Smiler's Balancing Act - Part 1

  
Starting the year with my favourite, Catrin Welz-Stein. Here: "Odette (Swan Lake)", "Thumbelina" and "Feeling Festive".
She posts her work at: catrinwelzstein.blogspot.ca

Hi, I'm Ilana, living in Montreal with my three furkids, Coco (an adorable toy poodle mix) and cats Mimi and Ezra (plenty on photos of my profile gallery). I read just about anything, more so than ever since I joined this group, though my first loves are literary fiction, historical fiction, classics, mysteries and thrillers. Thanks to audiobooks—also introduced by the 75ers—I read more than I ever could before too. When I'm not reading, I like to work on my art, which recently has taken the form of photorealistic pencil drawings which I show on my art blog and on my threads here on LT too sometimes. This gives me the opportunity to also complete many audiobooks as I work. I managed to complete over 230 books in 2014, but I'll be lucky if I manage half that this year; after being single for over 10 years, I've recently met a wonderful man and fellow artist. This budding relationship has somewhat taken over a lot of what used to be free time all to myself, so that I doubt I'll be beating reading records this coming year , and I have less time now than I used to to visit threads, but this group is still important to me, and change is good, hence... the balancing act.


Table of Contents:
• Reading Plans
• Books Completed in Jan-Feb
• American Authors Challenge (AAC)
• British Authors Challenge (BAC)
• ANZAC Author Challenge
• Reading Stefan Zweig
• Picked for Me! Challenge
• Booker Prize Books
• A Century of Books!
• Reading Bingo
• Ongoing Series
• Books Purchased Jan-Feb
• 14 Favourites of 2014

Currently reading, listening to, and occasionally browsing through:
✔ Slightly Foxed: No. 26: A Nightmare on Wheels by Gail Pirkis, Hazel Wood (Editors)
✔ Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
♫ Affinity by Sarah Waters

    



Favourites of 2015: (★★★★½ and up, by reading order)
Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth
The Blind Contessa's New Machine by Carey Wallace
The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal ★★★★★

Favourites of 2014:
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng ★★★★★ (review)
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household (review)
The New York Stories of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton
Lady Susan by Jane Austen (review)
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan (review)
Restoration by Rose Tremain ★★★★★ (review)
The Quick by Lauren Owen (ARC) ★★★★★ (review)
Miss Buncle's Book by D. E. Stevenson (review)
Dissolution by C. J. Samson (review)
The Unstrung Harp: Or, Mr Earbrass Writes a Novel by Edward Gorey ★★★★★
Treehorn Times Three by Florence Parry Heide & Edward Gorey
Merivel by Rose Tremain (review)
A Café on the Nile by Bartle Bull (review)
Amsterdam by Ian McEwan (review)
The Waiting Game by Bernice Reubens (review)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar (review)
Love-Letters Between A Nobleman And His Sister (Volume II) (tutored read)
Breakfast With Lucian: A Portrait of the Artist by Geordie Greig (review)
The Ruby in Her Navel by Barry Unsworth ★★★★★ (review)
Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming (review)
Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
Le joueur d'échecs / Chess Story by Stefan Zweig ★★★★★
La Petite Bijou by Patrick Modiano

My rating system:
★ : Hated it! (May or may not have finished it)
★★ : It was just ok...
★★★ : Enjoyed it (Good)
★★★★ : Loved it! (Very good)
★★★★½ : Loved it—must read again! (Excellent)
★★★★★ : Brilliant!—will read again, and again... and again! (All-time favourite)

⅛ ¼ ⅓ ½ ¾ ⅞

♫ = audiobook
✔ = off the shelf
❉ = library book
ⓔ = eBook
☀ = TIOLI




Reserving first 9 posts for organizational and planning needs. Also helps in post rankings ;-)

Books completed in February
16. ❉ An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro ★★★★⅓
Rêves oubliés (Vergessene Träume) by Stefan Zweig ★★★★⅓ (short story)
Printemps au Prater (Praterfrühling) by Stefan Zweig ★★★★⅓ (short story)
Un redoublant by Stefan Zweig ★★★★⅓ (short story)
Babette's Feast by Isak Dinesen ★★★★½ (short story)
17. ❉ⓔ Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast ★★ (review)
18. ♫ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling ★★★★⅓
19. La Guinguette à deux sous / The Bar on the Seine (Maigret #11) by Georges Simenon ★★★★
20. ♫ The Europeans by Henry James ★★★
21. ♫ Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh ★★★★⅓
22. ♫ The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion ★★★★⅓
23.

Books completed in January
1. Slightly Foxed: 44: My Grandfather and Mr. Standfast by Gail Pirkis, Hazel Wood (Editors) ★★★★½ (review)
2. ♫ Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth ★★★★½ (review)
3. ✔ Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally ★★★★ (review)
4. ♫ Chocolat by Joanne Harris ★★★★⅓ (review)
5. ♫ Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill ★★★★⅓ (review)
6. Slightly Foxed: No. 24: A Pash for Nash by Gail Pirkis, Hazel Wood (Editors) ★★★★½
7. ♫ Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel ★★★½ (review)
8. ⓔ Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively ★★★½ (review)
9. ✔ Slightly Foxed: No. 25: A Date with Iris by Gail Pirkis, Hazel Wood (Editors) ★★★½
10. ♫ Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell ★★★★⅓
11. ❉ⓔ The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher: Stories by Hilary Mantel ★★★¾
12. ✔ The Blind Contessa's New Machine by Carey Wallace ★★★★½
13. ♫ The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy ★★★★
14. ❉ Reflections in a Golden Eye by Carson McCullers ★★★★⅓
15. ♫ The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal ★★★★★




My rating system:
★ : Hated it! (May or may not have finished it)
★★ : It was just ok...
★★★ : Enjoyed it (Good)
★★★★ : Loved it! (Very good)
★★★★½ : Loved it—must read again! (Excellent)
★★★★★ : Brilliant!—will read again, and again... and again! (All-time favourite)

⅛ ¼ ⅓ ½ ¾ ⅞

♫ = audiobook
✔ = off the shelf
❉ = library book
ⓔ = eBook
☀ = TIOLI

Reading Plans for January:

✭❉ Reflections in a Golden Eye by Carson McCullers - American Authors Challenge (AAC), TIOLI #19: Read a book from a library of a frog-award-winner 2011-2014, A Century of Books! - COMPLETED
✭ⓔ Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively - British Authors Challenge (BAC), TIOLI #1, A Century of Books!, Booker Prize Books - COMPLETED
*✭✔ Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally - Picked for Me! (2014) (by DejaVoo) , TIOLI #1: Read a book that has the word "psychological", A Century of Books!, Booker Prize Books - COMPLETED
*✪♫ Chocolat by Joanne Harris - Picked for Me! (2015) (by Mamie) , TIOLI #3: Read a book with a food item in the title, A Century of Books! - COMPLETED
Reading Stefan Zweig: Dans la neige (Im Schnee), 1901 & Rêves oubliés (Vergessene Träume), 1900
✪♫ Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth - TIOLI #4: Read a book you were supposed to read in 2014, but didn't - COMPLETED
✪♫ Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng - TIOLI #2: Read a book from a list of best or notable books of 2014 (NPR)
✪♫ Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill - TIOLI #2 (Slate) - COMPLETED

Spur of the moment:
✪❉ⓔ The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher: Stories by Hilary Mantel - TIOLI #20 : Read a book by an author that has won the Booker Prize but not a book that won the Booker Prize - COMPLETED
✪♫ Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel - TIOLI #15: Read a book you acquired in 2014 - COMPLETED
✭♫ Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell - TIOLI #8: features as a character a real life author (Thomas De Quincey) - COMPLETED
✭✔ The Blind Contessa's New Machine by Carey Wallace - Picked for Me! (by @luvamystery65), TIOLI #4 - COMPLETED
*✭♫ The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy - Picked for Me!, TIOLI #15 - COMPLETED
✭♫ The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal - Challenge #9: Read a book whose title contains "yes" or a synonym thereof - COMPLETED

***

Reading Plans for February:

✪❉ An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro - BAC, TIOLI #5: Read a book with a number in the first sentence, A Century of Books!, Booker Prize Books - COMPLETED
✭❉ⓔ Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast - #10: Read a non-fiction comic - COMPLETED
✔ What Maisie Knew American Authors Challenge, TIOLI #11: Read a book with a pitch or a catch
✪♫ The Europeans by Henry James - TIOLI #8: Read a book with something you could love in the title - COMPLETED
*✭♫ Affinity by Sarah Waters - British Authors Challenge, Picked for Me! (by Paul), TIOLI #3: Read a book that won or was nominated for the Lambda Literary Award - Listening
✪✔ Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh - BAC, A Century of Books!, TIOLI #11 - Reading
✪♫ Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh - BAC, #12: Read A Book With a Three Word Title - COMPLETED
✪♫ Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh (reread) - BAC, TIOLI #16: Read a book with the letter U, V, or W in the title
Printemps au Prater (Praterfrühling) & Un redoublant
✪✔ Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield - shared read with Liz - TIOLI #15: Read a book that has something to do with time
✭ⓔ The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng - GR with Megan and Megan, TIOLI #8
✭♫ The American Lover by Rose Tremain - TIOLI #2: Read a book that you wanted to get as soon as it was released
✭♫ The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (reread) - TIOLI #2
✭♫ State of Wonder by Ann Patchett - TIOLI #2
✭♫ Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel - Booker Prize Books, TIOLI #11
✭♫ Vol de nuit / Night Flight by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - TIOLI #4: Read a book with a French connection
✭♫ Terre des hommes / Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - TIOLI #4
✭♫ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling - TIOLI #13: Rolling Challenge: Read a book which title starts with the letters H, A, R, or T - COMPLETED
✪❉♫ The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion - TIOLI #13 - COMPLETED

Spur of the moment:
La Guinguette à deux sous / The Bar on the Seine (Maigret #11) by Georges Simenon - TIOLI #4 - COMPLETED

* = Picked for Me challenge
** = Picked for Me challenge extra picks
♫ = audiobook
✔ = off the shelf
❉ = library book
ⓔ = eBook
✭ = TIOLI
✪ = Shared TIOLI

American Authors Challenge (AAC)
January: ❉ Reflections in a Golden Eye by Carson McCullers - COMPLETED
February: ✔ What Maisie Knew and ♫ The Europeans by Henry James - COMPLETED
March: ❉♫ The Sportswriter by Richard Ford
April: *ⓔ The Roundhouse by Louise Erdrich - Picked for Me!
May: ♫ Dodsworth or Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
June: ♫ Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
July: (Ursula K. Le Guin)
August: *♫ The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry - Picked for Me!
September: ♫ Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O' Connor
October: ✔ Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (reread)
November: ♫ Flight Behavior, ✔ The Lacuna or ✔ Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
December: ✔ Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow

***

British Authors Challenge (BAC)
January
ⓔ Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively - COMPLETED
❉ An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro - COMPLETED
February
*♫ Affinity by Sarah Waters - Picked for Me! - Listening
✔ Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh - Reading
March
*✔ Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier - Picked for Me!
♫ Railsea by China Mieville
April
✔ The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter
✔ Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
May
✔ The Red Queen by Margaret Drabble
June
✔ Master Georgie by Beryl Bainbridge
❉ Nothing Like the Sun by Anthony Burgess
July
✔ Orlando by Virginia Woolf
August
♫ The Bell by Iris Murdoch
✔ Travels With My Aunt by Graham Greene
September
✔ Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
❉ The Long Song Andrea Levy
October
♫ The Siege by Helen Dunmore
❉ Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
November
The Mandelbaum Gate by Muriel Spark
✔ An Ice-Cream War by William Boyd
December
♫ Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel
✔ Carry On, Jeeves P. G. Wodehouse

***

ANZAC Author Reading Challenge 2015
April: Once Were Warriors by Alan Duff
May: Short Stories Katherine Mansfield
June: Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera
July: Oscar and Lucinda, Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey
August: The Bone People by Keri Hulme
November: Phryne Fisher mysteries Kerry Greenwood

***

Reading Stefan Zweig
I discovered Stefan Zweig in April 2012 and found a soulmate. I've since acquired a treasure in the form of a luxurious La Pléiade leather-bound two volume collection of his complete novels and stories in French translations. Since all his novels are quite short, I'd like to read at least one per month. I'll list what I've read here.

January: Dans la neige (Im Schnee), 1901
February: Printemps au Prater (Praterfrühling) & Un redoublant
March:
April:
May:
June:
July:
August:
September:
October:
November:
December:

***

Other Reading Plans
February: ✔ Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield - shared read with Liz
March: ✔ Mansfield Park by Jane Austen - tutored read with Liz
May: ✔ Fifth Business by Robertson Davies - shared read with Ellen


* = Picked for Me challenge
♫ = audiobook
✔ = off the shelf
❉ = library book
ⓔ = eBook

I'm running this personal challenge for the fourth year in 2015. It's a real treat reading something that was specifically chosen for me from my TBR by this wonderful bunch of passionate readers, and of course helps reduce that pile which I seem to never stop adding to. I asked participants select a book from my "To Read" collection then tell me, in a few words why you they though I should read the suggested work. I really look forward to the following bunch this year:

1. ♫ The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy - picked by @Ameise1 - COMPLETED / January
2. ✔ The Blind Contessa's New Machine by Carey Wallace - picked by @luvamystery65 - COMPLETED / January
3. ♫ Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts - picked by @lunacat
4. ⓔ The Midnight Bell by Francis Lathom - picked by @lyzard
5. ♫ I, Dreyfus by Bernice Rubens - picked by @avatiakh
6. ✔ The Brontes Went to Woolworths by Rachel Ferguson - picked by @LizzieD
7. ♫ The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry - picked by @msf59
8. ♫ A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute - picked by @DeltaQueen50
9. ♫ The Lost City of Z by David Grann - picked by @drneutron
10. ⓔ The Round House by Louise Erdrich - picked by @Donna828
11. ♫ Affinity by Sarah Waters - picked by @PaulCranswick - Listening
12. ✔ Catharine and Other Writings by Jane Austen - picked by @souloftherose
13. ✔ The Art of Looking Sideways by Alan Fletcher - picked by @LauraBrook
14. ♫ The Bell by Iris Murdoch - picked by @sibyx
15. ✔ The Leopard by Guisepe Di Lampedusa - picked by @Ireadthereforeiam
16. ✔ The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards - picked by @jolerie
17. ✔ A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry - picked by @kidzdoc
18. ♫ Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier - picked by @Fourpawz2
19. ♫ Chocolat by Joanne Harris - picked by @Crazymamie - COMPLETED / January
20. ♫ My Antonia by Willa Cather - picked by @jnwelch
21. ✔ Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier - picked by @Cee-
22. ♫ Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez (reread) - picked by @cameling
23. ✔ The Dog Who Wouldn't Be by Farley Mowat - picked by @Deern

Extra Picks (optional)
ⓔ A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - picked by @lunacat (reread)
✔ Dessins d'écrivains by Pierre Belfond - picked by @Cee-
♫ The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold - picked by @Cee-
✔ The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame - picked by @Cee- (reread)

♫ = audiobook
✔ = off the shelf
ⓔ = eBook

Booker Prize Books

Read in 2015 (in reading order)
Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally (Booker Prize 1982)
Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively (Booker Prize 1987)
An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro (Shortlist 1986)



On my TBR
Bruno's Dream by Iris Murdoch (Shortlist 1970)
*Fire From Heaven by Mary Renault (Shortlist 1970)
¹⁴The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens (Booker Prize 1970)
¹⁴Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor (Shortlist 1971)
¹⁴The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell (Booker Prize 1973)
*The Conservationist by Nadine Gordimer (Booker Prize 1974)
Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym (Shortlist 1977)
Great Granny Webster by Caroline Blackwood (Shortlist 1977)
¹⁴A Five Year Sentence by Bernice Rubens (Shortlist 1978)
¹³The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch (Booker Prize 1978)
¹⁴A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr (Shortlist 1980)
*Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess (Shortlist 1980)
¹³Good Behaviour by Molly Keane (Shortlist 1981)
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (Booker Prize 1981)
*An Ice-cream War by William Boyd (Shortlist 1982)
*Waterland by Graham Swift (Shortlist 1983)
The Good Apprentice by Iris Murdoch (Shortlist 1985)
The Bone People by Keri Hulme (Booker Prize 1985)
¹³The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (Shortlist 1986)
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie (Shortlist 1988)
Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey (Booker Prize 1988)
¹⁴Restoration by Rose Tremain(Shortlist 1989)
The Book of Evidence by John Banville (Shortlist 1989)
Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood (Shortlist 1989)
¹³The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro(Booker Prize 1989)
Possession by A.S. Byatt (Booker Prize 1990)
*Two Lives by William Trevor (Shortlist 1991)
¹⁴The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje(Booker Prize 1992)
*Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth (Booker Prize 1992)
Under the Frog by Tibor Fischer (Shortlist 1993)
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle (Booker Prize 1993)
¹³Morality Play by Barry Unsworth (Shortlist 1995)
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry (Shortlist 1996)
*Last Orders by Graham Swift (Booker Prize 1996)
Master Georgie by Beryl Bainbridge (Shortlist 1998)
¹⁴Amsterdam by Ian Mcewan (Booker Prize 1998)
¹³Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee (Booker Prize 1999)
Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri (Longlist 2001)
*Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry (Shortlist 2002)
*Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood (Shortlist 2003)
Astonishing Splashes Of Colour by Clare Morrall (Shortlist 2003)
Brick Lane by Monica Ali (Shortlist 2003)
¹³What Was She Thinking?: Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller(Shortlist 2003)
The Master by Colm Toibin (Shortlist 2004)
*Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel Longlist 2005)
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (Shortlist 2005) - reread
The Accidental by Ali Smith (Shortlist 2005)
¹⁴The Ruby in Her Navel by Barry Unsworth (Longlist 2006)
Mother's Milk by Edward St. Aubyn (Shortlist 2006)
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai (Booker Prize 2006)
¹⁴Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones (Shortlist 2007)
*The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng (Longlist 2007)
A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz (Shortlist 2008)
¹³The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (Shortlist 2008)
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (Booker Prize 2008) (reread)
Heliopolis by James Scudamore (Longlist 2009)
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (Shortlist 2009)
Trespass by Rose Tremain (Longlist 2010)
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray (Longlist 2010)
¹⁴Room by Emma Donoghue (Shortlist 2010)
Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch (Shortlist 2011)
¹⁴The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng (Shortlist 2012)
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (Longlist 2013)
Almost English by Charlotte Mendelson (Longlist 2013)
The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri (Shortlist 2013)
¹³The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin (Shortlist 2013)
¹³Harvest by Jim Crace (Shortlist 2013)
¹³The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (Booker Prize 2013)
*Orfeo by Richard Powers (Longlist 2014)
¹⁴The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan (Booker Prize 2014)

¹³ = read in 2013
¹⁴ = read in 2014
* = recent additions

(more on the wishlist of course!)

A Century of Books! 1900-1999
I stole this challenge idea from Heather/souloftherose. I'm trying to read a book published in every year of the 20th century; I've been at it for a couple of years already, so obviously haven't set myself a time limit to complete it. Hopefully I'll put a good dent in this one in 2015!

1900
1901
1902
1903
1904 The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov
1905
1906
1907
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913 O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918 The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West
1919
1920 In Chancery by John Galsworthy
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926 These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer
1927
1928 Lord Peter Views the Body by Dorothy L. Sayer
1929 Journey Into the Past by Stefan Zweig
1930 Le Bal by Irène Némirovsky
1931 Maigret and the Enigmatic Lett by Georges Simenon
1932 Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
1933
1934 Miss Buncle's Book bu D. E. Stevenson
1935
1936 The Dark Frontier by Eric Ambler
1937
1938 Epitaph for a Spy by Eric Ambler
1939 Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household
1940 Native Son by Richard Wright
1941 Reflections in a Golden Eye by Carson McCullers
1942 Le joueur d'échecs / Chess Story by Stefan Zweig
1943 Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
1944 Dragonwyck by Anya Seton
1945
1946 Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey
1947 Wolf Story by William Mccleery
1948 A Russian Journal by John Steinbeck and Robert Capa
1949
1950 Smallbone Deceased by Michael Gilbert
1951 My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
1952
1953 The Unstrung Harp: Or, Mr Earbrass Writes a Novel by Edward Gorey
1954 Bonjour tristesse by Françoise Sagan
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960 The Great Fortune by Olivia Manning
1961 Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
1962 Cover Her Face by P. D. James
1963
1964 Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken
1965 Going to Meet the Man by James Baldwin
1966 The Jewel in the Crown by Paul Scott
1967
1968 A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
1969 The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens
1970
1971 Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
1972
1973 The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
1974 Greenwitch by Susan Cooper
1975
1976
1977
1978 A Five Year Sentence by Bernice Rubens
1979
1980 A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr
1981 Codex Seraphinianus by Luigi Serafini
1982 Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally
1983 The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
1984
1985
1986 An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
1987 Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
1988 Night Soldiers by Alan Furst
1989 Restoration by Rose Tremain
1990 The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard
1991 The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir
1992 All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
1993
1994 The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri
1995 Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
1996 The Terracotta Dog by Andrea Camilleri
1997 Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin
1998 Amsterdam Ian McEwan
1999 Chocolat by Joanne Harris

Ongoing Series
An idea Heather (souloftherose) borrowed from Liz (lyzard), which caught on like wildfire. Ongoing series that I am more or less actively reading; this doesn't include series I have in my TBR but haven't started reading yet (that is covered in the next list!)

❉ African Trilogy - Next up: No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe (2/3)
ⓔ Alan Grant Mysteries - Next up: The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey (1/6 - read out of order)
♫ The Australian Trilogy - Next up: Tommo and Hawk by Bryce Courtenay (⅔)
*ⓔ The Balkan Trilogy- Next up: The Spoilt City by Olivia Manning (2/3)
♫ Bartimaeus Trilogy - Next up: The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud (Prequel)
Bernie Gunther - Next up: A German Requiem by Philip Kerr (3/9)
♫ Bloody Jack Adventures - Next up: Curse of the Blue Tattoo by L. A. Meyer (2/12)
✔ Border Trilogy - Next up: The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy (2/3)
❉ Cannery Row - Next up: Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck (2/2)
*♫ Cazalet Chronicles - Next up: Marking Time by Elizabeth Jane Howard (2/5)
♫ The Cemetery of Forgotten Books - Next up: The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (2/3)
❉ Chief Inspector Armand Gamache - Next up: A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny (2/10)
Chocolat - Next up: The Lollipop Shoes by Joanne Harris (2/3)
♫ The Chronicles of Barsetshire - Next up: Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope (2/6)
♫ The Chronicles of St Mary's - Next up: A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor (2/4)
✔ Claudius - Next up: Claudius the God by Robert Graves (2/2)
♫ La Comédie Humaine - Next up: Le curé de Tours by Honoré de Balzac (31/88 - read out of order)
✔ Commissario Brunetti - Next up: Acqua Alta by Donna Leon (5/23 - read out of order)
✔ Commissario Montalbano - Next up: August Heat by Andrea Camilleri (10/19)
❉ Corfu Trilogy: The Garden of the Gods by Gerald Durrell (3/3)
♫ The Cousins' War: The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory (2/6)
*✔ The Dark is Rising Sequence - Next up: The Grey King by Susan Cooper (4/5)
♫ Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Next up: Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor (2/3)
❉ De Luca Trilogy - Next up: The Damned Season by Carlo Lucarelli (2/3)
✔ The Deptford Trilogy - Next up: World of Wonders by Robertson Davies (3/3)
♫ The Dresden Files: Grave Peril by Jim Butcher (3/15)
❉ Dr. Siri Paiboun - Next up: Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill (5/10)
♫ Dublin Murder Squad - Next up: The Likeness by Tana French (2/5)
♫ Easy Rawlins Mystery - Next up: White Butterfly by Walter Mosley (3/11)
ⓔ Elizabeth and her German Garden - Next up: The Solitary Summer by Elizabeth von Arnim (2/2)
*✔ Empire Trilogy - Next up: The Singapore Grip by J. G. Farrell (3/3)
❉♫ Erica Falck and Patrik Hedström - Next up: The Preacher by Camilla Läckberg (2/9)
❉♫ Flavia de Luce - Next up: A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley (3/7)
♫ Forsyte Saga - Next up: To Let by John Galsworthy (3/3)
❉ Green Town - Next up: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (2/2)
❉ The Harlem Cycle - Next up: All Shot Up by Chester Himes (4/8)
♫ Harry Potter - Next up: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling (reread) (5/7)
❉ Hercule Poirot - Next up: Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie (8/39 - read out of order)
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Dramatization - Next up: Tertiary Phase (BBC Radio Collection) by Douglas Adams (3/5)
♫ The House of Earth Trilogy - Next up: Sons by Pearl S. Buck (2/3)
The Ibis Trilogy by Amitav Ghosh - Next up: Awaiting publication (3/3)
❉ The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place - Next up: The Unseen Guest by Maryrose Wood (3/4)
Inspector Yashim Togalu - Next up: The Snake Stone by Jason Goodwin (2/5)
♫ Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries - Next up: The Right Attitude to Rain by Alexander McCall Smith (3/10)
♫ Jack Reacher - Next up: The Enemy by Lee Child (8/20)
✔ Jackson Brodie - Next up: When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson (3/4)
♫ John Russell - Next up: Lehrter Station by David Downing (5/6)
Joseph O'Loughlin - Next up: Shatter by Michael Robotham (3/7)
♫ Kenzie & Gennaro - Next up: Darkness, Take My Hand by Dennis Lehane (2/6 - read out of order)
♫ Kurt Wallander - Next up: The White Lioness by Henning Mankell (3/11)
The Last Lion - Next up: Winston Spencer Churchill, Alone 1932-1940 by William Manchester (2/3)
*♫ Leviathan - Next up: Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld (2/3)
♫ The Lord of the Rings - Next up: The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien (3/4)
✔ Lord Peter Wimsey - Next up: The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers (5/15)
❉ Maigret - Next up: Maigret Mystified by Georges Simenon (12/76)
*ⓔ Mapp and Lucia - Next up: Lucia in London by E. F. Benson (3/8)
♫ Matthew Shardlake - Next up: Lamentation by C. J. Samson (6/6)
Miss Marple - Next up: The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie (2/12)
❉ Night Soldiers - Next up: Dark Star by Alan Furst (2/13)
❉ The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - Next up: In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith (6/15)
♫ The Obelisk Trilogy - Next up: Tropic of Capricorn by Henry Miller (2/3)
Oxford Time Travel series - Next up: Blackout by Connie Willis (3/4)
Parker - Next up: The Mourner by Richard Stark (4/24)
✔ Philip Marlowe - Next up: The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler (6/9 - read out of order)
Phryne Fisher Mysteries - Next up: Death at Victoria Dock by Kerry Greenwood (4/20)
*♫ The Power Of One - Next up: Tandia by Bryce Courtenay (2/2)
The Prairie Trilogy - Next up: The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (2/3)
✔ The Raj Quartet: The Towers Of Silence by Paul Scott (3/4)
♫ Ranger's Apprentice: The Icebound Land by John Flanagan (3/12)
❉♫ The Raven Cycle Next up: The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (2/4)
♫ Rivers of London - Next up: Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch 3/6)
❉ Les Rougon-Macquart - Next up: La joie de vivre by Émile Zola (12/20)
♫ Ruby Trilogy - Next up: Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier (2/3)
✔ Sally Lockhart Mysteries - Next up: The Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman (2/4)
♫ Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (5/9)
♫ A Song of Ice and Fire - Next up: A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin (5/7)
❉ Sookie Stackhouse - Next up: Club Dead by Charlaine Harris (3/14)
❉ The Spiderwick Chronicles - Next up: The Nixie's Song by Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi (6/8)
♫ Tales of the City - Next up: Further Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin (3/6)
♫ Tales of the Otori - Next up: Brilliance of the Moon by Lian Hearn (3/4+prequel)
❉ Three Men in a Boat - Next up: Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome (2/2)
♫ Timothy Wilde - Next up: Unknown title by Lyndsay Faye (awaiting publication) (3/3)
*♫ Tom Ripley - Next up: The Boy Who Followed Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (4/5)
❉ Victor Legris - Next up: La disparue du Père-Lachaise by Claude Izner (2/11)
♫ Wind on Fire Trilogy - Next up: The Wind on Fire by William Nicholson (3/3)- Completed in December
Wolf Hall Trilogy - Next up: The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel (awaiting publication) (3/3)
Wolves Chronicles - Next up: Nightbirds on Nantucket by Joan Aiken (3/11)
❉ Wyoming Stories: Bad Dirt by Annie Proulx (2/3)

