Paul's Books and Stuff in 2013 Part 5

I was brought up in the Parish of Felkirk. This is it's church, St. Peter's, originally built in 1120 and parts of which remain still (some of the arch work I believe).

The quote for this thread comes from Wakefield's own George Gissing and is apropos for what we do here:

The first time I read an excellent work, it is to me just as if I gained a new friend; and when I read over a book I have perused before, it resembles the meeting of an old one.
George Gissing

2013 Books Read

January

1. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
2. Religion for Atheists by Alain de Botton
3. Promised Land: A Northern Love Story bt Anthony Clavane
4. A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor
5. A Drop of the Hard Stuff by Lawrence Block
6. That Awkward Age by Roger McGough
7. If Morning Ever Comes by Anne Tyler
8. Coffee, Tea or Me? by Trudi Baker
9. Among the Cinders by Maurice Shadbolt

2013 Favourite Reads

Non-Fiction
1 Promised Land : A Northern Love Story by Anthony Clavane

Fiction
1 Among the Cinders by Maurice Shadbolt

2013 Reading Plan

Aiming for 200 books (exactly double of this year's total)
Thirteen in thirteen Challenge (169 books) and whatever else I can fit into TIOLI or takes my fancy.

January Reading Plan

January reading plan: First 4 weeks

We have 52 weeks which divides nicely by 4 into 13. 13 books in each 4 week cycle and I have the 13 in 13 cracked. Want to get to 200 so I need to add another 31 to that total.

First four weeks:

1 Written in French - Viper's Tangle by Francois Mauriac (TIOLI ind publishers)
2 Historical Fiction - When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Penman
3 Then and Now - Point of Departure by James Cameron
4 Old Friends - A Drop of the Hard Stuff by Lawrence Block (Matt Scudder - TIOLI including the letter B) Comp 11 Jan 13
5 Scandi - Phantom by Jo Nesbo (Madeline's fiendish TIOLI)
6 Poetry/Plays - That Awkward Age by Roger McGough Comp 12 Jan 13
7 Travel - Coffee, Tea or Me? by Trudi Baker (TIOLI 13 letter titles) Comp 16 Jan 13
8 Sport - Promised Land : The Reinvention of Leeds United by Anthony Clavane Comp 5 Jan 13
9 Between the Wars - Memoirs of a Midget by Walter de la Mare (TIOLI ind publishers)
10 Short Stories - A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor Comp 10 Jan 13
11 Anne Tyler - If Morning Ever Comes by, well, Anne Tyler Comp 13 Jan 13
12 13 Awards - The In-Between World of Vikram Lall by MG Vassanji - Giller Winner - My TIOLI
13 Asia Pacific - Among the Cinders by Maurice Shadbolt (TIOLI)Comp 17 Jan 13

Also have to finish 4 that I didn't quite get through - as I am part way through all of em it will give me a flying start to the year!

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (TIOLI)
Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope (TIOLI)
Religion for Atheists by Alain de Botton (TIOLI) COMP 3 Jan 13
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn COMP 2 Jan 13

17 in 28 is stretching it for me. but let's see.

Books at Start of Year on KL Shelves - 1,676
Added in 2013 - 77
Read in 2013 - 9

Revised TBR Total - 1,744

Pages to read at start of year - 639,135
Pages added in 2013 - 13,404
Read in 2013 - 2,126
Revised Pages to read - 650,413

Current Reading:

FLICS SEEN AT THE CIMENA in 2013 (Not a typo - I call cinema; cimena just to irritate Belle.

1 The Hobbit
2 Jack Reacher
3 Les Miserables
4 Parental Guidance

List of my active series. Doesn't include series I own books but haven't started (far too many) or series that I have read all - Sherlock, Poirot, Marple, Dr. Who, Wallender, John Carter, Richard Hannay, Father Brown, Rougon MacQuart, etc etc etc

WRITER SERIES NEXT BOOK UP

1 Abbott, Jeff // Whit Mosley Black Jack Point 2/3
2 Adler-Olsen, Jussi // Department Q Disgrace 2/3
3 Akunin, Boris //Erast Fandorin Special Assignments 5/10
4 Atkinson, Kate //Jackson Brodie When Will There Be Good News 3/4
5 Aubert, Brigitte //Elise Andrioli Death from the Snows 2/2
6 Auel, JM //Earth's Children The Valley of Horses 2/6
7 Bateman, Colin //Dan Starkey Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men 2/7
8 Billingham, Mark //Tom Thorne Good as Dead 10/10
9 Black, Benjamin //Quirke The Silver Swan 2/5
10 Black, Cara //Aimee Leduc Murder in Belleville 2/13
11 Blake, Nicholas //Nigel Strangeways A Question of Proof 2/16

13 Block, Lawrence //Bernie Rhodenbarr The Burglar in the Closet 3/10
14 Blunt, Giles //John Cardinal Crime Machine 5/6
15 Box, C.J. //Joe Pickett Savage Run 2/12
16 Brand, Christianna //Inspector Cockrill Heads You Lose 2/6
17 Brookmyre, Christopher //Jack Parlabane Country of the Blind 2/5
18 Brown, Dan //Robert Langdon The Lost Symbol 3/3
19 Bruen, Ken //Jack Taylor The Killing of the Tinkers 2/9
20 Burke, James Lee //Robicheaux Neon Rain 2/19
21 Camilleri, Andrea //Montalbano The Dance of the Seagull 15/15
22 Carr, Caleb //Kreizler The Angel of Darkness 2/2
23 Chandler, Raymond //Philip Marlowe The High Window 4/7
24 Child, Lee //Jack Reacher A Wanted Man 17/17
25 Cornwell, Bernard //Saxon Chronicles The Burning Land 5/6
26 Cotterill, Colin //Dr. Siri Disco for the Departed 3/8
27 Crispin, Edmund //Gervase Fen The Case of the Gilded Fly 3/9
28 Dahl, KO //Frank Frolich The Man in the Window 2/3
29 Deaver, Jeffrey //Rune Death of a Blue Movie Star 2/3
30 Deighton, Len //Harry Palmer Horse Under Water 3/6
31 Deighton, Len //Bernard Samson Faith 7/9
32 DeMille, Nelson //John Corey Plum Island 2/6
33 Dibdin, Michael //Aurelio Zen Medusa 9/11
34 Downing, David //John Russell Silesian Station 2/5
35 Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan //Brigadier Gerard Adventures of Gerard 2/2
36 Dunnett, Dorothy //Francis Lymond Queen's Play 2/6
37 Eastland, Sam //Pekkala The Red Coffin 2/4
38 Edwardson, Ake //Erik Winter Frozen Tracks 3/6
39 Eisler, Barry //John Rain The Detachment 7/7
40 Finder, Joseph //Nick Heller Buried Secrets 2/3
41 Forbes, Colin //Tweed Double Jeopardy 3/24
42 Ford, Richard //Bascombe Independence Day 2/3
43 Fossum, Karin //Sejer The Caller 8/9
44 Fraser, George MacDonald //Flashman Flashman in the Great Game 5/12
45 Freeling, Nicholas //Van der Valk Because of the Cats 2/13
46 Fyfield, Francis //Helen West Shadow Play 2/6
47 Gadney, Reg //Alan Rosslyn Immaculate Deception 5/6
48 Ghosh, Amitav //Ibis Trilogy River of Smoke 2/3
49 Gilman, George G //Edge Hell's Seven 9/61
50 Gray, Alex //Lorimer A Small Weeping 2/9
51 Harvey, John //Resnick Cold in Hand 11/11
52 Harvey, John //Elder Ash and Bone 2/3
53 Hewson, David //Nic Costa The Seventh Sacrament 5/9
54 Hill, Reginald //Pascoe and Dalziell Ruling Passion 3/24
55 Hillerman, Tony //Leaphorn / Chee Dancehall of the Dead 2/18
56 Holt, Anne //Vik and Stubo The Final Murder 2/4
57 Hurley, Graham //Faraday and Winter Cut to Black 5/12
58 Iggulden, Conn //Conqueror Bones of the Hills 3/5
59 Indriadson, Arnadur //Erlendur Outrage 7/8
60 James, PD //Dalgleish A Taste for Death 7/14
61 James, Peter //Roy Grace Dead Tomorrow 5/8
62 Jardine, Quintin //Bob Skinner Skinner's Ordeal 5/22
63 Jecks, Michael //Medieval Mysteries The Merchant's Partner 2/31
64 Johnstone, William W //Mountain Man Ordeal of the Mountain Man 17/32
65 Jungstedt, Mari //Knutas The Killer's Art 4/7
66 Kerr, Philip //Bernie Gunther A Quiet Flame 5/8
67 Leon, Donna //Brunetti The Girl of His Dreams 17/21
68 Lovesey, Peter //Peter Diamond The Summons 3/13
69 Lucarelli, Carlos //Negro Day after Day 2/2
70 Ludlum, Robert //Bourne The Bourne Supremacy 2/3
71 MacBride, Stuart //Logan McRae Shatter the Bones 7/7
72 MacDonald, Ross //Lew Archer The Way Some People Die 3/18
73 Mahfouz, Naguib //Cairo Trilogy Palace of Desire 2/3
74 Manning, Olivia //The Levant Trilogy The Battle Lost and Won 2/3
75 Mantel, Hilary //Cromwell Series Bring Up the Bodies 2/3
76 Marklund, Liza //Bengtzon Paradise 2/6
77 Martin, Andrew //Jim Stringer The Blackpool Highflyer 2/8
78 McBain, Ed //87th Precinct Killer's Choice 5/55
79 McCall-Smith, Alexander Tears of the Giraffe 2/13
80 Nabb, Magdalen //Guarnaccia Death of a Dutchman 2/14
81 Nadel, Barbara //Ikmen Deep Waters 4/15
82 Napier, William //Attila The Gathering of the Storm 2/3
83 Nesbo, Jo //Harry Hole Phantom 7/8
84 Nesser, Hakan //Van Veeteren The Inspector and Silence 5/7
85 O'Brian, Patrick //Aubrey Post Captain 2/21
86 O'Brien, Martin //Jacquot Confession 5/7
87 Plaidy, Jean //Tudor Saga Uneasy Lies the Head 2/11
88 Price, Anthony //Audley The Alamut Ambush 2/19
89 Rankin, Ian //Rebus The Hanging Garden 10/18
90 Rees, Matt //Omar Yussef The Saladin Murders 2/4
91 Rendell, Ruth //Wexford From Doon With Death 3/23
92 Rickman, Phil //Merrily Watkins Midwinter of the Spirit 2/11
93 Robinson, Peter //Banks Watching the Dark 20/20
94 Russell, Craig //Lennox The Deep Dark Sleep 3/4
95 Russell, Craig //Jan Fabel The Carnival Master 4/6
96 Sandford, John //Lucas Davenport Buried Prey 21/22
97 Sansom, CJ // Shardlake Dark Fire 2/5
98 Sayers, Dorothy L //Lord Peter Wimsey Whose Body? 2/14
99 Sigurdottir, Yrsa Thora //Gudmundsdottir Ashes to Dust 3/4
100 Silva, Daniel //Gabriel Allon Portrait of a Spy 11/12
101 Simenon, Georges //Maigret The Crime of Inspector Maigret 9/98
102 Sjowall, Maj //Beck The Man Who Went Up in Smoke 2/10
103 Smith, Tom Rob //Demidov Agent 6 3/3
104 Taylor, Andrew //Dougal Waiting for the End of the World 2/8
105 Temple, Peter //Jack Irish Black Tide 2/4
106 Vargas, Fred //Adamsberg Have Mercy on Us All 2/7
107 Waites, Martyn //Joe Donovan Bone Machine 2/4
108 White, Stephen //Alan Gregory Privelged Information 2/19
109 Wilson, Robert //Javier Falcon The Silent and the Damned 2/4
110 Wingfield, RD //Jack Frost Frost at Christmas 3/6
111 Cornwell, Bernard // Richard Sharpe Sharpe's Gold 2/21
112 Enger, Thomas // Henning Juul Pierced 2/2
113 Forester, C.S. // Hornblower Lieutenant Hornblower 2/11
114 Tey, Josephine // Alan Grant
115 Taylor, Patrick // Dr. Laverty
116 Vichi, Marco // Inspector Bordelli
117 McGee, James // Matthew Hawkswood
118 Meyer, Deon // Benny Greissel // Thirteen Hours 2/3
119 Griffiths, Elly // Ruth Galloway // The Janus Stone 2/4

