Vancouverdeb's 75 books for 2012

January

The Siege by Helen Dunmore 4.5 stars *
The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore 4.25 stars
The Hero's Walk by Anita Rau Badami 4 stars
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri 3.8 stars
Last Resort: A Memoir by Linwood Barclay 3.7 stars

Sorry I"ve been so busy over the holidays and it would seem that it won't let up for a little while..
Hi everyone!!

My first read for 2012 will probably be a Orange long list, or shortlist or an Orange Prize Winners. I'm just pondering on that for now....

Happy New Year Everyone! :)

Welcome back, Deb! Happy New Year!

Its good to see you back, Deb. I hope the holidays were busy in a good way and that you get a break soon. Wishing you a happpy and relaxing new year!

Happy New Year, Deb. I'm also starting the year with an Orange read.

Happy New Year, Deb - look forward to another year of your inspiring reviews and "book-chit-chat".

Happy New Year, Deb! I am looking forward to sharing another great reading year with you!

Ah Deb, the Scarlet Pimpernel of Vancouver! Happy new year and hope to continue trying to keep up in 2012! Best to Dave also. Hope he is fully recovered.

Happy New Year, Deb!

Welcome back, Deb! Starred, of course!

Here you are! Happy New Year, Deb!!

Happy New Year Deb. Happy Reading.

Hello Deb! Happy New Year!

Welcome back!

Well I was wondering....Happy New Year Deb!

Hi Deb! ***Waves*** Joined the group for 2012 and have finally tracked you down. Happy New Year!

Yay, you're back! So which Orange will you choose? :-)

Hi Deb, so delighted you're back! Looking forward to more reading adventures with you!

Holidays are brutal -at least around our house! My reading fell way off in mid-December but I'm ready to jump back in the whirlpool here. Right now I'm spinning from looking at Nancy's swaying rabbit. ;-) Welcome back and Happy New Year, Deb.

I was wondering where you were Deb! Glad to have found you again. :)

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas holidays and a great New Year!

*STARRED*

Hi Deb, happy new year!

Happy New Year Deb, got you starred.

I have to star your thread because we selected the same ticker!

Yay, Deb is back :)

Hope you have a great 2012!

Happy New Year, Deb. Looking forward to following your reading adventures again this year.

Happy Reading Year, Deb!

Oh my I have been remiss and kind of busy!!

@3 - Hi Stasia!! Thanks for stopping by!

@4 Dee - Great to see you -and I"ve seen you over in Orange January too! :)

@5 - Great too see you! Yes, I've started my year with an " Orange Prize Read too The Siege by Helen Dunmore - excellent so far!

@6 Carsten - great to see you! Yes , another year of reading together! :)

@7 Mark! Yes I am back! I look forward to reading with you too, good friend!

@8 Ah Paul! Hmm I'm the Scarlet Pimpernal? I hope that's something good! ;) I'll have to go look that up!! For shame on me!! Thanks for swinging by!

@9 Happy New Anne! Great to see you!

@10 Thanks for the star! I'll be starring you -and everyone else soon! : I am so slow this year! Family, hubby just back to work, etc etc - you know the drill!

@11 Hi Joanne! Happy New Year!

@12 Great to see you!

@13 Hi Brit!! Great to see you ! And how is your Will! My William is turning 22 this year! How can than be? And he is our youngest! Gasp! I'm claiming " CHILD BRIDE" status on that! ;)

@14 Hey there Doc ! Thanks for setting up 75 in 2012!

@15 Hi Bonnie! I think we've said hi in the Orange January this year , but thanks for coming to my " regular thread!"

@16 Hi Lori, My fellow Oranger!

@17 - Hi Monica! I've chosen The Siege by Helen Dunmore for my 1st Orange! Great to see you!

@18 Hi Nancy! Such a fancy graphic!!! Great to see you!!!! I"M BACK!!! :)

@19 Hi Donna! Yes, the celebrations etc really cut into my reading time and my computer time , as has having my husband home from work on sick leave due to his foot op. He is now back to work! Sigh! Time for myself!!! We have a kazzilion December/ January birthdays to in my family.

@20 An Valerie!! Great to see you!

@21 Happy New Year, Cushla!!

@22 Happy New Year and thanks for the star!

@23 lalbro - I don't know your real name, but I'll soon get that sorted out. Thanks for stopping by!

@24 Michelle! Great to see you!!!

@25 Hi Judy! Happy New Year -and at least we have some sun today! yeah!

@ 26 Hi Genny!! So good to see you!

Oh it's so nice to be loved!! Thanks everyone for stopping by! I'll try to stop by your threads later today and drop a lot of stars!!

You know what they say - no rest for the wicked and I guess that's me. We had a busy holiday season and now we are already into January birthdays with my family!! Hubby finally went back to work on New Years Eve. He is off on rest days before going on a course for 6 - 7 weeks . Hopefully that will give me some time to read and get back on the threads!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Last night I was out with my mom, who's birthday comes up soon and purchased her birthday present. At the same time we stopped into a small bookstore that I seldom go into and made my first book purchase of the year - The Betrayal by Helen Dunmmore. I found a hardcover copy for $8.99! Such a bargain! I'm currently reading an Orange shortlisted book, The Siege by Helen Dunmore.

I am about 100 pages or more into The Siege by Helen Dunmore.



It's really excellent so far! I'm reading at least one book for the Orange January Challenge -and this is it. It's a well written book and very intriguing! I am enjoying it so much that I had the good fortune to find an old hardcover book for $8.99 that is the second in the trilogy! It's called The Betrayal. What a fascinating read on the Germans attacking Leningrad during WW11 and the unease in Russia during WW11, where some toed the Party line of Stalin and many did not believe in him - but you never knew who and so had to be very careful. People are taken away in " Black Vans" in the middle of the night -and one is just guilty thankful that it was not them. Such an interesting period in history and one which - as usual - I knew nothing about... great writing and reading!

Everyone, I'll try to get to your threads as soon as I can - later today or tomorrow - hubby is home and requests the pleasure of my company.... ;) I also have a thread in Orange January. Thanks so much for coming by my thread!

I loved The Siege when I read it. I hope you continue to enjoy it. I also read The Betrayal, but I preferred The Siege.

starred

Deb- It's great to see you back! You've been missed. Is this a quick visit or are you going to get back to your regular chatty & fun self? As you know, I loved The Siege and I'm happy you are enjoying it. I am jealous you have The Betrayal. I NEED to find a copy and read it by Spring.
Glad to hear the DH is enjoying CJ Box.

Glad you are enjoying The Siege, Deb. It's wonderful to "see" you : ).

Hi Stasia! I hope I enjoy The Betrayal - but I'm enjoying The Siege for now.

Kait - you are starred too!

Mark - I've already teased you about all the beer on your thread.. am I back? Need you really ask! ;)

Nancy, I'm quite sure that you will enjoy The Siege . Are you still reading North and South?

Deb - nice to see you back in the groove so to speak. Scarlet Pimpernel was the creation of Baroness Orczy who could not be pinned down or caught by the French authorities as he helped Royalists escape from the guillotine.
'They seek him here, they seek him there
They seek the good old Pimpernel everywhere'

My comment was that we were missing you recently as you had been less active than normal!

Hi Paul! Thanks for the explanation of your reference to Scarlet Pimpernel. You are so well versed in literary classics!

"Is he in heaven or is he in hell? That .. elusive Pimpernel.....

Well, I guess you're still in Vancouver-Deb. Nice to see you are fit for fight - book-vise - yet another year. Like the cover of The Siege.

Hi Deb, glad to have you back!

I see you are working on your Orange read. Will you be doing more than one this month? I was thinking about doing a second, possibly The Invisible Bridge

Found you! Starred

I second the cover-love on The Siege! snow!
speaking of which... we have a pretty little snowfall today :)

So nice to see you up and running here again. If The Siege hadn't been on my wishlist already, I would have added it just because of your enthusiasm. Btw, The Scarlet Pimpernel was one of my favourite movies when I was in my early teens. The main character made me swooooooon. I downloaded the books (available for free on Project Gutenberg, etc.) for old times' sake. I must try them soon.

@ Ah Carsten! I see you are very up on literature just like Paul! I plead ignorance re the Scarlet Pimpernel. For all I knew it was related the Scarlet Letter! ;) I'd better get to some classics soon! ;) Gosh, I thought that the cover of The Siege was pretty dull in real life! :) For once the cover looks better on the screen!

@ Hi Chelle! I'm not certain whether I will read a second Orange this month or not. More likely that I will than not. However, The Siege is so good, I might have to follow it with The Betrayal the second what will be a trilogy. But I do have other Orange reads at hand.

@ Ah Cee ! You dropped one of your wonderful looking stars! Thank you! Just rain for us ! Enjoy your snow...I think.....;)

@ Monica, great too see you too! I think you would enjoy The Siege very much. Everyone but me seems to know about the Scarlet Pimpernel. Truthfully I had heard of it, but it makes me think of some sort bread - maybe pumpernickel bread or else the book the The Scarlet Letter Some people - me ! ;)

Thanks for stopping by everyone!

Hi Deb, I think you might like The Scarlet Pimpernel. It's got somewhat of a Jackson Brodie-feel to it (at least if the book is anything like the movie). I wonder if the magic still works, but from what I gather from LT-reviews, that won't be a problem.

I can't remember if I've ever read The Scarlet Pimpernel, but I've seen several of the movie adaptations multiple times. The version with Jane Seymour and Anthony Andrews is still one of my favorite movies. I also really like Pimpernel Smith - same story set in Nazi Germany & occupied Europe rather than revolutionary France.

Deb: I loved The Siege too. One of my favorite reads from last year was also during the siege of Leningrad -- City of Thieves. If you haven't read it, you might like that, too.

