tymfos 4th-quarter thread -- Fall reading and beyond

Fall is here, and the final quarter of the year is upon us. I'm hoping some of my reading will go a bit off the beaten track.



I'm Terri, and this is my fourth thread of the year for this challenge. I'm committed to reading for fun this year, and not pushing myself to fit my reading into a lot of challenges. So my Lt-ing is mostly limited to this 75 Challenge and a mildly active thread in the 2015 Category Challenge which is devoted to series reading, with no real goals or pressure.

I read a lot of different things, but I'm partial to mysteries, and also enjoy narrative non-fiction.

All visitors are welcome, and I look forward to your comments!

Books finished in January:

1. A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey e-book (1/1/15)
2. Crusaders Cross by James Lee Burke AUDIO (1/2/15)
3. *The Hanging Valley by Peter Robinson (1/2/15)
4. *A Murder in Passing by Mark de Castrique (1/4/15)
5. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (1/8/15)
6. Pegasus Descending by James Lee Burke AUDIO (1/10/15)
7. The Penguin who Knew Too Much by Donna Andrews e-book (1/10/15)
8. The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman (1/15/15)
9. Let It Burn by Steve Hamilton e-book (1/18/15)
10. Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke AUDIO (1/20/15)
11. *The Third Man Factor by John Geiger (1/23/15)
12. The Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill e-book (1/31/15)

Books Finished in February

13. *Dead Wake by Erik Larson (ER book, non-fiction) (2/1/15)
14. Gallows Lane by Brian McGilloway e-book (2/3/15)
15. Bootlegger's Daughter by Margaret Maron AUDIO (2/3/15)
16. *Deer Season by Aaron Stander e-book (2-5-15)
17. *The Body in the Kelp by Katherine Hall Page (2-7-15)
18A. Wait for Signs by Craig Johnson short stories AUDIO (2-8-15)
18B. An Event in Autumn by Henning Mankell novella AUDIO (2-11-15)
19. Finders Keepers by Belinda Bauer (2-11-15)
20. *Help, Thanks, Wow by Anne Lamott (2-18-15)
21. *The Waters of Kronos by Conrad Richter e-book (2-18-15)

Books Finished in March

22. Swan Peak by James Lee Burke AUDIO (3-3-15)
23. The Secret Place by Tana French (3-7-15)
24. Bleed a River Deep by Brian McGilloway e-book (3-7-15)
25. Baseball in Altoona by David Finoli non-fiction e-book (3-8-15)
26. Take Me Out to the Ballgame by Timothy Shutt (Modern Scholar Series) AUDIO (3-9-15)
27. *Buried in a Book by Luchy Arlington (3-11-15)
28. Black Irish by Stephan Talty AUDIO (3-14-15)
29. Dance Hall of the Dead by Tony Hillerman (3-15-15)
30. The Third Rail by Michael Harvey e-book (3-17-15)
31. A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie AUDIO (3-27-15)

BOOKS FINISHED IN THE SECOND QUARTER

Books Finished in APRIL

32. The TerraCotta Dog by Andrea Camilleri AUDIO (4/2/15)
33. House of Echoes by Brandan Duffy (4/3/15)
34. Blood of the Prodigal by P. L. Gaus e-book (4-8-15)
35. Be Different by John Elder Robison (4-11-15)
36. Fanny Crosby the hymn writer by Bernard Ruffin (4-13-15)
n/c The Hangman by Louise Penny (e-book short) (4-16-15)
37. The Glass Rainbow by James Lee Burke AUDIO (4-16-15)
38. *The Betrayal of Trust by Susan Hill (4-21-15)
39. All Shall Be Well by Deborah Crombie AUDIO (4-26-15)

Books finished in MAY (May Murder & Mayhem focus)
40. *Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace by Anne Lamott (5-1-15)
41. Cockroaches by Jo Nesbo e-book (5-2-15)
42. The Rosewood Casket by Sharyn McCrumb AUDIO (5-4-15)
43. A Superior Death by Nevada Barr AUDIO (5-13-15)
44. Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway by Sara Gran e-book (5-15-15)
45. *Close Case by Alafair Burke (5-17-15)
46. Hangman by Stephen Talty e-book (5-19-15)
47. *Having Everything: A Father's Gift by Daniel J Carlson (5-19-15)
48. Listening Woman by Tony Hillerman (5-23-15)
49. *The Theft of Memory by Jonathan Kozol (5-24-15)
50. Creole Belle by James Lee Burke AUDIO (5-25-15)

Books finished in JUNE
51. Floating Staircase by Ronald Malfi e-book (6-1-15)
52. Leave the Grave Green by Deborah Crombie AUDIO (6-6-15)
53. *Le Mans '55 by Christopher Hilton (6-11-15)
54. *A Question of Identity by Susan Hill (6-15-15)
55. Dry Bones by Craig Johnson AUDIO (6-17-15)
56. Double Whammy by Carl Hiaasen e-book (6-19-15)
57. Aquamarine Blue 5 edited by Dawn Prince-Hughes (6-24-15)

BOOKS FINISHED IN THIRD QUARTER

Books finished in JULY
58. Thin Air by Ann Cleeves (7-2-15)
59. Light of the World by James Lee Burke AUDIO (7-3-15)
60. Silent Mercy by Linda Fairstein (7-7-15)
61. People of Darkness by Tony Hillerman (7-9-15)
62. American Ghost by Hannah Nordhaus e-book (7-10-15)
63. Caught Dead in Philadelphia by Gillian Roberts (7-15-15)
64. Our Bodies, Our Shelves: A Collection of Library Humor by Roz Warren (7-17-15)
65. The Redeemer by Jo Nesbo AUDIO (7-21-15)
66. North by Northwestern by Sig Hansen e-book (7-28-15)
67. Southern Discomfort by Margaret Maron AUDIO (7-28-15)
68. The Mystery of Flight 427 by Bill Adair e-book (7-30-15)
69. Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner (7-31-15)

Books finished in AUGUST
70. Winter at the Door by Sarah Graves e-book (8/5/15)
71. More Than You Know by Beth Gutcheon AUDIO (8-9-15)
72. Wicked Fix by Sarah Graves (8-10-15)
73. Twisted Threads by Lea Wait e-book (8-11-15)
74. Mirages, Monsters, Myths and Mysteries of Lake Ontario by Susan Peterson Gately (8-14-15)
75. Repair to her Grave by Sarah Graves (8-14-15)
76. Driving with the Devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR by Neal Thompson (8-17-15)
77. The Eagle Catcher by Margaret Coel AUDIO (8-21-15)
78. Out of Tune edited by Jonathan Maberry e-book (short stories) (8-24-15)
79. Shooting at Loons by Margaret Maron AUDIO (8-29-15)
80. The Levee: A Novel of Baton Rouge by Malcolm Shulman e-book (8-30-15)
81. Haunted Ground by Erin Hart (8-31-15)

Books finished in SEPTEMBER (September Series & Sequels emphasis)
82. The Stranger (AKA The Gallows Bird) by Camilla Lackberg e-book (9-4-15)
83. Up Jumps the Devil by Margaret Maron AUDIO (9-5-15)
84. The Snack Thief by Andrea Camilleri AUDIO (9-7-15)
85. The Soul of Discretion by Susan Hill (9-8-15)
86. The Rising by Brian McGilloway e-book (9-9-15)
87. Between Heaven and Ground Zero by Leslie Haskin (9-11-15)
88. The Voice of the Violin by Andrea Camilleri AUDIO (9-12-15)
89. The Bordeaux Betrayal by Ellen Crosby AUDIO (9-16-15)
90. Red Light by T Jefferson Parker (9-23-15)
91. The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny (9-27-15)
92. Mourn Not Your Dead by Deborah Crombie AUDIO (9-29-15)
93. The Dark Wind by Tony Hillerman (9-30-15)

