LizzieD: 1 * I Love Living in a Library

These shelves greet you as you enter the front door - mostly mystery and scifi on the left, greatly assorted on the right.

Books Read



Pages Read

BOOKS READ IN JANUARY
An Unnecessary Woman
Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life
Patrick Melrose Novels: Never Mind Bad News
An Invisible Thread
Moon Tiger
The Passage
Murder Must Advertise (reread)

INTO THE HOUSE IN JANUARY
The Paying Guests - Kindle - Probably will count toward my Thingaversary haul
Orfeo - Ditto - Ditto
Burial Rites - AMP - Christmas GC!
Plainsong - AMP - Christmas GC!
A Month in the Country - AMP - Christmas GC!
The Quick - AMP -Thingaversary #1
The Victorian House ✔ - AMP- Thingaversary #2
The Cuckoo's Calling ✔ - AMP - Thingaversary #3
Radiant: Towers Trilogy - Kindle Daily Deal
The Undertaking - Christmas GC!
Against the Country DNF - ER
Cleopatra's Sister - PBS
At Last - AMP
Through the Language Glass - AMP

Out of the house: mine 3 ~ Wards' 2

BOOKS READ IN FEBRUARY
Nuns and Soldiers
The Little Stranger
Heartstone
The Corinthian
The Patrick Melrose Novels: Some Hope

INTO THE HOUSE IN FEBRUARY
There but for - PBS
Fallout - PBS
Sabriel - AMP
Sharps - Kindle Daily Deal
A True Novel - Kindle Daily Deal
Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self ✔
MaddAddam - PBS
Lyrics Alley - PBS
Mrs Jordan's Profession - AMP

Out of the house: mine 1 ~ Wards' 7

CURRENTLY READING

MY CHALLENGE FOR 2015: Read a Book from Every Shelf
The fact is that the only two big material things that I've ever wanted are a small grand piano and a library. I have both and am a happy person. I think that this challenge will be fun for me.
It will take more than a year, and I'm actually going to read exactly what I want. However, I tend not to read from some shelves, so this will get me to parts of the library that I seldom visit.

New Little Room Shelves - as pictured above and tagged thus:
lrl1; lrl2; lrl3; lrl4; lrl5: Heartstone; lrl6; lrl7; lrl8; lrl9; lrl10
lrr1; lrr2; lrr3; lrr4; lrr5; lrr6; lrr7; lrr8; lrr9; lrr10

Opposite the Piano
oppianol1; oppianol2; oppianol3; oppianol4
oppianor1; oppianor2; oppianor3; oppianor4

Piano
pianol1; pianol2; pianol3; pianol4
pianor1; pianor2; pianor3; pianor4

New Sitting Room
newsr1; newsr2; newsr3; newsr4; newsr5; newsr6; newsr7; newsr8 The Little Stranger; newsr9 Moon Tiger; newsr10: An Unnecessary Woman, Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life

Jean's Room
jrl1; jrl2; jrl3; jrl4; jrl5;jrl6; jrl7; jrl8; jrl9; jrl10

New Library
newlibltop; newlibl1: newlibl2; newlibl3; newlibl4; newlibl5; newlibl6; newlibl7 Nuns and Soldiers; newlibl8; newlibl9; newliblbot
newlibrtop; newlibr1; newlibr2; newlibr3; newlibr4; newlibr5; newlibr6; newlibr7 The Passage; newlibr8; newlibr9; newlibrbot

Dining Room
drl1; drl2; drl3; drl4; drl5 Murder Must Advertise; drl6; drl7
drr1; drr2; drr3; drr4; drr5; drr6; drr7; drr8; drrbot

Library Wooden Shelf
libwood1, libwood2, libwood3, libwood4, libwood5: The Corinthian

This one too

Hi Peggy and happy new year! I have great intentions this year about keeping up. All four of the books you're reading look like they might end up on my wish list...

Hi Peggy! Starred you for 2015!

>1 LizzieD: greatly assorted
Well that sounds intriguing...

Popping in to drop my trail of breadcrumbs

May all your wishes come true.

Hi Peggy! I admire anyone who manages to read off their shelves (and yours look impressive). I've found my e-books are starting to rival my actual physical books. Oh boy, a good problem I guess:-)

I would love living in a library, too, Peggy! What a great sight every time you walk through your front door. Hope you enjoy An Unnecessary Woman; I quite liked that one.

Peggy, I'll never get past your front door if I ever visit you. Stasia didn't warn me you had such a bookie greeting! Here you go…a star and wishes for all the best in the new year…

If there's anything more fun than getting visitors by starting a new thread, it's starting a new thread for the new year. Thank you for the visits, Cushla, Rhian, Donna, Bonnie, Nancy, Barbara, Helen, and Katherine!
Donna, Stasia made it past the first shelf into the sitting room before a book grabbed her.
Golly! I do so want to keep up with everybody, and I do so know that I can't. I'll try. I'll try. You are all dear to me.

Dear Peggy



Happy New Year from your friend in Kuala Lumpur

Dear Peggy, I would love to live in your library, too! What a lovely way to enter the house. Happy New Year to you!

Happy New Year, Peggy!

Dear Peggy, Happy New Year!

Love your shelves and that you will read from each shelf this year. I still have Eleanor of Aquitane on my TBR and I thought The Passage was a good read, also I was quite dissapointed in the second book The Twelve.

Happy New Year, Peggy.

I adore the book from every shelf idea!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Peggy!!

Thank you for new year's greetings, Paul, Roni, Anne, Laura, Bianca, Beth, Lucy, and Linda!
I'm overwhelmed by the kindness of folks here and at the idea of keeping up even minimally. I'm trying, but right this minute I have to go clean the cat porches!

Welcome back!

Hi Peggy! You beat me to it with the idea to read a book from every shelf this year. When we moved last year, I gave away a lot of books I'd already read so most every shelf in my house has books on it that I haven't read yet and I'm starting to get worried I'll never get to them because I'm always distracted by something new that I buy or take out of the library. When people come over, they're always impressed that I've read all the books on the shelves and I had to stop telling people that most of the books I haven't read because they were giving me strange looks!

Anyway, I'm glad to be back on LT! Hope you have a great 2015.

Thanks for the visit, Jim and Pat!
Pat, I'm very happy that you're back! I'll find your thread and leave a star at once. (I know I'm not going to live long enough to read all that I have. That's O.K. I love them anyway.)

Beautiful shelves in your entrance, Peggy!



Wishing you all the best in 2015!

Happy new year! I love your shelf goal. :)

What a great idea and what a wonderful library!
Happy New Year, Peggy!

Hi Peggy! I found you. Happy New Year! I now have you starred, so won't lose you again.

Your shelves sound very organized... Would you care to organize my books??

Happy new year!

Hi Peggy! Happy New Year! I just love looking at people's bookshelves. Yours would be so much fun to browse. I flirted with the idea of reading a book off each shelf but never got around to it - maybe it would be something fun to do this year.

Your shelves look like mine - books angled in any which way and of course the obligatory pile on the floor near the shelves.... AND I just realized that you tag your books by location like I do. Great minds.....

>1 LizzieD: Ok, Peggy, count me as officially envious of your book shelf noted in your first post.

I'd love to have a shelf like that. Alas, my books are scattered throughout the house, including the basement. I've said it before, but now it is very true and obvious, that there is little room for more books in our house.

Though, I confess that Book outlet.com recently had a 50% off sale, and I used holiday gift money to buy more books...ouch.

I hope 2015 is a wonderful year for you, one filled with light, love, laughter and many wonderful memories.

You are a dear, kind, sweet soul and I am fortunate to know you.

Hi Peggy, I know what you mean about how impossible it seems to keep up with everybody. I'll just keep the (quote unquote) method I've been using so far, which is to just do what I can and not worry about it too much; I update my own thread, visit a handful where I leave comments, and then lurk a lot to stay abreast of what folks are up to, and that makes me feel I'm part of the community. More than that I simply can't manage, and I'm sure everyone here understands since we're all in the same boat.

I know I'm not going to live long enough to read all that I have. That's O.K. I love them anyway.

Somehow, even though I'm quite a bit younger than you, I feel the same about my books too, mostly because I'm showing no signs of slowing down in my acquisition habits, but I've sort of come to think about them the same way you do. No use worrying about not getting to all of them overmuch; just knowing they're there and available to pick up at any moment is half the pleasure of owning them.

Really happy you're in for another year as your thread is one of my regular stops. Good luck with your challenge!

What a great happiness to have friends who visit in the midst of all our doings! Thank you for coming by, Ellen, Rachel (first time? Come back!), Nathalie, Colleen, Suz, Karen, Linda, and Ilana!
I have to say that I love looking at the picture almost as much as I love looking at the books themselves. My Thingaversary is coming up, and I already have some coming in - some from a Christmas Amazon GC (bless local Suzanne who knows me well!). Maybe I won't buy so many when I have the Christmas money sort of spent and the Thinga books selected. (WAH HAHAHAHAHAHA!)
I am enjoying everything that I'm reading right now, so it's a great start to the year. An Unnecessary Woman is absolutely wonderful! Thank you, Suzanne and the rest of you who loved, reviewed, and recommended it.

Peggy, I love your bookshelves! It's only the 2nd of January and I'm behind already, so a belated but most sincere happy new year and happy reading for 2015.

I love the idea of reading from every shelf, Peggy! I may have to give that a try. Maybe I will not be as intimidated by the books I have not read if I do.

Found and starred you Peggy!

>1 LizzieD: I love seeing pictures of people's libraries :-) I hope you will continue to share pictures of yours throughout the year.

>3 LizzieD: I'll be interested in your thoughts on The Reformation - I've been meaning to try Diarmaid MacCulloch's books for a long time.

>4 LizzieD: I like your reading challenge for the year!

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

A donkey! One of my most favourite animals. I love that photo, Barbara.
Ok, will break down and order An Unnecessary Woman. That salts it.

