SusanJ's 75 Books Challenge - Thread 5

Hello and welcome to my fifth thread for 2014.

As with 2013 I'm going to run a ticker for my total number of books read and tickers for fiction and non-fiction, because I found that really useful in keeping myself on track.

In 2013 my goal was one-third non-fiction to two-thirds fiction, and I reached it. For 2014 I thought I would aim for half and half. However, this seems to be turning into a non-fiction year. I was originally aiming for 150 books, but now I think 75 non-fiction is realistic, plus whatever fiction happens along.

92. Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem by Carol Delaney

Where I got it: Library
Why I read it: Quite honestly, because I was looking in the Americas section and it was the newest, cleanest-looking book there

As I mentioned in my last thread, the author looks at the voyages of Columbus from the point of view of his quest to make Jerusalem a Christian city again. That was why he was going to the "Indies" - to find gold to finance a crusade. The book includes a lot of extracts from letters and other documents that Columbus created, many of which referred to the importance of this issue, although it is mostly a straight history of the voyages, what he found and a bit of an attempt to rehabilitate his reputation from all the criticism that is now made of him. I hadn't read much in detail about the voyages and I found it a very good read, particularly as I've recently read a similar history about Magellan.



93. Think Like a Freak by Steven D Levitt

Where I got it: Library
Why I read it: Brand new and clean. What can I say? I love a new hardback.

This is by the authors of Freakanomics and Superfreakonomics, both of which I've read and liked. To be honest, this one is pretty thin - a very fast read, but entertaining nevertheless. Someone in the LT reviews complains that it's just material from their podcasts but as I've never listened to those at least I don't have that complaint.

Howdy Susan!

ETA: I hope I didn't pop in too early. If I did here is one of the cowboys from my thread for you as apology.



You will have to revisit my thread for the other cowboy. ;-)

>3 luvamystery65: Hi Roberta! No, you're not too early at all. I was just looking for your prize, which is these two Yeomen of the Guard.



I think the cowboy has the edge, looks-wise, but look at these outfits!

>3 luvamystery65: blimey, I came here to see what Susan was reading, then unexpectedly cop an eyeful of that! Not that I'm complaining, mark you >;-)

>4 susanj67: Susan thank you for my Yeomen of the Guard. Those are some sharp uniforms.

>5 Helenliz: It's good exercise for your eyes to come upon such a lovely unexpected surprise. :D

Hi Susan! Happy New Thread! At the moment I enjoy my stay in London.

Happy new thread! The Columbus book sounds interesting. I remember reading recently that his crew may have included a number of conversos. Does that come up in the book?

Congrats on the new thread! I agree, Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem does sound quite interesting.

Happy new thread. I agree with the comments about the Columbus book.

Happy new thread, Susan!

Lovely new thread, Susan!

Great new thread, Susan!

Hey, Susan. Hope your weekend is going well. Count me as another who likes the looks of the Columbus book. I think I prefer the Yeomen. Frankly, for me, the cowboy is a bit much. Not a fan of wildly overdone musculature. Once you've done that to yourself, what a PITA it must be to keep it up to snuff. But - that's likely just me.

Happy new thread, Susan!

Happy New Thread, Susan!

>5 Helenliz: Hi Helen! Yes, those yeomen are - oh, wait, you meant the cowboy, didn't you? :-)

>6 luvamystery65: Roberta, yes - I wonder what the dry-cleaning bills must be.

>7 Ameise1: Barbara, I've just been catching up with your trip over on your thread, and your photos are fabulous! It sounds like you're having a great time. Enjoy London this week.

>8 cbl_tn: Carrie, the interpreter on the first voyage was a converso, but he is the only one specifically mentioned. As he spoke Arabic, it was assumed that he'd be able to communicate with everyone in the East :-)

>9 inge87: Thanks Jennifer! I think you'd like it.

>10 thornton37814: Thanks Lori. It was certainly an interesting read for me.

>11 katiekrug: Thanks Katie. I'm hoping to hit 100 with this one. Maybe even add a picture to the top!

>12 lkernagh: Hi Lori! I think it's improved by Roberta's cowboy :-)

>13 ronincats: Thanks Roni! I'll be over to yours shortly.

>14 Fourpawz2: Charlotte, but look how pretty :-)

>15 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! I hope your weekend at the Paradisio is going well.

>16 scaifea: Thanks Amber. I must read something else to keep it going :-)

Today I went out for an urban ramble (rambles typically being in the country here). I printed out the directions for a walk around the Royal Docks, which is an area just to the east of me that I have never visited despite living so close for 15 years. I started at King George V station, and went in an anti-clockwise loop all the way around to Royal Victoria. The docks were part of the London docks system which stopped being used when containerisation made the ships too big to come up the river (there is now a big container port at Tilbury, further down) and they are now perhaps best known for London City Airport. However, there are quite a few bits and pieces of history out there, including a *lot* of green space, which surprised me. And it's old parks, with huge shady trees, not new spaces. I'd always thought of the area as mostly industrial, but it seems that provision was always made for park land.

At one point I was headed through a park with the instruction "At Beckton Corridor, turn left." I couldn't see anything called Beckton Corridor. The park map had nothing. My map app showed my blue dot in the middle of green. And yet a path ran in what I thought was the right direction. "Horses are grazed in this area," the instructions continued. I looked around for horses. There were no horses. But a gravelled path ran to the side of the paved path, with railings on either side. Just the sort of path a horse might ride on. And then I saw some *evidence* of horses. I felt like an urban Joe Pickett :-)

Royal Victoria is a DLR station but also the station for the "Emirates Air Line", better known as the cable car across the river to North Greenwich. And I got a whole pod to myself! There was a sweet girl at the "boarding gate" (a line on the platform) who was doing her best to give everyone their own pod, even though strictly speaking they take up to ten people, and it costs £88 to book one of your own. So that was fun. My, um, "flight" finished a short distance from the O2 concert centre where there are lots of restaurants so I went to Wagamama before continuing on home. It was only 11.30 by this point, but I thought five miles of walking meant an early lunch was appropriate. So quite an active weekend for me! I'm not going to pretend there wasn't a nap, but endless police sirens woke me up, so I wonder what's going on in the badlands of Tower Hamlets.

I started Capitalism and Slavery last night, and I also have Jambusters just started too, so quite a contrast there.

What a nice ramble you had Susan.

What a wonderful way to spend your day, Susan!

Stamping my place out on the new thread :)
We used to do some great urban rambling in Southampton - some of the directions do tend to end you... elsewhere...

Thanks for sharing your walk, Susan - it sounds lovely!

Sounds like a lovely ramble experience, Susan, with all those parks being a real bonus!

Happy new thread. Your ramble sounds most interesting.

Wonderful insight of your ramble, thanks for sharing it. We'll probably make it to the dockyard museum.

>18 luvamystery65: Roberta, yes it was a bit unexpected in that area. I was anticipating lots of industrial sites and grit.

>19 lkernagh: Lori, it made quite a change. I used to explore a lot more, and I want to get back to it.

>20 BekkaJo: Hi Bekka! I am directionally challenged unless I can see the river, but the little map app on my BlackBerry was helpful. It didn't work on the old one, but it's about the only good thing about the recent upgrade, as far as I can see.

>21 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie! I want to do the route around the south of the docks next. That's another five miles or so - they are bigger than I thought. They're going to be the site of the next big phase of development in London, so I wanted to see them "before".

>22 ronincats: Roni, yes, the parks surprised me, particularly as they were so old. It's a poor borough so the
upkeep was pretty basic - mowing and a bit of planting, but they have a lot of potential. One even had a bowling green.

>23 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, a change is always interesting, as you know!

>24 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara :-) The Museum of London, Docklands is definitely worth a look. There is a lot there about the history of the river and the port, and a new section on sugar and slavery which is interesting. I'm so pleased that it is staying fine for your trip!



94. Little Mercies by Heather Gudenkauf

Where I got it: Library
Why I read it: This author's previous three books have all been excellent, so when I saw this one in the new books display yesterday, I knew I had to borrow it notwithstanding all the reserves in transit

I started this on the bus home last night and couldn't stop reading it until I finished it at 11pm. It was that compelling. The story is told from two viewpoints - Ellen, a social worker who one day in a moment of inattention does something terrible, and Jenny, a ten-year-old from a chaotic background looking for some stability in her life. Anything more would give away the plot, but the story strands work beautifully together. Highly recommended. If you've never read this author but you like Diane Chamberlain, or the more mainstream novels of Jodi Picoult, you'll love this.

95. Capitalism and Slavery by Eric Williams

Where I got it: Kindle Owners' Lending Library
Why I read it: I've seen it mentioned in some of the books I've read on slavery in the Caribbean, and it seemed to be a classic. This Kindle edition is titled "British Capitalism and British Slavery", presumably as Britain is its main focus.

Eric Williams was at one time the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. This book is based on his doctoral thesis written at Oxford University, although the introduction to the book notes the significant changes that were made between the two.

The author's basic premise is that the abolition of slavery in the West Indies had more to do with economic factors than humanitarian campaigning:

The capitalists had first encouraged West Indian slavery and then helped to destroy it. When British capitalism depended on the West Indies, they ignored slavery or defended it. When British capitalism found the West Indian monopoly a nuisance, they destroyed West Indian slavery as the first step in the destruction of West Indian monopoly.

…

The humanitarians were the spearhead of the onslaught which destroyed the West Indian system and freed the Negro. But their importance has been seriously misunderstood and grossly exaggerated by men who have sacrificed scholarship to sentimentality and, like the scholastics of old, placed faith before reason and evidence.

He traces the growth of slavery, the protected position of sugar in the British marketplace, agitations for free trade, and the eventual decline of the West Indies as a sugar-producing region, with the attendant decline in fortunes of the people who lived there.

This theory was, apparently, taken up with great vigour by a lot of academics interested in West Indian studies, (although not, I have to observe, by museum curators, who focus on the abolitionists rather than economic factors). But Seymour Drescher, writing the introduction to the book, looks at what has happened since its publication in the 1940s, and at newer research into some of the issues that Mr Williams raises. It seems that his theory is now not uniformly accepted, although Mr Drescher admits that the book was incredibly important in getting the debate going.

It has a very readable style, although there are a lot of statistics that are not presented well, and the Kindle copy seemed like a very bad scan of a hard copy version, because it was full of strange words that were clearly misreadings by a scanner – "com" for "corn" and so on. The proofreading (or apparent lack of any) lets it down, as do the footnote links, which aren't hyperlinks, but just numbers like in a hard copy book. As every Kindle owner knows, it is hard enough using linked footnotes, let alone going back and forth to an index and paging through it. So that is a very weak point indeed, particularly for anyone reading this for academic purposes and taking a lot of notes. The introduction gives a lot of titles of books that look at the theory further, and it seems that the library even has some of them, so I have wishlisted them for the time being. Particularly the one that shows up on Amazon costing £4,500 for a used copy…

96. Sweet Nothing: Why I Gave Up Sugar and How You Can Too by Nicole Mowbray

Where I got it: Library
Why I read it: I've been reducing my sugar for a while now

The author of this book decided to go "cold turkey" when she gave up sugar, which is not something I could ever have done, but she points out that even cutting out the sugar in processed foods, alcohol, fruit juices and some of the more "obvious" things full of sugar will make a huge difference. That's what I've been doing (I know the home baking involves sugar, but at least it's not shop-bought biscuits with all sorts of other things in them). It was interesting to see how to go further, and to read about some alternatives to sugary foods, which is where I have tended to get stuck in the past. The author seems to have eaten far more sugar than I ever did (which was interesting, as I always considered myself a sugar fiend) so cutting it out completely led to a lot of side effects in the first few months, but, after two years, she says she would never go back. I'm not sure I could go as far as she has, not least because I have noticed none of the benefits of giving up, like sleeping better and not being so tired all the time. If anything, I fee more tired, but I wonder whether that's because I'm cutting out sugar and not replacing it with anything else. The aim isn't to get rid of calories, it's to get rid of the empty *sugar* calories.

The most useful tip I learned was how to calculate teaspoonsful of sugar from a gram weight given on packets - divide by four. All the health advice talks about teaspoonsful so it has been really hard, until now, to convert from packet information in grams. I also learned just how much sugar is in a packet of savoury-flavoured Kettle Chips - and they don;'t even taste sweet! I think properly "hidden" sugars might be my next focus. It's easy to taste the sugar in commercial products like breakfast cereals (mmmm, Coco Pops with ice-cold milk) but harder to taste it in things like soups, sauces and so on. But I'm doing pretty well with breakfast and lunch now (breakfast is usually my home-made granola, with hardly any sugar in it and not much dried fruit, although this morning was porridge with flaked almonds and cinnamon on it) and lunch is now the salad bar at work and not the pizza counter or pasta day (ahem) or sandwiches from Pret. I fear I will fall at the chocolate marquise hurdle, but it hasn't appeared so far this week. I need to clean up what passes for "dinner", and now I have to ditch the apples I have healthily started eating instead of pudding, because apparently lots of fruit is out. I'm not sure an apple is "lots" of fruit, but maybe eating one at the end of the day isn't ideal.

Sweet Nothing sounds like quite the read! I must see if my local library has a copy.

Hum.... going cold turkey when giving up sugar is not something I can do. Did she also give up on bread? One thing I have learned since I have been making my own bread at home is that sugar is essential to feed the yeast.... mind you, she could be eating unleavened breads with no sugar.

The aim isn't to get rid of calories, it's to get rid of the empty *sugar* calories.

.... But.... but.... that means giving up my wine gums and my sour jujubes! *shudders in horror at the thought* It is those darn hidden sugars added to savory foods that get my back up. I was horrified to discover how much sugar goes into some brands of tinned crushed tomatoes. Like you, I am learning to pay more attention to how foods are prepared and what is in any processed foods we eat, but it is hard work. Kudos to you Susan the efforts you have taken to remove some of the problem foods from your diet! I am not giving up my fresh fruit... not a chance. How about having the occasional fruit? That way you won't be giving up apples, especially if you like them.

>28 lkernagh: Lori, the book was published here in June and it's on Kindle, so it might be in the US too. The author does talk about bread, and everything made from white flour, because of its high-GI factor. She suggests pumpernickel bread as an alternative (presumably the rye flour is lower-GI?). Last night I bought some rye bread at the supermarket, and it looks like the picture of pumpernickel in my bread book, so it's probably close enough :-) I had some this morning with a boiled egg mashed on top – the ultimate comfort food. Then some unsweetened full-fat yoghurt, and woah! It tasted like yoghurt in the olden days, before they started putting sugar in it. I had flaked almonds on top, and some cinnamon, because cinnamon is apparently a wonder-spice and we should all have half a teaspoon of it every day.

