Ireadthereforeiam- February Thread

I've shot out of the starting blocks this year with a huge 9 books read already, and I shall be not be left wanting for books by the look of things. My lists (and reshuffling of them) are keeping me well stocked, and the library's new online WL type function is ensuring the library books get in first over my TBRs off the shelf.

And here is the list of TRY-TO-READ (classics) for this year...

2012 TBR Classics List
Sons and Lovers
Tale of Two Cities
Great Expectations
Crime and Punishment
Libra
The Turn of the Screw (currently reading)
North and South
The Bone People
Midnights Children
One Hundred Years of Solitude

My get-from-library-asap list from the last thread is coming along nicely...
Marcelo in the Real World
Stitches (decided against, read Blankets instead)
The Shock Doctrine
Complications
Voyage of the Arctic Tern
The Cobra Event
the Demon in the Freezer
Book of a Thousand Days
My Side of the Mountain
Blackwater Lightship
Dragon Talk (on order at library, possibly lost in system)
Tigers at Awhitu
Lost in Shangri-La
The Ghost Map
Guardian of the Dead (decided against)
Room
The Siege

Megan congrats on thread #2. Wanted to be first in on the new one!

So far.....
1. The Art of Travel (NF)
2. Absolution (Crime?)
3. North and South (Historical Fiction)
4. The Wall (Graphic Novel)
5. Snake and Lizard/ Up In the Tree/ Billy A Lolly Leopold Story (Childrens)
6. Complications (NF)
7. The Night Circus (Fantasy)
8. My Side of the Mountain (YA)
9. Blankets (Graphic Novel)

Hi Paul! Just snuck in there, great to have you as first visitor :)

Found you! (but have 17 messages to read on your last thread... manana!) (where is the squiggly line over the n button when you need it?)(think that's enough brackets now.)

Hiiiii Megan! :D

Hi Megan - I'm back to front too, reading your new thread before I've caught up on the old one.

Have a good February!

You are off to a great start, Megan!

The Siege (home delivered to me this evening)
Does your library deliver books to your home?! I'm jealous!

Yeah, me too!

Hi Megan!
I just got The Seige home delivered a few days ago - ordered it from Ammy. Now to find time to read it. Will be interested in what you think of it. :)

Cushla: funny- I too am a high bracket user. I can never find any cool symbols to use on the keyboard, but at least now I know you hadn't just mistyped banana!

Stephen: Hi back, still waiting on Richard Preston books from library.....*waiting waiting*...

Genny: hard to resist a bright and shiny new thread isnt it :) Plus, new ones usually only have a few unread messages ....and old threads have piles to read through :)

Lynda: (I always have to double check that you are Lynda and not Carmen- I need to learn to trust myself)

Lynda/Jim: My book delivery system involves my partner who works in offices about 15 metres down the corridor from the library. So I usually check online which books are in that I want, text Andrew, and ta daaa! The book comes home that evening.
Unfortunately...he is starting a new role in 2 weeks so from then on I will have to go myself again which, let's face it, is no chore really :)

Cee: I am conscious of the due date, so as usual the library book will bump some off my tbr pile that is physically tilting on my bedside table. There goes my classics tbr pile....I can see a pattern forming already whereby all those lovely classics on my shelves lay unread in favour of LT BBs!

Currently reading:

Lost in Shangri-la by Mitchell Zuckoff
The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins
The Siege by Helen Dunmore
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje (optimistically labelled as still being read, in reality it has not been looked at in nearly 6 months!)
The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas (book clubs next read, if I get to it!)

A little poem about rain....

I can hear you
Making small holes
In the silence
Rain
If I were deaf
... The pores of my skin
Would open to you
And Shut
And I should know you
By the lick of you
If I were blind
The something special smell of you
When the sun cakes
The ground
The steady drum roll sound you make
When the wind drops
But if I should not hear
Smell or feel or see
You
You would still
Define me
Disperse me
Wash over me
Rain.

- Hone Tuwhare -

I love the poem!

I see no evidence of gross anti-Morgensternianism or pro-Dickensianism. *thwap* Your Seal of Approval, madam.

Megan- I love your current reading list. Impressive. the Siege was such an excellent read. Enjoy!

Lovely poem!

I love rain too...

Phew.. caught up with you Megan and enjoyed reading your reviews on the last thread. I'm curious you didn't like The Night Circus, it is currently on my hall shelves but it's just reclining and enjoying the view, haven't really picked it up since I bought it home.

A couple of things, I have Room which I really didn't think too much of and you are welcome to it, let me know. Also I see that Paul's coming to you first, I was planning to jump on a plane and spend another weekend in Christchurch around Feb/Mar, (this time with no 40th birthday party to cater for), so keep me informed of dates if you do decide to meet up. Tickets are so cheap and I miss hanging out with my siblings and any excuse to shoot to Christchurch for a weekend is a great excuse in my opinion.

edited to change 'the night watch' to 'the night circus'!! I have been reading way too many Game of Thrones books recently!!!

Hi Megan - just catching up:)

>14 richardderus: Richard, I think Im too scared to start one of the two Dickens books I promised myself Id read this year, they just seem scary. And there are so many others queuing up to be read! What shall I do?

>15 msf59: Hi Mark, thanks for visiting! I have to start the Siege soon as that date stamp is glaring at me already. Not that I dont look forward to it though....

>16 -Cee-: Cee, great picture, glad I dont have to go out in that down pour of course though :)

>17 KiwiNyx: Do you mean the Night Circus? I haven't read the one your touchstone goes to.
Great news about potential 3 person meetup! And I admire your dedication to the cause :). I think Paul is arriving Chch 29 April, but maybe message him to check plans. I'm guessing he'll stay a couple of days here before gallivanting off around NZ. He also suggested he might bring me his copy of Room, which was lovely just like your offer! So if he doenst, I'd certainly accept your offer.
Ill message you a list of what Ive got on offer as a swap and we can do that maybe?

>18 calm: Gidday Calm, nice to see you :)

Leonie - I will definitely make both islands in the three weeks and will make the most of it will a couple of meet-ups if possible! Will post my itinery when I have a bit more idea.

>20 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul, looks like you're going to be a busy man with LT meetups alone! Never mind all the awesome stuff to do here ;)

**********

Lenny making a break for the bookshelf (GO Lenny!) and the two boys snuggling in the cot.

Awwww! What cute pics!

Megan - Those are super cute pictures of your boys! You'll be glad to know I managed to go all week without sustaining an injury! :)

Hi Megan- Keep in mind, we are doing David Copperfield in April. Join us! Pstt...Richard does not care for Mr. Dickens. I wouldn't ask him again.

Claudia- Love the gif. I wish there was a bus out there somewhere.

I thought of double-posting, but quickly changed my mind.

Amy: Awwww, thanks!

Brit: Well done on being injury free for a week, now if you could just extend that you your whole life that'd be great, at least no concussions please.

Mark: David Copperfield isn't on my hit list at present, but we'll see, by April it might be!?
No double post? Come oooon....I was doing my bit to up your thread count and you dont return the favour!? Just joking of course, mine was an honest mistake, maybe Paul will -1 from your stats just to be fair ;)

Hi Megan! Great pictures of the boys! You are one lucky Mom!

#24 "I wish there was a bus out there somewhere."
*giggle, snort* Funny, Mark! ;-)

Cee: thanks, they are a bundle of .....joy....amongst other things! We are still suffering the terrible threes. The terrible twos were a breeze compared to now :/
................

Book 10
Lost in Shangri-la Mitchell Zuckoff

In a nutshell: started great, got worse but was still good. **contains spoilers**

A true adventure tale with all the ingredients to make it an amazing book. The crux of it is that near the end of WWII a plane goes down in remote New Guinea, the three injured survivors struggle their way through jungle to a clearing to be visible for rescuers. Rescuers find them, parachute in with medical and survival supplies and then all of them (there are quite a few of them by now) need rescuing as walking out is deemed too difficult. The actual rescue mission seems improbable, but its real life, and it happened.

They happen to be in an area populated by "natives" who have not made contact with anyone, and who are living as they had for centuries. This aspect of the book is really very interesting. And sad because you just know that this meeting of cultures is the beginning of the end for their way of life. (And sure enough near the end it is said that the good old missionaries got them converted and wearing clothes within a decade.) The crash survivors get to know the villagers to an extent, but communication is stilted and misunderstandings and misconceptions occur from both sides.

The story itself is true, so there was no changing that for the author. It is hard to know which part is more the focus, the rescue mission or the anthropological aspect. Both are great stories on their own. Throw in a little WWII history and it certainly makes for great reading.

The Author has done a lot of research, too much in fact as every person mentioned in the book has a paragraph of their own personal history dedicated to them and it kind of distracts from the story. That might be my only problem with the book, aside from the multi focus aspect. A solid 3 stars.

