Wookiebender's 100 Books in 2012: Chapter 2

Time to start a new thread...

As of 1st Jan, 2012, I have 471 books listed as "to read" in my LibraryThing catalogue. Sadly, this is not an accurate number, as I have a number of books in the house that have not been catalogued here. But let's see if I can reduce this number over 2012!

READING LIST:

1. Past the Shallows, Favel Parrett
2. The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam, Lauren Liebenberg
3. Fables: Animal Farm, Bill Willingham
4. Fables: Homelands, Bill Willingham
5. Traitor, Stephen Daisley

6. The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen, Syrie James
7. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, John le Carre
8. The Masqueraders, Georgette Heyer
9. Cannery Row, John Steinbeck
10. The Summer Without Men, Siri Hustvedt

11. The Looking Glass War, John le Carré
12. Blankets, Craig Thompson
13. The Unwritten Volume 3: Dead Man's Knock, Mike Carey
14. A Soldier's Tale, M.K. Joseph
15. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, John le Carré

16. The End of Mr. Y, Scarlett Thomas
17. The Wayward Bus, John Steinbeck
18. The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
19. Evening's Empire, David Herter
20. Half Magic, Edward Eager

21. The Sooterkin, Tom Gilling
22. Logicomix, Apostolos Doxiadis
23. All That I Am, Anna Funder
24. The Lieutenant, Kate Grenville
25. The Winter of Our Discontent, John Steinbeck

26. Silent in the Sanctuary, Deanna Raybourn
27. Austenland, Shannon Hale
28. The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Laurie R. King
29. Death Comes to Pemberley, P.D. James
30. A Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Jules Verne

31. Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood, Suzanne Finstad
32. Sandman: The Dream Hunters, Neil Gaiman
33. Sarah Thornhill, Kate Grenville
34. The Tale of One Bad Rat, Bryan Talbot
35. God Save the Queen, Mike Carey

36. The Vesuvius Club: A Lucifer Box Novel, Mark Gatiss
37. The Somnambulist, Essie Fox
38. Betrayals, Charles Palliser
39. The Moon is Down, John Steinbeck
40. City of Bones, Cassandra Clare

41. Ragnarok, AS Byatt
42. Sea Hearts, Margo Lanagan
Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Katherine Boo (DNF)
43. The Thin Man, Dashiell Hammett
44. City of Ashes, Cassandra Clare
45. The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For, Alison Bechdel

46. Fer-de-Lance, Rex Stout
47. The Coming of the Whirlpool, Andrew McGahan
48. The Gods of Gotham, Lyndsay Faye
49. The Calcutta Chromosome, Amitav Ghosh
50. A Bear Called Paddington, Michael Bond

51. Nice Day for a Murder, Chris Broadribb
52. The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller
53. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan
54. Voyage of the Unquiet Ice, Andrew McGahan
55. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

56. The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck
57. Dirk Gently's Holistic Agency, Douglas Adams
58. Foal's Bread, Gillian Mears
59. Team Human, Justine Larbalestier & Sarah Rees Brennan
60. What is HTML5, Brett McLaughlin

61. The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkein
62. The Street Sweeper, Elliot Perlman
63. Cordelia's Honor, Lois McMaster Bujold
64. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett
65. Froi of the Exiles, Melina Marchetta

66. An Awfully Big Adventure, Beryl Bainbridge
67. The Red Pony, John Steinbeck
68. City of Glass, Cassandra Clare
69. Fire, Kristen Cashore
70. Rivers of London, Ben Aaronovitch

71. The Shape of Water, Andrea Camilleri
72. The Dogs of Riga, Henning Mankell
73. Fables: Legends in Exile, Bill Willingham
74. Death in a Strange Country, Donna Leon
75. Bloodsucking Fiends, Christopher Moore

76. In Dubious Battle, John Steinbeck
77. The Uncommon Reader, Alan Bennett
78. The Golden Door, Emily Rodda
79. The Hippopotamus Pool, Elizabeth Peters
80. The Tales of Beedle the Bard, J.K. Rowling

81. Tortilla Flat, John Steinbeck
82. Alif the Unseen, G. Willow Wilson
83. Niceville, Carsten Stroud
84. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling
85. Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury

86. Ready Player One, Ernest Cline
87. Spirit House, Mark Dapin
88. Mrs Queen Takes the Train, William Kuhn
89. The Pure in Heart, Susan Hill
90. The Magicians, Lev Grossman

91. Death Note Volume 1, Tsugumi Ohba
92. Young Miles, Lois McMaster Bujold
93. Burma Chronicles, Guy Delisle
94. The Dragon of Og, Rumer Godden
95. The Pearl, John Steinbeck

There Should be More Dancing, Rosalie Ham (did not finish)
96. Silence of the Grave, Arnaldur Indridason
97. City of Fallen Angels, Cassandra Clare
98. Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, Kate Wilhelm
99. Wonders of the Invisible World, Patricia A. McKillip

Bookmarking you. Glad for the good work changes, even though they are difficult and not always fun. Happy reading!

Wookie has a new thread! Yah! Nearly 500 books in the TBR, huh? I don't count mine, I don't want to know, I feel guilty enough looking at 'em.

I just hope the changes work! And that they stick! It's such a massive change in thinking from the top of the business down that I get worried. Luckily the senior management are also pushing, so it's a matter of educating the workplace. And then re-educating them with a large stick, if necessary. ;)

Mark, it's only gone up 10 so far this year! I've now got a Mt TBR of 481. I count that as a win, so far. ;)

33. Sarah Thornhill, Kate Grenville



This follows on directly from The Secret River, continuing the saga of the Thornhills, but concentrating on Sarah, one of the daughters of the family. This was a good fast read, with an entertaining and page-turning plot.

However the narrative style was irritating, with far too many "should of" and "would of". In addition, the narrator is supposed to be illiterate (hence the dreaded "would of"), but she also managed some beautiful imagery which didn't quite fit for me. The plot, while engaging my attention while I was reading, did not hold up under close scrutiny once I'd finished it and was definitely not a patch on The Secret River.

***1/2

Whew, I finally get caught up on your old thread and you have a new one! I'll try to keep up this time!

Dialect in books is SO difficult to make work properly (it rarely seems to be used consistently). When I come across books that use it in the narration I always try to find an audio edition, since if you have a good reader it's so much less annoying.

Glad to see you back!

#7> Oh, Chelle, I'm so behind on your thread too! On everyone's threads, actually. I keep on opening them, and then having to go away before I've had a chance to catch up. I'm going to have to give up, I think, and just start afresh!

#8> Audiobooks are a good suggestion, only I'm a hopeless listener! Too easily distracted from audio, where my eyes are allowed to wander everywhere.... A book keeps me firmly focussed. Or not, but then at least I don't have to rewind. :)

>6 wookiebender: Up-gethumbed the review, if not the book. Sounds unfun.

Thanks Richard! I do recommend The Secret River highly, but the sequels have been a bit lacking-in-comparison.

34. The Tale of One Bad Rat, Bryan Talbot



Told in lovely Beatrix Potter style visuals, this is the tale of young Helen Potter, a runaway from home, living on the streets. As the story progresses, we find out why Helen's run away, and we see her deal with her history and come to terms with her highly dysfunctional family. In parallel, we get snippets of Beatrix Potter's life, another sad tale.

This was powerful stuff, tackling a difficult issue head on, which is highly commendable and definitely gets a good score for me on that alone. When this story was first written, the abuse that Helen had to deal with was often ignored, making the survivors feel completely alone and culpable. It was great seeing Talbot address this directly.

Of course, that was 15 years ago and now it's less of an unknown issue, although still shocking. This dated the story slightly for me, and the storyline itself was a bit too straightforward to be a favourite of mine. But I will be searching out more of Talbot's works when I get the chance, he's proven himself a talented artist and story teller with this book.

***1/2

Tania- Good review of The Tale of One Bad Rat. I read it awhile back and liked it too. I just finished his Alice in Sunderland, which was very impressive and completely different.

Thumbs-upped another good review of a book I'd rather gnaw my *ahem* off than read!

Nice review, I second the recommendation for Alice in Sunderland, it's eclectic mess in art as well as it's topics. Hoping to get his Grandville book this weekend, I hear good things

Mark, Alice in Sunderland is available at the library (in a different branch), I'm just waiting for a good excuse to request it to be transferred. (A good excuse would be reducing Mt TBR, for once...)

LOL, Richard. Sadly for you, my next review is another graphic novel.... :)

clfisha, haven't heard of Grandville yet, will be interested to see your comments once you've read it. (Oh, hang on, is that the one with animal characters?)

35. God Save The Queen, Mike Carey



I can't be the only person to hum "...her fascist regime" every time I see this book cover, can I?

Mab and Titania are fighting over who gets to be the ruler of the Fairy realm. I had to read it twice to fully understand it, but the art was gorgeous, and it was a story that definitely appealed to me.

****

36. The Vesuvius Club, Mark Gatiss



The beautiful, but oddly named, Lucifer Box is a painter and society man in Edwardian demi-monde London. How do we know he's beautiful? He tells us. Repeatedly. (Prat.)

I was looking forward to this, because I liked Mark Gatiss's TV work (writer for "Doctor Who", "Sherlock", and "League of Gentlemen"), but was disappointed. I'm okay that Lucifer as the main character is allowed to lust after only the pretty people in the book, but does he have to be so mean to the ugly ones? And he's such an arrogant prat it wasn't much fun spending time in his head. And the plot was all over the shop.

Shame, it could have been so much better, with the bizarrely named characters ("Cretaceous Unmann" being one of the more gobsmacking ones), the obvious Oscar Wilde influences, and the great debauched setting. Although it should probably come with a prudery warning to anyone not keen on sex in their books.

**1/2

@16 yep. For some reason that's always put me off but I am willing to give it a go.

@18 I guess theres no real danger of but i wouldnt read the 2nd one which is even worse! I liked The Vesuvias Club in a very tongue in cheek James Bond kind of wy.

Happy Mother's Day Tania! I also enjoyed Grandville. Once again, it's completely different from the other 2.

clfisha, I do keep on looking at that adaptation of The Great Gatsby where Gatsby is a lizard and putting it back on the shelves, so I know what you mean. :) Having said that, one of my favourite reads in recentish time was The Unscratchables which was all populated by dogs and cats. And was a very, very clever hard-boiled spoof, with some nasty things to say about conformist culture. So I shouldn't be so worried... And then there's Maus, of course!

Thanks Mark! I got a sleep in (in reality, I took advantage of the quiet time to read), nice presents from the kids, and then we cooked a massive brunch: pancakes, bacon, eggs, toast, freshly squeezed OJ, tea (coffee for Don) and waffles for the kids, and I didn't eat again until 8pm last night. Oinkarama.

