klobrien2 (Karen O) Reading Machine in 2013, page 2

Welcome to the second page of my 2013 reading thread! I decided to start a brand-new thread for the second half of the year.

I've been with the 75-bookers for several years now, and I enjoy so much the camaraderie and book talk that happens here. I'm very glad to join with you all again!

The year 2012 was a terrific year for reading. I find myself reading pretty much as the spirit leads, although I participate in the Take It or Leave It project and have a great time doing that.

This is my fifth year participating in the 75 Books Challenge. In 2009, I read 94 books; in 2010, I made it to 148!; 153 in 2011; and 160 in 2012.

I'm also learning from the past, and I don't think I'll set any specific goals as to which books I will read--I have more fun just taking it as it comes. I am, however, trying to accomplish reads for the "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die" project, so that may guide my reading a little. What directs my reading more are my friends here on LT, so keep those recommendations coming!

I am trying to read more books from "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die." Here's a ticker to keep track of my progress there:




Here's where I'll list the books I read, starting with (the number at the end of each line represents the post number where I placed my "review" for the book):

Thread 1: http://www.librarything.com/topic/147339

1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Long Way Home (Season 8, Volume 1) by Joss Whedon - 8
2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: No Future for You (Season 8, Volume 2) by Brian Vaughan - 11
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Wolves at the Gate (Season 8, Volume 3) by Drew Goddard - 13
4. Candide by Voltaire (Book 169 of 1001) - 16
5. The Tin Woodman of Oz: A Faithful Story of the Astonishing Adventure Undertaken by the Tin Woodman, assisted by Woot the Wanderer, the Scarecrow of Oz, and Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter by L. Frank Baum (#12 of 14) - 23
6. The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker - 28
7. The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams (Book 170 of 1001) - 38
8. The Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness - 41
9. The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny - 42
10. My Life and Hard Times by James Thurber - 47
11. Messenger by Lois Lowry (Book 3 of The Giver Quartet) - 53
12. The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera - 54
13. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin - 63
14. On Beauty by Zadie Smith (Book 171 of 1001) - 66
15. The Great Cake Mystery: Precious Ramotswe's Very First Case by Alexander McCall Smith - 67
16. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Time of Your Life (Season 8, Vol. 4) by Joss Whedon, et al. - 71
17. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Predators and Prey (Season 8, Vol. 5) by Joss Whedon, et al. - 71
18. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Retreat (Season 8, Vol. 6) by Joss Whedon, et al. - 71
19. My Man Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse - 72
20. The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich - 74
21. Sarah Binks by Paul Hiebert (ILL) - 81
22. Morning in the Burned House by Margaret Atwood - 82
23. Once On a Time by A. A. Milne (ILL) - 85
24. The Round House by Louise Erdrich - 88
25. Divergent by Veronica Roth - 98
26. A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin - 101
27. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 7: Twilight by Brad Meltzer, et al. - 102
28. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 8: Last Gleaming by Joss Whedon, et al. - 102
29. Doctor Who: The Early Years by Jeremy Bentham (ILL) - 103
30. Very Good, Jeeves! by P. G. Wodehouse (ILL) - 105
31. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan - 110
32. Richard Castle's Storm Season: A Derrick Storm Mystery by Brian Michael Bendis - 111
33. More Make It Fast, Cook It Slow by Stephanie O'Dea - 115
34. My World and Welcome to It by James Thurber - 117
35. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, audio read by Jason Isaacs (ILL) - 118
36. The Importance of Being Seven (44 Scotland Street #6) by Alexander McCall Smith - 120
37. My Brother's Book by Maurice Sendak (ILL) - 121
38. A Family of Poems by Caroline Kennedy, ill. by Jon J. Muth - 122
39. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde - 126
40. The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka - 132
41. The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson - 133
42. Raj the Bookstore Tiger by Kathleen T. Pelley - 139
43. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine Volume 1 - Freefall by Joss Whedon, et al. - 140
44. Morning in the Burned House by Margaret Atwood - 141
45. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (Book 172 of 1001) - 144
46. Dear Fatty by Dawn French (ILL) - 145
47. The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood - 146
48. Unusual Uses for Olive Oil by Alexander McCall Smith - 149
49. Speaking From Among the Bones by Alan Bradley - 150
50. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (Book 173 of 1001) - 151
51. The World of Downton Abbey by Jessica Fellowes - 152
52. The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood - 155
53. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 Volume 2 - On Your Own by Joss Whedon, et al. - 156
54. The Open Door: One Hundred Poems, One Hundred Years of Poetry Magazine ed. Don Share - 161
55. The Book of Job: When Bad Things Happened to a Good Person by Harold S. Kushner - 162
56. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Book 174 of 1001) - 163
57. Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde - 168
58. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - 173
59. Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer - 178
60. 14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy -179
61. Atomic Ranch: Design Ideas for Stylish Ranch Homes by Michelle Gringeri-Brown - 180
62. The Magic of Oz (#13 of 14) by L. Frank Baum - 181
63. J. B.: A Play in Verse by Archibald MacLeish - 184
64. Fellowship of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (book 174-1/3 of 1001) - 185
65. Exodus by Leon Uris - 193
66. 365 Penguins by Jean-Luc Fromental - 194
67. Angelopolis by Danielle Trussoni - 197
68. The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schalbe - 198
69. Giving Up the Ghost by Mary Logue - 202
70. The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien (book 174-2/3 of 1001) - 210
71. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls - 213
72. Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver - 214

Thread 2 (right here!)