>1 LizzieD: Wow! What a great sight to greet one walking in the door!

Happy New Year, Peggy!

Well, you don't need to thank me for An Unnecessary Woman, because I hated it. :-)

*grin* I'm sorry that you didn't care for it, Ilana. Tui, I hope you agree with me and not her!
Terri, if you're ever in N.C., do plan to walk in my door!
Barbara, a wooly donkey and a gray tabby - perfect! Happy Weekend to you too!
Stasia and Heather, you are most welcome any day you can make it over here!
I haven't read anything today but The Passage, which I'm finally getting into with 110+ pages read. It's *Woman* and *Eleanor* on my mind for a dank afternoon!

Love the wooly donkey and the gray tabby. Perfect, indeed!

Happy 2015, Peggy! I love your picture and wish I had such keen sight that I could read the titles. You have provided me with so many TBRs and I look forward to more this year!

Happy New Year Peggy! I'm slow getting going here but hope to visit more in 2015!

Hi, Nancy, and Welcome Back, Anne and Jan! I will look for your threads right away!

Hey, Peggy, just dropping by to check out what you are up to!

Hi, Roni! I'm up to trying to read and not getting very far with it. Also a LOT of volunteer typing hanging over my head. How about you?
On the other hand, today is the Thingaversary that I share with Lucy, who joined a year later. I've already been celebrating (I get 7 books this year and have ordered three: The Quick, The Victorian House, and The Cuckoo's Calling. I know that I'll save one for the new Shardlake coming out next month. The other three, I'll save for special.)

Happy thingaversary, Peggy! Mine is coming up soon, but I'm only starting my third year here. Although, any excuse for books is good, right?!?

I'm with @brenzi in amassing more ebooks than real ones. We just built a new bookcase but it's already full, so everything new must be e in nature.

Was going to upload a bookshelf photo but cannot figure out how to do it. I see that I can upload pics to my "personal gallery", but how does one upload a photo to insert in a talk post?

I'm so excited about the new Shardlake! Best make room on my February reading plans for it right away!

Happy Thinga!

Beautiful book shelf topping your thread, and I love the idea of randomly picking a book off each shelf as your challenge for the year. I, disorganized as I am, have managed to segregate all my TBRs from the books I have already read (mostly because we painted the entire interior last year and everything had to be packed away), so although I have TBRs to last me dozens of years, they are crammed into not all that many shelves (and with a huge number on the Kindle).

I'm hoping to delurk more often this year.

Happy Thingaversary! I found your thread midway through last year and have been lurking. I've been enjoying your varied reading, adding titles to my already lengthy tbr list.

April, thank you for dropping out of lurk! You are most welcome here! And thank you for the Thinga good wishes! Thank you too, January 5 Sister Lucy!
Deborah, I have one shelf that I have been devoting to new books that I can't squeeze in anywhere else. Yesterday I boxed up the audio cassettes to have a little more shelf space. My Thinga 7 + the Christmas GC buying should take care of that quickly.
Colleen, AF, and Ilana, thank you for your visits and your good wishes. I'm not sure why I'm not going ahead and getting a used Shardlake, Ilana. I guess it's because I haven't read Heartstone yet. Hmmm. Seems a bit of false economy to me. And I certainly am not shy about piling books into my Kindle - however they're cheaper, that's what I buy.

ETA: Either I was delusional about the price of used copies of Lamentation or somebody bought them all yesterday while I dithered. At this point the Kindle copy will be the way to go.

Dropping a star and saying hello. Happy Thingaversary, Peggy!

Happy (belated) Thingaversary, Peggy!
I might give those Shardlakes another chance, I'd like to read #3 soon. The new one is #6, right?

I will wish you a happy belated Thingaversary too, Peggy!

Happy joint Thingaversary to you and Lucy! I hope you enjoy The Quick and The Victorian House is also on my wishlist as I've enjoyed Judith Flanders' other books (why is the first touchstone for The Victorian House Jane Eyre??).

>43 LizzieD: I have The Passage in the TBR so will be interested in your thoughts.

I am also curious what you will make of The Passage Peggy!

And belated Thingaversary :)!

Many thanks for Thingaversary wishes - it's as good as a birthday!
Bianca and Heather, reading The Passage is a lot like reading S. King without the horror. It's way too long, but it's fun as it goes. I guess I mean that it's a beach read, and I'm not at the beach. But then, retirement is a beach, so I'm not impatient with it yet. I also wondered about Jane Eyre as the first of the Touchstones. Oh well.
Many thanks and come back, Joanne, Nathalie, and Stasia! Maybe one of these days I'll finish something and have something to say!
Oh! I'll put this on the sale thread, but The Blue Book, from the Orange long list 2012, is a Kindle deal for $1.99. It looks like it won't be to everybody's taste. I'm willing to see someday whether it's mine.

>60 souloftherose:, >62 LizzieD: Jane Eyre
I'm guessing because a bazillion editions w/ a bazillion hits for search terms; Jane Eyre comes up a lot as the default touchstone.

Darn, I missed your Thingaversary! Happy belated, Peggy : ).

Happy belated Thingaversary, Peggy! I hope to have my reading act together by time mine rolls around in February.

I think I forgot to wish you a Happy Thingaversary. Got too excited about Lamentation! :-)

I meant to wish you a Happy Thingaversary yesterday, but then I went and chipped a bone in my ankle and didn't get back to you. So, Happy Thingaversary a day late!!

Belated wishes are welcome! Thank you, Nancy, Tui, Ilana, and Roni.
Also thank you for your thought about *Jane E*, Katherine. It just bugs me that the exact title that I type for a Touchstone may be well down the line. I do not understand logarithms if that's what is at work here. (That's supposed to be a joke.)

Happy Thingaversary, Peggy.

Happy Thingaversary, Peggy! I'm so glad I've met you here.

I hope you like The Cuckoo's Calling - I loved Harry Potter and was thrilled when J.K. started writing adult mysteries.

I clicked on your link to Lamentation to see what it was and have discovered Dissolution by C.J. Sansom on my shelves - how do they arrive without my remembering? - and since I am seriously unhappy with our bookclub book The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry will happily switch midstream and see if I can get inspired.

Stay warm tonight - it's already a very windy and brisk 28F here now, going down to 12F tonight. That doesn't count the wind chill factor, either!

Just wanted to say thanks for the heads up on An Unnecessary Woman. I've just started it, but I'm hooked already - so many beautiful quotes about reading and authors, I just want to write them all down (but I also want to find out what happens.... Conflicted!
Charlotte

How did I miss you in my rounds?? Well thank goodness that's remedied!

Belatedly wishing you a wonderful thingaversary!

Those shelves. To. Die. For. :D

Hi Peggy. I loved An Unnecessary Woman and am glad you're enjoying it. 4 degrees here right now and I doubt you'll get near that or my son in Raleigh would've told me haha.

Whew, Valerie. I'll say another thank goodness that's remedied! If I can get out of my vegetative state, I'll be a better returner of visits. Thank you for the Thinga congrats! One of my books arrived today, The Quick, but I absolutely have to finish The Passage before I can dive into it.
Charlotte, I'm happy to see you here and very happy to have passed on the *UW* love. I knew it was probably for me when Suzanne liked it so much last year or the year before or whenever she read it. I could wrap it up, but I don't want to leave it. Normally I race through the last 100 pages, but not this time. I thought about trying to list books and mark beautiful passages too, but gave it up. That's the joy of owning a book! I can go back and reread and re-enjoy anytime I please.
Thank you, Karen, and the gladness is received and returned! I think you'll be thrilled with Dissolution, and it's the weakest one of the series as far as I'm concerned. It's really, really good, but you don't meet one of my favorite characters until the second book. I'm suddenly overwhelmed by all my wonderful reading choices. Heartstone has to be coming up soon!
Oh that wind! It's supposed to be 18° by morning here, with a chill factor of 0. They've delayed school for 2 hours so kids won't have to stand out in the dark and cold waiting for the bus. Good call. I saw a man wearing flip flops today as it was getting colder and colder. Our poor folks really don't have much defense against real winter.

If they get better I should really retry with the Sansoms. I thought the first one was okay, but then quite disliked #2. On the other hand it's maybe the only popular mystery series where I have a chance to read all parts, with only 5/6 being published so far.

Now that you mention it, Nathalie, I was not crazy about #2 either - thought the premise was a trifle forced. I liked it a lot though, and have loved and adored the rest, especially Sovereign. Part of the reason I haven't gotten to Heartstone is that I'm pretty sure that it can't be as good as *Sov*.

>75 Deern: Dissolution is the only one I haven't reread as I felt it fell far short of the later ones in the series. The second was good but they really pick up from there.

>76 LizzieD: I enjoyed Heartstone, Peggy, although parts of the ending seemed very contrived. I've listened to all of them, and the reader is very good, which may have added to my enjoyment. I will definitely be watching out for the next in the series. I'll be curious to see where Sansom takes it.

>76 LizzieD: I've read them all up to Heartstone and enjoyed them but there is a bit of bloat creeping in. Heartstone could have been slimmer and still as good. I think this is often a problem for historical novels - I can imagine the author thinking "I've done all this research and I'm going to use it!"

I wasn't picky: I loved ALL the Matthew Shardlake books.

Um....me too really, Ilana. But there's LOVE! And then there's love.
Kerry, I will get to *Hs* soon. Normally, my history is so shaky that I'm happy to indulge a writer who has done good research.
Hi, Jenny. I am not to the point of rereading, but I can sort of see that I could skip Dissolution.....or maybe not.
And I'm happy to announce that I've finally finished my first book of 2015! I may be slow, but I really picked a winner!! (Sorry, Ilana!!!)

