souloftherose reads and reads in 2016 - part 2

I’m Heather and this is my 7th year in the 75 Book Challenge Group. I'm in my midthirties and live in a small town to the northwest of London in the United Kingdom with my husband and our slightly nervous rescue cat.

I read a lot of fantasy and science fiction (including children's/young adult books) as well as a good spattering of crime/historical/other fiction. A fair number of the books I read are older books - I particularly enjoy 18th and 19th century fiction, golden age detective novels and women's literature from the first half of the 20th century.

Last year I read 236 books of which only 25 were non-fiction books. Given how many books I read in total I could probably squeeze a few more non-fiction books - we'll see.

Books read in January

#1 Courtiers: The Secret History of Kensington Palace by Lucy Worsley (Library)
#2 Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett (Reread)
#3 Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett (Reread)
#4 Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett (Reread)
#5 The Magician's Ward by Patricia C. Wrede (TBR)
#6 The American Senator by Anthony Trollope (TBR)
#7 Death on the Cherwell by Mavis Doriel Hay (Amazon Prime)
#8 The Mussel Feast by Birgit Vanderbeke (TBR)
#9 Hawkeye, Vol. 2: Little Hits by Matt Fraction and David Aja (Marvel Unlimited)
#10 Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald (TBR)
#11 The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff (Library)
#12 The Kingdom and the Cave by Joan Aiken (TBR)
#13 The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson (TBR)
#14 Hawkeye, Vol. 3: LA Woman by Matt Fraction (Marvel Unlimited)
#15 Fear Stalks the Village by Ethel Lina White (TBR)
#16 April Lady by Georgette Heyer (TBR)
#17 Maskerade by Terry Pratchett (Reread)
#18 Jack of Fables, Vol 1: The (Nearly) Great Escape by Bill Willingham (Library)
#19 Hawkeye Vol 4: Rio Bravo by Matt Fraction (Marvel Unlimited)
#20 Murder in the Mews by Agatha Christie (Reread)
#21 Mrs Tim Carries On by D. E. Stevenson (Library)

Books read in Febuary
#DNF The Black Prism by Brent Weeks (TBR)
#22 Charlotte Bronte: A Life by Claire Harman (Library)
#23 The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley (Library)
#24 Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold (TBR)
#25 Becoming Who You Are: Insights on the True Self from Thomas Merton and Other Saints by James Martin, S.J. (TBR)
#26 Fables: The Deluxe Edition Book Nine by Bill Willingham (Library)
#27 Hull Zero Three by Greg Bear (TBR)
#28 A Dance With Dragons by G. R. R. Martin (Spousal unit's)
#29 Lumberjanes Vol 3: A Terrible Plan by Shannon Watters, Noelle Stevenson (Humble Bundle)
#30 The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher (Library)
#31 The Traitor by Seth Dickinson (TBR)
#32 Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett (Reread)

Books read in March
#33 Sylvester by Georgette Heyer (TBR)
#34 The Cornish Coast Murder by John Bude (Amazon Prime)
#35 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (Reread)
#36 Domestic Manners of the Americans by Frances Trollope (TBR)
#37 Timeless by Gail Carriger (Reread)
#37.5 The Curious Case of the Werewolf That Wasn't, the Mummy That Was, and the Cat in the Jar by Gail Carriger (Free kindle)
#38 The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson (Reread)
#39 Miss Ranskill Comes Home by Barbara Euphan Todd (TBR)
#40 The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage by Sydney Padua (Library)
#41 Among Others by Jo Walton (Reread)
#42 Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm (TBR)
#43 Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie (Reread)
#44 Heap House by Edward Carey (TBR)
#45 Black Widow Volume 1: The Finely Woven Thread by Nathan Edmondson (Marvel Unlimited)
#46 The Mystery of Mrs Blencarrow; and Queen Eleanor and Fair Rosamund by Mrs Oliphant (TBR)
#47 My Real Children by Jo Walton (TBR)
#48 Meeting God in Paul by Rowan Williams (TBR)
#49 Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner (TBR)
#50 Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte (Reread)
#51 Venetia by Georgette Heyer (TBR)

Paper books acquired




#1 Marriage by Susan Ferrier
#2 A Fugue in Time by Rumer Godden
#3 Becoming Who You Are: Insights on the True Self from Thomas Merton and Other Saints by James Martin
#4 Domestic Manners of the Americans by Frances Trollope
#5 Pure Juliet by Stella Gibbons
#6 Meeting God in Paul by Rowan Williams
#7 The Winds of Heaven by Monica Dickens
#8 The Happy Prisoner by Monica Dickens
#9 The Rector's Daughter by F. M. Mayor
#10 Trollope: A Commentary by Michael Sadleir
#11 Creed or Chaos? by Dorothy L. Sayers
#12 The Prime Minister by Anthony Trollope
#13 Seasons of War by Daniel Abraham
#14 Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
#15 Trollope and Women by Margaret Markwick

Kindle books acquired




#1 The Mussel Feast by Birgit Vanderbeke
#2 The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson
#3 Fear Stalks the Village by Ethel Lina White
#4 April Lady by Georgette Heyer
#5 Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold
#6 The Traitor by Seth Dickinson
#7 The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter by Rod Duncan
#8 Sylvester, or, the Wicked Uncle by Georgette Heyer
#9 Heap House by Edward Carey
#10 The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien by Georges Simenon
#11 My Real Children by Jo Walton
#12 Tor.com Bundle 2
#13 Venetia by Georgette Heyer
#14 Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

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

Series I'm actively* reading (*for a rather lax definition of active)
*Albert Campion: Next up Hide My Eyes by Margery Allingham (19/25)
*Barsetshire Books by Angela Thirkell: Reading out of order. Next up The Brandons (5/29 read)
*Black Widow (2014) Next up Black Widow Volume 2: The Tightly Tangled Web by Nathan Edmondson
*Ebenezer Gryce: Next up That Affair Next Door by Anna Katharine Green (8/13)
*Fables: Next up Fables, Vol. 13: The Great Fables Crossover by Bill Willingham (13/22)
Finishing School: Next up Manners & Mutiny by Gail Carriger (4/4)
*Frost in May Quartet: Next up Beyond the Glass by Antonia White (4/4)
*The Gentleman Bastard Sequence: Next up: The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch (3/4)
*Gilead: Next up Lila by Marilynne Robinson (3/3)
The Girl Who: Next up The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente (3/5)
Hainish Cycle: (Reading out of order) Next up Rocannon's World by Ursula K. Le Guin (3/8)
Hilary Tamar: Next up The Shortest Way to Hades by Sarah Caudwell (2/4)
The Iremonger Trilogy: Next up Foulsham by Edward Carey (2/3)
Lady Trent's Memoirs: Next up Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan (3/4)
*Liaden Universe Publication Order: Next up Fledgling by Shareon Lee & Steve Miller (9/21)
*The Long Price Quartet: Next up An Autumn War by Daniel Abraham (3/4)
Maigret: Next up The Hanged Man of Saint Pholien by Georges Simenon (4/76)
Mrs Tim: Next up Mrs Tim Gets a Job by D. E. Stevenson (3/4)
Ms. Marvel 2014: Next up Ms. Marvel, Vol. 4: Last Days by G. Willow Wilson (4/?)
Old Filth: Next up Last Friends by Jane Gardam (3/3)
*The Palliser Novels: Next up: The Prime Minister by Anthony Trollope (5/6)
Poldark Saga: Next up The Stranger from the Sea by Winston Graham (8/12)
*Revelation Space (reading out of order): Next up Redemption Ark by Alastair Reynolds (2/7)
*Roderick Alleyn: Next up Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh (2/32)
Seraphina: Next up Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman (2/2)
Small Change: Next up Half a Crown by Jo Walton (3/3)
*Tales of a New Jerusalem: Next up Family Britain, 1951-57 by David Kynaston (2/5?)
Vlad Taltos: Next up Dragon by Steven Brust (8/14)
Wolves Chronicles: Next up Midwinter Nightingale by Joan Aiken (10/11)

