LizzieD: 2014*4 (SUMMER)

The view from the dock at our place on a tidal marsh off the Shallotte River in N.C.







Books Out: Mine ~ 19 W's ~ 17

MOST SIGNIFICANT OF THE FIRST HALF *

Into the Silence
In Paradise
Ancillary Justice
Letters from Egypt
In Paradise
Just One Damned Thing After Another
Peter the Great
Blonde
The Crow Road

READ IN JUNE
*The Plover
The Goldfinch
The Crow Road
Century Rain
The Buzzard Table
Palace Walk

NEW TO MY HOUSE IN JUNE
A Wild Sheep Chase - PBS
A Book of Secrets - PBS
The Way Things Are - PBS (a nicer duplicate, so the original goes out of the house)
City of Stairs ✔ - ER ARC
The Language Instinct - AMP
Off to Be the Wizard - Kindle Daily Deal
A Turn of Light - PBS
Just One Evil Act - PBS
The Patrick Melrose Novels - Kindle
The Buzzard Table ✔ - PBS
Brixton Beach - PBS
The God Stalker Chronicles - AMP
The Corn King and the Spring Queen - Awesome Books
The Martian ✔ - Kindle Daily Deal
(I simply note that I've bought only 3 physical books in June and three good deals for my Kindle. That makes me feel a bit better than I might.)

READ IN JULY
The Rosie Project
*City of Stairs
Americanah
Mistress of the House
Ross Poldark (reread)
*Guests on Earth

NEW TO MY HOUSE IN JULY
What Matters in Jane Austen? - Kindle Daily Deal
The Big House - Kindle Daily Deal
The Songs of the Kings - PBS
Guests on Earth ✔ - ER ARC
Zelda: A Biography - Kindle Deal
The Round House - Kindle Deal
Finn - PBS
The Wallpaper Fox - PBS
The Rosie Project ✔ - AMP (For Mama's bookclub, I promise!)
Blood and Roses - AMP
Oblomov - AwesomeBooks
Marina ✔ - ER
Austerity Britain - Kindle Daily Deal
Crow Lake - PBS
Wedlock - AMP
The Atrocity Archives - AMP

NEW IN AUGUST
The Fourth Part of the World - PBS
Brief Encounters: Conversations, Magic Moments, and Assorted Hijinks ✔- ER
An Unnecessary Woman ✔ - PBS

READING IN JUNE

THE CROW ROAD by Iain Banks

I loved this book. It feels really good to say that after damning some with faint praise. I confess to being a little weary of young men who spend a lot of their time with alcohol (although I can't fault the choice of malt whiskey right there near Oban) and drugs. My only caveat is for people who prefer their family sagas told in a nice, straight, linear fashion; this one is not. I simply read on trusting Banks, and in the end, the chronology was perfectly clear in my head. I'd like to go back some time, but likely won't, to map out just how he did structure this novel.
So. Prentice McHoan is at university in the year in which a number of his relatives and a friend die (take the Crow Road) dramatic deaths. They are very Scottish, and that was fun for me since I'm 5/8 Scot. With the exception of one nasty customer, they are charming and personable and quirky and genuinely human.
Prentice grows more aware of his extended family as he attends his grandmother's funeral. He is obsessed by the beautiful Verity, at odds with his father over religion (he says that his father has left him completely free to believe whatever he wants so long as he agrees with his dad), and intrigued by his friend's report from a drunken encounter with an international news correspondent that a McHoan is having the wool pulled over his eyes. Prentice begins to explore, and we follow through his own experiences and experiences of his parents and his aunts and uncles as they lived them. To say more would be to spoil, but I was a happy reader among the McHoans, and I'll remember them for a good long time!

(This is the last post on my last thread, but nobody had visited yet, and I want somebody to see how much I enjoyed this one!)

Happy New Thread, and I am early for once! :)

I remember I loved that book as well, but I felt constantly slightly hungover, as if all that whisky had also passed through my body by finger contact with the book pages. I forgot most of the story, but remember the atmosphere. Should reread..

Aargh... the Cairo Trilogy. Still unread. Is it a good summer read?

Peggy, I have yet to read any Banks but have long felt that I should. Perhaps this would be a good one to start with? I like whiskey. :-)

Also, from your last post on your last thread — I read The Buzzard Table earlier this year and found it to be a solid entry in the Deborah Knott series.

Hi, Nathalie, I was just on your thread this morning and had to leave for something and never got back. Will do! I'm just getting into The Palace Walk, having started it for the 4th time. It's working better for me now, so I guess it was my mood earlier. I'll keep you posted on whether it's good for summer.
Hi, Julia! Glad to have an endorsement of *Buzzard*. Did I say? I heard Maron read from one of the earlier D. Knott entries 20 or so years ago and talked a bit with her then. She also agreed to come chat (remember chat?) with a mystery reading group I was in charge of on the old Readers' Vine. Unfortunately, the web was wonky that night, and she couldn't get in. Anyway, I'm a fan. And *Crow Road* is definitely a good one for Banks without his M. If you love scifi, his culture novels (with the M.) are great, and I'd start with Excession (I did, in fact) or Use of Weapons. If you're not sure, Player of Games is a lot shorter and probably easier. I'm for diving into the real thing though.

Peggy, that's so cool that you met Margaret Maron! I really like the series, and from what I've read in interviews she seems like a very nice woman.

Hi, Julia in almost real time!!!!
She is pretty much what she appears, I think. She graciously autographed a Sigrid Harold pb that I took with me ("To Peggy Ann {yikes! That's my name}, who knows what it is to grow up Southern.")

Great reviews and book chat on your previous thread, Peggy. I especially enjoyed the talk about Dickens (why is the Prose review "infamous", I wonder?) and The Goldfinch. Usually I wait until the furor has died down to approach novels; it's a bit easier to read them without all the hoopla surrounding them being so pervasive. I'll probably try Tartt's book sometime, but not soon.

I'll be looking for your stuff on M.C. over on GR probably next month or in August. I like reading long books in the summer, a hold-over from my teaching days.

I hope today will be a great day for you!

Nice new thread, Peggy! That picture looks like maybe some good fishing but not good swimming!

>10 Matke: "infamous" because it's sparked so much controversy -- and because that controversy has swirled around that dreaded term, elitism???

Like the picture, though Roni is right -- not great for swimming, I'd be thinking that the grasses were wrapping themselves around my ankles and trying to drown me... Hmm, perhaps I have an overactive imagination. Maybe I'm reading too much??

I love a new thread! It brings in the visitors. If only I weren't so lazy, I'd do a new one more often.
You are so right Roni and Suz. Not good for swimming at all. At high tide it's only chest high, and the bottom is icky and treacherous with mussel shells. On the other hand, it's fun for paddling, and in years past, we've motored down the river to the beach. Lots of fish jumping - and alligators!
Gail, thanks for the visit. I like reading big stuff in the summer too - and the winter, just because I can. Retirement is the best!

Peggy, I love your thread topper photo. That looks like a very peaceful spot, perfect for reading!

Alligators?!? Definitely not swimming there, then!

Happy New thread, Peggy.

Hi Peggy. I also love your thread topper and I'm right there with you about starting a new thread. I hate doing it and let mine get to 300+ posts before I break down and make a new one. I can't imagine how people whose threads are soooo busy that they're forced to make new ones every few weeks even manage it. I guess I'm just a curmudgeon. LOL.

I see you're reading Palace Walk. God how I loved that trilogy.

Hi Peggy! I have had The Crow Road on my list for awhile. I enjoyed your review. I am another who loved the Cairo Trilogy. It's been several years since I read it -- I may be due for a reread. Happy new thread to you!

Many thanks for visits and good wishes! Also for the encouragement with Mahfouz, Bonnie and Anne.
Laura and Roni, it's the perfect spot for reading - it seems more isolated than it is, and peace descends as soon as we get out of the car. We have two little freshwater ponds, but the alligators are in those too, but we have enjoyed watching them through the years.
Hi, Beth!!!

Delightful review ..... If we don't have The Crow Road we must WL it!!!

Nope, no alligators in Vermont. Hallelujia!

Peggy, congrats on your new thread. It's such a fantastic photo - water = mirror. I love it.

Hi, Lucy and Barbara! I have to say that the alligators have always been interesting neighbors. One old female that we call "Big" had babies every year, and we loved listening to them grunt and watching them swim to shore to investigate us before they got wary. Our first hint that we were not alone was bright red retinal reflections in the front pond after our dog Tricks alerted us one night with a very timid "boof." Big was at least 6 feet long, and much less ready to stay around us than we were around her. We don't go down so often any longer, I'm sorry to say.

CENTURY RAIN by Alastair Reynolds
I can recommend this as highly entertaining without AR's normal inventiveness and stretching of boundaries. The year is either 2167 after nano-technology has covered Earth 1 in ice, and the only survivors are the descendents of people off-planet at the time. Or maybe it's 1959 in Paris on E2, a world in which WWII never happened. The main characters are an archaeologist, who goes on a mission to E2 to retrieve some documents and a bass-playing PI, who is investigating a possible murder. The two story lines come together quickly, and I relaxed into this happy summer read until the last hundred pages or so. AR, I think, was just lazy. The ending is too pat and too rushed, and I have deprived him of a half star for punishment.
This is advertised as being part of the Revelation Space universe, but I don't much think so. I did enjoy it while I had it going, and I look forward to something better from my man the next time out.

Happy New Thread, Peggy. Marvelous thread-topper!

Happy New Thread Peggy! I join the others in high praise for The Cairo Trilogy. I got all three books from a second hand vendor and started reading them right away, in quick succession as I recall. That was a couple of years before I joined this group, so I have no notes about them, other than ratings which tell me I loved the first book, Palace Walk, best and a bit less as I went on, but I do remember being very impressed in general and promising myself to read more work by Mahfouz. In fact, I got Children of the Alley shortly after finishing the trilogy, and it's been sitting on the tbr since, so I should probably make room for it soon. I'm sure I'll eventually want to revisit that trilogy too.

Welcome, Terri and Ilana! I have to say that Middle Dam Creek means summer to me.
Ilana, I'm having a wee bit of trouble with *Cairo*..... something in the translation, I suspect, reminds me of what I like least about 19th century novels. When a passage next strikes me, I'll post it.
Meanwhile, *Mistress* reads a lot like a popularized doctoral dissertation. I'm enjoying the information but not necessarily the presentation.

Happy Sunday, Peggy!

I have got to get my hands on Century Rain!! Nice review.

