Paul's Race to 75 Part 14

Off up to the North East corner of Malaysia to the pro-islamic state of Kelantan and its capital Kota Bharu (literally New Castle). This is the Siti Khadija Pasar Besar (Big Market).

Books read so far:
1 North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
2 The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff
3 The Guards by Ken Bruen
4 Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
5 Lyrics Alley by Leila Aboulela
6 Shadow by Karin Alvtegen
7 The Road Home by Rose Tremain
8 One Pair of Hands by Monica Dickens
9 Pure by Andrew Miller
10 The Appointment by Herta Muller
11 The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
12 The Battle of Pollocks Crossing by J.L. Carr
13 No Glossing Over It by Gary Edwards
14 Unknown by Mari Jungstedt
15 The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
16 Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald
17 Zoo Station by David Downing
18 The Troubled Man by Henning Mankell
19 Jack Sheppard by William Ainsworth
20 An Idiot Abroad by Karl Pilkington
21 The Fourth Man by K.O. Dahl
22 Christine Falls by Benjamin Black
23 Troubles by J.G. Farrell
24 My Life in Cricket by Dennis Lillee
25 Voyageurs by Margaret Elphinstone
26 The Affair by Lee Child
27 The Potter's Field by Andrea Camilleri
28 The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
29 The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman
30 Praying Mantis by Andre Brink
31 Parky by Michael Parkinson
32 All Men Are Liars by Alberto Manguel
33 The Detour by Gerbrand Bakker
34 The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursual Le Guin
35 Legion of the Damned by Sven Hassel
36 Treblinka : A Survivor's Memory by Chil Rajchman
37 L'Enver de Treblinka by Vasily Grossman
38 Open Season by C.J. Box
39 Divorcing Jack by Colin Bateman

Currently reading
The Years of Renewal by Henry Kissinger, Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Best Books of the Year so far:
Literary Fiction
1. The Road Home
2 Lyrics Alley
3 Wolf Hall
Thrillers
1. Zoo Station
2. The Troubled Man
3. The Potter's Field

12 in 12 categories

1: Historical Fiction 3/12
2: 19th Century Fiction 3/12
3: Biography 5/12
4: In translation 5/12
5: Series Starts 5/12
6: Scandicrimesters 3/12
7: Sci-Fi 2/12
8: Noughties 1/12
9: One Word Titles 3/12
10: African Born Writers 3/12
11: Bought and Read in 2012 5/12
12: Off the Shelves 0/12 (IN RESERVE FOR THE END OF THE YEAR)

Callia - (from previous thread) - not sure sometimes I would have thought ignorance is bliss!

OK. One of these days I'll backtrack and read about the comings and goings before this. Other than that, hello again1

I'm here, Paul. Nice new thread. Love the photo up top - I want ti go to the big market!

I want to go to that market! What a wonderful photo.

Zoo Station is a favorite, eh?

Had a meeting out of the office yesterday afternoon - conveniently close to Times bookstore in a mall I don't get to so often. Had a mini spree whilst I was waiting for my client to appear:

Iron House by John Hart (following up on several reccs)
Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe (also severally recommended)
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
The Stand by Stephen King (actually my first SK - Kyran has several I think)
Parisians by Graham Robb
The Restaurant of Love Regained by Ito Ogawa
In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar
The Last Jew of Treblinka by Chil Rajchman
The Inheritors by William Golding
Altar of Bones by Philip Carter
Dark Matter by Michelle Paver
The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell

Judy - we should definitely organise a small prize for the first visitor! Nice to see you whether you've caught up or no.

Mamie - SWMBO is always in her element in a big market. The smells, the sights and the sounds are all something to experience in the Pasars.

Ellen - I reserve a spot on the tour bus for you if you can spot the air-fare! Zoo Station was definitely up there with my favourite thrillers of the year so far.

What a great photo! I wish I lived in such an amazing and beautiful place:)

Paul--Very true, very true.

Well, I decided not to put it off any longer and skimmed the last three (or was that four) threads. I stopped at all the pictures, and some of the posts, so I know you lost your driver, but aside from that, it's a new day. See you tomorrow!

Holy Moly that must be a big market!
I'll go back to your old thread, but congrats on the new one and on your latest great haul!

Hi Paul- Congrats on the new thread. You are mowing them down, sir! The photo at the top looks unreal, like a painting or something.
Nice book haul too! Did you start Open Season? I've read the 1st 2 in that series. Solid stuff, nice setting.

John Hart is good.

Lol@ megan from last thread :)

Callia - ladies love shopping and I would guess that you are no different! Malaysia is a shoppers paradise as Katie and Caro will surely attest. There is a little of something for everyone here from luxurious malls to backwater stores to teeming night markets and markets such as the above one in Kelantan. Hani used to spend many a happy hour(s) in the market in Johor in southern Malaysia which is similar to the one in Kota Bharu but less well maintained.

Judy - thanks for your neat summary of my last month! Would be nice indeed to see you tomorrow.

Peggy - The market is typical of most of the bigger towns but the Siti Khadijah market is an especially nice example.

Mark - thanks mate. I have started it as well as a book by Sven Hassel which I will finish during my lunch break. To be honest Joe makes a pretty pathetic hero thus far.

Kath - I remember Judy and others giving the Iron House a very warm reception so I couldn't resist it.

I do enjoy shopping! I'm not a huge fan of grocery shopping, but as I told my mom, I would go grocery shopping any day if our supermarkets looked like that!:)

And I'm obviously not a lady, because I'd rather read than shop. :) Shopping for books, however...

Sorry I haven't been by for so long, Paul, and sorry that I completely gave up on even pretending to attempt a try on catching up on your last 2 (or 3, or maybe even 4...) threads. I'm rather glad of the summary up in #11 above. :) Although sorry to hear about your driver.

Is it a rule, I wonder, that every country's Northeast must have someplace called "New Castle" or variant?

Maybe, there's a Newcastle to the north of Sydney, although that's not terribly north compared to the whole country. Decidedly east, however.

Tania - I have been missing you greatly - your infrequent but always entertaining interjections always make my day.

RD - Good point does the States or Canada have a Newcastle?

Indiana has a New Castle.

And Delaware.

According to Wikipedia, Canada has five Newcastles, some are districts and a couple are communities. Probably the best known is the small town that is about 80 km east of Toronto in Ontario

Mamie / Anne / Judy - Wow - and all in the east or north-east of the respective states?

Maybe closer to east central

New York's Newcastle is in the north, though not specially much east; Delaware is so dinky, Paul, it doesn't really have directions, it's sort of all-in-one. Like Rhode Island.

ROFL

Although Canada is a northern country, we Canadians tend to huddle as close to our southern border as possible. But I'm sure Newcastle, Ontario wouldn't be considered either north or east.

BTW, great new thread you have here, Paul. Love the colorful opening picture.

Mamie / Judy / RD - So predominantly north or east (or south or west?!)

We have Newcastle Brown Ale... :)

Hi Paul,
Love your excuses for book purchasing, they always start with "I was close to a bookshop" and end with an implied "It would have been rude not to..." lol
I'll have to check out Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe, as I always fancied Rob Lowe. He hasn't aged badly either ;)

Should you wish to embark on another spree, Lehrter Station has just been published...

What do you do when you have to wander from one appointment to another with a giant bag of books??

So that's why there were only 4 new posts on your thread, here's a shiny new one, and with another wonderful (and appetizing) picture.

What a great 'mini'-spree!

ooooooooooo, great overhead shot of the market, Paul. I'd love to parachute down with my bags and baskets in hand. Trouble comes when I need to be airlifted out!

Hi Paul - nice book haul. It is definitely wrong to be so close without at least taking a look:)

Clearly, I am no lady.. I loathe shopping! I would rather clean than shop.
I just noticed Extremely Loud and Incredibly Bad on your list..
good luck with that..

rd...We have a New Castle down the road from us .....

Oooh, The Stand is one of my favorite King books (of those I've read do far) - I do hope you enjoy it too.

The Stand is one of my favorite books of all time. Enjoy!

Megan - glad that my paltry excuses amuse. I try them out in prep for satisfying SWMBO - she sees through them faster than you do! The Rob Lowe book has received several positive reviews in the group too.

Suz - Yep that one is on my radar. I have an arrangement with the shop assistants that I can collect after meetings. Normal procedure after meeting go grab a coffee and take off any wrappers still existing and sit looking goofily at new purchases whilst the fresh brew turns stale.

Nathalie - Glad you found me. I like the photo too - I have put up so many landscape shots recently that I thought a slightly different one might be in order.

Lynda - great image of you coming down in Cruise garb on a thin line - stocking up copious baskets and then realising the way out is not as easy as you thought even though not "mission impossible".

Calm - I cannot see a book shop without having to check out the wares - if I have too much time to spare which happened yesterday purchases are inevitable. I often scour the shelves picking one or maybe two from each shelf. Typically there are six rows of shelves in Times bookstore for fiction - so I picked one from each shelf. three biography, current affairs, and history as there were three shelves of these and three sci-fi/horror and fantasy as there was three shelves of these. So I bought 12. All very logical really.

Kath - doesn't it depend shopping for what - pass you a bucket full of green and point you towards - a choclatier, a perfumier, a jewellers, a purveyor of haute coutoure or a bookshop where do you spend your money?

Amber - Kyran loves Stephen King and as he is off on school camp I was thinking about him more than normally yesterday at the shop - so out of missing the boy I thought I should try his favourite author!

Gorgeous market picture, Paul! I'm always excited to see what new image you've posted when you continue you threads!

I'll chime in for The Stand, too. It's my favorite Stephen King work; I've read it two or three times. Of course, it's also the only Stephen King book I've read or have any immediate intention of reading....

I've been meaning to ask you, Paul, about your library situation. Is it that there aren't any public (or for that matter, private) libraries or is it that they don't have a selection of books in English? I shudder to think how many books I'd by without my local library system!

Good Morning To You Paul

I love visiting your thread and examining the beautiful photos you post.

What a great haul of books. I'm adding The Last Jew of Treblinka by Chil Rajchman to the TBR pile.

I feel like I went on the wagon the last month and did not purchase any books. I know I'll slip off soon, but for now it is a day-day addiction I'm working on.

When the new floors were installed in the house and I had to move all my books from various places throughout, it was quite an awakening to see that I have approximately 1,000-1,500 books that I accumulated and have not read.

