Ursula Challenges Herself in 2016 ... Maybe

Hi, I'm Ursula, and I just lost my entire post right before I was ready to hit the "submit" button ... so you get the abbreviated version of what I was writing, sorry! I've been a member of this group before, but I skipped it in 2015. If you remember me from 2013 and 2014, you may recall that at the time I was living in Belgium and then California, but now I live in Italy. Pretty much everything else is still the same - still married to a mathematician, still an artist and photographer, still have 2 kids in college (although my daughter will graduate with a degree in geology this year).

I read mostly what you might call "literary" fiction, with some "non-literary" (see, it sounds snobby when you turn it around like that) fiction, and some nonfiction, mostly in audio book form.

I am toying with the idea of participating in some of the challenges going on in this group, but we'll see how that goes because I tend not to plan my reading or do challenges like that. The most I've done is that the last couple of years have involved some sort of long read - 2 years ago it was a year-long project for In Search of Lost Time and last year it was a 3-month read of Infinite Jest. I'm not sure what I'm going to do for this year just yet.

The photo was taken in Caserta, just outside of Naples. Someone said it had a feeling of "Nighthawks at the Pasticceria," the idea of which I definitely enjoy.

Currently reading:

    

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach, The Pure Gold Baby by Margaret Drabble, Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady by Samuel Richardson

Currently reading in Italian:



Il Piccolo Principe by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Currently listening to:



1968: The Year That Rocked the World by Mark Kurlansky

Also listening to:

Books Read in 2016

▓▓▓▒▒▒▒░░░January░░░▒▒▒▒▓▓▓

The Secret History of Wonder Woman - finished Jan 7 (audio, 9h 5m) ☼☼☼☼
White Teeth - finished Jan 16 (464 pages) ☼☼☼1/2
Breathing Lessons - finished Jan 22 (327 pages) ☼☼☼☼
After Hannibal - finished Jan 23 (250 pages) ☼☼☼☼
The Unbearable Lightness of Being - finished Jan 25 (311 pages) ☼☼☼☼
The Woman in Black - finished Jan 28 (164 pages) ☼☼☼☼
The Family Romanov - finished Jan 28 (audio, 9h 23m) ☼☼☼
Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant? - finished Jan 29 (228 pages) ☼☼☼☼1/2

Total Read in January: 8
January Stats

▓▓▓▒▒▒▒░░░January░░░▒▒▒▒▓▓▓

The Human Stain - finished Feb 6 (361 pages) ☼☼☼1/2
Operation Paperclip - finished Feb 11 (audio, 19h 25m) ☼☼☼☼
The Surgeon's Mate - finished Feb 14 (382 pages) ☼☼☼☼
Between the World and Me - finished Feb 14 (audio, 3h 35m) ☼☼☼☼☼
Bridge of Sighs - finished Feb 18 (527 pages) ☼☼
The Help - finished Feb 21 (526 pages) ☼☼☼
I Remember You: A Ghost Story - finished Feb 24 (370 pages) ☼☼☼

Total pages read: 3910
Total time listened: 41h 28m

Fiction: 10
Nonfiction: 5

Male Authors: 6
Female Authors: 9

======Favorite reads of 2015======

Fiction
The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa (1001 list book)
I'm Not Scared by Niccolò Ammaniti (1001 list book)
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (1001 list book)
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino (1001 list book)
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace (1001 list book)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (I'd been meaning to get around to a book of his for at least 8 years)
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë (1001 list book)
My Struggle, Book 1 by Karl Ove Knausgård (chosen for no particular reason)
Rabbit, Run by John Updike (1001 list book)
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham (1001 list book)
Beloved by Toni Morrison (1001 list book)
Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg (I had seen it mentioned)
Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson (1001 list book)

Nonfiction
Se questo è un uomo by Primo Levi (1001 list book, Italian)
In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides (I'm a sucker for polar exploration)

A lot of nonfiction books were good, but I just didn't rate them 4.5-5 stars for whatever reason. Honorable mentions in that category go to:
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie
In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick
Special Deluxe: A Memoir of Life and Cars by Neil Young

1001 Books List:
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
The Human Stain

Nonfiction Challenge:
January Biography: The Secret History of Wonder Woman
February History: Operation Paperclip

American Author Challenge:
January (Anne Tyler): Breathing Lessons
February (Richard Russo): Bridge of Sighs

British Author Challenge:
January (Barry Unsworth): After Hannibal
January (Susan Hill): The Woman in Black

Pulitzer Prize Winners:
Breathing Lessons (1989)

Ursula has read about: Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, Democratic Republic of the Congo, People's Republic of China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Germany, Egypt, Spain, Ethiopia, France, United Kingdom, Greece, Haiti, India, Iran, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Latvia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, United States, Vietnam, South Africa, Zimbabwe.

2016
Iceland

Covered in 2015:
Czech Republic
India
Portugal
North Korea
Turkey
Zimbabwe

Published dates:

1980 (The Surgeon's Mate)
1983 (The Woman in Black)
1984 (The Unbearable Lightness of Being)
1988 (Breathing Lessons)
1997 (After Hannibal)
2000 (White Teeth)
2000 (The Human Stain)
2007 (Bridge of Sighs)
2009 (The Help)
2010 (I Remember You: A Ghost Story)
2014 (The Secret History of Wonder Woman)
2014 (The Family Romanov)
2014 (Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?)
2014 (Operation Paperclip)
2015 (Between the World and Me)

Welcome back!

Lovely to see you back Ursula. Missed you during 2015.

Don't feel pressured by the challenges they are set up with the view of being able to dip in and out of or you could combine them as Darryl (kidzdoc) has done.

>5 drneutron: Thank you!

>6 PaulCranswick: Thanks for the welcome back, and don't worry, I definitely will only view anything I choose to take on as a loose suggestion about what to read. I don't have enough options to be able to even attempt to be religious about it! I have to get most of my books digitally from a US library, so I'm limited to what they have available. They're pretty good, but I wouldn't call their selection amazing. :) I've enjoyed some of the more directed things I've participated in in the past, though, like the Steinbeckathon - even if I didn't follow through with it completely.

>1 ursula: Oh, I hate it when that happens. I can't tell you how many posts I've had to recreate over the years because I have lost them right before I'm ready to post. It sometimes has to do with a "blip" in the Internet, but most often has to do with a cat who deletes it while trying to help me type.

Fantastic photo! I will have to look for In the Kingdom of Ice as I also love books on polar exploration.

>8 thornton37814: I know exactly what happened, though it doesn't make me feel any better ... my hands resting on the laptop made the cursor jump out of the text box so when I hit the backspace key to correct a mistake, it took the browser back a page instead. If I had a cat, I don't know what I would do, since I know they're famous for "helping" with anything on a keyboard!

>9 Tanglewood: Thank you! It's always nice to meet someone else who likes polar exploration. It seems like maybe a weird, niche interest, but then again - there are kind of a lot of books published on that topic, so I guess it must hold a fascination for a decent number of people!

Okay, I could swear that I posted whenI was here earlier, but I must have just lurked. SO excited to see you back here, Ursula! Dropping my star...

>11 Crazymamie: Glad to see you again too, Mamie! I will be looking forward to catching up on what's going on with you and yours!

Found your thread! I love the thread topper pic.

>13 lkernagh: Here I am! Thanks, I have a million photos that I could post but I try to restrain myself a little. At this point, I am about 95% sure I'm going to tackle Clarissa, although I will probably start early or have to read late because my daughter will be visiting from Jan 7-22, so I'm sure I won't have the time (or inclination!) to be reading that!

I am pretty sure I will derail with my Clarissa reading more than a couple of times over the year so anytime you are able to join in is fantastic! ;-)

Good luck, Ursula! I'll star this one, I can't wait to see what you think of White Teeth!

>15 lkernagh: True - and I may yet just tackle it like I did In Search of Lost Time a couple of years ago - just a daily/weekly/monthly page count. We'll see how it goes.

>16 KLmesoftly: Thank you! So far, so good with White Teeth, but I'm only about 1/4 of the way through it.

Happy New Year, Ursula!

Happy New Year, Ursula. You have a great 2015 list. I loved White Teeth and I'll watch for your comments.

>18 Crazymamie: Thank you, Mamie! Happy new year to you too!

>19 BLBera: Happy new year to you as well! I had in the back of my mind that "people" (whoever they may be) didn't like White Teeth, so I'm interested to see the ones who like it come out of the woodwork. But it may have just been divisive or I may have just imagined that whole thing.

My book group read White Teeth a few years ago, and people were very divided about it, so you are probably right about varying opinions about it. I've read it several times and still love it. I'll watch for your comments.

Happy New Year and best wishes for 2016!

>21 BLBera: I imagine that made for a good discussion, at least!

>22 lkernagh: Thanks!! I'm already on to Jan. 2, the new year seems to be rolling along well so far. ;)

Have a wonderful bookfilled 2016, Ursula

Happy New Year, Ursula!!!

>24 PaulCranswick: That's quite the outfit for ice skating. I, on the other hand, need full body padding when I attempt it (like those novelty sumo suits) because I fall all the time. Thanks for the book-y wishes!

>25 Thebookdiva: Happy new year to you as well!

Okay, so I've discovered that there are 537 letters in Clarissa, which works out to reading 1.5 letters every day, or more realistically, 3 every 2 days. That will help me figure out where I should be at any given moment. Which means I have one more letter to read today to be on track.

