Richardderus thread 27 for 2012

Ombrophobous, adj. Shunning rain. Ombrophobous character is usually shown by a water-shedding or unwettable surface.

Damn this stupid Athena! No rain/snow/sleet needed, thanks.

Normally there are quotes and pictures of men reading books in this space. BUT it's National Novel Writing Month in November and guess who's doing it again?



I'm going to write a played-for-laughs B-movie horror/silly Sixties rom-com tentatively titled Curse of the Bride of Frankenstein.

The idea is this:

A Taylor Swift/Adele mashup pop star with a New Orleans past has a horrible breakup with her boyfriend and her BFF on the same day. Because she found them in bed making wild, hot monkey sex. But she doesn't tell them right away. She has to think of a suitable revenge.

Her soon-to-be-ex husband is a mildly famous actor who just landed the role of Frankenstein in a new big-budget version supposed to be faithful to the book.

Which he's never read. In fact, he's never read any books since The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories when he was nine. What to do? Consult his wife's well-read book-ghost BFF! What could be easier, they're in the same house all the time anyway!

Oh dear.

It starts with a desperate plea, it builds with a gift of a graphic novel, and it ends in bed, both men having found--to their mutual astonishment--that their mutual love of HER leads, after some initial bumps and fights, to falling in love with each other. Resistance is futile, the stress of a celebrity marriage compounded with the constant togetherness of working on the actor's performance, added to the mayhem on the film set....

And then comes HER revenge: She curses her husband to dream and dream and dream the original story of Frankenstein until he is helpless and dangerously loopy from lack of sleep. Will he, or someone, ANYONE, figure out how to lift the curse he doesn't know he's under? Can anyone predict that, unless this man who thinks reading a whole comic book is too much reading for one day reads the original text of Frankenstein, he might actually for real die like the monster?

Guess who isn't telling.

“Anyone who has ever scanned the bookshelves of a new girlfriend or boyfriend- or peeked inside his or her medicine cabinet- understands this implicitly; you can learn as much - or more - from one glance at a private space as you can from hours of exposure to a public face.”
― Malcolm Gladwell

My 2012 NEW books ticker:




Previous reviews:

Book 1...thread two.
Books 2 & 3...thread three.
Book 4...thread four.
Books 5 & 6...thread five.
Books 7-10...thread six.
Books 11-24...thread seven.
Books 25-31...thread eight.
Books 32-34...thread nine.
Books 35 & 36...thread ten.
Books 37-42...thread 11.
Books 43-53...thread 12.
Books 54 & 55...thread 13.
Books 56 & 57...thread 14.
Books 58-60...thread 15.
Books 61-64...thread 16.
Books 65-68...thread 17.
Books 69-71...thread 18.
Books 72-74...thread 19.
Books 75-77...thread 20.
Books 78 & 79...thread 21.
Books 80 & 81...thread 22.
Books 82 & 83...thread 23.
Books 84-86...thread 24.
Books 87-90...thread 25.
Books 91-98...thread 26.

My 2012 ORPHANED books ticker:




Pearl Ruled:



14. Beautiful Ruins...thread 18.

15. The Lies of Locke Lamora
16. The Hunger Games...in my Orphans thread.
18. Keeper of Light and Dust...Orphans thread, #196.

17. Equal of the Sun...thread 21.
19. Superclass...thread 23.

20. Narcopolis...thread 24, post #297.

21. Strings Attached...#255.

Books are reviewed in post:

99. We Sinners...#153.

100. Who Fears Death...#161.

101. The Amateur Spy...#204.

102. More Baths, Less Talking...#262.

Hi!

What about here?

No, not there.

Welcome to earlybird Berly, and Quick Draw McTui! *smooch* to both for landing here before I even got the pictures hung.

I thought I would see pics of guys making out for sure! Congrats on the new thread! How's the writing coming?

Only 8412 words as of now...but hey, there've been some distractions.

Thank you for reminding me, at the end of last thread, how much coffee is just the best. I'm on my third cup, today! I think I'd better go get a book and read.

Happy New Thread, Richard!

Happy new thread Richard. Hope you are having a great, warm day with lots of writing:)

>11 maggie1944: De rien, petite. *smooch*

>12 scaifea: Thanks, Amber! Don't forget I'm here, now.

>13 calm: Hi calm! No, it's a nor'easter out there, cold wind and icy-mix rainsleet. We aren't, thankfully, in the snow belt of the storm...too near the ocean. *whew*



I got some cool bookmarks this birthday, but this one's a dilly!

Richard: Oh, I'm always here, just mostly lurking...

So happy happy to have you posting your library porn again. Missed it most dreadfully. Hope Athena doesn't get carried away.

>15 scaifea: I shall examine the shadows for evidence of your passage, then. *smooch*

>16 sibylline: Cousin Lucy! How I hope Athena doesn't adversely impact either of us...one track includes a wedge of Vermont in the snow.

I love the book reading loft you have pictured! I can just see myself wiling the hours away up there, in the sun, peppermint tea at hand.
(But, the shelves arent nearly full enough. We must have an amateur on our hands.)

Hello darling! I am so glad to see you are warm and toasty again! Welcome back to this century!
Hope the nor'easter doesn't affect you!

Good to see you posting regularly and even managing a little book porn in the midst of your writing marathon, Richard. I lurk in the shadows a lot with Amber. She often brings cookies.

>18 LovingLit: I thought it was someone's new space, not all the TBRs were shelved yet. But then again, I am more tolerant than most Antipodeans.

;-P~~~~~~~

>19 ChelleBearss: Chelle! Ma petite ange! So delicious to be visited by thee. *smooch*

>20 laytonwoman3rd: *note to self: crumbs*

Hiya Linda3rd!

I just came back from the liberry. They had five books waiting for me, so it's rude not to fetch and carry ASAP considering they got them from other liberries during a hurricane and now a nor'easter.

The trip there was windy and rainy, but uneventful. While there, the power blinked out (eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!) and came back on (aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah)...but my borrower record was destroyed.

A new one was made. My returns couldn't be returned until the records are reconciled, but my checkouts could be checked out. Fine. Whatever.

Walk outside and it's that horrible vile awful nasty miserable thing called "wintry mix." Sleetrainsnow. Not sticking to the ground, gratefully, but still ghastly to walk around in.

By the time the car, the dog, and I were on Main Street, the wind was picking up and the "wintry mix" *shudder* was horizontal. I drove home slowly and prayed to the Periodic Table that the power here wasn't off. It was a tense ten minutes.

And here I am, snug and not goin' anywhere, in my warm house with my warm latte and my toasted crumpet with cream cheese, tomato, and avocado mooshed with some salt and balsamic vinegar.

I so hope it stays this way.

You introduced me to a new word, which doesn't happen all that often, gave me a great quote, AND exposed me to book porn and bookmark porn...What a powerful punch your new thread is packing already! *smooches*

>21 richardderus: Glad to hear it, Roni! What word?

Why, "Ombrophobous" of course! I cross-posted with your message above, so will add that I am so happy you are home safely, warm and replete with 5 new library books! (I'm heading outside to plant my winter garden now).

Well, duh all over me! Of course, it's only the lead picture. *smacks forehead*

"winter garden" hahaha

To me, that's a mall in Battery Park City that survived 9/11.



Such a great idea!

Nin's words say my thoughts.

I want those! (in post 25, of course) And I'll take the dogs, too, if I have to.

(-;

They look like sweet boxers. No hardship to have them!

