bell7 (Mary) reads with only a little planning in 2015 - thread 2

Welcome to the second thread!

If you haven't already been following, you're in for an eclectic bunch of books (young adult fantasy and dystopia will feature prominently) from a reference/adult services librarian in Massachusetts, as well as the random knitting pictures, and possibly some American football and tennis talk. Please join in – I love visitors and bookish chatter!

A note about my ratings:
I rate based on how well I liked a book; I refuse to make a judgment about a story's innate worth because I recognize the variety of taste in readers, and even how my own mood can affect what I think when I'm reading. That being said, here's what I mean when I say -
1 star - Forced myself to finish it
2 stars - Dislike
2.5 stars - I really don't know if I liked it or not
3 stars - Sort of liked it; or didn't, but admired something about it despite not liking it
3.5 stars - The splitting hairs rating of less than my last 4 star book or better than my last 3
4 stars - I liked it and recommend it, but probably won't reread it except under special circumstances (ie., a book club or series reread)
4.5 stars - Excellent, ultimately a satisfying read, a title I would consider rereading
5 stars - A book that I absolutely loved, would absolutely reread, and just all-around floored me

I very rarely finish a book I would rate lower than a 3, so my ratings are skewed positively. I can generally scale how much I liked a book, but I'm less consistent about how much I didn't like it.

Looking forward to continuing on with reading this year. I am not always great about keeping up with the threads – darn real life getting in the way! - but if you comment on my thread, I will star yours and at the very least lurk to keep up with your reading too.

This year, I'm not so much planning my reads as trying to fulfill some goals:

1. Read more of my own books.
Goal: Read at least 3 books a month.
Year so far: I read 5 in January and 1 in February, so it averages out for now.

2. Read more classics.
Goal: I will try to read a book in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries (2014 only saw titles from the 20th, 21st and The Odyssey), including two of the following: Great Expectations, War and Peace, Middlemarch, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich and The Count of Monte Cristo.
Year so far: I finished Great Expectations.

3. Read from my "lists".
Goal: I will read five Newbery Medal or Honor winners, three books by C. S. Lewis, and two of Shakespeare's plays.
Year so far: I have read two Newbery Medal and Honor winners.

4. Read globally.
Goal: I hope to read books set in 12 countries and 25 states to broaden my reading geographically.
Year so far: I have read books set in seven states and three countries (counting the U.S.)

United States

visited 10 states (20%)
Create your own visited map of The United States
Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Texas

Around the Globe

visited 6 states (2.66%)
Create your own visited map of The World
Canada, France, Netherlands, Norway, UK, US - 7 with Samoa, not included on map

Books I'm reading or own that are set in different places:

Alaska - Winterdance
California - Angle of Repose or The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down or The Woman Warrior
Colorado - Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas
Illinois - Devil in the White City
Maine - Cabin: Two Brothers, a Dream, and Five Acres in Maine or One Man's Meat or A Midwife's Tale
Michigan - Bud, Not Buddy
Mississippi (?) - The Partner
New Hampshire - A Prayer for Owen Meany
North Carolina - Ellen Foster
Tennessee - My Own Country

Australia - The Secret River
Bosnia - Zlata's Diary
Canada - Elijah of Buxton
Chile - Daughter of Fortune or My Invented Country
China - Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Egypt - Dreamers of the Day
France - The Count of Monte Cristo or A Year in Provence
Germany - The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
Israel - My Promised Land
Italy - The Name of the Rose or A Thread of Grace
Malawi - The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Poland - The Trumpeter of Krakow
Russia - War and Peace or Notes from the Underground
South Africa - July's People or Cry, the Beloved Country
Sweden - Benny and Shrimp

5. Read picture books.
Goal: Read at least two picture books a month.
Year so far: I'm well on target for this.

Picture books read:
1. The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak - 1/6
2. The Foggy Foggy Forest by Nick Sharratt - 1/6
3. Hank Finds an Egg by Rebecca Dudley - 1/7
4. Is There a Dog in This Book? by Viviane Schwarz - 1/12
5. Blackout by John Rocco - 1/14
6. The Adventures of Beekle the Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat - 2/4
7. The Secret Life of Squirrels by Nancy Rose - 2/10
8. Tiptop Cat by C. Roger Mader - 3/12
9. The Paper Bag Princess written by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko - 3/28
10. Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall - 3/31
11. How to Grow a Friend by Sara Gillingham - 4/2?
12. How the Library (not the prince) Saved Rapunzel by Wendy Meddour, illustrated by Rebecca Ashdown - 5/12
13. Goodnight Football by Michael Dahl, illustrated by Christina Forshay - 5/19

Work books

The book club list:

January - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
February - Shadow Tag by Louise Erdrich
March - Irreplaceable by Stephen Lovely
April - Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
May - The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel
June - Falconer by John Cheever
July - Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Nina Sankovitch
August - Appointment in Samarra by John O'Hara
September - The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman
October - The Hawley Book of the Dead by Chrysler Szarlan
November - The River of Doubt by Candice Millard
December - The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro

The Genre Study Roundtable Books:
February - Literary Fiction
Everyone reads - That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo - DONE
Second book (my choice) – I counted Shadow Tag again for this - DONE

April - Adventure
Everyone reads - The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry - DONE
Second book - Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian - DONE (finished a little late)

June - Fantasy
Everyone reads - Mort - DONE - or The Wyrd Sisters - DONE - or Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
Second book - Uprooted by Naomi Novik - DONE

September - Science Fiction
Everyone reads - Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Second book -

Graphic novels read:
1. An Age of License by Lucy Knisley
2. El Deafo by Cece Bell
3. This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki
4. French Milk by Lucy Knisley
5. Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley

January
1. The City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
2. The Rook by Daniel O'Malley - mine
3. Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger
4. All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill - mine and audio
5. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou - mine and a reread
6. That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo
7. Frostfire by Amanda Hocking
8. Steeple Bush by Robert Frost - mine
9. The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
10. The Boys of Winter by Wayne Coffey - borrowed
11. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
12. The Unhappening of Genesis Lee by Shallee McArthur - mine and e-book ARC

February
13. Jane Austen Cover to Cover by Margaret C. Sullivan
14. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - mine
15. Honeydew: stories by Edith Pearlman
16. Shadow Tag by Louise Erdrich
17. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
18. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
19. H2O by Virginia Bergin
20. Cress by Marissa Meyer

March
21. Bossypants by Tina Fey - audio
22. Marked by Sarah Fine
23. Nest by Esther Ehrlich
24. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
25. Irreplaceable by Stephen Lovely
26. Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
27. How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell - audio
28. Epitaph by Mary Doria Russell
29. Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez
30. Prudence by Gail Carriger

April
31. The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry
32. Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou
33. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson - mine
34. How to Be a Pirate by Cressida Cowell - audio
35. Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian
36. Born Standing Up by Steve Martin - audio
37. Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman
38. Authority by Jeff VanderMeer
39. Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

May
40. The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows
41. About this Life: Journeys on the Threshold of Memory by Barry Lopez
42. One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
43. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom - audio and mine
44. The Heir by Keira Cass
45. Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton
46. The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel
47. Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
48. Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer
49. Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
50. Mort by Terry Pratchett

June
51. Uprooted by Naomi Novik
52. Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan
53. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
54. The Penderwicks in Spring by Jeanne Birsdall - audio
55. Falconer by John Cheever
56. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
57. The Last Bookaneer by Matthew Pearl
58. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

Currently reading:
Ice Kissed by Amanda Hocking
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Got Money? by Jeff Wuorio
Collected Poems, Prose & Plays by Robert Frost - mine

Original publication dates read (current through May):

2015 - 11
2014 - 13
2013 - 3
2012 - 3
2011 - 1
2010 - 1
2009 - 2
2007 - 1
2006 - 1
2005 - 1
2004 - 1
2003 - 2

1998 - 2
1988 - 1
1987 - 1
1986 - 1
1971 - 1
1969 - 2
1947 - 1

1861 - 1

TV/Movie List:
I started this out just to keep a list for the fun of it, but now a friend of mine, K. and his girlfriend S. and I have been trading off movie recommendations and watching them together weekly. I've noted which one of us picked a title, and the ones that are new to me are marked with an *

1. Early Edition (season 1) - finished 1/8/15
2. Bowfinger - 1/9/15
3. Early Edition (season 2) - finished 2/4/15
4. An Idiot Abroad (series 1) - finished 2/14/15*
5. Letters to Juliet - 2/16/15
6. Boyhood - 2/26/15*
7. The Voice (Season 8) - finished 5/19/15*
8. Jaws - 5/25/15 (K.)*
9. The Princess Bride - 5/25/15 (me)
10. Welcome to Mooseport - 5/31/15 (S.)*
That's My Boy - 5/31/15 (K.)*
11. Singin' in the Rain - 6/8/15 (me)
12. Batman Begins - 6/10/15*
13. If I Stay - 6/12/15 (S.)*
14. The Dark Knight - 6/14/15*
15. We Were Soldiers - 6/14/15 (K.)*
16. The Truman Show - 6/14/15 (me)
17. The Stone of Destiny - 6/21/15 (S.)*
18. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - 6/21/15 (K.)

Next one's yours!

Woo hoo, happy new thread!

Happy new thread!

Nice new digs!

Happy New Thread! Somehow I missed your first one. It looks like you're having a good reading year so far.

Somehow missed your new thread, Mary. Belated congratulations on that and my wishes for a wonderful weekend.

Happy new thread, Mary!

Thanks Marie, foggi, Laura, Carrie, Paul, and Mamie!

>14 cbl_tn: Better late than never! ;) Glad you found me - anyway, I think I jumped in at your second thread too :)

>15 PaulCranswick: No worries, Paul, I set it up at work and then had such a busy weekend I didn't keep up myself for a couple of days. Hope you had a good weekend.

24. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
TIOLI: One of the author's names starts with "a," "j" or "e"
2015 goal: none

Silver and Red: the haves and the have nots, the leaders and the poor village people who are conscripted into the army if they don't have a job, those with superhuman abilities and those without. Mare Barrow is a Red, and a thief who knows her time is growing short as she's close to reaching the age of eighteen and conscription. But a chance encounter sets her on a new course when she realizes she's neither Red nor Silver but something entirely new. Suddenly thrust into a situation in which she must follow the rules set for her or die, she's going to need all her ingenuity to survive.

I barely scratched the surface of what this book is about because there were a few times that I expected the story to go a certain way, and it surprised me. I read a lot of young adult fantasy; it's hard to surprise me. But this book did, and I really enjoyed my time reading it. It's one of those borderline fantasy and dystopia books that you could give to either reader, because there's magic but there's also the sense that "it could happen." I liked Mare and even though she makes some mistakes, she's believable and easy to root for. The whole idea of Silver and Red was really intriguing. Though it's definitely the first in a series, it's a complete story in and of itself rather than ending on a cliffhanger. Highly recommended for young adult fantasy readers. 4.5 stars.

Added fun fact: the author grew up in a small town right next to mine, and her author bio states its claim to fame for the worst rotary in the continental U.S., which amused me to no end.

I saw this one on Overdrive - looked interesting!

>19 drneutron: Well worth a try, imo, though the reviews on the work page are mixed.

Picture book #8:
Tiptop Cat written and illustrated by C. Roger Mader

A little cat loves his balcony from which he climbs to the rooftops to the "top of the world," until he falls! The pastel illustrations are really well done, and I liked the little mini-panels on two page spreads (definitely more of a sit-on-the-lap than a group read). The landscapes of Paris are pretty neat. The story itself is pretty simply about failing/trying again, though interestingly enough inspired by an actual cat belonging to the author's niece that survived a six-story fall.

25. Irreplaceable by Stephen Lovely
TIOLI: none
2015 goal: set in Iowa/Illinois (I'm counting it toward the latter)

Isabel was an organ donor, and her death sets in motion events in two families, in two states: for her mother Bernice and husband Alex, the pain of losing her; for Janet Corcoran and family, a brand new lease on life with a new heart.

I had a really tough time with this book, not least because I had to finish it for book discussion and was feeling ornery as a result. I didn't particularly like anyone, though I sympathized most with Alex, and I was extremely frustrated with everyone sort of putting pressure on him to meet Janet. Leaving aside the fact that organ donors and recipients' families are anonymous... well, no I can't really leave that aside, because without them intersecting there's basically no point to this book. Alex has his moments of being obnoxious, too, and I was a little disconcerted by the weird relationship he has with his mother-in-law. And Jasper - the man who was driving the car that hit Isabel - was just awful. I hated him. I'm not a huge fan of stories told in present tense, and never got into the story enough to forget that this one was. Finally, the way the narration would just suddenly tell me what a character was thinking or feeling was very jarring. The medical descriptions were really where the writing was at its best; everything else felt like window dressing for the Great Point the author was trying to make. 2 stars.

I was going to rate it higher but there's something about writing the review that made me realize how much I really disliked this story. Maybe my book discussion on Wednesday will turn me around - we shall see.

Book report -

Well, I haven't finished a book so far this week, but I am dogsitting this weekend and all next week, so I expect the numbers to shoot up a bit at the end of the month. Besides work, I've also signed up for Easter choir, so I've had a little less free time than usual. Next month's excuse is going to be baseball secretarial duties, just to give you a head's up.

One of the reasons I haven't finished a book is because I'm reading a couple of titles that I can't just rush through -

Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez is a fascinating look at the Arctic, with each chapter thematically taking on one topic: polar bears, narwhals, ice and light, and more. Lucy (sibyx) read this in 2013, but what really put it on my radar was my sister reading About this Life: Journeys on the Threshold of Memory for English class and recommending the author to me. I have the latter title out from the library too, probably to be read next month.

Epitaph by Mary Doria Russell - The sequel to Doc and oh, so good so far. I love her ability to describe a place and develop a character. I've only read two books by her so far, but I want to read her collected works and don't expect to be disappointed.

Still reading the Genealogy book. I think that might turn into a project that ends in my buying the book.

And finally, since I rushed out of the house this morning and didn't remember to bring one of the books I'm reading, I grabbed Annihilation off the shelves during my first break. The beginning is intriguing already, and if it weren't for the fact that I'm hugely enjoying Epitaph and Arctic Dreams already, I'd drop everything and read it.

Happy spring! Am I ready for it to be here... unfortunately, the weather does not seem to be cooperating, as we're expecting a dusting-1" of snow overnight. On the plus side, however, having more light in the evening is certainly giving me more energy for getting things done after work. I'll be cooking, cleaning, and getting laundry done in preparation for leaving to dog sit starting tomorrow through the 29th.

