LoisB is back for 2016

Looking forward to another productive year!

1. The Accidental Tourist
2. Blood of the Tiger: A Story of Conspiracy, Greed, and the Battle to Save a Magnificent Species
3. Howards End Is on the Landing: A Year of Reading from Home
4. Morality Play
5. A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl
6. Changed by Chance
7. Drinking Habits
8. Love in the Time of Cholera
9. Liar: A Memoir

February

10. Straight Man
11. Will the Circle Be Unbroken? Reflections on Death, Rebirth, and Hunger for a Faith
12. And Then There Were None
13. Suite Surrender
14. Shadow of the Silk Road

March

15. The Girl On The Train
16. Birthday Letters
17. The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival
18. A Year at the Races: Reflections on Horses, Humans, Love, Money, and Luck
19. Leisureville: Adventures in America's Retirement Utopias
20. From the Holy Mountain: A Journey among the Christians of the Middle East
21. Dodgers

April

22. Intimacy
23. Paula
24. The After Party: Poems
25. Braving It
26. Running with Rhinos
27. American Sniper

May

28. Last Bus To Wisdom
29. The Slave Across the Street
30. One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd
31. The Skeleton Garden
32. Spritz: Italy's Most Iconic Aperitivo Cocktail, with Recipes

June

33. The Shipping News: A Novel
34. Ice Bound: A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole (read in April)
35. Flirting with French
36. One for the Road: Revised Edition
37. Rio Noir
38. Jemima Shore's First Case
39. Brokeback Mountain: Story to Screenplay
40. Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and Life
41. Deadly Gamble: A Girl and Her Dog Cozy Mystery
42. Hurricane Street

July

43. Born on the Fourth of July
44. The ISIS Crisis
45. Death by Divorce
46. Tears in the Wind
47. Titanic 1912
48. Me Before You
49. The Elected Member
50. By The North Door

August

51. Black Water
52. The Great Suppression: Voting Rights, Corporate Cash, and the Conservative Assault on Democracy
53. Betrayed: A Rosato & Associates Novel (A Rosato & DiNunzio Novel)
54. X
55. The Double Comfort Safari Club
56. Eleven On Top
57. Disgrace
58. On Chesil Beach
59. Sellevision
60. Wilderness Tips

September

61. Circling The Sun
62. From Ashes to Light
63. The Tiger' Wife
64. The Late, Lamented Molly Marx
65. Lay that Trumpet in Our Hands
66. Follow the River
67. White Bone (A Risk Agent Novel)

October

68. American Childhood
69. Behind the Fire
70. The Swans of Fifth Avenue

November

71. City of Light
72. Animal Farm

December

73. The Hidden Genes of Professor K
74. Caged Eyes: An Air Force Cadet's Story of Rape and Resilience 4.5 stars
75. Dream Student 4 stars

Welcome back!

Will be looking you up as often as I can again, Lois - great to see you back.

1. The Accidental Tourist

I was not impressed with this book. The story dragged, and the characters were irritatingly dull.

I'm sorry that your first read was such a dud for you - here's hoping #2 is a 5-star!

>6 scaifea: it was actually worse than you may have thought. I just realized I had accidently given it 3.5 stars, so now I have corrected I to 2.5 stars.

Have a wonderful bookfilled 2016, Lois.

>7 LoisB: Ha! Oh you poor thing! You *really* need a 5-star read now!

>9 scaifea: I'm reading Blood of the Tiger: A Story of Conspiracy, Greed, and the Battle to Save a Magnificent Species right now. It's an ARC that I received in December - not quite a 5 star read, but looking like a strong 4 star.

>8 PaulCranswick: I'm not much of an ice skater, but I'm the mother of a champion synchronized skater. Her team won the gold medal in 2014 US National Championships for her class. So your picture is very appropriate.

>10 LoisB: Well at least it's not a stinker, eh?

2. Blood of the Tiger: A Story of Conspiracy, Greed, and the Battle to Save a Magnificent Species

This was a great book that I was fortunate to receive from the LT Early Reviewers program. The book focuses on what needs to be done to save tigers in the wild. I am not a conservationist, not an animal activist, but I am an average animal lover. I was shocked to realize the severe state of the tiger worldwide. As I turned the pages of the book, I found it informative, compelling and motivating. The amazing amount of work and dissention that occurs at the government and NGO level was a complete surprise although the inability of the entities to reach an accord was not. If you care about preserving animals in the wild, read this book!

Wishing you a most lovely weekend, Lois.

Thank you. Wishing you the same!

>5 LoisB: I loved the movie more than the book on that one.

3. Howards End Is on the Landing: A Year of Reading from Home

This was a interesting account of Susan Hill's effort to spend a year reading from books in her extensive collection. It was interesting to see the "writer as reader" perspective as well as the "publisher as reader" viewpoint. I borrowed this book from the library, but may add it to my own collection in the future.

