Donna Is A Book Junkie! (1)

I got a small gift of a refrigerator magnet for Christmas that describes me to a "T"! Many of us can relate I'm sure. You are cordially invited to follow along with my reading life in 2015 as I feed my addiction. I joined LT in 2007 and have been a 75er for the past six years. It's my favorite place to hang out when I'm not reading.



………………………………………………………...Why I Read………………………………………...

Books have impacted my life by providing models of how to live with hope. Many books have influenced me with their stories of relationships among family, friends, and even people who are difficult to love. I have been moved by the spiritual overtones with examples of morality based on love, compassion, and faith in the midst of adversity. I've learned how to live with the past while enjoying the present. I read for the absolute delight of reading. I read because books exist.

Rating System:

One Star......Not worth my time
Two Stars....Finished grudgingly
2.5 Stars......Fair, but not for me
Three Stars..Liked it pretty well but had reservations
3.5 Stars.....Good but not great
Four Stars...Great book; recommended
4.5 Stars.....Excellent; a keeper
Five Stars....Superb; a real treasure.

I don't rate many books a Full Five Stars, but Lila was a perfect book in my opinion and deserved the be my No. 1 choice with full honors…

My Top Ten Books in 2014
I have listed the Top Five first. The second five are in the order I read them:

Lila by Marilynne Robinson
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Independent People by Halldor Laxness
The Painter by Peter Heller
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan.

Doc by Mary Doria Russell
Suttree by Cormac McCarthy
The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin.

Honorable Mentions
Historic Fiction: A Division of the Spoils by Paul Scott
Memoir: A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout
Book Club: The Heart and the Fist by Eric Greitens. *Missouri Author*/Freshman Read by Missouri State
New-to-me Author: Sky Bridge by Laura Pritchett

Best Reread
Tie between The Round House by Louise Erdrich, and
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller.

I love a CHALLENGE!

There are so many worthy choices on LT that it's hard to narrow my challenges down to a manageable few. This year my reading will be guided by TIOLI (Take It Or Leave It) as it has been for the past five years. I love this no-pressure group with varied challenges each month that inspire me to read my books on the shelf and library holds as they come in.

I was a completist in Mark's American Author Challenge in 2014 and was very happy to see twelve new authors lined up for the new year. I'll do my best, but as I am also pondering Paul's new British Author Challenge, I'll probably have to make compromises some months.
AAC: The Member of the Wedding - Carson McCullers ✔️
BAC: The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro ✔️
Family Album - Penelope Lively - 🎤 ✔️

I am looking forward to the Hillerman/Longmire Project. I am listing the books here to help me keep track of them:
January - The Blessing Way ✔️
February - The Cold Dish
March - Dance Hall of the Dead
April - Death Without Company
May - Listening Woman
June - Kindness Goes Unpunished
July - People of Darkness
August - Another Man's Moccasins
September - The Dark Wind
October - The Dark Horse
November - The Ghostway
December - Junkyard Dogs

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die has also influenced some of my reading choices after I bought the First Edition in 2006. So far I have read 174 books from the original edition and 21 additional books from the updated editions. I have a long way to go for sure!

Read in 2015:
The Ghost Road
The Remains of the Day

My planned reading for January:
AAC -- The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers ✔️
BAC -- The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro ✔️
Hillerman Project -- The Blessing Way ✔️
1001 -- The Ghost Road by Pat Barker (Also qualifies for Orange/Bailey's Challenge) ✔️

The rest of my reading for the month will be serendipitous!

Books Read in January:
1. The Ghost Road by Pat Barker. 4.2 ⭐️
2. Christine Falls by Benjamin Black. 3.6 ⭐️
3. Stuck In the Middle With You by Jennifer Boylan. 3.5 ⭐️
4. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. 🎤 3.3 ⭐️
5. The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers. 3.9 ⭐️
6. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. 4.1 ⭐️
7. The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman. 3.3 ⭐️
8. Family Album by Penelope Lively. 🎤 3.3 ⭐️
9. The Confabulist by Steven Galloway. 2.9 ⭐️
10. Euphoria by Lily King. 🎤 3.8 ⭐️

I saved too many places so I guess I can post one of my favorite reading pictures from the Christmas holidays. Here are my two oldest granddaughters, Sadie (12) and Audrey (10) reading their new books! My son took this totally candid picture while I was getting dessert ready after we had opened presents.



One of my life goals is to make every child a reader. I did it with my own kids and now I'm working on my six grandkids!

Hi Donna! Found and starred. What a sweet picture! It warms my heart to see kids curled up in chairs completely focused on the books in their hands. I am not quite as limber as your granddaughters or I would curl up like that with my books. ;-)

Dropping off my star, Donna! Looking forward to another exciting year!

>5 Donna828: Awe! Reading!

Hi Donna! Great photo of your granddaughters -- love to see them engrossed in books.

Hi Donna! I'm haphazardly making my way through the 2015 threads--meaning I tend to open the ones near the top (or bottom) of my starred threads list. Yours was near the top.

I love the picture of your granddaughters reading their Christmas books. There's nothing better than being able to get lost in a book over the holidays.

I have that same Book Junkie magnet and had just gotten it when I joined LT and that's what the "bj" stands for in my username.

I really hope you love The Remains of the Day as much as I did. It's one of my favorite books and the movie with Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson is good too if you haven't seen it.

Looking forward to following your reading in 2015!

Dropping off my star, Donna!

Hi Donna, found you and drop my . Wishing you a fabulous reading 2015 full of happiness.

What a lovely photo of your reading granddaughters. Thanks so much for sharing it.

>6 lkernagh:: Lori, that picture reminds me of my own childhood when I had my nose in a book much of the time. Maybe that's why I don't feel my age these days. Books can keep one young!

>7 DorsVenabili:: Kerri, I love the excitement of new beginnings. It's fun to make reading plans. I hope I can carry them out.

>8 AMQS:: Me too, Anne. Griffin loved his books too (the Minecraft hardcover set) but he also loves dessert and was hanging out with me in the kitchen!

>9 phebj:: Hello, Fellow Book Junkie! It's good to see you, Pat. I hope you post some pictures of your new house. Between that and traveling you had a busy year. I don't think I've seen the movie but hopefully will be able to after I read the book. Shameful that I haven't read Remains of the Day before now. *Hanging head*

>10 katiekrug:: Hiya Katie, it's always a good time when you show up…however briefly.

>11 Ameise1:: Barbara, thanks so much for the shiny stars! I love to post pictures and have to hold myself back at times. It's hard to keep a grandma in check after so much love during the holidays! Thanks for the visit.

Hi Donna,

I'm happy to hear you are joining the world of duplicate bridge. I'm an avid player. Good luck on your journey.

Donna, I love the fact that you've imparted your love of books and readings to your kids and are now working your magic with the next generation. I can only hope I have the same level of success with my own brood in the years to come.
Here's to another year of life and books! :)

Hooray for book junkies, Donna! Our obsession with "bookish things" is our glue, my friend.

Happy New Thread! Will this be the year, we finally have a Meet-Up?? Hmmmmmmm...?

>5 Donna828: I love this photo! I love your goal. My grand daughter is becoming quite a reader. We is actually excited about books. Thus far she loves Number The Stars by Lois Lowry. She mentions this book often.

Happy New Year to you! May 2015 be filled with wonderful books to read.

hi Donna! Dropping a star.

>9 phebj: my strategy is to read starred threads that have 10 or more comments. But right now I am just going through and starring my LT friends. Gotta drop those stars before I can star surf.

victim? junkie? Ha, if I didn't know this was your place, Donna, I'd wonder, LOL! Happy New Year, friend. Here's to 2015's adventures.

Hi Donna! I love the photos of your granddaughters! I think my parents or grandparents took a photo or two of me at Christmas in a similar pose!

Hi Donna, I'll be a bit less of a junkie than you this year I'm sure. I love the photos of the grands, following in your footsteps.

>13 LoisB:: Welcome, Lois. Yes, bridge is a journey. I am still in the baby stages. I may be a Junior Master until I'm in my 70's! Maybe you can recommend a good bridge book for me…

>14 jolerie:: Well, Val, reading to them and in front of them is the best way I have found to instill the love of reading. They know it is something I value. Plus, they get quality books for every Christmas and Birthday…and sometimes in between.

>15 msf59:: A meet-up sounds great, Mark. We'll have to make it happen. I'm thinking of crashing Julia and Amy's Iowa City Book Fair in October. I think it would be a shorter drive for you than for me. Just saying!

>16 Whisper1:: Thanks, Linda. It is so great when our grandkids reach the age where we can discuss books with them. Looks like I will have to start reading some of those YA books that you love.

>17 The_Hibernator:: Thanks for that star, Rachel.

>18 lit_chick:: Haha, you missed "overdose" as a key word, Nancy! Yup, I'm a certified BJ…but aren't we all?

>19 cbl_tn:: Carrie, we could have been friends as kids if we had gotten our noses out of our books!

>20 brenzi:: I think we cross-posted, Bonnie. We are still on the same channel. I read 21 fewer books this year and also am writing way fewer reviews. No life-changing events for me, either. It's okay…we are still readers!

>21 Donna828: Aside from playing, I also do some teaching in my retirement community. Two books that I used this year, and highly recommend are Defensive Play at Bridge: A Quizbook and Declarer Play at Bridge: A Quizbook. There is also a bidding book in the series.

>22 LoisB:: Thank you very much, Lois. I'm excited about these books. I've been reading about them on Amazon. I'll check the bridge center's library before I order them. I have the Club, Heart, and Diamond series books by Audrey Grant but sometimes reading the same info by another author/teacher makes a difference. One of my problems is irregular play. At the best of times, I can only play three times a month, and I know I need more practice than that. I do have the Bridge Baron program on my iPad and can play practice games against the computer which is helpful. I don't necessarily want to become a Bridge Master; I would just like to play without embarrassing myself!

Such an expressive picture. And you can see that beautiful tree 3 times!

Happy New Reading Year, Donna!!

>23 Donna828: You can play online at http://www.bridgebase.com/ - some games are free. If you want to earn points, you have to pay to play.

"Griffin loved his books too (the Minecraft hardcover set) but he also loves dessert..." This totally cracked me up, Donna! My son Daniel, who is 20, would have been right there with Griffin in the kitchen!!

Dropping my star, and wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year. May it be full of fabulous!

Happy New Year, Donna! Such a cozy and heartwarming pic of Audrey and Sadie. Wishing you and your loved ones all the very best in 2015!

Happy new year, Donna! I love the photo of 2 of your grand kids and don't doubt that in a few years you'll have the little ones just as addicted.

I'll try to keep up with you this year and know you'll be responsible for several book purchases. The chorus of LT voices in my head when I see The Narrow Road to the Deep North in bookshops is getting louder by the day!

May all your wishes come true.

Hi Donna--Best wishes for a peaceful New Year to you and your family.

I'll be following your thread again this year, and hopefully delurking a little more often.

I've imported some recent pictures of Boden, Madeleine and Teddy to my profile page, but don't know how to get them to my thread. I there an easy method to do so?

Happy New Year, Donna! I love the pic of your granddaughters reading. My husband took one of my two boys and me at the airport engrossed in our books the other day. We didn't even know he took it.

Hi Donna,

I also want to wish you a Happy New Year of reading. I pick up lots of ideas for books from your posts, and love to follow your adventures with your grand kids. A great picture up top.

Happy New Year, Donna!!! I hope that it leaves a lot of time for reading for you and your whole family. LOVE the picture of the grands!

>24 Deern: You saw the reflections in our unadorned windows, Nathalie. I don't miss the wooden shutters but can't quite decide what I want there… It's only been a few days since our window project has been finished…they started in September! Wishing you a Happy Reading year as well.

