Lori (lkernagh) Hits her Prime in 2013! - Second Thread

Welcome visitors, lurkers and pretty much anyone just passing through. This is my second thread for this challenge. If you are new and wish to get caught up on what has happened so far, my first thread can be found here:

First Thread


Charles Haigh-Wood - Storytime (1893)

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

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

The categories in my 2013 Prime Challenge:

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

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

1. All things GRAPHIC



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

BOOKS READ:
1. The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman - (review)
2. A Sickness in the Family by Denise Mina Illustrated by Antonio Fuso - (review)
3. The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman - (review)
4. Black Butler, Vol. 1 by Yana Toboso - (review)
5. Black Butler, Vol. 2 by Yana Toboso - (review)
6. Black Butler, Vol. 3 by Yana Toboso - (review)
7. Black Butler, Vol. 4 by Yana Toboso - (review)
8. The Sandman Vol. 3: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman - (review)
9. How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You by The Oatmeal - (review)

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

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



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

BOOKS READ:
1. Clay: A Novel by Melissa Harrison - (review)
2. Love and The Mess We're In by Stephen Marche - (review)
3. Complication by Isaac Adamson - (review)

3. All things EPISTOLARY



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

BOOKS READ:
1. The Twitter Diaries by Georgie Thompson and Imogen Lloyd Webber- (review)
2. Lady Susan by Jane Austen - (review)

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

4. All things GOTHIC



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

BOOKS READ:
1. Enter At Your Own Risk: Old Masters, New Voices edited by Alex Scully - (review)
2. Mrs. God by Peter Straub - (review)

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

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



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

BOOKS READ:
1. Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses by Ron Koertge - (review)
2. Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham - (review)

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

6. All things EUROPA


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

BOOKS READ:
1. Sorry by Gail Jones - (review)

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

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



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

BOOKS READ:
1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen- (review)

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

8. All things PENGUIN


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

BOOKS READ:

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

9. All things MITFORD



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

BOOKS READ:

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



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

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

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

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


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

BOOKS READ:

1. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel - (review)
2. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - (review)
3. The Dinner by Herman Koch - (review)
4. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan - (review)
5. February by Lisa Moore - (review)

12. All things ON MY TBR BOOKCASE



As of the end of August 2012, I had 250 books on my TBR bookcase waiting for my attention. Not an awful lot of books by LT standards but still, I buy books to read them, not for them to languish on the shelves and become dust collectors..... for the record, I hate dusting. Time to move these boys, even if it is to make way for new books.

BOOKS READ:
1. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka- (review)
2. The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison - (review)
3. Riding the Bus With My Sister by Rachel Simon - (review)
4. Ice Song by Kirsten Imani Kasai - (review)
5. Snow Falling On Cedars by David Guterson - (review)

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



BOOKS READ:
1. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry - (review)

Currently Reading:

So, welcome to my challenge. Feel free to breeze through, drop by to take a load off your feet or, as per the Eagle's song Hotel California, check in and never leave. Your choice. ;-)

This thread is now open for business!

Apologies to everyone that follows the continuation thingee... in my zeal to get the new thread up, I completely forgot about the continuation link so everyone will have to rely on old-fashioned clicking a new link to find their way here. I will try to remember to use the continuation thingee next time.,.... really, I will!

The old way still works - found and starred.

Congratulations on your new thread, Lori!

I don't think I commented on it before, but I love your epistolary works category. I'm a big fan of several of your options, including Sorcery and Cecelia and Daddy-Long-Legs and Dear Enemy. I'm looking forward to your choices!

Yay, shiny new thread! Love the first photo, too.

Hi Lori, I'm dropping by to place my star. I see you enjoyed Vol2 of the Sandman series, I am holding myself back from just carrying on with the series immediately. I want to take my time and savor each issue, but will be looking at Vol 3 later on in February.

Swinging by as well to place my star!

Found you, starred, no problem!

Dropping a star

*Manually dropping a star, under much huffing and puffing* ;-)

>238 electrice: (old thread): Another great review of Sandman. Like so many others, I love your chatty, meandering review style here!
Don't know if you've got the answer to the" juvenile super hero stuff" you talked about elsewhere, but in case you haven't: The pages in the naive style are alluding to Little Nemo in Slumberland, one of the earliest comics. It was set in dreams, but always ended with Nemo waking up to the safety of his own bedroom. Here, as Pete pointed out, it's rather the other way around: Jed wakes up to his horrid reality.

The Sandman super hero was a DC character in the seventies, in a magazine for kids. He was, as Hector points out, a protector of children's dreams, battling it out with nightmares and such. ("Our" Sandman is the third DC character with that name. The first was a detective with a sleeping gas gun, he is briefly mentioned in the first Sandman book. This super hero for kids was the second.)

It was Claire who pointed out the little Nemo switch...

Oops, bad recollection. Sorry, claire!

Just dropping an anchor to find my way back.

I love the picture on the top of your new thread. I smiled and enjoyed it for a little while.

**STARRED** once again, Lori!

Found and starred!

No worries, I had no trouble finding you.

Thanks everyone! I have been AWOL from my own thread for the last couple of days and have nothing new to report, but want to respond to everyone while I have the chance:

> 18 - Hi Betty!!

> 19 - Thanks Dejah, I am looking forward to getting to the candidates - for some reason right now all of the books I have out from the library demanding attention are GNs! I have made a note of the books you have mentioned!

> 20 - Thanks! I am trying to go for a theme here with paintings of children reading or being read to since I think it fits the more fun categories I have chosen this year, and in particular the fables and fairy tales category!

> 21 - Hi Judy, yup, I am now hooked on Sandman.... I will be joining you for vol 3 later in February!

> 22 - Hi Eva!!

> 23 - Good to the lack of continuation thing isn't causing a huge problem. Great to see you made it over to the new thread.

> 24 - *waves at Pete*

> 25 - Glad to see you made it here, Anders. It was probably quite the trek! Thanks for saying you enjoy my ramblings.... I expect for many they are completely nonsensical but I figure there are more than enough reviews out there all ready for Sandman! As for Jed and Little Nemo in Slumberland... I was lost on the connection to that one. Little Nemo is completely new to me! As for the Sandman superhero.... that is information that is greatly appreciated! A protector of dreams makes a lot of sense in the Sandman books, and makes sense of the nod to Little Nemo.... it is all starting to fit together now. Just get ready for me to be confused by something in vol 3, given my current track record!

> 26 & 27 - ;-) I am just happy all of you - and I do mean ALL of you - are here to help point me in the right direction as I work my way through Sandman! There is just so much stuff going on in those stories!

> 28 - Anchor secured! ;-0

> 29 - Thanks! It brings a smile to my face every time I look at it!

> 30 - Hi Laura!

> 31 - Nice to see you made it over here, Christina!

> 32 - Hi Cassandra, glad to see you found the new thread!

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On the reading front, I was hoping to get at least one more book finished for the month of January but that hasn't happened, so no second January CAT Trick for me. The status of my current reading, as of this evening, is:

- 45% finished the gothic/horror short story collection Enter at Your Own Risk: Old Masters New Voices
- 89% finished Pride & Prejudice
- 67% finished The Very Thought of You, my attempt at a second CAT trick.

I am enjoying all my current reads, when I find time for them, that is. I will get around to posting a month end summary over the weekend, and maybe even another book review, if I finish something by then.

JANUARY RE-CAP:

Books read:


ROOTs read (as part of my ROOT challenge):


Books acquired:

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

Favorite book (decimal rating): A Sickness in the Family by Denise Mina - (3.97 decimal rating)
Least favorite book (decimal rating): The Twitter Diaries by Georgie Thompson and Imogen Lloyd Webber - (2.97 decimal rating)

CATEGORY SUMMARY:
GRAPHIC - 3 books read
- - - The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman -
- - - A Sickness in the Family by Denise Mina Illustrated by Antonio Fuso -
- - - The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman -
NEW (published in 2012 or 2013) - 1 book read
- - - Clay: A Novel by Melissa Harrison -
EPISTOLARY - 1 book read
- - - The Twitter Diaries by Georgie Thompson and Imogen Lloyd Webber-
GOTHIC - 0 books read
FABLES and FAIRY TALES - 0 books read
EUROPA - 0 books read
REGENCY - 0 books read
PENGUIN - 0 books read
MITFORD - 0 books read
SERIES, SEQUELS, PREQUELS and TRILOGIES - 1 book read
- - - A Death in the Small Hours by Charles Finch-
NEWSWORTHY - 0 books read
ON MY TBR BOOKCASE - 1 book read
- - - A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka-
WITH A TITLE, AUTHOR(S) AND WORDS WRITTEN - 0 books read

Currently Reading:

Pride & Prejudice - 89% finished
Enter at Your Own Risk: Old Masters New Voices - 45% finished
The Very Thought of You - 67% finished

I read Preludes and Nocturnes in January, too! I didn't grade it quite as high as you though.

You're so organized, Lori! I'm impressed every time I visit!

Hi Lori, just dropping by to catch up and drop a star :-)

> 35 - Hi Morphy! I might have rated Preludes and Nocturnes a bit high..... may make it difficult to rate the later volumes. it's not an easy thing to rate I had troubles with the artwork but really enjoyed some of the stories.

> 36 - Hi Dejah, now you are making me blush! The organization comes from playing around with ideas for the last three years of category challenge reading and how to summarize the reading. It still is and will always be 'a work in progress'. I am pretty much a visual person so posting up the book images makes it easier to spot things at a glance.

> 37 - Hi Alana, thanks for stopping by!

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While out shopping yesterday I came home with a book acquisition - Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty. I have seen great reviews for the book here on LT courtesy of Judy (DeltaQueen50), Nancy (lit_chick) and Anders (GingerbreadMan), among others, so when I saw a 'good as new' trade paperback going for $3.50 in one of my used book haunts, I just had to snatch it up.



On the reading front, I finished P&P this morning. I need some time to get around to writing the review, but hope to have one up in the next couple of days.

I hope everyone has been having a great weekend!

That is a very good deal! I have my copy back in Sweden, so the plan is to read it on my holiday. P&P is wonderful - I hope you liked it!

>38 lkernagh: That was a good buy! I loved that book, and am pretty sure you'll like it too.

It has a 4,59 rating here on LT. Just saying :)

> 39 - That's funny, Eva because I am planning on reading Lonesome Dove during my next trip back home to visit family at the end of March. For some reason, I always feel better flying with a really big book in my hands....last trip home I took 2666 along with me. P&P was pretty good, I will admit and I am kind of glad I waited this long to read it.

> 40 & 41 - I am looking forward to reading it, Anders. With a 4.59 rating on LT, I think I will be shocked if I don't like it! ;-)

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

As I am not a SuperBowl viewer I have enjoyed the afternoon re-organizing the books on my bookcase. I got tired of struggling to find books I was looking for - everything was shelved rather haphazardly - so I have caved and two hours later all of the books are now organized alphabetically by author then title. Very happy about that!

I did manage to cobble together a review of sorts for P&P.....

Book #8 - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Category: - All things REGENCY



I am going to start off by saying that the book I read was a free download from Project Gutenberg. The book cover above is my favorite of all of the covers posted on LT.

What can I say about this book that hasn't already been said by someone else? Probably nothing. On the surface, this is a romantic comedy: girl meets boy; girl wants nothing to do with boy; girl continues to encounter boy; over time, girl changes her mind about boy, and vice versa.

Below that rather simplistic summary of the romance, the story is an interesting and complex examination of the patriarchal society of the time period, when it was expected that women would seek marriage as a means to obtain economic security. In fact, they were urged to do so. Ideas of matchmaking based on things like compatibility, mutual respect or even *shudder* love, were viewed as downright frivolous and not to be entertained. Austen's story also gains its substance from an interesting premise: can love occur between two people of different class positions when that relationship is hindered by the pride of one and the prejudices of the other?

One thing that I did find interesting was how the story's characters are connected through their relationships and various family members, giving the impression of a rather small society group that they are a part of. I really like the Wikipedia Spoiler Pride and Prejudice Character Map. I stumbled across this after finishing the book and I had a good giggle as the map makes it look a bit more complicated than I remembered from reading the story!

I am going to admit something here: I am not a big fan of Elizabeth or Darcy. Sorry if that shocks anyone. From a character perspective, I found them a tad trying while they grappled with their situations. Mom and Dad Bennet were comic relief of a sort, I hope, and every family needs a Lydia..... family life could get rather boring otherwise! The ending was a bit flat after all the effort that went into moving the story along and that surprised me a bit. Overall, while the genre in general is one that I only dip into occasionally, I am glad that Christina (christina_reads) suggested I start my Austen reading with P&P. There is a timeless message in Pride and Prejudice that still rings true today: Love, real enduring love - not the hot and heavy bodice ripper 'in the heat of the moment' stuff - takes effort in the form of self examination, reevaluation, respect and communication. Love isn't just about first impressions.

Decimal Rating: 3.84
3.25 - Plot Development
3.25 - Character Development
3.75 - Writing Style
4.25 - Readability
3.75 - Premise
4.00 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN)
4.50 - Originality
4.00 - Length

Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: e-book download from Project Gutenberg
# of Pages: 234 pages
Source: TBR
Male/Female Author: Female

When you're ready for another Austen, you might try Emma next. She's the most flawed of Austen's heroines and I think you might find her more appealing than Elizabeth.

> 44 - Thanks Carrie..... Elizabeth was a bit difficult to take except in small doses, although I will give Austen credit for allowing the reader inside Elizabeth's mind to show things from her point of view. I will download Emma before I forget.

I have to admit I'm a fan of Elizabeth and Darcy, but, if you're interested in a different take on the story try to find a copy of "Lost in Austen" a very entertaining British miniseries in which a modern woman gets a chance to drop into the P&P plot. It sounds dopey, but is actually quite funny.

I think we have visibleghost to thank for lonesome dove as he recommended it to Claire and she loved it and forced me to read it and Anders saw that we both liked it and so it goes :-)

Lori, I'm so glad you are going to read Lonesome Dove, I predict you will love it.

I am also a big fan of Elizabeth and D'Arcy but I have only read a couple of Jane Austin's books. I hope to read at least one more this year sometime.

P&P is my only foray into Austen and I wasn't a fan of Elizabeth or Darcy either.

Sandman question... Do most folks own the series? My library doesn't have them and they are pricey at the book store where I looked.

> 46 - Lost in Austen does sound like a fun take on the story, and my local library has six copies of the DVD..... guess what I am planning on doing for part of my up and coming long weekend? *smiles big cheesy grin* Thanks so much for the rec!!!

> 47 - I figured someone must have started the ball rolling on the Lonesome Dove reading! Your memory is way better than mine is, Pete!

> 48 - Well now that you predict that, Judy, I just had to go to the book page and click the "Will you like it?" thingee..... LibraryThing thinks I probably will like Lonesome Dove (prediction confidence: very high) so between you, the LT thingee and Anders pointing out the high average rating on LT, it is going to be hard to wait for my trip home before I crack into it.... because now I am really curious to see what I think of it! ;-)

> 49 - Oh thank you, thank you, Tina! I was starting to worry I was the only one that isn't smitten with those two. :-) In answer to your Sandman question, I have been borrowing the series from my local library. Sorry to learn your library doesn't have them. Can you get them through inter-library loan, is that available to you?

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

The good thing about ending January with three books all 'in progress' is it is easy to start February off finishing books. I have only 28 pages left to finish The Very Thought of You so I will finish it tonight. Since my other book in progress is a PDF I am reading on my computer at home, I will probably spend some time tonight looking at my stacks to see what to start next that I can take to work with me tomorrow.

