souloftherose's year of (mostly) unplanned reading - part 4

Welcome to my fourth 2015 reading thread. My name's Heather, I'm in my mid-thirties and I live in a small town north of London in the UK with my husband and our slightly neurotic rescue cat. I read all kinds of things including a lot of older books (about a third of the books I read last year were published before 1950) but I also read contemporary books.

This year I am not planning my reading as I realised last year that I get most enjoyment from my reading when I let myself pick up whatever I feel like rather than the book I feel I should be reading. There are already some exceptions to this rule though (see below) so we'll see how long my plan for unplanned reading lasts!



A Girl Reading by Charles Edward Perugini, 1878

Books read in July
#113 The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley (TBR)
#114 Agent of Change by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (Free kindle)
#115 Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer (Library)
#116 Fables: The Deluxe Edition Book Four by Bill Willingham (Library)
#117 Conflict of Honors by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (Omnibus)
#118 The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (TBR)
#119 Ha'penny by Jo Walton (TBR)
#120 Love Lessons: A Wartime Diary by Joan Wyndham (TBR)
#121 Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin (TBR)
#122 Penric's Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold (TBR)
#123 Soulless by Gail Carriger (Reread)
#124 Fables: The Deluxe Edition Book Five by Bill Willingham (Library)
#125 Evelina by Fanny Burney (TBR)
#126 The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt (Library)
#127 Carpe Diem by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (TBR)
#128 Catwings Return by Ursula K. Le Guin (TBR)
#129 Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin (TBR)
#130 Athyra by Steven Brust (Omnibus)
#131 A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh (TBR)
#132 The Toll-Gate by Georgette Heyer (TBR)
#133 Parker Pyne Investigates by Agatha Christie (Reread)

Books read in August
#134 Changeless by Gail Carriger (Reread)
#135 Blameless by Gail Carriger (Reread)
#136 The Blatchington Tangle by G. D. H. Cole and Margaret Cole (Borrowed)
#137 Seraphina by Rachel Hartman (Library)
#138 The Shuttle by Frances Hodgson Burnett (Free kindle)
#139 The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge (Library)
#140 Our Spoons Came From Woolworths by Barbara Comyns (TBR)
#141 Orca by Steven Brust (TBR)
#142 Victorian London: The Life of a City 1840-1870 by Liza Picard (Library)
#143 Thus Was Adonis Murdered by Sarah Caudwell (TBR)
#144 Sisters by a River by Barbara Comyns (TBR)
#145 The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss (Library)
#146 The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley (TBR)
#147 Murder Underground by Mavis Doriel Hay (Library)
#148 Plan B by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (Omnibus)
#149 First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde (Reread)
#150 The Yellow Dog by Georges Simenon (TBR)
#151 One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde (Reread)
#152 I Dare by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (TBR)
#153 Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie (Reread)
#154 The Sugar House by Antonia White (TBR)

Books read in September
#155 The Minority Council by Kate Griffin (Library)
#156 The Adventures of Margery Allingham by Julia Jones (Library)
#157 The Black Moon by Winston Graham (TBR)
#158 Just Patty by Jean Webster (Free kindle)
#159 Phineas Redux by Anthony Trollope (TBR)
#160 A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C. Clarke (TBR)
#161 Uprooted by Naomi Novik (Library)
#162 The Golden Age of Murder by Martin Edwards (Library)
#163 The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch (Reread)
#164 The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne (Free kindle)
#165 Saga, Vol 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Library)
#166 Come, Tell Me How You Live by Agatha Christie (TBR)
#167 The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan (Library)
#168 The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (TBR)
#169 Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie (Reread)
#170 Jane On Her Own by Ursula K. Le Guin (TBR)
#171 The Murder Stone by Louise Penny (Reread)
#172 Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy by Rumer Godden (TBR)

Books read in October
#173 Ms Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson (Library)
#174 The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny (Reread)
#175 Ms Marvel, Vol. 2: Generation Why by G. Willow Wilson (Library)
#176 Cold Shoulder Road by Joan Aiken (TBR)
#177 Some of the Best From Tor.com: 2014 edited by Ellen Datlow (Free kindle)
#178 Ask a Policeman by The Detection Club (Library)
#179 Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds (Spousal unit's)
#180 Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch (TBR)
#181 Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (Reread)
#182 Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie (Reread)
#183 Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie (TBR)
#184 The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery (Free kindle)
#185 The Prestige by Christopher Priest (TBR)
#186 Fables: The Deluxe Edition Book Six by Bill Willingham (Library)
#187 Fables: The Deluxe Edition Book Seven by Bill Willingham (Library)
#188 The Four Swans by Winston Graham (TBR)
#189 The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard (TBR)
#190 Summer Half by Angela Thirkell (TBR)
#191 Saga, Volume 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Library)
#192 Victorian People and Ideas by Richard D. Altick (Library)
#193 A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley (TBR)
#194 The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie (Reread)
#194.5 In Morningstar's Shadow Aliette de Bodard (Free kindle)
#195 Complete Short Stories by Elizabeth Taylor (TBR)
#195.5 We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (TBR)
#196 Letters to Children by C. S. Lewis (TBR)

Books read in January
#1 The Lady of the Shroud by Bram Stoker (TBR)
#2 Frost in May by Antonia White (TBR)
#3 The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman (Library)
#4 The Girl with all the Gifts by M. R. Carey (Library)
#5 The Kingdom of Gods by N. K. Jemisin (Omnibus)
#6a The Awakened Kingdom by N. K. Jemisin (TBR)
#6b Bloodchild (short story) by Octavia E. Butler (Free kindle)
#7 The Lost Traveller by Antonia White (TBR)
#8 Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones (TBR)
#9 A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro (TBR)
#10 Patricia Brent, Spinster by Herbert Jenkins (Free kindle)
#11 The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (Library)
#12 Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch (TBR)
#13 Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively (Library)
#14 An Episode of Sparrows by Rumer Godden (TBR)
#15 Italian Mysteries by Francis Lathom (TBR)
#16 Fables: The Deluxe Edition Book Two by Bill Willingham (Library)
#17 The Hound of Death by Agatha Christie (Reread)
#18 The Bookshop Book by Jen Campbell (TBR)
#19 Arabella by Georgette Heyer (TBR)
#20 Lamentation by C. J. Sansom (TBR)

Books read in February
#21 Taltos by Steven Brust (Omnibus)
#22 Yendi by Steven Brust (Reread)
#23 Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth (TBR)
#24 The Doctor, His Wife and the Clock by Anna Katharine Green (Free kindle)
#25 What Makes This Book So Great by Jo Walton (TBR)
#26 The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope (TBR)
#27 Jhereg by Steven Brust (Reread)
#28 My Dear Charlotte by Hazel Holt (Free kindle)
#29 Wild Robert by Diana Wynne Jones (TBR)
#30 The Victorian House by Judith Flanders (Library)
#31 Freaky Families by Diana Wynne Jones (TBR)
#32 Still Life by Louise Penny (Reread)
#33 The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton (Library)
#34 Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden (TBR)
#35 A Man's Head by Georges Simenon (TBR)
#36 Earwig and the Witch by Diana Wynne Jones (TBR)
DNF Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters (Library)
#37 Dead Cold by Louise Penny (Reread)
#38 Clockwork by Philip Pullman (Library)

Books read in March
#39 The Neon Court by Kate Griffin (Library)
#40 The Imprudence of Prue by Sophie Fisher (Free kindle)
#41 The Secret Countess by Eva Ibbotson (TBR)
#42a The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal (TBR)
#42b Burning Girls by Veronica Schanoes (Free kindle)
#43 The City & the City by China Mieville (TBR)
#44 Teckla by Steven Brust (Reread)
#45 Deadlier than the Male: An Investigation into Feminine Crime Writing by Jessica Mann (TBR)
#46 Behind Closed Doors: At Home in Georgian England by Amanda Vickery (Library)
#47 Greenbanks by Dorothy Whipple (TBR)
#48 Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (Library)
#49 Ross Poldark by Winston Graham (TBR)
#50 The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett (Reread)
#51 The Dinosaur Hunters: A True Story of Scientific Rivalry and the Discovery of the Prehistoric World by Deborah Cadbury (TBR)
#52 A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (Library)
#53 Phoenix by Steven Brust (TBR)
#54 Dido and Pa by Joan Aiken (TBR)
#55 The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer (TBR)
#56 Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (Reread)
#57 A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham (Omnibus)

Books read in April
#58 The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold (TBR)
#59 Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (Reread)
#60 Bellwether by Connie Willis (TBR)
#61 Demelza by Winston Graham (TBR)
#62 A Betrayal in Winter by Daniel Abraham (TBR)
#63 A Description of Millenium Hall by Sarah Scott (Library)
#64 Pavane by Keith Roberts (Library)
#65 The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (TBR)
#66 Austerity Britain, 1945-1951 by David Kynaston (TBR)
#67 Bodies of Light by Sarah Moss (TBR)
#68 The Priory by Dorothy Whipple (TBR)
#69 K by Mary Roberts Rinehart (Free kindle)
#70 The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter (TBR)
#71 The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer (TBR)
#72 The Listerdale Mystery by Agatha Christie (Reread)

Books read in May
#73 Old Man's War by John Scalzi (TBR)
#74 Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal by Mal Peet (Library)
#75 Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie (Library)
#76 Aristocrats: Caroline, Emily, Louisa and Sarah Lennox, 1740-1832 by Stella Tillyard (Library)
#77 The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett (Reread)
#78 Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (Reread)
#79 Fraulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther by Elizabeth von Arnim (Free kindle)
#80 The Wool-Pack by Cynthia Harnett (TBR)
#81 Girl Reading by Katie Ward (Library)
#82 Jeremy Poldark by Winston Graham (TBR)
#83 The Ladies of Grace Adieu: and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke (TBR)
#84 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (Library)
#85 The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer (TBR)
#86 Fables: The Deluxe Edition Book Three by Bill Willingham (Library)
#87 In These Times: Living in Britain through Napoleon's wars, 1793-1815 by Jenny Uglow (Library)
#88 The Millstone by Margaret Drabble (Library)
#89 Warleggan by Winston Graham (TBR)
#90 War for the Oaks by Emma Bull (TBR)
#91 Poor Cow by Nell Dunn (TBR)
#92 Is by Joan Aiken (Omnibus)

Books read in June
#93 Five Children on the Western Front by Kate Saunders (TBR)
#94 Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant (Library)
#95 Dark Satanic Mills by Marcus and Julian Sedgwick (Library)
#96 Touch by Claire North (TBR)
#97 The Very Dead of Winter by Mary Hocking (TBR)
#98 Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce (Reread)
#99 The Cruellest Month by Louise Penny (Reread)
#100 Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (Library)
#101 How to Create the Perfect Wife by Wendy Moore (Library)
#102 Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones (Reread)
#103 House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones (TBR)
#104 To Have and To Hold by Mary Johnston (Free kindle)
#105 The Far Cry by Emma Smith (TBR)
#106 Mr and Mrs Disraeli by Daisy Hay (Library)
#107 Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan (Library)
#108 Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay (TBR)
#109 Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie (Reread)
#110 Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr (TBR)
#111 Time and Again by Jack Finney (Library)
#112 Cotillion by Georgette Heyer (TBR)

Paper books acquired




I need to buy fewer books.

January
#1 A Sea-Grape Tree by Rosamond Lehmann
#2 The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope READ
#3 What Makes This Book So Great? by Jo Walton READ
#4 The Heather Blazing by Colm Toibin

February
#5 The Squire by Enid Bagnold
#6 Shadow and Betrayal by Daniel Abraham READ
#7 The Diary of an Ordinary Woman by Margaret Forster
#8 Greenbanks by Dorothy Whipple READ
#9 The Priory by Dorothy Whipple READ
#10 The Closed Door and Other Stories by Dorothy Whipple

March
#11 Dido and Pa by Joan Aiken READ
#12 Peking Picnic by Ann Bridge
#13 The Book of Athyra by Steven Brust READ

April
#14 The Far Cry by Emma Smith READ
#15 Tea with Mr Rochester by Frances Towers
#16 Mariana by Monica Dickens
#17 The Sugar House by Antonia White READ

May
#18 The Lunar Men by Jenny Uglow
#19 Basil Street Blues by Michael Holroyd
#20 Hidden Lives by Margaret Forster
#21 The Wool-Pack by Cynthia Harnett READ
#22 Fanny and the Monsters by Penelope Lively
#23 The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley READ
#24 Jenny Wren by E. H. Young
#25 Evelina by Fanny Burney READ
#26 House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones READ

June
#27 Sisters by a River by Barbara Comyns READ
#28 The Whispering Mountain by Joan Aiken

July
#29 Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin READ
#30 Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin READ
#31 Jane on Her Own by Ursula K. Le Guin READ
#32 Catwings Return by Ursula K. Le Guin READ

August
#33 The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley READ
#34 Welcome Strangers by Mary Hocking
#35 Letters from Constance by Mary Hocking
#36 Indifferent Heroes by Mary Hocking
#37 Summer Half by Angela Thirkell READ
#38 Good Daughters by Mary Hocking
#39 The Brandons by Angela Thirkell
#40 Christmas at High Rising by Angela Thirkell
#41 Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
#42 Our Spoons Came From Woolworths by Barbara Comyns READ
#43 The Vet's Daughter by Barbara Comyns
#44 The Land of Spices by Kate O'Brien
#45 Phineas Redux by Anthony Trollope READ

September
#46 No. 17 by J. Jefferson Farjeon
#47 Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead by Barbara Comyns
#48 Tortoise by Candlelight by Nina Bawden
#49 The Intergalactic Bus Trip

October
#50 Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh
#51 Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie READ
#52 Cecilia by Fanny Burney

Kindle books acquired

Last year I changed my buying habits by trying to only buy kindle books when I was confident I would want to read them almost straight away rather than buying lots of ebooks in the sales or daily deals and then not reading them for ages. I think it worked pretty well and I've read 80% of the kindle books I bought last year. So, the plan is to do this again this year. I'll keep track of the number I've bought and read here.




January
#1 Italian Mysteries by Francis Lathom READ
#2 Deadlier Than the Male: An Investigation into Feminine Crime Writing by Jessica Mann READ
#3 Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch READ
#4 Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth READ
#5 Arabella by Georgette Heyer READ

February
#6 Wild Robert by Diana Wynne Jones READ
#7 Freaky Families by Diana Wynne Jones READ
#8 Earwig and the Witch by Diana Wynne Jones READ
#9 A Man's Head by Georges Simenon READ

March
#10 The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal READ
#11 Ross Poldark by Winston Graham READ
#12 The Grand Sophy by Georgetter Heyer READ
#13 The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold READ

April
#14 Demelza by Winston Graham READ
#15 Five Children on the Western Front by Kate Saunders READ
#16 The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison READ
#17 The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer READ
#18 Old Man's War by John Scalzi READ

May
#19 Goodnight Ophelia by Penelope Farmer
#20 Jeremy Poldark by Winston Graham READ
#21 Touch by Claire North READ
#22 The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer READ
#23 Warleggan by Winston Graham READ

June
#24 Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay READ
#25 Cotillion by Georgette Heyer READ

July
#26 Ha'Penny by Jo Walton READ
#27 The Dragon Variation by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
#28 Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
#29 Penric's Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold READ
#30 Carpe Diem by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller READ
#31 The Toll-Gate by Georgette Heyer READ
#32 The Black Moon by Winston Graham READ
#33 The Four Swans by Winston Graham READ
#34 The Angry Tide by Winston Graham

August
#35 Korval's Game by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller READ
#36 The Yellow Dog by Georges Simenon READ
#37 Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch READ
#38 The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch

September
#39 How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny

October
#40 The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
#41 The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard READ
#42 Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald
#43 Glorious Angels by Justina Robson
#44 A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley READ
#45 We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi ADichie READ

An idea borrowed from Liz (@lyzard), this lists ongoing series that I am actively reading. This doesn't include series where I have the first book in my TBR pile (i.e. series I haven't started reading yet aren't included). An asterisk indicates a series where I already have a copy of the next book.