ALTERNATIVELY LOOK ME UP ON FICTFACT.COM WHICH HAS A FULLER LIST INCLUDING THOSE COMPLETED AND THOSE WHERE I HAVE THE BOOK BUT HAVEN'T STARTED THE SERIES YET (THERE'S A LOT OF THOSE)

NOBEL CHALLENGE

NOBEL WINNERS READ WITH FAVOURITE WORK READ SO FAR:
2011 The Half-Finished Heaven by Tomas Transtromer
2010 The Storyteller by Mario Vargas Llosa
2009 The Appointment by Herta Muller
2007 The Good Terrorist by Doris Lessing
2006 Snow by Orhan Pamuk
2005 The Caretaker by Harold Pinter
2003 The Master of Petersburg by J.M.Coetzee
2001 A House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul
1998 The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis by Jose Saramago
1995 Station Island by Seamus Heaney
1994 A Quiet Life by Kenzaburo Oe
1991 July's People by Nadine Gordimer
1988 Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
1987 On Grief and Reason by Joseph Brodsky
1983 Lord of the Flies by William Golding
1982 A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
1976 Herzog by Saul Bellow
1972 Billiards at Half-Past Nine by Heinrich Boll
1970 Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
1968 Beauty and Sadness by Yasunari Kawabata
1964 The Age of Reason by Jean-Paul Sartre
1962 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
1961 Bridge On the Drina by Ivo Andric
1958 Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
1957 The Plague by Albert Camus
1955 The Atom Station by Halldor Laxness
1954 The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway
1953 History of the English Speaking Peoples by Winston Churchill
1949 The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
1948 The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot
1947 The Counterfeiters by Andre Gide
1946 Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
1938 The Good Earth by Pearl Buck
1932 A Man of Property by John Galsworthy
1930 Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
1925 Man and Superman by George Bernard Shaw
1923 Collected Poems by W.B. Yeats
1921 And the Gods Will Have Blood by Anatole France
1907 Kim by Rudyard Kipling

UNREAD NOBEL WINNERS ON THE SHELVES

2012 Red Sorghum by Mo Yan
2008 The Interrogation by J.M.G. Le Clezio
2004 The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek
2002 Fatelessness by Imre Kertesz
2000 Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian
1999 The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass
1997 Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo
1996 Poems New and Collected by Wislawa Szymborska
1993 Jazz by Toni Morrison
1990 The Labyrinth of Solitude by Octavio Paz
1989 The Family of Pascual Duarte by Camilo Jose Cela
1986 Ake: The Years of Childhood by Wole Soyinka
1985 Flanders Road by Claude Simon
1981 Kafka's Other Trial by Elias Canetti
1978 Enemies : A Love Story by Isaac Bashevis Singer
1973 Voss by Patrick White
1971 The Captain's Verses by Pablo Neruda
1969 Molloy by Samuel Beckett
1952 Vipers' Tangle by Francois Mauriac
1951 Barabbas by Par Lagerkvist
1950 A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
1936 A Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neill
1934 Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello
1933 The Village by Ivan Bunin
1929 Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann
1920 Hunger by Knut Hamsun
1913 He (Shey) by Rabindranath Tagore
1909 The Saga of Gosta Berling by Selma Lagerlof

Will I be first this time? And I hope I haven't taken a space that was meant to be reserved!

Edited to add: I was in too much of a hurry to comment on the photo. That's a proper old church, not like my current pretend Victorian Gothic one!

Genny - you are indeed first up and as my usual form with first time first uppers (if you know what I mean) you win the prize! PM me your address and I'll get my pals at Book Depository to do the necessary.

And following on my form from last thread, I'm here bright and early.

Hi Paul - I can't believe I'm up to date on one of your threads ;) As usual, beautiful picture at the top.

Great! It's the first time I've manage to be first on here.

Thank you for your generosity. I shall inspect the postal deliveries with interest...

Paul, I'm loving your pictures and your quotes.

Thanks Pat - if things don't slow down a bit I'll definitely be running out of photos by which to eulogise my village!

woo whoo, in before you thread reaches double digits! :)

Now that's a church! Just beautiful.

Note to the New Scotland mathematics society - please refuse admission to applicant Chelle as we regret to inform her that double digits starts at 10 and her post is 18!

Julia - I am very fond of that place I must say. Hani and the kids found it creepy that I wanted to walk there and around it in the grey of a late autumn morning!

Love your picture, but you are WAY more organized in your reading than I want to be. Good luck!

*lurk*

Hej Paul, nice picture of a nice church you posted up there - found your new thread.
How was the birthday party?

Re post 262 on thread 4, Cup cakes are important to a nine year old.

Great new picture to start the thread mate. My cold is still hanging around and annoying me, the only good thing about it is i am getting more reading done between dozing off. The hot toddies are slowly doing the trick and yesterdays snow fall was pathetic yet we are on an amber warning of ice and possibly 10cm of snow. If Chelle reads this this she will (pardon my french) piss herself laughing at a warning of 10cm of snow. Keep up the reading mate, i am feeling good about my reading this year.

Roni - I am still holding on to the planned reading but to be honest the categories are wide enough to give me a fair amount of flexibility month to month. If I want to read other stuff - I just read a bit faster!

Nina - Always nice to see you in these parts lurking or otherwise.

Paul - Party will be tonight. She has had her hundred-weight of cup cakes delivered to the school. Typical Belle actually wanting all her friends to share in the moment with her (at Daddy's expense of course!).

John - They are indeed and I am safe to go home in an hour's time with safe delivery having been effected.
Actually the ice is much worse than the snow and I'm glad I only get to see either these days looking at the inside of our fridge-freezer.
My reading doing much better this year so far, although the Coffee, Tea or Me? is certainly the worst thing I've read so far in 2013.

Hi Paul, that's another beautiful picture!

Thank you Diana - I was confirmed into the Church of England in that very church and was a choir boy there for a number of years. Interestingly the church organist and choir trainer was a lady by the very apt name of Mrs. Chant!

For those interested an update on the posting league. 258 threads got 60 post last year we are already at 95 this.

1 Paul (paulcranswick) 1051
2 Richard 844
3 Mamie 532
4 Nora 462
5 Stephen (Ape) 433
6 Joe 421
7 Mark 415
8 Diana (Wilkiec) 383
9 Bianca 332
10 Caro 323
11 Kath (Mckait) 321
12 Darryl 305
13 Megan 301
14 Katie (katiekrug) 286
15 Leah (leahbird) 264
16 Amber 247
17 Ellen (EBT) 234
18 TinaV95 229
19 Chelle 226
20 Linda (Whisper1) 225
21 Roni 219
22 Suzanne 219
23 Claudia 211
24 Kathy (Unrulysun) 209
25 Kerri (DorsVenabili) 196
26 Rachel (Hibernator) 192
27 Bonnie 182
28 Donna 178
29 Pat 164
30 Paul (paulstalder) 159
31 Rhian 159
32 Peggy 156
33 Jenny (Lunacat) 152
34 Jim (drneutron) 151
35 Karen (maggie1944) 149
36 Lynda (Carmenere) 143
37 Madeline 142
38 Cushla 138
39 PawsforThought 137
40 Kerry (Avatiakh) 136
41 Liz (lyzard) 135
42 Julia (Rosalita) 132
43 Stasia 131
44 Laura (lindsacl) 130
45 Lucy (sibyx) 128
46 Morphy 128
47 Reba 123
48 Joanne 122
49 Micky 118
50 Deb 115
51 Ilana 113
52 Lori (Ikernagh) 112
53 Eris 108
54 Sara (Saraslibrary) 108
55 Calm 107
56 Genny 104
57 Carrie (cbl_tn) 102
58 Gail 102
59 Michelle (Tanglewood) 102
60 Lori (thornton37814) 101
61 Amy (porchreader) 100
62 Anne (AMQS) 97
63 Terri (Tymfos) 95
64 Faith 93
65 SusanJ 93
66 Monica (justjoey) 91
67 Samantha 90
68 Judy (DeltaQueen) 88
69 Cheli (cyderry) 87
70 Linda (lindapanzo) 86
71 Mary (bell7) 86
72 Brit (weejane) 83
73 Heather 83
74 Luxx 83
75 Terri (Toeffler) 82
76 Beth (BlBera) 81
77 Carsten 81
78 Laura (LauraBrook) 81
79 Ellie (Elliepotten) 78
80 Emilie (alsvidur) 76
81 Heidi (Cobscook) 76
82 Nathalie 75
83 Tina (tutu) 75
84 Nancy 73
85 Jenn (whitewavedarling) 72
86 Sarah (Beserene) 72
87 Kim (Beryl) 71
88 Jude 68
89 Dejah 67
90 Katherine (qebo) 67
91 Nina (humouress) 66
92 Becky (labwriter) 65
93 Marie (mbellerose 64
94 Kathy (persephone) 63
95 Zoe 62

Hi Paul - just checking in to the new thread:)

Belated Happy Birthday to Belle and I hope all is well with you and yours.

Calm - Thank you so much. I must admit I didn't expect to be on thread number 5 after only half of the first month!

A Place of Greater Safety arrived this morning Paul. Thank you so much! Since you are probably my only source of new books this year, I shall stalk LT as you get towards the end of threads, just in case.

Tactics? Moi? Never!

You're going to be buying first posters a lot of books this year if your threads keep moving so fast.

Sir, you are taking off like a rocket! Congrats on #5! Wow! Hope the work week is going well.

I've been playing catch-up on your rhubarb thread for days and I STILL haven't gotten to the end. My old babysitters had a little patch in their yard and did not mind that the neighborhood kids would raid it a couple of times during the summer. I was the only one who could eat my rhubarb straight, I am proud to say! All the other kids needed their little cups of sugar for dunking.

Love the photo of the church up top. Am especially loving all the grave stones; we don't get those much at all here. Thinking about it I can come up with only two locally - the Congregational church near me has a graveyard attached to it as does the Quaker meeting house my grandfather's family attended. I kind of like the idea of parishioners of the past gathered around the church that was the center of their lives for centuries.

ETA The great rhubarb vote ;0)

I'm listed? *faints*

I was mostly away from LT yesterday and so I missed Belle's birthday entirely! Hope she had the best one yet.

Late to the party, but I made it! Nice new thread, Paul - and great photo up top!

I'm 31st! I've never been remotely as high as that before.

Paul, it was such a pleasant surprise to see a picture from your home Parish. I would, someday, like to stroll the churchyards of English towns such as Felkirk. Just to gaze at the picture and think of everything its stones have witnessed is exciting to me. Weird, I know, I just like the history that is attached to such old buildings.
WE are the proud caretakers of ONE Rhubarb plant so we guard it with our lives, practically. I harvest the stalks for one strawberry - rhubarb pie a year. So, obviously, it is quite the event.

