Lori (lkernagh) Hits her Prime in 2013!

Well, I tried to resist this group while I continue to work through my 12 in 12 Challenge and have now admitted defeat. Setting up a new challenge is just too much fun! Staking out my claim and setting out the welcome mat for visitors.



There is no way I will be able to read 169 books for a full 13 in 13, but I do like the idea of categories so I have come up with my own twist on the theme: 13 categories where each category, come the end of the year, is considered completed if the number of books read in that category equals a prime number.

(Personal reminder - Prime numbers are 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47...and so on, and so on)

The categories in my 2013 Prime Challenge:

1. All things GRAPHIC
2. All things NEW (published in 2012 or 2013)
3. All things EPISTOLARY
4. All things GOTHIC
5. All things FABLES and FAIRY TALES - original and retold
6. All things EUROPA
7. All things REGENCY - books set in the Regency period
8. All things PENGUIN
9. All things MITFORD
10. All things SERIES, SEQUELS, PREQUELS and TRILOGIES
11. All things NEWSWORTHY (books that get alot of buzz - On LT, as prize contenders and winners, etc)
12. All things ON MY TBR BOOKCASE
13. All things WITH A TITLE, AUTHOR(S) AND WORDS WRITTEN - The life saving 'catch-all category'

My goal here is to try and make a dent in my TBR pile so I have choosen my categories with that end goal in mind. Descriptions of the categories along with some prelimiary candidates are listed in the posts below.

1. All things GRAPHIC



It's time I joined the growing masses reading and enjoying graphic novels. I have created this category with the Sandman group read in mind, as well as my intention to dive into Bill Willingham's Fables series (reserving the right to also slot Willingham's books under the Fables and Fairy Tales category.)

BOOKS READ:
1. The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman - (review here - post 162)
2. A Sickness in the Family by Denise Mina Illustrated by Antonio Fuso - (review here - post 193)
3. The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman - (review here - post 238)

Candidates:
Neil Gaiman's Sandman series
Blankets by Craig Thompson
Bill Willingham's Fables series
Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis series
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Essex County by Jeff Lemire
Mike Carey's The Unwritten series
Journalism by Joe Sacco
Gloriana by Kevin Huizenga
The Arrival by Shaun Tan
The Crow by James O'Barr
Alice in Sunderland by Brian Talbot

2. All things NEW (published in 2012 or 2013)



Self explanatory. I tend to gravitate to fresh 'off the press' books and wanted a category to capture these enticing gems!

BOOKS READ:
1. Clay: A Novel by Melissa Harrison - (review here - post 192)

3. All things EPISTOLARY



This is a category I was planning to include in my 12 in 12 and as it just didn't happened, I have dusted off the category for the 2013 challenge.

BOOKS READ:
1. The Twitter Diaries by Georgie Thompson and Imogen Lloyd Webber- (review here - post 133)

Candidates:
Clarissa by Samuel Richardson
The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After by Patricia Wrede
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
The Mitfords by Charlotte Mosley
Griffin & Sabine series by Nick Bantock
Letters Home by Sylvia Plath
The Gardener by Sarah Stewart
Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede
43 Old Cemetery Road series by Kate Klise
Daddy Long Legs and Dear Enemy by Jean Webster
A Celibate Season by Carol Shields and Blanche Howard
The Expedition of Humphrey Clinker by Tobias Smollett
Queen of the Tambourine by Jane Gardam
P.G. Wodehouse: A Life in Letters by P.G. Wodehouse
Mrs. Fry's Diary by Mrs. Stephen Fry
Lady Susan by Jane Austen
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Henrietta's War by Joyce Dennys

4. All things GOTHIC



I am so looking forward to this category. Lots of great books out there I have never read that will fit perfectly here!

BOOKS READ:

Candidates:
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafron
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe
Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart
The Monk by M.G. Lewis
Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell
The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson
Dracula by Bram Stoker
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne

5. All things FABLES and FAIRY TALES - original and retold



Yes, I can be a sucker for tales, fables and everything magical! Another category to try and dive into all the books out there that are a retelling in one form or another.

BOOKS READ:

Candidates:
Bill Willingham
Robin McKinley
Shannon Hale
Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen
Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Breath by Donna Jo Napoli
My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me: Forty New Fairy Tales by Kate Bernheimer
The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman
Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce
The Sister Grimm series by Michael Buckley
Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
In the Cities of Coin and Spice by Catherynne Valente
Iron Hans: a Grimms' Fairy Tale by Stephen Mitchell
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
The Merchant's Daughter by Melanie Dickerson

6. All things EUROPA


I am a big fan of the books published by Europa Editions. I currently have six of their books languishing on my TBR bookcase and others waiting for me at my local library. 2013 will be a year where I will try to explore the books they publish!

BOOKS READ:

Candidates (from my TBR bookcase):
Broken Glass Park by Alina Bronsky
A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse
Old Filth by Jane Gardam
Chourmo by Jean-Claude Izzo
Little Criminals by Gene Kerrigan
The Palestinian Lover by Selim Nassib

7. All things REGENCY - books set in or written during the British Regency period



I need a category for some tried and true escapism reading courtesy of Georgette Heyer, etc. The British Regency period is a rather tight one according to the Wikipedia article, spanning the time period from 1811 — when King George III was deemed unfit to rule and his son, the Prince of Wales, ruled as his proxy as Prince Regent through to 1820, when the Prince Regent became George IV on the death of his father. As narrow as that time period is, I will have no problem finding books to fill this category..... I may even surprise myself and dive into one or two of Jane Austen's novels!

BOOKS READ:

Candidates:
The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After by Patricia Wrede
Georgette Heyer
Mary Balogh
Joan Wolf
Naomi Novik's Temeraire series
Tahir Shah's Timbuctoo
Kate Ross's Julian Kestrel Mysteries Series
The Ivy Lockwell series by Galen Beckett
Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever by Julia Quinn

8. All things PENGUIN


Awe, that darling little aquatic, flightless bird that subtly graces the spine and cover of so many books that catch my eye! Time to pay homage to the multitude of books published by the second largest trade book publisher in the world (after Random House, and no.... I don't have a category for Random House. Maybe next year.)

BOOKS READ:

Candidates (a sample from my TBR bookcase):
Keeper of the Crystal Spring by Naomi Baltuck
The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank
The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
The Wars by Timothy Findley
Howard's End by E. M. Forster
Inamorata by Joseph Gangemi
C'est la Vie by Suzy Gershman
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka
The Storyteller by Mario Vargas Llosha
Mr. Darwin's Shooter by Roger McDonald
Wish I Could be There by Allen Shawn
My Year of Meats by Ruth L. Ozeki

9. All things MITFORD



Another self explanatory category. I have all nine books in Jan Karon's Mitford series on my TBR bookcase and I figure this is the time to settle in and visit Midford. The fact that these are published by Penguin will make it easy to keep the books read in this category to equal a prime number!

BOOKS READ:

10. All things SERIES, SEQUELS, PREQUELS, and TRILOGIES



According to LT, I have 118 series read or in progress which makes this category a must, especially for the new series that keep being brought to my attention via book bullets while reading everyone's threads! This is also a safety net for when I need to move books around from one category to another in line with Prime!

BOOKS READ:
1. A Death in the Small Hours by Charles Finch- (review here - post 235)

Candidates (from my TBR bookcase):
Steig Larsson's Millennium Trilogy

11. All things NEWSWORTHY - books that get a lot of buzz - On LT, as prize contenders and winners, etc


A category for when I just have to find out for myself what all the fuss is about!

BOOKS READ:

12. All things ON MY TBR BOOKCASE



As of the end of August, I had 250 books on my TBR bookcase waiting for my attention. Not an awful lot of books by LT standards but still, I buy books to read them, not for them to languish on the shelves and become dust collectors..... for the record, I hate dusting. Time to move these boys, even if it is to make way for new books.

BOOKS READ:
1. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka- (review here - post 216)

13. All things WITH A TITLE, AUTHOR(S) AND WORDS WRITTEN - The life saving 'catch-all category'



BOOKS READ:

So, that is the game plan. I will now head back to the 12 in 12 to continue working my way to completing that challenge but will pop back here from time to time. In the meantime, feel free to drop by and check out the new digs.

This thread is now open for business!

Resistance is futile! I'll set up my own thread soon too - I'll "just" have to figure out what my categories will be. Looks like you'll do some damage to my wishlist next year too!

*dusts off shoes on the welcome mat, sets housewarming gift on the hall table and admires shiny new digs*
I love the catch-all category title :D
And it looks like you have a good lineup of Gothic novels! Hope you enjoy Rebecca and The Woman in White.

Looks like fun! Great setup!

Somehow a star seems like the appropriate response to the picture at the top of your thread! I'm intrigued by several of your categories. I'm curious to see what ends up in your "books with titles, authors, & words written"!

Welcome visitors!

- Yes, resistance is futile! darn it all ;-)

- Gothic will be a home for me in 2013 and I really look forward to it!

Hope you enjoy the Mitford books! I am going to re-read them sometime!

Hi Lori - first post went to la-la land so re-posting to say Hi and that I am looking forward to Karon's series!

like the idea of stopping on Primes - especially as 13 is a happy prime and one of the very few known wilson primes...

looks like a great years reading ahead too :-) starred

oo primes is a great idea

Love the Gothic category and love some of the titles that you are planning on reading.

Ha! I thought about using prime numbers for my number-of-books-per-category.....but realized I was too mathematically challenged to figure it out! :) Good luck with your challenge.

Love your categories, as usual! Epistolary, gothic and Regency seem especially appealing. Let it be noted that I will squee like a Twilight fangirl if you read some Austen! :)

Thanks everyone! The Prime idea was more happenstance than planning on my part.... I was looking for a way to give me the flexibility to read what I can in each category. When I realized 13 was a prime number I decided it would work for this challenge!

All the categories hit some form of a comfort read for me so it should be easy to fill the categories.

> 27 - LOL! .... anything is possible, that is for sure!

Categories look like fun...
I have a couple Kate Morton, Mary Balogh, the last Temeraire, the second Mitford, and of course, oodles of series books of my list for next year. Guess we're in the same mold.

For your fables and fairy tales, may I suggest something by Donna Jo Napoli. All of her books are based on some old standard. Breath is based on The Pied Piper of Hamelin, for instance.

And for your addiction to series, have you heard of the website FictFact where you can keep track of your series and they will notify you when a new one comes out. I like to use this when a student asks for the next one in a series and I can't remember what the next one should be or when it's coming out.

> 29 - Hi Cheli, sounds like I will be spending a lot of time over on your thread checking out your reading!

> 30 - Hi manzel, Thanks for the rec for Donna Jo Napoli. She is an author I haven't come across before now. Breath looks interesting! I have heard of but have not looked into FictFact..... will get around to doing so at some point.

