Laura (lauralkeet)'s Reading in Syncopated Rhythms - Part 3

Video: Opening

This year my thread features favorites from Musical Theater. On this thread we move from "classic" musicals by Rodgers & Hammerstein, et al, to Stephen Sondheim, who brings words and music together in an amazing, unique way. I've seen A Little Night Music on Broadway with Bernadette Peters, which was amazing. In high school the musical theater geeks played the Sweeney Todd soundtrack over and over and over again. I'm featuring Into the Woods here, because of a small personal connection. Daughter #2 was in the chorus her freshman year in high school. Daughter #1's friends, all seniors, made up most of the cast, and they were a terrific ensemble.




My WikiThing contains my personal threads from a variety of LT groups and group reads, past & present. After 5 years here I felt like I needed an archive, even if it's only useful to me!

This year I have no goals whatsoever. I plan to participate in the Great War Theme Read in the Virago Modern Classics group, and I intend for the majority of my reads to come from books I already own. Other than that, I will read whatever strikes my fancy.

Books completed ("details" jumps to location in this thread where review & links can be found)
June
24. The Penelopiad - details
25. Salem Chapel - details
26. Love and Friendship - details
27. Oranges are not the Only Fruit - details

July
28. The Cuckoo's Calling - details
29. Not So Quiet... - details
30. West With the Night - details
31. In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower - details
32. The Enchanted April - details
33. The Silkworm - details

August
34. War Horse - details
35. Greenbanks - details
36. Wild Strawberries - details
37. We are All Completely Beside Ourselves - details
38. Fire in the Blood - details
39. The Paying Guests - details
40. The Narrow Road to the Deep North - details

Reading Bingo


BINGO!
1. 4/13/2014: The "O" column
2. 4/13/2014: Diagonally from upper right to lower left
3. 4/30/2014: Third row
4. 5/11/2014: Fifth row
5. 6/23/2014: The "B" column
6. 7/5/2014: Fourth row
7. 7/24/2014: The "N" column
8. 7/31/2014: The "G" column
9. 7/31/2014: First row
10. 8/2/2014: The "I" column
11. 8/2/2014: Second row
12. 8/2/2014: Diagonally from upper left to lower right

I'm keeping this up-to-date here and on the official thread

More than 500 pages: The Last Chronicle of Barset, by Anthony Trollope
Forgotten Classic: William: An Englishman by Cicely Hamilton
Book that became a movie: The Enchanted April, by Elizabeth von Arnim
Published this year: The Silkworm, by Robert Galbraith
Number in the title: Five Days at Memorial, By Sheri Fink
Written by someone under 30: The Rehearsal, by Eleanor Catton
Book with non-human characters: War Horse, by Michael Morpurgo
Funny Book: Mapp and Lucia, by E.F. Benson
Female Author: Life After Life by Jill McCorkle
Book with a mystery: Through the Evil Days, by Julia Spencer-Fleming
One-Word Title: Heartstone, by C.J. Sansom
Book of short stories: The Blush, by Elizabeth Taylor
Set on a different continent: The Hired Man, by Aminatta Forna
Non-Fiction: As Always, Julia, by Joan Reardon
First book by a favourite author: Love and Freindship, by Jane Austen
Heard about online: Aleta Day, by Francis Marion Beynon
Best-selling book: The Cuckoo's Calling, by Robert Galbraith
Based on a true story: Death Comes for the Archbishop, by Willa Cather
Book at the bottom of TBR pile: American Rust, by Philipp Meyer
Book my friend loves: Miss Buncle's Book, by D. E. Stevenson
Book that scares me: Swann's Way, by Marcel Proust *
More than 10 years old: Milk and Honey by Elizabeth Jolley
Second book in a series: Miss Buncle Married, by D.E. Stevenson
Blue cover: High Rising, by Angela Thirkell

* "scares me" as in, intimidates me. It only recently occurred to me that others might be reading books with scary plotlines. I'm sticking with with my gut reaction to this category.

Hi Laura! Happy new thread. Hope I'm not busting in too early...

>3 katiekrug:: heck no, Katie! I only need two messages to get a new thread going. And you're always welcome!!

Oh I like the header on this thread! Referring back to the old thread, are there Bed & Breakfasts in Kenyon which might be better than truck stops with smoking rooms? As you know, I'm a huge fan of B&Bs. Just a thought in case the H.I. is full.

>5 tiffin: yes there are, Tui. The Gambier Inn, which Amber mentioned, is one of them. But there aren't many. Kenyon is just in a super rural area, middle of nowhere, so the day-to-day demand for hotels etc. isn't great, and that means the area isn't prepared for college events that draw a crowd. It's okay, we manage. :)

Happy New Thread, Laura!

I've often wondered why the college doesn't just build another hotel? The Kenyon Inn just isn't big enough, and I'm not even sure that it's still owned by the college, to be honest. It's not as if it wouldn't pay for itself in the first year...

24. The Penelopiad ()
My Review
Source: My local library
Why I read this now: It's the current One LibraryThing, One Book selection

In The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood turns her considerable talent toward a retelling of the Odyssey from a feminine point of view. Penelope's husband, Odysseus, goes off to fight the Trojan War and then takes years to return home. Many presume he is dead, and suitors begin to vie for Penelope's hand and fortune. She enlists the help of her maids to keep them at bay, but when Odysseus finally returns the maids tragically suffer the consequences.

Where Homer's Odyssey bathes its hero in glory, Atwood focuses on how it feels to be virtually abandoned as a result of your husband's pursuit of glorification, and on the horrific treatment of the maids. The story is told by Penelope from the underworld after her death, with a heavy dose of irony. The maids are there, too, as a Greek chorus that appears regularly throughout the narrative. This is a slim book and a quick read, but one that can make you pause and reflect on other familiar stories and wonder what really happened.

Oh, I have that book, Laura, but have never read it; will have to get to it sometime.

>8 lauralkeet: I saw The Penelopiad adapted as a play a few years back - I can't remember whether Atwood herself did the script or if it was someone else, but it was very effective as a bit of 'alternative' ancient greek drama complete with the chorus of maids.

Having just finished listening to The Iliad as an audiobook, I plan to follow it with an audio of The Odyssey soon - I've only read retellings of both of them before so it's great to finally experience the original.

Love and Friendship (DNF)
No Review
Source: On my Kindle

I'm not going to count this one. I love Jane Austen, truly I do. So I thought it would be fun to read one of her juvenile stories. I made it 18 pages into a ~60-page book and couldn't take it anymore. There were early signs of Austen's brilliant wit and satire, but the story lacked depth. Characters appeared suddenly, and died suddenly, before the reader even had a chance to get emotionally attached. The plot took wild turns. It read like a young teen breathlessly telling a story. Perhaps because that's what it is. But it was making me grumpy and the ability to cross off another a Reading Bingo square just wasn't worth the effort.

So, moving on. I'm also reading Proust's second volume, In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower, also known as In a Budding Grove. This needs to be taken at a slow pace, 10-15 pages per day, so as a companion read I will be starting the Virago Modern Classic, Salem Chapel.

Laura - so glad to have found your thread! I skimmed through some of your reading. I see you completed the Barsetshire series this year. I discovered Trollope through LT and read that series a couple of years ago. I loved it! I'm thinking of starting the Palliser series next year. I was also interested in your review of The Rehearsal. I was intrigued by The Luminaries though I thought some of Catton's choices in form (mainly the decreasing length of chapters and having the zodiac choose which characters could be seen in each chapter) took away from the book instead of adding to it. But I found it interesting enough to want to try The Rehearsal some day. I also have High Rising on my TBR pile and have read the first two books in the Mapp and Lucia series - I get to read about them meeting when I get to the next book, probably next month.

Anyway, I'll look forward to seeing what else you read this year!

>11 lauralkeet: You shouldn't take it at face value, Laura: Love And Freindship is a parody of the highly emotionally exaggerated yet completely serious novels that were popular in England late in the 18th century - which even in her early teens Austen recognised as ridiculous and mocked accordingly. Try reading it again as a joke and see if it strikes you better. :)

>13 japaul22: Hi Jennifer! I'll be interested in your thoughts on The Rehearsal whenever you get to it. I've been tempted to read more Trollope but then I started Proust so I think I'll hold off on starting another chunky series.

>14 lyzard: Liz, that's a good perspective. Maybe I will give it another try. It bugs me when I don't like something that all signs say I should. And it was a second attempt that turned me into a Trollope fan, aided by your excellent tutored read of The Warden. So a "try again" from you carries some weight!!

It can be hard to grasp the point of Love And Freindship these days because most of the novels Austen is poking fun at have faded into oblivion (and rightly so). It's a bit different from her use of The Mysteries Of Udolpho in Northanger Abbey, since the Gothic novel and Gothic tropes - if not perhaps any particular Gothic novel - have lasted well enough for the reader to understand what Austen is getting at.

>24 lauralkeet: Hi Laura. What a great review of The Penelopiad. I read this book awhile back, and still remember how much I liked it.

J.W. Waterhouse is my favorite Pre-Raphalite artist. His rendition of Penelope and the Suitors is beautiful, and how I began to re-visit mythology.

Happy New thread, Laura! I'll have to get to The Penelopiad during AA. I heard she has a new story collection coming out this year. Yah! I think I will skip the Austen...

>16 lyzard: thanks again Liz. Such helpful context!

>17 Whisper1: Linda, I love the Pre-Raphaelites and that painting is beautiful!

>18 msf59: Mark, it's a short read and different from other Atwoods I've read. But then I find each of her books has been different from those I read before, which is part of what makes her such an interesting author.

