CBL's 2015 Reading, Part 3

I'm Carrie, and this is my 5th year in this group. I've enjoyed forming new friendships each year, and I look forward to reading along with all of you this year.

I discovered that I could read at age 4 and I've been an avid reader ever since. I wasn't born when JFK died, and one of my earliest memories is watching the moon landing. I'll let you do the math.

My parents and grandparents were readers and I grew up surrounded by books. To no one's surprise, I became a librarian. Contrary to a popular misconception, we do not sit around and read books all day. Daily exposure to a constant flow of new, unread books can be torture for a bookaholic, but with time one gets used to it.

At home I'm "mama" to my furbaby Adrian (named for Adrian Monk), a 3-year-old Shih Tzu mix I adopted from the local Humane Society in September 2013.



My top 5 books in 2014:
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom - a reread that I loved even more as an audiobook
The Calligrapher's Daughter by Eugenia Kim - one of the best historical novels I've ever read
The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope - it was hard to say goodbye to the folks in Barsetshire
Joy in the Morning by P. G. Wodehouse - I love listening to audio versions of Wodehouse
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba & Bryan Mealer - an inspirational memoir of a largely self-educated young DIY engineer in Malawi

Best of Thread 1:
The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet by Bernie Su & Kate Rorick (4.5) Review
Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth (4.5) Review

Best of Thread 2:
Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris (4.5) Review
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (4.5) Review
Whiskers of the Lion by P. L. Gaus (5) Review

Progress toward goal in 2015:




Books read in March:
24. Glazed Murder by Jessica Beck (3) - completed 3/1/15
25. Brendan the Navigator by Jean Fritz (4.5) - completed 3/3/15
26. Lovers' Vows by August von Kotzebue; liberally translated by Mrs. Inchbald (2 stars) - completed 3/5/15
27. Edmund Bertram's Diary by Amanda Grange (3) - completed 3/6/15
28. The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier (4) - completed 3/9/15
29. Jesus Loves Me This I Know: The Remarkable Story Behind the World's Most Beloved Children's Song by Robert J. Morgan (4.5) - completed 3/10/15
30. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (4) - completed 3/10/15
31. That's Not English: Britishisms, Americanisms, and What Our English Says About Us by Erin Moore (3.5) - completed 3/14/15
32. A Killer Plot by Ellery Adams (3) - completed 3/15/15
33. The Voyage of St. Brendan translated by J. F. Webb (4) - completed 3/18/15
34. Farewell to the East End by Jennifer Worth (4) - completed 3/20/15
35. Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus? by Jean Fritz; illustrated by Margot Tomes (4) - completed 3/21/15
36. Pride and Prejudice and Kitties by Jane Austen, Pamela Jane, and Deborah Guyol (2.5) - completed 3/22/15
37. The City & the City by China Mieville (4) - completed 3/24/15
38. Around the World in a Hundred Years by Jean Fritz, illustrated by Anthony Bacon Venti (3) - completed 3/27/15
39. Brendan by Frederick Buechner (3) - completed 3/29/15

Books acquired in March:

9. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis (free ebook download)
10. Lovers' Vows by August von Kotzebue; translated & adapted by Mrs. Inchbald (free ebook download)
11. Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham (free ebook download)
12. K by Mary Roberts Rinehart (free ebook download)
13. That's Not English by Erin Moore (Early Reviewers ARC)
14. Freud's Couch, Scott's Buttocks, Brontë's Grave by Simon Goldhill (free ebook download)

British Authors challenge

I'll list my planned reads and update as I complete them

January:
In Search of a Homeland by Penelope Lively - COMPLETED 1/2/15
Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro - COMPLETED 1/21/15

February:
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh - COMPLETED 3/10/15
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters - COMPLETED 2/16/15

March:
The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier - COMPLETED 3/9/15
The City & the City by China Mieville - COMPLETED 3/24/15
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

April:
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
The Trembling of a Leaf and perhaps The Painted Veil by Somerset Maugham

May:
The Peppered Moth by Margaret Drabble
Koba the Dread by Martin Amis

June:
Shakespeare by Anthony Burgess
An Awfully Big Adventure by Beryl Bainbridge

July:
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

August:
The Power and the Glory or Travels With My Aunt by Graham Greene
Favours by Bernice Rubens

September:
Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
Small Island by Andrea Levy

October:
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
A Spell of Winter The Lie by Helen Dunmore

November:
Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark
Restless or An Ice-Cream War by William Boyd

December:
Fludd by Hilary Mantel
Something Fresh by P. G. Wodehouse

American Authors Challenge

Planned reads will be updated as they are completed.

January: The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers - COMPLETED 1/24/15
February: Portrait of a Lady Daisy Miller by Henry James - COMPLETED 2/16/15
March: Richard Ford The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
April: The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich
May: Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
June: Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
July: Catwings by Ursula Le Guin
August: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
September: Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor
October: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
November: The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
December: The March by E. L. Doctorow

I started a reading tour of the Commonwealth countries in 2013 and I would like to complete the tour in 2015 if possible. I'll list books here as I complete them.

Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin (4) - Rwanda - completed 1/23/15

One of my 2015 goals is reading retellings of or books inspired by Jane Austen's novels. I will list these books here as I complete them.

The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet by Bernie Su & Kate Rorick - completed 1/3/15
Edmund Bertram's Diary by Amanda Grange - completed 3/6/15

Planned reads for March:

The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier
Brendan by Frederick Buechner
Edmund Bertram’s Diary by Amanda Grange
Glazed Murder by Jessica Beck
Farewell to the East End by Jennifer Worth
Trespassers in Time by Anne Patterson Rodda
A Killer Plot by Ellery Adams
Voyage of St. Brendan
Brendan the Navigator by Jean Fritz
Why Knox? By CS Thompson
The Brendan Voyage by Timothy Severin

Audiobooks
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
The City & the City by China Mieville
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

Since this is Girl Scout cookie season, here's a picture of me in my Girl Scout uniform (I think!)

>9 cbl_tn: You look like you are ready to go and sell some cookies in that photo. Happy new thread, Carrie.

Happy new thread, Carrie! You look very cute in that uniform :-) All I know about Girl Scout cookies I learned from Friends, but they do sound yummy.

Happy new thread, Carrie. Lovely photo of you. Here the whole family is/was with the scouts.

>10 Familyhistorian: Thanks Meg!

>11 susanj67: Thanks Susan! Sadly, no Girl Scout cookies for me this year as I'm sure they contain corn syrup. I'll have to treat myself to a cane sweetened substitute for the Thin Mints that I found at Walgreens. The Thin Mints are my favorite!

>12 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara! I was in the scouts in elementary school because all the girls were. I didn't earn very many badges, though.

Happy new thread Carrie!

>9 cbl_tn: Cute!

>14 souloftherose: Thanks Heather!

>13 cbl_tn: Carrie, I've added Thin Mints to my list of foods to try on my LT retirement tour. So far I have grits and pop-tarts, and now Thin Mints :-)

Your planned reads for March look good. The third Jennifer Worth book is more like the first one than the second. I think they ran out of her stories for the TV series somewhere around series 2, though!

>9 cbl_tn: Exactly what Heather said.

Congratulations on your latest thread, Carrie. Posting well inside the top twenty in threads this year so far and I am so pleased to see that the B.A.C. seems to be going quite well for you too. xx

Have a lovely Sunday, my dear.

What a cute little girl scout you were, Carrie. I never made it past the Brownies but served several years as a leader for my daughter's troop. I love the green coat!

Congratulations on your third thread!

>16 susanj67: My brother and I used to eat Pop-Tarts for breakfast on Saturdays. My parents always made sure there was a box in the kitchen. When we woke up at the crack of dawn to watch cartoons, we could get our own breakfast while they slept in.

You'll probably want to make your retirement tour at a time of year when we have better weather. You'll have to enlist one of us to buy Thin Mints and save them for you, but you'll have to choose wisely and pick the one with the most resistance to temptation!

>17 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! I'm enjoying the BAC. I love British literature anyway, and most of these authors were already represented in my TBR stash or on my wishlist.

After yesterday's heavy reading (the most philosophical chapters of Augustine's Confessions), I'm going with light & fluffy today with Glazed Murder. I'll probably make brownies again since I haven't grown tired of them yet. I'll take the dogs for a late afternoon walk. Maybe the rest of the snow in my driveway will have melted by then?! Hopefully I'll be able to fit a nap in somewhere.

I liked Thin Mints until they changed bakeries a few years ago. Now I prefer Keebler's Grasshopper cookies to the Girl Scout version.

The Keebler version probably contains corn syrup so I might not be able to eat them. The Walgreens Nice brand is much better than the Girl Scout version I've had in the last few years.

The brownies are in the oven, but I should have walked the dogs first. It's raining now. At least it's not snow.

Happy new thread, Carrie. You have lots of exciting reading planned for March. Good luck.

>23 BLBera: Thanks Beth! It's an ambitious list, annd it doesn't include my ER book if it arrives this month. I do have spring break coming up soon, so that should help.

I have two more weeks of class and then spring break! I am ready.

