japaul22's 2014 Reading

Hi everyone! I'm Jennifer and I'm back for my third year in Club Read. I'm a professional musician and mother of two little boys (ages 4 and 10 months).

I read primarily classics or current literary fiction and I gravitate towards women authors. I also read the occasional mystery and try to keep up with nonfiction reading, mainly biographies and American/European history, though I failed miserably at getting to it last year.

Last year I did almost no planned reading and just went with what I was feeling at the moment. It was just what I needed and I enjoyed it, but this year I have planned things a bit more. Of course, that may not work out and that's fine by me.

Looking forward to a great year of reading!

Favorites of 2013

Favorites of 2013
Possession by A.S. Byatt
The Summer Book by Tove Jannson
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Germinal by Emile Zola

Almost favorites of 2013
Morality Play by Barry Unsworth
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
Of Human Bondage by Maugham
A Room with a View by Forster
The Forsyte Saga by Galsworthy
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Silas Marner by George Eliot
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

Books Read in 2014

January: 4085 pages read, average book length 511 pages
1. Devil's Brood by Sharon Kay Penman, 4 stars
2. Roots of Heaven by Romain Gary, 4 stars
3. Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution by Eric Foner, 4.5 stars
4. Masterminds and Wingmen by Rosalind Wiseman, 2 stars
5. Bleak House by Charles Dickens, 3.5 stars
6. The Short Life and Long Times of Mrs. Beeton by Kathryn Hughes, 3.5 stars
7. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, 5 stars
8. The Pentrals by Crystal Mack, 4 stars

February: 2548 pages read, average book length 364 pages
9. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks, 4.5 stars
10. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson, 2.5 stars
11. Death Comes to Pemberly by P.D. James, 3 stars
12. Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue, 4 stars
13. The Greenlanders by Jane Smiley, 4.5 stars
14. Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, 4 stars
15. The Real Charlotte by Somerville and Ross, 4 stars

March: 540 pages read, average book length 270 pages
16. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, 4 stars
17. Queen Lucia by E.F. Benson, 5 stars

April: 2302 pages read, average book length 460 pages
18. Life and Fate by Vassily Grossman, 4 stars
19. Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey, 4.5 stars
20. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, 3.5 stars
21. Revelation by C.J. Sansom, 3.5 stars
22. Miss Mapp byE.F. Benson

May: 3476 pages read, average book length 579 pages
23. Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman
24. The Brontes: Wild Genius on the Moors by Juliet Barker, 4 stars
25. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton, 4 stars
26. The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor, 5 stars
27. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery, 5 stars (reread)
28. The Planet in a Pebble by Jan Zalasiewicz, 3.5 stars

June:
29. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, 4 stars
30. The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer, 3.5 stars
31. Alberta and Jacob by Cora Sandel, 5 stars
32. Margaret Fuller: A New American Life by Megan Marshall, 4 stars
33. Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe, 3.5 stars
34. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, 3.5 stars
35. Pearl Buck in China by Hilary Spurling, 4 stars

Group Reads
Bleak House with January 2014 category challenge group read
The Short Life and Long Times of Mrs. Beeton with 2014 category challenge, 1st quarter
Bel Canto with March 2014 category challenge group read
Four Queens: The Provencal Sisters who Ruled Europe by Nancy Goldstone with 2014 category challenge, 3rd quarter (July-Sep)
Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann with Author Theme Reads

Planned Reads
Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman
The Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsen
The Greenlanders by Jane Smiley

Books I'm Considering Next
La Regenta
Mapp and Lucia
The Good Lord Bird
Signature of all Things
The Good Earth reread
The Land of Spices

TBR shelves at the start of 2014*
Fiction: 54
Nonfiction: 11
Kindle: 46

*numbers do not include about 15 of my husband's books that I may read some day

Oh, Life and Fate is one my favorite books of all time!

Rebecca, I'm pretty sure Life and Fate is on my TBR list because of you. I've been kind of avoiding it because the subject matter is so bleak. Is the whole book depressing, or are there lighter moments as well?

It's pretty bleak throughout, I'm afraid, although I guess there might be a sprinkling of lighter moments.

Well, at least I know what to expect!

I love Vasily Grossman too. I hope Hamsun's Growth of the Soil is cheerier than his Hunger. I read that earlier this year. Love Bel Canto and Bleak House.

Here's a picture of me and my eldest son on a tour of the White House holiday decorations. They had a book tree!!



and a close up of the book tree

I love it! Glad to see another DC-area reader here.

What a great opportunity - Love the book tree! Were there any good/notable titles on it?

fannyprice - yep, we're out in NOVA now after living on the Hill for 8 years.

ljbwell - Between trying to get out of the way of others taking pictures and making sure my 4 year old didn't touch anything he wasn't supposed to, I don't really remember the titles. I'm pretty sure it was mainly classics or non-fiction and all seemed to be very nice editions.

Happy New Year!! Star.

Karspeak - will you be staying in the 75ers group? I want to make sure to star your thread!

Yes! And my thread is up. Four Queens looks interesting, I plan to read it this year, thanks for mentioning it.

Post 91 on my 2013 thread has the link, BTW, to my 2014 thread. Or you can look on the thread book of the homepage of the 2014 75ers group--otherwise it can be very difficult finding anyone!

How exciting that you got to go to the White House. I,too, like the book tree.

arubabookwoman - It was fun to get to take my family to the White House. I'm actually over there quite a bit because I'm a musician in the Marine Band, and our main mission is to provide music for the President. It's a great job!

#1 Devil's Brood by Sharon Kay Penman
This is the third book in Penman's series exploring the realm of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. This book focuses on Henry's struggles over power with his four ambitious sons. After a decent but not overly exciting start with the first two books of the series, Penman really caught fire with this tale of deceit, power struggles, and family drama. I kept thinking that often you hear about the drama of Kings struggling to provide a male heir to their throne, but in this case, having four ambitious sons provided just as much drama and conflict as all of them wanted the crown or at least significant power in their own right. Eleanor is held in captivity by her husband for supporting their sons' rebellion for much of this book, but she is still fascinating.

As always, I love Penman's brand of historical fiction. She sticks to the facts when relating historical events and the positioning of characters, using very few fictional characters. Even some of the servants are names that are included in contemporary historical records. Then she flushes out the story by drawing her own conclusions from the evidence to characterize the people she writes of, guessing at their motivations, personalities, and reactions. I find it very easy to separate fact from fiction in her work and tear through these long novels without wanting to put them down.

Loads of fun!

4 stars

Original Publication Date: 2008
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 768
Rating: 4 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: purchased for Kindle

>20 japaul22: Jennifer, Devil's Brood sounds like something I would like. Is it a series one should read in order?

Absolutely read it in order, but I've read a lot of her books now, and my favorite is still the stand alone The Sunne in Splendour about Richard III. That's where I would recommend starting if you're interested in her style of historical fiction. It hooked me on her books and I've read almost all of her historical fiction now. She has a series about 13th century Wales that starts with Here Be Dragons that I loved also. This series about Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II begins with Henry's mother's struggle to claim the throne with When Christ and His Saints Slept.

I've added those to my wishlist. Thank you.

Hi Jennifer, I'm looking forward to following your reading this year and I'm sorry I didn't manage to do so last year. I'm going to go back and look for your thoughts on The Summer Book. I watched a documentary on Tove Jansson last year, which prompted me to read my first Moomins book, but I'd love to read some of her grown-up work as well

Lovely pictures in #10!

Wow--I'm even more impressed to learn that you get to go to the White House all the time.

I purchased The Sunne in Splendour last year after reading several recommendations for Penman's books on LT. I haven't read it yet (or anything else by her), but your comments make me even more eager to get to it. I'm also glad that you suggest it as the place to start with Penman. I'm half hoping, half dreading getting hooked on any one of her historical series.

#19 That is very cool about your job!

Rebeki - I have a Moomins book on the shelf that I bought to read with my son who is just starting to let me read chapter books to him. I think it's a bit too complex though - I might just read it myself. I really loved THe Summer Book - I hope you get to it this year!

arubabookwoman - I think you will either love or hate Penman and will be able to decide pretty quickly. You can definitely count me as one who is hooked on her books, though!

Rebecca - I do have a pretty fun job (most days!).

#2 The Roots of Heaven by Romain Gary
Elephants, elephants, and more elephants. This is the story of Morel, a survivor of the German concentration camps in WWII, who goes to Africa after the war to bring attention to the killing of innocent elephants. During his time in the concentration camps, he survived by imagining himself with the elephants, roaming free over the African plains. When he takes up this cause, the different factions in French colonial Africa attribute all sort of secondary motives to him - mainly equating saving the elephants to freeing Africa from French rule. Morel insists that he takes no side in these human concerns, just wants elephants to be left alone to live their lives. He attracts a following of misfits and the book tells the story of their cause and reactions to them through a story-teller, retelling the events which gives the book the feel of a fable or tall tale.

This book was a bit outside my normal comfort zone, but I ended up being pretty intrigued by it. It gave me a lot to think about and I enjoyed it even though it was a little weird.

4 stars

Original Publication Date: 1956
Author’s nationality: French
Original language: French
Length: 375 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: out of publication - ordered a used copy from Amazon

#27 - I keep getting Moomin picture books out of the library for my son, but they are still a bit long and complex for a 2-year-old and I end up paraphrasing. I'm definitely borrowing them for my own benefit!

This is supposed to be the year of reading from my shelves, but, after just three days back on LT, I'm remembering how hard it is to stick to that kind of resolution. I may ask for The Summer Book as a present. That's acceptable, right?

The Roots of Heaven sounds very interesting. weirdness can be good. Did you read it in translation?

Rebeki - the Summer Book is totally worth it! Plus, it's published by NYRB which are always such nice editions.

Barry - unfortunately my high school french would not get me through anything but simple children's books! I think you would enjoy The Roots of Heaven.

By your review, I can't tell whether I would like The Roots of Heaven, but as Romain Gary, born in 1914, is one of our literary Centennials, I will be tempted to read something by this author, otherwise unknown to me.

Edwin, we did a group read of it in the 1001 books to read before you die group, and I would say that most of us were glad we read it. It's an interesting reading experience and I think it's a book I'll continue pondering for a long time to come.

With this book I wrap up my 2013 reading!

#3 Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution by Eric Foner
I’ve been reading Foner’s definitive account of Reconstruction off and on for the past 6 months and definitely had a love/hate relationship with this scholarly and dense book. Though parts were extremely readable and interesting and the whole book is impeccably and fairly researched, I also found large sections, especially those focusing on the corrupt politics of the time, to be terribly dry and hard to comprehend.