Happy Belated Birthday to Belle!

I voted Yes for the rhubarb; strawberry rhubarb pie is my all time favorite.

I've slipped to 12th place??? That's unacceptable.

I'm barely keeping up with reading threads much less posting on them. I sure hope it quiets down soon!

That's great news Jenny - I have noticed that Book Depository has been slow sending the books out with the holiday season. It is one of my favourite historical novels if you can get into her style. I'm not certain but that may not be the end of your good news - I didn't say it was only one book.

Thanks Mark - the working week is going quite well. We have one project that is a little behind and I visited the site this afternoon. The Client's representative is a retired army General and he is to diplomacy what Caro is to starvation dieting. He was so pleased to see me that I actually left his office with him saying he was pleased with the work on the project and me saying I was dissatisfied - my irish blood mixing with my british savoir faire and my staff come away shaking their heads again.

Thread four "the rhubarb thread" - I like that Charlotte. If I had rhubarb growing in the yard I would positively encourage its pilferage. You eat it "straight'? Is there a photo of you squinting?
Ha! You are probably looking at the ground above a couple of generations of my kin! (Probably not- our lot normally put out the back somewhere where they can't be seen by the respectable villagers!

Nina - You are a whizz. Kisses and hugs deservedly winging their way to you and thankfully not rhubarb laden. 20 to 16 in favour, what on earth is going on?

Amber - You didn't at all my dear. The time zones are confusing as usual. There is still 2 hours and 5 minutes of her birthday left.

Mamie - Thank you - you did make it indeed.

Rhian - You're higher still - actually if I wasn't so lazy it would be clear that you are equal 30th with my namesake and the Roger Federer of our threads Paul Stalder.

Lynda - There is a becalmed air to the hallowed grounds of churchyards throughout the country but my little parish church is a very good example.
Let me know when you are harvesting the rhubarb this year and I'll make sure that my trip to your neck of the woods doesn't coincide with that date!!

Thank you for Belle, raised eyebrows for the rhubarb. It isn't where you start mate it is where you end up as Napoleon told Marshal Ney on his way to Waterloo.

Morphy - almost missed you which would certainly be unacceptable. Well things are slowing down a little. Aren't they?

Oh how very lovely! What a wonderful opening photo.

You know Linda when I got the idea of putting up pictures related to and arising from my upbringing I really thought I wouldn't have too much to show and I wasn't expecting 5 threads in 15 days to have to quickly think of things. I guess it is reminding me of how proud I am of my home area and that it helped to mould me and that I am still a little part of the place albeit at a vast remove.

Love the photo of the parish church. Mrs. Chant? How appropriate! I should tell our worship pastor that he should adopt a more musical name.

Each time I get on and see that your thread only has 5 posts I haven't read I feel so relieved. And then I realize it's only because you've moved on to a whole new thread!

Lori - I remember stealing kisses in the belfry with her delightful niece Wendy - she was something of a battle-axe was Mrs. Chant Lord love her as I'm sure he must by now.

Leah - The meter on your own thread is whizzing round merrily too!

>29 PaulCranswick: I'm higher than Stephen, I'm higher than Stephen! *happy dance*

Top 12 18/1/12 ////// Top 12 15/1/13

RICHARD 673 ////// Paul 1,051
STEPHEN 578 ////// Richard 844
KATH 484 ////// Mamie 532
PAUL 473 ////// Nora 462
MARK 468 ////// Stephen 433
JOE 425 ///// Joe 421
ILANA 409 ////// Mark 415
CLAUDIA 350 ////// Diana 383
CHELLE 347 ////// Bianca 332
DONNA 331 ////// Caro 323
AMBER 324 ////// Kath 321
DARRYL 317 ////// Darryl 305

Quite clear that three days to go the class of 2013 are well in front

In 2012 in 18 days 5,179 posts by the top 12 or 287.72 posts per day
In 2013 in 15 days 5,822 posts by the top 12 or 388.13 posts per day
35% increase in posting activity.

Well, no wonder we can't keep up!

Your stats are amazing.

Mamie - You missed last year's rush at the beginning of the year which took me completely by surprise - this year even the figures are more it seems more manageable than last year.

John - You are only a few more posts to go to make it onto the end of month tally - not bad at all considering how many toddies per post.

52> My reaction, exactly!

So much activity! :) Thanks for all the stats!

Paul, I love the picture at the top of your lovely new thread. About ten years ago we spent a week in Scotland, stayed in Glencoe and took day trips to various old castles and such. I want to go back and see more of England and Wales and Ireland.

Okay, I'm way behind again, but your opening pic for your thread 4 is beautiful. And now I've (momentarily) caught up.

Thanks for the stats - oerwhelming activity. I got the same feeling as Mamie: I can't keep up.

Impressive stats! No, can't keep up.

Back again - what fun all the stats are, thanks for compiling those!

I must say that while churches surrounded by graveyards are very picturesque and also perhaps inspiring or comforting to be surrounded by all the past generations laid to rest, nevertheless I am very glad that I do not work in a church that has a graveyard that is still open for new burials, of which there are not so many these days. Those colleagues who do have them find them to be a source of endless conflicts and occasional legal wrangles for various reasons as they try to follow the local and national statutory rules about what is and isn't allowed while trying to be pastorally sensitive to families' requirements and changing fashions and tastes in memorial styles. And they are very difficult often to maintain especially if people are expecting them to be all neatly mowed and frequently weeded. But some churches I know have also managed to be very creative with them and turn them into environmentally-friendly wild-life areas with a lighter touch of maintenance, which preserves the peaceful atmosphere in a less formal way.

Rachel - Nice to see you; the stats are already a small part of my day. 20 minutes or so to update the posting list. About half a day at the end of the month to sort out the reading list.

Ellen - I am biased a little but Yorkshire and Lincolnshire have some lovely church structures.

Ren - You like the rhubarb more than the church is it?

Paul and Diana - We are now all agreed; none of us can keep up but the posts keep whizzing!

Genny - Not surprisingly you came to my mind when I decided to put up my old church, but you also do every time I watch the Vicar of Dibley and I mean that in an absolutely nice way!
The sensitivities of the bereaved and bereft must be a difficult part of your role in your community. In Singapore the relocation of graves has caused something of a stir in the Malay community but the practicalities are also very difficult.
One thing I have always meant to ask you Genny is whether you have noticed that church attendances are continuing to fall or not in the last few years?
I have made my choices for your prize by the way and will order tomorrow.

Paul, one of my favorite places we visited was a little town called Richmond, in Yorkshire. Not the big Richmond. This little village had apparently been used for some of the filming of the BBC series All Creatures Great and Small (which I confess to having loved). It's a beautiful part of the world!

haha whoops, I meant triple! It was late and I was tired ... that's my excuse ;)

#63 Attendances vary greatly from church to church; we are all meant to count numbers on certain specified occasions (exact numbers for all Sundays in October, plus the average Sunday figure and the numbers at Christmas and Easter etc). These get gathered up and published both regionally and nationally. Apparently in our diocese of Newcastle (ie the regional level) attendances are generally on the increase in the last couple of years, not sure what the overall figures have been. But it's hard to know how far to trust the figures, when I know from our own local experience how hard it is to be accurate. It's probably easier in a small church of about 50 regular members with a relatively stable population; but we have much larger numbers and also more irregular attendance, and with people coming in and going out through at least two different doors you can't simply have someone at the door with a clicker or something. Plus added complications like at Christmas and Easter we are only meant to count each person once, even if they come eg both on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning - so we have to resort to asking people to put their mark on a bit of paper on Christmas morning if they had been in church the day before, and we would discount those marks from the final total. You will appreciate how hard it is to keep stats consistent like this - and I've spoken to other church leaders who say they don't bother about the not counting people twice rule - so other people may have somewhat inflated figures.

One generally discernible trend in all this statistical muddle seems to be that many people who would regard themselves as regular members are attending less frequently than would have been the case 15 or 20 years ago - eg they might be there two Sundays out of four rather than every week, but they would not regard themselves as having lessened in their commitment, it is more a reflection of the increasing complexity of life and diversity of demands on their time (grandparents away visiting grandchildren, parents taking children to sporting events etc). So our 200ish people on a Sunday will likely be at least 50% different from the 200ish the previous week, and I reckon we have nearer 400 people who would regard themselves as regular members, but we don't usually see them all at once. The authorities must have cottoned on to this, because there is now a new question on the annual return form for attendance figures, wanting to know how many 'regular attenders' (defined as attending at least once a month) we have altogether - they have realised this is a different question from how many are there on any one average Sunday. (Just like the number of people online at any one time in this group is nothing like the total number even of the active members, let along of those who participate more quietly and/or occasionally - in fact the 75 group is rather like the Church of England in some ways - anyone is welcome to join, make up your own terms of engagement rather than follow strict rules, it's all very friendly if you are prepared to enter the fray, but also potentially overwhelming and hard to draw firm boundaries!)

All of this is very much on my mind as we are having to design a questionnaire to update our database in order to answer this question about regular attenders because we don't have any means of giving an accurate answer, as opposed to a guess, at present.

Sorry, long answer, but you did ask!

#61 At my local church, the graveyard was kept short by a mixture of donkeys and alpacas. There were complaints at one point, but that was to do with the unsightly electric fence around them rather than the actual animals.

It doesn't happen any more, and the animals have been moved, so the grass is simply very overgrown instead. Personally prefer the animals there to the weeds, but wildflowers would also be good. Better than the nettles and thistles.

Hei Genny and Paul, I guess we have a similar picture with church attendance in Switzerland: the state churches (Reformed, Roman-Catholic, Christ-Catholic) have slightly diminishing numbers in attendance, but the free churches are slightly growing. We have in the FEG Basel an attendance over ca. 200 every Sunday - regular, most coming three to four times a month, compared to the actual number of around 160 that's not bad.

A different picture I get from some Korean churches: A brother-in-law is a member of a megachurch just North of Seoul. They a few thousand church goers and built a new building to enlarge to a double sized church - they just finished the building two years ago. When we visited I was just amazed (they were still doing the surroundings). There were a weeklong special services with different speakers each evening from different other churches in Korea - and each evening there were a thousand people there - on a normal weekday. And most them came at least three or four times during the week.

my $0.2

Interesting discussion on churches and whether or not they are growing. I'm fortunate to belong to one which is, but there are many churches that are not doing so well. My understanding is that South Korea is the country where the church is growing most.

>54 PaulCranswick:, Thach ish the probslem, these toddies are schlowing me down,hic.

>69 thornton37814: Lori, I think so, too. But I also have friends in Brazil who talk about of growth there and in other Latin American countries. India is also increasing. But it's difficult to get proper accounts of numbers - because with the start of a new church who have always people who change church and therefore should not be counted as 'new believers'. We would need someone like Paul who tracks down all the participants and their lists and keeps all the lists updated :) Anyway, that there are churches springing up in different parts of the world and that even in some of the 'old' countries some churches are increasing in numbers.

Holy Moly- Ive a lot to catch up on.

From the last thread, I must have missed that you bought/read Once Were Warriors Paul? I swear, I was just talking about that film on my thread, showing off how my dads photo is the opening shot, a beautiful landscape of Lake Pukaki, with Mt Cook in the background. (he sold it to them crazy cheap considering...but hey).

Hippo Birdie two Ewe- that is a great image! I hope Belle had a grand day, and got an iPad, iPhone, kindle and laptop ;) (and a $1000 gift card to shop for clothes) lol

Looks like your lad has the same birthday as my Nan, and my nephew- Cool! I will think of you and your family on that date now!

OK, now to go back and read this thread.

