inge87's 14-in-14 Challenge, Chapter 2: The Water is Wide, I Cannot Get O'er

Welcome to the second chapter of my 2014 journey. Continuing with the folk song theme, this thread's theme song is one of my favorites, "O Waly, Waly":

The water is wide, I can-not cross o'er.
And neither have I wings to fly.
give me a boat that can carry two,
And both shall row, my love and I.

A ship there is and she sails the seas.
She's laden deep, as deep can be;
But not as deep as the love I'm in
And I know not if I sink or swim.

I leaned my back up against an oak
Thinking it were a trusty tree
but first it bended and then it broke
Thus did my love prove false to me.

O love is sweet and love is kind
The sweetest flow'r when first it's new
but love grows old and waxes cold
And fades away like the morning dew.

Peter Pears accompanied on piano by Benjamin Britten

Upbeat version by the group Folk Abroad

Categories
1. Sally in our Alley: Classic Fiction (pre-1920)
2. Sumer is icumen in: Ecology/Environmental Science
3. The Lay of Nimrodel: Fantasy
4. John Barleycorn Must Die: Food/Gardening
5. The Skye Boat Song: History
6. Roads to Moscow: Historical Fiction
7. Lady Franklin's Dream: Mysteries
8. Fear a' Bhàta: Other Non-Fiction
9. Who Knows Where the Time Goes?: Recent Fiction (1970 onward)
10. Dives and Lazarus: Religion
11. Turn! Turn! Turn!: Retro Fiction (1920-1969)
12. Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen: Travel
13. Tam Lin: YA Fantasy
14. Barbara Allen: YA Non-Fantasy

Symbol Key
* = re-read
+ = owned and unread since before 2013 (Mt. TBR)
^ = foreign language book

1. Sally in our Alley: Classic Fiction (pre-1920)

Of all the girls that are so smart
There's none like pretty Sally;
She is the darling of my heart,
And she lives in our alley.
_________________________________________________________________

1. The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope* - 1894 (3)
2. So Bright and Delicate: Love Letters and Poems of John Keats to Fanny Brawne by John Keats+ - c.1818-1821 (3)
3. The Lost Estate (Le Grand Meaulnes) by Alain-Fournier - 1913 (2)
4. The Cardinal's Snuff-Box by Henry Harland* - 1900 (3)
5. Wanted—A Match-Maker by Paul Leicester Ford* - 1901 (3)
6. The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rügen by Elizabeth von Arnim - 1904 (3)
7. The Collected Poems of Rupert Brooke by Rupert Brooke - 1915 (3)
8. English Poetry, 1550-1660 by Fred Inglis (ed.) - 1550-1660 (3)
9. The Doctor's Sweetheart and Other Stories by L. M. Montgomery* - 1899-1934 (3)
10. A Room with a View by E. M. Forster* - 1908 (3)

2. Sumer is icumen in: Ecology/Environmental Science

Sumer is icumen in,
Lhude sing cuccu!
Groweþ sed and bloweþ med
And springþ þe wode nu,
Sing cuccu!

Summer has come in,
Loudly sing, Cuckoo!
The seed grows and the meadow blooms
And the wood springs anew,
Sing, Cuckoo!
________________________________________________________________

1. The Ocean of Life: The Fate of Man and the Sea by Callum Roberts (4)
2. All Natural*: A Skeptic's Quest for Health and Happiness in an Age of Ecological Anxiety by Nathanael Johnson (3)
3. Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants by Douglas W. Tallamy (3)
4. Tambora: The Eruption that Changed the World by Gillen D'Arcy Wood (4)
5. The Kingdom of Rarities by Eric Dinerstein (4)
6. Roadside Geology of Texas by Robert A. Sheldon+ (3)
7. Narwhals: Arctic Whales in a Melting World by Todd McLeish (3)
8. The Sea around Us by Rachel Carson (3)

3. The Lay of Nimrodel: Fantasy

Her hair was long, her limbs were white,
And fair she was and free;
And in the wind she went as light
As leaf of linden-tree.

Beside the falls of Nimrodel,
By water clear and cool,
Her voice as falling silver fell
Into the shining pool.

Where now she wanders none can tell,
In sunlight or in shade;
For lost of yore was Nimrodel
And in the mountains strayed.
_______________________________________________________________

1. The Death of King Arthur: A New Verse Translation by Simon Armitage (3)
2. A Midsummer Tempest by Poul Anderson+ (3)
3. Travel Light by Naomi Mitchison* (4)
4. The Paradise War by Stephen R. Lawhead (3)
5. Delia's Shadow by Jaime Lee Moyer (3)
6. The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley (4)
7. Anata ni Hana o Sasagemashou, vol. 1 by Tomu Ohmi (3)
8. Anata ni Hana o Sasagemashou, vol. 2 by Tomu Ohmi (4)
9. Anata ni Hana o Sasagemashou, vol. 3 by Tomu Ohmi (3)
10. Anata ni Hana o Sasagemashou, vol. 4 by Tomu Ohmi (3)

4. John Barleycorn Must Die: Food/Cooking

They've hired men with the crab-tree sticks
To cut him skin from bone
And the miller he has served him worse than that
For he's ground him between two stones

And little Sir John and the nut-brown bowl
And he's brandy in the glass
And little Sir John and the nut-brown bowl
Proved the strongest man at last
______________________________________________________________

1. Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking by Anya von Bremzen (3)
2. The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart (3)
3. Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley (4)

5. The Skye Boat Song: History - COMPLETED - 3/30

Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing,
Onward! the sailors cry;
Carry the lad that's born to be King
Over the sea to Skye.
_____________________________________________________________

1. Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-Earth by John Garth (5)
2. The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin (3)
3. A Subaltern's War by Charles Edmonds (Charles Edmond Carrington) (4)
4. The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code by Margalit Fox (4)
5. The Monks of Tibhirine: Faith, Love, and Terror in Algeria by John Kiser (2)
6. Erzähl es niemandem!: Die Liebesgeschichte meiner Eltern by Randi Crott & Lillian Crott Berthung^ (4)
7. Converting Bohemia: Force and Persuasion in the Catholic Reformation by Howard Louthan (3)
8. The Last Man in Russia: The Struggle to Save a Dying Nation by Oliver Bullough (5)
9. How the Reformation Happened by Hilaire Belloc+ (3)
10. The Extinction of the Ancient Hierarchy: An Account of the Death in Prison of the Eleven Bishops Honoured at Rome Amongst the Martyrs of the Elizabethan Persecution; Archbishop Heath of York, Bishops Tunstall, Bonner and Companions by G. E. Phillips (3)
11. The Long Shadow: The Great War and the Twentieth Century by David Reynolds (4)
12. Barbarians to Angels: The Dark Ages Reconsidered by Peter S. Wells (3)
13. Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-56 by Anne Applebaum (4)
14. Edmund Campion by Evelyn Waugh (3)
15. Let Our Fame Be Great: Journeys Among the Defiant People of the Caucasus by Oliver Bullough (4)
16. Passion and Resurrection: The Greek Catholic Church in Soviet Ukraine, 1939-1989 by Serge Keleher+ (4)
17. Danubia: A Personal History of Habsburg Europe by Simon Winder (4)
18. The Enemy at the Gate: Habsburgs, Ottomans, and the Battle for Europe by Andrew Wheatcroft (4)
19. Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World by Roger Crowley (5)
20. Warsaw 1920: Lenin's Failed Conquest of Europe by Adam Zamoyski (3)
21. The Oaken Heart by Margery Allingham (3)
22. Daphne Du Maurier and Her Sisters: The Hidden Lives of Piffy, Bird and Bing by Jane Dunn (3)
23. Historical Short Stories of Navarro County by Alva Taylor (ed.) (2)
24. Mexico: A Revolution in Art, 1910-1940 by Adrian Locke (3)

6. Roads to Moscow: Historical Fiction – COMPLETED 6/29

Two broken Tigers on fire in the night flicker their souls to the wind
We wait in the lines for the final approach to begin
It's been almost four years that I've carried a gun
At home it will almost be spring
The flames of the Tigers are lighting the road to Berlin

Ah, quickly we move through the ruins that bow to the ground
The old men and children they send out to face us, they can't slow us down
And all that I ever was able to see
The eyes of the city are opening now it's the end of the dream
_______________________________________________________

1. My Father's Glory by Marcel Pagnol (3)
2. My Mother's Castle by Marcel Pagnol (3)
3. Magnus by George Mackay Brown (3)
4. Cotillion by Georgette Heyer* (4)
5. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent (2)
6. Die letzte Begegnung+^ by Gertrud von le Fort (4)
7. Venetia by Georgette Heyer* (5)
8. Beside the Ocean of Time by George Mackay Brown (2)
9. The Wild Geese by Bridget Boland+ (3)
10. Atemschaukel by Herta Müller^ (3)
11. The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth (4)
12. Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier+ (3)
13. The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer* (4)

7. Lady Franklin's Lament: Mysteries - COMPLETED 5/6

In Baffin's Bay where the whale fish blow
The fate of Franklin no man may know
The fate of Franklin no tongue can tell
Lord Franklin alone with his sailors do dwell

And now my burden it gives me pain
For my long-lost Franklin I would cross the main
Ten thousand pounds I would freely give
To know on earth, that my Franklin do live.
_______________________________________________________

1. The Ludwig Conspiracy by Oliver Pötzsch (4)
2. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (3)
3. The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbøl & Agnete Friis (2)
4. The Toll-Gate by Georgette Heyer* (4)
5. A Not So Perfect Crime by Teresa Solana (3)
6. The Endless Knot by Wiliam L. Biersach (3)
7. Have His Carcase by Dorothy L. Sayers (4)
8. The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer* (4)
9. Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers (5)
10. Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers (4)
11. The Land of Dreams by Vidar Sundstøl (4)
12. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie (3)
13. Cover Her Face by P. D. James (3)
14. The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers (3)
15. Deadline by Sandra Brown (4)
16. Scandal in Skibbereen by Sheila Connolly (3)
17. Hello, Darkness by Sandra Brown (3)

8. Fear a' Bhàta: Other Non-Fiction – COMPLETED 6/29

Fear a' bhàta, na hóro eile
Fear a' bhàta, na hóro eile
Fear a' bhàta, na hóro eile
Mo shoraidh slàn leat 's gach àit' an déid thu

'S tric mi sealltainn on chnoc as àirde
Dh'fheuch am faic mi fear a' bhàta
An tig thu 'n-diugh na 'n tig thu màireach
'S mar tig thu idir gur truagh a tha mi

Oh my boatman, na hóro eile
Oh my boatman, na hóro eile
Oh my boatman, na hóro eile
My farewell to you wherever you go

I often look from the highest hill
that I might see, oh boatman
Will you come tonight, or will you come tomorrow
Oh sorry will I be if you do not come at all
______________________________________________________________

1. The Silence of St. Thomas: Three Essays by Josef Pieper (4)
2. Imperfect: An Improbable Life by Jim Abbott & Tim Brown (3)
3. Light on a Dark Horse: An Autobiography, 1901-1935 by Roy Campbell (3)
4. Kleine deutsche Versschule by Wolfgang Kayser^+ (3)
5. A Defense of Dignity: Creating Life, Destroying Life, and Protecting the Rights of Conscience by Christopher Kaczor (3)
6. The Hooligan's Return: A Memoir by Norman Manea (2)
7. The Wry Romance of the Literary Rectory by Deborah Alun-Jones (4)
8. The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within by Stephen Fry (3)
9. Raising Henry: A Memoir of Motherhood, Disability, and Discovery by Rachel Adams (3)
10. The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease by Daniel Lieberman (4)
11. Careless People: Murder, Mayhem and the Invention of The Great Gatsby by Sarah Churchwell (3)
12. Mittelalterliche Elfenbeinarbeiten: ausgewählte Werke aus den Beständen des Bayerischen Nationalmuseums by Renate Eikelmann (ed.)^+ (3)
13. There and Back Again: J.R.R. Tolkien and the Origins of The Hobbit by Mark Atherton (3)
14. The Art Detective: Fakes, Frauds, and Finds and the Search for Lost Treasures by Philip Mould (3)

9. Who Knows Where the Time Goes?: Recent Fiction (1970 to Present)

And I am not alone while my love is near me
I know it will be so until it's time to go
So come the storms of winter and then the birds in spring again
I do not fear the time

For who knows how my love grows?
And who knows where the time goes?
______________________________________________________________

1. The Birds of the Air by Alice Thomas Ellis - 1980 (2)
2. The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy* - 1984 (5)
3. Greenvoe by George Mackay Brown - 1972 (3)
4. If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino - 1979 (4)
5. The Etruscan Smile by Velda Johnston - 1977 (3)
6. The History of the Siege of Lisbon by José Saramago - 1989 (4)
7. Cosmas, or the Love of God by Pierre de Calan+ - 1977 (4)
8. We are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler - 2013 (3)
9. The Marrying of Chani Kaufman by Eve Harris - 2013 (4)
10. Ceremony of Innocence by Dorothy Cummings McLean - 2013 (4)
11. Kate's Progress by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles* - 2013 (4)

10. Dives and Lazarus: Religion – COMPLETED 5/14

As it fell out upon a day,
Rich Dives he made a feast,
And he invited all his friends
And gentry of the best.

Then Lazarus laid him down and down,
And down at Dives’ door;
‘Some meat, some drink, brother Dives,
Bestow upon the poor!’—

‘Thou art none of my brother, Lazarus,
That lies begging at my door;
No meat nor drink will I give thee,
Nor bestow upon the poor.’
_____________________________________________________________

1. Gods and Myths of Northern Europe by H. R. Ellis Davidson+ (4)
2. Advent and Christmas with the Church Fathers by Marco Pappalardo (2)
3. The Belief of Catholics by Ronald Knox+ (3)
4. The Most Holy Eucharist: Our Passover and Our Living Bread by Fr. Thomas J. McGovern (3)
5. How to Make a Good Confession: A Pocket Guide to Reconciliation with God by John A. Kane (4)
6. Cranmer's Godly Order by Michael Davies (4)
7. A Bitter Trial: Evelyn Waugh and John Cardinal Heenan on the Liturgical Changes by Evelyn Waugh (4)
8. Meditations for Lent by Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (3)
9. Excommunication and the Catholic Church by Edward Peters (3)
10. The Modern Rite: Collected Essays on the Reform of the Liturgy by Klaus Gamber+ (3)
11. Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures and Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs by Paul Koudounaris (5)
12. Sisters in Crisis Revisited: From Unraveling to Reform and Renewal by Ann Carey (3)
13. Der Sonntag: gestern, heute und immer by Romano Guardini+^ (3)
14. "Male and Female He Created Them": Essays On Marriage and the Family by Jorge Cardinal Medina Estévez (3)
15. I Believe: The Nicene Creed by Pauline Baynes (ill.) (4)

11. Turn! Turn! Turn!: Retro Fiction (1920-1969)

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it's not too late
_____________________________________________________________

1. A Pedlar's Pack and Other Stories by Elizabeth Goudge - 1937 (3)
2. Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart* - 1958 (4)
3. I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven - 1967 (3)
4. Dreamtigers by Jorge Luis Borges - 1960 (4)
5. Song at the Year's Turning: Poems 1942–1954 by R. S. Thomas - 1955 (3)
6. Wild Strawberries by Angela Thirkell - 1934 (3)
7. Dayspring by Harry Sylvester - 1945 (4)
8. The Rosemary Tree by Elizabeth Goudge - 1956 (3)
9. One Fine Day by Mollie Panter-Downes+ - 1946 (5)

12. Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen: Travel

Innsbruck, ich muß dich lassen,
ich fahr dahin mein Straßen,
in fremde Land dahin.
Mein Freud ist mir genommen,
die ich nit weiß bekommen,
wo ich Elend bin.

Innsbruck, I have to leave you,
to travel down my own paths
into strange lands.
My joy is taken from me,
which I cannot receive,
where I am unhappy.
_______________________________________________________________

1. Blue Highways: A Journey into America by William Least Heat-Moon+ (3)
2. The Lawless Roads by Graham Greene (4)
3. Reports from a Parisian Paradise: Essays from France, 1925–1939 by Joseph Roth (2)
4. Travels with Herodotus by Ryszard Kapuściński+ (3)
5. Die Besteigung von Mont Ventoux by Petrarch (3)+^

13. Tam Lin: YA Fantasy – COMPLETED 7/30

Well, up then spoke her father dear and he spoke meek and mild
"Oh, and alas, Janet," he said, "I think you go with child".