Tui, I wish you a relaxed weekend.

>18 Ameise1: thank you - wishing you the same

4. Morality Play

Interesting story set in the 14th century about a group of players (actors) who are instrumental in solving a murder. Not sure if I will read more by this author.

5. A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl

This was an interesting memoir written by the wife of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journalist employee who was kidnapped and eventually killed in Pakistan soon after the 9/11 terrorist attack. Mrs. Pearl, a journalist herself, does an excellent job of giving background, detailing activities after the kidnapping, and her life once his death was confirmed. Throughout the story, I could feel the love they shared and I am convinced that the world lost a wonderful man.

6. Changed by Chance

This was an excellent memoir that I received as a Christmas present from my niece. The author, Elizabeth Barker describes a 5 year period in her life when she suffered more than her share of tragic events. From the birth of a child with special needs and serious medical issues and frustrating battles with insurance companies through her recovery from breast cancer, Ms. Barker is strong, courageous, and determined to do "whatever it takes". This is a gripping story of hope and perseverance.

7. Drinking Habits

This is a short, funny play that our theater group will be performing in April- about nuns secretly making wine instead of grape juice to keep the convent afloat.

Happy weekend, Lois. Stay safe and warm.

>24 Ameise1: thank you! wishing you a happy weekend, too.

8. Love in the Time of Cholera

This book was a chore to read. I had to force myself to read 20 pages a day just to finish it. Yes, it was a nice story, but I found the writing to be too wordy for my taste. I probably would have enjoyed a Readers Digest condensed version.

>26 LoisB: Ooof, this one is coming up on a couple of my lists - I'm not happy to hear that it's a drag.

>27 scaifea: You may like it a lot more than me. I like fast-paced, compelling reads. Don't let me care you away from it. BTWI don't think I've talked to you in a long time, so Happy New Year!

>28 LoisB: Ha! Happy new year to you, too! I'm usually here, just lurking.
And you won't deter me from reading it - it's on a list, so it'll get read!

9. Liar: A Memoir

Wow! This was a gripping book, dealing with issues of alcoholism, drug addiction, and mental illness in a stark, direct manner. No sugar-coating here. The author jumps back and forth in time, randomly. Normally, this would ruin the book for me, but once I realized he was trying to simulate the manic mind, I felt it added to the story. I would highly recommend this book, with the caveat that the reader is prepared for the depressing topics. I received this book from the LT Early Reviewers program.

10. Straight Man

I actually enjoyed this book far more than I expected because I had confused Richard Russo with Richard Ford. The book was laugh-out-loud funny! I felt it accurately portrayed a college professor as he goes through his mid-life crisis. all in all, a good read.

Happy weekend, Lois.

and to you, Barbara!

11. Will the Circle Be Unbroken? Reflections on Death, Rebirth, and Hunger for a Faith

I so wanted to love this book, but I didn't. In fairness, I have to say that I just got tired of the stories. As with his earlier book Working, the book consists of interviews with a wide variety of people across many socio-economic categories. This book focused on people's association with death, their feelings about it and their thoughts about what happens after death. I do think I would have rated it much higher had it bee shorter - the last 100 pages were a struggle.

12. And Then There Were None

A re-read of an Agatha Christie for the British Authors Challenge.

13. Suite Surrender is a short farce under consideration for my theaters group's production next year. It's a very funny play, but I ave serious concerns about the set.

Theatre production sounds gorgeous. Are you a member of a group?

Yes, I live in a 55+ community of 1500 homes. We have our own theater group and a small stage on which to perform. We do 2 productions each year, plus a talent show at Christmas, plus some entertainment for a fundraiser around St. Patrick's Day. It's a lot of fun. My husband does a lot of acting. I've been concentrating on being Stage Manager/Producer.

That sounds fantastic. I love activities of such communities and theatre is one of my favourite ones.

14. Shadow of the Silk Road
It took me a while to finish this book - I seemed to reach a wall after 15 pages, primarily because I know very little about the geographies and histories of the Silk Road locales. I realized that when I studied those subjects in school, many of the now small countries were part of the Soviet Union ad when we studied the USSR we studied Russia. So, this book was good in that it filled in some serious gaps in my knowledge of the Middle East, but it was more travelogue than I would have liked.

Your theater group sounds like a lot of fun - I'm thinking to look for a similar community when I retire in a few years.

You are doing much better keeping up with the challenges than I am!

>41 streamsong: It is a lot of fun. Retirement is wonderful!

15. The Girl On The Train

I felt the same way about this book as I did about Gone Girl. It was an OK thriller with unlikeable characters, and I fail to see what all the hype was about.

Happy weekend, Lois.

>44 Ameise1: Thank you!