>11 lauralkeet: I'm so sorry you didn't enjoy Love and Freindship :-( I'll just echo Liz's comment in >16 lyzard: Maybe it might be worth trying again someday.

Lady Susan is another of Austen's very early works and I think that one requires less knowledge of obscure 18th century fiction so might be another one worth trying?

>20 souloftherose: Thanks Heather. I liked Lady Susan. I think I will give Love and Freindship a second chance -- it's starting to bug me now, in the same way that it bugged me when I didn't enjoy Trollope.

Didn't enjoy Trollope? That little phrase caught me by surprise. I liked him immediately but I can see where it might not be love at first read. Laura, as much as I like Atwood, I'm not tempted by The Penelopiad. At least not right now. I'll wait until I've read everything else by her.

>22 Donna828: Donna, I'm a born again Trollope fan. But my first attempt was Barchester Towers in, I think, 2010, and it just didn't click. I'm really glad I came back to it a couple of years later!

Just checking in. Life is good, I'm still reading both In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower, and Salem Chapel. For the latter, as with Proust's first volume, I'm using The Cork-Lined Room to guide my reading. This blog supported a group read about 4 years ago, with a set number of pages (usually no more than 10-15) to read each day. Some days I read more than one "assignment," but on others the day's work is just right. This volume is all about love, beginning with the protagonist Marcel's adolescent relationship with Swann's daughter, Gilberte. the prose is very descriptive, and there are times Proust really nails it when describing relationships and human behavior.

My approach to reading Proust also allows me to keep moving with Salem Chapel, which is very much in that 19th century style of a fairly simple conflict that takes quite a while to resolve. In this case, a young minister's sister is carried off by a man she intended to marry, who may possibly be a sinister character. But as these things go, there's usually plenty of room for misunderstandings so I'm wondering if he's as much of a baddie as the minister and his mother fear. I do have a suspect for "surprise baddie" should the novel go that way.

I've got Salem Chapel on my kindle. My OU course this year has given me an interest in some of the other Victorian novelists that you don't hear as much about, Mrs Oliphant being one of those.

"I do have a suspect for "surprise baddie" should the novel go that way."
I love that.

>25 SandDune: Rhian, my copy is a Virago; I actually have the complete Chronicles of Carlingford in green. I do enjoy reading these lesser-known authors. A course on the Victorian novel would be very interesting as well.

>26 EBT1002: Ellen the story took an unexpected turn last night. Now I don't know what to think! I'm still wondering about my surprise baddie though.

>24 lauralkeet:, >25 SandDune:, >27 lauralkeet: I also have the Virago of Salem Chapel and at some point I will buy The Rector so that I can start that series.

Yes, I think The Penelopiad will have to wait until I've read more of her contemporary novels.

25. Salem Chapel ()
My Review
Source: My Virago Modern Classic collection
Why I read this now: Just because; it seemed like a good choice for this month's Virago read.

When Arthur Vincent assumes his post as Carlingford's new Nonconformist minister, he runs the usual gauntlet of parishioners testing his mettle. Some relationships are cordial, such as that with Tozer the butterman, or the needlewoman Mrs Hilyard. Others are more fractious. And then there's the young dowager Lady Western, whose beauty and manner fuel Vincent's passion, and blind him to things going on right under his nose. When his sister Susan disappears with a man she believes is good (but of course is not), Vincent fears for her life and his clerical duties become secondary to finding Susan and returning her home safely.

The The Chronicles of Carlingford are similar to Trollope's Chronicles of Barsetshire, in that the church is central to the story, and while Margaret Oliphant's writing is not satirical, she does show a sense of humor in her characterizations. Vincent's mother, herself the wife of a minister, was especially likeable both in her caring for her son and in the ways she quietly but effectively dealt with difficult parishioners. Published in the 1860s, these are classic Victorian novels, where good always triumphs over evil, but mistakes carry a heavy social cost. Vincent is criticized for asking a colleague to take his place on a Sunday, so he can search for Susan. Susan's reputation hangs in the balance throughout the novel, and even after the truth comes out it seems preferable for her to put distance between herself and Carlingford. Vincent is also hung up on potentially lasting repercussions, and takes steps which today would seem completely unnecessary.

From a 21st-century perspective, this book could move a little faster towards its conclusion, and with some editing could be a shorter work. But it is typical of its time, and enjoyable when read with that knowledge.

Nice review, Laura. I really need to be better about actually reading my VMCs, and not just collecting them!

26. Love and Friendship ()
No Review
Source: On my Kindle

Comments upthread convinced me to return to this book and finish it, keeping in mind Austen was poking fun at common literary genres of her day. OK, done. There were a few moments that made me smile, and I'm glad I read it, but I still enjoy her more mature work much, much, much more.

>31 katiekrug:. Hi Katie! I confess I've read fewer than 1/3 of my VMCs. Although I read one per month I often acquire more than 12 in a year so I'm barely treading water. But then I think that problem affects all of us LTers in various ways ...

5. 6/23/2014: The "B" column

See >2 lauralkeet: for details.

Congratulations on getting a bingo!

27. Oranges are Not the Only Fruit ()
My Review
Source: On my shelves
Why I read this now: I was looking for something not too long, and not too dry, to wrap up my June reading.

This is Jeanette Winterson's semi-autobiographical first novel, about growing up and discovering your sexuality in a fundamental, evangelical family. The protagonist, also named Jeanette, spends her early years at revival meetings and training to be a missionary. Her mother looms large; her father is but a background figure. Jeanette discovers she is attracted to women, finds others like her in the sect, and learns the high price of coming out in that environment.

The story is told with a considerable amount of dry humor, and includes parallel storylines that resemble a fairy tale or mythology. I'm still trying to work out some of the symbolism, but saw the humor as the armor Jeanette wore in order to get through her days. These elements adds layers and depth to the work, and deliver an emotional impact that sneaks up on you.

Hi Laura. Yay for a bingo! I've seen those bingo cards on a number of threads and thought I might have enjoyed the "game." Maybe next year.

I want to read Oranges are Not the Only Fruit. Encouraging review. :-)

>37 EBT1002: oh you should, Ellen. I think you'd like it. I also have her more recent memoir, Why be Happy When you Can be Normal? Have you read that one? I bought it first, after listening to an author interview. But then I decided I really should read *Oranges* before reading the memoir.

Hello friends, I hope you're enjoying the weekend! I need a little help from you all ...

I am four books away from completing my Reading Bingo card! I have books lined up for all but one category, and it is ... drum roll ... Book with non-human characters

Ugh. I knew this would be tough for me, but I can't bear the thought of leaving one blank square on my bingo card. I don't care much for sci-fi, or zombies, or *shudder* talking animals who behave like humans. I've already read classics like Watership Down and and yes, I could read The Wind in the Willows but it's really not grabbing me. The "non-human" doesn't have to be the main theme of the book, it could be sort of peripheral and still count. My mind keeps going to animals but there are probably other non-human character possibilities.

I'd like this to be a book I'd enjoy, not a book I'm reading because I have to (and yes, I know I don't really *have* to, but I refer you to my previous utterance about leaving one blank square on my card).

So ... recommendations please!

What about Firmin by Sam Savage, the novel about a literary minded rat who lives in a Boston bookstore in the 1960s? I found it to be a quick and enjoyable read.

Morning Laura- I have read Why be Happy When you Can be Normal? and it was excellent but I have not read Oranges, although I have it on shelf. Have a great Sunday.

>39 lauralkeet: I'm about to read The Bees by Laline Paull whose main characters are ... well ... bees. I can't comment personally but it had a great review.

>42 SandDune: - Ooh, I've been wanting to read The Bees! Can't wait to hear what you think, Rhian.

That could be a good choice, Laura.

I went to my bingo card to see if I had read something for that, and I counted War Horse for the square. It's a quick, WWI read... Or what about a book with a dog as a major part of it? That's how I interpreted that particular category - not that there couldn't be any humans but that a non-human had to play a significant part...

>42 SandDune:, >43 katiekrug: I have my eye on The Bees too.
>40 kidzdoc: Firmin Grr... BB.
>39 lauralkeet: Seabiscuit? Does non-fiction have "characters"?

Hi Mark! Glad to see a positive rec for the Winterson memoir.

And interesting suggestions for "non-human characters" so far -- thank you Darryl, Rhian, and Katie! I have the same interpretation of the category as Katie, so there can be humans in the book, but the non-human needs to play a significant part. Rhian, I'll be interested to see what you think of The Bees -- looks like my library has it and it sounds intriguing. This is probably the leading contender for non-human characters but keep the suggestions coming!

Rhian- I have the Bees lined up on audio. I hope to start it soon.

>44 qebo: I've been debating (with myself) whether non-fiction counts for this category. The jury is still out ...

>42 SandDune:, >43 katiekrug:, >46 msf59: There's a swarm forming around The Bees here! :)

My daughter was telling us last night, that there was a swarm of bees in her backyard last week. They formed into a ball and hung out in a tree and were gone the next morning.

>39 lauralkeet: Laura, the first thing that came to my mind was Because of Winn Dixie. That might be a stretch, but it is a quick read.

Have you ever read The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde? I think there are some pretty good non-human characters in the Thursday Next series.

Book bullet.........Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. Sounds like a good one Laura. I won't be any help for that category I'm afraid but I do want to read The Bees.

>49 msf59: Mark, a Facebook friend of mine just had a colony of 30,000 bees (and 85 lbs of hive) removed from her house! Apparently they came in through a small hole and built their hive around some floor joists. They had to pay a pro to remove and relocate the hive. Wow, huh?