She recommends dark berries as a better fruit choice than things like apples and oranges. I'll try some blueberries in the granola next time around. I still think an apple is better than cake!

I also bought some oatcakes last night. They are also low-GI and a better snack than other things. All I could think of was how much better they'd taste with some jam on them!



97. Modernity Britain: Opening the Box, 1957-1959 by David Kynaston

Where I got it: Library ebook
Why I read it: It's the third book in the "Tales of a new Jerusalem" series, or more accurately the first part of the third book. The second part is being published in October.

In this book, the author looks at the years 1957-1959, which is a fairly small period, but it's still a chunkster. The second part will go up to 1962. The same diarists and commentators reappear, and there is the same emphasis on housing and architecture found in Austerity Britain and Family Britain, but all sort of other social history too, including the increasing popularity of television, which people seemed either to love or to hate, declining to buy TVs on principle. But, while TVs were found in two-thirds of homes, only one in ten had a fridge! That statistic surprised me. American rock and roll was also very popular with the young and unpopular with most other people, and there were some charmingly disapproving quotations about the singers and their uninhibited behaviour. I can only wonder what these people would have said if they'd seen a Beyonce video, or Miley Cyrus.

Hi Susan, I'm finally all caught up here. Lots of fun stuff, from fashion (I found out I am a Warm Spring), to interesting urban rambles, and of course, great books!

I am looking forward to my husband finally deciding to retire so that we can do some rambling around our city of Vancouver.

I'm caught up, too. Great reading, and great rambling! Sweet Nothing sounds like a god read. I do love sugar, but I am trying to cut back. Not sure I could every go cold turkey, but it is a good think to really think about what goes in your mouth, particularly processed foods.

Good to "see" you!

>30 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy! Rambling is a great way to spend a morning, and I had hoped to do a bit more this weekend but no luck. Currently we are getting some of Hurricane Bertha, which has been through the Caribbean. Glamorous international weather is somehow more newsworthy than the ordinary British kind. The news has wet-looking reporters stationed all over the place.

>31 AMQS: Hi Anne! Cold turkey is not for me either, but I'm making progress cutting out the obvious sugars (fruit juice is an easy one to get rid of). Yay for...um...filtered water...

98. Book I cannot name

Another work-related read, although fortunately well-written.



99. The Heist by Daniel Silva

Where I got it: Library
Why I read it: Because it's the latest Gabriel Allon novel

If it's July (as it was recently) then it's time for a new Gabriel Allon novel, and I reserved this one at the library as soon as they listed it. While perhaps a bit slow to get going, it soon has all the classic elements of an Allon adventure. The baddie in this one is the perfect choice for the current time, and I raced through it. Even naming other characters will give away what happens in some of the earlier novels, so that's about all I can say! Only 11 months till the next one :-(



100. Jambusters: The Story of the Women's Institute in the Second World War by Julie Summers

Where I got it: Library
Why I read it: I read a good review of it somewhere

This is the story of the Women's Institute during WWII, and what they did to "do their bit". The author says that the WI is famously known for making jam and singing "Jerusalem", but that there is much more to it than that, and this excellent, engaging account explains just what they were called upon to do. And what a lot of it there was! Growing food, knitting and sewing for troops and refugees, helping with evacuees and fundraising were just some of the areas in which the WI was active. And it was often a lifeline for women on isolated farms, perhaps having to do without their husbands or sons who were away fighting. Highly recommended for anyone interested in British social history, particularly of WWII.

Next up on the non-fiction front is The First Crusade: A New History: The Roots of Conflict between Christianity and Islam but I think that somehow the new Shannon Stacey romance novel might win the toss for the rest of today :-)

Hi Susan, I wish you a fabulous Sunday.

>32 susanj67:, Jambusters sounds fantastic.

It sounds like things have been even more interesting at Tower Hamlets than usual, but hopefully you're having a lovely weekend without any teenage punks/Islamic fundamentalists messing it up.

>33 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara!

>34 inge87: Jennifer, I think you'd like it. It made me wonder just how all that work would be done today, with so many more women working outside the home. But then again, it is almost impossible to think of a war situation in which food imports stopped, and clothing was rationed - the public just wouldn't stand for it. What amazed me were all the Government "drives" for the recycling of every little thing, which the WI was always asked to help with. Nothing was thrown away. That's another thing that just wouldn't happen these days! I picked up Oaken Heart this morning from the library - an edition published in 1959 and which I fear has been heavily borrowed by the nose-pickers. Maybe that's one to read outside.

Things are interesting in Tower Hamlets at the moment. Last week the mayor (of the borough, not of London - I couldn't tell you why we have to have one) ordered the Palestinian flag to be flown from the Town Hall, until "vandals" stole it. And then an Isis flag appeared over the gates to one of the council housing (public housing) estates until it was taken down by a local nun: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/07/flag-isis-jihadi-islamic-state-flow... But the mayor failed to get the electoral court petition against him thrown out (four people are challenging the validity of his election) so that will now become an inquiry. The petitioners asked for it to be held out of the borough because they fear mayhem outside the venue, but sadly the court refused.

I started my crusades book yesterday but I wasn't really in the mood for it and then I remembered that I'd started The Barbary Plague before the latest rush of library books, so I finished that instead.



101. The Barbary Plague : The Black Death in Victorian San Francisco by Marilyn Chase

Where I got it: Amazon marketplace
Why I read it: It's one of the recommended texts for a Yale course on the history of Western epidemics from 1600 (which I must get back to)

Two out of the three LT reviews for this book are very unfavourable, but I found lots of interest in it, although the writing wasn't perhaps particularly dynamic. But the author didn't do that maddening thing of ascribing thoughts, emotions and outfits to people when she couldn't possibly have known about them, so she gets lots of points from me for not doing that. The book looks at the outbreak of bubonic plague in San Francisco starting in 1900, before it was known (or widely known) how plague was spread. As it started in the Chinese community, the first public health response was to cordon off the streets where Chinese people lived, causing much protest. But when other races started to get it, the approach changed. Despite the fact that it's set in the 1900s, there are a lot of parallels with the situation at the moment with Ebola - authorities slow to react, people suspicious that they were being targeted because of their race and not the disease (warranted in the case of plague, as the cordons couldn't stop the rats and their fleas moving around, but no-one knew how it was transmitted at the time), fear of doctors from outside the community, insistence on traditional healing etc - it's quite chilling to see it all playing out again 110 years later.

More interesting reading over here but I'm going to resist putting it on my wish list because I'm already buried with other things. Nice to get a tiny taste through your descriptions though.

I must must read more non-fiction. You are an inspiration Susan! But every time I sit down to read I just end up picking up... well, fiction. In fact fluff fiction at the moment. Sigh.

Hi Susan!

>2 susanj67: That was why he was going to the "Indies" - to find gold to finance a crusade. I did not know that! Perhaps I'd better read the book....

>27 susanj67: Hmm, I think I probably ought to try and reduce the amount of sugar in my diet but I think I would struggle to stop eating bread and fruit. It's been so drilled into my head that fruit is good for you that I can't adjust to the idea of cutting it out....

>29 susanj67: I have Austerity Britain in the same series to read which I'm really looking forward to.

>36 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, from your own thread it sounds as though you are quite busy enough at the moment!

>37 BekkaJo: Bekka, I've never been an inspiration before :-) I'd say that if you're in the mood for fiction, read fiction. You've got a lot going on at the moment so fluff might be just what you need.

>38 souloftherose: Heather, the book discussed the recent WHO recommendation of a reduction in sugar, which is explained here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26449497 . But the article says that "The suggested limits apply to all sugars added to food, as well as sugar naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit concentrates", which suggests that sugar naturally found in things like bread and other carbohydrates isn't included (I would also struggle with bread). But apparently it's better to eat lots of vegetables for your five-a-day, rather than fruit. I still think fruit is better than a chocolate eclair, though!

I'm really enjoying the natural unsweetened yoghurt, which has been quite a revelation. There is so much sugar in the fruit-flavoured yoghurts, I have discovered. I'm also diligently having my half-teaspoon of cinnamon every day (not all at once). And the Black Forest gateau in the canteen seems to have lost two layers recently (although it's still the same price) so there's another sugar saving!!

I read a bit more of my crusades book last night, but I'm not sure I'm going to continue. The story as told in Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds was really compelling, if a little Victorian in language and its breathless approach, so I thought a modern version would be even better. But not so far. I might start How to Ruin a Queen tonight, perhaps. It's about Marie Antoinette and some stolen diamonds.

And the Black Forest gateau in the canteen seems to have lost two layers recently (although it's still the same price)

... but is the cake slice smaller or larger now that it is just one layer? ;-)

>40 lkernagh: Lori, definitely smaller. Everything is getting smaller, like today's chocolate fudge cheesecake. As a random example.

By the way, the funniest recent line from the Camadian border programme on TV:

*****
Dog handler to a tourist taken away for a search after the drug dog showed interest in him: "Do you know what kind of dog she is?"

Tourist: "Um, a labrador?"

*****

I'm also intrigued that Canada seems to require a visa for business visits (as opposed to a work permit for taking a job away from a Canadian). US travellers have been turned away for going up to Vancouver to meet with their own clients. Maybe I'm not understanding it correctly. The travellers' stories do seem to change with every question they're asked, but I like learning more about different countries' legal systems.

>39 susanj67: Thanks for the link. I think it would probably be a good idea for me to track what I'm eating to try to reduce the amount of sugar in my diet. Whether I will actually do it or not is another matter! Maybe if I go meal by meal - start thinking about low-sugar options for breakfast and go from there.

And the Black Forest gateau in the canteen seems to have lost two layers recently (although it's still the same price) so there's another sugar saving!! :-)

>41 susanj67: I knew some people from Washington State who went to college with me and they had some interesting border stories. Like the woman one knew who was obsessed with dill-pickle-flavored potato chips, which were only available in Canada. So one day she buys a car-full of bags to stock up. The border guard can't understand why she has so many bags of dill-pickle-flavored chips and opens every single one to make sure she isn't smuggling anything. So much for her months-long supply.

US travellers have been turned away for going up to Vancouver to meet with their own clients.

Yah.... that happens an awful lot. An. Awful. Lot. The Canadian-US economic and business system is really a broken business model that, in my personal opinion, has been exasperated by various trade agreements between the two countries. One of the world's longest and technically unmanned borders has enough red tape when it comes to employment and business crossing the border to make good old Adam Smith roll in his grave. It is all about protectionism. Plain and simple. On both sides of the border. What the powers that be in both countries don't seem to understand is that it makes no sense, for example, for a software trainer for a proprietary software solution purchased by a Canadian company that is owned and marketed by an American company - or vice versa - to go through all the hoops to obtain a business visa to come up to Canada for two days to train company employees how to use the newly acquired software. Nuts I tell you.

I live in Seattle, so we visit the Vancouver area reasonably often, though it's been a few years since my last trip. I sometimes go for a writers conference, and the last time the Canadian border guard surprised me by absolutely GRILLING me about who I was and why I was there. On all my previous visits, all they'd done was check my ID and ask how long I planned to stay in Canada. But this time it went something like this:

Her: Why are you visiting Canada?
Me: I'm going to a writers conference in Surrey.
Her: Are you a writer?
Me: I'm not published yet, but I hope to be.
Her: Are you presenting at the conference?
Me: No, just attending to learn from the workshops and to network.
Her: You live in Seattle?
Me: Yes
Her: Do you work there, too?
Me: Yes
Her: Where do you work?
Me: (so surprised by this question I stammered over it) Uh...Harborview Medical Center. One of the hospitals.
Her: (looking suspicious of this woman who had to think about where she works) Is this your car?
Me: Uh...yes
Her: You own it?
Me: Yes
Her: Is the title in your name?
Me: (Thinks back to when we signed the paperwork for the car in question.) I think it's in my husband's.
Her: Does he know you're here?
Me: (becoming exasperated) Of course he does!
Her: (reluctantly) You can go on. Enjoy your stay in Canada!

It was a relief four days later to come back across the border and have the American just ask how long I'd been in Canada and was I transporting any fresh produce. I'm still not sure what was up with the Canadian guard--the only other time I've ever been questioned more than the minimum when crossing a border or security checkpoint was the time I was returning from London to Newark on El Al, but the outbound leg of the flight had been switched to a different airline, who'd taken some of the paperwork El Al expected me to have. So it made total sense they probed a bit to make sure I was who and what I seemed, but what's suspicious about driving up for a writers conference? I'm going back for the Surrey conference this fall, so maybe I'd better be prepared...

>42 souloftherose: Heather, getting sugar out of breakfast would be an excellent start.

>43 inge87: Jennifer, oh no! And yet I suppose it did look suspicious. The people at the mail centre seem to find drugs in everything, although I know they only show the times that they find drugs :-) I bet she was sick of those chips by the time she'd hurried through them all.

>44 lkernagh: Lori, so I wasn't misunderstanding! It just seems odd to me, particularly as the US lets people in for business trips with no problems. All three times I've been to New York I've said "business meeting" when I was asked about why I was there, and they just waved me through (well, at JFK they first look at you suspiciously, but after that there was no problem :-) ). I'll remember that about Canada, though, in case I ever have a client there.

>45 susanna.fraser: Susanna, oh dear! Maybe they'd just caught a whole lot of drugs being smuggled by apparently respectable US women and they were on high alert for other members of the ring :-) It's unnerving, though, isn't it, being given the third degree when you're just minding your own business. It's nice to get home and not have to go through it. Currently I go through it all the time as "home" (UK) still asks me how long I've been here and how I got my visa. It was quite a relief to go back to NZ where they have to let me in!

Last night's best exchange:

*****

{Border officer to Australian snowboarder-dude trying to enter Canada to go to a snowboarding festival:}

Do you have any other undeclared weapons apart from these brass knuckles?

Just that slingshot there.

And this? What is this paint?

That's for tagging. You know, grafitti.

You do grafitti?

Yes.

Do you have any pictures of it on your phone?

No.

What's this picture right here?

Oh yeah, that's some of my grafitti.

And this picture?

My crop of weed.

You grow marijuana?

Yup.

And this picture?

Cocaine.