73. A Discovery of Witches (Book 1, All Souls Trilogy) by Deborah Harkness - 2
74. Trains and Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith - 9
75. Gigi by Colette - 10
76. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 9, Volume 3: Guarded by Andrew Chambliss, et al. - 17
77. Shadow of Night (Book 2, All Souls Trilogy) by Deborah Harkness - 18
78. The Lion & and Mouse by Jerry Pinkney - 19
79. The Lion & the Mouse and Other Aesop's Fables by Doris Orgel - 19
80. The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien (book 175 of 1001) - 23
81. Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell - 24
82. Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age by Kurt W. Beyer - 29
83. Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake (book 176 of 1001) - 30
84. Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger - 31
85. Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple - 32
86. The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin - 33
87. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? by Horace McCoy (Book 177 of 1001) - 34
88. Glinda of Oz by L. Frank Baum (#14 of 14) - 37
89. Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake (book 178 of 1001) - 38
90. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman - 39
91. Anecdotes of Destiny and Ehrengard by Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen) - 42
92. Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill - 43
93. Georgia O'Keeffe by Georgia O'Keeffe - 48
94. Georgia O'Keeffe: Canyon Suite by Barbara J. Bloemink - 49
95. The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss - 55
96. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson - 58
97. The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks (book 179 of 1001) - 60
98. Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie - 63
99. Maddaddam by Margaret Atwood - 65
100. Opened Ground by Seamus Heaney - 66
101. Therese Raquin by Emile Zola (book 180 of 1001) - 67
102. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher - 71
103. Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians - 72
104. Blasphemy: New and Selected Stories by Sherman Alexie - 73
105. The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang - 74
106. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher - 79
107. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (A New Verse Translation) by Simon Armitage - 80
108. Summer Knight by Jim Butcher - 83
109. Star Wars: Vader's Little Princess - 84
110. Death Masks by Jim Butcher - 85
111. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (book 181 of 1001) - 86
112. The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith - 87
113. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 9, Volume 4: Welcome to the Team by Andrew Chambliss - 88
114. Blood Rites (Book 6 of Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher - 91

My 2003 "Books Read" list (casually kept, and probably incomplete): http://librata.blogspot.com/2012/04/karens-2003-reading-list.html
My 2004 "Books Read" list (see above caveats: things get better!):
http://librata.blogspot.com/2012/04/karens-2004-reading-list.html
My 2005 "Books Read" list (most pathetic list yet): http://librata.blogspot.com/2012/04/karens-2005-reading-list.html
My 2006 "Books Read" list : http://librata.blogspot.com/2012/04/karens-2006-reading-list.htm
My 2007 "Books Read" list : http://librata.blogspot.com/2012/04/karens-2007-reading-list.html
My 2008 "Books Read" list : http://librata.blogspot.com/2012/04/karens-2008-reading-list.html
My 2009 "Books Read" list : http://librata.blogspot.com/2012/04/karens-2009-reading-list.html
My 2010 "Books Read" list : http://librata.blogspot.com/2012/04/karens-2010-reading-list.html

Here is a link to my last thread from 2011: http://www.librarything.com/topic/122919

Here is a link to my last thread from 2012: http://www.librarything.com/topic/138897

Good reading to you!

73. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

I believe that this is the third time I've read through this book (not counting the serial rereading of passages that strike my fancy)--I just adore the history, the drama, the love story, the characters of this book.

The second in the trilogy, Shadow of Night is more about the history, but really enjoyable in its own way. Fans are eagerly awaiting the third and final book, although Harkness is taking her time and getting it right (we hope).

Celebrating my second thread!

Happy New Thread, Karen! I see you're getting very close to the magic 75!

I am! I'm so excited! I'm a little behind pace from last year, but...so what. I'm really enjoying my reading, so that's the important thing.

Thanks for stopping by, and for the HNT (Happy New Thread) greeting!

Great reading Karen and you are so close to the 75.

Enjoying the reading is the most important part, for sure. All the same it feels good to reach that magic 75!

Happy new thread, Karen! And you are SO close to 75.

Hello, all! Thanks for visiting. I am glad to report that I have now hit the magic number 75!



74. Trains and Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith

A nice little group of short stories, titled a novel. The framework is that the stories are all about love, and they involve trains in some fashion. McCall Smith's usual pleasant, thoughtful writing, but he sure doesn't write many books that *aren't* part of a series. I missed knowing the back story of the characters, and having some time invested in them. Still, a very nice read.

75. Gigi by Colette

I had meant to read this novelette? short story? for a while now--in fact, I'm including it in July's read-a-book-you-didn't-finish-in-2012-2103-TIOLI challenge.

I really enjoyed this little book; I think I would like to read more Colette. Her writing is so evocative of Gigi's world and the characters are very interesting.

Congrats on hitting 75! Well done!

Happy new thread and CONGRATS on hitting 75! I see you've been doing some great summer reading too!

Wow - congrats Karen!

Congrats!

Congrats on reading 75, Karen! Third time through A Discovery of Witches? That's quite an endorsement!

Hi, Anne! Yup, A Discovery of Witches is a chunky, multi-faceted delight to read. This time, I anted up and got the Nook version. I followed up with a reread of Shadow of Night (about halfway through), and I'm liking it even more with this read than I did the first time.

Thanks for stopping by!

76. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 9, Volume 3: Guarded by Andrew Chambliss, et al.

The latest in the Buffy graphic novels. The drawing is uniformly terrific (in my uneducated opinion), and the writing often captures the humor and smarts of the TV show. Lots of fun, an excellent summer read.

77. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

Second book in the All Soul's Trilogy. This was a reread for me; once I had reread the first book in the series (Discovery of Witches), I launched right into my reread.

I was surprised to find that I enjoyed the book more than on my first time through, when I liked it well enough. Shadow of Night is so full of plot, characters, and locations that it is a little strenuous at times. The second time through I retained enough memory of what was going on that I could relax and just enjoy it. Lovely writing, smart and funny, stirring and sad.

78. The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

What a gorgeous book! Without any printed words at all (well, there are animal sounds represented by words), the author/artist conveys the classic Aesop's fable. The illustrations are just amazing--no wonder that this book was an award-winner. Thanks to Whisper1 for bringing this treasure to my attention.



79. The Lion & the Mouse and Other Aesop's Fables by Doris Orgel

So, while I was requesting the Pinkney book, I saw this one and requested it as well. This version is more traditional, with actual words! The author does a great job of retelling the several fables that are included, and there are some interesting annotations. A very readable book, whereas the Pinkney book is a very "tellable" book.

Woo hoo! Congratulations on blowing past the 75 book mark!

wow, congrats on surpassing 75 already!

Thanks, ronincats and majkia!

80. Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien

I've (finally!) completed The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and had a great time doing it.

I love Tolkien's writing, and his characterizations. Here are a few passages that really spoke to me.

In this first passage, Pippin is asked about Mithrandir (Gandalf):

"...Moreover you are a friend of Mithrandir. Do you know him well?"

"Well, " said Pippin. "I have known of him all my short life, as you might say; and lately I have travelled far with him. But there is much to read in that boo and I cannot claim to have seen more than a page or two."

Here, Eowyn is feeling frustrated and longs to do her part in the big battle:

And she answered: "All your words are but to say you are a woman, and your part is in the house. But when the men have died in battle and honour, you have leave to be burned in the house, for the men will need it no more. But I am of the house Eorl and not a serving-woman. I can ride and wield blade, and I do not fear either pain or death."

"What do you fear, lady?" he asked.

"A cage," she said. "To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire."

Here, Sam the Hobbit is trying to describe his happiness:

"How do I feel? he cried. "Well, I don't know how to say it. I feel, I feel" - he waved his arms in the air - "I feel like spring after winter, and sun on the leaves; and like trumpets and harps and all the songs I have ever heard!"

81. Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell

A collection of weird and wonderful (for the most part) short stories by the author of St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves (which I have read) and Swamplandia (which I have not).

I'd read the title story in one of "Best American Short Stories" collections, and rereading it here felt like greeting an old friend. The other stories were new to me, but I enjoyed them. My favorite was "The Barn at the End of Our Term," in which eleven dead American presidents are reincarnated as horses on a horse farm. I know, it sounds really goofy, and it is, but I found it also very funny.

There is a sense of eerieness, sometimes verging on scariness, or even horror, in these stories. Russell has a great imagination, and is a good writer. I started reading Swamplandia once, but quit early on--I think I'll give it another go.

#23 So so glad that you enjoyed it - it makes me so happy whenever anyone loves it :) It was such a massive part of my childhood - I was already a book addict but this took me to the proper LT addict level. I read it about age 10 and my teachers wouldn't believe I had :/

Hi, BekkaJo! I'm amazed, when I mentioned to friends that I was reading Lord of the Rings, nearly all of them would respond, "Yes, I read that in high school (or college)." To have read it at age 10 is a testimony to your commitment and maturity!

I bought Bored of the Rings (a satire by Harvard Lampoon) way back when, even though I hadn't read LOTR yet. I'm going to read it very soon (finally). Have you read it?

Thanks for stopping by to chat!

Hiya - no I haven't read it. I think I had it during my hoarding stage though ;) And reading it young - well it was the start of my excapism into fantasy which got me through the rather rough next ten years :)

I can empathize with you there--I was a tremendous SF reader through junior high/high school. I went away from it for decades, and now I'm really enjoying my reading of fantasy.

82. Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age by Kurt W. Beyer

Grace Hopper has been a hero of mine ever since I went to school to become a computer programmer (late '70s in the prior century, holy cow, am I old). She was so important to the developing computer industry and to women's opportunities in that new world.

I really enjoyed this book, and I'm so glad that antqueen added it to the last challenge (#27) for July TIOLI, bringing it to my attention. The author is terrific, writing sharp and thoughtful prose. Tons of sources and endnotes, nice index.

83. Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake

I'm still not sure what to make of this book. It's kind of a fairy tale, but a very dark and violent one. Its focus is Gormenghast Castle, the people who live in it and around it. It's very surreal; the characters are all strange and hard to comprehend. Not much of the book is actually about Titus Groan, the heir to the title whose birth starts off the action in the book.

I'm very glad that the book is listed in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, because I may not have stuck with it but for that fact. (And it was a shared read for TIOLI and I didn't want to let my co-reader down!)

I must say that Peake had a real gift for writing, and a love for words (e.g., "susurrous") that comes through again and again. There were times when I would chuckle out loud over his wordplay ("the daedal days of his adolescence").

I love this desription of the baby Titus--it could be a description of any baby, right?