Thanks, Lucy. You should take it to the beach!
Meanwhile, I need to know why people love *PW* so much. The writing - or is it the translation? - seems flat-footed to me. Here's an example that makes me wish I were reading something else:
"She escaped from his hand without any resistance this time. She gave him a lengthy look. Then she smiled and recited softly:
My sparrow, Mother, my little bird,
I'll play and show him what I have learned.
She repeated these lines several times as she saw him out. Al-Sayyid Ahmad left the room singing the opening of this song in a low voice both dignified and sedate. He seemed to be examining the words for their hidden meaning."
I'll read it and hope that I fall in love or at least in like eventually.

I lost track of you for a few days, Peggy. Happy new thread! That is a lovely photo topper taken from your dock. I didn't know you lived on the water. Dropping my star.

Glad you've found me, Nancy. We don't live there - unfortunately, I guess. It's lovely, but it's wild, and I get redbugs when we go in warm weather.

THE BUZZARD TABLE by Margaret Maron

As Julia and I were saying earlier, we're both fans of this long-running series. It's set in an imaginary NC county somewhere between my home and Raleigh. Deborah Knott is a district court judge married to a deputy sheriff. This story concerns a couple of cases that Dwight, her husband is working on - the murder of a real estate agent and of a pilot, who flies Gitmo prisoners to Bangor, Maine on their way to be interrogated in countries that don't care about torture. Also present is Sigrid Harald, a NYC policewoman, who was the protagonist of Maron's first series, and who has Colleton County ties.
Maron manages to pack quite a number of plot elements into a short little mystery. Savvy readers could likely spot who done it, but the journey is always interesting, and I'll be ready to ride the next time out.

Nice review of the Maron book, Peggy! What do you think of having both Deborah Knott and Sigrid Harald in the same book? I'm not sure it works but it wasn't a complete disaster for me, either.

That's pretty much how I feel about it, Julia (with thanks for the compliment). I really prefer Sigrid to Deborah, but we don't really see her here - just as we didn't in *3-Day Town*. I did like getting a better look at her mother.

Whereas I prefer Deborah to Sigrid — funny how that works, isn't it? :-)

I agree that the Sigrid family backstory was really nice. I always have a hard time figuring out how everyone is related to everyone else in Colleton County, even with the Knott family tree at the front of each book.

Peggy, I wish you a relaxed weekend.

Nice reviews hereabouts, Peggy. I see now that you're more or less on the coast: I'm sure your area vies with the FL Gulf Coast as the textbook examples of "steamy". Whew!

About Palace Walk: I've had trouble with it, too, and set it aside for a while (which may turn into years).

I am so relieved to hear these admissions about PW: I did not persevere (possibly to my detriment) for similar reasons.

Thank you for what feels like absolution!

OOoooh, thank you, Barbara! Are those Bankshire Roses, I wonder? Lovely!
Thank you for kind comments, Gail. Yes, I'm in the coastal plain just before it becomes the sandhills. I can't tell you how much better you and Rex make me feel about not adoring *PW*. I am here so that I can be not reading it at this very moment. This is my 3rd or 4th try, and I am going to finish - maybe tomorrow if I'm good.
Meanwhile, here's a meme for folks with a lot of books and a lot of time to spend on silliness. The assignment is to compose a passage using bites from 6 books. I have decided to do it today using 6 of my VMCs.

1. A title that includes a color. Use the first sentence.
2 A title that includes an animal. Use the second sentence on page 50.
3. A title that includes a first name. Use the third sentence on page 100.
4. A title that includes a place. Use the fourth sentence on page 150.
5. A title that includes a weather event. Use the next-to-last sentence on page 200.
6. A title that includes a plant. Use the final sentence in the book.

MY TRY
1. Red Pottage
2. Miss Mole
3. Mary Lavelle
4. Union Street
5. Frost in May
6. The Thinking Reed

"I can't get out," said Swift's starling, looking through the bars of his cage." The proper thing was to slip away and trust the appetizing smell of cooked meats to creep through Mr Blenkinsop's absorption, but instead of doing that, she said crisply, "Dinner is served, sir!" and taking a step forward she added, "So that's what you do in the evenings!" O'Toole leant back contentedly and blew smoke rings. "Doesn't she play with you any more?"
"But I shall be the most divine old maid, growing roses and things and driving about in a dog-cart and being the most marvelous aunt to all of your children." She knew also that her life would not be tolerable if he were not always there to crush gently her smooth hands with his strong short fingers.

O.K. I've read worse. And now back to *PW*!

Peggy, those are begonias.

>38 LizzieD: Oh, fun! I'm off to do mine on my thread!

ETA: I had a DUH question about the meme, but I have figured it out.

Going to do one too.

>39 Ameise1: Begonias!!! We have some well-established ones, but they don't look anything like the yellow glory above.
Yipee! I'm off to read the memes!

That's very amusing!

Gee thanks Peggy. I'm going to try that one too:-)

Delurking to admire the hidden alligators.

The alligators are certainly there, Q. It's a wild place all in all, especially since it's a bit off the beaten track and we seldom use it now.
Bonnie, I'll be looking for your result!
I am down to 70 or so pp of *PW*. If I'm good, I can finish it tomorrow, and I'd be THRILLED! This feels like a year of reading as a contrarian. Boo. Hiss.

I've fallen behind, Peggy, with a dose of Real Life happening here. Just a note to say hello.

Thank you for taking time to stop by, Tui. I hope that RL relents a bit and allows you to spend more time with us.

PALACE WALK by Naguib Mahfouz

I was good. I finished. I'm THRILLED!
I haven't made any mystery of my dislike for Mahfouz's writing. How I wish it were different because the look into the lives of this very conservative Egyptian family in 1918-19 should have been totally engrossing. I could never get past the verbiage. Mahfouz wrote this in 1956 about a family that likely reflects customs at least 100 years earlier. I do understand that his diction reflects that earlier time. I can read early 20th century translations of Russian novels (which this reminded of immediately) with appreciation. But why ignore the valid taste of contemporary readers? Here's the prime example of my distaste for the whole book.
The eldest son has married, and his wife has come to live in his father's home. "The real change was emotional and mental, and it was easily observable. It would have been hard for Zaynab to occupy the position of wife of the eldest son, or for her and her husband to unite together with other members of the family in a single household, unless there had been a significant development of the family's emotions and sentiments." The reader needs to be told this? I don't think so, and it's this level of commentary that fills up the 533 pages.
I know that lots of people adore these books. I wanted to. I'm just relieved to be in good company with my friends Rex and Gail, who at least share some of my dis-ease.

Now on to something else!!!!!

Well, the good news is you've gotten through it and you never need read it again if you don't want to! :-)

Not only that, Ilana, but I don't have to read the sequels either! Or Midaq Alley! The thing that galls though, is that I spent way more money than usual on the one-volume trilogy. Oh well. It's not as though I don't have thousands of other money-sinks that I will leave unread when I die.

Peggy, I know you struggled to get through Palace Walk, so well done! I had these on my list, but I'm not in a hurry to get to them now that I read your review. I'm not good with verbiage, just no patience.

I liked Midaq Alley but only just liked it. I didn't love it, as some did.

I read Palace Walk, immediately followed by the two others so long ago now, in any case a few years before I joined this group, so I couldn't say what I'd think of the translation now, but at the time I don't think it bothered me. Yes, and being able to put aside the two other books in the trilogy definitely opens up reading time for several other books you can't wait to get to on your tbr. I don't think I'll continue with Paul Scott this year, though I do intend to read the last two books eventually. Maybe the Quartet'll grow on me over time? At this juncture, I found I had a hard time relating to or even really understanding his writing style. It made me think I wasn't intelligent enough to grasp it fully. Possible that is indeed the case... and why brainiacs like you get so much out of it! :-)

I didn't go for the Quartet either, Ilana - and I loved the Mahfouz - so go figure. I think taste is so unpredictable and ultimately mysterious. There are books we all can agree are dreadful, but it is amazing how many books out there are marvelous to one and a terrible bore to another. I wonder if there are certain cadences or something that we respond to. Who knows? I'll hate verbiage in one book and love it in another, love spare style in one and find it cold in another.

Hi Peggy!

Congratulations on finishing PW and being able to move on. I'm not even going to try it, lol.

I'm another Margaret Maron fan - and while I like Deborah, I have a big soft spot for Sigrid. It's great that the Sigrid books have become available again, although I still have old pb copies.

I love your thread topper - salt marsh is beautiful. Not many alligators where I live now, but I remember them fondly from my FL childhood.

Thanks for the congratulations and the visit, Dejah! I'm especially glad to hear from one who shares my enthusiasm for the Sigrid of the series - not so much Sigrid with Deborah. I wonder whether MM knows exactly what to do with her without Nauman. He was also a favorite! And I have my old pb copies too - MM signed Baby Doll Games, which was my favorite at the time.
Salt marsh is wonderful whether the tide is in or out, and we loved watching the baby gators who would swim right up to us and grunt when they were tiny and still wearing their stripes.
Hi, Ilana and Lucy! Isn't personal taste fascinating!?!?! See, I think you'd have to be a brainiac to enjoy Mahfouz, given his less than compelling style. But *Quartet* hits all my warm spots. I'm excited to have started The Towers of Silence because I get to spend time with Guy Perron. I think it may be my favorite volume.
Meanwhile, I've been thinking about how deep in our psyches some prejudices and preferences spring from. You don't have to go very deep to find my love for the kind of writing that appeals to me. However, where on earth does my enjoyment of books set in hotels or cruise ships or residential colleges and schools and even apartment houses come from? I know that the common factor is the temporary quality of living in such places, but why does that almost guarantee my enjoyment of a book?
Then I was thinking about music - specifically about a conversation with my college teacher. I said that Beethoven stymied me: there was so much going on that I didn't feel as if I got anywhere below the surface. He said that he felt that way about Bach. But Bach??? I felt that all I had to do was to let Bach make sense and his music would be beautiful. And however much I revere those two, it's Brahms who has my heart and soul as a performer.

O dear O dear O dear. We have just doubled our cat-holding this morning. Now we are six. Our neighbors moved to CA last week and left behind the cat that their daughter had been feeding and playing with for months ("Not our cat"). My DH had been feeding her once a day, but she showed up day before yesterday with two kittens, a girl and a boy. We watched the kittens play in the street for a couple of days, and today he broke down and took them to the vet, and now they are installed on the other porch. Mama is white with black, and gray tabby and orange tabby patches. The two little ones are orange tabbies. No names. Very cute and friendly. But oh dear oh dear oh dear. More later.

>58 LizzieD: Oh dear indeed. I hope the more later includes photos.

Yes, photos please!

Congrats on the addition to the family. ;-D

Photos are an absolute must! I know how you feel--I remember the years when we had 10 cats due to strays adopting US! But maybe you can find homes for the kittens when they are ready.

Awww, you are good and caring souls. Photos would be wonderful!

