of their youth.

I am not sure I agree entirely. Sometimes we adult just need a little escape.. I'm currently reading Harperland - while very interesting, it's dry and I can't wait to get through it!!! I've learned a lot about the he - devil, but it's makes for slow reading!!

Do read House of Orphans! It very much enjoyed it -and it's a long listed Orange! Good to see you!

#240 Hi Deb, thanks for wonderful post! I can see both YA and adults enjoying Bradley's genus Flavia de Luce series. Read your comments re House of Orphans on your thread and very much enjoyed! I admire your foray into Canadian politics; you are impressive!

I'll eventually be back to my thread, but it may be a while yet. Too much other ...

Hi, Nancy. I have unjustifiably skimmed through your thread, not having visited since sometime in mid-January. (Bad cess to me.) You make me wonder why I'm not reading Shakespeare, and I couldn't tell you. On the other hand, I am starting The Siege at long last and looking forward to it!

Hey Nancy! Thanks for stopping by my thread!! I understand that your life might be busy and stressful right now. Read a little of Flavia to keep your self cheered up! ;) By the way, it's not long until you are and your sister are jet -setting, is it? That's a cheerful thought. :) Do you mean Bradley's genius Flavia de Luce series - or did you try to play it safe with me and decide to call it the Flavia de Luce genre of books?;) rather than YA!!! Hehe! ;)

#242 Hi Peggy, nice to "see" you! Will be looking forward to know what you think of The Siege. I think you will enjoy!

#243 Hi Deb, I'm off with my sister Mar 17-28, indeed a cheerful thought! Haha, I meant Bradley's genius series, but your comment about it being its own genre fits, too, doesn't it! He is a talent unlike any other I've read.

238, 239: I wonder if students today are required to memorize anything? How cool to be able to quote Shakespeare on a whim.

Nancy, your upcoming trip with Sis sounds like fun. Where are you going?

(Sadly, Donna, at my school I was the only one who required memory work, and it had obviously never been assigned to some of them at all, ever. They complained and sulked, but most of them learned a thing or two and then were inordinately proud of themselves.)

Ha! I remember a dreadfully old fashioned grade 6 teacher -and he was quite a tyrant of a man , at that! He required the entire class to memorize poems and recite them to the class. For me it was okay, because I was not really a shy sort of a person. For others it was pure torture. I remember on very bright girl loosing her bladder while reciting a poem in front of the class. I actually did not quite catch on to what was happening until a little after the fact.

He was a dreadful man, who also required students to sing songs solo and acapella in front of the class. I do remember bits and pieces of the poems we had to memorize though. I have to laugt a bit remembering back to that! Those were the days!!!

I can still recite the entirety of "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost. My father taught me a trick - to recite it to the tune of "Hernando's Hideaway" (from the musical The Pajama Game) and I've never forgotten a line of it!

I wish I could quote Shakespeare but the only thing I can recite by heart is The Jaberwocky because my dad taught it to me when I was about ten and we were out walking the dog. Oh and "She tells her Love while Half Asleep" by Robert Graves because I loved it when I was in my teens and also probably because it's short!

I can remember just a couple of the poems that I had to memorize and recite in grade 6 : I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud By William Wordsworth, and High Flight by John Gillespie McGee Jr . If I had to memorize any more poems than that - oh just remembered another - If by Rudyard Kipling and one other that had the word Vitae in it. I'll have to give that one some thought. I had a grade 6 teacher that was really big on England and the Queen's English. We even played Cricket!;)

#245 Hi Donna! It's rare that memory-work is assigned any more. I'm going to Cancun Mar 17-29, meeting my sister there! Simply cannot wait!

#246 Hi Peggy, isn't it wonderful when students surprise themselves? Many of them are much more capable than they think.

#247 Hi Deb, my experience was much the same as yours. We're both only 29, so it makes sense. I was very good at memory work, but for others it was absolute torture.

#248 Hi Katie, I love "Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening," and I love your (dad's) idea of reciting it to "Hernando's Hideway."

#249 Hi Dee, how neat that you remember "The Jabberwocky"! I'm not familiar with the Robert Graves one you mention; have to look that up.

#250 Deb, you studied Wordsworth in grade 6? How phenomenal! Our education system has changed so thoroughly, it is almost unrecognizable. And I'm afraid that while we've made progress in some areas, we made an absolute mess of others.

Hey there Nancy! I'm not sure if we studied Wordsworth per se in Grade 6, but we had to memorize the poem. I must admit that memorizing High Flight and If meant a lot to me even at the time. Though the teacher was a bit of tyrant - really he was - we certainly learned the Queen's English! To this day I say Car-Key for Khaki and /lɛfˈtɛnənt for Lieutenant. My kids have always looked at me strangely for those things. We played cricket, and had crumpets and tea in the classroom! It's fun to remember.

Despite our young age of 29, I do have some fun and fond memories of school! One other was grade 7 Social Studies!!!! LOL! There were three classes full of grade 7's at my elementary, and every Friday we went to the gym and all three classes sat on the floor of the gym with a small 21 inch black and white television and watched battles with plastic soldiers moved around on the screen with narration. Oh it was hilarious!!!!Really boring actually! Then we'd go back to our classrooms and take a quiz on the CBC tv show -at least I think it was a CBC!!!!!!! I did fine on the quizzes because I was the conscientious sort, oh but Nancy even I laughed myself silly at the silly plastic soldier battles on tv.

