Paul C with books and more in 2014 Part 23

It isn't too surprising that Russia despite it's advantage in numbers didn't succeed in the First World War:

Russian World War One poetry is perhaps overshadowed by that from the Western Front but it had its moments too. Perhaps the most celebrated poet from that era was Aleksandr Blok



Here is his 1914 poem Those Born in the Years of Stagnation adroitly translated by Jon Stallworthy

Those born in the years of stagnation
forget now how they found their way.
We ~ children of Russia’s tribulation ~
forget not a year, not a day.

What message, years of conflagration,
have you: madness or hope? On thin
cheeks trained by war and liberation
bloody reflections still remain.

Dumbness remains! ~ alarm bells clanging
have clapped all other tongues in chains.
In hearts, familiar once with singing,
a fateful emptiness remains.

And what if dark above our death-bed,
cawing, the ravens climb ~
Let those more worth, God, O God,
see your kingdom in their time.

8 Sept 1914

2014 Reading

January
1. A Man of the People by Chinua Achebe (1966) 150 pp
2. Touch Wood: Poems and a Story by Dannie Abse (2002) 88pp
3. My Antonia by Willa Cather (1918) 248pp
4. 77 Dream Songs by John Berryman (1964) 84 pp
5. Novel on Yellow Paper by Stevie Smith (1936) 252 pp
6. The Sojourn by Andrew Krivak (2011) 191 pp
7. The Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith (1892) 171 pp
8. Fools of Fortune by William Trevor (1983) 207 pp
9. Collected Poems 1951-2000 by Charles Causley (2000) 421 pp
10. The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War by Christopher Clark (2012) 562 pp
11. Landscape at the End of the Century by Stephen Dunn (1991) 94 pp
12. North From Rome by Helen MacInnes (1958) 394 pp
13. Dream Work by Mary Oliver (1986) 89 pp
14. David Golder by Irene Nemirovsky (1929) 159 pp

February
15. Sleeper's Wake by Alistair Morgan (2009) 179 pp
16. Magician: Apprentice by Raymond E Feist (1982) 485 pp
17. If This is a Man by Primo Levi (1947) 179 pp
18. The Hawk in the Rain by Ted Hughes (1957) 54 pp
19. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (1930) 248 pp
20. Gossip From the Forest by Thomas Keneally (1975) 236 pp
21. Moonfleet by J. Meade Falkner (1898) 256 pp
22. Chicago Poems by Carl Sandburg (1916) 80 pp
23. Legend of a Suicide by David Vann (2008) 228 pp
24. The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy (1886) 63 pp
25. Life Studies by Robert Lowell (1959) 95 pp
26. Therese Raquin by Emile Zola (1867) 194 pp
27. The Song of the Cold by Edith Sitwell (1945) 110 pp

March
28. The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman (1962) 524 pp
29. The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope (1894) 140 pp
30. The First World War: A Miscellany by Norman Ferguson (2014) 182 pp
31. Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison (1992) 320 pp
32. The Ballad of the White Horse by G.K. Chesterton (1911) 132 pp
33. Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household (1939) 182 pp
34. Chamber Music by James Joyce (1907) 39 pp
35. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865) 124 pp
36. Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg (1956) 57 pp
37. Suttree by Cormac McCarthy (1979) 568 pp
38. The Old Gringo by Carlos Fuentes (1985) 199 pp
39. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran (1923) 115 pp

April
40. Train by Pete Dexter (2003) 280 pp
41. The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems by W.B. Yeats (1889) 64 pp
42. The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George V. Higgins (1970) 182 pp
43. Desperate Remedies by Thomas Hardy (1871) 407 pp
44. Carrie by Stephen King (1974) 242 pp
45. The Less Deceived by Philip Larkin (1955) 33 pp
46. Once by Morris Gleitzman (2006) 163 pp
47. Transformations by Anne Sexton (1971) 113 pp
48. Sula by Toni Morrison (1973) 174 pp
49. A Season in Hell by Arthur Rimbaud (1873) 100 pp
50. Laidlaw by William MacIlvanney (1977) 283 pp
51. Chronicles: Volume One by Bob Dylan (2004) 293 pp
52. Women by Charles Bukowski (1978) 291 pp

MAY
53. The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey (1951) 222 pp
54. Never Go Back by Lee Child (2013) 519 pp
55. Renascence and Other Poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1917) 44 pp
56. In Praise of Older Women by Stephen Vizinczey (1965) 223 pp
57. The Ponder Heart by Eudora Welty (1954) 156 pp
58. Plainsong by Kent Haruf (1999) 288 pp
59. Satan Says by Sharon Olds (1980) 72 pp
60. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers (1940) 312 pp

June
61. Strumpet City by James Plunkett (1969) 549 pp

Best of 2014

Fiction
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Bastard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison
Plainsong by Kent Haruf

Thrillers/Sci Fi/Fantasy Etc
Magician : Apprentice by Raymond E. Feist
Laidlaw by William McIlvanney
The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey

Poetry
Touch Wood: Poems and a Story by Dannie Abse
77 Dream Songs by John Berryman
The Hawk in the Rain by Ted Hughes

Non-Fiction
The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman
The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War by Christopher Clark
If This is a Man by Primo Levi

Currently Reading:

Reading Plan for May

More for my challenges:

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey (1951)
The Ponder Heart by Eudora Welty (1954)
Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger
Never Go Back by Lee Child
Plainsong by Kent Haruf (Colorado)
Renascence and Other Poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers (Georgia)
In Praise of Older Women by Stephen Vizinczey
Strumpet City by James Plunkett
White Buildings by Hart Crane
Phantom Fortune by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Their Eyes are Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (Florida)
Lord of Misrule by Jamie Gordon (Maryland)
Fugitive Pieces by Ann Michaels
Satan Says by Sharon Olds

150 years challenge

150 Years of Reading Bold Will Be Years I have Finished This Year

The Object is to read one book from each year from 1865 to 2014 all in 2014. No author to be repeated:

1865, 1866, 1867, 1868, 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872, 1873, 1874,
1875, 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883, 1884,
1885, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894,
1895, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904,
1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914,
1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924
1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934,
1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944,
1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954,
1955,1956, 1957, 1958,1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964,
1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974
1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984,
1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994,
1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004,
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

Stateside Challenge

In addition to Mark's American Author challenge I am trying to read a book by an author born in each of the US states + DC + one american born overseas:

1. Alabama
2. Alaska Legend of a Suicide by David Vann
3. Arizona
4. Arkansas
5. California - Magician : Apprentice by Raymond E. Feist
6. Colorado - Plainsong by Kent Haruf
7. Connecticut - The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman
8. Delaware
9. Florida
10. Georgia - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
11. Hawaii
12. Idaho
13. Illinois Chicago Poem by Carl Sandburg
14. Indiana
15. Iowa
16. Kansas
17. Kentucky
18. Louisiana
19. Maine - Carrie by Stephen King
20. Maryland
21. Massachusetts - Life Studies by Robert Lowell
22. Michigan - Train by Pete Dexter
23. Minnesota - Chronicles: Volume One by Bob Dylan
24. Mississippi - As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
25. Missouri
26. Montana
27. Nebraska
28. Nevada
29. New Hampshire
30. New Jersey - Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg
31. New Mexico
32. New York - Landscape at the End of the Century by Stephen Dunn
33. North Carolina
34. North Dakota
35. Ohio - Dream Work by Mary Oliver
36. Oklahoma - 77 Dream Songs by John Berryman
37. Oregon
38. Pennsylvania - The Sojourn by Andrew Krivak
39. Rhode Island - Suttree by Cormac McCarthy
40. South Carolina - Bastard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison
41. South Dakota
42. Tennessee
43. Texas
44. Utah
45. Vermont
46. Virginia - My Antonia by Willa Cather
47. Washington
48. West Virginia
49. Wisconsin
50. Wyoming
51. DC
52. American born outside USA - Women by Charles Bukowski

20/52

Category Challenge 14 for 14

Pyramid Challenge

1 World War One (5 READ - Krivak, Clark, Keneally, Tuchman, Ferguson)
2 Yorkshire Writers (3 READ - Smith, Hughes, Sitwell)
3 Writers new to me (14 READ - Abse, Berryman, Dunn, Oliver, Nemirovsky, Fuentes, Sandburg, Ginsberg, Allison, Lowell, Dexter, Sexton, Bukowski, Rimbaud)
4 Books about the Holocaust (2 READ - Levi, Gleitzman)
5 Books from the first edition of 1001 books (5 READ - Grossmith, Tolstoy, Zola, Carroll, Morrison)
6 Ahem, Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy (2 READ - Feist, King)
7 Series followed (2 Read - Tey, Child)
8 Biographies (1 read - Dylan)
9 Books on the Shelves since 2012 (2 READ - Faulkner, Hardy)
10 Gifts from friends (1 READ - Morgan)
11 Re-reads (2 READ - Falkner, Gibran)
12 Nobel contenders (2 READ - Trevor, McCarthy)
13 Short Story Collections (1 READ - Vann)
14 Vintage Crime/Thrillers (5 READ - Household, McInnes, Hope, Higgins, McIlvanney)

TBR Records

Physical Books on Shelves 1/1/14 = 2,690
Added in 2014 = 317
Read in 2014 = 60
Revised TBR Books = 2,947

Pages to read 1/1/14 = 974,030
Pages added in 2014 = 99,513
Pages read in 2014 = 12,560
Revised Pages to read = 1,060,983

Total Kindle E Books to Read = 3,873
Read in 2014 = 0
Added in 2014 = 0
Revised Kindle Books to Read = 3,873

Total TBR = 6,820 books

MISC LISTS

NOBEL READS

Good morning Paul, hope that Yasmyne is feeling better and that the new hair isn't too extreme:)

>13 calm: I don't think you have won this year Calm? Hopefully I have as much look this time as I had with last year's choice; doesn't time fly!?

Gosh I wasn't thinking about the prize, and if I had I might have left it for someone who has never won to get first spot, but no I haven't won this year and i will be delighted if you have as much luck as with last year's choice:)

I think we want the hair to be extreme after all that is what being young is all about ......

Congrats on the new thread, Paul. Disturbing picture up top --so very young, those three.

Always amazed at the talent of those who can translate poetry so that it scans in two languages.

Good morning, Paul. I've not been keeping up with you but perhaps this happy coincidence of a new thread and my being up well before dawn, here, means that I have a chance to do so. My brief encounter with Rheumatoid arthritis inflammation in my hands has retreated and my typing is no longer a burden; and my reading has stepped up a notch, also.

I look forward to catching up with you again.

>16 roundballnz: living vicariously Alex? ;)

Hi Paul, I am early to the party again this time, time-zone benefits.
I agree with Marianne, disturbing shot of the young Russian soldier boys. Have you read The Mascot by Mark Kurzem? It involves a young boy conscripted into the German Army, as a mascot, but one who is actually Jewish. He was eventually taken in by a Latvian family, which is how I came to know about the book. The author is the subject of the book's son. Very moving and sad account of the individual's experience of war.

Oh, and from the last thread....dads who hug are awesome, eve if it isn't recognised now, it will be later. Is your eldest all celar now of stomach ills? And, the hair? An undercut? Asymmetrical? Multi-coloured? All three???

Happy New thread, Paul! Hope the work week is going fine.

Hey, Paul, I hear you are working on the reading lists. Just a head's up to use the number in my first post. I'm waaay behind on posting my reviews but have kept the number current.

And we want pictures of the newest do!

Hi Paul, the weather is a bit iffy at the moment but with 25 mins to lunch we are 102 - 3 so if we can bat all day and get a reasonable lead tomorrow might be fascinating.

Well, at least I'm not too far behind on the new thread... I am also not caught up. Wishing you goodness :)

I'll join with your other LT friends in hoping Yasmyne is on the mend and congratulating you on your new thread.

Me, too, Paul. Positive thoughts for Yasmyne mending, and congrats on the new thread. Jeez Louise those Russian soldiers up top are young.

Enjoyed learning that Hani is the FB poster under your name - it all makes sense now. :-)

Paul, Can you believe you are ahead of me in reading this year? You are always ahead of me in the book purchases! I'm trying to be careful about what I purchase. I've still got a few from my Kindle Thingaversary shopping spree earlier in the year to read as well as a couple of NetGalleys and a LT ER book. Hoping those get me through until the next big shopping spree, although I think I did purchase one Kindle title the other day that I haven't reported yet. It may have been a freebie that day, if I'm remembering correctly. I am beginning to enjoy ordering them for Kindle since they don't take up shelf space!

