Rabbitprincess is in the thick of it for 2015 - Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of my Peter Capaldi-themed challenge. This year my reading will be divided into categories based on the filmography of this lovely, talented, adorable man. (Seriously, read some of his Dr Who interviews to get an idea of how adorable he is.)



Categories are:

Fortysomething - general fiction
Wasps' Nest - mysteries
The Musketeers - history, HistoryCAT, and livres en français
Doctor Who - SFF and SFFFCAT
Local Hero - rereads
A Portrait of Scotland - books about/set in Scotland or by Scottish authors, and books about art
Dreamboys - audiobooks
Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life - short stories, essays, poetry and plays
The Fifth Estate - non-fiction
In the Loop - group reads (2015 CC and British Author Challenge) and RandomCAT

Any category can overlap with any of the CATs or group reads. Example: if I want to read my audiobook of Graham Greene's The End of the Affair for the British Author Challenge, I will count it under both the Dreamboys and the In the Loop categories.

Fortysomething - General fiction

You may recall that "Fortysomething" was also used as the general fiction category in my 2014 challenge. That is correct: both Benedict and Peter appeared in this show! Peter plays Dr. Ronnie Pilfrey.

1. Red or Dead, by David Peace
2. Brighton Rock, by Graham Greene
3. Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh
4. The House on the Strand, by Daphne du Maurier
5. Epitaph: A Novel of the O.K. Corral, by Mary Doria Russell
6. No Relation, by Terry Fallis
7. How to Build a Girl, by Caitlin Moran

Wasps' Nest - Mysteries

Agatha Christie adaptations often feature actors who have since gone on to greatness. Peter is no exception. In "Wasps' Nest", he plays artist Claude Langton.

Christina pointed me toward the blog My Reader's Block, which features a Vintage Mystery Bingo card. I will be using the card but not limiting myself to either Silver or Golden Age mysteries. It is a 6x6 grid because the letters at the top spell either SILVER or GOLDEN.

Book with a colour in the title / cover colour:
✓ Book set anywhere except the US and England: The Clue in the Crossword Cipher, by Carolyn Keene (set in Peru)
Book that features a crime other than murder:
Locked-room mystery/impossible crime:
Medical mystery (or book featuring a doctor or nurse):
Book with a professional detective:

TBR First Lines (pick 4 books from TBR, read each first sentence, then choose 1 of the 4 to read):
Book with a number/quantity in the title:
Book with an animal in the title:
Book by an author you've never read before:
Book with a "spooky" title or cover:
Book with a woman in the title:

Book set in the entertainment world:
✓ Book made into a movie or TV series: Wobble to Death, by Peter Lovesey
✓ Book with an amateur detective: As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust, by Alan Bradley
Book with a man in the title:
✓ Academic mystery: Death on the Cherwell, by Mavis Doriel Hay
Book that involves a mode of transportation:

✓ Country house mystery: Cover Her Face, by P.D. James
Book with a lawyer, courtroom, judge, etc.:
Book already read by a fellow (Category) challenger:
✓ Book outside your comfort zone: Sleepyhead, by Mark Billingham
✓ Book involving the clergy or religion: The Cornish Coast Murder, by John Bude
✓ Author with first or last name beginning with same letter as yours: We'll use either P or C (for Peter or Capaldi) A Case of Spirits, by Peter Lovesey

✓ Book with a detective "team": The Water Room, by Christopher Fowler
Book with a time, day, month, etc. in the title:
✓ Book published in birth year of you or a loved one/friend: Going with Peter Capaldi's birth year, 1958. Playback, by Raymond Chandler
Short story collection:
✓ Book set in England or the US: The Sussex Downs Murder, by John Bude
Book that you have to borrow:

Book with a method of murder in the title:
✓ Book with a place in the title: A Scream in Soho, by John G. Brandon
Book published under more than one title:
✓ Historical mystery: A Morbid Taste for Bones, by Ellis Peters
✓ Book written by an author with a pseudonym: The Man in the Queue, by Josephine Tey (pseudonym of Elizabeth Mackintosh)
Book that features food/drink/a party:

Many of these categories appeared on the 2014 card. As a bonus, I'm including the categories from 2014 that didn't make it to the 2015 card:

Book by an author you have read before:
Mystery that involves water:
Translated book:
✓ Book with a size in the title: The Long Goodbye, by Raymond Chandler (I'm decreeing "long" is a pant size, as opposed to regular and short.)

Any other mysteries that don't fit the card (or duplicate squares) will go in general fiction, if only because I'm worried about having too many touchstones in a single post.

The Musketeers - History, HistoryCAT and livres en francais

I'm not sure how historically accurate either the book or the miniseries is, but Peter is suitably badass as Cardinal Richelieu in this adaptation.

This category will also hold my yearly quota of books in French.

History
1. The Long Shadow: The Legacies of the Great War in the Twentieth Century, by David Reynolds
2. SS-GB, by Len Deighton
3. The Tragic Story of the Empress of Ireland, by Logan Marshall

HistoryCAT
January (theme: Myths and Legends): The Luck of Troy, by Roger Lancelyn Green
February (time period: 1CE to 500CE): Astérix et les Gothes, by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo
March (theme: Exploration and Conquest): Into the Silence, by Wade Davis
April (time period: 1000 to 1300) (theme: crime and mysteries): A Morbid Taste for Bones, by Ellis Peters
May (time period: 1300 to 1500): Lords of Misrule, by Nigel Tranter (theme: plagues and disasters): Justinian's Flea, by William Rosen
June (theme: culture and the arts) one of Michael Palin's diaries perhaps?
July (time period: 1600 to 1700): The Scottish Revolution 1637-44: The Triumph of the Covenanters, by David Stevenson
August (time period: 1700 to 1800): Ross Poldark, A Novel of Cornwall (theme: medicine and disease): The Great Influenza, by John M. Barry
September (time period: 1800 to 1850): The Arctic Grail, by Pierre Berton, The Great Hunger, by Cecil Woodham Smith (theme: lifestyles of ordinary people): At Home, by Bill Bryson *audio
October (time period: 1850 to 1900): The National Dream, The Last Spike, Klondike, by Pierre Berton. ND and LS would also fit theme of science and technology
November (time period: 1900 to 1945) (theme: war and peace) anything WW1 or WW2 related would fit both. E.g. Catastrophe, by Max Hastings
December (time period: 1945 to 1990) Korea: Canada's Forgotten War

Livres en français
1. Astérix et les Gothes, by Goscinny and Uderzo
2.

Doctor Who - SFF and SFFFCAT

Peter Capaldi is the Twelfth Doctor and I am loving every minute of it. Not that I don't like the other Doctors, but it is so wonderful to see Peter living the Whovian dream.

SFF
1. Plague of the Cybermen, by Justin Richards
2. A Big Hand for the Doctor, by Eoin Colfer
3. The Nameless City, by Michael Scott
4. Foxglove Summer, by Ben Aaronovitch
5. The Spear of Destiny, by Marcus Sedgwick
6. Doctor Who: Time Trips, by Cecelia Ahern et al.
7. The Roots of Evil, by Philip Reeve

SFFFCAT
January: (Steampunk, Gaslamp, Historical SFF) Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
February: (Classics of Sci-Fi) The Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham
March: (It's the End of the World As We Know It) MaddAddam, by Margaret Atwood
April: (Fairy Tales and Mighty Myths) Irish Fairy and Folk Tales, ed. W.B. Yeats
May (Women SFF Writers) Among Others, by Jo Walton
June: (time travel) 11/22/63, by Stephen King
July: (fantastical creatures)
August: (other worlds: space opera, first contact, dropping into Oz)
September: (slipstream, interstitial, magical realism, genre benders)
October: (paranormal, urban fantasy) Libriomancer, by Jim C. Hines? Not waiting until Oct to read Foxglove Summer :P
November: (quests) The Return of the King, by JRR Tolkien
December: (influential/award-winning SFF)

Local Hero - Rereads

Local Hero was Peter's big break, in which he played Danny Oldsen. I chose this as the theme for my rereads category because this was a movie from Peter's younger days, and a lot of my rereads are from my younger days.

1. Mrs. Pollifax on Safari, by Dorothy Gilman
2. Barometer Rising, by Hugh MacLennan
3. Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen
4.
5.
6.

A Portrait of Scotland - Books set in or about Scotland, and books by Scottish authors

This is a documentary about the history of Scottish portrait painting. As an alumnus of the Glasgow School of Art, Peter has the technical chops to hold some really in-depth conversations with his interviewees, and his enthusiasm and interest in the subject bring it to life for the viewer. It's available on YouTube if you're interested.

1. Rob Roy, by Sir Walter Scott
2. Astérix and the Picts, by Jean-Yves Ferri, Didier Conrad (illustrator), Anthea Bell (translator)
3. Lords of Misrule, by Nigel Tranter

The Field of Blood - Scottish mysteries

Because I read way too many Scottish mysteries, let's have a sub-category for them! Also, this is a good excuse for me to put David Morrissey in this year's challenge (spoiler alert: he's the theme of my 2016 challenge).

1. The Papers of Tony Veitch, by William McIlvanney
2. Flesh Wounds, by Christopher Brookmyre
3. Saints of the Shadow Bible, by Ian Rankin
4. The Low Road, by Reginald Hill

Dreamboys - Audiobooks

When Peter was in university, he played guitar and sang in a punk rock band with future Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson on drums. You can find a few songs of theirs on YouTube. My favourite is "Bela Lugosi's Birthday".

Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life - Short stories, essays, poetry and plays, GNs

In addition to being an actor, Peter is an Oscar-winning director. This is his award-winning short film. Also on YouTube.

Goal: at least three plays

Plays

1. Blithe Spirit, by Noël Coward
2. Mauritius, by Theresa Rebeck
3.

The rest

1. Darkwing Duck: The Duck Knight Returns, by Ian Brill (writer) and James Silvani (illustrator)
2. Psychiatric Tales, by Darryl Cunningham
3. El Deafo, by Cece Bell
4. The Frozen Thames, by Helen Humphreys
5. Live Right and Find Happiness (Although Beer is Much Faster), by Dave Barry
6. Daddy Lenin and Other Stories, by Guy Vanderhaeghe

The Fifth Estate - General non-fiction

This is information the world needs to know! Peter plays Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger in the 2013 film that strangely enough also features Benedict!

1. The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction, by Alan Jacobs
2. The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code, by Margalit Fox
3. The Pythons Autobiography, by the Pythons
4. Bizarre London, by David Long

In the Loop - Group reads and RandomCAT

FINALLY I create a separate category for group reads! Of course Peter's character needs little introduction: he's the ferocious Malcolm Tucker. Watch out for those attack eyebrows!

Books will be touchstoned as they are completed.