Bringing along all my "currently reading" books, as I do not expect to finish them. I'm further in Annihilation, and even though I've only been reading it at work I'm making quick progress. Four women - a psychologist, a biologist, an anthropologist, and a surveyor - are the 12th expedition into the mysterious Area X, from which some of the previous expeditions have returned, but no one who goes in returns unscathed. The four find a "tower" coming out of the ground that isn't in any of the maps from any previous expeditions, and they begin exploring it to send reports back to their superiors. The biologist is the narrator, and it's really impossible to say what's going on even though I'm about a fourth of the way into it. I struggle to compare it to any books I've read lately; in fact, to my mind it's most like the TV show Lost in sort of throwing me into an unknown mysterious place and leaving me to sort out the details as they're revealed.

I also forgot to mention Wednesday that I've listened to the warbling lately and have succumbed to listening to How to Train Your Dragon read by David Tennant. Sooo much fun so far!

Okay, so my youngest sister (17) and I are planning a trip together this summer and we're thinking of hiking part of the Appalachian Trail. Maybe a three-day (or four-day depending mostly on my stamina) hike in essentially a loop with some tent sites and huts interspersed. It's a medium-difficulty (good wide trail, heavily used, but over 4,000 feet elevation in some places) according to the guidebooks in the White Mountains.

Anyone who hikes want to chime in with advice? What to expect, what to bring, what to avoid, how to handle bad weather, how to prepare - or guidebooks to read? We've never hiked before (though I've climbed up a couple of mountains, nothing too strenuous), and would have to purchase or borrow equipment; my sister is very athletic and fit, while I am not really but have walked 9 or more miles in a day when on vacation.

My parents especially are a little worried so I'm looking for any information that would 1. make me clear on whether or not this is feasible and 2. be able to reassure/inform them why I think so.

>23 bell7:

Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez ... Lucy (sibyx) read this in 2013
And I too plopped it onto the wishlist at the time...

>23 bell7: Epitaph by Mary Doria Russell
Oh, I didn’t know about this. I read Doc a few years ago, will have to read this.

>26 qebo: I find that my wishlist grows much faster than my reading can keep up, but still I hope... And glad I could put Epitaph on your radar! I'm really enjoying it so far; she's the type of writer whose prose I can just sink into and admire and totally forget I'm reading a book because I'm imagining everything so clearly.

25: Yeah, totally, just don't get eaten by a bear! Or a cannibal.

Advice and reassurance, I'm full of that stuff.

>28 Ape: hahaha well thanks for both for what it's worth. I have a feeling my conversations are going to be working on my sister that this is more work than she thinks (as in, no I'm not sleeping in only a hammock, we are carrying a tent with us) and reassuring my mother it's a trek I can handle (yes I am doing some research and keeping in mind that I'm not in the best of shape. I will prepare as best I know how). Also I'm reasonably sure we won't run into cannibals.

I've finished three books this weekend but don't have a computer with me so expect to post reviews when I get to the library over the next few days because typing is so much easier then. The next one I'm planning on starting is The Country of Ice Cream Star.

Anyone who's keeping up with NCAA March Madness might like to know my bracket is already a mess. I had Villanova winning it all and they were best by a number 8 seed yesterday. Fortunately I play for small stakes and worst case scenario I owe my brother an ice cream sundae when Kentucky wins.

Edited to make the touchstone work.

Finally making it to your new thread, Mary. Red Queen sounds interesting.

Hi Mary! You got me with Red Queen -- looks like a good one!

What a wonderful adventure to plan with your sister! Ambitious, too. I wish I had advice to give you or equipment to loan, but alas, I do not. I say go for it! You and your sister will be creating a wonderful memory together.

>30 ronincats: happy to see you here, Roni! I hope you enjoy Red Queen as much as I did.

>31 AMQS: Hi Anne, we'll see what ends up happening with our ambitious plans, though I do hope it works out. One of my friends has hiked quite a bit and I think he'd be able to give me some tips. I hope you like Red Queen too!

The promised reviews:

26. Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
TIOLI: Something you should beware of in the title
2015 goal: none

Four women - a psychologist, a biologist, an anthropologist, and a surveyor - are the 12th expedition into the mysterious Area X, from which some of the previous expeditions have returned, but no one who goes in returns unscathed. The biologist, our otherwise unnamed narrator, tells the story of their exploration and the discovery of a "tower" that tunnels into the ground and isn't on any of the maps.

I read a lot of fantasy and a smattering of science fiction, but I was hard-pressed to come up with a comparison for Annihilation which was compelling, apparently set in the future but without high tech gear, and had atmosphere in spades. The closest I can come up with is the TV show Lost which likewise threw me into a complicated and unexplained weird scenario, leaving me to put bits and pieces together along with the character. The biologist is an interesting character/narrator in the way she slowly reveals not only what she discovers about Area X but also her past and what made her want to come out here in the first place. 4.5 stars.

And of course I have to read the other books in the trilogy now. Thankfully none are particularly long - this one clocks in at 195 pages and reads very fast.

27. How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell, read by David Tennant - audio
TIOLI: would also, I suppose, fit in something you should beware of (dragon)
2015 goal: none

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III is a skinny kid and not really expected to live up to his father Stoick the Vast's reputation as Viking chief of the Hooligan tribe, let alone his long name. From the very first page when he and his fellow initiates are sent into a dragon cave to get their dragons, you know that shenanigans will abound; what you don't know is exactly how hard Hiccup will have to work to become a Hero.

On the recommendation of several fellow LTers, I listened to the audio of this kid's story read by David Tennant. His hilarious narration was worth it, and I enjoyed every over-the-top and ridiculous adventure Hiccup and Toothless, and their friends and enemies. It's definitely a kid's story, lots of jokes that are the equivalent of fart jokes (even just the names of the characters are meant to get a laugh), and very different from the movie but every bit as enjoyable. I'm still puzzling over how Hiccup can be "the third" when his father's name is Stoick, but you know... whatever. Recommended. 4 stars.

28. Epitaph by Mary Doria Russell
TIOLI: shared read for a book published in 2015
2015 goal: set in Arizona (mostly)

Continuing the story began in Doc, Epitaph follows the stories of the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday, as well as Josie Marcus, in the tale of what happened once they reached Tombstone. Focusing mostly on the events leading up to the infamous fight, and giving us Wyatt Earp's story afterward, Mary Doria Russell does a phenomenal job of presenting these characters, sympathetic for all their flaws, and the political maneuverings both in the town and country that impacted the gunfight at the O.K. Corrall and how it was forever immortalized.

This was one of those books that I loved so much it's hard to write coherently about why. I had just finished a book in which the writing style did not impress me, and when I first started reading this one and sinking into the assured descriptions, thought "This is how a book should be written." And my opinion never really changed afterwards. A plain foreshadowing - and sometimes outright telling of future events - is strung throughout the book, and even though I really didn't know the details, I found this an effective way of ratcheting up tension whether you were familiar with historical events or not. I can't recommend these books (two - because Doc really should be read first) highly enough. 5 stars.

Library book list (so I can keep track):

1. The Country of Ice Cream Star by Sandra Newman - reading, due back 3/31, no renewals
2. Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez - reading, due back 3/31, no renewals
3. How to do Everything. Genealogy by George C. Morgan - reading, due back 3/25, two renewals
4. Prudence by Gail Carriger - due back 3/31, one renewal
5. About this Life: Journeys on the Threshold of Memory by Barry Lopez - due back 3/25, two renewals
6. Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou - due back 4/5, one renewal
7. Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman - due back 4/14, one renewal

Books I own that I was hoping to get to this month:
My Promised Land by Ari Shavit and
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman

Picture book: The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsch

Order of starting fiction:
Prudence
Shadow Scale

Order of nonfiction:
About This Life
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
My Promised Land
Mom & Me & Mom

I'll most likely be reading one nonfiction and one fiction at a time, as per usual. The Country of Ice Cream Star startled me by being written in a sort of dialect, so it's much slower reading that I expected, but I'm giving it about 60 pages since that's about what it took me to adjust to The Knife of Never Letting Go (which is the closest comparison I've got for books I've read like this). So while I won't be reading phenomenally fast this week, I feel pretty good about being able to finish all the books I have checked out if I keep my current steady reading pace. I'm not sure I'll manage to read any of my own books, however, especially considering the two I brought with me to dogsit are both nonfiction. I'm perfectly okay with finishing About This Life in late April, but I know I have to start it soon to be able to take my time just like with Arctic Dreams. These are not books I can rush.

I feel like this is a theme with my first quarter reading - I start out strong, and then read nothing of my own in March (and buy a bunch of new books at the Friends' book sale in April). :::sigh:::

Happy Birthday Mary!!

Happy Birthday, Mary!

Thanks, Nora and Darryl!

Happy birthday! Oh, and Annihilation looks great.

>38 drneutron: Thanks, Jim! I think Annihilation is right up your alley.

29. Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez
TIOLI: nope
2015 goal: a little bit arbitrarily, I'm counting this towards Canada since a lot of where he travels and what he focuses on is set in the Canadian Arctic.

This is a fascinating look at the Arctic, with each chapter thematically taking on one topic: polar bears, narwhals, ice and light, the history of polar exploration, and much more. Throughout, Lopez riffs on the theme of landscape, and our relationship with the land itself shaping us and shaping how we view it.

I haven't read many books that would fit into this category, if I can call it a category, of philosophical nature writing. The closest authors I can think of - and it's a stretch thematically on the one hand and stylistically on the other - are Henry David Thoreau and E.B. White. But if you like thoughtful writing, history, travel and nature, it's definitely worth a try. Just don't expect to read it very fast, as his dense style will take some getting used to. 4.5 stars.

I mentioned that Lucy (sibyx) read this a couple years back, and highly recommend taking a look at her review as a more in-depth review. I had a hard time summarizing this book and didn't want to duplicate what she already said so well.

Have a wonderful birthday!

Yes, happy happy happy birthday. Any plans?

>41 rosylibrarian: Thanks, Marie!

>42 streamsong: Thank you! Nothing in particular is planned for today itself - I had work and choir practice, and I'm dogsitting this week. But Monday I had off and went shopping with my mom, and this coming Sunday I'll have a small family party. I have decided that tonight is a takeout night and I'm not cooking, so that will be my treat to myself.

*Happy Birthday Hugs*

Wishing you a happy birthday, on the late side; it seems to have been a pleasant one.

>33 bell7: Annihilation
Hmm, looks kinda interesting...

Best wishes to you today and every day, Mary!

Happy Birthday, Mary!! Hope you've had a great day.

Happy Birthday, Mary!

>44 Ape: Thanks, Stephen! *hugs* back

>45 qebo: Thanks, Katherine, it was. Annihilation is a great "give it a try book" because it's short and you'll figure out pretty quickly if the style works for you or not. I feel more familiar with your nonfiction taste than your fiction, I'm afraid, so I'm not giving you quite the strong recommendation I gave to Jim. ;)

>46 AMQS: Thank you, Anne!

>47 ronincats: Thanks, Roni, I did! I got takeout ('cause why cook on my birthday?), and though it was a busy day I felt pretty loved. I had texts from friends and family throughout the day and even a Snapchat from one of my sisters friends, ha! My mom and sister stopped in to see me at work and gave me a rose (Mom) and apple caramel goodie (sister). I had a package of gifts from a friend waiting for me where I was dogsitting when I got out of work, and the choir even sang happy birthday to me.

>48 scaifea: Thanks, Amber!

Oh, and my other sister is coming up to visit this weekend, so my whole family will be here to get together for cake & ice cream on Sunday. :) (I also had goodies at work today, so I feel like I managed to milk this into a birthday week...and it's not even a milestone!).

Darn, I missed your birthday. Happy belated Birthday, Mary!

>50 lkernagh: Thanks, Lori!

DNF #1 The Country of Ice Cream Star by Sandra Newman

Well, I made it nearly a quarter into the year without abandoning a book, but I'm afraid that streak has ended. If you've been reading my notes about it, you know that I've been feeling ambivalent about The Country of Ice Cream Star. The basic description is right up my alley: groups of teens living in a post-apocalyptic world where no one lives past the age of 20 discover a "roo," a mysterious pale-skinned guy named Pasha who claims to be 30 and know of a cure for "posies," the plague that takes their older members in various violent ways. Ice Cream is part of the Sengles, and she wants to work with the Armies and the Lowells (the other groups living in the "Massa" (Massachusetts) woods) to go after this cure. Right. So. Here's why I stopped reading:

The patois/dialect took a little getting used to, to start off with. It did start clicking for me, especially once I noticed that a lot of the words I was having the most trouble with were based on French. So, that done away with, I started reading faster. But the main problem was the attitudes towards sex. I get that in a world where you don't reach 20, there needs to be procreation and at a young age. Ice Cream is fifteen... she falls in love (or thinks she does?) with the NewKing of the Army group - and has at least what seems to be to be described (not graphically) as rough sex with him. You find out, in fact, that the Armies regularly un-name and rape women, and the King always comes and soothes them and makes nice (even though he was once part of the raping himself before he was king). Excuse me but... whaaaat?. The Armies are also those who are the only group accepting gay men (no mention of women). Oh, and when Ice Cream finds out what the Armies/King really do, she turns around that same night and has sex with the leader of the Lowells. Again... what? I've been thinking about pushing on a little further, seeing what happens when the Sengles and the Lowells leave for the cure - yes, it's 182 pages and they haven't left yet - but I'm running out of steam. I looked over the reviews for the book, which are predictably mixed with Booklist giving it a starred review and Kirkus being much more reserved. Some mention crossover appeal for YAs (because the characters are in their teens, I'm assuming), but none of them mention my reservations - and I would be hard-pressed to recommend it to teens I know, given them.

So yeah, back to the library and on to a new title.

Picture book #9: The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko

Hahahahahahaha *deep breath* hahahahahaha

Ahem... *wipes eyes*

This picture book classic (it's older than me, so yes, it's classic) tells the story of Princess Elizabeth who takes off after a dragon who steals her intended Prince and burns all her clothes - thus, the paper bag, which is the only un-burned thing our intrepid princess can find to wear. The illustrations are cartoon-style and on the opposing pages of the text. And it's freaking hilarious. I can't believe I never read this before.

By the way, for anyone wondering I'm working today and read The Paper Bag Princess while on the reference desk. I had to try to keep my response quiet so one of our more, erm, traditional patrons wouldn't be pissed off by gales of laughter.

