lit_chick's 2015 Reading (3)

Welcome to 2015's literary adventures, everyone. All aboard!

I live in British Columbia’s very beautiful Okanagan Valley. My thread toppers this year will feature paintings of the area by local artist Angela Roth McIntosh.



Angela Roth McIntosh, Skaha Lake Landscape




July
32. The Paper Moon, Andrea Camilleri
31. The End of Absence, Michael Harris
30. Black Skies, Arnaldur Indridason
29. The Signature of All Things, Elizabeth Gilbert

June
28. A Man Called Ove, Fredrik Backman
27. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L'Engle

May
26. Tom's Midnight Garden, Philippa Pearce
25. A Week in Winter, Maeve Binchy

April
24. Chi Running, Danny Dreyer
23. The Lincoln Lawyer, Michael Connelly
22. Three Day Road, Joseph Boyden
21. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain

March
20. The Railway Children, E. Nesbit
19. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
18. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. The Corinthian, Georgette Heyer
16. The Secret of the Old Clock, Carolyn Keene

February
15. Galore, Michael Crummey
14. Rescue, Anita Shreve
13. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
12. The Patience of the Spider, Andrea Camilleri
11. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, Maggie O'Farrell
10. Rounding the Mark, Andrea Camilleri

January
9. The Smell of the Night, Andrea Camilleri
8. Excursion to Tindari, Andrea Cmailleri
7. A House in the Sky, Amanda Lindhout
6. The Postmistress, Sarah Blake
5. The Voice of the Violin, Andrea Camilleri
4. Us, David Nicholls
3. The Snack Thief, Andrea Camilleri
2. A Land More Kind Than Home, Wiley Cash
1. The Terra-Cotta Dog, Andrea Camilleri

21.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain



Rating: 4/5

2008, Blackstone Audiobooks, Read by Grover Gardner

Book Description: from BookDepository.com
Who could forget the pranks, the adventures, the sheer fun of Tom Sawyer? From Tom's sly trickery with the whitewashed fence to his and Becky Thatcher's calamities in Bat Cave, the enjoyment never ends. Just what did boys do in a small town during the mid-1800s, a time when there were no televisions, no arcades, and no videos? They whitewashed fences, floated down rivers, traded marbles, formed secret societies, smoked pipes, and, on occasion, managed to attend their own funerals. Yes, they may have been a bit mischievous, but as Aunt Polly said of Tom when she believed him to be dead, "He was the best-hearted boy that ever was." Aunt Polly's sentiments reveal one of Mark Twain's cardinal philosophies: In this deceitful and infirm world, innocence can be found only in the heart of a boy. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a humorous and nostalgic book depicting the carefree days of boyhood in a small Midwestern town. The characters are based on Twain's schoolmates and the town, Hannibal, Missouri, is where Twain grew up.

My Review:
Grover Gardner does a fabulous job of narration, and I enjoyed revisiting Tom’s adventures – I don’t think Twain grows old, and I expect this would “blamed pleased him.” My favourite part of the book is the last third: the ordeal in the cave. Endearing snapshots include the whitewashed fence, Tom and Becky eating their “wedding cake” in the case to ward off starvation, and Huck’s absolute hostility towards shoes and all things “reg’lar”:

“It ain't for me; I ain't used to it. The widder's good to me, and friendly; but I can't stand them ways. She makes me get up just at the same time every morning; she makes me wash, they comb me all to thunder; she won't let me sleep in the woodshed; I got to wear them blamed clothes that just smothers me, Tom; they don't seem to any air git through 'em, somehow; and they're so rotten nice that I can't set down, nor lay down, nor roll around anywher's … I can't chaw. I got to wear shoes all Sunday. The widder eats by a bell; she goes to bed by a bell; she gits up by a bell—everything's so awful reg'lar a body can't stand it.” (Ch 35)

Happy new thread, Nancy and wishing you a wonderful Easter while I'm at it! :D

Nancy happy new thread and Happy Easter, if you are into that, of course. : )

Happy New Thread!

Happy new thread, Nancy. I love the watercolor! Great review of Tom Sawyer -- another one to add to my reread list.

Happy Easter! Happy New thread, Nancy. Love the colorful topper. I also listened to this audio version of Tom Sawyer. It is a winner.

Happy new thread, Nancy and Happy Easter Sunday!

Love the thread topper, Nancy.

Have a lovely Easter weekend. xx

Beautiful topper, as ever. How great to start April with a review of Twain. Very tempting to give it a listen.

Thank you for the lovely Easter wishesVal, Kim, Amber, Beth, Mark, Lori, Paul, and Lucy. And Happy Easter to all of my LT friends!

>6 BLBera: >7 msf59: >10 sibylline: Glad you like the watercolour, Beth, Mark, and Lucy.

>10 sibylline: Lucy, I know you usually have an audiobook on the go, and I think you would appreciate Grover’s narration of Tom Sawyer. I recommend!

Happy new thread, Nancy! Another gorgeous topper....

Enjoy your Sunday!

Beautiful picture. What a talented artist.

Happy new thread Nancy, I just love your thread toppers. I would love my watercolours to look like these.

Thank you Katie, Charlotte, and John. I feel the same way about McIntosh's work. Would love to have one of her watercolours for my home.

Happy Easter and Happy New Thread, Nancy! I love the purples and blues in this painting of Skaha Lake! Beautiful! Great review of Tom Sawyer -and with that, just rushing along to do some Easter Stuff.

>16 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deb. I love this particular painting too. Would love to have it in my LR. Glad you enjoyed review of Tom Sawyer.

22.
Three Day Road, Joseph Boyden



Rating: 4/5

“Nephew cries out but then goes silent again. The sound of it, the animal fear at the very bottom of that cry, makes me think something I haven’t thought about in a long time. It is the story of my childhood. Now I tell it to you, Xavier, to keep you alive.”

Cree youth Xavier Bird is raised in the old ways by his auntie, Niska, who lives in the solitude of the northern Ontario bush. Elijah Whiskeyjack comes into Xavier’s life, and the two boys are inseparable. As young men and accomplished hunters, they are employed as snipers when they enlist to serve in WWI. They survive the horrors of Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele, among others, but, like all soldiers, are forever changed. Elijah develops a crippling morphine addiction and goes mad, to all appearances, coming to love the human kill. Ironically, it is Xavier who will later fight for his life against morphine – he will return home with the habit of a needle in his arm, and one leg – his physical being all but unrecognizable to Niska. On the “three day road,” as she paddles them to their home, she will do her best to save him by feeding him stories of her past, his own past, and the larger past of their people, the Cree of northern Ontario. Whether she will be able to save him – to pull him back from the brink – is the suspense that drives the narrative.

“I will tell the elders the many strange things I’ve seen ... the bodies of the dead everywhere so that one gets used to the sight of them swelling in the rain, the shells that whistle from out of nowhere on a quiet morning and blow the arms and head and legs from the man you talked to the day before. But especially I will tell the elders how after a shell attack life returns to normal so fast, how one’s mind does not allow him to dwell on the horror of violent death, for it will drive him mad if he lets it."

Three Day Road is an impressive debut novel, to say the least. Boyden’s powerful prose as he writes of a soldier’s experience of war reminded me more than once of Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front. It was easy to invest in Xavier’s return home: to hope with Niska that might heal and be made whole again. My one criticism of the novel is that it seemed to have a much longer “middle” than necessary. Still, I highly recommend.

Great review. I'm hesitant about Ww1 novels after feeling overwhelmed by it featuring in so much fiction, but this sounds like a fresh view. Wishlisted!

>19 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte. I enjoy WWI novels in general, but you're right that Boyden's approach is unique.

Good review Nancy! The name Boyden sounded so familiar to me and of course it's because I have The Orenda sitting on my TBR mountain. That is how I know I have WAY too many unread books...gah!

Excellent review of Three Day Road and congrats on getting through it after your first false start! I thumbed last night when I was up on LT. I'm reading a WW11 book endorsed by Joseph Boyden, And No Birds Sang by Farley Mowat so I feel we are bit on the same wavelength. I am nearly finished it, but a small white face is begging for a walk so.. ;)

Wonderful review of Three Day Road, Nancy!

>21 jolerie: Thanks, Val. Three Day Road is the first of Boyden's works I've read. But I certainly hear you about too many unread books!

>22 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deb : ). Will be standing by to see how you enjoy And No Birds Sang. Presently, I'm going to dip into another book which landed in my iPad because you read it: Binchy's A Week in Winter. I'm still going on renovating and redecorating, and it's soon report card time. The literature will happen LATER, when I've got some of my wits about me again, LOL! Enjoy your walk with small white face!

>23 lkernagh: Thanks, Lori!

Good review of Three Day Road Nancy! I remember it being such a powerful read and story.

Wow, your April reading looks like my eldest's bookshelf! The ones I have been meaning to read him anyway. What is the Secret Garden like ? We never got to the end of the Railway Children, and Tom Sawyer is still at the blocks, waiting to bolt.
Love the top painting, beautiful colours in the trees.

Happy new thread Nancy!

There you are, Nancy. Missed your new thread. Another beautiful watercolor. Love them. Hope you had a good easter.