Lori, I love all your categories! And I just realized that I have joined the Sandman Group Read and yet, didn't plan on a Graphic Novel category!! Perhaps I will use graphics as a refresher between longer books. I gotta squeeze them in somehow! Really looking forward to following you into the 13 in 13 Challenge.

Hi Judy, I am looking forward to seeing your categories when you get them posted! I am planning for more of a fun and entertaining 2013 reading year, as you can see..... ;-)

I adore your categories, Lori!

Thanks Laura! I am looking forward to 2013! ..... I just need to finish the 12 in 12 .....

Me too - yikes! :)

Great categories Lori, I think I'll be taking a few Book Bullets from you next year!

Great categories and candidates, Lori! And I love that picture!

If you do end up reading Persepolis, I hope you enjoy it. I absolutely loved it when I read it and keep recommenindg it to people every chance I get.

You've got some great stuff here. I like the epistolary category and I hope you enjoy the Jean Websters as much as I did. If you need something short in that category, Jane Austen's Lady Susan fits the bill and can be read in an afternoon. Your Regency category looks fun. I thought that Marion Chesney's Regency books were a good romp. (She wrote those for years before she took up detective novels.) If you can find the Six Sisters or Poor relation series you would probably enjoy them.

> #39 - Hello PawsforThought, thanks for stopping by and, yes, I do hope I get to Persepolis next year. Always happy to see another positive recommendation for a planned book read!

> #40 - Hi Bjace, Thanks! My local library has Lady Susan so on the candidates list it goes. Thanks for the rec for Six Sisters or Poor relation series..... I will keep an eye out for it. The Regency category is my guilty pleasures reading for 2013, along with most of the other stuff I hope to read! ;-)

Lovely categories - I can see myself adding a few books to my wishlist by folowing this thread.

Love your categories and will be following your progress. Just want to mention Shades of Milk and Honey as a fun Regency style read.

> 42 - Thanks Lisa. I hope to have a fun reading year in 2013!

> 43 - Thanks Kerry. I have added Kowel's book to my candidates list. I figure by the end of 2012 I should have great lists for most if not all of my categories!

I'm really looking forward to your reads, especially for graphic novels and fairy tales. I thought of creating a non-fiction letters/diaries category, but I couldn't squeeze it in. By the way, I've very much enjoyed Bill Willingham's Fables series. Can't wait for the Fables: The Deluxe Edition Book 6 to come out.

I see many book bullets in my future for 2013

> 45 - Thanks Tanglewood! I am looking forward to Willingham's Fables series. Nice to see he has a deluxe edition coming out.

> 46 - I love the crystal ball animated gif Cheli! As for book bullets, I think those are going to be flying around fast and furious on a lot of threads for 2013!

Hi Lori, great categories and some very interesting candidates for 2013, may will join you in some of them :)

Thanks Bianca!

Nice categories and candidates! You've got a number that I hope you read just to see what you think. :)

> 50 - Thanks! I am chomping at the bit to start this challenge but I have two more challenges still to wrap up - my 12 in 12 and my Alphabet challenge. At least i am still on track to start this one on Jan 1.

Hi Lori! These are great categories (bookbuzz) very much and prime number reading goal is such a good idea! I like epistolary novels and just LOVED Les liaisons dangereuses by Choderlos de Laclos. Dracula is fantastic, too - altough it's not a "pure" epistolary novel. I never could get friends with Richardson... If you're interested in a modern day epistolary novel dealing with a different kind of love story, you could try Love Virtually by Daniel Glattauer. I wish you a great reading year 2013!

Can't wait for you to start your challenge. There are already several books listed above that sound right up my alley. And I like the prime numbers twist :o)

Do you like Neil Gaiman? I really liked his Stardust which would fit in your fairy tale category, and there is an illustrated version as well which is lovely (not a graphic novel.)

Will be following along with your reading again for this challenge. A good set up and plenty of candidates that I'm already looking forward to seeing what you think.

> 53 - Hi Sandra, I cannot wait to start either! I have never read anything by Neil Gaiman.... or have I... *checks library*... correction, I have read Coraline, and that's about all I have read of Gaiman. Good to know he has a book that will fit the fairy tale category. I will make sure to add that one to the candidates list!

> 54 - Hi Dave, I am working my way up to your thread to check out your categories!

I second the recommendation of stardust

I'll chime in and third the Stardust recommendation.

I am seeing a lot of *stardust* floating around here! It's really pretty....... ;-) Thanks Eva and Pete for chiming in. Gaiman's book is now high up on the candidates list.

sprinkles some more Stardust around the room. I kept my copy just so I can reread it once every 5 years or so.

I know this sounds primitive, but I've never read any Neil Gaiman. I'll have to give Stardust a try. My 2013 reading schedule is already overcommitted.

> 59 - It is great to see so many Stardust fans here! I can't wait to read it now.... ;-)

> 60 - Don't feel too bad about it. There are stacks of authors that are always talked about here on LT that I have never read, J.K. Rowlings being the first one that comes to my mind......

I've only read Coraline, so you're not alone.

I need to read Coraline, having only seen the movie! And Neverwhere is on my radar because of the forthcoming BBC Radio 4 adaptation :)

Oooh, I wish I'd thought of a Regency category! Good luck this year!

I've read 4 books from Gaiman and I loved them all. In 2013 I intend to read Neverwhere.

#1 I love your welcoming mat and having been a physics major at college a not so long time ago, I appreciate the prime number thingie, I wish I had tought of it myself.

#2 I've been thinking of reading the Sandman series, Blankets it's been giving me the eye for years because I always leave the bookshop without it, and Persepolis. I hope that you enjoy the ride and I look forward your feedback on this category.

#11 Oh I really liked this serie, I read it a few years ago and I couldn't put it down til the end. It is a good thriller with little touch of sweden history, hope that you'll liked it.

#13 I know the feeling, so last summer I have share, more like given books that I had acquired years ago without giving it a second thought, this way I feel less shameful ;) I have given them the chance to bring fun to others.

> 62 - ;-)

> 63 - I read Coraline and watched the movie a couple of years ago. Thanks to LT, I can say that while both were great, I enjoyed the book more..... not that I am trying to entice you to read it or anything.... nooooo, I wouldn't do that..... ;-0

> 64 - Thanks! I am looking forward to a fun year of reading!

> 65 - If I find myself enjoying Stardust and the Sandman Group read, that will at least leave the door open for a possible Gaiman category for 2014. *makes note to see what Lisa thinks of Neverwhere once she has read it*

> 66, 67, 68 & 69 - Thanks! I am looking forward to my big dip into GN books for 2013. As for the Millennium trilogy, I am keen to read it now that I have all three books. I have heard such great things about the series, even from friends who didn't strike me as the type to gravitate to that type of book! The majority of my books are acquisitions from trolling my favorite used book haunts as well as the yearly book sale our local newspaper sponsors so I have no problem handing the books on to another reader once I am finished. I do keep the books that I receive as gifts...... because they usually are hardcovers that I specifically requested that , quite frankly, it would be a really awkward conversation if the gifter couldn't find their book on my bookshelves!

I'm a bad representative of my home country, having never actually got round to reading the Millennium trilogy (I've only seen the movies/TV-miniseries a few times). I'm planning on rectifying this in the 2014 challenge.

I grabbed American Gods by Gaimen when Barnes and Noble had a sale on one for my nook (10th anniversary?) thinking I would read it for my awards category but never got to it. Maybe I'll try this year.

If I'd been quicker I would have put Coraline and Neverwhere on my Xmas list! Of course, I still could... or maybe that's what I'll spend the inevitable gift cards on after the holidays :)

Do what I do and buy yourself some presents! (I get presents from my family too, but I like to treat myself to something on Christmas and my birthday - no one knows what I want better than I do...)

Paws, that's especially true with books. Unless I specify something I particularly want, if my family buys me books they always get it wrong.

Haha! Yes, books are impossible. Especially since I'm really picky with editions and covers (I loathe paperbacks).

Hi Everyone! I am itching to get started on my 2013 challenge - 9 more sleeps! Giving the thread a quick dusting/polishing - boy, it has been a while since I was last in here!

While the Victoria I live is expected to have its usual wet as opposed to white Christmas, here is my idea of a Victorian Christmas and my holiday greeting for everyone here:



image courtesy of Scrapsplanet

I may be back to this thread before 2013, but if I am not, all the best to everyone! See you all in 2013!

So pretty! All the best to you as well :)

Such a pretty image! All the best to you too, hope you have a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

I live in Victoria, too! And, yup, it looks like a wet one. But still a good time for a holiday. Hope you have a good one!

That is an ideal-looking Xmas image, isn't it. I still prefer the California sun, though, spoilsport as I am. :) Have a great holiday and see you in the new year!

Lori - wishing you a very happy Christmas and New Year.

Merry Christmas!!

Hi Lori, belated chiming in for Stardust, definately a brilliant book and will fit brilliantly your fairy tale category. I have read almost everything by him, also my faves were Neverwhere and Anansi Boys.

Wish you a brilliant New Year. I am very much looking forward to your reading!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Lori!

Thanks for the holiday wishes everyone! We had a great Christmas - wet and windy but still great. Scary to think 2012 is almost over.....

> #80 - Yay, another Victorian here!

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I have been thinking about this challenge and getting all of my organizational/housekeeping matters in order for Jan 1st. One thing I have tinkered with is the rating system I use. I liked the system I used in 2012, but as I will also be tracking my other challenge reading, and reading Graphic Novels for the first time, I have adjusted my rating/stats system with that in mind.

I will probably mess around with the system further but for now, this is what I will be using:

Decimal Rating: X.XX
X.XX - Plot Development
X.XX - Character Development
X.XX - Writing Style - the overall sentence structure, composition style of the story
X.XX - Readability - not to be confused with writing style, was this an easy, flowing read or did it involve some restarts, extra concentration on my part to make sense of the story
X.XX - Premise - Did the author deliver on the original premise that enticed me to pick up the book in the first place or do I feel as though I have been hoodwinked?
X.XX - Imagery/Visualization - how well am I able the visualize the story as I am reading it?
X.XX - Artistry - for use with the Graphic Novels or anything with a lot of illustrations to support the story)
X.XX - Length - too long, too short or just right to convey the story

LT Star Rating: X.XX Stars
Book Stats:
Format:
# of Pages:
Source (TBR, GVPL, other):
Male/Female Author:
Challenge (my2013, CATs, ROOTs, RTT, SANDMAN, other):

That's a very scientific way of rating your books. It's almost like you've created a Rubric system to make sure you've analyzed every aspect of the book. Très thorough!

It may prove to be the death of me... we shall see! I am kind of looking forward to testing it out. The system I used for 2012 was pretty close at coming up with a number similar to the LT rating I would pull out of my hat for the book, but I do like how I can tell at a glance what were to strong points - and what were the weak points - for the story!