Now I have a dumb question: When did the Group listing on our profile pages get moved to the bottom of the page? I swear it was still up at the top of the page around the Tags and Clouds when I looked this weekend.......not complaining or anything just found it strange that I couldn't find it where I am used to seeing it this evening.

What do you mean, not love Mr. Darcy?!?! I'm appalled! :) Well, no not really - it's Colin Firth's Mr. Darcy that I love, but I do find the book one amusing as well.

I saw that Tim said he had moved some stuff around on the profile page - he claimed to have a reason, but I must confess I didn't pay attention as to why.

ETA: Seconding the "Lost in Austen"-recommendation!!!

Well, now that you said there is a movie with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, I just may be convinced to change my mind, at least about Mr. Darcy..... oh wait, that's not the one with Keira Knightley, is it??? .... no, it can't be ..... no one in their right mind would cast Knightely as Elizabeth with Firth as Mr. Darcy.... that is just wrong on so many levels....

*heads off to investigate movie versions*

NO!! Not the one with Kiera Knightley! The very brilliant BBC-series in 6 parts from the mid-90s.

52. No, it's a miniseries (hours and hours long) from 1995 with Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth (she's great). Knightley's Darcy was played by Matthew Macfadyen (he was a good Darcy, I think - but Knightley was SO miscast).

#53 Echoing Eva's horror at the Keira Knightley version! And putting in a good word for Lost in Austen as well.

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Pride and Prejudice the Guardian published this retake on some of the characters in the book which is interesting:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/jan/26/pride-prejudice-200th-anniversary?in...

aww poor Keira Knightly, I quite like that version. Mind you I can't stand to actually read Jane Austen so what do I know.

56 - I also liked the Keira Knightly version.

I actually didn't have a problem with Keira - it was the Darcy I didn't care for. He didn't have half the authority and poise I think is needed for the part. Regardless, just go with the BBC mini-series and you'll be fine! :)

58. But, but, how could you not like him? It's Matthew Macfadyen!

LOL! It's not him, it's me... Darcy should be played like Firth does - no substitute taken. :)

60. Macfadyen could substitute for just about anyone and anything in my book.

Oh, jeez, now I really feel like re-watching the first season of Spooks.

Thanks everyone! I am in the camp that is not a big fan of Keira Knightley. She is okay and I have enjoyed some of the movies she has been in, like Pirates of the Caribbean, Bend it Like Beckman... come to think of it, that's all I have seen of her movies.....*scratches head*..... Anyways, very happy to see that it is the BBC miniseries that has Firth as Darcy (which I have managed to find on YouTube).

> 55 - Thanks for posting the link, Rhian!

> 59 - 61 - LOL! I have to chuckle at that.... I loved Spooks, even though that show went through more casting changes than any other series I have watched in quite some time, but I have trouble picturing Macfadyen as Darcy..... just saying.

*Ducks to avoid any flying objects*

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On the good news front: I have managed to book Friday off as a vacation day from work, which, combined with the long weekend we are having here in British Columbia and my day off on Tuesday, I get a 5-day weekend this weekend!

.... Oh, and I have finished writing my review for The Very Thought of You.....

Book #9 - The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison
Category: - All things ON MY TBR BOOKCASE

England, 31st of August, 1939. The world is on the brink of war. As Hitler prepares to invade Poland, thousands of children are evacuated from London to escape the impending Blitz. Torn from her mother, eight-year-old Anna Sands is relocated with other children to a large Yorkshire estate opened up to evacuees by Thomas and Elizabeth Ashton, an enigmatic childless couple. Soon Anna gets drawn into their unravelling relationship, seeing things that are not meant for her eyes - and finding herself part-witness and part-accomplice to a love affair, a turn of events that will have unexpected repercussions through her later life.

Alison's debut novel was shortlisted for the 2010 Orange Prize, a great achievement for any new author. This story has some strong points - solid background research, well drawn flawed characters (not exactly three dimensional but there was some depth to them) and descriptive details that allowed me to visualize the time period and the sprawling stately home and grounds of fictional Ashton Park. The downside for me is that I came away feeling that the author tried too hard to pack too much into one book - too many characters, too many narrators, too many lovers, too many divergent plots - in her quest to write a story exploring various forms of love. The story of Anna that I thought I was going to read about became the story of Thomas, the story of Elizabeth, the story of Ruth and the story of Roberta. While each story on its own or a couple of them at a time did work, the mess of all of them jumbled together didn't work particularly well for me. For a first time author, I am willing to make some allowances. What I am not willing to make an allowance for is that Alison managed to give virtually all of her main adult characters the same 'flaw', for lack of a better word right now without going into spoilers to explain further. I am having a little difficulty seeing this as a story about love. It strikes me that it is more a story about longing and searching than about love.

Overall, an interesting story about World War II, child evacuees and the British spirit to carry on as the war pounded on around them.

Decimal Rating: 3.41
2.50 - Plot Development
2.75 - Character Development
3.25 - Writing Style
3.75 - Readability
3.00 - Premise
4.25 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN)
3.50 - Originality
4.25 - Length

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 306 pages
Source: TBR
Male/Female Author: Female

"I get a 5-day weekend this weekend"

Nicely arranged! We have a 3-day weekend coming up next weekend, but it feel so far away right now. :)

I know I am really late to this conversation, but I'm glad you enjoyed P&P overall...even though Elizabeth and Darcy didn't do it for you, which is utterly shocking in my opinion! I do love the BBC miniseries with Colin Firth, but I wasn't a big fan of "Lost in Austen," personally. The problem is that there are just SO MANY film adaptations of Austen's work, and they vary pretty widely in quality! Anyway, I hope you will continue with Austen in the future, as I really like all her novels. Emma is great, as others have mentioned.

Christina, you may be late to P&P, but I am late to the entire second thread! >.<

(Found you now, though!)

> 64 - Eva, It helped that I was experiencing a quiet time at work, so it was pretty easy to get approval for the day off. The February holiday - knowne as "Family Day" - is a first this year in BC. Other provinces have had the holiday but before this year, us BCers had to go from New Years Day all the way to Good Friday with no official holidays in between until this year.... talk about one very long spell, and in the doldrums of winter no less!

> 65 - Christina, I hope you are sitting down when you read this as I am about to give you another shock: I really enjoyed Lost in Austen. My other half even took an interest in the movie and I spent most of the time explaining the original Austen story and how the movie deviated from it to him. Call me crazy, but I really liked this version of Wickham over Austen's version. Still not a fan of Darcy, but he was more likeable in the movie, IMO - just too still in P&P for my tastes. I guess I am not Austen's target audience..... oh, wait..... maybe I am, but just not for P&P....... (second Austen book review coming - yes, even I can provide a teaser.....and no, it's not Emma).

> 66 - pammab, Yay, you found the new thread!!!!!!

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

Yes, I am enjoying my extra long weekend and even the weather has been cooperating. Treated myself to a new purse yesterday - a nice red leather Franco Sarto bag that I absolutely love. It is large enough to even let me carry around large tomes like Lonesome Dove and still handle all of my other essentials. It's perfect! I thanked my other half for getting me the perfect Valentine's gift - hey, it's red and I do love it! - but I am pretty sure I am still in for a treat of some kind on the day itself.

I have managed to finish some quick books so reviews coming.....

Book #10 - Black Butler, Vol. 1 by Yana Toboso
Book #11 - Black Butler, Vol. 2 by Yana Toboso
Category: - All things GRAPHIC



Series premise reproduced as posted on Wikipedia:

The series follows Sebastian Michaelis, a demonic butler who is bound by a supernatural contract to serve Ciel Phantomhive, the thirteen-year-old head of the Phantomhive noble family and the business-savvy owner of the Funtom company, a toy manufacturer. In return, when Sebastian has helped Ciel finish all of his tasks, including avenging his parents' deaths, Sebastian will be allowed to kill him and consume his soul.

This is my very first foray ever into reading manga, so I choose something that would catch my interest. Black Butler is set in an alternate reality of Victorian England - the same grounding in aristocracy, the same horse drawn carriages, the same London social "season" of balls and arranged marriages, sometimes when the individuals are still in their infancy - where young Ciel Phantomhive is Queen Victoria's guard dog that stands at the top of the British underworld.

Vol. 1 spends a great deal of time introducing the characters and establishing the background. As a correction to the series premise above, Ciel is only twelve-years-old in this volume. Here we meet the staff of the manor house - all nothing more than peripheral annoying characters who's role appears to be lame comic relief and to be the bane of Sebastian's existence - and Ciel's fiance, Elizabeth, the daughter of the Midford Marquessate. This volume was an okay read but left me wanting a bit more substance.

Vol. 2 was a great improvement and made me glad that I had placed a hold for both volumes and was able to read them back to back. In Vol. 2, London's high society season is preparing to draw to a close but Ciel, who hates the London scene, is summoned to clean up the mess created by one the newspapers have dubbed, "Jack the Ripper". Focus is now on plot, new characters and further character development of our main characters Sebastien and Ciel from Vol. 1. This one was more my speed and I like the interesting twist they have taken with the Jack the Ripper story. Vol. 2 ends with a bit of a cliff hanger - not surprising as this was a serialized story in the manga magazine Monthly GFantasy.

Even though I am new to manga, it didn't take me long to adapt to the 'back to front' or 'right to left' reading style of the books. I was a little upset to discover that the artwork is grey-scale and not the beautiful full color of the front and inside cover pages, but that is possibly because the editions my library has purchased are the trade paperback versions.

I had a little difficulty adjusting to the manga approach of drawing characters in extreme anger expressions, so that was a bit of a downside as well. Overall, I find this series to be an amusing way to wile away an afternoon and to drool over the artwork, even if it is grey-scale. I have already placed holds with my local library for vol. 3 and 4, so expect more reviews to come on this series!


Decimal Rating: 3.17
2.50 - Plot Development
2.75 - Character Development
2.75 - Writing Style
3.00 - Readability
3.00 - Premise
3.50 - Imagery/Visualization
4.00 - Artistry (GN)
3.50 - Originality
3.50 - Length

Star Rating: 3.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 192 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female


Decimal Rating: 3.64
3.25 - Plot Development
3.50 - Character Development
3.25 - Writing Style
3.75 - Readability
3.50 - Premise
3.75 - Imagery/Visualization
4.50 - Artistry (GN)
3.75 - Originality
3.50 - Length

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 192 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female

Book #12 - Lady Susan by Jane Austen
Category: - All things EPISTOLARY



Another ebook download from Project Gutenberg with my favorite cover depicted above. This was a great read and way better than Pride and Prejudice! I know, I seem to be bucking the Jane Austen trend here on LT, but I found the concise manner of a story written in a series of letters between some of the characters in the story to be a strong writing style for Austen, and one that I prefer. Okay, so the ending is not in epistolary format, it is in the form of a conclusion of the author, but she does admit to why the story ends in this manner and I will agree that carrying the epistolary format to the very end was a bit of a problem. There is some speculation that Lady Susan was written in 1794 but not published until 1871.

This is a rather brilliant epistolary novel focused on the recently widowed Lady Susan, who schemes her way - through flirtations and leveraging connections made - as she hunts for a husband for herself and one for her 16-year-old daughter, all the while continuing to maintain a relationship with a married man. From a character examination perspective, this story provides great insight into the Vernon family - Lady Susan's relations through her dead husband - and their thoughts and feelings, as well as those of Lady Susan's intimate friend and 'accomplice in crime' as it were, Alicia Johnson, Lady Susan and her daughter Frederica.

An excellent examination of a woman of the time period who will stoop to anything to get what she wants, within a narrow scope of reason and social moral virtues. This is the book where I can now appreciate why there are so many Jane Austen fans out there!

Decimal Rating: 4.22
3.75 - Plot Development
4.50 - Character Development
4.75 - Writing Style
4.50 - Readability
4.25 - Premise
4.25 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN)
4.00 - Originality
3.75 - Length

Star Rating: 4.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: e-book download from Project Gutenberg
# of Pages: 92 pages
Source: Project Gutenberg
Male/Female Author: Female

Nice review of Lady Susan, Lori. I've had this on my shelf for quite awhile, it looks like I need to get to it soon!

Hi Lori, looks like you are embracing Jane Austen afterall! I have read Pride and Prejudice (which I loved) and Emma (which I didn't) so now I will add Lady Susan to my wishlist.

Your new purse sounds lovely, I recently picked up a bright blue bag that is cushy and large. It is great for carrying around a pocketbook or Kindle!

Black Butler will go on the maybe-list. Manga does take some getting used to, format and illustration-wise, but after a while, you stop thinking about it, I think. My favorite series is Emma, but that's not a typical one, since it takes place in Victorian England.

I'm enjoying very much the Austen reviews and the discussion here! Count me as another huge fan of the BBC P&P series. I've watched this several times now. A few years ago, some friends and I got together to watch this in one marathon session, and now they're talking about doing it again soon! Frequently, I find screen adaptations of novels disappointing, but I think that watching the series has made me appreciate P&P, especially Austen's beautifully crafted dialogue, more.

I have a couple of seasons of the anime adaptation for Black Butler to watch. But as my to watch list is almost as long as my to read list, who knows when that will be. Glad you enjoyed your first foray into manga though.

> 71 - Scary, isn't it Judy! ;-) I find it surprising that each handbag I purchase is just a little bit larger than the last purchase.... and you are right, the larger handbags are great for carrying around books or e-readers. I love the idea of a bright blue bag. I hope you are enjoying your long weekend!

> 72 - Oooohhhh...... adding Emma to my book list, Eva! My local library only has Kaoru Mori's A Bride's Story, darn it all, I will need to keep my eye out for Emma from other sources. Eva, you aren't supposed to hit me with book bullets on my own thread, but I happily take this one!

> 73 - I agree Paulina. I am starting to really enjoy all this immersion in Austen's books and the various adaptations out there! Rather fun!

> 74 - Dave, it is rather scary how our lists just keep growing and growing and now you inform me that there is a anime adaptation of Black Butler. I think I will stick to just the manga reading for now and enjoy the newness of it all and think about anime, maybe in a couple of years.

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

On the reading front, I have finally finished reading and reviewing the LTER book I won from the October 2012 batch: Enter at Your Own Risk: Old Masters, New Voices edited by Alex Scully. I am about to start Riding the Bus With My Sister by Rachel Simon as a February Award CAT read and I have started a re-read of The Count of Monte Cristo, in preparation for the group read that is scheduled to start next month. This is my purse e-book read.

Book #13 - Enter At Your Own Risk: Old Masters, New Voices edited by Alex Scully
Category: - All things GOTHIC



This is an anthology of Gothic literature, comprising of 28 short stories. A number of these stories are oldies but goodies from the literature vault - stories by Guy de Maupassant, H.P. Lovecraft, William Butler Yeats, Edgar Allan Poe and Bram Stoker. Other stories included are the works of newer, fresher authors, some already established in the writing world, some with a few publications already under their belts and some just starting out.

The stories contained in this anthology were compiled as a project to see if the works of modern Gothic writers continue to take their cue and set the atmosphere of their stories in a manner similar to the masters of old, imbuing their story with just the right amount of creepiness to tingle the senses and possibly raise the hairs on the back of a reader's neck. Stories of spirits of the dead, nightmares, monsters that inhabit closets and other ghoulish fiends that reach out to the physical world. Stories of mysterious houses and jilted lovers. Stories of souls reaching beyond the grave to correct/avenge a wrong.

While the stories did not raise the hair on the back of my neck, I did find them to be deliciously creepy and steeped in atmosphere. The first story The Ground Always Wins by B.E. Scully sets the tone for the stories that follow: an older style house with a dirt root cellar with an eerie presence. Some personal favorites for me are: The Cold Embrace by Mary Elizabeth Braddon - a relationship sealed by a statement that it is only the suicide whose unholy spirit haunts the footsteps of the living; The Specter Bride by William Harrison Ainsworth; Feast with a Few Strangers by E.P. Berglund - a writer encounters three homeless men in the cemetery and Riobatta by A.A. Garrison - festival day in Canterbury has a dark side to it.