So if I swab this drug-taking apparatus my colleague has just found, it'll come back positive for cocaine?

Yup.

At this time you are not eligible to enter Canada.

{Tourist starts to cry}.

*****

>46 susanj67: Snarf! Brilliant.

I got grilled the last time I entered Canada. My company has an office in Calgary, so there is lots of back and forth of staff and it's often a hassle. We actually had one of our IT guys get turned away and put on the next flight back because the border guard decided the thing he was going there to do (it was some kind of update to our computer network or something) could be done by a Canadian.

My favorite passport/immigration story happened to somebody I work with. We were having a Board of Directors meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, and despite all the reminders to have a passport-sized photo with you to attach to the visa application you submitted upon arrival, my colleague totally forgot. So we get to the creepy Baku airport at about 10pm on a flight from London, and this guy is in a panic. When he gets called up to the counter, he tries to explain, but the guard just asks for the application fee (USD 50 or something like that). My colleague slides a $100 bill across the counter, along with the completed form minus the photo, the border guard takes the money, and proceeds to sketch in a face in the little square where the photo is supposed to be. On the same trip, one of our Directors also neglected to bring a photo, and it cost him $500. Gotta love the corruption ;-)

Interesting review of Sweet Nothing. I just finished Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us. Remarkable reading about how big food companies have intentionally increased the levels of sugar (and salt and fat) to try to sell more packaged food. Scary reading.

> 47 Bekka, I do think the programme proves that a lot of people shouldn't be let out of the house without their mothers! I did feel a bit sorry for one US couple who were trying to get to a park in the US but had taken a wrong turn and ended up at Canadian border control, where they were subject to all the usual questions and searches even though they didn't want to enter Canada. Fortunately they'd declared all their handguns, including the one in the baby's nappy bag...

>48 katiekrug: Katie, I love that story! I can just see the guy standing there drawing, with the $100 safely in his pocket. The Director must have encountered someone more honest. Those visa-on-arrival situations would scare me - what if they decided you weren't eligible?

>49 michigantrumpet: Marianne, I read that one last year and I agree that it was a scary read. That's what really got me started on trying to eat better.



102. Summer's Child by Diane Chamberlain

Where I got it: Kindle cheapie
Why I read it: I like this author, and also I'm supposed to be reading books from my carousel

This was an entertaining read, although a bit far-fetched. Actually very far-fetched, but nicely done anyway. The carousel doesn't seem any emptier, though, darned Kindle deals. I'm currently reading The Accident by Chris Pavone for my next fiction read.

My first experience of US customs involved me being near hysterical and in tears (in part due to having discovered, on my first flight, that I was terrified of flying, and in part due to an error on my visa)and a customs security guard with his weapon out. Which I don't recall actually helping matters much.
*shiver*

Fortunately they'd declared all their handguns, including the one in the baby's nappy bag...

I so love that and it is so true!

My trips into the US have been pretty innocuous only because the only business-related trips I have made there involved traveling to our corporate head office. My favorite personal boarder crossing story involved a trip to Britain a number of years ago with my Scottish born and British passport carrying other half. When we landed in Manchester, my other half went through the 'Domestics' line - or whatever it is called - while I went through the foreign/visitors line. The immigration officer I got decided to give me the third degree about why I was traveling to Britain for two months and didn't seen to like any of my answers. If he had any say in the matter, I wasn't going to be cleared for entry. Luckily, my other half had cleared his re-entry into Britain, saw that I was being grilled, walked up behind the immigration officer, thumped him on the shoulder, showed his British passport and said "She's with me." The immigration officer shut up, stamped my passport and waved me through without saying another word. ;-)

>51 Helenliz: Helen, oh dear! The whole gun thing is so intimidating. And I don't imagine it helped! I'm not sure I would ever have made it to the US if I hadn't had to go for work. It seemed far too hard. Now I don't think I'll ever go to Canada! No guns (that they use, anyway) but I'm freaked out by the way they can take people's phones and go through all their messages and emails. My work BlackBerry, which is my only phone, has all sorts of confidential and legally privileged client stuff on it that (a) no-one else should be looking at and (b) could, therefore, presumably be used as "proof" that I was there for some business-related purpose even if I was just on holiday.

>52 lkernagh: Lori, the border agent said "guns and diapers..." as if he wished he could shake his head in sorrow but didn't quite dare. The father was driving with a double holster with two guns in it! Sheesh. How fortunate that your other half was there to rescue you in the UK. I wish immigration would be as tough on some of the other people they let in who then create mayhem. I got a nice officer on the way back from NZ, who just asked me how long I'd lived here. The time before, after the trip from h*ll to the US (gosh, it seems I'm still not over that), I got a woman who scrutinsed my passport and the old one with my visa and looked and looked until finally she stamped me in. The perfect end to the trip, really. Mind you, by that time I wasn't sure I really wanted to come back!



103. The Oaken Heart by Margery Allingham

Where I got it: Library reserve, published in 1959 and looking every day of all its years
Why I read it: I saw it on Jennifer's thread, that cornucopia of awesome books (Hi Jennifer!) and reserved it immediately

This is a book written for an American who asked the author to write about what life in wartime had been like in the author's Essex village so that America could understand it better. It was written in 1941, so has that uncertainty about whether the war will ever end, and on what terms. It is also clear that, while the threat of war was around for quite some time before the war started, life went on in the village and the threat of war was just a part of that. The author describes how it affected her own household (which, in typicaly pre-war upper-middle-class fashion included a gardener, a cook, a housemaid and a friend who was living with them) but also the village as a whole, and the effect of the war on the psyche of the village (which I suppose was supposed to represent the UK in general). It's a lovely read, if a book about living through a war can be described as "lovely". But then I suppose we know now that the author survived and continued her writing career, and Britain won the war. I do wish I'd had a cleaner copy in which I wasn't turning every page hoping not to find the worst, but apart from that it was a great read.

ETA: Am I the only one having trouble with TickerFactory? I keep trying to Edit/Update my tickers and it keeps going to the "Create new ticker" page. I am out of date!

No, you aren't the only one. I've been having that trouble for several days, as has everyone else. I'm way out of date as well.

>54 ronincats: Thanks Roni. I'm glad it's not just me doing something wrong!



104. The Accident by Chris Pavone

Where I got it: Kindle sale
Why I read it: I liked this author's first book, The Expats

This is not a sequel to the first book, exactly, but it does give away what happens to the main character in that book, so it's best read second. And I wonder whether a third one is planned because, while a lot of the plot of this one was tied up by the end, there were a couple of key questions remaining. But it was a good read, and I would recommend it for a plane trip because it's entirely set in a single day and it would benefit from being read all at once, without lots of gaps. I'm definitely getting the next one, if there is a next one!



105. Falling for Max by Shannon Stacey

Where I got it: Kindle
Why I read it: It's book 9 in the Kowalski series, which I've been following since the beginning

This was my least favourite of the books in the series, partly because I didn't think the hero was that great, but mostly, I think, because the books are now moving away from the family at the core of the series to other people in the town, and they're losing that close-knit-family thing that I like. Still, there are a limited number of family members to get married, even in a large family! I'm not sure if any more in this series are planned, but I see the author has just published book 4 in her Devlin Group series, about a group of rogue security operatives, so I might give those a try.

This weekend: The First Crusade (not yet returned unfinished but I fear close to being) and How to Ruin a Queen, which I think also needs to be read in large chunks, because everyone seems to be called Louis and it's getting very confusing just two chapters in.

OR, two Robyn Carr romances and a Joanne Fluke murder mystery. Decisions, decisions...

Horrible news, though, that 32 illegal immigrants have just been found in a shipping container at Tilbury docks and one of them has died. No more details at this stage.

106. The First Crusade: A New History by Thomas Asbridge

Where I got it: Library
Why I read it: I read about the first crusade in Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds and I wanted to know more

I made a big effort with this yesterday and finished it. Yay! I think it also benefits from being read without big gaps as there are a lot of people in it. It's a meticulous account of the first crusade from Europe to Jerusalem which started in 1096 and finally finished three years later. I certainly understand a lot more now, and there are excellent maps which help readers to follow the progress of the crusade (this is not a book for the Kindle as I had about three bookmarks in it at one point, just for the maps) but overall it was fairly hard going. The author presented a series on the crusades for BBC Four a few years ago which was repeated recently and is worth a look if it comes back on and he has a second book which looks at all of them and not just the first one.

Today is either the Marie Antoinette book or romancelandia/murder mysterying. It should be Marie Antoinette, but...It's overcast and fairly chilly today. I think it might be a baking day (granola, cheese scones) and some comfort reading.

>106 susanj67: - The First Crusade looks like a great book, Susan. Was forced to put it on the the Giant Freaking Wishlist. I have so many wonderful (I hope) non-fiction books to be read, but do not get to them as quickly as I would like. Am currently toiling through a book about the Peabody sisters and an within shouting distance of the end. Am looking forward to moving on to something else.

Cool temperatures - yay! Am looking to getting back to cooking soon. Not quite there yet. Just the name 'cheese scones' sounds great. What kind of cheese goes in them?

>57 Fourpawz2: Charlotte, I just use plain cheddar cheese, in a medium strength. They turned out really well. It's been blowing a gale here today - coat weather! I went to the supermarket again but managed not to get rained on. They are renovating it and keep sending emails saying "Come and visit your new frozen foods section!" (if it was mine it would have a lot more stock) and so on. I've made a fair amount of progress with the Marie Antoinette book, which is turning out better than I thought it might this morning. Still everyone is called Louis, though.

>53 susanj67: "Cornucopia of Awesome Books" :) Yes, I guess that's me.

Glad to see you enjoyed The Oaken Heart. Was your copy censored or had they reinserted the sensitive bits by the late 1950s? I know the first American edition had asterisks marking where bits had been removed.

coat weather!

Say it isn't so! It's August for pity sake! Having said that, we had our week of October weather and I was very happy to see the sunshine and warmer weather return this weekend.

>59 inge87: Jennifer, it wasn't censored as far as I could tell. There were no asterisks, anyway. I suppose the authorities could have asked her to change things to describe places rather than to name them, though.

>60 lkernagh: Lori, it may be August but it is definitely chilly this morning :-) I love coat weather because I love coats. But I'm only in a light coat today. I fear that puffa weather is still some way off. But never say never!

This morning I picked up Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds, which I only reserved on Friday so that was pretty good going. Some of my Coursera courses have links to TED talks, and although I don't know what TED is, or why, they have been good. I wish I'd had this over the weekend as I have two presentations this week and I would like to have read it beforehand. But I present a lot, so I'm sure it will come in handy anyway.

>61 susanj67: I imagine by the 1950s no one was worried that Nazi spies might pick up a copy of The Oaken Heart and use the information against Britain, so it was safe to put it back in. The asterisks did add to the feeling that the reader is experiencing the war in real time though.

>61 susanj67: By a strange coincidence, Talk like TED is on a cart of new books I'm processing this morning!

>62 inge87: Jennifer, yes, at the time with the outcome unknown it must have been a particularly interesting read.

>63 cbl_tn: Carrie, it is saccharine-sweet and sickly. "Talk about what makes your heart sing!" "Practice 200 times!" Um, no. I need tips for "How to talk about a subject you have to, whether or not you're interested in it." I imagined the author as being like one of those shiny happy TV anchorwomen but then it turned out that Carmine is a boy's name. Who knew? Now it's even weirder.

Ugh, ugh, ugh. Just decided to just enjoy the TED talks online and hope to learn by example.

>64 susanj67: I hadn't paid attention to the author's name, but I probably would have thought "male" thanks to years of watching Laverne & Shirley. Shirley's boyfriend on the show was Carmine Ragusa, played by Eddie Mekka. I saw him in person once when he was in town for a Labor Day weekend telethon that one of our local TV stations used to host.

>65 michigantrumpet: Marianne, quite a few of those seem to suffer from the same thing!

>66 cbl_tn: Carrie, it's not a male name I've ever heard over here. I thought it was a variant of "Carmen", which I suppose it is, but not a male variant :-)



107. Talk like Ted: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds by Carmine Gallo

Where I got it: Library
Why I read it: I'm always on the lookout for presentation tips as I do quite a lot of teaching in my job

This book is all about inspirational speaking, which was a bit unfortunate as what I want is something on *informational* speaking - the lecture I have to give on a topic I don't get to choose. None of my topics "make my heart sing", which is apparently what we're supposed to talk about. Nor can I cover a complicated technical subject in the magical 18 minutes without leaving out a whole lot of stuff. After all the heart-singing stuff there was some useful information about the use of stories and humour, and the pacing of a lecture if it has to be longer, but overall I was put off by the relentlessly upbeat smiley happy cheer-leady tone of this book, which just doesn't gel with the general attitude of people in the UK (or NZ). It was a bit like reading something by an alien from another planet, so jarring was the tone compared to most of what I read.

I don't think I'm going to model myself on the TED speakers. Instead, my lecturing role model is going to continue to be Professor Joanne Freeman at Yale University, whose lectures on the American Revolution are some of the best talks I've ever seen. True, she does appear to be speaking about something that makes her heart sing, but she is also very good with stories and humour and at getting lots of complex information over to an audience in the same amount of time that I have, and anyone who does voices for the Founding Fathers is always going to get my vote!

I picked up Savage Harvest this morning and started it at lunchtime, deckle-edge pages and everything. Pretty flash for a library book! I commented on it to a friend, who said he'd looked it up but only found romance novels of quite an alarming kind. I checked my message, in which I'd called it Savage *Heart*. Oops. He's getting chased around Amazon by semi-nekkid romancesters now. I can almost hear my name being taken in vain.

108. How to Ruin a Queen by Jonathan Beckman

Where I got it: Library
Why I read it: I read a good review of it

This is the story of the Diamond Necklace Affair, in which a cardinal was tricked into thinking that Marie Antoinette had commissioned him to buy an expensive necklace, which then disappears. The book looks at the main characters in the saga, and its relationship to the fiction writing of the time and its connection to the French Revolution which started a short time afterwards. It is very well done, but perhaps best for someone who knows more about the period, or the literature of the time.



109. The Sea Detective by Mark Douglas-Home

Where I got it: Library ebook
Why I read it: I saw the review on Jennifer's thread and now I look like one of those frenemy people who copy everything their friends buy/read/see :-)

I only looked up the library catalogue to add this one to my wishlist, but they had an e copy ready for downloading *right then*! That was like an omen. This is the first in a series featuring a chap who studies ocean currents and helps to solve the mysteries of strange things washing up on beaches, and where they have come from. I loved the sciencey bit, and also the snarky police woman who I hope reappears in later books. There are two strands to the story, which come together nicely and I've already reserved the second one in the series.

