lit_chick's 2014 Reading (1)

Welcome, everyone! Here's to another year of fabulousness at LT! Happy literary adventures.




March

12. How the Light Gets In, Louise Penny

February

11. The Beautiful Mystery, Louise Penny
10. Jude the Obscure, Thomas Hardy
9. The Beauty of Humanity Movement, Camilla Gibb
8. The Pilot's Wife, Anita Shreve
7. The Purity of Vengeance, Jussi Adler-Olsen
6. The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton

January

5. Rhett Butler's People, Donald McCaig
4. Moon Tiger, Penelope Lively
3. Light on Snow, Anita Shreve
2. Middlemarch, George Eliot
1. The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton

2013 Wrap-Up

The Best:
(Top 5 Reads)
Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry
Doc, Mary Doria Russell
Bring Up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel
Angle of Repose, Wallace Stegner
TransAtlantic, Colum McCann

The Rest:
(Top 10 Reads)
Philida, Andre Brink
The Shipping News, E. Annie Proulx
Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale, Art Spiegelman
The Secret River, Kate Grenville
The Lost Garden, Helen Humphreys

Anthony Trollope: The Palliser Novels
(Fabulousness! Trollope needs his own category)
Can You Forgive Her, Anthony Trollope
Phineas Finn, Anthony Trollope
The Eustace Diamonds, Anthony Trollope
Phineas Redux, Anthony Trollope
The Prime Minister, Anthony Trollope
The Duke’s Children, Anthony Trollope

Happy New Year to all of my LT friends, lurkers, hangers-on, and all of those otherwise not included.

I'm presently reading The Luminaries and listening to the inimitable Juliet Stevenson narrate Middlemarch. The latter is shaping up to be a 5* beginning to 2014. And the former is coming in a close second.

Hi Nancy! It's lovely to see your thread, which I have starred :-)

#4 Hi Susan, thank you! You're starred, too.

Year-end meme, using titles I read in 2013. Haven't done one of these before. It was fun!

Describe yourself: The Grand Sophy
Describe how you feel: Purple Hibiscus
Describe where you currently live: The Lost Garden
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Prodigal Summer
Your favorite form of transportation: TransAtlantic
Your best friend is: The Son of a Certain Woman
You and your friends are: The Keeper of Lost Causes
What’s the weather like: And the Mountains Echoed
You fear: The Draining Lake
What is the best advice you have to give: Bury Your Dead
Thought for the day: Let Him Go
How I would like to die: World Without End
My soul’s present condition: Half of a Yellow Sun

Welcome back! Your top 5 from 2013 were pretty good. Doc was easily a top pic for me too.

Ha, ha - funny meme. Haven't seen that before. You just got "starred" - looking forward to follow your reading in 2014, Nancy, or should I say The Grand Sophy? :)

Hi Nancy - Happy New Year. Great choices for top reads of 2013. I look forward to seeing what you read in 2014. You, of course, are starred.

Hi Nancy! I was wondering where your thread was! Looking forward to following your reading this year.

Dear Nancy, I wish you a happy, smooth, productive, satisfying 2014 --- and .....



I'm glad that you're enjoying The Luminaries. I just never got it.

Starred, of course. Oh Nancy, Your favorites are all favorites of mine too except for the Brinks and Maus, which I haven't read. Terrific idea to give Trollope his own category. He certainly is in a class of his own. Oh my how I loved Middlemarch in spite of reading it while coming out of an anesthetic daze haha. Happy New Year my friend!

#7 Thanks, Jim!

#8 Hi Carsten, LOL. Looking forward to sharing your 2014 reading, too. Have been looking for your thread, but haven't found it yet. Is it up?

#9 Hi Beth, and thank you. You're starred, too!

#10 Hi Cait! Oh, I see you're with us this year at 75 Books Challenge! I'm delighted!

#11 Thanks, Peggy : ). My comment on The Luminaries at #3 may have been over-stated. It's certainly not a 5* read for me; I'm not even sure it's a 4*. For one, I am certainly not "getting" the whole astrology thing.

#12 Thanks, Bonnie. I thought of you when my list of bests went together : ). I know you loved most of them. And it's wonderful to have you on board the Trollope train. Hmm, Middlemarch on anesthesia sounds most interesting.

Nancy - Looking forward to another fine reading year in your company. Happy new year, my dear. xx

Hi Nancy. Dropping a star here. I am also reading The Luminaries, but I am not far enough into it to make any predictions about ratings. We shall see.

#14 Thank you, Paul : ). Happy New Year to you!

#15 Hi Mamie, good to know you are also reading The Luminaries. I don't know when I'll get through it, but I'll haunt your thread to see how you're doing with it : ).

Stopping by to wish you a Happy New Year, Nancy and to star your 2014 thread!

#17 Thanks, Lori! It's wonderful starting a new year with everyone here at LT!

Hi Nancy, happy New Year to you!

There's Lonesome Done again -- I vow to take it on vacation this year. Can't wait!

Stopping by to give you a star! I've been listening to the Juliet Stevenson Middlemarch, as well, although I got distracted from it by The Courtiers, but I do intend to go back to Middlemarch as soon as I'm done with that one.

#19 Thanks, Anne : ). Lonesome Dove and vacation sounds like a match made in heaven!

#20 Hi Marcia, delighted to have you! I hope you are enjoying Juliet Stevenson's Middlemarch as much as I am.

OOoh, love your 5 star firsties~ I hope they both get you off to a cracking start. My first book of the year is shaping up to be a little dry.....(The Great Degeneration- about economics and politics)

Hi Nancy and happy new year!

Hi Nancy! Happy New Year!

#22 Hi Megan, not loving The Luminaries as much as you did, but I am determined to read it through : ). Hmm, economics and politics are really more than I can tolerate, so good on you!

#23-24 Thank you Diana and Rhian. Happy New Year to both of you!

Happy New Year, Nancy. You - well, your thread - are of course starred!

#26 And to you, Katie! Looking forward to sharing your 2014 reading adventures.

Happy New Year Nancy! Hope you have a great 2014!

#28 Thanks, Chelle. You, too! You've got an exciting year coming up.

Nancy, I found and starred you. It is great that you are starting a new year with two fabulous reads. I look forward to hearing the final verdicts. I loved Middlemarch!

Happy New Year Nancy. Starred. I'm glad you put TransAtlantic in your top 5 for the year as I'm reading it now (and loving the writing)..

Nancy I have decided that I hate the format in which I bought The Luminaries, I really despise oversized books and it is just so cumbersome that the enjoyment of the story is negated. There is a mass paperback edition just issued in the size I like and I will buy it again next week (doesn't count as an addition cos I already have it) and I reckon my reading pleasure will increase exponentially.

Have a lovely weekend.

#30 Hi Donna, happy you've found me. Yes, 2014 is starting off right in the literary department. I love Middlemarch, too!

#31 And to you, Anne. Lovely to "see" you here. I hope you enjoy TransAtlantic as much as I did.

#32 Hi Paul, The Luminaries is definitely a cumbersome chunkster in hardback format. That's the stuff that carpal tunnel syndrome is made of, LOL. I've got the ten-pounder from the library, but I'm reading mostly on my iPad, which is much more manageable.

I read The Luminaries on my Kindle, and was glad I did!

I thought TransAtlantic was wonderful too. I had it down as a top five in 2013.

#34 Ditto, Anne! Well, I'm reading on an iPad, but same idea.

#35 Hi Mary, how delightful that TransAtlantic was one of your top five reads, too.

Hi Nancy - I've reserved the ecopy of The Luminaries from the library. It sounds like that's the way to go with that one.

#37 Good plan, Beth! It's definitely the way to go.

Somehow I hadn't starred you yet. I have Doc and plan to read it even though I didn't care for The Sparrow - in a way it was the subject, how she handled her subject, not the writing itself, so I'm more than willing to give it another go. Writers should experiment and reach for the stars, so to speak.

Hmmm due to my Thingaversary I am due 5 books. I'm fomenting a list, even if I don't rush off to get the books immediately, and I think Transatlantic needs to get on it.

I'm going to check out Luminaries at the library as well....

#39 Hi Lucy, glad you found me : ). I loved Doc but, having read your review of The Sparrow, I'm not sure I'd enjoy that one either.

Happy Thingaversary! TransAtlantic does need to be on your list! I think The Luminaries is a good library choice (though many in our group would disagree).

> 40 - I just downloaded an e-book copy of The Luminaries from the library this evening.... now I need to figure when I am going to get around to reading it before I 'disappears' from my iPod.
http://www.librarything.com/topic/163359#

#41 Hi Lori, The Luminaries certainly is a door-stopper. I had hoped to get through it over Christmas holiday, but then I got sidetracked with other books. So now I'm back to work, and I still have several hundred pages to go ...

Hi Nancy - I just got two ebooks from the library - A Constellation of Vital Phenomena and The Luminaries. I hope I can read them before they disappear.

Ladies, I have five reserves coming in to the library which I see total 1,988 pages, if that's any comfort :-) Fortunately they haven't arrived all at once (so far).

#43 That'll keep you busy, Beth. Thank goodness for sabbatical : ). Hope you enjoy!

#44 Hi Susan, my library reserves tend to arrive in a pile. What is that? Murphy's Law?

Just checking in with you - I had been wondering if you had finished with The Luminaries yet, but I see that you still have a few pages to go. I still have a LONG way to go with it. I probably just need to sit down and really devote some time to it.

Hm, sorry to hear that you and The Luminaries are not exactly hitting it off.....
Reading tip#1: I found that really paying attention to the sub-headings was helpful in sorting out what was actually happening in the text.

Reading tip #2: if you aren't following the plot exactly, don't worry about it as it will come together, and in the mean time you can just enjoy the purdy writing!?

