Smiler Marks Her Reading Spot for the New Year - Part 1

Helen Dryden Vogue Covers for January 1918 and November 1920



—A little intro about myself coming to this very spot very soon!—
Maybe, because according to Liz (lyzard) my lists tell everyone a lot about me anyway...


Currently reading, listening to,
and occasionally browsing through:
The Natural History of Selborne by Gilbert White
The Blue Fairy Book (Andrew Lang's Fairy Books, 1) by Andrew Lang
Slightly Foxed: 40: Mellow Fruitfulness by Gail Pirkis
The New York Stories by Edith Wharton
Nana by Émile Zola
♫ Longbourn by Jo Baker

          






31 Most Memorable Reads of 13 (listed in reading order):
(There's also a sexier, slightly more detailed and illustrated version of this list right here.)

Gillespie and I by Jane Harris ★★★★½
Because an unreliable narrator done this well always makes me want to go right back to the first page and start all over once I've finished the book.

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay ★★★★★
Because one little guy's dreams of glory as a boxing champion to make reparations for a whole nation make for a captivating read in Courtenay's hands.

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff ★★★★★
Because these genuine written exchanges between a quirky American writer and a London book vendor in postwar years make for every book lover's delight.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (3rd reread) ★★★★★
Because rereading one of my all-time favourite novels from a Folio Society edition started me on a very expensive, but highly satisfying craze.

Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim ★★★★★
Because von Arnim made me, a city bound dweller, fall in love with her garden as well as her feisty character.

Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin ★★★★½
Because reading this story set in '70s San Francisco was like getting acquainted with everything the 80s pop culture of my childhood and youth became for the rest of the world.

Good Behaviour by Molly Keane ★★★★½
Because reading about the unlovely's heroine's family descending from riches to rags made for a gripping ride.

Travels with Herodotus by Ryszard Kapuściński ★★★★½
Because Kapuściński's love letter to Herodotus made me want to get better acquainted with the ancient historian and read more works by them both.

Middlemarch by George Eliot ★★★★½
Because it's an classic love story and social commentary about a small English community peopled with fascinating characters I hope to revisit again and again.

Eugene Onegin: A Novel in Verse by Alexander Pushkin ★★★★½
Because it's a captivating tragic story about unrequited love complete with a duel to the death. Because it's told in verse, yet still reads like a gripping novel. And the Opera version by Tchaikovsky's not bad either.

Le fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux ★★★★½
Because I finally got to discover the mysteries of the Phantom and the story had more intrigue to offer than I could ever have hoped for.

Black Mischief by Evelyn Waugh ★★★★½
Because it's a hilarious sendup about an African emperor's misguided attempts to bring his country into the modern age, and everything that can go wrong does so with a vengeance.

Jumping the Queue by Mary Wesley ★★★★½
Because Mary Wesley had a talent for creating fascinating characters and made me deeply care for an old woman intent on suicide, and not find ridiculous that she fell in love with a suspected matricide.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (reread for Coursera) ★★★★½
Because that crazy woman in the attic makes Rochester's unforgivable behaviour almost understandable.

The Potato Factory by Bryce Courtenay ★★★★★
Because by way of telling the story the real life Fagin, the criminal Ikey Solomon while not making him the least bit more likeable, turned him into the centre of an epic tale you can't help but be carried away with.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare ★★★★½
Because I finally got to discover for myself what the big deal is, and the Prince of Denmark had no difficulty transcending his own fame.

The Testament of Mary by Colm Tóibin ★★★★½
Because Tóibin presents us with a completely believable Mary who has a mind very much her own. It made for a compelling and very short read, but then was worth revisiting on audio, if only because Meryl Streep as Mary is a something you don't want to miss.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos ★★★★★
Because I was one of the many fans of the movie when it was originally released and found the book told in a series of letters delivered that much more intrigue and obscenely irresistible cruelty.

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry ★★★★★
Because even though I wasn't all that keen on reading a Western story about a cattle drive, once I read this book I just wanted to, and did, stay on with the characters for three more novels.

Harvest by Jim Crace ★★★★½
Because this one man in this tiny isolated community in the middle ages seem to express the pain all of humanity has faced since the dawn of the industrial age.

Music & Silence by Rose Tremain ★★★★¾
Because this story is about a musician in King Christian's IV's Danish court in the 17th century and introduces me to a world I wasn't familiar with. Because the lutist is a beautiful and idealistic man who falls in love with a lovely young maiden. Because in stark contrast, King Christian is mad and his wife is a manipulative wench who makes Pretentiousness Somehow Appealing.

Le Comte de Monte-Cristo by Alexandre Dumas père ★★★★¾
A man who becomes almost godlike in his quest for vengeance. Epic. Classic. Mythical. Legendary. Bring on the superlatives. Dumas stole from Arabian Nights and created his own Masterpiece.

Lord of the Flies William Golding ★★★★¾
Because over 30 years after seeing the movie, this dystopian tale about children run amok on a desert island still has the power to chill and enthral, and then some.

Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgeniev ★★★★½
Because Turgeniev made his nihilistic antihero Bazarov the centre of an outstanding commentary on family, social struggles, love and friendship, all in one very small package that leaves you with plenty to think about.

An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris ★★★★½
Because Harris presents the Dreyfus affair from the point of view of a man who condemned him, and then became one of his most ardent defenders, and does so in a way that has you on the edge of your seat.

Dragonwick by Anya Seton ★★★★½
Because the Gothic and Tragic elements of this story about a young farm girl invited to stay with her supremely wealthy cousin were absolutely overpowering and made for a truly delightful reading experience. The Joseph L. Mankiewicz movie version starring Gene Tierney and Vincent Price did a good job of capturing the mood, but could not encompass the richness of the novel.

An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo ★★★★½
Because I feel a soul connection with elephants, though I've never laid eyes on one in the wild, and this WWII true story about a zoo elephant who saves a family from the utter annihilation of Dresden really is very affecting.

The Man of Property by John Galsworthy ★★★★½
Because the first novel in the Forsyte Saga makes clear that the Forsytes are everywhere to be found, and though it is set in late 19th century London, Galsworthy perfectly captured the mentality of the upper middle-class which is still prevalent today, with captivating characters and a story I definitely want to keep following.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini ★★★★★
Because Hosseini has a unique talent for telling unputdownable horror stories about the trials of the Afghan people (in this case two women) filled with outrageous violence on an individual and social scale, yet always reminding us that as long as there is love, any kind of love, there is always hope.

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson ★★★★½
Because through the telling of one Japanese American man's struggle to find justice in a small island community which has convicted him because of his heritage, the pain of an entire post-WWII nation is revealed with unique beauty.

Morality Play by Barry Unsworth ★★★★½
Because it's a damned well written little novel set in the middle ages of plague and widespread fear about a young cleric on the lam who joins a troupe of actors, in and of itself a dangerous and unsanctioned move. But then the troupe decides to enact the play of a murder which has just occurred in the village to draw in the crowds and in the process uncover dangerous secrets that might doom players of the troupe and the real life act alike.



My rating system:
★ - hated it (may or may not have finished it)
★★ - it was just ok
★★★ - enjoyed it (good)
★★★★ - loved it! (very good)
★★★★★ - all-time favourite (blew me away—will read again)

⅛ ¼ ⅓ ½ ¾ ⅞

♫ = audiobook
✔ = off the shelf
❉ = library book
ⓔ = eBook
☀ = TIOLI

Books completed in January

1. ♫ The Dogs of Riga by Henning Mankell ★★½
2. ♫ Smallbone Deceased by Michael Gilbert ★★★
3. ✔&♫ Bleak House by Charles Dickens ★★★★
4. ❉ Trouble with Trolls by Jan Brett ★★★★
5. ♫ The Weed the Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley ★★★¾
6. ♫ The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng ★★★★★ (review)
7. ✔ Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons ★★★½
8. ♫ Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë ★★★★½
9. ♫ 1914: A Novel by Jean Echenoz ★★★★
10. ❉ You're All Just Jealous Of My Jetpack by Tom Gauld ★★★★
11. ♫ Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris ★★★★
12. ⓔ O Pioneers! by Willa Cather ★★★½ (review)
13. ♫ The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard ★★★★⅓ (review)
14. ♫ Hygiène de l'assassin by Amélie Nothomb ★ (review)
15. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - tutored read with Liz/lyzard ★★★★½
16. Coriolanus by William Shakespeare ★★★★

Unfinished
Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian

♫ = audiobook
✔ = off the shelf
❉ = library book
ⓔ = eBook
☀ = TIOLI

Reading Plans for January:

As is my usual, listing loads of books so I have plenty to choose from, but not planning on necessarily reading them all (especially true of TIOLI options)!

✔ *The New York Stories of Edith Wharton - extra pick by Roberta - currently reading
✔ *Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - tutored read with Liz/lyzard (also fits TIOLI #11: has two of something in the title) - Completed
✔ *Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons - picked by luvamystery65 (also fits TIOLI #11: has two of something in the title) - Completed
✔ *Sketches From a Hunter's Album by Ivan Turgeniev - picked by sibyx (also fits TIOLI #9: by the author of one of your favourite books of 2013)
ⓔ O Pioneers! by Willa Cather - American Authors Challenge (also fits TIOLI #11: has two of something in the title) - Completed
♫ *The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng - picked by Donna828 (also fits TIOLI #10: discovered on an LT thread in 2013) - Completed
♫ **Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian (also fits TIOLI #11: has two of something in the title) - currently listening
♫ **Smallbone Deceased by Michael Gilbert - both extra picks by Suz/Chatterbox (also fits TIOLI #10: discovered on an LT thread in 2013) - Completed
♫ **The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman - extra pick by Paul, WWI Centenary Challenge (also fits TIOLI #15: takes place during WWI)
✔ Coriolanus by William Shakespeare - TIOLI #9: by the author of one of your favourite books of 2013 - Completed

TIOLI Options:

✔ &♫ Bleak House by Charles Dickens - TIOLI #3: "14" Challenge (shared read) - Completed
♫ Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris - TIOLI #3: "14" Challenge - Completed
♫ Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink - TIOLI #4: nonfiction from NYT 100 notables of 2013
♫ Lawrence in Arabia by Scott Anderson - TIOLI #4: nonfiction from NYT 100 notables of 2013
♫ The Three Musketeers (17th century) by Alexandre Dumas - TIOLI #5: set in France before the 21st Century
♫ Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte - TIOLI #6: Yorkshire Born writer - Completed
✔ Angels & Insects by A. S. Byatt - TIOLI #6: Yorkshire Born writer
✔ The Red Queen by Margaret Drabble - TIOLI #6: Yorkshire Born writer
✔ Howards End is on the Landing by Susan Hill - TIOLI #6: Yorkshire Born writer
✔ *Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout - TIOLI #7: book received as present (from a book swap)
✔ **The Colossus of Maroussi by Henry Miller - TIOLI #7: book received as present (from a friend in Crete)
✔ **Coventry by Helen Humphreys - TIOLI #7: book received as present (from Claudia AND Linda!)
✔ **The Bone People by Keri Hulme - TIOLI #7: book received as present (from LT SecretSanta)
♫ I Am Legend by Richard Matheson TIOLI #13: an author who died in 2013
♫ The Looking Glass War by John Le Carré TIOLI #1: title names an object usually found in the kitchen
♫ Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas TIOLI #1: title names an object usually found in the kitchen
♫ The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley TIOLI #1: title names an object usually found in the kitchen - Completed
♫ The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard♫ TiOLI #20: A book by an author called Elizabeth - Completed



Reading Plans for February:

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner - (American Authors Challenge)

Fantasy February Options:

✔ *The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper - picked by souloftherose
✔ Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
✔ Seven Gothic Tales by Izak Dinesen
✔ Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken
✔ The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood
✔ The Wind in The Willows by Kenneth Grahame
✔ Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
✔ The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter
ⓔ The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
♫ **Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling - extra pick by Liz
♫ **The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater - extra pick Kerry
♫ Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
♫ The Sword in the Stone by T. H. White
♫ Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clark
♫ Pavane by Keith Roberts
♫ The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll
♫ Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
♫ Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud
♫ Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
♫ Grave Peril by Jim Butcher
♫ Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
♫ A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin
♫ Slaves of the Mastery by William Nicholson
♫ Divergent by Veronica Roth
♫ A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
♫ The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
♫ The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
✔♫ The Magicians by Lev Grossman
♫ Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
♫ Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater



* = Also from Picked for Me challenge
** = Also from Picked for Me challenge extra picks

♫ = audiobook
✔ = off the shelf
❉ = library book
ⓔ = eBook
☀ = TIOLI

Picked for Me: The 2014 Edition!



This is my third year running this challenge, for which I asked my fellow LTers (and this year a couple of family members and RL friends) to pick books from my vast tbr. The first year was interesting as I asked people to select books by a 'blind' method, meaning they chose at random based on a complex algorithm I'd come up with (no, not really). For the past couple of years, I decided it would be more interesting and probably more satisfactory to ask people to choose whatever they liked and say a few words about why they'd made those particular selections. This is the challenge I will give priority to this year since I value the fact people have taken time to go through my thousand or so selections to come up with their choices!

1. ♫ Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan - picked by Fourpawz2
2. ♫ The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng - picked by Donna828 - Completed January/14
3. Sketches From a Hunter's Album by Ivan Turgeniev - picked by sibyx
4. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry - picked by PaulCranswick
5. Love-Letters Between A Nobleman And His Sister by Aphra Behn - picked by lyzard
6. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout - picked by phebj
7. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - picked by Crazymamie - Completed January/14
8. ♫ Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo - picked by bahzah
9. A Russian Journal by John Steinbeck - picked by avatiakh
10. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper - picked by souloftherose
11. A Café on the Nile by Bartle Bull - picked by Deern
12. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons - picked by luvamystery65 - Completed January/14
13. Rhyming Life and Death by Amos Oz - picked by Polaris-
14. ♫ Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed - picked my msf59
15. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh - picked by bohemima
16. Suite Française by Irene Nemirovsky - picked by SandDune
17. Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant - picked by calm
18. A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel - picked by kidzdoc
19. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers - picked by EBT1002
20. Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden - picked by Chatterbox
21. Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally - picked by DejaVoo
22. Extra spot reserved for my RL friend Kristyna
23. Extra spot reserved for my mum
24. Final extra spot for another special guest.

Extra picks
This space is dedicated to those who've given me more than one suggestion. For the list above, I've picked physical books over audiobooks when that option was available, because audio books are easy to fit in for me whereas I have less time to read print books. This secondary list is one I'll very gladly refer to in guiding my choices in 2014, but I'll of course give priority to the selections above first.

The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford (reread)
Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger - both extras from Lucy
Watership Down by Richard Adams (reread)
♫ The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman - both extras from Paul
♫ Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling
♫ The Land Of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll - both extras from Liz
The Colossus of Maroussi by Henry Miller (reread)
♫ The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater - both extras from Kerry
♫ The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett - Read in November/13
The New York Stories of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton - both extras from Roberta
♫ Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje - both extras from Paul
Coventry by Helen Humphreys - extra from Claudia
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim - extra from Rhian
Sula by Toni Morrison
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
Babbit by Sinclair Lewis
The Bone People by Keri Hulme
Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis
Fifth Business by Robertson Davies
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson - Completed December/13 - all 9 extras from Ellen
♫ Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian - Read January/14 (unfinished)
♫ Smallbone Deceased by Michael Gilbert - Completed January/14
Dissolution by CJ Sansom - three extras from Suz

eta: I may reverse my decision to give priority to print books over audiobooks when a person has made selections from either category, if only to give myself a chance to finish all the "official" picks, given my track record of completion rate so far. I'll either decide once I get to 20 "official" choices, or as I'm reading in 2014, depending on how quickly or slowly I'm progressing.

American Authors Challenge

This is Mark's baby (msf59). He's decreed each month will be devoted to a specific author, but as I want to read from my tbr, I've broken the rules and substituted with other equally deserving auteurs américains. Here's the list for now:

January: Willa Cather - O Pioneers!
February: William Faulkner - As I Lay Dying
March: Cormac McCarthy - All the Pretty Horses (reread) - will also be reading Native Son by Richard Wright with Ellen
April: Toni Morrison - Sula or Home
May: (Eudora Welty) Louise Erdrich - The Master Butcher's Singing Club
June: (Kurt Vonnegut) Paul Auster - Moon Palace
July: Mark Twain - Huckleberry Finn (reread) or The Autobiography of Mark Twain
August: Philip Roth- American Pastoral
September: James Baldwin - Going to Meet the Man
October: Edith Wharton - The Custom of the Country
November: (John Updike) Sinclair Lewis - Elmer Gantry (could be another title)
December: (Larry Watson) Zora Neale Hurston - Their Eyes Were Watching God

World War I Centenary Reading: Fiction and Non-Fiction about the war and it's aftermath

Possibilities from my tbr:

✔ Anthem For Doomed Youth: Poets Of The Great War
✔ Birds Without Wings Louis De Bernieres
✔ A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway
✔ The Gendarme by Mark T. Mustian
✔ Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves
✔ Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence
✔ The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West (reread)
✔ Regeneration by Pat Barker (reread)
ⓔ 1913: The Year Before the Storm by Florian Illies
ⓔ The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers
♫ The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914 by Barbara W. Tuchman
♫ The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman
♫ Journey Into the Past by Stefan Zweig
♫ Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly, and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Scott Anderson
♫ 1914: A Novel by Jean Echenoz (rec'd by kidzdoc) - Completed January/14
♫ The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally (rec'd by Chatterbox)

Other options:

The Stone Carvers by Jane Urquhart (rec'd by calm, Chatterbox)
The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hašek
The Radetzky March By Joseph Roth
A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin
An Ice Cream War by William Boyd
Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd (Rec'd by Chatterbox)
A Test of Wills by Charles Todd

Additional Books I'd like to read in 2014
(most already set aside on the bedside table)

In no particular order:

✔ Caravan of Dreams by Idries Shah (blindly picked by PiyushChourasia in 2012)
✔ Arabian Nights: Four Tales from a Thousand and One Nights by Marc Chagall (blindly picked by picked by Donna828 in 2012)
✔ The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende - (blindly picked by picked by LauraBrook in 2012)
✔ Nana by Emile Zola
✔ Pot-Bouille by Émile Zola
❉ Au Bonheur des Dames by Émile Zola (to continue with the Rougon-Macquart series)
✔ The Strangers in the House by Georges Simenon (on my shelf for over 10 years)
✔ Angels & Insects by A. S. Byatt (loved the movie, want to read my Byatt)
✔ Possession by A. S. Byatt
✔ Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafizi (want to read more about Afghanistan)
✔ Seven Gothic Tales by Izak Dinesen (wanted to read seemingly forever)
✔ Small Island by Andrea Levy (recommended a million times)
✔ Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones (waited to read Great Expectations, on my reading list for a couple of years)
✔ Kaspar by Michael Morpurgo
✔ The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo (love Morpurgo for not so light children's books)
✔ All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy (reread)
✔ The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy
✔ Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy (finally want to finish the trilogy)
✔ A History of the World in 10½ Chapters by Julian Barnes (on the shelf since forever)
♫ The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (reread on audio this time to see if I like it better)
✔ Amsterdam Stories by Nescio (started in 2012 and unfinished)
✔ The Soul of Kindness by Elizabeth Taylor (want to read more Taylor)
✔ Aiding and Abetting by Muriel Spark (want to read more of one of my favourites)
✔ Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie (reread in the original French this time)
✔ Living Well is the Best Revenge by Calvin Tomkins (wanted to read forever)
✔ The Blind Contessa's New Machine by Carey Wallace (much recommended)
✔ Moon Palace by Paul Auster (on last year's list)
✔ Christine Falls by Benjamin Black (on the shelf for ages, might get the audio which is supposedly very good)
✔ Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood (blindly picked by picked by MickyFine in 2012)
✔ Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood (wanted to read forever)
✔ Howard's End is on the Landing by Susan Hill (much recommended)
✔ Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken (to continue the much recommended series)
✔ The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens (to start reading Rubens, much recommended by Kerry/avatiakh)
✔ The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje
✔ Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett (on last year's list)
✔ Jamrach's Menagerie Carol Birch (on last year's list)
✔ The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (wanted to read forever)
✔ The Red Queen by Margaret Drabble (wanted to read forever)
✔ Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (wanted to read forever)
♫ Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami (haven't read him in a while)
✔&♫ 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (maybe this year, maybe not)
✔ The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith (want to pick up where I left off years ago)
✔&♫ 2666 by Roberto Bolaño (meant to join the group read last year, didn't.)
✔ The Master by Colm Toibín (wanted to read forever)
✔ Amsterdam by Ian McEwan (been meaning to read more of his work for years)
✔ Felicia's Journey by William Trevor (an author I want to discover)
✔ Zarafa by Michael Allin (stories about animals a must)
✔ The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood (on my tbr for ages)
✔ The Colour by Rose Tremain
♫ Restoration by Rose Tremain
❉ Ru by Kim Thúy (have seen her around lots and highly rec'd by Lori/lkernagh

❉ Alys, Always by Harriet Lane (strongly Rec'd by Prue last year)
❉ Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck (left over from 2012 Steinbeckathon)

A Century of Books! 1900-1924

After having lurked on visited Heather's thread a few times recently, I think I'm ready to take on the A Century of Books! challenge she's been doing so beautifully. Here, copied almost verbatim from her thread: I'm going to try and read a book published in every year of the 20th century. This is just for fun, so if I don't manage it this year as I know I won't manage it in one year, I'll extend it into next year for as many years as it takes me. I'm sure I'll have a lot of fun going through my TBR piles trying to work out which books will fit. Those books listed are suggestions only and may be switched for something else at the last moment. Those books I've read will appear in bold or some such identifying device.