Not being in the front lines as you are , I have little idea of how our education system has changed. I do know that my younger son, who graduated grade 12 nearly 4 years ago - hmmm- I did have him very early in life didn't I - had a good education. I can remember him complaining a bit about the fact that only 1/3 of the lights were on in the classrooms to save money and that because there were not a enough text books to go around, he and many others had to photocopy a lot text book material at his own expense. Like me, he's got a bit of an activist in him and he presented the bill for the photocopying to the administration. I recall my nephew deciding that start of the year school fees were unconstitutional and he took a stand with the school. LOL! He is the same age as my son. Anyway, I think finally my sister went in and just paid them . Yes, my sister and I know how to raise them. Actually I think it's good for kids to be engaged and thinking about their education and how it all works. There you go, a book to read for you!

Take care Nancy and have a few laughs from Flavia and partake in your favourite beverage or food of comfort. Hugs to you in the trenches.

#252 Thanks for wonderful post, Deb. I just love the stories of your elementary school experiences! LOL to the CBC and plastic soldiers doing battle! The stories of your son and your nephew are priceless! Talk about intelligent and engaged young people! Chuckled at your nephew taking up school fees with administration! Actually, school fees were declared un-allowable (for reasons I can't remember right now) several years ago, maybe even around the time you are talking! So your nephew was a forward-thinking young man!

I do need some laughs, some Flavia, and a holiday. Coming soon to a theatre near you ...

Nancy, one of the things I notice with the kids that they simply can't abide poetry - they don't seem to see the point of it at all. Makes me more grumpy than usual tbh. Have tried to read them Betjeman, the romantics, Yeats, Hughes, Shakespeare's sonnets (a flutter of interest there to be fair), the war poets, Hardy and even my favourite Dylan Thomas but nothing seems to make an impression.
I also enjoyed Deb's anecdotes about her son/nephew and their rabble rousing student days! Bringing up such inquisitive and questioning children is a great compliment to the parents but pity the poor administrators let down by a bad school policy.

Memorize anything in school?? You've got to be kidding! Kids are not required to memorize anything because older teachers tired of the disappointment they experienced as a result of that assignment (as in, the students didn't comply...at all) and younger teachers never consider assigning it because...well...they never did it themselves. It's a totally lost art. Even a simple piece like Edna St. Vincent Millay's:

My candle burns at both ends
It will not last the night.
But ah my foes and oh my friends
It gives a lovely light.

OR

Safe upon the solid rock
The ugly houses stand.
Come and see my shining palace
Built upon the sand.

It's tough being old and out of touch;-)

#254 Hi Paul, poetry is definitely a tough sell with youth. But I'm impressed with even a flutter of interest in Shakespeare's sonnets!

#255 Hi Bonnie, well said! You're right that even our young educators do not see the value of memory work. This surprises me, but of course I'm old and out of touch! Thanks for the sweet simplicity of Edna St. Vincent Millay : ).

Bonnie
I agree with your comments. Alas, I am feeling old these days. Working in a university setting in a journalism department is very frustrating at times. I firmly believe that text messages, email and social media have undermined the basics of good writing. Truly, if I receive one more blunt message, sans please or thank you, without "I" capitalized, I swear I'm gonna scream!

Here is a poem that I love and memorized from my college days, before I was midlife. Somehow it appealed to my strong sense of the need to be independent.

Dorothy Parker
Indian Summer

In youth, it was a way I had
To do my best to please,
And change, with every passing lad,
To suit his theories.

But now I know the things I know,
And do the things I do;
And if you do not like me so,
To hell, my love, with you!

#257 Hi Linda, welcome! I'm afraid that manners, like memory work, have become a lost art. The text-gibberish makes me crazy! I have often emailed back to students that I do not respond to messages written in text-speak, that they will need to correspond in English if they wish a response from me. Thanks for the cute poem!

Nancy - don't get me started on manners! I get quizzical looks from Malaysian ladies as I hold open doors and insist they precede me or from my female staff who when walking are bemused as to why I am the one who requires to walk on the roadside. Manners are old fashioned - saying please and thank you is outdated and what a crying shame it is - I consider my own kids quite modern and I am often surprised that their basic manners get commented upon.

#259 Paul, sad to say but you're right that manners are old fashioned. A shame, indeed. Kudos to you and Hani that your children's manners are remarked on.

Oh it's hard to keep up! I'm not convinced that manners are a thing of the past. My kids and their friends are well mannered. As for texting, my kids give me a hard time for not using plain English.

That said, I'm still waiting for a young person to give up their sit on the Canada Line for an old lady like me!;) But at 29 - well..... maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.

What a windy day we had! A piece of flashing flew of the roof - hubby repaired it -and at work today, he told me that someone in a service vehicle at YVR opened up the door to the vehicle - and the door flew off the vehicle and damaged the airplane sitting beside it! It was really windy!