"Oinkarama". LOL.

I really liked The Tale of One Bad Rat and while I own a copy of Alice in Sunderland I was a bit intimidated but its bulk and the density of information and images on its pages (or so it seems from glancing inside it). It looks like a pretty intense read!

I would say that overall I liked The Vesuvius Club though I also felt that it could have been much more. The story was underwhelming. I haven't really found myself motivated to pick up the second book in the series yet.

Oh, busy-ness caught up again and interfered with all my goofing off. All is good, just all is busy.

But if they're going to make me work at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon after a 13 hour Friday, they're going to have to expect some goofing off. So here I am, catching up on my LT nattering. ;)

iftyzaidi, I don't think I'll be continuing with Lucifer Box. (What Victorian era mother would call their child "Lucifer"? I know it's an angel's name, and means "the morning star", but it has serious *other* connotations.)

I'm currently reading The Coming of the Whirlpool by Andrew McGahan, his first venture into YA literature. I'm enjoying the story very much (I'm not quite sure where it's going just now, which is an excellent thing, IMO), but my nose was slightly out of joint when his fantasy world was clearly patriarchal, for no good reason that I can see. I know this is something that @iansales often mentions, and that's probably why it jumped out at me, since his comments have been festering in the back of my mind.

I believe I'm agreeing with Ian et al, and it's a lazy fantasy trope: oh, let's make the world sexist, because it's like our whatever-era world, and that was sexist. IT'S A FANTASY WORLD, you can make it whatever you like. Personally, I'd like to see a few more female characters in this book, and women in positions of power.

Shame, because the story is really quite excellent. And a friend commented on my FB comments about this that he reckons McGahan's probably going to twist it later on, which would be nice, but I'm not sure how much he can cram into this book already.

37. The Somnambulist, Essie Fox



A rather over-the-top novel, this ticks almost all the Gothic Victorian pastiche boxes, apart from the madwoman in the attic. Some of these boxes are a bit squick however (what grown man falls madly in love with a 13 year old?), and it certainly overstays its welcome by the end, with too much plot being crammed in. It definitely needed a tighter ending, it was as if Fox was unable to say goodbye to any of her characters.

If you read it just as an extreme example of Gothic Victorian pastiche though, it can be quite a romp. I am looking forward to her next book to see if she can produce something tighter.

***

Hi Tania- Hope you had a nice weekend and got some quality reading in.

Too much work, too much kvetching about work to Don (who was very patient during my rants), and not nearly enough reading over the weekend. Bit of a bust, really!

Did make pizza with the kids though, which is always fun, plus another chapter of A Bear Called Paddington with Miss Boo and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief with Mr Bear. Can't say I'm a fan of Mr Jackson, but the boy is having a great time. How cute is Paddington? Great stories, too.

Okay, and I did finish The Coming of the Whirlpool and my above worries were for naught and that particular thread will be resolved in the upcoming books. Good stuff, looking forward to the next in the series, The Voyage of the Unquiet Ice. Now reading Gods of Gotham, which is off to an excellent start as well.

38. Betrayals, Charles Palliser



A marvellous, dizzying post-modern romp, a series of entwined and multilayered self-referencing stories, this is a great read. For most of the book I had no idea what was going on, but I certainly had fun trying to find out.

The headache I got from trying to work my way back up through some layered narrations was worth it too. A story written by two narrators, where the characters tell stories about further characters telling stories... Worthy of Scheherazade.

I spent quite a while flicking back and forth between chapters as I was reading it, and then again when I finished it and found the index of characters at the back, putting things together. An excellent read, highly recommended.

****1/2

I really liked that book too. The spoof of Taggart was really good, but the pastiche of Jeffrey Archer was brilliant.

Tania- Betrayals sounds very interesting. I have gods of Gotham high on my WL. Glad you are enjoying it.

Ian, I also really liked the philosophy guru section, because it reminded me of my struggles with Lacan (et al) at University. Only I can laugh about it now, at the time it was intensely frustrating to have to read something that (IMO) was completely and perversely unclear, and was unclear ON PURPOSE.

Mark, I think you'd like Betrayals. And Gods of Gotham, which very cleverly put the glossary of slang terms ("flash"), at the front of the book, so I went into it knowing some of the terms, and also knowing where to look if I came across anything I couldn't immediately translate. Also quite funny/interesting that there were several terms for prostitutes, as well as several terms for drunkenness. Gives you an idea of the society that uses these flash terms...

Damnit, I'm going to bed early tonight and I'm going to get some solid reading done. "Downton Abbey" (season 2) is back on our screens, so that took up a bit too much reading time the other night and I'm getting into one of those cross moods from not reading.

39. The Moon is Down, John Steinbeck



The Moon is Down was written as a propaganda piece for World War 2, an examination of a small village invaded by the enemy. The enemy may be in charge, but without the support of the people, they are in charge of chaos, endless small disasters, and attrition of their energy and personnel as the villagers fight back. I do have to say that propaganda is not my favourite genre, I dislike books written with an agenda in mind. Even if the author is propagandising from a point of view I believe in.

Having said that, this is Steinbeck. It's well written, and the good people aren't necessarily perfect (even if they are better than the invaders on the whole). The plot is a bit on the simplistic side, but it is a powerful story of ordinary people fighting back. So much so, that people caught reading this in Fascist Italy were sentenced to death, and that's pretty high praise in my opinion.

***1/2

40. Ragnarok: The End of the Gods, A.S. Byatt



This is part of the "Myths" series, where various literary authors retell various myths from around the world. I've been quite keen on the series, but this is the first one I've managed to stumble across at the library, and I've always been impressed (at the very least) by Byatt, and knew nothing about Ragnarok, so it was a no-brainer to add this to my toppling pile of library books. (So hard to get out of there with only one or two books!)

I particularly liked how Byatt didn't try to modernise the story and characters, give them all understandable psyches and neuroses, make us empathise with them. Nope, Loki's just a poster child for ADHD and stuffs everything up because he can; Odin sows the seed of his own destruction (as is standard in myth/tragedy); and apparently the world is made from the body of a dead giant. Somewhat gross, that last point. And I love the sense of reading these tales from a completely different era/society/culture and getting a glimpse into a different world. Although the destruction of the Norse Gods' world (and our world) resonated strongly with modern worries about the environment.

The interludes with the young girl (AS Byatt herself, during the second World War) were less successful for me, although I did appreciate her childhood love of these strange stories, much as I fell head over heels for the Greek pantheon while reading Leon Garfield's The God Beneath the Sea as a young child. But I did find these sections dragged somewhat, and I just wanted to return to the Norse Gods, and their inevitable decline and end.

****

I've started watching Downton Abbey as it is free on amazon prime... so far so good. Glad to hear that season 2 is still good enough to distract you from reading.

yeah Downton Abbey love..

oh and I caught the 1st (of many!) episode of Thrilling Adventure Hour, amusing but made me want to drink Martinis :-)

I preferred Upstairs Downstairs.

Keith, only one episode into second series so far. :) My viewing of season 1 was pretty patchy and out of order. I even missed the climactic episode!

clfisha, wait until you get Sadie's recipe for an "Irish martini". Sounded quite undrinkable, but it made me laugh. Oooh, I have a new episode to listen to! But have been far too busy to make time. Botheration.

Ian, I hardly remember "Upstairs, Downstairs". I did see the recent reboot and while I enjoyed it, there is something more sumptuously pleasurable about the high class soap of "Downton Abbey".

I was actually referring to the recent version. I never saw the old one.

I love Downton Abbey too - I bought myself season 1 and season 2 on DVD for my birthday and I've been watching them every night for the past couple weeks.

Sorry Ian, I did assume you were of my vintage and would have seen some of the original "Upstairs, Downstairs"! My parents were fans of it, so I have vague memories of watching it in my pajamas before bedtime. :)

Jennifer, I'd love to do a binge on "Downton Abbey"! Problem is, Don generally has control of the remote so "my" shows don't always get a look-in. And when he's not in, the TV is generally not on.

Found out on the weekend that Mum watches DA too. Tried to convince her to stick around for "Castle" which screens afterwards, but she just gave me funny looks. :)

It was Eurovision on the weekend. Took two days to get Jedward out of my head. Terrifying stuff, but fascinating TV viewing. Love it every year.

I grew up in the Middle East, so I was living there when it was originally broadcast. I might have caught the odd episode during summers in the UK, but I don't recall doing so. I did someone who acted in, however. He was the radio station manager in Abu Dhabi, and in his youth he'd done some acting. His biggest roles were a toothpaste advert which was never broadcast and a one-line part as a delivery boy in Upstairs Downstairs.

Eurovision - oh you are a tragic too? I thought some of the countries made more of an effort this year. Strangely, I had Mandinga (Zalileh?) in my head all weekend. Coupled with those crazy dancers for Moldova (the song about the trumpet). Imagine popping out with those moves on the dance floor.

#41> Oh acting's a tough job (unless you're one of the minority who hit the really big time). Actually, I'm impressed with anyone who wants to take on any sort of creative job (writing, acting, painting, singing, etc) - what a wonderful thing to do, but what a difficult career to make a living out of.

#42> Some countries were better than usual (Italy's really bounced back after being thrown out for being so consistently bad), but it was good to see that Israel still hasn't been able to find singers who can hit a note. (Dana International was obviously a fluke.) The song that won didn't make much of an impression on me, apart from laughing at the MC Hammer outfit AND the MC Hammer dancing. I just can never pick Eurovision.

Poor old Ireland and England though, they're going to have to do something much, much better in the future...

41. City of Bones, Cassandra Clare



Picked up City of Bones while recuperating from tonsillitis. Wasn't expecting much from it, but actually had a great time reading this story. Our heroine, young Clary Fray, sees some mysterious teenagers fighting at a dance club and intervenes. Turns out the teenagers are not what they seem, and Clary is thrown into their world, complete with vampires, warlocks, fairies, and werewolves.

Add in some throbbing biological urges (although it never gets beyond kissing, this is young adult after all) and some great sass and snark from Clary and her best friend Simon, and it's a great fast paced read. And kudos to Clare for including a positive gay character, he ended up being one of my favourite characters.

***1/2

Hi Tania- It sounds like you are still busy. We miss seeing you around. Hopefully, you are getting some reading in.

Still flat out, yeah. Trying to catch up on some threads this weekend! The reading's still happening, am several chapters into The Grapes of Wrath at the moment. A re-read, but a goodie.

I have the Cassandra Clare series on the shelves. I haven't been in a rush to read them but maybe I should?

Oh, I gobbled up the first one with much glee. I enjoyed the second one too (review still to be written, natch), but by the end decided I needed a break from teenage angst. I'd recommend them as good YA reads, but don't binge on them. :)

I'll be bugging the library for books #3 & #4 soon (they're in a different branch, so just need to get them transferred).