#46 Hi Mamie, I'm back to work now after Christmas holiday, so it is seriously interfering with my reading time!

#47 Thanks, Megan, tips appreciated. I've been following tip #1. As for tip #2, it's a good thing I don't have to follow the plot exactly because it ain't happening, LOL!

#45: Nancy, I think there must be an algorithm in the software somewhere that says "hold...hold...hold...release!" But I just checked my library account and there is one waiting for me. Well, allegedly waiting. Even if it says "available for collection" on the library site it is never a good idea to go and get it before you receive the email confirmation that it's there. Because sometimes it isn't. So I'll wait for the email and meanwhile make a start on the one I already have out.

#45 I think there must be an algorithm in the software somewhere that says "hold...hold...hold...release!" Agreed!

> 49 - 50 - LOL!~ In the case of my local library system, it is more a case of the library truck that delivers the books to the various library branches for pickup buy the next patron breaking down and everything going stalling while the truck gets fixed! That, or the book is still in the back "librarians only" section of the library and hasn't made it out front to where patrons can access the book holds.... although I must admit they now actually leave the cart with the newer holds ready for shelving for patron pickup out in the common area so I have shelves and carts to check for my holds. ;-)

Have a wonderful weekend, Nancy!

#51 Hi Lori, ah the idiosyncrasies of library holds and deliveries! The trucks here in the Okanagan are a mystery to me as well. There are probably 30 or so branches within the Okanagan system. Sometimes a request will arrive within two days, but other times it will take twenty days! The culprit: truck routes, I think! Go figure. Really, all these organizations need to do is ask US for help, and we'll get the system running much more effectively : ).

#52 You, too, Diana! Good to "see" you.

> 53 - LOL! My dream job - in control of a truck full of books!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, Nancy.

Nancy - When I visited the Bodeleian Library in Oxford last year I was informed that a copy of every book published the preceding week is delivered to the library by truck every Wednesday.

I had visions of a movie about the Great Book Heist. Tempting in truth.

Where has Deb disappeared to by the way? I miss her exlamation marks.

Have a wonderful weekend.

#54 Make me smile, Lori. A dream job, to be sure!

#55 Hi Paul, I agree that The Great Book Heist is a tempting adventure, if not feature film, LOL. I haven't been in touch with Deb for a time, and I miss her, too. Enjoy your weekend!

Hi Nancy -- hope you're having a great weekend!

#57 Thanks, Anne. You, too : ).

#56 - Yes...we could use a little Deb around here. She's missed....

Hope you're still enjoying Middlemarch, Nancy - a year beginning with some real bricks.

#59 Deb is indeed missed, Carsten! I am loving Middlemarch, just a few more hours to go. Fabulous! And I'm hoping to wrap up The Luminaries later today (very good but not as fabulous). Yes, I started my year with two bricks … and here we are almost mid-January, and I've not completed a book yet!

Hi Nancy, I'm amazed that Deb seemed to really just leave "cold turkey" like she did. I don't think I could do that. I certainly miss her witty presence. Ahh coming up on the end of not one, but two really long books. If you're anything like me, you're probably getting sick of them by now or at least looking forward to being done.

#61 Bonnie, for a cyber-community, I love how tight-knit LT is, and that we miss one another! You read my mind: you're probably getting sick of them by now or at least looking forward to being done. That said, I'm about to post my review for The Luminaries. Yay!

1.
The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton



Rating: 3.5/5

“I contend that there are no whole truths, there are only pertinent truths – and pertinence, you must agree, is always a matter of perspective.” (Pt 1)

In January 1866, young Walter Moody lands in a New Zealand gold mine town where he intends to stake his claim and make his fortune. As the novel opens, he has retired to the smoking room of his lodgings to unwind after an arduous journey. But Moody has obviously intruded on a private meeting between twelve local men who are discussing a tangle of events which have recently occurred and are thought to be linked: the attempted suicide of prostitute, Anna Wetherell; the death of alcoholic recluse, Crosbie Wells; and the disappearance of the town’s wealthy gold-digger, Emery Staines.

What I Liked/Didn’t: I love a good adventure story, and The Luminaries is well-written (if too long-winded) and embodies many such elements: shipwrecks, blackmail, opium, séances, gold. The muck and squalor of the frontier appeals, too – a gold town being about as seedy as it gets. The novel has a lengthy and imaginative cast of characters, but I did not find them terribly well-developed. While the physical detail is meticulous, I struggled to separate one from the other for at least half the novel – outside of bad-guy Francis Carver, which I thought overdone. The astrological structure of the novel, while impressive, was lost on me; the last several Parts were so brief they were choppy. And I found overall the novel was too tightly controlled: I wanted to live with the characters in the squalor of a 19th century gold town. Like in deWitt’s The Sisters Brothers: “It’s a good place to kill someone, I have heard. When they are not busily burning the entire town down, they are distracted by its endless rebuilding.” (Ch 2)

Recommended: to those who enjoy a 19th century frontier setting, a well-written, long, tangled, adventure yarn; and to those who follow the Booker Prize.

“There’s no charity in a gold town. If it looks like charity, look again.” (Pt 4)

Yay, you finished, Nancy. Congrats on the first review of the year, thumb!! Sounds like this brick is almost too clever for its own good. But you have now officially earned the rights to join every discussion about this Booker Prize Winner.

#64 Yay is right, Carsten! I think you've summed it up more succinctly than I: this brick is almost too clever for its own good. Well said.

Hi, Nancy. I'm sorry that you didn't like *Luminaries* any more than I did....it was 3 stars for me too. Now if you want to read a much shorter and better book about NZ in those years, try Rose Tremain's The Colour. You will certainly find the character development that was missing in Catton if not the complex plot.
I'm impressed that you read this at the same time as Middlemarch, which I think is well worth the time spent!
And, by all means, include me IN the Great Book Heist! (And if we get caught, I'd get to stay in England!)

Hi Nancy - Nice review of The Luminaries. It's nice to see a +/- account. You are certainly ambitious -- reading two door stoppers at the same time! Congrats on finishing one.

#66 I'm definitely with you on The Luminaries, Peggy. I've been waiting for Rose Tremain's The Colour at my library; it had a copy which went missing, and it's taking forever to be reordered and sent to me. Your remarks make me look even more forward to it!

Middlemarch is definitely well worth the time spent!

Delighted you're with us on the Heist, LOL! Staying in England if we get caught … yep, that's fine!

# Thanks, Beth. My reading was not too well planned, I think, taking on two door stoppers at the same time! Look forward to your thoughts on The Luminaries should you decide to pick it up.

Hi Nancy! I have been terribly behind but am glad to now be caught up with you. Thanks for the review of The Luminaries - I've been only seeing the glowing reviews and was convinced it couldn't be without problems...

#69 Hi Katie, lovely to "see" you! I'm in the minority with not loving The Luminaries, I know. It was a good read at 3.5*, but I think there are much better frontier adventure novels.

Nancy - Now that my class has started, I might not have time to get to The Luminaries right away. I would like to read it eventually. We'll see. I thought your review was very even handed. So, what's on your reading radar after you finish these long novels?

The Luminaries sounds interesting, as in an interesting story. But it also sounds like the possibly-interesting story is boring written. I don't know, that's just a feeling I have! Sometimes I have that with books, and that makes me not able to read it, not even the first page! But your review was great. :)

#71 Thanks, Beth : ). Appreciated. I would be curious to know what you think of The Luminaries should you decide to read it. I've got an easy escape read on the go right now: Anita Shreve's Light on Snow. Next up on audio once I'm finished Middlemarch ... hmm, not sure yet.

#72 Hi Marjolein, welcome : ). The reviews on The Luminaries have been wide-ranging. It's certainly not a book I would call perfection, but it does have its merits and is not a lost cause by any stretch. Of course, that's me ... another would have something different to say.

Hi Nancy, one down, one to go haha. I take your points about The Luminaries and will admit that the astrological structure was totally lost on me too. But I was able to enjoy the book more than you did. Love the two quotes you chose. Off to apply my thumb.

#74 Thanks, Bonnie. Yep, one to go! I remember that you enjoyed The Luminaries a lot; I landed squarely in the middle on this one.

Happy New Year, Nancy! I can't believe I haven't been by here. Bad Mark. I had The Luminaries all lined up for December but I had it on my ipad and Realized I better not take it out in the cold, so I have to hold off until March. Sorry, it wasn't a 5 star read for you.

#76 Bad Mark. LOL! It's hard to catch everyone right after the NY isn't it? Will be curious to see what you think of The Luminaries when you get to it. I read it on my iPad too; that brick is WAY too heavy for human wrists.

Starred you (finally) :)
Great review of The Luminaries - which I am currently reading. I have also added Peggy's recommendation of The Colour to my list.
Hope you're having a great week.

#78 Hi Jenn, wonderful to "see" you. Hope you are enjoying The Luminaries. I'm following along on you NZ adventure over at your place : ).

Passing through but I can't say much because I haven't read or even considered reading The Luminaries - I've noticed that some books get over-hyped so i wait to see..... and I'm not seeing that it is living up to expectations for most.

#80 Hi Lucy, it's true: I didn't find The Luminaries lived up to its hype. I need to learn to follow your lead: some books get over-hyped so i wait to see..... and I'm not seeing that it is living up to expectations for most.

2.
Middlemarch, George Eliot



Rating: 5/5

2011, Naxos Audiobooks, Read by Juliet Stevenson

“It was wicked to let a young girl blindly decide her fate in that way, without any effort to save her.” (Ch 29)

Middlemarch, initially published serially, was aptly subtitled A Study of Provincial Life. Set in an 1830s fictional English town, which some critics claim was Coventry, the novel is comprised of several stories which Eliot melded into a coherent whole – not surprisingly, the work has a large cast of characters and multiple plots. Among them: romantic love versus marriage, status of women, political reform, the emergence of the middle class and its cash economy.

