Ellen reads 75+ in 2015 (part 5)

I'm dreaming of Paris these days.

Lucca was one of our favorite Italian towns when we visited in 2007.

My Rating Scale:

= Perfect. An all-time favorite read! I shall remember this.
= A wonderful read, among my favorites of the year.
= Very good. Definitely recommended.
= Quite good, has several redeeming qualities.
= Pretty good, with a few things done well.
= Average, and life is too short to read average works.
= A bit below average. A waste of time.
= Nearly no redeeming qualities. Really rather bad.
= Among the worst books I've ever read.

American Author Challenge-II:

January: Carson McCullers - The Ballad of the Sad Cafe √
February: Henry James* - Washington Square √
March: Richard Ford* - Wildlife √
April: Louise Erdrich - Love Medicine √
May: Sinclair Lewis* - Babbitt √
June: Wallace Stegner - reread Angle of Repose
July: Ursula K. Le Guin - A Wizard of Earthsea
August: Larry McMurtry - Comanche Moon
September: Flannery O' Connor - still undecided
October: Ray Bradbury - Something Wicked This Way Comes and reread The Martian Chronicles
November: Barbara Kingsolver - Reread The Bean Trees, her first and still my fave.
December: E.L. Doctorow* - Ragtime

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British Author Challenge: (I'm obviously still doing some deciding here.)

January
Penelope Lively* -- Moon Tiger √
Kazuo Ishiguro -- The Remains of the Day √
February:
Sarah Waters -- The Paying Guests √
Evelyn Waugh* -- Brideshead Revisited √
March:
Daphne Du Maurier* -- Rebecca √
China Mieville* -- The City & the City √
April:
Angela Carter* -- The Bloody Chamber √
W. Somerset Maugham* -- The Painted Veil √
May:
Margaret Drabble* -- The Peppered Moth √
Martin Amis* -- Success
June:
Beryl Bainbridge* -- The Bottle Factory Outing √
Anthony Burgess* -- Nothing Like the Sun
July:
Virginia Woolf -- To the Lighthouse
B. S. Johnson* --
August:
Iris Murdoch* -- The Sea, The Sea (and The Bell?)
Graham Greene* -- The End of the Affair
September:
Andrea Levy* -- The Long Song
Salman Rushdie* -- Shame (recommended by Paul)
October:
Helen Dunmore* -- The Siege
David Mitchell -- Cloud Atlas
November:
Muriel Spark* --
William Boyd* -- Restless and/or Waiting for Sunrise
December:
Hilary Mantel -- Bring Up the Bodies
P.G. Wodehouse --

* Author whose work I have not read.

I'll also be loosely participating in the Global Reading Challenge.

Global Reading Challenge

1st quarter = Indian Subcontinent:
The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh √

2nd quarter: Spain and Portugal:
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Baltasar and Blimunda by José Saramago
The Time in Between by María Dueñas
Nada by Carmen Laforet
Outlaws by Javier Cercas √

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I'm also committed to reading at least six NonFiction works this year.

1. Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming √
2. Following Atticus by Tom Ryan √
3. Being Mortal by Atul Gawande √
4. Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson (audio) currently listening

COMPLETED IN JANUARY

1. Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming audio NF
2. The Ballad of the Sad Café {stories} by Carson McCullers
3. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
4. Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
5. Nemesis by Jo Nesbø
6. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
7. The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh
8. The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers
9. A Test of Wills by Charles Todd

COMPLETED IN FEBRUARY

10. The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters
11. Snow in May: Stories by Kseniya Melnik
12. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
13. Washington Square by Henry James
14. Eventide by Kent Haruf

COMPLETED IN MARCH

15. My Education by Susan Choi
16. Following Atticus by Tom Ryan NF
17. Report for Murder by Val McDermid
18. The City & the City by China Miéville
19. The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown NR
20. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
21. The Thing About December by Donal Ryan
22. A God in Every Stone by Kamila Shamsie
23. Wildlife by Richard Ford
24. Being Mortal by Atul Gawande NF

COMPLETED IN APRIL

25. The Bloody Chamber and other stories by Angela Carter
26. Snowpiercer, Volume 1: The Escape by Jacques Lob
27. The Martian by Andy Weir
28. Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich
29. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
30. Displacement by Lucy Knisley
31. The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham

COMPLETED IN MAY

32. Outlaws by Javier Cercas
33. Psychiatric Tales by Darryl Cunningham
34. Junkyard Dogs by Craig Johnson
35. The Peppered Moth by Margaret Drabble
36. Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina García
37. Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
38. God Help the Child by Toni Morrison

COMPLETED IN JUNE

39. The Orenda by Joseph Boyden
40. Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
41. Among the Ten Thousand Things by Julia Pierpont
42. Academy Street by Mary Costello
43. The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
44. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
45. Yo, Miss by Lisa Wilde
46. The Bottle Factory Outing by Beryl Bainbridge
47. el deafo by Cece Bell

COMPLETED IN JULY

48. Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932 by Francine Prose
49. Stumptown Volume 1 by Greg Rucka

Currently reading:

Happy Saturday, Ellen! And Happy New Thread. Love the Paris topper.
Hope you had a good week and I hope you find some R & R time this weekend.

It's the weekend and it's going to be sunny and hot in Seattle. Sweet Abby has a vet appointment this morning and this afternoon P and I are going to a film. The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) has been going on and it comes at a terrible time of the year for me to take much advantage of it, but I'm excited to see this afternoon's film. More about that later.

It has been a slow start for reading in June. I'm quite liking The Orenda but it requires a certain concentration that has been hard for me to generate. Next week is finals so things should ease up a bit....

>9 msf59: Hi Mark and welcome to my new thread! My week was busy but I'm settling in for a good weekend. It's supposed to be really hot here (remember, we Seattleites melt when it tops 80F) so I hope to spend some time reading in the shade of our huge Japanese maples. :-)

Reading under the shade of huge Japanese maples sounds perfect to me. Hope you can indulge in a brew or 2. Smiles...

Lovely new thread -- I love the tiled roofs of Lucca. Florence was like that, too. Have a wonderful, relaxing weekend. I'll be anxious to hear about your film. I hope you get some time for reading.

I do melt when it's 80. So far, we're having a cool spring, which is fine with me.

Happy New Thread, Ellen. I'll stay in Paris the first week of August. I love Paris very much. Lucca is definitely a charming town.

Happy new thread, Ellen! I have not been very active on LT lately, but I am working on catching up. Hoping that your weekend is full of fabulous!

Enjoy your weekend and the sunshine.

Ah, reading under a tree is the best. I may head outside myself! I missed my book group on Thursday night but still want to read I Capture the Castle since I suggested it. Lucky you, reading The Orenda. I loved the one Boyden book I have read.

Ellen, that was a very moving video from your last thread. I liked the "Ulay, Oh" song, too. Thanks for sharing.

Reading under a tree...what a superb idea. I did hear the temperatures were going to be high in Portland, today...I guess you're sharing whatever weather system that is. Hooray for shade trees!

Parking right here so I can find my way back. I hope your weekend is restful and fun Ellen.

Happy new thread, Ellen!

>12 msf59: "Hope you can indulge in a brew or 2."
I'm kind of on a G&T kick these days, which also go down nicely in the shade. :-)

>13 BLBera: Beth, have you been to Lucca? We kind of accidentally ended up spending a night there -- on our way from Tuscany (including Florence, which I loved) to the Cinque Terre. It was one of the nights for which we had no reservations and we found a place (I can't remember how -- did we have cell phones?) inside the city walls. The guy directed us to a sweet little restaurant for dinner where we had the best soup I've ever eaten in my life.

We're seeing "Experimenter" this afternoon. Here is the summary:
Peter Sarsgaard and Winona Ryder star in this biographical drama about Stanley Milgram and his famous Yale “obedience experiments” of manipulation, authority, and electric shocks. History, science, and human order collide in unexpected ways.
It should be interesting.

>14 Ameise1: Barbara, I'm envious that you get to spend the first week of August in Paris. We spent four days there at the end of our wine-route tour of Italy and France. It is a city in which I could easily spend a month.

>15 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! Nice to see you. You know that my activity on LT has seriously dropped off in recent months. I'm hoping I can be more present during the summer.

>16 xymon81: Thank you!

>17 Donna828: Donna, I'm chuckling at your comment about missing book group but still wanting to read the book since you suggested it. I am the one who suggested The Orenda for our book group and I'm planning to attend this Monday. However, we told our nephew and his gf that we would look after their cats while they're away and I'm not sure I can do the cats at one end of Seattle the same evening I attend a book group meeting in the burbs at the other end of the city! It's one of the dilemmas of being a one-car family.

I'm glad you liked the video I shared on my last thread. I also like the song and I downloaded it. Marina's work is pretty amazing.

>18 laytonwoman3rd: Linda, I would die without the shade trees in our front yard. In Seattle (and in Portland and the Willamette Valley, too) one just doesn't have air conditioning. Most of the time, it would be downright silly to have it. Our windows and doors are thrown wide open and it's lovely right now. But when it hits 90F, it can get miserable. I'm just not acclimated to that kind of heat any more.

>19 luvamystery65: Roberta, I'm so glad you're establishing a parking spot on my thread. Yours is one of the threads I need to visit, too!

>20 scaifea: Thanks, Amber!

Happy new thread, Ellen!

I also loved Lucca when I visited in 2010. I also had an amazing meal there. That trip (Florence, Lucca, Chianti, Grave, and the Cinque Terre) may be my very favorite of all time.

Paris was ok. I would like to visit other parts of France more than I want to return to Paris. I did like Montmartre very much, though.

Anyway, I just finished a book I think you would really love - Academy Street by Mary Costello. Check it out!

>22 EBT1002: Agreed, I was very often in Paris and stayed at least one week but also much longer. It's a city just to enjoy life.

>24 katiekrug: Katie, I don't know why all tourists go to Montmartre there are much nicer places in Paris but I guess we go for a couple of hours there this August because our daughter would like to see it.
France is a most beautiful country, we spend every year some weeks at a part of it.