42. Sea Hearts, Margo Lanagan



In the opening chapter of this excellent book, a bunch of children gathering sea hearts for their Mams from a beach run into an old witch, Miskaella, knitting seaweed. This somewhat creepy scene sets the mood for the rest of the book, as we find out what makes Rollrock Island so different.

A great read. An interesting idea, well fleshed out, and satisfyingly written.

****1/2

(This is called The Brides of Rollrock Island outside of Australia, it seems.)

Sea Hearts sounds great! I'll have to locate that one

Do, I really enjoyed it. (And thanks to @BryanOz, for bringing it to my attention.)

Tania - just sneaking across to see how you're doing. Doing well apparently - Sea Hearts looks an interesting read.

I love the Australian cover. I have passed on the "Brides" cover, thought interesting but meh, but this one is definitely more my style.

Sea Hearts keeps popping up all over the place. I will see if the library has a copy yet I think.

Nice to see you enjoyed Sea Hearts wookiebender, and good to see others interested, her Tender Morsels and short story collections, notably Black Juice and Red Spikes are also great reads.

Hey Paul! Sorry I haven't been over to your thread in simply ages - work's gotten the better of me. (In a good way, though.)

captainsflat, it's funny how they do different covers (and titles) for different markets.

Judy, I think it's worth tracking down! I hope your library has a copy.

Bryan, I did pick up Tender Morsels at the bookshop the other day...

Pouring with rain today in Sydney. Worst. Public. Holiday. Weather. Ever. (And happy birthday to Betty! I'm a firm monarchist once a year, and that would fall on the Queen's Birthday weekend...) But on the other hand, great weather for curling up with a good book. :)

Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Katherine Boo



Behind the Beautiful Forevers is "narrative non-fiction" about the slums of Mumbai and unfortunately, as I feel it had an important story to tell, it seriously peeved me off and I Pearl ruled it at page 50. (Conveniently right at a chapter break!)

It failed to pack the powerful wallop of a well written fiction book; and it failed to pack the powerful wallop of a well researched non-fiction book. I could not trust anything she says because I didn't know how she knew what people were thinking or feeling (really? they told you all those internal thought processes, some months after the facts?). Because no reason was given for me to believe what she wrote it came across as badly researched. I'm not sure that non-fiction should stray into people's thoughts/feelings/emotions unless it's clear how these thoughts/feelings/emotions are conveyed to the author. Interviews? Diaries? Extrapolation from behaviour?

And then the fictional writing style failed as it was all "tell, don't show", and while I agree the story is important, I'm not sure if this is how I want to read said story.

Did not finish, no rating.

43. The Thin Man, Dashiell Hammett



Many years ago, Nick Charles retired from a life of being a detective, since he married a wealthy heiress (Nora) and now spends his time making money and drinking martinis. Problem is, he seems to have a hard time shaking people's belief in his detective skills and so ends up, somewhat unwillingly, investigating a murder for an old client.

The Thin Man is well worth a read. I wanted to have Nick and Nora as best friends, the prose is nice and clean, and the plot is good and complex. Excellent stuff.

****

>43 wookiebender:: Is the dog Asta in the book? He appears in the films and is quite popular in American crossword puzzles.

Yes, Asta is in the book, but he may have more of a role in the movies! I haven't seen any of the movies, much to my personal annoyance.

He's adorable.

Naw, I want a dog in the house... (the cats might disagree with me rather, however).

44. City of Ashes, Cassandra Clare



City of Ashes is the second in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. They're good angsty-teenage fun, with werewolves, vampires, warlocks, fairies, etc, all running around New York. The first was better than I expected (some good snark from our heroine, some unexpected plot twists, a sympathetic gay character, etc) and the second followed in its footsteps nicely.

It definitely got a bit too heavy on the teen angst towards the end, but I'm still hooked on the series. Will get book #3 out soon, but not too soon.

****

45. The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For, Alison Bechdel



A wonderful series of strips about a varied bunch of lesbians all living and loving together in America in the 1990s and beyond. It reminded me very much of my youth, growing up at about the same time, and being involved in the local feminist scene and being politically aware. (How did I change so much??)

It did take me a while to read this, as I picked it up and read a few strips whenever I had the chance, rather than binging on the lot. At the end though, I was very disappointed that it all abruptly finished, I was completely suckered into their world! Far too many cliffhangers, there were a lot of story lines I wanted (and still want) to be resolved.

In terms of depicting a slice of American life, and its ongoing almost soap-y nature, it reminded me a lot of Doonesbury.

****1/2

46. Fer-de-Lance, Rex Stout



The first Nero Wolfe mystery, this throws us in the deep end with Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin an already established duo. Wolfe is an eccentric shut-in who never leaves his large house (with a floor devoted to growing orchids), and who jumps to spectacular conclusions that are always right. Archie holds his own against this monumental detective as narrator and the active half of the pair, doing the actual leg work, but being more than just a gopher for Wolfe.

It was quite fun, and I'll certainly be continuing to read about the further adventures of Wolfe and Archie (helps that I bought it as an omnibus* with the second book :).

* Is it an "omnibus" if it's only two of 30-something books in a series? can't think of a better word, though.

***1/2

>62 wookiebender:: we have 3 cats and 2 dogs. The cats aren't big fans of the dogs, and it took them a long time to adjust to each dog's arrival in the house. But they coexist mostly peacefully now.

Always so happy to see someone else hop on the Nero Wolfe bus, Tania. And Merriam-Webster online says an "omnibus" is "a book containing reprints of a number of works", and two is a number, right? :)

Hi Tania- It sounds like you've been very busy. Missed you. Sorry, the Boo book failed for you. Even though I agree with some of your points, I thought it was an excellent read. One of my favorites of the year.
I'll have to add the Bechdel GN to the WL. I was disappointed with her latest, though.

I bought the Essential Dykes to Watch Out For as I started reading the comic really young (before I could understand 80% of it), so I'm very attached to it. I do hope that she'll eventually publish a complete edition of the strips. I forgot that her second memoir comic was finally out though.

Nero Wolfe is so much fun! My favorites of the early titles are Too Many Cooks and Some Buried Caesar (books five and six, I believe). Wolfe is away from the house in both.

#66> Laura, don't tempt me! No room or time for a dog though, sigh. The nice thing about cats is they're (mostly) self maintaining. Apart from the "are you awake?" taps to the face at 3am. Yawn.

#67> thanks, rosalita! Should have thought to look up a dictionary. :) Must start the next Nero Wolfe soonish.

#68> Hi Mark! I do miss my LT time, so much so that I finally got the wifi sorted out at home (don't ask). On my iPad now, feet in Don's lap, cat curled by my side. :) Hopefully I'll keep up a bit better now! I did say hi on your thread yesterday, didn't I? I know you, and others, really did love Behind the Beautiful Forevers, so I am sorry it was a fail for me.

#69> Wolfe leaves the house?? Will wonders never cease! And I do need to search out more Bechdel.

Those are two of my favorite Nero Wolfe books as well, Meredith! They ended up being among the later books I read even though they fall early on in the chronology, so the fact that he actually left the house was a real shocker. They are both great, though; the perfect mix of mystery and humor. I just love those characters.

Two dogs and one cat at my place. They. Must. Never. Be in the same room at the same time!

'Great thread, Wook. Thanks to your comments, The Moon is down and The Thin Man have moved up to camp 4 on the ol' TBR pile.

I loved the movie of the latter...

I am so behind on threads - I just wanted to stop by, say hi, compliment your reviews (great reviews!) and strongly recommend watching The Thin Man movie. It is fantastic. Never read the book, although I just unpacked it from a box so maybe I will be reading it soon.

Thanks guy for your comments! I must get around to dusting off this old thread and post a few reviews. School holidays though, so don't hold your breath....

I just finished The Grapes of Wrath, a reread. Taking a break from serious lit with Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, which I've never read, mea culpa.

47. Coming of the Whirlpool, Andrew McGahan



Andrew McGahan is a well respected Australian author with a number of excellent adult books to his credit. (I believe they're excellent, I own a number of them, but I am yet to read any of them, including his Miles Franklin Award winning The White Earth. There's probably a special circle of Hell for people who hoard books and, if so, a special area just for me in it.) This is his first foray into young adult literature, a story of a young man destined to be a woodcutter, until one fateful day he sees a ship out to sea and knows that he can never be happy again chopping down trees.

This was a good adventure story, it went places I wasn't expecting and, even though it's nominally young adult, it came across as a very intelligent and grown-up book with a decent level of complexity. Towards the beginning I was a bit grumpy with it, I must admit, because it seemed that McGahan fell into a trap of making his society annoyingly patriarchal because that's what medieval style societies were. (A note to fantasy writers who can't quite get over that trap: it's a fantasy, you can make it whatever you like, you don't have to stick with some outmoded idea of what a fantasy society should be.)

However I should have trusted the author, that wasn't what he was doing at all. Overall, a very good read.

****

LOL I think that particular patch of hell might be crowded with LTers!

The whole medieval fantasy patriarchy really annoys me too, a wonderful combination of a lack of imagination and misogyny .. starts grinding teeth (although I did manage to watch Game of Thrones with out throwing anything at the TV).

Hey Tania! I hope Grapes lived up to it's lofty status, on reread. I wish I could have squeezed it in again too.

clfisha, they're just so hard to resist at the bookshop/library! I do try to bookcross too, and the idea was that bookcrossing would get me getting books out of the house (books I'm not going to re-read, books I'm never going to get around to reading, etc), but it's just made it all worse! So many good recommendations from the forums and the bookish friends I've met through there; then I pick up books expressly to bookcross them (and never get around to it, I have an overflowing milkcrate of to-be-registered books); and then we all pass around books as well!

I think it's time to just dump that milkcrate worth of books at the local charity shop and reclaim some floor space.

Mark, it was good to re-read, I think I got more out of it this time around. But at the same time, it felt a bit like he was hitting us over the head with it all.

I think the local Charity shops start closing when they see us coming these days :) I haven't tried bookcrossing (sounds like I probably shouldn't!) but we did try bookmooch and to be honest was a bit disappointed. I think we will just have to move or start digging ourselves a library ;-)

Oh, bookcrossing is fun, it just takes a bit more time (registering, releasing) than I have to spare. It's not supposed to increase the number of books in the house, that's entirely my bad. :)

Speaking of new books, I got notice of a book launch at Kinokuniya in the city this evening. The book was Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and she was chatting with Margo Lanagan. I was mostly there for ML, as I haven't read anything by JL as yet, and I did really enjoy ML's Sea Hearts. it was a very fun evening, and I managed to escape with only two new books. The aforementioned Team Human, and Battle Royale, which was only $10 and I'd been looking for a copy for a while.