Susan, I wish you a fabulous weekend full of reading.

>70 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara :-)



110. Savage Harvest by Carl Hoffman

Where I got it: Library
Why I read it: Jennifer's review. Again :-)

This is the story (or maybe *a* story) of what happened to Michael Rockefeller in 1961 when he disappeared in the Asmat region of Netherlands New Guinea while on a trip to acquire art for the museum that his family had founded in New York. It's part history and part a memoir of the writer, who travelled to the region which is still very undeveloped and poor, and his quest to try and find out from the locals what had really gone on. He comes down on the side of the young man having been killed and eaten, despite the fact that cannibalism was being stamped out by the Dutch authorities at the time (that's not a spoiler, by the way - it's the focus of chapter 1, which should not be read over lunch). The Rockefeller family, on the other hand, believe that he drowned, and have refused to get involved with the various theories proposed over the years. I thought it was well done, and certainly involved an interesting area and time. The LT reviews seem mixed, but this is definitely worth a look for anyone interested in the subject-matter.

As always, though, with books in the late 900s, I was a little stressed by its Dewey number "995". So close to falling off the scale! :-) I wonder what would happen if someone wrote a book that really should be, say, 1050 but there *just wasn't room for it*? The late 900s always seem to be like the last-gasp saloon for the really wacky fringe countries, including New Zealand of course. Hmph.

Next up for me is going to be Margot Asquith's War Diaries, but I can't pick up that one until Tuesday, so I'm going to read fiction for the rest of the long weekend. I've just started Peach Cobbler Murder.

I'm spending the day very close to you, at least in the pages of a book. Deborah Crombie's Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James series is one of my favorites. The one I'm reading this weekend, Necessary As Blood, involves the disappearance (wife) and murder (husband) of a couple who live in Spitalfields.

>72 cbl_tn: Carrie, that is close! I hope it shows east London off :-)

So behind but I'm popping in to say Howdy!

>74 luvamystery65: Howdy Roberta! I read a Robert B Parker novel, finally!





111. Peach Cobbler Murder by Joanne Fluke
112. Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke

Where I got them: Amazon markeplace and a library ebook
Why I read them: They were the next instalments in the Hannah Swensen cozy mystery series

These are not books to read when you're hungry, as recipes for cookies and other baked goods appear throughout. But they were OK as a continuation of the series, although the "Who will Hannah marry?" question is becoming a bit tedious, and the...um...patience of the suitors is completely unrealistic. But then I suppose that's the point of a cozy mystery - they're escapism. I've reserved the next one from the library but I won't mind if it doesn't come in for a while as I think I'm all cookied-out for a while.



113. Night Passage by Robert B Parker

Where I got it: Library ebook
Why I read it: Roberta and others are reading the Spenser series, but they are hard to get over here (at least the early ones) so I thought I'd give the Jesse Stone series a try, as the library seems to have got them all in ebook format quite recently.

This was a good read and I've put a hold on the second one. I can't really imagine Jesse Stone as Tom Selleck, though. But he's definitely a bit of a babe :-)

Today is a rainy Bank Holiday Monday so I'll continue with The Great Stink of London, about the life and work of Sir Joseph Bazalgette who designed the sewers, and another crime novel that I've downloaded after reading a review on Judy's thread. And maybe some baking :-)

Today is a rainy Bank Holiday Monday is there any other kind? I'm feeling smug that the lawn got mowed yesterday, so a day with the ironing and catching up on the TV is allowable today. And maybe a little bit more ploughing through the Raj quartet (currently somewhere in the middle of book 3).

>76 Helenliz: Helen, I don't think there is another kind! It really is wet here, and the tops of the towers at Canary Wharf have disappeared in a cloud. I'm feeling smug that I have enough in the way of lunch and dinner in the house so I don't have to go out to the supermarket :-) I hope you make some progress with the Raj quartet. Otherwise, have you seen all the old documentaries that the BBC has put on the iPlayer? If you can get it through your TV they're well worth a look. Lots of social history and other interesting things, including some from the late 50s, where even ordinary people sounded like the Queen.

>75 susanj67: How exciting on the Jesse Stone series! My aunt loves them and she loves the movies with Tom Selleck too. I will get around to those one day. There is only 9 by Robert B. Parker and then someone else took over. I think 9 is manageable. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

>77 susanj67: - good shout on the i-player. There are some fascinating gems on there. More ironing than predicted might well be getting done today!

>75 susanj67: I have not read that Joanne Fluke series in order, so I always have to check to see if I've read a particular installment or not. That's hard to do with the older ones because I read a lot of those pre-LT.

Just waving "hi" to let you know I stopped by. :)

>78 luvamystery65: Roberta, yes, I was pleased to find it and I hope the second one arrives soon. Yet another author I would never have heard of without LT!

>79 Helenliz: Helen, my favourite so far is the "Special Enquiry" programme from the late 50s looking at why so many young women (or "girls" as they were known then) were coming to London from the provinces and all the Bad and Wicked Things that awaited them. There's another lovely one called "Cities of Europe", I think, which is about two boys on a day out in the West End. And a couple of good ones on the New Towns, which fitted in well with my David Kynaston reading. I hope they keep adding them.

>80 thornton37814: Lori, I think they would all start to blend together after a while!

>81 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba! I've been following your Chataquan adventures and I see the summer is over now, which must be a bit sad.



114. The Picasso Scam by Stuart Pawson

Where I got it: Library ebook
Why I read it: I saw Judy's review of the second one on her thread, and thought I'd try the first one

This is a crime novel set in the UK, which makes a changes after all my roaming around Wyoming recently. It features an Inspector in a small northern constabulary on the trail of a villain who seems to have fingers in many crime pies, and I thought it was well done although I'm not sure I entirely understood who'd done what at the end. But I'm going to read the second one as I like the protagonist and I'd like to see how he develops. Thanks Judy!

I picked up Margot Asquith's Great War Diary this morning and at first it looked like a real chunkster, but it seems to have thick fancy paper as it's just over 300 pages. Mrs Asquith has appeared in a few recent things I've read and seen and seems like quite a character.

>82 susanj67: You're right, it is a bit sad. Each day more people pack up and leave plus this summer passed by so quickly it's really hard to believe it's over. We'll be here a while because we're having a new heater, air conditioner and water heater installed plus the ceiling insulated with foam plus we just want to enjoy a bit of fall since we don't really get one in San Diego. But our stay will be very different from here on.

Hi Susan, glad to see you enjoyed your first Charlie Priest mystery, I recently read the second and thought it was even better than the first. Charlie is such a likeable fellow that he makes a nice change from the the usual doom and gloom DI's that many British mysteries seem to favor.

I thought I would swing by and answer your question over here. I'd love to join the reading for next year in the Hillerman and Johnson series - how is it going to work?

Similar to The Spenser Project we will read one book each month but alternate the series instead of fatiguing ourselves with one series. I'll start a thread for it if 5 or more of us decide to read them. People can pop in and out as they like. It's not a challenge but an informal shared read. I've enjoyed reading the Spenser books with Donna, Mamie and now Kim. I love how people who have read them in the past comment and encourage us.

The Longmire series takes place in Wyoming so don't get too burned out by it! The Navajo Police mysteries are mainly in the Four Corners area of New Mexico and Arizona.

>83 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, your epic drive to get there doesn't seem like a whole summer ago! I hope your renovations go smoothly and you can enjoy fall sightseeing in the area instead of supervising contractors.

>84 DeltaQueen50: Judy, that's good to hear about book 2. The doom and gloom has tended to put me off reading much crime, so it's a change to find a series that's a bit different.

>85 luvamystery65: Thanks Roberta! Count me in. I don't think I could get burned out by Wyoming - in the first Jesse Stone book one of the characters had to go there and I was secretly hoping he might see Joe Pickett :-) Both series are a bit of a challenge to get here (I've looked before) but I have enough time now to rustle up the first few on Amazon marketplace and then I think at least for Hillerman my library has some of the later ones. Are we starting with The Blessing Way for the Hillerman series? I see there's a "Leaphorn/Chee" series and a "Chee" series, with the Leaphorn books starting about three before the Chee books. Oooh, I can get the first three in an omnibus for £1.99 plus postage! Aaaaand I've just ordered it...So I'm starting with The Blessing Way! And now I see The Cold Dish is on Kindle for £2.99, which it wasn't the last time I looked.



115. The Great Stink of London by Stephen Halliday

Where I got it: Library ebook
Why I read it: It's been on my longlist for a while. I was watching a programme about the bridges of London over the weekend and it mentioned the embankment project which was part of Joseph Bazalgette's grand plan for the sewers, so I looked it up and borrowed it.

Subtitled "Sir Joseph Bazalgette and the Cleansing of the Victorian Metropolis", this is about one of the biggest London infrastructure projects of the 19th century, and arguably one which saved the lives of more Londoners than anything else - the building of decent sewers to stop waste being discharged into the Thames or being stored in cesspools contaminating groundwater. Once the sewer system was finished, cholera disappeared forever from London even as it struck other European cities.

The book was written in 1999, at a time when it seemed that no-one had heard of this remarkable Victorian figure. I think there is some more familiarity with his name and work today, not least because Thames Water is planning a "super-sewer" project to increase the capacity of the system, and there have been frequent references back to how we got the sewers we currently have, and some TV programmes highlighting how beautifully they were built. But at the time of writing, the author comments a number of times about how well-known Isambard Kingdom Brunel is compared to Bazalgette and I think that's still true. His projects - bridges - railways lines - ships - were much more visible and glamorous than the sewer system.

I thought this was excellent, but it would be best for:

1. Readers with a strong stomach, as there is a LOT about sewage
2. Readers who know a fair amount about London, as otherwise the various street names won't mean much, whereas others will be interested to know that Charing Cross Road and Shaftesbury Avenue only exist today as a result of the scheme
3. Readers who don't mind a fair amount about all the politicking involved in the project, which had to get agreement from (or at least pay compensation to) hundreds of vested interests. Really it was a wonder that they got anything done at all, quite apart from the difficulties of actually building it.

For London history and infrastructure devotees this is a really good read.

>86 susanj67: Leaphorn and Chee are both protagonist in the Navajo Police series. The series starts out with Leaphorn and then Chee comes in and sometimes Chee is working alone. I'm glad you found the omnibus and The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson for the Longmire series. This should be fun.

Rivers of London book 3, Whispers Underground, features the London sewer system. Aaronovitch is definitely a London history, architecture and infrastructure devotee. His series is as much a love letter to London as it is a good urban fantasy romp.

Some wonderful reviews here! I don't seem to fall into any of the three categories, and yet I feel strangely drawn to the Great Stink of London. Thanks for posting!

Susan, I have been reading the Craig Johnson series and I can tell you that they are excellent.

>87 luvamystery65: Roberta, I've read book 1 of the Aaronovitch series, Rivers of London (which I think has a different title in the US) and loved his quirky take on London. Maybe I'll have to get the next two!

>88 michigantrumpet: Marianne, LOL! I love stuff about building and infrastructure. At the moment we have the Crossrail project tunnelling its way through London, and that will be the next big thing to be completed. It's amazing. I haven't seen anything about the new sewer proposal for a while, but it's incredibly controversial.

>89 DeltaQueen50: Judy, I think I must have seen them on your thread, in that case! I looked for them a while ago and they were a horrendous price here, but they now seem to be very reasonably priced as ebooks.



116. Love on the Dole by Walter Greenwood

Where I got it: Library ebook (amazingly)
Why I read it: This book has been mentioned frequently in my social history reading, so when I saw it available through the library on the weekend I seized the day!

Written in the early 1930s, this book has apparently never been out of print since, and there is now an ebook of it so it looks like being around for a long time yet. It's the story of a slum district in Salford, focusing on one family living there but drawing in all the neighbours too. The writing is fantastic, and I can see this being one that I will reread. At the time it would have drawn attention to the terrible conditions of low-paid working people notwithstanding improvements meant to help them, like welfare payments (unemployment benefit here is "the dole" in the title).

I could see what the author was trying to do (and his views live on in modern campaigners who accuse "the system" of doing people down rather than suggesting that people take responsibility for their lives), but it did annoy me slightly that the protagonist was a fit and healthy young man who'd done an apprenticeship and was a qualified tradesman, and therefore an ideal candidate to make more of himself instead of hanging around waiting for the economy to change. At one point, signing on for the dole, he sees posters advertising the Government's subsidised emigration schemes, but it never seems to occur to him to think outside his very local area in terms of what he's going to do next. As the early 20th century was a time when hundreds of thousands of Britons were emigrating to make a better life for themselves, his "poor me" attitude was irritating. But that's a result of the political views of the writer. I had more sympathy for some of the older characters who'd had no chance at a proper education, and no opportunities of the type that the younger ones had. They were beautifully written.

Overall this was an excellent read, even if I didn't agree with the writer on everything. It reminded me quite a bit of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists which I read a few years ago and which I want to reread now in light of this one. About 20 years separate the two books and I remember feeling a lot more sympathy for the characters in that novel, so I'll be interested to see whether I still do, or whether I'm just a hard-hearted unfeeling capitalist.

117. The Killing Floor by Lee Child

Where I got it: Library ebook
Why I read it: I've been looking for another series to read while waiting for the next book in my favourite series

This is the first of the Jack Reacher novels, and I'm pleased to say that I didn't picture Jack Reacher as being like Tom Cruise at all. In fact, he's much more like Nate Romanowski in the Joe Pickett novels :-)

Reacher is a former military detective who finds himself caught up in strange goings-on in a small town in Georgia, and the body count is very high, as is the level of general violence. I didn't really understand the baddies' motivation for doing what they did when they did it, but that aside this was a pretty gripping read and I stayed up late to finish it. I reserved the second one in ebook format yesterday and it became available yesterday evening, so I have it ready to go although I plan to spend the weekend on WW1. I was a bit disappointed to see that the books can be read in any order, which presumably means there's no secondary story development like there is in the Joe Pickett novels. But I'll see what the second one is like. There are 19 in the series so far so I'm rather hoping that I like them!

Next up for me:

Richard van Emden's Boy Soldiers of the Great War
Margot Asquith's Great War Diary 1914-1916: The View from Downing Street
Zeppelin Nights: London in the First World War by Jerry White

Hi Susan - just checking in!