Just wandering through. . .

Monica - hmm and Carrie - I'll have to look into The Scarlet Pimpernel If it's got a Jackson Brodie feel to it , well - that say it all! ;)

Beth - I've got literally 6 or 10 pages left in The Siege . It's very powerful and one fabulous books
! I think I can tell you already that this will be among my best reads for 2012 and it's rather early in the year to make that declaration. It's simply an amazing book. So true to life, and while tragic in many ways, so pleasingly lacking in sentimentality and so jarring in it's reality! I think it's a masterpiece of writing. The twin forces of starvation and cold in Leningrad are so well portrayed. It's so powerful, I dreamt that I was in Leningrad last night, with family dying of cold around me! What a book! Normally I am not keen about romance in books, but the two small romance stories in The Siege are so understated and well done I find them believable and not overwrought at all.

I think I may look into City of Thieves that you have mentioned.

Hi Brit! Thanks for stopping by!

Deb - we should do a group read of The Scarlet Pimpernell. Sure it would be great fun. There have been many film and TV film versions including in the 1930'S with Leslie Howard, 1950 with David Niven and in the eighties with Anthony Andrews. There is even a broadway musical of the thing which apparently was Tony nominated.

I need to read The Scarlet Pimpernel again too. I think the last time I read it I was about 15.

Based on your review, I definitely have to read The Siege now. And iIf you do a group read of The Scarlet Pimpernel, I'm in.

Woah- I lost you there for a moment! But Ive starred you now, just when I was trying to whittle away my starred threads for a more manageable amount too :)

Hi Deb - I'm just here to second the rec for City of Thieves!

And I'm here to third it!

I haven't read City of Thieves but it was a favorite among our booksellers at the bookshop back in the day. My husband loved it too. So it sits on my shelf whenever I am ready to read it.

The Siege is now on the list, Deb. I see 2012 has not curbed your persuasive powers in the slightest, hehe! I love it when we read something that is SO good, we simply know it will have a place on best-ever reads list.

Catch up FAIL, but hello anyway :)

Hi, Deb ....I'm pretty sure The Siege is already on my wishlist, but if it's not yet it will be now. Did you know that Dunmore also writes children's books? My 11 year old loves them.

Which ones would you recommend for Alina, Joyce? She is just tearing through the books this year.

Charlotte likes her Ingo series (Ingo, The Tide Knot, The Deep & Crossing of Ingo, in that order). She's also recently liked The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland, but it was a bit challenging for her at times. She also liked The Undrowned Child and has the sequel waiting. She has me reading that one now. Has Alina read the Narnia and Harry Potter books?

edited to add that she's been reading the Warriors series by Erin Hunter and likes them quite a bit too.

Joyce - maybe we should give Deb her thread back?

In an case, Alina read the first Narnia book, and didn't move onto the others yet. She also tried the first HP and said it wasn't for her. (I own all of them, but only read the first one myself. I am still going to hang onto them.)

I think she read the first one in the Warriors series and liked it well enough.

Right now she is really into graphic novels - all of the Bone and Amelia Rules books. She loved all of the Percy Jackson and received the graphic novel of the first one for Christmas, which she loved.

She also read the complete The Winnie Years by Lauren Myracle this weekend. She is now reading the Emily Windsnap series by Liz Kessler

Has Charolette read The Secret Series by Pseudonymous Bosch or The Doll People series? Alina liked them both.
I will show her the Dunmore books. Thanks for the suggestion.

Nancy - I'll meet you on your thread! Sorry, Deb!

Okay - I have done my best to write a review of The Siege by Helen Dunmore . It is also on the main page with the reviews.

The Siege tells the historical story of The Siege of Leningrad primarily through the eyes of a 23 year - old Leningrad woman named Anna, although we also view the Siege via her family. During WW 11, for 900 days ,the German army surrounded Leningrad and essentially cut off all supplies including fuel and food. Anna, her family and all of Leningrad endeavor to survive.

The Siege is an amazing and powerful story. Using no fewer than 17 sources listed in the author's bibliography, it is difficult to believe that author Helen Dunmore was not a prisoner of The Siege herself. Although the story is many times heartrendingly tragic, it is also pleasingly lacking in sentimentality , which can so often bog down a a book.

The twin forces of starvation and bitter cold conspire to kill many people during the Siege. People died while sleeping in their homes , while out lined up for rations, or simply falling into a snowbank due to exhaustion and hunger. Anna and her family resort to boiling shoe leather for protein and burning furniture and books for heat. Usually I am not keen on romance in novels, but the two love stories in this book are very understated and integral to understanding the forces of love and hope that are part of the will to survive.

The Siege is a deeply affecting , a very worthwhile piece of historical fiction and destined to be one of my top reads of 2012.

4.5 stars and I may raise it to 5 stars once I think about it more. I can't see a place where the story lost even 1/2 of a star! :)

Paul and Stasia, I know very little about The Scarlett Pimpernel but I'd consider a group read later on...

@ Monica - oh do read the Siege! It is fantastic!

Hi Megan! Great to see you ! I need to seek out your thread too!

@ Nancy - The Siege is simply a wonderful heartrending read. It's fabulous! I'm so glad that you've added it to your wishlist! :)

@ Joanne and Cushla - thanks for recommending City of Thieves along with Beth. I will look into it. Helen Dunmore used at least 14 sources for her historical novel The Siege so I'm not sure that anything will top The Siege for a realistic feeling of what happened - but still ... I'll look into it!

@alphaorder and Joyce, thanks for recommendations. Joyce, no I did not know that Helen Dunmore wrote children's books. However, as my sons are now 27 and nearly 22 ( child bride situation ;) , I doubt that I have any influence on their reading nowadays. My younger son reads texts like Non-Classical Logic, The Theory of Computation , Computer Systems etc, so I am unlikely to persuade him to read anything beyond what he must read to graduate this year. My eldest is likely reading about how to build a web based business , how to be an entrepreneur and stuff on the Canucks, but they had their day of enjoyable leisure reading and I'm sure that will return for them one day! ;)

I enoyed The Siege so very much that I am now reading The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore. Apparently Helen Dunmore intends to write a trilogy eventually, but for now there is just The Siege and The Betrayal.

Here is my current read

The Betrayal

#62 - Great review, Deb! I haven't read much historical fiction, but that sounds like a good one.

Hi Deb... Thumbed your review of The Siege !

Wow, The Siege sounds great, Deb. Thumb from me and on to the tbr.

Hi Deb- Excellent review of the Siege! You earned a well-deserved Thumb! It was a top read for me last year, as well. I'm jealous you are already starting The Betrayal. I need to find a copy, pronto!

Great review Deb! You always find such winning books to read! Thumb for you!

Deb, thanks for wonderful review of The Siege. Thumb! I've put this one on the list!

Deb - Thumb for your review of The Seige! Already on my WL. :)

Nancy & Joyce - read with interest your recs for 11 y/o. My granddaughter just turned 12 yesterday and has my reading gene!

Great review, Deb! I'm adding The Siege to my wishlist. I really enjoyed City of Thieves, and also The Madonnas of Leningrad, which covers the Hermitage Museum during the Siege of Leningrad. I "thumbed" your review :)

Wow! I did not expect to see so many people thumbing my review, but I am so thankful that you did. The Siege is such fascinating , well written, deeply affecting story that it really deserves to be read! Thanks so much and I so hope that you too will be as moved as I was by The Siege.

Kerri, Kath, Jim, Mark ,Chelle, Nancy , Claudia and Anne - thanks so much for your kind words and " thumbs." I tell you this is one fabulous book. I'm so glad that I have a book that follow this one to read, though I don't expect to as marvelous as this.

Claudia, I'm glad that you got some info for your granddaughter from Nancy and Joyce re books for your granddaughter that has your reading gene! That is wonderful!

Anne - thanks for the other recommendations. I'll put them in my file for futher looking. So many people have recommended City of Thieves I will definitely have to look for that!

Thanks again. I'll be around visiting threads later in the day.

Congrats on the fab (and hot) review! I hope to get to The Siege before too long!

Oh Deb, your review is a hot review on the LT-homepage! Congratulations!

Thanks Dee for your kind words re The Siege. I always struggle with writing reviews and I though I so love The Siege and hoped others would want to read the book, I never dreamt that my simple review would be so popular. Take it from me, the book is far better than my review!

Hi Monica! You are so kind . Such a surprise to see that I have a hot review.

Have WL'd The Siege, and a wish it will remain until people stop taking it our from our library system. All copies out :(

The Seige is on its way :)
ordered it today....

The Seige is another book I have had on my wishlist for far too long, I need to bump it up a few places! Great review, Deb.

You're hot, Deb! hehe

Hi Deb, I love your reviews! I sometimes think of the quality of the reviews on Librarything and the literary backgrounds of many of my LT friends and think I'm never going to bother reviewing anything ever again! But then I read a book, really want to say something about it and forget about my insecurities and just do it!

Megan, I hope that you can get your hands on a copy of The Siege sometime soon. I know how frustrating it can be to wait forever for a book from the library. I have this theory that while it's " Orange January" all of the " Orange Prize" winner books are already taken out from one's respective library. I have no doubt of the far reach of LT! :)

Ah Cee! Put in a order, did you! I was thinking of you while grocery shopping today. I was looking to see if there was any non - wheat pasta -and sure enough there is brown rice pasta , in all sorts of forms.

Thanks again Judy. At the rate that you read, I've no doubt that you'll be reading The Siege in no time at all! Windy enough for you tonight?