LOL! Yes, 'traditional' library patrons do like their quiet, don't they? Love your response to The Paper Bag Princess. I read Knucklehead in the library at lunch, and some kids who came in requested it on the spot.

Good call to abandon The Country of Ice Cream Star.

>55 AMQS: Indeed they do :) And thanks, I actually did snort out loud and one of my co-workers came over to see what was so funny. She had recommended The Paper Bag Princess and thought my response was hysterical.

Oooh, I see I shall have to look up Knucklehead. I'm afraid my only Jon Scieszka reading was The Stinky Cheese Man and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, both of which I love so I have no good excuse for not reading more. And yeah, I was feeling ambivalent and once I'd talked it out realized, "Why force myself when I have a pile of books at home calling my name?" So I picked up Prudence when I got back from work and am happily immersed in the tongue-in-cheek and over-the-top humor of the new Gail Carriger steampunk series.

The Paper Bag Princess was my favorite when I was little!

...Paper Bag Princess...wha'...erm...

xoxo

One of Charlie's friends at school was going to dress up as the Paper Bag Princess for the dress-up day (until, that is, the last-minute theme change...)!

>57 norabelle414: Somehow I missed it entirely as a kid, but otoh that doesn't really surprise me because I didn't read picture books for long... Anyway, it was just as much fun as an adult because I didn't know what was coming.

>58 richardderus: *smooch* Sending you a couple of BookPages this afternoon, Richard.

>59 scaifea: Awww, that would've been cute!

Today's my first day back from dogsitting, so I had a crazy long list of "to dos" at home. As I was going through them this morning I realized to my great joy that only a few of them were "must dos" today and I made pretty good progress even so.

I'm now at work, for a short day (3-8) and a program - The Graveyard Girls - coming to show photos from our town's cemeteries. I believe I am expecting two representatives from the cemetery commission who are concerned that such a program will encourage un-permitted and unauthorized grave rubbings (even though it's photographs and talking about the history of gravestone decoration), but hey that's two more people attending the program right? And an interest in town history is a great thing...

It's been a busy last few days, and I've only had the energy for my one light book, Prudence by Gail Carriger. I should finish it soon and haven't decided what to pick up next, but it's probably going to be more light reading as I have something planned (either work or obligations) every night this week.

>61 bell7: You have to have a permit to make rubbings of gravestones? Wow.

I suppose it could potentially damage old/brittle gravestones. *Shrug*

>62 foggidawn: Yeah, I guess each town is a little different what they'll allow and what they won't (some won't let you at all or don't advertise it), and Brenda - yesterday's presenter - said that our town was really good about posting right there when you enter the graveyard that it *is* allowed, just with the right materials and a permit.

>63 Ape: I'm pretty sure that's the idea, though I don't really know enough about rubbings to be sure.

I will say the presentation was phenomenal. Brenda gave a presentation on the history of gravestone decorations from colonial times to the present, using photos she'd taken just the day before in the town's cemeteries and others from local cemeteries that illustrated what she was talking about. She addressed the gravestone rubbing upfront (which is why I know what I know in my response to foggi above), and the commissioners had some really useful brochures that they had brought as well. I had 35 people show up, including local access TV making a recording out of it. Everyone was extremely attentive and very enthusiastic in their comments to me afterwards. I was super thrilled.

And good grief, with this kind of response maybe I'll try to work with the cemetery commission and historical society in town to have a gravestone rubbing class...

30. Prudence by Gail Carriger
TIOLI: Last name longer than a first name
2015 goal: not unless I count it as being set in India, but that seems cheating

Twenty years or so after events in Timeless, this new series following Alexia Maccon's daughter Prudence (or Rue to her friends) introduces a whole new set of characters. Rue was adopted by Lord Akeldama, so you know she's had an, erm, original upbringing with a werewolf birth father, a soulless mother, and a vampire adoptive father. Rue herself is "metanatural" - that is, if she touches a supernatural being such as a werewolf, she will be able to take their form and leave them mortal while she is close enough to be tethered to them. "Dama" as she calls her adoptive father sends her to India after some tea, and it's not long before Rue and her friends (Prim and Percy, the twin kids of Ivy Tunstell and Quesnel Lefoux, son of the leader of a hive of vampires) find out there's much more going on than meets the eye.

Even if you haven't read the Parasol Protectorate books, you will be given enough backstory to follow what's happening in the madcap adventures of young Rue, her best friend Prim, Prim's brother Percy, and Quesnel Lefoux. These books are an odd mix of steampunk Victorian London, manners, and just over-the-top situations and cheeky humor. The best comparison I have is Thursday Next, and that's not quite right either, but it's that same sort of blendy thing that only works for some. Fortunately, it works for me most of the time. 4 stars.

I probably would've rated it higher if I hadn't liked Soulless and some of the others so much - Prudence reads a bit younger to me, and not just because Rue is twenty but because I was having an easier time thinking of teens to recommend it to than adults: even the cover tends that way. It never takes itself too seriously, which was exactly what I needed and somewhat maddening at the same time.

I just started my next book, The Templar Legacy which I suddenly realized yesterday that I need to have finished reading by April 16, along with a second "adventure" title. Oops.

Picture book #10: Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall

A crayon that is labeled red but really draws another color can't fit in until someone realizes he may not be able to draw strawberries but he makes a phenomenal ocean! The illustrations are crayon drawings and cut paper that have been combined digitally, and are great because any kid who knows his colors will figure out very quickly what color the "red" crayon really is and tells a not-too-preachy story about being yourself.

March in review -

21. Bossypants by Tina Fey - audio
22. Marked by Sarah Fine
23. Nest by Esther Ehrlich
24. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
25. Irreplaceable by Stephen Lovely
26. Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
27. How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell - audio
28. Epitaph by Mary Doria Russell
29. Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez
30. Prudence by Gail Carriger

Books read: 8
Audiobooks listened to: 2
Graphic novels/Manga: 0
Picture books: 3
Adult/Teen/Children's: 6/2/2
Fiction/Nonfiction/Poetry/Plays: 8/2/0/0
Library/Mine/Borrowed: 10/0/0

Standouts: Epitaph was by far my favorite of the bunch (definitely one of my top of the year so far), with Red Queen and Arctic Dreams coming in next.

Thoughts: I'm well along in reading picture books and just on target at the quarter for reading books in different countries, but have fallen behind in almost every other goal. Not so much that I couldn't "catch up," but not great either. I read none of my own books this month, oops. But there were mostly good reads, a handful of clunkers, and one DNF. I finished a full half of them from March 21 on (thank you, dogsitting!).

Original publication dates read (year-to-date):

2015 - 6
2014 - 10
2013 - 1
2012 - 2
2011 - 1
2010 - 1
2009 - 2
2005 - 1
2003 - 1

1998 - 1
1986 - 1
1969 - 1
1947 - 1

1861 - 1

Color me unimpressed by The Templar Legacy so far. It's a thriller/adventure like The Da Vinci Code which isn't my favorite genre to start with, and add in prose that sounds like the author was sitting there with a thesaurus and never read it aloud and it's already a chore. I got the audio version out from the library today in an attempt to skim over the really rotten writing. Even if it sounds grating, I can knit at the same time and feel like I'm accomplishing something.

Disclaimer: I would've just put it down as a DNF (actually, I wouldn't have picked it up), but I'm reading it for my genre study in two weeks.

The graveyard presentation sounds fascinating, and what a great turnout!!

I'm glad you enjoyed Prudence--I found it fun. And yes, I also was thinking it would be great for school libraries because it doesn't have the lusty elements of the Parasol Protectorate. I think it feels so YA because the characters are still exploring possible romantic relationships.

>69 ronincats: I really enjoyed it, Roni, it had a great blend of history and local content. And Prudence was fun - that's a good way to explain the YA feel of it, I think, though it will be interesting to see what happens in the sequel.

I got 'em, thank you too much!

Oh excellent! And fast wow i posted those Monday before work.

A thesaurus is handy, and after reading The Professor and the Madman I can understand how some people like obscure words, but it's important for an author to remember why they are writing, and if it's to stroke their own ego then the resulting book will likely be terrible.

I hope it becomes more tolerable with time.

>73 Ape: Yeah, it's not even that he's using particularly obscure words, it's just that if he can find a circumlocutory way of putting things, he will. For example: "De Roquefort found the manor house precisely where the information he'd requested had directed. Once he'd learned who was working with Peter Hansen to buy the book, it had taken his lieutenant only half an hour to compile a dossier. Now he was starting at the stately home of the book's high bigger - Henrik Thorvaldsen - and it all made sense" (86).

(That first sentence still kills me - "precisely where the information he'd requested had directed" when there's absolutely no reason not to say "exactly where his lieutenant said it would be.")

For the record, I enjoy obscure words especially when used in such a way that no other word would have exactly the right meaning in that context. I don't like it when big words and long sentences obscure meaning.

Potential TIOLIs for April:

Challenge #1 Rhymes with Rain - Cabin: Two Brothers, a Dream, and Five Acres in Maine by Lou Ureneck - mine
Challenge #2 Green Book - Of Other Worlds by C.S. Lewis - mine
Challenge #4 Job Title or Occupation - How to Be a Pirate by Cressida Cowell - audio - DONE (moved to #3 narrator different gender from author)
Challenge #6 Gov't or Agency Plays a Part - Authority by Jeff VanderMeer
Challenge #10 Legacy Library Share - Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare - mine
Challenge #11 Four Letter Word - My Sunshine Away by M.O. Walsh
Challenge #13 Cover I Love - Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman - DONE
Challenge #16 Island in Title/Author - Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson (Horse Island in Connecticut) - DONE
Challenge #17 Feminism - Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou - DONE
Challenge #19 "And" in the Middle - Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian - DONE
Challenge #20 Character is a Widow - The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry - DONE
Challenge #22 Tree in the Title - Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch
Challenge #23 Subtitle - About this Life: Journeys on the Threshold of Memory by Barry Lopez - reading

Other books I couldn't fit anywhere:
How to do Everything Genealogy

I seriously doubt I will read them all, but it's nice to see them laid out so I can "plan" my reading (who am I kidding? It won't be planned except for making sure I read by book group books).

Oh yay, there's gonna be a sequel to The Day the Crayons Quit! http://bookpage.com/the-book-case/17855-exclusive-cover-reveal-day-crayons-came-...

>76 bell7: Ha! That's awesome!

>76 bell7: Yeah, I've already pre-ordered it. *snork!*

>77 foggidawn: :D

>78 scaifea: Haha, that's fantastic, Amber! I'll be looking for it in the library catalog soon before it comes out myself ;)

Struggling to catch up Mary (the TIOLIs look enticing this month) but have just got time to wish you a lovely Easter holiday.

>80 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul, Happy Easter to you and yours!

Happy Easter, everyone! It's been a busy day (weekend...) here, as I was singing in choir this morning and had dinner at mom & dad's. I did manage to finish that terrible book I've been reading for work all week and shall review it shortly. But first I'm off to make corrections to my taxes and get them ready to send them out tomorrow. Woohoo! It's such a load off my shoulders to be nearly finished with them (and the crappy book)!

31. The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry
TIOLI: Character who's a widow
2015 goal: Nope. It's not really set in Denmark enough for me to count it towards that, and unfortunately France has already been "read."

Former U.S. Justice Department operative Cotton Malone is retired and living a quiet life as a bookseller in Denmark, until his former boss, Stephanie Nelle, comes to town and has her purse stolen by an unnamed man who kills himself rather than be captured by authorities. Knowing there must be more going on and not willing to back down when Stephanie refuses his help, Cotton soon finds himself in a high-stakes chase through France involving historical riddles that were the pet project of Stephanie's now-dead husband, Lars.

This was the benchmark adventure title that I read for a genre study with other librarians, so I was being a little contrary to start with because I wouldn't have chosen to read the book and suddenly realized, "Oh shoot, I have to read two adventure books in two weeks and I completely forgot." So I started out with a rotten attitude. The book did nothing to change that around. It's similar to The Da Vinci Code, with its mix of historical clues, riddles, and secrets. Unlike the compelling pacing ("I must find out what's happening") that I recall in reading The Da Vinci Code, this one had stops and starts in the action when characters would sit down and read or discuss a text, trying to figure out the clues. The writing style grated on me, with roundabout ways of putting things that sounded just a tad melodramatic:

"De Roquefort found the manor house precisely where the information he'd requested had directed. Once he'd learned who was working with Peter Hansen to buy the book, it had taken his lieutenant only half an hour to compile a dossier. Now he was staring at the stately home of the book's high bidder - Henrik Thorvaldsen - and it all made sense" (86).

"But another part of his psyche urged him forward, to the unknown, outside, toward whatever truth the master so obviously knew" (172).

" 'We need to move quickly,' the seneschal made clear...(a paragraph of text in between). 'Stay there,' the seneschal made clear to them" (194).

"Cassiopeia did not push the point but on her brow was the shadow of mutiny. And Malone did not necessarily disagree with her impulse" (349 - and I think he means instinct or intuition not to trust another character rather than "impulse").

Besides using "made clear" instead of "said" multiple times, the characters themselves have a habit of saying something was "made clear" or that's "precisely" what a text meant. At one point, a character says his "peace" rather than "piece." Because I wasn't too interested in the story to begin with, these tics stood out to me and I found myself stopping to rage at the text (and lack of editing).

So it was challenging to say the least, and I happily would've given up in about 50 pages if it weren't for the fact that I had to discuss it for our genre study. I will happily put this aside for my next book, which if nothing else will be better than this one. 1 star.

Until I read this book, I would've sworn up and down that I'm not a book snob, but I'm having a really tough time thinking to whom I might recommend The Templar Legacy. I really hated the writing style and never could get past that, and I'm sure it didn't help that the last time we discussed literary fiction (though come to think of it, I didn't love that book either). Maybe I just have a bad memory, but I don't remember The Da Vinci Code being this poorly written, otherwise I'd say fans of that book would eat this up.

Happy belated birthday and happy Easter, Mary! I have been enjoying your reviews. I like how to can put spoilers blanked out.

>83 bell7: I unfortunately had the same reaction, Mary. I thought it looked like an interesting, fun read, and the poor writing was a real let-down.

>83 bell7: I've never tried Steve Berry, but it doesn't look like this is a place to start.

>84 billiejean: Thanks, BJ! I rather like the spoiler tag myself, as both the reviewer and the reader to be able to talk about the story without giving it away to those who haven't yet read it.

>85 jnwelch: Glad to know someone else had the same reaction, Joe, especially since one of my brothers (who reads more what I would call "literary" and even more difficult or experimental writing than I enjoy) looked at the sentences I pulled out and said, "What's wrong with that? I know what he means." But I found it very irritating.