***

First in Series on my TBR
*♫ Albert Campion: The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham (1/19)
✔ The American Trilogy: American Pastoral by Philip Roth (1/3)
✔ Aristide Ravel Mysteries : The Cavalier of the Apocalypse by Susanne Alleyn (1/4)
✔ The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation: The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson (1/2)
♫ Aubrey-Maturin: Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian (1/21)
♫ Avalon: The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley (1/7)
✔ The Book of Lies - Twins Trilogy: The Notebook by Ágota Kristóf (1/3)
✔ The Borrible Trilogy: The Borribles by Michael De Larrabeiti (1/3)
✔ Carl Webster: The Hot Kid by Elmore Leonard (1/3)
♫ Chief Inspector Adamsberg: The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas (1/9)
*♫ Cicero: Imperium by Robert Harris (1/2)
♫ A Dance to the Music of Time: A Dance to the Music of Time: First Movement, Spring by Anthony Powell (1/4)
✔ Danzig Trilogy: The Tin Drum by Günter Grass (1/3)
✔ Empress Orchid: Empress Orchid by Anchee Min (1/2)
✔ Hank Thompson: Caught Stealing by Charlie Huston (1/3)
✔ Haroun: Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie (1/2)
*♫ Harry Hole: The Bat by Jo Nesbø (1/10)
✔ Henrietta's War: Henrietta's War: News from the Home Front 1939-1942 by Joyce Dennys (1/2)
✔ The Hummingbird's Daughter: The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea (1/2)
*♫ The Inheritance Cycle: Eragon by Christopher Paolini (1 of 4)
♫ In Search of Lost Time: Swann's Way by Marcel Proust (1/8)
♫ James Bond: Casino Royale by Ian Fleming (1/14)
♫ Joona Linna: The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler (1/3)
ⓔ The Kingkiller Chronicle : The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (1/3)
✔ Latin American Trilogy: The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts by Louis de Bernières (1/3)
*♫ Leo Demidov: Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith (1 of 3)
♫ Leonid McGill: The Long Fall by Walter Mosley (1 of 4)
*♫ MaddAddam Trilogy: Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood (1 of 3)
✔❉♫ The Magicians: The Magicians by Lev Grossman (1/3)
♫ McCaskill Trilogy: English Creek by Ivan Doig (1/3)
✔ Micah Dalton: The Echelon Vendetta by David Stone (1/4)
♫ Michael Forsythe: Dead I Well May Be by Adrian McKinty (1/3)
✔ Mistress of the Art of Death: Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin (1/5)
*✔ On Foot to Constantinople: A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor (1/3)
♫ Outlander: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (1/9)
*♫+ⓔ Patrick Melrose: Never Mind by Edward St. Aubyn (1/5)
✔ The Psammead Trilogy: Five Children and It by E. Nesbit (1/3)
✔ Quirke: Christine Falls by Benjamin Black (1/6)
♫ Revelation Space: Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds (1/7)
*✔ Sacred Hunger: Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth (1 of 2)
♫ Shanghai Girls: Shanghai Girls by Lisa See (1/2)
*♫ Small Change: Farthing by Jo Walton (1/3)
♫ Sprawl: Neuromancer by William Gibson (1/3)
♫ Swallows and Amazons: Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome (1/12)
♫ Sword of Honour: Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh (1/3)
♫ The Vampire Chronicles: Interview with the Vampire (reread) by Anne Rice (1/10)
❉♫ The Wolves of Mercy Falls: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (1/4)
♫ World War II Saga: The Winds of War by Herman Wouk (1/2)



✔ = in my TBR
♫ = audiobook (in my TBR)
❉ = library book
ⓔ = eBook
* = recent changes

Books Purchased in 2015

362 Books purchased in 2014. That's almost 1 book a day and definitely excessive. But then, books are my major indulgence and I have no plans to vastly reduce my book-buying habit. Would be nice to generally buy less this year, if only because I worry I won't ever be able to read all of my vast and ever-growing tbr (1,638 titles strong as I write this), but then I guess there could be much worse things. This is where I keep track of the damage.

January
1. The Quantity Theory of Insanity by Will Self - Bloomsbury edition (AbeBooks)
2. Deceived with Kindness: A Bloomsbury Childhood by Angelica Garnett (Amazon seller)
3. Slightly Foxed: No. 3: Sharks, Otters and Fast Cars by Gail Pirkis & Hazel Wood (Editors) (AbeBooks)
4. Slightly Foxed: No. 5: A Hare's Breadth by Gail Pirkis & Hazel Wood (Editors) (AbeBooks)
5. Slightly Foxed: No. 6: Taking the Plunge by Gail Pirkis & Hazel Wood (Editors) (AbeBooks)
6. Slightly Foxed: No. 15: Underwear Was Important by Gail Pirkis & Hazel Wood (Editors) (AbeBooks)
7. Slightly Foxed: No. 27: Well Done, Carruthers! by Gail Pirkis & Hazel Wood (Editors) (AbeBooks)
8. Slightly Foxed: No. 31: The Return of Grouse by Gail Pirkis & Hazel Wood (Editors) (AbeBooks)
9. ⓔ Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor
10. ⓔ The Violent Bear It Away by Flannery O'Connor (99¢ HarperPerennial Classics)
11. ⓔ Peyton Place by Grace Metalious (99¢ HarperPerennial Classics)
12. ⓔ You Can't Go Home Again / Of Time and the River / Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe (Kindle Deal)
13. ⓔ Tales of the Jazz Age by F. Scott Fitzgerald (99¢ HarperPerennial Classics)
14. ⓔ McTeague by Frank Norris (99¢ HarperPerennial Classics)
15. ⓔ The American by Henry James (99¢ HarperPerennial Classics)
16. ⓔ The Green Mill Murder: Phryne Fisher #5 by Kerry Greenwood (Kindle Deal)
17. ⓔ Blood and Circuses: Phryne Fisher #6 by Kerry Greenwood (Kindle Deal)
18. ⓔ Ruddy Gore: Phryne Fisher #7 by Kerry Greenwood (Kindle Deal)
19. ⓔ Urn Burial: Phryne Fisher #8 by Kerry Greenwood (Kindle Deal)
20. ⓔ April Lady by Georgette Heyer (Kindle Daily Deal)
21. ⓔ The Toll-Gate by Georgette Heyer (Kindle Daily Deal)
22. ♫ The Parasites by Daphne Du Maurier
23. ♫ A Dead Man in Deptford by Anthony Burgess
24. ♫ Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess
25. ♫ Fire From Heaven by Mary Renault
26. ♫ Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
27. Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow (AbeBooks)
28. The Children of Dynmouth by William Trevor (AbeBooks)
29. ♫ The Sheep-Pig by Dick King-Smith (Audible Daily Deal)
30. ♫ The Collectors by Philip Pullman
31. ♫ Peaches for Monsieur le Curé by Joanne Harris
32. ♫ Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov (Audible Daily Deal)
33. ♫ Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith (Audible Sale)
34. ♫ Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstoreby Robin Sloan (Audible Sale)
35. ♫ The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson (Audible Sale)
36. ♫ Faithful Place: Dublin Murder Squad, Book 3 by Tana French (Audible Sale)
37. ♫ Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh by Joseph Conrad (Audible Sale)
38. ♫ I, Robot by Isaac Asimov (Audible Sale)
39. ♫ Stardust by Neil Gaiman (Audible Sale)
40. ♫ The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (Audible Sale)
41. Album Vilmorin. The Vegetable Garden (Taschen Sale)
42. Walton Ford. Pancha Tantra (Taschen Sale)
43. Mark Ryden. Pinxit (Taschen Sale)

January
44. ♫ Eragon by Chirstopher Paolini (Audible Sale)
45. ♫ Christine Falls by Benjamin Black (Audible Sale)
46. ♫ The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad (Audible Daily Deal)
47. ♫ Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
48. ♫ Thomas Cromwell: The Untold Story of Henry VIII's Most Faithful Servant by Tracy Borman
49.

♫ = audiobook
ⓔ = eBook

Welcome to my guests and to lurkers! :-)

Happy New Year, Ilana! Wishing you all the very best in 2015. Now that I have located your thread, I have starred it so that I can find my way back here. I am looking forward to following you reading, painting, drawing and the discussions here.

Happy New Year, Ilana! May it be filled with fabulous! Dropping my star and hoping to be better about keeping up with you this year. I LOVE your thread toppers - absolutely gorgeous!

Happy New Year to you and Pierre! I suspect that your time might be more limited this year, Ilana, but I will still be around when you post. Looking forward to following your reading and art projects.

>10 Smiler69: Hi Lori, you are the first visitor to my new 2015 home, welcome! Hope you've had wonderful New Year's Eve celebrations. Glad you found me and hope I can manage to rustle up enough books reviews to justify this thread as being part of a book group! :-)

>11 lkernagh: Hi Mamie! Welcome my dear, so happy you've found me and I'll of course be delighted whenever you drop by. I don't know how good I myself will be about keeping up with threads in the next few months, what with this brand new relationship just getting started, though now it's been nearly two months we are starting to spend a couple of days apart now and again... but I'm sure you know how it is... we mostly seem to be joined at the hip. Good thing he's got his painting keeping him busy and gallery owners to keep contented, otherwise he'd really be over here all the time.

I'm so glad you enjoy Catrin Welz-Stein's art. I sort of promised myself I'd switch to a new theme with the new year, but then I so love her art and haven't gotten tired of it yet and didn't want to part with it yet and was hoping my visitors wouldn't mind to see something vaguely familiar again.

>13 Donna828: Hi Donna! So lovely to see you here! Thank you so much for your New Year wishes! I wish the same to you and your lovely family.

In the last two months I've managed to keep up with my own thread and mostly lurked elsewhere, which doesn't make me a great LTer, but at least I still feel like I'm with the community and know what's going on, more or less. I'm working on a portrait of my elderly friend Liselotte who is not comfortable with me showing her online, but I think I'll still show my sketches of her here on LT, though not on my blog (which is linked up with FB), if only because I feel this thread is a much more private venue and less likely to be seen by the world wide web at large.



I also mean to post the whole process of Rocky from start to finish on my blog. As I told Pat, I did create a mini video of it over the holidays, but I'm not happy with the result, so I either need to fiddle with it or either scratch that idea and just post the photos of the whole process in static form and get it posted already. I just posted the completed final image on FB so I could post it fairly large here too in the meanwhile. Here it is above.

Happy New Year, Ilana!

>15 Smiler69: Thanks Amber, the same to you and your lovely little family!

Happy New Year to you, Ilana! Sounds as if you had an idyllic evening. So envious.

I am in love with your portrait of Rocky. What an amazing job! And I am also very happy that you have kept on with Catrin Welz-Stein's artwork on your thread.

Looking forward to the year ahead...

>18 Fourpawz2: Hi Charlotte, so glad to have you along, and that you're happy with more Weiz-Stein art too. I'm not in love with everything she does, but a lot of it goes a long way with me. Yesterday was really lovely. Not being alone on New Year's Eve was nice, but then I've chosen that option many a time over just being with "people". It was nice actually being with "that" someone, so in that sense, yes, I guess you could say it was idyllic. I wish the same for you when the time is right my dear. And can only wish 2015 brings good things for you. xx

14 Favourites of 2014:

I tried to narrow it down to 5, or even 10, but couldn't do it. I guess it's an improvement over the 31 I came up with last year—not as far as quality, only in terms of paring down the numbers of course! (in reading order)





The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng (review)
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household (review)
Lady Susan by Jane Austen (review)
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan (review)
The Quick by Lauren Owen (ARC) (review)
Dissolution by C. J. Samson (review)
The Unstrung Harp: Or, Mr Earbrass Writes a Novel by Edward Gorey
Restoration by Rose Tremain (review)
The Waiting Game by Bernice Reubens (review)
Breakfast With Lucian: A Portrait of the Artist by Geordie Greig (review)
The Ruby in Her Navel by Barry Unsworth (review)
Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
Le joueur d'échecs / Chess Story by Stefan Zweig

>19 Smiler69: - Thank you, my dear friend.

And I am so tickled that Zealot wound up on your favorites of the year list!

>21 Fourpawz2: Charlotte: I'm thrilled I read that book. Definitely one I'll remember for a long time, and one I'll want to revisit too. So glad you picked it for me, otherwise it might have taken me goodness knows how much longer to get to it!

Happy New Year Ilana. I love your picture of Rocky by the way.

Yay, I'm glad you're back here. It wouldn't have been right without you. I like "Feeling Festive" as your thread topper, it's got a quirky charm to it.

Ilana, my dear --- I'm anticipating another year of wonderful book conversation and good friendship.
I'm wishing you all the very best in 2015!!!

Happy New Year! Sure seems to be off to a good start for you.

Happy New Year Ilana. I promise to stop by your awesome thread to pick up some ideas, but darling, I won't be able to stay too long. Your organizational skills exhaust me!!!

Happy new year Ilana!

Great New Thread leading to a GREAT NEW YEAR!!!! Enjoy, Ilana!
The final Rocky portrait is a wonder. I'm totally awed.
I haven't checked out the Orange January group, but if it's not active, I hope to read Moon Tiger with all of you because it's been hanging around for as long as I've been on LT. As usual, I need to finish one something first.

Hi Ilana! So glad you got your 2015 thread up and so happy to see the picture of Rocky here. I absolutely love how it came out and our guests on Christmas Eve were enchanted with it. It was one of the highlights of 2014 to have you draw his portrait and let me follow the progress.

I don't have a great camera--just my iPhone and so far I must be moving the phone as I take the picture because I can't get anywhere near the clarity you do. Oh well, I will try again tomorrow and then post the best picture I get.

I only read one of your best books of 2014--The Quick--which I read because of your recommendation (and possibly Suzanne's). I enjoyed it and didn't think I would since it's not the type of book I usually read. I also bought Rogue Male after reading your review and hope to get to it this year!

Hope you have a wonderful 2015. It's certainly off to a great start!

Happy New Thread, Ilana! Love the toppers! Good luck with all your various reading plans, especially since you have made such a lifestyle change. Hugs to my pal!

Welcome back!

A very extra-Happy New Year to you, Ilana!
And those impressive lists again only 2 days into the year! :)
I LOVE Rocky, you just want to lift him out of the painting and cuddle him, he looks so real!

One of my dearest friends in the group I am of course thrilled to drop by into your new thread and the first of a goodly number in 2015 if I surmise correctly. This is however tempered by your preamble in >1 Smiler69: and, I would prefer your personal happiness to reduce your reading and posting rather than the contrary if you know what I mean. In other words I am extremely pleased that you appear to have found the love and companionship that you deserve and that will no doubt nourish you. My fingers and toes will be crossed for you in these next formative months. xx

Happy New Year Ilana, wishing you, the furkids and Pierre a happy, healthy,2015.

Happy New Year! Your next Churchill book in your ongoing series is phenomenal. I just started the third one last night.

Happy New Year, Ilana! I like those illustrations up top by your favorite, and your drawing of Rocky in >15 Smiler69: is a knockout. What a talent you have.

Looking forward to a happy, healthy 2015, with lots of book and art talk and whatever else comes up.

Happy New Year, Ilana! Can't wait to see what the year brings for you. :)

Happy New Year Ilana!

It looks like your 2015 is off to a great start with someone to make you smile and of course lots of great books!

A Happy New Year to all my visitors!

I've been under the weather for the better part of the week with digestive troubles and am now on a liquid diet for a couple of days to try to get myself back on track as have been practically living in the bathroom since Tuesday. Drinking loads of liquids of course and today Pierre went and got me an electrolyte replenishing pack, which my friend Kristyna, an ex-nurse suggested. She's the one who also suggested the liquid diet today, to give my digestive tract a chance to rest a bit. Must be the excesses of the holidays I imagine. So it's chicken stock with white rice and tea and yogourt and a few clementines for now. Hurray! Feeling very weak, so won't be staying up much.

I've visited a few threads, but it'll take me some time to do the rounds and say hello to everyone, apologies in advance if I haven't gotten round to your thread yet.

Am LOVING Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth, a historical fiction book about Charlotte-Rose de la Force, banished from court by the Sun King, Louis XIV and forced to live as a nun in a convent. She is the woman responsible for bringing to us the tale we now know as Rapunzel, and the book combines an account of Charlotte-Rose's experiences and Rapunzel's tale, as well as the witch's tale, which makes for a fascinating mix which is satisfying on many levels.

Schindler's Arc (or List) isn't light reading either, not by any means, but it's a great book and I'm glad I've finally found the courage to get to it. It does help a lot that I can call Pierre after my reading sessions, no matter the hour (since he works on his painting till the morning hours), so I don't have to go to sleep with the awful images of the Nazi outrages on my mind and fear horrible nightmares.

***

Thanks so much for the visits and generous wishes Rhian, Jenny, Ellen, Katherine, Tina, Rachel, Peggy, Pat, Mark, Jim, Nathalie, Paul, Calm, Wilson, Joe, Laura and Roberta!

>30 phebj: Pat, I use my iPhone all the time for all my photo needs these days. Haven't touched my camera for a very long time! I've found the trick for taking the best photos is never to use the flash and to take pictures when there is lots of daylight to work with, which will help prevent a blur. If you have a spot that can't be reached by daylight, you can use electric lighting instead because the iPhone camera does a pretty good job with that too, as long as the light isn't too yellow.

I'm so glad you enjoyed The Quick. It's one of those books that definitely transcends the genre, and I'm sure many people who would never normally want to read about vampires would enjoy this one a lot. I don't usually touch vampire books with a ten-foot pole, but that one absolutely enchanted me. Apparently Lauren Owen is working on a sequel, since her original book was twice as long, so I can't wait for it to come out. Really hope you enjoy Rogue Male when you get to it. One I definitely want to read again.

So happy to see you active in this group again!

>31 msf59: Hi Mark, lifestyle changes or not, reading remains a big part of my life, and this group has also been vital to me and continues to be so. Pierre finds my passion for books is part of my charm and totally understands and respects my connection with this group, so that won't change really. I wasn't on the threads all that much last year either, so I wonder if there will really be that much of a marked difference? I guess only time will tell. Hugs to you too my friend. xx

>32 drneutron: Thanks Jim, I couldn't be here without you!

>33 Deern: Nathalie, those lists give me an impression that I'm somehow in control, and most of all, an illusion that I'm an organized person, which couldn't be further from the truth! But I'm sure this has psychological benefits, which is why I hang on to them. :-)

>34 PaulCranswick: Hi dear Paul, I certainly met with the unexpected when I went to that vernissage back in November. Never for a moment did I think it would bring love into my life and a companion who obviously cares a whole lot for me. Just yesterday he told me that I was always beautiful to him, but besides that, it didn't matter to him whether I was at my best or not, that I wasn't on display all the time and he enjoyed the ordinary me, even when I'm sick (though of course he wants me to be well and healthy and strong). It seems so obvious of course, that someone who really cares about you doesn't stop at just the surface beauty, but nobody has actually ever told me that they are fine with me not looking my best, that it doesn't matter or change their perception of me.

Anyway, there'll be plenty of time for everything I think. We two-thirds the day apart, since he works at nights and we only get together in the afternoons, have supper, then a movie, so I can use the rest of my time as I want to. Best of both worlds, see?

>36 WilsonKoP: Guess I'll have to seek out The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Alone 1932-1940 and get to it sooner than later. I really enjoyed the first book. What a character!

So sorry that you are not feeling well, Ilana. Hoping that tomorrow finds you feeling much improved. You are making me excited to get to Bitter Greens! I have it as an ebook, so I hope it is just as good in that format - sometimes the narrator MAKES an audiobook for me, so I have really come to appreciate my audios. I have Shindler's Ark in the stacks, but I will have to wait for the right mood to tackle it; I do want to read it, though.

Sending you healing thoughts, dear, and gentle hugs.

>40 Smiler69: I think if you truly care about someone whenever you look at them there is a sparkle in your eye and a glow in theirs. It seems so logical and fundamental but it is surprising how often people (especially the man) in relationships are selfish in their concerns and how liberating it is when they are not.
Have a lovely weekend. xx

nasty crud going round everywhere. Take a good book, and crawl up and read. You'll feel better quickly.

Dingdang to not feeling well, but yay for having someone there to pamper you, eh? I hope you recover toot sweet, sister!

>40 Smiler69: Good for Pierre, Ilana. That's the real deal. That's sure the way I feel about my bride.

>40 Smiler69: Ilana, thanks for the iPhone picture taking advice. Maybe my problem is the light is too yellow because that's the color of all the walls in our house. I've just been fumbling around trying to transfer some pictures to my LT gallery and once I try them on LT, they look horrible so I still need to do some fiddling.

I am so, so happy for you that you've met Pierre. Everything you post about him is wonderful. Enjoy every moment of your time with him. You deserve someone that cherishes you for who you are.

Today is day 2 of the liquid diet. I've had homemade chicken stock with white rice for both lunch and dinner, and now making more rice for a second helping because I'm positively starving! The good news is I think this short-term solution is helping. Feeling pretty exhausted today though, so slept quite a lot, but managing a few other things all the same.

I picked up The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher: Stories today from the library's electronic collection (i.e. OverDrive) and read the first two stories so far. Loved the first one, not so much the second, and have six more to go. I'd been wanting to read this short story collection since it came out, so glad I've finally taken the plunge.

Off to work on my metro drawing for an hour before Pierre comes over to watch an Ab Fab episode and maybe a movie too, will be listening to Bitter Greens while I do. Am very pleased with my reading these days. Quality all the way.

***

>41 Crazymamie: Mamie, I totally know what you mean about narrators sometimes making a book that much better. Kate Reading narrates this one, and while I find her good enough, she never exactly blows me away either, so I think you'll find it very good as an ebook as well—in this case it's all about the story itself, which is really excellent and told on several levels. Pretty exciting stuff. As for the health troubles... thanks for the sympathy. Most of it stems from the fact that I have to take all this medication which causes all kinds of side-effects, which I try to counteract by taking supplements, which then cause all kinds of further complications, but I think it all got kind of nastier with the overindulgences of the holiday season.

>42 PaulCranswick: I think you've stated it well Paul. It seems I've had a knack for dating guys who were mostly selfish and wanting to be with a woman they could be proud to display all the time. Resetting my priorities helped me find a man who's got other ideas about what the ideal woman is like.

>43 tututhefirst: I took your advice today Tina, which is what got me to start on the Hilary Mantel story collection. Thanks!

>44 scaifea: Amber, I'm looking forward to getting better so I can eat those yummy Belgian chocolates Pierre got from his art dealer again! Not like I was overdoing it with just one a day either!

>45 jnwelch: Joe, when I went walking Coco a couple of hours ago, I dropped by Pierre's place just to see how his latest painting is coming along, and he had the kindness to tell me I looked lovely. Now, I can't agree with that statement today, because I think I look pretty dreadful, but it came as a very welcome comment, so I accepted it gracefully and very gratefully as well. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

>46 phebj: Pat, maybe you can send me the picture via email (or several versions of it) and I'll see if I can fiddle with it a bit in my photo editing software. Sometimes I can really do wonders with just a few minor adjustments, depending on what needs doing...

Pierre and I have had a few discordant moments, but of course I'm not going to post about our little spats! It's got to be expected that two long-standing hermits who've been single and used to having our own ways for over a decade should need some adjusting here and there, but it's pretty surprising that on the whole, we seem to really get along well. I have to give Pierre lots of the credit though, because he really goes out of his way to be accommodating and go with the tides when my moods ebb and flow... bless the man!

Congratulations on meeting someone who has similar interests. I am ever so happy for you! Happy New Year! May it be filled with light, love and laughter/

Hey Ilana -- I read The Assassination of Margaret Thacher as an ER edition. Overall, I thought it was a remarkable collection but I'm not sure it "held" well as I don't have a clear memory of any of the stories.

Two hermits come together, try to figure out if there is room in one another's life for the other: destined to have a bump or two. My genuine belief is that, if one is comfortable on one's own in life, the question is: am I willing to give up the magnificent life I've built, letting you in and letting you affect my equilibrium? I think our society "sells" us the notion that being with someone is better than being alone, but I think -- genuinely I think this!! -- that it is a sacrifice to let someone into your life. They (in this case, he) had better be worth it.