AN UNNECESSARY WOMAN by Rabih Alameddine
What a way to start the year! *****!
I LOVED this book! I'm thinking that Alameddine writes like a woman, but I think that what I mean is that he writes like a human being. Aaliya is a wonderful character - a couple of years older than I am but so sensitive and aware and dedicated and expressive! The words sing on the page. Every paragraph has a memorable quotation - lovely turns of phrase packed with meaning.
In Beirut Aaliya translates books - Tolstoy, Calvino, Sebald, Pessoa, last year's Nobel laureate Molina. She works from French and English translations to render them into Arabic. Then she puts them in boxes because anybody who would be interested in those books would already read English or French. She is a solitary woman who reads.
My only quibble is that this is a first person, present tense narration. It works better than most of its ilk. If you haven't read it, you owe yourself to add it immediately!

I must get around to An Unnecessary Woman - I've seen so many good things about it.

the sample of AUW is on my Kindle now. I would have bought it at once, had it been a little bit cheaper. But who am I kidding, I am going to testread and then buy it anyway as with all the BBs I caught in this still very young year... :)

Peggy, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

Stopping by - Hooray for starting the year with such a lovely read!

Oh, Peggy, I'm so delighted you loved An Unnecessary Woman. I read it last year and also really enjoyed it : ).

>84 Ameise1:: Barbara, I LOVE that photo!

Peggy, I had ordered the most recent Sansome but it got lost on the way over the ocean. The BookDepository very kindly and promptly dispatched another copy, which should arrive in about a week. I know I'll dive right in to it.

Oh Peggy, I am so excited to learn another Sansom installment of the Shardlake series is coming out. I will be the first recipient when my library gets their copies in! I was under the impression that there would be no more. It's like having another Christmas in January! Belated Thingaversary congrats. I'm another who is a big fan of your first book of the year. May they all be that good!

Aaliyah also has her own Twitter account, I'm delighted to tell the world. I discovered this when "she" retweeted my rave review about the novel...

I don't think Heartstone is the strongest novel of the Sansom/Shardlake series, but Lamentation is right up there. I blogged about it, too... :-)

Barbara, thank you for the very wise gray tabby!
Rhian and Nathalie, if you are half as delighted with *AUW* as I am, you will be glad that you indulged.
Suz, Aaliyah had a Twitter account? I'll see if I can resurrect my moribund account and follow for sure. I'm having to force myself not to read Memoirs of Hadrian and Austerlitz, both of which have been hanging around unread. I'm pledged to read Burial Rites this month, and I'm sorry to find the writing mediocre in the first few pages. We'll see. Maybe I will give myself permission to change my mind? Anyway, I will check out your blog again.
Tui, lucky you! I do wish I had scarfed up the cheaper available used copy of Lamentation a week or so ago. It's not there now, so I'll have to wait for Kindle. Donna, it is exactly like having another Christmas or birthday! Thanks for the good reading wish! Lucy too!!
I'm back into Eleanor of Aquitaine. I read and read and read and make very little progress, but I'm still learning a lot.

Hi Peggy, and happy belated Thingaversary to you! Terrific review of An Unnecessary Woman! You got me: on to the WL it goes.

>88 Donna828: Donna, thanks for reminding me to check my library's catalog for Lamentation. Last time I checked, they didn't have it listed yet but now they do and I'm third in line. Yay!

>81 LizzieD: For some reason I had An Unnecessary Woman down as a book I wouldn't like. You've made me reconsider....

I really wish my local library had a copy of An Unnecessary Woman! Too many good reviews in the group to ignore it.

I don't like hate An Unnecessary Woman for entirely personal reasons, so no need at all to apologize to me for loving it. Still makes me shudder though thinking about her voice and I'm glad I didn't spend one more minute with her than I did.

Can't wait for Shardlake on the other hand. Now my only question is whether I should pre-order the Kindle book or expect to be among the first to land a copy at the library.

I'm sorry you had such a bad visceral reaction to *Un-n Woman*, Ilana. Anne, Heather, and Stasia, hellos and hopes that you enjoy it as much as I did.
High expectations for Lamentation!
I read more Eleanor today and decided that I'm just not in the mood for Burial Rites although I had been looking forward to it. Something about the writing is irritating me. She loves adjectives, and I'll admit to being snotty enough to take it amiss when a woman is described as having a "tenuous neck." Since I am reading Edward St. Aubyn (whose writing is WONDERFUL!) and it's distressing, I need something different. I'm trying out The Little Stranger on a whim. We'll see.

>81 LizzieD: Hello Dear One. What great comments regarding An Unnecessary Woman. On the pile it goes.

Yay, Linda! I think that you will be happy with it!!!

ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE: A LIFE by Alison Weir
I really enjoyed this history of the end of the Plantagenets, and that's what it is more than a biography of Eleanor. One of the good things about this book is Weir's list and brief biographies of her more-or-less contemporary sources. We don't know that much about Eleanor and never will. Nevertheless, I was happy to have some events in the reign of Henry II and Richard I and John pulled together. I had vague ideas about the murder of Becket, the story of the lovely Rosamund, and Richard's capture and imprisonment, but it's good to put them in their places. Weir is nothing if not thorough, but I enjoyed the page upon page of names of nobility and clergy whom I've never heard of before and will never meet again. All in all, a satisfying experience for this Anglophile! (But I'm glad I'm through!)

Peggy, Alison Weir is one of my favorite authors regarding the historical period of the Tudors. Conversely, I run away from Philippa Gregory. She downright lies in her telling of the historical context.

I read the Weir book a while ago and agree it provided a broader view of the Plantagenets and appreciated that aspect. I wished she had more to say about Eleanor though ... But I suspect there are few primary sources.

I agree with Linda about Philippa Gregory. Not a fan.

>98 LizzieD: I have a couple of books by Alison Weir sitting on my bookshelf. I love reading about that time period, but haven't read any of hers. I also have one by Philippa Gregory, and now I think I probably won't read that one. I thought I was told that the difference between the two, was that Weir was writing non-fiction and Gregory was writing fiction.

Definitely Weir over and above Gregory.

>101 NanaCC: Weir writes non-fiction but she also writes fiction. Her background in excellent research and in non-fiction writing means her fiction has much more solid foundations than Gregory, who seems to make things up as she goes along and has no apparent qualms about putting historical figures into situations they would never have been in.

You are all tempting me!!

>102 lunacat: Thank you for the explanation. I'll never get to all the books I want to read, so no need to keep the Gregory. :)

Morning, Peggy. Glad you enjoyed Eleanor of Aquitane. I confess I've read nothing about the Plantagenets and I expect would have an impossible time keeping track of numerous nobility and clergy.

Hi, Nancy. I don't think anybody but an expert, who wouldn't in that case need to read the book, could keep up with all the names in *E of A*. Somehow, it didn't matter to me......seeing all those names just made me aware of all the time that's passed and how grateful I am for the names that I do recognize.
Hi, Linda, Jenny, and Colleen. I have to agree: no need to keep Gregory's historicals.
Laura, I wasn't really expecting much about Eleanor since I had read Weir's Elizabeth of York book last year. She doesn't embroider. She gives a LOT of detail and suggests only what is pretty obvious. I appreciate that in history and biography. As I mentioned, I think she listed all the contemporary or near-contemporary sources, and there aren't that many of them.
Just for information-passing-on..... I didn't know before this book that the exchequer was originally and literally a large piece of cloth with squares on it used for sorting out the finances.

Good morning, Peggy! I've always been fascinated by the Plantagenets and Tudors - perhaps it's time to find some of the TBR on my shelves relating to them again.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Peggy, I wish you a relaxed weekend.

Karen, it's hard to get enough. The Tudors are a lot more accessible than the Plantagenets, so I guess I prefer reading about them.........
Oh, Barbara! I do wish on several levels that I could use those lovely skates!

NEVER MIND by Edward St. Aubyn
This is probably the book that has me wanting less angst in the rest of my reading. Little Patrick Melrose at five is growing up surrounded by monsters. Yvette, the cook, (at least, I think she's Yvette) is the only half-way decent human in his world. His mother is ineffectual, and his father is appalling. I'm not spoiling anything to say that he regrets the fact that he doesn't have anybody he can tell that he raped his son...not bad - no worse than he'll face at his private school when he gets there. The elder Melrose is vicious, too vicious to be pitiable although he lost his career as a concert pianist to rheumatism. And yet I kept reading and will continue to read the rest because St. A. writes beautifully, elegantly, and often wittily.

Delurking with little to say. I fear if I got into Tudors and Plantagenets that'd be the end of anything else. And the other, well, your paragraph description is quite enough for me.

I think the Tudors are easier to get to grips with as there are fewer of them - I'm thinking in each generation, no parents with 8 children for the tudors - part of the tudor problem, really. The Plantaganets also seem to exist in order to split into various splinter groups and factions. They start in civil war, end in civil war and are not adverse to the odd conflict in the middle either. Makes getting you head round who person x is, what are they doing what and why (the all important question) a lot less clear cut when there are just more of then to keep track of.

I'm trying to get the January challenge for British Authors finished because the book is due back to the library on Tuesday but I made the fatal error of opening the latest Shardlake. Got to page 9 and hauled myself out by the scruff of my neck before the book ate me whole. Speaking of Tudors.

>109 LizzieD: Peggy, I bought an omnibus edition of the first 4 Patrick Melrose novels and read them back to back a while ago. They are tough going but something kept me turning the pages. I'm about to request the fifth and final novel, At Last, from the library.

I got this volume for Christmas this year - I'm not sure it would be appropriate to say "I can't wait to read them" but I am looking forward to them.

Lucy, you love fine writing. You should go ahead and read these.
Laura, I have the first 4 on Kindle and didn't realize that there is a 5th. I just ordered it! Thank you!
Tui, I think in February I must read Heartstone. I'm trying my best to read my other stuff first. We'll see.
Helen, I'm very happy to see you here again! You're right about the number of the Plantagenets. The other reason I think that I prefer the Tudors is that they left so much more information behind. It's hard to write a biography of a woman who, however well-known she was in her own time, left almost nothing personal.
Katherine, I find that I can pick them (Tudors and Plantagenets) up and put them down at the end of yet another book. As painful as it is, reading about little Patrick turns into a positive experience because of St. Aubyn's writing. Of to bed with him again!