Chatted a bit with the young woman sitting next to me, and it was only afterwards that I realised that probably most people don't show off photos of their new bookshelves and latest book hauls. Hey, it was nice meeting another bookfiend. :)

hehehe I can picture you sharing book photos with strangers!

Wookie- I had lost you, but I am all caught up now.

I too was behind on threads ... caught up now ;-)

the McGahan book looks good, but is currently unavailable in the US

I'm preparing for the great September Steinbeck-a-thon ... may try to squeeze a reread of Grapes of Wrath in there along with The Log From the Sea of Cortez, Travels With Charlie, and either Tortilla Flats or Cannery Row.

Hi Joyce! Oh, I'm so behind on your thread, although I do have it bookmarked! Honest!

Keith, hopefully the McGahan will be available soon over there! So you're squeezing Steinbeck into September? Sounds good to me!

I'm currently about halfway through River of Smoke, Amitav Ghosh's sequel to Sea of Poppies. It's marvelous stuff, but I may have to put it to one side so I can read The Street Sweeper which is another 500+ page book that I need to read for bookgroup! Oh dear, book clash!

Work remains busy. 'nuff said. And I'm reclaiming a social life, so it's hard to get on here to write reviews. So, apologies for the upcoming "placeholders"! And really, don't hold your breath on the reviews. :}

48. The Gods of Gotham, Lyndsay Faye



A bit overwritten at times, a bit repetitive at times, but on the whole a great read. Highly recommended, although it is pretty gruesome and violent.

****

49. The Calcutta Chromosome, Amitav Ghosh



An unusual book, and an interesting story, but I don't think I'm really a conspiracy theory fan.

***1/2

50. A Bear Called Paddington, Michael Bond



How cute was this? I've had the books for years (I think since *I* was seven) and Miss Boo was given a toy Paddington as a birthday present for her seventh birthday and that was the impetus to read this delightful book with her.

We both loved Paddington, and his terribly English adventures. And Deepest Darkest Peru!

*****

51. Nice Day for a Murder, Chris Broadribb



Finally picked this one up on a miserable rainy winter day in Sydney. It was rather nice to read about a sunnier Sydney than the one I'm experiencing at the moment.

A short little murder mystery, lacking a bit in character descriptions and development, but some good touches of humour, and I was surprised by the reveal.

And I think I've lived in a two storey flaking-paint terrace house in Sydney much like the one described. Complete with somewhat stoned flatmate. :)

***

(I picked this one up through bookcrossing, and it was written by one of our usual meetup (bookdrink!) attendees. The above is my comments from the BC review.)

52. Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller



Excellent, excellent, excellent. Really happy to see this win the Orange Prize. I felt it dragged slightly towards the end, but it was a wonderful retelling of the Odyssey, from Patroclus' point of view.

****1/2

NOTE: I made the first meeting of a new f2f bookgroup (an old school friend set it up, and it seemed to be the only way we'd ever get organised to catch up!) and when we were discussing what books to nominate for next month, everything they mentioned I'd already read! LOL, I guess I am a bit book obsessive. And, anyhow, J went home and pulled a book name out of a hat, and it was this book. I doubt I'll have time to re-read it, and had momentary vague plans of reading The Odyssey The Iliad instead (yeah RIGHT, like I have time for that!), but I'm looking forward to discussing it anyhow. It's not *that* long between reading it and discussion! I hope.

53. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan



Really, nothing like the movie.

Picked this one up at the library and read it with Mr Bear. Suffice it to say, he enjoyed it MUCH more than I did, but I enjoyed introducing him to Greek mythology.

***1/2

54. Voyage of the Unquiet Ice, Andrew McGahan

I'm spoilt. I have a friend who works in publishing (aka, an ENABLER), she saw my cheerful tweet about enjoying the first book, The Coming of the Whirlpool, and snaffled this uncorrected draft copy for me. Squeee!

Fascinating seeing a work in progress (typos!), and an even better book, IMO.

I probably shouldn't give it a rating, it being a draft and subject to change (honestly, it was just a pile of ringbound A4 pages; and I will be buying a copy when it comes out because they're also beautifully produced books and one cannot have a gap in the series), but what the hey.

This is the first book for a while when I wanted to rush home from work to keep on reading.

****1/2

55. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams



42! Deep Thought! Slartibartfast and his fjords! Digital watches! Vogon poetry! The Improbability Drive! Marvin! Your plastic pal who's fun to be with!

A re-re-re-re-read, and a great fun book.

****

56. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck



Another re-read, but a tougher one than the last. I don't remember it being that depressing when I was a teenager, but I think I could cope with depressing better back then. Still, beautifully written, and a powerful and necessary story.

And it can be even more depressing when one's iPod throws up "Love Will Tear us Apart" by Joy Division while reading about the Joads. Yeesh.

****

(Funnily enough, I was listening to Johnny Cash's "Hurt" this morning (yeah, I like depressing music) and the next song up on the shuffle was Petula Clarke's "Colour My World". Had to laugh, I don't think I could have come up with a greater contrast.)

57. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Douglas Adams



I hadn't read this one before, but didn't want to continue straight on with the Hitchhikers series and re-reading. Picked this one up out of Don's book collection, and it was a brilliant and delightful and utterly clever read.

And dodos. I'm a sucker for a dodo.

****1/2

58. Foal's Bread, Gillian Mears



This was the choice for the inaugural f2f bookgroup meeting. I have to confess I was not excited by the choice of book (I'm not a horsey person, and it was $33, ouch), but I found it a very good read.

Most of the bookgroup complained about it being depressing, but I think after the Joads, this was a walk in the park. ;)

Well written, fascinating (if not likeable) characters, and a great slice of Australian history. And lots of horses.

****

59. Team Human Justine Larbalestier & Sarah Rees Brennan



The tagline is "friends don't let friends date vampires". Which sums it up very nicely.

A wonderfully silly and fun antidote to Twilight (some years on, and I'm still regretting the time spent on that one). And probably a good romp for those who did enjoy Twilight as well...

****

Phew. Caught up, time to go to bed and read. :)

Whew! That's a lot of books and reviews! I'm exhausted, and my day is only just getting started! :)

wow you are on a roll with some great books! I loved Gods of Gotham and I want to read Song of Achilles sometime soon!

Wow Wookie! What a flurry of reviews! And I thought you weren't reading a thing. Okay, I now own a lovely hardback of Gods of Gotham, I'll try to bookhorn it in. Song of Achilles is still high on my WL. I also enjoyed The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Now the big question: (drum roll), only 4 stars for Grapes? Even if you think it depressing, it is still an a monumental read! Just saying...

Gosh, I didn't think of these as reviews, just some quick off the cuff comments! I just wasn't finding time for "proper" reviews, and anything's better than nothing. :)

Laura, I had two coffees this morning. (Had a "developer's breakfast" in the city, and took advantage of being near some good cafes to have a pre-breakfast coffee - the coffee supplied at the venue was very ordinary - and then a post-breakfast coffee with the other members of my team afterwards. I got to use my "Good Cafe Guide 2012" app to find the cafes, and then my "eCoffeeCard" app to record my purchase of the second coffee, one of those "buy x, get one free" deals. A very appy morning. ;)

And that's about 1.5 more coffees than I usually have, so I'm buzzing a bit. (Wheee!)

Chelle, glad to hear you loved GoG too! It was really rather gruesome, and could have crossed some serious lines about child abuse, but I liked Timothy so much, all was forgiven. And the historical aspect was fascinating.

Mark, always reading. :) Only 4 stars for Grapes, because I also felt rather manipulated by Steinbeck, it came across as propaganda at times. Necessary propaganda, but not quite as powerful as it should have been.

Hmm no idea why I fancy a coffee now :)

You make me realise I need to read the Dirk Gently books, I think they are my favourites of Douglas Adams.

>102 wookiebender:: Tania, I wish we worked together! I love a good coffee at work especially with other team members. We moved into a brand-new office building not long ago, and it has a nice coffee bar. It's heaven, but not good for my pocketbook! And beyond that, you don't even want to know how much $$ I spend using my Starbucks iPhone app ...

And now I'm just popping on briefly before meeting Mum up the road to drink more coffee and visit some bookshops. Nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon, I think. :)

I really enjoyed the Dirk Gently book, clfisha, it was very clever and less undergrad than Hitchhikers. Which will always have a special place in my heart, but I was quite surprised by how good Dirk Gently was.

Laura, they moved us into a new building in the middle of a WASTELAND. They put in a cafe for us (as there's nowhere to go at lunch) but the coffee's pretty ordinary there (it's a machine, no barista in sight; but the meals are good). Hence the going slightly nuts on good coffee on Thursday morning. :)

Just saying hi, and just wow! I'm impressed with such detailed mini reviews ! My list seems so sparse in comparison. But then it's my first time doing this I suppose.

I am behind on most all threads, but do intend to read everyone's here at some point. Maybe I should do one a night. I still have to go back and read your first thread but started with the most recent one.

Plenty of books, plenty of coffee, plenty of catching up just done. Foal's Bread looks interesting Tania but $33 sheesh!
Don't get over here anywhere near often enough to keep up with you but I will try to do better. x
Btw What's a developer's breakfast?

Ah Wookie, so many books here that interest me. I need an alternate reality where I can step on over to just read, leaving this reality for the boring work and other necessary stuff.

I am also a fan of the Hitchhiker and I have had the Dirk Gently books for ever, but have never quite managed to read them. I really must get to that! Foal's Bread is another I want to read and then there is The Song of Achilles . . . . .

> 90

Hey Wook, I'm a dawg, not the sharpest of classicists, but isn't this book about the Illiad? I thought poor Petroclus was pretty much mince-meat by the time of the Odyssey...

#106> Thanks! I generally just look at comments I've made elsewhere and then cobble them together into something a bit more coherent. :) I too must catch up on the other threads, I like the one-a-night idea!

Paul, it's cheaper on kindle, and will be coming out in a cheaper format in a couple of months. And I'm sure it's cheaper via the Book Depository, but I left buying it to the last minute... It also just won the Prime Minister's Literary Award for fiction, which is great. Keep your eye open!

A developer's breakfast is rather like a breakfast meeting, crossed with a lecture. Got a nice egg and bacon wrap, and some good notes on JavaScript (my skills need some brushing up there). Plus some networking, which is also not my forte (I like the joke about the extrovert developer, who looks at your shoes when talking to you; I am the classic introverted developer who would much rather sit at her desk and code than go and talk to people), but a necessary evil.

Judy, do try Dirk Gently! I had a great time. If you work out how to get to the dimension of pure reading, do drop us a line. I'm sure there are plenty who would like to join you. :)

Oh sandydog1, you are completely correct! I think I'm just proud of my ability to spell Oddyyysssssey (on a good day) and didn't think too clearly past showing off that small talent. :)

60. What is HTML5?, Brett McLaughlin



A quick little read, still took me several months to get through, because I'd always rather be reading fiction than something for work. But, hey! I finished it!