Series I'm actively* reading (*for a rather lax definition of active)
*Albert Campion: Next up Hide My Eyes by Margery Allingham (19/25)
*Barsetshire Books by Angela Thirkell: Reading out of order. Next up The Brandons (5/29 read)
*Ebenezer Gryce: Next up That Affair Next Door by Anna Katharine Green (8/13)
*Fables: Next up Fables, Vol. 10: The Good Prince by Bill Willingham (10/22)
Finishing School: Next up Manners & Mutiny by Gail Carriger (4/4)
*Frost in May Quartet: Next up Beyond the Glass by Antonia White (4/4)
*The Gentleman Bastard Sequence: Next up: The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch (3/4)
Gilead: Next up Lila by Marilynne Robinson (3/3)
The Girl Who: Next up The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente (4/5)
Hainish Cycle: (Reading out of order) Next up Rocannon's World by Ursula K. Le Guin (3/8)
Hilary Tamar: Next up: The Shortest Way to Hades by Sarah Caudwell (2/4)
Lady Trent's Memoirs: Next up Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan (3/4)
*Liaden Universe Publication Order: Next up Local Custom by Shareon Lee & Steve Miller (6/21)
The Long Price Quartet: Next up An Autumn War by Daniel Abraham (3/4)
Maigret: Next up The Hanged Man of Saint Pholien by Georges Simenon (4/76)
*Mrs Tim: Next up Mrs Tim Carries On by D. E. Stevenson (2/4)
*Ms. Marvel 2014: Next up Ms. Marvel, Vol. 3: Crushed by G. Willow Wilson (3/?)
Old Filth: Next up Last Friends by Jane Gardam (3/3)
The Palliser Novels: Next up: The Prime Minister by Anthony Trollope (5/6)
*Poldark Saga: Next up The Angry Tide by Winston Graham (7/12)
Seraphina: Next up Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman (2/2)
Small Change: Next up Half a Crown by Jo Walton (3/3)
*A Song of Ice and Fire: Next up A Dance with Dragons by G. R. R. Martin (5/7?)
*Tales of a New Jerusalem: Next up Family Britain, 1951-57 by David Kynaston (2/5?)
Vlad Taltos: Next up Dragon by Steven Brust (8/14)
Wolves Chronicles: Next up Midwinter Nightingale by Joan Aiken (10/11)

Series I've stalled on but want to get back to
*Allan Quatermain: Next up Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard (2/15)
*Arsène Lupin: Next up Arsène Lupin vs. Holmlock Shears by Maurice Leblanc (2/23?)
*Barsoom: Next up The Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (3/11)
Bas-Lag: Next up The Scar by China Mieville (2/3)
*Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox: Next up Eight Skilled Gentlemen by Barry Hughart (3/3)
*Cicero: Next up Lustrum by Robert Harris (2/3)
David Wintringham by Josephine Bell: Reading out of order (2/12 read)
*Dolphin Ring Cycle: Next up Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff (5/8)
Dragonriders of Pern: Next up Dragonquest by Anne McCaffrey (2/25)
Dragonslayer: Next up The Eye of Zoltar by Jasper Fforde (3/4)
Empire Trilogy: Next up: The Singapore Grip by J. G. Farrell (3/3)
*Father Brown: Next up: The Wisdom of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton (2/5)
Flavia de Luce: Next up The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley (2/7)
*Fionavar Tapestry: Next up The Darkest Road by Guy Gavriel Kay (3/3)
Green Knowe: Next up: The Chimneys of Green Knowe by L. M. Boston (2/6)
Jimm Juree: Next up Grandad, There's a Head on the Beach by Colin Cotterill (2/2)
Julia Probyn: Next up The Portugese Escape by Ann Bridge (2/8)
Les Voyages Extraordinaires: Next up From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne (4/54)
*The Long Earth: Next up The Long War by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter (2/3)
The Magicians: Next up The Magician King by Lev Grossman (2/3)
The Penderwicks: Next up The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall (2/4)
*The Prairie Trilogy: Next up The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (3/3) (Reading out of order)
*Richard Hannay: Next up The Three Hostages by John Buchan (4/5)
Roderick Alleyn: Next up Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh (2/32)
Romantic Poets and Nephilim: Next up A Time to Cast Away Stones in The Bible Repairman and Other Stories by Tim Powers (2/3)
Ruth Galloway: Next up A Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths (5/7)
Dr. Siri Paiboun: Next up: Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill (5/9)
Sorcery and Celia: Next up The Grand Tour by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (2/3)
*Turtle: Next up Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver (2/2)
Wars of Light and Shadow: Next up Ships of Merior by Janny Wurts (2/10?)
Young Pilots: Next up Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein (2/3)

Series I'm rereading
*Colonel Race: Next up Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie (2/4)
*Discworld: Next up Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett (3/40)
*Hercule Poirot: Next up: The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie (12/39)
*Chief Inspector Armand Gamache: Next up Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny (6/11)
*Miss Marple: Next up The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie (3/13)
*Parasol Protectorate: Next up Heartless by Gail Carriger (4/5)
*Superintendent Battle: Next up Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie (3/5)
*Thursday Next: Next up The Woman Who Died a Lot by Jasper Fforde (7/7)
Tommy and Tuppence: Next up N or M? by Agatha Christie (3/5)

Up to date series
Matthew Shardlake: Latest book Lamentation by C. J. Sansom (6/6)
Mistborn: Next up Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson (5/6)
Peter Grant: Next up The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch (6/6)
Shades of Grey: Latest book Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde (1/3)
Wolf Hall: Latest book Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (2/3)
World of the Five Gods: Latest book Penric's Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold (4/4)

Completed series
Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin(4/4)
Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones (3/3)
Howl's Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (3/3)
Imperial Radch by Ann Leckie (3/3)
Inheritance Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin (4/4)
Just Patty by Jean Webster (2/2)
Matthew Swift by Kate Griffin (4/4)

A few plans which snuck in under the radar....

The little bit of planning I'm allowing myself is Liz's tutored/group/shared reads as follows (shamelessly copied and pasted from her thread)

2015 group activities:

Tutored reads:
January: Italian Mysteries by Francis Lathom
March: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Group reads:
February: The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope
May: Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth
July: Evelina by Fanny Burney
September: Phineas Redux by Anthony Trollope

Virago chronological reads:
April: Millenium Hall by Sarah Scott
November / December: Cecilia by Fanny Burney

Georgette Heyer:
Arabella
The Grand Sophy
The Quiet Gentleman
Cotillion
The Toll-Gate
Bath Tangle
Sprig Muslin
April Lady

Agatha Christie:
The Hound Of Death
Murder on the Orient Express
The Listerdale Mystery
Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
Parker Pyne Investigates
Three Act Tragedy
Death in the Clouds
The ABC Murders
Murder in Mesopotamia

Georges Simenon:
The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien
La Tête d'un Homme (aka A Man's Head)
The Yellow Dog
The Night at the Crossroads

Happy New Thread, Heather!
I hope you are truly finished with the housekeeping chores and not just taking a quick break.
I love your organization whether you have plans or not and look forward to your reading for the rest of the year.

Hi, Heather. From your last thread--Wow, what a terrible cover for Carpe Diem! That would completely put me off from reading the book!

Happy New Thread Heather! Looking at your Georgette Heyer list, I can't help but notice I have most of the titles on my listening tbr, and as I've accumulated a great deal of Heyer titles in the past couple of years, I should probably try to catch up with you to justify all those purchases! I think Liz was saying that The Midnight Bell was scheduled for October, but we should probably confirm that with her.

Hi Heather - Happy new thread. I am impressed with how many of the books that you've bought that you have read. Good job.

>8 LizzieD: Thanks Peggy - yes all finished :-)

>9 ronincats: Agreed! I read the ebook and the cover of my edition was even worse than that one Roni. There doesn't seem to be much choice:



My ebook has the cover on the left. The one on the right is probably the least bad but as most of the book doesn't take place on a spaceship it doesn't seem very appropriate. I can't decide who the two people on the middle cover are supposed to be - Miri and Val Con? Priscilla and Shan? I thought Miri had short hair.

>10 Smiler69: Yes - do read listen to the Heyers! And thanks for letting me know about the possibility of The Midnight Bell in October - sounds good to me!

>11 BLBera: Thanks Beth. I would still like to read more of the paper books I buy....

Book #113: The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley - 4 stars



Although this was my first time reading this YA fantasy, it had the feel of a comforting reread without feeling generic. Aerin is the daughter of the king, but she's an outsider because of her mother and because she doesn't seem to have developed a magical gift like other members of the family. This is a story of a young woman discovering her gifts and making a way for herself in the world.

Book #115: Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer - 4.2 stars



Rereading the wonderful Tom's Midnight Garden last month inspired me to pick up another older children's book with a timeslip theme, Charlotte Sometimes. I hadn't realised that this is actually the third book in the series but whilst CS is in print, the first two books aren't (and seem very difficult to find) but this stands alone well. It starts with Charlotte Makepeace starting at a new boarding school and finding her surroundings new and strange. But after falling asleep that night she wakes up in a different unfamiliar place and finds she has somehow switched places with Clare, a girl at the same boarding school, sleeping in the same bed, but around 50 years earlier during WWI. Clare and Charlotte conitnue to switch places and Charlotte finds herself wondering what makes her 'Charlotte' rather than 'Clare' especially as most people don't seem to notice that the two girls are switching places.

I seem to be really struggling with contemporary literary fiction at the moment and am finally abandoning Kate Atkinson's A God in Ruins which is a very good book that is leaving me too churned up with emotion. I've just finished the chapter where Sunny goes to stay with his grandmama and had to force myself to keep reading to the end (and keep reminding myself that this is fictional and it sadly isn't possible to get out of my chair and go and rescue the poor child). I think it's not just the sadness and bad things happening to the characters but there seems to be a lack of hope for any of them.

>12 souloftherose: Agreed that those covers are yucky....... I'd guess Priscilla and Val Con, which would never do. I thought Miri was supposed to have very red hair - sort of like a Rose's Soul.
Oh dear. I was going to start *God in Ruins* soon, but I'm not sure I'm up to hopelessness either.

>15 LizzieD: Go to 'Plan B instead!

Definitely supposed to be Miri and Val Con, but his face doesn't look at all foxy, and Miri's bright red hair, 99% of the time, is braided in a crown on top of her head. She does wear it down at one point in the story, but after being braided all that time, it would be that dead straight hair pictured. Don't think she has bangs, either.

Glad you enjoyed The Hero and the Crown. You HAVE read The Blue Sword, haven't you? McKinley's other Damar book and one of my favorite all-time comfort reads. If not, DO it!

>12 souloftherose:

And the bad covers just keep coming. :)

I have The Midnight Bell pencilled in for October but there was nothing hard and fast about that, just a gap in the schedule at a reasonable distance from my run through Italian Mysteries with Madeline. I'm quite happy to work around other people's convenience (and of course, we're now looking for an open slot for Emma...!).

I'm sorry the Atkinson didn't work for you Heather, but I kind of understand. I read it at a point where I could handle -- even enjoy -- its somber tone. But today I went looking for something to read after a rather stressful week, and really really need something light. I'm not sure I have the right sort of thing on hand but will do my best.

I'm also sorry that A God in Ruins was a bit too emotional for you at this time, Heather. Things do get better for Sunny and Bertie, though. However, I think that your comments about the its effect on you reflect just how good of a book it is, as I also cared deeply about Teddy, Sunny and Bertie.

>15 LizzieD: Peggy, I think I'm the only person (that I know of) who has struggled with A God in Ruins and I've just been remembering that I did find her Jackson Brodie novels were often on the edge of being too dark for me so it may be that there's something about her writing or themes that I struggle with. On the other hand, I'm going to be the last person to tell someone to force themselves to read something at the moment!

>16 ronincats: 'Miri's bright red hair, 99% of the time, is braided in a crown on top of her head'

More like my Agent of Change cover perhaps.



I haven't read The Blue Crown (*hangs head*) but as I was going to make an abebooks order at the end of this month I've added it to the basket.

>17 lyzard: Well, October would work fine for me but other months would too so I will happily follow along with whatever you decide.

>18 lauralkeet: Laura, I think light reading is definitely what my brain needs at the moment and I may just embrace that and declare August the month of light and fluffy reading!

>19 kidzdoc: Hi Darryl. Very glad to hear things improved for Sonny and Bertie. As you say, it does show how good a writer Atkinson is that she can have that strong an impact on her readers.

Some long overdue comments on the Fables series of graphic novels.

Book #86: Fables: The Deluxe Edition Book Three by Bill Willingham - 4.4 stars
Book #116: Fables: The Deluxe Edition Book Four by Bill Willingham - 3.8 stars
Book #124: Fables: The Deluxe Edition Book Five by Bill Willingham - 3.3 stars



Containing the following:

Fables Vol 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers - this was the climax of the storyline from the first three volumes and very exciting. A lot of plotlines get resolved but a whole lot of new ones get set up.

Fables, Vol. 5: Mean Seasons - following on from that The Mean Seasons is a picking up the pieces story as the Fables try to adjust to all the changes and get back to everyday life. I enjoyed it because I also enjoy Snow and the babies.

Fables: 1001 nights of snowfall was also included in Deluxe Book Four and is a companion volume set in the past in which Snow White goes as an envoy to Arabia to ask the Fables there for help and gets stuck in a version of the 1001 nights. We get to see the backstories of a lot of different Fables characters which I enjoyed.

Fables, Vol. 6: Homelands - I found this quite a slow read initially. We're mainly following Boy Blue as he journeys back to the Homelands on his own and I missed all the other characters. The ending was better.

Fables. Vol. 7, Arabian Nights (and Days) - this made me cringe a bit. The Fables from Arabia come to visit the Fables in New York but the Arabian Fables seem very stereotyped. Also nothing really happened plotwise.

>13 souloftherose: Just amazed to see you have read Charlotte Sometimes. This made a big impact on me as a kid I think because it as darker than most of the books I read at the time, but I've never come across it anywhere other than in that school library, and just assumed it was out of print. Might have to see if I can get my own copy. I also didn't realise it was any kind of series - that completely passed me by. Thank you!

Heather, what fabulous covers on the Fables series. Love those!

>20 souloftherose: Exactly! And I'm assuming you ordered The Blue Sword, not The Blue Crown, and so I'm excited to see what you think of it when you read it.