>25 BLBera: I think your spring break must be the same week as ours! I'm ready, too! I'll work most of the week, but I won't have to work an evening. I might take a day off, too!

24. Glazed Murder by Jessica Beck
TIOLI #14 - Book featuring a working woman

In the wee hours of the morning, donut shop owner Suzanne Hart is surprised to see a body dumped on the road in front of her shop just as she is arriving to start making the donuts. The murdered man, banker Patrick Blaine, is a regular customer. Although Suzanne didn't see enough to identify the murderer, the killer may not know that. When it seems the police aren't acting quickly enough, Suzanne launches her own investigation with the help of retired cop George and her best friend, Grace. One possibility is that Blaine was murdered by a dirty cop, so state policeman Jake Bishop is there to both assist with the investigation and to keep an eye on the local police. It's soon clear that his interest in Suzanne is more than professional. Suzanne's ex-husband, Max, is hanging around too much for Suzanne's comfort. Is he just jealous, or could he have been involved in Blaine's murder?

I enjoyed the characters and the setting in small town North Carolina. The mystery plot had several holes. It's surprising how many people Suzanne doesn't know and vice versa in a small town where she's lived all 30-something years of her life. Some of the awkwardness may be because this is the first book in a series and the characters haven't quite gelled. I liked it well enough to try the next couple of books in the series to see if it starts to click.

3 stars

>21 thornton37814: So true, Lori. This is the first year in a long while I haven't known any Girl Scouts and I don't even miss the idea of buying them. The Thin Mints of the past few years are nowhere as good as they used to be. I agree that Grasshoppers are excellent, and I'll have to look for those Walgreens ones, Carrie.

Hi Julia! I was just getting ready to post a picture of Adrian and his friend Stella. I've had a cozy evening of reading in the recliner with the dogs. Adrian insisted on including his little lamb, too.

So cute! You all look very cozy indeed.

Happy New thread Carrie! I should look to see if I have any girl scout pictures - somehow I doubt it.

>29 cbl_tn: Well I'm jealous! What a nice cozy evening you must've had. :-)

*waving* at Carrie (and Adrian!)

>30 rosalita: It was cozy! They're both lap dogs. Fortunately, they don't fight over my lap, but they do occasionally jockey for position.

>31 The_Hibernator: Hi Rachel! I hope you find a Girl Scout picture. I'd love to see it!

>32 Shutzie27: We had a very comfortable evening. However, it's still raining this morning. Walking dogs in the rain isn't quite as cozy. :-(

>33 alcottacre: *waves back* at Stasia! (Adrian is wagging his tail!)

Happy New Thread, Carrie! What a cutie-patootie scout you were!

>18 Donna828: Donna! We must have cross-posted yesterday. I don't remember a Brownie troop in my grade school or I probably would have joined. You get Brownie points from me for serving as a troop leader. I have fond memories of my Girl Scout days. One of our troop leaders was the mother of two of my friends (twins). They lived on a small farm that didn't have indoor plumbing. We had Girl Scout sleepover in their barn. Can you imagine doing that these days with just an outhouse?! It was fun, though.

>35 scaifea: Good morning Amber! Is Charlie interested in Cub Scouts or Boy Scouts? I'm sure he'd look handsome in a uniform.

>37 cbl_tn: Well...I wish he could be in girl scouts, because I like that organization, but he will not be in boy scouts, because, well, reasons. I don't want to offend any eagle scouts out there, so I won't go into why I really don't support them...

Happy new thread, Carrie! I need GS cookies!, but unless you're @ Walmart at just the right time, they're surprisingly hard to find, now a days.

Happy new thread, Carrie. I was a Brownie, but never a Girl Scout.

>27 cbl_tn: Hi Carrie, the Jessica Beck donut shop series, for me, is second only to the Laura Childs teashop series. An absolute favorite. The mysteries are ok, sometimes better, but I've absolutely grown to love the characters.

If I go more than a few months without a donut shop book, I start to wonder what happened to the author.

Just started #18 this morning.

>38 scaifea: Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts are very different organizations, I believe. I know Charlie isn't lacking for extracurricular learning opportunities. His enthusiasm for learning is precious!

>39 Carmenere: Thanks Lynda! I stumbled across sales links to GS cookies on Amazon. They seem to be charging an arm and a leg for them, though!

>40 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie! I wasn't a Brownie, but I did eat my fair share of them growing up! ;-)

>41 lindapanzo: Hi Linda! This book did remind me quite a bit of the teashop series. I would have liked Emma to have had more of a role. For a while it looked like she might hold a key to the solution of the mystery, but then the book took a different turn.

>42 cbl_tn: Sometimes Emma plays a greater role.

One thing I like about this series is that Beck does not let things stand, in terms of the characters lives, which makes it important to read things in order.

Yesterday, I finished the latest Laura Childs Cackleberry Club mystery. That's another series I've grown to love.

As for Girl Scouts, I never participated. However, some neighborhood girls delivered our cookie order yesterday. I was watching golf (personal euphemism for taking a nap) when the doorbell rang.

>43 lindapanzo: Good to know that Emma is used more later on.

I've only read the first of the Cackleberry Club series. I like it better than the scrapbooking series but not as well as the teashop series.

I guess I watched golf for a while yesterday too! ;-)

I've totally given up on GS cookies. As everyone says, they just don't taste right anymore. That coupled with the ingredients I'd rather not eat has made them an easy pass the past few years. I do still crave the old ones though. Oh, for some old Samoas and Tagalongs!

>45 leahbird: I like homemade better anyway. I've been on a brownie kick for the last month, making a batch every Sunday afternoon. Making them from scratch is just about as easy as a mix, with far less chemicals.

Are you ready for the next round tomorrow night/Thursday morning? I really hope Channel 8 is wrong. The last time I looked at their map it showed ice for us instead of snow. The ice from the last few rounds hasn't completely disappeared from my driveway, although I expect it to be gone by lunchtime.

Hi Carrie! Happy March and congratulations on the new thread! I usually buy GS Cookies to support the sellers - I sold many boxes back in the day. The pricing has gone through the roof, though, and I just don't buy as many as I used to. You look adorable in the photo!

>46 cbl_tn: I've been stuck in the sewing room for days and haven't paid any attention to what's coming next. I really really hope they are wrong. In so tired of this weather but, most importantly, I took Thursday off to get a MUCH needed haircut and I don't want to miss it! ;)

We rarely ever get ice here. Overnight, maybe 3-4 inches of snow and now, freezing rain on top of that. I'm working at home today.

>47 Dejah_Thoris: Thanks Dejah! Good to see you!

>48 leahbird: Well, it's coming from the west, and the forecasts are often wrong when the weather comes from that direction. Let's hope they're wrong this time!

>49 lindapanzo: I'm glad you're able to work from home and you don't have to be out with the ice! Snow is easier to manage.

Happy New Thread, Carrie! I thought I had posted here, but either I didn't or the post got lost in cyberspace.

I'm another who is disappointed by the decline of GS cookies in recent years.

They let school out early here due to freezing rain in the forecast, but it has been rather slow to develop. (Believe me, I'm not complaining that it arrived late.)

>51 tymfos: Hi Terri! I hope you don't get freezing rain, but I'm glad your school district is playing it safe. We were fortunate a couple of weeks ago that the day we had freezing rain starting just before noon was an in-service day. The school system cancelled the teacher in-service because of the forecast so the teachers didn't get caught out in it.

25. Brendan the Navigator by Jean Fritz; illustrated by Enrico Arno
TIOLI #10 - Author's last name could be a first name

Brendan the Navigator lived long, long ago, when the Earth was divided into the Known and the Unknown Worlds and America was still a secret in the Unknown one. Right on the edge of the Unknown, Brendan was born, on the west coast of Ireland, which is as far west as a person could go in those days and still be on a map. Beyond him there was only the blue sea rolling out to meet the blue sky. And beyond that—what? Brendan, like everyone else, could only wonder and imagine.

This enchanting story of Irish Saint Brendan had me hooked by the end of the first paragraph. Author Jean Fritz tells the legend of Brendan and his voyage across the western sea to Paradise in the lyrical cadence of a born storyteller. Enrico Arno's illustrations capture both the details and the whimsical spirit of the text. The only flaw I can see is the lack of color in the black, white, and blue-gray illustrations. The book will work well as a readaloud and the story will appeal to readers of all ages.

4.5 stars

That one sounds good, Carrie!

All this talk about GS cookies made me open my box of tagalongs. When did the cookies get so small?

>52 cbl_tn: I agree, better to be safe than sorry. I still remember one day a number of years ago, when the freezing rain was well underway as the kids got out of school. My son's bus stop was at the bottom of the hill that year, and I was trying to get down to meet him, and he was trying to get up the hill to meet me, and it was a slip-slidey mess that left us both with bruises from falling all over the place. I pitied the bus drivers, especially the ones with long, rural routes. Thank heavens, everyone made it home alive.

>54 rosalita: Thanks Julia! It's fun, informative, and best of all it can be read in under 15 minutes!