Nancy, thanks for err - compliment, I think!;)

Dee, you are so kind. You have no idea how I struggle with my reviews. I too feel quite intimidated by the quality of reviews on LT and the literary backgrounds of so many, but I just forge along and hope that either an LT'er will be convinced to read a wonderful book , or else perhaps I can give a warning to others about a book that may not suit them. Or, if my review is really bad, just pretend it never happened!;)

I myownself am sick and tired of writing reviews...
this year I plan to only review the ones that I have to review..
like Vine or LTER books unless I really want to do a review...a few thoughts are enough
and that only if I "feel" it.. lol

Morning, Deb. I am another who completely enjoys your reviews, so you are not permitted to stop writing them! hehe Hope Vancouver's wind has quieted. Let us know how you are enjoying The Betrayal.

Hi Deb, finally some sunshine! Hope you are able to get out and enjoy it.

Excellent review Deb, another book I have to try to find at some point.

Have to chime in with The Scarlet Pimpernel talk, one of my favorite classics from when I was a kid and read it about a month ago and loved it. Would happily read it again if a group read is planned.

Another Scarlet Pimpernel fan here. So's my daughter, and she has read others in the series.

Hi Kath! I dread writing reviews too! I totally understand your point of view. I don't review every book either, some I just enjoy and assign them a star score...! ;) Some books are so challenging to review!

hehe! Nancy, I feel that same way about your reviews!! Can't wait for the one about The Outcast. Get rolling and read that book! ;) It sounds a tad depressing, but I await your verdict. Mind you, I read depressing ( sort of ) books all the time.

Nancy and Judy, yes, we've had sun today, but the wind was so great that a big heavy ceramic planter tipped over last night and was rolling around just outside our carport. I nearly got blown away going out there and dragging it in out of the wind!

Thanks Leonie. I really enjoyed The Siege very much. Hmmm - another one for the Scarlet Pimpernel as are you, Jim! Well, someone will have to volunteer to start a group read of the book!

Thanks for stopping by with your thoughts, Jim!

Reviews - ugh!
Love reading them - hate writing them. But if everyone felt the way I do, there would be no reviews to read.
So, for now, I'll plod onward best I can to do my part.

I like it best when there are lots of really good reviews of a book, I don't feel guilty not doing one. ;-)

I didn't realize that people on LT felt compelled to write reviews (unless of course you're trying to score ER books, in which case the number of reviews you write is key). Why do you put this pressure on yourself if it's not something you want to do?

A few years ago, one of my LT friends said she didn't write reviews, but she was happy to make some comments. I looked at what I was doing, and realized that I too was just making some comments. And writing "comments" is way less pressure than writing a review. So what I write on my thread is written for myself, and if it helps others, or amuses them, that's great. And if what I write is actually meaningful, and the book doesn't already have 50 or 100 or 1000 reviews, I will copy it to the book's review page. The last "comment" I wrote was two short sentences long. It was on To Kill a Mockingbird, and I figured that I had nothing new to say about it, so why even start. The world doesn't need another review of that book.

LT is supposed to be fun and useful; it's not supposed to feel like grade 8 English class. If you don't want to write reviews, don't. If all you want to say is "I just finished reading (book title), and it was the best ten hours I've spent in who knows how long," or "wow, can I have those hours back?" or whatever, or nothing at all, that's all good.

Joyce, thanks for your concern. The reason that I write reviews is in post 82 of mine - here - I just forge along and hope that either an LT'er will be convinced to read a wonderful book , or else perhaps I can give a warning to others about a book that may not suit them In addition, I feel that if there a very few or no reviews of a book and I've got something to say, I will do so , even if it's difficult for me. I really rely on reviews from others and I like to give back to LT just as I take from it. I by no means do I write a review on every book.

I have also scored a few ER books, so yes, in part that is why I write reviews too. But nonetheless, I dread writing them, and I feel often feel anxious writing them.

I certainly do not feel like LT is like grade 8 English class! LOL. You have such a great sense of humour!

I also don't write reviews. But I do comment on each book!

As Deb said.. it is a way to let people know what you think of a book.. good or bad..
I have written the long long before I ever found LT, on Amazon. I never had any reason other than
to share my thoughts. Now with LTER books and Vine books as well as the few I get from author
requests.. well, sometimes I feel overwhelmed. So I am going to review only those I have to , or those I feel that I really want to. At least that is my current plan. It never really occurred to me to write reviews in order to get books.. just that I owe a review if I do get a book :)

It never really occurred to me to write reviews in order to get books.. just that I owe a review if I do get a book :)

The reviews you write and post to a book's review page are included in the alogorithm used in determining who is awarded any particular book. Some people will review absolutely everything, and rather meaninglessly, just so they can increase their chances of getting a book.

Hi Morphy! I'm glad to hear that you comment on your books - I'll have to visit your thread more often.

Hi Kath!Thanks for visiting . I agree, a review is a great way of letting people know how you feel about a book. I know I rely on other's reviews both here on LT as well as on amazon and indigo as a way of guiding my choices in reading. I think it's great that you write reviews, and if memory serves, you just had a hot review yesterday.

Morning Joyce! Hope you have a good day!

I'm very much enjoying The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore. Really a fascinating book , describing life in post WW11 Leningrad . Stalin is still alive and spies are everywhere . I can't imagine living in such a society and needing to be so careful about what I said and not being able to trust many people. So far a most interesting book.

#94 I did not know that was how the ER program worked! That's kind of interesting. I thought how people get chosen to get a book was just random

Hi Deb! I've enjoyed your latest reviews, but I don't think either of Dunmore's books are for me. Are you taking part in the Steinbeckathon? I was planning to but still haven't bought a copy of Cannery Row

>94 Nickelini:... yes.. I know.. but it is not why I review..

Deb.. I am a huge review reader, whether I am buying books or socks or home appliances... reviews!
Not the "professional" reviews, but the down home regular consumer reviews ! I am just a fan of hearing opinions.. and giving them! lol

lol kath, I like hearing personal opinions about things Im consuming too. Im all for commercial websites that allow for candid responses.

I'm here at last, and I'm so pleased I received q copy of The Siege for Christmas, as it is clearly a 'must-read'!

Hi Chelle! Good to see you. Thanks - as far The Siege and my current book, The Betrayal - while I am very keen on both books, I understand completely that we all have different tastes. In fact, no, I am planning to join the Steinbeckathon... maybe one day I'll read something by Steinbeck -and if memory serves I think I read something by Steinbeck way back in school - I'm not so keen on his writing or themes... but maybe one day I'll give him a try.... ;)

Kath, I'm the same as you! I was just at Chapters today - Canada's big bookstore,and I spent a lot of time choosing a book partially based on looking at reviews done by average joes just like me in deciding what to purchase. Of course, I look at the book myself, but I love to see what other people have said about the book on the store's many computers. After much thought and consultation with the computer and myself - I purchased a new Scandi crime - The Boy in the Suitcase. I won't get to it right away - but I decided that I needed a book treat!;)

Hi Megan ! Me too, I'm all for hearing personal opinions too. Even before I came to LT I would review the occasional book online at Chapter's Books, since I rely on others people's reviews for my own purchases. However, there I can remain completely anonymous!;)

Hi Genny! I am so glad that you made it to my thread!I think that you will very much enjoy The Siege - living were you do, and with your knowledge of history.

Hi Deb - looks like I opened a can of worms with my Scarlet Pimpernel comment. Let's see whether anyone is up for a group read of it in say March or April?

Hi Deb - The author of The Boy in the suitcase is one of Denmarks most popular authors - Lene Kaaberböl. At least when it comes to childrens fantasy literature. Now she has apparently also written a crime. Haven't read her yet.

I have already downloaded The Pimpernel - count me in, Paul :)

About reviews.....personally I like to write them although sometimes I also struggle finding the words - specially when I don't like the book :) We read so much here on 75'ers and rush from book to book - so I find it a good way of slowing down and let the books story sink into you and give it some extra thought.

The Boy in the Suitcase....I have seen that one...I think it might have been a vine option at one time?
I pondered it...it does look good :)

Deb, sounds like you made a good choice with The Boy in the Suitcase - one of Denmark's most popular authors! (thanks for that, Carsten!). I'll keep The Scarlet Pimpernel in mind for the spring, but I don't want to over-plan. We've got The Detour coming out around that time as well.

Deb: I read The Boy in the Suitcase and found it hard to put down. I'll be anxious to hear what you think of it.

Carsten: what you say is so true! (in #104) It's a fast ride here on LT and people have moved on before I've had a chance to even catch up on the thread they're talking about. Reviewing a book tends to solidify my thoughts on a book.

Hello Deb! Just trying to catch up with everyone!

>104 ctpress: Right on. I often change my rating for a book when I go back through the book and review passages I've marked in order to get my thoughts together for a review. Other times, when the book has either totally repelled me or is so good that its blown my socks off, the review practically writes itself.

Glad to hear you are enjoying The Siege and The Betrayal. I've been meaning to read them both for a while now.

Hi Paul! The idea of a group read of a Scarlet Pimpernel is a great one, but like Nancy aka Lit Chick, I've already booked myself for a group read of The Detour by Gerbrand Bakker (author of the beloved The Twin as soon as it comes out sometime in April, I think it is. I'm not not much of a long term planner myself . Maybe later in the year?

Hi Carsten - great to know that the book that I choose The Boy in the Suitcase is by one of Denmark's greatest writers. It seemed that book had a lot of good reviews both on the book jacket, as well as online in the bookstore that I was at... Here's hoping it measures up!;)

As far as reviews go Carsten, I struggle more for the words when I love a book.. How to put across how wonderful a book is- how much of the plot to give away in the review -and if you tell to little, how does a person know what the book is about... so much pondering !;)

Oh great Kath - another person who has heard of the Boy in the Suitcase. Amazon ca keeps recommending it to me -and finally I cracked!;)

Beth - great to see you - I'm so fascinated at how many people have either read The Boy in The Suitcase or have read it.
Thanks for encouragment!!! I guess it just might be my next book....

