Lori's (lkernagh's) 2015 Art of Reading - 3rd Thread

Lori's 2015 Art of Reading

This year, Art is the theme but don't be surprised if food, crafts, sewing projects and pretty much anything else under the sun make up part of the thread discussion. To keep my goals challenging while still manageable given the ebb and flow of real life commitments, I have decided to shape my category challenge as a mathematical variation of 2015. I will have 8 categories, with a strong focus on the various challenges and mini-challenges I will be participating in for 2015. Each category will be considered completed when 8 books AND 2,015 pages have been read. There is no upper limit once the minimum has been reached. This challenge will be the placeholder for all of my 2015 reading. Time to unveil the categories:

Artist: Banksy

1. Street Art - Alternate reality / steampunk / fantasy / dystopian themed books
Street art is visual art created in public locations, usually unsanctioned and executed outside of the context of traditional art venues. Street art can have a strong current of activism and subversion. It can also have a more innocent fun side (think yarn bombs!). Street art is a powerful platform for reaching the public in creative and unexpected ways.

Books read: 6
Pages read: 1,929

1. Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel - (review)
2. How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell - (review)
3. How To Be a Pirate by Cressida Cowell - (review)
4. Pelquin's Comet by Ian Whates - (review)
5. Fables: The Mean Seasons by Bill Willingham - (review)
6. The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma - (review)

Street performance in Bath, England

2. Happening - Books that fit the CATs, KITs and DOG challenges
Happening art is a performance, event or situation meant to be considered art. It usually takes the form of performance art. Happenings are difficult to describe because each one is unique and completely different from one another.

Books read: 8
Pages read: 2,626

1. The Firebird Mystery by Darrell Pitt - (review)
2. Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher - (review)
3. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - (review)
4. The House Among the Laurels by William Hope Hodgson - (review)
5. The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson - (review)
6. Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel - (review)
7. The Given Day by Dennis Lehane - (review)
8. The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo - (review)

CATEGORY COMPLETED (August 22, 2015)

Commissioned for Expo 67, Barnett Newman’s "Voice of Fire" sold to the National Gallery of Canada in 1989 for $1.76 million.

3. Minimalism - Books with one word titles
Minimalism is a style that uses pared-down design elements and was first used to describe "a 1913 composition by the Russian painter Kasimir Malevich of a black square on a white ground". I currently have 45 books on my TBR bookshelves that fit this category, so it should be a dawdle, right? ;-)

Books read: 5
Pages read: 1,347

1. Alphabetique by Molly Peacock - (review)
2. Longbourn by Jo Baker - (review)
3. Incantation by Alice Hoffman - (review)
4. Redshirts by John Scalzi - (review)
5. Pure by Andrew Miller - (review)

John French Sloan (1871-1951), "McSorley's Bar", oil on canvas

4. American Realism - Books that fit the 2015 American Author Challenge
American Realism is a style that depicts contemporary social realities and the lives and everyday activities of ordinary people. The movement began in literature in the mid-19th century, and became an important tendency in visual art in the early 20th century. For this category (and mini-challenge), I am not going to attempt to read the author for each month, but I will enjoy using this as an opportunity to branch out my reading to include authors I have never read before now.

AAC 2015 list:

January - Carson McCullers - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
February - Henry James - The Aspern Papers
March - Richard Ford - Wildlife
April - Louise Erdrich - Shadow Tag
May - Sinclair Lewis
June - Wallace Stegner
July - Ursula K. Le Guin
August - Larry McMurtry
September - Flannery O' Connor
October - Ray Bradbury
November - Barbara Kingsolver
December - E.L. Doctorow

Books read: 7
Pages read: 1,727

1. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers - (review)
2. The Aspern Papers by Henry James - (review)
3. Wildlife by Richard Ford - (review)
4. Shadow Tag by Louise Erdrich - (review)
5. Remembering Laughter by Wallace Stegner - (review)
6. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis - (review)
7. The Last Kind Words Saloon by Larry McMurtry - (review)

Artist: Robert Bevan, "Two Bridges", exhibited at the first exhibition of the London Group in March 1914

5. The London Group - Books that fit the 2015 British Author Challenge
Founded in 1913, the London Group took over the role of exhibiting progressive modern art from the NEAC. The selection committee exhibited the widest range of art movements at the time, including Camden Town, Bloomsbury and Vorticist artists. For each month, the BAC has a female and a male author listed. As with the AAC challenge above, I am not going to attempt to read a book by all authors listed. This is just an opportunity to clear more books off my TBR bookcases, a chance to enjoy some favorite authors and to use this as an opportunity to branch out my reading to include authors I have never read before now.

BAC 2015 list:

January - Penelope Lively & Kazuo Ishiguro
February - Sarah Waters & Evelyn Waugh
March - Daphne Du Maurier & China Mieville
April - Angela Carter & W. Somerset Maugham
May - Margaret Drabble & Martin Amis
June - Beryl Bainbridge & Anthony Burgess
July - Virginia Woolf & B.S. Johnson
August - Iris Murdoch & Graham Greene
September - Andrea Levy & Salman Rushdie
October - Helen Dunmore & David Mitchell
November - Muriel Spark & William Boyd
December - Hilary Mantel & P.G. Wodehouse

Books read: 7
Pages read: 2,966

1. The Ghost of Thomas Kempe by Penelope Lively - (review)
2. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh - (review)
3. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters - (review)
4. The City & The City by China Mieville - (review)
5. Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham - (review)
6. The Peppered Moth by Margaret Drabble - (review)
- A Society by Virginia Woolf - (review)
7. The Third Man: The Screenplay and The Living Room, a play in two acts by Graham Greene - (review)

6. Books made into Art - Books that fit my ROOTs Challenge
Not a defined art period per se, but I do love the wonderful three dimensional artwork that can be created out of books and magazines - preferably after they have been read, that is! ;-)

Books read: 9
Pages read: 2,761

1. I is for Innocent by Sue Grafton - (review)
2. The Happiest People in the World by Brock Clarke - (review)
3. The Babylon Contingency by Clifford Longley - (review)
4. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd - (review)
5. Light Boxes by Shane Jones - (review)
6. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion - (review)
7. J is for Judgment by Sue Grafton - (review)
8. The Wars by Timothy Findley - (review)

Category Completed (June 22, 2015)

9. K is for Killer by Sue Grafton - (review)

Mary Sibande, "I am a Lady", 2009 - part of her "Triumph over Prejudice" series

7. Edinburgh's Commonwealth Games of Art - Books that fit my Commonwealth Challenge
The 2014 Edinburgh Art Festival "Where do I end and you begin" focused on what it means to join ‘common’ with ‘wealth’, reflecting on the notion of the Commonwealth as a problematic historical and contemporary construct and offering international perspectives on the range of associations which common-wealth evokes, from the challenge of ‘being in common’ in a truly global world, to ideas of the common good, common land, public ownership and alternative exchange systems.

Books read: 10
Pages read: 2,689

1. Wife of the Gods by Kewi Quartey - (review)
2. Bayou of Pigs by Stewart Bell - (review)
3. Guyana by Elise Turcotte - (review)
4. Halcyon Days a play by Steven Dietz - (review)
5. Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton - (review)
6. The White Rhino Hotel by Bartle Bull - (review)
7. The Ghost Mountain Boys by James Campbell - (review)
8. The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost - (review)

Category Completed (August 3, 2015)

9. Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton - (review)
10. Getting Stoned with Savages by J. Maarten Troost - (review)

Leonid Afremov, "Night Fantasy", palette knife oil painting
I absolutely love the rich, vibrant colours in Afremov's paintings! I could just sit and stare at them for hours.....

8. Art - Books that fit my 75 Group Challenge (aka my "catch all" category!)
Art is a diverse range of human activities and the products of those activities. Art may be characterized in terms of mimesis (its representation of reality), expression, communication of emotion, or other qualities. The nature of art has been described by philosopher Richard Wollheim as "one of the most elusive of the traditional problems of human culture".

Books read: 17
Pages read: 4,405

1. The Paper Moon by Andrea Camilleri - (review)
2. August Heat by Andrea Camilleri - (review)
3. The Wings of the Sphinx by Andrea Camilleri - (review)
4. As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley - (review)
5. Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman by Eleanor Updale - (review)
6. The Inspector McLevy Mysteries - Series Two and The Inspector McLevy Mysteries - Series Three by David Ashton - (review)
7. The Inspector McLevy Mysteries - Series Four and The Inspector McLevy Mysteries - Series Five by David Ashton - (review)
8. The Witch of Napoli by Micheal Schmicker - (review)
9. The Inspector McLevy Mysteries - Series Six and The Inspector McLevy Mysteries - Series Seven by David Ashton - (review)

Category Completed (March 8, 2015)

10. A Small Indiscretion by Jan Ellison - (review)
11. The Hoarder in You: How to Live a Happier, Healthier, Uncluttered Life by Dr. Robin Zasio -
12. The Rosie Effect by Graham Simsion - (review)
13. The Finish by Angela Elliott - (review)
14. Are You Seeing Me? by Darren Groth - (review)
15. Henri, le Chat Noir: The Existential Musings of an Angst-Filled Cat by William Braden - (review)
16. The Little Free Library Book by Margaret Aldrich - (review)
17. The Lost Garden by Katharine Swartz - (review)

2015 Bingo Challenge:
Instructions for my own reference: When filling a block, add the number of the block after 'green=' and add more using a dash between each."

I am going to attempt the Bingo the same way I did in 2014 - I will just read books and if they fit, great! At a minimum, I should be able to complete a line.



1. ...With a protagonist of the opposite gender - August Heat by Andrea Camilleri -
2. ...Chosen by someone else - The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd -
3. ...you've owned more than one year - I is for Innocent by Sue Grafton -
4. ...with scientists - The Witch of Napoli by Micheal Schmicker -
5. ...on a subject you are unfamiliar with - Wife of the Gods by Kewi Quartey -
6. ...translated from a language you don't speak - The Paper Moon by Andrea Camilleri -
7. ...with a natural disaster - Wildlife by Richard Ford -
8. ...about autism - The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion -
9. ...with an LGBTQ main character - Fingersmith by Sarah Waters -
10. ...set in a country other than your own - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers -
11. ...about language - Alphabetique by Molly Peacock -
12. ...published in 1915 - Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham -
13. ...read a CAT - The Aspern Papers by Henry James -
14. ...that reminds you of your childhood - The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett -
15. ...where prophecies or portents are part of the plot - The Ghost of Thomas Kempe by Penelope Lively -
16. ...based on a fairytale or myth - Fables: The Mean Seasons by Bill Willingham -
17. ...inspired by another piece of fiction - The Firebird Mystery by Darrell Pitt -
18. ...with correspondence or letters - Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher -
19. ...by an LT author - Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel -
20. ...where an animal is of importance - The Wings of the Sphinx by Andrea Camilleri -
21. ...with a mythical creature - How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell -
22. ...centered around a major historical event - The Wars by Timothy Findley -
23. ...whose author shares an ancestor's fist name - Incantation by Alice Hoffman -
24. ...that is a genre bender - The City & The City by China Mieville -
25. ...that is completely outside of your comfort zone - The House Among the Laurels by William Hope Hodgson -

Next one's yours! This thread is now open for business!

Ooh! I am first! Look at your Bingo card. It's nearly full and it's only May.

Oh my goodness, your bingo card is nearly full! Great effort.

I didn't realize until you opened your new thread, how close you are to a Bingo!

I think your Bingo card is making quite an impression on us.

Happy new thread, Lori! Each time you start a new thread, it reminds me of the great artwork you've included in the first posts, and I can enjoy them all over again. :)

Happy new thread!

I was happy reviewing your art when I was reminded that I actually visited McSorley's bar in Manhattan when I was in college. We had their beer and for a snack they served a chunk of cheddar with a sleeve of saltines and sliced onions. If I remember correctly, it is located near to NYU so there were lots of students in there.

Happy new thread!

Oh, yeah, Extreme Couponers is a crazy thing. These people spend 40-60 hours a week just looking for coupons and often drag their whole family into it. They have highly organized coupon binders and will purchase hundreds of dollars of food and items (like 20 shampoos, 30 cans of tuna, etc.) for only a few bucks. I've even seem them walk out with the story giving them money. Then they have highly organized storage areas, where they store everything.

Shiny new thread!

Happy New Thread!

HI Lori, I would have been here sooner to welcome your new thread, but I too got caught up staring at the bright colors of the Leonid Afremov. Of course it's more than the colors, he has perfectly caught the essence of light and reflection.

Happy first of May!

Happy new thread and first of May! Spring finally feels like it's here :) Have a good weekend!

>18 mamzel: It must be close to twenty years since I've been to McSorley's myself, and the last time was because I had been on a Joseph Mitchell jag. Now, I want to go back (opportunity at the end of this month) after having just finished the new biography of JM, 'Man in Profile.' This time I want to pay more attention to the details of the place, like the wishbones on the gas lamp chandelier, and The Chair... :-)

Thanks >12 nittnut:, >13 Roro8:, >14 RidgewayGirl:, >15 dudes22:, >16 mathgirl40:, >17 thornton37814:, >18 mamzel:, >19 andreablythe:, >20 mstrust:, >21 cbl_tn:, >22 DeltaQueen50:, >23 rabbitprincess: and >24 Tanya-dogearedcopy: for stopping by!

>12 nittnut:, >13 Roro8:, >14 RidgewayGirl: and >15 dudes22: - I am really surprised at how quickly the Bingo card is filling up! I am now curious to see if I can fill it before July 1st.

>16 mathgirl40: - Being able to enjoy category pictures is one of my favorite things about visiting new threads. ;-)

>18 mamzel: and >24 Tanya-dogearedcopy: - How cool that you both have been to McSorley's Bar! Sounds like the bar has quite the interesting interior, "the wishbones on the gas lamp chandelier, and The Chair...".

>19 andreablythe: - These people spend 40-60 hours a week just looking for coupons and often drag their whole family into it. WOW.... that absolutely boggles my mind.

What a great weekend this has been. Friday night we had our usual 'homemade pizza and movie' night and watched The Hundred Foot Journey. What a fantastic movie! The foodie in me loved it and it was the prefect movie to watch while I made my mom's Mother's Day card which is now in the mail and will hopefully get to her before next weekend. I already gave her the heads up it may arrive a little late. ;-)

The weather has been glorious. Perfect for the annual newspaper-sponsored book sale. I went to the sale yesterday looking for vegetarian cookbooks and books on herb gardening and came away with the following:


Herb Garden (American Horticultural Society Practical Guides) by Richard Rosenfeld
Little Herb Gardens by Georgeanne Brennan
The Ultimate Herb Book: The Definitive Guide to Growing and Using Over 200 Herbs by Antony Atha


Herbal Celebrations Cookbook by Noel Richardson and Jenny Cameron - a great crossover book about herbs with recipes


The Vegetarian Cookbook by Linda Fraser
The Vegetarian Gourmet by Dagmar Von Cramm
The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook by not really sure, might be a editor published book
The Ultimate Vegetarian Cookbook by Roz Denny
Great Vegetarian Dishes by Kurma Dasa
Step-by-Step Vegetarian Cookbook by Kate Cranshaw

I thought about not going back to the sale today because I figured I have enough books and don't really need any more. Oh dear.... did I just hear a collective "GASP!" from LTers? Yes, it is probably sacrilege to make a statement like that here. ;-) Don't worry, I did go back to the sale to browse through the fiction section and came home with the following books:



The Good Thief's Guide to Venice by Chris Ewan - Did not realize until I got home that this is Book 4 in a 'new to me' series so I will need to see if the library or the used bookstores in town have the first three books.
The Disappearing Spoon: and Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean - Yes, I found an interesting non-fiction read in the fiction section.
Road Ends by Mary Lawson - I absolutely loved Crow Lake and already own The Other Side of the Bridge so finding her third book was a happy occurrence.
Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith - I currently own books 1-9 in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency so I was happy to discover book 10 nestled in a box with a bunch of earlier books in the series.
All That Follows by Jim Crace - just 'cause.
The Problem with Murmur Lee by Connie May Fowler - Love the cover and the "part family saga, part murder mystery" billing for this one appeals to me.
Merde Actually by Stephen Clarke - I have been meaning to read the Merde series of an Englishman living in France. Just need to track down Book 1 in the series.
Hy Brasil by Margaret Elphinstone - mythical island, old-fashioned piracy, a lost treasure, modern-day drug smuggling, political intrigue all wrapped up in a mythical fantasy story? Sounds intgriguing!
Skinnybones and the Wrinkle Queen by Glen Huser - Yes, I grabbed this one for the title alone!
The Bookman's Tale by Charlie Lovett - Billed as "Shakespearean literary mystery for fan's of Geraldine Brooks' People of the Book". Sounds good to me.
Solea by Jean Claude Izzo - This is Book 3 in the Noir Marseille Trilogy. I already own a copy of Chourmo, Book 2 and I now just need to track down a copy of Book 1 Total Chaos to have the complete trilogy. Oh, and of course, it is a Europa Editions. ;-)
Diary by Chuck Palahniuk - I have not read any of Palahniuk's books - not even Fight Club - but this one caught my eye and seems like as good as place as any to start.
Strawberry Fields by Marina Lewycka - I rather enjoyed Lewycka's novel A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian so decided this was worth picking up.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller - I know there is a fair bit of love on LT for this one so on the purchase pile it went.
The Secret Book of Grazia Dei Rossi by Jacqueline Park - I cannot leave the booksale without bringing home at least one chunkster read and I love the Renaissance Italy setting and time period.

>25 lkernagh: The wishbones on the gas chandelier at McSorley's were from turkey dinners that the bar served to soldiers heading off to WWI. When the soldiers came back, they reclaimed their wishbones, so the ones that remain are from the soldiers who died "over there." The wishbones remained untouched until a few years ago when the health inspector came in and said that the accumulated dust posed a health concern, so the owner carefully took each wishbone down, dusted it, and then carefully replaced most of them back exactly where they were. Unfortunately, some crumbled to dust upon contact.

As for the chair, it's one that Abraham Lincoln stood on to deliver some sort of speech. Afterwards, it was set up out of reach, and over the years, other memorabilia has been piled upon it. The thing about McSorley's, is that once something goes up into the collection, it stays there! :-)

Excellent haul! I hope you like The Disappearing Spoon. I found it very interesting and have another one of the author's books on my to-read list.

>27 Tanya-dogearedcopy: - What a great idea to have the such unique memorabilia for patrons to see. I love places that are steeped in history like that.

>28 rabbitprincess: - Thanks! I am really looking forward to reading The Disappearing Spoon.. and wish the touchstone wouldn't keep disappearing for this book. ;-)

------------------------------------
Vegetarian Adventures:
I was in the mood to experiment in the kitchen this evening and came up with a dish that I think is 'post worthy'. ;-) I call it "Lori's West Coast CousCous". A light, vegetarian dish that is colourful - with its medley of greens, reds and yellows - and packed with protein from the quinoa and lentils. I am thinking of bumping up the lentils and the kale the next time I make it. I got two-thumbs up from my other half in the flavour department. Keep in mind that the recipe below would be a main dish for two or a side dish for between four and six people.

"Lori's West Coast CousCous"

Ingredients:
1/3 cup green lentils
1/3 cup tricolour couscous
1/3 cup quinoa
2/3 cup of broth of your choice (for the couscous)
1 & 1/2 cups asparagus - chopped fine
1 & 1/2 cups kale - chopped fine
1/4 cup dried (not in oil) sun-dried tomatoes - chopped fine
1/2 cup chopped fresh grape tomatoes (can substitute with Roma tomatoes)
Roughly 1/4 cup (combined - in total) of the following finely chopped fresh herbs: Parsley, Cilantro, Dill, Chives
2 Tablespoons of chopped onion
1 Tablespoon of chopped garlic
2 Tablespoons lime juice
Salt and Pepper to taste

Process:
1. Cook the lentils in 1/2 cup of water in a small pot over medium heat, stirring regularly until done. Chop the asparagus, kale, tomatoes and sun-dried tomatoes and the fresh herbs which the lentils cook.
2. In a separate small pot, cook the quinoa in 1/3 cup of water, partially covered and stirring regularly, until done, then remove from heat and cover.
3. In a third small pot, bring to boil 1 teaspoon of oil or butter with 2/3 cup of broth of your choice - I use a professional vegetable broth so I bring the water to boil and then add the broth - remove the pot from heat, stir in couscous, cover and set aside.
4. In a deep sided frying pan, heat up 1 Tablespoon of oil (I use Avocado oil) over medium heat. Sautee chopped onion and garlic for 1 minute. Add asparagus and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in kale. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and fresh herbs. Cook for 1 minute. Season with black pepper and lime juice. Stir to blend all ingredients. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in cooked lentils. Turn off heat. Blend in cooked couscous and cooked quinoa and you are ready to eat!

Can be served hot or cold.

... and I did remember to take a picture this time!

I'm envious of your Disappearing Spoon purchase as it's on my wishlist. The Bookmans Tale was fun do I think you most likely will enjoy it.

>29 lkernagh: That looks tasty, and my kids like lentils.

Also, that is an excellent book haul!

Great haul! And that couscous....yum! I may need to make it this week!

>26 lkernagh:
Fantastic book haul. I love Venice, so The Good Thief's Guide to Venice immediately caught my eye. Though I'm reluctant to jump into another series. Will be interested to see if it stands on its own.

>29 lkernagh: That looks very tasty, and such a vibrant pic!
I made a new vegetarian dish last night too. Mexican Corn Stew from the Vegetarian Times Cookbook. Onions, garlic, avocado and a good squeeze of lime juice (o.k., I added in the lime because it just worked). I love it when my meat-with-every-meal husband eats a veg meal, then has to admit that he enjoyed it.

Great book haul! I kept my dad's copy of The Disappearing Spoon but I haven't read it yet. Several of the other authors are on my WL.