I think it's a great idea. I especially like the idea of being more specific about why I liked a book rather than "I enjoyed it - a little, some, a lot". It will make me think more! Sigh.

Great categories!!! Gosh, you're already well prepared for the New Year.

Love your rating system. Wish I could do it, but it's too much like work.

Gothic is a great idea, I might have to consider that one too. I love your opening picture and thanks for the warm welcome to all visitors :-)

That is a very thorough rating system - especially useful for those books where you enjoyed them for one or two specific aspects, but not overall.

Great categories Lori - good luck and I'll pop in from time to time to spare you some support.

Good luck with your rating system--it looks very interesting.

Happy New Year, everyone! I am too tired to try and find a pretty gif so it is the sentiment alone that you get this morning. I hope everyone had an enjoyable New Years eve. Ours was fun - a few friends, music, munchies and bubbly - to bring in 2013. No fireworks - the city hasn't had a new years eve fireworks display for a number of years now - but overall, a very enjoyable evening.

We were planning on attending the Lieutenant Governor's levee at Government House this morning, but my other half is still comfortably sleeping and I am in the mood to spend the day lounging around in my jammies - I don't get along with champagne so my head is a bit fuzzy this morning - so I will probably roam my book shelves to see what I should start the year off reading. (ssssssshhhhhh.... Don't tell Christina, but I have already started reading Pride and Prejudice).

I have a couple of ER books from last year that I really need to get to - Clay by Melissa Harrison and the Gothic short story collection Enter at Your Own Risk: Old Masters, New Voices edited by Alex Scully. I also have the first Sandman GN out from the library - The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes - so today will probably shape up to be a quiet day of LT and reading...... and it is back to work tomorrow.

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Now for some individual responses:

> 89 - Thanks! I am curious to see if it produces any surprise ratings for me.

> 90 - Well, you know, I did start this thread back in August, so I have had a fair bit of time to get organized - it not all a twitch of a nose, a flick of a wand and Voila! Now, where did I leave that wand? *scratches head and starts searching through drawers and under couch*

> 91 - Thanks! It does look like a lot of work, I agree. I keep an excel spreadsheet so when I finish a book I enter the numbers as I work my way through the points. I have been known to go back and reassign some numbers as I write my review but once the review is finished, I leave the numbers alone.

> 92 - Your welcome and great to see you here posting! I never went through a Gothic phase in my younger years so I figure time to live it through books!

> 93 - Thanks Eva! It will help me know at a glance which books had great characters but a miserable plot and things like that!

> 94 - Hi Paul, support is always appreciated! I will be following your category reading to cheer you on too!

> 95 - Thanks Beth!

Hi Lori! Great minds think a like. Spending my morning lounging in my pjs as well. Husband just left to get Starbucks.

Here's to a new year of great luck and good reads!

Love the picture! Found and starred. :)

Sounds like you had a lovely new year's. I too indulged in a fair bit of champagne and am spending today lounging about in my jammies. First day back to work tomorrow after 11 days off - it'll be great to see my coworkers again, but I wouldn't have minded another few days in "freedom." :)

Jealous of all the lovely books surrounding you. I wouldn't leave the house either! Looks like you've got a great challenge planned.

Good Grief - It is 7:40 in the evening here and I am at a loss to explain where the day went. Okay, I did accomplish 5 loads of laundry and did sit down to watch a Murdoch Mystery and enjoyed a lovely dinner but other than that, it appears the majority of my day was drained by reading and posting comments on LT. I am going to have to develop a stiffer approach or I will spend all my free time on LT and not get any actual reading done. Sliding today as it is still holidays but I will be tightening the LT reigns some tomorrow morning.

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Now for some individual responses to my wonderful visitors:

> 97 - Hi Caroline, I so wish I could just spend the day in my jammies, everyday. What a thoughtful husband you have, off on a coffee run. Here is hoping 2013 is all you hope it will be and bring you some excellent reads!

> 98 - Yay, Janice.... you are here! Wonderful! Have you set up your thread yet? If so, I will need to go and hunt it down!

> 99 - I commiserate with you Eva, on the effect of the champagne and that freedom has come to an end and the work day is soon upon us!

> 100 - Katie, I think the books surrounding me a jealous of LT right now.... they are being sadly neglected for the electronic box with a screen on my desk! I am looking forward to getting started, but it seems to be taking me a bit of time to wind back into reading mode. That will probably change tomorrow so I am going to sit back and continue my LT reading for this evening.

@ 96 -- You're so cute, thinking you can slip that Austen reference in without my noticing! :) I hope you are enjoying P&P, though I will try to prepare myself for the tragic possibility that you're not!

Hi, Lori! :) Best of luck with your category challenge. I love your graphic novel category (I'm doing one, too). Can't wait to see what you choose to read for that one.

> 102 - found out! ;-) I will keep you posted regarding my thoughts on P & P!

> 103 - Hi Sara! Thanks! I see a lot of GN in my 2013 reading - with so many choices out there, I am confident it will be one of my most prolific reading categories for 2013! We can compare notes as we work through the reading year!

Loving some of your categories and looks like we'll have a few similar books this year. Your number of TBR doesn't even come close, but hopefully I can decreasse that this year. Good luck!

I'm stopping in to say hello here as I'm finally sitting down to set up my thread. You have some great categories!

@lkernagh I just wanted to stop by and thank you for commenting on my challenge thread, and to also check out what you'll be reading in your challenge. Great categories! I'm especially looking forward to watching the status on your "series" category, because I'm a huge fan of books written in a series as well. I'm not sure if you're into this kind of thing, but I love Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, starting with One For The Money. I never thought I'd like it myself, but it's now my guilty pleasure! I think she's a great writer, and I get a kick out of the main character. She's pretty sassy.

I also think you might like The Beekeeper's Apprentice and the rest of the associated series. I think it might be right up your alley. You might want to give Silent in The Grave a try too.

I can't wait to see what kind of books you read and what you think about them. Some titles you listed caught my eyes, so I'm thinking I might have to check those out.

> 105 - And here I was last year approaching your thread, Julie, with one hand covering my eyes to try and shield me from the books that would attract my attention! You are right, my TBR pile fits on one bookcase, and that is kind of where I want to keep it. If I start overflowing and adding more bookcases, I am doomed and I will truly have to admit to having an addiction. As it stands, if everything fits on the one bookcase, then I can happily continue to live in denial of any book habit!

> 106 - Thanks, Anne! I am going for a fun reading year this year, to offset the range of reading I pushed myself through last year! It is going to be such fun having you over here!

> 107 - I have to admit that I haven't made it over to Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. Guilty pleasures are always good to have. I have made a note of that series for further investigation. I have heard about The Beekeeper's Apprentice and since you also recommend it, I will keep it in mind..... Hummmm, your drop by visit to say hello has produced some potential hits (via book bullets) ..... as for Rayburn's Lady Julia Grey series, I have read Silence in the Grave.... it wasn't bad but it had more of a romance feel to it than I was expecting. I have seen talk here on LT that the series does improve, so I may give book two a try and see if it has picked up.

> 108 - Hi Cassandra, Thank you for stopping by. One of the bonuses, at least for me, in planning my categories so far in advance is I then spend the rest of the year adding books to the candidates lists as I come across book reviews and discussions about them here on LT.

------------------------

Well, I dragged myself out of bed this morning after such a lovely break off from work. Need to get my sleeping habits back to my usual routine. Why is it that the first day back to work after a break always seem so loooong!

The Christmas tree is now down and all of the holiday ornaments are now boxed and put away until December. I am looking forward to settling in for an hour of quite reading time with The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes and then its off to bed.

Nighty night all!

Happy New Year Lori! Great categories. I've already been hit by book bullets just from the Candidates lists. Esp interested in the graphic novel and fairy tales categories.
I will belatedly add my recommendation for Stardust and also add that it is available as a graphic novel with lovely illustrations by Charles Vess (if memory serves), so you could potentially read it for two categories.

I would love all my TBR on one shelf, but I have all my books organized in order the shelves regardless if they've been read or not. But I do like your reasoning. I also envy you for having your tree put away, mine is still up.

My trees (3) are still up and will stay up until after Little Christmas (Epiphany - January 6th) What ever happened to the 12 days of Christmas? Everybody (retail especially) seem to be in a hurry for Christmas to get here and then they just rush it away. I love to stretch it out as long as possible!

112. I do the same. Nothing is taken down before Twelfth Night. The tradition here is actually to wait until the 13th of January (Tjugondedag Knut/20th Day Knut) before you take the Christmas decorations down, and then you have a party and eat all the edible decorations and sweets. Few people do that these days as they pack it all up around New Years, but there's usually a big thing organised in city centres/town squares.

I'm planning to take my tree down on Epiphany as well. Thankfully it falls on a Sunday this year, so I'll have plenty of time to do it!

@ 109 -- I always seem to remember about this challenge right on the first of January, so I don't have a lot of time to gather up a list of possible books. I have to pick my books out as I'm reading, or I rely on recommendations.

Hope you are enjoying The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes. I'm tempted to join the Sandman group read myself.

I also just started watching The Murdoch Mysteries and liking it very much so far!

Day two in the new year of ..... SUNSHINE! For those not in the know, two days of sunshine in a row at this time of year over here on the island is a bit of an anomaly. Usual weather patterns are grey overcast skies, rain with the occasional sleet thrown in (if the temp drops low enough), high winds when Mother Nature really wants her presence to be known and overall 'blah'.

On the reading front, I am current 54 pages into The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes , which I started last night. Reading it as part of the Sandman Group and I have to say, the first 20 pages had me slightly pensive as to what I was taking on by reading this one but I am really starting to warm up the story and the graphics. Looking forward to reading more this evening.

--------------------
Before I bid adieu for the evening, I have individual responses for all of my recent visitors:

> 110 - Thanks, Kelly! Making a note of the Stardust GN, particularly as I am interested in the illustrations of the GNs as well as the story!

> 111 - Ha, good point. The tree is down mainly because my other half was actually more than helpful with the process. I am always amazed that the take down and re-storage take less than half the time it takes to set everything up!

> 112 - Cheli, I come from a family that is part Ukrainian Orthodox so leaving everything up until after 'Ukrainian Christmas' - which is January 7th this year - is normal in our family and I can understand and appreciate that January 2nd may seem early to take everything down. I just wish we could stop the retailers from starting the holiday displays in late October........ it just causes more holiday fatigue in everyone.

> 113 - See, I know get to learn about other traditions that I probably would never have known about if it hadn't been for LT! I like the idea of having a party at the end..... that sounds like a lot of fun!

> 114 - Gotta like that!