>50 NanaCC: Colleen, I've seen the movie Because of Winn Dixie and agree that would be a good book for this category. It's a sweet movie. I have to admit I started The Eyre Affair but it didn't grab me so I abandoned it.

>51 brenzi: Gotcha Bonnie! I think you'd like the Winterson.

Happy Monday everyone! It's a short work week for me, since we have both Thursday and Friday off. It should be quiet because lots of people will extend the time off to a full week.

Last night I was deliberating over which book I should read next. Of course I am still reading Proust's In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower, but only 10-20 pages per day and I like to have something else going at the same time. And of course I have a stack of books queued up for July, so it was just a matter of which one to read first. My local library must be clairvoyant because as if by magic, I received an email that my Kindle loan of The Cuckoo's Calling was ready for me. Click - click - voila! I read a few pages before bed and it looks good so far.

Oh Laura, I just picked up Vol. 1-7 of Proust's In Search of Lost Time in a Kindle sale. You've inspired me so I'll have to see when I can fit it in.

I hope you enjoy The Cuckoo's Calling. I just finished the second in the series The Silkworm and it was every bit as good.

Confessional


Way back on my first thread, I stated a self-imposed reading rule: I won't start a new series until I've finished one of the other ones. Some of you were skeptical.

Seeing as it's mid-year, I decided to check my progress. I started out strong, finishing (or becoming current with) 3 series:
* C.J. Sansom's Shardlake
* Julia Spencer-Fleming's Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne
* Anthony Trollope's Barsetshire.

And I didn't start any new series until I finished those. But ... I've started 4 new series, in addition to ones I already have on the go:
* Proust's Remembrance of Things Past
* D. E. Stevenson's Miss Buncle
* Sarah Caudwell's Hilary Tamar
* Robert Galbraith's Cormoran Strike

And now I must bow, and tip my hat, to the skeptics. Technically speaking, if I were keeping my resolution, I shouldn't have started the 4th series until I finished another one. I've been making steady progress -- altogether I've read 11 books that are part of a series. But I suddenly find myself with several on the go (and I used to say, "I don't read series." HA!)

Here's a snapshot of my "active" series as of June 30:

Well, in my humble opinion, the Proust doesn't really count as a series. I tend to only count "genre" fiction series as series. Not sure why, but maybe it will help you rationalize? ;-)

Wow, Laura. Why am I not surprised you have a chart for your series reading?!

>56 katiekrug: Aha! A perfect rationalization! But do you count Trollope as "genre" fiction? Because if not, those two cancel each other out and I'm back in the confessional again.

>57 rebeccanyc: I know, I know ... I'm a data geek, what can I say? I can't track series the way I want to via LT, so on a tip from other LTers I turned to Fictfact.com.

>55 lauralkeet: As one of the skeptics, I'm actually impressed with how well you've done. Also, you have a few series with just one book to go. So choose wisely this month.

Hmmm. I guess I wouldn't count Trollope either, but no reason to make the rationalization retroactive!

>59 qebo: So choose wisely this month.
Too late, Katherine. This is the month I decided to start Cormoran Strike :) The "problem" is, I'm reading what I want to read, not reading with finishing series in mind.

>60 katiekrug: thank you for absolving me of my sins, Katie!

Laura, What is Fictfact? How does it differ from the series that show up on LT?

>61 lauralkeet: I'm reading what I want to read
How shockingly libertine! What kind of place do you think this is?

>62 NanaCC: Colleen, FictFact is a site specifically for tracking series. For my needs, LT falls a bit short in this area. Yes, I can tell which books are part of a series, and the order of books in a series. But my series on LT lists 95 series, many of which I'm not actively reading. On FictFact, I add only those series I wish to keep track of (I have 23, 10 of which I've completed). I can also add series I'm thinking about reading, that aren't in my LT library yet. FictFact also alerts me when a new book is about to be released (like The Silkworm, the 2nd Cormoran Strike book). Here's my series on FictFact. Hope that helps!

>63 qebo: LOL!

Thank you, Laura. I will check it out.

Hi Laura

Hoorah for short weeks and time to kick back and rest and read!

28. The Cuckoo's Calling ()
My Review
Source: Local library Kindle loan
Why I read this now: I finally succumbed to the hype.

Well, that was a lot of fun. The Cuckoo's Calling has everything I like in a detective novel: a hapless protagonist with secrets in his past, a surprisingly capable sidekick, and plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing. Cormoran Strike is an ex-military private investigator, down on his luck after being dumped by his fiancee. His business is on the verge of collapse when he is asked to investigate a supermodel's death. He turns over every rock, and interviews seemingly everyone who ever met Lula Landry. His new secretary, Robin, approaches her role with enthusiasm and makes some surprising contributions to the case. Once Strike figures out whodunnit, the reader remains in the dark for a while longer, as Strike sets a trap for the perpetrator.

Robert Galbraith (aka J. K. Rowling) kept me guessing from start to finish. The storytelling is just as fine as the Harry Potter books, with rich detail and unputdownable action. I flew through this book and am looking forward to reading the next one in the series.

6. Fourth row

See >2 lauralkeet: for details.

Let's see, Laura.
Applause for reading what you want to read!
Echoes > neither Trollope nor Proust nor Mrs. Oliphant wrote series..........I guess that they did, but it doesn't feel that way, so I'm giving my permission to drop those from your FictFact lists. I know that you're relieved!

>69 LizzieD: Excellent, thank you Peggy. I won't actually drop them, because I do like keeping track of my progress, but I won't feel guilty either!

Continuing the topic of finishing series, I've just realized how very easy it would be to finish the Cormoran Strike series. That's the nice thing about newly-published series isn't it? Yes I can rationalize with the best of them.

I have no idea how long the wait will be for my library's Kindle edition, because the library site doesn't tell you that until you've made the request. But I will probably request it from my library next month.

oops duplicate post.

How did I miss that Rowling is writing mysteries..???? That 'strikes' me as perfect. She's not a 'domestic' or contemporary novel writer. Just not. But I can see her wit and energy being put to really good use. Can't wait to try one!

>39 lauralkeet: How about Virginia Woolf's Flush, the Brownings life through the eyes of their dog. Not one I've yet read, but may soon.

Or James Herbert's Fluke an entertaining tale of a dog who thinks he is a human.

>73 sibylline: Lucy, there was quite a hullabaloo about Rowling writing under a pseudonym which of course gave the book lots of press. Since I *know* it's JKR, I can see her style coming through but then it's one that I like. Similar to the HP books, there's a lot of description, interesting characters, and fast-paced suspense especially in the last 100 pages or so.

>74 Caroline_McElwee: Caro, thanks! I've read Flush and enjoyed it. I'll take a look at Fluke -- sounds interesting!

I'm so glad you enjoyed The Cuckoo's Calling Laura. I like getting in on the ground floor with a series too although you end up waiting for the next one to be published a lot:(

Hmmm, guess who set up her own FictFact account???

>76 brenzi: and I found you there Bonnie! I don't do anything socially on that site, but I've added LTers as "contacts" from time to time.

Morning Laura! I hope you had a nice holiday weekend and got some R & R in there. Wow, everyone seems to like The Cuckoo's Calling. That is a good sign. I have both saved on audio. Now, where is that darn bookhorn?

You've made me want to read Cuckoo's Calling, Laura, so thanks for that, I think. :-) Seriously, nice review.

>78 msf59:, >79 rosalita: aha! got you both! My work is done. :)

Don't know how you fell off my radar, Laura. (I'm blaming fumble fingers accidentally unstarring threads on little IPhone screens. that's my story and it's fairly plausible, I think.) So glad I came and found you again -- particularly with so many wonderful reviews. Although I am loathe to start any more series -- you are the temptress! :-)

>81 michigantrumpet: I've had some trouble lately with threads unstarring themselves..... or remaining starred but NOT continuing to show on my 'starred' screen when I use that setting. I've thought of reporting it, but it is such a strange little glitch I can never be quite sure.

>81 michigantrumpet: Hi Marianne! Thanks for stopping by. Worse than un-starring is x-ing, which I am prone to do on tiny screens. Also recoverable, but it can take a while for me to realize I haven't connected with so-and-so in a while. As for being a temptress, I can easily tag others with the same label. Hey, there's a T-shirt idea...

>82 sibylline: Hmm. There may be gremlins hiding in LT somewhere!

I like the T-shirt idea -- particularly paired with an image of the 75er official bird, the Warbler!

Hi Laura - I've just read this whole thread and am happy to be back posting again! I have heard of Oranges are not the Only Fruit but haven't read it - it's going onto the wishlist. So is The Cuckoo's Calling and the new one too. And since I have 2 weeks of playtime I am signing up to Fictfact... I am shocking with unfinished series. And I never learn.

I know I'm late to the non-human characters discussion, but I was listening to an interview with Michael Morpurgo on the Guardian books podcast yesterday and it made me even keener to read Warhorse - have you read it? What about a vampire book? Dead Until Dark (the first Sookie Stackhouse book) took me all of 2 days, even with school in the way, and was good enough for me to be on the lookout for the second in the series.

Everyone here really seems to have liked Cuckoo's Calling, I suppose I should break down and give it a try. :)

>84 michigantrumpet: Marianne, a warbler and a temptress? A temptress warbler? We need a graphic designer, for sure.

>85 cushlareads: Cushla, thanks for pointing me to that podcast, which I listened to on my commute. I really enjoyed it and like you it does tempt me to read War Horse. Katie also recommended it upthread so ... hmmm. A definite possibility!

