SqueakyChu is "bugged" to read 75 books in 2015 - Page 1

I hope you like my "bug" theme for 2015. My tickers are all ladybugs this time in the Race of the Ladybugs.

Stick around to see the first four ladybugs finish their races before the "Calendar Ladybug" does. You can also place bets (no prizes awarded, though) on which ladybug will win, place, and show.

Here they are...

My 75 Books Challenge - the most important challenge of all!



My 16,000 page challenge - which is also up a bit from last year.



My BookCrossing challenge - which I've increased a bit this year



My ROOT challenge - I've increased my count for this year, but not by much!



My 2015 Calendar - which has the same number of days as last year. Leap year will be different, though!



...and they're off and running...er, crawling or flying! :)

January:


Photo by the_tahoe_guy - Flickr (CC-A)

My bookish plans for January:
I was unable to attend the BookCrossing meet-up this month for personal reasons.

COMPLETED:
1. The Richest Man in Babylon - George S. Clason - TIOLI: Read a book you acquired in 2014 - 158 pages
2. The Uninvited - Liz Jensen - TIOLI: Read a book that has the word "psychological" followed by a noun somewhere in or on the book (psychological thriller/front dust jacket foldover) - 307 pages
3. **Snow Country - Yasunari Kawabata - ROOT: from 2006 - TIOLI: Read a book with a weather phenomenon related word in the title (snow) - 142 pages
4. ****The Bird Market of Paris: A Memoir - Nikki Moustaki - TIOLI: Read a book by someone whose name ends in I, O, or U = 244 pages
5. ***/****/*****Being mortal : medicine and what matters in the end - Atul Gawande - TIOLI: Read a book from a list of best or notable books of 2014 (NPR, BookBub) - 275 pages
6. How to be a Good Wife - Emma Chapman - TIOLI: Read a book in which one of the author's names has 6 or more letters - 275 pages
7. The Property - Rutu Modan - TIOLI: Read a book from a library of a frog-award-winner 2011-2014 (countrylife) - 222 pages
8. */**Lucky Man : A Memoir - Michael J. Fox - TIOLI: Read a book whose title is also a song title or whose title is a riff on a song title (Lucky) - 311 pages
9. Don't Go - Lisa Scottoline - TIOLI: Read a book whose title is also a song title or whose title is a riff on a song title (Don't Go) - 374 pages

*BookCrossing ABC TBR Challenge eligible
**ROOT Challenge eligible!
***Shared TIOLI read
****LT ER book
*****Promised to someone

February


Photo by Joyce cory - Flickr (CC-A)

My bookish plans for February:
It was too cold to attend the meet-up at Soho Café in DC this month. :(

COMPLETED:
10. Above All Things - Tanis Rideout - TIOLI: Read A Book With a Three Word Title but the first word cannot be "The" - 385 pages
11. *Gift From the Sea - Anne Morrow Lindbergh - TIOLI: Read a book with something you could love in the title (gift/sea) - 128 pages
12. **/***/***** The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz - TIOLI: Read a book with a number in the first sentence (million) - 340 pages
13. Ice Trap - Kitty Sewell - TIOLI: Read a book with a "cold" word in the title (ice) - 340 pages

*BookCrossing ABC TBR Challenge eligible
**ROOT Challenge eligible!
***Shared TIOLI read
****LT ER book
*****Promised to someone
******Tutored read

March


Photo by Shikeroku - Flickr (CC-A)

My bookish plans for March:
1. BookCrossing Meet-up date and venue to be determined
2. Continue to collect books to give away at the International Day of the Book in Kensington, Maryland, next month

COMPLETED:
14. A Death on Diamond Mountain: A True Story of Obsession, Madness, and the Path to Enlightenment - Scott Carney - TIOLI: Read a book with a 2015 copyright - 277 pages
15. No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State - Glenn Greenwald - TIOLI: Read a book where the author's last name has more syllables than his or her first name - 259 pages
16. Shalom, Japan: a sabra's five years in the land of the rising sun - Shifra Horn - TIOLI: Read a book whose title includes the name of a country other than the one in which you currently reside - 313 pages
17. ******Italian Mysteries - Francis Lathom - TIOLI: Read a book with at least one Irish character - 384 pages
18. Bootlicker - Steve Piacente - TIOLI: Read a book
where the author's last name has more syllables than his or her first name - 329 pages

*BookCrossing ABC TBR Challenge eligible
**ROOT Challenge eligible!
***Shared TIOLI read
****LT ER book
*****Promised to someone
******Tutored read

Is this the real one? ;)

OK, this is the place! Yes?

Indeed!

Ooh, I like all the bugs!

Starred! :)

Quick question: do you cross-post the books you read for the ROOT and the 75, counting the same book for both? I tried that this year but it seemed redundant.

I need to start a 2015 thread now...

It is redundant.

I don't post my own thread on the ROOTs challenge, but I do keep track of it here on my main thread (you can see my ROOTs ticker at the top of this page). I also add my ROOTs ticker to the ROOTs challenge "ticker only" thread. That's all I really have to do as Cheli updates the ROOTs challenges by that "ticker only" thread.

I've given up other challenges that I've done in the past (particularly the fun Category Challenge that -Eva- hosts) which require extensive thread-keeping because I didn't like the redundancy of it.

I only did and will continue to do the redundancy for the BookCrossing thread to keep other BookCrossers interested in what I was/am reading. I didn't/don't want them getting bored here on LT because this site is huge, and that group is so small. One can get lost or overwhelmed by all of the groups and people here. I want to keep them rooted (no pun intended!). :D

See you on your thread!

>9 -Eva-:

Hi Eva!

How did I ever lose you?!

>11 SqueakyChu: - Thanks, Madeline. I think I will stick to the two this year, the 75 and the BC threads. The less confused I make myself, the better! ;-)

The fun part begins now: I have a basket that I am filling now with the books I *want* to read this year (some of them anyhow). The trick is to see how may of them I actually get to before getting sidetracked by other books. If you know what I mean... ;-)

Madeline - In the United Kingdom we generally call "ladybugs", "ladybirds" - I have to say that the british naming is more reflective of these delightful little creatures. Am looking forward to both your thread and the TIOLIs this year with hopefully a renewed vigour.

The less confused I make myself, the better!

LOL! I agree.

If you know what I mean

I know exactly what you mean. I really don't understand how people can follow a booklist to choose what they read. All of my listed books eventually get erased in favor of other books. I have no idea of why we do this. That's why I'm so unsuccessful with book clubs and never want to join them.

The funny thing is that my great niece started on online book club. I told her that I didn't want to join it to read the books. I just wanted to join it to see what they were reading. I ended up joining it, but I've only successfully read two of the books that were chosen...and one of those was a book that I myself chose when it was my turn to make the choice. I'm simply a failure at book clubs. :)

This is my niece's open-to-the-public Better Than the Movie Book Club .

>15 SqueakyChu: I am so happy to hear you say that! I joined a book club through school once. It was a great deal (I thought): we paid $20, and received 4 books PLUS we met at a restaurant after each book for discussion and the meal was included in that price. Problem was, I didn't like the books. I only actually read the first one and parts of the next 2 and couldn't even get into the last one. As much as I love reading and almost envy people in book clubs sometimes, I could never commit myself to *having to* read a book if it doesn't appeal to me. And certainly not to deadline. But I also love to know about what books they read, lol!

Have you ever read Angry Housewives Eating Bonbons by Lorna Landvik? I really loved that book.

I don't like the title. I won't read it. I have the book because I took it out of my Little Free Library last week. :)

Nice new thread(s), Madeline! I love the ladybug photos.

>17 SqueakyChu: The title is VERY tongue in cheek. The women made that name to spite the stereotype of who men thought they were. I promise you, it is a WONDERFUL book. It spans several decades, and is the story of neighbours who become friends and form a book club. Each chapter begins with a book excerpt (and made me want to go read each one chosen), but the actual story of this book encompasses more history (of the 60s, 70s, 80s), and plot development than actual book club books. I think you would really love it. Give it a try, don't let the title put you off. Just look at some of the reviews...

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/1807271/ (my entries start at #25)

I read through some of the journal entries, and, although the reviewers and you like it, this kind of book does not appeal to me (many generations, all female point of view, told from many points of view). I'm sure it's good, but it's one I choose to skip.

>20 SqueakyChu: Fair enough! I know I feel the same way about lots of other genres, too. Variety is the spice of life, as they say! And precisely what makes books so important and compelling - there is something for everyone! :-)

Madeline, I love the ladybirds photo. I try to follow your thread. Happy reading 2015.

>22 Ameise1:

Barbara, I wish I had the photography equipment (and the talent) to take such photos. They come courtesy of three photographers who share their photos on Flickr.

I wish you a fun-filled and book-filled new year. All the best!!

Hi Madeline, I have starred you so that I can follow your reading both by books and by pages my dear, I hope you have a very good reading year in 2015.

Your wish is my command, m'lady: the thread for Italian Mysteries is up---here.

Glad you've got your ladybugs settled. I also won The Bird Market of Paris ER, and I'm all caught up with the backlog so I should get to it in January.

Starred you for 2015!

>3 SqueakyChu:...What a wonderful image. May 2015 be healthy, happy and filled with wonderful books to read. And, may it be a year of spending time with your lovely grand child.

Hi! Good luck on your endeavours for the new year!

> 24

Thanks, John.

Happy new year and thanks for putting up the pages challenge. I found that fun for 2014 and look forward to seeing how many pages I can read in 2015.

>25 lyzard:

Thanks, Liz, for setting up the Italian Mysteries thread. I'm all set to begin!

>26 qebo:

Katherine, I am so far behind on my reviews because I'm hung up on one that will take me forever to finish. They keep sending me new books even though I'm so far behind. Oh, well. I'll still keep requesting if they keep on sending. I'll get tot hem eventually, I guess.

>27 SandDune:

Hi Rhian! I hope your new year is truly blessed.

>28 Whisper1:

Hi Linda! Wishing you and your loved ones a fabulous 2015. I plan on spending as much time as I can with my beloved grandson. He has taken over my heart. :)

>29 PawsforThought:

Hi Paws! I'm now refreshed and ready for my 2015 challenges to begin. May this coming year be full of fun and books for you!

Hi Madeline. I haven't been around your thread for awhile - lost you when I quit TIOLI maybe? Anyway, I am dropping by to say hello and see if I can keep up with you this year. :)

>30 SqueakyChu: I'm hung up on one that will take me forever to finish.
You don't have to read them in order...

>32 nittnut:

Hi Jenn, I've not been following too many individual threads this past year and have lost touch with many LTers in this way, but I always think of everyone fondly. Thanks for stopping by. I wish you a fabulous 2015.

>33 qebo:

I know that, Katherine, but I want to work my way through this one to be done with it. I'm actually more than half finished. It's interesting, but it's kind of like reading an encyclopedia. :/

>34 SqueakyChu: What's the book?

Pepper, Silk and Ivory: Amazing Stories about Jews and the Far East by Marvin Tokayer

>36 SqueakyChu: It does look interesting. :-) Also doesn't seem you're all that far behind, considering the dates on the existing reviews. I had an ER at the end of last year and an ER at the end of this year that took for.ev.er because there was too much detail to absorb so I could only manage in small bits.