"Well, if that be so," Janet said, "myself shall bear the blame
There's not a knight in all your hall shall get the baby's name.

For if my love were an earthly knight as he is an elfin grey
I'd not change my own true love for any knight you have.”
_____________________________________________________________

1. The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O'Shea* (4)
2. The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge (3)
3. In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters (3)
4. Ultraviolet by R. J. Anderson* (5)
5. Hero by Alethea Kontis (1)
6. Frost Hollow Hall by Emma Carroll (3)
7. Allegiant by Veronica Roth (2)
8. A Curse as Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce (3)
9. Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier (3)
10. Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier (4)
11. Legend by Marie Lu (2)
12. The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt (5)

14. Barbara Allen: YA Non-Fantasy

She had not walked and reached the town
She heard the death bells ringing
And as they rolled they seemed to say,
"Hard-hearted Barbara Allen."

"Oh Mother, oh mother go make my bed
Make it both long and narrow
Sweet William died for me today
I'll die for him tomorrow."
___________________________________________________________

1. The Lark on the Wing by Elfrida Vipont (4)
2. She is not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick (3)
3. Who Comes with Cannons? by Patricia Beatty* (4)
4. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter (3)
5. Be Ever Hopeful, Hannalee by Patricia Beatty* (3)

Currently Reading:
The Little Oratory
Library Research Models

Total books read so far: 156

Top of the TBR Stack:
Bath Tangle*
Bird Sense
Counting Sheep
Dog on it (D)
Emerald Green (ILL)
French Milk
The Hanukkah Ghosts
Huntingtower+
The Last Empire
The Lost German East (ILL)
Mystery Mile (D)
The Outermost House (D)
The Rose Garden (D)
The Sea Detective
Spell of Desire, Vol. 1
A Time of Gifts+
Thereby Hangs a Tail (D)
These Old Shades*
Thrones, Dominations
Ein unmoralisches Sonderangebot^
White Elephants on Campus (ILL)

* = re-read
+ = owned and unread since before 2013 (Mt. TBR)
^ = foreign language book

Okay, I think we're good now. Everything's up that needs to go up.

February Round-Up!

Books Read: 21 (2 less than last year)

Category Challenge

46 of 168 read - 27.38% done

Individual Categories
1. Sally in our Alley: Classic Fiction (pre-1920) - 2 - 16.67% done
2. Sumer is icumen in: Ecology/Environmental Science - 2 - 16.67% done
3. The Lay of Nimrodel: Fantasy - 1 - 8.33% done
4. John Barleycorn: Food/Gardening - 0 - 0% done
5. The Skye Boat Song: History - 6 - 50% done
6. Roads to Moscow: Historical Fiction - 3 - 25% done
7. Lady Franklin's Dream: Mysteries - 6 - 50% done
8. Fear a Bhata: Other Non-Fiction - 6 - 50% done
9. Who Knows Where the Time Goes?: Recent Fiction (1970 onward) - 7 - 58.33% done
10. Dives and Lazarus: Religion - 5 - 41.67% done
11. Turn! Turn! Turn!: Retro Fiction (1920-1969) - 4 - 33.33% done
12. Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen: Travel - 1 - 8.33% done
13. Tam Lin: YA Fantasy - 2 - 16.67% done
14. Barbara Allen: YA Non-Fantasy - 1 - 8.33% done

Challenges
RandomCAT - 1
GeoCAT - 1
ROOT Challenge - 3
MysteryCAT - 3

Authors
Male 15 - 65%
Female 8 (two books had co-authors) - 35%
Both 0

Edition Language
German - 1 - 5%
English - 20 - 95%

Original Language
Catalan - 1 - 5%
Danish - 1 - 5%
German - 1 - 5%
Italian - 1 - 5%
Portuguese - 1 - 5%
Romanian - 1 - 5%
Spanish - 1 - 5%
French - 2 - 10%
English - 12 - 55%

Series
Series Books - 4 - 19%
Stand-Alone Books - 18 - 81%

Ratings Distribution
1 star - 0 - 0%
2 stars - 3 - 14%
3 stars - 11 - 52%
4 stars - 7 - 33%
5 stars - 0 - 0%

Average Rating
3.19

Best of the Month



Fiction: Cosmas, or the Love of God by Pierre de Calan

Non-Fiction Erzähl es niemandem!: Die Liebesgeschichte meiner Eltern by Randi Crott & Lillian Crott Berthung

Happy new thread! I love the Fairport Convention version of Tam Lin. And lovely thread topper!

>20 rabbitprincess:, Thanks! That's Upper Lake at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts on a gorgeous May day in 2010. It was so lovely that even my old camera couldn't mess the pictures up.

Congrats on the new thread! Over 27% completed heading into March is very impressive!

>22 lkernagh:, Thanks!

Happy new thread. 27% is very impressive indeed - congrats!

I didn't realize that you took lines from Rose Under Fire. The image didn't come up in your last thread. It made me smile to see that you had featured it in your categories.

>24 -Eva-: Thanks!

>25 mamzel: The Category pictures are books I'm planning to read this year. I haven't gotten to Rose Under Fire yet (It's on the list of books to order this semester at work), so, no, you haven't missed anything. If I took something from it, it's because I have undiscovered psychic talents. Clearly I need to look into this . . .

She wrote poetry which helped her survive her ordeals. I have no head for poetry and sort of thought the quote came from the book. You will enjoy it I'm sure!

>27 mamzel: I really liked Code Name Verity, so I'm looking forward to Rose Under Fire.

______________________-

And now, a sad story for those who thought winter was over:

It was over 80 degrees Fahrenheit Saturday (27 C), but by 8 am yesterday it had dropped to 31 (0 C). That afternoon we were hit by a surprise attack of thunder sleet, along with "sleet balls" that resembled marble-sized hail. This unfortunate weather (it's still below freezing as I write) has the happy result that school was cancelled today. So I've curled up on the couch and started The Lost Estate (Le Grand Meaulnes) by the French writer Alain-Fournier. It's much more fun than venturing outside into the ice.

I've heard of snow days, but "sleet balls"-day is a new one! Happy couch-day, I suppose. :)

Have His Carcase by Dorothy L. Sayers

Categories: Lady Franklin's Dream

Series: Lord Peter Wimsey (8/15)

Keywords: fiction, mystery, British, golden age, murder, seaside resorts, missing bodies, rich widows, questionable characters, gigolos

Have His Carcase is more of a Harriet Vane mystery than a Lord Peter one. She's off to the shore for a writer's vacation, when she takes a nap while tramping and wakes up to find a dead body. The tide is coming in, so she collects whatever evidence she can and then goes off to find a phone and call the police. By the time they get there the site is long underwater and will remain that way for sometime. So it's off to a resort to wait and drum up some extra publicity (although you'd think being framed for murder in Strong Poison would be enough). Her hotel is full of potential suspects, and Lord Peter drops by to help and try to get her to marry him. Will the body ever turn up again? And how could he have been murdered with Harriet sleeping only yards away?

More fun for Lord Peter, Bunter, and Harriet. There's a lot of waiting around in this one, but I guess that's what you're supposed to do at a seaside resort. Recommended for fans of the series.

>29 -Eva-: Thanks, it was fun in a very lazy way. The sleet balls were interesting, kind of a mix of winter (sleet) and spring (hail) weather. We're a week from our average last frost date, so hopefully the weather will remember that it's supposed to be spring soon. But it did snow a couple of weeks later than this in 2010.

The Lost Estate by Alain-Fournier

Categories: Sally in Our Alley

Keywords: fiction, French, translation, turn of the century, schoolboys, adventure, mystery, lost dreams, Peter Pan Syndrome, blind affection, ridiculous ending

The Lost Estate is apparently a cult novel in some circles. However it's one cult I'll have to skip. Perhaps I'm the wrong age, but I suspect it's much more due to my sex. My recommender compared it to My Father's Glory, but they are nothing alike except that they both deal with French boys running around the countryside.

Divided into three parts, the novel's hero is the young "Grand" Meaulnes, who arrives at the narrator's father's school to board and soon becomes his great friend. Everyone at school idolizes him. One day he gets lost in the country and ends up at a strange party at an unknown estate. He sees a beautiful girl and resolves to marry her. But after the party is over, he cannot find his way back. Part II is a random segment about a group of gypsies who camp out at the village and cause problems for Grand Meaulnes. Part III is supposed to resolve everything, but descends into absolute ridiculousness in the process.

The Lost Estate is supposedly about lost youth, but it's really more about youth who are lost. Meaulnes is like Peter Pan, he never grows up, and no one: not the narrator, not his lost love, ever calls him out on it. I read one review that compared it to The Great Gatsby, and I think that's a fairly accurate assessment. If only Meaulnes could have died at the end like you know who.

There are almost 2000 copies of this book on LT and it has 3.78 stars, so some people clearly love it. But I didn't. The first section is the only bit worth reading, if only the author had stopped there. He died in action on the Meuse in 1914, so this was his only novel. It would have been interesting to see what he might have become, because there is promise here, even if he never really delivers. Know yourself and read at your own risk.

Originally published as Le grand Meaulnes in 1913

>32 inge87: Thanks for the great review. It's supposed to be one of this french classics that you read (or not in my case) in junior high school. I didn't read it but my sister didn't like it either, so I think I'll pass.

>33 electrice: I'm not surprised that it's one of those books, and you should feel no guilt about skipping it.

Converting Bohemia: Force and Persuasion in the Catholic Reformation by Howard Louthan

Categories: The Skye Boat Song

Keywords: non-fiction, history, early modern history, Bohemia, Moravia, Austria, Thirty Years War, conversion, soft power, religion, Christianity, Catholicism, Protestantism, Reformation, Hussitism/Utraquism,

Converting Bohemia is an academic study of how the Kingdom of Bohemia (now the Czech Republic and parts of Slovakia and Poland) was brought back to the Catholic fold from around two centuries of dissent. In 1620, the Protestants lost control of Bohemia following their decisive defeat at the Battle of White Mountain. Yet within a century, Bohemia was once again a bulwark of Catholicism without any major bloodshed. How did this come about? Part of the ease seems to be the fact that the native form of Protestantism, Utraquism, was very conservative and much closer to Catholicism than to anything promulgated by Luther, Zwingli, or Calvin. But it takes a while for the author to get to that point, which seems to me to be the root of the matter. Such are the perils of thematic histories.

For anyone who's ever wondered about the definestrations of Prague, this book will tell you more than you ever want to know. It's interesting stuff, but could have definitely been organized better. Only those with an interest in Early Modern Central Europe will want to try this one.

The Lawless Roads by Graham Greene

Categories: Innsbruck ich muss dich lassen, GeoCAT

Keywords: non-fiction, travelogue, Mexico, Mexican Revolution, anticlericalism, political oppression, racism, corruption, terror, violence, remoteness, religion, Christianity, Catholicism, cultural superiority

The Lawless Roads is Graham Greene's account of his journey through Mexico in 1938. His experiences during this trip inspired his famous novel, The Power and the Glory.

Beginning in San Antonio and crossing the border into Mexico at Larado, Greene finds himself in a nation that has still not recovered from the ravages of civil war. Travelling south towards Mexico City via Monterrey, his real goal is in the south, where the churches are still closed and priests outlawed. He wants to be at San Cristóbal de las Casas in Chiapas for Holy Week to experience it in a place where the Catholic Church is banned. Since the south is still suffering unrest, the Mexican state allows few outside visitors, so Greene pretends he wants to visit the Mayan ruins at Palenque. Will he make it in time, or will he fall afoul of the authorities in anticlerical Tabasco first.

Throughout the course of the book, Greene struggles to balance his respect for some aspects of the native populations with his sense that they and their culture are inferior to that of White Europeans. Ultimately after suffering what today's traveller might call Montezuma's Revenge, he is more than ready to go home. Only to find that parts of Mexico may not have been that bad after all.

Recommended for anyone with an interest in 20th century Mexico or Graham Greene.

Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants by Douglas W. Tallamy

Categories: Sumer is icumen in

Keywords: non-fiction, gardening, ecology, native plants, entomology, food webs

Bringing Nature Home is an excellent introduction to why you should include native plants in your yard or garden--namely that your local wildlife has evolved alongside certain plants and to remove those plants is to remove their food sources. Think monarchs and milkweed. Even if you don't care about butterflies, you'll still want to care about insects, because they form the backbone of every ecosystem's foodweb. If you want birds, for example, you'll need insects so they can feed their young.

Those in the Mid-Atlantic region will get the most out of this one, since the author is based in Pennsylvania, and the plant lists in the back are based on the United States divided into vague general regions (Pacific Northwest, Southeast, etc.), which can lend to inaccurate recommendations. The paperback edition has been updated and expanded, so these issues have been addressed there.

I thought of your challenge today while reading An April Shroud -- one of the characters starts whistling the Skye Boat Song. :)

>38 rabbitprincess: As someone who currently has "Call Me Maybe" stuck in her head, "The Skye Boat Song" would be a definite improvement.

Cotillion by Georgette Heyer

Categories: Roads to Moscow

Keywords: fiction, historical, Regency, orphans, nephews, intrigue, false engagements, questionable cousins, unfortunate friendships

Cotillion is another fun Regency adventure from the woman who brought you Frederica among other such delights. Plot-wise, this one is rather a cross between that book and Arabella. Old Mr. Penicuik has a decided that he is dying and has summoned all his great-nephews to his estate. It turns out that he wants one of them to propose to his ward, Katherine. If she accepts one he will name her his heiress, but if she doesn't marry one of them she'll be left penniless. Unfortunately, the nephew he had in mind has declined to come. This leaves Kitty in a state of panic until she runs into Freddy. The dim-witted dandy had decided to eat before coming to his uncle's and was running late. She convinces him to fake an engagement, so that she can go to London. But in a world where everyone seems to have ulterior motives, just what could Kitty be up to?

Naturally once in London, she creates a series of problems for Freddy to deal with, but it turns out there's some serious brainpower behind the empty facade. Those who like Heyer will certainly enjoy this one, and it's a fairly accessible book for those just getting started with her works.

In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

Categories: Tam Lin, RandomCAT

Keywords: fiction, YA, fantasy, paranormal, historical, World War I, San Diego, Flu Pandemic, spirit photography, ghosts, near-death experiences, fraud, family

In the Shadow of Blackbirds is an interesting YA historical paranormal mystery set in San Diego during the Influenza pandemic. Mary Shelley Black has been sent to her aunt in San Diego, because her father has been arrested for helping men avoid the draft in Portland. Eva spends most of her day working at the shipyard, which leaves Mary Shelley to her own devices.

Stephen, the love of her life is dead in France, but after she gets struck by lightning and dies for a second, she can feel spirits, more specifically Stephen's spirit. His brother Julius is a spirit photographer, and proving that the business is a fraud becomes the focus of Mary Shelley's life. Just what is he up to, and what does it have to do with what Stephen is trying to tell her? In a world where thousands are dying every day, what does it matter if she takes some big risks.

A fun read, but constrained a bit by being YA. Mary Shelley was also a bit too modern for my tastes, more steampunk than true historical. But it's a unique book and definitely worth checking out if you think it sounds interesting.

>40 inge87: Cotillion is one of my favorite Heyers! I absolutely love Freddy...not your stereotypical romantic hero, but so sweet!

I am in need of a Heyer fix. Don't know if my local library has a copy of Cotillion but I am pretty sure that one should be an easy purchase from my favorite used bookstore.

A fun read, but constrained a bit by being YA. Good to know. In the Shadow of Blackbirds remains on my future reading list because I do enjoy steampunk and I am not overly concerned if the historical facts have been fictionalized.

You're doing really well in the challenge! That last one sounds kind of interesting

>42 christina_reads: Freddy is fully of unexpected depth, isn't he?