>25 lunacat: Thank you, Jenny, for that lovely inspiring picture. I will crack open a book as soon as I quit chatting here. It will be a quiet New Year's Eve at our house.

>26 LoisB: I used to play the free games on that site, Lois. For some reason I am intimidated by playing online with strangers. The people at the bridge center are so nice. Of course they are, it's easy to beat me and my equally newby partner!

>27 Crazymamie: Boys will be boys, won't they, Mamie! I am looking forward to reading with you, Roberta, and others in our new reading project. Happy New Year to you and your family. I have been looking for your new thread so I could drop a shiny star…

>28 Carmenere: Thanks, Lynda. Best wishes to your family, too.

>29 cushlareads: Just listen to those voices in your head, Cushla! Buy the book and support a NZ author! At least I think Flanagan is from NZ.

>30 Ameise1: What a beautiful sight, Barbara. I looked for something from Missouri. No luck. I might get an image of fireworks at the Gateway Arch. I'll try that!

>31 arubabookwoman: I hope you do post more in 2015, Deborah. I like your reviews on new-to-me books. Cute pictures on your profile. I use the same code as I do for putting book covers on my thread:
IMG SRC = the image address which I get by clicking on the picture; then copy and paste. Enclose the whole thing in those caret thingies…mine are found above the period and comma on the Mac. Good luck!

>32 porch_reader: Well, a good book will keep the outside world away, Amy. I love reading on the plane but like to people watch in the airport unless we have a long layover. Are you back from your trip yet?

>33 msf59: Mark, thanks for the gold stars (I'll take all I can get!) and the Happy New Year message. Same to you, Friend.

>34 dallenbaugh: Donna, I wish you had a thread, but you can post on mine anytime. We do seem to be attracted to the same books. Maybe it's a "donna" thing? Wishing you a new year filled with all good things. Stay in touch!

>35 LizzieD:: I almost missed you, Peggy. I was looking for the perfect picture. Actually I have one on my phone I will post tomorrow that I'm very happy with. I need to quit messing around on LT and remember to READ! Thanks for the good wishes.

I will probably be in bed when the fireworks go off around here. My husband and I went to see Unbroken today and then went out to dinner. Maybe a margarita and a good book will finish the evening off for me. I have started The Ghost Road by Pat Barker and look forward to some uninterrupted reading time in the next few days…it's that good.

We don't live near St. Louis, but it is a good representation of Missouri so I'll post the picture I mentioned to Barbara. She is so kind to shower the 75er Group with lovely images all year long. So here is what the Gateway Arch on the Mississippi River will look like tonight. I hope EVERYONE has a safe New Year's Eve celebration and a wonderful year of good reading in 2015.



I also liked this picture of a Purple Arch. Hmmm, wonder how they do that?

Dropping in to mark my place!

Happy New Year, Donna! So glad to see your new thread...the old one was getting awfully full. I love the picture of Sadie and Audrey! I know all my grandkids are readers, but for the two oldest ones (18 and 21) finding the time to read just for their own enjoyment isn't always easy! But they're all going to continue to get lots of encouragement from me!

Donna, I am alwys pleased to see our glamorous gran back in her reading nook;



Happy New Year from your friend in Kuala Lumpur

Happy new year Donna!

Happy New Year, Donna! Looking forward to your eclectic reading in 2015.

>37 Donna828: What wonderful photos, Donna. Hopefully, you'll get those uninterupted reading time. Enjoy it.

Hello Book Junkie :)
I wish you and your family a wonderful 2015!

>5 Donna828: Love your life goal and I can definitely identify with it. Well, I still have got quite some time to go until I may will have the pleasure of grandchildren, but Alex promised me plenty LOL.

Happy New Year, Donna. I LOVE the picture of your granddaughters reading. It's priceless. Great list of favorites for 2014. I look forward to following your reading in 2015.

Happy New Year!

So happy to see you loved Independent People!!!!

Happy New Year Donna!

>38 thornton37814: I'm glad you found me, Lori!

>39 Nancy618: Nancy, all we can do is encourage and hope they get back to reading more when schedules allow it. Once a reader, always a reader! Happy New Year to you and your family.

>40 PaulCranswick: I love that picture, Paul. I'm glad to have a friend who lives in Malaysia to remind me that there is warmth somewhere out there!

>41 The_Hibernator: A Happy New Year to you, Rachel!

>42 ronincats: Roni, we're not in Kansas anymore. Beautiful beach!

>43 Matke: Gail, I need to find your thread. Thanks for the new year wishes. I hope 2015 is a better year for you.

>44 Ameise1:: Barbara, it's a gloomy day here in Missouri. Perfect for snuggling up with a book!

>45 drachenbraut23: There's nothing better than spending time with books and grandchildren, Bianca. Good for Alex and his promise!

>46 BLBera: I'll be looking for more opportunities for those reading pictures, Beth. I'm looking forward to keeping up with your 2015 reading, too.

>47 sibylline: Lucy, Independent People was an LT discovery. I'll be reading more books by Laxness. I love the book covers!

>48 luvamystery65:: Thanks, Roberta! I hope 2015 is kind to you.

Well, I'm off to read more of The Ghost Road so I can put that trilogy to rest. I glanced out the window yesterday and caught the edge of the new weather front that took our sun away. It reminded me how quickly transitions can take place. It seems that 2014 flew by too quickly. Wishing you all Sunny Days in the new year!

Starred you Donna. Happy New Year!

Love the photo of your granddaughters reading, Donna. I give my nieces and nephews books as part of their Christmas present too.

Happy New Year, Donna!

Happy New Year, Donna!

Happy New Year, Donna! I'm looking forward to our visits this year. Just an FYI: The St. Charles City-County Library Book Fair this year will be July 17-19. If anyone is interested...

Wishing you all the best in 2015, Donna!!

I really must get my hands on a copy of Lila.

The picture of your grand kids reading is fantastic. What a great feeling.

More visitors! I love the energy on the boards this time of year. It's a great way to make new beginnings…and new friends!

>50 SandDune: Happy New Year to you, Rhian! I was by your place earlier today. Looking good!

>51 cameling: You have some lucky nieces and nephews, Caro. Kids need all the influences they can get these days with all the technology and other things competing for their time!

>52 scaifea: Hi Amber, it's good to see you here. Happy New Year!

>53 DorsVenabili: Love the graphic, Kerri!

>54 tloeffler: Thanks for those dates, Terri. I am going to put them in my new phone. I dislike traveling in the heat of summer, but I can make an exception for the opportunity to meet up and get good, cheap books. We will have to promote it when the time gets closer…and keep our fingers crossed for a cool spell!

>55 EBT1002: Oh, I love The Peanuts Gang, Ellen. Thanks for that greeting…and yes, you do need to get your hands on a copy of Lila.

>56 Oberon: Thanks for those kind words, Erik, and for a first-time visit to my thread. My oldest granddaughter (closest to the front of the picture) is 12 and a good little soccer player. She is the smallest on her team, but she is also the fastest and can zip around the field!

>57 Donna828: I agree about the board activity and the opportunity to meet new people.

Book No. 1: The Ghost Road by Pat Barker. 4.2 stars.

"Ghosts everywhere. Even the living were only ghosts in the making. You learned to ration your commitment to them." (46)

These were the thoughts of Billy Prior before his fourth deployment to France during WWI. He is one of the most complex and memorable fictional characters I've come across in recent years. Sometimes I hated him…and sometimes I loved him. In this final book of The Regeneration Trilogy, Pat Barker focuses on Billy and his psychologist, the real-life Dr. William Rivers. Now he is a man whom I much admired for his careful consideration of his patients despite having the tough job of getting them mentally and physically ready to head back to war.

This is a well-known trilogy about WWI but only about one-third of this last book takes the reader to the infamous muddy trenches. I learned much about the war, however, from the treatment of the patients who came home "shell shocked" because of their horrific experiences. It's important to see what goes on behind the scenes in a war right up to the very end where the missions became more impossible and men went to their deaths knowing that the fight was not worth it. This was a very good end to an excellent trilogy.

>58 LoisB: Hear, hear Lois! After all, I got to "meet" you here. I did have a slight acquaintance with you through TIOLI but we didn't have a conversation until new threads started popping up all over the place.

Moral to new LTers… Don't be shy. Go ahead and post on the threads you are interested in, and soon you will have many LT friends and be like the rest of us with not enough time to keep up with all of them. ;-)

>59 Donna828: - I love that quote from The Ghost Road, Donna. I think that the focus on the aftermath of war rather than on the war itself is an important perspective. It would be interesting to compare this trilogy to the many books that have been written recently about the Iraq War

Hi Donna! Love the picture up top of your reading granddaughters. Nice to know you have made a difference already! Looking forward to your 2105 reads already. And I just picked up The Blessing Way on Kindle today for $1.99. Happy New Year!

Great review of Ghost Road, Donna. This one sounds excellent. Love the quote: short but powerful.

Hi Donna. Happy New Year.

I like the sound of The Ghost Road; I've never yet read Barker, but I think I might have to read that trilogy at some point.

Last time I was here was still 2014, so now wishing you a Happy New Year, Donna!

I have The Ghost Road/ the trilogy lined up for this year, good to see your rating.

Barker's Regeneration trilogy is outstanding, isn't it? I'm glad to see you liked The Ghost Road.

Donna, we don't have 'The Ghost Road' at our local library but they have Toby's room. Have you read this one and if yes, is it one you could recommend?

Nice review of The Ghost Road, Donna. It makes me want to read Regeneration soon, so I may try to get to it in February or March.

>61 porch_reader: That's an intriguing thought, Amy. First I plan to read THE classic of WWI, All Quiet on the Western Front. Yet another book I didn't get to last year.

>62 Berly: HNY, Kim. I read The Blessing Way well before I was on LT so a reread is in order. Looking forward to our project.

>63 lit_chick: I usually go for longer quotes, Nancy, but this one represented the title so well. I'm glad my first book of the year was such a good Inez!

>64 Eat_Read_Knit: Hi Caty, I highly recommend The Regeneration Trilogy. It's good to have you back here.

>65 Deern: I look forward to your thoughtful comments, Nathalie. I expected more war "action" but ended up liking Barker's more psychological approach.

>66 lauralkeet: I'm so glad I read it, Laura. I am keeping the books in my permanent library.

>67 Ameise1: Barbara, I can recommend Pat Barker as an author but I haven't read that one.

>68 kidzdoc: Darryl, I loved my introduction to Dr. Rivers and Craiglockhart War Hospital in Regeneration. I think you will, too.

Thanks, Donna. Put it on my TBR list books of our local library.

Great! Let me know how you like Toby's Room, Barbara. I'm definitely up for more Barker books.

Will do so.

Good to see Anthony Trollope in your top reads.

I'm reading - or listening - to Lila at the moment and enjoying it a lot. What great prose.

Happy New Year, Donna!

Good review of The Ghost Road. I love your top ten list. Yay for Lila! That was my book of the year.

Hi Donna, dropping my star and looking forward to your thoughtful reviews. Plus more pictures of the kids.

Nice review, Donna. I also love the quote that you chose. Happy Friday to you!

>72 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara.

>73 ctpress: Lila was great, Carsten. I love how Robinson is focusing on the characters from Gilead in her recent books.

>74 jnwelch: Mine, too, Joe. I'm still thinking about Lila.

>75 AuntieClio: Thanks for the virtual star, Stephanie. More kid pics will be forthcoming. I want to stretch them out so people will keep coming back!

76: Thanks, Mamie! I almost forgot what day of the week it is. I still have Holiday Brain!

Not too late to wish you a Happy New Year, is it, Donna? As you might have figured out from the pics I posted over on my 2014 thread, it's taking me awhile to recover from the whirlwind visit to NYC.