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

Series I'm rereading
*Colonel Race: Next up Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie (2/4)
*Hercule Poirot: Next up: Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie (17/39)
*Chief Inspector Armand Gamache: Next up A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny (7/11)
*Miss Marple: Next up The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie (3/13)
*Mistborn: Next up The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson (2/7)
*Superintendent Battle: Next up Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie (3/5)
*Thursday Next: Next up The Woman Who Died a Lot by Jasper Fforde (7/7)
Tommy and Tuppence: Next up N or M? by Agatha Christie (3/5)

Up to date series
The Cinder Spires: Latest book The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher (1/?)
Corta Hélio: Latest book Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald (1/2)
Empire of Masks: Latest book The Traitor by Seth Dickinson (1/?)
Matthew Shardlake: Latest book Lamentation by C. J. Sansom (6/6)
Old Kingdom: Latest book Clariel by Garth Nix (4/4)
Peter Grant: Next up The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch (6/6)
Shades of Grey: Latest book Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde (1/3)
A Song of Ice and Fire: Latest book A Dance with Dragons by G. R. R. Martin (5/7?)
Vorkosigan Series: Latest book Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold (17/17)
Wolf Hall: Latest book Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (2/3)
World of the Five Gods: Latest book Penric's Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold (4/4)

Series completed
Discworld Witches by Terry Pratchett (6/6)
Hawkeye (2012) by Matt Fraction (4/4)
Mairelon the Magician by Patricia C. Wrede (2/2)
Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger (5/5 + 1 short story)

Group reads/Tutored reads with Liz (@lyzard)

February: Marriage by Susan Ferrier (Virago chronological read)
March: The Prime Minister by Anthony Trollope (group read)
April: Emma by Jane Austen (tutored read)
May/June/July (TBC): Camilla by Fanny Burney
August: The Midnight Bell by Francis Lathom

To schedule:
The Wanderer by Fanny Burney
The Duke's Children by Anthony Trollope

I think that's it. I was interested to see this week that the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) announced the shortlists for its annual SF awards and I have actually read a few of the books on the shortlist (* denote books I've read).

Best Novel
Dave Hutchinson: Europe at Midnight, Solaris
Chris Beckett: Mother of Eden, Corvus
*Aliette de Bodard: The House of Shattered Wings, Gollancz
*Ian McDonald: Luna: New Moon, Gollancz
Justina Robson: Glorious Angels, Gollancz

Best Short Fiction
Aliette de Bodard: “Three Cups of Grief, by Starlight”. Clarkesworld 100
*Paul Cornell: Witches of Lychford, Tor.com
Jeff Noon: “No Rez”, Interzone 260
*Nnedi Okorafor, Binti, Tor.com
Gareth L. Powell: “Ride the Blue Horse”, Matter

I haven't read Justina Robson's Glorious Angels but I did get a copy as part of the same kindle deal as Luna: New Moon.

Europe at Midnight and Mother of Eden also both sound interesting but are the second books in series where I haven't read the first book yet.

Happy new thread, Heather!

Happy new Thread to a very prolific reader!!
Have a wonderful weekend, Heather!

Happy new thread!

Happy New Thread Heather! I'm looking forward to our group reading of Camilla considering how much I enjoyed the other two Fanny Burney books.

Happy new thread, Heather. Have a lovely weekend!

Happy new one, Heather!

Happy new thread, Heather! Continuing the discussion from your last thread about Domestic Manners of the Americans, I loved it when I read it, but funnily enough I read it after someone else hated it, and wrote such a critical review that I just had to see what it was all about. It led me into all sorts of books about US history. Charles Dickens wrote something similar - American Notes - which is also worth a look, but I preferred the Trollope.

Congrats on clearing ten books from your TBR pile already!

Hi, Heather. I haven't read a thing in that short list! Do you recommend the ones you've read?

Happy new thread, Heather.

Happy New Thread, Heather!

Happy new thread :)

On schedule to beat last years number of books read I see, Heather.

Happy new thread. xx

Happy new thread Heather! I read Domestic Manners of the Americans before LT and really liked it. I hope it's a good read for you!

Thank you Mamie, Lynda, Nina, Ilana, Monica, Amber, Susan, Roni, Beth, Darryl, Melissa, Paul and Carrie for the new thread wishes. I was hoping to write some reviews and catch up on LT today but I have come down with another cold and am feeling very tired today because I didn't sleep very well. Maybe I will get a second wind later.

Good work on your TBR pile!!! The Trollope on America was a great read I thought. As was the Dickens. Earlier, De Crevecoeur's description of his visit was also a good read.

I'm sorry to hear that you're under the weather, Heather. I hope that you feel better soon.

Happy Valentine's Day, Heather!

Heather--Hope you are feeling better soon. Congrats on the new thread and

Sorry about the cold Heather. It sounds to me like you need rest more than anything. Take care of yourself, and don't worry about catching up. I left you a message on my thread; an offer of sorts I think you can't really refuse! :-)

Happy new thread, Heather!

Happy Valentine's Day Heather!



And Happy New Thread!

Congrats on your shiny new thread, Heather and wishing you a great start into the new week.

Happy new thread!

Hi, Heather - Happy New Thread!

Re: Domestic Manners Of The Americans, Trollope was desperate for a financial success both personally and because of her family's situation, and it's generally accepted that she laid on the snark deliberately in pursuit of that---she knew it would be a best-seller in England! :D

I'm sorry to hear that you're under the weather, Heather. I hope that stupid old cold takes a hike soon so you can get back to reading and LT'ing! And thanks for the link to the Heyer list — I'm off now to put in my two cents worth!

Happy New Thread, Heather! Also --- Feel 100% SOON!!!
Many thanks for the BSFA short list. I just put Europe in Autumn on my Kindle. I hadn't heard of Hutchinson, and it was a good price, so I'm excited to start the series.

Thank you for all the good wishes re the cold and the Valentine's wishes - Lucy, Darryl, Mamie, Kim, Ilana, Lori, Abby, Rachel, Barbara, Mary, Liz, Julia and Peggy!

