cameling and the traveling library - Part 7

For anyone who hasn't yet stumbled onto my thread in previous years, I am a camel-mad, food-loving oddball who calls Boston home these days. I travel a fair bit during the year and will share my adventures (some call them mishaps) with all who visit. My thread will never be as well organized as some other LTers, and neither will it be an altogether serious place. It will carry photos of places that inspire me, food I probably ate too much of, and objects that made me laugh. I shall endeavor to write insightful reviews of the books I've enjoyed, and not rant over the ones that bored me to tears.

I welcome all to contribute as you wish on this thread, but ask that you please keep your posts respectful to other members, even if you disagree with their opinions. And most of all ... have fun!







Male Authors: 66
Female Authors: 48

January Reads
The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman
The Shameful Peace - Frederic Spotts
Room No. 10 - Åke Edwardson
Uncle Fred in the Springtime - P.G. Wodehouse
The Lady and her Monsters - Roseanne Montillo
Still Foolin' 'Em - Billy Crystal
Eva's Eye - Karin Fossum
Drowning Mermaids - Nardia Scrieva
Fathoms of Forgiveness - Nardia Scrieva
Boundless Sea - Nardia Scrieva
Song of the Lark - Willa Cather
The Gauguin Connection - Estelle Ryan
The Trickster's Hat - Nick Bantock
The Last Runaway - Tracy Chevalier
On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan
The Italian Wedding - Nicky Pellegrino
Somewhere in France - Jennifer Robson
A Pale Horse - Charles Todd
The Tortilla Curtain - T.C. Boyle
Mrs Somebody Somebody - Tracy Winn

February Reads
Abyssal Zone - Nadia Scrivea
Tides of Tranquility - Nadia Scrivea
Maelstrom - Nadia Scrivea
Toby's Room - Pat Barker
Quicker Than the Eye - Ray Bradbury
The Whale : In Search of Giants of the Sea - Philip Hoare
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats - Jan-Philipp Sendker
To Touch a Wild Dolphin - Rachel Smolker
The Great Fire - Shirley Hazaard
Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name - Vendela Vida
Codex Seraphinianus - Luigi Serafini

March Reads
The Constant Gardener - John le Carré
Cutting for Stone - Abraham Verghese
Concealed in Death - JD Robb
Purple Hibiscus - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Guest Cat - Takashi Hiraide
Sinfest Vol 1 - Tatsuya Ishida
The Man on Table Ten - Luke Smitherd
Slammerkin - Emma Donoghue
Lullaby : The 87th Precinct - Ed McBain
The Immortals of Meluha - Amish
How Excellent Companies Avoid Dumb Things - Neil Smith

April Reads
An Ice Cream War - William Boyd
Devices and Desires - P.D. James
Every Day is for the Thief - Teju Cole
The Food of Love - Anthony Capella
The Dante Connection - Estelle Ryan
The Tooth Tattoo - Peter Lovesey
The School of Essential Ingredients - Erica Bauermeister
The Ian Fleming Files : Operation Armada - Damien Stevenson
47 Ronin - John Allyn
Asterios Polyp - David Mazzachelli
Double Cross : The True Story of the D-Day Spies - Ben McIntyre
Sweet Tooth Vol.1 : Out of the Woods - Jeff Lemire

May Reads
The Rainmaker - John Grisham
A Long Shadow - Charles Todd
The Sports Gene - David Epstein
Sweet Tooth Vol. 2 : In Captivity - Jeff Lemire
Boy, Snow, Bird - Helen Oyeyemi
The Edwardians - Vita Sackville-West
Cold Treachery - Charles Todd
Out - Natsuo Kirino
Point Omega - Don DeLilo
Candle in the Darkness - Lynn Austin
Selected Stories of Eudora Welty - Eudora Welty
Red Skies - Kay Bratt
Jerusalem : Chronicles from the Holy City - Guy Delisle
Palace of Justice - Susanne Alleyn
A False Mirror - Charles Todd
The Old Fox Deceived - Martha Grimes
Seven Patients - Atul Kumar

June Reads
The Sleeping Dragon - Miyuki Miyabe
A Blunt Instrument - Georgette Heyer
Agent ZigZag - Ben McIntyre
The Stone Cutter - Camilla Läckberg
The Dirty Duck - Martha Grimes
Singapore Noir - Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan
A Call to Arms - P.G. Nagle
Hyperbole and a Half - Allie Brosh
The Snowman - Jo Nesbo
The Braque Connection - Estelle Ryan
The Flinck Connection - Estelle Ryan
The Hanover Square Affair - Ashley Gardner
A Regimental Murder - Ashley Gardner
The Glass House - Ashley Gardner
The Sudbury School Murders - Ashley Gardner

July Reads
The Necklace Affair - Ashley Gardner
Body in Berkeley Square - Ashley Gardner
A Covent Garden Mystery - Ashley Gardner
The Gentleman's Walking Stick - Ashley Gardner
Death in Norfolk - Ashley Gardner
A Disappearance in Drury Lane - Ashley Gardner
Skinner's Box - Lei Mi
Forgotten Fatherland - Ben McIntyre
The Women Destroyed - Simone De Beauvoir
The Dark Vineyard - Martin Walker
Mission to Paris - Alan Furst
The $64 Tomato - William Alexander
A Land More Kind than Home - Wiley Cash
The White Lioness - Henning Mankell
Angelica's Smile - Andrea Camilleri

August Reads
Five for Sorrow Ten for Joy - Rumer Godden
The Book of Shadows - Alexander Sokoloff
Tin City Tinder - David Macinnis Gill
Thai Horse - William Diehl
The Leopard - Jo Nesbo
Black Diamond - Martin Walker
Maxwell Strangewell - Matt Fillbach

September Reads
Solo - William Boyd
Savage Altar - Asa Larsson
Blind Contessa's New Machine - Carey Wallace
The Thief - Fuminori Nakamura
Blind Justice - Anne Perry
The Light in the Ruins - Chris Bohjalian
The Siege of Krishnapur - J.G. Farrell

October Reads
Confusion - Stefan Zweig
Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith
Tattoo Murder Case - Akimitsu Takagi
Lionheart - Sharon Kay Penman
Flirting with French - William Alexander
Tale for the Time Being - Ruth Ozeki
Then We Came to the End - Joshua Ferris
The Absent One - Jussi Adler-Olsen
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki - Haruki Murakami

November Reads
Shortcut - John Pollack
Festive in Death - JD Robb

I'll start this new thread with a review of The Leopard by Jo Nesbo

Following the traumatic closure in his last case, Harry Hole resigns from the Crime Squad and leaves Norway. He's found in Hong Kong rather the worse for the wear. Facing new demons, he returns to Norway, is pulled into an undercover investigation into a case of gruesome multiple murders, finds himself a pawn in political feuding between the Crime Squad and Kripos, has to deal with a betrayal and struggles to cope with a personal crisis.

Traversing between the Congo and Norway, Harry's investigations uncovers a a torture tool that may have been purchased in the Congo and smuggled into Norway, used in some of the murders. When he suspects a group of vacationers in a ski cabin of being the targets for the serial killer, he races to uncover the identify of the other guests at the cabin before the killer strikes again. He even pays a visit to an old foe in an attempt to understand the motive behind the killings.

Trying to stay one step ahead of the killer and his new nemesis at work, Harry falls prey to the lure of alcohol once more. When he becomes a target for the killer himself, he realizes he is has nobody but himself to rely on and that time is running out.

4 stars

Hmm... ticker still not working ... so I need to remember that I've just reviewed my 105th book.

>5 cameling: Ooo! How I wish I wasn't 12 years old inside and didn't snigger every time I read the sleuth's name!

*smooch*

Tickers are being the devil, I wonder why?

Richard - It does read weird in English, but I remember someone telling me that it's pronounced 'How-lie' ... which now always makes me think of a Hawaiian surfer dude.

No clue what's up with the ticker factory. I may just ditch this and use another ticker.

I dropped email to TickerFactory this afternoon.

Going back to the messages in my previous thread, thanks to everyone for your support during this horrendous week.

I am so thrilled to report that I've had 2 really positive 1:1 meetings with my new CEO. He seemed genuinely interested in my opinions, liked some of my suggestions and ideas, cautioned me about one path I wanted to go down but said he'd support my testing it out and back me with funding if my test plan worked out so I can expand the project into a full solution for specific markets.

I've also got to write up a business case for a potential team in China and submit that to him and our Director of Finance... which really made me excited because my boss has been trying not to rock the boat and hasn't even presented this case on my behalf.

And given my experience with the APAC region, my CEO now wants me involved in a couple of new initiatives, so unless I do something really really stupid in the next few months, it sounds like he considers me a useful member of the company. Whew!

AND he changed the meeting we were supposed to have tomorrow and moved it up to today because his secretary told him that I was originally planning a day off tomorrow but had cancelled my plans just so I could make the 2nd meeting with him that had been scheduled only yesterday. When I went in to see him today he told me that he believes people should take days off and wished me a fun day tomorrow at the end of our meeting. Sweeeeet!

I'm going ahead with my plans to join some friends in Boston tomorrow to celebrate the annual Fisherman's Feast in the Italian section.

>9 AuntieClio: Good call Stephanie. I hope they respond favorably and fix the problem soon.

>10 cameling: Caro, that sounds promising, especially the believing that people should take days off. I've only been back to work for about three weeks or so and I am ready for more than just the weekend off. :-)

>12 AuntieClio: Not only that, Stephanie. He's even considering re-hiring someone the previous interim MD laid off, who was a really talented developer instrumental in one of our products. I'm so psyched about that. I'm sooo looking forward to tomorrow.

Caro, happy new thread. I love the Warhol camels - gorgeous.

Wow, it sounds like things are going really well for you at work - awesomesauce!!

And Happy New Thread!

Caro, we are on our way north. See you soon.

>14 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara, I like the Warhol camel too. He looks like he's having a great time!

>15 scaifea: Amber, things are at least less dismal, and some of my colleagues who have also had 1:1 meetings with our new CEOs felt the same. At least we're able to go back to our teams and tell them we've had long meetings with the CEO and convey his positive feedback of the work we do to the teams. That will help with the morale boosting and also relieve some of the anxiety some of them have been feeling.

>16 ffortsa: Can't wait, Judy! Whoohooooo!

I'm heading out into Boston now for the Fisherman's Feast! I deliberately didn't eat breakfast this morning in anticipation of all the eating I'll be doing all afternoon and evening. Expect pics later.

Nice new thread, Caroline! I had the same problem with my ticker, but it is working properly today.

so unless I do something really really stupid in the next few months, it sounds like he considers me a useful member of the company

Uh oh...saying prayers now.

>18 cameling: Hope you're stuffing yourself with good seafood right now. Fisherman's Feast sounds awesome. And your boss sounds like a rare one to believe his employees deserve time off. I'm glad things are better for you this week.

>1 cameling: I have that same Warhol-inspired picture in my library, but it's with the characters from "Jaws"- Quint, Chief, Hooper & the shark.

Beauteous thread!

Have a great day off, Caro!

>19 kidzdoc: Thanks for the heads up, Darryl. Yes indeed the ticker is working again. Must have been due to Stephanie's email to them, so way to go >9 AuntieClio: !! Many thanks.

Prayers and extra GAs are always welcome...although I think you ought to keep at least one GA for yourself .... How's your finger?

>20 mstrust: Jennifer - the Fisherman's Feast was pretty good. It's going to be so much more crowded today and tomorrow since it's the weekend, but they still had a decent crowd making it worth the vendors' while to have set up their stalls yesterday. It was pretty obvious that aside from tourists, there were a fair number of locals who, like my friends and I, had taken the day off to enjoy a summery Friday in the city.

And stuff ourselves we did. Going from stall to stall, we inhaled raw oysters, cerviche, shrimp cocktail, stuffed clams, raw clams, pizza slices, lobster rolls, an italian sausage with peppers & onions sub, lamb kebabs, and a bag of zeppoli drizzled with honey. There were a few stands selling fresh squeezed lemonade and I had a couple of glasses... so refreshing.

You'd think that would have had us waddling away to sleep in the middle of the park, but we ambled away and into a little Italian restaurant we knew well .... had to have braised baby octopus in a garlic, white wine and tomato sauce. We had been disappointed the stand that usually sells octopus salads and braised octopus hadn't been at the FF. So a visit to the North End wouldn't have been complete without some baby octopus. :-)

Following that, we left the North End and made our way over to a cool new bar restaurant called the Bostonian Public House for some cocktails, tater tots poutine and a cheese board. Perfect way to end the day.

I've seen an image of the Warholesque Jaws. Loved it! How cool is it that you have it in your library. I wish we had more fun posters around my library .. but they've gone for the nature ramble motif, which is nice too, but I like more eye-popping colorful posters.

>21 mckait: Hey there Kath! Thanks. It's at least very colorful. :-)

>22 ronincats: Thanks, Roni. It felt great yesterday and I definitely needed that mental break.

Alas, somewhere along the feasting .. I must have eaten a bad oyster, clam or shrimp because by the time I arrived home last night I was starting to feel my usual queasy stomach and getting some cold sweats that I have associated with food poisoning. And true enough, I woke in the middle of the night being really sick, and am definitely in the full grip of it today. Had to cancel a meetup with Judy and Jim and seeing a couple of other friends, but given my illness, it would not have been a good idea for me to be preparing food for other people.

I do have some nasty tasting but usually effective packets of herbal (I think) medication from Thailand that I bought in bulk and have stored in our medicine cabinet for bouts of food poisoning and I'll dose myself with it today. If all goes well, I should be better by tomorrow. The only side effect from this medicine is that I usually get a rash on my arm for a day. But I'll take a rash over the explosive symptoms of food poisoning any day. Besides, I have a tube of antihistamine to help with the itching.

I don't even know which offending item could have caused it because nothing tasted off, but with raw seafood standing, even on ice, on a summer's day, there's always a risk of some going a little bad. I just had the misfortune of having one (or maybe more? yikes) of them.

So it's going to be a very very very low-key Gatorade day for me today. Maybe I'll get some reading done. But I'm sorely put out that my plans with friends today had to be changed. :-(

>25 cameling: Poor Caro! Such a wretched experience, and a crummy time for it to happen.

I hope you're feeling better than TV and Gatorade soon.

>26 richardderus: Thanks, Richard. I hate falling prey to stomach bugs and it's worse when it sneaks in on the back of some tasty seafood. I always know it's bad when I can look at food and can't drum up the slightest bit of interest in it.

...so now isn't the moment to mention my homemade pecan shortbread munching...

Maybe it was a bad Tater Tot?

Naaah there's no such thing.

Better better, darllng.

ditto what Jim said. What a misery to ruin your three-day weekend like that.

Oh no! I've had seafood food poisoning so I can relate to how awful you're feeling. How can something you love turn on you like that?
Feel better!