Happy weekend Peggy!

*lurk*

>81 LizzieD: I've added An Unnecessary Woman to the burgeoning Wish List despite scratching my head over, "I'm thinking that Alameddine writes like a woman, but I think that what I mean is that he writes like a human being." January has been lethal for the list of books to read, and I'm probably going to have to declare, "Enough!" relatively soon, but this sounds like something I'd enjoy.

I became Plantageneted out a few years ago when I read too much about them in too short a time, so I'll pass on the Weir book even though I like her writing.

Thank you for the weekend wish, Rachel. I hope you had a good one too!
Nothing much going on here, Roni, but I appreciate your making your presence known.
Tad, I wish I were able to say what I meant by that "human being" comment. He does get inside the woman's psyche, so that's the "writes like a woman" part. But she is such a wonderful character that she sort of transcends gender, and I think that's the "human being" part. I think that's sort of what I meant. Hope you enjoy her half as much as I did when you get around to the book. January ---- Christmas $ and my Thingaversary make me acquisitive beyond my usual greed. And I think that Weir is great for somebody like me who needed a clear grounding in the times of those particular Plantagenets or Angevins or whatever one should call them. For you it would probably be repetitious.
So I'm trying to read 3 things right now. The Passage seems to be growing overnight so that I don't make any real progress. It's entertaining, but it certainly is long!
Moon Tiger is good. I feel the need to swallow it whole.
An Invisible Thread is a RL book club book about a sales executive who takes up an 11 year-old boy begging on the street in Manhattan. She tells his story and her own family history of abuse. It's touching and not very long.
I long for Shardlake. And I just received my December ER ARC, Against the Country. I'm looking forward to it!

The Passage sounds like something I would totally love. I have the next book in the series sitting on my TBR mountain and will probably purchase the last one before I even crack the first book. Such is my craziness. :)

Moon Tiger is good. I feel the need to swallow it whole.
Okay, so that will be my next book, it's decided. :)

Spot on comments about Never Mind, Peggy. Its characters are despicable at times, but St. Aubyn is a compelling and gifted writer. I've read the first three novels in the Patrick Melrose series, and I hope to read the last two books soon.

Hi Peggy, I'm also reading Moon Tiger and I am so in love with the language. I have never read Weir or any Tudor historical novels but I'm adding that to my list.

Hi Peggy! Realised I hadn't stopped by for too long.

>109 LizzieD: 'This is probably the book that has me wanting less angst in the rest of my reading.'

Yeah, I thought about trying St Aubyn's books but the more I read about them the more I thought they sounded too angsty for me. Glad this one worked for you though.

>119 LizzieD: I'm also reading Moon Tiger but have been struggling a bit with my concentration so only managing it in small doses. I don't think it's going to be my favourite Lively but having seen so many positive reviews and knowing this was the Booker winner it had a lot of expectations to live up to.

Glad The Passage is entertaining (and I loved your comment about it growing overnight!) I received that and the sequel as presents a couple of years ago and will try and really ought to read them soon.

Hi Peggy! Looks like I have to add Moon Tiger to my wishlist.

Moon Tiger is good. I feel the need to swallow it whole. LOL, I love that, Peggy! I thought it was excellent, too.

Valerie, those books are pretty hefty. I'm not sure that I'll read the rest of them unless he ends The Passage with a real cliffhanger..........or I might read them in the summer. (I don't know why I'm even thinking about the sequels. I'm only a bit over half through the first one.)
Nathalie, Jan, Heather, Karen, and Nancy, I hope to finish Moon Tiger in the next couple of days. I've heard from other people that this isn't Lively's best, but it's my first. I chose it because I liked the sound of it even with their caveat. I'll look forward to reading more. She certainly can write!
Darryl, glad you agree with my reaction, but I'm having such a hard time with *PM 2*. I don't need to know that much about the down and dirty of drug addiction, but I can't completely drop it. I don't know how you could rationally hope for any better for Patrick at this time of his life, given his childhood, but it's hard reading. Heather, you may want to think about it three or four times. The writing! The writing! I can't say that I'm sorry that I started it; I will finish all five. It's hard going though.
I'll simply add that on my last year's thread Suzanne posted a passage from one of the *PMs* about drugs in contrast to Donna Tartt's sentence fragments in The Goldfinch. No contest! St. Aubyn is both convincing and elegantly eloquent - really difficult to pull off.

>127 LizzieD: When you say that you're not sure you'll read the sequels, is that because The Passage just isn't worth the investment? The only Cronin I've read was The Summer Guest, which I really enjoyed. I've had The Passage on the list as something to read at some point based upon that but, if it's not really worth the effort...

Interesting that Moon Tiger is also your first Lively, Peggy. Mine, too! But I'm recently reading many glowing reviews for How It All Began, so I think it will be next.

Hi Peggy. I am not following either the ACC or the BCC but there are enough people praising Moon Tiger lately that I may just have to get it from the library. LOVED How It All Began.

Tad, The Passage is a very entertaining way to pass 879 pages. If you're looking for thoughtful dystopia like Earth Abides, this is not it. If you're looking for a block-buster a grade or so up from ?, this may be the book for you. Take into account that you guys often find meaning that I skip.
Hi, Nancy and Bonnie! I'll add How it All Began to the monster list. *sigh* (I don't know whether that's a blissful one or a sated one.)

AN INVISIBLE THREAD by Laura Schroff

This is the first of my f2f book club books that I've been able to read. It's the story of an ad sales rep at USA Today and the 11 year-old street kid she befriended when he asked for her spare change. Laura proves herself to be spunky and determined; Maurice proves to be trustworthy and bright. Both came from hard circumstances although their situations were not equally dangerous. Together they forged a friendship that has changed both their lives.
I don't normally read this kind of book, but perhaps I should.

Great to see that you enjoyed Eleanor of Aquitane by Alison Weir. For some reason I thought that was the copy I had myself on my TBR, but the one I own is Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Biography by Marion Meade.
Antonia Fraser is another Historian I can recommend. However, she only writes non-fiction, but in an incredible readable way.

I have to agree with everyone else on Phillipa Gregory. If you are not too bothered about historical accuracy and just enjoy a good read I can recommend The Other Boleyn Girl which was incredible captivating. Everything else I tried by her was just awful and I think after 2 more tries I gave up on her.

Sounds like you enjoyed An Invisible Thread. Isn't it lovely when we read something outside of our usual fare to good result?

Stopping by to say hi, Peggy! I'm currently reading Moon Tiger but I enjoyed How it All Began and Family Album by the same author so much more!Glad you enjoyed Invisible Thread. It is always wonderful to be surprised but something outside our usual reading fare.

Thank you for visiting with comments, Bianca, Nancy, and Deb!
I'm back into Moon Tiger and will be a confirmed Lively reader from here on out, I think.
Actually, Antonia Fraser wrote a short mystery series - well, more than 9 books, so I guess that's not so short - with Jemima Shore, a privileged, wealthy, sleuth. I didn't read more than a couple of those, but I remember liking her biographies and histories.
I first read Phillipa Gregory's more contemporary novels like Wideacre. I don't remember anything about it now, so that's probably not a good sign.

I read those Fraser mysteries way back!

MOON TIGER by Penelope Lively

I really loved this book, so if it's not up to Lively's usual standard, I have wonders to look forward to!
Some of the usual suspects have written really good reviews on the book page, so I refer you to them for the setting and characters. I did connect with Claudia, the narrator. She's complex and very human, not necessarily likeable but fascinating. She is 76, dying, and writing in her mind a kaleidoscopic history of the world. Lively describes a scene from Claudia's pov, and then in the next paragraph, tells it again from the pov of the other person involved. I wouldn't want a steady diet of this, but I enjoyed the similarities and contrasts very much. I'll be happy to read PL again soon!

Hi, Lucy! I remember mostly that Jemima Shore was so happening....that's about it.

I read Mother's Milk, one of the Patrick Melrose novels, (out of order--I didn't realize it was a series) several years ago, and disliked it sufficiently that I've read nothing else by him. In my notes on the book, I included this quote from an Amazon reviewer: "If you dislike your spouse and regret having children and really hate your mother, you might enjoy it." Of course, reading this quote now makes it sound like a very interesting book. :)

I had read a couple of Justin Cronin's earlier books and found him to be a good writer, so I was interested in The Passage when it first came out. Then I heard it was about vampires, which I have no interest in at all, so I decided against reading it. Then it got such good reviews that I decided to read it after all, and I enjoyed it very much. So much so that when The Twelve came out, I quickly reread The Passage to refresh my memory, and read The Twelve. Unfortunately, I hated The Twelve. It's focus was all about the vampires, and the horror/supernatural aspects of the story outweighed everything else. I have no plans to read the third volume whenever it comes out.

Peggy, I went to the library looking for Weir's Eleanor of Aquitane but had to settle for The Lady Elizabeth instead. But judging by the praise for the author on this thread, it seemed well worth reading.

I just finished Moon Tiger as well with mixed reactions but I highly recommend How It All Began. I plan on reading more Lively as well.

Hi Peggy! Happy Sunday. Hmm. Moon Tiger just doesn't sound like my cup of tea. I just finished The Photograph and it was good and meh all at the same time. I have so many other books to read that I don't think I'll go looking for MT.

Peggy, just stopping by to say I read St Aubyn's At Last over the weekend (this is the final book in the Patrick Melrose novels). It was a very satisfying denouement that brought closure to the previous novels.

Laura, thanks about the word on At Last. I'm still making my way through Bad News. It truly is! Karen, *MT* seems to be one of those books that produces extreme contradictory feelings. It's lovely to read about one that you can safely not put on a list, isn't it? Good and meh, eh? I'll get to Lively again but not right now.
Jan, I can't wait to see how you like Weir's fiction. I have a copy of her Lady Jane Gray novel, but I haven't gotten to it.

I'm listening avidly to St. Aubyn discussions as that is coming up soon for me, i think.