I also want to tell you that I enjoy your writing style -- so crisp, clear and focused. I wish my students could write like you.

Dejah, I also enjoy when starting a new thread thinking of a place in the country we haven't visited yet!
Stephen King writes chunksters extraordinaire doesn't he - looks like I might have picked a good un to start.
There is a national library in KL which I am a member of. The lending section of it is extremely limited but I do pay visits there occasionally with the kids. There is however no library system as such over here and I really miss my visits to the library.

Linda - very gratifying to receive your post complete as it was with complimentary remarks about my mixed attempts at putting down my thoughts.
We suffer from the same addiction dear lady and it seems to be a problem of similar proportions!
I visited Auschwitz many moons ago and was profoundly affected by the experience - this allied to my family doctor being a fondly remembered, if garrulous semite - has made me life-long pro-jewish (if there is indeed such a thing) and I firmly believe that some of the last centuries most abiding literature was written as a result of the infamy visited upon that noble race. Therefore all holocaust related literature will invariably find its way to me shelves.

Happy 14th Paul! Sorry it's taken me a while to find my way here. I'm having a hard time keeping up with my own thread lately, never mind everybody else's! I also enjoyed the market picture AND seeing that you're back to your book-buying ways. Have to admit I like you better this way—I feel less alone now! ;-)

Hi Paul! Just dropping by to say hi. I still haven't read a word this month, though I am hoping things will quiet down tomorrow and I'll get going with this month's reading. Nice haul of books there - In the Country of Men is the only one I have read, and I remember really enjoying it at the time, though the details are a bit hazy now a couple of years on...

Great picture of the market by the way!

Ilana - nice to see you and will confirm solidarity in the book buying stakes - wouldn't want you to feel lonely after all. x

Orlaith - My reading has suffered this month mainly now due to having to drive myself around. Hope you are able to get some reading done soon - RL is a pain sometimes when it intrudes too much!

I rarely shop offline these days, aside from groceries..
Dislike leaving the house, crowds. too much light, too much noise..
sensory overload ...

I shop for food early in the am, and go to stores that open early if I have to go to other places...
Amazon is my friend...

Hi Paul, thank for the lovely market shot and until I could focus on the people in the picture I couldn't figure out what it was. It almost looked like we were looking down on a miniature village or something like that. Very interesting once I figured it out.

I loved In the Country of Men when I read it a few years ago. And I have Iron House on my shelves.

RL is a pain sometimes when it intrudes too much! So true, so true, Paul. I hate it when RL interferes with my reading, which it routinely does. :-|

I hope you're able to find an agreeable and competent driver again soon.

Kath - I like online shopping especially book depository but there is little substitute for the joy of browsing through the shelves and picking up books and putting them back dow again occasionally.

Bonnie - I enjoy the Malaysian markets and SWMBO is an expert at all things mercantile. They don't all look as nifty as that one though.

Ellen - You lead a very busy life as do I. Managed no time at all on LT today as work intruded a couple of difficult meetings including one where the client (the rep from a semi-govt body) is clearly on the take from the contractor) and he wanted me to certify works for the contractors payment that had not been delivered never mind installed!), secondly preparing for a case next week where I am giving expert witness in an arbitration about the works undertaken for a sewage treatment plant - in Kelantan incidentally) - had a lovely lunch though with the managing director of Hyundai Engineering & Constrution who I have not seen for years and who used to work with me in the Lotte Group. He introduced his new country manager to me (a lady by the way) and asked for two favours. One to help her find a project and secondly to find her a husband! The fees for the former straightforward; don't know how I'll be reimbursed for the latter!

LOL on the husband issue. And my sympathies having to deal with corruption.

All this and a matchmaker too!

Now Paul, your hands were already pretty full. I'm not sure about launching a side business at this time, especially one as potentially tricky as matchmaker!!

Oh I see you bough The Stand! It's my favorite King novel! I will be watching to see what you think!

>49 PaulCranswick: I used to think so, too...loved bookstores.

Judy - My staff was with me during the lunch and thought the young lady being promoted for immediate nuptials was "a stunner" - unfortunately he is already married and so is unable to be shortlisted.
This particular client and the person especially is quite blatant actually. He will ask that we try to include in the contractors contract documents that he should be supplied with all manner of gadgets as part of the deal and that the project should include a client "overseas factory visit" despite there being absolutely no necessity for this.

Lucy - I think Mr. Sung (the Hyundai boss) sees me as an honest broker - he knows I am probably the most married person of his acquaintance which makes it safe for him to make such suggestions!

Mamie - I don't think they had business in mind - Hyundai didn't become such a huge company by giving their money away so easily!

Chelle - looking forward to it now - at least if I don't like it I'll be able to use it to keep the office door wedged open - it is one heck of a doorstopper at 1300+ pages.

Kath - If you still have the cube - maybe rationed visits to bookstores would be a-ok?

Paul- Just swinging by to say hi! Hope your week is going fine or at least a little better. Weekend is almost here!
I know you love your Scandi-Crime books; Have you read the Inspector Erlendur series? I'm on the 3rd one and I love this series.

Hi Paul,
We have a Newcastle, Maine!
I've noticed Maine always does something to distort the true spelling of things. Here it is squished into one word.

More books??!! Here's what my hubby says: "But, you already have ALL the books in the world!" LOL how little he realizes ;-)

Mark - I really like the series. Erlendur has the Wallender misery quotient that makes Scandi so distinctive.

Cee - The UK Newcastle and the Aussie one are both one word too. Cee we better not let our respective spouses meet to discuss book management as I have a feeling we would suffer from it.

You're right! Luckily the chances of Ron and Hani meeting are essentially zip! Though, it would be fun. :)

eta
Oh - and thanks. You're right about the spelling of Newcastle. Sheesh! Where is my brain? Buried under a half ton of medication. Need a good night's sleep!

Don't be too surprised Cee - I put up my intended itinery to US next year on Anne's thread some time ago and there is a reason or two that Maine is listed thereon!

Hi Paul--your opening shot puzzled me initially. Like Bonnie I at first thought it was a miniature model of something, like one of those tiny Lego reproductions of a town.

It is nice to see you are not short of excuses to buy books. (Today I went into a bookstore on a one-book mission--in quest of Bring Up the Bodies, which they were sold out of and are reordering. But I couldn't leave empty-handed now, could I? Could I?)

Hi, Paul! I can't keep up with your threads; the last one went by before I even got to it. I hope you have a good weekend!

>61 AnneDC: But I couldn't leave empty-handed now, could I? Could I?
No, you couldn't. It would be rude, and impossible :)

Hi Paul,
I haven't read the Stand, unless I did as a teen and forget....it does sound very familiar. I haven't read any of his since I was a teen actually. I'm spooked rather easily. :)

Paul, you are such a wonderful, dear man. I love your tale of your work and colleagues(?). If you end up taking on the matchmaker role --- and find it to be lucrative --- please do let me know.

Anne - Nice to see you. I am extremely well practised at the art of excusing my monetary frippery when it comes to books and music. My driver has gone on to pastures new (well he is looking after his fish ponds actually) and someone now gets the job of paying all the home bills. Hani was suspicious as to why I accepted to pay the mobile phone bills so readily until she remembered that the payment booth is directly opposite my favourite bookstore!

Terri - always nice of you to stop by whether you are able to catch up or not. I (who rarely sleeps) have problems myself keeping up with everyone and I am always surprised and gratified that someone took a moment and the trouble to brighten my day with a quick message.

Megan - I would be better at avoiding the bookstores if I lived next door to you. The prices of new books in CChurch is sheer extortion and your collection is a testament to dedication and the ability to wait it out for a book sale or three. Haven't read a thing by Stephen King - he was far too popular for my liking growing up and I was far too snooty to try anything by someone still in the prime of their career. I have mellowed over the years and am less of a book snob than in days gone by.

Ellen - I am sitting in my airconditioned office with the glass walls of my MD's room revealing to me a happy staff working gayly towards the weekend, enjoying an occasional joke or two and waiting for the boss to come and give them their tasks for next week and find a completely new way to ask for tea from Norul my stern faced secretary. I am wearing a pink shirt today (having no qualms whatsoever for my sexuality!) and my rosy tinged cheeks match the shirt reading your very flattering post. I will attempt matchmaking as I (well SWMBO really) have already managed to get a previous secretary married and a couple of close friends closer with each other than they were previously with us!

Paul, the only Stephen King that I have read is 11/22/63, which I absolutely loved. King has a great writing style, and creates wonderful characters, and after reading that book I asked for suggestions about what to read of his next. The overwhelming response? The Stand!! So, I too, have a copy of that in my TBR, and I am anxious to get to it because I have never had so many people agree on their favorite book from an author who is so prolific.

You're right Mamie especially when it is of the length that that one it.

Got a book for you Paul. (I didn't check your library before posting this so if you have already read it, forgive my pushing it in your face. ) Perhaps you have visited Burma and could enlighten me. I would be interested to know if what I read in the book would match your description. What follows is my short review of the book.

Finding George Orwell in Burma is a refreshing and compelling book that is equal parts travel book, literary criticism, and political commentary on colonialism and totalitarianism. I have not read Orwell, l aside from Animal Farm, which almost every High School student in the U. S. is compelled to read, so the parts of the book where the author compared what Orwell had written with what has happened in Burma was very interesting. I have not visited Burma, and so the descriptions of the country were evocative, intriguing, and ultimately enticing. I picked up this book because it had good reviews in professional literature, but also because recent events in Burma, made me think this would be a timely read. It was. There is a little bit of history in the book as well as the observations made by the author that helped to explain some of the things I hear about in the news. This is a very worthwhile informative book that manages to blend literary criticism with political commentary and travelogue. If offers plenty of insight and explanation written in a very succinct style.

This book languished on my shelf for almost two years, even though I had it checked out from Gorgas, before I finally got around to reading it. I pulled it off the shelf because of the recent events in Burma. The release of Aung Son Sou Kyi and the new elections might make this look at current life in Burma out-of-date, but even if so the literary criticism would still be relevant.

Hiya, Paul. Hope all is going well.

There's a new Andrea Camilleri coming out this month in the U.S., and hopefully your part of the world, called The Age of Doubt. Can't wait!

Cube Went home... have The Beast back..