Group Reads

January: none
February: Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh (BAC)
March: The House on the Strand, by Daphne du Maurier (BAC)
April: none
May: Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen (year-long Austen read)
June: A Dead Man in Deptford, Inside Mr Enderby (reread), On Going to Bed, by Anthony Burgess (BAC)
July: none
August: The Human Factor, The End of the Affair (audio), by Graham Greene (BAC); Agatha Christie August
September: Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen (year-long group read)
October: none
November: An Ice-Cream War, Restless, by William Boyd (BAC); Memento Mori, by Muriel Spark (BAC)
December: A Place of Greater Safety, by Hilary Mantel (BAC); The Man with Two Left Feet, The Girl in Blue, Do Butlers Burgle Banks, by PG Wodehouse (BAC)

Also a possibility: the Longmire half of Roberta's Leaphorn and Chee / Longmire year

February: The Cold Dish
April: Death Without Company
June: Kindness Goes Unpunished
August: Another Man's Moccasins
October: The Dark Horse
December: Junkyard Dogs

Year-long "History of England Parts 1-3" read with Christina

January to April: Foundation
May to August: Tudors
September to December: Rebellion

RandomCAT

January: (Olympus Has Fallen) The Cornish Coast Murder, by John Bude
February: (Let's Go to the Movies) Sleepyhead, by Mark Billingham (adapted into Thorne, 2010)
March: (All the Cool Kids Are Doing It) Foxglove Summer, by Ben Aaronovitch
April: (Aperire - major life change by main character) How to Build a Girl, by Caitlin Moran
May: (Place name in the title) Sarum, by Edward Rutherfurd
June
July
August
September
October
November
December



Correspondence or letters - Frankenstein
Reminds of childhood - Darkwing Duck
Based on fairy tale/myth - Luck of Troy
Language - The Riddle of the Labyrinth
Outside of comfort zone - Sleepyhead
Country other than your own - Saints of the Shadow Bible
With scientists - The Day of the Triffids
Genre bender - Foxglove Summer (police procedural + fantasy)
Major historical event - Epitaph: A Novel of the O.K. Corral
LT Author - No Relation

Catching up on reviews that have piled up in the past few days:

The Long Shadow: The Legacies of the Great War in the Twentieth Century, by David Reynolds

Category: The Musketeers, History
Source: library
Rating: 4.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/115512031

A big fat fascinating book about WW1 as its legacy influenced and was influenced by subsequent events in the twentieth century. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on war art and poetry (and would recommend checking out the Imperial War Museum's war art collection if that interests you too), and the chapter on capitalism proved surprisingly readable for someone with limited economics knowledge.

Astérix et les Gothes, by René Goscinny and Albert Udorzo

Category: The Musketeers, livres en français
Source: library
Rating: 3/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/115557361

Light and amusing; just what I needed after my surgery.

Wow, am I the first to visit?? Happy new thread! How are you feeling post-surgery?

Yes, you are the winner! :D Mostly feeling OK. I figure cabin fever and annoyance at my chipmunk face are signs that I am on the mend. And I am posting from the computer now instead of my iPad on the couch :)

Yay - Happy New thread! Love the new pic in the opening thread. That's an interesting shirt he's wearing.
Hope you're feeling better soon and the swelling in your face goes down.

Yay, new thread and I spy an Asterix read! Nice!

Happy new thread!

Great pics in the new thread!

Popping in to say hello. Happy 2nd thread!

Glad to scroll through Peter's pics again. Happy new thread!

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread! I also enjoy this second stroll through Peter's pictures, and I must say, his appearance as Cardinal Richelieu is excellent!

Thank you all for the new-thread greetings!

>15 VioletBramble: Thanks, I feel better than I did but I'm planning to pop back to the dentist on Monday just to make sure everything's healing properly. After reading about dry socket I'm paranoid about developing it! (This is why I need to avoid doing health research on the Internet...)

And I just realized he might have been wearing that shirt in the thread topper for my first thread as well, but this picture shows it to much better advantage.

>16 lkernagh: I also have the latest Astérix in my to-read pile, but en anglais (Astérix and the Picts).

>20 mamzel: Every time I scroll past the Wasps' Nest photo I want to ruffle that hair! Gorgeous.

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So the weekend has been kind of restless. Still trying to work my way up to more solid food. Beans and canned pasta have been added to the diet, and I FINALLY resumed drinking tea (albeit not very hot). I've also been eating industrial quantities of soup and mashed vegetables, not to mention Jello and pudding! Going back to work tomorrow, but I'm hoping to pop out for a quick follow-up appointment just to make sure everything's healing properly, especially on the left side, which had more problematic teeth (i.e. the stupid one that came in sideways).

And today I even left the apartment! Just to go to the mall and pick up Dairy Queen Blizzards (the BF gets a Blizzard of the Month coupon, usually during the least ice-cream-appropriate months), but it was the first time I'd been out since Thursday.

Haven't been reading as much as I would have liked -- I borrowed a big stack of mysteries from the library, thinking those would be good recovery reading, and have barely finished one of the three. Sigh.

>22 DeltaQueen50: He was so intense! The final episode of Season 1 scared me, he was so diabolical.

Happy new thread! I just caught up on all the surgery-talk on the previous thread - very happy to hear all went well. My wisdom teeth started to come out but changed their minds and just stopped. They haven't caused an issue yet (other than making a couple of teeth crooked, but I have a thing for crooked teeth, so I'm not fixing that!) and hopefully they never will! And thanks for the Blizzard-craving I have now... :)

Just watched Peter in an episode of Foyle's War. Thought of you.

Have you watched the latest season of the Musketeers sans-Peter? The new villain is the slimiest toad ever. Makes Cardinal Richelieu look like a choir boy.

Hope your dentist has reassuring words for you!

My first two wisdom teeth had to come out in order to let the other two come in. That was nearly 50 years ago and basically the dentist just yanked them out and had me rinse with salt water a couple of times a day! But I was pretty young and they healed in no time.

Happy new thread! :)

>25 -Eva-: I hope your wisdom teeth stay put and that you have a way to appease the Blizzard craving! If it makes you feel better, I'm not entirely on solids yet so I had a Blizzard with just chocolate syrup -- nothing too fancy :)

>26 mysterymax: Ooh thanks for the reminder that I need to watch that! *places library hold*

>27 mamzel: I might watch it when it arrives at the library, but I was undecided about doing so since Peter isn't in it. A slimy villain does sound promising though!

>28 hailelib: Yay, a good wisdom teeth story! The dentist did say everything was fine for the stage of healing I am at. There is basically almost no danger of dry socket, which is what I had been fearing, because there are no sockets to dry out! I have some tremendously lovely green bruises on my face though.

>29 andreablythe: Thanks! :D

****

First day back at work went well. I was able to pop out briefly to the dentist for a follow-up appointment and they said everything was OK given the stage of healing I am at. The procedure *was* only four days ago, after all. I am just impatient, I guess! My coworkers were impressed that I'd come in, but I was going a bit stir-crazy at home so might as well have a change of scenery.

Currently reading: Brideshead Revisited on the bus, Saints of the Shadow Bible at home. Today I also stopped at the library and picked up a hold on The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (inspired by @VivienneR) and a print copy of The Day of the Triffids, which I'd borrowed as an ebook.

Congratulations on the new thread, on making back to work and on the good report from the dentist - woohoo!

I see you've been creating a new thread while I've been out of pocket. Glad your dentist's report was favorable.

Glad you are recovering well from your dental experience. I'll look forward to your opinion of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. I passed mine on to my daughter-in-law, making it inconvenient to check back on details. I'm sure my list of 500 would be slightly different.

>31 Dejah_Thoris: Thanks! Now I've been back at work for a full week and am getting back into the swing of things. :)

>32 thornton37814: Thanks, I am most relieved as well. I found it difficult to focus during my initial recovery and thus obsessed a bit more over the recovery process than I probably should have.

>33 VivienneR: Thanks! Re Greatest Albums, it's huge! I had to pick it up from the Oversized Holds section. Haven't flipped through it yet but might do this weekend.

****

This week has still mostly been about recovering from the surgery. I developed some amazing green and yellow bruises and part of a black eye over last weekend, prompting astonishment from my coworkers when I came back to the office. (Me: "You should see the other guy.") I'm at maybe 95% capacity in terms of being able to eat properly. Still not comfortable with large bites but was at least able to have fish and chips at the work lunch on Thursday! (One of my coworkers is going on mat leave, so of course we had to go out to celebrate.)

I also borrowed The Damned United from the library, because it was based on a novel by David Peace called The Damned Utd. (Late last year I read his book about Liverpool FC, Red or Dead, and enjoyed it, so figured I'd probably like this one as well.) Michael Sheen was good as Brian Clough and Timothy Spall was superb as Peter Taylor. I have a soft spot for Timothy Spall after seeing him in things other than Harry Potter (e.g. Blandings), so it was lovely to see him again here. I also liked how the movie portrayed the friendship between Clough and Taylor -- it was very heartwarming to see. (In real life, unfortunately, they fell out and never resolved it before Taylor died, but they didn't show that part in the movie.)

The Damned United was interesting enough to me that I watched all the special features. I almost never watch special features on DVDs, so that is a solid endorsement from me at any rate.

And I may have accidentally ordered The Damned Utd off Book Depository, as well as a matching copy of Red or Dead, which I borrowed from the library but which has really stuck with me, so I have to own it! It would be nice if someone made a movie of Red or Dead as well...

****

One single solitary review this week:

Blithe Spirit, by Noël Coward

Category: Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life
Source: library
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/115692093

My first play this year was a good one. The dialogue is sparkling as befits Noël Coward, and I can definitely imagine Dame Angela Lansbury as Madame Arcati. It looks like a fantastic role and I'm sure she's enjoying every moment.

>34 rabbitprincess: Glad you enjoyed the Noel Coward! I haven't read any of his plays but love seeing them performed or the movie adaptations. I"m trying to read more plays this year so I'll have to add him to my TBR.

I really like your theme here, and I will have to check out Fortysomething (love me some Benedict)! Looking forward to following along :)

>35 leslie.98: I'm convinced I've read the play before, probably in an omnibus with Hay Fever and Private Lives, but I didn't remember too much about it. Lots of fun.

>36 SleepySheep: Thank you! Benedict is adorable in Fortysomething. It's only six episodes so easy to justify the time investment. And it features Hugh Laurie, Anna Chancellor and a memorable turn by Stephen Fry.

****

A challenge-theme-appropriate Valentine:

>34 rabbitprincess: Glad you liked The Damned United. I watched it last year and also enjoyed it. I haven't read Red or Dead yet, but I might have to check it out. Football is exactly my cup of tea, especially if it's Liverpool and Bill Shankly. :)

>38 Chrischi_HH: Yay! It has a somewhat unusual storytelling style. Very rhythmic, hypnotic and a bit repetitive at times. But if you like the subject matter, that might help you get through it.

I also suggest finding a paperback/softcover edition if you can, like this one: http://www.bookdepository.com/Red-or-Dead-David-Peace/9780571280667
For some reason I found that easier to read than the massive hardback I originally borrowed from the library: http://www.bookdepository.com/Red-or-Dead-David-Peace/9780571280650

>39 rabbitprincess: Great, thanks! I mostly read paperbacks anyway, they are better for travelling. Let's see what edition I can get here in Germany. (or: As also mentioned when talking about the Lake District Murder, I might have to plan a weekend in the UK again... Which could perfectly be combined with watching football...)

Just noticed the news that one of your heart throbs got married to his valentine yesterday: Benedict Cumberbatch married Sophie Hunter on the Isle of Wight. How romantic!

I watched The Fifth Estate last night but will have to rewatch it since I fell asleep before the end. Benedict and Peter together.

>42 mamzel: I read that as "The Fifth Element" and was very confused.

That happens to me all the time!

>34 rabbitprincess:
Both Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall are favorites of mine, but for some reason I never got around to seeing it. Need to rectify that!

So glad to hear that you are healing well from your surgery. I was terrified of getting dry socket and was so thankful that I didn't. I'm glad you have avoided it, too!

>40 Chrischi_HH: Yes! That sounds like an excellent plan. I envy your ability to have a weekend in the UK. If you do plan one, please enjoy it to the fullest for me!!

>41 VivienneR: Awww! Yes indeed. I heard there were fireworks as well! Also, good for him to pick that day, as it's one less important date to remember ;)

>42 mamzel: Yee! Well, more for Peter in that movie. Benedict did too good a job of looking like Assange for me to go "yee!" over him. And as Paws noted on the previous thread, there is bonus Dan Stevens!

>43 PawsforThought: >44 mamzel: Hee hee! My brain plays tricks like that on me all the time.

>45 -Eva-: I hope you like it! It's only 90 minutes, which seems ridiculously short these days, but they pack a fair bit in.

>46 cbl_tn: Thank you! So was I. Haha the dentist simply said "In order to get a dry socket, you need to have a socket that will dry out. You don't have any open sockets." And I was like "OK then!" I think she quoted me a risk factor of 0.0000000001%.