Thanks for dropping by on my thread Richard. It was a common courtesy offered to a fellow LT reader, I know you would have done the same or more in my place. And yes, we suffer so much more when the luxuries we are used to are withdrawn, than when those luxuries were never even experienced.

Piyush, don't sell your kindness short. There is little that's common about courtesy now, though gratefully it's not the case with our 75er world!

I am so spoiled...I'm sitting here staring at the "wintry mix" of snowrainsleet and hoping against hope it won't knock out the power! I do NOT want to be cold again!

...ideas anyone? Anyone?

I will even drink *tea* if it's served in this cup.

After hearing the distinctive whunk of wet snow clumps hitting the roof from the trees above, Stella and I went out to investigate. There is about an inch of snow, not much of course, but it's really really heavy and wet. Power blinked once, too, but very quickly.

So...if I vanish...that will be why.

RD, talk about making up for lost time! Impressed by the luxury pets. I have heard of bookworms but those two pooches are somptin else.

Gah, hope you don't lose power again. :( We should get an "icy glaze" but nothing to write home about (for a New Englander, that is - our Brazilian student was pretty excited over his first snow).

>35 PaulCranswick: Aren't they adorable? I like that idea, too.

>36 bell7: Wow, the Brazilian kid must be having a cow! Nothing like this anywhere near him! I hope there's enough snow to teach him about snow angels.

Love everything about #31 & #32. I want that teacup.

>38 avatiakh: I do too! It's such a great idea.

I've posted a review of a dearly beloved book-friend from the past: Ella Minnow Pea, a novel with a cute conceit and a subtle but well-delivered message, in my thread...post #244.

Richard, a facebook acquaintance on Long Island is talking about heavy snow and breaking trees--I hope all is well there!

Here is the recipe for Texas Tea for your cup in >32 richardderus:
2 oz tequila
2 oz rum
2 oz vodka
2 oz gin
2 oz bourbon whiskey
2 oz triple sec
2 oz sweet and sour mix
Coca-Cola®

Fill a 1 gallon pitcher with ice. Add all the ingredients except the coca-cola. Stir, then add the coca-cola and stir again. Pour into your favorite glass with ice and enjoy.

>41 ronincats: It's true, Roni, it's a wet, nasty snow. I've heard some branches come down in the wooded spot across the road, but so far none here in our little slice of heaven. *knock wood*

>42 luvamystery65: O! KAY! THEN! I b'lieve I will has anuther!

Thumbs up from me for your great review of Ella Minnow Pea.

Ah, yes, the thumb. You get one!

>37 richardderus: Oh my goodness, yes! There are facebook pictures of him standing in the snow, and much as I could take or leave the stuff it was fun to see how excited he was. I didn't get a chance to teach him about snow angels; he cuts it kinda close getting ready for school each morning, and the snow will probably melt by the time he gets home today. If not, though, I'll be sure & show him. :)

Oh My Snow on top of the damage that Sandy caused. Hope the power stays on and that you can stay warm.

>44 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda! I did love that book.

>45 maggie1944: Much appreciated, m'deario.

>46 bell7: It won't be the last snow of the season, so there's time. But snow angels are so much fun, I hate for the little dumpling to wait!

>47 calm: Power on, house toasty, thank you calm. Wet snow + leaves still on the trees = some branches down, but nothing dire has happened so far. The 2in of snow will, I devoutly hope, melt soon, since it's 36F (1.7C) outside now, and the warm part of the day isn't here yet.

No wonder I love it so much.

*smooches* for every reason!

>50 ronincats: awwww thanks!



Book porn!

Oh the library with the dog beds. Ow ow ow ow

Heh. I assume that's envious covetous lustful "ow"ing.

--Images removed due to cuteness overload--

HA! I see you got my threadwarming gift.

Love #49.
As I remember you like cats as much as I do. Unfortunately for me I'm lumbered with three of the bloody things in and around the house.

I probably like them less, Paul, since if there were three in my house I'd let the dog eat them.

Yeah, that's a good 'un all right.

If not for quarantine I would borrow the dog.

Heh. Don't blame you a bit.

Just read your HOT REVIEW of Ella Minnow Pea (one of my favorites) and agree wholeheartedly!

I have spread the word oft his book so much - even had two of my book clubs read it! It is just the right book for those moments of speechlessness.

>54 Ape: lol, classic Stephen. Gotta love it.
It may have taken him 2 hours to load those pics, but it was worth it.

>60 cyderry: Oh, it's a Hot Review! Well Cheli, between thee and me and thy sororital unit, we will launch a renaissance of the book from here on LT. It should still be flying off the shelves.

>61 LovingLit: Heh. Clearly he thought so...three of 'em, no less.

#54 Way to get Richard back Stephen. Meow!! Course now you have made it harder for your ownself to load this thread. Such a sacrifice!

>63 Berly: He's not around too often anyway, Kim, but you have to admire the tenacity of getting those huge images on his poky internet connection.

Oh wait...unless he was using his mom's laptop at the liberry...

Richard, to help counteract the cat hex -

Are you sure those are not cats with dog coats on?

oh lordy. i just read your review of Keeper of Light and Dust and laughed so hard i nearly had a Depends-type leakage problem. "his heart trembled." ya know, that can be a medical 'mergency.

>65 avatiakh: *aaah* The balance of The Force is restored. Thank you, Kerry.

>66 maggie1944: ...horrible thought...

>67 mirrordrum: Vampiric atrial fibrillation syndrome: Do not use the paddles! They merely fry the vamp's skin!

Sheesh. How overblown that book was.

Found your thread Richard. Cheering you on from the sidelines for your NaNoWriMo!

...and just how the *bleep* did I manage to miss your review for Ella Minnow Pea?????

Good morning, smart man! *air kisses floating his way*

>69 lkernagh: Hi Lori! Glad to see you. Never mind, you've seen it now. I do love that book.

>70 maggie1944: Hiya! *smooch*

Waves. :)

*smooches*

I decided to write a review for the second novel by Mark Dunn, author of Ella Minnow Pea. I read it very soon after the first, because well who could wait?! Welcome to Higby is over in my Orphans thread...post #254.

Scrum-diddly-umptious book porn!

I want it!!

Stopping by to make my presence known, and drumming my fingers while waiting for the publication of the latest Richard Derus book...

>76 Berly: Get in line!

>77 tloeffler: *smooch*

Hi Richard, glad to see that you survived that horrible storm unharmed. I know it wasn't funny for you at all, still I couldn't help but chuckle about some of your anekdotes on your previous thread > post 209 and I thought it was absolutely great that you helped that desperate woman with the three kids.
I haven't read all of your reviews yet, still too much catching up to do but I loved your review on Make Lemonade.
Great to see that your fantastic bookporn is back as well :) and I wish you and Stella a lovely warm and cosy weekend.

>79 drachenbraut23: Hi Bianca! Glad to see you, come back soon, bye! xo

Thank goodness.

A gift of book porn for you.

How sweet! I love it.



Love this too.

That is sweet. I may have to use it for a greeting card I could make. I'm wanting to get into the craft room, but I have reading to do, and packing to do, and going to the Islands to do!

The Islands? All those morals charges finally caught up with you, eh? I'll wave as I pass Alcatraz next time.

*grump* going to Hawaii and doesn't even offer to pack me in her luggage *hmmmf*

>82 cyderry:: Hurray for the person who found a legitimate use for all those Readers' Digest tomes. I read them as a child (I mean, maybe 9 or 10 years old); a very few stuck with me and prompted to read the real things later.