Foner’s book focuses on 1863, with the Emancipation Proclamation, to 1877, with the fall of the last Southern Republican governments. It was interesting to me that many of the same arguments still heard today were born and internalized in this era. There were many powerful arguments from all sides that government support of the recently freed slaves would only lead to never-ending dependence, and argument against welfare still heard today. Keep in mind this was after enslaving a whole people, denying them education, family, and any opportunity to learn to live independently. Also, towards the end of Reconstruction, laws were created and enforced only for blacks that effectively incarcerated a large percentage of black men, viewed by blacks as another way to enslave them. I couldn’t help comparing the sentiment to today’s current drug laws as explained in The New Jim Crow, one of the most eye-opening books on social justice I’ve ever read.

Reconstruction was largely a failure as most of us know. At the end of it, any efforts made at the beginning to create public education, enforce the legality of blacks voting, support freed slaves in earning a living, or include blacks in politics were reversed and opportunities were closed off. Racism was not the only factor in it’s failure; a severe economic depression, worker strikes in the north, inept Republican politicans (President Johnson most obviously), and of course the violence of the Ku Klux Klan all contributed to it’s failure. There were a few nominal positives in that in did establish a legal framework in the Constitution for the federal government to later (like, 100 years later!) intervene in the South and support the Civil Rights movement. Also, this was when black families finally got to strengthen after separation through slavery and the church and community developed where the civil rights movement would be born.

If you have any interest in this time period, this is the book to read. It is regarded as the first book to contradict the deplorable books previously written by “historians” who defended the decisions of the Confederate south and perpetuated the idea that the freed slaves and all blacks were not fit to be anything other than slaves or menial labor. It is quite shocking how long that viewpoint was regarded as scholarly truth.

Original Publication Date: 1988
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 611 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: purchased from Amazon

Great review, Jennifer.

"perpetuated the idea that the freed slaves and all blacks were not fit to be anything other than slaves or menial labor"

I remember being surprised when I read some of that mentality while reading No Ordinary Time last year. I mean, I knew that racism existed, but not in that form, and by educated people. Shameful.

Enjoyed your review, and I would definitely read this if I had enough time to delve into that period.

>35 NanaCC: Oh, there's apparently no end to the amount of self-delusion people will engage in if it benefits them. From Nat Turner: A Slave Rebellion in History and Memory that I just read:
"William Sidney Drewry...described the slaves as 'the happiest laboring class in the world' and praised the whites for their 'gentle treatment' of their bound property: 'The system of labor seems to have been an ideal one.'"
It is horrifying the lengths that people will go to, to protect their greed.

If you want to go more into failures of Reconstruction/post-Reconstruction stuff, check out Slavery By Another Name, I really recommend it.

>35 NanaCC:, 37 I knew that sentiment existed, but I wasn't prepared for how deeply it was ingrained, even in those who fought for an end to slavery.

mabith - thanks for the suggestion, I put it in my TBR list. Looks like an excellent book.

Roots of Heaven is one of my favorite books of all time but I was never able to recommend it since the English translation used to be so hard to get (I read the book in French) so I'm glad it is finally surfacing back up for air on LT. It really is a marvelous read.

Roots of Heaven sounds really interesting. I'll have to keep an eye out for that! And I can only echo the The Summer Book bandwagon. It's an absolute gem.

lilisin - I remembered you saying how much you like Roots of Heaven, so when it was picked for the group read in the 1001 books to read before you die group, I decided I needed to find it. There were lots of copies on ebay and amazon used, mainly a Time Life edition from the 60s. The paper was still in good condition, but the cover was made with some sort of plastic that had turned very brittle and broke off right away. I really enjoyed the reading experience though. I found the way the Gary layers the story telling to be interesting and of course the subject matter of so many points of view on French colonialism in Africa. I think the political message would have meant more to me if I was reading it in the 1950s, but it was effective nonetheless. Have you read any of Gary's other works?

lbjwell - Glad to find another reader who loves The Summer Book. I bought another book by Jansson, The True Deceiver that I'm going to try this year. As I said to Lilisin above, you might stumble on The Roots of Heaven in a second hand bookshop, but as far as I could tell it hasn't been in print in the US since the 60s or 70s.

#4 Masterminds and Wingmen by Rosalind Wiseman
Rosalind Wiseman is, well, what is she? She's not a doctor, a psychologist, a psychiatrist, a researcher . . . her bio says she's "an internationally recognized expert on children, parenting, bullying, social justice, and ethical leadership". If any of you have heard of her, it's probably for her book Queen Bees and Wannabes and the spin off movie, Mean Girls, produced by Tina Fey.

This book is the boy equivalent of Mean Girls. In it she attempts to decode "boy world". Since I have two little boys I thought this might be interesting. I was not impressed. To be fair, maybe it would all mean more to me if my boys were in the target age group she's describing, middle-high school, but I don't think so. I found her way to quick to try to categorize every boy and every parent and too slow to acknowledge that people rarely fit in such well defined categories. The book is divided into sections for specific problems, so if you're having a specific problem I guess reading that section might be helpful, but I just wasn't a fan of her approach or tone.

I'm sick of writing this review!
2 stars

Original Publication Date: 2013
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 384 pages
Rating: 2 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: library book, hold list

Too bad. Consider The Way of Boys by Anthony Rao. I read it about 2 1/2 years ago, and got a lot out of it. He does a great job in the first couple chapters of explaining boys verse girls, and it happened to fit my kids really well (I have a daughter and a son, now 9 & 7). The rest of the book is then the specifics of this or that, and hence dull reading. Oh - and I have a review posted.

Thank you, Dan! I will definitely check that book out. I think there were several reasons the Wiseman book didn't work for me, but I suspect it was primarily the highly conversational tone. I could not get past it to make use if the information. Also, since its really geared towards teenagers, it may not have resonated with me.

Loved your review of The Way of Boys!

Nice review of Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution. I have a the abbreviated version of A short History of Reconstruction on my shelves that I like forward to reading now.

EDIT: wasn't even close to abbreviated.

Stretch - I was kind if wishing I'd gotten the abbreviated version the whole time I was reading the long version!

I'm sick of writing this review!
2 stars

That about says it all.

Just popping in. Thanks for the book tree photo, and very nice of you to include a picture of yourself. And very cool that you are in the Marine band; what do you play? (I played cornet/mellophone/trumpet...etc for nine years, and quite honestly it was enough John Phillips Sousa for me to last a lifetime).

I have a question about your 2013 favorites list, of which I have read 4 of the 6. Is there anything that, looking back, you might observe that runs through all six which might suggest something about the books you love. I just found your choices between 'favorites' and 'almost favorites' a bit interesting is all. And I can't ask this question as easily to someone if they have, say, 15 or 20 favorites.

<49--Interesting question.

Enjoyed your review of The Roots of Heaven. I have at least one book by Romain Gary TBR, not that one though, I don't think - I must get round to him!

(Love the pictures! And yes, what a cool job you have...)

Lois, I play the french horn. And, yes, Sousa did not write the most inspiring horn parts but we play a lot of other things too!

As far as your question about what connects my favorites, I've been thinking about it and I'm not positive. I think the main things that make me love a book are strong, memorable characters and a sense of history, meaning a strong setting that sweeps me into a different world or era. I think that all of those favorites have both of those things. I would say that, for the most part, my almost favorites have that as well, but they just were a little bit easier to put down for me than my true favorites from the year. It's an interesting thing to think about! Did you notice any ties that led you to ask the question? Or did you think they were all rather different?

Rachel - I'd be interested to read reviews of Gary's other works if you ever get around to him. I'm still on the fence about Roots of Heaven, though it still has me thinking, which is a good thing!

Another cheerleader for Tove Jansson here. I LOVE everything of hers that I've read and I'm sad that I didn't read the Moomin books as a kid. I'm waiting for my brother and his wife to start having children so I can buy them all sorts of Moomin-related items!

42 -

I've read Gary's Les cerf-volants (The Kites) which takes place in France during WWII and really enjoyed that book as well. I also got halfway through La Promesse de l'aube (Promise at Dawn) which I abandoned not due to the work, but due to my reading mood/rut. I keep intending to finish the book and then to read Education Europeene (A European Education) but my reading hasn't led me in his direction in a while due to my current interests.

Charbutton - I have Comet in Moominland on the shelf to read with my son at some point in the coming years. I'm excited about it!

lillisin - The Kites sounds interesting. I'm pretty sure there's someone in the 1001 books group that read and liked Promise at Dawn, which I think is autobiographical. I'm sure I will pick up something else by Romain Gary one of these days.

#5 Bleak House by Charles Dickens
I enjoyed this very long Dickens novel that weaves together multiple stories and has more characters than you can possibly remember. This novel has it all - mystery, lawsuits, love triangles, blackmail, death, crazy people, spontaneous combustion, pre-marital sex . . . you name it. This makes the book both fun and long/confusing. I had to pay attention to every single character introduced, because they all end up being important. As I've found to often be the case with Dickens, I found the peripheral characters to be more interesting than the main characters. I actually didn't like Esther, who narrates half of the book, much at all. She had a goody two shoes attitude that I just couldn't stand or believe.

Central to this book is a lawsuit about a dispute over the estate left in a will. I found the harsh commentary on law to be both amusing and interesting and I think it really bulked up the book in a good way.

Overall, I felt like I did with other Dickens I've read - I liked the plot and characters and some of Dickens' writing is just beautiful, but it was just a bit too long and diffuse for it to really be a favorite.

Original Publication Date: 1853
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 1088 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: kindle (free from amazon)

I wanted to share one example of Dickens' writing that makes me really want to keep reading his books. This passage comes at the end of a chapter where a character has just died. Not to give anything away, but the character is poor and homeless and of that class of people whose hardships are often ignored.

To me, Dickens has his kind of heavy-handed, wordy tone in this paragraph to the point that I was kind of skimming and thinking "blah, blah, blah - more words"

Dead, your Majesty. Dead, my lords and gentlemen. Dead, right reverends and wrong reverends of every order. Dead, men and women, born with heavenly compassion in your hearts.

But then, this final sentence is so poignant and points to the larger picture so succinctly, I had to read it several times and pause to contemplate.

And dying thus around us every day.

That sentence is representative of the best of Dickens to me. He can really get to the heart of the matter when he wants to.

I read a mystery novel last year that was tangentially related to Bleak House - it was called The Solitary House in the American version. I believe the conceit was that it involved minor characters from Bleak House. It was ok, but I wondered if I would have gotten more out of it had I read the source material. Dickens just seems so long.

I really want to read Bleak House. In fact I really would like to read more Dickens.

I've read most of Dickens's novels, and Bleak House remains my favorite.

Enjoyed your review of Bleak House. The size of it (the book, not your review!) is a bit off-putting, but it does sound more intriguing than some of Dickens's other novels. I have the impression, based on my annoyance with the young female character in A Tale of Two Cities, whose name escapes me right now, and on what other people have said, that Dickens isn't great at writing young women.

You mean like this?



I am reading/listening to Bleak House at the moment and enjoying it, but Esther is occasionally intensely irritating in her self-abnegation, especially after the fever. She needs some feminism!

(Comic from Hark, a Vagrant!)

fannyprice - I like spin offs on classics if they are done well - I'll keep an eye out for The Solitary House.