>67 lunacat: I think donkeys and alpacas would be a great addition to a church graveyard, to eat the grass Im saying, not to be buried in. They are such characterful animals.

I am with the majority, I suppose, in liking this thread header photo more than the rhubarb tops. And that's saying something, as I love rhubarb. (as duly recorded in the great rhubarb vote) :)

That is a wonderful tower, and depressingly, I mostly think about how many of those we lost in the earthquake(s) here. *must stop thinking like that*

I imagine it is hard to get exact figures in countries where the church is "underground."

>51 PaulCranswick: are you counting the posts in your threads or the posts you personally do ???

Interesting about churches. Here in the US the trend is to the mega-churches. Those are churches with hundreds of people who attend. The church I attended for years here in Alabama had 700 attending each Sunday. But it must be said that, for the most part, these mega-churches are non-denominational and are not affiliated with the old mainline churches. I finally got disgusted with the church I was attending. It was just a rock concert. At the end of a service I felt like I should flick my Bic, just like they do at the end of many rock concerts. One Sunday, about four years ago, it was just enough. I started attending church by Starbucks. I go to my local Barnes & Noble on Sunday morning and have a big cappuccino. It is relaxing and nobody makes me feel like I should flick my Bic to show my solidarity.

Ellen, Richmond is a lovely place indeed and All Creatures Great and Small a marvellous programme. Christopher Timothy, Robert Hardy, Peter Davison and Carol Drinkwater (no I haven't looked it up) made a great ensemble. The books, which I have read all, are also wonderful.

Chelle - I thought so, I was just pulling your leg. X

Genny. Asked because I think the topic is very interesting and your answer is splendidly comprehensive. Glad especially to note that your parish is on the rise as I understand the issue of lady clerics is divisive in some quarters (absolute bunkum if you ask me in 2013 to argue that the female of the species should be prevented from the pulpit is akin to thinking they should be denied the vote.)

Jenny - donkeys and alpacas grazing in the churchyard sounds as if it is lifted from Gerald Durrell; wonderful. The fence is electrified? Is that to keep the inmates inside?!

Paul - It seems to me Europe is stagnating in most things and the general apathy spreading also to church attendance. I have, as you know, many Korean friends and am aware that with them the church is indeed growing. There is still very much a missionary zeal amongst their number which has disappeared in Europe. My friend recently had a 102 year old pastor staying with him on a preaching tour. I was interested as to the secret of his long life and remarkable health (he is still completely compus mentis and eloquent). He told me his secret was - bacon!

Lori - From my limited knowledge of the subject (and this from someone afeared a little of organised religion, although cherishing the freedom of everyone to peacefully practice their own beliefs) I am aware of the growth of the christian church in Korea, South America and in the rather inelegantly named Bible Belt in the US (what sort of belt do you have to wear?).

Hi Paul, I love your opening photo. I see some of those mega churches where we are too but I've never been in one so can't comment on them. I do know that surveys show fewer and fewer young people go to church anymore (I'm talking about people in their twenties.) and that seems to be the case here where we live. Many churches have closed in the past twenty years.

John - Nice to see you have got rid of the flu and replaced it with a hangover! Hair of the dog?

Paul - hahaha I do believe church statistics are beyond little me. I did find this discussion on the internet where it was suggested to barcode attendees foreheads for easy recording!
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070727153621AAp0K9H

Megan - Instead of showing Belle your post which may prove highly dangerous to my bank balance I will rush off to try to find your dad's stills from the film.
I also prefer the church to the rhubarb tops and it is marginally more edible.
England is so lucky that it is not affected by the tectonic plates.

Lori - You are right because I do believe that in Eastern Europe the church was at its most popular there when it was not allowed!

Liliana - It is on each persons own threads - so the posts made on that particular thread. I would have to read every single thread of every single member to produce the stats on what we all post and whilst I suspect Jim does that I am not up to it.
The home page does have a section which tells you how many posts on average you have made daily.

Benita - You have the same attitude as mine towards the observance of the Friday prayers. To me it is hypercritical that so many who spend their week being downright mean to each other pile into the mosques like sheep to pray by rote like automatons. The places are crowded, don't have any aircon, people are pushing and shoving in a rush to find a spot - nah as much as it gets me scolded on a weekly basis by SWMBO my temple on Friday as irreverent as it may sound is Kinokuniya.

I do think it is sad Bonnie that churches "close" as you point out. I think they play an important role or can do so in the community especially in village life. The Vicar was always a respected member of the local society who people looked to for comfort and guidance. Young people turning away from the church and any form of belief system is, coming from someone skeptical of organised religions but having my own ill-formed set of beliefs, is a sign of societal breakdown.

The home page does have a section which tells you how many posts on average you have made daily.
I didn't know that. If I were sick more often, my average number of posts might get out of hand.

*heads off to home page*

I had made 10,291 posts at 14.04 posts per day since joining LT. (look under Your Zeitgeist). My first 5-6 months I did nothing at all. I suspect Diana's figures are mega.

I joined LT two years ago this Sunday. I've made 6,356 Talk Posts for an average of 8.75 per day.

"... 102 year old pastor staying with him on a preaching tour. I was interested as to the secret of his long life and remarkable health. He told me his secret was - bacon!"

Puts you beyond the pale, then, does it, Paul? Or was he pulling your leg?

Thread #5?!? Sheesh. Caught my interest with the 1120 church.

Ellen - You got me thinking about my own and it was my own Thingaversary on 14 January - two years - that means three books right? So I can buy nine on Friday! I only found out by dividing 10,291 by 14.04 and getting 732! For some reason I thought it was February.

Nina - I thought he was pulling my leg too until I saw him with the bacon. I love bacon too but nowadays it is beef bacon, which when smoked, can be absolutely delicious.

Katherine - Thank you it really is a marvellous old building.

Only two years, Paul????? You've certainly made an impact here for such a relative newbie!!!

I agree with Rebecca and yes, you "get to" buy three books for your second Thingaversary. Don't think I'm likely to forget it.

Rebecca - I smiled when I read a comment by Morphy about her excellently helpful friends when she said that she had only known them but a short while (I'm paraphrasing here) but that it seems like longer! I know she meant it in a good and positive way. So do I!

Ellen - Thanks and I'll be keen to compare notes with you on this.

I've never heard of beef bacon, but now I am suddenly very hungry.

And felicitations on your Thingaversary!

Did someone say bacon?

mmmm bacon.

Just skimming--I spent yesterday evening reading instead of "threading" and I'm paying for it tonight!

Great picture at the top!

Julia - In Malaysia and many muslim and/or jewish population centres Beef and turkey bacon are often used as an alternative to the more traditional bacon used elsewhere.

Kathy - hahaha see the maths is better than Chelles' (sorry Chelle I'm kidding again)

Kath - I had a feeling the smell of bacon griddling away would have you here!

Terri - I must admit that I am pleasantly surprised that my picture of my humble little parish church has met with such appreciation. It doesn't always have to be oversized like the KLCC Twin Towers to get attention does it?

Well, as someone who lives in an area that didn't become part of the United States until 1847, I am in awe of beautiful old buildings like your parish church. Seeing all that history just lying around (so to speak) was one of my favorite parts about visiting Ireland.

>>62 PaulCranswick: I like them both. :)

Happy Thingaversary to one of my favorite Thingers! Indeed, Paul, you do get to buy three books. A mere drop in the bucket for you. I was going to comment here last night but you were still setting up the new thread. So I come back tonight and there are almost 100 posts! Whew, no wonder this year's numbers are up.

>86 PaulCranswick: ...it was my own Thingaversary on 14 January - two years - that means three books right? So I can buy nine on Friday!
Happy Thing-a-ma-versary Paul! 2 great years huh?

And look at that, you have already out-foxed your restraining buying regime. LOL, could have seen that one coming ;)

Only on LT does the rationale that buying three books for your Thingaversary means you can now buy nine make any sense at all!

Julia - I love visiting Ireland for many reasons; my own maternal family history being a primary one. I love the atmosphere of the place, the salt laden air at the coast at Baltimore, the delights of the Lakes of Killarney, the wonderful food at Kinsale, the joy of driving or cycling the Ring of Kerry, sighting the sea life at Dingle, breathing in the sweet heather-scented Connemara, up, up to wild Donegal with its gaelic and sausage and stout.

Ren - I do too.

Thank you Donna and you are one of mine own favourites too.

It is indeed two wonderful years (well, in truth, 1 1/2 because I didn't really embrace this group until about six months later).
Rules are made for breaking are they not?

Julia - of course it makes perfect sense to all of us.

More comparative stats

2011 end of January

Richard 1,245
Stephen 847
Kath 794
Stasia 652
Mark 573

Total top five 4,111

January end 2012
Richard 1,095
Paul 886
Stephen 875
Kath 814
Mark 760

Total top five 4,430

January end 2013??
so far top five 3,488 posts with almost half a month to go!

Note that Mark as always is in 5th place in both lists.

Only 2 years? Whaaa? I thought for sure you must be an OG LTer, the way you've collected all your followers. Pfffft!

(Happy Thingaversary anyway, Paul. =^..^=)

Congratulations on your Thingaversary, Paul. It's been lovely getting to know you over the last two years.

As with everyone else, I love your thread topper picture. One of my favorite places to walk is in older graveyards, as they usually provide a feeling of both peace and history.

I hope Belle enjoyed her 9th birthday, my granddaughter is eight and was here tonight for dinner. She practically wore me out, where do they get all that energy from!

Kathy - nice of you to say so but I always worry that familiarity will breed contempt! I have a few rules I follow:
1 Always answer every post
2 Get round to my friends own posts as often as possible to catch up on their news. (I have 106 threads that I am following)
3 Try to keep my sarcasm in check but not be a serious gloom merchant all the time
4 As in business, make as many friends as possible because it makes the world far more tolerable and LT is full of the most wonderful characters.

The result of this seems to be a lot of posts. I love each and every post I receive and am always grateful that there is a large network of people all around the world who care about each other. I don't set out to get so many but I do adore their receipt.

Thanks Judy - You were as you know one of the first people to take me under their wing (especially remember your help when I was fumbling with the TIOLI) and you'll always be "LT Guru" to me.

I don't know whether it is the barely suppressed poet in me that shares a liking for graveyards - I suppose it could be checking out the future accommodation.

Belle - had a nice day I think but it was normal service resumed as kisses to her Daddy were prohibited, cup cakes having been duly delivered.

Sarcasm in check? I'm afraid that's unacceptable in my book.

Well your rules are working, and worth following regardless. (And your lovely photos of exotic locales don't hurt either.)

Kathy - hahaha - you of course are one of the 106.

Hi Paul - Happy thingaversary and enjoy choosing your books. I read a good review of Ben Elton's Two Brothers today but the NZ price even with a reduction makes it not worth purchasing.
Last year I read God is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith Is Changing the World by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge (The Economist). It was very interesting and covered most of what was mentioned further up your thread, in fact it starts off in South Korea. Slightly out of date with the Al-Quaeda and Muslim Spring politics but apart from that a good look into faith in the modern world.
Btw. the new Anglican Bishop of Wellington, is a barefoot hippie who lives in a commune, very different from what you usually expect for a bishop.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10803617

Stopping by to say hello. Hello!

I love that church - wow! Can the inscriptions still be read on the tombstones, do you know?

I think I've already missed a thread or two...

Oh, missed your Thingaversary! I'm sure it was a happy one!

The usual rule about buying a number of books plus one to celebrate ought to be multiplied by a factor of at least 10 to make any kind of serious celebration!