> 115 - Well, on the bright side, that means you have an entire year to allow yourself to be entices by all the glittering books that your encounter here on LT during the year and you have the option to just give in to impulse and read what strikes your fancy! I can find the positive in almost anything, which drives some people I know around the bend, but never mind about that. ;-)

> 116 - I am finding myself being drawn into Sandman the more I read it. I never though I would say this but there is depth to this story. Not much is happening over on the Sandman Group right now but not surprising since we are only at day 3 of the new year. I do enjoy The Murdoch Mysteries.... such fun historical escapism! Glad to see you are liking it!

Oh, I do hope you enjoy Sandman!! It's one of my favorites. I'll head over to the group soon and make a mark. :)

@ 115 -- That's a good quality to have. I know if I wasn't so pessimistic, I'd be a much happier person.

Typically Christmas decorations go up the weekend after Thanksgiving and come down January 2nd. A month is plenty of time!

120. We decorate for advent the day before the 1st o advent and then the Christmas decorations go up on the 22nd or 23rd of December (a.k.a. the day before Christmas) and stay up until Twelfth Night/13th of Jan. Some people cheat though, or - as I call it - "are Americanized". ;)

I have sometimes stayed kept my decorations up to celebrate Ukrainian Christmas without knowing that's what it was. I just sometimes observe the 12 days of Christmas so that the cat can enjoy the tree a bit longer!

Hi Lori! Just slowly in the process of reading up on and starring threads. Lovely setup as usual. I like your gothic category especially - many writers there I'm curious about but haven't read. Will be great following you another year.

>113 PawsforThought: My wife is a christmas fanatic, so it's Tjugondedag Knut strictly for us. Except for years like this one, when the tree started shedding needles in droves from the minute it came inside. By now we're sick of it, so it'll go this weekend. The rest of the stuff will come down on the 13th though! No julgransplundring this year - but I do look forward to eating the gingerbread house...

123. Oh, I want a gingerbread house! We always had one when I was little and my brother and I fought over who'd get to eat which parts of it. We've stopped making gingerbread biscuits ourselves (no time) so no gingerbread house either. My friend made a really great looking one, though, very nicely decorated.

You actually eat your gingerbread houses?? Don't they get terribly stale? (The year I made gingerbread from scratch to build a house, I didn't like the texture necessary to generate solid walls -- and that was before it had sat out for a few weeks!)

Why would they get stale? It's the same dough used for the biscuits you eat. I'd never make something out of an edible building block and then not eat it. Waste of money and perfectly good treats.

Hi Lori, just checking in, I am looking forward to your comments on P&P as it is one of my favorites.

I've got the second Sandman on order from the library, looking forward to exploring this series.

Happy first weekend of 2013 everyone! I love all the Christmas discussion here and learning how everyone manages their festive decorations/celebrations. I am going on a bit of diet now that we have finally finished all of the holiday foods, treats, and most of the chocolates that flooded our home during the month of December - I say this as I eat of piece of strawberry liquorice.

So far my reading has been on the slow side - I am now halfway through The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes and I have completely warmed up to the story and even some of the characters. So tell me.... do we get more of John Constantine in later volumes? I will try to direct most of my questions to the Sandman Group but I know that some of you have read it already and may be able to chime in. I am now 10 chapters in to P&P - wow, talk about some catty, conniving and snobbish characters! Yes ,I am warming up to this one but it is my 'stuck in a lineup' reading so it will take me some time to get through it.

I many not have any completed books to report on, but I do have my first two acquisitions for 2013, purchased this morning at one of the used bookstores I frequent:


We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
The City & The City by China Mieville

I have set myself a goal to read 30 books off my TBR bookcase this year over on the ROOTs Group, so of course I am curious to see if my acquisitions exceed my reading.... which it probably will.

-----------------------

And now for some individual responses:

> 118 - Eva, I am now hooked on Sandman!

> 119 - :-)

> 120 - I agree, one month is roughly how long ours stay up for, give or take a week from year to year.

> 121 - See, now that is interesting and breaks up the holiday season in a different way. Good news is that means the Christmas decorations don't stay up so long they start to take on the normal appearance of the place and not something special and festive like it should be.

> 122 - We tend to celebrate Ukrainian Christmas in the years when we just are not able to get together as a family during the December holidays. My favorite delay of Christmas occurred a number of years ago when we held off the family celebration, due to a number of unavoidable reasons, until mid-February. My SIL even managed to have the bakery prepare a Christmas-themed cake in the midst of all their Valentines Day baking. Not sure what they thought while they were preparing the cake but I am sure they receive stranger requests than that one.

123 - Hi Anders! Great to see you here! It is going to be a good year for gothic reading. ;-)

123 to 126 - Now I have a huge craving for gingerbread. I have some ginger snaps in the cupboard but its just not the same..... *sighs*

127 - Hi Judy! P&P is going good so far, surprisely so but then again, I have never read Jane Austen before now I really should be so quick to judge it.

John Constantine is actually someone with his own series, Hellblazer. :)

Both your new acquisitions look good. We Need to Talk About Kevin is a book I question about reading, I've heard great things about it, but it looks like an emotional difficult read. The City & The City looks like it might be a great choice for my Crime/Thriller category, and it will also help with my love for speculative fiction.

> 129 - See, that is good to know. I am starting to wonder if what I get out of reading the Sandman series might be limited in the fact that I haven't read comics/GNs like Hellblazer, so I only have Gaiman's thoroughness (or lack there of) to rely on in understanding the characters here.

> 130 - I have also heard the We Need to Talk About Kevin has a strong emotional level to it. The City & The City is to add to my Mieville reading! ;-)

----------------------

Surprise, surprise..... I have finished my first book of 2013: A quick read I decided to start yesterday afternoon and finished this morning. Review coming shortly.

You don't need any background for the bit-characters in it. Just enjoy the great stories for what they are, and branch out from there with what interests you! :D

Book #1 - The Twitter Diaries by Georgie Thompson and Imogen Lloyd Webber
Category: - all things EPISTOLARY
alternate category: New Book Releases

Tuesday (@TuesdayFields), a British sports reporter, and Stella (@StellaCavill), a New York-based men's shoe designer, are introduced in New York City on New Year's Eve by a mutual friend, a notorious transatlantic TV host. The two thirtysomethings strike up an instant bond. Over the next 365 days, (@TuesdayFields) and (@StellaCavill) put the world to rights, one tweet at a time. From Melbourne to Monaco to Manhattan, the girls flirt and fall out with athletes, movie stars, and TV hosts. And then there's their mothers...

Yes, I was interested enough to find out how a story written in tweets would present itself to check this one out from my local library. Overall, it could have been a lot worse. The authors do provide a written prologue and epilogue to put context around the story of tweets as well as character bios at the start of the book for the various fictitious twitter handles used in the book. As it is not an overly large cast of characters, the bios seem to be there to provide a sense of background so the reader understands the context of the tweets. I was hoping to see more of a twitter conversation with multiple parties chiming in than just the two-way conversation between Tuesday and Stella, but that might have proven unwieldy to turn into a readable story. I don't know, just guessing. So long as you can accept a story written only in short sentences/sentence fragments that comes across more like a series of instant messenger conversations between two people, it's is very readable.

Sadly, outside of the writing style, there is almost little to no originally to the story itself - its is your basic tried and true chicklit with all the formula requirements of boyfriend, career and mother/family troubles, with a wardrobe malfunction or two thrown into the mix. The authors - Thompson lives in London as a TV presenter for a sports network, and Webber lives in New York City where she is a writer and on-air contributor for a network - appear to have stuck close to home in writing about what they know, right down to how the first meeting of their respective characters mirrors how the two authors met and became friends in real life. The story does have some good lines and the overall 'I am there for you if you need me' relationship but the climatic "OMG" moments tend to come off a bit flat.

Overall, this was an entertaining and very quick weekend bit of fluff reading, but not ground-breaking by any means.

Decimal Rating: 2.97
2.75 - Plot Development
3.00 - Character Development
3.25 - Writing Style
3.75 - Readability
3.25 - Premise
2.75 - Imagery/Visualization
1.50 - Originality
3.50 - Length

Star Rating: 3.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 400 pages
Publication Year: 2012
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female (X2)

> 132 - I feel better know that. Thanks!

His Sandman series was only the second graphic novel series I'd ever read (ElfQuest was the first) and I loved it. He makes allusions to a lot of literary works that you'll probably get that other readers might not ;)

Yes, Constantine can be found in his own series (which I also recommend highly) and there are quite a few characters that'll float in and out of Sandman that have their origin elsewhere - lots of literary allusions everywhere! And, congrats on your new Miéville acquisition - it's a great one!

ETA: Constantine was originally created by Alan Moore for his Swamp Thing comic. Be prepared for cross-pollination galore! :)

Just popping in to say hi and see how things are going. I attempted We Need to Talk About Kevin a couple of years ago and couldn't make myself finish it. The other women in my bookclub all read it though and there was a lot of discussion at the meeting that month.

I'm also reassured to know that Sandman is okay without knowing all its comics antecedents. When I read Preludes and Nocturnes I (sillily) waited half the book for Dodds to come back. ;)

I tried to read We Need to Talk About Kevin many, many times and failed until last year. A friend gave me a copy and encouraged me to keep going and I am so glad I listened. It is disturbing yes, but so well written and it's a story that will stay with you. I loved it.

FYI - my husband and I start our Christmas decorating in late September.

It takes several months to finish our Christmas village. We don't take it down until March!

WOW! That is amazing. No wonder you leave it up until March! After spending all that time on it, it would be a shame to take it down so soon!

Wow! That's the biggest, nicest Christmas village I have ever seen! It's more like London than a village. ;)

That Christmas village is amazing!

Gorgeous christmas village! Is it traditional having one? (Silly me thought it was all gingerbread at first)

Holy cow! That is some village!

hah, yes, Constantine does get around quite a bit.

Indeed, Sandman comes with plenty of literary, historical, and mythological bits. I'm sure I missed plenty of them, but even without that it's a wonderful story, you definitely don't need to catch all the references or know the historical backgrounds to just enjoy what's going on on the pages. :)

Wow, your Christmas village even has a port with a ship! Awesome :)

>140 cyderry: Oh my. What is that room used for the rest of the year? LOL

> What Morphy said! However,that looks absolutely stunning. That must have taken decades to collect all the individuel items. :)

Amazing! Do you know how many you have?

I have 132 buildings with a population of over 500. I've been collecting since 1986 and get a few new pieces every year. There are actually 2 ships in the harbor as well as a lighthouse that you can't see.

Here's a better shot of the harbor.

That's more than a village. It's a veritable city!

Wow! I collect Christmas in the City, but I only have an apartment house and a couple of stores and restaurants. You are the Christmas village queen!

We Need to talk about Kevin is a very difficult book to describe. It was written extremely well, but the content makes is a challenge to read. I had very visceral reactions to Kevin and found myself surprise with the level of emotion that this book generated in me...

That is so wonderful. I love that you have a lighthouse too!

Lori, sorry I sidetracked the discussion.