Hi Susan, I wish you a fabulous weekend

>92 katiekrug: Hi Katie!

>93 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara - you too!



118. Boy Soldiers of the Great War by Richard van Emden

Where I got it: Kindle
Why I read it: It's part of my reading for the centenary of WWI

I picked this up on the Kindle fairly recently, according to its position on the carousel, so I'm assuming that it must have been on sale. It was an excellent account of the problem of under-age teens (i.e. under 18) signing up to fight in the Great War, and the various attempts by politicians and the parents of the boys to stop it. Officially, boys could only be sent overseas to fight once they were 19, but the book is full of examples of boys as young as 13 signing up and being sent overseas, often to win medals and high praise from their commanding officers, who sometimes failed to notice their very young age when short of recruits. The newspapers, too, ran articles praising the youngsters, some of whom made no attempt to hide their age once they were in the army and sent overseas, and little was done by the authorities to get them back to the UK. At a time when birth certificates were not something that everyone had, and it was much harder to keep track of who was where, this allowed not only under-aged boys to join up, but it also allowed soldiers to desert a regiment that they didn't like, and join another one under a different name. While there is still debate over just how many under-aged soldiers fought in the war, the author estimates a minimum of 250,000, which is a sobering thought.

Interestingly, although the official age for recruits in 1914 was 18, today is is just 16, or 15 years and 7 months with a parent's permission. And the minimum age for being sent into a war zone is 18, according to the interweb. It seems we're going backwards.

119. Book I cannot name

Another work-related read, but quite a chunkster so I'm counting it :-)

Today is the first day of autumn, and it is overcast here but not particularly cold. The heating was on full on the bus this morning, though. I spent much of the weekend shopping for new clothes, so today the first thing is getting a roll-out. It's not black! It's mid-grey and dark-grey, and it's an open cardigan. Hmmm, I can't get a picture to post but here's a link: http://www.jigsaw-online.com/products/colour-block-open-cardigan-9006 The back is a darker grey than the front. I am not wearing a leather skirt :-) and I don't have the collar turned over at the moment to show the light grey.

First day of autumn - I am envious! (First day of autumn here isn't until the third week of September, although the weather geniuses have been trying, of late, to tell us that the seasons change on the first of Sept., Dec., March and June. Don't care. Not buying it. Am more traditional, I guess.) It's a holiday here - Labor Day and it's grey, rainy and super humid. Except for it being a day off from work I am not liking it one little bit.

Nice cardigan, Susan! Bet it looks great on you.

>94 susanj67: - 15 years and 7 months??? Seriously? A fifteen and a half year old is a child for Pete's sake - parental permission or not! I am astonished. Looks like an interesting book though.

Just dropping in - you've been very readingly busy whilst I've been away! At least 18 in two weeks - I am in awe.

Holidays did not lend to reading - I only managed 2 teen fiction and a short story! Oops.

Lovely cardigan, Susan. We've got autumn weather since more than a week - foggy and dump. I hope will get some sun this week.

I like that cardigan, but you should totally get the leather skirt next time ;-)

>94 susanj67: 15 years and 7 months with a parent's permission I thought that they couldn't actually join until 16 although they could start the application process earlier?

It's not black! It's mid-grey and dark-grey, and it's an open cardigan.

I like charcoal... it's the new Black! The cardigan in the link has a very classic yet casual look to it. Very nice!

.... what do you mean you are not wearing a leather skirt?!

Kidding.... I can't see myself in a leather skirt, either. ;-)

>96 Fourpawz2: Charlotte, I thought the date for autumn used to be later here too - at least the equinox, but the news tells us that officially it is 1 September, or at least the news I was listening to :-)

>97 BekkaJo: Bekka, I think only 16 but still not bad going, I suppose! I'm sure you had far more fun things to be doing on holiday than reading, particularly with the kids to look after.

>98 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara! Today it seems to be a bit hotter but I don't care - I've switched to autumn/winter now and it's always the same inside the building anyway.

>99 katiekrug: Katie, LOL! I don't think the world needs to see me in a leather mini-skirt :-)

>100 SandDune: Rhian, the Army website says people can't be a soldier until they're 16 but they can join from 15 years 7 months, so I don't know what that makes them in the interim...But the child soldiers organisation has protested to the UK government about even 16, which is embarrassing.

>101 lkernagh: Lori, I also love charcoal. Dark grey is my colour, rather than a light grey. We have a "business casual" dress code at the office, which no-one really understands, but I think the cardigan fits it, at least for the office. I wouldn't wear it to a planned client meeting but if I was hauled off for something urgent then I think it would be OK, not least because no-one would care what I was wearing if it was urgent :-) The only leather I have is a leather trim/piping on a couple of jackets, and I think that's enough for me :-)



120. Die Trying by Lee Child

Where I got it: Library ebook
Why I read it: It's the second Jack Reacher novel

This time Jack is accidentally kidnapped with the intended victim, and has to work out where they're being taken, and why, and how to get out of the situation alive. Lots of action, lots of guns, lots of baddies. A fast, exciting read. I've reserved number 3 :-)

The longlist for the Samuel Johnson prize for non-fiction has been published today: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/02/samuel-johnson-prize-2014-longlist-...

I've been on a reserving spree in the library catalogue and used up all my slots. Boo hoo. But there are a couple of novels in transit, so I might have two more slots in a couple of days :-)

My Margot Asquith book is coming along slowly. I thought it was shorter than it looked, as it only goes up to page 324, but I have overlooked a 140-page introduction numbered in Roman numerals. D'oh! And 140 pages for an introduction! I suppose it's to put everything in context, but it's very long.

>102 susanj67: I think there are many interpretations to "business casual." I can understand your confusion.

>103 susanj67: Interesting list! I'm getting the Adam Nicholson book from the August Early Reviewers batch. Now I'm looking forward to reading it even more.

>104 thornton37814: Lori, there are many and varied interpretations of the term, that's for sure. It seems to encompass some outfits I would call "beachwear", but I could just be a grumpy old lady :-)

>105 cbl_tn: Carrie, it is interesting, isn't it? I have been wondering about the Adam Nicholson book and whether it would be too hard as I have only read a tiny bit of The Iliad for a Coursera course last year. I'll be interested in your opinion!

I read the Odyssey in high school and I can't remember whether or not we read the Iliad. I'm familiar enough with the Odyssey that I should be able to follow Nicholson's book. Maybe it will inspire me to reread it.

Hi Susan. The Great Stink sounds interesting - thanks! And I came over to see if you'd heard about the Samuel Johnson longlist - lots of interesting looking books on there.

>107 cbl_tn: Carrie, I hope you enjoy it!

>198 Ameise1: Hi Heather :-) Yes, the list is good, although there are quite a few sad ones on there that aren't my thing. There is one about someone's husband dying, and the one by the brain surgeon admitting his mistakes, which was serialised somewhere - I'm going to steer clear of those. A friend has read God's Traitors and said it was excellent, but then she is much cleverer than I am, so that's awaiting a free reserve slot while I've prioritised others.

Today the Daily Telegraph has a photo gallery of public libraries in the US, taken from a new book called The Public Library: A Photographic Essay by Robert Dawson. Maybe the perfect Christmas present for the library-lover! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/photography/11070618/10-unusual-and-beautiful...

121. Burma's Spring by Rosalind Russell

Where I got it: Kindle Daily Deal last week
Why I read it: Well, it was only 99p, looked interesting and the cover was beautiful.

This is a book by a journalist who managed to get into Burma when her husband was sent there by the aid agency he worked for, and who reported secretly towards the end of the military regime. The story of Burma's recent past is told through the eyes of the people she met and it's a superb read - part history, part memoir, and it works really well.

Burma was a place I knew virtually nothing about, because it was so cut off from the world by the military rulers. If I thought about it at all, I imagined it to be a little country with a population maybe the same as New Zealand - about four million. But I was amazed to learn (before reading this) that it has about 60 million people, although a recent census revised that downwards to 51 million. It's hard to imagine such a huge number of people shut off from news, world entertainment trends and so on. Currently it's changing fast, and the book also looks about what might be expected for the future. This is a gem of a book and well worth the "full" price, which is still only £3.99.

Today's old-lady moment:

Roomie, pointing at something on my shelves: "Those are so cute! What are they?"

Me, after seeing nothing cute and seeking clarification: "They're dictaphone tapes."

I'm sure I could hear another decade creaking past.

And I just picked up a couple of new tops from Marks & Spencer, which I ordered online. One is from their "Classic" collection, which is the grandma clothes. But, you know, the models for that line seem to be getting younger by the year. And I don't think this is too old: http://www.marksandspencer.com/tonal-floral-top/p/p22324952

The other one was from another collection, and the zip appears to me to be in the wrong way, as the entire zip and the cotton on either side of it is visible on the back of the top, whereas inside out you can hardly see it at all. You can see what I mean on the back view here: http://www.marksandspencer.com/armoury-print-shell-top/p/p22324829# But my roomie tells me that this is quite normal now. I'm still driven crazy by zips put in the right way with no attempt to cover them up, so it seems I am far behind the times :-)

"They're dictaphone tapes."

Oh, that is funny!

I like that top, but then maybe I fit into the old lady category with you. ;-) Thanks for the link.... apparently M&S has an offer on right now of free shipping to Canada until September 30th!

Susan, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

>69 susanj67:, >71 susanj67: Stalkerish behavio(u)r is totally acceptable as long as you stay on your side of the pond. ;)

You've been doing some very nice shopping. I miss Marks and Sparks

I think you should get this one:

>112 lkernagh: Lori, I hope you had fun on the site! I think they always have free shipping to Canada but for orders over £30. They do to NZ and I think I remember more countries being included in that offer. But no minimum order is even better!

>113 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara :-)

>114 inge87: Jennifer, that's a relief! (not least because the second Sea Detective novel is in transit to the library...)

>115 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, I decided it was time for an overhaul. Being able to buy online is great, as it means a brand new garment delivered to the mall under my office. No more hoping for the right size in-store and then finding it smeared with make-up.

>116 ronincats: Roni, that is pretty! Maybe I should...I've spent years just wearing plain colours so pattern is quite new to me.



122. A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre

Where I got it: Kindle
Why I read it: I saw a good review and I liked this author's Operation Mincemeat

The Cambridge Spy Ring is one of those British things I knew existed, but it was all quite confusing. I thought this book might explain who was who, and it certainly did. But it told the story of Kim Philby (the "third man" after Guy Burgess and Donald McLean) from the point of view of his friendships with the others, and with those who recruited him, and looked at how the "old school tie" system meant that proper checks weren't made, and hard questions weren't asked. It was particularly interesting to read now as recent research has shown that a large percentage of those in charge still come from the private school system, which could mean that a similar risk still exists. At times (most of the time, really) it read like a novel, and really raced along. I thought it was excellent.



123. Trouble in Paradise by Robert P Barker

Where I got it: Library ebook
Why I read it: It's the second one on the Jesse Stone series

This was another good read, this time involving a gang of villains plotting to rob an island near Paradise, where Jesse Stone is the chief of police.



124. The Martian by Andy Weir

Where I got it: Library
Why I read it: Because everyone else on LT seems to be :-)

This is the story of Mark Watney, left on Mars after his mission evacuates without him. Written from various points of view, it rattles along and it's a great read, although possibly a bit sciencey in parts. But it's obvious that the author has thought through all the science properly, and addressed the actual problems that someone in Mark's position would have. I liked the development of his character but also that of the people on Earth, particularly Mindy. And some of the running jokes about the other mission members were very funny. Highly recommended although there is lots of science in it.

Hmmm - must pick The Martian back up again. I read the first few pages a while ago and then got distracted (me? never!) by another book.

You are also reminding me that I desperately need to go work shopping. Again. I got a pile of summery sleeveless tops cos I was boiling in the office. As autumn rolls in I need some sleeves, but my old stuff is so tatty that I probably risk getting sent home for being a scruff! Or more of a scruff than usual...

>118 BekkaJo: Bekka, if you need basics, M&S turns out to have a 20%-off sale on all clothing (including kids' things) until "midnight Monday", which I assume is tomorrow night (I just checked and yes it is).

I'm watching the news about the Scottish referendum, which now looks very close! And I'm reading Zeppelin Nights, which is very good so far. The Margot Asquith book is lagging behind, mostly because I think it would be best for someone with a whole lot more knowledge about the personalities than I have. But having slogged through the 140-page introduction I am reluctant to waste it...

My other half is glued to all news related to the Scottish referendum... for obvious reasons. ;-)

I keep forgetting about Marks & Spenser when I do on-line shopping. Good to know about the no shipping fees on such a low purchase price amount. Here in Canada I have to purchase $100 worth before the Bay will ship for free to me.

>102 susanj67: Lori, he might like this: http://www.scotlandnow.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/video-watch-hilarious-scottish-ind...

It's a "megamix" put together by Sky News with archive footage and an autotuner, and it's to advertise their referendum coverage - Alex Salmond is singing Queen's "I want to break free" while David Cameron is saying that if Scotland leaves the union "We are Never Ever Getting Back Together" (Taylor Swift). It's very funny. Scroll to the end for the video.

We often have minimum orders here for free shipping but we can "click and collect" from local branches for free, which is very handy for people working near a branch. Even if you choose something under £30 from M&S it's easy to get it up to the minimum with undies and tights :-)

I'm not making much progress with my book here - I think I'm all read out for the weekend and I might just give in to TV. Ah, that feels better :-)

#119 ooooh... *heads to M&S online...*

I'm torn on the Scots ref. The (admittedly evil half) thinks oooh...loads of work coming our way from all those Scottish LPs set up a few years ago which will no longer work. The other, much nicer half, hopes it doesn't go through because I think it's an end of an era and am rather sad about the whole idea.

>122 BekkaJo: Bekka, it raises so many issues, doesn't it? As they already have their own legal system I don't think it will have an impact on my work, although the rules on service of process may change - at the moment they are different for countries in the UK than for others. So that might require some court rule changes, but nothing major. It's just odd to think that they might be an entirely different...country isn't the right word, because they already are, but not part of the union anyway. One of the papers is running an article on "Will I need a passport to go to Scotland?" to which some people seem to say "no" while others say they can't risk illegal migrants sneaking into Scotland and then coming south, so "yes". But no-one seems to know how that will work. I just hope they'll be part of the visa waiver scheme!

