Mdoris (Mary) reads in 2016

WELCOME TO MY THREAD FOR 2016!

Here is a painting by Abbey Ryan.
Abbey Ryan is an internationally recognized contemporary American painter and educator, best known for her representational, classical realism still life and tromp l’oeil paintings. Her work is inspired by 17th century Dutch still life painting. She is a recognized leader in the painting-a-day movement and does amazing work.



She loves to do paintings of food. I think she is fantastic plus I LOVE grapefruit!

I love this NYer cover!

Books read in 2015 were 63 which was 8 fewer than in 2014.

Best fiction books for me were:
All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews
Lila by Marilynne Robinson
The Jaguar's Children by John Vaillant
A tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

Best non fiction books for me were:
Tracks by Robyn Davidson
Between the World and Me by Ta-Neshisi Coates
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
We should all be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
The Dorito Effect by Mark Schatzker
Bill Peet Autobiography by Bill Peet
Being Wrong by Kathryn Schulz
10% Happier by Dan Harris

What a great reading year!

First book read of 2016 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.



I really enjoyed reading this book, especially the language of yore!
YIkes, revenge sure can dominate existence!

Hi, Mary! I *love* the painting up top! I'll have to look into Ryan's work, as I really love tromp l'oeil stuff. Thanks for bringing her to my attention!

Welcome back!

Hi Mary, found your 2016 thread! I love that New Yorker cover, too. Here's to a fabulous 2016 book-ride!

I found (and starred!) your new thread, Mary. I'm looking forward to getting to know you a bit more and following your reading in the coming year. Thank you for all your supportive input as I recover from my stroke. I am finding a whole community of stroke survivors and it means the world.

I read Frankenstein last year and just loved it. It's so much more psychological than the "popular" images and cartoons have let on.

Take good care --

Great to see you here, Mary!

Happy New thread, Mary! Frankenstein. Good for you! Ive yet to read that classic.

Anyone for lunch? This is another Abbey Ryan painting.

Now you are also starred, Mary :)

Great New Yorker cover. Made me smile. We have two favorite reads from 2015. Lila and H is for Hawk. I think you were the one who recommended H is for Hawk - and I just loved it.

Great to begin the new year with a wonderful frightening classic. THE novel about the detrimental effects of revenge and hatred.

Love, love, love that New Yorker cover. Thanks for sharing!

>12 mdoris: Wow, I wouldn't have known that was a painting-it's so realistic I thought it was a photo. She's gooood!

Stopping by and wishing you a lovely week, Mary!

The Green Road by Anne Enright. Ms. Enright is a pretty amazing writer. She manages to get the inter-generational dynamics of a family perfectly, all the thoughts and feelings and barriers. I was pretty impressed with this book and can see why she is considered a top Irish writer.

Time for another Abbey Ryan painting. Luscious!! Doesn't she amaze?

Wow! That is amazing, the picture of the strawberries! So realistic Gorgeous.

Those strawberries do look luscious, Mary : ). Glad you enjoyed The Green Road; Enright is a fabulous writer.

Right now I am hooked on the Walt Longmire mystery series in DVD form. Have not read the books that the DVDs are based on by Craig Johnson but loving the scenery and stories. I have been to Wyoming on the way to visit daughters living in Denver and it is gorgeous! The main character is maybe a bit macho for my liking and maybe a bit closed down emotionally but heh !!!! he's a cowboy and he sure is good looking, strong and unrelenting in his pursuit of justice and a great detective. Love the subplot of his great friendship with Henry Standing Bear.

Just closed the back cover of Our Souls at Night and this was a sad book for me. The narrow views and jealousies of the son pressuring and shaping his mother's choices and the hurt and loneliness that was created as a result made me upset. There was courage to challenge norms and much happiness to be gained as a result but like a snail that sinks back into its shell, the courage left when family love and manipulation forced change. This was another angle on family life and the ever ongoing repurcussions from tragedy.

I'm sorry that Our Souls at Night left you feeling upset, Mary. Although I've not yet read this one, I love Haruf's writing and am looking forward to it. But I do understand what your point of view, too, that the ever ongoing repurcussions from tragedy are sad.

>23 lit_chick:, Thanks for your visit Nancy. Haruf was an amazing writer and it was a very good book and in no way would I suggest turning off someone from reading it but books do affect our emotions but also our understanding of the world and people which I think is a very good thing. I still have a few of his books to read yet and for sure they are on my list and I look forward to reading them!

Okay some now I'm getting a little bit worried and concerned. There have been no campari tomotoes in the stores for the last 3 weeks and I'm an addict. This is serious. These are usually grown in greenhouses here so now I will have to investigate. Meanwhile I will have to gaze at paintings of Abbey Ryan to get my fix. There are so good!

Sorry that Our Souls At Night left you feeling sad, Mary. I read the book as soon as it came out and enjoyed it as I do all of Kent Haruf's books, but I recall thinking perhaps it ended more abruptly than I felt was usual for Kent Haruf. It is so long ago, I cannot remember altogether. I find a lot of books sad overall. The tomatoes look delicious .

Hi! Those paintings are amazing, absolutely wonderful.
I just got the Haruf out from the library, looking forward to reading it.
I love Anne Enright's writing. Green Road isn't my favourite of hers, but still a great read.
You are talking about books I like- I'll start coming by more often!

The Ryan paintings are stunning! Sorry to read about the tomato shortage.... I am guessing that is why there haven't been any campari tomatoes in the stores?

>28 lkernagh: Hi Lori, just my guess about the lack of compari tomatoes but I sure am aware of their absence, being a tomato-aholic!

Check out Abbey Ryan on line if you have a chance. We got some of her paintings in the early days and bid for them which was sort of fun. She lives in Philidephia and teaches there. I love that the internet makes the world smaller and more connected. I gather she now has many, many followers (3/4 of a million follow her blog) and I think she is wonderful! She is very thoughtful and disciplined and of course very, very talented and willing to share her expertise. This is a quote about her...." her commitment to contemplative and mindful studio practice".