I didn't tell you about the books from previous years that I never reviewed at all. The further ahead we go, the more behind I get. Oh, well. There are no ER police! :)

Hi Madeline, just a quick post to wish you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year my dear and have an enjoyable reading year in 2015. xx

Go Bug Go!!!

Hey, I thought if you had too high a percentage of unread ERs it lessened your chance of getting your pick of the new ERs. I've finished every single stinking one of them! Okay, only about two were bad enough to be called stinky and I do think I wrote a review on "why I couldn't finish this one" once. I just think of the authors, especially new authors, who desperately want some buzz for their books so I get at them pretty quickly. I guess I know too many authors. ;)

& know what you mean about the redundancy of threads. I love the category challenge though and have the best conversations over there. I sometimes write different blurbs on the two threads, depending on how I feel at the time and if there is something that would only make sense to one group or the other. I'm going to try to keep it simpler this year by starring the threads of favorite people. Last year, I lost track of some people.

>40 cammykitty:

I thought if you had too high a percentage of unread ERs it lessened your chance of getting your pick of the new ERs.

I think I've had so many ER books that I've already reviewed that the algorithm doesn't seem to want to rule me out any more. I'll get to all of them...but it will take a while. Maybe years! :)

I feel for the authors as well. I just need more time in my life and less books...but I can't resist asking for the new ones! They look so interesting!

I lost track of most people's threads. Not on purpose, but simply because I can't spend my entire days only reading LT threads.

The category challenge is a great one! I loved doing it. Again, not enough time to do everything.

Have a great new year, Katie!

May all your wishes come true.

>42 Ameise1:

Thanks! Enjoy a wonderful 2015!!

>41 SqueakyChu: Yes, I think so - and also I think it helps if you review a lot of books, ER or not. My ER review percentage is less than 50% (ow!) - I've gotten at least one book that I can't believe I asked for, and another that was an audiobook (I don't do audiobooks - no idea how I missed that). But I've finally managed to read and review several this year, and in all but one case I was sorry it had taken me so long because I loved them when I got around to reading them. I'm trying to focus on catching up/keeping up with ER - I'd like to clear my backlog. But I still get books on a regular basis from them.

To bug or not to bug… Well, I had to stop by and wish my TIOLI Buddy a Happy New Year! Love the ladybugs. I also enjoy following your Little Free Library on FB -- and visiting the one around the corner from me. I was so excited when it was erected this summer! It doesn't get nearly the amount of traffic that yours does but it adds class to the neighborhood. A Happy Bookish New Year to you, Madeline.

Madeline,



Happy New Year from your friend in Kuala Lumpur

>41 SqueakyChu: I too can't resist getting new Early Reviewer books even though I have fallen behind. It is a relief to see that others continue to ask for the books despite the guilt!

A Happy New Year, Madeline!

I love the ladybug photos, Madeline. And I know what you mean about book clubs, but I do belong to two! And I have decided to try to keep up with some of the challenges here. And look at the TIOLI. And keep up with you. Sure.LOL.

>45 Donna828:

Hi, Donna!

Happy New Year!

I'm so excited that you have a local Little Free Library.

Truthfully, I wouldn't mind my LFL getting more traffic. I think, with all the Facebook posts I make, it seems as if it's getting more traffic than it does. I think people take about 25 to 50 books from it a month. that's not so many. I rotate out some of the older books each day. Those books will be given away for free at a book fair in Kensington, Maryland this coming April. All of them are registered on BookCrossing so I hope to follow the travels of at least a few of them.

Check to see if your local LFL is entered her on LibraryThing Local. If not, please enter it (and upload a picture of it. Thanks in advance. :)

>44 jjmcgaffey:

Happy New Year, Jennifer!

For the longest time, I've been picking one ER book a month...and always win it! I've been getting very choosy about what I pick because I want to be able to enjoy the books I have to review. So far, I've been doing well with them. Some are even outstanding. I'm glad the algorithm likes me. Ha!

>46 PaulCranswick:

Hi Paul,

Wishing you and your family a lovely 2015. It's so nice to see you back on out TIOLI challenges. They are off to a rousing start this year!

>47 Oberon:

Happy New Year, Erik!

It is a relief to see that others continue to ask for the books despite the guilt!

I refuse to feel guilty about this as I'm not the one shipping out those books! :)

>48 drachenbraut23:

Have a fantastic 2015, Bianca!

>50 SqueakyChu: I released 1005 books to my Little Free Library in 2014. Initially I was annoyed that so few people returned them. Now I live in fear...

>49 ffortsa:

Hi Judy!

Happy New Year! Any chance of your coming down to DC so I can actually meet you one of these days?

I actually decided to join my great niece's on-line book club just to see what they are reading...but most of the books I don't like (and don't have to read...no pressure!). I did read two books. One of them I chose. That book was Gone Girl which was a fun read. The other book I read was Philomena, and I surprised myself by liking it! Ha!

>55 qebo:

I released 1005 books to my Little Free Library in 2014. Initially I was annoyed that so few people returned them. Now I live in fear...

Happy New Year, Katherine.

I have been so totally inundated with book donations (none of which I turn down, by the way), that I must have a dozen boxes of them packed away upstairs for future use. I've begun rotate the books out every two weeks or so on a daily basis. The ones that are coming out will go to my BookCrossing booth at the Kensington Book Festival this April.

There are 533 books that have been taken from the Little Free Library of Twinbrook (#7720) in 2013 and not journal-entered. I don't know how many were journal entered. I'd guess about 5-10% more. I'd guess my circulation is about 600 books/year or 2 books/day. That sounds about right.

>57 SqueakyChu: I have the boxes and bags of donations sitting in the living room, which is the most convenient place, but not the most attractive. Alas there is no space in the dining room because that's where I keep the butterfly paraphernalia.

>58 qebo:

Haha! Is that why you want to move?! More storage area for books and butterfly paraphernalia?

Anyway, it's very nice to know that you no longer have to worry about how to keep your LFL stocked.

Happy New Year.

>60 BLBera:

Happy New Year, Beth! May this be a fun year for you...

Aha! Finally, the REAL thread...now I can drop my star permanently.

Love the bugs, and the conversation. I'll try to follow you as much as I can...your threads are long!

Such a popular lady... ;)

>62 fuzzi:

Finally, the REAL thread

Sorry about those tangents! LOL!!

1. The Richest Man in Babylon - George S. Clason


----------------------------------------------------------
January 2015 TIOLI Challenge: Read a book you acquired in 2014 (11/13/14)
-----------------------------------------------------------
I hate parables. I only read this book because it was recommended by Michelle Singletary who writes "The Color of Money" column for The Washington Post. The book itself gives good financial principals in their bare essence, but, truthfully, I'd have rather read a book on economics. The last short chapter of the book tells about when the city of Babylon came to an end. I'm not sure what message that leaves with the book's readers.

Rating- 2 stars

Madeline, I hope your next book will be more exciting.

It won't. I'm reading other boring books now (although they're definitely less boring that The Richest Man in Babylon which made my eyelids so very heavy! Two of the books I'm currently reading are "must reads" because they're ER books. They're definitely better at this point than The Richest Man in Babylon was.

Oh dear, I keep my fingers crossed that it will turn to the better.

I love this review of the same book (by JoshK of NYC) on Amazon:

The book uses an awkward, cheezy, and stilted story-telling style to tell you the secret of becoming rich. Here it is, I'm going to save you $10 and {the} hour it takes to read this:

1. Save money
2. Invest it wisely

Shocker.

>68 SqueakyChu: LOL

>68 SqueakyChu: - LOL! I love reviewers who are honest!! ;-)

Madeline - Too bad your year didn't start on a more positive reading note.

Well, the good thing is...it can only get better...I hope! :)

Found and starred. Hoping 2015 is a fabulous year for you and yours! Nice job on the Little Free Library! And better luck with the rest of the year's reads. Hugs!

>73 Berly:

Hi Kim! I was looking back at SuzieQ's thread and saw pictures of a previous Portland meet-up. Who was out there? I know Jim, Judy, and Richard from the NYC crowd (but I've never met them in person). Do you live in Portland as well?

I love your bug theme ;-)

Last year I did butterflies...which were also bugs. :D

They brought me luck as I finished all the challenges that I started...even though I tried to make them not that hard.

>74 SqueakyChu: Madeline--Yes, I live in Portland. Jim and Judy have been out here to visit and I met Richard in NY. The last big meet-up out here included both in and out-of-staters: Ellen (EBT1002), Jan (oregonreader), Mark, Carol O, Karen (maggie 1944), Lisa (labfs39), Deborah (arubabookwoman), Juli (SuziQ) and Pat (phoebe). We'll see who we can round up if you come out this way.

And I love ladybugs. : )

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

Go, Ravens! :)

2. The Uninvited - Liz Jensen


_________________________
January 2013 TIOLI Challenge: Read a book that has the word "psychological" followed by a noun somewhere in or on the book (psychological thriller/front dust jacket foldover)
------------------------------------
It is lucky for the author of this book that I even decided to finish it. The book opens with a series of extremely violent acts perpetrated upon adults by children. The it moves to the life of Heskethe Lock, a competent cultural anthropologist who is sent to various sites worldwide by his boss Ashok to gather details of corporate sabotage. Heskethe has just left his former girlfriend for a surprising reason, but is still very much attached to her son Freddy whom Heskethe treats as his own son. This is the first third of the book. If this sounds like a boring read to this point, it is.

What makes this book interesting is what develops later. If you have the fortitude to bear with this book's rough start, you'll find an inventive story which ties all of the disparate pieces together and an interesting look into the workings of the mind of Heskethe, an individual with Asperger's syndrome. I like how the author uses some of the definitive traits of a person with Asperger's syndrome to make a highly likable main character. The science fiction part of this book, once revealed, was what made my interest in finishing this story heat up.

Rating - 4 stars

>79 lyzard:

Hey Liz,

The Baltimore Ravens won the Wildcard playoff football game with the Pittsburgh Steelers (30-15) last evening.

Hooray! Go Ravens!!

>78 Ameise1:

I'm trying to keep up with your wish! I plan more reading later this evening.

3. Snow Country - Yasunari Kawabata


----------------------------------------------------
January 2015 TIOLI challenge: Read a book with a weather phenomenon related word in the title (snow)
-----------------------------------------------------
I know that this is supposed to be Kawabata's finest work, but it didn't appeal all that much to me. What I liked about it was the description of the snow country. However, had I not read the introduction to the book, I would have missed out on the significance of this area of Japan. I also didn't care too much for the fact that the whole book was about how a married man with children spent his time traveling to and remaining with geisha Komako. I realize that this is a cultural thing. I'm also not sure what the message of this book is. The ending didn't prove satisfactory one way or the other. I have enjoyed others works by Kawabata, but this was not among those I like the best.

Rating - 3 stars

>83 SqueakyChu: not a big fan of Snow Country - which was written and re-written over a period of years and I think looks like it.

His The Master of Go is pretty good if you want to give the author a second chance

>84 magicians_nephew: I enjoyed The Master of Go. Worth a try.

>84 magicians_nephew:

I've already read The Master of Go and liked that book, very, very much. I thought the writing in that novel was gorgeous. I guess that's why I was so disappointed in Snow Country. I also liked House of the Sleeping Beauties: And Other Stories by Kawabata. Again, the writing in the stories of this latter book was beautiful although the stories themselves were sort of odd.