****

This past weekend I decided to procrastinate on homework by finishing off a bunch of books. Tonight I powered through some reviews.

Saints of the Shadow Bible, by Ian Rankin

Category: The Field of Blood
Source: library
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/116037167

I particularly enjoyed reading this after seeing Ian Rankin read from it in person. Also, Laura Smith the journalist is from Ottawa! I can't remember whether she's actually a journalist, but she won an auction to have herself be a character in this book. (The proceeds from the auction went to charity.) So that was fun, a bit of hometown colour for those in the know. And of course it was a good story, too, because it was Rebus.

Psychiatric Tales: Eleven Graphic Stories About Mental Illness, by Darryl Cunningham

Category: Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life
Source: library
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/115263784

Short but thought-provoking. The dementia chapter was hard because I have had relatives with dementia; it's unsettling to think that that could be them someday, even if Cunningham does portray everyone in this book with sensitivity and compassion.

Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh

Category: In the Loop, Fortysomething
Source: Friends of Library and Archives Canada sale
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/102194426

I read this for the British Author Challenge (somehow I didn't think I'd get through Sword of Honour this month…) and found it much more interesting than I would have in my short-lived Evelyn Waugh phase in Grade 12/first year university. (I'm still not sure what provoked that one; a reread of Adrian Mole maybe? He mentions Evelyn Waugh.) Now I want to see the TV version, because Jeremy Irons is in it! I did not recognize him at ALL on the cover of my copy of the book.

>37 rabbitprincess:
D'awwww! Happy Valentines!

>48 andreablythe: :D Thanks! Haha I sent that one to my BF, and he thought it was a little bit weird. But I wasn't about to send him a Clara valentine!

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Apparently I have a new show to watch: http://www.ew.com/article/2015/02/09/walking-dead-star-david-morrissey-joins-ext...

Also, apparently DM will be remaking The Driver, the UK miniseries he produced and starred in (and which aired on BBC a few months ago) for US television: http://www.digitalspy.ca/ustv/news/a625378/david-morrissey-to-reprise-the-driver...
Hmmmph. At least it's him in the lead role and not someone else, but why remake it? Do the car chases really need to be on the right-hand side of the road?

(true story: in the first episode, I got so wrapped up in the opening car chase that when David drove the wrong way down a one-way street, I yelled at the other guy. "HEY! You get out of David's way!........Oh, wait. England. Left-hand drive.")

I think its ridiculous to remake a television show or movie that's already in the English language. Just air the original in the U.S. or find something new to make.

Here's an interesting article on the subject: The Real Reason Why US Adaptations Of British TV Shows Rarely Succeed: http://io9.com/the-real-reason-why-us-adaptations-of-british-tv-shows-1682826001

I agree very much with that article, especially the "feel" of the series that gets lost when it's transferred Stateside. Life on Mars, Blackpool, Broadchurch... it's not the same with a US setting and accents!

****

Very glad for the SFFFCAT to push me to read this book now!

The Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham

Category: Doctor Who
Source: library
Rating: 5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/115928594

This was amazing! Really creepy and unsettling. I don't think I'll watch any of the movie adaptations though. Nothing could compete with the triffids of my imagination.

>51 rabbitprincess: I was taken by surprise by how much I liked The Day of the Triffids when I read it last year. Regarding adaptations, it is a rare case when a specific visual image can match my imagination especially with non-humanoid monsters.

I haven't had a chance to read the article yet, but I agree that U.S. remakes of British TV is generally abysmal. Cracker, for example...

I really like the book version of The Day of the Triffids but I think you are wise to avoid the movies. I watched one that was made in 1962 and it was almost funny. The Triffids were like moveable shrubbery and this movie totally missed the tension that was in the book.

I wonder if the powers that be just don't think that Americans are able to enjoy a movie or series made in an exotic and mysterious land like Britain? I dislike that there are changes in the American editions of books to Americanize the vocabulary. I will admit, however, that I liked the American version of Life on Mars. Jason O'Mara, guys.

The Tryiffids are such a wonderfully unique creature that fills the imagination with horror, such that it would be almost impossible to recreate even with today's CGI.

>52 leslie.98: Same here! I was astonished that I hadn't read it sooner.

There was a US remake of Cracker?? How could anyone even think of replacing Robbie Coltrane?!

>53 DeltaQueen50: I read the description of the movies on Wikipedia, and the Triffids from the 1962 version made me think of a Pokemon character called "Oddish": http://pokemon.wikia.com/wiki/Oddish
(I find it very sad that I still know this despite not having thought of Pokemon for a good many years.)

>54 RidgewayGirl: That must be what they think. If they want to do that, then perhaps they should be allowed to, but the book should be very clearly stamped "AMERICAN VOCABULARY" so that people who want the original book can order it from Britain instead.

>55 andreablythe: I think Jim Henson could have done something interesting with it in the 80s... he had some pretty spooky movies around that time. But yes, it is very difficult to make something that terrifies everybody. Some of the covers on the Covers pages are funny! https://www.librarything.com/work/11738/covers/115928594

This one is weird:


I like my cover better:


****

So today is my 4th Thingaversary! I bought enough books to celebrate my 11th though ;) My friend J and I went to the library's monthly used-book sale, because we haven't been in a while. We were surprised by how many people were there despite the moderate-to-heavy snow that was falling. (Me: "Maybe everyone else thought the same thing, that nobody would be there because of the weather.") Nevertheless, we were both able to find books to scratch our book-shopping itch. We pooled our resources and got a total of 15 books for $3.00, and 10 of those were mine:

Le Misanthrope, by Molière
L'homme aux cercles bleus, by Fred Vargas
Kenneth, by Nigel Tranter
Our Man in Havana, by Graham Greene
Frenchman's Creek, by Daphne du Maurier
Jamaica Inn, by Daphne du Maurier
The Wild, by Esther Freud
The Viking Symbol Mystery, by Franklin W. Dixon
The Mystery of the Chinese Junk, by Franklin W. Dixon
The Mystery of the Flying Express, by Franklin W. Dixon

I have no idea who keeps sneaking Nigel Tranter into Ottawa book sales, but whoever they are, it is most appreciated. Two of my purchases are books I've read but don't own copies of (Havana and Jamaica), and the Hardy Boys are all original series, not even the glossy 80s/90s reprints. J was the one who spotted the Esther Freud -- lucky find! -- and I was also pleased to be able to pick up the two French books. I did just realize I already have Le Misanthrope en anglais, but oh well. And three of the books were Penguin editions: the two Du Mauriers and the Greene. Couldn't walk away from those! There was actually a fair amount of Du Maurier on the shelves.

We also went shopping at the nearby big-box plaza and I ended up buying a couple of shirts, then we had lunch and headed home. On my way home I stopped at the post office to pick up a parcel which contained, you guessed it, more books:

The Damned Utd, by David Peace
Red or Dead, by David Peace

Yes, I ended up deciding I needed my own copy of Red or Dead. It's been sticking with me more than I expect. I also think it would make an excellent movie, especially after watching The Damned Utd.

Now I've been rearranging my shelves to accommodate my purchases, which has included setting aside books to be read and released into the wild ;)

Nice haul! Most of my recent book purchases have been for digital content -- not nearly as satisfying! And I love futzing around with the books on the shelves...

Happy Thingaversary!

Happy Thingaversary! A library hook sale is a great way to celebrate!

Wow, what a great book haul! I dug out Jamaica Inn from my parents' basement recently and hope to do a reread later this year. Nice to see the Hardy Boys on your list too. I'm always on the lookout for the Three Investigators books myself. This is a similar juvenile series that's been out of print for a while.

Happy Thingaversary!! And congrats on the excellent book haul!

Happy Thingaversary! I do like the Fred Vargas books but I've only read the English translations.

Happy Thingaversary!

>50 andreablythe:, >51 rabbitprincess: I generally agree, but I'm also a huge fan of the U.S. version of "The Office," so I definitely think there can be exceptions! But I think that show worked because it diverged very quickly from the British original and became its own thing -- unlike, say, "Gracepoint," which didn't diverge at all until like the 7th episode, and even the "different" ending was remarkably similar.

Happy Thingaversary, looks like you celebrated with some great books. Next month Daphne Du Maurier is one of the featured authors in the British Author Challenge and I am looking forward to connecting with her again.

AARGH my iPad decided to eat an entire post! What a jerk.

>57 leslie.98: Thanks! It is most satisfying to find homes for all the new books.

>58 cbl_tn: The timing of the book sale and my Thingaversary was too good to pass up!

>59 mathgirl40: My mum wants to borrow my copy; I'd borrowed it from the library and raved about it, so she wants to see what the fuss is about :)

>60 -Eva-: Thanks!

>61 AHS-Wolfy: I almost have to read them in French because otherwise I try to back-translate the English, and imagine how I would translate it differently, and that distracts me from the story.

>62 paruline: Thanks!

>63 christina_reads: Yes, I would agree that The Office is the exception. Gracepoint looked too similar so I didn't watch; also, I couldn't handle David Tennant doing an American accent :P

>64 DeltaQueen50: what will you be reading for the challenge? I'll probably read The House on the Strand, which I got for Christmas.

****

Still working my way through SS-GB, by Len Deighton. It's a tough slog and that is disappointing. But it has just enough little glimmers to make me keep going instead of giving up.

The one successful US adaptation of a UK series that I can think of is Whose Line Is It Anyway?. I suppose that worked because it relied on improvisation.

>66 cbl_tn: And adapting to the respective countries' senses of humour. I must admit though I prefer the UK one because it mixed things up a lot more; the US one became a bit predictable because 3 of the 4 guests were the same each time. That said, my two favourite Whose Line moments are from the US show.

A nice Thingaversary haul!

I'm late to chime in, but congrats on your impressive Thingaversary haul. Mine is coming up in a little over a month.

I am planning on reading My Cousin Rachel for the BAC, I've had this book on my shelves for quite some time and I am very happy with this push to finally actually read it!

>56 rabbitprincess:
OMG, your cover version is gorgeous.

>63 christina_reads:
Yeah, The Office was a huge success in the U.S. and was listed as the rare exception in the article.

>68 hailelib: Indeed! It was much fun to pick out.

>69 thornton37814: A very happy Thingaversary when it comesM i hope the weather will finally improve by then so you can get out for book shopping.

>70 DeltaQueen50: The challenges on here are such great motivators! I look forward to hearing about My Cousin Rachel.

>71 andreablythe: It's kind of acid-trippy, which I like for some reason!

****

I finally managed to finish my bus book, but it was a tough slog.

SS-GB, by Len Deighton

Category: The Musketeers (as an alternate history)
Source: Chapters
Rating: 2.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/80290806

Great concept but a bit difficult to engage with emotionally.

Happy belated Thingaversary! And what a great book haul!

I have to say that as a young teen I ADORED Frenchman's Creek. It's never been one of her more popular books, but I thought it was fabulous in a completely different way from Rebecca, which I also loved. I still have a copy of Frenchman's Creek on my shelves (although I haven't read it in years) and plan to reread it in March for the BAC. I don't know that I'll feel the same way about it, but I'm sure I'll enjoy it. Join me?

If I have time after The House on the Strand, sure!

>72 rabbitprincess: Last year I did several e-books and will likely do the same this year.

>75 thornton37814: Exciting! Looking forward to hearing what you buy! :)

****

After despairing of how little I seemed to be reading this month, I managed to knock out three books and write reviews.

Astérix and the Picts, by Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad, translated by Anthea Bell

Category: A Portrait of Scotland
Source: library
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/115557392

Lots of fun for those who enjoy puns and Scotland. I want to read the edition that's been translated into Scots, which is how I heard about this in the first place.

The Nameless City, by Michael Scott

Category: Doctor Who
Source: 12 Doctors, 12 Stories box set, from Book Depository
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/115001844

A very short but still quite enjoyable adventure starring the Second Doctor and ever-popular Classic Who companion Jamie MacCrimmon. It was properly creepy. So far this box set has been pretty good. The First Doctor story wasn't as chilling as this one, but it did have properly nasty villains, which was a plus.