Meanwhile, here's a photo from the Piazza dei Signori in November, before it was decorated for the holidays. Also before it got freezing cold. :)

Lovely photo, Ursula!

>27 ursula: Gorgeous photo! Verona, right? I would so love to travel there!

>28 Crazymamie: Thank you Mamie!

>29 Cait86: Thank you! No, this one is in Padova. Verona is not too far from here.

It's great to have you back, Ursula! I loved WHite Teeth

Happy 2016!

>30 ursula: Another city I'd love to see! Italy is so gorgeous.

>31 banjo123: Thank you! Another positive comment for White Teeth. I'm still working on it, still enjoying it at the moment.

>32 Cait86: There's a lot to see, that's definitely true.

So, I set my yearly challenge for myself over on GoodReads at 90 books, and I got a message from a "friend," saying that, and I quote, "90 books seems a bit fishy."

I thought he must be joking. I mean, really? Is there a cash prize that would justify lying about books read? (And I finished 99 books last year. And that's less than the year before. And I am absolutely demolished by many people in this group and elsewhere.) He said, "I'm just saying that unless they're trite books, you're skimming, or you have no life, it doesn't seem likely."

So I blocked him. Of course. Well, after saying, "Seriously? Are you simple?" (I don't claim to always attempt to be the bigger person.)

But seriously? I read Real Books. I read reasonably fast, but I don't skim. And I don't have a job outside my home or whatever, but I would estimate that either way, I spend about an hour and a half a day reading, and a good portion of that time is my with-dictionary-at-hand reading in Italian. Some people read slow, some people read fast, and some people read with their fingers under every line mouthing the words.

Anyhow, I'm not actually bitter (I just like to rant), and I'm not particularly interested in a here vs. there debate (they both have their place, in my opinion), but it's just a variation on a theme I hate, the "it must be nice to have so much time to read" one.

Sounds like a good idea to block this person. Why would anyone question the number of books you read?

Ninety books comes to about two books a week. It's not that hard if one actually reads instead of watching TV. I usually hit 100, and I work about 80 hours a week and I have a family. But I read every day during my free time.

>34 ursula: Okay, I won't go into the here vs there, but I have to say that I find the conversations on GR generally trite and shallow. And now I'll stop before I start to rant.

You're thread is always an interesting place to hang out!

I love that you don't always try to be the bigger person, Ursula!! What an idiot ( to quote Hermione).

That sort of thing happens here, too, apparently. Suzanne (Chatterbox) has been the target of it. So very mature....

And I agree with Nickelini about the conversation over there.

Oops, i think this is my first post on your thread, so I probably should have started with Happy New Year!

>35 BLBera: They think they belong to the Book Police? :) I know, it's less than 2 books a week - it's not extraordinary, like you said, if you don't watch tv. We watch about an hour of tv a night. He said something about how a thousand-page book shouldn't be two weeks' worth of reading if you're really paying attention to it (so many rules...), but 1. it depends on the type of book - a thousand pages of thriller or whatever might not take long, and 2. I don't sit and read one book continuously anyway, so it might take 2 weeks of condensed time but it's a month or more on the actual calendar.

>36 Nickelini: I know people over there who constantly blow me away intellectually. I'm glad to have an interesting thread to hang out in! I try to say what's on my mind.

>37 Crazymamie: Haha, thanks. Sometimes, things just have to be said. (And: yes.)

>38 katiekrug: I seriously wonder how someone else's reading habits can make you feel inferior, like in a serious way. I have, of course, found myself lacking in comparison to others either in quantity, quality or depth of reading, but I just shrug and keep going with my own life. Happy new year to you too, you're welcome here with or without greetings - the conversation is a free-for-all, jumping in without preamble is totally acceptable!

Hi Ursula! Happy new year! I love your pictures, and I can't wait to see what you think of White Teeth, which is on my TBR shelf. And I'm with Mamie on your response to the book doubter - as I've gotten older(I turned 44 today), I've gotten better about speaking my mind and I usually don't regret it!

Sounds like you have a workable plan for tackling Clarissa. I have read the intro so far.... not much else. Good choice to block the "doubter" on GoodReads. Maybe they are one of those people that do not think audiobooks count as books read.....Given the amount of walking I do, it is so much safer for the general public if I listen to an audiobook instead of reading and walking at the same time. ;-)

>40 porch_reader: Thanks, happy new year to you too! Creeping up on the halfway point in White Teeth and still having positive thoughts. Happy birthday to you too - my 44th is coming up suuuuuper soon, but I've gone the opposite route - I was always a person who spoke my mind immediately and I've tempered that a bit over the years.

>41 lkernagh: I do! Except that it's all about to go out the window with my daughter arriving for a visit on Thursday. :) My version (project Gutenberg) doesn't have an intro, but I never read those till the end anyway. There's a savings in reading right there, haha.

The "doubter" (such a nicer word than "jerk," which is what I'd be inclined to use) didn't even mention audiobooks, oddly enough. He was too busy saying I must not get anything out of my reading. Which, okay, many books I don't remember the details of years later (or months, in some cases), but that has more to do with my memory than my attention to reading. I don't remember much from months ago that happened in real life, let alone in a fictional setting!

Hi, Ursula! Chiming in to say that I almost never read introductions, either - so many times they give away plot stuff and that irks me. *grins*

>43 scaifea: Hi! Yeah, my favorite introductions are the ones that say something like "note the author's skill as he slowly allows the reader to discern Lord Whatshisface's sinister intentions." I prefer to go in not knowing that Lord Whatshisface isn't what he seems.

I'm listening to The Secret History of Wonder Woman, narrated by the author, and Lepore just said that the artist was born in San Rafael, California. She pronounced it like "San RAHfee-el." Ergh. That's not only not the correct local pronunciation, it's not like she tried to go for the Spanish pronunciation either. It's the bay area - there must have been someone she could ask how to pronounce it!

(If you are wondering, it's pronounced "San Ra-FELL.")

>45 ursula: "San RAHfee-el"!! I noticed the same thing recently on a national news report. Very grating on the ears. I think someone was trying to be "authentic" and then fell far short.

>44 ursula: *snork!* Agreed!

>45 ursula: I was wondering, so thanks for the correct pronunciation. I have that book on the shelves - are you liking it, lazy narrator aside?

>46 catarina1: Far short, exactly!

>47 scaifea: Although I have to admit I always suspect Lord Whatshisface.

>48 Crazymamie: It is, of course, not correct as in authentic to Spanish correct, but it's what the locals say. Kinda like when I went to Austin and was thankful I was aware that they pronounce Guadalupe as Guada-loop because that is not the norm at all in California!

I am finding the book interesting. I have always thought that Wonder Woman was kind of a corny superhero, but I guess that now I know a little bit more about how she got that way. It makes some things better and some things even more eye-rolling, so it's a mixed bag. But the guy behind her was certainly ... a character.

>49 ursula: "Although I have to admit I always suspect Lord Whatshisface." Well of course you do - who doesn't?! Ha!

I think I read a review of the book about Wonder Woman somewhere or other, maybe the New Yorker, a while ago . . . sure, if it is Jill Lepore. Maybe it was even an excerpt from the book. Maybe I even
WL'ed it.

Re the 90 books -- as someone with a goal of 150, I spit on that person for doubting you. Suzanne reads over 300 and some jerk questioned that. It's what she does. She reads!

We barely watch any TV though we have been known to go on BBC mystery jags now and then . . . usually in deepest midwinter. But we also like to sit near the woodstove; it's almost better than tv with a good book in hand.

>34 ursula: That guy is a jerk.

>51 sibylline: Yeah, that's the one. And yeah, it depends on so many things. How many other hobbies you have and how fast you read are just a couple of them.

>52 banjo123: Indeed!

I'm just pasting my comments on The Secret History of Wonder Woman from my Club Read thread. My daughter arrived for a visit yesterday and although I was planning to try to write up something more focused, this is just going to have to do. Apologies for its disorderliness.

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

I am not a comics reader, so my impressions of various super heroes just comes from whatever I've glimpsed in excerpts from comic books or in pop culture. Or, in the case of Wonder Woman, on tv when I was growing up. I always thought Wonder Woman was impossibly corny. Lasso of truth? Bracelets that deflect bullets? A tiara? The guy who came up with her was ... complicated. He nearly killed himself at Harvard because he thought a class was too hard, but then he went on to marry a feminist and become focused on feminism himself. His invention of a lie detector test based on blood pressure didn't bring him the fame and fortune he'd hoped for and he wasn't able to hold down a job in academia for any length of time, so ultimately he started writing a comic book. His story and the backdrop of feminism make a lot of the bones of the story make more sense (a lasso of truth is not far from a lie detector ...), but there are a lot of things that it's hard to know how to interpret. Was his life with two women progressive? Certainly. Was it feminist or not? Impossible to say, in my opinion. In some ways, he's clearly a product of his times and in others he seems like he would have been perfectly at home in the latter half of the 20th century.

His story is interesting, but ultimately there's not enough information to know whether one should want to hold him up as a progenitor of feminism or condemn him as a man who used the cover of feminism to mask his fetish for women in bondage real and figurative. It was interesting to find out, though, that Wonder Woman was supposed to be some sort of antidote to the male superheroes - adding in what was missing from their repertoire: love. (See, she *is* corny.) I don't know that the book really held together in the most coherent way - suffragettes, lie detectors, Margaret Sanger, comics, psychology, personal lives, it's all kind of a lot to cover in surprisingly little area - but it was pretty entertaining.