>5 Donna828: Love it! Actually, that's a really good pic. You ought to think about framing it! :)

I love the picture of Sadie and Audrey reading! That is wonderful. A new generation of 75ers in the making, right?

I am glad to see you rated Ghost Road so highly. One of these days I will get around to reading the Regeneration Trilogy!

Found and starred you Donna! Barker's Regeneration trilogy is on my list but I think I overdosed on WWI last year and will need a break before I feel like reading more about that period.

Love the picture of your grandchildren reading.

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

>78 Storeetllr: Three days into the new year isn't too late for good wishes, Mary. It's still a baby! Your trip to NYC looked like a whirlwind of fun. You got some terrific pictures. As you can see from the girls reading pic, we had a much quieter time!

>79 alcottacre: Hi Stasia! It's good to see you here. I'm hoping at least one of my grands gets hooked on LT!

>80 souloftherose: Heather, I am still reading about WWI. I have a few more lined up. I'm often late to the party!

>81 Ameise1: Barbara, we have many squirrels around here. I don't mind them in the winter, but we become enemies when they eat my spring flowers!

Nice review Donna! Congrats on your first book of the year!

Happy New Year Donna!

I love your encouragement to new LT group members.

I'll see you around the shared read thread and of course here and there. ;-)

The Pat Barker trilogy remains on my future reading list and I have no idea when I might make time for it, but I loved your review and happy to see that this trilogy continues to get such rave reviews! Great review of The Ghost Road, Donna!

Happy New Year, Donna! I'm slowly making my way around the new threads. Love, love, love the photo of the kids reading!

Great review of The Ghost Road, Donna. I loved Regeneration but liked the other 2 less - but it was a long time ago and I read much more fiction now, so I might like it more now.

I would love to claim Richard Flanagan as a Kiwi but he's Australian.

>59 Donna828: Nice review! I must get to this trilogy. I feel like I've been saying that for the past three years, but perhaps 2015 is the year I finally read Regeneration! You heard it here first.

ETA: Patiently waiting for your stats. :-)

Hi Donna! I read Regeneration a couple of years ago. Perhaps it's about time I returned to that trilogy. I did read All Quiet on the Western Front this year, and it was excellent. We (the Chorale) were lucky to be immersed in WWI information and commemoration this year -- we performed at a commemoration ceremony with ambassadors, historians, and other dignitaries in Vienna in the summer, and heard the Colorado Symphony and CSO Chorus perform "A Christmas Miracle" on the CSO performances this Christmas. WWI is not really a real thing to the middle school set, so I was grateful for the history to come alive, so to speak, for the kids during this important commemoration.

Hi Donna - I've been wanting to read the Regeneration trilogy for a while. Maybe this year... Nice review.

Happy Sunday to you, Donna!

Happy New Year, Donna!

I have discovered that one can spend hours keeping up with all the new threads of the year. If I didn't like this group so much, I'd just jump in sometime in February when things slow down. I do love having visitors to my thread so I will continue to visit others as time allows. Before I chat with recent visitors, I'd like to thank Lori from Vancouver for posting the location of Bingo Cards…three different styles to choose from. These were brainstormed and compiled by The Category Challenge Group with the end result fashioned by PawsforThought and LShelby. I'm excited! Many thanks, you talented people!



I went for the least flashy one. I love the Art Deco look. The print is a little "fancy" so here are the categories:

Read a Book:

1. Set in a country other than my own
2. That is a Genre Bender
3. That reminds me of my childhood
4. Chosen by someone else
5. Where an animal is of importance

6. With correspondence or letters
7. That I've owned for more than one year: Christine Falls - 1/5
8. Translated from a language I don't speak
9. Centered around a major historical event: The Ghost Road - WWI - 1/2/15.
10. Published in 1915

11. Where prophecies or portents are part of the plot: The Blessing Way - Navajo beliefs - 1/18
12. With scientists
13. CAT - Stands for Category Challenge - FREE Space!
14. Whose author shares an ancestor's first name
15. With a natural disaster

16. With a mythical creature
17. With an LGBTQ character: Stuck In the Middle With You - 1/8
18. By an LT author
19. About language
20. That is completely outside my comfort zone

21. About Autism
22. Inspired by another piece of fiction
23. On a subject I'm unfamiliar with: Euphoria - anthropology of indigenous tribes of New Guinea - 1/30
24. Based on a fairy tale or myth
25. With a protagonist of the opposite gender

Just as in last year's Random House Bingo game, some of these squares will be difficult for me to fill. I plan to read in my usual sort-of-planned but mostly spontaneous way and fill in the spaces accordingly.

>84 The_Hibernator: Thanks, Rachel. It was a lightweight compared to your first book…but who's comparing around here, right?

>85 luvamystery65: Roberta, I plan to visit some new group members when I get my own reading life in order. I'm doing things a bit differently this year, just some small changes.

>86 lkernagh: Thank you, Lori. I had wanted to read it for a long time before I finally got around to it. Books are so patient! Thanks, again, for the Bingo information. I hope I got my facts straight about the creative team.

>87 Copperskye: That picture makes me happy, too, Joanne. I hope you're keeping up better than I am. lol.

>88 cushlareads: Oops, I had a choice between two countries for Flanagan…and chose the wrong one. Story of my life. So okay, Cushla, you don't have to buy the book, but I do suggest you borrow it from the library soon.

The middle book, The Eye in the Door, was the weak length in The Regeneration Trilogy for me. Too many characters doing crazy things. I was glad when Barker got back to Dr. Rivers and thought the anthropology backstory was both interesting and a way to tie the books together.

>89 DorsVenabili: Ah, my stats. I need help! I spent way too much time yesterday trying to figure out how to get the stats to work on my 2014 books. I made a separate collection of them, but that wasn't the answer. I got frustrated and went to bed. Hmmphf! I heard your statement about reading Pat Barker, Kerri, but I won't hold you to it!

>90 AMQS: Anne, that's great that the Chorale youngsters got a dose of history along with their music and performances. I don't remember studying much WWI history in school and certainly not at their age. I hope you do get back to Books 2 and 3 in The Regeneration Trilogy. I bought the Kindle version of All Quiet and can't wait to get to it.

>91 BLBera: Another "maybe" for TRT. Soo many books… Beth, you amaze me with the amount of reading you are able to do considering your busy life outside of having your nose in a book! I know... some of it is work related…lucky you!

>92 Carmenere: Happy Sunday, Lynda. I've hardly left my computer and it's already starting to get dark!

>93 LauraBrook: Thanks for the New Year wishes, Laura. Somehow I lost track of you last year. Going off to see if you've started a new thread.

That's it for now, Folks, I've got a book to finish!

>94 Donna828: I went for the Art Deco style too!

Happy Sunday Donna. I hope it was a great day for you.

>94 Donna828: Oh yay! Off to check out the Bingo Cards. Thanks! (and Lori too!)

I went for the comic book style. That and Graphic Novels are a category that people suggested as a theme for the 6th year Anniversary of LT and I just celebrated mine. Thanks for posting!

I've spent way too much time this year reading everyone's threads instead of my own books as well, Donna!

The threads are a bit nuts at this time of the year, but this group is just too special and too much fun to stay away from for too long. Happy Readings, Donna! :D

>96 cbl_tn: Good luck with your bingo card, Carrie.

>97 Whisper1: Yesterday was a very good day, Linda. Today, I've been busy putting away Christmas decorations and making a big pot of chili for my hungry husband. He is sick so I had to do all the hard stuff myself…carrying boxes down and putting them in the closet under the stairs. It involves crawling into a dark space. Yikes!

>98 Berly:, >99 Berly: Good choice for your Thingaversary year, Kim. I had trouble deciding. They did a good job over there on the designs.

>100 ronincats: The craziness should subside soon, Roni. I know I can't keep up this pace!

>101 jolerie: Val, you are so right. I love this group! Happy Reading to you, too!

Book No. 2: Christine Falls by Benjamin Black. 3.6 stars.

"But you see, it's unnatural, this thing, Mr. Quirke," the nun said. That's the point. When bad folks take it on themselves to do what are supposed to be good works, it makes a sulfurous smell. I think you've had a whiff of it, that smell." (278)

This book by John Banville posing as Benjamin Black, the crime writer, starts out with a murder and falsifying of the coroner's report. Quirke, the lonely man with one name is the medical examiner who tries to figure things out and quickly becomes aware of his adopted family's involvement. Set in Dublin with the later action taking place in Boston in the 1950's provides plenty of dark atmosphere for his investigation.

This is the first book I've read by Banville/Black and, apparently, is also the first in a series about Quirke who was rescued from a terrible life in a substandard Irish orphanage by a rich and powerful family. There are many stereotypes: hard drinking Irish, Catholic priests up to no good, and power used in the wrong way. The plot was nothing outstanding, but I got many glimpses of the stellar writing of a Booker Prize winning author, no matter how hard he tried to hide it! Who knows, I'm a sucker for literary mysteries, I might continue with this series. Has anyone else read these books?

I loved this book, Donna. Nice review. I keep meaning to get to the others in the series.

Books are so patient!

Ain't that the truth! ;-) Good luck with your Bingo challenge!

>104 BLBera: Hi Beth, I would also like to read more Black books but sadly don't own any others. I have an unstated goal of reading 50 books off the shelf this year. Actually, it's more of a wish. *Sigh* I am stopping by the library today to pick up my requests.

>105 lkernagh: Thanks, Lori, you too! I was concerned about the LGTB book, and was happy to find that the book I am reading for Thursday's book group is a very interesting memoir written by a transsexual. Bingo!

Nice review, Donna. Putting that on the list to check the library for. Happy Tuesday to you!

103 donna828 Yes, I have read Christine Falls plus the next two books. I don't often do reviews but I always write something under the comments section. My comments on this book "Beautiful sentences, interesting characters dominate over the plot."

After reading the last two books I wrote "Sometimes these mysteries are as black and depressing as the Dublin weather seems to be." I then decided to take a break from reading this series.

I must get to the Regeneration series later this year!

And Christine Falls sits patiently waiting on the kindle. Hmm...maybe that should be the next book...

Good Luck with your Bingo Challenge, Donna - The design is really cool. If I wouldn't take part already in so many challenges this year, I would consider it, just for the fun of it.

>103 Donna828: Interesting review on Christine Falls gone onto my WL. No, I never have read anything by this author or the series, but I will follow your comments on them.

Happy New Year, Donna!

I'm back for another year of lurking and enjoying pictures of your family and dodging book bullets. Like Christine Falls.

And I'm looking forward to another set of meet-ups with my MO LT friends. (I hope I'll be able to make the JOCO sale in June this year - I missed seeing everyone last spring)

ETA - what a close call - Christine Falls was already on my wishlist!

Hi Donna, Happy New Year! I starred your thread a while back, but finally all caught up with you!

I read the Regeneration trilogy a few years ago, and while I'm eager to read the first book again, I must say my liking for the books decreased as the trilogy progressed, and I didn't quite know what to make of The Ghost Road. I guess when I return to the first one I'll eventually have to revisit the other two as well and see if I can make sense of the last book next time.

I've had Christine Falls on the tbr for absolute ages and keep meaning to get to it, so maybe it'll finally happen this year? It just seems like nobody so far has gotten terribly excited about it, so it's hard to get all worked up and eager myself. Timothy Dalton does the narration for the first three books in the series, so maybe I'll get my hands on the audio version if I can get it on sale or from the library...

Thanks for giving the info about the Bingo cards. I'd heard the Category challenge were coming up with their own version this year, and they've done a really great job. I wasn't going to do it again, but I really like the cartoon version they've done, so I'll be jumping in again. Don't know if I'll finish it either, but it's fun to try!

>107 Crazymamie: Mamie, that's where I'll be looking if and when I decide to read more in the series. We had lunch paid for by our bankers today. I guess they want to keep our business! Tomorrow is a stay-home day. I need to finish the book for my Thursday book club.