>55 lindapanzo: So it's not just me who's noticed that? I stopped at a pharmacy on my way home from my allergy shots, but it wasn't Walgreen's. CVS was more convenient. I didn't come home with Walgreen's mint cookies, but chocolate may be a good substitute...

>56 tymfos: I would hate to be a school bus driver in an ice storm. (Not that I'd enjoy it much in good weather, either.)

Did someone say "Girl Scout cookie season"? ;-) I am with Mamie....unless I go grocery shopping on a Saturday - which I usually do - I never encounter any Girl Guide cookie sellers during the cookie season.

Pop Tarts. Now that is a flash back to my teenage/university years. I am kind of scared to find out what they put in Pop Tarts, but they were a must have for me back then, along with Pizza Pops. Good thing my dietary habits have progressed from those hallowed days. :-0

Happy new thread, Carrie!

Hi Carrie, and happy new-ish thread! I love the photo of you in your Girl Scout uniform:)

Great review of Brendan the Navigator Jean Fritz books are wonderful!

>58 lkernagh: I was partial to the Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts. They're not as good as they used to be, and I think it has something to do with the trend toward replacing sugar with high fructose corn syrup.

>59 AMQS: Thanks Anne! Jean Fritz is a new to me author. I'll have to see what else she's written. I can tell from the one I've read that she is a good storyteller.

>60 cbl_tn: Brown Sugar Cinnamon was my Pop Tart of choice as a kid! I have to admit that it's been years since I had a Pop Tart of any flavor. I'm sorry to hear that they aren't as good as they once were!

>61 Dejah_Thoris: I always gravitate toward cinnamon flavoring, and I also love adding brown sugar to things. I add brown sugar and cinnamon to oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and a few other things. Sometimes what I'm really craving is the brown sugar and cinnamon instead of the food I'm adding it to!

Morning, Carrie! I also liked those brown sugar cinnamon Pop Tarts the best. My kids used to freeze the hot fudge sundae ones and eat them straight from the freezer as s dessert!

>63 Crazymamie: Good morning Mamie! I've never tried frozen Pop Tarts. It never occurred to me to do that. I'm not likely to now since they almost certainly contain corn products. Those dratted allergies!

Hi, Carrie! Cute photo of you in your Girl Scouts uniform. How is the weather in your neck of the woods?

>65 kidzdoc: Hi Darryl! It's raining here! It's still in the mid to upper 30s in my neighborhood. Some parts of the viewing area for our local stations did get ice and snow, and even flooding. Those areas are northwest of where I am. Our county schools are closed today. They had one built in snow day left and it's better to be safe than sorry. This is likely to be winter's last gasp here, so they probably won't need it later. If they do, they have until the end of the month to apply for a state waiver that would allow them an additional 3 snow days.

---------------------------------

I'm still having internet problems. It went out this morning and still wasn't working when I got home for lunch. Now that the ice and snow have melted, I called Comcast to yet again schedule service. I did manage to convince the telephone support person that two different technicians have already diagnosed the problem, it's outside, and I don't need to be home when they come. He put in a special request order but even at that it will still be Tuesday before they come to fix it. I told him that the last technician said it would require a size of cable that they normally don't carry on their vans/trucks unless they know they need it and that it is a 2-person job. He noted that in the ticket. What I really don't need is a 3rd technician to come out here, make the same diagnosis, and then leave without fixing the problem. Been there, done that.

Sometimes I get impatient while I'm waiting for reports to run. While I was twiddling my thumbs waiting for a report this afternoon, I decided to see if I could find Lovers' Vows, the scandalous play that the Bertrams and the Crawfords plan to perform in Mansfield Park. I found it in one of our ebook databases and I read the first few pages as I waited for reports to run. I suppose the daring subject matter kept anyone from noticing the dreadful writing? I see that Project Gutenberg has a downloadable version so I will add it to my reading for the month. It shouldn't take long to read.

It's right at freezing here and I left work in a wintry mix. The roads were fine. However, I had to clean the car windows before I could drive home. At least my internet was working when I arrived!

I'm glad that you made it home safely, and that your Internet service is finally up and running! The back edge of the rain has just passed through the city, and we only had a few sprinkles. It looks as though the bulk of the rain was to our north, and Charlotte is getting the bulk of it now. It isn't unusual that significant bands of rain, sleet or snow peter out once they cross eastward from Alabama into Georgia, especially in the north central part of the state where Atlanta is located. This doesn't always happen, but it often does.

>67 cbl_tn: Is it the translation by Elizabeth Inchbald?

Part of the problem seems to be that translators were caught between cleaning it up (which wouldn't have left much of the story!) or not cleaning it up, which would left it just a bit TOO scandalous. :D

>68 kidzdoc: I have less than a mile to drive home from work so the commute was no trouble. I just hate cleaning ice off of the car windows. I'm glad the worst of the weather missed you too.

>69 lyzard: Yes, it's the Inchbald translation. I decided to go ahead and read it this evening since I'm at the point in Edmund Bertram's Diary where they're rehearsing the play. One act down, 4 more to go.

ETA: And how nicely Lovers' Vows fits in Challenge #20 since the original is by August von Kotzebue and the translation is by Elizabeth Inchbald!

Oh, sweet!

26. Lovers' Vows by August von Kotzebue; liberally translated by Mrs. Inchbald
TIOLI #20 - One of the author's names begins with A, J, or E

Lovers' Vows has been preserved from the obscurity it deserves by Jane Austen's Mansfield Park. This is the scandalous play that the Bertram and Crawford siblings rehearse but never perform. What a blessing for their audience. Most of the characters are repeatedly overcome by strong emotions, leading to frequent fainting and embracing, with occasional pauses for fortification from wine. There are a couple of mildly funny exchanges that the actors must have milked for all they were worth. The butler who insisted on speaking in rhyme reminded me of Prince Herbert in the Swamp Castle who just wanted to sing.

The epilogue (in rhyme) seems like a Georgian equivalent of the newsreel:

...So, of course, then, if prose is so tedious a crime,
It of consequence follows, there's virtue in rhime.
The best piece of prose that I've heard a long while,
Is what gallant Nelson has sent from THE NILE.
And had he but told us the story in rhime,
What a thing 'twou'd be; but, perhaps, he'd no time.
So, I'll do it myself—Oh! 'tis glorious news!
Nine sail of the line! Just a ship for each Muse.
As I live, there's an end of the French and their navy--
Sir John Warren has sent the Brest fleet to Old Davy.
'Tis in the Gazette, and that, every one knows,
Is sure to be truth, tho' 'tis written in prose.

Recommended mainly for readers who want to explore Jane Austen's use of this drama in Mansfield Park.

2 stars

I have about 75 pages left of Edmund Bertram's Diary. I hope to finish it tonight if I'm not too sleepy to read. I'd also like to finish the audio of Brideshead Revisited this weekend, maybe while working in the kitchen and doing some cleaning. I'll also see if I can finish The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier over the weekend. I like to save books that are hard to put down for weekend reading.

27. Edmund Bertram's Diary by Amanda Grange
TIOLI #9 - Book that described the preparations for a theatrical performance

This retelling of Mansfield Park from Edmund Bertram's perspective got off to a slow start, but I gradually warmed to it. It lacks Austen's voice, and Grange doesn't quite pull off the diary premise. It's supposed to be a man's diary, but it reads more like a woman's diary. It worked for me as a commentary on Mansfield Park and a study of Edmund's character. In the end, it's left me with a craving for Austen's original.

3 stars

Books 26 and 27 show a fair bit of dedication to the works of Ms. Austen, Carrie - well one work in particular.

Hope the apparent heavy going doesn't weigh down your weekend. xx

>75 PaulCranswick: I started du Maurier's The Scapegoat last night and I think it will dominate my weekend reading. I try to relegate page-turners to the weekend when I have more time for uninterrupted reading.

Carrie, I wish you a lovely weekend.

Thanks Barbara!

Carrie, I hope your snow melts, the internet stays on and you get to read the du Maurier in peace!

Thanks Susan! Just a trace of snow on the ground in the shady spots. It's a beautiful day with cloudless blue skies and expected highs in the 50s F. Unfortunately my Internet went out again this morning, but that will just give me more time for reading! I got caught up in genealogy before it went out this morning. I have a hair appointment now and I'll have some reading time while I wait for the color to set. I brought The Scapegoat with me.

Hoping that your day is filled with fabulous, Carrie. Sorry about the wonky internet - I hate that! They NEED to fix that for you!

>81 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie! I keep telling them that they need to quit diagnosing the problem and actually fix it. If only the weather would cooperate. It's supposed to rain pretty steadily on Tuesday when I'm on the schedule so I wouldn't be surprised if they don't show up.

Hi Carrie - I hope your weather improves soon. It's in the 30s here today, and I see people out with sweatshirts, no coats. Can we hope that spring is coming?

>83 BLBera: Hi Beth! It was near 60 today so I took Adrian out for a long walk on the cross country trail. He's hardly been out of my yard in the last 3 weeks due to the weather. We both needed the exercise! I thought about leaving the jacket behind, but the wind was just a little too cold for comfort.

