Streamsong Bookin in 2014

This isn't the creek where I live, but one I snagged off the internet. However with higher than normal snowpack this year, my creek which goes by the name of Skalkaho will soon be looking like this. I'm hoping it will behave itself and stay within its banks. My house is very close to the creek and if the creek decides to go a wandering I may have to take to my canoe.

The runoff is just starting. Cross fingers and toes for me!

If you haven't been to my thread before, welcome! I am a fifty-plus microbiologist in a research lab; I live in a beautiful creek bottom in Western Montana where I am surrounded by spectacular mountains and lots of wildlife. My middle aged golden retriever is my companion on adventures. My cat stays home and contemplates how lucky she is to be the only sane one in the family. I have half a dozen horses and two adult children who live about an hour away.

I'll probably read about a hundred books again this year:




I am becoming buried in what I call Planet TBR--so I will be trying to read 50 - 75 books acquired before January 1, 2014. This is incredibly hard to do with all the great reading everyone here does. I visit a thread, read a great review and a new book or three makes it to my house,

I have a thread going in the 2014 ROOT (Read Our Own Tomes) challenge.
http://www.librarything.com/topic/162971#4431027




To keep myself in the geologically oldest part of the Planet, I'm giving myself points for each book I read, with older books getting more points.

Here's how it works:

1. ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2006 --8 points
2. ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2007--7 points
3. ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2008--6 points
4. ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2009--5 points
5. ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2010--4 points
6 .ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2011 --3 point
7. ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2012-- 2 point
8. ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2013 -- 1 point
9. ROOTS not previously entered into LT but which have been around the house pre-2014 (many of these are pre-2006)--1 point

The goal this year is 185 points (My goal in 2013 was 160 points and I achieved about 120 points)

CURRENTLY READING

I usually have multiple books going at the same time.



- A Place of My Own - Michael Pollen - November TIOLI #9 Homesteading; ROOT 2010
- The Apostle Paul (The Great Courses - Luke Timothy Johnson - audiobook in the car; ROOT 2011
- Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories - Roald Dahl - Halloween Spooky Reads on the 75; TIOLI #20: Read a book with a word in the title related to death or the afterlife; Bitterroot Library Book Sale 9/24/2014
- Collapse - Jared Diamond - Green Dragon Group Read; ROOT 2008;


and a year-long group read of N. T. Wright's Christian Origins and the Question of God - now onto volume 2: Jesus and the Victory of God


Up next/soonish
- I Am Malala - Malala Yousafzai - audiobook - library
- One for Sorrow - Eric Meyer - MysteryCat - Global Mysteries (Turkey); TIOLI # 7. Read a book whose title starts with a letter of HALLOWEEN in rolling order; ROOT 2009
More in October:
GeoCat Challenge - South America: One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez; TIOLI # ; 1001 books; ROOT 2013
The_Hibernator's Mental Health Read Devil in the Details - Jennifer Traig ROOT 2010
Next LTER: The Last Queen of Sheba -




And here's my list of
Recently Finished but not Reviewed:

- Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller - RandomCat Book bullet from a fellow LT'er; ROOT #46/50; Acquired 2009 = 5 ROOT points (166/185) TIOLI #
- Age of Innocence -Edith Wharton - American Author Challenge; October TIOLI ##4: Read a book that is older than you (by publishing date); 1001 Books; audiobook from the library
- The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri - Real Life Bookclub; TIOLI # 7. Read a book whose title starts with a letter of HALLOWEEN in rolling order;ROOT 2013
- Simply Sane - Gerald May - The_Hibernator's Suicide and Mental Illness Read; TIOLI #1: Read a book with a species of bird named in the narrative (martini /4; pattern /5) ROOT 2009 = 5 ROOT points
- The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan - Jenny Nordberg - LTER; TIOLI #5. Read a book with an S and a T in the title that you've never read before
- Spirit Tailings: Ghost Tales from Virginia City, Butte and Helena - Ellen Baumler - TIOLI #14 - Read a book that is dark ROOT 2013 = 1 ROOT point

BOOKS READ

January
1. Yellowstone Has Teeth - Marjane Ambler - - ROOT 2013; (1point)
2. The Great Courses: Great World Religions: Christianity (The Teaching Company) - Luke Timothy Johnson - - ROOT 2012; (2 points)
3. The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis - - ROOT acquired 2008 = 6 ROOT points
4. On Sal Mal Lane - Ru Freeman - - purchased 2013; 9. Read a book by the author of one of your favourite books of 2013; ROOT; = 1 ROOT point;
5. We Like It Wild - Bradford Angier - Canada geocat challenge; ROOT 2008 = 6 ROOT points
6. Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf - Real life book club; purchased 2013 ROOT; = 1 ROOT point;
7. My Antonia - Willa Cather - - audiobook in the car; January American author challenge (library -1st non-Root of the year!); January TIOLI #3. Read a book that has a connection with the number "14" (ISBN with 14)

FEBRUARY
8. 1066: The Great Courses - Jennifer Paxton - (audiobook in the car) - ROOT 2012 = 2 ROOT points
9. Sherlock Holmes: The Montana Chronicles - John S Kirkpatrick - Catagories: mystery, US & arches-cat trick; acquired 2013 - ROOT; = 1 ROOT point;
10. I and II Timothy/Titus (People's Bible Commentary) - Armin W. Schuetze (2/13); ROOT acquired pre 2006 = 8 ROOT points
11. The Hamlet - William Faulkner - American author challenge; TIOLI #13. Read a book you share with a LT Legacy Library; 1001 Books to Read Before You Die; from library
12. Curse of the Pogo Stick - Colin Cotterrill - - MysteryCat Feb series book; - Feb TIOLI #4. Read a book that has an older person as a main character ; - ROOT 2013 = 1 ROOT point
13. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - Annie Dillard - - group read; Feb TIOLI #15-personal story; ROOT - acquired 2008 = 6 ROOT points
14. Hosea/Joel/Amos (People's Bible Commentary Series) - Paul E. Eickmann-Feb TIOLI #1- library of the LT member with the greatest weighted number of books which match your own; (due to my having this series, most of my heaviest weighted similar libraries belong to Lutheran Churches; ROOT pre 2006 = 8 Root points
15. Five Days at Memorial - Sheri Fink - ; February TIOLI #7 - remove a book from your physical presence when you are done reading;audiobook in the car; library
16. The Lives of Girls and Women - Alice Munro - RL Book Club - purchased 2014 -
17. The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon - Alexander Mccall Smith- audiobook in the car; LTER 2013; ROOT; = 1 ROOT point;
18. Stop Being Mean to Yourself - Melodie Beattie - Feb TIOLI #15-personal story; (ROOT 2009)
19. - Om-Kas-Toe: Blackfeet Twin Captures an Elkdog - Kenneth Thomasma - RandomCat -Children's Book; TIOLI #10; A Book with a pet you have owned (ROOT 2007) =

MARCH
20. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith - Jon Krakauer - audiobook in the car - March TIOLI ##8: Read a book about an injustice - ROOT 2013 = 1 ROOT point
21. The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester - - GD Group Read; March TIOLI #2 -word suggesting an end in the title - purchased 2014
22. John (People's Bible Commentary) - Gary P Baumler ROOT # 17; Acquired pre-2006 = 8 ROOT points. Possible reread(?)
23. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie - - audiobook in the car; March TIOLI #8 Read a book about an injustice; library
24. Dakota by Gwen Florio - LTER 2014; TIOLI #9 - Read a book whose title's initial letter spells out DAYLIGHT, on a rolling basis
25. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking - Susan Cain March RL book club
26. All The Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy - March American Author read; Geocat challenge - Mexico and the Caribbean ;March TIOLI #3 - Read a book with a word in the title that starts with a vowel; 1001 Books; library
27. Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson; RL Bookclub (Nov 2013); ROOT #18; purchased 2013 = 1 ROOT point (66/185) -

APRIL
28. The Property - Rutu Modan - GeoCat Eastern Europe; April TIOLI #12 - Read a book that takes place in an Eastern European country; graphic novel; library -
29. - Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief - Lawrence Wright - Science Religion and History group read; April TIOLI # 10 - rolling tags; audiobook from library -
30. - Morality for Beautiful Girls - Alexander McCall Smith - March RandomCat: Book With a Bird on the Cover; April TIOLI #3. Read a book by an author or in a series or about a topic of which you have multiples on your TBR/wish list; Root #18 2011 = 3 ROOT points; - reread? (would have previously listened to the audiobook)
** (Not counted in yearly numbers)** - Mr Wuffles by David Wiesner -
31. - Jazz - Toni Morrison - American Author Challenge, April TIOLI #2 Read a book whose title and author have two Qs, two Zs, or one of each; library -
32. - The Door - Margaret Atwood - Atwood April, April TIOLI # 13. Read a book in a genre you haven't yet read from in 2014 (poetry); RandomCat poetry, (library) =
33. - The Orchardist - Amanda Coplin - April TIOLI # 10 - rolling tags; Library Brown Bag Book Club; - purchased 2014 -
34. - Flu by Gina Kolata - Science Religion and History Group Read; April TIOLI #10 - rolling tags; ROOT #19/50- 2013; 1 ROOT point -
35. - Dugouts and Dreams - Frank C Tillson - April TIOLI # 9. Read a collection of World War I poetry or a book about World War I poets or poetry; (My parents' collection - Great Uncle Frank); 2014
36. - The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson - April MysteryCat Scandicrime; April TIOLI # 10 (rolling tags); audiobook in the car-


MAY
37. Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan - May TIOLI #12- challenge from May in a previous year - graphic novel - library -
38. The New Testament and the People of God - N. T. Wright Group Read of the Series in the Category Challenge group; Root #20 2013 = 1 ROOT points
39. A Study in Scarlet - Arthur Conan Doyle - ROOT 2012 = 2 ROOT points -
40. The Optimist's Daughter - Eudora Welty - 1001 Books. American Author Challenge. TIOLI #3 - Read a book where the title is Somebody's Something. Library
41. The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion - audiobook in the car; April Autism Awareness; library
42. Numbers: People's Bible Commentary - Paul W. Kuske - ROOT #22/50; acquired 2006 = 8 ROOT points (81/185)
43. Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood - Atwood April, 1001 Books to read Before you Die; May TIOLI # 5. Read a book with a word in the title that could be something good; library
44. The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston - May Murder & Mayhem; ROOT #23/50; acquired 2013 - 1 ROOT point-
45. The Hare With the Amber Eyes - Edmund de Waal -RL Book club - purchased 2014 -

JUNE
46. Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut - June American Author; 1001 Books; June TIOLI # 1 Read a book whose author’s first and last name end in the same letter; audiobook in the car; library
47. The Life of an Ordinary Woman - Anne Ellis - May RandomCat - mothers; June TIOLI #17: Read a book which has a "don" word on any page with the number 57; ROOT #24/50 acquired 2008 = 6 ROOT points; US map challenge: Colorado
48. The Penelopiad - Margaret Atwood - Librarything group read; - June TIOLI #14. Read a book you've been reluctant to read (matched read); world map challenge - Greece (location); library
49. Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now - Maya Angelou - ROOT #25/50 not added to LT when acquired = 1 ROOT point (89/185); June TIOLI #9. Read a book that doesn't have a person on the cover
50. A Religion of One's Own - Thomas Moore - LTER- 2013 ROOT #26/50; 1 ROOT point =90/185; June TIOLI #7: Read a book you said you would read before but didn't
51. Obadiah Jonah Micah People's Bible Commentary - Cyril W Spaude - Personal challenge reading through Bible with commentaries. ROOT (#27/50) pre 2006 = 8 ROOT points
52. Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis - Timothy Egan - June TIOLI #13: Read a book that is over 336 pages or 11 hrs; audiobook in the car
53. Hebrews People's Bible Commentary - Richard E. Lauersdorf - ROOT #28/50; acquired pre 2006 = 8 points
54. Raven Girl - Audrey Niffenegger - library
55. The Lighthouse - PD James; MysteryCat - Police procedural; GeoCat - islands and bodies of water; Random Cat - name of rose (Garden Light); TIOLI #15. Read a book by a grandmaster; ROOT 29/50 acq'd 2008 = 6 ROOT points 112/180
56. Cinder - Marissa Meyer - audiobook - June TIOLI #12. Read a book with a body part on the cover (shared read); library

JULY
57. - Spider Woman's Daughter - Anne Hillerman - TIOLI #4. Start a series and continue if you want; library
58. Buddha - Karen Armstrong - May GeoCat - India; TIOLI #13. Read a book by a living author who is older than you are; world challenge: India; ROOT 30/50 from 2007 = 7 ROOT points 119/180
59. Proverbs People's Bible Commentary - Roland Cap Ehlke - ROOT 31/50 acquired pre 2006 = 8 ROOT points (127/180)
60. Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut - audiobook in the car - TIOLI #19. Read a book whose author is from a country that competed in the 2014 World Cup
61. The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett - Mysterycat challenge: Noir/hardboiled; TIOLI #9. Read a book about art theft or art forgery; 50 States map - California; - audiobook in the car; library
62. Pudd'nhead Wilson - Mark Twain - American Author Challenge; TIOLI # - ROOT 2013 =#32/50; acquired 2013 = 1 ROOT point = 128/180
63. Road Dogs - Elmore Leonard - started for July Mystery cat: Noir/hardboiled but didn't fit because it wasn't a mystery; - ROOT 2013 = #33/50; 1 point = 129/180 - audiobook in the car
64. Crossing to Safety - Wallace Stegner - RL book club; purchased 2014

AUGUST
65. Not for Everyday Use: A Memoir - Elizabeth Nunez - LTER
66. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - Karen Joy Fowler TIOLI #8. Read a book with an amusing LT tag; purchased 2014
67. Teaching at the Top of the World - Marilyn Forrester - GeoCat Challenge: Arctic/Anarctic; ROOT # 34/50; acquired 2013 for 1 ROOT point = 130/180; State map: Alaska
68. Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors - Nicholas Wade - 2nd quarter Science, Religion & History group read - library
69. Scarlet - Marissa Meyer - audiobook in the car; TIOLI #10. Read a book with a title that is also catalogued by a different author; library
70. The Long Farewell - Michael Innes - MysteryCat: British Detective; GeoCat: Western Europe; Random Cat: school/academia; TIOLI #4. Read a book set in or about Scotland, by a Scottish author; ROOT # 35/50; acquired 2013 = 1 ROOT point 131/180
71. Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay - geocat- Western Europe; TIOLI # 2. Read a book with a Top 50 Event listed in its CK; ROOT #36/50 - 2011; given to me by my cousin = 3 Root Points 134/185
72. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert Pirsig - RL bookclub; August TIOLI #8. Read a book with an amusing LT tag ROOT #37/50; not previously entered into LT = 1 ROOT point - 135/185
73. The Plot Against America - Phillip Roth - August American Author Challenge; 1001 Books; TIOLI #9. Read a book that starts with "The" then 1, 2, 3 or 4 words after in rolling order; state map >11 streamsong: : New Jersey; audiobook from library
74. 1 Dead in Attic - Chris Rose - Aug TIOLI #13. Read a book about tropical cyclones/ a hurricane; ROOT #38/50; acquired 2012 = 2 ROOT points 137/185

SEPTEMBER
75. Men at Arms - Terry Pratchett - September Series and Sequels; Sept TIOLI #15. Read a book which has a military term in the title; ROOT owned prior to 1/1/14, but not previously cataloged
76. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail - Cheryl Strayed - audiobook from library -RandomCat Toronto Film Festival; September TIOLI #11: Read a book that was first published after 1950 and adapted to film or tv; US map challenge: Oregon
77. Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah People's Bible Commentary - James J Westendorf - purchased 2014
78. David & Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants - Malcolm Gladwell - RL Book Club - purchased 2014; TIOLI - #2: Read a book by a living author who is younger than you
79. One of Our Thursdays is Missing - Jasper Fforde ; audiobook from library; Mystery Cat -Bibliomystery; TIOLI #14. Read a book that is part of a series and whose author's first or last name is five or six letters; September series and sequels
80. The Living Reed by Pearl S Buck - Geocat Challenge - Eastern Asia (Korea); TIOLI #13. Read a book that is epic in nature or scope; ROOT #40/50; Acquired 2007 = 7 ROOT points; World Map - North and South Korea
81. Take the Reins - John L Moore ROOT #41/50; acquired 2007 = 7 ROOT points; TIOLI #22. Read a book from the 900 section of the Dewey Decimal System
82. Giovanni's Room - James Baldwin - American author challenge; 1001 Books; library; September TIOLI #19 - Noun in title

OCTOBER
83. 2 Chronicles (People's Bible Commentary) - Paul O. Wendland - Personal reading through the Bible with commentaries challenge; acquired 2014
84. Unbroken - Lauren Hillenbrand - audiobook in the car; ROOT #42/50- acquired 2012 = 2 ROOT points 154/185; September Eastern Asia Geocat challenge - Japan; Oct TIOLI #10. Read a book with both orange and black on its cover; World Map - Japan
85. Spirit Tailings: Ghost Tales from Virginia City, Butte and Helena - Ellen Baumler - TIOLI #14 - Read a book that is dark; ROOT # 43/50 acquired 2013 = 1 ROOT point =155/185
86. The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan - Jenny Nordberg - LTER; TIOLI #5. Read a book with an S and a T in the title that you've never read before; World map - Afghanistan
87. - Simply Sane - Gerald May - The_Hibernator's Suicide and Mental Illness Read; TIOLI #1: Read a book with a species of bird named in the narrative (martini /4; pattern /5) ROOT #44/50 2009 = 5 ROOT points
88. - The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri - Real Life Bookclub; TIOLI # 7. Read a book whose title starts with a letter of HALLOWEEN in rolling order;ROOT #45/50 - acquired 2013 = 1 ROOT point - 161/185; world map: India
89. - Age of Innocence -Edith Wharton - American Author Challenge; October TIOLI #4: Read a book that is older than you (by publishing date); 1001 Books; audiobook from the library

FAVORITE BOOKS READ IN 2014




- Crossing To Safety - Wallace Stegner
- Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
- The Lives of Girls and Women - Alice Munro -
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian - Sherman Alexie
- Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegutt

Nonfiction:


- Five Days at Memorial - Sheri Fink
- The Underground Girls of Kabul - Jenny Nordberg
- The Hare With Amber Eyes - Edmund de Waal
- Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher - Timothy Egan

-Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright

****************************
STATISTICS FOR BOOKS READ IN 2014
**********************************

***** 89 -TOTAL BOOKS COMPLETED IN 2014 ****

45 - Books Read from the towering MT TBR (owned prior to Jan 1, 2014); ROOTS challenge
- Rereads from my shelves
30 - Books from library or borrowed
15- Books acquired 2014

FORMAT
65- Dead Tree Books
22 - Audiobooks
2 - combination of dead tree and audio
- other

GENRE
44- Fiction
1 - Christian fiction
3- classics (not on the 1001 list)
13 - 1001 Books to Read Before You Die
9 - general fiction
2 - fantasy/sf/sff
- horror, suspense
13 - mystery/thriller
5 - Young Adult
1- children's fiction

39 ---Non-Fiction
2 -Biography
12 -Christianity
1 - Essays/ Newspaper columns
7 - Memoir/biography
2 - History
3 - Psychology/sociology/self help
6 - Religion (not Christian, or not exclusively Christian)
6 - Science/Medical/Natural Science
1 - Travel
1- True Crime

1 - Books of Short Stories or essays
2 - graphic novel
- graphic non-fiction
2 - poetry
- plays
- Other

AUTHORS

46- Male Authors
42 - Female Authors

50 - Authors that are new to me
38- Authors I have previously enjoyed
2 - Rereads

Multiple books read in 2014 by same author:
3 - Margaret Atwood
2 - Marissa Meyer
2 - Rutu Modan
2 - Alexander McCall Smith
2 - Kurt Vonnegut

Nationality of Author:
1- Australia
6 - Canada
15 - England
1 - France
2 - Israel
3 - Scotland (UK)
1 - Sri Lanka
2 - Sweden
1 - Trinidad and Tabago
59- USA

Birthplace or residence of Author if different from nationality:
- 2- Botswana
- 1- China
- 1- Italy
- 1 - Thailand
2- USA -

Language Book Originally Published in:
77- English
1 - French
2 - Hebrew
1 - Swedish
1 - ?