>108 dallenbaugh: Donna, your comments sound like my thoughts exactly! I think I'll go slowly on the series so I don't get overcome by the doldrums. I am so delighted to see you taking part in some of the challenges here. Next thing you know, you'll have a thread!

>109 Matke: Gail, there are always so many books waiting for us. It's a good thing they don't have feelings. At least I hope they don't!

>110 drachenbraut23: I had fun with last year's Bingo, Bianca. Once the board is set up, maintenance is easy. It took me about 2/3 of the year to complete the card because of a few tough challenges that didn't fit into my regular reading. I'll have to research the books written in 1915. it's doubtful I have many of them in my personal library.

>111 sjmccreary: It's good to see you, Sandy. I have your Category Challenge thread starred and will check in occasionally. I'm grateful to your group for the Bingo cards. I was only at the lunch for the JoCo meet up. I did end up going to the booksale the next day with my daughter. It was a bit disappointing in the new location, but then, I don't do change well. I'm glad you made the effort to get to Joplin. Did you make it back in time for your play that evening?

>112 Smiler69: Ilana, was it Doctor Rivers' anthropological studies with the Headhunters that confused you in the last book? At first I thought it was so bizarre but I did get that he was showing the difference in cultures that revere peace and those that center around death. It was the middle book that kinda threw me for a loop. If I live long enough, I'll read it again someday, but right now I have too many other books I want to read.

>113 Donna828: I'd forgotten that they moved the JOCO sale - is there a JP close to the new location? Where else would we go for lunch? I was so sorry that I didn't make the Joplin trip last year that I was determined not to miss it this time. I made it back in perfect time to meet Chris and our friends for the play, which was fabulous. What a great day it was! But, oh, it was a long one and I was tired when I finally got home.

I remember there was much talk about the bingo cards in the Category Challenge group, but I'm not participating this year. I'll watch it for a year and then think about joining in next year if they do it again.

Hi Donna! I've had Christine Falls on shelf for a few years now. I think I also have one of the later books in the series too. I have no idea, why I am dragging my feet. Maybe, it's because no one convinced me to give it go? Sometimes that one nudge will do it.

I forgot all about this yearly meme when I started my thread this year. This was filled out using book titles from 2014. It's a fun way to review a year of good reading.

Describe yourself: A Good American
Describe how you feel: Want Not
Describe where you currently live: Home by Toni Morrison
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Somewhere in France
Your favorite form of transportation: Fourth of July Creek
Your best friend is: One of Ours - (She is on LT)
You and your friends are: The Interestings
What’s the weather like: All the Light We Cannot See
You fear: The Plot Against America
What is the best advice you have to give: This is the Story of A Happy Marriage
Thought for the day: The Wind is Not A River
How I would like to die: With All the Birds, Singing
My soul’s present condition: Peace.

>114 sjmccreary: Sandy, we ate at our usual Jose Peppers which was quite a distance from the booksale site. Love that place! I can only imagine how tired you were. Your drive was over twice as long as mine and Nancy's!

>115 msf59: Mark, as Ilana said, "no one has gotten terribly excited about it." I wasn't excited either but still thought it was a good solid literary mystery. The plot reminded me a bit of the movie, "Philomena" starring Judy Dench. Those 'evil' nuns took her baby away just like the nuns in the book.

Hi Donna - just checking in. I have the first two Benjamin Black books on my shelves but you aren't making me want to prioritize them very much!

Hi Donna! I read Christine Falls a few years ago, but never went on with the series. I did like Black/Banville's writing, but the story didn't pull me in.

Hope you are staying warm. They have already cancelled school for my kids tomorrow. It is supposed to be way below zero!

I love your yearly meme, Donna! I just don't know how you find the time to do all that you do...very impressive! I can't even contemplate starting my own thread! ;-)

>116 Donna828: Did you use the meme to plan your reading for the year?! Your answers are such good fits!

Love the year-end meme, Donna!

Hi Donna, I am quickly passing through to drop my star. I have decided to spend a little less time on the computer this year and so at this point I am not setting up a thread in the 75 group. I do however plan to visit often!

>103 Donna828: I'm a sucker for literary mysteries too, but have a hard time locating them. I will put this on the list. Have you read In My Father's Den? I think it's my favorite literary mystery,

Hi, Donna ~ As you requested, here's the link to my 2015 thread, which I FINALLY got up: https://www.librarything.com/topic/186192

Hi Donna, I read the first two books in the Quirke series BLT (Before LT) and liked them but never continued with the series. At that time I wasn't reading a single series, if you can believe it so I didn't see much point in continuing. Of course everyone here has shown me the light and I have many, many series that I'm following.

Good luck with your Bingo card.

Great meme answers, Donna! As Carrie said, they fit so well it seems as if you planned your reading that way!

Great meme answers.

>118 katiekrug: Katie, weren't we just talking about book ratings on your thread, and how a 3.5 star book meant a good solid read? Do give the Benjamin Black books a go when you are in the mood for a dark Irish mystery with some above average writing!

>119 porch_reader: Amy, I think they ought to cancel school for low temps more often here than they do. I remember when I was teaching how many of the students walked to school ill-prepared for the weather. Even worse, are those who have to stand and wait at a bus stop. I agree with you about the story in the first BB book being on the mundane side. I think the Catholic nuns stealing babies story has been way overdone.

>120 Nancy618: Thanks, Nancy. I do a lot with my reading life and grandmothering life, but I don't knit or travel nearly as much as you do. You picked a good month to be in Florida. It has been frigid here!

>121 cbl_tn: Carrie, it just worked out that way. One question that always throws me is the one about transportation. I may have to start reading The Red Convertible every year!

>122 lit_chick: Thanks, Nancy. I had fun doing it.

>123 DeltaQueen50: Sorry to hear that, Judy, but I understand. Please come visit me as often as you can.

>124 DorsVenabili: Thank you for that recommendation, Kerri. I've decided to start a wish list on LT like many others do. I like the ease of clicking on a book and adding it to the WL. Plus, I can even note who recommended it in the comments. My notebook wasn't nearly as efficient.

>125 Storeetllr: I'll be over soon, Mary. I have had almost no LT time the past two days.

>126 brenzi: Bonnie, I didn't read many series before LT either. I still try to limit them but with writers like Louise Penny and C. J. Sansom, how can we resist?

>127 AMQS:: Anne, I read a good selection of books and had trouble choosing the best fit for some of my meme responses. However, my transportation answer was pretty lame. Maybe I will have that in the back of my mind as I choose my books for the year!

>128 thornton37814: Thanks, Lori!

Just a quick howdy Donna!

Today was my canasta day followed by book group night. Those events usually occur in different weeks, but we decided not to hold our book group on January 1st! As it was, we didn't have a very good turnout probably due to the cold weather. My Michigan roots are getting a workout these days!



Book No. 3: Stuck in the Middle With You by Jennifer Finney Boylan. 3.5 stars.

"The surgery is not the most important thing about any transgender person's story, dramatic and astonishing as it might be. The surgery is just one day, and the key player is a doctor whom in most cases the patient barely knows. That's not what being trans is all about. Being trans--and sustaining a family--is about everything that comes before that moment, and everything after. That's where the story lies." (109)

I am so glad to be part of a book group that gives me the excuse to read books I never thought I'd be interested in. This was a memoir about a man who tried to live in the body he was born into, but increasingly became so uncomfortable living a lie that he told his wife he felt like a woman inside, and after much soul-searching, made the transition a reality. The amazing thing was that his wife of six years and mother of their two sons decided to stay with the person she loved whether he was a man or she was a woman. This is a true story about acceptance and making the best of things. They stayed in the same small town in Maine and life went on pretty much as usual. Instead of a traditional mom and dad, the two little boys now had Mommy and Maddy. It opened my eyes to a whole new way of thinking about "family" and the role of parents.

We had a wonderful and thoughtful discussion as usual. I love my book group! One more thing about the book. The author is an English professor and best friend of Richard Russo. Any friend of Rick's is a friend of mine! She included interviews with RR, Anna Quindlen, and a wide variety of other friends with different experiences of being a child and a parent. These interviews broadened the subject of relationships and made this more of a book about family life in many forms than merely from the perspective of a transgender parent.

>130 luvamystery65: Howdy right back, Roberta! I now have The Blessing Way in my possession!

Oh! I just know you're going to love The Blessing Way! It's sure to be the start of something good! That's one of the best mystery series I've read. And now that Mr. Hillerman has passed, his daughter has taken up the torch (pen?) with Spider Woman's Daughter, which was surprisingly very good.

I didn't have a good fit for the transportation answer either. I may have a better answer next year since I'm planning to read about transportation one month for the HistoryCAT in the category challenge group.

Added Christine Falls to the WL for the spousal unit!

Nice review, Donna! Stopping in to wish you a weekend full of fabulous!

Happy Friday, Donna! Could luck on your bingo challenge!!
I'm not familiar with the Hillerman/Longmire Project. I just saw that Mamie's reading Hillerman too. Hmmm, there must be a connection and since I enjoy Hillerman I need to look into this further.
Have a great weekend!

Donna, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

Hi Donna, Stuck in the Middle With You looks like a good one. Isn't that what's so wonderful about books -- they help you learn and feel about real and imaginary people what you might never otherwise.

This is a great review, and how wonderful that you have such a RL book group! I was going to get the Kindle sample of tis book, but then saw her other book, She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders which tells Boylan's own story of becoming a woman and I thought I should read this one first before I get to the issues of marriage and parenting. Thank you for bringing this author to my attention!

Wishing you a wonderful Sunday!

>140 Deern: I always see the book store full in KLCC and the Big Bad Wolf sale in December has a crush and a rush with people carrying our suitcases full of books. How come I don't see anybody much reading over here, then?
I don't think a Book Club in Malaysia would be well populated.

Have a lovely Sunday, Donna.

I visiting some threads yesterday and this morning…and almost forgot about my own! The end of a week is a busy time for me. I'm looking forward to a much slower pace today. We have freezing rain here in Southwest Missouri. A good time to stay home and read. I will finish listening to Everything I Never Told You and get started on A Member of the Wedding for the AACII group.

>133 Storeetllr: Mary, my husband is a big Hillerman fan and still has several of his books. I read The Blessing Way years ago and had to get the book from the library for a reread. I love reading about Native Americans and the beautiful stark scenery of New Mexico. I didn't know his daughter is carrying on the tradition. Good for her!

>134 cbl_tn: Carrie, that is a wonderful idea for a category. I'll check out some of your titles and may find something I want to read so my meme looks better next year. Is that cheating?

>135 sibylline: Lucy, I'm glad you found something here that you think your DH will enjoy. Be sure and let me know his reaction to Christine Falls when he gets around to reading it.

>136 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie. It's been a wonderfully slow weekend. A good way to unwind before another busy week ahead. I hope the same kind of fabulous for you and your family!

>137 Carmenere: Lynda, you have probably found the link by now but I will PM it to you just in case. It would be fun if you would join in. It's a fairly large group as I recall. I'll pay more attention to the thread when I start rereading The Blessing Way.

>138 Ameise1:: Barbara, that threesome is in a hurry. *Jumping out of the way* so I don't get trampled. I hope your weekend is going well as it winds down.

>139 AMQS: Anne, you are so right. I love books that I learn from and that make me think about the situations of others. Just one (or is that two?) reasons I love to read!

>140 Deern: Nathalie, I'm curious about her other book. I think you are wise to read the "before" book first. I'll be watching your thread for future comments.

>141 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul, real life book groups are important but they don't compare to our 24/7 book group here where so much more than one book is discussed. I wish I had more than 24 hours a day so I could read and respond to every single thread.