I'm desperately hoping that the Scots vote 'no' as if they don't the rest of the country is going to have an inbuilt Conservative majority for the foreseeable future. As a non Conservative voter I find that deeply worrying. On the other hand if I lived in Scotland I would consider voting 'yes' as I'd be fed up to the back teeth with being governed half the time by a Conservative party that I hadn't voted for!

>124 SandDune: Ditto.

And my own personal work perspective - how will the tax system work?

>124 SandDune: Rhian, is that because Scotland is more Labour-supporting than the rest of the country, so removing their votes would swing it for the Conservatives? I have to confess I don't pay a huge amount of attention to politics (well, more accurately "politicking" - I'm interested in what the politicians do but less in how they get to hold office) but I heard that mentioned today.

>125 souloftherose: Heather, it might be a boom time for transfer-pricing specialists!

I must recommend Linda Colley's Acts of Union and Disunion, which was inspired by the forthcoming referendum but looks at other acts of disunion (it's how I became interested in the American Revolution). It's even more topical now than when I read it.

>126 susanj67: Scotland has only had one Conservative MP for almost as long as I can remember. Whereas it has a lot of Labour MP's. Removing Scotland would almost guarantee a Conservative government unless there was a huge swing to Labour.

>127 SandDune: Rhian, I see. I didn't think the population of Scotland would be big enough that its seats made a huge difference, but maybe there are more up there than I thought!

From the Just Another Evening in London files: I just saw two helicopters flying down the river, and one of them had a CAR suspended on a platform underneath it, all lit up. There was considerable comment on this from neighbouring balconies (LOL), but a bit of googling solved the mystery - it's part of a promotion for the new Jaguar car. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/londoners-left-bemused-after-helicopter-... I hope they've got enough footage now, though, because it was drowning out Dog Squad.

125. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Where I got it: Library ebook
Why I read it: It's been on my list for ages, but Heidi's thread reminded me that my library had it as an ebook, so I reserved it

This was an excellent read, and I particularly liked the way the chapters alternated between what was happening to the Joad family and a more general musing about the state of things at that time as so many people travelled West, convinced that they would find a better life. As I don't know anything about how that period finally ended, or what happened after the events in the book, it seemed to end quite abruptly, but I've ordered The Worst Hard Time from Amazon and it's on its way from the US, so that might answer my questions. I'm very glad to have finally read this after thinking that I should for so long.

It's rather good isn't it! I'd suggest you read Cannery Row as well if you've not read that one?

Glad you liked The GRapes of Wrath, Susan. It's a favorite of mine :)

I've liked every Steinbeck I've read. East of Eden is another chunkster, but kind of soap opera-y and disturbing and fun all at the same time. You might like it, too.

I seem to remember reading a Steinbeck as school, but have no recollection of which one or any of the details. I keep meaning to go back and try him again, but it's that list, it's so long...

>130 BekkaJo: Bekka, I haven't read any of his others. Thanks for the suggestion!

>131 katiekrug: Katie, soap opera sounds like my kind of thing! I think the library has that one as an ebook.

>132 Helenliz: Helen, there was a lot of discussion about Of Mice and Men being studied to death in the UK curriculum recently, so maybe it was that one? A few people said they were glad to see it go, so I wasn't motivated to rush out and read it.



126. Tripwire by Lee Child

Where I got it: Library ebook
Why I read it: It's number 3 in the Jack Reacher series

Baddies, guns, intrigue, Reacher getting the girl - this seemed to have all the features necessary for a good read :-) I have number 4. I've reserved number 5. I think I've found my new crime series.

Meanwhile, in hard copy, Zeppelin Nights continues to be excellent and I'm hoping to finish it over the weekend.

127. Somewhere to Hide by Mel Sherratt

Where I got it: Kindle cheapie
Why I read it: The box-set of the first three novels in this series kept popping up for 99p and I do love a bargain

This author was self-published before getting a publishing deal, so I thought it would be interesting to see what her books were like. The answer is wooden, predictable, dreadful dialogue ("Pray tell me" in a novel not set in Ye Olden Days is always a bad sign, as is "What brings you to my humble abode?"), cookie-cutter characters - I could go on. This wasn't a crime novel, although there was crime in it. It was supposed to be the first in a series about a plucky housing association officer working on a rough estate up North, but she hardly featured. Instead, it was mostly about a widow who took in homeless young people while the housing association tried to rehome them. (She conveniently had a five-bedroom house on the rough estate, which again was ridiculous). Cue lots of ruffians with hearts of gold, and a battered wife who was trying to escape her cartoon-villain husband. It was a sort of chick-lit with bruises, if that's not too flippant a description. Avoid. I've deleted the box-set so I don't have to suffer through any more of it.

Susan, I wish you a lovely weekend.

I see we've been doing some parallel reading, Susan! I'm so glad you liked The Grapes of Wrath and are going to give The Worst Hard Time a try. I recently listened to The Martian on audio and it was fantastic in that format... Probably one of my top reads for the year. I've also been slowly working through the Jack Reacher series and find them to be fun.

Dictaphone tapes are cute??? Really? Do the UK look different than the US ones? To me they are about as cute as a roll of toilet paper. Necessary, but very utilitarian. Maybe if they had a little weight to them they could be glued together and then used as a paper weight, but otherwise I don't remember them as having any 'cuteness' quotient.

Ah, the Scotland thing. Of course the Scottish part of me is all excited, but I am glad that I don't have to vote on it. Thinking about all the pros and cons kind of makes my head ache.

Congrats on venturing into pattern country, Susan! I've pretty much been there all of my life in spite of my mother bad-mouthing patterns for as long as I knew her. To have heard her talking about my love of pattern you would have thought it was a major character flaw.

The Martian looks good. Tossed it onto my list of books to borrow from the library.

>135 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara :-)

>136 Cobscook: Heidi, yes, your review of The Grapes of Wrath prodded me to read it and I'm so glad. The Worst Hard Time should be showing up soon, but Amazon seem to have a new system where they bulk-ship things from the US marketplace site to Europe and then post them out from there, because recent US purchases have come from France and Switzerland. Still, the postage is so cheap that I suppose they have to do it that way.

>137 Fourpawz2: Charlotte, I think it was the dinkyness factor of the tapes that was cute. But as she's only 26 I was pretty surprised she'd ever seen a full-sized cassette tape! The pattern venture is going well. I think my issue was with small patterns on a tall person. I always used to feel they made me look even longer, but I think for me the answer is a larger shape in the pattern, or an all-over pattern rather than small motifs spaced out, if that makes sense.



128. Zeppelin Nights by Jerry White

Where I got it: Library

Why I read it: It's part of my WWI centenary reading

As the author says, when people think "London" and "war" they tend to think of the Blitz in WWII, but in fact the city was also attacked during WWI with the infamous Zeppelin airships, and later other planes. This excellent book looks at the London experience during WWI, not just from the point of view of the bombing, but from many different points of view, including employment, housing, food prices and rationing, entertainments and so on. I hadn't realised that, during WWI, London had full employment and that "absolute" poverty disappeared as people were able to earn decent amounts as individuals for the first time, but also as families, leading to lots more consumer goods being bought and health improving. It was the middle classes on fixed salaries who thought that they were hardest done by, being taxed out of existence. This was a great read and I recommend it highly to anyone interested in the social history of London or of WWI.



129. The Visitor by Lee Child

Where I got it: Library ebook

Why I read it: It's Jack Reacher 4

Another fast-paced tale of derring-do, although I did think the baddie in this one was a bit silly. That said, I had no idea who it was until the big reveal at the end. I do think that Jack needs some more clothes, as he seems to go for days with the same outfit, a bit like the guy in 24, but then he's not really one for possessions.



130. Key Lime Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Where I got it: Library

Why I read it: It's the next instalment in the Hannah Swensen series

This time a young woman is murdered at the Tri-County Fair, and Hannah helps to solve it whilst juggling her two boyfriends, her sisters, her mother and a mysterious project and her cat, Moishe, who seems to be off his food. Norman seems to be pulling ahead in the boyfriend stakes, but once again Hannah isn't in a hurry to make a decision. Lots of recipes, most of which seem to be for a heart attack in a cookie.

You got me with Zeppelin Nights. Off to see if there's a copy in the library system...

>139 cbl_tn: Carrie, I hope you found one. It's new, though, so it might not be out in the US yet. I don't suppose you're getting quite the deluge of WWI books that we are.



131. Romany and Tom by Ben Watt

Where I got it: Library
Why I read it: It's on the Samuel Johnson prize longlist

This book starts: "We only ever see the second half of our parents' lives - the downhill part. The golden years we have to piece together." This memoir is partly the author's attempt to do that, and partly the story of the "downhill part". It moves back and forth in time but never confusingly, and I thought it was superb. I've only recently started to think about my own parents as people who had lived half their lives before I came along, rather than just "my parents" and it's surprisingly difficult. This is definitely the memoir of the year for me (at least before I've read the second book by Alan Johnson, for which I have high hopes). Highly recommended, but sad if you're going through the "downhill" part with your own family, definitely.

ETA: For Tana French fans, the good news is that her new book has evidently just been published here because it's listed as "in transit" to me. Yay! I also have book 2 in the Sea Detective series available for collection, and the next Jack Reacher as an ebook, plus the first in a series by Camilla Lackberg. Scandi crime has really passed me by, so I thought I'd give it a try :-)

132. Carrot Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke

Where I got it: Library ebook
Why I read it: It's number gazillion in the Hannah Swensen series

Most of my weekend was lost to a headache, but I did at least manage to get quite a bit of reading done, and that included this instalment of the murder-with-recipes series. One of the recipes was for hotdish...to serve 75. As usual, the mystery was secondary to the story of Hannah and her family, and the two suitors who are still patiently hanging on. I have Cream Puff Murder reserved in the e format, and I think there are a few more after that.

Meanwhile, last night I got a "pre-overdue notice" for the Margot Asquith book, so that made my mind up for me. It's gone back to the library this morning so I don't have to feel guilty any more about not reading it. I picked up number 2 in the Sea Detective series, and I also have Four Sisters, about the daughters of the last Tsar of Russia, after I saw an interesting documentary about them on the BBC recently. Plus two Jack Reacher novels and the Scandi-crime, which I started last night. So far I don't see anything particularly amazing about it, but I'm only 14% of the way through so far.

133. The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg

Where I got it: Library ebook
Why I read it: I thought I'd try some Scandi crime

This was OK, but I'm not motivated to continue with the series. It was just an ordinary crime novel set in Sweden. I'm not sure what I thought Scandi crime was, or maybe this isn't it, but I expected something different, somehow. I didn't guess who the baddie was, though, I suppose that's a positive point.

The new Tana French is now ready to collect - yay! I have a couple of library ebooks to read before I get to it, but it should be my weekend read, along with the Russian princesses.

134. Echo Burning by Lee Child

Where I got it: Library ebook
Why I read it: It's Jack Reacher #5

This instalment is set in a very hot Texas, where a woman tries to hire Jack to kill her horrible husband. But, despite the fact that he's never killed a man who didn't need killing, Jack says no. There's lots of mayhem and guns, as usual. And, while Jack does buy a new set of clothes part-way through this book, he's still short of essential wardrobe items in my opinion.

Today is the referendum up in Scotland, so that's most of the news. We'll know by tomorrow morning what the result is. I suspect we'll know in the very early hours of tomorrow, but I'm not going to stay up for it. Of course, if it's a "yes" vote, I will miss the historical announcement and be cross with myself.

Finally splurged on a quick DottyP shop of work tops - I managed to grab 4 so not too bad. Oddly enough I thought of you whilst shopping ;)

>144 BekkaJo: Yay! Four is a good haul :-) I am still waiting for the chill off the windows in my office to make the knitwear necessary - I'm wearing it already, but it's not *really* cold enough.



135. Deep Sea and Foreign Going by Rose George

Where I got it: Kindle Daily Deal recently
Why I read it: I'd seen it before and it looked interesting

This is subtitled "Inside shipping, the invisible industry that brings you 90% of everything" and it's the author's account of a trip on the Maersk Kendal, a huge container ship. Being a fan of Mighty Ships, which has featured the Emma Maersk, an ever bigger ship in the same line, I was immediately interested. The book is partly travelogue but each chapter also looks in depth at an issue affecting the modern Merchant Navy, including the working conditions and pay of the crews (one of my step-brothers and his wife ran a Seaman's Mission in a far-flung corner of the world for a while and the stories they heard were shocking, so this chapter didn't really surprise me), environmental issues including fuel pollution and an excellent chapter on the impact of shipping on the marine population, and particularly whales, accidents at sea and the requirements to stop and rescue people, even enemy combatants and quite a bit on modern piracy. The journey took the ship through the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor between Aden and Oman, which is now patrolled by ships from various navys and NATO (one of which also recently featured on Mighty Ships) and ended in Singapore. It was a great read, and recommended for anyone interested in how stuff gets to where it is, and what happens along the way. It seems that members of the Merchant Navy think that the rest of the world views them as the scum of the earth, but it never comes across like that in Mighty Ships at all. The commentary is always impressed at how well they do in very trying weather and other conditions. Maybe they don't watch it.



136. Four Sisters : The Lost Lives of the Romanov Grand Duchesses by Helen Rappaport

Where I got it: Library (beautiful new hardback - bliss!)
Why I read it: There was a very good two-part documentary about the Romanov daughters on TV recently, and the author was one of the contributors to it

This was an excellent account of the lives of the four daughters of the last Tsar of Russia, and their sad end. I remember reading one of the books popular when I was at school about Anastasia and how she had escaped and went to the US, but modern DNA testing has long disposed of that myth. Otherwise I knew relatively little about the family, other than their connections with the British royal family. Highly recommended.

And this one was my 75th non-fiction read of the year, which was my new target (75 non-fiction plus whatever else happened along). I think I'll make 150 in total now, but I've definitely enjoyed reading more non-fiction, and I have eight more reserved at the moment, so I'm just going to continue. Well, after the next Jack Reacher, obviously...

Hi Susan! You're up to your usual amazing reading:)

I loved your comments on The Grapes of Wrath. I've been meaning to reread it, since I haven't touched it since high school. I thought The Worst Hard Time was an excellent book. Marina and I went to the new-ish History Colorado Center on Colorado Day (August 1). One of the best exhibits was a dust storm simulation in an old plains-style cabin. Very powerful.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

eta: 75 nonfiction books?!? Congrats!