OK, let 's just have a LT Meet-Up in Paris, and stay for a month, too! My "best" friend forever, who lives in Portland, and used to have Miniature Schnauzers (loved my Nicky), also loved Lucca, and traveled there several years ago. Her first schnauzer was named Lucca, and has only recently died. Sad stuff. Greta Garbo is the eldest of our original pack of 4, 2 of hers, and 2 of mine. Greta is "last man standing" and should get some vintage expensive treats for her accomplishment.

See you Monday! I think I ended up loving The Orenda.

Hi Ellen! Yes, it is certainly hot here in the NW. I just turned on the AC, otherwise I won't be able to sleep tonight. Congrats on the new thread and I LOVE the topper. What a great photo of Paree. : ) Let me know when you want to go again. I have been there three times and loved it without fail.

>24 katiekrug: Your Italy trip sounds a bit like ours and we loved the places we visited: Florence, small towns all around Tuscany (Montepulciano, Montalcino, St. Gimignano, Siena), the Lucca, then the Cinque Terre. We then went into France, spent a night in Aix-en-Provence and several nights in and around Orange, in the shadow of Mt. Ventoux. Then Burgundy (Beaune and Chablis) and finally four nights in Paris. Paris was beautiful and I would definitely return but the countryside of France and Italy are most appealing. And the wine! :-)

Katie, I saw your comments about Academy Street on FB and I definitely want to get a copy. I'll be looking for it at the bookstore where we have RL book group on Monday evening.

>25 Ameise1: Barbara, how wonderful that you get to spend a few weeks in France, exploring different regions. I've only been the one time and I know there is much more to it!

>26 maggie1944: I'm in for the meet-up in Paris! And I totally agree that Greta should get some wonderful treats for her stamina. It'll be too hot for her and Benny to be in the car on Monday but I'd love to see them both sometime.

>27 Berly: Kim, you have A/C! We do not and I'm sitting up as late as I can stand to have not only the windows but the doors wide open. Trying to coax in some of that cool night air.

Interesting that some folks love Paris and for others it's just not their cup of tea. It is a huge city and I admit to being overwhelmed by the food at times. But I did love the croques monsieur.

Ugh, I just killed a mosquito. We don't usually have many of the little offers in Seattle but this predicted hot and dry summer may change that.....
I hate mosquitoes!!!! Unfortunately, they love me. Grr.

I'm pushing through The Orenda. It's a great read but I'm ready to be done with it. I'm off to such a slow start for June!

Happy Sunday, Ellen! I also like G & T's. As a matter of fact, I had a couple last night, at a wedding we attended. I am a Tanqueray man, myself.

>30 msf59: Good morning, Mark. It's a lovely Sunday morning here in Seattle. I'm up early while P and Abby have a lie in.

The film "Experimenter" was very interesting. It was about the life of Stanley Milgram, an experimental psychologist who conducted controversial experiments in the 1960s examining human obedience. Milgram was an American-born Jew of Romanian-Hungarian extraction and wanted to answer questions about the mass obedience that "enables" genocide. The film was a bit edgy and quite funny at moments. The director, Michael Almereyda, was present and answered questions at the end. He did a nice job of politely dodging the amazingly ubiquitous question about what he wanted the audience to get out of the film (Really, lady? You ask an artist what they want you to "get out of" their work???). Peter Sarsgaard is excellent as Milgram and Winona Ryder as Sasha, his wife. Milgram's experiments really didn't answer any fundamental questions about human behavior but they, along with Zimbardo's "prison" experiments at Stanford in the same era, sparked great controversy and were probably the two psychologists most responsible for the emergence of Institutional Review Boards who oversee research involving human participants.

The Seattle International Film Festival occurs every May-June and I almost never partake. I'm glad I took the trouble to attend this one.

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Afterwards, we went to a Mexican restaurant on Capitol Hill and had a couple of excellent margaritas along with better-than-average chicken tacos and beef empanadas.

Now I'm going to sit here by my open windows and try to finish The Orenda.

I will look for the film, Ellen. It sounds great. In the past, my students have read about Milgram. Those essays always make for lively discussions. It sounds like a lovely afternoon/evening.

Enjoy your reading today.

Happy New Thread, Ellen! Experimenter sounds interesting, but I think I'm content enough to just read your review about it. I've yet to pick up Boyden's Through Black Spruce, which comes highly recommended and has been sitting on my tbr seemingly forever. Fifth Business this month, or would you rather put it off again? I'm easy, always overbooked anyway, but if you're into it in June, so am I.

Hi Ellen--Yes, we have AC. It came with the house and we don't use it very often but I think this little heat wave qualifies! That and I was miserable after my allergic reaction, so I felt like a little extra coddle. ; ) Hope the wind is blowing through that window!

Yes, me, too! I love the AC. I only use it occasionally but I am so a native to this part of the world and we do not do heat all that well. It makes me grouchy. And short tempered. And.... oh, well, you get the point.

I used to think AC was wimpy, for this part of the world, but now I wish we had it.

Happy new thread!

The movie sounds like a good one, Ellen!

One tried and true way to avoid the heat of the day, in an area which does not expect to need AC, is to go to the movies!

I finshed The Orenda yesterday. More about that later.
I also had a stack of books waiting for me at the library, so June may go a bit sideways in terms of challenges and planned reads....

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Currently reading:

>34 BLBera: Beth, I think the film would be an interesting accompaniment to textbook learning about Milgram's experiments. It's about 90 minutes long.

>35 Smiler69: Ilana, I can't believe I'm thinking we should postpone Fifth Business again.... I'm totally overbooked (heh) and June has started off badly. This is finals week on campus so things should slow down a bit.... July? xo

Regarding Boyden, The Orenda was quite a read and I will be seeking out more of his work. It was hard to read in places, but really well-written.

>36 Berly: Oh, Kim, this "little heat wave" definitely qualifies for that rare indulgence in AC. We put a box fan in one of our windows last night and this morning that part of the house was nice and cool. As usual, I sought out Abby before leaving this morning (I always have to lay eyes on her before I leave for the whole day) and she was in a chair in a corner in the basement where I've never seen her sleeping. She is usually on the sofa in the tv room on her self-heating pad. I guess she didn't feel she needed that today.....

>37 maggie1944: Karen, the heat can make me grouchy, too. We had a lovely grilled dinner out on our back patio and I had all the windows open. There really was a nice breeze last evening and that helped.

>38 banjo123: Rhonda, I know what you mean. When we lived in the Willamette Valley, we always loved that it would be 90F during the day but drop to 50F at night..... still, after a few days the house just wouldn't cool down.

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Brief interruption. A friend just stopped by with her 17-month-old whom I just adore!!!!!
Happy sigh.

>39 scaifea: If you like somewhat edgy films, this is a good one. Of course, being a psychologist, I've always been intrigued by Milgram as well as Zimbardo....

>40 maggie1944: Yep, going to a movie is a good idea if it's air conditioned. :-)
Luckily, we have a lovely pair of Japanese maples in the front yard and they provide excellent shade.

Ha! Don't I know. I have a little one in my yard and one summer while I was cat sitting a big ole lady cat, even with two schnauzers in the house, she would go find her "spot" under the Japanese maple. She was a wizard at taking good care of herself.

Oh, how are you liking Brown Girl Dreaming, Ellen? She accomplished something special with that one, IMO.

In honor of your enthusiastic warbling, I picked up Love Medicine at the book fair yesterday. Looking forward to it.

Yep, what Joe said up there - I hope you're loving Brown Girl Dreaming as much as I did!

Adding to the love for Brown Girl Dreaming !!

More warbling for Brown Girl Dreaming!!

>45 maggie1944: Love it.

>46 jnwelch: I gave Brown Girl Dreaming five stars, Joe. I loved it.
I hope you like Love Medicine. I need to get The Beet Queen again and read it before Love Medicine fades too much. The characters are so well wrought.

>47 scaifea: Amber, see my comment to Joe. ^ I don't have time to write a review tonight (huffing and puffing my way to the end of the quarter -- it's finals week!), but I loved Brown Girl Dreaming!!

>48 lauralkeet: Laura, I'm a relatively reluctant reader of "Young Adult" lit. I think Brown Girl Dreaming is beautiful and I will be recommending it widely.

>49 msf59: Warble it brother Mark! :-)

Woohoo, five stars!!!
I will keep my beady eyes out for Brown Girl Dreaming, maybe I'll get lucky at the library like I did with Ghettoside?! (it very nearly got 5 stars)

Warble it brother Mark! :-)
LOL

Oh, I'm so glad that you liked it! And best of luck getting through the week - the end is near...

>50 EBT1002: Yeah, I'm not much of a YA reader either, Ellen. But reading Brown Girl Dreaming, I actually forgot it was targeted at a YA audience. I'm glad you loved it.

>50 EBT1002: Woo-hoo! Great to see more love for Brown Girl Dreaming, Ellen!

Brown Girl Dreaming has been my only 5 star read this year. I'll definitely need to buy a copy to keep.

Wheeeeee! I gave Brown Girl Dreaming five stars too.

I'm loving all this love for Brown Girl Dreaming! Has anyone read other works by Woodson?

ETA: I plan to write comments about it, other that just "I loved it and gave it five stars," but I want to wait until I'm at home and can integrate some quotes from the work.

Woodson has been around for a long time. Some of her early works, from the late 80's, were very well liked by lots of YA's. I have not read anything by her except for Brown Girl Dreaming. I was not a big fan of Brown Girl Dreaming. It didn't tell much of a story. I am not a big fan of novels in free verse. If you want to write poetry - write poetry. If you want to write a novel - use prose. Another problem I have with the book is that it is a fictionalized account of her life. Why not just write a memoir? Why confuse people? (She includes photos of her family in the back of the book. If it is fiction - why?) It is just too confusing for me.

Just for the record I didn't like Out of the Dust or Inside Out and Back Again much either. They are novels in verse.

>57 EBT1002: Woodson has some beautiful picture books, of which Each Kindness is my favorite.