I am reading the new Louise Penny book The Nature of the Beast so thick in the forest near Three Pines!.

>27 raidergirl3: following your recent reads too. We share a lot of common reads (189, Wow!!) . Do you have a thread?

This is Abbey Ryan's painting a day done today! So nice in mid winter to see those luscious cherries.

How do you like my new leggings? I think I might curl up and read......

>30 mdoris: I don't have a thread right now. I'm planning to set one up at ROOTs to have a home base :)

I listened to Nature of the Beast last fall. I'm always conflicted with Penny and her mysteries. I like the books and characters, but sometimes her ramblings and obscure connections with art and the symbols that the killers seem to use seem far-fetched to me. I can only take so much of Jean-Guy - sometimes he's more bearable than others.

>33 raidergirl3: HI, can you let me know when you set up a thread!
I completely know what you are saying about the Louise Penny books and agree. It is a good break though from my previous books to reboot! The previous books is content where my heart is! Good points you make! I have never listened to a book so must try that. I tried David Sedaris who I really enjoy but somehow got distracted and didn't finish, until I finished with a real book in hand.

This is by George Booth who I think is brilliant and fun. I simply love this mag cover!

Love the leggings, Mary!

Hi Mary!
I set up a thread at Orange January/July, which is now really the Bailey Prize for fiction group. It's quiet over there, but I'm going to try to keep things updated. I'm open for visitors :)

Another great New Yorker cover and I love the leggings - even though my leggings days are long past.

I'd never heard of Campari tomatoes but have now given them a try on your rec. They *are* good - not quite like running outside and picking a fresh sun warm tomato, but it's wonderful to have some tomato taste in the middle of winter. Hope your store has them back in stock.

>38 streamsong: I see on your profile page that you have just read Gilead and gave it a great rating. I suggested her books to my "other" half and he has ploughed through them and LOVED them like I did. Glad that you liked them too!

I think campari tomatoes are the best I can find in the stores for flavour especially mid winter. ( I hope they are back for my next shop!) They are grown in greenhouses here in B.C. There is a very interesting section in The Dorito Effect a wonderful recent "food" book about flavour and he does a very good bit about tomatoes. It is interesting ( or disconcerting) to read about where flavour has gone from our food and I think especially in the tomato world!

I see you have been reading the Longmire books. We have been watching the dvd's and are pretty hooked, impressed too on how gorgeous Wyoming is! I know Montana is gorgeous too!

>37 raidergirl3: HI Elizabeth, I found you and have you starred now.

>32 mdoris: Those leggings would turn heads at the bookstore and possibly get you stopped at the door, Mary!

A good gallop, a good yarn and a visit to Three Pines, Quebec!

This is Abbey Ryan's painting of today. I think it is exquisite. It is a blue vase and an asian pear. I love that colour of blue. It is like the blue glass lining in silver service that I remember when I was a little girl. Can you see Abbey's portrait in the glass and the relections of winter through the windows behind her? How does she do it? She is like the amazing Dutch painters of the seventeenth century (imo).

Still no compari tomatoes in the stores. Yikes!

Stopping by to wish you a lovely weekend, Mary. Here is hoping you find some Campari tomatoes!

This is today's painting. I think it is pretty amazing!

Abbey Ryan painter.

The Nature of the Beast sounds perfect, Mary! It's on the list ...

Gorgeous art on your thread, Mary! It is a treat! That New Yorker mag cover is lovely, as are the so realistic looking pictures of the of the tomatoes. I'm on an orange kick right now. Love citrus! Glad you enjoyed your adventure to Three Pines. I read the first three or four, but got weary of Inspector Gamache. I found him a bit full of himself. I'm nearly finished a mystery myself . A good mystery is good for the soul and yes, a reboot for heavier novels.

>48 vancouverdeb:, This one's for you Deborah......



Abbey Ryan painter.

Oh! Mary, you are too kind! Delightful! Thank you!

This was a Canada Reads winner in 2012 that I just finished for my bookclub's February meeting. It's the story of a young "resistance" minded girl who follows in her mother's footsteps involving danger and and fear in Argentina and Bolivia to support those in the resistance movement against Chile's Pinochet rule. Memoirs are not really my cup of tea as I mostly feel that the one sided-ness of them may not be a completely accurate picture. It does portray a picture of very troubled times and the thirst and instability of power on the continent in the decade 1979 to 1989. In ways it feels like a "coming of age" book and is full of the passions of youth.

>17 mdoris: I must get to The Green Road one of these days. I want to read it for my personal Booker Winner challenge and I do hear such good things about Anne Enright from reliable sources. :-)

I love the still life paintings!

Something Fierce sounds good, Mary. Hope your book club meeting is fun!

>51 mdoris: I had to look up that book, Something Fierce because I was sure I was familiar with Canada Reads for the last 6 or 7 years. Then I realized it was the nonfiction year and I didn't pay any attention that year. I like memoirs, so I'll keep that title in mind.

I have to confess I read about 60 pages into the The Green Road this year, and the gratuitous sex and swearing turned me off. I decided it was not for me.

Hope you have a wonderful time at your book club meeting.

I love these books. This is #16 in the Ladies Detective series that takes place in Botswana. I have read them all and they are delightful reads. While reading there is almost always a wee smile on your face or a full on chuckle that emerges. McCall Smith is considered an "utopian" writer in that he sees the good in people and places and while the author takes on conflicts and personalities he does so in the most kind, supportive and amusing way. He sees the foibles in people and expresses these so well. There is a lilt or music to his writing and the way he describes things (pet peeves) i.e. unruly children, slovenly husbands, shoes that talk, it is always with great kindness and fun. I often want to read out passages to my "other" half as McCall Smith expresses things so well. Have I mentioned that I love these books! They are a human, soft, fun and a tender gallop.