>22 charl08: Charlotte, I think it's back in print as part of Faber's Children's Classics series (which have some lovely covers). It's one of those books that I can't believe I missed as a child but am very happy to have discovered now. Definitely one that would reward rereading I think.

>23 lit_chick: Yes, I do like the Fables artwork, Nancy.

>24 ronincats: Er, yes, The Blue Sword was what I mean, not The Blue Crown (strangely World War Z is the touchstone for the latter).

Hi Heather, passing by and waving.

>26 connie53: Hi Connie!

Very behind with reviews so trying to keep them short:

Book #118: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin - 4.4 stars



A slow book to get into - Le Guin is such a detailed writer - but I loved this science fiction story about friendship, betrayal and gender on an ice planet. It's part of Le Guin's Hainish series but (4th by publication and 6th chronologically) but I think they standalone - I didn't have any problems starting here.

Book #119: Ha'Penny by Jo Walton - 3.3 stars



A sequel to Farthing, set in an alternate England in the 1940s where England made peace with Hitler and seems to be slowly becoming more fascist as a result. I found this a bit of a slog until the last third or so - I think it suffers from Walton trying to write a thriller but the book is written from two perspectives: one is Inspector Carmichael trying to solve a suspicious death and the other is Violet Larkin who is mixed up in a plot trying to blow up Hitler. Because you know about the bomb plot (although the Inspector doesn't) the book loses its tension and becomes rather plodding. Violet and her sisters are clearly based on the real life Mitford sisters but somehow never manage to be as interesting as the real life version. I'll probably still read Half a Crown, the final volume in the trilogy, but I'm not in a rush to do so.

Book #120: Love Lessons by Joan Wyndham - 2.5 stars



A Virago Modern Classic and a recommendation from Slightly Foxed so doubly disappointing. Joan Wyndham is "a latterday Pepys in camiknickers" according to the cover blurb but from reading the first volume of her diaries I'm not really a fan. The diaries cover the very beginning of WWII when Joan is hanging around with a Chelsea arty set and trying to be arty and learn to paint. She's a 17 year old Catholic wondering when she's going to lose her virginity, most of her arty friends are men in their 30s who fool around with her and debate amongst themselves which of them are going to bed her. They also use the word 'rape' about having sex with Joan a lot which doesn't seem to mean what we would mean by it nowadays but still weirded me out a lot. Joan, barely conscious of WWII for most of the book, is clearly having a whale of a time but I was so repulsed by all the men she spent time with and was attracted to (and were attracted to her) that I really didn't enjoy reading this. Towards the end of the book WWII impinges on Joan's consciousness and she joins the WRENS. I found this section more interesting and I suspect I would enjoy her next volume of diaries, Love is Blue, more. But given Joan's predeliction for shacking up with men I find abhorrent I'm going to pass.

>1 souloftherose: What a stunning image. It reminds me of Pre-Raphalite paintings.

>27 souloftherose: I read the whole Farthing trilogy earlier this year, Heather, and we are pretty much on the same page. I think the third one is worth reading but there's no doubt the first one is the clear winner, quality-wise. I love the premise, though; it's an interesting concept to explore.

>28 Whisper1: Thanks Linda. It reminds me of Pre-Raphaelite paintings too which is probably why I like it so much! I don't think the artist was a pre-Raph but possibly he was influenced by them?

>28 Whisper1: Well, I'm happy to hear the third book is worth reading. The decision Carmichael took at the end of the book (to accept the position in the Watch and try to change things from within) intrigued me.

Book #122: Penric's Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold - 3.7 stars



A novella set in Bujold's World of the Five Gods. One of the things I like best about this series is the way Bujold takes characters who are viewed as having nothing much to offer by their compatriots and makes them the hero or heroine of the story. There's a sense of kindess in these books as the protagonists overcome their difficulties. That sounds rather sentimental but Bujold manages to avoid this - these are realistically kind books and I find them very encouraging for that reason. This is not my favourite in the series but that's mainly because I wanted this one to be longer! For those who are interested it would be best to start with The Curse of Chalion or Paladin of Souls.

Book #125: Evelina, or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World by Fanny Burney - 4.2 stars



Evelina is a young lady who has previously lived a secluded life until she is launched into London society at the start of this eighteenth century novel. The novel is in epistolary format, mainly comprising the detailed letters Evelina writes to her foster father describing her experiences and the pitfalls and mishaps that befall her. As a social commentary on the customs of the time it's alternately painfully embarrassing and great fun to read. It's a silly comparison to make perhaps, but perhaps Evelina could be considered the 18th century Bridget Jones?

Because Evelina is so new to society a lot of eighteenth century customs are explained and described by her in her letters and that combined with the fact this is a comparatively short novel by 18th century standards (only 400 pages!) I think this would make quite a good introduction to 18th century novels in many ways. The one disadvantage with starting with Evelina is that by not experiencing the didactic style used by so many other 18th century novelists you may not fully appreciate how much fun Evelina is!

They both sound very good, Heather.

>30 souloftherose: Yes, that decision by Carmichael gives the third book a very interesting set-up, and for the most part I thought the author did a good job of following it through.

I read Charlotte Sometimes several years back, had no idea it was part of a trilogy. I have her Castle of Bone but still to be read. I'm also making my way through the classic children's literature that I never read... so many worthy books.

Wonderful review of Evelina, Heather. Sounds like this would be a fun one to reread ...

>32 connie53: Thanks Connie.

>33 rosalita: Glad to hear you thought the third book followed through on the setup, Julia. There are some interesting themes in that trilogy.

>34 avatiakh: I only found out Charlotte Sometimes was part of a trilogy thanks to LT! Sadly, it doesn't look like anyone's ever reprinted the first two books, the library doesn't have copies and they are quite pricey second-hand so I will probably not manage to read those. I think the library has Castle of Bone though so I'll be interested in your thoughts.

'I'm also making my way through the classic children's literature that I never read... so many worthy books.'

Oh yes!

>35 lit_chick: Thanks Nancy. Yes, I think it would be a good one to reread - certainly less daunting than attempting Clarissa again!

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

Having had a but of a tough July I may have overindulged in book acquisitions:

From Oxfam (buy one get one half price!):

Christmas at High Rising by Angela Thirkell
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh (actually worked out cheaper than reserving a copy at the library would have done)

Kindle deals:

(because Poldark!):
The Black Moon by Winston Graham
The Four Swans by Winston Graham
The Angry Tide by Winston Graham

Abebooks bumper order:

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
Good Daughters by Mary Hocking
Indifferent Heroes by Mary Hocking
Welcome Strangers by Mary Hocking
Letters from Constance by Mary Hocking
Summer Half by Angela Thirkell
The Brandons by Angela Thirkell

That's the lot so far (but it is only 5 August) - I do have my eye on the first three novels in Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora series which are all in this month's kindle deals.

Evelina's been on my must-read-list for a while now. Your review just made the book rise bit higher.

Book #126: The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt - 3.5 stars



This 1962 Dutch children's novel was a massive success for its author, Tonke Dragt, and won the Gold Pen award (Gouden Griffel) for the best Dutch youth book of the year. It was translated many times and sold well internationally, however it was only translated into English in 2013. Set in a fictional medieval world it's a tale of honour, chivalry and intrigue as a young boy must abandons the vigil that will allow him to fulfil his dream of becoming a knight in order to respond to a plea for help that sets him on the path of a strange adventure. The style ccould seem slow-moving compared to modern children's books but if you have the patience this is a sweet story about adventure, friendship and doing the right thing whatever the cost.

The same publisher (Pushkin Children's) are publishing the sequel (again, for the first time in English) this autumn as The Secrets of the Wild Wood. They have been publishing an impressive range of international children's fiction and I'm hoping my library gets more of their titles.

Book #128: Catwings Return by Ursula K. Le Guin - 4 stars
Book #128: Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin - 4 stars



More joyful adventures of the kittens with wings. In Catwings Return, two of the kittens return to the city to try to find their mother and discover a black kitten with wings like theirs. In Wonderful Alexander they meet a kitten without wings who ends up helping the black kitten. These stories make me happy and tearey at the same time.

I have The Summer Birds and Emma in Winter but haven't read them even though I love Charlotte Sometimes. There are so many 60s and 70s children's books that can't be found now, and I wish publishers would get on with reprinting them all. There's another book about Marianne from Marianne Dreams, a sequel to Come Back Lucy . Lucy Mangan mentioned quite a few in her Guardian column on beloved children's books, Life with Lisa by Sybil Burr is another one (that just came up as Treasure Island (?) )

>39 elkiedee: Completely intrigued by the other books in the Charlotte Sometimes trilogy. Although sad to hear that they are expensive second hand. Ah well...

Time and Again didn't do anything for me either, put it down-- long before LT.

Catwings was the obsessive favorite of one of my nieces for many years; she more or less lived in that 'verse.

Exciting that Bujold has something new out!

Finally - thanks for the picture of Disraeli manor. He is someone I studied and was fascinated by during college years.

>39 elkiedee: 'There are so many 60s and 70s children's books that can't be found now, and I wish publishers would get on with reprinting them all.'

Yes, I'm encouraged that there are more and more publishers reprinting books in various areas, even if sometimes only as ebooks. Hopefully they will start to reprint more children's books.

>40 charl08: Hi Charlotte. Yes, I'd like to read those too.

>41 sibylline: Hi Lucy. The Catwings stories are so sweet - I'm hoping my nephew and goddaughter may fall in love with them.

I think there's also a new Vorkosigan book coming out in Feb next year, Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen starring Cordelia with this cover. Yippee!

Rather a lot of comfort reading going on at the moment (and, as usual, many reviews behind).

Book #123: Soulless by Gail Carriger - 4.3 stars
Book #134: Changeless by Gail Carriger - 3.8 stars
Book #135: Blameless by Gail Carriger - 3.9 stars



Silly, but good fun - werewolves, vampires, parasols and dirigibles in an alternative Victorian London. Soulless, the first book in this series, remains my favourite but the others are also fun. I haven't reread these books since reading Carriger's young adult series, the Finishing School, which starts with Etiquette and Espionage and is set in the same world but about 20 years earlier. It was fun to spot characters I'd read about in the Finishing School books although quite sad to see Captain Niall had died at the beginning of Changeless.

Book #130: Athyra by Steven Brust - 4 stars
Book #140: Orca by Steven Brust - 3.7 stars



There's a bit of a change in the Vlad Taltos series at this point as unlike the first 5 books, neither of these is narrated from Vlad's point of view. In the first, Athyra, the story is told by Savn, a young Draegaran peasant boy, and not the sort of person Vlad has previously had much contact with. Orca has a story within a story structure with Kiera relating Vlad's adventures to Cawti. I really liked Athyra and thought Orca was also good although I found the plot twists too complicated (probably a sign of not enough brain).

Now I need to decide whether to continue with the main Vlad storyline with Dragon and Issola or take a diversion to The Phoenix Guards.

You need to read The Phoenix Guards trio before you read Tiassa, which is where the two storylines merge. But you can read them anytime before that. It also helps to have read the prequel trilogy before reading some of the later books because they fill in a lot of background on Morrolan and Sethra.

You may have been doing comfort reading, but you are doing it with some of my favorite series! So, have you gotten your copy of The Blue Sword yet, speaking of comfort reads?

>44 ronincats: Thanks for the tip about The Phoenix Guards trio Roni. I'd remembered you'd said they needed to be read before a certain point but couldn't remember where. I think I'll start trying to get hold of TPG and sequels as they seem a little harder to come.

The Blue Sword has arrived and been read and enjoyed :-) I think I preferred it slightly to The Hero and the Crown - both books will make good rereads at some point.

Aha! I also prefer The Blue Sword, but it's good to get the background for Aerin as well.

Congratulations on reading 140 books thus far. What a huge accomplishment.

140! You've read twice as many books as I have! You are zipping along. Catwings sounds like something I might try -- I've wanted to try LeGuin. All of your recent fantasy reads are unfamiliar to me.

>46 ronincats: Yes, Aerin's story was also good fun. I can see LT lists a number of other books under the Damar series as 'related'. What are your thoughts on those?

>47 Whisper1: & >48 BLBera: Thanks Linda and Beth! It seems I am escaping into books when I find real life hard to deal with at the moment. I suppose there are worse coping strategies.

Oh Heather, sorry to hear RL is not cooperating right now. Books are great coping mechanisms.

> 38 - The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt was one of my favourite books as a child. It initiated my love for history and probably paved the way for me to become a historian. Thanks for reminding me of that wonderful book!

>50 BLBera: Thanks Beth. Books are helping a lot :-)

>51 Trifolia: How lovely to hear what an influence The Letter for the King had on you as a child. I was quite sad to see it had never been translated into English before and I'm really pleased it has been now.

Book #131: A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh - 3.8 stars



A Man Lay Dead is the first book in Ngaio Marsh's series starring Roderick Alleyn, her gentleman detective who also happens to be a member of the Metropolitan Police force. This is a country-house murder mystery which uses that wonderful stereotype of someone dying during a game of murder but also doesn't stint on mysterious foreign artifacts and secret societies. I enjoyed the fact the Marsh seemed quite self-aware of all these stereotypes and there were several lines that made me giggle to myself. Probably more enjoyable than brilliant (and the solution seemed rather unlikely) but this is a series I will be happy to continue with.

"What with daggers, deaths and eavesdroppings," he pondered, "there's an undercurrent of sensation in this house-party"

Book #133: Parker Pyne Investigates by Agatha Christie - 3.5 stars



A collection of short stories featuring Mr Parker Pyne, a retired government statistician, who promises he can make his clients happy. Only about half of the stories are really detective stories (or involve any crimes) but I enjoyed these nonetheless.

>49 souloftherose: "Related" doesn't mean they are Damar books. Yes, Spindle's End could have taken place somewhere on that world, but with no connection to the geography or characters of the two Damar books. I haven't read the short stories printed in mixed collections, although I have both of McKinley's books of short stories. Fans have been begging her to write more for years, but she says the muse hasn't revisited her for any more stories there.

Oh dear! I can't believe I haven't visited you in all that time. Time does fly, doesn't it? Sorry life is being difficult, but glad you've finding solace in your books. I can understand your disappointment about Love Lessons, especially as it was a SF recommendation. Congrats on all those Mary Hocking purchases. Lucy brought her to my attention with her positive feedback on the Good Daughters trilogy and then you had also recommended one of her books, but I have yet to discover her for myself.

I probably didn't read enough 18th fiction yet to get a sense of how didactic it was, but definitely enjoyed Evelina quite a lot and was surprised with how "free" it was, I guess thinking at first that it would be quite didactic. I'm only sorry I didn't participate in the group thread more, but did appreciate your comments there.

I've still to see any of the Catwings books... I asked for them at the library ever since you first mentioned them here and been waiting ever since—they're probably quite popular!

Also impressed with your 140 thus far this year, Congratulations! I've managed 120 and I do believe I'd read/listened to a lot more at this time last year, but having Pierre in my life means less listening daytime hours. A sacrifice I think is worth making all the same! :-)

Wishing you well my dear friend.

Hi Heather - I loved the Marsh series when I read it. Your comments make me want to revisit; I'm sure I still own some of the books.