Some readers may find the stories have a dated feel to them, and they are correct, they do, but that is what I really enjoyed about them. These stories make the reader's imagination drive the emotional reaction, not the blatant gruesome details of more modern fiction writing. While I am still too new to the Gothic genre to say whether or not this collection hits the mark, it hits what I look for when I am in the mood for a creepy style story - heavy on the atmosphere, light on the gruesome, gory details.

This book was courtesy of LibraryThing's Early Reviewer Program

Decimal Rating: 4.00
Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: e-book
# of Pages: 292 pages
Source: LTER/TBR
Male/Female Author: Both (various authors)

I am considering whether or not to read Riding the Bus with my Sister also, but it wasn't on my original list for this year so I'm still not sure. I'll probably decide when I finish my current book, but will look forward to seeing what you have to say about it in either case.

Back home, catching up on LT... and I see that I will have to add Black Butler to my library list....

> 77 - Hi Betty, I have passed the 100 page mark in Riding the Bus with my Sister. It is proving to be an interesting memoir, but more because of the insightful viewpoints of the bus drivers and Beth's perspective on things. Interesting but not page-turning attention getting. I hope to be finished the book sometime this week.

> 78 - Welcome home! ;-)

I have Riding the Bus with my Sister checked out from the library just in case I have time to read it this month. I've already finished one ABA book so I've already completed that part of this month's AwardCAT challenges. This one sounds interesting, though.

> 80 - Hi Carrie, I finished Riding the Bus with my Sister last night. Overall, I am glad I found the time - and the motivation via the February AwardCAT - to read it. It was worth reading. I have taken a glance at the trailers for the movie adaptation starring Rosie O"Donnell as Beth and Andie MacDowell as Rachel that are posted on YouTube, and .... sadly,..... it just doesn't 'do it' for me like the book does.

Book #14 - Riding the Bus With My Sister by Rachel Simon
Category: - All things ON MY TBR BOOKCASE



Winner of the 2003 American Book Award, Riding the Bus With My Sister is a memoir that grew out of a request made by Beth, Rachel's sister. Beth is a woman in her late 30's, born with mental disabilities and spends her days - and schedules her life around - riding the buses in her Pennsylvania city. What started out as a one day adventure for Rachel to write an article for a newspaper about Beth's bus riding became, at Beth's request, a 12 month journey, a few days a month, where Rachel would put her busy -and empty - life schedule on hold to visit Beth and ride the buses with her.

Over the course of that year, Rachel gets to know: the bus drivers that come to represent Beth's life coaches; Beth's care workers/aides that are part of the system that supports Beth's independent living as a disabled individual; and Beth's boyfriend, Jesse. Seeing the world through Beth's eyes is a challenging and at times frustrating experience for Rachel who is also struggling to find meaning in her own life. Interspersed between the chapters of this year long journey are chapters written in italicizes - flashbacks to Rachel and Beth's childhood years.

For me, the flashbacks help provide context for the relationship Beth has with her family but I preferred the chapters of the conversations with the bus drivers and Rachel's own journey of self realization. The information Rachel gleans from her research on "mental age", mental disabilities and self-determination are basic backgrounders for anyone new to this information. Rachel's growing realization of Beth's life - that she has a network of friends and a community of support - serves a greater purpose: to try and draw attention to and remove some of the existing stereotypes of individuals with what are classified as 'mild' mental disabilities.

An interesting and different type of memoir containing some good life lessons that has been sitting on my TBR bookcase since September 2009, and would probably still be sitting there unread if it wasn't for the AwardCAT this month.... this was the only book I had that would fit the challenge!

Overall, I am glad I pulled this one off the shelf and finally got around to reading it.

Decimal Rating: 3.50
Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 296 pages
Source: TBR
Male/Female Author: Female

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

Currently Reading: I am at Chapter 6 of The Count of Monte Cristo in preparation for the group read and about to start Ice Song by Kirsten Imani Kasai as my February RandomCAT read.

Riding The Bus sounds interesting, Lori, a different perspective for a memoir to take. Nice review.

Deliciously old fashioned Gothic stories? Making a note :)

riding the bus with my sister sounds wonderful & right up my alley!!! On to the wish list it goes ... And I'll be giving that review a thumbs up! :)

I really liked Lady Susan as well. It was good fun.

Riding the Bus has been on my TBR since 2010, and I was thinking of trying to fit it in this month and your review has convinced me I should.

Lady Susan seems to be the hardest to find of Jane Austen's books. I was thinking of reading Emma as ny next Austen read, but maybe this one has always looked good.

Just dropping by to say that I'm about 70 pages in and really enjoying RTBWMS. Another snowy day here, so plenty of reading time today. I've had a couple of great reads from my TBR this year from recommendations on LT.

Hi everyone, thanks for stopping by and keeping my thread warm for the past couple of days! My other half and I don't usually do any thing special to celebrate Valentine's Day but he surprised me this year with a baker's dozen of long stem yellow roses - my favorite flower and color - along with the usual card and chocolates. I won't go into how many flower shops he contacted before he found one with yellow roses - or roses of any kind other than white, pink and red - but the effort has been rewarded!

We have been having a beautiful weekend weather wise with today starting off as another sunny one so I am racing through some laundry so that we can get out and about before the clouds return. In the meantime, I have another review and responses to my visitors to post:

> 83 - Thanks, Alana. It really grew on me and made me think about the passengers and the drivers on the buses I use in my local city.

> 84 - I don't do the slash and gore style stories, Claire and these were nicely devoid of all that gruesome detail!

> 85 - Hi Tina, I am not really much of a memoir reader so I was a bit surprised that I took to this one as well as I did. Really good insightful information helped drive the book along.

> 86 - Hi Cindy, Lady Susan was fun and such a quick read!

> 87 - Hi Betty, I felt it was an easier read than I was expecting - very personable, if I am allowed to give a book a humanistic quality!

> 88 - Hi Jules, I didn't think that Lady Susan might be a difficult book to find in print format. I checked my local library and the only copy they have was printed back in 1984 by Athlone Press. I am started to read more and more downloaded from Project Gutenberg as they are perfect for reading on my iPod Touch, using the Overdrive software that I use for library e-books. Hopefully, you will be able to find a copy.

> 89 - Snowy days are good days for staying inside and reading! Looking forward to seeing what you think of RTBWMS when you have finished it!

Book #15 - Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
Category: - All things NEWSWORTHY



This is my second memoir read in the past two weeks which is a surprising realization for me as I don't read memoirs. I picked this one up because of all the great reviews I have seen on various threads in the past two months here on LT so while it fits my GRAPHIC category, I have decided that it is a good fit for my NEWSWORTHY category for books that generate a lot of buzz and attention.

For a cartoonist to write a memoir in GN format isn't much of a surprise. Sticking to the medium you are used to writing in makes perfect sense to me, and it worked well here. In a manner that may have been therapeutic, Bechdel embarks on a reflective and investigative journey of her childhood and the years of her growing sexual awareness, looking for clues in her family background and relationships for insight and understanding. Bechdel's relationship with her father is one of the main anchors of this memoir. Coming to terms with and understanding the man beneath the 'front' he presented to his family would be a difficult journey for most. Bechdel makes use of her understanding of literature to act as a reference point to guide her through this maze. The literary allusions were difficult for me to grasp as I haven't read any of the books referred to either by Bechdel or the books displayed in the various graphic images as her father's reading material, except for The Taming of the Shrew. Not sure what that says about my literature background but I am not motivated to start reading some of the books mentioned to correct it!

The artwork is detailed, descriptive and a perfect accompaniment for Bechdel's story. The family at home and the sunset images are two of my favorites:



Bechdel bares some of her soul in this one, making me feel like an intruder to her thoughts and feelings as I read, trespassing where I shouldn't be. For readers that feel GN's lack the substance of a more conventional writing medium, they should pick this one up, if anything to see how a complex and though provoking read can be presented as, and benefit from, a GN format.

Decimal Rating: 4,00
Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Hardcover
# of Pages: 232 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female

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

Currently Reading: I am at Chapter 8 of The Count of Monte Cristo in preparation for the group read and 90 pages into Ice Song by Kirsten Imani Kasai as my February RandomCAT read, which so far isn't grabbing me as much as I had hoped it would.

Whoops! Forgot to mention that I went shopping yesterday and came home with two more books:


The Englishman's Boy by Guy Vanderhaeghe - Nancy (lit_chick) has been peaking my interest in Vanderhaeghe's works with her reviews and the copy I picked up was just too good of a deal to pass up!
The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair - This one has crossed my radar screen a number of times now courtesy of Mamie (Crazymamie) and Deb (Vancouverdeb) so the purchase was made.

So far this year I am not doing too bad on the 'managing the acquisitions' side of things for 2013:

Books purchased/acquired: 6
Books read from my pre-2013 acquisitions TBR pile: 6

= TBR pile is 'unchanged' by these acquisitions! That probably won't last long but I will bask in the balancing act while I can.

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

On the viewing front, I have been sucked into a 'new for me' TV series - Once Upon A Time. We watched the first four episodes back to back last night. I am treating this as background research for my FABLES and FAIRYTALES category and I am not ashamed to admit that I am addicted to this series!

Nice review of Fun Home! I saw her give a talk on how se created her art, she takes photos of all the poses (poses herself as different characters) and then draws them, adding background. I can see why it can take her such a long time!

Hi Lori, i read The Englishman's Boy a number of years ago and really liked it. You've twigged my memory about this author, I really should be on the hunt for another book by him.

Lovely reviews of both Riding the bus with my sister and Fun home. I must get around to reading more Austen, since I enjoyed both P&P and S&S when I listened to them while rolling the pram on my first paternity leave.

Vanderhaeghe is great! Hope you like Englishman's Boy.

> 93 - Thanks Claire! Interesting the amount of work and effort Bechdel puts into her craft. I would never have thought about taking photos of the poses to use as reference point when drawing them!

> 94 - Hi Judy, Always glad to know another reader who has read and appreciated the books I purchase for future reading! It was his book A Good Man that originally caught my eye, another book I have yet to read. ;-)

> 95 - Thanks Anders! I will probably try to read another Austen or two over the course of this year.... they are rather addicting, even if some of the characters are annoying. Not sure what will be my next Austen.... maybe another one of her more obscure works. ;-)

> 96 - Hi rabbitprinces, another positive makes me very happy I purchased The Englishman's Boy when I saw it!

May I say (very belatedly) how glad I am that you enjoyed "Lost in Austen"? And I have to agree that the BBC Colin Firth P&P is the way to go, although I have a lingering fondness for the Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson version from 1940.

After P&P, my favorite Austen is Persuasion - I hope you give it a try!

"I am treating this as background research for my ... category"
LOL! I'm definitely going to be using that line in the future.

I have the Englishman's Boy on my TBR shelf as well. And I've heard about The Beggar's Opera but it's not m usual type of read.

A wonderful review of Fun Home--I'm going to have to look that one up! Thanks :)

#92: Hello Lori, The Englishman's boy sounds very intriguing. I have to keep that one in mind. And I definitely have to check out Fun Home. That might be something I like. Thanks for the nice review.

Hi Everyone, it has been a busy week and weekend. I spent some time this weekend spring cleaning my wardrobe so I now have a bag of clothes to drop off as donations to the charity shops. We also sat down and tackled the yearly taxes - earlier than usual but when you have all the forms there is no point in putting off the inevitable! - so I can happily forget about taxes now until next year.

I did manage to get some reading done but first, VISITORS!

> 98 - Hi Dejah, I really liked Lost in Austen. Such a fun movie! I have to be able to approach some of the classics with that lens to really appreciate them. I am curious to check out the various P&P movies.... Laurence Olivier was in one.... really?!?! Persuasion might make it onto the reading list this year. I am still undecided as to how much Austen I can take before I start to overload.... will be curious to see.

> 99 - Hi Eva, It is a goodie, I must admit. Not sure how many caegories I can use it for but there is always next year!

> 100 - Hi Jules, both authors are new to me so the reading will tell if I made good purchases for myself or not!

> 101 - Thanks Jennifer!

> 102 - Hi Kathy, thanks for stopping by!

Book #16 - Black Butler, Vol. 3 by Yana Toboso
Book #17 - Black Butler, Vol. 4 by Yana Toboso
Category: - All things GRAPHIC



Vol. 3: Continuing where Vol. 2 left off, Ciel and Sebastien discover Jack the Ripper's true identity and must eliminate this perpetrator in the name of the Queen and Phantomhive. In the process, we meet another 'nonhuman' for the Sebastien to deal with.

I have decided that fight scenes don't work very well for me in a manga context - or at least not in this series. I did enjoy the further development of Ciel's background and the history of some of his family members. The story has some good plot twists and some tongue in cheek moments. My personal favorite is when the corporately attired member from "the management division of the Grim Reaper Dispatch" makes an appearance. That was well done! As for the undertaker.... While one doesn't usually expect an undertaker to have a warm, bubbly personality, the undertaker in this series is quite the twisted individual, enough to give me the creeps.

Overall, not as good a read as Vol. 2 but good enough to make me want to pick up Vol. 4.

Vol. 4: Vol. 4 has Ciel and Sebastien still at the Phantomhive townhouse in London, much to the vexation of Ciel who prefers to remain at his country seat and only comes to London when he absolutely has to. This time, Ciel and Sebastien investigate at the Queen's request a series of attacks focused on British citizens recently returned from India - the "Indian Nabobs". This proves to be frustrating task with Prince Soma Asman Kadar, the twenty-six child of the Raja of Bengal in London on a quest of his own and leads to a rivalry between the two boys.

Okay, there is some rather childish behaviour in this one which I found surprising as the series appears to be targeted towards an older teen market, but that is okay since I wasn't expecting a philosophical read when I picked it up. I will be curious to see how the series evolves.

What I really like about this GN series, besides some really great artwork and interesting stories, is that Toboso includes interesting factual pieces of information for the reader. In Vol. 4, one learns about the requirements for a product to receive a Royal Warrant or Seal of Approval from the royal family.

Overall, the Black Butler series is a fun way to unwind when I am not in the mood to pick up my usual reading.


Decimal Rating: 3.17
3.00 - Plot Development
3.00 - Character Development
2.75 - Writing Style
3.25 - Readability
3.00 - Premise
2.75 - Imagery/Visualization
4.00 - Artistry (GN)
3.25 - Originality
3.50 - Length

Star Rating: 3.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 192 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female


Decimal Rating: 3.22
3.25 - Plot Development
3.00 - Character Development
3.00 - Writing Style
3.00 - Readability
3.25 - Premise
3.00 - Imagery/Visualization
4.00 - Artistry (GN)
3.00 - Originality
3.50 - Length

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 192 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female

Book #18 - Ice Song by Kirsten Imani Kasai
Category: - All things ON MY TBR BOOKCASE

"Sorykah Minuit is a scholar, an engineer, and the sole woman aboard an ice-drilling submarine in the frozen land of the Sigue. What no one knows is that she is also a Trader: one who can switch genders suddenly, a rare corporeal deviance universally met with fascination and superstition and all too often punished by harassment or death. Sorykah's infant twins, Leander and Ayeda, have inherited their mother's Trader genes. When a wealthy, reclusive madman known as the Collector abducts the babies to use in his dreadful experiments, Sorykah and her male alter-ego, Soryk, must cross icy wastes and a primeval forest to get them back. Complicating the journey is the fact that Sorykah and Soryk do not share memories: each disorienting transformation is like awakening with a jolt from a deep and dreamless sleep.