Laughing about Yasmyne having her boyfriend butcher her hair----I believe I did that to myself once, although it wasn't intentional. I mean, the cutting was, but I thought I was going to look stunning. My mother made me live with it for a little while before taking me to a professional to have it sorted.

Just harking back to the last thread - I love how much you love your ladies and how open you are about it :) My Dad was pretty remote, though now we have a really good relationship - and ironically, my little girl could make him walk through fire with a crook of her little finger!

You just wait till you have grandkids :)

Just making sure I've got a seat on your new thread!

Hope all is going well and your daughter is completely back to health? Are you planning on heading back to Jakarta soon?

Paul, as always I try to jump up on your fast train. Happy new thread.

Happy New Thread Paul! That picture up there is so heartbreaking! Those boys barely look 10 years old! What's even more heartbreaking is knowing there are still boys recruited to fight in wars, guerilla or otherwise. You also remind me that I've fallen off my WWI reading and believe I haven't picked up a title in these last couple of months. Must do something about that!

Also, didn't comment on The Heart is a Lonely Hunter on your last thread. I vividly remember reading that book for the first time. I was barely 21 years old and just amazed and daunted that someone just 2 years older than me had written such a masterpiece. I felt so much like a misfit then, and did live a rather alternative lifestyle too, and it felt so good to hear the voice of a young woman who also knew what it was like to feel like such an outsider. Daunting because I told myself I just had a couple of years to deliver my own masterpiece if I wanted to compete and amount to anything. Needless to say, the plan fell by the wayside...

Those young Russian boys make me feel very sad, they look to be about the same age as my 14 year old grandson and the thought of him having to go to war is simply unthinkable.

I was reading through your stats Paul, and I am impressed with all the various challenges you are tackling and how well you doing with them. Your books by the year is filling in nicely.

>15 calm: I am sure that I will have as much fun choosing for you, Calm, as I did last year with Nicola Barker

>16 roundballnz: Alex, I received a WhatsApp from Hani during a meeting with a fairly dour client yesterday afternoon which had Yasmyne's new hair-do duly revealed. My exclamation and expletive did not go down too well with the Client and I believe that some hair-styles can be bad for business.

Here is the young lady sporting her new crop:



>17 michigantrumpet: Marianne it certainly caught my eye too. Russia lost the plot completely in the First World War. It is felt that Germany believed that the war needed to be prosecuted in 1914 to pre-empt Russia gaining an advantage in materiel as well as manpower as it industrialised and its economy was growing at a rate that was causing alarm. The war in fact exposed the endemic fractures in Russian society and the role by Germany in facilitating its revolution by allowing passage for some of the leading proponents has too often been overlooked.

>18 maggie1944: My thread activity has declined a little over the last month or two too Karen with too much travel and work but I do manage to get across to your place fairly frequently and I am so pleased to see your progress and improvement both health wise and its assistance to your reading numbers. xx

>19 LovingLit: Hahaha Megan - Alex, being follicly challenged, is not alone in living vicariously through Yasmyne's changes of style. I always told myself that I would never do anything to my own hair but as it turns steadily from dark brown to grey to white with disconcerting surety, the idea of using a bottle of something to turn back time has started to intrude upon my thinking. I'll resist though I think.

>20 LovingLit: She is still taking medication but I think she is on the mend. I don't think that there is anything wrong with appropriate and proportionate displays of affection. I have always enjoyed a cuddle with the kids and only Belle is clearly not comfortable with being hugged unless she has some purchase she wants me to make in which case she will instigate a cuddle herself and take it upon herself to aid Erni by hand-carrying my coffee!

>21 msf59: Thanks mate. Plans thrown to the winds somewhat this week as I should in actual fact be inking a deal in Jakarta with a local partner today but I rescheduled it due to Yasmyne's dicky tummy. Had a very good meeting with one of my old Korean friends who is now the regional director in charge of a huge Korean construction group (the third largest in Korea) who want to use our products and services on four malls they will be building in Indonesia over the next three years. We were both together in Ssangyong for many years and those affiliations have created a network of fast friends that is immeasurably helpful to me (and them) nowadays. Of course it means that I too reciprocate for friends in the same network - for example I did an arbitration expert witness testimony recently for one of our friends without fee. The other side's counsel was embarrassed slightly as it is normal to ask the expert about his remuneration in order to infer he/she is not impartial. My response that my evidence was given to the proceedings without any fee did take the wind from his sails somewhat!

>22 Morphidae: I am determined to get up to speed on the reading lists as I haven't updated those interested for an unreasonable period. I will of course take note of your info - as you know yours is one I take special interest in anyways!

>23 johnsimpson: Seen the scores this morning. I always open LT first and alongside it news about Leeds United, Yorkshire County Cricket Club and, presently, the Giro D'Italia. Those settled I will open BBC and Guardian websites to check on world news before a look at Malaysian news on malaysiakini. Finally then I'll look at facebook to see what my darling wife has been saying about me before opening my e-mails to see if my businesses are still afloat.
Some controversy about Gale disputing his being called out and Peter Willey reversing a clearly wrong decision. The etiquette of the game is one thing but I did like both Willey being man enough to realise his mistake and Glen Chapple happily accepting that justice was served. Of course going on to bowl us out for less than 300 helped his demeanour somewhat.

>24 mckait: Thank you Kath. We have in common our inability to keep up presently. I will definitely be across to your little corner of Pennsylvania on Thursday.

>25 rosalita: Thank you Julia for both the good wishes for Yasmyne and the salutations for my own self.

>26 jnwelch: Joe - The ethics of young people being sent to war is obviously more keenly considered in some places more than others but it feels me with dread to think that children of that age wield guns. It is rampant of course still in Africa especially and tends towards the civilising of society that age limits are placed upon such things.
Hani was celebrating on facebook yesterday the arrival of the grandmother of Yasmyne's boyfriend. We hosted her together with entourage of family members for dinner at our place last night and had a nice evening with the melding of several cultures in harmony.



This one provides also a rare sight of Erni in action in the red top.

>34 PaulCranswick: That's a lovely hairstyle...suits her face so well! Come ON Dad...she's gorgeous.

>34 PaulCranswick: re: hair-do: Sassy very sassy. Love it.

Add me to those who give two thumbs up to Yasmyne's new hairstyle. It suits her perfectly! Sorry, dad.

One more vote for the very tidy, and age appropriate, hair cut. Very good looking and modest, also.

Oh, definitely two thumbs up!

Oh, I love the new haircut! Such a beautiful gal.

Howdy Paul! I'm glad that Yasmyne is on the mend. I know why you were taken aback at her new hairstyle. She looks very posh and grownup. Sweet Dad's have a hard time with that. What a nice family you have. Even though you say your kids think you uncool the evidence is to the contrary with all the time they spend with you. For her boyfriends family to come around then you and Hani are doing everything right.

>27 thornton37814: Simply put, Lori. No way I would have expected to have read more books than your good self this year so far. I do note that your posting stats are markedly up on last year mind and wonder whether this has played any role. You have always been a steady purchaser too so I would expect you to be top twenty if it was possible to compile such a list. I am well down on last years frenetic buying pace and I notice that Paul S has similarly run out of space!

>28 laytonwoman3rd: Yasmyne knew what she was doing exactly, Linda. Very smart in fact as she knew well her mother would insist on a proper job.

>29 BekkaJo: Bekka - I do indeed wish to wait awhile for grandkids! I think it is important to show people you care about them and, whilst I am hardly latin in my demonstrativeness, I do believe the kids know full well how I feel about them. Kyran has followed me by being a fan of a cuddle and will still come to me on a daily basis the big lump. It now is becoming more like receiving a bear hug than giving him a cuddle though!

>30 jolerie: Valerie, there is always a place for you here my dear. All being well I will go back to Jakarta on Monday.

>31 Ameise1: And as always Barbara my thread is enhanced by your visit and presence. xx

>32 Smiler69: Dear Ilana. War and violence upset me no end to be honest as it is virtually always avoidable and pointless. Religion and basic failures to understand each other cause most of them which, when most religions purport to promote peace, is a little more than galling.
I do get frustrated at times that I never properly followed up my own ambitions either sporting or with the written word. At double the age and nearly double-sized the former are gone for ever but I do continue to like scribbling occasionally and lack only the time and organisation to bring the disparate threads together in a form that would please myself enough to brave the judgement of publishers.

>33 DeltaQueen50: I do feel blessed and extremely grateful to my forebears that I live in an age without the need for conscription or the risking of life and limb whilst seeking to snuff out the life and crush the limb of others from a country other than my own.
I am doing OK with my challenges thus far and was doing a little planning for the US State challenge yesterday so that I have books from each state that falls in with my need to cover all the 150 years too.

>37 laytonwoman3rd: I will of course not argue with anyone, least of all a good friend like you Linda, when it is with regard to the bestowing of compliments upon her! I always take a few days to condition myself to new hairstyles among the ladies of the house.

>38 kiwiflowa: Recovering from illness, young Yassie
Had a new hairdo that Lisa deemed sassy
Her Dad to be fair
Didn't like much her hair
But he holds no sway with the stubborn lassie.

>39 rosalita: No need to be sorry Julia! I am pleased that he haircut seems to be in vogue even though it confirms my own dinosaur tendencies.

>40 maggie1944: Well spotted Karen. Yasmyne is actually very often painfully shy. Demure and sophisticated is, of course, the look she was looking for and if I'm totally honest I prefer the current do to the last blonde streaked affair.

>41 drneutron: Jim; for goodness sake don't use both thumbs - we need you to have one hand at least at all times guiding both the group and the space program!

>42 scaifea: There is some similarity apparent between Yasmyne's hairstyle and that of my favourite Wisonsin based classicist! I'll tell you a secret if you promise not to repeat the same.........I actually quite like both hairstyles.

>43 luvamystery65: Roberta - you're right I am a little ambivalent about Yasmyne's burgeoning womanhood. In part horrified, in part intensely proud, fullsomely fascinated.
Saad's family (Saad is the boyfriend) are as lovely a bunch as it is posisble to imagine. I get on excellently with his father Mohammed who is resident in Malaysia as a geologist for Petronas and his wife, Susu (which incidentally is the malay word for milk) is a wonderful host and cook herself (guaranteed to win my affection then). They have four children of whom Saad is the eldest. Ahmed is a couple of years his junior and a little brash and possibly overly-effusive but below the surface extremely kind-hearted (Hani gets on riotously with him). The two younger boys often follow us to the cinema - Yusof who is 10 (I call him Joe) and has the catchphrase "really delicious" which he uses to describe most everything. He is closest to me and very much under my wing as, being number three in line, he gets bullied by number two and overlooked in favour of number four. Number four is the impish, four years old Mokmin whom has Hani and most others in the palm of his extremely volative little hand. Visiting are the gran, an auntie, two cousins and, rather bizarrely, a second-cousin female relative hoping to obtain permission to marry another member of the family in Sinai as apparently Mohammed, being the senior living male in the family line, has seemingly some sort of veto power over the hoped for nuptials. Her discomfiture was obvious yesterday and I felt a little sorry for the girl as she struggled a little fit in. Mohammed apparently doesn't much like the girl and he explained to me his observation that the young lady, Naira, and her intended seem to be constantly fighting but are obviously in love. He will speak to her today and of course, being a romantic soul, I am rooting for her. Hani doesn't like the poor girl as her social skills yesterday were a little lacking (she hardly touched any of the food and didn't say anything to us upon taking her leave), but I think her situation calls for the giving of a bit of slack. My money is on Mohammed producing a happy ending. Fascinating view of a culture that Yasmyne may one day be submitting herself to as she is very much in love with Saad. Asian culture is so different from the west in that affections are less disposable but they are both far too young to consider anything too serious yet of course.

>19 LovingLit: while am becoming follicly challenged, while younger O think it would be fair to say I had every colour of the rainbow, but not at the same time !

>34 PaulCranswick: Nice look .. I think to you need to remember some of those unique English words which many don't know for these occasions .....

>35 PaulCranswick: but Grey is the new blonde ........

>48 roundballnz: I am immensely boring when it comes to my hair, Alex. I appear to take the stresses and strains of running businesses and a family reasonably well but it shows in my premature whitening.

choice words and grey hair? hahaha. Blonde maybe but only intellectually!

Looks like a draw mate as the weather is awful in Yorkshire today, Bresnan bowled well yesterday though and Finch has arrived for the t20 blast so we might start to do a bit in that comp.

>47 PaulCranswick: Oh my, I'm blushing. I'm your favorite! Ha!