1900 Claudine at School by Colette The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
1901 The Benefactress by Elizabeth von Arnim , The Wouldbegoods by E. Nesbit, Claudine in Paris by Colette
1902 Five Children and It by E. Nesbit, Lavender and Old Lace by Myrtle Reed, The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Claudine Married by Colette
1903 Claudine and Annie by Colette, The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers
1904 The Phoenix and the Carpet by E. Nesbit, The New Treasure Seekers by E. Nesbit, The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rügen by Elizabeth von Arnim, The Love of Erika Ewald by Stefan Zweig
1905The Princess Priscilla's Fortnight by Elizabeth von Arnim
1906 The Story of the Amulet by E. Nesbit, The Man of Property by John Galsworthy
1907 Retreat From Love by Colette, Cautionary Tales and other verses by Hilaire Belloc, Fräulein Schmidt and Mr. Anstruther by Elizabeth von Arnim
1908 The Wind in The Willows by Kenneth Grahame (reread), A Room With a View by E. M. Forster
1909 The Innocent Libertine by Colette, Three Lives by Gertrude Stein
1910 The Vagabond by Colette
1911 The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (reread), Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm
1912 Death in Venice by Thomas Mann (reread)
1913 The Custom Of The Country by Edith Wharton, Burning Secret by Stefan Zweig
1914 The Pastor's Wife by Elizabeth von Arnim
1915 Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham, The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford
1916 A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce (reread)
1917 Christine by Elizabeth von Arnim
1918 My Ántonia by Willa Cather, The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West (reread)
1919 Christopher and Columbus by Elizabeth von Arnim
1920 This Side Of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
1921 Flappers and Philosophers by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Vera by Elizabeth von Arnim
1922 Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T. E. Lawrence, Amok by Stefan Zweig, Joanna Godden by Sheila Kaye-Smith
1923 Whose Body? Dorothy L. Sayers (reread)
1924 A Passage to India by E. M. Forster, The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann, The Old Maid by Edith Wharton

A Century of Books! 1925-1949

1925 An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (reread), The Trial by Franz Kafka, The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
1926 (can't find anything on my tbr yet...)
1927 Amerika by Franz Kafka, Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis
1928 All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, Orlando by Virginia Woolf
1929 A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway, Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves
1930 As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh (reread)
1931 The Brontës Went to Woolworths by Rachel Ferguson, All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville West (reread)
1932 Marie-Antoinette by Stefan Zweig, Sons by Pearl S. Buck, Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
1933 Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell, The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein
1934 Miss Buncle's Book bu D. E. Stevenson, Seven Gothic Tales by Isak Dinesen, I, Claudius (reread) and Claudius the God by Robert Graves
1935 Full House by M. J. Farrell (Molly Keane)
1936 Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell, All the Dogs of My Life by Elizabeth von Arnim, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
1937 Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen, To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway
1938 Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (reread), Count Belisarius by Robert Graves, Tropic of Capricorn by Henry Miller, The Sword in the Stone by T. H. White
1939 Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Witch in the Wood by T. H. White, The Mask of Dimitrios by Eric Ambler, The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, Miss Hargreaves by Frank Baker, Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household
1940 Native Son by Richard Wright, Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler, The Strangers in the House by Georges Simenon, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers (reread), The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene, The Ill-made Knight by T. H. White
1941 The Colossus of Maroussi by Henry Miller (reread), The Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier
1942 Chess Story by Stefan Zweig, L'Étranger by Albert Camus, West with the Night by Beryl Markham
1943 (can't find anything on my tbr yet...)
1944 Dragonwyck by Anya Seton
1945 The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford (reread), Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, At Mrs Lippincote's by Elizabeth Taylor
1946 Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey, Palladian by Elizabeth Taylor
1947 Speak Memory by Vladimir Nabokov, The Path to the Spiders' Nests by Italo Calvino
1948 The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh
1949 The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles, Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford

A Century of Books! 1950-1974

1950 A Murder Is Announced by Agatha Christie
1951 Tempest-Tost by Robertson Davies, My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
1952 Treasure Hunt by M. J. Farrell (Molly Keane)
1953 Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clark
1954 Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis, Leaven of Malice by Robertson Davies, The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins
1955 On the Road by Jack Kerouac, The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien, The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis
1956 The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West
1957 Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak, From Russia with Love by Ian Fleming
1958 The Bell by Iris Murdoch, The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
1959 The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass
1960 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (reread), A Zoo in My Luggage by Gerald Durrell, All Shot Up by Chester Himes
1961 The Chateau by William Mawell, Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates, No Fond Return Of Love by Barbara Pym, Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger
1962 The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman, The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing, Madame Sousatzka by Bernice Rubens
1963 The Expendable Man by Dorothy B. Hughes
1964 Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken, A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood, The Soul of Kindness by Elizabeth Taylor
1965 Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski, Going to Meet the Man by James Baldwin, The Looking Glass War by John Le Carré
1966 Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (reread), Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susan (reread)
1967 The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter
1968 Pavane by Keith Roberts
1969 Travels With My Aunt by Graham Greene
1970 The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens, Zelda: A Biography by Nancy Milford, Fifth Business by Robertson Davies (reread), Deliverance by James Dickey, Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian
1971 The Winds of War by Herman Wouk, The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth
1972 Watership Down by Richard Adams (reread)
1973 The Honorary Consul by Graham Greene, Sula by Toni Morrison, The Siege of Krishnapur by J. G. Farrell
1974 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carré

A Century of Books! 1975-1999

1975 World of Wonders by Robertson Davies, Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
1976 Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood, Blaming by Elizabeth Taylor, Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
1977 Great Granny Webster by Caroline Blackwood, The Honourable Schoolboy by John Le Carré
1978 Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett
1979 Sophie's Choice by William Styron
1980 Music of Chance by Paul Auster, The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll
1981 Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (partial reread)
1982 The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Further Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
1983 Time After Time by Molly Keane
1984 English Creek by Ivan Doig, Neuromancer by William Gibson
1985 The Bone People by Keri Hulme, Henrietta's War: News from the Home Front 1939-1942 by Joyce Dennis, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson, The Cider House Rules by John Irving, The Vampire Lestat (The Vampire by Anne Rice
1986 Count Zero by William Gibson, A Dark-Adapted Eye by Barbara Vine
1987 The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers by Margaret George, The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe, The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster, Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
1988 A Far Cry From Kensington by Muriel Spark (reread), Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood, Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler, Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey, The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
1989 A History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters by Julian Barnes
1990 Possession by A. S. Byatt, The Woman Lit by Fireflies by Jim Harrison, The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts by Louis de Bernieres
1991 Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
1992 The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje, Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, Angels & Insects by A. S. Byatt, All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy, Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson
1993 Trainspotting by Irvine Welch, Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo, Under the Frog by Tibor Fischer
1994 Felicias's Journey by William Trevor, The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy
1995 Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
1996 Darkness, Take My Hand by Dennis Lehane, The Green Mile by Stephen King
1997 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling, American Pastoral by Philip Roth, Lady of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
1998 Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy, Master Georgie by Beryl Bainbridge, Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters, The Love of a Good Woman by Alice Munro, Amsterdam by Ian Mcewan
1999 Timbuktu by Paul Auster, Fear and Trembling by Amélie Nothomb, White Oleander by Janet Fitch, Interpreter of Maladies by Juhmpa Lahiri

Ongoing Series
An idea Heather (souloftherose) borrowed from Liz (lyzard), which caught on like wildfire. Ongoing series that I am actively reading; this doesn't include series I have in my TBR but haven't started reading yet (that is covered in the next list!)

African Trilogy - Next up: No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe (2/3)
❉ Alan Grant Mysteries - Next up: The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey (1/6 - read out of order)
♫ American Gods - Next up: Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (2/2)
✔ Anton Rider - Next up: A Café on the Nile by Bartle Bull (2/3)
The Australian Trilogy - Next up: Tommo and Hawk by Bryce Courtenay (2/3)
♫ Bartimaeus - Next up: Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud (3/4)
❉ Binky Adventure - Next up: Binky Under Pressure by Ashley Spires (3/3)
✔ Border Trilogy - Next up: The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy (2/3)
❉ Cannery Row - Next up: Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck (2/2)
♫ The Cemetery of Forgotten Books - Next up: The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (2/3)
❉ Chief Inspector Armand Gamache - Next up: A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny (2/8)
♫ Claudius - Next up: Claudius the God by Robert Graves (2/2)
♫ La Comédie Humaine - Next up: Le curé de Tours by Honoré de Balzac (31/88 - read out of order)
✔ Commissario Brunetti - Next up: Acqua Alta by Donna Leon (5/21 - read out of order)
✔ Commissario Montalbano - Next up: Excursion to Tindari by Andrea Camilleri (5/18)
♫ Corfu Trilogy: Birds, Beasts, and Relatives by Gerald Durrell (2/3)
✔ The Dark is Rising Sequence - Next up: The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper (2/5)
♫ Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Next up: Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor (2/3)
❉ De Luca Trilogy - Next up: The Damned Season by Carlo Lucarelli (2/3)
✔ The Deptford Trilogy - Next up: World of Wonders by Robertson Davies (3/3)
♫ The Dresden Files: Grave Peril by Jim Butcher (3/15)
❉ Dr. Siri Paiboun - Next up: Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill (5/8)
♫ Easy Rawlins Mystery - Next up: White Butterfly by Walter Mosley (3/10)
ⓔ Elizabeth and her German Garden - Next up: The Solitary Summer by Elizabeth von Arnim (2/2)
✔ Empire Trilogy - Next up: The Siege of Krishnapur by J. G. Farrell (2/3)
♫ Ender’s Game - Next up: Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card (2/4)
❉♫ Erica Falck and Patrik Hedström - Next up: The Preacher by Camilla Läckberg (2/8)
♫ Flavia de Luce Mysteries - Next up: A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley (3/6)
♫ Green Town - Next up: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (2/2)
❉ The Harlem Cycle - Next up: All Shot Up by Chester Himes (4/8)
❉ Hercule Poirot - Next up: Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie (8/39 - read out of order)
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Dramatization - Next up: Tertiary Phase (BBC Radio Collection) by Douglas Adams (3/5)
♫ The House of Earth Trilogy - Next up: Sons by Pearl S. Buck (2/3)
The Ibis Trilogy by Amitav Ghosh - Next up: Awaiting publication (3/3)
♫ Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries - Next up: The Right Attitude to Rain by Alexander McCall Smith (3/9)
♫ Jack Reacher - Next up: The Enemy by Lee Child (8/17)
✔ Jackson Brodie - Next up: When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson (3/4)
♫ John Russell - Next up: Lehrter Station by David Downing (5/5)
Joseph O'Loughlin - Next up: Shatter by Michael Robotham (3/5)
♫ Kenzie and Gennaro - Next up: Darkness, Take My Hand by Dennis Lehane (2/5 - read out of order)
♫ Kurt Wallander - Next up: The White Lioness by Henning Mankell (3/10)
The Last Lion - Next up: Winston Spencer Churchill, Alone 1932-1940 by William Manchester (2/3)
Leviathan - Next up: Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld (2/3)
Lonesome Dove Completed September/13
The Lord of the Rings - Next up: The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien (3/4)
✔ Lord Peter Wimsey - Next up: Lord Peter Views the Body by Dorothy L. Sayers (4/15)
Maisie Dobbs - Next up: Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear (4/10)
♫ Mapp and Lucia - Next up: Lucia in London by E. F. Benson (3/8)
♫ Miss Marple - Next up: The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie (2/12)
✔ The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - Next up: The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith (4/13)
♫ The Obelisk Trilogy - Next up: Tropic of Capricorn by Henry Miller (2/3)
Oxford Time Travel series - Next up: Blackout by Connie Willis (3/4)
❉ Parker - Next up: The Mourner by Richard Stark (4/24)
✔ Philip Marlowe - Next up: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (1/9 - read out of order)
♫ Phryne Fisher Mysteries - Next up: Death at Victoria Dock by Kerry Greenwood (4/20)
The Power Of One - Next up: Tandia by Bryce Courtenay (2/2)
The Prairie Trilogy - Next up: The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (2/3)
♫ Roderick Alleyn - Next up: Overture to Death by Ngaio Marsh (8/32 - read out of order)
✔ Les Rougon-Macquart - Next up: Nana (reread) by Émile Zola (9/20)
✔ Sally Lockhart Mysteries - Next up: The Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman (2/4)
✔ A Song of Ice and Fire - Next up: A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin (5/7)
❉ The Spiderwick Chronicles - Next up: Lucinda's Secret by Holly Black (3/8)
♫ Tales of the City - Next up: Further Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin (3/6)
♫ Tales of the Otori - Next up: Brilliance of the Moon by Lian Hearn (3/4+prequel)
❉ Three Men in a Boat - Next up: Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome (2/2)
♫ Timothy Wilde - Next up: Seven for a Secret by Lyndsay Faye(2/2)
✔ Tom Ripley - Next up: The Boy Who Followed Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (4/5)
❉ Victor Legris - Next up: La disparue du Père-Lachaise by Claude Izner (2/11)
♫ Wind on Fire Trilogy - Next up: Slaves of the Mastery by William Nicholson (2/3)
Wolf Hall Trilogy - Next up: The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel (awaiting publication) (3/3)
✔ Wolves Chronicles - Next up: Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken (2/11)
❉ Wyoming Stories: Bad Dirt by Annie Proulx (2/3)



First in Series on my TBR (several have migrated above over the year, though I wish I'd kept a record of which ones...)

✔ The American Trilogy: American Pastoral by Philip Roth (1/3)
✔ Aristide Ravel Mysteries : The Cavalier of the Apocalypse by Susanne Alleyn (1/4)
✔ The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation: The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson (1/2)
♫ Aubrey-Maturin: Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian (1/21!)
♫ Avalon: The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley (1/7)
✔ The Book of Lies - Twins Trilogy: The Notebook by Ágota Kristóf (1/3)
✔ The Borrible Trilogy: The Borribles by Michael De Larrabeiti (1/3)
✔ Calder Art Mysteries: Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett (1/3)
✔ Carl Webster: The Hot Kid by Elmore Leonard (1/3)
♫ Chief Inspector Adamsberg: The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas (1/9)
✔ The Complete Novels and Stories: Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Volume I by Arthur Conan Doyle (1/2)
♫ The Cousins' War: The White Queen by Philippa Gregory (1/5)
♫ A Dance to the Music of Time: A Dance to the Music of Time: First Movement, Spring by Anthony Powell (1/4)
✔ Danzig Trilogy: The Tin Drum by Günter Grass (1/3)
♫ Divergent: Divergent by Veronica Roth (1/3)
♫ Dublin Murder Squad: In the Woods by Tana French (1/4)
♫ The Earthsea Cycle: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (1/6)
✔ Empress Orchid: Empress Orchid by Anchee Min (1/2)
♫ The Gentleman Bastard Sequence: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch (1/4)
✔ Hank Thompson: Caught Stealing by Charlie Huston (1/3)
✔ Haroun: Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie (1/2)
Harry Potter: Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling (reread) (1/7)
✔ Henrietta's War: Henrietta's War: News from the Home Front 1939-1942 by Joyce Dennys (1/2)
♫ The Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan (1/5)
✔ The Hummingbird's Daughter: The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea (1/2)
♫ In Search of Lost Time: Swann's Way by Marcel Proust (1/8)
✔ The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood (¼)
♫ James Bond: Casino Royale by Ian Fleming (1/14)
♫ Joona Linna: The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler (1/3)
ⓔ The Kingkiller Chronicle : The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (1/3)
✔ Latin American Trilogy: The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts by Louis de Bernières (1/3)
♫ Legend the Series: Legend by Marie Lu (1/2)
♫ Leonid McGill: The Long Fall by Walter Mosley (1/4)
✔❉♫ The Magicians: The Magicians by Lev Grossman (1/2)
♫ McCaskill Trilogy: English Creek by Ivan Doig (1/3)
✔ Matthew Shardlake: Dissolution by C. J. Sansom (1/5)
✔ Micah Dalton: The Echelon Vendetta by David Stone (1/4)
♫ Michael Forsythe: Dead I Well May Be by Adrian McKinty (1/3)
♫ Mistborn: Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson (1/5)
✔ Mistress of the Art of Death: Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin (1/4)
♫ Outlander: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (1/8)
♫ The Palisser Novels: Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope (1/6)
✔ The Psammead Trilogy: Five Children and It by E. Nesbit (1/3)
✔ Quirke: Christine Falls by Benjamin Black (1/5)
✔ The Raj Quartet: The Jewel in the Crown by Paul Scott (1/4)
❉♫ The Raven Cycle: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (1/2)
♫ Revelation Space: Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds (1/7)
♫ Robert Merivel: Restoration by Rose Tremain (1/2)
♫ Shanghai Girls: Shanghai Girls by Lisa See (1/2)
♫ Sprawl: Neuromancer by William Gibson (1/3)
♫ Sword of Honour: Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh (1/3)
♫ The Vampire Chronicles: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice (reread) (1/10)
❉♫ The Wolves of Mercy Falls: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (1/3)
♫ World War II Saga: The Winds of War by Herman Wouk (1/2)



✔ = in my TBR
♫ = audiobook (in my TBR)
❉ = library book
ⓔ = eBook

Booker Prize Books Read in 2014 (in reading order)

The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng (Shortlist 2012)

Booker Prize Books Read in 2013

Good Behaviour by Molly Keane (Shortlist 1981)
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (Shortlist 1986)
Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee (Booker Prize 1999)
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (Booker Prize 1989)
The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin (Shortlist 2013)
Harvest by Jim Crace (Shortlist 2013)
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (Booker Prize 2013)
What Was She Thinking?: Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller (Shortlist 2003)
The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (Shortlist 2008)
The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch (Booker Prize 1978)
Morality Play by Barry Unsworth (Shortlist 1995)

Booker Prize Books on my TBR

The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens (Booker Prize 1970)
The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell (Booker Prize 1973)
The Bone People by Keri Hulme (Booker Prize 1985)
Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively (Booker Prize 1987)
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie (Shortlist 1988)
Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey (Booker Prize 1988)
Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood (Shortlist 1989)
Possession by A.S. Byatt (Booker Prize 1990)
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje (Booker Prize 1992)
Under the Frog by Tibor Fischer (Shortlist 1993)
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry (Shortlist 1996)
Master Georgie by Beryl Bainbridge (Shortlist 1998)
Amsterdam by Ian Mcewan (Booker Prize 1998)
Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri (Longlist 2001)
Brick Lane by Monica Ali (Shortlist 2003)
The Master by Colm Toibin (Shortlist 2004)
The Accidental by Ali Smith (Shortlist 2005)
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai (Booker Prize 2006)
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones (Shortlist 2007)
A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz (Shortlist 2008)
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (Booker Prize 2008) - reread
Heliopolis by James Scudamore (Longlist 2009)
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (Shortlist 2009)
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray (Longlist 2010)
Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch (Shortlist 2011)
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (Longlist 2013)
Almost English by Charlotte Mendelson (Longlist 2013)
The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri (Shortlist 2013)

(more on the wishlist of course!)

Books Purchased in 2014

Over 350 purchased in 2013. I'm hoping for a quarter of that this year, at most.

January
1. Prospero's Cell by Lawrence Durrell
2. ♫ The Ruby in Her Navel by Barry Unsworth
3. ♫ The Songs of the Kings by Barry Unsworth
4. ♫ The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War 1890-1914 by Barbara W. Tuchman
5. ♫ Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell
6. ♫ Seven for a Secret by Lyndsay Faye
7. The Book of Common Prayer (2nd hand FS)
8. ♫ Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan (Audible Daily Deal)
9. ⓔ The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany (Kindle deal)
10. ⓔ Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace by Kate Summerscale (Kindle deal)
11. ⓔ The Snoring Bird: My Family's Journey Through a Century of Biology by Bernd Heinrich (Kindle deal)
12. ⓔ Voltaire Almighty by Roger Pearson (Kindle deal)
13. ♫ The Trembling of a Leaf by W. Somerset Maugham (Downpour Sale)
14. ⓔ Uncle Silas: A Tale of Bartram-Haugh by Sheridan Le Fanu (Kindle 99¢)



♫ = audiobook (Audible)
ⓔ = eBook
FS = Folio Society

Hi Ilana, I still need to catch up on your last thread but wanted to wish you a Happy 2014 on this one. Your lists remind me that I still want to read Lonesone Dove and that I have Robert Harris' new book (An Officer and a Spy) to look forward to.

>15 phebj: Pat! Thanks for dropping by, my first guest! I wouldn't worry too much about keeping up with my last thread. This time of year is so busy for all of us in general, and on the threads in particular, so I honestly won't hold it against you if you miss a thing or two here and there. I think you're in for a treat with both those books. Happy New Year!

Hi, Ilana; just dropping to say hello.

My goodness, all that planning--makes my head hurt! Wish I could do that and follow it through, but I know myself too well.

Hi Ilana!
Oh boy, as always, lots to dig into here on your thread. I'm looking forward to our shared read of Native Son in March. I'm even putting it on my RL calendar. :-)

Your lists are wonderful.

Wishing you all the best in 2014, my friend!!

Ilana I've got you starred!

First, I'll comment on your 2013 favorite books. 84, Charing Cross Road was one of my top reads of the year. It stands the test of time. I listened to The Handmaid's Tale narrated by Claire Danes. She is the Handmaid. Middlemarch is a place everyone should visit. Jane Eyre is an old favorite. When I was young Wuthering Heights was it for me but as I get older it is Jane Eyre that I enjoy revisiting. The Testament of Mary was my final book of 2013. Everyone deserves to tell their own story don't they? I will revisit with Meryl Streep this year. Lonesome Dove is an old favorite of mine. In my opinion one of the best Westerns ever written. It really tells the story of the cowboy even more than the story of the West. Larry McMurtry really got it right. I'm honored that you were able to fit in A Thousand Splendid Suns since it was my pick for you last year. I'm only sorry I didn't fit it in myself. Your review inspires me to pick it up for 2014.

Second, your 2014 picks by your friends are fantastic. I read this past year The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. It is sad but beautifully written. How a 21 year old could produce that is beyond me. The Garden of Evening Mists was also a top read for me this past year. The descriptions are beautiful. The story is captivating. It left me with questions. I will have to reread. Cold Comfort Farm was also a favorite of mine in 2013. I picked it for you because everyone should have some fun in between all their serious reading. Stella Gibbons wrote a masterful and delightful parody. The New York Stories of Edith Wharton and Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail are both books on my list to read this year. I look forward to your thoughts on them.

Have a very Happy New Year Ilana! Be blessed and may many wonderful things happen for you this year.