Not much reading going on today. My Internet was working when I got home from a baby shower so I've been caught up in genealogy again. My uncle's DNA results came in this week. One of his matches contacted me and we discovered that, not only does he match my uncle on the line he had noticed, we also share another line that I spotted in the information he sent. After I shared my Ancestry tree with him, he discovered another possible connection on my father's side of the family. It depends on whether or not a certain woman was the wife of my ancestor or his ancestor (who were brothers, I believe). If she was the wife of my ancestor, then I'm related to myself - again - since that would give my parents another common ancestor. It's enough to make my head spin!

I think I'll stop while I'm ahead and get back to The Scapegoat, which seems to be about doppelgangers. Hmm. That may not help my head any!

I've misplaced an hour somewhere. If anyone finds it, would you please send it back?! ;-)

Ha! The same thing happened to me this morning! Perhaps they are together. Happy Sunday, Carrie!

>86 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! It's another beautiful day outside. Bright blue, cloudless sky and 60 degrees F. It almost - almost - makes up for losing an hour last night! Adrian and I will go on another walk on the cross country trail this afternoon. It passes close to Stella's house so we've invited Stella and her "mama" to join us.

Only two acquisitions to report from last week. Both were free ebook downloads from Project Gutenberg:

Main Street by Sinclair Lewis - thinking ahead to May's BAC AAC
Lovers' Vows translated by Mrs. Inchbald from the German by August von Kotzebue - already read and reviewed!

Glad you're getting caught up on your genealogy, that must be so much fun!

>89 The_Hibernator: It is fun! It's been several years since I spent time on my mother's side of the family so I've been reacquainting myself with them.

Your genealogy work sounds interesting, Carrie. I have limited knowledge of either side of my heritage and it would be satisfying ti know more.

I think your description of St. Augustine's Confessions is spot on. I became begged down years ago and never returned to it. Still, where there's life there's hope for more reading...

>91 Matke: Hi Gail! I do enjoy finding out about my family heritage and how history shaped my family. I have learned quite a bit from the Civil War, War of 1812, and Revolutionary War pension files for various ancestors.

I can see myself re-reading the first nine chapters of Augustine's Confessions, b!ut not the last four

28. The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier
TIOLI #6 - Author's last name has more syllables than her first name

While traveling in France, John, an English university lecturer, comes face to face with his double. After an evening of drinking and exchanging stories, the English man awakes to find that the French man has gone and taken all of his belongings, leaving him with the French man's clothing and luggage. After a couple of feeble attempts to explain that he is not, in fact, Jean de Gué, he gives in and assumes his double's life. He speaks fluent French, so language isn't a problem. De Gué's family doesn't question his identity, attributing his strange behavior to the effects of a hangover. As John learns more about the “relatives” who share his house, he discovers that the real Jean has hurt each of them in some way, and a crisis looms.

I've read other books about doppelgangers, but this one is different. A religious motif predominates, from the devout Catholicism of some of the family members to the title of the book. I usually think of page-turners as being plot driven, but this one is very much character-driven. Just who is Jean de Gué, and what has he done that led to this crisis? Is John better equipped to avert the crisis as an outsider with no emotional baggage? Is de Gué ever coming back, and if he does, is John prepared to leave?

Set near Le Mans, the novel has a strong sense of place. The setting is integral to the plot. Although it wasn't historical fiction at the time of its writing, it will appeal to readers of historical fiction set in post-WWII Europe.

4 stars

29. Jesus Loves Me This I Know: The Story Behind the World's Most Beloved Children's Song by Robert J. Morgan
TIOLI #1 - Title contains the first 3 letters of my hometown (Knoxville)

This beautifully illustrated gift book tells the story of Susan and Anna Warner, sisters who are best known today for the children's hymn “Jesus Loves Me” that first appeared in their novel Say and Seal. While the novel has largely been forgotten, the hymn has not. It is the first song that many children learn, and tiny toddlers will sing it loudly and enthusiastically. The Warner sisters spent most of their lives on Constitution Island across the Hudson from West Point. For many years first Susan and then Anna taught Sunday Bible classes for West Point cadets and hosted a dozen or so every Saturday. When they died, they were the first civilians to be buried at West Point. The endnotes and contact information for the Constitution Island Association will lead interested readers to additional resources about these remarkable women and their beloved home on the Hudson. It's a shame that this lovely little book is already out of print. If you happen to run across a used copy in good condition, it would make a nice gift for a Sunday School teacher, a christening or baby dedication, or perhaps even a nursing home patient to rekindle memories from their childhood.

4.5 stars

For those who have been following my ongoing Internet, cable woes, I was supposed to have a "special order request" sometime today to have some faulty outside wiring replaced. I hadn't seen any evidence of a repair crew yet, so before leaving for my allergy shots, I called Comcast. The ticket for the special order request was entered on Thursday. Apparently, it was canceled on Friday because it had been entered as a new service order. Sigh. The customer service representative I talked to this time seems to be the most competent one I've spoken with. He was able to see the service history extending back to Feb. 5. Most of the others told me they didn't have access to it on their systems. He immediately brought his supervisor in without me having to request it. The supervisor is contacting our local repair/maintenance office and I'm supposed to hear from them within the next couple of hours. I think they're trying to have a repairman here by 2 p.m.

>95 cbl_tn: At this point your customer-service woes with Comcast almost seem like they are parodying their own reputation for lousy customer service. Like a "Saturday Night Live" skit, except being performed by the actual company.

>96 rosalita: Maybe I should look for the candid camera?

I'm seeing signs of progress. I got a telephone call from a local Comcast representative just before 2:00. He said that they will have a truck out here tomorrow after 8 to replace the drop from the pole to the neighbor's house.

Comcast customer service hasn't always been this dreadful. I've been a customer for more than 20 years because up until very recently it was my only option for cable. Until just a few years ago, I could call a local number to schedule service. A lot of the local people probably lost their jobs when the call center was nationalized (or internationalized)? I wouldn't have had to explain to a local person about the recent power outages from ice and snow. A local person would have known that. My problem needed a local solution, yet the customer service interface makes it almost impossible to speak with someone local.

30. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, read by Jeremy Irons
TIOLI #17 - Title contains "ides"

During World War II, Captain Charles Ryder is surprised to find his unit at Brideshead, a place he once knew well. Ryder recalls his friendship with Sebastian Flyte during their university days, his first visit to Brideshead with Sebastian, and his relationships with the rest of Sebastian's family, particularly his sister Julia. Unlike Charles, Sebastian's family is Catholic. Some are devout, and others are lapsed. The bonds of faith prove to be more lasting than home, family, friends, or love.

I listened to the audio version read by Jeremy Irons. I doubt there is a better narrator out there for this book. I would imagine that Irons read it more than once in preparation for his role in the miniseries, and he probably has a better understanding of it than almost anyone living. At some point I want to revisit this book in print. It is filled with symbolism – religious, architectural, and artistic – and it deserves a second, closer reading.

4 stars

Good grief on the continuing Comcast craziness!

Lovely review of Brideshead Revisited. Irons is the perfect narrator. ;-)

>100 lkernagh: Thanks Lori! I hope that tomorrow evening I'll be able to report that the service call is complete. If I have to call their customer service again and start over with still another person I think I'll scream.

I can't believe that you're still having issues with Comcast! Wait, no, I can totally believe it. Gah. So sorry, and I hope that things get cleared up soon.

And, oh, Jeremy Irons. He can read to me anytime...

>98 cbl_tn: Your Comcast saga reminds me of the fun I had after our flood in town here. It was an unusual sort of flood - a mountain creek flooded, so it was a debris flood, with pretty powerful erosive forces, foundations were eroded, that kind of thing. But not necessarily any water in houses - just the backyard disappeared. During the event, power was disconnected to the whole neighbourhood, then straight afterwards, it was just the local department handling reconnections. But after a couple of weeks, the power reconnection was passed back to the national call centre. But they didn't understand the situation, and as soon as they heard there'd been a flood, were insisting on all sorts of things that were unecessary ("But there has been a flood and we turned the power off, there must have been water in the house" "No."). I took great pleasure in persistently arguing with them at great length to arrange to have peoples power reconnected - it was easier for me though, as I wasn't arguing for myself - I think it allowed me to be more demanding and hyperbolic than I would be on my own behalf!

>102 scaifea: Thanks Amber! Hmm. I'll have to see if I can find other books narrated by Jeremy Irons.

>103 evilmoose: Oh dear! I'm glad you were able to mediate between the power company and your neighbors. Would you like to come and argue with my cable company for me?! ;-)

Carrie, you could start writing a book about Comcast. It's more than a moth you are waiting now.

>104 cbl_tn: Heh, maybe I should open up a business :)

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Guess who was here when I got home from work this afternoon? The cable repairman! He's a very nice man and he is doing his best to make sure my service is fixed so that I don't have to call customer service yet again.

>105 Ameise1: You're right that it's been over a month. However, 2 1/2 weeks of that time we had extreme weather conditions and lots of homes without power. My power was out for only about 13 1/2 hours, but my TV didn't work for several more days after the power outage. I didn't follow up with Comcast until after the State of Emergency had expired and the last winter storm came through last week.