Add me to the 5 star lovers of Brown Girl Dreaming!

Me, too! I listened to it on audio, read by the author, and it was truly fabulous. Happy Thursday, Ellen!

>59 scaifea: Thanks for the tip on Each Kindness, Amber. I'm going to read it.

>62 jnwelch: It's a good one, Joe - I hope you enjoy it!

Morning, Ellen!

Happy Friday Ellen!

Hi Ellen, I wish you a relaxed weekend.

Happy weekend!

Whew. Yesterday was commencement. I worked, it was hot, it was celebratory, and it involved standing on my foot too long. Still, most of the students are now gone and life will be less stressful if not less busy.

Today, I'm "supposed" to go to lunch with P and her brother and SIL, to dine with FIL and his wife. I'd rather stay home and have a real day off and read but my sense of duty may win out today. Regardless, it's time for some book updates and to check in with threads.

>58 benitastrnad: Wow, Benita, you have pretty strong feelings about the verse-prose distinction. I'm sorry Brown Girl Dreaming didn't land on you very well. I truly loved it.

>59 scaifea: Thanks, Amber, I'll investigate Each Kindness. I'd like to see more of her work.

>60 kidzdoc: Okay, Darryl, you're on the list! :-)

>61 Crazymamie: As are you, Mamie. It's clear that there are a lot of lovers of Brown Girl Dreaming. I need to find out how my 12-year-old niece, to whom I gave it for Christmas, liked it. I imagine the verse might have put her off but I hope not.

>62 jnwelch: Me, too. I'll put it on hold at the library.

>63 scaifea: Morning, Amber! (Okay, it's a couple of mornings later, but still....)

>64 luvamystery65: Thank you a couple of days later, Roberta! I do love that folks still occasionally stop by to wish me well even when I'm fairly inactive around here. So thank you for that.

>65 Ameise1: Barbara, I love your weekend pics and wishes. Truly, thank you. Yesterday (Saturday) was a work day but I do hope and plan to relax as much as possible today.

>66 banjo123: Thank you, Rhonda!

I feel like I should come clean. I did work yesterday and it was pretty physically exhausting, but it was also really fun. I enjoy watching the graduates celebrate their accomplishment. I'm a Doctoral Marshall so I get to interact with students who are receiving their doctoral degrees. I well remember that sense of accomplishment and survival, so it's truly satisfying to participate.

I came home to a very sweet P who made me a Corpse Reviver #2 and who had baked a ham and made a very interesting salad with lettuce, roasted beets, avocado, radishes, ginger, ground peanuts.... And we shared a bottle of Sancerre. I have nothing to complain about. :-)

40. Among the Ten Thousand Things by Julia Pierpont






This is Julia Pierpont's first novel and she demonstrates some talent. Among the Ten Thousand Things is the story of Deb and Jack and their two kids Simon and Kay. They live in a high-rise in New York and one day 11-year-old Kay is handed a box by the doorman to give to her mother. Instead, Kay snoops and discovers a series of letters, emails, and messages between Jack and the woman with whom he had an affair. It turns out that Deb knew about the affair six months ago, and that Jack ended the affair when Deb learned about it, but the arrival of these graphic reminders of the sordid details of the affair -- and the fact that both kids actually read the exchanges -- has a whole new devastating effect on the family. Told in turns from each family member's perspective and playing just a wee bit with the notion that one small difference in choice-making can lead to an entirely different destiny, the novel explores the nature of attachment, betrayal, and not so much forgiveness as... moving on. It was a pleasant read and Pierpont's apparent talent shows itself now and then. Her commentary on the absurdity of life is just subtle enough to be compelling and humorous:

The next morning at airport security, Jack drained his coffee, deposited his laptop into a bin, and smiled at the guard, militant but for a French braid running the length of her skull. Taking off your shoes was one thing. Now apparently they could ask for clothes.
In terminals people hemorrhage money, on magazines, eight-dollar trail mix, batteries, packs of gum. The confines make them desperate for these things. Glowing amber bottles of duty-free perfume: They slow to look. Flight attendants her past the shops, monitoring the sales. That personal gumball machine, $39.95. Not low enough yet.

Cute. Wry. Observant. But also mundane.
The overall effort is a nice, round average. If you like this kind of literature, you'll enjoy this book. But I doubt it will go down as one of your more memorable reads.

I'm currently overrun by library books so every thing I've said I would read in June is perhaps off the table. I have

Academy Street
The Buried Giant
The Girl on the Train
Wolf Winter
A God in Ruins
and
A Spool of Blue Thread

in the library stack (which is, of course, distinct from all the other stacks of books in the house).

I'll never get to all of them before they're due, not to mention the other books I thought I'd read this month (Bainbridge? Burgess? Stegner?), so I'm simply going to read Whatever. I. Want. at any given moment for the rest of the month. In July I will hop back on the shared-read bandwagon. For example, I'm up for reading Fifth Business with Ilana, which we've postponed a couple of times....

Hi! I hope pressures institutional and personal can be turned down for you!

Let's see if we can schedule a lunch in the U Distrct in some foreseeable future? Ok ?

>72 maggie1944: YES -- I would like that. I will look at my schedule and give you some dates I can get away for a 90-minute (or so) lunch. :-)

Congratulations on graduation. I hope things do slow for you. If I had to choose among your library books, I'd go for Academy Street -- short and A God in Ruins, longer. I also enjoyed Wolf Winter, but it's not in the category of the two I mentioned, which were 4 1/2 star reads for me. I haven't read the others yet, although I'm waiting for A Spool of Blue Thread.

I think Brown Girl Dreaming is a memoir, right? I must read it soon.

Hi Ellen, hope life slows down a bit for you now. A God in Ruins is amazing, Ellen. I'm about 75% through it and wish I could do nothing but read today.

Corpse Reviver #2? Can you translate that one please?

>74 BLBera: Hi Beth. Academy Street is exactly the one in which I have placed my postcard/bookmark (my indication of intent to read).

I would categorize Brown Girl Dreaming as a memoir, written in free verse. While that may not sound enticing, it really is a lovely work. I don't give out five stars lightly and that one deserved it -- for poignancy, charm, authenticity, and creativity.

>75 lauralkeet: Hi Laura! Things should slow down.... I'm glad it's summer. Even though I'm a staff member on a 12-month contract, the summer should provide some good reading time. Actually, I want to read A God in Ruins but I let P start it and I think it will be due back at the library about the time she finishes it. I may have to put myself back in the queue....

Corpse Reviver #2 = equal parts gin, lemon juice, Cointreau, Lillet, and a dash of absinthe. Garnish with a cherry (optional).
It's very refreshing and yesterday was World Gin Day, so.....

Corpse Reviver # 2 - sounds great - yesterday at my niece's graduation party, we were talking about drinks until one of my sisters told us we sounds like a bunch of lushes. She doesn't drink. Another niece is getting married in the Dominican Republic (I lived there for ten years) and her fiancé was wondering about beer there. That started the conversation. I'm basically a gin and tonic or wine person, but an occasional martini or mojito is nice, too. I'll have to try your CR#2 - is that of your invention, or an actual drink?

Like you, i have tons of books around the house. Why would I bother to check books out of the library? I don't know, but I think it is sort of like window shopping. Today I will return three books I checked out of which i read one. I just take them home and let them speak to me and that is the one I read. I don't feel guilty about my checking out habit either. I do try to return the books that I know I am not going to read so that somebody else can read them, especially if it is a popular title. But otherwise, I let the books choose which one or ones I will read.

I also check out lots of recorded books from the library. These are just too expensive to purchase.

That's quite a drink Ellen, sounds great!

Academy Street - yes!

I think a summer vacation from book lists sounds like a great idea!! Realizing, of course, that it's not really YOUR summer vacation...

>77 BLBera: I'm laughing, Beth, at your sister saying you sound like a bunch of lushes. I sometimes worry that I sound that way but I know I talk a bigger game than I drink. However, I very much enjoy a G&T on a hot day and I am a wine-lover. The CR#2 is an actual cocktail that P read about sometime a couple of years ago and decided to try. She enjoys cooking and she enjoys making cocktails, too. She makes a mean mojito. Margaritas are the only cocktail that, for some reason, I'm delegated to making if we're having nachos or something.

>78 benitastrnad: "...I think it is sort of like window shopping." Yep, it's one of the great things about library books. You can bring them home and "have" them for a while without the financial commitment. Plus, I really like supporting and using our local public library. I believe in what they stand for, so I figure I should use them.

>79 lauralkeet: It's very refreshing, Laura!

>80 katiekrug: I had horrible insomnia last night, Katie, so I made some good headway on the very short (and very lovely!) Academy Street. I'll finish it tonight.

>81 ronincats: Oh Roni, so true! I'm counting down (one month from today) until I get on a plane bound for the east coast and a week with my sister. I will relish that week.

Hi Ellen! Just checking in with my pal. I hope you had a nice weekend and I hope your current reads are treating you just fine.

I am loving Just Kids and it is such a perfect audio.

For what it's worth, I simply ADORED The Buried Giant, which I rated as one of the very few 5-star reads of the year (I'm very sparing with that rating, as most of us are!). Not sure it'll be to everyone's taste because of the strong fantasy element, but it does base itself on old English folklore, so not exactly coming out of the clear blue sky. Such beautiful prose too... The Remains of the Day made me an Ishiguro fan, and this book more than confirmed my position as such.

>42 EBT1002: >71 EBT1002: Please do not worry yourself about putting off Fifth Business. I overbook myself almost as if it was my duty to, partly because I love making plans at the beginning of every month. Also, it'll be a reread for me, though I'm still much looking forward to it because I've read it quite a few years ago now, and followed it up with the second book in the trilogy, The Manticore, but then left it too long before picking up the third one, so now I want to start all over again. Also, it's just an excellent book and worth revisiting more than once, in my opinion.