Hello Megan - so jel about your LT meet-up with Paul and others! Gorgeous little baby bottom up there - and I quite understand why you have been labouring with The English Patient - never started the book; the film was dire enough.

Great Expectations is one of my favourite Dickens' reads and not scary at all. Once you get into it, it's a bit of a rip-roaring read, and quite funny in places. I will be interested to see what you make of Midnight's Children - one of those books I feel I SHOULD read, but just can't get to....

A solid 3 stars won't get me to the church, though, so I will give Lost in Shangri-La a miss!

Hi Megan, yes I did mean 'The night Circus', got confused with 'the nights watch' from 'The Game of Thrones' as you do!

Meetups anywhere sound good. My only restraint would be to make sure my husband is in the country so he can do the watch the children thing otherwise they may have to come with me. Now off to check out your list of books..

Oh, and the photo of Lenny takes me back so much, I just love it.

Megan- Good review of Shangri-La. I liked it more than you but we were close.
Love the photos of the kids. They are gorgeous. I want to imagine I was like Lenny as an infant, crawling toward the books.

Megan, I'm catching up! How do you have time to read anything at all with those two darling boys up and about?!?! I sigh for the energy of youth! And I'm envious that you have a meet-up in your near future. I guess nobody drives I-95 any longer although the amount of traffic never seems to let up.......
(And by the by, I loved and adored Midnight's Children when I read it ages and ages ago. I'm a sucker for Rushdie's playfulness with words.) AND my copy of The Night Circus is in the mail from PBS as of this morning. Yay!)

Prue: I actually liked the film version of English Patient. I think that is why I am not liking the book....
I am intimidated by Midnights Children and Great Expectations too, although I started the latter last night so am now committed.

Leonie: I feel like although each day can drag on, it's all going really quickly I already have nostalgia about Lenny's babyhood and hes only 6 months old!

Mark: Im sure you dont want to be like Lenny now though...crawling around with your pants off....clawing at books and trying to eat them!!

Peggy: The only way I can make time to read is by not watching tv, which is getting easier and easier I have to say. On account of all the crap they put on there....where did all the quality programming go?

"Little brother" is a giant! That was...INSIDE you!? :o I think he's going to be, like, 7 feet tall.

Awww baby bumm!

Megan - I must admit that I hated the movie of The English Patient and didn't bother with the book. An overlong film with the leading character laying in a bed covered in bandages for a third of the film did nothing at all for me.

Hi Megan- "crawling around with your pants off". Hey, to each his own right? Go Lenny!

Megan/Mark - at what age is it no longer ok to do a Lenny and bare your buttocks in the living room. Only we have guests for dinner tonight and I need to know.

Busily baking orange muffins to scoff instead of making dinner like I should be. What is the beast inside of me that must eat sweet treats? At least I have sourced the food from the garden, so far I have potatoes and lettuce. So I guess we're having roast potatoes and salad!

**************

>33 Ape: Stephen, tell me about it! I was the size of a bus at 9 months pregnant! Apparently I make big babies. Thank goodness the latest one came out the sun roof, as it were.

>34 ChelleBearss: Hi Chelle, baby bums are so cute, all soft like bread dough.

>35 PaulCranswick:/37 Re: English Patient, the film- I dont remember that much recuperating, I remember the sweeping desert vistas and other arty camera shots. It was a while ago now though, maybe rose tinted glasses come into it....oh, and probably leave your pants on tonight seeing as you have guests! Otherwise, a mans home is his castle and he shall doeth whatever he wants right?

>36 msf59: haha Mark, sure, you go for it! Whatever makes you happy :) Today he's only eaten one book, "A Lady in Smurfland" (no touchstone? I guess its not a classic).

Wait...why are you reading Chuckles the Dick again? Is this some arcane Kiwi spousal abuse thing? Or is it the whole "having two tiny ones has turned my brain into wiggly jello so I needs must cudgel it with miserable bad sesquipedalian "prose" to tone it up again" fallacy?

Paul- Hmmmmm...good question. How well do you know these people?

Megan- "A Lady in Smurfland". So Lenny is starting to lean toward the ladies already. My boy!

Richard (Richard Richard)...Im reading Chucky D to see if I'm into him. There's a few people out there who are, I've heard. I certainly wasnt into him when I read him 15 years ago so am wondering if he gets better with age. Was going to bump Great Expectations for A Christmas Carol as its a lot shorter, but decided to (God, I hope not) punish myself with the more lengthy volume.

Mark: He sure knows how to flirt with the ladies he sees at the shops. They hover over his pram making gooing noises and he does his best baby noises and smiles back, I feel like a celebrity going shopping!

This was Wilbur at 6 months old, just so as not to leave him out!

"Richard (Richard Richard)...Im reading Chucky D to see if I'm into him. There's a few people out there who are, I've heard."

I heard that rumour as well, apparently some souls still buy his books all these years later too .......

Mark - the guests this evening are not known nearly well enough to bare my ass to!

But Alex and Megan! Simply because there are fools and ignorami in the world, one needn't emulate them! IIf your friend jumped off a roof, would you do it too?

>43 roundballnz: he he he

>44 PaulCranswick: Maybe next time they come to dinner you will know them well enough?

>45 richardderus: Maybe my copy of Great Expectations will end up in the fire like your mystery book did?!? Actually, no, its got a nice cover which will save it even if I dont like the content.
My friend did jump off a roof (on to a trampoline) once, and I did follow her. It was awesome fun. Ha.

>46 LovingLit: Proved: Kiwi wimmins is kuuuh-razeee!

Richard: AND my brother used to practice ski jumps on/off the trampoline. We were a crazy lot indeed. Yet I have only one long lasting scar to prove it, interesting.

Oh deary dear, I'm 48 posts down! But I was rewarded by perfectly squishy little men, so I'm satisfied. Hi there!

Richard, well known fact that kiwi's are crazy ...... what other flightless bird & its human cohabitants would keep trying to fly!

>48 LovingLit:, 50 ...o.0...0.o...

I never jumped onto a trapoline from a roof, myself. Still managed to break my arm on one though.

Luxx: welcome! I try to reel in the customers with baby pics. I should post more pics of other things that I get up to, but I cant resist the littlies.

Alex: and our air force's logo is a flightless bird. Duh.

Richard: I'm not quite sure what to say in the face of all the O's and punctuation. How about hello, and how ya doing?

Stephen: Ouch! Ive never broken anything, myself. Well, just my hip, but I didn't do it, the surgeon did. Don't worry, he replaced it afterwards. It was the least he could do really.

Meanwhile in the house of spuke and tantrums.......Lenny has discovered the top of his head and is delighting in rubbing whatever is in his hands up there. This is mainly his hands, and of course, food. At present there is a good smattering of potato/carrot/broccoli mushed in his fine golden locks, and he's trying to add a rusk as I type (keep trying Lenny but the hole for food is on the front of your head!).
Looks like a thorough bathing is on the cards for tonight.

I love the Lenny stories!

How wonderfully fortunate you are.

LOL to potato/carrot/broccoli hair! Have to add that I also enjoyed the film The English Patient but did not like the book at all - found it a real slog. Great Expectations I haven't read, but that's a "yet" - look forward to your thoughts.

Bravo to Lenny - is it his eating habits or your cooking that needs practice Megan!

If he keeps this up, you could patent LennyHairGel and maybe even LennyVegeHighlights. Could be a winner.

Oh, and I used to jump off the garage roof all the time as a kid. No trampoline underneath, just all the way down and then I would practice my parachute landing just like my dad. Is it a kiwi kid thing I wonder.. I blame weetbix.

>55 Whisper1: thanks, me too, i dont want to bore people...could put Lenny and big bro stories up on a daily basis!

>56 lit_chick: Great Expectations going well so far, not hating it, almost liking it!

>57 PaulCranswick: It's not too hard to boil the heck out of some veges and then puree them, so Im guessing it's Lenny's table manners that need the work Paul :)

>58 KiwiNyx: So did you use a sheet as a parachute? Funny! I remember it being a pretty hairy experience landing on the trampoline as you could then go flying off again, how did you manage with such an unforgiving landing!?

Love the baby pics, Megan! I will have to try and visit more often :)

Glad to hear Great Expectations is going well! I checked Nicholas Nickleby last night and I'm only 66% of the way through. That 75% must have just been wishful thinking :-)

Good luck with Lenny's hair!

Oh I'm way behind!!! I hope to read a Dickens too. I actually enjoyed Dickens very much when I was younger, twisted soul that some might say that I am ;) I've got Oliver Twist in my TBR pile... we'll see when I get to it. Great baby pictures!!!