>43 lkernagh: Cotillion is totally worth searching out. It also sounds like you'll enjoy In the Shadow of Blackbirds.

>44 tymfos: Thanks!

The Last Man in Russia: The Struggle to Save a Dying Nation by Oliver Bullough

Categories: The Skye Boat Song

Keywords: non-fiction, history, Russia, Soviet Union, alcoholism, travel, persecution, struggle, endurance, Russian Orthodox Church, KGB, Siberia, Gulag, German Occupation, demographic collapse, politics, Putin, betrayal, hope

The Last Man in Russia is a riveting history of Russia, played out in the present. The unfortunate situation in the Crimea has brought new focus on Russia, whose actions and motivations seem at times to be completely divorced from reality. But there is a reason for everything, and much of Russia's reasoning remains rooted in its recent Soviet past.

The book focuses on the story of Fr. Dmitry Dudko, who rose from an obscure village at the end of the Second World War to become one of the Soviet Union's most famous dissenters of the 1960s and 70s. Bullough, a journalist by profession, attempts to piece together Dudko's life by visiting the places he lived and talking to those who knew him. In the process he also shares his experiences of modern Russia, of a people drink themselves to death and who die in far greater numbers than they are born. While Moscow grows, village after village shrinks out of existence. What could cause such a state? And how does it relate to Fr. Dudko's legacy? At a time when it seems like Russia is slipping back to the Soviet mindset, these are important questions and Bullough's answers are both sobering and hopeful at the same time.

A must read for anyone with an interest in Russia today. The only thing it really needs is a map. Highly, highly recommended.

>46 inge87: This seems like a good one, it's part travel writing, interview and biography ?

>47 electrice: Quite. Interview-based and part history, part current events, part biography, and part travel. The variety helps strengthen and hone the author's message.

>48 inge87: Thanks, this is really my kind of book then :)

A Midsummer Tempest by Poul Anderson

Categories: The Lay of Nimrodel, ROOT Challenge

Keywords: fiction, fantasy, historical, adventure, English Civil War, Rupert of the Rhine, Shakespeare, fairies, Oberon, Titania, Puritans, witches, magic

A Midsummer Tempest is a fantasy adventure set in a universe where Shakespeare is the "Great Historian" and everything he wrote is true. Prince Rupert of the Rhine is facing captivity and almost certain death from execution during the English Civil War, when he escapes his jailer by hopping on a steam train and finds himself on the adventure of a lifetime courtesy of Oberon and Titania.

The book's pace is slowed down by the use of historical speaking in the dialogue (thous, thees, thines, etc.), but it's a fun romp, and I'm very glad I picked it up. Recommended for anyone with a fondness for Shakespeare or historical fantasy set in the 1600s.

The Cardinal's Snuff-Box by Henry Harland*

Categories: Sally in Our Alley

Keywords: fiction, American, Catholic, Italy, romance, conversion, aesthetes, widows, sneaky uncles, secret loves, writers

The Cardinal's Snuff-Box is the first of Henry Harland's Catholic novels. If you ask me it's semi-autobiographical, but what do I know? The hero is an author who writes obscure books that no one reads. He is in love with a woman he's seen but never actually talked to and has immortalized her in one of his books. Now he's vacationing in Italy, and who should his landlady be but his anonymous ideal! But he's a rather annoying aesthete of the late 19th century variety, and it will take quite a bit of gentle persuasion by her Cardinal uncle-in-law (she's a widow) to get him to see the light and join the Catholic Church. Now if only those same avuncular skills could get those two together . . .

Much like Harland's My Friend Prospero, which I read last year, this is a book full of fluff. Don't read if you are in a serious mood, or looking for something deep and weighty, because this is not one of those books. However those looking for something quick and fun may want to seek it out (originally written in 1900, it's available for free on Project Gutenberg here)

Travel Light by Naomi Mitchison*

Categories: The Lay of Nimrodel

Keywords: fiction, fantasy, British, Norse mythology, Byzantium, Valkyries, Odin, travel, dragons, magic, vmc, virago

"Travel Light, my child, as the Wanderer travels light, and his love will be with you."**

Hella has never had an easy life, first her stepmother tries to have her exposed and she ends up raised by bears, who have her fostered by dragons when she fails to hibernate. Life as a dragon is a load of fun except for the heroes who keep wanting to kill dragons and steal their treasure, but it is also a paranoid, fretful existence. Weighed down by their horde, it's difficult to know who to trust. But Hella trusts the All-Father, so when he tells her to lay down her prizes and travel light she does, all the way to Constantinople, where after several adventures she meets the Emperor himself. But where does she belong? She's neither bear nor dragon and she still doesn't understand humans. But those who travel light are never alone, and the All-Father is far from done will Hella.

A fantastic fantasy with a strong feminist bent, Travel Light is a lot of fun, while also giving the reader a lot to chew on. Highly recommended for anyone who appreciates a good story with well-drawn characters.

**p.57 my edition

How the Reformation Happened by Hilaire Belloc+

Categories: The Skye Boat Song, ROOT Challenge

Keywords: non-fiction, history, religion, Christianity, Catholicism, Protestantism, Luther, Calvin, Protestant Reformation

How the Reformation Happened is Hilaire Belloc's version of the events and motivations that resulted in the Reformation. And it is hardly an unbiased account. Much like his friend Chesterton, Belloc tends towards the Catholic polemic, so if you are looking for a Protestant-positive history, you should look elsewhere. To Belloc all Protestants were either crazed fanatics or avaricious nobles. Interestingly, some of his thoughts on the Reformation dovetail nicely with the revisionist historiography (Eamon Duffy et al.) that has come to the fore since the 1990s.

Overall, Belloc is preaching to the choir, since few non-Catholics are going to be reading this, but I thought his perspective on Elizabeth I was novel and interesting. It doesn't mean I'm going to think positively about her any time soon, but I do suppose I pity her a bit now. And I think Belloc would be just fine with that.

Ultraviolet by R. J. Anderson*

Categories: Tam Lin

Series: Ultraviolet (1/2)

Keywords: fiction, Canadian, YA, synesthesia, dissappearances, lost memories, family, trust, madness, mental hospital

Ultraviolet is a breathtaking YA science fantasy about Allison for whom words not only have sounds but colors and tastes as well. This makes her different from everyone else in her Canadian town, so she keeps it to herself. But then one day she wakes up in the hospital with no memory of how she got there. The police say she killed a schoolmate, and her mother has her committed to Pine Hills for treatment. There she keeps secrets from her doctor and tries to avoid making friends with the other patients, but the arrival of a researcher from South Africa gives her a new perspective about herself and her abilities. But what about Tori, the girl Allison supposedly killed? What happened to her? Read on and find out.

I love this book, but the twist at the end is not for everyone. A remarkable story of coming of age in a world that you don't understand and which doesn't understand you.

Ultraviolet sounds really interesting and I have added it to my list. Thanks for bringing this book to my attention.

>55 DeltaQueen50: You're very welcome!

I've added The Last Man in Russia and Ultraviolet to my wish list. Thanks for the reviews. I'm getting hit with a lot of BB's today.

>57 VioletBramble: You're very welcome!

As of yesterday, it's officially Spring! Just in time for the Crow Poison to bloom. They're one of my favorite wildflowers because they'll colonize lawns and cover them in beautiful white flowers. Happy Spring everyone!

That's a terrible name for such a pretty flower - great pics!

>60 -Eva-: Thanks! It's also known as false wild garlic, which is a mouth-full. Suffice to say you won't feel very good if you try to eat it. The other picture is of buds on my Mexican Plum.

Oh, that's what those were - they looked like non-fuzzy pussy-willow catkins to me, but I don't think there is pussy-willow in the US so I figured they were something else. I just Googled Mexican Plum - that 's so pretty!

There are pussy willows in the U.S. I think it was the first plant I was able to identify!

The name Crow Poison, aka false wild garlic, did give me a giggle when I read it and it made me wonder if the name is an apt one.... that crows who eat it are poisoned by it.

I love pussy willows!

>63 mamzel:
Those are the ones - so cute, aren't they!! I thought they were just European.

Unfortunately, there are no pussy willows in Texas, but we have other lovely plants to make up for it. :)

>64 lkernagh: Why anything would want to eat these I have no idea, but I've always thought "Crow Poison" would make a good band name because of the double meaning.

Cranmer's Godly Order by Michael Davies

Categories: Dives and Lazarus

Series: Liturgical Revolution (1/3)

Keywords: non-fiction, religion, Christianity, Catholicism, Anglicanism, Protestant Reformation, liturgy, mass, reform, social changes

Cranmer's Godly Order is not so much a history, but a detailed almost step-by-step explanation of how a few men in power managed to make England Protestant. In the process you pick up a good bit of Catholic and Protestant theologies as well as the kind of local history that does not usually make it into books. But as the name of the series hints, the focus is on liturgy and how changes to the mass preceded changes to the culture.

A remarkable book. Probably mostly for Catholics, but anyone with an interest in the English Reformation will find things to interest them here.

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

Categories: Who Knows Where the Time Goes?

Keywords: fiction, American, contemporary, family, secrets, dysfunctional families, ALF, psychologists, in medias res, unreliable narrator

When Rosemary was five something terrible happened that destroyed her family as she knew it. Her father is an alcoholic psychologist, her fragile mother seems constantly on the brink of a mental breakdown, and no one has seen her brother or twin sister for years. But now, years later, the events she has tried so hard to forget have come back to haunt her. It may just be time for a family reunion.

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves is an original, well-written book about family secrets and belonging. Recommended for anyone who likes a good story with idiosyncratic, unreliable narrators. A quick search of the internet will give you the book's major twist, but I was spoilered for it months ago, and knowing what was coming didn't make a big difference to me.

I wanted to separate this from the main review, but for those who haven't been spoiled for the plot twist in We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves already and want to know what it is, Rosemary's twin sister Fern is a chimpanzee.

The book isn't one I have on any of my lists, so I clicked that spoiler - and, boy, did I not see that coming. Interesting - I may now have to look out for a copy.

>70 -Eva-: I'd held off for while, but then I found it at the public library, so it was "free". The plot devise worked a lot better than I thought it would.

The Extinction of the Ancient Hierarchy: An Account of the Death in Prison of the Eleven Bishops Honoured at Rome amongst the Martyrs of the Elizabethan Persecution; Archbishop Heath of York, Bishops Tunstall, Bonner and Companions by G. E. Phillips

Categories: The Skye Boat Song

Keywords: non-fiction, history, English, Elizabeth I, religion, Christianity, Catholicism, Anglicanism, Reformation, persecution, imprisonment, martyrdom

The Extinction of the Ancient Hierarcy is an account of eleven Catholic bishops who were deprived of their dioceses by Elizabeth I and thrown into prison where they died. There were actually twelve bishops who suffered this fate, but the focus is on the eleven featured in a contemporary mural, as the twelfth died almost 10 years after the last of his peers.

It was written to promote their cause as martyrs, and thus openly partisan, but the reader gets a good feel for what it was like to be a Catholic and try to hold onto the Faith. Recommended for those with an interest in the English Reformation and Recusancy.

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

Categories: Roads to Moscow

Keywords: fiction, Australian, historical, Iceland, execution, love, hate, murder, forgiveness

Based on the true story of the last person executed in Iceland, Burial Rites is the story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, who is accused along with two other people of killing her employer and a guest at his house and then setting the house on fire. While waiting for her execution, she is placed in the household of crofters who gradually bond with their captive. She is also put under the spiritual guidance of young minister, who is not entirely sure what he is doing but is determines to do his best by her. This is one of those books where you know the end when you pick it up and the joy is in the journey.

This book reminded me a lot of Alias Grace in its construction and isolated setting. If you enjoyed that one, you'll definitely like this book. As for me, it just didn't click. I don't know why, it just wasn't the book for me right now. But don't let that stop you from picking it up if you think it sounds interesting.

Interesting comparison to Alias Grace! I liked that one so hope Burial Rites will be good as well. I've placed a hold on the ebook of Burial Rites at the library and will get it...someday? It's very in-demand.

>74 rabbitprincess: One of the benefits of living in a small town is that even the most popular books have fairly short waiting lists because the reader pool is that much smaller. Hopefully your number will come up soon!

The Long Shadow: The Great War and the Twentieth Century by David Reynolds

Categories: The Skye Boat Song

Keywords: non-fiction, World War I, 20th Century, society, war, change, remembrance, forgetting

The Long Shadow is a thought-provoking book about how the First World War affected the rest of the 20th century. The first half of the book is devoted to how the war changed various aspects of society in the decade immediately after the war. The second half focuses on the rest of the century and covers how the memory of the war was first eclipsed by the clear morals of World War II only to be rediscovered by the next generation of the 1960s and 70s.

I learned a lot from this book about how the war affected different nations differently. The cult of the war poet, for example, is a distinctly British phenomenon. Many nations base their national story around events that occurred during World War I, and the growth of this consciousness forms a key part of the book. Highly recommended for anyone who likes good non-fiction, with an interest in World War I, or with 20th century history.

Mine was the UK edition. It will be published in May 2014 in the US as The Long Shadow: The Legacies of the Great War in the Twentieth Century.

Barbarians to Angels: The Dark Ages Reconsidered by Peter S. Wells

Categories: The Skye Boat Song

Keywords: non-fiction, history, Europe, dark ages, middle ages, society, culture, change, historiography, unreliable sources, trade, archaeology

Barbarians to Angels is a short highly readable revisionist history of Europe during the period between the fall of Rome and the rise of the Middle Ages. The historical narrative has been that the end of the Western Roman Empire was a disaster and caused chaos across Europe, but Wells' book shows that the opposite is in fact true. There were no massive depopulations and people mostly carried on doing what they were doing. They just didn't do it the same way the Romans had.

Highly recommended for those with an interest in early European history. The author gives a lot to chew on but does so in a very non-threatening way.

Die letzte Begegnung by Gertrud von le Fort

Categories: The Roads to Moscow, ROOT Challenge

Keywords: fiction, historical, France, Louis XIV, sin, hatred, rivalry, forgiveness, black masses, court intrigue

Die letzte Begegnung (English: The Last Meeting) is a wondrously worded novella about the supposed last meeting between the Marquise de Motespan and her formal rival for the attentions of Louis XIV, Louise de La Vallière who is now a Carmelite nun. The sparse elevated prose heightens the suspense at this meeting between two old foes who have forgotten nothing with the passing of time, even if it did cause me to resort to the dictionary a bit.

An excellent meditation on sin and grace, recommended for anyone who can read the German. Gertrud von le Fort is probably best known in English for The Song at the Scaffold about Carmelite nuns executed during the French Revolution.

March Round-Up!

I finished my first category in March, The Skye Boat Song/History. One down and eleven more to go!

Books Read: 20 (1 less than last year)

Category Challenge

66 of 168 read - 39.29% done

Individual Categories
1. Sally in our Alley: Classic Fiction (pre-1920) - 4 - 33.33% done
2. Sumer is icumen in: Ecology/Environmental Science - 3 - 25% done
3. The Lay of Nimrodel: Fantasy - 3 - 25% done
4. John Barleycorn: Food/Gardening - 0 - 0% done
5. The Skye Boat Song: History - 12 - 100% done
6. Roads to Moscow: Historical Fiction - 6 - 50% done
7. Lady Franklin's Dream: Mysteries - 7 - 58.33% done
8. Fear a Bhata: Other Non-Fiction - 6 - 50% done
9. Who Knows Where the Time Goes?: Recent Fiction (1970 onward) - 8 - 66.67% done
10. Dives and Lazarus: Religion - 6 - 50% done
11. Turn! Turn! Turn!: Retro Fiction (1920-1969) - 4 - 33.33% done
12. Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen: Travel - 2 - 16.67% done
13. Tam Lin: YA Fantasy - 4 - 33.33% done
14. Barbara Allen: YA Non-Fantasy - 1 - 8.33% done

Challenges
RandomCAT - 1
GeoCAT - 1
ROOT Challenge - 3
MysteryCAT - 0

Authors
Male 12 - 60%
Female 8 - 40%
Both 0

Edition Language
German - 1 - 5%
English - 19 - 95%

Original Language
French - 1 - 5%
German - 1 - 5%
English - 12 - 90%

Series
Series Books - 2 - 10%
Stand-Alone Books - 18 - 90%

Ratings Distribution
1 star - 0 - 0%
2 stars - 2 - 10%
3 stars - 12 - 60%
4 stars - 6 - 30%
5 stars - 2 - 10%

Average Rating
3.7

Best of the Month



Fiction: Die letzte Begegnung by Gertrud von le Fort

Non-Fiction The Last Man in Russia: The Struggle to Save a Dying Nation by Oliver Bullough

Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing by Anya von Bremzen

Categories: John Barleycorn Must Die, GeoCAT

Keywords: non-fiction, memoir, family history, Soviet Union, emigration, food, famine, cooking

Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking is a memoir and history of the author's family in the Soviet Union told through the medium of food. Divided into decades, the book document's her family's methods of survival from the pre-Revolution days of the 1910s through to the present. Especially dominant is the story of the author's mother with whom she emigrated to the United States in the mid-1970s as Jewish refugees. But the story of her grandparents also play a large role. It is not so much a book about cooking, although the author and her mother do a lot of it in the course of the book, but about food in a land where there was usually not a lot of it. Attached to the end of the book is a recipe for each chapter, instead of the usual food memoir method of attaching recipes after each individual chapter.