Hi Megan ! Thanks for stopping by! I agree - life goes fast here in the 75's! Every now and then I change my rating on a book after a days reflection.

Hi Brit! Great to see you!

Bonnie - you should see the number of post -it's I put into a book if I am planning to write a review - lol - and then I seldom use them. But it helps me read more carefully .

Hi Joanne! Great to see you. I think you will enjoy both The Siege and The Betrayal. As you know I loved The Siege and The Betrayal is somewhat of a continuation of part of the family in post war Leningrad. I'm getting so into it that I am starting to call people " Comrade" just for fun. I 'm nearly finished The Betrayal and while it will probably be a 4 star read rather than the 4. 5 star read that The Siege was , it's still excellent.

I'll try to get to your threads tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by ,everyone! I love to have visitors and see what you are up to too :)

Hi Deb! Happy Friday!

just keeping up and saying hi!

Hi Kerr and Kath! Great to see you! I'm nearly finished The Betrayal and I am finding it to be a fabulous read! Currently I am in Stalin Russia in prison, shivering with cold and fear - but really enjoying myself!;)

I've gotten around to some of your threads a little earlier today -and I'll try to get to the rest a little later today!

Hi there Deb!

huh! Wonder how people really feel about reviews? lol

I have to admit I hate writing everything - not just reviews. I struggle to find the right words and I type too dang slow.

But as I said before - I LOVE reading reviews. So thanks everyone for your contributions. They are important to me. Reviews help me understand the books and help in the choosing of some wonderful reading.
Also - some of you are such great writers! Love it :)

btw, I thought the only way reviews counted for ER books was if you had ER reviews done or outstanding??? I'm probably wrong.

btw, I thought the only way reviews counted for ER books was if you had ER reviews done or outstanding???

There is a complex algorithm used for awarding ER books, and the reviews you post--before you're ever awarded your first book--are used. There are people on LT obsessed with getting ER books, and some of those people post really useless reviews because their objective is to get their numbers up.

Currently I am in Stalin Russia in prison, shivering with cold and fear - but really enjoying myself!;)

Deb, you are one warped woman!

Yes, and I love warped! Hi Deb! Delighted you are still enjoying Dunmore so much.

I've checked on LibraryThing and I seem to have read seven Helen Dunmores and I know I've enjoyed them all so I really should get around to The Siege and The Betrayal. I have them both waiting for me!

Edited for touchstones

Hi Deb, just stopping by to say hi. I'm glad you're enjoying The Betrayal as well. Sequels can be tricky :-)

>the reviews you post--before you're ever awarded your first book

I'm not so sure about that. I don't think I ever posted a review before getting an ER book and I get 4 to 6 of them a year, no problem. And the only reviews I post now are for ER books.

Morphy, as they keep saying, no one really knows the algorithm .. and I am sure that is true.

Cee.. you write wonderful reviews.. I don't know why you hate to write, since you do it
so beautifully. I like reading reviews.. I have learned the habit of reading reviews on anything
I am going to buy from slippers to washers to cars to books.

Weirdly, I received a survey about why I review... it was a result of my Amazon Vine reviews.
I guess they sent it to all viners? It seemed to be trying to find out if people did the reviews
in order to attract attention to themselves.. lol ...

Hope you are out of the dank and dark and cold, Deb!

@116 - Morning Cee! I also love to read reviews, so thanks for writing them and everyone else that gets around to writing a review. I know I just finished looking around the reviews on LT to decide on my next book, but as yet , I am not certain....

Hey there Joyce! Well, if you are very concerned about reviews on LT etc , perhaps you might PM Tim Spalding, or Jeremy here on LT with your concerns, and amazon etc . Perhaps that might be more effective? Personally, I am perfectly happy with reviews written by others.

Ah, Comrade Nanski! So good to see you here! Yes, indeed, I became very immersed in Stalin's Russia with The Betrayal. It was an excellent read!!! I've retreated to my " dacha " to dream up a review :)

Yah, Dee! I've just loved both The Siege and The Betrayal. Since you have read so many books by Helen Dunmore, which of her books would you recommend?

Hi Monica! Yes.. I was too was concerned a wee bit about the fact that The Betrayal is a sequel to The Siege but while the The Siege was the more powerful read, The Betrayal was a great read too! A 4 star read ,easily! Now I'm uncertain if I can leave Russia, even Siberia and the prisons run back in Stalin's time. I am totally immersed in that world now. Hush... I think the KGB are coming for me.... ;)

Hi Morphy! You and everyone else write fabulous reviews which I enjoy and benefit from. I would not give the whole review thing a second thought.

Hi Kath! Great to see you! I totally agree that no one knows the alogrithm - the best fun one I have read is this one - which come from Richardderus's Profile page and has long amused me greatly

And now that I'm part of the Early Reviewers family, I add the following incantation to be applied to each and every request in each and every batch: Please oh please, all knowing and mysterious algorithm... pick me, pick me! That just cracks me up and isn't it the truth! Personally, I only request a book that I think I would actually want to read. I would think that was true for most everyone.

Yes, Kath, reluctantly I had to close the the pages on The Betrayal. I was quite enjoying my interrogation and time in prison in Russia.. but now off to the dacha to dream up a review. :)

I'm not quite decided on what to read next. Those two books will be a hard act to follow, I fear.

Hi Deb. All the Dunmore's I've read have been exquisitely written but some of them have been psychologically dark and a bit unusual so I'm not sure if they'd be everyone's taste.

I'd probably recommend House of Orphans which is another historical novel. I think I put my review of it on the main page at the beginning of last year.

*Goes to check*

I'm back and yes, I did review it and seemed to have liked it a lot more than any of the other reviewers! Perhaps you should check out all the reviews before reading!

Dee, thumb from me from your wonderful review of House of Orphans. Deb, anticipating yours on The Betrayal just as soon as you've emerged from your dacha (whatever that is ... cave?) I'm definitely going to need to explore some Helen Dunmore.

I laughed out loud at Please oh please, all knowing and mysterious algorithm... pick me, pick me! Too much! Like you, for the life of me I cannot understand why someone would hope to win a book for the sake of winning a book, but that's me.

Hey there Joyce! Well, if you are very concerned about reviews on LT etc , perhaps you might PM Tim Spalding, or Jeremy here on LT with your concerns, and amazon etc . Perhaps that might be more effective?

Ha ha -- I am not even the least concerned. Amused, yes. Concerned, no. People can write whatever sort of review they want. Just because I personally don't take value out of any one review doesn't mean that it can't be there. It's all good.

Like you, for the life of me I cannot understand why someone would hope to win a book for the sake of winning a book, but that's me.

And me!

edited to add -- did you get much snow, Deb? Ours is melting at a furious rate now, but we had about 3 inches this morning.

Just doing a fly-by-hi!

Hi Dee! Generally speaking, I like psychologically dark books and I've put House of Orphans on my wish list. Thanks for the recommendation!

Hi Nancy! I'm afraid I've not yet gotten to the review of Betryal but it's most definitely a fabulous 4 to 4. 25 read for me! A dacha is a sort of rustic summer home that the Russians had even back in the 1930's - I'm not sure when they began having dacha's. They are a sort of retreat from the city and a bit of a way to get " off the grid." That little incantation of Richard's has struck my funny bone for a long time! Glad to share it! And it's so true!;) Tis a mysterious algorithm and who can say! ;) A mystery here on LT!

Hi Joyce. We did get snow,but I'm not sure if it was as much as 3 inches -and it has now all melted, thank goodness, but I can see that there is more snow in the future, according to the the weathercast..

Hey Megan, thanks for the fly by!

Though I've yet to write a review for Betrayal which I hope to do, because it was simply fantastic, I have started on another Orange, a long listed Orange.

It's hard to follow The Siege and The Betrayal with anything, but I decided on The Hero's Walk by Anita Rau Badami. I've read a couple of other novels by her and very much enjoyed them, Can You Hear the Nightbird Call and Tell it to The Trees. I am anticipating enjoying this book and I am about 40 pages in .

Deb, I need a dacha!! Thanks for the info.

Look forward to hearing more about The Hero's Walk. I thoroughly enjoyed Tell It to the Trees a few months ago. You are making stellar work of Orange January.

Hi Deb, I'm happy to see you're enjoying your Orange reads so far.

Hi Deb! I see you're leaving Soviet Russia. The Hero's Walk sounds good. I think I'm going to read Swamplandia! for my Orange book.

Deb- Just swinging through to say hi. Lots of good books being mentioned here. Enjoy your Sunday.

>129 vancouverdeb:: Hi Deb. How cool that your latest Orange book, The Hero's Walk, has an orangey book cover!
My next Orange book will be Oryx and Crake. The 12 in 12 Challenge is doing a group read on it this month which may help me get through another Atwood dystopian book. ;-)

Hi Nancy! I'm still hoping to write a review about The Betrayal because it was indeed fabulous! I must say I am enjoying The Hero's Walkmore than I expected too.

Hi Monica - I have to say that with this being my third bout of Orange Reading, I think that Orange Prize books are most excellent!

HA . Kerri, I have left Soviet Russia, which I so enjoyed , for the heat of an area of near Bengal in India - these temperature swings are getting to me! ;) Enjoy Swamplandia ! That will be warm too - it takes place in Florida, I think.

Hi Mark! Good to see you! I hope you are feeling A1 again and enjoying a great MLK day off today.

Ha! Donna - I did not even notice that the Hero's Walk had an Orange cover ! Enjoy Oryx and Crake . You know me - Atwood's dystopian worlds are not for me -but I really hope you enjoy the book!