The Pythons Autobiography, by the Pythons

Category: The Fifth Estate
Source: library
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/116245124

I might have rated this higher if I could read more of it -- the book has a lot of pages where a photo has been turned monochrome and used as a watermark, but there's not enough contrast between the watermark and the text. Quite the visual distraction. But what I could read was interesting, and I loved the photos.

****

Monthly recap coming later...

February recap

February was a short and hectic month, as it usually is. My wisdom teeth extraction did not provide as much reading time as I would have expected, and I've been busier with course work (or wasting time on the Internet to procrastinate on my course work). Still, 12 books is pretty good… although three of those were graphic novels and one was a novella.

Sleepyhead, by Mark Billingham
The Long Shadow: The Legacies of the Great War in the Twentieth Century, by David Reynolds
Astérix et les Gothes, by Goscinny and Uderzo
Blithe Spirit, by Noël Coward
Saints of the Shadow Bible, by Ian Rankin
Psychiatric Tales: Eleven Graphic Stories of Mental Illness, by Darryl Cunningham
Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh
The Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham
SS-GB, by Len Deighton
Astérix and the Picts, by Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad (trans. Anthea Bell)
The Nameless City, by Michael Scott (Dr Who box set #2)
The Pythons Autobiography, by the Pythons

My favourite book of the month was The Day of the Triffids. Can't believe it took me so long to read! It was amazing, and I'm glad that the SFFFCAT gave me the push to read it.

My least favourite book was SS-GB, which had a great concept and a brilliant writer, but for some reason it just didn't engage me emotionally. However, it did inspire me to pick up Dominion, by C.J. Sansom, which could be a good thing too!

Of my February plans, I read books for all of the CATs and an Evelyn Waugh for the British Author Challenge, but I ended up returning Foundation to the library. My mum has a copy so I might borrow it from her later. I might also skip ahead to Alfred the Great because the prehistoric people that start the book off are not terribly interesting to me.

Currently reading

A Case of Spirits, by Peter Lovesey -- more Sgt Cribb. This is also a timely book because it deals with seances and table-tapping, which is also present in Blithe Spirit.
Foxglove Summer, by Ben Aaronovitch -- starting my RandomCAT early again, but it will be finished in March so it will count ;) I chose this as my "all the cool kids are doing it", since several Category Challengers have been reading it.
Autobiography, by Morrissey -- audio, read by David Morrissey. Still reading. I don't want it to end…

I've also loaded up my HistoryCAT selection onto my Overdrive app, so that might get started when I visit Toronto next week.

March plans

HistoryCAT: Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest, by Wade Davis -- reading for the theme of Exploration and Conquest. I decided on this one in particular after watching a documentary about Mallory narrated by Liam Neeson.
RandomCAT: Foxglove Summer, by Ben Aaronovitch -- started already, see above.
SFFFCAT: MaddAddam, by Margaret Atwood -- very excited to finally read this! Hope I remember enough about the other two books in the trilogy. Didn't have time to reread.
Group read: Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen, for the year-long group read (so I will probably read that later in the month in case I need to stretch it into April); The House on the Strand, by Daphne du Maurier, for the British Author Challenge. I might also read Frenchman's Creek if I have time (to share with Dejah!).

Of my library reads this month, I want to try to get through Dominion, but higher priority is on The Tragic Story of the Empress of Ireland, by Logan Marshall, which has more holds on it. The Museum of Civilization had an exhibition on the Empress of Ireland but I did not get around to seeing it.

And in March we'll be tagging along with the Third Doctor in The Spear of Destiny.

My library DVD pile is actually pretty small at the moment. Yesterday the BF and I watched First Man on the Moon, all about Neil Armstrong, and half of a documentary called Warlords, which focuses on WW2 from the perspective of the mind games played by Hitler, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt. For some reason David Morrissey narrates it, which is why I picked it up. But I do have some TV series in transit: Foyle's War season 3, the complete Mapp and Lucia (the original series), and Season 1 of Strike Back (which features Richard Armitage).

On the wall of the railway underpass, in an inner suburb of Melbourne, was this evil piece of graffiti that made me laugh:

Show your man you care. Buy him a triffid.

I've got Into the Silence on my unread book tower. I might join you reading that one - although it is a little on the chunky side and I've got a chunky non-fiction on the go at the moment as well.

>78 pamelad: LOL!

>78 pamelad: >80 leslie.98: Brilliant!! I laughed out loud.

>79 Helenliz: That would be lovely! And even if you don't get to it this month, I would love to hear what you think whenever you get around to it.

Do you find that chunky non-fiction seems to pile up all at once? I go through spells like that where I want to read about five or six really big fat books all at the same time, and of course none of them get read.

I've just read the first chapter, which is definitely more about the Great War than about Mallory or the Conquest of Everest. Hoping the focus will shift back to Mallory soon.

Haven't been posting lately because reading is a bit slow and I haven't had much time for reviews of what I do finish. Not much motivation to do anything, including my technical writing courses, which I have seriously considered dropping rather than hand in subpar work.

On the plus side, I was in Toronto this weekend and saw Blthe Spirit, starring Dame Angela Lansbury. It was fantastic! Everyone put in a stellar performance and we laughed so much at the brilliant witty dialogue. I was also fortunate enough to see Dame Angela, Simon Jones and Charles Edwards at the stage door. Just said hi and thanks for coming to town, but that was enough. :)

This afternoon my brother and I hung out downtown and did some book shopping at BMV. So now I have six new books coming home with me:

Way Station, by Clifford D. Simak
Arthur and George, by Julian Barnes
Festival of Death, by Jonathan Morris (a Fourth Doctor story)
A Bridge Too Far, by Cornelius Ryan
Bear Island, by Alistair MacLean
The Getaway, by Jim Thompson

It was funny that they had Arthur and George, because Charles Edwards plays Arthur Conan Doyle's secretary, Wood, in the TV adaptation currently airing on ITV in the UK (and hopefully coming to Canada soon...).

I could also do with an extra hour of sleep, seeing as how the darn time change has stolen an hour from me.

>82 rabbitprincess: Wow, you actually got to speak to Angela Lansbury!! Glad to hear that the performance of Blithe Spirit lived up to expectations :)

Total agreement about feeling grumpy about the loss of that hour of sleep.

Nice book haul! I really liked Arthur and George when I read it several years ago. It's a book I wish I'd bought instead of checking it out of the library as it's one to reread.

Just chiming in to add that I also really liked Arthur and George when I read it a few years ago. Hope you get your mojo back soon!

I'm glad the play lived up to your expectations! With that cast, how could it not?

Arthur and George is on my wishlist. Sounds like I need to nudge it up the list.

>82 rabbitprincess: - Sounds like a great show! Envious that you got to speak to Angela Lansbury. Also adding my recommendation for Arthur & George.

How could I have lost you?! Well, you're found now, and I'm glad you enjoyed the play. And picked up The Getaway-it's a good one.

>83 leslie.98: It was so good! And they had a mini merch table so I bought a Blithe Spirit mug. It should be used to drink hot toddies or something else with blithe spirits in it :P

I've been so groggy for the past couple of mornings. Stupid daylight saving being so early.

>84 RidgewayGirl: Ooh, that's a good endorsement! I am looking forward to it.

>85 DeltaQueen50: Thanks! I decided to withdraw from my courses, so that is a load off my mind. I think if I want to continue with this program I'm going to have to take a sabbatical or education leave and just do it full-time. But I am on assignment this year so will wait until I return to my regular job before making that kind of arrangement.

>86 cbl_tn: Indeed! I was thrilled just to be in the same room as Dame Angela.

>87 LittleTaiko: There were about five of us at the stage door and as she was leaving I tipped my hat and said "Excellent show, ma'am!" and she said "Thanks!" although I'm not sure whether it was to me or to one of the other people calling out accolades to her. I'll take it though :P

>88 mstrust: Hurrah! I am glad to hear that The Getaway is good. It sounded very interesting.

****

Finally got some reviews done for a couple of books, the only two I've read this month. This has been a bad spell for my reading mojo.

A Case of Spirits, by Peter Lovesey

Category: Wasps' Nest
Source: library
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/116156803

I continue to enjoy this series! This installment also fit in thematically with Blithe Spirit, since it too deals with seances and has a comic tone.

Foxglove Summer, by Ben Aaronovitch

Category: In the Loop, Doctor Who
Source: Chapters (gift card)
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/115287856

I read this for the March RandomCAT because a few Category Challengers had already read it and enjoyed it. Now here I am singing its praises too. It was fun and light and just what I needed after slogging through SS-GB.

Yay for a great trip to TO to see Blythe Spirit and your encounter with Angela Landsbury!

>82 rabbitprincess: Great to read about your encounter with Angela Lansbury, and it's always nice to hear about BMV hauls!

I'm jealous that you were in Toronto. I'm reading Station Eleven which starts off in Toronto.

Glad you enjoyed Foxglove Summer.

>90 lkernagh: It was a great trip! I can't believe the play's run ends this weekend!
I also encountered Charles Edwards, aka Michael Gregson on Downton Abbey. He is a very nice fellow.

>91 mathgirl40: Have you been by the Edward Street location lately? They've torn down the World's Biggest Bookstore! I almost cried when I rounded the corner and was faced with the big hole in the ground.

>92 BookLizard: I've finally caved and added Station Eleven to the TBR. That's very cool that it starts in Toronto.
The only thing I didn't like about Foxglove Summer was that I'm caught up now and have to wait for the next one!

****

A quiet weekend for once around here. We were supposed to get freezing rain and sloppy rain-snow mix, so I decided to stay in all day. Haven't seen any signs of precipitation, although it might have all happened overnight and I didn't notice. It has been a productive day on the reading front, though. Finished one book and wrote two reviews.

The Tragic Story of the Empress of Ireland, by Logan Marshall

Category: The Musketeers
Source: library
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/116580312

This is a contemporary account of the sinking of the Empress of Ireland in May 1914, recently republished to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the disaster. Surprisingly readable for such an old book, and worth reading if you are interested in the golden age of steamship travel, or nautical disasters.

MaddAddam, by Margaret Atwood

Category: Doctor Who (March SFFFCAT)
Source: Perfect Books, Ottawa
Rating: 4.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/111679904

What a great end to the trilogy! There was humour and horror and sadness and wonder. Also, I was very glad for the recap of the previous two books, as it had been a while since I'd read them and I didn't particularly want to have to go back and read them again at the moment. I will reread the whole trilogy at some point, though.

I've never heard of the Empress of Ireland disaster, so that's on my list now. And you happen to be the only LTer to own that book, so you're a trailblazer.

>93 rabbitprincess: I also encountered Charles Edwards, aka Michael Gregson on Downton Abbey.

So that's where he went when he disappeared from Germany! Did you let the DA folks know? Lady Edith has been waiting for him to come back for ages.

>94 mstrust: Well, a private library also shelved it, so I'm the only public member with that book ;) There have also been a few more recent books and some television documentaries made about the disaster. Now I kind of want to go to Rimouski and see the area where it occurred.

>95 cbl_tn: Haha! I laughed out loud at that. Poor Edith. I did see her the night after the show but didn't think to mention it!! (My mum and I were watching a repeat of the Season 5 finale... that also ended up being my first episode of DA, so there was a bit of confusion in places.)

>93 rabbitprincess: I'm really sorry to hear about the loss of The World's Biggest Bookstore. I was there a few times and it was unbelievable. I know it said that it was the world's biggest on the outside, but you still weren't prepared. They'll probably put up a drugstore and fast food in its place.

I'm really behind in reading threads and now I'm being hit by book bullets from all directions.

>97 mstrust: I heard it was going to be a row of restaurants, because downtown Toronto doesn't have enough of those.
http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/restaurants-dish/2014/02/11/worlds-biggest...
And then they'll probably try to move the BMV along, because it won't be sufficiently glossy and upscale to match its new neighbours. HARRUMPH.

