SqueakyChu just might read 75 books in 2012...or maybe not! :)

For 2012, I have the following going on. Please don't complicate my life with even more tempting challenges! ;)

In the meantime, see the white bunnies run...!

THE RACE OF THE WHITE RABBITS!

Rabbit #1. Read 75 books in 2012:



Rabbit #2. Read 20 books acquired before 2010 - now known as TBR bombs: (Msg #37)



Rabbit #3. Make one recipe each month from 12 never-before-used cookbooks - from the 12 in 12 mini-challenge:



Rabbit #4. Count down to 15,000 pages read in 2012:



Rabbit #5. My 2012 Calendar:



About the TIOLI challenges:
If you want to know what they are, please private message me for details.

Adding... my (unfinished from 2011) Orange Prize Challenge:

Orange #1: Read 5 Orange Prize winners or nominees:



Now follow my animal photos of monthly reads...

ETA: My Bar Graph to determine star ratings to the decimal point.

February:


Photo by Dawn Huczek - Flickr, CC-A
I'm a backyard birder so I find this photo quite a visual treat.

My bookish plans for February
1. February 18 - A baby shower for a fellow BookCrosser combined with a BookCrossing meet-up. What fun!

Books read this month:
7. Shanghai Girls - Lisa See - TIOLI: Read a 2 Word Titled Book BUT the First Letter of the First Word Must Come After the First Letter of the Second Word - 314 pages*
8. Sister Teresa - Barbara Mujica - TIOLI: Read a book with an animal on the left hand page, a beverage on the right hand page, and the number 3 in both page numbers - 384 pages
9. Odyssey of Hearing Loss: Tales of Triumph - Michael A. Harvey - TIOLI: Read a book whose author's surname has a "Scrabble value" of 12 or more - 219 pages
10. Riding Lessons - Sara Gruen - TIOLI: Read a book with an Ungulate in the title or on the cover - 387 pages
11. Disgrace - J.M. Coetzee - TIOLI: Read a book whose author's surname has a "Scrabble value" of 12 or more (18) - 220 pages*

*acquired before 2010 - used for the book bomb!

March:


Photo by Photo Fiddler - Flickr, CC-A
I know I'm a month late with a woodchuck photo, but this is just a baby. Awww!

My bookish plans for March:
March 17 - a BookCrossing Registration Party!

Books to be completed this month:
12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson - TIOLI: Read a book with the word "Girl" in the title - 465 pages
13. Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen - TIOLI: Read a satire or parody - 213 pages
14. Fugitive Pieces - Anne Michaels - TIOLI: Read a book whose author was born in a city whose name contains ONLY one letter from the word “March” (Toronto/R) - 294 pages*
15. Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots - Deborah Feldman - TIOLI: Read a book about a 20th century woman, group of women or women’s organization - 264 pages
16. The Tattooed Girl - Joyce Carroll Oates - TIOLI: Read a book where the author's name or a word in the title has a military connection - 307 pages
17. Better - Atul Gawande - TIOLI: Read a book whose author was born in a city whose name contains ONLY one letter from the word (New York/R) - 288 pages
18. Pesach for the Rest of Us - Marge Piercy- TIOLI: Read a book where the number of letters in the author's last name is divisible by three (6) - 271 pages

*Good for book bomb (acquired before 2010) and Orange Prize - The Michaels book has been in my possession since 2007!

April:


Photo by Hamed Saber (Flickr, CC-A)
This is because of...Passover...and the plague of frogs...and, of course, TIOLI!!

My bookish plans for April:
April 22 - The International Day of the Book street festival in Kensington, Maryland, USA, with our free book giveaway, compliments of Bookcrossing!

Books to be completed this month:
19. Trauma - Patrick McGrath - SqueakyChu - TIOLI: Read a book with a title in which the last letter is in rolling alphabetical order (with the option of skipping one letter) - 226 pages
20. The Grandmothers Club* - Alan Cheuse - TIOLI: Read a book with a title in which the last letter is in rolling alphabetical order (with the option of skipping one letter) - 333 pages
21. Fieldwork** - Mischa Berlinski - TIOLI: Read a work in which one of the main characters (fiction) or subject(s) (non fiction) can be described with a word ending in –ologist (anthropologist) - 356 pages

Book Bombs:
*Owned since 6/25/2005
**Owned since 6/14/2009

Gorgeous photos, Madeline!

May:


Photo by SqueakyChu
I named this possum Possibility. Notice the black spot on his nose. So cute! He loves to steal food from the cat dish.

My bookish plans for May:
No time for bookish things this month - My younger son is getting married!

Books to be completed this month:
22. Intuition - Allegra Goodman - TIOLI: Read a book derived from a 75er's username (intuition) - 344 pages
23. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - Paul Torday - TIOLI: Read a book which has the National Merit Scholarship Program acronym letters - NMSP - within its title + author's name - 321 pages
24. Preparing Your Heart for Passover - Kerry M. Olitsky - TIOLI: Read a book which has the National Merit Scholarship Program acronym letters - NMSP - within its title + author's name - 115 pages
25. Round Mountain (blackmountain college) - Castle Freeman Jr. - TIOLI: Read a book derived from a 75er's username - Reading - (118/182 pages)
26. The Man Who Planted Trees: Lost Groves, Champion Trees, and an Urgent Plan to Save the Planet - Jim Robbins - TIOLI: Read a book with a word related to gardening in the title (trees) - Reading - (72/214 pages)
27. Pig Cookies and Other Stories* - Alberto Alvaro Rios - TIOLI: Read a book derived from a 75er's username (other) - Reading - (26/190 pages)
28. Murder on a Kibbutz: A Communal Case - Batya Gur - TIOLI: Read a book with a word in the title suggesting violent death - TBR
29. Hope is the Last to Die - Halina Birenbaum - TIOLI: Read a book originally written in a Slavic language (Polish) - Reading - (92/246 pages)
31. Persuasion - Janes Austen - TIOLI: Read a book derived from a 75er's username - Reading (37/204)
32. I Saw Ramallah - Mourid Barghouti - TIOLI: Read a book whose ISBN has the same three numbers in a row - Reading - (??? pages)
33.

Book Bombs:
* Owned since 11/23/08.

Oh my goodness, I just love the animal photos... thanks for sharing!!!

I'm a softy for animals. I just love them. My son has a woodchuck (not this one, though) that has a den in his backyard. I know that many people consider woodchucks a nuisance, but I think my son is lucky to have a yard with a woodchuck den! :)

I do love those photos too. Flickr is a great source.

What is the bird? Is that a blue jay? It looks like our european jays, but they are salmon orangey-pinkish with blue flashes on the wing.

What a great shot of the blue jay, Madeline.

> 9

It is a blue jay, Genny.

We occcasionally have one in our backyard that steals the dry cat food from our feral cats' dish. We call that bird Jay Leno! :)

Harbingers of spring with your Blue Jay? Congrats on your second thread Madeline.

Thanks, Paul.

The blue jays are here in Maryland all winter. For some odd reason, my husband already saw two robins, though. Those birds really only do come in spring.