You know I'm in your box, Ilana, cheering you along, and also whispering in your ear: let him in, let him be with you. And remember that you are whole with or without him.

xo

Found you! As always, enjoyed your opening images and lists :-)

>15 Smiler69: Gorgeous! So much detail there. What size is it in real life?

>40 Smiler69: Sorry to hear you've not been feeling good. I don't know if it's getting older or the medication (which like you affects my digestive system and then I take supplements on top of that which normally correct it but I wonder if the whole system is just made more sensitive than it would otherwise be?) I'm on but I've noticed my digestive system is less likely to tolerate changes in my eating habits and I woke myself up with heartburn one night after Christmas. Yours sounds much worse though :-( Glad that it seems as if the liquid diet is helping.

>40 Smiler69: 'Am LOVING Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth' Ooh, good. That one's on my library list.

>47 Smiler69: I received Elizabeth Taylor's Complete Short Stories for Christmas which I've started reading and am loving so far. It's got me wanting to try other short story collections (although I should probably wait until I've finished the ET collection) although I don't consider myself a great short story reader. Anyway, I'm definitely interested in the The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher.

>40 Smiler69: Adding Bitter Greens to the BlackHole. Thanks for the recommendation, Ilana.

Feel better soon!

>48 Whisper1: Hi Linda, thanks so much for dropping by. Wishing you all the best as well my dear!

>49 EBT1002: You are a darling Ellen. Whenever I have doubts, I'll come and read your message again. But on the whole, that is what I tell myself. And he really does seem to be worth it. Out today doing errands for me because it's too icy and dangerous to go out there. What a guy!

>50 souloftherose: Heather, the drugs are literally a pain in the rear end! Every single on I take is constipating as a side effect, so I've started taking magnesium as a supplement, with only middling results. A lot of the time I don't want to leave the house because my stomach is rumbling all the time and I wonder if I wasn't better being constipated and bloated and just 'going' once a week instead, but of course not. Pierre keeps asking if we couldn't change my meds to things that don't have these side-effects, but I try to explain that finding the right cocktail mix for people with bipolar disorder is difficult enough as it is without worrying about this particular side-effect, even though it truly is disruptive. I daren't even bring it up with my shrink because she does seem truly ineffectual when it comes to drug changes and mine do seem to work when it comes to keeping me on an even keel emotionally, which is, after all, the most important consideration.

I'm not a huge fan of short stories too usually, but sometimes it does occur to me that I can fit in a short story here and there between other things. On the whole though I do prefer the experience of immersing myself in a novel. The thing about short stories is they are usually such a mixed bag, and I'll rarely the collections as a whole. Edith Wharton was an exception with the New York collection (NYRB) last year. I already disliked the second story in the Hilary Mantel collection, but we'll see what I make of the others. I recently got the most recent Elizabeth Taylor selected stories collection, You'll Enjoy It When You Get There, so we'll see how that goes when I get to it. I have so many of her novels to get to though!!

>51 alcottacre: Stasia, I really do think you'd enjoy it a lot. I still have about ⅓ of the way to go, but so far it's been a highly satisfying experience, and I know Suzanne was a huge fan a couple of months ago.

I'm back to eating normally now, so the diet did seem to have a beneficial effect, thanks!

I miss my subscription to Slightly Foxed! I had to let it go by the wayside when I had so many medical expenses for my mom. I am so envious that Darryl actually got to visit their bookshop. Now you have me thinking to resubscribe. Naughty Ilana. ;-)

Book #1: Slightly Foxed: 44: My Grandfather and Mr. Standfast by Gail Pirkis, Hazel Wood (Editors) ★★★★½
Series: Slightly Foxed: The Real Reader's Quarterly
Edition: Slightly Foxed: The Real Reader's Quarterly (Winter 2014), Paperback, 96 pages
Original publication date: 2014

Nobody ever said a subscription to The Real Reader's Quarterly was cheap. The price of the publication plus shipping to Canada is £52 (about $80 US dollars). That's not so bad, being a known quantity. The unknown quantity is the amount you'll then end up spending when you read all the fantastic reviews contained in each of the four yearly issues on often out of print books and series, which you'll then feel you cannot possibly live without, even though you've likely never heard of the titles or authors before. In some cases, you'll on the contrary already own several editions of a given book, but then feel compelled to order a special limited edition published by their own Slightly Foxed imprint, if you're anything like me, but more on that coming shortly.

This issue contained, as they all tend to do, a good mix of old favourites and complete unknowns. Among the favourites were Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's, which I read several years ago and recently acquired as a gorgeous Folio Society edition, and also as an audiobook narrated by Michael C. Hall of Six Feet Under and Dexter fame when it went on sale. What can't be overstated is the charm of the articles/reviews contained in each issue, where authors are encouraged to talk about their favourite books which are picked for their sentimental or literary worth as opposed to their value on the marketplace or jury list placements. Of books I already own and was compelled to purchase again , there was also an article about My Family and Other Animals, which Slightly Foxed has just published as an addition to their growing collection of biographies in small clothbound editions, this one being a personal all-time favourite by natural history writer Gerald Durrell, and one I couldn't resist getting, even though the £19 price tag with shipping to Canada was a bit of a splurge.

New-to-me discoveries included E. M. Forster's Two Cheers for Democracy, which only served to remind me that I already have no less than four of his books on the tbr still waiting for me to discover this amazing author, and it might be a good idea to start where he began in 1905 with Where Angels Fear to Tread. An article on Elizabeth Grant's Memoirs of a Highland Lady has me growing my wishlist, but then what else is new? That one should make for an interesting treasure hunt if I insist on getting a lovely reading copy, otherwise there's always a kindle edition. Another big splurge thanks to an article on L. P. Hartley's Eustace and Hilda trilogy, this time available through NYRB, and while I was at it, why not get The Go-Between as well, right? since that one is also on the Guardian 1000 as well as the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die—all four 2006/2008/2010/2012 editions, no less!

There's a third and last article of a trilogy on Patrick O'Brian's twenty naval novels, starting with Master and Commander, which I'll have to try my hand at again, and I think I'll need to get my hands on Patrick O'Brian's Navy: The Illustrated Companion to Jack Aubrey's World to help me with all the navy lingo. The little sample I did try on audio as narrated by Patrick Tull (which was highly recommended by Suzanne) was lots of fun, but I did get lost among the topsails and forecastles and various types of canon charges, so a little help, even if it means a small additional investment will be needed.

An article near the end, on Rex Stout's Fer-de-Lance has me convinced my life as a reader will never be complete without adding Nero Wolfe to my repertory. And that's just scratching the surface, as there are several articles I'm skipping over. I can't afford keeping up my subscription to SF. But then I can't afford not to. And besides, what else could approach such perfection for bathroom reading material?

>53 luvamystery65: Hi Roberta, sorry I switched things around, it'll look funny to other visitors, i.e. how you commented on the review before I posted it. lol. I can see how you'd have to let go your subscription with all those added big expenses. One thing you might consider which I did in the past couple of years though was trawl Abe and eBay to look for back copies as quite a few of them were available for really cheap, and being in the US, I bet you could find some with minimal shipping fees. And since they don't cover recent publications anyway, older editions are just as satisfying as recent ones anyway, right? I too envy Darryl's visits to their bookshop. For sure anytime I visit London I'll be dropping by there. I'll also contact their offices before I go and ask them if it's possible to drop by just to say hello.

I've been to the Slightly Foxed bookshop and it is indeed a very pleasant visit, although my bank balance winced the moment I walked in. I think the majority of my expenditure was actually on second-hand Folio's that they had for sale on their second hand shelves, but there were plenty of things I wanted from the normal shelves.

Sorry to see about your digestive issues. I've started the year off quite ill as well, a chest infection bordering on pneumonia which isn't clearing up quickly. Hopefully you'll be well on the mend soon.

And I'm so glad things are settling into a good routine with Pierre. Gives me a glimmer of hope in my own anti-social, hermit like state.

>56 lunacat: I'm not surprised at all to hear that the SF bookshop should stock secondhand Folios Jenny, since it seems SF and FS readers often are one and the same, or at least easily cross over, and it's not unusual for Folio to have printed books mentioned in SF which are otherwise mentioned there as "out of print". Another bookshop I'd love to visit in London is Persephone's which according to the photos of the shop and the books themselves seem oh so lovely!

The digestive issues are ongoing, but got exacerbated this week so that I really needed to do something to get back to just the normal unpleasantness, if you see what I mean. But everything does seem to be back to just that now. Just the same way I always have a slight headache always, instead of major pain taking over everything. So sorry about your chest infection—I hope you're keeping a close eye on it though.

There was never anyone LESS likely to meet a love interest and life companion, given I hardly ever put my nose out my front door and when I do, hardly ever look up from the ground, and certainly never look anyone in the eyes, given people in Montreal are so unfriendly on the whole (at least to other Montrealers they are—or that is my perception at least). That plus the fact I've given up on taking care of myself and don't give any though to my appearance or attracting the other sex... well it just didn't seem like it could ever happen in this lifetime, but there you have it. I did make a bit of an effort the day I went to the vernissage though, I'll admit to that. But even so—that means there is hope for all women out there! :-)

I had decided on another personal challenge last year and then forgot to list it when I created my thread, so I've just added Reading Stefan Zweig to the challenge lists in post #5 with the following blurb: I discovered Stefan Zweig in April 2012 and found a soulmate. I've since acquired a treasure in the form of a luxurious La Pléiade leather-bound two volume collection of his complete novels and stories in French translations. Since all his novels are quite short, I'd like to read at least one per month. I'll list what I've read here.

>55 Smiler69: What a great idea Ilana! Thank you.

Happy New Year Ilana! Leaving my lurking star (hopefully less lurky than last year).

And here you are in 2015.

After the Slightly Foxed you sent me I am sorely tempted to sign up.....

Just popping in to wish you better digestion soon - I expect letting your system rest is exactly the right thing to do.
I can't even imagine considering Slightly Foxed, but it's not as though I don't have more to read than I can get to.
And Ellen has the right of it. An intimate relationship is too much work if it's not improving the quality of both your lives. Pierre does sound like a wonderful fit for you.

Hi Ilana. I'm so glad to see you have such a wonderful reason for spending less time on LT and reading in general. I'm very happy for you. Here's to a great 2015....for both of us;-)

Morning, Ilana!

>57 Smiler69: I've been to the Persephone bookshop as well, as my mum collects a lot of their editions. Again, very lovely but I can hear my bank balance screaming the moment I walk through the doors.

I have a love/hate relationship with things like Persephone, Slightly Foxed or Folio editions. I enjoy beautifully published works and I love the Folios I have but I can't particularly justify the prices to myself, which is why (like you) nearly all my Folios are second hand copies. Maybe as I get older I'll go for less, better quality items rather than cheap and cheerful, but at the moment the finances rule over everything *sigh*.

Lovely new thread as always Ilana! The artwork that you choose is always so intriguing. :)
Hopefully you've been feeling better and no more stomach issues.
Less time for LT isn't necessarily thing since you are replacing it with something you deserve more of....being happy and being cared for. :)

Hi Ilana! I hope you had a good day and are feeling better. I ended up loving The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher: Stories. This was my first Mantel too. What a nice surprise. I hope it works the same for you.

We're having inhuman temperatures today, with -30 degrees C (-22 F) with the wind factor. I've worked on my latest Metro drawing for an hour, but will go spend another hour or two on it now, maybe finishing Bitter Greens while I'm at it. I keep forgetting to take a picture of it to show where I'm at with it these days, will try to remedy to that tomorrow if there's enough daylight to take a decent photo with.

Earlier today, I took my own advice to heart (given to Roberta in >55 Smiler69:) and went shopping for some editions of Slightly Foxed missing from my collection. Here are my purchases this month so far:

January
1. The Quantity Theory of Insanity by Will Self - Bloomsbury edition (AbeBooks)
2. Deceived with Kindness: A Bloomsbury Childhood by Angelica Garnett (Amazon seller)
3. Slightly Foxed: No. 3: Sharks, Otters and Fast Cars by Gail Pirkis & Hazel Wood (Editors) (AbeBooks)
4. Slightly Foxed: No. 5: A Hare's Breadth by Gail Pirkis & Hazel Wood (Editors) (AbeBooks)
5. Slightly Foxed: No. 6: Taking the Plunge by Gail Pirkis & Hazel Wood (Editors) (AbeBooks)
6. Slightly Foxed: No. 15: Underwear Was Important by Gail Pirkis & Hazel Wood (Editors) (AbeBooks)
7. Slightly Foxed: No. 27: Well Done, Carruthers! by Gail Pirkis & Hazel Wood (Editors) (AbeBooks)
8. Slightly Foxed: No. 31: The Return of Grouse by Gail Pirkis & Hazel Wood (Editors) (AbeBooks)

Total books purchased to date: 8

>59 luvamystery65: Can't wait to find out what great deals you'll get!

>60 evilmoose: Lurkers and commenters are both welcome Megan, though of course it's always nice knowing who my visitors are! :-)

>61 sibylline: Lucy I must admit I did have a bit of an agenda when I sent you that gift issue because I want to see SF keep alive and well, but then they already have loyal fans around the world, including yours truly obviously!

>62 LizzieD: Your loss on Slightly Foxed Peggy! Those little quarterlies really are quite a pleasure to hold and to read for their own sake, but of course you're free to do as you please! As to whether Pierre and I are truly a good fit, I guess only time will tell...

>63 brenzi: Bonnie I do hope for your sake 2015 brings you only good news. As for me, I'm hoping no disaster strikes, but barring that, I'm ready for whatever life tosses at me next.

>64 scaifea: Good evening Amber! ;-)

>65 lunacat: I know what you mean about having a love/hate relationship with all those lovely publishing houses Jenny. I feel the same way too. I spend lots of money on all those lovely books, but really, I can't afford them either, which is why I'm constantly in debt and not able to set enough aside for a rainy day. I'm hoping to mend my ways eventually, though it may be too late for me already. You sound much more reasonable on the other hand, and I congratulate you for it.

>66 jolerie: Welcome Valerie! Stomach is all better at this point, and I'm hoping it stays that way. Tonight Pierre is staying home, and I'll be taking advantage of my alone time to draw and maybe finish an audiobook, which is a pretty good plan, as I think you'll agree. :-)

>67 msf59: Mark, I think The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher: Stories is a bit of an odd place to start reading Hilary Mantel, but then I guess there is no wrong place to start either. It does give you a good idea of how wide a range she has. I haven't made headway since those first two stories, and it might take me some time to get through the whole collection because I really want to finish Schindler as a priority. I have become a big Mantel fan after reading four of her novels (Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies—both of which I will reread before getting to the third book in the trilogy when it finally comes out, then A Place of Greater Safety, and Fludd most recently) and I intend to read many more.

>52 Smiler69: You've probably tried all the various supplements to help with constipation but the one I've found most helpful is called Fybogel here (or isphagula husks) and seems to ease the constipation without the bloating side effect so many other supplements gave me. I don't know why psychiatric medicines should so often have constipation as a side effect....

ETA: Hope you enjoy the ET short stories - I've found the quality to be very consistent so far.

>54 Smiler69: What a lovely read to start the year off with! For some reason I haven't got very far through that editon yet but I'm looking forward to it whenever I pick it up. I love the fact that they only discuss books the writer loves and that they're not genre snobs. Children's books or crime novels are as likely to be featured as Booker winners.

>58 Smiler69: I like your Stefan Zweig challenge. I still haven't read any of his books and have two of his novels - hopefully you'll prompt me to pick them up...

>58 Smiler69: Wow, an author soulmate. I will have to see if our library has any Zweig books. I hope you continue to feel better. No one wants to begin a new year in the bathroom!

I love Stefan Zweig, but he exhausts me emotionally. Discovered him as a teenager and when I reread some of his short stories lately they felt just as intense. Now... didn't I buy a short story collection last year? Where did I put it? :)

A choice of three fun bingo cards were created in the 2015 Catergory challenge (thanks to Donna for posting about it!), so I've decided to join in again.
Unlike last year, I'll count any book that fits the criteria, as opposed to counting only books that I rate 4 stars and up, to give myself a chance to complete the challenge...



1. With a protagonist of the opposite gender: Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally ★★★★
2. Chosen by someone else: Chocolat by Joanne Harris ★★★★⅓
3. That I've owned for more than one year: Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively ★★★½
4. With scientists:
5. On a subject I'm unfamiliar with: An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro ★★★★⅓

6. Translated from a language I don't speak:
7. With a natural disaster: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel ★★★½
8. About Autism:
9. With an LGBTQ character: Reflections in a Golden Eye by Carson McCullers ★★★★⅓
10. Set in a country other than my own: Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill ★★★★⅓

11. About language:
12. Published in 1915:
13. Category Challenge - FREE Space!
14. That reminds me of my childhood:
15. Where prophecies or portents are part of the plot:

16. Based on a fairy tale or myth: Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth ★★★★½
17. Inspired by another piece of fiction: Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell ★★★★⅓
18. With correspondence or letters: The Blind Contessa's New Machine by Carey Wallace ★★★★½
19. By an LT author:
20. Where an animal is of importance:

21. With a mythical creature: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling ★★★★⅓
22. Centered around a major historical event:
23. Whose author shares an ancestor's first name:
24. That is a Genre Bender:
25. That is completely outside my comfort zone: Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast ★★

>70 souloftherose: Hi Heather, I'll look for Fybogel or isphagula husks next time I go to the pharmacy. At the moment it's dangerous to try to go anywhere, as the streets and sidewalks are iced over with a thick coating of ice which the city hasn't yet gotten around to removing or covering with salt or any sort of anti-slip product on most streets in my neighbourhood so that one is really taking their chances when they are venturing out.

I hope you enjoy SF No. 44 when you get to it, though I'll be surprised if you don't. I'll have many more old editions coming through the door soon, even though I still have quite a lot of back issues to get through. Should keep me busy and spending money on books for years to come yet... ;-)

As for Stefan Zweig, my 2-volume collection contains all his novels as well as his short stories, and sometimes I'll be reading a few short stories which I can't find touchstones for, as happened today when I tried to list a few in my reading plans, but I do hope I'll manage to encourage you as well as others to discover and/or read more of his work!

>71 Donna828: Donna, I hope you like Stefan Zweig when you find him. He's rather intense, and very poetic as well. I find it difficult to express the way his writing affects me.

I'm doing much better now. It's quite nice being able to live outside the bathroom, even though I do have some interesting reading material in there! :-)

>72 Deern: Nathalie, I can see how one wouldn't be in a mindset for Zweig all the time since he is rather emotionally intense, but so far in the last few years since I've discovered him he's always seemed to hit the right note with me, so it seems I was in the right mental and emotional space for his writing, which is why I want to make room for him this year. Of course I'll be happy if you decide to join along and read some of his stories too!

Hi Ilana and Happy New Year. It seems a few of us are looking for ways to blend LT and RL and my choice was to eliminate my 75er thread and just have the one over at the Category Challenge. I am hoping to stay current around here and participate in the AAC, BAC, and, of course, the TIOLI Chalenge. I have dropped a star here and will check in often. I hope your holidays went well and that things are going well with you.

>75 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy, so glad you've decided to keep up with my thread! I'll star your thread at the CAT challenge and visit you over there too. I keep wanting to join that challenge too, but find keeping up with just this one group difficult enough, though the one year I participated (I think it was 2011), I really enjoyed it a lot. The holidays were really special. The first time in ages I celebrated, and with someone special too, which made them worth celebrating in the first place! Hope you're doing well and health is good. Wishing you a wonderful year ahead.

I've been seeing this meme around the threads and wanted to give it a shot. The idea is to answer the following questions by filling in the answers with titles of books you've read last year.

Describe yourself: 420 Characters
Describe how you feel: Lost for Words
Describe where you currently live: A Place of Greater Safety
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Going to Meet the Man
Your favorite form of transportation: You're All Just Jealous Of My Jetpack
Your best friend is: Not My Father's Son
You and your friends are: The Prune People
What’s the weather like: The Wuggly Ump
You fear: The Ruins of Gorlan
What is the best advice you have to give: Sailing Alone Around the Room
Thought for the day: Can You Forgive Her?
How I would like to die: Rhyming Life and Death
My soul’s present condition: Ruby Red

Stopping by and waving hi, and leaving an illustration from a recent book I read:


I wish you light and love in 2015!

Book #2: ♫ Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth ★★★★½
Source: Audible.com
Read for: TIOLI #4: Read a book you were supposed to read in 2014, but didn't & Reading Bingo
Edition: Blackstone Audio (2014), Unabridged MP3; 19h26
Original publication date: October 2012



Partly based on the true life story of Charlotte-Rose de la Force—a cousin of the Sun King, Louis XIV—who was banished from the court of Versailles by the King for a series of scandalous affairs to live in a nunnery, this book interweaves her own life story with the fairy tale we've come to know as Rapunzel. According to Wikipedia, Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force, or Mademoiselle de La Force was a French novelist and poet, and her best-known work was her 1698 fairy tale Persinette which was adapted by the Brothers Grimm as the story Rapunzel, though it seems this story originally came from an Italian folk tale which Mademoiselle de La Force would have had no way of becoming acquainted with, and Kate Forsyth uses her ample skill as a novelist to suggest how this now famous fairy tale might have been transmitted to her.

When Charlotte-Rose arrives at the convent where she is to spend the rest of her life locked up and isolated from the rest of the world, she meets with a harsh and brutal reception. Stripped of her luxurious court garments and shorn of her cascading locks of hair, then systematically bullied by her overseer, she is eventually aken under the wing of an old nun, Soeur Seraphina, who comforts her with an old Italian folk tale about a young girl who was taken from her parents because her father has stolen a handful of bitter greens; before little Margherita was born, her mother nearly died during the pregnancy because she was unable to eat. At her request, her husband stole a handful of herbs from the garden of the renowned courtesan next door. According to the story, Selena Leonelli was a famous courtesan in the Venice in the 16th century, the favourite model of a great painter, and by that point also a powerful witch with dark powers. When she catches Margherita's father stealing the herbs, she threatens him with declaring him to the authorities, the punishment for theft being the cutting off of both hands. A bargain is made, and so the parents must agree to eventually give their daughter away. On her seventh birthday, Margherita is taken away, first to a convent to receive a proper education and then into a tower where she is shut off for years, her only visitor being Selena Leonelli on monthly calls and blood rites. There are monstrous secrets hidden in the tower, which has no doors nor stairs, and Margherita must drag around yards of hair which the witch uses to climb up to the only window every month, and the only company the girl has the rest of the time is her own beautiful voice to distract herself, with the hope that someday somebody might hear her and come to her rescue.

Kate Forsyth has a gift for storytelling and we get a narrative from three points of view: there is Charlotte-Rose, locked away in the convent and looking back on her youthful follies and excesses; Margherita in her tower, becoming a woman and looking back on her childhood while learning to outsmart a powerful witch; and Selena Leonelli, telling her own fascinating life story starting in the plague-ridden Venice of the early 16th century and explaining how and why she became Margherita's jailer. The long narrative of her life is perhaps the most fascinating of all.

I haven't yet read Angela Carter, and looking forward to redressing that omission, but from the descriptions I've read about the way she retells fairy tales, it seems Kate Forsyth has also adopted a very modern, adult and feminist point of view which is rich, dark and fascinating. Certainly miles away from the Disney folks and their ilk. A thrilling book with which to start the year, and heartily recommended.

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Here's a nice little book trailer on youtube. Spoiler-free!

Slightly Foxed is a new thing for me. I don't think I've ever seen one, but I will certainly be looking out for them now! I love your review, Ilana!

I was a bit enchanted by the Bingo thing last year. I think I'll go look at Donna's thread, find the website and consider adding one to my thread. Or not. I feel so overcommitted already although I realize that the Bingo is pretty flexible and things one is reading for other challenges may fit.

I hope you are in for a wonderful weekend, Ilana, and not too much terrible weather.

I enjoyed the Slightly Foxed that you so kindly sent to me last year Ilana although I didn't have the good sense to include it in my books list.

Hope you have a splendid weekend.

Happy Saturday, Ilana! Hope the week went well. On audio, I started All the Light, which is showing promise. How is the Mantel collection & Moon Tiger coming along? I hope to get to the Lively next week.

I know you like your subway art. I saw this on FB- It is photos of people reading on trains. Pretty cool:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2015/01/09/reinier_gerritsen_photographs_reade...

Oh, those are great pics!

Lots of Kindle deals I couldn't resist this week. I found out that doing a search for "HarperPerennial Classics" on the Kindle store will land you with dozens of pages of classics priced 99¢. The Phryne Fisher Mysteries are on special (thanks Joe for alerting me to this), and there are 5 Regency Romances by Georgette Heyer on today's Daily Deal. Here are my recent splurges:

Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor
The Violent Bear It Away by Flannery O'Connor
Peyton Place by Grace Metalious
You Can't Go Home Again / Of Time and the River / Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe
Tales of the Jazz Age by F. Scott Fitzgerald
McTeague by Frank Norris
The American by Henry James
The Green Mill Murder: Phryne Fisher #5 by Kerry Greenwood
Blood and Circuses: Phryne Fisher #6 by Kerry Greenwood
Ruddy Gore: Phryne Fisher #7 by Kerry Greenwood
Urn Burial: Phryne Fisher #8 by Kerry Greenwood
April Lady by Georgette Heyer
The Toll-Gate by Georgette Heyer

Total books purchased to date: 21

***

>80 EBT1002: Ellen, I've occasionally sent out copies of Slightly Foxed to some of my friends, so I'll have to include you on that mailing list to introduce you to the pleasure of that small publication. Since you live in the States, it's quite easy to find back issues from second hand US vendors at cheap rates and free postage, so if you do get hooked you won't have to get upset with me. :-) I, on the other hand can never get free or even cheap postage, if it's any consolation. To find the bingo boards you can just follow the link I've provided here, it leads to the same link as that on Donna's thread.

Wishing you a great weekend too!