~~waving on my way through~~

(it is nice to be caught up, and to be able to follow your thread in real time)

So, out of curiosity, what is it that you don't like about the new hairstyle?

>50 johnsimpson: John I could hear the rain falling as I spoke to my brother on the phone this afternoon and immediately I concede my thoughts turned to the Roses game. A draw will suffice I guess. Adam Lyth has made a great start to the season. I will be interested to see who gets paired with Cook this summer. I have always liked Lyth but being greedy I want him for Yorkshire but would love him to tour this winter. Robson is hyped. Chopra goes from excellent to miserable and which one would turn up is unclear although he's a talented cricketer. I don't favour Carberry or Compton as neither shout to me of deserving to be perservered with. I am a fan of Jimmy Adams but he hasn't started great. Root is not an opener for me. I would actually be tempted to do what we last did with Brian Luckhurst and promote a late bloomer and give Darryl Mitchell a go. Fat chance though. What do you think?

>51 scaifea: Amber of course you are, but then again I don't know any other classicists from Wisonsin!

>52 maggie1944: Hahaha Karen I believe I am quite manageable just lately. xx I have though passed 6,000 posts for the year which has not been achieved before the end of June before unless I am much mistaken.

Compared to 24 June 2012 and 24 June 2013 the top nine threads in posting numbers are way up this year and with a month to go nearly to that juncture:

1st 2012 Paul 4455 2013 Paul 5408 End Yesterday 2014 Paul 6024
2nd 2012 RD 4113 2013 RD 4535 End Yesterday 2014 RD 5556
3rd 2012 Kath 4000 2013 Mark 3904 End Yesterday 2014 Amber 4709
4th 2012 Joe 3705 2013 Mamie 3329 End Yesterday 2014 Mark 3612
5th 2012 Mark 3332 2013 Joe 3128 End Yesterday 2014 Joe 3443
6th 2012 Ape 2458 2013 Ape 2674 End Yesterday 2014 Mamie 2747
7th 2012 Ilana 2421 2013 Ellen 2526 End Yesterday 2014 Julia 2386
8th 2012 Cee 2315 2013 Kath 2246 End Yesterday 2014 Diana 2260
9th 2012 Darryl 2204 2013 Megan 2183 End Yesterday 2014 Katie 1943

2012 top nine 29,003 posts in 176 days or 164.79 posts per day
2013 top nine 29,933 posts in 175 days or 171.05 posts per day
increase 2013 on 2012 = 3.8%
2014 top nine 32,680 posts in 147 days or 222.31 posts per day
increase 2014 on 2013 = 29.97%!!

>53 Morphidae: If I am honest Morphy it would be the cost of it! $100 compared to the $2.50 I spend on my own. Actually I grumble for the sake of it to be honest but I do think she looks a little too mature in the new mop.

Beautiful photo of Yasmyne, Paul, and cool to see the dinner for her boyfriend's grandmother at your place. As a dad, I can sympathize with your feeling that she looks "a little too mature in the new mop", but they do grow up, don't they? It's a balancing act between letting them sort it out and keeping things reasonable.

We're at a stage where ours are employed and taking care of themselves. We still worry about them, of course, but the responsibilities are a lot lighter.

Hey Paul, and happy new thread! I finally got caught back up with all of your posts!

I love her haircut, but of course I will only have boys to contend with and that is a whole different story. I probably won't have to deal with "mature" haircuts, but the occasional pants hanging off the butt issue. Nope. You wear your pants the way they are supposed to be worn or you might as well walk outside with just your undies...ha!

>55 jnwelch: Thanks Joe and sound advice buddy I am sure. I have less trouble letting go a little than Hani does and I actually really like her boyfriend and his family (much to my own surprise really) but the growing up process is certainly not the straightest of roads now is it?

>56 Thebookdiva: Lovely to see you Abby. Caught up is far more than I am my dear.

>57 jolerie: Valerie - with boys (well my one anyway) I am tempted to pat him on the back when I see the evidence of his success with the girls but with my daughters and particularly Yasmyne (Belle at 10 hates all boys of course) I can remember back to my own feisty teenage days and I recall my own aims and ambitions then with blood curdling vividity.

Sorry to see today that MAYA ANGELOU has passed away at 86.

Accomplished poet and memoirist in particular I am sure that most of us have read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Important activist and seminal voice of growing up as a black woman in the Deep South.

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-27606776

>58 PaulCranswick: Our son died his hair purple and blue at times, Paul, so our road sure wasn't straight with him. :-) Glad to hear you really like her boyfriend - that's huge.

Your picture up top of the Russian boys, being soldiers, reminds us we really do have it quite different from earlier eras of having children leaving the nest.

Maya Angelou's passing breaks my heart. What a gift she was to us all. Her voice will echo in my mind for a long time.

>60 jnwelch: I do have issues with Kyran today actually Joe. There are two astonishingly beautiful iranian twins that he goes to school with and he dated one of them. It seems that he has switched affections to the other one and now both twins are at war with each other and their mother hugely unimpressed.

>61 maggie1944: Karen eras change as you nicely point out but Maya Angelou's echoing voice (I like that phrase) will resound a long time I think.

Yes, I agree. Her voice rings. I found my copy of I Know Why a Caged Bird Sings and I'm going to settle back and read it right now.

Hi Paul, it's obvious your are back at home and the posts are racing on again. 63 in this thread and 20something in the previous one!

I love the new hairdo! Very charming.

As I recall, my Dad often muttered about my changes of hairstyle when I was a teenager, too. Mostly, he didn't like it if I cut it too short. But once, I frosted it, and he told me I looked quite classy!

>54 PaulCranswick:, I am with you on that one Paul, Darryl Mitchell would be a good choice and I don't think he would let the side down. I really don't know what Moores is going to do on Cook's opening partner but I would bet on him playing Root when he should come in at 3 or 4.

Yasmyne's hair looks great, what a gorgeous young lady she is, going to break a few hearts there mate. Love to all the family.

>47 PaulCranswick: It is very nice for Yasmyne and smart for you and Hani that you are close to Saad's family. Do let us know Mohammed's decision on the marriage of the niece. ;-)

>62 PaulCranswick: Paul your son is playing with fire!

hi my Peacock, my Prince. thanks for your visits to what passes for my thread this year. we're having a beautiful spring and a lot in which we can rejoice.

wish i could read about all your adventures in England, but alas.

sending you a peck on the beak. ;-)

>63 maggie1944: Karen, I do think that I shall try to read something more by her soon, in memoriam, so to speak. Maybe some of her poetry.

>64 connie53: Yes Connie no overseas travelling this week for me. Got some tangible results from our travails overseas yesterday as I am pleased to say that the Vietnamese authorities issued us a licence to sell our fire fighting products in Vietnam. There were a number of parties interested to use our system but skeptical as to whether we could get approval from a notoriously bureaucratic regime. Desmond one of my two main partners in the business being married to the delightful Nin, his Vietnamese wife, helps no end. The fact that her name translates as "money" augurs well I would hazard.

>65 laytonwoman3rd: Linda, Yasmyne knows that I am a professional whinger and she ignores it steadfastly and does pretty much whatever she wants to!

>66 johnsimpson: John, to be honest I don't understand the persistence with Root as either a one day or a test player. For me he has potential but he isn't ready. One careful big score against a demoralised Australia last summer aside, he has struggled. He needs a few years yet in county cricket. Although it would be cruel to deprive Worcs of pretty much their two only decent players I would like to see Moen Ali given a go at three especially as he is pretty useful as a spinner. I think Bell is safe at four. Ballance and Morgan are in opposition at five. Stokes should play six, if fit. If not Bopara (whose medium pace is underrated) or Will Gidman should get a go. Gidman's stats with the ball are very impressive and he would be just the player to befuddle Sri Lanka in english conditions. I think we have to play someone who can keep wicket better next and I would play James Foster. Buttler needs to work on his game as does Jimmy Bairstow. The three main bowlers - Broad, Jordan and Jimmy Anderson are a shoe-in if fit. That leaves the spinners role. None of the candidates excite. Ali bowls off-spin so I wouldn't look at a specialist off-spinner (Riley and Rayner etc). We could use Borthwick or Rashid to bolster the lower order somewhat but neither are taking wickets. Of the slow left armers Monte still can get wickets on the right pitches. Kerrigan and Briggs patently need a bit longer. I would pull another surprise and give Dean Cosker a long overdue game whilst the younger spinners are left to mature.
First test XI assuming that Stokes and Broad are fit:
Cook, Mitchell, Ali, Bell, Ballance, Stokes, Foster, Broad, Jordan, Anderson, Cosker

>67 luvamystery65: Roberta - having lived in Egypt probably helps. Kyran has got burnt already a little actually as the girls' mother has already asked Hani to speak to Kyran to let the two girls work out their issues. In other words - "stay away!"

>68 mirrordrum: Ellie - missed you enormously my dear and peck on the beak is gratefully received. xx
I trust that the summer is every bit as kind as the spring.

Love Yasmyne's new hairstyle!!! :) It looks beautiful on her!

Funny story... I had long hair until I turned 21 and decided it was time for a change. I went to a salon and got a bob (short to my shoulders). I was in college & didn't tell my family because I wanted to surprise them. My mom & sister came to my dorm room and were pleasantly surprised and loved it. My dad & baby brother were waiting at the car. When I made it downstairs to the parking lot and surprised my guys... they were UNhappy! My dad refused to speak to me for most of the weekend. Even though we were celebrating my birthday, he was so mad that he didn't speak. He STILL gives me a hard time (in good humor now) about the length of my hair.

I think dads have a hard time when their little girls start turning into young women. You are handling it superbly well, Paul!

I'm glad to hear Yasmyne has recovered. Those UTIs can be pretty nasty. And her new haircut is gorgeous, but then she'd look good with a mop on her head.

Lurking through, Paul. Love the haircut, glad the Vietnamese situation worked out. And that two of your last three reads were tops in 2014.

>46 PaulCranswick: Recovering from illness, young Yassie
Had a new hairdo that Lisa deemed sassy
Her Dad to be fair
Didn't like much her hair
But he holds no sway with the stubborn lassie.

haha!
The new 'do does make the young woman look rather.....middle aged.

Paul, you are pulling of the grumpy old man act very well today ......

Good morning, Paul.

>65 laytonwoman3rd: & >71 TinaV95: What is it with fathers and long/short hair?! Mine always says (even still!), when I get a haircut, "It'll grow back." Tactful, Dad. Very tactful. Ha!

Hi, Paul!

Hey Paul! Yasmyne's just as cute as can be! You know you love it! You've much to be proud of with the Cranswick Clan, a beautiful family, indeed.
Yeah, pic topper, so sad, they're merely boys.

Funny about Dads and long hair. My niece's husband also insists his daughter should have long hair and his boys, well they get buzz cuts. Luckily, mom insists that the daughter's hair at minimum be styled.

Just checking in on my favorite Brit! I hope the week has been treating you kindly, Mr. Cranswick.

My daughter is always cutting her hair just when I begin to really like the length...... also dying it black when it is a lovely chesnutty-auburn.... argh!

My niece showed up at our home in Kansas for the funeral of my uncle with bright red hair and a steampunk fascinator. I thought it looked cute and showed lots of individuality. My mother thought it was awful and was embarrased by her granddaughter. Eventually, my mother admited that it wasn't permenant and that there were some battles that you should fight and some that weren't worth it. Hair wasn't worth a big battle because it would always grow back.

I am glad that you liked Plainsong. It is a book that seems almost poetical to me.

I have enjoyed the Graceling series by Kristin Cashore. If fantasy is your thing try this series. I am getting ready to take on the third book of the trilogy and think it will be as engrossing as the first two. These are classed as Young Adult but I think that is a mistake. These are really adult fantasy novels.

>71 TinaV95: Tina, I love the story. I prefer Yassie's present look to the last one with the disturbing blonde ends.
Comically my daughter and her mother are in a constant state of war and the poor boyfriend is often caught rabbit-like in the headlights of their disagreements.
This afternoon I drove down to Melaka (about 1 hour 15 minutes from KL) to negotiate the purchase of a quarry near our river construction site as, in doing so, I would make the voluminous quantity of stone we have to produce for the project extremely profitable. On the way back I had to hear from both sides (mother and daughter) on their latest contretemps. They were at Pavilion mall (in separate parts thereof and with poor boyfriend agahst) I drove straight there (Well Azim did, I sat happily in the back finishing off Strumpet City - another winner) and managed to get the two of them reconciled. After that a splendid meal which I tricked Hani into paying as penance for having the shortest temper in South East Asia.

>72 arubabookwoman: Deborah it is lovely to see you back posting a little! It seems those viruses can be quite bad. She seems back to her irascible best.