Aye-yie-yie, sorry about the food poisoning, Caro. Hope it's a decent Gatorade day for you and you can do some reading. We've probably all gotten smacked by that at one point or another, and it's lousy.

Congratulations on the new thread - I like the four camel display at the top, and what a beautiful owl in >2 cameling:!

I saw you're joining the Murakami group read - good! I of course couldn't wait, and I'm quite taken by Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, which I'm about 2/3 of the way through. You'll find it a much simpler and shorter read than 1Q84 and some of his others.

Well, if you HAVE to get food poisoning, at least you got it from some tasty morsels!

>28 richardderus: ulp, Richard ..... actually you can mention it all you want, and you may even post a pic here on my thread ... the thought doesn't make me feel any worse or any better. I just currently have a complete disinterest in food. *shock!!* -neener neener-

>29 magicians_nephew: Ha, you're right, Jim... there's no such thing as a bad tater tot. I love tater tots. I haven't as yet had a form of tater tot that I didn't like. No, I'm convinced it's one of the marine lifeforms I consumed that's responsible for what ails me today.

>30 ffortsa: Judy, the misery is compounded tenfold because it's caused me to miss out on having you guys over for the day. *not feeling too charitable towards the food vendors in the North End*

Still, I hope you guys have a fun weekend with Kate & Rich. The weather promises to be nice at least.

>31 mstrust: Thank you, Jennifer. I wish it had been cauliflower that caused my illness because I detest cauliflower and I could at least have heaped a pound of blame on the vegetable and use this as an excuse to never have to eat it again. Unfortunately, I love seafood and if previous (but thankfully rare) bouts of illness hasn't swayed me against it, my bout with food poisoning this time won't either.

>32 jnwelch: Joe - having consumed 4 bottles of Gatorade, one to wash down the horrible tasting medicine, I'm starting to believe that I am not on the brink of death after all. ;-) It certainly helps that Young Montalbano is easy on the eye and keeping me entertained.

I can't wait to read your review of Murakami's latest. It's funny but when I had gotten my hands on 1Q84 I was a little daunted by the size of the book, but once I started reading it, the pages just flew and apart from a rather sore wrist from holding the book up, I didn't once feel that the book was too long. It still remains, for me, my favorite Murakami after Kafka on the Shore.

>33 tloeffler: Terri, I like that .. that's a good way to look at it. I did, at least get a great deal of pleasure out of most of my day yesterday. Maybe too much and this is a rap on my knuckles to remind me I shouldn't overindulge quite so often. I could also consider this a very quick but not enjoyable way to lose weight. ;-)

I'm sorry to hear about your case of food poisoning, Caroline, and that it has ruined the first part of your weekend. Are you having upper GI symptoms, lower GI symptoms, or both? Feel free to contact me if I can be of any help.

My mallet finger fracture is doing well today; thanks for asking. I think I will order a personal guardian angel from Amazon, since I seem to be injuring myself on a regular basis the past few years. Hmm...I didn't have this problem before I met you; coincidence?

I just bought a lovely cauliflower to cook tomorrow..

I hope the nasty is out of your system by now?

Sorry to read of your food poisoning bout, Caro. I hope you're feeling better soon.

Oh dang! I'm sorry that you're not feeling well and I hope you're better soon!

Happy New Thread, Caro! And Happy Sunday! I hope you are feeling better and continuing to pull back from the brink.

Glad you are up for the Murakami G.R. Smiles...

>1 cameling: LOVE the camels :)

>36 kidzdoc: upper GI symptoms, lower GI symptoms, or both?
It makes it sounds more bearable when you say it like that......but we all know- it's horrid. I hope you are over it by now Caro!

Hey, Caro - we need a bulletin. Are you recovered?

So sorry for the bout of food poisoning Caro. You were commenting earlier about the need to lose a few pounds after your last trip. The Gods have a funny sense of humor, eh? :-)

Still hoping we can all meet up sometime in September. Maybe? Labor Day, maybe?

I don't know that I was squeaky wheel enough to get the tickers running again ... but, you're welcome.

And sorry to hear about your food poisoning. Not Fun.

Hi Caro!
Hope you are having a wonderful summer!

>36 kidzdoc: Darryl .. thanks for the messages the other day. The offer to send the brown herbal powder in the mail to you is still open should you be interested in a bit of research on the side. :-)

I hope your mallet finger is getting better. It's a little funny that you should even attempt to pull me into the blame game here regarding your increasing clumsiness when it's clear that your inner klutz is now finally breaking free.

>37 mckait: Kath - lovely cauliflower is an oxymoron. You cringe at some of the foods I've mentioned or posted pics of on my thread and yet you can blithely mention cauliflower and lovely in the same breath?! Fie woman! There mere thought of cauliflower makes me gag and is threatening to bring on the nasty once more.

>38 DeltaQueen50: >39 scaifea: >40 msf59: >41 LovingLit: >42 ffortsa: Thanks Judy, Amber, Mark, Megan, and Judy. I'm feeling back to my bouncy 100% today. It's awful being ill .. I just hate feeling so lethargic, nauseous and play host to a thumping headache. I slept almost all of Sunday away and woke up on Monday feeling ravenous. So I experimented with a boiled egg and soldiers and when I managed to not only keep that down but still feel hollow, I made myself some bacon, more toast and made a pitcher of watermelon juice (no, I didn't drink the entire pitcher, but it was easier just to juice the entire fruit and keep the pitcher in the fridge than to just juice a slice or two at at time)

I did feel rather weak yesterday from lack of proper food for 2 days and my stomach rumbled through my eye appointment yesterday morning. Perhaps that encouraged my eye doctor to speed the exam up a little because I noticed he didn't run a couple of tests he had run in previous exams.

Barbecued some beef short ribs Korean style last night for dinner. Nice, light and healthy fare. Yum.

>40 msf59: Mark, I am hoping I'll be able to hold out until October for the Murakami G.R. It's so tempting to break open that book and start reading it now, .... like Joe!

>42 ffortsa: Judy- Hope you had a good visit with Kate & Rich, and a safe journey home. A raincheck is definitely in order for the next visit.

>43 michigantrumpet: Marianne - I should be careful what I wish for, huh? While I did enjoy losing weight over the weekend, I should have wished for a less uncomfortable way of doing so. What are the chances that I'll get my wish to lose weight while I sleep while still enjoying the type of eating and drinking that I do? Even if I wish really really hard?

Edd is going to be in Singapore for a month starting mid Sept and returning only end of October. So far, we haven't made any plans for Labor Day weekend. I'll PM you to see if we can put something together. Would be great to see you and John again. :-)

>44 AuntieClio: Stephanie, your email must have had them quaking in their boots and rushing to resolve the ticker issue since it started working again soon after you sent in your email. Haha. That and I suspect there were probably other people writing in to tell them their site had crashed.

Food poisoning is thankfully over and my eye exam was successful. No need of reading glasses as yet, and no change to my distance vision. So all is good. I just don't like how they dilate your pupils to look at the back of the eyes. Takes me quite a few hours to get them back to their regular size and then in the meantime, I can't do any work on the computer and need to sit in a slightly darkened room.

>45 ChelleBearss: Hi Chelle - I'm loving this summer except that it's going by so very quickly. I've not had as many beach days as I would have liked, so I'm going to have to see if I can do something about that before the summer is over .. or at least before my next work trip in September. I hope you're having a good summer too.

>48 cameling: Caro, for some reason when I read this your email must have had them quaking in their boots I thought you were talking about the temp agency which is getting fired the very second I know what's going on at work. There was a detailed email sent last week documenting everything that had gone wrong on their end at this particular assignment. I haven't heard from them, not even to apologize for making things difficult.

I'm so glad you were talking about the tickers instead. :-) I sent them a nice email. Usually I'm nice.

boiled egg and soldiers? wazzat?

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

Glad to see the food poisoning has resolved. The couple of times I have had it that I've been able to pin down to specific food rather than generalised 'holiday upsets' have lead me to never being able to eat that food again. So savoury pasties (a pastry filled with cheese and onion in particular) and fried bread (a prawn toast) are off the menu - even mentioning them makes me queasy, even after a few years!

Thankfully I have a very strong stomach in general. I put it down to a healthy disregard for many food hygiene rules. While some things I stick too - the handling of raw chicken and meat in general etc, others like washing fruit and vegetables well, washing my hands before eating anything, I don't, and so I ingest a good amount of bacteria. I'm sure the scientific community wouldn't like it but with pets around, and spending a lot of time around the horses, I'd go mad washing my hands the whole time. The general rule of the yard is if you can't SEE any dirt or mud on food then it must be fine to eat - biscuits or snacks that fall on the floor are fair game as long as you can brush the dirt/hair/straw off before you eat it.

>50 magicians_nephew: Jim, the 'soldiers' are pieces of toast cut into strips that are used to dunk into the yolk of the soft boiled egg.........very British, Caro.

Another pleased to see you fully recovered and feasting again, my dear. Have a lovely weekend.

>52 lunacat: with you on that whole antibacteria thing. and for similar, but not exact same reasons

Caro... hope all is well and that the weekend is a good one for you!

Hi Caro, sorry I've been AWOL from your threads for so long, finally all caught up again. Glad to hear you're fully recovered from that nasty bout of food poisoning. I should probably not tempt the fates, but considering how many chances I take on not quite fresh foods sometimes, it's surprising I haven't had one of those, though I do suffer from the less violent manifestations of digestive system taking offence sometimes.

Hope you've been having a relaxing weekend and are enjoying your reading material.

>52 lunacat: Thankfully I have a very strong stomach in general. I put it down to a healthy disregard for many food hygiene rules.

I'd put it down to eating copious amounts of Lucky Charms.

>49 AuntieClio: Stephanie - we've had a temp agency do some work for us recently who also screwed up everything. It's not even clear they had attended the same meetings that we had been in because it seemed that nothing we had asked for was what they attempted to deliver. Very frustrating. So much for outsourcing... we're considering hiring full time staff so as to avoid more time wasting efforts like the ones we've just been through.

Your nice email probably made them feel guilty and resulted in a quicker response from tickers. I do the same when I'm talking to call center agents or sending emails to customer support staff ... why ruffle their feathers, especially when it's usually not their fault and they're just in the line of fire. If you're nice, they go out of their way to help you out. win win all around I say.

>50 magicians_nephew: Mmmm.. you have to try them, Jim. Thanks Paul for jumping in with the explanation. Absolutely delish.. and one of my favorite breakfasts . It's even better when you spread a little Vegemite on the soldiers before dunking them in the eggs. :-)

>51 Ameise1: Barbara, what a pretty setting. It's the perfect setting for a leisurely Sunday breakfast with the papers.
I hope you had a good weekend too.

>52 lunacat: Jenny, alas, unlike you, even if I've managed to pin the culprit down to a specific food item, the illness doesn't affect my willingness to consume that food item again some time later. I was violently ill when I ate a fruit in Thailand once ... nothing wrong with the fruit in itself, but the knife that the fruit vendor was using to cut it up was probably dirty. And so I've continued to eat the fruit since and I don't hold my illness against it. :-) Same goes for oysters, cheese and ham croquettes, shrimp and cerviche, all of whom have introduced bouts of food poisoning to me.

I do wash my hands pretty often, especially when I'm preparing food. But if I'm eating something and it falls on the floor, I apply the 5 second rule .. unless it falls in a muddy puddle or on the city street. And I used to share spoons of peanut butter with my dog when I was growing up, until my mother caught me and gave me such a scolding my ears rang..... but I did again anyway when she wasn't looking. :-)

>53 PaulCranswick: Paul - thanks for explaining eggs and soldiers. I grew up eating that at home. My mom used to make it for breakfast before school for me, with eggs that our hens had laid (if any had been laid that morning.... very erratic they were with the egg laying ... then again, we only had 6 hens from the chicks my dad brought home on day in a box for me).

The illness was thankfully short-lived and I am hale and hearty again. Even fasted on seafood this weekend when we were visiting friends down on Long Island... and am pleased to report no nasty side effects.

>54 mckait: Thanks Kath. It was a wonderful weekend. Very relaxing in the company of 2 high school friends of the hubster and their wives. We get together once a year for a whole weekend in the summer.

>55 Smiler69: No need to apologize Ilana. I've been absent from many threads this year or only have time to lurk. I need to either get a different job or find a way to retire so I can be more active in LT, do all the reading that I want, and still maintain a social life because the job I have is currently interfering with all of the above.

I don't want to say that I am not often a victim of food poisoning because I know the minute I say that, I'll be jinxing myself, so I'll just say that I've been fortunate to have quite an adaptive stomach. :-)

>56 kidzdoc: Darryl .. seriously? You eat Lucky Charms? You're the first person I know who eats those things. They're very attractive but aren't they seriously sweet?

We went down to Southhold on Long Island for the weekend to stay with some old high school friend of the hubster's. We gather there once each summer with another couple. The 3 men were high school track mates and have remained friends through time.

It was wonderfully relaxing .. especially since they live in an area without good cellphone coverage! So it was a weekend without phone or tablet use. We were talking so much and going kayaking and swimming in the ocean anyway, so we didn't need our usual gadgets. Having said that, I don't know how this couple can live in that area .. they've been there for 5 years now, and they had to buy their own little cell station just so they can get cellphone coverage from one side of their house, and their internet service is weak. once you get upstairs, there's no cellphone or internet signal at all. I would go nuts if I had to live there, I'm sure. It's a very pretty area though and they have a lovely house but.... I'm definitely a suburban with good services type of gal.

Not much reading done at all except for a bit on the ferry going over from Connecticut to Long Island and back. Hopefully the week ahead won't be tough ... oh wait, what am I saying? This is the last week of the month .. hmm... yeah, you may not hear from me much this week because I'm chasing down a couple of contracts that I would like closed before the end of this sales quarter.

Glad to hear you have your robust appetite back, Caro!

>59 cameling: Sorry, that was a bit of an inside joke. Jenny is the Lucky Charms addict aficionado. I brought her a box from the US last year, and I'll probably do the same thing next month to entice her to join an LT meet up in Cambridge.

I'm glad to hear that you're feeling better!

>57 cameling: Caro, what amazes me with all the horror stories I'm hearing about temp/employment agencies is that anyone gets anything done. There are good people like me who want to work and earn their way and yet, instead of being treated like the prizes we are, we get ... bad treatment.

And I agree with you about being nice to customer service. I've even taken to tell grocery store people I'm glad they're there to help me. It doesn't cost to be nice, and a lot of the time you get better service too.

The guy at the Goodwill Donation site yesterday was really confused when he came off the truck to help get stuff out of my car when I said, "Oh, I'm so glad you're here." I was happy I didn't have to pull the bins out and haul them myself.

Hi Caro, your picture of eggs and soldiers brought back some good memories of childhood for me. I was also raised on these - although minus the Vegemite!