Dearest Ilana - (well technically you are the only Ilana I know so I am quite at liberty to use such hyperbole on the cusp of a New Year) - the 2014 group needs you and so it was with skipping heart that I saw that you are back again.

Quite worried about some of your recent posts regarding your health (in 2013) and I will have fingers and toes crossed that you are absolutely fine. xx

Notwithstanding anything else I want to wish you a wonderful 2014, thank you for remaining a constant friend and for being the talented, complex and lovely individual you are. xx

Oh wow! Such lovely messages filled with love and friendship! I feel blessed! I wanted to visit threads today, but it will have to wait till tomorrow as I'm pooped out after spending HOURS on my 2013 reading roundup. I posted the original simple version here and then reedited and added images and details on my blog, which ended up taking half the day, quite literally. My cleaning lady was here today which was a real blessed treat. Interview with my banker didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped, I need to supply some documents and there will be a review of my case by the board (ahem!) and I will get answers on my financial status around mid-January. Seeing my doctor about heart condition on Friday. Been taking my pulse and it seems quite normal to me, so maybe it's just a scare. Didn't draw at all today, but a break here and there is quite ok. Gail, Ellen, Roberta, Paul thanks so much for stopping by and I promise to write back individually tomorrow. Right now have to brave sub-Siberian cold so my Coco can relieve himself and face 2014 in comfort once we get back in and warm up in my cozy clean bed.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

I've been doing the rounds and wishing a few people Happy New Year best wishes. Sorry to any and all I've missed. I will try to get around more tomorrow, but it's very late now and I really must think of going to bed. Only one thing I'm quite worried about as I'm about to go outside with Coco for his walk... I heard three very loud bangs a few short minutes ago coming from an apartment very close to me. I don't know if they were just firecrackers or actual gunshots, since I don't think I've ever heard the latter (I hope not in any case), but I felt compelled to call the police and report the incident just in case. Between the truly cruel bitter cold and that little nagging worry, makes the prospect of going outside not exactly compelling, but I will be brave. May 2014 bring me courage!

Wishing you all the best for the new year, Ilana, and like Paul I am crossing crossables right now for your health.
And I hope it was just firecrackers next door??

Hi Ilana!

Hi Ilana - you look all set up here for the New Year. I love all your lists and will have to peruse your best of 2013 when I have a better internet connection, at present I have to sit outside and it's a bit cold to sit here too long. We've also had numerous 'canons' going off around us as part of the celebrations.

Welcome back! I love the Vogue artwork you're using as a thread topper.

A beautiful and very cold New Year Day here in Montreal. Had a good sleep, woke up with a migraine (nothing new there) and now waiting for a call from my mum, who said she'd call me after 12. Not making resolutions for the whole year, but I can make them one day at a time, so today's resolutions are to visit some 2014 threads, post something short and sweet on my blog, and spend 2-3 hours drawing and at least one hour sorting through my papers. There. That's New Year's Day all filled up right there!

>17 Matke: Hi Gail, thanks for dropping by! The secret to my lists and planning is that they are just guidelines and no more, and you might notice, also offer quite a wide scope. I follow when it suits, and do as I wish when it doesn't. But the truth is that with soooo many choices on my tbr, I often feel a bit anxious when trying to choose what next to read with so many seemingly endless possibilities, so I find having a few guidelines helpful in narrowing down those choices. But of course if I feel like being a rebel and inspired to do what I feel like, then I can pick whatever I want!


Mum just called, will be back soon with more responses...

Welcome back Ilana. Happy New Year! Hope you have a great 2014.

Happy New Year, Ilana! I hope you and Coco have a lovely year.

Happy New Year, Ilana! It looks like you have quite a reading challenge ahead of you, for this year. Good luck. I am so glad you are going to try my "baby", the AAC. And you have not broken any rules. Getting books off the shelf should be first priority.
That is a mighty best of list. There are several I WANT to get to, including Middlemarch, Gillespie and I & Fathers and Sons. Did you listen to middlemarch? How was it?

>18 EBT1002: Ellen I've got Native Son all set up by my bedside table toward the top of the pile ready to be picked up at a moment's notice (more or less)! I've taken loads of photos of Coco since he got his haircut on Friday, since I always find him especially cute and tiny when he's shorn like that, so will post some very soon. xx

>19 luvamystery65: What a great message Roberta! I love it when people have the time to get as wordy as I can be...

About your comments on my 2013 reads: 84, Charing Cross Road is one of those books I've promised myself I should reread every year or at least every other year. It's so short and sweet and pleasurable, it's a treat I think should be indulged in again and again. While I've read Jane Eyre at least two or three times and plan to read it often again, I've yet to get to Wuthering Heights, which has been on my tbr seemingly forever. As I have it on audio, I could easily add it to my planned selections for this year. It's a sure bet I will revisit Lonesome Dove again in years to come, either on audio or print or both again. I don't want to make comparisons, but I remember really loving All the Pretty Horses too, which I'd like to reread this year as it's been so long since I read it and want to move on to the next books in the Border Trilogy. I'm also really glad I was able to fit in A Thousand Splendid Suns, but if I hadn't I would have made it one of my first books of the year. I still can't get my head around how Hosseini manages to tell such harrowing stories that are somehow a real pleasure to read.

About my 2014 picks: I'm really glad friends have responded to my call with such enthusiasm and have obviously taken care with their selections. I first read The Heart is a Lonely Hunter when I was 20 or 21 myself, and remember feeling like I'd discovered a whole universe I could finally relate to back then, as I'd always felt like an outsider and loner. I was also astounded that she'd managed to write it at my age and felt like the bar had suddenly been raised mighty high for me to produce anything of worth at the time. Didn't happen, but at least it didn't take away from my enjoyment of her work and I look forward to revisiting it with over 20 years more experience and living later. I'm really glad you picked out Cold Comfort Farm for me. It's one of those books I've seen endless references and recommendations for and as I like to mix it up between one book and the next, it will fit in perfectly between two weightier works so I can give my mind and humour a cheering rest. I actually picked up The New York Stories of Edith Wharton perhaps a week ago and have read the first 3 or 4 stories so far. I thought I'd read them between other books, but have decided to focus on just that one book for now, and it's interesting to see how varied the topics she chose to write on are and how far she went from only describing people living in her own upper class circle. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail will be a bit of a departure from the usual for me (if there is such a thing as 'usual' in my choices), because for one thing I don't tend to read all that much non-fiction or biographies and memoirs. I think it'll prove very inspiring and I look forward to it.

>20 PaulCranswick: Paul, you have a knack for always making such lovely and encouraging comments, and I thank you for your kind words. I'll definitely take 'Talented, Complex and Lovely', and 'Individual' too! :-) Please do not worry about my health. Something tells me it's all a false alarm and they won't find anything at all, but I promise I will be assiduous about it and do all the tests necessary to establish that it is in fact a false alarm and nothing else.

>24 Deern: Nathalie, thank you for dropping by my dear, and as I've just said above, I'm sure my health is as good as can be expected, but I will be sure to post updates when I have more information to share. I haven't told my mum about it on either conversation we had last week and today, because she'd just feel worry to death and feel terribly worried (since her father died of a heart attack and there are heart problems in my family) and frustrated and I can't give her frequent updates or whatever. I'm taking the warnings, such as they are seriously, but not worrying about it either. I've taken my pulse regularly and it's been completely normal so far, so maybe my acupuncturist and father were just being alarmist? Everything's possible at this point.

>25 wilkiec: Hi Diana! Thanks for dropping by. I see A Fine Balance was one of your favourite books last year, and it seems to be a favourite for lots of other folks here, so I look forward to plunging into it as I've been meaning to do for seemingly many years now...

>26 avatiakh: Hi Kerry! I saw you mention on your own thread that your internet connectivity was rather limited, so of course understand you can't see everything you'd like to in one sitting. I don't have internet problems, just lagging energy which results in the same problem. I'm sure I overreacted last night to the blasts I heard, but what worried me is they sounded practically next door where I've never heard any noise, and every time I've heard that particular noise in the past (not often, mind), I've always wondered if what I was hearing was a gun or a blown tire or what. There were no cars on the street, but it was in all probability a firecracker of some sort. One hopes.

>27 drneutron: Thanks for dropping by Jim! I fell in love with Helen Dryden when I discovered her maybe six months ago and have been topping my threads with her artwork ever since. I thought I should probably switch it up to something else for the new year, but her images are so cheering and I thought, why the heck not? Glad you like them too.

>30 SandDune: Hi Rhian, and thanks for dropping by. I'm optimistic that 2014 will be a good year. Migraine or not, health problems in general or not, I've recently fallen into some very good habits as far as my artwork goes and that seems to make a world of difference somehow through good and bad. Then of course I've established a rich reading life with this group and couldn't wish for anything better, other than having more time and energy to interact with all the wonderful people on LT!

>31 cameling: Hi Caro! Thanks so much for dropping by! I need to edit a couple of pics of Coco so I can post them here and there. Looking at him always cheers me up, no matter how often I do so, and I figure it must do the same for other folks as well! :-)

>32 msf59: Hi Mark, welcome to my new 2014 digs! I don't know whether I'm glad or sad about 'not having broken any rules'... figures, right? But I am glad that you consider reading off the tbr priority #1. I'm sure that's the case for most of us who have retained even a modicum of sanity here. I've got more lists coming up as I've decided to make some piles, real physical ones of the traditional print books I want to read in 2014, which I'm all transferring to my bedroom where I can easily pick from them for nighttime reading. I did listen to Middlemarch, yes, and got the version narrated by Juliet Stevenson, who as you might know is one of my very favourite female narrators and such a great actress. Definitely recommend it as it was a real pleasure all the way through. I do intend to read from the Folio Society edition I've gotten since when I get to it next time though, just for a change of pace and perspective and for the beautifully quirky block print illustrations by Simon Brett throughout (http://www.simonbrett-woodengraver.co.uk/illustrations.htm).

Hello! Some interesting reads on your best of 2013 list. I've seen the film version of Dragonwyck, and the book has been sitting on my shelf for several years. Maybe I'll dust it off and read it this year.

Music and Silence looks intriguing. I recently watched the film A Royal Affair, which is about King Christian and his queen, and a German physician who the king befriends. Very good. It stars Alicia Vikander, who played Kitty in the recent film version of Anna Karenina. I knew absolutely nothing about the Danish court of King Christian IV before.

Sandy K

>35 Smiler69: Hi Sandy! Thanks for dropping by. I was still hard at work polishing off my lists when you posted your message (just completed #7: Additional Books I'd like to read in 2014)

I love making lists, but rarely follow them to the letter.

I assure you that the original Dragonwyck book is MUCH better than the movie, though as I said the movie did capture the mood very well, and Vincent Price's performance was well worth seeing. You just reminded me that I had indeed seen A Royal Affair when it was out in cinemas and really enjoyed it. Wouldn't mind seeing it again in fact, as it's now quite blurry on the edges of my memory and having read the book it'll be interesting to compare the two (off to see if it's available on the library circuit). eta: having said that, you've also reminded me I want to read the other Rose Tremain book currently on my tbr, The Colour. Will have to add it to the list and by my bedside!

Happy New Year!




Off to walk Coco now, then food, then drawing, then... whatever I still have time for. So much for meeting resolutions one day at a time... :-|

Happy New Year to you, too!

Sandy K

Happy New Year Ilana. I will try to keep up with you in 2014. I really like your 2014 lineup of books---so many good ones. You can't help but have a great year of reading.

>38 sandykaypax: Thanks! :-)

>39 brenzi: Hi Bonnie, glad you were able to drop by! I was thinking the same a bit earlier, that I can only have a great reading year considering the lineup I've got going. It's a distinct possibility that I'll only read half the books I've put down on those many lists (though "Picked for Me" is my priority), but then the only reason I'd do that is to make room for other books I feel like picking up at the spur of the moment, which can only be that much better. I'll be happy to see you at my haunt any time you manage to drop by. Have a wonderful year!

Well, I DID manage to sort through a mount Kilimanjaro of paperwork that had accumulated on my desk for the past year, which feels awesome. However, I ended up spending maybe 3 hours doing that as opposed to the half hour I had planned, so several things didn't get done, such as working on my drawing and visiting threads, and posting my New Year wishes on my blog (accompanied by heartmelting photo) but then... tomorrow is another day, and why do today what can be deferred till tomorrow, right?!

Will drop by a couple of threads to keep my hand in and then get ready for bed. Hope everyone had a great first day of the year. I know mine was very satisfactory.

Nice to see you had a good start to 2014 and I take heart from the positivity in your replies to both Nathalie and myself. xx

Paul, I mightn't have taken any resolutions for the year, but all the same I feel I accomplished a HUGE one today as all that paperwork had been weighing on me heavily day in day out (not to mention taking up so much space!). So while it wasn't exactly and 'exciting' day, I feel quite proud of myself and even a little bit grown up now. :-)

Happy New Year Ilana, I hope that this year is a happy, healthy and enjoyable one for you and Coco.

Happy New Year, Ilana! Your reading plans are quite admirable, and I'll certainly be rooting for you to meet your goals.

Ha! Found you!

Lovely work on the so-called "just lists", Ilana! A very comprehensive and informative overview indeed.

I was familiar with the film of Dragonwyck and found it both amusing and typical that it left out ALL of the history that Seton was so careful to weave her plot around.

Looking forward to Pride And Prejudice!

I have finally found my way over to your thread, Ilana. One needs a survival kit and lots of stamina to make their way through the group... I figure it will take me a good week to finish the initial rounds of visits.

Wonderful Vogue covers as your thread topper - what a great era for clothing! - and I see you are reading the The Blue Fairy Book! I read Andrew Lang's compilation of 22 (or was it 25?) stories from the Arabian Nights but I haven't ventured into his "colour collection" of fairy stories. Great memorable reads of 2013 list.... you have hit me with a couple of them (Gillespie and I, The Potato Factory and A Thousand Splendid Suns to name the ones that are quickly being moved up my future reading list) and it appears we are in agreement in liking Snow Falling on Cedars, Lord of the Flies, The Count of Monte Cristo - although I have yet to come across any who makes it through that one without loving it! - and Lonesome Dove. I am looking forward to giving Middlemarch an attempt as part of a group read over on the 2014 Category Challenge and have the Forsyte Saga waiting on my e-reader so I am encouraged by your positive ratings for both of them. I like how you have made some amendments to the American Author Challenge! I might dip in with The Road as a Cormac McCarthy read and Giovanni's Room as a James Baldwin read but some of the other authors daunt me... like Faulkner, Vonnegut and Updike.

I love how organized you are! I will close off this visit with belated Happy New Year greetings and best wishes for you in 2014! Starring your thread so I don't lose it in 2014 group sea of threads.

(from FSD group) Just wanted to thank you for mentioning 75 Books once! I wandered over here and I was sold on taking up the challenge in 2014. Happy reading, Ilana, and bonne année!

Yay, visitors! :-)

I'm not sure where the day went, but I do know I took a bath this evening for the first time in maybe 10 years. Of course I do wash, but in the shower, because I always found my bathroom and tub so tiny that I usually ended up feeling anxious about the walls closing in on me. I'd forgotten how good a bath can feel. And soooooo relaxing. I just wish it had the power to take away migraines too (entering my 8th or 9th week now...)

I haven't posted anything to bring in the New Year either here or on my blog, but I figure as long as I do it within the first week it should still be acceptable as a late contribution. I haven't done any artwork in the last three days either, and that is something I am not prepared to put off any longer, so am off to spend the rest of the next hour or so doing that. Tomorrow must wake early for a doctor's appointment. It was close to -40 C today, and much of the same tomorrow too. Eeeek! I feel especially bad for anyone who has to be out and about working in this weather, like postmen and delivery men (hiya Mark!).

Thanks for your lovely messages calm, Darryl, Liz, Lori, Bond Girl, I will be back tomorrow to comment individually and visit some threads. Cheers!

>44 calm: Hi calm, thank you so much for the kind New Year wishes. Of course I wish the very same (minus the Coco part)!

>45 kidzdoc: Thank you Darryl, I don't know if I would call them 'goals' necessarily, in the sense that I don't necessarily intend to achieve completion, but rather have wide and all-encompassing guidelines to help guide my choices. With close to 1,200 selections on my tbr, it's good to narrow down the options somewhat...

>46 lyzard: Glad you like my endless lists Liz, I think I enjoy putting them together even more than trying to complete them, but then I'm not exactly what you'd call a completist either...

I enjoyed the movie version of Dragonwyck for what it had to offer, but as you say, it left out all the historical background that made the novel so much richer than a simple gothic romance, which is really all the movie has to offer. That, and plenty of camp of course. Nothing wrong with camp! Speaking of which, I just viewed the movie trailer and got a real kick out of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzpW6CsunDo

I'm ready for my reread of Pride and Prejudice when you are, and looking forward to it too! Between your excellent guidance and my sublime Folio edition illustrated by an amazing artist duo (i.e. the Balbusso twins) it's almost assured it'll become one of my favourites this time around, and I certainly will not be throwing this edition against any walls either, I can assure you. As I may have told you before, I'd rather we get through it in the earlier part of January, as I may have less time to devote to a tutored read when my art classes start up again in the third week of January. I currently have The New York Stories of Edith Wharton going, and while I intend on finishing it within the month if possible, I can easily put it down and pick it up at irregular intervals, and would even prefer it that way.

>47 lkernagh: One needs a survival kit and lots of stamina to make their way through the group...

Indeed! It's work enough trying to do so any time of the year, let alone in the first flush of the New Year when everyone is determined to hold to resolutions of keeping up with everybody, which is completely impossible of course, unless you just give a cursory glance to every thread and leave short and sweet comments on the fly. I tend not to like doing that myself, because I'm more interested in getting to see what each person has been up to and get at least a general sense of conversation and then try to contribute something heartfelt if I have anything to say at all, and that tends to take quite a while, which is why I more or less gave up on the idea of keeping up with the more hyperactive ones who are energetic enough to keep up a frenetic pace. That being said, I'm thrilled you found your way to my thread Lori, and not surprised to find out we share several favourites. As for The Blue Fairy Book, it was part of what I hope was temporary madness for a good part of 2013, when I set aside all reason and spent a not so small fortune on acquiring a whole Folio Society library. Which is to say, I managed to put together Violet book. Mind you, I didn't buy any of the Lang books at full price, but I still managed to get in very serious debt with the more than 150 volumes I acquired between April and, well, now... I promised myself I wouldn't buy anymore of their books for at least six month, and we'll see how that works out, but either way, I don't think I'll regret having given in to temptation because the books really are incredibly beautiful and so wonderfully illustrated they are worth cherishing for many years to come.

Please do not be fooled by any semblance of organization, as I am one of the most disorganized people I know of, but it does feel good to put these lists together and try to follow them to give me some small illusion of being in control! :-)

>48 Bond_Girl: Bond Girl, welcome to the 75ers! I think I probably mentioned this group several times on the Folio Society Devotees threads, because this is my real 'home', so to speak and I am sure you will find you receive as kind and friendly a reception as I did when I joined just over 3 years ago (gosh, has it really been that long??). You will probably end up with more great book recommendations you've ever imagined possible and will likely, as do most members of this group find it a daunting task trying to keep up with this chatty bunch, but I know I've made some friendships here I really cherish which makes the effort very much worthwhile. Bonne année à toi aussi! I've resolved to visit the FSD group less often this year to keep me from too much temptation and enabling... we'll see how that works out!

I just posted the following on my blog a short while ago and want to share it here too:



Coco and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy National Sleep Day and also a Happy, Peaceful and Satisfying New Year!

awwww.... Coco! The little love.

I'm fairly tied up today and tomorrow, Ilana, but I could set up the thread for Pride And Prejudice on Monday morning (Sunday your time) if that would suit you?

And yes---- Aww, Coco! :)

Coco is beyond sweet - asleep in his cute little sweater! How adorable is he?

So nice to see you here again, Ilana. I am bowled over by your voluminous lists and plans. Feel like picking through your lists to make lists of my own. I did finally purchase Travels with Herodotus which has been on my wish list for ages - three and a half years, to be exact. The trick will be to actually read it before another 3+ years go by.

Don't know what this heart condition talk is about - I must have missed something from the end of last year and will have to hunt up your last thread in order to get up to speed. In the meantime please take care of yourself - we can't do without you. Truly.

>52 -Cee-: Claudia, I live with him 24/7 and almost 4 years on, still haven't gotten used to how sweet he is! Always nice to see I am not alone in this. :-)

>53 lyzard: Liz, the most convenient time for me is whenever is convenient for you. My only question to you is, do you think I'd be better off waiting till you've put up the thread and posted your introduction to the novel to pick it up on the 'right foot' so to speak, or should I on the contrary start reading so I'm ready with questions when you put up the thread? And yes, I do know there is no big rush one way or the other!

>Charlotte, you say the nicest things to me sometimes. You didn't miss much from the old thread, especially since, as it turns out the whole 'heart condition' thing turned out to be a false alarm. It started because the acupuncturist who's been giving me weekly treatments for just over a month now keeps telling me I have a 'very fast' heartbeat. I didn't know the first thing about what a normal heartbeat is (though I do now!) so didn't think to ask what the number was, as it didn't mean anything to me. I then told my dad about about this comment, who checked and found I hate a rate of 120 beats/minute, which as I found out, is indeed something to worry about. I then told a RL gf of mine about it (who used to be head nurse at the cardiology department) and she got extremely worried and was practically saying I should call an ambulance, so I instead made an appointment with my family doctor. But then I started checking my own pulse (which I'd never though of doing before, duh!), and found it to be consistently between 80 and 88, which is completely normal. I then called my acupuncturist, and he said he found it to be in the high 80s. As for my dad, I'll be kind and just say he isn't the most reliable person ever (the notion of 'Logic' to him is an aberration. Not his words verbatim, but close enough. Also, I found out today that he didn't know that 'pulse' and 'heartbeat' were one and the same thing till very recently so... ok, not being so kind now, but couldn't keep that little morsel of wtf-ness to myself). So I cancelled the appointment with my doctor, which was very convenient considering it was around -40 C again today, because of course she would have found it to be normal as well and either sent me home or, worse to a consult for further tests which would have turned out to be a big waste of time and taxpayers' money. End of story.