>106 evilmoose: You might be surprised how many interested customers you would attract!

Just as the first technician was finishing up, a second one showed up to help. He had been trying to get here but had a job on the other side of town. It was the same one who was here the last time. He was very apologetic about not getting here the day of the ice storm. It was on his schedule but when the freezing rain hit they sent all of the trucks home. His power was out for 3 days after that, and then the technicians were only working partial days because of road conditions. He had no idea that the special request order that he had placed had been canceled and he thought someone else had taken care of it. One of the technicians gave me his business card with his local number and told me to call him if I have any more trouble with my service. I won't have to go through the call center.

Oh, Carrie, that's good news! And how nice of him to apologize and for the other technician to give you his card. Crossing my fingers that everything is fixed.

>109 Crazymamie: They both stayed until I checked to make sure the cable & Internet were working. I asked one of them how long it had been since they had closed the local call center and he said 4 1/2 years. Dispatch has also been outsourced, so the local supervisors don't entirely control where the technicians are sent, resulting in some really crazy routes. I'm not sure how these "improvements" are saving the company money.

Hi Carrie!

doubt there is a better narrator out there for this book. Oh, yes! That one remains a favorite, absolutely brought to life in the hands of a master!

Jean Fritz is perhaps best known for her engaging historical books for kids, and historical biographies, including What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin, And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?, Can't You Make Them Behave, King George? and others. You should definitely look for others -- they're well worth it.

>108 cbl_tn:, 110 -- that sounds very promising! We recently had a visit from a Comcast technician who was 1000 times more helpful than the dolts you get when you call the primary number. He also gave us his personal number. So... are you happy with the results?

>111 AMQS: Good morning Anne! I am happy with the results. My services are working, including On Demand, and I was finally able to catch up with the episodes of Genealogy Roadshow and Castle that I'd missed.

Carrie, that's great news about your internet! And the local number :-) I have a direct line for the person in charge of our phones at work, which saves me having to go through the main IT helpdesk number. I feel special :-)

Oh, yay for working cable and internet! Finally! And it's awesome that you have the guy's local number now. Whew!

Hi Carrie, hope your internet problem is completely rectified! Cudoo's to the techies that came to your aid. Sounds like they're going thru a trying period and doing the best they can and travel to wherever.
I just finished reading Brideshead Revisited and then watched the PBS broadcast which really held to the book quite well. The cast was wonderful. Anthony Blanche was so well done but Irons was sort of emotionless.

>111 AMQS: I just checked our catalog and we have five of Jean Fritz's books in our children's section! A couple of them will fit this month's HistoryCAT (2015 Category Challenge group) theme of exploration and conquest so I'll run up and pull them off the shelf before I go home for lunch. Yay!

>113 susanj67: Thanks Susan! I was unable to log on to my office workstation yesterday morning. I called our IT help desk and had to leave a voice mail. I ended up fixing the problem myself before I got a response to the voice mail.

>114 scaifea: I know! I'm glad that everything is working now. The two men who were there yesterday were both unhappy with how the previous techs had connected the outside wiring, and they made sure that everything was in the best possible condition before they left.

>115 Carmenere: I've never watched the miniseries. I will add it to my Netflix queue. Spring Break is next week and that might be a good time for a Brideshead marathon. I've been to Castle Howard and I will enjoy "revisiting" it in the miniseries.

>116 cbl_tn: The last time I had a service call (for my phone which is through my cable company) my cable folks also complained about the way things had been wired previously.

>117 thornton37814: Maybe the training has improved?

So glad your internet is up, you and Adrian can go for walks again and you have a direct number to call, Carrie! Huzzah!

>119 Shutzie27: Thanks! It feels like a major accomplishment, even though I'm not responsible for either the service or the weather! It sounds like it's raining cats and dogs outside right now (or maybe frogs). I don't enjoy walking Adrian in the rain, but at least we can walk in this kind of weather.

Glad to see the internet is working properly again.

Have a lovely weekend, Carrie. xx

Hi Paul! I'm glad my Internet is finally working well. It took so long that I feel hopelessly behind on my thread reading. :(

31. That's Not English: Britishisms, Americanisms, and What Our English Says About Us by Erin Moore
TIOLI #4 - Book with a 2015 copyright date

Interest in language differences between British and American English, and the cultural differences they signify, seems to be unending at least on one side of the Atlantic. The U.S. has plenty of Anglophiles who consume imported British television on public broadcasting stations, read British authors, and keep up with Royal Family news.

Erin Moore's That's Not English joins a long line of books on British vs. American English. Moore is an American whose family has made their home in London. Moore has selected 31 seemingly simple words or phrases that are used differently on either side of the Atlantic. However, language isn't really the main focus of the short essays. Culture is her primary theme. Moore incorporates stories from her own experiences into each essay. In four years of living in England, I didn't pick up on some of the nuances of language and culture that Moore discusses. In my early twenties and living away from home for the first time, I was probably oblivious to some of the differences. Others may have a more recent origin. For instance, I never once heard Christmas referred to as Crimbo in the 1980s.

The first essay discusses differences in the British and American usage of the word “quite”. I certainly hadn't picked up on all of the the shades of meaning Moore highlights in this chapter, and this is the chapter I found most useful. I was both amused and slightly puzzled when Moore proceeded to use “quite” in subsequent chapters. I was never completely sure how I was supposed to interpret those passages. Was I to assume that she is American and writing for an American audience, or that she has lived in England long enough to adopt the English usage of the word?

This book won't be the best or last word on this subject, but nevertheless it's a good book that should be popular among Anglophiles for a time. It would make a great birthday or holiday gift for Anglophiles, English majors, or family or friends planning a trip to London or other parts of southern England.

This review is based on an advanced reading copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

3.5 stars

Edited to fix formatting.

>123 cbl_tn: Carrie, that's a book I definitely want to read! I saw it in the ER list and checked whether the library had ordered it, but no. And still no today! But it's published here on 24 March, so maybe I'll have more luck after that.

Enjoy your internet, and all that surfing!

>124 susanj67: Hi Susan! I'll be interested in your thoughts on the book after you've read it. I know there are some differences between NZ English and UK English, particularly slang usage. My aunt and uncle lived in NZ for several years, and my youngest cousin had a NZ accent when they moved back to the U.S. He's mostly lost it now, and that makes me a little sad. I loved hearing him talk! On the other hand, my aunt has never lost her Deep Southern accent despite 35+ years living outside the Southern U.S.

This week's acquisitions:
Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham (free ebook download)
K by Mary Roberts Rinehart (free ebook download)
That's Not English: Britishisms, Americanisms, and what Our English Says About Us by Erin Moore (February Early Reviewers book - already read & reviewed!)

Hi Carrie - I hope spring is arriving and that your internet problems are solved. Have a great Sunday.

>127 BLBera: Hi Beth! I have daffodils blooming in my flower bed and my Internet is working. Unfortunately I discovered this afternoon that my landline phone is not working. We'll see if this company's customer service is better than the cable & internet company's. It would be hard for it to be worse.

32. A Killer Plot by Ellery Adams
TIOLI #10 - Author's last name could be a first name (Adam)

Since she moved back to her home town of Oyster Bay, North Carolina, Olivia Limoges has pretty much kept to herself. She is still sensitive about the childhood tragedy that caused her abrupt departure from the town. A new writer's group breaks through her barrier of reserve, but just as she begins to feel comfortable with the group, its leader is murdered. Police Chief Rawlings and his staff are very capable of investigating the murder on their own, but the Chief welcomes the help of the writer's group in deciphering the meaning behind a haiku left with the body. More murders and mysterious haikus ratchet up the stakes, and the group feels pressure to identify the unknown killer before he or she claims another victim.

It took a while for me to warm up to Olivia. She comes across as snobbish and rude early in the book, but her growing friendship with the writer's group reveals a caring personality underneath her reserve. I love dogs, but her perfectly trained poodle who accompanied her everywhere is a bit too much. He'd be more realistic if he misbehaved every once in a while. Olivia has what seems to be the required two potential suitors to choose between in the owner of the town's new bookstore and the widowed police chief. I liked most of the secondary characters from the beginning, and I'll give the series another chance to see if it develops into one that will have me eagerly anticipating the next book.

3 stars

Carrie, your thread is becoming dangerous for me! >123 cbl_tn: Sounds like something I'd love to read, and I'm adding it my wish list.

Hope your phone service experience went smoothly. You're certainly due some good customer service! And try to enjoy the cozying up with Adrian weather; here it's already in the 90s again, ugh.

>130 Shutzie27: Oops! Sorry! It is a good book, and it would lend itself to a chapter/essay a day in a 31-day month.

Glad to see Comcast finally got you up and running again!

I have A Killer Plot on my shelf, and will get to it one of these days! Good review.

Hi Carrie, just catching up with your thread and I couldn't believe that you were still having internet issues. Glad to hear that they are fixed now. You really need your internet working with your new DNA matches. How exciting. Wish I could talk the men in my family into DNA testing. My son might be interested but that is not my line - it would be interesting, though. (Hmm, catholic Scottish line - maybe I should talk to him about it some more.)