Our weather has really been wacky this year. It was in the 60's (Fahrenheit) in January! My camelias and forsythia are trying to bloom. It will be pure suicide for all of the flowers on both of those bushes, I'm afraid. :(

Gack! 2012 is turning out to be the Year of the Classics for me. I've already read 1 1/2 Jane Austen novels and The Castle of Otranto. Okay...so I read Emma in 2011. Anyhow, those are more classics than I've read in all the years since I was in my college English lit class (...and I won't tell you how long ago that was!). :D

Hooray to my niece Stephanie who got me started in this adventure and lyzard who has been patiently tutoring me along!

"Gack"? :)

Yes, Gack!! :)

You cut me to the quick.

Think of how you've educated me, though...how you've made me grow to appreciate literature I'd sooner have skipped in years gone by. What an accomplishment!

I know your idea was to have me either develop an appreciation for such literature or even grow to like it.

I now know what made me pass on them before. They require some "work". I either need to educate myself about the time period of the stories or not understand them completely. Alternatively, I can have someone else help to educate me. Once I start reading the stories in their own context, I can relax enough to enjoy them. That's what's happened here. The fun is that other LTers can pop in and take advantage of this education as well.

In order of preference, my recent classic reads were as follows:

1. The Castle of Otranto
2. Northanger Abbey
3. Emma

I wonder if I'm liking this second Austen novel better because I've already become more acquainted with Austen's style of writing and some of the customs of that time and place. I'm sure that's true.

*mending Liz's cuts* (I'm a nurse!)

9. Odyssey of Hearing Loss - Michael A Harvey PhD



This is an impresive book about hearing loss and the psychological counseling that might accompany it. My ideas about this book are best expressed here in my review.

Rating - 4.5 stars

Madeline, I took a picture of a plaque on 60th Street in Manhattan that I thought would interest you, but it's still in my phone and not my computer. I'll send it asap.

I received my book, Round Mountain by Castle Freeman Jr., this week from Concord Free Press. Today I started reading the book and made a charitable donation to the Vermont Farm Disaster Relief Fund (The Vermont Community Foundation).

If you would like this book when I finish reading it, please private message me. My copy is registered at BookCrossing and has a Bookcrossing label inside the front cover. This is for U.S. only and will require you to make a donation to the charity of your choice at the time you receive this book. Learn more about charitable reading from the above link to the Concord Free Press.

> 20

*is curious*

LOL. Unfair, I know. But it's about the Hagannah!

> 23

*even more curious*

10. Riding Lesons - Sara Gruen



This books is so bad that I simply cannot believe that this book was written by the same author of Water for Elephants. Do me a favor and skip this book in favor of her better book.

Why I read it: I got it as an audiobook (CD) from the library. I could understand the narration of this book with little problem despite my hearing disability. The book was so bad that I got the hard copy from the library to see if it could get worse. It did! :)

I can't believe that I read the whole thing...all 387 pages of it. :O

Rating - 1 star

I'm fascinated that you finished it - to see if it could get any worse. That is exactly what I would have done. I've just been having a brief chat at my thread over the attractions of a really bad book. Nice to know I'm not quite alone. :)

> 25: hi Madeline
I was just complaining yesterday on an other thread that all good books she had been reading weren't translated into Dutch, and indeed... this one is translated ;-)
But I think I will skip it.

387 pages of bad writing? Wow, you are so brave to read it all the way to the end!

I can't believe that I read the whole thing...all 387 pages of it.

Why, oh why, did you do it?!

> 26-29

That book was kind of interesting (the parts about the horses and riding, mostly) -- except that the characters were dreadful and the story was horrible. What it was *not* -- was boring.

A very slow, boring book, even if well written, is the kind of book I'm muchmore likely to toss aside unread.

I was really kind of amazed that a writer I thought I liked had written something so awful. That had been her debut novel. No wonder I'd never heard of it before!

Interesting. I just finished Ape House by Sara Gruen and although it was not as bad as your description of Riding Lessons ... it was not what I would call good.

You know how some authors only have one novel in them? Maybe others only should have one novel in them.

Ursula, you scared me! The protagonist's mother in Riding Lessons was also named Ursula. :)

Think I'll skip Ape House.

Ha, I promise I'm not one of the characters coming back to quibble with you over your opinion!

Phew! :)

I'm now reading Disgrace by .M. Coetzee. What a relief to read a good book after that last one!

Not light reading, though. I have to go for something fluffy after a disappointing book.

I'm feeling unsophisticated (or something), because I liked Riding Lessons. But any book that has lots of horses and riding, and gets the horsey details right... I'm going to eat it up like candy. :-)

Don’t apologize for your special interests. My sister has been an equestrian all her life; now she collects books about horses, all kinds of horse-related books. It’s great, because I always know what I can give her for a present!

> 37

But any book that has lots of horses and riding, and gets the horsey details right... I'm going to eat it up like candy. :-)

The horse-related part of that book were the only thing she did exactly right! They were good.

I especially loved reminiscing about when my kids were young and everything I learned from the excellent teacher Celeste who gave them their riding lessons. However, that's not what the book was about. It was about AnneMarie whom I really disliked. It was also about her family who I didn't care for either. They were all so disagreeable. The grandparents tried to be too good too late. The daughter, despite my acknowledging her teen angst, was dreadful. I like characters of stories I read to have at least some redeeming characteristics.

I'm feeling unsophisticated (or something), because I liked Riding Lessons.

Don't feel a need to apologize for a book you liked that I didn't. Everyone's taste is so different. I'm sure authors are happy about that (as long as the writing itself is up to par).

> 36

Not light reading, though.

I don't mind heavy reading as I find this book thought-provoking. granted that I haven't read that much of it yet, but I feel very engaged in the story and amd feeling sorry for the protagonist. I have yet to see what will develop...

I'm not much for pure fluff.

I'm thoroughly enjoying my read of Northanger Abbey with my tutor Liz (lyzard). I'm about halfway through the book now.

If anyone else wants to read this book along with us (I like this book much more than I did Austen's Emma), feel free to lurk here. In addition, there will be more scheduled INTERMISSIONS in which all lurkers can ask questions of Liz.

Enjoy!

Hi Madeline, great photos! That woodchuck is adorable!

11. Disgrace - J.M. Coetze



Phew, is this a depressing book! It's kind of good, but I didn't like it quite as much as others did. Here's my full review.

Rating - 3.5 stars

> 42

Hi Chelle!

I think baby animals are sooo cute! Glad you like the picture of the woodchuck.

Catching up on your thread. You and I are going to read 75 books again this year, I just know it!

I'll try, but, if I don't, I won't be disappointed.

I decided to tackle The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo even though I'm not one for murder mysteries. I've had so many people recommend it to me so now I want to see what all the fuss is about.