>86 rosylibrarian: It is the first in the Cotton Malone series, but I'd be curious to learn from one of his avid readers if it gets better or not. He's written some standalones, too.

32. Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou
TIOLI: none
2015 goal: mostly set in California

Readers of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the best known of poet Maya Angelou's autobiographies, know that her mother, Vivian Baxter, her children Maya (then Marguerite) and Bailey Johnson, Jr. to Stamps, Arkansas to be raised by their paternal grandmother. Late in that memoir, Maya and her brother rejoin their mother in California, but that story only scratches the surface of the unique relationship Maya and Vivian forge as daughter and mother.

Rereading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings for my book club in January solidified for me that I wanted to read more of Maya Angelou's works, and this one in particular caught my interest because Vivian seemed such an enigma to me in the first book. Some of the stories from the original classic are retold in this one, and some were new to me, but through them all we see Maya's and her mother's bond and the way in which Vivian impacted her life as a teenager and adult. Their relationship was loving and strong and complex. Maya herself acknowledges this in the opening section: "Love heals. Heals and liberates. I use the word love, not meaning sentimentality, but a condition so strong that it may be that which holds the stars in their heavenly positions and that which causes the blood to flower orderly in our veins" (x). In some ways, Mom & Me & Mom reminds me of The End of Your Life Book Club in exploring that loving relationship, though it was less about books and more about memories, it was similarly a tribute to a yes, imperfect, but truly beloved mother. 4 stars.

Nice review. I'd like to read more Angelou, too, and this sounds like a good place to start.

I enjoyed that review also. I haven't ready any of Maya Angelou, but some books by her are sitting around the house.

>89 streamsong: Thanks, Janet! I hope you enjoy it if/when you get to it. I really enjoy Angelou's prose (and some of her poetry, for that matter) and I'm glad I finally got around to reading more.

>90 billiejean: BJ, personally I'd recommend starting with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings as her first and best known, and it sort of gives you a framework of knowing her childhood and teenage years before something a little harder to follow chronologically like Mom & Me & Mom (that is, I think it's chronological, mostly, but it often harkened back to those stories from the first book). Definitely worthwhile reading!

>91 bell7: Which of her poetry books would you recommend? I was just thinking that April is poetry month and I'm not reading any.

>92 streamsong: Hmmm, the only one I've read was And Still I Rise. She had a CD that's like a rap/poetry mix where she's reciting her works with music too. There's also (though I haven't read either) a Complete Poetry works and Just Give Me A Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diiie.

I, too, have to get on the ball with reading a volume of poetry this month. Decisions...

I've got the complete collected Maya Angelou and would recommend it, although I tend to dip into poetry books rather than read them cover to cover. The sound of a CD with her reading the poetry sounds even better than the book, imho.

>94 charl08: Sorry, I wasn't clear about it. It's not a complete works CD... It's called Caged Bird Songs, and some of them are available through the website I linked to.
If there's an audio version of her reading her poetry, though, I would definitely check that out.

Updating my "currently reading" list which is getting too big because what do I do if I know it'll take me awhile to finish a book? Start another one.

1. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson - this is my book group read for Wednesday, and I'm aiming to finish it Monday. Just under halfway through, so a reasonable goal. The writing style takes a little getting used to, and I almost think it would work well as an audiobook with its mix of very spare sentences and fragments with longer sentences and phrases connected by comma splices. A quiet story that I am enjoying reading in the evenings.

2. Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman - My fun reading, but I've been just reading a couple of pages at a time at night when I'm too tired to process Out Stealing Horses. Oops. Hoping to give it more of a shot over the weekend and once I've finished book group. It's the sequel to Seraphina, which I really enjoyed reading when it came out.

3. How to be a Pirate by Cressida Cowell, audiobook read by David Tennant - now that choir's finished, I'm listening to audiobooks in the car again, and this fits the bill as being funny, short and not taking all that much brain power to "read" on my commute to work. (that first statement doesn't make sense without context, does it? I'm an alto, and was listening to my "parts" CD of the four songs we sang for Good Friday and Easter almost every day on my way to work).

4. About this Life: Journeys on the Threshold of Memory by Barry Lopez - I basically started this now because it's what I felt like reading this morning, and I know it will take me awhile to finish this collection of essays. I really enjoyed his Arctic Dreams, and this is the title my sister read and recommended.

Just checking in briefly... I'm nearly finished a couple of books and a knitting project, so updates coming soon!

I had an author fair at the library today, with eight local authors coming out to give brief introductions and sign/sell their books. I thought it went rather well for a first attempt (on my part), with 30-35 people coming out even if they were mostly friends and family of the authors. I'm definitely hoping to do it again in the future, but man, by the time the program was over I was beat! I took a nap this afternoon and have just been knitting and reading otherwise. The nap might make me stay up a bit later tonight, but that's okay as I have a book group selection for Wednesday to finish and then I have to make headway on my second "adventure" title, Master and Commander, for Thursday.

33. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
TIOLI: island in the title/author
2015 goal: set in Norway

A chance encounter causes Trond, a widower in his sixties living in near-solitude, to reflect on the pivotal summer of 1948 that began when his friend Jon invited him along to steal horses.

This quiet, contemplative book focuses on only a few characters and sort of sneaks up on you with what it's really about. The parts of the narrative present (soon before the turn of the 21st century) are told in present tense, while 1948 and other years are in past tense, which was structurally very helpful for remembering if we were with 67-year-old or 15-year-old Trond. He speaks sometimes in sentence fragments and sometimes in run-ons, much like you might imagine someone's thoughts to run on, stop and start, when he or she is alone. Trond claims he is lucky, and while we see glimpses of that, much of this story focuses on his profound sense of loss and coming to grips with grief and regret, all wrapped up in that one life-changing summer where he learned so much about his father and himself. 4 stars.

This is a really tough book to try to sum up without giving spoilers, especially since not much *happens* narratively, that it's all about the feel and the characters and their interactions. It sort of sneaked up on me, and I had a really hard time rating it. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes out of the book club discussion this Wednesday.

34. How to be a Pirate by Cressida Cowell, narrated by David Tennant - audio
TIOLI: Name of a profession
2015: none

Hiccup, Fishlegs, Toothless, and friends are back. This time, they're in the process of training to be Viking pirates, when a coffin stating very clearly "DO NOT OPEN" carries the very much alive Alvin, the Poor but Honest Farmer, to the Hairy Hooligan tribe with a tail of pirate treasure to be had, if only they would follow in the footsteps of Hiccup's ancestor, Grimbeard the Ghastly. Shenanigans and over-the-top adventurous situations ensue. These are amusing, and David Tennant does a fabulous job as narrator. The only thing I could wish is for the sound to be mixed a little better, as the quiet parts are very quiet and then a Viking leader bellows, and it's rather difficult commuting listening. 3.5 stars.

>97 bell7: Sounds like the kind of event I would love to attend (but hats off to you as organiser). >98 bell7: Sounds intriguing, hope that you have a good book club discussion.

>100 charl08: Thanks! It was a fun event, and the kind of thing that on repeating will still take a lot of work, but not quite as much as the first time. I hope to do it again with a brand-new set of authors next year. I'll give you an update after book discussion ;) We've managed to have very intriguing discussions even when I didn't like the book and sometimes really struggled to talk about books I enjoyed (At Home, I'm looking at you).

It's not quite finished because I have to weave in the ends, but I've essentially finished the baby blanket for my expected niece (my sister's due in August):



And because the big picture came out a little blurry on my phone camera, here's a view with a clearer look at the lace pattern, with my hand next to it for scaling:



The color doesn't show up great, but it's kind of a sea/mint green and has some sparkle to it. My sister's coming up Memorial Day weekend for the shower, and I also have to work on a Christmas stocking (I'm aiming for when I go down for the National Book Festival in September) so I thought the timing was rather perfect.

Oooh, lovely baby blanket! Well done!

>103 scaifea: Thanks, Amber! Between misreading the pattern and an error in it, there's a slight difference in what I did and how the pattern was supposed to turn out, but I was very pleased with my variation ;)

>104 bell7: Well, you know, you're supposed to put at least a small mistake in all of your weaving/knitting, so that Athene won't get jealous...

>102 bell7: Gorgeous!

>105 scaifea: Ha! Well, in this case I read it backwards, which is why the stockinette stitch between the pattern repeats shows up so nicely. So it was kind of a big mistake, but because I was consistent it doesn't really show.

>106 norabelle414: Thanks, Nora!

>107 bell7: And *that* comment reminds me of what my piano teacher used to tell me - it's okay to make mistakes now and then - it's inevitable - but what makes one a good player is the ability not to hesitate when it happens, keep on playing and cover up the fact that you made a mistake! Ha!

>108 scaifea: It's very true in music (our choir director says the same thing - just keep singing, don't stop!) and in knitting. Also in most cases someone who doesn't know the craft won't notice a small mistake anyways unless you *do* stop.

>102 bell7: So lovely! I have a nephew coming next month and I'm afraid I'm not so talented as to make anything for him...

Beautiful blanket, Mary, with original variation!

>110 rosylibrarian: Thanks, Marie! And congrats on your nephew - we get to see pictures next month, I hope?

>111 ronincats: Why thank you, Roni, I like to consider that it's one of a kind because of my variations :D

35. Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian
TIOLI: "And" in the center of the title
2015 goal: Hm, not really though it is set in the Mediterranean I couldn't quite get myself to count it for Spain.

Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin met quite by accident and not under the best of circumstances: Maturin, annoyed with Aubrey's unconscious antics during a concert, elbowed him in the side. Despite this inauspicious beginning, they soon became fast friends and when Aubrey is given command of the Sophie, a brig sailing the Mediterranean during the Napoleonic Wars, he asks Dr. Maturin along as ship's surgeon.

I've had this first in a long and well-loved series on my to be read list for some time now, and finally did start reading the book this week, prompted by needing to read an "adventure" title for a librarian workshop this month. I've been cautioned that this is not the best in the series but that it sets much of the groundwork for the rest of the series, and I can see how that would be the case. There are some hints of the characters' pasts which I would love to see delved into more fully, and I did like the friendship between Jack and Stephen and the respect of the sailing men on board the Sophie. The book is chockablock full of naval terms and details, some of which I surprisingly learned and retained and others which I just ignored for the time being. Capturing prizes and fighting the Spanish and French make for exciting storytelling, and I enjoyed the historical details as well. The ending felt a bit rushed, but still there's enough here that I'd be more than happy to continue reading the series. 4 stars.

Oh goodness, I forgot to give a book discussion report. On Wednesday, we discussed Out Stealing Horses, which one person really didn't like but the rest of us liked it to a lesser or greater degree. We had a fascinating discussion about Trond and whether or not he's an active participant or just reactive to various events, and the effects of these events on him. Is his solitude a good thing or a hint of depression? Some of us found particular descriptions very evocative, and that came up too.

I had a really tough time answering the discussion questions that went with the book - they felt to me a little like my college English classes where the professor would give us quizzes to make sure we read the book and even when I had I looked at it cross-eyed trying to think of that one scene that was pulled out and wondering what happened again? Anyway, I told my discussion group that instead of me asking all the questions that I'd like to try something different and go in kind of a round robin where they all asked questions too - whether on our list or that they had when reading. We never made it directly in a circle, but the discussion was so lively with everyone jumping in with questions and comments that it really didn't matter. I felt like I had a better understanding of the book at the end of the discussion than I had before.

36. Born Standing Up by Steve Martin - audio

Actor/comedian Steve Martin looks back on his life in stand up comedy, starting with his early years in California selling guidebooks and learning magician's tricks at Disneyland, to his wild success in the '70s and 80s.

I picked the audio up because it was read by the author and I expected it to be something like Tina Fey's Bossypants. I was in for a bit of a surprise, since it was either a straight-up memoir or so tongue-in-cheek that I never got the joke. So I was wrong-footed from the start and quickly found myself not really the reader for this book, as I'm completely unfamiliar with Steve Martin's stand-up routines (his heyday was before I was born) and only interested in some of the material he covers. But since this is definitely a case of "it's me, not the book," please don't be put off. If you're interested in a behind the scenes look into what was going on in Steve's life during his time as a comedian, it's a forthright and personal picture of exactly that. 3 stars.

It's really hard to feel fair about that rating - it's what I felt, but this isn't really the type of book I would've chosen for an audio. I'm much more visual than auditory so I found it easy to get distracted and... yeah, it just wasn't the right book at the right time.

>115 bell7: That's good to know, because I've wanted to read this one after enjoying his fictional novels.

>116 rosylibrarian: I'm sure it's perfectly enjoyable as long as you know what you're getting into! I haven't tried his fiction, but I'm thinking about doing so sometime down the road.

Stopping by to say how much I like the baby blanket. You did a fantastic job.... the pattern is amazing!

>118 lkernagh: Aw, thanks Lori!

37. Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman
TIOLI: Cover I love
2015 goal: none at all; my "comfort read" genre of teen fantasy

The sequel to Seraphina finds the country of Goredd preparing for war against the dragons. Seraphina and her friends, Kiggs and Glisselda, thinks there's a chance they could create a barrier to dragons if she can connect the minds of other half-dragons: but first she has to find them.

This story dragged a little for me in the beginning, which may be my own fault for reading it later at night after I finished books I had to and was too tired to read more than 20 pages at a time. Seraphina and Abdo are traveling on their quest quite a bit, and Seraphina is worrying a lot about Jannoula - we get much of both characters' back story. Then, after 400 or so of the nearly 600 pages, the action picks up and I felt like I was getting a payoff for reading through the more carefully developed portions. We have great characters and a villain whom you can't help but pity, and the politics and human-dragon relations of multiple regions. The complexity and worldbuilding is fantastic, including musical references which make this a rather unique fantasy series for me (and, according to the author's note, many Pink Floyd references that all went completely over my head). The ending was... resolved, sort of. I felt like the last few pages kind of hurried to wrap things up and I was totally not buying some of the conclusion, left wondering if there was a third book or this was it. So a mixed bag, but not a story I'm sorry to have read. 3.5 stars.

TIOLI update.