>53 ronincats: Thanks for clearing that up for me Roni. I will continue to explore McKinley's other books - at the moment I have Shadows on loan from the library.

>54 Smiler69: Thanks Ilana. For some reason I haven't felt quite like diving into any of my Mary Hocking purchases yet - perhaps they need a little more concentration than I have right now. Really glad you also enjoyed Evelina - I'm looking forward to Cecilia. I hope the Catwings books become available for you soon - I'm sure including more graphic novels and short books like Catwings this year have boosted my reading total considerably!

>55 BLBera: Glad to hear you are a fan of the Marsh books Beth, I'd like to read more of them.

Book #137: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman - 3.7 stars



A strong young adult offering with dragons! and themes of identity and discrimination. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding, in particular the idea that dragons would have to be good mathematicians and physicists in order to be able to fly, and found the amount of romance just right for me. There's a sequel, Shadowscale, which I've heard some people found a bit disappointing but I will probably read anyway.

The UK cover of my edition (above) seems very disappointing compared to some of the other covers for this book:



Book #139: The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge - 3.7 stars



"A lie was like a fire, Faith was discovering. At first it needed to be nursed and fed, but carefully and gently. A slight breath would fan the new-born flames, but too vigorous a huff would blow it out. Some lies took hold and spread, crackling with excitement, and no longer needed to be fed. But then these were no longer your lies. They had a life and shape of their own and there was no controlling them."

Frances Hardinge's latest young adult novel is a story about lies, scientific discovery, restrictions on women in the 19th century and a young girl trying to make sense of all these things amidst the mysterious death of her father. These are all themes that appeal to me but I seem to be in the minority in liking rather than loving this book, perhaps because I loved her earlier novel, Cuckoo Song, so much.

Book #142: Victorian London: The Life of a City 1840-1870 by Liza Picard - 4 stars



I do enjoy Liza Picard's books about historical daily life in London - they're always entertaining, full of fascinating details drawn from contemporary factual accounts wherever possible along with a good dose of slightly snarky humour. Each book covers a different time period - this one the Victorian era between 1840 - 1870. I've read a number of social histories on Victorian life written by Judith Flanders - Flanders books are more detailed and each focuses more closely on particular areas and she looks more at middle class life; Picard's book is a good overview, covering a wide variety of subjects and includes some areas that haven't been covered in the books I've read by Flanders. I'd probably suggest reading Picard first and then reading Flanders but it doesn't really matter. Of particular interest to me in Victorian London were the chapters on The Great Exhibition of 1851 and religion - both topics I would like to read more on and I particularly liked the fact that Picard covered non-conformist Christianity and Judaism at the time .

Having said that I'm struggling to find any modern books about religion in Victorian times (Picard's references are all to contemporary accounts and I'm sure these would be very educational but I feel like a modern version would be more readable) - does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations? Liz?

Book #145: The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss - 4.2 stars



I've been a fan of Alexandre Dumas' books since I was a teenager and loved and reread them many times. Given this, it's quite embarrassing to admit that I only recently realised that Alexandre Dumas, who I'd always assumed was one of those dead, white, male 19th century authors was in fact, mixed race. His father, confusingly also called Alexandre Dumas is the focus of this Pulitzer winning biography (I will follow Tom Reiss and refer to him as Alex Dumas to reduce confusion and don't even get me started on the fact that the author, Alexandre Dumas also had a son called Alexandre Dumas). Alex Dumas was the son of Alexandre-Antoine Davy de la Pailleterie and a slave, Louise-Céssette Dumas, and was born on the Caribbean island colony of Saint Domingue (now called Haiti). When Alex was a young boy de la Pailleterie returned to France bringing Alex with him and thanks to the spirit of egalite at the beginning of the French Revolution, Alex Dumas was able to be accepted into French life and became one of the Revolution's leading generals. Until, that is, he ran up against Napoleon who, as depicted here, was only concerned with personal glory and reversed many of the laws that had protected black people in France and tried to reverse the repeal of slavery in France's colonies.

This was an absolutely fascinating read covering so many topics (slavery, sugar plantations, the hisroty of Haiti, racial equality laws in France and the acceptance of previously persecuted people at the beginning of the French Revolution as well as the French Revolution itself) and as a lover of Dumas' novels it was really interesting to read about how Alexandre Dumas' father's life inspired so much in his novels. Clearly Alexandre Dumas worshipped his father and it seems from this biography that the General was genuinely a hero: loved by his soldiers and his family and even admired by those he fought against. Sadly, Napoleon's rise to power meant the downfall of the General and sadly following the General's death his family were left with very little and the General seems to have been forgotten by history.

Some paintings that probably depict General Alex Dumas:



Probably General Dumas single-handedly fighting off the Austrian army, at the bridge of Clausen in Tyrol, on 17 January 1797. I can't find details of the artist. Alex Dumas was far taller than the average man at the time.



Probably General Dumas in Portrait of a Hunter in a Landscape, attributed to Louis Gauffier (1762-1801)

Happy Weekend, Heather.

>58 souloftherose:

Yikes, girl - not really my area of expertise! :)

As you would be aware I'm more interested in the religious novel, and from that perspective I can recommend The Novel And the Oxford Movement, which I reviewed for my blog. That gives a pretty good overview of the factions and looks at how they used the novel as propaganda. The author is Catholic so does have a particular slant (or rather, certain omissions; not much on the anti-Catholic novel) but quite a good place to start.

There are lots of non-fiction works on the Oxford Movement, but I'm not familiar with any in particular. From the other perspective there's a trilogy of books under the LT series listing "A History Of Evangelicalism" tracing the rise of evangelicalism (which had its peak prior to Victorian times, since that is what the Oxford Movement was pushing back against).

I'm not sure where to point you with respect to Catholicism and Judaism.

However, if you're not familiar with it, you might want to check out The Little Professor - Miriam Burstein is an American academic and Victorianist whose area of expertise is religion in the 19th century novel; she has a book coming out on the subject and lots of postings on her blog discussing aspects of religion in Victorian life and reviews of really bad religious novels (she's a woman after my own heart!). Her links might point you in the right direction.

Hi Heather, finished The Light Years today and thorough enjoyed. I took the Cazalet bullet here on your thread so wanted to stop in and say thank you : ).

Heavens! I would have sworn that I had visited and commented at least a couple of times on your thread this month. Hope RL is giving you a good break now and that you're still enjoying all your reading!

Hi Heather, some great reading going on here. Your thoughts about the first Ngaio Marsh mystery are very close to mine and I will also be continuing on with the series. I also enjoy the comfort and silliness of the Parasol Protectorate Series!

>57 souloftherose: I've been meaning to read Seraphina (which J has on his kindle) for ages. Mr SandDune and myself have shared our household kindle accounts and I thought I could do the same with J's, but apparently you can only share with one other adult per household. You can set up several children's kindles under the auspices of an adult account, but with the adult controlling everything, and he is not going to go for that! So I might just have to bite the bullet and get my own copy.

I've read several of Liza Pickard's books before and Victorian London sounds a other good one

Hi Heather! Um... Happy new thread? Sorry; I'm not spending much time on LT, and most of that is on the cataloging side, while I'm organising (and covering) all my cookbooks. Congratulations on more-than-75!

>13 souloftherose: What a gorgeous cover for The Hero and the Crown. I LOVE the UK fantasy covers (Orbit, Corgi) from the 1980s & 90s. They really do seem to evoke Fantastic worlds. Wish I had that one.

The premise of Charlotte Sometimes sounds like something I've read, but I don't remember that title.

>58 souloftherose: I loved this book. Great historical detective work. I felt I learned so much about the loss of French Republican ideals, French colonialism, Napoleon's crazy competitiveness as well as the backstory to the Count of Monte Cristo. The new BBC series of the Musketeers has effectively incorporated this Dumas family history into one of the musketeers' biography, and it's a much richer story as a result I think.

However, the bit of the book I most enjoyed was when he blew up the safe containing the lost papers. This did not feature in my archival research experience!

Hi, Heather. Not sure where your reading is for the month, but I have listed both Three Act Tragedy and Bath Tangle for TIOLI, #10 and #12 respectively, if you are able to join me? (I have the right edition for the latter so you could have a matched read if you don't.)

>59 Ameise1: Beautiful! Thank you Barbara.

>60 lyzard: Thank you Liz. Recommendations for books and blog duely noted - the book you reviewed on your blog sounds like it would be a good starting point. Having done some digging the History of Evangelicalism is a 4 book series published by an Evangelical publisher and I'm not sure I can take that much evangelicalism at the moment. But looking at other books written by those authors and recommendations from those on LT has given me a good selection of titles to try and track down. I also had the happy thought that some of the books already on 'the list' about Victorian ideas and culture generally may already cover religion in some way and mention other books so I have bumped those nearer the top as well.

>61 lit_chick: So pleased you liked it Nancy. I will head over to your thread to find your review.

>62 LizzieD: Lovely to see you Peggy. I'm behind on the threads as well.

>63 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy!

>64 SandDune: Oh what a pain about the kindle accounts! Would he let you read it on his kindle?

>65 humouress: Hi Nina. I also like the cover of my edition of The Hero and the Crown and agree it does evoke a fantastic world. I ordered The Blue Sword second-hand online and I was hoping this would have the matching cover but instead it had the cover below which I'm not really a fan of.



>66 charl08: Charlotte, I also loved the blowing up the safe part of the book! And I hadn't realised how single-minded and treacherous Napoleon was - I guess it shouldn't really be surprising that someone who tried to conquer most of Europe was not really a nice person to know. I haven't seen the new BBC series of The Three Musketeers or realised it incorporates some of the Dumas family history so thanks for letting me know that. I will have to try to catch it on repeat some time.

>67 lyzard: 'Not sure where your reading is for the month'

Heh - half the time I'm not sure myself! I still have Bath Tangle and Three Act Tragedy lined up for this month and think I should be able to fit them in. Thanks for letting me know where you've listed them.

Whew! Just caught up on your thread, Heather.

I loved your review of Evelina and The Black Count and now that things are calming down a little (I hope I haven't jinxed things by saying this) I will add these to my OWL in the expectation that I might get copies of them within the year to read.

>68 souloftherose: That's the cover I have, too :0(

Happy Sunday, Heather.

>69 cameling: Thanks Caro.

>70 humouress: :-)

>71 Ameise1: Thank you Barbara - what a beautiful flower. Googling the image it looks like that's a carrion flower so perhaps it wouldn't smell as nice as it looks! I'm happy to just have the picture :-)

Going to try to takie advantage of my extra-long long weekend by trying to catch up with some reviews (16 books read and not reviewed *sob*)

Book #127: Carpe Diem by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller - 3.5 stars
Book #148: Plan B by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller - 4 stars
Book #152: I Dare by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller - 3.8 stars



More feel-good space adventures from Lee and Miller. These three books bring the storyarc which started in Agent of Change and Conflict of Honors to a close (although living things very much open for new storyarcs to kick off). Sometimes the plot is a little too pat for my liking (everyone ends up lifemated by the end of this storyarc, no-one is ever in peril for more than 2 very short chapters) but the affection the authors have for their characters and the world make these books enjoyable despite that and it's relatively rare to read books where kindness is such a predominant feature. So, very much entertaining, feel-good reads. I will be continuing my Liaden adventures.

Book #132: The Toll-Gate by Georgette Heyer - 3.9 stars



The more Heyers I read, the more difficult I find it to say what I enjoy about each book. This one has a tall hero and a tall heroine, a bit of a mystery and more of a focus on rural life outside of the upper classes than her other books. I liked it.

Book #136: The Blatchington Tangle by G. D. H. Cole and Margaret Cole - 3.5 stars

(not my cover)



This was an entertaining country house murder mystery, first published in 1926 and written by a husband and wife team. I think I may have read this too close to Ngaio Marsh's A Man Lay Dead which is another country house murder mystery as I'm struggling a little to remember which book was which. This is a gently comic mystery and again, the authors seem well aware of the conventions of a country house murder mystery and poke some gentle fun at them. There's murder, jewellery theft and international spies to enjoy. This is part of a series featuring Superintendent Wilson but can be read as a standalone.

>72 souloftherose: Heather, it's a succulent but don't ask me the precise name of it.

G'day, Heather! Nice work on getting a third of your reviews out of the way.

Yes, Miller and Lee have a penchant for getting everyone paired off, but they have so much interesting action along the way. With long series in space opera, there is a distinct tendency for the stories to get both more complex and much broader and much more political as they go along--this happened in David Weber's Honor Harrington series and Elizabeth Moon's Heris Serrano series and as a result, the books became much more work and less enjoyment as the series went along. Miller and Lee's books are getting more complex, with many more threads twisted into the warp as they weave, but they keep them very personal and anchored through the relationships of the characters.

Hi Heather - The Cole book sounds interesting - I tend to like the gentler mysteries from the 1920s and 1930s.

>75 Ameise1: Ok, I won't :-)

>76 ronincats: Glad to hear the Miller and Lee books continue to keep the story personal. Even though I have some objective criticisms of the plots I still enjoy the books a lot and am looking forward to finding out what happens to everyone next. Having said that, I think the next ones I'm planning to read are prequels to the storyline I've just read (Local Custom and Scout's Progress) so I should instead say I'm looking forward to learning more of the backstory.

>77 BLBera: Beth, sadly the Coles' books seem very hard to find and expensive when they are available. I was reading this one before passing it on to @lyzard. As much as I enjoyed this one I don't think I liked it enough to go to the effort and expense of tracking the others down although I might change my mind if they get reprinted.

There is something very comforting about mysteries from the 1920s and 1930s. I've been reading quite a few lately.

>74 souloftherose:, >77 BLBera:

They're hard to find, all right... {*mutter, mutter, gripe, gripe*}

The Coles were both political activists in their different spheres of action and their novels tend to have a level of social commentary in addition to what's generally an effective mystery, which I'm finding very interesting and which is prompting me to try and not skip books in their series...even if I sometimes have to resort to bugging people in other countries in order to get hold of them. :)

Heather, I'm glad you did find this worked as a standalone because after I said that I realised that the end of the previous novel set up some possible complications.

The thread for the group read of Phineas Redux is up - here.

See you there soon! :)

Glad you get to enjoy an extra long week-end Heather.

>79 lyzard: I think the social commentary may have gone over my head but although I was aware there was some back story to Inspector Wilson from the earlier books I think it worked well on its own.

>80 lyzard: I'm there!

>81 Smiler69: It was nice to have a longer break - although for some reason a shorter working week seems to last longer afterwards. Why does it feel like that?

Book #138: The Shuttle by Frances Hodgson Burnett - 3.7 stars



(Not my cover)

This is one of Frances Hodgson Burnett's adult novels, first published in 1907. It has been reprinted by the lovely Persephone books but they have, apparently, abridged it (*gasp*). Luckily it's also available as a free ebook (which is what I read) and as far as I know the ebook is unabridged.

This is a story about two sisters who are American heiresses. The elder of whom marries an English aristocrat and moves back to England with him but discovers that life in England and the expectations of her new role are very different to what she was expecting. Thanks to some dastardly moves by her new husband and his mother she loses touch with her family in America. Meanwhile the younger sister grows up and once she's of age she travels to England in the company of some American friends to find out what happened to her older sister.