>132 tymfos: Thanks Terri! Maybe you'll like A Killer Plot better if you know going into it that the main character isn't particularly likeable at the beginning of the book/series.

>133 Familyhistorian: It's been frustrating trying to keep up with the DNA matches with unreliable Internet service. Things have been working well since the technicians were here last week.

My father and I went to a local half-day DNA seminar in the early days of genealogical DNA testing. It helped both of us to hear how the process works and what testing could and couldn't do, and to have the opportunity to ask questions. After sitting through the seminar, he was eager and excited to participate in a Y-DNA surname study. He and my mother's brother were always good friends, so once my father had tested it wasn't difficult to persuade my mother's brother to join a Y-DNA study as well.

My latest project is reading through the Virginia Chancery records for a case involving my 3rd great-grandfather through his wife, who was also his 1st cousin. Her father's will (my 4th great-grandfather's brother) had freed his slaves upon his and his wife's death, whichever occurred latest. His former slave Barbara had two children after the will was written, and if I understand the records correctly, the heirs claimed that these two children were not covered by the will since they were not living when it was written and therefore they were still slaves. They wouldn't even admit that Barbara was a free woman, although they didn't seem to be claiming ownership of her. They wanted the children to be sold so that the money could be divided between the ten children/heirs. One of the children claimed that he had bought the interest of several of his siblings, and a brother-in-law who had acquired the other shares had defaulted on a debt for which he had provided security, making him the sole owner of the children. He wanted to sell them to pay a debt. The freed slave, Barbara, brought a suit in Chancery to prevent her children from being sold and ultimately to secure their freedom. I hope she was successful. The case seemed to drag on for years, so I have a lot of documents to read through. Some of them are difficult to read because of what they say, not because of the handwriting.

My ancestor and several of his cousins (his wife's siblings) had moved to Indiana about 10 years before his father-in-law/uncle's death. His wife died at some point during the proceedings and he remarried. His second wife was the daughter of his wife's sister (making her a 1st cousin once removed). I descend from his 3rd wife, who, as far as I know, was not a relative. (Except by marriage, of course.) Supposedly his opposition to slavery was one of my ancestor's motivations for moving to Indiana early in the 19th century. I'm not sure how much truth there is in that claim.

ETA: I skipped ahead to some of the other files. One is a 155 page document that will take a while to read. However, I did learn that the mother, Barbara, and her two children named specifically in the will successfully defended their right to freedom. However, her two children who were not named in the will were sold by one of the heirs without the permission of the estate's executor, whose wife was one of the other heirs. In the few pages I've read so far, the executor was complaining that the heir who sold the two children had not divided the money among the other interests. He did not seem concerned that Barbara had lost her children and would probably never see them again. Heartbreaking.

That is a very interesting court case. Imagine believing that you would be freed but having the relatives try to snatch your freedom away from you. I wonder what the outcome of the trial was and if the parties let it rest there. Genealogy is so interesting, you never know what your research will bring up.

>135 Familyhistorian: It's going to take a while for me to read all of the documents and process the information. The chronology isn't easy. So far I've gathered that at one point one of the sons-in-law had Barbara and her children in a wagon headed for Tennessee when he was stopped by another son-in-law. Not for an altruistic reason. Just because the other son-in-law was contesting his right to their ownership. He didn't want to be cheated out of his share. It must have been terrible for Barbara that the only thing protecting her freedom was the family discord. They kept such a close eye on each other that she was left alone for a time.

I found Barbara listed as a free woman of color in 1830 and 1840 but I haven't been able to find her in 1850. Her two youngest children were eventually sold. I wish I knew where they ended up and if they ever saw their mother again. Barbara and at least one of her oldest two children retained their freedom so the contesting of the will doesn't seem to have been successful.

One other interesting tidbit. The son who claimed to have ended up with all of his siblings' shares wanted to sell the children to pay a debt. He had provided security for his brother-in-law's debt, and his brother-in-law moved away before the debt was paid. That left this man responsible for it. The creditor who was owed the money has the same name as the chancery court judge. I believe it was the same man, although it could have been one of his relatives.

Latest update: the children were twins, and the creditor was indeed the judge. Also, the slave speculator who purchased the children was a business partner of the heir's attorney.

It looks like the twins were born about 1818 and, while Barbara wasn't able to prevent them from being sold, she did manage to hold the sale off until about Jan. 1838. They would have been about 19 years old then.

I had a recall notice for my car's airbags so I made an appointment to have the work done this morning. I went in expecting to be there the hour they estimated it would take to do the work. I was surprised to be told that they had found that my water pump was leaking. I'm not sure why they were looking at it when they were supposed to be fixing the airbags. My guess is that the mechanics are told to look at everything and find something that needs fixing. I've taken my car to this dealer before for recall work and they've sent me home without finding additional work necessary. (I'm sure they looked then, too.) I don't usually have the dealer's service department do anything other than warranty or recall work since they charge more than other places. However, I was there and they had the part in stock so I told them to go ahead and fix it. They sent me home with a rental van, which was surprisingly fun to drive. Hopefully there won't find anything else to fix while they're replacing the water pump and I'll have my own car back this evening.

I didn't get as much reading done this morning as I thought I would because I wasn't there as long as I expected to be. I do hope to finish Farewell to the East End today, though. But first I want to finish reading the Virginia Chancery documents...

Good on Barbara for holding onto the twins until they were 19. Too bad they ended up being sold. I wonder if they lived to see freedom. Did they give the twin's names in the documents or list them in some other way?

>140 Familyhistorian: Yes - James Washington and Lucinda, but they were also referred to as Jim and Cindy. Their father's surname was Day - he was a free black man - and Barbara used the surname Day.

I discovered that there is an award-winning article in the Journal of East Tennessee History about the firm that my something-times-removed 1st cousin sold them to. I'm trying to get my hands on a copy of the article.

Just delurking to say that this is fascinating - reminds me of the plot of Philida (although different continent, of course).

>142 charl08: Thanks for mentioning that! I haven't read anything by Andre Brink yet, and that sounds like a good place to start.

>134 cbl_tn: What a fascinating and sad history.

Happy weekend to you, Carrie!

>141 cbl_tn: The story keeps getting more interesting. I hope you uncover more soon. I would really like to know what happened to James Washington and Lucinda (Day?)

Hi Carrie, I've finally got time to visit your thread. I wish you a lovely weekend.

Morning, Carrie! Happy Saturday to you!

>144 AMQS: Thanks Anne! I wish it wasn't a true story.

>145 Familyhistorian: I finished the 155 page document yesterday. By the time I had read about 2/3 of the file I had formed an impression that was confirmed by a commissioner's report later in the file. The dispute was between one of the sons (Cousin Jonathan) and the son-in-law/brother-in-law who administered the estate. The commissioner kept appointing dates for the parties to appear with their proofs, and kept trying to summon the out-of-state folks by putting notices in two Virginia papers and hanging a notice on the courthouse door (like they were really going to see it in any of those places). Cousin Jonathan and the brother-in-law kept showing up "unprepared" on the appointed dates. What little documentation they produced was insufficient to support their claims. It rested largely on Cousin Jonathan's word, and his few supporting witnesses were his children.

It seems that the administrator sold all of the household goods in the early 1820s and distributed shares of the proceeds to the heirs. He had receipts from most of the heirs for what he had distributed. As it turned out, he gave a couple of the heirs a bit too much, including my ggg-grandfather who ended up with about $12 more than he should have. A couple of the others didn't get as much as they were supposed to get, but the administrator does seem to have acted in good faith. What remained unsettled had to do with twins Jim and Cindy, who failed to obtain their freedom. Cousin Jonathan sold them to a slave speculator probably sometime in 1837 and he had not distributed the proceeds. He claimed that other heirs had sold him their shares, but the only documentation he could produce to support this claim was a letter from his brother William in Missouri. The file includes several receipts showing that some of the heirs had sold their claims to brother-in-law Isaac (including Cousin Jonathan), but no documentation that those claims were transferred to Cousin Jonathan in fulfillment of brother-in-law Isaac's debt to him. There was no documentation of a transfer of my ggg-grandfather and his first wife's interest to any of the other parties.

The commissioner noted that Cousin Jonathan had no evidence to support his claim that the other heirs had agreed to pay a share of the costs for the suits he had filed. He also noted that both Cousin Jonathan's and the administrator/brother-in-law's expense claims were excessive and he reduced by about a half.

There are two decrees in the file, and I'm not sure which one is final. One decree dismisses the case against the heirs (finding in favor of the heirs against the administrator/plaintiff), with the plaintiff to pay costs. The other decree finds that cousin Jonathan had acquired all but three shares in the sale of Jim and Cindy and that he was to pay three of the brothers-in-law (none of them were my ggg-grandfather) a certain amount plus interest. Both sides were to pay their own court costs.