BOOKS FROM MY SHELVES
Of the books I've read this year:
7 - cataloged into LT 2006 or before
5 - cataloged into LT 2007
6 - cataloged into LT 2008
2- cataloged into LT 2009
- cataloged into LT 2010
2 - cataloged into LT 2011
5 - cataloged into LT 2012
17 - cataloged into LT 2013
3 - acquired previously but uncataloged until 2014 (have lots of these!)
15 - acquired 2014
29 - borrowed from library 2014

AMERICAN AUTHOR CHALLENGE

Mark's American Author Challenge 2014 (downside--I have only a few of these on Planet TBR)

✔ January: Willa Cather - My Antonia -
✔ February - William Faulkner - The Hamlet
✔ March - Cormac McCarthy - All the Pretty Horses
✔ April - Toni Morrison- Jazz - library
✔ May - Eudora Welty - The Optimist's Daughter
✔ June - Kurt Vonnegut - Slaughterhouse- 5; Cat's Cradle
✔ July - Mark Twain Pudd'nhead Wilson / Those Extraordinary Twins
✔ August - Philip Roth - The Plot Against America -
✔ September - James Baldwin- Giovanni's Room
✔ October - Edith Wharton - The Age of Innocence
November - John Updike -
December - Larry Watson -

*************************************

1001 BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU DIE

-I've read 88 books from the combined list prior to January 1, 2014. And according to statistician extraordinaire JonnySaunders, at the beginning of this year's challenge my average 1001 book previously read is a 359 page tome written in 1950.

Goal: 12

89. ✔ Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf - 1927
90. ✔ The Hamlet by William Faulkner - 1940
91. ✔ The Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro - 1971
92. ✔ All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy - 1992
93. ✔ Jazz by Toni Morrison - library - 1992
94. ✔ The Optimist's Daughter - Eudora Welty - library - 1972
95. ✔ Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood - library - 1996
96. ✔ Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut - (1969)
97. ✔ Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut
(98. Hound of the Baskervilles - Arthur Conan Doyle Read October 2013 but did not add to 1001 list)
99. ✔ The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett - (1930)
100. ✔ The Plot Against America - Phillip Roth - (2004)
101. ✔ Giovanni's Room - James Baldwin - (1956)
102. ✔ Edith Wharton The Age of Innocence

Here's my thread on the 1001 group: http://www.librarything.com/topic/163173

MYSTERY CAT CHALLENGE
-from the 2014 category challenge group-

I can fill almost all of these from the Planet TBR which should reduce the planet a bit!

January: - Professional Detective (not policeman):
✔ Sherlock Holmes: The Montana Chronicles - John S Fitzpatrick - (cat trick) - (2013) - finished in February
February: - Mystery Series -
✔ Curse of the Pogo Stick - Colin Cotterill (2013)
✔ The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon - Alexander McCall Smith - LTER - (2013)
March: - YA and Children's Mysteries - Skipped
April: - Nordic Mysteries -
✔ The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson - audiobook - library
May: - Classic and Golden Age Mysteries
✔ A Study in Scarlet - Arthur Conan Doyle
June: - Police Procedurals
✔ The Lighthouse - PD James (ROOT 2008) cat trick
✔ Spider Woman's Daughter - Anne Hillerman or library; finished 7/4
July: - Noir and Hard-Boiled Mysteries
✔ Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett - library - audiobook
August: - British Mysteries
✔ The Long Farewell - Michael Innes - Cattrick! ROOT 2013
September: - Book-Themed Mysteries
✔ One of Our Thursdays is Missing - Jasper Fforde - audiobook from library
October: - Global Mysteries
November: - Historical Mysteries
December: - Cozy Mysteries

RANDOM CAT CHALLENGE

January: Beginnings, doorways
✔ On Sal Mal Lane - Ru Freeman (beginning of Sri Lankan Civil War) ROOT from 2013
✔ Sherlock Holmes: The Montana Chronicles - John S Fitzpatrick - (archways on cover - cat trick) - finished Feb - ROOT 2013
February : Children's or YA book
✔ Om-Kas-Toe: Blackfeet Twin Captures an Elkdog - Kenneth Thomasma (ROOT 2007)
March: Book With A Bird on the Cover
✔ - John (People's Bible Commentary) - Gary P Baumler (ROOT pre-2006)
✔ - Morality for Beautiful Girls - Alexander McCall Smith - (Root 2011) (finished in April)
April: Poetry
✔ - The Door - Margaret Atwood - library
✔ - Dugouts and Dreams - Frank C Tillson
May: Mothers
✔ The Life of an Ordinary Woman - Anne Ellis; ROOT 2008 (finished June 1)
June: Name of a Rose
✔ The Lighthouse - P.D. James - (Morning Light Rose) cat trick
July: Books about books
August: Back to School (includes school subjects):
✔ - Teaching at the Top of the World - Marilyn Forrester
✔ - The Long Farewell - Michael Innes - Cattrick! ROOT 2013
September: Theme from Toronto Film Festival
✔ - Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail - Cheryl Strayed
October Theme: Read a book bullet from a fellow LT'er:
✔ - Blue Like Jazz - Donald Millelr
November: Natural or Man Made Disaster:

GEO CAT CHALLENGE
From the 2014 Category Challenge

- Hopefully I can fill almost all of these with ROOTS - listing below ones that fit

January - Canada and the US:
✔ - We Like It Wild by Bradford Angier - (Canada)
✔ - Sherlock Holmes: The Montana Chronicles (USA) - John S Fitzpatrick - (cat trick) finished in Feb
✔ - My Antonia - Willa Cather (subspeciality: Immigration)
February - Middle East and North Africa
✔ - Stop Being Mean to Yourself - Melodie Beattie - Algeria, Egypt - (acq'd 2009)
March - Central America, Mexico and Caribbean
✔ - All the Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy - Mexico - (library)
April - Eastern Europe
✔ - The Property - (Poland) Rutu Modan - library
May - South Asia (India etc)
✔ - Buddha - Karen Armstrong - (ROOT 2007) - (finished 7/5)
- June - Islands and Bodies of Water
✔ The Lighthouse - P. D. James - (ROOT 2008) - cat trick
July - Polar Regions
✔ - Teaching at the Top of the World - Marilyn Forrester - finished 8/05/2014 ROOT2013
August - Western Europe
✔ The Long Farewell - (England, Italy) - Michael Innes - Cattrick! ROOT 2013
✔ - Sarah's Key - (France, Italy) - Tatiana de Rosnay - ROOT 2011
September - East Asia (China, Japan, etc.)
✔ - The Living Reed - Pearl S Buck - (Korea) ROOT 2007
October - South America
- One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez - (Columbia) - 1001 - started 2013
- The Beak of the Finch - Jonathan Weiner (Galapagos Islands/Ecuador)
November - Australia and Oceania
- Island of the Color Blind - Oliver Sacks
December - Sub-Saharan Africa
- Of Water and the Spirit - Patrice Malidoma Some -(2008)
- Woman in the Mists - Farley Mowatt - (2011)
- various #1 Ladies' Detective Agency - (2011)
-The Mottled Lizard - Elspeth Huxley - (2013)
- The Constant Gardener - John Le Carre - (2013)

BOOKS ACQUIRED IN 2014




I would like to keep this number at half or less of the number of ROOTS read.
Current number of ROOTS completed: 46
Current Number of Books Acquired in 2014: 52
Current Number of books added from Mom & Dad's library: 19
Current Number of Books Acquired in 2014 that I've Read ( ✔ ) : 13/51 - 3 in progress

1. ✔ Lives of Girls and Women - Alice Munro - February RL Book Club
2. ✔ The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester - Feb Green Dragon group read
3. ✔ Dakota - Gwen Florio LTER 2/5
4. ✔ - 2 Chronicles (People's Bible Commentary) by Paul O. Wendland (2/17 ordered 12/2013)
5.***Reading*** General Epistles (People's Bible Commentary) by Mark A. Jeske (2/17 ordered 12/2013)
6. ✔ Nahum/Habakkuk/Zephaniah (People's Bible Commentary) by James J. Westendorf (2/17 ordered 12/2013)
7. The Lochsa Story - Bud Moore 2/24 FOL shelf
8. The Thirtymile Fire: A Chronicle of Bravery and Betrayal by John N. Maclean 2/24 FOL shelf
9. ✔ Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking - Susan Cain 3/5 RL bookclub
10. ✔ Not for Everyday Use - Elizabeth Nunez - LTER - rec'd 3/6/2014
11. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - Helen Simonson - AAUW sale 4/11/2014
12. ✔ We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - Karen Joy Fowler - ARC- AAUW sale 4/11/2014
13. Alas, Babylon - Pat Frank - AAUW sale 4/11/2014
14. The Casual Vacancy - J.K. Rowling - AAUW sale 4/11/2014
15. The 19th Wife - David Ebershoff - AAUW sale 4/11/2014
16. ✔ The Orchardist - Amanda Coplin - 4/17 April RL book club
17. ✔ The Hare With the Amber Eyes - Edmund de Waal 4/29 May RL Book Club
18. The Merry Misogynist - Colin Cotterill 5/3
19. Slash and Burn - Colin Cotterill 5/3
20. ***Reading*** Jesus and the Victory of God - N. T. Wright
21. The House at Otowi Bridge: The Story of Edith Warner and Los Alamos by Peggy Pond Church 5/15
22. Tongues of Fire - Karen Armstrong - 5/20
23. ✔ The Underground Girls of Kabul - Jenny Nordberg LTER 6/15
24. Disco for the Departed - Colin Cotterill - 7/6
25. Angle of Repose - Wallace Stegner - whoops- ordered the wrong Stegner for the book club
26. ✔ Crossing to Safety - Wallace Stegner July RL book club
27. The Dream of the Earth - Thomas Berry
28. The Last Queen of Sheba - Jill Francis Hudson - LTER
29. The Foreign Correspondent - Alan Furst - audiobook - 7/26 FOL shelf
30. Anarchy and Old Dogs - Colin Cotterill - Book Exchange 8/19/2014
31. Barren Grounds: The Story of the Tragic Moffatt Canoe Trip by Skip Pessl 8/20/2014 LTER
32. Beijing Bastard - Val Wang LTER
33. ✔ David & Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants - Malcolm Gladwell RL book club 9/15/2014
34. *****Reading***** Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories - Roald Dahl - Bitterroot Library Book Sale 9/24/2014
35. Lost in My Own Backyard - Tim Cahill - Bitterroot Library Book Sale 9/24/2014
36. The Egg and I - Betty MacDonald - v
37. The Yellowstone Story Volume 1 - Aubrey L Haines - Bitterroot Library Book Sale 9/24/2014
38. The Burgess Boys - Elizabeth Strout - Bitterroot Library Book Sale 9/24/2014
39. War Trash - Ha Jin - Bitterroot Library Book Sale 9/24/2014
40. Women of the Silk - Gail Tsukiyama - Bitterroot Library Book Sale 9/24/2014
41. Old Filth - Jane Gardam - Bitterroot Library Book Sale 9/24/2014
42. Tehran Noir - Salar Abdoh - LTER 10/10/2014
43. The Royal Wulff - Keith McCafferty 10/11/2014 - Festival of the Book
44. A Fact & Fiction Reader - Missoula Area Writers - Festival of the Book
45. Death Comes to Pemberley - P.D. James 10/15 - freebie at library
46. Outfoxed - Rita Mae Brown - 10/15 - freebie at library
47. The Gray Ghost Murders: A Sean Stranahan Mystery by Keith McCafferty - I met this author at the Montana Festival of the Book last week. This is the second in the series, and was the one chosen by Oprah for her mystery list. 10/15 - freebie at library
48. Three by Annie Dillard: The Writing Life, An American Childhood, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - by Annie Dillard (I've read one, have a second already on Planet TBR and one new one. I'll probably replace two of mine and keep this one) 10/15 - freebie at library
49. Playing God in Yellowstone: The Destruction of America's First National Park - by Alston Chase - 10/15 - freebie at library
50. Listening to Whales: What the Orcas Have Taught Us by Alexandra Morton - I'm not familiar with this book or author at all, but, well, orcas ... 10/15 - freebie at library
51. Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande 10/27/2014
52. The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien - 10/31/2014

These are books from my parents' collection as Mom is downsizing and getting ready to move from her house into senior living. Even though they are more books coming into the house, I'm putting them in a separate 'acquired' collection than the ones above.

1. The Expeditions of Willis Partridge - Abelard Schuman - childhood favorite
2. Curious George - H. A. Rey - childhood copy
3. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - Paul Torday - Dad's
4. Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo - Hayden Herrera - Dad's
5. A Century of Home Cooking from Heritage Crossroads Country - Mom's
6. The Last Valley - A. B. Guthrie, Jr inscribed by author to Dad
7. Life on the Mississippi - Mark Twain - more of Aunt Clara's set
8. Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain - more of Aunt Clara's set
9. Tough Trip Through Paradise - Andrew Garcia - Dad's
10. ✔ Dugouts and Dreams - Frank Tillson - Dad's Uncle Frank
11. Dreams for Sale - Frank Tillson - Dad's Uncle Frank
12. The Cock-Eyed Muse - Frank Tillson - Dad's Uncle Frank
13. They Left Their Tracks - Howard Copenhaver - Dad's
14. Big Sky Ghosts - Debra D Munn - Dad's
15. The Bloody Bozeman - Dorothy M Johnson
16. Frontier Omnibus - John W. Hakola
17. Mission Among the Blackfeet - Howard L. Harrod
18. Goodbye Picasso by David Douglas Duncan
19. Bedside Book of Bastards - Dorothy Johnson

World Map: (2014 reads)

Algeria: Stop Being Mean to Yourself - Melody Beattie - (location)
Afghanistan: Underground Girls of Kabul - Jenny Nordberg - (location, Swedish author)
Australia: The Rosie Project - Graeme Simison - (location, author)
Austria: The Hare With Amber Eyes - Edmund de Waal -(location)
Botswana: The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon - Alexander McCall Smith - (location, resident author)
Canada: --British Columbia: We Like it Wild - Bradford Angier - (location, resident author)
------------ Ontario : Lives of Girls and Women - Alice Munro (6/1) - (location, author)
------------ Ontario: Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood - (location, author)
Egypt: Stop Being Mean to Yourself - Melody Beattie - (location)
France: Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay - (author, location)
Germany: Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut - (location) (6/1/14)
Greece: The Penelopiad - Margaret Atwood - (location) - (6/7/2014)
India: Buddha - Karen Armstrong - (location) 7/5/2014
Israel: Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan - (location, author)
Italy: Monster of Florence - Douglas Preston - (location, co-author)
Japan: Unbroken - Lauren Hillenbrand (location) 10/13/2014
Korea (North & South): The Living Reed - Pearl S Buck September 2014
Laos: Curse of the Pogo Stick - Colin Cotterill - (location, resident author)
Mexico: All the Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy - (location)
Poland: The Property by Rutu Modan - (location, Israeli author)
Sri Lanka: On Sal Mal Lane - Ru Freeman - (location, author)
Sweden: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson - (location, author) - (4/30)
Trinidad & Tobago: Not For Everyday Use - Elizabeth Nunez
UK: England: Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf - (location, author)
US: Yellowstone Has Teeth - Marjane Ambler - (location, author)


visited 24 states (10.6%)
Create your own visited map of The World

I'm checking this site out to see if I like the map better - mostly to see if more of the small countries show up:

Traveling the World in Books 2014

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

*******************************************************

US Map: (2014 reads)

Alaska: Teaching at the Top of the World - Marilyn Forrester - 8/5/2014
California: The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett - 7/17/2014
Colorado - The Life of an Ordinary Woman - Anne Ellis - (6/1/2014)
Louisiana - Five Days at Memorial - Sheri Fink
Mississippi - The Hamlet - William Faulkner
Missouri - Pudd'nhead Wilson - Mark Twain
Montana: - Sherlock Holmes: The Montana Chronicles - John S Fitzpatrick
Nebraska: My Antonia - Willa Cather
New Jersey : The Plot Against America - Phillip Roth - 8/30/2014
New Mexico: Spider Woman's Daughter - Anne Hillerman 7/4
New York: Jazz - Toni Morrison
North Dakota: Dakota - Gwen Florio
Oregon: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail - Cheryl Strayed
Texas: All the Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy
Utah: Under the Banner of Heaven - Jon Krakauer
Vermont: Crossing to Safety - Wallace Stegner
Virginia: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - Annie Dillard
Washington: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian - Sherman Alexie
Wisconsin: Crossing to Safety - Wallace Stegner
Wyoming: Yellowstone Has Teeth - Marjane Ambler


visited 20 states (40%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

'nother empty slot for housekeeping

I just love your list-keeping and organization! It's always fun to get to a new thread of yours!

I agree with countrylife. Very fun to visit here.

Love the maps Janet. Hoping your stream doesn't overrun you.

Happy New Thread, Janet! Fingers crossed about your stream!