THE PASSAGE by Justin Cronin

Finished at last!!!! With the excerpt from The Twelve, that's 894 pages!!!!
This is a perfect beach book - an intelligent blockbuster of an apocalyptic thriller with competent writing. That's the good news. The bad news is that it's 894 pages with the excerpt from The Twelve. It could easily be cut by half. The plot is the strength, and that's just not enough to sustain interest in cardboard characters. In fact, the only character I thought was half-way interesting was killed off less than 300 pages into it. I also thought that the whole Colony episode, which sucked up about 300 pages, slowed the action down almost to a stand-still. That's not good for a book written for action. I would also have liked more understanding of what Amy was before she was given the virus. Those quibbles aside, I can see why people are enthusiastic about this one and why people pan it. (Ah. The quintessential Libra.)
If The Twelve falls into my lap this summer for very little $, I'll probably pick it up.

BAD NEWS by Edward St. Aubyn

This is such bad news. I stuck with it through disgust and despair out of some kind of loyalty to the child Patrick, I think. Patrick is now 22 and an apparently hopeless drug addict. St. A. spares his reader none of the filth. His father is dead at last, and he is in Manhattan picking up his ashes to take back to England. He has plenty of money which he spends lavishly.
St. A's writing continues to beguile. Sometimes he's funny, as when Patrick has seduction of a family friend on his mind; "Marianne yawned and complained of tiredness. All the signs are good at this point, thought Patrick sarcastically. She's dying for it, dying for it. Yes means yes, maybe means yes, perhaps means yes, and no of course means yes as well. He knew how to read women like an open book."
He doesn't throw away figurative language, but it's effortless: "Crossword puzzles of lit and unlit offices slipped by cluelessly," and on he goes to use this image. I'll keep reading, but I do hope that Some Hope offers a bit.
I think I'll take a break for now though.

Way to go for finishing up a chunkster! I will read it at some point...maybe when he finishes up the trilogy. :)

I found Bad News the most difficult of the series, Peggy. Can't say I blame you for taking a break.

Woot! Well done on finished a perfect beach blockbuster, Peggy! How I'd love to lie on a beach for all of January and read just such a tomb. I think that will be a good retirement plan. You are made of tougher stuff than I to stick with Bad News through disgust and despair.

A curtsey to Valerie and Nancy and thanks to Laura for encouragement. I don't think I could take another experience as dire as Bad News. I'm glad to have read it, I think.
Now I am trying to finish a reread of Murder Must Advertise...........it tripped me up Sunday. I've also happily started The Little Stranger, and I need to get to my current ER ARC, Against the Country, an unknown.... I have other things on tap for February too like Heartstone. Yay!

I think that Murder must advertise is probably my favourite of all detective fiction. It's got a plot that makes a corkscrew look straight, Peter Wimsey (an early literary crush), is well written and doesn't rely on graphic anything to make its point.
When himself & I merged book collections, we discovered we had overlapping taste, but comparatively few duplicates - that was one of them. We still have both copies - just in case...

>150 LizzieD: & >151 Helenliz: Ahh, one of my favorite series. Murder Must Advertise is one of the best, but I confess that Gaudy Night remains my favorite because I'm a sucker for the Wimsey/Vane romance.

"Bad News" sounds dreadful. I gather it's part of a series?

Oh, another Peter Wimsey fan here. Murder Must Advertise is really a good one (aren't they all?), but Gaudy Night is my favorite too.

I thought #4 Mother's Milk was the hardest to read in the series. There is a certain youthful energetic drive in the self destruction in Bad News which made it quite readable for me, and knowing that the series is half autobiographic helped as well. Patrick has to get out of that mess extreme mess eventually. If I can make a recommendation, try not to let the gap between this one and Some Hope too long because it has many links to part one and gives a nice closure to the original trilogy. It also has an interesting real world celebrity. And then you can save your energies for the emotionally quite demanding but brillant home stretch.

Thanks for the advice, Nathalie. I intend to read Some Hope in February. I was just too drained to start it at once. Tui, there are 5 novels in all in the Patrick Melrose series. I don't recommend them for you, and I don't think you're at all tempted anyway.
Colleen, Tad, and Helen, I send hugs to all Wimsey lovers. *MMA* is one of my favorites although I miss Lord Peter in his own persona and Bunter, especially Bunter. Also the Harlequin/Dian de Momerie business hasn't aged well. Like Tad and Colleen, Gaudy Night is my favorite, and I reread it about twice as often as I reread the rest. Love and Oxford!!!! I realize that it's not the best mystery; I've heard The Nine Tailors praised as that. I need to try it again next to see whether I agree this time. I tend to put Strong Poison at the top of the best mystery list.

>155 Deern: Nathalie, have you read the fifth novel, At Last? I read the first 4 novels all in one go a few years ago, but just read At Last this month. And now I remember that I already mentioned it on this thread (>142 lauralkeet:). It was very good.

Peggy, I just finished Alison Weir's The Lady Elizabeth and loved it! Thanks for the tip.

Just lurking through, Peggy, on a Friday night! Cheers!

Hi Peggy, I wish you a lovely weekend.

>157 lauralkeet: Yes, I read them all within just a couple of weeks in November/December 2014. TG for the existence At Last! Mother's Milk, while probably being the literary highlight of the series, was really hard to read for me and I was glad knowing there would be another one. But the writing!!!

Ah! Lord Wimsey! How could I have put him aside for so long?? But then I've made reading plans for Feb. and am absolutely packed wall-to-wall, but I do miss him so!

I had the opportunity to think over MT and Claudia quite a bit and addressed the issue with Heather and Donna and you on my thread yesterday. I'm sorry if I made such a big fuss, certainly didn't mean to make you uncomfortable for liking it. Goodness knows I wish I had!

Skittering through your thread - enjoying the discussion of the St. Aubyn!

Laura, Nathalie, and Lucy, thanks for St. A. comments. "The writing!" is exactly right.
Ilana, you certainly did not make me uncomfortable about liking *MT*. I'm sorry that you didn't, but you're not alone..... Now, I guess you could make me uncomfortable about liking Dean Koontz or Diana Gabaldon if you were minded to do it, but --- nah. I yam what I yam; me and Popeye. Anyway, I know that I need at least one Wimsey a year. (Maybe that was what was wrong with last year.) This is a favorite.
Jan, I'm really glad to hear that Weir's fiction is pleasing. Did I say that I have her Lady Jane Grey? I'll really look forward to it now.
Roni, I'm always glad to see you! You too, Barbara, especially when you come bearing a sweet kitten. My Hilfy, who will not sit in my lap (alas, but she's come a long way in the love and trust business) is currently glaring at me now because she prefers this chair. She'll have to wait a bit longer.

MURDER MUST ADVERTISE by Dorothy Leigh Sayers
I've already said most of what I have to say about this one in post 156. This is a real favorite. I find that I love Miss Meteyard more than ever.

Just reading about Lord Peter Wimsey makes me smile! I've been a religious fan since at least my late teens - a very long time ago! - I almost can't remember not loving Dorothy L. Sayers, Peter Wimsey, Bunter, Harriet Vane, the Duchess, etc. I must say, though, that my least favorite is The Five Red Herrings. I think I've never actually gotten through a re-read, although every other book I've read at least 8 or more times. Honestly. I also like the Jill Paton Walsh Wimsey-Vane books; the first was not as good as the other two I have. And just realized that there's a 4th - The Late Scholar, which I just ordered on Amazon.

Happy Sunday, Peggy!

>165 karenmarie: I was less convinced by the last of the Jill Paton Walsh stories I read, The Attenbury Emeralds. It was set post WW2 and I felt that an aging Wimsey was somehow unfair on him. He felt like an anachronism and I can't say I enjoyed that. I'm reluctant to read any more, I don't want to read about a Peter approaching his dotage and losing his touch.

I liked Bad News a bit better than Some Hope. I still haven't read Mother's Milk or At Last, but I hope to get to both books in the next year or two.

Karen, I'm a fellow worshiper. I haven't read the Jill Paton-Walshes though - a little afraid. I have one or two, so I'll do it one day. Helen, I can't imagine that LP would ever lose his touch.........hope not.
Oh dear, Darryl. That's not good news. I was going for some hope of better. We'll see.
Today I launched myself into Nuns and Soldiers. It's a reread, but the first time was 30 or so years ago, and I've forgotten everything except liking it. I'm off to see whether I can get this old machine to copy the cover for my post above. It wouldn't cooperate earlier.

Happy weekend Peggy!

Happy February Peggy and I'm glad you enjoyed Moon Tiger so much. Lively is a relatively recent discovery for me but I've read quite a few of her books now and enjoyed them all. Lots of good book ideas here. You remind me that I need to hurry up and finish the remaining Shardlakes so I can get to the new one.

Happy Monday, Peggy :)

>136 LizzieD: Thanks for the information. Somehow, I find it difficult to see her writing mystery novels and as you only read a couple, may I assume that they weren't that interesting?

As you know I had similar thoughts on Moon Tiger and I definitely will read more by her. I still have The Photograph on my TBR, which people seemed to have enjoyed as well.

Glad you enjoyed The Passage which I did as well, but as I mentioned before I didn't enjoy The Twelve as much. I felt it was too longwinded and I didn't enjoy that the emphasis shifted even more towards "higher powers at work", which didn't always suit the events.

Morning, Peggy. Having coffee and breakfast before getting ready for work … and driving by your thread with hello!

Rachel, it was a happy weekend, and I hope yours was too - and that you and Nancy and Bianca and Anne and everybody else - all have a reasonable Monday.
Bianca, I don't think that there was anything wrong with the Fraser mysteries. I probably didn't read more because they were hard to get here in the 70s. I won't be in a rush for *Twelve* especially if it is more longwinded than *Passage*.
Nuns and Soldiers is a good Murdoch. I'm noticing this time how quickly her style goes --- lots of similarly constructed declarative sentences that speed you right along even when a smart reader might stop and ponder a bit. I don't claim to be smart....