BOOKS FINISHED IN THE FOURTH QUARTER

Books Finished in October: (The month of the LT Halloween group read)
94. The Water's Edge by Karin Fossum (10-2-15)
95. Black Water by T. Jefferson Parker (10-5-15)
96. Excursion to Tindari by Andrea Camilleri AUDIO (10-10-15)
97. The Smell of the Night by Andrea Camilleri AUDIO (10-13-15)
98. Pittsburgh Noir edited by Kathleen George e-book short fiction (10-14-15)
99. Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs (10-15-15)
100. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway (10-21-15)
101. We All Fall Down by Michael Harvey AUDIO (10-22-15)
102 The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman AUDIO (10-?-15)
103. The Nameless Dead by Brian McGilloway (10-29-13)

Books finished in November
104. Killjoy by Ann Cleeves (11-3-15)
105. The Civil War, A Narrative: Red River to Appomattox by Shelby Foote (book, e-book, and audio) (11-6-15)
106. The Ghostway by Tony Hillerman (11-12-15)
107. The Snowman by Jo Nesbo AUDIO (11-17-15)
108. The Ghost Walker by Margaret Coel AUDIO (11-19-15)
109. Cockatiels at Seven by Donna Andrews (11-20-15)
110. Color Tour by Aaron Stander (11-22-15) e-book
111. Past Reason Hated by Peter Robinson (11-24-15)
112. Wreck the Halls by Sarah Graves AUDIO (11-25-15)
113. Lending a Paw by Laurie Cass e-book (11-26-15)
114. Philly Stakes by Gillian Roberts (11-27-15)
115. Rounding the Mark by Andrea Camilleri AUDIO (11-28-15)

Books finished in DECEMBER
116. Hell for the Holidays by Chris Grabenstein (12-4-15)
117. The Governor's Wife by Michael Harvey AUDIO (12-5-15)
118. Being Mortal by Atul Gawande (12-9-15)
119. Little Girl Lost by Brian McGilloway e-book (12-9-15)
120. Edwin of the Iron Shoes by Marcia Muller AUDIO, though I own hard copy, too (12-12-15)
121. The Dream Stalker by Margaret Coel (12-18-15)
122. Voices by Arnaldur Indridason e-book(12-28-15)
123. A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn AUDIO and hard copy (12-29-15)
124. Near to the Heart of God: Meditations on 366 Best-Loved Hymns by Robert J. Morgan (12-31-15)

currently reading
Six Geese a Slaying by Donna Andrews
Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor
Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity by Steve Silberman (LT Early Reviewer book)

ongoing devotional reader for the year:

These are the categories I'm working with in my category challenge. The focus there is on series reading.

Category 1: "Start of Something Good" -- First book in a series
Category 2: "What's New?" -- Most recent book in a series
Category 3: "Keep On Trucking" -- Book from the "middle" of a series (anything between the first and the most recent)
Category 4: "All Shook Up" -- book from a series that I'm reading out-of-order
Category 5: "Hello, Again" -- book from a series I've read before but not in 2014.
Category 6: "Irish Eyes" -- series book set in Ireland
Category 7: "Rule, Britannia" -- book from a British series
Category 8: "Norwegian Wood" -- book from a Scandinavian series
Category 9: "Good Morning, Vietnam" -- book from series set somewhere in Asia
Category 10: "The African Queen" -- book from series set somewhere in Africa
Category 11: "Home, Sweet Home" -- book from a series set in Pennsylvania
Category 12: "Southern Nights" -- book from Southern mystery series
Category 13: "Marian the Librarian" -- book from series involving books/writers
Category 14: "Wide World of Sports" -- book from series involving a sport
Category 15: "Once Upon a Time" -- book with a historical element

I think I've written my categories so I read what I want but don't get stuck in a rut. It encourages me to continue & complete favorite series, but also to try something new now and then. And it gives me permission to go at that odd volume or two in a series I don't want to commit to reading in its entirety. I have a hard time letting myself do that sometimes. It also gives me series close to home and in far-flung places of the world.

Of course, not all my books will be series books. Everything I read doesn't have to fit in those categories.

Welcome, everyone! Pull up a chair and join the discussion!

Happy new thread, Terri! I love your fall photo topper!

Happy new thread, Terri!

Happy new thread! I've pulled up my chair and I brought my book to keep myself busy while I wait on Sig sightings. ;-)

Happy New Thread, Terri! Love the autumn topper.

Glad to see you are getting plenty of reading in. This is always a good sign...

>8 Copperskye: Hi, Joanne! Thanks!

>9 lkernagh: Thanks, Lori!

>10 cbl_tn: Welcome, Carrie!

>11 msf59: Hi, Mark! Plenty of reading, a lot of it via audio. I'm doing a bit more driving these days.

Book #94 The Water's Edge by Karin Fossum (Inspector Sejer series)

OK, I really didn't like this one. If it hadn't been short, I probably wouldn't have finished it. Of course, the topic of pedophiles was unpleasant, but that wasn't it. It was the way she handled it . . . and the unpleasant marriage of the people who found the body . . . and then there was the WRITING.

The sentences were awkward, the sentences had lots of commas, there were commas where there should have been periods or semi-colons, it drove me crazy, if you know what I mean. ;) (Do you see what I mean?) Maybe it's something to do with the translation from Norwegian? I don't remember noticing this in the earlier books I read in this series.

Today the weather is cold and wet and raw. But we need the rain, and fortunately it isn't excessive here, as might have been the case if the hurricane had tracked further west than it did. We are lucky compared to many places.

It's good reading weather.

Happy new thread, Terri!

Terri, It was cold, wet and raw here as well. Tonight there is wind that whips the fur of our Sheltie Lilly when we let her outside. Because Shelties hail from the cold Shetland Isles, Lilly relishes the cold and loves snow.

It was a nice day. My daughter helped me get the boxes of Halloween/Fall items from the basement and I leisurely decorated. This is my favorite time of year.

I know you like paranormal books. A few weeks ago I finished The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon. If you haven't read this, you might be interested in it.

Terri, busy doing my best to catch up. Have a lovely weekend, my dear.

Happy New Thread, Terri. I love your opening photo.

Happy new thread, Terri!

1> Sometime in all the rain before the hurricane flooding arrived in the Carolinas, I heard that one of Virginia's historic covered bridges was washed away.

>14 kidzdoc: Thanks, Darryl!

>15 Whisper1: Thanks for the book suggestion, Linda! I'm glad you had a nice day decorating for Fall. I love this time of year, too. Today is a gorgeous day here!

>16 PaulCranswick: Hi, Paul! Thanks for the visit, and the weekend wishes. I hope you're having a good week.

>17 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara!

>18 scaifea: Thanks, Amber!

>19 thornton37814: How sad, Lori! I feel so bad for the folks who are dealing with all the flooding. It's truly awful.

Book #95 Black Water by T. Jefferson Parker -- 3rd book in the Merci Rayborn series

OK, how dumb can I be? When I went to rate this book on LT, I saw that I actually own a copy of this book -- and I had borrowed the e-book from the library. (groan!)

When I posted my thoughts on Red Light, second in this series, I commented that I couldn't wait to see what was next for Merci. So I dove right into Black Water, third and final of these books. I swam right through this unconventional police procedural. It had, in its broadest outline, a plot I normally don't like -- a suspect that you pretty much know, from the very start of the book, didn't do it. But it was handled in such a way that I really could hardly put it down.

This third book in the series was published in 2003, so I suspect that the Merci Rayborn books will remain a trilogy. I do wish Parker would revisit this character, though maybe it's better that he left readers wanting more.

Today was one of those days. First the weather was lovely, lovely, and I wanted to be outside. But I had schoolwork to do . . . and the online simulation program our online computer class uses was NOT cooperating with me. I spent much time and aggravation for little result. Other things went not according to plan, and I almost topped it off by plunging head-first down the front porch steps this evening. Fortunately, I caught hold of the railing so that all I got was a good scare.

I think I'm going to sit down with a good book and a small glass of raspberry wine.

I think your plan for recovery is an excellent one. ; ) Congrats on the new thread. And, from your last thread, i really do have to get back to the Hillerman mysteries.

>22 tymfos: Just catching up with your threads. Happy new thread and great fall topper. I know that feeling of wanting to be outside but having school work to do! Sometimes I would get to the point where I was making stupid mistakes because I was pulled in too many directions. Take care of yourself.

Happy weekend, Terri.