You are more than welcome to pick and choose whatever you like on my lists to make your own. No copyright infringement there. :-)
I have no idea when I will get to Travels with Herodotus either, but as it isn't on the lists for this year, I wouldn't hold my breath on it happening in 2014. I received a big shipment in two boxes from the Folio Society yesterday and opened one box and saved the other for today. It's my last hurrah before I buckle down and get serious about not spending money as if I was rolling in the stuff. Anyway, all this to say I ended up getting The Crusades Through Arab Eyes when there was the 20% and free shipping thing going and used my 10% on top, which made it almost affordable, sorta kinda. I unwrapped it today and it's a real beauty. I'm off to catalogue my new babies now before I head out for acupuncture treatment #5 (so far, it hasn't helped any, but I'm still holding out hope).

Ilana, beautiful new thread to begin a hopeful new year. I love your list of 31 favorites from last year and the reasons they made the list. I will check out the blog entry when I have more time. Just think, next year you can choose 41 books to highlight!

51: Dear, sweet Coco. He looks so comfy and deserves to be the poster boy for National Sleep Day. I think I'll fit in a short nap in a few. It's been rough sleeping next to an infant the past few nights!

Coco. Too cute.

ahh! Bond Girl is from FSD - I had visons of Ms's. Eaton, Andress, Seymour et al but at least I know now it is not an Oddjob!

Have a wonderful weekend dear Ilana. xx

>56 Donna828: Hi Donna, always nice to see you on my little garden patch. Did you manage to put in a little nap finally? Infants are certainly not generally known to be conducive to restful sleep. Looking at Coco sleep is the next best thing to sleeping myself. It also leads to gentle dreams.

There are only small differences between the blog version and this one to the average reader I guess, but to me they are huge. For one thing, the page layout is much more appealing, with inserts of many book covers. I also added publication and format information and edited the entries a bit, adding some details here and there, such as mentions about narrators I thought did a particularly good job.

>57 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul dear. I'm afraid I've already badly fallen behind keeping up with threads this week. I guess it's mostly to do with the fact that I reserve a chunk of 2-3 hours each day to drawing now, whereas that time was previously spent on the computer and mostly with this group. All the same, I did drop by your place yesterday and yikes, 3rd thread already! I can't promise I will manage to keep up with that frenetic pace, but I shall try to put in an appearance a bit more often than I did last year.

>58 DejaVoo: Nicky!!! What a lovely surprise! You are of course always welcome to visit this group and comment on any thread you like. As you've already noticed, this is a very friendly group and visitors are always welcome. You might find that you enjoy your visits so much you will want to make it part of your daily routine, in which case your life will be radically transformed. As I think I mentioned somewhere on this thread, and as I know I've mentioned to you personally, I've gotten into quite a bit of a financial tangle because of the (hopefully) temporary FAD (that's Folio Acquisition Disorder, for those who aren't part of the Folio group) which had me on a mad race to acquire as many Folio titles as I possibly could. I don't regret it, but I also don't plan on keeping it up in 2014, so part of the plan is to visit the FSD a bit less often to avoid too much enabling and temptation, though of course they are a great bunch there too, so I will of course put in an appearance here and there. I should warn you that whereas keeping up with FSD is very quickly done, that cannot be said about the 75ers!

I kept a couple of spots open for additional picks in the Picked for Me challenge, and I'm delighted you decided to participate. Schindler's Ark is one of the most recent titles I acquired, and while I'd been meaning to read it for some time, I got the Folio edition purely for Tim Laing's illustrations which I find astoundingly beautiful and are quite an inspiration to me as I too like to work with pencil in a realistic manner. I don't know if you've had a chance to visit my other blog devoted to my artwork (http://createthreesixty5.com), but if you do you'll see a couple of examples of works I've done which are part of a planned series project I've undertaken, which keeps me drawing on a daily basis.

Thanks for dropping by and of course I wish you a wonderful New Year too, and plenty of great reading, though hopefully at minimal expense going forward. ;-)

Getting together with a gf today, going for late lunch at my favourite vegan restaurant, which has become somewhat of a routine for us in the last couple of months. I picked up Bleak House last night, which I have in a nice fat Folio edition and also on audio. I will likely alternate between the book and an audio version I also have, so I can finish it within a couple of weeks, as opposed to several months. At present, I am still listening to Smallbone Deceased, which is a good old fashioned postwar murder mystery set at a layers firm. I must say, going back to Bleak House, I only had a short time to devote to reading as got to bed very late after a prolonged drawing session and while I managed two chapters, most of it seemed like Chinese to me. This may have to do with fatigue and migraine, but I also imagine I will settle in to his voluble prose style—all the Dicken's I've read in the last couple of years have been on audio format—and as the story and characters develop it will no doubt all become intelligible to me. Off to do a tad bit of drawing before setting off to my lunch appointment.

Dear Ilana - struggling to keep up or not; you'll always be high on my "weekend list". Have a lovely lunch.

>61 PaulCranswick: Hi dear Paul. Must say it feels nice to know I'm high on anyone's list of any kind.

As it turns out yesterday, my friend got to the vegan restaurant before I did and was met by a locked door. Neither of us had thought to call first, but as we quickly found out, it seems many businesses and restaurants are closed for a few days following New Year, so we had a bit of a hard time figuring out where to go. Finally I called around (I still hadn't left home as was running late as usual) and found a Bistro open near me, the kind of place that is consistently decent and which all too often ends up being a default option. I brought her a few gifts as I hadn't given her her Christmas present (a beautiful book called The Golden Age of Botanical Art which I also got for myself) and had also lapsed on her birthday a couple of months ago. She was quite thrilled with her three items, which included a Folio diary and notebook. We chatted on for a few hours and generally had a very nice time. I wish things were as simple with my mother; I asked her to participate to the Picked for Me challenge, but unthinkingly sent her the link to my former thread to follow the instructions there, and she had a minor freakout when she saw all the hyperlinks (touchstones to the list of selected books). I hadn't thought how overwhelming the LT environment might be to a casual visitor, but her way of expressing her confusion was to say she wanted to devote her time to writing and there were too many distractions about as it is. This message I read in the last hour and I think it made my blood pressure rise considerably. We worked it out in the end when I sent her the instruction paragraph in an email and instructed her NOT to go back to the LT link, but I'm still feeling upset about how the exchange started out and how she always manages to make me feel like I'm complicating her life or letting her down in some way. Certainly makes me feel like clamming up tight and not trying again. But it'll pass. Next, I plan on cataloguing a few books, then spending as much as the day drawing as I can. Feeling rather antisocial at the moment I'm afraid.


In reading, I picked up Bleak House on Friday night as mentioned in my previous message. I started with the book, and then yesterday, as I finished listening to Smallbone Deceased, picked up the audiobook version to listen to as I putter about during the day. Don't know if I'll be able to go back to the print volume though much after tonight as I'll be starting my tutored read of Pride and Prejudice with Liz this week, which I'm quite looking forward to.

I won't write review for my two first books of the New Year, but will explain my 2.5 and 3 star rating for The Dogs of Riga and Smallbone Deceased respectively. I listened to both on audio, and the Mankell series is narrated by Dick Hill, an American narrator who also did the Jack Reacher series. He's a great fit for the latter series, since all the action takes place in the States. But the Mankell series takes place primarily in Sweden, and also in Latvia in this book, and it seems to me as if the translation was made into British English as opposed to American (with words such a 'lory' instead of 'truck' as the only example I can remember at the moment). In short, I felt he was the wrong narrator for this book. But also there is a degree of realism that I found extremely unappealing. At one point Inspector Kurt Wallander goes on a search mission and is so overtaken by nerves that he starts feeling his bowels coming loose and finding it impossible to hold himself back, defecates into a garbage bin. That was just... WAYYYYYY too much realism for my liking. I don't want to know anything about the character's visits to the bathroom or... lack of such premises when needed. Ick. This is where Jane Austen comes in. All proper and clean and a far, far remove from bodily functions.



Smallbone Deceased by Michael Gilbert was satisfactory enough, and I may in fact decide to increase my three-star rating as I think about it in the next few days. It takes place at a law firm where a man is found quite dead for quite a long time in a large sealed box usually used to store documents. A detective from Scotland Yard comes to investigate, but is helped by a new recruit to the law firm, who eventually helps him solve the case. A great bunch of characters and lots of references to the postwar living conditions in England at the time (the novel was published in 1950). Here again, I think the audio version might be to blame for a rather low rating considering I enjoyed the book on the whole quite a lot. In this case the narrator was actually quite wonderful, but the sound quality was dreadful, which tends to happen with older recordings. Ah well. I'll be looking to print or ebook versions of Gilbert's work in future.

Off to be antisocial now. May I be forgiven...

I am relieved to read that the heart thing was a false alarm! A reason to celebrate! :-)

I read the first books of the Wallander series many years ago and quite enjoyed them, but never felt good afterwards and never even started those other Scandinavian series. I like my detectives to be old-fashioned and with good nerves, although they can be a little excentric. I like Whimsey and Poirot and their cases were overall far less depressing and victims were usually not tortured, just "cleanly" poisoned or shot. And fact is also that now after years I don't remember any of the Wallander cases, only his personal problems while I remember the numerous Poirots and 3 Whimsey cases I read quite well. Crime fiction is a category I read to relax and where I don't need too much excitement and realism. I get that from the war novels...

I'll try to follow your P&P read and hope you'll enjoy it this time.

So happy at the heart issue being a false alarm. I also am very glad you actually took some action to determine that. I was worried you might put it off. Big hugs for you, dear friend.

Love your 31 Most Memorable reads of 2013 - and your comments.

I have relatively recently read from that list (and loved):
84, Charing Cross Road
Middlemarch
Jane Eyre
Hamlet
The Count of Monte-Cristo
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Snow Falling on Cedars

So, maybe you would pick one or two from your list that I haven't read and you think I NEED to get to in 2014, please?
Thanks... I know you will ;-)

Wishing you good health. Hugs.

>63 Deern: Hi Nathalie, I'm really sorry I posted about that heart thing before checking on it myself and worrying you for no reason.

I enjoy crime fiction once in a while, though I still haven't quite figured out what most attracts me, be it the golden oldies or more brutal contemporary stuff. If I choose an Agatha Christie novel, then I do so because I want something somewhat predictable and quaint and yes, relaxing. But then if I choose a Jack Reacher novel, then I'm looking for sheer edge-of-your seat escapism, and both totally fit the bill. The first Henning Mankell book I read was The Return of the Dancing Master in the French translation, which one of my girlfriends had loaned me. Here again the detective Stefan Lindman is facing personal issues and the topic is very heavy (cancer and ex nazis, if memory serves correctly). I enjoyed it well enough, but see now I'd given it just three stars. I'm willing to give him one or two more chances, and have reserved the next book The White Lioness from the library, this time an audio format in the French translation to see if that narrator works better for me. I already have the one after that The Man Who Smiled in my audio library, but if these don't appeal to me, then I won't pursue the series or indeed Mankell any further. Have you read any Camilla Läckberg? Another contemporary Swedish writer, whose first book The Ice Princess I quite enjoyed. They have the whole series available in French audio at the library, so I've just reserved the next book and we'll see how that goes.

You are of course more than welcome to join in on the P&P reading with questions and comments!

>Hi Claudia! You're right I often tend to put health issues off, mainly because it's such an ordeal trying to get an appointment to see specialists and the waiting is so long and most of the time they can't give me conclusive answers. I took this one seriously because there are serious heart issues in my family. But this was REALLY a false alarm, and I think my father, when he took my pulse and came up with 120 was probably counting all wrong, which wouldn't be unlike him.

I'm honoured that you'd like me to pick two books from my favourites of 2013 for you to read this year. I'll write my two picks here, but will also go post them on your thread in a minute.

I think you should definitely read The Power of One, because Bryce Courtenay is such an amazing storyteller and not at all well known in the States. It's a feel good story, and also part of a trilogy. I haven't read the other two books, and this one can absolutely stand alone.

The other book I think you should read is Music & Silence by Rose Tremain. I think this is an author you might enjoy very much and in this case, she's weaved a piece of historical fiction which really transcends the genre. I know I definitely want to read more work by her this year. Actually, this is true of both authors.

Hi, Ilana! Sorry, I'm running a bit late - yesterday went a bit pear-shaped - but the thread for our tutored read of Pride And Prejudice is now up - here.

So we're ready to go whenever it suits you. See you there! :)

Thanks for the picks, Ilana!
They both look really good and something new for me. I have heard of Rose Tremain but never took the dive.

>66 lyzard: Woohoo! Thank you so much Liz, off to check it out in a sec.

>67 -Cee-: I'm glad you like my picks for you Claudia, of course I was very flattered that you wanted me to do this. I'll look in my boxed of previously read books (which I no longer have room to leave on my few shelves) to see if I still have The Power of One. I happen to have the audio version as I think I mentioned on my blog and really love it so I wouldn't need the book any longer, if I still have it that is. Will look tonight or tomorrow.

I haven't read Music and Silence, Ilana, but I would back your comments on Rose Tremain. Great author.

Anyone interested in joining me in my reading of Pride and Prejudice under Liz's (lyzard's) expert tutelage is more than welcome to visit and make comments (with certain restrictions) here:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/163892

This is the gorgeous 2013 Folio Society edition I'll be reading from starting tomorrow:

Paul, I've got The Colour and Restoration on my tbr, both of which I'd like to get to this year.

I wanted to visit a few more threads than I managed to today, but must put some time into my artwork, so off to it I go. Also, there's an apple crisp which might start burning in a second if I don't get to it this instant. I'll be back tomorrow to visit some folks!

Don't burn the apple crisp for heanven's sake! Must look up that Folio Society but at the rate I add books it may not be so conducive to my financial well-being.

I've read the first 5 chapters of Pride and Prejudice and taken notes today to prepare for my fist round of questions and comments on Liz's tutored read thread, and will head over there after I've visited a few people in a short while. I'm about halfway through Bleak House now, and must say it took quite a while to grow on me, but I think I'm getting into it now. I have the feeling Dickens is one of those authors I'll enjoy more as I revisit his books once they have become familiar. I can see the appeal in it. I hope it won't take me too long to finish it though, considering all the reading plans I made for January.

>72 PaulCranswick: Paul, I shudder at the thought of you joining the Folio Society considering you book shopping habits. I certainly hope I'll never be held responsible if you do decide to join, in any case! The apple crisp came out just fine, but would not have benefited from a longer exposure in the oven.

Ah, you make me drool every time you make apple crisp!

Thanks for the offer of The Power of One... but, I always strike while the fire is hot and that book as well as Music & Silence are on their way to me right now. I had some points built up on Amazon and got them both free. :-)

I shudder at the thought of buying just one Folio Soc book! But they sure look beautiful.

Hope you are feeling well today ;-)

What an exciting day! Started with a call first thing this morning earlier than my usual wakeup time with my bank announcing my debt consolidation loan was approved, which took a huge load off my mind. What this means is 2014 is the year I will start spending RESPONSIBLY. Or at least, as responsibly as I can manage, keeping in mind I'm not a multimillionaire. I'd been holding off on getting a replacement for the iPad I just sold last week so rushed over to the Apple store to get an iPad Air this afternoon. Managed to put in a decent drawing session, and this evening got an acupuncture treatment and now am more or less ready to get to bed. Will visit a few threads before starting on my bedtime routine.

>74 -Cee-: Claudia you know what is even more drool worthy these days is my famous rice stovetop rice pudding recipe which is just to DIE for. Unfortunately it's also much more fattening than my apple crisp, which I learned the hard way when I had to jeans a size up from Gap when I saw they had a 50% off sale. But worth it I guess.

I should have mentioned I would send you my copy of The Power of One as soon as I suggested the books to you, but I wasn't completely sure I still had it so didn't want to create false hope, as I've done by telling you I'd put something in the mail for you this week maybe three months ago and meanwhile, the thing is still sitting on my desk... procrastinate, moi?

Folio Society: I can't predict how things will go when they have their Spring and Summer sales, and then again in the Fall and pre-Christmas, but I will do my best to limit any additional purchases very very strictly. Maybe, say, 6 books in all until 2015, if that. There are several of the new releases from this Fall that I haven't let myself fall for, though I want them quite badly, such as their sublime edition of The Great Gatsby (http://www.foliosociety.com/book/GRG/great-gatsby), Seven Gothic Tales (http://www.foliosociety.com/book/GTT) and The Owl Service (http://www.foliosociety.com/bookcat/9388/OWL/owl-service). They may go on sale in a couple of years though, so I'll try to hold out and if I do, I should be able to stick to a handful or less. I think now I've dipped in that pool I can never completely resist again.

Feeling much better today (and with good reason), thanks! :-)

Hey, Ilana. Good to know that the whole health thing was a false alarm! That makes 2014 better already! Also good news on the loans thing. I constantly try to monitor my spending, and keep it under control. Didn't do so well with that in November and December, but back on track now. I check my credit card balance and checking balances at least 3 times a week--did I mention that my late Dh was obesessed with making sure I'd be financially secure? It was so terribly important to him that I feel compelled to keep a lid on things.

My reading are limited this year. I'd like to read 100 books, get 14 nonfiction and 14 mysteries from my shelves read, follow the AAC in a purist sort of way, and keep up with Liz in the Trollope readings. That's it. Now that I have some more free time, I realize how very many books I already have on my shelves and will (oh, please, oh please) try to limit book-buying to no more than 200. I'd say 100, but if I get off on a tear, that'll go out the window.

Been a bit of a rough day. Head feels like there's a bunch of shattered crockery up there. Didn't help that Coco woke me at dawn with his particular brand of screeching yell that always makes me think it sounds like an animal being skinned alive. He's done that a couple of times now in the last month or so and my best guess is he's awoken from a particularly bad dream because I can't find anything physically wrong with him. He's acting stranger and more bullheaded than ever and will hardly listen to me or to any basic commands like 'sit' and 'lie down' and 'stay'. Today he plain refused to sit, even when I was offering treats, and then when I took him to a cushion he was willing enough to sit there. If I try to try to gently handle him into sitting or lying, more of that unbearable screeching, which honestly sounds like something out of a horrific nightmare. I prod him all over to see if anything is amiss, and get no responses, he seems just fine. Tonight we ended up in a bad place. I wasn't happy with him for all the needless screeching (he really often uses it to express mere displeasure), which makes my head feel worse with every horrific sound coming out of that little body. I'm in so much pain I want to cry. After refusing to sit for a routine supplement feeding, I gave up and just fed him and then went downstairs to get the groceries into the apartment. We'd just come in maybe ten minutes before from a long walk from market and when I came back up I saw him putting his leg down after having piddled in the kitchen. He piddles if I let him alone in the house routinely now, but he's never done it while I was in the house. I don't know if I should call the vet or just cry, or both. I've known for quite some time now that he's quite neurotic, but this takes the cake. It's horrible to say, but this is my primary relationship (which is quite pathetic I know), but when it goes badly I feel completely helpless. Wouldn't seem quite so bad if I wasn't in so much pain...

>76 Matke: Hi Gail, I'm so sorry for your loss, I really am. I have so little control over my spending and it really frightens me because things are looking very scary retirement age. I check my balance all the time too, but keep right on spending. I know I do it to fill a void and need to find healthier ways of coping, and if I do I'll be able to get myself on a decent track financially speaking. We'll see how we do with the various resolutions about what we read from where and how the book buying pans out eh?

Oh, how awful about Coco! Very stressful listening to that and not knowing what is wrong. I have no idea what could be the matter.
And piddling in the house is so hard to bear... unless you could teach him to do so in a box of litter or on papers??? He's pretty small. Might work.

I know small animals can make the most god-awful noises... out of fear or because of pain. I used to have a wee one like Coco. Sorry for your poor head. Strange that you can't figure this out - or even come up with a likely theory.

Let's see. If he went for a long walk, screeched shortly after, then piddled - could it be a kidney stone that maybe moved around/passed? Those are pretty painful in humans. Wild guess.
Good luck with that!

Hi Ilana- Sorry, to hear you are having a cruddy day. I hope it's improving. I am glad you are enjoying Bleak House. I am following your lead and I am going to do both print book & audio. Hope to start it Saturday.
If you are looking for some light & fun fantasy, check out Hounded, which I just finished on audio. The first of a series.

>79 -Cee-: Claudia, thanks for your sympathy. The problem with Coco is that he is like the boy who cried wolf; he treats every minor discomfort or annoyance as if it were unspeakable torture, which makes it really hard to figure out if something is actually hurting him. I can tell of course if he goes off his food, or walks with his head to the side when his back is hurting, but otherwise, he really is a temperamental little critter and very much wants to have his way, so isn't above playing little games. He might be small, but he's no pushover that's for sure! Anyway, I called the vet and made an appointment for tomorrow afternoon, but if I see he's behaving completely normally tomorrow morning I'll skip it this time and save the unnecessary expense. Then again, I'll probably go anyway for peace of mind to rule out the possibility something really is wrong with him.

>80 msf59: Hi Mark, it's improving in the sense Coco and I are on speaking terms again, sort of, so to speak... ;-) But head is still full of shattered crockery. I just came up with that image today and it's really an apt description of what it feels like in there at times. I wouldn't want to inflict this on my worst enemy. But then again...

Will have to look up Hounded. I just bought a whole new huge lot of Audible credits and goodness knows my wishlist is full of good reasons to spend them, but one more on the list won't hurt anything!

Have a wonderful weekend, Ilana!

Oh, it's too bad Coco is having these problems, for both of you. I hope the vet has some suggestions.

I've been carefully reading your lists - some remarkable reading happening here. I seem to get more and more random.

As regards book purchasing, I am in so much sympathy with your desire to step it down. Last year I tried to have a 'book allowance' and I've also tried to keep some kind of balance with 'books in' and 'books out' (although I think that wouldn't be feasible with FS books you are collecting) - I am OK with how I did last year - I think somewhere around 1/3 fewer books came in - but my shelves are still groaning!

>82 wilkiec: Thanks Diana, same to you!