She goes to bed by a bell; she gits up by a bell—everything's so awful reg'lar a body can't stand it. Poor Tom :) I have to reread this again sometime.

Three Day Road does sound a little like "All Quiet on the Western Front" in its bleak view of lifes lost and lost desire to live. Great review.

>25 mdoris: Thank you, Mary. Glad you also enjoyed Three Day Road.

>26 LovingLit: Hi Megan, yes, I'm revisiting much of the children's literature I studied in university. The Secret Garden is fabulous. Reviewed it on previous thread. Then Railway Children, then Tom Sawyer.

>27 souloftherose: Thanks, Heather : ).

>28 ctpress: Hi Carsten, I would LOVE to have one of McIntosh's watercolours in my home.

The quote is Huck, actually, who simply has no experience and so cannot fathom living by things reg'lar, LOL! Three Day Road is somewhat similar to Remarque's masterpiece, but it is a very different story. Glad you enjoyed the review. I think you would enjoy the novel too.

Getting in on the tail end of the newness of the new thread. Lovely, Nancy! Those colors in the McIntosh are amazing - I'll bet it's really wonderful in person!
I have picked up and put down *3 Day* at least a couple of times (the putting down in spite of the solid reviews that you have now added to). It has seemed too powerful for me on those occasions, but I look forward to it.
Happy New Thread! Happy Reading!

Nancy, you will have to continue the Cree adventure in Through Black Spruce…and I will have to go back in time to Three Day Road! Loved your review. I will make the effort to find TDR as our library system doesn't have it. Love the thread topper. So vibrant!

Oh the pressure ! You are going to read a book that I influenced you into purchasing for you Ipad? I vaguely remember A Week in Winter, but I checked my stars here on LT and I think I gave it 4 stars, so you know I enjoyed it, even if it is a bit fluffy. When it's report card time, a person has to just have an easy read in the background . I do hope you will enjoy it. Still nearly finished And No Birds Sang. Later tonight I hope! Another war book, but much easier and better then I expected. I feel a need to move away from war to mystery or some such thing - not sure what my next read will be. A Spool of Blue Thread is actually an easy , pleasant read. Sweat won't be pouring off your brow like it might have while reading Three Road. One day I'll read my copy of Three Day Road, but I'm battle weary! ;)

>30 LizzieD: Hi Peggy, I picked up Three Day Road and put it down a couple of years ago, too. But when Donna reviewed Through Black Spruce a couple of months ago, I thought I really should get to Boyden.

Have not seen any of McIntosh's paintings in person, but would love to!

>31 Donna828: Hi Donna, (see my post to Peggy right above), it was your reading of Through Black Spruce that urged me to pick up Boyden. I'll get to that one later, and I think you'll enjoy Three Day Road.

The painting is beautifully vibrant, isn't it?

>32 vancouverdeb: Deb, you are absolutely right about needing a light read in times of too much busy-ness! Haven't actually started A Week in Winter yet, but will do soon. Look forward to A Spool of Blue Thread too. I can only read so many war books in a string too, and then I need a breather. Hope you finished And No Birds Sang.

Well, as you know , I did finish And No Birds Sang and my copy has pages folded over, passages underlined - it was just that powerful of a read. But it is nice to take a break with The Midwife's Daughter . I watched the first episode of Call the Midwife last night and Poppy the dog was quite shaken by the screaming of women in delivery, though she did get used to it by the end of the episode. Glad you are enjoying a nice , light read right now. I noticed you loaded up Caught by Lisa Moore. You may love it, but I have to tell that when I read it a couple of years ago, man it was a slog! But I was expecting an actual suspenseful book, not a slow poke book. It started off well, but then just drifted around a lot - at least in my opinion . Just a bit of warning, just in case. :)

Stopping by to say hello on my way to the next thread.

>34 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, thoroughly enjoyed your comments on And No Birds Sang, and glad you're enjoying a break with The Midwife's Daughter. Aw, poor Poppy listening to women in labour! Thanks for take on Caught. I loved Moore's February, but did not like Alligator much at all; I may find the same thing as you did with Caught.

>35 thornton37814: Hi Lori, thanks for stopping by.

Super review of the Boyden. If it is like the Remarque it is indeed special.

>37 sibylline: Thanks, Lucy. The Boyden is a very different novel, but certainly has elements of the Remarque.

Mostly just waving, but hoping the report cards are treating you well.

>39 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte. Report cards are next week. But the marking is piled high!

23.
The Lincoln Lawyer, Michael Connelly



Rating: 4/5

2005, Time Warner Audiobooks, Read by Adam Grupper

From the Publisher:
Mickey Haller has spent all his professional life afraid that he wouldn't recognize innocence if it stood in front of him. Haller is a Lincoln Lawyer, a criminal defense pro who operates out of the backseat of his Lincoln Town Car, to defend clients at the bottom of the legal food chain. It's no wonder that he is despised by cops, prosecutors, and even some of his own clients. From bikers to con artists to drunk drivers and drug dealers, they're all on Mickey Haller's client list. But when a Beverly Hills rich boy is arrested for brutally beating a woman, Haller has his first high-paying client in years. It's a franchise case, and he's sure it will be a slam dunk in the courtroom. For once, he may be defending a client who is actually innocent. But an investigator is murdered for getting too close to the truth, and Haller quickly discovers that his search for innocence has taken him face to face with a kind of evil as pure as a flame. To escape without being burned, Haller must use all of his skills to manipulate a system in which he no longer believes.

My Review:
As a criminal defence lawyer, Haller’s job has mostly been to see scumbags exonerated of the crimes of which they are accused (and, let’s face it, most often guilty of committing). Guilt or innocence – really no matter to the likes of the Lincoln Lawyer. But Beverly Hills pretty boy Louis Roulet has some things to teach Haller, and the lessons won’t be easily forgotten. The play back and forth between the criminal mind and the defense pro is invigorating. As is the play between guilt and innocence and pure evil. And bravo to Connelly for writing Haller in such a manner that in spite of his sleazy job and antics, I still wished him well. Two ex-wives, and an eight-year-old daughter, and they all loved him – guy could not be all bad. But is he in over his head this time?

Thoroughly enjoyed. Great job of narration of Gruppa. Recommended for those who enjoy a good legal thriller.

Glad you enjoyed The Lincoln Lawyer, Nancy. Sounds like an interesting read, perfect for marking / and report card creation, though I cannot multitask at all . Maybe a little. I'm in my final pages of The Midwife's Daughter and enjoying it. I seem to be reading at a glacial pace - though these days a glacial pace is faster then it used to be.

>42 vancouverdeb: Deb, you're right that The Lincoln Lawyer was a good report card choice. I am also reading at an absolute glacial pace. Next week, on top of report cards, I've got painters here all week! So glad you've enjoyed The Midwife's Daughter.

HI Nancy, I never wrote report cards but did massive assessment reports on kids (special ed) but I do know the TOLL it took on teachers to do those report cards each term. My heart goes out to you! Chin up, summer's coming!

Late to the party again, Nancy. Have been in Norway for a seminar in the beginning of the week.

I do enjoy a good legal thriller, so this one I've put on the list. I've only read one by Connelly and that was The Poet which I can also recommend.

Hope your report card is soon finished :)

>44 mdoris: Mary, what a fabulous thought: summer is coming!

>45 ctpress: Hi Carsten, hope you enjoyed your seminar in Norway. Thanks for the Connelly recommendation; I've only read The Lincoln Lawyer. Report cards will be finished next week.

Swinging by to see what you've been reading, Nancy. Still recovering my cold so I'm just slowly catching up on all the threads. :)

Nancy, if you were not aware of Evening Chorus up til now, you really need to take a step back from the reno and the report cards , alright or all right? ;)

Happy (sort of) new thread! Glad that you enjoyed the Tom Sawyer audiobook. I'll keep a look-out for it.

Happy weekend!

>47 jolerie: Hi Val, glad you are feeling a little bit better.

>48 vancouverdeb: Deb, I'm ready to take a step back from all of the above, LOL!

>49 The_Hibernator: Thanks, Rachel : ).

Hi Nancy! Here is my report card for you...Have a great weekend.

>51 Berly: Aw, thanks, Kim! Love it!

You tempt me with The Lincoln Lawyer!

>53 sibylline: Lucy, I think The Lincoln Lawyer is one you would enjoy. Watched the movie on the weekend; it was decent, too.

Thanks Nancy. I did as you suggested and changed my comments into a short review of Evening Chorus. I was so disappointed that it sort of fell flat for me. It is beautifully written and the premise is wonderful - but the story itself suffers from too many plot lines, so the whole thing just seemed to light for me. Not fluffy , just not enough depth in the book for my liking

Hope the reno is going well - and the report cards are done? Or will soon be?

Just passing through and waving hello. :)

>55 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, I'm sorry too that The Evening Chorus fell flat for you. But I'm off to thumb your excellent review!

Reno is going well, almost done. Painters are here all week this week. Then the flooring guy comes to do main bath floor. Then we've got some backsplash tile, and it's a wrap. Everything is looking so nice. I'm almost crazy, however … that's the nature of an upside down house for months on end! Oh, and report cards are done, YAY!