>86 The_Hibernator: Rachel, I think you should! I thought it was a great summer read: fun and fast. I hope you enjoy it.

>55 lauralkeet:: Well, Miss Buncle is a trilogy, so you can get by on that technicality; Proust can only be read in sips, so it's quite forgivable; Hilary Tamar is such a fast read even though there are, what, six of them, so that's ok too. If you have finished Shardlake and Trollope, both hefty and meaty, I'd say you have bought yourself some slack. Te absolvo!

29. Not So Quiet ... ()
My Review
Source: On my shelves
Why I read this now: It's the current selection for the Virago Group's WWI theme read.

I see in the years to come old men in their easy chairs fiercely reviling us for lacking the sweetness and softness of our mothers and their mothers before them; chiding us for language that is not the language of gentlewomen; accusing us of barnyard morals when we use love as a drug for forgetfulness because we have acquired the habit of taking what we can from life while we are alive to take ... clearly do I see all these things. But what I do not see is pity or understanding for the war-shocked woman who sacrificed her youth on the altar of the war that was not of her making, the war made by age and fought by youth while age looked on and applauded and encored.

Pretty strong stuff, eh? And that's just one of many powerful passages from Not So Quiet ..., a feminist take on World War I. Similar to the classic All Quiet on the Western Front, Not So Quiet follows a young person at the front and portrays the intense, shattering impact of the war experience. Helen is part of a corps of ambulance drivers, responsible for delivering injured soldiers to one of several hospital wards, and sometimes for transporting soldiers to their final resting place. They work long hours, with poor food and very little sleep. While they are not engaged in combat, they certainly see and experience it, and they are just as vulnerable to air strikes as the men in the trenches.

Those "back home" cannot comprehend the experience. Helen's mother is ridiculously proud of her two daughters for their war service, and is constantly trying to one-up her social rival through war committee work. Her letters are filled with vapid praise for Helen "doing her bit," and when Helen returns home on leave her mother cannot comprehend why Helen doesn't want to wear her uniform, or talk about war service with friends.

This is a short book, but so intense and unrelenting I had to read it in short segments. And yet, it is superbly written. If you weren't a pacifist before reading it, you're likely to become one.

>88 tiffin: thanks for the absolution Tui! You guys are really helping me rationalize feel better!

I do so agree with your assessment of Not So Quiet..., Laura. I hope you have something less traumatic lined up for relief!

Hi Laura! I love the attempts at rationalising the series you're reading. I also starts the year with good intentions but only this week I started another 2 series without finishing anyway so I think I'm giving it up as a lost cause. Especially as I'm now considering the Rowling crime series which everyone seems to be reading this month.

On boos with non-human characters I thought of Lady into Fox by David Garentt which I recall being one of Simon's (stuckinabook) favourites. I haven't read it but it's available on Project Gutenberg.

I'm hoping to read Not So Quiet next month. I have found myself avoiding WWI reading lately and going for lighter reads.

Excellent review of Not So Quiet. I will look for it.

>91 LizzieD: Peggy, pretty much anything would be "light relief" after Not So Quiet! I joked on a Virago thread that I found it telling I was turning to Proust as an antidote! Speaking of which, I have just over 100 pages to go in vol.2, In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower.

>92 souloftherose: Heather, I seem to recall you were one of the original skeptics about my resolution. I guess that was the voice of experience talking!

>93 katiekrug: Katie, it's a good one. Most WWI literature is about the men; Not So Quiet and Testament of Youth are both excellent books from a woman's perspective.

Excellent review of Not So Quiet Laura and I've just come from thumbing it. I plan to read it next month if I can find a copy. My library supposedly has one. Kindle and paperback editions are a bit pricey but any book that compares to All Quiet on the Western Front is a book I want to read.

>95 brenzi: I am sure you'll enjoy it, Bonnie, if that's the right word for such a somber topic,

Yes, fine review of Not So Quiet!

>97 sibylline: Thank you, Lucy!

Cuckoo's Calling looks interesting. It is now on the tbr pile. Happy Monday Laura!

>99 Whisper1: Thanks Linda, it wasn't too bad, for a Monday ... thanks for stopping by!

Wonderful review of Not So Quiet, Laura. I'm taken with the parallel you draw to All Quiet on the Western Front, which remains the most powerful novel I've read. Good to see another endorsement for Cuckoo's Calling; I enjoyed that one, too, and have the second instalment in my iPad.

>101 lit_chick: Nancy, I read another review recently saying the author was originally commissioned to write a parody of All Quiet .... That's just wrong. I'm glad she took a different approach.

I'm in a longish library queue for The Silkworm and a really really long one for All the Light We Cannot See, two books that are getting a lot of buzz on LT these days. I'd hoped to read both in August. I might get to The Silkworm, as they have many more copies circulating. Fortunately I have plenty of books on my shelves to read while I wait.

30. West With the Night ()
My Review
Source: A recent gift
Why I read this now: Because I'd recently received it, and it captured my interest.

Beryl Markham was born in England, but grew up with her father in Kenya in the early part of the 20th century. Her childhood afforded her considerable independence; on her father's farm she mingled freely with native people and even learned to hunt game. As a young woman she became an accomplished horse trainer, and then learned to fly aircraft. This memoir takes the reader up to her most notable aeronautic feat, being the first woman to fly the Atlantic Ocean from east to west in 1936.

Beryl's childhood and young adulthood were fascinating. Hers was far from a typical colonial upbringing, and it seemed she was almost exclusively in the company of men. She was one of very few women in the horse racing world, but proved herself to the skeptical and more experienced. Later, she flew her plane on scouting missions for safari operators -- again, probably the only woman to make a living in this way.

Reading this memoir, I was fascinated with her life experiences, although I found the elephant safari segments extremely unsettling. While she focused entirely on her role -- locating herds and reporting back to the safari leader -- and didn't glamorize it in the least, Beryl clearly contributed to the slaughter of elephants for ivory. This was acceptable practice at the time, but it's still awful when seen through 21st century eyes. West With the Night was also surprisingly devoid of women. Beryl's mother left her father, she had no female friends growing up, and her professional colleagues were all men. Was this reality, or due to the scope of this memoir?

Still, this was a fascinating portrait of a fascinating woman.

>103 lauralkeet: Interesting comments on the elephant safari Laura. I agree it's difficult to know how to judge a practice that was probably so unquestioned at the time. And I doubt it would have occurred to them to think of what effect they might be having on elephant populations long term. I'm hoping to read it for AVAA so I'm glad you enjoyed it.

>104 souloftherose: Heather, I didn't even realize it was a Virago! I'll be interested in your thoughts about it.

31. In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower ()
No Review
Source: On my shelves
Why I read this now: I'm working my way very slowly through Proust's masterpiece.

I had a difficult time writing my review of Swann's Way, and am finding this second book in In Search of Lost Time even more difficult to review. This is partly because it takes me about two months to read the +/- 500 pages. These books need to be read slowly in order to appreciate the language, and Proust's incredibly accurate and insightful descriptions of deeply personal matters such as love. In this book, our protagonist Marcel experiences his first love with Gilberte, and then spends the summer at a seaside resort, where he encounters more young women, including Albertine who I understand is a prominent character in later books. It's a beautiful work, and reading it often calmed me at the end of a hectic day.

Rather than write my own review, I'll direct you to LT member @kaggsy's excellent review.

Wanted to mention that I thumbed your review of West with the Night last night when I read it on the Hot Review page Laura. I was only on LT briefly but I loved that book when I read it and got interested in Beryl Markham so I picked up Straight on til Morning, a biography of her life by Mary Lovell. I haven't read it yet but I can tell you I did a little digging and found out that there's some question as to whether Markham really did all the writing for West with the Night. And there's a good reason for the lack of women in the book. She was involved with many, many men and I'm not sure how many times she was married. She was friend with the author of Out of Africa, Isak Dinesen though. I thought that was brought out in WWTN.

>107 brenzi: Dang it! Straight on til Morning might be going on my wishlist....

>106 lauralkeet: Thank you Laura! The slowness of reading is hard to get used to, particularly as I'm normaly quite a rapid reader. But as you say, the writing is quite beautiful and I'm glad I'm persevering!

>107 brenzi: I didn't realize you'd read West with the Night, Bonnie, but I'm not surprised to see you enjoyed it. Shortly after I finished the book I looked up Markham's Wikipedia entry, in search of some fact or another, and discovered the questions about authorship. Interesting, but doesn't diminish my enjoyment nor does it make me question her story's authenticity. Wikipedia also says she had a long-term relationship with Tom, the man who introduced her to flying. It's a pity the book doesn't capture any of the emotion around that -- she comes across as a loner.

>108 souloftherose: yeah Heather, you have to watch out for Bonnie. She has a way of doing that.

>109 kaggsy: Hello Karen! I agree with you about the slow pace taking some adjustment, but it's worth it. (Bonnie, take note!)

Exciting news from my library today: The Silkworm is waiting for me! Turns out our library system has 90+ copies circulating, so it didn't take long at all for me to work my way up the queue. I'll probably pick it up on Friday or Saturday; I should be about ready to start it then. I'm currently reading The Enchanted April, which is a delightful VMC.

I think you are doing really well with le Proust. It isn't quick stuff to read and you've been steady with it. These are good kitchen table, cup of coffee reads (as opposed to armchair reads which go at a good clip, or prone in bed reads, which soothe).

Woot! I'm meaning to read The Silkworm, too. Just haven't gotten to it yet. Hope it's as good as the first … or better : ).