You couldn't turn the poor ickle kitties away. And I'll add my voice to the call for pictures.

Six cats! Lucky for them going to such a good home.

Pictures will follow. We kittened away most of the afternoon - they are extremely cute and sweet. No chance of giving the babies away, and now would be the time for them to go since the vet estimates them to be 8 weeks. Nope. They're ours. So far the little guy is Spark or Sparks or Sparky. I want to call the baby girl Ivy, but DH is not responsive to that. And we have no ideas yet for the mama. They are undernourished, but have narrow, pointy faces, unlike the 3 big guys.
Thanks for the visits, Julia, Helen, Laura, Roni, Barbara, Ilana, and Catherine.
Not much reading today!

Not much reading today!

No kidding!!!

How exciting!

Oh, my goodness! Very fortunate mama and kittens, too, to have "found" you and your husband. I'm glad you'll post pictures : ).

>66 LizzieD: aw, you took them in :):)
I love that you kittened the morning away, I bet that would be very easy to do. I love tabbies, my favourite cat ever was a tabby. Her name was Nessie (after the Loch Ness Monster).

Ivy is the name I was gunning for for our baby had it been a girl.....in the end, Lenny was a boy so we didn't have to argue it out. Not that I would have, as if both people aren't on board with the name it isn't going to fly really is it?

Orange? Why not Clementine?

dying for photos here.

I got so excited about the kittens I forgot to comment on yr. comment about certain scenarios that appeal to you. I've never quite thought of it that way, but it is true that I will read a the jacket summary and think, "Yes" or "No'" based on a few details given about the story setting.... So I am going to have to think about this!

Hi, Ilana, Nancy, Megan, and Lucy. I'm waiting for DH to get the pics on his computer so that I can transfer them to mine. Then we'll be in business!
Clementine? I like it. We'd probably call her "Tiny" because she is at the moment - 1.3 pounds. Her greedy big brother was getting most of the food. We're separating them when they eat, of course, so now she'll begin to thrive. Poor mama (who remains nameless) can't get away from the kids now unless we isolate her. They both still want to nurse, but what I've read says that that's O.K. up to even 10 weeks. They apparently need the intimacy as well as the milk. She just needs to keep some nutrition for herself.
("Ivy" was from a little piano student whose best friend was a red head named Ginger Spivey. She used to chant "Ginger Spivey, Poison Ivy" which DH changed to "Ginger Ivy, Poison Spivey." {There were some Spiveys around whom he didn't care for.} We had to change the name because the orange cat was a boy - the "guy" cat according to another little piano student.) TMI!
It's July 2 and I've added a Kindle Daily Deal both days. Must stop!
And I'm going to get the ER ARC of Guests on Earth. Yay! I think that this is maybe the third time I've asked for it.

ETA: DH has rejected Clementine - doesn't like the name. He is considering Lulu. I'm thinking about Fritze for the mama, and Aunt Fritze looked after Little Lulu in my favorite comic strip. (My friend Edward identified me as his first feminist when I stood him and his male friends down that Little Lulu was a better character than Superman or Batman.) (Lucy, if we decide on Lulu, I'll also think of you!)

Oh my, kittens! Well bless your hearts for taking them all in. I name all my cats after flowers, even the males (although Sweet William became simply Bill), so it's dead easy for me when it comes to names. Actually, there are quite a few orange flowers, if you're stuck. (The dogs tend to get Scottish or Irish non-floral names.) Ivy is a sweet name. Willa means determined protector, which might work for the mom?

OK I approve of Lulu since that is one of my very own nicknames.

You could name mom Ivy? Or Electra (since she had Sparky?) Maybe Sparky and Lightning? or Sparky and Quarky or something tiny like a Muon? But Lulu is fine too. It means light, so it will work with the theme.... like it's any of my business!!!!!

Peggy, I hope you and the kitties will be safe from the storm that's brewing out in the Atlantic. I just saw on Twitter that they have issued a hurricane warning for North Carolina. Be safe!

kittens...oh, how special!

I echo Julia's post above...be safe ok?

Many thanks, Julia and Linda. We are far enough south and inland that we should not have to worry about more than a little wind and a lot of rain. At least, I'm hoping that's true.
Thanks for the suggestions, Lucy and Tui! Cat Name Wars are still on. DH won't hear Willow (which I love; thanks, Tui) and Ivy, which I really like. "Those are not cat names." Lulu is minimally better, and I like that. If we named the baby Lulu, I'd love to call her mother Fritze, but as DH says, she's not really a Fritze. At this late date, he suggested Fred and Ginger. Sparks is already set in my heart though, and it really should be Fred and Irene, so that's out. The tiny one (she weighed 1.3 pounds yesterday, but she's eating like a BIG cat) rules the roost, so now I'm thinking "Snap". But she's going to grow into a beautiful cat, I hope, and Snap doesn't have much dignity. Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for DH to put the pics on his computer.
I have nothing else to contribute to my thread. The tiny bit of reading I did today was in my *Mistress/House* book, which I find fascinating but a bit unfocused so far, and City of Stairs, which continues to please. I'm thrilled to learn that I won Marina from the Hatchette offerings.

I'm glad to hear that, Peggy, although lots of rain is nothing to sneeze at if you're in an area already saturated or prone to flash flooding.

It's a shame Mr.LizzieD doesn't like Willow or Ivy, which I think are darling kitty names. I prefer Sparks to Fred, I must say, even if it was Fred and Ginger or Fred and Irene. Not to seem too egotistical, but what about Rosalita/Rosie? Sparks and Rosie has a nice ring to it!

Um, Willa, not Willow, as in Willa Cather, Mr. DH. Hey, you could do characters from Dickens!

Among my favourite cat names were a friend's cats in Toronto named after the nearest intersection to his apartment: Bathurst and Eglinton.

I love the cat name discussion. I'm afraid we haven't been terribly creative. Our first cat was a rescue, and came with a name, so we stuck with it. BTW, it was Willow, so take that Mr LizzieD. We let our kids name cats, which led to Muffin, Snowball, Midnight, and Pumpkin (the last three are bleeding obvious clues to fur color). I like all of the thought you're putting into it, Peggy.

We had a male cat named Uriah. I though my hubby named him after the Dickens' character. Silly me. I forgot about the British rock band. :)

Many thanks for all the input, Colleen, Laura, Tui, and Julia! (Julia, I wish I had conisdered Rosie more carefully; I did think about it.) I think that we're firm on Sparks, Lulu, and Willow now. Himself still doesn't like Willow, but I do. (I'm the one who changed it from Willa, Tui.) I'm a little less enthusiastic since I can't have Ivy to go with it, but I'm tired of trying to think of a cat-like name to do with light or heat. Meanwhile, we are amazed at the change that 2 days of good nutrition and a diminishing flea and ear mite population has made in the spirits of the 3. They are into some serious playing and mischief. I had forgotten how long it takes to clean two cat porches in the morning, but the routine returns.
DH would never agree to Bathhurst and Eglinton! I always wanted characters from Dickens too, but he puts a lid on that as soon as he realizes what I've done. Tully and Hilfy are as close as I've come to being literary, and he calls them Tubby and Little Bit.
I had a friend whose cat was Yowli, and I always liked that.

Our cats almost always have people names, and cats of the same litter usually have names starting with the same letter.
Christopher, Charlie, Catherine Ann, Chloe
Toby, Theodora, Timothy
Manfred
Gretchen
Fritz
Sheba
Jeremy, Jennifer
Belle
Zoe
Cole & Spook

My Ezra is the only animal I've ever had who picked out his own name. I was reading from a baby name book with him on my lap when he was a teensy thing and when something sounded like it might suit him, I'd try it out loud on him. I'd tried out maybe 20 of them and then when I hit on Ezra, he started purring loudly and generally showing signs of pleasure, so that was that. I also call him Ziggy or Fritz sometimes.

'Mimi' isn't one bit original, but she was named after a stuffed monkey toy I had when I was little who was my very best friend for the first 3-4 years of my life. I still remember him very fondly. He was inanimate of course, but to me he was the very best pet monkey ever. 'Coco' isn't at all an original name either, but it's a term of endearment in French; "mon coco" or "ma cocotte" for a girl. I kept saying that to him and it stuck, although I wanted some big incongruous name for him at first.

Naming pets is fun. I've never had to bargain with another person over that task before though.

Peggy, so delighted to hear that your new charges are doing much better with a few days nutrition in them; and let's not forget about TLC. Got such a chuckle out of your quip: Tully and Hilfy are as close as I've come to being literary, and he calls them Tubby and Little Bit.

Thanks for your list, Roni. Somehow "Catherine Ann" cracks me up. How very Southern of you!
I should have thought about the baby name book, Ilana. I have one. I love that Ezra chose his own name. I've asked ours whether they can live with what we're calling them, but they haven't responded. DH still hasn't had time to put the pics on the computer, and I'm too ignorant to know how. I stay away from his stuff anyway.
Oh dear. I've had such a disappointment. I was so happy to be reading about Guy Perron again in *Raj*, and I just noticed that I was reading *Raj 4* instead of *Raj 3*. I had mis-shelved them and simply started the 3rd book in line. Oh well. This one is good too, centering on Barbie Batchelor and Susan. I guess that I would have noticed earlier when I put the cover in my "currently reading" post --- maybe. Better do it now.

I'm about to launch into Raj 3, which circles back a bit in time, I think, at the beginning.

Loving the cat name discussions!

All of mine have had human names, more or less.

Clea came from the Lawrence Durrell novel; briefly, there was Miranda, who was adopted by my hair stylist in Toronto (Shakespeare, of course). (They fought -- horribly. Clea had been an "only" for years when Miranda arrived as a kitten and it was a disaster.)

Then came Jasper and Molly. Tigger was originally going to be something else, until it became VERY clear that he was a Tigger, bouncing up and down and in everyone's business all. of. the. time. Jasper, because I liked the name, and it suited his elegant tuxedo looks. Molly because of Fibber McGee & Molly. Cassie was originally going to be Allegra, which is a name I like, but as someone pointed out, sounds too much like an allergy medicine. So Glenn (who is chexmix here on LT) helped me find a star name for her -- she is really Cassiopeia. She only gets the long version when she has done something truly dreadful.

>87 Chatterbox: She only gets the long version when she has done something truly dreadful.

That seems to be the case with human kids too! :-)

I have had Pansy (a stray who adopted me when I was an undergrad), Violet and Iris (my mil rescued them from a horse barn after Pansy was hit by a car and I was verklempt), Sweet William aka Bill, and now Hollyhock aka Holly (a rescue cat, formerly mostly feral and a bit brain damaged). My brother names his after where is living when a cat finds him, so he's had cats like Davis (California), Odessa (Ontario), Finnie (Nova Scotia), etc.