And hurray for you, Kind Sir; with many a *smooch* to go with it.

Yep.

I've reviewed Their Wildest Dreams by Peter Abrahams in my Orphaned Books thread...post #255.

#87 I am certainly part of that group with my ever increasing unread pile of books.
Have a storm free and infrastructure repaired weekend mate.

Thanks Paul, we're doing our damnedest I assure you.

I want that book case posted in #75. What a wonderful dream -- to be able to place all my books in one area.

>91 Whisper1: It has yet to happen to me in 53 years. I suspect it won't if it hasn't by now.

Boo hoo! Since it means I have that many books, I'll live with it.

Xo. I swear i posted here earlier

*sniff*

Of course you did. It's it's c...cl...clear you *wanted* to visit the Cave of Solitude where I moulder, forgotten and ignored.

*chinwobble*

Hi RD- Just swinging by to say hi! I love the Vonnegut table and the "kiss someone" poster. Awwwww!

>95 msf59: Glad you swung through, Tarzan McAperson!

>87 richardderus: is there a picture that goes with that?
I cant seem to get the images today....
*freaking out at the prospect of no more book porn*

Can you see this one? Same as 87 only bigger.

xo Hope today is kind to you....

Thanks cuddlepunkin, back at'cha!

Hi Richard - hope you have a good day. How's NaNoWriMo going?

>101 calm: Thank you, calm, you as well.

NaNo is going very slowly, since the hurricane followed by the snowstorm followed by home interruptions at an unexpected time have taken their toll. I hope to get to 12,000 words by Sunday, about 6,000 off pace to finish by 11/30.

*sigh*

I'm so impressed that you are even attempting NaNoWriMo. My family wouldn't let me do it anyway - but maybe after the LD goes to college, I'll try it.

I expect I won't be getting much done Thanksgiving week. Oh heavy sigh.

*aaahhh*

Book porn!

I can see all the images again now- phew. Thanks for enlarging the other one, now i can see book titles too :)

I love that mug, happiness is a cup of coffee and a really good book. And what is left unsaid but must go along with it, is and: uninterrupted time to indulge in both, preferably in a warm sunny spot with a comfy chair and a good view to glance at from time to time.

But I guess mugs are only so big :)

checking in... that isn't far behind.. you will catch up...I have faith in you.

Happy Saturday to you.

Same from me, RD. Congrats on the new thread. My daughter's dog is ombrophobous, if that's the right way to use that. She turned on the shower today, and he quickly went back into his safe crate.

>108 mckait: Thanks, Kath.

>109 Whisper1: And also with you, my dear.

>110 jnwelch: Thanks Joe! Poor poochums.

>87 richardderus:, 105, 111: Wow! How did some of my thoughts get into the heads of others???

A good Sunday to you, Sir. I thought this might be a difficult year for on NaNo. I'm still waiting for:
a.) Your collected reviews, including the very funny one-liners
or
b.) Your first novel.

*sits patiently, hands folded, coffee nearby*

I was hoping my first novel would vanish. It did. Published in 1979.

No, I won't tell you the pen name. It was a romance. It was dreadful and it's dead as a haddock!

Well, I'll be jiggered. At least you got published. And your next opus is expected when, approximately?

*still patient*

I had *hoped* for this year, but the publisher has postponed it. Indefinitely. *sigh*

I'm in the terminal stages of Death in Blue and White which was 2 years ago's NaNovel. Permaybehaps that'll get taken.

Richard, how is the writing coming along?

*waves* I hope the writing bug bites you in the butt.

I remember the two years ago NaNo... I liked it a lot..

>116 EBT1002: As well as can be expected, given all the mishegas of the past week! *sigh* Which means not all that well.

>117 maggie1944: I want the quiet morning bug to bite me harder.

>118 mckait: I am glad to hear it. I sure hope an editor does, too.

Love this chair.

Happy Sunday To You, the two hot reviews kind of guy!

Happiness, bliss, rapture....

Good morning (what's left of it), Fearless Leader!

See you have put yourself forward as Omnipotent (or was it just Potent) ruler of the Universe over at Darryl's place to replace the outdated concept of democracy. Take Ellen as your running mate (she runs 5 miles a day as it is), Caro secretary of state as she's never in the country anyway and is certainly better looking than Hilary, Mark would get Homeland Security as he knows all about the delivery of suspicious packages. Put Suz in charge of the economy she could read all the paperwork and digest the facts and figures faster than anyone else, Darryl of course takes health; tough call but Amber probably gets National Security as that's all Greek to me and she would understand it then. I would be happy with an ambassadorial role allowing me to watch such a potent cabinet in action.

The Hon. Paul Cranswick, Ambassador to the Court of St. James's of the Imperial Autocracy of America.

It does have a ring....

Read Empires of Light and thought of you as I wrote my review.

smooch!

Lol.

May the new week bring little pain, good weather, and lots of writing and reading.

*smooch*

Hey RD! Just checking in. I hope you are getting plenty of writing & reading in. You can do it!

>126 cyderry: Upgethumbed your review! I think my own rating would be 3.5 because Jonnes is not a smooth a writer as I would like.

>127 Matke: Your keyboard, the goddess's inbox....

>128 msf59: I thank you, kind sir. I'm filing for divorce from the current read.

Returning your general-purpose smooches. :-*

As a practising nepotist, I demand a role in your new autocratic system.
I am skilled in exactly 2 things. Wine and chocolate.

Paul said: I would be happy with an ambassadorial role allowing me to watch such a potent cabinet in action.

Ha. We're not letting you off that lightly, Paul, when we take over the world. I'll recommend to his holy highness (RD) that you serve as Minister/Secretary of Education. Get to work.

Hope things are quiet in your world this evening, Richard.

>130 London_StJ: Thanks, Crypto!

>131 LovingLit: Secretary of Agriculture.

>132 EBT1002: Edjumacayshun, eh? Hmmm. Permaybehaps that job will rotate.

Quiet as can be when watching Firefly for the umptieth time. I liked the Reunion Special of the Science Channel a lot.

Ellen I think RD would be right to a certain luke-warmness about a role for me in Education with so many wonderful teachers and ex-teachers to choose from. I may be able to play a small role in the international statistics department.

Agriculture!?
Hmph.
I am sure what you meant to say was Minister of Viticulture and Aztec Ambassador.

I was sad to learn that I couldn't see the Firefly thing..even though my niece alerted me to it.. I do not get that channel.

And Drat. I wanted to be Aztec Ambassador

I'll volunteer for Librarian, if no one else steps forward....

Good morning, *waving from Kaua'i*

I assume there will be unlimited openings for "Reader in Residence" in your cabinet, Sir. For those of us with no ambition but plenty of qualifications...

>139 laytonwoman3rd:: Oh yes, that will be a very big department...

>134 PaulCranswick: No, Ambassador strikes me as a Good Thing. You'll be living in London...maybe not...tell you what: How about you become Secretary of Infrastructure and Monumental Projects?

>135 LovingLit: Agriculture. We need someone to re-start the hemp industry and make sure all 51 states have a wine industry up and running within 10 years.

>136 mckait: Secretary of Disestablishmentarianism. Aztec religion will be our official creed, and human sacrifices will begin with competing religious professionals on the block first.

I didn't tell you about it because I remembered you don't get Science Channel. :_{ It was fun.