>56 nittnut: *waves* back to Jenn. Hi, Jenn!

Well done Nancy on the "dreaded" report cards being done. Hurrah! You can get your life back (well after the reno completion that is...... and the tidy-up...... and the put-away....). I'm in the midst of 10% Happier by Dan Harris. Trust me, I'd like to be 25% happier! Anyway it's a book about a non meditator type learning to meditate and seeing the benefit. It's interesting. He was inerviewed by Charlie Rose and that's very interesting too.

>58 mdoris: Thanks, Mary. I love the premise of 10% Happier … going to need to look that one up.

eta: OK, so the touchstone for that one points to Farenheit 451. Go figure!? I've fixed it now, though, LOL: 10% Happier.

I cannot imagine how any algorithm in any universe could confuse Farenheit 451 with 10% Happier! :D

Hi Nancy, I am impressed. I would have no idea how to fix the touchstone so "good on ya!!".

oooops, I just hit the above 10 % Happier and it went to Farenheit 451. Yikes. Don't ask me to fix!

Ugh! Report cards. Thanks for reminding me why I don't miss teaching…at least that aspect of it. I hope the rest of the school year flies by for you, Nancy!

Amen. Amen. Nothing you do is fair to anybody. At least, that's always how I felt at the end of the grading period. Like Donna, I'm thrilled to have that stress behind me.
The weekend is approaching fast. Hope you have something relaxing planned, Nancy, although with reno finishing, I doubt it. Do one nice thing for yourself every day!

>60 lyzard: LOL, Liz! Nor can I!

>61 mdoris: and >62 mdoris: Hi Mary, the fix is not hard, really. You need to find the page for the book you want, and then take the numeric code from the URL (last 6-7 digits). Type the touchstone with #####::Book Title (not using here or the code won't show).

>63 Donna828: LOL, Donna! I'm certain you speak for all teachers past and present! I've never heard one say any different. Personally, I can't wait until I am retired and it is report card season : ).

>64 LizzieD: Hi Peggy, another teacher happy to have left the stress behind! You're right about the weekend: nothing relaxing yet with reno finishing! But it's coming ...

24.
Chi Running, Danny Dreyer



Rating: 4/5

First, I am not a runner! Picked up a bit of conversation on Lucy's (sibyx) thread about this one, and my interest was piqued. I'm attracted to the idea of moving the body in ways it was designed to move: effortlessly, without stress, and without injury. And I believe that posture has much to do with not only the body's physical health, but also the mind, the emotions, and the spirit. Dreyer is a natural teacher: instruction is clear, concise, and easy to follow. I've discovered that he has done Chi Walking, and I will definitely be seeking it out.

P.S. Thanks, Lucy!

Stopping by to wish you a lovely weekend, Nancy.... and hopefully it is warmer in the interior than it is on the island!

Stopping by to say hi! Glad you enjoyed Chi Running. I used to be a runner, I started running/ jogging with my dad when I was 13 or so. He dropped it, but I kept it up til I was somewhere in early 40's , at which time I decided my joints ( knees) had had enough. Seems like I'm getting more reading done and not finding time to get onto the computer and now Dave is home and chatting to me - must go!

>67 lkernagh: Thanks, Lori. The interior is having a much cooler spell than we have had!

>68 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, I did some running in my much earlier years, but never was a serious runner. Walking is more my meditation.

Hi Deb, hope you have had a good weekend my dear and that the wedding plans are coming along ok, love and hugs.

Effortless running. Sounds good to me, Nancy - although I'm a little sceptic :)

I could be tempted to jump on the one about walking. Thoreau also have some good thoughts on walking and meditation about life in his essay "Walking".

>70 johnsimpson: Hi John, it's Nancy, LOL! Hope your weekend is lovely, too.

>71 ctpress: Hi Carsten, yeah, not sure the running would be effortless, but the body's movement should be effortless. Think I'm a little skeptical, too, LOL. Good to know about Thoreau's essay.

Stopping by to say hi and hope you have had a restful weekend. A bit Chi Walking perhaps? :)

>73 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, a bit of Chi sleeping before much longer! Weekend has been fairly busy but I've had some down time too, which is lovely. Hope yours has been restful, too.

How's the reno going? Is there a CHI "sitting" book (and reading)? I was never a runner but my daughters are so maybe it skipped a generation!

>75 mdoris: Reno is coming right along, Mary. Chi sitting and reading works for me, too!

>66 lit_chick: I like the sound of Chi Walking. Happy you mentioned it! :) I have ended up with plantar fasciitis every time I've gone running in the last two years. Not so happy about it. I tried different shoes, running on softer/harder ground. Oddly, the thing that seems to have sorted it out is living at the beach and walking barefoot in the sand almost every day. Lol. It's a new prescription. But anyway, no more running for me. Just walking. Of course, I'd be happy with Chi Sitting (and reading) too...

>77 nittnut: Hi Jenn, sorry to hear you've had PF but LOVE your new prescription of living at the beach and walking barefoot! Can't get much more Chi than that, I don't think. Hope you explore Chi Walking too … we can compare notes.

>72 lit_chick:, Hi Nancy, I got my posting wrong, I was posting on your thread and Deb's and got confused, I am at that funny age and that's my excuse, lol.

Good to know that running doesn't have to be stressful on the body. Somehow as a child, running seemed so fun and natural and as an adult, wow, totally different approach...ha!

Hi Nancy, I missed the Chi Walking in your >66 lit_chick: post and I was trying to make a "funny" with the Chi Sitting concept but I will be VERY interested in hearing about the walking book. Please keep us posted!

>79 johnsimpson: Hi John, no worries! I've done the same thing, LOL.

>80 jolerie: Hi Val, exactly … Dreyer talks about Chi running as running the way we did as children.

>81 mdoris: Mary, LOVED your Chi Sitting quip! Chi Reading, Chi Napping both work, too, LOL!

ohhhh, now Chi Napping, that's a very good one that I can sign up for!

Just checking to see how life is going. Chi Report Card writing , anyone?

>83 mdoris: Yes, and I'll sign up with you, Mary!

>84 vancouverdeb: Oh, Deb, nothing too Chi about life right now. Report cards are done, bathroom is almost done (I keep saying that), but I've let the reno-domino effect get hold of me, and I'm completely stressed out! Chi -money-grows-on-trees, anyone?

Oh sign me up for the chi money trees. And the chi napping too...

I was able to borrow the Chi Walking book and as I suspected it has virtually ALL the same information. There is a bit of shameless commerce to Dreyer's schtick, even though it is also useful stuff. I would advise going to a B&N or a library that has it and thumbing through it. I can't say I see anything is different except for substituting Walking for Running after Chi. I would be curious to see if you saw anything more in it anywhere!

Ahh! The reno domino effect! I remember that! Maybe that is why we have not done any renovating in a long long long time! Take a few zen breaths and just CHI !

>86 charl08: You're signed up, Charlotte! Now, to find that tree.

>87 sibylline: Thanks, Lucy. I wondered whether the information would be much the same. Yes, I understand there is a bit, maybe even more than a bit, of shameless commerce to Dreyer's schtick, but you're right that it is useful stuff. My library has the Chi Walking book, but I'm thinking to buy the audiobook.

>88 vancouverdeb: *Zen breathing here* Perfect, Deb! And I'm going for a Chi nap immediately after a busy day at work.

Wow. A Chi nap sounds like exactly what I need right now.

Happy weekend!

Having a chi - weekend , Nancy, I hope! We are chi on LT now! I'm Chi Lazing around.

>91 vancouverdeb: Yes, had a lovely Chi day, Deb! Here's to Chi Lazing Around … some of which I hope to do tomorrow after some Sunday chores.

Hoping your relaxing weekend is helping reduce the stress of the reno and all. :)

You chi(cks) are funny with all your chi-ing. I love it!
Started The Children's Act today by Ian McEwan and I am captivated.
What a gorgeous day it was today.

>93 nittnut: Thanks, Jenn. Stress reduction goes into full swing for me in July : ).

>94 mdoris: Hi Mary, we're having wonderful Chi weather, too! Enjoy The Children's Act.

>90 The_Hibernator: If anybody needs any help with Chi-napping, I'll be happy to give advice!

>96 LizzieD: Thanks for the chuckle, Peggy! I could give some decent advice on Chi-napping, too, but I only get to practice on weekends.

Making me laugh, definitely good chi.

>98 sibylline: Yes, I agree Lucy, that laughter is the best chi!

Hope your week has been going well and your reading is full of CHI, Nancy. ;)

Warm enough for you , Nancy? But I think you enjoy the heat more than I do. No breeze today and it's about 23 C. Too warm for me!

>100 jolerie: Thanks, Val : ).

>101 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, it's about the same temperature here, and yes, I'm loving it! I do enjoy the heat more than you : ). Have some indoor chores to finish up, then I'm heading out to seal my patio. It's exposed aggregate, and looks so beautiful when it's glazed; I do it every couple of years. Cairo, of course, will be supervising while wearing his construction harness, LOL.