NanaCC - I think you would like Bleak House. It's a time commitment, but I didn't find it to be particularly difficult reading as long as you keep the characters straight.

Steven - Bleak House is toward the top of my Dickens list as well. I'd say I enjoyed A Tale of Two Cities more, but I liked Bleak House better than Great Expectations and much better than David Copperfield.

Rebeki - I can't think of many strong female leads in Dickens's work, though some of his female secondary characters are great.

wandering_star - Love that cartoon!! I think Esther would be even more annoying on audio!

#62 - Ha ha, that's very good!

I have yet to read Bleak House I am saving it up for a special treat..... a special treat that will last a long time

Hi Jennifer. Love your White House pics!
The elephant book is going on my list. Great review of the reconstruction book also.

62 love it!

Well just that fast The Roots of Heaven jumped from my wish list to my should be arriving soon from Better World Books list! Funny how that happens!

MK - Roots of Heaven was such an interesting and different book to me. I'll be curious to see what you make of it.

Dickens is one of those novelists whom I did not like until I reached my early 20s. When I was about eight or nine, I saw the movie Oliver!, a musical version of the the book, and loved it. I tried to read it, but I did not think it could hold its own against Jane Eyre and Jane Austen's novels. In high school, A Tale of Two Cities was compulsory reading. Apart from the opening lines of the book, Madame Defarge and And Sydney Carton's last line, I found the book saccharine.

And then the big reunion with Dickens. I was living in an old house in the middle of nowhere without access to a decent public library or a bookstore. The house, however, had the equivalent of a great works library including most of Dickens's novels. For lack of anything else to read except cereal boxes and decades-old editions of Reader's Digest, I picked up David Copperfield and immediately became a Dickens devotee. He is one of those authors whose works I periodically reread.

Urania - David Copperfield was a book that I had to read for high school English and didn't enjoy at all. I should definitely return to it as an adult, especially considering I've liked all the Dickens novels I've read recently.

Jennifer,

I think David is a horrid little prig, but the ancillary characters in this novel are fascinating and in many cases hilarious.

#6 The Short Life and Long Times of Mrs. Beeton: The First Domestic Goddess by Kathryn Hughes

This is a biography that I picked up because of a group read happening here on LT. I had never heard of Mrs. Beeton - I'd be curious to know if any of you (especially the Brits!) have. Isabella Beeton was a Victorian woman who is known for her "Book of Household Management". Isabella's husband was a publisher and she wrote for his magazines and wrote this book as well which has been edited and republished countless times and is in fact still in print. Isabella Beeton's name may be long-lived, but as the title states, she had an all to short life, dying in her late 20s most likely of syphilis contracted from her husband.

There has been much controversy about Beeton's life and writing. The Book of Household Management is often blamed for the much-maligned state of British cooking (i.e. boiling vegetables for hours at a time) and there is also the fact that people think of "Mrs. Beeton" as a middle age mother of many and expert at running a house and cooking, when in fact, Isabella Beeton was in her early 20s, had no living children and probably never cooked the majority of the included recipes. To write the book, she rewrote or sometimes directly plagiarized from other cookbooks and housekeeping books.

The most interesting part of this book for me was the exploration of Victorian middle class life through Isabella's life. Everything from rising and falling through the middle classes, courtship, marriage, home life, food eaten, clothes worn, and the ravages of syphilis is explored. As well, publishing and copyrights are integral to this book which I found very interesting.

Reading this book came at a good time for me since I was reading Dickens' Bleak House at the same time. It was entertaining and easy to read.

Original Publication Date: 2006
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 461 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: borrowed from library

>72 japaul22:, I've read a little bit about Mrs. Beeton in various histories about housekeeping and cooking, but wasn't aware there was a whole bio of her. Her Book of Household management is available as a free public domain ebook in the US (probably elsewhere). I'll definitely look for this one because she is an intriguing character!

fannyprice - If you're at all interested in her or the time period, I think you'd like this bio. It was fun to read.

#7 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
Anyone who has been on LT for any length of time has heard rave reviews about this slim book of letters between an American book lover and a used book store in England. I'll add my voice of praise to the chorus and say I'm in love with this book. I laughed, I cried, I neglected my children to finish it. So grab an hour and a glass of wine and read this book. You won't regret it.

Original Publication Date: 1970
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 97 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: purchased from Amazon (which I feel very guilty about after reading about this fantastic bookstore)

Penman is a huge favorite of mine! I was able to spend a week in Wales using Penman as a guide. I even visited the sarcophagus of Joan, wife of Llewellyn and the illegitimate daughter of King John, found in Beaumaris in Anglesey. It was empty, having been used for some years as a trough. A few photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/therichardsons/tags/joan

Have you read her medieval mystery series that features Eleanor of Aquitaine? She may be my favorite queen.

I laughed, I cried, I neglected my children to finish it. So grab an hour and a glass of wine and read this book. You won't regret it.

LOL! Best plug for a book ever!
*still laughing*

witchyrichy - That is so neat! I loved the Welsh series and also liked that she worked Wales into the Eleanor of Aquitaine series. I have not read any of the mysteries yet, but I have two sitting on my shelves.

Ditto to #77

>75 japaul22: I have 84, Charing Cross Road on my wishlist. I think Chris has it, so it should be easy to get.

avidmom and Steven - glad to have amused! And I guarantee the kids survived!

NanaCC - it really will only take up an hour of your time and it's well worth it for any book lover.

>77 avidmom:, 79 Double ditto!

>80 NanaCC: Nana, I can't believe I haven't made you read it before! It's one of those books that is perfect to revisit periodically, like popping in on an old friend.

>82 cabegley: Chris, You can just add it to the pile. :)

Jennifer, I enjoyed the posts on Dickens and Bleak House, which I have not yet read. But coincidentally, I found a copy in a box of books I was shelving yesterday and placed it in eye-sight.

Hi Jennifer - you read a few of my favourites last year: Possession, To the Lighthouse and Suite Francaise, and 84 Charing Cross Road is read, and re-read quite regularly. I've always loved the tone of it (and I have to admit, nowerdays always hear it in Anne Bancroft's voice now!)

Will look forward to keeping track of your reading in the coming year.

#8 The Pentrals by Crystal Mack
I need to preface this review by saying the the author, Crystal Mack, went to the same high school that I did. I don't really remember her, but she was friends with my younger sister, who introduced me to this book.

The book is a YA fantasy/world-building story and is the first in a series. It is about the world of the Pentrals, who are the beings who inhabit our shadows and reflections. The story is very clever. A group of teenagers are at the heart of the book and the shadow of Violet, whose name is Antares, narrates the book. Antares and Violet end up switching places and in a human body, Antares begins to see that there is something very wrong with the world that Violet is living in. As Antares learns more about her shadow world she also begins to understand the mystery behind why all the adults are so miserable in Talline. Talline itself is interesting. It's a city built in the Grand Canyon comprised of mirrors on every surface, creating a bright, shining city but also containing darkness in the reflections it presents.

I thought the world building was very successful and the writing is great. It's clear and concise and also had some deep themes that were presented without being overworked or getting too cheesy. The love triangle and relationships between the teenagers were a bit over-dramatic for my personal taste, but then again, teenagers are pretty dramatic!

I don't read a lot of YA fiction, but I did enjoy reading this book and will continue with the series when it's published. I think that teenagers who like fantasy will love this book and I think that most adults who enjoy series like The Hunger Games will like it as well.

Original Publication Date: 2013
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 246 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: kindle purchase

75 Sometimes I find that when I neglect my children or my mother or my husband, they grow and mature and learn new things. Altho I must say, I'm afraid if my husband neglected me, I'd be living in a slum somewhere or sleeping in the library bathroom.

You can imagine my horror when I managed to find my way to 84 Charing Cross Road and found it was a pizza parlor. Someone please tell me I did something wrong.

Literary-themed pizzas?

And then i tried to come up with some good names and could only think of titles like Love in the Time of Cholera, The Hunger Games and Bring Up the Bodies, none of which would make appetizing pizza names.

Lol

Literary-themed pizzas?

Pride and Pepperoni
Sausage and Sensibility
For Whom the Bell Pepper Tolls
A Mushroom with a View

Love the pizza names - I'll have to come up with some of my own!

Sad that 84, Charing Cross Road isn't a bookshop anymore, though.

#9 Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
I have had this book on my radar for a while now, but after seeing some mediocre reviews I wasn't sure I would like it much. With the WWI theme and a group read in the "1001 books to read before you die" group, I decided it was time to try it. I'm so glad I did since I ended up loving it.

This is the story of Stephen Wraysford's war experience. The book begins in 1910 and shows a youthful Stephen in France falling in love with an older married woman, Isabelle. This is the most obvious "love" part of the novel. Next we skip to 1916 and see Stephan's brutal war experience. He is cold and detached, uncaring, perfect for a soldier. He also has luck and as all of his comrades are gruesomely dying around him, he somehow lives on. But for what? The next part of the novel takes place in England in 1978 and focuses on Elizabeth who is becoming interested in the history of her grandfather who was a soldier in WWI and who she knows almost nothing about.

The novel is subtitled "A Novel of Love and War" and I found it a significant addition to the title. What really struck me about this book was the idea of love. To me, the idea of love between Stephen and the other soldiers he fought alongside was the real love present in the book. It is an untraditional love - these men don't really know much about each other, they don't share much, sometimes they don't even remember names, but I think you could still say that they do love each other. As they die together and experience the same horrors, they are bound together. It isn't a way I've really thought of love before, but I think it counts. This idea all came together for me when Jack Firebrance says "I could have loved you" towards the end of his life. Then I thought of all the men Stephen had watched die and thought that this was such a deeper love than he ever felt for Isabelle, even though it didn't strike me as love when I was reading those parts.

I did not particularly love the 1970s portion of the book. I thought the main character, Elizabeth, was pretty annoying, and though there was a connection to the war story, I just didn't think it added all the much to the book. I do think, though, that it gave some relief to the horrors of the war sections.

Overall, I really loved this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for some WWI reading during this anniversary year.

Original Publication Date: 1993
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 483 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: book purchased from library sale

Great review but Steven wins the pizza names. :)

>52 japaul22: Thanks for your answer, despite it taking me ages to get back here to read it!

>63 japaul22: yes, I can confirm that Esther is at times insufferable on audio! I think that's why it's taken me so long to listen to Bleak House (er, 18 months and counting...); whenever she reappears my heart sinks. I do want to finish it, though, as other than that I'm enjoying the story and the experience.

>72 japaul22: I'm a Brit and I've certainly heard of Mrs Beeton! My mum had this tatty old book she'd refer to on the odd occasion, although only for very specific things (my mum's actually a very good cook and has never been known to boil her veg for hours!) You're right - I always assumed Mrs Beeton was a middle-aged matron.

The second hearty recommendation of 84 Charing Cross Road in one single LT session this morning - clearly a sign I need to read it. Both you and AnnieMod make it sound charming.