Happy Sunday to you and others who stop by. I will have my ears and nose in my books!!!

Happy Sunday, Donna!

Hi Stasia, it's been a good day until the Broncos game went south. Oh well, at least it's not The Bookapocalypse!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Book No. 4: Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. 3.3 stars. 🎤 (audio read by Cassandra Campbell)

"Lydia is dead. But they don't know this yet."

After this opening gambit, I expected a taut mystery but instead got a book about guilt and blame. This emotion-laden debut novel looks closely at family dynamics in a Chinese-American family in 1970s Ohio. Lydia is clearly the darling of the family. She has the burden of living out her parents' dreams. Her mother wants her to become the doctor she always strived to be and her father wants her to achieve the popularity he never had as a Chinese-American child. Lydia learns not to disappoint them, no matter what the cost is to her…or her siblings.

This is a beautifully written book. I'm one who usually appreciates a slow book, but I thought this one was sluggish and introspective to the nth degree. Not a terrible thing due to the sensitive nature of the story, but it did put me to sleep more than once! Maybe I shouldn't listen to a book late at night.

I just started Everything I Never Told You, Donna. I was surprised,by how quickly the story switched from Lydia's death to her parent's backstory, but so far it is holding my attention. I had thought that it seemed more like a book on identity, with a death thrown in, than the mystery that I expected from the opening chapter.

Hi Donna. Argh! You hit me...Stuck in the Middle with You sounds awesome. Added to the list. : )

>145 porch_reader: Amy, I hope you like the book better than I did. I think I would have liked to hear more from the youngest daughter. She seemed to be the one with the most awareness of what was going on in the background.

>146 Berly: Kim, this true story increased my empathy to those uncomfortable in their bodies. I'm glad Jenny followed her heart and shared her experience.

And now, I am going to think bridge for the next few hours. I am playing at the bridge studio for the first time in five weeks! I need a quick refresher course to fill my brain with bidding rules and playing strategies!

Hi Donna! Found you :-)
Love the photo of your grand daughters reading! So nice!

Hmm. I'd heard good things about Everything I Never Told You; maybe I'll move it down the list a few notches.

>148 ChelleBearss: Hi there, Chelle. It's hard to find people on these busy threads. I've been using the Threadbook that Jim set up. It makes things much easier. Thanks for the visit!

>149 BLBera: Oh, don't do that, Beth. I'm sure it's just me being a picky reader again! Wait and see what Amy thinks about it before you move it down the queue.

Looks like you've been doing some good reading. Interesting comments on The Ghost Road and Christine Falls sounds like a book I might be interested in.

Thanks for.the visit, Katie. I might be reading more of Benjamin Black's books after I clear my TBR piles a bit.

I won't be on LT much this week because my DIL has jury duty which means I get to spend lots of time with Haley and Molly. I'm not complaining about my second-hand civic duty but it does mean this Grandma is tired at the end of the day!

My reading will suffer, too. Currently I am enjoying The Member of the Wedding and listening to Family Album by Penelope Lively, both of which lend themselves to short spurts of reading/listening.

>131 Donna828: This one sounds interesting. I've been reading much more about trans issues lately, but still have a lot to learn.

>144 Donna828: Well. I'll probably skip this one. It describes like it would make a good audiobook, but I can't have my audios putting me to sleep!

>152 Donna828: Have fun with Haley and Molly this week!

That does sound like a busy week for you, Donna! No matter how much fun.

Have fun with the kidlets and try not to be too worn out! ; )

Hi Donna! Good review of Everything I Never Told You. It looks like we had similar feelings about the book. I thought it was just me! LOL! Something, seemed to be missing. She is a talented writer, no question.

I did love All the Light, which I finished today. My only quibble, is, I wish he could have tightened up that LONG ending.

>153 DorsVenabili: Hi Kerri, I think you might like the transgender memoir. Very thought-provoking. I always have fun with the kids because they are so happy to be here. Molly likes to push my buttons, though. By that I mean: remotes, phones, iPads, and as I found out last night, the timers on lamps! Haha, she is so cute (and sneaky) about it that I can't get upset with her. At 20 months that is her only fault…so far!

>154 ronincats: It's not as bad as it seemed at first, Roni. My son picked them up early today and tomorrow they go to Parents' Day Out for four blessed hours. A friend and I had planned a birthday lunch with two of our other friends having January birthdays, so that will work out well. It is so hard to find a date when four busy women can get together.

>155 Berly: I was exhausted last night, Kim. I think partly because we weren't expecting my DIL to get picked for the jury. She had to stay later than she thought to get her instructions. After almost eleven hours I was ready for them to go home. They tend to get more wound up as the day progresses which is just the opposite of how I operate!

>156 msf59: Almost missed you, Mark. I'm glad you support my opinion of Everything I Never Told You. I thought I had missed something because of listening to it at the end of the day and falling asleep a few times. But apparently that something wasn't there! At least not for us. Yup, the writing was good so I gave it a decent rating and will try her next book.

The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers. 3.9 stars.

"This was the summer when Frankie was sick and tired of being Frankie. She hated herself, and had become a big loafer and a big no-good who hung around the summer kitchen: dirty and greedy and mean and sad." (22)

I had forgotten how hard it was to be 12-years-old until I read this. I was never as dramatic as Frankie, who wanted to be called F. Jasmine, but I do remember the long, hot, never-ending summer I was 12 and had just moved to Texas. Frankie spent most of her time hanging out with her much younger cousin, John Henry, and the family "help", Berenice, who had cared for Frankie since her mother died when she was born.

McCullers creates such a melancholy tone with the heat and boredom of late summer permeating their sweat-filled pores. The only good thing in Frankie's life was The Wedding. Her older brother had come home from the service in Alaska to be married. That was all Frankie could think about day and night. She bored people with her talk of it until even John Henry got tired of it. This book didn't have nearly the impact that The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter had on me a few years ago, but it was an entertaining and somewhat poignant coming-of-age story set in the deep south.

Hi Donna - Have fun with the girls.

One more day of fun this week, Beth. Tomorrow I pick up Haley for our trip to the library for story time. IF she participates we will go to Chick-Fil-A for fun and games. If not…stale peanut butter sandwich at Grandma's house. Haley likes to sit back and watch sometimes. It's not something I want to encourage so we plan to do something she really likes if she gets up and dances, etc. when the rest of the kids do. Sometimes I think I like the activities more than she does. *sigh*

Mary's jury duty is over! The girls got picked up mid-afternoon and our house has been too quiet ever since.

Donna, I wish you a relaxed weekend.

>161 Ameise1: What a cute photo!

>161 Ameise1:. >162 thornton37814: that is an adorable picture reminding me that friends come in all shapes and sizes. I do plan to relax with a good book this weekend after a busy week.

Woot! Great review of The Member of the Wedding, Donna. You were able to make me recall, too, the summer I was 12. Not quite so dramatic as Frankie, perhaps, but just as full of almost-a-teenager.

>164 lit_chick: Thank you, Nancy. I suppose we were all about the same full-of-angst kids at that age. My oldest granddaughter will be 13 in February. She is pretty mellow most of the time but she does have some buttons that her sister knows how to push! ;-)

Book No. 6: Remains of the Day by Kazuro Ishiguro. 4.1 star.

"A 'great' butler can only be, surely, one who can point to his years of service and say that he has applied his talents to serving a great gentleman--and through the latter, serving humanity." (117)

Stevens served as a butler at Darlington House in England for over 30 years. When the house is bought by an American, he is offered the use of the car to take a trip to explore the countryside while his employer is back in the U .S. At first, Stevens is hesitant to do so, but then he thinks he might solve a problem of too little help in the house by going to visit the ex-employee who has recently left her husband.

Ishiguro writes beautifully about the land and its "calmness and sense of restraint." These same traits also describe a butler doing his job. Stevens internalized these traits to the degree that he appeared cold and without feeling. However, as he ruminated about his life as a butler, he wondered about how his job affected his personal life, especially his fluctuating friendship with Miss Kenton, the housekeeper he is going to visit. Ishiguro also manages to bring WWII into the story and the role of Lord Darlington in the war. This is so understated to the point that it takes close reading to understand Stevens' regrets.

This book has all the elements I enjoy. It's historical fiction featuring a deep character study, road trip, thwarted love, and literary writing. I wish I could have rated it higher, but found the beginning terribly dull. I'm so glad I continued, however, because there was a big pay-off for staying the course.

>160 Donna828: So Haley's an introvert too. I feel for her. ...stale peanut butter sandwiches at Grandma's house. Mean Grandma! :)

I've only read two by Ishigura (When We Were Orphans and Never Let Me Go), both of which I enjoyed, and I mean to read more. Glad to know you ended up enjoying Remains of the Day, even though the beginning was slow and boring.

Donna, glad you enjoyed The Remains of the Day. I liked it more than you did, think it was a 5* read for me. But you are certainly right about historical fiction featuring a deep character study, road trip, thwarted love, and literary writing. Have you read Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go? I loved that one, too. Completely different book from RofD, but wonderful.

I have only read Never Let Me Go by Ishiguro, but I really like it, so perhaps I will find time to scrounge up another one to read. Maybe When We Were Orphans.....

Great review of The Remains of the Day, Donna. I loved that book. Hope you are having a great weekend!

Good thoughts on The Remains of the Day - it was a novel that just got better and better for me - good you stayed with it :) I think the wonderful audiobook-narration did it for me. I was totally swallowed up in Stevens thoughts and evaluation of himself.

Donna, have you seen the movie of The Remains of the Day? I saw it before I even know there was a book. It stars Emma Thompson & Anthony Hopkins, and I highly recommend it. I loved the book too, giving it 5 stars.

Happy Sunday Donna!

Happy Sunday, Donna! It looks like you used that book switch for the weekend, my friend. Smiles..

Glad you liked the McCullers. That one sounds good. I haven't read The Remains of the Day, in close to 20 years but I remember it being a 5 star read for me.

I remember The Remains of the Day as being a very good read, but in this case I think I liked the movie better. I'm just starting When We Were Orphans. So far so good although a slow beginning. I loved Never Let Me Go.

Happy Sunday, Donna!

I loved R.o.t.D. when I read it. It pulled me right into Stevens' thoughts. I can remember thinking, "Wait. What did that just say?" and re-reading for the somewhat surprising understory.
On the other hand, I totally disliked Never Let Me Go. I've finished A Pale View of Hills, his first, which falls somewhere between the other two. His writing is so fine to me that I'd like to read all his work.

Yay, visitors! Sometimes I get tired talking to myself. *sniff* I have so many responses to make, I had to get my laptop out. I love my iPad but sometimes it talks too much for me (stupid autocorrect), and I don't always catch the mistakes.

>167 Storeetllr: Yes, Haley, is definitely introverted around other children. She relates much better to adults. She got an A+ in Participation at Story Hour and we had a delightful lunch at Chick-Fil-A. Grandpa even joined us. Mary, looking back at Remains makes me appreciate the slow build-up more. I think this is one of those books that I will like more and more as I reflect on it. It would be a great book for a group to discuss.

>168 lit_chick: Nancy, I have read Never Let Me Go which, as you said, was completely different. I enjoy authors who give the reader an entirely new book each time. I think Margaret Atwood is good at that. Such a range.

>169 Berly: Kim, I've read Orphans but don't remember it very well. I think my next book by Ishiguro will be the audio of Nocturnes. I'm fascinated that the stories have musical interludes between them!

>170 AMQS: It's good to see all the love for Remains of the Day here, Anne. It goes back on the shelf for a reread someday. In the meantime my thoughts about it will keep percolating. It is in the 60s here this weekend. I need to make time for some reading on my swing today! We're still waiting for real snow. Had another measly couple of inches a few days ago to go along with our polar vortex.