And... now I think I have officially lost any small amounts I have of free time to FictFact. Wowwwww!!! It's going to take me hours and hours to get all that sorted... I'm notorious for starting series and then getting sidetracked, and then forgetting how far I've read, etc. So, it'll be helpful, but what a task it's going to be getting sorted! Ack!

>112 tiffin: Thank you Tui! The hubs warned me the next book is hard going, but after that it's easy. That only reinforced my desire to take a break, but I will definitely continue.

>113 lit_chick: I hope so too, Nancy! I've heard really good things about it.

>114 dk_phoenix: Hi Faith! Well ... I'm glad you're finding FictFact useful, if somewhat of a time suck. I admit I came to it at a point where I didn't have many series on the go. It was easy, not to mention satisfying, to enter the series I'd already finished (Harry Potter, for example). And the complete list wasn't very long. I still have only 23 series and am stunned by those whose lists number in the hundreds. I only wish LT had similar capability, because I'd really rather have it all in one place.

I haven't kept up my FictFact...... but I agree with you.... it is amazing how many series some folks have read. My lifetime number is probably getting up there, but I haven't really made the effort to put everything I can think of in. I do think there is a not inconsiderable percentage of readers who prefer reading series.

>116 sibylline:: Hi Lucy! *waves* I agree with you about the series-preferring population. I'm not part of that crowd, but am enjoying them more than I used to.

I finished The Enchanted April on Thursday, and it was oh so wonderful. I'll post a review soon. That is, if I can get my nose out of The Silkworm, which I picked up from the library today. I don't even dare start it until I get some other tasks done around the house & garden.

32. The Enchanted April ()
My Review
Source: My Virago Modern Classic collection
Why I read this now: It's my Virago read for July, and it fits a Reading Bingo category (book made into a movie).

All the radiance of April in Italy lay gathered together at her feet. The sun poured in on her. the sea lay asleep in it, hardly stirring. Across the bay the lovely mountains, exquisitely different in colour, were asleep too in the light; and underneath her window, at the bottom of the flower-started grass slope from which the wall of the castle rose up, was a great cypress, cutting through the delicate blues and violets and rose-colours of the mountains and the sea like a great black sword.

I've just spent a few days at the most glorious medieval Italian castle, well off the beaten path with plenty of lovely sitting areas, indoors and out, and flowers bursting into bloom at every turn. The setting alone proved a perfect escape at the end of a busy day, and it was made even better by a truly lovely story.

Lottie and Rose make an impulsive decision to respond to an advertisement for the Italian castle, which is available for the month of April. Eager to escape their husbands and the wet English spring, they pool their savings to pay the rent, and then place an ad themselves for two women to share the accommodation and expenses. The result is an unlikely foursome, including the elderly Mrs Fisher, and the beautiful wealthy socialite Caroline Dester. The castle proves to be everything they dreamed of, and begins working its transformation almost immediately. The women, who really have nothing at all in common, function independently at first but gradually find connection and even friendship. And there are surprises in store, as their holiday works its magic in other parts of their lives.

I enjoyed the 1991 film adaptation very much, and even though I remembered the basic outline of the story, I still found myself caught up in its magic. I could almost smell the flowers in the gardens, feel the sunshine warm on my shoulders, and taste the delicious meals prepared by the castle's cook. And I loved the relationships between the women, and the way each of them grew personally over the course of their holiday. This is a book worth saving for a rainy day re-read.

Hi Laura, on a completely unrelated topic, I need help naming a new black cat, 2 yr old male, if you feel like it! Your daughters, too … He is charming and affectionate, a gentleman.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6FN3NGS

>118 lauralkeet: great! I have that book on my TBR shelf, though I own it in an NYRB edition. In starting to explore viragos, I've found that I own or have read a lot of them, but published by other publishers.

Woo Hoo! I have The Enchanted April sitting on my shelf and look at that---4.5 stars! Thumb for your excellent review Laura.

>119 lit_chick: Fun survey, Nancy. I can't wait to hear more about your kitty.

>120 japaul22: Jennifer, you're right there are some Virago authors whose work appears in other editions. I wonder whether there are situations where being being published as a Virago opened the door for other publishers to issue editions? Anyway, regardless of which edition you get your hands on, you'll be discovering an interesting woman author.

>121 brenzi: Thanks Bonnie! I can pretty confidently say you'd enjoy this one.

Morning Laura! Hope you had a good week. I loved West With the Night. What a great memoir that was. Enjoy your Sunday.

>123 msf59: Thanks Mark! Geez, it's Tuesday already, and my enjoyable Sunday is but a distant memory.

I stopped by here to say "SQUEEEEEEEEE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Because I won a copy of Sarah Waters' The Paying Guests in the latest ER batch. Woo hoo!!

Catching up on several great reviews, Laura. I am going to look for West With The Night, and I really have to read The Enchanted April. I loved the movie, and thought that I had read it, but the more I think about it, I'm not sure. I have an audio version, but might opt for the print.

Hope you are enjoying The Silkworm. I thought it was better than the first.

Colleen, The Silkworm is so good! They've just returned from their trip to Devon. I have no idea whodunit but can see Galbraith/Rowling building momentum and soon, just like with the HP books, I will find myself unable to put it down until I'm finished.

I have no idea whodunit but can see Galbraith/Rowling building momentum and soon, just like with the HP books, I will find myself unable to put it down until I'm finished.

That's great Laura, just as long as we don't hear you're standing outside a bookstore at midnight, the night of the release of the next volume, dressed as Robin;-)

Woot! Delighted to hear The Silkworm is unputdownable, Laura! Looking forward to it, and to this whole new Rowling series, actually.

LOL @ Bonnie. Watch out for midnight lines outside of bookstores, Laura!

>127 brenzi:, >128 lit_chick: Robin is my new hero. I hit the "unputdownable" point in The Silkworm yesterday at lunch, but I was at work so I could only resume reading when I got home. I ended up getting up early this morning to finish it before leaving for work today. I would have finished last night, but my daughters challenged the hubs and me to a game of Apples to Apples, and since we only have them home with us for another couple of weeks, I put the book aside to enjoy some family time. But what a great story, and I like how Robin's character developed.

I'll have to think about an appropriate costume for the midnight release parties!

Alright, you've all convinced me. I put The Cuckoo's Calling on hold at the library. I'm number 55, but there are a lot of copies so it shouldn't be too long.

33. The Silkworm ()
My Review
Source: My local library
Why I read this now: I really enjoyed the first book earlier this month, and couldn't wait to read the next one! Plus, this helps me complete my Reading Bingo card. One square to go!!

The second Cormoran Strike novel is just as good as the first book (The Cuckoo's Calling). In The Silkworm, Strike, a private detective, is hired by a woman to investigate her husband's disappearance. He's been known to run off before, but this time he is found dead, the victim of a gruesome murder. The dead man is Owen Quine, a well-known author who was on the verge of releasing a controversial new novel. The novel attacks pretty much everyone Owen has ever known, leading his associates in the literary world to think he had come unhinged, possibly even suicidal. As Strike conducts his investigation, we meet all of these characters and potential motives abound, which kept me guessing throughout. As we get closer to finding the killer the pace accelerates, and the last 100 pages or so are best read in one sitting.

The Silkworm has some stylistic similarities to its predecessor: interesting and varied characters, fast pace, and Strike's "aha moment" that is subsequently revealed to the reader, piece by piece. Strike's character is further developed, but his assistant Robin really takes shape in this book. Robin's relationship with her fiance Matthew is explored in more depth, and she takes on a larger role in Strike's investigations. By the end of The Silkworm, they're not quite equals, but they are a force to be reckoned with and I am very glad the author plans to publish several more books in this series.

>130 japaul22: yay! Gotcha Jennifer!

My daughter Kate posted this photo on Instagram of two bookcases in our house, side by side. If you'd like a closer look, click on the photo to go to the Instagram webpage, and click again to enlarge.

his & hers

>118 lauralkeet: Lovely review. You've re-awakened my *barely* quieted need to spend lots of time in the Italian Lakes region. I pine for Lake Como. Days at a medieval Italian castle? Sounds like bliss to me.

>134 michigantrumpet: An LT meetup at said castle would be absolute perfection!

Laura, thumb-up for a wonderful review of The Silkworm! I was curious about the relationship between Robin and her fiancé; good to know it is explored further in this novel. I'm also really glad that Rowling is making this a series, even thought I've only yet read the first one.

Thanks Nancy! I'm excited to see where she takes this series.

H i Laura! Congrats on snagging the Waters E.R.! I didn't care for the the Little Stranger, so I am hoping this one is a bit stronger.

I hope to get to the Cormoran Strike books. Maybe, once I am done with my Booktopia homework.

>138 msf59: Mark, I thought The Little Stranger was the weakest of Waters' novels. Fingersmith and The Night Watch were great; I have yet to read Affinity. I also read a very positive pre-release review of The Paying Guests from a UK book blogger, which was very enticing. So I'm optimistic. Watch this space!

I'll look forward to your thoughts on the Cormoran Strike series. I'm pretty pleased with myself for starting and finishing a series in the same month. :)

A little LT sabbatical at the castle? Works for me!

Love your review of The Silkworm Laura and I agree that Robin is now a force to be reckoned with.

I snagged the new Sarah Waters book too and I'm looking forward to it.

Way back up at >38 lauralkeet: I do have a copy of Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? but I have not yet read it. It's high on the TBR pile.

I also have The Cuckoo's Calling on my stack. I bought it after so much hoopla about The Silkworm; my resistance simply failed.

I'm very envious of both you and Kerri for snagging The Paying Guests from ER.

Have a great weekend, Laura!