Not a technical book, more a general plug for HTML5. Okay if you want to find out more (and know nothing) about this new standard.

***1/2

61. The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien



A re-re-re-re-read for me, but first time in a while, and first time for Mr Bear. He had a great time, I had a great time.

And all thanks to Lego, who recently brought out some great Lord of the Rings Lego sets, and sparked his interest in the book. (Yes, Lego is a greater influence on him than me.)

Miss Boo wanted to read it too (her substitute teacher read some out to them the other week) but she's still only got the attention span of a gnat, so she seems to have forgotten about it before we even finished the first chapter! Still, kudos to her for trying. :)

*****

62. The Street Sweeper, Elliot Perlman



A marvellous, complex story, interweaving stories from the Holocaust with race relations in 20th century America. It also changes time between the mid-20th century and modern times, and juggles a very large cast, all of whom are linked, even though they do not know it.

Yeah, it's not an easy read, but given the seriousness of the topics, and the fact that I often had to put it down for a few minutes to process what was happening (or to take a breather so as not to burst into noisy tears on the bus), I raced through this very quickly, devouring it in my spare time, desperate to find out what happened.

Most of the stories from the mid-20th century were actually based in fact, and the detail is astounding, bringing to light some unknown (to me, at least) stories from the Holocaust. Perlman has done a fantastic job tangling all the stories together, and linking them to the modern (completely fictional characters), and then resolving them all beautifully.

Where this failed for me (and it's a very minor failing) was that I found the coincidences towards the end a bit too much.

Very disappointed that this didn't get a Booker nomination.

****1/2

The Street Sweeper looks very interesting, Tania. Onto the wishlist it goes!

Hi Tania! I've missed seeing you around. Things haven't slowed down for you, eh? Good review of The Street Sweeper. I'm not familiar with this one or the author. Sounds interesting. Hope all is well.

Hi rosalita! Glad you liked the sound of The Street Sweeper, it was quite a read.

Hi Mark! I've been trying to catch up on your thread, but it zips by awfully fast over there! :) Elliot Perlman's written a few other books, but they may not be all that well known outside of Australia. This one definitely has international attention, however; and initial buzz from my bookgroup is that it's his best (opinions vary on his earlier ones, none of which I've read). He does seem to be well known in France, my book is covered with blurbs about how one French newspaper called him the "Australian Zola" (which is pretty brilliant; I've only read one Zola but it was great), and put them in their top 50 author list.

I'm currently reading Cordelia's Honor. Space opera! I needed something that was pure adventure after the last run of serious/depressing books. And this one's perfect. An explosion on page 2! Yay! ;)

So pleased you enjoyed The Street Sweeper. I also fond the coincidences at the end a bit distracting while reading it, but after a bit of thinking, I decided that I quite liked the way it all came together.

#112 LOL! Can't wait to read it with Cass. Couple of years yet I think.

Judy, yes, it was a *bit* much, but I also did like it. It was satisfying, after so many lives torn asunder, to have a "nice" ending to some of the stories.

Bekka, I have friends from Uni who had kids some years before I got around to it. I remember the dad proudly telling me he was reading The Hobbit to his kids some years ago, and I thought "can't wait until I can do that!".

This week, he took his eldest to see Jack White. Now I can't wait until I can do that with my kids, too. :)

Oooh, Cordelia's Honor! Dangerous! There are now 14 more books you will now wish to read immediately to finish the story! And everyone of them is worth it.

delurking to give Monday greetings from summery Long Island!

Oh, Cordelia's Honor was a great read, I am looking forward to the rest.

Hi Richard, from the sunny winter in Sydney! Only the sun's set now, but it was a gloriously sunny warm day today. I think the end of winter is nigh.

I was going to write some reviews tonight, but got caught up preparing a brown bag session on JavaScript for tomorrow. Reviews will have to wait until tomorrow night.

63. Cordelia's Honor, Lois McMaster Bujold



After the previous few emotionally taxing books, I decided I needed something with explosions, and maybe a space battle or two. I grabbed Cordelia's Honor from the top of Mt TBR, and was very happy to see that there was an explosion on page 2. But this wasn't just a space opera, Cordelia is a great character, surrounded by many other great characters, and the plot is nice and meaty, as well as being a great story.

No death camps, or enforced migrations, or dysfunctional families, or people being kicked to death! This book took me to my happy place.

****

64. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett



One of the Discworld series featuring the great City Watch. Unfortunately not one of the best of the series, it seemed to lack focus for Pratchett's usual biting social satire. Good fun at times, but I wanted more snark overall.

***1/2

Thought I'd stop by and say hi, Tania! I have not read a lot of the books that you have been reading, but I have The Song of Achilles in my TBR pile, so I'm glad to know that you enjoyed it!

Hi Deb! I went to the book group meeting for Song of Achilles last night, and it was a successful choice. I do recommend it, still!

Wook, I had to toss Song of Achilles onto the TBR mountain, too!

Hey sandydog! I'm rather chuffed that so many people are interested in this book! Although I'm sure it's more to do with its Orange Prize win than my personal recommendation. :)

Ha, I don't pay any attention to what books receive what prizes or the short lists or anything, so Song of Achilles is definitely on my TBR list just because of your recommendation!

I felt the same way about The Fifth Elephant and it made me really annoyed at the people complaining about his latest, Snuff, which I think is a much better Watch book and does move Vimes along to a different place as a character. I think people just get into blind adoration for a series or character and then can't see past that.

Right on, Meredith!

Hell, I don't even know what an Orange Prize, is. For all I know it was something made up by Anita Bryant.

Mabith, I've been meaning to read some of the newer Discworld books. I've been a patchy reader over the years, this is probably about the first time in 10 years or so that I've picked one up. Any recommendations from his later works?

Sandydog1, one does learn new things here. I introduce you to the Orange Prize, you introduce me (figuratively speaking) to Anita Bryant. Somehow, I think you got the better deal. :P :)

I most enjoyed Going Postal and Making Money, which both have the same main character. They're exceptionally fun and you get quite a lot of Vetinari. All the of children's books he's done recently have been brilliant too, The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents and the Tiffany Aching series. The audio books for those are especially worthwhile.

He did one about football involving the wizards fielding a team, Unseen Academicals, which is good, but somehow not as endearing to me (despite my love for football). Both the recent Watch books were wonderful, though Thud! was especially insane.

Thanks, I've got them on my wishlist now! :) I'd love some more Vetinari, I'd forgotten what a great character he is.

Tania- Hope you are having a good week and you're current books are treating you well. Hugs!

Wow, I've been spammed! Thanks everyone who flagged the message in my absence!

Hi Mark, I'm currently engrossed in Fire, the prequel to Graceling. It's not as exciting a story, but I'm still enjoying it very much. Work's been busy, started at 8am this morning, didn't get out until nearly 6pm, and then came home and crammed more info into my brain in preparation for a brown bag session I'm doing tomorrow. Gah, I hope the information doesn't all fall out when I'm standing in front of everyone!

But I've now got a glass of wine, and catching up online quickly before bed and book. Huzzah!

Reviews can wait for another day.

Just de-lurking to add my tuppence towards Thud - it's brilliant. Plus Pratchett's new non-discworld on e (The Long Earth) was also excellent - can't wait for the next one.

That's it, Thud is top of the Pratchett wishlist. :) The Long Earth is on my bookgroup's short list; maybe next month it'll get pulled out of the hat!

65. Froi of the Exiles, Melina Marchetta



Following on three years after the conclusion of Finnikin of the Rock, Finnikin and Isaboe are rebuilding the kingdom of Lumatere and juggling their rather demanding small girl, Jasmina, meaning they're too busy to be main characters in this book. The baton has been passed on to Froi, who has been trained as a fighter and assassin, and who takes on the rather strange task of killing their neighbouring king, who no one (even his own people) like.

A rather messy book, which was a great shame, because the first in this series (Finnikin of the Rock) was a excellent book, IMO. This one was all over the shop: a cast of thousands; characters kept on doing unexpected things; stuff was never really explained well; it went beyond darkness and into gross on a couple of occasions; and then it ended on a cliffhanger or five. Not happy.

I did like the minor character of Lucian, dealing with having to be leader to the Monts and filled with self doubt. If the book had just been about him, it would have been a much more compelling story. Sadly, Froi never quite worked for me, I found his whole quest a bit disturbing at times.

But still, the story was compelling (if I was rather bewildered all the way through) and I'm hoping it was just me being in a bad headspace while reading it, and the next book will be better.

***

66. An Awfully Big Adventure, Beryl Bainbridge



A great atmospheric read about a theatre company based in Liverpool in the 1950s, a city still recuperating from the Second World War. It did get a bit creepy towards the end, but it's still worth reading for the snark. I'll be reading more Bainbridge.

****

67. The Red Pony, John Steinbeck



A good simple, but not shallow, story about growing up.

Four stories about Jody Tiflin, a young boy growing up on his parents' farm in California, learning about life, and about death.

***1/2

68. City of Glass, Cassandra Clare



Traaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaash. But, oh so entertaining. Continues pretty much straight on from the second book, we have our bunch of angsty teens throwing sorrowful and/or lustful glances at each other from the very start.

I did try explaining the plot to Don in a fit of giggles, and he looked at me as if I was mad. And I also realised that this is soap, with a cast of thousands, not much change, and extreme emotions.

But it's also very entertaining soap.

Kudos to Clare for her sense of humour, this doesn't bog down in serious angst for long; for her cast of great characters (even if they are pretty black or white); and for her positive gay characters.

This final entry in the trilogy wrapped everything up quite nicely, but also had one excellently evil baddie escape at the 11th hour, so it's all lined up for the second trilogy. Which I shall be reading, in due course, next time I need an exciting, silly, entertaining read.

****

Tania- Nice little burst of reviews. Looks like everyone felt about the same in regards to the Red Pony. A good read, not a great one. I hope to get to fire in the next few months.

69. Fire, Kristin Cashore



Fire is the prequel to the highly entertaining Graceling, which I did enjoy a year or two ago. This takes place in a neighbouring land, where there are gloriously coloured "monsters", who look like normal animals (apart from the startling colours) but who can manipulate your mind in a crude fashion. (Personally, I liked the monster kittens, I would like one - or four - of those in the house.)

Fire is a human monster, distinguished by her hair, which runs the gamut of fuchsia to crimson, taking in scarlet, poppy and just plain red on the way. She prefers to not manipulate people, but then has to deal with them being unable to control themselves in her presence.