HI Nancy, I know it's not a question about books....... but I have exposed aggregate too and I have never put a glaze on it. What do you suggest? What product do you use and how do you clean it first? Lots of chores to do outside when the weather gets nice. I love the hot weather too!

>103 mdoris: Hi Mary, the patio needs to be swept and then washed. If the aggregate is really dirty, it can be cleaned with TSP and a wire brush. I buy a high-quality glaze from Cloverdale Paint (you don't want a water cleanup product, but an oil one). Buy a foil tray and roller, all of which you'll dispose of when finished. Was looking for a picture of the can, but can't find one.

Thanks Nancy. Very good idea about the TSP. That's my first job!

>69 lit_chick: wow, Chi Running sounds interesting, I too am interested in ways of moving your body that don't involve injuring it or jarring it. I used to love running, I used to run to netball practice as a teen, do the practice then run home. Now since I have had hip surgery I am told not to run at all...it's ok with me as I find it so jarring on my knees, hip and everything! I would have liked to keep on playing netball and skiing though.

Maybe Chi Walking is for me!

>102 lit_chick: exposed aggregate...is that concrete? I liked glazed floors, and recently saw a nicely stained one at was bright red, then glazed. Pretty hard on things that you drop on it, but so nice.

>105 mdoris: The worst of the patio project is the cleaning with wire brush and TSP, Mary. Once that's done, the rest is easy.

>106 LovingLit: Hi Megan, can certainly understand why running is out if you've had a hip replaced. Yes to Chi walking!

Exposed aggregate is concrete with small stones in it. It's popular here on patio surfaces. Would not work for inside, but I love the look outdoors. I also love the texture and visual appeal of it as opposed to plain poured concrete.

Nice exposed aggregate Nancy! I had to look up google images to understand fully what it is, though I had a pretty good idea. On the home front upgrades, Dave was looking at air conditioners yesterday. Not that we we will get central air, but perhaps an A/C unit for upstairs - where our living area is. Dave is researching BTU's etc so I'll leave it to him . I've been mentioning the idea to him for a couple of years, so finally he has picked up on the idea himself!:)

>108 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deb. Now that AC is Dave's idea, or in his mind it's his idea, it'll happen, I'm sure, LOL! We won't tell him you planted the bug years ago. I need central air here in the steamy Okanagan. That was another huge home upgrade in 2013: new furnace and new AC. I bought them together to save some $$, and they were a big expense, but money very well spent. Both are high efficiency units: I've noticed a difference in my energy bills, and the house is kept comfortable with ease.

25.
A Week in Winter, Maeve Binchy



Rating: 3/5

Chicky Starr owns and operates a bed and breakfast on the Irish coast. The novel tells the varied stories of the group of people who will be guests during opening week. Somewhat chick-lit-ish for my taste, but not an unenjoyable read.

Some years ago I read Circle of Friends which was quite good. Chick-lit-ish....hmmm...to many of those books. Fortunately you can normally spot them by their cover.

Good luck with the renovations, Nancy.

>111 ctpress: I'll keep Circle of Friends in mind, Carsten. I certainly won't rule out turning to Binchy again as an escape read.

Renovation wishes are appreciated! Argh!!

Nancy, you are so handy! I'm so impressed and inspired.
I've been missing a door to our master bedroom ensuite since we moved into our house (6 years ago) and to this day my husband still has not found the time to put one up. I'm tempted to whip out the tools and do it myself, but I'm afraid it's going to end up upside or backwards or something else just as ridiculous...hahah!

>113 jolerie: I'm not handy, Val, but thank you! Wouldn't know how to put a door on, but I've certainly learned a lot through this latest renovation.

Yes Nancy, Dave has been saying to me - " instead of going to your book site, please research air-conditioners". He even brought me a air conditioner brochure and is figuring out how many BTU's we will need. Yes, I agree, you definitely need central air in the Okanagan. Really, almost any where in " Southern Canada" you need central air. Not so much here on the coast, but I know in Barrie ON it was 31 C last Saturday and then it snowed! My two brothers in ON and Alberta both have central air. The temps there are so extreme.

Glad that you sort of liked Circle of Friends. It's a nice escape read, but not everyday fodder. Chicky Starr, that kind of says it all! ;)

Dave is very handy. Handy beyond what I think it is safe. That is why I keep him on, sort of. ;) LOL! He cleans my windshield , installs things, replaces a motor in the washing machine, etc. That is man's work. Really, everything is a man's work. Heavy library books, grocery shopping. unloading the dishwasher. It was not always that way, but I am glad to hand over many tasks . But as you know, when push comes to shove, I can pull down gyprock if need be.

>107 lit_chick: Yikes, that is a great picture of exposed aggregate. So clean! Maybe I should take a picture of my horrible moss covered and dirty one for contrast, (or maybe I shouldn't). Sounds like the job jar has been full on the home front for you.

>115 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, Binchy is definitely an author to keep in mind for escape reading. You're right that Chicky Starr says it all!

Dave is a very handy guy, indeed! I can understand why you keep him on, LOL. There are lots of tasks I'd happily hand over, too, were I still married. But that's a whole other story …

>116 mdoris: Mary, my patio was also very bad with moss the first time I cleaned it (not sure it had ever been done). Yes, my job jar has been very full for a very long time, since mid January truth be told.

I love Maeve Binchy books Nancy and have read three with quite a number on the shelves to be read, hope you are ok my dear, love and hugs from over here.

Chiming in as another Binchy fan!

>118 johnsimpson: Hi John, good to know you also enjoy Binchy. Yes, I'm OK, just too busy at the moment for much LT or reading time. Hugs to you and Karen.

>119 scaifea: And another Binchy fan! Thanks, Amber.

I think that Circle of Friends is the only Binchy I've read. I liked it well enough, but my mother loves them, has them all, and sobs that there will be no more.
Happy weekend, Nancy......a down payment on what is to come!

I generally like Maeve Binchy. I think my favorite is Evening Class, although I really enjoyed Tara Road too. She is definitely chick lit - but IMO a higher quality than most. I like her and Rosamund Pilcher for a good chick lit fix.

Hi Nancy, hope you are having a lovely Saturday my dear, sending love and hugs.

>121 LizzieD: Peggy, how wonderful that your mom, as well as being a Binchy fan, is an avid reader, too!

>122 nittnut: Hi Jenn, will keep these suggestions in mind. Sometimes chick list is all this poor brain can digest, LOL!

>123 johnsimpson: Hugs back to you, John : ).

Dear, dear Nancy,
Hello from your long lost Colorado friend! Love your thread topper. You've done some great reading lately -- lots of 4-stars. I read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer aloud some years back, and the girls both loved it. Boy did it take me back. Sorry you didn't enjoy A Week in Winter more. Your assessment is spot-on, but it was exactly what I was in the mood for when I listened to it a couple of months ago. The fantastic narrator helped as well.

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

Ah, the allure of Maeve Binchy - I occasionally succumb to listening to one.

>125 AMQS: Hi Anne, my long lost Colorado friend! That made me smile : ). I think Binchy got the brunt of my tired, scattered brain. Not ruling her out for further escape-pares : ).

>126 sibylline: Hi Lucy, I think that's probably just what I'll do.

26.
Tom's Midnight Garden, Philippa Pearce



Rating: 5/5

1999, BBC Audiobooks, Full Cast Dramatization

From the Publisher:
When his brother catches measles, Tom is sent away for the summer to stay with his uncle and aunt and is thoroughly fed up about it. What a boring summer it's going to be. But then, lying in bed one night, he hears the old grandfather clock in the hall strike the very strange hour of 13 o'clock. What can it mean? As Tom creeps downstairs and opens the door, he finds out ... a magical garden, a new playmate, and the adventure of a lifetime. Una Stubbs stars as Aunt Gwen in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatization.

My Review:
Thoroughly enjoyed this BBC production of Tom’s Midnight Garden. I love that Tom shares every moment of his adventure with his brother, Peter, and that he meets with the elderly Hattie on his side of 13 o’clock. Pearce manages the notion of time beautifully – the skates, for one, are an ingenious idea. I was reminded while listening of a precious moment I shared with my father as a young child when he told me there are some doors in life through which only little people can pass. Highly recommended.

Oh - I love love love Tom's Midnight Garden!!

>128 lit_chick: I love, love, love Tom's Midnight Garden too!

Ah, a magical garden. I must read or listen to that one. What a wonderful year you are having with BBC audio-drama, Nancy.

>128 lit_chick: Another fan of this - saw the BBC children's version of this many years ago.

>129 sibylline: I loved it too, Lucy!

>130 SandDune: Hi Rhian, delighted you are another fan!

>131 ctpress: Carsten, you will love Tom's Midnight Garden! The BBC full-cast dramatizations are fabulous!

>132 charl08: Hi Charlottle, I must look for the BBC children's film Would love to see itl

HI Nancy, It's so great to hear the enthusiasm for books that I read so long ago and now realize that I must re-read. Tom's Midnight Garden, thanks for your great review. I have such a stack on the go right now. Glorious weather on the coast and the better half is having a daily dip in the ocean. I am still doing life guard duty with Maggie (the dog- the computer genius) until it warms up a bit more! He says it good though....yah right!

he told me there are some doors in life through which only little people can pass So true! One to add to my list. Thank you, Nancy!