#109 re church tombstone inscriptions, yes Joanne, they can usually still be read, it depends how old they are and how weathered they are, of course. 19th century ones are usually fine. But part of the charm and the message of time passing is that they should be allowed to weather in time. There is a newer trend sometimes for black marble or other very hard stone to be used - but these are not generally allowed partly because they will NOT weather but remain looking starkly new generations after they were put there and all living relatives have long departed.

Kerry - Ben Elton's books are not half bad but nowhere near as good as you would expect from one as naturally funny as he is.
Justin Duckworth looks an intriguing choice for Bishop.

Joanne - I have read Genny's comments in the post after yours but in the specific case of Felkirk's; yes most of them can be read.
What's a few threads between friends!

Genny - It is ironic isn't it that when we are expecting the headstone as being a marker for posterity there is already a calculation of its longevity. I think the thingaversary thing is a good idea in a forum that mocks it! Three books for someone to purchase (and if I lived in NZ without access to the internet I may be in the group) may be a lot to swallow and, after all, it is called Library Thing not Bookshop Thing - it was perhaps not envisaged that the Magpies would take over the nest.

8.

Coffee, Tea or Me? by Trudi Baker

The premise for this is an excellently appealing one. A warts and all inside look at the exploits and sexploits of the early air stewardesses. Instead and probably serving me right this was a damp squib full of racial stereotypes, gender and sexual stereotypes with the added insult that it was written in the most deplorable english I have read in a published work in memory.
How about:

Then she smiled. "Nothin' to be scared of."
Then she frowned. "They probably cancelled your flight anyway.
Then she smiled bigger than ever. "Mine's been canceled 'causa weather in Atlanta."

If my daughter had produced lumpen prose of such nature I would have sent her to bed without supper.

I am, by nature, an optimist and kept hoping that it would get better. It didn't.

From being dull to being downright annoyingly crass. Homosexuals and lesbians (she differentiates) are given short shrift and she describes the following:

"Rachel's run in with a lesbian was more bizarre than mine. Rachel always does things on a big scale. She infiltrated a whole den of them quite innocently"

Now it is impossible physically for me to be a lesbian but I'm sorry I was offended deeply nonetheless. To equate some of the nicest people I know as some sort of swarm of insect larvae is just too much.

What amazes me is that this rubbish sold a bomb and has been reissued to some fanfare. Don't read it - to term it trash gives trash a bad name.

1/10 (I don't have lower than that) - mercifully short.

Belated happy thingaversary.

I like your rules and I try to keep them as well (okay, I didn't formulate them). But there are times I can't be online every time and means I will miss a lot.

Someon wrote about the growth of Christians in countries where they are persecuted: We every so often here of North Koreans who flee to China, become Christians there and then return to North Korea in order to bring the Gospel to there families and 'friends'. Some are never heard of - most likely they ended up in a 'working camp'.

It sounds like an awful book, Coffee, Tea or Me?. I won't read it, that's clear.

When we first moved to Surrey, we lived on St Peter's Road, and the church itself was almost literally across the road.



You tweaked a memory. I usually saw the church from the other side, the short cut to the shops and main road being down the back.

Thanks Paul - I don't think we humans respond too well to being told what we can or cannot believe so you could be right there.

Diana - Yes exactly in three words. An awful book.

Nina - Very pretty. Somehow it is obviously southern English rather than my northern one. Somehow less weathered!

Hi Paul! I haven't been around at all in the past week, so much for all my good intentions of staying more up to date on LT! Mea culpa. I will be back this evening to update my own thread, and recent reading, etc. I'm currently devouring Dirt Music, my first Winton. It's a treat.

I loved your description of Ireland in post #100! I too am a huge fan of Kinsale, and am hoping to marry there in the next couple of years (yes I do a particular man lined up...)! Have you ever made it to Tipperary to see the Rock of Cashel?

Happy Thingaversary, Paul! I'm confident that come Friday you will celebrate properly...

Happy Thingaversary Paul. Hope you find some good books:)

Belated congrats on your Thingaversary mate, with all your statistical knowledge on here i thought you had been a member longer than two years.

The cold is fighting back so am going to have to regroup and get the toddies on standby.

Orlaith - You need a little bit o' the irish to write about the oul place. As they say it's a long way to Tipperary but yes I have been there. Is that your home area? Tim Winton seems to divide readers but I agree with you, he is a wonderful writer.
Two years in the planning - I'll get it in the diary, it is a long time since I was in the Emerald Isle and the terrible trio are yet to see it.

Amber - hahaha I think I'm worth a bob or two on adding to the pile.

Calm - I have a busy and potentially hazardous Thursday to navigate before my Friday date with Kino. Hopefully the expectation will see me through.

John - You stopped the medication too soon! Double the measure.

hi Paul

came by to see if you had finished 2012 statistics, and yes! a few threads back I found them, thanks!
And did I miss the picture of the Amsterdam coffee mug that was promised?

Anita - what a lovely surprise to see you over here! I reminded Yasmyne today to get my mugs photographed so I can put it up. She thinks I'm doolally. Hope you are feeling well and able to read a little at least.

Happy Thingaversary, Paul! Time sure flies, doesn't it?

That last books sounds awful. What's next?

Katie - I am almost done with Among the Cinders which was the first novel by New Zealand writer Maurice Shadbolt from 1965. My best fiction of the year so far.

>100 PaulCranswick: I am just starting to plan a trip to Ireland and you have given me some things to research for our itinerary. A friend had also mentioned the Ring of Kerry, but seemed very worried about our ability to adjust to driving on the left side of the road. She didn't mention the option of cycling, which sounds very appealing. Any other suggestions for a first-time visitor?

I hope you are enjoying The Viper's Tangle. I couldn't find that one, but the library did have The Lamb and so far I am really enjoying it.

Happy Belated Thingaversary, Paul! And, as Friday is looming ever closer, I eagerly await a post of your Friday Haul!

Another Happy Belated Thingaversary from me too! Hope you are doing well, Paul!

Good morning, Paul.

I love your personal posting rules and I think you are one of the dearest people on earth. And, as you know, I fully agree about LT.

Whew. I won't go within ten feet of that wretched book you reviewed. If I see it on one of those temptress tables at the entryway of a bookshop, I will intentionally give it a very wide berth. Erg.

Linda - I should start The Viper's Tangle in earnest tomorrow. I have only read the introductory chapters thus far and am concentrating on finishing the Maurice Shadbolt first before getting to it.
The Ring of Kerry is about 111 miles by the road route but there are both walking and cycling routes too. I have driven round it twice and cylced it once. The walking tour is about 155 miles and would be more rewarding if you had plenty of time.

Mamie - I am becoming a wee bit predictable if I'm not mistaken!

Laura - Thank you. Life is good but mother and eldest daughter still warring about boys and mobile phones. Apparently SWMBO is miffed because Yasmyne put on her blog (didn't even know she had one) that she loved her Daddy for buying her the I-Phone 5. Her chagrin is because she had actually been the prime mover in persuading me to part with the dosh for it but I get all the credit and she's the bad guy as always with her eldest. hahaha.

Ellen - Yep steer clear of that poor excuse for a book. x

I remember when Coffee, Tea or Me was first out. It was in all the drugstores. Flight attendants, rightly, thought it was very insulting. The title became a bit of a national joke for a while. Don't think the book was ever taken very seriously.

Paul, I do believe that you are an LT overachiever!

Happy (belated) Thingaversay! How clever of you to find an excuse to buy even more books on Friday....

The premise of Coffee, Tea or Me sounded entertaining to me, too - I think I read about it someone back on one of your first four threads. I requested it from the library, but now it's going back! Too bad it turned out to be such an offensive dud.

Happy Thingaversary, Paul! Friday will be a good book buying day for you eh!

Ugh Coffee, Tea or Me sounds completely horrible! Thanks for the warning!

1) Happy Thingaversary, and I join in the chorus of amazed hoots that it's only your second...what?!?

2) Year-on-year growth in posts...most interesting. I find myself wondering if the league tables for the site and the league tables for the group are not identical.

3) Group membership. Seems to me, and I can't claim to have facts here, that the initial growth of the group is getting off to a faster start. 15/1/13 = 400+ members; 2012 was only 250 or so at the same time, IIRC. Every year's YE membership has gone up at least 10%, so I am not surprised; quite a lot of people outside the top 20 are finding the chat and the ideas and the camaraderie to their liking and staying on, coming back, and making themselves at welcome home.

Funny how Mark's always fifth, innit?

*gulp* I stopped by to return your visits to my thread and find you are already on Thread 5. I am more of an amateur than I originally thought!! Anywho, thanks for your posts on my thread and I will try to keep up with you from here on out.

Impressive stats btw...

Reba - The blurb on the book cover would have you believe that the book was a publishing sensation. Penguin should be ashamed of themselves.

Dejah - Inventiveness in book-buying excuses I would accept an over-achievers award. Wise. Change libraries!

Chelle - Always pleased to see my favourite (adopted) Nova Scotian in these parts. I have Friday to look forward to but I am expecting today - it is Thursday morning here to be a bit of a bummer.

RD -
(1)As I said it just seems longer to most people. SWMBO told me the other day that it seemed like only yesterday that we had gotten together - I told her she must have had a rought night then!
(2) There is clearly a fairly big jump this year in posting activity. We are still running at double speed this far into January.
(3) The end of year figures certainly bear out your comments on membership. This year there are a few newish members quite active Diana, Paws, Heidi and John amongst them. Last year of course Mamie blitzed her way as did Bianca and Rachel and the year before Chelle and little old me.
(4) Bats can't see but find their way unerringly.

Heidi it isn't exactly normal to be well into thread 5 in the middle of January. Last year was the first time more than 30 threads were done in a year with Joe, I and, of course RD doing that. At this pace (which won't last) that could be doubled.

Hi Paul! I'm very late to your party / thread! Ellen told me to come check out your thread since I was just confessing to having smuggled some books into my house. I haven't met everyone or visited all the threads yet, but since you come very highly recommended, I'm dropping a star! :)

That'd be EBT1002 in case there is another Ellen :)

So Mark is a bat! I've often wondered about that. He delivers on his route via echolocation! Kewl. Is there video somewhere?

I would also like to see that video!

When I was in Ireland, I didn't do the full Ring of Kerry tour, but I did a tour that involved riding in a pony and trap up through the Gap of Dunloe and then in an open boat through the Lakes of Killarney. It was absolutely stunning seeing all of it at a slower pace and closer up than riding in a car or bus. This video gives you the idea: Gap of Dunloe Pony Trap and Lakes Tour

Hey, Paul, just dropping in to find you holding court as usual! Always so much going on here--sorry your last book didn't measure up.

Tina - You may have noticed that I am a bit of a stats fruitcake so I have of course noticed you cutting a swathe this year! Your thread is running top 20 on the most active from a standing start which is pretty darned impressive IMO. My reputation obviously precedes me when it comes to book smuggling. I have the most delightfully fearsome of better-halves whom I refer to as She Who Must Be Obeyed or SWMBO a la John Mortimer's Rumpole out of H Rider Haggard. I am quite a magpie and have assorted helpers in Malaysia including my trusty driver Halim and my even trustier coffee-maker Erni as regular accomplices.
Lovely to see you here by the way. There is an Ellie as well as another Ellen (kittenfish) but I figured you would have meant EBT.

RD - It was Suz earlier collecting a menagerie but I don't think anyone sent her a bat, Mark included. I'm sure he can deliver the mail with his eyes closed.

Mamie - hahaha and hopefully he will include as extras some of the lovelies he is adorning his thread with frequently.

Julia - a pony and trap does seem quite leisurely - the cycling and walking ones are fairly arduous. One of my favourite places bar none.

Roni - You make me sound like a potentate; well a sawn-off one at any rate.