Cold is getting better I think but I am still having problems sleeping due to cold-induced snuffliness - woke up at 5am today and couldn't get back to sleep so I am pretty zonked today.

>14 susanj67: Susan, I think I have several books about US history on my library list from your recommendations which I may follow up on after finishing Domestic Manners! I enjoyed Dickens' American Notes too. I haven't read much of the Trollope so far but I think Dickens started out with a more positive view of America and Americans and then got more and more annoyed with them throughout the trip whereas Frances Trollope starts the snark much earlier.

One quote I noted fown from ch2 of Domestic Manners:

"Let no one who wishes to receive agreeable impressions of American manners, commence their travels in a Mississippi steam boat; for myself, it is with all sincerity I declare, that I would infinitely prefer sharing the apartment of a party of well conditioned pigs to the being confined to its cabin."

>15 ronincats: Roni, yes I enjoyed them all. Luna: New Moon would be my favourite - this was about resources on a near future Moon being fought over by different corporate families. It's a duology with a sequel out this year. The others were all solid, good reads.

House of Shattered Wings was about fallen angels in an alternate Paris - I normally avoid books with angels but this was different enough to tempt me as the author is Franco-Vietnamese and also drew on Vietnamese mythology in addition to the Christian mythology.

Witches of Lychford was an interesting twist on the three witches trope in a contemporary rural setting - very well done. Binti was a good science fiction, coming of age narrative about a girl from an African tribe going to study at a galactic university.

>19 PaulCranswick: I will bow to the knowledge of the group's stats guru, Paul!

>20 cbl_tn: I keep getting distracted by other things so I am not very far into it, but enjoying what I have read.

>22 sibylline: I don't have a very strict definition of the TBR so if I buy something and read it straight away that still counts. But even allowing for birthday gifts I am just managing not to increase the TBR pile which I consider an achievement!

I haven't heard of the De Crevecoeur - was it Letters from an American farmer?

>32 lyzard: "it's generally accepted that she laid on the snark deliberately"

Well, she does it very well! I think I read somewhere that she also tried to start a business in Cincinnati which failed which probably also didn't lead to happy memories of her time there.

I don't know how much she's exaggerating what happened but from just the early chapters I can see how life in America would be quite a shock to someone from England of that time.

>33 rosalita: Glad you liked the list Julia - I enjoy seeing everyone's different orderings of the Heyer novels.

>34 LizzieD: Peggy, I will be interested to hear what you think - I've heard very good things about the series but not got around to trying it yet.

Hello Heather - it's lovely to get back to visiting your thread at long last instead of just glimpsing each other on FB.

The Kingdom and the Cave is one of the Joan Aiken books I have had since childhood. Can't remember much about that one, mind you...

DNF: The Black Prism by Brent Weeks - 2 stars



From the ratings on LT and other book sites it seems I'm in the minority on this one but whilst I was sufficiently intrigued by the premise and parts of the story to keep going for 300 pages (still only half way through the book) the writing and the characters really annoyed me and I gave up.

This is an epic fantasy with an unusual magic system (colour magic) which is told from multiple points-of-view. I've only read one other fantasy novel which uses colour magic (Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker) and I liked the idea of trying another. From the way colour magic is described in The Black Prism it sounds like the magic users hands emit some kind of coloured plastic which just didn't work for me and this image was one reason why I kept getting annoyed by the book. Another was the humour - what people find funny is very individual but the humour here struck me as a sort of teenage boy humour (breasts! farts!) which I wasn't amused by. In fairness one of the character's is a teenage boy so perhaps the author was just trying to get into character. And the characters smirked at each other too much.

So, I gave up. Part of me would still like to know what happens (which is why it gets 2 stars) but it's book 1 of 4 and I really can't be bothered to trudge through all those pages.....

Book #23: Charlotte Brontë: A Life by Claire Harman (Charlotte Brontë: A Fiery Heart in the US) - 4 stars



Firstly, the cover of the UK edition is gorgeous - it's a raised impression of embroidery rather than an actual embroidered cover but I kept having to touch it to convince myself there weren't real embroidery threads.

In terms of the content, I haven't read any other biographies of any of the Brontes before so I can't say if there's anything new in Harman's version, but I certainly found this to be a good introduction to Charlotte Bronte and her family, albeit often a heartbreaking one, as well as to the novels Charlotte wrote and what made them so important. Although this focuses on Charlotte it also covers Emily, Anne and Branwell Bronte and their writing in quite a lot of detail. I am tempted by a Bronte reread - probably starting with Jane Eyre as I don't remember enjoying Charlotte's other novels as much and I'd also like to try Julie Barker's The Brontes which I've seen described as the definitive biography although it's an older one now.

>36 gennyt: A Genny sighting!! :-) Thank you for stopping by - do you have a thread?

>38 souloftherose: Yes, just set one up (keeping it very simple to avoid further procrastination). Here.

I've just finished Mother Of Eden. It's a sequel, but not in the normal way, in that it occurs generations after the first book. While it's helpful to know the plot so as to understand the mythology that has grown up around those events, I wouldn't say it's essential to have read the first. Although, with your speed of reading there's nothing to stop you reading both anyway!

>37 souloftherose: Gosh, so tempted to get the Brontë book for the cover alone! Of course I'd be curious about what's inside as well, goes without saying! ;-)

*lurking along*

>40 eclecticdodo: Thanks Jo. I will probably still read the first book first, just because.... :-)

>41 Smiler69: It is a really lovely cover, Ilana.

>42 humouress: *waves to Nina*

23: The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley - 3.8 stars



I really enjoyed this novel about a telegraph clerk in 1880s London, a Japanese watchmaker and a female scientist. Although the plot involves terrorism and bombs mixed with some fantastical elements, it's a fairly gentle and kind novel, especially in the relationships between some of the characters, and the kindness reminded me of Katherine Addison's The Goblin Emperor.

It also has some flaws: there were occasional sentences or paragraphs I had to reread a few times to understand their meaning and the actions of one character towards the end of the book didn't really seem consistent with what we already knew about them. I'd say the writing style seems a bit too consciously literary for me - there seems to be a bit of a trend to try to write quirky, literary/fantastical novels (The Night Circus, The Miniaturist etc) and sometimes I come away feeling the author was trying too hard. Also, although Pulley had clearly done a lot of research about 1880s London (I'd never heard about the Japanese village in Knightsbridge before, I never really felt like she'd really captured the late-Victorian period. However, reading it as more of a fantasy novel (rather than historical fiction) worked well and I loved the characters. I would be very interested in seeing what Pulley writes next.

Happy Friday, Heather! Nice review of the Pulley book - did you post it? If so, I will thumb. I have that one in the stacks from the Kindle deal but no idea when I will get to it. Hoping that your weekend is full of fabulous!

>43 souloftherose: Great review, Heather. I need to look out for a copy at my local library.

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street sounds like my kind of read, even if it does have some flaws.

Happy new week Heather! Hope it goes well.

>44 DianaNL: Thanks Diana - love that image!

>45 Crazymamie: I have posted it now, Mamie. It is a good read so hope you enjoy it whenever you get to it.