It's a funny business, naming cats.

Hi, Suz, Ilana, and Tui.
O.K. - so now I get to list my cat names....
From childhood: Miss Sniff and her son, Mr. Snuff, Boopy, and Trixie
From marriage: Puss (DH named her), Phoebe, Pinky (Pinxton) and Katy -the first brother/sister act, Dandy, Chibby, Ms. Marble (aka Patches - left behind when neighbors moved), and currently Elle the Mama with Tully and Hilfy Bit - brother/sister act 2, and now Willow the Mama with Sparks and Lulu - brother/sister act 3. Except for Trixie, they have all been strays who came to stay. Katy lived to 16 or so, and Dandy was also an old man when he died.

Somehow I failed to star your thread when I visited the other day and I've been missing out on all the cat naming conversation! Whatever you end up calling them, I know they'll be happy, loved and very fortunate living with you.

We've had Willow (gray tabby cat, first pet as a couple), then Caramel, and after they both passed we adopted Muffin (gray tabby kitten) and Snowball (best cat on the planet). Then Midnight (from a barn cat's litter), and Pumpkin (who just turned up on our doorstep). We only have the latter two now. Midnight is 11 and Pumpkin is ... Don't know, but older than Midnight.

Hi Peggy!

Ooooh, kitties.

at Mom & Dad's House in California: Fuzzy, Ebony, Taffy, and Sassy Fras. Martini, Saki, Herschel.
at Pepperdine University in LA: Jessica and Herschel II.
in Connecticut: Herschel the Third.
back in California: Imsai, B'Naj, and Miss Harriet Vane.
in NC: (Imsai, who flew from LAX to RDU and only bit one flight attendant), Magic and Merlin, Coco Chanel, Kitty William, and last but certainly not least, Inara Starbuck.

We still have Merlin (female, 18), Kitty William (male, 15), and Inara Starbuck (female, 7).

I think I'm in kitty attrition mode, but am not 100% sure. :)

I'm enjoying all the cat names and trying to picture each one. But it makes me a little sad too. I am very allergic to cats and can't have even one. So I'm living vicariously through you all.

Jan, that's a sad thing. I love our dogs, but there's nothing like a cat. (Willow just held my hand sweetly in her paws and bit it like our Chibby used to do. I'm in love. I think maybe it's what mothers do with nursing babies?)
Karen, those are all great names! Another sweetie is bound to make its way to you sooner or later. Am I remembering that you just lost one not too long ago?
Laura, great cat names too - with the proviso that Snowball was not quite the best cat on the planet. That was Chibby with Phoebe and Boopy running close behind......
Glad you found me again Liane!
Still no pictures, and it's time to take some more. The babies seem to be growing by leaps and bounds.

>95 LizzieD: I think Snowball and Chibby are in a special place in cat heaven with all the other best cats on the planet.

Hi again - you remember correctly.

We lost Magic in January of 2013 and Coco Chanel on April 26th of this year. I miss my puppy cat Magic and Miss Alpha kitty Coco Chanel.

Willow sounds so sweet.

>96 lauralkeet: I think so too, Laura.
Karen, I still miss my Chibby, so I'm sure that you still look for you Coco Chanel when you pass her favorite spots....... Tully is our puppy cat. Miss Lulu is pretty clearly the Alpha Kitty of her family.
Once again, I kittened and did not read much. I took more pictures - one of these days I'll get them to you!

The books will still be there--kittening passes very quickly into cat-hood. Enjoy!

Exactly... Kittening is vital to mental health. Even more so than books. I watched a DVD this evening and had two full-grown cats compete for the space beside my ankles on the ottoman at the foot of the wing-armchair.

Peggy, I wish you a wonderful weekend.

I see Magic running up from the creek at full speed and remember him curling up next to me under the covers. I see Coco butting her head against husband's hand and purring so loudly we could hear her across the room.

Yesterday, while husband was recovering from the food poisoning so irritatingly provided by Lam Buffet in Siler City, he had all 3 kitties somewhere within 2 feet of him - Merlin on his lap, Inara on the microfleece blanket next to him, and Kitty William on the back of the couch within skritching distance. They always know.

Did you get any Arthur rain/wind/bad weather? Except for the tornado warning that evacuated daughter's class in Wilmington earlier than the Professor wanted them to leav, she fared well - rain and a bit of lightning/thunder/wind.

*looking for kittens*

"Once again, I kittened and did not read much." Of course you did. It is what I would do.

I love your description of Tully as your puppy cat. My Edgar (three years gone now and I still miss him every day) was dismayed when I got my first MacBook. He thought he was my laptop!

I hope Arthur is not causing you any trouble.

Many thanks for the concern about Arthur among us. He was a definite no-show; we had a very little rain and no wind to speak of. We are 90+ miles from the coast, so that makes a difference most of the time, but thank you for asking Nancy and Ellen among others. Kittens quickly grow up into "big old smelly cats" (DH), but they're always kittens to me.......fur kids for sure.
Here are the pictures, but they're not really very clear, and I see that I didn't copy a good one of Sparks, who has a cute, pointy little face. At least you can see the relative size.....


The whole family

Dh's hand on Lulu

(I'm going to go ahead and post these two because I almost lost the first one going back to get the second. I don't seem to be able to make them any bigger.... When I change the width, the picture doesn't change.)

Here's another one of Willow and Sparks.



And thank you for the roses, Barbara! I LOVE roses!

You're welcome. I love the photos of your cats. So cute.

>105 LizzieD: I don't seem to be able to make them any bigger
Looks like these are gallery thumbnails instead of full size.

Aw they are so cute!

The beaming new mama thanks Barbara and Laura.
Katherine, "gallery thumbnails" isn't conveying any meaning to me..... As far as I know, they are the same as other pics with this camera that I could manipulate at will. Just as well for you to miss details (dog bunk airing on chair, blocks of rendered honeycomb, old bicycles, etc.) on that particular porch.

Aw, they are gorgeous, Peggy, all of them, proud Mama Willow, Sparks, and Lulu. Willow has beautiful markings and colours. I can see why you're distracted from your reading : ).

What darlings! I'm sure Mama Willow is thrilled to know that she and her babies will be loved and fed. Kudos to you!

>110 LizzieD: If you go into your member gallery, you see lots of photos on the page; these are "thumbnails". If you click one photo, you see the larger version. Hmm, but, experimenting, either one can be resized, but the thumbnail is blurrier...

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Such cuteness!

OMG tooooo cuuuute Peggy:-)

I want me some kittens too!

Ah, thank you for the oooos and aaaahs, Ilana, Bonnie, Suz, Liane, and Nancy. So far so good. It is a bit appalling that they are so frantic when food is offered. I trust that they will begin to trust eventually. Mama saw them today and noted how thin they all are. We'll fix that. The other thing is that Willow has a scar with no hair on her left jaw and a healing sore above that for which she received an antibiotic injection. The vet thinks that they are from scratching ear mites, but we wonder whether she wasn't whacked with something. I hope that both places heal and hair grows back. If not, she's still beautiful and we love her. We just hope it's not a cancer. Lulu is taking an oral antibiotic for a cut on her foot, but it seems to be healing fine. And, in case anybody is worried about them, the old Gray-White family receives its usual attention from us.
(Katherine, I doubt that I understand you, but I tried coding the larger pic from the gallery, but the location info was the same and it wouldn't resize.)
Oh. This is supposed to be about books.....???
City of Stairs has taken a turn toward horror a little more than half-way through. That's O.K. with me, but I can see how other folks might not be happy with it. Reading on!

>117 LizzieD: Hmm, dunno, works for me...



How will you go about integrating new cats with old cats?

Oh. This is supposed to be about books.....???
Books? Have you seen anyone begging for book reviews since post >58 LizzieD:?

Heh! Willow is very pretty. She looks as if she can't believe the good thing that has happened. The kittens, of course, are ready for anything.

I hope the sore clears up quickly.

I do that too sometimes, peggy - post a picture from the 'gallery' page instead of going to its own private page.... if that helps? I get so excited I click on them from the display page that has all my pix on it and those ones are always too small.

KPLT Kaplit!~ Kitten Puppy Library Thing

Kittens! :-) They all look beautiful to me.

Hi, Lucy and Heather! Thanks for the visit and the compliments! In this minimally cooler weather the kittens continue to thunder up and down the porch and up and down the cat ramp that Chibby enjoyed. Willow is enjoying being less be-kittened.
Lucy, I think that I have always gotten my own pics from the gallery page and then sized them. Maybe not......
I love Kaplit!
I also love today's (this month's, I sort of hope) Kindle Deals. I've just added Nancy Mitford's bio of Zelda Fitzgerald and L. Erdrich's The Round House for $1.99 each. LOVE! LOVE!! LOVE!!!
So why am I reading less and buying more?

Goodness, I've been here for quite a few minutes loving kitties and kitty talk. I'd like to get another, but perhaps not. Should one appear on the doorstep, well, all bets are off. Love the marking on Willow. Beautiful and unusual. There's just something about cats...well, I know all here understand.

I might possibly have The Round House around someplace. Really liked the Zelda bio. many years ago when, but a recent re-reading left me somewhat underimpressed....hope your mileage will be different from mine.

Keep on loving those kitties...

They're so adorable! Even with plenty of my own I love to look at pictures of everyone else's feline friends. Did the vet give you an approximate age for Willow?

As for books, I've been resisting the Daily Deals...I do not need more books. I do not need more books. Repeat.

I got The London Train by Tessa Hadley and the Luc Ferry book about philosophy, which caught my eye at the Harvard Coop yesterday...

"be-kittened" Love it. There should be more uses of kitten as a verb.

Hi Peggy - I hope you're not suffering ill weather due to the hurricane. Cute kitties. I agree with you about Deborah and Sigrid together -- it's OK, but I do love them each separately. She should be due for another book soon.

Beth, Arthur skipped us completely, thank God. We got a few minutes of rain and no wind at all. I'm always happy when another Maron hits the market.
Suz, I didn't like the only T. Hadley book I've tried, so I decided that I can live with out this one. Philosophy remains a closed book for me. I can read and talk theology forever, but my mind is set wrong for most philosophy.
Liane, I love to look at everybody else's kitten pictures too. Need more books? That all depends on what need means. I hope these are around for a month. Some other ones interested me, but I wasn't quite as enthusiastic about them. Willow is just a year or 2 old - really just a kitten herself. All 3 of them have good strong purrs, and I'm really happy about that. The Gray-White girls purr softly or not at all. I can see Hilfy purring, but I've never heard her, and that's a disappointment.
Gail, I like Erdrich and am happy to add to my holdings. I continue to be fascinated by all things Mitford, so I'm interested to see what Nancy made of Zelda. Also my June ER ARC is Lee Smith's Guests on Earth which has to do with Zelda in the asylum where she died. I'll probably want to have another look or two at Z when I've read that. We'll see.