The car wreck was a bit of a setback for me anxiety wise, so..
Amazon, it is! I even buy cat food there... or vacuum cleaners ... or
tea, or cookies or, well, even BOOKS! Not sure when I will get back
to a brick and mortar bookstore.. But next time you go, have a little
extra bit of fun with me in mind :)

eta

your marketplace above would finish me off, I think.. :P

Benita - thanks for thinking of me in this very special way! I haven't read the book but will certainly look it up and give you my thoughts especially as your review was so enticing.

Joe - As usual a bearer of glad tidings! A new Camilleri is one of my yearly highlights - The Potter's Field took so long to come out here that I had to be rescued by dear Caro who took pity on me and let me have hers! One week after she saved me the bloody thing was in the shops here!

Kath - I will think of you for sure next time I am blazing a trail in the bookstores. I have plans to make it to the states next year and Pennsylvania is on the list. If I can cajole you out of the house to join me on a spree I will gladly hold your hand while we empty the local bookstores together!

Phew only a week away from the '75 books' forums & am 71 posts behind in your thread Paul .....

>68 benitastrnad: Tat book looks very enticing added to my wishlist - Thanks!

Looks like you just caught up Alex! Have a great weekend

Adding my enthusiastic thumbs up to Finding George Orwell in Burma; I absolutely loved it. Struck just the right balance between past/present; observation/reflection. I wish her follow-up had been as good.

>73 PaulCranswick: Great weekend is not really possible - guessing you have not caught up with my news on my thread - appreciate the sentiment though .... Have a good one yourself though

I loved Finding George Orwell in Burma too, although I think I've already said that.....

You are very sweet Paul !

Suz - Will certainly get this one.

Alex - Of course you are right I hadn't yet got to your sad news. Left a small message on your thread mate and I hope you'll all be ok.

Lucy - snowed under with positive vibes for this one.

Kath - so are you my dear.

Little bit of good news today. Bambi walked for the first time since his accident. Looked a bit teetery but made one's heart soar to see.

35.

Legion of the Damnedby Sven Hassel

Sven Hassel was a Dane conscripted into the army of the third reich and caught deserting, passing through the hell of a nazi prison camp and finally into a penal tank corps. This is his story apparently a mixture of fact and fiction - and fairly horrendous reading it makes as one by one his comrades fall. There is a coldness of tone in the story that is at odds a little with the subject matter at times but in some ways this serves to heighten its impact. Great writing this is not. It is effective though.

6/10

Paul - you should post your review as there is only one other review posted. Yours is succinct and on point.

79: Goooo, Bambi! That is indeed good news, Paul. My copy of The Stand takes up a lot of valuable shelf space, but it brings back happy memories of reading it...so it will stay...or should I say stand?

I'm still stuck up at the beautiful opening picture of the Market, Paul. I finally figured out what seemed odd to me about it. There really aren't very many shoppers.

Mamie - I'm not one for posting reviews normally being so shy and retiring!

Donna - SWMBO is very happy and quite properly was the first to notice his first proper steps.

Linda - erm you're right. The market does get very busy actually - I guess it was taken early in the day.

I'm so happy to hear of Bambi's progress Paul! That's wonderful news.

Thanks Laura - have a lovely weekend.

Took Belle to her friend's house this afternoon which abuts a shopping mall that just happens to have a decent book shop:
All that I am by Anna Funder
The River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh
The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler
How it all Began by Penelope Lively
The Legacy of Hartlepool Hall by Paul Torday

My, what a coincidence! Nice haul. I am keen to read more Ghosh in particular, I thought The Glass Palace was brilliant. :)

I now have three unread Ghosh books to go at - The Glass Palace, Sea of Poppies and River of Smoke. As you can see therefore I had little choice but to add to my desperately depleted stocks!

So true! And to support that bookstore - it is part of our mission, is it not?! I quite liked Sea of poppies, and the hardback was so beautifully made. I love the thickness and weight of the pages. I know, I know, I am completely bonkers. Don't get me started on deckle edged pages - oh the joy!

>79 PaulCranswick: really, poor Bambi. Such a long recovery. Bet the kids are happy :)

River of Smoke.......are you in on the GR then? I had to opt out based on my experience of reading Sea of Poppies.

Mamie - All the staff of all the main bookstores in Kuala Lumpur know me. I have three members cards for three of the main four (MPH, Times, Kinokuniya) and Borders. Kinokuniya's card came out this year and I do most of my shopping there but the staff of both Times and MPH informed me that I earned the most points (i.e. spent the most money) of all their customers during the last tax year! There are certaiinly books that I have picked up and not put down based upon the look and feel of the thing.

Megan - don't think I will make the GR as I haven't read the first one yet. Bambi gets a little better each day but it is still excruciating sometimes seeing him struggle along.

They apparently have many more bookstores in KL than around here Paul judging by the number of times you're able to find one convenient to where you happen to be. Not that I don't manage to continually add to my overloaded shelves too;-)

Kuala Lumpur is trying to position itself as a shopper's paradise - there are an abundance of malls and most of them give a nod to culture by putting a decent sized bookstore in it.

Arhgh....another famous dane that I haven't read. Hassel (or Hazel as we call him) is one of the most widely read danish authors - but not by me....yet.

Paul- Hope you had a nice weekend. I see you bought more books. You a book-buying machine. And you snagged a copy of River of Smoke. Yah. Isn't that a nice cover, especially alongside the 1st one?

Carsten - nice to see you mate - First thing I've read by Hassel; it takes him through the war but the succeeding books seem to rehash the stories with the same characters. Not sure I'm in a hurry to read another one just yet.

Mark - Had a good week actually mate so what better way of finishing it off. The Amitav Ghosh covers are all quite enticing IMO.

I would like to take this opportunity to say HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all mums and moms in the group.

Hi dear, I must come back to catch up on all I've missed, but just wanted to wish you... I guess a good night, since it's morning for me. I'm off to a family brunch shortly, but making sure I'll be late by trolling on around these parts for my morning dose of LT lurking. Oops, guess I've spoiled the lurking bit! ;-)

36.

Treblinka : A Survivor's Memory by Chil Rajchman

I have read the work of Primo Levi and Elie Wiesel normally with tears in my eyes throughout, but nothing quite a affecting or even disaffecting as this one. Rajchman takes us abruptly from the train and separation from his sister through the horrors of surviving the death camp of Treblinka beyond his escape and temporary safety in Warsaw. Told in a chilling and matter of fact manner via 111 unremitting pages one is mainly struck by what indignities they were forced to suffer in order to survive another day and also the glee with which the "murderers" and "bandits" go about their business. Not the best thing I have read about the holocaust but to comment on literary merit on what is a valuable document for future generations seems to be beside the point.

9/10

Ilana - sense a touch of nerves about your upcoming brunch. Eat, drink and try to be happy, don't get yourself pricked by any barbs in the conversation. x

Wow, I'm 102 posts behind, not counting your last thread! Everything goes so fast!

And another book is added to my ever growing want-to-read list. Books about the Holocaust pain me greatly, but I can't stop reading them. I will definitely check out Treblinka: A Survivor's Memory - thank you, Paul.

Eris - It is published with a companion piece written by Vasily Grossman who visited the liberated camp with the Red Army in late 1944. Will have finished that too this morning. Harrowing but important.

As a mum (rather than a mom) I thank you for your good wishes on Mothers Day :)
When we were in the US as kids we used to infuriate our mother by calling her MOM, in a childish and very effective over acted way. I laugh now, but have yet to even have an inkling of the ways in which I will be infuriated by my treasures!

Megan - hahaha I mentioned the two options as SWMBO gets infuriated just as your mother did with Mom or Ma. Sure your two boys made your day a pleasant and full day.

Fascinating market pic! I'm miles behind here. Sorry you didn't enjoy Baker's The Detour more. But I see you've come across some good stuff since. Read on Chelle's that you are presently enjoying The Grapes of Wrath; doesn't get a whole bunch better than that!

Nancy - I thought The Detour was quite good but could have been a bit better if he'd not rushed it out to follow up on the deserved success of The Twin.

Saying hi, I'm reading threads, just not having time to post as often. Treblinka: A Survivor's Memory looks interesting.

Hi back Kerry - I'm not surprised you don't have much time given the amount of books you are polishing off this year. Still your fleeting visit is very welcome.

Great to hear about Bambi!

I get a kick out of a cat named Bambi.

>101 PaulCranswick: Not the best thing I have read about the holocaust but to comment on literary merit on what is a valuable document for future generations seems to be beside the point.

You are so right, Paul. Nice review!

Morphy - Bambi normally avoids me like the plague but I must admit to being a little bit proud of him seeing him take his careful steps.

Linda - Vasily Grossman's companion piece - The Hell of Treblinka is almost completed too - very quotable and I will put up a small review of that one too shortly.

Add me to the list of people who are thrilled about Bambi! Yay, Bambi!

Thanks Kerri - Erni told me this evening that he has had a go at running but looks like a kangaroo when so doing!

37.

The Hell of Treblinka by Vasily Grossman

Added as a companion piece to Treblinka : A Survivor's Memory which I reviewed above, this is supreme reportage by the brilliant Russian writer Grossman. At a time when Grossman was still in thrall to the magnificence of the Red Army's victories over the fascist regime he does rather exaggerate Stalin's resolve against the Germans. After all had the Non-Aggression Pact not been repudiated by the Germans who knows what the Russians would have done about the genocide all about them whilst Britain stood largely alone against the Nazi war machine. Still brilliantly written and eminently quotable - let's try:

And once again one cannot but pay homage to the men who - at a time of universal silence, when a world not so full of the clamour of victory was saying not a word - battled on in Stalingrad, by the steep bank of the Volga, against a German army to the rear of which lay gurgling, smoking rivers of blood. It is the Red Army that stopped Himmler keeping the secret of Treblinka

Rams home in powerful and fiery prose the monstrosity that was the Nazi death camp - he imagines for our instruction rather than our benefit the recreation of a day at the camp in all its horrific detail. He tries to understand what was it in the regime or the German psyche that allowed what happened to happen . Poetic and purplely polemic Grossmans superlative detailing of the horror of Treblinka and the attempt to understand it and keep it as a record for the future is a tremendous effort that ought to be read by anyone with a care for humanity.

But it is not enough now to speak of Germany's responsibility for what has happened. Today we need to speak about the responsibility of every nation in the world; we need to speak about the responsibility of every nation and every citizen for the future.