I once had the great fortune to hear A. McCall Smith speak. His sisters live in our community and he was visiting and agreed to come to our library for a talk. He talks the way he writes, which is delightful and I can see why he is so proflific. He has wonderful stories to tell. This series is only one of many of his and he has written over 70 books. His background is of medical law ( University of Edinburgh ) respected in the area of medical law and bioethics. He plays the bassoon in an orchestra called " The Really Terrible Orchestra".

This is a very interesting book. It took me a while to warm up to it and "get" it. It is about grinding poverty and love. There is such an historical perspective to it that it made me think of all sorts of things in the past i.e. the early days of AIDS, child rearing differences in time, how parents express love, the influence of popular culture on our values and knowledge, the role of schools to shape us (keep us warm and safe), development of friendships, how the writing process works (was this autobiographical??). It showed time differences which is always a bit of jolt as THE NOW is so powerful. At first I found the book a bit hard to read. It was jerky, not smooth in the writing style and jumped around a bit in time. At the end I found it moving, sad, and penetrating. It is a short book but powerful.

I really like your review of The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine. If you post it, I will thumb it.

A while back, someone posted that they dislike these books and felt their only purpose was to condescendingly point out how different the people are.

I replied that I thought they showed instead how alike we are. But, then, I am a Montana girl and when introduced to old timers here in the valley, someone is likely to say "I knew your father. He raised good cattle". :-)

>58 streamsong:, Thank you and done (posted review!). I am a little hesitant to post reviews but thank you for the encouragement. The posting that you refer to (i.e. dislike these books.....) I could not disagree with more and I really liked your response. I think if we could all think like Mma R. the world would be a better place!

>56 mdoris: I love the Precious books too, for all the reasons you mentioned. I just love the philosophy he writes with. I just requested this book from the library and can't wait to read it. Love the talking shoes!

I've read a few Elizabeth Strout books, loved Olive Kitteridge, but not her latest. I'll keep an eye out.

>60 raidergirl3:, I loved Olive Kitteridge too. I read Burgess Boys and that was a very interesting family dynamics too. I realize she has written more. Must find!

I read the same two Strout books as you. I realize now it looks like I didn't like My Name is Lucy Barton but I meant I hadn't read it. Poor writing there on my part!

Great review of My Name is Lucy Barton, Mary. This one is already on my list; I read and loved Strout's The Burgess Boys. This is a great line: It is about grinding poverty and love.

Love the pullover! I have Lucy Barton on hold at my library too - 4 copies, 16 people waiting. Yes, the rain is dreaful!

>57 mdoris: We have that one at the library. I hope I get around to it.

#57 Great review of the Alexander McCall Smith-books, Mary. Have I mentioned that I love these books! They are a human, soft, fun and a tender gallop. I think they would just suit me. It was a surprise that I actually saw several of his books in this series as danish audiobooks on the online-library. Nine in all.

#62 Ha, ha - my weekend is also "booked" - are finally back to reading a lot again :)

This is the second book that Marie Kondo has written and it is fun. It is a guidance book for household tidying and organizing and mostly ELIMINATING! How do we all end up with SO MUCH STUFF?

This book is written is such a quirky manner that it really is quite delightful. She talks about how a house is "born", that in it's natural state, probably doesn't need any further storage units. Okay I should get busy! Ditch, ditch, ditch.

She talks about storing bras like ROYALTY and finding a special and wonderful place for them all cuddled up together. She calls these bra declarations!

"My worn out bras have finally left home."
" My bras which were long past their best-before date, have gone traveling."
"Senior members of my bra collection have retired."

Okay....ditch, ditch, ditch.

She further adds "I would have to say that the way people treat their undergarments reveals much about their personality."
So we get a little psychoanalysis too!

How fun is this writing! She says things that stay should bring you JOY and this that go should be greatly complimented and admired ,then released. She is now famous internationally and consistently on the best seller lists. A new verb has been developed "TO KONDO" i.e. to ditch!

There's more than practical advice offered in this book, there is some good-for-living philosophy too.

Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and… sounds like a lot of fun! Imagine storing my bras like royalty? Hmm - and now people treat their undergarments reveals much about their personalty? I'll confess and you can tell me. My undergarments go through the wash on a regular cycle in warm water with towels, but get hung to dry, so as not wear them out to fast. The bras get a delicate cycle on cold and get hung up to dry. I am so modest. :)

Now if I could just get better at throwing stuff away....

In winter, I just don't think you can get too much citrus! Isn't this gorgeous.....
Painting by William J. McCloskey (1859-1941).

It is gorgeous, Mary! Yum! I'm heading upstairs for an orange!

I haven't read any Kondo, but I've read lots of reviews and it sounds good. I know I get great satisfaction from de-cluttering and reorganizing an area of my house. Great satisfaction!
I love the paintings you portray on your thread, Mary.

Great review of Spark Joy, Mary. I'm all for ditching bras: I think they should be eliminated, period, LOL! McCloskey's painting of oranges is gorgeous.

Elizabeth Gilbert is an interesting writer with lots of personality and opinions. She had huge and early international success with the book Eat, Pray, Love. She had such a tremendous following with this book that she was almost in the "guru" category! Would it be impolite of me to say that I was not a fan!

She writes fiction (novels, short stories) and non fiction. I loved her book The Signature of all Things, a novel. In this book, Big Magic Gilbert is in the boxing ring with "non creativity" as her opponent. She is punching all the way for "creativity" and puts up some very good arguments tells some very good stories and expresses much wisdom. The book is written in quite a chatty and personal way but does tune you into her points of view which, when the book is finished, makes you a convert. Okay now what area will I choose to bloom in? Help Liz!

I liked this book!

I actually saw Spark Joy in Chapters on the weekend. Made me tired just thinking about it all. I've not read any books by Elizabeth Gilbert. I tend to resist self help books, or self improvement. Perhaps there is enough pressure for that in daily living from others? I'm not sure why it's not my thing.

I had a good look at Birdie of the Canada reads books, and it looks to be quite interesting. I hope to get to that sooner than later.