Protagonist Dorothea Brooke is beautiful, self-sacrificing, and genuine in her desire to improve the lives of the working class. When she meets the much older Edward Casaubon, a scholarly clergyman, she thinks him a great intellectual and is taken by her desire to be taught by him. Against all advice to the contrary, she marries him; but the union is miserable. Casaubon has no passion, is insecure in his academic pursuits, and beleaguered by petty jealousies. The wretched match is not the only one of Eliot’s creation. Rosamund Vincy and Dr Tertius Lydgate are also embittered by marriage – ruined, in fact. Rosamund is genteel and shallow, her primary motivation upward social mobility. She weds Lydgate believing him to be higher born and better connected than is in fact the case. The doctor, while admirable in his desire to bring positive change to Middlemarch, foolishly drives himself into debt in an attempt to satisfy the petulant desires of his wife. His actions have catastrophic consequences, and it becomes apparent that any affection Rosamund might have had for him was conditional on income, possessions, and social niceties. Nicholas Bulstrode, a wealthy banker of the emerging middle class, offers Lydgate a way out. But Bulstrode is harbouring a secret past, and Lydgate’s acceptance of his offer has grave social implications.

Middlemarch goes on, and on; and it would be impossible in a review of this length to cover plots and characters in their entirety. Suffice to say that Eliot’s plots are fabulously developed, as are her characters – fabulously! And, oh, the writing! I both read the novel, Penguin Classic edition, and listened to it, narrated by none other than the inimitable Juliet Stevenson. Middlemarch in a word: perfection!

Most highly recommended.

“I mean, marriage drinks up all of our power of giving or getting any blessedness in that sort of love. I know it may be very dear—but it murders our marriage—and then the marriage stays with us like a murder—and everything else is gone.” (Ch 81)

Loved Middlemarch so much, can't resist a couple other posts:

George Eliot, 1819-80

I watched this BBC production of Middlemarch some years ago. It is superb!

Another good thumb-review, Nancy. I agree, superb writing by Eliot. I enjoyed the blending of the different story lines - have forgotten a great deal of it by now, but I clearly remember Dorothea's grim "awakening" in marriage life with Cassaubon - A rather bleak quote on marriage, there I must say :)

It's been some years since I saw the BBC-series, but I liked it very much. Have to decide on a reread or a re-watch soon.

I finished Middlemarchat the end of last year but I was so caught up with Christmas things that I don't think I reviewed it. But it was a great read and it's made me think that I'd like to do a reread of all George Eliot's books, maybe next year.

#85 Thanks, Carsten. Sounds like you enjoyed Middlemarch as much as I did : ). Agree that Dorothea's marriage is a grim awakening, but I think it is also her path to maturity. Perhaps your reread could include Juliet Stevenson. I'm going to re-watch the BBC series soon too.

#86 Hi Rhian, I remember that you recently read Middlemarch. This is the only one of George Eliot's I've read, but it has certainly ignited a spark for more.

Loved your review of Middlemarch, Nancy - adding my thumb. Also adding that one to my WL. Great to know that the BBC production of it is good - Abby and I love to read the book and then watch those BBC productions.

Wishing for you a weekend full of fabulous!

#88 Thanks, Mamie : ). How wonderful that you and your daughter love to read classics and then watch the BBC productions. BBC has done so many wonderful adaptations over the years. And I adore my classics …

Wishing you a weekend of awesome, too!

>84 lit_chick:: Hi, Nancy! I really love Rufus Sewell, so I'll have to seek that one out!

#90 Hi Amber, I'm certain a fan of Rufus Sewell will enjoy BBC's Middlemarch!

Wow, Nancy, what a wonderful and enthusiastic review of Middlemarch! My library has an audio version narrated by Nadia May, who I love, but not by Juliet Stevenson. I just picked up North and South from the library today (narrated by Ms. Stevenson), which should take me quite some time, and at the end of which I may want to pursue an ILL or something to find the Stevenson narration of Middlemarch. Oh, I love a good audio recommendation!

#92. Thanks, Anne. Delighted to help you out with an audio recommendation : ). I've listened to Nadia May, too, but I can't think which book just now; she is also excellent. And I LOVED North and South. I read that one, but plan to reread it at some point in the company of Juliet Stevenson.

Nancy - Liked your fair evaluation of The Luminaries and Carsten's summation of it made me smile.

I have given up on it for now until I think I can give it the time that others seem to think it deserves. Will it turn out as timeless as Middlemarch. Well, I am not an expert in these things, but I do doubt it.

Have a lovely weekend. xx

#94 Hi Paul, I think Carsten said it best, too, as regards The Luminaries : ). Will it turn out to be as timeless as Middlemarch? No.

You enjoy your weekend, too.

3.
Light on Snow, Anita Shreve



Rating: 3.5/5

"In my mind I see a small stone dislodged in a wall, one stone shoved forward until it falls. The other stones shift and settle and try to fill in the space, but still there is a hole through which water, in the form of memory, begins to seep." (51)

Reeling from unspeakable tragedy, Robert Dillon recedes from life. Leaving behind family home and a successful career in architecture in New York, he uproots his twelve-year-old daughter, Nicky, and relocates to remote New Hampshire. On a December afternoon, the two discover an abandoned newborn wrapped in a bloody towel in the snow. Nicky, about to come of age, is jarred into the adult world; and, not surprisingly, she struggles with her understanding of that world and the adults who inhabit it. Simultaneously, a young woman must live the consequences of the terrible choices she has made. And a canny Detective demonstrates his sense of justice.

Light on Snow, effectively written from the point of view of thirty-year-old Nicky, is a story of tragedy and redemption, and of love and courage. I’ve now read several Shreve novels; I pick them up for easy reading and escape. This one did not disappoint.

"I thought about how one tiny decision can change a life. A decision that takes only a split second to make." (151)

Wow quite the leap of faith dipping into Anita Shreve after reading the wonderful Middlemarch, Nancy LOL. You seem to have come out of it OK. Terrific review of a terrific book. Lovely Dorothea. Off to add my thumb to both reviews.

Hi Nancy! Excellent review of Middlemarch which I keep meaning to get around to... And I also turn to Anita Shreve's books when I want decent writing and a good, easy story. She rarely disappoints in that regard.

#97 Thanks, Bonnie. Yes, Shreve was a leap of faith, LOL, after the fabulous Middlemarch. But I needed some easy fare, and she's got that down.

#98 Thanks, Katie : ). I think you will love Middlemarch; I'd also been meaning to get to it for ages, and I'm so glad I finally did. You're right about Shreve: she rarely disappoints in terms of a decently written good, easy story.

Hi Nancy - You've read a lot of pages this year! Nice reviews. I agree about Shreve. I can pick her up and know I will spend a few pleasant hours. It IS hard to pick up a book after a great read, isn't it? The book that follows almost always suffers in comparison.

Nancy, have you read Shreve's The Weight of Water? I think I picked it up for $1 somewhere, even though I had never heard of her. It's still on my TBR shelves.

Nancy, what a great review of Middlemarch. I'll have to add that to my "classic on the Kindle" list. I always try and have one on the go :-)

I love Anita Shreve, save for the one set in Africa which didn't work for me. I think I've read all of them. I particularly like the ones set in the same house in New Hampshire over the years (starting with Fortune's Rocks)

#100 Thanks, Beth. Yes, a lot of pages! You're right that the book that follows a great read almost always suffers in comparison That's why I thought Shreve was a safe bet: I know what to expect, and her work does not bear comparison to classic literature.

#101 Hi Cait, yes I've read The Weight of Water. It was shortlisted for the Orange Prize one year; I was surprised because I don't equate Shreve with literary prizes. It's a decent read.

#102 Thanks, Susan. I always have a classic on the go, too. Don't know which Shreve novel is set in Africa, haven't come across that one. But I enjoyed Fortune's Rocks; it was the first of hers I'd read.

HI Nancy! Hope you are having a great weekend!

Hi Nancy :)
Great review of Middlemarch. I love the characters in this story. They are so beautifully developed, you feel like you know them. The BBC film does a fair job too.
I haven't read much by Anita Shreve. I may have to try Fortune's Rocks. I think I read one of hers and liked it, then read one I really didn't like and was put off...

#104 You, too, Chelle!

#105. Thanks, Jenn. Agreed on the Middlemarch characters : ). I understand about Shreve; I'm really unforgiving when I read something by an author that I don't like. I do think you might enjoy Fortune's Rocks though.

Anita Shreve have been on my radar, but I haven't read any by her yet. Easy reading and escape, tragedy and redemption....Sounds like a good relax in the old couch.

#107 Carsten, you summed up Shreve perfectly: a good relax in the old couch. Exactly!

I really liked The Weight of Water. I think her earlier work is better than her more recent stuff.

#109 I did, too, Katie. I think the three I've read are her earlier stuff.

Nancy, A Change in Altitude is the one set in Kenya. I remember finding a brand new hardback copy at the library and being disappointed that I didn't like it, as it looked so lovely :-)

I think my favorite might be The Pilot's Wife, which I just read recently.

Hi Nancy- I see there is another pointed reminder why I NEED to get to Middlemarch. Why have I dragged my feet on this one, for so long? I have definitely tackled longer books and this one is much beloved, especially on LT, so I just don't get it! Sighs...
Hope you had a fine weekend.

#111 Thanks, Susan. Good to know when I'm scouting out my next Shreve.

#112 Hi Beth, I've got The Pilot's Wife requested from our e-library.

#113 Hi Mark, you do NEED to get to Middlemarch. If you listen to audiobooks, this one read by Juliet Stevenson rocks!