So pleased you loved The Enchanted April, Laura. And I would be jealous of you getting an ER copy of The Paying Guests if I hadn't already decided it's one I'm going to buy as soon as it's released and if the UK cover wasn't (IMO) so much nicer than the US one. I loved The Little Stranger almost as much as I loved The Night Watch.

>141 brenzi: Bonnie, I'm glad you also snagged a copy. I'm really excited about it!

>142 EBT1002: Hi Ellen!! I too experienced resistance failure when it came to the Cormoran Strike books. I was mildly interested when the real author was revealed last year, and the hype over the second book, combined with lots of LT love, sucked me in.

>143 souloftherose: Heather, I understand completely about the cover preference. The book is also released a little bit earlier in the UK than in the US so you don't have long to wait now.

>129 lauralkeet: I hit the "unputdownable" point ... yesterday at lunch, but I was at work so I could only resume reading when I got home.
Aaaaaagh!

Maybe I'll give Cuckoo/Silkworm a shot...

34. War Horse ()
My Review
Source: Paperbackswap
Why I read this now: It fit the Reading Bingo category, "Book with non-human characters," and seemed an appropriate choice given the WW I theme.

I've been curious about this book since its dramatization on both stage and film. With this year being the centenary of World War I, it seemed a good time to read it. For a very short book aimed at a young audience, it was surprisingly thought-provoking and moving. Joey, a farm horse, is sold to the British army at the start of the war, leaving the farmer's young son Albert behind. Joey serves as a cavalry horse and an artillery horse, and experiences the war from both the British and German sides. He is affected by both human and animal loss, due to combat and poor living conditions.

The story is told entirely from Joey's perspective. Some events are only loosely explained, because Joey doesn't fully understand what is happening around him. The spare narrative actually heightens the emotional impact for the reader, making this book a unique way to expose the folly of war.

7. 7/24/2014: The "N" column
8. 7/31/2014: The "G" column
9. 7/31/2014: First row
10. 8/2/2014: The "I" column
11. 8/2/2014: Second row
12. 8/2/2014: Diagonally from upper left to lower right

I'm done! The last three books resulted in several bingos, and filled my Bingo card.
Woo hoo!

See >2 lauralkeet: for details.

Way to go!

>145 qebo: Katherine, I hope you enjoy the Cormoran Strike series, whenever you get around to reading them.

>148 katiekrug: Thanks Katie!! You can see I took your recommendation for my final Bingo category. Thanks!

Catching up here. So glad you enjoyed The Enchanted April - one of my favourites!

>150 SandDune: Hi Rhian! Welcome back from your holiday!!

Hmmm I seem to have come down with a cold and the idea of starting a Cormoran Strike is quite appealing as I lay about in bed....

>152 sibylline: oh yes Lucy, it would be a perfect way to occupy your time!

Just discovered the thread you've got going and it's inspired me to add the Galbraith/Rowling books to my pending list, possibly this weekend. What also initially caught my eye was the reference to Kenyon.. Class of '74 here.

>154 paulco: Hi there! Nice to hear from a Kenyon alum. I'm not one myself, but both of my daughters are current students: class of 2015 and class of 2018. It's a wonderful school. And I hope you enjoy the Galbraith/Rowling books! They make great summer reading.

>154 paulco: I'm assuming you've already met our Amber (Scaifea) on her thread -- another Kenyon connection there!

>156 michigantrumpet:: yup. Daughter #1 just missed having Amber as her Latin professor. I was bummed.

This week I've been reading Dorothy Whipple's Greenbanks, a Persephone. I just finished it a few minutes ago -- wonderful writing about the relationships within a large family. I'm going out of town with the family for a few days so I won't be able to get to my review until probably Sunday. While I'm away, I'll be reading Angela Thirkell's Wild Strawberries.

Congrats on filling up your bingo card, Laura! If the same challenge is around in 2015, I might join the large number of LTers who have been having fun with it.

Greenbanks is sitting on my shelf somewhere. Must get around to it!

35. Greenbanks ()
My Review
Source: My Persephone collection
Why I read this now: Just a mood thing

Dorothy Whipple is a master at writing long, slowly developing stories that ultimately deliver a strong emotional impact. Or at least, that's my opinion after reading two of her novels. Greenbanks is an early 20th century family saga about the Ashton family, consisting of widowed matriarch Louisa, her adult children, and their families. Each child has a coming-of-age story arc, and there's no sugar coating here. Life is filled with challenges: bad marriages, failed careers, poor investments, and the like. Louisa and her daughters are often at the mercy of men, who are generally hapless and make things worse rather than better. Louisa's sons-in-law, Ambrose and George, were particularly fine examples, but happily they eventually get what they deserve.

After the last of Louisa's children leaves home, she takes in a companion, Kate Barlow, who was banished from the village years before after having a child out of wedlock. Besides companionship, Louisa hopes to return Kate to society, but she will have none of that. Louisa also dotes on her granddaughter Rachel, one of my favorite characters, who represents the hopes and dreams of a new generation of women.

There are several plot threads winding their way through this novel, which are more or less resolved but in an open-ended way that left me thinking about the lives of these characters in the years that followed.

Congratulations on filling your Bingo card Laura!

>161 lauralkeet: So pleased you enjoyed Greenbanks. Next time I make a Persephone purchase that's going to be one of my 3 books - I love her novels.

>162 souloftherose: Heather, I suspect I will buy more Whipples as well, the next time Persephone tempts me.

>36 lauralkeet: It has been YEARS since I read Oranges are Not the Only Fruit, but I read it in my very early years of figuring out who I was and I remember thinking "I HAVE to keep this book and re-read it again". Maybe it is time to pull it back out again some 20+ years later?

I think I put Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal? on my wish list but I know I've not purchased that one yet... I'll have to try to remember to keep up if you read it first and see what you think. :)

>164 TinaV95: Hi Tina! Thanks for visiting. Hey, rather than re-reading Oranges, maybe you should read her memoir and tell me about it?! LOL. I think a re-read would be very interesting, given the years since you first read it and your personal journey during that time.

36. Wild Strawberries ()
My Review
Source: My Virago Modern Classics collection
Why I read this now: It was my Virago for August.

This is my fourth experience reading Angela Thirkell's novels, which imagine Anthony Trollope's Barsetshire in the early 20th century, between the world wars. Wild Strawberries is the fourth in her Barsetshire series, and a wonderful romantic comedy. Mary Preston arrives for an extended visit with the Leslie family (aunt, uncle, and cousins), and finds herself the object of younger brother David's flirtations. Older brother John, a widower, looks on with quiet interest, and conflicted feelings about getting involved in a relationship himself. The crazy Leslie family surrounds them, including dotty aunt Emily and her daughter Agnes, who is forever preoccupied with her young children. There are also funny ancillary characters, like the pompous Mr. Holt, who comes to visit Emily's gardens, and the French family who rents the Vicarage for the summer.

As with Trollope's novels, the ending is often predictable, but the journey is usually not linear. I admit to cringing at one point, when David made up a horribly racist song. In these situations I try telling myself this novel is "of its time," and move swiftly on. With the exception of those few pages, Wild Strawberries made me smile and laugh several times, and was a very pleasant way to pass the time.

>166 lauralkeet: I received Wild Strawberries as part of my VSS, along with High Rising. I meant to bring it with me to Cape Cod and forgot, but I might read that one next week after I get home. I found that "of its time" aspect quite annoying in High Rising, but there would be so many books I would have to avoid if I refused to read them.

>167 NanaCC: Colleen, there was some discussion of High Rising over in the VMC group that touched on this as well (it's in the All Virago, All August thread). In the case of that book, the hunting references were disturbing. The conversation made me go back and re-read my review, and I'm surprised I didn't mention that at all. I guess it didn't leave much of an impression, even though I am very much opposed to hunting. I have a feeling that Angela Thirkell is not an author I'd invite to my imaginary literary dinner party, but like Barbara Pym or E.F. Benson, her novels are perfect when I need a bit of light fun. I recently picked up three more in a used bookshop, which was quite exciting since they are not readily available on Paperbackswap.

>168 lauralkeet: I found the class-based assumptions in Wild Strawberries far too grating for my liking. Interestingly, I took the hunting references in High Rising very much in the style of 'that's what people like that did' although I'm also opposed to hunting, (albeit in a slightly half-hearted sort of way). But overall I don't find Thirkell anything like as enjoyable as someone like Barbara Pym.

>169 SandDune: But overall I don't find Thirkell anything like as enjoyable as someone like Barbara Pym. well that's disappointing since I adore Pym and just received my first Thirkell through PBS, High Rising.

Hi Laura! Just popping in. I was also a fan of War Horse. The film was okay. I would like to read something else by him.

I also liked your review of Greenbanks. I have not heard of that one. Hope the week is going well.

Hi Laura: I'm having trouble with the TickerFactory. Is your working ok?

>172 tiffin: Ahh so that's it. My Ticker Factory isn't working either.

>169 SandDune: Rhian, as an American I'm probably less attuned to the class-based assumptions. I'd be interested to hear more of your observations about this aspect of Wild Strawberries.

>170 brenzi: Bonnie, I'll be interested to see what you think. And even if you choose not to read any more of her novels, you can always list the book on PBS again!

>171 msf59: Mark, I listened to an interesting Guardian Books podcast with Michael Morpurgo, that convinced me to read War Horse. Cushla recommended it to me (both podcast and book).

>172 tiffin:, >173 brenzi: Tui & Bonnie, I couldn't update mine yesterday and still can't this morning. I sent a feedback message via the ticker website, to report the problem.