Oh ! The Hero's Walk is a wonderful , sumptuous read! It's about so much more than I thought. Anita Rau Badami can really tell a story and while I don't regard her as too wordy, she creates the most fleshed out characters and sense of place. I am really enjoying the book so far.

Hi Deb!
Don't have anything to contribute tonight, just popping in to say hello :)

Thanks Chelle for stopping by! :)

At last I have a review for The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore. It was fantastic!

The Betrayal is a wonderful sequel to Helen Dunmore's novel "The Siege. While "The Siege" follows the Levin family's struggle to survive during the 1941 - 1942 Siege of Leningrad, "The Betrayal" picks up in in Leningrad some ten years later. That said, "The Betrayal" can easily be read as a stand alone novel. As in " The Siege" , "The Betrayal" has been carefully researched by author Helen Dunmore , and two pages are devoted to a bibliography.

Andrei and Anna still live in the Leningrad flat, but are now married and Anna's younger brother, Koyla, now 16 years old, continues to live with them.

Andrei works at a Leningrad hospital as a pediatrician , specializing in juvenile arthritis. Anna teaches in a state run nursery school. Anna , Andrei and Kolya strive hard to fit into Stalin's Russia, and not bring any attention to themselves.

This situation changes when a very ill young boy, Gorya, arrives as a patient at Andrei's place of work. Young Gorya is the son of a high ranking secret police officer, Volkov, and none of the doctor's at the hospital want any responsibility for young Gorya. Though Gorya is found to be suffering from cancer, he is palmed off into the care of the somewhat naive and good- hearted Doctor Andrei. Sadly the cancer metastasizes, and the physicians involved in Gorya's care, most especially Andrei, find themselves confronted by the scrutiny and wrath of Stalin's secret police.

To say more would spoil the plot. Once again, Helen Dunmore has captured the fear and struggle of a life and death situation in Leningrad. Her attention to detail and vivid story telling totally drew me into "The Betrayal."

An enthralling read, well worth the time! 4.25 stars

Helen Dunmore is a very good writer who touches upon difficult and sometimes taboo subjects and you have done her justice Deb with a very good review.

Betrayal, secret police and Stalins Russia...well, well, another intriguing review-set-up, Deborushka. I have made a note of Helen Dunmore. I'm soon of to Russia myself. My next Dostoevsky will be Poor Folk.

Hi Deb, I'm dipping my to into the 75 book challenge for the first time, and grazing random threads. I thought Helen Dunmore's The Siege was excellent, and it holds up to re-reading, though The Betrayal, although good, didn't have the same impact for me. I'm interested to hear she is planning a third to make it a trilogy. I enjoyed all her early work, though have only read a few of her mid to more recent other than these two, although they are all winking at me from one of the TBR piles.

Oh, I really like the sound of The Siege and The Betrayal and know how well Dunmore writes! I think The Siege may well be my next Orange read.

Nancy- you were right about Deb being very persuasive!

Great review Deb! I have not read anything by Helen Dunmore before, so maybe I'll have to add her to my list!

Wonderful review... I have a couple of her books.. and actually began one..
but did not finish. I was distracted by something else and just never went back.
I still have them on nook though.. in time I will get to them :)

Great review, Deb. Thumb from me! Helen Dunmore sounds fabulous! I'll get there ...

Hi Paul! Yes, I agree, Helen Dunmore is an excellent writer and I hope to read more by her. House of Orphans was recommend to me by Dee, and I think I'll seek it out. I've also got Spell of Winter on my shelves.

Carstonovich, ;) Good to see you comrade! Good for you, planning to read Poor Folk . I need to dip intoDostoevsky myself. I'll be following your read on your thread.

@141 - Caroline, Thanks so much for stopping by! I'll try to visit your thread later today - and the rest of you. I agree that The Siege was the better book of the two, but I very much enjoyed The Betrayal too. But definitely The Siege has more impact.

Ahh! Dee, I think you will very much enjoy both The Siege and The Betrayal. Me persuasive! ;) How about you - you've talked me into House of Orphans by the same author.

Hi Chelle! I hope your house selling is going well! You read such a broad range of books, I think you would enjoy the two books too!


Hi Kath - I know what you mean about getting distracted! I've got several books on my kindle! And it took me about 6 months to finally pick up The Siege and then I was hooked !

Hi Nancy! Yes, I'll see that you get to The Siege, comrade! ;) Orders from the Secret Police! :) LOL!

Thanks everyone for you kind words. I'll try to get to your threads a little later.

Sorry Deb! I meant to stop at your thread 1st, after I got home, to read your review and of course got sidetracked. Don't you hate that? I loved your review. I really NEED to get to that one, in the next couple months. Any word when she's doing the 3rd book?

Mark, as far as I know, it's only rumour that Helen Dunmore is writing a third book to go with The Siege and the The Betrayal. I looked on her author's site and I cannot see any mention of a third book. She has written many other books though, and I plan to check them out. I sure hope that you are correct that she might write a third book two with the previous two.

I liked The Betrayal too Deb but not as much as The Siege. It did wrap up the story begun in Leningrad at the start of WWII and I liked how she exposed the Soviet government's abuse of human rights. But The Siege just resonated for me with its poetic language and stark realities of war and starvation in Leningrad. Great job on the review.

Thanks Bonnie, for your kind words. I loved The Siege more than the The Betrayal, but I enjoyed both . The Siege resonated more with me too.

Deb- Thanks for the Dunmore info. Wow, she is prolific! What an amazing list of books! Sorry to hear about your lack of mail delivery. Is there a place where you can call and make an inquiry?

Yes, Mark, Dunmore really is prolific and and it seems that she writes on quite a variety of topics. I'm not sure what is up with our mail delivery, but I'll wait another day or two before I call anyone. Maybe no one is getting mail?? Maybe it will all come tommorow?

Our power was out for about 3 hours or more just before dinner, and I kept checking for updates as to when the power was supposed to go back on - and they said 7:30 pm. Finally at 8 pm or so, I called an actual representative of the power company, and she said call back if it is not back on in 1 hour - and bingo - it was back on within a few minutes. We rarely use our gas fireplace, but it came in handy today!

#152 Yikes, I hear you on the gas fireplace, Deb! We didn't lose power, but our weather has gone from mild to freezing. Freaking Canadian winter, LOL! I won't be warm until July.

I use my gas fire every day. It is one of my best friends.....lol

Hope normal service is now fully resumed, Deb.

I have just started The Siege and am hooked by Dunmores's exquisite writing already.

153 - Nancy, for us it's freaking cold , even if that is -7 C which is errrr 19.4 F. Brrr that is cold for us, as I pondered, do I need gloves this am. : ) That is cold for us!

154 - Kath, we rarely use our gas fireplace because our place stays nice and warm without it -but yesterday with the power out - it was nice to have.
One of your best friends eh? ;)

155 - oh Dee! I'm excited for you! Such a great book lies ahead of you!!!!!

And yes, our power went out just before 5:00 - right when I was typing here on LT - and did not come back til just after 8 PM! That's a long time by our standards! And such a bad time of day -right when you think you will get your dinner going. Oh well!

It's really rare for us to lose power, but we lost power about 3 weeks ago for 2 hours in the early morning. I think maybe BC Hydro is spending all of there money on installing " Smart Meters" and forgetting to keep the substation " looked after" - whatever that means ... ;) And I told them that oh so nicely when I called them just before 8 pm. I guess I won't be living off the grid in a dacha any time soon , thanks so much!!!!

Good review of The Betrayal, Deb. I had added her The Siege to the tbr, and now I'll add this one.

oh oh oh. Im excited about The Siege now, I am seriously going to have to take a break from LT for a while and get some reading done so I can catch up on my WL!

Phew! Caught up! I've had The Siege on my wishlist for a while now, must bump it up a little higher! Looking forward to your thoughts on The Boy in the Suitcase too, I rather like a bit of scandicrime.

Hey Joe! Thanks for the thumb! I hope you will enjoy both The Betrayal and The Siege as much as I have!

Hi Megan! I'm sure that you will love The Siege . I sure did!

Hey Tania, thanks for finding me and coming by to say hi! Yes, I look forward to The Boy in the Suitcase too! :)

For now I am in my last pages of my second" orange prize January book - The Hero's Walk. Initially it was wee bit slow, but the character details and development has been slow but rich. The story too isa slow moving one, in fact it's perhaps more reflective than anything, but it's rich with visual detail and Anita Rau Badami knows how to tell a story full of lovely details. I'm enjoying it.

Oh, another great review, Deb! I'm adding The Betrayal to my WL.

Hi Deb--glad you enjoyed The Siege and The Betrayal. I have the first one and definitely will be getting to it later this year, as one of my Orange reads and/or for my "books set in Russia" category.

Deb, The Hero's Walk looks intriguing. Have a great weekend and I hope you and Dave can keep warm.

@161 and 161, Anne and Anne - You won't regret reading The Betrayal or the The Siege - both of them are wonderful!!! Outstanding reads, I think.

Hi Paul. I've finished off The Hero's Walk and my review is now below -

Really, it's lovely thought provoking story. And also my second Orange Prize Read for January.

I really like the sound of that one, Deb. All that family tension sounds all too believable! Please put your review onto the main page so I can thumb it :)

Well, okay, Dee. just a minute :)

Okay - here is my review of The Hero's Walk by Anita Rau Badami, which can be found on the main page also

The Hero's Walk is a somewhat sad, but beautifully told story. Happily the sorrow is leavended with the small humours of everyday living. There is something beautiful and lush about the story, and the insight to characters is rich and detailed.