>81 PaulCranswick: Paul, I only count SF toward my books because I figure if I count graphic novels and novellas, then there's no reason why I shouldn't count these publications too. :-)

>82 msf59: Hi Mark, All the Light We Cannot See is definitely on my wishlist, though I decided early on that I didn't want to listen to it on audio, because it takes place in Paris and it drives me nuts to hear Parisian place names pronounced with an American accent throughout (as I did on the audio sample)—of course that's just a pet peeve of mine, being half French, and something I won't have to deal with if I read the book in print. I know lots of people loved it and I expect you will also end up being a fan, but look forward to your comments. Haven't made any progress at all on the Hilary Mantel short story collection, but Moon Tiger is now progressing nicely and I'm quite enjoying it.

Love, love LOVE the shots of people reading on the NY subway by Reinier Gerritsen, thanks so much for the link!

>83 drneutron: Agreed!

>84 Smiler69: You are beating me 24 to zero at present, Ilana. I haven't bought a thing yet in 2015.

There is no reason whatsoever not to put the Slightly Foxed publications into your reading as a book - I just hadn't thought of it!

>84 Smiler69: Thanks for the 'heads up" With great restraint, I ordered just one - the first of the Phyrne Fisher books.

>85 PaulCranswick: "I haven't bought a thing yet in 2015." There is still time!

I actually bought a copy of Bitter Greens late last year from Book Depository because the premise sounds so intriguing. Glad to see how highly you rated it. Now I just have to find the time to read it.... :)

>84 Smiler69: Thanks for the tip Ilana, I'll blame you when my bank statement comes through ;)

Paul hasn't bought a thing?!!!! i am alarmed. My world is coming unglued.

Hey Ilana! Just passing through quickly. Trying to catch up a bit as I am behind everywhere. Glad you are feeling better. That Bingo thing looks like fun. I'll have to try it sometime.

Hi Ilana. After scaring myself with the tracking and recording of my book buys last year, I learned my lesson - just buy - don't record. I have been picking up a few "deals" for the Kindle over the last week. So hard to resist!

I've been suffering from a bad migraine for the last few days. It had been a while, so I daren't complain too much, but today I had to cancel a movie date with my friend Kim, so I could lay in bed for a good part of the afternoon to sleep off some of the pain, and I'm taking the evening off with Pierre too, though he'll be coming over for a movie later. Can't spend much time on the computer as staring at the screen is bad for my eyes right now, but catching up with a few threads and lurking here and there.

Will go spend some time on my drawing for at least a couple of hours (if I can manage it) shortly, during which time I'll finish Chocolat (only 35 minutes to go). I think I've enjoyed the audiobook a lot more than the movie, but then Juliet Stevenson makes every book that much better. After this one I'll start on Everything I Never Told You, Dept. of Speculation or 2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas—haven't decided which audiobook I feel like listening to most yet, but all three are on my planned and shared TIOLI reading lists. I'm 28% of the way through Moon Tiger and really enjoying it. Seeing reviews cropping up on various threads and looking forward to reading them, but will have to wait till I've finished first.

***

>85 PaulCranswick: Well, I know the score as of today is actually 24 to 5, and if the trend continues I'll have you beat by a mile, but somehow I'm not excited at all by that prospect, Paul. Maybe we can get you buying Kindle books for the sake of seeing long book lists again? Those are always so much fun to read what with your brief summaries and all.

>86 catarina1: Happy to share the wealth, and congrats on your self-restraint. And welcome to my thread Catarina!

>87 jolerie: Valerie, somehow I feel certain you will LOVE Bitter Greens and you should make room for it sooner than later.

>88 lunacat: Jenny, if you're talking about the HarperPerennial Classics tip, then there really isn't any reason to worry about your bank statement, and I can't wait to see what you end up getting! Though I suspect you mean something else as I don't think you can get those in the UK...

>89 Fourpawz2: Not to worry Charlotte, I think Paul's already taken measures to rectify the situation, and I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but I live in hope he'll find a way to gratify us with fun book lists again one way or another...

I'm treating the bingo challenge as I did last year, that is, not so much as a challenge, but as an extra, so that if a book happens to fit in I count it towards the bingo, but I won't force myself to choose books specifically to complete the card. Glad you're making the rounds again—love seeing you around!

>90 DeltaQueen50: Judy, for the moment, I'm not worrying about my book-buying, seeing as it's my one big indulgence. And I'm still tracking them because I get enjoyment out of making book lists, basically. At first I was hoping to restrain myself with those lists, whereas now it's just become another way to keep lists for the fun of it. :-)

Just finished Chocolat, now starting on Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Ofill.

>84 Smiler69:: I'm not even French though I did live in France for a year from 2-3 and refused to speak English while there, so probably spoke it better than English for a time given my age then. As I then refused to speak French when we went back to Leeds, I forgot it all again. But listening to something set in France with American accents would drive me crazy as well, as would British English mispronunciations. It might also be weird for native German speakers.

I found it took me a little time to get into Bitter Greens. but once I did, I enjoyed it too.

Hi Ilana. Sorry to hear about the migraine. Hope it's short-lived.

I will follow your Stefan Zweig reading with interest. I really enjoyed The Royal Game and Other Stories and as a result purchased Beware of Pity and The World of Yesterday (his autobiography). Hopefully, your enthusiasm will help me get at least one of those books read this year.

Your review of Bitter Greens was so good, I just put the book on my library list.

I'll be interested in what you think of Dept. of Speculation. I almost bought that in Barnes & Noble the other day but ended up putting it back since I couldn't remember what I had heard about it.

Hope this is a good week for you!

Well I put HarperPerrenials into Amazon and a whole host of classics came up, mostly for 49p. Not the same as those listed by you, but I scrolled through and purchased a few anyway, so it's still your fault!

Hello Ilana :) for some reason I thought I wished you a Happy New Year on this thread, but I didn't. It was your old thread. Well, at least you are not moving as fast as some of the threads :)

I love your threadtoppers by Catrin Wetz-Stein. I have to look a little more into her art. So beautiful.

>15 Smiler69: Love the finished portrait of Rocky. He looks absolutely georgous.

>40 Smiler69: Bitter Greens is on my TBR and hopefully I will be able to read it this year, as I am seriously trying to reduce my Black Hole this year.

I am almost finished with The Ruby in her Navel and on one side I love the book for it's detailed descriptions, but on the other hand I have to admit that I care little for the characters themselves.

>52 Smiler69: I quite sympethize with your problems there. I have to take a huge amount of medications for quite different reasons, but I tend to get similiar problems and in due course I always have to increase my least favourite medication. I don't know whether you ever tried lactulose. It needs to be titrated as it initially causes a lot of bloating. However, after some time this settles. You may find if you start with 10ml in the evenings that this could help considerable. I agree with you that it is quite difficult to find the right mix for bipolar disease. One of my best friends also has bipolar and I remember that it took ages to find the right medication and dose for her. Something else what we use in Germany (even for babies) is called "Milchzucker" if I translate it into English it comes up as lactose, I used this on my son when he was a toddler this worked incredible well and didn't appear to have these bloating side effects.

However, I wish you a great week and look forward following your art and reading again this year. :)

>79 Smiler69: Glad to see that the book lived up to expectations - I put it on hold at the library when you first mentioned it. I should get it this week.

I'm so sorry to hear that the head pains are back, Ilana. I have quietly been joyful that you've not mentioned having headaches for a good while, but didn't want to mention anything here in fear of jinxing it...

What a fine and intriguing review of Bitter Greens.

I'm sorry your head is aching, not fair.

Loved your meme entries! Jetpack made me snort! As did Prune People and Wuggly Ump!

Nice review of Bitter Greens, Ilana, and I like those meme answers, too. Jetpack was inspired.

Hope your head pain eases and you start feeling improved.

I can see why Dept. of Speculation was picked out as one of the year's best for 2014 by The New York Times and Slate, among others. It might be a slight volume, but the way it tells the story of a marriage is highly original and I'm really pleased to find that Jenny Offill reads her own text very well too, which can't be said for all authors, who often shouldn't do their own narration. I'll go work on my drawing in a short while and polish off the 50 mins remaining to this short audiobook, which has been a real treat, even if it doesn't deal with easy matters along the way.

Headache is better right now. Still there, but nowhere near as violent. A lot of the time, the migraines seem to be linked to my digestive system, which is unfortunately affected by my medication. Finding the supplements that work for me at the right dosage should eventually give me the necessary relief. I'll be trying several options in the coming months.

I've just taken pics of where I'm at with the drawing. Just posted these on FB so I could show them here relatively large to show detail (black band on the right should have been cropped out):


"Woman with Headscarf" (detail)


Showing full size image.

>77 Smiler69: 'If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Going to Meet the Man'

And I think we can guess which man! :-D

>79 Smiler69: Bitter Greens sounds really interesting. Great review!

Sorry to hear about the return of the migraines but glad it's easing a bit.

>101 Smiler69: I love Woman with Headscarf although my favourite bit is her bag - so much detail! Also, I want a bag like that!

>93 elkiedee: Luci, I had to start Bitter Greens twice, because the first time I was reading Sacred Hearts at the same time, and that story is also set in a convent, and also features a a young woman this time, sent to a convent by force, though in the 16th century, but obviously I was having some difficulties keeping some of the details apart so I decided to keep the Kate Forsyth book for later since I was already more than halfway through the Sarah Dunant book by that point. Interestingly enough, I found it a big jarring when they started in on the fairy tale portion of the story as I was wanting to hear more about Charlotte-Rose's experience in the convent, which was Sacred Hearts was like, and I guess I wanted to compare the two, so in the sense it took me both less and more time to get into the story than it did for you.

Too bad you didn't get a chance to continue speaking French once you got back to England as you'd surely have become bilingual thanks to your early exposure to the language. Always useful having several languages. Do you speak/read German? I know it's offered in British schools as an option.

>94 phebj: Pat, I'm glad I encouraged you to get your hands on Bitter Greens. Well before I got to it, I know Susanne gave it a rave review too, and I'm fairly confident you'll end up finding something to like about it, though of course I look forward to your comments. I really wasn't sure what I'd make of Dept. of Speculation, especially when I saw 'motherhood' and 'parenting' in the LT tags on the book's main page, since these are topics that are far from my personal experience and my range of interests normally, but as usual, it all has to do with the author's approach, and Offill's is just perfect; intriguing, amusing, entertaining, thought-provoking. As I mentioned above, I still have about one-third of the book to go, but at this point I highly recommend it, even before having gotten to the end.

Headache is giving me some form of respite after 3-4 days. Hopefully this trend will continue. I want to say once again how glad I am you've decided to make some time in your busy now life for LT again. It's so lovely to see you around the threads and it's nice knowing so many others get to benefit from your presence! :-)

>95 lunacat: Jenny, I'm completely unrepentant. As I said on your thread, I can hardly feel guilty about encouraging you to buy 49p books! :-b

>96 drachenbraut23: Hi Bianca! I was under the impression you'd visited me here as well, so it's all good! :-)

True enough my thread is going slower than others, but then again I was delighted today to find I'd gotten a flurry of messages overnight—always exciting, that!

When I discovered Catrin Wetz-Stein last year I got really excited about her imaginative art, which combines 19th century imagery with modern photoshop collage techniques and I used her images for quite a few of my thread toppers. I thought I should probably switch over to something else for the New Year, but then felt sad about parting with her imagery when came time to start my 2015 thread, and after all, who made a rule that we MUST change themes?? I'm glad others here enjoy her art as well, but then I guess when I run out of images I really love by her I'll find other things to feature.

As you know The Ruby in her Navel was a huge hit for me, so of course I'm sorry you're not quite as taken with it, but then I understand we can't all find the same books equally captivating... that's just one of the things that keeps this group interesting. I do hope you find Bitter Greens to your liking when you get to it, but once again, if you don't, I'll just be curious to find out why the difference of opinion.

I'll take down your suggestion of lactulose among my supplements options. I'm eventually bound to find something that works for me. I'm not keen at all on using anything that might cause even temporary bloating however, because I already suffer terribly from that and am made very uncomfortable by it, so best to stay away from anything that causes more of it. No matter what the cause for medicating though, it does seem that a great majority of pharmaceuticals cause constipation; just one of those most frequent side-effects. You'd think those who make the medications would do something to counter-balance that, considering how important proper digestion is to overall health!

Thanks so much for your visit, and loved all your comments!

>97 alcottacre: Wow Stasia, I'm impressed! Didn't realise my offhand comments could have so much influence, especially on someone as well-read as you! I feel honoured! :-) Really hope you enjoy Bitter Greens and end up recommending it as well, though wouldn't be surprised if you did considering Suzanne loved it well before I got to it.

>98 scaifea: Thanks Amber. Much like you, I felt the migraines were best left unmentioned. They were still present in the background, sort of lurking quietly but not disturbing too much and most of the time I could forget all about them (since living with chronic pain, you do forget about it when it's very minimal). Also, I guess when you meet someone and fall in love, the initial excitement and joy must flush the system with endorphins which, in and of themselves are effective painkillers, but of course that can't last very long. I shouldn't be pessimistic though; maybe this is just a temporary little flareup. I'm seeing my neurologist on Thursday so we'll see what the next step should be.

>99 sibylline: Oh goody! I'm glad you liked my meme entries! I thought they'd gone unnoticed. Same goes for the Bitter Greens review, but today I see it just needed a little time for readers to come round and visit my thread to see it. I did think Edward Gorey's books were perfect for those meme questions... maybe I should have answered all of them with his book titles, now I think of it! :-)

>100 jnwelch: Hi Joe, thanks so much, glad you liked the review and the meme answers. I knew I could count on you at least to notice those!

>102 souloftherose: And I think we can guess which man!

Yes well, I guess I've been sort of screaming his name on the rooftops lately, haven't I? ;-)

"Woman with Headscarf" is offering the biggest challenge so far when it comes to detail. The bag is the most obvious because of the pattern, and I agree it's the most appealing part of the drawing. You can't see it yet, but the skirt is filled with intricate embroidery designs as well, and I'm excited to get into those, though it'll probably be a while before I do since I'll have to put this drawing aside to work on my commissions. The details of her shirt, the pebble design of the wall seen through the windows, the headscarf, I knew when I took her picture that she presented an incredibly difficult challenge as far as elaborate detail, and that's what attracted me to her in the first place, but it'll be nice to be able to rest on plain surfaces like the tiny bit of wall and bench and what have you!

Speaking of commissions, I can't post my friend Liselotte's portrait online, technically speaking, as she's not comfortable with me sharing it on the net, but I think I could show it here on my thread since it's a relatively private corner of the net I think, so I'll post the initial sketch I did of her soon. I'll be starting the actual piece any day now.

***



PLEASE NOTE: If you see a review you like, don't hesitate to give it a thumbs up, it's such a little gesture and really is appreciated by the person who made the effort to write it (speaking for myself and other LTers)!

I was strongly considering getting Bitter Greens as a real life actual book as I needed to bump my Amazon order up and I keep looking at it, but it was over £6 and on my budget, that's a lot for a book I'm not sure I'll love. I might use the Amazon gift card on the Kindle copy though.

Hi Ilana, sorry I didn't post for a while. I am still caught up in the New Year frenzy of trying to follow as many threads as I can with the fast-going ones already being a real challenge again.
I always like to dedicate some time to your thread, admire the art, read the detailed reviews also for those books that I know aren't for me and of course to follow your life and then see if I have anything half-intelligent to say which isn't always the case, so I also might just read and enjoy on some days.

Like everyone else, I love "Woman with Headscarf" and that bag really is an eye-catcher. I am looking forward to seeing the skirt (whenever you get to it), and also to the Liselotte sketches, should you decide to post them.

When I first looked at the Bitter Greens review some days ago (didn't have the time to read it then), I thought "historical fiction = not for me". Now that I read it, of course I also want to read the book. Rapunzel was among my favorite fairy tales anyway. And sure I thumbed you on the book page. :)

Re. the constipation issue I wanted to say that for me a reduction of milk products really helped last year after decades of problems (in my case the reason is organic), but that would advise against the use of lactose as a supplement for the migraine medication. I guess you can just give it a try and see how it works.

Thanks for all the Bitter Greens love, friends. Joe and I were commenting not long ago that people seem to have gotten out of the habit of thumbing reviews, so I thought I'd encourage the tradition to come back. I finished Dept. of Speculation on Monday evening and highly recommend it. I'm hoping to catch up on my reviews today, but have decided as of yesterday that I'll try to fit in my drawing sessions earlier in the day to make sure I get enough drawing time in, so we'll see how much time remains after. Have started Station Eleven which is very good, though I really am very tired of dystopia. All the same, sticking to it and seeing where it'll take me. Am ¾ of the way into Moon Tiger and while I can see it's very very good, I'm failing to fall in love with it as everyone else seems to have done. A shame really, but you can't force these things to happen.

Went on a credit spending spree on Audible the other day and got the following:

♫ The Parasites by Daphne Du Maurier
♫ A Dead Man in Deptford by Anthony Burgess
♫ Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess
♫ Fire From Heaven: A Novel of Alexander the Great by Mary Renault
♫ Behemoth (Leviathan 2) by Scott Westerfeld - narrated by Alan Cumming

Total books purchased to date: 26

I also downloaded The Boston Girl from the library, the latest book by Anita Diamant.

>106 lunacat: I know what you mean about spending money on a book you're not sure to love, Jenny. I'm the same way. I don't hesitate to get Audible books because I can always get my credits back within the year if I'm not happy with those, but spending the full rate on a book I'm not sure about doesn't happen otherwise very often.

>107 Deern: No need to apologize Nathalie, I'm not very good about commenting the threads, as I do a lot of lurking too, so I understand. I think today I'll get started on the Liselotte drawing as I've been putting it off to work on my personal project for the past couple of weeks and need to get back to it now so it's ready for her when she gets back from Florida.

I hope you like Bitter Greens when you get to it. I really loved the way she retold the Rapunzel tale and especially the added tale of the witch, which of course is a perspective we never get in the traditional fairy tales. Thanks for the thumb too. :-)

Hi Ilana! Hope the week is going well. I have to get my greedy mitts on Dept. of Speculation. I've been hearing such good things about that one. I take it was good on audio?

Sorry, Moon Tiger isn't blowing your socks off. I am really loving it and it might even hit the 5 star mark.

>6 Smiler69: I see Gift of Rain on there, and on Evilmoose's threads :) We may be able to coordinate a loose type of group read thingy? Let us know if you start it and I will also. I need a push and it'll only ever be book horned in.

>101 Smiler69: I saw a thing on FB about a guy photographing people reading books on the NY subway, he didn't get their permission and still published them (perhaps only online?). of course I thought of you and your series, and still wonder why they can't get to a wider audience. They are amazing.

Hi Ilana! Just stopping by and starred you!

>110 msf59: Hi Mark, you definitely should get Dept. of Speculation—I know beyond a doubt you will love it. It worked wonderfully well on audio; Jenny Offill delivers her material beautifully. I was mostly glad to finish Moon Tiger last night. Great writing, but it just didn't connect with me at all. Those things happen.

>111 LovingLit: Hi Megan! I'll be very happy to share a read with The Gift of Rain with you and the other Megan and whoever else wants to join along. I guess deciding on a specific month might be helpful, so how about I arbitrarily choose March? Would that work for you? If not, we'll try some other time, or another method. Let me know what works best for you. I'll suggest the same to Megan/@evilmoose.

>112 connie53: Hi Connie, thanks for dropping by!

>101 Smiler69: I love that drawing! Very very good

Finished two books last night which I was glad to see the end of. Two books which have been very popular with fellow LTers, I might add, but which somehow didn't work for me for reasons I will explain in the commentaries below. As I did last year, I will allow myself to do writeups about books out of order, that is not necessarily in the order in which I read them, which will encourage me to write more often and more spontaneously, though I do intend to write reviews for previous books I've finished earlier in the month very shortly (today, even?)



Book #7: ♫ Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel ★★★½
Source: National Library OverDrive Collection
Read for: TIOLI #15: Read a book you acquired in 2014
Edition: Random House Audio (2014), Unabridged MP3; 10h41
Awards & Distinctions: National Book Award finalist (Fiction, 2014)
Original publication date: 2014

Station Eleven is a very well woven tale and a fascinating non-linear story featuring a large cast of characters, most of whom are survivors of a global catastrophe which causes the complete collapse of civilization as we know it. Following an epidemic known as the Georgia flu which hits the world by storm and infects and kills within mere hours, 99 percent of the word population is killed within a matter of days, and survivors are left to fend for themselves in cities devoid or electricity or running water where all the roads are blocked by long lines of cars which are either abandoned or filled with the corpses of flu victims. When the novel starts none of this has taken place yet, but is just about to. A famous actor by the name of Arthur Leander is playing the role of King Lear, and his daughters are represented by little girls in this version of the play. Arthur suddenly has a heart attack. An audience member in the first row jumps on the stage to help him; Jeevan Chaudhary, has been training as a first aid medic and wants to save the dying actor. While the medics are attending to Arthur, Jeevan tries to comfort one of the little child actors called Kirsten Raymonde, who is eight years old and only within a few feet of the dying man. Within a few hours, the Georgia flu has arrived in Toronto, all the hospital emergency rooms are packed and patients are already dying—this flu is the deadliest strain ever, with an incubation period of mere hours, death following less than a day after the victim is infected. The novel first narrates Jeevan's initial survival tactics, then jumps twenty years forward and follows Kirsten, who has joined the Traveling Symphony; this being a group of musicians and actors who travel in a caravan and stop in various small towns to play music and act out Shakespeare plays. They stop in a town where it transpires a cult has taken over where 'The Prophet' teaches that everything happens for a reason and the flu killed those who deserved to die, and those who were just were spared. All through the novel the narrative jumps around in time and to various characters, though Kirsten is one of the central figures and the apparent link between the other characters seems to be Arthur Leander: his ex-wives, his best friend, his son, his would-be saviour, etc.

As I said, the story is very well told, and I give Emily St. John Mandel all due credit as a fantastic storyteller. The only problem I had with the book, which is a rather major one, was that I found the premise of a post-civilization world was too depressing for me to contemplate, and no matter how well Mandel told her story I just wanted it to end. In fact, I'm not quite sure why I just didn't drop it somewhere along the way because it certainly didn't do anything for my mood or general wellbeing, even though I tried to concentrate on appreciating how convenient and luxurious modern life is in the Western world is. That being said, there is a point in the story when Kirsten observes animals in the wilderness and muses on the fact that humanity may very well go extinct eventually, and considers that this may in fact not be a bad thing—might in fact be entirely natural, and on that point I couldn't help but agree with her.

Book #8: ⓔ Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively ★★★½
Source: Amazon.ca
Read for: TIOLI #1: Read a book that has the word "psychological", A Century of Books!, Booker Prize Books
Edition: Penguin (2006), Kindle Edition, 226 pages
Awards & Distinctions: Booker Prize (1987)
Original publication date: 1987

In Moon Tiger, historian Claudia Hampton is lying on her deathbed reflecting on her past, though she chooses to call it a word history. This is probably meant to be somewhat ironic—Claudia has a peculiar sense of humour and most definitely has her very own way of looking at things, as she considers we each have our very unique experiences of events (a point on which I completely agree with her). She reflects on the nature of history and time, on whether they are linear and her thoughts bounce around very much in a non-linear fashion to her childhood and the competitive relationship with her brother Gordon; to an on-and-off lover with Russian roots called Jasper with whom she had a daughter—mostly estranged—called Lisa; to another lover, much dearer to her, lost during WWII, called Tom; to a young refugee she helped called Laszlo. These various people come visit her in the hospital where she is lying and drifting in and out of consciousness, those no longer living visit her in thought as she reflects back on the various relationships she's had with them. The mother who was distant. The daughter who was colourless, the lover in Egypt whom she had hopes to marry, tragically lost and forever cherished in memory. The brother with whom no other man could ultimately compete. All these reflections seen from the perspective of a woman who has always had an independent and strong spirit, who has always done things in her own way and has never sought approval, not from her mother or her lovers or her daughter. A woman who became a war journalist and travelled into the Egyptian dessert when women were not allowed to do so. A woman who devoted her life to her art, to her writing.

All this should have fascinated me, should have pulled me in. It all made for an excellent story, I could see that objectively, I could also see that Lively was an excellent writer and knew how to put together words beautifully, yet I felt this wasn't written for me. Hard to explain really, but at no point was I able to connect with this book, and my greatest interest was in looking at the number of minutes left in the ebook on my Kindle app, which I think is rather telling. Maybe it was just the wrong timing. Or maybe, this being the second Lively book I failed to connect with, I just don't 'get' her. I'll give her one more try, then I'll decide.

I thoroughly agree with the idea that it won't be a bad idea for the human race to go extinct. In fact, given that absolutely nothing is infinite, the fact is we WILL go extinct and it only remains to be seen whether we do so having never left the planet, or if we branch out and infect other planets before it happens.

After all, everything ends eventually. The dinosaurs, the huge animal group however many millions of years ago, went kaput, and we will too. The only way we are going wrong is assuming the human race is invincible when it's not. As things go we are a very 'new' species, and the damage we've already done to the world is incredible, and there is no way our population explosion can continue so something will have to give at some point. All it needs is another 100 or so years for antibiotics to stop working completely and an illness will run rampant across the world.

HIV/AIDS is nearly the perfect disease, in that it's spread by the very method by which we procreate, and it can lie dormant before suddenly rearing its head. All it needs to do is figure out some way of travelling through other bodily fluids like saliva, or a flu virus to change like in Station Eleven, and the world will be dramatically different. Personally I find that idea fascinating, but I can see how it would bring you down.

Can you tell I'm in an optimistic mood tonight?

I had the same reaction as you towards Moon Tiger. I think she is an impressive writer but I just couldn't connect with any of the characters. Ambivalence pretty much sums up how I felt about the story itself. There has been an interesting mix of reactions varying from absolutely loving it to not caring for it so I guess that makes for good conversations. :)

>117 lunacat: The only thing more wonderfully depressing than contemplating the havoc wreaked by the human race and our inevitable demise, is the prospect of us successfully escaping our planet and setting forth to wreak havoc on the rest of the galaxy.

Hi, Ilana. I've missed you! (My own fault entirely.) I'm not reading your review of Moon Tiger yet because I've just started it. I'm going to try to finish the first Patrick Melrose novel before I make a major commitment to it. I did, however, thumb your review of Bitter Greens even before I saw your prompt!
I'm also tiring of dystopia or post-apocalypse, being only about half through The Passage. I'm reading womanfully though, so maybe I'll put it behind me before the month is out.