>73 ronincats: Thanks Roni. That's a fairly concise summary of my life lately!

>74 LovingLit: Hahaha finally someone who agrees with me just a little!

>75 roundballnz: No, Alex....no grumps over here. Saving all of 'em up to dole out to RD if he ever runs out
.

>76 connie53: Good morning to you too Connie only mine is Friday!

>77 scaifea: The two girls are chalk n cheese, Amber. Yasmyne constantly wants to change her hair.....Belle wouldn't touch hers for anything.

>78 Carmenere: Thanks for the kind words Lynda. I think they are a good looking bunch but I am of course biased!

>70 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, I would probably go with your choice for the tests against Sri Lanka although on the spin front it might be a chance for Monty. I would like to throw a potential name in the ring for future wicket keeper, young Eckersley at Leicester, he had a really good season last year both with bat and gloves and is not doing too bad this year and if it is not too much like nepotism, my namesake at Middlesex is coming along nicely after he moved from Lancs a couple of years ago.

Nice to see business is doing well for you mate and no overseas travel for a few days should make Hani happy, is that right, ha ha.

Checking in on the mother/daughter hair contretemps. Those teenage years can be hard on everyone, eh? I'm told there is light at the end of the tunnel -- once she reaaches her 20's!

Paul I thought you had gone very quiet but it turned out I was accidentally ignoring you!

Chalk and cheese? I am unfamiliar with that one :)

Not just Yasmine, but you and your whole family... beautiful!

>79 maggie1944: To be fair Karen I am not quite so stereotypical; Kyran has bushy hair, Belle keeps hers long and looks disdainfully on any suggestion that it be trimmed whilst Yasmyne......well she does just whatever she likes. Always has been able to manipulate me completely and (in the faintest of whispers) she would probably look ok to me if she was the one getting the buzz-cut!

>80 msf59: Quite an honour buddy especially from my favourite postie!

>81 sibylline: Lucy you have described perfectly my youngest SILs attitude to hair care. She gets it looking wonderful, I make the mistake of complementing her upon it, 24 hours later she turns up with something that would breeze her through an audition for the Addams Family.

>82 benitastrnad: I do think Hani and Yasmyne are slightly worried about showing her hair to the Grandmother. Wonderful to me, as she is, my MIL is one of the fiercest ladies I have ever met and not afraid of voicing her opinions (how Hani turned out pretty much the same I'll never know!!).
I often say Benita that I am not keen of sci-fi or fantasy and then find myself enthralled. I will give your suggestions a spin at some stage given your success for me with Deon Meyer.

Paul, I hope you did not take offense at my comment about hair and Dads. I was responding to >77 scaifea: mostly. I could never use stereotypical to describe you. Never never never. I think your family is delightful and I enjoy seeing the hair drama.

>85 johnsimpson: Yes John, I have had my eye on Eckersley for a while and he has been prodigious for a couple of seasons. Why he isn't a fixture in the one day sides I'll never know as a more destructive fellow up the order I haven't seen for a while. Trouble for the test team though is that he has not been keeping wicket for Leicester in the county champs this year. Your namesake too has a shout but I do feel sorry for both Foster and Read as in a different era their talents behind the wicket would have almost guaranteed consideration.

>86 michigantrumpet: Can't see it petering out so early, Marianne! I think the problems just change in nature is all.

>87 SandDune: Hahaha Rhian. It is more than partly my fault as my activity, especially in visiting all my pals, has sputtered and misfired more often than the Lib Dems recently. I will have a good weekend catching up with all the threads I am sure as travelling is out and Hani may be visiting her mum and confiscating my wheels.

>88 mckait: Chalk and Cheese is a phrase in fairly common usage in England in fairly recent times.....well about 650 years or so anyway!
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/chalk-and-cheese.html

As for your comments on myself and associated tribe.....you are far too sweet, birthday girl.

>90 maggie1944: Karen it is almost impossible to cause offence to me especially when I know full well that you were never trying to my dear. You are one of the sweetest ladies I know and I am a thick skinned old bear so you may feel as free as you like to comment upon anything at all over here. xxxx. I have no sensitivities whatsoever about my bunch which is why I am very liberal in spilling the beans on their/our various adventures and misadventures.
I love sharing my life with you all and it would be churlish in the extreme if I didn't invite comments as it is part of the sharing experience.
You didn't offend me in the slightest Karen, don't worry, my dear.

OK, no worries!

I don't normally post things like this but Hani put it on FB.



I value the relationships will all my LT friends and slips of the fingers (poor choices of words) by myself on occasions will, I hope, meet with understanding. You guys are the best.

Hello Paul - just a quick drive-by to mark my spot - have a great weekend.

Thanks Prue! I will get over to your place soon and try to figure out what you've been up to despite the dearth of updates! xx

Hi Paul, I've been visiting, but in lurking mode. I love Yasmyne's new hairdo and it's true it makes her look grown up, so that's probably what you reacted to. Though of course I'm not in your head so have no way of knowing for sure.

I'm going through a very sad time today, with my father leaving this Saturday to return to Israel permanently. He dropped by today to leave me some trinkets, mostly stuff I really don't want or have room for. It was a very emotional time for us both, as I don't think we'll see each other again before he leaves, but at least we were good to each other. Still, I feel as though my heart is breaking. Hard to read when your eyes are full of tears all the time.

>97 Smiler69: Dear Ilana, I am sure that the positives that can be taken from your father's leave taking will far outweigh the present feeling of sadness and impending loss. Given your topsy-turvy relationship together I think it is wonderful that the unquestionable mutual love shines through. You and I have been good friends almost since the day I signed up to the group and I have followed your travails with your Dad with no little sympathy and understanding over the last few years. Don't let his leaving for pastures new leave you feeling alone, he'll always be there for you I am sure. xx
I am in a reading funk a little myself at present and, although I am enjoying Strumpet City immensely I don't seem to be making the necessary inroads in it.

>82 benitastrnad: Now that haircut sounds fantastic all the more so for causing fun !

Indeed Alex. Cannot do much with mine and I am pretty sure that your options are limited too!

Hmmm I think I could get away with colouring what is left ...... but then did enough of that when I was younger, so am now happy to sit back & encourage others to be individual and express themselves, for most hair is temporary unlike tattoos, drop-kick partners, etc .....

Mine has decided to colour itself Alex. From dark brown to grey to white.

>102 PaulCranswick: Mine is coloring the same Paul and truthfully I am enjoying it.

Love the apology quote, it's so true.

#89
Deon Meyer sold himself. All I had to do was tell people about him. Same thing is true for David Downing and his Station series. These Graceling novels are a bit different from most fantasy. They start out with lots of action but then turn into character studies. Funny thing is that people who liked We Need to Talk about Kevin and Gone Girl might like this series because at the bottom of it, is the question of what makes a person evil. Also, it is worth noting that the books are a trilogy, but they are not a chronological order series. The second book is really a prequel. I liked the second book better than the the first. It is titled Fire. The characters are much stronger in it. But if you can find them I would recommend them for a change from Plainsong and Bastard Out of Carolina.

*waving*

You are such a sweet guy Paul. I can't imagine you offending anyone with your words but I guess one of the dangers of written word is sometimes it's hard to tell tone. You lose so much when you can't actually see what the person's face looks like when they are saying something so misunderstandings do and can arise. :)

ETA That is probably why I put a smiley face at the end of everything...just in case... :) See I can't stop it. :) Hahaha!

Have a great weekend my friend. (So hard, but I will exercise my smiley restraint here)

Paul, I wish you a relaxing weekend full of reading. xx

>107 jolerie: Hahaha! :)

About kids doing strange (to us) things with their hair, I always felt hair experimentation was one of the least offensive things my (then-teenaged) daughter could do to herself, so I encouraged her to try things. She, being so intent on doing the complete opposite of whatever I suggested, insisted on having the most staid hairstyles possible. It was kind of a good outcome, I guess, though I always thought she'd have looked stunning with a purple-tipped spiky hairdo.

Hi Paul, I hope you will have a wonderful weekend!

That haircut does make Yasmyne look way too old; but I guess we mainly have children to give us grey hair. I love the story of your son and the Iranian twins!

>94 PaulCranswick: Love this!

>103 luvamystery65: Going grey doesn't bother me in the slightest Roberta I have to say. I don't mind being my age at all. I love being a mentor to some of my younger friends and staff and I smile often at the respect afforded me just because I don't bottle-dye my hair to make me look younger.

>104 Thebookdiva: Dear Abby, I have no problem apologising to people if, as is frequent, a faux pas of some description puts me or mine in the doghouse. I had an incident on my river project on Thursday which is a case in point. The Government's Superintending Officer's Representative (SOR) had written a quite unnecessary letter complaining about our progress with survey and site clearance work. On the letter he did not indicate that it had been circulated to anyone other than ourselves. I say unnecessary because the Government has been unable to settle land acquisition issues yet and has not issued engineering drawings to us as they are modifying design in consultation with aggrieved local villagers. I discussed the letter (written in Bahasa Malay) with my Project Manager and instructed him to prepare a detailed reply making clear the real situation but similarly not to circulate to other parties. In the meantime I had a discussion with the head of the flood mitigation department in Kuala Lumpur Headquarters who produced the letter (obviously circulated to all parties) and asked why our progress was poor. I then instructed my Project Manager to in fact circulate our reply to all parties and approved his draft (also in Bahasa Malay). I subsequently received a call from an irate SOR complaining about the letter. I met him on Thursday halfway between Kuala Lumpur and the Project Site and he had a good old grumble about my (innocent) Project Manager and the thrust of his complaint was why we had circulated a letter that made him look bad when he had not circulated his own. Knowing full well that he himself had circulated the letter as he rules his own office in a climate of absolute fear, I pointed out that there must be a leak in his office (his relationship with the Flood Mitigation Department is awful) and that I had been taken to task about his letter which had been shoved in my face by the very attractive lady boss there Siti Fairuz. Knowing that the tenor of the letter would upset him as the facts detailed do not show him in a good light I apologised unreservedly for the tone and agreed to speak to my Project Manager about working together more cooperatively. With the mouth saying what the heart didn't feel I was able to put the SOR in a position where he will not issue any more letters and at the same time keep face and be grateful that I will step in to smooth things over. He also believes that I was unaware of the nuances of the language used which was, shall we say, firm. A result for apologies well planned, I think.

>105 benitastrnad: You are right too about David Downing, Benita. I will have a look for books recommended by you my dear as your touch has always been such a sure one. xx

>106 humouress: And I can almost see you, Nina, just over the horizon in sweltering Singapore!

>107 jolerie: Lovely words, thank you Valerie. No smileys required as your warmth, good humour and kindness are always apparent in your posts whether you use them or not. xx

>108 Ameise1: Not sure what that interesting bird is Barbara but I shall embrace the sentiments it brings here with gratitude. xx

>109 Storeetllr: My next task is actually to persuade Kyran to have his extremely unruly locks shorn to resemble a member of the human race. In direct contrast to his sister he hates hairdressers/barbers with a passion and I have my work cut out.

>110 connie53: Thank you, Connie. Not too much planned. A little work this morning and then possibly the cinema, plenty of LT and try to at least finish one more book before the month is out.

>111 banjo123: Finally Rhonda someone in the group in agreement with me!
Kyran is a little bit crushed in truth but it is a good lesson for him to be a little more constant in his feelings as otherwise (even seemingly harmless kid's stuff) people get hurt. I have told him that if he cares really about Pania (the second twin!) to give it and she a little space to work things out. He nodded in agreement but the glassy look in his eyes looked a little like he had been in with the Klitscko twins rather than the Iranian Girls!

#114
I loved that reference to the Klitscko twins. Most American's probably don't even know who they are. Even with the high profile of one due to the problems in the Ukraine. (I can't even remember if it is Vitaly or Viktor. And I read the newspapers and listen to the BBC World News.)

>115 benitastrnad: I also don't know which one is which, Benita. But it seems that Vitali is the one engaged in politics. The other brother is Vladimir and he is engaged to the actress Hayden Pannetierre.

Stopping by to see how things are over here and I see things are hopping as usual!

Glad to see that Yasmyne is on the mend and while the hair cut may be a bit of a shock, I have to say Yasmyne has one of those wonderful faces that can work with any number of different hairstyles. I will admit I like the longer hair look, but I am a bit biased as I like my long locks. ;-)

Having been a teenager in the sixties, hair styles will never bother me.

Any American who is at least semi-knowledgable about sports would know the Klitschko brothers from their boxing career, of course, if not from their post-boxing shenanigans.