I visited McSorley's in the 70s. I remember that there is only one bathroom and people watch to see if a female "tourist" opens the door, sees the wall attachment, and backs out to look for another door. I was forewarned so did not suffer any embarrassment. I wish I had known about the wishbones history. At the time I was really only interested in the beer (stupid YA).

>26 lkernagh: Great haul of books, Lori. Glad you went back for second helpings, you can never have too many books.

And from the previous thread: excellent review of The Rosie Project that has been catching my attention recently. Also, congratulations on your herb garden. The new shelving looks perfect.

>31 RidgewayGirl:, >32 skrouhan:, >33 andreablythe:, >35 cbl_tn: and >37 VivienneR: - Thanks! I still need to figure out where to put the new books so for now they are sitting on a trunk in the living room. ;-)

>31 RidgewayGirl:, >32 skrouhan: and >34 mstrust: - The recipe is already on the "must make again' list. Glad I could share it with you.

>30 LittleTaiko: - The Disappearing Spoon was a find. Glad to see you enjoyed The Bookman's Tale!

>33 andreablythe: - Venice fascinates me as a city so of course, I had to grab the copy of The Good Thief's Guide to Venice. Venice and thieving.... that seems to go hand in hand, doesn't it? ;-)

>34 mstrust: - Making a note of the Mexican Corn Stew. My other half is slowly coming around to avocado as a food item - he finds it to be a bit of an acquired taste but then, he does not like butter beans either (not that I can blame him about disliking butter beans).

>35 cbl_tn: - Nice to see The Disappearing Spoon made it to your keep to read later pile, Carrie!

>36 mamzel: - Now, that would make for entertainment! There is a local brew pub here in town that has separate ladies and gents washrooms but what they did was the sinks for both share a common wall and all of the faucets run water into on communal stainless steel sink "trough". It can be a little unnerving to be washing your hands and see someone else's hands appear in the sink area from the other side of the wall. ;-)

>37 VivienneR: - The Rosie Project was such a great story and I find it is always easy to write reviews for stories that capture my full attention. I am really happy with how the herb garden is shaping up this year - and its only May! - and the new shelves are already being put to good use.

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

Herb Garden - Update:

I had the day off from work yesterday so I went out and purchased some slightly larger pots for some of the 'growing like a weed' herbs such as the Oregano, Thyme, Mint and Parsley plants. I spend the afternoon puttering around and re-potted the plants mentioned above. I know.... going from a 4" square pot to a 6" round pot does not seem like much of a difference - especially as I see how well the plants seem to fit into their new pots - but I am sure any size is an improvement and I don't want the plant to not take to the transplant. At least this time the bottoms of the planter pots have rocks to aid in drainage, which the original pots did not have. They seem pretty darn happy:



Worst case, I can think about transplanting them into larger pots in about 6-8 weeks and then use the smaller 6' pots for some of the smaller plants.

>39 lkernagh: Looking good!

They look big enough for you to pick a few leaves and enjoy them already!

They're looking good! I'm going Fri to my favorite greenhouse to buy some flowers and plants and herbs.

Those look like some very happy plants! We're probably going to the garden centre this weekend to pick up some vegetable plants. Usually the BF starts them indoors from seed, but this year he didn't bother because it was so darn cold... not really good for getting into the gardening spirit!

>40 thornton37814: - Thanks, Lori! The herbs and I are getting along quite well so far this season - forgetting about all of the aborted attempts to grow certain plants from seed - so I am quite happy!

>41 mamzel: - They are. We have been including a number of herbs in our dinner preparations for a couple of weeks now. Some of the herbs are still maturing and I am still on the hunt for more herbs to add to the garden.

>42 dudes22: - Thanks! I will be thinking about your trip on Friday with envy.... I have the plant buying bug and I just cannot shake it. My other half is amused and commented that the herb garden has distracted me from my usual shopping for clothes, shoes and whatnot... and he is right. ;-)

>43 rabbitprincess: - I agree. It is hard to get into the gardening spirit when the weather won't cooperate. I wish we had a bigger balcony because I would then add some vegetable plants in large planter pots to the garden. I might still consider do that for just spinach and salad greens.

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

On the reading front, I continue to struggle with reading Of Human Bondage, so this morning I decided to see if I can download an audiobook version through my local library system. Yup, Hoopla has an audiobook version so I downloaded it and spend my walk into work this morning getting the audiobook to where was at in the story. I think the audiobook is going to work for me better that actually reading it so fingers crossed, I will get to the end of this one.

.... now I need to decide on a physical read as my bedtime reading.

I've looked at picking up Of Human Bondage a couple of times, but it always seemed a bit daunting both in subject matter and size.

The good news about Of Human Bondage is that flipping from reading it to listening to it on audio has made a marked improvement in my attention span for the story.... that, or the story has now hit a 'high melodrama' wave and just wants to ride the wave out.

>39 lkernagh: Those look great! You're inspiring me to do more in house gardening.

Your herb garden looks great, and I am very impressed by your book haul!

Great book haul!

>26 lkernagh:
Great haul - The Disappearing Spoon has been on my radar for a while.

>39 lkernagh:
Oh, those look beautiful!! How's "my" dill coming along? :)

Wow.... an entire month since I last posted on my own thread. Sorry about the absence. All is well, just RL throwing curve balls and issues my way on a daily basis, making me seek relaxation in gardening, cooking, reading and beading instead of on-line time. The days have been kind of blurring together and I did not realize how long it has been since I was last here. Thank you Judy (DeltaQueen50) for checking in. June is shaping up to being as annoying as May, so I will probably have a rather low profile presence here on LT for the next little while. In the meantime, I have responses to write and some reviews to post. No monthly update this time round. On the gardening front, the garden is growing at a fantastic rate. I will try to find some time next weekend to post an update.

I hope everyone has been having wonderful spring/summer weather and finding time for some wonderful reading.

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

>47 skrouhan: - Why, thank you! My gardening skills are of the 'trial by error' kind, which makes for wonderful surprises and depressing defeats, depending on how the plants are responding to my ministrations. ;-)

>48 mathgirl40: & >49 LisaMorr: - Thanks!

>50 -Eva-: -The Disappearing Spoon was a good find. Love science communicated to the masses. As for 'your' dill, it has been a bit of a problem child but I think we have cleared the teething / temper tantrum / "terrible 2's" phase and may be on the way to establishing a happy child plant. ;-)

I will try to post a gardening update next weekend, with pics.

Book #35 - Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham - audiobook narrated by Steven Crossley
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category
Category: The London Group
Reading BINGO square: published in 1915
CAT(s): N/A
Source: Project Gutenberg / GVPL (Hoopla)
Format: e-book/Audiobook
Original publication date: 1915
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 720 pages / 25 hours, 55 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.40 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the penguinrandomhouse.com website listing:

This classic bildungsroman tells the story of Philip Carey, a sensitive boy born with a clubfoot who is orphaned and raised by a religious aunt and uncle. Philip yearns for adventure, and at eighteen leaves home, eventually pursuing a career as an artist in Paris. When he returns to London to study medicine, he meets the androgynous but alluring Mildred and begins a doomed love affair that will change the course of his life.

Review:
EM Forster once wrote: "The final test of a novel will be our affection for it, as it is the test of our friends, of anything else that we cannot define." Good point. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with this book. While it didn't win my affection, I will give Maugham some admiration for being able to capture and portray the essence of his characters so well. I absolutely despised Mildred and found Philip at time equally frustrating/infuriating. At least Maugham's writing style is geared towards the everyday reader, which I found to be a bonus as nothing turns my mind off a novel faster than going all high-brow with elegant writing unless it fits with the story. Of Human Bondage is not an elegant story washed in filtered lighting. It has a directness to it that would be at odds with any flowery prose. I also found the story to be at times overly melodramatic, but my impatience with the melodrama was at part being fueled by my loathing of the whole Mildred/Philip scenario that just wouldn't end. Thank goodness for the entrance of Athelny and his family - which had me thinking about H.E. Bates' The Darling Buds of May - as a nice jolt of sunshine to what was becoming a rather dour read for me. I read the first 40% of the book as a e-read before flipping over to audiobook. This story definitely worked better for me in audio format - as do most of the classics I have tackled of late - so kudos to Crossley for managing to draw me back into a story that was doomed to be a long drawn out reading affair for me.

What I didn't know until after I had finished reading the story is that Maugham wrote the manuscript when he was only 23 years old and was fresh out of medical school. I had read somewhere that some view Of Human Bondage to be the most autobiographical of all of Maugham's works but I had always assumed that the story had been written closer to its publication date when Maugham was in his mid to late-30's.

Overall, I am glad to be able to cross this title off my "Classics still to read" list.

Book #36 - Pelquin's Comet by Ian Whates
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category
Category: Street Art
Reading BINGO square: N/A
CAT(s): N/A
Source: LTER
Format: e-book
Original publication date: March 30, 2015
Acquisition date: April 2, 2015
Page count: 289 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.30 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca website listing:

In an age of exploration and expansion, the crew of the freetrader Pelquin’s Comet – a rag-tag group of misfits, ex-soldiers and ex-thieves – set out to find a cache of alien technology, intent on making their fortunes; but they are not the only interested party and find themselves in a deadly race against corporate agents and hunted by the authorities. Forced to combat enemies without and within, they strive to overcome the odds under the watchful eye of an unwelcome guest: Drake, agent of the bank funding their expedition, who is far more than he seems and may represent the greatest threat of all.

Review:
I am a big fan of Firefly, and in particular, the movie Serenity, so when I read a positive review of Pelquin's Comet here on LT and then saw the book was listed in the March LT Early Reviewers Program, I made sure to request a copy. This story hits all of the right chords with me as a wonderful bit of escapism adventure reading. The amazon.ca listing for the book has the following quote by Gavin Smith:

“Intrigue and action in this high octane collision between Firefly, the Bourne films and Indiana Jones. A two-fisted SF adventure, space opera as it should be written!”

I have read all of Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne books - they were part of my favorite summer time beach reads as a teenager. I am also a big fan of adventure-style movies like Indiana Jones and National Treasure, so I can easily concur with the Smith quote that Pelquin's Comet is a solid sci-fi treasure hunt adventure with the secrets, past lives and hidden agendas of the characters bubbling near the surface to tantalize the reader. The character mix is good and for a first book in a new series, the character development already has some traction. Pelquin comes across as the typical charismatic swaggering space ship captain who like to run things fast and loose. Drake and Leesa are interesting enigmas and I found myself wanting to know more about their hidden pasts, but my favorite character is Mudball, Drake's 'genpet'. If you have read Scott Westefeld's Leviathan series, think of a highly intelligent Bovril who engages in telepathic banter with Drake (and has a few secrets of his own) and that is Mudball. I also really like the world build in this story. It is a nice blending of the familiar (human inhabited cities with ground transportation, landing ports, etc) with the sci-fi (extinct Elders who were behind the creation of the highly sought after artifacts and the alien race Xters).

Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this one. If you are a fan of Firefly/Serenity, if you enjoy Chris Wooding's Tales of the Ketty Jay series, or if you just love a good treasure hunt adventure, I can recommend this as a book worth picking up and reading. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

Book #37 - Guyana by Elise Turcotte - translated from the French by Rhonda Mullins
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, Commonwealth
Category: Edinburgh's Commonwealth Games of Art
Reading BINGO square: N/A
CAT(s): N/A
Source: GVPL
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2011 (Original French text); April 30, 2014 (English translation)
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 144 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca website listing:

Ana, a free-lance journalist and her nine-year-old son, Philippe, are grieving the loss of Philippe's father when Philippe's hairstylist, Kimi, dies in an apparent suicide. Driven by a force she doesn't understand, Ana starts digging into Kimi's past in Guyana in 1978, which leads to nested tales of north and south, past and present, and to the Jonestown Massacre.

Review:
I will start the review off by saying that the book description above is probably not the best to give an impression of what this story is all about but it is what the publisher's came up with... I just added in Ana's career and the age of her son. For me, this story is more of an introspective examination of how death (and violence) leaves its scars on the psyche of the living. Written with wonderful sparse prose - Turcotte is a poet/novelist - Turcotte captures the essence of her characters' emotional turbulence, slowly drawing out not only Ana's burning need to understand Kimi's death, but also frightening details of Ana's own past and her dependence on her young son to ground her. The shifts in narrative work well to flesh out just how in tune Phillipe is with his mother's emotional balance and when she is withholding information from him. While Turcotte does bring into the story information about the November 18, 1978 mass suicide of the People's Temple cult members, she is elusive with Kimi's past in Guyana and Guyana in general, painting a half finished portrait of Guyana in quick, post-colonial strokes. The threads driving Ana forward with her personal examination of Kimi's death are tenuous at best and left me with some questions and somewhat unsatisfied with how the story made it to the ending.

Overall, a story that seems to be a bit at odds with its sparse, eloquent prose trying to contain the emotional turmoil that is pushing its way to the surface.

Book #38 - The Peppered Moth by Margaret Drabble
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, ROOT
Category: The London Group
Reading BINGO square: N/A
CAT(s): N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2001
Acquisition date: 2009
Page count: 384 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.30 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com website listing:

In the early 1900s, Bessie Bawtry, a small child with big notions, lives in a South Yorkshire mining town in England. Precocious and refined in a land of little ambition and much mining grime, Bessie waits for the day she can escape the bleak, coarse existence her ancestors had seldom questioned. Nearly a century later Bessie's granddaughter, Faro Gaulden, is listening to a lecture on genetic inheritance. She has returned to the depressed little town in which Bessie grew up and wonders at the families who never left. Confronted with what would have been her life had her grandmother stayed, she finds herself faced with difficult questions. Is she really so different from the South Yorkshire locals? As she soon learns, the past has a way of reasserting itself-not unlike the peppered moth that was once thought to be nearing extinction but is now enjoying a sudden unexplained resurgence.

Review:
I struggled with this one. The writing style is solid, but the story has that meandering quality to it that kept bring up the same question over and over in my head: "Why?" I probably should have read the Afterword first.... A story that is an author's attempt to develop understanding and meaning of the life of a departed family member through a fictional writing exercise is bound to leave some readers wondering about the direction of the story they are reading. For me, The Peppered Moth is more of a Drabble's catharsis then about the family stories contained on the pages. At least she admits that the exercise had mixed results, even for her. I did enjoy the historical detail the story contains and parts of the story reminded me of the manner in which Carol Shields chose to write her story The Stone Diaries... another book that some readers sings praise over while others wish to see it confined to the dustbin. If you haven't already guessed, The Peppered Moth is not an easy book to write a review for, so lets turn this review into a quick Q & A session instead:

Do I regret the time I invested to read this story? No. It didn't jump out and grab my attention but part of me could relate to or at least express sympathy for some of the emotions and experiences... although I did find the story to have a rather dour effect on me, which isn't a great positive.

Do I understand the choice for the title? Not really, so if anyone can explain their thoughts about why the title, I would appreciate it!

Will I read more books by Margaret Drabble? Not sure. I think the summary would really have to grab my attention, or if it was the only book available to read.

See.... even my Q & A isn't overly helpful in trying the capture my thoughts regarding this one. Let's try something a little different. The following quote, in my opinion, sums up this story quite nicely:

"There are too many memories here. Impatience is overcoming Faro. She has several plastic bags full of rubbish, and she is sure she is about to discard something important. Though how could any of this be of any importance? These are such little lives. Unimportant people, in an unimportant place. They have been young, they have endured, they have taken their wages and their punishment, and then they have grown old, and all for no obvious purpose. And now she is throwing them all into a plastic bag.

Book #39 - The Rosie Effect by Graham Simsion - audiobook narrated by Dan O'Grady
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category
Category: Art
Reading BINGO square: N/A
CAT(s): N/A
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2014
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 432 pages / 9 hours listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the gvpl.ca library listing:

The Wife Project is complete, and Don and Rosie are happily married, living in New York. But they're about to face a new challenge because, surprise! Rosie is pregnant. Don sets about learning the protocols of becoming a father, but his unusual research style gets him into trouble with the law. As Don tries to schedule time for pregnancy research, getting friends Gene and Claudia to reconcile, and staying on the right side of the social worker, he might lose Rosie when she needs him the most.

Review:
Not as good as the first book, The Rosie Project, IMO. Don manages to find himself in otherwise implausible situations that have a serious as well as comical side and the friendships continue to provide the story with added structure, as does the New York City setting. The "Baby Project" makes for some interesting reading but overall, more or less just a 'meh' read for me.

Currently Reading:


Audiobook:
J is for Judgement by Sue Grafton; narration by Mary Peiffer
ebook:
The Finish by Angela Elliott - LTER book / Historical fiction mystery set in 1700's London
Physical book:
The Mean Seasons by Bill Willingham - for my "based on a fairytale or myth' Bingo square

I liked The Peppered Moth just a bit more than you did. The style is definitely different and I think it will alienate some readers. I agree with your comparison with The Stone Diaries. There's a similar distance between the narrator and the central character in each book.

>53 lkernagh: Pete put Pelquin's Comet on my wishlist but you've just cemented its place there.

Good to see you back, Lori! I hope this month gets easier for you.

>53 lkernagh:
All the things you love are things I love, so I would probably enjoy Pelquin's Comet, too. But I'm reluctant to get sucked into another series at this point, so it's going to be deep in the TBR list.

Thanks for the big BB of Pelquin's Comet - sounds great!

See, I knew I was missing your book bullets! You got me with Pelquin's Comet, not sure how I missed it on Pete's thread but it has now been added to my wishlist.

Welcome back, Lori!! :)

If someone else on LT hadn't already hit me with a BB for Pelquin's Comet, you certainly would have! And you've reminded me that I still need to read the last two Ketty Jay books!

Good to hear about the baby dill. :) Hope life sorts itself out a little so you have time to hang out with us, but the main thing is, obviously, that you've gotten some great reading done!

Howdy Lori. Popping in to catch up on your vegetarian adventures and book reading. I love all the garden and cookbooks you got at the book sale!

HI Lori, I was in your city today. What a beautiful place you live in and what a gorgeous day we had!

Happy Sunday, everyone! The past week has been fantastic, weather wise, and I am finding RL is starting to settle down and give me some breathing room.

Thanks you >58 cbl_tn:, >59 AHS-Wolfy:, >60 mstrust:, >61 andreablythe:, >62 LisaMorr:, >63 DeltaQueen50:, >64 rabbitprincess:, >65 christina_reads:, >66 -Eva-:, >67 luvamystery65: and >68 mdoris: for stopping by and dropping a line!

>58 cbl_tn: - I was unsure what Drabble book to read for the BAC as she seems to have quite to variety of works out there. The writing style did seem to draw me in after a while but you raise a good point in the distance between the narrator and the central character in both The Peppered Moth and The Stone Diaries.

>59 AHS-Wolfy:, >61 andreablythe:, >62 LisaMorr:, >63 DeltaQueen50: and >64 rabbitprincess: - I think it is safe to say that we can all thank Pete for starting the BB flow for Pelquin's Comet. ;-)

>60 mstrust: & >64 rabbitprincess: - Thanks! It is good to be back.

>66 -Eva-: - Thanks Eva. Reading/sanity continues, which is always a good thing when RL gets a little crazy. As promised, here is a current picture of the Dill plant I have nurtured from seed:



Sadly, he has started to grow brown leaves just a couple of days ago. :( I think I am over-watering it. TLC for Dill continues.

>67 luvamystery65: - Hey Roberta! I have been having a lot of fun working my way through the various gardening and cookbooks. Found a fantastic receipe for Mississippi Mud Pie that I adapted last month for a birthday dessert for a chocoholic friend. Sooooo good!

>68 mdoris: - So happy to see you have been visiting our quaint little city! And with beautiful weather too! I do love visiting Vancouver for its hussle/bussle and more cosmopolitan feel, but I do breath a sigh of relief when I return home to sleepy ol' Victoria. ;-)

As promised last week, here is a quick update on the Herb Garden.

Herb Garden Project
The garden is growing at a fantastic rate. Here are some quick snaps of the various plants as of this morning starting with a quick shot of almost all of the plants:



Here are some more detailed close ups:


Starting at the top row, going left to right, we have English Thyme (growing like a weed!), Orange Thyme (a recent acquisition that I am looking forward to trying out in some recipes), Marjoram (a plant I enjoy growing more as an experiment in learning how to shape the plant to grow the way I want - more bush-like, as I have yet to add this herb to any of my culinary dishes), Triple Curled Parsley (which I am rather proud of since I grew this plant from seed!).

Bottom row, we have Dill (another plant I have grown from seed), Chives (again, grown from seed), Garlic Chives, Mojito Mint (love the flavour of these leaves!), Spearmint (fantastic in drinking water with a wedge of fresh lemon), Creeping Rosemary (a plant I am trying to train like I have the Majoram), and tucked in the corner behind the plant stand leg, Fernleaf Dill.



Starting at the top row, going left to right, we have Italian Oregano (another plant that grows like a weed), French Tarragon, Purple Sage (I wasn't sure which type of Sage plant to grow but decided I didn't like the gangly look of Pineapple Sage), Parsley.

Middle row in picture (bottom row on plant shelf), Fernleaf Dill (more on this plant below), French Lavender and Spanish Tarragon.

On the deck in front of the plant stand, Basil (this plant is amazing! I am harvesting leaves every 3 weeks!), another shot of the Creeping Rosemary and Cilantro.

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

I have a thread over on the Gardens & Books group where I am posting my herb gardening adventures. Here is a link to the latest update to my Herb Garden Thread if you want to see more pictures.

Book #40 - J is for Judgment by Sue Grafton - audiobook narrated by Mary Peiffer
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, ROOT
Category: Books Made Into Art
Reading BINGO square: N/A
CAT(s): N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 1993
Acquisition date: July 14, 2013
Page count: 375 pages / 9 hours, 10 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the gvpl.ca library listing:

Wendell Jaffe looks great for a dead man! He's been six feet under for five years ago--until his former insurance agent spots him at a dusty resort bar in Mexico. Now California Fidelity wants its insurance money back. Can P.I. Kinsey Millhone get on the case? Just two months earlier, Jaffe's widow pocketed $500,000 in insurance benefits after Jaffe went overboard. Was his "pseudocide" a last-ditch effort to do right by his beloved wife? Perhaps. But how would that explain the new woman in Jaffe's second life? Kinsey is in for the long haul as she delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Jaffe's life and death...and discovers that, in family matters as in crime, sometimes it's better to reserve judgment...