Even though I read this for the February RandomCAT, I could have read this one for the March cover RandomCAT because I bought this book back in 2009 only because the cover art caught my eye... Fantasy usually isn't my type of genre.

For me, this is more of an interesting spin on an adult fairy tale, but not enough to slot it into that category. The frozen land of the Sigue is one that contains an Isle of Mourning, a Bay of Sorrows and even a Erun Forest - with a Wooded Beast that roams it - located at the base of the Glass Mountains. It is a world of somatics, outcasts that are part human, part creature in a world where genetic mutation has altered things and a world in which Sorykah is determined to "slay her dragon", the Collector. The story was very slow in the beginning - great detailed description but a bit too much description - to the point where, 100 pages in, I was starting to grow bored with it. I am glad I stuck with it. The story - meaning the plot - does improve. The sex orgy on the Isle of Mourning and the other various sexual innuendos could have been minimized, along with some repetition of the story, but that is just my opinion. lastly, I cannot picture Sorykah as the girl on the cover..... the cover art gives a very different impression of the story between the covers!

For a debut novel that fits into a genre I don't usually read, this ended up being an okay story for me.... a little on the long side at some 372 pages - could have easily cut 50-75 pages from it and I blame the editors for that - but overall okay and makes this another book now read and off my TBR Bookcase.

Decimal Rating: 3.13
2.75 - Plot Development
3.00 - Character Development
3.00 - Writing Style
3.25 - Readability
3.25 - Premise
2.50 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN)
3.25 - Originality
3.00 - Length

Star Rating: 3.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 372 pages
Source: TBR
Male/Female Author: Female

Book #19 - Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses by Ron Koertge - illustrated by Andrea Dezso
Category: - All things FABLES and FAIRY TALES

Do you want to sleep? Find another storyteller. Do you want to think about the world in a new way? Come closer. Closer, please. I want to whisper in your ear.

Koertge presents a new, modern take on the fairy tales most of us remember from our childhood. What happened to the stepsisters after Cinderella married her prince? Was Rapunzel really happy with her life or did she crave for what she couldn't have? What about the Little Match Girl? Seen a waif sitting on a street corner selling CD's lately? And, what really happens when you are the only one in the village to notice that the King's isn't wearing any clothes and voice it for all to hear and the reaction isn't quite what you expect it to be? What do you do then?

In sort, concise free verse format, Koertge' 23 vignettes are a refreshing if subversive viewpoint of a number of the fairy tales of old. If you aren't up to speed on your fairy tales, brush up before diving into this slim volume: some of these vignettes are written with an expectation that the reader is already versed in the stories that they refer to. The artwork by Dezso is a nice compliment. All the images as black cut paper silhouettes that are eye-catching with a subtle 3-D effect.

Overall, an enjoyable and quick read.

Decimal Rating: 3.50
Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Hard Cover
# of Pages: 88 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

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

Reading List
Currently Reading: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
In Progress: I am at Chapter 10 of The Count of Monte Cristo - my ebook read.
About to Start: Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson - a second book for the February RandomCAT read and a perfect book to read right now as this week is "Freedom to Read Week".

>106 lkernagh: - that's actually some good cover art too.

Ice Song sounds like a definite skip to me, but the next one sounds good. I'll have to look for it.

Oh, you almost got me with Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses - until I got to the "free verse" part. :) I'm not very good at getting those read, but let me know when your review is posted and I'll head over with a thumb!

> 107 - Your right, Betty. The cover is well done. I keep forgetting that the library places that heavy plastic cover over top to protect the books and really didn't pay to much attention to the cover!

> 108 - Hi Cindy, unless you are really into fantasy books, I agree, it probably is a miss.

> 109- Hi Eva, If it is any conciliation, each short story - in free verse format - is only two to three pages in length. I think the entire book took 20 minutes to read but I would recommend finding a copy at your local library to borrow. It's not something that I would buy, even for the artwork.

I know I'm late here, but I just saw the Black Butler series at work yesterday, and wondered how it was/what it was about! I'll pick it up once I finish the Emma series (not based on Austen) by Kaoru Mori that I just started. Thanks for the great reviews!

Thanks Laura! There is no such thing as being late to a thread. ;-) I have seen great reviews for Mori's Emma series but I am going to have to hunt around for that one a bit if I read it as my library does have any of the books!

I didn't manage to finish any books before we flipped over to March so time to post the monthly summary.

FEBRUARY RE-CAP:

Books read:


ROOTs Read (as part of my ROOT challenge):


Books acquired:

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Lady Susan by Jane Austen
The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair
The Englishman's Boy by Guy Vanderhaeghe

Favorite book (decimal rating): Lady Susan by Jane Austen - (4.22 decimal rating)
Least favorite book (decimal rating): Ice Song by Kirsten Imani Kasai - (3.13 decimal rating)

CATEGORY SUMMARY:
GRAPHIC - 4 books read (7 in total so far)
- - - Black Butler, Vol. 1 by Yana Toboso -
- - - Black Butler, Vol. 2 by Yana Toboso -
- - - Black Butler, Vol. 3 by Yana Toboso -
- - - Black Butler, Vol. 4 by Yana Toboso -
NEW (published in 2012 or 2013) - 0 books read (1 in total so far)
EPISTOLARY - 1 book read (2 in total so far)
- - - Lady Susan by Jane Austen -
GOTHIC - 1 book read (1 in total so far)
- - - Enter At Your Own Risk: Old Masters, New Voices edited by Alex Scully -
FABLES and FAIRY TALES - 1 book read (1 in total so far)
- - - Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses by Ron Koertge -
EUROPA - 0 books read
REGENCY - 1 book read (1 in total so far)
- - - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen-
PENGUIN - 0 books read
MITFORD - 0 books read
SERIES, SEQUELS, PREQUELS and TRILOGIES - 0 book read (1 in total so far)
NEWSWORTHY - 1 book read (1 in total so far)
- - - Fun Home by Alison Bechdel -
ON MY TBR BOOKCASE - 3 books read (4 in total so far)
- - - The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison -
- - - Riding the Bus With My Sister by Rachel Simon -
- - - Ice Song by Kirsten Imani Kasai -
WITH A TITLE, AUTHOR(S) AND WORDS WRITTEN - 0 books read

Overall, a pretty productive reading month although I am rather surprised I haven't cracked one Penguin book so far. I have some books lined up for March that should start me off in the categories I haven't touched yet.

Currently Reading:

The Count of Monte Cristo - 7% finished (currently at Chapter 10)
Ready Player One - 83% finished
Snow Falling on Cedars - 38% finished

Wow, a very productive reading month indeed, especially considering Feb is so short! Happy March!

Looks like you had a good reading month. Nice set of covers too!

Your recap is always so impressive! I bow down in awe of your dedication and organization!

Have a great weekend!

You got me with Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses. It sounds perfect for the poetry inspired by fairy tales category I'm planning for the future.
Waiting to see what you think of Ready Player One. I'm hoping to squeeze that one in this year.

Great reading month indeed!! I'm starting both The Count of Monte Cristo and Ready Player One this month - looking forward to both.

You got me with Lies Knives & Girls!!

Very impressive reading month considering how short it is.

The artwork on those Black Butler covers is just stunning. I appreciate the cover recaps too!

Thanks everyone! My reading was a nice mixed bag and the GNs are helpful at pushing the book count and I plan to read more chunksters this year - like The Count of Monte Cristo, and I will be starting Lonesome Dove later this month.

This weekend my other half and I have been kicking back watching back to back episodes of Season Three of Downton Abbey - quite the box of tissues event, let me tell you. Taking a break between episodes - and to dry my eyes - before starting the next one.

On the reading front, I have finished Ready Player One and have a review ready for posting.

Book #20 - Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Category: - All things NEWSWORTHY



I am going to start this review off with the March RandomCat in mind: I would never, EVER have picked up this book to read based on the cover. The yellow text on orange/red background is just so "Ugh" and quite the deterrent for me to consider reading whatever is written on the pages between the covers... so it is a good thing I read the e-book version!

I decided to read this one based on all the great buzz this book has received on LT and I am so glad I did! What a great book for channeling my inner geekness, or anyone's inner geekness! I loved the blending of '80s pop culture/ technological factoids with Cline's 2044 futuristic vision of technology, all showcased in a gritty dystopian-edged story. Cline has created the perfect corporate 'evil empire' in Innovative Online Industries, known by its acronym IOI, and a great protagonist in young Wade Watts. This is science fiction for the masses... a reader doesn't have to be science fiction fan to appreciate this one, but I think it does help to have an understanding of some of the retro technology referred to in the story, otherwise it can come across as a rambling of nonsensical jargon in a number of places.

For me, reading this one raised great memories of the music, movies, TV shows, Commodore 64 computers, Atari and Nintendo game systems and video games from my adolescence. Great trip down memory lane! Cline's online world, the OASIS, doesn't seem all that far fetched, given the leaps in technology we have already seen in just the past twenty years, which makes it easy for someone not immersed in the techno-world to connect with story on some level.

The story is divided into three parts, which are aptly called 'levels' since this is a gaming quest. I am going to admit that level two had some weaknesses that allowed me to wean myself off the fixation I had developed for the story while reading level one. Level three was a good improvement and brought my page-turning interest back but the story never really re-captured that magical hold it had on me while I was reading level one.

Overall a great technology and pop culture adventure ride that I am recommending to anyone who might enjoy a good versus evil race to capture the flag - well, in this case 'capture the Easter Egg' - and has a bit of even latent inner geekness just waiting to come out. This is my favorite read so far this year!

Decimal Rating: 4.67
4.00 - Plot Development
4.25 - Character Development
4.50 - Writing Style
4.75 - Readability
5.00 - Premise
4.85 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN)
5.00 - Originality
4.75 - Length

Star Rating: 4.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: e-book
# of Pages: 384 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

I keep seeing great reviews of this book, I am going to have to check it out.

Yeah, me too.

I'd originally put Ready Player One on the list of books that probably weren't for me, but I'm revising my opinion after seeing such good reviews recently.

I've borrowed the book from the library twice - once the real book and once the ebook - and I still haven't tried to read it. Maybe the third time's the charm. I have a vacation coming up - it might be good to try to read it on the plane.

>92 lkernagh: Hi Lori, I had some background reading to do on your lively thread !

Happy to see another one loving Once Upon a Time.

I've convinced all the family to watch it, now they are addicted and not loving me so much at the moment as they have to wait for the french translation for season 2.

I'm watching it with my sister and we think that season 2 is even better :)

Now I've finished gushing about one of my favourite show.

I love mangas and I'm happy that you liked your fist foray in.

I really love the work of Jiro Taniguchi, particularly Quartier Lointain. He received the prize for best scenario at the Angoulême Festival in 2003.

The other one will be Jin by Motoka Murakami which follows the life of a neurosurgeon sent to the medieval Japan.

Lady Susan seems like my kind of book, going to the WL.

I bought Ready Player One for my brother for his birthday, based on the reviews and comments on LT. I've hemmed and hawed about it for myself, but now he's turned around and recommended it back to me. And I still keep seeing happy reviews such as this one. I really should just pick it up and read it.

Hi Claire, Dave, Rhian, BookLizard, electrice and Sandra.

> 124-128 & 129 - Even I was a bit surprised as how taken I was with Ready Player One. I still hate the cover of the e-book I read. One thing that did interst me is that a number of a number of LT readers have tagged Ready Player One as being Cyberpunk. I had to do some on-line research to learn about the components that make up a Cyberpunk read and, yes, Ready Player One fits the description for the genre so it is fair to say that I have now read my first Cyberpunk!

> 128 - Once Upon a Time is rather addicting! We took a break from it for our Downton Abbey marathon viewing this weekend - will be watching the last episode of season three this evening - and I am already itching to get back to Storybrooke! The only down side is all of these shows are cutting into my reading time. Thanks for the recs for mangas!

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

I never thought changing my cell phone plan would be such a time intensive hassle! Two weeks ago I had the data plan connected to my cell phone removed because I haven't used it in over a year since I got my iPod Touch - no point in paying for something I am not using! The change was to take effect Feb 26th. On Feb 27th, I noticed that I no longer had call display for incoming calls. Not a huge issue but one I wanted fixed so while I was out shopping Saturday morning, I wandered into my cell phone provider's store front in the mall to get the issue seen to. I assumed that they deleted more than they should have when they processed my removal of the data plan.

Apparently, what I thought would be a quick and easy fix was anything but quick and easy. For some unknown reason, the service provider's technical support could not fix the call display, because for some reason the 'old' plan that I had had bundled the call display in with the data plan - why, I will never know! - and because I had such a cheap plan once the data plan was removed, I could only get call display added through an additional bundle that included voicemail - something I already had - and three way conferencing - something I don't need or want.

One hour and a new monthly phone plan later, the problem has now been fixed. Good thing I didn't decide to try and deal with this during my lunch hour on a work day.

While I was there they did remind me - like they do every three months by text messaging - that I am eligible for a hardware upgrade. As swish as all the smart phones looks, they are big.... they are more like mini tablets than phones, and each new release seems to be slightly larger in size than the previous versions. I am not a fan of them - my iPod Touch already does everything, it's just not a phone - but at some point I will need to upgrade. Something else for me to mull over.

>128 electrice: I haven't watch this one so far despite the raving going on all around me. I have season 2 and 3 on the hard drive. I must get hold on season 1. Waiting ... is a good thing otherwise I will never have time to read, must make some hard choice there ;)

Changing of phone plan is such a pain !

Stock up on Kleenex for the end of Downton!!

I delayed upgrading my phone as long as I could (the phone started losing functionality), but now that I've done it, I've found it's pretty convenient. Good luck with it!

130> I still have the same basic phone and plan that I've had since 2005. Wish I could change providers but Verizon is the only one that I can get service in my condo. I see people from around the complex standing outside in winter talking on their cellphones. No thanks!

Hi Lori, I hope you enjoying this sunny Sunday. I am so glad that you enjoyed Ready Player One. it was one of my top books for last year.

I have Season 3 of Downton Abbey recorded but I just haven't had time to sit down and watch it yet. I do know to have a box of kleenex at my side.

chiming in late to add that I must get round to reading ready player one

I just gave Ready Player One to our drama teacher who had just completed a run of our school's musical, Guys and Dolls. I figured she needed something fun and engaging now that she has so much free time.

We finished the last episode of Downton Abbey last night - The second Christmas episode I believe it is billed as. I have no idea where they will go with Season four but as there is some time to wait for that, it is back to episodes of Once Upon a Time and one of the more recent Midsomer Murders with Chief Inspector John Barnaby, Tom Barnaby's cousin.

> 131 - Waiting and watching the shows in series order is important for Downton Abbey! The bright side for you is that once you have season 1, if you find yourself hooked - like a number of people are! - you don't have to wait for the next season to be shot and aired. Dealing phone plans is a pain.... sadly, I know i can't wait another six years before I have to deal with it again. Part of me longs for a simplier time, but I don't think I could ever give up my cell phone, not now anyways.

> 132 - Season three was such a cryfest Eva! We watched the Christmas special last night - the family trip to Scotland - and I have to say, the ending for that left me a little ticked off, like they had come up the ending as a 2:00 AM on the day of the shooting 'streak of inspiration'. Not good.... ;-(

> 133 - I am almost at that stage, Dejah. My current phone - a Samsung SPH-a900 - was purchased back in 2006.... pretty good technology back then but well antiquated now! *sighs*

> 134 - Standing outside just to be able to talk on your cellphone is not for me so I can understand why you are staying with your current carrier. I am finding more and more 'pockets' where I lose reception for my current phone - in some malls and pretty much anywhere in my parents' home, go figure!