The plot does move slowly and I expected it to focus more on the multi -racial Indian - Canadian child who is orphaned by her parents, Maya and Alan Baker. After both parents die early in the novel of a car crash, the father of Maya, Sripathi Rao , goes to Vancouver, Canada to pick up his one and only grandchild, Nandana and take her back to India. Father Sripathi Rao has been estranged from his now dead daughter, Maya, ever since she married a Canadian man. Young Nandana is just beginning grade 2 and is understandably shocked by the death of her parents and moving to the noisy and poor part of India. However, this is but a small part of the story. Sripathi Rao has had his confidence taken away by his still living mother, Ammayya, who is a tyrant in the Rao family home. She is a bitter, complaining woman and jealous of everyone. Not only has she eroded her son's confidence for most of his life, she also has forbidden her 42 year old daughter to marry, citing that each suitor is not worthy, because she prefers her daughter Putti , to wait on her hand and foot. Residing in the run down family home is also Sriapthi's wife, Nirmala, who has been worn down by her mother in law, Ammayya. Nirmala and Sripathi are in their early 50's , and their son Arun seems to be a somewhat shiftless lad , at least at first glance. This is the home that young Nandana suddenly finds herself living in.

There is much tension and anger in the Sripathi Rao home, most of it is from the passive anger and disappointment that each family member has for another. As the story meanders on, with the exception of one person, the family gradually changes and passivity gives way to anger and action. It's a rich and beautiful story, in which the small epiphanies of the character's result in most of them being Hero's in their own way.

The Hero's Walk is lovely, thought provoking story.

Thumbed your wonderful review !

How are you today ?

Good thanks and thanks for the thumb, Kath! shhh but it was my birthday yesterday and we had a nice day with my sisters, two sons, my husband and my son's nearly fiance, at least I think so.... ;)

How did you sneak that birthday in on us anyway?
hmmmmm?

Hope you at lots of cake!

Nearly fiance? Hope she is a good one ! lol

Happy belated birthday, dear Deb (and thank you for the message. I'm probably a sad case but I always get excited when I see that yellow strip telling me I have a private message!)

I'm glad you had a lovely day with your family. Did anyone buy you books?

#168 - Hi Deb! Nice review and happy birthday! And going back to Soviet Russia, if you enjoy novels in this setting (or maybe it was just coincidental that you recently read two), may I recommend The Dream Life of Sukhanov by Olga Grushin? It was one of my favorites last year. She has another novel called The Line that I plan to read this year at some point.

Deb - A late Happy Birtday from me also :) you've had a good start of the year, it seems - interesting world tour you are taken. From Russia to India and.....well, I haven't read anyhting as I recall from an indian family perspective, yet.

...and thanks for the update on the Orange Prize.

Happy Belated birthday Deb! Hope it was a great one for you

Happy belated birthday, Deb. Great review of The Hero's Walk; you've started off the year with some good books.

Happy, happy birthday, Deb!!

Sorry to be late but I hope you had a great day and are looking forward to a good weekend!!

Hi Kath, Yes, I had a birthday on the 20th - my 29th!!! Gosh, next year I'll be 30! Wow, such a landmark! Strange how my sons are just turned 27 and our younger son will be 22 years old this year. I wonder how I managed that ;) Child bride is my line! heheh! ;) Well, there is no announcement of a " fiance" it's just that they've been dating for closing in on 4 year and yesterday my sons girlfriend showed me the engagement ring and wedding ring that she has picked out , on - line -and my son stood beside her and didn't say - that's none of your business or some such thing. I'm just waiting but it could be a while til they actually get engaged. And yes, I had a delicious chocolate cake, with chocolate ganache icing! Yummy!!!!

Dee, no one purchased me a book. I think they might be afraid to do so, since I've got such a big TBR pile and fussy taste in books. However, my son and his girlfriend bought me a top, and while it's really nice, I said to Serenade, the girlfriend -nearly fiance;) - oh - this is like what you'd wear ? She looked embarrassed and said, no that's what I know my mom would like and I thought you would like it too. We all nearly had a fit of laughter because really - when you are 30 like me and your kids regard you as " middle -aged " and I quote - you get the giggles! At least I do! ;)

Hi Kerry! Thanks for the good wishes and thanks for the recommendations!! I did very much enjoy my time in Mother Russia, so thanks for the book ideas - I think I may have to put them in on my wishlist.

Hi Carsten!! Thanks again for the good wishes! Yes I have had a good start to the year, book wise ( not weather wise! ) . Oh Carsten! You've got to read something from an Indian perspective -I'll be pondering what you might like! :) You are off to Russia soon, bookwise, are you not?

Chelle, I had a great day! Thanks so much!

Beth, thanks for your good wishes and thanks for your kind words about my review. I did really enjoy The Hero's Walk, but the " Siren Song" of either Helen Dunmore or Mother Russia -I'm not sure which - is still calling to me! ;)

Thanks Joanne, for stopping by! Great to see you! Thanks for the birthday wishes!!

Okay, I'll try to come by your threads later today - must go out for a while!

I'm not quite sure what my next read will be - I've got a memoir of a a favourite Canadian author of mine Linwood Barclay and also a book that takes place in India.... so I'm not quite sure what I'm going to read next!!

Thanks everyone for stopping by!!! :)

Happy birthday to you, Deb! I loved your review of The Hero's Walk.

Oh, Deb, happy happy birthday! Gosh, I remember turning 29! You'll love 30, too!!

Thumb for your fabulous review of The Hero's Walk. There are several well-deserved thumbs on your review, now, and I hope you are going hot! Hot birthday girl middle-aged 29 year old, hehe!

Happy Birthday to you Deb and excellent review of The Hero's Walk.

Happy Birthday!

Hey Deb, you share a birthday with my lovely daughter-in-law Mary. Apparently she's older than you and has a 16-month-old toddler. ;-)

Btw, I loved Oryx and Crake. I'm going to sleep on it tonight (not literally) and write some thoughts about it tomorrow. My brain is mush after reading all that dystopian stuff!

Dear Deb also noticed your birthday on facebook (which is monopolised by SWMBO by the way) - a little belated but I trust you had a lovely day.

Belated Happy Birthday wishes, Deb. 29 is a good age, but I would probably choose to stay about 42. Old enough, wise enough and money enough to do whatever I want!

Anne, thanks for your Birthday Wishes and thanks for your kind words re The Hero's Walk.

Hi Nancy! You'll have to fill me in on the landmark birthday of 30, because that is coming up for me next January!;) Knowledge is power, as they say!;)

Thanks to you too, Bonnie , for your wonderful wishes!

Thank you Linda, for coming by my thread with the birthday wishes! I hope you are feeling okay.

Donna, isn't that amazing that I share a birthday with your daughter in law -and yet she only has a 16 month old!;) And yet here I am at the young age of - cough cough erhem - with kids that are just 27 and nearly 22 - ohhh - did I give away my possible real age there ;) I'll have to come over to your thread and check out your thoughts on Oryx and Crake - sweet dreams, I hope!

Hi Paul! Yes I did have a lovely day! Today also!

Hi Judy! Thanks for the birthday wishes! Hmm , so you are parked at 42 and I've chosen 29. Hmm - you make some good points. Thanks for the Birthday Wishes!!! :)

Thanks everyone for your kind Birthday wishes!

Happy Belated Birthday Deb!

just catching up a bit.. busy thread here !

Happy Birthday, Deb! I always forget how young you are! I'm jealous. Good review of The Hero's Walk. You earned a Thumb! You always find such interesting books. Enjoy your day.

Thanks so much Brit!

Hi Kath! Great to see you!

Hey there Mark! Glad you are jealous of my err - relative youth, but , truth is , I'm just about 2 years younger than you, youngster!;)

This is my next read . Since I'm in " India " anyway, I picked up this Pulitzer Prize winner from the library. It's a collection of short stories about the Indian - American immigrant experience. I'm about 65 pages in. Interesting but sad reading, so far.

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

Deb, interesting choice with Interpreter of Maladies. Looks good! I rarely read short stories, so I'm impressed that you're exploring!

Another sad reading, ehhh....can an author with that name write sad books? I mean it makes me jump for joy just pronouncing his name: Jhumpa Lahiri...

Come on, Deb. You gotta keep away from all those prize-stamps on the cover of the novels. Pullitzer here, Orange there and I don't know what.

Come back from those far of dreary places with sad immigrant stories - It's time for some good solid Wodehouse or Herriot :)

ohhh....btw...I'm reading an extremely sad story. Poor Folk by Dostoevsky....ehem...

Oh, I loved Interpreter of Maladies! It's been several years since I read it, but those stories moved and haunted me. I hope you love them.

Deb: Enjoy Interpreter of Maladies. I love Lahiri.

Hi Deb, I am using this very cold and windy Sunday here on the island to get caught up on a bunch of threads so please accept my belated birthday wishes and kudos on your interesting string of reviews!

Hope you have a great week!

Checking in, Deb! Glad to see you enjoyed The Siege so much. I loved that one!

I'm another fan of Lahiri and Interpreter of Maladies, Deb. Hope you enjoy it.

Greetings from another Lahiri fan. Her The Namesake is my favorite.

Happy Birthday Deb! A bit late but filled with good wishes for the coming year. Glad you had a nice day.

Great reviews! I have Interpreter of Maladies on my TBR pile. Waiting to hear your reaction. :)

Another Lahiri fan here. I loved Interpreter of Maladies and Unaccustomed Earth even more. You have some good reading ahead Deb.

Hot review for The Hero's Walk, Deb! Nice work!

Oh I am such a fan of both Interpreter of Maladies and Unaccustomed Earth. The Namesake, not so much. Maybe it was because I saw the movie before I read the book. Or because some people are just better short story writers than novelist. I definitely think that about Lorrie Moore.