I haven't read any Shreve, but maybe I just might. Loved that review. We have many of her books at our local library. Very popular.
(I have read Middlemarch several times, though I haven't listened to it.

Hi Nancy- I am sorry you didn't click with the Luminaries. I am not sure I 'got it' 100% but I did love every minute of reading it, in all its wordy splendour. And Middlemarch seemed to hit the spot, which is great!

Shreve I can do without, but only seeing as there are so many books before her that I want to read.

#115 Thanks, Lucy. Shreve is very popular at our library, too. Decent, easy, escape reading. I like. I trust you enjoyed Middlemarch as much as I did if you've read it several times : ). Go, Lucy!

#116 Hi Megan, wordy splendour is a great way to describe The Luminaries. I hear you about so many books before her that I want to read.

I have The Luminaries on the shelves, but am currently reading another chunkster - The Goldfinch - for my RL Book Club. Somehow I think that Luminaries will have to wait quite a while. And Middlemarch sounds incredibly enticing....

#118 Hi Prue, lovely to "see" you. You won't want to follow a chunkster with The Luminaries, I don't think. But it's certainly one that's been well received here at LT. Middlemarch is a must-read!

Happy Saturday, Nancy! Great reviews for The Luminaries and Middlemarch. As you mentioned over on my thread, I enjoyed The Luminaries more than you did. I am looking forward to starting Middlemarch next month. Dodging the Shreve book as not my cup of tea.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

#120 Hi Lori, I hope you will enjoy Middlemarch as much as I did : ). Delighted you loved The Luminaries!

Hope your weekend is fabulous, too!

Nancy, Middlemarch is a tough act to follow. I think you chose well with Anita Shreve. Her books are entertaining but not exactly deep. Sometimes an "in between" book is necessary to come down off that readers' high! I am very curious about the new release, My Life in Middlemarch. Do you plan to read it while the real thing is fresh in your mind? I read MM in 2000 for the first time and again in 2010 for my book group. Hmmm…six more years and I can do another reread!

Re: The Luminaries. So, it is not dearly loved by everyone. I still plan to read it but I'm thinking of reading The Colour first as an introduction to the history involved. I tried to read The Luminaries last fall but could not focus on it as so much was going on in RL. I'll have to wait for a 'slow' period. Not going to happen for awhile!

#122 Hi Donna, another Middlemarch fan! What you say about choosing an "in between" book makes perfect sense. I'm not planning to read My Life in Middlemarch right away.

I hope you will enjoy The Luminaries as much as so many have, Donna. I've had The Colour on hold at our library for months; new copies were ordered in and they have been in cataloguing forever, it seems. Next time I'm in I have to remember to check on its status.

4.
Moon Tiger, Penelope lively



Rating: 4.5/5

"Chronology irritates me. There is no chronology inside my head ... The pack of cards I carry around is forever shuffled and reshuffled; there is no sequence, everything happens at once." (Ch 1)

Claudia Hampton, 76-year-old English woman, historian, and war correspondent, is terminally ill. Fading in and out of consciousness, she determines she will write a history of the world with her life as the blueprint. Her first memories are of her father, who lost his life to WWI in the summer of 1920. Claudia’s “history” directs the novel back and forth in time, from this point in 1920 to post WWII. Her readers travel with her to India, Egypt, Hungary, Mexico, and beyond – through historical events, and, more importantly, through Claudia’s life, livelihood, and loves – “subordinating history to her own puny existence." (Ch 3)

As Claudia’s life plays out against contemporary history, I found myself fascinated with her relationships. Her brother, Gordon, is, by turns, best friend, rival, and even lover. Tom, the English captain stationed in Cairo, her one true love – alas, great loves and war make tragic history. Later there is Jasper, a well connected young man and on-and-off lover, with whom Claudia has a turbulent relationship, and her only child. There’s Lazlo, too, the sensitive Hungarian college student, and something of a surrogate son. And Lisa, always a disappointment to her mother: Claudia looking for her own alter ego in her daughter, and Lisa looking for something else entirely. Of her relationship with her brother in their youth, Claudia recollects:

"Incest is closely related to narcissism. When Gordon and I were at our most self-conscious – afire with sexuality and egotism of late adolescence – we looked at one another and saw ourselves translated … We confronted each other like mirrors, flinging back reflections in endless recession. We spoke to each other in code. Other people became, for a while, for a couple of contemptuous years, a proletariat. We were an aristocracy of two." (Ch 11)

Lively is impressive in Moon Tiger. Not only does the narrative move back and forth in time, sometimes from sentence to sentence, but it is narrated from multiple points of view, all without missing a beat. I’m left pondering whether who we are dictates the course of history, or whether history determines who we are – it’s both I suspect, though I’m not sure in what measure. And Lively’s language is so beautiful. The novel is full of sentences which call on all of the senses to participate: "The smoke that Claudia exhales mingles with the yellow shafts of sunlight and hangs there, a soupy churning density in the clean air of the wood." (Ch 4)

Highly recommended.

Great review, Nancy! I can't think that I've read anything by Penelope Lively, and I know she's written many children's books. This one may be a good place to start. Hope you're having a great weekend, and that you find another great read!

#125 Thanks, Anne. This is the first I've read of Lively, but she's impressive. Hope your weekend is great, too.

Great review of Moon Tiger Nancy. I love Penelope Lively's books and Moon Tiger is one of my favourites. I heard her speak a few months ago, and she gave an interesting talk about age and ageing (she's eighty now).

Thumb! I haven't read anything by Penelope Lively but I'm missing out I can hear, Nancy. I guess it's a cheap travel if it takes you to both India, Egypt, Hungary, Mexico and beyond - maybe you want to stay at home for a while :)

Ooohh, Moon Tiger sounds fantastic! I love the line you included about chronology and the pack of cards - really interesting imagery. I've never read Lively before either, but this looks like a great place to start!

Hi there Nancy! Reading your review of Moon Tiger (which I read relatively recently) rekindles my admiration for the character of Claudia--I love Lively's concept of time (which seems to show up in a lot of her novels) and history and I thought Claudia was amazing (although I never decided whether I like her...)
I highly recommend How it All Began which is her most recent.

Ah, Middlemarch! I've reread it too recently to justify reading it again, but you make me want to. I found myself thinking often of Dorothea Brooke while reading Can You Forgive Her--and I have to say I find George Eliot's thoughts about marriage more compelling and wise.

Hi Nancy - Moon Tiger sounds wonderful. I'm a big Lively fan, and echo Anne's recommendation of How It All Began. I loved that book. I don't think I've been disappointed in anything that I've read by her, but How It All Began was my favorite.

#127 Thanks, Rhian. I'd love to have heard Lively speak about age/aging. Looking forward to more of her books. Is there one you'd recommend?

#128 Thanks, Carsten. Yes, I've been missing out on Lively, too. Definitely need to pick up more of her work. I thought about staying home, but decided that since it's winter here, I'd head to the South and check in on Rhett Butler!

#129 Hi Cait, I think you'll love Moon Tiger. Lively's imagery, her language, and her treatment of time are fabulous.

#130 Hi Anne! Claudia really is an amazing character. I liked her; I found her ruthless, and particularly harsh as regards her relationship with her daughter; but I quite liked her. Appreciate your rec for How It All Began; onto my WL as we speak.

So interesting that you connected Dorothea Brooke and Can You Forgive Her? I adored both novels, but did not make that connection; although now that you mention it, makes perfect sense. I found George Eliot's stance on marriage very wise, too, and very real.

#Hi Beth, appreciate another rec for How It All Began. Don't know how I've missed Lively this long, but thanks to LT, I've found her! Hope you decide to read Moon Tiger and enjoy it as much as I did.

#132 Is there one you'd recommend? I'd second Beth's recommendation of How it all Began as well. And I've enjoyed Penelope Lively's non- fiction, such as A House Unlocked which tells the story of her grandparents' house in Somerset from the objects that were found within it. But she's a consistent writer: I don't think you can go too far wrong. I've got a signed copy of Ammonites and Leaping Fish on the shelves waiting to be read that I really must get around to.

#133 Thank you so much, Rhian! How It All Began is unanimous as an excellent rec. I didn't even know that Lively also wrote non-fiction, so A House Unlocked also appeals. Good to know she's consistent: I like it when I can't go far wrong with an author's work!

Very nice review of Moon Tiger, Nancy. You hit me with that one!

#135 Hi Mamie, happy to be of service, LOL. Hope you enjoy Moon Tiger as much as I did.

Your usual excellent review Nancy and it brought back memories for me as I read Moon Tiger quite a while ago, in the years BLT (Before LT). Luckily I have How It all Began sitting on my shelf and it's universal approval by everyone here has inched it up the teetering tower. I'm off to apply a well-deserved thumb.

#137 Thanks, Bonnie. You've had Penelope Lively on your radar for some time. Well done! Don't know how I completely missed her, but I did. I'm excited about How It All Began, too, given the universal approval here.

Also enjoyed your review of Moon Tiger, Nancy, although in truth I don't recall liking it to quite the same extent that you seemed to.

On Ms. Shreve; Hani went through a spell collecting them all and I must say that some of her work has actually got a fair bit of depth to it. Don't know about her newer stuff but I really liked Eden Close.

#139 Glad that you, too, enjoyed Moon Tiger, even if not as much as I did, Paul. Appreciate your note on Shreve; I commented above that I was surprised when her Weight of Water was nominated for the Orange Prize. I enjoy her work, but don't equate it with literary prizes. I'm going to put Eden Close on my list.

>124 lit_chick: You have reminded me how much I liked reading Moon Tiger~ it was a gorgeous meandering read. Great review.

Wouldn't it have been great to hear her talk!