Chiming in with more love for Tom's Midnight Garden!

Hi Nancy - Tom's MIdnight Garden sounds fabulous -- a future Scout book and film.

>134 mdoris: Hi Mary, beautiful weather here too, although it's turned today, just in time for Bike to Work Week, LOL! Glad Maggie continues to dominate all-things-computer in your home!

>135 AMQS: Hi Anne, you'll love Tom's Midnight Garden. The line from my Dad is one of my most precious memories of him.

>136 scaifea: Thanks, Amber!

>137 BLBera: Absolutely Tom's Midnight Garden, both book and film, are for Scout, Beth! She can sit in her little rocking chair and read : ).

I love your father's wisdom, Nancy!

>139 LizzieD: Thanks, Peggy. I loved him dearly, and I also loved his wisdom.

Tom's Midnight Garden is I learned about in library school, actually. Didn't get to read as a child, even though my mother really was amazingly diligent finding odd and interesting books for me to read -- I was insatiable!

>141 sibylline: Lucy, I love that you were an insatiable reader even as a child, and that your mother was so diligent in feeding your appetite!

>128 lit_chick: I feel a reread of Tom's Midnight Garden coming on - glad you enjoyed it so much :-)

>143 souloftherose: I hope you enjoy Tom's Midnight Garden as much the second time round, Heather. I predict you will!

Sign me up for Tom's Midnight Garden. Maybe I'll see if I can use an Audible credit. The audio sounds like fun.

ETA: Yes, they have it and now it's mine. This will be a great thing to listen to with the kids.

>145 nittnut: Jenn, I predict you will love Tom's Midnight Garden. Lovely to listen with your children : ).

Hi Nancy, I've not heard of Tom's Midnight Garden. All I think about is Uncle Tom's Cabin! Prob quite different :)

Hi Nancy--I have never heard of Tom's Midnight Garden, but it seems to have a lot of fans over here!

>147 LovingLit: >148 Berly: Hi Megan and Kim. The two of you are in for a treat if you've not read (or listened to!) Tom's Midnight Garden. It's another on the list of 1001 Children's Books. Yes, very different from Uncles Tom's Cabin.

>147 LovingLit: I confuse it with Goodnight Mr Tom, also v different.

HI Nancy, How is June treating you? I remember how very, very busy and crazy June was in the schools. You will soon be finished your year! Have you some good books planned?

>150 charl08: I don't know Goodnight Mr Tom, Charlotte.

>151 mdoris: Hi Mary, you nailed it: I remember how very, very busy and crazy June was in the schools. My life is MENTAL right now, but thankfully June is followed by July, the month that I live for!

27.
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L'Engle



Rating: 4/5

2011, Random House Audio, Read by Hope Davis

Book Description: adapted from Amazon.ca
It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.

"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me sit down for a moment, and then I'll be on my way. Speaking of ways, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract."

A tesseract (in case the reader doesn't know) is a wrinkle in time. Miss L'Engle's unusual book, winner of the Newbery Medal in 1963, is the story of the adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and their friend, Calvin O'Keefe as they search for Meg's father, a scientist who disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government on the tesseract problem.

My Review:
Fantasy is not so much my thing, but L’Engle’s treatment of time here is admittedly captivating, not to mention brilliant. Love the characters, and, what’s more, I love that L’Engle is writing intelligent fiction for children. Hope Davis is superb as narrator.

The reading of A Wrinkle in Time was spoiled for me because I listened to L'Engles own narration. It was a very irritatating and high-pitched reading.

Well, I couldn't quite figure it out as well. Hope Davis. Love her voice :)

Counting the days for july, Nancy? Hang in there :)

The same here. There's an election at the moment in Denmark so of course superbusy and working overtime. Not my favorite thing to cover I have to admit.

Longing for July.

>154 ctpress: Hi Carsten, interesting that you found L'Engle's own narration irritating. I've heard readers say that about other authors reading their own works, too.

Oh, groan, election time in the news room. I'll bet you're longing for July as much as I am!

Hi Nancy - I read A Wrinkle in Time years ago, but remember it as a great young reader read -- especially for girls.

Just speaking, Nancy. Hang on! You're in the short rows!!!

Goodnight Mr Tom is a story of a wartime evacuee sent to the country to live with a grumpy old man.


It won prizes, but I think I mostly know it from the TV version (real weepy!).

>156 BLBera: Hi Beth, I didn't read A Wrinkle in Time until university!

>157 LizzieD: Hi Peggy, yes … hanging on! I find with each year, I have to hang on a little more tightly!

>158 charl08: Hi Charlotte, Goodnight Mr Tom sounds like one I would enjoy.

Hello Nancy, just stopping by to offer my "thanks" for adding to my TBR. Amazon has The Sisters Brothers as today's Kindle Daily Deal ($1.99!!). I've eyed this book from afar, so I was tempted and decided that I would first scan through the many LT reviews to see what some of my fellow 75ers thought of it. Yours was the first familiar name and of course you'd given it 4.5 stars. I knew I need look no further ... one click and it was mine!

>160 lauralkeet: Oh, Laura, you are in for a treat! I hope you will enjoy The Sisters Brothers as much as I did … and laugh out loud as often as I did while reading it!

Hi Nancy! I have Tom's Midnight Garden home from the library (have for awhile, actually), but I haven't had time to get to it yet. I appreciate the recommendation! Goodnight Mr. Tom is a good one. Hard to read at times, but heartwarming. The movie is good as well.

Hi Nancy! I have finally made my way over here after some time away. It has been a number of years since I read a Maeve Binchy novel, but I do remember enjoying the ones I have read... they are 'snuggling up under a warm blanket with a cup of tea' kind of comfort reads for me.

>128 lit_chick: - Ooooohhh.... a full cast dramatization! That's like a radio play. I love radio plays!

Now I have not heard of Goodnight Mr. Tom - I read widely in the post-war literature for children in library school, actually, but maybe this was more recent?

>162 AMQS: Anne, I hope you will love Tom's Midnight Garden as much as I did. Sounds like Goodnight Mr Tom is one I need to look out for.

>163 lkernagh: Hi Lori, you've got Maeve Binchy perfectly: snuggling up under a warm blanket with a cup of tea' kind of comfort reads. The BBC full-cast dramatizations I've been listening to have all been fabulous!

>164 sibylline: Nor have I, Lucy. Sounds like that needs to change.

We read Goodnight, Mr. Tom for a YA class I took back in library school 20-25 years ago. It was one of my favorites among those I read for that class.

>166 thornton37814: Great endorsement for Goodnight Mr Tom! Thanks, Lori.

>150 charl08: >152 lit_chick: I read and quite liked Goodnight Mr Tom a while ago mistaking it for Uncle Tom's Cabin. A happy mistake as it happens.
So many "Tom" books!

>168 LovingLit: Hi Megan! Yes, all these Tom books!

28.
A Man Called Ove, Fredrik Backman



Rating: 4/5

Book Description: adapted from Amazon.com
In this bestselling and charming debut from one of Sweden’s most successful authors, a grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.

Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon – the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. But behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. When a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. And so one cranky old man is changed, and a local residents’ association shaken to its very foundations.

My Review:
I’ve not had the pleasure of reading any Swedish literature to this point, but A Man Called Ove is indeed a charming and worthy debut. I loved Ove, and I thoroughly enjoyed his gradual, reluctant metamorphosis from curmudgeon to neighbourly granddad. Backman illustrates beautifully the influence that one life has on countless others around it. Am curious what this blogger-turned-author will write next. Hihgly recommended.

That does sound good, Nancy. I do so identify with curmudgeons!

>171 LizzieD: LOL, Peggy! I do, too!

So glad you had a chance to read A Man Called Ove . I really loved it and lent my copy to my sister and my mom, back in January and it has yet to reappear to me! :) The author has a new book translated to english, the title escapes me and I've yet to see it in real life, but I'd like to check out. Getting down to the wire with everything wedding related. Shoes purchased , but not yet picked up , as I had to order them in. Priest interview done, confirmed that my son had not been married before, has not killed a previous spouse, the fiance is not my adopted daughter etc . ;) What can you do? You follow the rules of the church that your daughter in law chose , and the priest was even quite pleasant. Now for the jewellery shopping - because I need a bit bling to err - bling up my look a bit.
So doing okay here and I'm off to walk the dog, but thought I'd pop in for a minute. Are you finished your report cards?

>173 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, A Man Called Ove was a great rec. On to another Indridason for me now. Sounds like wedding plans are coming together, about to wrap up into a grand finale. Yes, you need some bling, LOL! Have fun with that. Can't wait to see a pic of you and Dave, and of your son and bride on the big day. Finishing report cards this week! June's only saving grace is that it is followed by July.

Just passing through with a wave :).

The Ove novel sounds delightful!

>175 nittnut: Hi Jenn!

>176 sibylline: Hi Lucy, I think you would really enjoy Ove : ).

Loved the Ove novel so lovely to see that you liked it too. Glad to see from Deb's post that he has another on its way.