Thanks for the messages friends, I'll be back tomorrow in the early part of the day to reply to your comments, but it's rather late and I just want to make a note of the fact that I've picked up the audiobook of Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell this evening. It was recommended by Mac (@blackdogbooks) sometime toward the end of 2013 I believe. In this story, author and famous opium addict Thomas De Quincey (who famously wrote Confessions of an English Opium Eater) becomes the prime suspect when a serial killer uses De Quincey's essay On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts as his template for the murders. Chilling premise.

Off to bed now, and I'll finally be picking up The Blind Contessa's New Machine (picked for me by Roberta) to lull myself to sleep - finally some decent bedtime reading that's not likely to cause nightmares!

>119 evilmoose: That's my kind of thinking ;)

Oh, I loved The Blind Contessa's New Machine, Ilana! Good for Roberta. I hope it works for you. To me, it's one of those that deserves to be better known.

>123 jnwelch: Joe you and Val gave me that book bullet! It's only fitting I pass it on to Ilana. That was such a lovely story.

>105 Smiler69: I'm looking forward to seeing more of the details of Woman with headscarf as you progress.

>115 Smiler69: I have Station Eleven but it's received so much love recently that it's almost putting me off reading it. Don't know if I will struggle for the same reasons you did - sometimes I can read quite bleak books without feeling depressed and other times they become too much.

>116 Smiler69: Moon Tiger is another book I'm planning to read this month. A couple of other people have mentioned the connection problems you had with this one on the BAC thread. I haven't found that to be a problem for me with her other books but I'll have to see how MT goes.

>115 Smiler69: I'm a little worried about reading Station Eleven for exactly the reasons you mention. Thanks for the review!

>117 lunacat: Hi Jenny, I did indeed think you were being very hopeful in your in your little essay on human extinction. ;-)

I often think about the fact that we have wrought destruction on this planet and that it had survived very well for millions of years until we arrived here and there is no reason it should not continue doing so without us—that after all, in the grand scheme of the universe we barely register as motes of dust. I don't find these musings especially depressing, but somehow, it's very different when you bring them down to daily reality of individuals trying to survive the extinction process itself and their fight for survival, if you know what I mean.

>118 jolerie: Valerie, I had a similar reaction when I read (listened to) Penelope Lively's How It All Began in March of last year; simply didn't connect or care about the characters and didn't feel I could relate to the book somehow. As I said, I'll give her another try before deciding that she's not my cup of tea, though I am starting to think this may be the case.

>119 evilmoose: Have to agree with you there Megan. This brings to mind another fantastic book, Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles. Have you read it?

>Hi Peggy, nice to see you in these parts! Fully understand you'd want to skip my Moon Tiger review at this point. I look forward to seeing what you'll think of it, though it seems most LTers tend to fall in love with it, with a few rare exceptions.

I've got the Patrick Melrose novels on both Kindle and audio format and have been looking forward to them ever since Suzanne gave an excerpt to show how exceptional Edward St. Aubyn's writing is. Hard to say at this point whether the writing will transcend the bleak topic for me or not; I'll just have to go ahead and read it to find out. Really not sure about which way to go with it: love the narrator on the audio version, but visual reading is usually the best way to go to fully appreciate great prose. Guess I'll have to sample both to make my decision.

I'm not yet willing to say I will NOT read any more dystopia, because some of it is so gripping, especially in the fantasy genre, but I'll probably think twice about picking up the more realistic literary sort which has a tendency to plunge me into despair all too easily. I don't need or want to get in touch with those feelings if I can possibly avoid them.

Thanks for the thumb! :-)

>123 jnwelch: Joe, I've got you, Suz and Caro down as the three LTers who originally recommended The Blind Contessa's New Machine most enthusiastically around the time it first came out. I'm about 30 pages into it as of last night and really had trouble putting it down—only did so because it was getting extremely late and I was very tired, but it's very promising so far.

>124 luvamystery65: Roberta, as I think I mentioned to you, I was looking forward to picking up that book during all of 2014, during which time it was near the top of my TBR pile in my bedroom (see here), so I'm glad you finally gave me a reason to pick it up without further delay.

>125 souloftherose: Heather, I'm itching to continue working on 'Woman with Headscarf', which, as you can see, still needs a lot of work as it's only halfway done, but I really need to put it aside for now to work on commissions. There is Liselotte's portrait I will start working on in earnest this evening (I've asked Pierre for us to take a break this evening for this purpose), and then there are a couple of other projects in the wings. I'll really have to become more efficient with how I use my time on a daily basis so I can spend more hours drawing and work both on commissions and personal projects on a weekly basis and advance both at a reasonable pace.

I'll be curious to see what you make of Station Eleven. Not to discourage you, but I thought of you as I was listening to it and it occurred to me it was the kind of book you might find a little bit to heavy for your liking, but I might be wrong about that. Also curious to see what you'll make of Moon Tiger. Something tells me you'll love it, but that's just because everyone else (or nearly) has so far.

>126 Dejah_Thoris: Liane, I certainly don't mean to discourage anyone from reading Station Eleven. There have been lots of glowing reviews of it from other LT members whose views I greatly respect, such as Mamie and Ellen for example, so you should definitely read their reviews (on the book's work page) for a more balanced perspective, but I just felt my take on it was equally valid.

As I was mentioning to Heather just above, I've asked Pierre for a 'singles' night this evening. I want time to myself so I can:
a) catch up on my reviews
b) work on my portrait of Liselotte (he's always more than willing to give me time to work on my drawings)
c) eat my carrot ginger soup, and ONLY soup (maybe with bread) for dinner.

Today the weather is dismally cold: -18 C right now, or around 0 (zero) F. Tomorrow will be a much warmer day, with temps around 2 C (35-36 F), so we've planned to go on a long walk and stop by a book swap on the way. Fun!

Here is the initial sketch I sent to Liselotte for her approval before moving on to the final version. She was very happy with it as well as with the notes I included describing the changes I want to make in the revised version:
• Top of the head is too short, will adjust.
• More indications of the shoulder and neckline, but not that much.
• Better shadow gradation on forehead and brow from dark to light.
• Lots more detail in hair, more darks and maybe some dark contrasts coming in from the background too.
• Darkest part on right side will be darker, including the ear (as seen on temple), which will be better drawn.
• More details at middle of face (around chin, mouth and forehead) growing fainter and disappearing toward left.
• More accurate drawing but keeping loose pencil marks, as shown.


I'm not supposed to share this on the internet, so this is an exclusive to LT (not seen on my blog or Facebook).

Hi Ilana! Just checking in. I was in the library yesterday and they had Bitter Greens on their new book shelf so I brought it home with me. I've started way too many books in the last couple of weeks so I hope I can bookhorn this one in before it's due back. It's only a two week loan so we'll see.

I will keep watch for when you decide to read The Gift of Rain. I own a copy and have heard only good things about it so would appreciate a reason to finally get to it.

Hope you and Pierre are having a good weekend!

We must have posted at the same time because I saw your drawing of Liselotte after I posted my message above. It's so wonderful to see the drawing! I'm so glad she's pleased and I'm also glad you're going to be posting your progress on LT. I love following your artwork.

Wow, it sounds pretty cold in Montreal today. Its gray here today but at least it's not too cold. I have a little heating pad thing that I keep heating up in the microwave and moving around my creaky joints. I feel better if I don't sit too long but then I can't stay on LT for as long as I want. Such a dilemma!

>130 phebj: >131 phebj: Hi Pat, seems we posted just a couple of minutes apart! I hope you have time to finish Bitter Greens. Hopefully it'll pull you right in and you'll end up devouring it in no time at all. It looks like The Gift of Rain will be happening sometime in February or March, but probably Feb. I really loved The Garden of Evening Mists, so looking forward to his first novel. As for Liselotte's drawing, I won't be posting progress very frequently. She's not at all comfortable about me posting it on the web, and I'm only posting it here because I figure LT and my little thread is sort of a remote outpost of the web and not likely to receive lots of traffic, but I'm still bending the rules. It's just I do really want to show what I'm up to work-wise and it's always nice to get encouragement as I go of course! :-)

If I didn't have to take Coco outside, I promise you I wouldn't go past the front door in this kind of weather! Eek!

Great drawing! I will love to watch this work grow!

Happy Saturday, Ilana! I loved both of your reviews. Excellent job! Obviously, I loved both of those books more than you did, but I thought you captured the spirit of each title. Better than I ever could. LOL.

Hope you are having a great weekend.

Beautiful drawing, Ilana. Enjoy your Sunday!

After all the amazingly cold weather we've been getting lately, it's hard to believe the thermometer will hit 2 degrees C (35.6 F) today. Pierre and I have planned to go on a long walk and do some pleasant errands, like pick up a herbal tea they only sell at a tea shop which is about 40 minutes walk from here. Along the way we'll be stopping by a book swap. They say you can bring up to 20 books, but I'll be bringing twice as many because I badly need to get rid of books I know my usual book merchant won't want to buy them, being non-literary books, or not the kind of literature he's usually interested in. We'll be leaving early, so I'll try to cram in a review or two in the next hour.

***

>133 connie53: Thanks Connie! That's just the sketch though, now I have to start all over and make it that much better!

>134 msf59: Thanks Mark, glad you liked the reviews, even though I sort of panned books which you happened to love. I did try to be as objective as possible and clearly state my problems in both cases were purely a personal perspective. Weekend so far has been great, thanks bud! :-)

>135 Dejah_Thoris: Thanks Liane, so far so good, and it'll be nice to take a leisurely walk in relatively warm weather.

I started listening to Being Mortal and it is terrific. I thank Joe and Darryl for the nudge on that one.

Book #3: ✔ Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally ★★★★
Source: AbeBooks
Read for: TIOLI #1: Read a book that has the word "psychological", A Century of Books!, Booker Prize Books
Edition: Folio Society (2009), Edition: 1st thus, Hardcover, 384 pages
Awards & Distinctions: Booker Prize (1982), Guardian 1000 (War and travel), 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (2006/2008/2010/2012 Edition)
Original publication date: 1982

Most people have come to know this book via Steven Spielberg's famous 1993 movie version, Schindler's List which won countless awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction at the Academy Awards, though I refused to see it at the cinema when it was released and have never seen it since either, even though it is often listed among the greatest films ever made. Stories about the holocaust have always been very difficult for me to deal with, no doubt largely because of the fact that I was exposed to holocaust material at an early age growing up in Israel for a few years, where the message is "Never Forget" and the holocaust images I was exposed to as a young girl were seared into my brain and indeed never forgotten. I don't think I would have ever picked up the book either, if I hadn't become a Folio Society collector; which are beautiful high quality hardcover illustrated books, and fallen in love with the drawing style of Tim Laing, who has illustrated several Folio Society editions, namely of a trio of John Le Carré books. His realistic pencil drawing style was highly inspirational to me as an artist and I was moved to communicate by email with him directly to ask him for some professional tips which he was kind enough to share with me. When I later discovered FS had published Schindler's Ark in 2009 and that it was also illustrated by Tim Laing, I simply had to have it. Then a friend from the Folio Society Devotees picked it out for me and of course I couldn't refuse her.

The book tells a tale that begins with the larger than life Oskar Schindler, who at the onset of WWII and in the prime of his early thirties is an extremely successful and wealthy industrialist, as well as a well-connected Nazi party member. Schindler is described as a bon-vivant who was handsome, with a strong build, who though married, was an unrepentant womanizer and entertained at least three simultaneous love affairs. He also drank heavily with his business and government contacts—which as the war evolved were more often than not one and the same—but no matter how much alcohol he imbibed, his faculties were never impaired and he never showed signs of inebriation, a quality which was going to serve him well in his often delicate and dangerous dealings. Schindler was a German from the Czech region, and he was living in the Polish town of Kraków for his business dealings, where he had a factory, Deutsche Emaillewaren-Fabrik, commonly known as "Emalia", which initially produced enamelware in the form of kitchenware, but Schindler's connections in the Wehrmacht and its Armaments Inspectorate enabled him to obtain contracts to produce enamel cookware for the military. At this time, the Jewish population of Kraków was forced to move into cramped conditions in a ghetto, from which they were eventually to be deported to work camps and concentration camps. To help as many Jews as possible over the war years, Schindler hired as many Jews in his factory as he could—which often meant they were saved from being deported to concentration camps, being useful to the Germans—though usually having to resort to very expensive black market bribes and ruses, especially when a work camp was created outside Kraków and the ghetto was liquidated. Schindler then took many extraordinary steps which would prove both to the Jews and the Germans he was intent on helping the Jews. The Germans let him get away with it because of his important connections and the extravagant bribes he paid to the right people, though he did land in jail at great risk to his life more than once. The commandant of the work camp at Plazów where the ghetto residents who survived the ghetto exile were transported was called Amon Goeth. This man was a sadistic maniac who was in the habit of randomly executing his prisoners on the slightest pretext, though often without the least provocation and was all too happy to follow orders to feed his charges as little as possible. This situation caused Schindler to create a work camp on the grounds of his factory where he could insure the Jews he employed would at least have enough food to eat and have decent chances to survive the war. Then when the work camps in that region were about to be closed down following orders from Berlin and the prisoners were slated to be sent to the death camps, Schindler arranged for his factory to be moved to Brünnlitz in the Czech republic, and this is how Schindler's List of 1,200 Jews was created, naming the Jews who were to be sent over to this new factory and spared the gas chambers.

This is a gripping book and is in many ways a page-turner. Oscar Schindler himself is a fascinating character, and his nemesis Amon Goeth and many of the other characters who people the story seem larger than life and make for thrilling reading. There are many passages in the book which are deeply disturbing, especially when one stops to consider that all the material in the novel is based on facts and on the countless interviews Thomas Keneally had with Schindlerjuden ("Schindler Jews") around the world, and whoever else was willing to talk to him. For those who are sensitive to graphic violence, as I am, there are many description of the abuses done to the Jews by the Nazis and the deeply antisemitic Poles. What makes the book bearable is that all through the narrative there are the tale of individuals whose acts of survival and courage enabled a large group of people to live through the madness of the holocaust. One could take the view that the horrors inflicted on the Jews during WWII continue to this day in various iterations on various ethnic groups and be discouraged by that fact, but then we could also take some small comfort from knowing that there will always some who try their best to help those in need, even in the worst circumstances.

I do intend to watch the movie now I've broken the ice and have read the story. A friend told me the movie ends on a very hopeful note, and that past the mid-point, when the horrors of the Nazis have been shown, things become much brighter with the mission to save the Jews taking over. I guess I'll only find out once I see the movie myself, but he book presents another reality. While it's true enough Schindler did in fact save over one thousand Jews, the book presents the entire process as being filled with danger and anguish for all who had the most to lose, right until the end. In fact, Schindler himself did not come out of the war without suffering some loss. Escaping from the camp at Brünnlitz mere hours before the Russians were due to arrive (when he would have been shot as a German and a Nazi), a diamond (or a quantity of diamonds, according to the book) had been hidden in the upholstery of his car, but this was stripped and stolen shortly after so that Schindler was penniless from then on, and somehow was never quite able to recoup his fortune or find his direction in the years following the war, until his death in 1974. However, he always stayed in contact with his Schindlerjuden throughout the world and was supported morally and financially by the Jewish community, and made frequent travels to Israel, where he was named Righteous Among the Nations by the Israeli government in 1963.

That was a wonderful review of Shindler's Ark Ilana. I too own a copy of the book (but not the FS edition) and I've never read it for the same reasons you addressed in your review. I'm trying to read more books that I already own this year so I may actually give it a try.

It was interesting to read about how you came to purchase the FS edition and your connection to the illustrator. I'll be anxious to see what you think of the movie. I haven't seen it either.

Have fun at the Book Swap. I can't wait to see what you come home with.

>136 Smiler69: After all the amazingly cold weather we've been getting lately, it's hard to believe the thermometer will hit 2 degrees C (35.6 F) today

Our weather over the last couple of days has been about that temperature, and everyone (including me) has been going around complaining how very, very cold it is! I suppose we should be grateful for what we have.

Checking in to say that I also didn't fall in love with Moon Tiger which I finished a couple of days ago. I did fall for Nicole Krauss's The History of Love which I finished around the same time.
Glad you loved Bitter Greens and Schindler's Ark.
Currently in Tel Aviv and using the free TLV wifi which is great asset when staying with someone not wired up.

>127 Smiler69: I know what you mean about struggling to connect with Lively's characters - she writes quite dispassionately and I don't think the reader is invited to care about her characters in the way one does about other books. I don't mind that but I can see how it may leave other readers cold. I was going to suggest How it all Began as a book where I felt there was more of a connection but I notice that you've already read it and had the same problem.

>129 Smiler69: That drawing of Lisolette is beautiful.

>138 Smiler69: A very good review of Schindler's Ark, Ilana, which I have duly thumbed. I've seen the film at least a couple of times (we watched it at school when we were studying WWII) and it is incredibly moving although I don't think it really goes into the details of the full horrors inflicted on the Jews during that period, but it was emotional enough without doing that. We watched it at school when studying WWII and the teacher had to leave the lights off for a while after it had finished to give us all time to pretend we hadn't been crying! I'm considering reading the book after your review although it doesn't sound like an easy read.

>140 SandDune: As Rhian said, your milder temperature is our cold temperature!

>124 luvamystery65: Ha! Love it, Roberta!

>128 Smiler69: Oh, that's good company for fans of The Blind Contessa's New Machine, Ilana. Glad you're getting caught up in it like that.

>129 Smiler69: Nice! Thanks for sharing the drawing.

>138 Smiler69: Fascinating review of Schindler's Ark. Thumb from me. My wife has trouble watching Holocaust movies, too, and we haven't seen Schindler's List for the same reasons you mention. I may suggest trying this book to her.

Am very close to finishing a couple of books: have just the last story to read in The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher, which I had set aside for a while, but then, seeing I only had 4 days left on my OverDrive loan, decided to divvy up the remaining stories over the last days. Will polish off the title story tonight.

Will be working on my drawing in a short while and finishing off the last half-hour on the audiobook of Murder As a Fine Art, which has been a rather thrilling historical fiction featuring the real-life Thomas De Quincy as a main character. I'm slotting in drawing time before review-writing time to ensure I keep my priorities straight (and make Pierre proud of me!), but I'll hopefully be able to catch up on my outstanding reviews a bit later today, or tomorrow at latest.

Am about halfway through The Blind Contessa's New Machine which is proving to be a real delight. I'm not quite sure how come this little book hasn't been picked up by more LTers or why it hasn't gotten a higher overall rating. Something needs to be rectified here.

Later today am going to the library to pick up a couple of books. I've been waiting for An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro since the beginning of the month (for the British Authors Challenge), but it still hasn't arrived so am slightly disappointed about that. Will however get to pick up Reflections in a Golden Eye by Carson McCullers—this edition has an afterword by Tennessee Williams too; this for the American Authors challenge. Also, the sound recording of Galore by Michael Crummey, a novel which was highly recommended by Bonnie.

***

>139 phebj: Hi Pat, glad you enjoyed my review of Schindler's Ark. I'm sorry it became so long. I initially hoped to write a short-ish paragraph about it, but it just grew and grew and grew and then I didn't have the heart to cut it down, which always ends up happening with my reviews. I think if Nicky (from the Folio Devotees group) hadn't picked it out for me to read last year it would have lingered on my shelves for a long time, and I DID put it off till the end of the year... Pierre has the movie version and has told me many good things about it and is eager to watch it again with me. We agreed I need to take a bit of a break after having read the book, but I should be good to watch it in a few weeks, especially since I know the movie treatment is a bit lighter than the book version.

Book swap: I was actually a lot more eager to go get rid of books than to pick some up, if you can believe it! This month I've had absolutely no self-control when it comes to book-buying, so they've been coming in in droves, and meanwhile I've had a couple of boxes cluttering up my entrance hallway for over a year with books I've meant to give away (having no car always makes this trickier than it should be). We had warmer weather on Sunday and planned to go on a long walk with Pierre and Coco, so I put about 40 books into a couple of book bags and dumped them at the book exchange site, had a quick look around, didn't see anything tempting (they were just getting started), and happily left empty handed! :-)

>140 SandDune: Hi Rhian! Everything is relative isn't it? I'm all too aware that our 'warmer' winter days are similar to winter weather in most of Europe and the UK and try hard not to be discouraged by this. The advantage to having lived in arctic winter weather most of my life is that I've learned to dress for it so that when the worst of it comes I'm well prepared at least. Also, when the real cold sets in, there is no humidity and the cold is somehow easier to bear; in the 'warmer' temps, it tends to be very humid and gets down into the bones, so that no amount of layers can keep you warm, which isn't the case in dry cold, which is some kind of consolation...

>141 avatiakh: Hi Kerry, nice to get a visit all the way from Tel-Aviv! Mind you, I do tend to get weekly calls from my father who lives in Nahariya. I don't know that I 'loved' Schindler's Ark exactly, but it was certainly affecting, and I'm glad I finally summoned the courage to learn about this man and this part of history, which I guess puts another slant on the holocaust and on the horrors of humanity, in the sense, as I said, that it's encouraging to know there are always those who are willing to put themselves at risk and do what they can to help those in need. This doesn't take anything away from the fact that millions died in vain and suffered terribly, but it does remind us that there are decent acts among the madness or torture and killing. Bitter Greens was a sheer delight. I'll be curious to see what Kate Forsyth comes up with next. Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip!

>142 souloftherose: I'm sure the movie version of Schindler is extremely affecting, Heather. Reading about it on wikipedia, I was reminded that Steven Spielberg filmed it in b&w because he wished to approach the project in a documentary mode, so of course he couldn't have cut out all the horrors the Nazis did to the Jews of Krakow, or else he couldn't have show a good reason for Schindler to save them to begin with. The book certainly didn't pull any stops. The beginning was very charming, describing Schindler the womanizer and drinker and businessman, but once the ghetto was created things became very bleak and almost every page had something harsh to reveal: if not physical violence, then psychological torment of some sort. It's not a book I would recommend to everyone at any time, and most definitely not an easy read. Let's just say I was very happy to have Pierre to call in the middle of the night after each reading session, so we could talk about what I'd just read and compare notes between the book and movie (though I had to remind him more than once not to reveal any spoilers from the movie!), and then move on to lighter fare and joke and laugh before sleep to prevent me from having nightmares. If it hadn't been for that I would for certain NOT have read the book at bedtime as that would have simply been a form of self-torture.

>143 jnwelch: Hi Joe, once again, I'm really loving The Blind Contessa's New Machine and really surprised to see only 200 LT members have listed it in their collections so far. We need to get Mark on board—he does a good job getting loads of people to read a book, doesn't he?

My father refuses to see any material having to do with the holocaust, which is perfectly understandable, seeing as he lost many aunts and uncles to the gas chambers and whatnot. I remember going to see Life Is Beautiful with him, thinking he'd be able to deal with it since it had a humorous, sort of sweet slant and he freaked out during the camp scenes, so I learned my lesson and never tried that again. I can deal with it in small doses, but I'm too sensitive in general to deal with material that contains that much brutality. I don't know that your wife would find Schindler easy to cope with. While the overall message is a hopeful one, and Oscar Schindler is definitely a hero who saved a relatively large number of individuals it's still pretty hard-hitting story.

***

Off to work on my drawing of Liselotte, finish an audiobook and start on another... what should I pick, I wonder??

What a great review of the Schindler book!
It took me many years to finally watch the movie. I took out the DVD and watched it in bits, I believe I saw it the first time ever completely end to end on Christmas day 2013 when it was on German TV. I found the book easier to read although if I remember well it has more violent scenes than the movie. But those they adapted for the movie are hard to get through. The movie has one scene, you read the book already so it isn't really a spoiler, more a warning when the women are accidentally sent to Auschwitz, where I think I would have fainted in the theater. The scene has been done that way to get exactly that effect, but I don't know if I can ever watch it again..

My impression with the one Lively I read was that her characters are far too realistic to be liked. There's that daughter in The Photograph (names!) who tries to cover her selfishness and inability/unwillingness to grow up with those fake worries about the state of her parents' marriage and I found a bit of myself in her and didn't like that at all. At 50% I was close to giving up because I didn't want those people "around me" anymore. I expect something similar from Moon Tiger.

Liselotte looks so lovely! Thank you for sharing the sketch here!

I'm with you on needing to clear some books out. I keep looking at my shelves knowing that the number I have up there at the moment (which have spilled over onto my windowsill) is unfeasible. I might manage to get a box together by the end of the week, and we have a very convenient charity shop warehouse to drop things off to so I'll take them there. It's donations in aid of our local hospice as well, so I know they'll go to a good cause.

The plus side is that because you just drop things off, there can be no purchasing!

>144 Smiler69: 'left empty handed' *jaw drops* I never manage to do that!

>145 Smiler69: I don't know anyone personally affected by the Holocaust and can only imagine how much more difficult it must be to read about or watch if you do.

>138 Smiler69: I do intend to watch the movie now I've broken the ice and have read the story.
I read the book after I’d seen the movie. The movie as I recall conflates some characters and exaggerates some events for drama.

Book #4: ♫ Chocolat by Joanne Harris ★★★★⅓
Source: Audible.com
Read for: Picked for Me! (by Mamie), TIOLI #3: Read a book with a food item in the title, A Century of Books!
Series: Chocolat (1 of 3)
Edition: AudioGO (2005), Edition: Unabridged MP3; 10h26
Awards & Distinctions: Whitbread Shortlist
Original publication date: 1999

When Vianne Rocher, the beautiful and unattached mother of little Anouk Rocher arrives on a changing wind just at the tail-end of a carnival in Lansquenet and decides to open a charming little chocolate and sweets shop right across from the church, she immediately splits the little town into two factions. She manages to both delight some of the locals and children with her sublime and delicious handmade confections and generous offers of free milk chocolate and enrages Père Reynaud and his virtuous followers who are set to deny themselves all guilty pleasures during the lent season, now just begun. Then, worse still, some gypsies arrive on their boats and while a group of upstanding citizens (once again headed by Reynaud and his minions) are prepared to repel the strangers from their safe harbour and deny them all service, Vianne further inflames those opposed to her strange free-spirited ways by inviting them into her shop and facilitating their stay.