#124 Hi Megan, sounds like you enjoyed Moon Tiger as much as I did : ). It would indeed have been lovely to hear Lively talk.

Love, Love, Love Middlemarch!!! (Just saying) I own a copy of Moon Tiger, and you make me want to get to it.....I'm sort of like Megan: there are so many books that I want to read first, but Lively appeals to me and Shreve really doesn't - at least, not yet.
Glad to see you thriving and reading!

#143 Hi Peggy, delighted to have another Middlemarch fan on board! I think you'd enjoy Moon Tiger. Shreve appeals to me for easy escape reading, decent story, decent writing; but we all have our own recipes for that : ).

Superb review of Moon Tiger. I have read some Lively, but obviously not enough!

#145 Thanks, Lucy. I haven't read enough Lively either!

Hi Nancy, sorry I am so late checking in with you but want to make sure I keep up with things with you.

Hi Nancy. Finally making my way over here to wish you a happy 2014!

#1 (Fabulousness! Trollope needs his own category) I love this! And completely agree :-)

#63 I'm always relieved when I see someone else wasn't compeltely enamoured by The Luminaries. I think I enjoyed it a bit more than you did but I wasn't swept away by it as some people were and I always worry that I'm missing something.

#82 Excellent review of Middlemarch. I alos loved that when I reread it a few years ago.

#124 And an excellent review of Moon Tiger too. I need to get to that one.

#147 Hi John, always lovely to "see" you, no matter the time : ).

#148 Hi Heather : ). Always delightful to have another Trollope fan on board! I sometimes worry that I'm missing something, too, when I am not swept away by the favourite of the day; but that happens occasionally with me … perhaps I'm just ornery, LOL! Lots of Middlemarch fans here in the 75ers: not surprising, really, given our exquisite taste (mostly, hehe). I think you will really enjoy Moon Tiger … will be following along, of course, when you get to it.

5.
Rhett Butler's People, Donald McCaig



Rating: 3.5/5

Authorized by Margaret Mitchell’s estate, Rhett Butler’s People parallels that Great American Novel, Gone With the Wind – told from Rhett Buter’s point of view. Let’s be clear that this is NOT Gone With the Wind. But it’s a good read. I enjoyed McCaig’s storytelling, and his rendering of Rhett’s upbringing and youth; and later: renegade, outcast, rebel, gambler, lover, Southerner. And it was nice to know that some things don’t change:

“You will do what Charleston ladies do. Presented with mulatto children who resemble their husbands like peas in a pod; awakened by their husbands’ drunken footfalls approaching their bed you will do that Charleston ladies have always done: you will fix a smile on your face and pretend that God’s in Head heavens and nothing – absolutely nothing – is wrong in His world.” (83)

Guardedly recommended. If you’re a reader who dislikes sequels, prequels, and collaborations, pass on this one. If, on the other hand, you can get past that, take Rhett Butler’s People for what it is, and enjoy a bit more of “the greatest love story ever told”– well, you might just pass some pleasant hours between these covers. I did.

I love sequels, prequels, collaborations and spin-offs, so of course I am more than just slightly curious to see what Rhett's point of view could have been..... Scarlett always came across to me as a rather high maintenance kind of gal, when she wasn't doing her own thing, her way!

>150 lit_chick:: Oh, I have that one on my shelves! Can't wait to get round to it one of these days.

#151 Hi Lori, I don't always enjoy spin-offs, but I did enjoy this one. Scarlett strikes me as a high maintenance kind of gal, too, LOL. Btw, there is a movie, Scarlett, which followed GWTW. Timothy Dalton and Joanne Whalley are gorgeous! Of course, the movie took lots of criticism, but I loved it!

#152 Hi Amber, I'll be so curious to know what you think!

6.
The House of Mirth, Edition Wharton



Rating: 4/5

2000, Blackstone Audiobooks, Read by Anna Fields

Lily Bart, bred to be ornamental, has known only comfort and luxury. When her family is ruined, she is keenly aware that she must marry money in order to maintain her position in 1890s New York’s elite society: “The only way to not think about money is to have a great deal of it." (Bk 1, Ch 6) And she has no shortage of suitors: Lawrence Selden, Percy Gryce, Simon Rosedale. But she dithers, seemingly wanting the impossible: Selden, whom she loves, is not wealthy enough; and while Gryce and Rosedale are plenty wealthy, she cares not a thing for either of them. Indeed, what might life be like married to Percy Gryce, that droning millionaire and “portentous little ass”:

“She had been bored all the afternoon by Percy Gryce … but she could not ignore him on the morrow, she must follow up her success, must submit to more boredom, must be ready with fresh compliances and adaptabilities, and all on the bare chance that he might ultimately decide to do her the honour of boring her for life.” (Bk 1, Ch 3)

Lily’s hesitation, coupled with a series of other social missteps and foolish decisions, sets in motion her descent of the social ladder. But it is Bertha Dorset, the novel’s antagonist, who ensures Lily’s expulsion from society. A nasty, manipulative woman, Bertha invites Lily on a Mediterranean cruise; but her motives are despicable. An unsuspecting Lily walks right into her deception, and Bertha uses her money and influence to bar Lily permanently from society. Wharton’s protagonist pathetically becomes one “so evidently the victim of the civilization which had produced her, that the links of her bracelet seemed like manacles chaining her to her fate.” (Bk 1, Ch 1)

The House of Mirth is highly recommended. While I did not enjoy it as much as The Age of Innocence, I love to read about late 1800s New York Society, particularly as written about by Wharton – elite, ostentatious, frivolous, narrow-minded, vicious – and fascinating. Expectedly, prose and characterization are brilliant. And Anna Fields did a lovely job of narration in this audiobook edition.

Hi Nancy - I'm not a big fan of spin-offs, but this one sounds well done. I'll put it on the someday list. Nice review.

Nancy, The House of Mirth sounds like a good candidate for a Classic on my Kindle...if I ever read a novel again! So far no fiction for 2014 - I wonder how long it will last.

#155 Thanks, Beth. The someday list is probably the right place for Rhett Buter's People if you're not a fan of spin-offs.

#156 Hi Susan, I've been following your thread and your non-fiction reading. Good for you! That said, The House of Mirth is one I think you would enjoy.

I'm hoping to get in some more Wharton this year Nancy as I've loved the three of hers that I've read. Your excellent review makes me want to read The House of Mirth sooner rather than later. Thumb!

#158 Thanks, Bonnie. I want to read more Wharton, too. Thus far, I've only read The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth, 5* and 4* respectively. I'd like to maybe pick up Ethan Frome next.

HI Nancy,
Yes anything I'ver read by Michael Pollan whether it's food or garden related has been wonderful. I've looked up his classes in the past and it makes me want to be a student again. I've seen some of his interviews too and he just makes so much sense.

#160 Hi Mary, I've only read the one Michael Pollan novel: In Defence of Food. I'll have to look online for his interviews.

ahhh...finally settling down after a crazy-busy weekend with some super bowl and some LT. And a few days off work. Enjoyed your review of the Gone With The Wind-spinoff. Remember watching the movie many years ago, but I don't remember liking it that much.

Great thumb-review of The House of Mirth - tried to read it last year, but I somewhat knew the ending and was not ready for the descent. But, oh can she write!

#162. Hi Carsten, sounds like a fab few days! I'd like to read, or perhaps listen to, Gone With the Wind.

Sorry you did not enjoy The House of Mirth. You're right anout the ending; it's tragic. Love your remark about Wharton: But, oh she can write! Indeed!

A Gone with the Wind prequel? Interesting. Or is it more spin off....
Have got to say that there is a possibility that I will never read GwtW.....I might see it someday though!

#164 Hi Megan, Rhett Butler's People is not a prequel to Gone to the Wind, but more a parallel story told from Butler's POV. You've never seen GWTW? Well, it's time then!

When we read The House of Mirth aloud to each other, when we got to the end, I was driving and my husband was reading and I had to pull over because he just started crying his heart out. What a guy!!!

#166 Oh, Lucy, what a sweet guy! The ending of The House of Mirth is so tragic. I love that you and your husband read it aloud to each other.

7.
The Purity of Vengeance, Jussi Adler-Olsen



Rating: 3.5/5

“Our work forestalling the birth of offspring unworthy of our nation, and preventing conception in women who might produce them, is the continuation of a long and honorable endeavor, and through this work all of us present have come to understand that indifference leads to nothing good.” (Ch 23)

Creepy, I know. The backstory of Adler-Olsen’s latest crime-fiction is set on the real Danish island of Sprogø in the 1960s. Nete Hermansen is intimately acquainted with Sprogø and its women’s institution, which uses the treatment of mental infirmity to disguise its covert and much more sinister practices – eugenics, social hygiene, sterilization. Nete is also intimately acquainted with Curt Wad, surgeon and political figure, founder of The Cause and The Purity Party. Wad heads Nete’s list of the six persons she charges with having destroyed her life.

Mørck and his team at Department Q have their hands full as they delve into more than a handful of suspicious deaths and disappearances, all cold cases, of course. But when the investigation leads them to Curt Wad and The Cause: Sinister now has a new face. And certainly it would not be Department Q if its own office was not in its usual uproar – between the criminal talents of Assad and the multiple-not-so-charming personalities of Rose, Mørck’s is challenged to keep the entire operation from becoming unhinged.

I continue to enjoy Adler-Olsen’s Department Q series, though I did not care for this one as much as previous novels. The story is definitely solid, but I found it tended to go on in places; a better editor might have done wonders. That said, I’ll be looking for Adler-Olsen’s next.