Anya von Bremzen and her family have definitely living an eventful life that is highly reflective of the world that was evolving around them. Recommended for anyone with an interest in life in the Soviet Union, Russia, or food memoirs.

Congratulations on having completed a category!

>81 lkernagh: Thanks!

Yay completed category! Will have to hunt up that Great War book.

The book on the dark ages sounds interesting.

Both the Long Shadow and the Barbarians are very tempting. Double hit!

I loved Alias Grace, so I may give Burial Rites a try.

>83 rabbitprincess: The Long Shadow is worth hunting up / keeping an eye out for. A quick internet search shows it's due out in Canada the same time as in the US.

>84 hailelib: It is. That it's short and highly readable to boot is a bonus.

>85 MissWatson: I'm sorry . . . :)

>86 mathgirl40: Alias Grace and Burial Rites have a very similar feel. If you bump into a copy, you may want to pick it up.

The Paradise War by Stephen R. Lawhead

Categories: The Lay of Nimrodel

Series: Song of Albion (1/3)

Keywords: fiction, fantasy, Celtic, travel between world, war, evil, destruction, American in Oxford, heroism, bards

The Paradise War is the first in a Celtic fantasy trilogy featuring an American graduate student at Oxford who is drawn into a world beyond his own where he finds his life changed forever. One morning Lewis' roommate Simon reads about an aurochs supposedly discovered in a Scottish field and immediately drags his friend on an epic roadtrip across the Isle of Britain to visit the site. Lewis suspects he's up to something but doesn't quite know what. He's still not quite sure at the end of the book even after he's followed after Simon through a cairn and into another world. There Lewis becomes a warrior for the side of good, but finds his tensions with Simon only grow larger in time.

A fun Celtic fantasy, supposedly it's Christian, but it feels much more generic good vs. evil at this point in the trilogy. Recommended for fans of the genre.

Venetia by Georgette Heyer*

Categories: Roads to Moscow

Keywords: fiction, historical, Regency, romance, family, rakes, secrets, disability, neighbors

Venetia is an orphan who runs her family's estate, while her brother shirks his duties and idles on the Continent having fun in the army, and is also responsible for her extremely studious younger brother who was born with a hip defect and walks with a limp. She has two devoted suitors, on extremely righteous and worthy, the other young with a severe case of puppy love. Then one day the absent lord of the estate next door comes home and everything changes. Lord Damerel is a rake and not fit to be acquaintances—much less friends—with a lady of quality like Venetia, but of course that is exactly what happens. And then the fun really starts.

Quite possibly my favorite Heyer novel, it's the perfect blend of bitter and sweet to warm you up on a cold day.

Delia's Shadow by Jaime Lee Moyer

Categories: The Lay of Nimrodel

Series: Delia's Shadow (1/?)

Keywords: fiction, fantasy, historical, paranormal, mystery, murder, serial killer, ghosts, San Fransisco

Delia's Shadow finds our titular heroine returning home to San Fransisco from New York after a long absence. Delia can see ghosts and found life in the post-earthquake city to be impossible. But now one determined ghost has made it clear that it is time to return. Delia doesn't know why--she doesn't even know who the ghost is, but it turns out that a killer has returned to the City by the Bay after 30-years away, and only Delia can help the police find the killer.

A fun historical paranormal police thriller. I figured out the ghost's identity well before Delia and her friends did, but that didn't harm my enjoyment in any way. I'd ordered this book for the library at work as a stepping stone from YA to "adult" fiction, and I do think it would appeal to teen audiences, especially those who enjoy books like Anna Dressed in Blood. The sequel is coming out later this year, and I look forward to see what the fates have in store for Delia and her companions.

Beside the Ocean of Time by George Mackay Brown

Categories: Roads to Moscow

Keywords: fiction, historical, Orkney, Scotland, time travel, dreams, village life, growing up, Booker shortlist

Beside the Ocean of Time is a fairly well-crafted book that suffers from having virtually the same ending as Brown's earlier novel Greenvoe.

Thorfinn Ragnarsson is a lazy idle boy who spends most of his time dreaming about participating in historic events of his people's past. He travels with Vikings to Constantinople and with knights to the Battle of Bannockburn. It is only during his time as a German prisoner of war that Thorfinn is able to turn his dreams into something bigger after a camp officer encourages him to write them down. Meanwhile not all is well on his Orkney Island home, but is the end truly the end, or is it just a new beginning?

I appreciated what the author was trying to accomplish, but surely he could have come up with a different ending.

Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-56 by Anne Applebaum

Categories: The Sky Boat Song, GeoCAT

Keywords: non-fiction, history, 20th century, World War II, Eastern Europe, Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, East Germany, totalitarianism, occupation, survival, resistance, collaboration, ethnic cleansing

Iron Curtain is a comprehensive account of how the Soviet Union managed to occupy both the territory and psyche of Eastern Europe in only a little over a decade. Fear played a large role, but it was not the only method used to bring formerly independent lands under the Soviet umbrella. Applebaum brings a nuanced understanding of the people involved and I especially appreciated her delicate and sensitive handling of the ethnic cleansing aspects of the period, a wound that is still very raw in many places.

I have background in the subject, but the writing style is accessible enough that you don't need to have anything besides an interest in the topic to succeed with it. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in 20th century history, Eastern Europe, or totalitarianism.

The Wry Romance of the Literary Rectory by Deborah Alun-Jones

Categories: Fear a' Bhàta

Keywords: non-fiction, biography, writers, poets, ministers, rectories, England, Wales

The Wry Romance of the Literary Rectory is a series of delightful biographical vignettes of various literary families and how living in a rectory inspired their lives and their work. This ranges from actual ecclesiastical families such as the Tennysons or the Bensons, as well as families that moved into former rectories such as the Betejemans or Rupert Brooke. The mystique of the rectory as a place of inspiration forms an important part of British literary culture, and it is interesting to see how the rectory's role evolved over the decades, while still retaining its old pull on the senses. Highly recommended.

For those with an interest in such things, here is a similar book on German literary rectories, Das deutsche Pfarrhaus: Hort des Geistes und der Macht by Christine Eichel. I've been wanting to read it since it came out in 2012, but haven't managed to get my hands on a copy yet.

The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer*

Categories: Lady Franklin's Lament

Keywords: fiction, mystery, historical, Regency, inheritance, family

The Quiet Gentleman the story of the eventful homecoming of the new Earl of St. Erth after a military career fighting Napoleon. His stepmother and half-brother wish he had died in the wars and are hardly thrilled to see him come home, but things seem to be going smoothly enough—until someone starts trying to kill him. It will take all of Gervase's wits to keep himself alive long enough to find his adversary. Maybe he should have stayed in France.

A fun historical mystery. Recommended for Heyer fans and those who enjoy Regency-set mysteries.

Edmund Campion by Evelyn Waugh

Categories: The Skye Boat Song

Keywords: non-fiction, history, biography, religion, Christianity, Catholicism, Reformation, Anglicanism, England, martyrdom, secret priest, Elizabeth I, persecution

Edmund Campion is a short biography of the Elizabethan martyr priest who gave up the opportunity for high office in the Anglican church to follow his conscious by one of the great British writers of the 20th century, Evelyn Waugh. It's quite readable, but definitely biased (as was Waugh) towards the Catholic side of things. For those with an interest in Elizabethan religion and/or Waugh.

A Bitter Trial: Evelyn Waugh and John Cardinal Heenan on the Liturgical Changes by Evelyn Waugh

Categories: Dives and Lazarus

Keywords: non-fiction, history, religion, Christianity, Catholicism, Vatican II, liturgy, liturgical reform, change, letters

A Bitter Trial is a short volume of letters from Evelyn Waugh and John Cardinal Heenan concerning the changes to the liturgy during and following the Second Vatican Council. To say it was chaotic would be an understatement. Waugh was not appreciative of the changes, and you can watch the bitterness creep in over time.

Not just for those who prefer the pre-Vatican II mass, but for anyone interested in how people experience liturgy. Highly recommended.

Wanted—A Match-Maker by Paul Leicester Ford*

Categories: Sally in Our Alley

Keywords: fiction, romance, class differences, New York City, street children, socialites, carriage accidents

Wanted—A Match-Maker is a rather fluffy turn of the century romance that disguises an interesting social commentary within its heart. Constance is waiting for the right man, but her stepmother is getting impatient. After all, there are her two half-sisters to consider. But Constance wants something more than a vacuous society existence. Then her coachman accidentally hits a newsboy, and in an instant her life is changed forever.

It is what it is, and I do think I like like Wanted—A Chaperon better, but for those looking for something fluffy and free, it wouldn't hurt to pick up this one.

Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers

Categories: Lady Franklin's Dream

Series: Lord Peter Wimsey (12/15)

Keywords: fiction, mystery, British, golden age, poison pen, sabotage, Oxford, reunion, academics

Gaudy Night finds Harriet Vane returning to her alma mater for a Gaudy (reunion). Someone starts leaving her nasty notes, and then later sabotages the new library. The college asks her to look into things discretely, so that it can be solved without any public attention. However, all this seems to do is draw the poltergeist's attention to her. Lord Peter is in Italy, so it looks like Harriet will be all alone this time. At lest that will giver her some space to sort out her feelings for him once and for all.

My favorite Lord Peter mystery so far. The discussion of women's roles over the course of the book is still relevant today. Highly recommended for Lord Peter fans and those who like Golden Age mysteries.

The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within by Stephen Fry

Categories: Fear a' Bhàta

Keywords: non-fiction, writing, poetry, guide

The Ode Less Travelled is a no-fear guide to writing verse by the well-known British comedian, Stephen Fry. Starting a syllables and working on from there, Fry covers almost everything you've ever wanted to know about the poetic craft. Even those with background will enjoy leaning along, and probably also pick up a few new tricks. If you've always wanted to try writing poetry but have been afraid to try, this is definitely a book to pick up.

It's hard to beat Gaudy Night.

Fry is a remarkable person!

I've heard such great things about Gaudy Night - just purchased it recently so am now looking forward to reading it soon.

>100 hailelib: Very true on both points!

>101 LittleTaiko: Like I said, it's one of Sayers' better Lord Peter novels. Hopefully you'll enjoy it.

Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers

Categories: Lady Franklin's Dream

Series: Lord Peter Wimsey (13/15)

Keywords: fiction, mystery, British, golden age, murder, cacti, honeymoon, country house, village life

Busman's Honeymoon finds Peter and Harriet finally tying the knot after several years of striving on his part. Harriet has convinced Peter to buy a house near the village where she grew up and they head there for their honeymoon. Only to find the former owner missing and no one expecting their arrival at all. Where could he be? Once he turns up dead, it seems that the honeymoon will be over for our favorite couple before it even began.

More fun from Dorothy L. Sayers. This was the last Lord Peter novel she completed in her lifetime, which is a shame, because the series was really beginning to pick up steam again. Highly recommended for Lord Peter fans and those who enjoy classic mysteries.

Vocabulary Note: A busman's vacation is where you do the same thing on vacation that you do in everyday life: like a bus driver taking a bus trip, me spending my vacation in a library, or in this case Peter and Harriet solving a murder on their honeymoon.

The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rügen by Elizabeth von Arnim

Categories: Sally in Our Alley

Series: Elizabeth's German Garden (3/3)

Keywords: fiction, travel, Germany, Rügen, turn of the century, family, women's roles, people you meet along the way

The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rügen finds Elizabeth leaving her husband and children for a seaside vacation on the Baltic island of Rügen. She initially plans to travel around the entire island and describe what there is too see there, but is quickly distracted from her goal by her meeting her cousin Charlotte, who wants Elizabeth to travel with her on her own schedule. Charlotte married poorly and has become a bitter promoter of women's liberation, she spends most of her time avoiding her famous professor husband and those who want to meet her because of him. On Rügen this takes the form of the son and wife of an Anglican bishop on vacation from Britain. Much hilarity ensues.

This one is much, much better than The Solitary Summer and returns to the brilliance of the original Elizabeth and her German Garden. You don't have to have read either of the previous books to enjoy this one, but it wouldn't hurt either.

Reports from a Parisian Paradise: Essays from France, 1925–1939 by Joseph Roth

Categories: Innsbruck ich muss dich lassen

Keywords: non-fiction, France, travel, journalism, Provence, Paris, anti-Nazi

Reports from a Parisian Paradise is a collection of articles and essays written by the Austrian writer Joseph Roth in and about France. It could have been better edited, especially since the essays in the second section are mostly enlargements of articles contained in the first one. But if you have an interest in France between the wars, there may be something for you here.

The Land of Dreams by Vidar Sundstøl

Categories: Lady Franklin's Dream, MysteryCAT

Series: Minnesota Trilogy (1/3)

Keywords: fiction, Norwegian, mystery, thriller, scandicrime, Minnesota, Lake Superior, murder, police, family, love

The Land of Dreams is the first in a trilogy of Norwegian mystery/thrillers set along the shore of Lake Superior in northern Minnesota. Lance Hansen is a officer in the Forestry Police who uncovers a grisly murder on morning while on a routine patrol. The man and his travelling companion had been on the final days of a canoe trip, but having kept to themselves, who would want to kill him? Hansen is also the local historian and he soon finds a connection between this death and one around a century earlier, which only deepens his feelings of unease about the whole matter.

I enjoyed this one immensely. Unlike a lot of scandicrime, it's low on the gore and high on the psychological suspense. Book 2 is being released in the US this fall and the third book will come out in 2015. I'm very happy the University of Minnesota Press decided to pick this one up and bring it across the Atlantic and can't wait to find out what happens to Lance next.

Originally published as Drømmenes land in 2008.

Happy Easter everyone!


Anonymous artist, Kloster Fahr, Würenlos, Aargau, Switzerland

Happy Easter!

>108 christina_reads: Thanks!

Let Our Fame Be Great: Journeys Among the Defiant People of the Caucasus by Oliver Bullough

Categories: The Skye Boat Song, GeoCAT

Keywords: non-fiction, history, Russia, Caucasus, travel, journalism, Circassians, Mountain Turks, Chechens, Ingush, massacre, deportation, exile, propaganda, Sochi, Chechnya, chauvinistic nationalism

Reports from a Parisian Paradise is a travel history of Russian involvement in the Caucasus, from its beginnings in the 19th century through Chechnya and today (2010). Suffice to say, bloody and unfortunate would be an understatement. From the forced exile of the Circassians to the massacre and deportations of the Mountain Turks, Ingush, and Chechens under Stalin, to the recent Chechen Wars in the post-Soviet era, it is all described in remarkable detail. And, like Bullough's more recent book, The Last Man in Russia, it is highly readable; and still relevant even though it was published in early 2010.

Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in Chechnya, Russian History, the Sochi Olympics, Stalin-era totalitarianism, or current events. It would be interesting to see a second edition covering the Boston Marathon Bombing, since Chechen exiles and the societies they form there form a large part of the end of the book.