It's fun to be reading a book by a Swedish author (who, sadly, is no longer alive). I'm not sure how the names in the book are pronounced as I'm not familiar with the Swedish marks on vowels. I'm guessing that the one that looks like the German umlaut works that way in Swedish. What do I do with that little circle above a vowel? Eva, are you out there? :)

So, I'm about quarter of the way into this book and now have two index cards (front and back) filled with the names of the characters I've met and who they are. I simply cannot remember them. They make good bookmarks anyway.

The book is a fun read so far. I'm curious to see if, after I finish this book, I'll have any desire the read the next two books in this series.

I do know that gross violence is ahead in this book...

I'm here!!

Good luck with the pronunciation... :) Yes, there are three extra vowels in our alphabet: å, ä, and ö. Although the guy in the video has a slightly Swedish-sounding English, his Swedish is normal. Å, ä, and ö start at 2:06.

Hope you enjoy the book! Just so you know, if you read the second, the third has to follow - they belong to the same story arc.

Eva, that video was great! I guessed at all the pronunciations and had most of the sort of close except for Å which sounds to me more like an "o" than an "a".

What was most interesting was learning that double consonants shorten the sound of the preceding vowel. My husband said he read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by simply making up his own pronunciations of the names in the book. :)

How is Mikael (an important character in the story) pronounced in Swedish? Does it have two or three syllables? In English, for example, Michael would be pronounced as "My-kul" with the accent on the first syllable. In Hebrew, it is Michael, and would be pronounced "Mee-Kha-el", with the KH being that gutteral sound of the letter Khuf and the accent put on the last syllable. In Spanish, it turns into Miguel! ("mih-gehl", accent on last syllable). Aren't languages fun?

Learning Swedish would be so much fun. I love languages but gave up on them when my hearing started to deteriorate. Now it's hard enought for me to understand English, my native language, clearly.
:( Nevertheless I always loved languages and speak Hebrew and Spanish and know enough German to get by. I think, in the right environment, I'd be able to master Swedish.

More questions. I hope you don't mind. In the name Nils, is the final "s" pronounced? How is the surname Blomkvist pronounced? Are all the letters of this word pronounced? How about the surname Bjurman? I supposed it would be pronounced "Bee-ohr-man"?

Although the guy in the video has a slightly Swedish-sounding English

Heh!

If you want languages without the listening, I recommend studying dead languages! Lots of fun ;)

LOL! I really like *using* languages I learn to speak to others. I could never see what fun it would to know Latin. Useful, yes. Not fun, though!

Greek would be fun (though it's not a dead language). After learning Hebrew, I find it very enjoyable to know a language that has letters that English-speakers cannot read when written. I still remember some phrases I learned while in Greece.

When a friend and I were travelling in Europe, we were pretending not to be American. We always spoke Hebrew to each other and told people that we were speaking Flemish! :) It wasn't good to be speaking Hebrew, either, at that time as the Yom Kippur War broke out in Israel exactly during the time we were in Europe. :(

"spoke Hebrew to each other and told people that we were speaking Flemish"
That's funny!!

Mikael is two syllables and most similar to the Spanish but with the "k" pronunced as "k,"so "mih-kehl" with the accent on both syllables, slightly more on the first. For the others, all letters are pronunced (yes, an "s" at the end of Nils). Your approximation of Bjurman works OK, but add an obvious "J" sound, which in this case makes a slightly "buzzy" sound. Actually, it sounds like the Hebrew yud!! Both surnames have two syllables.

I know people who have learned Swedish as adults and they curse it because it's so tricky. :)

Actually, it sounds like the Hebrew yud

Gotcha! Thanks!! :)

I just got Love Life. Thanks for sending it, Eva. I'm always so excited to get an Israeli novel that I haven't read yet!

By the way, I have no idea why I was explaining Hebrew (above) to *you*. LOL!!

Excellent! I hope you enjoy it. Shalev (who, if you didn't already know, is Meir Shalev's cousin) is a poet, so be prepared for some very beautiful but long stream-of-consciousness sentences at a sometimes frantic pace (to reflect the main character's state of mind). I thought it was great, but pick a good time to read so you can get really inundated in the characters.

My Hebrew knowledge definitely has some missing parts, so I'll always take any and all information. OK, maybe not regarding pronunciation, but otherwise. :)

Do you have a Swedish accent in English? :)

*wonders what a Swedish accent in Hebrew would sound like*

My brother-in-law Pappy used to do a really funny imitation of me speaking Spanish with an American accent. Of course, he is no one to talk because he is Puerto Rican - and no one understands Puerto Rican Spanish - even Spanish speakers! Sadly, he had a stroke, and between his Puerto Rican accent, his dysphasia, and my hearing disability, I need to get my husband to do some translating, if not charades, for me to understand him in the rare instances that I see him.

I do have an accent, but it's not distinctly Swedish. Since I lived on and off in England when I was first learning English and later spent a lot of time in Scotland, my vocabulary (not my accent) tends to be more British than American so I usually get asked whereabout in Britain I'm from. Once people know I'm from Sweden, they hear that I have (what they call) a "sing-songy" intonation, but they rarely guess the right country before I tell them.

Apparently, when I speak Hebrew I sound like I'm joking. All the time. :) But then when I try to supress that, I sound like I'm cross, so I'd rather people think I joke. Except when I'm angry - Kobi used to laugh like mad when I tried to curse at him. (Btw, if you'd missed it, he moved back to Israel. And I clearly didn't go with him).

"no one understands Puerto Rican Spanish - even Spanish speakers"
That's a shame about your brother-in-law - he sounds like a funny guy!

I don't have any friends that are Swedish. If you lived here, I'd try to learn it. :)

I didn't know that Kobi went back to Israel. That's rough, I'm assuming. I clearly am not able to follow enough of my friends here at LT. Not enough time.

Pappy was very funny. I'm actually not sure where he's living now - either by himself or with his kids out of the area. The last time I saw him, he showed up unannounced the day of our Passover seder! He had lots of fun with us because he knows all our friends (obviously, because he's part of my husband's family) and hadn't seen our friends for years. I set my husband next to him and had him explain the whole seder to him.

This year will be fun because my future daughter-in-law wants to host the seder. We'll have - like 30 people!! She has no idea what she's getting into. She's not even Jewish - yet! Her mikvah date is in March.

Having read your tutored reads, I know I would have a great time teaching you Swedish!!! :)

Yeah, the Kobi-thing was tough. It was the right decision, but obviously not an easy one to make. I'm doing OK at the moment, though, and it gets easier every day.

Pappy sounds great! Also, I can't believe there'll be 30 people for yout seder! All my best wishes to your future daughter-in-law - I hope she's good at hitting the ground running. :)

Hugs to you, Eva. Now you, too, have a part of your heart and soul in Israel. For me, it's my family; for you, it's Kobi. Israel is so far away. :(

I hope she's good at hitting the ground running.

We'll see! :)

I created a new list called Books That Changed Me. Please free to add books of your own to this list.

(Cross-posted to the TIOLI challenge thread simply because the following was so beautiful)...

Folks, I just have to share this lovely video with you. I'm sure some of you have not yet seen it. Enjoy!

This film (which is about books) won the Best Animated Short during the 2012 American Academy Awards. It made me cry. Am I just a "softy"?