Here's what I planned (with mid-month notes):

Challenge #1 Rhymes with Rain - Cabin: Two Brothers, a Dream, and Five Acres in Maine by Lou Ureneck - mine
Challenge #2 Green Book - Of Other Worlds by C.S. Lewis - mine
Challenge #4 Job Title or Occupation - How to Be a Pirate by Cressida Cowell - audio - DONE (moved to #3 narrator different gender from author)
Challenge #6 Gov't or Agency Plays a Part - Authority by Jeff VanderMeer
Challenge #10 Legacy Library Share - Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare - mine
Challenge #11 Four Letter Word - My Sunshine Away by M.O. Walsh
Challenge #13 Cover I Love - Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman - DONE
Challenge #16 Island in Title/Author - Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson (Horse Island in Connecticut) - DONE
Challenge #17 Feminism - Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou - DONE
Challenge #19 "And" in the Middle - Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian - DONE
Challenge #20 Character is a Widow - The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry - DONE
Challenge #22 Tree in the Title - Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch
Challenge #23 Subtitle - About this Life: Journeys on the Threshold of Memory by Barry Lopez - reading

Challenges completed:
Challenge #3 Narrator opposite gender from author How to Be a Pirate by Cressida Cowell
Challenge #4 Job Title or Occupation Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin
Challenge #13 Cover I love - Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman
Challenge #16 Island in Title/Author - Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
Challenge #17 Feminism - Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou
Challenge #19 And in the Middle - Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian
Challenge #20 Character is a Widow - The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry

Next up:
Challenge #6 Gov't or Agency Plays a Part - Authority by Jeff VanderMeer
Challenge #23 Subtitle - About this Life: Journeys on the Threshold of Memory by Barry Lopez

Am I really going to read these books this month?
Challenge #1 Rhymes with Rain - Cabin: Two Brothers, a Dream, and Five Acres in Maine by Lou Ureneck - mine
Challenge #2 Green Book - Of Other Worlds by C.S. Lewis - mine
Challenge #10 Legacy Library Share - Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare - mine
Challenge #11 Four Letter Word - My Sunshine Away by M.O. Walsh
Challenge #12 Same Age as Author - Where All Light Tends to Go by David Joy
Challenge #22 Tree in the Title - Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

38. Authority by Jeff VanderMeer
TIOLI: Gov't/agency plays a part
2015 goal: nope

Sometime after the twelfth expedition of Area X which was described in the biologist's journal in Annihilation, the Southern Reach - the agency in charge of the expeditions and scientific study of Area X - is in turmoil. The old director is gone and John "Control" Rodriguez, now acting director, is trying to put together the pieces, finding out what happened to the agency and in Area X.

If the first book was hard to describe, the second is even more so. It's a continuation, but introduces a whole new perspective and set of characters; it gives more tantalizing clues and leaves me with more questions. I can't wait to read the third book and see if it puts a whole new spin on the rest. 4.5 stars.

39. Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch
TIOLI: Tree in title ("ash")
2015 goal: none

Meira is an orphan of Winter, one of the season kingdoms whose queen was killed and magic taken by the king of Spring, Angra. She and a small group of refugees have been trying to get the pieces of Winter's locket back to be able to reinvigorate the magic, and avoiding capture by Angra into the mines where all other Winterians are being put to work. Meira's greatest wish is to do something to restore Winter's kingdom, but can she do it without losing herself?

A friend of mine recommended this book, and it was enjoyable and a fast read but fairly average as far as young adult fantasy novels go. The heroine was very likable, and teens will certainly relate to her struggle with expectations and doing what's right for her. The big reveals will be unsurprising to regular readers of fantasy. The world of seasons and rhythms - where, in the seasons, it's always spring, summer, autumn, or winter, just like the name of the place - was an interesting idea. The writing style is that simile-laden conversational tone that I tend to dismiss, but the story kept me engaged enough that I'll read the sequel when it comes out in the fall. 3.5 stars.

April in review:
31. The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry
32. Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou
33. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson - mine
34. How to Be a Pirate by Cressida Cowell - audio
35. Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian
36. Born Standing Up by Steve Martin - audio
37. Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman
38. Authority by Jeff VanderMeer
39. Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

Books read: 7
Audiobooks listened to: 2
Graphic novels/Manga: 0
Picture books: 1
Adult/Teen/Children's: 6/2/1
Fiction/Nonfiction/Poetry/Plays: 7/2/0/0
Library/Mine/Borrowed: 8/1/0

Standouts: Master and Commander and Authority were very enjoyable, with honorable mention going to Mom & Me & Mom.

Thoughts: A weird mix of work reading and random fun, which unfortunately didn't do much of anything for my 2015 goals. I still have a stack of library books with due dates breathing down my neck, so probably more of the same in May though I'm also hoping to get to The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich soon. I did manage to read a work book that was mine and set in Norway - Out Stealing Horses - which, incidentally, is fiddling with my "years published" because it was first published in 2003 (the year I'm going with), and translated into English in 2005.

Original publication dates read (year-to-date):

2015 - 7
2014 - 12
2013 - 2
2012 - 2
2011 - 1
2010 - 1
2009 - 2
2007 - 1
2006 - 1
2005 - 1
2004 - 1
2003 - 2

1998 - 1
1986 - 1
1969 - 2
1947 - 1

1861 - 1

Nice round up of April, Mary. Trust you enjoy what is left of your weekend. xx

Thank you, Paul! It's been a busy weekend, but not overly so. I worked on Saturday, which gives me today off. I'm planning a morning of reading, laundry, and light housework followed by a friend's lesson in batting for a co-ed softball team I signed up for. I hope your weekend was a good one as well.

40. The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows

Wilhelmina "Wil" Korte is on a mission to take back her throne. Ten years ago, the Indigo Kingdom attacked her people. Now, she and her band of ragtag orphans are living in the city surviving and dreaming of revenge. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate the palace to try to find plans that will aid them in their quest. Meanwhile, she encounters the Black Knife, a vigilante who seeks out magic-users in a kingdom where it has been outlawed for years because the use of magic creates an opposing, evil force that has overtaken other kingdoms and is encroaching upon the Indigo Kingdom more and more.

Unfortunately, this book suffered a bit from being the second book in a row that featured an orphan exile in a fantasy world. There's a lot going on in the story, a complexity that I appreciate, but that leaves it maddening when it's the first in a series and so much is left unresolved. No, more than unresolved: there's a downright awful cliffhanger that made me want to slam the book on my nightstand when I finished it at 11 p.m.. But I liked Wil and some of the other characters, as well as the questions created in this world. I will definitely read more in the series, but may wait until I know it's complete. 4 stars.

41. About This Life: Journeys on the Threshold of Memory by Barry Lopez
TIOLI: a book I started in April
2015 goal: mmm, not really

This collection of seventeen essays runs the gamut of both topics and places, with subjects as diverse as taking rides with cargo planes to see how consumer items travel from country to country, to reflections on American landscapes and how it informs us as a people.

Between Arctic Dreams and About this Life, I believe I can safely say I've been reading Barry Lopez all year. His is a dense, thoughtful, descriptive prose that you want to savor and ruminate upon when you're not reading, maybe even write a journal response or recommend it to a friend so you can discuss it. Whatever his subject, he makes it come alive and thought-provoking, whether he's talking about the way in which looking through a camera lens changes the way we perceive things or why he's stopped his car to bury road kill. A really diverse collection that would be an excellent introduction to Lopez's writing. 4 stars.

I daresay the more I think about it, the more likely I'd be to rate it more like 4.5 stars, but having been slowly reading this book for a month, I can't find it in me to say that I'd reread it from cover-to-cover. I will definitely seek out more by Barry Lopez in the future, however.

42. One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
TIOLI: Not sure yet
2015 goal: set in Connecticut

After an attack by her stepfather leaves both her and her mother in the hospital, Carley Connors is sent into foster care to live with the Murphys. Though the mother, Julie, is especially loving and kind to her, Carley knows better than to trust appearances, and can't wait to get out of there. But slowly, she learns to trust and develops friendships with the three boys and at school.

This is the type of book that completely tugs at my heartstrings, and I teared up more than once reading it. Though comparisons to The Great Gilly Hopkins were in some ways inevitable, the characters here are a little less quirky while just as lovable. It's a very warm, but realistic story about fallible people and unconditional love. Highly recommended. 4.5 stars.

Last week, one of the power lines to the library failed, leaving us with a third of the breakers kicked (including the one our servers for Internet were plugged into). We closed early on Friday and stayed closed on Saturday, giving me an unexpected long weekend. Today when I drove into work, I could see all the trucks parked out front, and thought... oh dear. So yeah, looks like more of the same. We never opened, everyone went home and I've been spending a somewhat relaxing day getting stuff done at home.

Besides reading One for the Murphys (which I knew would be a quick read once I picked it up), I've also started the slow process of going through a collection of diaries my grandfather gave me that had been in my grandmother's possession. Two or three of them were written by my 3rd great aunt Eunice Moore in the 1881, 1917, and 1918. A bunch more were written by her daughter Lottie Hunt (who never married) and the boarder who apparently worked the farm with her, John Bulley, and a few other outliers of family members, including one from my grandmother when she was 11. The dates on the diaries go up to the 1940s. Today I started the process of going through and photographing every page that had writing on it to preserve the information in the already moldy tomes. Next, I'll start through transcribing either from the images or the originals. When I started today I thought, "Oh good, I'll get all the photographing done today." HA, and again HA, I say. It's probably going to be more like one a day. I get sore getting down to have the right angle and not break the binding more, not to mention that I have to turn each page to make sure I get a clear picture. So I think this will be a much slower process than I originally envisioned, but a lot of fun to dig into.

DNF #2 -
Where All Light Tends to Go by David Joy

I decided last night that this simply wasn't a book for me. The writing style was lyrical and the setting in Appalachia evocative, but I didn't really want to read about an 18-year-old kid whose dad was a meth dealer and whose mom was an addict. I found the tone depressing and gritty, and the level of violence in the first 30 pages already past my (admittedly low) tolerance level.

It has, however, been getting a lot of notice lately as a great debut, so if it sounds great despite my comments, please go for it! Just not my type of book.

DNF #3 -
My Sunshine Away by M.O. Walsh

You know how everyone has subjects/themes they just won't do? Yeah, rape is mine. So as beautifully written as this book set in Louisiana in the '80s, narrated by a guy who was one of four suspects in the rape of his neighbor Lindy, a fifteen-year-old girl that he is more than a little in love with, I decided this morning not to push on. It just left me entirely unsettled, much like some people just can't read a book with animal deaths or child abuse.

I seem to be in a rut of not finishing books lately. I've now started The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel for book club - and no matter what I think of it, I do have to finish it!

>132 bell7: I'd be curious to see what you think of The Astronaut Wives Club. I finished it with sort of mixed feelings.

>133 rosylibrarian: I haven't gotten very far yet, but I'll definitely let you know!

43. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, with John and Elizabeth Sherrill
TIOLI: Not sure
2015 goal: happened in Netherlands (mostly)

Corrie ten Boom, a watchmaker and spinster living with her father and sister, began working with the Resistance and taking in Jews during World War 2. This is her story of faith, family, survival, and forgiveness during a terrible time.

I read and reread this book as a teenager; I read it so many times I got rid of it thinking I'd never read it again and then bought it years later because I couldn't quite bear not to own it. Looking at it with fresh adult eyes, I found myself with slightly more mixed feelings. The book is preachier than I remembered, and the writing clunkier than it could have been. I would have liked for some of Corrie's story to stand on its own rather than having the lesson spelled out for me. I realized rereading this that there were some experiences she had that I didn't quite get when I was younger, and understood better now with greater knowledge about World War 2. I wished that some historical or political information was spelled out a bit clearer to ground her story more. But as far as inspirational memoirs go, it's still a good read, and I as I read I realized how much some of her statements - about love and forgiveness, for example - had stayed with me and shaped my own views over the years. 4 stars.

I probably would've rated it a little lower on a first read, but there's still quite a bit of sentimental attachment there. I'm debating whether or not to keep my copy of the book.

>135 bell7: I, too really loved this book when I read it in junior high or high school. It's nice to know that the suck fairy didn't manage to suck all the goodness out of it, even though, as we change and mature, what we prefer to read also changes. I may also have to revisit this one.

>135 bell7: Oh, I loved this book when I read it as a kid as well. And so sad, of course. Really interesting to hear what it's like to reread it again with the benefit of a wider historical knowledge.

>136 streamsong: It's always hard to reread a book that had such a strong reaction for me in my youth or teen years, but yeah, I was glad to find I still liked it quite a bit even though my reading has changed. I will look forward to seeing what you think if you revisit it!

>137 charl08: Yes, it was very sad then and now. Even just adjusting what I think of as "old" changed the reading experience, and I did find myself wanting to read more, such as The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich which I've owned for awhile and haven't yet picked up and the newer book Ravensbruck (which I did, actually, put on hold at the library).

Picture book #12:
How the Library (Not the Prince) Saved Rapunzel by Wendy Meddour, illustrated by Rebecca Ashdown

Rapunzel lives alone on the sixteenth floor with her cats, and no one - not the milkman, the baker, her loving aunt, or even the prince - can get her to "let down her hair" or be motivated to do more than sit, until suddenly a job at the library turns her life around. A little simplistic, maybe, but cute and the bright-colored illustrations add quite a bit of fun to the story.

Oh boy, I haven't thought of Corrie ten Boom in a long time! Thanks for that!

>140 scaifea: :) you're welcome!

44. The Heir by Kiera Cass
TIOLI: not sure
2015 goal: no

In this continuation of The Selection series, Maxon and America's daughter, Eadlyn, is eighteen and heir to the throne. The caste system has been abolished, but in the face of much unrest, Eadlyn's parents ask her to consider a Selection of her own to try to divert the country, buying the king time to find a solution.

Let me first state that I am not unaware that there are problems with the whole set up of this novel. I internally debated through much of my reading if that wasn't part of the point that the author was trying to make or if she really thought "love conquers all" even over huge social issues that are barely addressed. And I have to wait for a fifth book to see. But the simple truth is Eadlyn grew on me. She starts out as such a brat I almost quit reading at page 32, but in the end I read the book in a day. The castes may be gone, but Eadlyn still has the attitude - has been raised? - that she is above it all, the chosen one, and she holds herself apart accordingly, never letting herself be vulnerable. The Selection becomes more about her than the boys. I'm sure I will read the final book when it comes out next year. 4 stars.

I was also in the mood for something light, which definitely helped my rating. It may end up changing depending on how everything wraps up in the end.

45. Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton
TIOLI: Last name starts with a "D"
2015 goal: no

Quin is ready to be a Seeker, the calling of her family for generations to do good deeds and topple tyrants. She and Shinobu and John have been training for this for years under her father, Briac, and her uncle Alistair; but the night she takes the oath, everything changes.