>117 lkernagh: She was asked yesterday, Lori, "What's next?" and nicely riposted "I'm ok with this for now".

>118 ronincats: I like to have a grumble Roni but it is not the end of the world at all. Kyran's unruly locks do get the mother a bit irate though.

>119 rosalita: Julia as someone who loves sport and is a listomaniac and a factoholic, I am of course familiar with the two giants. My point was that they are mightily difficult to tell apart.

Happy weekending Paul!
We are day one into a 3-day weekend here, in celebration of the Queen's birthday which I believe is actually not in June. But this is NZs only winter public holiday so we take it regardless of what it is for!

Happy Weekend from the other end of the world too - we don't have a bank holiday :( But we've just had three in May so I shouldn't complain :)

>62 PaulCranswick: Twins are trouble. My brothers dated twins in HS, and occasionally the twins swapped places...

Yasmyne's hair style is lovely on her, and she does look very grown up.

All caught up! Will try to stay caught up. Not terribly likely though.

>121 LovingLit: Dear Megan, we have more holidays than most here in Malaysia but none this weekend! Good luck with yours. xx

>122 BekkaJo: Bekka, nice to see you as always. Yesterday we were invited to Saad's parents house (Saad is Yasmyne's Egyptian boyfriend) to have a celebratory meal for his grandmother. One of the many dishes cooked was a plate full of stuffed pigeons (very Tudor for one of the utmost of Plantegenet fellows but still). Mohamed, Saad's father, told me that the dish is apparently considered quite potent as an aphrodisiac and helpful to the potency of the male. I have always taken these things with a pinch of salt but I have to say I will be on the lookout for pigeons from now on! We exchanged tired text messages late morning and Mohamed asked me who would get the credit ourselves or the pigeon. I replied that I had had the fun - the pigeon is most welcome to the credit! Hani is still asleep at four in the afternoon by the way!

>123 nittnut: As a twin myself, I would agree totally with you Jenn! Yasmyne is a very mature young lady even stated from my utterly biased vantage point. Just wish her and her Mum wouldn't fight quite so much.

Hi Paul, have a great weekend mate, love to you and all the family.

>125 johnsimpson: Thanks John. Well Brain McDermott has been shown the exit door at Leeds United and it will be extremely interesting to see what Cellino does next. Lovely man BMc but it was a bit too much of a job for him. Yorkshire have also made a dreadful start at Northampton of all places.

Just stopping by and reading. Not much to say, except Yasmyne's new "do" looks good.

>127 goonergirl1982: Always welcome Rosalind. FA Cup winner and all! I could fall to sleep and dream and wake up with the Professeur at the helm at Leeds. Never in a million of course but it would be nice to have a team that could play for once in a while.

Hi Paul, hope you and yours are having a great weekend.

Yasmyne looks very grown up with her new haircut, oh well they don't stay children forever. Hope that Kyran and the twins sort things out, a tricky situation for sure.

Happiest of happy weekends to you, Paul!

>130 scaifea: Dear Calm, you actually beat me to the punch this weekend and visited me before I got around to a visit to my favourite part of West Wales. Kyran is sleeping over at a friend's house today and I am sure he will be sharing his problems with the opposite sex with his chum.

I replied that I had had the fun - the pigeon is most welcome to the credit!

*snickers*

*snickers* (join in with my buddy, Morph)

Hoping your weekend provides a good deal of reading time.

Hi, Paul! Caught up here--easier to do if you concentrate on the thread owner's posts.

While I love Yasmyne's current hairstyle, I understand how you feel about her growing up. Scary, bittersweet times.

Here's hoping that this weekend will bring pleasant family times and perhaps some reading as well.

That is quite a story, well planned indeed. I am quite impressed by how smoothly you handled the whole thing.

I quite forgot to say last time how much I liked Yasmyne's new hairstyle. It shapes her face beautifully, and I agree that it makes her look more grown-up. I especially like the bangs.

Have a good weekend Paul!

Belated congratulations on your aviation deal, Paul! I was travelling and missed out on all the excitement on your thread.

>132 Morphidae: Thought that story might appeal to you Morphy! I will never look at a pigeon in the same way again!

>133 maggie1944: I won't get any reading done at all Karen if I go near those pigeons again.

>134 Matke: "scary bittersweet times" describes it perfectly Gail.

>124 PaulCranswick: The fighting will stop. Just give it some time! My son and his dad did the same thing. They are too much alike and that can explode sometimes. It will pass. believe me.

Fighting Mums and daughters seems to be the norm. My two daughters are 8 years apart in age. When my older daughter was visiting once after she graduated from college (so she was about 22 and my younger daughter was about 14), she observed the "interaction" between me and my younger daughter, and turned to me and said, "Mom, did I ever treat you like that? 'Cause if I did, I'm really sorry." :)

>120 PaulCranswick: I understood your meaning, Paul. I was referring more to Benita's comment in #115 that most Americans wouldn't know who they are. I don't believe that's true, and said so.

I hope you're having a lovely weekend!

>135 Thebookdiva: In order to survive here in business here Abby skillful manouevering is often required. I overcome mostly the fairly rampant corruption in public projects here by the fact that I am a white-skinned fellow but more importantly a convert. As a result those looking for irregular payments don't know how to broach the subject with me and it is considered doubly sinful to try to lead a convert astray. My staff is well drilled in explaining to their counterparts that discussions of a "commercial" nature are the province of their boss only.

>136 PiyushC: Lovely to see you Piyush. I too have been travelling far too much and I do hope things settle down a little soon.

>138 connie53: I think you've found the reason there Connie. It is the similarity that grates I think. Hani and Yasmyne are too much alike. We went for a mexican meal last night and they set each other off again. Belle and I who are like no-one else (!) looked at each other in bewilderment.

>139 arubabookwoman: hahaha Deborah. I think we always look at the succeeding generations and think we did things better and certainly with better manners. I'm not sure that it is true but that is how it appears!

>140 rosalita: Actually Julia I thought that was your point but I just wanted to add that the two of them are so alike in looks and style that they could be mistaken for each other easily.xx

Didn't mention until now Friday's mini splurge. Wanted to find something by Maya Angelou and did:

307. The First World War by Hew Strachan (2003) 331 pp
Much lauded history of that conflict nicely re-released for the centenary
308. Catastrophe: Europe Goes to War 1914 by Max Hastings (2013) 563 pp
The military historian is up against tough opposition to add to Clark and Tuchman
309. Solo by William Boyd (2013) 322 pp
Another one wearing Fleming's 007 hat and mac. Will he better Faulks and Amis Snr?
310. The Asylum by Johan Theorin (2011) 475 pp
Another one off the Scandi conveyor belt
311. Big Ray by Michael Kimball (2012) 182 pp
Obesity and family - two subjects I know well of.
312. Bamboo Heart by Ann Bennett (2014) 350 pp
No touchstones for the Singapore published first part of a wartime trilogy in Malaya
313. Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov (1996) 228 pp
I think it is the animal not the chocolate biscuit being satirised
314. Pinball by Jerzy Kosinski (1983) 310 pp
Apparently written for George Harrison.
315. Gather Together in My Name by Maya Angelou (1974) 219 pp
Second installment of autobiography following up Caged Bird
316. Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie (1971) 48 pp
Angelou was also celebrated poet who gave a recitation at Clinton's inaugeration
317. Oh Pray My Wings are Gonna Fit Me Well (1975) 68 pp
2nd anthology by Angelou included in the same volume as "Cool Drink"

317 books in 2014
Pages in 2014 : 99,513

Yeah, Gooners complain about Wenger (and I too wish he'd open his cheque book) but it's nice to have a stable team that consistently finish near the top. Now, if he could spend some money, we might overtake Citeh, Liverpool and Chelski.

>124 PaulCranswick: - well, I know. I feel the same about my son. Wish Jonah wouldn't fight with his Dad so much...

>144 goonergirl1982: Not sure that it is a simple exercise in economics Rosalind. I think he needs to be able to keep the players together. Arteta is not an Arsenal player IMO and the cup final was won when Wilshere and Rosicky entered the fray to support Ramsey. Injuries played an important part in determining Arsenal's season in truth and I do think that with a fit midfield three of Ramsey, Ozil and Wilshere with Oxlade-Chamberlain and Walcott wide of them leaves only the need for a very good striker. The defence is ok when they replace Sagna and I'm also concerned Mertesacker is too slow. Two possibly three signings and I think they have every chance if lady luck doesn't kick them in the teeth.

>145 nittnut: I don't fight much with the kids if I'm honest, Jenn. That is very much Hani's job! In truth Kyran is already so much bigger than me (even at 14) that permission would be needed prior to any chastisement.

Hi Paul, only time for a quick flyby! Hope your weekend was fabulouso! Glad you found a Maya Angelou in your mini-splurge. I also need to find a few for my bookshelves.

So have you come to terms with Yasmyne's new do yet? I think she looks beautiful ... but then again, when has she not ? Even sporting the pink and blond locks she looked the epitome of a cool teenager. Now she looks the elegant young miss that she is.

Love your latest book haul. I'm glad you found a couple of Angelou works. She lived a few doors down from a friend in NYC and I had the privilege of meeting her once at their block party a number of years ago. She was gentle and a funny lady.

Mini-splurge???

I'll have to read Gather Together in My Name soon. I read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings at least 30 years ago, but I haven't read any of her other biographical works.

Lynda - good weekend although a slow one in truth. Maya Angelou was fairly unique in that, despite being a poet of no small talent she was famous for autobiography way above anything else. Perhaps only Janet Frame would equate to her.

>148 cameling: Yep. In truth Caro I don't really have a problem with the quirks and vagaries of Yasmyne's fashion choices. Thanks for your lovely words about her. I won't tell her. Her ego is oversized as it is. Nice anecdote about Maya Angelou. xx

>149 kidzdoc: When does a mini-splurge become a splurge, Darryl? Depends on who it is I guess. A dozen is the unit of measurement for a Cranswickian splurge I'll have you know buddy!
Same experience with Ms. Angelou and I felt in light of her passing it was nowhere near enough.

Death and the Penguin sounds so good. I really need to find this Kurkov book Paul.

I had a minor book haul this weekend. I visited my local used bookstore and came home with 5 books. One of which I already owned.

Children's Blizzard by David Laskin
Oxford Murders by {{Guillermo Martinez
House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons
Heresy by S. J. Parris
From Biba's Italian Kitchen by Biba Cagglano

My recorded books (books on CD) was waiting for me when I got back from Kansas. I immediately jumped in and started listening to The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin. I also got

Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann
White Shadow by Ace Atkins
House of Tomorrow by peter Bognanni

These should keep me busy through the summer.

Death and the Penguin is the only one of your latest haul that I have read - it's a good one:) But I still need to fond a copy of the sequel.

Congrats on your "mini-haul" (and especially upon finding so many works by Angelou). Death and the Penguin is the only one I've heard of otherwise. It is on my wish list so perhaps I'll get around to it one of these days if something else doesn't distract me first. I've had a lot of distractions lately.

Arteta is not world class, but he has a bit of grit and ice cool nerves. Parlour and Grimandi were never world class, but you needed players like them just for a bit of steel.

>143 PaulCranswick: You call that one a mini-splurge?

>155 goonergirl1982: agree you need some grit, without that winning EPL becomes more than a challenge .....

>151 luvamystery65: Given topical sentiments I would put a few bob/dollars on Andrey Kurkov for the Nobel this year. Hoping its Trevor's or Kundera's turn but we'll see.

>152 benitastrnad: Yes Benita that is a tidy little double-haul for sure. Was the double buy on purpose or by accident?

>153 calm: I have seen some great reviews for it too, Calm. I decided to pick a literature letter at random and chose K (that's also why we got Kimball and Kosinski) - I did the same thing the week before a scanned the "P" shelves.

>154 thornton37814: Lori, Kino had a pretty full array of her books displayed in a surprising show of being on the ball.

>155 goonergirl1982: Ramsey gets his foot-in as they say and I am hoping Diaby will get fit and do something good for you next year in that role. Arteta is not made of the sternest stuff and he is unlikely to sit in and break up play a la Viera.

>156 connie53: Well Connie it only just fits the description I will concede. Another more mini mini splurge coming right up to start off June!

>157 roundballnz: Alex, agreed. I don't think Arteta is that animal though.

Well May was pretty much a disaster from a reading point of view in terms of numbers but I was more than happy with the quality of what I read. I will summarise it later but I do need to get a bit of a move on as I have fallen behind targets for the first time this year.

June?