A photo of the hole in the ground:



>98 VivienneR: This can be a dangerous place sometimes! I'll try to read some bad books soon to spare the book bullets ;)

Decided to chow down on an extremely undemanding mystery read this evening.

The Clue in the Crossword Cipher, by Carolyn Keene

Category: Wasps' Nest
Source: library, via Overdrive
Rating: 2.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/116580543

This very silly mystery takes place mostly in Darkest Peru, which I will concede is a great setting, but some of the scenarios do stretch the bounds of credibility. A good hit of nostalgia at any rate.

>100 rabbitprincess: I don't think that I realized that Overdrive had Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys books. I guess I just had not looked for them. I've read very few of the Nancy Drew books. I read most of the Hardy Boys growing up. (I inherited my brothers' collection, and then one of my classmates had most of the rest.)

>101 thornton37814: For some reason I gravitated more to the Hardy Boys than to Nancy Drew growing up. But I did enjoy both! Somehow I doubt they've held up all that well...

>101 thornton37814: They seem to have a fair number of both series, especially the titles that were originally published with either the yellow or the blue covers. I haven't read too many of either series, although I read more of the Hardy Boys.

>102 christina_reads: They can be a bit hit-or-miss, which I suppose makes sense if they were ghostwritten by several different people. I always preferred the Hardy Boys because they didn't feel the need to go on about what clothes Frank and Joe were wearing and how their shirts set off their hair and/or eyes perfectly.

****

My ebook hold expired so I just decided to declare this book "finished":

Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest, by Wade Davis

Category: The Musketeers
Source: library, via Overdrive
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/116580443

I read this for the HistoryCAT and had to bail after Chapter 3, because there was just so much detail. Lots about WW1 and the preparation to conquer Everest, but not so much about Mallory in the bits I read. If you are aware of this going in, then it might be easier to persevere.

I also read more Hardy Boy books than Nancy Drew, but I can still remember staying up way past my bedtime to finish one of the books because it had me terrified. It was either The Moonstone Castle Mystery or The Mystery of the 99 Steps.

>103 rabbitprincess: said " I always preferred the Hardy Boys because they didn't feel the need to go on about what clothes Frank and Joe were wearing and how their shirts set off their hair and/or eyes perfectly."

I read the Nancy Drew books that my mom had read when she was a girl and there wasn't much about clothes in those (back when Ned had a car with a rumble seat). That must have developed in the later books!

>104 BookLizard: The Clue of the Velvet Mask has one of the creepiest covers!

>105 leslie.98: It was usually a sentence or two at the beginning... to my tomboy self, *any* mention of fashion was too much! Or maybe it was the fact that it seemed so formulaic. "Oh great, here's the token clothing reference again."

Speaking of formulae/tropes/cliches, the idea of every book beginning with a description of clothing reminded me of this article on The Toast: How to Tell if You're in a Baby-Sitters Club Book: http://the-toast.net/2014/12/09/tell-baby-sitters-club-book/

106> That is creepy.

Just remembered that my favorite character was George because she was a tomboy.

Glad to hear Maddaddam is good. I read Oryx and Crake ages ago, but don't remember it and was thinking of reading the entire trilogy, since I like apocalyptic fiction.

>107 BookLizard: She was probably my favourite too. I pictured her looking like a more feminine George Harrison, probably because of the same name.

>108 andreablythe: You might like it! It has a lot to think about and the world Atwood has created is full of unusual things.

****

I suspect I've picked up another cold, which is annoying because I already HAD a cold two months ago and don't need another one! Hmph! But on the plus side, today I picked up tickets to see The Kids in the Hall in May. Something to look forward to.

Reading still feels slow, but I finished a March group read:

The House on the Strand, by Daphne du Maurier

Category: In the Loop, Fortysomething
Source: Christmas gift
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/114940255

This was a really interesting premise, and I loved the Cornwall setting. Definitely something to think about if you've ever dreamed of time travel.

Stopping by with a virtual toddy to chase the cold away.... on second thought, have two.

>109 rabbitprincess: I loved The House on the Strand! It made me a fan of time travel books.

>110 lkernagh: Thanks Lori! I've been huddled on the couch with a pot of tea, so a toddy will go down nicely as a chaser. And then I'll make another pot of tea.

>111 cbl_tn: I really liked the time travel in this one! It was a neat idea.

****

I just realized I read a new release in the same month it was published, with this book.

Epitaph: A Novel of the O.K. Corral, by Mary Doria Russell

Category: Fortysomething
Source: library
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/116841473

This is the sequel to Doc and is recommended for those who liked that book. And now I want to reread The Iliad (it appears to be the source of the chapter names in Epitaph).

Sending you good wishes for a speedy recovery!

Sorry to hear your "under the weather" RP, hope the tea and the hot toddies help.

>113 mstrust: Thanks! I expect it will clear up soon enough.

>114 DeltaQueen50: Thanks! Just had another cuppa instead of a whole second pot.

****

One bonus to staying indoors with tea and blankets all day: I started and finished a book on the same day! Bliss.

Death on the Cherwell, by Mavis Doriel Hay

Category: Wasps' Nest
Source: library
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/117034544

A Golden Age mystery set at a fictional women's college at Oxford. A tad predictable but an undemanding read, for which I was grateful. And I have to admire the hardiness of the women going out on the river in January -- it would be such a damp cold! Yikes!

Colds should be like jury duty - once you've had one, you should be ineligible for a few years. :)

>112 rabbitprincess: Glad to see you liked Epitaph! I'm reading it now, and I definitely agree with your assessment that those who liked Doc should like this one too.

>115 rabbitprincess: I actually just bought a book by Mavis Doriel Hay, whom I'd never heard of before, and now she pops up on your thread! Great minds really do think alike. :)

I love your Wasps' Nest category as I am learning about a few new Golden Age Authors that I didn't know about before, John Bude and Mavis Doriel Hay to be exact. Yesterday I was excited to add Before the Fact by Francis Iles to my Kindle, this is the book that the Alfred Hitchcock film "Suspicion" is based on. Also I recently learned of Nicholas Blake (actor Daniel Day Lewis' father) who wrote quite a few mysteries in the thirties and forties and have ordered a couple of his as well.

>118 DeltaQueen50: I didn't know Nicholas Blake was Daniel Day-Lewis' father! I have a couple of his mysteries on my shelf (Blake's, not DDL's ;))!

>116 -Eva-: I totally agree! An excellent comparison.

>117 christina_reads: Great minds indeed! I hope you like the MDH book.

>118 DeltaQueen50: It's strange how I seem to have been focusing on the Golden Age mysteries for that category. Before the Fact was a very tense read; now I have to watch Suspicion!

>119 christina_reads: Wow! I didn't know that either! Very interesting.

****

After staying indoors for most of the weekend, I'm starting to get a bit restless, but did manage to read a graphic novel twice this afternoon.

El Deafo, by Cece Bell

Category: Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life
Source: library
Rating: 4.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/116896362

This is a graphic memoir about Cece Bell's childhood, in which she went deaf at the age of four. I have relatives who were hard of hearing as children in the same time period, so it was interesting to see what their experiences might have been, although of course everyone experiences deafness differently. Still, a very enlightening book. Also, all the characters were drawn as rabbits, which was adorable.

El Deafo seems quite cute.

>119 christina_reads: Nicholas Blake was an interesting person. His real name is Cecil Day-Lewis and not only did he write scores of mysteries, he also was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1968 - 1972.

I too didn't know that Nicholas Blake was Day's pen name. I happen to have A Penknife in My Heart on the shelf.

>122 DeltaQueen50: He is (was) also Daniel Day-Lewis's dad. Talented family.

>121 andreablythe: I certainly found it cute :) I ended up reading some posts on the author's blog as well, and she sounds like a very upbeat, positive person.

>122 DeltaQueen50: And a poet laureate to boot! Nice!

>123 mstrust: Whew, I almost didn't see the end of the second sentence and was a bit worried for a second! ;)

>124 PawsforThought: Interesting how the talent runs in families like that! I wonder how much of it is nature and how much is nurture.

****

March 26 was the 10-year anniversary of "New Who" (i.e. the series starting with Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston), which reminds me that I have to read my Dr Who novelette of the month soon. There are only five days left in March! How did that happen?

I am steadily working my way through the to-read pile, including this book, which I was reminded about after seeing its author (or someone who looked a lot like him) on my most recent flight to Toronto.

No Relation, by Terry Fallis

Category: Fortysomething
Source: Perfect Books, Ottawa
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/109676009

I enjoyed this book, but it probably isn't my favourite of Fallis's four novels. That honour might go to Up and Down, which features the space program. Still, it was a very pleasant way to spend a few days reading on the bus (and waiting for buses), and it was so engrossing that I almost didn't notice my bus arrive at the stop.

The last time I stopped at the Edward St. BMV, the World's Biggest Bookstore was closed but the building was still standing. I think I would have been sad to see that big hole up close!

Have you been to the Bloor St. BMV? I went for the first time a couple of weeks ago and was mightily impressed! My husband and daughter loved the basement music section. They spent so much time there they didn't even make it to the other 3 floors.

Nice to see you enjoyed No Relation. I've got that waiting for me on my TBR shelf.

>125 rabbitprincess: Hee! That would be startling!

>126 mathgirl40: It was heart-stopping!

I went to the Bloor St. BMV last year during TIFF, because one of the films I was seeing was at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema. I love that BMV! So many floors and so many books. I'll have to try to make it up there again sometime.

Hope you enjoy No Relation!

>127 mstrust: Haha it certainly would be. The perils of my reading too quickly :P

****

It's back to being cold again, so I decided to stay in today and try to finish off some books. I finally managed to finish the last book in my Raymond Chandler ominbus, but I am going to reread the first two books later this year and write a review for the whole omnibus.

Playback, by Raymond Chandler

Category: Wasps' Nest
Source: Chandler omnibus received at Xmas 2004
Rating: 3/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/topic/184745#5108524

The last completed Chandler novel, published a year before his death. Apparently it was reworked from a screenplay, but ironically it is the only one of the novels not to be filmed. Might work better as a movie; the story drags a bit.

With two days left in the month, I've read my Dr Who novelette for March. This one features the Third Doctor.

The Spear of Destiny, by Marcus Sedgwick

Category: Doctor Who
Source: Doctor Who boxset (3/12)
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/115001853

I enjoyed this story, especially because it's given me an idea for something else to reread. I like when books remind me of other books.

March recap

March was an interesting month. I had a fair bit of sci-fi, some female writers, and a good amount of 4-star reads. In total, I read 13 books.

A Case of Spirits, by Peter Lovesey
Foxglove Summer, by Ben Aaronovitch
The Tragic Story of the Empress of Ireland, by Logan Marshall
MaddAddam, by Margaret Atwood
The Clue in the Crossword Cipher, by Carolyn Keene
Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest, by Wade Davis
The House on the Strand, by Daphne du Maurier
Epitaph, by Mary Doria Russell
Death on the Cherwell, by Mavis Doriel Hay
El Deafo, by Cece Bell
No Relation, by Terry Fallis
Playback, by Raymond Chandler
The Spear of Destiny, by Marcus Sedgwick (Doctor Who box set #3)

My favourite book of the month was MaddAddam. It was a great conclusion to the trilogy. This is the second month in a row that the SFFFCAT provided my book of the month.

My least favourite book was The Clue in the Crossword Cipher. I am probably well outside the target audience for this one, since it's a Nancy Drew novel, but even so I found it a bit ridiculous. That said, I did end up watching a documentary about Machu Picchu at its prompting.

Of my March plans, I ended up not finishing my HistoryCAT selection. It was one of too many big books at the same time. All other CATs were completed. And I started Mansfield Park, but as predicted I am stretching it into April.