I watched the awards last night and so had heard of this animated short, but probably would have never seen it had you not posted the link here. THANK YOU! It is absolutely charming. I loved it and will be recommending it to everyone I know . . .

Glad you enjoyed it, Bonnie!

I stopped listening to Red Hook Road, a novel by Ayelet Waldman which turned out to be about a young couple who died in a car crash just before their wedding.

This week I received terrible news about an acquaintance (friend of a very close friend) who suffered the tragic loss of her 21-year-old son. I'm not in the mood to read a novel about this topic now (or maybe ever). It's a frightening topic. My heart goes out to those who've suffered such a loss or know those who have. That pain never goes away.

Madeleine, I'm sorry. A sad reminder of how fragile and precious life is. . .

True. That's why it's so nice to be able to pick and choose books at will. Sometimes one just needs a pick-me-up book. Northanger Abbey has been
that kind of book for me because it's light (and I'm predicting a happy ending). I don't mind sad books, but sometimes novels hit too close to real life for comfort.

I know exactly what you mean. There have been many books I've shied away from reading because the subject matter was too painful or depressing. I imagine I've missed some excellent books that way, but sometimes it's just not worth the risk to my own peace of mind.

On a happy note, I've really enjoyed your tutored read of Northanger Abbey - it's been one of my favorite threads!

> 68

it's been one of my favorite threads!

That's so nice. I'm sure Liz would be happy to know that as well!

12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson



This just was not my cup of tea. Here's my review.

Rating - 2 stars

>>#69 She is. :)

->70 SqueakyChu:
Mikael does get it on quite a lot, doesn't he?! :) Sorry you didn't enjoy it more (the following two are more of the same, so don't worry about those either). Did you ever before think you'd finish a recently published book and want to go back to your Austen-read? LOL!

> 72

LOL!! Now suggest a good book by a Swedish author for me to read, Eva!!

Did you ever before think you'd finish a recently published book and want to go back to your Austen-read?

Times are really changing, aren't they?!

Seriously, I can't believe all the hype about the Millenium trilogy. I expected to be blown away by them. What a disappointment. For now, I think I'll stop at Book #1.

>73 SqueakyChu: I think I'll stop at Book #1.
Amen! I felt the same way about it.

With the caveat that I read it in Swedish and don't know what the translation is like, you might enjoy the weirdness of The Horrific Sufferings of the Mind-Reading Monster Hercules Barefoot, his Wonderful Love and Terrible Hatred.

> 75

I was talking to my husband about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and my complaints about Mikael. His response was that the book gave the impression that those were the sexual mores of the Swedish! My response was, "What?!"

...and your response?

I like weird so I'll keep an eye out for the book you recommended.

> 74

Amen!

:)

Hooray! I just finished my second Jane Austen novel through Liz's incredibly great tutoring!

{{{Hugs to lyzard}}}

The Northanger Abbey thread starts here.

Grab the book and read along...or request that Liz tutor you in another JA novel. She (meaning Liz) is great!

Not she (meaning Jane)?? Ah, well - one of these days!

Admit you like her better than you ever thought you would? :)

I did like reading these books much more than I thought I would. If I didn't like the first JA book at least a little bit, I'd never have read a second.

I did find the second book a much more enjoyable book as I really liked the character of Catherine. She was generally kind and down to earth. She liked simple things and valued friendship. Her eye was not on money, but on discovery and friendship. She had a good heart. She also knew whom not to like! :)

13. Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen



No review. Just relaxing after a most enjoyable tutored read. :)

Rating - 4 stars

>76 SqueakyChu: Perhaps not Swedish, but the marriage mores of Europe are definitely different. My step-sister who lives in London had a child with a married man. She lived with her son in a flat across the street from the man's family (wife and two daughters) and in the same building as his mother. The whole situation was hardly blinked at.

>81 Morphidae:

Somehow I always see the woman at the disadvantage is such situations.

Since Larsson's book was seemingly dedicated to the prevention of violence against women, I don't feel that the role of women as a strong, vital force was promoted. Perhaps that will be Harriet's role, but I'm not about to read another of this trilogy to find out (unless my curiosity get the better of me - Ha!).

Lisbeth is certainly interesting and strong, but too weird and violent. My husband says I have to read the next book to learn about Lisbeth's history, and I will understand her much better. :/

You do get more of Lisbeth's history, but the weird and violent aspects are just as prominent. . .

#81 I think it may depend exactly where you live and who you know rather than being a difference between Europe and the U.S. We live about 30 miles north of London and I think there would be quite a lot of blinking at that situation here.

->76 SqueakyChu: "...and your response?"
Ahem. Well, we are absolutely more relaxed about sex than Americans, there's no question about that. However, it does not mean that we "do it" more and I think we can all agree that Mikael gets laid quite a bit more in the novel than he would in real life. :)

->84 SandDune:
That sounds like a fair assessment: the bigger the city, the more anonymous. In a smaller city, tongues would wag, regardless of country.

I think we can all agree that Mikael gets laid quite a bit more in the novel than he would in real life.

LOL!!

14. Fugitive Pieces - Anne Michaels



I did not "get" this book at all. In flowery, poetic language, with words relating to Greek foods, places, and objects which I did not know, and a protagonist that changed from one person to another without warning midway through the book, I was truly at a loss.

What started out as very beautiful was the relationship between Jakob, a Holocaust war orphan, and his adoptive Greek guardian, Athos. When the story abruptly broke from that vein, it made the bottom fall out of my enjoyment of this book completely. It was if someone had suddenly thrust a totally unrelated book into my hands. I never recovered any good feeling about the story thereafter.

The Orange Prize, once again, pointed me to a book that, in my opinion, was no prize at all. I should probably stick to more mundane books.

*sigh*

ETA: I keep revising my thoughts to clarify what I liked and did not like about this book here is my final review.

Rating - 2

A review by Michael Scharp on Amazon about Fugitive Pieces says "In book II, the second portion of the novel, Anne Michaels abruptly leaves Jakob and brings in a never before heard of character named Ben. This section adds almost no worthwhile reading, it confuses, and even angers the reader. The questions "Who is this guy, Why am I reading about him?" and "Who cares" beg to be answered."

Exactly!! Where did that guy come from, and how did he get into the book I was reading?!

That's the part when I gave up and gave my copy away. :) I'm wary of awards winners as as well - some of those awards have very strange criteria.

ETA: Guess my spelling gene disappeared for a while.

Phew! It always makes me feel better to know that others don't always blindly accept "award-winning" books as the best that there are. So much has to do with the appreciation of each individual book by the person who reads it. I guess that's why a book with many reviews has much more credibility.

I found it hard to believe that the book was not going to redeem itself by the end. (It didn't.)

Good to know that I was right to give it up. :) It sounded like a great premise, but oh well. I definitely pay more attention to what my fellow LT:ers say than to the word of some awards panel I know nothing about!

I was also disappointed by Fugitive Pieces when I read it years ago, though I know some people who loved it.

> 92

though I know some people who loved it.