Nancy Mitford and many others are really just as bad, when it comes to the class-based issues - and few weren't racist...... some just had the instinct to avoid the topic, you might say, and I suppose part of Downton Abbey's 'charm' (I'm immune for some odd reason) has to do with our own inner tensions about all that? (Most of us would've been 'downstairs' or else the yeoman farmers down the road, decent but not quite, or else .... in the city somewhere struggling along....or somewhere else altogether.) I always identify strongly with Miss Merriman, for example.

>174 lauralkeet: Here is what I wrote about why I didn't like Wild Strawberries:

I have come to the conclusion that it's because of the clearly upper class setting - the sense of entitlement and superiority just set my teeth on edge. I don't feel this about books written in the nineteenth century, but here although the world being depicted was an anachronism even at the time of writing, there is no sense, even in a humerous way, that the world is changing. And the characters don't have any ambition, they just drift along having a comfortable life, with the women in particular being uniformly stupid, education clearly being bad for girls. According to the blurb on the back Thirkell is perhaps the most Pym-like of all twentieth century authors, after Pym herself, but based on the one Pym book I have read she is far more inciteful than this.

>175 sibylline: Good points, Lucy. I read a bit of Mitford and didn't care for it at all, for much the same reasons we are discussing here. It's funny how some authors can set your teeth on edge and others don't, even when writing in similar ways about similar topics.

>176 SandDune: Oh yes Rhian, now I remember reading those comments. If these were real people I was dealing with face to face, I'd likely head for the hills. For whatever reason, I don't mind it in literature. I see the family's lifestyle as so ridiculous that it must be fiction. I suppose there were people who actually lived like that, and if I think too much about it I can get pretty annoyed, too.

The attitudes towards women's education are definitely aggravating; this didn't bother me in Wild Strawberries because the Rachel character stands up to her father and overcomes the education barrier (eventually, although I was really ticked off that she didn't get to do so in the way she first wanted to).

37. We are all Completely Beside Ourselves ()
My Review
Source: My local library
Why I read this now: It was nominated for the 2014 Booker Prize.

We are all Completely Beside Ourselves is a dysfunctional family novel with a twist. Rosemary's upbringing was unorthodox, to say the least. At 22 she finds herself rudderless, in her fifth year of university. She begins piecing together her history, sorting through perceptions, memories both factual and repressed, and childhood reactions to events. The reader gradually comes to understand how she came to be who she is, and the effect the same events had on her brother, mother, and father.

I had high hopes for this book based on its 2014 Booker Prize nomination and plenty of LT buzz. While the breezy writing style made for a quick read and I enjoyed it to a degree, I was ultimately underwhelmed. I never really became attached to Rosemary or any of the other characters. There was a scientific basis to the story (avoiding spoilers here), which could have been covered in more depth. I'm giving this book three stars because I didn't dislike it, and because I think my disappointment was primarily a response to its prize-worthiness.

>178 lauralkeet: Well, I was quite taken by it, but then I'm not so literarily inclined, and now that it's making the rounds of the upper echelons in the Booker loop, I can see valid criticisms. Maybe I need to get out more.

Nice review of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Laura. I liked it a bit less than you did, but I was also very disappointed that it was chosen for the Booker Prize longlist.

38. Fire in the Blood ()
My Review
Source: On my shelves
Why I read this now: It's been on my shelves for ages.

This book has been on my TBR pile for four years; I remember finding it at The Strand bookstore in Manhattan, not long after reading Suite Francaise. Fire in the Blood is a novella, about the same length as one part of Nemirovsky's suite. For such a short book, the story develops slowly, as Nemirovsky describes a small French village and its inhabitants. For a long time it's unclear whether the narrator, Sylvestre, is an observer or an active participant in village life. But village life is filled with history and secrets, and as these are revealed Sylvestre's role becomes clear.

The preface to the French edition of this book likens it to Proust's Within a Budding Grove, which I recently read. The similarities are there, in the French landscape and the stories of young love. But in Fire in the Blood, passions smolder just below the surface, creating more tension than I experienced in Proust's work.

I'm not sure I would recommend this on its own, but if you liked Suite Francaise you'd probably like reading this book as well.

>179 qebo: Katherine, sometimes I think there's a benefit to reading something early, before "everyone" on LT has read it. A certain amount of hype built up around this one, that can be hard to live up to for those who read it later. So don't worry about "getting out more" -- and besides, you have caterpillars to take care of!

>180 kidzdoc: Darryl, it's the first Booker nominee I've read this year, mostly because it was readily available and, well, see previous references to hype. I'm following your longlist reading and am glad to see there are other more promising books there (and at least one other dud, if my memory serves).

>182 lauralkeet:: that is so true. I'm often late to the table so people are whooping and hollering about a book so much that it, perversely, puts me off of it. I still haven't read Half a Yellow Sun for this reason. Maybe in about five years. I prefer to stumble over things myself for the most part.

After both your and Darryl's assessment of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, I am certainly going to pass. I seriously have to wonder how these nominations come to be: so much fantabulous literature out there.

>183 tiffin: Tui, this doesn't always happen, sometimes the "buzz" about a book turns out to be well deserved. Alas, that wasn't the case for this one, at least for me.

>184 lit_chick: Hi Nancy! The good news is, I bet you still have plenty of books on your TBR pile so passing on this one shouldn't leave you high and dry with nothing to read. :)

And while we're on the subject of highly-publicized books, today I hope to start reading the new Sarah Waters novel, The Paying Guests. This has received considerable press in the UK, where it is being published by Virago, and Waters is quite well-known. US readers seem slower to catch on. I hope it's a winner.

I look forward to your comments about The Paying Guests, Laura. Did you get an advance review copy of it? I didn't think it was available in the US yet.

>186 kidzdoc: yes I did Darryl! It was a July LT ER selection which I stumbled upon by chance (I don't check the lists regularly, but someone happened to mention it). The UK release date is August 28 and the US date, September 16. Score! The Guardian has already reviewed it but I'm avoiding reviews.

I don't often get the opportunity to attend events involving famous people, but did so last night. My 21-yo daughter Kate found out just a couple of days ago that Tina Fey would be appearing at a benefit for Upper Darby's Summer Stage program, near Philadelphia. This is a youth community theater program that's been going for 40 years; Tina Fey was a member in the 1980s. The event was a 10th anniversary screening of the movie "Mean Girls," followed by an interview and Q&A.

For those not familiar with the film, it's a sort of cult classic for young women around Kate's age, and she vividly remembers the first time she watched it, when she was about 12, and just beginning to experience girl cliques. The movie portrays high school cliques in a mostly funny way but shows how destructive they can be. We actually watched it together, on DVD at home. At the time I was pretty sure it was "appropriate," but not 100% sure, so I didn't want to pre-screen it but I did want to be able to talk about anything that might come up. The screen play was based on a book about adolescent female relationships that I had read (Queen Bees and Wannabes), so that was interesting to me, too.

As for the event, Tina Fey was terrific. She came out before the film to say a few words, and then we watched the movie. After the movie, she came back on stage with a man who was a dear high school friend, and the inspiration for one of the characters in the movie, and now writes for TV Guide magazine. He interviewed her for a while, and then she answered several questions submitted by the audience (when we were seated, we received a question card to fill out and return to an usher). The questions touched on her roots in that part of Philadelphia, her experience with Summer Stage, and her career. It was very casual and relaxed, and all in all I was pretty impressed with her.

It was fun chatting with Kate about the movie now, as a young adult. She commented on a party scene where the main character gets drunk, which she didn't "get" at all as a 12-year-old (much to my relief, LOL). There's also a segment where a male high school teacher is sexually involved with a female student, which was treated in a humorous way. We agreed that storyline would probably not be included if the movie were made today.

Now I wish I could hang out with Tina Fey. :)

She would be a good candidate for one of those 'Who would you like to have over for dinner?' memes, eh?

Somehow or other I have never seen Mean Girls - This must be corrected!

And.... The real question is, was Thirkell colluding and approving or was she making fun of them all.... she is Mrs. Morland, I think, who has her difficult sons, not enough money, and works for her living.

Someone in one of her novels is impressed when another person (middle aged) is spry enough to get up from the floor not using their hands or anything else for support. Now why that detail has that stuck with me all this time, as I was in my twenties when I discovered Thirkell I cannot say, but I still pride myself that at my advanced age I can do this. I also enjoy hugely that one of the greatest forms of entertainment is to tromp to the nursery to enjoy babies in their baths. I loved those hours sitting on a stool by the tub playing with toys, I have to admit.

Oh ding dang, I'm so jealous! I love Tina Fey so much.

^ What Amber said!

Tina Fey would be a fantastic candidate for a "Who would you like to have to dinner?" meme! How interesting that you and your daughter were able to attend this event, Laura. I haven't watched Mean Girls but once many years ago. Must re-watch.

>189 sibylline: yes, I think Thirkell is Mrs Morland, although she doesn't appear in all of the novels. Also, there was a "see the baby in her bath" scene in Wild Strawberries -- the first time I've come across it -- and yes, I thought, what a simpler era that was.

>189 sibylline: >190 scaifea: >191 katiekrug: >192 lit_chick: Let's make a deal: if any of us ever get the chance to follow through on the dinner party idea, we will invite Tina and the rest of us! Nancy, I hadn't watched the movie since that first time, either, and it was kind of fun to see it again. It's also interesting to see how some cast members have fallen on hard times (Lindsey Lohan) others have strong careers (Rachel McAdams, who I just saw in "A Most Wanted Man" this week), and many have receded into TV miniseries purgatory.