>93 japaul22: I tried reading Birdsong last year, but I couldn't get through it. The war scenes were so hard to read, and I found Isabelle slightly annoying. However, after reading your review, I feel inspire to pick it up again and finish it. Thank you!

I agree that Isabelle was annoying, but I felt that Stephen's relationship with her set up a really good contrast with life pre-war vs. during/after the war. I also had a hard time reading the war scenes because they are gruesome, but I usually do ok with that kind of thing when it's for a purpose and not just gratuitous violence. Sometime if you're in the mood for some bleak but intriguing reading, maybe give it another try!

#10 Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
This book did not hit the right note for me. It's an autobiographical novel about a young girl who is adopted by a Pentecostal family. The church is their life and she's raised with the thought that she'll be a missionary - until her teenage years where she discovers she's a lesbian and her mother and the church find out.

The book is humorous in a mocking sort of way, but instead of finding it funny I really just thought it was sad. I think that's why it really didn't work for me. It made me really mad that the super-religious mother had obviously converted later in life and had a wide variety of life experience before confining her adopted daughter to her narrow beliefs.

I just didn't like it, though I suppose I did appreciate the writing.

Original Publication Date: 1985
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 176 pages
Rating: 2.5 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: paperback from a library sale

Late to this, but Literary-themed pizzas?

MushRoom at the Top
War and Pizza
Grated Expectations
Catch 22 (one of those all toppings deals)
Paradise Sauced
Onion Vanya

and a drink to go with it, Olive Twist

<99--I felt exactly the same way about that book.

#99 - I'm sorry you didn't enjoy Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit more. It's one of my favourite books, although it's a while since I last read it. It certainly made me angry too though, particularly when I first read it as a teenager. The author's also written a memoir about her upbringing (Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal?), which I'd like to read, but which I think may be even more upsetting. Probably not one for you!

Hmmm I think I might have to check out Oranges. Just read the amazon reviews and thought one was particularly interesting. It said realistic but unemotive. I may end up agreeing with you - the situation is heartbreaking, not so funny. Might depend on my mood when I read it?

karspeak - glad I'm not alone!

Rebeki and MK - it's definitely a well-written, smart book. I just was not in the right place for the tone. I wouldn't want to put anyone off from reading it though, as I know many people love it.

#11 Death Comes to Pemberly by P.D. James
After seeing lots of mediocre to negative reviews of this mystery that uses Austen's characters from Pride and Prejudice, I had very low expectations for this book. That ended up working pretty well for me. I've been really stressed out from work and having two little kids and I wanted something totally mindless to read. I ended up kind of liking this revisit of some of my favorite characters.

I though the book started out pretty well, reintroducing everyone 6 years after the end of P&P, though I was suspicious of the evil turn that Colonel Fitzwilliam has taken. Things were shaping up with the conflict between Alveston and Col Fitzwilliam for Georgiana when the unfortunate mystery started. The mystery was really lame (why did they not ever ask Lydia what Wickham and Denny were fighting about?). I think the book would have been better if James had brought in totally new characters for the mystery part and used the setting of Pemberly so she could use Austen's characters.

Basically, I liked the first third of the book and became more and more dissatisfied. But, honestly, it fit the bill for my mood and it was such a fast read that I don't feel like it wasted my time. Not really recommended unless you understand what you're getting and feel in the mood for it.

Original Publication Date: 2011
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 291 pages
Rating: 3 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: hardcover from library sale (most likely going back!)

>105 japaul22: Jennifer, I read Death Comes to Pemberley when it first came out. It was a gift (along with my Kindle) from my daughter. She knew that I loved Austen and James, so what's not to love. However, I found that like several of James' latest works, her stories are starting to suffer. Great idea, poor execution. She is in her 90's so I will forgive her, but probably not try any other new ones unless they get rave reviews. :)

Colleen - this was the first book I've read by P.D. James. Do you have any favorites I should put on my list?

Jennifer, early PD James is awesome. Try An Unsuitable Job for a Woman and see what you think.

Thanks for the suggestion, Kay! I'm definitely interested.

I loved her Adam Dalgliesh mystery series. The last couple were much weaker than her earlier ones, but I still enjoyed them.

I read all the Adam Dagleishes that were available in the 80s and 90s, but haven't really kept up. I slowed down on mysteries after the mystery bookstore in my neighborhood (Murder Ink!) closed.

I felt similarly blah about Death Comes to Pemberly. I may try some of the earlier James recommended.

#12 Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue
Slammerkin is set in the 1700s and is the story of Mary Saunders, a young, poor girl who is raped, becomes pregnant, and is thrown out of the house by her mother to fend for herself. She becomes a prostitute in the first half of the book and then escapes to the small town of Monmouth where she attempts to restart her life. I won't give away any more plot though suffice to say a lot more happens!

This is one of those books where you know things won't turn out well. Mary repeatedly becomes a victim both of her circumstances and her choices. It's also one of those books where the plot really steals the show. I was racing through the reading to find out what happens. In a book like that, I often find that I've enjoyed the reading experience, but later find that I didn't read closely enough to really find out if there was much deeper than the "can't turn your eyes away from a train wreck" plot.

I suppose time will tell - for now, 4 stars.

Original Publication Date: 2000
Author’s nationality: Irish
Original language: English
Length: 384 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: paperback, library sale

>113 japaul22: It has been a few years since I read Slammerkin, but I did like it.

Love those books where you know things won't turn out well! This was the book that got me reading Emma Donoghue, who has an amazing eye for the details of everyday life, but doesn't get bogged down in them, rather keeps you reading to find out what's coming next.

I'd suggest you change her nationality to Irish though; she might read your post and get upset. She now lives in Canada.

Oops on the nationality! I copy and paste those and sometimes forget to update all the categories!

The only other Donoghue book I've read was Room which was really different, but just as compulsively readable. Any others of hers you particularly enjoyed - or didn't enjoy?

I've also read Life Mask and The Sealed Letter which aren't quite as full tilt as Slammerkin but both definitely enjoyable and her background work is excellent.
Haven't worked up the courage to read Room yet, although I do have it.

Copy and paste always trips me up, especially on dates.

If you liked Slammerkin, I would recommend Sarah Waters' Fingersmith, if you haven't read it yet.

I read and loved Fingersmith a couple of years back. I think I liked it better than Slammerkin. I also thought Alias Grace could be lumped in with these books, though it was by far the best of the bunch in my humble opinion!

I found Slammerkin compulsively readable, but as with Room I felt manipulated by Donoghue. I did love Fingersmith, though.

Just found your thread. I am glad you enjoyed 84 Charring Cross Road (how could anyone on Library thing not enjoy it?). I have been considering reading Bleak House for a couple of years now but something always beats it off the bookshelf. Your review helped bump it up a few spots.

Rebecca, I remember your review of Slammerkin and understand what you meant, though I still like the book.

fmgee - welcome! Bleak House is a time commitment, but I did like it.

#13 The Greenlanders by Jane Smiley

Smiley has written a work of historical fiction about 14th-15th century Greenland that is slow, detailed, bleak and ultimately an unforgettable reading experience. Life in Greenland over this time period is waning. By the end of the 15th century, no evidence of these settlements exists, so the entire book is shadowed by the end of times for this people. Characters die left and right; life is hard to the point of almost no scenes of joy. The constant death seems to make characters not even connect to each other because they know they will be separated. Life revolves around the arrival of ships from Iceland and Norway. These come less and less frequently and the news they bring is mainly of widespread death in Europe. Greenland waits for a Bishop, receives one, and waits again in vain when he dies. They’ve been forgotten by the Pope and are on their way to being forgotten by all of Europe.

The book is written, especially in the beginning, with lots of myths and stories of past Greenlanders inserted. It’s obvious that the ancestors of the Greenlanders were much more adventurous than they are now. The previous generations used to travel to Vinland and Markland and north into Greenland. These trips are never attempted anymore. In fact, there are not even any large boats by the end of the book. Other things they lose over the course of the book are their knowledge of the laws usually enforced at the Thing, as well as contact with the church.

Smiley’s writing style is bleak and spare, just like the events of the book. Though many of the actions are dramatic, the writing stays detached and with painful slowness reveals the reactions and feelings of the main characters. It took me a long time to warm up to the pace of this book, but by the end I can’t imagine it being written any other way. Smiley doesn’t help the reader, the book is only divided into 3 large sections with no chapters to pace the book. I had a hard time with this, especially for the first third of the book. When I compare this book to The Long Ships or Kristin Lavransdatter, it suffers a bit since those books I found more engaging with easier characters to connect with and love. In the end though, I feel like I know what life was like for the Greenlanders - in fact I feel liked I’ve actually lived it. I also felt a deep connection to several of the characters, despite the slow reveal of their personalities.

Original Publication Date: 1988
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 608 pages (really? that's what amazon says, but I read it on my kindle and it seemed much longer!!!)
Rating: 4.5 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: purchased for kindle

Great review of The Greenlanders, Jennifer. I bought it for my Kindle after Annie and Rebecca gave it very positive reviews last year. I haven't gotten to it yet, but hope to soon.

Echoing Linda, a great review. I loved The Greenlanders, The Long Ships and the Kristin Lavransdotter trilogy. It's amazing how Smiley does make you feel like you've actually lived it. Oh to spend a year in Iceland on a Fulbright like Smiley did! I'd never be able to write like that, but the experience would be phenomenal.

The Greenlanders has been on my wishlist, and I will eventually get to it. Your review has pushed me even more.

I think I liked The Greenlanders better than Kristin Lavransdotter, but maybe that's because I read it first. I wouldn't really compare The Long Ships to those two books, except maybe for approximate time and place, but I really loved it too.

The Greenlanders seems well worth reading.

Linda, Colleen, and Bas - The Greenlanders is definitely worth your reading time - it's very well done - though it will take up a lot of it because it's one of those books that you have to dwell in.

Rebecca, I think the strong central character of Kristin Lavransdotter is what gave it the edge over the Greenlanders, though I did love Margret by the end. You're right that The Long Ships is very different, but the general time period made me group it with the other two.

Despite your review, I would proably still pick up The Greenlanders. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

Edwin - yes, despite using the words "bleak", "slow", "constant death", "detached", etc. I really did love the book! I know I made it hard to tell!

#14 Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
I don't feel like doing a review but I loved this adventure story about Phileas Fogg's bet that he could travel around the world in eighty days.

Original Publication Date: 1873
Author’s nationality: French
Original language: French
Length: 191 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: paperback from library sale

>132 japaul22: An oldie, but goodie. I listened to it several years ago with my grandchildren on a trip to Maine. It was a good audiobook, and I enjoyed it just as much as I had when I read it many, many years ago.