> 135 - Hi Judy, I actually went grocery shopping in wearing shorts on Sunday, it was that nice out (that and I was wearing a pretty warm fleece jacket). Season Three of Downton Abbey is a huge cryfest, compared to the first two. Worth keeping for those rainy days when you want to curl up under a blanket and watch TV.

> 136 - Pete, I believe that you will enjoy Ready Player One.

> 137 - Hi mamzel, what a neat gift idea!

->138 lkernagh:
SPOILER for end of season 3: That person's contract was was up for the show, so something would go awry, but I was pretty angry about it too. My mum told me to call her right after I had watched it so she could vent - they saw it back in fall in Europe and she's still angry. :)

139. *SPOILER* I'm mostly annoyed with the actor as it was all his choice (Fellowes didn't want him to leave).

->140 PawsforThought:
Looks like the person's aim is for a movie-career, so staying on telly would be counter-productive. Such a shame, though.

141. But DA is a mini-series, the shooting schedule for it isn't that bad. He could do both.

If you're really shooting for a movie-career, you need to make a conscious effort to stay away from TV. It might just be that this person was "done" with the series and didn't want to continue. Who knows - it'll be interesting to see where they'll go with that storyline now.

Possible SPOILER:

I was upset about the departure from DA until I read this article and saw the list of everything he did last year in addition to DA - writes a regular column for the Telegraph, edits a quarterly online literary journal, read 145 books as one of the judges for the 2012 Man Booker prize, filmed two movies (one of which he produced), and became a father for the second time. He seems to be a man of many talents and interests.

Hi Eva, Paws, and Carrie - I think we are all in agreement that they could have handled the ending of Season 3 in a different/better manner than they did. On reflection, it makes me think that it really was an eleventh hour, last minute scramble to come up with the ending.... maybe they thought the actor would renew the contract and life would carry on as usual.

But DA is a mini-series, the shooting schedule for it isn't that bad. He could do both.

I agree, although I must admit sometimes it just makes sense to move on at a show's highest or near highest point.... increasing your net worth for your next project in the process, if that is is the goal. Maybe the actor just grew tired of the character. Speculation, I know, but that is all I have to go on!

Squionting thorugh the last dozen posts here, as I've yet to see a single episode of Downton Abbey (it was one of those shows Flea watched this autumn, when I was working every bloody evening, so I need to catch up on it alone). Loved the review of Ready player one which gets a lot of high praise from everywhere who reads it, it seems. I've been hesitant though, if I was enough of a gamer in the 80ies to "get it". I spent a fair number of hours before Amigas, commodores and 24 hour-rental Nintendos for sure, but would by no means consider myself anywhere near complete in that knowledge. Will there be huge gaps in my reading experience? (I kind of like that cover, by the way)

I too have tried to skip over/skip through some of the DA posts so I can view them without knowing what happens.

145. Yeah, I'm pretty sure they more or less took for granted that he'd stay on (as he's one of the most beloved characters and actors on the show). Having said that I had a bad feeling throughout the episode - very similar to the ad feeling I had about Sirius throughout reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - and when the baby turned out to be a boy I just knew.

Sigh. I'm really, really going to miss him on DA.

Another DA fan here!

Loved the article in 144! Now that I know he's a reader/writer I like him even more!

> 146 - Hi Anders, I think you have more then enough gaming experience to understand what is going on in Ready Player One, based on what you have described! My gaming knowledge is limited - I have played a couple of arcade video games in my youth - Space Invaders and a driving game come to mind - a couple of computer games like King's Quest and Lemonade Stand that played off of floppy disks inserted into the disk drive and games like Donkey Kong and Super Mario Brothers played on old Nintendo folding dual screen handheld devices. The book goes into more then enough detail about the games described in the story so I think it just helps to have the general concepts of the ways the games have evolved through time from video arcade games located in storefronts to handheld devices, computers and then the leap into online gaming to be able to dive in and enjoy the story.

My other half and I still play Tetris on an original Nintendo Game Boy..... it looks just like this one:


Have I nudged you further towards picking up Ready Player One? ;-)

> 147 - Hi Betty, after wading into complete spoiler thread over on the 75 group, I do try to keep comments as vague as possible, because it's not always easy to avoid the printed words on the screen.... the human eye is pretty darn fast at picking up on stuff!

> 148 - Ya, so will I. :-(

> 149 - ;-)

150. So much prettiness gone... :(

Ha! I used to have that Game Boy! It might actually still be in my parents' house somewhere...

I also had to skip over the "Downton" posts, since I still have yet to see the last half of season 3. Thanks to everyone on the thread for keeping the conversation relatively spoiler-free!

Did the usual 'Spring Forward' this morning and looking forward to a day spent indoors reading and some light chores. I am struggling with trying to not purchase books - knowing full well that I will fail miserably when the annual book sale occurs later this year - but I couldn't resist picking up this one in one of the charity shops in town yesterday morning:


Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

I seem to be gravitating towards the big tomes again.... maybe to balance out the quicker GNs that I am reading this year. *shrugs*

Happy Sunday everyone!

Hi Lori - Not only did I spring forward, but my husband pushed me out the door and convinced me it was pleasant enough outside to start cleaning up the flower beds instead of spending the day reading. Spring can't be far away! I was reading the previous Follett book Pillars of the Earth as my treadmill book, but let's just say not much has gotten read in awhile - I think I'll probably have to start over.

>150 lkernagh: I consider myself nudged.

Spring forward was tough this year for me - I'm guessing it's psychosomatic, but it seriously feels like a bad jetlag! :)

> 154 - Hi Betty, 'Springing Forward' was an easier transition for me this year than previous ones. it was pleasant enough outside to start cleaning up the flower beds instead of spending the day reading. A true sign that Spring is on the way! *crosses fingers to not jinx the coming of Spring* Follett is a 'new to me' author so I am curious to see how he compares to Edward Rutherford and some of the other mega saga writers! Hopefully, you will find it easy to re-acquaint yourself with Pillars of the Earth!

> 155 - Excellent! I will be curious to see what you think of it!

> 156 - I had Monday off, which probably helped me with my 'adjustment'. I still do not understand why we have to have the change occur so early - okay, I know it is because Canada decided to follow the US idea but I doubt that ours (Canada's) is driven by any goal to reduce energy consumption.... I had just started to enjoy the glimmer of morning dawn on my morning walk to work and ... it gets taken away from me. Doesn't help much in the evenings either as we are still in the dark before 7:00 pm.... and Victoria is one of the areas of Canada that are farther south... I won't even go into the non-impact it has on the more northern regions of the country! Sometimes I wish all of Canada would do what the province of Saskatchewan does.... Saskatchewan does not acknowledge day light savings. Never has. The clocks stay the same year round in that province. Makes me wonder if any states in the US midwest take the same approach..... leave the clocks alone year round.

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

Overall, I had a good weekend. Monday night developed into a sleepless night with my other half sick all night. Not flu - no body aches - but possible food poisoning, although the only thing he ate over the previous four days that I didn't eat was a bag of ready to eat baby carrots. I stayed home from work on Tuesday to take care of him and he is on the mend - liquids only for now. Silly boy thought he was up for a toasted cheese sandwich while I was at work - lesson learned. *rolls eyes* Managed to find him some Andrews Liver Salts in a British shop in town today and he is now happily watching episodes of Are You Being Served and Last of the Summer Wine available on YouTube.

I have managed to finish some books over the past few days but reviews will have to wait until the weekend:

the Sandman vol. 3: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman
Love and the Mess We're In by Canadian author Stephen Marche
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

Currently Reading:
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas - about to start Chapter 18
Sorry by Gail Jones - about to start Chapter 7 (and is my first Europa Editions book of the year for that category)

>> Makes me wonder if any states in the US midwest take the same approach..... leave the clocks alone year round.

I know that Arizona ignores Daylight Savings. I seem to recall that a few counties in Indiana do the same (which is kind of strange when driving cross country, because the area covered by each time period is so tiny).... I don't know if they are others. Daylight Savings time is more trouble than it's worth, to my view; I'd be among those who support ending it!

Poor guy. Hope he feels better soon.

(Perhaps I'll meet your review with my own on Dream Country this weekend!)

Big fan of "Once Upon a Time"!!

> 158 - Hi pammab, I know by this time next week I will be back in the rhythm of things and will forget all about Daylight Savings until we fall back - I am a huge fan of the fall back (who doesn't want an extra hour added?) - but the Spring Forward does drive me a bit nuts, especially when I don't see any apparent benefit from it. As for my other half, he has progressed to scrambled eggs so I think he will be back to normal food (he favorites) by the weekend. ;-)

> 159 - Hi Tina, we are now both huge fans of Once Upon a Time.... my other half has spent the last few days lying in bed watching episodes from Season Two. I am still on Season One and it is driving him nuts that I have imposed our home as a "spoiler free zone" .... he is ten episodes ahead of me and it is driving him nuts that I only want to watch a maximum of two episodes a night. ;-0

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

Thankfully my scheduled plans for this evening were postponed, which means I am able to get my reviews up to date.

Book #21 - The Sandman Vol. 3: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman
Category: - All things GRAPHIC



Following my review process for the previous Sandman volumes, this is a continued rambling of my thoughts. Steve Erickson's intro is a beaut.....

"I'm writing this on the fine edge of that blade that's consciousness on one side and dream on the other, that thin silver horizon where you hover before falling asleep, and right before completely waking. Niel Gaiman lives here all the damn time. He scribbles his stories and sends them out from the thin silver horizon whose bridge the rest of us traverse just twice a day. Gaiman is the troll who lives beneath the bridge; he exhales into word balloons the visions that flask only fleetingly across our gaze and then are gone with the next memory."

Thankfully, Erickson called Dream Country an interlude between The Doll's House and A Season of Mists, because I would have wondered at what I was reading, even though Gaiman has held true to his dream theme with this volume.

Part One: Calliope Calliope's story is a sad one. Rick, well, 'Ric' minus the "k", is the slime bucket that he is. No sympathy from my end for what happens to him. I was happy to see the improvement in the artwork and intrigued to learn yet another name for Morpheus/Sandman..... just how many names/personae does this guy have? Interesting psychology in this one but it left me rather flat after the stories from vol. 1 and vol. 2.

Part Two: A Dream of A Thousand Cats Okay, this one had it's moments but overall was a bit of a 'meh' read for me. There are so many different ways that Gaiman could have approached this story I guess I shouldn't be too hard for not liking this version, but it was really just a story with an beginning.... no middle, no ending, just a journey. Again, the artwork is an improvement. Interesting shift of point of view but that is about it.

Part Three: A Midsummer Night's Dream Promising, very promising. Back on more solid ground with something I can firmly connect with... or so I thought. The audience is a unique one for this 'natural' presentation of Shakespeare's play. As much as I enjoyed the banter of the audience members, my recollections of "A Midsomer Night's Dream" were too vague to be of much assistance to me while reading this one, beyond understanding Puck's role, that is. Love the idea of making sure the Faerie world is not forgotten and of course, the continuing Dream theme makes the inclusion of this one no surprise in the Sandman repertoire. The artists hit their mark with this one - rich colour, intricate details, use of shadows and body language for a magical evening under the stars.

Part Four: Facade My second favorite part in this volume. The artwork is darker, in keeping with the story. Overall, a good story made better by the inclusion of Death. I get a good giggle every time I come across Death as she reminds me of the era these were written in.... she is the perfect 80's rocker chick! Not sure I like the ending of this one but who am I to judge?

Part Five: Original Script of Calliope This was the BEST section of this volume.... I loved gaining insight into Gaiman's creative mind by reading the notes he prepared for the artist - in this case Kelley Jones. Reading the script gave me a greater insight into the story and helped me see some of the more subtle nuances that I had missed reading the completed GN. The handwritten margin notes by Gaiman and Jones add to the enjoyment - I had a good giggle over Gaiman's text about receiving three phone calls in the middle of the morning with only some rustling and breathing on the third call and Jones' margin notes "It wasn't me. K"

Overall, I was happy to see an improvement in the artwork but at the same time disappointed that the stories just didn't work for me as well as some of the earlier stories had. Still looking forward to continuing with the series, but I won't be getting to volume 4 The Sandman: Season of Mists until sometime in April.

Decimal Rating: 3.67
3.50 - Plot Development
3.50 - Character Development
3.25 - Writing Style
3.50 - Readability
3.00 - Premise
3.50 - Imagery/Visualization
3.75 - Artistry (GN)
4.50 - Originality
4.50 - Length

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 156 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

I now need to find time to check out the other reviews for Dream Country.

Book #22 - Snow Falling On Cedars by David Guterson
Category: - All things ON MY TBR BOOKCASE

"Let us remember what is so easy to forget in the mad intensity of wartime: that prejudice and hatred are never right and never to be accepted by a just society."

Don't read this one if all you are looking for is gripping courtroom drama. This has so much more to offer than that: a bittersweet forbidden love story, a poetic sense of time and place, the harsh realities of war, and an almost clinical examination of a small fishing community grappling with feelings of post World War II racism, hatred and suffering. We see how the war has shifted some feelings and beliefs and experience how members of a small community can draw lines in the sand.

Guterson presents many sides to his story - not an easy feat to accomplish when tackling touchy topics like the internment of Japanese-Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbour and depicting in his characters some of the prevalent feelings and beliefs of the post war 1950's. At times the story became rather unwieldy but the beauty with which Guterson presents the Pacific Northwest through his depiction of the fictional San Piedro Island of the northern Puget Sound region of Washington State kept me reading. I will admit that with the court room drama, I started to see some interesting parallels with the small town court scenes and the TV show Matlock, which made it pleasantly interesting but not in a page turning, hang on every word manner.

I purchased this one back in 2009 because I was interested to read Guterson's portrayal of the Japanese-American internment, as Canada had also interned Japanese-Canadians in British Columbia at the same time and for the same reasons the Americans did during World War II.

It is not a pretty picture and part of the reason this book has been a 'banned book from time to time.... the darker sides of history can be hard to face for some folks.

Overall, a story that I believe presents a very well rounded approach to the topic with a lot going for it but I can see where the meandering nature of the story can be frustrating for some readers to sit down and enjoy.

Decimal Rating: 4.09
3.75 - Plot Development
4.00 - Character Development
4.25 - Writing Style
4.75 - Readability
3.75 - Premise
4.50 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN)
3.75 - Originality
4.00 - Length

Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 460 pages
Source: TBR
Male/Female Author: Male

Book #23 - Love and The Mess We're In by Stephen Marche
Category: - All things NEW



How does one take the otherwise typical story of an adultery love triangle - a 'sordid trauerspiel' to use Marche's own phrase - and make it different, fresh, unique, a standout in a reader's mind? Marche's ambitious novel strikes out to do just that, using sparse evocative prose and typography that isn't exactly e-book friendly.



It is not just the typography that takes this book into the realm of experimental fiction. Marche exposes the reader to a restaurant conversation between the soon to be lovers by having the reader follow the verbal conversation by focusing the eyes towards the book's inner spine and reading the text left and right of the spine while progressing in a downward fashion of the open pages. The lovers' private thoughts during their conversation are depicted as outside edge margin notes. A different, unique way to tell a story and slightly mentally fatiguing from my point of view to continually jump around the pages to get the whole picture. Luckily, that was the method used for only part of the story.

The prose is what carried me through the story, that and the surprisingly tantalizing typographic changes. Marche plays with the written word with a skill that transforms the spartan into the eloquent with a minimal use of words. The thick, creamy linen type paper used in the printed book shows the attention to aesthetic details the publishers, Gaspereau Press Limited, put into the books they publish.