>46 Ameise1: I hope you can find a copy, Barbara.

>47 lkernagh: The good points definitely outweighed the flaws, Lori.

>48 The_Hibernator: Thanks Rachel!

Book #24: Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold - 3.9 stars



The 17th book in the Vorkosigan series and (finally) another Cordelia novel, this is a slower, more contemplative book with very little of the madcap adventures we're used to from the Miles novels. It's also hard to discuss without spoilers for the other novels in the series, read no further if you haven't read up to at least Cryoburn.....

This book is set three years after the events at the end of Cryoburn when Cordelia is still grieving but starting to make plans for her own life. I was at first quite taken aback by some of the revelations abour Aral's and Cordelia's marriage but I enjoyed this exploration of grief, ageing and the slowly developing relationship between Cordelia and Oliver. It was also really interesting to see Miles' character from another person's perspective.

>49 souloftherose: I found it impossible to discuss without spoilers, because so much of what I enjoyed about the book was the very spoilery things :-) I did enjoy seeing Miles and his brood from a new perspective. And seeing Cordelia from another perspective, too - we've mostly seen her from her own POV and Miles's, and Oliver's view was lovely for adding some facets to her.

Thanks for posting the review, Heather. I have applied my thumb!

>49 souloftherose: Agreed, Heather. Interesting that she chose not to go the madcap adventure route. It was good to spend time again with Cordelia, and I liked the different perspective for Miles, too. I keep hoping she'll bring Ekatarin back to front and center.

I'm glad that she's still writing these ones. I read somewhere that she thought Cryoburn might be the last one, but that stories kept coming to her.

>50 archerygirl: Good points about also seeing Cordelia from another perspective. I found it a little discomforting for both characters but I think that's a sign that Bujold was doing it well.

>51 Crazymamie: Thank you Mamie!

>52 jnwelch: Hi Jo. Yes, more Ekatarin would be good.

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

I want to say a thank you to the many LTers who recommended Jim Butcher's The Aeronaut's Windlass - I have just finished it and it was so much fun! I nearly didn't read it because I wasn't a fan of Butcher's Harry Dresden series but the two series are quite different and I loved this one.

Book #25: Becoming Who You Are: Insights on the True Self from Thomas Merton and Other Saints by James Martin, S. J. - 3.8 stars



This is the first faith related book I have managed to finish since 2014 - it may have been less than 100 pages long but I'm still giving myself a pat on the back!

This is a short introduction to the life of Thomas Merton, a 20th century American Trappist monk and writer, and the following quote from Merton: "For me to be a saint means to be myself. Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation is in fact the problem of finding out who I am and of discovering my true self.". Although the subtitle and cover of the book makes it sound like a lot of other Christians (saints*) are discussed including Henri Nouwen and Mother Theresa, there's only one chapter about Henri Nouwen and one brief mention of Mother Theresa. It didn't really bother me but it makes for a bit of a strange cover choice and subtitle.

As someone who has struggled with the concept of being myself in both a general and a Christian context, I found this brief book included a lot of ideas to ponder that I think I will find helpful. One of the shorter quotes I made a note of is as follows:

'God has made each of us uniquely ourselves, and holiness consists of discovering the true self, the person we are before God, accepting that person, and becoming a saint in the process.'

*A small (perhaps not very interesting note on terminology). The use of the word saints in this book is with a small 's' meaning all Christians, as opposed to capital 's' Saints which have been formally canonized by the church (I might be wrong but I think it's only the Roman Catholic church that still formally canonizes Saints but perhaps the Orthodox church does too - I am not an expert!) So Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen and Mother Theresa are all saints regardless of whether or not they are ever canonized and become Saints. And anyone who identifies as a Christian is a saint regardless of how likely you may feel it is that you may ever become a capital 's' Saint!

>53 souloftherose: Yay for The Aeronaut's Windlass! That one was ton o' fun. Glad you liked it.

>53 souloftherose: Well, I'm fairly sure I've accepted who I am, or at least I'm comfortable in my own skin; but I'm pretty sure I'm no saint! :0)

Although there are those times when I have to cope with the kids .... nope, definitely not a saint.

So glad you went ahead with The Aeronaut's Windlass, Heather. Knew you would love it!

>53 souloftherose: saint Heather, I enjoyed your review verily.

>43 souloftherose: that one sounds like a diverse cast, to start with! And the cover....so pretty....I better get out of here, I have already ordered one book from Book Depo this morning!! (The Frozen Thames, fyi)

Seeing that you've recently read Charlotte Brontë: A Life, I want to mention that I read a very good book (I had to check back) in 2010 and gave it 4.5 stars Romancing Miss Bronte: A Novel by Juliet Gael. It too, covered the entire family and was an enlightening read.

I'll check into The Aeronaut's Windlass. How can I avoid a "ton of fun"?!

Well, you've gotten me with the Butcher book. I've read a few of the Dresden books and thought they were OK but I haven't felt compelled to continue the series. I'll have to check this one out!

Hi Heather! I love the cover of the Bronte bio. It's one I'd enjoy owning just to ogle. :-) I don't read a lot of fantasy, but I'm intrigued by The Watchmaker of Filigree Street. It sounds like one I should borrow from the library rather than purchase. And you've reminded me that I really should read something by Thomas Merton one of these days. We have a lot of his books in our library so it's not like it would take much effort to locate one.

Always interesting to catch up here, Heather. Let's see ---- I rejected *Filigree* when it was a Kindle Daily Deal. If it ever reappears, I might try it. I'm sort of relieved to see that you are not a great Brent Weeks fan. I put that one on the Kindle too and maybe shouldn't have. I did read Julie Barker's Bronte bio and encourage you to try it when you have a lot of time!
And I never picked up Cryoburn. I expect I should fix that. I'll keep the Martin book in mind. My local book group is looking for something to discuss.

Nice review of Becoming Who You Are, Heather. Is Merton (and Martin) saying that our true selves are all inherently good, and that once each of us is able to uncover that true self we will become more saintly? How does one go about doing that? Are there any elements of evil within the true self, and if not, how does one keep those human tendencies from (re-)entering? (Or, am I completely off base?)

I'll want to hear more about this book. Your review also reminds me that I want to read the books I own by and about Reinhold Niebuhr in the near future.

>53 souloftherose: Becoming Who You Are sounds interesting. I've always found it a difficult balance to on the one hand accept who I am, and on the other strive to become more Christ-like. I think if we just settle for who we are now, we miss out on what we can be. But if we focus solely on what we "should" be, it's a recipe for feelings of inadequacy and unhappiness, and a paralysis in working towards the goal.

>53 souloftherose: I think that if Bujold always gave us a happy, fluffy view of all the characters, we'd lose out. That's one of the things I like about her writing. It's not fun seeing some of the less desirable traits in our favourites, but she doesn't let us get complacent about them or forget that they have as many flaws as anyone else.

I'm so glad you enjoyed The Aeronaut's Windlass! It is quite different from his Dresden books and the differences really worked for me.

>54 jnwelch: & >56 ronincats: You were both people whose comments prompted me to try this one so thank you for the recommendation!