I have been away, and my reading has fallen almost completely by the wayside with my daughter here. We are still doing our tour of Italy. Currently in Naples, and we spent today (my birthday) at Pompeii.

Happy birthday, Ursula. What a nice way to spend a birthday.

Happy birthday! Enjoy the time with your daughter.

What a treat to spend your birthday overseas, with your adult kids. I totally appreciate that.

ETA: and obviously, Happy Birthday!!!

A belated Happy Birthday, Ursula! Sounds like you are having a great time with your daughter - so lovely she could be there for your birthday. And I love that photo - so beautiful!

I've not posted before on your thread so hello! I saw that you said you don't have access to an English language library just now - but maybe when you do again - would recommend flicking through the images that come with The Secret History of Wonder Woman - sure the audio would be great, but the book included a lot of images: photos of the psych experiments, clips from the comic strips and some beautiful suffrage era art that (for me at least) added a lot to the story.

>56 BLBera:, >57 banjo123:, >59 Crazymamie: Thank you so much for the birthday wishes! (And thanks Mamie for the comment on the photo - both times I've been to Pompeii I've managed to be there at sunset, good time for photos!).

>58 Nickelini: Yeah, it's a shame that my son's trip couldn't be coordinated with my daughter's. But he was here in June, and she's here now. At least they both made it over here (though saw different parts of the country).

>60 charl08: Ah, thanks. It didn't really occur to me that there would be photos (although it should have). I'll look in the bookstores to see if there's an Italian version to take a peek at.

Oh Pompeii! So fascinating. Did you make it to Herculaneum too? I found that even more fascinating because there was so much intact artwork.

And the Villa of the Mysteries at Pompeii that has always fascinated me.

>62 sibylline: No, we didn't go to Ercolano. I had wanted to because it's supposed to be better-organized (not that that would be difficult), but we didn't have time and my daughter wanted to see Pompeii.

Stopping by to get caught up and bringing Happy belated birthday wishes with me, Ursula!

>55 ursula: - Beautiful shot!

I hope you have a wonderful week.

>64 lkernagh: Thanks so much! Not much to catch up on because I've been traveling. Tomorrow morning we head back home, but my daughter will be here till the 22nd so we'll still be busy - she has yet to get to Venice.

I did finish White Teeth yesterday, and I enjoyed it overall. Real comments on it will have to wait till I can sit down and think about it in a more orderly fashion.

Okay, my daughter is on her flight home now (sad ... and also nice to return to my regular life), so it's time to start talking about some books.

Unfortunately, I read White Teeth in such a disjointed manner that my comments are also probably going to be disjointed. The book is about a pair of friends who served in the British military in WWII, Archie and Samad. Samad has an arranged marriage and twin sons, while Archie ends up marrying a much-younger immigrant from Jamaica and having a daughter. There's obviously a lot that happens, but it's really not sum-up-able - it's really just the lives these people lead. So now I will just talk about my reactions to the book instead. First off, I found it interesting how the idea of "white teeth" was used throughout - in an obvious way to show that English people, immigrants, immigrants' mixed-race children, everyone, have white teeth; but also as a way to talk about keeping up appearances, showing something to the world that may not be yours inherently. It's like when you look at the celebrities of today: no one's teeth are that white naturally, and very few people's teeth are so uniform naturally either. (On a side note, the idea that so many celebrities have had their teeth filed down and caps attached over them gives me the absolute heebie-jeebies.) There were so many themes crashing around in the book that I felt like it might have been better served by removing a couple of them - as if Smith were just so frantic to get everything she wanted to say out in one novel. Immigration, assimilation, love, fate, chance, the role of science, nature vs. nurture, generational conflict, religion .... it was a lot. And that's probably why I also felt the book went on too long. I can't pinpoint exactly where it was running too long; the end didn't seem to drag. It was just that by the time I got near the end I kept thinking that we should have already arrived there by now. It was an above-average read for me, but maybe partially due to the circumstances under which I read it, it didn't completely connect.

Okay. SO I don't need to hurry to get to that one. Good to know. And good to know that I am not alone with being a bit freaked out by the profusion of perfect teeth. Perfect teeth have no personality or individuality because they all seem identical. It's weird.

>67 Crazymamie: Yeah, I'd say it's definitely worth reading, but maybe not one to rush out and jump into immediately! But I know a lot of other people liked it a lot more than I did - I do think the way I time period over which I read it probably knocked off half a star. The uniformity of perfect teeth is weird, but then to know that underneath those veneers are, like, little nubs of real teeth ...? *shudder*!!

Right after my daughter headed home, I finished Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler. It's one of those the-whole-story-happens-in-a-day books. Maggie and her husband Ira are off to attend the funeral of the husband of Maggie's best friend. On the way back, Maggie hopes to stop by the home of their ex-daughter-in-law. Maggie is convinced that Fiona still loves their son, Jesse, and in addition to harebrained ideas about getting Fiona and Jesse back together, she also has some harebrained ideas about getting her granddaughter to come live with her and Ira. The writing is absolutely wonderful. One's opinion about the book probably turns on whether or not you can empathize at all with Maggie. She is a meddling, wildly impractical woman, but there is also a lot of sadness and bewilderment in her character. I imagine that if I had read this twenty years ago, I probably would have only been annoyed with her. Reading it just after a trip with my 21-year-old daughter where I sometimes felt like I was hopelessly out of touch with how to communicate with an adult child, I felt a sort of kinship to Maggie at times. She still frustrated me, but just about everyone in the book frustrated me at least some of the time. I think that's the sign of an author who's managed to make the characters come to life.

Quote: Leroy remained silent, and no wonder; Maggie knew how chirpy and artificial she sounded. An old person, trying too hard. But if only Leroy could see that Maggie was still young underneath, just peering out from behind an older face mask!

I have been wanting to re-read White Teeth. I loved it, and loved the characters, but don't much remember the plot.

It sounds like it was good timing for your reading Anne Tyler. Parenting adult children is a new challenge, isn't it? Mine is just 19, so still a kid in lots of ways, but I can see where things are going.

>69 ursula: - Great comments on Breathing Lessons, Ursula. I read it earlier this month and agree with what you have to say about Maggie - her impracticality and naivete coupled with her idealism and sadness.

>66 ursula: White Teeth was the first Zadie Smith book I read and it bowled me over. What stays with me is how mature and insight it was, with that melange of cultures and attitudes, written by a 20-21-year-old.

>69 ursula: Breathing Lessons is queued up as my next read. I read two of Tyler's books this month and liked both.One's opinion about the book probably turns on whether or not you can empathize at all with Maggie. Even before reading the book, I can agree with that judgment. That's how it was for me with The Accidental Tourist and with Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant. Can you empathize with Macon or with Pearl?

>66 ursula: I have yet to read anything by Zadie Smith, even though I own a couple. This one sounds like the right place to start, at least with it being the first she wrote!

I saw your phots on Berly's thread so came over to check out your thread :)

>70 banjo123: I think that the plot is really pretty secondary. It's just an exercise in the interconnectedness of life, really. I think it was a good time for Breathing Lessons - I'm afraid that if I were much older, I might identify too much with the sad/pathetic part. Being a parent to kids that age is hard. My son is 20 and my daughter is 21. Mostly we do okay but sometimes I can feel that uncomfortable nagging that I'm being "mom," the kind you tell stories about to your friends. It's not so long ago I was that kid, how can I possibly be that mom already?!

>71 katiekrug: Thanks, I think it's hard to remember that something like naivete can persist so far in life, it just looks different to others.

>72 weird_O: It's a good point about White Teeth, and I agree that I am impressed that it was written by someone so young. As for Anne Tyler, that seems to be the feeling I'm picking up, that her books are so character-driven that everything depends on how you react to them. And if this one is any indication, she doesn't shy away from presenting all sides of a person.

>73 LovingLit: Probably a good place to start. I think On Beauty was less well-received, or maybe just had more divided opinions. Thanks for stopping by!

Today I ducked over to Venice for a couple of hours to see what was going on in the opening weekend of Carnevale.



It was not overwhelmingly crowded just yet, although some areas were pretty choked with people. The Rialto is a mess of construction so it is kind of a bottleneck at the moment. I'll go back again next weekend for the costume contests and whatever else is going on.

>34 ursula: How weird. Good that you blocked him because he had no right to suggest that you couldn't read 90 books unless you were cheating somehow.

>66 ursula: I felt the same way about White Teeth

>75 ursula: That's a beautify photo!

Have a nice new week!

>55 ursula: That is a beautifully atmospheric photo Ursula. Enjoying following you through Italy. xx

Lovely photo, Ursula. Thanks so much for sharing your Italy adventure with us.

>76 The_Hibernator: Right? Blocking was absolutely made for people like that. I'm kind of surprised to hear that you felt similarly about White Teeth - from what I remember seeing, it seemed like it was more of a love it or hate it kind of thing. I didn't expect to end up somewhere in the middle. And thanks about the photo!

>77 PaulCranswick: Thank you! It was interesting to get to go back to Pompeii. I'm glad I had been there before to be able to set my daughter's expectations about the state of confusion that things are in there.

>78 BLBera: Thank you. I take a million pictures, so it's nice to be able to share some of them and talk about them. I've gone through very few of the photos from my daughter's visit so far, but eventually I'll post some from the other cities we visited.