There is nothing overly likeable about the characters... or anything overly memorable about them for that matter. If Marche was trying to go for a presentation of average individuals, then I think he hit his mark. The plot was somewhat weak as well. It is really the prose and the typography that turns this otherwise mundane story into something rather exceptional.

Overall, a different type of presentation to an otherwise unremarkable story and not something that I would easy recommend to other readers without have a good understanding of the types of books that would appeal to them.

Decimal Rating: 3.84
3.50 - Plot Development
3.25 - Character Development
4.50 - Writing Style
3.50 - Readability
3.50 - Premise
4.25 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN)
4.50 - Originality
3.75 - Length

Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 259 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

I've had Snow Falling on Cedars on my tbr shelves for a long time as it never seems to jump out when selecting what to read next. A good review like that one may help give it a nudge.

@161 I think it is one of the best introductions I have read. It certainly wets the appetite. Great review btw :)

and I am a sucker for typographic stories.. although the plot does nothing for me I am putting Love and The Mess We're In on my wishlist!

I tried reading Snow Falling on Cedars a few years ago but just found it the most boring read I've ever come across in my life. Couldn't for the world finish it. I admire those who can.

Great comments on Sandman - I'm liking the review style you've picked for the series. I'd missed that it was Kelley Jones that did the drawings for "Calliope," no wonder I didn't like the art - he is not a favorite of mine.

> 164 - Hi Dave, I would suggest reading the first chapter and decide from there if Guterson's writing style appeals to you, since the story does jump around a fair bit and it was his conversational writing style that got me through some of the bits that didn't really grab my fancy.

> 165 - Thanks Claire, I am finding the introductions to the Sandman volumes to be just as interesting to read as the stories themselves, which makes for a nice change. I usually view reading introductions as a bit of a choir, and I get really annoyed when an introduction contains huge spoilers.... why do they do that, before the reader has even read it????

> 166 - Hi Paws, I love how books don't appeal to everyone and I do understand abandoning books that are just not working for you..... why waste time reading a book that is a boring or otherwise a slog to read? That reminds me too much of required reading back in my school days. ;-)

> 167 - Thanks Eva, I find it so much easier to make more flippant observational comments on the Sandman story that to try and write a 'review'.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. This is for all of my visitors, not just the ones with a wee bit of the Irish in them - or the ones, like me, with a fair bit of the Irish in them .......;-)

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you too! I enjoyed reading your comments on Sandman Vol. 3 and your review of Snow Falling on Cedars. This does seem an interesting read to me, particularly since I'd read Frances Itani's Requiem, about the Canadian-Japanese internment, a few months ago.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day. I have a wee bit of Irish in me, and a fair bit of corned beef and cabbage! Getting ready to listen to some Dropkick Murphys.

Happy St Patrick's Day Lori!!

> 170 - Hi Paulina, thank you so much for the mention of Frances Itani's Requiem - I am too lazy to find the right touchstone to make it work! My local library has copies so consider that one added to my future reading list. I will be curious to see how Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars compares in its presentation of the WW II internment.

> 171 - Thanks BookLizard! Corn beef and cabbage is a great Irish tradition and one I cannot get enough of! The Dropkick Murphys are new to me. I listened to some of there stuff on YouTube. I do like Memorial Day, The Season's Upon Us and Rose Tattoo, because those songs fit in with my more traditional music tastes. ;-)

> 172 - Thanks Kelley!

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

Today was a gorgeous sunny day in my part of the world - a bit on the cold side, but I will put up with a lot for 'sunshine'! Today was a work/non-work day. We were offside for a day workshop in Personality Differences - Myers Briggs for Conflict Resolution, which was quite fascinating. I should probably stress upfront the workshop wasn't booked to address and internal personality clashes between colleagues, but seen as a good way develop a better understanding around interactions in general.

It was a good session and I thought the facilitator was great. For anyone that is interested in the Myers Briggs Type Inventory click the link to the website. Our office as a whole - based on predominant personality preferences of the staff - can be classified (if this in to be considered accurate in any way) as an INTJ and my personal score is an INFP. I always find these kinds of exercises fascinating, keeping in mind I don't see how a 93 question survey that takes ~ 15 minutes to complete can determine a definitive personality type. *rolls eyes* I found it more intriguing to learn where the scores gets skewed, and skewed on a huge scale, within our office (we have almost no "F" scores. As an "F" personality, that was a little unsettling to learn!).

I took the test once and was an INTJ as well. Or was it an ISTJ? Actually today's Guardian had an interesting piece on the development of the test and its validity (or lack thereof): http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/brain-flapping/2013/mar/19/myers-briggs-test-u...

I also just saw a Myers Briggs article in a different paper/magazine -- can't recall where. Either one of the commenters or the author made a very interesting argument that, even though Myers-Briggs has no provable validity (actually, in this case, it's been proven useless), many people find it a very worthwhile system for gaining insights about themselves and others, and propagate it on that basis -- the writer compared it to a world religion in which you get to pick and choose the useful parts. I kind of liked that analogy.

I absolutely love the typography of Love and The Mess We're In, but I'm thinking I'll pass on reading the story. But people are creative, aren't they?

Happy belated St. Patrick's Day to you, Lori!

great link to an interesting Guardian article - glad I've not come across it in my working life, it seems to me that MBTI is a bit like a modern day Astrology? (the personality type bit of Astrology that is - what does it mean to be a "Capricorn" for example)

I guess anything that enables us think about parts of ourselves is useful and fascinating. I am a sucker for these things even if I don't agree with them :) Mind you when I dabbled with paganism I thought things like tarot & birth charts had the same affect!

I find Myers Briggs interesting too, despite the controversy surrounding it. I'm an INTJ myself. I suppose that, on LibraryThing, there would be a high proportion of I's. You probably have to be somewhat of an introvert to love reading the way we do. :)

I took the myers briggs at least 25 years ago for the first time, and have always come out INTP. It's interesting but I'm not sure just how useful it is.

Great discussion everyone! My personal impression is that while the exercise was interesting and has some merits, I am scared of the thought of individuals out there that might think this is the gospel truth or something carved in stone that will make their lives and their interactions with other people 'crystal clear'. *cringes*

> 174 - Hi rabbitprincess - Great Guardian article! I have to say I gained more insight from observing responses the group came up with for some of the scenario exercises than from the MBTI itself. I also agree with the following statement from the article: the most obvious flaw is that the MBTI seems to rely exclusively on binary choices. That is so true. It doesn't take into account different factors that can be at play in a given situation or that people can respond differently to the same situation a second time. It is more of a quick mental assessment someone might employ to try and shoehorn personality differences into tidy little boxes - always dangerous to do!

> 175 - Hi pammab - the writer compared it to a world religion in which you get to pick and choose the useful parts. I kind of liked that analogy. Yup, that is it in a nutshell. People that have the time to come up with novels like Love and the Mess We're In do seem to have a zen for creativity!

> 176 - Hi Pete - What I am curious to know is if this is something that has been predominantly embraced in North America or if it is equally prevalent in various business sectors across the globe. For some reason I an getting the impression it is really a North American fascination - the quick fix to understanding your workforce. As a Capricorn I have to say that I never really get those Astrology personality types.... but I have to say that quietly as my other half takes more of an interest in those types of things. ;-)

> 177 - Hi Claire - Your right, these kinds of tests have a benefit by making us think in more detail about how we act, think feel, etc but I find I never get immersed enough to feel as though I have gained a whole new understanding or perspective. The fact that you like to dabble, even if you don't agree with what you encounter is still a good thing, even if it is just for entertainment value and nothing else!

> 178 - Hi Paulina, I agree.... You probably have to be somewhat of an introvert to love reading the way we do. Just try explaining that one to the extroverts that love and need human interaction and all you want to do on your lunch hour is curl up in a corner with your book! Talk about office dynamics! ;-)

> 179 - Hi Jean, the fact that you have always come out as an INTP is probably a good thing. I know colleagues that took the test with me and admitted that their scores were not the same from when they last took it... not saying that they completely changed into different personality types, but still interesting they noticed a difference!

Not sure, I've heard that some UK organisations use personality tests in interviews

Not sure, I've heard that some UK organisations use personality tests in interviews

Between the personality tests, the scenario/practical application tests, the questions they ask that they are not allowed to ask, by law, and the panel interview sessions, it is a daunting prospect to go job hunting! The bright side, in my personal experience, is there is no standardization from organization to organization in their recruitment processes. I still remember an interview I had for a position 5 years ago where the in-person scenario testing was all about getting the interviewee's personal opinion on an abstract situation that currently would only occur in a near futuristic movie like Bladerunner.... I am not kidding! Halfway through that interview I had already decided I didn't want the job and really gave them my personal opinion to their scenario questions.

.... at least I didn't have to worry about having to turn down the job offer. ;-)

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

The work week is finally over and I am now 'officially' on vacation until April 9th.

*does Snoopy dance of joy*
I will be traveling home to visit family for part of my time off and I will probably read a book or two in the process.

Happy, HAPPY weekend, everyone!

Have a great vacation, Lori, but when you go home - don't get caught in a snowdrift!

Hope you have a great vacation! I've been back from mine for 3 weeks and am ready for another one.

Enjoy your trip back home.

YAY!!! Happy, HAPPY weekend to you, too! I had to work today, but now I'm on vacation for almost 2 weeks! Going to visit friends in Louisiana for Easter and I plan on spending a few days in New Orleans. I plan on getting a lot of readng done.

Catching up a lil bit here. Happy vacation, hope you have a great trip!

>158 pammab: Living way up in Sweden, I can totally see the point of Daylight Savings. This time of year, the sun setting an hour later really makes a difference for us D-vitamin starving Swedes. The saying here (love the spring forward/fall back memory helper!) is "Swapping to summertime: pain in the ass for one day, sweet for half a year. Swapping to winter time: sweet for one day, pain in the ass for half a year".

>161 lkernagh: Your Sandman reviews are becoming one of my favorite things about this group read :)

Thanks for the great vacation wishes Judy, Betty, Dave, BookLizard, and Anders! Checking into LT to add a couple of reviews to my thread and to update my current and planned reading.

> 183 - Fingers crossed, Judy, snowdrifts will hopefully not be on the agenda! Right now the forecast is for unseasonably warm temps but, as we all know, long range forecasting isn't always accurate!

> 184 - I have been on vacation for almost two days now and I am already planning my next one, Betty! I am hoping *fingers crossed* that I will return to some level of calmness at work and can ride the vacation happy feelings for a little while after it is over!

> 185 - Thanks Dave. Both Mom and Dad are keen for the visit and my sister has already set aside time for some serious shopping - the standing joke with my family is that I travel with an empty, or near empty suitcase so that all of my purchases can travel home with me. ;-P

> 186 - Yay for your vacation time! Have fun in Louisiana and New Orleans!

> 187 - Daylight savings definitely has its uses for the northern regions of the world, Anders. After long stretches of bleak overcast skies I feel like a pagan sun worshiper when the skies clear and sunshine makes a rare appearance! That is a great saying! Re Sandman, Thanks and I am really looking forward to reading Vol. 4 in April!

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

I am packing some reading material for my trip. I will be taking along Lonesome Dove as my main read for the airplane, etc. I have also loaded my iPod Touch with e-books from the library - Complication by Isaac Adamson as the perfect book for March's RandomCAT, along with Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, The Dinner by Herman Loch and of course my on-going read of The Count of Monte Cristo. I have also loaded it with other books - including more Jane Austen books - downloaded from Project Gutenberg. Book-wise, I am ready for my trip!

Now for those reviews I mentioned at the start of this post.....

Book #24 - Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham
Category: - All things FABLES and FAIRY TALES



What can I say about Bill Wllingham's Fables beyond the fact that it is a good piece of entertainment. For fans of the TV series Once Upon a Time - like me! - Willingham's Fables series will have some appeal. Set in a fictional/ alternate reality New York City, the story follows the lives and activities of a number of Fableland's characters - Snow White, now Director of Operations, Bigby Wolf (of the huff and puff fame), now Head of Security and a host of others make up this wide ranging cast of characters who have fled their lands because of the invading Adversary. The Fableland characters with humanistic traits live in the city among the Mundanes, the normal human race (aka you and me), while those Fable characters with more open animalistic traits live at the farm out in the country.

Fables: Legends in Exile sets the stage and introduces the characters in five installments focused on the bloodied disappearance of Snow's sister, the party girl Rose Red, who's bloodied apartment is discovered by her current boyfriend, Jack (of the Beanstalk fame). As the investigation ensues we get to find out what Prince Charming has been up to as well as Bluebeard.

Peppered with fun digs - Beauty (married to Beast) makes a good remark in Snow's presence about gossip around Snow's supposedly "tawdry little adventure with those seven dwarfs" - this series has a solid grounding in the fables we grew up on, with a promising refreshing spin on them. The artwork is in solid comic format so one can sit back and just enjoy the story. I really enjoyed the rumpled detective Wolf makes - making me think fondly of a cross between Inspector Columbo and Sam Spade - and how Willingham manages to seamlessly bring elements of the fables into his rendition of the characters.

Overall, this was a good, entertaining read and I am looking forward to continuing with the series.

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

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 128 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

Book #25 - Sorry by Gail Jones
Category: - All things EUROPA

In the life of every child there are times in which the symbolic gains more weight and magnitude, when childish things, and their comforts, are put away, and there form the intuitions and understandings that ground the later adult. These are known only in retrospect, just as the gist of any tragedy is apparent only at its conclusion.

Sorry is a book that evokes expressions of bleakness, neglect, dysfunctionality and missed opportunities. This is the story of a young life tainted by an experienced tragedy and the search for answers and understanding. Set in a remote outback in Western Australia during World War II, we experience through young Perdita's thoughts and feelings a journey of awareness, self discovery, friendship, and resilience. Perdita's childhood is an unstructured one. There is a wildness and natural affinity in her in tune with her surroundings. There is an intelligence that belies her preteen youth. Beautifully told, this is a story that will kick you in the gut with a strength that belies the beautiful prose the story is written in.

Not exactly a page turner - I had to take this one in small doses over time given it's depressing nature - but a well written story of what it means to wish you can turn back the clock to make amends or do things differently. While written with the Australian Aboriginals in mind, this story has something to say to every nation that has a history of mistreatment and prejudice of its Aboriginal population.

Decimal Rating: 4.19
3.50 - Plot Development
4.50 - Character Development
4.25 - Writing Style
4.00 - Readability
4.25 - Premise
4.75 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN)
4.00 - Originality
4.25 - Length

Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 232 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female

I had Snow Falling on Cedars lined up to read last year and even had it checked out of the library. I don't remember why I didn't get to it. It may have been one of those mini book funks that we go through from time to time or it may have been that it was a little longer than I felt like tackling at the time if it was when I'd read a couple of books in the 700-800 page range in a month. Whatever the reason, it's still on my TBR list, and I'll have to check it out again when I do tackle it.

I've looked at Fables at the store, but it didn't make it home with me that day. Sounds like I do have to read it though. ;) Fun review.

Glad you enjoyed your first delve into Fables. I think that the first two volumes are more setting the scene and providing a who's who before actually getting to the real stories that the author and artists wanted to tell. Hope you continue to enjoy them.

Fables is a lot of fun, isn't it! I see lots of entertaining spins on fairy tales in your future. :)

I heard a review of The Dinner on NPR a litle while ago and I'm quite intrigued to hear what you think of it. It sounded very interesting.

Just catching up - hope you enjoy lonesome dove!

168. You know, I'm grateful for the required reading we had in school even if I didn't like the books we read (hated most of them, frankly). I would never have picked up those books on my own and I learnt a lot from reading them. I try to remember that when I read books willingly too, you always learnt something. Though admittedly, some books are just not worth the effort.