These men clearly didn't trust each other, and I question anything they've claimed without supporting evidence. I have serious doubts whether most of the brothers and sisters who had moved out of state (including my Indiana ggg-grandfather) knew anything about the legal proceedings, let alone agreed to reimburse Cousin Jonathan for their share of the legal expenses. I think Barbara was able to use the deep distrust between these two men to her advantage for many years and would have gone on doing so had Cousin Jonathan not sold Jim and Cindy without authorization.

Barbara used the surname Day, and Jim and Cindy's father is identified in the court records as a free black man named Day. I've searched the 1870 census for Jim Day, James Day, and James W. Day born in Virginia ca. 1818 but there are too many possibilities to be sure which, if any, are Barbara's son. If Cindy was married and still living, she would have a different surname. I'm waiting now for the article about the firm of slave traders that Jim and Cindy were sold to. I hope it will give me some idea of where they might have been sold. Right now I think Tennessee and Alabama are likely possibilities, as well as New Orleans.

>146 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara!

>147 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! Happy Saturday to you!

33. The Voyage of St. Brendan translated by J. F. Webb
TIOLI #16 - Book with at least one Irish character

The Voyage of St. Brendan is a translation of a medieval manuscript about an Irish saint's westward journey to unknown lands. The original was probably written in the 8th century, about 200 years after Brendan's death. It's a fascinating legend. I had already read Jean Fritz's retelling. Now that I've read a translation of her source document, I can confirm that Fritz's retelling retains the essence of the original while removing some redundancies. Fritz's imagination isn't constrained by the necessities of translation so her version is more lyrical and spell-binding. This translation is essential reading for academic study of Brendan's life and legend. Other readers may find Fritz's retelling sufficient to satisfy their curiosity.

4 stars

34. Farewell to the East End by Jennifer Worth
TIOLI #3 - 3rd book in a trilogy

Jennifer Worth concludes her memoir trilogy with Farewell to the East End. She seems to have exhausted most of her own extraordinary childbirth experiences in her first book. The second book focuses more on home health care rather than midwifery. This one gets back to midwifery, but recounts experiences of Worth's fellow midwives, Cynthia, Trixie, and Chummy. I liked this one better than the second book, but not as well as book one. This is mostly a second-hand account of things that happened in the 1950s and it's difficult to tell how much accuracy has been lost in the retelling. Worth refers to events that she related in her first two books so it would be better to read those books first.

4 stars

Hi Carrie! I hope you got your car back in a timely manner!

>152 The_Hibernator: Hi Rachel! They were finished with the car almost an hour ahead of their estimate. I drove through a drive-thru on my way home to pick up lunch, ate, took the dog out, and read for no more than a half hour before I got a call to tell me my car was ready and I could pick it up anytime. I enjoyed driving the van. I had never driven one before. I didn't enjoy it enough to go out and buy one, though! What I really liked was the radio and the camera view behind the car when it's in reverse.

>153 cbl_tn: - Sounds like a perfect opportunity to test drive a vehicle you might not otherwise have gone out of your way to drive. ;-)

>148 cbl_tn: Doesn't sound like there was much trust in that family! Good on Barbara to work it to her advantage, too bad that the twins were finally sold. I hope that the article about the firm of slave traders provides some helpful clues.

>154 lkernagh: At least I had a little bit of an adventure. I've rented cars before on vacation or for business travel, but I've never had a need to rent a van before.

>155 Familyhistorian: I'm looking forward to reading it. Even if it doesn't give me any leads about where Jim and Cindy might have ended up, it should still give me a good idea of the character of the people Cousin Jonathan chose to do business with.

35. Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus? by Jean Fritz, illustrated by Margot Tomes
TIOLI #12 - Title has at least 8 syllables

This biography of Christopher Columbus for a juvenile audience summarizes all of the major events in his life, not just his 1492 voyage. It celebrates his achievements without covering up his flaws. This isn't dull historical writing that discourages young people from studying history. Fritz's lively, descriptive writing interjected with humor makes history come to life. Fritz's style is so appealing that some young readers will pick up her books for pleasure and not of necessity. I do question the use of unnumbered endnotes. There aren't any cues in the text to prompt readers to look at the endnotes for additional information. Many readers won't discover them until they've reached the end of the book.

4 stars

36. Pride and Prejudice and Kitties by Jane Austen, Pamela Jane, and Deborah Guyol
TIOLI #17 - Book with "ides" in the title

”Netherfield Park is marked at last.”

The news caused much romping at the Bennet household for, as every cat knows, a handsome young tom in possession of his own territory must be in want of a mate.

So begins this retelling of Pride and Prejudice using cats instead of humans. It's an entertaining diversion for cat-loving Janeites, but it won't be for everyone. In order to appreciate the parody, readers need to be familiar with the characters and main plot points of Pride and Prejudice. Readers who pay full price for the book may be disappointed. Borrow it from a library or look for it at yard sale.

2.5 stars

The verdict is in! I looked at the label for Keebler's Grasshoppers while I was grocery shopping over the weekend. I didn't see any corn products on the list, so I bought a package. They are better than the current version of the Girl Scout's Thin Mints, but not as good as the Walgreens store brand. The Walgreens cookies have a stronger mint flavor and a better tasting chocolate coating.

I had to cut Adrian's walk short this afternoon. There was a snake in the road. A snake. In the road. And it's just barely spring according to my calendar.

>160 cbl_tn:

Oh, boo-hoo, you wimp - my cat used to bring them into the house alive and release them! :D

>161 lyzard: And that is the #2 reason why I don't have a cat! (#1 - highly allergic to them.)

>160 cbl_tn: Still shuddering about this one, Carrie. Yeesh!

>160 cbl_tn: Carrie, that snake is probably posting on snakething about how a nice lady and her dog ran away from him, and asking why everyone seems to hate him :-) Sorry your walk was cut short, though.

Fascinating family puzzle you've been unraveling there, Carrie. I never know what interesting thing I'll find whenever I pop in here - books, dog, genealogy, food... Today, I found 'em all!

>161 lyzard: : LOL!

>163 scaifea: Me too! I wouldn't let Adrian walk that direction this morning even though the chances are slim that the snake would be out that early. Ugh!

>164 susanj67: There's a snakething?! No thanks!

>165 countrylife: I'm still hoping to learn more about that puzzle. The article about the slave traders is on its way to me. The historical/genealogical library is sending it by courier to my local branch. I'll probably pick it up Saturday since Adrian has a grooming appointment right across the road from the library.

I found another sad story buried in some estate papers I received yesterday. Buried in the estate papers for my 4th-great-grandfather, who died in 1852, was a bill from a doctor for treating one of his daughters from March 17 to April 7, 1852, and for hauling my 4th-great-grandfather and his daughter to the graveyard. The other set of estate papers was for a man who is either another of my 4th-great-grandfathers or his brother. He also died in 1852. It has me wondering if they all died from cholera.

Wow, that's some fascinating family history you're uncovering! I hope the article about the slave trading company provides some more clues about Jim and Cindy.

>167 tymfos: I'll be glad when Saturday gets here so I can pick up the article. I've got enough to do between now and then anyway. My book club meets this week.

Hi Carrie, it's amazing what you found on your family-history. Although I have no connection whatsoever, I'm really interested in your stories. Are you planning to write your family-history? I'm sure it has plenty of potential!
Btw, I'm delurking, so I hope to stop by more often. Take care and keep away from the snakes!

>166 cbl_tn: Will you be able to get death records to find out why they all died around the same time?

>169 Trifolia: Hi Monica! I haven't thought much about writing my family history. Believe it or not, I really dislike writing. I may write some short essays on individuals or family units. I don't think anyone else in my family would have the patience to read a book about our family. I do think they would be interested in an occasional essay/short story. After I get the article about the slave trader, I'll add the new information to what I've written here and send it to some of my relatives.

>170 Familyhistorian: Indiana didn't start recording births and deaths until the 20th century. If there was some sort of epidemic in that time period it might be mentioned in a local/county history. I'll have to do some digging and see what turns up. I believe cholera was a problem in many parts of the U.S. in the mid-19th century.

Sadly, there is one less snake in the world today. Although that's not a bad thing in my world, unfortunately the carcass is still on the road where he was sunning himself yesterday. Adrian insisted on walking that direction this evening, when I made the grisly discovery.

Snakes are a significant hazard in metro Atlanta once the weather turns warm, as my group treats a small handful of kids every year who are hospitalized due to bites from venomous snakes. As the metro area expands and new houses are built in formerly tree laden areas in the exurbs, the snakes are displaced from their former homes, and sun themselves on patios and in backyards. The bites tend to be on the kids' feet or lower legs, as they unknowingly step barefoot on or near a snake hidden in the grass, or the hands, when the younger kids who don't know any better (or older ones who don't have any common sense) pick up a snake.

>173 kidzdoc: Ugh! My goal is not to get close enough to find out if they're venomous. I'd rather not see them at all!

I have a friend who lived in the Amazon region of Brazil for 40 years. She hates snakes, and they have some nasty ones there. She says she prayed that she would never see one, and in 40 years, she never did.

Look on the bright side, Carrie...