>85 Oberon:

Too late, Erik! I already read it in 2006 on the recommendation of my BookCrossing friend, Dunzy. In fact, he sent me that book.

Madeline, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

Thanks, Barbara.

I hope it warms up here...although I wouldn't mind seeing as moose...as we have none of those. The largest creature we have in my yard are possums and raccoons (very rarely) and sometimes a crow. :)

>87 SqueakyChu:

Yesterday, I sadly learned that my BookCrossing friend Dunzy, who introduced me to Yasunari Kawbata, passed away in 2012. No longer frequenting BookCrossing's forums very much since discovering LibraryThing, I was not aware of Bookcrossing's great loss.

Here I just want to post for myself this link of our books exchanges with Dunzy.

Here is his picture:



Rest in peace, dear friend.

>90 SqueakyChu: - Um, Madeline.... that link to *your* book exchanges with Dunzy seems to lead to MY book exchanges with him..... Not sure that was your intention but thank you, it brought back such wonderful memories.

>91 jessibud2:

Haha! Let's keep it like that. We both share such lovely memories of him. Whoever knew Dunzy will then get his/her own list. People who didn't know him will not get a link. This is because the advanced search box on BC pulls up "My shelf" plus Dunzy's name. In your case, "My Shelf" refers to you.

I'll just change the reference above to "our" exchanges.

it brought back such wonderful memories.

For me, too. These are only the books...and not even the many written exchanges we had for a very long time on the BC forums.

>80 SqueakyChu: Adding that book to the BlackHole, Madeline. Thanks for the recommendation.

>90 SqueakyChu: Sorry to hear about your friend.

@41 Yep, I know. Didn't mean to sound preachy. And for authors like David Mitchell and Alan Bradley, like one more or less review is really going to hurt them. Time is always at a premium!

So sorry for the loss of your friend. With each person that goes like that, I feel a great wealth of information, ideas and warmth goes with them as well.

Hi Madeline, sorry to hear of the loss of your friend my dear. From your counter it looks like you are leading the way on the page count.

>90 SqueakyChu: my condolences for your loss. Some say that internet friends are not the same as RL friends, but I disagree. When you converse with someone, you get a sense of the person, whether you communicate in typed or oral words.

Happy Sunday Madeline.

>96 fuzzi:

Some say that internet friends are not the same as RL friends, but I disagree. When you converse with someone, you get a sense of the person, whether you communicate in typed or oral words.

Is that a person's soul? I do think so.

I dearly love getting to meet my internet friends in real life. Sorry I didn't get to meet you when we were in North Carolina that time we were at the beach. I fear going into old age and only having cyberfriends! So far, though, that is not the case. :)

Sad days ahead...

Yesterday I learned of the sudden death of my best friend's mother. I'll be spending the rest of today with that friend.

For some reason, a few of my friends have all suddenly been inundated with the deaths of their parents. Life is funny that way. I'm tired of so many close-together deaths (5 within the past two months - all of them parents of rather close friends). The oldest was a woman 101 years old.

I'm ready for the wedding and births of babies. I did go through that period about the same time my grandson was born...and look forward to that period again.

Does it just seem that births and deaths are grouped together...or is that a coincidence?

By the way, I am now intrigued by and reading Atul Gawande's book, Being Mortal. It's fascinating, depressing, informative...and spot on about aging issues!

>99 SqueakyChu: I am sorry to hear about yet another loss for you, Madeline. I know it is the cycle of life, but that does not make it any easier. My parents are getting older, my mother-in-law is fighting cancer, and the inevitable will happen at some point. I hate being in the sandwich generation.

Hi Madeline, so sorry to hear of another sudden death of a friend's family member, please forgive my sunny post (97) earlier. Unfortunately it does seem that deaths seem to come in multiples and like you I look forward to weddings and births, luckily for me I have my daughter's wedding to look forward to in October and a couple of friends are expecting shortly.

>99 SqueakyChu: - You know, I have noticed that myself (births and deaths coming together). It's like one door closes and another door opens. There is a symmetry and a comfort in that, in a way. It is never easy.

{{hugs}}

Thanks, all.

>100 alcottacre:

Stasia, the sandwich generation is okay until the top of that sandwich gets a little "iffy". My parents both died before I had children, and I only wish I could have been in the middle of that sandwich.

>101 johnsimpson:

John, please don't apologize for wishing me happiness. I like being happy! An upcoming wedding and new babies...so much joy! You're sure to have delightful times with those events in your future.

>102 jessibud2:

Shelley, death is never easy, but it is easier to accept when the deceased has had a long, full life. Fortunately, my friend's mom was 90 years old and seemed to have had a peaceful, though sudden, death.

>99 SqueakyChu: Sorry about the loss of your friend. I do think things come in cycles. One of the reasons I was gone from LT so much of December was that between myself and my kids, we personally knew 3 people who attempted suicide and 2 people who did. And a friend on hospice passed. I just didn't feel very chatty. It is so very hard to lose people. Again, my condolences.

((((((((((@Berly)))))))))) (those are hugs)

I'm so sorry.

Thanks Fuzzi. Wow. Those are great hugs and they really made me smile. Passing some of them on to Madeline...

(((((SqueakyChu)))))

>104 Berly: >105 fuzzi:

I'm just back from the funeral in New York and really appreciating your kind sentiments and hugs.

We are so lucky to have such a kind, and thoughtful, community here. My condolences to all who have suffered sad events this last bit of time.

>108 maggie1944: Thank you, Karen.

Madeline, I hope you can a bit relax after this sad week.

Strangely, I received more sad news from another person today. I'm really ready for more joy to come to my friends. *sigh*

>111 SqueakyChu: - {{Madeline}} It sure hits in waves, doesn't it? :-(

Here is something sure to at least put a smile on your face: Trevor posted this in my thread about the LFLs:

Today, 3:02am Top

It was painted by the artist Emma Scutt as part of this project:- http://www.littlefreelibraryproject.org.uk/walthamstow.html

>112 jessibud2:

Those are great, Shelley. So colorful and bright. You know that LFLs always make me happy.

4. The Bird Market of Paris: A Memoir - Nikki Moustaki


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January 2015 TIOLI challenge: Read a book by someone whose name ends in I, O, or U
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The author sums herself up quite succinctly at the end of Chapter 21 when she says, "I was a fragile, weepy, irrational, paranoid nut job." However, by the end of the book, I developed a real appreciation for the author and the story she told of her life which revolved around birds, alcoholism, and her beloved grandfather whom she called Poppy.

Her grandfather was her stabilizing force throughout her childhood. From him she learned her love of all things avian. She went on to collect and raise many species of exotic birds. I thought that this seemed kind of crazy until I thought back on a period of my life in which I was collecting and breeding hamsters. Duh! I also remember a relative of my own who was just as important, if not more important, for me than my own parents for a significant part of my life. Though not an alcoholic myself, I have experienced the negative effects being very close to an individual with this problem. The more I read of this book, the more immersed in the story I became.

I was especially drawn to the ending where the author goes to Paris to visit the Bird Market that she had originally heard of from her grandfather. All did not go as planned there, but what did happen was significant.

I like the way this author writes. She does not sugar-coat her life, yet I know there is a very intelligent, thoughtful individual who speaks about some rough patches and who certainly has never been a mainstream individual. I would definitely read other works by this author, especially now that I'm more drawn to birds than hamsters. :)

Rating - 4 stars

>114 SqueakyChu: I'm reading it now! About halfway through.

5. Being Mortal - Atul Gawande


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January 2015 TIOLI challenge: TIOLI: Read a book from a list of best or notable books of 2014 (NPR, BookBub)
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After going into sudden and unexpected retirement and then seeing some of my closest friends' parents physically deteriorate and then pass away, I much appreciate the thoughts expressed in this book. It expresses concerns for how systems we have in place now for housing and health care for the elderly are not always in their best interest.

The book begins with concerns about loss of independence in the elderly and ends with loss of life. People live longer now than they did two centuries ago and have easier access to aggressive medical care which may further prolong life. New ways are being developed to provide safe housing for the elderly, but it's just as important to address their psychological needs. Impending death, likewise, should not merely be concerned with prolonging life, but it should also address quality of life.

Atul Gawande talked about his father's illness and death while revealing which actions worked in his family and which didn't. He shared his experiences in order for readers to think personally ahead of time about what we expect for ourselves and those we love as we age. To sincerely listen to the desires of our elderly and to put those desires into action is the most important message of the book.

Rating - 5 stars

>115 qebo:

What do you think of it so far?

I contacted the author via my LFL Facebook page, and told her I reviewed her book on LT. :) She thanked me for the review.

About halfway through.

I appreciated the book much more by the time I finished it.

>117 SqueakyChu: I'm enjoying it. I started reading a couple days ago as a break from another book, and have been zipping through it in the evenings.

>118 qebo: It is quick reading. I was reading it as a break from another book, too. Funny! The other book is also an Early Reviewer, but one that I can't seem to make any progress on.

>111 SqueakyChu: Sorry that more sadness is in your life. Sending happy thoughts!

>116 SqueakyChu: I really would like to read this one. My parents are going through major changes. Selling their condo and moving into a 3-tiered assisted living place. My dad needs some surgery next week and he thinks my Mom can handle the drive, which she shouldn't because she can't remember how to get places or use the GPS. My siblings and I are working on an intervention and all of this aging stuff is definitely something to think about. Thanks for posting your review!

>116 SqueakyChu: - Thanks for this review. This is a book I really want to read. I am hoping that my library will being in an audiobook version as I won't buy it until it comes out in softcover. It is a topic often on my mind these days. I listened to an audiobook last year that your review could easily be describing. The author is Jennifer Worth and is called In the Midst of Life, although, in my opinion, if really has a lot more to do with end of life care, than midlife. The author is British, and this book chronicles some of her own experiences as a young nurse in the post-war days in London. She has apparently written a book series about midwives, as well, and nursing in WWII England. I had not heard of her before but felt this book was so very important and ought to be compulsory reading for every medical student everywhere, before receiving a license to practice. I found some of what she wrote to be disturbing, but she is an excellent and very compassionate writer. I think this Gawande book will be a good companion to it.

The link above to the book I mentioned is wrong. It links to a book with the same title but obviously not the one I read. Here is the correct link: http://www.librarything.com/work/10794430/book/113681610

Sorry to hear you have more sad news :-(

Hope that trend changes for you soon.

>120 Berly: Kim, thank you for your concern.

I really liked this book because it stops the medical model from overpowering our vulnerable elderly. I have a daughter who is soon to sit for the bar and who is going into estate law. Between her recommendations and reading this book, I see that now is the time to decide how I want to be treated in my later years and put it all down on paper.

I remember, after my mom was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, her coming to a decision that she no longer wanted to fight for her life but rather to just give up. That is a very hard message for family members to hear. I like the way Dr. Gawande shared his experience with his dad who went through the same transition. There is no easy way to handle this, but everyone has to listen to the afflicted person to hear what he or she wants and to ensure a good quality of life no matter if the elderly or infirm person is independent, dependent, or terminally ill.

Do read the book. The author gives a very positive spin on how family members can most assist their senior relatives.