There he was. The infant Titus. His eyes were open but he was quite still. The puckered-up face of the newly-born child, old as the world, wise as the roots of trees. Sin was there and goodness, love, pity and horror, and even beauty for his eyes were pure violet. Earth's passions, earth's griefs, earth's incongruous, ridiculous humours--dormant, yet visible in the wry pippin of a face.

This is a book very worth reading, especially as it is the first in the "Gormenghast Trilogy." I've got the second book, "Gormenghast," loaded on my Nook, and I'm ready to get going.

84. Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

A lovely and engaging novel by Krueger, who takes a break from his Cork O'Connor mysteries to write a story of family, life, and coming of age. The young protagonist finds himself dealing with life and death one summer in a small town on the banks of the Minnesota River.

I really like the author's writing, and I often found myself rereading passages because they seemed...just...perfect.

Frank is a kid who wants to know everything:

In so much of what had occurred I'd been informed only because of artfulness, because of heating grates and furnace ducts and my own willingness and ability to be a shadow against a wall or a fly hovering beyond a screen. I wanted to know everything the adults knew and everything they were thinking and I believed it an absolute wrong to be kept in the dark like a child.

I was reminded of Dandelion Wine reading this book, perhaps because it is set in summertime Midwest USA; it also is very evocative of a time period not-too-long-ago on the one hand, but ages ago on the other.

I recommend this book highly.

p.s. The book begins with a quotation from Blaise Pascal. I think it's just wonderful:

The heart has reasons that reason does not understand.

85. Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

The tags for this novel are pretty all over the map: Antarctica, Microsoft, architects, mothers and daughters,...

But, now that I've read the book, they are all apt and descriptive of the book. The book is basically the story of a mother and a daughter, but what a pair! Intelligent, funny, loving, but with the mother's ongoing issues with frustrated genius and boredom, probably, the world comes to a crashing halt one Christmas, when the little family of three (mother, father, and daughter) plan to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Antarctica.

The book is a perfect summer read: I laughed a lot, I cried at the usual points, and I found it hard to set it aside. Luckily, it reads really fast: it's set up as a "mixed media" item, with emails, letters, even an emergency room bill. This book is a lot of fun.

I found a lot of passages that I just loved. Here are a few:

Ice. It's trippy, symphonies frozen, the unconscious come to life, and smacking of color: blue.

Down here, you're either an Amundsen guy, a Shackleton guy, or a Scott guy. Amundsen was the first to reach the Pole, but he did it by feeding dogs to dogs, which makes Amundsen the Michael Vick of polar explorers: you can like him, but keep it to yourself, or you'll end up getting into arguments with a bunch of fanatics. Shackleton is the Charles Barkley of the bunch: he's a legend, all-star personality, but there's the asterisk that he never reached the Pole, i.e. won a championship. How this turned into a sports analogy, I don't know. Finally, there's Captain Scott, canonized for his failure, and to this day never fully embraced because he was terrible with people. He has my vote, you understand.

She was performing contrctor Kabuki. It's a ritual in which (a) the contractor explains in great detail the impossibility of the job you've asked him to do, (b) you demonstrate extreme remorse for even suggesting such a thing by withdrawing your request, and (c) he tells you he's found a way to do ti, so (d) you own him one for doing what he was hired to do in the first place.

86. The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin

I really enjoyed reading this little gem of a book. I love stories that offer a new point of view, and I really like the characterization of Mary that Toibin has done here.

Mary says:

All my life when I have seen more than two men together I have seen foolishness and I have seen cruelty, but it is foolishness that I have noticed first.

He gathered around him, I said, a group of misfits, who were only children like himself, or men without fathers, or men who could not look a woman in the eye. Men who were seen smiling to themselves, or who had grown old when they were still young. Not one of you was normal, I said, and I watched him push his plate of half-eaten food towards me as though he were a child in a tantrum. Yes, misfits, I said. My son gathered misfits, although he himself, despite everything, was not a misfit, he could have done anything, he could have been quiet even, he had that capacity also, the one that is the rarest, he could have spent time alone with ease, he could look at a woman as though she were his equal, and he was grateful, good-mannered, intelligent.

87. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? by Horace McCoy

Powerful little book, set during the Depression, in Los Angeles. The plot reminds me of Hunger Games, with a competition, not for life and death, but for a cash prize and for possible "discovery" by the audience. Very gritty and realistic; made me think of Steinbeck with its very visual writing.

I've see a few reviews of Testament of Mary now and haven't seen anyone who didn't like the book, I will have to nudge it up the list.

Hi, DeltaQueen50!

Testament of Mary is a short (in length) book, but it's chock full of good stuff. It is NOT a huge investment of time, that's for sure!

Thanks for stopping by and chatting.

88. Glinda of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Another wonderful Oz book by Baum--the last one before his death and the continuation of "Oz" books by others. I'm not sure if I'll continue farther with the Oz series--the others may seem counterfeit compared to the original author's books. I may have to give one or two a try.

It was wonderful to have this fourteenth in the series be so well-structured and nicely-written. Many characters from earlier books are referenced here, including my favorite, the Patchwork Girl. It was as if Baum (who had been in ill health) was especially aware that this might be his last book; in fact, he passed away just a few months after finishing the book. The publishers included a note to the readers:

Mr. Baum did his best to answer all the letters from his small earth-friends before he had to leave them, but he couldn't answer quite all, for there were very many. In May, nineteen hundred nineteen, he went away to take his stories to the little child-souls who had lived here too long ago to read the Oz stories for themselves.