I finished reading After Hannibal by Barry Unsworth. It centers around a country road which serves several homes in the Umbrian countryside. We get to know something about the people in each of the five households on the road, along with a few outsiders they come in contact with. Several of the houses are owned by people who are from other countries (a German, an English couple, a pair of American retirees), and the final two are occupied by Italians. Drama kicks off in the beginning with the collapse of part of the wall along the road, which the farmers on the corner insist was caused by trucks going to the English couple's house. Meanwhile, the Americans are dealing with some unsavory business practices in the repair and remodeling of their dream home, and various domestic intrigues play out in different households.

The "male gaze" as a filter for the observance of women is a well-known concept; I think that similarly there is a "foreign gaze" through which Italy is often observed. (I have no doubt it happens to other countries as well, but Italy seems to be so idealized, particularly by Americans.) Unsworth does a great job of presenting that here. An example from early in the book, from the point of view of the British wife: "She felt guilty at feeling like this about them [the farmers expecting them to repair the wall], as they were contadini, peasants, and therefore very authentic people and by definition admirable." For a while I felt like Unsworth might have swung too far the other way in making the Italians overall not very nice or trustworthy people, but in the end I think it ended up, if not balanced, at least with some positives.

Bottom line: There is more of a culture gap than you might think from vacationing in the large cities and going to museums. Also, Italy is not the answer to your dreams. (Note: apparently this was partially based on Unsworth's own experiences settling in the area of Perugia. He did stay in the country until he died, though, so apparently it worked out for him.)

>80 ursula: I'm not familiar with this book, but it's going right on to my "buy soon" list.

I think that similarly there is a "foreign gaze" through which Italy is often observed. (I have no doubt it happens to other countries as well, but Italy seems to be so idealized, particularly by Americans.)

I've never thought of it quite like that, but YES! So true. As someone with Italian family, and having spent enough time in Italy (Tuscany, even), I find the reality of Italy vastly different from the idealized picture that many people have. Books like Under the Tuscan Sun are partly to blame. I've filled that book in my library under "fantasy," cuz that's all it is!

Thanks for pointing out After Hannibal.

>75 ursula: Cool photo!

>80 ursula: Nice review of After Hannibal, Ursula.

>81 Nickelini: You see that misguided view of it everywhere. When my daughter and I were traveling and looking up restaurant reviews in Rome, it was crazy the number of reviews that talked about how amazing their waiter was, he recommended so many wonderful local dishes and wines! He was so friendly! He invited them to come back every night of their stay! These restaurants were, invariably, the kind with moderately-priced, microwaved dishes and waiters standing outside to ask every passerby: "Dinner? Lasagna? Drink?" Just because your waiter is obsequious, doesn't mean he likes you very much or approves of your ordering a pizza followed by a pasta dish.

It seems like often the people with the most idealized view have been to a major city or two, read Under the Tuscan Sun and Eat, Pray, Love, and say "everyone is so friendly and they all speak English!" I think that generally, people are friendly in Italy, but it isn't the kind of friendliness you experience on a trip like that. And I think we've already discussed the myth of "they all speak English."

I think that you will probably get a lot out of After Hannibal.

>82 kidzdoc: Thank you, on both counts. I had no idea what I was getting into with After Hannibal, but I found it to be a little gem.

You've hit me with After Hannibal, Ursula. A very nice review - if you decide to post it, I will add my thumb. There are only two reviews posted at present.

>84 Crazymamie: Thank you, and that didn't even occur to me, Mamie! It's been so long since I've *really* reviewed a book. But it's posted up now. :)

Thanks for posting it, Ursula! I had added my thumb.

After Hannibal just landed in my Amazon cart!

Interesting thoughts about traveling and experiencing other countries. I think the more one does it, the less naive one is about it, and the richer the experience. I know that now having traveled somewhat widely, I'm much more comfortable and willing to get off the beaten path and try to have a more genuine experience of local culture. That sounds pretentious... not sure how to explain what I mean :-/

>86 Crazymamie: :)

>87 katiekrug: I think it's hard to talk about things like traveling without sounding pretentious because for Americans at least, it's not a super-common thing to be able to have the sorts of travel experiences that lead to being less naive. And maybe a lack of willingness to try to have a different experience, round and round in a circle. I can see both sides to some extent because I didn't leave the US until 2011, when I was 39. And even now, I have not traveled widely by any means. However, I've lived in two European countries and that's certainly a different type of experience.

It's hard, ridiculously hard, not understanding how things are done, not being able to easily understand what people are saying to you, just being off-balance and realizing you will probably do stupid things but that trying counts for something. It's not bad to be a tourist, and I don't think people should worry too much about "blending in" because it's not like everyone won't know you're "not from around here" anyway, but there is definitely merit in trying to get a very basic understanding of some cultural norms before going someplace. But the problem is that, depending on your vacation plans, you won't end up needing any of it and you'll go home thinking the rest of the world is pretty much like home. :/ And there are certainly more similarities than differences in Italy, but the differences are ones that are at a fundamental level, affecting one's expectations in just about every situation. And bringing it back around to the book - one should definitely investigate things like that before buying a house and deciding to settle in permanently or semi-permanently.

I realized I still have the unenviable task of writing something about The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Look, I don't know - I liked it, and I was bored by it. I was intrigued, and I was rolling my eyes. I got wrapped up in aspects of the story, and I contemplated the philosophy. I'm glad I'd gone to the Czech Republic before reading it (I bought the book at the Prague airport on the way home, actually), and I'm glad I'd gone to the Museum of Communism there, which gave me a better background on the Prague Spring and the Russians. I'm not into philosophy so the opening of the book, which was all philosophical ruminations, kind of terrified me. But then things settled in to a sort of story, about Tomas and Tereza and their unhealthy but long-lasting relationship (although Tomas was a selfish, philandering bastard), and a not quite separate story about Sabine, who had been one of Tomas' lovers. And then there's the backdrop of resistance movements and the secret police. And a dog who is a girl but has a boy's name. And dreams narrated as if they happened, with no warning whatsoever. Confused? Me too. And yet ... there was definitely something here.

Quote: I can't help thinking about the editor in Prague who organized the petition for the amnesty of political prisoners. He knew perfectly well that his petition would not help the prisoners. His true goal was not to free the prisoners; it was to show that people without fear still exist. That, too, was play-acting. But he had no other possibility. His choice was not between play-acting and action. His choice was between play-acting and no action at all.

And another, on a more personal note: Being in a foreign country means walking a tightrope high above the ground without the net afforded a person by the country where he has his family, colleagues and friends, and where he can easily say what he has to say in a language he has known from childhood.

Oh, and I'm glad not to have to read the word "groin" again for a while, hopefully.

I love the quotes you chose, Ursula. I picked that one up a year or so ago, but it intimidated me, so I put it back on the shelf very firmly. Not sure if it's coming off again or not. It looks happy enough where it is.

>90 Crazymamie: I suspect it's pretty happy where it is. :) But I will say that it's not nearly as intimidating as the beginning makes it seem. It benefits from contemplative but not too drawn-out reading. Unfortunately, I read it like that for the first third, and then went on my trip with Emily and kind of lost my momentum.

I loved your discussion of After Hannibal and will certainly look for it. I lived in the Caribbean for 10 years and have traveled quite a bit through Europe, and get exactly what you mean. I've found that courtesy actually goes a long way.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being sounds like the kind of book you have to be in the right mood for.

>89 ursula: I love your comments on The Unbearable Lightness of Being. It's not calling to me at the moment, but if I ever get in the mood for that type of book, I hope I'll remember it.

>92 BLBera: Courtesy goes a long way, mostly in accepting that maybe things aren't done the way you're used to. It's hard to even realize how many things can be done differently, though. It was absolutely ridiculous the number of things we didn't understand when moving in to our apartment here.

>92 BLBera:, 93 It definitely is something you should probably be in the mood for. It has its moments, and it also had some of the other kind of moments, the ones where I'm asking myself "why am I reading this?!"

Better late than never...I found you!! Starred. Some great books here already...dangerous thread. ; ) And love the photos! So glad you had fun with your daughter. Be seeing ya...

>95 Berly: Welcome! It's been a good start to the year in terms of reading, I think! I'll post some more pictures shortly. I've been slow to edit them. So. many. photos!!

So, time for another photo. Rome, anyone?



As my daughter said, "a series of small walls." (Archaeology humor.) And the Colosseum in the back, which has slightly taller walls.

LOVE that! You have such a great eye, Ursula!!

Thank you for sharing. What Mamie said.

Gorgeous photo! I was planning to visit Rome on my way back from a work meeting in Dubrovnik in March, but the meeting got moved. Sad face.

I really want to go back to Italy, as I've only been to Florence and some of the surrounding area (Grave, Lucca, etc) and the Cinque Terre.

>97 ursula: Whoa...

>98 Crazymamie:, >99 BLBera:, >101 kidzdoc: Thanks! :)

>100 katiekrug: We went to Florence with my daughter as well. And Lucca, because it's where my grandma's family is from. My husband is going to Dubrovnik in a couple of months (probably, we're still waiting on final word about the conference). As for Rome itself, I'm 100% glad we were there in January instead of some more tourist-laden month, and there are some really great and interesting things to see, but I doubt I will ever go back. I'd have to have a really good reason for it.