>171 ctpress: Carsten, I mentioned a reread of Remains. Maybe I should go the audioboook route the next time. Thanks for mentioning it.

>172 lauralkeet: Laura, I may have seen the movie years ago but I could certainly watch it again with new insight. I'll see if our library has it. If not, I'm sure it will be on TV sometime.

>173 luvamystery65: Thanks, Roberta. Same to you! Is it safe to go back to your thread? Haha…

>174 msf59: I'm getting ready to turn that Off switch again, Mark. At least for a few hours. My son and family are coming over to watch football this afternoon. Ah, good book memories are hard to beat.

>175 dallenbaugh: Donna, I'm usually not put off by slow beginnings. Must have been my mood yesterday. I hardly ever "Pearl Rule" a book unless I am put off by child or animal abuse. Those are the toughest things for me to read about so I usually avoid those types of books. I've been enjoying your new thread. I'll have to come out of Lurk Mode next time I visit.

>176 Matke: His writing is so fine to me that I'd like to read all his work.

I'm in total agreement, Gail. I would love to take a survey class of his works. I think a good professor could bring out how Ishiguro's writing might be influenced by his Japanese heritage. That is something that occurred to me while reading The Remains of the Day. The British, and butlers in particular, have that same stoic outlook that I associate with Japanese culture. I may be wrong, but it's a thought…I've said this before but it bears repeating…I love books that make me think! If I keep thinking about the book, I may have to rethink my stingy rating as well. ;-)

I loved the movie Remains of the Day, and I really enjoyed Ishiguro's Never Let me Go, so I should really read Remains of the Day. Thanks for the reminder. :)

ETA: Hope you're having a nice weekend!

Great review of The Remains of the Day Donna. I read it years ago and it remains my favorite Ishiguro. I loved the movie too. I'm glad Haley got to have her lunch at Chick Fil A. I had my fingers crossed for her:-)

Hi Donna! Thanks for your review of The Remains of the Day. I read the first few pages at the library a few years ago, and it didn't pull me in. But you've motivated me to give it another try!

I saw on the Iowa City Meetup Thread that you are planning to come to the Iowa City Book Festival. yippee! I haven't seen official dates yet, but I'm betting on the first weekend in October. That's when it has been the last couple of years, and the Hawkeyes are away that weekend. I'll keep you posted as more details are posted.

I've already posted on this one, but I have to put in a plug for the movie too. Hopkins and Thompson are fabulous!

Thanks for the sort of warning on The Remains of the Day. It sounds boring, but is so well loved that your comments about the beginning dragging but it being worthwhile totally make sense. It must be one of those quiet books that sneaks up on you and whacks you on the head at the end.

The Member of the Wedding was one of the first 'adult' books I read - from my mother's bookshelf which I was poking through and when I saw it was about a twelve yr. old (about what I was, I think) I decided I had to read it. I was completely blown away and started the big adventure of ransacking her bookshelves and then the adult sections in libraries from then on!

I just picked up The Remains of the Day last night and I'm quite enjoying it even though there isn't anything happening. Ishiguro just writes beautifully but in a way that's also very accessible.

Good review of Remains of the Day, Donna. I'm glad you're inspiring folks to give it a try and hang with it if the beginning seems slow. I'm another one who loved that book, as did walklover.

>179 The_Hibernator: Rachel, it sounds like The Remains of the Day should be in your near future. My weekend was great as I hope yours was!

>180 brenzi: By my ratings, Bonnie, Remains seems to be my favorite Ishiguro as well. I hope I didn't give the wrong impression about Haley's reward. That's it…it was a reward for the preferred behavior. If she didn't "perform", however, there was no punishment. She was still getting to spend the afternoon with me doing pretty much whatever she wanted to do. And she loves peanut butter sandwiches!

>181 porch_reader: Yes, Amy, I am serious about attending the Book Festival in your fair city. It's been on my bucket list for a few years now. I hope nothing comes up to deter me. I think if you try again on Remains of the Day knowing that the slow beginning is important, you will end up liking the book…and maybe even loving it as others have.

>182 lit_chick: Thanks, Nancy, for your encouragement to watch the movie. It's times like this that I wish we had Netflix. I still haven't checked with the library. Also need to order "The Jewel in the Crown" series. I know my library has that one.

>183 cammykitty: Katie, thanks for the smile about being whacked on the head by a book. Perhaps it wasn't that dramatic, but when I understood the type of inner searching type of book it was meant to be, I certainly appreciated it more!

>184 sibylline: What a lovely memory you have about The Member of the Wedding, Lucy. I too remember reading my mother's books as a child. My favorite was always A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and I'm lucky to have inherited her copy of it.

>185 jolerie: Valerie, I'm glad Remains is calling to you from the very beginning. I watched Downton Abbey last night and thought of Stevens, the butler. I'm quite fond of Carson, a most proper English butler with an abundance of dignity.

>186 jnwelch: Yay! Two more votes for The Remains of the Day. Thanks, Joe.

Book No. 7: The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman. 3.3 stars.

"It was lit now by sunset, a fantastic jumble of eroded, geological formations. The white man sees the desolation and calls it a desert, McKee thought, but the Navajo name for it means. "Beautiful Valley." (36)

I thought I had read this first book in the Leaphorn/Chee series about the Navajo Tribal Police in New Mexico and Arizona, but I was wrong. I would have remembered at least some of the examples of living The Navajo Way, also known as "the Middle Way, which avoided all excesses--even of happiness." (40) Hillerman writes well of Navajo religious rites and magic in his atmospheric books. I've read several over the years and look forward to visiting the beauty of the southwest again through these mystical mysteries. I don't even care that culture outshines the mystery most of the time. I read these for the wonderful sense of place and to learn more about Native American ways. It's great to be informed and entertained at the same time.

Hi Donna. Lovely review of The Remains of the Day. "...historical fiction featuring a deep character study, road trip, thwarted love, and literary writing." I fully agree.

I also see that you're doing the Hillerman series read. I may dip back into that series sometime this year. I read them long ago and thoroughly enjoyed them at the time. I think he creates a wonderful sense of place.

Lovely review of The Blessing Way. Makes me want to revisit the series too!

I will echo what others said - Hillman did a great job with the series. I own some of them and would like to revisit them at some point, such a vivid sense of place.

Hi Donna. I've been lurking but figured I should pop out and say hello, if nothing else :)

>187 Donna828: I hope I didn't give the wrong impression about Haley's reward. Nope, I knew exactly what you meant:-)

I already read 2 McCullers this month but your review makes me want to add The Member of the Wedding. And I want to reread The Remains of the Day. *sigh*
Still January and already at the "too many books, not enough time" point. :))

Have a wonderful week, Donna!

Lurking along....I want the Middle Way and the Happy Way with no Bummer Way. ; )

>188 Donna828: I have Dance Hall of the Dead on audio and thought that was the first one (I haven't listened to it yet.) I am so glad you and the LT series machine have set me straight!

Hi Donna
I had read all of Tony Hillerman's mysteries while I was in grad school in Cleveland 20something years ago and really enjoyed them. I think I have to go back to that series again. I did download his daughter' book a few months ago but haven't gotten to it yet.

thanks for the review of Remains of the Day. I had read A Pale View of Hills earlier this month for the BAC but wasn't wowed by it. Because of all of the good reviews of RotD, I picked it up last night and found, as you said, a wonderful book, very subtle but oh, so good.

>189 EBT1002: Ellen, I love the stark scenery of the southwest. Here is an example of the sense of place I created in my head while reading Hillerman. Does it look familiar?


>190 Storeetllr: Well, why not join in, Mary? As you know the books are quick reads. It would be like taking six mini-vacations this year. And if you want to visit Montana, you can read the Longmire series with us, too!

>191 BLBera: Grab your horse and come along for the ride, Beth! The more the merrier!

>192 katiekrug: Hi there, Katie. Not much going on here except recruitment for the Hillerman/Longmire Project. One might call this a non-KickAss thread. Lol. Glad you stopped by.

>193 brenzi: Oh good, I didn't want anyone to think I was a mean Grandma! How's that sweet Mia these days, Bonnie?

>194 Deern: Nathalie, it is so cool that many of us are reading the same authors, and we still give and receive book bullets! Hope your week is fabulous!

>195 Berly: Kim, I'm with you. I don't know what tribe that would be, but I'm in!

>196 DorsVenabili: Glad to be of help, Kerri. That is one I've read recently enough to remember it. Maybe I'll try to get it on audio for a different experience.

>197 catarina1: Hi Caitlin. Subtle can be very good when one takes the time to read between the lines. I'm glad my quiet words influenced you. Also, it sounds like it might be time to revisit a few Hillermans to see if they withstand the test of time. I have read a few of them out of order and am looking forward to a more systematic reading of the series.

Gorgeous image, Donna! I so want to visit the Four Corners area and hope to do so within the next year or so, especially Chaco Canyon and Canyon de Chelly, and the places mentioned in the Leaphorn/Chee books ~ even Shiprock, both the monadnock and the town, though I don't imagine the town's as magical as the rock formation.

Love the sense of place you've created, Donna. A writer who can bring that to life is a fine writer in my view : ).

Stopping in to catch up with you, Donna! Nice reviews of both The Remains of the Day - I loved that one, and The Blessing Way - I think you liked it a bit more than I did, but I thought it had potential.

So glad that Haley got the reward - Birdy was always like that, too. Much more comfortable with older kids/people than with her peers. I was, too, as a kid - the sign of an old soul, I think.

Hi Donna. I hope 2015 is treating you well. I'm way behind on the threads which, at this time of year, is easy to do. Still running along behind trying to catch up though.

>199 Storeetllr: Mary, I forgot where that picture was taken. I got it from Google after I put in 'New Mexico canyons'. There were some beauties to choose from. I kind of wanted a sunset to go with the quote I chose for the book, but then I decided on the gloomy sky to go with the dark tone.

>200 lit_chick: Nancy, I think writers who specialize in a certain area like Hillerman in the southwest or Pat Conroy in the deep south, for example, do a very good job of creating that sense of place. It was fun searching for a "theme picture" for The Blessing Way. I may do that more frequently for books that make me curious about an area.

>201 Crazymamie: So you liked Remains more than I did and I liked The Blessing Way more than you did…that's what makes reading talk more interesting around here, right Mamie? I like hearing what others think when they don't agree with me. And, once again, I will give the Ishiguro book another chance when I reread it. I spent the day with my "old soul" again today. I was shocked when Haley went to the front of the reading group and sat down. We've been doing this for almost two years and she usually sits on her carpet square right at my feet. She is getting brave!

>202 RebaRelishesReading: I'm glad you stopped by, Reba. And I'm also glad I found and starred your new thread. I've been watching for you and thought maybe you had gone off on another trip. I hope you get caught up with life and LT soon. Although, come to think of it, no one can get caught up with LT!

As I mentioned to Mamie, today was my day with Haley. We did our library thing, had lunch with several of my friends who were charmed by Miss Haley, and then came back here to finish our project we started last week. Her newest hobby is painting, and I think she does good work! Of course, being an ex-teacher, I like to make a lesson out of almost everything.

Happy Saturday, Donna! And yah, for Haley Day! I hope you can bookhorn in some reading over the weekend. Fingers crossed.

>203 Donna828: I love the abstract vs realistic owls. I wonder what you used to show her the difference.

Donna I love that you are recruiting for the Navajo Mystery/Longmire Project!

Hayley's artwork is great but her smile is outstanding.

Sweet photo of Lady Haley learning about abstract and realistic. What a little artist she is!

>201 Crazymamie: I totally agree - I actually love when people have different opinions because it makes for interesting conversation/discussion.

Good for Haley! And good for Grandma! I love the photo of her with her delightful smile, and the owls are so cute - such a great idea for abstract vs. realistic. Wonderful!