>75 vancouverdeb:, Hi Deborah,
I certainly know what you are saying with self-help books but I am now finding that many books can give me a twist in my thinking away from 'my way" and I mostly (maybe I should say always!!) I find that a very good thing, very broadening and insightful. When our kids were little I would come home from the library with loads of books for them of course (I am a frustrated librarian) but also books about child rearing. Of course I didn't have a clue how to do it! Our favourite was Siblings without Rivalry which we nicknamed "Earth without Gravity"! Too funny!

By the way with Spark Joy there is lots of philosophy of living in it, which I always love to read about. It's for sure not just about tidying which I would find tiring and tiresome too! Yes, I know what you mean about the pressures for improvement from daily living from others. But all pressure can be ignored.

I will look for Birdie. You are always such a great source for book ideas!

I have really enjoyed seeing all of the still life paintings you have been showing here, Mary. They are a wonderful treat for the eyes!

>77 lkernagh: thanks Lori, here's one to get us ready for Valentine's, done by Abbey Ryan in the last few days. I have just finished Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert which I thought was a wonderful book about creativity. Abbey is a very prime example of a person who lives the life of creativity and it astounds me.

Happy Valentine's Day



This is a NYer cover by one of my very favourite artists. He was an amazing artist and author William Steig. He wrote some of my very favourite children's books Amos and Boris, Brave Irene. He wrote over 25 kids books, had a huge number of cartoons published and did over 80 New Yorker covers. He was 95 when he died in 2003. He amazes!

Gorgeous cover for the New Yorker! I can tell you that I read a bit of Spark Joy and it gave me a push to retire a " senior bra" for new one, though I am for ditching bras altogether when possible. I must confess, that I read many books about baby hood and child raising when my kids were younger. I too read Siblings without Rivalry, How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk and many others in that genre. :)

Here are some truffles for you today. This is another Abbey Ryan painting. For sure, good enough to eat!

>62 mdoris: I love the sweatshirt, Mary.

I stopped reading the Alexander McCall Smith novels after about the third and I should get back to them. Did you get to see the brief but delightful PBS series based on the books? If not, I highly recommend them!

This book was greatly enthused about on threads so I got it from the library and it is a great human/dog story. While reading it, I felt as if I was hanging on to the sled by the seat of my pants with Paulsen and could feel the cold, the hardships and those 5 breakfasts (eaten in one sitting) that Paulsen had en route doing the Iditarod race. There are many challenges, but such beauty and the connection that he has with his dogs is very moving and heartfelt. The sleep deprivation gave him hallucinations.

I have done further research as we have a standard poodle and there have been several years of standard poodle teams racing in the Iditarod (with a few huskies). Can you imagine? I have shared this information with our "Maggie"and she is also incredulous as she doesn't even like to go out in the rain! Anyway, there is an interesting Johnny Carson interview with the poodle musher online, that was fun to watch.

p. 230 " Cold. So cold that when the sun came up and I felt the warmth on my clothing I wanted to cry and pray at the same time .....I was as grateful as I was when I got out of the army or saw my son born--soul grateful"

Great review of Winterdance, Mary. Poppy and I just got back in from a walk in a downpour and we are still recovering from the rain, never mind the cold that you describe. Poppy must have her walks as she is still so young , but it was definitely a hardship today. But even so , I have a craving for lemonade . I've put my pants in the wash and next up to dry and getting Poppy's raincoat dry for her evening walk.Dreadful day out there today! Time for a nice mystery comfort read.

Exciting news. My bookclub, that I have been a member of for (gulp)....37 years has just entered a contest on CBC NxNW for Canada Reads. So one wonderful member did a write up all about us and entered the contest and WHEN we win (overly confident) will will have a dinner with The Hero Walk author Anita Rau Badami on March 2nd at the downtown Vancouver CBC building and each will get a copy of all the Canada Reads books for 2016. I'll keep you posted!

Great review of Winterdance, Mary. The Iditarod is an absolutely incredible race! Incredible! My ex-husband and I brought a malamute out of SK's far North when we moved to the Okanagan many years ago. She was a gorgeous dog, just a wonderful temperament. Lived a long and happy life, but she preferred more snow than this part of BC gets (and less heat!).

I'm rooting for your book club! Woot! Diner with Rau Badami and a copy of all of the Canada Reads books. Go!

>86 lit_chick: Thanks Nancy for the story of your cherished malamute. We did canoe trips in Sk's far North in our much younger days and I can call to mind your pup. In Winterdance Paulsen does a wonderful job describing his dogs, especially burrowing deep in a snow tunnel for sleeping and all you would see is steam coming up a tiny funnel. Have you ever seen the Iditarod race? I love being warm so I think they are all completely crazy!

>84 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah, Poor Poppy, poor us! It is raining cats and dogs here right now.

Oh ! I loved have loved every book written by Anita Rau Badami. She first came to my attention when my son took a Can Lit class at UBC and had to read Can You Hear the Nightbird Call? and from there I've read all four? of her books. I really hope you and your book club win the dinner. She sounds like such a down to earth approachable person.

This is Abbey Ryan's painting for the day. Isn't she amazing?
It makes me want to make lemon squares, more to the point EAT lemon squares or anything made with lemons. I wrote to Abbey and told her that I am honouring her on my thread on Library Thing. She responded that she didn't know about LT but now does and thinks it is wonderful.

Ahh! Thanks for citrus - the potential of lemonade, Mary! Today is so dreadful and I am so weary of walking in downpours I am thinking I might skip Poppy's walk. Tomorrow is supposed to be nicer.

Ah, so it is lemon squares for you and lemonade for me! :)

I know what you mean Deborah, we are being lazy cocooned inside today too (after my swim, that sure was wet too!!!) . Must get tough with myself and go put on a raincoat. Maggie is an old girl now and seems quite content to snooze.

Peter is reading Sapiens, a Brief History of Human Kind which fits for a lazy day. I am reading The Gratitude Diaries and for sure helps you to look "on the bright side of life". Wasn't there a good Monty Python on that one!

I'll make a lemonade for you!