Hi Everyone, I am back! I had a great trip home to visit family. I managed yet again to come down with a head cold while I was away which was more of an annoyance than anything else. I got to see my niece's 4 month old son - does that make me a Great Aunt??? - as they were also out visiting from Ontario. Anyways, he is just as cute as can be and knows how to work a room, let me tell you. ;-) We discovered that he doesn't have much experience with men with beards - my Dad's beard was disconcerting for the little guy - so my niece and her husband now know to start prepping early for his first photo with Santa later this year, to try and minimize the meltdown scene.

The weather even cooperated and provided some white fluffy snowflakes for me to enjoy.... just the right amount to walk around in and not enough to require any snow shoveling.

I managed to get some good reading time in and have finished Complication by Isaac Adamson, The Dinner by Herman Koch and Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. I have made good headway on the McMurtry's epic Lonesome Dove but will need a few more days before I finish that 858 page tome.

Reviews and March recap coming bit first response to visitors:

> 191 - Lori, I struggled with motivating myself to read Snow Falling on Cedars and I had it sitting on my bookshelves waiting for me so I can understand it not being a book that leaps out and demands the reader read it. Maybe try aiming for reading it during Banned Book Reading Week.... it took me three tries but I finally read it this year because of Banned Book Reading Week. ;-)

> 192 - Thanks Katie, Fables is a lot of fun. I had to really think about Mayor Cole and had an awful time trying to figure out which character he was to represent. When I finally asked my other half if he had a clue he had no problem making the connection of Mayor Cole and King Cole from British nursery rhymes!

> 193 - Dave, I am so happy I read your reviews of Fables and decided to give Willingham's GN series a try..... great fun! Now that I am back, I have placed holds for the next two volumes in the series.

> 194 - So do I, Eva! Very excited about that!!!!! ;-)

> 195 - Hi Betty, I finished The Dinner while traveling. I have mixed thoughts on it. Review below. Now I am torn as to whether or not I want to read Gone Girl. Do you know if NPR post reviews on a website or is it more just talk radio? I am very curious to see what others think of The Dinner because I really came away from this one as if I had missed something rather big.

> 196 - Hi Pete, it will be about another week before I am finished Lonesome Dove but I can report that it has been quite the story to read!

> 197 - I agree. The school system was good at exposing us to books we would probably not read if left to our own devices. ;-)

Book #26 - Complication by Isaac Adamson
Category: - All things NEW



From the book cover:

A serial killer with a penchant for severed hands. A watch that runs backward and forward - at the same time. An Eastern European gangster known only as Rumpelstiltskin. The Nazi invasion of Prague, Soviet-era Czech secret police, 16th century alchemy and black magic - mild-mannered Lee Holloway never thought any of these would intrude upon his ordinary life.

Published in 2012, Complication is a good title for this unique if somewhat muddled mystery psychological thriller set in Prague. Sparked by Lee's discovery of a mysterious letter received by his now dead father, Lee faces questions around the death of Lee's brother Paul some five years previously in Prague.

There are a lot of interesting elements in this story. Sadly, the author wasn't very selective in his choice of what to include so he threw everything into the pot, making this a somewhat jarring read as he jumps us around from following our main narrator Lee, to reading 10 year old transcripts of a Czech secret police interrogation to reading written correspondence circa 1938. Adamson even manages to add elements of the magical/supernatural so it is safe to say this is not your typical mystery thriller.

Parts of the story worked for me - loved the horology, the palindromes, the unreliable characters that have you trusting them one minute and worried the next and the glimpses back in time - but the author left the 'connect the story elements' up to the reader to do and left out some background information that would have blended the various story elements together in a more logical fashion, without giving away any of the mystery. I felt like I was reading three different, only vaguely connected stories for most of the book.

The pieces do come together in the end but in a bit of a haphazard way. The best way to describe this story is to quote from the book itself: "time seems to move as if governed by the Rudolf Complication, backwards and forwards at once, resolution getting closer each moment yet remaining tantalizingly beyond reach."

If you like your mystery thrillers set in present day Eastern Europe with a psychological and historical angle to the story and so long as you are not put off by a bit of technology and supernatural elements thrown into the mix, you may find this one to be a rather good read. If you do decide to pick this one up and give it a go, I recommend sticking it out to the end. It's a short book and Adamson does reward the reader with an interesting conclusion that had me replaying the story in my mind after finishing it to find the subtle clues that would have pointed to the conclusion, If I had known the direction the story would take.

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

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: e-book
# of Pages: 290 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

Book #27 - The Dinner by Herman Koch
Category: - All things NEWSWORTHY



I decided to read this one based on the interesting reviews I had been seeing here on LT. I haven't read Flynn's Gone Girl - not sure if it is the type of book for me - but I figured, anything that can be billed as A European Gone Girl by the Wall Street Journal might be worth checking out while I wait for my turn at a copy of Gone Girl. Set on a summer's evening in Amsterdam, two couples meet for dinner at a high end restaurant. The story starts out slow, focusing on the inner thoughts/feelings/emotions of our narrator, Paul Lohman, as the dinner guests assemble and engage in the usual dinner conversation dialogue. A lot of mundane menusha is imparted here but in an interesting way for anyone, like me, that enjoys engaging in people watching while in public settings.

The pace picks up when we learn the unsettling information that Paul discovered just before heading out for dinner with his wife. At this point the story also starts to go off on different tangents and this is when I started to lose interest in this one. The story is divided into sections based on the meal's various courses - Apertif, Appetizer, Main Course, Dessert and Digestif - which seems to help anchor the author to return from his various story tangents back to the evening in question. While Koch has a gift for getting inside of the mind of his narrator and for the written word, I felt that the story just tries too hard to be a deeply psychological and sociological examination of the individuals at the heart of the crime issue the story is focused on.

I feel that this story would have been a better read if it had been written as a short novella focused on the present and the viewpoints of our diners, foregoing all the excessive extra baggage of Paul that we are exposed to.

Not something that I would recommend unless you are already a fan of Koch's writing or really like to delve into the darker psychosis of a disturbed mind, that is presented in a rather disjointed manner.

Decimal Rating: 2.81
3.25 - Plot Development
2.25 - Character Development
3.00 - Writing Style
3.00 - Readability
2.75 - Premise
3.00 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN)
3.25 - Originality
2.00 - Length

Star Rating: 3.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: e-book
# of Pages: 304 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

MARCH RE-CAP:

Books read:


ROOTs Read (as part of my ROOT challenge):


Books acquired:

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

Favorite book (decimal rating): Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - (4.64 decimal rating)
Least favorite book (decimal rating): The Dinner by Herman Koch - (2.81 decimal rating)

CATEGORY SUMMARY:
GRAPHIC - 1 book read this month (8 in total so far)
- - - The Sandman Vol. 3: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman -
NEW (published in 2012 or 2013) - 1 book read this month (2 in total so far)
- - - Love and The Mess We're In by Stephen Marche -
EPISTOLARY - 0 books read this month (2 in total so far)
GOTHIC - 0 books read this month (1 in total so far)
FABLES and FAIRY TALES - 1 book read this month (2 in total so far)
- - - Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham -
EUROPA - 1 book read this month (1 in total so far)
- - - Sorry by Gail Jones -
REGENCY - 0 books read this month (1 in total so far)
PENGUIN - 0 books read
MITFORD - 0 books read
SERIES, SEQUELS, PREQUELS and TRILOGIES - 0 book read (1 in total so far)
NEWSWORTHY - 1 book read this month (2 in total so far)
- - - Ready Player One by Ernest Cline -
ON MY TBR BOOKCASE - 1 book read this month (5 in total so far)
- - - Snow Falling On Cedars by David Guterson -
WITH A TITLE, AUTHOR(S) AND WORDS WRITTEN - 0 books read

Interestingly, I went from reading mainly female author books in February to reading mainly male author books in March.

FIRST QUARTER RE-CAP:

Books read: 27
- books read by Female Authors: 17 (two books have more than one author)
- books read by Male Authors: 13 (one book has more than one author)
- Largest book read by page count: Snow Falling on Cedars at 460 pages
- Smallest book read by page count: Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses at 88 pages
ROOTs read: 8
Books acquired: 7

Top 5 reads for the Quarter:

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - 4.64 decimal rating
Lady Susan by Jane Austen - 4.22 decimal rating
Sorry by Gail Jones - 4.19 decimal rating
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson - 4.09 decimal rating
Enter at Your Own Risk: Old Masters, New Voices by Alex Scully - 4.00 decimal rating

Bombs of the Quarter:

The Dinner by Herman Koch - 2.81 decimal rating
The Twitter Diaries by Georgie Thompson and Imogen Lloyd Webber - 2.97 decimal rating
A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian by Marina Lewycka - 3.03 decimal rating

Book #28 - Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
Category: - All things NEWSWORTHY



This review is going to be more of a compare/contrast between Penumbra's and Ready Player One, as I found the overall writing style and general theme of a mystery to crack using technology and a team working to overcome a greater force very similar between the two books. Yes, I know that when you really examine the stories in detail they are very different, but I just couldn't help but examine the parallels between the two books.

As you may have already guessed, I am more of a fan of Ready Player One that of Penumbra's. I am not as drawn to books about books or bookstores as some other readers can be, so there has to be something else that captures my interest. The mystery element of a secret society helped carry the story, and a good thing too because I grew rather tired of the whole Google angle. Clay, like Wade in Ready Player One, is a likeable nerdy/geeky protagonist and has a small group of friends - amazingly well-connected friends - that help Clay in his quest to decipher the code that has managed to elude searchers for some 500 years. The history geek in me also like the typography angle of the story. Most of the characters in Penumbra's are not as well drawn as they are in Ready Player One, leaving me feeling as a whole unconnected with the story. While the first half of Penumbra's was a decent story, the last half tended to drag and at one point had me rolling my eyes at what I saw as an idea borrowed directly from the TV series Warehouse 13.

Overall, Penumbra's is a fun read with a mix of technology, mystery and secret societies that has some appeal, but if you are not a fan of Google or don't want a Google business mantra playing in your head as you read, you might consider passing on this one.

Decimal Rating: 3.66
3.25 - Plot Development
3.00 - Character Development
4.00 - Writing Style
4.25 - Readability
3.75 - Premise
4.00 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN)
3.25 - Originality
3.75 - Length

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: e-book
# of Pages: 256 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

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

Currently Reading:

The Count of Monte Cristo - 17% finished (currently at Chapter 22)
Lonesome Dove - 72% finished (currently at Chapter 77 - page 616 of 858)
Mrs. God - about to start this one

Yay! Lori's back! It sounds like you had a great visit with your family. Congrats on the new nephew.

Welcome back - sounds like you had a great time! A shame about Complication - the premise would put it on the wishlist, but I think I'll pass. *thumbing* I'll absolutely try to get to Ready Player One as soon as possible.

Welcome back! Glad you had a good trip. Will be looking forward to your thoughts on Lonesome Dove :)

Welcome back! You did much better with your vacation reading than I did!

Hi Lori. Wow, you managed to read a good number of books while on vacation. I can only get reading done on vacation if I travel alone. I'm hoping to squeeze Ready Player One in some time this year.

Well now I am even keener to read Ready Player One :)

Thanks Carrie, Eva, rabbitprincess and BookLizard for the welcome back messages! I am having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that it is back to work Tuesday morning for me..... where is that lotto win when you really want it?!?!?! ;-P

I took things easy today with some reading and I only have 80 pages left to go in Lonesome Dove so I will push through and finish that one the is evening.

Now for more personalized responses:

> 204 - Hi Carrie, Thanks! Glad to be home and back in a part of the country where everything is already green.... it is hard to come to terms with how dead everything looks on the prairies at this time of year! Nephewlite is a sweetie!

> 205 - Hi Eva, Nice to be back! Complication has its good points to counter the bad but I still think the story takes a fair bit of patience or forgiveness on the part of the reader. You really should get to Ready Player One.... I am starting to wonder why it took me so long to pick that one up! ;-)

> 206 - Thanks rabbitprincess, it is always a relief when trips come off without some form of delay/setback so very happy about that! Hopefully, I will have a review for Lonesome Dove posted sometime tomorrow!

> 207- Considering I come from a family that isn't full of hard core readers, you are probably right in being impressed with the amount of reading I managed to pull off! It helped that my folks have very busy schedules of their own so there were some periods where I was happily left alone with my books!

> 208 - Thanks Kelly, as mentioned above, visiting an already busy family does give one some uninterrupted reading time! There where some times where it was touch and go - my mom is a big talk radio listener and the best reading room in the house is in close proximity to her radio in the kitchen.... I am one of those readers that like quiet when I read, which is part of the reason why I didn't manage to finish Lonesome Dove during the trip - it was my daytime reading while the books I did finish were e-books that I read in bed on my iPod Touch. I do recommend Ready Player One, if you find time to squeeze that one in to your reading schedule!

> 209 - Hi Claire, Just keep on thinking: Ready Player One..., Ready Player One..., Ready Player One...., Consider this internet hypnotherapy. ;-)

Glad you had a good trip! You're read both Lonesome Dove and Count of Monte Cristo--that's a lot of pages.

Nice to hear that you had a great trip, and I'm glad to see you back! I enjoyed your first-quarter recap. It's always good when the number of ROOTs exceeds the number of books acquired. :)

Going to start Ready Player One now. Was supposed to be my airplane read, but I hadn't finished the book I was reading on the flight down. Then I forgot on the flight back. Direct TV wasn't working on the flight home so they showed the movies for free and I watched Silver Linings Playbook which was good. While on vacation, my friend and I watched Rock of Ages which is an 80s musical with Tom Cruise. If you like 80s music/culture, it's worth watching. It was amusing and entertaining.

Glad you had a great trip.

> 211 - Hi Beth, I keep getting distracted by other books which is slowing down my reading of The Count but should be finished my re-read of that classic by the end of May, in time with the group read! Trip was great, but it is good to be back home. I am a bit of a creature of routine and having everyone else planning my days while away was a bit draining. ;-)

> 212 - Hi Paulina, very happy to be back! I am going to have to work harder on my ROOTS reading.... luckily the group read of Gardam's Old Filth this month will help me move one more ROOT book. My balance between acquisitions and ROOTs will take a serious hit in 4 weeks - I have just noticed that the annual book sale I attend every year will occur May 4-5 this year. Very excited about that!

> 213 - I am looking forward to seeing what you think of Ready Player One! I haven't seen Silver Linings Playbook or Rock of Ages . I am already looking forward to seeing SLP but I think we will probably borrow Rock of Ages from the library... I am just not sure how my other half will react to that one, although amusing does holds some promise!

> 214 - Thanks Lori!

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

As promised, I did finish Lonesome Dove last night. Without further adieu, below please find the review.....

Book #29 - Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Category: - All things WITH A TITLE, AUTHOR(S) AND WORDS WRITTEN



What can I say about this American tale, and Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, that hasn't already been said by others, beyond the fact that I have only just now discovered that this is the 1st book published - and the 3rd book (chronologically)... Seriously, the third book??? - in McMurtry's Lonesome Dove series and that I am happy to have finally found the time to read it.

Written in epic proportions, McMurtry nailed his characters. They are complex, larger than life characters that seen to just walk off the pages with a realism that makes me love and hate them at the same time. No one is a saint and no one is 100% evil. They face dilemmas, engage in conversations that give one pause for thought and have the all too human characteristic of judging people and situations based on limited facts/biases.

McMurtry also nailed the scenery. I have never made a 3,000 mile journey from Texas to Montana but I have traveled numerous times across Canada's equally vast prairies.... granted it was in a car and not as part of a cattle drive, but the feeling of big sky and seemingly unending tracts of unpopulated land is something that needs to be experienced to really put life into perspective. McMurtry captures that experience in this book with his sweeping descriptions of the environment, the conditions of life in Lonesome Dove and the changing and mostly unpopulated landscape the cattle drive moves through as it heads north.