The Collected Poems of Rupert Brooke by Rupert Brooke

Categories: Sally in our Alley, RandomCAT

Keywords: poetry, British, WWI poet

The Collected Poems of Rupert Brooke is exactly what the title says it is: the collected poems of Rupert Brooke. He is best known for two radically different poems: "Grantchester" ("Stands the Church clock at ten to three? / and is there honey still for tea?") and the sonnet sequence "1914" ("If I should die, think only this of me: / That there's some corner of a foreign field / That is for ever England."). Brooke himself died from an infected mosquito bite on his way to fight at Gallipoli in April 1915 and is buried on the Aegean island of Skyros. There's a lot of potential here, but some of the poems are rather awful, but it's touching in its own way that his friends thought so highly of his talents that they had this volume published before the year of his death was over. And one can only wonder what he might have accomplished if he had just had a little more time to hone his craft.

________________________________________________________________

From "1914"

III. The Dead

Blow out, you bugles, over the rich Dead!
There's none of these so lonely and poor of old,
But, dying, has made us rarer gifts than gold.
These laid the world away; poured our the red
Sweet wine of youth; gave up the years to be
Of work and joy, and that unhoped serene,
That me call age; and those who would have been,
Their sons, they gave, their immortality.

Blow, bugles, blow! They brought us, for our dearth,
Holiness, lacked so long, and Love, sand Pain.
Honour has come back, as a kind to earth,
And paid his subjects with a royal wage;
And Nobleness walks in our ways again;
And we have come into our heritage.

IV. The Dead

These hearts were woven of human joys and cares,
Washed marvelously with sorrow, swift to mirth.
The years had given them kindness. Dawn was theirs,
And sunset, and the colours of the earth.
These had seen movement, and heard music; known
Slumber and waking; love; gone proudly friended;
Felt the quick stir of wonder; sat alone;
Touched flowers and furs and cheeks. All this is ended.

There are waters blown by changing winds to laughter
And lit by the rich skies, all day. And later,
Frost, with a gesture, stays the waves that dance
And wandering loveliness. He leaves a white
Unbroken glory, a gathered radiance,
A width, a shining peace, under the night.

V. The Soldier

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds' dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts a peace, under and English heaven.

The Wild Geese by Bridget Boland+

Categories: Roads to Moscow, ROOT Challenge

Keywords: fiction, Irish, penal era, Catholicism, greed, exile, star-crossed lovers

The Wild Geese is a novel of the mid-eighteenth century Ireland in letters, describing the struggles and adventures of the Catholic Kinross family and their Protestant Ahearne cousins. In Ireland, Catholics were not allowed to own land or do pretty much anything, which means that they are dependent on the good will of their Protestant friends and family to get by. Which is all well and good until someone gets greedy. Which is exactly what happens here. The author does a good job of expressing the kind of pressure that the British laws extracted on the Catholic population, even if the plot itself is a bit of a soap opera.

Recommended for those with an interest in Irish historical fiction, Irish history, or epistolary novels.

Meditations for Lent by Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet

Categories: Dives and Lazarus

Keywords: non-fiction, religion, Christianity, Catholicism, Lent, Easter, daily readings, meditations

Meditations for Lent is a collection of meditations written by the 17th century French bishop, and collected together for Lent. They are assigned one to a day, based on the weeks of Lent (1st Monday, 4th Sunday, etc.), as well as two separate readings for the two major feasts that fall during Lent, those of St. Joseph and the Annunciation, tacked on at the end of the book. I found the individual meditations thoughtful, and pertinent. Plus, the book was much better planned out than my Advent reading was.

Atemschaukel by Herta Müller^

Categories: Roads to Moscow, RandomCAT

Keywords: fiction, German, historical, Romania, Ukraine, Soviet Union, post-World War II, reparations, slave labor, isolation, alienation, hunger, imprisonment

Atemschaukel is a fictionalized retelling of the forced enslavement of Romanian Germans by the Soviet Union as forced laborers in Eastern Ukraine. This was meant as reparation for the damage Germans had caused during World War II. The narrator is a Banat Swabian from southwestern Romania who is deported to what is now Horlivka, Ukraine (It's now an area of deep pro-Russia unrest so how long it will remain in Ukraine is open for question). What follows is a couple hundred pages of suffering and deprivation before the author is allowed to return home, where his experiences set him apart from everyone else.

An interesting book, but after a while I just grew numb to it. Which may have been the author's intent, but it did make for very slow going.

Passion and Resurrection: The Greek Catholic Church in Soviet Ukraine, 1939-1989 by Serge Keleher+

Categories: The Skye Boat Song, RandomCAT, ROOT Challenge

Keywords: non-fiction, history, Ukraine, Soviet Union, religion, Christianity, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, suppression, exile, underground church, persecution, faith

Passion and Resurrection is the rather exciting story of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (eastern liturgically but acknowledging the Pope). Based in the former Austrian west, its home territories suddenly found themselves part of Soviet Ukraine after World War II (in between they were mostly contained in Poland and Czechoslovakia). The Soviet authorities decided , but the Western Ukrainians refused to give up and even extended their church's reach to new areas as they were exiled to Siberia and Central Asia. Ultimately in the 1980s under renewed pressure from the Ukrainian population and from Pope John Paul II, the Soviet Union had no choice but to acknowledge the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church's existence.

An interesting book written during interesting times about an interesting topic.

Hero by Alethea Kontis

Categories: Tam Lin

Series: The Woodcutters (2/?)

Keywords: fiction, YA, fantasy, fairy tales

Hero is the second book of a series that should have been left at one. Enchanted was a charming fairy tale mash-up, but Hero has a ridiculous plot, one-dimensional characters, and a large dose of insta-love. Skip it, it's not worth the time.

Excommunication and the Catholic Church by Edward Peters

Categories: Dives and Lazarus

Keywords: non-fiction, religion, Christianity, Catholicism, excommunication, Q&A format

Passion and Resurrection is a short book in question and answer format to explain the Catholic laws on excommunication. Made up of 60 questions and written by a well-regarded canon lawyer, the reader soon discovers that the reality of excommunication is far different from the idea of it that people have in their minds.

An accessible introduction to the subject for anyone who has ever wondered what the rules are or how it happens.

The Modern Rite: Collected Essays on the Reform of the Liturgy by Klaus Gamber+

Categories: Dives and Lazarus

Keywords: non-fiction, religion, Christianity, Catholicism, liturgy, reform, tradition, Vatican II, essays

The Modern Rite is a collection of articles previously published in various German liturgical and theological journals edited into book form in the early 1970s. At the time of its writing, the state of the liturgy was still very much in flux, and Gamber suggests that it is all a bit too much, too fast. The fact that these changes are still being changed some forty years later lends credence to the idea that he was right, and keeps this book relevant to the point that it was only published into English in the first years of the 21st century.

Probably of interest to Catholics only, but if you are interested in topics like communion in the hand, liturgical direction, and the true meaning of active participation, you'll find quite a bit to chew on here.

The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart

Categories: John Barleycorn Must Die

Keywords: non-fiction, science, botany, plants, drinks, alcohol, recipes,

The Drunken Botanist is everything you ever needed to know about the plants that mankind has used to create alcohol from commonplace grains to exotic fruits and plants that may or may not be poisonous. It's the kind of book where you pick it up and read bits for fun rather than one you sit down and read all the way through. Peppered with interesting trivia and the odd cocktail recipe, it's the perfect gift for the drinking reader.

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English Poetry, 1550-1660 by Fred Inglis (ed.)

Categories: Sally in Our Alley, RandomCAT

Keywords: poetry, anthology, Elizabethan, Jacobean, metaphysical

English Poetry is a collection of English poetry covering the period of 1550 through 1660 that has been modernized into standard English except when necessary for the meter. All of the big names like Shakespeare, Donne, and Herbert are here, but there are also many other works by more obscure authors. It is what it is and that's that.

April Round-Up!

The Mystery category is now finished, so it's off to other interesting genres for a while.

Books Read: 29 (1 more than last year)

Category Challenge

92 of 168 read - 54.76% done (true total 196 books)

Individual Categories
1. Sally in our Alley: Classic Fiction (pre-1920) - 8 - 66.67% done
2. Sumer is icumen in: Ecology/Environmental Science - 3 - 25% done
3. The Lay of Nimrodel: Fantasy - 5 - 41.67% done
4. John Barleycorn: Food/Gardening - 2 - 16.67% done
5. The Skye Boat Song: History - 16 - 100% done
6. Roads to Moscow: Historical Fiction - 10 - 83.33% done
7. Lady Franklin's Dream: Mysteries - 12 - 100% done
8. Fear a Bhata: Other Non-Fiction - 9 - 75% done
9. Who Knows Where the Time Goes?: Recent Fiction (1970 onward) - 8 - 66.67% done
10. Dives and Lazarus: Religion - 10 - 83.33% done
11. Turn! Turn! Turn!: Retro Fiction (1920-1969) - 4 - 33.33% done
12. Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen: Travel - 3 - 25% done
13. Tam Lin: YA Fantasy - 5 - 41.67% done
14. Barbara Allen: YA Non-Fantasy - 1 - 8.33% done

Challenges
RandomCAT - 3
GeoCAT - 5
ROOT Challenge - 3
MysteryCAT - 1

Authors
Male 14 - 54%
Female 12 - 46%
Both 0

Edition Language
German - 1 - 5%
English - 28 - 95%

Original Language
Norwegian - 1 - 3.45%
German - 3 - 10.34%
English - 26- 86.21%

Series
Series Books - 7 - 24.14%
Stand-Alone Books - 22 - 75.86%

Ratings Distribution
1 star - 0 - 0%
2 stars - 3 - 10.34%
3 stars - 16 - 55.17%
4 stars - 7 - 24.14%
5 stars - 3 - 10.34%

Average Rating
3.3

Best of the Month



Fiction: Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers

Non-Fiction Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-56 by Anne Applebaum

Hurray for a completed category! :)

>122 rabbitprincess:, Thanks!

The Marrying of Chani Kaufman by Eve Harris

Categories: Who Knows Where the Time Goes?, RandomCAT

Keywords: fiction, British, Jewish, London, Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, marriage, courtship, family, secrets, weddings, women, Booker Longlist

Despite the rather Regency romance-sounding title, The Marrying of Chani Kaufman is a thoughtful look at life among London's Ultra-Orthodox Jews. The bulk of the novel is set in 2008, as Chani Kaufman, the fifth of eight daughters of a rabbi and his wife, prepares to get married and start a family. Chani is unlike many of her peers in that she yearns to understand the modern world around her while holding on to her beliefs. She's too pert to be popular on the marriage mart, but just when it seems that she may not take, Baruch spots her and is instantly smitten. What follows is a battle of wills between Baruch, Chani, and Baruch's snobbish mother who has her own plans for her son.

Parallel to Chani and Baruch's story is that of Rivka, the Rebbetzin (wife of the rabbi) of Baruch's family's congregation. Neither she nor her husband were born to observant families but became so in young adulthood (her mostly under his influence). Now some twenty years later, she's beginning to wonder if it was all worth it as her marriage appears to be breaking apart.

The choices the two heroines make are interesting in their contrasts, especially since they both seem to long for the same kind of freedom from the restraints of their society. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys well-written fiction with good plotting, or is interested in Ultra-Orthodox Jewish life or novels with strong female characters. Quite possibly the best novel I've read this year so far.

>124 inge87:
Good review.

>125 hailelib: Thanks. It helps to have an inspiring source.

Frost Hollow Hall by Emma Carroll

Categories: Tam Lin

Keywords: fiction, intermediate, YA, historical, paranormal, Victorian England, grief, ghosts, absent father, growing up, going into service, near death experience, dreams

Frost Hollow Hall is a charming borderline intermediate/YA novel about a girl who goes into service at a nearby estate after her father skips town and her elder sister follows after with their mother's savings. If Tilly can't bring in money, their landlord will evict them. On top of this Will, the butcher's son, dares her into skating on a forbidden pond where a boy drown ten years earlier. Tilly almost joined his fate, but somehow she survives. But how? And what is going on at the Frost Hollow Hall where the dishes move on their own and someone is following the maids up the stairwell at night. Tilly is soon at the center of something that she would probably rather be far away from. But life does not always give you a choice, and Tilly is soon neck deep in ghosts, dreams, and truths.

An enjoyable historical paranormal that manages to be both fantastical and highly realistic about the world in which Tilly lives. It appears to only available in the UK and Canada right now, but I bought my copy from BookDepository for less than ten dollars. If you bump into a copy, it's worth picking up.

>127 inge87: Sounds like a good read, and I love the cover! I'll have to look for it when it appears in the US (although if they change the cover art, I'll hunt for the UK edition!).

>128 christina_reads: It's a lovely cover. The Amazon image doesn't do it justice.

And speaking of UK-only books being published in the US with new covers, Bitter Greens is coming to America towards the end of September. Some may remember my glowing review here.

>129 inge87: - I love that cover!

>130 lkernagh: I'm rather fond of the original cover, but this one is very nice too.

Tambora: The Eruption that Changed the World by Gillen D'Arcy Wood

Categories: Sumer is icumen in

Keywords: non-fiction, science, history, volcanology, Tambora eruption, climate change, The Year without a Summer, monsoons, famine, cholera

Tambora takes what is commonly known about the effects of the 1815 Tambora eruption, such as the Year without a Summer or its influence on the writing of Frankenstein, and expands it to a global scale. The large equatorial eruption dumped huge amounts of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere causing a year-long winter in Europe and Eastern North America as well as monsoon failure in Asia. The resulting famines displaced thousands and killed millions. But until now the focus has been on the European and American experiences. I had no idea that it was during this period that cholera evolved to become capable of pandemics or that the drought in China led to the introduction of opium poppy cultivation in Yunnan and later in Southeast Asia. It can also be shown to have led to Britain's many failed Polar expeditions of the mid-nineteenth century.

A masterful blending of history and science with direct repercussions for today (think climate change). I found it readable, and would recommend it for anyone with an interest in volcanoes, climate, or world history.

Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures and Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs by Paul Koudounaris

Categories: Dives and Lazarus

Keywords: non-fiction, religion, history, Christianity, Catholicism, relics, skeletons, catacomb saints, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Counter Reformation

Heavenly Bodies describes the history of the Katakombenheilige ("catacomb saints") of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. A phenomenon driven from the desperation and degeneration of the Reformation and the wars that followed in its wake, skeletons were brought from the Roman catacombs across the Alps where they were bedecked with costly garments and much gold and jewels before being put on display. Reaching their peak of popularity in the 17th and 18th centuries, they eventually became a bit of an embarrassment for the parishioners and governments who found themselves their guardians, but there are still some on display to this day (I've seen St. Mundiata in Munich, for example).

This is one of those books you pick up for the images even if you don't have much interest in the text, because they are amazing. But still you shouldn't skip the text, because it is both highly readable and informative. Highly recommended.

The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease by Daniel Lieberman

Categories: Fear a' Bhàta

Keywords: non-fiction, science, health, evolution, lifestyle, disease

If you've ever wondered why you got impacted wisdom teeth and can't seem to lose weight or keep your back from aching, The Story of the Human Body may be the book for you. Starting with our cousins the Chimpanzees and Gorillas and working its way down the family tree from our earliest ancestors through the agricultural and industrial revolutions to today, Lieberman shows that many of the health issues that plague us today are the result of evolutionary adaptations that are no longer needed in today's decidedly non-hunter/gatherer society. It makes for fascinating reading, and I especially appreciated the rather subversive support for those of us who find shoes somewhat superfluous. Recommended for anyone with an interest in health, human evolution, or interesting non-fiction.

Ceremony of Innocence by Dorothy Cummings McLean

Categories: Who Knows Where the Time Goes?

Keywords: fiction, Canadian, personal values, terrorism, Catholicism, Islam, global activism, The Quiet American

Graham Greene's The Quiet American retold in modern-day Germany, Ceremony of Innocence is a bit more blatantly Catholic than it's predecessor, but that doesn't stop it from making interesting reading. Catriona (Fowler) is a divorced Scottish Canadian journalist for a Catholic news agency who has spent the past two years living with her much younger boyfriend Dennis (Phuong) in Frankfurt, Germany. He wants to get married, but she's still scarred from her rash first marriage and puts him off with the promise that when her annulment comes through she'll marry him. Their lives are forever changed by the appearance of Canadian language student and peace activist Suzy (Pyle), who falls in love with Dennis and wants to save him and his soul via Islam. But Suzy has interesting friends and even more interesting beliefs, and ultimately Catriona has to choose between her friend and everything she values most.