>88 vancouverdeb: Thanks Deborah for your enthusiasm about Badami. I have read 2 of her books but not the one for Canada Reads The Hero's Walk. For sure if we win the contest I will have to do a power read. No copies in the library (6) right now so many people must be reading the Canada Reads books.

Love the lemons, Mary! How wonderful that Abbey Ryan responded to you, and that she is now familiar with LT : ).

<94 Yes, Nancy I correspond a bit back and forth with Abbey Ryan. We bought her paintings when she was just starting out , fell in love with them actually and she mails them from her place so it does get a bit personal and of course we have really enjoyed following her career. She does painting workshops and I wish I had a smidge of talent in that direction (but I don't!) as the workshop would be fabulous to take. They are often in Arizona and right about now that sounds pretty dreamy! Enjoy your weekend!

Fascinating review of Winterdance - Have only read one Gary Paulsen and that was The Hatchet - a great "Robinson Crusuo" kind of novel - featuring a boys struggle to survive in nature alone. Didn't know he also wrote this memoir - but he seems to have a great insight into man's struggle with nature.

I'm loving all the Abbey Ryan paintings - they are luscious! I checked out her website and it's interesting that she sells on eBay. I hope she visits your thread and maybe even starts one of her own!

It's nice to see more Winterdance love. I've added that to my rec'ed by LTer's note on my home page. Perhaps I'll hold it over until the fall, though. Does it sound too whiny if I say that even though it's only February, I'm a bit tired of snow?

I'll definitely have to check out Badami. I see she's one of the authors for the March Canadian authors' challenge.

GRATITUDE like MEDITATION is getting a lot of press these days and who can find fault!

I have been reading lots about this particular book The Gratitude Diaries so I thought I would give it a whirl. Kaplan is a a journalist married to an Internist (who adores her).....and she writes about gratitude in the context of marriage (fall in love again), children (really ??? teenagers???), jobs, health, sibling relationships (healing), personal struggles (alcohol), personal tragedies (tough ones) and personal goal setting (dieting). She tours the U.S. and interviews gurus in these areas that have got "gratitude" figured out. She quotes lots of research studies. I knew before I started this book that it is always better to view the glass half full, rather than half empty and to count our blessings.

I have always been intrigued when people return from third world countries and say how they found people with no worldly goods to be happy and willing to share while (we the fat cats) struggle with our moods and entitlements and affluence to keep a smile on our faces. Just saying.......

Okay so where is my struggle with this book? There just is too much ego and self reflection and self congratulations for me to celebrate this book. I will take a slice away from it and try my best to see the good and be grateful. It has inspired but with a dose of discomfort.

Mary, lovely review of The Gratitude Diaries. Will you post to the main book page? This sentence reminded exactly of Eat, Pray, Love: There just is too much ego and self reflection and self congratulations for me to celebrate this book. Seems our modern world is not only a haven for this self-centred behaviour, but that it has become something to be celebrated. Grrr.

Anyone for some exercise?

>99 lit_chick: Thank you Nancy for your comments and encouragement. I have posted the review and wasn't going to but mission is now accomplished.

Just about to start My Life on the Road Gloria Steinem. It was sitting on the library shelf and jumped out at me today. I have read some reviews and I think it promises to be very interesting. I read a excerpt in the New Yorker and she talked about the value of "listening", which I think is an undervalued treasure and I want to hear her perspective on that! Then a bit of a Downton Abbey fix.

There just is too much ego and self reflection and self congratulations for me to celebrate this book That is my trouble with so many enrich your life/ be a better person books. Great review and thumbed.

On a totally different topic , my husband was bemoaning the lack of good tomatoes today and I thought of you and your quest for Campari Tomatoes. On that note I think I'll go eat and orange - or indulge in a glass or lemonade, though it is not as good as the freshly made sort. :)

>101 mdoris: And thumbed!

Stopping by for some more Abbey Ryan paintings and to wish you a lovely week, Mary!

I marvel at Adam Gopnik as a writer. He writes fiction, non fiction, humour, restaurant reviews for the New Yorker and for BBC news and probably lots of other places and has written 7 books (essays ---Paris, food, New York, Art} and kids books,). He seems very knowledgable about so many things but what I marvel at is his way with language and the way he can think and express himself. His facility with language never ceases to amaze me. He spent some time, when growing up, living in Montreal and he went to McGill University so in a way I would like to claim him as" part" Canadian!

In 2011, the CBC marked the 50th year of the Massey Lecture Series by asking Gopnik to deliver five lectures on a subject close to the heart of all Canadians – Winter: Five Windows on the Season I would like to read Winter before our present winter is over!

The Frozen Thames is a little gem of a book. I can see why there is lots of warbling about it on LT. This is the first Humphreys book that I have read but I will certainly read more. It is a series of short vignettes from an historical perspective and I have the feeling that the images from this book will stay in mind for a long time. It should be read while wearing a down vest and down booties with the fireplace on. Brrr.

I read it this month too. Just wonderful!

Emma Donaghue had a book in a similar vein, Astray. She took snippets from old newspapers and wrote short stories that could be the story behind the article. Not all work as well as others, but I really enjoyed the concept.
(I think it is Astray)

I love the Abbey Ryan paintings! Very cool!

I had The Frozen Thames checked out from the library, but it was returned unread. Not sure whether or not it's really my thing, but I do enjoy Humphreys. Loved this, Mary, make me smile: It should be read while wearing a down vest and down booties with the fireplace on. Brrr.

>101 mdoris: Ooh I want to read this. She has had such an interesting life. Look forward to your comments.

I love the bookish exercise programme >100 mdoris: too. About my level.

>108 carlym: Thanks for the visit Carly. Very glad that you like the Abbey Ryan paintings. I will post more!

>107 raidergirl3: Elizabeth did you ever read Room by Emma Donoghue? I tried about 5 times (and had to leave it for major discomfort feelings) and on the 6th I succeeded and finished it . I thought it was a very interesting and unique read but not sure that I would want to see the movie. I just checked and I have read Astray but I'm afraid I don't remember it!