>146 AMQS: Anne, The Worst Hard Time has arrived, but I'm a few books away from getting to it (!). It does look good, though. I've just looked up the History Colorado Center and it looks great. I've added it to my list of things to see on my LT retirement tour :-) It certainly looks more professional than what passed for the history of Auckland in the museums when I was younger.



137. Without Fail by Lee Child

Where I got it: Library ebook
Why I read it: It's Jack Reacher #6

At one point in this book, Jack actually had *luggage*. But it didn't last long. He shows no signs of learning about laundry or dry-cleaning, preferring just to buy cheap clothes and then throw them out. His view is that $10 a day for clothing may seem like a lot, but then factor in a washer and dryer, a house to put them in and all the costs of running that house and really it's not so bad. This story is about the race to find the potential assassins of a Vice President-elect, and takes Jack all over the place as usual.

I have a hold on number 7 but it hasn't turned up yet. Possibly just as well, though, as another Coursera course has opened today and I'm about to start "Revolutionary Ideas: An Introduction to Legal and Political Philosophy". I wonder whether I'll make it past week 1 :-) Tomorrow "Unethical Decision-Making in Organisations" starts (I enrolled in that just for the title) and "Life on Hadrian's Wall" through FutureLearn. I enrolled for that one in the summer, when time was plentiful... But it's a lovely day here so washing is drying, and there is fresh air. I might bake later.

Looks like you are enjoying Jack Reacher.

>148 thornton37814: Lori, yes, I think I've found a new series obsession! But I started #7 on the bus this morning and it's written in the first person, which totally threw me. I kept wondering who the person was, and why he did things that Jack Reacher wouldn't normally do, but it all seems to be part of a plot...



138. Death in Paradise by Robert B Parker

Where I got it: Library ebook
Why I read it: It's #3 in the Jesse Stone series

This didn't have quite the pep of the first two, but it was still a good read. I love the way Jesse doesn't say any more than absolutely necessary. He's a bit like Jack Reacher in that respect :-) Also the secondary characters are developing nicely, and in particularly "Suitcase" Simpson, the young officer who hero-worships Jesse for being a homicide cop in LA.

Congrats on making your goal of 75 nonfiction books!! That's amazing.

>150 ronincats: Thanks Roni! I think I've turned into a non-fiction reader now :-) If I hadn't had the two series of thrillers that I've read this year, the fiction total would be considerably lower.



139. Persuader by Lee Child

Where I got it: Library ebook
Why I read it: It's Jack Reacher #7

This is the first one so far to be written in the first person, and it confused me at first because I couldn't tell whether it was Jack writing or someone else. The whole first chapter was slightly hard to get to grips with because of that, but it soon unfolded into a typical Reacher yarn, with lots of baddies and guns. I have #8 reserved already ;-)

There was sad news yesterday with the announcement of the death of the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, Deborah Mitford (as she was originally). She was the last of the sisters left, and there are front-page pictures on at least two of the papers today, and no doubt a lot of obituaries. One article yesterday mentioned Nancy and Diana and Unity and opined that Deborah had probably led the most "normal" life...I suppose if being a Duchess is "normal". I think Pamela probably had the most normal life but maybe casual observers had forgotten about her. This Daily Telegraph article links to their obituary: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/prince-charles/11120104/Prince-Charles-mo...

I'd love some help from a techie person if anyone's reading this - I just can't get pictures from my gallery to post. Book covers come out fine.

For example, here is the code (without the arrows at the beginning and end) for the Jack Reacher book above.

img width="150" src=http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/P/0857500104.01._SX140_SY224_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg"

Now here's my code for the picture I'm trying to post (again without the arrows)

img width="150" src=http://pics.cdn.librarything.com/picsizes/d5/f7/d5f7c61f78fc457636b74786a51434b41716b42.jpg"

I can't work out what I'm doing wrong. Things titled "ecx.images" (i.e. book covers) come out fine, but nothing else will.

This is the picture: http://www.librarything.com/pic/4557298 Cute! It's my new pencil case, after too many years of juggling stuff on the way to meetings.

I think you might be missing a " I think you need one to surround the link, and you seem to have one missing between src= and http:/
I think this should solve it.

img width="150" src="http://pics.cdn.librarything.com/picsizes/d5/f7/d5f7c61f78fc457636b74786a51434b41716b42.jpg"

I love the pencil case! It would almost -- almost-- make me wish for more meetings to carry it to.

>153 Helenliz: Thanks Helen! That was indeed it. The book covers work without one, which is what threw me. I was trying to get all the code exactly the same when it seems to need to be different. Yay! Get ready for a deluge of pictures...:-)

>154 cbl_tn: Thanks Carrie :-) I've been in meetings all week, dropping pens, security cards, my BlackBerry, lip gloss (vanity never sleeps, it seems) and I'd finally had enough. It's got a middle compartment into which I have put some painkillers, as those are always handy (particularly for day-long meetings proofing things on a big screen...) Now I just need another meeting to go to so I can test all of its capabilities. I think it's back-to-school season that made me think of it. I rather wish the pattern came as a tote bag for weekends.

I nearly found another nice jacket/cardigan for work:



But then...



Why would someone do that? Why?

Oh deary deary me. You'd not see the patches, you know. But you would probably know they were there...

>156 susanj67: I can't imagine why anyone would do that either!

There are many things about fashion I don't "get" -- polka-dot elbow patches are among them.

>156 susanj67: - Okay. I don't get the idea of the elbow patches as decoration -what else would they be with the red polka dots on them? - or the corresponding heart shaped insert at the nape of the neck. Otherwise, quite a nice jacket!

>157 Helenliz: Helen, yes, I would know they were there. And I'd never be able to walk in front of anyone ever again! I'm sure people would think I was odd as I backed out of meeting rooms and stood the wrong way round on escalators.

>158 SandDune: Rhian, it's a mystery to me who the designers think is going to buy these things. A grey knit garment says "work" not "fun". And polka dots are fun.

>159 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, welcome to the not-understanding club!

>160 lkernagh: Lori, yes, it was nearly perfect until I clicked on the back view (although the brown buttons with grey were a bit odd). Never mind. I probably have enough new things now.

I've had a busy morning of running errands including the supermarket, doing laundry and baking cheese scones and granola. And instead of napping this afternoon I'm going to watch week 2 of "Introduction to Key Constitutional Concepts". There, I've written it down so now I have to do it. The supermarket has recently been poshed up but seems to have no more stock, and they have cut down the number of manned tills, and also had only two out of five open. There was nearly a customer insurrection. By the time I left managers were being hauled over to be complained at but there were still only two tills open. They're trying to make everyone use the self-service tills I think, which is ridiculous when people have a huge weekly shop, which is what most people are doing on a Saturday morning.

#161 LOL - I think it's been one of those supermarket days! I went to do our usual weekly shop and didn't realise there was a double dividend event on. It was mobbed. I was also (terribly naughtily - I totally blame my friend) awfully hungover and the two combined to make a loathsome hour or so. Thank god my supermarket has a tot stop (free childcare for the 2-6s as long as you spend over £50) so I was solo and could feel wretched in peace!

>162 BekkaJo: A couple of the supermarkets I went to in NZ had that childcare area, which does seem like a good idea. I haven't seen it here but it would probably be more likely out of central London. I hope you're feeling better today. Your friend must be a bad influence :-)

I am determined to finish a book today. Any book. I seem to be stuck on two, and meanwhile the new Tana French is sitting there not getting read at all.

Susan, I wish you a lovely Sunday. and yes, I wouldn't buy this jacket.

>164 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara - you too :-)



140. The Woman Who Walked Into The Sea by Mark Douglas-Home

Where I got it: Library
Why I read it: It's book#2 in the Sea Detective series

Cal McGill makes his living by working out where things have been jettisoned at sea by looking at where they've washed up, and the first novel in this series had quite a bit of sciencey stuff in it, which I liked. In this book there was hardy any, and Cal himself seemed a bit peripheral to the plot, really. It was good, but different from the first one, being a straight mystery about an abandoned baby and who knew what many years before.

This has taken days to read due to various interruptions and I was starting to think I'd never finish it, so at least I've achieved that. Now I have the final half of The Box or the new Tana French...And a nice sunny afternoon here.

Whoa. Childcare in the grocery store?! What a fantastic idea!

>166 scaifea: Amber, the NZ shops had a "no nappies" sign on the childcare area, presumably because the nappied sit in the shopping trolley and just yell at their own parents :-) I think it was aimed more at kids who were old enough to run around causing havoc. But there were several kids in the ones I saw, and it looked like fun for them.

I'm one video away from finishing the week's lectures on the Constitutional law course, which is one of the best I've taken through Coursera. Also, the professor is a Roosevelt, for added authenticity :-) The class lectures are supplemented by lots of videos from the Annenberg Institute, looking in depth at some of the famous cases, complete with news footage from the time and commentary. There's another strand of interviews with Supreme Court Justices talking to groups of students, which is also interesting. It's made me want to move Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee further up my list, as today's lecture looked at Cherokee Nation v Georgia and contrasted the president's response with that in the school segregation case in Arkansas. But now I have to catch the repeat of last week's Downton Abbey (the first episode in season 5) which for some reason escaped my notice last weekend.

More wonderful book selections, as always, Susan.

Have a confession - or perhaps it is more of an admission of bad taste - I actually like the jacket with the polka dot 'surprises' on the back. I don't even mind the brown buttons. Guess I was the manufacturer's target audience.

I, too, like the idea of getting young children out of the aisles of the grocery store. The whining, screaming and crying ones who do not deal at all well with the word 'no' are the ones who make an already unpleasant errand a chore. For some reason, it seems that once I run across one of these happy family groups in the store I can never shake them. No matter which way I go or how fast I push my cart I keep running into to them throughout the rest of the store until I am finally able to flee the premises!

Hope your day has been a good one.

Hi Susan, I hope you had a lovely weekend, and enjoyed your reading time this afternoon.

What drives me crazy in the grocery store is the child sized carts they provide the little ones. I find I have to be on constant guard against getting run into by these. Also I often see push and shove fights between siblings over who get to push the little cart. One more distraction in a busy supermarket that I don't need.

I love the idea of kiddie-care in grocery stores - I even remember these being in place in the UK stores way back in the mid-1990's and I continue to be surprised that they have never taken off here across the Atlantic.... or maybe I shouldn't be surprised as the stores here are really only designed to serve the customer by offering the products they want them to buy. As >169 DeltaQueen50: Judy has mentioned, I find it rather dangerous that they have instead brought in child size grocery carts so that the kiddies can 'zip around' and get underfoot in a manner that the hassled parent is not able to easily manage.

I hope you have had a wonderful weekend and have a great week, Susan!

>168 Fourpawz2: Charlotte, I'm fortunate that I don't tend to shop at times that attract lots of families, or perhaps I just live in an area where people have one child and then move out when child 2 comes along to get more space. The children are therefore typically small enough to fit in the seats of the trollies. I'm always incredibly popular in queues for the tills because I have so few items compared to people doing bigger shops. As the queues fill up with larger trollies people realise I have about a dozen things and rush to get behind me, like they can't believe their luck :-)

>169 DeltaQueen50: Judy, I have seen those although I can't now remember whether it was here or in NZ. I seem to remember my father grumbling about them, which suggests NZ :-) But I don't really see the point of them either, as they are a menace with those pointy flags and of course kids paying no attention to where they're going.

>170 lkernagh: Lori, the two Westfield malls in London have kiddie areas, although I think the idea is that one parent gets in with them while the other one goes and shops. They also have little cars that the kids sit in and get pushed around, instead of pushchairs. They seem to love it, and it keeps them in one place so I'm also a fan :-)

My office roomie arrived this morning with macaroons and a piece of chocolate cake from Pierre Herme in Paris, so that's my sugar quota for the day sorted out. Actually she said the cake is so rich that I should only attempt a spoonful at each sitting. My kind of cake :-)

141. Patient: The True Story of a Rare Illness by Ben Watt

Where I got it: Library
Why I read it: I loved this author's book Romany and Tom which I read recently

This is a memoir of the author's serious illness at the beginning of the 1990s, when he was eventually diagnosed as suffering from Churg-Strauss Syndrome, but only after multiple operations to remove most of his small intestine and lots of near-death experiences. I'm not usually one for medical stories, but there is a lot more to this excellent book, and reading it two decades later I know he survived and went on to live a healthy life, so there isn't the sense of uncertainty that there might have been reading it at the time of its original publication. I only picked it up from the library yesterday but the bus took such an age yesterday evening that I was half-way through it by the time I got home, and just kept on reading.

Tonight I am going to finish The Box if it's all I do. And it might well be. I've got the new David Kynaston in transit to the library so I need to clear the decks.

Oh, the shame.

Yesterday I was saddened to read in the local paper that the McDonald's closest to my office is closing for two years while a block of flats is built on top of it. I'd known it was going to happen, but not when. My office roomie patted my shoulder in sympathy as she read the page on my screen. Last night she mentioned it to her husband, as they live in the area. Apparently he said "Susan told you that, didn't she?"

I've met him once. *Once*.

And today I see that one of the main bus route roads onto (and off) the estate is closing for months from tomorrow. I have no idea what this means for my bus journey in the morning, as Transport for London hasn't done anything like *tell anyone* but I'm tempted to buy a little rucksack and start walking to work. The downside: it's a 40-minute walk, so too hot for coats of any sort, even in winter. Noooooooo! Plus of course there are the homicidal cyclists. And it's too dangerous to walk home after dark, which would mean I would need a coat going home on the tube, which is logistically impossible. More thinking required.

Let us know which solution you will take. That doesn't sound very forecoming, doesn't it?

#173 Sorry but that made me chuckle - I just had images of you throwing up your hands crying it out!

Also sorry, but I'm in the McDonalds closing = good camp.

Bus wise though, that sucks! Maybe some sort of light weight jacket in the bag for the way home - but please be careful - no scary London solo walking in the dark please!

>174 Ameise1: Barbara, no, it's not looking very good! I took the bus this morning and it will now stop at only two stops on the Wharf estate (instead of four. I usually get off at stop 4, and dive into the underground shopping mall to walk to my office which is handy in the rain or the rare hot weather :-)). The southbound service is then diverted *north* onto the *motorway* for a short time, before looping around to go south again. It's craziness which is going to confuse a lot of people, and it will add to the route times so there will be longer gaps between buses. My home-bound stop is closed from today so I'll have to find out the next closest one tonight. Canary Wharf Group has put up posters showing the new routes, but they're at crouching level, which isn't that helpful at rush hour in the rain! There is always the tube in the evenings but it's sooooo horrible and crowded with rude people who have never heard of soap. I get it sometimes if the bus tracker is showing no buses within a reasonable time, or if I'm late leaving the office and the crowds have died down, but I try not to.