>22 tymfos: Yikes....I hope your book and your wine put you back on an even keel. (I'd maybe have needed a LARGE glass myself.)

>23 Berly: Hi, Kim! I'm really liking the Hillerman books.

>24 Familyhistorian: Meg, I waited and did my online chapter test at night, when I wasn't distracted by the lure of nice weather. :)

>25 Ameise1: Thanks for the lovely picture, Barbara!

>26 laytonwoman3rd: Actually, Linda, the wine was so nice, I did have a somewhat larger glass than I originally planned. :)

Last week, I visited a book sale and actually didn't buy anything. Weird.

I finished another Montalbano book on audio. I'll be back to post about that later.

eta to add actually, it's two Montalbano audios. I forgot to post the last one, too.

Hi Terri! Thanks for all the Cubs cheers! It has been a blast! Let's hope it continues.

I am reading Excursion to Tindari. I am way behind on the Montalbano series, but I am plugging away. They are fun on audio.

Mark, that was one of the last two I listened to, and I liked it. Then I went right on and listened to The Smell of the Night and didn't like that nearly as much.

Oh, I thought you were way ahead of me, like everyone else. LOL. I think my library has the series available on Overdrive. I better request the next one.

Yeah, im behind everyone else, too! :) I'm using Overdrive for them. Grover Gardner (I think that's the name; I'm awful with names) did a super job with the narration!

OK, catch-up time:

Book #96 Excursion to Tindari by Andrea Camilleri AUDIO Book 5, Montalbano series.

A young man is killed in front of an apartment building. A elderly couple living in the same building disappear, after going on a bus excursion. Montalbano tries to make sense of these crimes, and decide whether they are related. I enjoyed this one a lot. Montalbano has recently become sort of a go-to series for my audio book listening. The narration is wonderful, and I rarely have to worry about confusing these tales with anything I may be reading in another format. Montalbano is, well, unique.

Book #97 The Smell of the Night by Andrea Camilleri AUDIO Book 6, Montalbano series

So I decided to go right back to my new go-to audio book series, and this one was a disappointment. I just couldn't follow the logic. The ending was really bizarre. Maybe it's just Montalbano overload -- I've listened to quite a few lately -- but this time, his quirkiness seemed more extreme than usual, and actually became annoying. I think I need a Montalbano break.

Book #98 Pittsburgh Noir edited by Kathleen George. e-book

Like most short-story collections, this was a mixed bag. Some of the stories were great, some were so-so, and a couple were absolutely awful.

>33 tymfos: Getting very close to 100 there, Teri.

>33 tymfos: I picked up one Montalbano book in audio for a drive once and really enjoyed it. I'll have a couple of drives next month -- about 3.5 hours each way for the first time and about 7.5 hours for the big leg of the second with 6 hours for the next longest stretch. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll remember to see if a Montalbano is available on audio and download it for the trip.

I'd love to listen to one of the Montalbano books on audio...my library doesn't have any of them.

Those "noir" collections have disappointed me...I had two of them through the Early Reviewers' program, and didn't find much to praise in either one.

>34 Familyhistorian: Hi, Meg! Yes, and I just finished another one, so one more to finish.

>35 thornton37814: That sounds like a great idea, Lori! I think Montalbano would be a good "traveling companion."

>36 laytonwoman3rd: Boo, hiss, that they don't have the Montalbano audios, Linda! Actually, our local library doesn't either; but I'm a cardholder of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, too, and they have many of them.

Book #99 Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs.

This book was interesting for what I learned about how the bodies of American service personnel are located and identified long after going missing in war. The mystery itself was a bit convoluted. A body in Quebec is identified via fingerprints as a man who was supposedly buried in a North Carolina cemetery after a helicopter crash during the Vietnam war. Tempe travels to a unit in Hawaii which specializes in identifying "unknown" military bodies. It was OK.

Just breezing through...!

>38 tymfos: Quebec where that body was found!



Have a great weekend, Terri and I look forward to seeing what will be your 100th read.

Stopping by to wish you a lovely weekend, Terri. Like you, I am really enjoying the Inspector Montalbano audiobooks read by Grover Gardner. Such fun.

HI Terri

During this weekend, while checking some threads, I found books to add to the tbr pile, including this one:

https://www.librarything.com/work/15672980/reviews
Slade House by David Mitchell

I thought of you and wondered if perhaps this is a book you would like.

>39 Berly: Hi, Kim!

>40 PaulCranswick: Hi, Paul! Thanks for the Quebec pic! Actually, I think the body was more out in the province of Quebec, away from the city. (But not so far out as Three Pines! :)

>41 lkernagh: Thanks for the weekend wishes, Lori, and I hope your weekend was good, too.

>42 Whisper1: Hi, Linda! Thanks for thinking of me, but I don't think that one is quite my cup of tea.

Yay for the debut of the LT app for iPhone! It doesn't do "Talk" but it sure will be handy in the bookstores to check my catalog, and nice for scanning to add books.

Book #100 The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

I wanted something special for my 100th book. I had a bunch of different books started in various formats. I had pretty much decided on finishing off the third volume of Shelby Foote's Civil War Narrative trilogy next. Then this ILL book came back before it needed to go to its home library. It had been on my radar for a while. A glance at the first few paragraphs, followed by a quick perusal of reviews, convinced me that I'd found my Book #100.

This was a wonderful book about a horrible thing: the Siege of Sarajevo. It's three stories about three individuals all dealing with the devastation wrought by the "men on the hill" who shoot and shell their precious city: Arrow, a sniper who seeks to kill the men who are killing her city; Kenan, who must walk through the dangerous city to the brewery with its water source, to fill his water containers so that his family will have water; and Dragan, who is making an equally dangerous trek to get bread for his family. Interwoven within all the stories, the unifying thread, is the cellist, member of a symphony orchestra which was torn apart by the war. From his window, he has witnessed an attack which killed 22 people in a bread line. Now, for 22 days, he will sit in the crater where they died and play Albinoni's Adagio.

I will admit, it was the mention of the Adagio in those opening paragraphs that helped to pull me in. It's a favorite piece of mine, and I listened to my recording of it repeatedly as I read the book. My recording is the full orchestral version, rather than a lone cello like in the book, but that is one haunting, stunningly beautiful melody -- however it is played. And this is one haunting, stunningly beautiful book

Sig sighting:)

OK, a week or so ago, I was working in the kitchen. I had the upper corner cupboard door open, and turned my back for an instant . . . heard a sound . . .



He does NOT belong there. :(

Fortunately, everything on that shelf is in sealed containers, so no real harm done.

Lol, cats and cabinets! My husband was making coffee one morning and woke me up saying "something was in the pet food cabinet and it's too big to be a mouse". Well it was our Boomer, happily closed in and chewing her way into the dog cookie packages.

She's always trying to get into the big corner cabinet
with the lazy susan.

I love The Cellist of Sarajevo. A great choice for #100! Congratulations!

Hi, Terri! I also loved The Cellist of Sarajevo and I agree with Joanne, it is a perfect #100.

I also recommend Slade House. It is a real gem and it's a shorty.

Congrats on hitting 100! I too loved The Cellist of Sarajevo. What a great choice for #100!

Oh, that Sig! It's a challenge to stay a step ahead of him! At least he provides some great photo opportunities.

>45 tymfos: The Cellist of Sarajevo is one of my favorite books, I think. It's one that has stuck with me since I read it.

>46 tymfos: Ha! How did he DO that? And what do you keep in your Barnum's animal cracker tin? I have the same one. It usually has a bag of chocolate chips in it. It used to fool my husband when he was looking to pilfer a a few, but he knows my secret now!

>51 laytonwoman3rd: Linda, I'm pretty sure he jumped from his own high perch (the upper shelf of a set of shelves we built just for him, on the other side of the kitchen, so he'd have his own high place to hang out) to the top of the fridge, and from the top of the fridge into the cabinet. I've seen him make the jump to the fridge many times, and I've seen him eyeing the cabinet from the fridge. As for the animal cracker tin, that's where I keep whatever bag of flavored coffee I have open. I don't have to worry about hubby pilfering any, as he doesn't drink the stuff, but I think it helps keep it fresh.