I'm late to the game here, but I enjoyed your review of The Twitter Diaries, especially your comment that "overall, it could have been a lot worse."

Also, you need to start calling it your Christmas Megalopolis, because "village" is just not appropriate at this point! :)

There's more details and pictures on my thread - http://www.librarything.com/topic/146551

I have been a little busy for the past two days and have been very neglectful of my threads in the process. It warms the heart to settle in after a damp commute home this evening to see all the wonderful posts and such amazing pictures..... now I want Christmas back!

Replies first......

> 136 - Hi Eva, I did like the 'episode' with Constantine so, of course, that means adding Swamp Thing - Good Grief, did I just say I was adding a comic to my reading list! - to read more. I know some of the literary allusions are going to be lost on me but, hey, that's what the group read is to help explain, I hope!

> 137 - Hi Ro, thanks for stopping by! I have already made a note that I need to steel myself when I do pick up We Need To Talk about Kevin. I am just not sure what impact the story will have on me, but I get the impression it is a book that can generate a lot of discussion!

> 138 - That doesn't seem silly to me.... one kind of expects some type of intro and closing, that just seems logical to me. ;-)

> 139 - So if I walk away from it, the recommendation is to give it another chance. Since I own the copy I have, it will be a lot easier to revisit the book if that happens to me. When I return a library book unfinished I never do get around to checking it out again.

> 140, 150 & 154 - Wow Cheli, that is absolutely outstanding! What a display! I don't blame you for leaving it up longer than the usual festive season.... it must take a lot of work just to set it up and then take it down! No worries about sidetracking the conversation, I have enjoyed every bit of it. ;-)

> 144 - Did someone mention gingerbread? ;-)

> 145 - That is so true Mel. I was able to read the stories without feeling like I was lost at sea without any paddles or a rudder to steer me through it. I am looking forward to tackling volume 2, probably next month.

> 153 - Hi Tina, the last time a book managed to generate a strong emotional reaction from me was when I read Seeing by Jose Saramago and more recently when I read Bilal's Bread by Sulayman X, so we will see how We Need To Talk About Kevin impacts me.

> 156 - Thanks Christina!

----------------

On the reading front, I have finished volume 1 of Sandman but need to wrap my head around it a bit before writing a review. Its early to bed tonight as I have an unusually early start to my work day tomorrow.

My next reading book is Clay: a novel by Melissa Harrison, an LTER book that I am long over due in reading and reviewing!

To be perfectly honest, Swamp Thing is not one I would whole-heartedly recommend (although I am a fan of Alan Moore's). For more of John Constantine, I suggest turning to "his own" series, Hellblazer by Jamie Delano or Books of Magic which is another Gaiman masterpiece.

Regarding the literary allusions in the series - it just means that you can read and reread many, many times and still find new stuff. It's still a great story even if you don't pick up on everything.

And now we have the prospect of Swamp Thing & John Constantine teaming up, Justice League style, in a film by Guillermo Del Toro. Details can be read here.

> 159 - I am more than happy to take any recommendations you have, Eva. My local library has a number of John Constantine, Hellblazer books, some by Jamie Delano and others by Mike Carey and a handful listed as being by other authors. Good grief, do these comics just grow legs and have different authors at the drop of a hat?!?!

> 160 - Oh, Dave, that looks interesting! I will go take a look at the link.

Hey I didn't know that Keanu Reeves had played Constantine in a film back in 2005. Has anyone see that movie... is it any good?

Book #2 - The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman
Category: - all things GRAPHIC
Sandman Group



This is my first foray into graphic novels and quite the experience this was! On top of that, my only prior Gaiman reading experience was his book Coraline, and I don't think that comes even close to preparing me for what I was in for when I started the Sandman series, a cult comic book series that swirls around the concept of the personification of dreams.

Originally published in the late 1980's in single magazine format, the eight 'episodes' contained in this volume set the stage for what is to come - or at least I think it does - and helps to display the creative story telling mind of Gaiman. Sadly, it also shows the growing pains of a project when you bring together a team that has never worked together before and task them with producing a monthly serial.

This is not so much a review, it is more a rambling of my thoughts. While some of the literary allusions and pop culture inclusions worked for me, others didn't - Thank you, Neil, but I really didn't need the song "Sweet Dreams" running through my head again. I still don't get the purpose of the inclusion of the whole Cain and Abel angle in Imperfect Hosts but I did like how the three witches - sorry Fates.... I mean witches... whatever - were presented.

Dream a Little Dream of Me is my favorite episode in this volume. I like the gritty, sarcastic 'take the world head on' John Constantine character. I also liked how we start to see behind the facade of Morpheus, the Sandman as we glimpse inside his more complex soul here. I also started to notice a somewhat cleaner presentation to the artwork.

I have mixed feelings about A Hope in Hell. I loved the story - absolutely loved it - and completely hated the artwork. This was one of the times where they either just got too experimental with the whole idea or the team wasn't working as a team. Overall effect dampened my enthusiasm for what could have been a perfect story.

Passengers was alright, but nothing to write home about. I found the whole Justice League angle somewhat cheesy and not well done, given the wealth of material they could have borrowed from. Again, back to the weird, experimental artwork that didn't work for me.

24 Hours was too much of a hard core horror for my tastes for me to really want to spend anymore time then I had to to read it. No stellar artwork to make me want to linger over it longer, either.

Sound and Fury was another example, after A Hope in Hell, that trades on a version of the classic theme, good versus evil. For the record, I seriously do not get the dude at the asylum - obviously one of the literary allusions that is lost on me.

The Sound of Her Wings is my second favorite episode in this volume. By this point, I am fascinated with Sandman and the human qualities that Gaiman has given this other than human being. The introduction of Death is well done and a good balance to the Sandman. The artwork is clean and 'uncluttered' compared to the other episodes. The story does feel like the epilogue Gaiman classifies it as and more philosophical in nature.

Overall, Gaiman has created a very interesting character to represent the 'good guy' in this battle and a story that cast a spell over me the farther I got into it. I am not sure if it is something that I will ever consider re-reading at some point in the future, but it is an experience worth undertaking.

Decimal Rating: 3.89
3.50 - Plot Development
3.75 - Character Development
3.50 - Writing Style
3.75 - Readability
4.00 - Premise
3.75 - Imagery/Visualization
3.00 - Artistry (GN)
4.75 - Originality
5.00 - Length

Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 240 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

Hey, thanks for a very personal and careful review! I look forward to reading the rest of series with you. I haven't started this reread yet, but I recall the arteork in the early volumes was a big minus for me too.

Thats a great review! I'm half way through it and likely to finish it today, its about the 3rd re-read of it for me and its my least favourite of the collections tbh, problems with the art and NG finding his feet as a writer but despite that it is still way better than lots of other stuff out there in the GN world!

I actually liked the Constantine film, although it was panned by fans. I would put brain on hold though :)

Hey Lori -

Belatedly I'd like to chime in and say that I, too, wish I had thought to add a Regency Category! You certainly won't lack for options there. I liked both Shades of Milk and Honey and its sequel Glamour in Glass - as a Regency fan you'll probably like them both, but I can see how they aren't for everyone!

I love your categories. Epistolary fiction - what a great idea! I may have to steal that for 2014. I had Gothic in one of my previous categories and am wishing now I had resurrected it!

Happy reading!

Thumb from me too on your Sandman "ramblings!" :) Agreed, the artwork for the Hell-episode leaves a lot to be desired. Lucifer manages to look like a mix between Tilda Swinton and Luke Skywalker - he'll look better in other installments, I promise!

Your "dude at the asylum" I think is Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow from the Batman series. I'm not too well-versed in the DC-universe, but per Wikipedia, he is "A psychologist who uses a variety of drugs and psychological tactics to exploit the fears and phobias of his adversaries."

I liked the Constantine film too (where, funnily enough, Tilda Swinton shows up for real!) - I wasn't even annoyed at Keanu Reeves and he usually grates on me quite a bit.

I never connected Constantine with the Sandman series! Thanks for that info.

168. Jonathan Crane is in it? (I haven't started reading yet) Jonathan Crane equals Cillian Murphy. Nice.

Interesting thoughts on Sandman. I read it last year and will do a quick reread to put some thoughts on the Sandman thread but I had fairly similar reactions to you for several of the stories, especially '24 hours' (too gory) and 'Passengers'.

->169 mamzel:
Sandman plays host to a number of characters from other works, so more surprises will probably pop up as you read along. I don't think Constantine shows up in the series after this, but a relative of his does.

->170 PawsforThought:
That's what the comic-nerds I know have told me. Since I don't know the Batman universe, it doesn't really tell me much, though.

172. I know it because I've watched the first two Nolan-Batmans. And because Cillian Murphy either looks creepy or hot or - most often - both. I notise these things.

I've yet to see the Batman movies - they're on the list, though! (Have to admit to having to look up Cillian Murphy - I have seen him before in something, though - he does look familiar.)

He was in Inception, that's probably it. Also, he was wonderful in The Wind That Shakes the Barley and scared the crap out of me in Red Eye (which is a terrible film).

I did see Inception, but I don't remember him in it. It did come to me, though, that he plays the main character in Breakfast on Pluto - that's why he looks familiar!

176. Oh, yes, Breakfast on Pluto! Loved that film.
In Inception, he played the guy whose mind they were trying to incept. The one whose father had died.

Oh, right - gotcha!

Any time. I have remarkable memory when it comes to hot guys. I have no idea why that is. None at all.

> 163 - Thanks Anders! I am really looking forward to continuing with the series - the library had vol. 2 ready and waiting for me this evening so I might be reading it before February. I cannot wait to see your comments as you re-read it. I kept on reminding myself that it was 1980's work and to expect it to appear dated in appearance, but some of it I had trouble excusing. I guess the fact that Gaiman admits to cringing a bit when he reads it himself now speaks volumes in itself.

> 164 - Thanks Pete! Good to learn that the series improves as it progresses. I can't wait to see your thoughts on it!

> 164 - Hi Clare, good to know. Turns out my library has the movie on DVD so I have placed a hold.... it sounds like good mindless weekend entertainment.... and even better, I don't know enough about the John Constantine character to take offense if Hollywood has taken liberties with the adaptation!

> 166 - Hi Dejah, great to see you stopping by! When I came up with the Regency category, I assumed that it would be one that I would read a couple of books by Georgette Heyer to satisfy my 'fluff' reading craving and then call it a day. Who knew I would start the year off with P&P, no less! My library has a copy of Shades and Milk and Honey, but not Glamour in Glass, so if I like the first one, I will be on the hunt for a copy of the second book!

> 167 - Hi Sara, Thanks! Steal away.... I love how there are so many epistolary novels available these days and they really aren't that different or difficult to read once you get into the flow of it!