Two of my sisters live in NS, and they were hit by Arthur. The one who lives more towards the coast, near the Bay of Fundy, is still without power … will have been 48 hours by the time it is forecast to be restored. Trees and pieces of them down everywhere, many on power lines.

Molly has a purr that is so loud that my legally deaf mother can hear her. Cassie's is inaudible. *Baffled*

Hello there Peggy! Thanks for finding and posting on my thread. Love the thread topper. I have an Uncle in Hertford near Elizabeth City. Is that anywhere nearby? Also loving the kitten talk/pics, although I, too, am horribly allergic. Virtual reality through your thread seems the safest way to enjoy them.

Sorry to say, but the Zelda biography is by Nancy Milford, not Mitford. It is dated, but has the benefit of many firsthand interviews. Almost every author/biographer of Zelda F. has acknowledged a debt to her work.

My review is here if you are interested.

>118 qebo: Willow looks remarkably like my best-cat-on-the-planet Snowball. Maybe she's been reincarnated and if so, you are very lucky indeed! And those kitties are lucky that you're willing and able to give them a loving home.

Hi Peggy, I have had fun catching up with you and reading about your new fur family. What a good home the newbies lucked into! It sounds like everyone is happy with the new additions. I love the new verb I learned, "kittened". I can see why your reading has taken second place. Best of luck to all of you!

>127 lit_chick: I wondered how hard NS got hit - it did look like the storm was going to seriously hit land there.... I hope your sister gets power soon!

Aww what adorable kitties. I could be persuaded to have a cat again, but as himself isn't keen I'll have to make do with going "aww" over yours.

Nothing like kittens to attract visitors, I see! Ours are finding wine corks and a sock mouse very entertaining.
Helen, I hope that perhaps your male person will rethink the cat option. Please feel free to "aww" over ours any time at all though.
Lucy and Nancy, I was too busy sighing in relief to wonder much about folks farther up the line. I trust that the power is back on in NS. Heaven knows we've been without for multiple days multiple times here, and it's never much fun.
Donna, it's great to see you, and I'm happy to extend the full use of "to kitten" to you.
Laura, if your Snowball was calm and sweet with a little fire, then it may be that we have her again in Willow. She is an exceptionally nice cat so far.
Marianne, it's great to see you here too! No, Shallotte is as far south on the NC coast as Hertford is north. I'm sorry about your cat allergies. I was allergic to them too as a child and was so grateful to grow out of that. Thanks for your info about Nancy Milford. I read Nancy Mitford's letters to Evelyn Waugh, and I knew that I hadn't read anything about a Zelda bio. In fact, I found it a bit unlikely, but at the same time, I was thrilled. Well, I'm a little less thrilled now, but thanks for your review, which is thumb-worthy and I did. I'll still probably read the book after my ARC. I have another Zelda bio, but I don't think it's as useful as this one.
Suz, I never knew that some cats purred inaudibly. I'm a purr freak. Elle has something wrong with her vocal chords so that she creeks instead of meows. Tully makes up for it by being way, way too vocal. O.K. Once again, TMI. I would have been an appallingly boring mother.

Thanks for the thumb on the Zelda bio.

I, too, am a fan of Nancy Mitford -- didn't you just adore the catty letters back and forth with Evelyn? -- and would have been amazed at a Zelda bio.

Nancy Milford, although unable to claim kinship to that eccentric British clan, did a great job and it is well worth reading.

>134 LizzieD:: if your Snowball was calm and sweet with a little fire...
Yes she was! And very dog-like in the way she connected and interacted with people. Long live Snowbie!!!

Yep, Marianne. Those two certainly enabled each other's wit and cat (and what a dreadful word to use that way on this particular thread)!
Ah, Laura, long live Snowbie and Chibby and all other good cats! They are such personalities.
I read some *Americanah* today. I'm enjoying it, but I doubt that she's going to blow me away this time.

#132, #134 Peggy and Lucy, yes, NS got hit HARD with Arthur. My one sister in Truro, power was back on within 5-6 hours. But my sister in Greenwood, Bay of Fundy area, power has been out 48 hours and counting! It is supposed to be restored by 11:30 PM tonight in her area. Bad storm for them!

>Lovely kitty pictures! It's incredible to me that people can just abandon their pets when they move out. Talking about pet names my family had Siân (Welsh Terrior), Judy (Labrador), Tigger (silver tabby), Puss (tortoiseshell - actually called Brandy but always called Puss), Sam (springer spaniel). And then myself and Mr Sandune have had Edward (black and the best cat ever), Ruby (brown tabby), Lulu (staffie -with us for so little time but much loved), Daisy (staffie number 2) and Sweep (black with white toes).

>137 LizzieD: I was commenting at the Boston meetup that if you took away that African in America and in Nigeria element, what you're left with is really a very well written chick lit novel: a women's novel whose main preoccupation is career and romance. It's the identity of the author and her ability to address the less traditional identity of what how those preoccupations might be reflected in the life of an African woman living in the United States and dealing not only with white Americans but African Americans, that makes it distinctive.

It was a bad storm for them, Nancy. I guess that I was thinking that since it was nothing here, it was pretty much a nothing. Going to be a long summer and fall!
I think that's probably a fair assessment of Americanah, Suz. I'm giving up trying to understand what makes prize judges happy. Seems to me that I've read several women's books in the past several years that didn't make the Orange/Bailey long list but that I judged better than this one. I'm enjoying it, but I've put it aside since The Rosie Project arrived in the mail this afternoon. Now that's great summer reading! Fun! Fun! Fun!
(I took my first wound from the new kitties this evening. Couldn't get the dinner dish down quickly enough for the little boy. We'll both make it.)

Ok, ok, I've put a hold on The Rosie Project. There are 6 people ahead of me in the queue with 4 eBook copies available on OverDrive, so hopefully I'll get to read it during the summer too.

eta: then again, I might cave and spend a credit to get the audio version on Audible since the narrator is Australian and has a great voice...

The Rosie Project looks like fun - I've put it on hold.

Well, you're making me all kitten broody, Peggy. Mama cat is a very pretty calico and ginger tabbies are just so heartwarming. I'm glad you are giving them a home. I'm afraid that the brain-damaged shelter cat we took in eleven years ago won't let another cat in the house so until she departs this mortal coil, we're a one cat household.

Hope you both enjoy *Rosie* as much as I am, Ilana and Liane. Heather put me on to it, and I ordered it because I thought it would be good for my mother's book club which I joined in the spring. Now I find that I probably don't have to offer them anything for the first year. Oh well. There is some cursing that the club may object to, but otherwise, I think they'll like it too.
Tui, you're the one who has made the sacrifice. I'm not letting myself think how we're going to introduce the new guys to the old ones, especially to neurotic Tully, whose latest thing has been to lick himself hairless here and there. He's finally letting it grow back in. Oh dear. Oh dear. If you're not like me, you could volunteer to socialize kittens at your local shelter. I can't do it. I want them all, just like I wanted these immediately.

The Rosie Project arrived in the mail this afternoon. Now that's great summer reading! Fun! Fun! Fun! Oh, Peggy, I'm so delighted to hear you say so! It is great fun, isn't it?

Peggy, this looks like something you need these days!

>147 lauralkeet: Now *that's* a smile!

That's great, Laura! Thank goodness, we're not there yet!
Hi, Marianne and Nancy! Still loving Rosie! Planning a trip to NYC when I put the book down.

I've been joking about setting up kitty cubbies.....

LOL, I've seen that making the rounds on FB, and I love it! though if I ever get to that point, I should be locked up. I don't have a nice spacious place to segregate two kitty families...

And "Rosie" still sits on my iPad, waiting, waiting..........

Welcome, Liane, Suz, and Bonnie.
The treasurer of our local Humane Society came by yesterday and had a look at the new kitties. She confessed to getting up to 13 in the house one time. I'm apparently not the only one who can't go to the shelter and come out unscathed.
Bonnie, give yourself a Rosie break when you need it!
And --- the big news ---
STASIA and Family are coming to NC for a flying visit!!! YAY!!!!! I don't feel meet-up deprived any longer!

Peggy, I'm so glad that Stasia and company are stopping by! How much fun will that be? You'll have a wonderful visit, I'm sure.

On cats: I want nearly every one I see, so I try to avoid what in my childhood was called "the near occasion of sin"...The Girls would be unhappy to see more contestants for my attention and, of course, food. And treats. And toys.

Oh happy meet-up time! Hugs to both you and Stasia, Peggy : ).

Thanks, Gail and Nancy. I'm SO EXCITED!!!!!

THE ROSIE PROJECT by Graeme Simsion

What a great summer entertainment! Nancy and Heather have both written helpful reviews. I'll simply say that it's a love story, for goodness sake! And I loved it.

Oooo now I'm envious that you've read the Simsion!

Hurrah! How funny, when I was looking at your kitten pictures, I was musing to myself, hmm, Peggy lives right off I-95 -- and so do I. Maybe I could just hop on it... And that I snapped to my senses and realized that I don't drive. And that walking from Rhode Island to North Carolina would take a LONG time.

No surprise!
I LOVED spending a little time with Stasia and her family last night and for a brief visit this morning. We ate and played one of her favorite board games - and I see the fascination. She claims to be mean and tough, but she is a lovely woman with a handsome husband and beautiful girls. Catey has the prettiest skin I've ever seen on a human!
I managed to wrestle Stasia into one picture which I haven't looked at yet. The usual wait while DH gets around to putting it on his computer will follow.
Suz, please don't walk on I-95! As far as I'm concerned, NC to RI would take a long time to drive. I wish you could come visit the kittens; we'd be here too.
Lucy, the Simsion is such a fun summer adventure. I believe I said that already.

Peggy, delighted you had a lovely visit with Stasia and family, and delighted you loved The Rosie Project! eta: Someone (Mark, I think?) told me Rosie was in the works to becoming a movie; if so, I will need to see it : ).

How nice that you got a visit! It'll be great to see the photo whenever the technological stars align. I'm looking forward to The Rosie Project - I can't wait for it to arrive at my library branch!

Oh - and hello from my kittens to yours. My oldest cat, Pixie, was actually born in NC, so she sends her most royal Princess Pix greetings.

Jealous of your Meet Up and aching for pictures.

Peggy, I know that Stasia and you have been good book buddies for a long time. I'm so glad you had a chance to meet in person. I agree that she is a sweetheart. Now if we could just cure her of her camera shyness! I'm glad you managed to get a picture with her. That is quite a feat.

Peggy, I wish you a fantastic weekend.