At the heart of the novel is a conflict between the rigorous organized religious zealots and the accepting open-minded and perhaps witch-like roaming spirits like Vianne and her travelling friends; between scrupulous self-denial in the name of a higher moral calling versus indulgence in the good things as a way of celebrating life's and nature's bounties. But beyond all that, it's a wonderful story about people and how they interact with one another, and about how magic can be made with some quality cocoa beans and the right amount of cream and sugar. Delightful, and all the more so in this audio format as narrated by the wonderful Juliet Stevenson. To my great regret she does not narrate the following book in the trilogy, called The Girl with No Shadow or The Lollipop Shoes depending on whether you're in the UK or US market, so I'll pick this one up in print eventually to find out what happens to Vianne and little Anouk next.

Book #5: ♫ Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill ★★★★⅓
Source: National Library OverDrive Collection
Read for: TIOLI #2: Read a book from a list of best or notable books of 2014 (Slate)
Edition: Dreamscape Media (2014), Unabridged MP3; 3h10
Awards & Distinctions: New York Times Notable Book of the Year (2014), Slate Top Ten Book of the Year (2014)
Original publication date: 2014

“The Buddhists say there are 121 states of consciousness. Of these, only three involve misery or suffering. Most of us spend our time moving back and forth between these three.”

"This is another way in which he is an admirable person. If he notices something is broken, he will try to fix it. He won’t just think about how unbearable it is that things keep breaking, that you can never fucking outrun entropy."

Some say it took them a while to get used to the writing style of this short novel and they were put off at first. I, on the contrary was rather charmed by it, though having avoided any reviews up till after I was done reading/listening to it, I didn't have much of an idea of what I was getting into, and I wasn't really sure until I was a good third of the way into it (make that an hour into the audiobook) what I was listening to really. Were these essays? Was it fiction or non? Was it a collection of stream of consciousness snippets? Was it free-form poetry? I was intrigued. Eventually, a pattern emerged. In all fairness, I saw this emergence quite early on, but it was all so disjointed, like squares of a quilt coming together... you knew the pieces were all meant to form a whole, and the more of them were shown to you, the more the pattern started to emerge, and each piece was quite lovely on it's own. But then things were revealed and it became kind of sad, yet true—I mean: real.

Then I read the NY Times review, and perhaps it's more elegantly worded, but then Roxane Gay is a professional and I'm not:

"Jenny Offill’s second novel, “Dept. of Speculation,” charts the course of a marriage through curious, often shimmering fragments of prose. A writer lives in Brooklyn. A writer lives in Brooklyn and falls in love. A writer in Brooklyn marries and has a child. A married writer in Brooklyn lives, and then there are bedbugs." ... "Seemingly significant information is doled out in inscrutable doses. Each fragment is satisfying or not, and exists unto itself but also, clearly, as part of something bigger. “Dept. of Speculation” moves quickly, but it is also joyously demanding because you will want to keep trying to understand the why of each fragment and how it fits with the others."

Shimmering fragments of prose. Yes. Each fragment existing unto itself. Yes. But also, clearly, as part of something bigger. Yes. It moves quickly, yes. Perforce, because it's such a brief work of what must be fiction. Is it though? It has such immediacy, if feels like we are invading this woman's—this woman we will only ever know as "the wife"—private life, yet she has invited us in, because this is her novel, she tells us she is a writer after all, she tells us this is her second novel, and since this is her story, she must want to share the breakdown of her marriage with us. Does it break down though? You'll have to read it for yourself.

I'm not usually a fan of authors reading their own material. There is often a reason why professional narrators are hired to record audio versions of books, but Jenny Offill does a great job with this reading. She knows her material well and she delivers it very convincingly.

I didn't think I'd like this book, because what I did know of it is that it dealt with marriage and motherhood, two topic of which I don't know much and which, I'm sorry to say, don't interest me much either, since I've been denied the opportunity to experience them for myself. But Jenny Offill invites us in and gives us the opportunity to share her experience, and I feel I've learned something along the way.

>146 Deern: Nathalie, thanks for the warning. That is one of the sections I found the most difficult. I found all the violence hard to deal with, but by that point in the book, I guess I was expecting things to start going easier because we were in the 'rescue' portion after the list was made, and here the women were going through more unimaginable hardship and risking death in horrendous conditions. So yes, thanks for the warning.

As for Penelope Lively's characters being too real which makes for discomfort, I know exactly what you mean. I almost wrote, but then deleted from my review that Claudia made me think too much of my mother which really made me uncomfortable. My mother 'the (as yet unpublished) author' definitely keeps me at a distance and is NOT the least bit motherly so of course I can't connect with her in that sense, so it does follow I couldn't connect with Claudia or the novel very much either, and I do know Lively wrote Moon Tiger quite autobiographically too, so not surprising I'm not connecting with her as an writer I guess.

>147 lunacat: Honestly Jenny, I get no great merit for walking away empty-handed from the book exchange. I did sort of tell myself I didn't want to bring back anything I didn't truly want, but also, they were just getting started and there was a very small selection and there truly wasn't much there to pick from to start with, and what was there wasn't tempting, and was did tempt me I already had or I'd brought in myself and had already read of had other copies of.

>148 souloftherose: *jaw drops*

See what I wrote just above to Jenny (and to you). :-)

Yes, the fact that members of my family died in the holocaust combined with early exposure to photographs and documentaries and films taken by contemporaries and the nazis themselves (who were proud of their actions at the time the events were taking place) was enough to quite traumatize me early on. But I'm trying to be more adult about it now and distance myself a bit so I can... I don't know, be better informed I guess?

>149 qebo: The movie as I recall conflates some characters and exaggerates some events for drama.

Katherine, you're confirming what I was discussing with Pierre. I was telling him that any movie adaptation from a novel inevitably does this because a book will usually take anywhere from 5 to 12, up to 30 or 40 hours of reading, whereas most movies are 90 minutes long, up to two or three hours at most, so they must inevitably condense the material and make things more dramatic and more visually interesting. But with all the praise the movie has gotten, it'll be interesting to see what they've done with it. Also, when I was reading the novel I couldn't help but imagine what scenes had been adapted for the film as they seemed like obvious choices, and Pierre confirmed a lot of my guesses.

Finished Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell on audio yesterday afternoon, which I'll review asap. Liked it a whole lot. Purchased A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor, even though I already had it in book form, only because I wanted to listen as I drew and I'd heard so much about this trilogy about his travels on foot from Holland to Constantinople, with the third book in the trilogy just out last year. Last night in bed finished The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher: Stories by Hilary Mantel when I read the title story. Didn't realize the only story she actually wrote in the last year was this title story and all the others had been previously published in various publications in previous years. Good to know she's keeping her creative juices for Wolf Hall Part III! I'll have to make sure to catch the BBC serial I've read about on Mark's thread! In April... the 6th is it on PBS? I wonder if iTunes will have it?

I was thinking after I read Moon Tiger about why I didn't connect or sympathize with her and it dawned on me that I actually had a problem with her mothering...or lack of, to be honest.
Looks like your last two reads were winners. :)

I think it's on the 5th April on PBS but don't quote me on that!

I've currently got it recording and I'll watch the first episode tomorrow when my housemate is out, as it would be a form of torture to make her sit through it.

Hi Ilana! Excellent review of Schindler's Ark. It brought back a lot great memories. I read the book, before the film came out. It must have been in the early '90s. I hope you can see the film too. Spielberg did an outstanding job.

I am picking up Dept. of Speculation tomorrow. It was on my To-Read list but you gave me just the right nudge. I might read The Lotus Eaters first, since I've had that one on shelf for eons. You read that one, right?

At last I'm back and happy to see so much going on here. I do fervently hope you may be right about our threads here being little backwaters of the web and not attractive to anybody but us.
The picture of Liselotte is really lovely - what character in her face!
I need to read *List* and thank you for your review.
I am enjoying Moon Tiger. In other hands I might object to her telling the same situation in back-to-back narratives by the two characters involved. It works for me, and that's the main reason I'm enjoying the book so much. I certainly would not want to know Claudia in real life, but so far reading about her has been good.

>127 Smiler69: Yes, I've read The Martian Chronicles - it was a while ago now though. But just recently we were trying to remember the plot at a dinner party. We could remember the basics, but then weren't sure what happened in the last couple of books. I'm wondering if we should start laying bets on when the first human will land on Mars.

Looks like I couldn't escape catching the flu; Pierre's been dragging it around for a good 10 days now and I thought I was immune by now since I was doing well and so I'd put it down to the flu shot I'd gotten in November. I'm still hoping maybe this is just a passing chill and the inoculation will still have worked against whatever flu strain Pierre's is suffering from, poor dear.

I decided to drop A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor yesterday even though I'd gotten halfway through by then. Not because I wasn't enjoying it, but it just seemed to me that I wasn't giving the writing the kind of attention and appreciation I would if I were reading it in the book format, which I already own. The audiobook was nice enough, but the narrator made Fermor sound somewhat insufferable at times, maybe too much of a snob, or I don't know. In any case, I got my credit back from Audible and decided to switch to The Black Dahlia which had been picked for me by Barbara.

Good thing there's an Audible sale to comfort me today now I'm feeling hoarse and made miserable by this cold. It's a "Big Hits" sale for members only (maybe now is a good time to join for those who've been considering it? It ends Jan 27th at 11:59 p.m.), with popular titles priced at $6.95. Several other titles have come into the house unmentioned in the past little while, so here's the list:

Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow
Now I'm equipped for for the American Authors Challenge
The Children of Dynmouth by William Trevor
Oft recommended by Paul
♫ The Sheep-Pig by Dick King-Smith (Audible Daily Deal)
Short and sweet at under two hours, the book the movie Babe was based on.
♫ The Collectors by Philip Pullman
A new prequel to the His Dark Materials series. Just 32 mins and narrated by Bill Nighy.
♫ Peaches for Monsieur le Curé by Joanne Harris
Chocolat part 3. Now I just have to convince Audible to make Part 2 narrated by Juliet Stevenson available in Canada.
♫ Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov (Audible Daily Deal)
Today's daily deal.

From the current sale:

♫ Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
♫ Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstoreby Robin Sloan
♫ The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
♫ Faithful Place: Dublin Murder Squad, Book 3 by Tana French
♫ Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh by Joseph Conrad
♫ I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
♫ Stardust by Neil Gaiman - narrated by himself
♫ The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Total books purchased to date: 40

40 books. This is very bad considering we're just in month 1 of the year, but I'll try to slow down considerably.


Should review a couple of books, but my drawing beckons.

Hi Valerie, Jenny, Mark, Peggy and Megan thanks for dropping by and commenting. I desperately need to go make myself another grog and take a hot shower to warm myself up, then get cracking on my drawing before Pierre comes over for our dinner and movie evening combo. Will be back later or tomorrow to reply!

eta: dreadful TYPOS!

Hi Ilana, sorry to read that may be coming down with the flu, I say may cause I am hoping you are able to shake it off.

Looks like you picked up lots of good books at the Audible sale. I may just have to wander over there and see what catches my eye.

Great haul! I looked at the audible sale yesterday, and as usual for me those books cost 2$ more which is about the price of a credit, so I haven't bought anything yet.

I didn't know Chocolat was a trilogy as well... I am trying to shake this triple BB off for now. But the test chapter of Dept. of Security is now on my Kindle.

I hope your not feeling well won't develop into a full flu.

Fingers crossed that it's not the flu and that you're already feeling better...

>150 Smiler69: Chocolat is one that I want to eventually read.

Good luck battling the dread illness. I just spent several hours on the sofa holding and comforting my sick 4 year old. My prospects seem dire - he does love to cough in my face while sick.

The cold or the flu or whatever it is has definitely not let go of me, and I've been hacking away like the best of 'em. Brain kind of fuzzy and have a nasty headache from all the coughing of course. All I can hope for now is a prompt recovery.

Finished The Blind Contessa's New Machine by Carey Wallace. Truly a lovely book and kind of magical. I hope to review it asap, but for the moment I'll just say it's a 4.5 stars for me and as such, a favourite of 2015 so far. We need to convince Mark to pick it up and spread the word around so more people read it. Next, I think I'll read Reflections in a Golden Eye by Carson McCullers for the American Authors challenge. I also finally picked up An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro from the library yesterday. Don't know if I'll manage to finish it this month in time for the BAC, but read it I will and that's what counts.

***

>154 jolerie: Valerie, I'm reviewing books out of order when I feel inspired to review more recently read books, which worked for me last year and got me writing more reviews, so those last two reviews are for books I read earlier actually, but it's all good! :-)

>155 lunacat: Jenny, I'll be sure to get the dates straight as I wouldn't want to miss the show! I'm really hoping iTunes runs it so I can buy it and rewatch it as often as I like.

>156 msf59: Mark, I did not read The Lotus Eaters. Just added it to the wishlist recently as it had been mentioned and recommended by Bonnie and Mamie.

>157 LizzieD: Peggy, realistically speaking, no corner of the web is safe from the search engines, but I guess compared to posting something on Facebook or on my blog (which links up to FB and other popular sites), posting Liselotte's portrait here is likely to get less hits I guess. The current 'final' portrait is progressing at a good pace and I'm a bit annoyed with myself for not having taken pics or scanned it along the way, but I'll do so today before I start working on it again and maybe post it here too.

I saw the recent comments you made on your thread about Penelope Lively and how she's definitely an author for you. As I've said before, I'm willing to give her one more go before I make a definitive decision, but I get the feeling she and I aren't such a good match, but I definitely still want to keep talking to you. :-)

>158 evilmoose: Megan, as soon as I finished The Martian Chronicles I told myself I couldn't wait to pick them up again, and I couldn't for the life of me tell you what the stories were about, thanks to my horrid memory. As for humans actually landing on Mars in RL... I guess it's just a matter of time, though I can't really see the interest.

>161 DeltaQueen50: Judy, I'm still hoping it's just a temporary bug I've caught, so I'm hopeful I'll be breathing easy by next week again. Pierre's bug is still with him two weeks on now, and it seems that flu strain is the long-lasting kind, so I'm really hoping my flu shot is protecting me from whatever he's got.

Curious to know what you will/have picked up from the Audible sale!

>162 Deern: Nathalie, sounds like the Audible sale isn't such a good deal for you if they're charging you what amounts to a credit per book. I already though $6.95 wasn't such an amazing deal ($4.95 is more like it), but calculated it's still less than a credit so worth it.

I'm not quite clear how you differentiate between a mere cold and a flu. I think right now I've just got a cold, but my lungs feel painful and when I cough there's a kind of metallic taste that worries me. Lots of hot drinks—mostly grogs, which I make with a quarter lemon, a splash or rhum, boiling water and several teaspoons of honey, which are good for soothing the throat. I like to think they have medicinal value too, but that's just a delusion I'm sure! ;-)

>163 scaifea: Thanks Amber, I keep waking up feeling worse day by day, but I'm hopeful I don't have a full-blown flu at this point. Or so I keep hoping... No fever anyway.

>164 thornton37814: Lori, Chocolat is a really lovely book. You're in for a treat I think.

>165 evilmoose: he does love to cough in my face while sick.

That does sound a bit scary for your own prospects, doesn't it? I hope there's some kind of good fairy watching over you and and/or your motherly love and kindness protects you from the evil germs, Megan.

>150 Smiler69: I borrowed my Mum's copy of Chocolat ages ago but didn't make it past the first page. I must try again at some point because the central theme is one that interests me (plus chocolate and Johnny Depp - what's not to love?)

>151 Smiler69: Intrigued by Dept. of Speculation and will see if the library has a copy.

>152 Smiler69: 'I do know Lively wrote Moon Tiger quite autobiographically too'

I didn't know that! Which character is Lively though - the daughter? (please not Claudia)

>157 LizzieD: 'I certainly would not want to know Claudia in real life'

Amen!

>159 Smiler69: So sorry to hear you've caught the flu! I don't think it matters whether it's flu or a cold - if you feel totally crummy you feel totally crummy. Hope you feel better soon.

Sorry to hear you're not well Ilana, there's certainly a lot going round this winter. I hope that you can stave off the worst of whatever it is that Pierre has, and that he begins to recover soon as well.

My grandmother used to say the way you worked out the difference between a cold and the flu is to imagine £100 on your doorstep. If you felt well enough to get out of bed and go and get the money, it was a cold, but if you didn't, it was flu. I am skeptical as I think it says more about how poor you are at that moment, but she swore by it!

My general rule of thumb is if I have extreme, bone deep aches and a fluctuating temperature then it's the flu. If not, it's a cold. It gets trickier for me as I often have a lot of aches anyway but they tend to be muscular and not bone deep in the same way.

The more I think about it, the more I realise I how much I disliked Moon Tiger. Claudia was vile. The book is now residing in a box ready to go to the charity shop so maybe someone else will get more enjoyment out of it. I liked the skillful descriptions, but not much else.

I'm so sorry to hear you're not feeling well, Ilana - flu or cold! I imagine you have enough books on hand to keep you company while you're getting over whatever it is. Feel better soon!

Make sure you wrap up and keep yourself warm, Ilana, and keep drinking lots of warm fluids. I follow the same rule of thumb as Jenny described .. if my cold is accompanied by body aches, it's the flu, if not, I have a cold. And if I'm running a temperature, then for that just nails the lid on the flu coffin.

I love your sketches and I'm so glad I caught up here to see your sketch of Liselotte. She's beautiful.

So sorry to find that you are not feeling well, Ilana. Hoping that you are feeling better very soon. I have finally caught up with your lovely thread and will endeavor to stay caught up this time. What a wonderful bunch of reviews I got to enjoy by falling behind, though - gave several of them my thumb. I am still hoping to get to Bitter Greens this month, and I have almost finished with my reread of Chocolat. I am so jealous that you got to listen to the fabulous Juliet Stevenson narrate that one - I just adore her! Hoping that at some point that particular audio will be available here in the US.

Sending you loads of healing mojo and all of my love.

>159 Smiler69: sorry to hear you are down with the flu. What a horrible thing it is. I have only had it once, and I could not believe how flat-out I felt. Bleh. Rest up!

I love your drawing of your elderly friend. It is fascinating seeing the pictures develop, and seeing what you want to add or change.

>138 Smiler69: I love your thorough review of Schindler's Ark, Ilana. And your Folio edition is gorgeous. :P
I have it on my shelves (alas, not the Folio), but had been avoiding it as I had heard it makes for very technical and detailed reading. I guess it is a matter of opinion what is overbearing technical detail and what is gripping detail!

I hope you are feeling better.

So glad to see the 4 1/2 stars on the Dept of Speculation -- one of my Christmas books!

Picked up Reflections in a Golden Eye by Carson McCullers last night. I hadn't read anything new to me by this author in at least 20 years, since I kept going back and rereading the same works, so it's a nice surprise to discover something different, and I had a hard time letting go and turning off the lights to go to sleep. I was sure I'd sleep like a baby, exhausted as I was with all the hacking and sniffling I'd done all day, but then I kept waking up with more coughing and stuffed nose and finally had to suck on Vicks drops for half the night to be able to sleep at all, or else the coughing would have kept me awake. Sheesh!

>168 souloftherose: Heather, I think you'd enjoy Chocolat because it broaches some interesting themes in a pretty original way. I'm addicted to sweets, so having a sweets shop at the centre of a moral struggle in a small town was an especially appealing storyline to me!

I hope I'm not mistaken about Moon Tiger. I thought I'd read that tidbit about it being autobiographical somewhere... maybe Paul mentioned it at some point, at least in reference to the fact that she was born in Cairo and spent part of her childhood there, but I don't know about any of the rest, mind you.

I don't think I've had any fever so far, so it might 'just' be a nasty cold, but yes, it's making miserable, so it's punishing enough as it is! :-(

>169 lunacat: Hi Jenny, Pierre is still coughing a lot, but he says he feels like he's getting over the worst of it, so I believe him. I'm not pinned into my bed, so it someone put £100 on my doorstep I'd definitely open the door to get it, so I guess that must mean I'm not doing all that badly. Let's just hope I don't get worse then!

I've seen the comments you've shared with Heather about Moon Tiger as I've lurked on her thread and have nodded in agreement with you. It's sort of icky isn't it? Quite surprising really that people have loved it as much as they did, considering. Guess they're all much more open-minded than we are or something.

>170 Dejah_Thoris: Hi Liane, thanks for the sympathy. One thing's for sure, books are never lacking around here! :-)

>171 cameling: Hi Caro, thanks for dropping by! As per Pierre's suggestion, I've been taking really hot showers, because all the hot steam the showers generate really help clear up my chest and nose, at least temporarily, which helps me breathe and also warms me up considerably. I also drink lots of warm fluids as you've recommended.

Thanks so much for your compliments on the Liselotte sketch. I think she's a very lovely woman and all her lines and deep wrinkles give her such great character. The final version is coming along nicely. The paper I'm working on is smooth like velvet and takes pencil so well that it seems to be going quite quickly.

I scanned the drawing yesterday to show what it was looking like before I worked another 3-4 hours on it. Here, to compare:

Initial sketch:


Final drawing (in progress):

>175 Smiler69: Very icky, and I'm really surprised more people didn't seem to react to it in any way. I thought it would turn higher numbers off. As far as I'm concerned, that kind of 'behaviour' is disgusting and unforgivable and so it was pretty much over for me by then, although I was determined to finish it as I was doing it for a challenge. Perhaps, as you said, we are more sensitive to it than a lot of people?

I've had a few rants on Darryl's thread as well as he found Claudia as repellent as I did. I think I was very generous in my review as I appreciated the language, but...........ugh.

>172 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie, nice to see you in these parts, though I understand a popular lady like you can't be everywhere at once! I've already got several other reviews to catch up with—hopefully I can knock them out in a little while, though I see time is marching on at a bewildering pace. I'm trying to get into the habit to fit in my drawing time earlier in the day, so I'll probably take a computer break to do just that and then see if there's time left over for reviews before Pierre comes over in the afternoon.

Bitter Greens is quite lengthy, so I guess you'll get to it whenever you can, but I'm fairly confident you'll love it when you do. I'm not sure why Audible removed Chocolat from circulation. It used to be available in North America, but for some reason it isn't anymore, which is really too bad. I saw that the second book, which is called The Lollipop Shoes in the original UK version is actually narrated by Juliet Stevenson in that same original version, but currently only available in the UK, so I've written Audible and begged them to release it here. Maybe you can do the same for book 1 (and 2 while you're at it?). The more people ask for them the more the publishers are likely to do something about it.

>173 LovingLit: Hi Megan, you are one very lucky dog to have only have ever gotten the flu once. I've been getting flu shots for the past several years now, so there is a good chance this is only a nasty cold, but even those can be disruptive enough.

I don't know if Schindler's Ark is necessarily technical per se, but I agree it's quite detailed. I love my Folio edition, and gorgeous it certainly is, but then again, I doubt very much this is a book I'll want to reread, and I usually buy Folios for that purpose, so I don't know whether that was such a smart move. But then again, I can always sell it on eBay and get my investment back, I'm fairly sure, especially since there aren't that many FS editions of this particular book floating around at any one time.

>174 sibylline: Hi Lucy, I actually rated Dept. a 4 and one third, simply because four and a half in my personal rating system automatically means I loved it so much I'd want to reread it and it also rates as one of my favourites of the year. While I really liked the book a lot and think it's a must, I'm not sure I loved it to that degree—not quite anyway.

>177 lunacat: Jenny, I think people were probably won over by the beautiful writing. Of course one can't help but see how well written the thing is, but to me she was such a repelling character even before we got to that business we're talking about, so that the beautiful prose became secondary to me. I wanted to admire her as a modern woman who is independent and doesn't bother about convention and does as she pleases, but really I just found her selfish and boor-headed and mean and unfeeling. Her whole love affair sob story only seemed to me to serve as an excuse because no doubt had he not met that fate they would never have stuck it through anyway, as you've said on Heather's thread. And as I've said before, that modern woman stuff reminds me too much of my own mother, who god help her, DID love me as best she could, but was an inadequate mother all the same and I ended up paying for it and still can't forgive her for it, so it all cut too close to the bone, so yes, very much a personal issue with this book. Add to that the fact that my mother badly wants to be published and has always put her writing before everything else, well... how could I possibly even remotely like Claudia? And I just have this feeling that Penelope Lively shares some of her sensitivity, if not her actual life experiences.

Love the drawing in progress!

You and Jenny and Darryl and Heather are making me think I need not hurry to read Moon Tiger. I'm quite happy to be reading the non-icky Coventry right now.

>179 Smiler69: I can see how Claudia would then become an entirely unpleasant character, given your life experience and the similarities between her and your mother. I know that my judgement is perhaps clouded by my violent reaction to the ickiness in question because of personal trauma.

The writing was lovely, but it doesn't make up for the failings of the main character. I wrote at the time that I felt an emotional disconnect but, having discussed it, its definitely more than that. I find her repellent - to such an extent that I'm put off the author now.

I guess I don't understand how someone can write a person like C and then try to make excuses for them, or try to make us feel sympathy. Yes, modern woman seeking independence, going out and challenging housewife perceptions, yadda yadda ya. For me it's similar (although obviously C is less so) to looking for the 'positives' in a dictators reign. Doesn't work for me.

...oh, and The Gift of Rain GR...how is Feb for you?

Thanks for letting us see your work in progress. I'm not able to do that, so am fascinated with the process!

Finally making my way over here to get caught up and sorry to see that you are feeling ill. I was discussing the annual flu shot with a fellow bus passenger last week and apparently the flu shot this year has a much lower than average efficacy to protect against this year's flu. Never encouraging to hear things like that.

I was hit by the flu bug over the weekend and haven't done much of anything for days. Today was the first time I could actually concentrate long enough to read. Your symptoms sound very much like mine, so lets hope we can shake this off soon.

I'm really hoping I've hit the worst of this cold or flu or whatever it is. Sleep was a real hurdle chase with exhausting dreams, and constantly having to blow my nose and suck on cough drops and I woke up at some point completely soaked and had to change myself (because of fever?). Slept in till 2:30 p.m. and got up not feeling rested at all. I'm consoling myself with thoughts this MUST be the absolute worst of it and I'll start getting better from now on. I'm spending an evening on my own, but Pierre's brought me some extra-soft 3-ply tissues for my gnarled nose and some cough syrup which I have high hopes will help me sleep better tonight.