>83 sibylline: Lucy, Coco seems just fine today, and overnight he was his usual cuddly self, so I decided to put off the vet appointment. My father reminded me this morning that I've often taken him to the vet only to be told he's just fine, so maybe I'm overreacting. I was doing very poorly myself yesterday and wasn't thinking or acting exactly normally either, so my sense now is that my own acute discomfort and attending bad mood made him scared and upset. I've noticed he reacts very badly when I'm 'off'. He's a nervous little critter and relies on me to give him a sense that all is well in the world, and of course that's just not going to happen all the time.

It remains to be seen how many books on my many lists will actually get read this year. The books on the official "Picked for Me" list are musts, but the rest are listed more as general guidelines than anything. Mind you, I've physically moved all those that are physical objects into my bedroom where most of them get read anyway, so chances are I will indeed pick from those piles, but there are always a million reasons to pick others, aren't there?

Book purchases... I don't know. I strongly doubt making hard and fast rules is going to help anything, since I tend to rebel against my own directives, which end up backfiring in spectacular ways. In regards to Folio books though, there really is only space for a handful more if I juggle things around a little, and that's it (not sure where I'll put the Chekhov set either!). After that I'd have to put them on the floor and that's just not going to happen (mind you, if I move all my softcover books to the floor then maybe I could squeeze in a dozen or two more...). I'm a little bit sickened (make that a lot) with the giant feeding frenzy I went on in 2013 and reeling at the huge increase in debt resulting from that prolonged binge, so I think that alone should keep me in line this year. Not that I'm regretting it because looking at my shelf full of Folio treasures always gives me pleasure. I can't say I'll do so well controlling audio and eBook purchases, since being invisible, they hardly seem substantial at all and really do the trick for immediate gratification. So we'll see. I'll keep track of purchases as I've done in previous years and time will tell.

Not much news on the reading front, since I'm still deep into Bleak House, which is, after all close to 900 pages long, though I imagine I should finish it in two to four days, depending on how much listening time I put in during the day. At night I always take the time to leaf through the paragraphs I've listened to in the day to look at the original illustrations which appeared in Dickens's lifetime and usually slow down to read an excerpt here and there, then manage to read maybe one or two chapters, but not much more since I've been getting to bed too late to allow for much reading time, and daytime reading is occupied with my Pride and Prejudice tutorial with Liz, which is going very well. It always feels like such a huge privilege to have a private tutor here, though of course it makes for a very different approach to reading when one is looking to take as many notes as possible to make the tutorial as interesting as possible for everyone following along. Good chance I'll follow up P&P with Longbourn which I purchased on audio a few months ago and been reserving for just that time when the original novel will be fresh in my mind.

Hi Ilana! Found your thread now! Just dropping you a line to say that I'm looking forward to reading more of your reviews, commentary and updates on your art. Here's to good reading! (Now I'm going to try and catch up with all the posts above over the coming weekend...)

Stopping by to get caught up with your thread and I am at a loss regarding the issues you have been having with Coco lately. Here is hoping everything improves. Good job with your progress on Bleak House! I had to put the book aside at Chapter VIII because my library hold for The Luminaries came in and I want to read it before it is due back. I will probably be reading Bleak House off and on into Easter at this rate!

I hope your weekend is a relaxing one, Ilana.

So glad to see that Coco has let up on that screechy behavior. It does make sense that he might just be having a reaction to the way you feel i.e. sensing that things are not right with you. I sure hope it's that and not anything else.

Those FS books are killers, money-wise. I only bought my 2013 obligatory number and will, unfortunately, not be able to continue. Maybe when things straighten out for me I will be able to pursue more of them, but used ones only. I am poised, for the first time ever, to move some books that I know I will never read again - or in some cases, finish - out of the house. I have finally reached the point where I have accepted the idea that there is no point in keeping stuff I hate/did not like.

Am hoping that you feel better soon.

Well, Coco's doing much better than I am. He's back to normal save for the fact he won't sit or lie down on the floor, but only on soft surfaces. Maybe his joints are starting to hurt. He is after all no longer a young pup. As for me, migraine as bad as ever, which I guess is to be expected with the low pressure system we've been having--rain all day making for even slicker ice outside. Coupled with insomnia last night, I'm basically a train wreck.

Still, managed to finish Bleak House last night. I think I'll let it sik in a while before commenting on it, because my first instinct is to offer criticism about what an unlikely person the narrator Esther seems to be. On audio I've just started The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag. Daytime reading is Pride an Prejudice for which I take notes for my tutorial and which I'll get on to in a minute. Tonight I'll be starting on a new book. Not sure which, but I have quite a few selections to choose from in my monthly planning.

>86 Polaris-: Glad you found me Paul. In the first ten posts or so above you'll find lists which make up my reading plans for the year. I intend to post more reviews than I did last year, though I've not made any firm decisions such as determining to review everything I read, which just won't happen, but as I need to also keep feeding my blog, reviews have the advantage of doing double duty both here and there. Giving myself a break from artwork this weekend after hitting a wall yesterday. For some reason I decided the face wasn't quite right on my latest portrait which was otherwise advancing very well, and after repeated attempts to get it right ended up leaving it half finished and decided I might need to step away for a bit. Of course I'll happily share the results when it's done and have been taking pics throughout the process.

>87 lkernagh: Thanks for dropping by Lori. I can't imagine anyone wanting to read Bleak House and The Luminaries at the same time, so understandable you've put it aside. Hope you end up finding them both satisfying whenever you do manage to finish them.

>88 Fourpawz2: Hi Charlotte, it only makes sense that Coco would have some sort of reaction when I'm doing badly and obviously in a bad mood as I was that day. He's a lot more tranquil now and has been cuddling with me whenever I'm huddled up on the couch, which I have been all day watching Downton Abbey and taking naps trying to recoup lost sleep.

I'm glad you've decided to get rid of books you don't like, I'm sure all they do is generate bad feelings and energy sitting there taking up precious space. As for the Folios, they certainly are not easy on the wallet, but unlike us here in Canada, you have plenty to choose from on the second hand market in the States and cheap shipping! Lots of mine were gotten that way, only the international shipping charges are murderous so it's hard to get really good bargains. I got myself a very nice collection which I hope to cherish for many many years to come, and don't regret having temporarily gone out of my mind with all those acquisitions last year, but not something I want to repeat! This year I'll try saving and see how that goes. Might help me sleep better...

I think the suggestion that Coco is picking up vibes is not unlikely. Your own suspicion about his joints might be right, too. My eleven-year-old cat seems to be developing some arthritis in her left hip, which comes and goes. Most of the time she's fine but every now and then she reacts to a touch with a nerve-wracking yowl, which is very upsetting.

To less serious matters---I think your reaction to Esther is perfectly reasonable, and certainly not unprecedented. Go for it!

>92 lyzard: every now and then she reacts to a touch with a nerve-wracking yowl, which is very upsetting.

I imagine it would be. I've decided in any case there really is no point taking him to the vet since I very much doubt there is anything they can do. If he were not able to sit and lay down comfortably at all, then of course I would be much more concerned, but I hardly need to go to the vet for them to tell me he's getting older.

As for Esther, I found myself feeling annoyed with her most of the time. It felt to me too much like Dickens had no idea what a real woman would be like, so he made this idealized version and then gave her the one 'fault' in regards to the loss of her looks. Also, and I can't write this in a review without revealing a major spoiler I was so extremely disappointed that after that prolonged chase after Esther's mother she should be found dead.. I'm not quite sure why several people assured me the title wasn't indicative of the content because I did find it on the whole rather bleaker than not.

Dickens knew all about women; he just didn't like them, so he made up a lot of fake, plastic ones in his novels.

(You don't want me starting on that topic...)

Were you around for the group read of Our Mutual Friend? I can't remember. The chorus of female outrage that greeted Dickens' description of What Housework Is Like was pretty funny... :)

Agree with Liz and others that Coco's mood is probably reflective of concern for the mistress of the house. I start wailing uncontrollably if the ladies in my house are in any way incapacitated. Usually for entirely selfish reasons.

Hope Sunday is kinder to you than its predecessor.

>94 lyzard: Liz, yes I remember the chorus of female outrage and discussions about Dickens's approach to female characters in general, which mostly went over my head having not read very much of his work at that point. One thing that really annoyed me about Esther is the constant pet names she gives to Ada. My love, my dear little one, my pet and whatnot, over and over again. It was really over the top and made her sound like she was actually in love with her, when the cause of that attachment isn't ever really clear. We know Ada is good looking, but other than that she doesn't have much of a voice if any. But then hardly a word about her feelings toward her own mother. Maybe I shouldn't let it, but that sort of thing really took away from the enjoyment of the novel for me.

>95 PaulCranswick: Paul, the good news is I got a decent night of sleep and then some, having taken half a sleeping pill last night to make sure I didn't wake every twenty minutes as I did the previous night. It also briefly felt like I might be safe from migraine for once on waking, but as the day progresses I notice the pain does too, so that was too much to hope for I guess. Coco is quite a high strung little creature, so I guess it shouldn't come as a big surprise that he overreacts when I'm fit to be tied.



Picked up Cold Comfort Farm last night as was in the mood for something short an light. Didn't get very far since the sleeping pill took over very fast, but I was very surprised to find how small the font size was considering it's a recent edition. Uh oh, I think the screen is making my headache worse, so must get off this thing now.

Hi Ilana- I am just on chapter 5 in Bleak House. I am so glad I am doing both audio and print, although so far it is mostly audio. Hopefully I can read a few pages later.
I requested the audio of Longbourn from the library. I hope I don't have to wait long. Enjoy your Sunday.

I had problems with Esther, too, when I read BH. No doubt about it Charlie had problems dealing with girls - real life and fictional. I mean Esther was Just. So. Good! Nobody real is that good.

Glad you got some sleep even if it didn't have a hugely beneficial result. And good news about Coco settling down a bit more.

Re: spoiler issue number 2, I, too, thought that was rather hastily done. He should have done better by his readers.

>97 msf59: Hi Mark, I guess it's understandable that you've listened to more of the book than you've had a chance to read from it. If you're like me, then you have a lot more hours devoted to listening in the daytime than sitting down with a book. I think I must have read 2-3 chapters a day at most, compared to 6 to 10 chapters listened to in the day. But it's all good. I'll be looking forward to Longbourn when I get through this second reading of Pride and Prejudice. Did you know the followup to The Gods of Gotham was out? Seven for a Secret has been out since September already (on audio at least). It's in my Audible shopping cart and the ratings look excellent.

>98 Fourpawz2: Charlotte, I know Bleak House was written as a serial like all his other novels, and whether this has anything to do with how he dealt with that particular thread in the story or not I don't know, but yes, I did feel he let his readers down, and I'm fairly sure most people are sorely disappointed with this turn of events. Maybe he couldn't find a satisfactory way of dealing with this character going forward. I'd be curious to find out why he chose to take that route. Esther was annoyingly good.



computer screen really doing a number on my eyes today so have to keep visits very brief.

Have a visitor coming in just a few minutes, but wanted to report my new purchases. Spent a few credits on Audible to get several books I'm quite excited about, mostly historical fiction and one non:

The Ruby in Her Navel by Barry Unsworth
The Songs of the Kings by Barry Unsworth
The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War 1890-1914 by Barbara W. Tuchman (for my WWI reading)
Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell (this got a 5-star rating from blackdogbooks)
Seven for a Secret by Lyndsay Faye (sequel to The Gods of Gotham

I know it's getting a bit late and the New Year isn't quite so brand new shiny anymore, but I've seen this meme all over the place and had to give it a try:

Describe yourself: Depending on my mood, either The Ballad of the Sad Café or The Power of One but always The Old Maid

Describe how you feel: At the Mountains of Madness

Describe where you currently live: Over Sea, Under Stone

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: To the Lighthouse

Your favorite form of transportation: An Elephant in the Garden

Your best friend is: A Friend from England

You and your friends are: A Dance to the Music of Time

What’s the weather like: According to the latest reposts, somewhere between Snow Falling on Cedars and The Enchanted April

You fear: Old Filth

What is the best advice you have to give: To Say Nothing of the Dog

Thought for the day: What Was She Thinking?

How I would like to die: Life After Life

My soul’s present condition: The Remains of the Day

Found your thread. Glad the heart thing was a false alarm. Very sorry you have migraines. I've never had them, but had a friend who did and the blinding pain was just incredible.
I hope Coco reduces the screeching - that's no fun even if your head doesn't hurt.

I liked your list of favorite reads from 2013 - some very good ones in there.
I look forward to your progress through 2014.
P&P is always a good one. And I'm still impressed you got through Bleak House! I don't do much audio since I get to work from home and most of my travel outside the house is pretty short. From Mark's experience, I suspect I'd get lost pretty quickly with my sporadic listening. But I like the concept of using audio and written to work through a book, so I'll keep it in mind.

Here's hoping today goes well for you.

>102 lauranav: Hi Laura, glad you found me! I'm glad the heart thing was a false alarm too, though I'm a bit embarrassed that I didn't check for myself from the beginning to avoid getting all worked up and worrying everyone needlessly in the first place. This is the longest bout of migraine I've ever had, going on 10 weeks now. I try to keep as cheery as I can through it all, and one of my friends called me 'heroic' yesterday, though she hears me complain about it most every other day, but I think she's just being kind to me. Coco is back to his calmer self, which is quite a relief. He's a nervous little fellow, so I have to coddle him.

I think it was last year that I discovered how convenient it was to alternate between print and audio when tackling a massive tome. I did it first with Anna Karenina and found the trick was to make sure to complete a chapter on either format to make it easier to find the right spot on whatever format I was switching to. Audible/Amazon has this thing called 'Whispesync' which basically allows you to alternate between eBook and audio and always brings you to the exact right spot in the narrative, but I haven't taken advantage of that yet because mostly when I have both audio and book it's because I've taken advantage of a great sale for one or the other, or both.




Today am seeing my neurologist for one of my biyearly appointments with him. Not that I'm really hopeful this will resolve anything because on the whole it hasn't been at that helpful in the five years or so since I've been seeing him, but then I never do completely give up hope either.

In reading:
My tutorial of Pride and Prejudice is going very well. Am almost finished with Volume 1. Not sure I'll finish it by the end of the month as I'm taking my time with it, and it's nice to be able to take a leisurely pace. Here's the link to the tutored read with Liz/lyzard if anyone is interested in following along as a commenter or lurker.

Just got Will Grayson, Will Grayson on the Audible daily deal for $2.95. I was tempted to read more work by John Green after reading The Fault in Our Stars last year, so there we go!

Picked up The Garden of Evening Mists last night and oh wow! do I ever see what people were raving about in all the comments and reviews I saw about it here! Donna chose it for me for my 'Picked for Me' challenge (http://www.librarything.com/topic/163210#4438158) and I'm very glad she gave me the extra incentive to pick it up ASAP. The writing is sublime and though I'm just at the very beginning of the first few chapters, I was drawn in from the very first words. I'm listening to the audio version and must say the narrator Anna Bentinck is doing such a great job that it's actually adding greatly to the experience, though something tells me I'll want to get a print version eventually so I can keep reading over and over sections and little snippets here and there because the writing is absolutely delectable.

Oh yes, almost forgot to mention I received the Folio Society edition of The Book of Common Prayer. I know I keep saying I won't purchase more FS books, and I meant it, but this was a purchase I made last year in multiple payments. I wanted this book because as it says on the FS site:

"The Book of Common Prayer is part of the fabric of the English language..." and...
"So many phrases we use without thinking come from it – ‘the apple of my eye’, ‘out of the mouths of babes and sucklings’, ‘little lower than the angels’ – as well as having been pillaged for titles of books by authors as different as Ernest Hemingway (A Moveable Feast), P. D. James (Devices and Desires) and P. G. Wodehouse (Joy in the Morning)"
(http://www.foliosociety.com/book/BCP/book-of-common-prayer)

It's also gorgeously illustrated with neo-classical borders and devotional woodcuts from designs by Dürer and Holbein and I got it for... well not cheap, but a great deal all the same.

It sounds like a beauty, Ilana.

>105 Fourpawz2: It really is Charlotte. I'm wondering a bit how and when I'll read it, since it isn't the kind of book you sit down reading cover to cover, but I'll read little excerpts here and then whenever suits the mood I guess. One thing that was unexpected was that all the S's are spelled with an 'f'. Not being used to read this way, I found it a bit tricky at first when I was surveying the work, but then found it came easily enough with a touch of practice. But then (o unworthy blasphemer that I am), I started amusing myself by reading sections out loud actually using the 'f' sound deliberately and had myself in stitches. I felt sort of badly doing it because I'm sure that is exactly the opposite mindset one should be approaching this work from what is intended, so I only allowed myself to do it for a short while and then got serious again. But it really was a lot of fun! I get my kicks where I can, what can I say?

Have I mentioned how much I'm loving The Garden of Evening Mists? It's one of those works I'm just amazed to think I left unread for a whole year, and at the same time I'm sort of glad I did so that I get to discover it in my own time. It's also one of those works I want to devour, and yet at the same time don't want to finish. In short, the best kind of reading (or listening) experience one can hope for. Wow.

Cold Comfort Farm took me a little while to get into, because there is sort of a long introduction before we settle into the Farm and before the humour becomes entirely apparent (to me anyway, always a bit slow on the uptake), and I worried that having not read the kind of works Stella Gibbons is parodying here I would get the joke, but I think we're in full swing now and it's jolly good fun, and impossible not to see what she's poking fun at as well.

In short, two great picks by Donna and Roberta for my "Picked for Me" challenge.

On the personal front, I saw my neurologist yesterday and am ashamed now I didn't give him more credit. He was very concerned when I described my 10-week migraine to him and immediately gave me prescriptions for a whole new course of treatment, putting me on cortisone for two weeks to attack the pain and then weaning me off my current prevention medicine and introducing another afterward. I just took my first dose a few hours ago and have no idea when relief is supposed to come, so for the moment still in quite a bit of pain, but at least I am hopeful relief must come. I've cancelled my last acupuncture appointment booked for this evening because really I don't see the point, and the acupuncturist seemed sort of relieved with my decision because he said my case had him completely stumped at this point. In any case, hope is always a good thing.

Here's hoping the new meds do the trick, Ilana. You are due and overdue for some relief, for Pete's sake!

The Garden of Evening Mists - is it from Audible, or is it a 'real' book? I could have sworn that I had it on my wishlist, but I don't see it and so was thinking that I might use a credit for it.

Charlotte I got my edition from Audible. I really like the narrator and hope you do too. I definitely consider TGoEM more than worthy of a credit.

Hi Ilana- I have Seven for a Secret on my WL. I loved the first book on audio, so I am going to request the 2nd one in that format. I also have Dust and Shadow saved on audio. It's an earlier book by her and it sounds good.
I am buzzing right along on Bleak House. Nearly 500 pages. I think Dickens would have benefited from a more diligent editor but it's a good read.

Oh I adore Cold Comfort Farm! The BBC production is also delightful.

That makes so much sense, that you and Coco would get into a feedback loop, so to speak. What would help that, I wonder? Space would work for people but not with a dog as they interpret it as rejection. If the behavior is fear-based on his part, then something that comforts him and calms him? It wouldn't be rewarding bad behaviour, therefore - because it isn't bad behaviour, it's fear behaviour - to do something that would distract him, perhaps just suit up and go out for a few minutes. My most cockamamie theory is that we were all meant to live outside, basically, back in our paleo days and so going outdoors is still like pushing a reset button.

Snowing here today..... all the snow and most of the ice have been gone now since the weekend and it was so pleasant to see the ground again, but I knew it was temporary. Sigh.

Esther is maddening!!! So much of Dickens is so right that when it isn't it is especially noticeable.

>110 msf59: Hi Mark, I've seen Dust and Shadow come up in the $4.95 sales quite often on Audible, but it took me a long time to catch on to the fact that it was a book by the same writer who put out The Gods of Gotham. Since then I've added it to the wishlist and am just waiting for it to turn up in one of those sales again to snap it up.

Agree that Bleak House would have benefited from some editing, but that probably goes for all of Dickens output. I must say being immersed in his world for long periods of time does have it's charm, like going on a long journey into the past.

>111 sibylline: Lucy, Coco is right as rain again, and I'm not quite sure if this is the case, but it almost seems as though our little tiff that day has brought us a little closer. I wouldn't have known what to do that day to make things better because really wasn't thinking straight; I would have definitely benefited from someone taking care of me that time because the pain was just blinding and I was in no place to take care of poor little critters depending on me for their welfare. But all is well in the Shamir home now. I'm still in pain, but it's somewhat manageable and knowing that there is the possibility of an end to this endless bout of migraine in sight gives me hope.

Bright and sunny here today, which isn't good for my eyes, but looks lovely all the same. I don't see any snow in the forecast here—just scattered flurries maybe toward the beginning of next week. Lots of the ice has melted and I did see some patches of ground showing through here and there, making it seem like spring, but the ice was/is so thick in many areas that one still has to be diligent to avoid a nasty fall. For this reason I'd really like a great big load of fresh snow to cover things up and make everything soft and safe again; please do send some our way!

Guess I'll be borrowing the BBC production of Cold Comfort Farm soon based on your recommendation. Need to check if they have it at the library...

hm, nope, no luck this time, though they do usually have quite a lot of stuff available.




Off to do some artwork, then do some homework for my P&P tutorial!

The above is a screen capture from my most recent blog post. I put it together to answer my mum’s request that I show her photos of my Folio Society collection. I hesitated for a long time before fulfilling her request because I wasn't quite prepared to show just how badly I'd been hit by FAD. (definition of FAD and blog post can be found here: http://fromsmilerwithlove.com/2014/01/16/my-folio-addiction-proof-of/)

Ilana I am pleased that Cold Comfort Farm is paying off for you. It really is quite delightful.

I also listened and read The Garden of Evening Mists. The audio enriched the reading experience for me because she pronounced words I had some difficulty with or that I would have gotten completely wrong. Anna Bentinck did an excellent job as narrator.

Very glad to hear you are enjoying Cold Comfort Farm. I've had to give disclaimers the few times I've recommended it or loaned it out. One reader was a success, and two others handed it back saying they just couldn't get into it.
Not entirely sure they gave it the fair 50 pages either. As you say, it can take a little while to get past the "stage-setting" bit.