Glad to hear that you're feeling better now! You've a much braver spirit than I when it comes to food, I'm afraid - I'm very conservative about what new foods I'll try and once I get food poisoning from something I pretty much never touch it again. I do revel by proxy in other people's food adventures, though, so I love coming over here to see what you've been feasting on lately!

Glad to see you're up and around again Caro!

Sounds like you had a lovely weekend! I would go nuts without access to internet and phone for long periods of time but a technology free weekend every once in a while is a great idea!

>61 ronincats: Roni - the appetite has definitely returned with a vengeance it seems, to make up for loss time... I went out for lunch with a couple of colleagues today and because I only had time for a yogurt this morning, I was really starving by noon. Fortunately, the colleagues I lunched with today also had voracious appetites and we polished off a plate of olives & feta, a grilled Greek sausage, a plate of grilled octopus and a grilled lamb shoulder. Oh, we did also share a salad ... to balance out the meal, of course. :-)

>62 kidzdoc: Darryl .. you ought to be ashamed of yourself ... Lucky Charms! Are you trying to kill the poor woman? Everyone knows those fake marshmallow bits will make her really sick?! I'm sure they're the cause of many a case of IBS.

>63 AuntieClio: Stephanie - I'm pretty sure if anyone wanted to take the time, they'd work out that with all the re-work or delayed project deliveries or even cancelled projects, outsourcing certain jobs will cost the organization a lot more money than they were looking save off hiring a full time employee, or even a fixed term contractor.

That was really nice of the Goodwill guy to come help you with your bins. Usually the Goodwill guy at the truck I go to stays inside while we bring our bins and bags out to the steps of his truck.

>64 DeltaQueen50: Judy - so ... eggs and soldiers for breakfast again for you any time this week now that I've given you a little walk down Path Nostalgia? Even with Vegemite, it's still my favorite simple breakfast.

>65 scaifea: Amber - I had a very varied diet when I was as a kid and the main rule at the table laid down by my parents was that we had to try everything in front of us. It would be ok if we tried it and didn't like it but it was not ok for us to not try because it looked scary or we didn't like the thought of what it was or if it smelled weird. So far the only thing I've tried which I liked but which I discovered an allergy to is iguana.

>66 magicians_nephew: Bouncing around at 100% is great, Jim. I even managed a work out this morning that I felt good about.

>67 ChelleBearss: Chelle, like you, I would go nuts without my gadgets for long, but a weekend without was about the limit for me. I was a week in Ireland without my laptop and that felt really weird, but I had at least my phone with me so I could still access the Internet and message friends. If I had to go without my phone and laptop for that week I don't think I would have made it through the week.

I've decided to learn Korean on my own and much like the way I learned Japanese on my own, I just started to watch Korean cartoons and dramas so I'd get use to the accent and the way they pronounced words while I'm practicing the Korean alphabet. In doing so I found a cute Korean actor in one of the drama series I've started to follow about time travel - Lee Min Ho. So I thought I'd share the eye-candy. :-)

We met people in Republic of Georgia who claimed they learned English from watching American Cartoons.

I remember how Edd looks forward so much to that weekend with friends. It would be cruel to deprive him of his fun, eh? I'm sure you had loads of fun, no matter what.

Have you been enjoying Boston Restaurant week?

Is it just me? Can't see the eye candy. Boo!

>68 cameling: But but but...Jenny asked me to bring her a box of Lucky Charms from the US! It's quite expensive in the UK, unfortunately.

>68 cameling: " Lucky Charms! Are you trying to kill the poor woman? Everyone knows those fake marshmallow bits will make her really sick?! I'm sure they're the cause of many a case of IBS. "

Says the woman who eats things that walk onto her fork, and that other people use for bait?

Um, no offense.. just sayin'. I'll take the marshmallows.

>68 cameling: I definitely see some egg and soldiers in my future, Caro!

>73 Smiler69: No, it didn't work for me either, so I googled him. Ha cha-cha.

>71 magicians_nephew: Jim, a friend of mine learned Spanish watching Dora the Explorer and then other Spanish cartoons and movies. So I think it's doable. But for more fluency and probably more proper speech, either classes or language CDs would be necessary.

>72 michigantrumpet: Marianne, we haven't been participating in Restaurant Week Boston this summer as yet. I looked at the list and mainly the same restaurants offering the same Restaurant Week items as they did in the last 2 years are participating, so I'm not too thrilled. I am, however, going to Marliave with a couple of friends tomorrow for lunch and we may do their Restaurant Week menu since they have my favorite items anyway on it.

What about you? Have you been enjoying much of Restaurant Week? Or rather Dine Out Boston, the new name for it.

It's always nice to hang out with these old friends of Edd's and it's wonderful that they've stayed such close friends through the years. But these annual weekends are special quality time moments for the 3 guys and it makes me smile to see him enjoy himself in their company without other distractions.

>73 Smiler69: Sorry Ilana... I think I made a mistake on the link. How about now?

>74 kidzdoc: Darryl ... cocaine is also expensive, I understand. But would you bring that over to someone because they like it? Bring Smores instead next time. It's at least real marshmallows. I'm not sure the colored bits in Lucky Charms are real marshmallows at all.

>75 mckait: Says the woman who eats things that walk onto her fork, and that other people use for bait?

*trying to think of what I eat that's used as bait but failing since I don't fish so I don't actually know, apart from worms, what else is used for bait .. and I don't eat worms*

I actually don't like marshmallows so maybe that's why I've not fallen prey to the lure of Lucky Charms. Then again, I haven't been lured by any type of cereal. I detest all cereal as a group and don't eat it. I like roasting marshmallows over fires though ..but it's the toasting process I enjoy .. I always give away my toasted results to other people, I don't eat them myself.

>76 DeltaQueen50: Judy, eggs and soldiers are going to be my breakfast tomorrow morning. Wanna join me? ;-)

>77 mstrust: Jennifer - I fixed my link here so hopefully it works now. But if you did Google him, isn't he a cutie? He's got a smile to melt the hearts of stone!

Still can't see your pic, so I followed Jennifer's advice (thanks!) and googled. Yep, he's a cutie. But one picture has him wearing blue contacts and sticking out his tongue sideways, like... BOY TOY, anyone?? Seriously. I'm getting too prudish for my own good, I know. Making up for decades of naughtiness, trust me.

Caro, Lee Min Ho is quite the looker, right up there with my secret heart throbs of Nicholas Tse and Takeshi Kaneshiro. And of course Andy Lau who stands heads and shoulders above all, mostly for his excellent acting.

You don't eat toasted marshmallows? *despair*

>80 cameling: The link still didn't work for me, but he is a cutie.
When I was still in So Cal one of the local access channels played both Japanese and Korean soap operas. Couldn't understand the language but I got hooked anyway. One was called "Rain" and another was "Hotel".

Hi Caro, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

>81 Smiler69: Ilana, not really sure why the link didn't work since I see it. I checked my code and it looks right. Still, you Googled him and found him anyway. :-) He's only 27 ...sigh, I'm old enough to be his mother.

>82 DeltaQueen50: Judy - Andy Lau has been one of my faves too, not only for his acting but he could sing too. I'm with you on Takeshi Kaneshiro. Would you believe I bumped into him once in Tokyo a few years ago? He was doing some press junket at the hotel I was staying in and we shared an elevator (together with his manager and press agent) ....I almost passed out from not being able to breathe until he got off. I have no recollection of the rest of the day! haha

The only other time I suffered near asphyxiation was when I bumped into Derek Jeter in Boston when I attended a seminar at the hotel the Yankees were staying at while they were in Boston for a series of baseball games against the Red Sox.

>83 mckait: Sorry Kath. Will you still talk to me? ;-)

>84 mstrust: Jennifer, some of the JDramas and KDramas are pretty addictive. I do like that they generally only last for about 20 episodes so you know that there's going to be an end, and that it's not just going to drag on forever.
If you're missing Japanese and Korean dramas or variety shows, check out : http://www.dramafever.com/browse/genre/all/popular

What I like about DramaFever is that I can stream the programs I like and if the series is already completed, then I get to binge watch the whole thing instead of having to wait until the next episode airs the week after. This site carries popular Chinese, Japanese and Korean movies, tv dramas and variety shows.

>85 Ameise1: What a beautiful photo, Barbara. Thanks and I hope you have a wonderful weekend too. It's Labor Day on Monday which is a holiday here in the US, so I'm looking forward to the long weekend holiday .......... to do some major house and closet cleaning. It's my Labor Day ritual and I usually will end up with a more tidy closet and bags of clothes to donate to GoodWill.

Caro, you're old enough to have a December-May romance with him, you mean? ;-)

>87 cameling: Enjoy your long weekend, Caro and I hope that next to the cleaning there will be left a lot of good reading time.

106. Black Diamond by Martin Walker

3rd in the series about Bruno, Chief of Police in a quiet little French town. Life is disrupted by when a Vietnamese family is attacked at the market and it appears there may be a Vietnamese/Chinese gang war afoot. Bruno is also alerted to subpar truffles from China being smuggled in and threatening the French truffle trade. If that's not enough on his plate, his hunting partner and friend is tortured and murdered.

His investigations lead him to information about his friend's past as an intelligence officer in Vietnam and there could be something about his work which may have resulted in enough concern for someone to murder him.

3.8 stars

>88 Smiler69: Ilana, I would definitely not shut the door in his face if he appeared at my house. ;-)

>89 Ameise1: Thank you, Barbara. I'm certainly looking forward to getting some reading time in this long weekend too. Work was just too crazy last week for me to get much reading done and I miss it.

>87 cameling: Thanks for that link- wow, I have so many to choose from now! I already see a handful I want to watch.

>91 cameling: Wouldn't want it to be said I'm encouraging a married woman down the road to perdition, but since we're talking about a movie star here, I guess a bit of fantasizing is allowed... :-)

Here's the photo I found so indecent by the way:

>92 mstrust: Haha.. you're welcome, Jennifer. You may not thank me when you start losing sleep because you're staying up to watch 'just another' episode or 3 instead of going to bed.

>93 Smiler69: Ilana, I didn't scroll down the gallery of images on Google far enough so I hadn't seen that photo of him. Still a cutie and I don't find it objectionable. Maybe I'm just jaded, but I've seen a lot more offensive selfies by other people, so he just looks a little suggestive, but nothing more than that to me.

After a very late night with friends last night when the last guest finally left our house at 3.30am, there is nothing like a full Irish breakfast this morning ... 11.45am just squeaks in as morning, to get one on a good start to recovering from the excesses of the previous night.

107. Maxwell Strangewell by Matt Fillbach

Science fiction graphic novel. When a 10-foot tall alien falls to earth, communicating through Anna, a photographer via telepathic empathy, his arrival sparks an intergalactic race for power and control, for this being is a Strangewell. Throw in some Tibetan monks, disguised aliens, an FBI agent, kidnappers and the man on the moon and you have a great story.

4 stars

ETA : This was my Thingaversary read. :-)

>95 cameling: That looks GOOD! (You can have my beans.)

>90 cameling: I really enjoy this series, and am not getting weary of its exploration of French country life. Happy discovery, no?

No like beans, Richard? I love beans on toast for breakfast every once in a while. Usually on weekends since that's when we tend to have heavier breakfasts.

I'm really glad you turned me onto the Bruno series. In this particular installment in the series, his description of food had me salivating for good French country cooking.

>94 cameling: Well, as I said Caro, seems I'm overcompensating for decades of being bad to the bone by having become a real Victorian prude. Not sure how it happened, but it just did. I blame the meds. Or all the historical fiction and actual Victorian literature I read. So it doesn't take much to shock me nowadays. If you only knew too! Ha!

Breakfast looks yumyum!! (Although your bacon isn't burnt so it's not cooked enough! Should throw that back on the pan for a while ;-)

Enjoy your Sunday!

>96 cameling: Added to the list

>95 cameling: Count me out for the beans as well ... and the tomato. But the rest looks great!

>99 Smiler69: Ilana, how do you handle all the crap that's on TV and in the movies these days? There's a great deal that I find objectionable in some of the movies and TV programs that are screened that would make a picture like that pale in comparison.

>100 ChelleBearss: Chelle .. you're right, the bacon wasn't crispy enough. I do love really bacon with a crisp edge. The worst bacon I've ever had to eat was boiled bacon when I had a summer job on a Yorkshire farm many years ago. For some odd reason they ate thick cut bacon that was boiled and served cold with good crusty bread, cheese and pickles. I loaded up so much pickle onto the bacon so I wouldn't gag from the cold fatty bits going down my throat.

>101 magicians_nephew: Jim - I really enjoyed this graphic novel and I hope you do too. I picked it up on a whim and am so glad I decided to take it home with me.

>102 SandDune: Et tu Rhian? You join Richard in the anti-bean club? Oh well .. more for me, then. :-)

Wishing everyone in the US a great Labor Day!

>103 cameling: I don't watch TV basically. Just get HBO when one of the shows I really want to see is on, but otherwise can't be bothered these days. It's been 3-4 years now since I've watched any tv at all, other than serials like Game of Thrones, or Downton Abbey, or Mad Men, and even those, I tend to get from iTunes because I can't stand the commercials. I don't go to the movies all that often, more so lately, but rarely if ever go see action movies or teen stuff, so don't get exposed to most of the objectionable stuff I guess, since most of the ad and preview content is audience-targeted I guess. And then when I see something that bothers me, I bitch and moan about it a lot. I'm basically a 90-year old in the body half that age! :-)

Happy Labour day to you too Caro, Canadian-style. ;-)

>94 cameling: I've discovered "The Nightwatchman's Journal", a Korean drama that has everything- amazing costumes, royalty, great special effects and a homicidal ghost cloud.

>106 Smiler69: Ilana, I love 'Masterpiece Theatre' and 'Castle' .. only because I'll watch anything with Nathan Fillion in it after I became a fan of the browncoat captain in the Firefly series. But apart from that, I'm not a faithful follower of much on TV these days .. I don't suppose you can count sporting events since they are seasonal. I will, however, work from home when the major sporting events are on so that I can work and watch the sport on tv at the same time. This week I'm likely to be working from home to watch the US Open tennis quarter and semi-finals.

The hubster and I do go to the movies when we can, but only for movies that we feel would be best seen on a large screen. Otherwise, we Netflix a lot at home at night to wind down after a day at work. We have a friends who enjoy off-mainstream movies that we'll go to arthouse movie theaters with. And I download movies with bitorrent to watch when I travel since there are some hotels with caps on their internet bandwidth which makes streaming extremely slow and who have terrible tv network selections. The movies or tv series I download also come in handy when I'm on long layovers at airports with nothing to do and when I need a reading break.