Donna, I can't believe this is the first time that I have visited your thread this year!Haley is such a cutie!What great paintings! Perhaps one day I will have a grandchild! One of my son's is getting married in July of this year.. so maybe in another 5 years? Maybe?

As for reading, I actually enjoyed Everything I Never Told You quite a bit, - like 4.5 stars! But we all differ! The Ghost Road sounds just fascinating. I may have been hit by a book bullet! And my husband is a big fan of the Longmire books. I've not read one, but I think he has read all of them. Up until a few years ago he rarely read anything but the newspaper, however I'd now call him a bookworm.

Just looking at Haley, with that big smile, you can tell she's a joy to be around! I can't wait to hear more about the art project!

>204 msf59: Today is my Day of Reading, Mark. I missed out on the Readathon yesterday but plan to make up for it today. It's cloudy and windy outside so will be a perfect time to cuddle up with a book as soon as I finish playing on LT.

>205 dallenbaugh: Donna, the idea came from one of Haley's comments about her "art" not looking real. We talked about imagination and having fun with art and color and I threw in the term abstract. She also likes to use the word mosaic to describe some of her more colorful adventures in art. Next week I think we'll do some doodle art. She can experiment with shapes and colors and come up with a real abstract painting. She mixed colors to get the browns for the coloring of her "realistic" owl. Btw, I am NOT an art teacher. Lol.

>206 luvamystery65: Roberta, she was so enthusiastic about our day together on Friday. Oh, to be four again and find life so much fun! I have the Longmire book waiting for me at the library.

>207 lit_chick: Thanks, Nancy. I hope she remains enthusiastic about her art and music. She is writing a song for our "club" on Fridays. It's a secret while she works on the "side notes". What a hoot she is.

>208 Crazymamie: Mamie, that is what is so great about the book group I'm in. We can discuss our differences without judgment. It's the same here, but it isn't as easy for me to express my feelings in words only. I guess that's why I'm not a writer. It also explains why I am so quiet on our group reads.

>209 vancouverdeb: Deborah, I was 54 when my first grandchild was born. Now I have six of them and can't keep up. But I have fun trying! Your time will come. I'm pretty certain that I rate my audio books lower than print books. It has something to do with listening to them in shorter sessions and while I am multi-tasking. I am getting to be a better listener, however, and plan to continue listening to some of my books.

How wonderful that you have turned your husband on to reading. My DH likes to read but he likes to watch television more. He's flying to California this week so will have some reading time on the plane and in airports. He is into the John Sanford "Prey" books right now. He locks into a series when he reads…a few years ago it was all about Tony Hillerman…and then Daniel Silva.

>210 Nancy618: Nancy, now that you're home from Florida, you will have to join Haley and I one of these days. We played dolls when they came over for football last weekend, and I got to be "Fancy Nancy" like my friend!

Oh, Donna, your note about Haley's song just cracked me up! A hoot indeed! And "side notes" … I love it! She is writing a song for our "club" on Fridays. It's a secret while she works on the "side notes".

Love the Haley pic! She looks like a true sweetheart. How kind of Grandma to teach things that maybe she wouldn't get an opportunity to learn otherwise...those one-on-one lessons are the best!

Hmmm...Hillerman is beginning to sound interesting. Uh-oh; yet another bb. Ah well. Never want to run out of ideas for books.

Have a wonderful week, Donna.

Book No. 8: Family Album by Penelope Lively. 3.3 stars.

I mentioned to Deb in msg. 209 that I probably underrate audio books. This is another one that I might have had more to say about if I had read the print version. It followed the six children of Charles and Allison along with the au pair, Ingrid. Lots of characters to keep up with, but mostly it was told in vignettes of their growing up years in a large rundown Edwardian mansion. The children were overindulged by their mother and largely ignored by their father. Ingrid was a background figure and a person of interest. Her role in the book became known as the story progressed. I'm convinced that all families have secrets from each other, although in this case, the "big" secret was known by all but not discussed.

The mother in me could relate to Allison in that it is sometimes necessary to put on those rose-colored glasses and keep on with daily life. Allison would be today's Super Mom trying to do all and be all for her family. The children pretty much did what they wanted to, however, and with the exception of Paul, the oldest son who had drug and alcohol problems and kept turning up to stare at the ceiling in his childhood bedroom, they mostly turned out okay. I'm not sure what the point of the book was but it was a decent listening experience…and one that will quickly be forgotten.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I mentioned my personal Readathon to Mark. I have not had a great reading month so far. The shorter books I've been reading have left me somewhat unsatisfied. So I picked up my fattest book and want to spend some quality time with it today. Has anyone else read A Suitable Boy? I am only about 75 pages into it, but I am hooked. Only 1400 pages of smallish print to go! I plan to read from noon until 4:00 to make some real progress. I'll try to make it back here later and pay some visits around the threads. Later, People!

>213 Matke: Almost missed you, Gail, while I was rambling on about my audiobook. I find that by spending an entire day with Haley that we can get into some serious talks. I don't really have an agenda with her but I do try to take advantage of opportunities as they come up! I think she just likes the attention I give her. I never lived close to any of my relatives until I was in high school so I don't have a role model to follow.

I hope you follow up on the Hillerman nudge. I think it will be an interesting year with this group. Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!

Happy Sunday, Donna. Sorry, no photo this weekend due to my busy RL.

What a cute picture with Haley and her owl art!

Like I read in somebody's thread earlier (actually, I think they were your words, Donna), with so many author challenges, many of us will be crossing book-paths. I liked The Remains of the Day a lot more than you did. You thought the beginning was dull - I listened on audio, so if there was dullness, it didn't hit me as badly, as scrubbing the stovetop did. I loved how he played out the ending.

>211 Donna828: >206 luvamystery65: I am listening to the first Longmire book The Cold Dish on audio. It is really well done on Recorded Books narrated by George Guidall who just seems to embody Walt Longmire. You might enjoy listening to a book in this series if you decide you like Johnson's writing. This book/audio often had me laughing at some of the sheriff's humor and colorful language.

>218 dallenbaugh: You don't have to convince me. I am a huge fan of George Guidall.

ETA: Happy Sunday Donna!

Great photo of Haley! You two seem to have so much fun together.

Can't wait to hear what you think of A Suitable Boy. I've thought about reading that one maybe a zillion times.

Much appreciate your review of Family Album, Donna. I do understand what you mean by rating/underrating audiobooks. Not familiar with A Suitable Boy but am going to look it up. I have also had a run of very average books.

>214 Donna828: I did read A Suitable Boy quite a few years ago and loved it, but it did take a long, long time! Quite a lot of exercise for the arm muscles as well.

>214 Donna828: I don't really think it was much better in print form.

Delurking to say Hi!

>216 Ameise1: I missed the picture, Barbara, so I sent one to you instead. I hope you like it!

>217 countrylife: Cindy, thank you for another vote for Remains. I think I must have been in a fog when I read it! I discovered that I can watch it on Amazon with the Prime membership my daughter gave me. Maybe this will be the rare case where I like the movie better than the book.

>218 dallenbaugh: Thanks for the tip, Donna. It's not available through Hoopla so I'll go ahead and read the print version this time since it is waiting for me…along with three other books! Yikes, I thought I was supposed to be reading books off the shelf.

>219 luvamystery65: Happy Sunday to you, Roberta. I have listened to George Guidall, too, and think he is a fabulous narrator. I may reserve the audiobook in April.

>220 jnwelch: I am loving A Suitable Boy so far, Joe. It's a doorstopper for sure. Let's see, I read up to Pg. 242 today…which hardly made a dent in it. I have a post-it note after the next chapter. I'll read that far tomorrow and then bookhorn one of my library books in. Also have the audio of Euphoria to listen to in my 'spare' time. Life is good these days…and, yes, Haley and I have lots of fun together. It does me good to reacquaint myself with my inner child.

>221 lit_chick: I don't imagine there will be a huge run on A Suitable Boy, Nancy, due to its length, but I do enjoy books about India. I've wanted to read this one for years. So far, so good!

>222 SandDune: Rhian, I'm glad I have the paperback which is still a big chunk of book! I didn't expect to get into it as quickly as I did. I read for a little over four hours in it today and had to make myself put it down. I have it divided into four sections and will take breaks when I reach my bookmarks. It will probably take me three weeks or so. My page count will take a huge leap next month!

>223 thornton37814: Thanks for sharing that, Lori. Maybe my listening skills are improving. I do miss not having book quotes to lead into my comments.

>224 Berly: Hi Kim! Have a good week!

Donna, A Suitable Boy looks great. I am a bit daunted by its size, but the reviews are very compelling!

Great photo of Haley! She is such a beauty.

Oh, gorgeous photo of Haley up there! But that's not a shocker, seeing as the subject matter is such a cutie-patootie...

Donna, I admire you for tackling A Suitable Boy! I'm not sure I've ever read a single book that long although I've read chunky works like Trollope's Barchester series, and I'm working my way through Proust. Another LTer, Lucy (@sibyx) read Ulysses last year and posted updates on her thread from time to time. I think doing so helped her keep going. Do you plan to share with us as you are reading? Whatever you decide, I look forward to your comments.

I love Haley's abstract/realistic artwork! Awesome lesson, Donna! She obviously had a lot of fun doing it! Her smile tells a story all its own.
>198 Donna828: I loooooove the SW and that picture is the one I too envision when I read Hillerman. He often talks of storms brewing on the horizon so I see this in my mind's eye

I love Hillerman! And his daughter has taken up the pen - writing about Bernie Manuelito!!!

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was on my mother's shelves too!

>214 Donna828: You make an interesting point about the possibility of underrating audiobooks. Now I wonder if I do that too! I'm pretty sure I don't do it with mysteries, because they seem to be the perfect thing for audio format, but I wonder about more literaryish fiction. The one that comes to mind for me is In the Shadow of the Banyan, which I listened to and didn't like much, although everyone else seems to like it. I wonder if I found the slow pace frustrating as an audiobook, but would have had a different reaction had I read it in print. Not sure, but it's an interesting topic. Sub par or irritating narrators tend to have a negative effect too...obviously.

Best wishes on A Suitable Boy! Wow!

What a sweet photo of Haley and I love how you use the time together to build in teachable moments! What an awesome grandma you are Donna. :)

Interesting discussion about audio v. print books. We've talked about ebook v. print book in my book club. When we read As I Lay Dying last year, one member HATED it when she was reading the ebook, but changed her mind when she picked up a print copy. I think format can influence our opinions.

I love your Haley stories. I am enjoying Scout so much; I treasure the time I get to spend with her. I know she'll be grown up before I know it!

OMG, I am so, soooo far behind!

>116 Donna828: - I will join you somewhere in France... it doesn't matter where.... ;-0

>158 Donna828: - love your review! Lively - the author, not the actress of the same last name - now has a special place in my heart after reading The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Adding The Member of the Wedding to my future reading list.

>161 Ameise1: - Okay, that is just too darn cute!

>166 Donna828: - I will continue to enjoy re-watches of the movie adaptation of The Remains of the Day and forego reading the novel. Who doesn't want to watch Sir Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson? ;-)

Love the Haley picture! She is such a happy, sunshine/smiley girl!

Serious talk with Haley eh? That's probably because she appears to be a very mature little girl. I look forward to that with my little girl some day. You're my role model in that department Donna:-)

I used to own A Suitable Boy bit I donated it to the library sale at a time when I was feeling down and thought I'd never read again. I normally love reading a long book because you can sink into it and really get to know the characters but I always find myself getting to a point where all my other books are calling to me and then I just want to be done with my long book so I can move on. Oh well, I'll bet you're going to love A Suitable Boy. A Suitable Girl was supposed to come out last year but got held up for some reason.

>231 DorsVenabili: Audio books in digital format are invaluable to me because you can increase the speed a bit. That makes all the difference some times. If I get a book in CD format it better be brilliant for me to tolerate the speed.