I volunteer for Listmaker and Book Tester in the new regime.

*smooch*

>138 maggie1944: *returns a single-finger salute Kaua'i-ward* I hear the waters are shark infested.

>139 laytonwoman3rd: hmmm...permaybehaps.

>140 Matke: As I plan to issue all Americans with Kindles and require all files to be free to access, I expect so. Tree books printed on demand at all liberries for cost of materials. Writers, editors, COPYEDITORS, designers on State subsidies.

>142 cyderry: Okay, you can be Tina the Librarian General's book tester.

>143 mckait: *smooch*



I don't think I need to translate the caption, but in case I do it says "I love books."

Oh my, oh yes, indeed.

Trade stand, Moscow International Book Fair.

Yes, please.

#145-I can't wait to show my husband this picture. He thinks we are the only people whose house looks like that. phhppphhtth

OOH! but I wish it looked like #146

>147 mmignano11: Heh. Far far from it! Far!

>148 mmignano11: *wistful sigh* Oh yeah.

>120 richardderus: oh, a most excellent chair!

i have a bet with myself, RD, that you will know, without looking it up, both the meaning and pronunciation of "louche." if you do, i get warm peach cobbler at Joe's. if you don't, i get cherry cobbler, so you see, it's a critical issue.

i'd never heard nor seen the word before. context is Dowd's column in today's Times. and i quote:

"Some Republicans conceded they were “a ‘Mad Men’ party in a ‘Modern Family’ world” (although “Mad Men” seems too louche for a candidate who doesn’t drink or smoke and who apparently dated only one woman)."

"Louche" is a French concept...slightly risqué, slightly tinged with immorality, painted just a wee bit redder than the ordinary, and all the more appealing for it.

Of course, you have no way to know if I looked it up or not, so have the peach cobbler, but no whipped cream.

I love the word "louche" and just discovered it in the last year or so. A bit up from "slutty", a bit down from "risque" in my mind.

Review: 99 of seventy-five

Title: WE SINNERS

Author: HANNA PYLVÄINEN

Rating: 4* of five

The Book Description: This stunning debut novel—drawn from the author's own life experience—tells the moving story of a family of eleven in the American Midwest, bound together and torn apart by their faith
The Rovaniemis and their nine children belong to a deeply traditional church (no drinking, no dancing, no TV) in modern-day Michigan. A normal family in many ways, the Rovaniemis struggle with sibling rivalry, parental expectations, and forming their own unique identities in such a large family. But when two of the children venture from the faith, the family fragments and a haunting question emerges: Do we believe for ourselves, or for each other? Each chapter is told from the distinctive point of view of a different Rovaniemi, drawing a nuanced, kaleidoscopic portrait of this unconventional family. The children who reject the church learn that freedom comes at the almost unbearable price of their close family ties, and those who stay struggle daily with the challenges of resisting the temptations of modern culture. With precision and potent detail, We Sinners follows each character on their journey of doubt, self-knowledge, acceptance, and, ultimately, survival.

NB The author won a 2012 Whiting Writers' Award, given for debut or early-career writers who have shown outstanding promise.


My Review: What is it with Michigan? Bonnie Jo Campbell (American Salvage and Peace Like A River) made me think I'd rather not visit any time soon, Michael Zadoorian gave me some images I'd rather not have of how failing lives and spirits “cope”, and then came the hopelessness of The Galaxie and Other Rides, Josie Sigler's stories that make Knockemstiff look like madcap comedy. Now this nice Finnish lady makes me think the place should be carpet-bombed and put out of our collective national misery.

Hanna Pylväinen is clearly telling the story of her own life. It's made explicit in the publisher's sales pitch. “Drawn from her own life” indeed. And “drawn” in this usage is less “limned” than “poulticed out.” The horrifying, toxic sect of christian belief her family follows is so grotesquely wrongheaded and grimly abusive that it's hard for me to read the book at all. It boggles my mind that anyone could experience any of these things and go on thinking this is a religion of love and light. It's a sadistic, controlling hate group.

Anyway.

I kept reading because Hanna Pylväinen writes in elegant, unadorned prose about the feelings and spirits of her family. She isn't forgiving and she isn't denigrating and she is, most of all, not apologetic. She quite simply tells the stories she's got inside her to tell, and she does so without one bit of fuss or drama.

The stories more than make up for her reticent writing.

Oh, and I keep calling them stories because that's what they are. No amount of hollering “this is a novel it's a novel see see it's a novel!” makes it a novel. It's a collection of linked short stories. It's a darn good one, but it's still a collection of linked short stories. That means 99% of y'all will smile wanly, say something polite about the review if you're so inclined, and then shudder off to read something with a plot.

Your loss. Hanna Pylväinen is a bright new talent on the literary scene. She's unsparingly sympathetic and astringently kind. She's not to be missed in this debut effort, because one day soon, you'll see her bewildering and unpronounceable name at the front of every B&N/Waterstones/Chapters. You can snort with quietly derisory self-satisfaction at all the Janie-come-latelies warbling her praises. “Oh yes, Hanna {Mumblemumble}! I read We Sinners back in the day. Such a book!”

So read it. Read it for fun if you like to get in deep with struggling people; read it for education if you've always had more than enough on your table and in your house; read it to stoke your outrage machine if you're a feminist or a rationalist; read it for bragging rights if you're snobbish. I don't care. Just read it.

Great review of We Sinners, Richard. As a response to the thinly veiled threats above I have added it to my Christmas wish list.

*salutes, withdraws*

Good morning Richard - Second Darryl's thoughts - Love your review on We Sinners another good review and gone straight onto my wish list :)

Oh great, I love the idea of your new world order - and I would like to apply for the post for teaching and education for troublesome teenagers - give me a work camp any day :)

Your review has me looking for We Sinners...

Thumbed! Hmmm linked stories huh?

>154 kidzdoc: You'll love it! I struggled with thoughts of self-harm the entire time I was reading it.

>155 drachenbraut23: Thanks, Bianca! We now have a Secretary of Forcible Re-Education and Behavioral Modification.

>156 London_StJ: I suspect it might wear a bit thin with you, Crypto darling. It's a short book, so focus on the way she's telling the story if the story itself fails to enthrall.

>157 mckait: Yes, tightly linked, but still not a novel. I'd say you might let it sneak under your story-averse radar, but only just.

Thumbed and wishlisted.

Knowing I'm a huge Bonnie Jo Campbell fan AND a huge fan of of a novel-in-stories I think I'm hit with actually two book bullets for the same book Richard;-) Thumb!

Review: 100 of seventy-five

Title: WHO FEARS DEATH

Author: NNEDI OKORAFOR

Rating: 4* of five

The Book Description: An award-winning literary author presents her first foray into supernatural fantasy with a novel of post- apocalyptic Africa.

In a far future, post-nuclear-holocaust Africa, genocide plagues one region. The aggressors, the Nuru, have decided to follow the Great Book and exterminate the Okeke. But when the only surviving member of a slain Okeke village is brutally raped, she manages to escape, wandering farther into the desert. She gives birth to a baby girl with hair and skin the color of sand and instinctively knows that her daughter is different. She names her daughter Onyesonwu, which means "Who Fears Death?" in an ancient African tongue.

Reared under the tutelage of a mysterious and traditional shaman, Onyesonwu discovers her magical destiny-to end the genocide of her people. The journey to fulfill her destiny will force her to grapple with nature, tradition, history, true love, the spiritual mysteries of her culture-and eventually death itself.