Review:
I usually enjoy my visits with Kinsey and the trips back in time courtesy of Grafton's attention to detail. This story was no exception, although it did have its slow bits where my mind would wander. Even the introduction of previously unknown family members into Kinsey's life had a bit of a "ho-hum" effect on me. As far as the mystery goes, this one was okay. Enough missing pieces, questions and suspicious characters to give the plot some depth, but still, not one of my favorite Kinsey reads so far. The last hour of the audiobook did grab my attention, as did the the rather surprising reveal of the guilty party at the end.

Overall, I am looking forward to the next book in the series as they are always a fun way to escape from reality. I am also curious to see if the new characters introduced in this story will reappear and be built upon in future stories.

Book #41 - The Finish by Angela Elliott
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category
Category: Art
Reading BINGO square: N/A
CAT(s): N/A
Source: LTER / TBR
Format: e-book
Original publication date: March 1, 2015
Acquisition date: May 1, 2015
Page count: 277 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.50 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing:

It is 1769 and these are violent times. London’s Covent Garden has long been a centre of hedonistic pleasure with its whores and harridans, aristocrats and artisans, actors, drunks and thieves. Prostitute, Kitty Ives, takes a man to her bed and wakes to find him dead. Fearing the gallows, so begins Kitty's quest to uncover the identity of the murderer.

Review:
I am a bit torn regarding my thoughts of this one. The historical details and setting of a gritty, uncompromising and unfeeling 18th century London, where the gallows and the Bow Street Runners are a very real threat to the lower masses, is portrayed rather well. I really enjoyed the Covent Gardens setting of street hawkers, bawdy houses, gin shops and coffee houses. The plot is interesting enough with more than one potential suspect for the murders, but I struggled with our heroine's rather quicksilver behaviour shifts of a gritty whore determined to protect her interests (her life) and a rather naive young woman who seems to fall in love/lust at the drop of a hat (as do a number of the men in this story). This made this story an unusual blending of a gritty suspense mystery - which I was expecting - with a rather light-weight romance - which I was not expecting. In my mind I was expecting Kitty to be more like Sugar in Michel Faber's The Crimson Petal and the White, so I struggled a bit when Kitty exhibited the more flighty, contrasting nature of a romance heroine. The inclusion at the end of the book of a teaser for the next book in the series was enough for me to add this series to my cozy-style future reads list for when I am feeling under the weather or I am in search of a bit of historical escapism reading.

Overall, this was a decent read. If you are expecting a gritty mystery suspense read, you may find this to be a bit of a disappointment, but if you don't mind a heroine who is a bit flighty in nature and you want a bit of romance in your historical mystery reads, this first book in a new series may appeal to you.

Book #42 - Fables: The Mean Seasons by Bill Willingham
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category
Category: Street Art
Reading BINGO square: based on a fairytale or myth
CAT(s): N/A
Source: GVPL
Format: Graphic Novel
Original publication date: 2005
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 168 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.70 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the back cover:

With the Battle of Fabletown over, and the surrounding city of New York none the wiser, Bigby Wolf visits with an old friend, reminiscing about another, even deadlier war, while Snow prepares for a major life changing event and the Mayor of Fabletown faces a rude awakening to the harsh realities of civic administration and its conflicting demands

Review:
I did not realize how much I missed Fabletown until I settled in to read this installment. Great to reconnect with Willingham's modern twist on the fable and fairy tale characters of my childhood. I continue to enjoy the artwork - such wonderful attention to detail! - as well as the adult banter the characters engage in. Now I am itching to read the next installment.

>69 lkernagh:
Aw, isn't he beautiful! :)

Wow! Your herbs are looking great! I love all my herb plants - although most of mine are in the garden except I did one big pot with some that came in a pot as a gift.

Your herb garden looks wonderful, Lori. You are going to be cooking up some amazing dishes soon with all that flavour just waiting to be added!

Your garden is wonderful! I'm quite envious of your success. Maybe if mine were in pots they'd be doing better...

Your herb garden is looking fabulous! Go you for making things grow!

I'm only three or four books from the very end of Fables and it makes me sad to know it will soon be over.

Catching up on threads. Your little garden looks fabulous. You should start to harvest some and enjoy them. It will just encourage them to grow more.

Looks like you have finally mastered herbs. Great pictures and great future eating!

You reminded me that I've been meaning to read a Sue Grafton.

(Oops. posted twice 'cause of the LT database glitch.)

Lori, your herb garden is beautiful. I'm envious. Everything looks so healthy and prolific. Well done!

Hi >74 -Eva-:, >75 dudes22:, >76 DeltaQueen50:, >77 LittleTaiko:, >78 andreablythe:, >79 mamzel:, >80 hailelib: and >82 VivienneR:. Thanks for the comments regarding the herb garden. I am super pleased with how well the garden is growing. It is even getting a little bit of attention from the neighbors. I enjoy harvesting the herbs as much as I do growing them. I have started to freeze the herbs so that I have fresh herbs for the winter months. Below is a picture of thyme, sage, tarragon, oregano and rosemary that I am freezing together in one small ziploc bag as a "stuffing mix" for when I want to make some homemade stuffing as a casserole topping.



>81 hailelib: - I think I get equal nostalgia/mystery pleasure reading Grafton's Kinsey Millhone books! The books really are a perfect throwback to the popular culture of the 1980's and 1990's. ;-)

----------------------
The weekend was absolutely fantastic. Great weather and tons of events what with the Aboriginal Cultural Festival, the start of Jazzfest 2015 and the Car Free Day 2015 street party in downtown on Sunday all happening.

Sunday morning while out for a walk in the neighbour hood I stumbled across a Little Free Library that is currently not on the LFL map which made for an exciting find during my walk.

On the reading front, I have finished two more books towards completing my Bingo challenge: The Secret Garden for "that reminds you of your childhood" square and The Wars for 'centered around a major historical event" square. I just need to find time to write the reviews.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Book #43 - The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - audiobook narrated by Josephine Bailey
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category
Category: Happening
Reading BINGO square: that reminds you of your childhood
CAT(s): N/A
Source: GVPL / Hoopla
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: autumn of 1910 in serial format: 1911 in its entirety
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 234 pages / 8 hours listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing:

This timeless classic is a poignant tale of Mary, a lonely orphaned girl sent to a Yorkshire mansion at the edge of a vast lonely moor. At first, she is frightened by this gloomy place until she meets a local boy, Dicken, who's earned the trust of the moor's wild animals, the invalid Colin, an unhappy boy terrified of life, and a mysterious, abandoned garden...

Review:
I loved this story as a child.... the secrets, the adventures of roaming free out of the sight of controlling adults and the wonderful woodland creatures that befriend Dicken captivated my childhood mind. So, you are probably wondering how the story stands up to an adult read? Pretty good. Yes, some of the dialogue and plot is a bit sugar-coated but the idea of a huge, 100-room mansion to rattle around in and seemingly endless grounds for fresh air adventures continues to catch my fancy, as did all of the secrets, and not the garden secret. One aspect of the story that appealed to my adult mind that I probably glossed over as a child is the wonderful manner in which Burnett portrays nature's bounty and the overall joys of spring and rebirth.

A delightful story that I continue to love today, albeit for slightly different reasons that the joy it provided me with in my youth.

Book #44 - The Wars by Timothy Findley
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, ROOT
Category: Books made into Art
Reading BINGO square: centered around a major historical event
CAT(s): N/A
Source: TBR
Format: trade paperback
Original publication date: 1977
Acquisition date: May 15, 2011
Page count: 240 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.40 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing:

Robert Ross, a sensitive nineteen-year-old Canadian officer, went to war—The War to End All Wars. He found himself in the nightmare world of trench warfare, of mud and smoke, of chlorine gas and rotting corpses. In this world gone mad, Robert Ross performed a last desperate act to declare his commitment to life in the midst of death.

Review:
I have to start this review off by saying that I was a little shocked to see this book displaying as a "Beach Reads" book on the amazon.ca webpage. The gritty and yet metaphysical examination of the meaning of life, survival and the atrocities that humans have inflicted upon other humans doesn't quite equate into a "beach read"... not in my mind anyways. I mean, this has some similarities to the story telling of Brideshead Revisited but with the grim brutal futility of war as a full frontal assault, minus the whole drinking and waxing philosophical bit. Now, don't get me wrong. I happen to be a huge fan of Findley's stories, especially the way he gets under his character's skin to expose the human condition for the flawed thing that it really is. I can highly, highly recommend Findley's The Last of the Crazy People, but I digress. In The Wars, Findley experiments with story telling by presenting the narration of this story as one of an unnamed individual's work to cobble together fragments of memories, snapshots and facts to tell Ross's story. I am still undecided if this was the best mechanism to use, as the story tends to jump around a bit and I was a bit confused as to what exactly happened to one of the characters, but Findley's ability to make me experience the trench warfare of World War I in all of its mud, confusion, harrowing despair, coupled with the determination to rise above it all is what continues to resonate within me long after I finished reading this story. Findley has a knack for producing wonderful quote-worthy passages, like the following monologue by Robert's mother early in the story:

For a moment she looked at what she'd done and then, without looking up, she spoke in a voice as passionless as sleep: "You think Rowena belonged to you. Well I'm here to tell you, Robert, that no one belongs to anyone. We're all cut off at birth with a knife and left at the mercy of strangers. You hear that? Strangers. I know what you want to do. I know you're going to go away and be a solder. Well - you can go to hell. I'm not responsible. I'm just another stranger. Birth I can give you - but life I cannot. I can't keep anyone alive. Not anymore.

I close off this review with two more quotes that really resonated with me while I was reading this story:

The first dead man he'd seen, I think. And he said that after a while you saw them everywhere and you sort of accepted it. But the acceptance made him mad and he said this marvelous thing: I still maintain that an ordinary human being has a right to be horrified by a mangled body seen on an afternoon walk. So what it was we were denied was to be ordinary. All our ordinary credos and expectations vanished. Vanished There was so much death. No one can imagine. These were not accidents - or the quiet, expected deaths of the old. These were murders. By the thousands. All your friends were...murdered.

----------

Someone once said to Clive: do you think we will ever be forgiven for what we have done? They meant their generation and the war and what the war had done to civilization. Clive said something that I've never forgotten. He said: I doubt we'll ever be forgiven. All I hope is - they'll remember that we were human beings.

Overall, another brilliant, thought-provoking read from one of my favorite Canadian authors. I can see why this won the 1977 Governor General's Award. A worthy read.

>85 lkernagh: I was a little shocked to see this book displaying as a "Beach Reads" book
That would not be my choice for a 'beach read' either. Makes you wonder who actually generates these lists?

Was it perhaps a bizarro-world beach reads list? Maybe that same world would consider light romances to be hearty winter fare.

Great review of The Wars btw. It was a very moving book. I also like the cover you've chosen.

Excellent review of Findley's The Wars. I've added it to my must-read list. But not for the beach!

I like to tackle a big or difficult book on vacation. For one thing, I have a brain that's not multi-tasking and time to read, as well as a view to look at while digesting what I'm reading. I understand that light reading is the traditional choice, but there are a few of us that find vacation to be the best time to be challenged. Not that I don't understand the allure of light reading - I just tend to read lighter when daily life is stressful.

I'm with Kay. I love to take big books on vacation when I have the time to sink into them without interruption. Although I can see why it might not be a book you would advertise as a "beach read" because of the subject matter.

>90 dudes22: Yeah I think it's more the subject matter that makes me wonder why it was highlighted as a beach book. Or perhaps if it was juxtaposed with other, more traditional examples of beach reads, that would make it stand out even more. I'd make two lists, one with the more fluffy beach reads, and one with a title like "books you can finally read now that you have the time".

Personally, I find my vacation reading depends on the type of vacation. Visits to my parents can accommodate big fat books, but our jam-packed overseas trips require lighter/shorter fare.

I agree that it depends on where I'm going and what I'm doing as to what type of book I want. I have enough variety now on my iPad that I can pretty much choose serious or fluff, fiction or non-fiction (on a variety of topics).

>85 lkernagh: Fantastic review of The Wars! I've read several of Findley's books and loved them, especially Famous Last Words, but I've not read this one yet. I agree with you that "beach read" isn't exactly the phrase one associates with a Findley book.

>86 mamzel:, >87 rabbitprincess:, >88 VivienneR:, >89 RidgewayGirl:, >90 dudes22:, >91 rabbitprincess:, >92 thornton37814: & >93 mathgirl40: - Great vacation / beach reads discussion! While I can read espionage thrillers as beach reads, along with classical literature, mysteries, chick lit or humour, warfare with human atrocities like that depicted in The Wars is something that I cannot do as a beach read. I love big fat books as vacation reads, even more so now that I have an e-reader for them. ;-)

I went back to the amazon.ca site and clicked the "Beach Reads" icon to see what it would do. Well, it took me to this page and I have to say, there is quite the broad selection of books in the "shop Beach Reads"!

>86 mamzel: - One of those questions we will probably never know the answer to. ;-)

>87 rabbitprincess: - I would really like to see a bizarro-world beach read list! Thanks! The cover is the cover that was on the copy I read and I kind of like it too.

>88 VivienneR: - Thanks! I hope you find it to be as good a read as I did when you read it.

>89 RidgewayGirl: - Reading lighter books when daily life is stressful makes sense to me. Having uninterrupted time is something I need when reading a difficult book, which is probably when I don't tackle too many of those. Big books I don't mind dipping in and out of, which is probably when I tend to gravitate towards classical literature as a beach read. ;-)

>90 dudes22: - I agree. There is something satisfying about finished a really big tome of a book for me, more so than finishing a handful of smaller reads.

>91 rabbitprincess: - *Nods head in agreement about subject matter comment*

>92 thornton37814: - E-readers are such perfect travelling devices, aren't they, Lori! Good idea to have a wide selection of books on your e-reader. There is nothing I hate more than being on vacation and discovering that I am not in the mood for any of the books I have brought along for the trip. Of course, that means I then go book store hunting, which is always a fun thing to do in place you have never visited before and a good way to visit the local sights off the usual tourist paths.

>93 mathgirl40: - Thanks! I haven't read Famous Last Words so I have now added that one to the "To Read" list!

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

Out here on the west coast we have been having a wonderful stretch of weather but boy, has it been dry! May was the driest May on record since 1937, the year they started recording rainfalls. June if proving to be just as dry which means a total ban on campfires. Not good for a region that is an a old growth rain forest and known for its rainfall. I know my herb garden has been sucking up water like crazy. Luckily, since I bottom water the plants by placing them one by one in a large pail of water, I am not wasting any water but it was still a surprise to see the plant pots take in over 10 litres of water last night, after having been watered just three days earlier. It is supposed to be another hot one today so I am taking advantage of the office appropriate sun dresses that I have in my wardrobe to help keep me cool.

Hi Lori, we have been having wonderful weather, but I think this weekend is going to be a scorcher. Once the temp. guage reaches 30 plus, then it's too hot for me! I would love to see a break in the weather and get a few days of badly needed rain, but I don't think there any in the forseeable future.

Hi Judy, it is a bit sad to think that this wonderful weather can have a downside but like you, I am better suited to more temperate climates. Anything above 22'C and I start to feel uncomfortable. Having no air conditioning may have something to do with it but I continue to believe that we live in a part of the world where air conditioning shouldn't be necessary. ;-)

I checked the 14 day forecast and it looks like we won't be seeing any appreciable change in the weather for the next two weeks. Hello summer!

Book #45 - Halcyon Days a play by Steven Dietz - a full cast dramatization audiobook
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, Commonwealth Challenge
Category: Edinburgh's Commonwealth Games of Art
Reading BINGO square: N/A
CAT(s): N/A
Source: GVPL / Hoopla
Format: Audiobook, full cast performance
Original publication date: play world premiere October 24, 1991
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 72 pages / 1 hour, 35 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.70 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing:

Senator Eddie Bowman cannot see the point of invading a miniscule Caribbean island to rescue a bunch of overly tanned medical students. But as the 1983 invasion of Grenada gets underway, the Senator finds himself at odds with a mysterious foreign-policy specialist who cultivates roses, the President's sexy new speechwriter-and his own son.

Review:
Political satires are a bit of a challenge for me. Either I understand the underlying circumstances - in this case, the US invasion of Grenada - or I don't and when I don't, I am a bit lost as to what is occurring. Luckily with this play, I had enough knowledge of the US invasion of Grenada, the cut throat political world of Washington DC and the misguided political agendas that can impact foreign policy decisions, to settle in and enjoy the play for what it is. Performed by a wonderful cast starring Ed Begley, Jr., Richard Masur and Anne Archer, this recording has all the wonderful characterizations and sound effects of a fully staged radio play, including sound bits of some of President Regan's actual speeches. Dietz has fun poking at the establishment, including the CIA, and incorporates enough factually correct information - like the code name "Operation Urgent Fury" for the invasion - to give the audience a focal point for Dietz's satirical romp to launch from. I liked how the play shifts between Washington DC and Grenada, giving the audience the chance to experience the situation from the point of view of the average Grenadian Ruby, who runs the gift shop in the Holiday Inn, and the people controlling the American political/foreign policy machine. As a big fan of the British comedy series, Yes Prime Minister, I was a little put out when I read a quote by a Cincinnati city reviewer on the Halcyon Days Wikiepdia page that Halcyon Days plays more like a Saturday Night Live sketch than theatre. I do not believe that all theatre needs to rise above the fun that political satires are meant to be and I do not view Halcyon Days as a light-weight, cheap digs satirical attack at the establishment like the Saturday Night Live sketches I have viewed over the years. It is a solid piece of political satire and deserves to be recognized as such. If you enjoy political satires based on actual historical events and if you have access to the audio recording, I can recommend Halcyon Days as a wonderful radio play-like audio experience.

Book #46 - The House Among the Laurels by William Hope Hodgson - audiobook narrated by David Ian Davies
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category
Category: Happening
Reading BINGO square: that is completely outside of your comfort zone
CAT(s): N/A
Source: GVPL / Hoopla
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: February 1910
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 38 pages / 51minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the apple iTunes preview listing:

Ireland's Gannington Manor has remained empty for years, and rumor has it that the mansion is haunted. There appears to be blood drips from the ceiling, and two men have been found dead within - both in the great entrance hall, neither displaying any signs of violence. Perhaps it is a prank, or perhaps something more sinister. Psychic detective and ghost finder, Thomas Carnacki, recruits a group of strong men from the village - and their dogs - to accompany him during his investigation at Gannington Manor. Their mission is to spend the night in the mansion and see what occurs…

Review:
I usually have troubles with horror stories. I was hoping that this "Fantasy and Horrors Classic" short story would send a chill or two down my spine while I listened. It didn't from a horror perspective, although I did get a flicker or two as the focus of the story is on a paranormal investigation. Paranormal stories do tend to send a shiver down my spine. Not the best of stories, although I do note that the original publication date for this one was back in February of 1910. It isn't as dated as I thought it would be. Overall a decent story if you are into classical paranormal investigation-style stories focused more on describing the occult investigations approach to paranormal detection than on presenting the reader with an emotional spine chilling experience. According to Wikipedia, this story is one of six short stories Hodgson wrote featuring his fictional occult detective Thomas Carnacki that were published in magazines between 1910 and 1912. Not sure if I will read more of the Carnacki short stories, but they do make for a quick audiobook read.

Would you like the 20 to 30 mm of rain Ottawa is supposed to get on Sunday? I have outdoor plans on Sunday and am irritated that the rain is scheduled for exactly when it would be least convenient. Also, the forecast high temperature is 15 degrees.

I will gladly take your rain! I am even prepared to send some sunshine and warmer temps your way in exchange. Too bad we can't "swap" weather. ;-)

Happy Sunday, everyone! Plans for today are to takes things easy - probably reading, baking and some gardening. Maybe a little laundry if I am up for it. I may even pull out my sewing machine a do some sewing. I bought some fabric a couple of weeks ago that would make into great summer tops. It has been a while since I last tackled a sewing project.

Yesterday was another wonderful day of weather. Impulse purchase yesterday while out and about was this cute single serve blender (and yes, mine is red, just like in the picture):



As you can probably guess, yesterday afternoon was spent experimenting with cool smoothie drinks... perfect for a hot summer day! Right now the vanilla blueberry milkshake made with fresh blueberries is my favorite, but I am going to experiment with the fresh cherries today. I think a chocolate cherry milkshake should be pretty darn tasty!

On the reading front I have two more books finished and reviews ready for posting. We replaced our stereo system a week ago and I love that the new system is wi-fi and bluetooth compatible. I can now play the audiobooks on my iPod through the home stereo system while I am puttering around dusting, cooking/baking and even when I am gardening. Pretty easy to make short work of an audio read that way!

Book #47 - K is for Killer by Sue Grafton - audiobook narrated by Mary Peiffer
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, ROOT
Category: Books Made into Art
Reading BINGO square: N/A
CAT(s): N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 1994
Acquisition date: July 14, 2013
Page count: 320 pages / 9 hours, 30 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.70 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the penguinrandomhouse.com book listing:

When Kinsey Millhone answers her office door late one night, she lets in more darkness than she realizes. Janice Kepler is a grieving mother who can’t let the death of her beautiful daughter Lorna alone. The police agree that Lorna was murdered, but a suspect was never apprehended and the trail is now ten months cold. Kinsey pieces together Lorna’s young life: a dull day job a the local water treatment plant spiced by sidelines in prostitution and pornography. She tangles with Lorna’s friends: a local late-night DJ; a sweet, funny teenaged hooker; Lorna’s sloppy landlord and his exotic wife. But to find out which one, if any, turned killer, Kinsey will have to inhabit a netherworld from which she may never return.