>110 charl08: Hello Charlotte, I am going to dig in to the new Gloria Steinem book today. Did you see that a clothing company published an interview with her in their catalogue and it has caused a furor with people (women) canceling any future business dealings with them? Yikes, where has tolerance and curiosity and understanding gone? Man oh man we are quick to judge these days based on our" tribal "allegiances.

>112 mdoris: Yes, Mary, I have read Room, and also several other Donoghue books, like Frog Music and The Sealed Letter. I am astounded by her diversity of books and her talent. She's like a chameleon with her oh so different books. I completely get finding Room hard to read. Difficult subject.

I picked up two more Helen Humphreys books at the library today. They are so short, surely I'll be able to sneak them in? The Evening Chorus and The Lost Garden

His Whole Life is Hay's most recent novel. She is a bit of a quiet writer, (but still edgy) writing about ordinary people, developing the story slowly. It is the story about a boy growing up with a Canadian mom and an American dad with lives between two places, one in cottage country near Ottawa (Snow Road Station where I have been in my youth!) and New York city. It shows the underbelly of famly life, interdependencies and conflict of marriage and the tenderness of love of mother and son and the vulnerabilites of growing up. I liked it! I liked the Canadian content (the nation's complex feeling about Pierre Trudeau, the Quebec referendum and the political urges for Quebec's independence). I liked the descriptions of lake country, the outdoors and Hay does a very good job describing sibling challenges, marital love and conflict and the pull and complexity of friendship and emotions.

Nice review of His Whole Life. I've taken it out the library before, but did not get a chance to read it. I'll have to make another effort at that. Our responses to book are so different. I read Room and I thought the book did not ring true enough to me. I felt that after the release of the young woman from the room, she was no longer that interested in her son . Maybe all of the buzz about it got my expectations to high.

>113 mdoris: Sounds very interesting ,Mary!

Great review of His Whole Life, Mary, and thumb-up! Sounds like just my cuppa. Will put it on the list.

ETA: LOVED The Lost Garden. Read it a couple of winters ago, and was a 4.5 or 5* read.

Major drats!! Our bookclub did NOT win the CBC contest on NxNW. There are 11 women this morning who just can not imagine a better group than ours! Jeepers after 37 years........

>116 vancouverdeb:, >117 lit_chick: Thanks Deborah and Nancy for your visits and comments. Nancy I will be off to the library this morning to swoop in for The Lost Garden.

>115 mdoris: Just a little aside! His Whole Life takes place (partly) near Ottawa. The cottage in the book is near Snow Road Station near the Mississippi River in Ontario. I remember it well, as boyfriend who was to become husband and I had hiked up the most gorgeous series of rapids and he was fly fishing in the river for trout in hip waders, you know the kind with suspenders that are really like pants and bib.. I, on the other hand, had my nose firmly planted in what else??? A BOOK and whosh went the river and down went the guy with hip waders filling with water and nary a concern had I, as I never saw it happen.. So he staggered up the bank of the river looking like a drowned rat several hours later (he now says!!) and I was none the wiser. And he still proposed. Wonders never cease! You can't say he wasn't forwarned!

I am a bit of a sucker for small books. Is it from the love of kids books ....Beatrice Potter, Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise Brown, Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman..... and many more?
There is a tiny book by our Vancouver cookbook guru whose shop is "Barbara Jo's Books for Cooks" and her book is Cooking for me and Sometimes you that I just fell for when I read it. It's size was small and the story was wonderful (food and LOVE in Paris).

Anyway somehow I fell for the size of Conventry. I thought this book was wonderful. The inter weaving of relationships in a time of terrible, terrible bombing (WWII) with life on the brink was well described and felt.

This is my second Humphreys book and somehow I missed knowing about her before and am very grateful to LT folks for steering me in her direction. She lives in one of my favourite cites, Kingston, Ontario.

>121 mdoris: I just got this, looking forward to reading it.

So glad you enjoyed Coventry, Mary. Humphreys is a wonderful writer.

Love the graphic at >122 mdoris:!

>122 mdoris: So true, Mary! So many books , so little time!

>121 mdoris: I really loved Coventry as well, Mary. Such a vivid tale! Glad you enjoyed.

Thanks for the darling image on my thread, Mary! It was nasty out today with Poppy. Raining hard and very windy. I have my nice gortex jacket with a hood and Poppy has her pink water resistant raincoat, made in Vancouver for our weather. We did a couple of wild miles. It was so windy that I had trouble keeping the door open to the car as Poppy got back into it. The later on I was at the library in Steveston and the power went out. According to BC Hydro site, the power is still out, with a crew on site - downed wire. At least here we are fine for now. I've got the flashlights and candles at the ready just in case.

Hope you are doing well in your neck of the neighbourhood.

>126 vancouverdeb: Was out in the garden today between showers and there is thick moss growing on everything. My bergenia is in full gorgeous bloom though.....Started Even Dogs in the Wild, Ian Rankin today. Good book to start on such a wild a wooly day!

I'm so glad you enjoyed Winterdance, Mary! And I really want to read Coventry, having loved The Frozen Thames.

Spring is emerging here in Seattle: cherry and plum blossoms, early rhododendrons, and the magnolias are just about to pop. I love this time of year!

For the month of March I will be following the Tournament of Books.
http://www.themorningnews.org/tob/
It started yesterday with a pre-judgement of Avenue of Mysteries by john Irving and A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler. With "Spool" being the winner. It is interesting to follow the discussions. So this happens almost daily until the end of the month with a grand champion. There are 17 books involved. So it roughly follows the "March Madness" idea of the U.S. University basketball world. Kind of fun!

winners!

2005: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
2006: The Accidental by Ali Smith
2007: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
2008: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
2009: A Mercy by Toni Morrison
2010: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
2011: A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
2012: The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
2013: The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
2014: The Good Lord Bird by James McBride
2015: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Thanks for the reminder that ToB has begun. It's fun to follow, and get ideas of books, even if I sometimes find the literary analysis challenging to follow.