Montana is one of those places in which I day dream about living. Your description of a faithful dog as a companion and a cat awaiting you at home makes the picture just perfect. So, uh, when can I come and visit...? :)

Hi Cindy and Ellen - If you two knew how disorganized I am in RL, my lists would give you a laugh. :-) But I joined in so many challenges this year, that I need the lists to keep myself from getting too distracted. Otherwise, I go to a thread, and join three more group reads and order six more books.

But for a laugh .... I have even more lists in the 'Notes' section of my homepage.

Somebody mentioned HabitRPG.com My poor little warrior icon dies regularly over there. Right now I have one daily habit listed there - will I be able to keep this guy alive if I only do one thing but do it successfully?

Stephanie I love the maps, too. The problem with the world map is that many of the smaller nations like Israel don't show up on it ... not to mention the teeny tiniest like Trinidad-Tobago (one of my next ER reads). I saw someone's thread with a different world map that seemed to show more of the smalls. If I can find it again, I'll probably switch.

Hello Amber - Yes, Montana is fun. Part of Yellowstone Park is in Montana, as is Glacier Park, which is pretty darn spectacular. LT'ers are few and far between, though, and I'd love to meet a few more!

We're having a few cooler days now which will slow down the melt off - but that means there will be more to come off when the warm weather really hits.

Happy New Thread, Janet. Almost missed it!

Found you! I hope your stream behaves itself...

Thanks for stopping by Connie and Lor!

>19 fuzzi: Heehee I knew I would be sharing lots of water-angst in this thread!

Still doing April reviews:


34. - Flu by Gina Kolata
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- Science Religion and History Group Read;
April TIOLI #10 - rolling tags;
ROOT #19/50- 2013; 1 ROOT point

The often forgotten 1918 influenza epidemic was huge - worldwide more people died than in WWI and WWII combined. There were 19,000 deaths in New York City alone.

This book gives an account of the epidemic and then details the search for reasons this wave of influenza was so deadly and what it can teach us about a future influenza pandemic.

I enjoyed the stories of the search for the virus - from Eskimo flu victims and far northern miners buried in the Permafrost layer to carefully preserved tissue samples stored in a national archive of samples from military dead. While the book ends with many questions, a lot of those questions, such as why this particular strain of flu was so deadly, are still being addressed by researchers today - and the perfect vaccination against the ever-changing virus is still out of reach.

I read this as part of the Science Religion & History group read on various books about the 1918 epidemic.

35. - Dugouts and Dreams - Frank C Tillson
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- April TIOLI # 9. Read a collection of World War I poetry or a book about World War I poets or poetry;
- April Random Category - Read a book of poetry
- This book is from my parents' collection - Great Uncle Frank;
- acquired 2014

This book is one from my parents' library. I've been helping Mom sort through their hundreds of books (and naturally, acquiring some for myself). Frank Tillson was my father's favorite uncle. He published three books of poetry. This one is the story of his life during and after WWl.

Although his poetry doesn't really appeal to me, I'm interested and amazed at his experiences in France in the trenches. So many questions that no one can answer:

Did a buddy really take a bullet for him?
How about the dud shell?
And the girl(s) he fell in love with in France?
Were the poems written during the war or after?

I wish I could talk to him.

This was my Dad's favorite of Uncle Frank's poems. So in honor of Uncle Frank (whom I never met) and my father, here's

Dud

I have heard men tell of the sweetest words that human voice can speak,
Of the tender words of the mother tongue, be in Choctaw, French or Greek.
Oh, it must be great in the pale moonlight, to hear her murmur, "Yes".
And the words like 'Mother, home, and friend" mean more than we confess.
All these words are sweet, but away out here, where the cannon crash and roar,
I have learned a word that is sweeter, far, than any I've heard before.

Were you ever out on a lonely plain, when the moon was awful clear,
And you looked around for a hole to duck, but never a hole was near,
While the German shells went whizzing by, and closer and closer, drew.
As you wondered which of them was stamped with the number meant for you.
Till at last one hit at your very feet, and plastered you with mud;
Then you knew the relief that a word can bring,
when someone whispers "Dud".

Did you ever sit in a tiny trench, where you knew you had to stick,
In a Christian Science dugout, with a roof six inches thick,
Not a thing to do but just sit and cuss and light a cigarette
While the "Whiz-Bangs" banged and the big "Five Nines" tore up the parapet?
Then you surely know how sweet it sounds, when you've heard a big one thud.
and you've held your breath for a million years, just to hear that whisper "Dud".

I suppose when the war is finished, when the victory is won,
When the hard tack all is eaten, and the bully beef is gone,
When my last true friend has been bored to death by the tales that I unload,
Of the wondrous way that my life was saved, when that shell did not explode,
And I tell the world for the umpteenth time, how I waded through seas of blood,
Then some guy will murmur in accents mild, "Too bad it was a Dud."

Oops, lost your thread somehow! Still waiting for your review of Yoga XXL, since I didn't get it from ER. I want to start up yoga again but know there are positions I simply can't do at my current age and weight.

I just bought The Rosie Project too.

>22 ronincats: Yoga XXL is wonderful and I have been remiss about writing a review. I'm not quite done with it and keep thinking I should finish it before reviewing it in case there is something hidden in the last few chapters - but another part says to just write it.

She does amazing thing with the exercise modifications - like doing the tree lying down so you get the stretch, but not worrying about gravity and balance while doing it. You could do the recumbent exercises on your bed, rather than the floor.

I'll be interested in what you think about The Rosie Project. Unlike others here on LT, the humor makes me a bit uncomfortable. Is it any funnier to watch a person with Aspergers (although never really called that) run into emotional landmines than it is to watch a blind person stumbling over hidden obstacles? I'm finding other characters like Gene, to be cardboard stereotypes. Bah, Humbug. I am a thin-skinned curmudgeon.

Good to see you again!

From pathos to a chuckle at the end - I agree with your Dad - that's a great poem!

>24 countrylife: It's definitely a style, that I think, perhaps has gone a bit out of fashion. It's fascinating to have a bit of family history from that era.

Last of the April books!!:



36. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
How IT Fits Into My Reading Now:
-April MysteryCat Cahllenge - Scandicrime
-April TIOLI #10 - Rolling Tags Challenge
- audiobook, library

This is the third book of The Millennium Trilogy. I had read The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo when it first came out and enjoyed it very much. I was less thrilled with the second book, The Girl Who Played With Fire, which I thought was filled with darkness. I had the DVD of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo home to watch when my DD came home for a visit. She is a strong advocate for women and was appalled that I would watch such a misogynistic story where an exceptionally violent rape was a major plot point and women seemed eager to fall into bed with the hero, journalist Mikael Blomkvist. I hadn't thought about it in those terms, but gave it up .... and did not pick up the third one ....

until this challenge to read a Scandicrime novel for the MysteryCat challenges.

This was a satisfying ending to the trilogy. Evil government plots, good guy government plots, bad guys getting their comeuppance and things looking grim for our heroine, incredibly decent people doing the right thing and most importantly the emotionally damaged Lisbeth Salander who showed what she is truly made of and became victor rather than victim.

Nothing deep, just a beach read sort of book, but an exciting and emotionally satisfying ending.

Wasn't it an exciting read, Stream!! I loved is when I read them.

Hi Janet! *hugs* Yes, I'm back :-)

>25 streamsong: DD ... was appalled
This was pretty much my reaction to The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo so I passed on the others.

>23 streamsong: The Rosie Project. ... the humor makes me a bit uncomfortable.
I read this recently, shortly after The Speed of Dark, and I had to adjust expectations. Once I got to thinking of it as a romantic comedy, I enjoyed it. The humor didn't strike me as ridiculing, so it didn't bother me.

About The Rosie Project - I didn't read it that way either, qebo. I have a relative with Asperger's and I found the writing as showing the endearing aspects of a person with Asperger's; I didn't see it as a ridiculing kind of humor at all.

>28 qebo: and Hi Katherine I fully understand about the rape thing.

>28 qebo: and >29 countrylife: Katherine and Cindy:

I also agree that the humor in The Rosie Project is not ridiculing. In fact, as Cindy says, it makes the main character quite sympathetic. Nevertheless, one of his coping mechanisms is to exaggerate actions that others laugh at; something just makes me uncomfortable there.

Do you think Don seems so much more self-aware of his actions and emotions towards the end of the book, where he is determined to fit in better.. That left me a little surprised. Can someone with Asperger's make that kind of change? Perhaps that's why he's never actually labled 'Asperger's. He has traits, but does not exactly fit the definintion.

Also sleep-with-someone-from-every-country Gene reminded me of a disliked roommate I had for a short time in college whose mission was to sleep with every member of the football team. But that was the 70's and she was an undergrad, not a professor in the 21st century with a map on her office wall.

I'll have to let my thoughts gel a bit before writing a review, but for me it was just OK.

I agree, streamsong, Gene was obnoxious, but I think we were meant to find him so. I love to read the varying takes on a book; so many nuances that strike people differently - and the camaraderie to discuss them. Yet one more good Thing about LibraryThing.

>30 streamsong: With The Speed of Dark, I felt that I was inside the mind of autistic person. With The Rosie Project, I felt that I was watching a character from the outside; it was The Odd Couple rather than insightful.

>31 countrylife: Cindy, yes LT is amazing that way. I love the variety of opinions here.

>32 qebo: Hey Katherine. It's interesting you said that because in a place or two on the net, I've read that The Rosie Project was first pitched as a sit com. It wasn't an official site (in fact it may have part of a review somewhere) so I don't know if it's true, but I can definitely see it as a sitcom.

It's not that the book didn't make me laugh - it did. Just no rave reviews here from me, but I acknowledge that I am in the minority.

37. - Exit Wounds - Rutu Modan
How It Fits Into My Reading:
-May TIOLI #12- challenge from May in a previous year -
-May Murder and Mayhem
-World map - Israel
- graphic novel
- library

Having enjoyed The Property earlier this year, I decided to try this second graphic novel by Rutu Modan.

Koby Franco has been estranged from his father, refusing to be in touch with him for several years.

Some weeks after a suicide bombing in Israel, Koby is contacted by a female soldier who feels that an unidentified body from the bombing is Koby's father. Her evidence includes a scarf that she had knitted found among the debris, and the disappearance of the man. She needs Koby's DNA to make a positive identification. It soon becomes apparent that the somewhat odd soldier had a relationship with Koby's father.

The novel quickly becomes more about relationships than discovering the body's identity. Koby's father not only left his mother and siblings flat, but the two discover a trail of relationships with women, some remembering him fondly, some regretfully, some, like Koby with a deep sense of hurt and betrayal. Is what he did wrong? Are sexual taboos wrong or are they just custom?

Reality hides behind appearances. It starts with everyone the pair talks to believing they are referring to a larger, more well known suicide bombing that occurred about the same time in a different city. Koby's father is not the man those who knew him perceived. Is the body Koby's father or is there another explanation for the scarf?

Interesting layers in this one, but it fell a bit short for me and I'll give it 3.7 stars.

*waving hi as she wanders through*

38. The New Testament and the People of God - N. T. Wright
How It Fits Into My Reading Now
- ROOT 2014
- group read

When the Science, Religion and History thread was nominating material last fall, I suggested Zealot. It was pooh-poohed by some people who are scholars of the subject, as being an overly simplified popular account. This series was suggested instead, so when a year long group read of this series came up in another group, I decided to go for it, although I haven't read any scholarly theological works previously.

This first volume is an excellent look at Judaism in the century before, during and after Jesus's life. At over 500 pages (including various indices and bibliography), it takes some dedication to get through. At times, I became lost in competing schools of thought. But I feel that I learned more from this book than from anything I have read in a very long time.

This is the first in a four volume series. (I believe there may be a 5th one planned).

Well worth the time and effort for anyone with an interest in the subject.

39. - A Study in Scarlet - Arthur Conan Doyle
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- May Mystery and Mayhem
- Category Challenge: Golden Age or Classic Mystery
- ROOT 2012 = 2 ROOT points

I'd eventually like to read the entire Sherlock canon and what better place to start than the beginning?

Here we are introduced to both Sherlock and Watson and to Sherlock's skills of perception and idiosyncrasies of learning and character. It's the beginning of the famous relationship and their first crime solved.

I enjoyed reading this and also watching the Cumberbatch/Martin version of the opening episode, A Study in Pink.

There is an abrupt flashback in the middle part of the novel which was a bit unsettling as there is no indication that it is coming. Immediately one is in the Utah of the American West and the beginnings of Mormon settlements - a time when injustices and atrocities were committed both by and towards Mormons. This part of the novel makes the book somewhat controversial.

This era of history was also explored in a book I read earlier this year: Under the Banner of Heaven: The Story of a Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer. Although Krakauer's book is about Fundamentalist Mormon offshoots today, he also touched upon the violence surrounding the early Mormon religion. He mentions that early Mormonism had a great many converts in the UK until Joseph Smith put forth his revelation on plural marriage, which caused great consternation in Britain.

Scientologists in Going Clear also pointed to early Mormonism as a defense to some of their own antics saying that as religions mature, they become less autocratic and more respectable as they no longer feel the need to physically defend themselves.

So I enjoyed the story itself, and also the synchronicity that happened between several unrelated books which helped explain both the violence and the attitudes toward Mormonism in Britain during the time.

>36 streamsong: Janet, I couldn't disagree more about Zealot. It's certainly not as dense as some of the more scholarly books I've read, but Aslan does a good job of covering a complicated place and time, in as much rich context as possible.

Hi Stephanie-- At this point, I don't have the knowledge to agree or disagree with the scholarship behind Zealot. I look forward to reading it at some point as I am interested in the historical Jesus. I imagine, since one of the criticisms is that there is nothing new, that I'll be somewhat familiar with much of what he asserts. (Thirty years ago XDH used to work as an editor for Scholar's Press/ the Jesus Seminar when it was still in Missoula at the University of Montana and so anti-theological arguments are nothing new.)

In the meantime, I am really enjoying Wright's books, even if I am a bit lost as to his quick summaries of what various scholars believe.

>39 streamsong: Janet, okay I was going to add some thoughts but couldn't figure out a way to do it without sounding like I was attacking someone, which isn't what I want to convey. I'll just leave you with being interested in what you think of it once you've read it.

Janet, thank you so much for recommending My Name is Red for my Thingadingy. I enjoyed it very much and know I'll be re-reading it.

Hi Stephanie-- I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'd like to reread it sometime, too. I listened to it on audiobook, and while I enjoyed it thoroughly I'm sure I missed lots of small details. In the meantime, I plan on reading The Black Book later this year for one of the mystery challenges.

I appreciated your thoughts on Aslan's book.

ETA-- don't know if you noticed but I'm trying out the world map that I saw on your thread >10 streamsong:
I like seeing all the national boundaries and am hoping that the small countries may show up a bit better. While I'm deciding, I have both the old and new up. Comments, anyone, one the two styles?

>42 streamsong: Janet, I agree with you about the map with the boundaries showing up better.

Here it comes. Water angst.

The snowpack is still above 100%, Skalkaho Creek is running very full, and 80 degree weather predicted in the next few days. The rivers are supposed to hit flood stage on Friday.

I've never been flooded, but this may be the year.

OH! Janet, I'm crossing fingers and holding my thumbs that the Flood with Stay Away from you Door!

No water on my place, although there is some minor flooding downstream of where I am. Today is overcast and a bit cooler which should relieve some pressure on the snow melt.

Thanks for the good wishes, Karen and thanks as always, for stopping by.

<43 Stephanie, thanks for the map input. Your thread is one of the places I saw the blue map with the country outlines. For my old eyes, it's a little blurry in Europe and I do like the way the red shows up. I think I'll keep both for a while longer.

I'm currently reading The Hare With Amber Eyes for this week's RL bookclub. It's a biography of writer/artist's Edmund de Waal's family whose purpose was to be seen and to establish a dynasty throughout Europe and Russia. Life among the superrich in Paris in the early 1900's was certainly a well-crafted spectacle.

It's also expanding my vocabulary - lots of French phrases and French derived words that I'm not familiar with, having never had to worry about the proper vitrine for my bibelots. :-)

In the car, I started my June American Authors Challenge book - Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. I had read several of his books in high school and college, but it never dawned on me then that he was slightly older than my father and would have been in his 90's now.

40. - The Optimist's Daughter - Eudora Welty
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- May - American Author Challenge.
- 1001 Books.
- TIOLI #3 - Read a book where the title is Somebody's Something.
- Library

When a respected and well-loved Mississipi judge lets his daughter, Laurel, know that he requires eye surgery, she hurries to his side to keep him entertained during the period of his forced immobilization that eye surgery required in a previous era. There we also meet the judge's second wife, Fay, who is arguably, one of the most self-centered characters I have met in fiction. Piqued with what the operation is doing to her life, she pouts as she is missing carnival. During one of her small rages against him lying motionless as per doctor's orders, the judge expires.

The judge's body returns home and we see the myriad of well-wishers before and during the funeral. Some are old friends, some scarcely were in the judge's home once to do a small commercial service such as tuning the piano. Fay continues her outrageous self-centered behavior pointing out that the home and all its contents belong to her and she hadn't planned a party. Her family unexpectedly arrive (she had told people she had no family) and turn out to be very crass, stereotypical 'white trash'.

Laurel, supported by the women who had been her bridesmaids and friends during her youth who would love her to move back to the town where the rest of them still live and fall back into the patterns of small town life. She searches for a bit of the past - her mother's bread recipe, a bread board made by her husband who was killed in the war.

I enjoyed the writing and the humor.

For me, this book was really personal, since I buried my father last fall.

I know that feeling of desperately trying to change the fate of an ill parent; then afterwards being surrounded by family and friends like sinking into a feather comforter and wanting to stay there forever; the searching for the past, only to find that when you've found that bit, it's already been changed and moved on.

4 stars.

41. The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
-Planned for April Autism Awareness; didn't receive in time
-May TIOLI # 18 - Read a Book with a connection to the number 5 - (5 letter word in title)
- World Map - Australia - Australian author
- audiobook in the car;
- library

Don Tillman, a genetics professor who seems to have some autism-like traits, decides to scientifically find the ideal mate based on a comprehensive questionnaire he devises along with some other research into various methods of dating. And then his best friend sends him Rosie, a most unsuitable match according to his research and eventually science goes out the window.

This is a frothy read. I laughed at events, but I also felt a bit uncomfortable. Don is never identified as having autism but after speaking to a group of parents and kids with Asperger's it is certainly strongly suggested. And yet Don has a lot of insight into relationship issues and develops even more insight by the end of the book. At that point he even gives relationship advice to Gene, his best friend and holdover from the 70's who is trying to sleep with women from every country and damaging his marriage in the process. Is this possible with Asperger's/autism? That one can develop emotional insight that one genetically doesn't have? The love of a good woman and all that, I guess.