>102 ursula: Dubrovnik used to be lovely prior to the break-up of Yugoslavia during which I believe it suffered some. Fewer cities have had as much history as Rome and your photo >97 ursula: brings that into relief perfectly.

Sorry to see that The Unbearable Lightness of Being was a bit so-so for you.....I must have been in the right mood for it.

Have a lovely weekend, Ursula.

I read The Woman in Black. I know many other people in this group have also read it, so I'll just say that I enjoyed it. I found the atmosphere really well-done, and I was a little creeped out reading it. I am not bothered by supernatural ideas, but that feeling of being alone in a dark house definitely gets to me. I was honestly surprised this was written in the '80s because it read like an old-fashioned gothic story (which I realize was the point, I'm just saying that she did really well with it). Being pretty sure what was going to happen didn't take away from the enjoyment for me.

I also finished listening to The Family Romanov. I didn't realize it was a YA nonfiction (I didn't really realize such a thing existed, honestly). So that explains why it was short and not terribly in-depth. I mean, it had all the relevant information but I had expected more detail on various political intrigues and the climate in Russia. Understanding now that that would have been outside this book's mission, I can judge it for what it was and say that it was a pretty good overview for a younger audience. I'll have to pick up the other library audio about the Romanovs for more detail.

>104 ursula: That makes two of us Ursula because I liked The Woman in Black too.

>103 PaulCranswick: >105 PaulCranswick: Ah, I see we had originally posted at the same time. I am curious about Dubrovnik but I won't be able to go with him. Unfortunately salaries are low here and the university doesn't have much funding. The combination means that he has to hope someone can scramble together the money to get to conferences, and we don't have the additional money for me to travel with him. Of course, when he goes, he doesn't have any time to really see much so it's hard to be too jealous. He usually has part of a day "free" when he gets taken to some sights or gets to explore a little.

Rome is full of history, definitely. It was not my daughter's favorite stop on her trip either, so I'm glad that we did it first.

I think The Unbearable Lightness of Being suffered a bit in my reaction because I put it away for two weeks at right about the 2/3 mark. I had gotten into a rhythm with it, and then that was disrupted. So I tried not to hold that against the book. As for The Woman in Black, I'm glad I wasn't reading it while my husband was away. :)

I've started Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo, and ... I maybe just can't continue. I am still at 1% on the kindle and I want to throttle him and his editor. They talk about Venice, and the wife talks about the "aqua alta." This is not Italian! It's acqua alta! And then the term is repeated, and repeated, and repeated, in both dialogue and text, and misspelled every time.

I finished Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, a graphic novel about the author dealing with the end of her parents' lives. I think that it covered everything that people don't want to talk about - although the title comes from her parents not wanting to talk about wills or death or financial arrangements, it centers more around ambiguous or contentious relationships with parents and the difficulties of managing the mounting expenses the older they get. If you're a generous and patient child who has a great relationship with your parents, this book will quite possibly horrify you. If you can imagine going to visit a parent in the hospital and wanting the outcome to be as good as it could be while also wishing you were anywhere else, it might be for you. I could relate, let's just say, although my parents are less the nothing-is-wrong-we're going-to-live-forever types and more the I'm-probably-going-to-die-any-minute-now (for the last 10 years or so) types.

The artwork was fine, expressive and with some nice little details to add to things. It was nice to get a look at the author's non-cartoony life drawings of her mother as well.

I feel for you, Ursula - misspelled words and sloppy copy editing bother me, too.

I loved Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?. I found Chast to be honest, which can't be easy.

>75 ursula: ducked over to Venice...
Spoken like a true European :)

>80 ursula: this one sounds interesting, if I didn't already have 6 books on the go, and many queuing, you might just have got me with that one. Your "male gaze" comparison reminded me of my latest read, The Circle written by a man in the voice of a woman. It didn't fly, but more for other reasons than that :)

>109 BLBera: I agree about Chast. It has got to be so hard to put that out there.

>110 LovingLit: It's only 30 minutes and 4 euro by train, so it feels like 'ducking'. :)

It's interesting because in After Hannibal I felt like he was really effective at revealing the existence of the foreign gaze while not being unfair to the characters.

In The Circle, I became convinced that Dave Eggers has never met a human, let alone a woman, that he actually took the time to try to understand. (Full disclosure: I am not a fan of Eggers anyway, so this didn't come as a complete surprise.)

I've read several of Dave Eggers's books, and although I wouldn't say that I'm a big fan of his I did enjoy Zeitoun and What Is the What. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius was brilliant in its beginning, but the second half of it was tiresome and overblown, IMO.

I also like him for the work he and his wife Vendela Vida are doing for their project 826 Valencia (based on a street address in the Mission District of San Francisco), which helps kids from poorer neighborhoods in SF and in other cities gain good reading and writing skills.

LOVE the photos. You have such a beautiful eye for photography.

>112 kidzdoc: I've read What Is the What, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, and The Circle. The latter two are among the worst books I've read (and boy could I go on about A Heartbreaking Work ...), while What Is the What was mostly good, although the framing device was annoying and overused. I'm familiar with Eggers' work at 826 Valencia (I'm from the bay area), and I like that McSweeney's exists, so it keeps me from writing Eggers off completely as a human being.

>113 Thebookdiva: Thanks. :) I appreciate it, coming from another photography enthusiast.

>102 ursula: Ha ha. I'd like to know more behind that statement! However, I have to say that I agree. My now-husband took me to Rome on my first trip to Italy in 1992. He of course had been a couple of times with his family, seen the Pope, etc., and he didn't really care to go back, but if you're in Italy you have to see Rome. We did the Vatican museum, which was spectacular and I also enjoyed the Pantheon. But I had no desire to go back.

However, I did go back in 2009 because our flight from London to Italy landed in Rome, and our kids had never seen it.They go to Catholic school (for non-religious reasons), so we set aside a couple of days to show them the highlights.

Rome: really hot, really crowded, really expensive.

In 2010 when I was finishing my degree, I took a course "Great Cities in Their Time" and it happened to be Rome that semester. I had one of my favourite profs, a woman who adores Rome. Even after finishing that course, I still give Rome a "meh" review. Probably the most history I've ever seen crammed into one city, but it just doesn't do it for me.

>115 Nickelini: Yeah, I hate to be like "Rome. *yawn*" because I know that is obnoxious. At the same time, though, it's like going to Vegas or something. Disneyland. It's 100% tourist-driven and nothing about it feels real. My daughter was glad it was the first city we visited because it got better from there. I would go back if my son were to return, or if my husband wanted to see it (he wasn't with us for that leg of the journey), but I wouldn't go back just for my own sake. We didn't actually get to the Pantheon, but we saw most of the other sites. The day we originally intended to go to the Sistine Chapel, it was closed because as we later found out, the Pope was in there baptizing babies. We went back the next day though.

Luckily in January, Rome is not that hot, not that crowded, and not even that expensive. It is still, however, hard to find decent food.

Oh well, we can be anti-Rome-ites together. I don't like Vegas either, and I have mixed feelings about Disneyland (I was fairly anti-Disney a few years ago, but we took our teenage daughters and actually really enjoyed it. It's fun, but pretty obnoxious with all its self-promotion).

>108 ursula: Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant reminds me a little of the topics discussed in Being Mortal, which I expected to be a terribly depressing book but it was actually very inspiring. However, I'm not sure I'll pick up Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant any time soon...I want to think about pleasant things. :)

>117 Nickelini: Works for me! I like Vegas, but they don't have the weird combination of culture and consumerism that Rome does. They're all consumerism. :) (Funny aside: when my daughter was here and we went to Venice, I said she could take a gondola ride if she wanted. She said "No, I'm good ... also, didn't we already do that, in Vegas?" We did; when she was about 10 we did a gondola ride at the Venetian in Las Vegas.)

>118 The_Hibernator: I'm interested in Being Mortal too, although the part of Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? that most spoke to me was how a difficult relationship impacts one's thoughts and feelings in that sort of situation. I don't expect to have to deal with any of the actual medical issues with either of my parents for a variety of reasons (one of which is that I just saw my mother last year before leaving for Europe, and it was the first time in 10 years or so), but the feelings about their deaths will be complicated, undoubtedly.

Time for some stats on the month!

January Roundup of Reading:

This month, I read 1 physical book, 5 Kindle/ebooks, and listened to 2 audio books.
I read 1744 pages and listened to 18 hours, 28 minutes of audio.
My reading was 62% fiction and 38% nonfiction.
I read books by 2 men and 6 women.
The earliest publication date was 1983 (The Woman in Black), and the most recent was 2014 (Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?)

Biggest surprise? The ratio of male/female authors. I don't think I've ever had a month that was weighted toward women. Biggest revelation: That I could check out and read graphic novels in my browser with OverDrive Read. I only have the super-old gray-and-black Kindle so I thought I was out of luck on graphic novels. I've added a bunch I wanted to read to my library list, so I'm sure there will be more in my near future.

I will never finish a book again.

...

Okay, I probably will. But these in-between times when I'm working on several long books and a year-long project (damn you, Clarissa!), and haven't had time to really listen to my audio book either just get to me after a while.

Meanwhile ... photo? Sure.



One of the Swiss Guards at the Vatican.

Copying this over from my ClubRead thread - my comments on The Human Stain by Philip Roth.