Wish I could read Interpreter of Maladies again for the first time.

>191 vancouverdeb: very nice looking book.....and a Pulitzer as well? Im in.

Hi Deb- I am also a huge fan of Interpreter of Maladies. It is an amazing collection. You might as well start tracking down Unaccustomed Earth. You will be HOOKED!
Enjoy!

@192 Hi Nancy! I read several short story collections last year and very much enjoyed them -so I'm open to trying another short story collection.

@193 Actually , Carsten, Jhumpa Lahiri is a woman, but I only know that because her picture is on the back cover of the book! ;) As for these " prize books " well, look at you! Reading classics that I could never get more poor head around. As for sad books - well, you never know when I'll break away from them and go on something like a " Flavia -A -Thon" like I did in December... I guess December was my " Fun" month and this is my more "serious" month.

@194 and @195 - Anne and Beth , I had no idea that so many people were so keen on Interpreter of Maladies. At the library were I usually go to, they have a section called "Asian Experience " which is also where I picked up The Hero's Walk - and also The Unaccustomed Earth. I'm not sure if I'll get to Unaccustomed Earth this right away, but so many of you are tempting me!!

@196 - Hi Lori! Thanks for stopping by!! It's been extremely rainy and windy hear on the mainland, so I know exactly what you mean... Better than snow I think! You have a great week too!

@197 - Hi Stasia . Thanks so much for stopping by - what a lovely bunch of visitors to my thread today!! Yes, The Siege was definitely a great start to my reading year!!!

@198 - Hi Joe! Thanks for coming by from your busy cafe!!!! Yet another person who enjoyed Jhumpa Lahiri - I had no idea that she was so popular when I pulled her book off the shelf . I notice it was written in 1999 or 2000 - I'm very slow on the draw!;)

@199 and 201 - Joanne and Bonnie -thanks for stopping by! I'm just amazed at all of the Lahiri fans! Thanks for your advice re your favourites. I guess I'll have to find out for myself!

@200 Hi Claudia! Thanks for the Birthday wishes ! Well, give me a little time and I'll have something to say about Interpreter of Maladies. So far , the story with the still born baby really has resonated with me the most , as I lost a baby boy in my 2nd trimester of one of my pregnancies. Perhaps that is in part why this book is striking me as wee bit heart breaking. Thankfully my husband and I and my two sons all handled it with much more understanding and openness than did the couple in the story. But it was a terrible time in my life, nonetheless.

@202 - Hey Nancy! Thanks for your kind reviews!! I think you'd enjoy The Hero's Walk , it's certainly not unrelentingly sad . There are quite a few humourous moments and a lot of insight into people. It really was a good read!

@203 Wow! That's sure a great endorsement for Interpreter of Maladies - that you wish you could read it again for the first time!

@ 204 Hi Megan - great to see you! I agree - both The Hero's Walk and The Interpreter's Maladies do have nice warm looking covers! And yes, it has Pulitzer prize sticker on it, other wise I would not know! ;)

@205 My goodness, Mark - a great endorsement from you too! As for you - get tracking down The Betrayal! ;)

Thanks everyone for stopping by! I'm overwhelmed!

Well, I best go and get reading The Interpreter of Maladies - everyone seems to have great things to say about it!!

Ah, yes the Flavia-thon - that's right, Deb. You had a lot of fun with that I remember. Nothing like a fun YA or Children's book to get diverted from the more serious "prize" books - or the heavy classics - and there are a lot of them.....

As the good old book says: "For everything there is a season....a time to weep and a time to laugh".

As I often read several books at a time I try to have a "time to laugh" book close at hand. Right now, it's "Anne on the Island"...

I remember last year in winter I had a bad clash of "Grapes of Wrath" and "Ethan Frome" - two all time weepers following each other and it took a Jules Verne to get me going again :)

Well, enjoy your Pullitzer-maladies...

Heheheh! I enjoyed my Flavi - a- thon most thoroughly, Carsten! I'm just about finished the The Interpreter of Maladies and while it's been sharp and to the point, and I'm enjoying it - I think my next book will be a bit of an escape of some sort. I'm not sure what yet...

Adding more great things about Lahiri. She is able to transport me to a different culture with her wonderful way with words. Her short stories share a common theme which makes them connected in my mind. I hope you love Interpreter of Maladies and go on to read more by her.

208: Laughing about your "clash of the weepers." I guess I like to cry because those are usually my favorite kinds of books. ;-)

Hi Deb! Truth be told, I didn't like The Namesake very much, so I'm reluctant to try Interpreter of Maladies, even though I'm always hearing how wonderful it is. Maybe some day. I'm glad you're enjoying it somewhat and hope your next read is even better.

There is only one copy of Interpreter of Maladies out of all our 15?16? city libraries! Not impressed, but Ill track it down one day :)

just trying to keep up! Glad you are enjoying India :)

Deb, your year is off to an impressive start! Can't believe you are almost through your latest trip to India. You must be getting exhausted from all the travel!

Carsten, laughed out loud with your "bad clash of ... two all-time weepers!" Too much!

@210 And 211 -, Yes, I have very much enjoyed Interpreter of Maladies. But Kerri, I think everyone is different in their likes and dislkes when it come to books. And Donna, yes, I'm sure that I will read another book by Jhumpa Lahiri.

@212 - Megan,I'm surprised that you having such difficulty locating a copy in your Library system. I just grabbed mine off the shelf .

@213 Hi Kath! Great too see you!

@214 Hi Nancy - Interpreter of Maldadies was fairly quick read, at only 198 pages. I think I must have jet lag from all of my travels from Russia to India over the past few weeks! ;)

I'm just going to make a few comments re Interpreter of Maladies. I enjoyed Lahiri 's spare prose and her ability to say just enough within each short story, leaving one wanting more , but giving enough story so that one could feel fine with what was there. Though the stories are about the experience of immigrating from India to the USA, the topics covered in the short stories could most often easily experienced by those of us who are not immigrants. One story, " A Temporary Matter" really touched me and I think many people could identify with it. It deals with the still birth of a child and the resulting collapse of a marriage. As someone who lost a son in my second trimester 10 years ago, that really hit me, though it made me grateful that my husband and I were much more open about our emotions. I found it very interesting to read a couple of stories about arranged marriages vs "being in love." I was very touched by the last story , " The Third and Final Continent " in which an arranged marriage, where a bride is flown from India to Boston to live with her husband slowly and beautifully turns into a mutual love.

Overall, it was a wonderful read, with a fair bit of sadness, somewhat about India , but also about the human condition.

I find rating a book of short stories to be difficult , because some stories really hit the mark and the odd one ,not as much . Overall, it's 4 star read! Recommended!

For my next book, I am staying in Canada, to read the memoir of one of my favourite Canadian mystery writers, Linwood Barclay. He used to write more humourous but suspenseful mysteries, but lately he has become more serious in his writing, to my sorrow! At any rate, I am quite keen to read his memoir, which I suspect will be a combination of laughs and sorrows. It was written back in 2000.

Last Resort by Linwood Barclay - and this one is on my kindle.

Is it me, or are you really blazing though these books?

Hi Deb,
Have had that book Interpreter of Maladies for some time now and it's patiently waiting... every once in awhile I can hear it calling. Moving it up in priority...

Deb, thoroughly enjoyed your comments on Interpreter of Maladies. So glad you enjoyed! And have fun with Barclay : ). #218 I'm with Kath that you are blazing through books - at least from where I'm sitting. Go, Deb!

Nice write-up on Interpreter of Maladies, Deb. It feels good to be reminded of the stories, which she told so well.

Hi deb. I haven't read any Linwood Barclay yet, but I do have one of his book sitting on my shelf waiting to be read. I think it was one of his newer ones though. Maybe I'll get to it this summer

It's just you, Kath, that thinks I am blazing through the books! :) But thanks for the vote of confidence ! Last year this time I had a book or two more behind my best. What have you got - 9 books read already to my 4!

@Hi Cee! Interpreter of Maladies is a relatively quick and interesting read - go for it when you get a chance!

@HI Nancy - well, as I say, I'm not really blazing through anything but eating chocolate... ;) but thanks!Glad that my comments were of some use to you. I hope that you pick it up. I'll be readiing more of Lahiri.

@221 Hi Joe! Thanks for your kind words. I'll try to get to your cafe of books and eats a little later in the day.

@Hi Chelle - I really enjoyed some of his earlier books. They featured a husband and father mainly working from home and finding himself involved in mysteries that turned quite suspenseful with a quite a perfect element of humour too. His last book was more serious but even so it involved the death of women that was related to knock - off handbags - hey - I wonder if Paul and Hani wrote that one together under the pseudonym of Linwood Barclay. Just kidding Paul, of course!;)

I must say that reading Lahiri has made me interested in seeking out The Space Between Us by Thrifty Umrigar among other things.

Thanks for visiting! I'll try to get around the the threads later on!

A blustery rainy day here today. Brr!

Hi Deb, its sad how mutual grief can tear a relationship apart, good on you and your husband for withstanding what must have been a fairly traumatising time in your family.
The Inheritance of Loss is on my radar so Ill be looking out for that lone copy that is making its way around Christchurch!

@224 Hi Megan Great to see you. The Inheritance of Loss sounds interesting. One lone copy in your area! I'll have to check around here for it. Yes, it was quite a devastating event to lose a son so far into my pregnancy, but thank goodness we have two sons, and now that 10 years have passed, I'm at peace with it all.

Oh, a very belated happy birthday from me!

And I'm glad you liked The Interpreter of Maladies too, I thought that was great, although I read it so long ago that I can't remember any details now! (Silly brain.)