>147 lauralkeet: :-D

>153 LizzieD: Calloo Callay! I saw that you had been visited by the wonderful Stasia and family and came straight over here to hear about it.

>159 LizzieD: "She claims to be mean and tough" I don't think any of us were ever taken in by that claim :-)

And I am very flattered that you associate me so strongly with great book recommendations that you think I recommended The Rosie Project to you, but I haven't read it, so I don't think it was my review you're remembering. :-)

Hi, Heather. Flummoxed again. I know that Nancy read and loved The Rosie Project, but I thought surely that I first heard about it on your thread. O.K. Backtrackingdo associate you firmly with great book recommendations!
Barbara, I love waterfalls, so I'm off to look at your weekend greetings to other happy 75ers!
Donna, Marianne, Liane, and Nancy - I'm always happy to see you here. Stasia and I have been good friends, and it felt more like a reunion than a first meeting, but I think that's the case with most LT meet-ups. Anyway, I'm continuing to grin in glee over my first one - and to get back to reading too even if I have no comments about anything this morning.
Stasia did spot A Gentle Madness on my "current" pile and hugged my copy because it's one of her favorite books. I read a little more yesterday, and I'm seeing why she loves it. I'm a bit put off by the lists of names, but when I read a quotation like "The quality of boasting, the constant search for new conquests, and the delight in recounting the tales of acquisition and success brings to mind the activities of the hypersexual male hysteric who must constantly reassure himself hat he has not been castrated. It seems germane to this point that Casanova, after his many amatory adventures, settled down as a librarian in the castle of Count Waldstein at Dux, in Bohemia," I'm pulled right in and perfectly happy. Of course, I'm not a bibliomane - I buy books in any condition at all so that I can read them - but I know all about boasting, new conquests, acquisition and success tales.

I just found out that the local library actually has The Rosie Project so that one is now on hold for me :)

YAY! It's the perfect summer book, Stasia. Oh. I said that before. Mama has just started it and is loving it.

Peggy

Stasia is indeed a wonderful person inside and out. It seems like such a long time ago when she flew from Texas to come to my house so we could take the bus into Long Island, meet up with the wonderful Terri Loeffler and then get lost en route to Richard's house.

I will always treasure the first time I met she and Terri. We laughed till our sides hurt.

Thanks for sharing your Stasia visit with us. And, please, ask dh to post that photo.

>169 Whisper1: I so remember you guys getting lost.... :-)

Suz

I also remember your kind post to me advising me not to drive to Long Island. It was a big help to have this information!

#170: We were only a little lost. We actually were on Long Island :)

A "little lost" was not the voice from the back seat.....

We did create fun memories.

>173 Whisper1: Ha! Sounds like a memorable trip for sure.

Hi Laura, Linda, Stasia, and Suz! It's great to hear you reminisce here!

CITY OF STAIRS by Robert Jackson Bennett

This one is a must for oddball fantasy lovers! (I tried to compare Bennett a bit to China Miéville and his new weird.) As far as I'm concerned, it gives Ancillary Justice a run for the honors in the Hugo/Nebula stakes. I loved it! In fact, I hope that one wins one, and the other, the other.
Since I received it from ER, I reviewed it on the home page, so I direct you there if you're at all interested in great character development, world-building, and an exploration into the nature of religion and history.
Good Stuff!

I've been haunting your thread waiting for your write-up of City of Stairs, and now you send me to another site! Ah well, nice review and you clearly have me hooked.

As a side note, I might note that the author, Robert Jackson Bennett, has just won the 2013 Shirley Jackson Award for American Elsewhere. That may be too close to plain horror for me, but argues for the quality of his writing.

>172 alcottacre: Thank heavens for GPS.

Ha! I've already wishlisted the Bennett!

#177: We did not have GPS on the car we were driving, much to my consternation!

Roni, I hate to force people to read a whole review here, even a short one, if they aren't already a bit interested in a book. Anyway, I'm glad that you're going to try the Bennett. I'll definitely read more of him because I don't mind the horror touches at all - they are a very small part of this one, just two monsters really, plus a pretty horrific god. American Elsewhere may be what I choose next. Lucy, I hope you like it too.
Hi, Colleen!!!
GPS --- well, Stasia, you might not want to ride with me again although I did know how to get you back to your motel!

#180: True - or I might still be wandering around North Carolina :)

O.K. Here it is!!! The one picture that came out of our time together! When I say that I had to wrestle Stasia to get her photographed, you'll see that I was telling the plain truth. Unfortunately, I did not have the flash turned on, I guess, so it's almost as though there were no picture here. Maybe we'll get a chance to do better some other time.



And once again, I don't know why I'm not able to increase the size. I got it from the single picture itself in my gallery. Maybe somebody will help.....

>182 LizzieD: I don't know why I'm not able to increase the size.
You have it set to width="200", but I gather from your description above, if you change it to width="400" you still see the smaller size? Try it anyway, and ask others what they see? Maybe it's a page refresh issue. Anyway, I can make it larger no problem, and yeah, it is... shadowy.

>182 LizzieD: I did what I could with it:

Wow!!! It's great to have friends who know how to do stuff. Thank you, Katherine and Ilana!!! (Nope... I thought that 200 would be big enough. I'm going back to reading. In fact, if I read 3 more % of Americanah, I can put it down for something else. How sad is that?)

I usually size my photos between 400 to 600. 200 is usually just about right for a book cover!

You and Stasia both look so delighted to see each other, Peggy! Thanks for posting.

You're right about the 200, of course, Ilana. I don't think I had been trying anything but book covers lately - or maybe that's why the kitten pictures were so small???
Nancy, I was certainly delighted! In fact, I'm still grinning.

>188 LizzieD: Yes, that would explain the postage-stamp size kitten photos for sure. I treated myself though and had a look at them on your picture gallery. I'll bet they've grown a lot since then already!

It was really delightful to discover the wide smiles on your and Stasia's faces when I increased the exposure on the photo. I wish I could have done more to improve it, but my technical skills are limited.

It's good to see you really do have a few books Peggy and it's great to see you and Stasia. It looks like you had fun:-)👭

Yep, that's our Stasia! And so appropriate for you two to be right next to your bookcases!

AAAAAACCCCCKKKKK!

What a great photo! Thanks for posting it. And thanks to Stasia for being so brave!!

I love the photo of you and Stasia. Ever elusive, you did find a way to get her in front of the camera.

Thanks for sharing this Peggy. I love the smiles, and long for a day when the three of us can be together.

No Acking! Beautiful!

And my eyes keep drifting to the bookcase .... are those VMC's??

What a lovely photo. It looks like you had a lot of fun. :-D

What Lucy said -- no acking!

and yes -- great shot of the bookcases... Perhaps a closeup of those in future???

Bonnie and Suz, I do have books; I don't lie. Unfortunately, most of them are crammed into too little space like these. Lucy, I think you're seeing some of the black-spined Penguin classics..... The VMCs are on another wall. Roni, Stasia had just pulled down my very old copy of Anatomy of Melancholy and said, "I want to read that." (I tried it long ago and couldn't do it at the time.)
Indeed, No ACKING!!!!!
Glad to see you, Linda, Laura, and Barbara. Linda, we will live for the year when Stasia comes back to Florida and you can fly to NC and then the two of us can proceed south! May it happen!

Hey there Peggy.... I've just read all about your recent "kittening" adventures! Your new fur babies are oh-so-cute!!!

And hooray for your meet up with Stasia. That sounds like you had a lovely time. :)

Aroint thee with thy acking, Stasia! People who smile are beautiful. I'm glad you 400'd the photo, Peggy, so those of us with flagging eyesight could see it. These meet-ups are wonderful things (I have had two with other LTers so far), especially when the spirits are so kindred.

But it IS about time for new kitten pictures, Peggy!

Hi, Tina, Tui, and Roni! Agreed! Agreed!!



I still can't show you how tiny they are!

Oh lovely. Thanks a lot for sharing it. I wish you a wonderful day. ☺

A cuddle of kittens. awwww

They are delightful! And growing!

Hi, Kitten Fans: Barbara, Tui, and Nancy.

AMERICANAH by Ngozi Adichie

Oh dear. I am thrilled to have finished, and that is not the entranced reader's response. You all know about this book and about various reactions; people don't generally hate it, I don't think - I certainly didn't - but it's love or meh. I enjoyed the American blog. I liked the characters just fine. I think, though, that Adichie loved Ifemelu and Obinze and expected her readers to be equally in love and unable to get enough. I had gotten enough in 300 or so pages and the book stretched to 610. So I'm happy to be moving on.

I was on the meh side, I confess. I think have said elsewhere that if you stripped out the bit about an African's view of African American and white American culture and views on race -- which were intriguing -- and the insight into contemporary Nigeria, you're left with chick lit themes, really. Sorting out one's romantic and professional life. The writing was adequate but not transformative, IMHO.

Awwwww re kittens.

Hi Peggy - Sorry you didn't like Americanah more, but kudos for finishing it. Different strokes... I loved that book.

Hmm, I've not yet read Americanah, but it's in my iPad, waiting patiently. It is another one that got a lot of hype, so I understand that love or meh in terms of reader response. I've had that experience, too, with big hype.

Well, there you go. I agree with Suz down the line about this one, but Beth loved it and I see that Joyce did too. (I doubled her on TIOLI this month.) Nancy, I'll be interested to see what you think.
Now, if I can just keep on reading what I'm already reading rather than jumping into something else, that will be good. I have a feeling, though, that I should wait a bit before getting into my Lee Smith ARC. I classify her as being on about the same level as I found *A* - pleasant but no passion for me. I hope I'm wrong. Actually, it wouldn't be so awful to slip in Restoration, would it? I have it out on the "read now" table and everything.....

#198: I will Ack if I want to :)

Too bad I did not get to spend more time with the kittens while I was there, but I am sure my allergies appreciated the fact that I didn't!

The 'read now' table sounds dangerous...... I hope it is very small so you can't cram and stack too many books on it!

>210 LizzieD: oh. I would have Restoration firmly on the "meh" column. I'd heard loads about it, how it was brilliant, and it just didn't grab me. Sorry & all that.

Um --- Helen, that's the way it goes. I hope to love it because I love Rose Tremain, but her next-to-latest Trespass left me pretty cold. As it turned out, I was good and read *Mistress/House* instead. My current chapter is about Lady Caroline Lennox Fox, and I have the bio of those Lennox girls shouting at me every time I walk by the shelf where it sits. Lucy, the 'read now' table (otherwise known as the Mt. Aconcagua of Mt. Bookpile) is just a regular 50s coffee table piled only 4 books high in the 5 piles that fit across. Some things like Matterhorn have been on the bottom of the pile for several years. I'll get to it!
I didn't realize that you had cat allergies, Ms. Ack. My house could have been dangerous for you because every inch is becatted. ---good thing that we stayed mostly at Ma's.
Off to swim!