A bit of a messy contrivance, and a bit of a messy plot, really. She juggles spying, romance, learning how to control her powers, civil war, and a strange young boy (an obvious Graceling, if you've read the first book) who can also control minds. And the only really interesting plot to me was the Graceling, but he barely gets a look in.

However, the characters are a fine bunch of people to hang out with, and I turned the pages happily for most of the book.

***1/2

#143> Hi Mark! You snuck in there while I was composing my review, obviously. :)

I'm about to shut down the computer and go off and read more Wallander. I'm finding The Dogs of Riga quite compelling, a great mixture of whodunnit and Cold War thriller, almost. I doubt I'll finish it tonight, but I'm going to give it a try. :)

Ohh glad to hear that you are enjoying The Dogs of Riga, Tania. It was one of my favourite books in the Wallender series. As you say - a great mixture of mystery and Cold War thriller. I loved the atmosphere in the book! Kind of creepy! Loved it!

Finished The Dogs of Riga and it was good! Haven't got the next Wallander to hand, so moving on to Donna Leon and Death in a Strange Country.

I really have to get into those Cassandra Clare books.

Tania- I didn't realize Fire was a prequel. I like monster kittens too! Since you loved Dogs of Riga, try to track down the White Lioness, that was a terrific one too!

Even though that comment isn't for me, I'm about to start The White Lioness myself - glad to know it is a good one! I love these Wallander books.

Judy, they're trashy, but I do adore them as brainless reads. My copies (from the library) have blurbs by Stephanie Meyer on them, so you know the target audience. But they're a definite notch above her works.

Mark, I've *heard* it's a prequel. It's only loosely connected with Graceling, although there is a Graceling character in it. But (unless I forgot a name or two, which is always likely), it could really take place at any time. I'm looking forward to Bitterblue, I think this one's messy nature could be due to Second Book Syndrome. :)

Jennifer, I've got The White Lioness at the top of my wishlist at the moment!

70. Rivers of London, Ben Aaronovitch



This has been described as "if Harry Potter grew up and joined the London fuzz". Doesn't quite do it justice.

A good solid police procedural, with a fun sense of humour, a good deal of magic, characters to love (and to hate), and definite adult overtones of rather gross violence, unrequited sexual tension, and swearing. Don't think because it's been compared to Mr Potter that it's child-friendly.

Well worth a read though, if you're looking for something Potterish in an adult vein.

****

71. The Shape of Water, Andrea Camilleri



A first in the Commissario Montalbano series, and a good fun, solid read. I've got several more of these on the shelves and will be continuing.

It's always interesting reading a book originally written in a different language and from a different culture, even if I usually end up kvetching about awkward translations. This is no exception, giving us a great look at Sicily, which seems to be nothing like the romantic Italy of my imagination, but also making me slightly puzzled about male/female relationships in Italy.

***1/2

72. The Dogs of Riga, Henning Mankell



The second Inspector Wallander mystery, and a great adventure. I did want to reach into the book a few times and shake Wallander (who looks just like Kenneth Branagh in my mind, curse you, TV) who seems to be determined to be an action hero this book, even though he's somewhat older and podgier than your standard action hero.

But even though this went places I wasn't expecting (and I was looking for comfort reads this month, not unexpected plot twists and what the hell moments), it was still a great read, and I'm champing at the bit to go and buy the third in this excellent series.

****

73. Fables: Legends in Exile, Bill Willingham



This is the first in the graphic novel series Fable, about fairytale characters who have left their homes, fleeing the Adversary, and taking up residence in New York. (Or upstate on a farm, for those who do not have human form.)

I've read various of these, and have always enjoyed them, but it was fun finally tracking down the original and getting the back story straight. Especially good was finding out what happened originally with the Adversary, although overall it did feel a little "been there, done that" because I'd already read a number of the later books.

***1/2

74. Death in a Strange Country, Donna Leon



The second Commissario Brunetti mystery, set in Venice, and it left me hungry for Italian food. Even the polenta with liver sounded good when Leon describes it, and when Paola is cooking it, and Brunetti is eating it.

This time, Brunetti is investigating the death of a young American in Venice. The investigation is not an open and shut case, and it's a great story.

A series well worth reading, I must track down the third book soon!

****

Oh, my poor neglected thread! September was a madhouse, I kept up the reading (with lots of fun series books, just what I was craving, really) but got very little computer time. (Well, I did at work, but I was well, *working* then. :)

Hopefully I'll be able to crank out a few more reviews this weekend. It's pretty grey and wet out there, don't think we'll be going out much at all! Yay! Computer time! ;)

Nice to see what you've been up to Tania.

Tania- I'm glad you enjoyed The Dogs of Riga. It's one of my favorite of the Mankell series and I appreciated how compact it was. You do not see that in Scandi-Crime very often. I recently watched the Masterpiece adaptation too and they did a terrific job.
Glad you are now on the Montalbano train. I've read and enjoyed the 1st 2.
Have a good weekend!

Those are some great reviews, Tania! I'm glad you enjoyed Rivers of London. Several of your other reviews are of books I've already got on my wishlist, thank goodness.

Laura, most of what I've been up to has equated to running around like a headless chook and a fair whack of comfort reads. :) Been fun, just exhausting (hence the comfort reads). Is it Xmas yet??

Mark, I've only seen a bit of the Kenneth Branagh Wallander adaptations, and I reckon they're excellent. (Just don't watch that much TV of late.) Was chatting with someone at a dinner party the other night who was from Scandinavia (Iceland! I've never met an Icelandic person before!) who pronounced "Wallander" as (roughly) "Vallander" so took a minute to work out we were talking about the same thing. :) Although she was talking the original Swedish adaptation...

Hi Rosalita! It is nice when you hear good things about books you already own (or have already wishlisted). Means one less title to add to the lists!

75. Bloodsucking Fiends, Christopher Moore



San Francisco, and a vampire is on the loose. He manages to bite Jody, and leaves her under a dumpster in an alleyway. When she comes to, and realises what happens, she sets about remaking her life. And trying to work out why she was created.

It was rather good fun, although at times it read a bit like chicklit being written by a bloke. That is, the main female character came across as rather what a man would think a woman would be like (hint: we're not always keen on shopping) and, hence, the romance never really rang true. But the funny bits were funny.

***1/2

Inquiring minds want to know: What exactly is a headless chook? I think around these parts we would say 'running around like a chicken with its head cut off' which I'm guessing is somewhat similar?

76. In Dubious Battle, John Steinbeck



In this short novel, Steinbeck covers a strike from apple pickers, who have had their wages slashed once they have travelled to an unnamed Californian valley where the picking is to occur. In many of the themes and incidents, it closely resembles his masterpiece, Grapes of Wrath, but it failed to have that novel's impact for me, as the main instigators of the riot seem to be roughly drawn, not the fully fledged characters of Grapes of Wrath.

In particular, Sam, with his "strike at all cost" attitude and willingness to use other people's pain (and death) for his own means (prolonging the strike) came across as a horrible and manipulative man. And Jim never seems to be any more than an empty shell.

Where it succeeds, it succeeds because of the truth of what working people face, and the need for their protection against exploitative employers, and Steinbeck's great championing of these causes and documentation of the working classes in a very harsh period of history. The ending as well was remarkably powerful, given I had no real emotional bond with either of the main characters.

***1/2

Hi Rosalita, yep, same thing. "Chook" is Australian slang for "chicken". No idea where it came from, but it's hard to stop using the slang term and go back to the "real" word. :)

I like it! I think I'm going to see if I can get single-handedly import it into American slang!

Maybe you won't have to do it single-handedly. I'll be glad to help!

Wookie, I saw you were working on 1q84. How is that coming along? Reading that book was such a strange experience for me that I'm eager to discuss with someone the, uh, threads. Hope you're enjoying it!

Happy to chat about 1Q84, a great and unsettling read in my opinion. all thepieces have you read any other Murakami, his earlier The Wind-up Bird Chronicles is a simpler but similar read.

Oh dear, I was *planning* on tackling 1Q84 this month, but all plans went out the window. I was acting in my manager's position while he was off on holidays, and it took pretty much the whole two weeks he was away just to get through Tortilla Flat, which was a tiny little book. And I've only just managed to focus on a book this month (lots of books picked up, lots of books discarded after a chapter or two). At the moment, I'm enjoying Alif the Unseen, and I'm not making any more plans for anything else this month!

I'm still reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to Miss Boo, and Emily Rodda's The Silver Door to Mr Bear. Both are good fun, and even more fun with the kids.

Bryanoz, I tried The Windup Bird Chronicle, but had to return it to the library before I got very far. I wanted to check it out again at some point in time, though. I'm in the middle of one of his short story collections; The Elephant Vanishes. The first chapter from The Windup Bird Chronicle (only slightly different) is actually one of the stories. We'll definitely need to chat sometime. :)

Wookie, I always hated when my manager left me to deal with everything. It does eat up a lot of time. Hope you'll love Harry Potter as much as I did, though!

Oh, I'm a sad Harry Potter fan already. I've read the books multiple times to myself, am more than chuffed that the kids are going dressed as wizards^ for Halloween this year, and my current read (Alif the Unseen) was recommended to me at a Harry Potter High Tea at my local bookshop the other week.

But it has been a while between re-reads, so it's great fun going back. And even more fun with the kids!

^ Mr Bear is going to be Mad Eye Moody; Miss Boo Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry and Hermione would have been much easier, but this is probably going to be more fun. Just found a Hedwig costume online. The head is a little bizarre, but I *love* the concept. :) Wishing the kids were small enough to fit that one!

Tania - long time since I was over here to catch up with you. Agree just about with your assessment of In Dubious Battle which was a sort of precursor to his more complete The Grapes of Wrath but I do kinda like it a lot still if truth be known as he wrote from the downtrodden perspective at least as well as anyone of his generation.

I need to catch up, too, Tania. Hope all is going well! Good review of In Dubious Battle. I hope you get time to get back to Murakami; as you probably remember, I like all of his, and thought 1Q84 was one of his best.

Hi Paul! Hi Joe! It's been far too long between me visiting your threads as well. Must try and rectify that (Don's taking the kids trick-or-treating this evening while I mind the fort and finish the decorations - glow sticks in balloons, which won't really work properly until the sun's fully down - and catch up on LT :).

Paul, I did read somewhere a complaint about why don't Australian authors write about the working classes any more. So now I'm trying to be more class aware of the characters I read about, and Steinbeck is one of the very few who really does the working class.

Joe, I'm toying with the idea of picking it up soon, but I really should wait until after Christmas, life's a madhouse between now and February. I do have a bad track record at getting back to books I'd previously put down...

77. The Uncommon Reader, Alan Bennett



A re-read, and still quite delightful. I do feel guilty though, Her Majesty is a much better reader than I am, I am a complete dilettante compared to her.