I've really enjoyed this series, both for the words themselves and for the reproduction Books of Wonder books--they are gorgeous and very enjoyable to read.

89. Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake

The "Gormenghast Trilogy" has been on my TBR list for years, and I'm finally getting around to it because of a prompt from the TIOLI challenges, and one aviatakh (thanks!).

The books (this is the second; Titus Groan was the first) are chunky, and they are sometimes difficult to get through, sometimes a little slow, and often quite sad. However, the author is able to create an amazing world of fantasy/reality and good/evil.

Peake plays with language:

Toss back your coif and quaff, my querulous queen!

'Now if you'll draw the blinds and if I pull up that green arm-chair, we will be comfortable, affable, incredible and almost insufferable in two shakes of a lamb's tail, won't we?' he said. 'By all that's answerable, we will!'

...the long-drawn hiss of the reptilian rain.

He evinces a love of words:

After the languid threnody of the chimes...

...the winered (drunk?) horde, with Bellgrove at its van, like an oriflamme (n.b., banner, or symbol), were before the front door...

Peake succeeded in creating a strange yet compelling world, and Titus Groan, the 77th Earl of Gormenghast, is a hero who doesn't want to be a hero. But he is incredibly likable, brave, and noble in the non-pomp-and-circumstance sense of the word. I've already got the third book, Titus Alone, loaded on my Nook.

90. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Definitely a book that will stay with me for a while. This one is short in length, but very deep. There is lots to think about--family, friendship, growing up, let alone the fantasy and otherworldly elements. For being such a short book, I found it a little difficult going at times. Maybe that's how it should be--the narrator is relating things that happened (maybe?) when he was seven years old, and maybe he didn't really know what was happening then.

But I had invested my hard-earned quarters in a rental copy of the book from my library, so dang me if I wasn't going to finish it! Seriously, it was well-worth the read, and the rental fee, but I can understand that this book would not be to everyone's liking.

>39 klobrien2:, I felt the same way about The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I loved it, but as I was reading I could sense how it might drive other readers batty with its confused narrator and subsequently scrambled storyline. But I'm also not sure the story could have been told any other way.

Hi, Inge87...I think you're right--the way the story unfolded added to the mystery and eeriness of the book.

I need to read more Gaiman, I think. Do you have any recommendations?

Thanks for visiting and chatting!

91. Anecdotes of Destiny and Ehrengard by Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen)

I tracked down this collection because it contained the source story for "Babette's Feast," one of my favorite movies. I wasn't disappointed in that story, or any of the others that make up this collection. I really liked Dinesen's writing style, plots, and locations (mixing the exotic and the familiar).

Here is a prayer from "Babette's Feast""

May my food my body maintain,
may my body my soul sustain,
may be soul in deed and word
give thanks for all things to the Lord.

One of my favorite passages, from "Ehrengard":

In high mountains, as you will know, there exists a phenomenon of nature called Alpen-Gluhen.

Scientists will tell you that it is caused by a rare play of the spectral colors in the atmosphere, to the looker-on it is a miracle.

After the sun has set, and as the whole majestic mountain landscape is already withdrawing into itself, suddenly the row of summits, all on their own, radiate a divine fire, a celestial, deep rose flame, as if they were giving up a long-kept secret. After that they diappear, nothing more dramatic can be imagined; they have betrayed their inmost substance and can now only annihilate themselves. Black night follows.

92. Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Excellent ghost story! The author builds the story and the tension in this story of an aging rock star who confronts his past. I liked the characters, both good and bad, and I loved the way that my perceptions of who was which changed throughout the novel.

This one might be worth a reread some Halloween.

#42 by @klobrien2> I LOVED Out of Africa.

Ooh, yes, thanks majkia! I have seen the movie version, and I made a mental note to read the book. Your suggestion prompted me to add the book to my TBR list. Thanks! And thanks for stopping by and chatting!

Hi Karen -- you have been reading up a storm! I am just beginning Tolkein myself -- the girls and I read The Hobbit aloud last fall, and we recently started The Fellowship of the Ring. We're having a great time.

I have The Ocean at the End of the Lane and A Discovery of Witches in my pile (the latter on your recommendation), and I LOVE The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney. I used it several times last year in my schools for fable units.

Hi, Anne! Reading has been good this year. I love my Nook--finally a way to read the heavy books without getting achy wrists and hands.

Thanks for stopping by!

93. Georgia O'Keeffe by Georgia O'Keeffe

I've always been enthralled by this artist's paintings--the beautiful, lush colors; the strange but familiar shapes; and the intriguing life story behind the paintings.

This oversize book had so many of the paintings for which O'Keeffe is famous, and the artist's own words describing her life and her work.

There is a serious bookmaking flaw later on--the pages with paintings 104 and 105 repeat, 106 and 107 are skipped, and then 108 repeats. Too bad that this beautiful book had to end a little messed up. Is it just this copy? Must be--I can't imagine that all copies would be sent out like this.

Anyway, great book for the eyes and the soul!

94. Georgia O'Keeffe: Canyon Suite by Barbara J. Bloemink

Another interesting and beautiful book about the works of O'Keeffe; this one focused on a set of watercolors done by the artist when she taught at West Texas State Normal College, in Canyon, TX.

These paintings are not as polished or well-known, perhaps, but the colors! Beautiful purples, reds, indigoes! This would be a wonderful book to have at hand in the middle of a cold, gray Midwestern winter.