>121 jessibud2: I was surprised when I started to read this book because I thought it was going to be simply about hospice care. It was so much more than that. It's about listening to an individual's desires at all stages in later life on the continuum of being entirely healthy through death itself.

I have worked with hospice patients when I was doing telephone triage. I also experienced the transition of life to death of my mother-in-law and sister-in-law in hospice care and felt it was a gentle, compassionate way to die. My own parents each died alone (one in a hospital; the other in a nursing home). Such is what happened in the 1970's.

My friend's mom who just suddenly died lived the last year and a half of her life in a senior facility where she was able to live independently, safely, and happily. I spent many lovely evenings there with her and her daughter by the library's fireside having fun chats (sometimes comparing our hearing aids!).

Thanks for the BB. I'll look for that book.

>122 SuziQoregon: Juli, thank you for your kind words.

>121 jessibud2: In the Midst of Life - you can get the right touchstone by looking over on the right of your message and clicking the (others) link after the title that shows up in the touchstone. It will give you a whole list of books (that you _might_ have meant) - Jennifer Worth's book was second on the list.

6. How to be a Good Wife - Emma Chapman


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January 2015 TIOLI Challenge: Read a book in which one of the author's names has 6 or more letters
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I have to give this book very high marks for its compulsive readability. I stayed up well into the wee hours one night only to wake up the next morning to stay in bed to finish this story.

This novel tells of Marta, a woman who is "not quite right" in her marriage to the much older Hector Bjornstad. She moves about in a robot-like way and uses a book, How to be a Good Wife, given to her by her rigid mother-in-law as a guide to her behavior. The couple's one adult son no longer lives at home, and Marta is quite dismayed to have him apart from her. As the novel progresses, Marta's behavior changes and she begins to have visions of a young girl appear to her at regular intervals. It's hard to tell if this girl is or is not a real person in Marta's life. Both husband and son become concerned about these behavior changes...and so will you, dear reader.

Although this story was terrific and both my husband and I interpreted our ideas of it differently, it had a few unexplained holes and areas that I didn't think rung true which better editing by a psychiatric nurse could have eliminated.

I loved the Scandinavian setting of the fjords which were perfect for the plot of this story.

This was the author's debut novel and a fairly strong story. I hope she continues to write but will tighten up her future novels. I'd happily read what she will have to offer at a later date.

Rating - 4 stars

7. The Property - Rutu Modan


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January 2015 TIOLI challenge: Read a book from a library of a frog-award-winner 2011-2014 (countrylife)
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I love how the genre of graphic novels has developed over recent years. This graphic novel is one good example. The story is of Regina Segal, an elderly Israeli Jewish woman who returns to Warsaw, Poland, many years after World War II in order to reclaim family property. She brings her granddaughter Mica with her. Ruth is somewhat secretive about what she hopes to accomplish by this trip, and Mica does some snooping in order to figure out why her grandmother, once in Poland, is no longer adamant about claiming her rightful inheritance.

This book is very well done. The characters are truly interesting...from Regina Segal, the determined grandmother, to Thomasz, the comic book artist who is a Jewish ghetto tour guide by day, to Avram Yagodnik, the heavyset "nudnik" who follows Mica in Warsaw for his girlfriend's gain.

I'll admit that I had to read this book twice to get what I wanted out of it. My first read-through was for its content. The story seemed a bit complicated, and I wanted to be able to follow it. The second read-through was purely for pleasure. In this second reading, I paid more attention to the drawings and discovered interesting background characters and setting...both of the present and of the past.

I loved that the book was done in colors rather than in black and white. They added much to the story...from the bright blue of the Vistula River to the muted rose tones of the wallpaper in "the property" to the grayish tones of Regina Segal's memories.

This is a terrific book and one that the reader should take the time in reading so that its special details are not missed.

Rating - 4.5 stars

>128 SqueakyChu:

I just now read on the Wikipedia article about Rutu Modan stating that the above-mentioned graphic novel was based on Modan's own family experiences. The story had a certain true ring to it...and the question in my mind was if the story were based on anyone's true experiences. Now I know the answer to my question.

>128 SqueakyChu: That looks pretty cool. I am going to have to look for it.

I so much agree that the development, and maturation, of graphic "novels" is a wonderful addition to the world of reading!

>130 Oberon: Erik, it's a good one!

>131 maggie1944: Karen, so far, I think that Art Speigelman's Maus (in two parts) was the best graphic novel ever done, both for its subject matter and for being revolutionary enough to introduce a wider audience to graphic novels.

I have read and appreciated those, also!

>128 SqueakyChu:
That's a great one - I normally like her works, but this one felt very personal and was especially moving.

>134 -Eva-: I read through that book twice. The second time, I guess because I was more aware of the details of the story, it brought me to tears. I would really like to know which of the story's details were taken from the author's real life. I wonder if she did have the "nudnik" following her in Warsaw. :)

I was thinking of you yesterday at a dinner party where I met a man who had once lived in Sweden. I was proud to say that I knew the word "hej" in Swedish... which is the word you taught me! :)

Oh yes, when the real reason for the grandmother's making the trip is revealed, I was digging into the Kleenex box!

Well, "hej" is a very useful word. :)

>136 -Eva-: It is.

Happily lurking. And "Jag pratar lite svenska." Although it looks way different that I remember saying it. I used that a lot in Sweden when I visited in my twenties. ; )

>138 Berly: Wait! You have to tell me what that means!!

>139 SqueakyChu: "I can speak a little Swedish"

>140 PawsforThought: How is it pronounced? Like this? Yag prah-tahr lee-tay sven-skah

>141 SqueakyChu: Almost. More like lee-teh, though.

>143 SqueakyChu: Haha! More like "little".

>143 SqueakyChu: Yeah, a bit. Without the second L. And with a more British than American sound on the T.

Exactly! Although I remember it sounding more like "Jag pratar inta svenska" and what I was trying to say was "I don't speak Swedish." At all. Nada. ; )

Is that pronounced "in-tah ?

The latter sentence would be more useful to me...unless I learned more svenska. :)

>145 Berly: "Jag pratar intE svenska." Inta means occupy (as in occupying a country)! ;)
And it's pronunced a bit like "in-teh".

You could also use "Jag förstår inte." (I don't understand)

How do you pronounce "förstår"?

It looks almost like the German vorstehe.

Ich vorstehe gar nichts! :)

I love how knowing multiple languages helps when learning a new ones. I gave up on more languages when my hearing went bad (I was still in my 40's), but I loved learning new languages up until then.

>147 PawsforThought: Well, it has been 25 years so my pronunciation might be a little off, but that's what I meant. LOL. I loved being there though. It was so beautiful and everyone was so nice. And very handsome!

Eva, if you're still around here...I now know more than one word of Swedish! :D

I love how knowing multiple languages helps when learning a new ones.

I agree! I've been working on German lately, and I was really happy to realize that the word "drehen", to turn, was the same root as dreidel!

Haha! I never thought of that! My daughter is also teaching herself German now because she wants to apply for German citizenship.

>148 SqueakyChu: Difficult to explain. Ö is pronunced similarly to the I in girl or bird and Å like the O in Gollum.
The "rs" is almost always (including here) pronunced "sh". (That includes the RS in names like Anders/Andersson and Lars/Larsson. (Ahnde-shon/Lah-shon etc.)

And the other consonants are harder (more "German", 'cause we're basically northern Germans) than Americans like it.

So that's "föshtår". Sort of.

>149 Berly: Glad to hear you have such fond memories of here. Always nice to hear people liking your home and your countrymen.

I love learning languages too. So much fun! (And it apparently makes you better at maths!) I'm trying to keep up my French and I'm determined to learn Latin. I'd love to speak German too, but it's not a priority, I can understand a fair bit anyway so I'm focussing on other things.
My dream (which will NEVER happen, but sometimes it's nice to entertain impossible dreams) is to learn Russian, Persian and Arabic - for the joy of being able to read all those classics and all that poetry in the original tongue.

8. Lucky Man - Michael J. Fox


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January 2015 TIOLI Challenge: Read a book whose title is also a song title or whose title is a riff on a song title (Lucky)
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Even though I was more interested in the career of Michael J. Fox many years ago, I picked up his autobiography just now. I have no idea why I waited so long to read this book. I was pleasantly surprised at how easily readable I found it.

It was basically divided into three sections: his youth, his aspiring career and stardom, and the years after his Parkinson's Disease diagnosis. I found all three parts of his story equally interesting. His youth in Canada and his turning to drama as a career I found fascinating because I've watched a few of my own friends and family follow the same trajectory -- some with success, others without. I was pulled deeply into Michael's psyche as a successful television and movie star because I've always wondered what makes people of wealth seem so uncaring about the world at large. He explained this phenomenon fairly well. I was brought into more thorough understanding of his life after his Parkinson's disease diagnosis was made as I know, that as I myself age, there will be infirmity and illness ahead of me. I always wonder how to cope in such a situation.

In addition, I was delighted to learn that Michael's wife Tracy is the sister of the Michael Pollan whose "foodie" books I've enjoyed reading over quite a few years.

I think that Michael writes a good book and expresses himself very well. In fact, this book now makes me want to read the two other books that he wrote after this one.

Rating - 4.5 stars

>153 PawsforThought:

That's interesting about the "rs" combination resulting in the "sh" pronunciation in such names as Lars. I'd never have guessed that!

My dream (which will NEVER happen, but sometimes it's nice to entertain impossible dreams) is to learn Russian, Persian and Arabic

I'd love to learn Arabic as well. I have a head start as I know Hebrew, and, although the alphabet appears different, the letters basically form the roots of words in the same way that they do in Hebrew. My favorite language to speak is Hebrew - more than Spanish or German.

>154 SqueakyChu: - I listened to him read this in an audiobook format and it was a treat. I have his *Always Looking Up* book on my shelf, as well, but haven't yet read it. I have read *A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future*.

I have always liked him and I like that, in spite of being a celebrity, his family life seems stable and secure. I think that says a lot about a person.

Madeline, are you fluent in Spanish and German??

>154 SqueakyChu: Michael's wife Tracy is the sister of the Michael Pollan
Huh. Never made that connection.

>156 jessibud2:

More fluent in Spanish which I mostly learned from university classes and speaking to my Salvadoran husband and his family; less fluent in German because I haven't used my German since I was in high school where I studied German as a foreign language. I can understand it better than I can speak it. My parents spoke German at home while I was growing up.

>157 qebo:

Huh. Never made that connection.

Neither did I, and I was thrilled to learn this bit of trivia. Tracy always seemed so level-headed in Michael's book. That trait must run in the Pollan family!

>155 SqueakyChu: Happens quite a lot with all sorts of letter combinations. Sometimes it's to do with grammatical rules, sometimes it's laziness from the speaker. Some combinations are just to much work to constantly pronounce so corners are cut. (One example being "bilen" (bee-lehn, "the car"), which in my accent is pronounced "birn" (beern) because who can be bothered to say "len"?

Also, the R in Carl/Karl isn't pronounced. It's more like "kahl". Unless you're talking about the noun "karl" (meaning "man"), then it's pronounced "kahr". So you either pronounce the R or the L, never both. ;D

You speak Hebrew? Oh. Deep sigh. *linguistic envy*

ETA because I obviously can't think and type at the same time.