>50 thornton37814: Lori, I think that book will stick with me for a long, long time. Right now, the Albinoni Adagio is also stuck in my head . . . classic "earworm" thing, and it's such a sad melody, I think it's affecting my mood.

>49 cbl_tn: Thanks, Carrie! Sig sure makes life interesting.

>48 msf59: Hi, Mark! I'm not sure about Slade House . . .

>47 Copperskye: LOL! Joanne, I can just imagine Sig stuck in the closet with the catnip . . .

Once I finished my designated book #100, it was time to finish off the last bit of this audio book.

Book #101 We All Fall Down by Michael Harven AUDIO Book #4 in the Michael Kelly series

I was in a Chicago state of mind when I chose this, knowing the setting of this series. I'm not sure what to say about it. Harvey introduced Michale Kelly, P.I with the award-winning The Chicago Way. I loved it, and also the second book in the series, The Fifth Floor. (I read them out of order, but read those two before the subsequent books.) They were what you'd expect in a Chicago-based hard-boiled detective novel, only better. ;) There were tough guys and gangsters and corrupt politicians and other assorted bad guys, along with clever dialogue and just darn good writing. But he moved in a somewhat different direction in the third novel, and in this fourth one he goes even further, giving us a story about a bio weapon attack on parts of Chicago, with martial law and bodies in the streets. It's a whole different kind of crime novel from where the series started, and I'm not sure I like it, though I think he does it very well. It's just not quite what I signed up for when I started the series. Does that make any sense?

It's an odd juxtaposition with The Cellist of Sarajevo which I just finished. Part of the reflection in that novel is how things had once been normal and people expected life to go on like that, and then this war suddenly started and life was chaos. And I got to thinking, with this book, how we just expect life to be pretty much what it has been, more or less, but certain actions by evil people could suddenly change everything literally overnight. Scary stuff. I think I could put this one in the Halloween thread as a horror novel.

>45 tymfos: - What a great book for your 100th read! I have yet to read Galloway's subsequent work, The Confabulist as I am concerned it won't wow me quite like The Cellist of Sarajevo did.

Love the Sig sighting! What an adorable imp Sig is. ;-)

Happy weekend, Terri.

What a great picture of Sig, Terri. He seems to be a real explorer and I bet you have to be careful that you don't shut a cupboard and accidently shut him in.

Oh, cats and cupboards! I once had to explain to my puzzled brother (not a cat person) that to a cat, *every* cupboard is the entrance to Narnia! :)

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

Hi Terri, thanks for your review of We All Fall Down. I've red the first three Michael Harvey books but haven't gotten to this one yet. They're not my usual but I've liked them. At some point, I'll get to this one, too.

>54 lkernagh: Hi Lori! I haven't tried The Confabulist either, though the subject sounds interesting.

>55 Ameise1: Thanks, Barb!

>56 DeltaQueen50: Judy, I never shut a door without checking for Sig.

>57 lyzard: Liz, that is priceless!

>58 Ameise1: Thanks for the info, Barb.

>59 lindapanzo: Hi, Linda!

Sorry if my responses are brief. Some kind of virus has laid me low. Every time the Tylenol wears off, my fever spikes up to 103. I had to take an online test today in this state -- torture! -- and am relieved to have managed an 88% grade. Dear Sig came up and parked beside me on the comforter when I was napping this afternoon and didn't leave until hubby & son got home. Good kitty!

>60 tymfos: Get better soon, Terri. And Sig is such an adorable kitty, keeping watch over you.

>60 tymfos: Sorry you're down with Something, Terri. Cats do make very comforting nurse/companions.

I hope you are feeling better soon Terri. Glad to see Sig is keeping you company. ;-)

Sorry to hear that you're under the weather. Fell better soon.

Thanks, Connie, Linda, Lori, and Barbara!

I'm starting to feel a bit better. I got through the day at work yesterday. My fever was down, but then in the evening it went back up again. I don't have to work today, so I'm taking it easy.

I haven't felt like reading, but I have an audio book I listened to last week that I didn't get posted yet.

Book #102 The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman AUDIO

This audio was read by the author, and he is actually a delightful reader. If you could cut one paragraph out of the story, which invested one character with way too much god-like power, I'm sure my rating would be higher. Maybe I'm too literal. The narrator character again and again did indicate a strong affinity for the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, which I know were Christian metaphor. And this book was clearly a story of a battle between good and evil, featuring characters from another world? dimension? universe? Or perhaps the whole thing was one big fantasy? I don't know how to describe this without spoilers, and my brain is still too fuzzy to describe it even if I wasn't concerned about spoilers. It was clever? silly? odd? whimsical? frightening? Whatever. Maybe not quite my cup of tea.

There is a spoiler thing, Terri

(spoiler) and (/spoiler) but then with the pointed brackets

Thanks, Connie, I know about that, but I can't even think what to put there if I use it. My brain is mush this week.

>67 tymfos: I hope your brain gets better!

>68 connie53: Thanks, Connie, but now I've got darned pneumonia. Along with the antibiotic, they gave me a steroid that only makes the brain that much mushier.

Oh no. Sorry to hear that, Terri. Hope you're feeling better soon.

>70 lindapanzo: Thanks, Linda. Doc put me on an antibiotic strong enough to treat anthrax, so it should fix whatever bug got me. Doesn't help to hear that a lady I know (not well) died last night from pneumonia. She was a lot older and frailer than me, though. It does remind me that I was right to get to the doctor when I did.

>69 tymfos: I hope those drugs do a number on your pneumonia so that you are feeling better soon.

Thanks, Meg! Still coughing up a storm, especially when I try to lie down, but breathing a bit easier.

It's really hard to sleep.

I still have a book I managed to finish that I haven't managed to post. I really liked it, so I want to write it up right.

I'm glad you got to the doctor in timely fashion...pneumonia is nothing to sneeze at (sorry). Rest and feel better soon!

>75 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks, Linda!

Book #103 The Nameless Dead by Brian McGilloway (#5 Inspector Ben Devlin series)

While assisting in the search of an island in the River Foyle, where a special Commission is conducting the search for a man who disappeared during the Troubles, Ben Devlin is confronted by the bodies of dead babies. Many are infants who were stillborn or died near birth unbaptized, and not allowed burial in consecrated ground under old Church rules. Apparently, unofficial burial grounds exist all over Ireland for such wee ones. But apart from the cillin (I think that's the term) of those nameless dead are a group of deformed infants, which seem of more recent origin -- and one of them was clearly murdered. But there are yet other problems to rise from this dig. Even before the one who is object of their search is fully unearthed, several locals are soon dead.

I love Brian McGilloway's Ben Devlin series that begins with Borderlands, set in County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland near the border with Northern Ireland (Derry area). I have some genealogical roots in that area, so it's interesting to read books set there. There's lots of drama, because they are still dealing with much fallout from the Troubles. Devlin is a neat character (not too perfect, not too flawed) and struggles to deal with his family as the kids are growing up and his job takes up too much of his attention. He frequently has to deal with his counterparts in the North (actually, from his headquarters, Northern Ireland is almost directly due East across the Lifford Bridge over the River Foyle). It's interesting to see the official and occasionally unofficial ways the two sides interact.

This book introduced me to the work that is being done to find those who were "disappeared" by the IRA during the troubles, due to suspected collaboration with the British officials. I already returned the book to the library (it was an ILL) so I can't reference the exact terminology, but there is a law that if people provide info about where the bodies are, nothing found in the search for those victims can be used in any prosecution -- there is a particular Commission that handles these reports and searches in an effort to bring closure for the families of the missing. But what if another crime, unrelated to the Troubles, is discovered in the process? Apparently, the way the law is written, it can't be investigated, either.

This book was also very touching in dealing with the grief of those parents who lost babies, and the special grief that was felt by those whose children were relegated to informal burials in unconsecrated ground. It makes it clear that the Roman Catholic Church has changed a great deal from the old days in its teaching and practice on that matter.

Wait, pneumonia?! How did I miss that?! Feel better, Terri, Toot Sweet!!

>77 scaifea: Thanks, Amber! Yesterday was my second day on the medications, and I felt much improved. I even finished a book, though it was just a rather lightweight (but good) police procedural.