#15 The Real Charlotte by Somerville and Ross
This is a relatively obscure Irish novel written in 1894 by cousins Edith Somerville and Violet Martin. It sets up an interesting contrast between two cousins - the 40-something, unattractive, scheming, and bitter Charlotte vs. the 20-something flirtatious, naive, and beautiful Francie. The novel revolves around Francie's three love interests and Charlotte's jealousy of one of these in particular. The characters are well-drawn and complex and I wasn't sure where Somerville and Ross were going with some of them, especially Charlotte. The rather abrupt and unsatisfying ending of the book was the only low point for me. Otherwise, I found it interesting and readable with memorable characters.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes writers from this era (Trollope, the Brontes, Gaskell, etc.).

Original Publication Date: 1894
Author’s nationality: Irish
Original language: English
Length: 415 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: purchased for kindle

Well, I should be with the family in sunny Florida at Disney world right now, but instead we are snowed in! We're keeping our fingers crossed that our flight (the third one we've been booked on) actually gets out tonight. Good news is that my kids are little enough that they don't really get that we're delayed and also both flights were cancelled before we left for the airport so we are waiting at home instead of in the airport. Send warm thoughts to DC!

Good luck with your flight. I hope you get out ok. I am flying to Southwest Florida on Wednesday, and keep hoping flights are on time. We didn't get the snow this time, so hoping that lasts.

Catching up - hope you get to Florida!

Hi everyone! I'm back from a fun but exhausting trip to Disney World. We ended up getting there at 3 am late Monday night. (Is there any way to travel with a 4 year old and 1 year old that isn't exhausting???) Anyway, I am hopelessly behind in both my reading plans for March and reading everyone's threads.

I'm in the middle of two books (I should say at the beginning), the very long, detailed and fascinating The Brontes by Juliet Barker and Bel Canto.

All travel with young kids is exhausting... they usually come through the experience well. It is the parents that suffer. I have flown from Canada to Australia and back multiple times with young kids and it is always hard.

I hope you are enjoying Bel Canto as much as I did.

>139 fmgee: Oh my, Canada to Australia!! I've never done more than a 2.5 hour flight with the kids. I am about half way through Bel Canto and loving it.

#16 Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
I finally finished a book in March - the wonderful Bel Canto. I've avoided reading this book for years because I knew a central character is an opera singer. As a professional musician, I usually find fiction writing about music and musicians to be over-emotional and extremely inaccurate - all talent and no work - but this book did a good enough job to not annoy me and I really loved it.

Most of you probably know the premise, but to refresh, this is a story of a group of terrorists who take a large dinner party hostage in the hopes of capturing the President of the country. Unfortunately for them, the President is unexpectedly not in attendance so they keep a large number of the dinner guests instead. One of the hostages is a famous opera singer who was hired to perform at the party. The hostage situation lasts on for months so there are the inevitable relationships that develop, both between the hostages and the hostages and their captors. Throughout the book there is the knowledge that this stalemate between the inside and outside world cannot last forever. Another interesting aspect of the book is that many different languages are spoken and a central character is Gen, who is there as a translator and ends up playing the role of translator to everyone in the house.

I really enjoyed the book, but there were a few aspects that could have been a bit better done that will make it a 4 star rather than 5 star read for me. One is that I think Patchett intended this book to have the feel of an opera in terms of some of the plot and also the pacing and emotion in the book. In this respect, I think she could have been a bit more convincing. Also, I really didn't like the ending where Gen and Roxanne end up marrying.

Anyway, this was a very satisfying book to read and it made me want to read State of Wonder as well.

Original Publication Date: 2001
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 352 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: purchased for kindle

I cannot agree more with you regarding your spoiler... worst part of a very good book.

Hi Jennifer, I hope you've recovered from your trip!

It's interesting to see someone reading (and reviewing) The Real Charlotte. I've had it on my shelves for about a year and would like to get to it sooner rather than later. Thanks for the warning about the ending!

Re #141, it'd be interesting to know what you made of the way music and musicians are portrayed in Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall (as reviewed on my thread), although I can't really recommend it...

So now it may get even quieter around here for a bit as I'm about to embark on reading the long but hopefully amazing Life and Fate by Vassily Grossman. I'm also reading the long but very interesting The Brontes by Juliet Barker. It may be a while before I have another review to post, though it's possible I may take a break and read something shorter in the meantime. We'll see!

>142 fmgee: I've had several people agree with me about the ending. I'll be interest to discuss it when the group discussion starts!

>143 Rebeki: And I be interested to know what someone else thinks of The Real Charlotte since it doesn't seem like many people have read it. If you like other authors of that era, I think you'll like this.
I haven't read Nocturnes, but I did enjoy Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go. I may get to Nocturnes, but the combination of the music topic and that it's short stories (not my favorite) isn't going to get it to the top of my TBR pile any time soon!

Ah flying with kids - time for benadryl - for their little ears don't you know ;)

MK - I always consider benadryl, think - oh, it won't be so bad, and then wish I'd just done it when it's too late to help anymore!

#17 Queen Lucia by E.F. Benson
Fabulous, just fabulous! Small town life in England in the 1920s - everyone trying to one-up each other. It was funny and has fantastic characters, which was just what a needed right now. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

Original Publication Date: 1920
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 188 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: purchased for kindle

>148 japaul22: Loved that series. Lucia and Mapp are two of my favorite characters ever.

>149 NanaCC: well, you introduced me to the series, so thank you!

#18 Life and Fate by Vassily Grossman
I've finally finished reading Life and Fate and what an experience it was. This is the tale of an extended family in Soviet Russia living during the Siege of Stalingrad in WWII. Grossman explores everything from the German concentration camps, to the Gulag, to the culture of fear under Stalin, to marital strife, to typical family dilemmas. It's an epic book that I learned a ton from and will want to read again at some point in my life.

Grossman's book was confiscated by the Soviet government when he tried to have it published in 1960. I believe it was first published in the 1980s (Grossman had hidden copies of the novel with several different friends). It is certainly not all negative about the Soviets, Stalin, and Russia, but Grossman definitely posits that Hitler and Stalin, Fascism and Communism, have many negatives in common, a theme that was obviously not popular to the communists. Also, Grossman tries to humanize Stalin in sections, and the fear that the characters live with of being unjustly and unfairly accused and punished of disloyalty is constant. I'm sure all of this contribute to the book being banned.

I came away with great respect for this book, but can't say that I felt deeply connected to it. Grossman chooses to throw the reader into the middle of both the war and his characters' lives. Somehow I just couldn't get involved with the characters. It may be that there were just too many story lines going on, or it might be that I don't have enough cultural and political background to have made some events in the novel as impactful as they should have been. I'm also not convinced that the translation was as well done as it could have been. I felt that a lot of the language had a stilted feel. I have no way of knowing what it would have been like in the original Russian, but I wondered. In the end it was a book that I was extremely grateful to have read, but also grateful to have finished!

Original Publication Date: 1960 (text finished)
Author’s nationality: Russian
Original language: Russian
Length: 871 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: purchased book and kindle edition

>151 japaul22: Wonderful review! I do think it's easier to be invested when you get to know the characters a little before the huge events like a war. Certainly going on my maybe-someday list, in any case.

Yeah, I really feel like I should read this book.

I loved (if that's the right word) Life and Fate (and for that matter almost anything by Grossman); I think of it as one of my favorite books.

I would definitely recommend Life and Fate to anyone who is interested in Russian literature or Soviet life. I felt like it filled in another piece of the puzzle for me regarding that region.

#19 Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey
Another well-written, suspenseful mystery from one of the British mystery masters, Josephine Tey. The orphaned Brat Farrar is discovered as a lookalike to the deceased heir to an English estate. He is coached by a family friend to pretend to be this heir, Patrick Ashby, who committed suicide at the age of 13 and whose body was never found. His story is that he ran away instead. All of this is presented up front, so you think you know what is going on and just watching the family try to figure out if he is really Patrick Ashby, but then other complications arise and there is more to the story than meets the eye. My definition of a comfort read.

Original Publication Date: 1920
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 288 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: purchased on amazon

Brat Farrar is my favourite Josephine Tey book. I thought it was very cleverly done.

Great review of Life and Fate, Jennifer. I'm intrigued by your comment about Grossman trying to humanize Stalin a bit.

Well everyone, I have some hard news to share. I found out last week that my father has stage 4 cancer of the esophagus, liver, and bones. We are reeling from the news since he's always been healthy and active and is only 63. We just got back from Disney World less than a month ago and he felt good on the trip. My parents had just moved near me to retire and spend time with my kids (their grandkids). His oncologist believes he may have a year or two to live.

So I will be reading mainly comfort reads, which for me means the classics, mysteries, anything British and trying to stay positive and hopeful. It's just so sad.

I'm so sorry, Jennifer. I'm glad he and your mother are close by and you'll be able to spend lots of time with them. And there is a great deal to be said about the value of escapist reading.

I'm so sorry! Sending big, ginormous hugs your way.

Jennifer, I am really sorry to hear about your father. Comfort reads, comfort foods and lots of personal time and hugs are definitely in order.

So sorry to hear about your father. It is so so sad, especially since he is so young. I also found that books that are long and absorbing and about a foreign place and time are helpful in the distraction department.

Thanks for the words of support. I hesitated to share since I like to keep to book talk mainly, but I feel that I've gotten to know many of you in this group through our reading and this is so big that I couldn't not let you all know. I appreciate the kind words.

#20 I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
This is a very charming love story told through the journal of 17 year old Cassandra. Cassandra lives in genteel poverty in a run down English castle with her sister - Rose, brother, one servant/family friend, stepmother, and her father - a one-hit-wonder author who is suffering from a decade-long case of writer's block. One day the owner of the main house falls into the hands of his son who has been living in America. The son, Simon, his brother, Neil, and their mother come to take care of the property. The family knows Cassandra's father's writing and they take the family under their wing. The love lives of Rose and Cassandra are central to the book, as any journal of a 17 year old girl should be. The characters are fun and the plot moves along. All in all I really liked it and it's a book that screams to be reread. The only thing is that I think I would have enjoyed it more in high school or my early 20s. It's a bit over-emotional for my stage in life.

Original Publication Date: 1948
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 343 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: purchased on amazon

Back when I was in my 20s, a friend, also in her 20s, gave me I Capture the Castle because she loved it so. I never read it, then or later, and since LT says I don't own it I must have given it away. It sounds intriguing, but your warning about enjoying it more in high school or early 20s gives me pause . . . Too many books, too little time.

I'm very sorry to hear the news about your father, Jennifer.

Thanks, Darryl.

Rebecca - I think I Capture the Castle might be a bit too sweet for you. It really is a story of young love that I think would most appeal to someone still searching for "that perfect someone". I don't like advising not to read it though - you might find something more in it than I did. And I did really enjoy it.

I am so sorry for you and your family, Jennifer. That's such terribly hard news for you to receive.

I read I Capture the Castle for the first time as a teenager. I think you may be right.

>152 mabith: I love the "maybe someday" list! Easier than the TBR or more honest or something! But it ain't easy with all these great reviews, is it?

I'm so sorry to hear about your dad Jennifer. I don't know if it's ever the right time but this certainly is not.

Jennifer, I'm so sorry to hear about your dad. I'm glad your parents are nearby that you will enjoy each other's company and be there for them.