My Review: Who fears Death? I suppose most living things fear death. Onyesonwu, our title character, is the product of a genesis no one should have to carry with them: She is a child of rape, a product of brutality that should have made her mother hate her. Instead, her mother names her “who fears death” and never from that moment on, despite the both of them being outcast and made into The Other, never fears anything again.

I had a very hard time with this book, wanting to Pearl Rule it on average three times per reading session. I did in fact abandon it when a major major major anti-man hot button issue occurred near the end. But this is what earns the book four stars from me: I could not not read the rest. I had to know why what happened, happened.

Am I happy I read it? Not really. It was harrowing for me. I don't like man-bad-woman-good books. There are two unforgivable things in my moral universe: Abusing animals and rape. I'm no fan of supernatural/magjicqkal stuff (Onye's a shapeshifter). What on the surface of the earth persuaded me to read this thing?! I mean, it's even praised by Luis Alberto Urrea forevermore! I shoulda stood home, as the saying goes.

But Dr. Okorafor is a sorceress. She cast a spell on me. She reached out from inside this book and she made sure my brain needed to know this, and needed it so much I'd overcome my prejudices and make it part of my mental furniture.

I will step on her foot if I ever meet the Doctor in person.

She set the book in a post-nuclear-holocaust Africa! I love postapocalyptic fiction! How am I gonna resist that? And she made explicit a disdain for the rotten, evil-souled uses of religion in oppressing and abusing people of all types. I think I purred. I know I smiled.

It's also a joy and a pleasure to me to see women, and women of color, and women of immigrant parentage, enter the lists of American English-language speculative fiction. It makes me feel that this world has a shot at survival after all. Writers are not ignored because of their bodily plumbing or skin color or weird names. (Sorry, but I'm still an old white man, and this lady's name is really seriously weird to me.) This is the world I grew up wanting to live in, and now I get to...for a while anyway...and that, more than any other factor, made me stick with the book long past my usual stop.

Should you read it? Should you turn page after page of non-European-named characters, landscapes bursting with heat and searing miseries of spirit, heroes whose lives are blighted by origins beyond their control?

Yep.

>159 laytonwoman3rd: Oh good, Linda3rd! I hope you like it.

>160 brenzi: If you *don't* like it, Bonnie, I will go into respiratory arrest from the gasping I'll be doing.

Fascinating review, Richard. Thanks, and a tip of the thumb to ye.

>163 jnwelch: Only too glad! But which review do you refer to?

>164 richardderus: Hah! I thought I was caught up. >161 richardderus:, Who Fears Death.

Oh! Good, yes, that's an interesting book.

Hi RD- Fantastic review of We Sinners! Big Thumb!This looks like my cuppa, big time! On the WL it goes, just in time for my Swap!

>167 msf59: Thanks, Mark! I think you'll really like that book a lot. It's so beautifully told.

Just a quick good night...

Hold on, hold on! Go look at review in 161!

I did.. and I thumbed it :)

>171 mckait: Thank you for the thumb. Now check it out from the Funny Farm and savor it yourself!

Canna.. not there

What an incredible review of We Sinners. Thumbs up! How did you learn of this book?

Thank you, Linda! I found it by accident, when I was reading about the 2012 Whiting Award winners. Michael Cunningham was among the past recipients, and I have paid attention to it ever since.

There are so many writing awards. I'm now going to do a google search regarding the "Whiting Award winners."

Happy Almost Thanksgiving to you. Will you entertain?

When is Thanksgiving?

>176 Whisper1: Here's the link.

We're not all the way sure about the entertaining thing this year.

>177 mckait: Next Thursday the 23rd, dearie.

holy goddess :(

Gives me the barking fantods, too. *shudder*

Yes, I about blew my bubbles when I realized that we must leave home again on Sunday and be gone until Monday week, and I'm doing all the driving. Such fun! Never mind; maybe it'll do us good to get out of Dodge.

Btw, 2 thumbs, 2 added to the WL. I don't know if I can keep reading this thread...so many books made to sound so interesting...

>181 Matke: Thanks, Gail, for the thumbs...pleased about the wishlisting, I must confess. Mean old man that I am.

Oh dear, driving to an away Turkey Day would make me really angry. I guess I'm that big a fuddy-duddy...I want to stay home more often than I want to go out.

Thanks for the link Richard.

Who Fears Death was NOT an easy book to read, but it was very powerful. I liked your review a lot, Richard. Thumbs up!

Hi, Richard. You've been doing some great reading and I'm enjoying the ride, even while in paradise. The evening has fallen and the rain is falling... and if I'm not careful I'll drop the computer and fall to sleep. Not the company I'm keeping, you know, as LT is alwys fascinating. It is because I'm tired.

Good morning Richard,
Very interesting review on Who Fears Death a book I only read recently and which I also found very hard going. Although, the story is set in a post-apocalyptic Africa, the themes she discussed are to contemporary to ignore. Right in the beginning of the story, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to carry on, but I am glad I did :)

After your review on We Sinners I was able to get the book on amazon. Thank you!

And now "possible" a very stupid question. Well, I have seen HERE on your thread and on some other threads the regular mentioning of "Pearl ruled" and you wrote in your review wanting to Pearl Rule it on average three times per reading session. Ahem, what does it mean? *blush*

*drive by NaNo stressed wave*

Hubby and I use louche to describe when we have breakfast wine in pyjamas. :)

Breakfast wine? Oh well.. being the provincial sort, that is not a place I have gone...

>183 Whisper1: De rien, ma amie. It's quite a list of previous recipients, worth looking over.

>184 ronincats: Thank you, Roni! I'm still a bit flippied and damzeled about. She's a very intense writer.

>185 maggie1944: Oh I can well imagine you're pooped! Dodging all the sharks and poisonous jellies in the ocean, coping with the rapid disintegration of the ecosystem at every footstep, battered by the high winds of global warming...

*jealous fuming*

>186 drachenbraut23: Hi Bianca! I'm so pleased We Sinners has found another receptive home.

The Pearl Rule, made famous by America's Librarian Nancy Pearl, is what she calls "the Rule of Fifty." Life is too short to read books you don't like, and the fairest test of a book's impact on you is to read 50 pages of it. After one turns fifty, subtract a page for every year beyond it. I'm 53, so I read 47pp for a fair test.

>187 BekkaJo: Heh...I'd agree that's evidence of loucheness. *potters off to have some wine*

>188 mckait: Those Champagne brunches with Pope count, you know.

Champagne Brunches count? Oh well then...

Morning RD- You a "big fuddy-duddy"? Come on! I hope your next 2 books are as strong as the last 2. I love being on a killer stretch!

>191 mckait: Of course they do, dear. *tucks a hair back in Sister Holy Cross of Jesus' Sacred Blood's wimple*

>192 msf59: Thanks, Mark, so do I! It happens more rarely now, and I appreciate it much more.



SF author Stanislaw Lem in his study. There's a minor planet named after him.

That is a lovely "study". I could even study in there, I think, although today I'd rather go to the mountains.

#193 I would like to see a picture of Sister, please.

>194 maggie1944: Oh, the mountains! On Kaua'i! Oh really, how lovely. Be careful now, one never knows when there will be a landslide or an orc attack or something.

*grumble*

Climbing...climbing...climbing...resting..climbing...climbing "There, We Sinners, on top of teeter-totter TBR!" Whee!...(sliding down..down..down)

Hi Richard, That was a great review of We Sinners!