> 168 - Thanks Eva! I still need to go check out your thoughts on it. As for Lucifer, you nailed it in one when you described he looks like a mix between Tilda Swinton and Luke Skywalker.... Lucifer with fluffy blond hair!?!? Like you, I don't know much about the Batman-DC universe. So, these are like the 'cameo' appearances, but in a comic book world. I tend to like most of the Keanu Reeves movies that I have seen, although I do admit to zoning out when watching The Matrix, so much so I couldn't even tell you what the story was about. ;-)

> 169 - Hi mamzel, I blame it on all of these 'cameos' that Gaiman seems to have included in his Sandman series.... and most of those cameos are lost on me. My younger brother, on the other hand, would probably roll his eyes at me for saying this as he had - and I think still does - an amazing comic book collection. Sandman could have been in there for all I know.... back when we were still both living under the same roof I was more interesting in borrowing his Elf Quest comics. ;-)

> 171 - Hi Rhian, I am looking forward to seeing your thoughts when you get them posted over on the Sandman Group! "Gory" is a good term to describe 24 Hours.

> 172 to 179 - Great discussion. It went over my head but at least I am learning more about the inter-connectivity of these comics and how they seem to cross pollinate characters!

I'm much more fluent in Bat now than I was first time I read Sandman. Will be interesting to ser what new allusions this'll open my eyes to.

I've also ordered the Constantine movie from my library. Some books lead me to movies and some movies lead me to books...

182. It's so great when that happens. :)

It is now the WEEKEND!!!!!! *Toots party horn and throws confetti*

I am looking forward to a jam-packed weekend of: Reading - sleeping - Reading - eating - Reading - napping and ..... oh yes, Reading! Okay, I might tackle some laundry and a little bit of cooking but other than that, my activities calendar if fully booked as stated.... and yes, the pun was intended! ;-P

Happy weekend, everyone!

!!!

You too!

I spent my entire workday putting out fires (not real ones - rather caused by a very hotheaded client), so I'm more than ready for the weekend - have a great one you too!!!

Happy Weekend to you too - I like your weekend plans!

Your reading plans sound wonderful! I wish I could do the same, but unfortunately, I have to go back to work tomorrow.

Your weekend plans sound great! I'm hoping for a weekend like that too. It's starting off pretty well, as I'm finally finding some time to catch up on my favourite LT threads.

I loved your review of the first Sandman volume. I decided to take the plunge and started reading it myself. I really liked the John Constantine character and was happy to find out that he has a presence elsewhere!

Lori, I hope you were able to stay with your plans. That's my kind of weekend!

Thanks everyone, with a shout out to pammab, Eva, Julie, Cassandra, Paulina and mamzel! True to form, the weekend wasn't quite as scheduled, but that's okay. Saturday was a great day to be outdoors - crisp air, blue skies and not a cloud in sight - so my plans did derail slightly.

We watched the movie Constantine Saturday night.
Clare, your suggestion to put brain on hold while watching the movie was both duly noted and valued as sound advice! A great movie to see a bit more of John Constantine's story... remember, all I knew about the John Constantine character going into the movie was gleaned from Sandman's Dream a Little Dream of Me.
Eva, you were bang on when you mentioned that Tilda Swinton shows up in the movie. I cannot image anyone else playing the angel Gabriel but Swinton - talk about perfect casting - she was brilliant in the role! I am now on the hunt for all of the John Contantine related stuff and luckily, my local library has a fair number of books listed in the catalogue.

My other half is a little surprised and a bit bemused that I appear to be turning into a bit of a comic/GN junkie. He probably never saw that one coming! ;-)

On the reading front I did finish two books this weekend - one ER book and one GN - and I also made further progress on my on-going reading of Austen's Pride and Prejudice - I am now at Chapter 17 in that book. Reviews coming.

Next Up: Marina Lewychka's A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian as a CAT trick read: January CAT theme "new to me" author; "M" for the AlphaCAT and as a shortlisted book for the Orange Prize AwardCAT.

Book #3 - Clay: A Novel by Melissa Harrison
Category: - all things NEW



Harrison's debut novel is a beautiful story of innocence and an awakening awareness of the natural world around us. TC is a young boy from a broken home who lives with his mom in a housing scheme in an unidentified UK town near a city park and commons. The green spaces are a refuge for TC, away from home and school. Others also take comfort in the green space: 78 year old Sophia Adams continues to live in a ground floor flat of Plestor Estates near the park, where her daughter Linda and son Michael were raised and where she is trying to develop an interest in nature in her granddaughter Daisy; and Josef, is a recent Polish immigrant in his 40's from a small farming community.

Told over the course of 12 months, the story follows nature's path through the seasons and slowly unfolds the stories of the various characters - TC's troubles at home and school; Josef's struggles to understand the concrete city he now lives in and its inhabitants, at times so alien from the life he knew in his native Poland; and Sophia's observations from her kitchen window of the park and the interactions she has with her daughter and granddaughter.

The main focal point of the story is the park, and it is the park that draws the characters together. As beautiful as Harrison's prose is, and as well drawn as the characters are, I found the overall story of our characters and the plot overshadowed by her lyrical descriptions of the natural world. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but may prove to be a bit of a slog for a reader more interested in the characters than the scenery. Overall, an insight-fully written story of the challenges of our modern lives and the resilience of nature to continue its own life-cycle rhythm around us.

This book was courtesy of Librarything's Early Review Program.

Decimal Rating: 3.72
3.00 - Plot Development
3.50 - Character Development
3.75 - Writing Style
3.75 - Readability
3.50 - Premise
4.50 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN)
4.00 - Originality
3.75 - Length

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 259 pages
Source: LTER
Male/Female Author: Female

Book #4 - A Sickness in the Family by Denise Mina Illustrated by Antonio Fuso
Category: - all things GRAPHIC

Meet the Ushers. The parents, Ted and Biddy. Grandma Martha. The three kids, William, Amy and Sam. Just a normal, middle-class family gathered around the table on Christmas Day. Until they start dying. Violent deaths. One by one. Is there a curse on their house, as a recently unearthed history of witchcraft in the area would suggest? Or has one member of the Usher clan declared open season on the rest? As secrets and resentments boil to the surface, it becomes clear that more than one Usher has a motive for killing off the others. But in the end, the truth turns out to be far more shocking than anyone in this ill-fated family could have imagined.

If twisted, creepy family tales intrigue you, this one is a bit of a gem. A bit outside of my usual reading as it is more of a crime GN - and a dark one at that - but still one that made for a great quick read. The story has the bite and hold of a Edgar Allen Poe story, and yes, it did make me think of 'The Fall of the House of Usher' a bit as I was reading this one. If you decide to read it, the story takes some time to build and it is mainly due to the great ending that I was able to give it the rating that I have. Fuso's artwork is devoid of colour - all black, white and shades of grey - in keeping with the dark story Mina has written. I really like the attention to detail of shadow, facial expressions and body language in the illustrations. The story was the perfect length, once I realized how important the mundane details at the start of the story really were. The lightweight, off-colour recycled paper the story is printed on was a perfect complement to the story. This type of story doesn't need and in fact works against the idea of a story that is anything but black and white being produced on high gloss paper using sharp black ink.

I recommend this one for readers of dark, crime novels that focus on the inner workings of a family and for GN enthusiasts.

Decimal Rating: 3.97
3.75 - Plot Development
3.50 - Character Development
3.00 - Writing Style
3.75 - Readability
4.75 - Premise
3.50 - Imagery/Visualization
4.50 - Artistry (GN)
3.75 - Originality
5.00 - Length

Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Hard cover
# of Pages: 180 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female

You'll not be disappointed with John Constantine, I think - he is wonderfully irreverent.

I have the Mina-book on the wishlist already, but you're pushing it up the list!

>193 lkernagh: Ooooh, I've been wanting that one. Thanks for the great review!

A Sickness in the Family sounds very interesting, on the wishlist it goes!

I've never been tempted to try graphic novels, but I may have to re-think this. Am envious of your quiet weekend. I have houseguests that have been here since Christmas and won't leave for another week.

I'll be interested to read your thoughts on A Short History Of Tractors In Ukrainian, this was one I read last year and I enjoyed it, but it was billed to me as being very funny and it didn't quite live up to that expectation.

>162 lkernagh:+168 I've now passed the point in P&N with "the dude in the asylum", and thought I'd shed some light as someone fairly fluent in Batman lore. Not sure which of the dudes you refer to. Doctor Destiny (naked skeletal guy, the one who holds the ruby) is a classic Batman/JLA foe. Usually wears a hood and has a skull for a face. He uses a device called a "materioptikon" to create reality from dreams. Having him be the son of mr. Burgess' mistress and the materioptikon in fact Morpheus' ruby is Gaiman's clever way of merging him into the story.

The hanged guy is indeed Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow, just like Eva says. You can see his classic mask behinf him in his first frame. Arkham Asylum is an institution for the criminally insane in Gotham, Batman's city. This is where Batman's crazy foes, like Joker, Two-face and Mad Hatter end up when they are caught. Escapes aren't exactly unheard of.

Finally jumping in to this group. Hi! Your rating system has me a little intimidated. A Sickness in the Family sounds good. It reminds me a little of We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Have you read that one?

Good luck this year!

>200 cmbohn: I made the same connection! And since I love jackson's work, I think A sickness on the family could well be for me.

Lori, exploring more of John Constantine appears to be a good idea. Are you going back to his origin in Swamp Thing or jumping straight into Hellblazer?

also making a note of a sickness in the family

->198 SouthernKiwi:
Seconding this! It has some funny lines in it, but it's not a funny novel per se.

->199 GingerbreadMan:
Thanks!! It's a universe I've been planning on getting more acquanted with, but which hasn't happened yet.

Hi Lori, looks like the world of graphic novels has grabbed you! I am a huge Denise Mina fan and I loved A Sickness in the Family when I read it last year. Your discussions about Preludes and noctures has explained many things that I obviously missed when I read it last year. I have now started on The Doll's House.

> 194 - Hi Eva, I am really looking forward to more John Constantine reading - irreverent sounds perfect! The Mina book was a surprisingly good read for me.... says one who tends to steer clear of crime/noir genre. The story was tighter than I would have expected for a GN, so I hope you do enjoy it when you get around to reading it!

> 195 - Hi Jennifer, always happy to oblige when it comes to sharing book bullets! ;-)

> 196 - Hi Michelle, the deviant in me loves to see wishlists growing! ;-)

> 197 - Hi Beth, I have to agree with you. GN's didn't register on my radar screen until I started seeing some really great reviews last year and decided it was time I checked them out for myself. There is an amazing range of GN's out there that can appeal to the adult reader, as I am discovering. Hang around here - and a number of other threads in the group - and you might find mention of a GN that seems like a perfect fit for your reading.

Wow - house guests since Christmas..... here is hoping that you are able to enjoy a quiet weekend of your own after your guests have departed!