I thought I was going to like it a lot more than I ended up doing. It's about Coleman Silk, a former professor at a small college in New England. He was driven out, essentially, for using a word that had a racial connotation although he didn't mean it in that way. The narrator of the book is a friend of his, a writer who Silk asks to write a book about his fall from grace at the university. To be more accurate, I suppose, about the way everyone turned on him for a simple misunderstanding. Meanwhile, the 70-something Silk has been having an affair with the 30-something Faunia Farley, who is a janitor at the university (I say "affair" even though neither of them are married because calling it a "relationship" would be turning it into something it definitely is not.) This is also, of course, potentially scandalous material.

I have issues with the book.

Issue #1: the whole "political correctness gone awry" angle. Oh no, we'll all end up afraid to speak! We'll be persecuted for things that we didn't even mean just because a word has more than one meaning! The sky is falling! Look, I've been hearing that one since 1989 when I went to college at UC Santa Cruz. Roth wrote this in 2000. And I still hear it today. It ranks right up there with "today's music is terrible" and "kids these days have no respect." Everyone knows a case where someone actually was persecuted for someone else's ignorance about language, but those are the kinds of stories that have long legs - everyone loves the story of the exception. The cases where someone is just racist or sexist or whatever which abound are, well, boring.

Issue #2: The portrayal of the main university antagonist of Silk, Delphine Roux. She is young, and beautiful, and French, and well-educated, and has a rising career. She is also insecure, and lonely, and seems to want nothing more out of life than a) a date and b) to ruin Coleman Silk. This is because she is secretly in love with him, apparently. I don't have a problem with her character being less perfect than she might seem on the outside, although the selection of characteristics are a little cliche. I thought we were over the bluestocking thing, kind of. But I really, really, have a problem with everything she says and does at the end, and everything that is revealed about her. In describing her perfect man, she doesn't even realize she is describing Coleman. Including physically. And then when she accidentally sends the email description to everyone, she loses it in the most stereotypically female hysteric way and then blames it all on him. Would she really be a 12-year-old on the inside? Come on.

And then I just have a question about Faunia for anyone who has read the book. Why are we supposed to think that she pretended to be illiterate? There are some sort of pseudo-explanations in the book but none of them really make sense to me. It either came from deep damage that wasn't adequately talked about (and although there were plenty of reasons for deep damage, that was all pretty poorly written about, too), or it was to fulfill some sort of male fantasy (I mean, she was written that way to fulfill some sort of male fantasy).

But a lot of the book was really good reading, and although I was bored by the long interlude involving Faunia's ex-husband, I was did enjoy the ending scenes and suppose in some way we needed to get to know him a bit before that. So, a very middling rating from me on this one.

Great comments on the Roth book, Ursula. I've loved some of his books and been disappointed in some. I don't think he portrays women very well -- that is my overall impression, and it sounds like this is another one that would tempt me to throw it across the room.

>122 ursula: "The sky is falling! Look, I've been hearing that one since 1989 when I went to college at UC Santa Cruz. Roth wrote this in 2000. And I still hear it today. It ranks right up there with "today's music is terrible" and "kids these days have no respect." Everyone knows a case where someone actually was persecuted for someone else's ignorance about language, but those are the kinds of stories that have long legs - everyone loves the story of the exception."

Heh. Kudos.

>123 BLBera: Do you remember which ones you loved? I will be reading more because he has several on the 1001 books list. I was really thinking that he was handling at least one of the women reasonably well (as I said, she was kind of a total perfect cliche, but nevertheless...), and then it all collapsed in a spiral of faults and insecurities that really seemed sort of, well, vengeful.

>124 scvlad: Thanks! :)

Most recently I read Nemesis, which I liked a lot, and The Plot Against America, which is speculative fiction - Lindbergh becomes President.

>126 BLBera: Thanks. I've had too many Nazis in my (reading) life lately. :) When I'm through with my current nonfiction book I'm hopefully going to take a rest from WWII for a bit. (Not that I would have jumped right in to read another Roth anyway, but I always find it kind of funny when my books seem to follow a theme even though I'm choosing randomly.)

My favorite Roth was Patrimony, which is about dealing with his father's stroke. It might fit in with the Chast read.

I would agree with Beth that Roth can be hit and miss. I really liked The Plot Against America, as well.

>128 banjo123: Thanks for weighing in on Roth. Sounds like when he misses, he misses big.

So, when I was in Rome, I saw these calendars called the Calendario Romano. They appeared to be a calendar of ... well, hot priests. And I told my husband (he was at home) that I was considering picking one up (calendar, not hot priest). He said I simply must do it, so I did. Apparently this Venetian photographer did in fact take photos of attractive priests and make a calendar out of it. I think it's hilarious, and I'm going to share them with you.

Mr. (Father?) January:



and Mr. (Father?) February:



Also you may note that clearly this is not meant for use as an aide to finding out what date it is or keeping yourself organized. It's more like a picture of a priest with some counting help. Best €6 I've ever spent.

That totally cracked me up, Ursula!

>130 ursula: - That is awesome! I like how the Sundays are noted prominently so you know when to go to church and ogle the priest....

Oh my.

>132 katiekrug: - ha ha !

>121 ursula: As long as you keep putting up gorgeous photos maybe it isn't the end of the world if you don't read more.

Truly beautiful photos of Italy.

>130 ursula: I love all your photos of Italy (the soldier with the stripy outfit is wonderful) but the calendar priests made me laugh out loud. What in the world. Brilliant souvenir.

(I've never fancied Philip Roth and from the discussion above I think I was right)

>134 Oberon: Thanks, you can count on it. I take a lot of photos and share a few here. :)

>131 Crazymamie:, >132 katiekrug:, >133 Nickelini:, >134 Oberon: Perfect, I was hoping everyone would find it as entertaining as I did. And I did not think about the fact that they highlighted the ogle-your-priest days, but I like the idea! Well, you can expect to meet the rest of the priests throughout the year. :)

And as for the Swiss guard, my husband didn't realize they dressed like that. I figured if you see them once, it is a hard outfit to forget!

Sorry you didn't like The Human Stain, Ursula. Boy, it was one of my favorite reads from last year.

Roth had a dustup with Wikipedia last year over the inspiration for the book, which I think sheds additional light on your first point (a point with which I disagree). When the book was first published, several prominent book reviewers drew comparisons between the Coleman Silk character and the late writer and literary critic Anatole Broyard, a mixed-race Creole from Louisiana who "passed for white" most of his life. Such comparisons led to acceptance of the notion that Silk was based on Broyard, which Roth says is simply untrue. When he sought to have Wikipedia's entry about the book corrected, he was turned down. “I understand your point that the author is the greatest authority on their own work," he was told, "but we require secondary sources.”

Last September, "The New Yorker" published "An Open Letter to Wikipedia" from Roth. The "political correctness" incident that starts off the novel, and which you lampoon, did happen to a well-respected academic just 30 years ago. Roth gives the details in his letter; here's a link: http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/an-open-letter-to-wikipedia

That incident, to me, was just the opener to a nuanced exploration of race. Yeah, a special case, the exception rather than the rule. I thought the author's achievement had to do with his exploration of all the ripples radiating from Silk's maniac, switching-races, plunge--Silk's abandonment of his birth family (and the reactions of its different members), his cold, calculated choice of a spouse, his refusal--even at the end--to tell his children they are mixed-race (and their I-don't-want-to-hear-any-more-about-HIM reactions).

Great review of The Human Stain and really nice photos of priests. ; )

>137 weird_O: I don't really get involved with what authors do outside their books. (I once made the mistake of reading some articles Jonathan Franzen wrote - luckily I already hated his writing.) I did read the Wikipedia page about the book and saw reference to the incident about the inspiration for the book. I get why Roth might care that that's incorrect; I don't know why I care that the exact sentence happened to a friend of his. There is no doubt these sorts of fringe cases happen (I remember someone in the government confusing everyone by using the word "niggardly", which just proves my point that these occurrences stick in the public mind), but there's equally no doubt that people have consistently been more panicked about "where this will lead" than realistic about looking around at what actually happens.

One can find some aspects of a book well-done and others awful; luckily I don't have to like everything about a book. As I said in my review, I thought I would like it up until about 2/3 of the way through it. I will say, though, that I'm not impressed with some of Roth's comments in his letter either, and they serve to reinforce my opinion of his book.

>138 Berly: Thank you, and watch this space for another one at the beginning of March. :)

In other news, I have fallen behind by about 4 letters on Clarissa. We started doing our language exchange again (a guy comes to our house 2 days a week and we do about an hour of English for him followed by an hour of Italian for us), and it really cuts into my working time, which in turn cuts into my reading time. And I have to read Clarissa when I'm wide awake (this is not good bedtime reading!) so that further limits it. But I'll get back in the groove.

I'm trying to avoid the temptation to add another book to the mix. I'm halfway through Bridge of Sighs, 2/3 through The Surgeon's Mate, and 4/5 through The Help, so I know it doesn't make sense to add another one if I am anxious to finish something. I just have to keep reminding myself of that fact. :)

*SNORK!*

I LOVE the calendar and I clearly need one for myself!

>141 scaifea: It's brilliant, really. I was so pleased I'm married to someone who understood this had to be in my life.

>142 ursula: Ha! You *are* a lucky thing!