Currently reading

Dominion, by C.J. Sansom -- alternate history of WW2 in which Britain surrendered to Nazi Germany after France fell. The story begins in 1952, 12 years into Nazi rule. I'm already much more gripped than I was by SS-GB (which is what inspired me to pick up Dominion).
Doctor Who: Time Trips, by various authors -- a collection of short stories/novelettes based on various Doctors. I think the authors could just pick their favourite Doctor, because there are two stories featuring Ten and two featuring Three.
Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen -- I hope to at least get as far as I did last time I tried reading this. The problem is that Fanny's relatives are SO RUDE.
Autobiography, by Morrissey -- audio, read by David Morrissey. I'm on the second half now. The Smiths have split up and there are court cases a-plenty.

I'm travelling for Easter weekend, so I've also got a couple of library books lined up for the train. The Morrissey audiobook may also provide the soundtrack for any knitting I might do.

April plans

HistoryCAT: A Morbid Taste for Bones, by Ellis Peters -- fits the time period and theme. It's also fairly short, so I'm hoping it will be a nice quick read. It's on my iPad, ready for the train.
RandomCAT: How to Build a Girl, by Caitlin Moran -- I thought this worked very nicely for the theme Roberta chose, since it is about a teenage girl giving herself a new identity as she attempts to figure out the process of growing up.
SFFFCAT: Irish Fairy and Folk Tales, ed. W.B. Yeats -- I'm a bit vague on whether the original fairy tales actually count for this month's challenge, or whether they have to be retellings with an SFFF twist, but I've had a hankering for Ireland lately so this might scratch that itch.
Group read: Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen, continuing from March. If I get around to the British Author Challenge this month, I will read Ashenden, by W. Somerset Maugham. And @mstrust is reading Christopher Brookmyre this month, so I hope to add another Scottish mystery to my tally with perhaps Country of the Blind, or A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away.

Of my library reads this month, I'm focusing on books I've already renewed once or that can't be renewed. This includes The History of Rock 'n' Roll in Ten Songs, by Greil Marcus, and Glorious, by Jeff Guinn.

April's Doctor Who story will feature the Fourth Doctor and is called The Roots of Evil.

As for the library DVD pile, all I have at the moment is Series 3 of Poirot, which we should finish this week, and Season 1 of Vikings, which should keep us busy for the three weeks we have it.

>129 rabbitprincess: I didn't know Sedgewick wrote Dr. Who books. I was just commenting on another thread how I enjoy his YA books.

>130 rabbitprincess: & >131 mamzel:
Ooooh, Sedgewick doing Doctor Who would be good.

>130 rabbitprincess: I wish I had either of those Brookmyres so we could do a tandem read. I've just started Quite Ugly One Morning and I hope to get to either Not The End of the World or A Tale Etched in Blood and Hard Black Pencil afterwards.
Good luck with your April reads. And watching Poirot is a nice start to the month.
I didn't notice, have they said when TWD returns?

>131 mamzel: >132 andreablythe: It was pretty good! It was a nice adventure story.

>133 mstrust: Country of the Blind is the sequel to Quite Ugly One Morning so it would almost be like a tandem read. A relay read, perhaps, since you're starting the series and I'm continuing it? ;)

I love Poirot! Actually, I love Hastings and Japp and Miss Lemon and the side plots that add so much to the older episodes. The later episodes were very gloomy and took a lot of liberties that I did not approve of.

According to Den of Geek, "Historically, almost every new season of The Walking Dead has premiered the weekend of New York Comic Con. This would mean that The Walking Dead season 6 will premiere on Sunday, October 11." http://www.denofgeek.us/tv/the-walking-dead/239960/the-walking-dead-season-6-wha...

But that hasn't been confirmed, so I don't know how accurate that is. Last year I think it premiered closer to or on Halloween, so maybe mid-October would be a safer guess.

>130 rabbitprincess: & >133 mstrust: Always good to see plans for Brookmyre reads.

>134 rabbitprincess: I didn't know there was a sequel to Quite Ugly One Morning, so thanks. Maybe my library will have it.
Thanks for TWD info. I think you're right about it premiering around Halloween.
Yes, I recall the last version of "Murder on the Orient Express" to have a very religious Poirot and he seemed depressed about people in general.

>135 AHS-Wolfy: Join in the fun!

>136 mstrust: I'm currently up to date on my Brookmyre's, just waiting for the pb release of the new Jack Parlabane, Dead Girl Walking, which happily arrives just before my next birthday. No plans to re-read any just yet due to the groaning weight of the tbr shelves and my current sluggish reading pace.

>135 AHS-Wolfy: I'm looking forward to revisiting his world again! Will probably arrange to pick up a book next week on my next trip to the library.

>136 mstrust: And David Morrissey was in that one! Sadly underused, though. *sighs heavily*

>137 AHS-Wolfy: Hurray, that will be a nice birthday present! :)

I'm on my way home from Easter weekend with the BF's family and have finally found time to write a review of a book I finished before I left.

Doctor Who: Time Trips, by various authors

Category: Doctor Who
Source: library
Rating: 3.5 (average for the collection)
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/116936197

Overall this is a pretty good collection. My favourite stories were the ones involving Three and Four (sadly, not at the same time).

****

I also spent the weekend attempting to read and not getting very far on several books, resulting in a cull of the currently reading pile.

I decided to abandon The History of Rock 'n' Roll in Ten Songs, by Greil Marcus, because while I like the idea of studying rock and roll from the perspective of lesser-known songs, I found the writing excessively discursive and bordering on wankery in some places. Not particularly recommended.

I also gave up on Dominion, by C.J. Sansom, because it's over 600 pages and very bleak. Granted, with the subject matter I was not expecting a bed of roses, but perhaps our harsh winter has reduced my tolerance for bleakness at present.

And I've had to put my reading of A Morbid Taste for Bones on hold because the ebook from the library has too many sloppy errors. Going to request a print copy instead.

So now I'm trying to restart my reading mojo with a reread of Barometer Rising. Hoping it works.

I find that there's no point in forcing myself through books that I'm not in the mood for - both I and the book suffers for it.

I've been in a bad reading mood for a little over a month now (finally admitting that I'm in a slump.) I've been trying to read through it anyway; but I find myself less satisfied and overly critical, resulting in what I suspect are lower ratings than what I might otherwise assign the titles. I've decided to wait it out a little bit, and for a week now, I've been learning how to play chess :-)

Argh, reading slumps are terrible, >141 Tanya-dogearedcopy:. I will sometimes resort to TV but chess sounds like a better alternative!

>139 rabbitprincess: I hate it when the library ebooks are full of scanning errors & typos -- I read a couple of Miss Read Overdrive ebooks that were like that. I sent an email to my library suggesting they should ask for their money back from the publisher -- I'm sure they didn't do that but it seemed to me to be the most effective way to force the publisher to hire a proofreader for these ebooks!

>142 leslie.98: I haven't watched much TV (outside of an occasional NFL game, or The Colbert Report) in many years. It's not out any sense of snobbery as I actually used to love watching television; but after I became a Mom, I found it difficult to track through a season's arc with any regularity! I always have a TV series on hand though for bouts of chronic insomnia that I get. DH jokes that TV is the only thing that will kill my brain's alpha waves that can keep me up at night!

>139 rabbitprincess: I've heard from some people that formatting issues when it comes to mobile devices are something of a nightmare: Whereas Apple has three device sizes to format for; Android has over 4000! The various conversion programs mess up not only page breaks; but sometimes even the text (e.g. converting an el ("l") into a "1"); but still, you would think it would be in the publishers' best interest to have someone do a final check; and do a little manual tweaking!

>129 rabbitprincess: -you enjoyed The Spear of Destiny more than I did. I thought the series picked up with the 4th book. The 9th Doctor story is my favorite.

>140 -Eva-: Agreed! I am trying to convince the BF of the merits of this philosophy; he's been working his way through Ice Station Zebra for a while and not really enjoying it, so I said he should just put it aside and read something new. But he is stubborn and determined to see it through to the end!

>141 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Chess sounds like a great way to wait out the slump. I sometimes find my knitting goes up when I'm not reading as much.

>142 leslie.98: Sometimes our library has multiple ebook editions, so I wonder if they have varying levels of proofreading quality. I avoid the ones with the more obviously cheapo-looking covers.

>143 Tanya-dogearedcopy: That's really interesting that Android has so many different formatting sizes to worry about! I use an iPad for all my e-reading needs, but even then some of the page breaks are weird, and graphics often spill onto multiple pages.

I've cut down drastically on TV. The only shows I watch regularly are Doctor Who and The Walking Dead (and even that one is only half-watching, because David Morrissey isn't on the show anymore :P). I do get a lot of DVDs from the library, and I'm trying to make better use of my BBC iPlayer subscription (they have an international version available as an iOS app). But most network TV passes me by.

>144 VioletBramble: Ooh, I'm looking forward to them! Yeah, I have really low expectations for them -- they're so short, and the fact that they're published by Puffin leads me to suspect I am at the older end of the target audience.

139> Hope you're having better reading mojo. It's so hard to get reading accomplished on vacation. I fell asleep on both flights. Was listening to an audiobook on the flight home - started at chapter 3 and woke up at chapter 13. Oops!

>146 BookLizard: I can never "just" sit and listen to audiobooks! I fall asleep too! I play app games when I'm in that sort of situation: It started with "Angry Birds", then "2048" and "1010", and now a chess app, though I think I need to find something less demanding of my focus in regard to that last game! My end game sucks! #dohtheregoesanotherpawn!:-)

147> #dohtheregoesanotherpawn! LOL!

I usually listen to audiobooks in the car where I HAVE to stay awake. 20 minute commute each way works out pretty well for me.

>148 BookLizard: me too, although mine varies between 40 and 90 minutes each way. (depending on which location I'm working at).

>146 BookLizard: Oops! That would be annoying to have to go all the way back to Chapter 3!
I'm both surprised and not surprised that I find reading difficult on vacation, especially when the vacation involves going to see family.
Reading mojo is almost back. I finished a book today.

>147 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I like to do variety puzzles (wordsearches, crosswords, Sudoku, etc.) while listening to audiobooks, because the puzzle books sometimes pile up as well. But I can't do anything more complicated than that. Even knitting can be distracting (or the audiobook is distracting and then I screw up the pattern).

>148 BookLizard: That would be a good place to listen to them :)

>149 Helenliz: 90 minutes each way would be quite the commute!

****

Finished a book today! It wasn't the greatest, but it's an achievement. Apparently this is only the second book I've finished this month.

A Scream in Soho, by John G. Brandon

Category: Wasps' Nest
Source: library
Rating: 2/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/117178745

My main beef was with the writing style. The plot was OK, if a bit over-the-top and cheesy toward the end. Still, I wouldn't recommend this as a good example of a British Library Crime Classic.

****

Weekend reading plans: finish off Barometer Rising, get stuck into another historical novel (probably either Sarum or Lords of Misrule, or maybe The Frozen Thames) and perhaps stick a fork in Mansfield Park. I didn't even get as far as I got the first time I attempted it! I have the feeling that MP will be one of those "big books for a long period" projects, like how I tackled Parade's End a few years ago. And unfortunately I don't feel like starting that project at the moment.

I am, however, looking forward to rereading Sense and Sensibility in May, because my mum is reading it right now. She decided to pick it up because of Goodreads, which she joined around Christmas. And now she's adding all of my books to her to-read shelf (or at least it seems that way!). GR has really inspired her to start reading again with a vengeance, and we've been having some great book conversations :)
And yes I have shown her LT and created an account for her, but I think I'll be the primary user of her LT account, to keep track of everything they own so that I can avoid duplicates (and borrow from them instead of the library sometimes -- the loan periods are much longer at the Library of Mum and Dad).

I really liked Barometer Rising when I'd read it many years ago. This is one that I would like to reread sometime.