>154 SqueakyChu: Added to Mount TBR.

>161 Morphidae: I think you'll be inspired by Lucky Man. I know I was.

9. Don't Go - Lisa Scottoline


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January 2015 TIOLI Challenge: Read a book whose title is also a song title or whose title is a riff on a song title (Don't Go)
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The author did it again. She created a book in which I thought I knew what was going to happen, but didn't exactly...and I was pointing my anger at the characters in the wrong direction.

Mike makes for such a sad hero of the book. He a podiatric surgeon in a nasty war in Afghanistan, his wife Chloe is found dead at home in the United States, and he and close army buddies are subject to an attack by explosive device will forever change Mike's outlook on the world.

This novel is quick and easy reading, but many parts of it made me so angry. I hated the way Chloe's sister Danielle and her lawyer husband Bob railroaded Mike into their being the sole caregivers for Emily and always made Mike feel so inadequate and guilty when he tried to express love for and nurture his only child. I guess novels are supposed to push buttons, and this one did. I stayed mad at Mike's "so called family" throughout the whole book.

I loved the light lawyering in this book (the author is a former attorney) as I did in a previous book of hers I read. "Lawyer novels" always turned me off in the past, but now that my own daughter is soon to sit for the bar exam in our state, I'm more open to them!

I didn't care for the book cover, which the author commended in her acknowledgement by the way, because the Emily (Mike's daughter) in the book was an infant and a toddler, but never the preschooler hanging on to her dad that is pictured on the book's front cover .

I liked this book enough to stay up late one night to finish it and also to recommend it to my husband. It's light and entertaining though it hits with a huge punch some tough subjects. I'm ready to read more novels by Lisa Scottoline which is good. I'm starting to give best-selling authors a bit more leeway in my reading list!

Rating - 4 stars

>163 SqueakyChu: *snickers* Do you know your touchstone goes to Werewolves Don't Go To Summer Camp? :D

Delurking to wave hello.

>164 Morphidae: *groans* Thanks, Morphy. Fixed.

>165 nittnut: *waves to Jenn*

I loved the light lawyering in this book

You will have to ask your daughter in a couple of years how she feels about how lawyers are depicted in books and tv. Don't Go might be ok since the author was a lawyer but depictions that are done by people who are not lawyers drive me up the wall. I have gotten thrown out of the living room several time while my wife is watching tv because I am pointing out evidentiary objections overlooked by the lawyers on tv.

>167 Oberon:

Erik, I am so looking forward to enjoying some "lawyer books" because I never enjoyed them before. In fact, I actively avoided books with courtroom scenes or lawyers in them. Now I'm actually finding them somewhat entertaining.

In addition to my daughter being a lawyer (and you being a lawyer!) so is a friend of mine in my local BookCrossing group. She was forced by me to listen to my entire repertoire of tales of woe during my daughter's 3 1/2 years of law school. :)

By the way, my favorite "lawyer book" of recent memory was Defending Jacob. Have you read that?

>163 SqueakyChu:, 168 - I have only read one book by Lisa Scottoline. Actually, it was a total departure from her usual fare. It was non-fiction, called *Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog* and was quite enjoyable. In fact, if I am remembering correctly, both she and her daughter co-wrote it, and I listened to it on audio, each reading her own sections.

As for lawyer/courtroom books, I go through phases. Hadn't read any for years but the last one, I think was called Once We Were Brothers by Ronald Balson. It was quite riveting, I found. I also think I recently heard or read that it is being made into a movie. I can see how that would be possible, I just hope they do a decent job

>169 jessibud2: Shelley, this is the second Lisa Scottoline book I've read. Actually, I chose them both to listen to on CD when I drive. Neither are great works of literary fiction, but they are engaging and good stories so they make excellent audio books. I'll certainly pick up more of these CDs in the future. Scottoline has written so many books!

In the meantime, I started listening to Dr. Sleep which is part 2 of Stephen King's The Shining. It's a 500+ page book so that set of CDs will keep me busy in the car for quite a while.

I think my husband might enjoy Don't Go so I tossed the library book of it onto his TBR pile. :)

>168 SqueakyChu: I have not read Defending Jacob. I will admit to appreciating some of John Grisham's early work.

>171 Oberon:

It's not a Grisham book. Defending Jacob was by William Landay. I especially liked that book because I identified with it as a parent although the book had to do with lawyers.

Ugh, you got me with a book bullet for Defending Jacob and you weren't even trying. That is SO not fair. *pouts*

>173 Morphidae: You'll appreciate that book bullet, though, Morphy. I was enthralled with that book...and I hadn't yet started liking lawyer books back then (April, 2013) when I was reading that novel. :)

>163 SqueakyChu: My niece discovered Lisa Scottoline sometime a bit before Christmas. Someone told me that she wanted more of Scottoline's books so a couple of those were among her Christmas gifts.

>175 thornton37814: Let me know which Scottoline books she recommends, and I'll look for them.

I really liked Dr. Sleep, although it didn't have the creepy, scary factor that The Shining did. Happy weekend!

>177 Berly: I like how it starts, though, with the dead Mrs. Massey! :)

I loved reading The Shining. The guy who does the narration on Dr. Sleep has a creepy voice so that should make for an enjoyable listen. :)

Madeline, I wish you a lovely weekend.

>179 Ameise1:

Thank you. That's such a cute picture!

>150 SqueakyChu:
I am indeed here, although not as often as I would like. I am liking your new Swedish skills, though - väldigt imponerande (=very impressive). :)

>181 -Eva-: I have to take my Swedish phrases very slowly so I don't forget them. :)

>182 SqueakyChu:
I wish you all the best - our language is a mess to learn. I did have some Israeli friends in town earlier this week and I actually could recall enough of my Hebrew to have a half-decent conversation. Well, I spoke English with Hebrew inserted and they spoke Hebrew with English inserted. :) I was quite impressed with myself since it was so long ago I used it properly.

>183 -Eva-:. That sounds like fun. I so rarely have visitors here that speak Hebrew. When they do come, it seems as if we always end up speaking English no matter which language we start out speaking.

I think Swedish would be hard for me to learn even if I did have a friend here with whom to speak it. It doesn't sound like any other language to me!

Whenever I happen to be speaking Swedish on the phone at work and someone overhears, it usually takes less than 5 minutes before I get an email with a picture like this one: :)

>184 SqueakyChu:
ETA: One of them barely spoke any English at all, otherwise we probably would have ended up mainly in English as well.

>184 SqueakyChu: I know several people (including one of my best friends) who have found Swedish fairly easy to learn because it's similar to their native Dutch/Flemish. There are a lot of similarities between Swedish and Dutch, actually. Both are basically German with French and English loanwords thrown in. And pronunciations are very similar to what Latin is "supposed to" sound like (when pronounced "properly"). :)

>184 SqueakyChu:

Haha!

One of them barely spoke any English at all, otherwise we probably would have ended up mainly in English as well.

This kind of guest is my favorite because this situation allows me not allows me not to gravitate back to English.

Now I'm in frequently on Facebook messaging with a friend from Pardesiya, Israel, from where she messages me in Hebrew, and I answer her in Hebrew. Although she lived in the US for 18 years, she still does better in written Hebrew. I'm good to go with that because I can usually figure out the whole one-sided Hebrew conversation with a tad of help from Google translate.

>186 PawsforThought:

I know German, English, and Spanish, so maybe I could learn Swedish after all. Now I only needs someone here in person with whom I can speak on a daily basis!

>181 -Eva-:

I cannot remember the phrase "väldigt imponerande" more than ten seconds. "Hej" is easier! :)

>187 SqueakyChu: I don't actually think it's that difficult. There are aspects which are more tricky than other, but all languages have that. Knowing the difference between when to use "en" or "ett" (genders), certain pronunciations, . That's the difficult stuff. The grammar rules also tend to be more exception than rule. (Also, want to know how many ways there are to spell "Sh" ("hush-sound")? Good luck, because no one really knows! Too many to keep count of!)
One easy part if the fact that Swedish grammar doesn't care about how many people are doing something, or who the people doing something are. Verbs can only be inflected one way and that's it. (No "I am, you are, he is, etc.")

ETA. If you speak both German and English I have no doubt you'd be able to learn Swedish easily enough. The pronunciation is what "tells" on English natives most of the time, but people who are good at German usually manage pronunciation well enough.

>189 PawsforThought:

Those are all things I dealt with successfully in the other languages I know. The only language I actively refused to learn (when I was a kid) was my mom's language Serbo-Croatian because it has seven cases! Now I'm sorry I don't know it...although I know less than five people my age who can speak and understand it.

>190 SqueakyChu: Oh, I know quite a few people who speak that! But I'm not sure how they'd define it (most would probably call themselves Croatian-speakers). Lots of people from former Yugoslavia in Sweden so lots of people who speak the language/s...

Hi Madeline, Trying to drop in a bit more on the threads this year - I wanted to send hugs and condolences for the loss of those close to you earlier this month, and to just note that I found Being Mortal to be spot on as well. My mom and dad really fought against hospice when she was losing her battle with cancer, but once they made that decision, she was able to come home. She was with us for another 7 months after returning home - and I firmly believe that if she had continued with invasive care, she would have left us much sooner. And her quality of life was much improved at home. Hope you quickly move into the births and wedding season.

>191 PawsforThought: most would probably call themselves Croatian-speakers

My mom always called the language she spoke Serbo-Croatian. She grew up in Yugoslavia, but in the northern part that is now part of the country of Croatia.

>192 lalbro: Thanks for your kind thoughts. I'm working my way through these sad times and looking forward to happier days in the future.

I firmly believe that if she had continued with invasive care, she would have left us much sooner

An interesting remark.

I'm glad your mom was able to live out her final months among loved ones and with good hospice support both for herself and your entire family.

>187 SqueakyChu:
Oh, that is good practice - I'm not keeping up my Hebrew writing skills. At all.

>188 SqueakyChu:
Well, you'll get more mileage out of "hej" anyway. :)

>194 -Eva-:

you'll get more mileage out of "hej" anyway

I will. :)

Among my YouTube recommendations I found this little gem of a channel. It's new (only been online for about 2 months) but full of very useful and informative videos on Swedish pronunciations and grammatical rules.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUb87YTKOTgnGcAM4toC-6A/feed

10. Above All Things - Tanis Rideout


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February 2015 TIOLI Challenge: Read A Book With a Three Word Title but the first word cannot be "The"
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This is a terrific, compelling debut novel which tells the story of George Mallory's obsessive desire to be the first man to summit Mount Everest. For those readers who were blown away by Jon Krakauer's nonfiction book Into Thin Air, Rideout's novel is the very next book you should read. It goes back to the 1920's when Great Britain wanted to claim the victory of having the first man to reach the top of Mount Everest. Many British climbers desired that as well, but George Mallory seemed to want to make this conquest more than anyone else and despite all odds.

This story is told in alternate chapters between the team who are mounting the conquest of the summit and George's family and friends who await his return. Based on years of research, this novel does take some literary variances but none in any way which would interfere with the believability or enjoyment of the story.

Take a chance on this novel. It will leave you breathless...literally!

Rating - 4.5 stars

I have read Into Thin Air and this sounds like one I would like, too! Nice review. Thanks.