Sending you hugs. I miss our regular interactions from when you first joined this group, but of course we all wander in and out as life takes us. I'm here much less too, though always glad to see old friends around. xx

Ellen - My sleep lately has been terrible, so you have my sympathy. I'm glad you are enjoying Academy Street.

Yes, I also talk more than I drink. I THINK my sister was half joking. But I did want to give my niece and her fiance good advice about beverages in the DR.

CR2 sounds like a goodie. I am all for trying different cocktails, which I so rarely do. I dislike the sweet or creamy ones (apart from $1 piña coladas in Ecuador, they were fiiiiine). And the last one I tried was at an uber cool whiskey bar in the city. It was a real treat, something to sit on for an hour while chatting.....aah.

But, like you Ellen, I am more wine than cocktails, and a recent convert to stronger style beers.

Oh, and books. Yes, them too. I like to think I am supporting the library by taking out 5 at a time, but I have read 3 of them already!

>84 msf59: Good morning, Mark, and thank you for checking in. I just finished Academy Street this morning, which Katie had initially recommended for me and others have chimed in with similar sentiments. I loved it! I think I'm going to read The Buried Giant next; it's a library book that will soon be due to be returned. Of course, I have a few of those lying about this house....

I read Just Kids last year (I think) and thought it was just okay. I wonder if it would work better on audio.

>85 Smiler69: Ilana, my dear, thank you for your kind words. I miss you, too! I really miss my more regular participation on LT but, as you say, we all come and go as life takes us. My fantasy is that I can spend more time here this summer as summer should be less busy and stressful at work. We did just learn last week that "we" (the university) are being investigated by the US Dept of Education Office of Civil Rights (over a hundred colleges and universities are on the list of those being investigated; it's a very active "thing" in higher ed right now) so that may consume some time and energy.....

Regardless, I did pick up The Buried Giant this morning to be my next book. I read the inside cover blurb for A Spool of Blue Thread and thought "nah." So, I'm looking forward to reading something that you rated so highly! I don't mind a bit of fantasy as long as I can follow it...

>86 BLBera: Hey Beth. I slept very well last night, thank goodness. In fact, when P brought my coffee to me in bed this morning (who, me? spoiled? surely not!), I was still deeply entrenched in a weird dream. I was just as happy to be roused from it. I finished Academy Street with that first cup of coffee and now I'm moving on to The Buried Giant. I also really do want to get around to reading some of the books I collected for the Iberian Peninsula Glabal reading group. And I have The Shore sitting there with your lovely post-it note on the front cover. :-)
So many things to read!

>87 LovingLit: Hi Megan! Sweet drinks - yuck. I mean, I can see how a $1 piña colada in Ecuador would be worth drinking, but otherwise, give me something with some character. I've been trying Manhattans around the city lately but now that the weather is heating up, I'm likely to go more with gin drinks or Sauvignon Blanc, preferably from Marlborough.

Oh, and books! Yes, those are wonderful, too. I've decided to return A Spool of Blue Thread to the library unread and will dig into The Buried Giant during today's commute. *sighs happily*

Currently reading:

I also started reading Dear Life this morning while riding the dreaded stationary bike. The first story is starting off well!

Hi, Ellen. Sorry to hear, Just Kids didn't works as well for you. Maybe, it was an audio thing!
Glad you are loving The Buried Giant. I was also a big fan and loved the 2 leads.

Ooh, Dear Life. I have that one in the stacks.

The Librarything Gods are once again offering Lter's free passes to the Exhibit Hall at the American Library Association Annual Conference in San Francisco, CA. The conference exhibit hall will be open at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 27, 2015 and close at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, June 29, 2015. This is a great opportunity to get lots of swag in the form of low cost or free books from publishers. This is no small gift from the LT Gods as day passes to the exhibit hall are now $60.00 per day.

Here is the URL for the free passes: https://www.compusystems.com/servlet/ar?evt_uid=449&oi=UZyvT5onQxXHoIiGjo9vo...

To get the pass, go to the above URL and follow the directions. You must fill out the information on the second page of the process and print out the pass at the end. The company code is found at the end of the URL and you will need it to fill out the information for the printed pass. Take the printed pass to the Registration area of the ALA and present it at the proper desk. At Registration desk you will get a conference badge. You will not be admitted to the exhibit hall without the conference badge so go there first and then go to the exhibit hall. The pass is good for only one day, so you will need to repeat the process for each day you plan to be in the exhibit hall. Once you have the conference bag you can enter and leave the exhibit hall whenever you wish to do so.

Remember, no wheeled carts or bags are allowed on the exhibit hall floor. There is a coat check facility in the conference hall where you can check a bag. You can make trips back and forth to fill the bag. I have a back pack that I use as they are allowed on the conference floor. Vendors also often have free shopping bags that come in handy in the exhibit hall.

Advanced Reader's Copies of books are usually free, but books in the exhibits are not. Hardbacks are usually for sale for $10.00 and paperbacks for $5.00, but it varies from vendor to vendor. If you have questions ask one of the publisher sales reps and they will help you. Also, take note of the posters advertising when authors are going to be in booths. Even though you may have to stand in line for popular authors you can often get free signed books. But be warned the lines for popular authors are usually very long. There are also readings going on throughout the three days of the conference so take a look at the advertising and sit in and listen to them. Many times free books are given away at these talks as well.

If you would like to have an LT meetup I will be in the exhibit hall on Sunday afternoon and later on Monday morning. You can contact me using a Personal Message here on LT or we can pirate Ellen's thread for a few posts to make arrangements. I had a very nice meetup with Karen and Ellen when the ALA conference was in Seattle two years ago, and then Ellen joined Mark and I when it was in Chicago that same year. As I recall Ellen did not make it to the exhibit hall floor for the swag but she did make it to the meetups.

>91 msf59: Good morning, Mark! I was just about to go visit your thread....
I'm having a rather quiet morning in the office. I have a meeting in about 20 minutes, but I'm indulging in some LT with my yogurt and granola. :-)

Okay, this is weird. I know I posted a response to Mark's comment in >91 msf59:....

Well, maybe I didn't. So.

>91 msf59: Hi Mark! I think I said something along the lines of enjoying a rather quiet morning at work. No meeting until 9:30 (that's in about 20 minutes). Indulging in LT with my yogurt and granola....

Note to self: remember to click on "Post message." Sheesh.

I just ordered a copy of The Woman I Kept to Myself, a collection of poems by Julia Alvarez. I've so enjoyed the poems Beth has posted on her thread. I'm not usually much of a reader of poetry, but I think her work may be right up my alley.

WTF??? I have posted about four posts and none of them is showing up when I navigate about the site!

I see 5 posts from you here between 12:06 and 12:23 (which is my time, of course).

Computer gremlins, Ellen. The same thing just happened to me.

Ellen, I had difficulties with some posts too during the last couple of days. They didn't show up even though I was sure that I had posted them.

>98 laytonwoman3rd: and >99 BLBera: and >100 Ameise1: Linda, Beth, and Barbara --
Whew. At least my posts eventually showed up. I hope they showed up on others' threads, too. For a change, I had a somewhat leisurely morning at work, spent about half an hour on LT, and I didn't think any of it had shown up! I feel better now... I wonder what the gremlins are up to, as it seems to have happened to more than just me.

Meanwhile, The Buried Giant and Dear Life continue to please.

41. Academy Street by Mary Costello




This is a lovely short novel about the life of Tess, a young Irish girl who loses her mother too young. As an adult she emigrates to the US, becomes a single mother, and lives out her life mostly alone.

The paucity of her life made her unspeakably sad. She tried to put her finger on what had marred her, what had excluded her from life. Again she began to cry. What she had longed for was to be of one mind with someone. Of one mind and one body. Love.

But in the very next paragraph:

There was something about walking, steps unwinding out of the body, that brought comfort and clarity. Was there not something in her that secretly savored this state of longing? Waiting with constant hope and everything before her, all to play for? Was not the ache sweeter, in a way, more enticing, more seductive, than the sating? Like waiting for the afterlife, she thought, but never truly wanting it to arrive.

My copy of this 140-page novel is riddled with flags because delicious passages appeared again and again. Hardly cheerful, it is paradoxically a celebration of an ordinary life beset with tragedy, occasionally blessed with joy, and ultimately settled with meaning. I loved it. Thank you Katie, Beth, and Linda (Whisper1) for recommending it to me.

Gosh Ellen.. with a review like this how can I not add this to my OWL! But then, your review of Among the Ten Thousand Things made me glad I didn't pick up a copy when I was a bookstore last week. I had been contemplating adding that to the pile in my already laden arms but decided against it because I'd promised myself I wouldn't walk out with more than 5 purchases that day.

>103 cameling: Caro! I'm so glad I can be of assistance in deciding purchases. I think you would appreciate Academy Street.

>92 benitastrnad: Thanks for posting about this year's ALA conference, Benita. I wish I could come down to SFO for it.
"...we can pirate Ellen's thread for a few posts to make arrangements." Please do! You know I love activity on my thread, even when I'm AWOL.

On her thread, Beth said to me: "You are in the opposite of a book slump right now -- whatever that is."
It's true!! And I feel downright gleeful about it.

The first story in Alice Munro's Dear Life, "To Reach Japan", spoke to me deeply. I would give it five stars.

And I get to take The Buried Giant on my bus commute today.

Life is good.

Good review of Academy Street. That title is getting a lot of LT buzz. It is on the List!

>106 msf59: Oh good, Mark. It's a quick and satisfying read. :-)

Another France image, just for fun. This is in the Dordogne region.

Hi Ellen, you are having a great bout of books. I think everyone of your recent library acquisitions are on my wishlist so I will be watching for your remarks. I, too, have way too many books in my house but still regularly use the library and I am proud to support the system. I would really enjoy strolling up that French village street but I would have to cheat and get a ride up to the castle!