8.
The Pilot's Wife, Anita Shreve



Rating: 3.5/5

American airline pilot, Jack Lyons, is killed in a mid-air explosion off the coast of northern Ireland. When transportation investigators recover the aircraft's "black box," the press on both sides of the Atlantic have a field day. Did Lyons commit suicide, and take down over a hundred airline passengers with him? Was the fate of the flight caused by pilot error? Had he been irritated, depressed, or otherwise out of sorts when he left his New Hampshire home to fly his regular route? As the investigation unravels the facts behind the catastrophe, Lyons' widow, Kathryn, will have cause to wish the flight recorder had never been found. She will also have cause to wonder whom, exactly, she was married to sixteen years.

Spent a wintry Sunday engrossed in The Pilot's Wife and thoroughly enjoyed it. Story line is skillful and suspenseful; and the sense of coastal New Hampshire is lovely. Shreve is a quick, reliable escape read for me, and I appreciate her for that.

Yes, a creepy story, Nancy - there you can talk about vengeance. It was too long, I agree, but hey, she had a lot of killing to do - and there had to be room for a twist-ending :)

Another Anita Shreve.....the plot sounds just perfect to spend a relaxed afternoon with (and it sounds like one for the movies).

#170 Hi Carsten, The Purity of Vengeance is a creepy story with a twist-ending indeed! I didn't see that one coming! Shreve was perfect for a relaxed afternoon. I saw the movie, The Pilot's Wife, some years ago; it's good!

Hi Nancy - I agree The Purity of Vengeance is not one of the better ones. I've liked the odd numbered ones best. I'm glad you enjoyed The Pilot's Wife; I found it unexpectedly powerful.

#172 Hi Beth, fun to compare notes on both The Purity of Vengeance and The Pilot's Wife. I'm presently reading The Beauty of Humanity Movement which is shaping up to be excellent : ).

Hi Nancy! You've been reading a lot of books lately that I have never heard of! Perhaps my TBR list will grow now :)

#174 Hi Chelle : ). I think you'd enjoy some of the Scandi-Crime novels I'm reading. And Penelope Lively is hard not to like!

Oh my gosh, how did I miss two excellent reviews Nancy. I read The Pilot's Wife eons ago and then saw the movie. I liked both very much. Off to apply a couple of thumbs:-)

#176 Hi Bonnie, I think you have been otherwise pleasantly distracted : ). I also really enjoyed the movie The Pilot's Wife. In fact, when I finished the book, I went looking for it on Netflix, but no such luck.

Happy Valentine's day Nancy.

Happy Valentine's Day from me too -- I expect later today I will be on a chocolate buzz, but for now everyone else is still in bed as we are having a delicious snow day.

I tried a Shreve on audio recently - I didn't like the reader, unfortunately, so I had to give up - also it was slightly too stressful a story for driving around, which is when I listen to books....

#178 Thank you, John. Happy Valentine's Day to you, too : ).

#179 Happy Valentine's Day, Lucy : ). Oh, I miss delicious snow day(s) from the years I lived in Ottawa. We never get enough snow in one go here to warrant such an experience.

I wouldn't want to be listening to a stressful story on audio while driving, either. I've never tried Shreve on audio, but, like you, I have to like the reader for an audiobook to work for me. I mostly listen to audiobooks while walking; but I listened to some Trollope in the car which was lovely.

Hi Nancy, Happy Valentine's Day! You mention certain readers that you like for audio. Can you please mention a few who you like? I am trying to get going in the audio direction. I gather one is Juliet Stevenson from what I can gather on LT. Any advice would be most gratefully received!!

#181 Hi Mary, both Juliet Stevenson and Simon Vance are superb! I've listened to them narrate several books. If you're interested in the classics, Jeremy Irons is sublime in Brideshead Revisited; ditto for Alan Rickman in The Return of the Native. John Lee, Anna Fields, Mark Bramhall, and Nadia May are other who are also excellent!

Hi Nancy, I've enjoyed getting caught up on your reviews. I am so behind on LT all the time. I may have to change my thread title to 'Donna can't keep up'! I'm surprised you don't get lots of snow where you live. We've have twice as much snow this year as we normally get but still not up to Canadian standards I'm sure.

Thanks for that list of audio narrators that you enjoy. I've heard Simon Vance and very much agree with you. I want to get more into audio books and will look for your suggestions.

#183 Hi Donna, perhaps I misled with my snow comment. Our ski resort, minutes from home , gets TONS of snow because of its elevation. Here in town (the valley floor, per se), even though our elevation is still over 1000', we often get little snow. But rain in the fall and winter months will translate to snow on the mountain. In fall/spring, it is often possible to golf in the morning and ski in the afternoon, or vice versa.

Happy audiobook-ing! I hope you will enjoy as much as I do : ).

Thank you for the wonderful audio suggestions. I can access lots of audio on line from our local library.
I LOVE THE LIBRARY!

#185 You're welcome, Mary : ). I often download audiobooks from our e-library, too.

Hi Nancy! I enjoyed your review of The House of Mirth -- it was one of my top reads last year. Mine was narrated by Barbara Caruso (also listened to her narrate The Song of the Lark last year), and I loved it. I think I chose the same quote as you did (about Lily and Percy Gryce) -- it seemed emblematic of that whole world and its priorities. I plan to listen to The Age of Innocence later this year.

I am a confirmed audio-fanatic! I second the recommendations for Juliet Stevenson, Simon Vance, and Nadia May. I have the Alan Rickman Return of the Native requested via ILL, and the Jeremy Irons-narrated Brideshead Revisited is simply perfection. Hooray for libraries and their audio offerings!

#187 Hi, Anne, I remember that The House of Mirth was a best read for you : ). I absolutely loved The Age of Innocence and hope you will, too.

I am also an audiobook-fanatic! I love to walk and am never without one in my iPod. I always listen for a bit before falling asleep at night too: my bedtime story!

Hi, Nancy. Just stopping by to assure myself that you're still reading good stuff and writing well about it. You are!
I'm not an audio-fanatic; my lifestyle just doesn't lend itself to book-listening time.....I'd have to take it from my book-reading time, and that wouldn't work at all. I'm delighted for those of you who do get to listen though.

#Hi Peggy, well I'm reading some good stuff and writing about it! Ready for a 5* read, to be honest. Presently have two on the go which are shaping up positively: Jude the Obscure and The Beauty of Humanity Movement.

Not to worry about being a non-audio-fan. I wouldn't want to have to take my listening time from my reading time. That would never do!

Wait, "Jude the Obscure" and "positively" don't really belong in the same sentence, do they? Ha!

Love Hardy to pieces. Jude the Obscure is not my absolute favourite but it is still in his first rank of novels. Funny writer Hardy. Wrote some classic novels Tess, Madding Crowd, Mayor of Casterbridge, Return of the Native, Jude - but then produced such dross as the Trumpet-Major.
Go figure.

Trust your weekend has been a good one Nancy.

#191 Amber, can I assume you are not a fan of Hardy, or at least not a fan of Jude the Obscure? : )

#192 Hi Paul, I'm a Hardy fan, too. Jude the Obscure is also not my favourite, at least not up against The Return of the Native and Far From the Madding Crowd which I've also recently reread; but I am thoroughly enjoying it. I've got The Mayor of Casterbridge and Tess slotted for later rereads, maybe even later this year?

9.
The Beauty of Humanity Movement, Camilla Gibb



Rating: 4/5

"Hung is the heart of this small community on the banks of a polluted pond; he is good to these poor people, keeping them fed and entertained. He treats everyone with respect—from people in high places, like Miss Maggie Lý, to people without sense or legs, like his neighbour. It is humbling to have an Old Man Hung in your life. It makes you want to be a better person.” (Ch 4)

Miss Maggie Lý, born in Vietnam but raised by her mother in the US, “feels a stranger in the world in the absence of a family history.” Her father, Lý Văn Hai, an artist in Hanoi in the 1940s, was sent to re-education camp in 1956. He never saw his family again. An art curator, Maggie leaves America without hesitation when she learns that an incomparable collection of work has been found in a bomb shelter beneath a Hanoi. In her quest to trace the priceless works of art and, in the process, discover her own roots, she will meet Old Man Hung, who remembers that Lý Văn Hai would have been in good company. Hung remembers just how good was the poetry, the essays, and the artwork produced by the artists of The Beauty of Humanity Movement – he remembers “the fearlessness the men he knew had displayed in the face of opposition, the reach and inspiration of their work.” (Ch 1)

The elderly Hung, the central character in the novel, is unforgettable. The ninth child in his family, he recalls being sent away to live with his uncle in Hanoi in 1933; and his uncle taught him to make pho. Through decades of war and deprivation, and through the oppression of Communist rule, Hung continually learns new ways of making pho in order that he might feed his people. From the vantage point of old age and as “the best pho maker is Hanoi,” Hung observes the differences in how he has lived with the manner in which his adopted family lives: that is, post war, in an era of capitalism and popular culture. But Hung is not ready to go yet. He has a mission: “He is a blank slate upon which history will write its story. But he will wake before the story’s end, he is sure of it. He will counter the lies written there. He will fill in the gaps that remain.” (Ch 18)

Gibbs is a gifted writer with a talent for bringing home a sense of place and for writing about the connections which bind us together: love, politics, food, culture, history. I also thoroughly enjoyed her previous novel set in Ethiopia and London: A Sweetness in the Belly. Highly recommended.

>193 lit_chick:: I just meant that it's not exactly a happy book...

#195 Aha, duh moment for me! No, Jude the Obscure is definitely NOT a happy book!

Gibbs is a gifted writer with a talent for bringing home a sense of place and for writing about the connections which bind us together: love, politics, food, culture, history. I also thoroughly enjoyed her previous novel set in Ethiopia and London: A Sweetness in the Belly.

OK Nancy, that's just not fair. I mean slipping in another BB rather sneakily;-) Thumb!