With all the Murdochs I've been accumulating on the tbr, I really should be picking her up once in a while to work on that pile. Nuns and Soldiers is on the wishlist. Paying attention to your comments.

Happy Tuesday, Peggy!
Like Ilana I'm interested in your Murdoch comments, I still need to select one for the August BAC and NaS is one I haven't heard of yet.

Hi Peggy! I loved The Passage, bought The Twelve with enthusiasm at the Mexico City Airport before it was available in the US, started it, put it down. It's still on my shelves, but will probably stay there for quite a while before I attempt it again.

I'm reading a fascinating biography of Gertrude Bell - I hadn't heard of her until a friend recommended Desert Queen by Janet Wallach.

Amazon says of the book "Turning away from the privileged world of the "eminent Victorians," Gertrude Bell (1868—1926) explored, mapped, and excavated the world of the Arabs. Recruited by British intelligence during World War I, she played a crucial role in obtaining the loyalty of Arab leaders, and her connections and information provided the brains to match T. E. Lawrence's brawn. After the war, she played a major role in creating the modern Middle East and was, at the time, considered the most powerful woman in the British Empire." Very interesting so far.

Hope your Tuesday is a good one.

>173 LizzieD: A happy weekend is always a good one, I hope your week continues in the same vein :)

Happy Tuesday Peggy! I have both The Passage and The Twelve so I expect I will read them at some point.

Ilana and Nathalie, I think that Nuns and Soldiers would be a good place to start IM - or continue if you're not quite sold on her. It has all the characters and characteristics of her particular world. Ilana, two of the characters are youngish painters, and I'd love to have your reactions to their thoughts on art. I'll quote a bit when I have the book beside me.
Karen, I wouldn't have known G. Bell's name without LT, I suspect. I have her own The Desert and the Sown in the Virago/Beacon Traveler edition that I love so - still unread, but much anticipated. That bio does sound good.....on my wish list it goes.
Jenny and Heather, I'm happy to see you here! We took our little Lulu to the vet this morning for her long-delayed spaying; she's well through it, recovering, and we can pick her up at 4:30. (Whew and YAY!) I'm afraid that she'll have an E-collar like her mama did and react to it like her mama did. Long night coming up! At least I have a book.

Wow, a discussion of Wimsey and Gertrude Bell, I think I might just camp over here in the corner for a while, if that's ok?

I have listened to (bits of) the audio version of Jill Paton Walsh's latest - enjoy these on the basis that some Wimsey is better than none, but Murder Must Advertise still the favourite.

Charl, you are most welcome! You may camp, but do please find a place more comfortable than the corner. I just visited your profile page and saw your abiding interest in Africa. I had lunch Sat. and Sun. with a retiring medical missionary to Lesotho and her oldest adopted son (who was here for his college years, worked in Malawi and Ireland a bit, and is now relocating to Charlotte). Great folks!

Morning Peggy, I just wanted to write that I hope you did get some sleep, but as I write it is still early night in your parts, so I hope you will get more sleep than expected and that Lulu accepts her collar.

The Wimsey books... I really enjoyed the three I read and must continue that series at some point. My library doesn't have them, so I have to buy them one by one and they aren't exactly low-priced. Just checked and amazon offers the first two (which I have read of course) for 1.11 on Kindle, the others for over 8 USD.

Your lunch must have been interesting.

>181 LizzieD: Thank you for the hospitality!

Lunch sounds fascinating. I've been told Lesotho is beautiful.

*waving* at Peggy

I'm more or less just waving.... I read Sayers so so so long ago!

Nathalie, Miss Lulu is a champ! She finally quieted down and has done a lot of sleeping today. She doesn't offer to lick her incision, so the E-collar is not needed, and that's a blessing all around. I do so hope you get to the good Wimseys. If you've read only the first ones and liked them, you are in for a real treat because they get better and better. Here is my list of the best: Strong Poison, Gaudy Night, and Busman's Honeymoon for LP's romance... (there's another, but it's not as strong); Murder Must Advertise, The Nine Tailors, The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club and Clouds of Witness for non-Harriet good mystery reading. These are the ones I'd read first.
*waving back to Lucy* I read and reread Sayers. Stasia and I set out one year to read all the LP novels and short stories in order. My ss phobia killed that effort for me - even DLS can't make the form appealing to me.
Lunch was fascinating, Charlotte. Nancy was the main founder of an infants-in-crisis hospital in Lesotho - what a great work! She and her husband adopted 6 children, who are all grown now. The oldest of them is now 28.
*WAVE* to Stasia!!!
I'm really enjoying Nuns and Soldiers and Heartstone. Those are the only two in my great current pile that I'm really reading now.

Is Nancy writing a book? Please?(!)

Just a quick drive by Peggy as I'm an incubator of germs right now. I feel like I'm constantly sick the last couple of month...the downside to the eldest starting school. Hopefully the whole family will tank up our immune system soon! :)

I also adore Unnatural Death and In the Teeth of Evidence. :)

I also adore Unnatural Death, In the Teeth of the Evidence and The Documents in the Case. Pretty much everything fiction that DLS ever wrote. I must admit I've never read her religious writings and/or other nonfiction.

Hi Peggy. Apparently I need to read some Sayers and although I downloaded quite a few Kindle editions, they are all part of the series and you're suggesting some stand-alones first. I'll have to check Amazon to see how much they are?

I read Strong Poison last year, and I've read the first book (the body in the bathtub) and a whole book of short stories, but I really need to get to Gaudy Night.

I'm asleep on my feet - or my bottom, actually, but I had to respond to Bonnie. Oh No!!! All the ones I love are Lord Peters. Read any of them!!! Really!!!!!!! The only non-LPs are short stories.
Karen, you're right! Unnatural Death is a really good mystery. I'm a little less happy with the short stories, but I enjoy the other characters.
Roni, you do need to get to Gaudy Night.
Valerie, thank you for the drive-by. Take care of yourself and get well.
Charlotte, I don't know that Nancy is going to write a book, but she could. She is having a hard time defining herself back in the states. That might be a great way to go about it.
----- and from the county that brought you those serious medical conditions Oscar Borosus and roaches in the liver ---- DH heard a woman in the dr's office this morning tell her friend that the doctor was ordering a stretch test for her. Got to love it!

>192 ronincats: Roni, I think the non-Harriet stories can be read in pretty much any order but, imo, the Wimsey/Vane stories are much better read as written so that you can watch her indifference turn to a bit of disdain turn to love. Even though I agree with Peggy that Have His Carcase isn't as strong as the other three, it's still worth reading to see their relationship's progress. Having said that, yes, you must get to Gaudy Night if you enjoy Harriet. She is truly in her element there.

By the way, there's also "Tallboys" which is a short story taking place well after Busman's Honeymoon. It's found in the SS collection In the Teeth of Evidence.

Looks like I need to reread the Lord Peter books. Thanks for the nudge.

Happy to join the nudging, Jan.
Happy to second Tad in all his LP-love.

>1 LizzieD: How I wish I had a book case like yours. I have small book cases randomly placed throughout the rooms. My dream is to have one large room filled with bookcases...ah, alas, that isn't going to happen. But, I can dream.

I agree with TadAD - I think the Wimsey-Vane books are better read in order to watch them both change and grow. I foresee a Peter and Harriet year ahead for me.....

And I once had a kitty I named Miss Harriet Vane. She was a very special kitty, of course.

Dear Linda, I know all about dreaming. I wouldn't have so many shelves if I didn't have a very handy husband. Stay tuned: one of these threads I'll put up a picture of the shelves above the doors. They aren't very handy, but I love the use of space!
Miss Harriet Vane has to have been a very special kitty! Now that I think of it, "Whimsy" would be a great cat name!

Whereas you couldn't call a cat "Bunter", he's supposed to appear when he's wanted and no cat I've ever met does that reliably >;-)

Looks like we have Wimsy in abundance over here, Peggy. Long time since I read her stories.

Have a lovely Sunday.

Hi, Paul. You're certainly welcome here any time whether you're reading DLS or not!
Heh heh heh heh heh - Good one, Helen!
I continue to plug on with Nuns and Soldiers. I'm beginning to find it tedious, I confess. it doesn't feel like satire, but it is all about boy finds woman, boy loses woman, woman finds boy, woman loses boy - with a couple of friends on the side (the man loves woman; the woman's friend loves the man who loves her). I've really enjoyed it to this point, and maybe I'll find the love again. Or maybe it's just that I don't like concentrating on only one or two things at a time.

>200 Helenliz: On the other hand, Bunter was a "holy terror with women" and, well, there's the expression "tomcatting around"... :-D

Another heh or so for Tad!
I've been away --- DH has been in the hospital for a couple of days with a-fib and tachycardia and flutters. He's not back to normal yet, but so much improved that the cardiologists say he can do what needs doing here as easily as at the hospital. I am SO RELIEVED to have him home. I did a lot of running around, but I didn't accomplish anything, so I'm worn out. We will be chez nous tonight!

NUNS AND SOLDIERS by Iris Murdoch
I'm bemused by my reaction to this one. When I read it in the 80s, I was in love with it. This time, while I enjoyed it, I wasn't overwhelmed. I honestly can't decide whether I think it's quintessential Murdoch or a very subtle self-parody. No matter which, there is some good stuff..........a failed nun, whose waking vision of her own Jesus rivals a newly-found human love; a new widow who falls totally in love with a rather unsuitable younger man*; the two men in the case; the long-time lover of the RUYM*, and a large cast of other characters.
Part of my problem with the book is that I can't stand the widow, whom all the other characters adore and willingly serve. I can't understand why. Sometimes the symbolism is heavy-handed, but the water in this one is memorable - almost the only thing I did remember after 30 years. Anyway, I'm happy to recommend it, and very happy to have finished it.

>204 LizzieD: SO RELIEVED
Yeah, I'd expect. Sounds scary.