Strumpet City by James Plunkett to finish

Possibles
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Amongst Women by John McGahern
Armadale by Wilkie Collins

Last night had a quick visit to the bookstore to renew my storecard (expired end of May) and to then ensure that it works I added these in a mini-splurge of 15 minutes duration:

318. The Dark Road by Ma Jian (2013) 360 pp
Stinging critique of communist China.
319. Death of a Hero by Richard Aldington (1929) 344 pp
I have been on the look-out for this for a while
320. Mother, Mother by Koren Zailckas (2013) 362 pp
Debut novel of a mother's love gone too far
321. The Hired Man by Aminatta Forna (2013) 293 pp
Follow-up novel to the much lauded The Memory of Love.
322. A Death in the Family by James Agee (1957) 310 pp
Another one wish-listed for an age

Books in 2014 : 322
Pages added in 2014: 101,182

Hi Paul. I love the poem at the top of your thread. I'm being surprised by how much really beautiful poetry was inspired by WWI experiences.

I'm reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. It's wonderful.

ETA: We cross-posted. I haven't yet read The Memory of Love but (as you may recall) I absolutely loved The Hired Man.

>162 EBT1002: Ellen, Suz has also started her threads this year with WWI poems and we haven't duplicated so many which goes to show the breadth of work available to choose from.
Angelou's debut memoir was a landmark of the genre, I think.

>161 PaulCranswick:: Oh, A Death in the Family. Excellent book, but not a happy read. So very well written, though. I hope you enjoy it, when you get round to it.

^ Agree with Amber's comments on A Death in the Family. Wonderful, though heartbreaking.

>164 scaifea: I hope so too, Amber. I have been looking for it for a while so it was nice to see a new edition released.

>165 katiekrug: Two of my favourite ladies giving the thumbs up makes me anticipate some great reading.

Interesting T20 cricket match coming up on Friday ......

>161 PaulCranswick: "Mini-splurge". 15 minutes, 5 books. Sounds like a shopping spree game show! :)

I've been running way behind, but am caught up with you for the moment. The photo at the top of your thread makes me very sad.

Yo, Paul! Any update on the weight loss efforts? Mamie has lost 8.4 pounds and I'm down from a 19 pound gain to a 9 pound gain.

MINI-splurge. Emphasis on the mini...hahahahaha! A Cranswickian splurge is not something to laugh at. :)

The double purchase was an accident. I already had a copy of House at Tyneford at home and since I didn't bring the iPad into the store with me I couldn't check LT to see what I already owned. It seems that every-so-often, I make a mistake and purcahse another copy of a book I already have. Since the advent of LT I don't do that as often. LT helps me keep from purchasing more than one copy of something.

I am a little tired this morning in busy Jakarta. Out with my Korean clients last night until the fairly early hours and now trying to catch up a little in my room.

>167 roundballnz: Alex, I follow cricket fairly avidly on the internet at cricinfo.com and am presently enjoying Yorkshire put Northants to the sword.

>168 drneutron: A book buying game show certainly has appeal Jim!

>169 Linda92007: Linda, children in war is a fairly fertile ground for literature but to see it in actual images is a little unnerving.

>170 Morphidae: Weigh in yesterday and I am at 215 pounds down three from where we started.'

>171 jolerie: That post could have been written by SWMBO!

>172 benitastrnad: I rarely buy duplicates by accident, Benita, although I can get thrown by different covers and especially different titles of books between North America and Europe or the Rest of the World. This can be especially tricky with Scandi.

Hope you are recovering from late night jollifications, Paul!

A little too much of a heavy session in truth Roni. Got myself a rollicking from the boss on the telephone in the early hours.

>124 PaulCranswick: Snarf! I love pigeon (Dad shoots)... but I'd never heard that about them. Or had that sort of reaction.

Maybe it was the stuffing?

And yes... pun intended ;)

I can heavily endorse the Angelou - I read the whole lot after reading Why the Caged Bird sings as a teen. Brilliant and touching and heart breaking.

>177 BekkaJo: Hahaha I think you're right Bekka!
Heavy endorsement noted on Angelou. xx

>77 scaifea: & >79 maggie1944: FUNNY stories abound when it comes to dads and their daughters' long hair. I would LOVE to know what that is about. ***Excluding dear Paul, of course. He's not one of THOSE dads! ;)

>179 TinaV95: Thanks for the vote of confidence.....I am not sure how much I deserve it. It is 10 a.m. in Jakarta and 11 a.m. in Kuala Lumpur. I had a bit of a fraught and very touching call from Yasmyne and Hani. Yasmyne passed me to Hani who was in floods of tears saying how much she missed me and couldn't sleep for the two nights I have been away. Passed back to Yasmyne it seems they had a BBQ yesterday and Hani was encouraged to drink wine and she always gets very maudlin in such situations.
Hani always plays the tough gal but perhaps she's not so really at all. I expect she'll be at the airport to meet me and I could get the breath knocked from me as she has one heck of a hug on her.

Time apart makes one realise how much you mean to each other. I would be utterly useless devoid of her succour, support and occasional rocket.

>179 TinaV95: For my sister's 21st birthday, we did a 1920s style flapper party, and I bought a wig for fun. Same colour as my hair but longer, and dead straight. I later overheard my dad say to my uncle, very disapprovingly "I don't know what she's done to her hair, but it doesn't look nice"

My sister and I thought it was hilarious that he didn't realise that I was wearing a wig (for one thing, my hair had 'grown' overnight).

>181 humouress: Guys are not great with such things as the mysteries of female hair. I would have surely made a similar faux pas, even though I pride myself on my memory!

On the subject of hair and fathers: once, in my 20s, I cut my hair comparatively short. When i saw my father, I kept waiting for him to comment on it. Finally, I asked him whether he noticed anything different about me. He thought a minute and then asked me if I had a new coat!

>183 rebeccanyc: Yes, what you WANT them to notice, they won't see. Anything you'd rather they DIDN'T see, they'll spot in a heartbeat!

Just delurking to say hi, Paul. xx

Apparently, fathers and their daughters' hair is an age old situation. My grandmother "bobbed" her hair flapper style in the late '20's and her father was so angry, he didn't speak with her for months!

My Dad keeps asking me when I am going to cut mine short again, like I had it in high school. Maybe if my face looked the same as it did in high school!! ;)

>183 rebeccanyc: Lovely story Rebecca. Belle is presently petitioning her mother for a new haircut. She wants a return of the fringe she had may five years ago. So far deaf ears but I did offer my help to bring her along to my Indonesian barber for one of his $2 creations. To see that she looked askance at me is to put it mildly.

>184 laytonwoman3rd: Linda, I am comfortable with critiques of fatherdom over here - I am sure that my three would have a long list of complaints and anecdotes about their scatter-brained father but strangely they are always fairly pleased to see me when I return from my increasingly frequent travels. xx

>185 Smiler69: A hearty hello back to you my dear. I am back from a hectic and occasionally bewildering Jakarta after a delayed flight. Hani, for some reason overcome by sentimentality, decided to follow Azim to the airport (with Yasmyne and Saad) to greet me and I received a more enthusiastic welcome than if I'd been held five years by the Taliban.

>186 michigantrumpet: Marianne my sister-in-law, Fifi, is notorious for dramatic changes of hairstyle immediately after receiving admiring comments on the previous one, especially from me and possibly because I am considered to have the fashion sense and style of Michael Foot or Columbo.
Hani commented to me yesterday as we chatted together in the kitchen on my return that Fifi's hair looked lovely. Fifi looked me in the eye and I said that I had absolutely no comment to make. She smiled.

>187 Berly: When we got married Hani sported a China-Doll style of hair which she maintained with an intensity that could only be feminine. She sometimes harks back to it as she knows I don't like her to highlight her hair (which she does nowadays) but I am still waiting for her to put her promise into action.

I am just loving the dads/daughters/hairstyles stories on your thread Paul! For what it's worth, I love Yasmyne's new hairdo...very stylish! Of course she is so beautiful she would look good in any hairstyle.

I am planning to read A Death in the Family for my June AAC substitution. I have the book sitting on my desk which I borrowed from the library....but now that folks have commented on how sad it is I am a little hesitant to start it!

>190 Cobscook: I am not sure that summer reads need be happy ones to enjoy them, Heidi. I am looking forward to reading Vonnegut again in truth but Mr. Agee's long looked for classic will definitely not be awaiting my attention too long.
Yasmyne has accounting exams today (her last if I am not mistaken) and the pressure of exams is beginning to tell upon her a little. Yesterday the poor boyfriend was given a hard time and the mother as usual was at pains to show that discordance as well as harmony can keep family dinners interesting!

(reading leagues?)

:-) xx

>190 Cobscook: Your library lets you borrow desks? ;>)

>34 PaulCranswick: Your lovely lady is indeed very beautiful. My hair cutting story is from childhood. My mother was very obsessive and compulsive about the way in which her children looked. Taking our appearance as a personal reflection on her parenting skills, we were shiny clean. Indeed, I still remember her nails scraping my head when it can time for bathing.

Both her house, and our bodies were spotless. Thus, you can only imagine her horror when on one sunny summer day, my sister found a pair of scissors and decided to cut all our hair. My sister Robin and I were literally almost scalped. We returned the favor and cut her hair in the same fashion.

Looking like what would now be a punk rocker haircut, with spikes sticking straight in the air, my mother screamed when she saw the three of us monkies sitting on the steps smiling.

It took all summer for our hair to grow to the point wherein it could be shaped for school.

I laugh thinking of this!

-------------------------------

As always, Paul, I'm impressed with your lists, and with your choice of reading materials.

Your opening photo is so sad. Will had two uncles who served in WWII. Sadly, one was on the front line at the end of the war when Hitler was desperate and pulled little boys from their home to serve in his war.

Uncle Bob told the story of his inability to shoot tiny little boys who looked no more than ten years old.

> LOL! I screwed that one up didn't I!

Paul, sorry for being so insensitive with my last message. I keep lurking on your thread, and when I do, I make note of things I want to comment on, but by the next time I drop by I completely forget. What I meant to say before my rude previous remark is how sweet I found it that you and Hani had missed each other so much after such a short separation. I can only imagine how good it must have felt to be greeted that way on your return from Jakarta. One day maybe I'll be lucky enough to meet someone who'll be equally as eager to say hello again. And by that I do mean... a significant other. Couples like you give me hope it, whatever 'it' is... exists.

>192 Smiler69: I am working on them my dear honestly. The weekend will see the reading lists up. Hanoi, Jakarta and the bits in-between have legislated against my keeping them too up to date.

>193 laytonwoman3rd: Hahaha Linda, I know what Heidi meant rather than what she said!

>194 Whisper1: Linda; as always your anecdotes are priceless! Who, reading my thread, can forget your proposal story.
Succeeding generations in the UK (I am mindful that there was a draft for Nam in the states) have so much to thank those who sacrificed in the two world wars for obviating the need for non-martial types, as am I, to have to make choices of life and death such as you described your uncle facing.

>195 Cobscook: Heidi, I am glad (in a sympathetic way) that it is not only I who makes such slips and that you are able to chuckle along.

>196 Smiler69: If I was irked (which I certainly wasn't) by your earlier thread, it would certainly be redeemed by the succeeding one. Hani has trouble sleeping when I am away - I suppose my Teddy Bear like form is conducive to her slumbers.
Wonderfully talented and sensitive souls like my dear friend from Montreal will surely one fine day receive enjoy the mutual love and care that is her due. xx

>198 PaulCranswick: :-)xx

Paul! Late as always..

Just a quick hello and a hug...

>199 Smiler69: Ilana, life has its ups and downs and deals as many blows as it does pats on the back. We are in many ways a reflection of the company we keep and I am comfortable with my own. A loving, if often discordantly so, family; loyal and sustaining staff, great and supporting/supportive friends both here and in RL. My friends, here in the 75ers, with you prominent amongst them, add value and joy to my life every single day of it. xx

>200 mckait: Thanks Kath. I noted that you have brought out another thread and I'll be along to celebrate the same shortly. xx

Sweet story about Hani missing you. I feel the same way when my husband is gone. Life is just much nicer when we're together.

If I could take two of your recent purchases and shove them under your nose and say "read these now!", they would be Death and the Penguin and The Hired Man. Just sayin'...

*exiting stage left, whistling cheerfully...*

>203 nittnut: "Life is just much nicer when we're together." Marriage has its ups and downs, Jenn, but in the final analysis I wouldn't swap the bad-tempered mare for a gold pig. Her intelligence, her drive, her powers of intuition, her unquestioning & fierce loyalty and the loving family she has served by her example to inculcate are all attributes that I would struggle to have replicated elsewhere despite my occasional resorting to sarcasm to disguise my affections.