This is a story about relationships between the US and England at the end of the 19th century. Burnett tries to frame this story within sections where she talks about the ships travelling back and forth between the two countries and the weaving of fate (the eponymous shuttle). These sections didn't really work for me and the fact that the book opens with one of these sections put me off starting it for quite a while. Once you get past this the story itself is pretty good, especially when the younger sister, Betty, gets involved because she's just awesome and I was rooting for her all the way.

I'm not really sure why Persephone did decide to abridge this novel - it's long but apart from the bits about the shuttle the story didn't drag and I would say all the bits of the story needed to be there for the book to make sense.

Book #143: Thus Was Adonis Murdered by Sarah Caudwell - 4.1 stars



An epistolary crime novel which I found absolutely delightful - somehow that makes it much harder to review. If I say it's about a group of tax lawyers from Lincoln's Inn, one of whom travels to Venice on an art-lover's holiday, tries to seduce an Inland Revenue officer and then is arrested for his murder after her copy of the Finance Act is found next to his body does that make it sound very dull? For me, the style and humour were spot on. Also interesting to note that it's never made clear whether the narrator, Hilary Tamar, is male or female - although I'm not sure that's the sort of thing I'd have noticed unless I hadn't been made aware of it before reading. It's a short series but happily there are another three books to enjoy.

I read the Persephone edition of The Shuttle and didn't realize it was abridged. Like you, I really got into it once Betty came on the scene. Great review.

>83 lauralkeet: Thanks Laura. I wonder how much Persephone removed and why?

A couple of books from August by a new to me author, Barbara Comyns:

Book #140: Our Spoons Came From Woolworths by Barbara Comyns - 4.4 stars



Delightfully weird and wonderful, this was Comyns' second novel, published in 1950 and to some extent an autobiographical tale of her first marriage and struggle to survive the poverty of an artist's life in the 1930s. Despite all the hardships I didn't find this a depressing read (although there were points that were very sad), Comyns' writing tyle somehow manages to remain quite light and engaging throughout and I finished this in a day. Looking at the reviews on the book page, opinion seems to be divided between those who found the narrator, Sophie, engaging or incredibly annoying - I'm very much in the first camp but I can understand this being a love or hate it book.

Book #144: Sisters by a River by Barbara Comyns - 3.8 stars



Having enjoyed Our Spoons Came From Woolworths so much I picked up Comyns' first novel, Sisters by a River, which was first published in 1947 after being rejected by several publishers as 'The Novel Nobody Will Publish'. Again, this seems to some extent to be an autobiographical novel, written by one of six sisters, only five of whom are ever mentioned in the book (I've spent ages trying to puzzle out the significance of this - not a clue). The style is that of a child writing from the spelling errors and perspective but it's also clear that this is written after the child has grown up. It has that sense of a child's world where almost everything the grown ups do is incomprehensible and yet accepted very matter of factly so although there's a lot of violence and dysfunctionalism in the family that would frighten an adult the children in the book aren't particularly upset by any of this - only the reader's adult perception knows that they should be frightened. It's gothic, grotesque, funny, joyful, weird and surreal all at the same time. Both disturbing and enjoyable to read.

I'm happy to say that I also have Comyns' The Vet's Daughter and A Touch of Mistletoe to read.

Checking in and delighted to find another *Spoons* fan! I have the last couple of Comynses that you mention too, and unread too.
Count me also a fan of Caudwell. It didn't occur to me that Hilary wasn't a woman until I had read a couple.

Nice comments on the Comyns' books. I will check them out.

Just quickly, for I must run: I'm so glad you loved the Sarah Caudwell book. I wishlisted it after seeing it in Slightly Foxed (where I gather you found it as well!). The last three books are available at the library and I dithered to get the first one, but now you've convinced me I MUST get it, and just found a good inexpensive copy second hand. Will be back to look at your other writeups. xx

Ouch, I rec'd. many book bullets while scrolling through your large list of reads. I certainly understand the concept of friends as books when real life is difficult. I spent the great part of my dysfunctional childhood in a library. The librarian was incredibly loving and kind, and directed me to the Doctor Dolittle books, which started my journey to a life time of reading.

I hope real life brings some sunshine and smiles.

You deserve the best.

>85 LizzieD: Thanks for stopping by Peggy. I happened across another Comyns in town earlier this week so now I have Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead to the TBR pile too.

>86 BLBera: I hope you like them Beth. Comyns certainly has a unique style.

>87 Smiler69: Actually, I don't think it was a recommendation from Slightly Foxed but if they have recommended them I will look out for that edition of the SF quarterly. Glad you found an inexpensive copy and hope you find it as diverting as I did!

>88 Whisper1: Ouch, sorry for the book bullets Linda and thank you for your kind words.

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Book #146: The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley - 4.2 stars



Another of Robin McKinley's books as recommended by Roni. I think this was the first book she wrote set in Damar and although chronologically this comes after The Hero and The Crown and both books do stand alone well, I think they would probably work best if you read The Blue Sword first. Having said that, I read them the other way round and enjoyed them both very much so it's not going to make a huge difference.

This is very similar in feel to The Hero and the Crown - a young teenage girl who doesn't really fit in is taken out of her surroundings, discovers her unique skills and gifts and fights to overcome a big bad. In this book I think the big bad was some kind of demon thing which is presumably what the not very attractive cover above is trying to depict? The one thing I'm not convinced by in McKinley's books are the romantic relationships which I feel a bit uneasy about for reasons that aren't clear to me. There's not much romance in this one but it does seem to come out of nowhere at the end of the book. That niggle aside I really enjoyed this.

Book #147: Murder Underground by Mavis Doriel Hay - 3.7 stars



Part of the British Library's Crime Classics series where they bring back into print an overlooked crime novel - they started with some 19th century works that were important to the development of the crime/detective novel but I think the series has really taken off from a commercial point of view now that they're focusing on the 1920s and 1930s, helped no doubt by the rather gorgeous cover designs. This book, first published in 1934, was the first novel by Mavis Doriel Hay, although she only went on to write another two before she stopped writing entirely shortly before WWII.

Unlike what most people think of when you say 'Golden Age murder mystery' this is set in a boarding house in Hampstead, London rather than an upper class country house and the murder victim is an occupant of the boarding house who is found dead on the stairway of the nearest Underground station one morning. What I found interesting was that the first two thirds of the book don't really focus on the investigation into the murder, rather we see things from the perspectives of the suspects (without knowing 'who dunnit') - their fears, gossip, attempts to stop the police finding out things they don't want found out which bear no relation to the murder and attempts by some of them to solve the murder themselves. This turns into a gentle farce by the end of the book (a blogger described this as 'like Jeeves - but with a murder') as people try to prevent their secrets coming out into the open with frantic attempts to hide clues. It's quite slow to start and the puzzle aspect is perhaps not Hay's strongest point but I enjoyed the characters and the insights into boarding house life.

Heather, it's such a nice coincidence to see you favourably reviewing Our Spoons Came From Woolworths. That book came to my attention very recently and I found out it's being published by the New York Review of Books in November, and as I love their coloured spines and cover design so much, I will wait for them to publish it and then jump on it.

I mentioned the Slightly Foxed recommendation for Thus Was Adonis Murdered because I've been reading their back-issues bit by bit, as I now own all but two of their quarterlies; the entire Hilary Tamar series was the subject of a very enticing review in Slightly Foxed: No. 23: Social Climbing. Sometimes I feel I waste my time with my intensive tagging system, when for example I list the entire bibliography of each SF issue, but then that comes in really handy when I'm trying to find where I've heard of a book first. Also, whenever anything lands in my wishlist, I try to make an effort to list where the recommendations came from in chronological order, so you are now the second recommender for that book after SF... Pretty solid recommendations if you ask me, which is why I pounced on the chance to obtain an affordable copy. :-)

Hope you're enjoyed your weekend and had some relaxing time.

Lovely to hear that NYRB are reprinting Our Spoons - I'm embarrassed to admit to owning 3 different VMC copies (they have different introductions) as well as two copies of two of Comyns' other novels.

Hooray for more Comyn's fans.

And working backwards, I had, somehow become aware of Dumas' heritage and so am delighted there is a good biography to read!

>90 Smiler69: Good to hear Our Spoons Came From Woolworths is also being reprinted by NYRB. I hope you enjoy it. I still get Our Spoons Came From Woolworths confused with The Brontes Went to Woolworths which I haven't read but I think you were not overwhelmed by the latter recently?

'Sometimes I feel I waste my time with my intensive tagging system, when for example I list the entire bibliography of each SF issue, but then that comes in really handy when I'm trying to find where I've heard of a book first.'

I don't think so - although given I noticed that was the way you tagged your SF issues and then adopted the same approach that could just mean we're equally obssessive! I also have a list of SF back issues which sound particularly interesting (often based on the comments you make on your thread) and have added Issue 23 to the list :-)

I did get a few of some very old SF back issues from ebay and have been slowly working my way through Slightly Foxed 3: Sharks, Otters and Fast Cars. I don't think I like the style of this older edition as much as the more recent ones. After I've finished I will pick up the latest issue which arrived recently and has a gorgeous cover.

>91 elkiedee: Luci, so far I've been strong and mostly avoided doing that with Viragoes where different editions have different introductions.

>92 sibylline: Glad to hear you're also a Comyns fan Lucy. And yes, I did think The Black Count was a great biography so I do recommend it if the subject matter interests you.

ETA: Lucy, I should have remembered you were a Comyns fan because I can see I have The Skin Chairs on my wishlist tagged as recommended by you.

So, yesterday I had a very nice mini LT meet-up with Darryl (@kidzdoc) and Bianca (@drachenbraut) who are both in London at the moment. We met up for some food at a nice vegetarian Indian restaurant and talked about books, life, the universe and everything for a few hours. (Ignore whatever Darryl says about me and Bianca on facebook - we're both lovely.)

Today is my day off and as I was feeling tired and it's been raining a lot I've been happily absorbed in Naomi Novik's Uprooted which is really good.

Yay for meet-ups!! I'll vouch for your loveliness. : ) So many good books here on your thread -- I am also reading the Fables series and am only one behind you.

Hi Heather - Hooray for meet-ups. I love the cover of the Novik book - I'll watch for your comments.

Happy weekend, Heather.

>95 Berly: Thanks Kim :-) I have paused on my Fables read as the library only has one volume of the next book in the series and someone has had it checked out of the library for ages - grrr. So far I have been too cheap to spend the reservation fee on it to make them return it (plus I still have far too many library books on loan).

>96 BLBera: Thanks Beth. It is a gorgeous cover and I loved the book. Comments hopefully soonish as I'm still quite behind.

>97 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara - what lovely colours.

Looking forward to your comments on Uprooted Heather. The copies they have at the library features an ugly cover, and I'm tempted to purchase the one you've shown just because I like the cover illustration so much. I've had His Majesty's Dragon on the listening stacks for quite some time, so perhaps should familiarise myself with her writing with that book first?

Hope you're having a lovely and restful weekend my dear. xx

>99 Smiler69: It's been ages since I read Novik's Temeraire series so I can't recall how the writing compares but I do remember loving His Majesty's Dragon. Uprooted was very easy to get into and it is a standalone work in a completely different fantasy world so I definitely don't think you need to read His Majesty's Dragon first.

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

Book #149: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde - 3.9 stars
Book #151: One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde - 3.5 stars



The first four books in Fforde's Thursday Next series (The Eyre Affair through to Something Rotten) count amongst my favourite books. The subsequent books in the series are just good entertainment - it says something about how much I love the earlier books that I still feel disappointed with the later ones despite still finding them enjoyable. Don't start with the later books, aside from the difference in quality they just won't make that much sense without having read the earlier books.

As the title indicates, First Among Sequels starts a new series arc for our heroine, Thursday Next. Fourteen years have passed since the events of Something Rotten and things have changed in both the bookworld and the real world. Thursday is older (I liked this - older heroines are rare) but still rushing around trying to deal with Jurisfiction, Spec Ops, her kids, cheese smuggling and now carpet fitting too. The humour seems a bit more subdued but the political satire is still bang on.

One of Our Thursdays is Missing is a bigger change in style compared to the earlier books - this one is entirely set in the book world which has also undergone significant change and is narrated entirely by the fiction Thursday (or is it)?

Just one more book to reread in this series before I'm left waiting for the next Thursday Next novel to be published.

Book #150: The Yellow Dog by Georges Simenon - 3 stars



Don't know why but I found this Maigret novel a bit too strange to really enjoy. The atmosphere I expect from a Simenon novel was there but I have no idea what Maigret was doing or how he figured out what was going on.

I also loved Uprooted and have devoured the first in the Temeraire series and will read the rest of the series early next year. I'm fairly sure I read that last Thursday Next novel, I do love the whole idea of a BookWorld.

Oh, I haven't read Thursday next in forever! Might be time for a reread. And I totally agree with your assessment--the first ones are the best, but they are all very enjoyable. Glad to hear another one is slated for release. Right?!

Also a big Thursday Next fan!

Never got past the first 3 Temeraire books--loved the first, then not so much--but really love Uprooted.

>93 souloftherose: "Good to hear Our Spoons Came From Woolworths is also being reprinted by NYRB. I hope you enjoy it. I still get Our Spoons Came From Woolworths confused with The Brontes Went to Woolworths which I haven't read but I think you were not overwhelmed by the latter recently?"
ACK! I just did that. It's *Brontes* that I read an loved and chose for Ilana to read. She didn't like it, but I was a great fan! I didn't read your review carefully enough - just keyed in on "gothic, grotesque, funny, joyful, weird and surreal all at the same time" and thought I was reading about *Brontes*.
Glad I got that cleared up, and now I'll really need to go on to some Comyns.

I didn't love the Ferguson book quite as much as Comyns, but that would be hard, it was still quite enjoyable.

>104 LizzieD: Yes, two titles that are easy enough to confuse. Just for the record Peggy, I did not NOT like The Brontes Went to Woolworths, I just mostly didn't get it, which isn't exactly the same thing, and I do plan to revisit it eventually. ;-)

>101 avatiakh: & >103 ronincats: I think I read the first 4 books in the Temeraire series a few years ago and then felt I'd had enough of that series. I think the ninth and final book is going to be released next year so I may try rereading the earlier books at some point and then deciding if I want to continue. I think I preferred Uprooted though.

>102 Berly: Kim, although I don't think The Woman Who Died a Lot is the end of the Thursday Next series, I haven't seen any news about when further books in the series are going to be published. Fforde has a standalone novel called 'Early Rise' out in January 2016 though which I am quite excited about!

>104 LizzieD: Ha! Well at least it's not just me that gets the Woolworths books confused :-) Based on 'gothic, grotesque, funny, joyful, weird and surreal all at the same time" it sounds like I should try the Bronte Woolworths too! I note the author, Rachel Ferguson, also wrote Alas, Poor Lady which Persephone have reprinted. >105 elkiedee: & >106 Smiler69: are also encouraging me to try Rachel Ferguson at sopme point.