>143 scaifea: Right? It's moments like these that prove it. :)

I finished listening to Operation Paperclip yesterday, which is about how the US government scooped up a bunch of Nazi scientists after the war and offered them contracts to work with the government. It doesn't sound that awful if you're thinking that they only picked people who had merely been Nazis but not involved with war crimes (I imagine that recruiting former enemy combatants is not that unusual) ... except that of course there would be no book if that had been the case. The whole thing is pretty repulsive. From intentionally covering up scientists' pasts to enable them to come to the US, to using them in programs that were of questionable morality anyway, to continuing to give out awards in their names, there's just a lot here to make you shake your head and feel dirty. Possibly most disturbing is the US bringing these scientists to the US to work on projects related to the horrifying experiments they'd done on people in concentration camps. It's a win-win situation for the government: they don't have to have anything to do with actually conducting those experiments, and they get to build on the information achieved through them. Ick.

(Maybe the second-most disturbing thing is that a science award named for one of these guys was given out until 2013, when they finally agreed that maybe he wasn't the best role model.)

Stopping by and loving your pictures of Venice and Rome! Having never been to Rome (I have been to Vegas, which is pretty much Disneyland for adults, or at least the area around the new strip is) I was intrigued to read your comment that Rome is 100% tourist-driven and nothing about it feels real. Good to know.

I see you are making great progress on the reading front.

>121 ursula: - That 'weapon' in the Swiss Guards hand looks pretty menacing... and sharp!

>130 ursula: - That calendar is a hoot!

>140 ursula: - You are still waaaay ahead of me on the Clarissa reading. I need to get back into it so I don't find myself suddenly overwhelmed.

Operation Paperclip sounds very disturbing.... sadely, not that surprising, just really disturbing.

>146 lkernagh: Rome has a lot in common with Vegas, just with ruins instead of themed hotels. :)

And that's definitely a real weapon in his hands - it's a halberd, which is spear + battleaxe. Pointy and sharp! (If you look closely at the photo, you can see his sword as well, sheathed at the hip.) They also apparently use Glock pistols, and sub-machine guns, but none of those were on display!

I fell behind on Clarissa for a few days. But I caught up again today. I think the letters I'm currently reading are dated in mid or late March.

Operation Paperclip made me realize that I was totally in the dark when I read Stephen King's novella Apt Pupil, which is about a kid finding out that his next-door neighbor was a Nazi. I thought that was a completely ridiculous idea - how could a high-ranking Nazi be in the US? Well, it's easy when they're given contracts and citizenship. Also, when the investigators finally caught up with one of the scientists, the US told him that he could either get a lawyer and face the charges ... or renounce his citizenship and the government would give him the means to go disappear somewhere in South America. Guess which one he chose?

>122 ursula: I laboured through The Human Stain last year, and ended up quite liking the book. But, the fact that it took me so long to read it makes me wonder if I can trust myself on my final verdict.
The one criticism of yours that I contest is "the sky falls in for a misunderstanding" aspect.. I just finished reading So You've Been Publicly Shamed which features a lot of stories of Internet users whose tweets/spoken overheard jokes/ photographs were taken, publicised, and misrepresented, and the authors were vilifie for it. I quite liked that aspect of The Human Stain. That is what made it interesting for me, and what terrified me- that someone who is innocent can be taken down.
Just my thoughts for the day :)

Love the sexy priests calendar? At least they're clothed!! (get it? Haha, at least i crack my self up, if no one else)

>148 Berly: Thanks! Same to you. :)

>149 LovingLit: I know that sometimes things are misrepresented. And social media makes that much easier, in a way. But in the case of the main story in that book, of Justine Sacco, what she said should never have been said in public, let alone put on the internet. "Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding. I'm white!" is a "joke" that one should be ashamed of. The joyful shaming and all of that, yes, is excessive, and people are prone to a mob mentality which lets them express their worst selves as well. But at the bottom of it, she said a very stupid thing in a very public forum (no matter how many followers she had, or who she thought would read it - she was in PR, she should understand very well that the audience for something put out into the ether is potentially everyone), and that has consequences. I'm not saying the consequences were fair for what she said, but the fact remains that she shouldn't have said it at all.

In other news, I like your joke about the priests. :)

Hello Ursula! Welcome back!

>151 Whisper1: Thanks so much!

Interesting discussion. I was a bit "meh" about The Human Stain but Roth is a good strong writer, so I read it through. As you say some parts worked, some didn't quite. I recently finished Francine Prose's most recent book Lovers at the Chameleon Club (about a frenchwoman who becomes a collaborator) and I felt somewhat the same way . . . sometimes I think an established, serious writer will embark on a topic they really really want to explore and care about, and yet the book comes up a bit flat, a bit forced, not all over but here and there.

Hmmm, I see touchstones are not working at all at the moment. I'll try to remember to come back and try them again.

Re Operation Paperclip - This is what a good part of Gravity's Rainbow is really about - GE in cahoots with IG Farben etc. and various other big companies, hunting in "the Zone" (post-war Germany) to scoop up the physicists and chemists considered too valuable to put on trial and sneak them off to the USA or Switzerland. Thomas Pynchon gets dismissed and sidelined by many as "paranoid" as well as "difficult but, in fact, as usual, he makes up very little, does his research meticulously, but then s-t--r-e-t-c-h-e-s the facts, weaves a wild yarn about things that did really happen -- because otherwise it would be non-fiction, wouldn't it?

(Apologies for posting identically on both yr. threads, CR and here)

> 153, 154 No worries about posting the same thing in two places - I try to vary the reviews ever so slightly between the threads, but I have no idea why. Different people read them, or the same people might read them and reply on either one, so whatever. Anything goes!

I think you're right - "passion projects" can be dangerous in any medium. It happens a lot in film, and if that passion is communicated well, it turns into something magical. Otherwise, it ends up feeling self-indulgent and off-putting.

Photo?

I have yet to post anything from Florence, so here we go. The late afternoon sunlight falling on the Duomo.

Happy Valentine's Day, Ursula!

>156 ursula: GORGEOUS! I love that one!

>156 ursula: Wow!

Have a lovely Sunday, Ursula. xx

>156 ursula: Great photo, Ursula!

>156 ursula: Fabulous shot. It's always rewarding to get a good picture of a famous landmark and somehow not get any tourists in the shot ;-) (Of course you and I aren't tourists, it's all those other people).

The Duomo photo is gorgeous.

>150 ursula: it's going to be hard to talk about this without getting myself in a pickle, but yet here I go... ;)
It might be that NZ humour is very sarcastic, we (some of us, anyway) often take a controversial comment and say it in a dry tone to point something out....but I read that 'joke', particularly in the context of her other travel posts on twitter, as a facetious over the top comment on the unjustness of the situation. Cearly it was a bad move on her part, particularly seeing as she worked in PR, and I would not have put that online (anywhere). I feel like I would have forgiven her once I had heard her justification of it, not that I have, I have heard Jon Ronson's explanation....but, as you said, the consequences for her were way out of proportion to the comment. I guess it can just be a learning exercise for anyone on the Internet!

The Duomo is spectacular. I loved seeing it when I visited Florence briefly, many years ago. When it popped into view I was just shocked into silence. Also, it was lovely and cool inside on a hot hot day. Wonderful.

>156 ursula: Lovely photo. Florence is one of my favorite cities.

>130 ursula: Too funny! And hot.

>145 ursula: woah. I had no idea.

Happy Valentine's Day Ursula!

>157 Crazymamie: Ha, I love that one, thanks!

>158 PaulCranswick:, >159 kidzdoc: Thank you both very much!

>160 Thebookdiva: Cute, thanks!

>161 Nickelini: Oh, I'm a tourist ... I'm just not a clueless tourist. I try to be aware of people around me, at least. Although if there are too many people everywhere, someone's going to end up in everyone's shot. Aiming high is often the way to avoid getting people in a picture, although being there in January is another helpful tip. :)

>162 BLBera: Thank you!

>163 LovingLit: Definitely at issue is the idea of forgiveness. When is enough enough? Currently, the answer seems to often be "never." Which is a problem ... but I do think (hope?) that things will even out in the future. On the one hand, things can live forever on the internet. On the other, there are so many things fighting for one's attention all the time that it's not possible to focus on all of it at once.

I don't know which Duomo has surprised me more from the outside - Milan or Florence. They are super different, but Milan is just dripping with adornment and has such a giant open space in front of it that it adds to the impression. But both of those are dwarfed (literally and figuratively) by the Dom in Cologne.

>164 Oberon: Thanks! I liked Florence. I think it was my daughter's favorite on her visit.

>165 The_Hibernator: Thank you! Come back every month for a new priest! :) Some of them are not my definition of hot, but variety is the spice of life. And re: Operation Paperclip I had some vague ideas but really didn't expect the revelations the book contained.

I finished The Surgeon's Mate, which is the 7th book in the Aubrey-Maturin series, set during the Napoleonic Wars. This one (unsurprisingly from the title) centers more around Dr. Maturin and his espionage work. His missions in fact drive the sea voyages they take, which are typically involved and exciting. I do enjoy this series, in spite of not knowing a mizzenwhatever from a topgallantthingy.

>168 ursula: As a huge proponent of the Aubrey/Maturin series I would recommend Patrick O'Brian's Navy if it bothers you not to know the precise locations and purposes of the things described with nautical terminology.

While the books can certainly be read without the additional detail, it was one of those things that bugged me in reading the books. Now, I always recommend Patrick O'Brian's Navy whenever I am trying to persuade a friend to try this marvelous series.

>169 Oberon: It does not, in fact, bother me. :)

But I do have a copy of that book ... in storage ... in Colorado.