Review:
Thankfully, I have never suffered with insomnia. I am a bit of the reverse in that I have troubles staying awake past 10:00 pm and my perfect sleep potion seems to be reading while lying in bed. In this Alphabet series book, I got to experience insomnia through Kinsey. I found this mystery to be one the better one's so far n the series. The little details had me trying to pin the possible murder on four different characters at different points in the story. The prostitution/call girl/porno movie angle and the night investigations gives the story a grittier edge to it. While we don't see much if anything of the now regular cast of the "Alphabet series - Kinsey's landlord Henry Pitts, his brother William, her somewhat friend restaurant owner Rosie, etc - it was nice to have a new character in the form of Officer Cheney Phillips potential new love interest for Kinsey? arrive on the scene. As with previous stories in the series, I continue to enjoy the nostalgic trip back in time to a pre-cell/smart phone world where one looks for a payphone or asks to use someone's phone when one need to place a call.

Book #48 - Incantation by Alice Hoffman
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, ROOT
Category: Minimalism
Reading BINGO square: whose author shares an ancestor's fist name - Bingo Challenge Completed!
CAT(s): N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: October 1, 2007
Acquisition date: January 22, 2011
Page count: 192 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.40 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing:

Estrella is a Marrano: During the time of the Spanish Inquisition, she is one of a community of Spanish Jews living double lives as Catholics. And she is living in a house of secrets, raised by a family who practices underground the ancient and mysterious way of wisdom known as kabbalah. When Estrella discovers her family's true identity--and her family's secrets are made public--she confronts a world she's never imagined, where new love burns and where friendship ends in flame and ash, where trust is all but vanquished and betrayal has tragic and bitter consequences.

Review:
This is a solid piece of historical writing, with a focus on the Jewish persecution that occurred in Spain. While the story does not include any specific dates, I think it is safe to say that it is set during the earlier years of the Spanish Inquisition, which would place the story around 1500's. The story chapters are uniquely named and their meaning becomes clear near the end of the story. Geared towards a YA audience, the three main characters - Estrella, Catarina and Andres - came across a bit-light weight against the backdrop of events occurring in their town/village, but that is just my observation. The romance angle seems to crop up in a lot of the YA books I have read. It cropped up in this book and I felt it really didn't add anything extra to the story.... more of an add on to justify the division in friendship, the acts that follow and to possibly attract an audience type that likes to see a bit of romance in their stories. The story also has a mystical feel to it, giving it the effect of experiencing the story as seen through a lace or gauze veil.

Favorite quote:

Knowledge was the way of our people, and knowledge was dangerous. It was the thing that freed you and the thing that put you in peril.

A true statement that can be applied to any number of situations and a valuable lesson for inclusion in any book.

Love your single serving blender. I peel and freeze banana chunks that I blend with milk (soy or almond milk is my preference) for a cool summer shake or it makes a nice breakfast too. This little machine would be so handy.

Great review of the Sue Grafton book. This is a series I plan to start sometime soon - better late than never, right?

Wouldn't it be ideal if hot days alternated with cool, rainy ones? We've had a few weeks of that cool, rainy weather, but things are supposed to heat up this week.

>102 lkernagh:
Ooh, I want one!

>102 lkernagh: - how much easier to pull that out than a big blender. I'm going to be checking that out.

>105 VivienneR:, >106 RidgewayGirl:, >107 -Eva-: & >108 dudes22: - The single serve blender has been a huge success. I tend to make my morning coffee with a Bodum/French Press so I have been allowing the coffee dregs to steep and cool. I then add use the cold coffee as a base for my blended coffee drinks. No more Starbucks blended drinks, I can make my own. ;-)

>106 RidgewayGirl: - I would love it if our weather would alternate. At some point in time, the hot, dry weather I have been experiencing will end but until then, I will just keep hoping for rain!

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

I won't be finishing any more books tonight so it seems like a good time to post my June and mid-year summaries.

JUNE RE-CAP:

BOOKS READ (ranked from most to least favorite):
The Wars by Timothy Findley -
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett -
Halcyon Days a play by Steven Dietz -
K is for Killer by Sue Grafton -
Fables: The Mean Seasons by Bill Willingham -
The Finish by Angela Elliott -
Incantation by Alice Hoffman -
J is for Judgment by Sue Grafton -
The House Among the Laurels by William Hope Hodgson -

June STATS:
# of Books Read: 9
# of Pages Read: 1,916 completed books
Average pages read per day: 63.87
Original Publication Date Range of books read: 1910-2015
Largest Book read: J is for Judgment at 375 pages
Smallest Book read: The House Among the Laurels at 38 pages
Books still in progress at the end of the month: The Map of Time by Felix Palma for my physical read and Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton as my audiobook read.
Interesting Fact: Nothing that springs to mind.

CHALLENGES:- as of June 30th
ROOTs Challenge:
Books read this month: 5 (14 in total)
Status: 56% completed (11 books still to go)

Reading Bingo Challenge:
Books read this month: 5 (25 in total)
Status - Challenge completed June 25, 2015

Commonwealth Challenge: - this is a multi-year challenge started in 2013.
Books read this month: 1 (16 in total)
Status: 30% completed (36 books still to go)

Category Challenge: Each category completed when 8 books AND 2,015 pages read is reached - *changing from original plans of a "whichever comes first" approach
Street Art - 5 books/ 1,273 pages
Happening - 4 books / 720 pages
Minimalism - 3 books / 685 pages
American Realism - 4 books / 899
The London Group - 6 books / 2,704
Books made into Art - 9 books / 2,761 - Category completed June 22, 2015
Edinburgh's Commonwealth Games of Art - 4 books / 824 pages
Art - 13 books / 3,415 pages - Category completed June 22, 2015
Status: ~ 65% completed (~ 22 books still to go)

75 Books Challenge: - My "Luck 'O the Irish" Race (books read versus pages read): Bringing this fun reading snapshot race back, my 75 group challenge will be considered completed whichever comes first: 75 books read or 25,000 pages read.



Pot of Gold has taken a decided lead in the race over Shamrock. We are still only half way through this year long race so it is safe to say that anything can happen.

MID-YEAR STATS:

No. of Books read: - 48
No. of Books acquired (included early reviewers): - 40
Largest book read by page count: - Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham at 720 pages
Smallest book read by page count: - The House Among the Laurels by William Hope Hodgson - short story audioread at 38 pages.
# Pages read: - 13,281 pages
Average # pages per book read: - 373 pages
Best Month, by:
----- Books read: April (10 books read)
----- Pages read: April (2,546 pages read)
----- Book rating: February (4.07 / 5.00 average decimal rating)
Top 3 Reads:

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh - 4.85 / 5.00 decimal rating
Shadow Tag by Louise Erdrich - 4.80 / 5.00 decimal rating
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers - 4.65 / 5.00 decimal rating

Bottom 3 Reads:

The Wings of the Spinx by Andrea Camilleri - 2.90 / 5.00 decimal rating
The Babylon Contingency by Clifford Longley - 2.90 / 5.00 decimal rating
The Happiest People in the World by Brock Clarke - 2.70 / 5.00 decimal rating

Book #49 - Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton - audiobook narrated by John Bedford Lloyd
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, Commonwealth
Category: Edinburgh's Commonwealth Games of Art
CAT(s): June RadomCAT - Reading about being 'on the water'
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: November 26, 2009 (posthumously)
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 304 pages / 9 hours listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.60 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing:

The Caribbean, 1665. A remote colony of the English Crown, the island of Jamaica holds out against the vast supremacy of the Spanish empire. Port Royal, its capital, is a cutthroat town of taverns, grog shops, and bawdy houses. In this steamy climate there's a living to be made, a living that can end swiftly by disease-or by dagger. For Captain Charles Hunter, gold in Spanish hands is gold for the taking, and the law of the land rests with those ruthless enough to make it.

Review:
My love for rollicking adventure stories continued with my read of Crichton's Pirate Latitudes. Building upon an actual event and grounded in a rather accurate portrayal of 17th century Jamaica, it is easy to see why a number of readers may compare this story with the movie The Pirates of the Caribbean. I admit I did, more so for the mere fact that both are adventures with boats, treasure, damsels in distress and a crew of potential disreputable individuals than for any noticeable direct comparisons. The characters are lively, with some wonderful banter and I will admit that I always seem to have a soft spot for ship captains who like to play things fast and loose while still abiding by a personal moral code of ethics, be they pirates or privateers. Part of the story dragged a little bit, and yes, I did catch myself rolling my eyes when the kraken makes its appearance but overall, this was a decent read and is what it is - an adventure story, pure and simple.

>112 lkernagh: This actually sounds like FUN! And the perfect Summer read! I might just have to take the BB :-)

UPDATE: I took the BB, started it, and it's the perfect thing after two false starts today! I was rummaging around my stacks trying to find something after having DNF-ed two other novels, and then decided to see if 'Pirate Latitudes' was on scribd... and it was! This is my first Michael Crichton book :-)

>113 Tanya-dogearedcopy: - Glad to see Pirate Latitudes is working for you! Pirate Latitudes is the only Crichton book I have read so far. I am not a big fan of the movies adapted from his books, so I have never gotten around to reading any of Crichton's books before now. I think Pirate Latitudes is probably a bit of a departure from his other books and I also think it works well as an audio read. Another good adventure read for me is Michael Chabon's Gentlemen of the Road, another adventure-styled story that I understand is quite different from Chabon's other stories.... just in case you find your self wanting to continue the adventure reading. ;-)

Vegetarian Adventures Update:
I know... it has been a while since I last posted about my on-going adventures in vegetarian cooking. Tonight's diner - a Lori original vegetarian dish - hit all the right notes to be post-worthy.



Lori's Zucchini Mushroom Tomato Kale Farro Hot Bowl:

INGREDIENTS:
1 medium zucchini - peeled and chopped into 1/2" cubes
8-10 medium brown mushrooms - washed and chopped into 1/2" cubes
~ 1/3 cup chopped fresh tomato - I used grape tomatoes but Roma tomatoes or other firm tomatoes should work just as well
~ 2 cups chopped kale
1/2 medium yellow onion - diced
~ 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
~ 1 cup farro
2 & 1/2 cups of water or vegetable stock
1 heaping teaspoon of smoked paprika
1 teaspoon of chopped fresh tarragon
~ 2 Tablespoons of Avocado Oil (or cooking oil of choice)
Salt and Pepper to taste

PROCESS:
Rinse the farro in cold water for 5 minutes. Drain. Bring the washed farro and water/vegetable stock to boil over high heat. Once rolling boil has started, turn down to med-low and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, for roughly 20-25 minutes until softened while still slightly chewy in texture (kind of like cooking barley). Drain excess liquid, cover and put aside.

While waiting for farro to cook, prep vegetables and spices. After the farro has been cooking for ~ 15 minutes, warm oil in a large, wide rimmed frying pan or skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add smoked paprika and continue to stir for another minute. Add diced zucchini and mushrooms and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes. When it looks like the zucchini and mushrooms are almost cooked, add chopped kale and tomatoes. Cook, for another 2 minutes, stirring gently to blend the ingredients. Just prior to removing from heat, add chopped fresh tarragon and salt and pepper to taste. Serve over cooked farro.

Recipe will serve two as a single meal or 4-6 as a side dish.

NOTES:
I have become a huge fan of farro. As mentioned above, it cooks just like barley but with the added bonus of having a naturally nutty flavour and it absorbs the flavours that it is cooked with, which is why I recommend cooking it in a stock of your choice. According to some websites, farro is packed with health benefits comparable to quinoa and one site even goes on to mention that farro was the standard ration provided to Roman legionaries when they were sent out to conquer the world. Love this grain!

This sounds really good to me. I'm going to give it a try. I even have tarragon growing in my garden. Just need to get the veggies from the farmer's market this weekend.

ETA: Will report back.

>115 lkernagh: Your dinner looks delicious! I had something similar that night, except I was using pearl barley with sauteed fennel, onions and raisins. I've made farro a few times and really like it for its nutty flavor.

>115 lkernagh: This looks great! I'll save your recipe to try it in the future. Thanks for sharing!

I had read that reference about the Romans and faro as well. That dish looks delicious.

>115 lkernagh:
The Lori Original looks great!!

>115 lkernagh: - >116 dudes22: - Thanks Lori - I made your recipe tonight with a couple of changes and it was yummy. I'm not a big fan of paprika so I substituted cumin and cinnamon to give it a Moroccan flavor and left out the tomatoes since I had tomatoes in another dish. Tomorrow I'm going to take some West African marinade I have and add a little more oil and vinegar to make it a dressing and add it to make a cold salad. I think I'll probably add some fresh tomatoes too. I can see this as being very versatile.

>116 dudes22:, >117 mstrust:, >118 Chrischi_HH:, >119 mamzel:, and >120 -Eva-: - Thanks everyone. I am always on the lookout for meals that don't take a long time to prepare, although I have to admit that there does seem to be more prep work involved when making vegetarian dishes. ;-)

>117 mstrust: - Fennel is something I haven't prepared before. Your dinner sounds delish! I really should look into seeing what recipes I have that include fennel. For some reason my mind sees barley and thinks soups and stews, not as a substitute for rice. Experimenting with farro has convinced me that I can and should look at barley in the same way I do farro.

>119 mamzel: - I like learning about the history behind some of these ancient grains.

>121 dudes22: - So glad your dinner was a yummy success, Betty! I can see where a Morrocan flavour would work well with that selection of veggies. I forgot to mention when I posted the recipe that my other half had his with some teriyaki sauce and he really liked it that way. I love versatile recipes!

Happy Sunday, everyone! Yesterday was spent doing some baking. I am in the process of trying to come up with a basic reduced sugar bran muffin recipe that I can add dried or fresh fruit, etc to. I prefer to bake with softened butter as opposed to vegetable oils and I tend to not buy things like buttermilk for home, so the recipe is a bit of a departure from the majority of bran muffin recipes I have encountered so far. This is also part of my on-going process to cut down the sugar that goes into the foods I prepare. I cringe at the thought of 3/4 cup of sugar (or more!) going into a recipe that produces 12 medium sized muffins. I am close, but not post worthy yet with the recipe.

This morning I took a lovely walk to the grocery store, detouring to donate a couple of books to the new Little Free Library I stumbled across two weeks ago. During the walk, I encountered an adult buck black-tailed deer with a nice antler rack standing near the sidewalk on the front lawn of one of the houses. He just stood still beside a tree and calmly watched me walk over to the other side of the road and walk past. I tried to take a picture with my phone but it didn't come out very well.

Plans today may include some sewing and will probably include some reading. I am currently at the halfway mark in The Map of Time as my physical read, and in the middle of the first coda of RedShirts as my audiobook read.

Forgot to mention - because of all the BC forest wild fires, the sky over Victoria is shrouded in a thick haze today, giving everything an orange-tinged and rather surreal look/feel to the place. It is not something that we are used to seeing here in Victoria and I had a lively debate with my other half as to what it was... he didn't want to believe me that this is probably particulate matter from the forest fires happening in the BC interior and Port Hardy at the northern tip of Vancouver Island.

Book #50 - Redshirts by John Scalzi - audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category
Category: Minimalism
CAT(s): N/A
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2012
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 320 pages / 7 hours, 48 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.80 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing:

Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It's a prestige posting, with the chance to serve on "Away Missions" alongside the starship's famous senior officers. Life couldn't be better...until Andrew begins to realize that 1) every Away Mission involves a lethal confrontation with alien forces, 2) the ship's senior officers always survive these confrontations, and 3) sadly, at least one low-ranking crew member is invariably killed. Unsurprisingly, the savvier crew members below decks avoid Away Missions at all costs. Then Andrew stumbles on information that transforms his and his colleagues' understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is...and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives.

Review:
Ha.... how can any Trekkie fan not enjoy this fun romp. Having grown up on all generations of the Star Trek franchise - and yes, some of them have been rather cheesy in their story lines - I found listening to this audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton to be highly entertaining, even when the story starts to get metaphysical and just plain meta. I giggled and chortled my way through the story and had great fun when the "Narrative" was explained and visions of the original Star Trek shows popped up in my mind. The first coda was just a tad too strange for me and really didn't work all that well in audio format. Not surprising, considering it is supposed to represent blog postings. The second coda was better and provided some interesting insight. The third coda was just darn perfect. Loved it! Made me smile and cry at the same time.

Overall, fantastic fun presentation that appeals to my humorous side by taking a fun, satirical dig at Hollywood and the wonderful TV industry while opening the doors of my mind memories of old sci-fi TV shows and movies I have watched. Escapism with an interesting meta angle to it.

I've had John Scalzi on my list for some time, looks like you had a fun read with him.

We are experiencing the same smoke issues here, Lori. It wasn't too bad this morning by but mid-afternoon you would really smell the smoke. Now I can look outside and see swirls of smoke drifting by. It's quite disconcerting especially as we here in Tsawwassen are many, many miles from any of the forest fires.

>125 lkernagh: Having Wil Wheaton narrate Redshirts would add a whole extra layer to the fun! I read it in print and really enjoyed it.

I saw a local news story this week about smoke from the Saskatchewan fire drifting as far south as Tennessee. It must have been Middle or West Tennessee because it wasn't noticeable in my part of the state.

I hope your temperatures cool down soon. We had 90+ degree weather throughout most of June. July has been pleasantly cool so far thanks to all the rain we've been getting. I wish I could send some of that rain your way.

>126 DeltaQueen50: - It was a lot of fun to read, Judy! The smoke haze continues - I did not realize until this afternoon that there is also a fire mid-island at Port Alberni near Sprout Lake. Wonder if they still operate the water bomber out of Sprout Lake..... Anyways, the haze has not let up. At first I could not smell the smoke in the air but when I was checking my herb plants this evening, they have a slightly smoky aroma to them. I seem to be getting a 'smoked' herb garden, whether I want it or not. Good thing I love herbs'spices like smoked paprika. :-)

>127 rabbitprincess: - Having Wil narrate did add a whole new dimension of fun to the story.

>128 cbl_tn: - Thanks Carrie. I had heard that Saskatchewan has already 'burned' - no pun intended - through their fire season budget. Not good. Here is hoping that we are about to turn the fire season corner and that these fires will diminish. In BC we already are under a province-wide fire ban of all open burning, which includes campfires and fireworks displays. No rain in the forecast for the next 14-days.

>125 lkernagh: Redshirts is definitely on the list for me already but Scalzi is like Novik for me at the moment in that I want to continue catching up with an ongoing series rather than picking up something new. Glad you enjoyed it though.

>123 lkernagh: My mom told me once that you can add some baking soda to regular milk as a substitute for buttermilk. Most people I know add lemon or vinegar to the milk as a substitute instead. When you do that, you have to skimp a little on the milk so that the total liquid amount remains the same.

>130 AHS-Wolfy: - I hear you about the ongoing series catch up, Dave. Something I really need to do myself. Redshirts was quite different than I was expecting, and in a good way. ;-)

>131 thornton37814: - Interesting information and good to know, Lori. Thanks! It took me a while to get the proportions of baking powder, baking soda and flour right when I was trying to follow recipes that call for self-rising flour (another ingredient I tend to not keep in the house), so I will keep the information you have provided in mind when I see another recipe that calls for buttermilk.

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

Reading progress is a little slow right now and not helped by the fact that both my current physical read - The Map of Time - and my audiobook read - The White Rhino Hotel - are both big reads. We still have overcast smoke haze as of this morning so I will be forgoing my usual lunchtime walk and will curl up with my book instead.

Your farro bowl looks delicious! I've never tried this grain before, but I'll definitely have to look for it.

I enjoyed reading your review of Redshirts. I'd read it in print but I've heard very good things about Wil Wheaton's audiobook version from many people.

>133 mathgirl40: - Thanks Paulina! I think I would have had just as much enjoyment reading a print version of Redshirts. Fun story!

Woke up to another red sun this morning, which means the particulate matter from the forest fires is still prevalent in the air. At least we are far enough away from the fires that we don't have falling ash or strong smoke smells to deal with.

I decided on Monday to take today off as a vacation day, so of course Murphy's Law dictated that Monday through Thursday was to to be just insanely busy. I hate when things are that busy. I don't even feel like reading in the evening or listening to audiobooks during my commute, so it is going to be a while before I have another book review to post, unless I treat myself this weekend to a day of nothing but reading, which I just might do. ;-)

Another weekend down and what to show for it? - Well, I did a lot of puttering around in the garden and in the kitchen. On Saturday I made Red Fife bread, oatmeal apricot muffins and home made tzatziki sauce to go with Saturday night's dinner of spicy yam and zucchini fritters. The fritters are based upon a zucchini fritter recipe I came across in my copy of Australian Women's Weekly Cookbook for All Seasons cookbook (page 72 for anyone who has access to it) and boy, were they good, if a bit on the labor-intensive side (says the person who just made a second batch of home made tzatziki sauce, which is also a bit labour intensive, but soooo good!). I didn't take pictures but there are leftovers so I may take pictures when we have the leftovers. The tzatziki sauce is based upon this wonderlustkitchen recipe. Of course, I changed the recipe by adding a tablespoon of lemon juice and some black pepper. Fantastic recipe!

On the weather front, we got rain! Not a lot - in fact, barely enough to dampen down the growing dust levels - but welcomed all the same.

Sunday was more relaxed with some reading - got a book finished! - and some more puttering around in the kitchen. Dinner was a lazy casserole of black beans, frozen mixed veggies, canned diced tomatoes, cooked farro seasoned with fresh tarragon and summer savory from the garden and baked in the oven with a topping of garlic pan fried hash brown potatoes. Yummy comfort food idea that made great work of clearing out some items in the cupboard/freezer. It was a hit and will be a great fast meal idea for the colder winter months.

... now back to the work week grind. Don't get me wrong, I do love the challenges that crop up in my job. They are never boring and they are never the same challenge... everything always has a new twist/aspect to it. I just wish that the summer slowdown everyone talks about would actually happen. That's all.