Poets, probably! :)

> 91

You're right about the great premise, Eva. The beginning of the book would have been such a great place to learn about the Jews of Greece*. A map would have been great. Perhaps explanations of the Greek terms that I just had to guess and the Greek food which I knew nothing about. I wanted to learn more about Jakob and Athos. Theirs was an amazing relationship (albeit fictitious), but, alas, it disappeared into a story of someone else. :(

*I did take some time to look this up on wikipedia. At least the wikipedia article was fascinating - so all was not totally lost! :)

"At least the wikipedia article was fascinating"

Had to LOL @ this!!

I detect copy and paste. :-)

LOL!!

Caught red-handed!

I did get that book, though. Your entry saved me lots of typing. :)

Cool! Clermont showed up unexpectedly in my mail today. Thank you so much, Liz!

Plans are for us to do a tutored thread with this book starting in June, 2012 - when we both have clearer calendars. Look for it!

If anyone here is overwhelmed by poetry, you must visit this tutored thread between rosalita and Cynara in which Shakepeare's sonnets are being tutored. Rosalita is so funny, but she and Cynara together make these difficult poems really kind of fun to read.

> 99: thanks for pointing to that thread!
Not ready to delurk there ;-)

You're welcome! I think I'll stay in my lurkdom there mostly as well. :)

Aw, Madeline, you're making me blush! Cynara is a great tutor for the sonnets. She is coaxing me along poem by poem. Right now we are reading the first 17, which are known as the "procreation" sonnets, and it's amazing how many different ways there were to refer to sex and baby-making in the 16th century. :)

I am thrilled that we have so many lurkers over there. I'm not one to tell anyone to do anything they don't want to do (everyone in my family got that gene but me, I think), so I'll just say lurkers and commenters are equally welcome to come over and hang out!

Rosalita, thanks for stopping by!

I love your sonnets thread. There is no way I'd ever have tried to read those sonnets had it not been for you and Cynara. At this point, it doesn't matter if I understand them or not because someone will always be on your thread to tell me what he or she thinks it means. I like that!

We should do a roll call for lurkers midway through these tutored threads. I have a feeling there are many more silent lurkers about! :)

15. Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots - Deborah Feldman



This book is fabulous! I wrote my thoughts about it in my review.

Rating - 4.5 stars

Thumbs up from me on your review of Unorthodox. Sadly, I can't get it from my library system yet, but I'll keep my eyes open. Thanks!

> 105

Sadly, I can't get it from my library system yet, but I'll keep my eyes open

It's a brand new book which came out last month. It's going to hit tons of bestseller lists. There are Jews in Savannah who'll want to read this book so eventually it will come to your Georgia library systems! :)

Unorthodox looks really interesting. I've added it to my wish list.

> 107

Hi Rhian,

It was really interesting. Listen to the author speaking on some of these videos.

That one's going onto my wish list. I'll see if my library gets it; if not, there's always ILL after the newness of the book wears off.

Here's her FB page. I couldn't help but post a message there (and send her a tweet--which she retweeted--as well!).

Excellent review - thumbing! It's absolutely going on my wishlist.

> 111

You, Eva, definitely should get hold of this book.

P.S. I can't believe I've read a Jewish-themed book before you did. Will miracles never cease?! :)

LOL! It's when you catch an Israeli new author before I've heard of him/her that the party really starts. :)

Don't even think of it. I have dibs on the next book by a new Israeli author!!

LOL!! I'll take that challenge! :)

:)

I'll leave it for you two to slug it out. I'm so far behind with all the Israeli reading I want to do. Unorthodox looks really interesting and my library has it.

Kerri...go get it!

16. The Tattooed Girl - Joyce Carroll Oates



This is just a "meh" book. You can read in my review the specifics of what I did not like about this book. I have to tell you that I'm in the minority here because most other readers liked this book very much.

Rating - 2 stars

Congratulations on your hot review of Unorthodox! I think I may have to read that one as well... one day.

104-105

There are actually six copies already in the system, there just isn't a copy in my local, multi-county group. Libraries here don't loan books out of their local system into the nearly statewide system until six months have passed from the date of acquisition - I'll get it eventually.

Actually, many years ago I worked for two summers at a Jewish summer camp in north Georgia. While most of the kids were from Florida, a good number were from in state.

Thanks, Zoe.

That really is a fascinating book.I hope you get to it one day.

> 121

I actually do know one Jewish family from Savannah. The couple's grandson is now living in Maryland and is a close friend of my older son. After having read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, I always thought it would be fun to visit Savannah. I've been to Georgia, but never to Savannah.

Just delurking for a moment to add a bit of praise for the review of Un-Orthodox, which looks really interesting; and to say I am in complete agreement about The Tattooed Girl. I love Oates' short stories and many of her essays, but am still searching for a novel by her that I can really get into.

> 124

am still searching for a novel by her that I can really get into.

If you find it, Gail, let me know.

Joyce Carol Oates is a professor at Princeton University where one of my nieces is a freshman. I'm hoping that she gets to be in one of Oates' classes. Wouldn't that be fun? :)

17. Better - Atul Gawande



A quite impressive collection of medical essays. More here in my review.

Rating - 5 stars

Madeline - You should definitely visit Savannah. It's worth paying for the Gray Line tours there to go around the squares the first time. If your particular driver/guide isn't good, just hop off and wait for the next one. We discovered some of them are much better than others.

I get to North Carolina (to the beach) every year, but South Carolina seems just a bit too far! Can't you move Savannah further north? ;)

Check out message #4 where I added the month of March as well as a totally cool picture of a frog!

18. Pesach for the Rest of us - Marge Piercy



A fun book to add to your own Passover celebration. Here's my review!

Rating - 4.5 stars

Oooh! Today I posted my 300th LT book review. I haven't finished reading that last book yet, but I did write what I wanted to say about it.

131: Oooh! Today I posted my 300th LT book review.
Wow! With that impressive number, reading 75 books hardly matters. Though you're exactly on track.

> 132

Well, if truth be told, I started writing reviews back in 1999 or thereabouts. Anyway, it was way before there was an LT. I have some (few, really) of those older reviews posted.

I'm now reading Trauma by Patrick McGrath. I am *so* disappointed that the setting for this most recent of his novels has changed to New York. I see that the author himself now lives in New York. It just doesn't seem right that this author of gothic style novels should base them in the U.S.

*sigh*

Please come visit me at the International Day of the Book street festival in Kensington, Maryland, USA, on April 22, 2012, from 11am to 4pm. I'll be working at the BookCrossing booth. All festivities are FREE!

Congratulations on 300 reviews, Madeline! That's quite an accomplishment.

It would be fun to have a class with J.C. Oates. I've often wondered how many of these authors are as teachers...at the very least, their opinions on others' books would be interesting.

Thanks, Gail.

I'm so hoping that J.C. Oates will be my niece's instructor at some point during her college years. It may be harder now that she plans on dropping English as her future major, though. We'l just have to wait and see what happens.

300 reviews! What a milestone! It has been awhile since I visited. I remember how very kind and helpful you were to me when I was learning how to give tpn treatments to my dear friend.