In addition, some of the some mistakes Don makes had me cringing in sympathy for him. He says that he has learned to exaggerate such mistakes to make people laugh harder and so they don't bother him. So the reader has permission to laugh, too, I guess. I'm thin-skinned. What can I say?

As a portrayal of autism, I think I'd give this book 2.5 stars. As a light-hearted romp, I'd rate it higher. It's hard to average those two aspects out. I'll give it 3.5 and say proceed with a bit of caution.

42. Numbers: People's Bible Commentary - Paul W. Kuske
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- personal challenge to read all the books of the Bible with a commentary (Using the People's Bible Commentary series)
- ROOT #22/50; acquired 2006 = 8 ROOT points (81/185)

This is copied from Post 94 in my first thread:

"Two years ago, as part of my 2012 New Year's Resolutions, I started reading the entire set, 15 minutes a day. I knew, as always, that I would get bogged down half a dozen books into the Old Testament, so I decided to follow this rotating scheme of Bible reading here: http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.html. "

Currently on "week 41" . Will I finish this year? I won't stress about it, but it would be nice. I should finish two more of these in June.

43. Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- Planned to read for Atwood April; instead it got rolled over in May Murder & Mayhem
- 1001 Books to read Before you Die;
- May TIOLI # 5. Read a book with a word in the title that could be something good;
- library

Margaret Atwood always seems to give her genre books a twist. In this bit of historical fiction/ murder mystery she weaves a tale around Grace Marks, convicted of murder in Canada in 1843. Was she the mastermind or the innocent dupe, a woman of little intelligence or a skilled actress, insane or perhaps something even darker?

This was a good, solid read. I thought the first bit was slow, but it did pick up as the book continued and the last hundred pages sped by.

I was intrigued by the appearance of Canadian author and pioneer Susanna Moodie in the book. When I read Moodie's Roughing It in the Bush a few years back, I also read the book of poetry that Atwood had written about her life, The Journals of Susanna Moodie: Poems. It looks like Atwood is a bit obsessed, or at least intrigued, by Susanna Moodie.

Hi Janet! I just want to know if the flood stayed away from your house! I hope it did!

Hi Connie--thanks for stopping by. Yes, thankfully still high and dry here.

Since snow can contain very little water (light and powdery) or a lot (very dense almost ice) the official government monitoring is done in Snow Water Equivalent's - SWE's instead of inches of snow. Here's the official SWE at the headwaters of 'my' creek:

http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/view?intervalType=+View+Current+&report=WY...

Dark purple is the amount left to melt - light purple is the average amount. As you can see, there has been a **huge** melt in the last week, although in the last few days, it's been cooler so the rate has slowed a bit. How long until the melt at the top arrives at my place? I wish I knew. The creek is very large and very fast - looks like a river- definitely could not be crossed by a person or a horse at this point.

It's supposed to turn much warmer and stay that way for the next week or so - so keep sending good thoughts.

Thinking of you and keeping my fingers crossed!

Thank you! It's still looking good. The forecast is for water to peak late this week or early next week so we're almost through without floating away.

**Huge sigh of relief**

I just finished The Hare With the Amber Eyes for my bookclub today. I thought it was fascinating view of European/Jewish politics and history during the hundred years until the end of WWII. I'll be interested to see what my club thought of it. Review to follow ... at a later date.... when I get caught up .......

To my surprise, I'm also enjoying Slaughterhouse-Five. I had tried it before, but got impatient with the silliness and put it down. This time, I'm listening to the audio. In part, my enjoyment is due to the narrator, Ethan Hawke, who is wonderful.

But another part of it is that audiobooks often take me right through the parts I get bogged down and on to the next section. Audiobooks seem to be a good way for me to get through books that otherwise would be set aside.

44. The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston
How It Fits Into My Reading Now:
- May Murder & Mayhem;
- ROOT #23/50; acquired 2013 - 1 ROOT point (Total = 82/185)
- audiobook in the car

Author Douglas Preston moved his family to Florence, Italy to find that a notorious serial killer known as The Monster of Florence, murdered two of his victims in a nearby olive grove. Preston becomes caught up in trying to solve the identity of the killer; he joined forces with Mario Spezi, an Italian journalist who had also been consumed by the mystery of the killer who only kills couples found while they are making love.

But then, the story takes a bizarre turn. The local police and another Italian investigative unit have been in a fierce rivalry to solve the crime. Men have been arrested and even done prison time for the murders only to be exonerated later. And the police don't like Spezi and Preston's investigation and end up using evidence the pair have uncovered to charge the two journalists with the crimes.

A truly strange tangle. In many ways, this story of the Italian justice system has helped me to understand the tangle of Amanda Knox and the murder of her roommate.

>56 streamsong: I listened to that one last year and was fascinated by the bizarre story. Stranger than fiction, for certain!

Janet, glad you have survived without being washed away!

>56 streamsong: Janet, I am a big fan of Preston and Lincoln Childs together in their Pendergast books. I am not a big fan of them separately, but The Monster of Florence intrigues me, so maybe I will keep an eye out for it.

Thanks for stopping by, Amber, Roni and Stephanie!

>59 AuntieClio: That's interesting that you've read some of his other books, Stephanie. I haven't read anything else by him. He mentions various of his thrillers/mysteries in the book and the police actually use some of the murder scenes from his books as part of the 'evidence' against him.

PM me if you'd like the audiobook (CD's). I picked it up at last year's library book sale for about $1, and it is now ready to go to its next home.

45. - The Hare With the Amber Eyes - Edmund de Waal
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- RL Book club
- May TIOLI #19: Read a Book with a Glossary that Could Be More Complete or a Book that SHOULD Have a Glossary and Doesn't
- world map: France, Austria
- purchased 2014

From the publisher:

"Edmund de Waal is a world-famous ceramicist. Having spent thirty years making beautiful pots—which are then sold, collected, and handed on—he has a particular sense of the secret lives of objects. When he inherited a collection of 264 tiny Japanese wood and ivory carvings, called netsuke, he wanted to know who had touched and held them, and how the collection had managed to survive.

And so begins this extraordinarily moving memoir and detective story as de Waal discovers both the story of the netsuke and of his family, the Ephrussis, over five generations. A nineteenth-century banking dynasty in Paris and Vienna, the Ephrussis were as rich and respected as the Rothchilds. Yet by the end of the World War II, when the netsuke were hidden from the Nazis in Vienna, this collection of very small carvings was all that remained of their vast empire."

Although I'd seen this one mentioned for several years, I had paid it only a bit of attention until my RL book club chose it.

It started out a bit slowly, but quickly became one of my favorite non-fiction reads for the year. It absolutely made European history from the late 1800's to WWII come alive for me, beginning with art patron Charles Ephrussis in Paris in the late 1800's. The descriptions of the art salons peopled by impressionist painters are wonderful as is the detailing of the phase of art collecting when collecting japonaiseries became the fashion.

It then moves to Vienna and the absolutely palatial splendor in which this family lived until Germany invaded Austria and the arrests began.

Throughout all, it details the anti-Semitism that engulfed Europe throughout the entire time.

I found it an absorbing and eye-opening read.

>60 streamsong: thank you for the offer Janet, but I will pass. I'm not much of an audio book person.

>62 AuntieClio: Stephanie, I really understand that. The only time I listen to audiobooks is while I'm driving - not much distraction in the backroads of Montana. except for the deer which are pretty abundant. I do about an hour a day driving back and forth to work, which gets me through two or three audio books a month.

Right now I'm listening to Timothy Egan's Short Night of the Shadow Catchers about Edward Curtis, the well known photographer of Indians/Native Americans on the cusp of the 19th century, I'm enjoying this one as much as other of Egan's that I've read and the subject matter is fascinating.

I'm also reading The Penelopiad for the One LibraryThing Read. It's light and funny and also very good.

May Roundup:

9 books
2 from the 1001
4 ROOTS (2 from 2013, 1 from 2012, 1 from 2006)

Countries added to 2014 reading map: (>10 streamsong:)

Israel: Location, author
Italy: Location, secondary author
Australia: Location, author
France: Location,
Austria: Location

States Added to 2014 reading map

(None)

46. Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut -
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- June American Author Challenge
- 1001 Books;
- June TIOLI # 1 Read a book whose author’s first and last name end in the same letter;
- World Map location >10 streamsong: : Germany
- audiobook in the car;
- library

Billy Pilgrim has become unstuck in time.

This happened after he was kidnapped by aliens from the planet Trafalmador. Tralfamadorians don't see things in the present. They see all things past and future simultaneously.

Unfortunately, this gives them no way of stopping them.

While being kept as a zoo specimen on Tralfamadore (where the mate provided for him is ex porn star Montana Wildhack), Billy travels through random sequences of his birth childhood, marriage and service in WWII.

Where he serendipitously survived the fire-bombing of Dresden.

And went to a mental hospital afterward to meet a room mate obsessed with Kilgore Trout's science fiction novels.

So it goes.

Satirical and heartbreaking. When I tried to read this book in the 70's, I couldn't get past the silliness. This time, perhaps because of the fine audio performance by Ethan Hawke, I enjoyed it very much.

In an author interview following the book, Vonnegut talks about how pleased he was with the movie version of the book. In fact he says that Slaughterhouse-Five and Gone With the Wind are the only movies where the original book is given justice. ;-) So I'll be tracking down the movie version soon.

I just finished Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions, where Kilgore Trout is also a character. But for myself, I couldn't get past the silliness. I am obviously not the reader for Vonnegut's work!

>66 countrylife: I can really understand that. I don't think I would have tried Vonnegut again except for this challenge.

Now I'll probably try another later this year.

We did read several of his short stories from Welcome to the Monkey House when I was in high school in the early 70's. They are still among my favorite short stories. But then, the teacher was young and 1960's ish. He couldn't get permission to buy the books, so typed up a few of the short stories on mimeograph paper for us to read. Illegal, yup. But we so admired a teacher that felt strongly enough about an author that he would risk his job in order to share with his students.

Hi Janet! I've just started reading Slaughterhouse Five and I think it would be a good nominee for the audio format.
So it goes. Indeed. :-)

Thanks for visiting Janet! I see you've already read Slaughter-house Five and enjoyed it! Interesting as you are the second person around here who enjoyed the audio version. I do hope I have the same reaction when I get around to it later this month, but I will give the book a try first.
I read The Absolutely True Diary of Part-time Indian a couple years back and loved it as well. It was one of those few books that I actually laughed out loud at certain points. Looking forward to your thoughts on the Atwood book as well.

Hello Ellen and Valerie thanks for stopping by.

Mark's challenge is certainly generating a lot of discussion, isn't it? I am really happy that he started it.

>69 jolerie: If you ever get a chance to hear Alexie speak, go for it. Even if it's a hundred miles away and you have to pack the sweet kidlets into their car seats and take them along. He is an amazing voice in the world today.

47. The Life of an Ordinary Woman - Anne Ellis
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- May RandomCat - mothers;
- June TIOLI #17: Read a book which has a "Don" word on any page with the number 57
- ROOT #24/50 acquired 2008 = 6 ROOT points; Total 88/185
- US map challenge: Colorado

Author Anne Ellis grew up in the mining camps of Colorado in the late 1800's. This is her memoir of those years as well as her life as a young wife and mother in the early 20th century.

It was a life where men and women both worked exceedingly hard. They often endured Colorado winters in previously abandoned cabins with walls made of a single thickness of boards. Wages were slim as mines and towns petered out, requiring going on the next place where gold had been found.

There was the dream of riches to come contrasted with the reality of the present: constant struggling to feed and clothe families in an area of no medical care. Deep bonds were formed between neighbors helping people to get through. Eventually unions also joined the scene, although miners' strikes caused more hardship for the miners' families.

I found this an interesting look at the time and place. I've enjoyed other pioneer memoirs (perhaps because I grew up with the stories of my grandparents' homestead). For me, this one lacked a certain spark.



If anyone's interested in the genre, I'd still recommend Letters of a Woman Homesteader which I read last year.

I couldn't help contrasting this lifestyle with the lifestyle of the international banker and trader Ephrussi family depicted in The Hare With Amber Eyes which I finished a few weeks earlier. At the time these pioneer miners were struggling to hew out a living in a wilderness, the Ephrussi were incredibly wealthy art collectors and patrons with salons filled with impressionist painters.

I can't imagine two more contrasting lifestyles.

>65 streamsong:: Janet, your review of Slaughterhouse Five would have left me perplexed a week ago, but now that I am reading the book, it makes perfect sense. I'm glad I took the time to read about Vonnegut's background as it makes the silliness of the book seem more like a way of dealing with PTSD. I can't imagine anyone going through what he did and not being affected in some way. I think his writing was a good form of therapy for him and his quirky style works for me. I'll probably read more of his books at some point but not right away.

>71 streamsong:: Got got me with that review! I still have Letters of A Woman Homesteader on my WL - thanks to you - as well. I really enjoy pioneer stories and recommend that you take a look at Pioneer Women if you haven't already read it.

>63 streamsong: Short Night of the Shadow Catchers
Surely this is already on my WL... No? Added, on the basis of The Worst Hard Time, which wins for most compelling book of 202. I have but haven't yet read The Big Burn.

I have The Hare with Amber Eyes too, based on reviews a year or two ago, and it's been getting recent buzz too here on the threads.

>72 Donna828: - Donna it was a bit obtuse , wasn't it? Do you watch Glee? I was thinking a bit of the opening of that show .... rapid fire silliness followed by "And that's what you missed on Glee!"

I read your review and found it very thoughtful and accurate.

I have several books on pioneering in Colorado living on MT TBR. I really enjoy women's memoirs and biographies and tend to pick them up when I see them. That doesn't mean I get them read in a timely manner.

My most recent biography LT book bullet that I succumbed to and purchased a few weeks ago is The House at Otowi Bridge by Peggy Pond Church.

Here's the publisher's description:
"This is the story of Edith Warner, who lived for more than twenty years as a neighbor to the Indians of San Ildefonso Pueblo, near Los Alamos, New Mexico. She was a remarkable woman, a friend to everyone who knew her, from her Indian companion Tilano, who was an elder of San Ildefonso, to Niels Bohr, Robert Oppenheimer, and the other atomic scientists who worked at Los Alamos during World War II."

>73 qebo: Hi Katherine--They are both excellent books! I'm sure both will be on my list of favorite nonfiction for the year.

I've been hit by a book bullet for a book called The Inconvenient Indian by a First Nations (Canadian) author, Thomas King. I read the intro on Amazon and I love his voice. Have you read anything by him? ETA: The touchstone for Thomas King leads to Macbeth. I have no idea why. So I've removed it.

Planet TBR is never going to get smaller as long as I keep travelling to other people's threads, discovering books I might never hear of any other way. Sigh.

>74 streamsong: Planet TBR is never going to get smaller as long as I keep travelling to other people's threads, discovering books I might never hear of any other way. Sigh.
Yes. I ordered Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher because I know I'll read it eventually, and I was getting another book anyway... Had not heard of Thomas King (hmm, touchstone OK; maybe you had single brackets instead of double?), but wishlisted the book.

Just face it, Planet TBR is never going to get smaller, period. *sigh*

Oh, wait, that's a good thing, isn't it?

ah-- got you with a book bullet, Katherine. Sort of. Since you like Egan, you'd have bought it anyway, right?

Roni, It's a wonderful thing to constantly be exposed to new books and authors! My reading has opened up a lot since I've been here on LT.

This year, though, I'm sincerely trying to reduce Planet TBR. I'm on track to get 50 books off Planet TBR for the year, but I'd really like to get 75 done.

So I'm making a pact with myself about the Inconvenient Indian book.

If I get three books tagged 'Native Americans' off the planet, I'll get the book from the library.

The audiobook of the Short Nights that I'm listening to now, doesn't count since it's a library book; neither does Anne Hillerman's Spider Woman's Daughter which I also have requested through the library.

48. The Penelopiad - Margaret Atwood
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- One LibraryThing group read
- June TIOLI #14. Read a book you've been reluctant to read (matched read)
- world map challenge - Greece (location);
- library

In The Odyssey, after fighting in the Trofan War, Odysseus is pursued by jealous gods and has to fight through many hardships and trials in a journey which takes him ten years to reach home. He finds that his wife, Penelope, has been faithful to him. He kills all the suitorswho are trying to take over his kingdom by marrying her, and also hangs twelve maids who have been unfaithful. Penelope is a cipher renowned for her faithfulness and virtue.

In this retelling of the story, we meet Penelope in the afterlife. Although she has chosen not to be reborn, she has kept up on world events which gives her narrative a distinctly modern flavor. Her recounting of the events during Odysseus's ten year absence offer a feminist viewpoint on ancient events and customs. Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships and started the Trojan war, is especially treated with humorous rancor. As in any good Greek drama with portents of evil to come, each chapter by Penelope is followed by a chorus of doom from the twelve hanged maids. Although Penelope maintains her innocence in their deaths, the maids tell a different story and offer a third version of the storyline.

This story is short and the satire is laugh out loud funny in many places. Like many of Atwood's novels, the ending is left somewhat ambiguous. Is Penelope telling the truth?

49. Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now - Maya Angelou
- How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- Read in honor a great woman's passing
- June TIOLI #9. Read a book that doesn't have a person on the cover
- ROOT #25/50 not added to LT when acquired = 1 ROOT point (89/185)

This is a very short book (139 pages) of very short musings (2 or 3 pages). In addition, there are lots of blank pages and white space as well as title pages for each essay. The result is that it can be read very quickly and that none of the themes are very developed.

Neverthless, it's a good introduction to some of Maya's philosophy on such topics as whining, racism and lessons her mother and grandmother taught her.

"Many things continue to amaze me, even well into the sixth decade of my life. I'm startled or taken aback when people walk up to me and tell me they are Christians. My first response is the question 'Already?' It seems to me a lifelong endeavor to try to live the life of a Christian. I believe that is also true for the Buddhist, for the Muslim, for the Jainist, for the Jew and for the Taoist who try to live their beliefs."

mostly due to the extreme brevity of this book.

Yoga XXL - Ingrid Kollak

I received this book as an Early Reviewer quite a while ago, and have just not made it through all the exercises. I won't count it as a completed book, but here is the review that I am posting to fulfill my ER obligation:

Although I have not finished working through all the exercise in this book, I have been working through the easier ones. They are creative and effective adaptions of yoga positions - who would have thought you could do the Tree posture while lying on your back! And yet the stretch is still wonderful, helping develop the flexibility and concentration I associate with standard yoga asanas.

Besides being for those with excess weight issues, I think many of these positions would work for other people with mobility issues such as the elderly.

I am loving this book - and my body and back do, too.

My only criticism is that all the models demonstrating poses are female - the intro states that the book is for men as well as women, but we need a few males in the mix to make that a believable statement.