Hello Illana lovely! My but your FS collection is drool-inducing! I am so hoping that your migraine is responding to your new course of treatment and look forward to following you more closely this year than last - you are one of my very favourite people on LT.

Adding my hope that you will be ever so much better very, very shortly! So glad your doctor is trying something new. Obviously, preventive med was not working.

You and Coco are unusually close and sensitive to each other's ups and downs. I know animals can be very aware of the pain of a loved human. Even the best relationships have occasional bumps in the road :(
Thankfully, the screeching has subsided. Whew!

The Garden of Evening Mists is a fantastic book. I agree. If it had not already been chosen for you by Donna, I would have suggested that one. Nice to see it is a positive audio experience for you.

I got Music and Silence in the mail (finally) today. It is a used book and I ordered one in 'very good' condition. It's a mess! The cover is falling off and the binding is all broken up. Pages are falling out of it! I think I will be writing to them about it. At least it is readable, but I will have to be very delicate with it. Whatever.

Your Folio Addiction is quite beautiful!
You need to win the lottery ;-)

Hugs and more hugs...

Wow, you really have been collecting a lot of the Folio Society books but they are absolutely beautiful to look at and I'm sure bring you a lot of enjoyment. I'm still resisting but we'll see how long I hold out.

Yay! Visitors!!!

Just having a quick peek before getting ready for bed, and will be back to answer you dear ladies, Roberta, Laura, Prue, Claudia and Pat individually tomorrow. Thank you so much for leaving comments and keeping my thread nice and toasty.

Had had a full and satisfying day. I think I will probably finish The Garden of Evening Mists tonight as I go through my evening routine with just 50 minutes or so left (equiv. to 25 pages). I wish I could report that my second day on cortisone brought much-needed relief from migraine, but no; I must yet be patient.

De-lurking to say that I very much hope that you find relief in the new medications!

Just added The Garden of Evening Mists to the library from Audible. I'm sure it will be a good 'un.

And, OMG, I had to pick my jaw from the keyboard of my 'puter when I got a gander at your amazing FS library. Dang - I do so want to go on the hunt for more FS books. Must. Control. Self. (Breathes deeply half a dozen times. There. In control once more.)

Hope your evening is going well.

I've never heard of the folio society books. Your shelf is lovely, absolutely lovely.

How is coco. My heart goes out to you. I know how much you love Coco.

Thinking of you and coco!

Still no relief from migraine, now on day 3 of cortisone. For the record, I am still hopeful and not the least bit despondent, though could very well do without the pain, obviously. Hasn't slowed me down today once I'd finished sleeping in till 12:30 that is. My sleepy self persists in thinking that sleep will somehow bring relief, but it's never done any such thing so I wish my fully awake rational self, who wants to fit in as much as possible on any given day would kick me out of bed at a decent hour every morning; headache or no headache!

I did indulge in watching a movie this afternoon. It was so dark and gloomy outside that the weather featuring whips of softly falling snow was the perfect backdrop to Snow Falling on Cedars. Of course, it will never be possible for any movie to fully convey what a novel of this magnitude does, but I must say I was extremely impressed with the result. The visuals are outstanding and the mood and spirit of the novel are kept perfectly intact and even further enhanced somehow. An amazing cast of characters including the incomparable Max Von Sydow, who is a dead ringer for my dearly deceased friend Phillip (I mentioned him last year, as some of you may remember). I'm really enjoying this unplanned journey I've started of watching movie adaptations of books I've recently finished; most of which I borrow from the library.

A trip to said library today yielded a few more treasures, among which You're All Just Jealous of My Jetpack by Tom Gauld, which was recommended by Joe (I've also reserved Gauld's Goliath, which was much appreciated by Mark last year). There are (original French) audio versions of Limonov by Emmanuel Carrère who won a prestigious French prize for it in 2011, the Renaudot. Am not sure whether it's been translated into English yet, but it tells the story of Limonvo, a bandit hailing from Ukraine who became an underground idol under Brezhnev, then tried his hand at everything from becoming a Manhattan billionaire's butler, a soldier, a panhandler and a writer. I've been meaning to read it since it first came to my attention after winning that prize. I also got the audio version of 14 (known in English as 1914: A Novel) to which Darryl gave a great review recently. Finally, a recommendation from Joyce (Nickelini) who is following the Pride and Prejudice tutorial; Pride and Prejudice: An Annotated Edition edited by Patricia Meyer Spacks which looks to be a gorgeous and quite large volume (cover as above).

Rice pudding on stove calling to me to mix in eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and raisins. Will be back to answer comments momentarily.

Was almost forgetting to mention that I finished The Garden of Evening Mists last night, which gets a five-star rating from me. I'd like to review it soon but as I'd still like to work on my drawing tonight and it's getting quite late, it'll have to wait. This evening I started listening to Wuthering Heights and while I'm just 6 chapters in or so, I'm already fascinated with the story.

>114 luvamystery65: Roberta, you put your finger on one of the things I enjoy about audiobooks; that word pronunciations are revealed and I am constantly finding out that I've been mispronouncing (at least in my own head) words which I thought were completely familiar to me. I like what Anna Bentinck did with her voice too, in aging it or making it sound more youthful according to what part of the narrative she was reading; it really helped to situate me quickly in the timeline, which would have been confusing otherwise.

>115 lauranav: Laura, I usually give a book at least 100 pages, because I've often found it sometimes takes me that long to really get a feel for what the author is trying to do and this has more often than not paid off handsomely. On very rare occasions I give up much earlier, but usually it's because I'm not in the right mood for a certain style or approach, or because I find the writing just too horrid (thankfully that hardly ever happens).

>116 PrueGallagher: Prue! Of course I'm thrilled to have your visit. I know you haven't been around these parts all that much and I must say you've been missed. You always have the nicest things to say to me, so how can I not look forward to your comments when you have a chance to leave a word here and there? I'll hunt you down and come visit you soon too.

>117 -Cee-: Claudia, 'preventive med not working' is an understatement I guess at this point. The cortisone so far isn't having any effect either, and I dearly hope it starts kicking in sometime this weekend. If it doesn't, I'll get in touch with my neurologist first thing on Monday and ask him to try something else. This has gone on long enough!

I'm so sorry to hear Music and Silence arrived to you in such bad shape. On the rare occasion, I've had second hand books get here in deplorable shape too, and I've always insisted on either an exchange or having my money back, even if it's just a couple of dollars and the postage cost me more than the book, because I simply cannot read from tattered volumes; it really takes away all my reading pleasure. There are one or two exceptions to this rule: my 1950s Penguin copy of The Colossus of Maroussi by Henry Miller is pretty well falling apart, but as it was a gift from a special friend I made in Crete, I value it it as much as any of my most beautiful Folios.

If ever I win the lottery, first thing I'm doing is having lots and lots of shelves built. If I win truly very big, the first thing is actually to move to a place where there is plenty of potential for my library to expand over the next 40 years or so, then get a library wing put in, then pick up right where I left off buying beautiful volumes. Isn't that any LTers dream though? :-)

>118 phebj: Pat, at this point I'm not sure whether I should counsel you to resist for as long as you can, or on the contrary make a few well meditated purchases now so that you are not all of the sudden felled by FAD the second you purchase your first Folio after holding off for too long. Some people benefit from building up and immune system. This evidently didn't work for me at first, but now my shelves are groaning with Folio treasures, I think I've beaten the worst of the bug. We'll see how I do when the next batch of new publications turns up, including a rumoured limited edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland illustrated by Charles von Sandwyck, who is responsible for the sublime FS Wind in the Willows... I'm bracing myself for that one!

>120 scaifea: Hi Amber, always nice to see one's lurkers once in a while, no matter what the excuse is. Thanks so much for the good wishes, they are really appreciated. I'm sorry I go on and on about my migraines, but sometimes I feel I should give them a name, such as Churchill's 'Black Dog', since they are as present in my life as having a rude tenant about night and day!

I am amazed at you reading Greek and Latin works in the original versions. I'm constantly on the brink of digging out a series of Pimsleur Russian classes my mum passed on to me years ago so I can read my favourite Russian authors in their own language. Maybe one day I'll actually proceed with that plan.

>121 Fourpawz2: Charlotte,, on first viewing you last message I read "I'm sure it will be good fun" and I thought "NO NO NO! What could I have possibly said to make her think this would be a fun book, of all things?" It's a gorgeous book. It is filled with sublime writing. The story is captivating and you can't help but be transported with it, but "fun", unless you are really very very keen on Japanese gardens probably doesn't apply. But of course I know you know that. I hope you'll enjoy the audio version as much as I did. That said, I would like to get a softcover version eventually, so I can indulge in something I never do, which is to underline so many of the passages that had me constantly rewinding the audio so I could hear passages evoking sublime imagery.

>122 Whisper1: Dear Linda, I'd never heard of The Folio Society either till a couple of years ago and it was Heather (souloftherose) who first brought my attention to this publisher. When I first looked into them I decided the books were vastly too expensive for me and it was out of the question for me to buy any, but then any thin veneer of reason I've ever had cracked away and I went on a mad, 8-month long bender. I'm still reeling from it, but at least I'm seeing, if not shining stars around my head, then a series of beautiful books dancing neat circles around me. ;-)

Your best friend is: A Friend from England

Sometimes these memes make me smile. xx

You are definitely erring on the side of quality this year with Tan and Emily and Ms. Austen. As you know the latter is not amongst my favourites but I do recognise her subtle charm.

Speaking of subtle charm, I hope you have a wonderful, headache free, weekend.

Ilana, one thing I'm afraid of with the Folio Society books is that they're so beautiful they will put all my other books to shame. I can't imagine one or two FS books next to some of my used books. I almost think once you have FS books on a shelf, the rest of the shelves in that room must have have them as well or the effect will be too jarring.

Good news! I wrote to the vendor about the shape of Music & Silence being so poor. They answered right away and said they are sending me another. yay.

Thought of you this AM. Woke up with a migraine. I do thank my lucky stars I have a med that works for me. It gives me a stomach ache for the day - but that is more tolerable than the head pain.

Wishing you blessed relief - and soon!

Damn. Day three of that migraine. That is absolutely unfair.

Ilana, I have just skimmed through and probably missed some important details.

I read The Garden of Evening Mists last year and gave it 5 stars. I'm stingy with that rating, so you know I thought it approached perfection.

Hang in there, my dear. Hugs to my favorite pup.

Hi Ilana!

Phew - all caught up - LT sure is very busy this time of the year - so many threads to catch up with. Now I've caught you it'll be easier to pop by a bit more often.

Love the lists up top, so may good books ahead for you. Still loving the Vogue covers as well - and as for your FS shelves in your blog post - they look lovely - so inviting! My FS collection is a humble two for now - but there they are: Robert Louis Stevenson and John Steinbeck up top on my favourite little bookcase at the foot of the stairs... I appreciate what others have said about having to sit the FS books with others of their kin, but I'm happy with my two sat with some of my favourite hardbacks, and my Larry Brown hardbacks too. I'm resolved to only ever buying them (the FS) used (good condition only of course) - which fortunately/unfortunately limits the options for me out here in greenest Cambria...

One of your favourites from 2013 that leapt out at me is The Potato Factory - which I've wishlisted. Such a good premise for an historical fiction.

Glad you enjoyed The Garden of Evening Mists so much as well as I have that one wishlisted too, and also that your 'picked for me' reads have started so well. It promises to be a great year of reading!

Best wishes!

Did I mention I finished Cold Comfort Farm yesterday? I did. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't say it's become a favourite, and I think much of the humour went over my head, though I'm glad I read it and it was amusing enough. Started on O Pioneers! last night. I have an Oxford University annotated kindle edition. My first Willa Cather, and it won't be my last, though I'm doubtful I'll be able to fit more in this month considering how many books I've got (unofficially) planned. Just a couple of hours to go on Wuthering Heights. My, but is Heathcliff ever a villain or what?! Wonderful drama. I never knew before a year ago how much I enjoy gothic novels.

Art school session is starting tomorrow. I'll be taking advanced watercolours on Mondays and experimental drawing on Wednesdays, so my already busy days will be even fuller.

>126 PaulCranswick: Dear Paul, thanks for the wishes of a headache-free weekend, but I guess it was not to be. I'll be contacting my neurologist tomorrow so he can prescribe something else. Heading into my 12th week now, which is just absurd. Mind you, I'm keeping up my morale somehow, mostly I think because I've become accustomed to the constant pain and have learned to function as best I can despite it. Also, thank heavens, it's usually within tolerable levels.

>127 phebj: Pat, I wouldn't worry about that too much. I think Folios aren't so snobbish and are only too happy to spruce up any shelf they appear on, no matter what neighbourhood they're in. And certainly a full shelf of Folios can do no harm for any room. As you've seen on my photos, most of them are grouped together on my wall shelves, but what you don't see is the stacks upon stacks of softcover books just below on my side tables. I find the effect satisfying on the whole. It definitely says "a booklover lives here".

>128 -Cee-: Hi Claudia, so sorry getting a migraine makes you think of me. I woke up in the middle of the night with searing pain and got really worried it would follow me into the day, but by the time I woke up it had downgraded to moderate-high pain instead, so I'm grateful for that. I hope the next copy of Music and Silence you get ends up being a nice one!

>129 EBT1002: Ellen, at this point, a three-day migraine seems like a short walk in the park. I'm actually going on 3 full months now. The longest bout I've ever had. Sometimes I wonder if it'll ever go away again. The good news according to my neurologist is that since I'm in my pre-menopausal years, that might explain the increase in frequency, but will also likely be followed by a radical decrease once I actually hit menopause. Something to look forward to then! I'll trade in hot flashes for constant pain. I think. I guess I should be careful what I wish for.

I remember you giving a 5-star rating to The Garden of Evening Mists. I'm just as stingy with that rating as well, and definitely agree this book more than deserves it.

Your favourite pup is as adorable as ever. I'm slowly learning to get my head around the fact that he's lacking in brains and adjusting my expectations all the time, which takes nothing away from how much I adore him. Dumb blondes are loveable too!

>130 Polaris-: Hi Paul, which Robert Louis Stevenson and John Steinbeck books do you refer to? They've published several by the former and a couple by the latter, but I'm assuming you mean Travels with Charley since the other book, Once There Was a War is just recently published. When I was compulsively trolling the AbeBook site to look for Folios I found of course that most of them are all in the UK, many many of which are offered at very decent prices but for me the shipping usually made them extremely expensive. I'm sure if you really wanted to you could add to your collection at a relatively minimal cost since shipping within the county seems affordable.

I really loved The Potato Factory and hope you do to if you ever get to it. I'd actually like to revisit, maybe more than once, which is just about the highest praise I can give to a book, but of course I don't expect it to be to everyone's liking. I'm constantly wanting to jump on the next two books in the Australian trilogy, but as I've often seen them come up on sale at Audible before I knew what they were about, I'm holding off to get a good deal.

I started writing you a comment about The Garden of Evening Mists and before I knew it, it turned into a short review so maybe I'll try my hand at writing one if I can get it out quickly enough. I'm aching to go work on my latest metro drawing and want to get to it asap.

The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng - 'Picked for Me' by Donna828 ★★★★★
Also read for TIOLI #10: discovered on an LT thread in 2013

The Garden of Evening Mists is a novel I discovered last year thanks to several members of this group who wrote glowing reviews about it, and while I don't know if I can do as good a job as they did in conveying why I was prompted to give it a rare 5-star rating, I can say this is a novel I would unreservedly recommend to everyone, except readers who prefer to avoid difficult, disturbing topics, as a good portion of it deals with the brutality the Malayans had to suffer under the Japanese invasion during WWII. A fascinating story and exquisite writing carried me away and I both badly wanted to devour the whole thing in one fell swoop, while at the same time not wanting it to end. The story is told by Yun Ling Teoh, a woman of Chinese descent, born in Malaysia. When we meet her at the very start of the novel, she is poised to go into retirement two years early from her position as a justice of the peace. She is secretly suffering from a mysterious brain condition which threatens to strip her of the capacity for expressing herself or understanding language, and this prompts her to write her life story before she loses the ability to convey her memories. To take on this task, she has returned to a former residence in the Cameron Highlands, where the Garden of Evening Mists of the title lays in need of much repair.

In 1951, Yun Ling found herself to be the sole survivor of a Japanese internment camp and decided she wanted to create a Japanese garden in memory of her sister, who kept them both alive by retreating to an imaginary garden through the worst of the treatment they suffered while in captivity. We are not to learn till late in the story what circumstances led to the death of this beloved sister, but we know Yun Ling has decided to devote the rest of her life to honouring her memory. There is a Japanese gardener, Aritomo, living in the Highlands; he is the exiled former gardener of the emperor of Japan, whom Yun Ling approaches to ask him to create a garden for her sister. This she does despite her strong reservations; she has developed a visceral hatred for the Japanese after the treatment she suffered during the internment in camps which, according to what we know and what is told in the course of the novel, had a lot in common with the dehumanizing brutality the Nazi Germans showed in the concentration camps of Europe.

We learn that Aritomo didn't accept to create this memorial garden, but offered instead to take her on as his apprentice, and Yun Ling accepted in hopes she would later be equipped to create that garden herself. The novel travels back and forth in time, from the present—with the aging Yun Ling telling her story and trying to get the long-neglected garden back into its original shape—to 1951, the year she worked on Aritomo's 'Garden of Evening Mists'. During that time, Communist rebels were terrorizing the land, and Yun Ling's life was endangered as she had pronounced judgments to convict and deport some of these rebels. Eventually, she takes us back to the internment camp during the war, whose location has always remained a mystery, and where we know Yun Ling lost two fingers and her beloved sister. The Yun Ling of 1951 and the narrator of the 'present' incarnation (sometime in the 80s) is embittered by her experiences in the war and weighed down by hatred for her former tormentors, but her daily contact with the garden and Aritomo, and her wish to leave behind a legacy in her sister's name, help her to revisit her past and try to cast it in a new light.

There are mysteries and complexities at the heart of the novel which are only revealed when Yun Ling the author is ready to unearth them. It is a visually lush experience, with exquisite writing which had me rewinding the audiobook constantly, just for the pleasure of 'rereading' sections filled with gorgeous imagery. In some rare cases when I've listened to an audiobook, I feel compelled to also buy the book in a print edition, and this is one such case. That being said, I was completely satisfied with the audiobook and found the narration by Anna Bentinck truly excellent. She has a facility with accents, which she renders in a subtle way, and also adjusted her voice so that it was easy to follow whether we were hearing the older, or the younger Yun Ling, situating us in time with no further markers. But I want to get a paperback copy of this novel so I can do something I never allow myself usually, which is to underline all the little moments of pure poetry so I may savour them at my own pace. This novel, shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2012 would definitely have deserved to win, and might have done so if it hadn't had the bad luck of being nominated in the same year as Hilary Mantel's equally excellent Bring Up the Bodies. I'll be looking out for whatever else Tan Twan Eng puts his hand to.

I should add that reading this story not very long after finishing Snow Falling on Cedars and watching the movie version of that novel last week, formed an interesting change of perspective; where Gutterson’s novel dealt with the discrimination Japanese Americans suffered during WWII and it’s aftermath, this book showed us the kinds of horrors the Japanese army inflicted on it’s victims during the same war. However, Tan Twan Eng, far from dwelling solely on these shameful events, also shows us a Japanese culture, and individuals within that culture, who are capable of great acts of beauty, and of mercy.

Excellent review of The Garden of Evening Mists Ilana. The only reason I haven't bought this book yet is that I own the author's previous book The Gift of Rain and I keep telling myself I should read it first. But I think that may be a self-imposed rule I need to break.

>133 phebj: Pat, I know Darryl liked The Gift of Rain very much, because his review is the reason it's on my wishlist. I have a similar rule as you of wanting to read whatever book by an author is in my tbr first, but I say you should break it this time.

Just found your thread, Ilana, and my apologies. I don't know how I missed it. Dropping down here to let you know that I have found you. I'll be back after I catch up with your lovely thread.

Nice review of Garden of Evening Mists.

"so sorry getting a migraine makes you think of me"
I know. Right? I really didn't mean it quite in that way... but I empathize with your pain when I am feeling it - if only a fraction of the level and duration you must endure. At least it elicits prayers and thoughts of you - wishing and hoping you will find relief.
btw, I can say in my case, for sure, menopause did not stop the migraines but dramatically decreased the incidence, intensity, and duration.

hugs for you and your fur family xoxo

Thinking of you and hoping this morning find you at least somewhat relieved of the head pains...

Must get ready for my watercolour class in a moment. First class of the session. Instead of being excited about it, I'm feeling harassed about having to follow a schedule and leave the house, but I'm sure I'll end up feeling very happy I've gone. For one thing, this teacher has a loyal following, which means I'll probably know 99% of the students, since I'll have studied with them before, and Elisabeth (teacher), has always been one to create such a brilliant class atmosphere that everyone there is very kind and caring. I'm the baby of the group usually, and they are all very forgiving of me arriving in low spirits and eyes bleary from frequent migraines. Eventually as we settle down to paint, with soothing music in the background, the pain dissolves from my consciousness for a while, and that alone is worth the trouble of getting myself there.

Finished Wuthering Heights yesterday. Excellent. Excellent. And so very bleak! But I loved every moment of it.



I followed it up with 1914: A Novel by Jean Echenoz, which was recently recommended by Darryl. A French author who was unknown to me until now, but I will read more of his work. This is a very short novella, as is most of his work I gather, about four men, friends and brothers from a small French town gone off to fight during WWI. It takes us through a series of short scenes, from the day they are recruited and are certain they'll be back home within a couple of weeks at most, through the mounting of the tension, the fighting in the trenches, one man dealing with having lost an arm and making a life back home as an invalid. Back on the front, one of his friends left behind by all the others, mostly dead, is dejected and lonely and decides to take a walk during a break in the skirmish and keeps walking taking pleasure in the signs of spring around him, and we know things will end badly for him (trying to avoid spoilers here). Everything is told in almost telegraphic language, very simply, more like telling facts than a story, and while many visual details and objects are described, the author tells us nothing of the inner workings of the characters directly; we deduct those from all the other details he gives us. Yet, it's an extremely affecting novel, and gives a great sense of immediacy. I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author, which was just two and a half hours long, so finished it in one sitting. I've also reserved two other novels by him on audio from the library, so will be reading more by Echenoz very soon, one about inventor Nikola Tesla, called Lighting: A Novel, the other called Running about Czech runner Emil Zatopek. ★★★★

Didn't I just say I was in a great hurry and needed to get myself to class? And meanwhile, looks like I wrote a review up there doesn't it? Funny how that happens.