Happy Sunday to you!

Hi Linda!

Hope life is treating you kndly. Thanks for stopping by!

I just want to say thank you again to those individuals whose photos on Flickr I'm sharing on my thread (per Creative Commons, Attribution license). I love nature, and the photos I've posted in the opening messages "speak to me".

I've had one photographer subsequently change his Creative Commons license to "all rights reserved" license which, in effect, removed the photo from my thread.

To me, this is fine as I am totally in favor of protecting an artist's creativity. If you go back to my previous thread, you'll find a link to the photo that had been removed. If you follow that photo's link, youll also find some other GORGEOUS nature photos by the same photographer. It's worth that small detour from LT onto Flickr! :)

19. Trauma - Patrick McGrath



I admit to being a little disappointed in this book. I've grown accustomed to some superb gothic-like, creepy books among this author's works. In this novel, I found the story of a troubled psychiatrist who lives in New York city. Where did the dark and wet nights of England go? Not the same! The setting may be equally as bleak for someone in despair, but this was not what I was hoping for.

That aside, I couldn't quite get into this story of an aging man, Charlie Weir, who divorced his wife Agnes after feeling responsibe for her brother Danny's suicide. He hooks up with Nora, another troubled individual but cannot give up his hope to return to his previous life with his ex-wife and their daughter Cassie, to whom he was very devoted.

The ending of the story was there to explain more in detail about Charlie Weir. For me, though I'd just like to catch the next plane to England to find more McGrath books that are involved with the kind of characters found in this authors's other books such as Spider, Grotesque, and Dr. Haggard's Disease.

Rating 3.5

Dropping by to thank you for recommending Bringing Nature Home last year. I finished it this morning, then spent the afternoon in the back yard prepping and contemplating...

I was in the garden, too, today! I was pulling up invasive vines (i.e. English Ivy) from my son's yard. I love working out in the garden and am so happy that it was warm enough to do so today.

Bringing Nature Home is a good book - I believe I read it last year before I was on LT. Now that I working on a new garden, I should probably pick it up again.

It's great to be outside working, isn't? I'm finally seeing hummingbirds more regularly - it's been years since there's been much here for them in the way of nectar plants, so it may be a while before we've got them in quantity. Fortunately, I have very pretty feeders!

I guess now must be time to exchange my suet feeder for our hummingbird feeder. I hate to do that to the woodpeckers, though. LOL!!

I have such a pretty purple finch in my sunflower seed feeder now. He is so red!

I need to get my own copy of Bringing Nature Home. The copy I had is now back at the library. That seems more like a "keeper" book that one I should have had to return.

20. The Grandmothers' Club - Alan Cheuse



Was this book ever a fabulous surprise! It's been sitting on my shelf for years on loan from a friend who said to give it back to her only if I like it. I do. Here's why.

Rating - 5 stars

I'm giving up on Glass Soup by Jonathan Carroll after reading about half of it.

Although I've enjoyed previous Jonathan Carroll urban fantasies, I find this story too convoluted with too many strange people in too many odd places for my enjoyment. Rather than read it and rate it, I'm putting it with my others books waiting to find a new home.

*sigh*

Cross-posting from my non-fiction thread because you might be interested in the links:

This morning I spent a few hours removing invasive plants (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliaria_petiolata) from a local park, and was talking with one of the organizers, who mentioned that he's hoping to get Douglas Tallamy here to speak. He mentioned also a recent article in the local newspaper about native plants. (I'd missed it. Why? Because it was in the _sports_ section.) The article (http://lancasteronline.com/eedition/pages/news/edition/CEAM/20120417/C/3/2379258) is about Pennsylvania Pollinator Friendly Garden Certification, whose application includes a handy list of appropriate native plants (http://ento.psu.edu/publications/Pollinator%20Certification.pdf) and links to another list of butterfly host plants (http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/uh139.pdf).

Ha! This weekend my nature group (Rockville Native Species) was going on a Garlic Mustard pull. I opted out of it because I had my future daughter-in-law's bridal shower to attend plus am doing a book festival on Sunday.

I think that Doug Tallamy was also here to do a speaking engagement, but, since I'm hard of hearing, I always opt out of those kinds of things. I have to read his work rather than hear what he has to say about his ideas.

I'll go ahead and read the articles you linked as they sound very interesting. I can't keep up with these plants. Meanwhile invasive plants are gobbling up everything I've planted. Daylilies have, in effect, rid my garden of most other species of flowers. I can't really dig them up until I have something to replace them. If I did, I'd just end up with a barren, mulched piece of land. This spring, I couldn't even find my horse radishplant which has come up year after year. :(

On a happier note, I have two native plants that actually did come up again this year. Two plants in my whole yard is not bad, is it? One is a phlox (tall and beautiful when it flowers); the other is a Joe Pye Weed.

> 148

I can't get to your links, Katherine. My log-in to the Lancaster paper keeps failing. I give up!

Hmm, try this: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/627771_A-birds-and-bees-challenge.html.
I have an e-subscription, so my original link goes there.

This weekend my nature group (Rockville Native Species) was going on a Garlic Mustard pull.
It's not the only invasive plant around, but it's distinctive now with little white flowers, so I suppose ideal for random ignorant volunteers such as myself.

I'd just end up with a barren, mulched piece of land.
That's what I have. :-) The alternative is gigantic weeds that I can't keep pace with.

When you get down here, let's plan how we're going to attack our respective gardens this year.

I'll try your other link. In the meantime, I read the butterfly article.

The link worked this time. Your certification sounds similar to the one I did. I did the National Wildlife Federation certified wildlife habitat.

You should see the gardens of the others in my group. They're filled to the brim with native plants! I'm too embarrassed to have them come to my garden. They'll need to stay away until I get some native plants in strategic places. This is going to take a l-o-n-g time.

I've spent more time trying over the past few months trying to attract birds with theuse of feeders, birdbath, suet, nesting materials, etc. than I have in trying to attract pollinators. I should count what wildlife I see beside birds. The birds have been fun this winter, though. My favorites were the downy woodpeckers (whom I named Pecorino and Pecorina)! :)

> 151

I have enough of those to pull in my own garden before I try to tackle an entire park! Those white blossoms do help a lot in identifying the plant.

I've also been pulling up ground ivy which now has small purple flowers. That is debatable as an invasive plant according to the article I just read (one of your links above).

What do you do with dandelions? Do you pull them out or not? The yellow flowers are so cheerful, the leaves are edible, but the seeds will make my neighbors upset! :)

I'm now reading Fieldwork by Mischa Berlinski. In an interview on the author's website, there is this (which I love):

My sister is also a novelist — a very good one, too, I might add — and we've developed a new physiological theory of creativity. We've postulated the existence of a very, very tiny neural particle called the "creaton," which is responsible for all literary success. Now the thing about the creaton is, it's very unstable and is produced only in the part of sleep in which one is dreaming intensely. A few hours after waking up, it's gone, and without creatons, one can do no useful literary work at all. Without creatons, I can write just about nothing; with creatons, I can see solutions to even the very trickiest literary problems. So a good deal of my time as a novelist is spent chasing those few hours in which creaton-supply is high — immediately after waking up in the morning, and immediately upon awakening from an afternoon nap.