So sad to hear your news, Jennifer.

:(

Hi everyone,
My dad passed away last night. He just spiraled downhill so quickly that they didn't even have time to start the chemo treatment. It just all happened so fast.

I'm so sorry for your loss, Jennifer. Keep your happy memories close to help you through this difficult time.

I'm very sorry to hear about your father's sudden passing, Jennifer. My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family.

So sorry Jennifer. Keeping you and yours in my thoughts.

So sorry about your father's sudden passing. Sending bigg-er--er ginormous hugs. And prayers. Lots and lots of prayers for you and your family - especially your little ones.

My condolences on your father's passing, Jennifer. You will be in my thoughts.

Oh, I am so sorry. Such a shock and such a loss. Thinking of you and your family.

So sorry Jennifer.

Really sorry to hear that. Will be thinking of you and your family.

Oh my, I'm just catching up on your thread. I am so sorry for your loss.

Thank you, everyone. I appreciate all the kind words. I'm hanging in there.

I don't feel much like doing reviews, so I'll just list books for now.

#21 Revelation by C.J. Sansom 3.5 stars

#22 Miss Mapp by E.F. Benson
Another charming and humorous look at British small town life in the 1920s. Looking forward to continuing the series.

In addition to reading, I've felt the need to do a bit of writing about my dad. I want some sort of record of the person he was to share with my kids when they are older. I'm so sad that they are too young (4 and 1) to really remember him.

That's wonderful. Care to share any part of your writing?

Jennifer, I'm only just starting to catch up on LT again and I'm really sorry to hear of your father's sudden passing. My thoughts are with you and your family. I hope you're drawing some comfort from your reading.

My maternal grandfather died just before I turned three and I don't remember him, but I have a very strong sense of the kind of person he was simply from what my mum has told me about him, which I really appreciate and which makes feel that I knew him. If you go a step further and put pen to paper, that will surely be all the more true for your children, and I hope that it also proves therapeutic for you.

#23 Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman
Penman is always able to get me hooked in to her story, which is just what I needed. This book focuses on Richard's crusade. As such, it was a little more battle oriented than some of her books, but I enjoyed it all the same. She creates the time period and place so well.

Rebeki - thanks for checking in and for sharing your experience with your grandfather. I do hope that the few family videos we have of my dad, the writing I'm doing, and the memories we'll share will make my kids come away with a picture of who he was. And you're right, it has been therapeutic for me.

#24 The Brontes: Wild Genius on the Moors by Juliet Barker
I've been reading this 1000+ page biography of the Bronte family for months. I found it alternately utterly fascinating and excruciatingly boring so I'm not sure how to review it. I'll start by saying that it is as complete and detailed picture of all the Brontes (father Patrick, children Branwell, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne) as you can get with the source material available. Barker includes lots of the juvenelia of all of the children and while this is interesting for a while it got really old for me. She also seems to have worked most of the biography around refuting the picture of Charlotte and particularly Branwell and Patrick that Elizabeth Gaskell painted in her biography, The Life of Charlotte Bronte which I read several years ago. She does this well, creating a more well rounded portrait of the subjects, including each persons good and bad sides.

She spends a lot of time on Patrick Bronte and some of these sections detailing his work in the church and his political activity kind of dragged to me, though some might find it interesting. I also was disappointed to find that even this detailed, long biography that left no stone unturned really can't tell me what Emily Bronte was like. She is the sister that really intrigues me most and I have never been able to wrap my head around how a person who wrote the fantastical, dark, brooding Wuthering Heights could have been utterly unwilling to ever leave her house. I still don't get what she would have been like. Charlotte, on the other hand, I have a picture of, but one I really don't like! So whiny and complaining and unwilling to work. And constant headaches and "woe is me". My dislike of her also slowed me down in reading this biography. I love her novels, but her - not so much! I do like what I know of Anne - she comes across as the most normal of the children but I feel had an inner strength that is often overlooked.

For any lover of the Bronte sisters who also loves a detailed biography, this is the book for you and is well worth the many, many hours you'll spend reading it. I would not recommend it to anyone who isn't a bit obsessed though - it's a bit daunting and not an easy read.

Original Publication Date: 2013 (this is a second edition)
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 1184 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: kindle edition

Enjoyed your review of The Brontes: Wild Genius on the Moors. Was their any critical views on the work that the Brontes produced or did the book stick to biographical material.

>192 japaul22:. I have The Brontes on my kindle. You have tempted me. I can't say that I am obsessed, but very interested.

>193 baswood: The book certainly discusses all of the works (novels and poems) of the whole Bronte family extensively, but Barker does so by quoting long passages or pointing out autobiographical aspects of the writing and refuting assumptions about autobiographical content where it doesn't really exist. There really isn't literary analysis of any of the works - no discussion of themes, symbols, literary techniques, etc. It would have been interesting to delve more into how the Brontes's works compared to other novels of the day. It was kind of implied but not deeply discussed. There are contemporary reviews included, but mainly to show how the books were received and how the Brontes reacted rather than to analyze the books. I think book analysis would have been interesting, but the book was so long and detailed without it that I think it would have been too much to include. Especially with Charlotte, much of her writing was autobiographical so this biography definitely enlightens any reading of her works.

>194 NanaCC: One note on the kindle version, Colleen, is that it did not include the pictures that are in the printed version. At least, mine didn't. I'm considering getting it from the library just to look at them. The book is so physically large, though, that I think the kindle version is still worth it. Just put on your patient hat if you start it and read something fun in the middle!

Hah, I also have the Brontes book on my Kindle. It was an impulse purchase as it was on sale for like $2.99 at some point. I didn't realize it was so large!

Glad to have your warning about the Bronte biography. It sounds interesting, but I'm definitely not obsessed. I'll pass for now.

#25 The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
This was fun. An absorbing read - part historical fiction, part mystery, party romance. It's a familiar format to me. It's constructed from the point of view of a woman in present time dying and looking back on her life as a servant to an old English family during and after WWI. It's mainly just an absorbing story, but Morton does touch on some deeper themes of the shell shock that the men in WWI dealt with upon returning home.

Overall, this was fun and enjoyable - a good diversion. I'll look for more of Morton's work when I want an easy to read, absorbing book.

Original Publication Date: 2006
Author’s nationality: Australian
Original language: English
Length: 470 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: library sale

#26 The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor
This is a beautifully written haunting and tragic story of how decisions, or lack of action, can create a chain of events. The story begins in Ireland in the 1920s with tension between the Irish Catholics and the Protestant landowners. The Gault family decides to leave their family home after attempted violence and their young daughter runs away to try to prevent their departure. This sets off a chain of events that is unexpected and just so sad. I don't want to give away the plot. The plot is important to this novel, but the reason it's so moving to read is that as central as the actual events are, this is a novel that only uses that plot to explore themes of guilt, loneliness, miscommunication, and forgiveness.

I found the language beautiful and the ideas moving and well-developed. I'd highly recommend this short but loaded novel.

Original Publication Date: 2002
Author’s nationality: Irish
Original language: English
Length: 228 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: library sale

I also loved The Story of Lucy Gault, Jennifer. My favorite by William Trevor so far, but I have more waiting to be read.

. . . even this detailed, long biography that left no stone unturned really can't tell me what Emily Bronte was like. She is the sister that really intrigues me most and I have never been able to wrap my head around how a person who wrote the fantastical, dark, brooding Wuthering Heights could have been utterly unwilling to ever leave her house. I still don't get what she would have been like. Charlotte, on the other hand, I have a picture of, but one I really don't like! So whiny and complaining and unwilling to work. And constant headaches and "woe is me". My dislike of her also slowed me down in reading this biography. I love her novels, but her - not so much! I do like what I know of Anne - she comes across as the most normal of the children but I feel had an inner strength that is often overlooked.

This! I agree with all of it. I own this tome, and don't expect to ever read it cover to cover, although I will dip in here and there. Last year I read the much shorter Bronte Myth, and even at a third of the length of the Barker, I pretty much got the same impression.

I guess Emily Bronte is just a mystery that we will never understand.

I really enjoyed the Story of Lucy Gault too, although I didn't seem to find it as sad as most others--perhaps because I listened to it in audio and the reader didn't read it in a sad way (?).

#27 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery
This was a reread for me of a book that I know I loved the first time around but could remember almost nothing about. As I read, the plot came back to me, but much of it was pretty unfamiliar. Fortunately, my remembrance of loving it held true.

This is a novel of contrasting characters. There is the steadfast, honest, naive Amelia vs. the smart, conniving, enigma Becky Sharp. There is the all-show, no substance George vs. the loyal, talented, but modest William Dobbin. How these characters and the substantial supporting cast of parents, brothers, friends, and family interact composes this novel.

You can't read this Victorian novel without comparing to Dickens (at least I couldn't!) and I felt that it came out very favourably. I found the characters, especially the supporting ones, to be of much more substance and less of caricature than Dickens's characters. I also appreciated that the saintly Amelia is shown at the end to have been not so innocent in her treatment and usage of the faithful Dobbin and that though Becky is often the villian, she is a character that I loved to hate.

I found a lot of depth to go with the entertainment found in this book. It is a book that I will most likely reread again at some point.

Original Publication Date: 1848
Author’s nationality: English
Original language: English
Length: 736 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: Easton Press edition purchased on ebay

I'd be curious in hearing people's ideas about rereading books. It's something I really like to do, but don't always get to. I think a good goal for me is to reread 4-6 books a year. Since I normally read 65-75 books, that seems like a doable goal. So often when I read a book I think that it would mean a lot more if a reread it but then I never do. When I do reread something, though, I always get something new out of it. Also I have a terrible memory and I've found it takes 3 readings for me to commit a book's plot, characters, themes, and details to memory. Otherwise, with only one reading, I tend to remember a feeling I got from the book or a major theme but very little of the actual plot.

>202 japaul22: I have Vanity Fair in an audio version, but it is the type of book I really want to read rather than listen. I have it tagged to borrow from my daughter.

>203 japaul22: I rarely reread a book, mainly because of time. I have a hard time getting to all of the books that I haven't read, and want to read. But there are a few exceptions that I know I will read again. Usually they are books that I read many years ago, and of which have fond recollection, but no real memory of the characters and plot.

I rarely reread books, but when I do I get a lot out of it. But with all those unread books in my TBR, it's hard to justify rereads. This year though I've bought far fewer new books, so maybe I'll be able to get a handle on my TBR pile and then not feel guilty when I reread.

>203 japaul22: Just catching up with your thread due to my late start in Club Read this year! Several of the books you've read sound interesting indeed!

As for rereading, I agree with Colleen that I am reluctant to do it because of time — so many books so little time! However, in recent years I have reread some favorites from childhood, most notably Kim, Ivanhoe and Moby Dick, and while I didn't originally read The Alexandria Quartet as a child, I read it in my twenties and just reread it this year. All of these were fantastic reading experiences. As Joyce and you both said, one gets a lot out of the second time around. Moby Dick was an especially emotional reread because I loved it as a child and now, late in life, I found it to be a true masterpiece. I have also reread a couple of times Pride and Prejudice and Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum for no particular reason except I love those books. Bottom line, I do think rereading has its place, but I do it selectively and it has been very rewarding.