Love the Lenny and food-in-the-hair story. Reminds me of a bit of film my father shot of me when I was aged 1, and decided to grab the spaghetti from my bowl and drape it over my head. I was still more or less bald at the time, so at least I didn't get to rub it into golden locks! My Dad loved to get the old cine film like that out and show to my friends when I was a teenager: cruel father!

Hi Stasia: glad you like the baby pics, me too. I hope you do come back for another visit!

Susan: 2/3......3/4...you were just a fraction out (lol) Are you saying you wish you were further through?

Deb: Oliver Twist is the only Dickens that I have read in full, and I have to say it didn't do much for me (at all). I remember page long paragraphs.....a lot of words in a row....not many of them making sense to me.....buy you might like it?!

Genny: Wow, that was you in that greeting card picture I see everywhere? ;) I'm sure it must be a still from your fathers film. Funny that he showed it off to your friends. Fathers can be so mortifying!

*********************

Took a family outing today seeing as its Waitangi Day (NZ national day). Went to the Botanic Gardens for a picnic (and a scooter ride for Wilby) and to the museums kiddies room (Discovery). You pay $2 and the whole area is full of kid-friendly activities. Puzzles, a little room full of cushions and soft toys, an archaeological dig area, jars and jars of formaldehyde'd icky things, drawers of bugs, a real tarantula, computer games and other interactive stuff. It was cool!

Sounds like a fab family day out. I'm hoping to get to our local botanical gardens this next week before the 'Sculpture in the Gardens' exhibit closes.

Lots of fun over here!
Let's see how much fun you think it is when your boys decide to jump off a roof! :{

Now that I think of it, you'll probably be the one they are following - LOL (or NOT)

OY!

That sounds like a great day out for Waitangi Day. The Kiwis in my office had a Waitangi Day party a few years ago, with sweets from the shop at New Zealand House and I made some afghan biscuits from the Edmonds Cookbook, but there aren't that many of us here any more. Another year we did a client event which was supposed to involve pineapple lumps, but they were just pineapple *chunks*. That did give everyone a laugh, though.

I was hoping to be further through Nicholas Nickleby, but I read one more instalment last night (three chapters) so I'm getting there.

sigh... just jumping in, no way to catch up...

Kerry: I hope you get to it in time, we are heading to a sculpture show/fair thing this weekend, in Waipara (45 mins north of chch), hoping for great weather and well behaved kiddos :)

Claudia: There's no way I'm letting my little angels jump off the roof! Are you crazy? haha, that's probably what my mum thought too....poor mum, she doesn't know half the stuff we got up to :)

Susan: so hang on a minute...you're a kiwi? How are you surviving life without easy access to pineapple lumps, moro bars, jaffas, pavlova and griffins gingernuts? At least you have the Edmond's Cookbook. How people could live without that I dont know!

Kath: woah, there goes Kath, I hope you glanced at the kiddie pics on your way!

...aaaaaaand....he's done it!
Lenny can now officially take books out of the bottom shelf of the bookshelf. And so begins a year at least of gentle reminding/calm discussions/cross reprimands regarding the treatment of books. ("We dont eat books Lenny" etc)
Now that he can sit up all by himself (boo hoo where'd my baby go?), he's already been seen sitting next to the book chewing their top corners. Cute! Now where's that playpen (aka kiddie fencing) gone?

"There's no way I'm letting my little angels jump off the roof!"

Exactly! But it's not a question of "letting" - it's a task of "preventing". Good luck to you if they got your jumping genes! LOL

#69: Yes, I'm a Kiwi, although I have lived in London for 17 years now. My most-missed-biscuit is the Chocolate Thin, closely followed by those Griffins macaroon biscuits covered in chocolate. And Toffee Pops. And Tim Tams. And those things with the hokey-pokey squiggles on them. And Cameo Creams. I recently discovered a UK equivalent of the Mallowpuff, just called "Mallows" and made by Cadbury. I've only seen them at one supermarket, so I stock up when I'm there. There is a Marks & Spencer tea cake which pretends to be a Mallowpuff, but the marshmallow is too soft. My friends and family often pack pineapple lumps and jaffas into parcels, and the rule is that if something isn't wrapped up (for a birthday or Christmas) it's fair game as soon as it arrives. I have been known to stand at the table with a pair of scissors before I've even taken my coat off...

Congratulations to Lenny and his first library card! Sounds like you had a great day out for NZ! Well, back in the day, I enjoyed Dickens, but we'll see how I do with Oliver Twist - Ive got lots of books to keep me busy.

And yes, I agree, I think that The Siege is going to be contagious - it's really an excellent book! I hope you are enjoying! :)

Cee: Oh well, I may as well resign myself to a broken bone, if it means an adventurous and confident child then I'm willing to deal with that if it arises

Susan: haha I can just imagine it - tearing the package with your teeth *let me attem! gimme those NZ treats!* Funny. I love getting pineapple lumps and jersey caramels and making a little bowl and then eating one then the other til the bowl is empty.
Oh my aching teeth just thinking of it!

Deb: Im doing a night on of Great Expectations and then a night on The Siege, and all my daytime snippets are of Great Expectations. Trying to keep them both going at once rather than ignoring one til the other's finished takes some timetabling!

Hi Megan! Just catching up. Love the pics, esp Lenny pulling the book off the shelf. Go Lenny.
What are jersey caramels? I've been on a salted caramel (with chocolate, of course) eating jag lately.

Peggy: gone all shy on me have you Peggy? Just joking, thanks for the (other) message.

Kelly: Ive got some cool pics of Lenny eating books, grabbing books, and one Ill put up soon of him with a great big smile, no clothes on, and a book in front of him :)
Jersey Caramels are little cubes of firm (but chewy) light brown caramel with a strip of white in the middle. About the size of a dice and very sweet. They have been sold in dairy's (corner shops) here since Adam was a lad.

*************

Just took my first trip back to the Riccarton Library since Feb last year when it was at first shut by erathquake damage and then needed as office space for Chch City Council engineers and other important earthquake people. It only re opened last week again, and I can report that the coffee is still great!

Got some cooool kids books to read to Wilby The Shrinking of Treehorn and Frog and Toad Together as well as Stig of the Dump- More for me that one- and I also ordered it on book depository for my brothers birthday as it was a favourite of his when he was younger. In fact he even suggested Stig as a name for their baby boy! (Jokingly I hope).

Yay for the city getting back on its feet, more and more shops and places are becoming accessible every month which is fantastic.

Yay for the city getting back on its feet, more and more shops and places are becoming accessible every month which is fantastic.

Huzzah!

And I'm really looking forward to the naked reader picture. A boy after my own heart, that one.

drive-by hug for the Megans

Luxx: will get my a into g this evening and post the pic :)

Richard: how many of me are there? Ill take your hug and raise you one.

I have to say, pineapple lumps don't sound very appealing. :)

Good luck with the Dickens! I'm supposed to be reading Great Expectations this month but my reading schedule is a bit out of whack due to some addictive games on the smart phone (argh!) and a shorter commute. (No fair!) I'll be doing David Copperfield in April though, that's a definite.

don't knock pineapple lumps .... but they are a national delicacy :)

Wookie: you'd have to try the Pineapple Lump (note capitals....) before judging, I swear, they dont disappoint. ;)

Alex: and they taste good half dunked into a hot drink to melt the chocolate....mmmmm

Nude reading! Only in bed now, I'm afraid.

Lenny looks as if he is enjoying his world, and has already learned to read upside down!

Oh, I had that exact same B&W book for my kids! I thought it was rather gorgeous. Not sure if it's still in the house, it might have been culled to make way for more books. (Sigh.)

So, let me get this straight. Pineapple. Plus chocolate? Not sure that's a taste combo I've experienced before!

Ohmyohmy, that picture is absolutely everything I hoped it would be.

Lenny is getting so big!
What a great pic :) I love how you can see outdoors, too :)

I am so happy to hear that the city is able to get back on it's feet..

Hi Megan- Wow, you cannot top that Lenny! He will be quite the ladykiller and a book-lover too! Great combo!

Just dropped by for some nude reading, hehe! Love the pic!

Grabbing his book before his clothes. Yup, he's gonna win the ladies over. Thanks for all the cute pictures and stories!

Genny: Lenny's world is pretty sweet I'd have to say, snuggle, feed, crawl around and explore, snooze, cuddle repeat.

Wookie: these are the books that are given to each child while theyre still in hospital after being born. A little gift from Christchurch City Libraries. Cool one too. Poor you- not a fan of the pineapple lump :(

Luxx: Glad I could oblige (I'm secretly proud of this shot as he looks so cute and I can see all those lovely creases on his arms and legs)

Kath: you can see our vege garden! Tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, strawberries (you can never have too many of those), beetroot, spring onions, parsley, corriander, basil, parsnips, cabbage and ....that's it I think!

Mark: It's always the quiet ones you've got to watch!