#197 Oh, Bonnie, I shot you twice?!! I'd apologize, but ... well, a girl's gotta return the favour on occasion, LOL.

You would have had me twice, too, Nancy, but I already own both books!

#199 LOL, Katie! I think you will really enjoy Gibb when you get to her.

Hi Nancy :) All caught up! Hoping to stay caught up now that we have real internet. I have really liked all the Edith Wharton that I have read - but I haven't read House of Mirth. I think I will add it to my pile. Good to know there could be weeping at the end...

#201 Yay for real internet, Jenn! You deserve it after the adventure you've been on! You'll enjoy The House of Mirth; and, yes, there could be weeping at the end!

10.
Jude the Obscure, Thomas Hardy



Rating: 4/5

2011, Blackstone Audiobooks, Read by Frederick Davidson

“Remember that the best and greatest among mankind are those who do themselves no worldly good. Every successful man is more or less a selfish man. The devoted fail ...” (Pt 6, Ch 4)

Jude Fawley, a stonemason raised by his working-class aunt, dreams of a university education at Christminster, having been inspired by schoolmaster, Richard Phillotson. But his plans are thwarted when he is tricked into marrying the rough-and-tumble Arabella. The marriage goes awry, not surprisingly, and Jude resolves to go to Christminster at last. Regrettably, when he attempts to enroll at the university, his plans are again stymied. Still, he is pleased to make the acquaintance of his cousin, Sue Bridehead. To no avail, Jude tries desperately not to fall in love with her; and he is devastated to learn that she has become engaged to Phillotson. However, this is another marriage doomed from its inception. Eventually, both Jude and Sue, who “seem to be one person split in two,” are divorced; but Sue does not wish to remarry. When Arabella reveals she has Jude’s son, Jude and Sue raise the boy together, along with two other children of their own, until tragedy – unspeakable tragedy – strikes. Sue, “creed-drunk” and manic with guilt, believes the tragedy to be her fate for having left Phillotson. Hopeless, they both eventually remarry their former spouses. Jude begs Sue to return to him, but she cannot:

“No – let me make my last appeal. Listen to this! We've both remarried out of our senses. I was made drunk to do it. You were the same. I was gin-drunk; you were creed-drunk. Either form of intoxication takes away the nobler vision ... Let us then shake off our mistakes, and run away together!” (Pt 6, Ch 8)

Jude the Obscure, while not my favourite of Hardy’s Wessex novels, is beautifully written, adorned with characters who’ll live on with me (as I’ve come to expect when reading Hardy) – and, oh, so tragic! Hardy uses his narrative superbly to expose the harm created by the absolutely unyielding social codes of his time as regards marriage, higher education, and social class. One of the things I love most about classics is their echoes for our modern times. We’ve certainly loosed the rigid thinking on marriage and divorce that Hardy called for – to a fault, I would argue. But I think we have a long way to go in making higher education more accessible and social mobility more achievable.

I thoroughly enjoyed, and this audiobook edition is fabulously read by Frederick Davidson – great characters’ voices! Highly recommended!

Great review, Nancy, and a thumb from me! I haven't read anything by Thomas Hardy, but I have The Return of the Native (eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee the Alan Rickman narration!!!) in transit via ILL.

I'll look for Frederick Davidson -- I love a good narrator recommendation!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

#204 Thanks, Anne : ). Oh, you will l-o-v-e The Return of the Native a la Rickman. I wish I could listen to it again for the first time. Frederick Davidson also narrated the edition of Heart of Darkness I listened to; excellent in that as well.

You have a fantabulous weakend, too!

Great review of Jude the Obscure. I read it in high school and probably wasn't mature enough to really appreciate the absolute tragedy of it. Really can't bring myself to read it again though. If I could get a hold of an Alan Rickman narration, I could be convinced to listen to Return of the Native. :)
Happy weekend!

Jude the Obscure is one of the few Hardy Books that I haven't read - must get around to it sooner rather than later.

Stopping by to wish you a lovely weekend, Nancy. As I type this snow is falling here in the island. It is melting on contact with the ground so it won't be sticking around. I have become an Olympic addict this week so not spending much time reading or anything else when I am not at work! ;-0

#206 Thanks, Jenn, I didn't read any Hardy in high school, but I could not have appreciated him as a teen for the very reason you point out. I found Alan Rickman's narration of The Return of the Native at our library; I remember how thrilled I was because I had no idea Rickman had done any narration.

#207 Rhian, great to have another Hardy fan on board. Up next for reread here is The Mayor of Casterbridge, thought I'm not sure yet when I'll get to it. I think you'll enjoy Jude the Obscure.

#208 Hope your weekend is lovely, too! We have no snow here at all in town; it's been that kind of winter, which works for me. It looks just fine on the mountains : ). I axed my cable in favour of Netflix, so all I've caught of Sochi is a bit of Canadian hockey. G-O-L-D!!

Nancy, we haven't had cable, or TV of any kind, for a number of years now. I have been watching the coverage live or as a web replay from the CBC Sochi 2014 website: http://olympics.cbc.ca/ . I got to see the women's gold win at work as we had a TV set up in the lunchroom with the coverage going so people could catch glimpse of what was going on.

I will be up tomorrow morning for the men's hockey. ;-)

#210 Lori, I also saw the women's hockey win at work. Thanks for the CBC Sochi website; I'll check that out and pass it along to a couple of sisters who also don't have cable. GOOOOO Canada!

Hi Nancy, Canada have had a good Winter Olympics my dear.

Hi Nancy. I read Return of the Native in high school but nothing Hardy-esque since. It looks like I must remedy that. Thanks again for an enticing review. Thumb!

#212 Hi John, yes we have!! Yay!

#213 Bonnie, surprised that both you and Jenn read Hardy in high school. I only encountered him in university but have enjoyed him much more since I've been rereading his Wessex novels without the fevered pitch that comes with uni-study. He's one I know you would enjoy, but I also know he's probably nowhere near the top of your present pile, LOL!

Yet another fine review. Thanks, Nancy!
I read Hardy in high school (*Tess*) even though I didn't have to, but I didn't get him. Now he's one that I want to get back to, as you remind me. Thanks!

#215 Thanks, Peggy : ). Another one of us to have read Hardy in high school! No question you'll enjoy him MUCH more now. Will be tagging along, of course, for your thoughts. And you remind me that I must put Tess on my reread list. I've got (very) old and well-worn copies of most of these from university.

Admit to being a little disappointed at the US showing in hockey. We were so optimistic early on. Very pleased for Canada though. :)

#217 Thanks, Jenn : ). I know a LOT of Canadians are getting up very early tomorrow to watch Team Canada men's hockey play Sweden for Gold. I'll be cheering them on from my warm bed : ).

Nancy, your comments make me want to read more by Hardy. I loved Tess when I read it years ago. I was also a fan of Sweetness in the Belly so I will want to read the book about Vietnam. I don't mind your book bullets at all. In fact, keep 'em coming?

I have been enjoying the winter Olympics a great deal. I will be rooting for my northern neighbors to win the gold medal in hockey. Also, thanks for the explanation of the snow where you live. Sounds like you have the best of both worlds. I used to live in Colorado Springs which didn't get huge amounts of snow but we had the snow to look at on Pike's Peak beginning as early as late August and lasting until early summer. I miss that!

#291 Hi Donna, I loved Tess too when I read it many years ago, and am due for a reread. If you liked Sweetness in the Belly, I know you'll like The Beauty of Humanity Movement; Old Man Hung was a great character.

Glad your enjoying the Olympic coverage. And your cheering worked! Hooray for Canada's GOLD men's hockey team!

Great reviews of The House of Mirth and Jude the Obscure, Nancy. It's funny that whilst both authors seem to write tragic books, I can't get enough of Wharton but have found all the Hardy's I've read quite depressing. I seem to have a mental block when it comes to his novels.

At last some LT at the end of a crazy week. Great reviews Nancy and two thumbs from me. Unspeakable tragedy, indeed. Maybe I will go back to Jude one day but then it will be as an audiobook, and I will keep that narration in mind.

Thoroughly agree with your comment One of the things I love most about classics is their echoes for our modern times. Reading the classics I often evaluate and think about the things we have lost - and also of course gained. Often "progress" is a word used to quick and without reflection - because good things are also lost in the name of "progress". I think I need to read some more Hardy soon.

Hey, as a Scandinavian I cheered for Sweden, but have to agree - of the little bit I saw - that Canada was far better in that match. Denmark won a bronze in the winter olympics in curling some years ago - but here again Canada rules. What to do?

#221 Thanks, Heather. I do know what you mean about having a block when it comes to certain authors. Fortunately, I'm able to read both Wharton and Hardy. The next Wharton in queue for me is Ethan Frome. Don't know whether you listen to audiobooks, but Alan Rickman's narration of The Return of the Native (at the risk of being pesky and repetitive) is superb!

#222 Hi Carsten, have missed you here on LT! Figured you were probably tied up with work. Thanks for the thumbs : ). I also find myself return to many of the classics via audiobook, to wonderful results! That said, I also always have a "paper" copy on the go in my iPad when I'm listening.

It's so true that we lose, as well as gain, in the name of "progress." As you point out, reading the classics is perfect for such thought provoking evaluation: Reading the classics I often evaluate and think about the things we have lost. Yes!

Well, I forgive you for cheering for Sweden, LOL. As to the hockey and the curling results, well … the only solution I see is for you to emigrate to Canada! Then, by the next Olympics, you'll be cheering for the right teams, hehe!

Ha, ha. Not a bad idea, not a bad idea, at all. It actually makes sense...well, at least from your point of view :)

I hear it was a great hockey game :) Congrats to Canada!