The gender-flipping of the original story is what made it interesting for me, the random bombings and violence were a plus. If you've ever enjoyed The Quiet American you should at least seek this one out at the library, but it still makes for good reading even if you've never read Greene's novel.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

Categories: Lady Franklin's Dream, MysteryCAT

Series: Hercule Poirot Mysteries (1/39)

Keywords: fiction, British, mystery, locked room, country estate, Poirot

The Mysterious Affair at Styles is the first Hercule Poirot mystery. Arthur Hastings has been sent home from the front to recuperate and gets invited to a friend's country estate named Styles. Only it's not actually his estate yet as long as his stepmother is still alive. But then she is conveniently found dead locked in her room. Did her stepsons poison her? Or was it her much younger 2nd husband? Luckily for everyone involved (except the murder) Hasting's old friend Hercule Poirot is staying with some Belgian exiles in the local village and begins to apply his skills to the case.

A fun locked room murder. For fans of Poirot and golden age mysteries.

Song at the Year's Turning: Poems 1942–1954 by R. S. Thomas

Categories: Turn! Turn! Turn!

Keywords: poetry, Welsh, modernism, hill farms, local color

Song at the Year's Turning is a collection of previously published and new poems by the Welsh poet R. S. Thomas covering the years 1942-1954. Celebrating the hard life of the Welsh hill farmer, the rhythm is good, and Thomas deserves much more notice than he's received.

Sisters in Crisis Revisited: From Unraveling to Reform and Renewal by Ann Carey

Categories: Dives and Lazarus

Keywords: non-fiction, religion, Christianity, Catholicism, religious sisters, reform, renewal, Vatican II, controversy, division, destruction, future

Sisters in Crisis Revisited is a history of American Catholic religious sisters in the modern era, stretching from the first tentative reforms in the 1940s and 50s through the tumult of the 60s and 70s to the renewed controversy of today. While it is clear that reform and modernization of female religious orders was necessary, the author documents how a small circle of radicals took advantage of the situation and lead the reform in directions never envisioned by anyone. The fruits of this work can be seen in the split between the Leadership Council of Women Religious (LCWR) and the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious (CMSWR). The majority of sisters probably fall somewhere in the middle of the road, although this can be hard to identify due to the politicization of the issue.

Religious sisters have been in the news lately because of the Vatican investigation into questionable actions by the leadership of the LCWR, and if you're at all curious on the issue, this is the book to look for. Highly recommended for those with an interests in female religious and their path since Vatican II.

Careless People: Murder, Mayhem and the Invention of The Great Gatsby by Sarah Churchwell

Categories: Fear a' Bhàta

Keywords: non-fiction, history, biography, literary criticism, true crime, The Great Gatsby, Hall–Mills murder, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zelda Fitzgerald, 1922

Careless People is a compelling take on Fitzgerald, Gatsby, and the roaring twenties. Working off an outline of Fitzgerald's inspirations for the various chapters of his novel The Great Gatsby, the author parallels the plot of the book with Fitzgerald's life and a famous unsolved crime, the Hall-Mills murder in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It may sound like trying to do a bit too much at once, but it succeeds very well.

If you have any interest in Scott or Zelda Fitzgerald, the high life of the 1920s, The Great Gatsby, or unsolved crimes, you'll want to pick this one up.

For fun, here's the cover of the original UK edition, based on one of Fitzgerald's personal bookplates. Party till you drop indeed.

The Kingdom of Rarities by Eric Dinerstein

Categories: Sumer is icumen in

Keywords: non-fiction, science, conservation, endangered species, rarity

The Kingdom of Rarities is a series of interconnected case studies that discusses the nature of rarity. Some plants and animals have always been rare, others were once common and now more difficult to find, and still others were once rare but are now quite common. Just what leads to such situations, and what can be done to preserve and rebuild populations? The book shows a series of different options ranging from Nepal to Wisconsin to Brazil to Bhutan. For those interested in wildlife conservation and restoration, or those who enjoy well written popular science books.

>139 inge87: - I love the cover of the original UK edition!

>141 lkernagh: Me too. Actually I like both: they are radically different and each wonderful in their own interpretation of the 1920s vibe.

Travels with Herodotus by Ryszard Kapuściński+

Categories: Innsbruck ich muss dich lassen, ROOT Challenge

Keywords: non-fiction, Polish, travel, journalism, Herodotus, India, China, Africa

Travels with Herodotus is famed Polish foreign correspondent Kapuściński's tale of his early travels around India, China, and Africa, and the copy of the Histories of Herodotus that accompanied him. Beginning as a young graduate in Communist Warsaw who tells his supervisor that one day he'd like to go to Czechoslovakia and ends up in India, the story continues through his time in Africa when he finally figures out how to be a journalist. Paralleling this storyline is that of Herodotus and his travels and investigations of the various peoples of the Mediterranean. This device works remarkably well, but then again Herodotus is an excellent tale in itself.

For those who like interesting travel memoirs, are interested in journalism or the stories of Herodotus. Highly recommended.

Roadside Geology of Texas by Robert A. Sheldon+

Categories: Sumer is icumen in, ROOT Challenge

Keywords: non-fiction, geology, travel, Texas, illustrated

Roadside Geology of Texas is a guide to the geology of Texas that you can see from the road. Most of the focus is on Central and West Texas, because the geology is much more obvious and interesting there. I-45, for instance, which runs from Dallas to Houston, is skipped since the landscape is mostly flat and there's really nothing to see. But if you're interested in what you see out your car window on I-10 or I-35, there's lots for you to think about.

Danubia: A Personal History of Habsburg Europe by Simon Winder

Categories: The Skye Boat Song

Keywords: non-fiction, history, travel, Habsburgs, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Transylvania, Poland, war, architecture, irreverent

Danubia is the kind of book I might one day write if I were to win the lottery and suddenly achieve the ability to wander around Central and Eastern Europe at leisure. It's irreverent and rather cheeky, as the British would say, but it also does an excellent job of making several hundred years of Habsburg history expressible to anyone who has ever wondered about the real Franz Ferdinand or all his ancestors with massively deformed jaws. If the book has one weakness, it's the authors rather stereotypical British prejudices towards the Catholic Church and Jesuits that pops up a bit every now and then, but his understanding of the region and its melancholy history comes through clearly, plus he likes Adalbert Stifter, so that more than makes up for the rest.

Highly, highly recommended for anyone with an interest in Continental European history, Habsburgs, or well-written non-fiction.

Wild Strawberries by Angela Thirkell

Categories: Turn! Turn! Turn!

Series: Barsetshire Books (2/29)

Keywords: fiction, YA, fantasy, fairy tales

Wild Strawberries is the second of Thirkell's "Barsetshire" novels. Semi-niece Mary arrives in Barsetshire to visit her aunt-in-law and her family, while Mary's mother is in Switzerland. The fact that she's family but not family is no impediment to her being accepted though, and she soon finds herself busy enough. But not too busy to keep from falling in love of course.

Rather like High Rising, we have the usual love entanglement that gets resolved in the end. Most people seem to like this one better than the first, but I found it rather inferior to Laura and her literary hijinks. Still very much worth reading if you've enjoyed Thirkell's other books, or think that you would if you ever got your hand on one.

She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick

Categories: Barbara Allen

Keywords: fiction, YA, thriller, mundane YA, blindness, coincidence, New York City

She Is Not Invisible finds Laureth taking her younger brother to New York City to visit their father. Except he doesn't know they're coming. Because no one is quite sure where he is and now someone has found his notebook in Queens. Her mother is fed up and doesn't want to talk about it, so Laureth takes it upon herself to find her father and figure out what is going on. But she needs her brother to do it because she has been blind since birth. Naturally, what they find on the ground in New York City is much more than Laureth ever could have imagined.

A fun thriller of innocents abroad. Laureth's blindness is excellently portrayed and added an extra layer of suspense to the plot. The narrative is divided between Laureth's point-of-view and excerpts from her father's notebook. Recommended for fans of well-written YA that doesn't need a love triangle.

Love the cover for Danubia.... that would catch my eye enough to want to pick up the book and consider reading it! Also making mental note to look into the Baretshire books.

>148 lkernagh: The Barsetshire books are a lot of fun, they remind me a bit of an earlier, fluffier Barbara Pym.

Der Sonntag: gestern, heute und immer by Romano Guardini

Categories: Barbara Allen

Keywords: non-fiction, religion, Christianity, Catholicism, Sunday, Sabbath, creation, religion in the world

Der Sonntag is a collection of essays, one long, two short, and one quite brief, that share the theme of Sunday. What is the point of Sundays, how should one live and balance the needs of the modern world with that required by the Faith. There is a lot of talk about the creation in Genesis and how this relates to the world today (c.1960). For Guardini completists only.

May Round-Up!

Religion is now done, which means it's three categories down and eleven more to go.

Books Read: 17 (10 less than last year)

Category Challenge

101 of 168 read - 54.76% done (true total 112 books)

3 of 14 categories completed - 21.43% done

Individual Categories
1. Sally in our Alley: Classic Fiction (pre-1920) - 8 - 66.67% done
2. Sumer is icumen in: Ecology/Environmental Science - 6 - 50% done
3. The Lay of Nimrodel: Fantasy - 5 - 41.67% done
4. John Barleycorn: Food/Gardening - 2 - 16.67% done
5. The Skye Boat Song: History - 17 - 100% done
6. Roads to Moscow: Historical Fiction - 10 - 83.33% done
7. Lady Franklin's Dream: Mysteries - 13 - 100% done
8. Fear a Bhata: Other Non-Fiction - 11 - 91.67% done
9. Who Knows Where the Time Goes?: Recent Fiction (1970 onward) - 10 - 83.33% done
10. Dives and Lazarus: Religion - 13 - 100% done
11. Turn! Turn! Turn!: Retro Fiction (1920-1969) - 6 - 50% done
12. Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen: Travel - 4 - 33.33% done
13. Tam Lin: YA Fantasy - 6 - 50% done
14. Barbara Allen: YA Non-Fantasy - 2 - 16.67% done

Challenges
ROOT Challenge - 3
MysteryCAT - 1
RandomCAT - 1
GeoCAT - 0

Authors
Male 11 - 64.7%
Female 6 - 35.3%
Both 0 - 0%

Edition Language
German - 1 - 5.9%
English - 16 - 94.1%

Original Language
German - 1 - 5.9%
Polish - 1 - 5.9%
English - 15 - 88.2%

Series
Series Books - 2 - 11.8%
Stand-Alone Books - 15 - 88.2%

Ratings Distribution
1 star - 0 - 0%
2 stars - 0 - 0%
3 stars - 10 - 58.81%
4 stars - 6 - 35.29%
5 stars - 1 - 5.9%

Average Rating
3.47

Best of the Month



Fiction: The Marrying of Chani Kaufman by Eve Harris

Non-Fiction Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures and Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs by Paul Koudounaris

>143 inge87: Great review, you made me remember another one of his book that I wanted to read about Africa : The Shadow of the Sun. He seems like a pretty observant guy so I'm looking forward his writings.

>152 electrice: Thanks. I've got a Kapuściński mini-TBR list as well. But I figured I should start with the one I actually own. He does have a way with words.

Cover Her Face by P. D. James

Categories: Lady Franklin's Dream, MysteryCAT

Series: Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries (1/14)

Keywords: fiction, British, mystery, country house, secrets, lies, family

Cover Her Face is the first of P. D. James's Adam Dalgliesh mysteries. I've read that the later ones are better, but this one was not bad, just average. The single mother-turned housemaid at a country estate winds up dead after the heir proposes to her. No one in the family is happy about the idea of her joining their number, so they are all suspects. It's up to Dalgliesh and the police to sort everything out.

A not too difficult country house murder, of the traditional sort. It will be interesting to see what else Dalgliesh gets up to.

The Enemy at the Gate: Habsburgs, Ottomans, and the Battle for Europe by Andrew Wheatcroft

Categories: The Skye Boat Song

Keywords: non-fiction, history, Austria, Hungary, Ottoman Empire, war, siege, Vienna, Habsburgs

The Enemy at the Gate is a compelling account of the Siege of Vienna and its aftermath. The Ottoman defeat in 1683 marked the end of any serious threat to Western Europe, but it was not at all apparent that they would be defeated. Until, of course, they were. The author does a good job of setting the stage for the battle and provides a good general history of Eastern Europe and the almost constant war that took place there during the late medieval and early modern periods. I, for one, would not have enjoyed being Hungarian during that era. The end of the book feels a bit rushed, like the author was approaching a page limit, but still had a lot to cover and decided to squeeze it all in. But 7/8 of the book is good, informative reading, which is more than enough for 4 stars.

Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys European history, or wonders why some Europeans have hang-ups about Turkish immigration.

Who Comes with Cannons? by Patricia Beatty*

Categories: Barbara Allen

Keywords: fiction, American, juvenile, intermediate reader, historical, American Civil War, slavery, abolitionists, underground railroad, Quakers

Who Comes with Cannons? is the final historical children's novel by Patricia Beatty. Published posthumously in 1992, it is the story of Tabitha Ruth, or Truth, an Indiana Quaker sent to cousins in North Carolina after her father must go away to a hospital in California for his health. Truth is not sure that she likes it in North Carolina, and some of her cousins are not sure they like her either. It is not easy being a Quaker in North Carolina, since everyone suspects you of hiding their runaway slaves, but Truth and her new family get by as best they can while following their beliefs. When the Civil War breaks out in 1861, however, everything changes once again, and it will take all that Truth has to make it through.

A good novel for intermediate readers interested in the Civil War from a different angle.

The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley

Categories: The Lay of Nimrodel, GeoCAT

Keywords: fiction, Canadian, paranormal, romance, Scotland, archaeology, the Ninth Legion, ghosts, family, secrets

The Shadowy Horses is an archaeological paranormal romance set on the coast of Scotland, where Verity turns up after an ex gives her a job recommendation at the new dig he is working on. As is often the case in such novels, there is far more going on than simple archaeology. A local boy has claimed to see the ghost of a Roman legionary wandering the fields, and some believe that the fate of the missing Roman Ninth Legion may be found there. But you have to have actual evidence to prove your theory, hence the dig. Verity soon finds herself drawn to the local community and to local boy turned archaeologist David, but someone doesn't want the dig to succeed, and they'll do anything possible to get their way.

A fun thriller, rather Mary Stewart-esque, with much more emphasis on history and romance than the thrill, but for those who enjoy such novels, this is a really good one.

The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth

Categories: Roads to Moscow

Keywords: fiction, Australian, historical, Germany, Hesse-Cassel, the Brothers Grimm, fairy tales, Napoleonic Wars, family, child abuse, secrets

The Wild Girl is another interesting historical novel by Kate Forsyth. This time her heroine is Dorothea, or Dortchen, Wald, one of the Grimms' important sources for the stories they collected. Growing up next door to the Grimm family, Dortchen makes friends with the daughter Lotte, despite her family's disapproval. This connection will last through several occupations during the Napoleonic wars and indeed throughout her life. But there are other things going on in the Wild household that are the stuff of fairy tales, and I don't mean the sanitized Disney versions, and Dortchen soon finds herself alone and isolated in her own private hell. But it is a sign of her strength of character that she finds her way through it. And possibly finds happiness at the end of the story as well.

More good stuff from Forsyth, even if it is not quite up to the level of Bitter Greens. For those interested in early 19th century Germany, fiction about the Napoleonic Wars, survivors of child/domestic abuse, or the Brothers Grimm.

>158 inge87: - you got me with 2 BBs - I'm adding Bitter Greens and The Wild Girl to the wish list.

Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World by Roger Crowley

Categories: The Skye Boat Song, GeoCAT

Keywords: non-fiction, history, Mediterranean Sea, Rhodes, Malta, Lepanto, Spain, Ottoman Empire, war, slavery, piracy, siege, Knights Hospitaller, Holy League, Habsburgs

Empires of the Sea is the story of the battle for the Mediterranean between Spain and the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, one of those things that seems rather unimportant now but was vital at the time. From the fall of Rhodes in 1522 to the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, the Mediterranean was the site of almost continuous wars and proxy wars via piracy, as the Ottomans sought control of the entire basin with eventual designs on Rome itself. Arrayed against them were a disparate group of bickering nations who rarely managed to come together to achieve anything. Until of course, they did.

Lepanto became meaningless rather quickly, as the Age of Exploration turned the Mediterranean from a vital trade route into a backwater, but if the Holy League had lost, who knows, we very well might all be speaking Turkish. For anyone who enjoys good non-fiction, Habsburgs, or European history.

>159 VioletBramble:, I do tend have that effect on people. :)

Bitter Greens comes out in the US in September. I haven't heard anything about The Wild Girl being brought over, but you can get it at a good price from BookDepository.

Warsaw 1920: Lenin's Failed Conquest of Europe by Adam Zamoyski

Categories: The Skye Boat Song

Keywords: non-fiction, history, Poland, Soviet Union, war, Polish-Soviet War, Ukraine, Stalin, Lenin, hubris, Russian Revolution

Warsaw 1920 is a fairly conventional military history of an obscure, yet important conflict, the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921. Most famous for "The Miracle on the Vistula" during the battle of Warsaw, Polish victory is the only thing that stopped the still revolutionary Soviet government from pushing onward towards Germany in the hopes of starting a global workers' revolution. All this is in the book but so are a never-ending stream of names and divisions that quickly get tangled up in your brain. Norman Davies apparently has a book out on the same subject (White Eagle, Red Star), and I may go seek that one out to reinforce things.

For those who like obscure wars, 20th century European history, or have an interest in Poland or the Soviet Union.

The Wild Girl has also hit my future reading list. ;-)

>163 lkernagh: It does have that effect on people. :)

"Male and Female He Created Them": Essays On Marriage and the Family by Jorge Cardinal Medina Estévez

Categories: Dives and Lazarus

Keywords: non-fiction, religion, Christianity, Catholicism, marriage, family, canon law, pastoral care, sacraments, modern society, chastity

"Male and Female He Created Them" is a collection of writings on the Catholic teachings concerning marriage and family written from the late 1970s through 1997. Many were first published elsewhere, but the pieces flow well together as a single whole. All of the basic talking points are covered: the indissolubility of marriage, chastity, marriage as a sacrament, etc. There is also an interesting essay tucked away at the end about how priest should provide pastoral care for those whose canonical status is irregular (e.g. divorced and remarried). Probably of interest to Catholics only, but my non-Catholic coworker who picked it up off my desk and flipped through it did comment on how much he liked the writing style.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

Categories: Barbara Allen

Series: Peter Rabbit (1/23)

Keywords: fiction, British, children's, Beatrix Potter, naughty little rabbits

Although he mother always tells Peter to stay away from Mr. McGregor's garden, The Tale of Peter Rabbit is the story of what happens when he ignores her and goes anyway. Suffice to say, he should have staid in the blackberry patch with Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton Tail.

This is one of those classic children's stories that deserves reading at least once.

Anata ni Hana o Sasagemashou by Tomu Ohmi

Categories: The Lay of Nimrodel

Series: Anata ni Hana o Sasagemashou (1-4/4)

Keywords: fiction, Japanese, manga, fantasy, curses, romance, arranged marriage, family ghosts

Anata ni Hana o Sasagemashou, which translates to something like "Let Us Dedicate Flowers to You", is the story of Seri and Yuzuki. They have been engaged since they were children, even though Seri doesn't really want anything to do with him. But then she discovers that men in his family are cursed to die young and sets out to break the curse and save him. The rest of the manga is how she does just that. It's not licensed in English yet, but hopefully with the success of Midnight Secretary and the forthcoming release of Spell of Desire will mean that it will appear sooner rather than later (or not at all). Until then there's always the internet.

Note I read Anata ni Hana o Sasagemashou, vol. 1, Anata ni Hana o Sasagemashou, vol. 2, Anata ni Hana o Sasagemashou, vol. 3, and Anata ni Hana o Sasagemashou, vol. 4, but combined them into one review.

The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers

Categories: Lady Franklin's Dream

Series: Lord Peter Wimsey (11/15)

Keywords: fiction, British, mystery, rectory, change-ringing, murder, jewel theft, secrets

The Nine Tailors is a murder mystery set in a remote village in the Lincolnshire fens, and based around a rectory and its inhabitants. Sayers took this bit from her experience growing up in a rectory in the Cambridgeshire fens. Suffice to say that one day when they go to did a grave for a recently deceased squire, there's already a body there. Whose body is it, and what does it have to do with some missing emeralds? Trust Lord Peter to find out. There is more about bells and change-ringing here than anyone would ever want to know, but it's not bad. I think I still like Gaudy Night (the next book in the series) better though.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Categories: Tam Lin

Series: Divergent (3/3)

Keywords: fiction, YA, fantasy, dystopia, secrets, rebellion, family, surprises

Allegiant is the final book of the Divergent Trilogy and suffers from the frequent final book syndrome of trying to too much in too little space. In the aftermath of the revelation of Insurgent, it's time to leave the city for the wider world, where naturally nothing is as they expected it to be. There's been enough talk on the internet about the ending, so I'll spare you, but I do think it's rather an extension of the trying to do too much issue. And pointless for that matter, as if there wasn't enough angst in the series as it is.

Only worth it if you really want to know how the series ends. Except oh wait! She's coming out with a collection of short stories from Four's POV in July called . . . wait for it . . . Four: A Divergent Story Collection, so I guess it's not entirely over yet. I'll be skipping that one though I think.

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier+

Categories: Roads to Moscow, GeoCAT, ROOT Challenge

Keywords: fiction, British, historical, suspense, thriller, Cornwall, smuggling, really nasty stuff, vmc

Jamaica Inn is a Gothic thriller set on the foggy Cornwall Coast during the early 1800s. After her mother's death, Mary gives up farming and goes to stay with her Aunt Patience and her husband at the Jamaica Inn. It's not at all what she was expecting, and she soon finds herself in situations she never dreamed of in her worst nightmares. It will take everything she has to survive.

A classic psychological drama. I certainly wouldn't want to be Mary, even if she does get a handsome hero at novel's end.

I Believe: The Nicene Creed by Pauline Baynes (ill.)

Categories: Dives and Lazarus

Keywords: non-fiction, religion, Christianity, Nicene Creed, illustrations, pseudo-medieval

I Believe: The Nicene Creed is the Nicene Creed set to illustrations by Pauline Baynes, who illustrated The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and other Narnia books as well as various works by J. R. R. Tolkien. They're very nice and done in the style of an illuminated manuscript. Perfect for fans of her artwork or of the Nicene Creed.

Mittelalterliche Elfenbeinarbeiten: ausgewählte Werke aus den Beständen des Bayerischen Nationalmuseums by Renate Eikelmann (ed.)^+

Medieval Ivorywork: Selected Pieces from the Collection of the Bavarian National Museum

Categories: Fear a' Bhàta, ROOT Challenge

Keywords: non-fiction, religion, Christianity, Nicene Creed, illustrations, pseudo-medieval

Mittelalterliche Elfenbeinarbeiten is a catalogue of medieval and pre-medieval ivory carvings housed at the Bavarian National Museum in Munich. After an introduction, the book consists of a picture of the item, an outline of the item's history, and a narrative summary. My only complaint is that the individual pictures are so small, you almost need a magnifying glass to appreciate it. Being nearsighted, I ended up taking off glasses for a better view.

June Round-Up!

Finished Historical Fiction and Other Non-Fiction, all while starting the first semester of grad school. Clearly I fear nothing.

Books Read: 18 (2 more than last year)

Category Challenge

116 of 168 read - 54.76% done (true total 130 books)

5 of 14 categories completed - 35.71% done

Individual Categories
1. Sally in our Alley: Classic Fiction (pre-1920) - 8 - 66.67% done
2. Sumer is icumen in: Ecology/Environmental Science - 6 - 50% done
3. The Lay of Nimrodel: Fantasy - 10 - 71.43% done
4. John Barleycorn: Food/Gardening - 2 - 16.67% done
5. The Skye Boat Song: History - 20 - 100% done
6. Roads to Moscow: Historical Fiction - 12 - 100% done
7. Lady Franklin's Dream: Mysteries - 14 - 100% done
8. Fear a Bhata: Other Non-Fiction - 12 - 100% done
9. Who Knows Where the Time Goes?: Recent Fiction (1970 onward) - 10 - 83.33% done
10. Dives and Lazarus: Religion - 15 - 100% done
11. Turn! Turn! Turn!: Retro Fiction (1920-1969) - 6 - 50% done
12. Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen: Travel - 4 - 33.33% done
13. Tam Lin: YA Fantasy - 7 - 58.33% done
14. Barbara Allen: YA Non-Fantasy - 4 - 33.33% done

Challenges
GeoCAT - 3
ROOT Challenge - 2
MysteryCAT - 1
RandomCAT - 0

Authors
Female - 11 - 73.33%
Male - 4 - 26.67%
Both - 0 - 0%

Edition Language
German - 1 - 5.56%
English - 17 - 94.44%

Original Language
German - 1 - 5.56%
Spanish - 1 - 5.56%
Japanese - 4 - 22.22%
English - 12 - 66.67%

Series
Series Books - 8 - 44.44%
Stand-Alone Books - 10 - 55.56%

Ratings Distribution
1 star - 0 - 0%
2 stars - 1 - 5.56%
3 stars - 10 - 55.56%
4 stars - 6 - 33.33%
5 stars - 1 - 5.56%

Average Rating
3.39

Best of the Month



Fiction: The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley

Non-Fiction Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World by Roger Crowley

Excellent work! And best of luck with your grad school :)

>174 rabbitprincess: Thanks!

Kate's Progress by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles*

Categories: Who Knows Where the Time Goes?

Keywords: fiction, British, contemporary, romance, exmoor, DIY, pubs, dog walking, horse riding, friendship, babysitting, pub lunches

I read this one last September, so here's a slightly updated version of that review:

Kate's Progress is a charming romance about Kate, who receives an inheritance from her grandmother and decides to leave London and buy a cottage on Exmoor. While fixing up the rather run-down house, she makes friends with the neighbors, especially the Blackmore family: Darcy-like awkward brooding Ed, happy-go-lucky playboy Jack, their rather feather-brained stepmother, and their lonely young half-sister Jocasta. Kate came to Somerset to get away from the London dating scene, but will she be able to withstand the attentions of a few good West Country men?

This is a quiet, slow paced book; the perfect comfort read. There's a bit of suspense because someone wants Kate to get out of town, but it never really dominates the plot. Instead it focuses on the good things in life like pub lunches, horse riding with friends, walking dogs, and besting manipulative romantic rivals who kick said dogs. Recommended for those seeking a good comfort read or those who like well-written romances.

Kate's Progress is already on my TBR list, so I'm glad to see you enjoyed it. But...the romantic rival literally kicks a dog? Seems a bit unsubtle, to say the least. :)

(Edited to fix touchstone.)

>177 christina_reads:, Oh yes, but that's when she finally loses her temper and gives the "it's me or the dogs" speech. Suffice to say, she's already alienated everyone by that point anyway.

The touchstone for Kate's Progress is weird. The only thing it has in common with Pride and Prejudice are reserved heroes who makes bad first impressions. The titles look nothing alike, but that's how it is with touchstones sometimes. :)

Deadline by Sandra Brown

Categories: Lady Franklin's Lament

Keywords: fiction, mystery, thriller, terrorist, family, secrets, murder, Georgia

Deadline is the story of a reporter who returns from covering Afghanistan with PTSD only to find himself caught up in a whole new conflict when he does a favor for an old friend and covers a murder trial in Atlanta. One of the victims was not who he said he was and has been traced through DNA to a missing child who went on the run with his terrorist parents in the 1970s. But just because he's dead doesn't mean that his mission is over, and just because no one has seen or heard from his parents in almost 20 years, does not mean they aren't still out there plotting. And soon it will be all our hero can do to keep himself and those he's come to love out of harm's way.

A fun thriller. I didn't see the final twist coming, which is always a bonus in books like this. Recommended for fans of the genre.

Scandal in Skibbereen by Sheila Connolly

Categories: Lady Franklin's Dream

Series: County Cork Mystery (2/?)

Keywords: fiction, mystery, cozy, Ireland, art, family, murder

Scandal in Skibbereen finds Nora still working to clean up the pub she inherited at the end of the previous book and familiarizing herself with her new neighborhood. Then a pushy New York City art researcher arrives seeking a long lost portrait that my be in the area. Suffice to say it would be worth a lot of money if it really exists. Naturally, Nora cannot help but get involved, even after Alethea alienates all the locals. And then a body turns up on the local manor's front lawn. Could it be that Alethia's not the only one seeking the painting? Who else could have wanted someone there dead? Nora can't help but want to find out.

A fun cozy mystery that builds on its predecessor while remaining accessible for those new to the series.

A Curse as Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce

Categories: Tam Lin

Keywords: fiction, YA, historical, fantasy, fairy tale, retelling, Rumpelstiltskin, industrial revolution, England, curses

A Curse as Dark as Gold is a YA historical retelling of Rumpelstiltskin set in an early-19th century English mill town. After her father's death, Charlotte Miller finds herself in charge of cursed mill and overwhelming debts. When a strange man offers her a way to save her family and her town, she takes him up on the offer and watches in amazement as straw is turned into gold. But who is this man and what is his ultimate goal? Charlotte soon finds herself forced to find out.

Rumpelstiltskin is not a commonly retold fairy tale, so I give the author points for creativity that make up for some of the weakness in the narrative. The girl on the cover looks way too young to be the heroine, who gets married and has a baby over the course of the novel, but it's an attractive cover all the same. Overall, if you enjoy fairy tale retelling, you may want to pick this one up.

Dayspring by Harry Sylvester

Categories: Turn! Turn! Turn!

Keywords: fiction, Catholicism, New Mexico, Penitentes, conversion, intellectuals, guilt, penance, academics

Dayspring is a 1945 novel that tells the story of a cynical anthropologist in New Mexico who fakes a conversion to Christianity in order to gain access to the Penitentes brotherhood for his research. However, once he starts down that path, he finds his life going in directions he never thought possible.

An interesting novel about coming to terms with life choices and the power of penance. For those with an interest in New Mexican culture and midcentury Catholic novels.

The Oaken Heart by Margery Allingham

Categories: The Skye Boat Song

Keywords: non-fiction, memoir, history, World War II, homefront, Essex, rations, blackouts, bombings, evacuees, soldiers, keep calm and carry on

The Oaken Heart is mystery-writer Allingham's tale of her life on the Essex coast in the first year of the Second World War (1939-40). Written for American audiences, she describes how life in her small rural village was changed in an instant with the declaration of war. Suddenly there were evacuees, call ups, and rations. Soldiers move into her house, and dogfights take place above her head, as everyone waits for the German invasion.

An interesting perspective of life on the home front. I knew that everyone was expecting the Germans to invade, but somehow reading Allingham's account makes it feel much more real. Also, the 1941 first edition I read has blank lines where it was censored. I wonder if more recent editions keep the spaces blank or if the missing words have been added back in since there is no longer any fear of them causing harm. For those with an interest in World War II civilian life in England, rural Essex, or interesting memoirs.

Daphne du Maurier and Her Sisters: The Hidden Lives of Piffy, Bird, and Bing by Jane Dunn

Categories: The Skye Boat Song

Keywords: non-fiction, history, biography, sisters, family, favoritism, theatre, writing, art

Daphne du Maurier and Her Sisters is a joint biography of Gerald du Maurier's three daughters: Angela du Maurier, Daphne du Maurier, and artist Jeanne du Maurier. Daphne is the famous one, but unfortunately she is also the least interesting/most annoying one. Equally unfortunately, most of the book is about her. Eldest sister Angela is a much more interesting figure in my opinion, and I spent quite a bit of time wanting to slap/strangle Daphne.