Nancy: Thanks for stopping, he just saw the Plunket Nurse today (child health nurse) and dazzled her with his crawling speed! Talk about off like a shot.

Berly: you're welcome, I'm glad to have you visit! Time is racing with little Lenny, I swear he was a tiny baby about a minute ago :/
He's got blue eyes like me and Wilby has brown like his dad :)

Lenny's the man - he knows exactly how to hold the book to tantalise his army of admirers! Nothing wrong with reading in the nude - many a chapter has come and gone in the bathtub and beneath the bedsheets whilst waiting for SWMBO to finish her Malay Soap Opera marathons.

Well little Lenny, that is a strategically placed book, a fireman's calendar pose for sure.

Pineapple lumps - love them.

Gardens - well I've confessed on Lucy's thread to being a procrastinator on gardening, but I do have plenty of green herbs out there. Your garden sounds pretty wonderful.

Pineapple Lumps don't have an appealing name, but sound intriguing.

That was a great picture of Lenny!

Paul: just last night I had a long soak in the bath ...primarily for the opportunity of uninterrupted reading. So yes, I guess nude reading is actually more popular than I first thought.

Kerry: I have to admit, the garden is less my project and more Andrews! I love the benefits of it though!

Richard: Ill source you a pic soon Richard, the lump part perhaps makes it sound ick, but it is a delicious thing.

Brit: hi! And dont worry, you'll be chasing another little one around soon enough! Boys are fast as you already know....

The sacred (to some NZ'ers) Pineapple Lump. For Richard, and interested parties :)

Hmmm interesting, Pineapple Lumps!! LOL!! Enjoy! :) Great picture of Lenny reading in the buff!

I do like the chocolate portion of the pineapple lumps! I'll just scrape that part of the top! YUM!

No big fan of chocolate, me, but those look very different from what I was imagining and therefore must be experienced.

Off to search the interwebs for Murrikin sources.

Ohhh - I bet my wife would like those!

Boys are fast! I'm really happy because my wife is getting really excited about having another boy. I remain ecstatic! Now we just need to agree on the name. . .

Pineapple lumps? hmmm I do like pineapple, but with chocolate?
interesting...

Oh, yum! I won't even tell you how fast I ate the two "family" packs a friend sent me at Christmas. I'm a bit sceptical about the "real fruit juice" though!

GREAT picture of Lenny-licious! omg, the pure joy of the boy!

Do those pineapple lumps come in dark choc? mmmmmm

Wow, the humble Pineapple Lump sure prompts a comment or 6!

Deb: the Pineapple part tastes mainly like sugar, which is the delicious part.....and the chocolate, so creamy....

Richard: hope you find some, good luck on that. They are available in the UK mainly due to the amount of kiwis there I think.

Brit: you'll have to see how Richard goes sourcing some!

Kath: you haven't tried getting a real whole pineapple, cutting it into little bits and half dunking them in melted chocolate? Yum, do it with strawberries too and call it dinner! (ok, dessert)

Susan: mmmm, the family pack. I call that the "eat in one sitting" pack. For me it is anyway :) They do the mega huge packs now too, in keeping with the spirit of upsizing everything.

Cee: Im keen on the baby pic too, Grandad has ordered a print when can get one for him. No dark choc pineapple lumps sorry.....good idea though!

Richard you should be able to locate them in one of the NZ/Aus shops set up for expats ...... if not am sure you could proclaim your love for Franzen, Dickens, cricket etc in return for a package to sent your way ........

Book 11
The Siege by Helen Dunmore

This book came into itself in the second half. By then I was well intrenched into the lives of the poor cold and starving Leningrad-ites living under siege. By george it was a hard time for them.

The relationships echoed the lives they were living- spare, hard and tense. Love was difficult to feel when your body was shutting down. I find it hard to think about the people who had children to care for, the decisions people had to make and the sacrifices were huge. But the story was not told in a gratuitous way, it was quiet and relatively kind in its telling, and I was grateful for that. 4 stars.

>106 roundballnz: bwa ha ha, good call Alex!

>106 roundballnz: BWAHAHAHAHA

I'll starve in the gutters of Mumbai before I tell lies like that! I have an immoral immortal soul to consider, plus the whole looking-at-myself-in-the-mirror consideration.

....and, Richard, I have Sons and Lovers on my classics list for this year....another of your lesser than favourite authors.
I admire your strength of conviction!

Megan, you are a grown woman. I will not try to tell you what to do with your own eyes. But I will remind you that there is no force on earth that should compel you to finish a bad book simply because you started it!

Megan- Glad you enjoyed The Siege. I loved that book and look forward to reading the follow-up, The Betrayal, which I'm way overdue on.

Richard: if it's bad enough I wont finish it, but too often I just keep thinking...there must be some reason this book got written/published, Ill just keep going to see what that reason is. And then I get to the last page and go, huh, I guess there was no reason. (but I fall short of actually BURNING the book, Richard)

Mark: So is the Betrayal a continuation of the relationship of Anna and Andrei? Or about the rest of the war? Or both? My money is on both now that I've seen what I've written :) I hope Anna doesn't get betrayed, she's nice.

Megan - will give the pineapple lumps a try in March/April. Trying desperately not to think too much about pals reading in the bath at the moment - I will shower and get myself off to the office!

I do believe we cross-posted Paul!
I'll certainly shout you a packet of Pineapple Lumps for the big road trip. They're quite chewy so if the kids are getting noisy you can pass them back :)
haha, getting hot under the collar? Quick, straight to work with you! Think about paperwork, that'll sort you out.

I'm just finishing up the last third of The Siege, Megan. So far, finding it much the saapme as you've commented.

In my defense, I've only ever burned one book, and it was very Jesus-y and richly deserved burning. I cannot feel sorry that I did it, though I'm still shocked at myself.

On the plus side... there is always someone else who will like the book..
There have been books.. well.. book.. that I wouldn't give away due to creepiness factor.
Some things I just do not want to spread around. Although I did do just that.. I gave it away.. lol
but to a willing victim.

Nancy: I sped through the last third as was anxious to start Great Expectations again, in saying that though, I have now started two other books as well. What is wrong with me?

Richard: poor you, sorry for teasing. I ripped off front chapters of a book once I had finished reading them once, as was hitch-hiking and camping and the size of the beast was just too much for me. Ive never felt good about that.

Kath: some books are like that arent they, just perplexing. There will always be willing victims- of that Im sure :)

I'm loving the Lenny pics and stories, Megan.

Kath is right... there's always someone out there who will like a book that you've detested.... though it will, I'm sure boggle your mind to try and figure out who. Still, while I haven't gone as far as Richard in burning books I've detested, I admit to having abandoned them on a seat on a bus, on a cafe table and once left one on an outdoor bench at a train platform.

"... there's always someone out there who will like a book that you've detested.... though it will, I'm sure boggle your mind to try and figure out who. Still, while I haven't gone as far as Richard in burning books I've detested, I admit to having abandoned them on a seat on a bus, on a cafe table and once left one on an outdoor bench at a train platform."

Have to admit to doing that as well ..... whether its sharing the love or not is a moot point

Megan- I think it does follow the 2 leads, about 10 years later.

RD- Are you referring to The shack?? If not, you could! LOL!

I liked The Shack...

Caro: I can fully understand how people love books while others hate them.....just think about politics...its then you realise how many people out there there are who are basically wrong :) haha, I jest of course.

Alex: maybe for the leaver of the book, the "sharing the love" is more an abandonment of what was a chore. Such a chore that the person risks breaking the law (littering) to be rid of it!

Mark: hmm, could be interesting *sigh*
OK, Ill go check it out! Now, off to work on my clocks to see if I can just squeeze another few hours onto the end of the day.

Kath: uh oh, dissension already. Kath are you trouble-making again? :) In keeping with true Libra style, I havent read the Shack so cant comment. (phew)

Went to a sculpture garden today (50 minutes drive north of where I live) that had music and stalls with food coffee and crafts etc, it was very cool.
Beautiful hills (with the flax flowers in foreground), Me and Lenny, and....


an apt sculpture!

LOVE these pics! The last is apt indeed!

The Shack and I share no history. Five pages and out. I wouldn't pollute the environment with its smoke. (Yes yes, Kath, I know you liked it, but it's rotten, rotten, rotten. Besides, you like Chris Bohjalian, so we know you're a little *off*.)

Mammoth pile of books sitting here. Mammoth. Cannot settle on one to read. And it's all Megan's fault. She's Kiwi-ing up the librisphere in which we live. A witch! A witch! Burn her!

What great photos! The first one looks almost like a painting.