The good news is I'm still managing to read, so I finished Reflections in a Golden Eye by Carson McCullers for the AAC last night, and also picked up Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? from the library's OverDrive collection yesterday. Golden Eye was excellent and it was good to discover one of the two novels by this author I haven't read yet (Clock Without Hands still remains.) The Roz Chatz book is great, subjectively speaking, but death and dying are topics that are difficult to read about when one is feeling as badly as I am right now. The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal on audio is a fascinating listen and makes me glad I have lots more reading lined up on turn of the century happenings in Vienna. It's also quite fitting to listen to a book that was originally recommended to me by my friend Liselotte as I work on her portrait.

Speaking of which, I'm making good progress on my drawing, because no amount of coughing and sneezing prevents me from wielding a pencil and eraser at least:

Final drawing (in progress) 24/01, and today 27/01:
 

>180 jnwelch: Thanks Joe, I've been putting in a good 2-hours drawing time each day, if not more lately, which is really helping this project progress at a good clip. I feel the need to work on this because I'm really useless in all other departments with my brain on the fritz and energy at all-time low, so I can barely spend any time on the threads doing much more than lurking and certainly don't feel able to review any of the great books I've been reading... so at least I can do that and make Pierre proud of me since he supports my drawing practice more than anyone I know.

I think you should definitely read Moon Tiger and give yourself a chance to see which side of the fence you fall on. It seems to have a lot more lovers than haters. I won't say I absolutely hated it, but I have no love for it either and am amazed people have such unreserved admiration for it, given the narrator's amazingly disturbing defects of character.

>181 lunacat: Without going into any detail whatsoever Jenny, because it would be entirely out of place, I will say that my mother has her share of ickiness in her past which she has for her own reasons thought it appropriate to share with me over the years, which has over time built up in me a stronger and stronger revulsion and utter contempt for her as a mother. No decent mother would ever have shared with her daughter what she chose to share with me uninvited. So I could have done without Claudia's confidences, thank you very much.

You could say I went into this book with more than my share of baggage, and had I known what I was getting into, I would have avoided this novel altogether, because the more I think about it, the more it brings up painful issues for me and makes me resent my mother's lack of common sense more than I ought to at this time when I should be finding it in me to feel empathy for her, and forgive and forget. I guess Moon Tiger wasn't the book that was going to help me make that transition, and the more I think about it, the more I consider I should steeply reduce my initial rating for it to reflect my current so-called appreciation for it and what it's doing for my equilibrium.

>182 LovingLit: Feb sounds fab for the Gift of Rain!

Have just made it official by listing it among my February Reading Plans.

>183 drneutron: All too happy to share Jim, thanks for the comment!

>184 lkernagh: Hi Lori. It definitely seems like the flu shot I got didn't protect me from whatever strain Pierre got recently! I've gotten these shots several times in the last years and it's often protected me from the worst, but not always. I remember being sick like a dog a couple of years ago, so I always go into the doctor's knowing it's not an absolute guarantee. I don't have to pay for it, so I don't feel I have a right to complain, but it should would be nice if it was more efficacious. I'm doing my best not to pass it on to anyone else at least!

>185 DeltaQueen50: So sorry to hear you've joined the ranks for the flu victims Judy. At least we can console ourselves that it's not some horrid killer flu pandemic!

Pierre does all our errands these days (I feel so lucky about that, now I'm sick, and all the more so considering how cold it is outside!) and this week has been getting me all kinds of cold remedies at the pharmacy, and it seems lots of things are out of stock, like extra-large-sized extra-soft tissues and codeine cough syrup, so we are definitely not alone, this is BIG TIME flu season. We should be buying stock in pharmacy chains or something.

Sorry, to hear about the ongoing battle with the flu, Ilana. I hope it is in it's waning stages. Glad to hear about the reading though. I LOVED the Chast memoir!

The bug is definitely making its round since my husband has been home from work the last 2 days nursing his illness. Hope you are feeling better soon.

If I haven't said so before, Ilana, you have such a talent. Beautiful drawing. I was born with not a lick of ability in that area but I look up to people who do! :)

I am sorry that "whatever it is" hit you and I hope you'll be over the worst already while I am typing this and getting some good sleep!!

>167 Smiler69: I differentiate between a cold (which you catch yourself for example when you're outside with wet hair in winter), then what German doctors call a "grippaler Infekt" which is basically like a worse cold with some influenza symptoms you catch from someone else and real influenza which starts and processes completely differently and where antibiotics actually help.

I have my 1-2 colds/GIs per season and they usually start with aching throat, turn into the snuffles, sometimes light fever and might leave me with months long coughs. If not cured well, those things might as well turn into something nasty like pneunomia or return again again and again, so they shouldn't be treated lightly and the body should be given the rest it needs.

My rare flus always came like from one moment to the next - feeling like c**p with pain all over my body and high fever within hours which lasts some days. Usually no running nose/sore throat/other cold syndroms. A doctor once told me that the flu shot is directed only against that latter type and doesn't save you from the other two, while my parents insist it generally strengthens the body's defences. I don't know... Whenever I got it in previous years (my old company offered those shots for free) I felt bad for some days and slightly feverish, so I stopped it.

I have no idea how the stomach bugs fit in. Those usually bring me fever as well and no cold symptoms, so I guess they fall into the third category.

I love how Liselotte is progressing!

>175 Smiler69: 'I hope I'm not mistaken about Moon Tiger. I thought I'd read that tidbit about it being autobiographical somewhere...'

No, I think you're right and I didn't mean to imply I didn't believe you. Some other people have mentioned the autobiographical fact on other threads. I know Lively has written a few memoirs and I'd like to read those.

>176 Smiler69: Looks like it's coming along nicely. Such depth in the eyes.

>179 Smiler69: ' I wanted to admire her as a modern woman who is independent and doesn't bother about convention and does as she pleases, but really I just found her selfish and boor-headed and mean and unfeeling.'

Me too! I wonder if there's a difference in reading the book in 2015 compared to when it was written in 1987. Would Claudia's character have seemed more edgy and shocking then? In many ways Jasper is as horrible as C, was Lively trying to highlight some double standards in the expectations people had with women and mothers compared to men and fathers? I don't know but I really wish I could figure out what the point of it all was.

Ilana, I am so glad you are sharing your latest drawing project with us. It's amazing to see Liselotte's face come alive under your very talented hand.

I almost wish I had read Moon Tiger for my Penelope Lively selection. The discussion of Claudia makes me think she does a good job of characterizations. I had similar mixed feelings about the matriarch in Family Album. Allison worked so hard to be a good mother and did all the right things such as lovely meals and festive birthday parties, but she didn't understand her children as individuals very well. It's funny that Heather mentions the lack of point. I said the same thing about FA in my comments.

I hope you feel better soon. It's good that Pierre is there to run errands for you. He sounds better and better the more you reveal about him.

>186 Smiler69: What a treat to see the progress! Loving it. Thanks.

I'm in no rush to read Moon Tiger, but I'll keep an open mind about it. I've got so many looking at me from the home shelf (and table) with expectations as it is.

Ilana, I hope you're finally beginning to mend (Pierre too!)! Take care of yourself!!
I'm glad that you still want to talk to me, btw..... Claudia --- I'm feeling a bit weird. I never felt that I was supposed to admire her as some sort of modern woman. For whatever reason, I was able to read her as a very flawed person, whose life was simply - a life. I'm certainly not sure about its having a point..... I'm remembering how her daughter resented her apologizing for being such a dreadful mother. Sad for both of them..... I think I'm moving on.
Liselotte's picture glows with spirit and character. Wonderful work!

>138 Smiler69: Great review of Schindler's Ark, Ilana. I have decided to read every winner of the Booker since its inception so this is now on my list. There are a couple on there that I really want to skip but my obsessive side will win out, I suspect. I definitely want to read Keneally's work, though.

Give Pierre a grateful smooch on my behalf. I'm glad he is willing to do some of the errands. I've been having headaches lately, just stress/tension in my case, but I have an inkling of how debilitating they can be. I feel lucky that they are not migraines in my case.

I assume that Coco and Pierre are still getting along well?
Sorry, can't help it. I'm a big fan of the charming Coco. :-)

ETA: I also love the drawing! You capture her essence so beautifully!

I seem to ride this zone sometimes between knowing and not knowing and it troubles me how comfortable I can be in that zone, which completely debunks my notion of myself as a rational human being. Case in point: Codeine. I'd been taking the stuff in my migraine medication (Fiorinal) and very occasionally in cough medicine. Some part of me must have known it was an opiate, but then another part of me very much wanted to ignore that fact, though I couldn't say why exactly. Here I am taking constant measures to combat chronic constipation problems, and then unthinkingly taking opiate derivatives which have as an immediate side effect... just exactly that which I am trying to fix. Sigh. Meanwhile, I was reading this excellent book last week which I've yet to review, Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell, and marvelling how Victorians could access laudanum anytime, anywhere, while we can still get our hands on it, albeit under another name and granted, in much more restricted quantities, but it's still in countless medicines. I find this amazing somehow. Anyway, I stopped taking the Fiorinal over a month ago because of all the digestive complications it created.

Cold or flu, I'll never know what it is since I can't know whether I had fever during those nights when I sweated through my night clothes... I do seem to be getting better, but the cough syrup (codeine-free) I took before bed definitely makes a difference. I'm coughing much less even without it, but there are still nasty discharges and soreness in throat and stuffy nose, itchy ears, cotton-filled head.

Pierre and I might take advantage of milder weather today before the weekend freezes up again and run up to Target, which after only 2 years in Canada is closing down again, to take advantage of their closing sales. If they still have their Egyptian cotton 600 thread-count sheets (in white), I might get some of those, and whatever other must-have great deals are worth having.

A great big, amazingly heavy box arrived this week against all expectation after I'd passed my order this weekend at Taschen.com, which were having a scratch & display books sale at 70% off between the 22-25th of January. I ordered some books for myself and for Pierre as well as one for an eventual gift, but I was expecting them to get here some weeks from now, AND I was expecting them to be somewhat mangled, at $29 each, mostly for very large art books, some for boxed sets of 2 books. What we got are BRAND NEW, still sealed books with barely discernible defects. It was like Christmas at the end of January.

I got Pierre The World of Ornament, which he's finding he can use as inspiration for his own work, as well as Masterpieces in Detail, and for myself Album Vilmorin. The Vegetable Garden which features gorgeous 19th century colour plates of different varieties of fruit and vegetables; Walton Ford. Pancha Tantra: large-scale, highly-detailed watercolors of animals which recall the prints of 19th century illustrators John James Audubon and Edward Lear and are absolutely breathtaking and full of surprises and finally, Mark Ryden. Pinxit: the creator of "Pop Surrealism," blending themes of pop culture with techniques reminiscent of the old masters.

        

Oh yes, on the audiobook front, I had a major change of mind when I started on the first 3 hours of the much-recommended The War that Ended Peace: The Road to 1914 by Margaret MacMillan, then decided it was much too dry for my liking. I had chosen it partly because I'd just finished The Hare With Amber Eyes which I absolutely fell in love with and decided to rate as a 5-star read, and sort of felt like more history, but then realised I'd gone completely wrong because what had fascinated me so much about Hare was history seen through the filter of this one family and the individual personalities of the Ephrussis, or even these exquisite little ivory carvings that are the netsukes, as opposed to this grand planetary, or even continental frieze. DEFINITELY will review The Hare, with visuals to show what it's all about when mind is made of grey matter again instead of cotton wool.

Anyway, I've switched to the audio of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire now. Quite a switch I know, but I'd been meaning to get to it for a while anyway, and it's hitting the mark now, so all is good.

***

>189 msf59: Mark, I'm taking in the Chast memoir in very small doses right now. As I said, battling out the flu while reading about extreme old age and it's dangers and impeding death and losses doesn't make for the best mix, so nice and slow is the way to go! On the other hand, I'm absolutely adoring An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro, which is hitting all the right notes at this time.

>190 jolerie: Hi Valerie, I guess this time of year, one can always count on the flu to come visiting us, eh? Thanks so much for your comments on my drawing. My only regret is I didn't practice more in all these years since I discovered I had a knack for it when I was a teen (maybe earlier?). Might have kept me out of trouble, besides which I'd have an impressive body of work by now. But I guess it's better late than never. I'll post where the drawing is at now since I scanned it last night and I'm about to send it off to Liselotte for her to have a first look!

>191 Deern: Hi Nathalie, if I hadn't had that flu shot in November, then I'd say I definitely had a simple cold this time, especially considering the fact that I already seem to be recuperating somewhat (though have a way to go still). But then there are those two nights when I woke up soaked, which could have been due to fever, even though I haven't had a fever during my waking hours. Also, having had the flu shot, it's possible I might have caught another flu strain, but I have been told the shots do give you some amount of protection and boost your immune system so that you can fight off other viruses more effectively. In any case, whatever it is, I hope I shake it off soon. Pierre seems convinced that I'm over the worst of it because I'm hardly coughing now compared to what it was like just a couple of days ago, so let's hope he's right. He's almost 100% back on track now, so that's something to feel good about at least! :-)

Stay healthy! xo

>198 Smiler69: Is your audio of Harry Potter read by Stephen Fry? I hope so, as he is absolutely brilliant.

>192 souloftherose: Heather dear, no worries, I didn't for a moment think you were implying you didn't believe me!

You know, it's funny about Moon Tiger, because as I was reading it, I wasn't intellectualising any part of it, all I knew is I wasn't connecting with it and I wanted to get to the end as quickly as possible and be done with it, sort of like when you meet someone and don't really like them because they make you feel uncomfortable but you couldn't exactly say why on the moment, and then only after you've left that person and thought back on your encounter can you put your finger on what it is about what they said that disturbed you. You know what I mean? I guess while I was reading the novel my reaction to it was on the subconscious level, because intellectually I very much wanted to like the book because of all the positive reaction it had gotten, besides which, I had very different expectations from the it; I had come to it expecting a different sort of story altogether because I had no idea that there was any sort of baggage to the main character or that she was in any way flawed—for some reason I had some idea this was going to be some light and bright sort of story, though I have no notion where I got that idea, so you can see why I would have been quite shocked by what I actually did read!

As for trying to figure out 'the point of it all', I don't think... I hesitate to use the word 'fair', but yes, I don't think that's quite fair, is it? I mean we don't normally ask from a work of fiction for it to have a point, do we? We just want to get a good story, or for it to have some kind of inner truth, of for a character to suddenly emerge from the page and briefly come alive and tell us something, and in that sense, I think Penelope Lively did a brilliant job as a writer and I can't fault her at all, and must say I respect her as an author, but then, I can respect her without having to read her work again, can't I? I may yet read The Photograph and give her a third and last chance, but can't say I'm in any great rush to.

>193 Donna828: The discussion of Claudia makes me think she does a good job of characterizations

Donna, you bring up a good point. The think I'm wondering about is whether she does, or wether she is simply projecting herself onto the page. If the former, then I think she is brilliant. If the latter, then I don't want to have anything further to do with her if I can help it, because I can't connect with her characters, or sympathise with them or with her as a writer or as a woman. Maybe I sound extreme in my views and I don't mean to. Really I don't, and I apologize to those who loved Moon Tiger if I am making them feel uncomfortable. I hope I've made it clear that my issues with that book and this author stem from very personal matters I've had to deal with in my own life, and I'm not at all judging anyone who loved the book. Part of me wishes I could have enjoyed the book and let go of whatever prejudices I have, because I can very well objectively see that it was brilliantly written.

Pierre is an absolute doll. He's no pushover, and if you ask him, he'll bitterly complain about getting out there every day in the cold and tell you he can't wait for the warmer weather and for me to take out my shopping cart and start doing my bit, but I think he truly gets satisfaction out of taking care of me, because he's constantly spoiling me and bringing over gourmet food and little treats as well, like tulips and desserts and thoughtful little things like various supplements and unmentionables most men wouldn't ever bother with and I can tell he delights in it all. But don't tell him I told you so. ;-)

>194 jnwelch: Joe, it's not always easy, but I do try to keep an open mind about things, because I'm keenly aware that I usually see things from a perspective that is skewed to my personal experience which in no way resembles that of anyone else's, and that every person has a very unique set of life experiences and circumstances to colour their own views as well. For this reason, I'll rarely say, "don't do this", unless it's something I think is obviously detrimental. But we're (mostly) all adults here and able to make up our own minds about things, right?

Thanks again about comments on my drawing. Very encouraging. Again, I'm quite frustrated about the restriction on not sharing this project as I see fit. I shouldn't complain because I took on the project and that was the condition from the beginning, but then working on commission is very new to me, this is only my second project as such after all, and I've ALWAYS shared my work up till now, so it's really weird not to be able to put it up on my blog and FB as I progress, as I'm proud of what I've done with it so far. Maybe once I've shown her what I've done with it she'll change her mind? I'm sort of hoping so anyway. I won't ask right away, but I'll send it to her and wait for her reaction, then ask.

>195 LizzieD: Hi Peggy, I've had a bit of time to think over your message, and sort of answered it in my messages to Heather and Donna above... that sort of happens sometimes, when a topic is broached by several people I end up spreading my answer around like that. I truly am sorry if I've made you uncomfortable. I shouldn't speak for Jenny, and Jenny, sorry in advance if you disagree with anything I say and do feel free to speak up if you do, but I will say that we have both suffered from other people's actions, and I'll bring back the discussion specifically to me and say that sometimes this means that when I read about specific topics, inevitably there are triggers that can't help but set off reactions that may seem a bit extreme and I'll sometimes step onto my soapbox and make all kinds of statements and sometimes make people uncomfortable without at all meaning to, which really is an overreaction based on past hurts and not so much to the material at hand. Because I've done a lot of therapy, I'm aware of this, and I can see myself doing it and I try to minimize it, but somehow I'm not strong enough to stop myself doing it. I don't know if I'll get there eventually. Would be nice to. I'd like to be able to read about a flawed person who makes me think of my mother in a negative way and just take it at face value and not climb the walls, reacting like a gang of freaked out cats who've just heard a whole set of kitchen pots clatter to the floor suddenly. Heh. Moving on, as you say. Thank goodness there's the work to keep me grounded.

>196 EBT1002: Ellen, I'm not sure how Pierre will react to the grateful smooch, honestly, but I'll pass it along—maybe with a bit of an explanation beforehand? he heh. :-)

He and Coco are still good friends, though Pierre is seeing the error in his ways in sneaking too many little treats to him behind my back, because Coco takes him for a sap and always tries to sidle up to him expecting Pierre to deliver the good stuff. Coco is becoming a bit insufferable, to be honest—whining at every possible occasion, which has always driven me nuts, and drives Pierre up the wall as well. I never wanted to give into it before, neither of us wants to, but sometimes it's impossible not to, so the problem isn't getting any better, and as Coco isn't getting any younger, I don't foresee this issue getting resolved, so truth is he's been rather getting on my nerves lately. Maybe the five-year itch coming along? Don't get me wrong, I love him as much as ever, but he can be trying, as little dogs tend to do.

I wrote on your thread about your ambitious Booker Project. All my best with that. xox

>199 lunacat: Jenny, you have STEPHEN FRY reading the Harry Potters?!?

I thought we were lucky enough to have Jim Dale...

I thought we were lucky enough to have Harry Potter on Audio at all in Canada, since they don't have it in the US...

I thought we were lucky enough to have it for for free via OverDrive at the library...

But STEPHEN FRY?!?!

Thanks for wrecking my day.

HMPH.

>203 Smiler69: Yup, we do indeed have Stephen Fry. Jealous much?!

>205 Smiler69: I'm mad at you. *Forever*

>197 Smiler69: Glad to hear you're starting to feel a bit better and a lovely book haul arrived :-)

>200 Smiler69: 'I mean we don't normally ask from a work of fiction for it to have a point, do we? We just want to get a good story, or for it to have some kind of inner truth, of for a character to suddenly emerge from the page and briefly come alive and tell us something'

Good point. I didn't find MT really did any of those things for me and I guess I was a bit disappointed by that as I have loved Lively's other works.

>201 Smiler69: 'but then, I can respect her without having to read her work again, can't I?'

Absolutely! I have a few authors on my respect but not planning to read again lis. Salman Rushdie after reading Midnight's Children for example.

The Tashen bks sound splenderifous. Enjoy.
i've just read Sabato's novella The Tunnel and think you might love this tale of obsessive love, the narrator is an artist.

Reading Plans for February:

✪❉ An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro - BAC, TIOLI #5: Read a book with a number in the first sentence - Reading
✪❉ⓔ Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast - TIOLI #10: Read a non-fiction comic - Reading
✪✔ What Maisie Knew by Henry James - AAC, TIOLI #11: Read a book with a pitch or a catch
✪♫ The Europeans by Henry James - AAC, TIOLI #8: Read a book with something you could love in the title
*✭♫ Affinity by Sarah Waters - British Authors Challenge, Picked for Me! (by Paul), TIOLI #3: Read a book that won or was nominated for the Lambda Literary Award
✪✔ Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh - BAC, A Century of Books!, TIOLI #11
✪♫ Decline and Fall #12: Read A Book With a Three Word Title
✔ Printemps au Prater (Praterfrühling) & Un redoublant by Stephan Zweig - A Century of Books! (1900)
✪✔ Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield - shared read with Liz - TIOLI #15: Read a book that has something to do with time
✭ⓔ The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng - GR with Megan and Megan, TIOLI #8
✭♫ The American Lover by Rose Tremain - TIOLI #2: Read a book that you wanted to get as soon as it was released
✭♫ The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (reread) - TIOLI #2
✭♫ State of Wonder by Ann Patchett - TIOLI #2
✭♫ Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel - Booker Prize Books, TIOLI #11
✭♫ Vol de nuit / Night Flight by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - TIOLI #4: Read a book with a French connection
✭♫ Terre des hommes / Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - TIOLI #4
✭♫ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling - TIOLI #13: Rolling Challenge: Read a book which title starts with the letters H, A, R, or T - Listening
✭❉♫ The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion - TIOLI #13

* = Picked for Me challenge
♫ = audiobook
✔ = off the shelf
❉ = library book
ⓔ = eBook
✭ = TIOLI
✪ = Shared TIOLI

>206 souloftherose: Heather, and what a Book Haul it is too! Truly, I've bought so many books this month I should abstain for the next couple of months to try to settle down my yearly average, but I guess we'll just have to see how it pans out, because I know from past experiences that trying to put a stop to buying books can only lead to monumental disasters and excesses of the kind that take me years to sort out afterwards!

I started and gave up on Midnight's Children several years ago and have planned to tackle it again this year for the British Authors Challenge. We'll see how it goes this time, as I do have more Rushdie in the stacks too...

>207 avatiakh: Kerry, love that word 'splenderifous'! Describes the Taschen books very well. I'm always amazed at the great quality of the printing and reproductions considering the price of the books (even at full price) and with these bargain deals they were a real steal. I think you'd particularly enjoy the Pancha Tantra book by Walton Ford. His watercolours of animals are quite breathtaking.

As you must know, I don't often do this, but I hurried over to the library catalogue to see if they had The Tunnel and when I saw they did, and that the English translation (as opposed to the French) had an introduction by Colm Tóibín, I hurried to reserve that version right away. Goodness knows my February reading plans are already rather ambitious (see above), but you've made me very curious to find out about this one, and I think I should be able to fit a novella in among the rest. Thanks for the recommendation!

***

I mentioned yesterday I'd show how my portrait of Liselotte is looking right now. I've just sent it to her yesterday for some feedback and am awaiting her email from Florida with bated breath, though I have a feeling she'll be rather pleased (I should hope so, anyway, since I've taken about 20 years off her face). Here, on the 28th and on the 29th (the version she got):

  

eta: I sent the drawing with a bunch of details explaining what I wanted to do with it next:

• Neckline (on right side): arrange dark tones to be smoother, then continue downward to a fade along camisole line, indicate camisole with a slight line and slightly shade in shoulder
• Neckline (on left side): only indicated with negative space, with background filled in with light grey which will come down to shoulder line and neck (as on right side, almost done but not quite, first layer only so far).
• Hair treatment (on right side): add tone and texture to blend with 3-D effect of face on that side and fade toward middle, as with face treatment
• Hair treatment (on left side): only indicate a few key strokes to delineate hairline from face, indicate earlobe, a few hair strands, etc.
• Background: Perhaps even out texture a little, or not?

Many thanks for your visit to my thread, Ilana.
Your book haul is amazing!! Also your reading plans for February!!! Also your progress and notes on the portrait!!!!

Finished Kazuo Ishiguro's An Artist of the Floating World last night at 12:20, which makes it my first completed book of February. I'm glad for the British Author's Challenge which gave me an added incentive to pick this title up, as otherwise it might have taken me many years to do so, because I really loved this short novel, which as others have said is in some ways reminiscent of The Remains of the Day, yet completely different. Again, I hope to get my brain back in working order soon so I can do a fair job of writing pertinent comments on all these wonderful books I've been reading lately, but I'm still feeling out of it, especially with the added visit of the Russians now, and goodness knows they can be very disruptive (Pierre's expression, which I find very amusing).

I've got a few short stories I want to read before jumping into anything else, some Stefan Zweig and I also picked up Babette's Feast by Isak Dinesen from the library a couple of weeks ago after Pierre and I watched the wonderful movie version which I'd heard many wonderful things about but had never seen till now. Highly recommended. It's based on a short story which is no more than 50 pages long which I'll be reading in the coming days.

Still awaiting Liselotte's comments on her drawing with growing impatience.

I was going to start a new thread for the new month, but this one still has some life in it, and it just seems like so much effort, so not yet.

***

>210 LizzieD: Hi Peggy, your enthusiasm is infectious! Think I'll go leaf through some of my amazing books now...

Happy Sunday, Ilana! Hope you are enjoying the weekend. We are getting smacked with a major snowstorm. Yuck!

It's been many years, but I LOVED the film version of Babette's Feast. That meal was a stunner!

>212 msf59: Hi Mark, the weekend was fine, though I slept through much of it, still run down by my cold or flu. It's been snowing steadily over here, though don't know if it's a storm proper, but it sure is cold! -20 C right now, and -32 with the wind factor (-4 F / -25.6 F). I'm supposed to pick up some books at the library, but I think I'll ask them to hold them for another day or so!

I have caught up with you, Ilana! I am so happy that you are feeling better, and I am AMAZED at your incredible talent - loved watching the progressions of your friend's portrait. And what a beautiful haul of books you posted up there - the covers alone are gorgeous. I checked the wiki, and I see that we both plan on reading Brideshead Revisited this month. I also have The Gift of Rain, The Rosie Effect and State of Wonder in the stacks, so I might join you for one of those - I am wanting to get my BAC and AAC entries for the month out of the way first. Could definitely join you for Babette's Feast if you get to that - I have that as part of Anecdotes of Destiny and Ehrengard.