Book #104 Killjoy by Ann Cleeves (#4 Inspector Stephen Ramsay series)

This is part of an older Ann Cleeves series I've been reading off and on. They're not as polished as her more recent work, but they still are dandy little police procedurals. This one, from 1993, has Ramsay off to help the overwhelmed North Tyneside police solve the murder of a young lady who had the lead in a local theater production. The locals are dealing with an epidemic of joyriding teenagers, ram raids, and auto parts theft. There have been riots on the Starling Farm Estate (a fancy name for the run-down local low-income housing project). There is a lot going on, a lot of false trails to follow, and almost everyone seems to have something to hide.

I'm still coughing, and the meds make me lightheaded (documented side effect), but I think I am slowly improving. The fever has been gone since Tuesday. I actually worked 3 hours Friday and got a haircut -- after 5 days on the antibiotic, I think I'm probably safe to be around -- but am still mostly taking it easy.

Book #105 The Civil War: A Narrative: Red River to Appomattox by Shelby Foote (finished -- finally -- 11-6-15)

I finally finished the third volume of Shelby Foote's The Civil War: A Narrative, which I've been nibbling at since September. Now I've read the entire trilogy. I am very interested in the Civil War, but I'm afraid I don't have a mind for military strategy. I was more taken by the human element of what happened, if you know what I mean. And Foote brings us both the "big picture" and the tiny, telling images with such skill!

Foote's work on this trilogy was brilliant, but I must say this volume was a bit hard to get through. At over 1000 pages, it was the longest volume of the three. I gather from the author's note that this volume took a decade to finish, while the whole trilogy took a total of 20 years. I think by the end, I was ready for the war to be over. But that's not to take anything away from the quality of Foote's work -- this narrative history is priceless.

>79 tymfos: I think by the end, I was ready for the war to be over. That is probably a sentiment that was shared by the soldiers, Teri. Reading the whole trilogy is quite a accomplishment. I only have the third volume as it will help with the research that I am doing. Good to know that it is the longest in case I feel like I really must read the other two.

That is probably a sentiment that was shared by the soldiers, Teri.

Of course! And the country (or "countries," as some Southerners might have said) as a whole.

I found this the most difficult of the three to read. Perhaps there were fewer battles with which I had great familiarity, Maybe it was just the cumlative cost of all those battle over the years, seeing the terrible toll as it added up. And the length. And he did not end with the end of the war, but also dealt with the aftermath. Also, it seemed harder for me to adjust to the shifts between different theaters of war than in the previous books, though maybe that's a function of my increasing age.

So sorry to hear that you're under the weather. My husband had pneumonia last spring and it really laid him low for a few weeks.

Hope you're feeling better!

Thanks, Joanne! I'm progressing a little at a time.

I muddled through some work for my online class this evening. I have two more tests to take between now and Tuesday afternoon.

Abandoned book: The River is Dark by Joe Hart. I tried this as a Halloween read, as I think it was eventually supposed to be a horror novel. Almost halfway through, still hadn't captured my interest. Mostly, it annoyed me. Life is too short to spend slogging through books one doesn't like.

Abandoned yet another e-book. I've been doing a lot of that lately. Can't seem to find one that suits my mood.

Terri.. I seem to have this same issue. I wonder sometimes if it's because most of the e-books I have are review copies from publishers and/or freebies/cheepies. Would I read longer if I had more $$ invested?

>85 tymfos: I think I'm having the same problem. I definitely have had some issues with one or two of the ARCs lately, but it's not just those that aren't satisfying. I think the audiobook I'm listening to (an Inspector Montalbano one) is at least breaking some of it. I don't really hate the Kingsolver book. I just don't have time to read more than a few chapters at a time so I feel like I'm getting nowhere when it is as big as it is.

>86 tututhefirst: Tina, there may be something to that. I don't think it's just not having $$ invested, but also the quality of what I typically obtain on the cheap -- often self-published stuff that sounds better than it is. I don't have dollars invested in the e-books I borrow on Overdrive, either, but I generally do better with those.

>87 thornton37814: Lori, it can be really frustrating trying to read a big book a little at a time.

I finished one more good book, Tony Hillerman's The Ghostway. I really like the Hillerman books. They are interesting, and the mysteries are good, too. I like that, at least so far, they've been fairly short, too, suiting my current attention span.

>88 tymfos: I finished the Montalbano audio book on the ride home. It may be Sunday before I get a chance to review it. It took me about 1.5 hours to go what should have taken 30 minutes today in Nashville so it was 9 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. when I got home. Needless to say, I'm exhausted. I'm driving to Winston-Salem and back tomorrow. I had intended to pack my shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child tonight, but I was too exhausted. I'll have to try to do it before I leave in the morning so I can make sure I don't need something else to go in them. I think they are probably overstuffed, but I'm not sure.

>89 thornton37814: Lori, sounds like quite the stressful trip home. I hope you got some rest!

Book #106 The Ghostway by Tony Hillerman (Jim Chee book #3; Leaphorn/Chee series #6)

I really like these books by Tony Hillerman. It's very interesting to learn about the Navajo traditions. They are very good mysteries, too. I really enjoyed this one. There is a shooting in a parking lot, then a dead body in the hogan of an elderly Navajo. Jim Chee notices some oddities in how the death scene was handled, knowing that the man who had lived in the hogan was very much a traditionalist. Meanwhile, a girl is reported missing, and the FBI is not being forthcoming in what they know about the whole situation. It all is very compelling reading.

Book #107 The Snowman by Jo Nesbo AUDIO #7 Harry Hole series

I figured out the "who" (though not the why, at least not completely) in this book about halfway through it. There was a glaring red flag that no one in the Crime Squad seemed to notice, but I did. A character warned Harry that a suspect was asking about a certain lethal drug -- and then that suspect was found dead of that drug in an apparent suicide. Once they found that it was actually murder staged as a suicide, shouldn't they have immediately suspected the character who gave that "warning" ???

The story was clever, especially in the scheming of the culprit, and there were lots of false trails and red herrings. But the above-mentioned glaring clue that was totally missed by the supposedly brilliant detective kind of killed the book for me.

Are you feeling better again, Terri? I hope you do!

>92 connie53: Thanks, Connie, I'm doing a lot better, though the cough is still hanging on.

Book #108 The Ghost Walker by Margaret Coel AUDIO (11-19-15) Book #2 in Wind River Mystery series

I thought this was a really good mystery. It really kept me guessing. The characters and setting are interesting. Father John finds a body; then the body disappears before the police get arrive. A young man is missing. Was it his body? Meanwhile, there is a strong chance that the Mission may close. Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden's estranged daughter has returned to the reservation, with three suspicious white men. Intrigue abounds.

I really liked this mystery, and listened to it every chance I got, finishing it in a couple of days. I'm not thrilled with the narration on these in audio format, but I liked the story enough that it didn't discourage my listening. I've already ordered the next in series through inter-library loan, though in hard cover format.

Being from the mid-90's, some aspects are a bit dated. I don't mind the missing technology. Some aspects of reservation life have changed since then. It is mentioned in the book that (at the time) the reservation had no casinos, as they were not compatible with the Arapaho way; that has changed in the intervening years. In fact, according to the map of the Wind River Reservation that I found online, there is a casino a very short distance from the mission church on the reservation. (The fictional St. Francis mission appears to be somewhat based on the real St. Peter's mission, at least as far as its location. I even recognized road names from the novel on the map.)

Book #109 Cockatiels at Seven by Donna Andrews (11-20-15) Book #9 in the Meg Langslow series.

Meg hasn't seen her friend Karen in ages, but one day Karen arrives and drops off her young son, asking Meg to tend to him for a short time. She's obviously facing some kind of emergency. When Karen doesn't return and Meg can't reach her, she goes on the hunt to investigate what has happened. There is murder and mayhem, a computer scheme, and critters galore. This one was funny without being too over-the-top most of the time, and the mystery was actually pretty interesting.

Hi Terri, I finally find time to do some weekend greetings. Wishing you a most lovely weekend.