>109 DeltaQueen50: Hey Judy! I have a friend who has taken her 16-year-old daughter and four of her 16-year-old friends to France and Italy even as we speak. I'm sort of following along her route... living vicariously. :-)

Yes, I'm having a good book time right now. It's nice since late May and early June just felt like a slog. I read some great stuff but I felt like my concentration was shot. Better now. :-)

I bought three more books today:

Every Man for Himself by Beryl Bainbridge (used copy)
The Bottle Factory Outing by Beryl Bainbridge (used copy)
Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932 by Francine Prose (part of my current obsession with Paris, Dordogne, Cinque Terre, and Lucca....)

It's probably too late for me shoehorn one of the Bainbridges in for the BAC this month, but they looked good and she has been getting good reviews from BAC participants.

Strange, but I have also been bitten by the books about France bug. I just purchased a couple of those "living in France and love it so much that I am writing about it to make you jealous" books. Plus I will be attending a breakfast at ALA where Cara Black will be one of the author speakers. I don't get to travel much but I love reading about people living and traveling in other places. My real live book discussion group reads one travel book per year, and we are going to read McCarthy's Bar by Pete McCarthy for our July book. I will be reading this book while I am traveling to San Francisco.

I watched a Rick Steve's episode about the Dordogne region a few years ago, and added that region of France to my list of places that I should travel to before I die. He rented a canoe and spent a day on the river. It looked like a perfect way to spend a vacation day.

>112 benitastrnad: Hi Benita! I haven't yet read Cara Black but I have Murder in the Marais in my TBR library. Maybe I should be reading that.

I didn't know much (read: anything) about the Dordogne region until my friend said she was going there. The caves look amazing (on line). I'm a fan of Bordeaux wine, so that is another reason to add the region to my travel wish list, as well.

I need to win the lottery so I can stay home and read all the time! Except when I'm traveling!

p.s. I love that your RL book group reads one travel book per year. What a great idea.

Black is becoming quite popular. She is is very personable. I have seen her at several of the ALA conferences. She was one of the authors at one of the Booktopia's. She works hard for her publisher and has hosted mystery tours of France for them,and others. She is an active member of Sister's in Crime and hosted a week long tour of Paris neighborhoods featured in her books for them. I have several of her books but haven't read them. Yet.

I am finally getting caught up with your wonderful thread, Ellen.

>102 EBT1002: - I have seen the love for Academy Street on some of the other threads I have visited but your review is the one that has convinced me to track down a copy to read. Sounds like the perfect book for a sleepy summer weekend read outdoors under the shade of a tree.

I love reading the "I'm living in France, and am writing a book so you'll be jealous" books, too. My all time favorite about France was The Discovery of France written by a fellow who enjoyed bicycling around, and learning about early history. I recommend it to any one who is falling in love with traveling to France.

>114 benitastrnad: That's cool that the author is so engaged and helping promote reading-related (and France-related!) events and such. I'll give her work a try one of these days.

>115 lkernagh: Hi Lori! I'm pleased no end that my brief review of Academy Street pushed you over the edge. And certainly your description of reading location appeals to me. :-)

>116 maggie1944: Karen, I don't know The Discovery of France but I'll see if I can track it down. Of course, I want to go to France even more than I want to read about it, but the two can go hand in hand (and usually do!).

I am in heaven. I met up with a friend/colleague for snacks and one Manhattan after work, then came home to an empty house. P is at the Mariners' game with her friends/colleagues and I get to hang out at home, do some watering in the very dry garden, read, watch some of the baseball game, read some more..... As Mark says: B.A.G.

No hope of catching up and little hope of doing better, but I am always interested in what you're reading and what's going on with you otherwise, Ellen.
Your afternoon/evening sounds quite nice, and then P will be home and that will be nice too. Enjoy!

>88 EBT1002: Marlborough Savignon Blanc huh? :) my dad used to be a big fan of Cloudy Bay....I am a red drinker mainly though so you can have my share.

>118 EBT1002: sounds good to me!

I'm glad you were able to snag some alone time Ellen!

Hi Ellen, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

Yah, for B.A.G.!!

Happy Saturday, Ellen! Hope you have a nice R & R weekend!

Love the Dordogne photo!

42. The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro




What a wonderful allegorical novel. It starts with the charming elderly couple, Axl and Beatrice, who have decided to set off on a quest to find their son. They believe he lives in a nearby village and they are hopeful that they might be able to live out their years with him. Themselves Britons, they are joined along the way by a Saxon warrior and a young boy in need of protection from superstitious villagers. They also encounter Gawain, former knight of Arthur's round table. Their quest becomes sidetracked as they are given knowledge and opportunity to perhaps contribute to the demise of Querig, the ancient dragon who has terrorized these lands for as long as anyone can remember. And speaking of memory, might Querig's demise also lift the mists that so effectively cloud people's memories, leaving them uncertain and confused? Axl and Beatrice, at least, long to recover their memories, to more clearly recall the ups and downs of their lives together. The reader begins to wonder....

This delightful, multi-layered fantasy explores themes of memory, loyalty, vengeance, and forgiveness. I was surprisingly sad when Queriq was, indeed, slain despite Gawain's gallant efforts to protect her and the peace her mists engender. Populated with ogres, Pixies, and of course the dragon, The Buried Giant is yet poignant and profound. I loved it.

I need to get back to Ishiguro's book.

I just finished The Mockingbird Next Door: Life with Harper Lee by Marja Mills. And I loved it. It makes the rereading of To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman: A Novel even more to be enjoyed.

Currently reding:



I actually have three books going at once right now. Each day I'm reading one or two or three poems in Julia Alvarez' beautiful collection, I'm reading a story in Dear Life periodically, and I'm about to start the much-hyped The Girl on the Train, which is a library book.

>126 maggie1944: Karen, I'm looking forward to reading To Set a Watchman when it arrives, and I do plan to reread To Kill a Mockingbird even though I won't be at the RL discussion next month!

>119 LizzieD: "Your afternoon/evening sounds quite nice, and then P will be home and that will be nice too."
Exactly, Peggy. I feel very lucky to have P in my life and I relish the remarkably rare evenings when I have the house to myself.
Even if you can't keep up, I'm glad to hear that my reading and other goings-on are of interest. Thank you for those kind words, Peggy.

>120 LovingLit: Megan, I'm mostly a red drinker myself but when it's sunny and warm, I turn to my NZ Sauv Blancs. We bought a mixed case at one of Seattle's excellent wine shops (Pete's) last week. It's fun to try various winemakers' efforts. I love Kim Crawford and, on the less expensive side, I like Dashwood a lot.

>121 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. P had a blast at the Mariners' game with her friends and I got to read!

>122 Ameise1: Thank you, Barbara. I love the little photos you leave when it's weekend time!

>123 msf59: Thank you, Mark! Yesterday was a pretty nice Saturday and so far this is being a lovely Sunday. We're going over to our nephew and his gf's house this evening. They are grilling. We are eating. :-)

>124 kidzdoc: Darryl, the Dordogne is definitely on my travel bucket list.

Ellen - Great comments about The Buried Giant. I hope to get to it soon. You're reading THe Woman I Kept to Myself! I love the red pick up poem. I hope you'll share ones that speak to you especially.

I hope your week is not stressful, and that your work slows a bit during the students' break.

Happy Sunday, Ellen! I am so glad you loved The Buried Giant. I was a big fan too. Ishiguro came through again.

I enjoyed The Girl on the Train. I hope it works for you too.

Ummm. Thanks for the review of The Buried Giant. Another one for the list!
Another red lover here.....

Hi Ellen, just a quick fly by to see how things are going. I just got my hands on that much hyped book Girl on the Train. I've heard good and bad and will look forward to your thoughts.

Hi Ellen, I noticed over on Joe's thread that you have placed a library order for Neil Gaiman's Sandman along with some other graphic novels. I was part of a year long group read of the Sandman series and totally feel in love with it. I will leave you the link to the group read thread in case you want to follow up with it.

The Sandman Group Read

>131 BLBera: I've been reading The Woman I kept to Myself totally because of the selections you posted on your thread, Beth. I've read the "Seven Trees" so far. Lovely. And yes, I will post when one especially speaks to me.

Regarding a not-stressful week, I think I'm realizing that being a university administrator is, by definition, stressful. The areas I oversee are inherently political (sexual assault, mental health, disability resources...) and steeped in themes of social justice and challenging the status quo. It's hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that I am now "the man," and I spend a lot of my time navigating difficult dialogues. I'm a pretty good diplomat, but this all comes with a certain price. Still, I know that I'm pretty good at what I do and I try to make a difference. So, stressful just comes with the territory. But THANK YOU for your kind words! :-)

I'm taking this Friday off; P and I are going camping for the weekend. My PF is healing so I expect to be able to do some limited hiking. And reading in the campsite -- that will definitely happen!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I have a splint on my right index finger. Typing is being a challenge! LOL

>132 msf59: Hi Mark and Happy Monday!
I'm pretty well pulled into The Girl on the Train. Part of me wants to hate it because of all the hype but it's a good ride so far!

>133 LizzieD: Peggy, sorry to have hit you with a blue bullet for The Buried Giant. But I couldn't help myself; it is SO good.
Red lover, eh? I need to get to this part of the poetry collection....

>134 Carmenere: Lynda, I think it's safe to say that The Girl on the Train is not great literature. But so far it's kind of a fun read. And very quick.

>135 DeltaQueen50: Judy, thanks for the link! I will check out the group discussion when the first in the Sandman series arrives for me. Right now I'm number 16 in the queue for one of 8 copies, so it should be pretty quick.

Both -Academy Street and Buried Giant look like terrific reads. Thanks for those reviews.

>139 sibylline: I hope you enjoy them if you read them, Lucy.

Ellen, The Mockingbird Next Door was delightful, and would not take long to read. You might want to check it out at the library and see if it is worth taking home. I'm looking forward to reading the two Harper Lee novels next if I can find time while getting ready to move. OMG!

I'll put The Mockingbird Next Door on hold, Karen. Thanks for the tip!

I can't believe you're moving. I'm looking forward to hearing all about it at our early July meet-up!

Thinking ahead to July when I have some vacation planned!!

Planning to read:
A Wizard of Earthsea for the AAC-II.
Fifth Business as a shared read with Ilana.
To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman for RLBG (even though I won't be at the meeting).