Heh!

Love the idea of the 'creaton'.

*waving hello*

Oh, and a thumbs up for your The Grandmother's Club review.

*waves to Dejah_Thomas*

The Grandmother's Club was sooooo good!

...about the smell of old books! :)

For those who love to learn...

This is very cool as well!

I might just sign up for one!

21. Fieldwork - Mischa Berlinski



I loved this book! I can't believe I've read two books in a row that I consider superb.

For those who are interested in cultural anthropology, this is a must-read. Although a novel, it proved to be a thought-provoking story about the role of missionaries' relationships to otherwise isolated cultures.

I hope others will give this book a chance after reading my review.

Rating - 5 stars

Sounds very good Madeline. I'll have to track down a copy.

calm, this is such a good book! I was just now reading the reviews here on LT (which I do after reading any book to avoid spoilers) and discovered Fieldwork had been an LT Early Reviewer book at one time. Wow!

I hope others who are willing to give this book a chance will enjoy it as much as I did. As an FYI, Fieldwork was also a National Book Award finalist.

My local library has a copy in its spare stock. Unfortunately can't do online reservations for anything in spare stock so I'll have to make a note and remember to ask for it next time I'm in town.

Fieldwork has made its way to another wishlist, thanks to you, Madeline!

> 164

Samantha_Kathy, you'll be thanking me later (just as rosalita is now!). :)

Fieldwork sounds fascinating -- on the list it goes!

Ack! I'm getting hit by book bullets all over the place today.

Unbelievable! I'm reading five books at once and forgot to take even one with me to work on the Metro. Bummer!

I did have a spare book of short stories hidden in my desk for just such an eventuality. :)

169: Phew! Good thing you've prepared for the crisis.

Don't you hate when that happens? Last week I managed a daily double: not only did I forget my Kobo Touch at home (I thought it was in my backpack but it wasn't) but I also forgot my iPod and headphones to drown out the inane chatter on my daily carpool commute. Nothing to do except stare out the window at fallow cornfields and imagine the best way to simultaneously silence a dozen people all at once (nothing permanent, understand; just 20 minutes worth of silence twice a day is all I ask!) I was out of sorts all day!

> 171

imagine the best way to simultaneously silence a dozen people all at once

Heh! I just use the mute button on my hearing aids. :)

Today I was trial testing a new set of (too expensive for me!) hearing aids. The left one didn't work this morning so I put in my old left one and my trial right one. I had more time to fool with them this evening after returning home from work. What I discovered was that I had put the battery in upside down in the left one! Oh, well! :)

> 172 That would be nice! Actually, one of the women in the vanpool is hard of hearing. I think that's what she does, because she's always just quietly sitting there reading her book and ignoring everything around her. Makes me jealous sometimes.

Hey ... woman of a "certain age", hard of hearing, always has her nose in a book ... are you sure you live in D.C. and not Iowa, Madeline? Or do you have a doppelgänger named Cindy?

</I>are you sure you live in D.C. and not Iowa, Madeline?

The last I knew, I lived in Maryland. I just work in DC. :)

> 165, 168, 169

You all will like that book so much, I just know it!.

> 170

Today I'm taking yet another backup "emergency" book to work since I've started my primary "emergency" book. :)

Madeline, good morning.

I always learn something new when I visit your thread. I've been wondering what the new weed (misplaced plant) was in the yard; now I know: Mustard Garlic!

Two thumbs, and of course two more books on the ever-expanding WL. Both sound great (146 and 160).

And thanks for the reminder about Coursera. I'd seen it, thought about it, and very soon forgot it.

Hope you have a good day with lots of reading...

#177 - wow, that sounds familiar... :)

Well shoot, Madeline - here I was trying to avoid adding Fieldwork to my TBR list but I read your review (and gave it a thumbs up) and I couldn't resist.

Happily, my library system has it. Thanks!

> 170

Tell me what you think of it ... after you read it, of course!

Good morning, Madeline.

I know you're investigating native plants. I've got a favorite growing here and there: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beautyberry

Easy to grow, very attractive fruit.

Do you think you'd like it?

> 182

One thing, Gail. It looks very pretty except that it is not native to my area (according to the wikipedia article, anyway). It is native to Asia. I'm looking for plant species native to the Maryland area (or at least the Chesapeake watershed).

My latest addition to my garden is a coreopsis plant (which is being eaten up alive by my invasive daylillies - which have to come out but are hard to dig up and destroy, but I don't want my garden to be barren).

P.S. I just started a gardening diary on this group! :)

There's a variety called "American Beautyberry" native to U.S. southeast...maybe MD isn't south enough?

Love coreopsis! And those danged daylilies...my front beds are full of them; I know they should come up, but what can one replace them with? We're dotting the far back yard with native hollies (smallish) to provide a screen from less pleasant views, food for the birds, and year-round greenery. Very hardy once established...

About my favorite books...

I'm pinning them onto Pinterest (but *not* linking to Facebook!).

I have lots of native Beautyberry in my yard, mostly in the wilder sections. If you want some cuttings or seeds (we'll have to wait until Fall for those) you would be welcome to them!

Coreopsis is tough - very useful flowers!

183: P.S. I just started a gardening diary on this group! :)

Starred it. And I may begin one too. I was away last weekend, and the previous weekend was rainy plus indoor tasks, so this weekend I want to plant the raised beds, and remove the weeds that enjoyed my absence.

> 184, 186

Hey...yes!!! I see that they are native as far north as Maryland (lucky me!). I'll take you up on the cuttings or seeds. How tall do they grow?

> 187 et al

Let's all do gardening diaries there, okay? I'd be more inclined to keep it up if I "know" some people in that group. :)

Madeline, I'm experimenting with using Pinterest to keep my wishlist. I've got one here, but I find the "Add Books" process to be too clunky when you just want to save a book and title and don't give a hoot about edition, etc. We'll see how it goes.

> 190

At first, I didn't like Pinterest, but it grew on me. It's great for putting down ideas (as you said). It was too clunky to use with IE, but I do okay with it on Firefox as my browser.

A much better place to put a book wishlist is on BookMooch. If a used copy of your book becomes available, all you have to do is mooch it! Check it out (that is, if you don't mind swapping used books by mail).

This is me on BookMooch. :)

Who are you on Pinterest (so I can follow your boards)?

I am on BookMooch, actually. I have a few credits left but took down my inventory list a few years when I was going through chemo and couldn't really commit to being able to send out requested books. I should think about putting it back up, though, because I did enjoy it.

You'll find me on Pinterest here.

Sucked in again! Lyzard is tutoring Smiler 69 in Persuasion. Could I let my own personal tutor teach another Jane Austen novel without my auditing her class? I could not! Join me in lurkdom on this thread.