Now for that book review....

Book #51 - The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma - translated from the Spanish by Nick Caistor
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, ROOTs
Category: Street Art
CAT(s): N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2008
Acquisition date: May 4, 2013
Page count: 656 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the public library book listing:

London, 1896. Andrew Harrington's lover Marie Kelly was murdered by Jack the Ripper and he longs to turn back the clock and save her. Meanwhile, Claire Haggerty, forever being matched with men her family considers suitable, yearns for a time when she can be free to love whom she chooses. As their quests converge, it becomes clear that time is the problem--to escape it or to change it. Hidden in the attic of popular author--and noted scientific speculator--H.G. Wells is a machine that might offer them the hope they need!

Review:
Just what I needed to distract me from the summer heat. Palma has taken H.G. Wells' The Time Machine and launches from there into a wonderful premise that has the reading believing / disbelieving / believing in time travel. Palma's all-seeing narrator leads us through three intertwining stories set in Victorian England, a wonderful time period for a good genre-bender read. Palma brings the author H.G. Wells - along, to a lesser extent, Henry James and Bram Stoker - to life in his stories which is good for a potential reader of Palma' story to know. I for one, tend to enjoy stories where real historical figures are characters and I don't analyze whether or not the author gives an accurate portrayal of these individuals. Let just say Palma brings enough accuracy to our three literary figures for me to settle back and enjoy the story.

Fans of Wells' novel and the subsequent movie adaptations may enjoy the details that Palma brings to his story. I know I did, but it is so much more than a Time Machine story. It is a wonderful historical fiction story first and foremost but it is also a genre-bending delight. It is a historical, literary, mystery, fantasy, steampunk-styled adventure wrapped up into one page-turning package. I have read a number of novels that have taken Victorian England and adapted it to suit the author's needs, but this one is different. The story doesn't try to tamper with the known Victorian England time period. Palma leaves that firmly intact for readers to ground themselves as they follow his characters down the train of thought of possible parallel universes and the "map of time" that parallel universes may create. I really enjoyed how Palma plays with the reader, leading them along and feeding them with tantalizing information that may, or may not, be proven correct as the story progresses, kind of like a carnival's maze of mirrors where one tries to find the right way through the maze. Palma has a gift for painting a detailed picture and for crafting his characters, drawing the reader into the scene and engaging with the characters. He also knows how to pace his story: slow enough to lay the groundwork and to bring all the subtle details to the readers attention while still carrying the plot forward at a decent pace, keeping my interest from waning.

Favourite quote:

"True literature should rouse the reader, unsettle him, change his view of the world, give him a resolute push over the cliff of self-knowledge."

If you are a fan of The Time Machine and H.G. Wells' novels, and if you are like me and enjoy reading stories where historical literary figures are characters in the story, this first book in a currently three-book series may appeal to you. I thoroughly enjoyed my escapism romp through Victorian England under Palma's pen and I am looking forward to reading book two in the series - The Map of the Sky.

New Challenge ALERT:

My Trans Canada Walking Journey



Okay, I am not really about to embark upon a walking journey of Canada, but this past weekend my older sister's participation in the Sinister 7 Ultra race as a solo runner has inspired me to get off my butt and to challenge myself. For those of you who have never hear of the Sinister 7 race, here is a brief blurb copied (with a grammar error edit by yours truly) from the race organizers webpage:

Welcome to the Sinister 7 Ultra — a race that may be the greatest challenge of your life. The 100 mile (161km) course will take you through the most rugged, remote and beautiful terrain in Alberta's stunning Rocky Mountains. With 5,687m of elevation gain across the course, this race will punish those who are not prepared. The Sinister 7 is open to solo runners or teams of up to seven and racers have 30 hours to complete the grueling event. The course is split into seven stages, each featuring a geographic and historic highlight of the area. The race's name is inspired by the treacherous Seven Sisters Mountain that looms over much of the course.

I am not a runner like my sister is. I prefer walks, but I still feel that it is high time I gave myself a personal challenge to conquer so I have decided to track my walking and map it. The goal: To walk - in two three calendar years (730 1,095 days) - the distance that it would take me to walk the Trans Canada Highway from the Mile Zero marker located here in Victoria BC to its end point in St. John's, NL, a distance of 7,821K (4,860 miles). At 10.7K 7.14K per day, every day, this may choose to be a bit of a challenge, especially during the winter months, but I think it will be a lot of fun and the idea of following the kilometers on a map with a distant end goal should prove motivating.

I don't have a FitBit or other pedometer tracking device. This is just going to track planned walks, like my walking commute to and from work and any additional planned walks that I may embark upon. I plan to report back here once a week as a way to log my walking journey and to help keep me motivated to continue with this walking challenge. The posts will be clearly marks so feel free to ignore the posts, as they are really more for my benefit but I will still try to make them interesting entries nonetheless.

Here are the tickers to record my progress:







For anyone interested, here is a link to the Google map where I will be adding daily place markers to track my virtual Trans Canada walking journey as visuals are half the fun! (fingers crossed the link works for everyone):

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1KHnFm1cFwlwwQf9YAJl2hWTSnUk&usp=sharing

Let the journey begin!

Footnote: Good thing I enjoy listening to audiobooks. They are going to come in handy with this challenge. ;-)

Wow! I'm impressed and inspired by your Trans Canada Walk Challenge! Four years ago, I started a weight loss campaign that involved a lot of hiking in the mountains of Southern Oregon. I lost 55 lbs by early 2013; but 2013 ended up being a horrible year for me. I've gained the weight back (and a smidge more); but it's time for me to get back to form. I think I'll do a Pacific Crest Trail version... Do you mind that I copy you?

P.S. Also an audiobook fan :-)

EDIT: Argh! I couldn't access your Goole Map :-(

"404. That’s an error.

The requested URL was not found on this server. That’s all we know."

Awesome! I was hoping my journey would inspire others to create their own challenges. Go right ahead!

>139 Tanya-dogearedcopy: - I went back and looked at the permissions. I think I have fixed it now - made it public to all - but I don't know how quickly Google responds to permission changes.

Your thread is dangerous! I just want to eat now. :)

Trans Canada looks fun - good luck!!!

Best of luck with your walking challenge, Lori. I am trying to faithfully plod away both with walks and on the treadmill, but I gotta say this heat has curtailed my willpower and I need to get back in the groove.

Good luck with the Trans Canada walking challenge, Lori. It sounds like it will be a lot of fun. Will you be tying your reading/audiobooks to the area or province you are traversing?

>137 lkernagh: That sounds like an amazing book. Bullet duly taken.

ETC

Best of luck on your walking plans.

And any sauce that is best fresh, is worth making at home. Tzatziki takes a little planning to let the cucumber and yoghurt drain, but salsa, guacamole and pesto are also best fresh. It does mean that tacos are not a quick meal, but it is worth it.

I recently started a walking plan although not as ambitious as yours. Good luck and looking forward to your walking adventures.

Your walking plan sounds amazing! Best of luck.

Also glad to hear you got some rain, finally!

Finally catching up here. First of all, your farro dish sounds delicious! Must give that a try someday soon. Good for you to tackle the walking adventure. Rooting for you!

Thank you for the encouraging posts >142 -Eva-:, >143 DeltaQueen50:, >144 VivienneR:, >145 MissWatson:, >146 RidgewayGirl:, >147 dudes22:, >148 rabbitprincess: and >149 LittleTaiko: for my proposed fitness program! ;-) I think I have started out a tad ambitious... I don't think I will be able to maintain 10.7K per day. I think I will stretch it out to a three year goal. Mapping the distance on a map is proving to be fun. For example, over the course of the past two days, I have walked the equivalent distance as if I had walked from the Mile Zero marker to the middle of Goldstream Provincial Park. How cool is that!

>142 -Eva-: - Hey, the good news is that we all need food to survive but sorry if the thread has triggered the food receptors. ;-)

>143 DeltaQueen50: - I agree, the heat does make it difficult to get out and walk. I was very happy to have a cool breeze off the water today to help me along. The winter months will be more of a challenge for me as I hate walking in the rain and spending the day at work feeling 'damp'. I haven't tried a treadmill yet but if I am listening to an audiobook while walking, the location of the walk can take a back seat. I might need to think about that a bit.

>144 VivienneR: - I hadn't thought about it but that does sound like a fun idea. Maybe I can add an author/location reading challenge to my walking challenge. I am planning on checking out locations as I pass through and maybe have fun with Google Street View to see where I am at the end of each day's walk.... hopefully close to a lovely restaurant/cafe or maybe even a bookstore. ;-)

>145 MissWatson: - It was a better read than I was hoping it would be. I always tend to struggle through the first bit of detailed historical fictions but once I get the setting and the plot down, I tend to find myself being wrapped up in the story. Palma is a pretty god story teller!

>146 RidgewayGirl: - Tacos with all fresh ingredients must be divine! I have flubbed my last two attempts at making pesto - I can never seem to get the ratio of basil/pine nuts/olive oil and garlic right, even when I follow a recipe. Since the tzatziki was such a great success I think I will branch out and make a home made salsa or chutney, and then I will go back to trying to make the pesto again. ;-)

>147 dudes22: - Walking plans are great motivators, aren't they Betty? Good luck with yours!

>148 rabbitprincess: - Even the sprinkling of rain was a relief so YAY for rain is right! More would be better but apparently I am not supposed to be greedy. ;-)

>149 LittleTaiko: - Thanks! I will admit to a little secret.... I always cook an extra amount of farro, store the extra in a tupperware container in the fridge and whenever I want a quick snack, I just put some cooked farro in a bowl with whatever fresh veggies I may have around and eat it cold like a grain salad. Sooooo good!

I am feeling a little accident-prone this weekend after managing to burn my right index finger last night while making dinner and managing to knock my coffee cup over this morning so this weekend will be spent close to home and doing as little as possible.

Book #52 - The White Rhino Hotel by Bartle Bull - audiobook narrated by Fred Williams
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, Commonwealth
Category: Edinburgh's Commonwealth Games of Art
CAT(s): N/A
Source: GVPL/Hoopla
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: May 1, 1993
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 416 pages / 17 hours, 39 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.70 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the public library book listing:

The Great War has ended, tragically for many; but for some more fortunate, East Africa holds the prospect of vast estates, fabulous wealth, and limitless opportunity in this powerful, grandly crafted novel of the natural and human perils that await pioneers in a promised land. It is in colonial Kenya, at Lord Penfold's White Rhino Hotel, that the paths of these new settlers cross. Here they meet the cunning dwarf Olivio Alevado, a man whose lustful desires and vengeful schemes make him a formidable adversary to his enemies and a subtle ally to his friends. Here the destinies of the English gypsy adventurer Anton Rider and the courageous, war-hardened Welsh Gwenn Llewelyn intersect. Here hope is corrupted by greed, love by revenge, and loyalty by betrayal as the future is trampled into history.

Review:
I never thought I would encounter another epic tale on par with McMurtry's Lonesome Dove. I am happy to report that The White Rhino Hotel, book one chronologically in Bull's Anton Rider trilogy, is that book. With lush, descriptive details of the land, the people and the animals of colonial East Africa, this is a story that will transport you back to a place and time, like the American West of Lonesome Dove, where each settler is very much on their own to defend their property and settle in a land that seems determined to test their strength and will power to carry on. Filled with a cast that includes "an English aristocrat, his disgruntled wife, a gorgeous Welsh ambulance driver, a proud Goan dwarf, a German soldier of fortune, an American Safari hunter, and a brutal Portuguese aristocrat and his oversexed sister", this story has the characters and the backdrop for a wonderfully enthralling epic adventure filled
with good guys, bad guys and the ones you are just not sure which side of the battle they are on.

If you loved Lonesome Dove as much as I did and are on the look out for another epic tale written on the same grand scale, I can highly, highly recommend The White Rhino Hotel.

Book # not assigned - A Society by Virginia Woolf - audiobook narrated by Jo Anna Perrin
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category
Category: The London Group
CAT(s): N/A
Source: GVPL/Hoopla
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 1921
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 6 pages / 37 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.8 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the public library book listing:

In "A Society", a young woman receives a substantial inheritance from her father, on the condition that she reads all of the books in London Library. Distressed by the unsatisfactory quality of the literature itself, she shares her woes with a group of female friends. The women agree that "before we bring another child into the world we must swear that we will find out what the world is like” and decide that they all must seek out knowledge for themselves, visiting some of England's most iconic landmarks and report back to the group, 5 years later, their findings.

Review:
At a mere 6 pages in length, I am not counting this as a book read but I am counting it as a Viriginia Woolf read for the BAC. Having read Mrs. Dalloway, which I absolutely loved, and To the Lighthouse, which was just an okay read for me, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the languid, reflective storytelling of those two books do not give a good representation of Woolf's literary genius. A Society is told at a full gallop - or at least that is how it came across as read by Perrin - and has a wickedly satirical bite to it, akin to Muriel Sparks' sharp, penetrating wit. It is also written in a more straightforward manner than the stream of consciousness style of Mrs. Dalloway. As for the findings, they are an insightful commentary on war, art, and the societal roles of men and women. What is delightful is the manner in which some of the women go about conducting their "research". On its own, this short story has merit in displaying a satirical side of Woolf I was not aware existed but it also provides further insight into Woolf's opinions of the society of her era.

>152 lkernagh: Glad to hear that you enjoyed White Rhino Hotel, Lori. I read all three of the Bartle Bull books and liked them all, but definitely thought that the first, White Rhino Hotel was the best.

I like the sound of The Map of Time and may just have to keep an eye out for it at the library.

Good luck with your walking. I look forward to seeing your progress on your tickers.

>154 DeltaQueen50: - What a great story! I cannot believe that there are so few members on LT with the is book listed in their personal library lists. Hoopla has all three books available on audio, all read by Fred Williams. I like it when the reader for a series or trilogy remains the same, like with my audio reads of the Inspector Montalbano series. I get a little disconcerted when I suddenly have a new 'voice' reading a series to me, after I have settled in with the previous voice. ;-)

>155 Roro8: - Great idea to see if your library has it, and the other two books in the series. There is nothing I hate more than getting a book out of the library, enjoying it immensely only to discover they do not have the next book in the series.

The walking is going great and I do have a end of week 1 report that I will be posting.

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

Happy Sunday everyone! I took things easy yesterday and managed to clear two more books. today is going to be another day of taking things easy and probably a little bit of baking.

Book #53 - Remembering Laughter by Wallace Stegner - audiobook narrated by Cassandra Campbell
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, AAC
Category: American Realism
CAT(s): N/A
Source: GVPL/Hoopla
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 1937
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 152 pages / 3 hours, 10 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.85 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca website book listing:

Margaret Stuart, the proud wife of a prosperous Iowa farmer, sets high standards for herself and others. Happy in her marriage, she tries to look the other way when her genial husband, Alec, takes to the bottle. When Elspeth, Margaret's sister, comes to live with them, the young woman is immediately captivated by the beauty and vitality of the farm, and by the affection she receives from those around her. But as summer turns into fall, and the friendship between Alec and Elspeth deepens, Margaret finds her spirit tested by a series of events that seem as cruel and inevitable as the endless prairie winters.

Review:
What is interesting is that the book description above seems to give the impression that the story is Margaret's story and told from Margaret's point of view. In fact, the story digs deep into the inner thoughts, feelings and emotions of both Margaret and Elspeth, and to a somewhat lesser extend, Alec. It must be tricky to write about the inner conflict that the opposite gender from the author may experience under certain situations. I think Stegner pulls this off rather well. Repression is a key theme running through this story, as is the fleeting glimpses of joy and exhilaration that uninhibited laughter can bring. For a first novel - novella, really - I was rather intrigued by how this story brought memories of Ethan Frome to my mind as I was listening to it. Nothing specific to connect the two stories, it was more a similarity in the tone/starkness of the words, the secluded environment and fleeting glimpses into an emotional reaction of a character than in anything specific.

Overall, I am pleasantly surprised by how much I found myself being drawn into the story. Some of the thoughts/actions of the characters were questionable in my mind, but then again, I have to remember that this story was originally published back in the 1930's, in very different times from what we live in today.

Book #54 - Are You Seeing Me? by Darren Groth
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category
Category: Art
CAT(s): N/A
Source: TBR / LTER
Format: ARC Trade Paperback
Original publication date: 2015
Acquisition date: June 1, 2015
Page count: 278 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the back book cover:

What do Ogopogo, Jackie Chan movies and earthquakes have in common? They are three of Perry Richter's favorite things. Perry (aka Master Disaster) is autistic - high-functioning but still prone to what his twin sister Justine (aka Just Jeans) calls "inappropriate behaviors." He is also smart, funny and wise. Justine has been taking care of Perry since their father's death, but things are about to change. Perry wants independence, and Justine doesn't know what she wants. Maybe the answers are in British Columbia, home to lots of seismic activity, Ogopogo and their long-gone mother. Or maybe the answers are already in their hearts.

Review:
I really enjoyed this story, and I am not just saying this because of all of the great references to British Columbia I can personally relate to, although that is always a bonus when reading a story. This is a story with a big heart. At times funny, quirky and entertaining, Groth hits the right balance between levity and gravity as he brings home the meatier issues of family, relationships and the fact that being independent doesn't mean going it alone, separate and apart from the ones we love. His characters are well drawn and I really liked how Groth makes use of journal entries as the mechanism to bring the father's point of view into the story. I also liked the shifting POV, providing the reader with unique insight into both Justine and Perry's thoughts and feelings. Perry's shifts - when he goes from reality to a form of dreamworld and then back - were unpredictable and it would take me a minute to clue in and follow the thread but I think it worked well to communicate Perry's coping mechanisms as well as how he sees and reasons things through.

Overall, a great feel good story with a wonderful message and a great presentation of a character with autism spectrum disorder.

My Trans Canada Walking Journey


The goal: To walk - in three calendar years (1,095 days) - the distance that it would take me to walk the Trans Canada Highway from the Mile Zero marker located here in Victoria BC to its end point in St. John's, NL, a distance of 7,821K (4,860 miles).







Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: http://tinyurl.com/p8vu9n3

UPDATE: WEEK 1

Kilometers walked this week: 58.2
Kilometers walked in total: 58.2
Current province: (BC)
My current location on the map: On Vancouver Island, north of the Cowichan Golf and Country Club and south of the Koksilah River, heading to Duncan.
Points of interest along the way:
If I was physically making this journey I would have stopped halfway through Day 2 to go swimming in Thetis Lake - it has been warm enough that the water would have been lovely! Evening of Day 2 would have been spent camping in Goldstream Provincial Park, eating something cold, what with the open fire ban in effect, but enjoying the lush canopy of trees to cool things down. I would have been completely stunned at climbing the Malahat and cresting its summit on Day 3 considering the summit is some 356m (1,156 ft) above sea level. All downhill from there! ;-) I would have definitely stopped to catch my breath at the observation deck for the wonderful view of the valley and the bay. Day 4 would have been a rather boring day of highway walking, but luckily passed through Mill Bay, a quaint community with all amenities so would have probably stopped at a cafe. Day 5 would have been another boring day of highway walking. Sadly, all of the vineyards, cidarworks and wineries - Unsworth, Merridale, Damali, Silverside, Cherry Point, Rock Creek and Blue Grouse - are all located a short drive off the highway but close enough if you have a vehicle for a fun day of vineyard hopping, just make sure you have a designated driver with you. ;-) Would have ended Day 5 near one of my favorite shopping stops, Whippletree Junction, a delightful blending of farmers market with rustic antique shops and hand crafts. Day 6, my shortest walk of the week, is more highway walking.

Currently Reading:


Audiobook:
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis - reading as part of the AAC, which I am a bit behind with
Physical book:
The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson - for the July Random CAT "read a book with a title with the word "light" in it, or with a word or words that refer to some form of light."

I love your walking challenge. That sounds like fun imagining where you would be each day. Could you try to get the Google map link to work? I'm not getting it. I think you should take a trip to St. John's to finish your mileage!

>161 mamzel: - That is so strange. I had my other half access the map through the link on his computer to see if maybe my computer is storing the the map in cache but he had no problems. Maybe the link is too long?

Here is the link to share the map:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1KHnFm1cFwlwwQf9YAJl2hWTSnUk&usp=sharing

And here is the TinyURL version - just in case the link is wrapping text or some other such thing that breaks it:

http://tinyurl.com/p8vu9n3

Both links above work for me when I am logged out of Google, so I really would like to learn if the shorter TinyURL works.

I was able to get both links in 162 to work. If browsers make a difference, I'm using Firefox (current version 38.0.5).

Excellent! I just tested the links on my work iPhone, just in case it was an Apple issue - stranger things have happened - but it worked on the phone. I think it may be different browsers have issues with the link, so I am going to replace the link in the walking update post with the TinyURL one.

You are making me miss Vancouver Island, Lori. Especially that swim in Thetis Lake! Growing up on the Island, that was the place to be on warm summer days.

Sorry about that Judy, but it seems like a fun way to track "the journey". ;-) On the fun side, it has just occurred to be that it will take me, in theory, almost a week to travel across the water from Nanaimo's Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal to North Van's Departure Bay terminal. The ferry route is considered part of the highway system, so I guess I will walk it, and pull a virtual 'levitation over water' thing in the process. ;-)

I guess one could continuously walk around the deck on the ferry. Although these new ones are so closed in, I don't even know if outside walking is possible!

>167 DeltaQueen50: - It has been a while since I was last on one of the newer ferries, but I think you are correct that they are closed in. All the more reason to 'walk on water'. ;-)

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My other half greeted me this evening with the mail and a raised eyebrow. The reason for the raised eyebrow: a parcel that was a book. Just so you know, I have not gravitated to the online book purchase community. I feed my reading through library books, e-book/audiobook downloads and second hand book purchases, so book parcels through the mail can only mean one of two things: Someone has shipped me a book or I have won another book through LT's early reviewer program. In this case, it was an LTER copy of The Lost Garden by Katharine Swartz, but it is fun to see his expression every time I receive another LTER book. I don't bother to inform him of the months when I don't win a requested book, I just inform him that LT is the gift that keeps on giving (he paid for my lifetime membership as he has a paypal account and I don't). It makes him all happy and smiley. ;-)

>168 lkernagh: Haha my BF also greets incoming book parcels with a raised eyebrow, especially because my current bookcases are full to bursting.