>198 Berly: You're welcome. I was so captivated by Above All Things that I stayed up well into the night just to finish it. I'm now saving it for my husband to read. I think he'll like it as well. He said that reading Into Thing Air made it difficult for him to breathe! :)

Madeline, a very belated happy New Year. Sorry it's started out so rough.

I wanted to leave a note to say that I get emails from time to time about The Wooden Sea book ray. I can't believe it's still flying around! And it is such a fine book. I have more Carroll on my Kindle, but I haven't gotten to them yet.

>200 ffortsa: Hi, Judy. Thank you for your kind thoughts.

The Wooden Sea travels are amazing, aren't they?! I've always liked Jonathan Carroll's books, but my favorite is The Land of Laughs.

11. Gift From the Sea - Anne Morrow Lindbergh


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February 2015 TIOLI Challenge: Read a book with something you could love in the title (gift/sea)
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I thought I read this book back in the 1960's or 1970's, but, reading it now, I had no recall of what it said or what I thought it said.

As an older person, I appreciate the spiritual ramblings of this book about temporary solitude in seaside living. The author takes a look at single seashells and uses them as metaphors for those qualities of life which fulfill us as humans spiritually.

Many lines of this book and ideas are deeply true and quotable. Here are some I found noteworthy:

"There are...certain roads that one may follow. Simplification of life is one of them."

"Woman must...learn to stand alone."

"We all wish to be loved alone."

"Security in a relationship lies neither in looking back to what it was in nostalgia, nor forward to what it might be in dread or anticipation, but living in the present relationship and accepting it as it is now."

This book is a quick read and a lovely pause for reflection in an otherwise troubled and hectic world. Read it when you feel the need to slow down a bit.

Rating - 4 stars

>202 SqueakyChu: I really enjoyed that book but it has been years since I have read it. Your review makes me want to go find my copy.

>203 Oberon: It's such a quick read that it's worthwhile to go find your copy. I love the beach, the ocean, and seashells. That scenery plus the heartfelt, quiet thoughts of the book make it such a comfort read.

I always see this book at the bookstore when we go to the seashore of North Carolina. I always wondered why they still sold such an old book. Some of its thoughts are timeless, although the idea of each woman having a husband and many children no longer necessarily applies to most family units.

>202 SqueakyChu: Hmmm, I have a copy and was looking for another book of my own to fit into TIOLI. Maybe I'll pull it off the shelves and take a look to share a read with you. :)

Oh - you got me with Above All Things I've seen it around but wasn't sure if I wanted to read it or not. Thanks for the nudge.

I read a book a couple of year ago about the expedition that found Mallory's body on Everest. Fascinating stuff.

>206 SuziQoregon: I think the author of Above All Things did a great job in making the story of Mallory, his climbing team, and his family believable. I think you'll really enjoy it. Let me know after you've read it, okay?

12. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz


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February 2015 TIOLI Challenge: Read a book with a number in the first sentence (million)
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Whew! What a ride! The narrative of this book was like listening to Spanglish shot from a cannon.

The book was excellent, though terribly depressing. The deepest feeling that I took from this book was so much sadness and hurt for Oscar whom I grew to care about very much through the pages of this novel.

Where to begin? This book is about almost everything Dominican. It incorporates history in telling about life in the Dominican Republic under Trujillo and afterward. It's a family saga which follows the life of four generations of one family who always travel back to the county of their birth. Social issues such as class status, relations with Haitians, the USA as a safe haven, and the role of putas (prostitutes) are addressed. Superstition and folklore are also part of this saga.

By the way, if you know Spanish fairly well, you will get a much deeper insight into this book's psyche. Junot Diaz flows so easily from English to Spanish that Spanish-speakers will barely be aware of the transition.

The footnotes! They were wonderful. They not only gave an explanation of historical facts (often colored by the author's point of view), but they also gave an insight as to how the author related to the characters of this book and to real Dominican historical figures.

In the end, I was thoroughly impressed with the detail of this debut novel, but extremely sad at the fictitious developments of the novel which had such a true ring.

Addendum: For anyone who has had the good fortune to hear Junot Diaz in person, the way the novel reads is the way he speaks. Colorful and entertaining. :)

Rating 4.5 stars

>208 SqueakyChu: Great review. We are going to the Dominican Republic in March so I will look for this one.

>209 Oberon: Erik, you *definitely* have to read this book NOW!!!!!!!! Don't wait.

Since this book is so fresh in my mind, I'll be eager to see your pictures and hear about your trip. I'm giving my copy of the book to the Dominican (sort of) relative on my husband's side of the family.

How did you and your family decide to go to the Dominican Republic?

>208 SqueakyChu: Great review of Oscar. It brought the book back to me from my read a few years ago, with the perspective it brought to me about a time and culture I hadn't really known about. I had just enough Spanish to get by. (One of our f2f reading group folks thought that 'hija' was a bad word - who knew you could live in New York and know that little Spanish? And who wouldn't have enough curiosity not to Google it, at least!!!)

>208 SqueakyChu: - I have heard about this book but haven't read it. I am currently working my way through another book, though, that shares some elements with this one. It's called The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. It's non-fiction and is subtitled *A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors and the Collision of Two Cultures*. It was written in 1997 and is long but I am enjoying it, although, like the one you just reviewed, there is so much in it that is making me sad. Fadiman has great footnotes, too and I am learning so much about the history and culture of not only the Hmong, but the whole area of Vietnam and Thailand that is part of their story. I will review it properly once I'm done, hopefully this weekend.

>210 SqueakyChu: The kids have been learning about various Caribbean and South American countries in their Spanish class and recently did a unit on the Dominican Republic plus there were decent air fares from cold Minneapolis to the Dominican Republic.

>211 ffortsa:

Thanks, Judy!

One of our f2f reading group folks thought that 'hija' was a bad word

She'd probably only heard hija de puta! :D

Anyone who doesn't have a fairly strong knowledge of Spanish misses so much of the flavor of Diaz's book. What a pity!

>212 jessibud2: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman

I have that book! Unread yet, of course. :)

My daughter read that book for a university course and left it for me afterward because she knew I'd probably like it. It was also recommended to me by my former dental hygienist. So now it has three good personal recommendations. I'd better get to it fairly soon. :)

Shelley, why aren't you using touchstones? Those are the single square brackets around the book's title and the double square brackets around the author's name to link them to the book and author pages. Do you need help with this? This is almost mandatory for a veteran LTer. You're not a newbie any more, you know! ;)

>213 Oberon: That sounds great, Erik. Which of your kids are learning Spanish. Are you also teaching Andrew Spanish? My son is trying to teach his 20-month-old Spanish.

I guess it's wise to go somewhere warm now. It's supposed to be 3 degrees here on Sunday night...and we do not live in Minnesota, either! Yikes!!

>216 SqueakyChu: It was my daughter's class that just did the unit on the Dominican Republic. I tried to talk my wife into enrolling the kids into a Spanish immersion school but was shot down. Sadly, my own ability to speak Spanish has so atrophied after 20 years that I am in no position to teach anyone else.

>215 SqueakyChu: - Ha! Done! I usually do use those square brackets when linking to a book I've reviewed. I think I didn't originally use it in my previous post (now edited in) because I haven't yet added it to my list of books read here - because I'm not quite finished it yet! But you are right, it shouldn't matter.

I love Anne Fadiman. I've read 2 other of her books and have 2 more waiting on the shelves to get to at some point. She is a very good writer and this one is an exceptionally well-researched and fair presentation of both sides of the story, without getting bogged down in either sentimentality or bias. The story itself is really heartbreaking but although it was written nearly 20 years ago, it is surely a tale that repeats itself day in and day out, everywhere that immigrants live and the locals can't learn to be open-minded enough to see the whole picture, the whole person. People are a sum of their cultures, beliefs, and traditions and each of those aspects is essential in successful communication and acceptance. Hmm, now I am sounding preachy.

Read it when you can.

Hi Madeline, you are doing really well with your reading my dear, hope you have a lovely weekend my dear.

>215 SqueakyChu: Four recommendations.

>217 Oberon: I tried to talk my wife into enrolling the kids into a Spanish immersion school but was shot down

Too bad!

>218 jessibud2: Read it when you can.

Will do.

>219 johnsimpson: Hi, John.

Thanks! I'm planning on staying inside this weekend because it's going to be extremely cold. The funny thing is that I'm now reading a book called Ice Trap. Brrrr! :)

>220 Morphidae: Four recommendations.

Haha, Morphy! Noted.

Haha! Today I found an old thread of a game I started here on LT back in 2008. The game is still going on. I can't believe it! I thought the subject heading sounded familiar. Before you check it out, here are the rules:

Rules:
1. Look through the book you are currently reading.
2. Answer the question using a line from your book.
3. Pick a question from your book and leave it for the next player.

The next player will then (1) answer your question with a line from his book, and (2) leave a question from his book for the third player, and so forth.

Current thread for "A Silly Book Game". :)

13. Ice Trap - Kitty Sewell


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February 2015 TIOLI Challenge: Read a book with a "cold" word in the title (ice)
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I'm not sure why I forced myself to finish this novel. I was not enjoying it as I read it. I disliked all of the characters, including Dafydd.

Sheila was particularly despicable. No one truly seemed to care about each other. Nor did any of the characters seem to truly understand each other. I came away from this story feeling that the characters were only acting the way they did in order to develop a forced plot.

The title of the story was Ice Trap: A Novel of Psychological Suspense. I didn't find any psychological suspense.

Kirkus Reviews described this book as "laced with erotic scenes". Where? I think it must have been describing an entirely different book.

J.S. Lance called this book "chilling and compelling". The only thing chilling in this book was its icy setting, and the only thing compelling for me was to finish this book and be done with it.

Sorry. This book did not at all leave me with a favorable impression.

Rating - 1.5 stars

I decided to take a look back at my personal Early Reviewer stats. This is such a nice program for those of us with limited book-buying budgets, although that designation is moot now that I'm steward of the Little Free Library of Twinbrook (#7720) which invites an endless stream of book donations. Regardless, as I've become more picky about what I choose on the Early Reviewer program (I only choose one book per month now), my "win" ratio has gone way up.

There have been some books that I never reviewed. All but one of those I started and never felt the compulsion to read through to the end, and I didn't want to review an unfinished book. My sincere hope is to go back and try again with the ones I've left unfinished and to read the one that has remained long-time unread.

Here are my ER stats:
To date, I've received 54 books through LT's ER program and have reviewed all of them except for 8. To translate, that would mean, if I win any book through the ER program at this time, there is an 85% chance that I would finish reading that book and review it.

How are your stats? Better or worse than mine? ;)

>224 SqueakyChu: I haven't been involved in ER for as long as you. I've won 20 books, received 19, reviewed 17. I'm essentially caught up; halfway through reading the December book, expect to finish and review by the end of this month, so only the January book will remain.

>225 qebo: You're so good with the ER program! BTW, I was just on your thread writing to you! :)

>224 SqueakyChu: I am 26 of 29. I fully plan to read and review two of the unread books. Not so sure about the remaining orphan.

>226 SqueakyChu: What's your orphan, Erik, and why haven't you read it?