Ssshhh! Class is in session. :)

Believe it or not, I found an LT member with the name "persuasion" so I'm using this book for the TIOLI challenge to read a book derived from a 75er's username. Ha!

Hi, Madeline! So glad you're interested in the Beauty Berry. I've found them hardy, attractive--those purple berries are amazing--and not too intrusive; you know how some natives will just take over your garden/lawn/driveway cracks.

You inspired me to get some tickseed for the backyard small flower garden plot. Also got some white, feathery salvia. I'm trying for native perennials: good for the earth and good for me, as less work is required once established.

Maybe a garden journal is in my near future...

Come join us in the Gardens and Books group and start a thread of your own! It's easy. Just make monthly entry of a sentence of two. :)

I was out today native plant shopping. Those native plants are really hard to find at local nurseries. That seems silly, doesn't it? It's like going to the beach and finding out that your restaurant fish dinner is made from tilapia that was farm raised in China.

I came across this (http://www.sugarbushnursery.com/whyNatives.htm) local-ish (30 miles from me) nursery serendipitously. I was searching for a specific PA native plant by scientific name and this site had an image. It is dedicated to the cause of native plants, and I am amazed at the variety and the number of unfamiliar plants. The nursery a few miles from me, which is an upscale local operation, not a national chain, is murky about information. Some plants are labeled with scientific name, others are not, and no distinction is made between native and non-native. I don't quite trust it. So I've begun with the PA certification link above, which lists high impact plants. Almost all of them are available at Sugarbush. Once I've figured out where to put them in my yard, I'll trek out there. Obviously I'm not going to accomplish everything this year, but I so want to get started.

Probably too far away for you, and I'm not sure how much overlap there is between here and there, surely some but you're further south, but Sugarbush gets some of its plants from other growers, so may know of places closer to you.

I went to Behnke's today because it advertised native species. When I got there, the native plants were interspersed (and basically hidden among) all the other plants. What I found helpful was that the perenniels were arranged alphabetically by Latin name. I thought that was brilliant!

To find plants that are not cultivars, just look for those that have no "brand" name associated with the Latin name.

I started a native plant wishlist yesterday in which I included the native plant's last name. You have no idea how helpful that was for me when I was shopping today. I was able to pick up a few plants of which I'd never heard before because I had the Latin name with me.

I'm not sure where I'm going to plant these few native plants, but the fun will be in trying to locate them well.

I'm afraid if I get plants now, they'll die before I get them settled in the ground. :-(

Yeah, I'm aiming toward non-cultivars, but it's not seeming simple. What's around here are big box stores, the local nursery that seems to cater to well tended lawns with petunia borders, and a bunch of small operations advertised by word of mouth without internet presence and not all that nearby so it's a lot of trekking about for dubious return.

I've begun a document w/ a table for scientific name, common name, plant characteristics (e.g. size, color, sun/shade), wildlife value, etc. so I can narrow down the options before I see them in person. My yard is small, so I can't get anything that's too overwhelming, and several small areas are on the north side of a wall so get no sun, for example.

We can work on this problem together! I'm sure that some of our plants are native to both Maryland and Pennsylvania.

I'm starting my native garden first with a hummingbird and butterfly garden. If I do all native species, the list would be just too overwhelming.

Almost all of the plants on your list are also on my list. I'm going for the butterfly host plants first, and then I'll see whether there's any space left.

If you see any butterflies in your garden, tell them to stop at "Cafe SqueakyChu" as well!

P.S. My list isn't finished. I just got tired of all that pinning. :)

*staggers at the beauty of the pin list*

Oh my. Don't you feel a marvelous sense of accomplishment when you can get some native plant re-started in your yard? So satisfying.

Re: garden shops/nurseries
Why don't they organize plants by shade/sun and then alphabetize? Quite often I'm overwhelmed by the color and variety and completely forget what I was after in the first place. ;>

> 202

Oh my. Don't you feel a marvelous sense of accomplishment when you can get some native plant re-started in your yard? So satisfying.

I probably will feel that. As it is, they're still sitting in the pots in which I bought them until I can figure out what invasives to dig up so I can plant them! :)

Why don't they organize plants by shade/sun and then alphabetize?

Believe it or not, that's exactly the way the plants at Behnke's in Potomac, Maryland were organized. I was truly impressed. I am going to try to patronize the places that pay the most attention to native plants from here on in.

Gail, are you going to try for native plants as well? It will be fun to see the difference between the native plants of Maryland, Pennsylvania (qebo) and Alabama (you). Of course, we'll also find one that are the same in both or all three places.

Nice to know that violets are good. Initially I had a few, overwhelmed by weeds, so I removed the weeds and let the violets be, and now they're proliferating. I had not realized they were butterfly/caterpillar hosts, so maybe now I should pay more attention.

I think people who like beautiful lawns get horrified by violets. However, I find the purple flowers so cheerful in spring. In addition, violets are edible!

I like this blog post.

Hi again, Madeline and qebo. Yes, I'm trying for more native plants. Some, probably many, will be native to MD and AL. PA is, in m mind,a lot farther north than I am; I always think of it (PA) in connection with New York, sort of close to New England. It will be fun to compare notes, I think, and get some ideas/hints/helps from one another.

I'm a bit obsessed here. I just started another Pinterest board with wildlife seen in my garden. After all, I am doing this native gardening to improve wildlife habitat. I was going to do only birds, but there is only a finite number of bird species that will visit my my garden. When it comes to insects (which I find fascinating), there will be so much more variety. I only hope I'll be able to identify most of them. So many of them look alike to me. A fly is a fly is a fly... :)

By the way, Gail, if you have not yet read Doug Tallamy's book Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens, make it your next *must read*!

206: In addition, violets are edible!
I did not know. Not sure I want to try.

208: another Pinterest board
Good idea. I like the cat. (FYI: Link is bad.)

I'd prefer not to eat violets, but I do eat nasturtium!

I fixed the link. I think I'm going to move my gardening talk over to the gardening thread. Obviously, I did not get much reading done today. :)

22. Intuition - Allegra Goodman



I first read Kaaterskill Falls by the same author and was only lukewarm about that book. I then saw the author at the National Book Festival where she seemed so viviacious and enthusiastic. I thought I'd give her another chance. I really liked this book a lot, but I see where it might not be for everyone. It's interesting to see the wide reaction of readers to this book about life in a science lab. Read my review, and, only then, decide if you think it would be a book for you.

Rating - 4 stars

23. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - Paul Torday



To create a salmon run in a wadi in Yemen seems an unlikely proposition and yet such a premise is the basis for this novel of documents. It is a book of documents which tells the story. I found that the beginning of the book was more satisfactory than the end as I started to tire of the whole idea of this by the last third of the book. I don't think I could handle seeing the movie now, though. :)

Rating - 3.4 stars

24. Preparing Your Heart for Passover - Kerry M. Orlitzky



This is a book that was given to me by my rabbi. I find that it's comforting reading during the crazy days of physically preparing for Passover when "winding down" a bit truly helps focus on the spirit of Passover, my favorite of all the Jewish holidays.

Rating - 3.5 stars