Really enjoying Midnight at Dragon Cafe. Interesting thing - living in a very small town and running a Chinese/ Fast food restaurant.

#261 Hi Deb, LOL that your kids give you a hard time about not using English in texting. I saw Vancouver's wild winds on the news last night. Good grief! Delighted you are enjoying Midnight at the Dragon Cafe.

>259 PaulCranswick: I am the one who requires to walk on the roadside
hehe, on one of our early walks as boyfriend and girlfriend, my now partner for life insisted on walking on the road side, I thought it was so nice. And cute as he wasnt even sure why he was doing it!

Hah! I like that. I do think it's classy, but my much better half insists I be on her left side regardless of where we're walking. No particular reason other than that's the way she likes it. My understanding is one reason for the custom is so that the gentleman shields the lady from splattering from the road. Better we look messed up, since that's somewhat of a normal state for us. :-)

#263 Hi Megan, I thought it was so nice. Me, too!

#264 Hi Joe, Better we look messed up, since that's somewhat of a normal state for us. Your words, not mine!

What can I say, Nancy? The factual record really works against us on this one.

Ha! My better half would never think about shielding me from the mud! As for the texting, I am relatively new to it, so I have trouble keyboarding on my Iphone. I try to seem " cool" with my kids using gr8t or LOL , or When r u coming home? They tell me that I am so out of it! ;) hahahahahahaha ! What are parents for but to be the butt of their adult childrens jokes. Haha -they get so offended when I call them "kids " or " young adults." I have told them that when you are 29 like me, anyone below say - 30 or so seems like a " kid" to me. They tell me they once someone gets to my age, they can't tell whether someone is 45 or 60! Rascals!

Say, Nancy, on the book front, are any of this years long listed Orange's grabbing you? I'm not sure if I am gravitating to any of them. Maybe I'll wait until the short list comes out.

#266 Hi Joe, hehe!

#267-68 Hi Deb, fun stories (or should I say gr8t stories!) about you texting with your "kids," hehe! I've only looked at the Orange LL briefly, and the only book I recognized immediately was Gillespie and I. It's garnering rave reviews, so I may give it a read, but it won't be soon.

When I started reading 'serious' literature in 2007 I was having a terribly stressful time at work and felt like I needed to fill my head with something nice. So I read Shakespeare's sonnets (and many of his plays) and tried memorizing as many of the sonnets as I could. It really helped me getting through those times, and when meetings were boring I recited poetry in my head. It made life much easier and funnier.

Now I have forgotten the majority of them again, but some favorites are still there and I still use them in unpleasant situations (like on the dentist's chair). I've since added Tennyson's Ulysses and parts of the first canto of Dante's Commedia.

The posts here remind me that I should add some more to train my memory a bit. And I need to reread Hamlet.

#270 Hi Nathalie, what a wonderful post! You make me want to reread Shakespeare's Sonnets and memorize some of them because they are so beautiful and to train my memory a bit. Love that you've also added some Tennyson and Dante to your repertoire.

As a teenager I loved the flowing verse of Tennyson and Longfellow.

Well, Nancy, I am having a difficult time deciding on a long listed Orange book that I'd like to read. I do have Gillespie and I in my TBR pile, and it's been there for a few months now. It's big chunkster with a lot of chatter in it - it reminds me of Zadie Smith 's book, the White Teeth. The The Pink Hotel looks kind of interesting, but we'll see. I've got The Forgotten Waltz from the library - but I'm not sure. It's a book about adultery and I know not what else. I'm not so keen on books where romance / or broken romance takes centre stage - and maybe it does not in The Forgotten Waltz - but it looks that way... sigh.

#272 Hi Paul, you were better versed than I as a teenager!

#273 Hi Deb, sounds like you are in a bit of a reading funk. I recognize the symptoms well! Maybe a break to something decidedly non-Orange, non-literature?

I'm off! One has to get up VERY early in the morning to catch a Cancun beach looking this quiet. Luckily for me, early works! The rejuvenation is perfectly timed! See you first week of April.

Ooh, how wonderful! Have a lovely break Nancy and see you in April!

#275 Have a lovely time Nancy - it looks amazing!

Just when you think you have seen all the beaches you need to see you go and post that beauty! Hae a lovely holiday Nancy!

Wow Nancy, I hope you have a fantastic holiday, and i look forward to you posting a pic of you under that tree!

I am so very jealous! Enjoy!

Oh my, Nancy, have fun but of course I didn't need to remind you to do that;-)

Enjoy yourself, girl!! Ah, nice and warm!! Great picture, Nancy! and I got The Detour by Gerbrand Bakker in the mail today!!! :) I'm waiting for it to be available in North America for our group read - but can I hold out........... I'm trying!

*sigh* Enjoy your beach every second you're there!! And be safe!!

Now this is beautiful - enjoy!

Hope you are enjoying yourself!!

Thank you Dee, Heather, Paul, Megan, Orlaith, Bonnie, Deb, Peggy, Nathalie, and Chelle! Holiday was fabulous! Managed to get a little bit of reading done, which I'll post about shortly in a new thread.