My brother sent me this article from a local Sydney paper a couple of weeks back:

Davidson man finds python packed into cornflake box

WHEN a Davidson man went into his kitchen to grab a bite, a 2m python wasn’t what he had in mind. Jarred Smith, 22, got the fright of his life last Tuesday when he was preparing lunch and found the large diamond python coiled up in a cereal box right next to him.

Snakes are no strangers to being found in residential pools or laundry baskets, but a cereal box? “It was super weird,” Mr Smith said. “I peeked in the box, saw its head pop out and that’s when I dropped my food on the counter and bolted for the door.”

After alerting his father, Norris, who was also home at the time, the pair called the NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES). WIRES member Chris McGreal rescued the diamond python and returned it to nearby bushland. “The python was over 2m long and I couldn’t believe it was jammed into this small cereal box,” Mr McGreal said. “When I got there I actually had to tear the box to get it out, that’s how tightly squeezed in it was. It’s likely it was hiding in there to feel secure.”

Oh, dear! I'll be back when the snakes are gone - YIKES!

>175 lyzard: Eek!

>176 Crazymamie: New thread coming soon - probably this weekend.

37 The City & the City by China Mieville
TIOLI #6 - Author's last name is longer than his first name

When the body of an unknown woman is discovered, Inspector Borlu must first identify the woman before he can investigate her murder. As the investigation progresses, Borlu is increasingly convinced that the murder has an international angle that will greatly complicate things. Borlu lives and works in Beszel, and clues keep pointing to Ul Qoma – a different city in a different country that occupies the same geographical space as Beszel. Each city's citizens have been raised from childhood to see only those buildings and people that are in their own city, and to “unsee” anything that is in the other city. Has the murderer found a way to use the complex boundaries between the two cities to his or her advantage?

This would be a pretty average police procedural if not for its science fiction/fantasy context. I don't often read science fiction or fantasy. I didn't care for The Yiddish Policemen's Union when I read it a couple of years ago, and this one seemed like it might have some similarities. It turned out to be less similar than I feared. I enjoyed the complexity of the separate cities superimposed on each other. Mieville made it seem like a real place that I could visit. I'd just have to decide which city I want to see, because I'd have to “unsee” the other one while I'm there.

I listened to the audio version read by John Lee. I think that enhanced my reading experience. Although Lee isn't my favorite audiobook narrator, I thought his voice was perfect for this book. His strong, confident narration make the fantastic plot elements seem real.

4 stars

Next up in audio: The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

Just last week I was telling a friend about my 7th grade chorus teacher, who was one of my favorite teachers from my school days. Miss Brown was an excellent musician and conductor, and she was an outstanding teacher. Her rehearsals were both demanding and fun. In elementary school we sang in unison. We learned to sing in parts in middle school. Miss Brown's chorus was the beginning of several very happy years of chorus membership for me.

Middle school is a challenging age bracket. (For those of you outside the U.S., middle school students range in age from about 11-14.) When I was in middle school, chorus wasn't required, but the majority of students took it. I think the students who didn't take chorus had a study hall. Miss Brown managed a choir of 150 or so 7th graders (12-13 years old) on her own. (I don't recall any teacher's aides, but there might have been an accompanist.) She kept us in line by threatening misbehavers with 40 lashes with a wet noodle. Miss Brown was promoted to an administrative position between my 7th and 8th grade years, and we missed her greatly the next year. She would drop in occasionally in her new role and we were always thrilled to see her.

This morning as I looked at today's paper, I saw an obituary for Miss Brown. I'm sorry I never got to tell her what a positive influence she had in my life.

Oh, I am so sorry. Those teachers who make such a difference are unforgettable. Choir teachers have had a profound influence on me and on my girls. There is so much research coming out now about the benefits of singing in a chorus, and I can't think of a group that could possibly benefit more then middle schoolers. Here's to Miss Brown and her amazing legacy.

>180 AMQS: Thanks Anne. I'm certain that a lot of her other former students feel the same about her. I was blessed with an outstanding choir director in high school too. Between the two, I don't think there were students anywhere in our state who had better music education than we did. Our high school choir consistently got top marks at the annual festival.

Just stopping by to say hello and tell you how much I like your review of The City and the City.

Your family history is intriguing.

>182 Matke: Hi Gail! Have you read The City & the City, or any other Mieville? I read Un Lun Dun a couple of years ago. It was OK, but I liked The City & the City better.

Most of my ancestors are unremarkable - just average for their time and location. I do have a few interesting characters in there. I tend to spend more time on the interesting ones. Usually they've left more records. I have some abolitionist relatives on both sides of the family. I need to give them equal time.

Hi Carrie, I wish you a wonderful weekend.

>184 Ameise1: Thank you Barbara!

38. Around the World in a Hundred Years by Jean Fritz, illustrated by Anthony Bacon Venti
TIOLI #12 - Title has 8 or more syllables

This book is exactly what the title implies – short biographies of explorers in the hundred year span between Henry the Navigator and Magellan. In addition to the explorers named in the title, Fritz includes Bartholomew Diaz, Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Pedro Alvares Cabral, John Cabot, Amerigo Vespucci, Juan Ponce de Leon, and Vasco Nunez de Balboa.

I didn't enjoy this book nearly as well as the other two books by Fritz that I've read this month. The witty, somewhat humorous tone of the first two is largely missing from this book. The difference may be the succinctness necessary for profiling ten explorers in a single book. This book also has the unnumbered endnotes without textual cues that I found so annoying in Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus?. If I had started reading Jean Fritz's books here, I might not have been tempted to pick up another one.

3 stars

Happy Saturday, Carrie!

No Book Bullets for me here, but I'm not sorry. My own wishlist is exploding already.
I recognize your feelings when discovering the obituary from a well-loved teacher. I sometimes think about some teachers who have influenced me (for some reason always while ironing) and I've sometimes thought of getting in touch with some of them to let them know. I did drop a line to some of them when I got my master's degree and when I landed my job and let them know they had contributed to this, but it's been a while since I did that. Ah, all the things we never say...

>187 Crazymamie: Happy Saturday Mamie!

>188 Trifolia: I ran into my best friend from high school when I dropped Adrian off for his grooming appointment this morning. She and her husband were arriving with their dogs just as I was leaving. I hadn't seen her in several years, and we talked about Miss Brown while we were catching up. My friend and I were both in 8th grade ensemble, girls chorus our freshman year, mixed chorus for our sophomore through senior years, and madrigals our junior and senior years. We agreed that if it hadn't been for Miss Brown's influence in 7th grade music, we might not have done any of that.

-------------------------------------------

Adrian is at his first appointment with a new groomer. I needed to find a new one after he was diagnosed with an anal gland infection just days after his last grooming. His anal glands obviously hadn't been expressed. The new place had been recommended by someone at work who has Shih Tzu, and I made the appointment in person so I could look at their facility. It was great to run into my long-time friend there, and I learned that the owner is her neighbor. I went in with them to drop off their dogs and we visited for a while inside because it was cold outside (in the 30s F). The owner & her daughter (chief groomer) now have me associated with their neighbor. I feel very comfortable leaving Adrian in their hands now. They also board dogs so I now have an option I'll be comfortable with if Stella's family isn't able to keep Adrian when I need to travel.

Carrie, that must have been very sad to see the obituary. Teachers like that can really change your life, can't they? I still remember a few excellent ones that I had.

I hope the grooming goes well and Adrian likes her!

>189 cbl_tn: I hope the new groomer will be better than the first one. And wonderful news about the boarding-facilities.

>191 Trifolia: Adrian looked handsome when I picked him up. He smells nice, too. And they charged $5 less than the other place. I think we'll stick with this one!

39. Brendan by Frederick Buechner
TIOLI #16 - Book has at least one Irish character

This novel tells the story of 6th century Irish Saint Brendan. What is known of his life is as much legend as fact. Buechner imagines plausible explanations for some of the miraculous legends about Brendan, while leaving open supernatural explanations for others. Buechner's Brendan has feet of clay. He spends his youth living out the expectations of Bishop Erc and his tutor Ita, then spends his mature years bitterly repenting his earlier choices and their consequences.

The book is narrated by Brendan's friend, Finn, who seems not to have taken holy orders despite spending most of his life at Brendan's side. The exception is the section describing Brendan's first voyage, which seems to be a retelling of the Navigatio and is supposedly Brendan's journal from the voyage. Finn's dialect is similar to that of Appalachia, using “was” in place of “were”, “come” instead of “came”, etc. It seems like an odd choice. The shift in narrator from Finn to Brendan's journal, then back to Finn, didn't work well for me either. This is the second of Buechner's books that I've read. Godric is the better of the two, but I didn't like the way the central characters were portrayed in either book. It may be that Buechner's style just doesn't suit my reading tastes. I'm not sure I'll try any more of his work.

3 stars

Only one acquisition to report from last week. Freud's Couch, Scott's Buttocks, Bronte's Grave by Simon Goldhill is this month's free ebook from the University of Chicago press. It's hard for me to pass up free travel essays.

I started a new thread a little early since I have time to do it this weekend. April is just around the corner!

Please visit me on my new thread here.