I really want to watch The Hundred-Foot Journey which I had read some time back and is now screening here, starring Helen Mirren. And there's the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' which I'm trying to persuade the hubster to watch with me, despite his not being a fan of fantasy. These 2, I think, warrant a comfy cinema with a bag of buttery popcorn and cheesy nachos.

>107 mstrust: Jennifer - I've read some good reviews about 'The Nightwatchman's Journal' and I've got it in my queue for the next series to watch. How could I pass up on a homicidal ghost cloud?! ;-) I'm also queuing the movie 'Codename : Jackal'. At the moment, I'm following 'City Hunter'.

Someone burned one of the microwaves in the office today which set the fire alarm off. *sigh* With the furniture in this particular office, there's no way I could try to hide under my desk like I did in our old office when my desk had a front that came all the way down to the floor when the fire alarm went off once when someone burnt popcorn in the microwave. So we had to evacuate and wait for the fire department to come and do their exam. After the last bomb hoax when we were left standing out in the parking lot for hours, this time, just in case, I grabbed my laptop, bag and carkeys on my way out .... and received a scolding from one of the firemen who was coming in just as I was going out. He said I should have left everything and just left the building .... uh huh.... my office isn't far from one of the exits and we're on the 2nd floor. They took over an hour and it was getting really hot outside, so 3 of my colleagues (who hadn't thought to grab their keys) piled into my car and we drove to a cafe for a long lunch until we received a text message that it was ok to go back into the building.

I'm in a book funk. Bleah! Can't seem to get into anything and I've picked up 12 books so far. *sniffle*

>108 cameling: Hi Caro, as it happens, I went to see The Hundred-Foot Journey at the cinema last night. I went mostly because it featured Helen Mirren, though ended up being quite keen on Manish Dayal as eye-candy. I made comments about it to Judy (who's also seen it recently) about it today on my thread right here if you're interested: http://www.librarything.com/topic/179698#4833707. If you scroll up a bit, you'll see a photo of Dayal I posted last night when I got back from the cinema. I guess it looks like I'm deviously trying to get you to visit my thread. Maybe yes, maybe no... ;-) I'm pretty sure my comments on the movie don't constitute spoilers, by the way.

>109 cameling: I grab my stuff when the alarms go off too. Confuses the hell out of everyone around me. But then, I will wait a few seconds until I know it's not just a test. That annoys everyone too. It just amuses me.

A funk that's resisted 12 books is a MAJOR funk!! I know you don't like the Three Pines series, so I won't tell you how wonderful this entry in it is.

Hi Caro! Glad you thought to bring the car keys. Book funk be gone: Read The Gravity of Birds!! Well, my work here is done. : ) PS--Kids totally loved Guardians of the Galaxy; I liked it. I am dying to go see the 100 Foot Journey and can't persuade anyone to go with me. : ( Wanna go with me?! Just fly on out here...

>113 Berly: I'll go! Me! Mememememe!

Wait? What are we doing?

Hi Caro! How are you, my friend? I am finally making it over here. I am really enjoying Double Cross. Macintyre really nails this stuff, doesn't he? I also have his latest one saved on audio, but I really want to read Operation Mincemeat.

ETA- I NEED to get back to Nesbo. It's been nearly 2 years. What??

Caro - Tell edd "Guardians" isn't fantasy its just a hoot and a half - a space faring raccoon and a sentient tree save the universe.

Guarantee he will love it. Judy also no lover of fantasy liked it main well.

>110 Smiler69: Ilana, I did sneak in a peek at your review of the Hundred-Foot Journey movie and I still want to watch the movie. I never expect movies that are spun from books to be as good as the books, so I'm going only because I liked the book and also because I think Helen Mirren is an amazing actress and will watch anything she's in. I would encourage you to read the book though, I think you will find it more satisfying than the movie.

And thanks for posting the sparkling candy Manish Dayal on your thread. :-)

>111 AuntieClio: Stephanie - I usually wait a few minutes as well before leaving the building, and if I can, I'd rather just hide somewhere and stuff my fingers in my ears, rather than waste time hanging around outside when I know it's a false alarm. But with the current furniture in my office, I can't hide under my desk anymore since anyone walking by can see me. *sigh* I miss my old desk where I managed to hide successfully twice during false alarms. It would have been 3 times, but for one extra vigilant fireman who actually walked into each office to look all over and found me under the desk with my laptop ..... he rolled his eyes and said he'd carry me out if I didn't get out on my own, and then he wouldn't let me take anything with me. Meanie!

>112 richardderus: Richard, I am on the wait list for the new Three Pines book. And yes, I'm still in a book funk! Arrrggghhhh! I'm rather lackadaisically reading Stefan Zweig's Confusion. I need to get out of this book funk soon ... because this is quite a good book but I just can't get into it as yet. But he's such a good writer, he should be able to break my funk, right? Right?! Give me hope, man!!!

>113 Berly: wish that I had a magic carpet, Kim.. I'd definitely go with you to the movies.

I hate book funks. I'm just thankful they are few and far between ... sort of like a bad cold. If this doesn't lift soon, I'm going to need to dig out Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for another re-read. That usually clears things up for me... but the only problem is that once I start with it, I will need to finish the whole series.

>114 AuntieClio: Oooh... LT movie meetup? that will be a first.

>115 msf59: Hiya Mark. Good to see you. I'm so glad you are enjoying Double Cross I think MacIntyre has definitely found his niche in WWII spy research. You're so going to love Operation Mincemeat. I've got my eye on his latest, but I'll wait until it comes out in paperback, I think.

I've become so invested in Harry Hole that I need for Nesbo to make him a happier person. ;-)

>116 magicians_nephew: Thanks for the rec, Jim. I will tell Edd and maybe I'll be able to persuade him to watch it tomorrow evening if there's a movie theater down at the Cape screening it. I loved the trailers.

>118 cameling: Zweig in general, permaybehaps, but a novella about a drunk student who gets a crush on his professor? Ummm maybe not just now.

Alas, my travel hiatus is over. It's been fun staying home for these 4 weeks. Another trip looms next week and before I have to leave, the hubster and I are heading down to Cape Cod for a long date weekend. Well, I'm considering it a date weekend .. he has a triathlon in Hyannis on Saturday and usually we drive down on Friday afternoon and come back on Saturday afternoon, but this time we're going to make a relaxing trip of it and head down Friday late morning and come back only Sunday evening. I hope the trip will clear my head and rid of me of this pesky book funk.

I've been reading The Blind Contessa's New Machine for a few days now. It's a tiny book and ordinarily, I should have been finished with it in a couple of days but it's taking me over a week. Grr... how annoying.

Then again, I've been enjoying the US tennis Open. Yesterday's men's quarterfinals were just incredible! Poor Nishikori .. he played a great match but I'm afraid he'll fold under Djokovitch on Saturday.

>118 cameling: I wonder, Richard, if that's why I'm not really getting into it at the moment. I'm not even really getting into The Blind Contessa's New Machine and I started that out with great enthusiasm, but as her sight diminished, so did my interest. *sniffle*

Has Turri given her the gift yet? Perks things right up.

Oh, I loved The Blind Contessa's New Machine, Caro. Richard set me onto it. Sorry it's not sparking for you.

I've got to read me some more Ben Macyntyre at some point. I thought Agent Zigzag was topnotch. Right now I'm finally delving into Cloud Atlas.

>117 cameling: Caro, I've spotted The Hundred Foot Journey on the library's catalogue and added it to the wishlist. I'll make a point of borrowing it sometime this year, or in 2015 at latest. I'm really curious to find out about all those bits they decided to skip over in the movie. I agree about watching all the movies Helen Mirren is in. Have you seen her acting in the play The Audience? I saw her via one of those National Theatre Live screenings and it was EXCELLENT. If you haven't, and you get a chance to watch it, do. She's masterful in it.

Sorry about your hiatus being over. All good things must come to an end, they say. But then you can always look forward to the next good thing. :-)

I've had The Blind Contessa's New Machine on the tbr for a while. Meant to get to it this year, just need to make room for it, especially as I know quite a few people adored that little book.

>117 cameling: Wait wait wait! A fireman threatened to carry you out? And you walked out under your own power?

>117 cameling: ^^^ what she said :)

Hi Caro, long time since I last posted but I do read your thread. I've watched all the Young Montalbano episodes on dvd and loved them. Hope the reading funk doesn't last too long, we could all recommend some great books but I know you'll already have something great lurking on your tbr pile.

>126 AuntieClio: Stephanie - Hmm...now that you put it that way ..... what was I thinking?! Haha... Can I use the excuse that I was just miffed that I was found and interrupted from work I needed to get done, and was thus not thinking clearly?

And since the last fire alarm drill, I've been appointed as one of the 5 Floor Wardens for our office, so that means I actually will have to be one of the ones walking around the office to make sure everyone's out of their cubes or offices when the fire alarm goes off. Dang! Maybe I can trip when the firemen come in and let one of them carry me out?

>127 mckait: Kath, chalk it down to one of the times my mind blanked out. ;-)

>128 avatiakh: Hi Kerry - it's been an equally long time since I posted on your thread .. or many other threads for that matter. *cringe*

I've only finished Episode 3 of Young Montalbano and I already like that series. Can't wait to find the time to watch the next 3. I could only find 6 episodes in total for Young Montalbano. Is that it, or do you know if there are more?

If only a lack of books to read were the problem. Alas, I have a few hundred in my TBR Tower ... it's just a matter, at the present time, of finding the one that will break this funk and set me back on my happy reading path. I have no doubt the funk will break at some point .. I just wish it'd break sooner rather than later. :-) Maybe what I just need is a beach weekend to put me back on track again.

I'm off to Cape Cod ... a slightly later start than we wanted, but we are about to leave. Yaaay! I hope the weather holds out. :-)

Have a good weekend everyone!

Have a wonderful time, and good luck to Edd!

Have fun, Caro!

Caro, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

>129 cameling: Caro....I have looked around and it looks like the Young Montalbano only went for 6 episodes. We too have the last three here (due back at the library next week) and have been trying to find time to watch the last episode. Between live baseball, and playing with the new Roku, and trying to acclimate to new phones (I just stepped up from Samsung Nexus to S5, but for Bob, the whole smartphone thing is very new and very scary.)

Hope the weather holds for you weekend at the cape.

BTW..are you familiar with Olivia Yu's Aunty Lee Singapore Mystery series? I got an egalley ARC of #2 to do for a blog tour next month and it's not singing to me. Any comments?

#131 Thanks, Richard. Edd did pretty well ... IMO. He wasn't happy with the results because he had a bit of a problem with his bike during the race which made him slower in the bike portion of the race compared to his time last year, but still, he came out 215th out of 679 competitors, so I think he did well. If I had to do the race, I'm sure I would have come in dead last .. in fact, everyone would have already packed up and gone home before I finished the last running portion of the race.

Still, it was a good weekend ... after the race. Completely relaxing and ..... apart from our phones, we didn't bring any gadget with us. And we stuck to our goal of a low-tech weekend. So no email or social media site checks and chats. Just dead tree book reading, lots of beach time and ocean swimming (a floating king crab shell scared the *%&^!! out of me .. I thought it was a decapitated head and swallowed about a gallon of seawater as a result of shock), scarfing ice cream at our favorite, Four Seasons Ice Cream shop everyday, kayaking and of course eating. :-)

The short vacation definitely had a rude ending when I had to attend 2 conference calls last night after we came home from the Cape. And my day is packed with meetings. Ugh!

>132 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe. It was a wonderful albeit short break. Since we promised a low tech weekend, I couldn't take any photos of the food that we had consumed over the weekend .. which was a shame because we definitely hit some really good spots. A couple of highlights were oysters with sour cream & caviar and an amazing briefly seared sesame ahi tuna with wasabi mashed potatoes one evening. I would go back to that restaurant any time we're back down in Hyannis.

And the best news is .... I broke the book funk over the weekend! WHOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEE!

>133 Ameise1: Barbara, thank you for the gorgeous photo. That's an incredible picture. I would love to visit such a serene place. I hope your weekend was a good one too.

>134 tututhefirst: Tina, it's too bad they only made 6 episodes of Young Montalbano, but then again, I don't suppose they could have carried that on for too long since they had the original Montalbano series already made, and something's bound to overlap at some point.

How are you liking your S5? I'm still on the S4 and I thought of upgrading it to the S5, but I might wait since the S6 will be out in the Spring 2015. Having owned a few smart phones over the years, I'm definitely a fan of Samsung.

I had seen a couple of plays in Singapore that were written by Olivia Yu, and perhaps she's a better playwright than she is an author of novels, because I read Aunty Lee's Delights and was somewhat irritated by it. While I did enjoy the foodie bits of her book, I didn't think she did well developing the characters in the story. She just seemed to try to pack too much into the book, and I detested some of the characters. I also thought the plot development just so-so.
I read some reviews after I finished the book and I saw where a few reviewers compared her with Alexander McCall-Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, which confirmed my impression of her book. I'm not a fan of the McCall-Smith series at all and I think Aunty Lee falls into the same bucket for me.

I have today and tomorrow to try and clear as much off my desk as possible before I head off to Singapore on Thursday morning. Will be there for a week, and then I head up to East Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur for a week. It doesn't seem so long ago that I had come back from Australia ... *sigh*.... travel hiatus is definitely over. Oh well ... there'll be good food and friends to visit on my trip, so I'm looking forward to that aspect of my upcoming travels.

AND.... the book funk is over! I'm sooooo thrilled that I can get on with proper reading again. This has been the longest that I've been in a reading funk.

>136 cameling: Caro...too soon to tell about the S5. I definitely love love love the camera on it, but I'm not only having to learn it myself (I upgraded from the Galaxy Nexus) but having to teach hubbie who has never had a smartphone of any type before. The S5 is amazingly similar to my Galaxy Note 10.1(2014) tablet, so except for the Adobe Digital Editions and lack of Flash issue, I'm loving both of them.

>138 tututhefirst: Tina - how's Bob liking his smartphone? Having fun with it? I've been using a smartphone for such a long time, I don't know what I'd do if I had to move back to a basic phone. I also have a Samsung Tab Pro which I use partly for work and partly to watch movies I download prior to international trips just in case what's offered on the planes are movies I've already watched or have no interest in watching.

I'll have to write my reviews when I get into Singapore for this evening will be spent tidying up the house and packing for my trip tomorrow morning. Sending a quick note to my GAs that they don't forget to travel with me and keep me from traveling mishaps. :-)

Happy and safe travels Caroline!

way back when, you were talking about finding things objectionable. I am a new-prude, I reckon. I am not sure if things didn't used to worry me as much, if they have actually gotten worse so now I have to, or if I just freak out now that I have kids and have to think about the effect thigns have on them. But really. Music videos- they are basically mini pornos. And advertising, using such youngsters in such provocative ways, it is no wonder people have warped senses of sexuallity and appropriatness. Sheeesh, listen to me, I am worse than my grandma.