And another LTER book that I received last fall that has taken me **forever** to read:



50. A Religion of One's Own - Thomas Moore
How If Fits Into My Current Reading:
- LTER- 2013 ROOT #26/50; 1 ROOT point =90/185;
- June TIOLI #7: Read a book you said you would read before but didn't

In this book, Thomas Moore advocates going beyond what he sees as the inflexible path of formal religion and finding what is deeply meaningful to you. One of his basic premises is that one needs to grow beyond the idea of religion as 'truth etched in granite'. In this, he is the epitome of post-Christian spirituality.

The linguistic root of the word religion means to bind together the body, soul, and mind. This can occur whenever one is deeply engrossed in one's passion, whether one believes in a God or not. He uses the example of an atheist pianist deeply engrossed in his music as an example of non-theist religion.

He does believe that religion can be found in the formal paths of various forms of belief. He believes that established religions offer beauty and wisdom and whatever parts of them that speak deeply to you should be practiced. An interesting point to me was that he feels that the beauty of a formal religion is found only in its practice and can not be grasped by merely reading or talking about it.

From the book:
“So what are our choices? One option is to stay with the shallow religion of the materialist sciences and another to go back to the formal religion that so many have abandoned. We could also make do with some vague and bland option of spirituality. I opt for religion rather than secularism, but I think we need a religion that comes out of our hearts and mind and is tailor-made to our own values and sensitivities. This new approach looks to formal religions for insight, but it takes root and flourishes in an individual life.

When I speak of a religion of ones own, I'm not talking about a selfish, ego-centered loosely patched together spiritual concoction. I'm recommending a courageous, deep-seated fate-driven, informed and intelligent life that has sublime and transcendent dimension”.

There is lots of food for thought in this one. Its opposition to finding absolute truth in any religion will not make many adherents of a specific religion happy, but it's recommended for those who have left traditional paths and are seeking a deeper way of being in the world.

52. 52. Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis - Timothy Egan
How It Fits Into My Reading Now:
- June TIOLI #13: Read a book that is over 336 pages or 11 hrs;
- audiobook in the car

I'll have to come back to the review for this. For right now I'll just say:


Read it.

>74 streamsong:: Yes, I am a lapsed "fan" of Glee. That was a spot-on analogy for Vonnegut! I just wish I had thought of it. Lol. I'll wait to read your thought on The Inconvenient Indian. I like the pact you made with yourself before you get to read it. I am also trying to read more of my own books but am not doing as well as I did last year.

Janet, I tried to ignore the reviews for your last few books and failed. You make a compelling case for each one. I'm especially intrigued by the Thomas Moore as I haven't been doing as much spiritual reading as I like recently. I have been so busy lately that it is difficult to settle down with a quiet book.

Hi Janet! Looks like you've had some good books going on while I've been hibernating. :)

Thanks for stopping by, Donna and Rachel!

>83 Donna828: It took me forever to get through A Religion of Your Own. I finally made it through by committing to small snatches every day. It may not be what you're looking for if you need something compelling. :-)

Glad to see you back, Rachel. I know you have a lot on your plate right now.

My brother and his family have returned to their home and from there, will be continuing their vacation.

The whole thing was a bit stressful.

We got Dad's ashes scattered in a beautiful site - a valley with shear cliffs, a stream below, and a view looking westward forever deep into Idaho.

And we also got 60 years of financial files out of the house (mostly shredded - I still have a big pile next to my chair) so the people doing the sale can do their thing.

Wow ... what a lot of work for you Janet, and stressful. Hope you get some restful time in.

I'm sure "a bit stressful" is an understatement!! {{{Janet}}}

I have a prototype of the tree on my thread, if you have a spare moment to look at it.

>87 AuntieClio: and now you know why I am able to empathize so deeply with you helping Don to downsize .....

>88 ronincats: Love the tree of life with the pink for breast cancer beads. I am reposting this from Roni's thread:

54. - Raven Girl - Audrey Niffenegger
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- Picked up on a whim after reading about here on LT
- library

Audrey Niffenegger, author of the Time Traveler's Wife, created this after being asked to write a new fairy tale.

This short tale tells the story of a postman who falls in love with a raven. Their child, a daughter hatched from an enormous egg, has features of both and feels at home nowhere.

We see her trying to fit in as a human in college, to become a raven with plastic surgery, and finally finding happiness when she accepts that she is both and neither.

It's not a graphic novel, but is illustrated with Niffenegger's full page illustrations. The cover illustration with the bird with a girl trapped inside is the most interesting.

It's called an illustrated book and marketed as YA, I think it falls between genres. It's certainly not a graphic novel, but with its very short length and full page illustrations, it may appear to be for younger kids. But the fairy tale genre has a dark side, as does this short story, so caution would be needed with a younger child.

Interesting because I didn't know Niffenegger was an artist or that she had written this and other illustrated books. Not bad, but I probably won't look for another.

55. The Lighthouse - PD James
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- MysteryCat - Police procedural;
-GeoCat - islands and bodies of water;
- Random Cat - name of rose (Garden Light);
- TIOLI #15. Read a book by a grandmaster;

ROOT 29/50 acq'd 2008 = 6 ROOT points 112/180

Inspector Adam Dalgliesh and two of his team are called to a very private, retreat island for only the most elite clients, after a body is found hanging from the lighthouse. Investigation happens. A random outbreak of SARS complicates things. Further body ensues.16 suspects on the island, plus three policemen and no one is allowed on or off.

This is the first mystery by grandmaster mystery author PD James that I have read. It's number 13 in the series, but worked well enough as a stand alone, although I'm sure I missed many of the nuances in the private lives of the investigative team members. I enjoyed the writing, and I'm always happy when there are allusions to books and literary quotes. It was a complicated mystery with bits of clues scattered throughout.

I would certainly read more of this series, but at this time, there are other series on Planet TBR that are higher on my list.

56. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
How It Fits Into My Reading Now:
- pure whim based on reviews here on LT
-audiobook in the car
- library

Set in a dystopic future in New Beijing, Cinder was given cyborg body parts after surviving a terrible crash in a life she has no memory of. Unfortunately, cyborgs are considered less than human and perfect research subjects for scientific testing of the plague sweeping earth.

Of course there is a handsome prince who walks into Cinder's shop to have his android fixed as she's known to be the best mechanic in the city. And of course there's a totally evil step-mother and self-centered step daughters. Mix in another evil queen from the moon with supernatural powers who is determined to marry the prince and a long lost princess who has a better claim to the lunar throne .... Well, you get the idea.

I hadn't expected to like this one as much as I did. It's fast and funny, and unfortunately ends with a bit of a cliffhanger (a pet-peeve of mine with series but one I'll have to overlook with this one), so I'll be going on to the next.

Recommended for anyone looking for some light summer reading or a pick-me-up sort of book.

June Favorites:

Fiction: Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut
Nonfiction: Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher - Timothy Egan
Fast and Fun: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

11 books read; 6 from Planet TBR. (Yay!)

New locations added to world map >11 streamsong: : Germany, Greece
New locations added to US states map >11 streamsong: : Colorado

ETA - Whoa! I did not purchase any books in June. Nada, nothing, zip. I did one receive one LTER book to add to the pile and 5 library books, but no purchases. Can planet TBR actually be conquered?

I've added all the books from my 'Still reading but on hold' and 'To be reread' collections to my TBR collection.
So, as of July 1st, I have 430 physical books on the planet.
And 24 Currently Reading - although most of these are mostly inactive.
The planet won't be disappearing from the astronomy charts any time soon, but not buying any in June is a start!

When I applied for flood insurance this spring, the insurance people who came out ended up taking a **lot** of pictures of my roof over a sort of tacked on addition (definitely a DIY job). I hadn't noticed since it wasn't leaking, but on close inspection, the edges of the shingles were starting to curl and lift. I thought it was really odd thing for a flood insurance agent to be concerned about, but at least it tipped me off that I should have someone look at it. The flood insurance was issued without any comments about the roof. Superstitious me (I can be silly sometimes!), I decided not to have any work done on the house until after the flood threat was over.

Yesterday I had a roofer friend come look at it. And yup, new roof in the cards the week after next. He also will arrange to have someone paint the outside of my house. And fix the garage door that I bashed during all the snow last winter and I thought that if I just gunned the truck a little bit it would become unstuck. (It did).

There's also small place in one bathroom where the drywall is funky, and this guy suggested there may be a leak in a pipe behind the wall. More joy. I'll have to find a contractor to look at it.

But these are all things that have been niggling at the back of my mind for the past several months, so, it feels really good to have movement in getting them fixed.

Hi Janet! I've heard really great things about Cinder. Glad you liked it. And I'm also glad you're getting house-fixing done. It's always nice to get things fixed when they've been niggling at you! Happy 4th of July!

Thanks for stopping by, Rachel!

4th of July was nice. I went to a barbeque at Mom's retirement village, followed by a long talk and a short walk with her. Her house has sold, a woman is working on the sale of the remaining things in the house and Mom is now at loose ends and is not liking the retirement apartment. Until now, she has had other things to do to distract her, so I think it's sort of delayed adjustment syndrome along with sadness. Her doctor had recommended she try St John's wort a while back. I'll try to pick some up today.

The dog survived, but was very scared. I'll see if I can get a thunder jacket for her and maybe some back up tranqs or herbal drops before nest year.

57 - Spider Woman's Daughter - Anne Hillerman
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- TIOLI #4. Start a series and continue if you want
- >11 streamsong: US state challenge: New Mexico-
- library

Anne Hillerman has taken up the baton from her late father, Tony Hillerman. This is a continuation of Tony's iconic Leaphorn/Chee series set in the Navajo nation, an area bigger than New England, and centered primarily in New Mexico.

In the opening pages, Joe Leaphorn is shot in the head by what looks to be as assassination attempt. While he struggles for life, Officer Bernie Manuelito and her husband, Jim Chee search for the shooter. Bernie is the new center of focus in the series and it's interesting to see the familiar characters and locations from a more feminine point of view.

I struggled with the first hundred pages or so - the dialogue, especially, seemed a bit clunky. But then, it took off. I don't know if Anne Hillerman hit her stride, or I adjusted to the change of voice, but it was a great summer read. I hope she's working on the next one!

>97 streamsong: Spider Woman's Daughter
Yeah, I thought for a first effort it was encouraging.

>98 qebo: - Yes, definitely encouraging. I wonder if her writing will be embraced by the Navajo nation like her father's was.

58. Buddha - Karen Armstrong
How IT Fits Into My Current Reading:
- May GeoCat - India/ world map ( >11 streamsong:) India
- July TIOLI #13. Read a book by a living author who is older than you are;
- ROOT 30/50 from 2007 = 7 ROOT points 119/180


If you see a biography of the Buddha, it's not a biography of the Buddha.

So Karen Armstrong explains the paucity of information about Gautama, the Buddha's, life. And yet, she manages to sketch the bit of what various traditions have handed down about the Buddha's life, along with some information about the beginnings of Buddhism and the axial age - a topic she expounds on in several of her books - and created a satisfying whole.

I think this book is a successful scaffolding on which one can begin to build knowlege of Buddhism. It's not deep, but will provide a basic understanding of early events in the religion.

I had read Thich Nhat Hahn 's book, Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha several years ago. I mostly remember it being a beautiful account, but I remember little of the content. Perhaps time for a revisit of that one.

60. - Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut
How It Fits Into My Current Readiing:
- TIOLI #19. Read a book whose author is from a country that competed in the 2014 World Cup
- 1001 Books to Read Before You Die
- audiobook in the car
- library
-

I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed my earlier listen of Slaughterhouse-Five. I had not enjoyed Vonnegut's writing when I first picked up several of his books in the 70's. So I decided to give one more of his books a listen - and how could I not pick one that satirizes both science and religion?

Our narrator, John who calls himself Jonah, wants to write a book about events the day the atom bomb dropped.

He pursues interviews with the now grown children of a fictional co-inventor of the atom bomb, which was unleashed on the world by a man who was enthralled by the science but not the implications of its use. John finds that this scientist also invented a substance called Ice Nine which instantly freezes at room temperature all water touching it. Again, science without thought to implications.

In his quest, John follows the inventor's grown children to a fictional Caribbean island of San Lorenzo, where the dominant form of religion (outlawed of course to make it more attractive) is Bokononism. The opening epigraph of the book:

"'Live by the foma* that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy.'
The Books of Bokonon. I:5
*harmless untruths

And of course, later on, the famous:
A cat's cradle is nothing but a bunch of X's between somebody's hands, and little kids look and look and look at all those X's..."
"And?"
"No damn cat, and no damn cradle."

The President for life of the island has the Ice Nine in his control and eventually, well, you can guess.

This one did not work for me in the same way Slaughterhouse Five did. It was OK, and I made it through, but, I found, as I had on earlier attempts to read it, Vonnegut's randomness was a distraction.

I'm still plugging away on the same books:

- A very interesting look at how genetics is used to illustrate the lives and migration patterns of pre-history humans: Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors - Nicholas Wade - 2nd quarter Science, Religion & History group read
- A nifty bit of Americana - interesting also because of the second book, Those Exrtaordinary Twins which shows how Twain edited his story: Pudd'nhead Wilson and Those Extraordinary Twins - Mark Twain - American Author Challenge;
- A fascinating LTER memoir about growing up in Trinidad under British colonial rule: Not for Everyday Use: A Memoir - Elizabeth Nunez - LTER
- and my audiobook in the car for the noir/hardboiled detective challenge: The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett TIOLI #9. Read a book about art theft or art forgery;

Even though I'm enjoying all of them, I'm not getting very far on any. Still having very high temperatures (for us!) in the evenings which makes it hard for me to read.

But Yay! The roof is going along better than expected. One contractor had told me it was 'spongy' and might need work on the plywood underneath. This contractor has stripped it all down, and found heavy duty tongue and groove boards in the roof (this was the same in the walls, both inside and out in this funky old house). A few of the boards had 'popped up' and needed a few new nails, but nothing needed to be replaced. (so far at least). Hip, hip hooray.

Tonight I'm going to a Joan Baez concert. I really enjoyed her when I was in high school and college (we're talking 70's here) and thought it would be interesting to hear her now.

No Joan Baez concert - she had a virus and cancelled - but not before I made the drive to see her. There is a chance it may be rescheduled in a couple weeks, but I won't know until next week. Everyone milling about outside was 50-60 years old and mostly women. You can tell what we were listening to back in high school!

The two hour drive (Yay! for air-conditioning!) did give me an opportunity to finish my audiobook, The Maltese Falcon. Onward to my second noir of the month, Road Dogs by Elmore Leonard . I've never read anything by him and picked this up from the FOL sale shelf last year soon after he passed away. It's a sequel, but I'm hoping it will work as a stand alone.

It also gave me an opportunity to drop off a chocolate milk shake for DD who had outpatient surgery yesterday. So not a wasted trip, although not what was planned.

61. The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- 1001 Books
- Mysterycat challenge: Noir/hardboiled;
- TIOLI #9. Read a book about art theft or art forgery;
- 50 States map - California;
- audiobook in the car;
- library

Sam Spade: hardboiled detective who can take care of himself. Not intimidated by either the good guys or the bad. Not going to be a sap for nobody.

In walks a beautiful woman with a false name and an unbelievable story about a missing sister.

Sam thinks she's going to be trouble.

She is.

>61 streamsong: Janet, very succinct and true review of The Maltese Falcon.

Thanks for stopping by, Stephanie! It's been very quiet around here the last few weeks. Did you notice the hollow echo as you typed?

There's really not much new to say about The Maltese Falcon. I've been enjoying exploring all the different types of mysteries with the Mystery Cat challenge. July is hardboiled/noir; upcoming August is British.

My current audiobook is Elmore Leonard's Road Dogs. I had hoped it would fit into the category, but while it is gritty and noir, it so far doesn't seem to be a mystery. I picked it up at a library sale last year after there was a bit of buzz about him here on LT following his death. I had never read anything by him besides one of his western short stories in an anthology. It's another ROOT off Planet TBR which always feels good.

I 've received notice from the library that Scarlet has arrived, so after two noirs in a row, my next audiobook will be lighter!

Today is day 3 of the estate/downsizing sale at Mom's house. Mom hired a person to take care of it. It's lovely not to have to do it, but I have the guilts that I just didn't have the time or energy (or vacation days!) to have helped with it more.

The roof is done on my house. The outside walls are scraped and washed; they start painting today.

Yesterday I went to pick up audiobooks from the library of just-for-fun Scarlet and my American author challenge The Plot Against America.

On the ongoing FOL shelf I spotted an audio of Alan Furst's The Foreign Correspondent for $2 and snatched it up since there's a lot of love for him here at LT. I've read one of his, Spies of the Balkans, and enjoyed it.

Aagh! It's abridged. I avoid them like the plague and now I'm considering donating it right back.

Although once in an author chat, the author said she had no problems with audio abridgements and felt they kept the price down making them more affordable for more people.

Thoughts?

62. Pudd'nhead Wilson along with Those Extraordinary Twins- Mark Twain
How It Fits Into My Current Readig:
- American Author Challenge;
- TIOLI #11. Read a book that centers on People, Places, or Things (Rolling challenge) -
- ROOT 2013 =#32/50; acquired 2013 = 1 ROOT point = 128/180
- Reading the states >11 streamsong:: Missouri

Each chapter starts with a bit from Puddn'head's Journal:

"Adam was but human - this explains it all. He did not want the apple for the apple's sake, he wanted it only because it was forbidden. The mistake was in not forbidding the serpent; then he would have eaten the serpent."

And I loved this part of the description of the porches in small town Missouri::

"When there was room on the ledge outside of the pots and boxes for a cat, the cat was there - in sunny weather- stretched at full length, asleep and blissful, with her furry belly to the sun and a paw curved over her nose. Then that house was complete, and its contentment and peace were made manifest to the world by this symbol, whose testimony is infallible. A home without a cat -and a well-fed, well petted and properly revered cat - may be a perfect home, perhaps, but how can it prove title?"

It's the story of a 1/16 Negro slave (indistinguishable from a white woman except for her clothes and accent), who gives birth to her 1/32 Negro slave son on the same day the white heir of her master's family is born. She fears for her son's future, and since no one but she can tell them apart, she switches them when they are a few months old. The switched son grows up spoiled, self-centered and dissolute, racking up huge gambling debts. He eventually murders his guardian in order to hide the debts lest he be disinherited.

There is an aspiring lawyer in town, who on the first day of his arrival, made a joke which was misunderstood. From this he got the name of Puddn'head - an idiot. He has an odd hobby of taking fingerprints - he does it multiple times with infants and then again as they grow into adulthood. He makes the discovery that the fingerprints are unique to each individual and do not change with time.

A bloody fingerprint left at the murder scene (click to see)enables him to deduce the murderer as well as the fact that the babies were switched when quite young. At this time, fingerprints were not used in solving crimes and so this is a unique twist to the plot.