And Turkey Day? That is a stay at home day for us. I am the best cook in the family. (As far as I am concerned) and I refuse to eat lumpy mashed potatoes, icky gravy, dry turkey, no cornbread, weird Cranberry Sauce instead of my traditional jellied Cranberry from a can, watery whipped cream,overcooked vegetables and well...you get the picture. But I don't mind visiting after the meal, although it seldom happens because we can't move!

>197 mmignano11: Thanks, Mary Beth!

>198 mmignano11: I don't like turkey at all. I detest sweet potatoes made in any fashion whatsoever, and view marshmallows as proof there is a Satan and She means us ill. Stuffing not made from cornbread is revolting. Gravy that looks like slightly melted epoxy is not my idea of good. How, please, does one make whipped cream watery? No wait, I don't want to know.

Best I make it. And even though I'll *shudder* make those things, I will *also* make the Good Stuff. What I'm not sure of is, will this year work out or not?

Oh, I prefer my own holiday dinner to anyone else's, too. It worked for years and years and ages, when everyone trooped to my house. We often set two tables, large and semi-small for overflow. Fortunately, the daughter is serving seafood. Works for me. She's not a fan of turkey either. At least I don't have the dreadful clean-up from the bloated, overblown feast we used to have...

One of the all-too-few times of year when I really, really miss my mother...

I suppose, when I think about it, I re-create my mother's holiday feast. I don't do cranberries the same way, preferring a tinge of jalapeno in mine.

Seafood sounds lovely!

So glad we sensible Canadians have our Thanksgiving in October. Two turkeys so close together would throw me off the cliff. And don't like cornbread stuffing at all, at all, but prefer a sensible British stuffing (but without sausage).

Richard, a friend who also has gout is unable to eat turkey at all, as it is a trigger.

Hi Tui! "British stuffing" is almost as appealing as "British electrics" in a car. *delicate shiver*

I do love British brussels sprouts. I just love brussels sprouts, truth to tell, prepare them how one might. I roast mine with tart apples, then salt and add toasted pecans.

I put a tiny bit on my plate to avoid people asking why I'm not eating it, then hide it under the sweet potatoes. It's a terrible trigger for me, too, but I have disliked bird meat in general most of my life.

Review: 101 of seventy-five

Title: THE AMATEUR SPY

Author: DAN FESPERMAN

Rating: 3* of five

The Book Description: The Amateur Spy recasts the spy novel for the post-9/11 world—anyone might be watching, everyone is suspect.

Freeman Lockhart, a humanitarian aid worker, and his Bosnian wife, have just retired to a charming house on a Greek island. On their first night, violent intruders blackmail Freeman into spying on an old Palestinian friend living in Jordan. Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., a Palestinian-American named Aliyah Rahim is worried about her husband, who blames their daughter's death on the U.S. anti-terror policies. Aliyah learns that he is plotting a cataclysmic act of revenge; in a desperate effort to stop him, she flies to Jordan to meet her husband's co-conspirators. There she encounters Freeman neck-deep in his own investigation. As their paths intertwine, the story rises to its fast-paced, explosive climax.


My Review: My bestie Suzanne inspired me to read this book, and I liked it. I did. I liked it.

Excellent pacing! Exciting plotting! Adequate dialogue!

But, after a few nights away from it pondering why I am so unmoved by it, I realized something. I am unpleasantly aware of a resonance with the later real-life doings of Zeitoun, he of the non-fiction Eggers book about injustice, racial profiling, and Katrina's aftermath.

I wasn't unmoved after all. I was unhappy.

The Palestinian dad who loses his daughter to perceived bureaucratic idiocy also loses his loyalty to the American Dream and to the Ideal World he came here to find. Well, yeah. Push a man hard enough, he falls over. Losing your illusions is a painful process, and for an adult to go through it...! I've heard a lot of unpleasantness about Zeitoun's apparent descent into extremism. It all carries, as does Fesperman's doctor's descent, an unspoken whiff of “look, he's finally tipped into Islamic Fundamentalism just like They Always Do!”

I don't think They Always Do anything. I don't like the insidious, unexamined response of “well, what did you expect?” to these men's extreme responses to extreme abuses and losses. I promise you that a father who loses a child is a deranged, angry, haunted man. He will never, ever be the same as he was again. And if there is a handy, culpable party around, well guess what? Blame will be laid. I think I would feel the same way if my country, the place I CHOSE to live and work and become part of, slammed me into prison for being me.

It's certainly always true that thrillers and mysteries require an Other, an Enemy, or they're pointless. I know that espionage is about Otherness taken to the extreme. I'm aware that the entire experience of a chase is about stakes, what's at risk, why the chase is occurring, or there's no point.

That said, I can take not one thing away from Mr. Fesperman in his making of the book, and in his choice of a story. That I don't want to read this story isn't a thing in the world to do with him, and that I DID read the story is a testament to his talent as a thriller-maker.

#188 Only very rarely I promise! But always fun :)

Thank you, for your review of The Amateur Spy...the only Fesperman i've read is Lie in the Dark, and that was years ago..but I liked his take "current affairs"

One thumb from me....

I like a touch of jalapeno in my cranberries, too.....and most any vegetable tastes better when it's roasted...

Glad you liked the review! I agree, roast a veggie and it's a whole new, usually better, experience. Although I admit I'm reluctant to try roasted lettuce....

#207-Crispy...

Yes, let's!

When I have an Imperial Palace, this sculpture is going on it or in it.

"Roasted" lettuce would most likely turn to watery sludge! Roasted kale ain't bad, but you have to watch it carefully, or it will burn...

#207 You made me go look it up. Apparently your reluctance (and mine) is misplaced.

Come on RD! It's always Book Week, in our geeky little world. I added one of Festerman's books, The Double Game to my WL awhile back after listening to a podcast where he was highly praised. I do not read many espionage books but it did sound good.

Hmm, I can understand your mixeduppedness over The Amateur Spy. Well- explained. I'm comfortable leaving it lie.

Speaking of roasted veggies.. I never thought about roasted lettuce so the reluctance is not just you ;) I do love several other roasted veggies though I like to coat them with olive oil, roast garlic and a few slices of bacon with it as well Yummy. :) I could eat a roasted veggie every single day of the week.

>212 laytonwoman3rd: Linda...that looks like Romaine, which is a far cry from Iceberg lettuce. I could see how roasted Romaine would be a treat..

;-}

>211 jdthloue:, 212 *bleurgh* No no no! It ain't nacherl! It abominates me!

>213 msf59: He has the structural chops, Mark, so you're in good hands.

>214 jnwelch: Sound plan, good man.

>215 MonicaLynn: Oh my heck yes! Do that to it and I'll even eat chicken without whining.

Actually that is Little Gem lettuce, which is kind of a cross between Romaine and Butter lettuce, and it is described as "heat tolerant". Did someone mention iceberg specifically when this discussion started? I may have missed that. I haven't bought any iceberg lettuce in years, ever since it became easy to find Romaine and spring greens, and such things in our supermarkets. I wouldn't try roasting or grilling iceberg, that's for sure.

I won't buy iceberg at all. Horrible stuff. Polyester greenery. But I am no fan of the lettuce these days, since it began giving me *horrendous* problems. It really rots, too, because I love salads.

<218...I never mentioned Iceberg Lettuce..i was going with post # 207...I never buy Iceberg, it's just Green Water..I prefer Romaine...and buy Curly Endive when it looks palatable..