>178 charl08: Hi Charlotte, yes, I was glad to hear, too, and Backman has another novel on the way.

Hi Nancy, Are you heading for the finish line with lots of plans for summer? Hope so!

>180 mdoris: Mary, I'm done! The District owed me a couple of days lieu time, so I'm now off for July and August. Bring.It.

Horray! Enjoy the rest of the summer.

>181 lit_chick: woohoo! Are you talking two. months. off.
Woah.
Nice.

Fabulous Nancy! Glad to hear that you have a whole two months off! Enjoy!

GOOD FOR YOU!!! Enjoy! Enjoy!
(I wrote on Beth's thread earlier today about a counted cross-stitch thing that my aunt framed and hung, "The two best things about teaching: July and August")

>182 BLBera: Thanks, Beth : ).

>183 LovingLit: Yes, I am, Megan! Ya … woah!

>184 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deb : ).

>185 LizzieD: I will enjoy every minute, Peggy, and thank you! Love your aunt's cross-stitch!

HOLIDAY!!! Hooray for you. :) We'll be watching out for BB's then.

Do I gather there is some MAJOR celebrating going on in your household right now???? Good for you and best wishes for a fabulous and loooooong summer .

>181 lit_chick: Sounds fab. Enjoy it :-)

Off for the summer.... ENJOY!

>187 nittnut:, >188 mdoris:, >189 charl08:, >190 lkernagh: Thank you Jenn, Mary, Charlotte, and Lori! Going to love me some summer!

Hooray for summer!

>192 sibylline: Exactly, Lucy! Just.Exactly!

I knew it, I knew it, I knew it...I should have been a teacher. Two months. Wow. I'm happy for you, Nancy - Hope you'll enjoy the warm summer months - I guess some beach and sun is coming your way....

Glad you liked A Man Called Ove. I like it a lot. It got better and better actually. I had some good discussions with one of my friends about it afterwards. A lot of good things about change and a second chance in life.

I've been stressed out about the election and some other stuff I was behind with - so reading is a little slow. But I guess in a few days there will be time to relax.

Still looking for the bling. Just some new earrings and necklace that I think will go with the dress. I am really not a shopper and I returned a bracelet yesterday. I was still looking and the girl at one of the shops asked me - what sort of look are looking for? I thought to myself - I have no idea. Not so small that is invisible but not anything big or garish either. What I want is just a pair of earrings with " fake zirconias" and and necklace to go with it. Can't decide between gold plating or silver plating. Silver would probably look better with the dress, but in real life I prefer to wear gold. I am a terribly practical person and I hate to purchase some thing I will only wear for the wedding. And my watch is " gold" with a bit of bling, and I can't imagine a day without my watch. So I think I am leaning towards the gold. The bride would like it if I would wear a " pop of colour' as in a cobalt blue but I really that would be a big clash with the dress. It is 90 F here today and it's been far to hot. I am so looking to the big day being overwith! All this complication and keeping the bride happy :)

Much much too hot for me!

Happy Summer Holidays! Very hot in your part of the province too! Our portable a/c can't keep with all of this hot weather and neither can I.

>198 lkernagh: Hi Carsten, Peggy's aunt (#185) has it right: The two best things about teaching: July and August. Hands down! Yes, some beach days on the way. It's been very, very hot here!

Glad you also enjoyed A Man Called Ove. It was uplifting to observe his life change as he allowed himself to help others and be needed by them. Loved his relationship with the scruffy cat, LOL.

Can certainly understand being stressed out by the election, particularly in your profession. Soon it will be over, I hope? Reading is slow here, too … just lots on the go.

>199 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, I'm not a shopper either, so I do empathize. I'm with you in staying with gold. I have a lovely pair of earrings with zircons; several years old now but remain a favourite. The heat, the shopping, the keeping the bride happy stuff … I can see how you're looking forward to the wedding being a fait accompli. What date is it?

It's been steaming hot here, too, even for the Okanagan. And it got hot so early this year. I'll still be lovin' my summer, every minute of it. Townhouse has central air if I need to retreat, LOL!

Hooray for holidays Nancy! I love Goodnight, Mister Tom - such a special book. The author, Michelle Magorian, has written a number of books which highlight the effect of WWII on chidlren but Goodnight Mister Tom is the best. Have the tissues handy....

Sending you cooling thoughts and good luck bling shopping vibes, Deb!

@198 Thanks Lori! :)

Nancy , I should not say it, but yes, I'll be glad to have the wedding behind me. I am very delighted that Serenade and William are getting married, but it is just so extravagant and perhaps overly formal for my tastes that yes, I will be glad when the day is past me. On the shopping front, both Dave and I were just so unbearably hot we purchased another portable a/c online yesterday . So now we will have an A/C in our bedroom , 10,000 BTU's and two hoses and we are getting another one delivered that is the same for our living room area. That way we hope to keep our entire upstairs floor of our townhouse cool. We live upstairs in our townhouse, so if we can keep that level cool, I think we manage the heat little better. Oh yes and the big day is July18, so not long now.

>197 souloftherose: Yes, holidays ROCK, don't they, Heather? Love love love. I must read Goodnight Mr Tom.

>198 lkernagh: Hi Lori, Deb appreciates your shopping wishes : ).

>199 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, I'm not one for extravagance either. My preference is always simple elegance. Will be thinking of you on July 18. Glad you and Dave got another AC. The heat is a regular in the Okanagan, Vancouver NOT! I updated both furnace and AC in my townhouse a couple of years ago, and I must say it was money well spent … so much more efficient and quieter than the 20+ yr old appliances they replaced.

Found these notes in my iPad a couple of days ago. I forgot to add Favourite Quotes to my review of A Man Called Ove. Here we go:

“People said Ove saw the world in black and white. But she was color. All the color he had.” (Ch 5)

“Of all the imaginable things he most misses about her, the thing he really wishes he could do again is hold her hand in his. She had a way of folding her index finger into his palm, hiding it inside. And he always felt that nothing in the world was impossible when she did that. Of all the things he could miss, that’s what he misses most.” (Ch 8)

>200 lit_chick: - LOL! Seriously, I thought I was reading Deb's post on her thread, not your's Nancy. Oops! I was going to ask how you were managing with the heat and then I: 1) remembered that you were in the Okanagan - I love Okanagan cherries! - , and 2) saw your mention above that you have AC. Smart!

@202 No problem, Lori! I read Nancy's thread quite often so I got the message!:) I found the necklace and earrings at the Swarvorski store Not entirely what I had in mind, but fairly close and I was so weary of shopping. Still have a few more things on my list Yes, it is true that the portable A/C are not quiet, but they are very worth it! Yes I think Central Air is essential in the Okanagan ! Great quotes from A Man Called Ove.

>202 lkernagh: LOL, Lori! I suspected you might have thought you were reading Deb's thread, and that's fine … have done the same thing myself more than once! Yes, the cherries are in season now and absolutely FABULOUS! The heat in the Okanagan would be unbearable without AC; that said, I know many go without, and I'm grateful to have it.

>203 vancouverdeb: Yay, you found your necklace and earrings, Deb! I'm guessing they are beautiful, coming from the Swarvorski stores. Can't wait to see pics!

Victoria is shrouded in haze and the news reports are saying it is from the fires in the BC interior. Don't usually get forest fire haze here in Victoria. Seeing everything orange-tinted feels a bit surreal.

YUM! We have been consuming bags and bags of cherries since they hit the markets here. Soooo good! I love summertime and fruit season.

>205 lkernagh: Hi Lori, I see on Shaw's home internet page that Vancouver and Victoria are shrouded in haze. It's very hazy here in the Okanagan today too. I hope the fires don't get so desperately out of control as happened several years ago. Such a shame, our beautiful forests. But I feared this with an unrelentingly hot spring. Summers here are always hot.

I love me some cherries too! You said it with: I love summertime and fruit season. Consuming bags of cherries as well as buying blueberries from the lower mainland in 10 lb installments : ).

Hi Nancy! Love that summer fruit! I loved Tom's Midnight Garden -- what a treat. Happy summer to you! In Colorado, a teacher's favorite words are "June" and "July," as I have to report back to school August 5:(

Oh YAY FOR CHERRIES!!!!! I don't know where ours come from either, but I'm always thrilled when they show up.

Wow, those cherries look sumptuous. They are a Christmas treat around here :)

>207 AMQS: Hi Anne, delighted you also loved Tom's Midnight Garden! Happy summer to you, too! You do report back to work early … are you off most of June? or perhaps Colorado is on a very different school-year schedule that we are?

>208 LizzieD: Hi Peggy, it would be very interesting to find out whether any of your cherries are from the Okanagan Valley. Love 'em while they're here!

>209 LovingLit: Hi Megan, our Okanagan cherries are absolutely fabulous! And they're everywhere in season. I could pick them at any number of local orchards, but I'm more inclined to buy them and use what would be picking-time for sitting on my fanny on the patio, LOL! Prices are all very competitive when they're in season.

Nancy, I have just about all of June off. Students in my district report back August 17, teachers a week before that, and librarians three school days before teachers. It's really awesome at the end of May but not so awesome in early August!