Hi, Heather - it's my monthly "Not sure where your reading is for the month, but---" check-in! :)

Not sure where your reading is for the month, but---I have listed Sprig Muslin for #15; I have a blurbed cover, so you don't need to. And I see you've already listed Death In The Clouds, so, whoo!

I'm actually spending this month clearing the decks of all my other sorts of books and doing very little series reading. Which makes perfect sense for 'September Sequels & Series', right? (Next month, however, will be another matter...)

This just turned up in my "Recent Member-Uploaded Covers For Your Books" section---you probably got it too, but I thought I'd post it just in case not. :)

>108 lyzard: Thanks for letting me know, Liz. I'm not sure if I'll get to either of those before the end of the month but will bear them in mind - I seem to be reading quite randomly at the moment.

>109 lyzard: Pretty! But I always think of Persuasion in autumnal tones.

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

Some comments on some Golden Age detective reading:

Book #153: Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie - 3.9 stars



Another enjoyable Hercule Poirot mystery - I guessed (or could remember) who had done it but not why they had done it.

Book #156: The Adventures of Margery Allingham by Julia Jones - 4 stars



A well-researched biography of Margery Allingham. I was left feeling Allingham had had quite a difficult life in many ways - although a successful author she had some complex health problems which were never really properly diagnosed or dealth (an underactive thyroid and probably bipolar disorder) and a husband who, whilst he seems to have cared for her, also had several affairs (which Allingham was probably aware of). On top of this Allingham struggled with being the main wage earner in a time when that was considered the husband's role. I enjoyed finding out about one of the less well known 'Queens of Crime' from the Golden Age and appreciated the insight Julia Jones gave into the themes of Allingham's novels. Most of the time Jones managed to discuss the novels without giving away spoilers so I think this could be read even if you haven't read all of Allingham's books. It's also made me more keen to read her non-crime writing such as The Oaken Heart which was written during WWII to give her American readers an idea of what life was like in a small English village during the war.

ETA: I was rather alarmed to read that Allingham significantly revised one of her more controversial novels, The Fashion in Shrouds, in the 1960s but the information in Jones' biography was sufficient for me to be able to check my 1996 Penguin edition contained the original text.

Hi Heather, I've been an LT slacker for most of the summer. It is fun catching up, though.

>42 souloftherose: it appears that I need to catch up with The Vorkosigan Saga as well as friend's threads. I do enjoy the books although they are way out of my usual reading arena. It's good to "discover" a new and prolific author.

You also introduced me to another new-to-me author that I will check out. In fact, I just put in an order from another library system for Our Spoons Came From Woolworth's. What a great title! I'll be sure to let you know how the book worked out for me.

Getting caught up here, which is difficult with BBs flying all over the place! I'm reading The Black Count now and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

>110 souloftherose: Hi Donna. I know the feeling of being a LT slacker. I hope you enjoy Our Spoons Came From Woolworths!

Book #162: The Golden Age of Murder: The Mystery of the Writers Who Invented the Modern Detective Story by Martin Edwards - 3.8 stars



Martin Edwards is a crime writer and blogger who also advises the British Library on their lovely Crime Classics series. He'a also recently published this non-fiction book which is a mix of history, biography and literary criticism about the beginnings of the Detection Club; a group of select crime writers (by invitation only) who met regularly for dinners and social events from the 1930s. Members like Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers are still very well-known today but there were a lot of other crime novelists from this period who were members of the club and who are less well known. One of the joys of this book was learning more about writers who I wasn't as familiar with. There seems to be a resurgence of interest in Golden Age crime novels at the moment - the British Library are far from being the only publisher to start bringing forgotten crime novels from this period back into print - and Edwards' book seems to give some very timely background to a lot of the authors who have slipped into more obscurity.

As well as information about the members of the Detection Club, Edwards also looks at the club's initiation ritual (involving a skull called Eric, robes, candles, murder weapons and some ominous oaths... No pigs), themes in their novels and the books published by the Detection Club itself. Edwards main premise is that the Detective Club authors weren't as middle of the road and conservative as we tend to think and I think he argues this successfully. It was always interesting reading but I did find the structure of the book as a whole felt a bit confusing at times - perhaps this was just a consequence of trying to pack so much information into the book. Regardless, I think this is a book I will buy when it is released as a paperback as it will make a great reference for future reading.

>112 cbl_tn: Hi Carrie. Sorry about the BBs - for some reason I thought you had given me the BB for The Black Count but that can't be right if you haven't read it yet. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

Book #164: The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne - 3.8 stars

One of my impressions from reading The Golden Age of Murder was that a lot of authors from the early 20th century seemed to try their hand at a detective novel (perhaps like a lot of 19th century novelists seemed to try writing a historical novel ). A. A. Milne was one of those authors and The Red House Mystery, published in 1922, is a locked-room, country house murder mystery. Unlike what I think of as the 'traditional' country house murder style (although most of the ones I've read were published after Milne's novel) most of the guests at the country house are immediately ruled out as suspects due to having been out playing golf together at the time the murder was committed and are all sent home. This means it's more of a howdunnit than a whodunnit but with a playful amateur sleuth very consciously apeing Sherlock Holmes this was good fun.

I bought The Golden Age of Murder for £2,19 the other day on Kindle, just looked it up and it's now £1.49 - I need to try to return and buy it again.

>113 souloftherose:

I'm not sure how readily available it is, Heather, but the other book you may want to look into is Curtis Evans' Masters Of The 'Hum-Drum' Mystery, in which he argues back against Julian Symons' dismissal of certain British Golden Age mystery writers as "mere constructors of puzzles": Symons condemnation of a whole raft of writers was very influential and damaging, and probably accounts for many of them not having their books reissued. Evans tries to show that (i) "mere puzzles" are NOT easy to write, and (ii) that the writers he examines were in any case more talented and complex than Symons allowed.

(Curtis Evans runs The Passing Tramp, which is a blog you might want to take a look at, if you're not familiar with it already.)

>114 souloftherose:

It is perfectly true that almost everyone took at least one crack at writing a mystery during the 20s and 30s---my suspicion is, the genre was so popular, writing a mystery was the easiest way for an aspiring writer to get a first book published, even if that writer's main interests were elsewhere. Also, we see a definite trend of writers either thinking that writing a mystery is easy, *or* writing one just to see if they could. This would account from anomalies like James Hilton's Murder At School, C. P. Snow's Death Under Sail and T. H. White's Darkness At Pemberley, in addition to The Red House, of course (that one I haven't read yet).

Intriguing that T H White wrote a crime novel that also appears to be a Jane Austen sequel, so many years before PD James.

Luci, it's the weirdest book---the Pemberley business is not in the least relevant to the plot, and it's evident from the tone of the novel that it was not just an extended literary joke but one that White didn't really expect other people to "get"---a reminder, perhaps, that Jane Austen's reputation wasn't always what it is now.

Just after I posted last night, as I was getting ready to go out to a meeting, the end of the Archers (if you're not in the UK it's a radio soap opera which has been running since the early 1950s) really amused me last night. There are some very serious rumours flying around, but one character starts talking about Agatha Christie and Ariadne Oliver (a recurring crime fiction writer who appears in a number of Christie's Hercule Poirot novels). I just loved the layers of references going on.

*waves cast*

Hi Heather

Happy Sunday, Heather.

Holiday! No work for two weeks :-) I am about a month behind with book comments so once I've recovered from all the year end busyness at work I will try and get some brief comments posted.

>115 elkiedee: Luci, thanks for the heads-up about the kindle price. I think it's a book I'd prefer a paper copy of to dip in and out of.

>116 lyzard: Do you know how many things you've just added to my wishlist?? Curtis Evans' books certainly don't seem cheap but the kindle edition of Masters of the Humdrum is not too bad. I've added his blog and already had some wishlist hits from there too for which I'm blaming you :-)

Edwards book also highlights some of the damage caused by Julian Symons' criticism - I still have Bloody Murder on my wishlist as I think it could be interesting to see what he has to say. Did he dislike all the Golden Age novelists?

>120 ronincats:, >121 avatiakh:, >122 Ameise1: *waves*

Hi Heather! I've been watching your thread length multiply, and I've been too scared to come by to catch up :0) I like the sounds of your 1920s crime spree, but I doubt I'd find many of those books here.

>89 souloftherose: The Blue Crown is one of my all-time favourites. I thought the romance was there all along,must unacknowledged, which is one of the reasons I loved it (and I'll stop there for fear of spoilers)

>90 Smiler69:, >93 souloftherose: Ha, tagging. I thought I was pedantic, but obviously I'm falling behind. ;0)

>123 souloftherose: ooh, two weeks' holiday! Lucky you. Doing anything special?

Happy Holiday, Heather!!!!

Yay! Enjoy a wonderful holiday, Heather!

You have read an incredible amount of books this year..Congratulations!!!!

I'm glad you had the opportunity to meet Darryl. I had that pleasure a few years ago at the Philadelphia, PA meet up. We all had a wonderful time.

*waves cast--3 more days!*

Congratulations on your upcoming holiday, Heather!

>123 souloftherose:

Do you know how many things you've just added to my wishlist??

:D

I think Julian Symons had a lot of idiosyncratic ideas and was influential enough to get them accepted as dogma; there were so few people writing that sort of analysis at the time (or who thought detective fiction needed analysis).

It's much easier to convince people of things than to unconvince them afterwards, I think...like how "all" Golden Age mysteries are set at weekend house-parties at country estates... :)

Hope you are enjoying your holiday, Heather. *waves*

>124 humouress: Hi Nina. I'm glad you decided to venture onto my thread :-) I'm not sure why but Robin McKinley's romances never quite work for me but I still enjoyed The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword despite that.

>125 lauralkeet:, >126 LizzieD:, >127 lit_chick:, >128 Whisper1:, >130 kidzdoc:, >132 ronincats: Thanks for the holiday wishes! This week we're at home, next week we're going down to Marseille in the south of France which I'm looking forward to a lot. I'm hoping the weather there will be better than it is here - very grey and rainy seems to be the theme for this week.

On Saturday we went into Milton Keynes to see Japan play Samoa for the Rugby World Cup and then came home to watch the disappointing England vs Australia match. Otherwise we've just been resting at home trying to recover from a very busy month last month.

>131 lyzard: Thanks for the background info on Julian Symons Liz. Have you read any of his detective novels?

Have a great time in Marseille next week, Heather! I'll be in Barcelona next week, so hopefully we'll both have equally good weather.

>134 kidzdoc: Thanks Darryl! I was just posting on your thread to say I hadn't realised you were on holiday again this month!

Book comments in no particular order:

Book #173: Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson - 3.7 stars
Book #175: Ms. Marvel, Vol. 2: Generation Why by G. Willow Wilson - 4 stars



I'd never read a Marvel comic book before but I'd heard good things about their latest Ms. Marvel series and checked the first two volumes out of the library for some light, beginning-of-holiday reading.

Ms. Marvel is Kamala Khan: a 16 year old Pakistani American Muslim living in Jersey City. She's struggling to cope with fitting in at school and her parents expectations and the suddenly she has to cope with superpowers and evil masterminds on top of everything else.

Volume 1: No Normal was a solid introduction to Kamala, her family and friends and her new superpowers and also won the Hugo award. I loved the character of Kamala - she's a geek who's always loved computer games and superheroes. She wants to fit in but isn't prepared to stop being herself in order to do so. Kamala's long been a fan of the original Captain Marvel (blonde, thin, tall, stunning, skimpy outfit) and when Kamala first gets her superpowers that's who she tries to emulates but she quickly discovers that the skimpy outfit she's admired on Captain Marvel is not particularly practical ("this leotard is giving me an epic wedgie") and comes up with a more practical costume.

Volume 2: Generation Why sees Kamala gaining more understanding of her powers, meeting other superheroes (there are some wonderful scenes where she runs into Wolverine and has some adorable fan-girl moments) and coming up against her first villain. I enjoyed volume 2 more (less build-up/explanation and more stuff happening) but both were very enjoyable and I'm looking forward to Volume 3.

I enjoyed the Ms. Marvel comics so much that I'd like to read more in the Marvel universe. As my local library doesn't often stock complete series of these comics I'm considering an online subscription to Marvel Unlimited which will let me read back issues on our tablet. Has anyone tried this?

And after having posted the above I just saw this article on For Books' Sake about the new Ms. Marvel series which does a good job of explaining why I enjoyed these so much.

Wishing you a fantastic time at Marseille, Heather. I love it so much. Could spend weeks there with not getting bored.

>135 souloftherose: What do you mean again, Miss? I worked for a week and a half after I returned from London, so clearly it's time to return to Europe. ;-)

Having visited both, I can say I liked Marseille more than Milton Keynes. :) I hope you have nice weather. Have you been to Aix-en-Provence? That's my favorite Provençal city and within driving distance of Marseille.

Hi Heather! I hope you have a wonderful holiday in Marseille. I've never been to that part of France, but I enjoy reading about it!

>137 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara - glad to hear you're a fan of Marseille.

>138 kidzdoc: :-)

>139 lauralkeet: Laura, I'm shocked to hear you prefer Marseille to Milton Keynes! I can't think why....

I haven't been to Aix-en-Provence although I've heard that's lovely. And Avignon is also quite nearby. We don't have firm plans for our holiday so we may visit Aix-en-Provence or Avignon too but I suspect we will just stay in Marseille this time and explore the area further on another trip.

>140 cbl_tn: Thanks Carrie. I didn't plan it but realised after reading The Black Count that Marseille is where parts of The Count of Monte Cristo was set: in particular the Chateau d'If is where Edmond Dantes was imprisoned.

I need to make the book comments briefer if I'm to have any hope of getting through them:

Book #154: The Sugar House by Antonia White - 3.6 stars



The Sugar House is the third in Antonia White's series of autobiographical novels and I found it a little subdued and slow-moving after the emotional intensity of the first two books. Perhaps this is a reflection of what's happening to Clara throughout the novel - in some ways this was about Clara's withdrawal from the world and her eventual awakening at the end of the novel where she starts to take some control back. I'm looking forward to the final volume, Beyond the Glass.

Book #155: The Minority Council by Kate Griffin - 3.4 stars



For now, this is the final book in Kate Griffin's urban fantasy series about sorcerer Matthew Swift and I think this was a good place to stop as I felt frustrated with the first third of the book for just being more of the same - more of Matthew being unconnected to everyone, more of Matthew getting painfully beaten up, more of anyone Matthew does become close to dying. And then the author did something very different.... and I didn't like that either! Poor Kate Griffin can't win. Looking at the other reviews no-one else seems to have had this problem so perhaps I just wasn't in the mood.

Book #157: The Black Moon by Winston Graham - 3.8 stars



There was a gap of 20 years between Winston Graham writing Warleggan and The Black Moon and I wasn't sure if all the characters I had come to know and love would seem different but I didn't notice anything. Ross and Demelza continue to deal with the consequences of what happened between Ross and Elizabeth in Warleggan, there's quite a fun interlude in which Ross visits France during the Revolution to try to rescue someone but the ending the book looked quite bleak for a number of the major characters adn that's the main reason I didn't go straight on to The Four Swans straight away.