>188 lauralkeet: Wonderful opportunity Laura. I really love Tina Fey and, although I've never seen Mean Girls, the idea of seeing it with your daughter and then being able to discuss it is really wonderful. Can you make room at that dinner table for me too?

>194 brenzi: Absolutely, Bonnie!!

Laura, I've been following you more on FB than LT these days. I did see your cover-up Bingo upthread and couldn't help but notice that you got to see Tina Fey. Congrats on both events.

Are your girls settled in at their respective schools? I'm glad you have fur kids to keep the nest hopping. It's an emotional time when the "baby" leaves home. At least she's not too far away.

How is The Payong Guests coming along? I will start it later this week. I took a peek and it looks good!

Hi Donna! Thanks for stopping by. I've been quiet for the past few days because we were busy moving both daughters into their rooms at Kenyon College. We made a whirlwind weekend visit to Ohio. My oldest, Kate, is a senior this year, and Julia is a freshman, so both are excited for different reasons. Julia has actually been on campus since August 13 to attend a pre-orientation program for science students, but she arrived with only two suitcases and we had to bring the rest of her stuff, plus Kate and all her stuff. Lots of stuff. Now we are home and the nest is empty and quiet, but we are feeling pretty good because the girls are very happy where they are.

I am nearing the end of The Paying Guests and really, really liking it. I didn't have much time to read over the weekend, for obvious reasons, and I had just reached a point where things started to get all page-turney. I have been busy all day but am about to carve out some reading time.

BINGO! I've found and starred your thread, Laura. Just thought that was an appropriate introduction as you're filling up your card so nicely.
Interesting selection of books so I'm about to scroll back and wish list a few.

Just checking in to see how the empty-nester is doing!

Can't wait for your final thoughts on The Paying Guests (the book you STOLE from me!) ;-)

39. The Paying Guests ()
My Review
Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers
Why I read this now: Because it's an Early Reviewers copy


Times are tough for Frances and her mother. World War I deprived them of loved ones, and sources of income, and they are forced to let rooms in their London house in order to make ends meet. Their lodgers -- whom they prefer to call “paying guests” -- are Lilian and Len Barber, a young married couple. We meet them the day they move in, excitedly placing their furniture and knick-knacks around the flat. Frances and her mother wonder if they will adjust to the sound of footsteps overhead, and worry about the couple being noisy, or keeping late hours. They try to set the right tone for their landlord/tenant relationship -- simultaneously friendly and distant. However, as they go about their day-to-day activities and get to know one another better, the boundary lines are blurred, and relationships become … well … something more.

But then a horrible crime turns their world topsy-turvy. There’s no mystery here; the reader knows exactly what happened. The question is, what’s next? Will the perpetrator be found? What will happen to our protagonists? After a sometimes slow-moving first half, Sarah Waters picks up the narrative pace and fills it with period detail, drawing on various examples of 1920s true crime stories. Emotions run high, and the relationships that formed early on are tested to their limits, as the characters struggle with moral dilemmas that no one should ever have to face.

I don’t want to reveal more about the story, since it’s much better to experience it without knowing much ahead of time. At 565 pages, this is a long book, but Waters’ powers of suspense made for a quick, page-turning read.

Hi Laura - I believe I totally lost touch with you here! I'm not sure why.

I just read The Paying Guests too and quite liked it, but you may have liked it a tad more. For any faults it may have, it's definitely a page-turner.

Also, since I know you're a VMC person, have you ever read The Land of Spices? I started it the other day and absolutely love it, despite long passages of untranslated French that tend to be problematic, but I suppose that's what Google Translate is for.

Great review of The Paying Guests, Laura. I look forward to reading it!

>201 DorsVenabili: Hi Kerri! Nice to see you. I have several of Kate O'Brien's novels and have read one (Without my Cloak, which I loved), but I have yet to get my hands on The Land of Spices. I will be hunting more intently now, thanks to your comments.

>202 katiekrug: I'm off to PM you now, Katie!

>200 lauralkeet: Your review of The Paying Guests has added it to my wishlist. It sounds like a good one.

>200 lauralkeet: great review of The Paying Guests. Just bestowed a well-earned thumb's up.

Hi Laura! I've finally managed to make my way over here! Glad to see you got your daughters all set up at school! Does this mean you can relax for the rest of the summer?

Nice review of The Paying Guests, Laura! I'll definitely read it later this year.

Oh yay, I'm glad my review did justice to the book. I feel more pressure about reviewing ER books than other books.

And now Colleen, Marianne, and Darryl, of course I'm worried you all won't like it as much as I did ... !!

Chelle, my husband and I are gradually adjusting to a cleaner and quieter house. I used to wonder (as you are probably wondering now), whatever did we do with our time before having kids? It's time to rediscover that, which could be rather exciting!

Hi Laura! Good review of The Paying Guests. I am a bit mixed on Waters. I loved Fingersmith but was disappointed in the Little Stranger. I also have The Night Watch on shelf and I've heard good things about that one. Have you read it?

ETA- Oooh, you started The Narrow Road to the Deep North? How very nice...

>209 msf59: Mark, I've read Fingersmith, The Night Watch, Tipping the Velvet, and The Little Stranger. Fingersmith is far and away my favorite. The Night Watch was also very good -- it's set during WW II and she has an interesting way of structuring the novel. I think you'd enjoy it.

E.F. Benson wrote Paying Guests in 1929. Wonder if Waters knew this? I must be the only person on the planet who hasn't warmed to her. Her writing just doesn't do it for me.

>201 DorsVenabili: Jumping in to say that I recently started collecting VMCs and The Land of Spices is one that I read recently. I was a little apprehensive of the Catholic boarding school premise, but I ended up really loving the book too. My high school french was just enough to let me get the gist of the passages in french. Interested to hear that someone else was reading it!

>212 japaul22: - I was a little apprehensive too, but it's wonderful. I'm hoping to finish it in the next couple days. I also have her Mary Lavelle and am looking forward to that too now.

Add me to the list of those who liked The Land of Spices a lot.

So far I've only read Fingersmith and it only just held me. I'm not racing out to read more.

I know I will like those aspects of having the house to 'ourselves'. The LD has had a big effect on the daily running of the house.... I think especially this summer I hung about when she was home and hanging about because I knew this was IT, and I never would have done so much of that otherwise.... it will be interesting to see what I start doing instead. Whether I begin to revert to pre-child behaviour, for example.

>214 sibylline: Lucy, what was "pre-child behaviour" for you? I remember some of what occupied my time and don't necessarily want to "go there," but I will say the hubs and I enjoyed dinner & a movie this weekend which for some reason we've done too little of -- we tended to go as a family more than as a couple.

40. The Narrow Road to the Deep North ()
My Review
Source: My local library
Why I read this now: It was nominated for the 2014 Booker Prize. It's a worthy contender, and I certainly hope it makes the short list, which will be announced on September 9.

For an instant he thought he grasped the truth of a terrifying world in which one could not escape horror, in which violence was eternal, the great and only verity, greater than the civilisations it created, greater than any god man worshipped, for it was the only true god. It was as if man existed only to transmit violence to ensure its domain is eternal. For the world did not change, this violence had always existed and would never be eradicated, men would die under the boot and fists and horror of other men until the end of time, and all human history was a history of violence.

If you’ve seen the film, Bridge over the River Kwai, you’ve seen one account of the Thai-Burma Death Railway. The Narrow Road to the Deep North is another, and is both far more graphic and moving. In 1943, Dorrigo Evans is a doctor in a Japanese POW camp. Every day he has to determine which men are most fit to work on the railway, and by “most fit” I mean “least sick.” The camp is rife with cholera, malaria, and starvation, and many prisoners are also suffering from injuries sustained by their captors. Deaths are routine, and even become predictable as symptoms present themselves.

Early in the novel, Richard Evans shows us some of Dorrigo’s life both before and after the war. When Dorrigo’s unit shipped off, he was both engaged to be married, and engaged in an intense affair with his uncle’s wife. Frankly, I didn’t like Dorrigo much, because Evans had already described a series of extramarital affairs later in Dorrigo’s life, and he struck me as callous and uncaring. But I was wrong. Pre-war, Dorrigo was young, passionate, and confused. He distinguished himself during the war, but like so many young men was left with emotional scars that never completely healed. His post-war life as a serial womanizer was idyllic compared to the fates of both comrades and captors, and I ended up quite sympathetic towards him.

While The Narrow Road to the Deep North is predominantly about the war, the novel moves forwards and backwards in time, like an artist shading areas surrounding the subject of a painting. Evans also dropped small details into the narrative which seemed unimportant initially, but later made me stop and re-think everything I’d just read. The writing and overall structure are brilliant, and I would be happy to see this novel with the 2014 Booker Prize.

Oh, wonderful review of The Narrow Road to the Deep North. I'm waiting on this one from my library. And 5*. Woot!

>216 lauralkeet: Well it's good that something on the Booker list is prizeworthy.

Wow, a five star from you! Rare, indeed, and noteworthy.

>217 lit_chick: Nancy, I was surprised how quickly I got this one from my library. I hope your wait isn't too long.

>218 qebo: Katherine, this is only the 2nd Booker nominee I've read this year, but it's definitely the superior one. I make no attempt to read the list before the prize is announced, so I have no immediate plans to read more until I know a) the shortlist, which will be announced next week, and b) the winner, because I always read the winner.

>219 tiffin: Yeah Tui, I was really surprised to find I hadn't rated anything 5 stars yet this year. I've had lots of good reads, but none that packed the punch this one did.

And now ... come visit me over on my new thread!