Will be back later to reply to commenters above, thanks so much for dropping by!

Hi Ilana- You are probably deep into your watercolor class. Great review of The Garden of Evening Mists. I loved that book, as well. "1914" sounds appealing too.

Thumbed your review of The Garden of Evening Mists Ilana. 1914: A Novel is one I picked up on Darryl's thread as well - I'm going to try and get around to it fairly soon.

Class today was great, but no rest for the wicked. Or in this case, no relief. I left a message with my neurologist in the morning, and his secretary called me back while I was in class to say I should wait till Thursday for the cortisone to kick in, and if it hasn't by then, we'll move on to something else. Today is honestly one of the worst I've had. Not sure how I can be sitting up here looking at this screen or little bits of type, but it's something. Seriously considered taking myself to the ER, as Suzanne has done to get some kind of pill cocktail to kill the pain. But the prospect of waiting eight hours or more in the ER waiting room is enough to discourage me. Pain is one thing, but at least I can be comfortable at home. Being in pain at a hospital, with all that neon lighting and bleakness everywhere you look, that just seems even more unbearable. So sorry about all this complaining.

Listening to 1914: A Novel left me in a funk last night, so today I decided to switch things up a little and am listening to Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris, and have had quite a few laughs through the first half, though comedy rarely hits my funny bone somehow. I did have to skip over some parts though, where he describes animals that have been mistreated, in particular one story about how he brought home five baby sea turtles on summer as a kid and basically watched them die over several weeks. Apparently there was lots of catching and inadvertently killing of animals, and I would venture to guess that trying to feed anything he caught ground hamburger meat didn't help anything. That part almost makes me smile, but it's just so tragic. I would guess everyone has their version of that story from childhood, and goodness knows I always wanted to save and rescue little critters when I was little who didn't fare so well with my care in the end. I console myself with the thought that I'm much better at taking care of my furry brood now that I'm all grown up.

I think I might go watch the latest episode of DA in a few minutes, though I saw Mark comment on his thread that he found it disappointing last night. Only one way to find out I guess.

>135 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie, thanks for dropping by. Please don't worry about not having found me before, I thought I'd done a pretty good job of starring people's threads, but am finding I've missed some of the people I tend to visit fairly regularly somehow. Never too late!

>136 -Cee-: Claudia, I know of course you didn't mean it pejoratively. I was just pulling your leg. Honestly, I don't think you need compare our health situations considering the major ordeal you just went through. I need to go cuddle Coco soon, because I left him alone half the day for the first time since before Christmas while school was out and he gets a bit freaked out when I'm not around for him, poor little mite. The cats are always happy to see me, and don't express any insecurity when I've been gone for some hours. I won't say they're aloof, because they aren't, but they're definitely less needy.

>137 scaifea: Hi Amber, I wish I could say today was better, but that is most definitely not the case. Tomorrow is another day, and if that's not better either, then there's the day after that, and so on.

>139 msf59: Mark, I was indeed deep into my watercolour class when you left your message. Glad you liked my review for TGoEM. I've just reread the one I knocked out earlier today and see I need to rework it a bit, but it'll keep. It's a great piece and definitely worth reading, all the more so if you're doing any reading to mark the WWI century.

>140 SandDune: Rhian, the nice thing about 1914 is it's very compact, so not a big time commitment. However, it's potent stuff and definitely left me feeling like I'd lived through some very disturbing events.

Hello beautiful - so sorry to hear you are still struggling with The Beast. **gentle hug** I know what you mean about ER - it is not a place to go to if you are unwell! I have The Garden of Evening Mists on the shelves somewhere....might be time to give it a go - but first I have to finish The Goldfinch for my RL Book Club and my Willa Cather to keep up with Mark. Man, that Donna Tartt is a chunkster - it almost hurts my hand to hold it!

Hi Ilana! Finally attempting to catch up...

Once again I love your Vogue covers and your beautiful lists, especially the most memorable reads of 2013 over on your blog. It's probably not a coincidence that a lot of your memorable reads appear on my wishlist...

#51 So cute!

#55 "it turns out the whole 'heart condition' thing turned out to be a false alarm." Phew!

#77 So sorry to hear you are finding things tough with Coco. I think it might be worth talking to the vet - even if his behaviour isn't due to a physical ailment, vets can have good advice about behavioural issues (if that's what it is). I can also find animal misbehaviours overwhelming, I don't think that's something you need to apologise for or feel odd about. After we moved we fed Erica upstairs for a while whilst she was still getting used to the house and then had a real battle on our hands to get her to start to eat downstairs. I really felt like I was at the end of my tether sometimes.

#84 Just seen that Coco is better which I am very glad about. It may well be that he's sensing when you're feeling on the edge and then acting up in response. Which then makes you feel worse :-(

#106 "But then (o unworthy blasphemer that I am), I started amusing myself by reading sections out loud actually using the 'f' sound deliberately and had myself in stitches."

You're not the only one. There is a wonderful sketch from The Vicar of Dibley (UK comedy about a female Anglican priest) where someone has trouble with the 'f' and 's' sounds here. :-)

#107 I really, really hope the new meds work. I never had migraines that lasted more than a day and I was generally wishing someone would come and chop my head off by the end of the day.

#113 Gorgeous photos! I love vicariously enjoying your Folio collection.

#123 I still haven't caught up with the P&P thread yet but I would be very interested in hearing your thoughts on the Annotated P&P by Spacks. I love the look of the book and the idea of getting special editions of Jane Austen's books but I'd like to know a bit more about the annotations etc.

#125 "it was Heather (souloftherose) who first brought my attention to this publisher." I'm still not sure I'm comfortable taking responsibility for everything that followed this.... :-)

#131 I'm hoping to start O Pioneers! soon and having checked out the OUP kindle edition I've just noticed it's very reasonably priced. Now considering downloading that edition rather than reading a free kindle edition....

Also thrilled to hear you're enjoying Wuthering Heights as I always feel that particularly Bronte novel is rather unfairly maligned. At some point I want to start a Bronte reread project - maybe later this year? Maybe next year?

#132 Excellent review of The Garden of Evening Mists Ilana and duely thumbed. That is a book I want to read someday but at the moment I don't feel up for difficult or disturbing topics and I'm learning to follow my instincts with this. I think at some point I'll feel more adventurous again and will remember it for whenever that happens.

#141 Oh Ilana :-( I know hugs don't help with migraines but I wish they did and I will be thinking of you and praying that your neurologist can think of something that will work. And please, please don't feel you need to apologise for mentioning it.

>142 PrueGallagher: I know what you mean about ER - it is not a place to go to if you are unwell!

Prue, so true, and so ironic, and everyone I've mentioned this to, ever, has always agreed on this. The Beast is still rabid today and I haven't managed to do much. At one point reading became impossible, so I just lay down and slept as long as I could. Felt marginally better when I woke up. I'd been trying to read Pride and Prejudice before my 2-hour nap, but couldn't manage more than two chapters when everything on the page started to blur together, so I picked up a little book I brought back from the library the other day recommended by Joe, You're All Just Jealous of My Jetpack, which made me laugh and giggle quite a bit. Great absurd humour and I like the drawings too. At least my sense of humour still functions.

I'll tackle The Goldfinch eventually, but it's become as intimidating to me as 1Q84 for some reason. Not sure why. Goodness knows I've tackled plenty of really large books in the last year. I got the Tartt book on audio AND took advantage of a daily Kindle deal so I can go back and forth, which I've found works very well with huge chunksters for me. And no wrist or hand sprain!

>143 souloftherose: Heather, what a lovely long message to find on my thread today! I know we rarely have time to catch up and comment on entire threads usually, but it certainly feels rewarding to find someone managed it somehow. I've sourced several more Vogue covers illustrated by Helen Dryden, but then I also found plenty by other very talented artists in the process, so I might keep at it for my thread toppers for a while. They don't correspond to any meaningful theme for me, other than I love illustration and it cheers me to see such beautiful and elegant images and hopefully it does the same for my visitors too.

Coco is all better, back to his usual self. Which is a good thing, because I couldn't handle his hysterical screeching in my current state. On the contrary, he's a real cuddle-bug most of the time, as he tends to be when he's been recently shaved, which makes bedtime and napping with him very sweet indeed.

Thanks for the link to the Vicar of Dibley skit. Very funny. I've watched a few episodes of that show some years back and really enjoyed it. I should check out the library to see if they're available. (just did—no luck this time) Otherwise I know I can find lots of stuff on YouTube.

I haven't taken time to look through the Spacks book properly. Don't know if I'll manage it, other than browsing through, though it probably wouldn't take me that long to just read the annotations, and I'll be sure to comment on it and let you know if/when I do. Can you not borrow it from a library as I have maybe before splurging and buying it?

Please do not worry, I know I unadvisedly said something to the effect that I held you responsible for my Folio madness, but of course think no such thing. On the contrary, I'm very grateful you made me aware of their presence on the market, because I might have gone many many years never knowing about them, since they are not very commonly found here and I've never seen anyone else mention them in this group before, or any other fine edition publishers for that matter, which I've been introduced to via the Folio Devotees group. I regret none of it and am very fond of my beautiful book collection. I'm glad you can enjoy it a bit vicariously at least. I have vastly calmed down now, and thankfully have found nothing I felt I MUST have in the current sale, so it's all good.

If the OUP version of O Pioneers! is well-priced, then go for it, though it's not all that necessary to have the annotations to understand the overall work. There aren't that many notes, but I've found some to be very helpful in translating some expressions that crop up in German (for example), or explanations of references to bits of poetry or classic nordic texts.

I know very little about Wuthering Heights and had no idea it had been maligned. Do you know why that is? The only comments I've seen on it recently were in Cold Comfort Farm, where there is a male author working on a book about Branwell Brontë, with the intention to prove that he wrote all the books attributed to his sisters, because scholars of the time ostensibly thought no woman could have writer Wuthering Heights. I thought that anecdote was rather amusing, as I was reading that book at the same time and can see why that might have been, if ever there was such a controversy. Do you know anything about that?

Thanks for the thumb on my review. The beauty about books is they keep for as long as needed, so you can tackle them whenever you feel ready to. It'll be just as beautiful when your are in the right mind frame for it.




Off to make some soup before my organic fresh veggies bought for that purpose perish away. Then, a bit of drawing, the only guaranteed temporary reprieve from this endless migraine!

#144 Last time I checked the library didn't have any copies of Spacks' P&P, but I'll check again as I think it was only published fairly recently.

"I know very little about Wuthering Heights and had no idea it had been maligned" Oops, perhaps this is a case where I should have thought more about what I was writing! I only meant that a lot of people seem to dislike the book, so I feel it's a bit underappreciated compared to something like Jane Eyre.

"because scholars of the time ostensibly thought no woman could have writen Wuthering Heights." I think I remember hearing or reading something to that affect but I don't really know the details.

Ilana- I hope your pain is more manageable today. Fingers crossed. I also started You're All Just Jealous of My Jetpack. Yes, it is witty and oh so clever. I really like Gauld.

Ilana, I am so glad you loved The Garden of Evening Mists as much as I did. It makes me smile that I recommended such a good book to you. I am hoping to read The Gift of Rain this year and hope that it is another good one.

Your Folio Society books are beautiful. Not a bad addiction to have in my opinion. Just seeing them on the shelves must do your heart good. I wish it could cure your head! Here's hoping the meds kick in soon. I don't get many headaches, but, when I do, life pretty much stops for me. I'm a bit like Coco in that regard. Hugs to both of you, my friends.

I own that lovely annotated edition of Pride and Prejudice you pictured upthread. I bought it last year to mark the 200th publication anniversary. I have starred the tutored read with you and Liz and will go back to it when I finally get around to rereading the book. I haven't read it since high school so I think I am overdue!

I had forgotten that I have The Gift of Rain, too. A friend gave it to me last year for my birthday. Looking forward to reading them both.

So sorry that you are suffering so - am much impressed that you are able to carry on as well as you do. And I couldn't agree more about not wanting to go to the ER. I think that about the only way to go there is if you arrive unconscious. And stay that way.

Oh dear oh dear. Well am better at the moment, so I guess that's what counts and I should be grateful for that and stop right there. But I did have a wretched start to the day after a very bad night and then the headache so bad on waking that I could simply not rouse myself out of bed or go to my first drawing class of the session, which I've very much been looking forward to. I've gotten better about forcing myself to go to things even when I'm in lots of pain, but sometimes the idea of being away from the comforts of home when I'm unwell is just unbearable. I did manage to get through a couple of threads I'd been too intimidated to try to catch up with, so that's something. I really love this group, and so many interesting people here, that I can't find satisfaction in just quickly browsing through and leaving offhand remarks, so the business of keeping up with threads is an impossible proposition, but I live in hope that when I am able to leave considered responses it makes up for lack of regularity.

I managed to read a few chapters of Pride and Prejudice and will be off to the tutorial thread to post comments and questions in a moment. O Pioneers!, which I'd been enjoying a lot, but finding a bit too quaint, really picked up and ratcheted up the dramatic elements after the halfway point, so I'm tempted to finish it this evening, as opposed to waiting till bedtime, but there are too many things to occupy my time, such as my drawing project which I'm committed to working on at least 5-6 days/week (photo of what it looked like last week below). I'll also be going to see a National Theatre Live presentation of Coriolanus next week, so want to make time to study the play beforehand, and then of course visiting threads could take up the whole of the rest of the week...


Go here if you'd like to see a larger version with brief notes: http://createthreesixty5.com/2014/01/23/progress-report/

>145 souloftherose: Heather, after leaving you my comments, I went to wikipedia to see what I could glean about Wuthering Heights there. It seems the response when it came out was quite bad, and they've included quite a few excerpts from the original reviews which are very interesting. I may copy some to my thread in lieu of a review of my own, or to accompany it, if I get there.

>146 msf59: Mark, I'm really glad I picked up the Tom Gauld books. I'll be getting Goliath from the library when I drop over this weekend to pick up a few things that have arrived for me. I didn't know he was a regular contributor to The Guardian and The New York Times, but he certainly deserves to be widely seen and read.

>147 Donna828: Donna, I've been meaning to drop by your thread to thank you for recommending The Garden of Evening Mists to me, but somehow was a bit hesitant because I have so much to catch up on, and I certainly don't want to miss your reviews which I always love. Very rude of me not to have done so by now, so I hope I'm forgiven.

I'm glad you find my Folio Addiction to your taste. I figure it's one of the better addictions to have too, and at least the result is something to be kept and cherished for a lifetime as opposed to just a momentary pleasure.

>148 Fourpawz2: Charlotte, I don't know that I manage all that well, and I certainly complain too much. Overall I try to keep as upbeat as I can, but there are days like today (and yesterday) when I truly feel miserable and it's hard not to feel sorry for myself. But then I get over it, and we all have to just carry on no matter what, right?

I know they have The Gift of Rain at the library. I'll be sure to get to it eventually.

Ohmygoodness, that drawing is lovely! I'm so floored by how much talent we have here amongst the 75ers!

Hoping and hoping that you're feeling better today...

Before I go back and read all of the posts...I will say Hello...

>151 scaifea: Hi Amber, glad you like the drawing. I am feeling better today. I contacted my neurologist again since I'm still in pain, but thankfully today was much more tolerable than it had been the last couple of days, so that's something!

>152 Jaydit666: Hey Jude! Welcome my dear, welcome!

Finished O Pioneers! by Willa Cather last night. I don't feel prompted to write a full review about it, other than to say that it's a great novel about the plight of the immigrant farmers in Nebraska toward the end of the 19th century. I liked that the main protagonist was a woman, and a strong woman of course, who was given responsibility of managing the homestead by her dying father and used this advantage to realize her vision. It's very placid going for the first half and very pleasant as such, but the dramatic elements come in during the second half and move the story along in ways one would not at all have expected from what came before. Very well done. Makes me want to read more work by Willa Cather, and while I liked this novel very much, in the end I can't say it really moved me. Perhaps this has something to do with the ending and the moralistic attitude taken by the characters of the book after a tragic outcome, which I hope was not the stance taken by the author as well. ★★★½

Not at all sure what I'll pick up at bedtime tonight. There is plenty to choose from on my lists goodness knows, but I may be tempted to look elsewhere... we'll see. Off to read some Pride and Prejudice for now, then more work on my drawing.

Oh yes, also picked up William Shakespeare's Coriolanus today, a historic (Roman) tragedy which I am reading in preparation of seeing the play performed by the National Theatre Live next week.

Ilana- Good review of O Pioneers!. I want to read at least one more Cather this year. Maybe it will be this one.

150: No forgiveness necessary, Ilana. I am creeping around the threads like an inchworm these days. Better yet, let's call it a bookworm....slowly but surely. It's good to see another Cather fan around here.

I meant to say earlier, with respect to Heather's remarks about the dislike of Wuthering Heights, that in my experience a lot of readers come to it expecting a great love story, and discover that it's a very bleak tale of an amazingly dysfunctional group of people, and hate it accordingly. The very skewed adaptations of the novel that have proliferated over the years are to blame, I think, particularly the Hollywood version with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, which is not only inappropriately glossy and romanticised, but stops after the death of Cathy.

Because the Brontes first published under their androgynous pseudonyms, there was a lot of debate at the time over whether they were men or women, and a critical backlash when the truth came out.

>155 msf59: Hi Mark, glad you liked the review, such as it was. I'm really glad you've provided us with an opportunity to finally start reading some of that great American literature we've all doubtless got sitting around. I look forward to Fantasy February and also to reading Cormac McCarthy. So far I've only read two of his books, but was deeply impressed and definitely want to read more. In fact, I'll be rereading All the Pretty Horses since it's been years since I first read it; I've been wanting to continue with the Border trilogy for a long time, and may finally get that little push I needed. If I can fit it in I'll also try to get to The Crossing next month and the third book not too long after that.

>156 Donna828: Donna, I'm glad you understand. I have been a lot more present here this month than I was for the better part of 2013, but all the same, since I don't like to just breeze through threads and on the contrary like to get a good idea of what's been going on, it's not possible to get to very many on a given day, so I inch along slowly too, just like you. As for Willa Cather, I do have My Ántonia, which I got as a free kindle. Don't know if I'll get to it this year, but will try to.

>157 lyzard: Liz, I can easily see why someone coming to Wuthering Heights expecting a romantic love story might be sorely disappointed. Luckily for me, I somehow knew little to nothing about it, other than it had strong gothic elements, and somehow confusing it in my mind with The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (which I've yet to read) rather expected something bleak, so I was able to enjoy the story for it's own sake. Reading up about it this week (mostly on wikipedia) I looked up what they had to say about the various film adaptations and was surprised to find they usually ended the story with the first generation, as you mention. Seems a little bit odd, considering the important developments which come after, especially that incredible forced marriage. I know they have several versions available at the library (including the Laurence Olivier, then a 90s version with Juliette Binoche, and a third I can't recall at the moment). I'll probably be watching those in coming months.

Ilana, Mark switched February to Faulkner and March to McCarthy because there was a group for Faulkner February.

>159 luvamystery65: Oh. I somehow missed that, and I was wondering why there was so much talk of Faulkner on the threads. I'll adjust that in my planning, thanks for telling me Roberta. Well, I've got a beautiful Folio Society edition of As I Lay Dying waiting for me in February then I guess! (it actually appears on one of my photos here: http://callmesmiler.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/img_5695.jpg?w=1000&h=&c...

Glad to help out Ilana. Those books look gorgeous paired together.

Catching up here. No book bullet since The Garden of Evening Mists was already on my TBR list. It may get bumped up though.

Hi Ilana -
Your drawing is fantastic. I love the shading, the hair, the facial expression, the hands - oh everything!

I hope - and mostly believe - I am no longer feeling guilty about my inability to keep up with all the wonderful threads around here. There are just not enough hours in a day - especially since I must allocate some many hours to sleep and reading books ;-)
I'm counting on my belief that I will not be scorned for being too slow to keep up with everyone. I certainly wish I could do better especially after all the amazing support that I've received in the past year. I just have to be realistic.

"I am creeping around the threads like an inchworm these days. Better yet, let's call it a bookworm....slowly but surely."
Love that image, Donna.

I am intimidated by the abundance and length of many threads. It's a big time commitment because like you I usually read thoroughly rather than skim - which I am not good at. I love so many LTers. I want to know about their lives, encourage potential, support in times of stress, and share a love of reading. I'm trying to accept my limits and do what I can comfortably. This is not a competition for me. I'm finally beyond that...old age, I guess.

>162 thornton37814: Lori, a little bump is definitely in order, I'd say! :-)

>163 -Cee-: Claudia, I completely understand you, and though our health problems are not the same, the result is similar, in that we both have limited resources, a need for more rest than the average person which makes it hard to fit a whole lot on any given day, and now I know we have a similar approach in the way we like to experience individual threads too. Everyone faces the same struggle as far as trying to keep up, and I think everyone does the best they can, according to their disposition, energy and abilities. We can't all be everywhere at once! And there are other things to do other than sitting in front of a computer... I'm just happy when you do have a moment to drop by, but certainly don't take offence when I don't see your presence here. You are in my thoughts and in my heart, and that's what counts most. That being said, I hope you are continuing to get better and gaining strength and energy, however slowly.