Nope, no one sent me a bat -- and I'm just fine without one, thank you.

re Coffee, Tea, etcetera -- it was a publishing sensation because it sold a lot, but I'm amazed it has been re-issued. So trite early 70s, absolute rubbish. Even more surprised you read it at all!

re Ireland; do see Galway. Lovely little city on the water. Go to Dublin. I went down from there to the Kilkenny area and stayed in a B&B with a batty landlady that kept us all waiting until 10 p.m. for our dinner, but that lent us kittens to sleep on the beds and keep our toes warm. You should def. go to Cork and Waterford.

re churches: I want to know if Genny gets a performance bonus for boosting turnout at her church??

Happy Thingaversay, Paul! Sorry, I missed it on the first round. You have been an amazing addition over here, my friend! Let's hope this continues for at least a few more years.
Yes, that Marky-Mark is as steady as a Rock! I might have to take some time off, just to shake things up a little.

I did notice all your stats.... Very impressive! I love your better half's monicker! It's so very telling :)

Thanks for welcoming me... I've a lot to keep up with in the big threads (five already for the year is staggering!) but I will do my best!!

Can't... keep... up. *passes out*



I love the Doctor and Jamie. :)

Woah, St. Peters from your hometown is beautiful! What I would give for the churches where I live to have more history. In California we have the Spanish missions which were made in the 1700s and 1800s (and they're all gorgeous!), but that's young compared to the 1100s!

Suz - Bats we'll leave to Mark. Coffee/Tea/Me It was rubbish, if I wasn't stubborn and/or overly optimistic I would have thrown it in the trash. Galway is a lovely place renowned for its craic and probably the friendliest city of Ireland. I remember staying in a B&B at a terrace above a bar with a man-mountain of a landlord who was serving drinks and crying at the old songs as the sun came up over the city. Great question for Genny btw.

Mark - So after a few more years then it is red sails in the sunset? hahahaha. You are our steady eddie Mark and if you are not tucked in in the top half dozen or so places then it wouldn't be the same. You took a bit of time away and the posts would still follow you.

Tina - If you get to see her in the flesh you will really get my drift! The vast majority of people in the group are wonderfully warm and welcoming and I, for one, am always absolutely delighted to receive every single post. Five already is unprecedented by the way and it is not always so hectic - I see no sign that you are having any problem keeping pace!

Eris - Frazer Hines who played Jamie was famous as Joe Sugden in the long running British soap Emmerdale Farm after his stint as the bad-tempered highlander in Doctor Who. One of the best sidekicks he has had IMO.
The church originates from 1120 but has been restored on several occasions and how it resembles the original structure is anyone's guess.

No performance bonuses, sadly!

Never mind Genny at least you can rest assured of your bonus from your boss being worth the wait for.

I was very surprised to see Coffee, Tea or Me turn up in your thread, Paul, and concluded that you must have been in a used book store somewhere or other. Can't believe that they re-issued that bit of twaddle.

Paul, Julia and Suzanne - Thanks for the Ireland recommendations!

Charlotte - What can I say? The premise looked to be an interesting one and the blurb on the dust cover wildly inaccurate. I should have ditched it a few pages in but thought it would improve. Apparently there was a series of books; un-beee-leee-vaaaa-bleeeee!

Linda - Try if you can to do what we did when we visited South Island, NZ last year. I got some great ideas especially from Megan and a fair bit of reading and then we just flew. I didn't tell SWMBO that I had organised precisely nothing and we just drove around, stayed where we felt like it and saw what we wanted to. The best holiday we have ever had.

Paul, will you be able to see the first part of the Lance Armstrong-interview? It broadcasts at 3.00 AM my time, that's a pity.

Diana - I'll be at work when it airs but am looking forward to it. To be honest it was common knowledge amongst cyclists that he had "help" as did the vast vast majority of his contempories. It is the hypocrisy of it all that irritates.

Paul

It is an interesting and wonderful concept to post photos of where we lived.

If you don't mind, I might borrow the idea.

Here is a photo of the library in Bangor, PA. The librarian, Miss Alice Blake, set me on a path of lifelong reading.

Yes Paul, it was common knowledge. I can't stand Lance Armstrong, he has fulminated against it for so long, and now he'll confess? Umpf.

9.

Among the Cinders by Maurice Shadbolt (Category Challenge Asia Pacific 1/13)

From 1965 this first novel by New Zealand author Maurice Shadbolt. This rites of passage tale of a small town boy who comes of age and faces issues of familial & physical love, mortality and the birds and the bees via two treks in the wilderness. The first one with his friend ends in tragedy whilst the second with his grandfather is born from tragedy.

Wonderful characterisation of Grandfather, the irascible Hubert and his long suffering wife Beth and the "yarn" is skillfully told in an almost-adult tones that fits nicely.

One minor grumble, the story should have ended at around page 225 and the last 75 pages were superfluous and added little of value. That said it was a very good first novel and its purchase the result of a useful time spent in a second hand bookshop in Kaikoura last year.

7.5/10

Linda - I am so pleased that many visitors like my idea for the opening shots this year. I was a little worried that I might suffer on account that they may be found wanting in comparison with the more sexy photos posted last year of my Malaysian sojourn.
The person(s) who inspire(d) us to the passion we all share for reading clearly has a place to be recognised among the group. Miss. Blake did a fine job.

Diana - Never liked the guy either. He was around and starting off when I was riding in France many moons ago and I always thought him an arrogant cuss. I knew he was on something because pre-superstar days I could certainly outclimb him and I was not Le Tour material believe me. One of my own downfalls would have been the unwillingness to risk crazy things like steroids and EPO. The latter being positively dangerous in thickening your blood to the extent that some of the guys went to sleep never to wake. I did take things like caffeine suppositories and have much enjoyed my post cycling days being able to enjoy my coffee at the right end!

Re: Armstrong, I lived in Austin, and he was known there for being a nasty-tempered privacy nut.

As for doping, good lord! He lost his testicles to cancer at 26! He was doping. There could not be one bit of doubt.

BUT, and here's what ticks me off, so were all the butt-hurt whiners who, even with THEIR superchargers, couldn't beat him. *snort*

What, Paul! Is there a height requirement for potentates? On the contrary, I would expect most potentates to be shorter than average. All that pomp and circumstance to compensate, you know. Only the truly secure and grounded short fellow can be seen attracting and influencing people through the force of his personality alone.

I am so surprised to find out that I am not the only one who absolutely could not stand the guy! From the first I always found him so - what is the word - repulsive! Yes, that's it. Repulsive in a snake-like way. A sneaky, snake-like way.

Can't imagine what he hopes to accomplish with his admission of guilt which apparently was about the worst-kept secret in the world...

Hello Paul, you are probably already tired of hearing it but - your opening picture with the church is absolutely wonderful. I also belong to the group who loves, old and small churches. Having traveled Europe quite a bit, I always found that especially the UK has got such a wealth of these small and beautiful - and very old - churches.

Nothing to contribute to Lance Armstrong as I am utterly uninterested in sports - meh - sooo boring. Hehe, no I love the Olympics :) and I sometimes watch athletics.

Nothing to add either re Lance Armstong, I probably hadn't even heard of him till all this recent hoo-ha. But I have similar reaction now re Jimmy Saville as I could never stand the guy and could not understand why on earth anyone would want to have anything to do with him. Of course I had no idea of what he was up to that has all come to light so horribly now, but all I can say is he always gave me the creeps.

Warning: Devil's Advocate Ahead.

Okay, so maybe Armstrong isn't the greatest guy out there, for lots of reasons, but he did, finally, after a LONG time of denial, fess up, and apparently it's gonna cost his tons and tons of money, and he had to know that that was the case. People are known, very occasionally, to turn over new leaves, no?

I have no personal opinion on Lance Armstrong but I do believe that these guys are somewhat forced into the drug enhancement. I know he could have said no, but I am also sure he was told he wouldn't have a cycling career without doing them. I would like to see some of the "pushers" being revealed. Young men/women are being led into this drugging by people that are meant to be coaching and mentors. What will be interesting will be if he decides to name names, I bet a lot of people are sweating it out these days.

People are known, very occasionally, to turn over new leaves, no?

No. People are vile, irredeemable scum.

Amen, Richard.

Except for us.

Richard: Oh, honey, don't be that way. You know, some people write books. Books that you love. They can't be that vile, can they?

RD - Didn't like him. Still don't like him. Too little far too late. There has always been a drug culture in cycling - it was there when I was racing and it will always be there because the sport is just too demanding and its rewards too tempting. There were things I was prepared to do such a caffeine shots and vitamin concoctions but EPO, steroid use and bandying blood about as if it is lemonade are simply beyond the pale and frankly not at all safe.
I now certain riders who are still considered clean took cortisone and amphetamines regularly which are extremely borderline (Tom Simpson died on Ventoux in 1967 full of amphetamines) but Armstrong and others winning on EPO has little credit. The problem is that the winning roster would be quite bare at the time as I understand that the majority were taking.

Roni - The only true height requirement for a potentate here would be sufficient height to reach the keyboard and read the screen. The height of a short guy's personality could be more than the sum of its parts.

Charlotte - I didn't find him repulsive but I never liked him. He did do some great work for cancer through his Livestrong initiative and this shouldn't be forgotten completely but he cheated during a time when most others were. His intimidation of others wanting to come clean should be looked at very carefully.

Bianca - Thanks, there is no actual village for the parish either it is two small villages that share the church.
I also need to watch the athletics to keep abreast of methodology that will help me escape the wife.

Genny - I must admit that being from the same area of West Yorkshire I ought to have been one the few still clinging to some faith in J. Savile. But, no. Absolute vile tosser and always was. Jim'll fix it? - not anymore he won't.

Amber - Don't see he had much choice in the matter but to own up and on a show that may gloss over some of the harsher realities too. Seems to me it was as snivellingly calculated as always. I have a book by his team manager Johan Bruyneel which I must read soon to smirk at what lies he agreed to publish.

Judy - For sure he wouldn't have won the Tour without it at that time as most of his main rivals at the time - Ulrich, Mayo, Zuelle, Virenque, and others were all doing it too and would have won instead. It is a very very difficult sport to excel in when everyone is on a level playing field never mind when there is a significant minority who are not. From my own experiences I could handle single day races and even stage races up to a week in length but more than that I simply couldn't recover day on day on day.

RD - I glad to see your faith in humanity remains blessedly positive. In Armstrong's case I largely agree with you. Don't see how he could have avoided hyping it up on a show like Oprah as the suits are closing in around him.

Charlotte - I take it that the "us" was quite an all-inclusive one.

Amber - Can people who are overall irredeemable have partially redeeming features? Like short-story writers, Chuckles and cat haters for example?

Well back from the Temple of Books and with SWMBO safely aloft towards a weekend with the brood in Singapore and this is what I bought.

1 Canada by Richard Ford (New Arrivals shelf)
2 Stay Awake by Dan Chaon (Short Stories)
3 A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton (Literary fiction)
4 Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye (Thrillers etc)
5 Howard's End is on the Landing by Susan Hill (Literary Crit - via a reminder from Mr. Derus)
6. A Heartbeat and a Guitar: Johnny Cash and the Making of Bitter Tears by Antonino D'Ambrosio (Music)

For my 2nd Thingaversay

1 Ladies' Paradise by Emile Zola (Updated version of old copy I have in UK)
2 North River by Pete Hamill
3 The Assault by Harry Mulisch

congratulations to your new books

Another great haul successfully snuck past SWMBO! Well I assume it's great - I've only heard of one of those books (Howard's end is...) and four of those authors...