Some people are calling this science fiction, and to back that up there's the epigraph taking a line from Brian Greene's The Elegant Universe about multiple, curled dimensions in string theory. I lean more on the fantasy/adventure side myself. The action takes off immediately with the three teenagers' training, and explanations about the exact nature of what they're doing don't appear until over 100 pages in. Though the narration is third-person, the perspective shifts between Quin, Shinobu, and John primarily, with other characters having some appearances as well. The plot was stronger than character development and I kind of missed having the first-person thoughts of each character I'm used to with many young adult books. I enjoyed how complex the world itself is and how I had to figure out what was going on with minimal explanation, which gave it a richness and faster pace that wouldn't have worked if there were too much at the beginning. I'll be looking for Traveler when it comes out next year. 4 stars.

46. The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel

With interviews from the wives of the astronauts of the Mercury and Apollo missions, Lily Koppel gives a different perspective of the space race from the women who stayed behind.

I may have enjoyed the book more if I weren't reading it for book group. I had rather expected something more. More detailed, more meaty, more history? I'm not sure, exactly. I looked up reviews while I was reading, and saw words like "breezy" and "chatty" used to describe it, and that is truly more what it is. It's not the book's fault that it wasn't quite what I wanted. There are many wives that I found easy to mix up, there are many years covered, and much of what is included, as I gather from an author interview, is what Koppel herself found most interesting. All well and good, but sadly it meant that the wives I was most interested in sometimes weren't detailed as much as I'd like and stories like a Russian woman astronaut going up just a little while after John Glenn testified that women shouldn't be in space are told in a few short paragraphs. There is so much that could have been explored deeper. But maybe that's left for me as the reader and book discussion facilitator to do. Unfortunately, though the book is good for what it is, I found it a little disappointing. 3.5 stars.

47. The Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
TIOLI: Book you think will make you laugh
2015 goal: Nope

I read this book - mostly as an e-book - because it was one of three Terry Pratchett books chosen for our "benchmark" shared read in the Fantasy genre in my librarian genre study group for the month of June. I'd actually like to read more than one, but I started with this one because I like the Witches. I got partway through and realized I'd read it before. Oh well, I'm having fun so why not continue?

I got most way through the book and my e-book expired. I had to wait 3 days before I could finish the last 30 pages today -_-

But the book arrived today, all was well, and I enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time. The next book I'm going to read for the genre study is Mort which I definitely haven't read yet, so I'm looking forward to that. I'm reading Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer now, polishing off the Southern Reach trilogy which I've been enjoying this year, and Ravensbruck because when I finished my recent reread of The Hiding Place it occurred to me that this is the women's concentration camp where Corrie and her sister are sent towards the end, and as grim as reading about World War 2 could be, I'm interested in reading other survivors' stories in this recently published history of the camp.

Also waiting on deck, the audio version of The Penderwicks in Spring.

Going back some way but you've hit me with a book bullet for Jeff Vandermeer's Southern Reach trilogy (well, I suppose that's 3 BBs as it's a trilogy).

>135 bell7: I'm another person who read and loved the Corrie ten Boom memoir as a teenager. I'm glad to hear it hadn't lost all its magic on rereading - I may reread it one day.

Stopping by to say hello and wishing you a magical day!

>146 souloftherose: Success! I hope you enjoy them as much as I've been.
I think there's something about some childhood/young adult books that end up shaping us so much as humans and readers that they leave an indelible print no matter if you love them quite as much going back later. The Hiding Place was definitely one of those books for me.

>147 Whisper1: Good to see you, Linda! I hope you're doing well. I had a great day - it started out rainy (we needed the rain) and blah, with me feeling tired and unmotivated. But I got a few things done that needed to, including sending a PowerPoint presentation to someone for a 5-minute talk I'll be giving as part of a librarian training thingummy in June. Now I just have to practice for the presentation! *shudders* But it was a very good feeling to have the slides done, and a couple days ahead of the deadline I had.

Picture book #13:
Goodnight Football by Michael Dahl, illustrated by Christina Forshay
TIOLI: no
2015 goal: picture book

Story in rhyme where a child goes to a football game, and then home to bed. The first half is about the exciting game, and the second is the "goodnight" part, with a definite nod to Goodnight Moon. Cute, and one that I'd consider giving my sister and brother-in-law as a tiny bit of a joke (my family looooovves football, and I'm no exception).

Hi Mary! I've enjoyed getting caught up here. I'm always interested in books people read and reread as kids, but I've never heard of The Hiding Place. How could that be?

Have you started Penderwicks in Spring yet? Have you read the other books in the series? These books are the ONLY ones I will actually purchase in hard cover. We love them so much. I am about 1/3 of the way through this one aloud. Only the Penderwicks can make us cry -- actually, we all were sobbing -- on PAGE 6. Oh...! I hope you love it as much as we do!

Hi Anne! I'm glad you stopped by :) Isn't it funny how we can react to rereads? Sometimes a book is so sentimental we just love it despite it's flaws, and other times we shake our head at our younger selves... even a book we've read many times can be a brand new book at a different place in our lives.

I haven't yet started Penderwicks in Spring, but I hope to soon. I just have a few pages left in Authority Acceptance and I think listening to the Penderwicks while I knit may be the perfect next book. I've only been listening to these audiobooks, and I feel like I should go back and reread the books because I'm sure I've forgotten many things. I do hope I love it!

48. Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer
TIOLI: creepy atmosphere
2015 goal: nope

The third book in the Southern Reach trilogy wraps up with explanations of before and after - what happened to create Area X and what happened after Ghost Bird and Control entered it.

I've really been enjoying this strange story of the people who try to understand Area X, an anomaly that leaves no one who enters unaffected. Multiple narrators and time periods come into play in the final story, including the former director Cynthia/Grace who is "you", Saul the lighthouse keeper, Control, and Ghost Bird. The surreal atmosphere remains, the explanations were at once hazy and satisfying, and the conclusion... well. It's the sort of book that leaves you wanting to talk about it with someone else, to tease out the details and hash out the complexities. 4.5 stars.

Update on life, upcoming books, and everything:

This past weekend was my sister's baby shower, which was a lot of fun. I gave her the blanket I'd knit and several baby clothes and board books from the library book sale, and had a lot of fun visiting with her and my brother-in-law and planning a trip to see them after the baby is born.

So that pretty much explains my lack of reading over the last few days, well, that and a friend of mine and his girlfriend came over yesterday for a movie night (if you're still looking at my tv/movie list, that is why I watched Jaws) and I needed to clean my apartment.

Now that I've finished Acceptance, I'm in that funny in-between moment of picking my next book.

On deck: Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen is the one I chose to bring to work with me today, and I'm hoping for a fairly breezy, solid but predictable read from a popular teen author (my personal favorites are The Truth About Forever and Just Listen). I'm also thinking of listening to The Penderwicks in Spring, and since I've got a few more baby blankets to knit (unless everyone has girls, and then I'm covered with one that I've already finished), I expect I'll start on that tonight or tomorrow depending on how busy I get and/or how much I can focus on reading a book. I have just barely started Ravensbruck by Sarah Helm, and I'm thinking I will either read it very slowly or return it because it's just too heavy for life right now. I won't decide for sure for awhile, though.

>153 bell7: I bet your sister flipped over the blanket, didn't she?
And Jaws is a hoot, but only when watched with friends who can appreciate the silliness of it, no?

The baby shower sounds like it was a lot of fun. You are indeed a kind, generous person..and,, I know that personally.

Thanks!

>154 scaifea: She did like the blanket, yeah. Jaws was a hoot, and of course the special effects by today's standards are, well. My friend's girlfriend and I had to keep hushing him, as he has a habit of talking through ... well, anything, really, movies included. I gave him a hard time, saying the only reason he likes the movie is because the shark explodes in the end, which made me laugh when it happened.

Then I got revenge boring him out of his mind with The Princess Bride, but at least in the end he agreed with me that it was not "a chick flick," an ongoing argument that, believe it or not, started the movie-watching experiment to begin with. Basically, I said I'd watch whatever he chose if he watched The Princess Bride, and somehow it morphed into a weekly get-together with his girlfriend, too. So she has next movie pick and then we're back to his choice. He's trying to educate me on movies I have missed (there are many), and I'm getting him back with my choices. I told him if he makes me watch the Dumb and Dumber movies, he's watching the Colin Firth version of Pride & Prejudice... things of that nature. He's basically an extra little brother to me, so we have fun terrorizing each other from time to time.

>155 Whisper1: Aw, thanks, Linda! You are sweet and kind and generous yourself, so it's only natural that your LT friends would want to share that right back at you! I hope you're having a good day.

Dumb and Dumber for Pride and Prejudice is NOT an even exchange!

>157 AMQS: It was two movies for one :)

Though to be fair, Pride and Prejudice is five hours long and could probably be the equivalent of 3 movies. I'm holding out for it, though, because Dumb and Dumber was so entirely stupid I could only take it in 20 minute increments before I walked out of the room - literally! (I feel I should add here that I have a very quirky and dry sense of humor, so what many people find funny is entirely lost on me and what I think is hilarious usually gets me weird looks from my family.)

Oh, I *love* the sound of your weekly movie get-togethers! Very fun.

>159 scaifea: Jaws/Princess Bride was the first time, and he's planning it for Monday again. I think we'll have time for his girlfriend's pick (I'm not sure what it is) and his (We Were Soldiers or That's My Boy, depending on whether or not the hold is in at the library). Mine (which I haven't told him, but it's The Maltese Falcon and I'm sure he'll complain that it's old and black & white) will most likely wait until next week.

I don't actually watch a lot of movies (which you can see from the TV/movie list I've been keeping...), so as we continued to talk about The Princess Bride (in the most mature argument of "It's not a chick flick", "Yes, it is it's about a princess from Genovia or whatever", "No, that's the Princess Diaries."), he realized how many movies I have not seen. So we started a list of "movies that Mary must see" in his opinion, and I have my own list of movies that he must see. He added his girlfriend into the mix, which I'm having extra fun with because our tastes overlap much more - we even agree about Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which he has not seen! So yeah, we're totally having fun with this.

DNF #4: Ravensbruck by Sarah Helm

I do want to get back to this book... someday. It's just too much for life right now.

What I am reading:
Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen which is soooo good so far! I've been really impressed, and while I'm sure timing is everything with this one, it's well on it's way of becoming one of my favorites by her. I woke up ridiculously early this morning and instead of forcing myself back to sleep, I ended up reading all morning before work.

The Penderwicks in Spring by Jeanne Birdsall - I started listening to the audio while knitting two days ago and confess I wasn't pay very good attention so I may have to start over :/

Real life:
I'm doing fine, but a friend of mine is going through a rough patch so any good thoughts and prayers would be welcome. There's not much I can do but listen, which is hard in and of itself. I want to fix it, you know?

Library books in the order they're due (not that I'll read them):

Uprooted by Naomi Novik
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
Mort by Terry Pratchett
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Got Money? by Jeff Wuorio
Orhan's Inheritance by Aline Ohanesian
Seconds by Brian O'Malley
French Milk by Lucy Knisley
Ashfall by Mike Mullin
The Last Bookaneer by Matthew Pearl
Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan

Also coming soon: Falconer by John Cheever

Notes: Honestly, the graphic novels will probably be soon, maybe over the weekend. Apple and Rain is, I think, a novel in verse so despite the later due date, I think I'll start that next after Saint Anything. And Mort will be good to have at the same time as Falconer just for contrast; both are for work and "due" around the same time anyway.

He hasn't seen The Princess Bride *or* Monty Python?! And he's claiming that he's some sort of movie expert (or at least that he has something to teach you about movies)?! Pshaw, I say!

>163 scaifea: Hahaha, right?

49. Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

Sydney has always been the invisible one beside Peyton, her charming older brother. But unfortunately, he's been in a lot of trouble. When Sydney switches schools (her choice) and meets a girl named Layla and her family who own a pizza shop, she suddenly doesn't feel so invisible anymore. But she's still struggling to come to terms with what her brother did and the guilt she feels, which makes her more and more uncomfortable home alone with her parents, who just don't seem to get it.

Okay, so you pretty much know what you're going to get when you pick up a Sarah Dessen book, right? Strong heroine who's going through a difficult time in life and needs her friends and/or love interest to get her through it. And yes, I picked this up thinking it would be a comfortable, easy read because I knew what was coming. In some ways it was, but it really surprised me how emotionally invested I became in Sydney's story and how close it brought me to tears at points. Even though an incarcerated brother may not be something everyone can relate to, Sydney's misunderstandings with her parents and the way her mom judges her actions through her brother's history is something any teenager understands. My one little niggling complaint would be that some things at the end were summarized very quickly, some things wrapped up nicely but another left nicely open for possibilities, which was very fitting for the story as a whole. 4.5 stars.

Probably a timing thing, but it's among my top 3 Sarah Dessen books now.

>165 bell7: I'm currently in the middle of this one. I've never picked up a Dessen book before so I wasn't sure what it was going to be like. What are your other top 2?

>166 rosylibrarian: I'd be curious to see what you think then! My favorites are Just Listen and The Truth About Forever. The former was the first book of hers that I'd ever read, so I didn't really know what to expect; I first listened to The Truth About Forever, and I particularly liked one of the secondary characters for her "It's not perfect, but it works" attitude about everything. I just thought she was great.

50. Mort by Terry Pratchett
TIOLI: nope
2015 goal: nope

Young Mortimer, or Mort, is at that hapless stage of all knees and elbows and doesn't have many prospects for getting by in an agrarian town where farmers have plants that start out grown and get planted next year (too close to a ton of magic, y'see). On the day apprentices are chosen at market, poor Mort is left all alone until just before midnight when Death himself shows up and takes him on.

This is the fourth book in the total Discworld series and the first in the subset that deals with Death - not dying so much as the anthropomorphized realization... yeah, anyway. It's Terry Pratchett, so it's got that trademark mix of hilarity and seriousness. This one wasn't my favorites (so far in my Discworld reading I really prefer the Witches series), but it was a short, quick read and a few lines made me laugh. Maybe I went in with too high expectations after reading some of his later works. 3.5 stars.

Graphic novel #4:
French Milk by Lucy Knisley
TIOLI: no
2015 goal: alas, no, I have already read another book set in France

At the age of 22, Lucy travels with her mother to Paris and takes in all the sites, museums, and - importantly - the food! This is her travel journal, complete with descriptions, drawings and photographs.