>214 LizzieD: You're referring to Aristocrats by Stella Tillyard? It's EXCELLENT! I had really only known about Sarah and a bit about Caroline before reading that book (in her relationship to the Foxes, father and son), and was fascinated to learn about Emily, in particular. A great biography.

Ack-free zones, these threads are.

Goodness, Peggy, your thread has been busy the last few days!

Excellent photo - thank you for sharing!

Fabulous kitten picture - they're darling.

Re: City of Stairs Since I love Ancillary Justice, I guess I'll have to read it to see which on I think should win the big awards!

Take care!

Checking in to say what cuties -- you and Stasia AND the cats!

It's Friday! Yippee!

Thank you for including me among the cuties, Marianne!
Liane, the kittens thank you. I really hope that *CS* and *AJ* each win one of the big prizes. I guess if I had to choose, right now I'd give the edge to *AJ*, but only by a little bit.
Yes, Suz, I found out about Aristocrats on your thread and ordered a copy. I'm pretty sure it's up next if I can resist *LBJ 4* one more month.
And I could swear that I posted this as #217, but I see that it's not there. Curious.

I am so grateful that I don't have an allergy to cats. A bazillion other things get me going but somehow cats got left out of that genetic soup.

Peggy, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

Love them blond kitties!

Beautiful meet up and kitten photos (no aacking at all)!

AJ is high on my borrow from the library list and I guess I should consider City of Stairs. It looks like it's released in October over here.

>220 Ameise1: That is an adorable picture, but I can't imagine how they got that little one to sit still!

I hope your weekend is going well, Peggy.

>184 Smiler69:: Love the picture, Peggy, although I have a hunch Stasia will prefer the first picture you posted!
I could hear Stasia's ACK all the way to Missouri!

I guess I should apologize to Stasia for my meddling...

I believe that Stasia has forgiven both of us, Ilana. Anyway, you can balance any displeasure on her part with gratitude on mine.
Donna, that's funny!
Barbara, thank you for the peach kitten! Liane, I wonder whether that's not a painting rather than a photo. ?
Hi, Heather and Roni and Tui! Blond kitties, eh? We called our first orange tabby "Pinky." (That was mostly because of the inside of his mouth though.) It's all in the eye of the beholder, I guess. I was allergic to cats as a child, but I was so allergic to everything that one more little allergy didn't make any difference, so I always had outside cats. I'm glad that times have changed and so have I!

No, I have not forgiven either one of you. I shall bear a grudge to my grave. . . See if I visit you again, Peggy! :)

What if I grovel? (*groveling*)

Just a note to all Willow fans that she goes to have her zipper put in tomorrow morning. This is the 11th hour. We were afraid that she was going into heat, but it appears that she can still have the surgery successfully.

#228: I will think about it. Maybe. On a good day. If you cross your eyes and do a handstand.

>229 LizzieD: Sending good thoughts for Willow's op.

Thank you, Heather. I came by to say that it didn't happen. They gave her the next series of shots yesterday when we took the 3 in for their 2nd worm treatment. She was lethargic last night and today her white cell count was elevated. The vet says that while it's nothing to worry about, he'd prefer not to do elective surgery on her until she's back to normal. He says she's not in heat. I say she's headed that way. Oh dear, oh dear. I'm afraid we're looking at a month of yowls + other unpleasantness.
(Stasia, you now know that I'm typing with my toes.)

LOL! I have a picture in my head of that happening :)

Oh misery, Peggy - a cat in heat - you will certainly earn your saintly badge if you have to go through with that! The vets wants to wait how long??

Stasia, I'm waiting for forgiveness. (My face is getting awfully red.)
Lucy, he said to wait two weeks and that three would be better. Oh dear. Oh dear. The porch where they live is close to our bedroom, and she kept us awake Monday night. Last night we locked her around the corner in Pussky Prison (famous for keeping new animals in quarantine) and didn't hear her much.
Off to eat a bite before taking Ma to swim.

>232 LizzieD: Good luck with you kitty. The photo in post 202 is incredibly lovely.

Happy Day to you. It is going to be a hot one in Bethlehem, PA, promising to be 95 with lots of humidity. Thank God for air conditioning.

Hugs!

Much sympathy, Peggy. We had twin tabbies once who went into season at the same time. It was insane.

Oh, Peggy, I hope Willow is doing much better very soon with her blood count. As to waiting two to three weeks for elective surgery, let's hope …

Eta: how wonderful that you are taking your ma to swim!

You have my sympathy too Peggy. I don't know that I've ever had to deal with a cat in heat, but I'll bet it can't be all that restful. I don't think I've said how glad you've stuck to Willow as a name for her, or whether I've mentioned Willow Green is one of my favourite colours because Willow trees are one of my favourite trees all because I love the name Willow so much to begin with. I'll have to name someone Willow too someday, I guess.

It just occurs to me now: might there be some kind of herbal or hormonal treatment that might reduce the more extreme manifestations of cat-in-heat condition? ya never know....

Uh-oh!

Thanks for visiting, Roni, Ilana, Nancy,Tui, and Linda!
It's very strange. One day she seems to be headed in the heat direction, and the next she is playing or eating or sleeping and not exhibiting. I have no idea. At least she has her appetite and activity level back to normal.
Hormone treatment? That might be. I'm fretting about paying the $60 blood test for kidney function before surgery for the third time, so I think we're just going to have to live through it.
On the book front, I will wrap up the *Mistress/House* book before the weekend, I think. I'm also reading my ER June offering, Guests on Earth by Lee Smith. I haven't read much LS, but I don't remember thinking of her as a pedestrian writer....lots of telling rather than showing. And then, stuff like a whole paragraph about making "some-mores," ending with "These were indescribably delicious --- even more so since Dr. Carroll was usually quite strict about our dietary restrictions, with very little sugar allowed." Nothing really wrong with that; it's just unnecessary and awkward in my ear. Oh well. Maybe I enjoy inspired writing to the same degree that I complain about average stuff. That's a comforting thought.

Peggy

Your comments regarding the writing of Lee Smith and taking an entire paragraph to state something simplistic, confirms why Ray Bradbury is one of my all-time favorite authors.

In my opinion, he writes in one sentence what many author's struggle to say in more than one paragraph.

Oh, Peggy, I keep my fingers crossed that everything turns to the bright side.

Finger's crossed for Willow hanging on.

You're very loyal to read Lee Smith! After a paragraph like that I wouldn't read further....

I'm stopping by to let you know you and Willow are very much on my mind.

Many thanks for all the Willow love, Barbara and Linda! She is brighter today and not exhibiting the behavior, so we are encouraged. She is also eating and playing and not yowling. That feline leukemia vaccine must have done a number on her. We'll hope that we can get the surgery in sooner rather than later. She and the babies continue to be mighty sweet in the heat, and so are our old Gray-Whites!
I'm relieved that I'm not being too hard on L. Smith. It's my ARC, and I'm bound to read it. I should stop asking for things that I'm not sure about, but then the new list arrives, and I can't resist requesting.

Poor Willow! I hope they can get her taken care of soon. And honestly, you can probably forgo the kidney function test unless there's some overt reason for concern. Best wishes all around.

I hate to skip posts/ threads, but I realized that's the only way for me to ever return to LT.

So I wanted just to say "Hi, I'm back for the umpteenth time", but then read the post above mine, wanted to know who Willow is, skimmed (sorry, didn't read in all detail) through all those cat/kitten posts, admired the pics (aaaaaaaaaawwwww!!), couldn't believe there's a Stasia picture (must visit her thread and soon!) and noticed that I can probably leave the Palace Walk trilogy for another year.

So now I am also sending good thoughts re. Willow. I just a minute ago lent all my crossed crossables to Bekka for her house sale, but there are lots of positive thoughts left for Willow.

Peggy, I'd invest in a $2 set of earplugs rather than expensive medical alternatives if she goes into heat.

*grin* Tui, DH would never leave us so vulnerable as to be deaf in the night. He's also unlikely to risk surgery without whatever test the vet recommends, Liane. The good news is that Willow is being her sweet self and not trying to attract suitors. It's all rather puzzling, but I'll take every good day I can get!
Nathalie, skip away! It is always my pleasure to see you here and around. You know that other people have adored Palace Walk. I certainly wanted to.
Bridge today, so I haven't read anything - which sort of makes the day feel a bit wasted.

So glad to hear that Willow is doing so well.

Sounds as if you might have bought a little time with the surgery. Sweet Willow. One wonders if she knows she is the topic of so much angst!

I am so excited! Having not had a pet for many years, I brought home a beautiful black male cat yesterday from our SPCA. He is gorgeous, charming, friendly, medium size at 11 pounds … and presently hiding in my furnace room, completely overwhelmed. Need some help with a name. I'm hoping that he'll eventually choose his own name, but If you feel like some fun and have a minute: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6FN3NGS (shelter name was Coal, but I don't find it terribly original, and I like two syllables in a pet name).

Edgar for Edgar Allen Poe.

Hi, Lucy, Marianne, Nancy, and Roni! Sweet Willow has no clue, and that's fine. I love to see her happy and not anxious to get out. The kids continue to grow..... In fact, I took pictures of all three on my very dumb phone, and I don't have a way to get them here unless somebody wants to volunteer to let me send them to her smart phone and then e-mail them to me.
NANCY, the cat love grows!!!! I'm excited that you have a shelter cat, and when I've written what I want to say about my book, I'm off to your thread hoping for pictures. I tried to suggest Shadow (I'm particularly liking the "ow" sound at the end!), but I can't make SurveyMonkey take my suggestion. I like Edgar too - very sophisticated - and Onyx.

MISTRESS OF THE HOUSE: GREAT LADIES AND GRAND HOUSES by Rosemary Baird

I hardly know how to rate this. I was either totally entranced or totally bored. At first, in the introductory chapters in which Ms. Baird attempts to give an overview of the lives of these very high-ranking women in the 100 or so years between 1670 and 1830, I thought that this was a doctoral dissertation tarted up a bit for publication. Then she began to devote a chapter to each of ten women, and I was her reading slave. Each chapter is half biographical and half house-centered. The biographies are fascinating! I will be doing further reading about Caroline Lennox for sure, but a hunt for more about Jane Maxwell, Duchess of Gordon, with whom I fell completely in love, turned up nothing that I want to read. (I will be off to Suzanne with a book proposal as soon as she's home from her weekend.) I also enjoyed the descriptions of the houses before, during and after their renovations. What left me yawning was the lovingly detailed descriptions of furnishings. It's logical that Baird should devote so much time to them because she is the Collection Curator of Goodwood House. I, however, soon had my fill of such information as, "The subjects are mostly classical from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Some have since been collated in a large nineteenth century cabinet at Alnwick. All the Duchess's acquisitions are diligently recorded in her 'Musaeum Catalogue', which ran to nine small volumes and included pictures, a whole volume of prints, books and curiosities...." Take me back to the lives! These were passionate, privileged, educated, independent women of whom she says, "... the great chatelaines of the eighteenth century have much more in common with their modern counterparts than either has with the aristocratic wives of the Victorian era."
I settled for ***½, but the good parts were ****½!
Who steered me toward this one? Thank you!