Book #158: Just Patty by Jean Webster - 3.4 stars



Jean Webster is better known for her epistolary children's novel Daddy-Long-Legs (one of my favourites) and its sequel, Dear Enemy. She also wrote another duology of children's books about a young girl called Patty and her adventures at school and college. Publication order is actually the reverse of chronological order in this case: When Patty Went to College was published in 1903 and Just Patty, which is a collection of school stories, was published later in 1911. Patty has an irrepressible sense of mischief and gets into a series of scrapes in both books - recommended if you enjoy Anne of Green Gables or Daddy-Long-Legs.

>133 souloftherose:

I haven't actually read any of Symons' own work; I've been too busy reading the people he dissed. :)

BTW, I wanted to check with you that we are still on for Cecilia next month (and beyond)? Because it is such a commitment, I was going to start "advertising" the read a bit earlier than usual, to give anyone interested plenty of warning.

>143 lyzard: I am definitely still on for Cecilia next month, Liz. :-)

Book #159: Phineas Redux by Anthony Trollope - 4.1 stars



An enjoyable return to Victorian politics and the well-loved characters from Trollope's Palliser series. Again, there's a focus on marriage and the restrictions on life for women of the time but another theme in this particular book is the changing view of work. If you enjoy books that focus on character then Trollope's books are highly recommended (but don't start here).

Book #160: A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C. Clarke - 3.3 stars



First published in 1961 before the Apollo programme was launched, this science fiction novel posits that there would be vast seas of dust on the Moon's surface into which objects could sink. My edition has a preface from the author explaining that at the beginning of the 1960s this hypothesis wasn't as bizarre as it might seem to us today and was a possibility that scientists at the time took quite seriously. Based on this hypothesis, Clarke has written a 'hard' science fiction story (i.e. written with an emphasis on scientific accuracy based on the science of the time) set in a near future in which the Moon is partly colonised and, inevitably, visited by tourists from Earth. One of the highlights of a tourist trip is a cruise across one of these lunar dust seas but unexpected seismic action creates a kind of dust whirlpool which sucks down the ship and all its passengers. With a limited air supply the passengers and crew can't survive for long but will the rescuers reach them in time as they have to battle the Moon's hostile environment? I suppose this is The Martian for the 1960s - no swearing and the social views of the 1950s imposed on the future (actually, the female characters aren't too bad compared to other sf from this period) but with a slower pace it ends up being a less gripping read.

Book #161: Uprooted by Naomi Novik - 4.3 stars



Don't be confused by the opening sentence or the tags on the book page: unlike Naomi Novik's Temeraire series this fantasy novel is not about dragons. Instead this is a coming of age tale influenced by Polish folklore about a young girl learning magic under the tuition of a cantankerous sorcerer. There's a bit of romance, some wonderful magic and strong female friendship. A lovely book.

Book #163: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch - 4.1 stars



This was a reread prompted by a kindle deal: The Lies of Locke Lamora is a complex and dark fantasy novel about a group of thieves and con-men in a Venice like city. It's a dark and violent world, but not unremittingly so (I found GoT to be darker) and there's also an undercurrent of humour and fun (admittedly sometimes almost gallows humour). Possibly Game of Thrones meets Ocean's Eleven? Although I really enjoyed this I think it's a series I'll need to space out - I've stalled about half way through book 2 (Red Seas Under Red Skies) waiting to get in the right mood for something this dark.

Now only 12 books behind.....

>144 souloftherose: glad we are still on for Cecilia. I have the VMC edition but will likely get it on Kindle as well because I have a long-haul flight coming up in November and need to travel light with my reading.

Hi Heather, delighted you are enjoying Trollope's Palliser novels! These were all 4-5* reads for me : ) … and ones I want to revisit one day, along with his Barchester Chronicles.

>144 souloftherose:

I am definitely still on for Cecilia next month

{*girds loins*}

I will post around a bit about this, hopefully we will acquire a few more participants.

>146 souloftherose:

You too, huh?? :D

I currently stand at ten reviews and two blog posts, sigh. I might set up a new thread tomorrow and see if that motivates me to get some reviewing done.

>147 lauralkeet:

It will be great to have you join us, Laura!

Hi Heather, just wanted you to know that I am still a faithful although quiet visitor to your thread. I was also a big fan of The Lies of Locke Lamora and if I don't get to the next book soon, I may have to do a reread just to remember the basic plot!

Uprooted is high on my "want" list as I haven't seen one bad review.

Hi Heather - Uprooted sounds great. I'm going to look for it.

Happy weekend, Heather!

Hi Heather - it's been a while since I've visited, but hello! Good to see your comments on Uprooted - I kind of enjoyed Temeraire, but the later books lost my interest, I'd like to try something different from her. And I've had a similar experience with The Lies of Locke Lamora - well, I've read that book, enjoyed it, and have had the next audiobook sitting ready on my phone for months now, but can't bring myself to start it yet for some reason.

Hi Heather! Marseille sounds fantastic - have fun. We loved Avignon and the Papal Palace is great.

Happy weekend, Heather.

Hi, Heather!

>135 souloftherose:, >138 kidzdoc: (best not stir Darryl up. He's clearly ... um ... overworked)

>133 souloftherose: England ... rugby ...wahhhhhhhhh!

But weren't Japan fantastic? My husband was hoping Scotland would go down to Samoa so Japan would have a chance of going through. I must say they would have deserved to. (Though I was rooting for Scotland.)

So now you are vacationing? I hope Marseille fulfills your every wish!
DO go on to The Four Swans. I have to say that it's one of my favorites in the series.

Hi Heather, Marseille sounds great. I hope you can post some pictures for those of us who have never been there.

I had a few quibbles with Our Spoons Came from Woolworths but can see the attraction of it.

Hello all! We are back from Marseille but feeling slightly less than relaxed and rested after spending 2 and a half hours at the Emergency Vets with our cat, Erica, today. She seemed fine when we got home last night and when I let her out this morning but got quite distressed late morning (her distress was, of course, not helped by the trip to the vet's). She's staying at the vets overnight for observation and is on an IV drip. We're not really sure what's wrong at the moment and I've just checked our insurance policy and out of hours costs are only covered if the pet's life was endangered. I'll take the form to the vet's for them to complete when we go to collect Erica tomorrow but I suspect we won't get anything back from the insurance company. And I am trying not to worry about what is wrong with Erica - she's being treated for shock and resulting dehydration as well as a problem with her bladder. Cause of either condition unknown but I am struggling not to feel guilty for having gone on holiday and worried I should have put more effort into helping her with the behavioural issues that result in her getting so stressed. Trying to remind myself that guilt and worry are magnified by being quite short on sleep as we got back late last night.

>160 souloftherose: Sending good wishes for a full and speedy recovery for Erica. There are times I wish that pets could talk, and this would be one of them.

Sorry to hear about Erica's distress and hope all will be well there. I hope you catch up on sleep and can settle in to some extent asap.

Hi Heather, thoughts to Erica, you, and your husband. I'm also sending wishes for a full and speedy recovery.

I've got hopelessly behind on your thread. I'm a big fan of Jasper Fforde, of both his Thursday Next and the Nursery crimes series. So very pleased to read he has a new book coming out.

Uprooted sounds good, so onto the wishlist it goes.

Sorry to read your cat has not been well: hope for a speedy recovery. Hope you're still enjoying the rugby.

Oh, so sorry to hear about Erica. Don't beat yourself up, it probably would have happened even if you'd been home, sometimes they just get sick. Given that stress and shock can easily kill an animal I'd hope your vet would be generous on the insurance form. Hope you had a good time and I look forward to seeing some pictures.

Hoping Erica snaps back quickly, Heather. Having to have an IV and be admitted for observation sounds like serious stuff and I would think that surely that should qualify as something that should be covered.

Thank you Carrie, Roni, Nancy, Charlotte, Jo and Charlotte for the good wishes for Erica. I will respond to individual posts at some point but just wanted to say quickly thank you for the kind messages now.

Latest update from the Emergency Vets (who are really being very good): Erica is still on the IV but so far has completely ignored the food and water they've tried to give her and is being fairly unresponsive. Her normal response once she's in the vet's room is to hunch down and pretend none of this is happening to her so that doesn't sound that unusual (poor kitty) and the IV should be giving her all the fluids she needs anyway. I don't think they're particularly worried about this.

When DH goes to pick her up tomorrow morning they will have another set of blood results and will let him know whether he can take her home or whether they recommend him taking her to our usual vets straight away.

Fingers crossed that Erica feels better doon. Thinking if you.

I'm so sorry about Erica! I hope it all turns out well.

Poor kitty - I hope all is soon back to normal. I hope you had a great vacation.

Nice to have you back among us. Thinking of you and Erica and crossing all fingers.

Oh, I'm sorry to hear about Erica. It is distressing when our lovely furrsers are ill. I hope that the fluids will do the trick, and that you can have her home tomorrow. No guilt! Be glad that you got back at the right time to get her to a vet.

>167 souloftherose: As a family that has had its fair share of crises with the cats of the household, my fingers and toes are crossed that Erica comes through this OK, Heather. xx

Hi Heather. Sending best wishes to you and Erica. I hope your holiday was a relaxing one; I'm sure Marseilles must be very nice at this time of the year.

Thank you all. DH has gone to collect Erica. I found a lot of insect bites on me last night (I tend to react to them so they are nice and big) and several more are there this morning (didn't sleep well). I have a horrible, horrible feeling they might be bed bug bites from bugs that may have hitched a ride home with us in our luggage. We can get pest control through the council but at the moment I just want to cry. Instead I am going to go to work and try to be slightly competent.

Oh, no! I'm very sorry to hear about Erica's condition and your bug bites, Heather. I hope that she is doing better today, and will be back to herself shortly. I don't think you should feel guilty, as you couldn't have possibly known that something like that might have happened, and it may have occurred even if you and your husband were there. I pray that you have a better day today, and please accept a virtual hug and a shoulder to cry on from me.

Oh no to the bed bug bites! I sincerely hope the horrible pests did not catch a ride home with you and husband. Please let us know when you have the chance how Erica is doing.

Erica is home! :-) She spent another day under observation at the vets and came home this evening. They think probably just a urine infection. Not really sure why she went into shock but she's back to normal and rehydrated now. She's in her safe space (the spare bedroom) and we've moved her favourite blanket, food, water and litter tray in there temporarily so she doesn't feel like she has to come out if she doesn't want to. She's purring and eating (she refused food at the vets - she's very stubborn) and seems generally ok.

I seem to be having quite a bad reaction to whatever's bitten me but I've now got some cream from the pharmacy which will hopefully help. We've stripped the bed, washed and changed all the bedding we could and vacuumed and sprayed everything we couldn't wash. If I get bitten again in the night then I think we'll need to call pest control.

Great news about Erica! And yes, of course she timed it to make you feel guilty about your holiday---she's a cat! :D

(My Kara is frightened of strangers and hates other cats, so holidays are...problematic.)

Ouch, sorry to hear about your bite problem: hope your Herculean house-cleaning efforts have done the trick!

I'm so glad to hear that Erica is much better! I hope you've successfully chased the bedbugs away so that there's no need to call in the professionals.

I'm so glad to hear about Erica, Heather! Hope your diligent efforts to chase off possible bedbugs pay off and that you won't need pest control.

I rushed over here for news and am so glad to read that Erica is okay. And I really hope you get quick relief from the bug bites without too much more hassle in removing the pests from your home.

Relief in the Erica department! It's amazing to me how quickly cats can recuperate after they've been very ill.
I'm REALLY keeping my fingers crossed about the bites. Hope you've seen the last of them.

Great news that Erica feels better I hope at the bug front will be a major relief soon.

How lovely that Erica is well again! Pets can be such a worry, but how good it feels when they are well and themselves again.

So sorry you-all had to jump into super cleaning mode immediately upon coming home from vacation. Bed bugs give me the creeps. Not the actual bugs themselves, but the worry over how easily they can take over your space and how hard they seem to be to get rid of. Another reason - for me - not to travel.

Erica is still doing well - mostly sleeping today (I don't think she will have relaxed enough to sleep whilst at the vets). It is really nice to have her back home. The vets were very good and said although they would normally ask us to bring in her again for a check-up in 2-3 days we can give them a telephone update instead if we're happy she's getting back to her normal self by the end of the week because they know how stressed she gets.

I slept very poorly again because I kept thinking I could feel things crawling on me (*shudder*) - I think just my imagination. I'm not sure if I have any new bites this morning (there are 3 I suspect may be new but I've been checking myself for bites so frequently over the last few days that I can't remember when I first spotted them) and I've spent some time looking at the bed and under the mattress but can't see any creepy crawlies. I'm going to give it a couple of days and see what happens - partly at least to let Erica recover from one stressful experience before we subject her to another.

I really appreciate all the kind messages: >161 cbl_tn:, >162 ronincats:, >163 lit_chick:, >164 charl08:, >165 eclecticdodo:, >166 Fourpawz2:, >168 Ameise1:, >169 lyzard:, >170 BLBera:, >171 lauralkeet:, >172 LizzieD:, >173 PaulCranswick:, >174 humouress:, >176 kidzdoc:, >177 lit_chick:, >179 lyzard:, >180 cbl_tn:, >181 lit_chick:, >182 lauralkeet: & >183 LizzieD: - thank you.

Ugh at crawling sensations, glad Erica is home and doing well.

I'm glad Erica is better!

Ugh on the (potential) creepy-crawlies. Several years ago, something similar happened to me - I woke up with weird itchy bumps, mostly on my legs. I was afraid it was bed bugs because the bites looked like the images I found on the internet. I did a massive clean, sheet change, etc. Couldn't find any evidence of them. And then the welts went away a few days later. In retrospect, I think it was hives or something. Here's hoping you have something similarly benign!

>187 elkiedee: 'Ugh at crawling sensations' Indeed, hopefully just imaginary.

>188 katiekrug: Katie, thank you - I really do hope I have hives (that's a weird thing to say).

Some books!

Book #179: Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds - 4 stars



I've had this series on my radar for a while after a number of recommendations from 75ers and my husband is also a fan. I don't know why but I suddenly found myself craving some hard science fiction and picked this up.

It's the hardest, hard sf I think I've read - Reynolds is an astrophysicist and I understand that the technology and science in the book is all consistent with our current scientific theories. I'll have to take his word for it because it all went over my head but I was perfectly happy to be taken along for the ride.

In the far future, humans have colonised hundreds of planets. On one bleak planet, a team of archaeologists are investigating an ancient alien race which was inexplicably and suddenly wiped out. I was shocked to find out that investigating this further turns out to be a bad idea for the human race.

Revelation Space is dark without describing a dystopic society or being quite as bleak as Iain M. Banks (who I tend to find too bleak). I was also pleased to see that of the three protagonists, two are female and neither end up as the male protagonist's romantic interest. (There are loads of sf and non-sf novels I love with romance plots but it felt very refreshing to not have this as a tension between the main characters). All the characters are equally interesting; in fact, gender's just not a big deal in Reynold's universe.

It's another series. Most of the books in the series are standalones set in the same universe but within that there's a trilogy which share the same storyline: Revelation Space , Redemption Ark and Absolution Gap. I think I'm going to read the series in publication order though which means the standalone Chasm City is up next.