I really loved An Age of License when I read it earlier this year, and made a point of noting Lucy's other titles to try as well. I really like her descriptiveness and the way imagery and text are incorporated in these really unique and inviting look into her life and travels. I didn't connect with this text quite as well as the other, however. There were some details - like worrying about money while she's shopping and eating and staying in Paris much longer than I did on my own visit, or how she pointed out that it had been a month since she'd had sex - that I just couldn't quite comprehend. But there are still universals that I can recognize: the growing up, finding your way in the world, and adjusting to an adult relationship with your parents. I especially loved that she included the books she read while she was there. 4 stars.

I have the day off, so I went walking with a friend and have been cooking up a storm to have plenty of food for the week (I love taking leftovers to work and not having to worry about what to bring every day!).

Yesterday our second movie night, this time my friend's girlfriend and his choices. She picked Welcome to Mooseport, which was fun and I hadn't seen it (I think? Or if I had it was soooo long ago I didn't remember much) but he had. Then he tried to get us to watch That's My Boy, a raunchy Adam Sandler comedy, and he ended up taking pity on us and killing it part way through. So next meetup - Saturday, we think - is mine and his girlfriend's pick and we are plotting revenge.

So here's what I'm contemplating:
The Maltese Falcon (which I was originally planning and currently have out from the library)
Singin' in the Rain (library)
The Sound of Music (own)
The Wedding Singer (own)
You've Got Mail (would have to get from library)
Fried Green Tomatoes (own)
A Shakespeare play (like Much Ado About Nothing with Kenneth Branagh - library)
Sense and Sensibility (own)

Thoughts?

>170 bell7: What food did you make, Mary?

>171 kidzdoc: A chicken crescent wreath which I modify by leaving out the water chestnuts and red pepper (though I've thought of adding the pepper back in, as I am picky but do like them roasted) and adding more broccoli to make up for it. I love this one because it generally freezes okay and I can bring it into work all week. The only thing is the way the broccoli defrosts isn't always great in the microwave; defrosting it in the fridge and then using a toaster oven to reheat it makes for a better consistency.

Then a saucy tuna bake (I think this is originally from Taste of Home too, but I couldn't find a link online):
2 c. Bisquick mix
1 c. shredded cheddar
1/2 c. cold water
1 can tuna, drained
1/2 c. chopped celery
1/4 c. chopped onion
1 can condensed cream of celery soup
1/4 c. milk
1 can sliced olives, drained (I skip this)

Heat over to 425 degrees. Grease square pan, 9x9x2 inches. Mix Bisquick, 1/2 c. cheese and water until soft dough forms; beat vigorously 20 strokes. Pat dough with floured hands, pressing 1/2 in. up the sides. Mix tuna, olives, celery, onions and half the soup; spread over dough. Bake until edges are light brown, about 15 minutes. Heat remaining soup, cheese, and milk over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until melted/mixed/hot. Serve over casserole.

And finally a potato soup which I essentially made up both times I've made it (once with celery and ham, though I left both out this time). For this one, I had seven peeled potatoes, diced and cooked, a chopped onion (minus two heaping spoonfuls that went into the chicken dish), two garlic cloves pressed, water, chicken bouillon, milk and butter. As soon as the potatoes were soft enough, I used a masher to make it as smooth as I could. I did it purely by eye, but I loved the taste of it.

Thanks, Mary! Now that I've started cooking on a regular basis I like to see what others are making as well.

I'll go to the grocery store later this morning and buy supplies to make Chinese tofu scramble, jambalaya (for my friend who brought me to the hospital on Friday), African peanut stew, and carrot ginger coconut shrimp soup.

>173 kidzdoc: Mmmmm those sound good! I've been enjoying reading through your recipes, though I haven't had a chance to try them yet. The most challenging thing about cooking for just myself is still the portion size... both in having a new recipe that's 4+ servings and buying ingredients that I don't usually have and suddenly have more than enough of.

Glad to see you're back home.

>174 bell7: Right, Mary. In the space of 18 months my kitchen shelves have become filled with spices, oils, beans, canned items, etc. Fortunately I've enjoyed most of the recipes I've made so far, so very little of what I've purchased has gone to waste, as I don't mind making those same recipes repeatedly.

My father has cooked the vast majority of the meals at home since he retired (my mother is happy to let him continue to do so), and he makes a lot of soups and stews year round that he'll store in single serving portions in their large freezer. So, there is always something to eat at home. I adopted the same practice, as I don't like to cook after a long day at work, and at one point I had over 30 containers of meals from at least six different recipes. Needless to say my supply is low, since I thought I would be in Barcelona this week, but I'll make meals for the upcoming week over the next few days, including a few days' worth to keep in the freezer to have when I get back from vacation.

I'll also try to plan meals using the produce I already have. The African peanut stew recipe from Budget Bytes calls for collard greens, but I'll use kale instead. Since I'll have at least half a bag of precut kale left over I'll make Zuppa Toscana, which includes kale as an ingredient. I have some left over bacon and mushroom, so I'll probably make more bacon & mushroom pasta later this week.

>175 kidzdoc: Yeah, I do the same thing trying to plan to use ingredients in more than one dish, but it does take a lot of planning as I don't like to cook after work either. If I had a bigger fridge/freezer, I'd do even more cooking ahead. As it is, I'm trying now to only buy what I think I need for three days, because it ends up being enough for the week anyway and sometimes I still throw stuff out (ugh!). I've gotten really good at having things on hand for tuna, spaghetti, etc.

I love being able to take one day and be set for the week, though. I'm still eating through the potato soup and the chicken dish is in the freezer. I'll either take out this weekend or save it for work next week. I also luck out when I'm dogsitting (like next week for a few days), because people tend to feed me or at least say I can use their food... so I save a little on shopping and I let things get low at home - which reminds me, I need to remember not to buy milk tomorrow and do a tiny shopping!

May in review -

40. The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows
41. About this Life: Journeys on the Threshold of Memory by Barry Lopez
42. One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
43. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom - audio and mine
44. The Heir by Keira Cass
45. Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton
46. The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel
47. Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
48. Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer
49. Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
50. Mort by Terry Pratchett

Books read: 10
Audiobooks listened to: 1
Graphic novels/Manga: 1
Picture books: 2
Adult/Teen/Children's: 6/5/1
Fiction/Nonfiction/Poetry/Plays: 8/3/0/1 (A Masque of Reason by Robert Frost, though I forgot to count it)
Library/Mine/Borrowed: 10/1/0

Standouts: The whole series by Jeff VanderMeer which started with Annihilation was really different and is fun to recommend. Saint Anything was fantastic; One for the Murphys made me cry.

Thoughts: A good reading month and a lot of fantasy and library books. I managed to get a couple other settings in there (I need to update my map of the U.S. and add Texas for The Astronaut Wives Club) and continue to read picture books, but have been making slow progress on my other goals.

Original publication dates read (year-to-date):
2015 - 11
2014 - 13
2013 - 3
2012 - 3
2011 - 1
2010 - 1
2009 - 2
2007 - 1
2006 - 1
2005 - 1
2004 - 1
2003 - 2

1998 - 2
1988 - 1
1987 - 1
1986 - 1
1971 - 1
1969 - 2
1947 - 1

1861 - 1

I made a kind of Mexican pasta dish thing on Sunday that has fed me so well this week! Cooking for one is hard but it's nice when you find a big recipe that you don't get bored of eating after 2 days.

>178 norabelle414: It is! One of my patrons at the library has brought in recipes for me a couple of times now. I helped her once on the copier and she was so excited to share them with someone else, it was so cute! The taco soup was the first one and it was delicious, as was the spinach pie (which I might make again soon as I got some frozen spinach on a sale that was too good to pass up). I'll have to see if I can find the recipes and post them too :)

I started to go through my library stack to see if there were any books I might return unread and not feel terribly guilty about saving for later...

And then I realized next week I'm dogsitting for a couple of days, plus I took all but one day of the week off. The next two weeks, I will be dogsitting again. So really I will have an incredible amount of reading time this month and as a result I can't bring myself to return anything.

I've decided to only bring a small stack with me next week and just pack whatever's left for the second/third dogsitting stint (they're one right after the other). Then if I'm really good July will be mostly my own books read (ha! famous last words).

>176 bell7: That makes sense, Mary. I have a standard sized refrigerator and freezer, and since I get tired of the same meal if I have it more than two days in a row I like to have at least three or four different foods in there at any one time.

If I'm working a regular Monday-Friday schedule I usually go grocery shopping first thing Sunday morning, as the supermarket I go to (Publix) is a very popular one in a busy area of Midtown Atlanta, and after 9 am it becomes pretty crowded and stays that way until just before closing time. I try to cook at least two meals on weekends to restock my supplies.

I just made another batch of the carrot ginger coconut shrimp soup that I've grown very fond of. It makes about 2/3 of a large soup pot, so you can get 4-6 servings out of it. I use fennel seeds instead of fennel fronds, two pounds of "baby carrots" to save time peeling them, and two pounds of shrimp instead of 2-1/2 pounds, as the bags of shrimp I get come in two pound quantities. If I do that then it takes less than an hour to make, and I have made it once after work since it isn't a labor intensive or time consuming recipe.

ETA: I also use lemon juice instead of zesting a lemon, as another time saver.

I copied the recipe for the chicken crescent wreath - it's so pretty! and I can see it would be great for a potluck.

I'm also cooking for one and the nice thing about potato soup is how you can change it up. I've always converted a serving or two into clam chowder, but I've recently found a recipe to use it as a base for pumpkin soup, too.

The Weight Watchers Recipe Review message board has a 'Cooking for One or Two' thread that I've found very useful. I try to cook one entrée during the weekend for a couple meals and then fill in with "one off's" so I don't get bored.

>181 kidzdoc: I do the same thing, freezing something and using only a few servings at a time, but I usually stretch it to three days... just how things work out. Thanks for the link to the carrot ginger soup - it looks amazing! The next time I can get shrimp on sale I'll put a note to myself to try it. I've started doing a quick shopping on Friday nights, though I'm leaning towards getting takeout tonight instead because I won't be home for a full week next week and I'm taking it off from work so I'll be able to go shopping in the middle of the day, which I don't normally do.

>182 streamsong: I am loving getting the recommendations for one/two person cooking! Fortunately I enjoy cooking when I do it, and I'm not bad if I do say so myself. I've made potato soup twice now and have to say I love it because you really can't go wrong. It's just a matter of what tastes I'm in the mood for and what I have on hand. I love the idea of saving some for a clam chowder, too. Yum!

51. Uprooted by Naomi Novik

The Dragon is a wizard who has been holding back the evil of the Wood for a century, and every eleven years he comes down from his tower to select one girl to live with him. Agnieszka grows up in one of these protected towns and she knows she was born in the year of selection; but everyone knows the Dragon chooses the prettiest and the best, and everyone knows that will be Kasia. But then at the choosing, he picks her. Thrown into a world suddenly much more complicated than she knew, she'll need all her wits about her in an adventure that involves the Dragon and other wizards, the politics of her country, and the malevolence behind the Wood.

I've really enjoyed Naomi Novik's Temeraire series - about an entirely different sort of dragon during the Napoleonic Wars - so when I purchased this book for the library I was really excited to see a completely different fantasy story from this author. Inspired by Polish fairy stories, Uprooted follows Agnieszka's journey from woodcutter's daughter to powerful magic wielder. Though somewhat episodic, the thread of the Wood's story and Agnieszka's love for her hometown sews the tale together in a really enjoyable way. 4.5 stars.

I am almost positive I'll be using this as my "second title" in the genre study round table on fantasy in a couple of weeks.

Hi Mary! It was fun catching up with you. That baby blanket for your niece is gorgeous. I recently went to a baby shower…my favorite kind of party. Now I am going to my friend's daughters showers. I just love seeing all the cute little baby things.

Interesting thoughts on rereading The Hiding Place. I loved that book as a much younger person and would never give up my copy of it, although now I'm not so sure I want to reread it and have my memories of it altered. I do several rereads per year, and most of them have held up well.

I like the more informal approach to discussing books where everyone feels free to jump in with their own questions. I sometimes feel like I need an interpreter to figure out those prepared questions. We usually each get a copy of the the list of publisher questions and see if there is anything there we want to delve into. I missed last night's book group because I'm in Kansas City with my grandkids. Our book was chosen by me: I Capture the Castle. It's one I have been wanting to read for a very long time. I am in the beginning stages and enjoying it. My sister-in-law said the group of seven that was there unanimously gave the book two thumbs up!

I can't wait to read Uprooted! I'm #1 on the holds list right now :-)

>185 Donna828: Thanks for stopping by, Donna! I wouldn't want to dissuade you from a reread of The Hiding Place if you're in the mood - I listened to part and read part, and that may very well have impacted my experience, too. I definitely hold to an informal approach in my own book discussion. I feel like I get a lot more out of it that way because of each person's perspective, and I never feel like I have to be "in charge" though I do play the neutral party or devil's advocate depending on how the conversation goes. I own I Capture the Castle and have not yet read it... maybe I'll try to pick it up this summer!

>186 norabelle414: I hope you enjoy it! And I can't remember if I told you, but I'll be at the National Book Festival again this year. Is there a thread up for it, or is it early yet?

187: There is a thread up in the Librarything Gatherings and Meet-ups group. (I'd link, but I'm on my phone). Are you planning to stay with your sister?

Getting ready for vacation at work. This week, I sent out some newspapers to be digitized, put out some teaser information in a display for summer reading, and worked on my presentation for next week.

Today when I get off the reference desk, I'll be tweaking said presentation (with huge kudos to a friend of mine who was willing to listen to my spiel at 7 o'clock this morning and give me feedback), catching up on email and setting up my away message since I'll be out next week.

Phew! Fortunately dogsitting doesn't start 'til late afternoon on Monday, so I'll have a chance this weekend to catch up on home stuff like laundry, tiny grocery shopping, and baking - a friend of mine sent me a recipe for a "heavenly" but extremely unhealthy cake and I needed an excuse to bake it and share it. I'm planning a movie night tomorrow (The Maltese Falcon and a second movie to be determined), Sunday is church and family, and Monday is packing for dogsitting and potentially another softball lesson. Tuesday in the midst of dogsitting I will be giving that presentation, and it's the one day I'm working. After that, much relaxation is in order!

52. Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan

Apple lives with her Nana and can remember the night her mother left them both. At the age of fourteen, she chafes under her Nana's restrictions and old-fashioned ways, dreaming of if/when her mother returns. Then her mother does show up and Apple's life changes dramatically - but is it really for the good?