> 198 - Hi Alana, I am early days into Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian - currently at page 19. I am hoping to have this one finished by the end of next weekend so review will be coming.

> 199 - Hi Anders, 'the dude in the asylum' I was referring to was the hanged guy that was there when Doctor Destiny left and was there in the return visit to the asylum. So what we are seeing in Passengers and Sound and Fury are large DC/Batman nods. That makes more sense now. Before, it just looked like some crazy person 'hanging around' the asylum talking to people as they come and go.... almost like it was perfectly normal for inmates to grant themselves day passes out into the real world. All very confusing and nonsensical for someone not in the know....;-)

> 200 - Yay, great to see you stopping by! I haven't read We have Always Lived In the Castle.... now I am really intrigued to read that one, especially as both you and Anders have made the same connection, just based on my review! Thanks for the good luck wishes and I will be stopping by your thread to cheer you on with your reading!

> 202 - Hi Dave, I would like to start at the beginning. My local library has The Saga of the Swamp Thing by Alan Moore (dated 1987), which I take to be the original GN. After that, the library's Swamp Thing collection gets a bit spotty - they only have Book 3: Healing the Breach by Josh Dysart and Book 9, Infernal Triangles. They do have a stack of Hellblazer books, so I will probably read the Alan Moore book and then dive into the Hellblazer books and see where it takes me! ;-)

> 203 - Hi Pete, my crystal ball thinks you will enjoy A Sickness in the Family. I was impressed to learn that Mina is described as an author of Tartan Noir, so, of course, that is the next thing I have to investigate, considering Wikipedia describes "Tartan Noir" as being strongly influenced by Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and focuses on the duality of the soul and the concept of good and evil. Very enticing, and worth some further investigation. ;-)

> 205 - Hi Judy, I missed you as I was busy typing my rather long post! If I become a GN junkie, please bear with me.... or nudge me towards a Georgette Heyer - if anything, to make sure I don't neglect some of my other categories in the process! I have The Doll's House and hope to get to it after I finish A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian. Looking forward to s haring thoughts with you and the group!

LOL! No problem Lori. I remember when I started reading graphic novels about a year and a half ago, it's like being a kid in a candy shop. Suddenly all these new possibilities are opened up, there is a GN on just about every subject you could possibly want to read about. I now make them a regular part of my reading, and thank LT for introducing them to me.

Making note of A Sickness in the Family, great review.

I'm now intrigued by "tartan noir"!

I just had tartan noir pegged as a group of Scottish novelists that write at the darker end of the crime/mystery genre. Denise Mina, Stuart MacBride & Christopher Brookmyre to name a few.

Don't forget Ian Rankin!! I think most Scottish mystery writers get added to the genre, but the whole duality-issue (Jekyll/Hyde) should be some part of it.

ETA: Actually, that Wikipedia entry for Tartan Noir is quite good.

Hi Claire, Pete, Dave and Eva! Yup, "Tartan Noir" appears to be worth a 'looky-loo', IMO. I took a look again at the Wikipedia site and noted that I have a Val McDermid and an Ian Rankin on my TBR bookcase.... something attracted me enough about those books to purchase them so I am looking forward to dipping into the whole "Tartan Noir".

Hey.... it looks like Denise Mina was a Hellblazer author.... Empathy is the Enemy.... so excited now!

I just randomly picked up the first Rebus book at the library on Monday - Tartan Noir sounds like an excellent thing indeed! :)

> 214 - Hi Laura, it does, doesn't it! I hope you like the Rebus.

------------------

I am finding January to be an unusually busy month and I am struggling to find time to stay on top of everything so I have decided to restrict my on-line LT time, which means less visits to everyone else's threads. That is my short term solution to balancing LT and RL for the next few weeks. Hopefully by mid Feb the explosion of threads and overall activity on LT will had leveled off and things will be more manageable. *fingers crossed*. I will try to stay on top of my own thread and will continue to visit other threads when I have the time.

In the meantime, I am now almost at the halfway mark in Pride and Prejudice - currently at chapter 33 - and I have another book finished - A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian - which is a CAT Trick for me as well as a fit for my ROOTs challenge, so very happy about that. Review coming.

I hope everyone is having an enjoyable weekend!

Book #5 - A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka
Category: - all things ON MY TBR BOOKCASE
CATs: AwardCAT (Orange Prize Shortlist - 2005), AlphaCAT ("M"), RandomCAT ("New to Me" author) = CAT Trick!

When an elderly and newly widowed Ukrainian immigrant declares his intention to remarry, his intended turns out to be a voluptuous gold digger from the old country with a proclivity for green satin underwear and an insatiable appetite for the good life of the West. And so his children Vera and Nadezhda must set aside years of bitter rivalry to rescue their annoyingly frisky father who (when he is not pursuing Valentina) is busily writing a grand history of the tractor and its role in human progress.

What can I say about this one beyond the fact that I am glad to have finished it and can now remove it from my future reading list. I am not a fan of this one. There are some cute, funny bits and while the story does provide a somewhat insightful glimpse into UK immigration and the age old story of marriage of convenience to obtain a passport, a lot of this book left me frustrated and ticked off with the story.

I had a very difficult time connecting with the characters. For the most part they were one dimensional figures and tended to exhibit extreme behavior with "roll your eyes" situations. The sibling rivalry - more like on-going bickering - between Vera and Nadia was a bit much to endure for the sake of the story. Nadia's naivety is my biggest bone of contention with this one. The following dialogue excerpt between the sisters says it all:

"Obviously, his wife has been having an affair while he has had an affair with ________."
"How do you know these things, Vera?"
"How do you not know them, Nadia?"

The revelations of family history towards the end doesn't have the strength I think it should carry. Instead, the story of Nadia's search for answers to her family's history - the story that I thought had some potential - is overshadowed by the main story of the May-December marriage drama. There is little to no common sense in this one. Start of Rant: Seriously, who the heck gets someone evicted from a premises by court order and then fails to change the locks on the doors???? And my personal pet peeve: Nadia's fixation that women who wear rubber gloves when washing dishes by hand are tarts and sluts.....I have just one thing to say to that: WTF. I am still not getting this portable photocopier angle, mainly because that just seems too far fetched, IMO, even for this story. End of Rant

Overall, I just could not connect with this story, and I am still trying to figure out how this one managed to get shortlisted for the Orange prize and nominated for the Booker. It's not that great. It's a bit of fluff struggling to tell a big story about the effects of Stalin, Lenin, the world wars and beyond have had on Eastern Europe with attempted themes of East meets West, immigration, ethnicity, family history and personal struggle thrown in. The attempt is there.... and the inclusion of the grand history of tractors was interesting reading but the overall effect falls short on delivery and left me frustrated by the whole story.

Other readers will probably be able to enjoy and get more meaning out of the story than I did.

Decimal Rating: 3.03
2.75 - Plot Development
2.50 - Character Development
3.00 - Writing Style
3.25 - Readability
3.00 - Premise
2.75 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN)
3.00 - Originality
4.00 - Length

Star Rating: 3.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 294 pages
Source: TBR Bookcase
Male/Female Author: Female

I liked Tractors a little better than you Lori, but only marginally. The characters were a big problem for me too and the lack of impact that the big themes should have had. I also got to the end and was amazed that this was a book nominated for the Orange and Booker Prizes - that one little fact did my head in!

Re Tractors, thank you so much!!! I'm forever grateful to you for taking the hit. I'll never have to read that book then. ;)

>216 lkernagh: I liked the fact that I'd never read a golddigger story from that angle before (even if I'm sure there are many of them), but apart from that I mostly agree. I thought it was a fun but forgettable read. In the end, there are few enough books told from a contemporary immigrant perspective I'm willing to give Lewycka another shot. Got Two caravans on my TBR.

I liked A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian quite a bit more than you, Lori. I can recognise some of your issues but they obviously didn't annoy me as much and overall I thought it was a good read. I've also read and enjoyed her Two Caravans. Perhaps one of the main reasons why I had a different reaction was that I was more interested in the current day story of immigration to the UK and the marriage, rather than the back history of the family. I wonder if it's one of those books that doesn't travel particularly well? My husband liked it well enough to pick it for his book club choice when he read it first, and I seem to remember that most people at the meeting who'd read it had enjoyed it.

I wasn't a huge fan either as I thought it tried to be too much. I would have preferred to just read about the family's history - that part was very interesting - and could have skipped the Valentina part completely.

I woke up this morning with a stuffed nose and a sore throat.... not happy about that! My other half has been fighting a cold for the past couple of days and it looks like the bug is a follower of the 'misery loves company' motto.

>217 SouthernKiwi: - At least you made it to the end of the book, Alana, before making the prize nominations discovery...... I went into the book know that and expected greatness. I really need to quite doing that!!!

>218 cammykitty: - Any time Katie. You have taken a few hits for me, so it is the least I can do! ;-)

>219 GingerbreadMan: - I agree the idea of a story from Nadia's perspective of the marriage of convenience is a good one, Anders. Two Caravans has been recommended to me and I am curious enough - and now forewarned enough - that I can probably try Two Caravans with a open, or at least a more open mind. I won't even peek to see if the book has been nominated for any prizes before I start to read it.

>220 SandDune: - Rhian, I think what you have mentioned - the book possibly not traveling well - makes sense. As an outsider looking in to both the marriage and the UK immigration system, I felt too removed from the story to see it as anything but a slightly different take on a fictional story. I probably would have been more invested in the story if I had more knowledge of the UK immigration system and the immigrant populations of the UK or if the setting had been Canada and the Canadian immigration, bureaucratic and legal processes were the focus. Food for thought.

>221 -Eva-: - That would have worked better for me as well, Eva.

Next Up: Continuing to read Pride and Prejudice, about to start the Sandman vol. 2 The Doll's House but right now I am focusing on A Death in Small Hours by Charles Finch. I have enjoyed the first 5 books in the Charles Lenox mysteries series and I am looking forward to getting back to detecting in Victorian England!

Feel better soon! Or if you have to be ill, may it be an illness where you're still awake enough to read!

Sorry you're not feeling too well Lori, hope it clears up soon and you also have better luck with your next read also.

Get well soon, Lori!

Ooh, I want to read A Death in the Small Hours this month also, if I have time!

Hope you're feeling better today.

I too hope you feel better. I'm also reading Charles Finch - almost done with book #3, probably later tonight. I really enjoy this series too.

Hi rabbitprincess, Dave, Alana, Christina, Tricia and Betty, thanks for the get well wishes! it got both of us pretty good. Still not sure if it is flu or a cold but it has kept me home sick from work for the past two days. I hate being sick! Spent most of the time sleeping. Little reading has been accomplished over the past three days and virtually no LT time until now. I have been checking my work emails and haven't had to try to deal with anything while I have been off and won't be returning to a landslide of work - that I am aware of - so that in itself is a good thing!