I saw my most-detested-book of last year (which I won't name, because lots of people on LT love it) mis-shelved recently at the library under "horror", which makes me wonder whether at least one person agrees with me :-)

Megan - I thought at first glance that the sculpture had huge boobs - but on second glance it looks a little like Hugh Lawrie in a wig!

pffffft! to rd.... of course...

great pics as always..

Richard: hang on, its my fault that you cant decide what to read? I object! And as for witch burning I say "shut up Mary Warren!" to that! (I read Mary Warren's part at school, and my friend had to say that line to me, we still say it to each other and fall about laughing)

Susan: it really did look like a painting! Even more so in real life, my little digi camera couldn't quite capture the mood, but it was close

Paul: boobs? very pointy ones maybe...her eyes are actually a bit freaky so this wasnt my favourite sculpture, but it was nice to see a book immortalised in stone :)

Kath: pfft indeed! I should have put a baby-close-up pic on for you Kath....I know how you love the littlies :)

Great pics - and yes, beautiful hills. Your country is so varied and beautiful - how you must love it!
Please note Kath is not the only one who likes close ups of littlies :)

Love the pics, Megan! Beautiful country!

Hi Megan- I love the pix too! Beautiful! My wife wants to visit Australia sometime and I'll be up for a long stopover in NZ. It looks like my kind of country.

oh do! ♥

Hi Megan! I'm catching up and loving your pics! I have The Siege on my huge TBR list.

Shut up Mary Warren! LOL Cute, I'll file and retain that one.

I settled on The Emperor of Lies. No thanks to you, book witch. It's amazing how good something this, this, wrenching can be.

Claudia: ok, check, will get on to that. Baby pics for you too :)

Nancy/Mark: I love NZ and never regret getting out into some beautiful landscapes. Mark, do come, I'll shout you a bag of Pineapple Lumps :)

Kath: hehe, Im sure I can fine one pic amongst my thousands of baby shots

Amy: The Siege jumped the queue for me as it was a library book so the date stamp loomed over me forcing me to read it quick!

Richard: Im no help to you am I Richard! Book witch, great, now I have a title. That I refute. I hope it works out well for you lest I get blamed for that too. *sigh* Being a witch these days is a thankless task!

Megan- I rarely play the Lotto, but if I were to hit it, NZ here I come!! Pineapple Lumps..mmmmmmmm!

>125 LovingLit:: I like the pics of the sculpture garden but I LOVE your free-spirited Lenny pics even more! Just keep the pictures coming. When people post pictures of their lives on their threads we get to know them better.

So glad you liked The Siege; one of my faves from last year. How's that Dickens coming along? I'm reading Our Mutual Friend in bits and pieces. It deserves more effort from me.

Book 12
By Martin Van Beynen

I am almost finished Trapped: Remarkable Stories of Survival from the 2011 Canterbury Earthquake....very fitting as the one year anniversary approaches, but very sad and hard to read.
I have not been able to read it in the evening as it promotes thoughts that are incompatible with sleep. Although I dont know anyone featured in the book personally, I know people who do, so it does take on a very real feeling.

It has taken me over half way through before I shed tears, and what prompted that was the story of a woman who was buried under masonry from a shop frontage being denied medical assistance by 3 ambulance crews as they were (understandably) on their way to other call outs (I mean, there were bleeding people everywhere on the day). The thought that so many were in need of emergency care overwhelms me still. You kind of have this feeling that if you need emergency care, help will come.

She hadnt "looked too bad", but turned out to have her spine fractured in two places, her pelvis fractured in five places, a broken sternum and ribs, a broken ankle, internal injuries and a head injury. My god. She arrived by police car to hospital over an hour later, and is now a paraplegic. But alive. It haunts me to think if all the hurt and injured people that afternoon. It's too close to home, but because of that, they are stories I feel I need to read.

ETA decided to just make this my review as dont want to write about it again now that I just have :) 4 stars

>140 LovingLit: Oh my...oh no...so tragic!

Speaking of Lotto...a man in Rhode Island won $336 million all on his own this past week.

He's married, of course. I was planning a car trip until I heard that.

Woah. There's TWO posts numbered 139! The confusion! I dont know what to do :)
*deep breath deep breath*

Richard: Shame he's married....cant he just give you one measly million? He'd still have 335 left! Do you have anything in common? Maybe make friends with him first and then just ask if you can borrow a million. In the vein of "I promise I'll pay you back...."

Ok, well, there were two posts with the number 139....apparently there arent now.

Back to the real #139....Donna, hello and thanks for the nod to continually post baby pictures! Ill try to get to the Betrayal one day as might be nice to see how things turned out for them :)

>138 msf59:, good idea Mark on lotto. I bought a ticket once, just the once. I mean I didn't even win anything!? What was the point? Same with the pokies, once was enough for me to realise its a mugs game.

An old friend of mine came into a lot of money last year, and she told me about it because she couldn't not. I never asked her for any, and I never tried to pay her more attention than before she got rich, and she told me a few weeks ago that I was the ONLY one of her friends who never stuck out a hand! I thought that had to feel terrible.

You're good for holding back Richard. It would be horrible to not be able to trust your friendships if you were suddenly rich.

Waves across the world to Megan!

Hi Cee, I do feel a little "international" amongst all you North Americans.....I am learning lots about life from you all, it is very interesting.

Book 13
Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt

This one caught my eye at the library and fully cut in line in front of all my other books. But as its only 160 pages or so....double spaced with large margins....it was finished that day. I wasnt surprised to read in the back cover that this book started out as an essay.

It is the true story of an older couple who move in with their son-in-law after their daughter dies suddenly. They are there for their 3 young grandchildren who were 5, 3 and 1 when their mother dies. It is a very sad premise, but I didnt feel enough of an emotional connection to anyone in the book to really feel the sadness.

The families involved are very well off and well supported by their community of friends (one friend started a roster to have meals made and delivered every second day with enough for leftovers...which continued for some months). I couldn't help but think of kids who have lost a parent and have no support. These guys were grieving but had the numbers to cope. The grandparents planned to continue to live there indefinitely, and there was a full time nanny as well.

I get the feeling this book was more an extended thank you from the author to all his friends who were there for them in the aftermath of this awful situation. And less an account of what it was like for the children and husband left behind. 2 stars.

Library book sale on tomorrow!
Me and my sis are meeting there, Lenny will sleep in his pram and big bro is at pre school. Could be a dangerous day for my wallet. But luckily I only like to buy the books that are in really good condition so wont be bringing home just anything.

Hi Megan!
We learn lots from you too!
Go crazy at your book sale tomorrow - lucky you! ;-)

Enjoy your library sale. I hope you find something more uplifting to read than the previous two books.

Cee: I'm off to get some cash out soon...just to be prepared! In case I need to go crazy.

Kerry: me too! But whatever I find will have to wait as im determined not to start any more new books before finishing at least 2 current ones

oh, and in breaking news....Little Lenny has got 2 little teeth just about breaking through. Cute! Im such a sap, every milestone is making me soppy these days :)

Enjoy the library sale .........

Hey Megan! Just catching up on things in Lennyland. Looks like you're a busy mommy and enjoying every phase, uh, more or less.
Enjoy your library booksale. Hope you find lots from your wishlist!

Trapped: Remarkable Stories of Survival from the 2011 Canterbury Earthquake, and Making Toast both sound very compelling. You were very strong to read the first one....

Hi Megan- Hope the library sale went well? Waiting patiently for a full book report!

Alex: thank you kind sir....now, if you'd be prepared to babysit Lenny for me then I can cut through the crowds much faster! hehe

Lynda: enjoying more than not, so that's a good sign, to be sure.

Kath: Thanks Kath, it was a very hard read, I felt a knot in my chest as I was reading most of that book! Yet the mother dying and leaving 3 young kids left me dry eyed! Shows that the writing (or focus) in the second book wasn't on target.

Mark: yet to attend library sale, forgot to get cash out, late for preschool.....better get going!

A sore arm and $42 later the library sale has given me the following.....

The Rain Before it Falls, Jonathan Coe
The Sound of One Hand Clapping, Richard Flanagan
The Cupboard Full of Life, Alexander McCall Smith (as a gift)
Kehua, Fay Weldon (as a gift)
Black Dogs, Ian McEwan
The Lace Reader, Brunonia Barry (as a gift)
The Apologist, Jay Rayner
The Best of Owen Marshall's Short Stories
The Good Earth, Pearl S Buck
The Quiet American, Graham Greene
The Lost Girl, Stephan Cowlishaw (hm, no touchstone)
Beyond Black, Hilary Mantel
Nomad, Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Do No Harm Carol Topolski

I'm particularly happy with the ones in bold. The quality of some of the books is amazing, they weren't even put into the library system by the looks of them, brand new paperbacks just sitting there! Imagine it! :)

Good afternoon's work Megan. Some of my favourites there with the Buck and Graham Greene. Enjoy.