9/10

Hi Paul - great reviews! Someday I may look into this. Right now these books would be a bit too heavy for my reading diet... but I understand I should know about this.

Anyway - so glad to hear of Bambi's progress. Poor thing. Has he at least learned to stay away from the jump-off area?

Great review, Paul. Sounds like a powerful book.

Ah, but what about the Russian psyche, and the millions killed or left to die of starvation under Stalin? Other people's atricities always loom larger and meaner than our own.

Other people's atricities always loom larger and meaner than our own.

Agreed

I have made a note of Treblinka: A Survivor's Memory - as you I was very much affected by Elie Wiesel's writings - specially Night. But this one sounds even more horrifying. Good review, Paul.

Atrocities. I need a spell checker

Well somehow Paul both of the Treblinka books have landed on my WL; both sound very powerful to say the least.

Paul, your review has left me wanting to read Grossman's The Hell of Treblinka, but I can't seem to find it, even on Amazon. Is it possibly published also under another name?

Cee - I think you have to be in the mood for the subject matter.
Bambi is not able to climb thankfully so we don't have to worry about his disregard of gravity for the immediate future.

Joe - Thanks mate it is very short at a mere 80 pages but it is not something you can skim through - you need to digest every unwasted word.

Judy / Kath - Must admit that is a little the feeling I had when reading it but then I realised that he was at the time a reporter accompanying the Red Army so he would automatically glorify their exploits and his comments would have been censored in any event. In his later writing he turns his powerful pen against the regime very effectively. Notwithstanding the Soviet bias however he manages to convey his message.

Carsten - Elie Wiesel's work is for me among the best of the holocaust literature although Primo Levi's If Not Now, When? is close to being my favourite single work of the period.

Bonnie - It is no problem as in the edition I have you buy them together.

Linda - No I wasn't able to locate a proper touchstone for it either. I managed it because it is included within the Rajchman book thankfully.

Not really catching up, really just starting fresh. I did put Finding George Orwell in Burma on hold at the library, though.
xoxo

Ellen it is also on my hitlist as of last week.

Hi Paul- Good reviews of both Treblinka books. They both sound interesting. That's another bonus about being on LT. You constantly hear about good books you've never heard of. Hope your week is going well.

Mark - Thanks mate; you are right I have been introduced to so many books in this group (I remember distinctly your Bruen recce) that I have started a LT Recommended section in my book cataloguing.

#116, I read "The Hell of Treblinka" in the collection The Road that was published by NYRB and includes both fiction and reportage by Grossman. At the time, I wrote about it in my review, "There is one essay which, in its diamond-sharp clarity, its acid but humane eye, its lack of any wasted words, so far outshines everything else in the volume . . . despite all that I have read over the years about the Holocaust, this essay took my breath away with its portrayal of the people entering the camp and the processes that destroyed them, as they traveled through the circles of hell. Grossman got some details wrong, because he was writing in the heat of the moment, and insightful notes and commentary by Robert Chandler, the editor (and one of the translators) of this volume, point out what we have learned from more recent research."

I understand your point about Stalin, but the fact of the matter is that 21.3 million Russians died in the war (including 7.7 million civilians), or 11% of the population, compared to hundreds of thousands of British people (soldiers and civilians), and 295,000 Americans in both the war in Europe and the war in the Pacific (figures from Hitler and Stalin by Alan Bullock). The efforts of the Russians on the Eastern front made the US/British invasion from Normandy much less deadly than it would have been otherwise. So without minimizing in any way the evil of Stalin, the Red Army and the Russians suffered orders of magnitude worse than anyone else in the war.

I can also highly recommend Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin by Timothy Snyder, a stunning and chilling book that explores the mass murders of conservatively (conservatively!) 14 million people in he "bloodlands," the countries from Poland in the west to western Russia in the east. This already shocking total includes civilians and prisoners of war but not soldiers killed directly in the war as Snyder is covering "deliberate mass murder. It goes from the forced Ukrainian famines of the 1930s through the death camps and other civilian massacres in the war to postwar ethnic "removals" and the final Stalinist purges.

#124 Linda, as mentioned above, it is included in The Road.

>130 rebeccanyc: Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, Rebecca. I am purchasing The Road for my Kindle. By the way, fabulous excerpt from your review.

Just adding one more book to the pile, for good measure. The Road (Grossman) looks like my cup of tea.
Even though it is hard to find on LT, it is surprisingly available at my library :)
Have a good week Paul.

Rebecca - Thanks for your post and the extract from your own review which, as Linda points out, is as incisive as ever. My point with Grossman was not to minimise the obvious suffering of the Russian population or the death toll on the Eastern front but to note that there was an element of propaganda in his brilliant missive - to state as he does that the Soviets' effort was carried out while the rest of the world stood by is, of course, not true - it also overlooks the Soviets own treatment of its population and the fact that the non-aggression pact undoubtedly helped the Germans find the time to round up the Jews of the Slavic states. The Russian effort at Stalingrad and elsewhere dwarved the British and American efforts on the opposite side of the continent it is true but the sheer weight of numbers still allows the element of propaganda in his writing at that stage.

Linda - Grossman was a fantastic writer - Rajchman was not a writer but the simplicity of his style is also effective and I wouldn't overlook it either.

Megan - Thanks - hope you have a great holiday.

Fascinating conversations going on over here, Paul. I am interested in both of the works about Treblinka that you reviewed so well. Lots of good reading suggested here on a very important subject. Thanks, Rebecca, for sharing your thoughts, and also to you,Paul, for elaborating on yours.

Can't......

keep..............

up.............................

I have been to the Monument of the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad. It was a very sobering experience. You walk down this long aisle between mass graves that leads to a giant statue of Mother Russia. The Leningrad Symphony plays the whole time and I can't hear it anymore without seeing the images from the monument. It is hard to imagine that many people dead, and then you see all the mounds with the years on them and it's just overwhelming. One thing that has never changed, under czar, communist dictator, and dare I say Putin, is the leadership's disregard for civilian lives.

Mamie - Rebecca makes a very good point about the suffering of the Russians in comparison with other countries and I have attached a chart from Wikipedia on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:World_War_II_Casualties.svg
Couple of things to note is that proportionately the Poles suffered the most losing almost 19% of its entire population during the war. The Soviet Union was an empire at the time and subsequently and the death tolls in Ukraine and Belorussia in particular were staggering. The United Kingdom was an empire also at the time but the deaths in constituent parts of its empire are shown separately (eg India and Burma).

Jenn - I have been to Poland but not to Russia (but of course would very much like to!). Leningrad was certainly one of the four greatest turning points of the war and both Rajchman and Grossman point out that Himmler visited Treblinka subsequent to the Germans' defeat there to order a cover up of their activities in the camp. I would say that the others were Hitler's inexplicable decision not to attempt an invasion of Britain and then to attack Russia without time to factor in the Russian winter and the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour which brought the USA belatedly into the conflict.

Oh my, some pretty serious conversation going on over here. The closest I can get to WWII right now is via Stettin Station, which I am currently listening to on audio. Don't think I can deal with anything more factual than that, but glad you're making the effort to for my sake.

Poor Bambi. Must indeed be reassuring that he can't climb right now. Would be nice to finish paying off the vet bills before he launches himself off again, right? ;-)

Ilana - To be honest I am even more fascinated by the lunacy of the first world war but the scale of casualties in the second at approximately 80 million worldwide beggars belief and especially when it is considered how many of them were civilians - 68% of 55 million! In the first 21 million overall died with around 30% being civilians most of whom perished from indirect causes such as famine and disease whilst in the second they were direct casualties of the fighting or victims of crimes against humanity especially in Indonesia, Poland, USSR, Japan and China.
World War 1 had almost 10 million deaths amongst the combatants
World war 11 had almost 25 million deaths amongst the combatants and is the bloodiest war in history by that margin.

Erm you are right it is pretty depressing stuff to be considering of a Wednesday lunchtiime!

Bambi is a limping example that vets don't really know what they're talking about much of the time.

Hi Paul, I have been struggling a bit trying to stay caught up. I am heading over to the island this weekend as it is my Mom's 91st birthday, not a lot of internet access so I will be even more behind when I get back next Tuesday!

Judy - I noticed from your thread regarding your mum's birthday celebrations - 91 years young is an impressive age - give her an extra little peck on the cheek from your friend from the other side of the pacific ocean.

133 there was an element of propaganda in his brilliant missive - to state as he does that the Soviets' effort was carried out while the rest of the world stood by is, of course, not true

I don't want to belabor this point much more, and of course the British and the US (after Pearl Harbor) were busy fighting elsewhere, but I will say, based on reading a lot about both the war and the Soviet Union and the Stalinist era, that the Russians and Stalin believed that the US and Britain were intentionally delaying the invasion of France and the opening of a second front there and were unhappy with their decision to first confront the Germans in North Africa and Italy. At conferences, Stalin repeatedly asked Churchill and Roosevelt to relieve the Russians by attacking the Germans in France. So it may be "propaganda," but it was and I believe remains a widely held perception.

I am finally caught up once again with your thread Paul. I know it is just a matter of time before I am behind once again but thought I would savor the moment while I can. Nice couple of books hauls and happy to learn Bambi is starting to walk again!

Illuminating and sovering convo going on here. I've had bouts of reading in the holocaust/wwii area and I will keep these in mind.

Rebecca, I am immediately going to obtain a copy of The Road just for that piece. Thanks for reprinting your review.

Hi Paul. When were you in Poland and to what parts? I was in Krakow for three months in 1981 and it was a life-transforming experience. I was there when martial law was declared and the U.S. Embassy urged us to leave (my dad stayed, as he was the one on the Fulbright, and I wish I had stayed with him, but the tanks in the streets and the men with machine guns were a bit scary). I could write a short (or long) missive about all that I observed and learned as a very unworldly 21-year-old.

Rebecca - Agree with you fully on the complaints and suspicions which were raised by the Soviets relating to the slowness of the so-called second front (bearing in mind that the Allies had already landed in Italy nine months earlier) and the American and British cautious approach was based on the fear of likely casualties. This doesn't change the point that there clearly was an element of propaganda in his writing of 'The Hell of Treblinka" (which doesn't alter my basically unalloyed admiration of it). It was written for the Red Star newspaper which was an organ of the Red Army and Grossman himself took later unbrage with the regime for his being required to play down the involvement of Ukranian guards in his reports.
Really enjoyed your lively, thoughtful and analytical posts on this hugely engrossing but ultimately saddening subject.