It was interesting to read your review of A Short History of Tractors in the Ukraine. (BTW, congratulations on the CAT Trick!) I'd read Lewycka's We Are All Made of Glue a couple of years back and did not like it all that much, so I've not had the urge to read any more of her work. I too was surprised that her work had been nominated for major awards.

I hope you feel better soon, Lori!

Feel better!!

>230 mathgirl40: - Thanks Paulina! I do enjoy Lewycka's writing style - okay, I gave her a 3.00 for that - so I am willing to give another one of her books a go, although now that I know We Are All Made of Glue wasn't a winner for you, I think I might stick to the idea of reading Two Caravans as my second go at her works.

>231 Dejah_Thoris: & 232 - Thanks Dejah and Tina! Not free and clear of this bug yet, which has made for an annoying week. Thought I was well enough to head back to work on Wednesday only to head home at noon and back to bed. Feeling better this afternoon and have high hopes that I am finally on the mend!

Happy weekend everyone! I am now on the mend - YAY! - and looking forward to a quiet weekend, easy to do as it is another wet day here and I don't want to venture outdoors any more than I have to.

I have been reading three different books at the same time for the past 7 days, and have now happily finished two of them. Reviews written and now ready for posting....

Book #6 - A Death in the Small Hours by Charles Finch
Category: - All things SERIES, SEQUELS, PREQUELS and TRILOGIES

Charles Lenox is at the pinnacle of his political career and is a delighted new father. His days of regularly investigating the crimes of Victorian London now some years behind him, he plans a trip to his uncle's estate in Somerset in the expectation of a few calm weeks to write an important speech. When he arrives in the quiet village of Plumbley, however, what greets him is a series of strange vandalism upon local shops: broken windows, minor thefts, and threatening scrawls. Only when a far more serious crime is committed does he begin to understand the great stakes of those events, and the complex and sinister mind that is wrecking fear and suspicion in Plumbley.

With book six in this series, Finch has returned with a story more in keeping with the first couple of books in the series - a formula that makes this such an enjoyable series to read - and in the process produced a story that is an improvement over the last two books in the series, IMO.

Finch has done a great job crafting a puzzler of a mystery and conveying the setting of Victorian England. Finch weaves interesting historical facts around the history of policing, investigative developments, parliamentary process and the manners and customs of both high society and village life into the story. He even throws in a cricket match, and makes it all work seamlessly together. His lead character, Charles Lenox, continues to develop into a fulsome character with personal doubts, concerns and opinions. The writing is relaxed, companionable in style. Yes, I do wish he had given more coverage in this story to some of my favorite characters from previous books - McConnell and Graham - but they do get a nod and room had to be made for some new characters. I do hope they will be back in future stories. This story does have its slow periods but I enjoyed it too much to let the slow bits bother me. While I understand family practices where a cousin may be fondly called "Uncle" by family members, Finch flips between the two terms "uncle" and "cousin" a bit much, which I found to be a minor annoyance.

Overall, another delightful mystery read and I can only hope that another one is already in the works.

Decimal Rating: 3.81
4.00 - Plot Development
3.75 - Character Development
3.50 - Writing Style
3.50 - Readability
4.00 - Premise
3.75 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN)
3.50 - Originality
4.50 - Length

Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Hardcover
# of Pages: 320 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

I've got another book of Charles Finch on my WL. Sounds like a great setting!

I read the first few in this series, but haven't picked one up in a while. Thanks for the review and the reminder!

Book #7 - The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman
Category: - All things GRAPHIC
Sandman Group



Following my review process for vol 1 Preludes and Nocturnes, this is a continued rambling of my thoughts. I enjoyed the intro by Clive Barker, although I do have to say the font style of the text was a bit of a bugger to read. Loved, loved, loved the recap of vol. 1 at the start of this collection.... that was so handy as a quick refresher for me and kudos to Gaiman (and the publishers) for including it.

Prologue: Tales in the Sand Told as the re-telling of a great tribal folk story handed down verbally from generation to generation. The concept works well here for me and sets the ground work for what is to come. Not sure I like Gaiman's teaser that there is another version to this tale (yes, I am calling it a teaser) but, hey, I am open to been teased..... a bit.

Part One: The Doll's House Here we meet some new characters: Desire and Despair (twins, I think) as well as Rose Walker, along with fleeting references to Brute, Glob, Fiddler's Green and the Corinthian as Dream (Morpheus) conducts a census of his world. The plot is easier to follow here and the story caught my interest.

Part Two: Moving In Rose encounters some 'interesting' individuals when she embarks on a search for her kid brother, Jed. The In the Land of Marvelous Dreams sequences really came across as somewhat juvenile - not realizing the literary allusion it was meant to represent. Personally, I really enjoyed the scene where Rose writes a letter to her Mom..... that was good! Now, I have to say, so far I prefer the artistic rendition of Dream in vol. 1 as opposed to vol. 2.... here Dream just looks like some over the hill *cough* Rolling *cough* Stones *cough* rocker. For one of the Endless, that just doesn't work well for me. Just sayn'! Very intrigued by Gilbert.... looking forward to seeing what he is all about! oh, and before I forget.... what is up with the 'verbal gerbils'? Is that a nod to Star Trek and the Trouble with Tribbles? 'cause that this what came to my mind.

Part Three: Playing House Definitely a nod to superhero comics in general, although I have to say Hector is a bit much as the macho, always smiling 'save the world' superhero persona... just need the light flash off his sparkling perfect teeth and we are set! Talk about cheesy/corny.....and a lot of fun, LOL! 'Cereal' convention..... enough said. Again, another interesting little teaser provided via Dream. Very curious to see where that goes, if it goes anywhere.

Part Four: Men of Good Fortune This is my favorite part in this volume! This was excellent!!!! Loved the cameo by Death and thoroughly enjoyed the walk through history as Dream and Robert Gadling meet in the same pub every 100 hundred years since 1389, and all of the interesting historical literary figures that pop up here. Favorite quote:

"Piers Plowman. That's what people want. Not filthy tales in rhyme about pilgrims."

Take that, Geoffry Chaucer.....;-) Interesting mix of cameos/characters on this time travel journey.... and it is making me research some of the minor points like Kit Marlowe's broken leg.

Part Five: Collectors The "Cereal" convention is a goody, even with the numerous puns, but not to die for, if you get my drift.... sorry, I couldn't resist! This one does a great job capturing the details of a convention setup and giving it a good spin. I did like the panel discussions bit. Oh, and thanks Neil, for the reminder of just how dark and gruesome some of the original fables and fairy tales are....

Part Six: Into The Night I had trouble with this one. Usually shifting viewpoints of view and multiple things happening at the same time don't confuse me but there is just a little too much going on here for me to make sense of it all. I am sure I missed a lot here with the various dream sequences, but Dream's encounter with the vortex was really neat and graphically well done.

Part Seven: Lost Hearts My second favorite part in the volume. Great climatic approach to the story and I loved how Gaiman brought the various bits together with closure on a couple of the characters and a very interesting connection back to 24 Hours from Preludes and Nocturnes.... very nicely done, along with the name-dropping of Dream's other family relations.... The "D" connection is very apt!

Overall, I am still not a big fan of the artwork or the colours, but it is an improvement over vol. 1. the story is building speed nicely and it is a lot of fun to discover little nuggets of literary and pop culture allusions worked into the story. I wasn't sold on all of the new characters - still don't understand the Corinthian - but the plot was easier to follow this time. Yes, I am very curious to find out what happens next but I will contain myself and not place my hold for volume 3 Dream Country until the second half of February.

Decimal Rating: 3.89
3.75 - Plot Development
3.25 - Character Development
3.75 - Writing Style
3.75 - Readability
4.25 - Premise
3.75 - Imagery/Visualization
3.25 - Artistry (GN)
4.25 - Originality
5.00 - Length

Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 256 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

> 236 & 237 - Hi Katie and Dejah - You both managed to sneak in while I was making final edits to my Sandman review. Thanks, it was a goodie, and it helps that for the most part, Finch hasn't failed me as an author. It is always nice to be able to rely on the story an author produces as being an enjoyable way to pass the time reading.

Just realized that I haven't provided an update on my Pride and Prejudice reading or what is up next. P & P is ticking away nicely. It started out rather slowly and I had visions of it being a bit of a slog read. I am now at Chapter 51 and putting aside my quibbles with the way Austen has the sisters Elizabeth and Jane engaging in a dialogue where each refers to "my mother", "my uncle", etc - rather weird, self centered dialogue, IMO - I am finding the story has caught my interest, more so than I thought it would.

Next up is Rosie Alison's The Very Thought of You, because I have discovered that it qualifies as a CAT Trick if I finish it this month, as well as getting another book off my TBR bookcase (and a fit for my ROOT challenge).

I've just finished #3 in the Finch series, so I mostly skipped over your review, except I read the first line of the quote, which became a spoiler for me. Now I need to get some more to catch up.

I really need to read the first Charles Finch book. I keep meaning to do so, and then something else distracts me!

> 241 - That is one of the downsides of series books.... even the premise on the back/inside flap cover tends to give something away to readers not caught up with the series. Sorry about the spoiler for you, Betty. I thought everything I posted was vague enough to not disclose any juicy bits.

->238 lkernagh:
I do like the "rambling" review style you're using for this series. And that is a great quote, isn't it!!

Hi Lori. I'm glad you're feeling better. Enjoying your Sandman reviews. It's been a very long time since I read them, but I remember being unimpressed at the beginning. They do get better- both the stories and the illustrations.

Hi Lori, happy to hear that you are on the mend. It looks like you've enjoyed your last couple of books too.

Hope you had an enjoyable weekend!

great review of doll's house

Doll's House is waiting for me at the library. Can't wait to get it!

Great review! I love Hob Gadling's story too :)

Hi Everyone, thanks for stopping by!

> 244- Thanks, Eva! I figure it is the best way for me to remember the Sandman stories when I revisit this thread later on. It's also a fun way to drop teasers for others.

> 245 - Hi Kelly, I am feeling better, thank you. I am enjoying my Sandman reading. Didn't think I would, so that is a bit of a surprise!

> 246 - Hi Ro, the last couple of books were a treat to read and I hope the trend continues!

> 247 - Hi Julie, I did have a good weekend. I hope your weekend was equally enjoyable. Thanks for stopping by.

> 248 - Thanks, Pete!

> 249 - Yay, another person to stalk on the Sandman read for impressions! Looking forward to seeing what you think!

> 250 - Thanks, Claire! That was a goodie, and one that I had no problem relating to!

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I thought I would make it through to the end of January before starting a new thread but there is no better time than the present so off to make a new thread. I will post the closed thread sign on this thread when the new thread is up and open for business.

Second thread is now up and open for business. Just realized I didn't use the continuation thingee so please click the link HERE to join me over on my new thread.

This thread is now