*****

78. The Golden Door, Emily Rodda



Picked this one up at the library to read to Mr Bear. It's a pretty good tale, although there are some plot holes one could drive a truck through (and even Mr Bear has picked up on them).

But he really enjoyed it, and it is a book for him, not for me.

**** (Mr Bear's rating :)

79. The Hippopotamus Pool, Elizabeth Peters



Read this one a bit too long ago to really remember the plot, but honestly, it's all about the parasols, the silliness, and the fab relationship between Amelia and Radcliffe really. Still great fun, I'm still very happily reading them.

****

80. The Tales of Beedle the Bard, J.K. Rowling



Picked this one up because it seemed an easier way to refresh my memory on the story of the Three Brothers from The Deathly Hallows than working my way through that. Mr Bear is forever asking detailed questions about Harry Potter, and my memory fails me on the later books (because I don't have the time to re-read them like I did the earlier ones; mostly due to Mr Bear himself).

I think he's still confused, but I did like the rather black tone of some of these fairy tales, they reminded me of Oscar Wilde's fairy tales that I adored when I was younger.

****

Tania's back! Tania's back! Hooray! And with some mini-reviews as well. Double Yah! Hope you had a great weekend.

HI Tania! I really like The Tales of Beedle the Bard. JK Rowling is so incredibly creative!

Oh how I loved The Uncommon Reader! Such a delight. Pure candy for the brain.

I lost steam on the Peabody and Emerson mysteries somewhere around book five. It didn't wear as well as I'd hoped. :_{

I think it's time I read The Uncommon Reader.
Definitely time.

Hi Mark! I must admit, by the time the kids were in bed last night and I sat down to do some mini-reviews, I was practically seeing double. "Hippopotamus" is a very difficult word to spell when tired! Weekend was good, but I got stuck into clearing up our front yard (a rather grand term for a short driveway, some hedge and a verandah). Lots of dead leaves, detritus blown in by the winds, hedge poking me in the eyes when I hop out of the car, dead furniture on the verandah that needed to be cleared away. The dead furniture is still there (the council have been booked to pick it up on Thursday morning), but the leaves and rubbish have been cleared, and the hedge is now out of eye-poking reach.

This is also known as "help, my MIL is coming to town this week and the house looks like I haven't done a thing since she was last here". At least now it looks as if I've cleaned the front yard. :)

Hi Chelle! I am a bit of a sad Harry Potter fan (so much fun reading it to Miss Boo at the moment!), but this was the first time I'd tried anything that wasn't one of the chapter books books. It was quite charming, although probably a bit too black for a smallish boy. :)

Richard, glad you're a fan of The Uncommon Reader! It was a re-read for me, for a book group, and I had a blast the second time around as well. A friend of mine gave me a copy of Mrs Queen Takes the Train and reckons it's in a similar vein. I must get around to reading it, but I'm sure it won't be half as delightful.

Shame Peabody and Emerson didn't appeal to you as much as they appeal to me. I just find them delightful brain candy, read about one or two a year or so. Which reminds me, I must buy the next book for my MIL this week, she's a big fan, and tends to arrive and ask expectantly about any new (to us) Peabody books...

#182> Yes! Everyone must read it!

81. Tortilla Flat, John Steinbeck



Review pending (but don't hold your breath this time of year)

****

82. Alif the Unseen, G. Willow Wilson



Review pending (but don't hold your breath this time of year)

****1/2

83. Niceville, Carsten Stroud



Review pending (but don't hold your breath this time of year)

****

(Thanks to @judylou for the recommendation!)

84. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling



Review pending (but don't hold your breath this time of year)

****

(A re-read for me, reading aloud to Miss Boo.)

85. Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury



Review pending (but don't hold your breath this time of year)

*****

(Wow.)

Holy bookstore, you've been busy, Tania! Lots of good ones there. I'm another fan of The Uncommon Reader, which I hadn't even heard of before reading recommendations on LT.

Hope you're having a good weekend.

And I think I've got another 10 or so book review "stubs" to write, Joe! Been busy reading, have not been busy on the forums, sadly.

I should be making my 100 target this year, assuming I don't suddenly pick up a doorstopper of a book. :)

That will put you very close to your 100 for the year, Tania! Very interested to see what you've been reading. Glad you liked Something Wicked This Way Comes as much as I do!

I'm glad you liked Niceville, it was a good one!

Roni, I'd read one Bradbury before - Fahrenheit 451 - as a much younger reader, and I think a lot of it went over my head. So this was only the second time I tried his books, and it was just *marvellous*. I shall be re-reading F-451 asap.

Judy, it was a great read! When I returned it to the library, a woman instantly snaffled it from the returns pile because of Elmore Leonard's blurb on the front, and I also gave it a hearty recommendation. Very, very black, and I had no idea where it was going for a while. Loved the chapter titles, so deadpan. "So-and-so's afternoon requires some concentration" and then you find out *why* he needs to concentrate so much...

86. Ready Player One, Ernest Cline



Review pending (but don't hold your breath this time of year)

****

87. Spirit House, Mark Dapin



Review pending (but don't hold your breath this time of year)

***1/2

88. Mrs Queen Takes the Train, William Kuhn



Review pending (but don't hold your breath this time of year)

****

89. The Pure in Heart, Susan Hill



Review pending (but don't hold your breath this time of year)

****

90. The Magicians, Lev Grossman



Review pending (but don't hold your breath this time of year)

****1/2

91. Death Note, Volume 1: Boredom, Tsugumi Ohba



Review pending (but don't hold your breath this time of year)

****

92. Burma Chronicles, Guy Delisle


Review pending (but don't hold your breath this time of year)

****

93. Young Miles, Lois McMaster Bujold



Review pending (but don't hold your breath this time of year)

****

94. The Dragon of Og, Rumer Godden



Review pending (but don't hold your breath this time of year)

****

Apart from the distinct lack of any sort of review, I am now caught up. Phew!

My you've been a busy reader!

Hi Tania- WOW! You've been knocking out the books! You may not be visiting the threads but it looks like your nose has been continuously stuck in a book. Yah!
I'm so glad you liked RPO. That's one of my favs too!
Hope you relaxing this weekend.

Laura, lots of reading, and not much reviewing! Even when I'm busy, there's still a bus commute to and from work which is where I get most of my reading done.

Mark, Ready Player One was a great fun read - one of those books that after I'd put it down, I was sad that I'd finished. I wanted more!

I'm currently juggling a number of books:

* There Should Be More Dancing for bookgroup - it's our "light" fiction read for the year (in honour of Xmas and the busyness of December) and it's just not grabbing me that much...
* The Pearl by Steinbeck, which *is* grabbing me, and I'll probably have finished tonight (expect another non-review soon :P )
* reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets *and* The Thirteenth Fey with Miss Boo (who can't focus on a book either, it seems)
* reading The Silver Door to Mr Bear (except when bedtime turns into a tickle-fest instead)

And while I returned a few books to the library on the weekend, more seem to have turned up. Sigh.

And I cleaned up the Great Book Spill of '12 over the weekend. (You know the piles of books have gotten out of control when you can't get out of bed easily, not without scooching to the foot of the bed first. And when they topple over very dramatically when a cat walks past and brushes them with her tail.) Trimmed it down to two middling sized piles. Sadly, only managed to commit to getting rid of about 3 books. Happily, found my missing copy of Catching Fire. Knew it was in there somewhere!!

The Great Book Spill of '12 -- love it!

>206 wookiebender: ...so wait...there are people who can just leap like the chamois out of bed without planning which pile of books to avoid due to gravity's exigencies?

Here I thought that was a myth.

Book Spill ... hehehehe

Richard, you are a man after my own heart. At the moment, I'm still astounded every time I walk into the bedroom: what is this thing on the floor, I think it may be a "carpet"? And these "surfaces" on the bedside table, surely they're just there for more book stacks, right?

Glad I nailed the terminology with "book spill". :)

Tania- We met Joe & Becca at a brewery yesterday and had a great visit and of course you were mentioned. We also met a man from western Australia, who was talking up "craft beer" from his area. Supposedly, you guys grow terrific hops there. Did not know that.

LOL, I'm afraid I don't know my hops from my barley! I just enjoy the finished product. :) And, yes, WA does seem to have a goodly supply of craft beer. I remember Redback fondly from my youth, when there was nothing but mass produced beer available, the great exceptions were South Australia with Coopers, and WA had Redback. We still drink Coopers quite often (I do like their pale ale) and every now and then indulge in some Little Creatures, also from WA. I also had a rather excellent alcoholic ginger beer, from Broome (northish of the state). Can't remember its name, sadly.

Tell the truth, I've rather lost track of what beer comes from where. So long as it's artisanal, I'll try it! :)

I think he (the guy from WA) mentioned Little Creatures to the brewer, who unfortunately wasn't familiar with it. You would have enjoyed this tour, Tania, with several good beers offered for tasting.

Oh, I always like being introduced to new yummy beers. :) One of my book/beer buddies has a pub up the road from her which was recently revamped and is now selling Young Henry's on tap - I'm very fond of YH, their brewery is a shortish walk from my house (and a much longer walk home when carrying a growler!). Sadly, we're both flat out this time of year (isn't everyone?) and we probably won't get there until January.

By which stage, summer may have kicked in (we're back to cold and grey at the moment, go figure) and a beer would be delightful. :)

95. The Pearl, John Steinbeck



Review pending (but don't hold your breath this time of year)

****

Books and beer !
Agree with Coopers, still one of the best.
Our Xmas beer this year is James Squire's 50 Lashes Pale Ale.
Cheers.

Oh, I like James Squire, too! Haven't tried their Pale Ale (entirely my bad) but am rather fond of their Golden Ale from some years ago. It might have one of those funky new names now, I can't keep up!

Squire's golden ale was our Christmas beer a few years back !, I think they now call it 'The Chancer' Golden Ale.
Give the One 50 Lashes Pale a try wookie, it is nice, especially with summer here (39 degrees in Adelaide today!).
Cheers.

Ah, had a Golden Ale last night, while at the Star Wars burlesque. (Yes, you read that right. http://www.thevanguard.com.au/shows/2012/12/13/star-wars-burlesque/11161 - not work-safe. I'm still slightly freaked out by the sexy Darth, and Boba Fett was pretty awesome. And I loved my Han Solo in frozen chocolate dessert. And my "Palpatine's Regret" cocktail.)

The Golden Ale 'twas as scrumptious as I remembered. Might have to get some in for our Christmas beer too, I don't think I've ever done a "Christmas" beer before, but I think it sounds like a good tradition to start. :)

(And my favourite quote of the night was when the compere asked us about the most terrifying person in the Star Wars universe, and Don called out "Jar-Jar Binks". Luckily, the burlesque was classic Star Wars, so there was no Jar-Jar.)