>202 japaul22: I read Vanity fair three years ago and loved it. A brilliant satire that is also a great story. I read the Norton Critical Edition which provides much background to the book as well as some literary criticism. You might find it interesting

Vanity Fair is certainly a book that I would consider re-reading and the usefulness of these threads is that when you write a review you can go back to it and hopefully it will jog your memory about the book itself.

I can't believe I've never read Vanity Fair! I seem to have bought it in 2011, so I must have been responding to another LT review (maybe yours, Barry) -- now maybe I'll nudge it a little higher on the mental TBR.

Thanks for the comments on rereading (or not!). I agree that it's hard to reread when there are so many books staring at you that haven't been cracked open yet, but I also think that some of the best reading experiences I've had are with books that I've reread. I think that taking the time to reread a few books every year will work well for me.

>207 baswood: I will definitely consider a Norton Critical edition if I read Vanity Fair again, especially since I would probably get a lot more out of the satire with some help.

>208 rebeccanyc: Vanity Fair is well worth the time, Rebecca.

#28 The Planet in a Pebble: a Journey into Earth's deep history by Jan Zalasiewicz
In this book intended for armchair geologists, Zalasiewicz traces the journey of one Welsh pebble from the creation of the earth through the earth's demise in 13 vignettes. He discusses topics such as plate tectonics, the specific minerals that make up layers of the pebble, life on the ocean floor, creation of mountains, fossilization of various creatures that could be found in the pebble, etc. I think it was clever to limit the book to the experience of creating one pebble from the very beginnings of our planet, but sometimes I lost the thread of the pebble's experience in the midst of the science discussed.

Overall, Zalasiewicz's writing is very accessible to the layperson. I've been interested in geology since I started doing a lot of hiking, but don't know much about it except what I learned in a college gen ed lovingly termed "rocks for jocks" by the students because it was known for being easy to pass. I found that, though the words were all understandable, the concepts presented in this book are very difficult. Trying to wrap my head around the creation of our planet and the vast amounts of time that are discussed here was somewhat overwhelming. Both the extremely tiny and the largest movements on our planet are discussed - it's crazy to think about.

As I think about what I learned from this book, I have a feeling that it is one of those books that taught me more than I could actually put into words. I think it's a good piece of the puzzle when taken together with other books I've read, like Richard Fortey's Earth, or books I intend to read, like John McPhee's Annals of a Former World.

I'd definitely recommend the book to anyone interested in the topic.

Original Publication Date: 2010
Author’s nationality: British?
Original language: English
Length: 234 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: purchased

I share your enthusiasm for geology. Sounds like an interesting book!

I really, really must read Vanity Fair soon...

On the subject of re-reading, for me re-reading books I've previously enjoyed is just as worthwhile as reading new books and I think your goal sounds a sensible one. I have a fairly poor memory for the details of novels and I always get something new from a book on each re-reading. If I already know roughly what's going to happen, I'm able to pay more attention to the writing.

One of the reasons I'm keen to reduce my TBR pile quite significantly is so that I can devote more time to re-reading both favourites and books I didn't really get first time round, but which I feel are worth taking another look at.

>212 Rebeki: That's a good goal, but hard to not keep adding books to the TBR, isn't it?! I was thinking a bit about the books I own vs. my perception of other LTers bookshelves. I have about 85% books that I've read and I only keep books that I enjoyed enough or was confused enough by to envision reading again some day. I think that many people around here have more unread books than read books, though I could be wrong about that.

>213 japaul22: Practically impossible! Although I keep reminding myself that I used to acquire books at a much slower rate than I have the last few years.

I don't know about the proportion of read to unread books among LT members, but I would imagine your TBR pile is certainly much smaller than that of many other LTers. My TBR pile constitutes about a third of my library, which could be worse, I suppose, and, at 190, it would seem nothing at all to those who manage to read 100+ books a year. To me, it's rather overwhelming...

ETA: I recently finished Miss Mapp, so I'm at the same stage as you in the series. I enjoyed Tilling even more than Riseholme and am looking forward to the rest of the series, although I need to space the books out a little.

I just heard that my library is having a book sale in mid-June. I've found some great books there in the past, and so, in an effort to clear some room on my TBR shelves, I've decided to attempt to read only off my shelves for June - no kindle books, library books, or new purchases except for the library sale of course. This really shouldn't be hard, but it still seems like a big deal.

The only possible exception I'll make is a group read of The Radetzky March that I'm getting from the library. I'll be putting off a couple of books I'd thought I'd get to soon on my kindle (particularly continuing the Mapp and Lucia series) but it's only a month. I can do it!

I keep intending to keep a record for myself of my kids' favorite books at their different stages and I've failed miserably at it thus far. Maybe next year I'll keep a running post at the top of my thread. Here are just a few of their current favorites. Touchstones are tricky for children's books so I left some out.

Isaac’s favorites (16 months):
The Foot Book
Peekaboo Farm
There Was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly
I like Bugs
Sherlock Holmes Sounds
Flaptastic: Colors

William’s favorites (4.5 years):
National Geographic Little Kids First big book of Space
National Geographic Kids first big book of Animals
Frog and Toad are Friends
Mouse Soup
Moomin, Mymble, and Little My

Chapter Books I’ve read with William:
Magic tree House series, 1-11
Bed and Biscuit series by Joan Carris
Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
The Twits by Roald Dahl
Nate the Great

Frog and Toad are awesome. I probably have much of those books memorized.

I love the Little Tree House Books too. :)

#29 Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
This thought-provoking novel looks at the idea of connections and rebirths over 100s of years of human existence. The form of the novel really creates the book. Mitchell uses a character's record (a journal, letters, a novel, a movie, an orison, and icons - since the last two take place in the future, the words or their meaning are unfamiliar) to link each section as the next character finds the record of the past character (presumably their past self). Each story is interrupted and after we've met all 6 characters, their stories are continued in reverse order so that you end where you began reading.

Mitchell uses subtle clues to let the reader come to his/her own conclusions about the idea of rebirth. The most obvious is that each main character has a comet shaped birthmark, but there are other moments that the characters share that lead the reader to link these people as well. And then there's the sextet that the second introduced character, Robert Frobisher, composes. It's called the Cloud Atlas sextet - obviously the 6 parts link to the 6 characters and the music factors in to each story in some way - sometimes largely and sometimes barely at all.

The form of the novel made me think about the importance of leaving a record of both the individual life and the life of a society.

I thought this was a smart novel. The form was beautifully done and Mitchell is great at giving you enough info to think and spark conversation/ideas without ever explaining (and thereby simplifying) his ideas. This was smart, because if he'd done too much spelling it out there would be tons of holes in the plot as there must be in an idea this incomprehensible to the human mind. But as much as I loved the ideas and form of this book, having such radically different narrators and tone for each of the characters detracted a bit from my reading. It was jarring to switch from section to section and took me quite a bit of time to resign myself to leaving the previous world. And with wildly different characters, I of course had my favorites and some I really didn't like at all. This will be a hard book to pick a star rating for because it was intriguing and I know I'll be thinking about it for a long time, but I didn't always enjoy the moments I was actually reading it. I will definitely seek out more of David Mitchell's writing, though, as this was my first time reading a novel of his.

Original Publication Date: 2004
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 514 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: purchased

*This fits my June off-the-shelf challenge.

Good luck with your June TBR shelf plans. I've also been intending to read Cloud Atlas for a while, but I've never gotten so far as to acquire a copy.

Going back to A Planet a Pebble (a book collecting dust on my TBR shelf, I just wanted to say I loved McPhee's Annals and used to recommend it as a good intro to geology. A while back in my review of Fortey's Earth I compared it with Annals and tried to explain why I thought Annals was a better book. I encourage you to post your review of A Planet a Pebble on the book page, if you are so inclined. It's a great review.

Ok - one last comment - you have made me want to read The Story of Lucy Gault.

Thanks, Dan. I just posted the A Planet in a Pebble review to the book page. I always forget to do that, so thanks for the reminder. Good to hear another recommendation for McPhee's book. I intend to get to it sometime!

Nice review of Cloud Atlas. Thoroughly enjoyed the book but had a lot of trouble figuring out what to say about it. You have summed it up nicely.

>221 japaul22: It now has a thumb. : )

Excellent review of Cloud Atlas. Did you find yourself enjoying some sections better than others?

Excellent reviews all around. I'll probably skip The Planet in a Pebble: a Journey into Earth's deep history since I have to many introductory works as it is. I do have Jan's what would geology look like if we just disappeared collecting dust on TBR that I should get to though. Annals is something else, it's almost required reading in geology. I hope you enjoy it when you get around to reading it.

>222 Poquette: it is hard to explain that book to someone who hasn't read it, isn't it? I really struggled with it! Glad it came across well.

>223 dchaikin: Thanks for the thumb!

>224 baswood: I definitely enjoyed the sections to different degrees. I really liked the first two, especially Robert Frobisher, which were set in the past and had a historical fiction feel. I really disliked the next two, especially Timothy Cavendish, that were set in roughly the present day (1970s and present day). And was intrigued by (but not in love with) the last two sections. Those middle two characters, Luisa Rey and Timothy Cavendish, almost killed the book for me though. The book overall was so interesting and well done that I still enjoyed it. If I'd liked those sections more, though, it would have easily been a 5 star read for me.

>225 stretch: Maybe I'll tackle the Annals as a 2015 project. It's on my radar again at least!

>215 japaul22: Ha, I'm trying to do something similar, as it's my birthday in July and I've acquired some books over the last couple of months that I've avoided adding to my TBR pile yet by designating them birthday presents. I'd like to get my existing TBR numbers down first!

The Radetzky March is worth making an exception for though!

>219 japaul22: Just adding that I'm encouraged by your review of Cloud Atlas. I have a copy on my shelf, but am slightly daunted by it. I read and enjoyed Ghostwritten last year, but I got a bit confused towards the end...

>227 Rebeki: Good luck on the shelf clearing. For me, it's a matter of not getting distracted as they are almost all books I'm really looking forward to reading! And Cloud Atlas was my first book by Mitchell and I didn't find it confusing at all. Not necessarily a simple read, but not a struggle either.

#30 The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer
This was a fun diversion. Heyer is yet another author I discovered through LT. She wrote dozens of books and this is one of her Regency Romances, i.e. a Jane Austen era romance, as I like to think of it. It was great - implausible but entertaining plot about an attractive woman whose father has died leaving her no money. On her way to take a governess position, she mistakenly ends up at the home of Lord Carlyon who convinces her to marry his dying cousin. The story turns into a quasi-mystery, even treading into espionage. It was pretty silly, but the dialogue is fun and the characters were good and it was just comfortable to read.