I've been to the Georgia O'Keefe museum in Santa Fe--quite and experience!

Hi, ronincats! Well, I think I need to add the museum to my list of places to visit. I also want to read about her life--she seems like a real character.

Thanks for the "heads up"!

Oh, you do! We visited last year when we went to Santa Fe for spring break. Such an interesting woman, and a terrific museum.

>41 klobrien2:, The only other Gaiman I've read recently is Stardust, which was fun but very different from Ocean at the End of the Lane.

>42 klobrien2:, Dinesen has excellent prose, doesn't she?

>48 klobrien2:-49, I'm also an admirer of Georgia O'Keefe. The books sound interesting, particularly the second one. I hadn't realized she'd worked in Canyon. Palo Duro is beautiful though, so I can see how she would be inspired.

Hello, AMQS and inge87! Thanks for stopping by.

Anne, thanks for the strong recommendation for the O'Keeffe museum. I think it's a "must see" for me.

inge87, I read Stardust and really liked it. I also read The Graveyard Book, Good Omens, Coraline, and a graphic novel of Sandman. So, although I had to go look up a list of his books, I am surprised at how much Gaiman I've actually read without thinking that I have read much at all! I definitely think I would like some more in my future.

95. The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss

So, a little, light kiddie book because whisper1 and AMQS said they liked the Sneetches story (and I pay attention to what those two like!)

Lovely, funny, clever writing, made me chuckle and snort all the way through. I had to read some of it to my husband (the story, "Too Many Daves" tells of one Mrs. Cave who had twenty-three sons, all named Dave. This allows for too much confusion, so she considers renaming them. My favorite names were: Marvin O'Gravel Balloon Face; Oliver Boliver Butt; Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate.)

Lots of fun for kids and grown-ups, with some good lessons about self-worth and respect.

Gotta love The Sneetches! I love the 'stars upon thars'.

I know! That made me laugh out loud every time I saw it!

96. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

I really enjoyed this book. It is hard to describe what the book is "about"; I've already tried explaining it to my husband, and wasn't entirely successful.

The book is about reiterations of a life, a specific life: the heroine of the book, in some of the iterations, meets an untimely end, and then her life restarts and she is able to avoid certain bad luck and, sometimes, encounter new situations.

The book is about history; specifically, starting in 1910, when Ursula, our heroine, is born, and ending...when? A large part of the book is in the timeframe of Ursula's young adult and early-middle-aged life, during WWII.

This passage occurs during the horrific bombing of London. Ursula serves as a neighborhood patrol:

"We cannot turn away," Miss Woolf told her, "we must get on with our job and we must bear witness." What did that mean? Ursula wondered. "It means," Miss Woolf said, "that we must remember these people when we are safely in the future."

"And if we are killed?"

"Then others must remember us."

And, another...

That was the problem with time travel, of course (apart from the impossibility)--one would always be a Cassandra, spreading doom with one's foreknowledge of events. It was quite wearingly relentless, but the only way that one could go was forward.

This book used a clever plot device, and it was a very interesting read.

Hooray for Sneetches! I read "Too Many Daves" and "What Was I Scared Of?" aloud this year for Dr. Seuss week. They're lesser-known, but so fun!

97. The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks

A strange, chilling book that reminded me of Clockwork Orange. Lots of craziness and violence; difficult to read at times. But I found it to be a definitely compelling story, and its short length is not too much of a drain on one's reading time. Not for the overly-squeamish!

Hi Karen, I read The Wasp Factory a couple of years ago and it sure did make an impression! I still find myself thinking about it. I am planning on trying more Iain Banks next year.

Hi, DeltaQueen50! I read it not knowing that it was listed on 1001 Books, but after reading it, I really do think it deserves to be there. If you do read more Banks next year, and list them on TIOLI, I'll join in!

Thanks for stopping by to chat!

98. Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie

This is the second Alexie book that I've read, and he's firmly on my list of favorite authors. This one is a set of short stories whose main characters are Native Americans, mostly (all?) of the Spokane tribe of the Pacific Northwest.

I LOVE Alexie's writing; he is sardonic and sweet at the same time. He writes about terribly sad things, and infuses them with hope and nobility. He is very, very funny, but the humor is not mean, but gentle. These stories were a treat to read.

From "The Search Engine":

She endured a contentious and passionate relationship with this library. The huge number of books confirmed how much magic she'd been denied for most of her life, and and now she hungrily wanted to read every book on every shelf. An impossible task, to be sure, Herculean in its exaggeration, but Corliss wanted to read herself to death. She wanted to be buried in a coffin filled with used paperbacks.

The author's photo on the back cover is the best I've ever seen. It shows Alexie in full uproarious laugh, head thrown back, eyes crinkled shut. Lovely!

p.s. Here's the photo! It was used as the cover photo for Blasphemy:

He's been on my watch list for some time, but I haven't read him yet. Thanks for the nudge. I do love the photo.

Wow! I haven't posted in October yet! I am three books behind in my reporting (I've broken past 100 books read), so let's get caught up.



99. Maddaddam by Margaret Atwood

I loved this book, both for its own lovely self and for the way it ties up the loose ends of the "Maddaddam Trilogy" (the first two books of the series were Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood).

The other two books chronicled the end of civilization; this book tells us of how a small group of survivors band together. This is an exciting story, full of pain and sadness, but also love and humor. It was great fun to read.