>55 humouress: Ha! I expect Merton may not have often felt saintly in that way either :-)

>57 PaulCranswick: Why, thank you Paul. *polishes halo*

>58 LovingLit: The cover is lovely, Megan. Your comment about ordering The Frozen Thames made me smile because I nearly bought that this month to read for the CAC and then decided not to. I am not doing well at reading to schedules at the moment so decided against it but it may be something I buy and read later in the year.

>59 Carmenere: Thank you for the recommendation of Romancing Miss Bronte Lynda. I can see how the story of the Bronte siblings could be perfect novel material. I hope you like The Aeronaut's Windlass.

>60 rosalita: I hope you enjoy it Julia!

>61 cbl_tn: Hi Carrie - it is a lovely cover. The other cover on the work page (which I assume is the US cover) doesn't call to me in the same way:



The Watchmaker of Filigree Street is quite light on the fantasy element - more there are some elements which aren't historical and aren't otherwise easily explained. It's worth a try if the library has a copy.

I have to confess I still have not read anything by Merton although I did pull New Seeds of Contemplation off the shelf after finishing Becoming Who You Are. New Seeds looks like it will require quite a lot of thought so it may end up back on the shelf again.

>62 LizzieD: Thank you Peggy! I think it would definitely be worth trying *Watchmaker* if it comes up as a deal again and I don't intend to try anymore Brent Weeks. Cryoburn is one I remember more for the ending than the rest of the book - it wasn't bad but it didn't hit the heights of the other Miles books. Thanks for the comments about the Juliet Barker book.

>63 kidzdoc: 'Is Merton (and Martin) saying that our true selves are all inherently good, and that once each of us is able to uncover that true self we will become more saintly?'

I think no to the first question (although I can see how the quote I shared may have given that impression) and yes and no to the second question. Merton's true self is more the person you can become rather than the person you start out being. For Merton, discovering God and discovering the true self were very closely linked. Finding the true self involves moving away from the parts of oneself that prevent us from being closer to God (selfishness, pride, fear) and moving towards the parts of oneself that draw us nearer to God and out of this process Merton believed one would become more loving and more generous. So although the book doesn't explicitly state this, I don't think Merton would say we start off inherently or wholly good.

On the second question, I think Merton thought this worked in both directtions - if we uncover the true self we become closer to God and more saintly and if we become closer to God and more saintly we are uncovering our true self. He sees the two as intrinsically linked.

I think Merton's point in referring to the person we become as the true self was to emphasis that we are not losing our own unique personality in this process. We are still very individual and each person's path to the true self may look very different but that doesn't mean they are not on the right path. Merton was a Trappist monk (one of the orders that spends a lot of time in silence) who also spent long periods living as a hermit so in some ways it's quite good to know he doesn't think that's an essential part of discovering your true self!

In terms of practical steps on how one discovers the true self and moves away from selfishness etc, there wasn't much of that in the book. I think Martin's aim was to give an overview of Merton's life and introduce the concept of the true self with a focus on how different people take different paths (which was why Martin also discussed his own path, Nouwens and Mother Theresa's). I think it succeeded in that and I can see that there may be an inherent difficulty in talking about the 'how' of becoming the true self if you are also saying everyone will need to find their own way.

I hadn't heard of Reinhold Niebuhr at all but the titles on his author page look interesting so I will also be interested in your thoughts if you do get to any of his books. I was discussing Becoming Who You Are with my husband and he mentioned William Stringfellow also wrote about being called to be yourself and I wondered if you'd come across his writings?

>64 eclecticdodo: I think Merton's concept of the true self is perhaps what an evangelical would call becoming more Christ-like. His phrasing and thinking perhaps give more emphasis to the idea that each person retains their individual personality as part of this process but I can see that a different emphasis may be helpful for different people or even the same people at different points of their journey.

>65 archerygirl: I thought it was really clever to let us see Miles from another point of view - I don't recall that's happened before in the series (although perhaps I missed it). I love the books where we share Miles' POV but it was good to see Miles from another point of view and realise that he does have flaws (and could easily be quite annoying). And you're right it stops us getting complacent.

>53 souloftherose: I came by to see how you liked The Aeronaut's Windlass and I'm thrilled you enjoyed it. It is very, very different from Harry. I also didn't care for Harry but stuck to him at the prodding of Joe and a few others. He has grown up a bit and grown on me a lot.

I've not really read anything by Thomas Merton but I've read a lot about him from Thich Nhat Hanh's books.

>68 DianaNL: Thank you Diana!

>69 luvamystery65: Hi Roberta. Interesting to hear Harry grew on you. I don't think I want to try the Dresden series again but perhaps I shouldn't say never!

Some graphic novels:

b>Book #26: Fables: The Deluxe Edition Book Nine by Bill Willingham - 3.8 stars



This omnibus edition contains Fables, Vol. 11: War and Pieces and Fables, Vol. 12: The Dark Ages. War and Pieces is the story of the Fables and their allies finally going to war against the Adversary. I enjoyed this but felt the war was over a bit too quickly and a bit too easily. The Dark Ages was a lot better and addresses what will happen now they've defeated the Adversary. I'm guessing this is the beginning of another story arc.

Book #29: Lumberjanes Vol 3: A Terrible Plan by Shannon Watters, Noelle Stevenson - 3.8 stars



I read these as individual issues (#9-12) rather than the trade paperback (which is due for release shortly) but didn't want to catalogue each comic separately. The story in these issues was a lot of fun: Molly and Mal go on a picnic date and get caught up in the usual Lumberjanes adventures but I enjoyed the storyline which followed April, Jo and Ripley more as they decide they are going to try to get a 'normal' Lumberjanes badge and fail spectacularly.

Book #28: A Dance with Dragons by G. R. R. Martin - 4.1 stars



1,117 pages in my two paperback editions (excluding the list of characters in each book which is now at around 60 pages long) and now that I'm finished I may have to wait years for the next book but I still love this series. I can understand why some have enjoyed the two most recent books less than the earlier novels: the cast of characters has expanded hugely meaning everyone's storyline is taking longer to progress and it can be really difficult to keep track of who's who. But I love the worldbuilding, the complexity, the shades of grey in the characters and the way Martin can make me sympathise (even if only slightly) with a character who I've previously considered to be almost pure evil by suddenly switching things and showing us their POV (but please, Mr Martin, do not give us a Ramsey Bolton POV. Just no.).

Whenever Winds of Winter does get published I will be doing a reread.

>71 souloftherose: Wow it hardly seems fair that you only get one book to your score with that one done!

I will have to put a couple of months aside to read that series sometime soon.

Have a lovely weekend, Heather.

Great comments on the Martin - wow! 60 pages of characters?! I have to think before starting this one. Lumberjanes sounds fun; I'd like to try that one. I enjoyed Nimona.

Have a lovely weekend.

>71 souloftherose: Congrats on finishing A Dance With Dragons. I also love how there really is no evil/good in Martin's books, just different perspectives. Although I have to agree with your last statement!