I'd pick up more of these from the library or used but I won't necessarily seek them out. I read Faro's Daughter a year or two ago and it was much worse than this one, so I'm glad I read one of the better ones so I understand now why so many people enjoy her books!

Original Publication Date: 1946
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 315 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: library sale

Yours is the second mention of Georgette Heyer in Club Read today. Haven't tried for several decades, but in my twenties I could not relate. But I'm thinking of trying again. Thanks!

>231 Poquette: There's a group read in the 2014 category challenge group to read Georgette Heyer in June so you may see quite a few reviews of her books floating around LT this month. If you do try another Heyer, I'd caution to think of it purely as fun, escapist reading. Keeping in mind I've only read 2 of her 50-some books, I don't find them very intellectual, just set in a time period I enjoy with engaging plots. They seem like a good break between heavier reading.

Thanks! I'll keep your advice in mind!

#31 Alberta and Jacob by Cora Sandel

Alberta is a teenage girl living in the far north of Norway. She is painfully shy to the point of being practically mute both out in town and at home. She blushes at the drop of a hat and hides from everyone. Her exacting mother is constantly frustrated with her and her father is too preoccupied with his own money problems to take an interest in her. At the point we meet her, she is done with the schooling her parents can afford and supposed to be learning domestic skills like the other girls her age, something she is hopeless at. She has no desire to be a part of the community or find a husband. The only person she openly loves is her brother, Jacob, who escapes their town as a sailor after disappointing his parents’ hope that he will find a scholarly career.

Alberta is also cold – physically cold. She sneaks behind her mother’s back to drink more than her share of coffee – gulping down the scalding liquid for a moment of warmth. She sneaks coal when her mother is out to build a fire in her room. She runs as fast and hard as she can outside, hoping the physical activity will warm her up. It is all to no avail. The setting of northern Norway is a character in this book – the constant dark and cold of the winter and the round the clock sun in the summer that gives the only short bursts of warmth and with it brings a few characters Alberta’s age home from school in the south. Even with the people her age who try to be friendly to her, Alberta can’t manage to string together more than a few words.

With that bleak description and unsympathetic main character, you may be surprised to hear that I LOVED this book. It is the start of a trilogy about Alberta and I had wish-listed the next two books after reading about ten pages and then purchased them before finishing. I’m not sure what it was, but I just loved the writing and description. I also really liked the awkward Alberta. I certainly was never as shy to the extreme as she is, but I could sympathize with many of the feelings she has. She’s trapped in that age and circumstance where she’s not an adult yet but not a child either. She also has no interest in staying in her town but no vision for an alternative. I’m excited to have found another Norwegian author that I love and looking forward to the rest of this semi-autobiographical trilogy.

Original Publication Date: 1926
Author’s nationality: Norwegian
Original language: Norwegian, translated to English in 1962, trans. by Elizabeth Rokkan
Length: 220 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: purchased from amazon

Excellent review of Alberta and Jacob. I can't imagine what it must be like living in cold, dark Northern Norway, but if this book is successful at placing the reader there, it must be good.

Sounds interesting. Maybe something to read during a hot summer!

Nice review of Alberta and Jacob, Jennifer.

I love the sound of Alberta and Jacob - I love books set in cold, dark places. Must be my Scandi roots!

Put me down for Alberta and Jacob too! Great review.

>234 japaul22: I'd never heard of this author or book, but it sounds wonderful!

Thanks, everyone! Glad to have sparked some interest in this author. I gather she's quite admired in Norway, but her books weren't even translated into English until the 1960s, 40 years after they were written. fannyprice - I also have Scandinavian roots, my mother's side of the family is Norwegian, and I love to seek out Scandinavian authors.

Not surprised you loved this since your first two paragraphs drew me in. Very nice review.

#32 Margaret Fuller: A New American Life by Megan Marshall

After loving Megan Marshall's first book, The Peabody Sisters, I bought this book as soon as I heard about it. I'm embarassed to admit that I barely knew who Margaret Fuller was before reading this except for a vague notion of Transcendentalists and feminism. Marshall's book gave me a detailed but readable account of an interesting woman's life.

Margaret Fuller was educated in the classics by her father and was a bright child. She went through awkward teenage years before slowly coming into her own through her friendships with Ralph Waldo Emerson, Elizabeth Peabody, the Channings and many in the Boston Transcendentalist circle of the 1840s. She wrote a novel, edited several magazines (including Emerson's work), wrote a seminal feminist work called Woman in the Nineteenth Century, and was a columnist for the New-York Tribune. She went to Italy in the late 1840s and reported on the political upheaval there. She also met an Italian man who she had a child with and ended up marrying. On their way back to America, she, her husband, and their two year old son died in a shipwreck off the coast of New York. Margaret Fuller was 40.

Marshall does an excellent job of showing how Fuller's personal characteristics impacted her career and vice versa. She also uses Fuller's own words to write this book. This worked since Fuller was such a good writer, but it took me a little while to get used to this technique. The quotes interrupted my flow of reading at first and I still wonder exactly what Marshall was paraphrasing in between Fuller's own words. Here's a random example of what I mean.

But "a new young man" was not enough to lure Margaret from the close proximity of enigmatic, "unhelpful, wise" Waldo Emerson. In December, after a tearful parting with her "row" of pupils, who presented her with an "elegantly bound" set of Shakespeare, Margaret was off to the "vestal solitudes" of Groton. "I do not wish to teach again at all," she declared. She knew she might not have her wish, but she expected to devote at least a year to "my own inventions" before attempting once more to effect "my dreams and hopes as to the education of women," if necessary. And: "What hostile or friendly star may not take the ascendant before that time?"

Like I said, I got used to the technique, but it was a little distracting. Overall, a recommended book for anyone interested in biographies of American women.

Original Publication Date: 2014
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 496 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: purchased on amazon

Hi Jennifer! Thanks for the link to your thread. I have no hope of catching up on your reading so far this year, but I skimmed and saw some of my faves mentioned, like Birdsong. I will be back!

I hit the library book sale today and found some good books. I bought:

Human Traces by Sebastian Faulks
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Gunnar’s Daughter by Sigrid Undset
Tar Baby by Toni Morrison
If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino (a nice everyman's library edition)
The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (this I just read but I had a paperback with all the movie actors on it which I had and this was a nice early copy with a better cover!)
The Vice-Consul by Marguerite Duras
Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz
First Salute by Barbara Tuchman
Jane Austen: Women, Politics, and the Novel by Claudia L Johnson
The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin

"some" good books?! More like a great haul!

Great selection of books!

Looks like you made out pretty good there!

You have some great reading ahead of you!

What everyone said!

#33 Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
For a book published in 1722, this sure was smutty! It was a good reminder that the Victorian Era prudery was not in full force until Queen Victoria. This is the story of Moll Flanders, a first person account of the life of a woman who lives a life of debauchery and crime in the mid-1600s. Midway through the book, Moll sums up her life thus as she contemplates marrying yet another man who thinks her a good sort:

What an abominable creature am I! and how is this innocent gentleman going to be abused by me! How little does he think, that having divorced a whore, he is throwing himself into the arms of another! that he is going to marry one that has lain with two brothers, and has had three children by her own brother! one that was born in Newgate, whose mother was a whore, and is now a transported thief! one that has lain with thirteen men, and has had a child since he saw me! Poor gentleman!"

Well, Moll does go on to hide her past successfully and marry this man, have 2 more kids, and marry another man after he dies. Oh, and she turns to stealing when she gets too old to attract more husbands.

There are some interesting themes to consider in this book, especially the limited options that a woman had in those days to earn her keep. Overall, I didn't love this book though. Because it's written in first person, we only see Moll's experiences of how she attracts and marries men and there are almost no other characters. In this respect, the book was a bit too narrow for me. There are also some threads that are lost - like the many children Moll has that seem to just be conveniently forgotten with no mention of who takes care of them.

But then again, considering the time period it was written in, that it is an early example of the novel, and the interesting fact that a man chose to write a first person woman's voice, it was kind of fun to read. And there are some great quotes.

I began . . . to have the scandal of a whore, without the joy"

Original Publication Date: 1722
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 340 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: library sale

Very interested to read your thoughts on Moll Flanders which I will get to one day. Glad to find that there are things to enjoy in it.

Only saw the filmed version of Moll Flanders and didn't much like it. Your comments, though, pique my interest a bit. Maybe eventually . . .

>252 baswood: Barry, I think you'll get a kick out of Moll. It is kind of refreshing to read a book where a woman repeatedly misbehaves and is opportunistic and doesn't get the Victorian payback of death and destruction.

>253 Poquette: I think it's a book worth reading - especially when you consider it's place in literature as one of the earliest novels.

#34 The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
This was a wonderfully suspenseful novel about the decline of an English gentry family and their home. As in many gothic novels, the house is a character in this book and declines as the family does. There's a supernatural element introduced and Waters does a great job intertwining the family and the home's decline so that it's never clear where the destruction is stemming from. The book is narrated by a doctor who befriends the family and has his own ties to the house. His mother had been a servant there and he remembers visiting the home as a child. His reliability in relating the story was questionable throughout and added an interesting element to the book.

This is a book that will keep you turning the pages; it's well written and fun to read. In the end, though, I don't feel like it was really anything new, so I haven't rated it very highly. I think most people would really enjoy it though - it was fun to read.

Original Publication Date: 2009
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 509 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: library sale

I really enjoyed The Little Stranger too, for much the same reasons you did.

#35 Pearl Buck in China by Hilary Spurling
As the title suggests, this is a biography of Pearl Buck, author of The Good Earth. I found it very enjoyable.

Pearl Buck was an American born and raised in China by missionaries. She grew up interacting with Chinese children - speaking the language and learning the stories. She was so comfortable in China that she never really identified with America when she visited there or when she ended up living there in the second half of her life. The book does an interesting job of weaving Chinese history into Buck's life and showing how it influenced and formed her. Also discussed at length is her relationships with her mother, father, and husbands and her complete rejection of the missionary philosophy as practiced in China by her father and others.

Her writing is discussed quite a bit as well, particularly because so many of the dozens of books and stories she wrote had considerable portions of autobiographical content or obvious ties to her friends, family, and experiences. I had no idea Pearl Buck had written so prodigiously, but I also have to say I'm not interested in reading much further than a reread of The Good Earth and possibly continuing on with the 2 books that complete the series. Buck's writing was written for the masses and it doesn't seem from this biography's description that most of them were the quality that you'd expect from the author of The Good Earth. I did find it interesting that she wrote by crafting the words in Chinese in her mind and translating to English as she typed the manuscript, at least for The Good Earth.

I thought this was a very readable and interesting biography of a fascinating woman.

Original Publication Date: 2010
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 251 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: library sale

>257 japaul22: How interesting! I really loved The Good Earth. The fact that she was mentally thinking Chinese then translating into English explains a lot. I thought that what made TGE so great was that it felt authentic. Now I see why!

>257 japaul22: On to the list it goes...