Terri...I read The Ghost Walker several years ago - as an audio. In fact I think it was one of the first of Margaret Coel's that I read. It is an enjoyable series, although I don't stay with it as industriously as other series. I find it's an easy series to drop into every once in a while, and not feel like I need to run out immediately and get another. They're always on my radar tho. Glad you enjoyed it.

>93 tymfos: Nice summary of the Coel book. I actually just listened to that one, finishing it Saturday night. I haven't had time to write the review yet, but I agree with your statement that parts of it were dated. It was interesting though.

>95 Ameise1: Thanks for the lively image! Have a great week, Barbara!

>96 tututhefirst: Hi, Tina! I do like that series so far. I decided I was in the mood to do another, and ordered it in through ILL. Then I'll probably let the series rest for a while.

>97 thornton37814: Hi, Lori! So many of those things that are "dated," I just read them like I'd read a classic, or a piece of historical fiction -- I look at the time period when they take place (when they were written, if they were meant to be contemporary at the time) and set my expectations accordingly.

Book #110 Color Tour by Aaron Stander (#2, Ray Elkins mysteries) e-book (11-22-15)

I read this out of order -- I had book #3 and read it, then just got this one. It was clear when I read Deer Season that I'd missed a lot of Ray's story by skipping this one, and now I know what I missed and how it all went down.

These books are not great -- there's something about some of the details included, and the way they are included, that doesn't flow, somehow doesn't feel natural. Stander seems to excessively push the fact that Ray isn't your typical rural sheriff. But the mystery was pretty good, and I love the northern Michigan setting. Someone in a review described them as being on the UP, but actually they are set in the northern part of the lower part of Michigan, near Lake Michigan. (I seem to recall mention of Traverse City as a point not too far away.)

Book #111 Past Reason Hated by Peter Robinson.

A woman comes home to find her partner dead and a Vivaldi piece playing over and over on the stereo. The dead woman (who hated classical music) has a past that seems to suggest that a motive may rest with old grudges of some sort. There is a disfunctional family background, a wild time during her younger years in London, and an obvious motive for her partner's ex-husband (a famous conductor/composer) to hate her. Inspector Banks and newly-promoted Detective Constable Susan Gay are on the case; there's also vandalism at the local Community Center to investigate, which seems part of an overall trend toward vandalism in the area.

Part of the story is that of how people react to those who do not meet their expectations. Susan Gay makes her mind up early as to the guilty party, based solely on the sexual orientation of the women. Banks takes a more even-handed view, but is increasingly frustrated by lack of progress in the case. There is a brother who hated his sister, and she (at least initially) seems to have deserved it for how she treated her family. The end is probably not what anyone expected.

This book was first published in 1993, so prevailing attitudes were probably a bit different from now, but not totally. This is a well-written police procedural that also looks at a variety of societal issues and attitudes in a forthright way. We also get to know Inspector Banks a lot better, and the more I learn of him, the more I like him.

Terri, I love the Bank series. This one is on my TBR pile. Will read it next year.

>101 Ameise1: I hope you enjoy it!

A bit late, but I hope that folks celebrating Thanksgiving had a great day!

I've finished two audios and two other books over the past few days. I still can't shake this stupid cough, despite a second trip to the doctor's office and a fresh set of meds, so I'm taking it easy and reading as much as possible. We did do a nice day trip to Winchester, VA yesterday, with my husband driving. The weather was lovely (sunny, 60's) and I thought the fresh air might do me good. I read in the car.

Book #112 Wreck the Halls by Sarah Graves AUDIO Home Repair is Homicide series, book #5 (finished 11-25-15)

Christmas in Easport may be short of Peace on Earth in the aftermath of the town's latest crime. When the local butcher is found butchered in his butcher shop, and his battered wife is found dazed and covered in blood nearby, it seems an open-and-shut case to officers of the State Bureau of Investigation, who are already conveniently in town -- why? (We find out later.) But something doesn't add up in in the minds of Jacobia Tiptree and her best friend Ellie White. And so they start their own investigation.

This wasn't my favorite of the series, and it was a bit convoluted, but it was OK.

Book #113 Lending a Paw by Laurie Cass e-book First book in Bookmobile Cat series (finished 11-26-15)

This was a cute book. It's not great literature, and not even a particularly great mystery, but how could I resist a bookmobile cat story? Minnie Hamilton has fought to get a bookmobile in service to visit the outlying areas of her library district, where the branch libraries have all been closed to save money. But her stowaway tabby goes rambling and makes a gruesome discovery. When a co-worker seems to be the main suspect, Minnie promises to do a bit of sleuthing. I liked Minnie, and I liked the small-town Michigan setting. (Another Michigan book? Didn't know that when I bought it.)

Book #114 Philly Stakes by Gillian Roberts; book #2 in Amanda Pepper series (finished 11-27-15)

Amanda tries to get her students involved in a charitable Christmas project, which gets taken over by a pushy businessman who is the father of one of her students. Her trip to feed the homeless at a soup kitchen becomes a dinner party for select homeless people at the businessman's Chestnut Hill mansion. But more goes wrong than dinner planning, and by morning the businessman is dead and his daughter is a suspect. Then a flurry of dubious confessions (perhaps it's the Christmas spirit?) and another body confuse matters.

This was a decent mystery that I liked more for the setting than the story.

Book #115 Rounding the Mark by Andrea Camilleri AUDIO Inspector Montalbano series, book #7 (finished 11-28-15)

This one was a little heavier than most installments in this series. Montalbano is ready to resign, in the face of police abuses, but is caught up in two "unofficial" investigations involving a body he finds while swimming, and an illegal immigrant boy he encounters on a beach. I can't call this a police procedural when Montalbano rarely follows proper procedure -- preferring to follow his own Lone Ranger path much of the time -- but his heart is in the right place. A good story.

>104 tymfos: Good point about the Montalbano books being anti-procedurals!

Have a lovely long Thanksgiving weekend.

>105 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul! Best wishes to you!

Hi! Wow--cranking out those books. Congrats!

>103 tymfos: I found Lending a Paw a "fun" read. As you said, it's not great literature, but it's a great diversion.

Another awful mass shooting. My thoughts and prayers are with the folks in San Bernadino. Why would people shoot up a service center for people with developmental disabilities?

>107 Berly: Thanks, Kim!

>108 thornton37814: Definitely a fun read. I have the third in that series that I picked up from a library sale.

>109 tymfos: I just saw that on the news, Teri. Why would people shoot up a service center for people with developmental disabilities? Those were my thoughts exactly. I was especially flummoxed when I heard there was more than one shooter involved. One person with a grudge I could see but a few people?

>110 Familyhistorian: Well, sounds more and more like it may have been a terrorism thing, and most certainly employees as target. Sad, sad, however it was.

None of the books I'm reading have me feeling enthusiastic. There's nothing wrong with them, and I'm not sure anything else would capture my interest any better. It's probably the time of year and the horrible news from the world at large. Should I plow on with them, or bail and try something else, I wonder?

Wishing you a lovely weekend, Terri.

>112 tymfos: I'm having the same problem, too many distractions, so I'm opting for plowing forth until something grabs me.

>113 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara! I hope your weekend is lovely, too!

>114 qebo: I managed to plow through the end of a book and an audio that I'd been working on for a while. Still not grabbed.

Book #116 Hell for the Holidays by Chris Grabenstein (#2 Christopher Miller Holiday Thrillers)

FBI agent Christopher Miller is dealing with his daughter's psychological "anniversary reaction" to her frightful experience with a gun-toting Santa impersonator in the previous installment of this series. Now a white supremist brotherhood of neo-Nazi skinheads and redneck bigots, headed by an ultra-right-wing minister -- which seems to be using Al Quaida's organizational methods -- has gotten hold of a rocket launcher just in time for Thanksgiving. It's sure to mean hell for another holiday season. Unfortunately, Miller's superiors are so fixated on Islamic terrorist threats that these American right-wing nutcases don't register as a major concern.

This didn't quite work for me. I like the protagonist and his family, and there were lots of twists and turns and double-crosses, but there was something in the writing style that fell flat. Odd, since I love Grabenstein's John Ceepak series. This one reminded me of James Patterson's style -- I think Grabenstein has worked with him recently, so maybe Patterson's writing characteristics are rubbing off and ruining a previously good author.