I've just read today's post on the ToB - thanks for the link. I haven't read either Oreo or The Sympathizer but am now very tempted by both...

>130 raidergirl3: Yes Elizabeth, the books contrasted can be so entirely different that it is sometimes weird to compare them but always fun to see what people have to say. I was at bookclub last night and we had read The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri and I see in the 2014 ToB it was contrasted with Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell and lost the round. Could those 2 books be any different!

>131 charl08: Thanks Charlotte, I will have to look those up.

So this is a good old romp through Edinburgh shadowing Rebus as he solves another series of crimes and chases criminals. Although now retired the smoking, drinking and chip eating former police man is still drawn to the puzzle. There are many names to keep straight and sub plots swirling but for me whose daughter #2 did a year in Edinburgh at school, it is fun to have a pictures in my mind of that wonderful city that Rebus inhabits. Rebus now has a dog to think about, Brillo, a side kick who may be featured in future books. Hope so.!

We just saw the most enormous hawk in our back yard, perched on a branch of a weeping birch tree. He had a view of a bird bath and wondering if he had" ideas" of small birds having a bath. Yikes! He was gorgeous and it made me think of H is for Hawk and that wonderful book. Out came the bird book Birds of North America. We're thinking it was a Cooper's Hawk.

My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem. I wanted to like this book more than I did. She has been a BIG name for many years, in content that is extremely important and very important to me personally. I wanted to hear more about her life and her learning, her wisdom from experience. I knew where she was coming from politically but I was looking for some big picture insights, some true-isms from her rich and varied life and I didn't really find them. Well to be more fair she did mention the huge value of "listening" to one another to learn and to solve conflict, which I agree is an under used skill. She tells some very good stories about people she has met who have defied the stereotypes of expectation and I really liked those stories. It jumps around a lot in content and as a person who has made her living as a writer, I was expecting more expertise in that area too. I guess I was a bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong, Gloria Steinem is a phenomenal individual, who has led an interesting, powerful, varied and accomplished life, a life that has brought critical and necessary changes and insights to society.

Great reviews, Mary. The Ian Rankin sounds right up my alley. I've shared your feeling on the Steinem novel many times: I wanted to like this book more than I did.

>135 mdoris: Gorgeous hawk. There's a kestrel (I think!) that hovers over the farmland behind the house on the odd occasions. Such impressive birds. (Although I pity the rabbits).

Sorry the Steinem didn't live up to your expectations. Some wonderful books fit in that category for me too.

Yes Mary, like you I am overcome with all of the lists to try to keep up with! I've had my eye on Even Dogs in the Wild for quite a while now. Other books keep taking precedence, but your review is encouraging me. As far as hawks and birds of prey go, I keep a wary eye on them. When we purchased our little white then 3.8 lb maltese /' poodle cross , the woman who had rescued the mom and looked after the pups, warned us that we should watch out for hawks and eagles, lest they swoop down and whisk our puppy away. It had never occurred to me that such a thing could happen, but apparently it is rare, but has happened. All of a sudden I had a different feeling about the birds of prey. Poppy is now 13 - 14 lbs but I still keep a bit of a wary eye out for them . A plover or a heron - those I like.

>138 vancouverdeb: Deborah, you are very wise to be concerned about eagles or hawks and small dogs, especially that it's wonderful Poppy that we are talking about.! We have friends on a Gulf Island with a rescued dog from Mexico, part poodle parts something else. He's a small fellow and the eagles there are numerous and have buzzed him. I can't even imagine the horror of that. One day he came home soaking wet and being a non swimmer( by choice) that episode continues to perplex our friends. Was he dropped by an eagle in the ocean?

Pax by Sarah Pennypacker illustrated by Jon Klassen of This is not my hat fame!

I read a review about this book and thought it was a picture book but no it is a book for kids 8 to 12 but I would say that it would be for a pretty sophisticated child in that age group, with an excellent vocabulary and an understanding of some big picture ideas. It had some illlustrations by Jon Klassen who I think is a wonderful author/ illustrator. It's a story about a boy and his companion, a fox who he rescues as a kit (well really they rescue each other). There are many themes; loss, war, grief, attachment, friendship, developing a sense of self, parental challenges. It is quite a remarkable little book! p 277.

Pax looks darling, Mary. It sounds very interesting too.

>139 mdoris: I must admit that prior to the woman who had rescued Poppy's pregnant mom from a shelter in California, and we adopted one of the puppies, the idea of a hawk or eagle swooping down to grab my dog had never occurred to me. The woman who was the co - owner of the dog rescue told me that she had heard of a small dog being taken up by an eagle or hawk by it's collar and dropped into the Fraser River, where a fishing boat picked up the dog/ puppy and the dog made it to shore and was eventually re- united with it's owner. We've had two smallish dogs prior to Poppy, a border terrier who weighed around 22 lbs and a bichon frise who weighed about 14 lbs -but she looked bigger due to her puffy hair. So this idea of bird of prey swooping off with my little Poppy quite hit me.

>141 vancouverdeb: That happens in a Sandra Bullock film. I'd always assumed it was comic exaggeration! Scarey stuff if real life...

I'm with Deb, Mary: Pax sounds darling. And I love the cover!

>141 vancouverdeb:, this is the little fellow I was talking about.....

Oh he is so darling, Mary! What a cutie! I admit I am dreading walking my dog today. Pouring rain, windy and grey out. But out we go a little later.

Yes, it is a full gore tex day (again!!).

So cute Mary! When my kids were young, I swear I read about 9 or so picture books to them each night! :) It was a lot of fun, but it took time! I really love kids books!

And our once a week dog walker asked if she could walk Poppy today instead of Thursday this week. I have a day off walking the dog! Yesterday was wicked out!

The Lost Garden by Helen Humphreys

I loved this book. This is the third book of Humphreys that I have read in the last 3 weeks. She was a discovery for me on LT so a big thank you to lit_chick for steering me in this direction. It is a tender and vulnerable story, a story about love and finding self during war. Humphreys is such a fine writer that I could quote endlessly. There is a wonderful flower/garden/literature (Virginia Woolf) presence that captivated. It is very sensory with flower fragrance, so descriptive of scenes made visual, a sense of dark and light (so appropriate for war). It is full of wonderful conversations and human sensitivity.