Thanks for your excellent and detailed response to my questions, Heather. I agree with that philosophy, and would be interested in reading more by and about Thomas Merton.

Reinhold Niebuhr is arguably the most important and influential American theologian of the 20th century. President Obama has cited him as one of his greatest influences, as have former Presidents Kennedy and Carter, Hillary Clinton and Martin Luther King, Jr. I own one book about him, Why Niebuhr Matters by Charles Lemert, and one book by him, The Irony of American History. I plan to read the book by Lemert in April, for the Non-Fiction theme on Religion, and hopefully I'll get to The Irony of American History this spring or summer.

The Bronte book sounds really interesting and I probably should look at The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, since I have read and enjoyed all 3 book you referenced in your review. Thanks! And Happy Sunday!

Hi Heather! I'm glad you're enjoying the Lumberjanes. I think they're fun reads too!

Oh! I loved the Lumberjanes!

>49 souloftherose: Thanks for the review. I look forward to eventually reading the latest Vorkosigan book. I too am excited about more of Cordelia, as I enjoy her more than anyone in that universe. I mean, I enjoy the Miles books--they're good stories and all, but he's such a jerk. I don't loathe him the way I dislike Captain Kirk, and he is lovable but still a jerk that I just don't enjoy as much. In fact, of all his books, the ones I appreciate the most are those that include Mark or Ekaterin.

>75 kidzdoc: You can find some really interesting discussion and resources about Niebuhr in the podcast On Being with Krista Tippett:
http://www.onbeing.org/program/moral-man-and-immoral-society-rediscovering-reinh...

I have risen from the undergrowth ( also known as work) ..... just finished Barsk: The elephants graveyard ... think it might just be your sort of thing definitely thinkers scifi

Heather, I hope the Vorkosigan Series goes on forever! I enjoy them as audiobooks on my 12-hour drives to Colorado. I am looking forward to #17. Finally, another Cordelia book. YAY!

Happy weekend, Heather.

>72 PaulCranswick: A couple of months at least! I think this is a series that would benefit from being read over a short period of time because the story in each book picks up directly from where the last left off and the cast of characters is so huge.

>73 BLBera: Yep, 60 pages. The character list doesn't start off that long in book 1 but by the time you're up to book 5 it has expanded a lot, even with all the characters who die. Lumberjanes is fun, not quite as good as Nimona though.

>74 Kassilem: 'I also love how there really is no evil/good in Martin's books, just different perspectives.' Yes, completely agree. I thought in A Dance with Dragons Martin took this further than he had before making several of the characters we had come to think of as 'good' go through some very dark times and putting them in positions where there were really no 'good' choices left to them.

>75 kidzdoc: Thanks for the information about Ronald Niebuhr, Darryl. I will certainly be interested in your thoughts on those books when you read them.

>76 Berly: Hope you enjoy them Kim!

>77 Carmenere: & >78 Thebookdiva: Glad to see more Lumberjanes love. In the individual issues I've read the first 12 and I think my Humble Bundle included everything up to #21 so I have a good store of the comics to keep me happy :-)

>79 justchris: 'I enjoy the Miles books--they're good stories and all, but he's such a jerk' I hadn't really realised this until Gentleman Jole where we see him from an outsider's perspective.

>80 roundballnz: Lovely to see you Alex and thank you for the recommendation! I have added Barsk to my wishlist and will look forward to your thoughts.

>81 DianaNL: Love it Diana, thank you! That was exactly how I felt yesterday!

>82 Donna828: I'm so glad you're enjoying the series Donna :-)

>83 Ameise1:, Beautiful - thank you Barbara!

Hi Heather, hope you are enjoying the weekend. And I'm definitely with you on Ramsey Bolton. Eek!

>85 Smiler69: Thanks Ilana. I am pretty shattered this weekend but had my reread of Jane Eyre to distract me - read the second half yesterday curled up on the sofa under a fleecey blanket. I am going to have some blood tests this week to see if there's any physical cause to the tiredness but I'm not expecting anything to show up. My husband hasn't been well lately (nothing scary, chronic illness) and although I don't have to physically care for him I think that's probably why I'm feeling more tired. Trying to work out if it makes sense to be more tired when I'm not actually doing anything more than usual.

Today's plans are to write up some comments on the last few books read in February, make a batch of the mushroom and spinach soup that was recommended on Darryl's thread and take my Mum out for dinner this evening (it is Mothering Sunday in the UK).

Final books for February:

Book #27: Hull Zero Three by Greg Bear - 3.7 stars



An impulse purchase for kindle at the end of last year, all I knew about this was that it was shortlisted for the Arthur C Clarke award a few years ago and was an sf novel about a generation ship. A man wakes up with no memory on what becomes apparent is a spaceship where something has gone seriously wrong. It's part survival, part fairly gentle horror (I have a very low scare threshold) and part science fiction but also very surreal for the first 2/3 of the book where it's really unclear what's happening. I liked it more than I thought I would (surreal and horror are not really my thing) and found it readable and quite thought-provoking.

Book #30: The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher - 4.4 stars



So much fun - airships, talking cats (I loved the cats), adventure and derring do on what would be the high seas except for the fact that these are airships rather than sea ships. Part of a planned series but the story in this one is self-contained - there are hints of what may become a more epic fantasy 'save the world' plot but it could also go in a different direction.

Book #31: The Traitor by Seth Dickinson (aka The Traitor Baru Cormorant in the US) - 3.7 stars



A fantasy novel with an accountant as the main character!! How could I not read it? The main character, Baru Cormorant, grows up in a country that has been peacefully taken over by an empire called the Masquerade - but for all that the conquest was peaceful she has to watch her country's culture be absorbed or outlawed as she's growing up. Baru is intrigued by some of the concepts the empire brings to her country (mathematics, science, economics) but also hurt and horrified at what the empire does to her family and to her people. She vows that she will learn everything the empire is willing to teach her, become a civil servant and then take the empire apart from the inside. The Traitor is about how Baru's first position as a civil servant in another country that the empire has recently taken over and how she deals with its economics and politics as the country tries to rebel against the empire. It's necessarily fairly slow and detailed. It's also about whether the means justify the ends - what is Baru willing to do to take the empire down? How much will she sacrifice?

I loved the scope, the detail and the writing but I felt quite distanced from the characters emotionally throughout. Part of this may be deliberate - Baru herself is an emotionally quiet character - perhaps by necessity because of the role she has to play or just because that's who she is, I wasn't sure. But it meant that certain scenes lost some of their impact.

Again, this is the first in a series and I will be interested to see where the series goes.

Book #32: Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett - 4.7 stars



The final book in the Witches subseries and one of my favourites, this is the Discworld take on vampires, as well as some great discussions of faith, human nature and morality. For the latter, it may help if you've read Small Gods because we meet the church of Om after it has been revolutionised by Brutha.

I'm not sure where my Pratchett rereading will take me next, possibly to spend some time with Tiffany Aching in The Wee Free Men.

And that was February: 11 books finished plus one abandoned (The Black Prism) and one (Marriage) stalled which may become officially abandoned. I'm willing to give it a little longer to see if I feel like picking it up again. Favourites were The Aeronaut's Windlass and Carpe Jugulum.