I found the plot to be a bit thin in places but was willing to sacrifice that for the richly drawn characters. Even so, McMurtry manages to provide interesting connections between events to keep the story moving forward and to keep his different story tangents from becoming dropped threads. The plot moves with the slowness of the cattle drive, but it is a pace that I was able to settle into and I found myself enjoying the unrushed nature of the story.

Overall, this story has something for everyone: the cowboy of old, strong female characters, an epic journey with extreme weather conditions, Indians, soldiers, settlers, moments of reflective thought and, yes even some unrequited love. Its a long one, there is no denying that, but it is a story that carries you along and then suddenly drops the reader unapologetically with the last page, leaving me wondering how I could possibly be at the end of the story.

If you feel as though you have missed out in experiencing first hand the American West in its untapped, unrestrained beauty by being born in the wrong century, pick up McMurtry's book and experience it for the epic journey that it is.

I will say this though, the trade paperback grew was tiring to hold up as I was finishing this one so if you have an e-reader, I would recommend downloading an e-copy to read... or work on strengthening your wrists first!

Decimal Rating: 4.69
4.25 - Plot Development
5.00 - Character Development
5.00 - Writing Style
5.00 - Readability
4.50 - Premise
5.00 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN)
4.25 - Originality
4.50 - Length

Star Rating: 4.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 858 pages
Source: TBR Bookshelf
Male/Female Author: Male

Another one for Lonesome Dove! I thought everyone else had already read it - it's on the to-read list for my holidays. Good to hear it's got solid characters - I'll forgive a lot of flaws if the characters are right.

I think Lonesome Dove is one of the best novels written in the US in the last half of the 20th century and I still don't understand why it isn't in the Modern Library 100.

Thumb! Excellent review. And thanks for the heads-up re trade paperback! I'll start those wrist-strengthening exercises ;)

Welocme back Lori! Thumbing your review of Lonesome Dove as well - and note that it's already a hot review.

Welcome back, lori. I just returned to the Mainland from the Island today. Looks like you got lots of great reading done while you were away.

I am so glad that you enjoyed Lonesome Dove, as I have probably said before, it's one of my all-time favorites.

lots and lots to catch up on here

so glad you enjoyed lonesome dove, great review - am off to thumb it

already hit a few bullets bbut you've definitely rammed home the ready player one one...

I'll add my welcome back too! I tried to find something on The NPR website about The Dinner but no luck. I think it was a review I heard. I haven't seen anything here about it before your post. ( haven't gone over to read any reviews.) If "they" are comparing it to Gone Girl, the I'll give it a pass - I really wasn't a fan let's say.

Question-- My library doesn't have Fables but has one in the series called Peter & Max -- the only one in the series, in fact.

Can you read out of order? I've never delved into GNs, and Fables sounds right up my alley!

223> http://www.npr.org/books/titles/169070836/the-dinner

Great review of Lonesome Dove. I've been resisting adding it to the WL, but you've finally convinced me. & yes, it's one for the e-reader for sure.

Thanks Everyone, I enjoyed Lonesome Dove so much I have done something I hardly every do.... I have kept my copy so I can read it again! I usually pass my books on to another read/home when I finish them so it is a rare thing for me to keep a book!

> 217 - Ha,ha,ha. Just so long as you don't think everyone has already read the Harry Potter books, because I would hate to surprise/disappoint you twice in the same week! ;-) The characters are amazing, IMO and make the book. Enjoy your re-read over your holidays!

> 218 - I agree! How do we vote to get that changed?

> 219 - Thanks for the thumb. I just don't have the wrist stamina for these big chunksters anymore.... makes for a problem since I like to read while lying down in bed and holding the book up in front of me..... who needs a gym when you can rely on some authors to provide you with arm exercises? ;-)

> 220 - Thanks Anders! Who knew I could find a western so spellbinding amazing to read! Looks like I might have to start branching out more with my reading....

> 221 - Hi Judy, I did have a great trip. I hope yours was equally grand! Now if only I had the time to read like that everyday..... one of my dreams. Lonesome Dove is amazing and I can see why it is one of your favorites!

> 222 - Hey Pete, Lonesome Dove was well worth the wrist exercises to finish it! Ready Player One ..... what more can I say??? Looking forward to seeing what you think of it if/when you do read it!

> 223 - Thanks, Betty! Some of the best reviews do turn out the be audio only on some radio stations, but I do appreciate you searching for the review of The Dinner that you listened to. I am of the same opinion as you are - if that is what Gone Girl is like, I will pass on that one as well!

> 224 - Hi Tina, that is a good question. It looks like Peter & Max is a novel based on the Fables series. It is also listed as a spinoff. According to Wikipedia, Willingham wrote Peter & Max to see if he could write a novel, so I get the impression that it probably isn't as tied to the GN series as other GNs might be. I have a habit of occasionally reading a series out of order so I might not be the best one to say "go ahead, read it and enjoy!". ;-) Others have probably delved into the Fables series deeper than I have and can probably at least mention whether or not Peter Piper and Max are predominantly depicted in the Fables series.

> 225 - Thanks for the link, BookLizard! I checked out the review and can now say that I don't agree with that review of The Dinner. I don't think the author exhibited a steady hand on the story as the secrets are revealed, unless you mean in an abstract, almost clinical sense that does nothing to drawn the reader in in any meaningful way. Yes, the book does touch on possibilities/probabilities and is written to generate dialogue, but dialogue about what: Paul's actions or the actions the books is 'supposed' to be focused on? I have to remind myself that the novel was written back in 2009 and it has only recently been made available here in North America in the translated English version. So, for a 2009 publication, it was rather cutting edge for the social media/technology presented, but not now.... we have been exposed to too many examples just as horrific to deaden the impact this story may have originally had. Personally, I was more concerned with the shockingly disturbing manner in which the adults were presented, which the reviewer did acknowledge as a tension builder.

I will get off my soapbox now.

> 226 - Thanks Katie! I hope it becomes a story you are surprised to reach the end of, just like I was, when you do read it!

great review :) I was also shocked to find it was part of a series.. I am too nervous try to any others.. that ending was perfect.

> 228 - Thanks Claire, the series info was a shock, that is for sure!

Interesting comments about the The Dinner. I had thought it sounded interesting when I heard it, but, as I said, I think I'm going to give it a pass. Too many others already in the TBR that I'll probably like better.

That's Lizard for finding that - I was in a rush and obviously wasn't looking in the right place.

I am probably a bit jaded by my read of The Dinner..... it was not what I was expecting and it never managed to redeem itself for misguiding me...... I can be a disgruntled reviewer sometimes. ;-)

It is a wet and dreary Friday evening here.... a good night to curl up in front of the TV, I think. Before I do that, I have another review to post for a book I finished last night, Peter Straub's Mrs. God.

I hope every one has a great weekend.... mine will include some lazying around with a book or two!

Book #30 - Mrs. God by Peter Straub
Category: - All things GOTHIC

Esswood House. Home and estate of the Seneschal family, aristocratic patrons of the literary arts for well over a hundred years. D. H. Lawrence, T. S. Eliot, Ford Madox Ford, and Henry James were privileged to call themselves guests and Esswood Fellows. Even minor poets such as Isobel Standish found Esswood’s refined atmosphere an inspiration for her work. There was always talk of a hidden secret in Esswood’s past—and the Seneschal children were often so pale and sickly—but don’t all English manor houses have a few ghost stories to call their own? When Professor William Standish receives the rare honor of an Esswood Fellowship, and the chance to study Isobel’s private manuscripts at close hand, he is thrilled beyond his wildest ambitions. But upon arriving, something seems slightly strange at Esswood House. He hears faint laughter in the halls, the pitter-pattering of small feet in the night; strange faces appear in the windows of the library, and of course, there are those giant dollhouses in the basement . . .

Sounds really good, doesn’t it? That perfect book for reading late at night with the wind/rain blowing at your window and one lonely light to illuminate your reading….. okay, in my case it was the back light of my iPod, but I digress.

Writing this review is proving to be a bit of a problem. Is this a Gothic tale or just horror? I say it fits the Gothic genre, what with the elements of unexplained events, an ancestral home with strange 'goings on', supernatural beings, and an atmosphere of suspense and terror. Straub uses the first person narrative through Standish to draw the reader in. While this one started off with great promise, with a pretty good writing style and an intriguing idea of a downward spiraling journey into madness an intriguing one, the delivery of the story itself took its own downward spiral like a helicopter in a slow auto rotate decent.

Originally published as a short story back in 1990 (which I have not read), I wonder if Straub attempted to write a full blown novel and came away in the end with this novella that seems to fall apart in the last three-four chapters. Our narrator's psychological decline is poorly executed and I am completely baffled by the whole wife angle. I hate finishing a book with more questions than answers and a quick re-read of the last four chapters failed to illuminate my understanding (you never know, I may have missed something on my first read through). At least I was able to confirm through some online reviews that I am not the only one that has had trouble with this one.... and before you ask, I am still a bit unclear on his choice of "Mrs. God" for the title for this one.

Overall, this was a disappointing read for me, but thankfully a rather quick one and one that I will not be recommending others rush out to read. As I read the e-book on my iPod, I can only assume that the 336 page count listed on LT is accurate.... the font size of the printed book must have been rather large or a lot of white space on the pages!

Decimal Rating: 2.78
2.50 - Plot Development
2.25 - Character Development
3.25 - Writing Style
3.00 - Readability
3.00 - Premise
3.25 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN)
3.25 - Originality
1.75 - Length

Star Rating: 3.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: e-book
# of Pages: 336 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

I tried Ghost Story last year and after a good start couldn't get into it. Sounds like an author I should stay away from!

Well, I'll be skipping Ghost Story, but heading over for a thumbing. Have a great weekend you too - I'm all done with my "musts" so the potential for a restful Sunday is there! :)

> 234 - Sounds like i will be avoiding Ghost Story and anything else by this author, just like you, Claire!

> 235 - Thanks for the thumb, Eva. Staub's writing must appeal to some readers, but I haven't come across one of those readers yet. Yay for restful Sundays!

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

It has been a rather haphazard weekend, with the weather changing by the hour and a little bit of everything - sunshine, dark clouds, rain, sleet and even some hail - freaking crazy spring weather! I did manage to get out today during one of the sunny periods for a stroll along the waterfront and to play with my camera a bit. There is a tree along the waterfront walkway that I enjoy taking pictures of.... this time for the amazing dark clouds in the sky behind it:



The sky cleared again about a hour later but, like I said, crazy weather!

On the reading front, I am currently 3/4 of the way through Lisa Moore's book February. I hope to finish it later this evening.... still plugging away at The Count as my convenient purse read whenever I can grab a few minutes.

That's a great sky - very photogenic! Congrats on the Hot Review!

> 236 Great one, I like spring for this reason, the everchanging weather and the beautiful colors :)
> 233 Too bad, it sure seems promising.
> 216 Great review for Lonesome Dove, I've seen other reviews for this one, but that's your review that did it for me ;)
> 203 Penumbra's was on my wishlist for the 'book about book' side but the google part is not my cup of tea, so I will pass ...
> 162 Snow Falling on Cedars is definetly going on the wishlist.

Nice picture. They really should move that light pole though ;)

Whoa! Big dark clouds!

> 237 - and that sky is what made me turn heel and head for home as I was only walking around in shorts, t-shirt and a fleece vest! I did make it back hoem with about 10 minutes to spare before the skies opened up. Thanks Eva - I had no idea it became a hot review!

> 238 - Thanks electrice. It did seem promising, which made it soo annoying when it just didn't turn out that way. Lonesome Dove has that special something that transforms it from being a western to more of a universal story. Penumbra's is fun bit the Google angle started to wear thin for me... I never bothered to find out where the author got his Google inspiration from.... maybe there is a connection.

> 239 - Thanks Betty... they will probably move it after it gets hit by lightening..... until then, I think it will stay where it is! ;-)

> 240 - The clouds remind me of the spring clouds I am used to seeing on the prairies, not out here on the coast! At least I have the experience to know when I need to seek shelter.... ;-)

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

I just realized how long this thread is getting. I was hoping to make it through to the end of the month but I think I will start a new thread this weekend... no time tonight. In the meantime, some more book reviews for posting (a shorty and a longy):

Book #31 - How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You by The Oatmeal
Category: - All things GRAPHIC



No...... just, no.

Decimal Rating: 1.50
Star Rating: 1.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 136 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

Book #32 - February by Lisa Moore
Category: - All things NEWSWORTHY



February is Lisa Moore’s second novel and one that has garnered a lot of attention in 2009 as a Globe and Mail Best Book and Quill and Quire Book of the Year, in 2011 as a 2010 Booker Prize Longlist and as a Commonwealth Writers Prize Shortlist and more recently in 2013 February won CBC’s annual book debate Canada Reads. High time I found out what this book is all about for myself.

Using the Ocean Ranger disaster – the mobile offshore drilling unit that sank in Canadian waters on February 15, 1982, killing all 84 crew members on board at the time – as a focal point, Moore has written a slow, reflective novel that grew on me as I read it. Character perspective books, and in particular ones that employ multiple time, place and narration shifts, can take some time to warm up to. February was no exception to this rule as I found I had to pay close attention to the section headings to ensure I knew where in the timeline the narration was as I was reading. Thankfully, Moore restricted her shifts in narration to Helen, her son John and his female acquaintance Jane. If you prefer plot-driven books, this one will drive you to some level of frustration as the focus is on fleshing out the emotional landscape of our main character, Helen and the impact that fateful night when her husband Cal dies and her life suddenly becomes that of a single mom raising four kids in Newfoundland. It is a poignant portrayal of aching loss and overpowering loneliness spanning some 25 years, all shrouded in a brave front to persevere and care for her family as best she can.

What I really liked about this one is Moore’s ability to create real characters.... characters you may recognize from your own community or would not be surprised to encounter on the street. Characters that reach an emotional cliff and wonder if they should just jump off or turn back towards land and continue on with life. The writing is stunning - fluid, evocative, and yet plainly written in a manner that speaks to the masses as its intended audience. She has also captured a Canadian perspective/point of view that is hard to explain but one that I can recognize and relate to. Grief is an anchor that can drag us down and change lives irreparably, if we let it. Some favorite quotes:

"The act of being dead, if you could call it an act, made them very hard to love. They'd lost the capacity to surprise. You needed a strong memory to love the dead, and it was not her fault that she was failing. She was trying. But no memory was that strong. This was what she knew: no memory was that strong."

"We are alone in death. Of course we are alone. It is a solitude so refined we cannot experience it while we are alive; it is too rarefied, too potent. It is a drug, that solitude, an immediate addiction. A profound selfishness, so full of self it is an immolation of all that came before. Cal was alone in that cold. Utterly alone, and that was death. That, finally, was death."

A book I am very glad I have finally made the time to pick up and read!

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

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

->242 lkernagh:
That's a great review! :) And a shame - with a title like that, it should have been really funny.

That photo is beautiful! Thanks for sharing. Glad you're still safe, too. ;)

> 244 - LOL! Now that I have fixed the page count - it was NOT a 3136 page book! - I probably should say a little more. For the most part the cartoons are cheap 'potty humor' that didn't work for me. I still cannot fathom following two cats, Bob and Bob, as they go through their work week - yes they work in an office (wear a tie and everything) and do stupid things like want a tummy rub in the middle of a staff meeting, etc..... just really, really lame. Apparently the book is a New York Times best seller....*sighs*

> 245 - Thanks! All good on this end!

Sometimes a three word review is all you need :)

> 248 - ;-)

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