So, you are back to KL again! You must be a regular....do the passport people recognise you yet?

>142 LovingLit: You and I could form a coalition Megan! :-)

Hi Caro!

>142 LovingLit: Megan you're not a "new-prude," the lines between porn and mainstream media have become much more blurred. It's a real concern because it basically teaches children that the female body is an object, and doesn't belong to a human being.

Caro, I wish you a lovely weekend.

Happy voyaging, Caro dear.

>141 Smiler69: Thanks, Ilana. The flights were (for me) uneventful and I arrived well rested and safely. I guess I can't say the same was felt by most other passengers on the flight from Chicago to Hong Kong because there was apparently extremely bad turbulence for most of the flight. I was blissfully asleep and didn't know a thing. I woke about 2 hours before we were on the descent, and the passenger next to me said that it felt like being on a terrifying rollercoaster ride except you couldn't see where you were going and what to expect next. A number of people were screaming and very ill from being tossed around. I heard nothing, felt nothing and slept like one dead. There is an advantage to sleeping like a log on a plane, I have to say and I was very thankful indeed.

>142 LovingLit: Megan, there are limits to everything, and I too agree that there are music videos in popular music today that I find extremely suggestive and inappropriate considering the audience tends to be children, tweens and teens. I also don't like some of the computer games marketed to teens and young adults because of the extremely violent content. I fail to understand the thrill and attraction of decapitating another human or violently brutalizing a woman in these 'games'. I wonder if my parents felt the same when I laughed at Tom & Jerry cartoons when poor Tom was always the victim of Jerry's pranks?

With everything being available online these days, it's worrying how much inappropriate material children of less vigilant and caring parents are exposed to, and what they consider 'normal'.

>144 AuntieClio: Stephanie, very true. Some of the movies released in recent years would have been deemed pornographic even 10 years ago, but they're getting away with being rated 18 these days. The worst thing about it, is most of the graphic scenes are pretty gratuitous.

>145 Ameise1: Oohhmmmmm.....am feeling very peaceful, Barbara. Thank you.

>146 richardderus: Thanks Richard .. and thank you also for recommending The Blind Contessa's New Machine many moons ago. I did so enjoy this once I got over my book funk. :-)

108. The Blind Contessa's New Machine by Carey Wallace

Recommended by Richard, this was a delightful, insightful, moving and at times humorous novel about a young Italian Contessa, who befriends an eccentric inventor, Turi, and later marries a handsome aristocrat. Her claims at declining eyesight is not taken seriously by her family and fiancee. When they realize that she's really blind, they are all at a loss and she keenly feels isolated. Her solace comes from the vivid dreams and a fantastical world she builds in her mind, and her renewed friendship with Turi, who invents a typewriter so that she can communicate with him.

4 stars

109. Solo by William Boyd
I wanted to like it, I really did because it's a James Bond story after all, and how could I not like any new James Bond adventure, right? Alas, I couldn't like this vapid attempt at my favorite suave British spy. I hope Boyd isn't intending to write anymore Bond books because this was, IMO, a right failure.

2 stars

110. Savage Altar by Åsa Larsson

The first in the Rebecka Martinsson series, it sets a galloping pace that's bound to have you ignoring meals, sleep and possibly your family too, as you fall into this thriller that takes place in Sweden and starts off with the murder and decapitation of a religious leader. Rebecka is a lawyer who is called back to her hometown when the sister of the murdered man asks her for help.

I like how the author doesn't try to gloss over the flaws in her characters but uses them to paint a vivid picture of these individuals in our minds. I can't wait to read the next in the series.

3.5 stars

The F1 race is being held in Singapore between Thursday and Sunday ... arrggghhhhhh! Traffic is a nightmare because some of the streets have been blocked off as part of the race route. Because of the heat, the race takes place at night here. Thankfully I am not staying anywhere near the race route. I'm actually considering leaving Singapore over the weekend just to avoid all the race shenanigans ... trying to convince the hubster to hop over to Batam for a relaxing beach weekend away from the maddening crowd.

What a blessing for you to have the ability to sleep like the dead on a plane! Sounds like it came in and really made that flight easy-peasy instead of nightmarish like it did for the other passengers! Good luck getting away from F1 madness!

I got lots of recommendations from other quarters for The Blind Contessa's New Machine and glad to see you loved it too. I keep wanting to fit it in. It's day will come for sure!

Too bad about Solo. After reading and loving four other William Boyd titles, I consider myself a fan, but every comment I've seen about that book has been rather negative, so I don't think I'll be in any hurry to get to it, if ever, considering how many other books of his are on my wishlist!

Oh good, Caro. I'm glad The Blind Contessa's ended up working well for you. It was the first RD recommendation I tried after joining LT, and I liked it a lot.

>150 cameling: get outa there! Crowds and engines revving sound like my worst nightmare. Good luck :)

So where'd y'all end up going? It can't've been Singapore, I didn't see a crazed woman wielding an UZI and clad in body armor on any of the coverage.

Please, join Diana (Wilkiec)'s thread. She needs our support. Thanks a lot.

>151 Smiler69: Ilana, for the frequency with which I travel long distances, being able to sleep on planes is an advantage I don't take for granted. My husband and some friends don't sleep at all well on planes and they're always a sorry mess when they arrive at their destination after a long flight. If I can sleep through turbulence, I'm also of the mind then that if the plane were to crash, I'd probably sleep through the most horrifying moments prior to impact.... definitely not something I'd want to experience (moments to the crash, that is).

I was really disappointed with Solo because like you, I had enjoyed Boyd's other works and had high expectations. I'm thus not recommending this to anyone who's a Bond fan because they're going to be really annoyed with the manner in which he's portrayed in this attempt.

>152 jnwelch: Joe, I had started reading it during my major book funk and fortunately it was light enough so that even if I wasn't enamored by it at the beginning, it pulled me through my funk and I ended up loving it before i was even halfway through. This is a book I'd actually like to see made into an Ang Lee movie. The fantastical portions could be really brilliant, sort of like what he did with Life of Pi. I'd like to see that.

>153 LovingLit: Megan - The crowds and traffic even by Thursday last week were a nightmare. So we did, indeed get out of the maddening crowd and since neither of us are F1 fans, (the cars just keep driving around in circles anyway..and very loudly, so why is that interesting?) we took the opportunity to leave the island for the weekend. Ahhh.....blissssssss.

>154 richardderus: Richard, we ended up taking a short flight to Thailand and went to Koh Yao Noi, one of the islands in the Phang Nga Bay for the weekend. Quiet, calm and a lot of beach reading, snorkling and paddle-boarding was enjoyed. It's a traditional island, still very unspoilt and I loved that the big chain hotels haven't decided to set up shop here at all, probably because there are no banking facilities and spotty internet service on the island. :-) We stayed in one of these rooms.

>155 Ameise1: Thanks for letting me know of Diana's troubles, Barbara. I'm having trouble posting on her thread though .. but it might just be a glitch that's hopefully fixed soon.

>157 cameling: not too shabby! It looks marvellous.

This is proving to be a crazy week in Malaysia, not least because I'm being eaten alive by giant mosquitoes everyday!! If I manage to leave tomorrow morning Dengue-free, I'm going to dispense a thousand kisses to all my Guardian Angels.

Looking forward to a weekend in Singapore with the hubster, family and friends before I head back to Boston on Monday.

>159 LovingLit: Megan, after the sleep deprived days I've been subjected to this week thus far, that weekend in Thailand seems but a foggy dream. *sigh*

111. The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura
This was a really interesting, can't-put-it-down, read. It's about a pickpocket in Japan who finds himself befriending and mentoring a young boy forced to steal for his mother. Despite misgivings, agreeing to accept a burglary job with a friend, only to find himself being manipulated into a series of by a risky and near impossible tasks by a powerful but shady man who holds the lives of the young boy and his mother over his head should he fail in successfully accomplishing these tasks.

This is the first I've read from this author. I'm now on the hunt for his other books. :-)

3.8 stars

112. Blind Justice by Anne Perry
This is part of the William Monk series and it raised a very interesting question on the impartiality of judges and moral judgement. A judge, presiding over a case of fraud by a church minister, wherein members of his congregation have put themselves into near destitute states because they felt obligated to donate all their savings to the religious causes promoted by the church, makes available a photograph to the prosecuting lawyer, knowing that the content of the photograph, if made available as evidence to the jury, would totally destroy the credibility of one of the defending witnesses. Should a judge have recused himself from the case? Or was he right in exposing the moral turpitude of a despicable witness?

When the events unfold which result in the defendant and his family being murdered, the judge being arrested and secrets to the church being exposed, the reader is catapulted with barely a moment to catch her breath, towards the climactic end.

3.8 stars

113. The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian
This was an incredible work by Bohjalian. A series of murders where the hearts of the victims are extracted and left in an ashtray and a box. That the victims turn out to be related indicate that the murders may not be random but perhaps could be the result of a vendetta against this family. But to find the reasons for that, detective Seraphina Bettini, will have to return to the abandoned family home of the victims, while arranging for the remaining members of this family to receive police protection while they investigate and try to uncover the murderer. However, Seraphina has scars of her own to contend with, and she realizes she has a tie to this family as well, to a near fatal episode in her life during WWII.

Loved it.

4 stars

114. Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell
4.5 stars! What can I say .... I'm probably the last person on earth to read this work. Loved it!!!

I'm probably the last person on earth to read this work. Re: The Siege of Krishnapur

Not at all! I just finished reading it yestreday, in fact. I ended up really liking it a lot, but I must say that it suffered in comparison with Troubles which had me chuckling throughout. With Siege, I kept waiting for things to liftoff, so to speak, because the first book grabbed me right from the first page, and not so here, but I guess it's effect was more insidious because by the end I realized I'd grown quite attached to the characters and I finally understood how fascinating the situation had gotten. This means a definite reread eventually, especially as I've got a gorgeous Folio Society edition of it to add to the overall experience.

>147 cameling: I'm so glad it was you rather than me on that flight! I'm a nervous flyer and even slight turbulence freaks me out. I can't imagine what I'd be like if it was really rough - probably have complete hysterics which wouldn't really help matters. Even reading about it makes me feel uneasy!

Fuminori Nakamura - that is one Japanese author that I had not heard of. And I just checked and my local library has it on the shelf! Thanks!

Just checking in to see if you are staying out of trouble. Those GAs have been doing their jobs well!

I was able to tape the 5th Young Montalbano episode from that cable tv station. I hope they do more of them with the young guy. I like them as much as the ones based on the books with the older Salvo.

ETA: I was able to tape #6, too, and I notice they describe it as "The end of Season 1". That's encouraging - sounds like there'll be a Season 2!

Caro, I wish you a lovely Sunday.

Caro, you were in my neck of the woods and I never realised!!!! Missed our feasting I must say. Hope the absence of contact is not because I overfed or underfed you last time!

Will try to contact you via text message my dear. Have fun at home in Singapore.

Hi Caro. Hope you made it back home Dengue-free!

>163 Smiler69: I agree, Ilana, I liked Troubles more because of the humor but even though it dragged a little at spots, I did really enjoy Siege on the whole. I've just got hold of a copy of Singapore Grip. I hope it'll be as good as these other 2. I'm unlikely to get to it this year though.. just too many others on my list to read before the end of the year.

>164 SandDune: Rhian, you wouldn't have liked the flight I was just one coming home either then. This time it was from Singapore to Tokyo, and it was turbulent within an hour into the flight. Still, unless I'm hurtling out of my seat, I don't tend to worry too much about it, so I just turned up the volume of my iPod to drown out the mutterings of the person sitting next to me, closed my eyes and went to sleep. I'm not sure when the turbulence stopped but when I woke about an hour before landing, things were nice and calm. Wish I could have said the same for the flights from Tokyo to LA and then from LA to Boston .. delayed flights resulted in my having to fly 2 red-eyes and arriving in the morning on Tuesday instead of Monday night. Still, at least I'm home, so all is good. :-)

I think my being able to ignore turbulence is the result of sheer resignation that I'm in a plane and have no control over what's going to happen. I feel bad for the pilots who have to wrestle some sort of control over the plane during inclement weather. The part of flying that I don't like though are bad landings ... that causes my heart to lurch a little and make me wonder if after all that time in the air, we're just going to bounce around and crash into some fence or something. Weird I know.

>165 catarina1: You're welcome, catarina1. I hope you enjoy it. I've just placed an order for Evil and the Mask with my library. It's the second English translated work by Nakamura and the reviews have been positive.

>166 mckait: Yes they have, Kath. They all deserve medals and a long vacation. I'm assuming the GAs are on some sort of roster and can take turns looking out for me, because I've got a week home and then I'm off to Tokyo for a week. I do want to try the black burger from MacDonalds in Japan that's out this month for Halloween. Apparently the bun is a dark grey/black because they've added squid ink to the bread dough. I'm curious to see what it tastes like. You know I'll send you a full report after. :-)

>167 jnwelch: Oooh, that's encouraging indeed, Joe. I too hope there'll be a Season 2. I'm going to watch the rest of the Young Montalbanos that I have over the weekend. .. it'll be my reward for unpacking my suitcase and cleaning the house. You're so lucky that you have a cable station that will actually air the Montalbano series. I'm miffed that PBS doesn't carry this .. or at least they don't over in my neck of the woods.

>168 Ameise1: Mmm... i love plums, Barbara. Thank you, I did have a lovely weekend before flying back to Boston. I surely ate a lot, and I'll be sharing some photos shortly. :-)

>169 PaulCranswick: No worries, Paul and I knew I wouldn't have had any time to meet with you and Hani this time round because most of my visit to Malaysia was spent in Kuching, with just a day and a half in KL. However, I shall be back in November, around the 17th for a couple of days (short visit again) and if I haven't scared you off with my company, maybe you'll allow ME this time to feed you guys!!! That's if you're not heading out to Egypt again for a long sojourn.

>170 Berly: Hi Kim, yes, I made it back, dengue-free and ebola-free too. Oh and free from whatever that odd paralysis virus thing is going around too. *knocks heavily on nearest wooden desk*

OK, it's been a while since I posted any food pics on my thread. So here goes .. some of my more memorable meals during my visit to Singapore:

This was a date night dinner with the hubster at a cute little restaurant called Ninety Three ... we never figured out why it was named that, because it certainly wasn't the street address, nor was the owner 93 years young.

Started with a yummy wild mushroom soup


Duck croquette over a bed of arugula, balsamic reduction and topped with grilled watermelon & sesame seeds


Octopus and artichokes smothered under lava-like cheese (actually they could have put anything under all that cheese and it would have tasted good)

OK, this wasn't a meal .. it was the bread that was served at a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. Apparently charcoal bread is wild now in some parts of Asia. Made with bamboo charcoal, it's supposed to impart healthy properties to the diner, aiding the removal of toxins from their digestive tract. Hmm... not sure about the health properties, but despite the rather unappetizing look, they tasted just like really good bread and breadsticks. The buns had a lovely sundried tomato on the top.