I've repeatedly requested The Aeronaut's Windlass in audio format from the library and hoping they'll be offering it soon, so I can take it in sooner than later, as it's being received very positively and I'm very curious about those cats everyone is mentioning. Have yet to make any headway with Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series though. Have you read those?

I've been very tempted to purchase a new Audible offering of Evelina, which is part of an audio series by 'Silksoundbooks', a British outfit which has recorded some of the great English classics by some of the best of English actors. Evelina is narrated by Judi Dench, Finty Williams, and Geoffrey Palmer and I've been considering it for your 'reread' TIOLI challenge, even though we read is quite recently. Would definitely qualify as comfort reading!

Sorry to hear about the increased fatigue, Heather. I know my fatigue levels often don't seem to be correlated to anything specific. Then again, I've not gotten a full night's sleep in a long time, and I'm sure repeatedly waking in the nights wreaks havoc on things. In my case there is quite a lot of medication which causes fatigue too, so I doubt I'll ever be an energizer bunny again!

Hope they don't find anything serious when you get the test results in, but at the same time would be nice if they could give you some guidance as to what it'll take to get your energy back. I know it's not much help, but I do know what you're going through. Pierre is also badly affected by fatigue, but he also had a major medical episode a couple of years ago for which he had to be hospitalized for many weeks and had something like 22 blood transfusions, so goodness knows what could have gone wrong. He rages though, because he tells me he's always had energy to burn and been hugely productive. Now he's still at least ten times more productive than me, but I guess that's not saying much since I'm basically a sloth. ;-)

>86 souloftherose: So sorry you're feeling so tired. But yes, it's perfectly understandable when Dan is ill. Just because he's not physically restricted doesn't mean you're not a carer. Asides from anything else, it's exhausting just worrying about him. I hope things pick up for you both soon. Love to you

>87 souloftherose: Butcher has a contract for 3 Cinder Spires books but he hopes the series does well enough to do 9 as that is the grand plan.

>90 Smiler69: Ilana the audio version of The Aeronaut's Windlass is fantastic. It's narrated by Euan Morton and I loved his characters. I borrowed it from the library but plan to buy it from Audible at some point.

>87 souloftherose: I'm glad you had such a good time with The Aeronaut's Windlass. Me, too. He really gave a lot of detailed thought to that world he created. I loved the talking cats, too!

Heather, sorry you are feeling poorly and hope you are able to get some positive energy soon. {{{Heather}}}

>90 Smiler69: I hope the library gets The Aeronaut's Windlass on audio for you - I think that could be a fun one to listen to if they have a good narrator. I tried the first five books in the Dresden series several years ago, enjoyed them to some extent but ended up ditching the series. I really didn't like the main character which I think was the intention of the author but he wound me up too much to want to read the book. Having said that, lots of people do love that series so it might be worth a try.

'Evelina is narrated by Judi Dench, Finty Williams, and Geoffrey Palmer' - That sounds really good! I think you should indulge :-)

I had the blood tests today so will see if anything shows up on the results but I'm not expecting anything to. Sorry to hear Pierre is also affected by fatigue so much at the moment (and that you are too, which I knew but that doesn't mean the sympathy has run out). 22 blood transfusions!? - I can see that might take some recovering from.

>91 eclecticdodo: Thanks Jo. We have a doctor's appointment booked for Dan and are taking daily notes of what he's able to do and not do. He has been feeling a bit better this week but he had to spend 90% of the weekend in bed to feel that way.

>92 luvamystery65: A 9 book grand plan sounds great! I'd heard that Butcher's next release will be a Dresden novel and then he will get back to the Cinder Spires. I don't know how fast he writes but I'm assuming it might be a couple of years until we get another Cinder Spires novel.

>93 jnwelch: It was such a great book - thanks again for being one of the recommenders who persuaded me to try the book :-)

>94 ronincats: Thanks Roni. I have been falling asleep much earlier than usual and have got a lot of sleep over the last few nights - hopefully that's doing me some good. And I cooked a casserole (which means no more cooking while that lasts) and got some reading done today which was good.

Aeronaut's Windlass looks like a winner!

I could swear I've read Hull Zero Three but apparently not . . . apparently I don't even have it.

Stopping by with Hellos and leaving with a BB for The Aeronaut's Windlass. ;-) Thankfully, my local library has the book in various formats so I have placed a hold for the audiobook version. Sounds like the perfect story to listen to while I am on my walks.

Here is hoping the fatigue leaves soon and you are back to full energy.

On the Fire I can't say much, but I do strongly encourage readers of Reinhold Niebuhr to read his brother Richard soonest. Richard was the deeper thinker and the more subtle mind.

>96 sibylline: Hi Lucy. Aeronaut's Windlass is a lot of fun.

>97 lkernagh: Thanks Lori and I hope you enjoy The Aeronaut's Windlass.

>98 LizzieD: Peggy, I have duly made a mental note to try both Reinhold and Richard at some point. Would you recommend any titles in particular?

>99 DianaNL: Thanks Diana!

Book #33: Sylvester, or, the Wicked Uncle by Georgette Heyer - 3.9 stars



A fun Heyer read with enough conflict between the hero and heroine to make for an interesting story but not so much that the eventual (inevitable) declaration was unbelievable. I also enjoyed the references to the gothic novel the heroine had written.

Book #34: The Cornish Coast Murder by John Bude - 3.5 stars



John Bude seems to be one of the more popular of the authors included in the British Library Crime Classics series and The Cornish Coast Murder was his first crime novel. It opens with the vicar and doctor of a small town in Cornwall having their weekly meal together and looking at the collection of the latest crime novels they've just ordered from the library.

"A very catholic choice," he concluded. "Let's see now - an Edgar Wallace - quite right, Pendrill, I hadn't read this one. What a memory my dear chap! The new J. S. Fletcher. Excellent. A Farjeon, a Dorothy L. Sayers and a Freeman Wills-Croft. And my old friend, my very dear old friend, Mrs. Agatha Christie. New adventures of that illimitable chap Poirot, I hope."

Of course, they are then faced with a local murder case in which the vicar tries to use his own skills in detection and the local knowledge he has to solve the crime. The police are also investigating so this becomes a mix of police procedural and amateur detective - something another British Library author, Mavis Doriel Hay, did in her novels.

The eventual solution to the mystery seems to come out of nowhere - there's no way the reader can figure out the solution from the information available - but I enjoyed this and am looking forward to trying more of John Bude's work.

Catching up with you, Heather... I'm always so impressed with how much you get read and the quality of your comments. Sorry to hear you've been especially fatigued - I hope it's nothing serious but that you can find some way to feel better.

>101 souloftherose: The Cornish Coast Murder looks interesting Heather - one of my favourite parts of the world for sure.

Have a lovely Sunday.

Ditto what Katie says, Heather. The Bude does sound good. I think I read Sylvester or the Wicked Uncle and it wasn't among my favorite Heyers.