So sorry to hear about the scare Peggy. I can imagine how relieved you must feel to have him at home! *Hugs*

Whew, glad your DH is back at home too, sounds like you've both been through a couple of stressful days.

Adding your rec to Nuns and Soldiers.

Glad he's home, my dear!

Hi Peggy - I'm sorry to hear about your scare. I hope you get some rest.

Nuns and Soldiers sounds good; it's been a while since I read any Murdoch. I'd like to get back to her.

Oh, goodness, I'll bet your husband's stay in the hospital was frightening for both of you. Very happy to hear he is home, Peggy.

Thank you, Nancy, Beth, Roni, Ilana, Valerie, Katherine! We should be accustomed to the problem - and are, but in truth, it's always scary. The docs call it a "nuisance" condition, but then they aren't the ones whose hearts are going bonkers.
I'm off to bed!

Good to hear he's back home again. A nuisance might not be fatal, but I bet the term probably doesn't capture the half of it.

I don’t see “nuisance” and “in the hospital” as quite the same thing...

Helen and Katherine, I have to agree with you. His pulse rate is finally below 80 today for the first time since Saturday night. I'd be exhausted!

Peggy, I'm so sorry to hear of your husband's illness. It must be a hard thing for you both to live with since it's recurring and so stressful.

Peggy, I'm glad he's home and so sorry to hear about the recent scare. Nuisance indeed!

I have intermittent random bursts of tachycardia (pulse at around 160 for me) that are controlled by beta blockers but no one has ever come up with a diagnosis or a permanent solution. It's certainly no fun, so I'm pleased your husband's issue is now under control!

Stopping by my dear to add my glad that things are returning to normal at home.

Hooray for reading the IM! That is one I have yet to get to.

I seem to be going into an Iain Banks craze. . . . uh oh.

>204 LizzieD: Sorry to hear about the scare, Peggy, and glad you and DH are home and his pulse rate is lower. Sending you both thoughts and prayers.

>204 LizzieD: Only now reading that post. So glad they sent your DH home again and that his pulse rate is finally back to normal. It must have been so stressful for you both.

Oh dear, I hope everything is going much better, Peggy. Sending you a load of positive energy. L&h xx

Many thanks for sympathetic visits, Jenny, Barbara, Jan, Anne, Heather, Lucy, and Nathalie! All is not perfect, but all is pretty well back to normal. He and May are just missing their normal 2 mile walks although they are walking some. Also (not to complain in the face of people with real weather), it's cold here and promising colder with some wintry mixed precip tomorrow night through Tuesday. I could well do without ice!
Jenny, do you have pet theories as to what triggers your tachycardia? DH is a "lone fibber," but he thinks it has to do with adrenaline.
Nothing else here. I'm enjoying The Little Stranger and about half through it. Other things I'm reading in bits and pieces, so I can't even comment on them.
Lucy twisted my arm --- O.K. Lucy mentioned Iain M. Banks, so I find that I have to try The Hydrogen Sonata when I'm next in the mood for some hard scifi...... Soon!

My lovely former but still favorite student Kendall Rileigh is finding work in NYC!

The Groundling

Written & Directed by Marc Palmieri
February 11 - March 8, 2015

Wednesdays & Thursdays at 7pm
Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm
Sundays at 3pm
No performance: Sunday, February 15
Added performance: Monday, February 16 at 7pm

Axis Theatre: 1 Sheridan Square
1 to Christopher St or ACEBDFM to W4

Adults $50; Seniors/Students $35
* Discounted tickets on TDF
* Please contact me for industry comps
Tickets: https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/133

Running time: 95 min, no intermission

After stumbling upon a small outdoor production of a Shakespeare play in Manhattan, Long Island landscaper Bob Malone is inspired to write a play about his troubled marriage. He hires two reluctant New York theatre professionals to spend a week at his home and stage the play in his garage with a cast of colorful locals. The Groundling is a heartfelt comedy that meditates on the meaning of the final moments of Love's Labour's Lost, and the surprising effects a play can have on the most unsuspecting, and perhaps most deserving of us all.

Featuring:
Robert Ierardi, Eva Kaminsky, Brian Barnhart, Kendall Rileigh, Emily Kratter, Benjamin Russell, and Jerry Matz

Producer: Brian Barnhart
Lighting Design: David Zeffren
Set Design: Chad Yarborough
Sound Design: Erik T. Lawson
Prop Design/Set Decoration: Lynn Mancinelli
Costume Design: Karl Ruckdeschel
Stage Manager: David Beller
Asst. Stage Manager: Sean Patrick Monahan

Hi Peggy! It's pretty darn cold here, too. Glad things are somewhat back to normal!

This is so exciting about your student, Peggy! I wish I could go!

Peggy, it's so exciting when our students do well, isn't it! Especially our favourite students!

My goodness, away for a week and missing gobs of talk here. First off, I'm so glad that your DH is doing well after a scare like that, Peggy. I hope they get at the root cause and fix it pronto. As for all the Wimsey talk, I read a handful of them yonks ago but am a bit chagrined to say that I don't remember them much at all. That play sounds like one I'd like to see but I'm frozen solid here in south central Ontario, so it won't happen.

Very glad to hear your DH is doing better, Peggy.

Thank you all for speaking, Rachel, Lucy, Nancy, Tui, and Laura! My DH continues as he has been - almost normal but not quite.
It is lovely to see Anne (Kendall - well, Kendall Anne, actually) making it in NYC. She is such a dear in every way! I wish that somebody of mine here were able to see her perform in my place.
I'm not sure what I'm doing with my time. I check in here and then check out again after visiting only one thread or two at best. Maybe I'll get myself together soon.... what a dreamer!
I think that The Little Stranger is depressing me at the moment. I have 100 pp to read and will undoubtedly press on, depressed or not. This is completely unlike her other 2 - not horror-story scary but very atmospheric, and the atmosphere is lowering.

Hi Peggy. I'm sorry to hear that your DH had another hospital visit with heart problems. Very scary indeed. I'm glad he's home and "almost normal but not quite."

It's going to be brrrr! here in NC this week, isn't it? We are homebound today because we had sleet all night with just a touch of freezing rain at the last minute - nothing on the trees, but our concrete is a solid mass of sleet-under-ice. Both of us can work from home with our work laptops. And, yay! We didn't lose power. I think your end of NC is getting rain, right?

I'm reading The Late Scholar written by Jill Paton Walsh based on the characters of Dorothy L. Sayers. It's okay..... Dorothy Sayers was happy to give you paragraphs and paragraphs of local detail and clever character studies, but this book is more .... streamlined..... and therefore a bit more shallow. But, it's enjoyable and the story line intriguing.

Stay warm this week!

>223 LizzieD: Loves Labor Lost is such a knock down drag out farce - very early Shakespeare but full of energy and laughter.

And then that last scene, where suddenly everyone has to grow up - and quickly.

Perhaps Judy and I will have a look in at your students performance

Jim, I would be thrilled if you and Judy decided to take an evening for the play. I should be looking for reviews, I guess.
Karen, we are sort of the opposite. Our streets seem to be fine (except for fallen limbs) because we did get ice. We have power, but my SIL in another part of town does not. It should be gone by afternoon, I think.
I've never been able to bring myself to read a Jill PW although I have *Thrones, etc.*. Surely I'll get to her one of these days. Meanwhile, I sink more hopelessly into the last bit of The Little Stranger. It bodes ill for just about everybody but the doctor-narrator. The Corinthian is proving itself a fine antidote.

ETA: Couldn't find reviews of The Groundling, but here is Kendall's website.

After reading about all the snow and cold so many of you are dealing with, I'm feeling guilty for our 60+ degree sunshine today. But it's guilty pleasure! We have hardly had any winter and several ski resorts have been unable to open this year. Doesn't bode well for spring when we need the snow run-off.

>229 LizzieD: Sorry you're finding the atmosphere of The Little Stranger lowering at the moment, Peggy. I really enjoyed it a couple of years ago as a holiday read.

>232 LizzieD: 'It bodes ill for just about everybody but the doctor-narrator.' No comment! The Corinthian sounds like a much needed antidote.

Ah, back to Georgette Heyer! I love her books and had a blast re-reading 8 of her books while I was home sick last November.

Hope everything clears up weatherwise as you think it will.

Looking forward to your thoughts on The Little Stranger!

Jan, enjoy your weather! It's colder here than the meteorologists predicted and beginning to freeze back now after not much melting this afternoon. This weekend will be brutal, at least as we understand brutal.
Hi, Heather, Karen, and Valerie!

THE LITTLE STRANGER by Sarah Waters
I'm not sure that what I have are thoughts about the book. I don't know when I've read anything that was more atmospheric in a moldering old house kind of way than her descriptions of the Hundreds. I'm with Harriet Vane in thinking that a writer of ghost stories (for want of a better term) shouldn't tie up loose ends. At any rate, it occupied my reading time for several days, and I did enjoy it. I wouldn't mind talking about it for a minute with somebody who's read it, but I don't want to spoil it for anybody else.
I'll also add (more for myself than anybody else) that I am intrigued that Dr. Faraday, the narrator, didn't seem to have a first name. It certainly distanced this reader from someone who was otherwise a complex, interesting character.
(Off to find Val!)

>237 LizzieD: I read this end of 2013 for my book group. I thought the doctor was viewing the house through the illusion of that summer day, and never actually saw it in real terms. I think he was in thrall with the idea of the house. And I noted in my review at the time that I liked the way it was never really explained what was going on. You can put your own spin on the cause of the events and the interrelation between them.
It wasn't really a thriller, but there was a mounting tension and it wasn't a comfortable read. I got sucked in to it and I'm not sure I very really got straight in my head what was the root cause of the matter.