Here are a few passages that I noted on my read that I liked especially well (one is just a phrase):

There's the story, then there's the real story, then there's the story of how the story came to be told. Then there's what you leave out of the story. Which is part of the story too.

innocent as an egg unlaid

100. Opened Ground: Poems, 1966-1996 by Seamus Heaney

A great collection of Heaney's poetry; I read it in memory of the poet, who passed away recently. Heaney, himself, did the selection for the volume. Here's how he describes it:

This book contains a greater number of poems than would usually appear in a Selected Poems, fewer than would make up a Collected: it belongs somewhere between the two categories.

In a collection this large, I found quite a few individual poems that I liked, and a few that really spoke to my heart.

Here's a bit from North ("Kinship" part II:

Quagmire, swampland, morass;
the slime kingdoms,
domains of the cold-blooded,
of mud pads and dirtied eggs.

But bog
meaning soft,
the fall of windless rain,
pupil of amber.

Ruminant ground,
digestion of mollusc
and seed-pod,
deep pollen-bin.

Earth-pantry, bone-vault,
sun-bank, embalmer
of votive goods
and sabred fugitives.

Insatiable bride.
Sword-swallower,
casket, midden,
floe of history.

Ground that will strip
its dark side.
Nesting ground.
Outback of my mind.

From The Cure at Troy, "Voices from Lemnos," stanza iv:

Human beings suffer.
They torture one another.
They get hurt and get hard.
No poem or play or song
Can fully right a wrong
Inflicted and endured.

History says, Don't hope
On this side of the grave,
But then, once in a lifetime
The longed-for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up
And hope and history rhyme.

I have my own copy of this wonderful collection/selection, and I think I'll be dipping into it fairly often (and I'll check out the many volumes of poetry Heaney produced in his lifetime).

101. Therese Raquin by Emile Zola

Quite a strange little book; a love story? a murder mystery? a psychological drama? You decide.

I read this book because it is on the 1001 Books list, although the list mentions that this probably isn't Zola's best work. I'm glad to hear that, as there are other Zola books that I want to read.

I did really like Zola's evocative imagery; when he describes a street scene, I felt almost as if I were there:

Above, on the terrace, the puffs of air from the river drove away the smell of fat. Therese, leaning over the Balustrade, observed the quay. To right and left, extended two lines of wine-shops and shanties of showmen. Beneath the arbours in the gardens of the former, amid the few remaining yellow leaves, one perceived the white tablecloths, the dabs of black formed by men's coats, and the brilliant skirts of women. People passed to and fro, bareheaded, running, and laughing; and with the bawling noise of the crowd, was mingled the lamentable strains of the barrel organs. An odour of dust and frying food hung in the calm air.

I'm planning on going to see Sherman Alexie in person Thursday night as he will be at the Montana Festival of the Book. Of course, I'll see if I can get an autograph or two. I've been reading Blasphemy, but had to put it aside last week. It's not a book to read when your life has turned stressful! I'm back at it, but probably won't get it done by Thursday.

Maddaddam and Life After Life are both firmly on my to-be-acquired list when I have Planet TBR pared down a bit.

Alexie is supposed to be a great speaker, so enjoy!

Oh, I bet he'll be great! I hope you stop back here and give us a report, streamsong! I'll keep an eye on your thread, too.

102. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

I finally made some progress with the Dresden Files series, reading the second book. It was not a bad read, but kind of bogged down a little in the middle.

I had a few passages marked for my little report here, but I read it via ebook from my library, and my hold expired! Wah! I will say that I really like Butcher's writing style and sense of humor. I love the motif of a good but rough hero, fighting evil against all odds. Classic!

103. Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Hilarious little juvenile graphic book! I think I need to read all of the Lunch Lady books. She's my kind of hero!

104. Blasphemy: New and Selected Stories by Sherman Alexie

Another great collection of stories by Alexie. Lots of new writing, with some of my favorite of his previously-published stories ("What Ever Happened to Frank Snake Church," "What You Pawn I Will Redeem"). His characters are smart, sweet, often very funny; his stories are evocative, often heartbreaking, often hilarious. This was a very tasty collection of Alexie.

From "War Dancer": I wanted to call up my father and tell him that a white man thought my brain was beautiful. But I couldn't tell him anything. He was dead. I told my wife and sons that I was okay. I told my mother and siblings. I told my friends. But none of them laughed as hard about my beautiful brain as I knew my father would have. I miss him, the drunk bastard. I would always feel closest to the man who had most disappointed me.

From "The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor,"
a short and sweet statement: Humor was an antiseptic that cleaned the deepest of personal wounds.

105. The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

I'd come across mention of these books in other books, and a little talk of LTers reading them lately. The "Fairy books" were a series of twelve (?) books, published mostly around the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; the last one, The Lilac Fairy Book was published in 1940.

I've decided to read the books, and what's more, I'm looking to find my own copies of at least the first six (to celebrate my six years on LT). Having finished the first, and having enjoyed it immensely, I'm really looking forward to the others.

I loved coming across the old favorites like "Rumpelstiltskin" and "Cinderella," but it was also great to read new tales. The illustrations are terrific, incredibly detailed line drawings that make the stories come alive.

Karen, your mention of Rumpelstiltskin reminds me of my grandmother. That's the story she always told us at bedtime, and my brother and I used to beg her to tell it long after we were too old for fairy tales and bedtime stories. (Partly because she talked in her sleep and the story would take very interesting turns if she fell asleep while telling it!)