*sigh* lovely book haul

can't read ... too much... will catch up on weekend... uff, but need to leave you with your shot of caffeine... definitely you need it for a busy Friday

#171 - Oh, absolutely I meant all of us.

Congrats on your little Thingaversary haul (and your other, as well). I'm looking at a purchase of 7 sometime in April and am hoping that there is no rule that says they can't be used books.

Hi Paul- Congrats on the book haul. I also have gods of Gotham waiting in the stacks. Hope you have a great weekend and get in plenty of R & R!

Happy Thingaversary, Paul!

> 176 : Eek! snow!!

Paul - Thanks on behalf of the books mate.

Genny - this time it was easy as she is in Singapore improving the economy there with a visit to Universal Studios.

Lisa - No need to sigh I would kill for a sofa like yours.

Liliana - Glad to see a nice robust container for the robusta after my comments regarding taking caffeine in a tube.

Charlotte - six years on April 8? I didn't think you were old enough!

Mark - I have a meeting in the morning but I should have peace uninterrupted this weekend with the bunch in Singapore until Sunday night.

Nina - Thanks and, I know.....you don't expect snowscenes typically on my threads so thanks to Liliana.

Good afternoon Paul, aw your "bunch" is off to Singapore for the weekend - wow even more LT time and some more time for reading *grin*

Congrats on your book hauls and your Thingaversary :)

The snow finally arrived in "my" part of Germany as well and it is sooooo beautiful, at least for now.

Wish you a lovely Friday!

a stack of good books and an empty house -- sounds like a nice weekend to me :-)

This is one year I'm pleased not to have snow cover like we get most years. I don't think I could cope with it this year.

Happy weekend-to-yourself, Paul!

Does Paul need a chaperone for his weekend home alone? I shudder to think of what mischief he could get into, with the purchase of hundreds of books being a very distinct possibility.

i wish you a nice quiet weekend alone at home. I hope you are not like Kevin...

Greetings from my office mugs (one from Basel, the other from Nashville). They guard my books when I am away.

Hi Paul. Happy belated Thingaversary. I think everyone is celebrating how long you've been on LT. :)

I haven't seen the Lance Armstrong interview and have been avoiding doing so. I'm not a sports fan but having participated in his LiveStrong Program at the Y, I think he's done some wonderful things for cancer survivors. So I don't think he's all bad.

Hope you have a great weekend!

I don't blame Lance Armstrong as much as I blame the media. They create this atmosphere and promote sensationalism. This week there is a new sports scandal brewing in the U.S. A finalist for American Football's Heisman Trophy might have participated in a hoax wherein a fictional girlfriend with cancer was created on-line and then killed off. Why do sports writers write about a players girlfriend or his family? Why would they write about Lance Armstrong having cancer? Isn't the mot important thing about him his sports career? Who cares batting the rest of it?

I think that all of sports is rife with drugs. We as human machines have plateaued and about reached our full potential. We are about as fast, strong, etc. as we are going to get. Short of genetic manipulation or drugs we have reached the limit that the laws of physics and biology will allow. We should get used to the idea that any records we break will be broken by ever smaller fractions. I am immediately suspecious of any big broken records because I am sure that behind them are drugs. American football is one big drug house and people who think differently are just fooling themselves. What I just said shouldn't surprise any of us. It happened with race horses and racing camels.

Well, to play devil's advocate a bit, I think it's perfectly natural that the media should write about athlete's private lives. Human-interest stories are compelling and popular, no matter whether the subject is an athlete or a banker or a homemaker. I like reading stories that make the subjects seem human.

What I do find appalling is the unquestioning hero-worship type of coverage that so much sportswriting has become. Lance Armstrong can't just be an excellent athlete who won the Tour de France; he has to be the MOST AMAZING athlete who FOUGHT ADVERSITY and CONQUERED CANCER and became a HERO TO MILLIONS. Once you've built someone up like that, you are consciously or subconsciously reluctant to examine any parts of the story that don't support your worshipful angle.

And the same with the Notre Dame football player. How could all those media outlets perpetuate a story about a dying/dead girlfriend without ever once doing an ounce of independent research to check out that she was real? A simple search for her obituary online would have raised enough red flags to prevent the whole mess.

And I'm a fan of any post that can reference Lance Armstrong, race horses and racing camels all in one go!

Bianca - Thanks. Hope you enjoy the snow, I'll enjoy it vicariously with you and from a safe distance.

Reba - The empty house is not so empty as I still have the trusty Erni and my SIL Fifi as watchdogs of a sort. Neither would give a fig if I line a few more rooms with books though.

RD - Snow cover is not high on my list of priorities in life either. Malaysia minus 15 degrees and most of the humidity and it would be my idea of a place to be.

Darryl - Now it is funny that you should say that because I have a very free afternoon and I was wondering what to do with it. During those sleep laden hours the breath of my little devil was blowing in my ear "Kino, kino, kino, kino"

Paul - nice metallic shelves but those mugs do look precariously close to the edge.

Pat - I did allude to that too yesterday. He did do some excellent work on behalf of the charity he formed and this should not be forgotten in the rush to deem him a scumbag. He cheated. Everyone inside the sport in truth knew he cheated. The majority of his contempories cheated. Cycling was like that then. Not all of them had cancer though and came back from it bravely. What rankles with Lance Armstrong is not even that he lied about it - it is the vindictive manner in which he went about attacking and suing those who were keen that the truth would out.

Benita - Not sure about the camels and the racehorses but I can speak for cycling to some extent having been a wheezy and pretty-much dope free member of the peloton in my late teens and early twenties. {caffeine was the worst thing I took}.
Cycling was rife with drugs - EPO, blood doping, steroids, cortisone, testosterone, amphetamines. Cortisone and amphetamines are quite traditional drugs in the sport and most of the continental racers will have used them at some stage. Laurent Fignon admitted to cortisone in his biography which I read and enjoyed last year. This is a world away from EPO which is positively dangerous but gives very clear advantages to the riders.
Yes you are right the media must take its share of the blame but I don't agree with Lance Armstrong's cancer being a non-story. Fighting back from that was a tremendous achievement irrespective of what the fellow took and - believe me - the guy was immensely driven to the point of being obnoxious to everyone around him. The cancer story does in fact bring grace and some necessary perspective on his disgrace as the chap did do some good along with the bad he did to win. It must again be stated that out of the top 50 finishers in the tour at that time I would guess that 80 per cent of them were doping to one extent or another.

Julia - hahaha I agree with your comments totally. Benita's posts are always a stimulating read. Armstrong/Horses/Camels - 2 out of 3 sure to get humped.

Nice mini-haul, Paul.
I like that you group together short-story writers, Chuckles and cat haters --- an odd bunch but perhaps no more odd that this illustrious group.
Re: Mr. Armstrong, I have nothing to add because I'm in the group that never trusted him and always suspected that he had a mean streak, all those yellow wristbands notwithstanding.

I'm, of course, back to being behind on threads because RL is too busy, but I'm having fun in sunny LA with my cousin and aunt. We went to the zoo today and saw Simiang monkeys which live in Malaysia and Sumatra. Their calls can be heard from 2.5 miles away. Whew.

Nice haul Paul although skimpy by your standards LOL. I'm afraid Benita is right. The culture of professional sports is totally infused with drugs. Although I think we've seen one thing recently that might start to turn things around---no one was inducted into the baseball hall of Fame. No Roger Clemens or Sammy Sosa or Barry Bonds. If that kind of lasting legacy can't be bought maybe players will think twice and the professional leagues will be able to clean up their games. They all lied about PEDs too, at one time or another.

Happy 2nd Thingaversary, Paul!
Glad to see you rewarded yourself with 3 9 books as you rarely ever get a chance to buy for yourself ;-)

You are a cute naughty boy :o

Happy weekend Paul!

Hey Paul - Happy Belated Thingaversary! I hope you have a good weekend! I finally caught up on your thread.

About the whole Lance Armstrong thing - it just makes my blood boil. I have no respect for people who cannot just stand up and say, Yep, I was wrong. It makes everything go away much faster!

Ellen - SWMBO did her training with those monkeys - her call can be heard from at least that far away.

Bonnie - Let's face it Armstrong was a fabulous athlete in his prime - I saw him on the flat roads and he was awesome. The drugs helped him get over the high mountains by enabling him to suffer - not the build of a natural climber but he was able to crush the mountain goats by toxic speed. Those using normal help like cortisone just couldn't keep up with him. He did the doping much better than the europeans and they'll never forgive him. I do think he would have been a top classics rider if no one was taking stuff but I don't see that he would have beat some of the others in the major tours.
Baseball is a funny one to me as I can't see that it can be as beneficial as say in cycling or athletics or swimming.

Cee - I have more confessions to make shortly - Lance move over and let me cosy up to Oprah ~ I have been buying books again!

Kathy - Same to you my dear; I'll be along to see how ya doin shortly.

Brit - You're right - I have fessed up to the caffeine suppositories and I was wrong - it is much tastier from the other end!

Darryl mentioned the need for a chaperone and I laughed it off.
Told myself that I would go along just to look at Binocular Vision, I looked and didn't buy it as it was in an oversized form I don't like to buy.
Told myself I would go and look at Pat Conroy's book on books as I had a read a eulogy of it on the threads this early morn. I looked and didn't buy it as it was in hardback and $30. I'll get it in another form.
BUT I did buy:

1 The Shortest History of Europe by John Hirst
2 The Iron Heel by Jack London
3 The Making of the President: 1964 by Theodore H. White
4 A Small Fortune by Rosie Dastgir
5 The Unfinished Novel and Other Stories by Valerie Martin
6 By the Sea by Abdulrazak Gurnah
7 Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
8 The Bone People by Keri Hulme
9 Fragrant Harbour by John Lanchester
10 The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna
11 The Invisible Circus by Jennifer Egan
12 A Short Gentleman by Jon Canter
13 The President's Last Love by Andrey Kurkov
14 Before I Forget by Andre Brink
15 My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk (one I have toyed with buying a long time)
16 Hope : A Tragedy by Shalom Auslander
17 The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder by J.W. Ironmonger
18 Something is Out There by Richaer Bausch
19 A Little History of Philosophy by Nigel Warburton
20 The Leopard by Tomasi di Lampedusa


A bit less skimpy I'm sure Bonnie will agree.

Woohoo!!! Nicely done Paul!!

Interesting discussions about Lance Armstrong. I think I've seen enough cycling over the years not be be altogether surprised. I think he always came across to me as a very driven man, someone for whom achievement was everything. So perhaps it's not surprising that can work both ways, with both the drug taking for the cycling and the work done for the cancer charity. But probably not a very nice person to be around.

As someone who's watched a fair bit of cycling over the years, I managed to almost completely miss out on the Lance Armstrong years. We watched the Tour de France consistently for several years in the 1990's when Indurain was winning, but then the coverage in the UK was moved to a digital channel that we didn't have. Started again in 2006 by which time we had the right channel and SkyPlus so recording it was much easier. And it turned out that J loved it, so we've been fairly avid watchers ever since.

Tina - Thanks my dear, Not sure my boss will agree if she comes across the evidence.

Rhian - Of course we Brits now excel at the sport and seem to be congratulating ourselves on the fact that we are winning clean. Hope it doesn't blow up in our faces. The best cyclist I ever saw or raced against by a country mile was Chris Boardman. I feel sure that had he had the same win at all costs attitude that LA had then he would have been the one celebrating all those victories. You couldn't win those races at that time on gatorade alone.

Hi Paul, this answer is what I wrote in Richards' topic:

"Feels like friends" doesn't mean I don't see real friendship here.
As a newby, I notice genuine love and warmth and I'm very glad to be part of this community, in which I hope to make friends too.