Finally! Most of the ice is gone - and just in time too. Like the rest of the east coast, we expect the coldest weather of the winter or maybe even the coldest ever. Oh golly, I hope not!
Helen, I refer you to the discussion at the Orange group's The Little Stranger thread: here. There's a link to a Guardian interview with Waters in the 10th post. I'm a bit clearer about her intention but really not clearer about how it was all done. I wonder about my reading at this point. I didn't see him as creepy at all. In fact, I thought that Caroline probably was a repressed lesbian. Now I'm not sure of anything!!!!!

Hi Peggy. So sorry to hear of your DH's illness. I hope he's feeling much better now or is adjusted to whatever his normal situation is. Your former student is a four time Tony nominee?? Wow! Very impressive indeed.

Just stopping in! How neat is that that an LTer might make it to your former student's play!

>231 magicians_nephew:, >232 LizzieD: Jim, I would be thrilled if you and Judy decided to take an evening for the play.
Oh, wouldn't that be fun?

Oh, Bonnie, no - she's just building her career.............but the reviews are excellent. I'm especially proud of Tovah Felshuh's enthusiastic words. Anne was her understudy for a play about Golda Meier. Thank you for your kind words about my DH.
Hi, Lucy and Katherine! I would be so THRILLED if Jim and Judy took in the current play. I'm already imagining them visiting her afterwards and saying "Peggy sent us,"!
No reading today to speak of. My current ER ARC, Against the Country is really, really, really AGAINST the country - so bitter.

Glad you seemed to enjoy The Little Stranger. It's one that I've been thinking of reading. I'm trying to avoid group reads this year, but I'm always jealous when I see everyone reading a book that I've been wanting to read. :)

Oh, Rachel, I do know the feeling!
On the other hand, when I have something going like Heartstone, whether everybody has read it or not, I'm a bit smug that I've found it and all the groups are having to deal with something else! ---- or something like that.

>237 LizzieD: Peggy, I am pleased to see that you appreciated The Little Stranger. Not one of her most popular works but I found it atmospheric and evocative.

Sorry to note that your DH has been having tribulations with his health. Here's to hoping for a strong, steady and sustained recovery. xx

Just popping in for a how-de-do and to see how your DH is doing. The ice in our lake won't be out until mid May, at this rate.

Thank you for the visits, Paul and Tui.
We have a bit of snow and ice here today - enough to close the town down - and more probably coming in tomorrow night. Blech.
I meant to read a lot and ended up napping for almost two hours. Maybe tonight!

A two hour nap sounds heavenly to me. :D
Stay warm and safe, Peggy!

Ah, a two-hour afternoon nap … some of the wonderful stuff of retirement (and lousy weather days!).

>243 LizzieD: Well maybe if I read more carefully Peggy I would've noted that the "four time Tony nominee" was the person praising your former student on her website that you linked to. Doh!

I confess, Val and Nancy, that the 2-hour nap was pretty heavenly. The problem is that I'm also sleepy now. I do believe that I'm still making up sleep deprivation from 6½ years ago when I was still teaching.
Happiness, Bonnie, is seeing a person go back to Anne's website a second time! She is having a wonderful time!

HEARTSTONE by C.J. Sansom
I really, really enjoyed this book. I do believe it's my second-favorite Shardlake, coming in right behind Sovereign. It did start slowly, and I took away a half star for that, but even with the extremely surprising solution to one part of the mystery, it was pure fun.
Shardlake and Barak are away from London again, on a mission for a devoted servant of Queen Katherine Parr. Matthew is also looking into the mystery of Ellen, the Bedlam inmate who has fallen in love with him, and whom he wants to help and to be rid of. Of course, the stories eventually overlap because of the people involved. Our heroes also meet soldiers on their way to Portsmouth to defend the country against an invasion by France. In fact, we get to be aboard the Mary Rose when she goes down in the Solent. This is meticulously researched, fascinating Tudor history!

Okay, I'll give Sansom and Shardlake another chance, though not in the next couple of weeks. And I'll read him in English this time.

I'd also like to read another Waters soon and am now torn between Affinity and The Little Stranger. How long was TLS?

Napping on a bad weather afternoon is lovely... as is napping in a cool shaded bedroom on a summer afternoon when it's too hot to go out, the classic siesta. Valerie's right, heavenly.

>252 LizzieD:. I'm glad you liked Heartstone, Peggy. I am looking forward to the next one, which I believe came out here in the U.S. yesterday. Right now I'm in the middle of the very dark and disturbing The Red Riding Quartet (two books down, two to go), and I am going to need something very light to follow it. I'm thinking Peter Wimsey, thanks to the discussion above.

Hoping for spring, but it doesn't look promising for a while.

>252 LizzieD: glad you enjoyed Heartstone, Peggy!

>254 NanaCC: I am looking forward to the next one, which I believe came out here in the U.S. yesterday.
Yes it did! I requested it early from my library and the system now shows it as "in transit" to my local branch, so I should be getting my hands on it in the next day or two. Woo hoo!

Thanks to all the wonderful comments here, I went to the library to get my first Shardlake. They didn't have much to choose from so I picked up Dark Fire I always like to read things in order so if I read more, I'll try to do that.

Heartstone sounds very good, Peggy. I've got Sansom's series on my list but haven't started it yet. Am looking forward!

Look at all the Shardlake love, Jan and Nancy! Jan, I'm sorry to say that Dark Fire is low on my Shardlake list. At least he has Barak as a sidekick, so that's to the good; the later ones are better, but the whole series is tops. Enjoy when you get to them, Nancy!
Lucky Laura! Since my Tudor craving is somewhat satiated by Heartstone, I think I'll wait until I can afford a hard copy of Lamentation. I had thought I'd jump on the Kindle edition, but I have the rest of them as physical books......
Colleen, I hadn't heard of The Red Riding Quartet, but based on the reviews here and your "very dark and disturbing," I think I'll let them lie. I am, after all, reading Some Hope, and while it's not as filthy as Bad News, it's dark enough. On the other hand, his portrayal of PM (Princess Margaret to you low-lifes) is pretty funny. On the other hand, people keep making inane remarks about incest in this book in which Patrick nerves himself to tell his friend that his father raped him for several years. It's not sweetness and light.
ETA: I meant to say that I won a copy of That's Not English: Britishisms, Americanisms, and What Our English Says About Us from ER. YAY!!!!

>252 LizzieD: I really enjoyed the parts about the Mary Rose in Heartstone too.

Oh dear, you might end up convincing me to take on the Shardlakes . . .

Just finished Lamentation. I didn't want it to end!

Lucy, you just as well succumb now. Tui, that is not exactly the thing to tell me when I'm trying to be good and save some money. Really, I'm excited that it's good! Heather, we often agree, and I was just excited to read an account of how it might easily have been. I couldn't go right on to something new and serious, so I finished my next Heyer....

THE CORINTHIAN by Georgette Heyer

On a night when the Corinthian, Sir Richard Wyndham, is as drunk as he gets because he must finally propose to the unpleasant Melissa the next morning - on that very night, Miss Penelope Creed has had enough of her strait-laced aunt and her frog-eyed cousin whom she is being pressured to marry. Pen finds the sheets she has tied together to escape from an upper window of her aunt's house aren't quite long enough to get her safely to the ground, but she happily drops into the arms of Sir Richard and off they go,with Pen disguised as a boy, to find her childhood sweetheart. There's a stolen diamond necklace, a thief (with a bit too much of his cant for my taste), a Bow Street runner, Melissa's brothers and a rather silly Romeo and Juliet pair. The whole thing is sillier than Heyer's best, but that doesn't prevent Pen and Richard from being charming and appealing, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Ah, Georgette Heyer is always delightful, isn't she? The Corinthian is another of hers I must get to. In fact, I haven't had a Heyer read for a while now ... you may have just decided my next book!

Shardlake is now in my house!! Just need to finish my current book first ....

Enjoy your Heyer, Nancy. You're bound to!
Enjoy Lamentation, Laura. I'll bet you're tearing through the book in progress.

SOME HOPE by Edward St. Aubyn

I was so relieved! It's eight or nine years since the events in Bad News, and Patrick is no longer trying to kill himself with drugs. Instead, he and a number of characters from the earlier books are on their way to a huge house party in the country, which will feature Princess Margaret herself. These are horrible people. The few who approach decency shine in the murk like haloed saints. As usual the writing is stellar. This one is also funny, and it feels safe to laugh. ("...although he looked like a hippopotamus with hypertension he was well satisfied....") ("It would probably be better if women arrested in their own childhood didn't have children with tormented misogynist homosexual paedophiles, but nothing was perfect in this sublunary world.") The good thing is that Patrick finally begins to have a breakthrough. If he can't forgive his father, he at least is able to see him as a distinct person - "another human being who had not handled his personality especially well..." I did leave this one with some hope!

Not my favorite Heyer either, Peggy, but still fun!

I'm glad you enjoyed Some Hope, Peggy. Now you can (should) take your Patrick Melrose break.

That other book sounds so wonderfully silly that I'm tempted to read it. Moved it to my watchlist, I might need something silly after all the challenge reads in March.

St. Aubyn is a beautifully elegant writer!

And EVERYONE should be a Shardlake fan. The problem is that I'm already looking forward to the next book, which means I have years to wait....

Glad to see you liked Some Hope!

That is quite a shelfie! I'd never leave :) There's truly nothing like a wall of well-loved books. Or its absence.

I'd be curious to know what you thought of The Cuckoo's Calling when you get to it.

Agreed, Roni! "Wonderfully silly" is a pretty good description, Nathalie. I will take my Melrose break until later in the month. "Beautifully elegant" describes St. Aubyn exactly.
Hi, Laura and Irina. I'm very glad that you came by, and I'm curious to know what I think of *C'sC* too. It will have to wait a bit though.
I did get into my *Reformation:History* at last. I'm on familiar ground as far as style and outlook are concerned, and that is making me comfortable - not to disparage Robin Lane Fox or James Carroll. I also read a little of All the Light We Cannot See in the doc's waiting room today. I'm on the fence about his style - some good things; some that I consider careless. (Why would anybody write "a violent wound"? That reminds me of our police scanner and "suspicious vehicles.")