I know. Mine asks if I will find the time to read all of the book I own, but he says it half jokingly because he knows that I like to own books just as much as I like to read them, so the bookshelves will always be overflowing with books to read. ;-)

My husband just expects that I'm going to buy books so he doesn't react much at all, maybe just a slight interest in what I've chosen this time, and the occasional comment about if I'll ever get to read them all. He loves the look of very full bookshelves, lucky for me.

Playing catch up!

>125 lkernagh:
Nice review! I rather enjoyed Redshirts as well. Although it's not one I would generally reread, it would be fun to hear Wheaton read the audio book version.

>137 lkernagh:
I love time travel stories in general and The Time Machine in particular, so The Map of Time sounds like it's something that has to go on my TBR list.

>138 lkernagh:
Wow! What a cool walking challenge. I love that idea (I also love the idea of walking across Canada, though I would never actually do it). Good luck!

>153 lkernagh:
Woolf is wonderful. I need to read more of her work or even just reread Mrs. Dalloway.

>158 lkernagh:
Tentacles! I'm almost always sold at the sight of tentacles. You review just makes it all that more interesting.

>171 Roro8: - Sounds like the perfect husband to me. ;-)

>172 andreablythe: - Great catch up! LOL on the tentacles.

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Rain. We FINALLY have rain. :-)

Happy Sunday!

So far it is looking like another overcast day so I have my fingers crossed that more rain will fall. I have joined PawsForThought in a July 25-27 weekend readathon - which is open to anyone who wants to pop in and join - and have managed to finished two books so far. Hoping to complete another one or two books if possible. Here is the link to the readathon thread: https://www.librarything.com/topic/193670

Book #55 - Main Street by Sinclair Lewis - audiobook narrated by Lloyd James
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, AAC
Category: American Realism
CAT(s): N/A
Source: GVPL/Hoopla
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 1920
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 480 pages / 19 hours listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com website book listing:

Young college graduate Carol Milford moves from the city to tiny Gopher Prairie after marrying the local doctor, and tries to bring culture to the small town. But her efforts to reform the prairie village are met by a wall of gossip, greed, conventionality, pitifully unambitious cultural endeavors, and—worst of all—the pettiness and bigotry of small-town minds.

Review:
I am so glad I listened to the audiobook as read by Lloyd James and didn't attempt to read a print copy. I think reading it would have been the perfect cure if I was suffering from insomnia. The story isn't bad but it tends to float from the mundane to the mundane. The lead character, Carol ("Carrie") is a rather insufferable woman and I refuse to accept that her husband Will would put up with as much as he does, but that is just my personal opinion. Even with those negative comments, this story is an excellent portrayal of small town America - or small town anywhere - during the 1910's. Lewis perfectly captures that small town culture, the resistance of the town folks to change or to any nonconformity to their ways. That is the hardest nut to crack: a population where everyone knows everyone and has a set of beliefs, values and prejudices that should not be tampered with. Well-meaning and patriotic but narrow-minded. The fact that the town folks have as much to teach Carol as Carol has to teach them seems to be the big divide that never gets crossed. Each party stays more or less entrenched in its own 'camp', trying to get the other side to change/conform.

Overall, the story speaks to human nature and presents some interesting perspectives on topics of marriage, politics, socialism, capitalism and social/cultural dynamics but for me, I probably would have abandoned the book if I was reading it. I found it worked better as an audiobook playing in the background while I was out walking or working in the house, thanks in large part to James' ability to act out the story as he read it.

Book #56 - Henri, le Chat Noir: The Existential Musings of an Angst-Filled Cat by William Braden
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category
Category: Art
CAT(s): N/A
Source: GVPL
Format: Hardcover
Original publication date: 2013
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 96 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.90 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the back book cover:

My name is HENRI, and I am filled with ennui. As an existential cate philosopher, it is my fate to contemplate the world around me and ponder my tormented existence. They say I am an internet sensation on YouTube, thanks to a thieving filmmaker. I am told that my video won the People's Choice award at the first Internet Cat Video Film Festival, and Roger Ebert declared it "The best internet cat video ever made."
-----
This brings me no joy. I am surrounded by comfort and ease of living, but I can never be content. This book is a window to my soul.

Review:
I cannot remember were I saw mention of this book - I can only assume either somewhere on LT or in one of the book-related email spam I receive on a regular basis - but the thought of a existential, angst-filled cat seems reasonable to me so I decided to read it. As a collection of photos with thought captions, this was a fun, quick read. Braden has given Henri the perfect voice to pair with his aloof, disdainful facial expressions and body language that only a cat can pull off with full aplomb. What adds to the fun is that not only does Henri disdain the humans, he tends to look down on his fellow feline house companions as lacking his level of intelligence, referring to one cat as the "white imbecile". In Henri's own words, "If I am referred to as a deep thinker, it is only because the majority of cats are barely concerned with thought at all." Ouch! ;-)

Having enjoyed the book, I then had fun watching the videos on the Henri, Le Chat Noir YouTube channel and his Twitter feed while drinking my morning coffee. I know understand why Henri is the internet sensation the book says he is. Waxing philosophical with a wry, sarcastic wit has its appeal. As Henri states:

A vast universe of metaphysical truth lies undiscovered all around us, yet I'm supposed to be placated by chasing a little bit of string?
-----
My spiritual cup is not so easily filled.

Book #57 - The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, ROOT
Category: Happening
CAT(s): July RandomCAT - Let there be Light!
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: 2011
Acquisition date: December 1, 2012
Page count: 400 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the book back cover:

Drawn to a confident and artistic wealthy older man she barely knows, bookish Eve recklessly embarks on a whirlwind affair that soon offers a new life and a new home at Les Genevriers, a charming yet decaying farmhouse in a hamlet nestled amid the fragrant lavender fields of Provence. But with autumn's arrival the days begin to cool, and so, too, does Dom. Though Eve knows he bears the emotional scares of a failed marriage - one he refuses to talk about - his silence arouses suspecion and uncertainty. And, like its owner, Les Genevriers is also changing. Bright, warm rooms have turned cold and uninviting; shadows now fall unexpectedly; and Eve senses a presence moving through the garden. Is it a ghost from the past or a manifestation of her current troubles with Dom? Can she trust Dom, or could her life be in danger?

Review:
I love gothic tales so when I stumbles across this one - with is captivating cover and an author quote that it is "Reminiscent of Daphne du Maurier's classic Rebecca" - I figured this would be a good rainy day kind of read. The story has a slow build to it - at times, a painfully slow build - and Lawrenson's use of pronouns when she shifts the story narration from Eve in the present to Benedicte in the past left me in a bit of a muddle at times with the story and its overall direction. It seemed to just ebb and swirl, dancing around a mystery of mysteries not to be named or openly discussed. That was frustrating, at least for the first 2/3 of the book. Yes, it drags the reader around that long. Lawrenson spends a lot of time describing the story thorough the olfactory senses, which works well for the perfume angle of the story but seems a bit much when she is setting the scene or building the atmosphere of the story. What did work was the last 1/3 of the story and it worked so well that I am willing to forgive Lawrenson the slow, meandering build that it took to get us there. Sometimes, the view at the top of the hill is worth all of the struggle and effort to climb the hill to see it. Lawrenson shows promise with this debut novel for writing an atmospheric, gothic tale that creeps up on you. I still don't see the Rebecca angle but since I wasn't a big fan of Rebecca as a spellbinding gothic story, that reflects positively on this story by Lawrenson.

Overall, a slow build that takes a level of concentration to stay on top of the rapid shifting points of view while you collect the pieces of the mystery, but the ending does reward you for persevering.

My Trans Canada Walking Journey


The goal: To walk - in three calendar years (1,095 days) - the distance that it would take me to walk the Trans Canada Highway from the Mile Zero marker located here in Victoria BC to its end point in St. John's, NL, a distance of 7,821K (4,860 miles).







Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: http://tinyurl.com/p8vu9n3

UPDATE: WEEK 2

Kilometers walked this week: 54.1
Kilometers walked in total: 112.3
Current province: (BC)
My current location on the map: On Vancouver Island, in Nanaimo, just south of Needham Street heading for downtown and the Departure Bay ferry terminal for my 'walk' across the Strait of Georgia/Salish Sea to North Vancouver.
Points of interest along the way:
Continuing my "If I was physically making this journey" musings, I would have cruised through the city of Duncan on Sunday. I know all about the "City of Totems" moniker Duncan has, given its First Nations history, but I was surprised to see that on Wikipedia, the city of Duncan is actually considered to be Canada's smallest city by area at a mere 2.07KM / 0.8 miles. It is its proximity to North Cowichan that makes it seem so much bigger than it really is. Monday would have been a somewhat scenic day of highway walking. Tuesday, because I am sticking to the Trans Canada Highway, I would have walked past the lovely seaside town of Chemainus, which is known for its wonderful outside murals and for its ice cream parlors/shoppes on Willow Street. Wednesday would have been spent walking through the town of Ladysmith. What is cool about Ladysmith is that it is located on the 49th Parallel and has wonderful, quaint antique shops. It's Hollywood claim to fame is being the town that Pamela Anderson grew up in before heading south for that Baywatch bathing suit. Thursday would have been more highway walking, passing the Naniamo Airport. Friday was a no walk day due to RAIN here in Victoria. ;-) Saturday would have been just a short walk in Naniamo heading for downtown and the Ferry Terminal. And, because I want to see, using Google Street View, where I end up in communities, it looks like I ended week 2 within short distance of an ABC Restaurant. Otherwise, just boring residential.

I have The Lantern on my TBR. I have no idea how it got there, but now I'm glad it's there. Good review.

>173 lkernagh:
Yay! for rain!

You liked Main Street a bit better than I did. Maybe I would have liked it more if I had listened to the audio version!

>177 lkernagh: I used to devour that type of novel. I will consider adding it to my wishlist.

Henri cracks me up too. He's the voice of many cats I have known!

>176 lkernagh: I took time to watch several of the Henri videos!

Wow! Love your walk through Canada! It would be a great road trip. I think I'll pass on The Lantern though. I seem to be an impatient reader at the moment! Perhaps because I read The Left Hand of Darkness recently. That required patience!

>179 RidgewayGirl: - Thanks! Glad to learn I am not alone in discovering I own a copy of a book and don't quite know how it got there!

>180 andreablythe: - It was wonderful, especially since the thunderstorm that blew through on Sunday managed to clear two months of accumulated street 'grit, gunk and smell'. Sadly, I don't think we have seen enough rain to lift the open fires ban, whihc means there will probably be no fireworks this weekend to accompany the Victoria Symphony's free outdoor concert in the inner harbour. ;-(

>181 cbl_tn: - I might have been a tad generous in my rating of Main Street as one can tune out the dull bits in audiobooks just like with radio stations. It really had dull sections!

>182 thornton37814: - I love gothic suspense stories because they usually have a romance angle - without the bodice ripper story - and the slow building mysteries do appeal to my mystery reader side. I hope you enjoy it!

>183 mamzel: and >184 thornton37814: - I am now a fan of Henri. What a great internet character Braden has created out of his feline friend. Sad that Henri doesn't appreciate Braden's efforts. ;-)

>185 cammykitty: - Thanks! The walk across Canada will be slowed down a bit this week as I managed to develop a couple of small heel blisters from the new summer walking shoes I purchased over the weekend, but it should be a fun journey! I have been avoiding the July AAC because I couldn't find a Le Guin that appealed to me. Well done on your part for making it through The Left Hand of Darkness.... although, as a leftie, I don't quite know what to make of that book title! ;-)

As lovely as it was to have the rain come down this past weekend, long range forecast is another 14 days of sun, sun and sun. They really need to start using the word 'drought' in these parts. If we have a snowless/rainless winter, we are in serious trouble.

My current reads - ironically enough - have more of a non-fiction slant to them:

Currently Reading:
Audiobook:
The Ghost Mountain Boys by James Campbell - a Papua New Guinea read for my Commonwealth Challenge
Physical book:
Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sorbel - for the July HistoryCAT 1601-1700 CE time period

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Otherwise, I am a bit distracted at the moment. I am trying to plan a Las Vegas getaway for just my sister and I this fall and feeling a little overwhelmed at the hotel and vacation package offerings out there. Last time I was in Vegas I was knee-high to a grasshopper so no clue what is good/what is bad. A work colleague was able to offer some sage words of wisdom: local transit day passes are the way to get around, mid-week is always better than weekend, check the Groupon site for deals and make sure to take a night and check out Fremont Street.

If anyone has any additional comments/suggestions, they will be happily welcomed here!

As a distraction - since I won't be finishing either book in the next few days - for those interested, I have posted a herb garden update over on the Gardens & Books thread. My most recent update can be found here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/189202#5224774

For Eva, here are current pictures of the dill plant I have grown from seed:



Not bad for a plant who was rather whimpy at first and has now been feeding my current fresh homemade Tzatziki cravings with fresh dill!

>187 lkernagh: I know Vegas very well. Let me know what info you're looking for- I can give you lots of restaurant/bar suggestions.

Mmmmm homemade tzatziki sounds delicious!

I hope you get more rain soon!

>189 mstrust: - Thanks! I am waiting for my sister to get back to me on travel dates, etc but I will be sure to ask you for restaurant/bar suggestions!

>190 rabbitprincess: - I am hooked on tzatziki! No more rain since last weekend so I don't kow if we will be having fireworks on Monday for Symphony Splash. I cannot remember such a sunny and dry summer as this one has been.

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Not much to report. The weeks are more or less blurring together this summer. Continuing to enjoy the gardening, reading and walking although I think I overdid it yesterday and had too much heat or sun (or both) so had a very lethargic afternoon and evening yesterday. Feeling better today but planning to pace myself and not overdue things like I have been. I should sit back and enjoy the summer. ;-)

Time for reviews and July re-cap.

Book #58 - The Ghost Mountain Boys by James Campbell - audiobook narrated by Stephen Hoye
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, Commonwealth
Category: Edinburgh Commonwealth Games of Art
CAT(s): N/A
Source: GVPL/Hoopla
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2007
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 408 pages / 10 hours, 30 minutes of listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.30 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca website book listing:

A harrowing portrait of a largely forgotten campaign that pushed one battalion to the limits of human suffering. Despite their lack of jungle training, the 32nd Division’s “Ghost Mountain Boys” were assigned the most grueling mission of the entire Pacific campaign in World War II: to march over the 10,000-foot Owen Stanley Mountains to protect the right flank of the Australian army during the battle for New Guinea. Reminiscent of the classics like Band of Brothers and The Things They Carried, The Ghost Mountain Boys is part war diary, part extreme-adventure tale, and—through letters, journals, and interviews—part biography of a group of men who fought to survive in an environment every bit as fierce as the enemy they faced. Theirs is one of the great untold stories of the war.

Review:
I am not going to even attempt to review this one. There is a wonderful review posted by J. Green on the book page here that speaks to the book better any attempt I may make. I do have some personal thoughts that I will add:

- The details provided of the wounded and the fighting are graphic and not for the faint of heart.
- The presentation of MacArthur is not an overly positive one as it tars the war hero, explaining some of the 'fictions' MacArthur wrote and said about the war effort. This didn't surprise me - I had refused to believe he was the amazing leader that he was painted to be - but I was still horrified to learn that he made sweeping statements without even setting foot on the battlefield, AND that his wife and child travelled with him in the Pacific theater during WWII while he was overseeing activities. He took his family into the war zone with him. Good Grief.
- Great presentation of Papua New Guinea, its population, their customs, history and geography which was the real reason I decided to listen to this audiobook as I usually don't read war books of this nature. Some cringe-worthy mentions - like the cannibalism bit and the fact that a wife is shut up in her hut with the dead body of her husband were rather unsettling to read about.

Overall, a well presented, intimate examination of a battle between the Japanese and Allied forces that really reminded me just how global the battles of WWII were, touching corners of the world that do not get the same mention or importance in the history books as the battles that were fought in Europe and the Northern Pacific regions receive.

Book #59 - Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, ROOT
Category: Happening
CAT(s): July HistoryCAT 1601-1700 CE time period
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 1999
Acquisition date: May 12, 2012
Page count: 420 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.80 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca website book listing:

Inspired by a long fascination with Galileo, and by the remarkable surviving letters of his daughter Maria Celeste, a cloistered nun, Dava Sobel has crafted a biography that dramatically recolors the personality and accomplishments of Galileo. Moving between Galileo's grand public life and Maria Celeste's sequestered world, Sobel illuminates the Florence of the Medicis and the papal court in Rome during the pivotal era when humanity's perception of its place in the cosmos was about to be overturned. During that same time, while the bubonic plague wreaked its terrible devastation and the Thirty Years' War tipped fortunes across Europe, Galileo sought to reconcile the Heaven he revered as a good Catholic with the heavens he revealed through his telescope.

Review:
A fascinating exploration of not only Galileo's struggles to publish and make known his agreement - with theoretical and mathematical evidence - that Copernicus was correct in his belief that the Earth revolves around the Sun and not the other way around, and how the Church was determined that Copernicus was wrong as it countered what was spelled out in the Scriptures. Anyone who stayed awake during history and science classes while in school will know a fair bit about Galileo, his writings and his battles with the Catholic church, but I will admit to having no knowledge of his family life before reading Sobel's book. Being able to read the text of his daughter Suor Maria Celeste's letters and the context Sobel provides them in really helped to bring not only Galileo, but also the time period into clear resolution for me. The paternal love and respect Galileo had for his daughter and her intellect, and her unwavering devotion to her father, shines here. Some memoirs come across as rather dry reading for me, because I am usually not interested in the minutia of famous or historical figures. Being able to read about Galileo through his daughter's letters to him was anything but boring, even when she talks about the minutia of her cloistered life. That was very interesting!

Overall, a different approach to a memoir that I felt really works well and presents the details of Galileo's thoughts, beliefs and struggles in a manner that would have been a welcome replacement to any school textbook I had to slog through, back in the days.

JULY RE-CAP:

BOOKS READ (ranked from most to least favorite):
The White Rhino Hotel by Bartle Bull - 4.70 /
The Ghost Mountain Boys by James Campbell - 4.30 /
The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma - 4.20 /
The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson - 4.20 /
Are You Seeing Me? by Darren Groth - 4.10 /
Henri, Le Chat Noir by William Braden - 3.90 /
Remembering Laughter by William Stegner - 3.85 /
Redshirts by John Scalzi - 3.80 /
Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel - 3.80 /
Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton - 3.60 /
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis - 3.20 /

July STATS:
# of Books Read: 11 - the Woolf short story doesn't count as a book, but it does count for pages read.
# of Pages Read: 3,936 - A great reading month!
Average pages read per day: 126.97 - Double my June average of 63.87!
Original Publication Date Range of books read: 1920-2015
Largest Book read: The Map of Time at 656 pages
Smallest Book read: Henri, Le Chat Noir at 96 pages
Books still in progress at the end of the month: The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific by J. Maarten Troost - my third Non-Fiction read in a row - as my audiobook read.
Interesting Fact: Considering I don't usually read Non-Fiction it is kind of interesting that I managed to line up three Non-Fiction reads in a row.

CHALLENGES:- as of July 31st
ROOTs Challenge:
Books read this month: 2 (16 in total)
Status: 64% completed (9 books still to go)

Reading Bingo Challenge:
Books read this month: 5 (25 in total)
Status - Challenge completed June 25, 2015

Commonwealth Challenge: - this is a multi-year challenge started in 2013.
Books read this month: 2 (18 in total)
Status: 33% completed (34 books still to go)

Category Challenge: Each category completed when 8 books AND 2,015 pages read is reached - *changing from original plans of a "whichever comes first" approach. Status as of July 31st:
Street Art - 6 books/ 1,929 pages read
Happening - 6 books / 1,540 pages read
Minimalism - 4 books / 1,005 pages read
American Realism - 6 books / 1,531 pages read
The London Group - 6 books / 2,704 pages read
Books made into Art - 9 books / 2,761 pages read - Category completed June 22, 2015
Edinburgh's Commonwealth Games of Art - 7 books / 1,952 pages read
Art - 15 books / 3,789 pages read - Category completed June 22, 2015
Status: ~ 80% completed (~ 13 books still to go)

75 Books Challenge: - My "Luck 'O the Irish" Race (books read versus pages read): Bringing this fun reading snapshot race back, my 75
group challenge will be considered completed whichever comes first: 75 books read or 25,000 pages read.



Pot of Gold remains secure in its lead over Shamrock, but I do have some chunksters I want to read so we will see if Pot of Gold is able to retain the lead or not.

My Trans Canada Walking Journey


The goal: To walk - in three calendar years (1,095 days) - the distance that it would take me to walk the Trans Canada Highway from the Mile Zero marker located here in Victoria BC to its end point in St. John's, NL, a distance of 7,821K (4,860 miles).







Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: http://tinyurl.com/p8vu9n3

UPDATE: WEEK 3

Kilometers walked this week: 43.1
Kilometers walked in total: 155.4
Current province: (BC)
My current location on the map: 5/6th of the way across the Salish Sea, getting ready to round the southern end of Bowen Island for final approach to Horseshoe Bay and North Vancouver.
Points of interest along the way:
Since 6 days of this week is spent walking the BC Ferries/Trans Canada route across water, the only things I have to comment on are the Sunday and part of Monday spent in Nanaimo. Now I like the downtown of Naniamo. It is a compact, harbour center. A bit on the hilly side for walking but one can gets lots of great views of the harbour. Probably why it is known as "The Harbour City". So, you may be wondering what Nanaimo is known for? Well, from a famous people perspective, Jazz musician Diana Krall hails from the Harbour City, but for me the first thing mention of the city brings to my mind is one of my favorite bakery treats - the Nanaimo Bar:



There are too many recipes out there, but here is a link to the recipe I more or less follow when I make a batch of Nanaimo Bars. Now you know why I am embarking on this walking journey.... I need to burn the calories I love to consume. ;-)

>188 lkernagh:
Oh, that looks fantastic! Well done, you. One of my coworkers scoffed when I told her how impossible it is to grow dill down here and she tried and FAILED, so at least it's not just me. :)

>195 lkernagh: You are going strong, Lori! And, yumm-o, I love Nanaimo Bars, it wouldn't be Christmas at my Mom's without these delicious treats!