16. Birthday Letters

This was a collection of poems by Ted Hughes, the estranged husband of Sylvia Plath, written over a long period after her suicide. I had to stop about halfway thru and read her Wikipedia entry which helped me understand the poetry. It has added at least one Book Bullet to my reading list: Plath's novel The Bell Jar. I may also read her biography.

17. The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival

This was a very compelling story of a tiger hunt in the Bikin River Valley of Far Eastern Russia after the tiger had killed two local men. Unfortunately, it was interspersed with considerable background information which detracted from the suspense of the story. The area is a sparsely-populated wilderness, home to the Amur tiger. The locals eke out a meager existence living off the land. Access to guns is expensive and tightly-controlled. The author does a very good job portraying the environment and developing the characters of the men involved, as well as that of the tiger. He concludes with an assessment of the threat to the species continued existence. all in all this was a worthwhile read.

18. A Year at the Races: Reflections on Horses, Humans, Love, Money, and Luck

19. Leisureville: Adventures in America's Retirement Utopias
An interesting look at age-restricted retirement communities, focusing on the Villages in central Florida. The author is against theses type of communities. As a resident of a much smaller, much tamer community located about 20 miles from The Villages, I have to disagree. It's a peaceful existence that I love!

20. From the Holy Mountain: A Journey among the Christians of the Middle East

This book started off well as it describes the author's journey through outposts of Christianity in Byzantium. The middle of the book dragged a bit, but the story picked up again in the last part of the book as he covered Jerusalem, Palestine, and Egypt. The book was published in 1998, so it left me wondering about the impact of current events on sots that he covered.

21. Dodgers

Have a wonderful Easter.

Lois, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

>53 Ameise1: Thank you - wishing you the same.

I wish you a relaxed weekend, Lois.

>55 Ameise1: Thanks! same to you.

22. Intimacy

An interesting story about a man's mid-life crisis as he examines his marriage, family, friends and lover. I commend the author for being able to write a novel in less than 200 pages - it seems to be a lot art!

23. Paula

This was a memoir by Isabel Allende written at the bedside of her daughter, Paula, as she lay dying in a coma attributed to Porphyria. The cover promised it to be spellbinding. Unfortunately, I didn't find it so. It was sad, so sad that I just wanted it to end.

24. The After Party: Poems

Happy weekend, Lois.

25. Ice Bound: A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole

WOW! This was definitely a 5-star read. Jerri Nielson is the doctor who developed breast cancer during her one year assignment to the South Pole. She was the only medical person on site, she had to actively participating in her own testing and treatment, and she had to wait months until she could be safely evacuated. It was an incredible story of survival. It was also a very descriptive and informative account of life at the bottom of the earth. I heartily recommend it!

25. Braving It

Braving It is a nice piece of non-fiction that I received from the LT Early Reviewers program. It's part travelogue, part coming-of-age and part environmentalism. The author tells about three trips made to the Alaskan wilderness with his teenaged daughter. Throughout the story, you see his deep respect for Alaska and its people. It is endearing to watch as he passes this on to his daughter. I wonder what great things await her in life.

26. Running with Rhinos

A very interesting book by a passionate nature conservationist about the efforts to save the Rhinos in Zimbabwe. The author tells his story like a travelogue without preaching - a very easy, informative read.

27. American Sniper

A first-hand account of an American SEAL sniper on several tours of duty in Iraq. Interesting and direct. You get a good feel for his patriotism, and his commitment to being a SEAL.

28. Last Bus To Wisdom

My first book by Ivan Doig, which takes pace in Montana and Wisconsin - areas of my country with which I am woefully unfamiliar.

29. The Slave Across the Street

This was a tough book to read due to the subject matter - human trafficking. The author describes her experience as a sexual slave while in high school. It's tragic and scary to think that this could happen to our children

Happy weekend, Lois.

>67 Ameise1: Thank you - so cute! Hope you have a nice weekend, too!

Have a lovely weekend Lois.

> 69 Thank you, Paul. It's a big one for us. My oldest grandson graduated from college yesterday.

>70 LoisB: Congrats. You must be very proud.

>71 Ameise1: Thank you! I am proud.

30. One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd

This was a very interesting fictional story about a group of white woman who are part of a government program to provide white brides to the Cheyenne tribe in 1875 with the hope that it will help integrate the Cheyennes into the white American word. Fortunately this is fictional as it leads to an expected tragic ending. The storyline was intriguing and compelling and some of the characters were real. It presented a very good account of life in that time.

31. The Skeleton Garden

A modern-day, English-style, cozy mystery. Hard to believe it was written by an American author

32. Spritz: Italy's Most Iconic Aperitivo Cocktail, with Recipes

This book has all the information I need to host a Spritz party. I'm looking forward to it!

33. The Shipping News: A Novel

An interesting story about average people living in Newfoundland - very good look at life in that lonely province.