I feel bad, Sweetie, that you can't enjoy salads.....

It makes me sad, too. I really like a fresh salad, spinach or mixed spring greens or chicory...*sniff*

Wait, what? Roasted lettuce? WTH?

Glad you had a good rec from Suz...
I feel your pain and annoyance with lettuce... and often share it.
Un-roasted, toasted or baked.

I'd be less testy if salad wasn't the perfect summer meal. If it's too hot, which for me means over 85, I can't eat normal food comfortably. I could eat salads...until a couple years ago...

*broken sobbing*

*There, there. Soft pats*

How about fruit salads? Do they cause problems as well?

How about tomatoes and mozarella? Or just tomatoes with a bit of oil and basil?

Oh tomatoes... food of the gods...

Nothing is better than a freshly-picked, sun-warmed tomato. Yum!

Tomatoes...*wail*

oh me oh my *sob* the tomato(e) is a "use-sparingly" gout enemy *wail*

and and and I'm the only one in the whole house who will eat fruit

My grandfather was some kind of green-thumbed genius and had this large garden of .... everything. (I was one lucky kid!) One year there was a bumper crop of tomatoes .... ah, my mother was so happy. And then, she broke out in little red bumps everywhere. The doctor told her she had to stop eating tomatoes for a while. She was so sad :(

I can understand why! I love tomatoes. I like a cream-cheese-chive-and-tomato on toast sammy. A lot. I like tomato and cucumber salad, oh so much. Insalata caprese? *drool*

No more than once a week. Otherwise, joint hell to pay. Oh well. It could so easily be worse, I can't muster up too much complainergy.

I like tomatoes in almost anything and almost everything. The more the better.Yummers.
Not being able to eat them is sadness indeed. Lettuce doesn't come close.. not any variety at any temperature.

Hope the sparingness of the lovely fruit passes when you finally get meds.. Thank the goddess we are closer to everyone having access to healthcare and opportunity for health and even life. Thank the goddess lots and much and lots.

Yum, indeed. When we were kids, one of our favorite sandwiches was one made from fresh tomatoes from our garden on a hearty Italian torpedo roll, with a mixture of mustard and mayonnaise and freshly ground black pepper.

Tomato & mozzarella salad? Yes, please!

Book porn!

Ohh La La love the book porn. I feel so bad for you Richard, not able to eat tomatos :( Salad fixins or anything... That is so sad.

Me, too. That looks like a little bit of heaven right there.

>230 mckait: Me too, me too.

>231 kidzdoc: Oooh la la! Sounds yummers!

>233 MonicaLynn:, 234 That is a GOOD one, I agree.



An invaluable service.

Smooches!

>236 Berly: *smooch* for fly-by Black Belt Mama

Live for it. You?

>238 richardderus:: oh yes, absolutely.

>238 richardderus:: Yes, indeed; one of the major reasons for staying alive.

>239 tiffin:, 240 :-)

Richard, sweetie, your book porn has been neglecting the bedroom.
This should do it.

>242 cyderry: yup, Im totally into that set up. Lie in bed, read, lean over open drawer and select another book. It would work juuuuuust fine.

Roasted lettuce? No thanks, but I do do wilted lettuce in an asian noodle soup. And the salad I made for todays BBQ was orzo and beetroot with crumbled feta and almond slivers. Fan-tas-tic it was too ;)

I'll take >242 cyderry: with more pillows and my pooches!

Hello Richard! :)

Oh, I DO like 232..... very nice, very nice indeed! I could have used 235 and 238 today, BIG TIME! Hope all is well with you Richard.

>238 richardderus: MOST definitely!!!

Richard,
A belated upthumb for your review of We Sinners and I'm adding it to my Swap WishList.

Good morning Richard,
thanks for explaining "Pearl ruled" to me and of course the link. At least I understand the terminology now *grin* and finally I understand your collection with that heading.

Just checking in. Love all the Thanksgiving food talk. I'll be making dinner for The In-Laws this year (ugh.) and I'm certain to get some snarky comments about something or other. Sigh.

>242 cyderry: That is a perfect bedroom. I would us low wattage pink lights... as those are too harsh , and change up the bedding..add more pillows.. and have electrical plugs behind the head of the bed. I would put down a soft area rug... and a bed for Dunkers at the foot..

>242 cyderry:: The perfect concept! Just needs a bit of tweaking, as Kath said: only one strong light directed to book; comfier bedding, a pet...done!
One problem would be getting out of bed at all...why bother?

>242 cyderry: Oh yes indeed, Cheli! What a great idea!! Thanks for porning me this morning.

>243 LovingLit: I ran across a recipe for milk-poached lettuce and peas...french peas...in Mama's recipe books. To quote Kath's wrongheaded response to split pea soup, bleurgh.

>244 luvamystery65: Hi Roberta! I'd need pillows to keep my knees and feet up, but those inaptly named "decorative pillows" have no place in a decent man's home.

>245 lkernagh: Hi Lori...now imagine 242 is the bedroom of 232...perfection...thanks for dropping in, yes doing well, sending hugs

>246 ronincats: Ain't it so?

>247 EBT1002: Oh thanks Ellen, and I hope you get We Sinners as your under-tree gift. Just a lovely book.

>248 drachenbraut23: Pas du probleme, Bianca. I want people to know what I'm talking about so they can talk to me!

>249 scaifea: Hi Amber! Ground glass in the stuffing. Makes things ever so much quieter. Of course, Tomm must be prevented from a) knowing or 2) sampling. Charlie's easy, you fix his plate anyway.

>250 mckait: Pink lights? Srsly they make such things? Totally down with the outlets idea! Dog beds go without saying! Stella doesn't sleep with me anymore, by my design, so she needs someplace comfy.

>251 Matke: It is demotivational...nothing aches or rankles, so why move unless it's to the facilities? Perkins the butler will bring trays as needed.

Antiquarian bookseller in Italy. As a living room, I'd only want to change the front door.

Books have saved my sanity and my life for many years.

>256 richardderus: Like!

This is the relationship I've been looking for since 1976.

>258 richardderus: Me too, since Forever....

Dammit.. wish we had a LIKE button....
So Like Like Like!

Hey RD! I love #255! We just need a comfy reading chair. You just stole my next thread picture. #258 is awesome. Don't give up, you'll find the perfect reading cuddle-buddy.

Review: 102 of seventy-five

Title: MORE BATHS, LESS TALKING

Author: NICK HORNBY

Rating: 4* of five

The Book Description: “Read what you enjoy, not what bores you,” Nick Hornby tells us. That simple, liberating, and indispensable directive animates each installment of the celebrated critic and author’s monthly column in the Believer. In this delightful and never-musty tour of his reading life, Hornby tells us not just what to read, but how to read.

Whether tackling a dismayingly bulky biography of Dickens while his children destroy something in the next room, or getting sucked into a serious assessment of Celine Dion during an intensely fought soccer match featuring his beloved Arsenal, or devouring an entire series of children’s books while on vacation, Hornby’s reviews are rich, witty, and occasionally madcap. These essays capture the joy and ire, the despair and exhilaration of the book-lover’s life, and will appeal equally to both monocle-wearing salonnieres and people, like him, who spend a lot of time thinking about Miley Cyrus’s next role.


My Review: What fun. What a perfect way to smile and wile a few hours away. What a terrible thing to do to myself, read a book of a book-lover’s book review columns. By dint of the most severe self-talk imaginable, I held myself to requesting one—ONE—book from the liberry after reading Hornby's review of same.