Deb: I'm so glad you enjoyed Interpreter of Maladies. Even though The Namesake hasn't been a favorite of many who have commented, I enjoyed it. It's not as sad as the stories, either. The movie isn't bad either, but I would read the book first.

@226 - It's difficult to remember every book that we read in detail, Tania, especially someone who reads 100 + plus books per year! You are amazing!

@227 Beth, I did not even know that there was movie of The Namesake, so thanks for letting me know. I picked it up at the library tonight. We can't all like the same stories , it's impossible!

I picked up some good books at the library earlier today, a couple by Per Petterson as well as Namesake by Lahiri. If that was not enough, I picked up a couple of new books from the library. One is a Canadian book , As Long as The Rivers Flow by James Bartleman which just caught my interest. It's the story of First Nation residental schools in Canada, and the abuse and challenges that happened there. I found a few reviews which I put on the main page, and I understand from an interview with the author that the book has been put forward as a possible Giller Contender. I look forward to reading it. I also picked up Sister by Rosamund Lupton . It looks like a well done crime/ suspense novel, so I hope it is good once I get a chance to read it.

Still reading Last Resort for now. Seems very good, a coming of age book, but it seems to have it share of sorrow.

#228> That's it! Each *new* book I read pushes an *old* book out of my brain at the same time! Ahah, now it all makes sense. ;)

I liked Sister... hope you do too!

Long-belated happy birthday wishes Deb, you young thing you! Here I am chanting "Read Dunmore! Read Dunmore!" and you've already moved through India twice. Always paying catch-up, but always a happy old coot. (I think I read your Orange thread and thought I was doing well, when everything was really happening over here.)

Oh, Deb, you had a happy library day! Sounds like some wonderful hours of reading ahead of you! Most curious about the Per Petterson selections and will look forward to your comments. Well done!

Hi Deb- I loved your thoughts on Interpreter of Maladies. I am ready for a reread on this one. I can't wait for you to try Unaccustomed Earth, which might even be better. If you are finding these stories sad though, you might want to space them out a bit.
Last Resort sounds fun. I'll be watching for your thoughts.

230- Exactly Tania, as you read one book, it pushes out another book. I'm glad you finally caught onto that! ;)

@231 Kath I think it was you who I " saw" reading Sister on LT here and it sounded good, and like something different, so I hope I will enjoy it too!

@232 Ah, I am still chanting " READ DUNMORE" - shouting it even -at least The Siege and The Betrayal. She has a new book coming out in the spring, which I have on my wishlist. I forget the title as the moment! Sorry about that.

@233 Nancy, it was just one Per Petterson as I've already got I Curse the River of Time in my TRB pile her at home. From the library got To Siberia - hey - been there, done that with The Betrayal. Al of this traveling is getting a little old!;0 hehe! I also got The Space Between Us by Thrifty Umrigar. All of the books were just waiting on the shelf for me.... But which ones will I actually get to read this time round is the million dollar question...

@ Hey there Mark! You are so kind! Last Resort is actually a very interesting memoir of a young fellow who grows up somewhat unconventionally with his parents running a trailer park, and I'm not sure where it is heading,but I do know that the author eventually becomes a celebrated columnist for an Ontario newspaper and then writes books -but on the way I suspect that I am going to encounter mental illness in his family and perhaps a few other challenging bends.

I'm not sure which book I will read next -but I think what is supposed to be a " a harrowing read" at the start As Long as the Rivers Flow might be next. I picked it up at the bookstore yesterday , thinking it looked interesting and when I read the reviews But I' on line I decided it might just be my next book. But I'm a creature of the moment -sort of - so it remains to be seen.... oh the mystery!

Deb: As Long as the Rivers Flow sounds great -- just added it to my list. I liked Sister quite a lot; I thought Lupton's description of grief was very perceptive. A lovely, haunting book.

I'll be interested to hear what you think about The Namesake.

Looking forward to seeing what you think of Last Resort, Deb, as I have it on my wishlist as well.

Deb, I read The Space Between Us a couple of summers ago and thoroughly enjoyed! Can't wait to hear what you think.

Hello Deb! I think you were spot on about The Interpreter of Maladies. I read it a couple of years ago and it is that story you mention about the stillbirth which has really stayed with me.

Your library finds sound great- look forward to hearing how you get on with them!

@236 - Beth, perhaps it was you that " chatted" about Sister here on LT -at any rate, I'm looking forward to it!

@237 - According to my kindle, I'm about 70% through Last Resort, Judy. I think if you like Linwood Barclay and want to know his story, this is quite an interesting memoir. I'm enjoying it quite a bit. I've got it on my kindle, and it was only $3.99. You can't go wrong at that price! (Well, you can, but I think you'll enjoy Last Resort.

@238 Nancy, my target book for my book outing was The Space Between Us -but I found so many good books that evening, I hope I can get to it this time round . That's the trouble with library books - they have to go back!!!

@Hi Dee! I'm glad you enjoyed The Interpreter of Maladies . It's interesting which stories stay with us.

Caution all - yes I had a fabulous book find at the library and a couple of books from the store, but how fast I get to them and it what order remains to be seen. I'll do my best!

Thank goodness~ all of that blue text, but not one book on my list.. whew!

Hi Kath!! I didn't send you a book bullet? ;) I'm not doing my job!

Interpreter of Maladies is good. I really love Lahiri. I've read all her books and wonder when she is coming out with another. . .

*lurk lurk
feed baby while lurking
lurk lurk*

Surfacing quickly to wish you a happy weekend Deb!

It must be nice to stay in Canada for a while, Deb :) Memoirs are a good choice for some variation - but I expect you are soon of to explore new exotic places around the world. Much scope for the imagination, as Anne said....

244: Wish Librarything had been around when I was feeding my babies. I didn't have a computer when J was a baby but did have a PC by the time M came along and spent much time at the cloth nappy group of UKParents!

Hello Deb!!!

I thank the goddess that computers were not part of life when my kids were little!
Our first was the appleIIe , and there was no internet..
As much as I love the web, I am glad it wasn't around then.I like the way it was.

Hi Brit! I really enjoyed Interpreter of Maladies, it was excellent! I hope that you are feeling better after that knock you got to the nose!;)

@244 Hi Megan! Thanks for lurking so patiently. I'm afraid when I nursed I had to just watch tv, or sit in the dark of night....

@245 Hi Lori! Have a great weekend! Well, yesterday wasn't bad weathewise, today remains to be seen!

@246 Hi Carsten - well, I'm afraid I'm back in Canada with my new book.... ;)

@247 Well, Dee, I don't think we got a computer til our eldest was about 9 or so? Probably just as well. And I was on dial up then!;) Fun to remember, sort of....

@248 Hi Kath! Our first computer was some sort of err -hybrid that my brother put together from an old computer of his. He has a degree in computer science, and quite a facility for just tinkering around. I think our first printer was an old Dot Matrix - okay, maybe I wasn't quite the child bride that I claim to be!;)

As for what I've read -

I finished up Last Resort by Linwood Barclay. I've really enjoyed his previous domestic suspense mysteries, and this memoir of his was really quite an interesting read, especially because I have enjoyed his books. He had a fairly challenging growing up, with a somewhat eccentric mother. The family bought a summer time trailer park and lived there year round in a small trailer. He had a fairly rough time of things growing up, but eventually went onto The University of Trent in Ontario, where he studied journalism and writing. Margaret Lawrence was a writer in residence at Trent University at that time and encouraged Linwood Barclay in his then mystery writing. He eventually went onto write a column for a fairly well known newspaper, the name of which escapes me now... Anyway, finally as he aged, he realized his dream of writing books. Really an interesting memoir. 3.5 stars easily!

Now I'm reading As Long as the Rivers Flow by Jame Bartleman. He's received the Order of Canada, and several other awards, not that I knew that when I picked up the book. It's the story of a young girl sent from her Cat River Indian Reserve at the of 6 and the abuse that she receives there. While it is somewhat of a dark read, it's a fascinating tale, perhaps one that most helps me understand how abuse of one Indian child affects her relationship with her parents, and into future generations. It's a bit expository in nature, but I feel like I've never understood quite as well how residential schools have continued to affect out First Nations people. I'm only about 1/3 of the way through, but I recommend it.

Anyway, sorry I've been busy, and I'll try to get to your threads later in the day.

And yes, thread police, I'll start a new thread later today.

Delighted your stellar reading adventures continue, Deb! Glad you enjoyed Last Resort - interesting tidbit about Margaret Lawrence. I'm sure you'll get lots out of As Long as the Rivers Flow. Some years ago, I read a novella My Name is Seepeetza with some students; it was told by a young girl who had been taken from her family and put in residential school. It was a moving and effective narration on a shameful part of our history.

Hi Deb! As Long as the Rivers Flow sounds like a gritty tale! Any stories about residential schools and abuse seem to be so deep and touching. I've not read Bartleman before and I'll be keeping an eye out for your thoughts! I've been trying to read more Can Lit so maybe that would be a good one to pick up

@251 I think Lindwood Barclay had quite an interesting memoir - in that he had a brother with schizophrenia, his father died when Linwood was only 15 or so, and Linwood was forced to run the family business , a summer trailer park .

@251 and 252 As Long As the River Flows is turning into a real page -turner, it is so interesting. I was a little afraid of reading the first part , because book reviews called that part " harrowing" - but many Canadian books are " harrowing' ;) , and I was fine with it. I've read other books about residential schools , and abuse done those in charge , but this in some ways this is the best book that I have read so far. I say that because it doesnot paint anyone as an absolute villain, but as human beings with flaws. It also has answered so many questions for me as to why First Nations people might tend to remain on the Reserve, the racism that they face, why some continue to drink - and I'm not quite half- way through. I really recommend it.