34. Ice Bound: A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole (read in April)
35. Flirting with French

36. One for the Road: Revised Edition

The story of the author's hitchhiking adventures across Australia.

37. Rio Noir
38. Jemima Shore's First Case

Neither of these short story collections did much for me. Each was a struggle to finish.

39. Brokeback Mountain: Story to Screenplay

Dropping by to say hi. Sorry the Jemima Shore wasn't great. I have that one on the shelf but I've only read Quiet As A Nun so far, though I really liked Fraser's Marie Antoinette.

40. Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and Life

interesting insight into The Donald.

41. Deadly Gamble: A Girl and Her Dog Cozy Mystery

42. Hurricane Street

Hurricane Street is a compelling, gripping and thought-provoking fictionalized memoir of the author's activism following his paralyzing injury in Vietnam. It is fiction to the extent that some names and other facts are changed, and that some characters are composites, but the story reads like a detailed memoir. It is yet another sad story of our nation's treatment of its veterans, and tragic in that the VA has still not changed. For those who lived through the Vietnam war, it is an agonizing reminder of the personal side of war.

43. Born on the Fourth of July

A raw, riveting memoir of a Vietnam vet who suffered a debilitating injury that left him 75% paralyzed. The story is sad, the writing is stark, the words are raw. It forces the reader to think about the realities of war and the ongoing care of those who gave their bodies to save ours.

44. The ISIS Crisis

The first 75% of this book was an informative look at ISIS - good information about its roots and the history of the Middle East. The last 25% is a Christian sermon relating biblical prophesies to world affairs.

45. Death by Divorce

46. Tears in the Wind

47. Sweet Thursday
I haven't read Steinbeck in many, many years and it seems to have lost some appeal. His stories tend to be character-intensive, rather than plot-driven. As I've aged, I think I want more action and less description.

47. Titanic 1912

OK, but nothing special. Mostly newspaper accounts surrounding the sinking of the Titanic.

48. Me Before You

I want to give this 10 stars! It's a compelling story of a quadriplegic who has decided to end his own life. It was a very good read and will be my recommendation for my new book club.

49. The Elected Member

50. By the North Door

>89 LoisB: Me Before You sounds very interesting. I have a look at my local library if they have a copy of it.
Happy weekend, Lois.

51. Black Water

I'm conflicted about this book. It uses a fictionalized version of the tragedy at Chappaquiddick as the basis for the story- names and places changed to protect the innocent. As an part-Irish Catholic Bostonian the real story is too meaningful for me to accept a fictionalized version. Also, I am not a fan of stories that skip back and forth in time. This was my first Joyce Carol Oates read. I am willing to give her another try.

52. The Great Suppression: Voting Rights, Corporate Cash, and the Conservative Assault on Democracy

This was an interesting look at the state of voting in the US. Since voting rights is a fluid topic right now, the book is dated as soon as it is printed, but it does give a thorough look at events up through early 2016. It also evaluates the effort to subvert true democracy in terms of the intent of our Founding Fathers. All in all, this was a worthwhile, topical read.

53. Betrayed: A Rosato & Associates Novel (A Rosato & DiNunzio Novel)

54. X

55. The Double Comfort Safari Club
56. Eleven On Top

57. Disgrace

58. On Chesil Beach

59. Sellevision

60. Wilderness Tips

61. Circling The Sun

A re-read to facilitate a book club discussion.

62. From Ashes to Light
an ER book that I received. There are three basic story lines: Ruth, a young Jewish woman during WW II, Friede, a baby born during WW II, and Saqapaya, a Native American during the Spanish conquest of California. It was difficult following the story lines and wondering where they would converge. I'm still having difficulty with that!

63. The Tiger' Wife

64. The Late, Lamented Molly Marx

65. Lay that Trumpet in Our Hands

66. Follow the River

a 300 hundred page story in a 400 page book!

67. White Bone (A Risk Agent Novel)

exciting, great setting, strong female character

68. American Childhood
69. Behind the Fire
70. The Swans of Fifth Avenue
71. City of Light
72. Animal Farm
73. The Hidden Genes of Professor K

74. Caged Eyes: An Air Force Cadet's Story of Rape and Resilience 4.5 stars

Wouldn't it be nice if 2017 was a year of peace and goodwill.
A year where people set aside their religious and racial differences.
A year where intolerance is given short shrift.
A year where hatred is replaced by, at the very least, respect.
A year where those in need are not looked upon as a burden but as a blessing.
A year where the commonality of man and woman rises up against those who would seek to subvert and divide.
A year without bombs, or shootings, or beheadings, or rape, or abuse, or spite.

2017.

Festive Greetings and a few wishes from Malaysia!

Definitely agree with your thoughts on 2017. Best wishes for this holiday season and the upcoming year.

Looking forward to your continued company in 2017.
Happy New Year!