A couple of shared reads that keep getting shifted aside include Sacred Ground by Eboo Patel -- Roberta??
and the next Jo Nesbo....

And I want to read The Shore by Sara Taylor, a gift from Beth.

Hmm, let's see, what else.....??

Big plans for your vacation, Ellen. July is almost here!

>143 EBT1002: Ellen I will read Sacred Ground whenever you are ready. I am juggling a couple of challenges but mostly reading what I want right now. Patel's book is one of my Category Challenge books that is in my Peace Category. I really need to put a dent in that category so whenever you are ready I will pick it up.

Next Nesbo up for us is The Devil's Star. I wouldn't mind reading that in July but I can put if off if you need to. I would much rather read the Patel book first.

I am glad to be in your overbooked company, Ellen. You and Ilana are in for a treat with Fifth Business, whenever you get to it. I just realized I hadn't reserved Go Set A Watchman yet. Well, I am #182 on the reserve list now. I think I will buy a copy after someone on LT reads it and says it is a worthy second book from Ms. Lee.

Ellen, sad news: my doctor appt. at 11:15 is going to interfere with our lunch date. Can you look at your calendar again, and is there another day, nearby, when we could meet?

Sorry.

>144 BLBera: Karen, I have no idea how much reading I'll actually get done on this vacation, but it does include first-class seats round trip to Atlanta. I'm thinking it will be even easier to read in first class than it is back in the main cabin of a plane! I used miles to purchase my ticket, which I've not done before. I had a boatload of them saved up. :-)

>145 luvamystery65: Roberta, let's read Sacred Ground in July and save The Devil's Star for later in the summer. I don't have a copy of the latter yet but I'm assuming it's readily available through the library or a used bookstore. I think Sacred Ground would be a good read for my little vacation that I have planned in Asheville.

>146 Donna828: Donna, you may be in luck. I pre-ordered Go Set a Watchman and I would be happy to send it to you when I finish it. I mean, I don't have it yet, but I assume they'll send it to me when it is released next month.....

I'm pretty sure the shared read of Fifth Business is going to be a re-read for Ilana but it will be my first time. He's been on my TBR list or shelves for eons. I had a wonderful roommate in graduate school (so, really, we're talking eons ago!) who was an avid reader of Robertson Davies. I respected Galen's reading and music choices a lot, but I never got around to this one.

>147 maggie1944: Oh, Karen, that is disappointing but absolutely fix-able! I'll find another day (or two) to suggest. We can be flexible but I'm not letting you off the hook altogether! :-)

>148 EBT1002: You got it Ellen. I downloaded Sacred Ground to my Kindle so I'll start when you are off to your trip. Later in the summer sounds great for Nesbo.

Hi, Ellen! I loved The Shore. I hope you end up feeling the same way.

44. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins




This suspense thriller is told in the first person by three women, primarily Rachel, our girl on the train. Rachel drinks too much and thinks too much. One day she witnesses something from the train, something that occurs in the backyard of a home she has watched as she commutes back and forth from her suburb to her job (ahem) in London, and about whose resident couple she has created an imaginary fairy tale life. No harm in a bit of fantasy, but the witnessed event sets off a chain of other events, particularly as Rachel tries in vain to insert herself into the idealized life of Scott and Megan, the couple with whom she has such an odd obsession. When Megan later turns up missing, the convoluted fun really starts. I was never bored reading this novel but neither was I much intrigued or delighted. The characters are unanimously one- or two-dimensional but the plot moves along at a good clip and it's a good vacation mind-candy sort of read.

I think I'm still vacillating between a rating of 2.5 ("average") and a 3 ("some things done well") stars.

>149 luvamystery65: Excellent! I leave for NC on July 15, Roberta, so I'll start it around then, depending on where I am in whatever I'm reading right before vacation starts. :-)

>150 msf59: Mark, that makes two really strong recommendations -- you and Beth. So, I will add The Shore to my more definite list of planned July reads.

If any of you are paying very close attention, you'll notice that I skipped from my 42nd completed book (The Buried Giant) to my 44th completed book (The Girl on the Train). I just realized that I had miscounted at the top by inadvertently failing to add a book to my completed list for, ahem, January!! I've fixed it and now I have completed forty-four books in 2015. I know, none of you are actually paying that close attention, but you know, truth in advertising and all that.

I'm going to read another story in Dear Life, then dig into Yo, Miss: A Graphic Look at High School. Mark and Joe, I'm staying open minded!

July continues to take shape. Here is my planned reading list so far:

A Wizard of Earthsea for the AAC-II.
Fifth Business, shared read with Ilana.
To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman for RLBG (even though I won't be at the meeting).
Sacred Ground: pluralism, prejudice, and the promise of America by Eboo Patel, shared read with Roberta.
The Shore by Sara Taylor

Yah, for Yo, Miss!!

Good review of The Girl on the Train, Ellen. I enjoyed it in a similar "fun read/mind candy" sort of way. Also glad to see you sorted out your book count. I am the same way when I discover discrepancies like that -- MUST get to the bottom of it!!!

>155 msf59: I read the Foreword by Kaycee Eckhardt, Mark, and I think I'm going to enjoy Yo, Miss.

>156 lauralkeet: Laura, I was sitting her messing about and the next thing I knew, it. was. time. for. bed! So, we're obsessive about our books and obsessive about our various methods of counting. I'm less of a list- or spreadsheet-person than many but I sure want credit for every book I read!

Hi Ellen - It looks like you have some good July reading planned. I'll watch for your comments on The Shore.

Have a great weekend.

I'm glad to see you loved Brown Girl Dreaming I listened to that one on audio read by the author - it was amazing.

You nailed me with a BB with Academy Street. I'm always on the lookout for short novels for when I need to take a break in the middle of or between chunksters. I just requested it from the library.

>158 BLBera: Thanks Beth!

>159 SuziQoregon: Juli, I hope you enjoy Academy Street. I was nudged by Katie, Laura and others who (correctly) thought it was my kind of novel. Enjoy!

I started reading Yo, Miss this morning. It's "a graphic look at high school" and is SO much better than that makes it sound! It's based on Lisa Wilde's experiences teaching at John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy in lower Manhattan, a second chance high school primarily populated with students who have "dropped out, been kicked out, or flunked out of other high schools." So far, it's wonderful.

The Eiffel Tower in lights is just as impressive now on screen as it was when I first saw it in person...never gets old!

>162 Jamieone: Hi Jamieone! I fully agree; I found that image of the Eiffel Tower on the internet (and one has many from which to choose!) and it captured how I feel about the structure and the city.

We're heading into the mountains later this morning for a weekend of camping. Yes, we'll hike a bit, but I plan to spend plenty of time in a camp chair reading in the shade. I'm looking forward to this but the truth is that this would be a wonderful weekend to stay in the city. It'll be hot but this is going to be a Pride Weekend like no other!

Still deciding but right now these are the books I'm thinking I'll take with me for the camping trip:

And next week I'll be doing a shared read with a RL friend of this interesting-looking novel that I picked up at the bookstore the other day.

Happy Friday, Ellen! Yah for Yo, Miss! Glad you are enjoying it. I also recommended it to Joe and his clan.

When are you leaving for your trip?

Enjoy your weekend - sounds lovely.

Popping up out of hibernation to drop a resounding HUZZAH at today's news. You will have lots to celebrate when you get to NC! I've been skipping around on happy winged feet all day.

Hi! Ellen. I thought I'd share with our friends here our serendipitous meeting this morning. I was on my way to Silver Glen to be interviewed by three members of the Cooperative to see if I was a good fit with the "people factors" in their community but I was early and needed to use the "loo". So, I stopped at one of my shopping hot spots, Whole Foods in downtown Bellevue, and was on the phone with the real estate agent when I saw that there was Ellen and P shopping for their camping trip. They live no where near this store. I live no where near this store. What are the odds?

We had a brief and heartfelt hug, and a brief conversation, and I wished them happy camping and they wished me good luck with the real estate monster I'm riding these days. Ha ha ha. Too much fun. Ya gotta love LT.

Yah, for a serendipitous meet-up!! How perfect!!

>170 maggie1944: The universe is wonderful!

Where is the like button!

Hi Ellen, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

>164 EBT1002: Love that photo! Expect you're out of touch by now, so I will hope you have HAD a lovely weekend in the mountains by the time you read this.

Have fun camping! I love the thought of summer camping right now when we are in frosts of -3 deg C or so every night these days. But with the frosty morning comes a sunny day! Which I like.

S there is someone out there who didn't loooove Girl on a Train. Go you!

I hope you are having a wonderful camping trip!

Greetings, one and all, and thank you for your weekend wishes. Mark, Juli, Marianne (Marianne, is that you?!?!), Mark (again! -- *smile*), Roberta, Karen (more to and about you in a moment), Barbara, Linda, Megan, Rhonda.... I really appreciate your kind thoughts.

We had a wonderful camping trip, one of the best in a while despite the rather intense heat and more than one mosquito. Running into Karen was a delightful surprise. There I was, considering what kind of sandwich I was going to want to eat in an hour or two when we stopped at a rest area, and someone tapped me on the shoulder. There she was! Truly wonderful serendipity.
>170 maggie1944: Karen, I'm really glad you told the story; truth is, I was kind of hoping you had done so.

Camping. Putting up the tent went smoothly and we settled in for a relaxing afternoon. P noticed that she had forgotten her book! Nooo! So, generous soul that I am, I told her she could choose between Nada and The Bottle Factory Outing; I would read whichever she did not choose. She chose the former although she never really embraced it, and I read the latter. I finished it just this evening at home. It was kind of weird. But more about that in a bit....