I thought it was interesting that palmistry also made an appearance and seemed to be taken quite as seriously as fingerprints.

The book I read had a second entry bound with it called Those Extraordinary Twins. It turns out that Twain had originally written Pudd'nhead as a farce, with the main characters a set of conjoined "Siamese" twins based on celebrated Italian conjoined twins. Eventually Twain says that he saw the tragedy of the Pudd'nhead story did not work with the farce of the twins, so he separated the two. In Pudd'nhead, the conjoined twins became Italian twins of noble birth, one of whom gets blamed for the murder.

The Italian twins are a distraction in Pudd'nhead. There are traces of them being conjoined - for examples, they have always slept in the same bed and they worked in a circus side show, an odd occupation for Italian nobility. Some of the gags about the twins' natures being completely different, running against each other for office, and kicking the dissolute young son off a stage (with conjoined twins, who could tell who did the kicking?) don't work as well with regular twins.

In my opinion, Twain was right to remove the conjoined twins from the story and leave the story of racism and slavery. However, the whole story of Pudd'nhead could have used further rewriting with the Italian twins written out altogether, or at least their story cleaned up better.

In a way I'm sorry I read Those Extraordinary Twins, because while it did give insight into Twain's creative process, it also spoiled a lot of the Pudd'nhead story for me. It's not a stand alone story, as large sections that were left in Pudd'nhead are merely summarized.

I finished the choice for our book club, Stegner's Crossing to Safety. I hadn't read anything by him before - and I really, really enjoyed this one. In fact it brought me to tears - but that may have been because I was in need of a good cry and the themes of aging and death are very close to my heart right now.

Yesterday was not only the book club for this novel, but the sale of Mom's house. The living estate sale is done, the house emptied, the final sale papers on the house completed.

It's a big relief, of course, but I am also very sad. Where did the summer go?

There's a little bit of summer left to enjoy now that you have all that major stuff done with! Please take time and enjoy it.

Thanks for stopping by, Roni.

Literally and metaphorically I know there's more summer coming. Some weeks are tough and Winston Churchill's 'black dog' pays a visit. But as Wallace Stegner oft quoted "They mought of kilt us, but they aint whupped us yet."

I started We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves. I figured I might as well join the LT rush. I met Karen Joy Fowler at the Montana Festival of the Book last year. She was part of a panel on relationships in fiction and then signed books afterward. Since I'd never read anything by her, I listened to the audiobook of Jane Austen Book Club while driving back and forth to the festival. I thought it was just OK - gave it three stars and considered it fairish chick lit- not my genre. It didn't inspire me to buy a copy of WAACBO which had just been released in hardback.

She related the story that she had originally written the book as a linear tale with the twist being known by the reader from the very beginning. Her publisher wanted her to not do the reveal until the very end. She said she couldn't rewrite it that way, so revealing it partway into the story was the compromise position. She insisted it wasn't a spoiler, though, and talked about it freely since its hard to talk about the book without it being mentioned.

She was a very engaging interesting speaker, and I'd certainly go to hear her again.

The GUK's (Grown Up Kids) & I went out for pizza and the movie Guardians of the Galaxy last night. Hugely funny. I haven't laughed that hard during a movie for a very long time.

When the impressively long lines go down, I want to see it again!

63. - Road Dogs - Elmore Leonard
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- I started listening to this for the - July Mystery cat: Noir/hardboiled challenge. It was a bit gritty, but not a mystery so it didn't fit.
- ROOT 2013 = #33/50; 1 point = 129/180
- audiobook in the car

This novel brings together three characters who apparently have appeared in others of Elmore's works: Jack Foley, Cundo Rey and Dawn Navarro.

Jack Foley, the most prolific bank robber in America with a score sheet of 127 jobs, has just been released from prison. There he became fast friends - road dogs in prison speak - with Cundo Rey. Road Dogs have each others' backs. Nobody messes with road dogs.

So it's no surprise that Cundo pays for a high priced lawyer to get Jack's sentence reduced and then offers Jack a place at his estate to wait until Cundo also is released from prison a short time later.

Keeping the home fires burning at the estate is Dawn Navarro, whom Cundo calls his angel. But Dawn hasn't been waiting as patiently and piously as Cundo believes. Instead it's more the waiting of a black widow spider carefully setting her web in place to acquire Cundo's money once he is released.

I had acquired this one when there was a buzz here on LT after Elmore's death last year. I hadn't read anything by Leonard except one of his early western short stories that appeared in an anthology.

Road Dogs carried me along and I thought that the characters were well-realized.

But it's just not my genre.

Just waving: HI!

Janet, this past summer has been tremendously difficult for you. Of course you are going to be sad now that the home and estate have been settled. So many memories. *hugs*

Hmm, I wonder if I can get my husband to the Guardians of the Galaxy movie...

Hi back atcha, Connie. Glad to see you're back on LT.

Stephanie, yeah it's been rough - but I'm determined it's going to get better. I know you've been through a lot with your friend, Don, too, so I appreciate the empathy.

Roni, I hope you get him to go. I was pretty skeptical about a comic book hero movie, (definitely not my style) but it's really funny. And clever. And saving-the-world-ish.

Last of my July reads:



64. - Crossing to Safety - Wallace Stegner

How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- RL book club;
- purchased 2014

It's the depression and two young couples are starting out. The husbands are in their first academic jobs in a University English department. One couple has wealth and their feet firmly planted in Ivey League traditions. The other couple have no family at all, scraping to make ends meet, but with the great equalizer of more talent.

The two couples instantly bond. And life happens, starting with the youthful optimism and promise of doing great things which bind them together. But life happens. Along with success come the illnesses and disappointments and children and the couples end up in different parts of the United States.

They unite again at this point in time, when death is quickly approaching for one member - so we see their hearts and heart-ties laid bare and rejoice in their triumphs, and bleed in their pain.

This was an amazing book. I haven't read any Stegner (so many books! so little time!) but was glad my RL book club chose this one.

>118 streamsong: I read that for my book club last year and enjoyed it quite a bit more than I'd expected - we had a really interesting discussion mostly centered around the characters and our reactions to each of them. Glad to see you liked it too!

Thanks for stopping by, Mary. Yes, it was a great book and generated lots of discussion. Have you read any more by Stegner? I also bought Angle of Repose because I mixed up which title the club had chosen. I'll probably be reading that one soonish.

I need to shift into high gear reading the books already on my shelf, dear old Planet TBR. I'm slightly ahead if I plan on reading 50 TBR books this year; quite a bit behind for achieving my higher goal of getting 75 off the planet.

I finished listening to the audiobook Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. It's a fun YA series of reimagined fairy tales in a dystopian future with an evil lunar queen, and a cyborg heroine. I'll definitely go on with the series, however it seems there is only one copy of the next one, Cress on audiobook in all of Western Montana's ILL system, so I imagine it may be a while. Not to mention then having to wait until the final one is written and released.

It was precisely what I needed when I arrived home last night to find that I was locked out of my house. So I finished listening to Scarlet while sitting in my air conditioned car - no ac in the house and it was HOT yesterday - and waited for the locksmith.

Shifting gears for my next audiobook, I'll be starting Philip Roth's The Plot Against America for the American authors read.

I LOVED Angle of Repose, so you definitely got me with your review of Crossing to Safety!

Hi Cindy - Thanks for stopping by. More Stegner is definitely in my future.

Not a single review yet of an August book! But I do have the first one done and I am managing to keep my list in >5 streamsong: current. And here it is August so far:

65. Not for Everyday Use: A Memoir - Elizabeth Nunez - LTER
66. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - Karen Joy Fowler TIOLI #8. Read a book with an amusing LT tag; purchased 2014
67. Teaching at the Top of the World - Marilyn Forrester - GeoCat Challenge: Arctic/Anarctic; ROOT # 34/50; acquired 2013 for 1 ROOT point = 130/180; State L Alaska
68. Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors - Nicholas Wade - 2nd quarter Science, Religion & History group read - library
69. Scarlet - Marissa Meyer - audiobook in the car; TIOLI #10. Read a book with a title that is also catalogued by a different author; library
70. The Long Farewell - Michael Innes - MysteryCat: British Detective; GeoCat: Western Europe; Random Cat: school/academia; TIOLI #4. Read a book set in or about Scotland, by a Scottish author; ROOT # 35/50; acquired 2013 = 1 ROOT point 131/180

as well as my list of what I'm currently reading in >2 streamsong:

- Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay - geocat- Western Europe; TIOLI # 2. Read a book with a Top 50 Event listed in its CK (WWII) ROOT 2011; given to me by my cousin Christmas 2011 - I have GOT to get this thing read!
- The Plot Against America - Phillip Roth - August American Author Challenge - TIOLI #9. Read a book that starts with "The" then 1, 2, 3 or 4 words after in rolling order; audiobook from library
- Collapse - Jared Diamond - Green Dragon Group Read; ROOT 2008; TIOLI #19. Read a book that you told someone you would
- 1 Dead in Attic - Chris Rose - TIOLI #13. Read a book about tropical cyclones/ a hurricane; ROOT 2012

65. Not for Everyday Use: A Memoir - Elizabeth Nunez
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- LTER 2014
- August TIOLI # 19: Read a book that you told someone you would

Caribbean American author Elizabeth Munez was living and teaching in New York when she got that dreaded telephone call that her mother in Trinidad had had a stroke and was seriously ill.

She arrived home to find that her mother had passed and her father was slipping away into dementia. This brought forth this beautiful episodic memoir of growing up in Trinidad.

Along with everyday events she deftly reveals the evils of colonialism (her father was the first non-white government minister), racism, classism, and a wonderful splash of Caribbean history as well as glimpses into her life in the United States.

Two bits especially will stay with me:

In one very memorable scene, she relates this striking story. There were almost no Caribbean authors as she was growing up, especially not Caribbean children's authors. Since the infrastructure was British with British officials, British church leaders, and British teachers, the books she read were mostly British and her favorites were by Enid Blyton. So her family went to the beach one day to have a picnic and Elizabeth was disappointed to the point of tears. She had learned from Ms. Blyton that it 'was not a real picnic' without taking a wooly jumper and eating apples or pears. None of these items were available on Trinidad and Elizabeth was heartbroken that her family's picnic was not real – not good enough.

I also was very intrigued to learn that the Trinidadians who enlisted to fight in WWII, did not go to avenge the white Europeans, but the slaughter of 1.5 million Ethiopians by Mussolini. I do not remember learning about this slaughter in school - and after a bit of internet searching, now I am dumbfounded by it.

I love memoirs by women and this is one of the best I have read this year. Highly recommended.

>120 streamsong: I, too, have Angle of Repose at home and hope to read it in the somewhat near future. Give me a poke if/when you decide to read it, and maybe I can join in tandem. :)

Thanks for stopping by, Mary. Right now I'm stressing over being able to complete various reading challenges, so I probably won't get to it in 2014.

Next year, less challenges. (In fact I may abandon some this year). I need to be more organic and spontaneous in how I choose what book I want to read next.

66. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - Karen Joy Fowler

How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
TIOLI #8. Read a book with an amusing LT tag;
purchased at a booksale 2014

When I heard author Karen Joy Fowler speak about this book last fall, I wasn't terribly interested in the premise and didn't purchase it.

And then there was buzz here on LT about it - and I picked up a used copy at a booksale earlier this year.

Then there Booker Award longlist nominations were announced, and there was even buzz here on LT.

A family, including a psychology researcher father adopts an infant exactly the age of their own infant daughter, Rosemary. They treat the two exactly the same. The father wants to study how alike the two daughters can be if raised exactly the same - the ultimate nature versus nurture experiment. At times this is taken to extremes - if adopted daughter Ferne can't go to birthday parties due to behavioral issues, Rosemary can't either.

Karen Joy Fowler said that she didn't think of the twist as a spoiler. In fact, she said that she had written the book in a straightforward manner and was asked to rewrite it with the twist revealed partway through after the reader was invested in the two being sisters. The edition of the book that I have gives away the twist on the back cover. Nevertheless, since it's being treated as a spoiler on other threads, I'll treat it as one here. The adopter sister is a chimpanzee. When the adopted sister posed an actual threat to the people around her, it's arranged for her to have a new home. Unfortunately, the reasons why Ferne must leave are never explained to the chld Rosemary, and she grows up with tremendous guilt about her part in Ferne leaving the family - as well as not knowing where Ferne has gone.

I felt the book was well enough written and that there were some interesting ideas explored. For example, not only did the adopted sister take on the characteristics of her adopted family, but the real daughter also took on some of the adoptee's characteristics such as not having a sense of boundaries with personal space.

Nevertheless, the interesting ideas weren't enough to carry the novel for me. I'm going against the flow on this one, but I'll give it a workmanlike 3 stars - read it if the subject or the surrounding buzz interests you, but don't be sorry if you decide to pass it by.

67. Teaching at the Top of the World - Marilyn Forrester -
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- Cat challenges: August Random Cat: Read a book about school/teachingGeoCat - this was a holdeover from the July GeoCat Challenge: - - Read a book about the Arctic/Antarctic;
- ROOT # 34/50; acquired 2013 for 1 ROOT point = 130/180;
- State map >11 streamsong: : Alaska

I had intended to read this book for last month's Arctic/Antarctic Geocat challenge, since much of the author's time was spend at Prudhoe Bay and Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost points of the United States.

It started out quite promising with the adventuresome author heading off to Alaska, hoping to find work in a town booming from the construction of the Alaskan oil pipeline. I liked her spirit, as she headed off with $200 in her pocket, knowing full well from a friend that at the time, a hamburger in a café would cost $20.00.

Unfortunately, it was a horribly self-centered account, with the author was more interested in relating anecdotes about her social life and her acquaintances (I don't think she ever had a landlord or a work supervisor whom she felt wasn't over controlling). I would have preferred much more about the actual conditions in the Arctic, and more of the native and Eskimo kids she taught once she went back to college and got her special education credentials.

Instead we got her indignation over her married lover refusing to help her with tuition expenses. I couldn't help but wonder if his four kids had college accounts ...

And the heartwarming story of the six year old Native boy who was neglected and abused and dearly wanted to be her son. Friends hinted that she would probably be able to adopt him. And so .... she decided she was not up to it and distanced herself from him. According to her update, as an adult he was homeless and a drug addict.

Back in the 70's, I remember reading Tisha and loving it. I expected this to be a more modern version of teaching in the Arctic. It wasn't.

I doubt anyone will ever see a copy of this as it is a self-published story that I picked off a FOL shelf, loving, as I do women's memoirs. But if you do ever see it sitting there ...... walk quickly away. Not recommended.

68. Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors - Nicholas Wade
How It Fits Into My Current Readiing:
- 2nd quarter Science, Religion & History group read;
- August TIOLI #19: Read a book that you told someone you would;
- library

Anthropologists and archaeologists have long mapped human evolution and development through such clues as the development of tools and the evolution of languages.

However, with the advent of DNA testing techniques, DNA can now be traced through two elements which are not subject to the muddying DNA crossover events. Instead they are quite stable and show only point mutations, passed down through generations and occurring at predictably fairly constant rates. These two components are the Y chromosome for the male line and mitochondrial DNA for female lines. With these two tools in hand it's possible to trace male and female lines through the millennia.

Such data make it possible to determine the origin of populations and answer mysteries such as when and how the human disbursement from African took place fifty thousand years ago. Going even farther back to five million years ago, scientists can then use this DNA to trace the ancestor of apes and humans and see when huge leaps forward in human development, such as the development of language, may have occurred.

The last sections of the book where Wade looks at the development of human races is more controversial. Wade brings forth evidence that the evolution not only created races, but that racial selection is continuing today. Part of this is well accepted, such as the variation in skin color caused by the amount of melatonin, various disease resistances and the development of the lactase gene which enables adults to digest milk products. When using it to examine human intelligence between races, however, it becomes highly controversial and a potentially career-ending time bomb.

Wade only briefly touches on this subject; it is however, the focus of his book that was released earlier this year.

I found this book to be readable and fascinating. It's quite compelling to see how DNA evidence can both confirm and question the findings of paleoarchaeologists. I did not find it over technical. There were a large number of disciplines that I knew nothing about and was able to follow Wade's story line quite easily. It did, however, take me a very long time to read as it was a book that I could not read in large chunks.

Highly recommended. I'm absolutely wavering between 4 stars and four and a half stars.

>127 streamsong:, >129 streamsong: I'm overwhelmed by caterpillars and consequently woefully behind on the threads... I loved We Are all Completely Beside Ourselves, but I came at it differently; my mother heard a radio interview of the author and was intrigued enough to get the book though she is not much of a novel reader, then passed it on to me as not great literature but a worthy issue, and I got hooked on wondering what happened to Fern. I'm woefully behind in the SRH group reads too, still intend to read this one so it's good to see another vote in its favor.

Hi Katherine- no worries. Summer is precious and goes by too fast to feel guilt about not being on the computer!

It's actually in the 40's here this morning. The forecast was snow in the mountains and in Glacier Park. I have no doubt it happened.

My friend and I missed out going to a regional Scotch/Irish festival on the ground of Marcus Daly's mansion yesterday. We went last year and it was so much fun. There was one tent with Irish music groups all day; another tent with Irish dance all day; those verra strange Celtic athletic competitions, food, crafts etc. If the rain lets up a bit, we'll go later this morning. The pipe and drum band competition is today and that was outstanding last year. (Although I'll skip the haggis!)

Earlier this week I went to a Curry making class in Missoula. I was a bit surprised that it was demo only, but we watched a really master chef prepare 5 wonderful dishes from Eastern Asia, India and Micronesia. It was like watching a chef prepare an amazing 5 course meal, as we had plates of food after he finished each dish.

The menu:

- Fried Green Beans with Basil & Chiles - Thailand (This one had habanero chiles and was so hot it brought on a coughing fit and tears to my eyes. I told my daughter who was also there, that I was in trouble if all the dishes were that hot! Luckily, either they weren't or my taste buds were so fried by the chiles in the first dish that the following were no problem).
- Hot and Sour Soup - China - Oh my! The local Chinese restaurant has never dished up H & S like this!
- Spicy Peas with Cheese - Matar Paneer - India (I never realized that this dish was so easy to cook. Since fresh tomatos are abundant right now, I bought some paneer cheese to give it a try at home)
- Indonesian Cucumber Salad - again VERY hot
- Stir Fried Squid with Chile & Basil - Korea (So now I know how to clean a squid - a useful life skill, I'm sure here in the middle of Montana)

I had such a good time I think I'll attend a few more of these before the dark and snow of winter sets in. Specifically there is one on knife skills with a very good deal on a very nice chef's knife. There is also one on Middle Eastern cooking which looks mouth-watering good.