Though this type of storyline is a familiar one, I was interested in how Sarah Crossan portrayed Apple and the other characters. Like One for the Murphys or The Great Gilly Hopkins, it's a story about family and a child who doesn't always see people for who they are, and as an adult reading it you have a very different perspective on what happens. I really like secondary characters like Del and Rain (who comes into it a bit later), and even the Nana who seemed really harsh and straight-laced to begin with and turns out to be very likable in her own way too. It's set in England, which I enjoyed, and is very different from the other Sarah Crossan titles I've read (Breathe and Resist), which I admired. 4.5 stars.

As a side note, Apple's mother was younger than me. I mean, I've read books where the characters now that I think of it may have been younger than I am now (like the Quimbys or something), but this is the first time that the stated age of a parent was a full year younger than me while I was reading the book. It's only gonna happen more often, isn't it?

53. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

When her brother Darin gets captured by a Mask for his sketches of Martial weapons and her grandparents are murdered in front of her eyes, Laia's life changes forever. She knows she isn't strong and courageous like her parents, Scholar Resistance leaders, were but she's determined to free her brother. Training to be a Mask, one of the feared warriors of his class who subjugated the Scholars generations ago, Elias chafes against what he knows to be an evil system and dreams of escape.

It's the teen librarian's fault. She keeps buying really good fantasy books, and I see them in the purchase order and immediately have to put them on hold. This one was so worth getting my hands on immediately. I started out thinking I knew what I was getting into, standard teenage dystopian fare, and then one by one my expectations were turned on their heads. It's a fantasy, in a well-realized world that had a great balance of familiar and different. Laia and Elias trading narration ratcheted up tension and kept me reading speedily. I really liked both characters and liked seeing how they develop: Laia in her quiet courage and Elias as he tries to do the right thing in a place where that could be punishable by death. One of the dangers of first-person narration is that other characters seem flat in comparison, but others like Izzi and Cook and Helene and Marcus were fleshed out well and believably. The ending was satisfying and leaves room for more without a Major Cliffhanger spoiling the rest of my afternoon, too. Highly recommended for fans of teen fantasy like Graceling or Red Queen. 4.5 stars.

It may be the teen librarian's fault initially, but you certainly compound it when you warble about it here, spraying book bullets like crazy!

>188 norabelle414: Oops, I just just saw this sorry for the late reply. Yes, I'm coming down for a week and staying with my sister (it'll be just a couple of weeks after my niece is due), but I'll take the metro in on Saturday probably on my own.

>192 ronincats: :D Hope you like it as much as I did ;)

>191 bell7: I picked up a galley of that, and was all excited, and then I got distracted for four months. I really need to read that...

>194 foggidawn: Ooooh, yes do! I hope you love it.

I was super-excited to see Sabaa Tahir's name on the list of authors coming to the National Book Festival too.

54. The Penderwicks in Spring by Jeanne Birdsall

The latest entry in the Penderwicks focuses on Batty, now ten-almost-eleven, an age which is not always easy. She's not only in-between her oldest sisters - Rosalind in college, Skye and Jane teenagers - and the youngest Penderwicks - brother Ben who is eight and loves digging up rocks and toddler Lydia who's just getting old enough to climb out of her crib and cause havoc. She's also dealing with the loss of her beloved Hound, who she knows wouldn't have died if only she could love him enough.

Some authors have a gift for portraying a child at a certain age, capturing the exact feelings and hardships of that age in such a way that both a child and adult can understand but not making fun or being sly about it. Beverly Cleary was that author for me when I was Ramona's age, and Jeanne Birdsall is much in the same vein. She captures Batty's ups and downs, sibling interactions, family life and misunderstandings in such a real way. I cheered and I cried and I enjoyed every minute of Susan Deneker's reading of the audio version. Highly recommended - but definitely start with the first in the series and go from there. 4.5 stars.

Graphic novel #5:
Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley

What if you could erase a mistake you made and start over? That's the opportunity Katie is given after a really rough day at the restaurant, Seconds, where she used to be chef occurs: write down the mistake, eat a mushroom, and start over. But as each "revision" gets worse, Katie finds her life spiraling out of control: how can she make it right again? I really enjoyed the premise of this graphic novel, which had a serious point and some darker moments, but overall a playful tone with Katie and the narrator sometimes arguing about what she was thinking. The artwork is bright and colorful and suited the story well. 4 stars.

Bryan Lee O'Malley is better known for his Scott Pilgrim series which I haven't read, but I may try to go back and purchase some for the library collection.

>195 bell7: I heard her speak at ALA Midwinter, and she did a good job there.

>198 foggidawn: Oh cool, good to know... also luckyyyyy to go to ALA Midwinter! It's one of my hopes to make it out to Midwinter or ALA someday - I've gone to MLA (Massachusetts) and NELA (New England) but have not yet ventured further out.

>199 bell7: I think Midwinter 2016 is in Boston. Just saying. ;-)

>200 foggidawn: I think you're right... I should run the possibility by my director early I suppose ;)
The other place I'd really like to go someday is BEA.

55. Falconer by John Cheever

Ezekiel Farragut, convicted of killing his brother, journeys to Falconer prison where he meets his fellow prisoners such as Chicken and the Cuckold, endures hostile guards and a methadone addiction, and has a love affair with a fellow prisoner.

After my book club read The Night Swimmer last year, which had several quotes from John Cheever's works and notebooks, my group wanted to read one of John Cheever's novels, and this was our choice. I'm not really sure what I expected, but this wasn't quite it. Cheever can certainly craft a sentence, but I found the story and the characters mostly bleak and felt like I was missing the point at least half the time. Was there a point? I'd be hard pressed to describe a plot. I'm sure that if I were still in school, a teacher could have teased out the symbolism of confinement and imprisonment versus freedom, either of the body or the soul. But I couldn't unless I were to read it again, and I'm afraid I really wasn't captured enough myself to be so inclined. 3 stars.

Okay, so this is one of those titles I'll definitely have to read up on. I may very well start with a short bio of Cheever (I usually skip author bios, but I'm pretty sure that the sexuality in Cheever's works has a lot to do with his own life), and I have a couple of articles I already printed out. I also have only a generic list of questions for fiction titles for this one, so if anyone who's a Cheever fan wants to jump in with commentary and/or some thoughts on questions to ask, I'm all ears.

>201 bell7: Oh, I'd love to go to BEA some day! Maybe one of these years when I'm not on an ALA committee I'll take vacation time and do BEA.

Stopping by with hellos and an attempt to get caught up. Great reviews and love the movie night summaries. I really need to re-watch The Princess Bride!

Wishing you a great week.

>203 foggidawn: If we manage to make the same year to either one we should try for a meetup ;)

>204 lkernagh: Hi, Lori! The Princess Bride is almost better as a re-watch than the first time around, isn't it? :D Hope you have a great week as well.

>205 bell7: Definitely!

Movie update:

We've had a few more movie nights since my last update. I had my friend K. watch Singin' in the Rain, which he made fun of and complained about "Good Morning" getting in his head but told me last night is the best of the movies I've chosen so far (the sidekick piano player is so like him that it was scary - except he's not musical at all).

If I Stay - I'd already read the book; the movie was okay and a pretty good adaptation for a very internal story. It was S's (K's girlfriend's) choice, and she chose a "girl" movie because he'd put us through That's My Boy (which we didn't finish). She'd almost chosen one of the Twilight movies, but this broke the tie because I hadn't seen it.

We Were Soldiers - a good movie, though I wouldn't watch it again 'cause of the violence and it's soooo sad. The "appreciate" rather than "like" category for me. I did tell him I might continue watching the documentary on Vietnam that's available on Netflix; he had me watch the first episode in preparation for watching this movie, as it's a fictionalized account of real events, and I'm embarrassingly unfamiliar with the conflict.

The Truman Show - my pick, and I was surprised K. didn't like it more - he was bored to death and kept complaining.
(So far S. has already seen my picks - our tastes overlap quite a bit - and we haven't had as much to say about each others' picks.)

What followed next was a discussion of the picks so far and K. trying to make a "rule" about series so that S. would never pick one of the Twilight movies. We overruled him - not that I particularly care to re-watch the Twilight movies, but it's fun to make him squirm and we each have our "movies in reserve" to get back at the other for a really awful choice. Because I was really surprised that K. didn't like this one, I asked him which of my movies so far was the favorite/least objectionable. He said if he had to re-watch one it would be Singin' in the Rain (which really surprised me). Asking me the same question, I said Jaws - and K. was really surprised it wasn't We Were Soldiers, which he loves. S.'s choice is next.

The Batman movies were my brother's recommendation ages ago and I'm just getting to them now.

I do not like Singin' in the Rain, which is interesting because I generally like musicals and older movies.

One of my friends has not seen many popular '90s movies for some reason, so he has been watching them lately and I've been following along on the internet. It's so interesting to witness people seeing movies like Jurassic Park and Clueless for the first time.

>208 norabelle414: Huh. I like Singin' in the Rain but I'm not really a musical fan (though I still love The Sound of Music, the movie I literally grew up on).
I have a very odd track record for '90s movies, because I got to age 11 or so with my parents saying "You must ask us if the movie is not rated G" - which made it easier to pick old not-rated movies like The Maltese Falcon, The Trouble with Angels, Singin' in the Rain - to age 12 when suddenly I was allowed to watch whatever I want (Independence Day), and then when I was a young adult going back and watching some childhood classics I missed (Jurassic Park, Back to the Future). I haven't seen Clueless either...

Oddly enough, my movie choices are often very different from books. That is, the movies that I watch that are not based on books I've read tend to be romantic comedies, yet in my reading I generally am very picky about romances and tend to prefer stories in other genres that have a romantic subplot rather than a book where the relationship is the point. As far as the movie list goes, I'm trying to stay away from "chick flicks" and he's trying to stay away from entirely stupid humor, but we're each keeping a short list "in reserve" in case we get really annoyed with one of the other's picks and start bring out the big guns. Hehe.

Okay, ANYTHING with Gene Kelly in it is okay by me! And I love the musicals of that era.

I lovelovelove Singing in the Rain! *happy sigh*

>210 ronincats: Hm, haven't seen anything else with Gene Kelly. Any to recommend?

>211 scaifea: :) I do enjoy it, and it's sooo funny ("I can't stand 'im!").

56. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

An airship explosion suddenly leaves Maia the emperor of the elves. This fact might not be so bad except that he is the half-goblin youngest son of the old emperor, shoved away in a back corner of the kingdom and never trained to rule. But his older brothers have also died, which means it's either Maia or his young nephew ruled by regents, a situation that's never turned out great. Thrust into this position, Maia needs all his wits to learn to rule, deal with the politicking of various factions, and survive a court where no one really wants him.

This is a really inventive political fantasy with a sympathetic main character in Maia. Because he doesn't really know what's going on, you learn the politics of the realm slowly as he comes to grasp the intricacies and details in language and how people are addressed give a real depth to the world. A glossary at the end helps you keep track of the many people and places, and I'd also recommend briefly looking at the "Handbook for Travellers in the Elflands" too, as it explains the honorifics. 4.5 stars.

57. The Last Bookaneer by Matthew Pearl
TIOLI: Set to the south of me
2015 goal: Set in Samoa (mostly)

A young black man, Mr. Cotton, working on a train in New York and an English book seller, Mr. Fergins, strike up a friendship over a shared love of reading, and the Englishman has a fantastical story to tell about the "last bookaneer" and the trip to Samoa to see Robert Louis Stevenson and steal his manuscript before the new international copyright laws go into effect.

I'm not sure why, but this book never fully came together for me. Maybe it was because of the odd way I started reading it, in bits and pieces and sometimes listening to the audiobook, but while I enjoyed the factoids about book selling and publishing and comments about the love of reading, I just couldn't get into the adventure story and care much about what happened. It was a fun story but just okay for me. 3.5 stars.

58. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
TIOLI: Makes you think of flowers
2015 goal: Set in North Carolina

Claire Waverley loves her heritage, living in Bascom, North Carolina, tending her special garden and catering in her small town. Her sister Sydney, who escaped the town ten years ago, returns suddenly with secrets and a young daughter.

I loved this tale of sisters and love in a small town, with a touch of magic. Claire has a knack for creating recipes that are more than just tasty - they can rekindle good memories, help you see in the dark, make people see you as successful. Sydney never felt like she fit in - nor did she really want to be a "weird" Waverley - and she and Claire were never close as children. But as they each come to know each other, Sydney begins to find her place and Claire starts to open up to new experiences. I really felt for the characters, wanted to be their friend, wanted to hug them when they were upset, and was extremely satisfied with how everything came together. Now I have to go find something else by Sarah Addison Allen... 4.5 stars.

Movie night was last night, but we were terrible and didn't pay attention and talked through both of them. The first was S.'s pick, The Stone of Destiny, based on the true story of the heist of the symbol of the ruler of Scotland from London (S. said it was really her dad's and she wouldn't have picked it except she was rushed). It was kind of boring, actually. But it had Billy Boyd in it, so that was fun. Then K. decided he felt like watching Harry Potter even though we'd all seen all the movies, so we watched Half-Blood Prince. He'd forgotten how long it was, and S. left before it was done. He and I watched 'til the end (I only work a five-hour day today and figured I could nap if necessary), and we mostly talked and I gave him lots of fun tidbits from the books (he only read the first few). I told him I'd shut up if I was boring him and he admitted he's a little bit of a nerd (I daresay if I tried to get him to repeat that in front of friends he'd swear up and down he'd never said it).

My pick is next. I was going to pick Glory, but couldn't find it at the library today. I'll have to borrow S.'s copy and have a backup choice in case she forgets it.

>216 bell7: Excellent! Tomm and I finished up a re-watch of The Half Blood Prince last night!
Oooh, Glory. Fantastic soundtrack.

>217 scaifea: I have a few options for my next pick. I honestly can't believe for all the war movies K. loves that he hasn't seen it before. But what I put on hold was Unbreakable (a Bruce Willis movie that I actually really liked when my brother had me watch it years ago), and I checked out Legally Blonde (in case I feel like horrifying K.) and Lady in the Water. Sundays seem to be working well for us, and I think it will be at my place this coming weekend. I'll have plenty to choose from if I end up in a completely different mood.

Half Blood Prince is a fantastic one to watch and re-watch. It's probably the most hard to follow if you haven't read the books, too.

>212 bell7: OH, heck yes! Summer Stock, On the Town, An American in Paris, Brigadoon, For Me and My Gal, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and The Pirate. In that order of quality, probably. There are more, but these are classics.

>219 ronincats: Alrighty, then! I shall have to add them to the ever-growing movie list... (though admittedly, it's much shorter than my TBR list).

Please follow me to the third thread of the year.