Lori - it wouldn't be one of my threads without a contribution from you!

Lucy - About to read Liddell-Hart's history of the second world war and a few more books by Wiesel and others on the holocaust as well as a few about the war generally - one or two books on the topic does drag you in.

Ellen - I had a week there in 86. Czestochowa, Zakopane, Cracow and Auschwitz-Birkenau. Travelled there on LOT airlines with a polish friend (who fought in the German army) and who played in our Jazz band in the Huddersfield Station Tavern. Remember basic accommodation, mixed food, great beer, breathtaking scenery in the Tatra mountains and plenty of shivers up and down my spine with a fair few tears on my cheeks in A-B.

38.

Open Season by C.J. Box

Took a bit of liking this one actually. Slow off the mark and with a lead character who appears anything but heroic at first introduction. To be fair I grew into the story and I think Box got a second wind halfway in - there is an incident involving his daughter which suddenly galvanizes the story and drives it to the end of the novel. Decent start to what looks to be a promising series.

7/10

>146 PaulCranswick: I think the Joe Pickett series is literary crack...people start off liking it, but become rabidly passionately addicted as they go through the series. One day I'll look into why, and you're pushing me one step closer with your measured response.

Stop that, please.

#145, Thanks, Paul.

I was in Krakow in 1994 as part of a trip to the Czech Republic and Hungary. When I left the US, I wasn't sure I was going to go there because my only reason was to visit Auschwitz and I wasn't sure I was up to that. I still don't talk about it much.

RD - trouble is there are quite a few narcotically engendered series out there - Reacher, Montalbano, Hole, Wallender dadidadidah. .... This one sort of spread across my psyche like lichen - looks like a grower that will lead to eventual addiction.

Rebecca - I know what you mean about the insufficiency of words for Auschwitz (and probably Treblinka although I haven't been there). There is an eerie stillness about the place that is difficult to vocalise and I certainly don't think myself of adequate competency to get my feelings across on the place and the emotions it evokes. So the usual response is to internalise it which I did too.

Yes, I'm addicted to a couple of the series you mention, Paul, and, as Richard knows, I'm another one you find lying in a gutter with a brown bag* reading the latest Joe Pickett novel.

*full of books

Hi Paul - just stopping by to say hello. WWII is a subject I would like to read more about one day.

Delurking to let you know I've been following along all these interesting discussions, without a lot to contribute.

I agree with the statements about Russia bearing the brunt of WWII, but I also don't. It most certainly was not a case of the Soviet Union bearing the brunt of the war. WWII bankrupted Britain. Don't underplay the sacrifices those people made. The numbers of casualties may not be as great as for the Soviet Union, but in percentage of the population their loses are very significant in both the immediate and long term effects. I would recommend the latest work by Antony Beevor for the military analysis and Neil Ferguson for the economic impact of the war on Great Britain. In particular the books by Beevor are very well done and use newly accessioned material from East German sources. One argument Beevor makes, and I think successfully, is that the contributions of the Canadians to the later stages of the war are underestimated by both U. S. and British historians. His latest book about D-Day doesn't make the Americans look like the total White Knights that some recent popular histories make us out to be. I have read Beevor's book Stalingrad, The Fall of Berlin 1945, and D-Day: The Battle for Normandy. Beevor's take on Normandy is different than is John Keegan's in Six Armies in Normandy.

Joe - we all have our brown bags don't we? One of my 12 in 12 challenges is series starts; i.e. the first book in a series and this presents 12 more possibilities to get myself addicted.

Heather - Wars, especially the daddy of them all, are macarbrely fascinating.

Roni - Nice to know you're there my dear - I am increasingly like that on the threads myself struggling in vain to keep up.

Benita - As a Brit, it is certainly true that the two wars did fall very hard on us. Prior to the first war the US was greatly indebted to the UK who had largely funded their economic growth but this situation was reversed at its conclusion. The Marshall Plan magnanimously (some believe) assisted the redevelopment of Europe after the second war and popularised American culture and their international role in the process but it also served to underline the crippled, exhausted and frankly parlous state of British industry and infrastructure which has never really recovered. Ferguson and Keegan are both writers I enjoy but I haven't read any Beevor yet mainly because the typeface in his books is usually so daunting to my poor eyes.

I took to my bed, sucking my thumb and popping zoloft for 3 weeks after reading The Road.
Well... almost

Hi Paul!
"Bambi is a limping example that vets don't really know what they're talking about much of the time."

Also - a limping example of how good vets are at emptying your wallet, I'll bet.

I don't want to talk about wars tonight (oops! tomorrow) - so hugs away!

plenty of shivers up and down my spine with a fair few tears on my cheeks in A-B.

Yep. One of the most powerfully memorable "tours" on which I've ever been taken.

Kath - Elie Wiesel and Primo Levi moved me on that level with their books on the holocaust.

Cee - Yep they did that OK and like a fool I paid them. Hugs back to you dear lady with interest.

Ellen - I have visited a few such places - The Killing Fields of Cambodia, The Anne Frank Huis in Amsterdam and, of course, Auschwitz. All have a certain something that unnerves, chills but is guiltily as fascinating as it is horrifying - Auschwitz though was on a different level entirely.

I think the setting is an added bonus on the C. J. Box series. I'm always reminded of the Nevada Barr series which is set in the national park system when I read one, although Box's hero is a Wyoming game warden. I still enjoy them.

Just a couple of thoughts on WWII: I read an excellent one volume history of the war earlier this year, Inferno: the world at War 1939-1945 by Max Hastings that pointed out more than a few things that I was unaware of.

The human loss suffered by the Soviets certainly far outweighed that realized by the British and the Americans but second after the Russians (in number of casualties) were the Chinese who also suffered terrible inhumane treatment at the hands of the Japanese.

The Russians could probably have won the war w/o the help of the other allies not because their troops were braver or more courageous than the British and American but because the Soviet leaders placed such little value on the lives of their infantrymen that they would sacrifice their lives with little care. The British and American people at home would never have tolerated the kind of human loss that the Russian people were forced to accept.

Hi Paul, Glad you liked the Box book. I have Trophy Hunt up next. I really love the setting and Joe really grows on you (in a good way).

So...you're starting 12 new series this year? Wow, really, lucky you!

Bonnie - Now your hitting me on other people's threads! That doesn't seem fair.

Paul -How do you always manage to have such fascinating discussions going on your thread? I'm going to give into curiosity and asked what happened to Bambi, as I am apparently the only one who doesn't know.

Lori - Didn't get a fantastic sense of place with the fist Box to be honest but it is an attraction to the series certainly.

Bonnie - Very illuminating on WW2. Hastings is a good writer isn't he? You are absolutely correct in your appraisal that the difference between the fighting forces of the east and the west was the tolerance of the leaders (and the respective publics) towards the incurring of casualties. Roosevelt and Churchill would not have been allowed to prosecute the war with the same indifference to the death tolls as Stalin - but Stalin's situation was also different he was really in a fight of absolute survival by that stage whereas the western powers were no longer threatened in such a manner. The genocides perpetrated on the Chinese population and in Indonesia by the Japanese is not a well enough publicised part of the war. Comparing the numbers even the holocaust figures wouldn't make a dent in them!

Joanne - I have managed 5 so far (on target since its May) -
Ken Bruen's Jack Taylor
David Downing's Station series
Benjamin Black's Quirke series
Tony Hillerman's Joe Leaphorn series
and C.J. Box's Joe Pickett.

Mamie - it is the visitors such as you that make the thread interesting, I can claim scant credit although I will gladly wallow if allowed to do so.

Bambi is one of the family's three cats and a failed feline aviator. I live in the fifth floor penthouse of a condominium in Kuala Lumpur and Bambi took it upon himself to see how long it would take him to hit the concrete below. Touch and go for a while and several operations later (and much against the advice of the Vet who requested thrice to put him to sleep) Bambi is back at home and taking tentative steps towards rehabilitation. The cats hate me with a passion and I had always told the girls that I wouldn't support the pets financially if they insisted on keeping them, but how do you cope with the tears of a wife, son and daughter?!

Paul - what an amazing story of survival! That is truly incredible. I cannot believe he survived a five story fall - and now he's walking again?! Wow!

WOAH! I am very behind!

That poor kitty! That is truly amazing that he survived the fall alone!

Mamie and Callia - this photo is for both of you since you missed the earlier updates on Bambi's progress (I shall ask SWMBO to take a snap of the kitty trying to walk):

Rebecca's review excerpt and comments capture exactly why I always make a point of keeping up with her thread...

Will be interested to hear what you think of Anna Funder's novel, Paul; I got an ARC and found it very atmospheric; chilling.

OK, back to my schlocky historical fiction!

Suz - Agree with you about Rebecca's thread - one of the secret (well almost) treasures of the group for sure.

Anna Funder; Just seen her photo actually and she is very attractive - looking forward to her book doubly so.

There is nothing wrong with schlocky historical fiction!