These are held at a store in Missoula called The Good Food Store. I suspect it may be very similar to Whole Foods which don't exit here in Montana.

I tend to read a fiction, a non-fiction, sometimes a book of short stories, poems or essays and my audiobook in the car.

I switch between light and fluffy and more chewy. Sometimes, though, doing that produces a mix of all chewy or all fluffy.

Here's my current lineup:



It just sort of evolved that way - you can see my three as yet un-reviewed books are much lighter. But I miss my light and fluffy before I go to sleep. When my light and fluffy in bed book is 1 Dead in Attic, something has gone astray.

Mostly I'm trying to get through a reread of Z&TAOMM for my monthly book club this Thursday.

Knife skills class! That's so cool Janet.

Glad you liked Before the Dawn Janet. That book looks SO good! And I'm glad you've got a book going for the Suicide and Mental Illness theme, too. I had to give A Beautiful Mind back to the library because my audiobook expired, but hopefully I'll get it back soonish. :)

Oh, and, I'll drop a plug to the link, if anyone else is interested in joining:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/178609

Hi Stephanie - Thanks for stopping by. Yes, I am dazzled by the way chefs can use knives. I think a few basic skills is exactly what I need.

Hi Rachel - Before the Dawn **was** good. I have no idea why it took me months to get through it. With your research background, I think you'll enjoy the phylogenetic trees as much as I did.

Yup, I've got several books on mental health that will fit your challenge. I'm going to mostly be reading from Planet TBR for the rest of the year since I really need to concentrate on my ROOTS challenge if I want to complete it. Sigh.

(Please ignore the fact that I just added 3 books that I picked up from the library as well as ordered next month's RL book club book from Amazon, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell.)

From the library:
Giovanni's Room for Mark's AA challenge
One of Our Thursdays is Missing - audiobook for the Bibliomystery challenge and September sequels
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail by Cheryl Strayed - another audiobook. I've succumbed to listening to it, even though the only part I've read is an excerpt from a review where she throws one of her shoes over a cliff in a moment that is supposed to be her moment of liberation. It's a silly ass thing to do - in the right circumstances it could have been fatal. And that tennis shoe is going to lay there a couple hundred years unless the FS spend lots of money to have someone climb down, retrieve it and haul it out of there.

But with a title like that, I'm at least amused by her last name.

69. Scarlet - Marissa Meyer
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- August TIOLI #10. Read a book with a title that is also catalogued by a different author
- audiobook in the car;

I found this sequel to Cinder just as light and fluffy and entertaining as the first in the series.

This time we meet Scarlet. She's on a quest to find her mysteriously kidnapped grandmother, and is joined by Wolf, a genetically engineered wolfish human. He's part of an army of monsters that are programmed to kill to help the evil lunar Queen Levana take over earth. But even wolves can fall in love ....

Chapters alternate with the continuing story of Cinder and Prince Kai. Cinder is fleeing the evil queen while the amazinglyincrediblyperfect Prince Kai is trying to avoid buying peace for his country by being forced into marriage with Levana.

All the beloved fairy tale tropes wrapped into a dystopian future with twists , including cyborg-hate and rocket ships.

I didn't think I would enjoy this YA brain candy series as much as I am, but I can't wait to go on to the third one, Cress, which came out earlier this year. And then what will I do until the 4th one is issued?

70. The Long Farewell - Michael Innes
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- MysteryCat: British Detective;
- GeoCat: Western Europe;
- Random Cat: school/academia;
= a Cat Trick!
- August TIOLI #4. Read a book set in or about Scotland, by a Scottish author;
- ROOT # 35/50; acquired 2013 = 1 ROOT point 131/180

Inspector Appleby visits his longtime friend, Shakespeare scholar Lewis Packford, while both are holidaying in Italy. Packford is highly excited. Could he have found a book annotated in the very hand of the bard?

A few weeks later, back in England, Packford shows up dead. It appears thathe has committed suicide after scandal has erupted. Instead of being an eccentric, confirmed bachelor, Packford has been found to be a bigamist with two secret wives.

But something doesn't add up.

This is the first Innes/Inspector Appleby mystery that I've read, and I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the clever dialogue and found it a bit more cerebral than many of the mysteries I have read. I remember Innes being quite popular when I was working in a bookstore in the 70's. I may be fifty years late to the Innes party, but now that I'm here I'll be looking for more by him.

Hiya Janet, hope things are okay with you. *hugs*

Hi Stephanie - Thanks for dropping by. I've had a bit of the September light-getting-shorter glums and am mostly just lurking on LT. But I'm still here.

I joined WW for the thirty-umpteenth time this week. I was the only newbie present for the little mini meeting for new members afterwards. We discussed why I felt I never stayed with the darn program. And then the leader said something that may have been life-changing.

"Commit to this program for a year and you'll never regret it".

Wow. Not many things in life you can say that about.

Never.

Wow.

Time to try to get at least the August reviews done:



71. Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay

How It Fits Into My Reading Now:
- geocat- Western Europe;
- TIOLI # 2. Read a book with a Top 50 Hiistorical Event listed in its CK;
- ROOT #36/50 - 2011; given to me by my cousin = 3 Root Points 134/185

"On July 16 and 17, 1942, 13,152 Jews were arrested in Paris and the suburbs, deported and assassinated at Auschwitz. In the Velodrome d'Hiver that once stood on this spot, 1,129 men, 2,916 women, and 4,115 children were packed here in inhuman conditions by the government of the Vichy police, by order of the Nazi occupant. May those who tried to save them be thanked. Passerby, never forget!"

This story is told in two time lines in alternating chapters. In the first timeline, 10 year old Sarah and her parents are rounded up by French police and taken into what became known as the Vel d'Hiv, a deportation to Auschwitz for immediate death. It was a roundup known for its extreme brutality and from which only a handful of escapees survived. In addition, it was not done by the Nazis, but by the French police, acting of course, under Nazi orders during the French occupation.

During the middle of the night raid, Sarah impulsively locks her four year old brother into a hidden closet to keep him safe. She imagines that they will all return to their home later that day to let him out.

In the second timeline, some sixty years later, American journalist Julia Jarmond, writing a piece on the massacre, finds that her husband's family owns an apartment that was seized after Wladyslaw and Rywka Starzynski, parents of 10-year-old Sarah and four-year-old Michel disappeared into the roundup.

She hunts for the fate of the family and becomes obsessed by the clues leading her to Sarah. Her marriage to an extremely self-centered man falters along the way as he demands that she abort her unexpected, mid-life pregnancy while she is in the midst of her research into this massacre of families and children.

I had read both positive and negative reviews on this book here on LT. I knew it was both a shocker and a tear-jerker and didn't really plan to read it. But my cousin and her husband, who had lived several years in France, gave it to me as a thank you gift several years ago as both of them had really enjoyed it.

Like much of the world, including most of the French population, I did not know that the Vel d'Hiv occurred. I found the story compelling and very sobering. The author is a good enough writer to carry the narrative along and I liked the alternating story lines. I was caught up by the story and I read it eagerly. However, I was not fond of the ending. I am extremely doubtful whenever a relationship with a man the protagonist doesn't know produces a happily-ever-after.

Give it a try for the history and the humanity. But bring your hanky.

3.8 stars

Another From August:



72. - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert Pirsig
How It Fits Into My Reading:
- RL bookclub;
- ROOT #37/50; not previously entered into LT = 1 ROOT point - 135/185
- August TIOLI #8. Read a book with an amusing LT tag (a book I own and pretend to have read)

If you were in college in the 70's, you may well be familiar with this one.

In this autobiographical novel, the author manages to weave philosophy, mechanical engineering, recovering from a mental breakdown and taking a road trip into one narrative, creating a book with an almost cult-like following.

Our narrator does not refer to himself by name although he calls his previous self Phaedrus. He is travelling cross country by motorcycle with his son, Chris, and other friends who accompany them partway. In his head he writes a chautauqua, a narrative with teaching points, as he goes.

Phaedrus had been a college professor and then returning graduate student who had a mental breakdown due to what he calls paranoid schizophrenia with depression. Phaedrus was hospitalized and given several dozen electrical shock therapy treatments, which caused him to lose the memory of his previous life. He hopes that during this long trip, he can reconnect with his son, who is showing many signs of stress which our narrator fears are early signs of mental illness. He also hopes that he can find the part of his own life that is missing.

During the trip, he is obsessed with the technological maintenance of his motorcycle - spending part of each day fiddling with various mechanical processes and using it as vehicle (pun intended :-)) to explore the philosophies of technology and humanity and what the notion of quality is - if one cannot define what is good, how can one find it? Is quality the Buddha that permeates all things in life?

I had listened to an abridged, audio version of this book several years ago. Since I'm not well-grounded in philosophy and not much interested in mechanical workings, I knew I missed major points and so, I had picked up a print copy from a library sale table. I'm not sure I would have ever reread it though, without the push of reading it for my book club.

I know that even with the reread, many of the points sailed right over my head and I skimmed over some of the seemingly endless discussion. Overall, though, I found it a trip worth taking. Recommended primarily for those who enjoy philosophical argument.

I got a PM wishing me happy 8th anniversary here on LT - darn I knew it was this month, but I missed it. I am now eight years old here.

Today is my final oncology appointment. I am now 5 years cancer free and hope to stay that way. Large happy dance on that one.

>142 streamsong: WOOHOO!!!!!! On both the cancer free and Thingadingy! Big Snoopy happy dance indeed! *hugs*

>142 streamsong: Great news on both fronts. Good for you!

Stephanie and Meg: Thank you so much - I appreciate the good wishes!

Still working on August books:



73. - The Plot Against America - Phillip Roth
How It Fits Into My Reading:
- August American Author Challenge
- TIOLI #9. Read a book that starts with "The" then 1, 2, 3 or 4 words after in rolling order
- state map: New Jersey;
- audiobook from library

What if the wildly popular Charles Lindbergh had returned from his self-imposed exile in England,and, with his policy of isolationism from the horrors of WWII been wildly acclaimed as the Republican candidate for president and actually beat FDR?

What if Lindbergh's support of the Nazi party turned into support of anti-Semitism as the American Jewish population saw their rights slip away one by one?

Could America have quietly slipped along the same path that people of Germany did?

Such is the premise of The Plot Against America, an alternate history seen through the eyes of a child, the semi-autobiographical Phillip.

I thought it well written and in many places, gripping, although I did not care for the ending and the author's explanation of Lindbergh's motives struck me as far-fetched at best.

Thanks to this novel, I have better insight into how a rational citizenship can be carried along to an irrational conclusion.

3.8 stars

And the last of August:



74. 1 Dead in Attic - Chris Rose
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- TIOLI #13. Read a book about tropical cyclones/ a hurricane;
- ROOT #38/50 acquired 2012 = 2 ROOT points 137/185

This is a series of newspaper columns written by journalist and New Orleans resident Chris Rose in the year following Hurricane Katrina's devastating blow to New Orleans.

Well written short accounts of courage, heartbreak and irony (oh the irony - it seemed to be everywhere Rose looked) as this great city struggled back to its feet at the same time acknowledging that some things change forever. Because they were written at the time events occurred, they definitely have a sense of immediacy. At times, as Rose bemoans decisions made by local politicians, it would be nice to have a bit more of the big picture, including identification of who some of the local players were.

This was originally self-published under the same title, but as a much shorter volume. Rose was contemplating publishing a second volume which he would entitle "The Purple Upside Down Car" when the book was picked up by a national publisher and the two volumes published the same title. According to Wikipedia, Rose was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Commentary in 2006 and won a Pulitzer for his contributions to the Times-Picayune's Public Service Award.

3.7 stars It went on just a shade too long in my opinion. :-)

Oh my, oh my.

As I was cooking supper last night, I looked out the window and saw a mountain lion along the creek, about 15 yards from my house.

I guess the dog and I will skip walking the creek trail and choose the road instead.

In retrospect, I've only seen foxes a few times this summer and no coyotes at all, so perhaps I should have realized there was something alpha in the neighborhood.

They are gorgeous.

But they scare me. :-)

Sounds scary. Avoiding the creek area sounds like a good idea.

As, always, Meg, thanks for stopping by!

No more lion sitings - I think I'll walk my usual path along the creek today, although I'll continue to avoid it early mornings and evenings.

I'm not getting many books finished, this month. I've added one more to the 'currently reading' pile: Malcolm Gladwell's David & Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the art of Battling Giants for my RL book club this week. This one is fascinating and should make lively discussion at the book club.

And uh oh, the annual library book sale starts Wednesday. I usually go the first night and also the last day when books are a dollar a bag. I am so trying to get the number of tbr's down. LT says I have 428 unread books. I know I have more boxes not entered into LT.

But what's one little bag that will help support the library, hey?

75. Men at Arms - Terry Pratchett
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- September Series & Sequels;
- Sept TIOLI #15. Read a book which has a military term in the title;
- ROOT #39/50 - owned prior to 1/1/14, but not previously cataloged

A dead clown has been found with a very strange hole blown through his chest. Coincidentally,an ominous wizard-created weapon called a 'gonne' has disappeared from its place of safety in the Assassin's Guild. The gonne works by hurling projectiles through a tube after an explosion of gunpowder. And the gonne whispers to people; if they possess it, they want to use it.

This is also the backstory of several of my favorite characters. Angua joins the Night Watch in an affirmative action program. Sam Vimes marries the Lady Sybil and plans to retire.

I've been reading through the Discworld series, but not in any particular order. I started with several that were favorites of my kids, followed by several of the newest ones as they were released. I tried starting at the beginning, but just wasn't hugely charmed by the earliest in the series.

But this one - definitely one of my favorites so far!

So my newest Discworld plan is to start in the middle and read outward both directions - which altogether sounds like a Discworldish thing to do.

4 stars

Hello Janet,

just stopping by to see what you have been reading. Trying to get back into the swing of LT as I am steadily feeling better. Still not reading as much as I used to, but I am getting better. I am pleased to see that I discovered some interesting reads on your thread :)

Flu - by Gina Kotala sounds exactly like my cup of tea and is gone straight onto my wishlist.
Alias Grace and The Penelopiad are still waiting on my reading pile.
Cinder - by Marissa Meyer. I thought was a great fluffy read but somehow I didn't feel tempted to pick up the other one's at that time.

What I thought was quite an enjoyable read a kinda mix of Urban/High Fantasy which you may would enjoy was the Daughter of Bone and Smoke trilogy by Laini Taylor.

I've been away on vacation for the last two weeks, so I've missed a lot here. Great news on the cancer-free 5 year anniversary--that is great! And Happy Thingaversary! You do realize that you are entitle to purchase NINE books to celebrate, don't you? In fact, it is mandatory. Let us know what your book haul is when you do it.

How scary and totally magnificent to see a mountain lion outside your window!! I think your precautions as to time of walk are wise, and I might carry a big stick as well.

>152 drachenbraut23: Hi Bianca - I'm so glad to hear that you are feeling better! I saw the pics on Darryl's thread and was hoping the activity meant that might be the case. Yay!

Onto the wishlist goes Daughter of Bone and Smoke. The category challenge is doing a SFF category next year, so I hope to spread my wings a bit. Very timely suggestion!

>153 ronincats: Thanks for stopping by, Roni. Thanks for the congrats. I now feel un-superstitiously free to wear my beautiful tree of life pendant. :-) >89 streamsong: .

Carrying the stick is probably a good idea. I think if you meet a mountain lion, you're supposed to make yourself as large and noisy as possible, correct? So waving a stick over my head while yelling my head off would probably be A Good Thing.

I went to the library book sale last night and acquired 8 books. I'll list them here, soon.

Books from the book sale:

34. Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories - Roald Dahl -
35. Lost in My Own Backyard - Tim Cahill -
36. The Egg and I - Betty MacDonald - (Read many years ago)
37. The Yellowstone Story Volume 1 - Aubrey L Haines - History of Yellowstone Park, will be nice to have around
38. The Burgess Boys - Elizabeth Strout -
39. War Trash - Ha Jin -
40. Women of the Silk - Gail Tsukiyama
41. Old Filth - Jane Gardam (Donna, if you read this, this is a BB from you!)

76. - Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail - Cheryl Strayed
How It Fits Into My Reading Now:
- RandomCat Book Associated with the Toronto Film Festival
- September TIOLI #11. Read a book that was first published after 1950 and adapted to film or tv
- audiobook from library

"a story that inhabits a unique riparian zone between wilderness tale and personal-redemption memoir." --Jon Foro

Cheryl Strayed was shaken to the core by her mother's death. She realized she was no longer happy in her youthful marriage and set out to sabotage it with numerous meaningless affairs. Her siblings and stepfather disappeared from her life. After she divorced she drifted, experimenting heavily with heroin. Her last name 'Strayed' is one one she chose herself after her divorce.

And then she became obsessed with the Pacific Crest Trail, the uninterrupted trail that stretches from the Mexican to the Canadian borders.

She'd never backpacked and did not do even a single trial run overnight with her gear before starting her quest. She did not bother to enquire of trail conditions beforehand (much of the trail was still covered in record setting snow the year she made her journey). Naturally enough, due to her lack of experience and the fact that she hiked alone, she met several really dangerous situations, which in other circumstances might have led to disastrous results.

But she persevered and hiked over 1100 miles of the trail's total length of 2600 miles.

Before reading this, I had pigeonholed it in my mind as 'stupid people doing stupid things in the wilderness'. And there was a lot of that.

But in the end I do feel inspired by her journey. And oh, man, it does make me want to hike (although my bones are no longer up to backpacking, I'm afraid).

3.7 stars

77. Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah People's Bible Commentary - James J Westendorf
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
-personal challenge - reading the entire Bible with commentary
- purchased 2014

>50 streamsong: for explanation. Slowly, slowly, I'm crawling along on this project. But progress is being made. Started in 2012, definitely won't finish until sometime in 2015.

Currently reading I Peter, Deuteronomy, II Chronicles, Psalms 128-130, Ecclesiastes, Haggai, and Acts.

Other stuff: the cooking knife skills class was awesome. Such basic stuff to know, and yet I didn't. I've used the skills several times in the last few days - one in making this recipe for curried chickpeas with spinach (I chopped ribbons of kale, instead) http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/12/curried-chickpeas-spinach/. BudgetBytes has become one of my favorite sites for trying new recipes.

And all that vegetable chopping led to a great weigh in last night - I'm now down 8 pounds. Yay!

On Habitrpg.com, I've temporarily abandoned acquiring the usual armor and going for the mad science geek Halloween costume. Thanks to all that veggie chopping, reading 'chores' and housecleaning I've earned my monster head of science (think Frankenstein) and am now hoarding gold for my lab coat of science to go with it.