Book #180: Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch - 3.3 stars



This was disappointing after The Lies of Locke Lamora. The first half of the book has even more of an Ocean's Eleven feel than The Lies of Locke Lamora as Locke and Jean are attempting to rob the incredibly secure vault of the wealthy Sinspire casino. For me, this part of the book felt very slow and I ended up putting it aside and reading something else for a while. The second half involves Locke and Jean temporarily abandoning the casino heist and becoming pirates on the wild seas and is a lot of fun - like the first book in fact. Then there's a bit of a rushed ending, an attempt at the sort of emotional gut punch Lynch managed so well in the first book that, again, didn't quite work for me and what felt like a hurried attempt to tie the two storylines together. Interestingly, from reading the other reviews it seems like a lot of people liked the casino heist plot and found the pirate section boring whereas I was the other way round (because - pirates!). Worth reading if you enjoyed the first book but lower your expectations.

Some books read in September and October that I enjoyed but don't feel that I have much to say about.

Book #167: The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan - 3.3 stars
Book #169: Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie - 3.6 stars
Book #170: Jane on Her Own by Ursula K. Le Guin - 4 stars
Book #171: The Murder Stone by Louise Penny - 3.9 stars (aka A Rule Against Murder)
Book #174: The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny - 4.2 stars
Book #176: Cold Shoulder Road by Joan Aiken - 3.9 stars

Well! I don't know about this just-not-writing-reviews business, missy!

I will probably be adding The A. B. C. Murders to TIOLI #1, if you have the time and the inclination. I don't think I will be getting to April Lady, though; I want to get some non-fiction read during this rapidly dwindling month... :)

(I'm paying the reading price for back-to-back chunksters in the middle of the month - and Cecilia on the horizon, yikes!)

Heather, I'm glad that Erica is doing better. And, I'm so sorry about the possibility of bed bugs...ugh.

It seems like a lot of stress is happening to you, and I'm hoping that things improve quickly.

>192 lyzard: Definitely up for The ABC Murders Liz. My copy of Cecilia is on its way to me - woo!

>193 Whisper1: Thanks Linda.

Bed bug/cat update: I think the bed bugs were a false alarm - hooray! Whether I got bitten by something or whether it was hives as Katie suggested there have been no more red marks and the cream has helped the existing ones. The cat is better in some ways - she's back into most of her usual routines (i.e. being constantly demanding about stuff) but she's not really eating. The vet did mention her teeth look in bad shape so this might be why. I'm undecided whether she should try to book her in for teeth cleaning/removal this week or give her a little longer to recover. I might call the vet this week to see what they think.

Book #178: Ask a Policeman by The Detection Club (Anthony Berkeley, Milward Kennedy, Gladys Mitchell, John Rhode and Dorothy L. Sayers) - 2.5 stars



Following on from reading Martin Edwards' history of The Detection Club in The Golden Age of Murder I wanted to try one of the books The Detection Club published as a collaborative work. I think it's safe to say that Ask a Policeman, the one I tried, is not the best place to start. It was the 3rd or 4th collaborative work published by The Detection Club and whilst earlier books had been a round robin structure (where the manuscript was passed to each author in turn to continue the story) for Ask a Policeman they decided to do something different. John Rhode wrote the opening section in which the murder was completed and then each author wrote a section featuring one of the group's famous detectives in which that detective proposed a solution. The main feature is that each author wrote about another author's detective. So Anthony Berkeley wrote about Lord Peter Wimsey (Sayers' detective) and Sayers wrote about Roger Sheringham (Berkeley's detective). I suspect all this might have been good fun if I had been familiar with the authors and their work, but I've only read Sayers before and even then I couldn't tell if Berkeley's Peter Wimsey was significantly different to Sayers' Peter Wimsey. As a puzzle it doesn't really work: none of the authors saw the others solutions so they contradict each other and Milward Kennedy is left to wrap it all up. I guess I found this interesting as an example of Golden Age fiction rather than a good book in itself.

Book #186: Fables: The Deluxe Edition Book Six by Bill Willingham - 3 stars
Book #187: Fables: The Deluxe Edition Book Seven by Bill Willingham - 3.4 stars



A couple of slightly disappointing entries in the Fablesverse. The Deluxed Edition Book Six contains the Fables, Vol. 8: Wolves storyline leading up to the fiftieth issue of the comic (Wolves and Happily Ever After) - the story felt a bit rushed to me which meant the big reveal in Happily Ever After lost some of its impact. I preferred the other stories in this issue, The Ballad of Rodney and June which was a sweet and unusual look at the lives of some of the Adversary's soldiers and Big and Small which was a fun Cinderella story.

Deluxe Edition Book Seven was a bit better although most of the focus in Fables, Vol. 9: Sons of Empire was on the Adversary's forces and their plans to defeat Fabletown. I liked the shorter story, Father and Son about Bigby, Snow and the cubs visiting Bigby's father.

Heather, I'm glad to read that Erica is getting better, and the bugs were a false alarm. Maybe it was just a skin irritation. We redheads are quite delicate :-) Any exciting plans for your extra hour tonight? I'm going to stay up late and not even care!

Happy weekend, Heather.

>197 susanj67: Thanks Susan. I'd like to say I'll spend the extra hour sleeping but the cat has been waking me up the last few mornings and I don't think she'll understand about the clocks going back!

>198 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara - that's a very cute (and seasonal) picture.

Phew! Erica is getting better and the bed bugs were in your mind. Ha! It makes sense that you broke out in hives over worry about your sweet kitty. I remember when you got her (or maybe I should say she got you!) and how hard it was to win her over in the beginning. We worry so when our fur babies are sick. Hope things continue to go well, Heather.

I'm glad to hear that you and Erica are on the mend, Heather!

>200 Donna828: 'I remember when you got her (or maybe I should say she got you!)'

Ha! I think definitely the latter.... Thanks Donna :-)

>201 kidzdoc: Thanks Darryl.

Book #165: Saga, Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples - 2.5 stars



Hmm. I know this graphic novel space opera series is very well thought of by the group but I struggled with the first volume which I found a little too weird and graphic for my tastes. It's a tale of star-crossed lovers from two sides of an intergalactic war but trying to be realistic rather than romance-y I guess (the first volume features childbirth and breast feeding). But there's also sex between robot androids with human bodies and TV monitors for heads, a sex world where there are large female heads attached to very long legs with no bodies in between and a female assassin with an arachnid body on her lower half and a naked, armless humanoid torso for her upper half (but with breasts, of course). Aside from my squeamishness I didn't really feel the story got going in this volume - we had a lot of introduction and backstory. I have Vol. 2 on loan from the library but I just can't decide if I'm too squeamish (or prudish) for this series.

And I realise I appear to be on a bit of a graphic novels binge at the moment - another three books came home with me from the library yesterday (Ms. Marvel and 2 x Fables).

Book #166: Come, Tell Me How You Live by Agatha Christie - 4.1 stars



I think if Agatha Christie hadn't made such a success out of crime writing she could have made a great travel writer - this short memoir is an account of her trips to Syria with her second husband, Max Mallowan, on his archaeological digs in the area. Christie had a real eye for the different people on the dig and for capturing funny moments and this book was a delight to read, both because of the humour and for the glimpse of a people and country who are sadly once more struggling with war and conflict. The trips Christie recounts took place in the 1930s before WWII but the book was written and published in the 1940s.

Book #184: The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery - 3.8 stars



This is a sweet story about Valency Stirling, a spinster in her late twenties (gasp!) whose life is made pretty miserable by her awful family. After going to see her doctor about some pains in her chest she is told she has a severe heart problem and has, at most, a year to live. This diagnosis gives Valency the push she needs to get out there and live her life in defiance of her family (crucially, I think Montgomery makes it plain that Valency can do this because she no longer has to worry about keeping her family's approval because she will be financially dependent on them when she's older. It wasn't just gumption she needed.) None of the twists in the story surprised me but it was still lovely to read anyway.

Hi Heather - You got me with both the Christie and the Montgomery. I think I might have a copy of The Blue Castle around here somewhere.

>203 souloftherose: Love the Christie travel memoir, and The Blue Castle is my favorite L.M. Montgomery!

I'm a big L. M. Montgomery fan, so glad you liked The Blue Castle.

Bad teeth can be a common problem with mid-aged to older pets, so that could definitely be affecting Erica's eating. Here, they put them under to do it, so it's a bit more serious than for humans.

Hi Heather. I've been lurking along; I'm glad to hear things are looking up, now.

The Blue Castle sounds lovely, Heather. I'm another fan of LM Mongomery; want to reread the Anne books at some point, or perhaps I'll listen to them on audio.

Hi Heather - I'm glad Erica is a bit better and hope she keeps improving.

Once we get back into our house, I have a biography of Agatha Christie that Tim gave me for my birthday several years ago that I must read...Come, Tell me How You Live sounds like it would be a great book to read with it. Agatha Christie was my staple reading through high school once I'd outgrown the Chalet School books!

Hi Heather, just to let you know, Diana (Wilkiec) is bak with her new username DianaNL.

>189 souloftherose: I'm a fan of Alastair Reynolds so happy that you've taken the plunge. I mainly 'read' them by audio, the narrator was really good, John Lee I think.

>194 souloftherose:

Woo, and woo! :)

>195 souloftherose:

You're right about the meta-difficulties of Ask A Policeman, but the book is indicative of how wildly popular detective fiction was at the time, in that sufficient people *would* have been able to measure what they were doing.

>204 BLBera: I hope you enjoy them all Beth!

>205 cbl_tn: Carrie, I think Anne is still my favourite but probably because I loved those books so much when I was growing up. The Blue Castle is lovely.

>206 ronincats: Erica's not that old but she does have pretty bad teeth. She had to have some out a couple of years ago so I was expecting she would need further work at some point. And yes, it will be a general anaesthetic so the vet said to give her a couple of weeks before we book her in. She's eating more now and seems more like herself so we will try to get her a teeth appointment next week.

>207 humouress: Thanks Nina!

>208 lit_chick: Audio could be a good way to go for the Anne books. I do want to reread them at some point - thought I might get round to it this year but it hasn't happened. Perhaps next year's Canadian author challenge will give me the push I need? :-)

>209 cushlareads: Hi Cushla. I have been following the updates on your house on facebook - you must be looking forward to moving in and getting those books unpacked! I've read Agatha Christie's autobiography and now her memoir - I'd like to try some biographies at some point too.

>210 Ameise1: Diana's back!? Thanks for letting me know :-)

>211 avatiakh: They are good books, Kerry. Of course, now my husband has moved on to Peter F. Hamilton and his recommending his books to me as well so I have yet another set of series to read.

>212 lyzard: Good point, Liz. I can see it being a fun book if I had the background for it. It did leave me wanting to read the authors' original works.

Book #190: Summer Half by Angela Thirkell - 3.7 stars



A book I feel slightly guilty about enjoying because Thirkell managed to make me laugh at some things that were very politically incorrect. Possibly less politically incorrect in the 1930s when Thirkell wrote this but I still got the feeling she was positively enjoying being waspish about these things.

This is part of Thirkell's Barsetshire series but the books don't really need to be read in order (although like Trollope's Barsetshire novels, getting to revisit characters throughout the series is often a delight). Summer Half centres around a boys' boarding school where Colin Keith is teaching for a term before going on to study law. There are boys' school pranks, tensions between the teachers because of the headmasters ridiculously sickening grown up daughter who is engaged to one teacher but has an unfortunate tendency to lose interest in a man as soon as she's engaged to him as well as being incurably silly and my favourite character, Lydia Keith, Colin's younger sister who is obsessed with poets and plays, completely disinterested in her clothes and has never heard of the concept of thinking before you speak. It's silly and a lot of the characters are really awful but fun to read about. Parts of the book dragged a little and I still don't think this compares to Wodehouse at his best but it's very amusing and I look forward to continued excursions to the world of Barsetshire.

Book #191: Saga, Volume 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples - 3.8 stars



I suddenly felt inspired to pick Volume 2 of the Saga series up yesterday and enjoyed it a lot more than Volume 1. As the cover image suggests this is still very much an adult graphic novel. This one had more story and less weird stuff and I enjoyed it a lot more. There's a cliffhanger ending so on to Volume 3!

>214 souloftherose: I haven't read that specific Thirkell yet but your comments resonate with me related to the ones I've read. Pleasant reading, sometimes it drags, sometimes it's politically incorrect, it's not Wodehouse, but it's still good fun.

>213 souloftherose:

It did leave me wanting to read the authors' original works.

See you there! :)

I can empathise over Erica - Kara has teeth issues too and her vet mutters about cleaning from time to time, but her general health is good and it's not interfering with her eating and on that basis I'm reluctant to do anything that requires anaesthesia, particularly at her age.

I felt that way about Saga as well.I've read all of the series so far. For me it's a little mixed.
Peter F. Hamilton is also a favourite for me. I have a few more to read, they're rather big books. I started with the Greg Mandel series which has a much smaller page count.

Hi Heather - I loved your comments on the Thirkell. I have a couple on my shelves and maybe will try to get to one this year yet. They sound like fun reads.

Hi, Heather! The thread is up for Cecilia - here.

Hi Heather, I've fallen horribly behind here and need to make time to catch up. In the meantime, your suggestions would be welcome on how I should proceed this time... https://www.librarything.com/topic/196363#5325391

>217 avatiakh: The Peter F. Hamilton's are huge! I will try one eventually.

>218 BLBera: Beth, the Thirkells are fun although I don't think I could read them too close together.

>219 lyzard: Woo hoo!

>200 Donna828: Hi Ilana. I've responded on your thread.

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Book #168: The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin - 4.3 stars



Another thoughtful and thought-provoking science fiction novel from Le Guin's Hainish Cycle. Le Guin is a master at writing from the perspective of someone experiencing a culture for the first time - in this book it's Shevek, a physicist from the planet-moon Andarres, an anarchistic utopia, who exiles himself to Urras, the planet Andarres orbits, which is capitalist for the progress of science. I think this is a novel which is capable of being read on several levels and which would reward rereading - Le Guin touches on so many subjects and themes: gender, freedom, politics, physics, revolution, communism/socialism, capitalism, government, relationships, culture. I started by thinking one of the societies she explores was 'good' and the other 'bad' but reading further it became more and more apparent that both have their good features and both are flawed - sometimes fatally flawed for some of their inhabitants.

Spoiler:I loved the way she lets the reader assume the inhabitants of Andarres and Urras look like humans, until the very end when they meet Terrans!

Book #172: Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy by Rumer Godden - 3.8 stars



This is the third of Rumer Godden's books which looks at a community of nuns, this time the Sisters of Bethany, a Dominican sisterhood in France which works with women in prison and also accepts them into the order. The main character we follow is Soeur Marie Lise, a nun who used to be a prostitute and brothel owner in Paris. Whilst reading this book I was quite troubled by the idea of Godden making her main character a prostitute who becomes a nun - how could she write so deeply and intimately about what this would be like when, from what little I knew of Godden's life, this would be far outside her own experience? Thanks to google, I've found some accounts of the research she did (a good summary here taken from Anne Chisholm's Rumer Godden: A Storyteller’s Life) which set my mind at rest (and have made me add the biography to my library list). Recommended for those who like books about the religious life or Rumer Godden's writing.

I have a new thread! Please come join me.

*scratches head* I thought I already did, Heather?

;0)