Update on the Posting League for those interested:
There are 95 members of the group whose posts have attracted 200 posts or more:

1 PAUL 3512
2 RICHARD DERUS 3233
3 KATHLEEN 2916
4 JOE 2876
5 MARK 2695
6 ILANA 2054
7 STEPHEN APE 1998
8 CLAUDIA 1886
9 DARRYL 1677
10 DONNA 1455
11 CARO 1406
12 AMBER 1329
13 CHELLE 1318
14 Lucy (Sibyx) 1293
15 SUZ 1271
16 Megan 1216
17 Bonnie 1177
18 STASIA 1053
19 Ellen 1040
20 LINDA (Whisper) 940
21 Roni 936
22 Deb 916
23 Peggy 913
24 JUDE 847
25 Judy (DQ) 841
26 Terri 841
27 Sara 807
28 MICKY 769
29 Lynda 757
30 Joanne 744
31 Mamie 690
32 LUXX 686
33 Calm 660
34 Heather 646
35 Katie 609
36 Nora 572
37 Pat 570
38 Linda Lindapanzo 568
39 Dee 538
40 Nathalie 528
41 Morphy 522
42 Gail 517
43 Faith 501
44 Genny 472
45 Kerry 462
46 Nancy 459
47 Kara 458
48 Laura 455
49 Jim (drneutron) 442
50 Anne (AnneDC) 437
51 Anita 434
52 Anne (AMQS) 434
53 Kim (Berly) 434
54 Cushla 429
55 Madeline 425
56 Kerri 423
57 Lori (Thornton) 414
58 Brit 408
59 Leah 399
60 Dejah 393
61 Liz 390
62 Ellie 387
63 Katherine (qebo) 358
64 Tina 358
65 Beth 343
66 Amy 341
67 Eris 340
68 Zoe 337
69 Tui 329
70 Kathy 318
71 Becky 315
72 Jenn 305
73 Karenmarie 305
74 Leonie 297
75 Carsten 295
76 Sarah (beserene) 287
77 Mary (storeettlr) 275
78 Marie 265
79 Rachel 264
80 Mary 263
81 Foggidawn 253
82 Cheli (cyderry) 247
83 Judy (ffortsa) 247
84 Brenda (brenpike) 239
85 Carrie (cbl_tn) 239
86 Rhian 233
87 Rebecca 225
88 sandykaypax 223
89 Linda (Layton3rd) 222
90 Ellen (kittenfish) 221
91 Blue 212
92 Terri (tloeffler) 209
93 Unrulysun 208
94 LauraBrook 205
95 Carrie (cal8769) 200

The same 95 persons (i.e. with 200 posts on their threads have read the following number of books) Probably not bang up to date as it depends on the updating of the threads. A few more such as Luci and Susan have more than 100 books already but less than 200 posts.

1 SUZ 174
2 Dejah 110
3 Morphy 106
4 Brenda 92
5 Foggidawn 89
6 Kerry 85
7 Lori (Thornton) 84
8 Heather 77
9 ILANA 77
10 Rachel (TheHibernator) 77
11 Anne (AnneDC) 75
12 Jenn (Nittnut) 74
13 Judy (Delta Queen) 72
14 LauraBrook 69
15 Carrie (cbl_tn) 66
16 Terri (tloeffler) 66
17 Tina (tututhefirst) 64
18 AMBER 63
19 Calm 61
20 Mary (storeettlr) 59
21 CARO 58
22 Ellen (kittenfish) 58
23 Liz (Lyzard) 57
24 RICHARD DERUS 56
25 Roni 56
26 KATHLEEN 55
27 DARRYL 54
28 MARK 54
29 Cheli (cyderry) 52
30 CHELLE 52
31 Faith (Dk_Phoenix) 52
32 Nathalie 52
33 Blue 51
34 LINDA (Whisper) 51
35 Mamie 51
36 Beth 50
37 Amy (PorchReader) 49
38 Genny 48
39 JOE 48
40 Lucy (Sibyx) 47
41 Dee 46
42 MICKY 46
43 STASIA 46
44 Karenmarie 45
45 Jim (drneutron) 44
46 Kathy (archerygirl) 44
47 DONNA 43
48 LUXX 43
49 Terri (tymfos) 42
50 Tui (Tiffin) 40
51 Anita (FAMeulstee) 39
52 Kara 39
53 PAUL 38
54 Carrie (cal8769) 37
55 Ellen 36
56 Katie 36
57 Linda (Lindapanzo) 36
58 Kerri (DorsVenabili) 35
59 Unrulysun 35
60 Joanne 34
61 Mary (bell7) 214 34
62 Sara (Saraslibrary) 34
63 Deb 33
64 Judy (ffortsa) 33
65 Lynda (Carmenere) 33
66 Megan 33
67 Bonnie 32
68 Linda (Layton) 32
69 Peggy 32
70 Rebecca 32
71 Leah 30
72 Nora 30
73 Anne (AMQS) 29
74 Leonie 29
75 sandykaypax 29
76 Marie (mbellerose) 28
77 Rhian (SandDune) 28
78 CLAUDIA 27
79 Gail 26
80 Katherine (qebo) 25
81 Ellie 24
82 Laura 22
83 Madeline 22
84 Pat (phebj) 22
85 Becky (labwriter) 21
86 Kim (Berly) 21
87 STEPHEN APE 21
88 Sarah (beserene) 20
89 Zoe 19
90 Cushla 18
91 Carsten 17
92 Brit 16
93 Nancy 15
94 Eris 14
95 JUDE 13

Sorry to anyone in advance if there are any mistakes in the list.

How can anyone read 174 books all ready? Runs away...weeping.

Any plans to get to the next Jack Taylor? Hmmmmmm???

Paul, have you tried acupuncture for Bambi.. I have seen it do wonders.. srsly..

168, 169, Suzanne and Paul, I am blushing!!!

Oh, what a handsome kitty! Thanks for posting his pic, Paul. Nice stats - fun to see, don't know how you keep up with them all, but I adore numbers and lists. Some impressive reading going on here with Suz and Dejah and Morphy leading the way.

Aaargh, you remind me that I forgot to update my ticker yesterday--I'm up to 64 books right now.

Hi Paul - thanks for the stats. Hope you are having a good day and pleased to hear the Bambi news.

Aww Bambi is such a cutie! Has there been anymore steps taken?

I still think it is odd that I am pretty much always in 13th place for threads. Super odd.

Bambi is very handsome. He reminds me oh so much of my Edgar.
I need to get cracking on my reading!

Mark - you are right mate I also cannot understand how Suz, Dejah, Susan, Luci, Morphy and others can be in three figures already - I spend so much time gassing on here that 53rd place in the reading list is something I'm proud of!

Kath - SWMBO is actively looking at a few alternative methods for assisting Bambi with his recuperation - thanks for the suggestion.

Rebecca - you must deserve it as Suz is not quite as quick at dishing out compliments as I.

Mamie - He is a good looking fellow isn't he?

Roni - Jumps you seven spots in the standings. Overall I have around 170 threads starred but it is getting exceptionally cumbersome to put them all down each time which is why I concentrated on those with 200 posts on their threads as a qualification score.

Calm - today has been strange. Belle told me yesterday that she couldn't see the board properly at school and that she thought she needed glasses. I thought it was because her friend at school was wearing them and that she was mistaken. Turns out she's right -175 in both eyes at 8 years old and happy as a sandpiper that she is getting blue glasses tomorrow. We went to Cambodia last year for a business trip mixed with pleasure. The receptionist at the hotel there took Hani, the kids and myself under her wing and we were invited to have dinner at her home. Last year she paid a return visit with her parents and today she appeared again with her mum and will stay with us until tomorrow evening.

Chelle - He can run a little but looks like a kangaroo in doing so!

Ellen - you have been very consistent on the thread league though solidly top 20.

Hey, I'm #67 in the first list! *dances* Although, I am second from bottom in the second one - oh well, I hope to remedy that soon, because school's out in a couple of days! I'll have a lot more time to devote to books. :)

Your cat is beautiful, by the way, and I hope Bambi will be all right.

That is an interesting league table for the 75ers! It certainly explains why, every week, there are more messages in this group than all the other top chatty groups combined.

Thanks for posting the stats Paul. No wonder we all have trouble keeping up on all the threads.

Bambi is a beautiful cat. Lovely color!

Eris - Harmless bit of fun of course but I quite enjoy seeing who are the movers and shakers each month.

RD - Interesting that this group leads activity on the site by a phenomenal margin - something like six or seven times more posts than any other group. It will be interesting to see you pass me back now I don't have flying cats and New Zealand trips to put me in a false position.

Kerry - Keeping up and reading lots at the same time seems to be an issue and that is why Suz and Ilana who make top fifteen in each table are the more remarkable.

Rachel - Nice to see you here. Bambi has a dirty cream coloured sister, Jinxy, whose expertise is tearing up leather furniture and making hereself scarce when I chase her from the living room.

I'm not surprised that this group is always the most active. This group is both wonderful and addictive!

Ellen would agree with you completely. Since last February I feel like I have formed fast friendships with scores of (relatively) like minded and warm hearted people from across the globe. I now have friends in Canada, the US, continental Europe, more new friends in UK, Australia and New Zealand. I joined the site as I love stats and wanted to catalogue my books and I loved the feature whereby you could put your book cover in the listing. Finish up I have nowhere near finished cataloguing my books and have made literally hundreds of new friends whose lives, loves, joys, cares, woes, hopes, fears and reads I take a genuine and often surprised interest in.

Hi Paul- It looks like folks are talking about World War II fiction/NF. I just stumbled on an author, Simon Mawer, that sounds very promising. His new book Trapeze sounds great. Have you heard of him?
My favorite moment in the Dr. Siri series, happened in the Disco for the Departed, when Siri finds "rhythm". It put the biggest smile on my face. Absolutely priceless.

The Dr. Siri series is one I need to get to Mark obviously. I have three books by Simon Mawer I notice but haven't read any of them yet - what a magpie!

I loved that moment, too, Mark! I think Suz (Chatterbox) reviewed Trapeze on her thread and really liked it. She must have because I bought it and noted in my private comments that she recommended it. I bought it on April 30th, so that is probably close to the time that she posted about it.

Passing thru - Have a great weekend.....

>188 PaulCranswick:: well said, Paul! I haven't found any other online community quite like this one. Or real life communities, for that matter :)

Oh dear! I've been trying to post less, not succeeding obviously. Sigh. I don't know. I just get this idea of being silent and more mysterious......

#188: I agree with Laura: well said.

I can't imagine reading much more than I do already, so doubt I'll head up more than 3rd place. And I'm not much of a poster. I'm surprised I'm in the top 100 of posters!

Work, posting, stats, family..... how on earth do you find time to read?? :)

I think Paul is counting how many posts your thread has received, not how many individual posts you personally have posted. So, even if you post less or don't post much, but your thread gets a lot of visitors who post, you will be high on the list.

Am I completely off base, Paul? For example, I have three pages of threads. Page 1 has 255 posts, page 2 has 258 posts, and page three has 191 posts (as of today), making my total 704 (again, as of today).

>188 PaulCranswick: Exactly. I'm pleased and surprised by how genuine my sense of connection is to folks on LT whom I've not (yet) actually met!

Mark and Mamie, I put Trapeze on hold at the library around the same time. I don't keep very thorough notes (and I don't add books until I'm actually reading them) so I don't always remember who recommended a book. I'd like to track that more closely, but then I'd have to change my approach to cataloguing..... uh oh.......