>204 Chatterbox: Suz, you read so many books that when certain titles stand out for you I would be eminently foolish not to take due notice. xx I am sniffing them already!

Dropping by to wish you a relaxing weekend, ours has just started here. I'm not familiar with many on your latest book buying lists, though I do have a copy of Death and the Penguin.

Have a wonderful weekend Paul *smooch*

>206 avatiakh: Kerry, lovely to see you over here. I have had an horrendously busy week or few but I hope that my weekend will afford some relaxation as I am expecting a hectic month ahead.

>207 Thebookdiva: Abby - smooches right back at you sweetie. My irish blood has been pumping towards the surface this week since reading Strumpet City (review imminent) and I had a wee look at the poetry shelves in Kino this lunchtime - I was looking in truth for something by P.J. Kavanagh to add his silken verses to my collections of Yeats and Heaney but I bought one of the more recent anthologies by Paul Muldoon. Your home state of Indiana is in group focus this month given the spotlight on Kurt Vonnegut. What about Indiana poets? Have you read work by E. A. Richardson, James Whitcomb Riley, Jared Carter or Marguerite Young, Indianan poets all?

Have a great weekend, buddy. You're due for some relaxation time!

61.

Strumpet City by James Plunkett

Year of Publication : 1969 (61/150)
USA State : N/A

As regular visitors here will know, the blood of my Irish ancestors courses through my exiled anglicised form. My antecedents were not of Dublin but the windswept north-western shores about Donegal, but the grievances documented in this fantastically panoramic novel were common to both coasts. Neglect, prejudice, disfavour, inequality and bigotry.

The centerpiece of this novel is the 1913 lock-out of workers by their employers to put down unionism in Dublin. It focuses on an array of characters each permitting an understanding of the several viewpoints involved with no little sympathy to all. Some of the characters, Pat and Lily for example, will stay in my mind for a good while but the most effectively drawn were a couple of very different Roman Catholic clerics - one whisky-sodden but right minded, the other well-intentioned but misconceived. The actions and self-discovery of the two oddly moved me to tears a rare thing indeed for this block of stone.

This is an important novel and a must read as much for Englishmen as well as the sons of Erin. Some of the events and treatment of the Dublin citizenry which made a full republic inevitable have been partially forgotten. Voted last year on the centenary of the lock-out as Dublin's representative in the City of Books celebrations. A worthier work I cannot imagine.

9/10

>209 jnwelch: Thanks Joe. We share of course the same family name if I trace back antecedents. My irish blood emanates from the Walsh clan of which Welch is a derivative also. Would recommend Strumpet City to you buddy.

>210 PaulCranswick: Well, sounds as though I must "plunk" that one onto the wishlist.

>212 laytonwoman3rd: Oooof that's a fairly heavy handed use of words for a lady of your means Linda! You're right though it is worth your consideration.

>210 PaulCranswick: Oh, lovely review, Paul - thanks!

>210 PaulCranswick: mighty strong review for what looks like a powerful book. You'll be mowing them down with book bullets on that one!

Happy Weekend!

>214 scaifea: Thanks Amber. The book is strangely neglected and until this latest edition pretty difficult to find.

>215 michigantrumpet: Nice to see you Marianne. Sometimes the slightly less lauded books do deserve a plug or two. It is certainly one for those interested in the history of the labour movement and the plight of the working class irish in the time immediately leading up to the struggle for an independent army becoming martial.

Friday splurge to report:

323. Transatlantic by Colm McCann (2013) 295 pp
Took ages to get transpacific in paperback form.
324. Maggot by Paul Muldoon (2010) 120 pp
In truth no poets still living really set my pulse racing. Muldoon comes closer than most.
325. The Ways of the World by Robert Goddard (2013) 525 pp
Like Suz, I am a big fan. Another that dragged it's feet getting over to the tropics.
326. The Gamal by Ciaran Collins (2013) 466 pp
Intriguing looking award-winning debut by this Irish writer.
327. Pamela by Samuel Richardson (1740) 562 pp
With the tag "or, virtue rewarded" - now that's a rarity sure enough.
328. A Tale of Love and Darkness by Amos Oz (2003) 517 pp
Memoir by Darryl's annual plug for the Nobel prize.
329. The King's Spy by Andrew Swanston (2010) 461 pp
Cavalier type historical fiction is thin on the ground these days but this looks interesting
330. Behind the Sofa edited by Steve Berry (2012) 226 pp
Specially for all of us Whovians. Celebrity memories of Doctor Who.
331. The Book of Dave by Will Self (2006) 496 pp
I always think long and hard about Self books - he can be great and annoying
332. The Siege of Tsingtao by Jonathan Fenby (2014) 68 pp
No touchstone yet for this specially commissioned, by Penguin, WWI history short

Books in 2014 : 332

Pages added in 2014 : 104,918 pages

>210 PaulCranswick: Wow that's a very positive review Paul. I've added it to the wishlist.

>218 SandDune: I suppose the extent of the positivity also reflects the proximity of the weekend, Rhian. I don't think it overly generous though to praise Plunkett's novel so.

>217 PaulCranswick: Okay so maybe bury the Pamela... cannot endorse that one!

Happy Friday/Saturday Paul,

Since you're the major poetry guy around here (at least the most "visible" one to me), I thought I would share this video with you. If you've been reading my thread, you know that the author John Green does a show called Crash Course Literature, where he discusses various books and authors. In this one he talks about the poetry of Langston Hughes. Thought you might find it interesting.

http://youtu.be/ir0URpI9nKQ

Have a wonderful weekend Paul.

Added Strumpet City to the wishlist, Paul.

Also adding Strupet City to the wish list. Have a wonderful weekend!

The sequel to the Goddard novel is coming out in the UK this summer; I'm rather irritated that he ended this book on a bit of a cliffhanger. *grump grump grump*

Hi Paul- Great review of Strumpet City. I have never heard of this title, my friend but it has jumped immediately onto my WL.

Nice book haul! I loved Transatlantic. I am a big fan of McCann. The man can do no wrong in my book.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend planned, with plenty of R & R, in the mix.

Hmmm The Book of Dave is not the easiest book to read, recommend not reading when the brain is fried

Some interesting acquisitions there. Which is your favorite "Doctor" from Doctor Who?

Great review and nice haul! Even better homage to your loverly partner in #205. You know what? You are a good guy! Have a great weekend.

And Strumpet City falls into the pile. Great review, and if it moved you to tears, I will have to take a look.

Oooh, Strumpet City is only $4.99 for the Kindle in the US..... Very tempting....

Oooh...points for Katie!!

I liked Transatlantic, and he is not a favorite author. That was a really good story, though.

I hope your weekend is playing out nicely and all is well in your world :)

>220 BekkaJo: Oh I see Bekka, more piss than epistolary I suppose?

>221 mahsdad: Thanks for that Jeff. There are a few of us over here still supporting what RD quaintly refers to as poultry. Suz, Joe, Darryl, Linda, Abby and several more. I suppose dropping some of my own scribblings across the threads, usually via excruciating but (in fairness) entirely off the cuff limerick style has me tagged. Mr. Green seemed quite manic on the video. I almost bought the Collected Poems of Langston Hughes today as a result but having SWMBO breathing down my neck today dissuaded me somewhat. Whilst I was waiting for Saad to finish his english exam (I have coached him so I'll never live it down if he fails), Yasmyne and Hani search for ridiculously priced prom dresses and Belle secure the fringe she has been lobbying for for a month or so, I played my normal game of selecting one book I would buy from each of the shelves in the store only the genres I am remotely interested in of course. Still 200 books. Pay myself a bonus soon so I am gonna put that game into practice with Azim's muscles helping me out in logistics.

>222 GeezLouise: Thanks Rae. I will do my best to get around the threads of all my friends this weekend.

>223 jnwelch: Pleased to see that, Joe. Panoramic and down to earth it is indeed - a bit like the cafe!

>224 banjo123: Rhonda, without reading the blurb I thought the subject matter may be substantially different and I would be in for a bawdy treat. Well though a lady of the night features it is not a bawdy read but manages to be a treat.

>225 Chatterbox: It's funny, Suz, because he doesn't really do series at all does he? I know we have had three well spaced books featuring Harry Barnett but they don't feel much like a series. He does the era well though as I recall.

>226 msf59: Well Mark I do have a soft spot for quite obvious reasons for Irish writers and both Plunkett and McCann are just that. Colm McCann may have upped sticks and crossed the pond but he is still Irish to his very marrow as Van the Man would croon.

>227 roundballnz: Alex, I have read one of his short stories collections some time ago and was nonplussed by much of it other than a couple of stories which gripped me by the scruff of my neck. He is worth the trouble most likely but, you're right I think, the mood needs to be in tune.

>228 thornton37814: Interesting question Lori. It is a question of age really. Too young to remember the first two doctors clearly so I grew up and spent many Saturday afternoons exactly behind the sofa as the book's title perfectly captures with Jon Pertwee and then Tom Baker as the Doctor. Pros and cons but probably Doctor #3 by the shortest of margins.

>229 Berly: Why, thank you Kimmers. I'm not too sure that she would always agree with you on that score but she does occasionally slip and show how much she actually loves me once in a while.

>230 nittnut: Actually Jenn I fairly rarely tear up although the prices mooted for prom dresses for Yasmyne did have me reaching for a handkerchief I must admit.

>231 katiekrug: A bargain I would say Katie. Plus you get a good solid 550 pages to go at for added value.

>232 Berly: Kim, Plunkett died 11 years ago so will not benefit from any revival we can bestow upon his most famous work. Wouldn't like it to stay out of print too long though.

>233 mckait: I haven't read anything by McCann yet Kath to enable me to comment but Transatlantic did get pretty solid reviews in the group. If I remember rightly many preferred the beginning sections to the later parts.

Paul, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

Have just started listening to the audiobook version of Goddard's Days Without Number; one of the ones set partly in Cornwall. You know he lives in Truro?

>238 Ameise1: Thank you Barbara.......already my weekend is not complete without one of your thoughtful graphics. xx

>239 Chatterbox: Suz, I was aware of his associations with Cornwall - and Devon, Cornwall, Wiltshire and Somerset seem to feature regularly in his works too. I remember that is the one with the lead character with the greek sounding name. A typical Goddard effort, well paced with a fairly inept lead character.

>240 PaulCranswick: hugs xx

>234 PaulCranswick: Totally! And that comment so so confused me for a moment - had to go back and check what I'd written in case it had accidentally been offensive :)

Hope you are having a good weekend - it's traditional British over here. Scorching one minute, raining the next with a lovely mugginess in between. I'm guessing you don't miss that - though I imagine you have far far more humidity than I could cope with!

What's with the ladybugs everywhere? I think #238 is the fifth one I have seen today! Don't get me wrong, I do like them. It's just surprising.

>241 Ameise1: I am lucky today Barbara - I get ladybirds and hugs too!

>242 BekkaJo: Hahaha Bekka, Richardson is long gone and I think he'll no longer mind overly. The humidity here is trying and it does rain far more here than back in the old country in volume terms even if not in terms of amount of time actually precipitating. I can now cope with the humidity here but struggled in Hanoi which had slightly higher humidity atop temperatures ten degrees hotter. Believe me 98 per cent humidity and 43 degree heat is not at all pleasant.

>243 Berly: There is another name/word that differs between continents. We Brits call them labybirds. They remind me of the iconic Volkswagon Beetle. I am thinking of buying one this next week for Yasmyne to learn to drive in and for me to see if I'll fit inside.

Paleologus -- the last emperors of Byzantium!! Very geek chic indeed.

>245 Chatterbox: Ah! Suz at least the memory was serving me nicely last night.

>244 PaulCranswick: "...Believe me 98 per cent humidity and 43 degree heat is not at all pleasant." & I thought 30 degree with 98% Humidity was bad ..... that sounds like hell

>247 roundballnz: It did however reveal a weakness in Hani's Olympic preparations for Malaysia's first gold medal in the shopping events. Even she couldn't face the markets in that heat/humidity.

>248 PaulCranswick: ... I would be very impressed if anyone could shop in that !

>249 roundballnz: Even more impressive is the Vietnamese habit to covering up to protect against the sun. So, especially the ladies, will ride out on their scooters wrapped up like mummies in the sweltering middle day to ensure their near translucent skin gets no tan whatsoever.

Hi Paul. Just skimming through your thread. I hope your weekend will be a nice one.