I hope it's clear what I mean, I miss the finesses to explain myself in English. I could use some extra lessons :)

Have a wonderful weekend, Paul!

#200 You couldn't win those races at that time on gatorade alone.

I had to look up Gatorade as I had no idea what you were talking about!

Diana - I think you have done an excellent job of making friends already. Your warmth, humour and, yes, finesse are there for all to see. x

Rhian - I forget that we don't go a bundle on the stuff in the UK, should have said Lucozade shouldn't I?!

Like Terri, I spent yesterday reading... when I wasn't doing chores..
and thus I continue to be behind.. sigh.

#158; Paul, I have a few of Shadbolt's books but not that one. Yet to read anything by him but my attention was caught by a recent article on his literary legacy. Good to see you reading and buying more NZ lit, I loved The Bone People and it only took me 20 odd years to get round to reading it.
All this Armstrong talk is interesting but I have nothing to add except that he took his time.

>197 PaulCranswick: LOL! I knew that at least one weekend book mega haul would happen! Well done, my friend.

Paul- Wow! Helluva book haul! I don't think I'll buy that many books all year. Some very nice titles in there.

Kath - I am just as behind as you are my dear but will be caught up all round today, I hope.

Kerry - It would have been impossible for me to leave NZ and not take something with me. In my case it will be books of course and I do look out for NZ writers nowadays. Lloyd Jones, Maurice Gee and as you know Alan Duff have all been added to my list recently.

Darryl - Well I couldn't disappoint my favourite Doc - especially after he's just aced his refresher exams.

So you're saying that you get to buy books as a reward for me passing my PALS exam??? ;-)

Don't you think that's totally appropriate, Darryl? ;)

Nice haul, Paul. I want to read some Pamuk this year, and I think I'll start with My Name is Red. We'll see when I actually get to it.

Well done, Paul, out-hauling me again ;)

I have Pamuk waiting to be read, too. I got ir this week, too, and my co-worker is Turkish and she recommended it to me. I also have Lamepusa somewhere here.

Enjoy your snow-free weekend. I had to clear our entrance this morning and it is still slightly snowing.

Well Darryl I do believe in a touch of creativity in my excuses! What better way to celebrate - the fact I hadn't read your good news before I bought them is neither here nor there!

Diana - Glad to see you supporting me too!

Beth - I'm not sure about him really and this one has had extremely mixed reviews. I found Snow worthy but difficult to get through and this one is triple its length.

Paul - The Pauls have been busy this months buying books for sure. I have brought into the family home by various means of subterfuge 77 books this month so far unshackled as I am by the Read-More-Than-You-Buy nightmare challenge of last year.

Holy book load Batman! No sneaking that stack in, is there?

Di Lampedusa's The Leopard was one I read in college. I was prepared to loathe it but as it turned out it became one of my favorites in the genre.

>210 wilkiec: Actually yes, Diana, I think it's completely appropriate. :-)

>213 PaulCranswick: Are you sure you didn't reside in New Orleans at some point, Paul? The residents of that fair city use any excuse to have a party, including floods, obscure holidays, and, of course, funerals.

I keep forgetting to mention that there is a new Club Read member, Henk Metselaar (henkmet), who is from Malaysia. Here's a link to his thread:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/147648

Great book haul friend! So many great ones that I haven't read! Looks like you will have a great weekend of reading eh ;)

Kathy - Even better no need to....she's not here! The Leopard has been on my wishlist an age.

Darryl - I used to walk down disused railway tracks in my village and the cornet player from the mining brass band used to practise there thinking himself undisturbed and his off-notes unrecorded. He played all sorts of stuff including some laments that would have fit nicely into a New Orlean celebration.
Thanks for the link - I'll look him up for sure. - and then there were two!

Chelle - Spent a fair chunk of it with LT and some with Mauriac - LT is better.

Of course, I'm behind, Paul, but I love the picture of St. Peter's - in fact, it makes my little heart go pitty-pat.
I'm awed as usual by all your lists and statistics and excited about your new books. I'll be interested to hear what you make of My Name is Red. I liked it better than Snow, which I also liked, but an acquaintance right here amongst the 75ers, a Turkish woman, told me that Pamuk is not so adored in Turkey and recommended some better authors. I never followed up on them, but I could probably find her list.
Lance Armstrong? His brains and soul are probably in his muscles; I'm not studying him.
Happy Weekend!

Peggy - It's funny I can almost smell St. Peters as I look at the picture that cosy mustiness of old cassocks and hardly breathed air. Betjeman speaks well of old churches - I'll have to go and look him up. Here is how he described St. Saviour's Church in Highbury:

These were the streets they knew; and I, by descent, belong
To these tall neglected houses divided into flats.
Only the church remains, where carriages used to throng
And my mother stepped out in flounces and my father stepped out in spats
To shadowy stained-glass matins or gas-lit evensong
And back in a country quiet with doffing of chimney hats.

Great red church of my parents, cruciform crossing they knew -
Over these same encaustics they and their parents trod
Bound through a red-brick transept for a once familiar pew
Where the organ set them singing and the sermon let them nod
And up this coloured brickwork the same long shadows grew
As these in the stencilled chancel where I kneel in the presence of God.

John Betjeman Selected Poems (1948)
St. Saviour's, Aberdeen Park, Highbury, London, N.

OMG Paul! You're comment about the caffeine suppositories has me in fits of laughter!! Which is actually kinda painful right now because my abs are so sore from working out!!

Now that I am no longer active in sports Brit I can laugh to my heart's contents - I have no muscles left to ache. x

Nice haul! I rally enjoyed By the Sea and have liked the other books I've read by Jennifer Egan, although I haven't read the one you bought. Binocular Vision is a big book, but I thought it was great (it was one of my favorite books of last year). The movie (the Italian one) of The Leopard is great.

I also noticed Rebecca that there was a film of the book I have recently finished by Maurice Shadbolt which I will have to look up. I have a habit of trying to read the book first as I don't want my enjoyment spoiled.
Binocular Vision does look a weighty tome. I am waiting for a more manageable sized edition to be released in Malaysia.

Way to weekend, Paul!!

Thanks Reba - one does one's best!

Paul ... not.even.going.to.try.

Ok, I did stop to take a look at your latest book haul though ... how could anyone resist celebrating the purchase of new books!

Paul, I loved your book confession on your latest haul. And I see you have at least one short story collection in there. :)

I meant to tell you that on the Introductions thread yesterday, someone new mentioned that their husband was "he-who-caters-to-my-every-whim." I'm pretty sure it isn't SWMBO but you never know!

Caro - books.are.to.read.not.eat..ladies.from.Boston.have.two.hobbies.
Exactly! I knew I could count on you. x

Pat - there are two I think. Richard Bausch and Valerie Martin.
There must be several SWMBOs - mine obviously has a doppelganger or two!

Like Peggy, I'm interested to see you have acquired My Name is Red - I've not yet read any Pamuk but have ended up with copies of that plus Snow plus one other. I started trying to read My Name is Red a couple of years back, but only got a couple of pages into it at the time (it was late, I was too tired, I never tried again). The content sounds right up my street - historical murder mystery and manuscripts - but I had not realised the style was so dense. But I do want to try again!

Book haul! Book Haul! How many books have you READ since SWMBO left?

The movie version of 'The Leopard' — is it about Garibaldi? I think we watched that in an Italian class when I was at university.

.

Paul- I think you might of missed me up there but I was praising you for another fine book haul. Wow! Hope you are having a terrific weekend.

My goodness, such a large book haul, Paul! Wowsers! I stopped by as I had seen on someone's thread that your next book up would be a Susan Hill. I am such a fan of her books, you cannot go wrong! Happy Weekend to you, Paul!
Hmm - I saw the cinema as often as the movies. Tis a Canadian/ English thing I think. The theatre refers to something rather more highbrow, me thinks. Not that I am the least bit high brow!

Hello there! Delurking just to be friendly. Hope you have a great weekend.

Enjoying all the photos and discussion. Interesting stuff about the churchyards - and then even more fascinating about the bicycling....

I'll be curious to know what you think when you get to Canada Paul. I LOVE Ford, but I decided not to go on with it after about 100 pages.

Well, I only skimmed, but all the same, 'skimming' ended up taking up at least 20 minutes!

I read My Name is Red in 2008 and thought it was brilliant. Mind you, I've tried to read other stuff by Pamuk and just couldn't get into it.

I was surprised when I saw on your last thread you were reading Coffee, Tea or Me because I had heard from various sources before that it was a terrible book. But of course, there was no point in telling your that at the time... you had to find out for yourself! I, on the other hand, don't at all insist on finding out firsthand just how bad it is, I'll take your word for it! :-)

Just popping in to say hi after Paul did the same in my thread over at club read. This is certainly a high volume thread but I'll try to keep an eye on it.

Genny - I have been toying with buying the book for a goodly while and then another damning review will come along and put me off. According to the cover Philip Hensher loves the book so let's see.

Roni - Book buying, book logging, LTing, Mauriac, Penman, Trollope all progressing nicely. SWMBO back at midnight; Cinderella will turn back into a pumpkin.

Julia - I haven't seen the movie but the book is definitely about Garibaldi (the Statesman not the biscuit).

Kath - that gif is just like me only thinner!

Mark - it's not like me mate but it looks like we crossed before. I figured Darryl was right - I might not get the chance of smuggle free purchases for a while soon.

Deb - The cinema or movies are probably my favourite leisure activity. For less than $3 you can immerse yourself in an entirely new world and with haagen daz to accompany you! I have seen some good movies this month and especially enjoyed the least heralded of them "Parental Guidance" which was hilarious and meaningful.

Kim - Well of course you're friendly! Nice to see you here my dear with that black belt an all.

Lucy - I don't know whether the subject matter is really Canada which does seem a little off Ford's beaten track but he is also a writer I enjoy too.

Ilana - I must have passed some sort of test then in finding the book both inane and obnoxious.

Henk - Nice of you to drop by from fairly close at hand too by all accounts. Seen your very varied reading over on the group thread and think you would fit in over here just nicely. Have a great weekend and there is little point asking you to keep warm!

Happy Sunday, Paul, and welcome home to the hoodwinked SWMBO. Must figure out her email addy...for, well, educational purposes....

I should probably feel guilty for being 242 messages behind, but life is too short for that! :)

Have a wonderful Sunday, Paul!

No RD she is in Singapore until midnight tonight my time - I have another 13 hours; lucky for some. I understand that her e-mail address is being withheld for security purposes - my security.

No need for guilt trips Stasia I'm shorter than life! Lovely to see you at anytime and what's a coupla hundred posts between friends?

#244:what's a coupla hundred posts between friends?

Not much - you have a good point!

Stasia - I posted up somewhere my own rules about posting and I must say you were the guide in your way of getting around the threads and making everyone welcome, even the plebs (like me) new and clueless to the group. My thread would still be chugging along at one every month or two without your shining example of courtesy and friendliness. x

Aw shucks. I am blushing!

I take leave to sincerely doubt the 'my thread would still be chugging along at one every month or two' comment though :)

We'll never know Stasia!

Woot! Nice 20 book haul there, Paul. Happy weekend : ) (what's left of it in Malaysia by the time you read this).

No Nancy I still have pretty much most of Sunday left. Have a good time yourself and it is lovely to see you back posting regularly again.

I thought I would round off this thread with a view of St. Peter's church from another angle completely.

I'm finally stopping by again. A very nice church up top and some good book hauls too. Happy Thingaversary, and I'll keep my eye out for your next thread, which should e coming along momentarily.

Well Anne, that was a fairly good guess!