It was a quick read, though. Even at almost 400 pages, the chapters were very short, so there was lots of white space on pages along the way. It was perfect for my current attention span.

Book #117 The Governor's Wife by Michael Harvey AUDIO (#5 Michael Kelly, PI series)

The latest in the Michael Kelly series has our PI looking for a convicted ex-governor, who disappeared from the courthouse immediately following his sentencing hearing. Kelly is working for a high-paying but anonymous client. The governor's wife seems most likely to hold answers to the mystery. But there are some disturbing indicators in the campaign finance records.

This worked for me better than the last book, which went a little too far out of the genre I expected. It is very dark, and the conspiracies seem far-fetched, but maybe they wouldn't seem that way to someone from Chicago. I guess the political corruption there is legendary. I'm not enthusiastic about this one, but then these days I'm in a bit of a reading funk and not too excited about anything I read.

>115 tymfos: I think I'll pass on both of those. I hope you get out of your funk!

Thanks, Lori!

Hi Terri, I read Slay Ride a few years ago, it also featured Christopher Miller and I totally agree that these books aren't nearly as good as his John Ceepak series. The Ceepak series has so much humor, originality and quirky characters and are so much fun to read whereas the Christopher Miller series seems very run-of-the-mill.

Hi, Terri! Just checking in. Hope all is well. I read and enjoyed the first 2 Michael Kelly mysteries but somehow stalled on them. He does capture Chicago well.

How is Being Mortal coming? That is such a good read.

>46 tymfos: That Sig sure is adventuresome! How in the world did he get in the cabinet? What a cat!

Also, you are reading at a very rapid pace. Congratulations. You have read some mighty fine books.

All the best to you this Christmas season.

>119 msf59: Hi, Mark! Remarks on Being Mortal coming soon -- just finished it.

>120 Whisper1: Hi, Linda! Sig jumped from shelf to top of fridge to cabinet, most likely.

Happy Christmas wishes to you, too.

I love Sig, the cat that acts like an acrobat.

>122 Whisper1: He was spinning around my desk chair this evening.

Book #118 Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Enough has been written about this book that I don't think I need to describe it in depth. It is an excellent exploration of end-of-life issues and how we might live life in a meaningful way as much as possible right to the end. It is not a dry treatise, but full of stories of real people, including the author's own family.

This by far the best of my recent books -- one of the best of the year, if not the very best. Not only is it important subject matter handled well, it is touching and well-written and absolutely readable. I took my time, wanting time to think about what I was reading. 5-star read.

Book #119 Little Girl Lost by Brian McGilloway (Book #1 DS Lucy Black series)

A little girl is found wandering in the woods in the snow. She is traumatized and unable to speak, and blood is found on her clothing. The teenage daughter of a wealthy developer is missing. Is there a connection? DS Lucy Black seems to be the one person the young girl trusts.

This is the first in a second series by McGilloway. I love his Ben Devlin series, focused on a Garda inspector in the Republic of Ireland. This series focuses on Lucy Black, a DS in Derry, Northern Ireland. As with the Devlin series, the shadow of the Troubles looms large. It took me a while to warm up to Lucy, and I still can't say I like this series as much as the Ben Devlin one. But it was a respectable police procedural.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, Terri.

Thanks, Barbara! I hope you have a great weekend, too!

Book #120 Edwin of the Iron Shoes (Sharon McCone series, book #1)

An antiques dealer is murdered. PI Sharon McCone had been investigating vandalism in the area for a local legal co-op, and gets called to the scene. Is the murder related to the vandalism? This was a decent mystery, though I got annoyed with the protagonist quite a few times. This PI was as foolish as a lot of the amateurs in cozies that I read. But it's first in a long-running, successful series. I read a few from this series, out of order, years ago, and have no ideas which ones, but this one was new to me and I know others I read were better.

Looks like you are getting back into the swing of things with your current reads, Teri. I hope that you will find a really good one soon.

>127 Familyhistorian: Meg, Being Mortal was wonderful, and the books I'm reading now are all at least OK . . .

PICTURE BOOK BREAK
A staff member donated a bunch of books her kids have outgrown, and this one caught my eye:



Oh, this book had me laughing! He wasn't a bad kitty, until they ran out of cat food and tried offering him an A-Z selection of veggies . . .
Oh, the antics of the bad kitty, from A-Z! Then, he tries to make up for it (again, acts from A-Z) after his person comes home from the store with a carnivore's alphabetic delight of foods (some pretty wild!)! And then the reward for his reform . . . no good deed goes unpunished.

Hilarious!

>128 tymfos: I love that one! It's one I own.

>128 tymfos: Charlie LOVES Bad Kitty! Glad you do, too!

Wishing you a lovely weekend, Terri.

>129 thornton37814: Isn't it funny? I love the little details, like the notes the cat wrote to the neighbor. . . .

>130 scaifea: Charlie has good taste!

>131 Ameise1: Thanks for the lovely image, Barbara! Looks cozy.

Book #121 The Dream Stalker by Margaret Coel (#3, Wind River series)

Father John receives a late-night call from a stranger; when he goes to meet him, he finds the man murdered. Meanwhile, Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden is going against popular opinion among her people when she opposes the building of a nuclear waste storage facility on the reservation. (Most folks are eager for the good and badly-needed jobs that have been promised.) Someone objects to Vicky's objection, as several attempts are made on her life.

I didn't like this one quite as much as the previous ones in the series. I got especially aggravated with some of the melodrama regarding the attraction between Vicky and Father John. But it was still a decent mystery, and there was more of Coel's interesting portrayal of Arapaho traditions.

I've been slow to decorate for Christmas this year. Last year was our first Christmas with Sig, and we really didn't decorate at all because we went to spend Christmas with family as soon as the Christmas Eve services were done. So this year, I've worried how Sig will react to decorations.

I started small -- tablecloths, a centerpiece on the dining room table, throws, pillows, a few trinkets, an electronic (non-flame) candle.

Sig is making friends with the new items.



Looks peaceful, huh? This was after he tried to eat the centerpiece (but soon found the plastic unappealing) and pulled off a tablecloth (we don't usually have one on the kitchen table) . . . he has settled down, though.

Next up: the tree . . .

>133 tymfos: Sig looks like one of the decorations in that shot. I had to laugh when I read your last line because when I first read it I changed the punctuation to Next, up the tree - got to hope that's not what happens!

Lol! Probably a prophetic misreading ...

>133 tymfos: Waiting on the picture of Sig in the tree! One of my friends on Facebook posted a pic of hers in her tree after I'd posted the one of mine.

>133 tymfos: That's a wonderful photo. We are decorating everything, too. Tonight we host the first xmas gathering.

>133 tymfos: So thoughtful of you to put down all those snug and festive blankies for Sig! Good luck with the tree. Molly likes to prowl around the bottom of ours, batting at things, but she's not much of a climber, so we haven't had to worry about total chaos.

>136 thornton37814: Your kitten in a tree is adorable, Lori. I'm just not sure our tree can withstand a Sig invasion. He's a pretty big cat. It's a pretty flimsy tree.

>137 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara. Have fun at your Christmas gathering!

>138 laytonwoman3rd: Linda, Sig actually slept in that chair much of last night. He really likes it that way. I hope Sig just prowls around the base of the tree, but knowing him . . . well the tree goes up tonight! We'll see how it stays up.

Last night around 2:30 a.m. I was awake and heard a tell-tale "thump, rustle" of a gift bag getting knocked over and Sig getting into the tissue paper. Hubby heard it too, and we both started laughing. We didn't go down and check on things. It is what it is. In the morning, one bag was indeed knocked over, and Sig had shredded some of the tissue paper, but the actual contents of the bag were unharmed.

Sig makes me laugh. How I wish I had 1/10 of his energy.

Spinning around on a chair? What a great image.

All good wishes to you and your family for a wonderful Christmas. I imagine Sig is getting coal.

^And may your New Year be filled with books and bookish friends!

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

For my Christmas/Hanukkah/Solstice/Holiday image this year (we are so diverse!), I've chosen this photograph by local photographer Mark Lenoce of the pier at Pacific Beach to express my holiday wishes to you: Peace on Earth and Good Will toward All!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Terri!