Great job, Megan! Always an added joy to get books in great condition.
Next time your library has a sale, give me some advance notice ;-)

*starting to save for ticket to NZ*

Love the books, I picked up Owen Marshall's Tomorrow we save the orphans in a Wellington hospice shop earlier this week. I need to file another bookbinge confession on my thread.

Are the ones notated "as a gift" to be given by you as gifts, or are they ones your sis gave you as a gift?

Terrific haul, either way!

Paul: hi! So you liked The Good Earth? It's one I've heard of through LT on and off and it has stayed with me, so needless to say I grabbed it! And I remember your thoughts on Greene....it was one of the few classics available for sale today.

Cee: sure thing, you have about a year to save! It's very convenient for me as the stadium that holds the sale is past for the same complex that our pre school is in. So I basically dropped and ran (as it were). Maybe not so convenient for you? :)

Kerry: you heard it here first folks, Kerry has been buying again? You didn't promise never to buy another book though did you? I'm sure you'll get away with it :)

Richard: the ones mentioned as gifts are ones I bought with other people in mind and as none of their birthdays are coming up, they will just get a surprise gift. Who doesn't want to be given a book?

*************

Listening to the Velvet Underground, pondering my new books and feeling very good after a 40 minute dusk bike ride. And little Lenny had his first bottle EVER tonight so that means I will be able to have a little freedom soon (yes, the Mum's-Independence Movement is a little slow in starting in this household). But come winter time I'll have a regular appointment at the sauna, and I won't be taking my mobile.

Wow, what a great haul of books from the library sale! I've read about The Good Earth before (I seem to remember my mother liking it years ago) and have added it to my list.

The Good Earth is one of the very few books I read in school that I went back to as an adult (and own a copy!). It still resonates with me every time I read it. Good call!

>159 LovingLit:: Wow, Megan I'm salivating over your "new" books. Sorry 'bout that. I've been looking for a used copy of The Quiet American for ages. I have to wait 2 months for our library sale. Anticipation is already building.

Susan: I'm pretty happy with them, now its a sad but true fact that we need to buy a new bookshelf to accommodate, I recall having to do that after I went to the Rotary Book-a-rama last year :-3

Kimberley: hello, thanks for visiting! I'm looking forward to it, a lot of people have a lot of good things to say about it. Books I read at school were mainly plays and I cant say I have gone back to any of them.

Donna: *wipes saliva off "new" books* No worries! haha, that was a score that one, the classics didnt feature highly amongst the library sale books. I hope you find a copy soon.

Hi, Megan! Great haul of good books - be proud!!!
I have The Siege out but can't quite bring myself to start it since I have already too many going to keep up with. I probably will. Besides that, I feel the need for fantasy ----- uh oh.
By all means, post daily Lenny pictures if you can!!! Also Wilby!! Love 'em!

Peggy: I completely know the feeling about starting another book amidst other books. It can go on forever cant it! Try to get to it or if not, just get it out again! Its a nice story.

**************

A lovely warm day here, and a very early start of 5am very nearly did my head in, but I have made it through to now (7.15pm) and am having a vino and am very close to getting to become horizontal with book in hand. Aaaaaah, I love the end of the day.

Glad it was a pleasant and happy day.. hope the book is a good one :)

well Kath...I ended up reading a crap one that I have now abandoned (The Evil Empire), and then fell asleep reading On Chesil Beach, then woke at 3am after a terrible nightmare wherein my personal safety was severely compromised! Yikes. At least the littlies slept in for me after all that :)

Megan, I'm way behind! I'm enjoying all of the discussion here on your thread. May I just , as a Canadian, tell you that there is no such thing as a Quiet American. I guess that's a fictional book. Enjoy!;) Just a little more North American culture for you! hehe!;)

I am NOT a fan of Ian McEwan and so I applaud your good sense in sleeping On Chesil Beach :P

Hahahaha!

Deb: uh- oh, that kind of talk might start WWIV, (V, VI...what are we up to now?) around here! I have met some Quiet Americans...

Kath: I was thinking I was about to become a fan of his (On Chesil Beach is my first one), but Im already re-thinking that. Have bought Black Dogs recently though so will also give that a go before completely discrediting him preferring other authors!

Alex: not a fan either Alex? lol

Megan - I'm glad we are both safely in the Southrn Hemisphere if these North Americans go to battle!

What would have been Book 14
The Evil Empire by Steven Grasse

Nice looking book, abandoned pretty early in, so not even counting in stats.

The 101 ways that England ruined the world as mentioned in the subtitle are pretty silly really ("They Befouled the World's Stages with Incomprehensible Dramas", "They Invented College" etc) I didn't mind the interesting history of these 101 ways, but the implied superiority and immature running down of an entire country based on judgements like he made was irritating to say the least. 1 star based solely on the books format and artwork.

>177 PaulCranswick: you're right Paul, I'm staying right out of it from now on!

>176 LovingLit: I Like McEwan just not the tripe which is chesil beach .........

Alex: Well, there isnt exactly a lot going on in this novel really, and the descriptions of nothing are getting a little tired now....sleep inducing indeed

very sound thoughts with this mini heatwave it will be more than sleep inducing ....

You got some heat up there? It nice and warm here too....23 deg maybe? The sun is about to come around and pour into my lounge windows and create the Greenhouse Effect right here and now. Makes......it......hard....to....feel....energised......*snore*

ditto on the Chesil Beach comments.

>184 avatiakh: So does that mean I have chosen McEwans most hated work as the first one of his I read? Damn! People like Atonement though dont they? (not that Im planning to read it)

Megan, the book of his I actually liked was The Innocent which I read aeons ago. I didn't care for Amsterdam but thought The Child in Time was ok.

>185 LovingLit: hmmm how shall I put this ..... yes - I would give Saturday a shot

Atonement was what I had to do once i'd read it! LOL . Poor McEwan is having a hard time on hère... But hé deserves it :)

Lol, this is one quiet American who got a good chuckle out of Deb's comment. McEwan is a hit-and-miss author for me. I have no desire to read On Chesil Beach but I did enjoy Saturday and Atonement. Amsterdam made me see red! One of the best things about his books is that they are mostly on the short side. ;-)

HI Megan! Just trying to get caught up on threads today. That's a great picture of Lenny nude with a book! Save that one for his wedding day! :)

Actually, now that I think of it, I have read Saturday and quite liked it....that had a meandering style too. A lot of back story and not a lot of actual story. I like this kind of writing in theory....a la Richard Ford.....but in McEwan I feel for some reason it just doesn't work.

Last night I caught myself making an involuntary scoffing noise while reading it as I felt it was getting just a little too ridiculous in its descriptions. In contemplating his trousers he writes the phrase ....

His trousers felt heavy and ridiculous in his hands, these parallel tubes of cloth joined at one end, an arbitrary fashion of recent centuries.

I mean, what a laughable sentence!

Paul: I've at least heard of Amsterdam....not the others you mention though. I'm getting to find out what all the fuss is over McEwan. Looks like he divides opinions.

Alex: see above! I had forgotten I had read Saturday....actually I hadn't forgotten I'd read it, I'd forgotten it was written by McEwan. I'm not sure what that says about him as an author.

Minaudo: hello, so you didn't like the film either? :) I'm guessing no. From the film's trailer it looked like a sappy mess so I steered clear.

Donna: Oh good, I like it when people laugh! So what was it about Amsterdam that made you see red? I'm nearly finished On Chesil Beach now. Its laughable in parts, but Im not angry at it yet.

Chelle: hello, you must have a lot of catching up to do, I see you've been largely absent from even your own thread. Happy reading, and packing!

Atonement ...no.

Kath: No? OK!
Just reading on Richard's thread that you're considering taking up heavy drinking! Sorry for laughing, but the thought of that as a hobby did make me laugh. I hope things aren't that bad that you have to resort to that. How about knitting, or table tennis instead?

Hi Megan- McEwan seems to be one of the most polarizing authors on LT. I have still not read him, although I have 2 or 3 of his titles in the stacks. I'll have to just see for myself.

Mark: I am/was the same. Currently finding out for myself. Not sure if I know yet though, so will have to keep reading til I can reach a conclusive decision.

******************

Book 14
On Chesil Beach, Ian McEwan

A novel set in the early '60s about a couple on their wedding night. I dont know how to say what this book is about, as it isn't really about anything. It waffles on and on about the couples' respective histories, and culminates in that first sexual encounter that honeymoon's are supposedly famous for.

I am perplexed by 4/5ths of the book describing 2 hours, and the last part glossing over 40 years in a few pages. At least the last 15 pages got interesting as the story finally reached "the now" and things actually happened.

The premise had potential but I cant say the execution of it got me. 2 stars.

Makes sense to me, Megan. I'm steering clear of that one!