What a great story, cbl_tn! And what a great memory to have of your grandmother.

Thanks for stopping by!

Oh, I think I need to find the Fairy Books as well, Karen. Carrie, what a wonderful story!

Anne, the Fairy Books are great (I have personal experience only with the first one, but I have to hope that the whole series is as fun).

Thanks for stopping by!

106. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher

Loved this third installment in "The Dresden Files" series. Nonstop action, lots of humor, great characters. Excellent book for these pre-Halloween days.

Here's a sample bit of dialogue, between Harry Dresden, the wizard-for-hire hero of the books, and his ally Michael, an old-style knight, a truly righteous man:

"Outstanding," Michael said. "You see, Harry? This detour of yours to help Detective Malone is going to help us a great deal. Isn't that a very positive coincidence?"

"Yeah, Michael. Divine fortune, yadda, yadda. Call me."

"Don't yadda yadda the Lord, Harry. It's disrespectful. God go with you." And he hung up.

107. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (A New Verse Translation) by Simon Armitage

This was a lot of fun to read. Armitage has done a great translation (IMHO). He wasn't afraid of using words like "namby-pamby" or "bamboozled," and he also let the old words do, if there was no translation (e.g. "wodwo").

There was a lot of hunting action, which I skimmed through, but I liked the view into the courtly world that the story provides.

Here is one of my favorite passages:

"There are folk in this castle who keep courtesy to the forefront;
their master maintains them--happiness to them all.
And let his lordship's lady be loved all her life.
That they chose, out of charity, to cherish a guest,
showing kindness and care, then may heaven's King
who reigns overall reward them handsomely.
For as along as I live in the lands of this world
I shall practice every means in my power to repay him."

#79 Yay for Dresden :) They just keep getting better - I am so excited that the latest one will be out soon.

I saw that, BekkaJo! I've got a long way to go, but I'm finding that these books are like potato chips--you have to keep "eating" them.

Thanks for stopping to chat!

108. Summer Knight by Jim Butcher

Another of my "potato chip" reads--these Dresden Files books are so good that you have to keep reading them!

This one had new supernatural creatures, new venues, but the same wonderfully funny and good-hearted hero, Harry Dresden. Butcher make Dresden seem so good, so brave, so funny; a truly heroic character.

I think this is the fourth in the series, and I'll be looking for the fifth one quite soon.

109. Star Wars: Vader's Little Princess by Jeffrey Brown

Fun little cartoon book, a follow-up to last year's Darth Vader and Son. I think only fans of the Star Wars movies would catch all of the jokes, but the workings of parenthood would be clear to any parent.

110. Death Masks by Jim Butcher

Well, I didn't wait long at all to read the fifth book in the Dresden Files series! I was greatly aided in this by the presence of the ebook on my library's "shelf."

Thoroughly enjoyed this one as well, with some fun twists and turns, and the overarching goodness and wit of wizard Harry Dresden.

Great easy and fun read for me as my siblings and I are providing 24x7 caretaking for my Mom as she prepares to move into an assisted living apartment (on Saturday!) A bit of stress, so a book like this was a real treat.

I think I'll go look for the next one. See how far I can get in 2013. I won't make my reading volume goal, so I'll make do with a smaller goal.

111. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

A classic novel about war that is chilling and horrific in its descriptiveness. I read this in high school, a million years ago, but decided it was time to read it again (and it's a 1001 Books book). It was difficult to read just because of its subject matter, but I'm glad I did finish it.

112. The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith

My last book (see above) was so heartbreakingly sad and difficult to read that I needed a change of pace. What could be better than the latest installment of the "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" novels.

Another top-notch book from McCall Smith. The author has found a recipe, perhaps, but it makes a very tasty read.

Here is a quote that I really enjoyed:

By nine o'clock the first clouds had appeared in the sky. At first there was a darkening band of grey on the horizon, which became rapidly larger, filling the lower half of the sky and developing into great rounded masses, stacked high and angry. Grey became purple, and purple shaded into black, to be obscured suddenly by white veils of rain descending, fold upon fold, like great muslin curtains. There were thunder and distant forks of lightning joining sky to earth, the patter of the first drops, and then the steady roar of the downpour. There came the smell of damp dust, and then of lightning--the smell of electricity, if electricity had a smell. And finally the smell of rain, that watery scent that so lifted the heart of anybody who lived in a dry land.

113. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 9 Volume 4: Welcome to the Team by Andrew Chambliss, et al.

Fun installment in the Buffy series of graphic novels. Welcome visits from many characters from both the TV show and the previous graphic novels.

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas!!

Merry Christmas to you, Karen!

>88 klobrien2:: Oh! I need to read Season 9. It's one of those things I keep intending to do but forget to get around to.

Hi, dk_phoenix! I hope you get a chance to read it! One thing I like about graphic novels is that they don't take a lot of reading time--or, rather, you can take as long as you want.

Have a happy new year!

114. Blood Rites by Jim Butcher

This will be my last completed book this year. Another satisfying entry in the series about the modern-day wizard and all-around good guy, Harry Dresden. He's funny, smart, sexy, and has a heart of gold.

My goal for the rest of today is to catch up on my reading of all the 2013 threads that I've been following out of the "75 Books" challenge group. I haven't even looked at the 2014 threads yet--that's for tomorrow. I have joined the 2014 group, and I'll continue with the 75 books group next year--it's a lot of fun!