>195 lkernagh: YUM, Nanaimo bars! Haven't had those in ages!

I was thinking of the bars too when you mentioned Nanaimo. There's a Coop nearby that used to sell amazing bars! & yes, your dill looks lovely! Homemade tzatziki is fabulous!

>196 -Eva-: - Thanks Eva! I feel for you - and now your coworker! - for the failed Dill attempts. What drives me crazy with the Dill is that I see it growing wild by the side of the road - or at least I think it is Dill - and so I get frustrated with the whimpy plants I have. I think I need to look into a narrow but deep planter pot to give the roots the freedom to grow downwards.

>197 DeltaQueen50:, >198 rabbitprincess: and >199 cammykitty: - Glad to see I have caught everyone's attention with the Naniamo bars! ;-) What I love about Naniamo bars is that once they are cut, they can be stored in the freezer and taste wonderful 'chilled'. There is a bakery here in town that makes the most amazing pistachio bars. Same idea as a Naniamo bar but with a rich pistachio center and super sweet pistachio icing. Sooooo goood, but I tend to sugar crash after eating one of those bars. ;-)

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

Another wonderful Symphony Splash last night. It was kind of strange to feel the cold after an entire month of warm/hot weather but my preference is for the cold. It is always easier to put on a jacket or sweater to warm up than it is to try and stay cool without appearing indecent.

Another book finished - more of a novella than a novel - and as today is a civic holiday for BCers (and most Canadians), I am looking forward to another lazy day of reading, walking and not much else.

Book #60 - The Last Kind Words Saloon by Larry McMurtry
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, ROOT, AAC
Category: American Realism
CAT(s): N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Hard cover
Original publication date: 2014
Acquisition date: November 29, 2014
Page count: 196 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 2.70 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the barnesandnoble.com website book listing:

The Last Kind Words Saloon chronicles the closing of the American frontier through the travails of two of its most immortal figures, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. Tracing their legendary friendship from the settlement of Long Grass, Texas, to Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in Denver, and finally to Tombstone, Arizona, The Last Kind Words Saloon finds Wyatt and Doc living out the last days of a cowboy lifestyle that is already passing into history.

Review:
What can I say about this one? McMurtry effortlessly captures the essence of the American West: its cowboys, is broad sweeping frontiers and its lawlessness as only he can. Billed by Joyce Carol Oates as being a "comically subversive work of fiction" I appreciated the banter that McMurtry has his characters engage in and their rather "ho-hum" approach to any disaster that seem to occur, from an enormous cattle stampede to sandstorms. McMurtry's story evokes a sparseness in both prose and description, almost as if the memories are no longer as sharply depicted as they once were. The story tends to jump around a fair bit, with more than one loosely-knit storyline to follow. McMurtry's female characters continue to be strong, determined and independent women, with underlying insecurities that occasionally bubble to the surface. The men, except for Doc Holliday, are taciturn and dare I say, a bit hen-pecked, at least the married ones seem to be. Problem with the book, for me anyways, is that after having dined at the succulent and abundant banquet that is Lonesome Dove, The Last Kind Words Saloon comes across as a poor man's sparsely-laden salad bar, leaving this reader craving so much more than this book has on offer.

A quick read, written almost as a last hurrah of the American Wild West before being assigned to the dusty shelves of history.

Hmmm,, I wonder if I haven't read any McMurtry before, if this wouldn't actually be a good place to start before tackling the main entree that is 'The Lonesome Dove'?

I would say that The Last Kind Words Saloon is the good place to start with McMurtry. Just keep in mind that Lonesome Dove doesn't jump around between characters and settings as quickly as TLKWS does. I think the longest chapter in TLKWS is four pages long... not long enough for McMurtry to provoke evocative images of the American West in the reader's mind or really develop his characters, like he accomplishes with Lonesome Dove.

>195 lkernagh: Thanks for the link to the recipe. I've never heard of those bars but they look delicious, and not too difficult.
When we stayed in Montreal a few years ago, we had dinner one night at our hotel restaurant. One of my side dishes was a pile of roasted cherry tomatoes that I really liked and wondered how the chef had done it without making the tomatoes burst. The next day we dropped into a newstand and I found Canadian Living magazine with the recipe for those tomatoes. The chef clearly was a reader!

>204 mstrust: - They are easy to make, and so decadent! I like to replace the walnuts with pecans, only because I am particular about walnuts and they tend to stale so quickly. Love the Montreal story! Canadian Living magazine is kind of the Canadian version of the Australian Women's Weekly, which also has absolutely amazing recipes. ;-)

Book #61 - The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost - narrated by Simon Vance
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, Commonwealth
Category: Edinburgh's Commonwealth Games of Art
CAT(s): N/A
Source: Hoopla
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2006
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 272 pages - 8 hours, 30 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.80 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca website book listing:

At the age of twenty-six, Maarten Troost—who had been pushing the snooze button on the alarm clock of life by racking up useless graduate degrees and muddling through a series of temp jobs—decided to pack up his flip-flops and move to Tarawa, a remote South Pacific island in the Republic of Kiribati. He was restless and lacked direction, and the idea of dropping everything and moving to the ends of the earth with his stalwart girlfriend Sylvia and her NGO job was irresistibly romantic. He should have known better. Falling into one amusing misadventure after another, Troost struggles through relentless, stifling heat, a variety of deadly bacteria, polluted seas, toxic fish—all in a country where the only music to be heard for miles around is “La Macarena.” This travelogue is a two year history of battling incompetent government officials, alarmingly large critters, erratic electricity, a paucity of food options (including the Great Beer Crisis) and contending with a bizarre cast of local characters, including “Half-Dead Fred” and the self-proclaimed Poet Laureate of Tarawa (a British drunkard who’s never written a poem in his life).

Review:
I am a firm believer that true stories are wilder than any fiction the highly paid minds in Hollywood can come up with and Troost proves this, in an entertaining way, as he takes the reader through his metamorphosis of a stunned 20-something American from Washington DC trying to fit in and understand the local population of a small atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean into an islander. I had to look up the location of Kiribati on the map and, thanks to Google, I now know that this tiny chain of islands is due south of Hawaii and couldn't be more smack dab in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, almost as if someone had picked them islands up and placed them there. I like travelogues to be informative, witty and detailed enough to really give the reader an insight into day-to-day life. Troost does this in spades. I will admit that I struggled with the first couple of chapters when I thought I was in for, you know, one of those cheap "I don't know what to do with my life beyond aimlessly drifting from job to job and country to country" kind of drivel writing, but once Maarten and Sylvia had reached Tarawa and Maarten started to investigate where they had chosen to move to, it opened up into a more insightful read with segues into nuclear and chemical testing conducted in the South Pacific, that childhood dysentery is what first world aid should focus on (and not AIDS counseling) and the sad irony that garbage was never a problem - although sanitation was - until first world items like plastic bags, tinned corned beef, beer in cans and disposable diapers found their way to the region. Where exactly does one create a landfill - a first world solution to the problem - on an atoll?

A read/audiobook well worth experiencing for Troost's delightful wit and uncanny ability to capture the "what the ......" nuances of trying to assimilate into island life, with the hope of not always being the complete laughingstock of the natives.

I listened to 'Lost on Planet China' (by J. Maarten Troost; narrated by Simon Vance) a number of years ago; and was highly entertained by his adventures, particularly those of the gastronomical type! I see that the author has a more recent (2013) book out, 'Headhunters on My Doorstep: A True Treasure Island Ghost Story.' Hmmm... ;-)

Oh.... I thought he only had his sequel to the Cannibals book, so very happy to learn he has more books available!

Book #62 - The Little Free Library Book by Margaret Aldrich
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category
Category: Art
CAT(s): N/A
Source: GVPL
Format: Hard Cover
Original publication date: 2015
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 264 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.com website book listing:

"Take a book. Return a book." In 2009, Todd Bol built the first Little Free Library as a memorial to his mom. Five years later, this simple idea to promote literacy and encourage community has become a movement. Little Free Libraries—freestanding front-yard book exchanges—now number twenty thousand in seventy countries. The Little Free Library Book tells the history of these charming libraries, gathers quirky and poignant firsthand stories from owners, provides a resource guide for how to best use your Little Free Library, and delights readers with color images of the most creative and inspired LFLs around.

Review:

"Little Free Libraries are an oasis of serendipity in what is a fairly programmed age.

It is thanks to two LTers that I am even aware that this book exists. Beign the huge fan of LTLs that I am, I found this great glossy coffee table book filled with wonderful pictures to be a wonderful presentation of some of the creative LTLs out there as well as providing the reader with a number of heartfelt and inspirational stories from various LTL stewards about the community support they have received for their LTLs. I also got a chuckle when I read one steward's story about finding a copy of The Sex Lives of Cannibals in her LTL and promptly "yanked it out of the bus" (her LTL design is a miniature VW bus). Upon reading the offending book - she reported it as being rather funny and not about sex at all - she happily returned it to the LTL. Having just finished reading the Troost book, it was a wonderful example of the serendipity that exists with LTLs.

While the "bring a book, take a book" community exists in all its forms - bookcases in communal laundry rooms and coffee shops, tables and cupboards in offices - I would be remiss if I did not close out this review with pictures of the wonderful LTLs I have encountered in the past three weeks during my daily walks around town:

I love the little free library idea. It always makes me happy to see it and I would love to be able to set something like that up myself someday. :)

So do I, Andrea! I wish I could set one up.... although I can see how I would agonize for months over the design/theme for the LTL. ;-)

I think my biggest concern would be moisture from rain getting in. But I"m sure it can be designed to prevent that.

Isn't it fun how these little boxes as popping up everywhere. In just the last five months two have gone up in my neighbourhood!

>209 lkernagh: I'm glad you liked it!
I was reading through and looking at all the fantastic examples of LFLs, all the while knowing that I could never put one up myself. Our little street has a lot of foot traffic, but it's because we're across from a high school. Put anything in your yard and it's either beaten up or missing within days. But if we ever move I'll scope things out, because LFLs are such a great idea.

>214 mstrust: We had one set up at work and it was doing well; until one employee emptied out the entire thing and sold the books at a used book store. This is why we can't have nice things :-/

I love your photos of the Little Free Libraries. There are several in our neighbourhood, including a new one on my regular walking route. As a long-time BookCrossing member, I'm used to the idea of leaving books for others to find, and I too am impressed by the creative designs of the LFL owners.

>212 andreablythe: - They must have some form of sealant or something that keeps them waterproof. Victoria is a pretty wet place, especially in the winter months, although one of the LTLs I came across has a door that has a gap that water could get in.

>213 DeltaQueen50: - I know, it is like an Easter egg hunt but over a larger area and with books! I get so excited every time I discover a new one, especially as only two of the ones I have come across are actually registered on the LTL map.

>214 mstrust: - Across from a high school... wow, that could be just asking for the wrong kind of attention. Like you, I would love to have a LTL. Someday. *sighs*

>215 Tanya-dogearedcopy: - I am.... speechless. They took ALL of the books?! And sold them?!? You don't happen to live anywhere near qebo (another LT and LTL steward) by chance? She caught some guy trying to take all of the good quality books from her LTL and he actually got miffed when she approached him and informed him that he really should limit it to three books so that the books can be shared with others. She thinks he was selling the books but she has no concrete proof of that.

>216 mathgirl40: - Aren't LTLs fun? I love passing a book onto a new home after reading it.

Book #63 - The Third Man: The Screenplay and The Living Room, a play in two acts by Graham Greene - full cast live recording performances by L.A. Theatre Works
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, BAC
Category: The London Group
CAT(s): N/A
Source: Hoopla
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 1949?
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 256 pages / 2 hour, 47 minutes of listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.30 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the gvpl library listings:

The Third Man: Somewhere in shadowy post-war Vienna, where everyone has something to sell on the black market, lurks the third man who witnessed the murder of Harry Lime. Novelist Holly Martins is haunted by the death of his friend. His search for the killer makes electrifying drama, in this witty and sophisticated audio adaptation of the Graham Greene classic.

The Living Room: London in the 1950s. A mysterious house, home to a family that has seen better days, will not yield its secrets. And a love affair turns to tragedy...

Review:
The Third Man - I will start of this mini-review with the following quote by Graham Greene, as posted in the New York Times March 9, 1950:"The Third Man" was never written to be read but only to be seen." Well, we can now add 'heard/listened" to that sentence. An absolutely brilliant performance by the L.A. Theatre Works with the recording pulling off for the auditory senses what Greene wanted to accomplish both visually and audibly with his screenplay. Suspenseful with a truly Noir vibe to it, this one has poorly light street corners, men in trench coats, hidden agendas and the chase written all over it. Almost a shadier, edgier Casablanca in feel and presentation. Now I am the hunt to see if I can find a copy of the original movie directed by Carol Reed to watch.
The Living Room - Wow, talk about one conflicted story/play. Greene digs deeps - more like tries to strip bare - Catholicism in this one as if he is trying to find a shard of, I don't know, truth that may make sense of the suffering some pay all in the name of religion. This one is said to be somewhat autobiographical in nature and if that is correct, than I can understand the strong emotions that Greene throws into his writing. Just, wow.

Two wonderfully different and yet both strongly powerful stories to electrify/rivet the reader/listener/audience. If you are able to access the audiobooks of the L.A. Theatre Works productions of these plays, I can highly recommend both performances as being well worth listening to.

>217 lkernagh: Yes, she took all the books! She was stupid enough to brag about it; but seemed surprised when we took out the unit!

And no, we live in Southern Oregon... Land of wild fires and book thieves! :-/

>218 lkernagh: I should get back to reading more of Graham Greene's books and do have a couple sat on the tbr shelves (though neither of those). Glad you enjoyed the performances of them.

>219 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I would find it difficult to not hiss "boook thieffff" at her in the hallways.

Just happened across this write-up of stealing from LFLs.
http://bookriot.com/2015/08/04/can-rob-little-free-library/

The sequel to The Sex Lives of Cannibals, Getting Stoned with Savages, has an account of an encounter with a centipede that still lives in my memory, and in the memory of my children, because I read that part to them.

I was on "the Island" earlier this week and thought of you, Lori. Nanaimo bars (bought in Victoria) were essential.

>219 Tanya-dogearedcopy: - That is just soooooo wrong! Land of wildfires and book thieves, what a combination. ;-)

>220 AHS-Wolfy: - Hi, Dave! And here I have been avoiding reading and Graham Greene books because I didn't think I would like them, based upon the author writeup on Wikipedia. I have now learned my lesson. ;-) Greene has a very dramatic flair to his writing style that seems to suit performances.

>221 mstrust: - *snickers* ;-)

>222 mstrust: - Wow. So it isn't just a random, isolated incident. One can only help but feel sorry for a LTL book 'thief' - since that is a questionable term to use, given LTL's free book concept - considering the few dollars they would probably receive if they took the books to a used bookstore to try and sell them on.

>223 RidgewayGirl: - Well, that bit about the centipede has now caught my attention! I must check out Getting Stoned with Savages!

>224 VivienneR: - Ha, ha..... "the island" or "the rock" are all very familiar terms to me. I hope you had a lovely time over here! I love Victoria in the summer months and try not to take vacation time off "the island" until fall arrives. This year has been exceptionally sunny and dry... I am positive we are going for some kind of record.

For a short work week, I was so happy to see the weekend arrive! I am taking advantage of the overcast and cooler weather - thanks to a fog bank off the water - to do some baking. Dill Asiago scones have been baked (and quality control tested!) and I am now just bringing the butter to room temperature so I can do something I haven't done in a long, long time: make cookie cutter cookies! Because I avoid using granulated sugar in my baking, and I am craving something citrusy, I am going to attempt these Brown Sugar Citrus Cookies. Will report back if they are a success or failure.

In the meantime, I managed to finish a book last night so review to follow.

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

Currently Reading:


Audiobook:
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton - a South Africa read for my Commonwealth Challenge (which is narrated by Michael York)
Physical book:
The Given Day by Dennis Lehane - for the August RandomCAT Dog Days of Summer and as a ROOT read

Book #64 - The Lost Garden by Katharine Swartz
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category
Category: Art
CAT(s): N/A
Source: LTER
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: 2015
Acquisition date: 2015-07-21
Page count: 352 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.40 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com website book listing:

Marin Ellis is in search of a new start after her father and his second wife die in a car accident leaving her the guardian of her fifteen-year-old half-sister, Rebecca. They choose the picturesque village of Goswell on the Cumbrian coast and settle into Bower House, the former vicarage, on the edge of the church property. When a door to a walled garden captures Rebecca’s interest, Marin becomes determined to open it and discover what is hidden beneath the bramble inside. She enlists the help of local gardener Joss Fowler, and together the three of them begin to uncover the garden’s secrets.

In 1919, nineteen-year-old Eleanor Sanderson, daughter of Goswell’s vicar, is grieving the loss of her beloved brother Walter, who was killed just days before the Armistice was signed. Eleanor retreats into herself and her father starts to notice how unhappy she is. As spring arrives, he decides to hire someone to make a garden for Eleanor, and draw her out of - or at least distract her from - her grief and sorrow. Jack Taylor is in his early twenties, a Yorkshire man who has been doing odd jobs in the village, and when Eleanor’s father hires him to work on the vicarage gardens, a surprising - and unsuitable - friendship unfolds.

Review:
This is one of those stories that I view as a rainy day read: a quiet blending of family dynamics and budding romances; of secrets and mysterious pasts; of loss, grief and hope. Swartz captures the essence of coastal village life in two time periods - post WWI and more or less present day - and shifts between two stories in alternating chapters, where the village of Goswell and the walled garden are the connecting points between Marin and Eleanor's stories. Swartz does a wonderful job managing the shifting time periods and story-lines, making it easy for the reader to transition between the two without feeling as though it is all jumbled together. On a downside, I struggled with Eleanor's character. For the most part, I found her mannerisms and reckless behaviour to be of the nature I would expect from a younger girl of 14-years and not from a young woman of 19-years. The romance parts of the story is muted and kind of rings a bit false for me, but that is just my personal impression.

Overall, Swartz captures the setting and the time periods nicely and presents the reader with a story that glimmers of hope and redemption. A perfect rainy day read.

>227 lkernagh: Glad you enjoyed it, maybe not quite as much as I did, but still enough to call it a "perfect rainy day read."

>228 thornton37814: - My type of "rainy day reads" are never stellar reads, because I want to be able to just slip inside a different reality, without any melodrama, jarring revelations or other such stuff that would remove me from my tranquil experience of the day - usually curled up on the couch with a warm cup of tea. The Swartz book meets all of those relaxing and yet captivating qualities. ;-)

Happy Sunday! The cookies were a bit of a bomb. Okay, they weren't bad but a little too fussy for me to make and not very citrusy considering I even added lemon flavoring instead of vanilla, so my hunt for a really citrusy brown sugar cookie cutter cookie continues. I guess I could always ice them with some lemon icing.

My Trans Canada Walking Journey


The goal: To walk - in three calendar years (1,095 days) - the distance that it would take me to walk the Trans Canada Highway from the Mile Zero marker located here in Victoria BC to its end point in St. John's, NL, a distance of 7,821K (4,860 miles).







Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: http://tinyurl.com/p8vu9n3

UPDATE: WEEK 4

Kilometers walked this week: 61.2
Kilometers walked in total: 216.60
Current province: (BC)
My current location on the map: In Coquitlam, east of Burnett Avenue and within stone throw distance of IKEA Coquitlam and heading for the Port Mann Bridge.
Points of interest along the way:
Sunday would have seen me pass the southern tip of Bowen Island, heading for land. Monday I would have finally reached Horseshoe Bay and been back on land after 7 days of walking across the water. Tuesday would have been spent walking the Trans Canada as it goes through West Vancouver, heading for North Vancouver. I could have walked the more scenic Marine Drive, but I wasn't up for the extra Ks I would have to log on the map, so I stuck with the highway. Wednesday was a bad weather day back in Victoria so I didn't log any walking that day. Thursday would have seen me walking through North Vancouver and crossing the Capilano River - and I would probably have detoured here to go visit the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park because it has been a while since I was last there. Friday would have seen me crossing the Ironworker's Memorial Bridge (aka the Second Narrows Bridge) from North Vancouver into Burnaby.

Interesting Fact: The Second Narrows Bridge was renamed the Ironworker's Memorial Bridge in 1994 to honour the workers who lost their lives during its construction. On June 17, 1958, several spans of the new bridge collapsed, when 79 workers were injured and 18 died. It is considered one of Vancouver's worst industrial accidents. Tragedy at Second Narrows, written by Eric Jamison, is a book that reconstructs the accident. My local library has copies of this book available so I plan to read the Jamison book as soon as I can get my hands on a copy.

Friday I would have ended the day at Burnaby Lake Regional Park. Open fire ban still in effect but that is okay. Saturday would have been spent walking along the southern border of the park and then heading on to Coquitlam and... IKEA! For those of you who do not understand the excitement, there is no IKEA on Vancouver Island. Not one store. Not even a pickup counter. There used to be a tiny satellite IKEA store in Victoria down on Yates Street, but it operated for only three years, from 1985 to 1988. It turned out that Victoria was just too small a population shopping base for an IKEA store to be financially viable. Instead, 'islanders' destination shop IKEA as part of day trips to the mainland. It is just one of those things. ;-)

>230 lkernagh: You could make them sandwich cookies with some sort of lemon filling in the middle! Or perhaps a dollop of lemon curd.