I think I own 3 McEwans - 2 of them for over 10 years - but haven't read any of them. And every time he's mentioned on here I remember why they never make it into my hands!

Thinking of you and Chch tomorrow Megan - hope the earth stays still for the one year anniversary (for at least an hour or two!).

Hmm, McEwan is one author who certainly instigates lively discussions! I'm not looking to read On Chesil Beach - more so after reading your comments. Thanks for saving me some time, Megan. I did very much enjoy Atonement, but I haven't taken it upon myself to read anything else McEwan ...

Hi Megan!
My 2 cents: Loved Atonement - Did NOT love Amsterdam
Are you keeping score? lol

That sweet baby boy Lenny is getting to be an old man!
Yikes! :(

Just dropping out of lurk to speak. Hi, Megan. I know nothing about McEwan and have never been tempted to enlighten myself. You haven't really encouraged me either.....

Joe: no BBs here people! Move along please. (just joking- stick around as there's another review pending)

Cushla: Thanks Cushla, it means a lot to me that you know what a day tomorrow will be. I have steered clear of the news and TV lately, but saw some footage this evening and - wham - tears! Where did they come from?....Just remembering what I was doing on the day and how the seriousness of it all unfolding that afternoon, and being pregnant, and worry and aftershocks and...etc etc etc. I wont be going to any memorials tomorrow, but will watch the lunchtime one on TV I think. No doubt there'll be tears then too.

Nancy: I'll try Black Dogs soon I think and if I dont like it, I might call it a day :)

Cee: I know Cee, hes even got two little tiny teeth popping through now.

Peggy: Oh well, I guess I haven't made an impact on your reading today then :) Ill try harder next time to influence your WL....

A year ago today my city shook and buildings fell and people were injured and 185 died, businesses were ruined and houses abandoned. The central business district is still closed off and crumbled and demolished, but the rest of the city takes up the slack and is pumping. A lot to think about today for me and others.

I know this is going to be a hard day for you and I am sending bright thoughts to you and your city. Hope things continue to improve and that people are healing. All my best.

>203 Berly: thanks for your kind thoughts. A hard day yesterday (see below!) but am through the other side now and the sun is out :)

I ended up having a seriously crap day yesterday and could not get a hold on my emotions at all. I snapped at the kids, had random episodes of tears, had a small episode of road rage (!!?), I had a fight with my sister (which was made up in minutes with a mutually teary phone call), and was generally a wreck. My friends said they were the same. It was exhausting.

Despite all this, I decided to wallow in it all and watch a documentary called When A City Falls, about the Christchurch Earthquakes. It was great and I will buy a copy when I can as it is such a good record of what we've all been through. Sheesh! What a day!

Sorry you had such a crappy day yesterday! Hope today was a better one for you!

Hugs for all your ChristChurch folk!

Megan - sorry to hear that the day got the better of you yesterday - we all have days (weeks) like that but it seems unusual for it to happen to you as you have always come across to me as a kiwi super-mum (with or without the muscles) who copes amiably with everything thrown at you with an admirable and sometimes wicked sense of humour. Hope that you have better times ahead! Did Christchurch commemorating its natural disaster have an impact on your mood or was it Lenny sampling the delights of Whiskas?

Chelle: thank you for commiserating with me and my crappy day. It was a milestone to get over, and we all felt it I think.

Paul: you're so kind! Thank you so much. I do have the muscles btw ;)
It was definitely the one year anniversary of the earthquake that got me, Lenny's face full of cat food was only mildly less traumatising than the "nappy-contents" that he managed to get a hold of the other week. It must be an under-attended second child thing, Wilbur never sampled his own....well, the less said about it the better I suppose. lol

Megan

I send hugs and all good wishes

Thanks Nancy, yesterday was a moment in time, one that had to be gone through and one I am happy to leave in the past.

I don't get the impression that Lenny is under attended but he seems to be an adventurous soul! Wilbur gets less of a mention nowadays and I am sure he s up to his own mischief under the radar!

Paul: poor big bro gets less of a mention as he is more of a problem for me at present than sweet Lenny. Bless his 100% cuteness and pure soul, but his raging tantrums that can occur at any given moment do keep things on a knife edge around here. His only speed it super fast and his only volume super loud.
Lenny's time for all that will come....

I do remember yesterday's a year ago - though it doesn't seem that long. We were so concerned for you and your city. But what seemed even worse (or at least as bad) was the continous tremors afterwards for so very long. It just wouldn't settle down! Something I hope never to experience - and applaud you for your strength in living through it all.
Is it finally over? (knock wood)

Sounds to me like the quakes could not rival big bro for upheaval and excitement... {{{Megan}}}

Looks like Wilbur makes his own contribution to the earthquakes on a daily basis.....Megan my dear you have your work cut out.

Hi Megan- Hope you are having a much better day today and put that one far behind you. Hugs!

Thoughts to you, Megan. Hope today was brighter.

Megan, your thoughts about the day made me cry. I wasn't up to watching that documentary after I saw 5 minutes of the news and cried so I recorded it for later. So, to make myself feel better I am planning on using my day in lieu recently earned to take a long weekend to christchurch. Now just have to plan it when the husband is not in the US which is every other week at the moment! The last wee detail is when is the next great library sale around your way?

Kids dispatched off to preschool/bed, having left over lasagne (butternut pumpkin and spinach) for breakfast, and contemplating having the last of the lemon tart as well....I love dinner party leftovers!

Hi Cee: A year seems so long ago now. Thanks for remembering.........the aftershocks still wobble the house every now and then, there were a couple of big ones just before Christmas which put the kaibosh on a happy Christmas for many, but in general there's not much in the way of scary aftershocks now. Just the odd reminder, but as a seasoned earthquaker, I remain almost indifferent to them now :)

Paul: they say the clever ones are tricky whilst young, Ive got my money on that as he certainly comes up with things that make me wonder at what his small brain is capable of.
He advised me in a contemplative tone the other day of the following......."mum, you cant see your face, can you".
When talking about death (he asked? what was I to do but tell it like it is?). He said, "If I go die, I will just come back", and "If you go die you get sad because your mummy and daddy cant give you cuddles anymore". @$#%!%@

Mark: all good today thanks! Slightly sleep deprived thanks to a strangely hot night last night (and therefore wakeful kids), but all good.

Nancy: Thanks for the thoughts. Back to my normal happy self today, I suppose it was an important thing to go through, and now I have. Phew.

Kiwi: All it takes to get me going is seeing someone hurt or upset! My ability to feel other peoples pain is a curse I tell you :/
There has been a lot of news coverage on the anniversary hasn't there. It is hard to watch so I limited my exposure to it all. I think Ill try to do the same as the Japanese Tsunami anniversary comes up.
Library/book sale-wise: I'll have to research that, the best one Ive ever been to was the Rotary run one. They had so many new-ish ones and all for $2. Looking forward to our eventual LT meet-up :)

Sorry to hear that you had such a rough day, but it makes perfect sense.
I am however, glad that things are back to mostly happy for you. I hope that happy things
happen for you this weekend...

You are a good Mom, Megan. You are listening to your kids. That's big.

Hope you have a fun day - someday this will all be a memory.

>218 mckait: Hi Kath, you're right about it making perfect sense, I just thought I'd be immune to it :) Silly really, but that's life.

This weekend contemplating going to a beer festival if weather turns out nice, or I could paint the surrounds of our new sliding door that was installed 3 weeks ago now......I'm thinking beer fest would be more fun though.

>219 -Cee-: Cee, I do try and listen to what is said. As the youngest kid with loud siblings I have memories of having to fight to be heard which wasn't /isn't my style. I still get talked over by people (mainly my MIL!) because I'm always the one who stops talking when someone interrupts me! So I like to be able to give Wilbur the time and space to form his sentences and get out what he wants to say.

Hi Megan! Thread is starred.

A few things:
*Cute kids!
*I always say yes to beer fests
*I hope you enjoy The Bone People. It's one of my favorite novels of all time. I'm actually reading all of the other shortlisted Booker books from that year (1985) as part of my 12 in 12 challenge. It's definitely almost time for a reread of that one. And if you aren't already aware, there's a glossary in the back of the book (I - kind of stupidly? - didn't realize this the first time I read it).

Hi Kerri
Thanks for coming! Tried to say yes to beer fest but just found out no gate sales as all tickets are sold :( (be quicker next time?)
I admire your 12 in 12 challenge! Was it Kidzdoc who was reading all the shortlisted ones for last year? I say wow to that sort of dedication.
The good thing about the Booker (or other prizes) is that there are usually a good supply of second hand copies of the winning books to go around.
If I EVER finish Great Expectations ill get on to The Bone People :)

#222 - My husband and I are beer nerds. He brews beer too. I think he's making a blood orange wheat beer this weekend. Last weekend he made an oatmeal/coffee/vanilla stout. I prefer the hoppy beers though.