Mine is Eden by Yael Hedaya. I think it just looks too fat! :/

>224 SqueakyChu: I have never actually kept track of ER books I've won. I'd say maybe a handful, at best. Mostly because most of the ones that appeal to me are not available for Canada. I don't always try, each month, for that reason. But of those I've received, I've always read them and reviewed them. I did receive one book from someone at one of the publishing houses (perhaps, an editor?), as a kind of gift, not through the ER program, per se, but I think as a thank you for a review I had posted here. I was so surprised and tried so hard to find her to thank her. I googled her name, googled the publisher. I found a blog of hers and left a message there though the blog had appeared dormant for some time. I really need to read that book and review it so perhaps she will see it. I'm at a bit of a loss but loved and appreciated the serendipity of it all.

Other than that, I am not lacking for reading material..... ;-)

Law of the Jungle by Paul Barrett. Very rarely do I get interested in lawyer books - I read in areas outside of my profession. I thought it looked interesting when I requested it then I read a review in the Christian Science Monitor that said it was only half the story and kind of skewed.

I may still get to it out of guilt but my interest level isn't very high.

>230 Oberon: Law of the Jungle
Oh I read that one. I wasn't wild about the legal/financial focus, would've preferred more environmental, and it read more as an extended magazine article than a book so got to be kind of a trudge. Guess I should read the CSM review for perspective.

Getting caught up - you got me with Above All Things. It just happens to be available at my library too. :)

>230 Oberon: I may still get to it out of guilt

Heh!

>232 nittnut: It just happens to be available at my library too.

Come back later, Jenn, and tell me what you thought of Above All Things. I liked it very much! I'm saving the copy I have now for my husband to read. Then it's going to be circulated in my Little Free Library.

>224 SqueakyChu: My stats are awful, but I do so many reviews of other books I keep winning. At least that's my theory of why I still get books when I'm at 57 won, 54 received, and 19 reviewed. Yuck. There's one I may not review - I got an audiobook somehow, and that's just something I don't do - I'm so much a written-word person and so much NOT an audio person. At some point I'll try listening to it, though...but it's pretty low down the list.

Most of the others are possible but I haven't gotten to them. A few I've received and been entirely puzzled as to why I requested them - honestly, at least one I think I clicked on the wrong book or hit Request this by accident, it sounds truly foul and totally outside my interests. The description in ER is slightly less foul (than the descriptions/back matter on the book itself) but still totally uninteresting. But I can't convince myself to get rid of it unread.

My thing is - I (almost) never refuse a book entirely until I've read it. I think I've quit...oh, three or four books, maybe as many as 10 in my lifetime - and even those, I probably skimmed and read the end and was confirmed that the book was not something I actually wanted to read. Generally I slog through. So I pick up a lot of books because they sound interesting, then I'm reluctant to start because I know I'll have to finish...which makes me a bad reviewer-on-deadline (my stats on Netgalley are even worse).

And yet I won two books in the latest batch - it's nearly all ebooks these days, oddly enough (my wins, I mean, not ER). Maybe the publishers are more willing to give out ebooks, because it's less trouble for them?

>235 jjmcgaffey: Haha! Jennifer, I'm glad your stats are not so perfect...if only to make me look better. I do feel guilty for those reviews I've not yet written because I much appreciate that the publishers had faith in me to actually read and review their books. I still hope to do all of them...but maybe not in such a timely fashion. :/

My stats are awful, but I do so many reviews of other books I keep winning

I think you might have hit the nail on the head (or have some insight into the mighty algorithm). I noticed that I seem to always win a book - whether or not I review it later. This has been going on for some time.

Maybe the publishers are more willing to give out ebooks, because it's less trouble for them?

I'm sure that is somewhat true. It really costs them nothing to send out an ebook whereas sending out a real book (or even an audiobook) costs the price of the manufacturing the book plus the postage.

Loved your review of The Brief Life of Oscar Wao. My husband and eldest son both loved it and it's been on my to-read list for a while. I don't think I'll be able to get to it in time for a matched February TIOLI but hopefully I can find a home for it in March :)! It sounds like it will be a good test for me to see how much of my Spanish I have retained.

>237 lalbro: The Brief Life of Oscar Wao is such a fun book for Spanish/English speakers. I love how it flows so easily back and forth between two languages.

I started this book once before but didn't have time to really concentrate on it. This time I was more focused while reading it--which was a good thing.

I can see why this book is a Pulitzer prize winner. It has just about everything in it!

>224 SqueakyChu: I'm nearly as good as you, Madeline. I've won 54 books, received 52 of them (my January book should be coming soon), and reviewed 43 of them so far, for a 83% percentage.

>239 kidzdoc:

Hey! I've got a higher percentage than you, Darryl! I thought, for sure, you'd be almost perfect with your reviewing.

*breathes a sigh of relief* ;)

>223 SqueakyChu: I feel like I've lived in one of those the last couple of weeks.

>241 thornton37814: I am so sorry, Lori! :)

>235 jjmcgaffey: Jennifer, thank you for posting that! I saw the question and was ashamed to respond because my stats are so bad. I've received 29 books and reviewed 21 of them, for a review rate of 72%. Of the 8 unreviewed books, there are a couple that I started and just didn't find compelling enough to finish, one whose horrible average rating I saw before I had a chance to start it, and five that I just haven't gotten around to. But every time I resolve to work on it and manage to get another couple of reviews done, I start winning even more books and end up back where I was before. So apparently LT thinks my review rate is acceptable.

(As an example, I hadn't won a book since August of last year. But then in December I completed one outstanding review. After that, I won a book in January and another book in February. You see the problem....)

I've won 29 and have reviewed 26 for a 90% ratio. The three I haven't reviewed are the last three I received. I do eventually get to each book I've won.

My win rate is 43%. That's the number of times I've won divided by the months I've requested a book.

(If you go into Books Requested you'll find, "### books requested in ### batches; ### wins." A batch is a month.)

My win rate is 62% - I usually request multiple books; my average is more than 4 requests per batch (402 requested in 92 batches, with 57 wins). So I guess I have better odds with that than if I only requested one or two books per batch. 33% reviewed, of my 56 received (I got the two from this batch this morning, so only the one lost book).

Win rates are interesting. My overall rate is 36% (30 of 84 batches), but that breaks down into 27% before moving to the US (7 of 26) and 40% after. That's not entirely accurate because I may still have reverted to my Canadian address in the summers, but it's close enough.

I don't request ebooks, which probably makes a big difference.

I have 21 wins from 24 batches. All of my no-wins were the first year I participated.

The last couple times, I've gotten two books - two ebooks - per batch. And once before, in 2013, the same - total of 57 wins in 54 batches (out of 92 batches requested from). Yeah...I actually don't think I've gotten a print book in years - I got the one audiobook in September 2013 and before that - wow. The last physical book was in 2011. Lots of ebooks.

Huh. I never did get what Tim said about the ebooks, get a book (physical) and also get an ebook. All my doubles are two ebooks. Interesting. Hmm, there's a choice, on the page where you set your address, that you "don't mind" getting two books in a month (mine, obviously, is checked).

And I've been participating, I think, since it began in 2007. I may not have requested from the first batch or two. Actually, it started in May and I first requested (and won) in October, so I missed at least a few batches.

>228 SqueakyChu:
I wish I could tempt you by saying how great Eden is, but I have to be honest and say not one of her best. She's been writing for TV and some of the drama seems to have slipped into this novel.

I'm at 38 won, 36 received, but I have reviewed all - I feel like I've made a deal when I hit that "Request" button and need to hold up my end of the bargain. I'm extremely picky with what I request, though, and that helps.

I haven't requested any ebooks and I only request books I'm really interested in. This often means I'll request only one or two books. Some months I won't request any.

I have requested about five books and won one but that was never sent to me, I think the books that are available for outside North America are not much good to be honest but that is only my opinion. Hope you are having a good weekend Madeline my dear.

My weekend has been great so far. Thank you, John!

>224 SqueakyChu: - As I mentioned in an earlier response to this particular comment, I haven't kept track of my ER wins though there can't have been more than I can count on one hand. Today offers one of the main reasons: In the new March ER list, there were exactly 14 books I would have loved to request, only one of which was available for Canada (and I did request that one). In fact, one of the titles I really wanted, is written by a Canadian author, takes place in Canada and was available for 26 countries, but Canada was not among them! How does that happen?? Rather frustrating, really - and discouraging.

Hi! Just stopping by to say that I loved Above All Things. It's horrific, as all Everest stories seem to be, but beautifully written. So well written, in fact, that I almost thought they were going to make it. Lol

>254 nittnut:

Yeah. I was almost believing they would make it as well. :)

I usually don't like when a narrator shifts back and forth between two people (or two groups of people), but I didn't mind that so much in this story. This was such a true-to-life example of historical fiction. Don't you just love that?

I'm not a big fan of history. I could never remember dates or sequences of events. However, historical fiction has that subtle way of drawing me in and teaching me what it must have felt like to be involved in a certain historical time and place.

I always say that I don't like to read historical fiction, but, in the hands of the right author...

>255 SqueakyChu: One author I love to read is Eric Larson. He writes non-fiction but it truly reads like fiction. He often takes 2 seemingly unrelated events in history, and tells them in alternating chapters until, inevitably, near the end, they intersect. Devil in the White City was the first of his that I read, quickly followed by Isaac's Storm and Thunderstruck. Really fascinating and he is such a good writer.

I've read Devil in the White City and Isaac's Storm, the latter being my favorite of the two. I have yet to read Thunderstruck. I'll put that on my wishlist now.

14. A Death on Diamond Mountain: A True Story of Obsession, Madness, and the Path to Enlightenment - Scott Carney


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March 2015 TIOLI Challenge: Read a book with a 2015 copyright
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Ian Thorson, a Stanford graduate, became involved in the throes of Tibetan Buddhism, and, in his quest for Nirvana, became alienated from his family and more devoted to his heart lama (teacher) Michel Roach. Fearing for the health and sanity of Ian, his parent hired professional "deprogrammers" to attempt to convince their son of his errant ways.

I found reading this book extremely scary, not only because of what happened specifically to Ian, but for the overall danger of what can happen to any individual who gives himself over to an ideology or a leader and loses himself in the process. Such situations happen time and again in all cultures and religions throughout the world. People must learn not to lose themselves or their individuality in the throes of what others force them to do. Individuals should be wary of confinement, either physical or psychological, and use whatever power necessary to avoid being drawn into such situations.

I like how the story was told, both from Ian's perspective and from that of Ian's family. I would like to see individuals communicate honestly with one another to bring out the best in each other without destroying others in the process.

This was a very intriguing, but totally sad, read. Take the lessons of this book to heart, readers.

I found this book to be a fascinating account of one man's being drawn into the world of Tibetan Buddhism, but I'm now still left with the question as to where reality stops and psychosis begins. As the author states, "Anthropologists have long known that magic has real-world effects even if the underlying causes could be purely psychological". Scott Carney's book of investigative journalism asks, but does not answer, the question: how much of Tibetan Buddhism as practiced in the west is genuine, and how much has a whiff of "underlying charlatanism"?

Rating - 4 1/2 stars

Just catching up, but I was intrigued by your ER stats discussion. I have won 50 books - 2 not yet received, 2 recently received but not yet read, 1 for which I requested paper book and got a card with a link to download in a format I can't easily read (So I claim it did not arrive). I have read and reviewed 45- 2 I did not finish- for one reason or another. So my percentage is 90-95% depending on what you count.