>226 AMQS: Anne, I am enjoying A Suitable Boy. I have read the first five chapters which is about the equivalent of an average book so I will give myself permission to read one of my library books.

>227 scaifea: Thanks, Amber!

>228 lauralkeet: I think working your way through Proust is an impressive reading venture. I may do that one of these days when I run out of some of my bigger tomes. Updates, huh? I think I'll list the titles of the five parts of a A Suitable Boy that I've read. Seth is an Indian poet as well and he has used the couplet style to go along with the chapters/parts of the book.

>229 Carmenere: Lynda, that picture reminds me of the drive we took between Albuquerque and Santa Fe with three hungry and thirsty kids back in the early 80s. Not a lot of rest stops along the way back then! The rock formations and sky are so beautiful. Haley does have an expressive smile. Her frown makes one think she lost her best friend!

>230 sibylline: Lucy, it's good that the tradition is being carried on by a family member. What a tribute to her father!

>231 DorsVenabili: Kerri, I find an annoying narrator unbearable. Luckily there are so many good ones out there. Thanks for the good wishes.

>232 jolerie: Aw, thanks, Val. I do my best as a grandmother but I need lots of alone time, too, so two days a week with the girls seems about right.

>233 BLBera: It's interesting that I don't find the difference in ebooks and print books as pronounced as the difference in audiobooks. It did take me awhile to get used to the ebook format…and I still like print books best! I think that would be a good topic for our F2F group to explore if we have a slow book discussion. So far that hasn't happened, though. Time with grandchildren is The Best!!!

>234 lkernagh: Lori, you make me want to watch The Remains of the Day soon. I can stream it on Amazon so nothing but time is holding me back.

>235 brenzi: Haley is a very serious child. I love it when she gets silly sometimes because it happens so rarely. I know Mia will not lack for anything in the grand mothering department! I'm honored to be a role model.

>236 luvamystery65: I seem to have the opposite problem much of the time, Roberta. Sometimes the narration goes faster than my nonverbal brain can process. I might try to slow down the speed of Euphoria so I can savor the wonderful prose and story a bit more.

Thanks for all the visits, my friends.

Yay! I got a message that I am going to receive the ER book by Sara Gruen. I did like Water for Elephants very much but wasn't interested in following up with The Ape House. It's been awhile since I requested an ER, but At the Water's Edge sounded like my kind of book.

ETA: Or maybe not… The Loch Ness Monster. Really? I wonder what review I read that made me think I would like this one? Hmmm...

Hi Donna. I loved, loved, loved A Suitable Boy when I read it many years ago. I knew very little about the history of India when I read it and expect I might get more out of it now. But then sometimes I worry that I'll be disappointed when I revisit books I loved. I'm sure I will reread it if, or when, A Suitable Girl gets released.

Love the photo of miss Haley and her owls! Very good work!

Just learned recently that Gruen's The Water's Edge was coming out. I'm interested in that one, too.

I had my name in for that one and then at the last minute added a request for I Take You by Eliza Kennedy and that's the one I got. Let me know if it's any good!

Hi Donna, I just had to delurk to say how adorable Haley's picture is, looks like she and grandma had a good day!

I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo impressed, that you read A Suitable Boy. You are fearless when it comes to the Major Chunksters! It is one of the many things I admire about you, my friend.

Enjoy those balmy temps! Sweet!

I read A Suitable Boy years ago and love it. It's been on my radar screen for a while for a reread, especially because I heard that a sequel was about to be published. That was quite some time ago, though, and I've heard nothing further about a sequel.

I, too, was feeling something lacking with my reading this month, so I decided to read War and Peace at 50 pages a day. I'm loving it, and am already on p. 800. Just coincidentally, the nonfiction book I'm working on is another 1000+ pager, Caro''s vol. 3 Master of the Senate. And just for fun, I'm reading the not-too-short Phineas Finn. I'm definitely enjoying them all.

Well, you inspired me, Donna so I bought an inexpensive paperback of A Suitable Boy through Amazon. I knew I would never get through it by checking it out at the library. Now to make time to read it.

I am not sure how I managed to miss your thread. I'm here. Just in time for the next one. :)

I am loving Gilead. It's a slower pace and I like it. I was sitting alone by the pool today giggling to myself over the story of the horse and the foolish abolitionists.

In a high-pitched, squeaky voice, she asks, "Roughly how many pages IS A Suitable Boy?"

>248 Berly: My edition is 1504 pages.

>249 lunacat: I was hoping A Suitable Boy was on Kindle, as that is a whopper to carry around, but no dice.

>250 jnwelch: Are you sure? There is a Kindle version on Amazon UK.

1400 pages?!? You would think that would deter me..but drat it sounds interesting. Onto the WL it goes.....

>251 lunacat: I was hoping someone would tell me if I'm wrong, but on the U.S. site all that's available for Kindle is a lesson plan and book analysis for A Suitable Boy. I've seen that with some others - it may be some kind of rights issue.

I've bought books from Amazon UK (e.g., we used to get the Harry Potter books early, when that was possible), but I haven't tried it for Kindle. I wonder whether it's possible. I'll take a look some time soon.

Good for you on winning the Gruen book. I've read all of hers and that one and one other were the only two I requested. Naturally, I won the other, The Upstairs Wife - I just can't resist memoirs by women. ;-) I'll read the Gruen at some point - think of me if you want to pass it it after you are finished!

>253 jnwelch: This shows A Suitable Boy available on Kindle in the U.S.:

http://www.amazon.com/A-Suitable-Boy-Vikram-Seth-ebook/dp/B00FRKPC9C

>255 dallenbaugh: - It actually says "This title is not currently available for purchase" in the area where the Buying buttons usually are (on the right side).

So it does. I didn't look to the right.

Let me get this book off my chest, then I'll come back and respond to visitors…



Book No. 9: The Confabulist by Steven Galloway. 2.9 stars

"The whole world knows me as the man who killed Harry Houdini, the most famous person on the planet. His story is complicated, though most of it is widely known. What no one knows, save for myself and one other person who likely died long ago, is that I didn't just kill Harry Houdini. I killed him twice." (5)


The word confabulist has to do with invented memories. I'm unsure of its origin, but it must also be related to the word confusing. We know from the very beginning of the book that Martin Strauss has a rare disease that affects his memory making him the most unreliable of narrators. Now I've enjoyed several books with unreliable narrators; what I don't enjoy is when they mess with history. The second narrator is Harry Houdini who has constructed his life and career around illusions and so-called magic. For a reader like me who likes realistic fiction, this book was a mishmash of an international spy ring, an imagined connection with the Romanovs, and some very detailed instructions about lock picking.

It was obviously a poor choice for me. I only picked it up because it is my book group's next selection.I read this book with a hopeful attitude because I have been pleasantly surprised by several other book club selections that have been outside my comfort zone. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep my eyes from rolling in a few places, and I can only hope the memory of it will soon disappear in a puff of smoke! I reiterate…I was not the intended audience for this book. If you like fantasy and don't mind the tweaking of history, then by all means read it. Many people loved this book. I just wasn't one of them.

>239 souloftherose: Heather, I'm so glad to know that A Suitable Boy was loved by you. I can't wait to get back to it this weekend. I hope A Suitable Girl is released fairly soon. This book is way too long for a reread anytime soon.

>240 ChelleBearss: Miss Haley and her owls thank you for the kind compliment. I'm not sure what we will end up doing tomorrow. I'm going to leave it up to her.

>241 lit_chick: I hope it's a good one, Nancy. The Lock Ness Monster is looking good to me after reading about Houdini! Actually, I am more interested in reading a book set in Scotland.

>242 Berly: I've learned to only ask for one book at a time, Kim. Invariably, when I requested more, I would receive my second choice.

>243 DeltaQueen50: Thanks for delurking, Judy. I know we grandmas enjoy showing off our grandkids.

>244 msf59: No, no, no, Mark. I am reading A Suitable Boy. I have a long way to go before I am ready for congratulations. I'll keep you posted.

>245 arubabookwoman: Ah, Deborah, it's good to hear from another chunkster lover. I read War and Peace shortly after joining LT. Another long book I've read fairly recently was Infinite Jest. Quite a read! I love a book I can get lost in.

>246 dallenbaugh: Yippee! I am so pleased that you are going to read it, Donna. Hurry up and catch up with me. I'm on page 310.

>247 nittnut: I'm glad you are enjoying Gilead, Jenn. Poolside reading sounds like something I would enjoy. ;-) I'm glad you found my thread. I will probably begin my second one this weekend.

>248 Berly: - >253 jnwelch: Kim, Jenny, Joe, and Valerie…I'm glad you all got that settled about the number of pages and availability on Amazon/Kindle. The giant paperback is surprisingly easy to read. I place it in my lap and elevate my legs on an ottoman or recliner. I don't want to resort to wrist supports!

>254 streamsong: Janet, I always pass my ER books on to my friend Nancy, but will be glad to send it to you when she is finished with it. It may be a couple of months, but I'm sure you have a book or two to read in the meantime.

>255 dallenbaugh: - >257 dallenbaugh: Donna and Katie, I'm surprised that it isn't available on Kindle. I look for that to change if and when A Suitable Girl comes out.

Hope you don't fall asleep reading A Suitable Boy - I would hate it to fall on you! Have a lovely weekend, Donna.

Hi Donna, I wish you a lovely weekend.

Oh, for once there's a Kindle book I can buy on amazon US and others not, usually it's the other way. I've been tempted by A Suitable Boy for years and maybe 2015 and the Read Globally Challenge would be a good time to tackle it. It scares me though. I might follow your experiences here a bit longer and then decide.

>253 jnwelch: I don't think it's possible buying Kindle books from elsewhere. I got my Kindle from the US before it was available anywhere in Europe, so I registered it on amazon US and am still there although they keep reminding me I should switch to Italy now. But I tried to get Kindle books from amazon UK and Germany where I also have accounts and order paper books, and their Kindle shops were limited to people living in the UK/ in Germany/Switzerland/Austria.

Well, yes, I did buy A Suitable Boy, but I don't think I'll ever catch up with you, Donna. I did the no, no of ordering too many library books at one time.

>260 PaulCranswick: Falling books is one of the hazards of reading! I've been lucky thus far not to have any book injuries, Paul!

>261 Ameise1: What a lovely peaceful scene, Barbara. That is a little bit like the scenery outside my library window…if we had snow and some sun to create those shadows. Just clouds and trees out there today.

>262 Deern: It's a big scary book, Nathalie! I'm not sure if I've already said this, but I liked A Suitable Boy from the beginning. There are lots of names to keep up with but the story and characters totally grabbed me.

>263 dallenbaugh: I tend to get library books in bunches, too, Donna. Sometimes that's a good thing, but it can also be a little overwhelming. There have been too many times I've had to return books without a chance to read them.

Book No. 10: Euphoria by Lily King. 3.9 stars.

Nell Stone, modeled on Margaret Mead, describes the point of beginning to understand a new culture as "the briefest, purest euphoria." To me, being an anthropologist sounds like the loneliest career on earth. Even Nell and her husband, Fen, seem to be living separate lives while she studies the women and children and he hangs out with the men. When they meet Andrew Bankson, a Brit artfully narrated by Simon Vance in this audiobook, it is another moment of euphoria for all three of them. It's no surprise, however, that an easy friendship based on their mutual work slowly but surely becomes a love triangle with repercussions for all three of them.

I was fascinated with their studies of the native tribes which made me want to explore similar atmospheric books about anthropology. I've already read The White Mary set in the same region and State of Wonder about the Amazon River. I seem to enjoy books on exploration and learning about different cultures. How wonderful that there is a wide range of these books ready and waiting for me to discover them.