I've not been able to fit any Austen books into my reading yet, but I hope to join the group read of Sense and Sensibility in May. I have a copy on my shelf, all ready for a reread. By the way, I think it's lovely that you have great book conversations with your mother!

>151 mathgirl40: I think so too! :) It makes me especially happy because as I said, she's not really been reading as much as she used to. But a couple of years ago my parents finally redid the living room, making it a lovely place to curl up with a cup of tea and a book (and get away from the TV in the family room -- that's their biggest distraction). That has definitely helped her get back on track, reading-wise. But it's not as though she hasn't been acquiring books all this time -- she's almost as bad as I am in that regard ;)

****

Some thoughts on my latest reread.

Barometer Rising, by Hugh MacLennan

Category: Local Hero
Source: Chapters, bought using a gift card
Rating: 5/5 (reread)
Review: http://www.librarything.com/work/129621/reviews/70444220

I first read this five years ago, and it was exactly the right book at the right time. I picked it up again this month when I felt a reading slump coming on and figured that a reread of something might help.

It was interesting to read this after reading MacLennan's essay collection entitled Cross-Country, in which he talks about the place of Canadians in the world and their struggle to differentiate themselves from the US and the UK (while picking up the best features of both). There's a lot of this sort of sentiment in Barometer Rising as well, which I might not have picked up the first time around. When one of the characters thinks about the railway that connects Halifax to Vancouver, the description brings to mind images of the wilderness and the prairies that would perfectly illustrate Gordon Lightfoot's "Canadian Railroad Trilogy".

My recommendation on my original review still holds. This is well worth reading.

150> I'm both surprised and not surprised that I find reading difficult on vacation, especially when the vacation involves going to see family. Very true. My family of choice watched TV every night. so I didn't want to be antisocial and go read in my room, but I can't read with the distraction and noise of the TV.

>153 BookLizard: Yes! Same here. Especially because my parents still sometimes turn on the TV as a way of killing time as opposed to being "purposeful" about watching TV (i.e. watching something off the PVR or tuning in to a specific channel at a specific time). Not that they're not purposeful about TV -- they fill up the PVR a fair bit and still have appointment television -- but they are more prone to "just seeing what's on" than we are. I'm more likely to waste time on the Internet.

****

Went shopping downtown this afternoon. I was in quest of a cookie cutter in the shape of a boat, but we struck out at every kitchen store we could think of. But we didn't come home empty-handed; we passed Book Bazaar on Bank and decided to pop in for a little bit, since we were going by.

Seven books came home with me.

Lord and Master, by Nigel Tranter (Master of Gray Trilogy 1/3)
The Courtesan, by Nigel Tranter (Master of Gray Trilogy 2/3)
Past Master, by Nigel Tranter (Master of Gray Trilogy 3/3)
The Devil in Velvet, by John Dickson Carr
Invitation to a Dynamite Party, by Peter Lovesey
Doctor Who: Logopolis, by Christopher H. Bidmead
The Only Game, by Patrick Ruell (aka Reginald Hill)

And one of the kitchen stores we went to carries Roger's Chocolates (from Victoria, BC), so naturally I had to buy a bar. Chocolate honeycomb, mmm! I also picked up biscotti at the Bottega Nicastro, since we ended up in the vicinity. We were out for about four and a half hours, so I think I earned that chocolate bar and biscotti ;)

Hope you're having a good weekend!

I see that I was not alone in bringing books home today! Too bad you couldn't find the cookie cutter you wanted, but nice haul from the bookstore :)

>152 rabbitprincess: Hah! A reread of that is on my list after I put away the two library books I have. This is my month to focus on 'disasters'. I know it is fiction, love store and all that, but I have to tell you I loved Curse of the Narrows. What a great book about the explosion.

A friend and I are headed to NS on the 6th of May... going to be gone a month. She had never even heard of the Halifax Explosion. What can I say? She grew up in the South... (Anything that happened north of the Mason/Dixon line probably wasn't considered news or history...) Since I once, in one of my past lives lived very close to the Narrows I quickly explained it to her.

>155 leslie.98: Yes, it made me feel a lot better about not finding the cookie cutter ;) I've seen examples of people cutting out paper templates and simply cutting around them with a paring knife. It takes longer to make cookies with that method than with cookie cutters, but it's better than paying the cost of a cookie cutter + shipping online. I'm hoping to make the cookies tomorrow. Will post pictures of the results, if they turn out ;)

****

Today reached 23 degrees C! It was sunny and there was a fresh breeze. Perfect weather! Went for a walk after lunch, and then walked over the bridge to do some shopping downtown after work. That shopping was not successful either (I wanted a cardigan, and of course the one I had looked at on the website was not available in the colour/size I wanted), but it was so nice out that I really couldn't complain. It's supposed to rain this evening, but at least it won't be snowing!!

>156 mysterymax: We cross-posted! And our book impulses have crossed too! ;) I definitely have to hunt up Curse of the Narrows. It's such a horrific and fascinating event.

Have a fantastic time in Nova Scotia!!

>154 rabbitprincess: Books and chocolate are a great combo!

>158 rabbitprincess: What fascinated me was how quickly they got rescue operations running when in this day of cell phones, faxes, etc it takes us days to get organized.

160> In some ways they were lucky it happened during World War I. That's why people were more prepared to respond.

What amazed me is that one railroad man was the real hero for sending out a telegraph warning incoming trains about the disaster. That's how word spread so quickly.

>159 cbl_tn: That they are! Mmm, I just remembered I still had some left!

>160 mysterymax: Indeed! That was a staggeringly quick reponse.

>161 BookLizard: There was a Heritage Minute dedicated to him. https://www.historicacanada.ca/content/heritage-minutes/halifax-explosion

****

Whittling down the library pile...

Mauritius, by Theresa Rebeck

Category: Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life
Source: library
Rating: 2.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/117178721

Two of three plays done for this category. This one wasn't really my cup of tea.

Bizarre London, by David Long

Category: The Fifth Estate
Source: library
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/117227460

This was a fun little book, best read in bits and pieces. Great cover too.

Also, yesterday was Peter Capaldi's birthday! Happy birthday!

Happy Birthday, Peter!

>164 andreablythe: :D

****

Had a hard time deciding where to put this book, as there were multiple possibilities. I ended up going with my short stories category.

The Frozen Thames, by Helen Humphreys

Category: Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life
Source: library
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/117423083

A very interesting collection for people who enjoy reading about the history of London. This book contains 40 short stories/vignettes, one for each year in which the River Thames froze. Good for dipping into periodically, as it could get repetitive if you read it all at once.

Oh yes and these are the boat cookies I made on Tuesday (the 14th). I printed out clip art of a boat online, taped it to a cue card for more stability, and cut around it with a dull knife. I also used the knife to score lines for the sails, mast and boat (otherwise it just looked like a giant pyramid or a Hershey's kiss without the flag). The sprinkles make them look kind of Christmassy but those were the only colours I had on hand. I used white sprinkles for the sails, but you can't really see them that well in this photo.



The cookie recipe itself came from somewhere on Allrecipes, I think -- the BF found it for me. They turned out well and my coworkers made short work of them. I made three trays of boats (about 39 cookies) and a tray of "leftovers" made with a normal cookie cutter. The leftovers, which I kept for myself, were made without sprinkles and were flipped halfway through cooking to give them an overall golden-brown appearance. They were delicious with a cup of tea. :)

Cookies look yummie.

Cookies are always a good idea!!

I've been gone so long and when I come back there are cookies! Nom nom nom

I love that you are cataloging your mom's books on LT.

Your cookies are so cute! Good job!

Yummy cookies! I'm impressed with the results of your home-made cookie cutter.

>150 rabbitprincess: I cataloged my mom's books, or at least the ones I found at the time on LibraryThing. I have most of her cookbooks in my possession, but since I don't have room for them all and will have to get rid of some of my own at some point as well, I'm going to have to be pretty selective in what I keep. One of my sisters-in-law will probably take the rest.

>172 thornton37814: I can empathise with that dilemma. similar here. There's a house full of books and loads of them look really interesting. But we already have a house full of books... Selective and me don't tend to go together when we're discussing reading material.

>173 Helenliz: I'm having to try to learn to be selective. I don't think I'll be able to slip them past Jeff. We both have to downsize our personal collections.

>167 andreablythe: They were yummy! One of my coworkers had three in one day :)

>168 -Eva-: Indeed! Especially when you work in an office where people will actually eat them.

>169 luvamystery65: I am hoping to make more in May, so stay tuned ;) And it has been fun cataloguing my mum's (and dad's!) books on LT, although dangerous to the to-read list because I keep seeing books I want to read!

>170 mstrust: Thanks!

>171 leslie.98: Thanks, so am I! It's a bit hard on the back though, bending over the table to cut around the template.

>172 thornton37814: I imagine that will be a difficult exercise! I inherited some cookbooks from my grandmother and am not yet at the stage where I have to cull them, fortunately. Culling my own books is tough enough!

>173 Helenliz: Especially when they're books belonging to your family! My parents have a lot of books that I might not necessarily read, but just seeing them on the shelves reminds me of them, so it would be difficult to have to give them up.

>174 thornton37814: I wish both you and Jeff luck with downsizing your respective collections!

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It's been a busy week around here. More socializing than usual. Not as much time for reading! April seems to have been a worse reading month for me in general. Maybe because I've been starting and abandoning a whole bunch of books, and am in the middle of several others.

Reviews:

Live Right and Find Happiness (Although Beer is Much Faster), by Dave Barry

Category: Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life
Source: library
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: not reviewing yet

I'm listing this one mainly because it's the first time I've read it. Dave Barry books don't generally get counted in my reading totals if I've read them before. I liked his essay about the 2014 World Cup and his refutation of the argument that soccer is boring. I also liked the one about his parents' generation and the contrast with his own generation in terms of their ability to have fun.

How to Build a Girl, by Caitlin Moran

Category: Fortysomething, In the Loop
Source: Chapters, bought to get up to free shipping for a Christmas present
Rating: 4.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/113275892

I read this for the April RandomCAT challenge and it worked really well. I love Caitlin Moran so it was a reasonable assumption that I would love this book. I liked How to Be a Woman slightly more, but this is very good as well.

The Sussex Downs Murder, by John Bude

Category: Wasps' Nest (square: Book set in England)
Source: library
Rating: 3/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/117811231

Not my favourite of the John Bude books that have been republished by the British Library, but a fairly serviceable crime classic. And I love that cover.

Sorry I didn't post this earlier, but in the future, you might check this place out for cookie cutters in hard-to find shapes. I've ordered from them before to get my animal and maple leaf cutters.
http://cookiecutter.com/

>176 mstrust: Ooh that site looks amazing! And they have a transportation set of cookie cutters that contains a sailboat! I'll just have to do some experimenting and see if I can get to a reasonable rate of shipping (or free shipping, assuming that option exists for Canada) -- that was the main reason I didn't get a boat cutter online. Well, that and the fact I would have had to wait. I wanted to implement my idea immediately ;)

>176 mstrust:
Oh, why did you post that??? :) That's like crack to me. *I.want.so.so.so.many.*

>177 rabbitprincess: I hope you're able to get a good deal- sorry I didn't even think about what they'd charge for international shipping.

>178 -Eva-: Sorry! Didn't mean to poke your addiction!

Nice looking cookies, and I really must try John Bude sometime. I do like mysteries from that era.

>178 -Eva-: >179 mstrust: Perhaps we should start a group order and distribute the takings at a meetup ;)

>180 mathgirl40: Thanks! I hope you enjoy the John Bude. I enjoyed Mavis Doriel Hay's Death on the Cherwell, too.

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Reviews of my last two books of the month:

A Morbid Taste for Bones, by Ellis Peters

Category: Wasps' Nest (square: historical mystery), The Musketeers
Source: library
Rating: 3/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/117633112

I read this for the April HistoryCAT theme of crime and mysteries, and it fit the time period as well. I liked it well enough and would probably read another in the series.