Oh, man, I'd *love* to take a knife skills class, because I really have none! My best friend just started at a cooking academy, so maybe I'll wait until he's graduated and see if he'll teach me a thing or two...

>159 scaifea: Amber, I hope you your friend can help you out... I learned so many safety things that I wish I'd known when I was cooking with my kids - like curling your fingers inward into a claw on the hand holding whatever is being cut to protect them.

78. David & Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants - Malcolm Gladwell
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- RL Book Club
- TIOLI - #2: Read a book by a living author who is younger than you
- purchased 2014

Most people are familiar with the story of shepherd boy David killing the giant warrior Goliath with nothing but a stone from his sling. Gladwell begins his book by pointing out the often overlooked details in the story: how, even though Goliath was very tall, the Bible describes him as moving slowly and possibly having both physical and eyesight problems. He really didn't have a chance against the mobile David. What appeared to be his greatest asset, making him invincible, instead made him vulnerable.

Gladwell continues with a variety of incidents where the obvious solution has been proven through psychological research not to be the best one. These range from choosing a college, to the US civil rights movement to the IKEA manufacturing process.

My favorite story was that of the Northern Ireland 'troubles'. The non-invested British police force tried to put down protests with a large show of force; the people pushed back harder, followed by the police doing the same. It led to ten years of bitter civil war. It was especially fascinating in light of the recent riots in Ferguson, Missouri.

These were not in-depth studies, but case study examples illustrating research resulting in very readable and interesting pop psychology/sociology.

It definitely made me look at various situations from a totally new perspective.

79. - One of Our Thursdays is Missing - Jasper Fforde
- September MysteryCat -Bibliomystery;
- TIOLI #14. Read a book that is part of a series and whose author's first or last name is five or six letters;
- September series and sequels
- audiobook from library;

It's been several years since I read the previous one in this series in which some real world humans can jump into books. The books are populated with actor-characters to bring scenes to life.

I immediately was re-captured by Fforde's cleverness and witty humor. This is great fun as the written Thursday Next careened around the book world, trying to hold off a genre war and solve the disappearance of the-real world Thursday Next.

There are piles of clever descriptions and lots of funny scenes. Partway in, however, I was wishing for a bit more plot, which at times, felt as thin and undeveloped as some of the characters Thursday met while traveling through fan fiction.

Not my favorite of the Thursday Next series, but I'm sure I'll be back for more.

3.7 stars



Side note: I really enjoyed Fforde's Shades of Grey, the first of one of his more recent series. There are two sequels out, but they're not available in the US. Sigh.

Another book from September:



80. - The Living Reed by Pearl S Buck
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- Geocat Challenge - Eastern Asia (Korea);
- TIOLI #13. Read a book that is epic in nature or scope;
- ROOT #40/50; acquired 2007 = 7 ROOT points

In the 70's, I read quite a few of Pearl S Buck's novels. From time to time, I still pick them up when I see them in a used book store. This one has been living on Planet TBR since 2007.

This is a family epic of Korea. It followed three generations of a family beginning with Il-Han, an advisor and scholar to the queen in the 1880's.

When the queen is assassinated by Japanese forces and Korea occupied by Japan we see the son, a resistance leader code named The Living Reed, eventually being overcome and like many young Korean fighters, fleeing to China, where he took part in the communist revolution there. Eventually he returns to Korea, and sees the heartbreak of the country arbitrarily divided by US and Russian administered zones after the ending of WW II.

The central character of the book, however, is Korean history. I honestly didn't have much knowledge of this region and learned a lot. Korea has been coveted as a stepping stone by Russia, China and Japan for centuries. During the rise of the Western Powers, many Koreans looked to Woodrow Wilson and the US to help them in their struggle for independence. It was a vain hope; time after time the US let the Korean hopes down.

Still Korea itself resembles the living reed, bamboo, springing up in strange places after appearing dead, bending but not breaking.

It was a slow book to get through, but I thought it was well worth the time.

Hello Janet, thanks for the advice with the pics/covers. It's working now again. I haven't got a clue what happened to my laptop settings as it says librarything is an unsecure site. Have to wait for a friend of mine to check this for me.

How awesome to go to a knife skills class. Although, I am not "bad" with a knife I would love to gain some more skills in that area as well. Lately, I have been spreading my wings a little more in the direction of baking, as I still have got this serious fat intolerance. So far, I have been quite succesful and my family, friends and collegues all survived my experiements. :)

Oh my, I have some catching up to do.

>142 streamsong: Today is my final oncology appointment. I am now 5 years cancer free and hope to stay that way.
Excellent!

>148 streamsong: coyote
There was a coyote conversation over on sibyx’s thread recently.

>156 streamsong: Wild
This one didn’t do much for me. The redemption aspect wasn’t so apparent.

>163 streamsong: The Living Reed
I might give this a try. I read several books by Pearl S. Buck around 1980-ish, but not this one, and I’m curious about Korea.

Just trying to catch up and say "hullo"

>164 drachenbraut23: Hi Bianca! Well, now I have the very basics with a knife but it will take lots of practice. I've been chopping up lots of vegetables for my weight loss attempt, so it's very useful. The last farmer's market of the season was last week, so getting the really yummy veggies is coming to an end. This recipe from Budget Bytes will be on the menu tonight with one of the last squash I bought there last week http://www.budgetbytes.com/2010/02/roasted-butternut-squash-salad/

>165 qebo: I watched a program on urban coyotes on PBS earlier this summer. All those people need is a nice mountain lion in their yard to get the coyotes to move onward. No more lion sightings for me, but I am still not hearing the coyotes singing.

I'm not sure I saw much redemption in Wild either. But it did inspire me to work on shedding weight and getting in better shape so I can hike come spring, and so some short walks this fall.

>166 AuntieClio: Hi Stephanie! *waving wildly* - I'm glad to see you here!

>167 streamsong: Janet thanks for the link. THAT looks delicious and exactly like my cup ot tea in terms of food. We have to compare notes. I am actually planning to go today to one of our local farmer shops who had this incredible grey skinned pumpkin (I can't remember the name) which cost me 3 Pound and lasted 3 meals for myself and one meal shared with 3 people. My friend who bought this pumpkin also, made the most delicious soup with it, froze some of it and just gave me the recipes. I am sure that I could use the pumpkin for the recipe instead of the butternut.

Do you need to loose a lot of weight, or just a little? I always found that just cutting back on some of the fat, empty carbs and refined sugars usually, does a pretty amazing job. Well, as you know in view of my health issues I tend to eat even more concious than before, also I always used to have a pretty good diet.

>168 drachenbraut23: I love that blog, Bianca. I've made a dozen or so recipes from there and have enjoyed them all. That recipe is so pretty, isn't it! Dark green spinach, orange squash and a splash of cranberry color. I'll have some leftover roast chicken with it, too.

I think they call those grey pumpkins 'ghost pumpkins' here in the States. They make interesting jack o lanterns, but I haven't eaten one. I have a recipe that I want to try for curried pumpkin soup that I will get to one of these days

Unfortunately, I do have quite a bit of weight to lose. I'm down a bit over 8 pounds this last month, which is a good start, but I have lots more to go.... sigh. Your advise is all good. I'm glad to hear you're feeling better!

Well, I just saw that I have All of the ingredients and only need the pumpkin. So, probably we can compare notes soon. I will take a photo and show you my version. I think I will check this site out a bit more as it looks very promising.

I wish you good luck with your weight loss - I do understand it can be very difficult at times. However, I think with such wonderful recipes (and any pumpkin is very filling) it becomes much easier with time :)

Once I got the pumpkin later I will let you know what it is called in the UK. However, I love this variety as it isn't as sweet and just tastes a little bit more like a "sophisticated upscale" potato LOL.

Yesterday I attended five sessions at the Montana Festival of the Book.

Kate Davis from Raptors of the Rockies was promoting her newest book, as usual filled with her absolutely gorgeous photos. To get a taste of her photos, her most recent newsletter is here: http://www.raptorsoftherockies.org/pdf/newsletter/newsletter45.pdf

Besides the slide show of her amazing photos, she brought some of her live birds: a great horned owl, a saw-whet owl, a kestrel and a Aplomado Falcon (native to south Texas).

Other panels I went to were on writing memoirs, writing in Montana, cultural geography of the west, and a study of Native American literature.

I sat on my hands and only purchased two books:
A Fact & Fiction Reader - an anthology of short works by Missoula area writers. I thought this was really interesting - 3 Montana bookstores have each helped publish anthologies of local writers. I chose the Missoula based anthology since it had works by writers I knew that I enjoyed such as Debra Magpie Earling, Gwen Florio, Pete Fromm, William Kittredge and Deidre McNamer. It also has two by people I know slightly - one woman I went to high school with and a guy who was my creative writing TA when I went to college.

I think it's a really interesting project - info here: http://www.bangtailpress.com/montana-bookstore-readers/

The second book I purchased was The Royal Wulff Murders by Keith McCafferty, the first of a series of mysteries set in the Madison Valley near Bozeman. When talking to the author while he was signing my book, he proudly stated that the second book in the series, The Gray Ghost Murders had been chosen by the Oprah book club. Eeek! - I almost backed out of the sale; too late he had written my name in the inscription - . Nice to see a Montana author get the recognition and the $$ though.

Two more I've added to my wishlist:

Blood Will Out: The True Story of a Murder, a Mystery, and a Masquerade by Walter Kirn a true crime account of a con man and murderer. Sounds interesting, but I'll wait for the paperback to be out.

Badluck Way by Bryce Andrews - a memoir of ranching and wolves by a guy who is both rancher and environmentalist. Unfortunately, this one had sold out at the event bookstore.

The bad news is that Humanities Montana has withdrawn funding for this festival. After 15 years, this might have been the last one.

More from September:



81. Take the Reins - John L Moore
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- ROOT #41/50 - Acquired 2007 = 7 ROOT points
- September TIOLI # 22. Read a book from the 900 section of the Dewey Decimal System

I'm working hard to read at least 5 ROOTS (unread tomes on my shelf) that I cataloged into LT from each year I've been here, and this book is another one that I've had since 2007.

This is a series of short meditations by a preacher/dryland Eastern Montana rancher who is taking life lessons off his ranch in order to pass them on to his eleven year old son: persevere, work hard, enjoy the beauty of sunrise from horseback and the majesty of wildlife.

Dryland farming and ranching is a tough life. It has no irrigation and is subject to the whims of weather. There are drought years, and range fires and blizzards and many of them can ruin the season's income. Too many of them and your livelihood disappears all together.

It was an interesting look at the lifestyle.

But I did have objections to the book. I don't like the author's parenting style.

For instance, in one scenario, the son is dismounting from a horse and the horses reaches forward with a hind leg and 'cowkicks' the boy as he is getting down. The author is impatient that the incident frightens his son and forces him (literally) to get back on the horse and dismount again. Be a man. Persevere. Face your fears and get back on. And the child does so without further incident.

But the author later discovers that the horse had cowkicked and broken the leg of a previous adult rider and so he sells the horse. But he never acknowledges that he was wrong in forcing his son back into a dangerous situation.

So, it's interesting for the Montana lifestyle and the author's obvious love of the land, but I can't recommend it as a manual of meditations on how to raise your son into a man.

2.5 stars

I'm finally getting caught up on LT again, Janet. I predict that you will love Old Filth and want to read the next 2 books in the trilogy. They fit together nicely with a few surprises in store!

We have had a few mountain lion sightings recently in the Ozarks hill country. I would definitely carry a big stick on walks...and maybe one of your kitchen knives, too! Just how big is your dog? I wonder what Cheryl Strayed would do? Probably try to tame it. The book didn't impress me but I do want to see the movie!

How sad that there might not be another Montana Festival of the Book. Missouri had two similar events here and then nada. I guess they lost their funding, too.

>171 streamsong: The Montana Festival of Book sounds like a great day and you were very good to resist temptation with all those books.

>173 Donna828: -Thanks for stopping by, Donna. Your review was definitely the reason I picked up Old Filth. I'm looking forward to the read, but it probably won't be until after the first of the year. I undertook waaaaaayyyy too many challenges this year!

I'd like to see the Wild movie. too. But the advertising promos I've seen have her carrying her monster backpack with no hip belt. So, I'm prepared to be amused.

No more signs of the lion. :-) My dog is a very chicken hearted Golden Retriever. She has the biggest, sweetest heart in the world, but as a rescue, is scared of a lot of things.

>174 Familyhistorian: Thanks for stopping by. It was fun. I wish I could have made it to the other two days.

DD touring Washington DC: Anime USA

I stopped by the library to drop off two books and stopped by a large selection of free books in their lovely outdoor and six accidently came home with me:

3 mysteries:
- Death Comes to Pemberley - P.D. James (I know, this one gets panned a lot here. I enjoy Austen, but I'm not a fangirl, so we'll see)
- Outfoxed - Rita Mae Brown
- The Gray Ghost Murders: A Sean Stranahan Mystery by Keith McCafferty - I met this author at the Montana Festival of the Book last week. This is the second in the series, and was the one chosen by Oprah for her mystery list.

3 non-fiction with a nature focus:
- Three by Annie Dillard: The Writing Life, An American Childhood, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - by Annie Dillard (I've read one, have a second already on Planet TBR and one new one. I'll probably replace two of mine and keep this one)
- Playing God in Yellowstone: The Destruction of America's First National Park - by Alston Chase
- Listening to Whales: What the Orcas Have Taught Us by Alexandra Morton - I'm not familiar with this book or author at all, but, well, orcas ...

Why is it that when I let my guard down, I don't just acquire one book but six? I'm wondering if that means that none of what I'm reading right now, is really satisfying me. Like being on a diet for weeks and then wolfing down a large chocolate _____ (fill in the blank)

>177 streamsong: Why is it that when I let my guard down, I don't just acquire one book but six?
Hah, yes, it's always either zero or several to choose from.

>177 streamsong: Oh yeah, books come home by accident with me all the time. Sound like some interesting titles.

Way to fall off the wagon, girl! Doing it with class!

>178 qebo: >179 Familyhistorian:, >180 ronincats: You three all made me smile! Thank you so much for stopping by!

I am almost done with The Underground Girls of Kabul - one of the best ER books I have received.

They did not accidentally come home with you! They ambushed you. Glad to hear The Underground Girls of Kabul is good (although I note it's qualified by being an ER). I have a copy to read too. So many books .... so little .... oh look! more books!

Absolutely correct, Stephanie. Not my fault at all, anymore than if someone had left a box of free kittens in a spot where they hoped to find new homes.

I think you'll like The Underground Girls of Kabul. It's very thought provoking and a wonderfully different view of Islam and Afghanistan. I have the movie Osama coming this weekend from Netflix. It's the first post-Taliban movie tells the story of one of these girls under the Taliban. She mentions it in the first chapter or so of her book.

I need to get caught up a bit on reviews.

The last book of September:



82. Giovanni's Room - James Baldwin
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- American author challenge;
- 1001 Books;
- September TIOLI #19 - Noun in title
- library;

This one defies a review.

Exquisitely written.

As the book opens, we meet David, a young American living in Paris. We learn of his on-again off-again fiancé who has spent the last few months trying to decide whether to marry him. And we meet Giovanni, who is waiting to be executed.

An incredibly tangled story of a man trying to come to terms with his own sexuality - doing what is expected and having a conventionally happy life or following his heart into a lifestyle he rejects.

My heart bled for these incredibly damaged people and the hurt David causes to everyone he knows: deep hurts, deep responsibility and ultimately Giovanni's beheading.

This is a novel full of broken people. It will stay with me for a very long time.

4.5 stars

Aah James Baldwin heard soo much praise by now, that I really think I have to give him a push up on my TBR. I own two books by him.

Thanks for the link with the brilliant pumpkin/spinach recipes. I thought you might like to see my version *grin*



I used this pumpkin with the grey/green skin I was telling you about.

Ah, so the pumpkin flesh is yellow/orange? I had imagined it also grey which didn't sound at all appetizing! Thanks for posting that!

I made that, too, with squash. I thought it needed a bit of dressing to tie it all together so I used a bit of fat-free commercial raspberry dressing. It **was** good. I've enjoyed quite a few of the BudgetBytes.com recipes. I really like her emphasis on fresh food.

This week I'm going into town to learn to make a Vietnamese tofu, lemongrass and pepper dish.

Missoula has been having a 'Big Read' of the book The Things They Carried with Vietnamese events for the past month. Tuesday night author Tim O'Brien will be speaking. I think I can make it both to the class and the author's talk, although I haven't read the book. I did read the excerpt on Amazon.

Being in high school in the early 70's means I have very bad associations with the war - I am haunted by images on the evening news which my parents watched religiously. So should I read the book?

83. 2 Chronicles (People's Bible Commentary) - Paul O. Wendland
How It Fits Into My Current Reading
- Personal reading through the Bible with commentaries challenge; acquired 2014

Wow - getting through. Still don't think I'll be quite done by 12/31, though.

Well, very difficult to say. It is part of your history, although for you more immediate than WWII and the stigma attached to it, was for me. I don't know as you are haunted by the images you have to consider: One - the book could help you to deal better with the images you retained from your childhood or Two - it could make your bad memories considerably worse. I think you know yourself better than anyone else and have to decide, which is better for you. I tend to confront whenever possible things which cause me any kind of discomfort.

Yes, the pumpkin flesh is yellow/orange and so far my fave variety. I kept the seeds and have been drying them as the farmer said they are incredible easy to grow. I am going to try a few more recipes of that site too, as I like the emphasis on fresh food as well.

>188 drachenbraut23: Haunted may have been too strong a word. Nevertheless, it was an extremely ugly war and the first with the press on the scene taking the very graphic up close and personal photos. My book club read The Lotus Eaters within the last year, and at that time, I watched a documentary movie called Regret to Inform, where some American widows travelled to Vietnam and met both North & South Vietnamese widows. I was totally amazed to see what a very beautiful country Vietnam is.

Tuesday night I learned a really lovely Vietnamese dish - Spicy Lemongrass Tofu & Rice. I mostly learned how to make good tofu that really soaks up the flavors of the sauce and yet still be crispy when you stirfry it.

Afterwards I went to hear Tim O'Brien speak about The Things They Carried. Both events were part of Missoula's month long 'The Big Read' of The Things They Carried. Various venues featured Vietnamese/ US Vietnam War-Era events around town throughout October.

O'Brien was funny and entertaining but a bit stuck in a time warp. He wondered why he was known as Tim O'Brien the soldier and not Tim O'Brien the author. Well, duh. He's written 8 or 10 books as well as short stories and most center around the short time he was in Vietnam during the war.

I've bought a copy of the book and will probably read it the first part of the year.

We had out of town visiting cousins for a few days this week, so LT has once more been ignored. I think I'll continue on to a new thread this evening.