Those are some very cold temps - good thinking not to venture out in them. Happy Monday to you, dear!

To risk sounding like a broken record, I am in awe of your talent! I still can't believe you drew that? It totally looks like a photograph.
Have you ever drawn a self portrait??

So of course now I've planned a whole bunch of books for this month, figures I'm going off track and reading a bunch of unplanned stuff. Or not necessarily unplanned, but stuff I can't count toward the 75, like short stories that aren't part of a collection, like Stefan Zweig stories that don't necessarily have a touchstone or an English translation (in a volume that is so big I'm not likely to finish it this year), or a short story like Babette's Feast by Isak Dinesen, which, at around 50 pages really can't qualify even as a novella, but was highly satisfying because the movie version truly stuck to the story as closely as is possible to imagine. Now it's occurred to me that if I don't fit in one of the Maigret novels by Georges Simenon I'll have gone through a whole other library lending period without reading from it when I have 6 more books to get through in that omnibus edition, so I really should get cracking. So that's what's up next.

Ears are really bothering me, so as soon as I get off the computer I should call my family doctor to make an appointment before real pain sets in. Right now they're mostly blocked and I just feel pressure which can't really be called pain, just a real nuisance, but I shouldn't wait for it to get worse because ear infections can be very nasty. But then again, what if it's nothing? I just hate going to the doctor's for nothing. But I guess better safe than sorry in this case.

Lots of backlog in the review department and I've been reading some truly great books. But brain still fuzzy, so they'll keep. On the other hand, I hadn't heard back from Liselotte about her drawing, so sent her a little note yesterday and she wrote back immediately saying she'd meant to answer back as soon as she received the initial email with the drawing to say she was very impressed and to proceed as I had suggested, so I'll happily go back to working on that as I'd taken a break in the last 3 days, unsure about what to do with it and wasn't feeling happy about that, so I'm off to do that next.

>208 Smiler69: I like your selection of planned reads for February. I'm not planning but I have added Beyond Black to my mental list of tentative reads. I also have Brideshead Revisited lined up although I'm feeling a bit intimidated by it - not sure why.

>209 Smiler69: 'since I've taken about 20 years off her face'

Just curious, is that because you think that's what she'll like (or she wont like it if you don't)? I know a lot of people (including me) don't always like photos of themselves and I guess that must also apply to portraits...

I think it looks amazing so far.

>211 Smiler69: 'I was going to start a new thread for the new month, but this one still has some life in it, and it just seems like so much effort, so not yet.'

I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way about starting a new thread! I would be interested in joining in with Babette's Feast if you do get to it - I think it's available as a Penguin short for kindle.

>216 Smiler69: Ear infections can be nasty - I'd make an appointment. Hope fuzzy brain and remains of cold/flu clear (and that you don't get an ear infection).

>214 Crazymamie: Mamie, I don't know that I've necessarily been much better, as mostly spent the weekend sleeping off whatever ails me. I'm certainly coughing less and generally less stuffed up, but definitely not out of the woods yet. At least I've got plenty to keep myself occupied and can stop and take naps whenever I get too tired to do anything.

Of course I'll be happy for you to join me for any of the books you've mentioned. I hope I get to all those I've planned considering I've been very ambitious. I don't think I can list Babette's Feast on the wiki considering how short it is, do you? I'm so glad the library let me delay the book pick-up till Wednesday when temps should be in a more human range!

>215 jolerie: Thanks so much Valerie, I really get a lot of satisfaction out of my drawing practice these days, and giving it a couple of hours each day, as opposed to just an hour, I see what a difference it makes on the results. I'm hoping to grow my practice little by little so I can devote more and more time to it, maybe eventually up to 4-6 hours a day to allow me to work both on commissions and my personal work side-by-side, but we'll see about that, since obviously quite a few things would need to change for that to happen.

I've done some self-portrait sketches before, but this photo-realistic style is relatively new to me as I only started it about 2-3 years ago now, so haven't attempted this kind of self-portrait before. I may do so eventually, though I'd have to start from a photo I really like and am not taking a lot of them these days, so not sure I'd be working from a recent photo necessarily! ;-)

>217 souloftherose: Hi Heather, I took your advice and left a message with my doctor to make an appointment just now.

Liselotte didn't specifically ask me to make her look younger per se, but she did say she would prefer me not to put in every single detail and if I left the drawing 'unfinished' in some areas and perhaps used a more sketch-like approach as opposed to my more recent photorealistic style. So I basically took all that in and was initially going to do a much looser kind of drawing and was simply not going to put in every single wrinkle, but then the drawing didn't want to be loose at all, and I did leave out lots of wrinkles, so that's how it came out that she looks a lot younger, and without the details of her neck... she does look closer to 70-something as opposed to 95, wouldn't you say?

All this to say that you can do a 'photorealistic' style while still being very inventive! No Photoshop required, it's built-in! That's what artists did for centuries, after all! ;-)

I loved Babette's Feast and you're right, it's available as a Kindle single, though I was able to borrow it from the library as a Penguin Classic, though I think they're out of print now.

I'm sorry, Ilana, I didn't mean to imply that you were completely better, I guess I just thought that you were feeling a bit better than you had been because you weren't coughing as much - coughing is always so exhausting and then it makes your muscles hurt, too, after you have been coughing for a while, and then it's not just the actual cough that hurts but also the action of coughing. If that makes any sense. Anyway, I hope that you continue to get better with each day, although with the ears hurting now I would definitely go to the doctor because you might need an antibiotic.

I think you could list Babette's Feast on the wiki if you wanted to - there were certainly shorter works on the wiki last year. I probably just wouldn't count it on the "books read" meter. Last year I counted shorter things like that on the works meter. Anyway, it does not matter to me - I am happy either way. I'll read it. I'll also look for a longer one that we can count as a shared read.

Much love to you, darling, and again, I am sorry if I hurt your feelings. Wishing for you a lovely indulgent evening.

So much going on here!!!

Lovely to the see the Vilmorin Album! I had an aunt who was of that clan! Both my aunt and one of her sisters were painters, and the sister loved to do these vegetable "nature-morts''(white backgrounds and all) and finally I figured out why when I realized she had grown up looking at those amazing illustrations. She even got me using gouaches and 'doing' onions one summer! And celery. And a few others I might still have around somewhere or other.

Back to add - glad you are on the mend!

Glad to hear that you're feeling better. I hope that the ears are too. Ears, teeth, back - it's hard to think of what hurts worse than these when they aren't right.

>216 Smiler69: Ear infections can be miserable - I hope you're able to stop it before it sets in. I've joined you on the TIOLI Challenge for The Rosie Project, but I'm having mixed feelings so far. I'll be interested to know what you think of it.

Take care!

I'd like to wake up one of these days feeling halfway decent, that would be nice. But no. Still waking up coughing and sniffling and feeling exhausted every day so far, with ears really bothering me. I left a message with my doctor's office yesterday and they still haven't called me for an appointment, so just left message #2. Also, for some strange reason I've had a bad cramp in my right calf muscle for the last four days. I regularly take magnesium, so not sure what the cramping is about. I'm just about ready to call it a day and climb back into bed, to be honest.

***

>220 Crazymamie: Mamie, I don't think I'll bother to list Babette's Feast anywhere, but I'm glad I've read it. No need to apologize, no hurt feelings or anything like that... I just wish I were feeling better, that's all. It's been two weeks now, and though it's true I'm coughing less, I'm annoyed that I'm still feeling rather miserable all the same.

>221 sibylline: Lucy, I didn't know about the Vilmorin Album per se, though I'd seen various prints of fruits and vegetables before (maybe they were from Vilmorin and I didn't know it?). We did a lot of watercolours of plants and flowers and various produce in my watercolour classes, so I've done my share of these too, and always enjoy a good rendering of an onion!

>222 LizzieD: Peggy, I think I'll have to see my doctor about the ears because they don't seem to be getting better even with the over-the-counter ear-drops I've been taking. O well.

>223 Dejah_Thoris: Liane, I'm sorry you're having mixed feelings about The Rosie Project. I'm thinking of picking it up once I've finished with the Harry Potter, which I should finish within a couple of days.

***

I got up less than a couple of hours ago, but I'm ready for a nap now!

How about we start The Gift of Rain in a few weeks, like mid to late Feb!?

Sorry to hear you are still with the cold/flu. That seems like ages now! ANd your codeine woes are justified, its is a yucky med, but if necessary for migraine mitigation, I guess its the lesser of two evils? I hope you come right after your nap! I am about to take advantage of there new school year starting before the university one, and hit the sack (its not even 10am here) with The Giver. :)

I'll pop by to add here too that I'm good with mid to late Feb for The Gift of Rain :)

(And I think I've finally shaken off my pesky virus, good luck with doing the same for yours)

>216 Smiler69: Ears are really bothering me
Maybe eustachian tubes? I ask because mine have been messed up since a hideous (but apparently not flu) virus two years ago. If so, use this terminology rather than “ears” when you see the doctor (otherwise, unless it's an ENT, they peer in and see nothing and act like you’re imagining things).

Book #17: ❉ⓔ Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast ★★
Source: Municipal Library OverDrive Collection
Read for: TIOLI #10: Read a non-fiction comic
Edition: Bloomsbury USA (2014), Kindle Edition, 240 pages
Original publication date: 2014

I know this graphic memoir has been really popular with readers both here on LT and in the world at large, but as I turned the electronic pages, I kept hoping for some comic relief and not finding any. Roz Chast describes the real journey she experienced with her elderly Jewish parents as they went from extreme old age barely able to care for themselves in their Brooklyn apartment to a nursing home and finally to their deaths. The memories she shares with her reading public aren't happy ones; her parents were happy to be a dysfunctional couple and she felt she had always been de trop, disrupting her parent's close rapport after she arrived late in their marriage to an already mature couple. Chast's mother terrified both Roz and her father, and always reminded young Roz that she was her mother and not her friend, so that they never developed any sort of rapport. By the time her father had died and her mother lingered on in the nursing home in a state of suspended animation, receiving extremely costly private care and refusing to die, Roz realised the time to build bridges had come and gone long ago and she was left to mostly worry about dwindling finances to keep supporting her mother with. I can see how many readers who have gone through this sort of ordeal may have connected with this memoir, but I just found it depressing from start to finish and I'm just glad to be able to move on to something more pleasant, finally.

Finally as I was taking my nap yesterday afternoon the phone rang and the doctor's secretary said if I could get to their office in the next 45 minutes she could squeeze me in at the end of her day. So I got myself together and jumped in a cab. Seems I don't have an ear infection after all, no signs of redness or inflammation, just a bit of liquid behind the eardrums, which is caused by my flu for some reason I can't remember how to describe now but which made sense when she explained it to me yesterday. It should clear up when my flu does. Of course I'm glad not to have an infection, but at the same time it would have been nice to walk out with some kind of prescription to take away whatever ails me. Oh well.

As I was awaiting my appointment, I'd brought my iPad to finish the Roz Chast memoir, which had been dragging on seemingly for weeks. I'm way behind on all my reviews, but just had to get that one off my chest. I'm sure most people who've read it will disagree with my take on it because I know it's been wildly popular lately, but of course we all have our own views on books, which is what keeps things interesting. It was weighing me down and I really AM glad it's over now.

Off to spend at least a couple of hours on my Liselotte drawing now. I've lost a good three days on it while I was awaiting her feedback and I'm really keen to make some progress now. Working on the hair now which is both difficult and extremely time consuming, requiring many layers of mark-making. This will also bring me closer to finishing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire which I've really been enjoying as I work.

***

>225 LovingLit: Megan, mid to late Feb sounds good for The Gift of Rain, that way I'll have time to read a few of my other planned reads for various challenges, like the AAC and the BAC, which I've made ambitious plans for.

I haven't taken any Fiorinal (i.e. codeine) for at least a couple of months now, preferring to deal with the pain of migraine than having to suffer the side-effects, but then I haven't had 24/7 extreme migraines either, so it's easier to make that choice when I 'only' get migraines a few days a week. Nice to know you get a bit of time to yourself before uni starts up again. I wasn't crazy about The Giver but I know lots of people loved it. Enjoy!

>226 evilmoose: Hi Megan, I look forward to The Gift of Rain. I loved The Garden of Evening Mists so much, and I'm sure this one will be excellent as well. Encouraging to know you managed to shake off your virus. There is hope for me yet.

>227 qebo: Thanks for the tip Katherine, but I'd already seen my doctor by the time I'd gotten your message. In any case, she did not treat me like I was imagining things, and did agree that something was up with my ears, so I guess we were on the same page at least. Thanks for the tip though; I'll make a note of it.

Oh, drat that you have an ear infection. I imagine that is very painful. Thinking of you and sending hugs.

>230 Whisper1: Linda, seems it's not an ear infection after all, just an uncomfortable side-effect from the flu, and as such isn't painful, just unpleasant. Thanks for the hugs, sending some your way too. xx

Well, I guess that the assurance that the ears will clear up on their own is good. I'd be ready for something more immediate too.
This has been real sinus weather in the Sinus Capital of the World, so I can truly sympathize with all the messiness of coughs, drips, drainings, itchings, sneezings, blowings, and general nastiness. My nightly sinus rinses and 2 nasal sprays do make a difference, I find, when I'm too lazy to prepare the one or run out of the other.
And I will definitely not read *More Pleasant*. You know that I adore my mother, but 93 is no picnic even for somebody as healthy and completely herself as she is.

>229 Smiler69: In my case, eustachian tubes were clogged w/ mucus so fluid wasn’t draining from ears, instead remained behind ear drum w/ feeling of pressure and discomfort; this went on for a few months, continued after other virus symptoms had gone. I had to do internet research and go to three doctors before one acknowledged a problem might actually exist. Glad you had a better experience. Also sounds like you have a different virus that will hopefully be more cooperative in running its annoying course.

Hi, Ilana - ugh, ear ache! :(

Just checking in regarding Diary Of A Provincial Lady. It turns out I do have the Virago omnibus containing all four novels, but I will only be reading the first one this month; I'll probably do the others a month at a time.

I finished both Harry Potter and the Maigret last night (eta: touchtones link to actual books because I'm finicky that way). Both satisfying reads from obviously very different worlds. I'm off to work on my drawing shortly, again want to put in as much time as possible, so keeping my time on LT brief today. Will listen to Henry James' The Europeans as I work, one of my AAC picks, though I also want to read What Maisie Knew, which has been sitting on my tbr for much too long. As for physical books, I may pick up Brideshead Revisited this evening, but I'll give myself some leeway between now and then in case I feel like something different later today.

***

>232 LizzieD: Peggy, I definitely don't think *Pleasant* is a book that can be universally enjoyed since it does broach some pretty difficult subjects and to my mind, there wasn't much comedy there to lighten the load, though of course that's purely subjective. Didn't help of course that I was sick the whole time I was leafing through it, so I was probably not in the best state of mind for it.

>233 qebo: Katherine, I'll keep your description in mind, that way if my ear situation persists I'll tell my doctor about it. Hopefully it will clear up pretty soon though. I do have hopes this flu will also clear up in the coming days. *fingers crossed*

>234 lyzard: Liz, I did do a weird typo on your thread, because I indeed listed Diary of a Provincial Lady under challenge #15. My edition will just give me a taste for E. M. Delafield's Provincial Lady, but I guess if I take a liking to her I'll get THE Diary containing all 4 books. One does wish they'd named the two editions in a more easy to distinguish way, doesn't one?

Oh, it's ridiculous! Even if they'd called it The Diaries---. You shouldn't have to do this much research! :)

Anyway, I think this is the kind of writing best taken in small doses - fun, but a bit cloying.

I picked up Brideshead Revisited as planned last night finally. Sort of wanting to get the firmer planned reading out of the way early in the month so I can play around a little later if I feel the urge to. Can't say I'm bowled over with BR yet, but then I've only read the preface, written by Waugh in 1959 and the prologue and the first chapter, which really sets the whole thing in motion, so I expect it'll all start falling into place from the second chapter onward. I made the mistake of starting to read the introduction too, but then when they started to discuss the novel in too much detail I skipped over it and decided to return to it after I've read the thing.

Am halfway through The Europeans on audio and really love Eleanor Bron who is doing the narration, so I know she is not at fault, and while the writing is excellent and the story is good enough, I can't say I'm terribly excited about it, but maybe looking back on the story I'll find I'll have gotten more out of it than I seem to on the moment.

Got Anya's Ghost, a graphic novel, from the library this week. It had been highly recommended by Mark a couple of years ago at least. I'd also picked up a couple of audiobooks, including In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar narrated by Stephen Hoye, whom I really like. This book had been highly recommended by Darryl long ago and I was really looking forward to it, but as happens all too often, the MP3 CD was so badly damaged my external CD driver was unable to read it, which is a shame. The other one, Burnt Sienna a book by David Morrell I picked up because I enjoyed Murder as a Fine Art so much (review still pending). But it ended up being narrated by someone with a bombastic voice I couldn't stand, so I'll just forget about that one as an audiobook, besides which I'm not sure about the premise about an ex-military man who becomes a painter. A bit of a reach.

***

>236 lyzard: Liz: yes, from the descriptions I've read of Delafield's approach in those books, it does seem like it's not the kind of thing you'd want to read lots of volumes of all at once! I am looking forward to my introduction to her world all the same!

Happy Saturday, Ilana! How are you feeling? I read Anya's Ghost a few years ago and was very impressed. I hope it works for you too.

I'll be starting my James AAC, next week.

>238 msf59: Hey Mark, since yesterday I've started to feel like there might actually be some hope of me getting over this darn flu that's been holding me back for well over two weeks now. I'm still coughing occasionally and sniffling a lot and my voice isn't normal yet and energy is iffy, but the first thing I think about myself isn't "oh boy, am I ever sick!" anymore, which is a VAST improvement! Thanks for asking.

I do remember you were really keen on Anya's Ghost. But then you get pretty excited about A LOT of books, so it's hard to keep up with you! ;-)

Glad to hear about your VAST improvement! Make another one equally as vast, and you will be good to go.

Thanks Peggy! :-)

Off to work on my drawing now, hoping to make a VAST step forward by spending 2-3 hours on Liselotte's hair; always a really tricky part that requires lots and lots of layers and markmaking in some areas, and then judicious few strokes in others.

Glad to see that your flu is subsiding a little, my dear.
You seem to have taken up the baton in the acquisitionary relay whilst I remain a reasonably good boy. Heard from my pal Antoine it was still like minus 100 degrees in Montreal so I hope you are keeping warm enough. xx

" But then you get pretty excited about A LOT of books, so it's hard to keep up with you!" Yes, ma'am, that is how I roll! LOL.

Glad to hear you're starting to feel a little better. I hope the recovery is speedier than the illness was in burning itself out.

>241 Smiler69: yikes, drawing hair is hard enough cartoon style let alone absolute realism! I wish you good luck and a steady hand. Meanwhile, I shall ready my copy of The Gift of Rain.

Hi Ilana, you have had a rather rough time of it lately with that nasty flu and it's side effects. I am pretty much back to full health but still coughing a little. This is one bug that gets hold of you and doesn't want to let go!

I am planning on reading Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? later on this year and it will be interesting as to how it hits me. I read Fun Home recently, which many people raved over, but I wasn't taken with it, finding it entirely too depressing.

Picked up Decline and Fall on audio yesterday, and then realised I'd be reading two Evelyn Waughs at once, but that hardly matters, since I did want to get through quite a few of his books this month. I did not realise this was his first published book when I picked it up though, so I'm quite happy about that. Happier still to find it very engaging and quite funny.

Had to suck on cough drops part of the night as kept coughing, so looks like the aftermath of this flu is refusing to let go quietly, but I do know the worst is over. Like most uninvited guests, it has overstayed its welcome and is now clinging on for dear mercy despite me having thrown it out and now kicking it and trying to slam the door in its face.

For reasons I don't understand, some audiobooks I can't obtain on the Audible site are available via Audible on the Amazon.com site, so I've picked up two books narrated by Gareth Armstrong, whom I like very much,

Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
Thomas Cromwell: The Untold Story of Henry VIII's Most Faithful Servant by Tracy Borman

Total books purchased to date: 48

>242 PaulCranswick: Paul, I've definitely picked up the mantle, I felt someone had to, and since I was already a contender, then why not? But seriously though, it's all a bit wild, isn't it? Better books than anything else though, a much cheaper proposition.

>243 msf59: :-)

>244 lunacat: Jenny, that remains to be see at this point...

>245 LovingLit: Megan, I think more than anything I will need lots of patience for the hairy part of the drawing. Also it's good to be able to skip around and work on different areas when it gets too... well, hairy.

>246 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy, good to know you're back on your feet. I'm glad Can't We Talk is behind me now and looking forward to Anya's Ghost. I've heard a lot about Fun Home and read quite a few of Bechdel's books in my youth, but don't know if I'd find that particular one to my liking.

What a fine review of the Chast - just what I love most about LT. Both a clear statement of what the book contains and then a frank reaction.

I've only read the excerpt in the NYer and so have missed the statement by her mother that she was not her daughter's friend, just her mother. What a dreadful thing to say!

I'm almost afraid to get the book- in part because of what I went through with my own mother and in part because I worry a lot about burdening our daughter if we get weird and cranky later on.

>249 sibylline: Oh good, I'm glad you enjoyed my review Lucy. I do try to be honest and explain why I didn't like something as clearly as possible so people can make up their own minds about any given book.

***

Feeling depressed today for no good reason I can put my finger on. Daily migraines might be a reason. I'd been trying to ignore the fact they're a daily occurrence again, I mean, more prominently, but they are. Also weather is really nasty, so going outside is really punishing. Pierre came over for tea but we're doing our own thing today, which is fine by me, so I spent nearly 4 hours on my drawing, which is almost finished now. He's starting a painting and wanting to put in lots of time on it, and I encourage him to do so. I don't feel like doing much else than drawing as I near the end of this project, so will go back to it for a little before calling it a day.

Finished Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh as I took out Coco for a brief walk earlier this evening. Was a riotously fun book! Was tempted to follow it up with a reread of Vile Bodies right away, but will take a little Waugh break (sort of, as I'm still reading Brideshead) and follow that audiobook up with The Rosie Project now as I go back to my drawing and then start getting ready for bed. Have no idea whether I'll like it or not despite it being hugely popular with many readers here, because I've learned long ago now that's not a promise I will necessarily like a book too. Only one way to find out...

January 29th, and today:
  

I've got my first Bingo from the 2015 Catergory challenge!



1. With a protagonist of the opposite gender: Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally ★★★★
2. Chosen by someone else: Chocolat by Joanne Harris ★★★★⅓
3. That I've owned for more than one year: Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively ★★★½
4. With scientists:
✪ 5. On a subject I'm unfamiliar with: An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro ★★★★⅓

6. Translated from a language I don't speak:
7. With a natural disaster: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel ★★★½
8. About Autism:
✪ 9. With an LGBTQ character: Reflections in a Golden Eye by Carson McCullers ★★★★⅓
10. Set in a country other than my own: Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill ★★★★⅓

11. About language:
12. Published in 1915:
✪ 13. Category Challenge - FREE Space!
14. That reminds me of my childhood:
15. Where prophecies or portents are part of the plot:

16. Based on a fairy tale or myth: Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth ★★★★½
✪ 17. Inspired by another piece of fiction: Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell ★★★★⅓
18. With correspondence or letters: The Blind Contessa's New Machine by Carey Wallace ★★★★½
19. By an LT author:
20. Where an animal is of importance:

✪ 21. With a mythical creature: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling ★★★★⅓
22. Centered around a major historical event:
23. Whose author shares an ancestor's first name:
24. That is a Genre Bender:
25. That is completely outside my comfort zone: Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast ★★

Nothing to add. Just... back to the drawing board. I actually dreamt I was working on my drawing during the night. Guess I'm sort of obsessed with it at this point. Very near to finishing it. Really enjoying The Rosie Project too, great on audio!

Sorry to hear that the illness is still lingering. We are slowly coming out of the fog of a cold that passed through everyone in the family as well. A winter cold doesn't seem as bad as a summer cold, but both are equally unwelcome if I had my say.

Wow, you already have a bingo! Congrats and hopefully more great books are on your horizon. :D

Sorry to hear the flu is still lingering. I know I forget how much a bad cold/flu can wipe me out even once the fever has gone. The aftermatch of a bad cold/flu also often leaves me feeling quite weepy for no reason.

>251 Smiler69: So detailed! I like the start you've made on the neck.

Stopping by after being absent for quite some time. Love your current drawing project, sorry to read that you have been feeling depressed - I blame the weather at this time of year from my lack of skip in my step - and congrats on getting Bingo!

I'm sorry that you've still got lingering effects from the flu - hopefully a few more days will see you clear! And congratulations on your BINGO - great books to complete it!

Wow, the drawing is looking fantastic. What a lot of work!

>254 jolerie: Hi Valerie, I guess getting flu in a family is really the worst as everybody is bound to get it. It's going on three weeks for me now. Time this one left already...

The bingo was a nice surprise!

>255 souloftherose: Hi Heather, I guess I really got obsessed with all the detail of the drawing as a way to escape from myself and also because I could listen to my audiobooks as I worked. Drawing+listening to books, what better combination could there be for me??

>256 lkernagh: Nice to see you here Lori. I think the current blues are definitely not helped by the weather—hard to go outside for more than the briefest time or enjoy and kind of leisurely walk, and also this nagging flu has taken a lot out of me. But the good news is spring will eventually return... someday!

>257 Dejah_Thoris: Hi Liane, I'd stopped taking cough syrup at night, but back on it now to make sure I can sleep through the night again, though I trust this is just a temporary setback and I'll start getting better again. I guess my immune system isn't optimal considering I'm not around people much.

I doubt I'll be able to complete the Bingo card this year since there are a few squares that don't seem feasible to me, so every completed BINGO will be a real achievement! :-)

>258 LovingLit: Hi Megan, I sent the drawing to Liselotte for her feedback yesterday and she seemed pleased, saying it was turning into 'quite a piece of art'. I just have a few more details to add, but I think I'll finish it within the next couple of days.

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Right. I think I'll be starting a new thread soon...