And your shared resonance on one moment in one book in a series makes me want to read that series. :-)

Oh Ellen, YES, you must meet Dr. Siri! I put books that look interesting into my WL and edit the private comments section to show who recommended it. Then, when I purchase it, I add it to my library, as mine is a way of keeping track of what I own. That was one of the attractions of LT to me because I kept forgetting what I actually had and occasionally would purchase a book twice. I think it's so interesting to see how everybody manages their libraries differently - and fun!

The name Simon Mawer rang a bell with me and when I looked him up I discovered that he wrote Glass Room. Nice to know that he has a new book out. I will have to put that on my reading list.

Hi Paul, doing the "drive-by wave" thing for now. I'll need some time to catch up on the 136 unreads here. I see you read some interesting books and I need to read those reviews.

Wish you a happy weekend!

Thank God it is the weekend here and the end of a difficult Friday. Car needs servicing, tyres need changing - I have this so-called smart car Volvo that informs you when it is ready for service and it suddenly decided yesterday was the day when I am too busy. Poor meeting on my helicopter centre whereby I was asked to replace my enthusiastic young manager by the Client and End-User - had a long chat with the chap, Nik, and told him the person he needs to satisfy is me not the clowns that want to make him a victim of their machinations (well I didn't say "machinations" as he would have looked non-plussed). So next week I need to do some re-shuffling.

Mamie - I have ordered the first Dr. Siri book as a result of all the positive vibes you are all putting forward for Cotterill's books.

Alex - thanks and the same to you mate, I hope you and your family/siblings are ok and coping.

Laura - and it was also unexpected. Despite present appearances as a gossipy poster I never intended anything more than cataloguing my books and got sucked in by the warmth and generosity of spirit so apparent in the group.

Lucy - another dark horse! You have been consistently in the top twenty all year with your love of music and thoughftul contributions.

Amber - thanks - you are another reason why the group is so special.

Morphy - If I'm not mistaken your was the first thread I ever opened browsing the group and I remember being blown away by the number of books you were reading (even though I wouldn't have wanted to read many of em!) Yours is the most underrated sense of humour in the group and your views are always entertaining.

Paul.. I believe I would love to work for you. Got any plans for a satellite office?
I am multi talented when it comes to running an office.. as long as no spreadsheets or stats
are required. :P

Kath - Well that is a little my point and why I'm so far behind most of you all! Trouble is I still buy books as if I read as fast as Suz so the stockpile gets bigger and bigger and bigger!

Mamie - You are spot on that is how the posting league is calculated. I don't think I would be able to keep track of how many individual posts across the threads everyone has made although I do that particular exercise just for my own thread and occasionally put up the results. You are of course THE mover and shaker at the moment and have jumped close to the top thirty. If we counted only the second quarter of the year you would be in 8th place.
Should really call it the Threads League I suppose to avoid confusion.

Ellen - I have started doing just that and added a tag for books I add based on LT recces. Since I visit so many threads that does of course make thetags section quite unwieldy.

Mamie - I rarely bought books twice other than where European titles and North American titles for the same book are different. I don't make that mistake much now either.

Benita - Must get to his books soon. Swimming to Ithaca was the first I bought but still haven't read it since I picked it up in a sale a few years ago.

Nathalie - nice to see you - even if fleetingly. Hope your weekend brings you everything you wish for.

Kath - hahaha we would have to make it a home office since the Cube has gone back! Don't know about Satelitte office; sometimes think I'd like to set alight to the office and walk away from the all consuming flames to retirement by Lake Tekapo in New Zealand with my mountain of unread books to keep me happily occupied for several years to come. Even in retirement I surely have 10 years reading ahead of me with no further purchases. But no SWMBO will never let me rest!

Cube is gone, but The Beast is back ( Nissan Rogue) !
Although, your retirement plan sounds pretty sweet :)

Kath - need your resume! I'll recruit quickly before sailing off into the sunset.

Quite touched last night as my little sweetie Belle got her first pair of glasses. Must admit that I had, ahem, a tear in my eye as the apple of it showed her ocular frailties just like her Dad. She couldn't read the numbers/letters without help and eight years old is a bit young to be in specs. One of my staff has an Opticians/glasses shop near my place so I got her a good deal on the pair of her choice and took them home to surprise her with last night. She spent the rest of the evening following me round in thrall that everything is suddenly so in focus. Guess that is what happens when you get the same reading bug as me.

Paul- how cute! I think I got my first pair of glasses when I was eight or so (third grade) and I still wear them!(not the same glasses) :)

I was assigned glasses when I was six, but I hated wearing them. Turns out my eyesight is fine - just a lazy eye that has gone away in my teenagehood. I'm glad that glasses will help your little girl out.

I don't remember when I got my first glasses -- probably about 4th grade or so. I really do need to go to the eye doctor. I can tell my vision has changed a bit. I was just waiting until the new insurance kicked in. However, I've also got to find a new eye doctor because mine isn't on this plan. Decisions, decisions!

Hi Paul

Thanks for the data. You and I are kindred souls when I comes to fascination with numbers.

What a cute story regarding little sweetie Belle and her glasses. I may have mentioned that my partner is a retired eye doc. He loved working with children.

Way to back up your employee. :)

We had the same experience with Jonah when he was about 8. He got glasses and suddenly all the fuzzy edges of his world became clear. He had almost the same expression as when he turned 1 and we turned the car seat around. OOOH! I can see where I'm going!

I must have gotten my first glasses when I was about 5. A long time ago. But then i too was an early reader.

Callia, Eris, Lori, Linda, Jenn & Judy:

Wow guys I'm flabbergasted by the response to my Belle glasses tale.

Callia - You got yours the same age as Belle then. Getting her to pose for some snaps in her new glasses which I will post up. She wanted blue spectacles as she is in blue (sapphire) house at school. Her glasses (that she selected) are black with white trim so I'm concerned she's colour blind as well!

Eris - A friends son has a serious problem with lazy eye and has one exceptionally thick lense with him to "train" his eye - poor little fellow looks like the monocled mutineer but I notice that he is slowly improving.

Lori - Belle embraced the question of eyesight and glasses receptively; I remember my time when I thought I was cool, as the school soccer and cricket captain, avoiding the state eye doctors that came to school to test the kids eyes. I was terrified that my Dad, a scary prospect at the best of times would put me in the unglamorous state glasses as punishment for not being perfect. I was tracked down and failed the test but my mum got me some cool John Lennon glasses and I have never bothered about wearing them since. She seems to like the fact that it is something she can share with her dad actually which is great for me as she has always been a mummy's girl to the extent that she is nicknamed "the clone". Get your eyes re-tested - with almost a hundred books already this year you obviously need the help!

Linda - What can I say I love stats - and enjoy seeing the book stats put up on the individual threads immensely. Probably why I love cricket so much as it is a sport that lends itself so magnificently to statistics - I know you North Americans embrace baseball for much the same reason and feign incomprehension at our summer game, but it really is the daddy of sports when it comes to record keeping.
How can I forget your partner given the memorable proposal story that still sends ripples across the threads?!

Jenn - thanks, Nik is a very enthusiastic and loyal chap. Will never be a politician and has to learn, as we with legal training know, never to ask a question of a contractor if you don't already know the answer - but he'll be fine - I will reassign him to a project where his genuine talents are more properly appreciated.
Hopefully Belle will follow further in Jonah's footsteps into the group in due course - but I would have to modify the content slightly about her beloved mother if I want my supper in my stomach instead of the cats!

Judy - 5 is pretty early for glasses isn't it? I was a voracious reader myself from a very early age and could apparently read most things before the age of four. My mother tells stories of my reading the Times newspaper at four years old - I have suspicions that she is romancing slightly as I don't recall her ever having that paper delivered whilst I was growing up. Both my girls love reading, Kyran less so but his tastes are more defined and confirmed already. How many three year olds (as he was then) inform their gob-smacked parents that they want to be a palaeontologist when they are older?!

# 217 I hate to disillusion you Paul but I don't think the palaeontologist idea age 3 is that uncommon. My recollection is that my son had the same idea. A product of lots and lots of dinosaur exposure I think. However he's currently debating between being a novelist and a restaurant critic. I don't think his career ideas have really settled down yet!

Rhian - hahaha well I never. Kyran has mentioned nothing about restaurants although he does eat more than his two sisters put together and he will have to have one heck of a spell-check to be a novelist!

Oh -- Thank you Mamie for sorting me out and setting me straight!

And Paul, thank you.

I have a 'stupid' Volvo too. I do my best to ignore it when it whines. Usually it starts whining about a month before the problem is going to be severe.

I'll get right on it! Resume on it's way :)

Glad to hear that your little one can now see things more clearly :)

Hey Paul, I've just discovered we, in Ohio, have two versions of Newcastle. New Castle in Belmont County and Newcastle in Coshocton County. What was the infatuation is NC, I wonder.
I also had an opitical impairment at age five. It was called lazy eye in the 60's although there's probably a more scientific name, which escapes me at the moment. Hope your weekend is going well!

Paul- my first glasses were blue, and 11 months later were tragically mauled in a game of capture the flag. I don't remember all the other glasses I have had, but I do know that I am partial to dark, plastic glasses. Her glasses sound very cute!

Lucy - I agree that there is something decidedly irritating about a car that tells you it is time to service it.

Kath - I look out for Application of Regional Manager (North America)!

Lynda - Two NewCastles in the same state is overkill a bit isn't it? It seems that my eleven year old taking up of spectacles is not in the least unusual in this group.

Callia - Belle would look up to you for sure with your similar taste in fashion!

Paul- I would be happy to offer some advice!

There's a New Castle in Colorado too.

Callia - I will upload some of her photos and you can take ger under your wing!

Jenn - Surprised that in the "New World" there are so many NewCastles! Actually the "NewCastle" in Malaysia Kota Bharu could as easily be translated as New Fort which would fit more with my idea of the American West!

Had a long discussion with my brother yesterday as his dispute with my father will shortly be before the courts and the attempt to cheat him of his 46% of the company exposed. One of the few things he actually listened to me about when I went back to England in August and realised my father was up to no good was that he took out an insurance to cover the cost of director disputes, which at least means that the legal fight will not bankrupt him. The overwhelming legal opinion is that Peter (my twin) is certain to win the case but the damages he receives may be at the expense of the company and all the money my father has stashed away in the last ten years. I agreed to write to my father to spell out the situation in as neutral a manner possible in order to try to effect a mediation which will in fact be of benefit to both of them equally. Underlines as usual that greed and the desire to make a quick buck at all costs rightly ends in tears.