On Saturday we rose early and headed for the Chain Lakes Trail. It was about an 8-mile hike and I'm telling' ya, it was brutal. It was hot. And there was no shade. And I'm out of shape from trying to recover from this plantar fasciitis. Still, it was also beautiful. I will post photos later this week after I transfer them from the camera to my phone. Oh, I forgot to mention that we saw mountain goats (from a distance) on Friday evening. That was a treat!
Well, after our very hot hike (at the end of which we each downed about 32 ounces of water within about 15 minutes even though we had each consumed about 1.5 liters of Gatorade and/or water along the hike!), back at camp we decided to try to take a dip (ha) in the Nooksack River. The campground is right along this glacier-fed river so it was an easy walk. The water was cold (did I mention that it's glacier-fed?) but it felt so good. I didn't so much swim as stand in knee-deep water which was moving along at a pretty good clip, and I sat down and lay back, toes up and forward, then scrabbled my way into an upright position and gasped. All this in about 5 seconds. It was delightful! :-)

The rest of the weekend was about lounging, talking, reading, and more lounging. Today we stopped on our way home to get some fresh picked blueberries and we also stopped at an RV place in north Everett and looked at T@B trailers. Kind of spendy, but I want one!! But we'll see.

Okay, about books....

>167 msf59: Mark, I'm glad you encouraged reading Yo, Miss when I was inquiring about Graphic Novels. It's a good one.

>176 LovingLit: Megan, I always worry when I start to read something that is SO hyped. The Girl on the Train is a perfect illustration as to why. I mean, it was fine, but should every human being on Earth read it? Hardly.

45. Yo, Miss by Lisa Wilde




This graphic novel is based on Ms. Wilde's experiences teaching at John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy in lower Manhattan, a second chance high school primarily populated with students who have "dropped out, been kicked out, or flunked out of other high schools." The author presents the individual stories with compassion and a strong sense of justice but she's not an apologist for young people failing to strive for something better. The characters ring true with an emotional resonance that I appreciated. The stories were at times funny, at other times poignant, but never tragic despite plenty of territory that could be just that. This was an excellent recommendation from Mark and Joe (thanks, guys).

46. The Bottle Factory Outing by Beryl Bainbridge




"Life was full of red tape, rules and formalities, papers to be signed."

This was a weird comedy. Brenda and Freda are roommates both of whom work at a wine bottling company. After the company sponsors a day-long Outing, events take a turn in a surprising direction and the aftermath is, I have to admit, rather hilarious. However, the narrative is done in that precisely chronological style that exposes characters' whim, fickleness, and ambivalence as we track more of the minute-to-minute shifts of mood and intention than is good for us. I find the style choppy and distracting rather than illuminating but I have to admit that it was well-suited to this particular tale. Bainbridge's writing is oddly reminiscent of P. G. Wodehouse and Oscar Wilde but not nearly as effective as either. Still, some things are done quite well and in the end I found The Bottle Factory Outing to be a satisfying read. The oddest part is that I can hardly articulate why.

Glad you had a nice camping trip, Ellen. And I am glad you enjoyed Yo, Miss. GNs can convey so much.

Have a good week, my friend.

Nice to see you back on the thread: safe, sound, and tired (I imagine). Time to go back to work and relax, eh?

Ellen - It sounds like you had a wonderful weekend, far away from wildfires? The Bainbridge sounds like one of those quirky books that either work for people or don't. I might check it out. I think I have one by her around somewhere...

I am going to look for Yo Miss right away. It sounds great.

So, what's up next? Are you going to wrest Nada from P?

Happy Monday. Back at work?

Your camping trip sounds so great! Is it the little teardrop shaped trailer that you are looking for?

I'm vaguely thinking about a pop up tent trailer which I could park near my creek and enjoy right here since I can't seem to get away. Of course, with our dry winter and temperatures 25 degrees above normal, forest fire smoke season could start anytime which would definitely put an end to my camping-in-the-yard-like-a-kid fantasy.

Any thoughts on the advantages of the tiny tear drops versus a pop up tent? I know that the hard sides give more security from both people and bears, but camping along my creek, neither should be a problem.

Hooray for a nice camping trip! I am impressed with the hiking--very intrepid.

>182 msf59: Thank you, Mark. I am really a fan of graphic memoirs, in particular. I agree, the artists/authors can convey so much through their drawings. I'm glad it's a genre that has gained a foothold in the publishing industry.

>183 maggie1944: Ha ha, yes, Karen, back to work this week. But Friday is a holiday and I'm looking forward to a 3-day weekend with no particular plans. We may see if we can walk to some nearby viewpoint for the fireworks but I'm actually one who supports suspending them this year. Things are so dry.... Besides, they are hell on the canine and feline members of our community.

>184 BLBera: Beth, I think you may be right about Bainbridge; either it lands well or it doesn't. I ended up appreciating it even though I didn't enjoy reading it as much as some.

I definitely think you would enjoy Yo, Miss! I hope you can find a copy. I will buy oodles of books but graphics I almost always get from the library. Alison Bechdel's works are the exception: I want to own those. :-)

P doesn't seem too engaged in Nada so I probably could wrest it away from her paws. However, I've started Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932 as a shared read with a RL friend. And I just finished El Deafo, another graphic memoir about which I'll post comments in a moment.

I'm back at work this week. This morning, however, I have a 9am dentist appointment so I get to linger about the house a bit longer than usual. :-)
I'm moving the sprinkler around the garden in 10-minute increments while I catch up on my thread here.

>185 streamsong: Hi Janet! We're vaguely (great word for it) looking at T@B trailers. Here are a couple of images of the kind we're considering.





We talked with the guy about this vs the A-liners (pop-ups) that are also quite appealing. The pop-ups are less expensive and they have more things that can go wrong: seams and joints and such. He was actually a good salesperson who didn't push us one way or another. I asked what the cons of the T@B are and he said
1. Lack of headroom (but P and I are both pretty short so this isn't a problem for us).
2. Expense (about $20K for the one we're looking at -- and that's a lot of money).
3. You'll get mobbed everywhere you go because people want to see it and talk with you about it. :-|

It's absolutely the second con that has us in pause and consider mode. I mean, we're doing fine with our tent and I'm not sure I'm that ready to change my camping lifestyle.

I have been picked to receive an ER copy of The Hummingbird by Stephen P. Kiernan.

47. El Deafo by Cece Bell




"Our differences are our superpowers." (from the author's note at the end of the book)

Cece developed meningitis at age four and became severely hard of hearing. This graphic memoir recounts her experiences as a child in school and around her neighborhood, her coming to terms with the "phonic ear" hearing aid which enabled her to succeed in school, and her navigation of the terrain of loneliness and social rejection. Normalizing and validating of her own experience, she also illuminates the internal dialogue so universal to childhood, a dialogue of longing to belong, fear of humiliation, and excitement at human connection. Definitely recommended.

Currently reading:

>189 EBT1002: - Love the camper! I really like the idea of having the kitchen/cooking area at the back and outside.

>191 EBT1002: Ah, glad El Deafo worked well for you, Ellen. I noticed it's got a rare five stars on Amazon.

Ellen, what a great life you're having!!!!! I'm happy just visiting here.
Wish your NC trips brought you to the coast --- maybe someday.

Hi Ellen - It sounds like you have a lot to think about re: the camper. I'm not a camper, but they are cute.

I will definitely be looking for El Deafo. Yo Miss is going to be a challenge to find. I might end up ordering it...

I've been wanting to try Prose so will look for your comments. I think I actually have this on my Nook. Hmm. Maybe when I'm on vacation next week....

Hooray, for El Deafo! Another little gem. You are on a roll, Ellen.

Nice review of El Deafo, Ellen. I'll have to add it to my wish list.

Hi Ellen! I've got lots of catching up to do here!

For now, I thought I'd drop by a photo of Coco, since you asked for one seemingly ages ago now. Better late than never...
This one was taken at the end of May. His coat's grown out quite a bit since, but my little lamb will be getting shorn again in a couple of weeks.

The Tab trailers are appealing aren't they? We've been looking at things and they are on the list.

Thanks for the photos of the T@B trailer. I didn't realize the kitchen was outside - very cool design. I'll have to stop by a dealer and take a closer look, but ouch on the 20K - out of my budget, I'm afraid. Your con #3 is pretty funny -I imagine everyone would want to see it!

At this point, I think I'm looking for a tent experience with a decent mattress for my back.

"Our differences are our superpowers."

I love that quote! Must read the book!

Hi Ellen, I wish you a lovely weekend.

>189 EBT1002: so inside the door, its all for sleeping? Very cute campervan. And clever design, I suppose it travels well being so small.

Your camping trip sounded good. Hot but good :) And those hot walks are a killer, glad you made it out alive (channelling Cheryl Strayed, were we??!).

Hi Ellen, sounds like you didn't enjoy The Bottle Factory Outing quite as much as I did. For some reason, probably my trick of always laughing at the inappropriate, it tickled my funnybone!

I have some catching up to do but first things first: book updates!

I'm currently reading Stumptown Vol. 1 and The Shore (thank you, Beth) and I am absolutely loving both of them! This morning I read chapter two of Stumptown before leaving the house and then I started The Shore on my bus ride to work. What joy to be caught up in two don't-want-to-put-it-down reads!! *smiles*

I'm driving to work more, trying to relieve some of the daily hassle stress in life, but it means less time reading. Even though I have purchased a daily parking pass (for no small chunk of change, I might add!), I realize that I still very much want to be a bus commuter when I can. It was lovely reading for the ride this morning and to arrive at work feeling like I'd just had this perfect 25 minutes. Better than driving, that's for sure. I wish I could bus in the morning and drive in the evening, but the logistics seem, um, prohibitive.

In any case, I did finally finish my 48th book for the year, only my first completed book for the month of July.

48. Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932 by Francine Prose




"But love is strange, as they used to say at the Chameleon Club."