>211 AMQS: Ah, thanks Anne, your school timetable is quite different from ours. I'd find it difficult to work through August, being so accustomed to doing things another way. Still, however you slice it, I do love having two months off (unpaid!) in summer, and I'm very selfish about that time; I've never taught summer school, and never sought to.

We are going through bags of cherries too, (very yummy) and we are 10 lbers too for blueberries. I love apricots raspberries and strawberries too. All is luscious!

>213 mdoris: YES! Don't you wish we could eat like this all year round? I know I do!

29.
The Signature of All Things, Elizabeth Gilbert



Rating: 5/5

2013, Penguin Audio, Read by Juliet Stevenson

Book Description: adapted from Penguin Random House
… an enthralling story of love, adventure and discovery. Spanning much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the novel follows the fortunes of the extraordinary Whittaker family as led by the enterprising Henry Whittaker – a poor-born Englishman who makes a great fortune in the South American quinine trade, eventually becoming the richest man in Philadelphia. Born in 1800, Henry’s brilliant daughter, Alma (who inherits both her father’s money and his mind), ultimately becomes a botanist of considerable gifts herself. As Alma’s research takes her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, she falls in love with a man named Ambrose Pike, a utopian artist, who draws her in the exact opposite direction – into the realm of the spiritual, the divine, and the magical. The two opposites are united by a desperate need to understand the workings of this world and the mechanisms behind all life.

My Review:
Wow! The Signature of All Things is told at a roaring pace, travelling the globe from London to Peru to Philadelphia to Tahiti to Amsterdam – its numerous eclectic characters as varied as the novel’s geography. One of things I consider when rating a novel is how long its characters will endure with me. And Gilbert has provided many whom I expect to be travelling with me for a good while. Alma Whittaker herself is unforgettable. Not least fascinating about her is the fact that she lives well into the Industrial Revolution, allowing her to participate in the explosion of new ideas challenging science, religion, and social class. Indeed, my favourite part of the novel is the interplay between herself, Charles Darwin, and Alfred Russel Wallace on the universal notions of origin, evolution, selection, and human altruism and self-sacrifice. Fascinating!

Admittedly, I’d never have guessed Gilbert had The Signature of All Things in her, after the self-centered tripe that was Eat, Pray, Love, and its more pathetic successor, Commitment. But her writing here, as well as her storytelling, is extraordinary. I didn’t want to put this one down! Juliet Stevenson, ever inimitable – makes an already fabulous novel even better. Highly, highly recommended!

HI Nancy, I am so glad that you really liked Signature of All Things. I too loved it!!! And I agree I was a reluctant reader because of her as you say "self-centred tripe" from her EPL which I loathed. I know strong word but that's how I felt at the time. Great review of the book!It made me very interested in moss and I did some reading in that area afterwards. Yes, the characters are still traveling with me from the book, I love how you described that.

I did not need a BB, Nancy, but you've hit me with *Signature*.
Thank you, I guess.

>216 mdoris: Hi Mary, delighted that you also loved The Signature of All Things, and that its characters are still travelling with you. Loathe is not at all too strong a word dor EPL.

>217 LizzieD: Hi Peggy, I would be most curious to know what you think of The Signature of All Things. Welcome for the bullet, LOL.

Admittedly, I’d never have guessed Gilbert had The Signature of All Things in her, after the self-centered tripe that was Eat, Pray, Love, and its more pathetic successor, Commitment. LOL! I saw the book and its author, and briefly wondered if it was the same... but no -- Nancy gave it 5-stars! Good for you for trying it -- I might never have picked it up, but now it's a book bullet!

>219 AMQS: LOL, Anne, yes the very same … author, that is. That's where the similarities end between The Signature and those other two atrocities. As I commented to Peggy, would be very interested to know what you think. It was actually Bonnie (brenzi) who put this one on my radar: of my own doing, I would not have tried Gilbert again.

Sounds like a very interesting mix of ideas and subjects, Nancy. The perfect novel read by the perfect narrator :)

Haven't read anything by this author but now I know what to skip and what to begin with.

>215 lit_chick: lol, at your description of the "self-centered tripe that was Eat Pray Love". I have to agree, even though I didn't read the book, I saw the movie and it was pretty rank. I'd be nervous to read anything she wrote after that.....but I have heard this one is totally different. Your 5 stars helps me to believe that might be true!

>219 AMQS: I could have written this post -- it's exactly what I was thinking! Great review, Nancy.

Great review of The Signature of All Things, Nancy. Big Thumb! I've had this one saved on audio, forever. It might be time to bump it up.

>221 ctpress: Hi Carsten, yes indeed a very interesting mix of ideas and subjects, and a well-researched mix, too. You do know what to skip, LOL! Hope you will try this one by Juliet : ).

>222 LovingLit: Hi Megan, LOL. This one is TOTALLY different! Had I not read Bonnie's endorsement many months ago, I probably would also not have tried it.

>223 lauralkeet: Thanks Laura, you know what they say about great minds!

>224 msf59: Thank, Marky Mark : ). Oh, I do think it's time for you to bump this one up if you've already got it on audio.

Five stars for Signature of all Things ! And thumb my friend. Like Mary, I've not looked at the book, as Eat Pray Love did not appeal to me in the smallest way.

>226 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deb! Pretty sure you would enjoy The Signature. It's a good thing that Eat, Pray, Love did not appeal, LOL!

Wonderful review of The Signature of All Things, Nancy! I never read Eat, Pray, Love as I had also heard that it was self-centered tripe so to see such a glowing review for this one was unexpected. I guess some authors can surprise us, after all. ;-)

>228 lkernagh: Thanks, Lori. It's wonderful when a writer surprises us, isn't it? I have a hard time believing The Signature of All Things and that other tripe was even written by the same person. I guess it's that I don't understand why someone capable of writing this would write the other.

30.
Black Skies, Arnaldur Indridason



Rating: 4.5/5

“He had only seen the mask used once, when the farmer destroyed a sick calf one summer ... He had never forgotten what the farmer had called the headpiece with the spike which jutted out like the reminder of a quick and painless end. A death mask. It was a chilling name.” (Ch1)

Book Description: from Amazon.com
A man is making a leather mask with an iron spike fixed in the middle of his forehead. Meanwhile, a school reunion has left Inspector Erlendur's colleague Sigurdur Óli unhappy with life in the police force. While Iceland is enjoying an economic boom, Óli's relationship is on the rocks and soon even his position in the department is compromised. When a favor to a friend goes wrong and a woman dies before his eyes, Óli has a murder investigation on his hands.

From the villas of Reykjavík's banking elite to a sordid basement flat, Black Skies is a superb story of greed, pride, and murder from one of Europe's most successful crime writers.

My Review: Erlender’s character is missing from Black Skies, the inspector having taken leave to travel East, and having told his colleagues that he wishes to be left alone. I believe he seeks some sense of peace at last from the tragic childhood incident which took the life of his brother. So, I missed him; but Indriadson is at the top of his game here; and following Sigurdur Oli through Black Skies was a fine read. Appreciate that Indridason has included some white collar crime, specifically Big Bank crime, in this installment: seems most fitting given the time in which we live. I continue to thoroughly enjoy this series and look forward to the next. In fact, I might go so far as to say that Indridason is my favourite Scandi-crime writer.

>215 lit_chick: Well. I guess I'll have to give The Signature of All Things a try. After Eat, Pray, Love I had pretty much written Gilbert off. I read that book with a book group, otherwise I wouldn't have finished it. I wanted to slap her with a fish. Self-indulgence is so annoying.

>231 nittnut: Ah, I know just what you're saying, Jenn. I never thought about slapping her with a fish, it would have been perfect justice for EPL. Why would one who can obviously write, as I've just discovered, write that kind of crap?

>232 lit_chick: I have no idea. Because she could? And so many people loved it. I think humans have a tendency to spend some time in self-indulgent whining, but it's not everyone who publishes theirs and gets a movie made. So then she felt justified and wrote Commitment. Lesson learned? Hopefully?

WHY did so many people love it? I had to read it as well -- it was a gift from my mother. Otherwise I might not have finished it either. I'd pretty much decided to avoid Ms. Gilbert, which is why this is so surprising (everyone deserves another chance?)

>230 lit_chick: I only came to this series very late in the day but would happily say this is a favourite scandi crime, although I think I still prefer the political aspirations of the Martin Beck series. I read a review of Inriđasons new book which goes back to Erlendur's youth. The review was a bit sniffy but I am tempted to start again with that and then read Jar city.

>233 nittnut: Lesson learned? Hopefully? God, I hope so, Jenn.

>234 AMQS: Exactly, Anne: what was it about EPL that made so many people love it? Perhaps, as Jenn says, we have a tendency to spend some time in self-indulgent whining? I wouldn't have given Gilbert another thought never mind chance if Bonnie hadn't reviewed The Signature to 5*.

>235 charl08: Hi Charlotte, haven't read the Martin Beck series, but that may change at a later date. Glad you enjoy Indridason, too.

I loved Martin Beck!

>237 BLBera: Well that settles it then, Beth: I must read Martin Beck!