The Roots of Evil, by Philip Reeve (Doctor Who box set #4)

Category: Doctor Who
Source: Doctor Who box set
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/115001881

Fourth Doctor adventures are always fun. This was no exception.

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Stay tuned for a monthly recap.

>181 rabbitprincess: Lovely idea and I wish you luck in shoving your way past me to get to the cookies!

>182 mstrust: Maybe the meetup can have a bake-up(?) component! So we buy the cutters, then get together and use them to make cookies, then eat the cookies. Possibly with leftovers, if our respective spouses are lucky ;)

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April recap

April was kind of lacklustre. It was difficult for books to keep my attention, and I abandoned quite a few, which makes it surprising that I still managed to read 11 books.

Doctor Who: Time Trips, by Cecelia Ahern et al.
A Scream in Soho, by John G. Brandon
Barometer Rising, by Hugh MacLennan (reread)
Mauritius, by Theresa Rebeck
Bizarre London, by David Long
The Frozen Thames, by Helen Humphreys
Live Right and Find Happiness (Although Beer is Much Faster), by Dave Barry
How to Build a Girl, by Caitlin Moran
The Sussex Downs Murder, by John Bude
A Morbid Taste for Bones, by Ellis Peters
The Roots of Evil, by Philip Reeve (Doctor Who box set #4)

My favourite book of the month was How to Build a Girl. Roberta is to be thanked for starting the RandomCAT challenge that inspired me to read this now. I really enjoyed it and now want to go back and reread Caitlin Moran's non-fiction.

My least favourite book was A Scream in Soho. It's also my least favourite British Library Crime Classic. The writing was florid and the plot failed to hold my interest as much as I would have hoped.

Of my April plans, I finished my HistoryCAT and RandomCAT selections and am still working on my SFFFCAT selection (Irish Fairy and Folk Tales). I had good intentions with my group reads, but Mansfield Park returned to the shelf unfinished and I had too much going on to fully appreciate the Brookmyre I was reading to tag along with @mstrust (but I am very glad she liked her pick for the month!). Part of me suspects that I was rebelling against reading series in order -- the book I chose was the second in the Jack Parlabane series.

Currently reading

Lords of Misrule, by Nigel Tranter -- my May HistoryCAT started early. This takes place in the 14th century and chronicles the Scottish conflict with Hotspur and his contemporaries. It's harder going than the Robert the Bruce trilogy, but once I get into it, it's good.
Irish Fairy and Folk Tales, edited by W.B. Yeats -- theoretically my bedside book. Haven't had a chance to get to it in a while.
Autobiography, by Morrissey -- audio, read by David Morrissey. Slowly but surely. Why would I give up that wonderful voice?
The Low Road, by Reginald Hill -- I've just decided to start reading this one now. A mystery by Hill originally published under the name of Patrick Ruell. Because I stopped reading the Brookmyre, I feel like I still need a Scottish mystery.

May plans

HistoryCAT: Lords of Misrule, by Nigel Tranter -- fits the time period (1300 to 1500). First in the House of Stewart trilogy, the other two books of which I need to acquire from Abebooks.
RandomCAT: Sarum, by Edward Rutherfurd -- a place name in the title, as well as the subtitle (The Novel of England). I really hope I can finish this one in May, but it might be a close call.
SFFFCAT: Among Others, by Jo Walton. This was near the top of my TBR and fits the theme of women sci-fi writers.
Group read: Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen. I'm really looking forward to this group read! Haven't read it in a while but I have watched the David Morrissey adaptation several times :D

As of today (April 30, 2015), I have only four library books waiting to be read. This is some sort of record. I'm hoping to be conscientious about borrowing only books I've requested -- that darn holds list keeps getting longer and longer.

May's Doctor Who story will feature the Fifth Doctor and is called Tip of the Tongue.

And this month on DVD we have Poirot Series 5 and a box set called Great Estates of Scotland. I also have a Penguins of Madagascar DVD in transit, mainly because it contains the one episode of the show where Peter Capaldi does a voice. And I just found out from the library catalogue that Wordplay, a documentary about Will Shortz, the crossword editor for the New York Times, is ready for pickup. Of course it comes in after I was just there to drop off other things ;)

I'm just catching up on your thread. Your cookies look fabulous, I'm very impressed with the effort you went to to make them look like sail boats. I just assumed you had a cookie cutter until I read your post.
I hope your reading plans for May go well, especially Sarum.

>181 rabbitprincess: - Ellis Peters Brother Cadfael series were an addiction of mine back in my school days as a teenager. (now I have just aged myself). I seem to remember having a bit of a reader's crush on the Hugh Beringer character. ;-)

>185 lkernagh: Lori, are you me in disguise? I could well have written the post above.
Mum would get them as soon as they were in paperback and they'd have 2 bookmarks in, one for me, one for her, as neither of us could wait to read them. I occasionally revisit and they're still a nice, safe read (a lot of the violence happens off stage, as it were) without being too frivolous. The first is not the best in the series, I think they improve.

>183 rabbitprincess: That sounds like a fantastic day! Like a Pillsbury bake-off where you get to eat all the entries. I'll bring my moosehead cookie cutter.

I hope you plan on a participating audience for this LT bake-off. I am too impatient for the making, rolling and cutting of cookies, but I would make an excellent taster!

>184 Roro8: Thanks! The cookies were fun to make. Some day I will have a proper cookie cutter for them. And yep I sure hope Sarum will be a good one! My mum read it recently and told me I had to read it before our next UK trip (our plan is to visit some places covered in the book).

>185 lkernagh: Hee! I didn't encounter Hugh in this book but look forward to seeing him in another book!

>186 Helenliz: I love that image of the book with two bookmarks in it! My family should have done that with the last few Harry Potter books; we constantly fought over them. (I usually got to read them first, though, because I read fast.) Glad to hear that the series improves; I have The Leper of Saint Giles on my TBR list as well.

>187 mstrust: Yay! I will amass a collection of transportation-themed cutters.

>188 DeltaQueen50: Of course! We may also need people to apply sprinkles or icing, if that job appeals too ;)

Glad you found your reading mojo again, rabbitprincess. And cookies too! Nice going!

>185 lkernagh: >189 rabbitprincess: Hugh appears in the next Cadfael book, One Corpse Too Many, which just happens to be my favorite in the series! So I hope you get to it at some point, RP. ;)

>191 christina_reads: I'll second that!

>190 VivienneR: Thanks! They were fun to make. I like having new people to bake for ;)

>191 christina_reads: >192 MissWatson: I probably will eventually! Might not end up reading the series in order, because I am contrarian like that about mystery series, but I'll get to it one day.

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It feels like summer here! I've hauled out all the dresses and skirts (and may have bought one or two more). Today we hit 30 degrees Celsius and at our morning coffee break nobody wanted to go back to work :P And earlier this week we went out for lunch and ate on the patio. Perfect weather: sun, a bit of shade, a bit of a breeze, and NO BUGS. Specifically, no stinging insects, which I was glad of, because otherwise my coworkers would have witnessed some undignified shrieking and running away.

And it's only taken me a whole week to finally finish my first book of May:

Daddy Lenin and Other Stories, by Guy Vanderhaeghe

Category: Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life
Source: library Express Collection
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/118120600

Scooped this from the Express Collection at the library and was pretty pleased with it. Overall, though, I probably prefer Vanderhaeghe's Western books (The Last Crossing, The Englishman's Boy, A Good Man).

Enjoy the weather! It almost justifies the long winter, doesn't it? We had just-warm-enough weather yesterday so we had dinner downtown, sitting outside facing the Frauenkirche and the main pedestrian shopping street. It was wonderful to be able to sit outside.

And we've been having a couple of unseasonably cool, breezy days, which is great. Our temps have been as if it's March, but they'll be back in the 90's in a few days.

>194 RidgewayGirl: Almost! Especially after this winter, which my grandma says is probably more representative of the winters we SHOULD be having, but haven't had much in recent years.

Sitting outside for dinner can be wonderful! Our lunch was perfect. A couple of us discovered the next day we'd actually caught a bit of sunburn -- it's easy to forget how strong the sun can be here in May -- but it was worth it.

>195 mstrust: We're dropping back down to temperatures in the low teens this week. It's been threatening to rain basically all weekend, and we even had a severe thunderstorm watch yesterday, but nothing came of it around here. Annoying. I'm reminded of Tuco's line in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: "If you want to shoot, shoot. Don't talk." If you want to thunderstorm, thunderstorm! Don't just threaten to.

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It has been a lovely week, weather-wise, but apparently my warm-weather shoes don't think it's quite time for summer temperatures, because both pairs have managed to give me blisters. One pair is brand new, which is annoying, so I might stick them in the freezer with a Ziploc bag filled with water, in hopes that the eventual ice in the bag will expand and stretch the shoe out a bit. They're flats, though, so I'm not sure how well this will work in the toe especially. I think I've heard of it being used more often for running shoes.

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Whittling down the currently-reading pile by giving up on a book.

The Low Road, by Reginald Hill

Category: The Field of Blood
Source: library
Rating: 1.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/117954795

I liked the setting, but I'm still not sure why exactly the protagonist is being pursued across Scotland or why his hot young girlfriend (of COURSE he's a middle-aged man with a hot young girlfriend!) is expending all this effort in tracking him down. I am being stingy with the amount of disbelief I'm prepared to suspend in this one, so back to the library it goes, unfinished.

>196 rabbitprincess: Reginald Hill seems to have varying amounts of success with stories. I don't remember titles but I really enjoyed my first Hill and immediately got another that turned out to be a dud.

Interesting shoe treatment that I haven't heard of before. I love to hear how the weather is on the other side of the country. Here in the interior of British Columbia winter was filled with cloudy days and comparatively little snow. Spring came early with sunshine and warm temperature every day it seems.

>197 VivienneR: This one was originally published under a pseudonym, Patrick Ruell, so maybe that was his "thriller persona". I've had varying results with Dalziel and Pascoe, but I do like how he tried new things and used a variety of framing concepts over the course of the series.

I love how varied the weather can be across the country. My friend's sister was saying that it SNOWED in Edmonton last week! Meanwhile we were out in dresses and sandals.

>196 rabbitprincess: - Your 'shoe solution' is a new on for me, too! Not brave enough to attempt it myself by most intrigued.

>198 rabbitprincess: And more snow in southern Alberta again this morning. Just next door in BC we are currently at 26C (79F).

>196 rabbitprincess: - I've never heard of the ice in the shoe solution either. Very interesting.
I get blisters or sore spots from all my summer footwear. My feet are only happy if socks come between them and shoes.

Growing up in Edmonton, it was not unusual for there to be old snow sticking around in shady spots until June.

>199 lkernagh: Tried it and it wasn't going to work for my shoes. So my BF has been half-jokingly attempting to stretch the shoes by wearing them himself :P

>200 VivienneR: Such contrasts!! And we're getting humid weather this weekend. Annoying, since I am still restricted to shoes and socks.

>201 VioletBramble: I ditch socks at the first chance I get in the summer, because my feet get really warm otherwise. My sandals should be OK for the worst blister, because they don't touch it (it's right at the bottom of my big toe). For my flats, I've scrounged up some Dr Scholl's Moleskin Plus to cover the seam that created the blister. Hoping it will work.

>202 RidgewayGirl: Wow, that is some long-lived snow! The snow dump at the north end of town often takes that long to dissipate as well. We can see it from the bus Transitway and it is always amazing how long it takes.

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I will be starting a new thread shortly in honour of this May long weekend, so stay tuned :)

I'm trying to catch up a bit on everyone's threads after being away in April for 3 weeks without access to quick, free internet. Anyway, enjoyed your thread very much. Two quick highlights - I am so hungry for cookies right now and also want to see The Good, the Bad and the Ugly again...

>204 LisaMorr: Three weeks without quick Internet! Wow! But it sounds like you had a great time on your cruise :) Thanks for stopping by!