So far so good Connie. Had breakfast at an old friend's house. He is an estate agent/realtor and is trying his best to persuade me to buy a property near his place. Yasmyne has selected her prom dress and it will be the most expensive article of clothing I have ever purchased. More than the monthly salaries of most my staff - ridiculous really but, my God, those doe eyes!

Hope you and yours are having a great weekend Paul.

>244 PaulCranswick: *passes out at the thought* Eeep - I can't take that sort of weather at ALL. I tend to actually go dizzy and pass out a lot even over here which my husband finds off putting, even though a barrage of docs have told me nothing is wrong with me. Up the heat past about 35 and add in any level of humidity and I'd be a wreck!

Currently 23 and lovely over here :)

Just realised that I do have a truly British obsession with the weather. Sigh...

oh, I did not know that my English genes were at fault for my "obsession with weather". I think I qualify as a real daughter of those Brits. Plus my Scots woman genes, and the Welsh last name...

>208 PaulCranswick: Oh goodness, your asking about my poetry reading habits. I must admit that I didn't pay much attention to what poet lived where when I was reading their poetry. Out of the four poets you mentioned, I have only read poems by two of them (James Whitcomb Riley & Jared Carter), and I didn't much like Jared Carter. I liked James Whitcomb Riley's poem A Cup of Tea (I think that's what it's called). I have probably read more Indiana poet's work without realizing it however. I'm sorry I couldn't give more insight. If you want, I could gather a list of some of my favorite poets and post them here.

Hoping that your weekend is going well!

Hope your weekend was good!

Now we really need a picture of the prom dress! Hope you had a wonderful weekend.

Oh I do love Volkswagen Beetles... I have always wanted one. WE had a bus, and we had a Karmann Ghia ... way back in the day. We had to park on a hill in order to get it started. Poor thing ended up as landfill at the end of it's days.

yes, yes, a picture of the prom dress!

I had a bug for my first car ever.... 1971 white bug. And then later I bought a new Karmann Ghia! I loved it and was broken hearted when a taxi t-boned me. sigh. Truth be told I drove too fast in it and was probably safer in the Volvo I bought next. Now I drive a very boring 2006 silver Subaru. Very dull looking but very reliable and safe.

>253 calm: Calm, we went out for dinner last night and I had far too much to eat. Came back feeling well and truly stuffed. The only consolation (if it is so) is that everyone felt the same way.

>254 BekkaJo: Bekka, 23 degrees is my idea of heaven! I am as obsessed with the weather as the next Brit but nowadays more for the reason that the bloody thing doesn't ever change here and there are no seasons.

>255 maggie1944: Karen so you are genetically the United Kingdom my dear! Hopefully the Scots don't vote for full independence as that may leave you torn!

>256 Thebookdiva: Abby, I must admit also that I am not overly familiar with those poets. I have always been a little too centred on the British Isles with poetry but over the last few years I have tried to broaden my horizons a lttle. All my favourites - Manley-Hopkins, Yeats, Auden, MacNeice, Thomas, Larkin, Hughes, Heaney were all such and Eliot sort of adopted us. I always liked Robert Frost but hadn't read so much. My reading over the last few years has helped me change that a little.
I would love to see your own personal tastes in verse or prose. xx

The first verse of Riley's "Cup of Tea" goes:

I have sipped, with drooping lashes,
Dreamy draughts of Verzenay;
I have flourished brandy-smashes
In the wildest sort of way;
I have joked with 'Tom and Jerry'
Till wee hours ayont the twal'--
But I've found my tea the very
Safest tipple of them all!

Not hugely my own cup of tea in truth.

>257 BBGirl55: Bryony with Lampard released you only have Cahill in the England squad - who do you think will win the world cup? I am hoping that the Europeans prevail and I always hope we can do well.

>258 michigantrumpet: It was measured up and sort of designed for her yesterday and will be ready by the week end I am told. I am certain that Hani will post up plenty of photos and I will share them with you then. $1,500 for a frock is daylight robbery a far as I can tell but I guess I have to swallow it and try to smile about it!

>259 mckait: If they keep going dress shopping I won't be able to afford the car, Kath! As usual the ladies are only interested in deciding upon the colour of the thing, a debate I am keeping out of.

>260 maggie1944: I have slowed down my own driving habits over the years Karen as I was pretty accident prone and Malaysia is not the easiest place in the world to maneouvre four wheels across the capital city.

Duly making note of the Plunkett novel!

Looking forward to a picture of Yasmyne's prom dress and the beetle! My BIL drove a beetle - some older 1070's 1970's version - back in my Uni days and I used to laugh at the various things he had to do to get it going in the dead of winter. It did always start, but still entertaining to watch.

Will be good to see you and Hani here in Singapore, Paul.

*turns purple and keels over from holding breath*

Ack! $1500 for a dress! I am certain she's worth it, but Ack! Can't wait to see photos.

It's good you have a driver if you're accident prone. :)

Lori, the dress is ordered but I hope your BIL'S beetle was a typo. I cannot envisage William the Conqueror driving around his Norman Kingdom in his quaint teutonic steed!

>266 nittnut: Ack was not quite the expletive I used Jenn!

>268 PaulCranswick: I can only but imagine .... if that's the prom dress what will the wedding dress be ....

>269 roundballnz: OMG I had not even thought of that!

>270 PaulCranswick: Maybe that was a tad ***evil**** then - I think you need a lie down with a good book

Hi Paul, a reasonably good day at the office for Yorkshire yesterday, just hope they can have a good day with the bat now. Friday night was good with the Tykes putting one over the Red Rose, Finch batted beautifully and brutally, sets us up nicely now I hope. I hope you had a good weekend my friend and are recovering after the purchase of the prom dress (just think how many books that would have bought, on second thoughts don't, it may make you feel worse, lol) and we send our love to you all mate.

$1500? Holy moly, Paul! *Lines up with the others in the waiting-for-photos queue*...

YELLOW!!!

A yellow Beetle :)

>267 PaulCranswick: - LOL! typo fixed. ;-)

>269 roundballnz: HA! I was thinking that, too. Don't forget, there will be the shoes, hair, make-up, jewelry ... Some girls here buy a second outfit for the "after-party." Tip of the iceberg, my friend. Tip of the iceberg.

Holy Moley is right! I didn't even pay for my prom dress! My father had recently gotten married to his second wife and I had been a bridesmaid. The gown was lovely and worked perfectly as a prom dress.

I don't recognize any of the titles or authors of your latest haul so can't recommend anything to read first!

Hi Paul - just skimming to catch up on my woefully neglected starred threads. Hope all is well in your world despite the apparent prom dress trauma.

My daughter was married 4 years ago this week, and her wedding "ensemble" (dress, bolero, shoes, undergarments, headpiece) did not cost $1,500.00. It is possible to draw the line. Not that I'm recommending you try it right now, Paul!

>279 laytonwoman3rd: Heh. My entire second *wedding* (24 years ago) didn't cost $1500.

>280 Morphidae: Well, I wasn't going to go back so far as my own wedding (42 years ago)! I think my dress cost $150.00. I was married in my parents' living room, and it was immediate ADULT family only. I had one attendant, and my college roommate sang to the accompaniment of our piano, played by a dear family friend. My dad drove less than a 1/4 mile up the street to the fire house where, being a charter member of the volunteers, he borrowed folding chairs at no cost; the food was all prepared by another family friend (although we did pay her), so...yeah. My mother says it remains one of the nicest weddings she's ever attended!

>252 PaulCranswick: - More than the monthly salaries of most my staff

Ouch! I hope none of them find out! Yeesh.

Oh my goodness! I can't believe that you are paying such a lot of money for a prom dress. Sorry, no offend, but for me it's unbelievable and beyond good and bad.

Ah! Prom dresses. My mother made mine. It was lovely, and I enjoyed the evening completely!

Yep, my wedding dress wasn't more than $200, I think, or somewhere around that. We were married in a public park (the Park of Roses in Columbus, OH - it's beautiful), having rented a gazebo for $40. We had a cake, made by a local bakery, for, I think, $30. We invited only immediate family, had one person each stand up with us, and then all went to a local buffet-style place for lunch. And I wouldn't have had it any other way. (Well, I would have liked to have had time to make my own dress, but I had just graduated from grad school the week before and we were packing up and moving in 2 days, so time wasn't something of which I had a surplus at that point.)

>271 roundballnz: Hahaha Alex. A good book is the solution to most problems.

>272 johnsimpson: Looks like rain will get in the way of a result against Notts, John. Lyth goes from a double ton to a golden duck. I didn't calculate books mate but I could have got 40 Marks and Sparks office shirts.

>273 scaifea: "Holy Moly" is one way of putting it Amber!

>274 mckait: Yasmyne has vetoed yellow, Kath. It could be a red one, I think.

>275 lkernagh: Hahaha Lori. That's a little more up to dat.

>276 michigantrumpet: I had originally budgeted $700 for the whole cost, Marianne. Whatever else I have to pay is coming from the book budget unfortunately so I'm on the look-out for book sales now!

>277 Morphidae: Why or why weren't you my daughter, Morphy. I ould have saved myself a fortune and we could have had long, long hours arguing over the relative merits of all the books in the house. xx

>278 SuziQoregon: Juli, "Prom Dress Trauma" - now there's the title of a poem if I ever saw one!

>279 laytonwoman3rd: Linda. I feel worse by the post! I am going to work on passing the buck for the wedding dress somehow!

>280 Morphidae: Neither did my own 18 years ago and that includes the dowry money that needs to be paid to "take" a Malay bride.

>281 laytonwoman3rd: Linda you could have got 10 wedding dresses for the ridiculous sum to be paid for this one prom dress!

>282 katiekrug: Katie, I know! Still her own Auntie (Yabo) is in my employ and she knows already. She probably takes home $1,000 per month and saves maybe $100. 15 months and she'd be able to get the dress. Obscene when you consider it like that, which unfortunately I am wont to do.

>283 Ameise1: No Barbara, for me it is just bad. I wouldn't have shared the cost of it with the group if I thought it was something normal and I was particularly comfortable with. The same place wanted slightly in excess of $1,000 just to rent it!

>284 maggie1944: Karen, I think if I bought the old girl a sewing machine, I would have had change leftover. We went to a local mall for supper yesterday and they were selling "gowns" at a market type stall near the restaurant for approximately $10 - lovely they were too. I did of course mention that one or more would have served perfectly adequately for the prom. I even bought one for Hani to demonstrate!

>285 scaifea: Amber I got married in the mosque in a place called Pasir Gudang in Johor. It was the first and only time I have seen the boss in a head-scarf and I nearly ran for the hills! We then had a feast prepared for the whole village and extended family by Hani's mum.

Ah, ha, Once again you have purchased more books to date than I have! Great job.

My latest haul seemed to be some what of a tipping point. Unless we sell our house and move elsewhere, there is little space for more books.

Clearly, I'm not reading as fast as I'm adding.

Wow, love the wedding stories. Maybe you will have to have a second wedding, Paul, to justify the expensive dress purchase? ;)

>290 PaulCranswick: Paul, in this case you should start thinking about how to stop your female family members buying such expensive things, otherwise they get used to it and than it won't be possible to stop them. Sorry, to say it so.

*ponders how many books could be purchased with $1500*

>294 kidzdoc: Somebody had to say it!

>291 Whisper1: I have just added a further 15 books at a sale yesterday which I will add on my next thread, Linda. I ran out of space a goodly while ago, Lina, but I seem to carry on regardless much to the chagrin of SWMBO.

>292 LovingLit: As a muslim I am "allowed" to take four wives. This is with the proviso that I get the first one to agree to the arrangement of which there is more chance than an iceberg slowing down the progress on our river project. Why on God's earth any lunatic would want to get more than one wife is beyond my comprehension anyways!

>293 Ameise1: Yes, Barbara I agree with you in theory. In practice I am putty in their hands. I always wanted a parent to spoil me with the things I could never have and so I suppose I have sort of passed that wish down. In fairness Yasmyne comes across to her peers and elders as an extremely grounded, courteous and mature young lady. I am very proud to often receive compliments on her demeanour although the one deserving credit is Hani who normally gets blamed by Yasmyne for being a toughie. I could (and in part do) see the dress as an obscene waste of money but then again my daughter will only graduate high school once in her entire lifetime.

>294 kidzdoc: At normal local prices 128 books, Darryl. In New Zealand about 50 books.

>295 laytonwoman3rd: My own calculations were quickly in that direction, Linda.

>297 PaulCranswick: ;-)

>298 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara. I am very conscious of "spoiling" my tribe more than a little. The smile on her face and her undoubted grace to carry off the dress makes it, mmm, almost worth it.