Interesting with the Burlesque Star Wars, I suppose there will be Burlesque Game of Thrones soon.
Nice to see the Golden Ale is still quality.
With the Xmas beer, I buy a slab of a nice beer I mightn't usually drink, for a special change. I also get to try some different beers to select the special Xmas one ! So it is win - win !
And I liked Jar-Jar !?

"The Empire Strips Back"

oh myyyyy, to quote George Takei.

I think it's the same people (same venue at any rate) behind "Batman Follies of 1929" and a Wizard of Oz burlesque. But we couldn't pass up Star Wars! I don't know if I'd be in the audience for a Games of Thrones version! Too much blood, ick.

You liked Jar-Jar? I liked NOTHING about the first prequel and still have not bothered with the rest. I can think of better things to waste my money on. Although the Clones Wars animated series is actually pretty good. I believe Lucas had little to do with it, which is the way it should be.

There Should be More Dancing, Rosalie Ham



Review pending (but don't hold your breath this time of year)

No rating, did not finish.

96. Silence of the Grave, Arnaldur Indridason



Review pending (but don't hold your breath this time of year)

****

97. City of Fallen Angels, Cassandra Clare



Review pending (but don't hold your breath this time of year)

****

I REALLY must read those cassandra Clare books.

98. Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, Kate Wilhelm



Review pending (but don't hold your breath this time of year)

****

Judy, the Cassandra Clare books are just like chewing gum, really. I'm quite embarrassingly addicted. :)

And very annoyed to find out that #6 isn't going to be out until *2014*!! Wah! (I'll have to go and read the prequels - the final in that series comes out next year, at least.) City of Fallen Angels is #4, although #1-3 are self-contained, there's no real reason to read on. (Unless one is addicted. ;)

And I have just wishlisted that last one too.

#227 Kate Wilhelm is always a good read, I really liked her Juniper Time too.

Looks like we were posting at the same time! If I am careful, I might be able to space out the series so I am just in time for the 2014 one!

Judy, a bit of a break between the Mortal Instruments books is always a good thing. Otherwise the teen angst can get a bit much. :)

Bryan, I'd never heard of Kate Wilhelm before! It was one of those sci-fi masterworks series which I've always found very good, so grabbed it when I saw it at the library. Happy to see she's got an omnibus coming out next year, three of her shorter (?) novels.

Tania- Are you still busy, my friend? I miss seeing you around. I hope all is well in your part of the world. Glad to see you are reading at a pretty nice clip. Hugs!

Delurking to say that I'm pleased Australia didn't vanish in a puff of Apocalypse. Happy yuletide!

Happy Holidays, Tania!

Hi Mark! Hopefully a bit more chatting time in my near future: this is the first day of my 3 week holiday!! THREE weeks. I'm feeling rather giddy, last time I had three weeks off was my "last hurrah" when pregnant with Mr Bear, over 10 years ago.

Of course, I will have to fight for computer/iPad time with the kids, it is school holidays, which is why I'm on leave. And I've got to get through Christmas as well: today is my parent's Xmas dinner (Mum refuses to cook on Xmas Day, so we've always had a turkey several days before, and then cold turkey and ham sandwiches on the day itself; that's morphed into sandwiches and seafood now the family has extended to partners and another generation), I've still got some presents to buy (help!) and then there's the seafood run on Xmas Eve. That's a bit insane. (At least we've done the grocery & fruit shop, and have bottles of booze rattling around that I'm determinedly not drinking until Xmas Eve!)

Hi Richard! Happy holidays! I'd forgotten about the Mayan apocalypse until I saw a tweet yesterday: (to paraphrase) damn, now I do have to pay off my credit card.

Hi Joe! Merry Christmas to you and your family!

I'm currently reading a collection of short stories by Patricia A. McKillip, Wonders of the Invisible World, which are all very good. Should try and track down some of her fiction, I picked this up at the library after reading a rave review somewhere.

last time I had three weeks off was my "last hurrah" when pregnant with Mr Bear, over 10 years ago.

What? I thought all Australians had a mandated 20 weeks off every year. ;-)

Is it true that Americans only get two weeks annual leave a year?? How do you get anything done??

This is the start of a nice stretch of public holidays, so it des stretch my leave out nicely. Christmas day, boxing day, new years day, then Australia day on 26th January. Plus work spoils us with Xmas eve off as well. :)

Hi Tania- I bet you are so happy to have an extended period of time off! Hooray, for Wookie! I think the average amount of vacation time, in America is 2 weeks. Personally, I get 5 weeks, (I usually carry a week over) but that's after 30 years, counting my military time.
Happy holidays, my friend! Enjoy!!

>238 wookiebender:: Is it true that Americans only get two weeks annual leave a year??
That's a typical starting point, yes. In the company I work for, you accrue more days based on years of service. I have been with the same company my entire 28-year career, and am entitled to 5 weeks each year. I can also buy another week if I choose (that's essentially a week without pay, but the cost is deducted from each monthly paycheck). These days it is unusual for someone to spend their career with a single firm, happily accumulating vacation days, so I suspect people also negotiate for vacation as part of their employment contract.

>238 wookiebender: - US law actually doesn't mandate paid vacation time at all. About 25% of workers receive no paid vacation. When I worked retail (for an independent bookstore run by a very nice woman) I got one week.

What? I thought all Australians had a mandated 20 weeks off every year. ;-)

Well, of course we do. We need time to work on those tans you know!

Just realised that I had lost you... Merry Christmas and I'll try not to again!

Oh, I do like how you get more leave the longer you stay with a company! (Not that many people do stick around nowadays, for a multitude of reasons.) I've been trying to convince work that I need an extra week's leave a year, but they can't cope with the concept. Sigh.

Merry Christmas to everyone! We did our final shop today: fruit and seafood ($50 a kilo for the large king prawns!!! Ridiculous, we went for the cheaper smaller ones), and the traditional last minute rush for a toy (in this case, Furbies, which my sister was buying for them, but we got crossed wires and she got the wrong toy!! bit of a mad rush fixing that mistake at both our ends).

Now we're just enjoying the air conditioning inside, with "Singin' in the Rain" on the DVD player. My favourite movie. :) And about to wrangle kids into finishing Xmas decorations.

I hope everyone has a great Xmas Day, with lots of friends/food/loot/family/whatever you need to make your Christmas great.

Happy Christmas! Hope it's lovely!

I've enjoyed seeing what books you've read, and I know quite a few of my recent adds to the TBR list came from you.

Merry Christmas!!

Glitterfy.com - Christmas Glitter Graphics

I want to wish you a glorious celebration of that time of year when we all try to unite around a desire for Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward All. Merry Christmas, Tania!

Thanks all, and a very Merry Christmas to you all too! I hope your Christmases were filled with books and great company, and maybe some quiet reading time too. :)

I got Dolly by Susan Hill, and Lost Voices by Christopher Koch, both of which I'm looking forward to. And money towards further book purchases throughout the year, which mum has done for the past few years: makes Xmas last longer as I name drop what she's "bought" for me throughout the year. :)

99. Wonders of the Invisible World, Patricia A. McKillip



Review pending (but don't hold your breath this time of year)

****

Almost there.

Almost there.

Perhaps not the time to start War and Peace.

Perhaps not the time to start War and Peace.

LOL! Not that I started War and Peace, but Out of Africa in the hopes that I'd have some serious reading time. Of course, the reading time has not quite eventuated, and it seems silly somehow to pick up a short book "just" to make the target! Especially since I am really enjoying Out of Africa. Maybe if I pull an all-nighter. :P

Just pretty impressed about your use of "eventuated". Don't think I've ever managed to work that word in, yet alone so smoothly.

Hah, I've been trying to work "behoove" into work conversations for years now, with no luck!

I, too, am in awe of your vocabulary, Tania!

Happy New Year, Tania, and many happy reads for 2013!

Hope a wonderful New Year eventuates for you, Tania!

Tania - just stopping by to wish you Happy New Year and thank you for your occasional visits over the "other side" to me and others. We miss you over there and if only we could snatch you back for the A team...........x

Hope you squeeze out the 100th book just in time.

Happy New Year, all!

Was in the city this morning, and it's filled with people heading towards the Quay and various harbour spots for the fireworks tonight. Personally, I shall be on the sofa watching them on TV, avoiding all the crowds and the drunkards. Yay me! (And the kids might be allowed to stay up and have some popcorn with me for the 9pm fireworks, if I'm feeling nice... ;)

Shall be madly trying to finish Out of Africa but will only succeed in finishing it in 2012 if I'm vague about which timezone I'm reading it, and if I skip the Shadows on the Grass bit. Still, it'll be a good start for 2013! (Will set up that thread asap, once I've got a photo of the cat asleep on the bookshelves. She moves every time I get the camera, dagnabbit!)

Happy New Year, Tania! We had another great year on LT and I see no reason why '13 isn't just as good. Hugs!

Happy New Year from Vancouver, Tania! It's still Dec 30th here, but it's my husband's b-day, and tomorrow my oldest turns 16, so it's all just one blur of a party over here.

I think you can safely start Shadows in the Grass after Jan 1 and still count OoA as a book. That's how I'd record it, anyway.

Have a good night in tonight. I'll be doing much the same here in Melbourne. Even though they are bragging here that they will be having the biggest fireworks show ever, I don't think anyone, anywhere can beat Sydney's display for New Years.

Well, a quiet afternoon on the sofa means that I finished Out of Africa, and only have the 70 pages of Shadows on the Grass to go! Of course, in order to have a quiet afternoon on the sofa, my children have square eyes from TV/iPad/computer/iPhone entertainments. My bad...

Happy New Years, all!

Judy, it's hard to beat Sydney because of the Harbour - best venue for fireworks! It'll be nice weather tonight, there was a few years ago when it was too windy and they had to cancel! Worst. New. Years. Ever.

But I hate actually venturing down there, people have been fighting over prime positions since last night, and the crowds are just horrible, so many tired children and sunburnt backpackers (use sunscreen, damnit!!) and drunken idiots. I've done it a couple of times over the years, and now just avoid the whole occasion.

Sorry, just not a NYE person here. :)

Here's to a great new year ahead, Tania!

I'm with you wookie, re the crowds, etc. Last night's display was, as usual, quite wonderful!

Lovely pic, ronincats!

Judy, the 9pm fireworks were a bit ordinary, but the midnight ones were great.

And here's my 2013 thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/147134#

Come and join me in the New Year!

Belated Happy New Year!

Thanks! Are you over at the 2013 group yet? I'd hate to miss out on your 2013 reading!

And an update: I now have *510* unread books in the house. I didn't achieve my goal of reducing Mt TBR much at all! Yeesh. I've already bought two new books in the New Year alone...

Haha, same here. I already have 6 new books this year (free, but still...)