>259 Helenoel: Great stats!

Hi, Madeline! Heather posted this on my thread, thought you might be interested:

For Throwback Thursday, something fun: 10 years ago this week, we published our very first book, the anonymous Gothic novel THE ANIMATED SKELETON (1798). It's our birthday, but you get the gift: for the next week, get the e-book (MOBI or EPUB) of our very first title, absolutely FREE on our website by entering the code "happybirthday". Ten years and 300 titles later, it remains one of the weirdest things we've published: a truly surreal and bizarre mix of Gothic horror and slapstick camp. Enjoy!

http://www.valancourtbooks.com/the-animated-skeleton-1798.html

>261 lyzard: I'll have to see if I can figure out how to download it to my Kindle or iPad. Thanks!

For friends and stewards of Little Free Libraries, there is a new group for us. Come join us!

15. No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State - Glenn Greenwald


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March 2015 TIOLI Challenge: Read a book where the author's last name has more syllables than his or her first name
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It's hard to know where to begin in describing this book. I sort of knew about Edward Snowden from the time he made the news after revealing top secrets regarding the National Security Agency's secret surveillance of America citizens on all electronic media. Then I decided to read Glenn Greenwald's book to learn more specifically about what he did, and I am very glad I did so. I've gotten a great understanding of what happened. Just prior to finishing the book, I also saw the Academy Award winning documentary, "Citizenfour" by Laura Poitras. All I could say was, "Wow!". I know that Edward Snowden is a very controversial figure, but, after reading this book, I can say that he is my hero. I do know that Big Brother is reading this.

The book itself is divided into three parts. The first part describes the original contact with Snowden, the meeting in his Hong Kong Hotel Room, and his escape to Moscow. The second part of the book shows copies of actual documents taken from NSA with areas blocked out so as not to cause any harm to individuals. The last part summarizes how Snowden's activities have affected others.

The book is written so that it is easy to understand. Glenn Greenwald takes it slowly so that the reader can absorb this information. Acronyms are explained, and reasons are given for the actions that were taken. The book is totally fascinating. At the end, I could only be amazed that someone would risk so much to preserve the freedom of the American public. When you are always under surveillance, you are not free.

I learned from this book that the American government is not as good as it seems or tries to make itself look. That the American government could flagrantly disregard constitutional law (i.e. the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution) as it claimed it was fighting terrorism is mind-blowing.

In conclusion, Glenn Greenwald writes, "Snowden...has reminded everyone about the extraordinary ability of any human being to change the world. An ordinary person in all outward respects--raised by parents without particular wealth or power, lacking even a high school diploma, working as an obscure employee of a giant corporation--he has, through a single act of conscience, literally altered the course of history."

Rating - 5 stars

I haven't read this book yet but I did see the doc film, Citizenfour, when it first came out. I think he is a very brave guy. We have a film theatre here that is dedicated to documentary films and I saw a preview of another doc recently called *1971* (http://boxoffice.hotdocs.ca/WebSales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=35272~fff311b7-cdad-4e14-9ae4-a9905e1b9cb0&). I haven't seen it yet but I hope to. It sounds like a precursor to Citizenfour.

I think there must be an Edward Snowden in every generation. At least, I hope so. I think we like to think of democracy as the best way to live life, but government is government, no matter the nuances or definitions, and I think it is vital that there is accountability. Sadly, it often takes a lone rebel to open that door and shine a light on the darker underside. I only hope that he survives this.

There was recently a fascinating interview with Snowden via Skype, with one of our CBC radio hosts. I will post this link but am not sure if it is viewable outside of Canada:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvcCh4LGaaE

Thanks for the review of this book. I will be looking for it.

>265 jessibud2:

I saw a preview of another doc recently called *1971*?

That looks really good.

I did see the doc film, Citizenfour

Then definitely read No Place to Hide. What I learned about my own country's government is chilling.

I only hope that he survives this.

Me, too. I hope he decides not to return to the United States because I think the only thing he can be guaranteed is *not* a fair trial.

There was recently a fascinating interview with Snowden via Skype

I can get it but I can't hear Snowden's part of the video well. I'll try to listen later with my hearing aids in to see if that helps.

I will be looking for it.

Great!

>266 SqueakyChu: The audio of Snowden himself is somewhat muffled, maybe that's how Skype always is, I don't know, never having used it myself. Pity they didn't subtitle it after the fact (it was a live broadcast, originally), but the Q&A session afterwards has good sound, no problems. It's long, but you kind of get lost in it and don't realize the time is passing.

I will take some time to view it at another time. Perhaps I can find a captioned video elsewhere. I'll try to look. I am totally fascinated by Snowden's story and wish the best for him.

Hi Madeline, wishing you a Very Happy Sunday my dear.

Thanks, John. Likewise!

Hi Madeline, I wish you a lovely weekend.

>271 Ameise1: Thank, you, Barbara. Likewise.

16. Shalom, Japan: a sabra's five years in the land of the rising sun - Shifra Horn


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March 2013 TIOLI Challenge: Read a book whose title includes the name of a country other than the one in which you currently reside
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This book of an Israeli woman's explaining some details of Japanese culture is fascinating. I know that Japanese readers find some of what was written in this book offensive. I think that this is because the book's content dwells largely on the more negative or surprising aspects of what makes Japanese culture so different from other cultures. It avoids much explanation of what makes the Japanese culture so mysterious and beautiful. For me, this was not a problem. However to someone Japanese, I can see how this book could be considered offensive and one-sided.

A few of Horn's experiences in Japan, especially the episode of the "electronic toilet", made me laugh out loud. I can laugh at this episode easily because I had my own "toilet experience" in the author's own native country of Israel. So it's now "tit for tat", in my opinion!

I liked this book. I found it easy to read and not in the least because the chapters were short and focused. I've read a novel by Shifra Horn which was beautiful. This is such a different way of writing for her which is okay by me.

My only hesitation about this book are the last few chapters in which the author details some private experiences she had with a few of her students. Being that the Japanese people as a whole seem to me to be closed and easily embarrassed, I feel that the last few chapters might be overstepping the bounds of confidentiality with the individuals who had been described. Israelis are so forthright that I can understand those chapters being included. However, it does all make me feel at all comfortable with their inclusion.

Rating 3.5 stars

17. Italian Mysteries - Francis Lathom


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March 2015 TIOLI Challenge: Read a book with at least one Irish character
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This was a very enjoyable novel even if it did have too many characters who were constantly woven in and out of the plot.

Rating - 4 stars

>264 SqueakyChu: Great review! Sadly, it seems that the US has given up a lot of freedom in the name of an elusive sense of security. I don't think it's worth it. This is one of my soap boxes - but I truly believe that Americans who wish to remain free need to shift their loyalties away from political parties and back to the basic Constitutional principles. We need to try to find people with integrity and values to represent us, and not vote for someone because they say pretty words. Over the next few years, some very hard decisions need to be made in the US, and I would rather have leadership who sticks to their principles than leadership that identifies as "Republican" or "Democrat" but shifts with the winds and the polls. When we look at the things that really matter to us, Americans find more in common than not. Political parties divide us and keep us from finding common ground.

*Hopping down off the box*

>275 nittnut:

I truly believe that Americans who wish to remain free need to shift their loyalties away from political parties and back to the basic Constitutional principles.

Amen! I was arguing with my husband about this very thing earlier today. We created the Constitution to work toward being a more perfect Union. We are not perfect, but the Constitution is a contract. If we can't uphold it, we have to change it. We can't simply ignore it! Those more powerful than us voters cannot ignore it either!!

I would rather have leadership who sticks to their principles than leadership that identifies as "Republican" or "Democrat"

I am truly sick of our two-party system at this point. I know we have other parties, but they never seem to factor into anything. I have voted for individuals on the Green party in the past. Our two parties seem no longer to think of their constituents but only of their extreme views on either side of every issue. There must be some moderate and intermediate ground.

Political parties divide us and keep us from finding common ground.

I totally agree!

*pushes Jenn back up on the soapbox and jumps up to join her*

Dropping by to let you know I started The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. I am really enjoying it so far.

>277 Oberon:

It took me two tries to get started with The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, but, the second time around, I was captured by totally Diaz's story and sparkling writing. Glad you're enjoying it, Erik. When you the book, go back* and read this novel's review here on LT by @davidabrams. It's spot on.

*I only read book reviews after I read a book. :)

>276 SqueakyChu: IMO, politicians have by their rhetoric created an extreme 'base' that they now have to satisfy. They have created a golem, and now they can't soften their rhetoric without provoking attack.

I'm not sure there is an easy way out of this. What events would have to occur to destroy this monster?

>276 SqueakyChu: So happy to throw out an extension on the soap box. LOL

>279 ffortsa: If you don't mind indulging in fantasy for a moment - the majority of voters would have to become more thoughtful regarding the long term outcomes of policies rather than the immediate band-aid and more educated about the Constitution and the system we're meant to operate under. The voters could still change things, but they would have to ditch party politics and go for principle. And figure out that you don't have to agree on everything, as long as the basic principles are there. What basic principles? I think we could just start with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (personal responsibility attached). Feels like fantasy, doesn't it? But it could happen. After all, only about 10% of the colonists actually fought in the American Revolution.

>279 ffortsa: People and politicians have to stop playing the "party card". Politicians need to study their constitutents carefully and do what is needed to represent those who elected them. Not all policies need to be made along party lines -- especially extreme party lines. Politicians of all parties need to talk to each other and negotiate in good faith. They also need to listen to each other. They're not doing that. You can't serve a population that you never listen to and you cannot make any progress if you never listen to your colleagues.

I was very disappointed in the last state election. One elected official in my state decided to run for state senator and lost the election after his opponent ran a negative campaign. I was really sad because he was the only elected official that I felt was really listening to me. I'd write to him often and he'd write back - whether or not he agreed with me, but he always did try to understand my point of view.

This used to happen in my district at the national level years ago, when I wasn't afraid to vote across party lines. At that time, I felt the constituents were more genuinely represented by their elected officials in congress.

but they would have to ditch party politics and go for principle. And figure out that you don't have to agree on everything, as long as the basic principles are there

Amen, Judy!

Did you see the thing with the British Green party, where they put up a website where people could say what policies they'd vote for without any visible party affiliation? The actual choices of actual people matched the Greens a lot better than they did Labor, Tories, UKIP, etc - even though the people declared themselves of those parties.

>282 jjmcgaffey: That's why I really can't stand the first-past-the-post system. It makes people locked in and less aware of the politics of other parties (or they are aware but feel like a vote for a smaller party would be wasted).

>282 jjmcgaffey:

I did not see that, although that does not surprise me. I'd love to do away with parties completely. Our city candidates for election have no party affiliation. They have to run on...ta da!...where they stand on issues!

>283 PawsforThought:

The vote for the smaller party, here in the U.S. at least, almost never grants a win to the smaller party, it just changes the ration of who gets the larger vote in the two main parties.

George Washington says it best: “However political parties may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”

We've arrived.

>284 SqueakyChu: I know, and that's the problem with the kind of voting system that's used in the US (and the UK, where the Green party website thing happened).

>285 nittnut:

That's scary, it's so true!

(moved this entry to my current thread)