>156 ursula: is just breathtaking. As was the real thing when I saw it in Florence. I would love to go back there.

>170 ursula: That is pretty amusing. Oh well, carry on then!

Love your photos!

What Katie said. I wasted a lot of film on the duomo, and none of my pictures turned out as nicely as yours.

>171 katiekrug: Thank you! I would go back to Florence. We were there for a few days but the Uffizi took up a full one of course, and I would have liked to explore a bit out of the immediate area but there just wasn't time.

>172 Oberon: :)

>173 banjo123: Thanks!

>174 BLBera: Thank you! I am a little sad I didn't have a film camera with me (I have an assortment), but since we were traveling for a week plus, I just couldn't justify adding the weight to my bags. Which reminds me, I have some film I need to get developed! :)

I also finished the audio book of Between the World and Me. It's interesting, probably the biggest thing I got out of this that I hadn't thought of before was how physically affected one is by being black in the US. The author's letter to his son is about having a black body and how that black body can be used or destroyed at any moment. And although anyone's body can of course be destroyed at any time, the circumstances under which one feels that vulnerability is different. As a woman, I feel that sometimes but certainly not in the same situations that Coates describes. For example, although a cop could certainly physically harm me in a traffic stop, it's not something that is immediately at the forefront of my mind. The other thing that will stick with me is a story he tells about confronting a white woman who shoved his young son. He regrets doing it because it's a mistake - you never know how that will end up - that could cost his son everything.

It is an exercise in listening openly for anyone who is not black - he will tell you what the experience is like, but you have to be willing to listen and absorb without argument. It's a skill many in the majority do not practice often enough.

My daughter just got her official acceptance letter for graduate school! How exciting.

>177 ursula: Details, please!

>177 ursula: Congrats to her, Ursula! How exciting!!

>178 Nickelini:, >179 Crazymamie: Thanks! Details, well - she'll be continuing in geology at ... UGA! (University of Georgia, for anyone outside of the US) So she's moving to Athens in the fall.

>177 ursula: - Congratulations to your daughter! That is awesome news!

WOOT!! Congrats to your daughter!!

>177 ursula:, >182 scaifea: Thank you! It is, in fact, awesome news. She's super excited about it. She pretty much knew she was going there already, but it's nice to be official.

Congratulations to your daughter, Ursula!

>184 kidzdoc: Thank you! Now she just has to get through this last semester at Hofstra. :)

I finished reading the interminable Bridge of Sighs. It was a book that I thought was going to be better than it ended up being (always better to have the reverse situation). It's one of those with the conceit that at least part of the book you're reading is actually the one being written by one of the characters - in this case, Lou C. Lynch, who has been called "Lucy" for obvious reasons since he was a child. He grows up in Thomaston, New York, in the 1960s and has a best friend named Bobby Marconi. Or at least we're told that they were best friends; I don't remember much of their actual closeness, but I could just have forgotten it with the anesthetic effect of the rest of the book. The friendship splinters during their childhood, and Lucy is always whining about something to do with why Bobby doesn't call him or come visit, or whatever. Then they grow up and have girlfriends and Bobby leaves town and Lucy stays. And it's about how small-town life is okay, and it's okay to want to stay where you are and be boring, but it's also okay to leave the house once in a while. Or something. Seriously - so melodramatic without going anywhere (figuratively and literally). And it uses another trope I'm not particularly fond of - the one that goes something like "by the end of the summer, events would tear both families apart. One of these events in particular, Bobby would never have seen coming." It's like "please, keep reading. I promise there's something interesting that's going to happen." (Spoiler: It's a lie.)

Russo says, in his acknowledgments, "Nat Sobel has made every single one of my books better, but he absolutely saved this one." Presumably from the bonfire where Russo was about to burn it, and I'd like to have some words with Mr. Sobel. This one should have burned.

>186 ursula:. Wow, that really stinks. I've only read one Russo -- Empire Falls-- which I listened to on audio book, and I really enjoyed it and looked forward to more by him. Not this one, I guess.

>186 ursula: - Speaking of burns, I love your last few sentences!

>187 Nickelini: I had intended to read Empire Falls but this one came in through the library first.

>188 katiekrug: Thanks. :) As soon as I read that acknowledgement, I knew it had to end up in my comments on the book.

I have only read two Russo books - Empire Falls and Elsewhere - both of which I loved, each one for different reasons but I have nothing to add to your comments on Bridge of Sighs, having never read it. I know I have encountered duds by authors and thought, "Why do people read this author's books?". That was my impression after reading Anne Tyler's Digging to America. Different strokes for different folks? Good review!

>190 lkernagh: I only think "why do people read this author's book" after a terrible book if it's the most popular/praised one. The rest of the time I think "why did this get published?".

I finally, finally, finished The Help, which I read in Italian. I had said a long time ago (when the movie was out and being talked about) that I would never see it or read the book because I was so disturbed by one aspect of the plot that I heard about (pie). But I was advised to read a popular, recent bestseller in translation because it would be free of Italian regionalisms or context requiring knowledge of culture, etc, and this was in the bookstore so I picked it up. I'd call the book pretty firmly "okay," but nothing terribly special. Every once in a while something made me smile. It was good Italian practice at least.

Congrats to you daughter!!! And kudos on a great, biting review of Bridge of Sighs. : )

>193 Berly: Thanks, on both counts! :)

I seem to be having a run of not-super-enjoyable reading. Or at least not everything I'm reading is grabbing me. But whatever, ebbs and flows are to be expected. And I'm remaining on track with my Clarissa-reading, so I can pat myself on the back for that.

Good job!! ; )

YAy for continuing to be on track with your Clarissa reading!

>195 Berly: :)

>196 lkernagh: You are too, right? It's just picked up again by dates, I think, and should be pretty steady for a while. (I'm reading somewhere around April 1 at the moment.)

Today I finished I Remember You: A Ghost Story. Aside from being set in Iceland, the beginning reminded me a lot of The Woman in Black (and presumably a lot of other ghost stories): a deserted house with limited access, no one else around for miles, a character providing transportation who is reluctant to tell details but is concerned about you being in this location, things that go "bump" in the night, etc. I'll get back to that comparison in a minute, but first let's talk a bit about the characters and set up of this story. Three friends (a couple and the recently widowed wife half of another couple) go out to a remote location in Iceland that is really only accessible by boat - you can presumably walk back to civilization, but it's a long walk without any sort of road, through dense forest. And they're there in the winter because they've bought a house which they intend to fix up as a summer vacation rental. It's kind of a stupid idea, really, because they have to transport everything they'll need for renovations by boat and then overland by hand to the house, and there is absolutely no one else in the whole area because it is exclusively used in the summer. The captain agrees to drop them off and then return for them in a week, weather permitting. Of course it's not long before the three of them start hearing and seeing things and it all gets tense from there.

In alternating chapters, we follow the story of Freyr, a psychologist who occasionally consults with the police department. He's called in to see if he has anything to say about the type of person who would vandalize a school, and the case leads him down some dark paths. Possibly (though not definitely) the darkest concerns his son Benni, who went missing three years earlier. The Freyr chapters were weaker than the ones out at the Remote B&B of Doom, mostly just because they weren't nearly as scary, although also a bit because I had a hard time sympathizing with Freyr or finding him terribly real.

Back to the comparison to The Woman in Black - the strength of that story lies in the overwhelming sense of dread. Not too much time is spent on explaining the whys and wherefores of the haunting. There's a motivation for it, but that's not really the point; the point is just that it's happening. In I Remember You, the beginning was really good and creepy, and then it gets bogged down for a while in explaining and more explaining. At this point, I realized that it's sort of a horror/mystery hybrid novel, not just a straight ghost story. But it feels a little like we're putting the atmospheric part on hold (cue record-scratch sound effect) every chapter to go do a supernatural-tinged crime investigation, and that ruins the mood.

And finally, the very very end was so not necessary, and hackneyed. Back when I was in junior high and high school, I used to read and love novels by John Saul. They were so formulaic you could almost see the paint-by-numbers chart underlying them, but I loved them. I'm older now, and the end of this one reminded me of John Saul, not in a good way.

BUT, it all evened out to a 3-star rating. It had a lot going for it, really; clumsy execution kept the rating from being any higher.

>186 ursula: & >198 ursula: Ursula, your acerbic reviews are, I would guess, better than the books themselves.

>199 PaulCranswick: Haha, thanks! Definitely in the first case, but less so in the second. The beginning and end (minus the last page) were really quite good in I Remember You, it just didn't make for a "quite good" book because of the other stuff getting in the way. Although I guess in some ways that makes for a worse book because your expectations and feelings of what could have been are engaged!

Ursula, I loved your review, and I gave it my thumb. Well done on taking one for the team.

>201 Crazymamie: Ha, thanks! You know, I kind of want to be like "it wasn't that bad of a book!" and I mean, it's wasn't ... but then I think about how I got bored in the middle and how hard I rolled my eyes at the very end and well -- okay. It was average for what it was, but boy does "average" leave a lot of room, you know? :)

Exactly. And life is short.

>203 Crazymamie: Too true.

I was contemplating the other day, what the odds are of reading two random books at the same time and having there be secondary characters in both of them named Ursula. (My gut reaction: the odds are not high.) The two books in question are The Pure Gold Baby and I Remember You. Weird.

I love when stuff like that happens!

>205 Crazymamie: :)

I need a change of scenery - time for a new thread.