There is no chance that I will manage to get caught up with the threads but I had to make sure that I stopped by your thread Terri to wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas and all the very best this holiday season!

Have a lovely holiday, Terri

Merry Christmas, Terri, and a very happy 2016 too!

(I can't tell you how impressed I am that you have now read ALL of Shelby Foote's Civil War trilogy. I'm still resting from the first volume a couple of years ago.)

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to you too, Linda, Mark, Linda, Barbara, Roni, Meg, Joanne, Lori, Paul, and Peggy! I love the great images you've posted. I hope to get to all of your threads with holiday wishes, if I haven't been there already. I'm finding it hard to get LT time these days.

>149 LizzieD: Peggy, I took about a 5-year break between volume 2 and volume 3 of the Foote trilogy, and probably at least as long between the first two. (I read the first one pre-LT, so I don't know exactly when that was -- definitely before 2009.)

Merry Christmas Terri! Sig looks right at home among the decorations.

Thanks, Carrie and Kim! Gotta love the pile of books! I did get two books for Christmas, as well as some bookish gift cards. Yay!

Well, the tree has been up for several days, and Sig hasn't climbed it yet. I think he tested the lower branches and decided it was too flimsy. He did try to eat it, but decided it wasn't edible. He did decide the fake berries on it make good toys, so he's pulled a few of them off and batted them around the room.

I wanted to get around to a lot of the threads to spread holiday greetings, but alas I did not get to many that I wanted to visit. And now the 2016 group is starting, and there are that many more threads for me to get behind on!

I've "joined" the 2016 75 Challenge and Category Challenge, but haven't started threads yet.

I spotted the annual book meme on Lori's (lkernagh) thread, and decided to give it a go:

Describe yourself: Listening Woman
Describe how you feel: Out of Tune
Describe where you currently live: House of Echoes
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Take Me Out to the Ballgame
Your favorite form of transportation: Excursion to Tindari
Your best friend is: Bootlegger's Daughter
You and your friends are: Lending a Paw
What’s the weather like: Winter at the Door
You fear: The Theft of Memory
What is the best advice you have to give: Wait for Signs
Thought for the day: All Shall Be Well
How I would like to die: Buried in a Book
My soul’s present condition: The Soul of Discretion

I stole the meme and it's on my thread. ; ) Thanks!! I love how your titles fit especially your fear, how you want to die, the weather and thought for the day.

Great meme answers, Terri!

I'm holding off until I know I've read the last book I'll read in 2015 before posting my meme. I may finish 3 or 4 more. I'm almost positive I'll finish 2, and I'm hoping to finish at least a 3rd one and maybe a 4th one.

>155 Berly: Thanks, Kim!

>156 lkernagh: Thanks, Lori

>157 thornton37814: I doubt that any of the books I'll finish in the next few days would have been better answers than what I used, Lori.

>158 tymfos: The one I just finished might come in handy!

>159 thornton37814: Great timing!

Two more books:

Book #122 Voices by Arlandur Indridason
Inspector Erlendur series

This was a really dark mystery which begins with the bizarre murder of a hotel Santa Claus (caught dead with his pants down) and which is full of dreariness in the face of the holidays. We get to know more of Erlendur and the tragedy that haunts him. It's a bit of an exploration of survivor's guilt. It's also an exploration of the pain caused when parents try to remake their children in the image of what they want them to be, rather than accepting who they are. The issues of fractured families are front and center.

Book #123 A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn
#1 Inspector Emmanuel Cooper series

In apartheid-era South Africa, Inspector Emmanuel Cooper is called to the scene of an Afrikaner police captain's murder. The murder catches the attention of the special Security Branch, which sees a chance to railroad a Communist for the crime by coercing a confession. Cooper is pushed to the sidelines, left to investigate a molestation case where women of color have been attacked -- a crime most white South African policemen would consider unworthy of their time. Only Cooper sees a possible connection between the cases. And Cooper has a secret that makes him vulnerable. The murder vicitm had secrets, too -- did one of the secrets get him killed?

This is a stunning introduction for a new series, and an amazing debut novel by the author. It didn't read like a first-in-series at all -- none of the usual data-dump flaws. The book is set in 1950's apartheid South Africa. The countryside is savagely beautiful; the laws are simply savage. The author brings to life the injustices of the apartheid system and the unchecked lawlessness and brutality of the Security Branch. The story also delves into the complexities of relationships between "whites, blacks, and coloreds," in that place and time which, despite the risks, often defied the strict lines drawn by the law. The characters are interesting and complex. My favorite character was the Zulu Constable Shabalala.

Tomorrow is the 31st. I'll read the last installment of my daily devotional read, Near to the Heart of God, and I hope to finish up Neurotribes. If I finish those, that will make 125 books for the year.

Other current reads are Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor AUDIO and Six Geese a Slaying by Donna Andrews.
There's only the slimmest chance of finishing either of those before we ring in the New Year.

>161 tymfos: Terri, the Nunn book goes to my library list. I try to read it in 2016.

Barbara, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I'm just sorry it sat on my shelf so long before I got to it!

>164 tymfos: I'm just sorry it sat on my shelf so long
So many shiny new books.

>165 qebo: True, Katherine!

Book #124 Near to the Heart of God: Meditations on 366 Best-Loved Hymns by Robert J. Morgan

I used this as a daily devotional. Each entry includes a small passage giving background about a hymn and its writer, a hymn text, and a Bible verse. Each reading is somehow related to the day of the calendar -- the hymnwriter was born or died on that day of the year, the hymn was first published then, some major event in the hymnwriter's life happend on that date, etc. Sometimes the connection with the date is more obscure, but there's always a connection. These are very simple readings, but I enjoyed them and was refreshed by the hymn texts, both the familiar and the obscure.

>167 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara!

I'm seeing "best of the year" lists cropping up on threads, and I guess I should try and come up with my own. I tend to want to separate fiction and non-fiction. These are based on my memories and feelings at this moment, filtered by time, and may not match the "star" ratings I gave the books immediately after I read them. These are in no particular order.

Best of fiction:
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn
Haunted Ground by Erin Hart
Let it Burn by Steve Hamilton
The Nameless Dead by Brian McGilloway

Best of non-fiction:
Dead Wake by Erik Larson
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
The Civil War, A Narrative: Red River to Appomattox by Shelby Foote
The Theft of Memory by Jonathan Kozol
Neurotribes by Steve Silberman (I'm not quite done this one as I write -- about 20 pages to go.)
Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers by Anne Lamott
Small Victories by Anne Lamott

ETA to add: I see all of these got at least 4 stars from me, many got 4 1/2 stars. . . the only 5-star was Being Mortal. Was that the only book I gave 5 stars to this year, or am I forgetting about one that I loved?

>166 tymfos: Hymn devotions are wonderful, aren't they? I'm planning to read a short devotional every day this year. I have several from which to choose. I'm also going to be doing some Bible study books where the goal is to do a chapter a day (although it may be slightly less frequent than that). Our pastor has challenged us to focus on the texts more and not be worried about reading through it in a year so I've decided not to read through in a year but to do more in-depth Bible studies in 2016.

>168 tymfos: I think The Cellist of Sarajevo is one of my all-time favorite books. I loved Haunted Ground when I read it back in 2010.

>169 thornton37814: Lori, I had no hesitation in starting out my "best reads" list with The Cellist of Sarajevo. It is truly a gem.

I finally finished this one last book, as I'd hoped to. I need to write a "real" review of this because I got it as an ER book, but here are my initial comments:

Book #125 Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity by Steve Silberman.

I was slow getting through this book, because some of the earlier chapters were quite depressing. Research about and understanding of the autism spectrum has too often been sidetracked by egos, erroneous ideas, and a disdain for anyone whose mind works differently from the "norm" -- and the discussion of the horrible eugenics agenda of the Nazis was positively chilling!

The later chapters became more and more encouraging, exploring the possibilities of a society where neurodeversity is respected and supported. This is an important book, and I did not hesitate to list it among my best non-fiction books of the year, even before I finished it.

OK, I've started my 2016 thread. I'm over here:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/210735#

Happy New Year!