>175 BekkaJo: Bekka, I immediately wondered what would happen to the franchisee in a closure situation like that (yes, I am a nerd). It's a 24-hour one with a massively popular drive-thru so they must have been making a fortune. And it's a nice little lunchtime walk off the estate, down past the fish market (dodging the enormous gulls) and a sit outside. I'll be lost without it :-) Don't worry, I won't be walking home in the dark. It's grim once you step off the estate, so I just don't.



142. The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger by Marc Levinson

Where I got it: Library
Why I read it: It came up in the "people also read" books on Amazon underneath Deep Sea and Foreign Going

This could have been a lot more interesting than it was. I know some of you are wondering just how interesting a book about shipping containers could be, but the Rose George book showed that the answer was "very interesting". But this book seemed to get stuck on US union politics and that left very little room for anything about the rest of the world. I wouldn't live where I do or work where I do if the shipping container hadn't been invented. My block of flats would still be a coal wharf (or maybe some other sort of wharf). Canary Wharf would still be docks. The London docks only moved down to Tilbury because of containerisation making the ships too big to dock further up, and the harrow streets of the old port areas too narrow for the huge trucks needed for containers. Containers changed the shape of London, and a lot of other cities. But the book is focused on the US and suffers for it, I think. Too much politics, not enough about the effect that containerisation has had overall, although there are a few funny paragraphs about where all the different bits of Barbies now come from, pointing out that the all-American gal now has her own global supply chain.

I started the new Tana French on the weekend, but I looked at it last night and realised that I just couldn't be bothered with it, so I watched two episodes of Mighty Planes guilt-free. I have another Hannah Swensen on the Kindle, and some non-fiction on the way so I think I'll just take it easy for a few days and get back in the reading mood.

>173 susanj67: - Sorry, but I really did have to LOL at the shame bit in your story. ;-)

Transit disruptions due to construction is always a nightmare, but if the bus route will be closing 'for months', doesn't that take things into what the Canadian in me refers to as 'the dead of winter', in which case, don't you need a jacket, even if it is more of the lightweight, rain-gear variety?

>177 lkernagh: Lori, yes, it will extend into the dead of winter, although our winter is not quite as dead as yours :-)

I wondered about this "ultra-light down" one from Uniqlo:



(And look how cute with this Kipling backpack):



But I think that down is probably still too hot. I just can't help lusting after warm coats after half a life spent in NZ where there weren't any. A friend said that one of *her* friends had a Kathmandu jacket that folded down into a bag, and I think it is this:



Maybe that would be a better sort of thing to look for. If I'm walking I don't really need a lot of warmth, as it never gets that cold in London - maybe the low single figures C, but that's it. Last winter I didn't even wear gloves, or wish I had.

My homeward bus stop had reopened last night. I think someone got a bit carried away with the "closed" posters, although it will close at the end of the month when the road closes completely. Currently buses can come in that way, but not go out. They're down to a single lane, perhaps fearing mass complaints if they closed everything all at once. Multiple new blocks of flats are being built in the area, and I think a giant office tower, if that project is back on again. There's never a dull moment in east London :-)

I like the Kathmandu jacket. That colour is wonderful!

#178 I have to agree that you would probably boil in the Uniglo coat - specially on the tube!

Saying that I've only ever been on the tube in 30c plus temps...

>179 lkernagh: Lori, yes, it's bright, isn't it? I visited the Uniqlo one last night and it's gorgeous but it would be too hot. I managed not to buy it anyway :-) I did get the backpack, though. I tried it out this morning and even the short walk from the new bus stop felt completely different. Yay!

>180 BekkaJo: Bekka, I'm fortunate in that I don't have long journeys on the tube or Overground, so actually a bit of puffa is OK (after the walk to the station and prior to the walk from the station to work). It wouldn't be feasible for long trips though. I like them because they're much lighter than cloth coats, so they're great for my poor shoulders.



143. Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke

Where I got it: Library ebook
Why I read it: It's yet another Hannah Swensen mystery

Finally suitor Mike has shown his true colours (tomcatting around on Hannah, which has been hinted at in previous books but which is very clear in this one) while Norman continues to pine for her, and has built their dream home. I'm glad I don't have a teenage daughter reading this series as it is quite weird as far as relationships are concerned. It's clear that Hannah is happiest as a singleton, in which case she should just admit it and enjoy her life. This episode sees the death of an unpopular female character, so the suspect list is long. And the recipes seem to be getting ever-larger.

>165 susanj67: I had similar feelings about The Woman Who Walked into the Sea. The third book sounds like there may be a return to a more science-based investigation, and I hope that's true because that was where the fun was for me in The Sea Detective.

Hmm, you don't read urban fantasy at all, do you? I want a Londoner to read A Madness of Angels because I think the series is, in essence, a love song to London and I want an insider's reaction. Unfortunately, if you aren't familiar with the genre, I think it will distract you. Not that you'd necessarily even want to.

Susan, I wish you a gorgoeus weekend.

>182 inge87: Jennifer, yes, I hope so. Maybe the author is still finding his feet with the series.

>183 ronincats: Roni, I did actually start A Madness of Angels either last year or the year before (I recall it was quite new, so whenever it was published) but I couldn't get on with it so it was a DNF for me.

>184 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara! That picture looks suitably autumnal and misty.



144. Stone Cold by Robert B Parker

Where I got it: Library ebook
Why I read it: It's the next one in the Jesse Stone series

Something shocking happens in this one to one of the secondary recurring characters. I wasn't expecting it at all, and the book took quite a sad turn. I have the next one on hold, of course, but also the next Jack Reacher, and I'm wondering just how long it can take to come in when I'm patron 1 of 1 on the list.

Meanwhile, two non-fiction reserves came in yesterday and I'm well into the new David Kynaston Modernity Britain, or more accurately the second volume of it. They're both huge, so I can see why they're two books. I also have one about the history of gin.

145. Modernity Britain Book 2: A Shake of the Dice, 1959 - 1962 by David Kynaston

Where I got it: Brand new library book :-)
Why I read it: It's the second part of the third book in this series looking at Britain from 1945 to 1979

This is the first one to be split into two parts, but at about 400pp each I can see that there might just be too many pages for one book. I flew through this, and thought it was superb. As always, the familiar diarists return, together with lots of current events, popular culture and a continuing debate about slum clearance the rehousing of families in new places which could be entirely different towns or new buildings in areas where they had always lived. The debate between the high-rise fans and others continues. These days it is now generally accepted that high-rise housing isn't the answer (at least for "social" (public) housing) but we seem to be no further ahead in deciding what should take its place, given the huge population pressures, particularly in the big cities.

I suspect there's a long wait for the next book to come out, although from something in the afterword I think it will be called "Opportunity Britain", so I'll have to see if I'm right!

It's been a gorgeous day here, so I've spent most of it so far outside reading. I've started Gin Glorious Gin, which is an entertaining history of the drink although I don't think I'm going to run out and buy any.

Bummer about your transportation problems. I can relate to your loving coats. I'm always happy when I'm in a climate where I can wear a coat. I do own one but really never wear it here. Even when it's really cool enough there is no place to put it when you get where you're going. Unlike colder climes where theaters have cloak rooms and restaurants have coat trees here you just have to fold it on your lap or sit on it and push it back off your shoulders. I usually just brave the weather for the short periods I'm outside and leave the coat at home.

>187 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, I feel for you :-) Auckland was a bit like that - it was wet enough for raincoats but not apparently cold enough for anything heavier. Having lived with coats for 20 years now, I don't agree with that, but we didn't know any better. I remember when the UK edition of Marie Claire started being published, and I could buy it in NZ. Inevitably they would have coat editions with fantastic wool coats from MaxMara, which became my most-wanted item. But although I can now buy their coats I never would, because they're too lovely to go on the buses and tubes and get all filthy. I am a great fan of down partly because it doesn't weigh much, but also because it's machine-washable :-)



146. Gin Glorious Gin: How Mother's Ruin Became the Spirit of London by Olivia Williams

Where I got it: Library
Why I read it: I read a good review of it somewhere

These days gin is an upmarket drink which is undergoing a revival among the fashionable, and available in multitudes of different flavours, limited editions and so on. But when it first became popular it was a drink associated with the very poorest people, (Hogarth's "Gin Lane" etc) and to call someone a "gin-drinker" was an insult that meant they were the lowest of the low. (I'm not sure what the current equivalent would be - "lottery-player", maybe, as it is the received wisdom in the UK that if you spend money on the lottery, your children don't have shoes).

In this excellent book the author traces the history of gin from its introduction into the UK right up until the present, taking in the various legislative attempts to decrease consumption (all of which ended in disaster and even greater amounts being drunk), popular culture references, trends in flavours and even advertising. I'm not even a gin drinker and I found the whole book fascinating. Very highly recommended for anyone with an interest in social history, or of course gin. There's a section at the back for gin lovers which explains more about distillation methods and flavourings and lists various bars doing amazing things with gin.

Next up for me is a reserve that just came in - The Empire of Necessity which is variously subtitled "The Untold History of a Slave Rebellion in the Age of Liberty" or "Slavery, Freedom and Deception in the New World" (the US edition which appears on LT). And I'm three chapters into Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, which is a Kindle read.

147. Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke

Where I got it: Library ebook
Why I read it: It's yet another instalment in the Hannah Swensen series

This time it's technically Norman who finds the dead person, or at least confirms that he's dead. Hannah sees the body first, but is pleased to be able to make the fine distinction as her mother thinks that no-one will ever marry her if she keeps finding dead bodies. This overlooks the fact that Norman would marry her tomorrow. But Mike...Mike seems to be in it for the home-cooked dinners, and the cookies. I think Hannah may be seeing the light, however. This episode is set in a freezing Minnesotan winter, which is one of the things I most like about the books. I have the next ebook on hold.

Hi Susan! That gin books sounds interesting. I love books like that - that take a seemingly small or niche subject and give a rather broad view of history through that lens.

Hi Susan,

Hope you get your commute sorted out. That sounds like it will be a worry for you.

Gin Glorious Gin sounds like a good book. I looked on the library website and on Amazon, and it doesn't look like it's available in the US yet.

An LT retirement tour?? Oh, yes! Can I come?

#188 This made me laugh last night - I read your post about ten seconds before my husband handed my a lovely G+T. Then I had to hand it back because I'd read a work e-mail and possibly had to drive to the other end of the island for a signature. Turns out I didn't but in the interim period he drank my gin!

An LT retirement tour?

Sounds like a lot of fun! When? Can I join, too?

>190 katiekrug: Katie, so do I. The book was a delight in that respect. It's the author's first book but I'll definitely get whatever she writes next.

>191 AMQS: Anne, it's brand new here but I'm sure it will reach the US at some point. Most of my books are brand new now because I read the new reviews and then reserve them :-) It's one way to beat the chain-smoking nose-pickers. Of course you can join the tour! The fine detail (actually all the detail) has yet to be decided, but I'm collecting places and things to see.

>192 BekkaJo: Bekka, I can only suggest reading it again and hoping that another G&T arrives. But hold onto it tighter next time!

>193 lkernagh: Lori, of course! I'm particularly looking forward to telling the Canadian border people that I've come to Canada "to meet people I know from the internet." From what I have seen of the border security programme, this freaks them out, although to be fair many of the people who say this turn out to be secretly working/smuggling drugs/intending to live off welfare. As for when, that will depend. Not soon! That is, unless I win the £100 million lottery jackpot tomorrow night in which case I'll see y'all from about next Wednesday.

""

148. The Enemy by Lee Child

Where I got it: Library ebook
Why I read it: Because I'm hopelessly addicted to this series and I can't stop myself reserving them.

When this came in, I logged on to reserve #9 and it was *right there* waiting to be borrowed. So I borrowed it and then reserved #10. And then that arrived, but I am showing some self-restraint over #11 for the time being.

This instalment seems to be chronologically the first in the series, although it was published as #8, and takes place in 1990, when Reacher is still in the army, recalled to the US from Panama for reasons no-one can explain. There's travel. There's shooting. The plot is pretty convoluted but once again Reacher only kills people who need killing. It's another first-person narrative, which I still find a bit hard to get used to, but I started the next one on the bus this morning and it seems to be back to the customary style.

>194 susanj67: - Personally, I don't think it takes much to get their suspicion radar in active gear. If you enter via the island - *nudge, nudge* - the border agency folks I have encountered here are pretty laid back in that they like to banter with the people they deal with. I can and do joke with the Victoria based ones when I travel, which is not something I can do with, say, the ones based in Calgary. Vancouver kind of falls in-between the two on the personality scale. They are all professional about their jobs, but some seem to actively present a more rigid "all business" wall-like exterior persona.

>195 lkernagh: Lori, thanks for the tip! The TV programme shows the ones at Vancouver and Toronto airports and some of the land crossings. I have noticed that the ones in the programme mostly seem to be very good-looking. I wonder whether they picked them specially!

Today's library pick-up: Private Island: Why Britain Now Belongs to Someone Else. This is what happens when you cancel your Times subscription because they trebled the price (to reflect their greatly improved sports coverage, apparently. Nothing to interest me there!) and only have the book reviews from the Telegraph and the Guardian online. My reserves now seem to be split between biographies of Duchesses and the communist manifesto. OK, that's a little bit of an exaggeration, but I miss the middle-of-the-road Times recommendations.

Tomorrow if it's not raining I am going to visit a new (to me) branch of the borough's libraries. Actually it's where I joined 16 years ago, but I've never been back as I go to the branches closest to work. It got poshed up into an "Idea Store" about 18 months ago and I've been meaning to see what it's like. I have a couple of books to return there rather than dragging them into work on the vague and unpredictable buses.

>195 lkernagh: - I agree with Lori, as far as entering through Calgary. They are mean there (the border security people, not people there generally)!

Susan, I wish you a lovely weekend.

>197 katiekrug: Katie, I'll keep that in mind :-)

>198 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara! So far I've run errands before the rain started, so that's pretty good.

I'm going to start a new thread now as I'm close enough to 200.

I knew Katie would like that gin book. ;-) On to the next thread.