As for my drawing, the above (and what you saw on my blog, which is the same, only larger) is only more or less halfway done. It's already changed quite a bit as I keep adding darker tones and defining certain areas. I spent nearly three hours on the face today and it's looking really great now, that is, the way I wanted it to be all along. I really appreciate the encouragement! xx

Finished listening to The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard last night. This is the first book of the Cazalet Chronicles, a family saga about the Cazalet family clan living very comfortably thanks to a family business—this prompting me to think of them henceforward as another set of Forsytes (see The Forsyte Saga), another British family clan living comfortably from the fruit of their trade. It starts in the late 1930s while Europe is on the brink of WWII. Most of the actions takes place during two consecutive summer family vacations, when the whole clan and extended members are gathered at their Sussex family home. There are three generations of Cazalets, with spouses and their families plus the servants and various employees to keep track of, and while I usually have quite a bit of trouble remembering who is who when there are more than a handful of characters, this was more or less easily done here, as each of the characters is very well drawn and has a unique individual story. The children are busy at their games and worries; about going back to school and attendant bullying for the boys, while the girls are dreaming up their future career options given the minimal education they are offered; acting, being a nun, nursing are a few options. Their elderly impoverished teacher with a face like a toad and a heart of gold was a personal favourite. Their fathers, three Cazalet siblings, are all veterans from WWI. The eldest is badly affected by his war wounds and suffers from debilitating headaches (how I empathized with him!), the second is an inveterate womanizer who descends into downright disgusting lechery, while the third and youngest (and comparatively poor) brother has married a very young girl who seems to offer nothing but her beauty after tragically losing his first wife, and badly failing to establish his painting career. Their unmarried sister meanwhile is charged with caring for her elderly father who is slowly losing his eyesight but not ready to relinquish his post of command, while she is also involved in a chaste love affair more or less sanctioned by the family.

These are innocent times, when the menace of oncoming war seems more like a fictional possibility than a real threat, though by the second summer, in 1938, when the German annexation of Czechoslovakia seems inevitable and before the signing of the Munich agreement, preparations for an assault are underway at the Cazalet compound just in case Chamberlain's meeting with Hitler doesn't go so well and London must be evacuated. All in all, a very satisfying piece of historical fiction seen through a modern writer's eye, so that things which would have been left unsaid by a contemporary writer are here fully revealed. This very much brought to mind another favourite female British author's work, The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley, which was also written in the late 20th century; it too is about a large family clan with the story beginning during innocent pre-war summer holidays, here taking place in Cornwall. The fifth book in the Cazalet Chronicles was published recently and I will almost certainly make my way to it with time. Thanks to Suzanne and Heather for strongly recommending this series of novels. I should also mention that the narration by Jill Balcon was delightful. ★★★★⅓

I am totally in love with your Pompom Girl drawing, Ilana. The jacket sleeves, the background, her hair. A lovely piece of work.

Thank you so much Charlotte, I'm touched. I hope to blow your socks off with the finished piece! ;-)

I'm reading the Mary Hocking books these days - three novels about a family in London and Cornwall - mainly about the three daughters - and their experiences in a very similar time frame. The family is a bit lower on the scale - the father a Methodist and a school headmaster, nothing fancy, working-class boys. Anyhow, I keep thinking of Mary Wesley also - the Hocking books are less edgy somehow, less full of that Wesley wit, but characters are deeply developed.

That is indeed another fine drawing.

Also a lovely review of The garden of Evening Mists

>168 sibylline: Lucy, I'll have to add the Mary Hocking books to my WL based on your recommendation. Another new to me author, and it's interesting to see how different authors treated similar topics in a similar vein while putting their individual stamp on their works. I wish I knew now how I came across Mary Wesley. I think it was a couple of years ago because I was very fond of Anna Massey as a narrator and was looking up all the books she did on Audible, because I don't recall her coming up in a conversation here on LT. I think I'll always have a special place in my heart for her. And based on your ratings of the 8 books you've read by her, it's clear you enjoy her too.

I've decided to finally pick up Nana by Émile Zola. I had so many options of course, but I dropped off my plan of reading the complete Rougon-Macquart series last year, and want to pick it up again. It's one of my favourite novels of all time which I first read in my teens. This will be my third reread, and no doubt not my last.

On audio I'm listening to Amélie Nothomb's Hygiene and the Assassin in the original French. I've never read this Belgian author, though one of my step-brothers gave me one of her books many many books ago, which is still sitting on the tbr. She's always intimidated me and an hour into this book, I can see why. It's an interesting premise about an elderly author and Nobel prize laureate who becomes the target of journalistic curiosity when it is announced he has only two hours to live. The author is a very disagreeable man and an evident misanthrope, has always previously refused to give interviews till now, and the novel is mostly in the form of a dialog which is far from being pleasant, but interesting so far. I'm not sure I'll stick to it to the end, because the old man really is unpleasant in a way I haven't found remotely amusing thus far, but we'll see.

Getting caught up here after a couple of weeks pretty much off the LT grid. 1011 weeks with a migraine is crazy! Sorry to see that the cortisone treatment doesn't seem to be working.

Making a note of The Garden of Evening Mists. Wuthering Heights is one of my favorite 'mandatory' reads from my school days!

Love the drawing in post #149!

Happy Sunday, Ilana. I hope it is a relaxing one for you.

The Girl With The Pompom Hat is looking fantastic! Keep up the good work! I marvel at your talent in capturing a moment so exquisitely - even the dents in the train door are there!

Enjoying following your reading as ever. Here's to a good week ahead!

>171 lkernagh: Hi Lori! Yes, the migraine situation is out of hand. But today I'm grateful that the pain level has been very manageable going on three days now, which makes coping much easier and allows me to have pretty much a normal life and makes room for even such things as—gasp!—allowing my good mood to emerge. Unheard of!

I really loved Wuthering Heights and glad I didn't come to it expecting a romantic love story. It is a love story of course, just not the kind that a mother would want for her daughter for instance.

So far it has indeed been a Happy Sunday, thank you so much. Hope you're having a relaxing and happy day as well.

>172 Polaris-: Hullo Paul! Thank you so much for the comments on my drawing. It's really evolving every day, even though I'm not able to spend much more than 90 minutes at at time on it lately both because of time constraints and also because after that length of time I need to take a break as it's quite meticulous work. But highly satisfying as well. This girl is really very beautiful—I mean the real-life model was a beauty and I've tried to convey her as I see her in my drawing. But my I want to hit a very different register with the next one I have planned, so that portrait will be of a very large, dirty and slightly eccentric looking man. I'm quite looking forward to getting started on it actually, so hopefully will manage to finish Pompom Hat girl within a couple of weeks.

Illustration by Lou Beach from the NYT

Just had a mega shopping spree on the cheap with an amazing lot of Kindle Daily Deals today. They have HarperCollins e-books on special, a few of which had been on my wishlist, but I also discovered a lot of new-to-me titles I might not have found otherwise. It took me a couple of hours to work my way down the list because I kept looking up reviews both here on LT and in The New York Times and Guardian, and am feeling really happy about what I've culled. Here's the list of my purchases with links to the online reviews for those interested:

Ham On Rye by Charles Bukowski
Post Office by Charles Bukowski - he'd been on the WL for a long time

The Stockholm Octavo by Karen Engelmann - I know both Susanne and Gail really loved this one, and the NYT did too.

Thanks to the NYT article above, which is gorgeously illustrated by artist and writer Lou Beach, I followed the links to his blog and found this book, which I know several LTers loved too:
420 Characters by Lou Beach (not a Daily Deal)

The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles
The Spider's House by Paul Bowles

Ask the Dust by John Fante - this book was apparently a huge inspiration to Bukowski and has become a cult classic. The Guardian loves it too.

The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land by Thomas Asbridge is a great accompaniment to my recently purchased The Crusades Through Arab Eyes, and once again, The Guardian has nothing but good things to say about it.

D.V. by Diana Vreeland - the autobiography of a powerful woman and high priestess of fashion

Hotel de Dream by Edmund White - the synopsis on the LT page was enough to convince me, and it also led me to get the free kindle of The Red Badge of Courage. Then there's the Guardian review.

Last but not least, The Whale: In Search of the Giants of the Sea by Philip Hoare - a topic that fascinates me, and apparently Nathaniel Philbrick for the NYT too.

eta: for those interested, there's also The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (which I recommend) and The September of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer (already on my tb) on offer.

Oh great haul! I hope you like John Fante - Ask The Dust and Wait Until Spring, Bandini are both good.

♫ Hygiène de l'assassin (Hygiene and the Assassin) by Amélie Nothomb ★

Oh good grief! The original French language audiobook is only 6h20 long, the paperback 221 pages. I only had one hour of listening left (or 30 pages) and just. couldn't. stand it. any more. So I quit. Because the idea of having to stay with the characters and the story for that much longer didn't break down to just 60 more minutes, but to 3,600,000 milliseconds of infinity. And after spending a half hour trying to figure out how I could occupy myself so I could get to the end without having to really listen, I realized I really needed to part with this book. The premise is interesting enough; an elderly author and Nobel prize laureate becomes the target of journalistic curiosity when it is announced his advanced rare form of cancer leaves him with less than two months to live. The author, Prétextat Tach is one of the most repulsive characters I've ever come across; morbidly obese, misanthropic, misogynistic to the nth degree, for starters. He has always previously refused to give interviews until now; four interviewers try their luck and within a few minutes are so mistreated by the author, who takes a sadistic pleasure in mentally torturing them, with, among other things, detailed descriptions of his nauseating culinary delights (various forms of pure fat feature prominently) that they all literally run away from their unfinished interviews. Then a fifth interviewer presents herself, determined to make Tach literally crawl at her feet and forces him to confess to an odious crime. The novel is mostly in the form of a dialogue. After listening to a few chapters, I already wasn't sure I'd get to the end, because the one thing that could have made me stomach this noxious brew would have been some element of humour or satire, but I failed to detect a trace of it beyond what seemed promising in the book description. I knew going into the book this was Nothomb's first novel, which was published when she was a mere twenty-five, but I'm sure that hadn't I known that fact, I would still have found the novel sophomoric. That Tach is disagreeable is clear, but the female journalist's hostility is what I found even more difficult to stomach, and I couldn't help but think that many sequences seemed to come from Nothomb's inner dialogue about why she felt she needed to complete this book. Of course, if I say DO NOT READ THIS BOOK, IT'S A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME, you're likely to rush to it so you can find that out for yourself. If you do, could you please tell me how it ends in case I've missed the point entirely?

Hi Ilana- Love the Lou Beach illustration. I just finished "Jetpacks". It was a lot of fun. Not all of them worked but there were so many that did. Gauld is an interesting artist.

Where do you get your Folio books from? Are they expensive?

#176 - warning duly noted.

How weird that you are going to be reading Nana - I just received the very same book as a present this last week.

>177 msf59: Agreed about Jetpack Mark. A couple had me laughing out loud. A great many I found very clever. One of them amazed me by how minimal it was, and super satisfying (to barely there smile on the robot horse). I want to do a writeup on it, and I'm sure if you do then everyone will be flocking to it, which can only be a good thing. I wonder if he himself is a writer, or if he just references literature so much because of the readership of the newspapers he's published in.

Folio books are VERY expensive. Very very. Have a look here: http://www.foliosociety.com
I'm a member and have ordered quite a few from the Folio Society directly, which is how you can obtain them in the US too (they're sold retail in UK upmarket stores like Harrod's in London), However, you can also get them on the secondary market, eBay is one, but there are loads on AbeBooks. Luckily for you, there are quite a lot in the States, which means cheap shipping, which should make a good many affordable at least, if not cheap. I had most of mine shipped from the UK and the US at more or less the same insane international shipping rates, so they all ended up costing me quite a pretty penny.

eta: forgot to mention there's the winter sale currently on on the FS site (till Feb 10th I believe), so you might be able to snag something you like at a much kinder price, and shipping is very reasonable at $5.95/book (from the UK).

>178 Fourpawz2: Charlotte, I might agree it's a mighty strange coincidence if it weren't for the fact I've been meaning to reread Nana for the better part of a year now, since I reached L'assommoir and meant to continue with the series from there but dropped off somehow, though not for lack of interest God knows, since I'm a huge fan of Zola's.

Thanks for the Folio info! Maybe, if I keep an eye out for the best deals, I can acquire a couple every couple of months. Can you look through Abebooks for Folio's specifically?

Can you look through Abebooks for Folio's specifically?

Absolutely! Just select the advanced search option and type in Folio Society in the publisher category. Just so you know, there are 44,221 Folio books currently on offer on Abe, so it might be helpful it you could narrow down the search a little... ;-)

Also, I dare say I've become somewhat of a Folio Society authority over the course of the year and can easily let you know if they've published certain titles or not over the course of the years (since they were established in 1947), and in some cases recommend the best editions, as some books were published more than once with different illustrators, cover designs, etc. Just ask and I'll be happy to help. Wouldn't mind even sourcing them for you since I love searching for books.

eta:

A disclaimer is in order:

I can not be held responsible for any repercussion arising from my having introduced you to The Folio Society, located at 44 Eagle Street, London UK. Any loss of: cash, retirement funds, home, car, storage space, wife, dog, children, etc shall not be refundable through the agent, here known as Ilana Shamir aka Smiler69 and no legal proceedings may be taken against said agent in order to restitute any loss of funds, mental stability or self-control.

Waaay up there -->
"I'll trade in hot flashes for constant pain. I think. I guess I should be careful what I wish for."
Oh no, compared the the agony of migraines, hot flashes are a walk in the park. I mean, they are terribly uncomfortable, but they last for five minutes or so and they can be relieved by walking out onto one's front porch at 3am in one's bare feet and pajamas when it's about 35F. Trust me, I know this from experience. It is an odd sensation when one is sitting in a meeting or in a movie and it suddenly feels like someone lit the back of the seat on fire. Why would they do that?

I've skimmed through your reading reports and it sounds like you're having an interesting variety -- I will absolutely not put Hygiene and the Assassin on my TBR pile (such a rare occurrence, as you know!). I do have her Tokyo Fiancée already on the shelves and now I wonder.... It is one of those Europa Editions which I find so hard to resist.

That disclaimer is a hoot! LOL! I needed a good chuckle to go to bed on...

Thanks for the help, my friend.

Hi Ilana.

As a migraine sufferer, I can relate to the pain you are experiencing. Many of my nasty ones are triggered by changing barometric pressure. These last few weeks have been particularly bad.

Congratulations on reading so many wonderful books thus far this year!

Here's hoping you will feel better soon.

I've said it before, and it bears repeating, I am in awe of your artistic talents.

Okay, so I went to the Folio Society webpage and browsed. This is dangerous. I so badly want their edition of All Quiet on the Western Front. And it's on sale..... :-|

*snork!* Love the disclaimer!

I chuckled too at your disclaimer. Having ogled the shelves of them at the store in Sarasota, I can totally see the need for it!!!

Sometimes I enjoy the reviews of an AWFUL book more than anything! And good for you for quitting, even close to the finish line - some books don't deserve to be finished. I never should have finished L.T. in 2013, but I slogged on for the stupid reason that it was a Virago and I couldn't believe they would publish something I would find so leaden.

I'm not sure how I found Wesley either. Probably at a library randomly, probably down on the Cape in Wellfleet where the library is very good. I've only learned about Hocking this last year from Peggy - Virago has an edition of them, but I never have seen or bought one - she gave me the Abacus edition for Christmas, the darling. I can see why, sometimes you just have to share something good. They have an international aspect too, that is lacking in the Wesley, that brings Olivia Manning's Balkan Trilogy to mind as well, at least this second volume, which does follow the three who go out of England (two men, one woman) in the armed forces.

After ridding myself of that terribly unpleasant slog, Hygiene and the Assassin I decided to treat myself to a rollicking good time of a story, and as Suzanne gave high praise to the Aubrey/Maturin series, starting with Master and Commander, which she loved on audio (and chose as an extra pick for me), I thought that might hit the spot. I was a bit concerned it might have too many allusions to boating (it's a naval series and I never could make out a stern from a fore-aft from a midshipman and whatnot), but I was grabbed, before the story beings; from the foreword by the author. The dialogue is excellent, the details absolutely delicious, there's a spirit of jolly good fun, lots of great period element (first books begins in 1800). Anyway, enough said for now, I should keep the rest for the review.

Read the third chapter of Nana last night and must say I do delight in reading Zola and this book in particular. I find it so rewarding to return to it a third time, allowing me to appreciate things I'd missed before, because too caught up in the narrative; such as the structure, wherein each chapter is like a separate act in a play. And then finally being able to work out who each of the characters are (always difficult for me since I don't retain names), and as always delighting in Zola's mastery as a painter with words. The first time reading a book is always a bit dodgy because of a natural resistance I have for the unfamiliar. Once I've read a book already, I can sit back, relax and enjoy what the author is getting at, less the anxiety about what's coming around the bend.

Watercolour class in a short while. Should never be here on class mornings as need to get ready, but can't resist. Didn't do homework as usual because all my creative time is spent on my personal project (as seen in #149 above), but it's not like we get graded or anything.

>182 EBT1002:, 185 Ellen, it seems everyone including my neurologist agrees I should get better once menopause hits. Neurologist actually said this pre-pre menopausal stage is likely a reason for constant migraines (something to do with estrogen levels). It's nice to know I can look forward to something which most women see coming with dread, though I don't imagine the pain will completely go away, but a serious diminution in frequency would be very welcome indeed.

Nothomb: One of my step-brothers gave me one of her books many years ago now, Fear and Trembling, which has sat on the tbr ever since. I've always been apprehensive about her, and must say I'm not much more inclined to read FaT now, but I do want to give her another chance since she is a very acclaimed author, at least in the French-speaking world. Also, I know Darryl has really liked at least a couple of her books, a solid endorsement if there was any.

I was lucky enough to find that FS edition of All Quiet on the Western Front at my favourite local secondhand merchant, The Word, for just $15 I think (or was it $25?), either way a real bargain as it's in mint condition, which is the only acceptable condition for me, but if you're ok with a 'very good' grading, have a look here, though I must say the current price at FS directly isn't at all bad, though would be better at -50%.

>183 msf59: Mark, I'm glad the disclaimer gave you some needed comic relief, but do take heed! FAD (Folio Acquisition Disorder) is a serious condition and usually hits without warning. Mind you, I managed to outdo even the sickest patients over at the Folio Society Devotees here on LT, so I doubt you'll suffer from it as greatly as I did. ;-)

>184 Whisper1: You're such a sweetie Linda, and I especially appreciate your comment about my artwork because I know how much you appreciate art and especially the Pre-Raphaelites, which have always been a favourite group of mine too.

I don't think my migraine condition even remotely compares to what you continue to suffer through and I often remind myself of that fact and think of you when I feel most wretched, which helps me take it all in stride. I'm just grateful when the pain is at a tolerable level, as today, which is something I know you have probably learned to appreciate too.

>186 scaifea: Happy to provide a chuckle Amber! :-)

>187 sibylline: I had to do a bit of investigating to figure out what book you had so much disliked last year Lucy, because your touchstone brought me to A Painted House by John Grisham (go figure!), but thanks to your organized collections I found your review to L.C. and promise you I won't bother with it. Gave you a thumb for giving me good reason to spare myself the trouble. I have a very special place in my heart for Mary Wesley; her writing is exquisite and the first book I read by her, Part of the Furniture was a real revelation, but it's not unlikely my emotional attachment also stems from the fact that the audiobook I listened to was narrated by Samuel West, who's voice absolutely makes me swoon. I've been meaning to get to Balkan Trilogy for at least a year now, and was looking forward to getting (once again) the trilogy on audio, especially as I liked the narrator, but they've removed them from circulation on Audible (at least for the Canadian market), so it'll take me longer to get to it, but it's firmly on my wishlist and I think I've even put you down as a recommender, which I do when I look through my friend's collections and find they've written a glowing review, or even just given a high rating. They have Mary Hocking's Good Daughters trilogy at the library, but since you like it so much, maybe I'll try to get my hands on the green Viragos on Abe if there are some to be found at a decent price.

Menopause gets a bad rap. It's really not so bad. Kind of a relief, really.

Just dropping by on my way out the door to say that I meant to update ages back that yes - my FS Steinbeck in Travels With Charley (very good nick - mint except for slightly marked slipcase - £8) and the Robert Louis Stevenson is The Amateur Emigrant & The Silverado Squatters (same condition - £4). Both are TBR.

>189 EBT1002: Menopause gets a bad rap

Well considering what's at stake for me, I very much look forward to it now. :-)

>190 Polaris-: I didn't know they'd published that particular Stevenson book, Paul. I have The Body Snatcher and Other Stories in the FS edition.




Off for an appointment now, beautiful outside and absolutely Frrrrrrrrrigid (for a change....). Rest of the day will be spent on reading and artwork and visiting some threads (for a change). :-)

#149 "I really love this group, and so many interesting people here, that I can't find satisfaction in just quickly browsing through and leaving offhand remarks, so the business of keeping up with threads is an impossible proposition, but I live in hope that when I am able to leave considered responses it makes up for lack of regularity."

That's my hope too! There are still so many people whose threads I haven't got to yet...I think I end up focusing on the threads I am a bit caught up with because it's less daunting! And I feel like avoiding my thread at the moment because it just reminds me I should be writing reviews but it's more fun to come over here instead!

I really like Girl with Pompom Hat and will be very interested to see how she changes as you do more.

#154 I agree with your comments on O Pioneers! - I found Alexandra's moralistic attitude at the end of the book a bit disappointing. I think I was hoping she would be above the social view of the times but perhaps that was expecting too much. I love the way Cather writes about the country and I'm hoping to read her next novel, The Song of the Lark in February.

#157 Liz, I think you're quite right re Wuthering Heights about the expectations of it being a great love story or romance.

#165 I'm so pleased you enjoyed The Light Years! And The Camomile Lawn and The Forsyte Saga are firmly on my wishlist for when I finish the EJH series.

#168 And the Mary Hocking series which I've seen recommended before.

#174 Great book haul! And ebooks which means there's no need to worry about shelf space - always a bonus! I'm not familiar with many of those titles so will look forward to your thoughts.

#176 Thoroughly enjoyed your review of Hygiene and the Assassin but I'm sorry you had to endure such an unpleasant experience. Well done for giving yourself permission not to finish it!

#181 Love the disclaimer!

Heather, I'm guessing quite a few of us tend to visit those threads we're best caught up with. Not for nothing that new threads get a surge of visitors when they go up.

I'm glad I wasn't alone in my disappointment with the ending of O Pioneers!. I'll read more of her work, but am in no great rush to do so now. Would probably have felt differently if the ending had been otherwise.

That's the great thing about ebook and audiobooks too, no need to worry about where to store them.