I think Darryl read most or all of the longlisted Booker books too, but that was right when I joined this group, so maybe I'm not remembering correctly. I'm definitely not doing that this year, but maybe in 2013, once I'm done with grad school.

Howdy do, Missie Megan Ma'am! Cruising through on the USS Overwhelmed!

Megan, the flasher-magnet! I love it! That gave me my best laugh of the day and like I mentioned on Caro's thread, it gives me something to look forward to when I finally visit NZ. Could you see us in the airport?

>223 DorsVenabili: some of the hoppy beers are, by nature, a bit hoppy for me :)
I like stouts, lagers and my current fave is local Three Boys Wheat Beer (with notes of orange and corriander).
So when there's beer making going on at your place does your best cast iron pot get ruined too? :)

>224 richardderus: you'll be right Richard, just cruise the highlights.
*mental note: put more pictures in for those just cruising the highlights*

>225 msf59: Hi Mark. Megan the flasher-magnet.....not perhaps a nickname I'd like to stick, but yes, it appears to be the case! None of my "being flashed at experiences" was too sinister.

The France-Flasher even had to waggle it about a bit as we weren't seeing what he was getting at! He had called me and a friend up to his car window, so we popped our heads (nearly) in and were waiting for him to say something, but he didn't. So we waited, but still no question or talk of any nature. So prepared to just go on our merry way, he made some kind of noise to get our attention and proceeded to lift his hips and waggle it about a bit, as previously mentioned. I think now that he must have had his trousers down the whole time and we hadn't noticed!
Then he just hooned off in the car, laughing to himself at what a genius he was. We were just perplexed about the whole thing.

And actually, none of my experiences have happened in New Zealand! They were in Malaysia, England, Australia, Japan and France.

Megan, I'm glad you got that anniversary behind you. I remember it well, especially the concern for our NZ friends. I hope the recovery continues to move at a quick pace.

Those flasher stories are funny...and sad. Some people are very strange indeed.

Way upthread you asked why I didn't like Amsterdam. It was the euthanasia issue that I had a problem with.

Hi Donna,
Thanks. One year is such a short time for the families of the dead, but its a lot easier for me as I luckily knew no one who died on the day. And the city will pull itself together eventually. So....
Flashers are weird. What's the point? (dont answer that anyone, Im not sure I actually want to know!)

*Runs through Megan's thread naked*

Leave it to Stephen to frighten lighten things up!

Megan -- I've found you again after losing your thread for a bit. Love your dear little boys!!! Made me nostalgic to see that cute tushie! I love your lists, looks like a great challenge. Am not a McEwan fan, a rarity, but I keep trying.

First anniversaries of sad/scary events are hard indeed -- I didn't know that so much of Christchurch is still out of commission.

I haven't been flashed in ages, but in college I was with a friend walking back to our sort of off-campus dorm (a lot of the campus was mixed in a bit with the surrounding 'burb) and a fellow in a raincoat popped out of the bushes and opened it up, and there he was nude as can be, and my friend starting laughing! He was gone so fast it was like he had never even been there, just dove into the bushes and was gone. She was laughing because she was shocked, but I think it was an effective response!

#226 - So when there's beer making going on at your place does your best cast iron pot get ruined too? :)

Ha! No - he does everything outside and in the garage with his own special equipment. He has a gigantic Bunsen burner type thing and a gigantic stainless steel pot. A few years ago, when we lived in an apartment and he was still doing extract brewing (as opposed to all grain), he did it on the stove and ruined a stove top, so I'm happy that it's moved outside!

>229 Ape: bwa ha ha, nice one Stephen!

>230 mckait: Kath, you're right, that was a good bit of light entertainment.

>231 sibylline: hello, your "being flashed at" story is nearly exactly what happened to my two friends at our first year in university! Except they didn't laugh, they ran (and he followed!). The police were called but he wasnt found. Creep.

>232 DorsVenabili: You've just given me a great idea for a birthday present! Large stainless steel vat.....gas ring for the garage. Sounding good.

All things considered, I think I'd rather women run away from me screaming instead of laughing. In fact, that was sort of a recurring nightmare for me in high school, although I won't delve into that much... :o

Hi Megan. Very belatedly stopping by to say that I was thinking of you on the anniversary of the earthquake.

>234 Ape: My recurring nightmares always feature ocean waves, big ones, coming to get me *shudder shudder*
Being laughed at is not something I covet....being screamed at would be a close second though :)

>235 souloftherose: thanks Heather, phew that is done with now (for me anyway), I can continue as normal from now on :)

************

Off to Hanmer Springs for the night with my sis and all our kiddos. We have hired a FIVE bedroom house in order to live the life of luxury, and it was only a teensy bit more expensive than a normal sized house. Will take the bikes, and togs and towels for a dip in the hot pools, should be a great night.

Hi Megan- Any flashers around? Hey, you guys have a nice time at Hamner Springs! Sounds like a blast!

Mark, there'll be scantily clad males and females at the hot pools, but I hope no flashers. Ill keep you posted.

>223 DorsVenabili: I think Darryl read most or all of the longlisted Booker books too

Right. I read 12 of the 13 Booker Dozen from 2011, all but Far to Go by Alison Pick, which wasn't selected for the shortlist. I'm planning to read the entire longlist again this year.

Hope you are having a great time!

I hope you are having a lovely holiday!

Hi Megan!
You remind me of my daughter - always on the go looking for fun!
Hope you have/had a great time!

Have a lovely one-night vacay! Sounds delightful!

>239 kidzdoc: the entire longlist again? I love it. It's beyond me how you find the time Darryl, but I still love it.

>240 ChelleBearss:/241/243 Hi Chelle and Luxx, and Nancy, home now, great house (spacious, clean and toy boxes full of fresh kiddie fodder!), great company, well behaved kids, and a whole nights sleep!

>242 -Cee-: Hi Cee, I have to remind myself to go looking for fun these days, it can so easily go pear shaped taking babies away. i remember one trip with a little Wilbur, he woke 2 hourly through the night all 3 nights we were away and it made for a very ratty me all the day long :/
But you never regret going away, memories blank out the crap and highlight the good. I can laugh at it now...

***********

So my mid-week night away to Hanmer Springs went very well. The hot pools visit was slightly manic with the baby, a 2, 3 and a 4 year old with just 2 adults to herd them all. Great kids play area though and lots of cosy rick pools to enclose our group nicely.

We had a great picnic at the river, with the obligatory nudity that occurs around water when kids are involved. I'll see if I can find an "internet friendly" picture to post later on :) It was so cute seeing them all running about starkers and having a great time. And even an opportunity (at 10pm) to finish my book!

Book 15
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

This was one off my get-from-the-library-asap-list. So I finally tracked it down, and am very glad I did. It is a lovely tale told in diary format by a 16 year old Mongolian Mucker (poor farm girl from the steppes). It loosely based on a Grimms fairy tale and the resulting novel has a lot more depth than a mere tale, but for me could have gone deeper. Makes sense I guess, it is a YA book.

Lovely and exciting to read, and quick with a great plot . 4 stars.

Megan- Sounds like you had a great time with the kids! Those mid-week breaks are nice, aren't they?

It sounds lovely!

I used Book of a Thousand Days when I taught gradeschool, and it was a hit. I'm glad you enjoyed it as well!

Mark: love the mid week getaway. Will be squeezing a few this winter as my niece starts school in August so me and my sister want to make the most of our "free time" til then. And next week am taking the kids to Lake Brunner with a friend whose family owns a holiday house there :) Free=even better

Kath: a change is as good as a holiday....or, hang on, the holiday was good for a change....something like that

Luxx: grade school would be ages 5-12? I can see the appeal for older kids from that range. I would have loved is as a kid I'm sure. The only books I remember from that age were CS Lewis and Enid Blyton!

I use "grade school" to mean any "numbered" grades - K-12, or ages 6-18. I used the book for eighth grade, so ... age 12? Thirteen, maybe?

At twelve I was already neck-deep in horror novels and ghost stories. ;) I remember loving Island of Blue Dolphins, Which Witch and things of the like as a youngster.

Why wasn't my Mom as brave as you? We didn't have nearly as much fun... but then, neither did she I guess.
Happy for you that you can do these things with your little ones.
Hope you can find an acceptable picture ;-)

Luxx: that makes sense....I could see the older primary school kids reading it, but maybe not littlies. I see you've always had your fondness for the darker sides of things. :)

Cee: I am grateful that I can take the kids away, we were always taken off on massive adventures involving camping in remote areas as (older) kids, and I loved it. Us and another family would pack up and the dads would scout out an "out there" location for us to set up camp for a week or so. It was great fun. Im not quite at that stage yet with my littlies, but will be one day :)