Yep - I did read Hardy in High school. It was an AP class, and my teacher was extremely fond of stream of consciousness books like A Portrait of the Artist. I couldn't take it, and got permission to make my own reading list. I read Jude the Obscure and Tess of the D'urbervilles. I liked Tess the best of the two. I also read some Chaim Potok and I think I may have read Native Son in that class as well. Now that I think about it, that's a pretty impressive pile of literature for a 16/17 year old. lol
Pardon the moment of nostalgia, but I have to share. That AP class was pretty small and it had an almost perfect Breakfast Club-ish cross-section of HS society. Except our rocker was a Christian rocker. Anyway, one of the assignments she gave us was to write a Shepherd's reply to Raleigh's The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd and we would each have to read our "reply" out to the class before class was over. Then she left the room. So we organized it so that each of us would write a reply from one to the other so that by the time we were all through it would be something like The Nymph's reply to the Shepherd's reply to the Nymph's reply to the Shepherd's reply to the Nymph's reply... I don't think I have ever laughed so hard in my life. By the time the last person in the class was reading out the title of their poem we were all in tears. Even our teacher. We also messed with her the whole year by insisting that the most famous line from Hamlet was "Yet here, Laertes?" Good times. There was also the male stripper we ordered her for her birthday at school. But that's a story for another day.

#224 Makes perfect sense from my point of view, Carsten : ).

#225 Jenn, your high school English classes sound much more interesting than any I can remember, LOL! But I do recall we had a couple of new-out-of-university teachers, not much older than ourselves really; among these these was a male English teacher, gorgeous! and a male math teacher, also gorgeous! I did very well that year : ). We also had a teacher marry one of the grade 12 students right after she graduated; oh, scandal! It didn't last, of course, but there were some interesting times, a la soap opera.

>194 lit_chick: I read The Beauty of Humanity Movementy friend was in Vietnam, we had a lot to talk about when she returned. And we even went out for Po! I enjoyed it muchly too :)

#227 Hi Megan, delighted you enjoyed it as much as I did, the book that is, although I'm betting the pho was lovely, too! We have a restaurant here in town called Pho Fusion; must explore further.

11.
The Beautiful Mystery, Louise Penny



Rating: 4/5

“That was what Gamache and his team did. They sieved for that often tiny event. A word. A look. A slight. That final wound that released the monster. Something had made a man into a murderer. Had made a monk into a murderer, surely a longer journey than most.” (Ch 10)

In a remote Québec monastery, Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, Prior Frère Mathieu is found murdered in the abbot's private garden – in his hand a scrap of sheepskin vellum, scribbled on which are a handful of musical notes. In recent years, the Gilbertine monks released a recording of Gregorian chants which captured the attention of millions worldwide. The resultant windfall allowed for much needed improvements to the ancient buildings, but it came at a cost: the order lost its former peace and privacy to the madness of celebrity. When Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, arrive at the monastery, it is clear that it is a community divided. “… what had started the rift? Where did the crack begin? What blow, minor or otherwise, had started it all?” (Ch 11) – Gamache knows that when he has the answer to these questions, he’ll have the murderer.

The Beautiful Mystery is well-written and well-paced, much more about its characters than its crime – just as I’ve come to expect from Louise Penny. But I missed Three Pines! – which I’ve also come to expect from her. The ending was a little melodramatic, too: now I’m worried about Beauvoir and will need to read How the Light Gets In immediately. Still and all, thoroughly enjoying this series. One more to go, and it better be set in the Pines!

What will you do, when you have read all the Gamache-stories, Nancy? :)

I know what you mean......It's just like Sherlock Holmes. It's ok for him prowling the country-side solving crimes, but we need him in a side street in foggy London and at home welcoming peculiar visitors in Baker Street.

Sooner or later I have to visit Three Pines....

#230 Hi Carsten, yes, we need to keep these detective types where they belong! Think once I've finished with Three Pines, I'll catch up on some more of my Scandi-crime, in terms of mystery novels.

And you're right … sooner or later, you have to visit Three Pines! Hopefully before you emigrate to Canada as I understood that could take some time!

But I missed Three Pines! – which I’ve also come to expect from her. Well yes, there was that Nancy. This was the one book that I felt was a misstep for Penny. I actually found it to be...IDK...boring I guess. Lovely review though, as always and a thumb from me.

Hi Nancy - You're doing some great reading. I'm not a Hardy fan, but I loved The Beautiful Mystery -- much more than many here -- and Beauty of Humanity Movement is definitely on my list. You're having a great 2014 year of reading.

#232 Interesting, Bonnie, that you found The Beautiful Mystery a misstep. Can't say I was bored with it, but it does stand out as the only one of eight or nine Three Pines novels not set in Three Pines. What??

#233 Thanks, Beth. I'm enjoying my reading year thus far, flying by the seat of my pants as usual. Great that you enjoy The Beautiful Mystery so much. I hope you enjoy The Beauty of Humanity Movement the same! I think you will : ).

I also enjoyed A Beautiful Mystery more than many.

Hi Nancy! Just passing through to wish you a happy weekend. Great hockey! I'm glad to have the Avs back, though I do love Olympic hockey.

I can't remember where I left off of the Three Pines books. The beautiful Mystery looks like a good one.

#235 Lori, great to have another Three Pines fan on board the train : ).

#236 Hi Anne, I don't watch hockey other than Olympic (I know, I know, bad Canadian, LOL), so it was nice to see some GOLD!

I've enjoyed all of the Three Pines books, some more than others. Going to miss them when I finish the last one which I'm reading presently.

>228 lit_chick: oh boy, my spelling in #227 was out on a limb. Thanks for getting the gist and not pointing out what a klutz I am on the keyboard :)

#238 Hi Megan, having done a few keyboard whoppers myself, I'm not in any position to point out keyboard-klutzes, LOL!

Hi Nancy - Have a nice weekend filled with more great reading.

Running around and catching up with everyone..... I haven't read Jude the Obscure - I loved listening to The Return of the Native so I am going to seek out the Davidson audio!

#240 Thanks, Beth. You, too.

#241 Hi Lucy, I'm delighted you're going to seek out the Davidson's narration of Jude the Obscure. Sooo good!

12.
How the Light Gets In, Louise Peny



Rating: 5/5

Talk about saving the best for the last! Louise Penny cements her reputation as master storyteller in this conclusion to her Three Pines series.

When the elderly Constance Pineault, who had planned to spend Christmas in Three Pines, is found murdered in her Montreal home, it is Myrna Landers who discloses to a stunned Chief Inspector Armand Gamache that Constance was the last of the Ouellet Quintuplets. The Sûreté’s investigation meanders meticulously through the history of the Quints: their early years; separation from their parents; exploitation by their doctor; and profiteering by a government which has millions of reasons to commercialize the lives of the little girls. Running parallel to the murder investigation, is the riveting tale of the longstanding enmity surrounding Gamache and his superiors at the Sûreté, among them Chief Superintendent Sylvan Francoeur. Gamache has long suspected corruption at the Sûreté, but what will he discover in this final installment? More to the point, what will he be able to prove? And what does a woman falling to her death from a Montreal bridge have to do with the gross misconduct of public officials? The Chief Inspector’s Homicide Department has all but been destroyed by Francoeur: Jean-Guy Beauvoir is about to fall off the edge, and Agent Nichol has been relegated to a dusty basement. Can the team survive?

I’m going to miss this series: I love idyllic little villages, good writing, good mystery, and characters I can invest in. How the Light Gets In is especially endeared to me because I think it the best of the nine. Fabulously done, Louise Penny. Highly recommended.

Nancy, I believe Louise Penny just announced a new Gamache book coming out in August. So it lives on!

#244 Oh, let it be so, Katie! I didn't see anything on her site … will look again.

Bonnie and Richard had linked to it on Facebook. Let me see if I can find it...

ETA: See if this works: http://smarturl.it/LongWayHomeDescript

Hi Nancy - It would be a great ending to the series. But I think I've heard that she's working on another one...

Conclusion?!?! Oh, but then I read on:) I do love the little town of Three Pines. I looked for it when we were in Quebec last year, but alas,. It is alive and well in my mind. Great review!

#246 Thanks, Katie! I don't FB, and look what I missed! Love it that there'll be another Gamache, now that the infamous Chief Inspector has retired to Three Pines.

#247 Hi Beth, you heard it too? I had no idea until Katie posted …

#249 Hi Anne, did you also know Penny was writing #10? Maybe I'm the only one with my head buried, LOL. Quebec is very beautiful; too bad you couldn't find Three Pines : ).

Hi Nancy - Sounds a little like the Untouchables at the Sûreté. Great with a five-star Gamache and even another one to look forward to.

#250 Good line, Carsten : ). I like that.

>234 lit_chick: but it does stand out as the only one of eight or nine Three Pines novels not set in Three Pines. What?? Not quite Nancy. Bury Your Dead was set in three locations including Three Pines but mostly in Quebec City. And I forget which book had the murder take pace in peter Morrow's family's home that was outside of Three Pines. I think she struggles with keeping Gamache where her fans want him (Three Pines) and trying to branch out and extend her creativity.

>243 lit_chick: Just thumbed that heartfelt review but fear not, Gamache will return in August.

#252 Hi Bonnie, yes, some of the Three Pines books have been set in more than one location, but The Beautiful Mystery is the only one that doesn't even go to Three Pines, non?

Thanks for the thumb! I'm delighted Penny is bringing back Gamache. He made the right decision to retire to his favourite village. I should join him and Reine-Marie : ).

Glad you liked How the Light Gets In. I am so happy that there will be more Gamache. :) Withdrawals are horrible things. I want to retire to Three Pines too.

#254 Hi Jenn, another retiree from LT in Three Pines : ) Yay! Withdrawals are horrible things, indeed.

Time for a new thread! See you there : ).