Thank you, Roni and Peggy! Edgar is very sophisticated, and Shadow was also Bonnie's suggestion (I can't see on the survey who suggests what, but she told me on her thread) … that's about great minds!

Peggy, I'm glad to hear Willow is behaving and not causing you any sleepless nights.

>255 LizzieD: Very helpful review Peggy. I remember Liz reading this a couple of years ago so it may have been her recommendation. I will read it but skim the parts about furnishings which wouldn't particularly interest me either.

Peggy, there was a column in our Portland Oregonian today by Brian Doyle which reminded me of your review of The Plover. It was written by Doyle and was supposed to be a letter to him from his mother. She chided him for using too many adjectives and then went on to list every adjective he overused. The list was probably thirty items long. Then she went on to list every adverb he overused. Equally long list. I was laughing by the time I finished. Whether his mother wrote it, or, more probably, he did, he must have a good sense of humor and some insight into his annoying style in that book, or maybe he has just been reading his reviews!

Jan, that's funny and makes me like Doyle a bit better. I still won't be jumping on his next offering though.
Heather, thank you for the visit and for reminding me that maybe I did hear about the mistress book from Liz. It's been on my shelf for that long.
Today I yielded and enjoyed my melt-down with Ross Poldark for the 4th or 5th time. I know other people don't adore this series as much as I do, but somehow they still fit me, and here I am enjoying Ross and Demelza and all the rest to the detriment of keeping up with my ER books. I love the books; I love the series on video.

Glad you had yourself an enjoyable reading day, Peggy--we all need days like that. I have, at least, crossed two Books Off My Shelves in the last two days! That's enjoyable in itself.

Hooray for finishing the English House Tour and the good review - it sounds as if Baird only came to live as a writer over the actual lives of the women.... even if she is a curator and can't help herself when it comes to 'stuff' as I call it! Even nice stuff, well, it's just stuff, innit?

Now a cat..... or a kid.... or even a grand chatelaine, that is worth something.

Hi, Roni. I had hoped every day would be a reading day, but it hasn't quite worked that way. And crossing books off lists - that's a real pleasure!
Hi, Lucy. I'm not sure about Baird, but I'm sure that I came alive only for the lives and the houses.

ROSS POLDARK by Winston Graham
This one kind of crept in (like the curious cream-colored cat in the crypt), and I simply had to reread it. *The Poldark Saga* is one of my favorite historical series. Graham wrote this first one of twelve in the early 50s when decent writing was expected. I loved it as much this time as ever!
Ross Poldark at 24 or so returns to his family home in Cornwall as a veteran of the American uprising. He expects to find his girl, the delicate and lovely Elizabeth Chynoweth waiting for him. Instead, he learns that she will be marrying his cousin. His house and farm are practically derelict; his copper mines are dormant. With nowhere else to go, he begins to rebuild.
This is romantic, historical adventure at its best. No sex, but I don't miss it. Neither does Ross - we just don't get a play by play commentary.
I MUST finish something on my regular pile before I go on to book 2. I can't recommend this series enthusiastically enough if what you're after is intelligent entertainment!

Woot! Ross Poldark sounds excellent, Peggy~

Yes, Ross Poldark does sound good. How did you find this book?

>263 lit_chick: I vote for the name midnight...or, lucky (to have found you).

I remember the BBC series from back in the 80s and I loved that. I'm adding the books to my wish list.

>225 Smiler69: I grew up near Goodwood house, it's a gorgeous building (even if it isn't finished). I think "stuff" sometimes works better in person than in words. There is (or used to be) a fabulous room of Stewart period portraits, including a Children of Charles 1 by Van Dyke and a gentleman (whose mane I can't bring to mind) who I was convinced was about to step right out of the frame. Maybe that should have been a glossy, illustrated, coffee table type book to make the "stuff" come to life as well as the people.

Helen, how wonderful to have had access to Goodwood House while growing up! The book had gorgeous color plates - just not enough of them, and I wouldn't have missed the bios for anything, so I guess she had the right format. I'm fretting to get into Aristocrats because the Lennox sisters are calling me lustily.
Linda, I just found a copy of one of the Poldark books in the drug store here by chance - the same way I discovered both Dick Francis and Dorothy Dunnett. Happy coincidence! I encourage you and Nancy and especially Jan (since she has seen the series) to try one. Oh! And Nancy has settled on Cairo for her new friend's name. Judging from the picture that she posted, it's perfect!
AND I'm happy to report that I won a copy of Brief Encounters: Conversations, Magic Moments, and Assorted Hijinks by Dick Cavett from the July ER list. Hope springs eternal! I'm going to try to skim the rest (which is the most) of my Lee Smith today so that I can get on to something else. I still have Marina, but since it's a YA choice (which is going to Stasia when I finish), it should go pretty fast.

*trying her best to ignore yet another great saga at least for now*
No, I just lied. It's noted and WLed. *sigh* :)

I will add Ross Poldark to the wishlist. How could I not?

Yay for Nathalie and Ilana! I hope that you both like the Poldarks even half as much as I do.

GUESTS ON EARTH by Lee Smith

I think I took one for the team. The writing never improved. The structure had amazingly bad bumps and lumps. Occasionally she wrote a paragraph or two in italics, and I could never figure out why. I could probably have lived with all that if I had been enchanted with the story, but I wasn't. It was in no way about Zelda Fitzgerald. She showed up from time to time, but the only reason for noting her appearance was her fame. I did put a review on the book page, but I suggest you skip it and the book!
Now for something better!!!! -----right after I put my Lee Smith collection on PBS.

Oh noooo, I do not want to add another series to my plate. I really don't....too late. I just wishlisted it. Nice job Peggy, dragging me down the road to yet another series;-)

Why thank you, Bonnie. I learned that drag from a master - BR!

Oh, the kitten pictures are adorable! I love them!! I'm glad to see that Willow seems to be improving. That's great news.

I liked Guests on Earth more than you did, Peggy. I'm sorry it fell flat for you. I do remember thinking that she lost me a bit towards the end, but overall, I enjoyed it. Different strokes! ;)

Ross Poldark has gone on the wishlist, Peggy.

#270 Hi Peggy - I've never understood the appeal of Lee Smith - every time I hear her on NPR I immediately put her out of my mind. I don't have any of her books, thank goodness.

At the risk of alienating the entire world, that's what I did with all my Virginia Woolf except a copy of A Room of One's Own that I bought in college and keep for sentimental reasons but have never read - immediately got rid of them. Didn't put them on PBS, but did take them to the thrift store. I didn't even put them on Bookmooch - would have had to keep them around until somebody wanted them. Every time I tried to read Woolf, I about died of boredom, angst, and irritation.

Thank goodness there are so many different authors!

Enjoyable bits about the kitties.....

Tina, the vet says that female cats can put themselves in heat according to whether there are males around. Who knew? Anyway, except for some yowling last night, WIllow has been perfectly behaved and as charming as she looks. And I'm glad that you enjoyed *Guests*. I certainly wanted to..... At any rate, I've sent it off courtesy of PBS to somebody who will also like it, I hope.
Heather, I hope you find the Poldarks as entertaining as I do.
Karen, I've never heard LS on NPR, so I was not forewarned. I continue to be sure that I read or at least started Family Linen and wonder at my taste at the time. And you may dislike VW all you please. I'm one of the people she despaired of who appreciate her criticism more than her fiction. I'm due for a reread, so I'll have to see. I have to say that I was totally absorbed in her diaries and letters - read them at the same time - one of my great reading experiences!

I never received the LT ER copy of Guests on Earth that I was supposedly awarded. Sounds like that's just as well . . .

Adorable kittens!

Thanks for the kitten compliment. Terri, you're about 3 days too late. I would have sent you my copy of *Guests* had I but known. As it is, I used it for a credit on PBS. I'm sorry you didn't get it, and it's peculiar, isn't it? I thought that as a general rule either everybody got the book or nobody did. I think you've saved yourself a few hours, but a lot of people are liking it!

I read the Poldark series way back when. It must have had some kind of effect on me because I married a Cornishman.

*grin*

>279 tiffin: Ha! Speaking of Cornwall - the big hit of Somerset was Sarah Deere-Jones, a harper who lives in Cornwall. She plays wonderfully and gave a great class on Cornish music. Very fine.

I think I watched some of Poldark on PBS, but I haven't read the books. I might like them now. Sigh.

*grin* again

Marina is now on the never ending tbr pile.

Having spent so much time there in my mind, with so many English novels set in Cornwall, I'll really have to make a point to take myself there, hopefully while I'm still young and spry enough to have any hope of snagging a Cornishman for myself too.

Loved the Poldark series when it was on Masterpiece theater 'Oh, those many years ago.' Silly me. I never even thought if the series was based on a book.

>255 LizzieD: & >257 souloftherose: Belatedly chipping in about Mistress Of The House---yes, that was me. I read it a few years ago and from title and author I was struggling to remember it, but as soon as you mentioned her obsession with the furniture I knew exactly which book you were talking about! I found that too much as well, although the parts of the book around the furniture descriptions were very good. Not really the book advertised, though.

Hope you enjoy Marina, Linda. The YA vibe is generally not for me, and I've lost the ability to react to it as I might have if it had been available when I was 11 or 12. I think I would have loved it, but I'm not sure.
Marianne, the Masterpiece Theater Poldark Saga is wonderful - I have both series on tape. I love that, but I'm pretty sure that I love the books even more. In the video I always miss Miss Agatha Poldark, the maiden aunt who lives with Charles, Francis, Verity, and Elizabeth and becomes George Warleggan's worst enemy. She's the one who calls Julia, Demelza's baby, Chibby, and so she named our cat of cats.
Liz, I'm glad to know for sure that you were the source of *Mistress/House* and glad that you agreed with me about the furniture. I always wonder whether I have a short attention span or something.
No reading today ---- a committee meeting out of town and then a couple of hours with a high school friend. Fun!
Tomorrow back to normal!

You've had a busy day, Peggy. A couple of hours with a high school friend sounds delightful!

Stopping by ..... but I think I'm fairly well caught up!

I'll just say hi. I come by and lurk fairly regularly, so I'm well caught up too!