This is ostensibly the story of Lou Villars, a cross-dressing stage performer, race car driver, and eventually spy and torturer for the Nazis. Set in Paris during the build up to the Occupation and years following, it is told in first and third person by a variety of characters whose lives have intersected with Lou's. She is the centerpiece but the novel follows an array of interesting lives and loves, exploring motivations for loyalty, betrayal, brutality, compassion, and even sacrifice. The writing is lovely with each voice emerging -- gradually -- as distinctly that of its owner. Upon completing the novel, I thought I would have a quibble with the ending but, with a day of reflection, I'm relishing what I initially experienced as a jarring shift: the author's manner of raising the question of narrator reliability (present anyway with so many various narrators, so no spoilers here) is rather original.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I know I started this thread with a nod to Paris and I'm rather tempted to go on a binge of reading things having to do with Paris, but given that I'm so engrossed in my two current reads, and that I have two shared reads planned for this month, I think I'll just keep moving.

>193 lkernagh: Yes, Lori, I like the idea of the cooking "area" being outside. Fewer smells inside the camper! :-)

>194 jnwelch: Joe, I also noticed that El Deafo has a rare five stars on LT. I'm not sure I know of any other works with that overall rating!

>195 LizzieD: Peggy, my NC trips have (well, once) brought me to the coast. My sister-in-law's niece-in-law (ha) owns a house on the Outer Banks and we did stay there one year. It was lovely, but it's a long drive from Asheville so I don't know when we'll get out there again. If/when it happens, I will give you a shout!

>196 BLBera: Beth, I've been so absent, I suppose you are now on vacation. If you have the Prose on your Nook, I'd be interested in your take on it. It took me a while to finish it (see my comment in >207 EBT1002:).

I hope you're able to find a copy of El Deafo. Yo, Miss was also good but the former was special.

>197 msf59: Yes, Mark, I've been having a run of good reading and my current reads, Stumptown Volume 1 and The Shore by Sara Taylor, are keeping the trend alive!

Incidentally, my mother's name was Sarah Taylor....

>198 kidzdoc: Darryl, I'd be interested in your take on El Deafo. I think you'd appreciate it.

>199 Smiler69: Ilana and Coco!!!!! Thank you for the photo of my little buddy (and lamb is really just the right word for him!). By the way, before I call it a night (remember, I'm on west coast time so I have a few hours), I plan to stop by your thread to acknowledge and confirm my intent to read Fifth Business this month.

>200 sibylline: Lucy, we ended up looking at a used T@B trailer and it was probably a really good deal but we just aren't ready. They are worth looking at and our Subaru can pull one!

>201 streamsong: Janet, the T@B trailers do have different designs. Some have the kitchen inside and those might be a bit easier on the bank account. They are, regardless, among the most expensive of the tiny trailers. I think the construction is really solid and they are so light that you don't have to upgrade your vehicle (or, at least, we wouldn't have to) in order to pull it.

I'll check on the specs on our mattress pad and get them to you. We used to use an air mattress and my hip was always on the ground by morning. I hated that! Our current pad is wonderful!! Easy, soft, and it holds its inflation.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Gotta go hang clothes on the line. More later!

>201 streamsong: Janet, our current camping pad is from Cabella's. It's the same technology as a Therm-a-rest. It self-inflates to 3" thick and I do give it a couple of puffs of extra air before closing off the valves. Clearly not suitable for backpacking but since we are dedicated car campers (must have wine and books), this works great for us. Our old air mattress, which I had to inflate with a battery-powered pump, started the night at about 6" thick but if the ground was cold it seeped right through and the mattress never held its inflation through the night.

>202 banjo123: I loved that quote, too, Rhonda. I think you'll appreciate El Deafo; I hope your local library has it.

>203 Ameise1: Thank you, Barbara!

>204 LovingLit: Megan, the inside is mostly sleeping space, but the bed transforms amazingly easily into a dining table and bench seats. AND it has a lovely "window seat" (yes, under a big window that opens) where I imagine myself reading well into the night. :-)

LOL - I actually did think about CherylStrayed during that hike! I remembered how she talked about her muscles developing in the first weeks of her chaotic hike; I swear, if I were younger and freer I would walk at least part of the PCT, although probably not this brutally hot and dry summer!

>205 DeltaQueen50: Judy, I don't mind inappropriate, and I did like it when it got a bit out in left field. It just took me too long, I think, to get into the satirical groove with The Bottle Factory Outing.

I am planning to read The Shore, which I won as an ER, this month, too. Glad to hear another good review - even if you're not done yet!

I understand your conundrum over the drive/public transit issue. fFor my first 4 years in DC, I didn't have a car and while it was stressful and often a hassle, I got LOTS of reading down on those commutes. I eventually got a car and relished the freedom of it, but missed the reading. Now I guess I have a decent balance, as I have no public transit options but listen to books on my commute...

>214 katiekrug: It's certainly early yet, Katie, but the early returns on The Shore are very promising. :-)

I think this coming academic year is going to be the year in which I either embrace audio books or abandon them altogether. I was really enjoying listening to Dead Wake but I haven't touched it in weeks now. I tend to listen to music or silence when I drive. We'll see how this unfolds.

On audio books: I have a hard time with them, too. I like listening but if I do so in bed the predictable end is that I fall to sleep and have no idea what I did listen to.... I like listening to them in the car, but I find that if there is anything challenging in the driving, I space the listening out. And predictably, I have no idea what I heard.

Sitting on a sofa, nope that doesn't work either. I'm too restless, and ADD. How about while washing dishes? Well, I start to day dream about what all I "have to do", which is what I would be doing if I was not listening.

Best place is probably on an airplane. Which does not happen nearly often enough.

Hi Ellen! Great to see you checking in. I am so glad you are loving The Shore. It was such a pleasant surprise and I was very happy with it too.

Glad you enjoyed Stumptown and I hope you can find the next volume.

>216 maggie1944: Maggie you did the perfect summary for me about audiobooks, exactly my experience too but I am trying to set a goal to try, try, try again with them. I like holding the real thing in my hands preferably books from the library.

I listen to lots of books in the car. It takes me about a month to listen to a 300 page book on CD if I only listen to it while driving around town. (On long road trips - 5 hours - I can listen to a whole book in one trip.) I have to be careful about what kind of book I listen to. Fiction works best for me in the car. Especially mysteries. I think I keep listening better and don't zone out when I listen to them. YA Fantasy books also work well for me. I have listened to some memoirs in the car, but I can't do biographies. What doesn't work at all is Non-fiction. I think the reason they don't work is that this type of book demands some concentration and thought. I also like to read and then refer back to something else in the book when it is non-fiction. I also think that the reader of non-fiction doesn't put as much inflection in the voice while reading non-fiction so it makes it harder to listen to while driving.

Like Katie in post #214 - I don't get to read while commuting, but I do get to listen to books and that makes up for the lack of reading time.

Hey, Ellen, love the cute little camper upthread. My DH refuses to go camping as he did too much of that in the army. I have only gone once with my daughter's Girl Scout troop. I loved it, especially the campfire cooking part. That was a loooong time ago, and I am getting too old to enjoy sleeping with mosquitos!

I just came over here to tell you I started Academy Street and can't wait to get back to it. I hope to finish it in one sitting. Yet another book I wouldn't have known about without my LT friends.

Ellen, a friend of mine has a T@B camper and they love it. He's said that they've used it so often that it's paid for itself. What he likes about it is that it's compact, easy to park and cover without taking up too much space, and the kitchen at the back means they don't have to sleep with the smell of cooked food.

Great review of Chameleon Club. I'm going to have to add that to my OWL. Grr...

>216 maggie1944: Hi Karen. For me, I think the best venue for audio books is pulling weeds. It's just that I don't spend that many hours pulling weeds!

>217 msf59: Hey Mark, I am sure that I will find the second volume of Stumptown. In fact, I'll go check the library right now... *hold placed on volume 2*

>218 mdoris: Mary, I'm truly the same way, although I do keep trying (and with the slight variation that I really like holding a volume that I own!).

>219 benitastrnad: Interesting, Benita. I had a theory that I was going to like nonfiction better in audio format but my current hiatus from Dead Wake suggests that this is not the solution.... It's interesting how many different experiences there are with audio books!

>220 Donna828: Donna, I was not much of a camper until I moved to the Pacific Northwest. Now I love it. It's nice to get away from the mobile phone, email, etc. And, as I have said, I love sitting at a campsite in the early afternoon, when most people are still out on their hikes or adventures, reading a book in the quiet of the trees..... happy place for me. :-)

Speaking of which, we are heading to Mt. Rainier tomorrow for a couple of nights in the tent.
It's supposed to be highs around 72F and lows around 36F. Perfect!!!!

>220 Donna828: Donna, I hope you finish and love Academy Street. Neither would I have known about it were it not for my LT buddies. It was a great read.

>221 cameling: Caroline, we know that a trailer is in our future, and I think it will be a T@B, but we're just not there yet. All the things your friends have said about it resonates with our research. Did they buy theirs new?

Glad you liked my review of Lovers at the Chameleon Club. It's a good read.

49. Stumptown Volume 1 by Greg Rucka




It helped that I read the (visually challenging) introduction comparing this Private Detective tale to old Rockford Files episodes. Set in Portland, Oregon, and beautifully capturing some of the culture and landmarks of that much-loved (by me) city, this is a straight-up Private Eye story. No profound message, no literary subtlety. Just a good detective story told in graphic novel format. I loved it and will be reading the second in the series.

Thank you, Mark and Joe. :-)

On Friday, P and I are heading to Mt. Rainier for another camping trip. This one should be less brutally hot than the one two weeks ago. Highs are predicted in the low 70s and lows of 36F!! I love getting up in the morning and pulling on a fleece jacket to drink my hot coffee in the very chilly morning air as we prepare for our day's hike. Oh boy.

Then, on Wednesday I fly to Atlanta where I rent a car to drive to Asheville for a few days with my sister. Good talks, lots of reading time, a few afternoons at the pool..... I'm ready!!

My theme for this thread was Paris. Sort of. Next thread will be Mt. Rainier.

>227 EBT1002: Wow!!! Incredible photo. Years ago I attended a conference in Seattle, Washington. I looked out the hotel room to have a wonderful view of Mt. Rainer.

Conferences are usually packed with supervision of students and workshop events, so I did not have time to explore the mountains. But, the students and I had a lovely time at Pike's Market.