An interesting book covering their lives from their privileged theatrical childhood in London to Cornwall and beyond, the writing was excellent; I just started suffering from subject fatigue. But if you have an interest in Daphne du Maurier, you'll probably want to at least skim through this one.

Historical Short Stories of Navarro County by Alva Taylor (ed.)

Categories: The Skye Boat Song

Keywords: non-fiction, history, local history, anecdotes, Navarro County, Corsicana

Despite its name, Historical Short Stories of Navarro County is actually not a collection of short stories. Instead it's a collection of local history anecdotes, grouped in some vague chronological, geographical way. Some are good, some are awful, and some make no sense, but what can you expect from a book published on behalf of the Dawson Better Garden Club to raise money to maintain the Surveyors' Massacre Memorial (see photo above)?

No one without an interest in the history of Navarro County, Texas, will ever pick up this book, and that is as it should be. But anyone who happens to find themselves on TX 31 between Corsicana and Dawson should stop and visit the memorial. It's right off the highway just outside of Dawson where the sign says historical marker this way.

>181 inge87: Glad you enjoyed A Curse Dark as Gold -- I remember really liking it when I read it a few years ago!

Two Book Bullets taken, both The Oaken Heart and Daphne Du Maurier And Her Sisters have caught my interest.

I also read A Curse As Dark As Gold recently and quite enjoyed it.

>186 christina_reads:, >187 DeltaQueen50: I agree, A Curse as Dark as Gold is a fun read.

The Oaken Heart and Daphne Du Maurier and Her Sisters are both excellent books for one's inner Anglophile.

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley

Categories: John Barleycorn Must Die

Keywords: non-fiction, graphic non-fiction, memoir, biography, growing up, food, family, recipes

Relish is a graphic memoir about growing up and eating a lot of delicious food. Knisley's parents were foodies before foodie was a word, so food always played a large role in her life. Covering her life from childhood through art school in Chicago and beyond, the art is well-drawn and the text engaging. Plus, there are recipes at the end of each chapter, illustrated step by step in the same style as the rest of the book.

Highly recommended for fans of coming of age memoirs, food memoirs, or graphic non-fiction. Knisley won an Alex Award, which is awarded by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) for adult books that have special appeal to teens, for this book in 2014 and I agree that it would go over very well with young adult readers.

There and Back Again : J.R.R. Tolkien and the Origins of The Hobbit by Mark Atherton

Categories: Fear a' Bhàta, RandomCAT

Keywords: non-fiction, biography, literary criticism, book about books, Tolkien, The Hobbit, linguistics

There and Back Again is an overview of The Hobbit set in the context of Tolkien's life and interests. The book covers much of the same material as Tolkien and the Great War, but the focus is on The Hobbit and it continues in detail with Tolkien's life after the First World War. I can't decide it I enjoyed it more because I'd read TatGW and had some background or liked it less because some of the material rehashed themes that had already been covered in the first book. If you enjoy Tolkien's writing and especially The Hobbit, you'll want to at least look through this one.

Narwhals: Arctic Whales in a Melting World by Todd McLeish

Categories: Sumer is Icumen in, GeoCAT

Keywords: non-fiction, science, whales, narwhals, climate change, hunting, Greenland, Nunavut

Narwhals reveals almost as much about how little we know about Narwhals as it does facts about the narwhals themselves. Over the course of the book, the author travels to Nunavut and Greenland to look for narwhals, study them, and witness the role they play in the lives of the indigenous people there. Narwhals live in places where few other mammals can live, sticking close to the Arctic pack ice. Increasingly warm summers have changed the pattern and flow of the ice, and narwhals are feeling the effects. Or are they? No one really knows, because they frequently live in places that are difficult to access for study. Not to mention the fact that they are really hard to catch and tag (there's a chapter about that in the book). Ultimately though the narwhals' world is changing, and the question stands will they be able to change too.

The Rosemary Tree by Elizabeth Goudge

Categories: Turn! Turn! Turn!

Keywords: fiction, mid-century, parsonages, family, secrets, redemption

The Rosemary Tree is a rather period mid-century novel about a rural rectory family that also owns the local manor and how various people they meet manage to sort out their lives and turn them around. Lots of personal darkness amid public smiles and so forth. But it wasn't bad, just rather dated.

>189 inge87:
I just started that one yesterday but my current LTER-book arrived in the mail, so I'll restart it once I'm done with the LTER one. Looking forward to it - I liked French Milk a lot.

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Categories: Tam Lin

Series: Ruby Red Trilogy aka Liebe geht durch die Zeiten (1/3)

Keywords: fiction, YA, fantasy, time travel, questionable motives, secret societies

Ruby Red is the tale of Gwyneth, who comes from a family where the ability to travel through time runs through the female line. Her cousin Charlotte has be trained to be the next traveller, but so far the talent hasn't manifested. The reason for this becomes clear when Gwen suddenly finds herself in another age. But being the time traveller has consequences. One of these is having to spend time with Gideon, her male counterpart and an attractive but rather unpleasant personality, another is having to visit a creepy 18th century count, who prophesied about the time travellers of the future, ending with Gwen and Gideon. Gwen soon finds herself wishing that she could just go back to her Mom and her best friend Leslie and be normal, but that's not an option.

A good start to the trilogy. I've already read book 2, Sapphire Blue, and will review it in the next day or so.

>193 -Eva-: Glad to hear that you enjoyed French Milk, I've got that on my list for next month's GeoCAT. Relish is a lot of fun. You don't even feel like you're reading non-fiction.

Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier

Categories: Tam Lin

Series: Ruby Red Trilogy aka Liebe geht durch die Zeiten (2/3)

Keywords: fiction, YA, fantasy, time travel, questionable motives, secret societies, conspiracies

Sapphire Blue finds Gwen still stuck with Gideon and having to travel through time. Only now she is having to undergo extra training with Charlotte, so she can blend in with 18th century locals. And let's just say that Charlotte hasn't quite forgiven her for what happened in Ruby Red, but Gideon seems to be coming around, so maybe Gwen can trust him . . . or not.

There's still a lot of plot to be explained in Emerald Green. Unfortunately the public library only had books one and two, so I'm waiting for an ILL to come in. But for those who enjoy time travel and good YA fantasy, the trilogy (so far at least) is definitely worth picking up.

I have been debating about reading the Gier trilogy - I absolutely love the covers! - so I will probably get around to reading it at some point.

Going further up your thread I am another reader who enjoyed French Milk. I did have Relish on my to read list but somehow it got lost in the ever growing onslaught of must read books.

>197 lkernagh: Ruby Red & Co. are certainly worth glancing through if you think you're interested, they have all the usual plotlines but the author gives these her own personal twist.

Relish is a lot of fun and should totally be dug out of the depths of the TBR pit. I'm looking forward to French Milk and will, of course, let everyone know how I feel after I've read it.

Be Ever Hopeful, Hannalee by Patricia Beatty

Categories: Barbara Allen

Series: Hannalee (2/2)

Keywords: fiction, historical, juvenile, intermediate reader, Civil War, Reconstruction, race, class, Atlanta

Be Ever Hopeful, Hannalee is an intermediate-level children's novel about the end of the Civil War as told from the perspective of a lower-class white girl. Hannalee has arrived back home in Georgia, only to find that with the mill gone there is no work to be had, so she and her family head to what is left of Atlanta. Life is hard in the refugee camp, but the family makes the most of it and Hannalee gets a job working in a dry goods store. Life has changed significantly since the time before the war, and Hannalee finds herself making friends with both a Yankee and a former slave girl—people she never would have been seen with before her time in Atlanta. Just when things are beginning to look up, her brother is accused of murder, and it is up to Hannalee and her friends to clear his name.

An interesting take on historical fiction from an uncommon perspective. This is the second of two books in the series, but everything is summarized at the beginning, so you don't need to have read the first book to enjoy this one.

The Art Detective: Fakes, Frauds, and Finds and the Search for Lost Treasures by Philip Mould

Categories: Fear a' Bhàta

Keywords: non-fiction, art, art dealer, restoration, lost art, auctions, fraud

The Art Detective is Mould's account of some of the highlights of his career as an art dealer. A lot of time is spent discussing how he tells the hidden gems from the fakes and his stories and anecdotes make even the minutiae of art restoration techniques interesting. If you like art stories or the suspense of Antique Roadshow (Mould works on the British version), you might just want to pick this one up.

Legend by Marie Lu

Categories: Tam Lin

Series: Legend Trilogy (1/3)

Keywords: fiction, YA, dystopia, Los Angeles, plague, evil government, murder, secrets, Robin Hood figures

Legend is a YA dystopia set in a future Los Angeles. Suffice to say that a lot of people die, the government is secretly evil, and it becomes up to two teenagers to save the world. Not one that I'd recommend. There is much better, less cliche-ridden YA fiction out there.

The Doctor's Sweetheart and Other Stories by L. M. Montgomery*

Categories: Sally in Our Alley

Keywords: fiction, Canadian, short stories, romance

The Doctor's Sweetheart is a collection of short stories previously published in various magazines. Most of them are love stories, but there are some other subjects covered here too. My favorites are probably "Lady Jane" in which a man becomes dinner partners with the girl who broke his heart and has to pretend to be his cousin, and "The Bride is Waiting" in which a woman helps a friend furnish his new house for his bride-to-be. Some have borne the passage of time better than others though. "By the Grace of Julius Caesar", in which a man's dog trees the two women whom he's asked to marry and the man refuses to call off the dog until one of them agrees to marry him, is only funny if you don't think too much into it.

But if you enjoy Montgomery's writing, you'll probably want to at least glance through this one.

One Fine Day by Mollie Panter-Downes+

Categories: Turn! Turn! Turn!, ROOT Challenge

Keywords: fiction, British, WWII, post-war life, family, dogs, surviving, happiness

One Fine Day is a gem of a novel about a family's coming to terms with having survived the war and having to live on. Taking place over the course of a single July day, the reader watches Laura, her husband Stephen, and their daughter Vicki as they attempt to navigate a world that has been irreversibly changed by the Second Wold War. Laura is having to keep house without any real help besides a shared housekeeper and Stephen can't find anyone to mind the garden. But as they go about their daily routines they realize an important truth: it's a wonderful thing to be alive.

I really liked this one. It's quite short but a gem of a novel. Anyone interested in contemporary fictional portrayals of post-war life, should definitely pick it up, as should anyone who enjoys good prose and doesn't need a lot of action. Highly recommended.

Mexico: A Revolution in Art, 1910-1940 by Adrian Locke

Categories: The Skye Boat Song

Keywords: non-fiction, art history, Mexico, Mexican Revolution, modernism, exhibition catalogue

Mexico: A Revolution in Art is the catalogue for the exhibition of the same name held at the Royal Academy of Art in 2013, but is also a comprehensive overview of early twentieth century Mexican art. Working in a mostly chronological fashion, the book covers the evolution of art in Mexico from traditional European-style landscapes to the avant-garde modernism of the Revolution and beyond. There is also an interesting section on artistic and literary visitors to Mexico and the impression the country left in their work.

If you like Diego Rivera or Frieda Kahlo and want to know more, this is a good place to start.

>205 inge87:
I sure wouldn't have minded seeing that exhibition!

>206 -Eva-: Me either, but unfortunately London was a bit too far away and it never toured the US. So I convinced my boss to have the library buy the catalogue instead.

The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer*

Categories: Roads to Moscow

Keywords: fiction, historical, regency, classic, family despots, smuggling, haunted houses, family, succession, estate management

The Unknown Ajax is what happens when you have a crotchety old man who disinherits his second son for marrying an inappropriate woman and then has to eat crow when that man's son ends up becoming his heir. Hugo turns out to be a far more interesting character than the family and especially its patriarch bargained for. But in the end (as is frequently the case in books like this) he may just be their salvation.

If you like historical novels dealing with class issues and/or free-trading (i.e. smuggling), you'll like this one. The romance is not the focus here, although it does exist. Recommended for Heyer fans and anyone who likes good historical fiction.

Note: This is a copy of my review from when I read The Unknown Ajax last year.

Die Besteigung des Mont Ventoux (The Ascent of Mont Ventoux) by Petrarch+^

Categories: Innsbruck ich muss dich lassen, ROOT Challenge

Keywords: non-fiction, travel, letter, middle ages, mountaineering, Mount Ventoux, France

Die Besteigung des Mont Ventoux is a letter taken from Petrarch's collected Epistolae familiares (it's book IV, letter 1). Written some years after the fact to one Dionigi di Borgo San Sepolcro, in the letter Petrarch describes climbing Mount Ventoux in Provence with his brother in 1336. Suffice to say, once he gets to the top he naturally starts thinking big, philosophical thoughts. No one is really sure how accurate the account is, or if Petrarch really climbed the mountain at all, but it does make for interesting reading. So if it sounds interesting to you, why not track down a copy?

Hello, Darkness by Sandra Brown

Categories: Lady Franklin's Dream

Keywords: fiction, mystery, thriller, Austin, pedophilia, missing persons, phone calls, radio, perverts, secrets, murder

Hello, Darkness concerns Paris Gibson, a late-night radio host who runs a local Austin, Texas, call-in radio show (think Delilah). One night a man calls in and announces that he's kidnapped his girlfriend and will kill her in three days because of the advice Paris had given her had caused her to leave him. She records the call and calls the police. Following up the next day she runs into an old flame, who is now a psychologist with the Austin PD. To say they have baggage would be an understatement (this is Sandra Brown after all). Now the daughter of a local judge has gone missing and a local woman fears her husband may have reverted back to some bad habits. But Paris has some big decisions to make before a killer makes them for her.

A fun thriller, but not the best Sandra Brown book I've ever read.

A Room with a View by E. M. Forster*

Categories: Sally in our Alley

Keywords: fiction, travel, Florence, bad engagements, baffling behavior, non-conformism

Normally I like A Room with a View, but for whatever reason it didn't do much for me this time. Lucy arrives in Florence for the first time with her flighty poor relation Charlotte as a chaperone. They fall in with an interesting crowd and Lucy becomes acquainted with the very interesting, but decidedly eccentric Emersons, father and son. Things happen. Then she returns home to England and gets engaged to an idiot. After that the younger Emerson looks a lot more attractive than he did in Florence, so she breaks her engagement and runs off with him instead. The plot is what it is, and I guess it's up to one's mood how much one enjoys it.

>211 inge87: One of my favorite books! Sorry you didn't enjoy it much this time around.

The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson

Categories: Sumer is icumen in

Keywords: non-fiction, science, oceanography, oceans, outdated theories, geology, tides, sea temperatures, sea levels, ocean life

The Sea Around Us is a scientific account of the seas with marvelous prose. The only problem is that it was written in 1950, before the theory of plate tectonics was developed. But if you ever wondered how people thought the seas and the mountains came about before that, you'll find out in this book. Also of note is the careless mention of melting glaciers and rising oceans decades before these became the source of panic instead of idle interest. Carson is most famous for A Silent Spring, but this one is quite nice too, even if bits are outdated. Because good writing, unlike scientific theories, never goes out of style.

>212 christina_reads: Like I said, I normally enjoy it. I was admittedly trying to finish the book quickly in order to sweep TIOLI, so that may have had something to do with it.

The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt

Categories: Tam Lin

Series: Unauwen (1/2)

Keywords: fiction, Dutch, juvenile, fantasy, adventure, knights, pages, quests, assassination attempts, kings, friendship

The Letter for the King is a fantastic Dutch borderline intermediate-level/YA adventure fantasy. Tiuri is about to become a knight when he risks everything by accepting a mission from a man in need. The next thing he knows he is on a desperate journey to deliver a secret letter to the King of Unauwen—a letter so secret he may tell no one and so important that there are men willing to kill him for it. But what can a knight-in-training do but forge on ahead. Luckily Tiuri finds some good friends among his many enemies, but will he make it in time? And has he ruined his chances at knighthood by doing the wrong thing for the right reasons? You'll have to read on to find out.

I really liked this one. There is a sequel, but it hasn't been translated into English yet. It does exist in German though, so I may get my hands on it yet. An excellent adventure for all ages, but the young and the young at heart. Not to be missed.

I'm off to a new thread for July's round up, why don't y'all come join me?