Yup, it's black all the way through


Anyone interested in charcoal bread, here's a link about bamboo charcoal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_charcoal

I had to save this series of photos for the last because they encapsulate a single meal I shared with my mom and hubster. It was brunch at the Ritz-Carlton in Singapore, and the food served is amazing in variety and quality. In my defense I was really hungry that day because I had gone for a 1.5km swim in the morning and didn't have any breakfast. So by the time we rolled in for brunch at 12 noon, I had the appetite of a teenage boy!

So here we go:

Constantly replenished glass of Louis Roederer Rose champagne


freshly shucked oysters (I ended up going back for another 8 because they were just too good)


breadsticks, sunflower seed bread, seaweed bread and krackle


foie gras pate, country pork pate and mushroom & duck liver pate

The meal takes on a more serious note:

Fresh handrolled sushi was delivered to our table - I didn't eat all of this! My mom and hubster had equal share of the soft-shell crab rolls, crab & avocado rolls, grilled eel rolls, and tempura prawn rolls.


This plate was just too pretty not to take a photo of. I didn't eat the whole thing of course.. I just picked out 2 of each for my plate.


Moved on to salmon, tuna and yellowfin sashimi, chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg), some jamon serano, chorizo, smoked sturgeon slices, stuffed mushroom and roasted green tomato (I thought I should balance things out with a little vegetable)


Butter seared lobster .. I had to go back for another pair, they were so delicious


Salt baked chicken, roast crispy belly pork and roast duck (in that order from left to right)


Pan seared foie gras with a pear puree


Rare roast beef with gravy, grilled asparagus, horseradish and mashed potatoes. There were some yorkshire puddings offered but I was starting to get really full and needed room for dessert, so I regretfully passed.

And finally to end the meal ....

Selection of cheese


and a glass of 30 year port


Selection of cakes and puddings




(The middle shelf was empty while the waiter went back to get a new set of pistachio creme brulee




I had to take this just on its own because the presentation was just too cute .. oreo cheesecake with a chocolate 'soil' top and sprig of mint


And ending the meal with a glass of vanilla armagnac

Awesome!! It looks so good!!

115. Confusion by Stefan Zweig

I don't know if I know of another writer like Zweig who can so very succinctly capture such a depth of emotion in so few words. His books are never very thick, but the amount of rich detail he manages to pack in them leaves almost me holding my breath as I read.

In this, a seemingly directionless young student is suddenly inspired by a passionate professor of Shakespeare. The relationships between the student, the professor and his young wife are complicated and they (and the reader) go through a rollercoaster of emotions. It's hard to write a review of this without a lot of spoilers .. so I'll just say that this is a great study of student/mentor, psychological challenges, cultural taboos and expectations.

4.5 stars

Wow, you know the places to eat! And charcoal bread is wild. It looks like it has a slight greenish tinge. So the special ingredient doesn't change the flavor at all?

Just finished dinner but you've got me hungry again....mentions of yorkshire puddings, and the pistachio creme brulee did it! The sushi platter didn't look half bad either.

Holy moly the food!

>171 cameling: I think my being able to ignore turbulence is the result of sheer resignation that I'm in a plane and have no control over what's going to happen That's exactly the reason that causes me to freak out so much - a complete lack of control.

I love the pictures of your last meal, particularly the sushi. I absolutely adore sushi, but while you can get sushi in the town where I live there are no specialist sushi shops and it just doesn't taste the same. After hopefully buying supermarket sushi a few times for my lunch recently, I've decided that it's just not going to taste anything like what I want it to taste like and have given up.

Oh yummy!

>178 jnwelch: It was, Joe. It was well worth the dent in my wallet too. :-)

>180 mstrust: Jennifer - what's the point of traveling if I'm just going to eat at McDonald's right? ;-) Most of my friends are foodies, so finding places with good food has not so far been a problem. Finding the will power to work off all the calories consumed on a regular basis, on the other hand, is proving to be a bigger challenge than possibly climbing Mt Everest.

the green tinge may have been the result of my phone camera, because it's blueish black all the way through. I was expecting an ashy aftertaste or even a change in the flavor of the bread, but to my surprise, the charcoal didn't seem to have any adverse flavor impact on the bread.

>181 tututhefirst: Tina, I love yorkshire puddings drowning in gravy and popovers smothered with butter. It's amazing how photos of good food can make you hungry all over again, even after you've just eaten. ;-) Oh well, hopefully I inspired a nice meal later in the day for you.

>182 mckait: uh huh... I knew you'd approve, Kath.

>183 SandDune: Rhian, the hubster is the same way. He doesn't exactly freak out during turbulence but he doesn't like it and although he's not scared of flying, he would prefer it if he were in the pilot's seat ... even though he's never flown so much as a flight simulator and doesn't have a pilot's license. But he says at least he'd be at the controls and he feels he'd be able to figure things out. Uh huh.... pass the pillow and let me just snooze my way to oblivion, please. ;-)

I love sushi and sashimi, so I'm deeply sympathetic that you can't get good sushi where you are. Bummer. I'm pretty lucky in that there are some pretty good Japanese restaurants in Boston and a couple in the town I live in, and while they're not as good as what I get when I'm in Japan, it's still good enough to be satisfying. Some of them are certainly inventive with their sushi. There's a place I go to sometimes for lunch with a colleague where it's an all you can eat as long as you finish what's on your platter before ordering your next round. The sushi there is decent and the sushi chefs have recognized us and know when we come in, that they're in for some work. ;-)

>184 AuntieClio: Glad you approve, Stephanie.

>175 cameling: Wowser those oysters look good.
>177 cameling: Cheese and vintage port (died and gone to heaven).

Have a lovely weekend Caro.

Brought my car in for a repair this morning only to find out that the mechanic has the mumps! Who has the mumps these days?!! So I took the day off for nothing. Oh well, I'll work from home for a bit and then get a head start on some chores this afternoon, after meeting a friend for lunch. Playing driver because he dislocated his knee during a softball game and is hobbling around on crutches waiting for results to his MRI that will tell whether or not he'll need surgery. It's quite scary looking, his whole knee looks like the Elephant Man's head (without the weird tufts of hair) and is purple.

>187 PaulCranswick: Paul - the next time you and Hani are in SG, make a reservation at the Greenhouse at the Ritz-Carlton for their Sunday brunch. And be prepared to eat for 3 hours.

>185 cameling:, I feel the same way when I get to go to new places. Once on a booster club trip in Edmonton, we wound up at the big mall there. I wanted to go some place I couldn't eat in at home. The woman who adopted me - because, apparently, traveling alone was a travesty I needed saving from - insisted we eat at The Spaghetti Factory, one of which we have near the local sporting facility downtown at home!

I suppose it was a safe choice because it was familiar to her. But we were in Canada, not Malaysia (Hi, Paul!).

Hi Caro. I've worked up an appetite by browsing through your meal pictures. I am so in the mood for sushi! Before I started drooling over food, I saw you mention The Singapore Grip. I would say that I liked it better than The Siege of Krishnapur. I haven't got around to Troubles yet which seems to be everyone's favorite.

Wow, Caro, those food pics are looking delicious. I wish you a lovely weekend.

Totally drool-worthy, Caro!

I love the food photos!

>190 AuntieClio: Stephanie, you're so sweet ... I would probably not have been as accommodating and would have rejected the adoption by the mad woman who insisted on eating at Spaghetti Factory. I must look terrifying because I travel alone and have never been adopted by anyone who thinks a woman traveling alone is a travesty. I have been hit on though by guys who think a woman traveling alone is a sex starved nymphomaniac who would welcome the attentions of every and any one-eyed dog with halitosis and mange.

>191 DeltaQueen50: Judy, you've elevated my anticipation in reading The Singapore Grip with that recommendation. I keep adding more books to my obese wish list every time I hit LT and read all your threads, even skimming through, that I don't think I'll ever get to stop adding books to my TBR Tower, both dead tree books and e-books. Not a bad problem to have,though. :-)

>192 Ameise1: Barbara, what a beautiful picture .. and how did you manage to pick one that so fits my mood for today? Despite the chores around the house I have listed to be accomplished today, I'm definitely in a slow meandering mood today.

>193 Ameise1: Hi Roni. hope the pics have whet your appetite for something different this weekend.

>195 kidzdoc: Darryl, you'd have loved tasting the food more, I'm sure. Wait until week after next when I'm in Tokyo with a colleague. I'll have more pics to post then. :-)

I'm looking forward to a wonderfully delicious solo day today. The hubster is still in Singapore and will be there until the end of October and I've deliberately not made any plans to meet friends today. Partly because I want to focus on house and yard chores, some that I don't like doing but need to get out of the way, and partly because I am just in the mood to just be on my own, to read, to think and to catch up on programs on my DVR recorded while I was away.

I'm looking to finish Lionheart and maybe Cuckoo's Calling before the weekend is up.

>198 cameling: that's a long stay in Singapore. Will you get a chance to meet when you get to Japan?

I had a good time with Cuckoo's Calling. Are you liking it? The Silkworm was good, too.

>199 ffortsa: Judy, alas no. He has work stuff in Singapore while I'm in Japan. He does, however, return to Boston the night before I do.

>200 jnwelch: Unfortunately Joe, I didn't like it quite as much as you did. I think she should have stuck to more YA fantasy. I think it was better than The Casual Vacancy though. But I thought she dragged things out a little bit much in Cuckoo's Calling. A friend just gave me his copy of The Silkworm and said that it's better than her first, so I'll give it a shot at some point and hope it's true. Did you prefer The Silkworm over Cuckoo's Calling?

116. Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

It started out really promising, but then I thought the author dragged this out unnecessarily. I got the feeling she was trying too hard to write an 'adult' book. I much prefer her writing style in the HP series. I don't think she needs to confine herself to YA fantasy, and I do like the plot line in this book ... I just got really tired before I was even half way through. I didn't Pearl Rule this because I had already read well over 100 pages and decided that since I'd invested so much of my time in it, I would darn well finish it, even if it killed me! ;-)

2.5 stars

I went to the MFA in Boston this afternoon where there was a special exhibition on works by Jamie Wyeth. He was close friends with Andy Warhol and this is my favorite portrait sketch of Warhol



This was such fun. He painted this self-portrait of him wearing a pumpkin head


This one just floored me. It's a watercolor that JW climbed up onto a roof in order to paint !!

Hi Caro! How are you, my friend? I loved your food gallery up there and I also like your creepy seasonal photos, directly above me.

Pumpkinhead is so well done it appears to be a photo. Glad you're getting some down time to relax.

>201 cameling: Sorry you didn't like A Cuckoo's Calling more, Caro. I'd have to say I liked The Silkworm about as well. A lot depends on whether you get attached to Cormoran and Robin, I think. I have, so I gobbled both books up.

117. Tattoo Murder Case by Akimitsu Takagi

A Japanese version of a closed room murder. When a woman is murdered, her fully tattooed torso stolen, and her limbs and head left behind in the bathroom, is found, the suspects range from her boyfriend, boyfriend's brother, a professor with a penchant for buying tattooed skin from owners upon their demise, and an ex-boyfriend recently released from prison. The woman is the daughter of a reknown and controversial Japanese tattoo artist.

Kenzo Matsushita, a young doctor with a secret association with the dead woman, tries to assist his detective brother in the investigations, but his efforts end up contributing to the death of the dead woman's brother who is found with his tattooed skin peeled off his body.

The mystery behind not just the closed room murder, but the identity of the murderer is unveiled when a friend of Kenzo's, in possession of a brilliant mind, enters the picture and slowly, almost in the style of Sherlock Holmes, points out the inconsistencies in witness testimonials, items of importance that had been overlooked or deemed insignificant to the police, and plays games of strategy with 2 suspects.

4 stars

I read the Takagi book a few yrs ago. Glad that you liked it too. I'm envious of your upcoming trip to Tokyo. Safe trip!

>204 msf59: Heya Mark. I'm glad to see you here. I'm starting on the new Murakami ... do you have a GR thread for this up? If not, I'll post my comments here on my thread and yours when I'm done with the book.

>205 mstrust: Jennifer, he is really one of my favorite modern American artists. Pretty amazing that he's the third generation artist in the family. His grandfather and father were also artists of repute. A number of his paintings have the photograph-like quality you mentioned, that I had to peer really closely to notice the brushstrokes. I was watching a video at the museum of him painting one of his pictures and he uses watercolor paints the way many use oil paints. It was really fascinating to watch him work .. he also wet his brush on his tongue! I'm don't know about the health benefits of ingesting water color paints though..

>206 jnwelch: Joe, I like Comoran and Robin, so I'll still give Silkworm a shot at some point. I was just not bowled over by the writing in Cuckoo's Calling.

By the way, I finished Ep 5 and 6 of Young Montalbano and now I'm bummed beyond belief that I don't have more to watch! I love the relationship that's developed between him and Mimi, and him and young Fazio. And finally I get the full story behind his history with his father. Grrr.... there better be a Season 2. Please?

>208 catarina1: I'm certainly looking forward to the food in Tokyo next week, especially since I'll be with a colleague who's going for the first time, so I get to pick all the places we'll eat in the evenings, and on the weekend. I'm hoping he'll sign up for a city tour or something on one of the days at least so I can get some time to myself.

Have you read Honeymoon to Nowhere by Takagi? It sounds really interesting and I'm tempted to get hold of a copy when I'm at the bookstore later this evening.

118. Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman

Book 4 in the Plantagenets series, this book rocks! Penman's tale of Richard is extraordinary. I really think this is the strongest in the series. Just as Richard takes the throne following Henry's death, he's already planning his pilgrimage to the Holy Land to participate in the 3rd Crusade against the Saracens. He has to deal with intrigue, conspiracies, his brother John attempting to steal the crown from him, and of course war.

4 stars

>210 cameling: Yes, I have read Honeymoon to Nowhere - also good, but pace is slower. Takagi apparently has written 30+ novels, but only three have been translated into English. The third one - The Informer - being on another subject entirely, stock markets and industrial espionage, I think. I don't have that one.

>209 cameling: "wet his brush on his tongue". I used to be a potter, and that reminds me of an incident several years ago - a nationally known potter began mixing, by hand, manganese into the clay (in order to darken the clay) that he used and subsequently succumbed to cancer due to that. Not a good idea.

>210 cameling: That reminds me of my third trip to Japan when three of my friends said "take me with you the next time". Unfortunately, I did just that. Two of them expected me to be their unpaid tour guide for the entire three weeks and got offended when I started suggesting that they could also explore on their own. Both of them were also on the Adkin's diet and refused to eat any meal that included rice! - in a country whose monetary unit was once a koku - the amount of rice needed to feed a person for a year. That made every meal time quite difficult and unpleasant. Since then I have traveled on my own. They never heard "when in Rome, do as the Romans do".