A biography. Of Charles Dickens.

Yes, that's right, Nick Hornby the Book Incubus, the Boy-Siren, has convinced me, the arch-hater of Chuckles the Dick, to eat his turnips and read a book about the horrid bore. If I'm honest, which depressingly enough I am, I must say that Claire Tomalin's disparagement of several of the Great Satan's novels played a large part in my willingness to put myself through this misery.

So if you don't know me at all, let me assure you that there are several jaws now being scraped off of floors on several continents and a selection of islands. Hornby? He got the goods, my man, he got the goods if he can convince Richard to read about Dickens.

And he does. Hornby's mix of personal life, professional writing career, and lifelong reader-of-stories is perfect for a grazing read, pieces of just the right length to amuse without burdening the pleasure-seeking reader with interesting but useless information. His sharp eye for the way books work, what makes Novel X miss where Novel O works brilliantly, and why biographies only ever get fatter and fatter as a person's life is serially biographized, and how history could be improved by thinning the cast...well, all that's so much a part of his observed world that it's merely the scaffolding he hangs funny, wise, glib, snarky sentences on.

Fourteen bucks retail. Worth every one of 'em, too.

Hi Richard. I'm delurking to compliment you on your review of More Baths, Less Talking and to say I'm one of those people whose jaw dropped when you said he convinced you to read a biography of Dickens! I'm going to put Hornby's book on my Christmas list right now.

>263 phebj: I hope it will make you grin as much as it did me, Pat!

thumbed...

thanked

Came straight over from Mark's thread to make sure that you were not sending out a cryptic cry for help. But it appears that all is well...except...what's this...you're going to read about Dickens? Of your own free will?

*faints*

*opens one eye and briefly lifts head to whisper that I thumbed your fantabulous review, then refaints*

Yes, I was one of the jaws you scraped off the floor. I hope I can reattach it without to much trouble. A guy needs to eat and drink.
I'm so glad you liked the Hornby, please try to track down the 1st 3 in this enjoyable series. I have the Claire Tomalin bio waiting in the wings. I hope to get to it next month.

Hi RD, I heard the rumours about Dickens becoming your new favourite author you potentially being open to reading a Dickens biography, and came running :)

>262 richardderus: Whew! At least I hit you with a great book bullet. i was worried for a nanosecond that i'd get over here to find you hated it Richard. But no, you liked it. Yay! And who wouldn't. What a perfect way to smile and wile a few hours away. Perfectly said! The rest of this series is not available from my library so I will be forking over $14 X 3 I guess but what a joyful thing to spend my Social Security on haha.

Thumbed, naturally.

>267 Crazymamie: *wafts sal volatile under Mamie's nose on the fainting couch* There now dear, are you a little better? Have a sip of this lovely elderflower cordial. I'll be sure to make regular progress announcement when I start reading the book. The review won't cause so much distress that way.

>268 msf59: I've requested Housekeeping vs. the Dirt, which will take a week or so to get to the village liberry. I'm looking forward to it!

>269 LovingLit: It's true, astoundingly enough. I said exactly that. Cold drink? You look a mite flushed from the running.

>270 brenzi: You did, you did. I liked the book and was charmed by Hornby, though I wonder if I'd like his novels as much as the columns. Thanks for the thumb!

jaw dropping doesn't cover it , I wondered if i had jumped to an alternate timeline where RD loves Dickens ....... all is very unusual

consider review thumbed

*thumbs review*

*drives to closest ED to get my mandible put back into place*

>272 roundballnz: Thanks, Alex! For the thumb, that is, though I can't help but wonder much the same thing myself about the timelines....

>273 kidzdoc: Thanks, Darryl, and I hope the mandibular reattachment surgery goes well. :-)

The French Book Room of the Imola Public Library, Italy.

Oh la la, magnifique. Very intrigued by the Who Fears Death review.

Loved that bedroom book porn!

Another reason to love Nick Hornby! Maybe you will find that Dickens-the-man is more to your taste for reading than his works, much the way I feel about Hemingway. My chin did not drop, but I did hoot with delight to find that Hornby has convinced you to read about Mr. D.

Review thumbed, chin bandaged from hitting desktop, fanning self...

My oh my. That must be some book. Can't wait to get to it.

And a *smooch* for your sweet self, Sir.

Nick Hornby, he must have the goods, RD. Either that or I went down a Murakami stairway to a different reality. I found a big thumb and applied it. Amazing. Will wonders never cease. Dickens? Really?

*air kisses floating your way*

If I had not already put the Hornby book on my wish list you certainly would have convinced me! Nice job, my friend.

I hope you are feeling well and doing all the reading you wan to do. I unfortunately continue to have to do vacation like things here on the Garden Isle! Walked the tour of the Allerton Garden yesterday and stood next to a bamboo grove which must have been 100 feet tall. Wow! Check out the site of the National Tropical Botanical Gardens - www.ntbg.org

Carry on with your wonderful book reviews, Richard, you never cease to inspire me.

*Wavies* oh and 275 - stunning, just stunning.

>276 sibylline: Glad you liked the review, Cousin Lucy!

>277 laytonwoman3rd: You're made of stern stuff, Linda3rd. Stern and well-starched. Delighted hoots aside.

>278 Matke: I think you'll like Hornby, he's got a sharp wit. We all know how you like a sharp wit. *preen*

>279 jnwelch: I'm still a bit verschmeckeled myself! Thanks for the thumb.

>280 maggie1944: Oh, poor dear. All those chore-like things to do, walk on tropical mountainsides and get batted about by tradewinds and look at weird birds and flowers found nowhere else on earth. How my heart *bleeds* for you.

*grumble*

Thank you for ripping your eyes off the splendors of Kaua'i long enough to visit a chilly, bored, neglected old man. No, really.

>281 BekkaJo: Hi Bekka! Ain't it though? *smooch*

You are very welcome, Richard. But not neglected. Ha!

*draws shawl closer to sunken chest*

As...as...you're sniff leaving strangled sob, will you please stir the embers in the grate? There might be a tiny bit more heat. I'll stuff the rags under the door after you close it, these attics are so drafty.

Oh my, the shuddering terror that awakens me many a night has a name!

There's a WORD for it?!?

Or, the luxury of being currently childless.

#258: richardderus, this picture is beautiful. Do you have a title of it?

I'm so sorry, I don't! I snagged it off of a Facebook page called "Luxury Bookshelf," if that helps. It's beautiful. I don't even mind that nobody has legs in the image.

It is adorable. I'd like to haang into our living room, since it is so 'us' on that picture. Thanks for charing!

De rien, ma amie.

I love those Hornby books but haven't read one for a while. Will be seeking out More Baths, Less Talking and leave you to wallow in the Dickens bio.

I am most definitely abibliophobic. Serious case.

I've just read all four of the Nick Hornby Believer series (courtesy of my local public library). Fantastic books. I got hit with many book bullets, loads of stuff I wouldn't usually read. Although a Dickens biography was not one of them lol Moondust: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth was the most unusual (for me anyway).

>293 avatiakh: I'm sure you'll really enjoy returning to Hornby's amusing fold, Kerry.

>294 sibylline: Oh yes indeed, me too!

>295 kiwiflowa: OOO that sounds wonderful!! *bustles off to liberry website*

>286 richardderus:... yeah... that's about it, I think.. at least for me.