There is a wonderful DVD series of Martin Beck episodes 1-24 put out in N. America by Mhz titled "Beck".
Here's their description ....
"He’s got no style, he’s got no flash and he’s squarely in middle age. But Swedish detective Martin Beck is good at one thing: methodically catching criminals so that they can be put away… for a long time."
I loved this series but have not read the books. Our local library has all the episodes.
I loved the Indridason books though and looking forward to a new release.
Hope that you're enjoying summer Nancy!

>239 mdoris: Hi Mary, yes I went Googling on Martin Beck last night and saw the DVD series as well as the books. These look excellent! I think my next read will be Roseanna, the first in the Beck series : ). Must check my library for the DVDs.

I didn't know it was on DVD. I will definitely check them out. I've reread all of the Martin Beck books.

Oh my, I had almost forgotten Martin Beck, and I did love that series. I'll never catch up!

Nancy, I'd never heard of Martin Beck till an hour ago when I read your thread and now I have the first one in the series on the ipad... at least it's from the library though!

>242 LizzieD: Woot! Another endorsement for Martin Beck; the first one's up next, Peggy!

>242 LizzieD: Hi Cushla, I also had never heard of Martin Beck until this recent intro by LT friends! Now I've also got the first one in my iPad : ).

31.
The End of Absence: Reclaiming What We've Lost in a World of Constant Connection, Michael Harris



Rating: 3.5/5

"Somehow I’d left behind my old quiet life. And now I wanted it back.” (Ch 1)

Book Description: from Amazon.ca
Only one generation in history (ours) will experience life both with and without the Internet. For everyone who follows us, online life will simply be the air they breathe. Today, we revel in ubiquitous information and constant connection, rarely stopping to consider the implications for our logged-on lives.

Michael Harris chronicles this massive shift, exploring what we've gained-and lost-in the bargain … Harris argues that our greatest loss has been that of absence itself – of silence, wonder and solitude. It's a surprisingly precious commodity, and one we have less of every year. Drawing on a vast trove of research and scores of interviews with global experts, Harris explores this "loss of lack" in chapters devoted to every corner of our lives, from sex and commerce to memory and attention span. The book's message is urgent: once we've lost the gift of absence, we may never remember its value.

My Review:
A colleague brought The End of Absence, which won the Governor General’s Literary Award for non-fiction in 2014, to my attention. It is well-researched and certainly thought provoking, if an occasionally dry read. I don’t think any of us who have experienced life both Before/After the Internet will find any staggering surprises here. But it is good to renew my awareness of the problems created by the incessant buzzing and pinging that has become our daily existence with “the dominance of communication over experience" (Ch 1): attention deficit; changes in brain activity; the unproductive frenzy that is multi-tasking; and, of course, the absence of rejuvenating solitude.

Notable Quotes:
“As we embrace a technology’s gifts, we usually fail to consider what they ask from us in return – the subtle, hardly noticeable payments we make in exchange for their marvelous service. We don’t notice, for example, that the gaps in our schedules have disappeared because we’re too busy delighting in the amusements that fill them. We forget the games that childhood boredom forged because boredom itself has been outlawed. Why would we bother to register the end of solitude, of ignorance, of lack? Why would we care that an absence has disappeared?” (Ch 1)

“Absence isn’t going to return to us easily. Just as we decide to limit our intake of the sugars and fats that we’re designed to hoard, we now must decide to sometimes keep at bay the connectivity we’re hardwired to adore. We must remain as critical of technological progress as we are desirous of it. And we must make these decisions not because we dislike the things we could connect to, but precisely because they’re so crucial to our survival.” (Ch 9)

Nice comments on The End of Absence - I'll have to check it out. Although, as you say, I probably won't be surprised by it.

>246 BLBera: Thanks, Beth. It's definitely worth checking out, an excellent reminder, if not a surprising one.

"Somehow I’d left behind my old quiet life. And now I wanted it back.”

That statement completely resonates with me. I am so tired of the electronic/email/IM era we live in. I miss/long for the days where one had the luxury of thinking about and composing a response, knowing a reply was not going to show up that day, or the next for that matter.

Great review.

Hi Nancy. Happy to know that a Indridason crime works even without Erlendur. Should get on with another one in the series this summer.

we now must decide to sometimes keep at bay the connectivity we’re hardwired to adore

True, true....good quotes. but as he states what a difficult disciplin to get absense back.

I have to go back to a hiking trip to the Swedish waste land two years ago to remember a whole week without iphone, wifi etc. It had a cleansing effect and I felt it as a nuisanse and intrusion when my phone suddenly got a signal again and sms poured in. The nuisanse lasted a day or two and I was back in the "old" rythm.

We have definitely lost something of great value.

>248 lkernagh: Thanks, Lori. It resonates with me, too, and I share your longing for the days where on had the luxury of thinking about and composing a response.

>249 ctpress: Carsten, I was pleasantly surprised how well Indridason made Black Skies work without Erlendur. He's mentioned, of course, but not on the scene as we're accustomed to.

Agree completely that it is a difficult discipline to re-establish absence in our lives. I say this as I'm typing on the computer while having my breakfast. I can understand how the lack of a cell phone signal had a cleansing effect while hiking … but also how the nuisance very quickly became the norm again.

>245 lit_chick: I reckon I would like that one! I am often toying with the idea of becoming less connected....but then there is LT....so.

>251 LovingLit: I reckon you'd like The End of Absence, too, Megan. We mustn't count LT as something we need absence from … nevah!

The End of Absence sounds like a book all 16 year olds should be required to read. Lol

I often take a break from my "connectedness" and my friends know that if I don't respond immediately, I am just living my life and I will get back to them. On the other hand, as Megan said, LT is nice. Also like being able to keep tabs on my kids. Pluses and minuses, no?

>253 nittnut: LOL, Jenn, good point. I like to take a break from connectedness, too. For one thing, I am a terrible cell phone person. I don't encourage texts, for instance, so anyone who texts me knows I might be days answering. As a result, I don't get many, ha!

32.
The Paper Moon, Andrea Camilleri



Rating: 4/5

2010, Blackstone Audiobooks, Read by Grover Gardner

Book Description: from Amazon.com
The latest installment of the popular mystery series finds the moody Inspector Montalbano further beset by the existential questions that have been plaguing him of late. But he doesn't have much time to wax philosophical before the gruesome murder of a man-shot at point-blank range in the face with his pants down-commands his attention. Add two evasive, beautiful women as prime suspects, some dirty cocaine, mysterious computer codes, and a series of threatening letters, and things soon get very complicated at the police headquarters in Vigàta.

Book Review:
Thoroughly enjoyed The Paper Moon. I can’t help but laugh every time I hear Catarelli talk to the Inspector poysonally in poyson. Great women characters in this one, and an excellent crime story. Camilleri has turned out to be a solid 4-star read for me.

I see you are almost caught up with my Inspector Montalbano reading! The series is a perfect summer read and I love how the Camilleri keeps coming up with fresh ideas for his stories. Great review! I hope to jump back in to reading the series, but I have a couple of other books on my plate at the moment that I want to finish reading.

>256 lkernagh: Hi Lori, Montalbano was a great find, thanks to you. Now I've decided to listen to Ethan Frome, a suggestion I also picked up on your thread a couple days ago : ). LT is great for recommendations, non?

Sounds like fun, Nancy! Glad you have found Montalbano ! I've found Ruth Galloway of the Elly Griffiths for my light and fun mystery reads. I find them to be intelligent, and at least as much about the characters' as the mystery itself. A subtle but fun sense of humour. On my thread I have a link to a preview of the pictures of the wedding and there is also a 4 minute video, if you are interested. But so far, you will not really see me poysonally because the sneak peek pictures seem to be of mainly the bride and groom and wedding party.

>258 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, one needs light and fun mystery reads! And, yes, they need to be intelligent, and at least as much about the characters as the mystery. Looked at the sneak preview wedding pics posted on your thread, but I don't see the video. Looking forward to seeing you poysonally, LOL!

Hi Nancy! Interesting comments here: The End of Absence sounds like an interesting book. I hadn't thought much until now of being of the generation that is both pre and post internet. I certainly am addicted to devices and sites in a way that gives me pause, yet I am a reluctant teacher of 21st century skills. They give me pause, at the very least.

Happy summer!

>260 AMQS: Hi Anne, yes, it's easy to forget that there was life before Google, isn't it? I understand being a reluctant teacher of 21st century skills.

Happy summer to you, too!

>260 AMQS: I agree entirely and was distressed when I found myself the only teacher in our HS giving lessons on how to spot unreliable web sites.
(You remind me of our pets' favorite musical, Camelot, for the line, "Camelot! I know it gives a person paws.")
Hi, Nancy!!

>262 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! Reluctant or not, I am another who is teaching 21st century skills. My senior English courses include a unit called Becoming an Internet Detective.

Great that you have so much fun with "moody Montalbano" and his existential musings - in between murders of course. A dose of crime fiction is quite healthy I think :)

I hope you are enjoying your holiday, Nancy.

>264 ctpress: Hi Carsten, yes between moody Montalbano and the new detective series I'm into, Martin Beck, I'm having quote a dose of crime!

Holiday is lovely! Live for July and August!