I hope you are able to get some "free" time on your trip.

Oh, ridiculously tasty food photos! And I'm glad to hear more people agreeing with my feelings about Cuckoo's Calling. I think I ended up giving it sympathy stars, which I should really stop doing. It did have potential though.

>213 evilmoose: Glad you approve of the food pics, Megan. :-) I'm also glad that I'm not the only who didn't enjoy Cuckoo's Calling .. for a moment there, I was thinking I was probably the only person not to like the book. But yes, it did have potential, right? I liked the storyline ... I think maybe she needs to feel more comfortable 'speaking' to an adult audience as opposed to young minds. I'll have to see if I feel the same way when I read The Silkworm.

Oof, what a mentally draining day at work it's been. With this being the last quarter in our fiscal year, the drive for more revenue is the focus of our executives and I'm feeling more and more like a donkey entered into a thoroughbred horse race, with the jockey on my back enthusiastically making full use of the whip while I froth at the mouth, gasping for air and struggling to keep up with the much larger and more powerful equines in front of me. I would, of course, be looking like the cute donkey in Shrek, even in this turmoil. ;-)

Meetings, information to research, reports to write (requested only this morning but to be completed by end of day!) and regular work to deal with .. whew... I barely had time to brush my teeth after lunch. And lunch was a rather somber and quiet affair since I was a little tired from the morning's schedule.

Still, it's kept me out of trouble for most of the day and I did manage to finish all that was on my to-do list at the office, even the last minute additions, so I'm feeling victorious and decided to pack it in and call it a day ... well, part 1 of the day since I have a couple of conference calls to attend tonight.

I've just remembered 2 ER books that I hadn't read yet, so I'm going to dive into the light looking one first, just to give myself a break from work thoughts. I might break open a new bag of potato chips and blast some music too to really let myself relax with the book for a couple of hours.

oh,.... HAPPY HUMP DAY everyone!

>215 cameling:. Caro, that work demand does sound like new-management behavior. I hope it let's up in the long run.

>216 ffortsa: Absolutely, Judy....the new executives aren't from our specific field in the IT industry, so I think they're also struggling to develop a strategy and direction for our company that makes sense while enabling us to achieve their very aggressive growth goals for 2015. In the meantime, I'm like a seaweed swaying to and fro depending on what new 'direction' they want me to move in for the 409th time. But still, it's not all bad ... just sometimes rather pointless IMO.

119. Flirting with French by William Alexander

From the author of The $64 Tomato which I absolutely loved, this one captures his struggle trying to learn to speak French like a native. His attempts at learning via language tools such as Rosetta Stone and through a French tutor are hilarious, as are his tongue-tied efforts speaking with the locals during holidays in France. And if that wasn't bad enough, he believes his stress levels were on the rise because of his language challenges and that it resulted in heart flutters requiring him to spend time in the hospital.

What I liked about this book was his research into the developing of French as the language that's used today. So there's some interesting history mixed in as well.

3.8 stars

Hi Caro! Well, the bad feelings about falling behind on your threads are always counterbalanced by finding plenty of interesting stuff to catch up and comment on. Sorry work has been making you feel like the cute donkey in Shrek, I think? ;-) Just as long as you manage to get some downtime to regenerate, which obviously you must do, since you keep those reviews coming and must get in plenty of reading time. Going back to our last exchange, you've reminded me I meant to write a review of The Siege of Krishnapur and still haven't done so, though in the meantime I actually revisited it on audio as well, to make sure I'd gotten all the salient points, and also because I felt like maybe I hadn't quite gotten the full humour of the thing. The narrator was really great, doing all the various accents to perfection, though it turned out to be an abridged version, but it did help me to pick up on the humour better.

I don't know about that charcoal bread... I don't even like drawing with the stuff, so won't be in any hurry to ingest it in any form of foodstuff either.

I'm glad to see you enjoyed your latest Stefan Zweig so much. I read Confusion last year, and also gave it 4.5 stars. I've only read 5 of his books so far, but they've all deeply impressed me and convinced me this writer is somehow a kindred spirit. I think your short review above says it all, really. I've acquired his collected fiction in two volume in the gorgeous (and v v expensive) La Pléiade collection in French translation and feel badly I haven't been poring over them, so maybe I'll make a priority in 2015 to read at least one story each month, or biweekly, given they are so short.

I felt much the same way as you did about both Galbraith books, though perhaps didn't show it in my rating quite as obviously. But then, while I didn't at all care for the actual murder cases in either book, I was won over by the relationship between Cormoran and Robin, which is what made me read the second book as well as sheer curiostiy. I'm currently rereading the HP series, which I hadn't finished the first time around and really enjoying them a heck of a lot!

Love that Jamie Wyeth portrait of Warhol too. Weird, because I've seen those images somewhere before, but I'd never made the connection with Andrew Wyeth for some reason, and of course figures he'd be his son. You can tell he picked up a lot of technique from papa. Either that or it's in the genes!

I've added the Plantagenet series to the wishlist, though I'm a bit discouraged to see how huge the individual books are... not exactly easy to shoehorn in between stuff, are they?

I've had The $64 Tomato for an absolute age now... maybe I should make room for it soon. This latest book by Alexander sounds pretty funny too.

Hope things settle down at work for you. Though I'm not sure that "settle down" is the right expression. Stay positive, I'm counting on you! :-)

eta: typos, and more typos.

Google hires a Camel for Desert Streetview

>219 Smiler69: Ilana, the best thing about this week is ... it's over .. workwise that is. I've just polished off the last set of reports and presentation slides that I'm going to need next week. So I'm hanging up my Donkey hoofs for a bit. I plan on relaxing this weekend, and cleaning out my closet for a Goodwill run... and to make room for some new clothes that I've just purchased. :-)

I had actually done quite a bit of reading on the planes and over the weekend.. I'm just stringing my reviews out so I'm not pressuring myself to write them all at once. :-)

I like the relationship between Comoran and Robin too, and I'm curious to see if I'll like her second in the series more than I did the first. However, it doesn't sound like you did. Since I have the book in my TBR, I'll probably give it a shot anyway, either at the end of the year, or early next year.... unless I'm distracted by another book or 5. But if I don't like The Silkworm I think I'm just going to abandon the series. No sense torturing myself when there are so many other books out there that I need to and want to read.

Stefan Zweig is, I think, a genius. I've only read 4 of his books so far, but I've really loved each one.

The Plantagenet series is totally enjoyable, but not one I think you can read without investing a fair bit of time in them. Maybe the audio versions would be easier to consume? I'm not sure because I can't do audio-books. But even when I was reading the print versions, it was so well written that it didn't feel like I was trudging through them. It really just flowed really well.

I liked $64 Tomato more than Flirting with French probably because I could identify with some of the struggles he had gone through with his farming attempts. Not to the same degree of course, but I had gone through a few of the same challenges.

>220 magicians_nephew: Love that, Jim. Thanks for sharing. I wonder who was the bright spark that thought of using a camel. Too brilliant!

And off I head again on another trip come Monday. This time I'm off to Tokyo for a week with a colleague who's going for the first time. So I'll have to double up as a tour guide next weekend because he's not keen on doing a city tour on his own. It's also his first time traveling on his own, without friends or family. But on the plus side, he's a nice guy and he likes to eat and drink. Ta da ...

Hi there! Just trying to catch up here. LOVE all the art gallery photos. Enjoy your down time at home. Good luck with the chores and good luck fitting in some reading. Hope your Tokyo trip is fun!

>163 Smiler69: >162 cameling: I'm probably the last person on earth to read this work. Re: The Siege of Krishnapur. Not at all!
Not at all, at all ;)
It is on my list, cos of your detailed glowing review ;)

The Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki Group Read is up and running: http://www.librarything.com/topic/181613

Caro, I wish you a lovely weekend.

>224 Berly: Kim, I'm pretty pleased with what I've accomplished by way of getting chores done. Even managed to squeeze in time for a Halloween themed pedicure (I now sport orange nails with a black & silver cobweb design on 2 toes and a little spider on one. haha) this morning.

The only thing left to do today is check in online for my flight tomorrow, book a cab and pack tonight.

>225 LovingLit: Oooh goody, Megan. I think you'll enjoy Siege of Krishnapur so I hope you manage to get to it soon.

>226 msf59: Thanks for the link, Mark. I've already started the book and am about a third of the way through and liking it so far. I'll have to visit the GR thread. Hope you're having a good Sunday. Love the pic of Murakami and his beautiful, if slightly irritated looking cat. I don't think it likes posing for photos much. ;-)

>227 Ameise1: What a pretty gif, Barbara. It's a beautiful sunny and somewhat warm today today... much improved weather-wise compared to the dreary rainy day yesterday.

Caro, we had lovely weather too but tomorrows forecast: rain rain rain . . .

Hi, Caro. I'm finally reading Angelica's Smile. This is the first time I'm reading one after seeing the Montalbano TV episode first. It's a good one, all right. Angelica in the book is a bit different physically than the TV actress, but the chemistry is the same. The struggles of Salvo!

Hope you've been having a good weekend.

>196 cameling: Yes, well, I wasn't quite as outspoken then. Do you give them (the men) the stink-eye and say something like, "You must be kidding?"

>196 cameling: I would suspect your affect while traveling (and at all other times) is 'I can take care of myself, and watch out for the radiating energy force!'. A pretty good way to avoid 'adoption'. Of course, the clueless idiots trying to hit on you are too insensitive to pick up that vibe until they get decked.

Morning Caro!

>229 Ameise1: Barbara, I wouldn't have minded a bit of rain here in Tokyo over the last couple of days. It's been rather warm during the day .. which ordinarily I don't mind except that it's unseasonably warm, so the buildings all have the 'Autumn' heating automatically warm, which make, (for me .. because the locals don't seem to be bothered by it) meeting rooms rather suffocating and uncomfortable for me.
But the evenings have been cooler, so at least there's some relief when I walk back to the hotel from the train station.

>230 jnwelch: I know, right, Joe? The book is every bit as good as the tv episode. By the time the book was released, I'd forgotten some of the details in the tv version, so that added a few nice surprises for me when I read the book. I'm all out of Montalbano and Young Montalbano DVDs to watch and dying for his next book which is slated for a November release this year.

Hey there Caro -- when do you get back from Japan? Our trips seem to be spelling one another. Seems we need another get together of some sort!

I hope that you are having some "free" time to explore Tokyo. When I was there last, in October, I recall the weather was quite warm - shirt-sleeve weather. But not as humid as in Kyoto which was almost stifling.

Caro, I wish you a fantastic weekend.

Hi Caro! How is the trip going? Getting a little reading in? Fingers crossed.

>231 AuntieClio: Stephanie, I find usually the stink eye or just plain ignoring them works quite well. Sticking ear-buds right in my ears and staring at my Kindle has also at times, proven to be quite effective.

>232 ffortsa: Fortunately Judy, I haven't had to resort to blatant rudeness very often. A couple of times perhaps, but only for the completely clueless idiots. I find traveling on one's own does tend to increase one's risk of uninvited attention but I take it as par for the course and it's not been anything I haven't been able to handle quickly and easily.

>233 Thebookdiva: Evening Abby. Thanks for stopping by.

>235 michigantrumpet: Hey there Marianne - I just returned from Tokyo last night. Will be home for a few weeks before I head out to Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia in November. What are your plans? Doing anything fun for Halloween? We are definitely due for another get together. :-) Edd got back yesterday from 2 months in Singapore and he'll need a couple of weeks to get over jetlag.

>236 catarina1: catarina1, the weather was definitely on the warm side, the weekend downright hot. But yes, at least it wasn't humid, and the evenings were very pleasantly cool. It made walking back from Shinjuku station to our hotel very nice indeed, after a huge meal and a few drinks. :-)

Here are some food pics from Tokyo:

Grilled eel over a bowl of rice, topped with seaweed


Fried oysters


Seared fish roe


Gyozas

Sake tasting


Fried chicken ..to accompany the sake


Tempura udon

>237 Ameise1: Thank you Barbara, the weekend was spent being my coworker's tour guide around Tokyo and helping me shop for toys for his son and kitchenware for his wife.

>238 msf59: Mark, I had accidentally left Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki at home when I left for the airport. Gah! So I'm going to have to pick it up again this evening. I did manage some reading while I was in Tokyo .. thank goodness for the Kindle, eh?

121. Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris
Do we really know the people we work with? Ferris takes a close look at the employees at an advertising company. The author takes a deep dive into the individual characters, their inner thoughts, their interactions with their colleagues, their reactions when faced with certain situations and their reactions to events affecting their colleagues. It's an excellent study in human dynamics among people who spend most of their waking hours in each other's company at work.

4 stars

122. The Absent One by Jussi Adler-Olsen

The second in the Department Q series finds Carl Morck back in his basement office with his assistant Assad. This time he's also assigned another unique assistant, Rose. The cold case file that appears on his desk involves a brother and sister who were murdered over a decade ago. Although a man had confessed and was serving time in prison for the crime, there are rumors that he took the blame for others in a group he was part of. As Morck starts to probe into a group of high profile men and a missing woman, his house is broken into, his car is sabotaged and his investigation is ground to a half when he is suspended from duty following a false allegation of abuse. Conspiracies, violence and corruption abound in this fast-paced thriller, making this page-turner a thoroughly enjoyable one.

4 stars

Hi Caro! Love all the foodie photos! Wow! I also loved both Then We Came to the End & the Absent One. I hope to get to the 5th Dept Q book soon.

Hope the trip is going well.

OMG, now I'm hungry.

Just realised I had ignored this thread after discussing my strong stomach - disaster. I've skimmed through, and am disgusted by the comments about the unsuitability of Lucky Charms. I think you'll find the cereal = 1 food group ticked off, the milk = another, and the bright colours will fill in any that aren't already covered.

I have a good figure, and blood tests assure me I am not anaemic or in bad health despite my intense love of sugar and junk food. I put this entirely down to Lucky Charms consumption. That and LOTS of tea with sugar in it.

Great food photos!

LOL at Jenny (as usual).

>246 kidzdoc:

Moi? I'll have you know, my dear sir, that I am always serious and absolutely never to be laughed at. I do not possess a sense of humour. I was born without one and I shall die without one, preferably with nothing funny ever having occurred in the meantime. I do not engage in nonsensical talk or ridiculous banter, and I have made it my life's mission to never smile.

Please remove your offensive remark immediately, if not sooner.

>247 lunacat: *giggles uncontrollably*

>248 kidzdoc:

Consider me OUTRAGED!!!!!!!!!!

>249 lunacat: Oh. Wait a minute. Aren't you reading that book about magic? I take back everything I said (before I get transformed into a garden slug).