Did on the other hand take a leaf out of Cee's book and had a date night with SWMBO yesterday evening. We went to a Morrocan restaurant and had tagine each. Very tasty and only very little bickering between us to keep the conversation spicy!

Oh, I'm so proud of you Paul! When you think of going out with your mate (just the two of you) as a "date" it's much more fun! Good work!

>187 EBT1002: "This group is both wonderful and addictive!"
I have to chuckle... a group of individuals addicted to books are also addicted to each other!!!

Hope you are having a pleasant and relaxing Sunday, Paul!

a group of individuals addicted to books are also addicted to each other!!!

Cee what a lovely and quite appropriate sentiment! Date night used to be Thursday and we would invariably catch a movie - must try to spare the Queen a bit more of my time TBH as, after all, it's only money at the end of the day and not much fun if you don't get to spend it with yer loved ones!

I would be honored:)

230 > very true ........

Hmm, since you buy books faster than you can read them, and I often can read books just as rapidly as you buy them, maybe we should set up some kind of system where you buy books (thus satisfying your addiction...) for me to read (thus satisfying mine)?? Wait, does that sound too self-interested?? LOL!

Yes, I loved Trapeze by Simon Mawer. Tremendously suspenseful. The story background has been one that has been done almost to death by now, but this is currently my fave book of the kind, which is saying a lot. And the Dr. Siri novels are MUST reads; he has a delightful sense of whimsy that walks that narrow line between wit and seriousness and only very very rarely topples too far to one side (i'm thinking maybe once every three books or so...) I also like the fact that Colin donates some his royalties for limb replacement in Laos, where every year hundreds of people are mutilated by all the bombs and mines dropped & left behind during the Indochina conflicts. Per square mile, it's the single most-bombed country in the world. He also is active in a group that finances post-secondary education and teacher training for girls and young women from Hmong communities in the N. of Laos, who are often shut out of the educational system, which then has ramifications for the group's young folks, who have too little access to formal education.

Hope things work out better than you expect vis a vis your father and your brother, and that your father will somehow come to his senses and realize, as a practical matter, that reaching an out of court settlement will be far better than mutually-assured destruction.

OK, off to resume my obsessive reading habit. I'm currently caught up in The Taliban Cricket Club. So far, so fab.

Hi Paul. I'm sorry to hear of your family's ongoing dispute. Very sad that should have to happen.

All the talk of Simon Mawer here and now I have Trapeze nicely perched at the top of my Kindle wishlist. Uh oh. LT is reminding me that I already own The Glass Room but haven't read it yet. I am avoiding a book sale at a local Arboretum today, as my own form of TBR therapy. And since I did donate close to 100 books for the sale (the attic floorboards thanked me), I'd also be a bit afraid of deciding to buy some of them back!

Callia - hopefully she will give clearance for her spectacles photo to be put on my thread tomorrow!

Alex - it is a little bit humbling just how genuinely nice and caring some of the people in this group are; what a stroke of luck I had a few minutes free to browse last February!

Suz - Hahaha; sounds like a plan. If I had to share my books with anyone....... Cotterill and Mawer are just two of the writers I long to get to and if I manage to compile my first million (knowing me though it will be in rupiah again) I will gladly take the time to catch up. My father is a strange customer as I have ventilated here previously so I am going to write to him and send it to him via his girlfriend's e-mail as I know some of the "home-truths" will take her by surprise also. Going to record a further feeding of my addiction below with another 9 books added today and I have only finished reading one!

Linda - some of the dispute is sheer greed; some of it is a pissing competition of a father having been faced with serious illness wants to show he is still the man, but sets about losing his family, business and the very money he was chasing in the process.

Paul.. I sure hope that you can help your family settle their issues before things
just get worse. It makes me sad when families fight.. Tough row to hoe..

Went for a Korean meal with SWMBO and my Dutch friend's wife (my Dutch friend left for a course in Rotterdam yesterday). Hani told me that my habit of always insisting to pay in the company of ladies was damaging to our banl balance as most of my friends are absentees and I finish up buying their wives food consistently. She told me that I should make myself scarce before paying the bill and then she would split it four ways and get her friend to pay a quarter of it (Belle was with us too). Anyways the only place I could conceive of making myself scarce at was ...well you guessed...the bookstore (by the way I paid for the food anyway deception is not my strongest suit):

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
The Sleeping Beauty by Elizabeth Taylor (had to join the bandwagon sometime)
Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar by Simon Sebag Montefiore
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (just to see if it is as strange and perplexing as Ilana thought)
Plugged by Eoin Colfer
The Ancient Ship by Wei Zhang
Waiting for Robert Capa by Susana Fortes
A World Without Islam by Graham Fuller
Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men by Colin Bateman (the second in the Sharkey series I have just started and love)

Yep Kath we are both "honoured" to have interesting families - suppose that it is character building!

#237 *snort* So your bank balance had a double hit? A fascinating list of books as always :-)

Heather, Hani's plan was OK but my execution of it was, as usual.....flawed. I did of course get my part of it right by skimming another 9 books!

Hi Paul, just quickly passing through. I recently picked up the first in Colin Bateman's series, so glad to hear that you enjoyed it. As always I enjoy hearing about the books you acqire. I'm visiting with family for the weekend and they seem to enjoy passing books along to me so I will be coming home with a much fuller suitcase than I arrived with.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you think of The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I think I liked it a lot better than some did.

Paul, I have two minutes to comment before LT temporarily shuts down. Am all caught up with you. Cute story about Belle's glasses. I got my first pair at the age of 12 and was quite happy about it, because I was bored with my face by then...

Hope things for well for your brother during the hearing. Don't care so much what happens to your father, and you are brave to be playing the go-between, considering he's such a nasty fellow.

I just added a bunch of Simon Mawer's books to my wishlist now that I've finished reviewing The Glass Room. The Girl Who Fell From the Sky is definitely on there I like that title better than Trapeze).

Hope you enjoy The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I'm very intrigued by the Robert Capa book. Will have to look it up. Great photographer of course, wonder if it has anything to do with him?

Very glad I wasn't a fly on the wall when SWMBO discovered the double hit to the bank balance...

I'll be eagerly awaiting your thoughts on Waiting for Robert Capa, which I ended up liking a great deal after struggling in the early pages. Have you read/do you have the first volume of the Stalin bio by Sebag Montefiore? I also own this one, and wonder if I should read the earlier volume first....

Leaving a message before you start your next thread ;-)
Nice to find myself in both lists it number 51.

Judy - nice to see you take the time from your weekend trip topay me a quick visit. Just finished Bateman's first Sharkey book and must give it a hearty thumbs up. Will briefly review it later. Great family if they fill your luggage with books for you.

Lori - The title alone catches attention. Read quite a few reviews of it and they are certainly mixed so I'm not sure which side of the fence I'll finish up on.

Ilana - Noticed that there seems to be a fair bit of LT maintenance lately - maybe this group is overloading the system or something.
I don't expect to achieve much with my missive to my father although his girlfriend is reasonably human and may want an explanation. Unfortunately she is also extremely gullible and believes whatever tall-stories he chooses to tell her.
The Robert Capa book was as a result of a warm recommendation from Suze - it is a slim volume so it won't take too long to find out.

Suze - As stated above to Ilana Waiting for Robert Capa made my hitlist due to your warm review of it. Don't think it will be too long before I get to it.

Anita - nice to see you popping in from the garden. You are solid in both lists for sure!

Another huge fan of The Glass Room here. I bought Trapeze earlier this month, and I also own (but haven't read) Mendel's Dwarf, which someone recommended to me after I reviewed The Glass Room.

Hi Paul- It looks like another nice book haul. I've had Between Shades of Gray on my WL since it was released.
It looks like I NEED to get to Mawer. It's funny, how you never see an author mentioned, (or you don't remember them being mentioned) and suddenly they are everywhere. Another amazing strength of LT!

Paul, I fell about four threads behind, so no way am I going to catch up. Just saying a quick hello.

Hi Paul!
Hope your Monday is a big success in everything you do as a great start to the week.
oh, just wondering, do you have every book in the world now?
*grin*

Darryl - Swimming to Ithaca was my first purchase so I will be getting to that one first and that is the one book of his that seems to be below the radar.

Mark - The Ruta Sepetys book is one that is a no brainer for me given my personal interests with the war and it's victims. Notice that it is very well received on the threads so I'm looking forward to it. SWMBO actually mentioned that she is looking forward to reading it - so it must be potentially very special!

Genny - hello back. Feel free to dip in as and when! Hope your mad dash back up north after your LT Meet-up didn't tire you out too much for services yesterday.

Cee - hahaha; still one or two left to buy - if I look through Liz's wishlist I will despair of ever being able to get hold of all the books I want. Expecting a hectic week with arbitration taking up the first two days. Hope your weekend was fine and that your week will be just the same.

#251 Well I was tired, but that was more from all the walking around London and all the excitements than from the journey back, which was very relaxing reading on the train.... And the morning services went well, I think the trip had energised me somehow, despite the physical tiredness.

just trying to keep up..

Genny - I know what you mean I am normally at my best for a short while when I have been sleep deprived for a while and before I flake out.

Kath - I don't know anyone who keeps up as well as you Kath.

39.

Divorcing Jack by Colin Bateman

The first of the Sharkey series by this Northern Irish writer. Read for Mark's murder and mayhem and there was both aplenty here as the Belfast journo wisecracks his way into more trouble than he ought. Great first series book with some brilliant one-liners, and an entertaining, if highly improbable plot.
A great test of a first-in-series is if you have bought the second already before finishing the first and I bought the second yesterday before polishing off the last four chapters last night. A real find and highly recommended.

9/10

Hi Paul, another nice haul. The Elegance of the Hedgehog is on my Favorites list and I need to read the Simon Mawer I own (The Glass Room) before I get to Trapeze.

Paul, as I said before, I was in a big rush to catch up and comment before the site went down, but just now when I clicked on the touchstone for Waiting for Robert Capa, I saw that it was already on my wishlist after I'd seen Suz's recommendation for it. Seems she's made a few converts!

Bonnie - nice to see you here. The Muriel Barbery is a fascinating looking book and Ilana's review of it raised as many questions as it answered for me as I think was her devious intention!

Ilana, Suz reads so many books that a fair number of them are bound to excite!