Good thought. The cookies are more like a hard biscuit-style cookies so they should work as sandwich cookies if I can make the filling dense enough - kind of like Oreo cookies. It is worth a try. ;-)

>230 lkernagh: Well they do look pretty!
I think lemon is a flavor that must dissipate quickly in heat, because so many recipes have you add a squeeze of lemon just before serving. You might try mixing a bunch of lemon zest in sugar and rolling the cookies in it before baking or pressing it on the cut-out cookies before baking. I've done this before and it does give more of a lemony kick.

That is so sad about lemon losing its 'umph' with cooking as a flavor because it is one of my faves! Sooooo frustrating.

Book #65 - Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton - audiobook narrated by Michael York
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, Commonwealth
Category: Edinburgh's Commonwealth Games of Art
CAT(s): N/A
Source: Hoopla
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 1948
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 316 pages / 9 hours, 49 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the barnesandnoble website book listing:

Cry, the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son, Absalom, set against the background of a land and a people riven by racial injustice.

Review:
Knowing, as I do now, that this story was published in 1948, in advance of the passage of legislation later that same year that would institutionalized the apartheid political system in South Africa, it makes for a very interesting - almost personal - piece of social protest on the part of Paton. Paton uses clear language and a gentle voice to convey his story. Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo's desire to try and protect his family from a path of destruction runs through this story. Witnessing the teeming world of Johannesburg and the justice system through Kumalo's country pastor's eyes is an unforgettable experience. There is a lot of pain and sadness in this story but there is also a glimmer of hope, as if Paton had written this story with that end hope in mind. Wonderfully performed by Michael York, the characters' personalities really shined through as I was listening to this audiobook.

I am very glad that I have finally experienced this story.

Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear. Let him not love the earth too deeply. Let him not laugh too gladly when the water runs through his fingers, nor stand too silent when the setting sun makes red the veld with fire. Let him not be too moved when the birds of his land are singing, nor give too much of his heart to a mountain or valley. For fear will rob him of all if he gives too much.

>226 lkernagh:
Dill Asiago scones, you say? Recipe, please, I say!

Dill Asiago Scones

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups of flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1-2 Tbsp old-style mustard seed mustard
4 Tbsp (1/4 cup) cold butter (the colder the better), cubed
2/3 cup grated Asiago cheese (or any sharp/strong cheese that grates/shreds well)
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup whole milk or buttermilk

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Heat the oven to 425'F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Grate cheese - or, if you are like me, buy it already grated/shredded - and place aside.
3. Blend first 6 ingredients together in a large bowl.
4. Use your hands - or a pastry blender - and rub/blend the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly in texture with pea sized crumbs.
5. Stir in the cheese. You can reserve some of the cheese for sprinkling on top.
6. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, milk and mustard together, reserving approximately 2-3 Tbsp for brushing over the scones prior to going into the oven.
7. Make a well in middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid. Stir with large spoon just enough for the ingredients to blend. Gently knead the dough 8-10 turns - DO NOT OVER WORK THE DOUGH! - and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. The dough is going to be sticky, so you can lightly flour your hands to make it a little easier to work with the dough. Roll or hand press the dough (which is what I do) until approximately 1/2 inch in thickness.
8. Use scone cutter of your choice or cut the dough into sections with a sharp knife and place them on the prepared bake sheet, ~ 1 inch apart, brushing the tops with the reserved milk/egg mixture. If you like, you can sprinkle the tops with extra cheese.
9. Bake for ~15 minutes until they are well risen and golden brown in colour. Remove from pan and allow to cool on cooling rack, or start to eat them warm out of the oven like we do!

>238 lkernagh: Yummy! I am favouriting this post! :)

>238 lkernagh:
Thank you! Looks amazing - I shall try as soon as possible, i.e. when the weather drops a little below the 87°F we're having today... :) NOT turning on the stove anytime soon.

>239 rabbitprincess: and >240 -Eva-: - Enjoy! I agree Eva, no sense in turning on the oven when the temps outside are that high!

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

I am struggling a bit, trying to come to terms with the fact that we are now half way through August. Summer will soon be gone. Where does the time go?! *whimpers* I have had a great week. Wednesday night watched the Canadian military aerobatics squadron, the Snowbirds, perform in Victoria, along the waterfront. Thursday I got all excited when the weather forecast was for rain and thundershowers. No thundershowers occurred and just a drizzle of rain materialized. This weekend has been the annual dragon boat festival in the Inner Harbour, another fun event.

On the reading front, I did manage to log a fair bit of km as part of my walking challenge so I do have one more book finished and review ready for posting.

On the baking front, my hunt for a good brown sugar citrus cookie recipe continues. In the meantime, I made what I consider to be awesome pineapple, coconut brown sugar muffins this afternoon, based on the following Pineapple Coconut Muffin recipe. As you will expect, I did take some liberties with the recipe, namely: replaced 3 egg whites with 2 eggs (I cannot be bothered to separate eggs - I never know what to do with the unused parts); upped the coconut to more like 1/2 cup (I LOVE coconut!) and I replaced the dark rum with vanilla, as suggested in the recipe. Great news: it even gave me an out for some sour cream I had in the fridge that needed to be used up. Gotta like that! End result:



Now for that book review....

Book #66 - Getting Stoned with Savages by J. Maarten Troost - audiobook narrated by Simon Vance
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, Commonwealth
Category: Edinburgh's Commonwealth Games of Art
CAT(s): N/A
Source: Hoopla
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2006
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 239 pages / 7 hours, 30 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca website book listing:

After two grueling years on the island of Tarawa, battling feral dogs, machete-wielding neighbors, and a lack of beer on a daily basis, Maarten Troost was in no hurry to return to the South Pacific. But as time went on, he realized he felt remarkably out of place among the trappings of twenty-first-century America. When he found himself holding down a job—one that might possibly lead to a career—he knew it was time for him and his wife, Sylvia, to repack their bags and set off for parts unknown. Getting Stoned with Savages tells the hilarious story of Troost’s time on Vanuatu—a rugged cluster of islands where the natives gorge themselves on kava and are still known to “eat the man.” Falling into one amusing misadventure after another, Troost struggles against typhoons, earthquakes, and giant centipedes and soon finds himself swept up in the laid-back, clothing-optional lifestyle of the islanders.

Review:
Not as good as his first book, Sex Lives of Cannibals. This felt more like a memoir than a travelogue and had lost a fair bit of the wide-eyed innocence that made Sex Lives of Cannibals such a fun read. There are still some good humourous bits to be enjoyed, but this one focuses more on Maartan, his love for the native drink, kava, and his family than the finer details of Vanuatu life.

My Trans Canada Walking Journey


The goal: To walk - in three calendar years (1,095 days) - the distance that it would take me to walk the Trans Canada Highway from the Mile Zero marker located here in Victoria BC to its end point in St. John's, NL, a distance of 7,821K (4,860 miles).







Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: http://tinyurl.com/p8vu9n3

UPDATE: WEEK 5

Kilometers walked this week: 73.3
Kilometers walked in total: 289.90
Current province: (BC)
My current location on the map: In Chilliwack, heading for the Lickman Road interchange.
Points of interest along the way:
I like to call this week my "walk through the municipalities" week as I managed cover the distance that would have had me walking through the following municipalities: Burnaby, Surry, Langley, Abbotsford and into Chilliwack, while waving as I past Walnut Grove, Fort Langley, aberdeen, Kilgard and Barrowtown. Not much to report as the Trans Canada route I am walking involves a fair bit of farm land, although I am a little upset that I would have walked past the Greater Vancouver Zoo, a place I have yet to visit in person.

I've done a big catch up as I haven't been around the threads for about 3 weeks!

>177 lkernagh:, I have had The Lantern on my wishlist for a while now. It's good to hear your opinion of it.

>201 lkernagh:, I borrowed The Last Kind Words Saloon from the library for one of the monthly themes (I can't remember what it was). I didn't get past the first few pages, you finished it even if it only got 2.5 stars.

I love the little free library concept. The photos you put up were great. Some people are so creative.

I've been baking today too, Anzac biscuits, very yummy while they are still warm. Last week I made a delicious chocolate pavlova with cream and strawberries topped with home made hot fudge sauce. Maybe I should be doing a cross country walk too.

Yay for The Lantern and that McMurtry book just wasn't up to par with Lonesome Dove. *sighs*

I find that I deliberately plan me weekly walks so that I can visit each of those LTL's once a week. So fun!

Chocolate pavlova with cream and strawberries topped with home made hot fudge sauce.... YUM!!! Some calories are soooo worth indulging in. ;-)

Book #67 - The Given Day by Dennis Lehane
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, ROOT
Category: Happening
CAT(s): RandomCAT - Dog Days of Summer
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: September 2008
Acquisition date: May 5, 2011
Page count: 702 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.40 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com website book listing:

An unflinching family epic that captures the political unrest of a nation caught between a well-patterned past and an unpredictable future. This beautifully written novel of American history tells the story of two families—one black, one white—swept up in a maelstrom of revolutionaries and anarchists, immigrants and ward bosses, Brahmins and ordinary citizens, all engaged in a battle for survival and power at the end of World War I.

Review:
Having never read any of Lehane's works before now, and having only seen the movie adaptation of Shutter Island, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was not expecting a Babe Ruth baseball story, which is what I thought I was in for while reading the first 50 pages. I am not much of a sports fan at the best of times and wouldn't gravitate towards a baseball story so I was relieved to discover that I hadn't been mislead in acquiring a copy of this one. It is not a baseball story. It is a solid historical fiction circa 1918-1919 Boston, Massachusetts kind of story, which is more in keeping with my usual reading preferences. Lehane has a writing style similar to some other authors on my 'must read' list when in the mood for a sweeping saga kind of story. He writes with an attention to detail while controlling the pacing of the somewhat melodramatic plot so the reader doesn't feel as though they are facing an onslaught of description and action. I also really like how he has taken the big picture historical items - the influenza outbreak, the Great Molasses Flood, the growing anarchist movement, race relations, and labour strikes that were all part of post WWI Boston - and worked them into his family saga-styled story. With all of these positives working in the books favor, this is still just a moderately good read for me. Why? As much as I was enjoying the story, it felt long. I kept checking to see how much more I had to read. Never a good sign with me as that means I am not enthralled with the story and hoping that it will end at some point. For those who don't know, this one is the first book in the Joe Coughlin series. It started to really bug me that Joe was such a minor character and never really took center stage in the story except for two incidents. I can appreciate how a series usually has a name and maybe Joe is the central character in the other books in the series but his lack of presence in this book probably clouded my enjoyment a bit. I kept wanting to see when it was going to become "his" story.

Overall, a solid historical fiction period piece packed with enough historical material to captivate some readers of the genre and in particular readers with an interest in 1918-1919 Boston. Well written but not the page-turner I was hoping it would be.

I'm enjoying your Trans Canada journey updates!

Despite the weaknesses in the Lehane book that you mention, it does sound pretty interesting to me. I loved Boston when I visited it a couple of years ago, and at one time in my life, I was very fond of baseball, so this novel seems like it contains the right mix.

I've read Lehane's Kenzie & Gennaro series, 'Coronado' (short story collection,) the short story, "Animal Rescue" which went on to be re-worked as 'The Drop,' and the stand-alones: 'Mystic River' and'Shutter Island.' At first I really loved the K&G series and devoured them; but the last novel, 'Moonlight Mile' was terrible and a sad way to end the run. And while the shorts were okay, the best of his writing has been in his stand-alones. One of the reasons I love Lehane's writing is because he describes the Boston I knew, the Boston of the '80s and early '90s before gentrification set in and the old neighborhoods were razed. Ive been back to Boston a couple of times in the past few years, and while I still like the city very much, it has lost much of its native flavor. So, for me, Lehane is a nostalgia trip.

I have the first two books in the Joe Coughlin series in my stacks; but got sidelined. I'll probably read the three of them in a Lehane binge, maybe next summer :-)

>246 lkernagh:
I've read Mystic River and that one's a page-turner for sure. Very dark, though!

>247 mathgirl40: - I am so glad you are enjoying them! I know I am mainly posting these for my own reference but it is always nice to see others taking an interest.

As for the Lehane book, it could have been one of those "right book, wrong moment" kind of reads. I usually warm up to these kind of detailed historical fiction reads but I have been a bit distracted lately and never really sink into the book as much as I would have liked to. Lehane goes into great detail describing Boston so the fact that you have visited Boston could make it an appealing read on those merits alone. ;-)

>248 Tanya-dogearedcopy: - To be able to experience a book from such a personal perspective is wonderful! I know I tend to just devour books with places where I have lived for those little nuggets of "I know that!" while reading. So a lot of the Boston of Lehane's books no longer exists? That is rather sad. I totally get that progress must occur and some buildings may not have been worth preserving, but still, sad. I will now appreciate any future Lehane reads set in Boston with a new appreciation.

>249 -Eva-: - I will have to think about Mystic River. Good thing you mentioned that it is a dark read. I don't usually do too well with those kind of books.

I had a wonderfully busy weekend. DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse opened it's first BC location here in Victoria on Thursday so, of course, I went shoe shopping on Saturday. Having already been to a DSW during my last trip to Calgary, I was not one of the masses that lined up early (and took time off from work) to go shoe shopping on the opening day. Their sales are good, but not that amazing. ;-)

I also spent the weekend doing a major harvest of my herb garden, prepping and freezing a number of herbs for winter use. I aired out/washed all of my shawls, silk scarves and sweaters in prep for the hopefully fall weather to come. Shawls may sound a bit matronly/grandmotherly, but if you work where I do, the building struggles to maintain an even temperature/air flow and it is not unheard of for the air conditioner (or the heat to stop pumping in) during the colder winter months, so I have a stash of fashionable pashmina and wool shawls to get me through the winter months.

Some of you may recall that, besides edible herbs, I have been growing a French lavender plant. That plant has been a prolific grower over the past three months. On Saturday, I sewed 12 cotton cloth sachets which I have now filled with the fresh lavender harvested from my plant and placed them between my shawls, scarves and sweaters. On Sunday, I did a bit of a wardrobe purge and donated a large garbage bag of clothes to a local charity. That is my weekend in a nutshell.

On the reading front, I managed to finish my audiobook read but I continue to struggle with my current physical book read, Pure by Andrew Miller. What a peculiar story! I am too far into it to abandon it so I will persevere and see if I can get it finished in the next couple of days.

Review of the finished book to follow.

Book #68 - The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo - audiobook narrated by the author
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, Commonwealth
Category: Happening
CAT(s): SFFCAT - Other Worlds
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: August 2013
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 384 pages / 12 hours, 8 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.90 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the author's website book listing:

One evening, my father asked me if I would like to become a ghost bride…
Li Lan, a young Chinese woman, lives in 1890s colonial Malaya with her quietly ruined father, who returns one evening with a proposition — the fabulously wealthy Lim family want Li Lan to marry their son. The only problem is, he’s dead. After a fateful visit to the opulent Lim mansion, Li Lan finds herself haunted not only by her ghostly would-be suitor, but also by her desire for the Lim’s handsome new heir, Tian Bai. Night after night, she is drawn into the shadowy parallel world of the Chinese afterlife, with its ghost cities, paper funeral offerings, vengeful spirits and monstrous bureaucracy. Li Lan must uncover the Lim family’s darkest secrets, before she is trapped in this ghostly world forever.

Review:
Set in colonial Malaya (as Malaysia was called back in those times), the story's historical details alone make this a wonderful read of 19th century Chinese customs, religion and myths, but it is so much more than that. Choo makes use of the Chinese tradition of ghost or spirit marriage, where one or both parties to the marriage are deceased at the time of the marriage to weave a fanciful alternate reality tale that is part murder mystery, part coming of age story and part romance. Yes, ghosts/spirits abound in this one, so it can be also be categorized as a paranormal read but I wouldn't call it a paranormal romance. I tend to cringe at the idea of paranormal romances. Choo's world build of the afterworld, where spirits may reside in the Plains of the Dead and enjoy the funeral offerings burned for them by family members before moving on to the courts of judgement, is vividly portrayed. As much as I was looking forward to a historical fiction read, the ghost/spirit world angle really amped up my interest as I read this story. I should mention that the story has a slightly YA feel to it, but that may be more to do with the seventeen-year-old protagonist than with the overall story itself. Did I mention that this is the author's debut novel? You wouldn't know that from reading this story. Choo manages the delivery like a seasoned pro. I particularly enjoyed the protagonist Li Lan's encounters with the character Er Lang. So much so that I was saddened to discover that this is Choo's only book published, so far. I can totally see a follow-up novel or a story focused on Er Lang. Such a fascinating character.

Overall, a good historical fiction read that turned into a great historical fantasy/alternate reality read for me.

My Trans Canada Walking Journey


The goal: To walk - in three calendar years (1,095 days) - the distance that it would take me to walk the Trans Canada Highway from the Mile Zero marker located here in Victoria BC to its end point in St. John's, NL, a distance of 7,821K (4,860 miles).







Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: http://tinyurl.com/p8vu9n3

UPDATE: WEEK 6

Kilometers walked this week: 75.5
Kilometers walked in total: 365.40
Current province: (BC)
My current location on the map: Still in BC. North of Hope on the Trans Canada Highway, heading for Yale.
Points of interest along the way:
This week's walking journey would have taken me through Chilliwack, Popkum, Bridal Falls, Laidlaw, Floods, Silver Creek, Hope and Haige, pretty much hugging the Fraser River once passed Popkum. For those of you not knowledgeable of or used to driving through this section of BC, Hope is important being the south end of the Coquihalla Highway and the point where a traveler decides if they are going to follow Highway 1 (the Trans Canada Highway - my choice for this walking challenge) or travel Highway 5 (the Coquihalla). The Coquihalla was a toll highway until 2008 when tolls received had by then covered its construction costs. It is a fantastic when you want to get from A to B - or when I was making road trips between Victoria and Calgary - but it is a brutal drive in the winter months. I used to always marvel at the the fact that the toll booths were located just south of the Coquihalla Summit, the highest point on the highway 50km north of Hope and 65 km south of Merritt (the other end of the Coquihalla) with no local communities in the immediate vicinity. Talk about a drive to work!

>253 lkernagh:
Great progress!! I especially like you Google map - puts it all in great perspective.

>250 lkernagh: LOL, I could go on for many hours, many pages, and many cocktails discussing Boston and her various looks over the years! It's not just the buildings, but the people and cultures that gave changed; and to be honest, some of the changes have definitely been for the better, no matter how much I miss "the good old days!" :-)

>254 -Eva-: - Thanks Eva! Its the Google Map that motivates me to continue more than just tracking my kilometers or other rather dry statistical data. ;-)

>255 Tanya-dogearedcopy: - Boston sounds like it has had a truly dynamic history if you are able to notice building, people and culture changes over time! As you mentioned, the "gold old days" are can be sorely missed when one has experienced previous 'histories' of a city. The only 'historical' American city I have visited is Philadelphia. I was there a number of years ago on business and fell in love with the city - I really like compact city centers - and it was such a pleasure to be able to experience some of the great architecture and history over those three days.

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

Wow, is it already Thursday?! The days seem to blur together lately. I am long over-due for some extended down time, I think. Annoyingly, I think I may be in a bit of a reading funk. I finished a read the other day and I am still happy with my audiobook read but I just seem to be waffling over my next physical read. I pick up a book start reading and within 10 pages decide I am not in the mood for that type of story at the moment. Rather frustrating. Maybe the weekend will help me to settle into a new book.

Book #69 - Pure by Andrew Miller
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2015 Category, ROOT
Category: Minimalism
CAT(s): HistoryCAT - 18th Century / Medicine and Disease
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: June 9, 2011
Acquisition date: May 4, 2013
Page count: 342 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 2.70 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com website book listing:

Jean-Baptiste Baratte, an engineer of modest origin, arrives in the city (Paris) in 1785, charged by the King’s minister with emptying the overflowing cemetery of Les Innocents, a ancient site whose stench is poisoning the neighborhood’s air and water and leaving a vile taste in its inhabitants’ food. At first the ambitious Baratte sees his work as a chance to clear the burden of history, a fitting task for a modern man of reason. But before long he begins to suspect that the destruction of the cemetery might be a prelude to both his own demise and that of the monarchy. Baratte expects the task to be unpleasant but cannot foresee the dramas and calamities it will trigger, or the incident that will transform his life. As unrest against the court of Louis XVI mounts, the engineer realizes that the future he had planned may no longer be the one he wants. His assignment becomes a year of relentless work, exhuming of mummified corpses and listening to the chants of priests, a year of assault and sudden death. A year of friendship, too, and of desire and love. A year unlike any other he has lived.

Review:
Love the cover art of my copy but what a peculiar story. At times descriptive and flowing, and other times rather obtuse, vague and disjointed, I struggled as I tried to follow the author's logic - I am assuming there was some logic at work here - in piecing together this tale. My appreciation of the story - more the lack there of - could be chalked up to my impression that the story has a resigned Dickensian quality to it: The engineer's task is one that borders on the monumental, set in a time and place not wholly dissimilar to the dank, festering world of Dickens' grimy London. Dickens is very much a hit-or-miss author for me and sadly, this does not lend assistance in getting me to appreciate Miller's story. The whole story gave me the overall impression/feeling of ruin and crumbling decay - that was done rather well - but I found Miller's prose to be a bit stilted, almost as though it was a poor translation, even though it was written in the English language. Interesting story concept with a lot of potential but the delivery just fell flat for me. Part of me was hoping that this was the author's debut novel - it kind of had that 'debut' feel to it - but, no, this is novel number six so I am at a loss to explain my review and rating except to say that I am not Miller's target reading audience, even though the LT Will you like it? gave it a very high prediction confidence that I probably will like it. Always fun to click that after I finish a book!

>252 lkernagh:
Lovely review of The Ghost Bride. It sounds wonderful. So up my alley.

>258 andreablythe: - It is a goodie and a book I can happily recommend!

This thread was getting long and we are almost into September so time for a new thread. Come on over.....