>250 kidzdoc: Nope, not purchased yet, just considered. So you're safe for now.

>244 msf59: Mark, I'm really liking the Department Q series and can't wait to get my hands on the next one. It's not a spoiler, is it, to ask if Rose remains on the team? I really like her. I got back into the Murakami last night and will likely finish it over the weekend.

The trip to Japan went well, thankfully, and I am now back in Boston and here to stay for a couple of weeks before heading out to Hong Kong.

>245 lunacat: Jenny, in view of your enthusiasm for Lucky Charms, how could I possibly even consider taking any of that away from you. Henceforth, I shall resist temptation (if any should even surface) and leave said boxes of Lucky Charms on the supermarket shelves just for you. I shall, instead, mosey on down to the shelves of bacon and sausages instead. Speaking of which ...I should add fresh sausages to my shopping list today so I can make some bangers and mash for dinner.

Uh oh .. Darryl may invoked his magic spells after all....



Jenny? Is that you? Jenny!!!!

Thank you for the photos. Oh, tempura udon, swoon! Glad the weather was good.

*Slurp* *Slither* *Squelch*

Save me!

Welcome back! Planning anything for the Boston Book Festival? Alas, it looks like I'll miss the really cool stuff.

We are traveling over Halloween but otherwise seem to have some good availability (absent watching Michigan football, of course)

Oh, Department Q! You're going to have fun with that, Caro. Including following Rose. She's a great character.

Caro, all your food photos are looking so yummieee. I wish you a fantastic weekend.

*waving* at Caro

>254 catarina1: catarina1 - making good tempura is relatively easy but it's the udon and the broth that makes the meal. And it's almost an art in Japan, I think. I also love ramen there ... so much more flavorful than what's served in ramen restaurants here in the US.

>255 lunacat: *keeps salt shaker away from Jenny the garden slug* ..... *looks for a spell book to reverse Darryl's curse*

>256 michigantrumpet: Marianne - alas, due to extra work this past week, I was hoping to but didn't manage to get down to the BBF yesterday and today is not looking good. I didn't get to bed until 3.30am and had a late start this morning on our errands so we're definitely not going to be able to make it down in time to see you at the Goodwin event at 2.15. :-(

We'll have to catch up after Halloween, and hopefully before I head out to Asia again in November.

>257 jnwelch: Joe, it would be so cool if they developed a tv series along the lines of Department Q, don't you think?

>258 Ameise1: What a pretty snail, Barbara. Thank you .. I hope you have a wonderful weekend too.

>259 alcottacre: Helloooo there, Stas! You've been doing awesomely in your studies! You go girl... talk about an inspiration!

Tempura, easy? Perhaps for you. I've read so many of your cooking descriptions. They have all been wonderful. I agree, udon in Japan is fabulous. It is also the ultimate comfort food. And enough to fly half way around the world for.

Yes, please don't salt me. I'm a very friendly slug, honest.

Hope you have a lovely weekend, and get some decent autumnal weather to enjoy :)

123 Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki by Haruki Murakami

I really liked this latest work by Murakami. It's quieter and more introspective compared to the last fantasy he wrote which I absolutely loved. The protagonist, Tsukuru, grew up with a close group of friends in Nagoya but not too long after he moved to Tokyo, his friends stopped seeing him when he made visits back to Nagoya and one day he was informed by one of the group that he should stop trying to contact them and that they would not see them anymore. No reasons were given and he didn't ask for one.

As he went into a physical and mental decline from being suddenly and unexpectedly cut off from the group, he needs to find a way to build his life on his own. Until he manages to find a way to deal with his past, he will not be able to move forward.

4.5 stars

>261 catarina1: catarina1 - you need really fresh large prawns and Japanese tempura flour, not the poor substitutes that have made their way onto the supermarket shelf. But it's all for naught if the broth, soba or udon isn't right. And that's something I've not been able to replicate at home. So yes, a large bowl of good udon is well worth the long trip over to Japan....especially when the weather turns cool. That and incredibly amazing sashimi and sushi.

>262 lunacat: Jenny, after the last few rainy days, it's a beautiful sunny day today. Alas, it's also a day for errands before we meet some friends for dinner and a movie this evening. I hope tomorrow is just as lovely ... so we can do some yardwork. The recent heavy rains and winds have resulted in our entire back and front yards being covered with leaves. Time to take our the rakes and mulcher.

Sorry to have missed you, Caroline! It was a glorious day to take in the exhibitor tents on Copley Square and partake in thought provoking book discussions. It was great to see Suzanne.

Just finished Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki this morning. Still processing it.

>265 michigantrumpet: I really wished I could have gone, Marianne. But waking up late on Saturday just threw our entire morning's schedule out of whack. I'm so glad you enjoyed yourself and got to see Suz too. Oh well .. better luck next time... for me, that is.

The weekend was pretty wonderful weather-wise though. We managed to get some yardwork done yesterday evening - not much because we started too late, but at least we did make a start so the front yard is now leaf-free ..... at least until more leaves fall off the trees. We'll have to chip away at the backyard and the sides of the house during the week and next weekend. *sigh* There are definitely times when I wish we had bought a condominium so we didn't have to deal with outdoor maintenance.

>263 cameling: ooooh four point five stars huh? I was a plain old four star for this one. But that makes it sound like not much, how about a good solid four stars from me. that's better. I really liked it.

We have had patchy weather - typical for Spring - here. A sunny scorcher here, a rainy wind-fest there.... but on the whole, we are heading for warner weather.

>263 cameling: Megan, after I'd read Wind-Up Bird Chronicles, I've been rather apprehensive whenever I pick up one of Haruki's works because I didn't understand that one. I was so thankful that I not only understood but really liked this latest translation of his work. And I like it enough to have placed it on my re-read bookcase, alongside Kafka on the Shore and 1Q84. Ta da!

I'm on a non-fiction bent for the moment .. partly because I have to read 2 books for work (blah! NOT going to review them nor will I add them to my book count since they're being forced on me) and 1 about owls that I'm really enjoying.

Another round of layoffs at the office today so needless to say it's very somber around here and if I didn't have a meeting to attend this afternoon, I would have stayed home to work. I had to be part of the decision laying a couple of my coworkers off and that was tough, although one of them was a pretty no-brainer decision since he really hasn't been performing well and has been slacking off for a very long time, despite warnings and more micro-managing by his manager.

On a happier note .. really to make myself feel chirpier .. I found this on the Internet and for all tennis fans or any fan of Rafael Nadal .. this is a must-see:

http://imgur.com/a/hot8K

It had me laughing for a full 10 mins.

>269 cameling: That's hilarious! Clever to think of the comparison, and then to capture it so well!

>268 cameling: Sorry about the layoffs, Caro.

I was caught in one of them once, after the acquiring company blathered on about how the people were the value of the acquiree. Sure - i was one of the first to go - very traumatic - and eventually, they gutted the staff, just for the customer list. Blech.

I don't make you jumpy or anything. You sound pretty much in the center of things there. But such 'adjustments' are miserable, whether they hit you directly or not.

Hello my camel loving friend! Are you travelling right now or at home?

>270 jnwelch: I know, right, Joe? I've saved the site so that I can keep going back to it periodically when I need a good mood lifter. I wonder if Nadal's aware of this site? I'm so tempted to post it on his facebook page, but then that would be a little mean if he doesn't think it's funny. Maybe I'll send it to him as a PM. :-)

>271 ffortsa: Judy, these things happen as companies go through change. It just sucks that it has to happen, but then we were carrying some unnecessary deadweight around and for a few that had been laid off, I can't say that they weren't justifiable decisions.

Yes, for the time being, my team and I are unaffected by the restructuring. But that's not to say that there won't be changes next year ... we shall have to wait and see. In the meantime, i'm just going to carry on doing my work and what will be, will be. Should I turn into an alcoholic in the process, maybe I'll have a case to bring against the company. ;-)

>272 jolerie: Hi there Valerie! How nice to see you again. I've been so behind in keeping up with threads since just before the summer. This has been a rather odd year in terms of demands on my time ... at least that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it, so there! :-p I'm currently home but I shall be traveling at the end of next week to Hong Kong.

Hi Caro, I know you're a busy woman, but hope you can take a few minutes at some point to participate as I'd love to get your pick: http://www.librarything.com/topic/182420#4902314

Awww no worries...I've doing my whole disappearing and reappearing act so you ain't miss much.
So sad, I was born in HK and the closest I've been to actually visiting my place of birth is staying 1 night in the airport hotel because we missed our connector to Taiwan. Really need to go back there someday and enjoy all the good stuff and you know I mean the food..hah! :)

i'm just going to carry on doing my work and what will be, will be. Should I turn into an alcoholic in the process, maybe I'll have a case to bring against the company. ;-)


I get this.

Sorry you are going through this... I wish you peace of mind..

Spoke with Paul today!! He is lovely, and so are you. We agreed so clearly it is true.

Take care

((Caro))

Happy Halloween, Caro!

Caro, I wish you a lovely weekend.

Hullo Caro! I see you're off having travel and food adventures as usual. Also sorry to read about the further layoffs.

Further, I agree with your assessment of Colorless Tsuruku, pretty darned solid.

....looking about for your Halloween costume pics....or have you started a new thread??

Restructuring/change: to me it is a symptom of a huge societal ill. Profits before people. It is so ingrained now it is normal. Although, in saying that- dead wood, slacker employees...they have got to go!

>275 Smiler69: Ilana, I posted my choice on your thread. :-) With the way my workload is piling up, I'm laughing at the thought of setting reading challenges for myself in 2015. I suspect I will be happy just being able to find time to squeeze in an hour or two of reading a day and as such, I'm not going to tax myself by trying to keep to a particular reading plan .. at least not unless and until things at work change for the better.

>276 jolerie: Valerie, the food and getting to meet some of the friends I made there when I lived there for 2 years are the 2 things I'm looking forward to in my upcoming trip to HK. I shall arrive on Saturday evening and I'm already signed up to join some friends on their hike on Sunday up a steep mountain. The hike should take us about 6-7 hours at a fairly fast clip, and we typically end it with dinner before dragging our sore selves home or in my case, back to my hotel. Can't wait. :-)

>277 mckait: Kath - So glad you got to speak with Paul. I need to send him a text message with my plans for KL. I'm only there for a really short zippity trip this time, so I hope our schedules sync so I get to see him this time, otherwise, it may have to be next year.

Considering I'm still here at work, I can only be grateful that my name wasn't thrown into the layoff bucket. Still, with the major restructuring of our parent company and with new strategies for my company, I'm not going to be too complacent and I'm expecting more changes in the coming year.

>278 DeltaQueen50: Hope you had a good halloween, Judy!

>279 Ameise1: Barbara, the weekend was wet and gloomy .... weather-wise. But I enjoyed a very relaxing pedicure with a friend and then hosted a party at our house in the evening on Saturday and then another on Sunday. So it was a fun if slightly tiring weekend. At least the weather has taken a turn for the better this week.

>280 AuntieClio: Stephanie - I will try to get more food pics in HK, Singapore and Malaysia, the 3 countries I'm hitting in my upcoming trip.

>281 LovingLit: Megan, alas, I didn't take any photos this year! SHOCK!! We all thought someone else was taking pics, so we didn't bother. Now it comes out that a number of us don't have photos of ourselves in our Halloween garb this year. :-( I dressed as a zombie nun this year ... and I discovered that I'm allergic to greasepaint. So towards the end of the evening, I was itching and developed some rather impressive blisters on my left cheek and jawline. I was sooo glad to wash all of that greasepaint off and I dosed myself liberally with Papaya ointment, a skin salve that seems to have magical properties because it seems to cure all skin ailments I've ever been unfortunate enough to suffer from. Skin was back to normal again the following morning safe for a little redness.

>283 cameling: Caro, it looks like you were very busy. I hope your parties were wonderful. Pedicure, so wonderful. I've to wait another two weeks until I'll get my one.

Caro, you are too multi- lingual and multi entertaining for them to lose...

124. Shortcut : How Analogies Reveal Connections, Spark Innovation, and Sell Our Greatest Ideas by John Pollack

Received this as an ER book. It was an interesting book defining analogies and providing great examples in how many analogies have infiltrated so many areas of our lives. They're used in commercials, company presentations, legal arguments, creative marketing collateral and innovative ideas, among others. They're used to manipulate, motivate and at times provide a more nuanced picture.

3 stars

125. Festive in Death by J.D. Robb
No. 39 in the series, Lt Eve Dallas continues to stand for the dead, even if the victim proves to be a sleazeball whom she'd rather have been able to tear apart in interrogation and put in a cage for the rest of his natural life. In this case, she has a deadline she has set for herself, and that is to solve the case and arrest the murderer before Christmas Day so she can enjoy it with Roarke. Yet another good one from Ms Robb, and I was surprised when the identity of the murderer was disclosed. I so thought it was someone else.

3.8 stars

>284 Ameise1: Barbara, the parties provided the motivation we needed to tidy and clean the house. :-) I did a whole heap of cooking for both parties, and thankfully things seemed to go well. Everyone appeared to have a good time and sent us little thank you notes after.

I love the place I get my pedicures done because they give my feet a massage and spa treatment as well. And I get to sit in a wonderful massage chair which kneads all the knots out of my neck and back at the same time. Wonderfully relaxing after a long week.

>285 mckait: Haha Kath - I'll take the entertaining part, but I'm sure they could replace me with other multilingual people if they wanted to.

>283 cameling: that papaya ointment is great, isn't it?! I love it too.

>282 cameling: Caro, are you sure? I didn't see any post from you today...

>288 LovingLit: Megan, I will be forever grateful to a friend who introduced me to papaya ointment. I initially thought it was going to turn out to be another bottle of snake oil, but I duly apologized to her for my skepticism and am a firm and faithful follower of this miraculous skin ointment.

>289 Smiler69: Ilana, I reposted. Not sure why the first post didn't 'take'. Thanks for the heads up .. Hope you like my recommendation. :-)

I'm off to Hong Kong tomorrow morning. Looking forward to a hike on Sunday with friends and dinner after. Keeping fingers crossed that meetings will go well next week.

I'd love to go to Hong Kong and actually see it, I've only been there on a 1 night flight layover and stayed in a hotel at the airport so never got to see anything. I was with others or I'd definitely have ventured out. It looked amazing from the air, but then most things look good from the air!

Caro, thanks for you pick, and as I just posted on my thread, I'm fine with rereading it as I did love Love in the Time of Cholera the first time around, which was more than 20 years ago. If it's ok with you that it would be a reread, that's fine with me. I know you're a really busy lady with travel and whatnot so a reread it just fine, and in this case kind of overdue.

Wishing you a safe trip (or what equates to safety in Caro Land!!) Hope to catch up with you when you get back.

Caro, wishing you a wonderful weekend.