Wonderful picture of a book-lover :)

Glad you're enjoying Helen Humphreys. Might as well continue while you're on a roll. Haven't read her yet, but Coventry have been on my list for some time.

Another Humphreys book bullet. I need to try something by her sooner rather than later.

And I love the picture of the hawk. :-)

I'm so thrilled you loved The Lost Garden as much as I did, Mary! It's perfect, what you've written here in your review: It is very sensory with flower fragrance, so descriptive of scenes made visual, a sence of dark and light. It is full of wonderful conversations and human sensitivity.

>152 lit_chick: Thank you Nancy, The book is still very much swirling in my brain today.

Hope you have a fabulous time at KidsBooks today! Great weather for such a journey today!

>154 vancouverdeb: Yes, it was fun. A grandson from Denver arrives this weekend so a trip for Easter books seemed mandatory. Found the original The Velveteen Rabbit and The Tale of Peter Rabbit with a sweet bunny puppet to go with them. I know "classics" all the way, but I really love them!

There is another independent bookstore nearby that is very drool-worthy, full of MANY temptations. I saw the following that are either at the library or have asked the library to purchase.
Steve Martin An Object of Beauty
Helen Humphreys The River
Raymond Briggs Notes From the Sofa

Hi Mary, I have dropped my star and settled in. I spent most of today outside as it was quite sunny and spring-like here in Tsawwassen. Hope you are enjoying your day.

Great review of The Lost Garden Mary! I kept my copy so that I can re-read it again someday, which says something about the book as I usually don't keep books once I have read them.

I liked this book!

I didn't know much about the space programme or about Chris Hadfield prior to reading this book. I didn't know much about the international cooperation of space travel or its history. I had seen his amazing book of photographs You are here: Around the world in 92 minutes: Photographs from the International Space Station based on his space travel. What I really appreciated in this book was his explaining his real experiences, his sensory experiences in a place without gravity, his responsibilities, the changes to his body with loss of gravity, his great reverence for his experience and his insight into life; how to keep humble, how to approach change, how to get along with others (his philosphy of minus negative, neutral, and plus positive), his postive attitude about life's transitions. He is a capable writer, musician, photographer and educator too. There are some wonderful You Tube videos of Hadfield.

At nine years of age he set his sites to being an astronaut and he accomplished that and more. He seems a very likable Canadian "hero", quite "down to earth" if you don't mind me saying so!

What a sad but enlightening story this is! It is written by a talented young man near the end of his neurosurgery training programme who is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer in his mid 30's. Kalanithi wrote this book to chronicle his very challenging experience and to give us intimate knowledge about going through such an ordeal. Before entering medicine he studied English literature and always had a great ambition to be a writer too. So he accomplished a great deal in far too short a life.

Cherry blossom time in Vancovuer!
They are a wonder in Stanley Park right now.

>158 mdoris: Cmr Hadfield is so amazing! That book was so well done, and I finished it just in awe of all he has accomplished. Proud Canadian!

Mary, that is a wonderful review of An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth. I'm very curious about Chris's philosphy of minus negative, neutral, and plus positive). Have watched many of his educational YouTube videos from the ISS. Agree with Elizabeth that Commander Hadfield ROCKS!

>162 raidergirl3:, >163 lit_chick: Thanks for your visits ELizabeth and Nancy! The philosopy of -/neutral/& relates to where "ego" fits into the scheme of things. I was interested in so much in his book but that got special attention for me.

Three year old grandson has been visiting from Denver and bless his heart HE LOVES BOOKS! Like his gramma he especially likes John S. Goodall. Goodall's books listed as 50 plus, WOW!!! are superb. Many are wordless half page books with fabulous illustrations. The Midnight Adventures of Kelly Dot and Esmeralda is a favourite as at the stroke of midnight the toys come alive and wander into a painting on the wall of the house where they live and have a marvellous adventure within the painting. Wouldn't that be a fun thing to do?
Other favourites of his....
Creepy Castle
Shrewbettina's Birthday
Naughty Nancy Goes to School
Lavinia's Cottage
Goodall was brilliant!

Here they are cllimbing into the picture.

Wonderful review of the Hatfiield book! I have watched a number of interviews that have been conducted with Chris and he is such a modern Renaissance man and a great inspiration.

Have a wonderful Easter.

>166 lkernagh:, >167 PaulCranswick: Thanks for the visits Lori and Paul. Wishing you both a very Happy Easter.
Very exciting day for us, bought a new (to us) house in a new city so a BIG move will be afoot soon. We have been in the same place for over 35 years. YIkes.

Wow , Mary! You bought a place in new city today? Still in the area - or quite a distance? That is an exciting day indeed! Best wishes on the move. Happy Easter too!

>169 vancouverdeb: I know, Deborah! I must be crazy to think of packing up after 35 years. Do you think there's a good book about how to move? I guess that's why I've been reading the Kondo books about how to ditch stuff!

Wow, Mary. How exciting/scary to make such a big change! I look forward to seeing some pictures of your new place.

Wow - congrats on the big changes and a new house - very exciting!

After 35 years, that will be quite a job. (BTW you convinced me to put my name on the library wait list for the Kondo books).

Are you familiar with Flylady? She's the 15-minutes-a-day babysteps guru. I think Kondo is not very fond of her system but here are Flylady's tips for moving: http://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/flying-lessons/moving/

Thanks Elizabeth and Janet for the encouragement. I have never heard of "flylady" and for sure will look up the link you sent. Thank you Janet. GULP! One foot in front of the next......
Hope you will like the Kondo books. There is some great added philosophy that I have visited in my mind since reading them. For me, they set up a "think differently mode" which is always a good thing!
Happy Easter to you!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE seasonal kids books Here are some of my all time favourites. Wishing you a very Happy Easter weekend.