>100 souloftherose: For H. Richard N. I would say either The Meaning of Revelation, which is tiny but packed (that's the way he wrote - slowly and painstakingly) or his most famous Christ and Culture. They're both old and both timeless. This is what I should be reading!

>102 katiekrug: Aw, thank you Katie! Although now I feel a bit embarrassed that I can't think of anything particularly interesting to say about my next few reads :-)

Blood tests results came back and are all normal - I think it's stress/emotional tiredness for a variety of reasons and I just need to cut myself some slack.

>103 PaulCranswick: Paul, Bude seems to have made a feature of the setting in a lot of his books. Some of the others are The Sussex Downs Murder, The Lake District Murder and Death on the Riviera - lots of wonderful holiday destinations and the attractive covers certainly help!

>104 BLBera: Thanks Beth. Sylvester wasn't my favourite Heyer but it's probably in my top ten. I like heroines that don't fit in.

>105 LizzieD: Thanks Peggy, I will make a note of those but I wont promise to get to them soon.

This month I have been doing quite a bit of rereading including:

Book #35: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - 5 stars



"I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will"

What can I say about Jane Eyre? I first read and fell in love with this book when I was 11 or 12. I loved it then and I loved it again now. The only differences are that:

1) I no longer want to marry Mr Rochester;

2) Having read more I can appreciate more the brilliance of what Charlotte Bronte did with this book and how revolutionary this was, both in terms of outlook and style.

Otherwise, I still thought it was amazing and I love Jane's strength of character.

The particular edition I read was an older Penguin Classics edition edited by Q. D. Leavis from 1971 which took an interesting approach to endnotes - there were very few notes at all compared to modern Penguin Classics. When there were notes, they were several pages long and seemed to bear very little relation to Jane Eyre. For example, a mention of Lord Byron's The Corsair leads to an endnotes on the Byronic influence on 19th century novels which quickly moves on from the Brontes to spend most of its time talking about other authors. Interesting, but not quite what I expected.

>107 souloftherose: there were very few notes at all compared to modern Penguin Classics I hate the very copious notes that they have in modern classic editions. I like notes ... but I like them to explain the rather more obscure points that would not be known by a reasonably intelligent and well-educated reader.

>107 souloftherose: Are you planning on reading Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye? It's out next week!

I also love Jane Eyre. It's been a while. I should pick it up for a reread.

Glad to know the blood tests came back as normal. I read Jane Eyre for a high school English class the first time, but somehow hadn't recalled anything happening after the 'crazy woman in the attic' was discovered, so that when I revisited it the second time around some years ago, was surprised to find the novel continued for so long and with so many events afterwards! I've reread it at least a third time since, and since I have been collecting the novel in several editions (including a gorgeously illustrated recent edition by the Folio Society), I fully intend on revisiting it again and again.

>71 souloftherose: I'm a big Song of Ice and Fire fan myself, and yes, I think I am going to have to reread them all when the new one finally comes out. It's so hard to wait to find out what is happening with Jon Snow...I've got some ideas, but if Martin kills him off, I will NOT be happy!

>101 souloftherose: I've read a couple of John Bude books over the past couple of years, but not that one. Interesting that you don't have the info to figure it out. I'm going to have to put it on my list any way.

Happy Weekend!

Hey, Heather! Happy Weekend!

>107 souloftherose: You have gotten me thinking about which novel I should prioritise a re-read of and I think I am coming up with something by Hardy. Return of the Native most probably.

Have a great weekend, Heather.

>108 SandDune: Yes, sometimes the notes in modern editions can be a bit hit and miss, or require you to have read the book at least once before as they contain major spoilers (I'm thinking of my editions of Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone and The Woman in White in particular).

>109 luvamystery65: Hmm, I'm not always a fan of sequels/retellings of the classics by other authors. I think I would definitely need Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre to have faded from my mind a bit before I read anyone else's version.

>110 BLBera: It's defintely one that's worth a reread Beth.

>111 Smiler69: I keep seeing adverts for the Folio Society version of Jane Eyre when I'm browsing the internet (it's as if my internet cookies know I like buying books) and it does look lovely.

>112 rretzler: I expect there will be a few of us wanting to reread the Song of Ice and Fire books when the next one comes out. It would be fun if we could organise some kind of group reread.

>113 DianaNL:, >114 Thebookdiva: Thank you!

>115 PaulCranswick: Paul, I've never managed to get on with Hardy although The Return of the Native is one I hadn't tried. I have been enjoying giving myself 'permission' to reread more this month.

Book #37: Timeless by Gail Carriger - 3.5 stars



(I really dislike the covers for this series)

On rereading this series I did become a bit tired of Alexia and her antics after book #3 (perhaps reading them closer together rather than waiting a year between each book doesn't work?) but I enjoyed Prudence as a baby and the relationship between Biffy and Lyall made me go 'ah'.

After finishing this I went on to read the short story prequel The Curious Case of the Werewolf That Wasn't, the Mummy That Was, and the Cat in the Jar which is a short episode from Alessandro Tarabotti's adventures in Egypt.

More rereads (I did read some new books in between which I will comment on later):

Book #38: Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson - 4.3 stars



I don't think Sanderson writes particularly profound fantasy but it is good fun and his books have a sense of optimism about them which I find quite refreshing compared to the grittyness and grimness in a lot of modern fantasy. I also like the worldbuilding a lot - Sanderson is very good at coming up with complex and unusual magic systems.

Mistborn: The Final Empire is the first book in the Mistborn series which started out as a trilogy and is now planned to be a seven book series however the first three books work as a standalone trilogy. The first novel is a mix of epic fantasy and heist as a group of thieves band together with a peasant rebellion to overthrow the nobility and the Dark Lord who rules over them. The book started a bit more slowly than I remembered but was a lot of fun and I have the second book lined up.

Book #41: Among Others by Jo Walton - 5 stars



A magical coming of age tale about not fitting in, growing up, finding friendship and dealing with grief and about coping with life by reading books (something I'm sure a lot of us can relate to). What I had remembered from reading this before was the main character's love of books, particularly science fiction and how much it made me want to read all the books she'd read. That's still there but what struck me more this time was her struggles with not fitting in at her new school and her quest to find a group of friends.

Lots of good rereading there, Heather! Going up earlier, so glad you enjoyed The Aeronaut's Windlass--that's a book that's just plain fun to read! And Sylvester made me laugh out loud the first time I read it. If you ever want to read a science fiction version of Jane Eyre, try Jenna Starborn by Sharon Shinn (and think about how advanced technology might affect the story line)--it's a good pretty straightforward retelling.

Happy Sunday, Heather.

Wow. You've got some great books read since the last time I was on your thread!

>71 souloftherose: I'm still on Clash of Kings, but it's great so far!

>87 souloftherose: I LOVED Aeronaut's Windlass too!

>101 souloftherose: I was trying to find something fun to read to cleanse my reading palate and considered Sylvester. I also considered >118 souloftherose: the Mistborn series. But settled on the latest Brandon Mull book.

>107 souloftherose: I don't want to marry Mr. Rochester either. :)

>117 souloftherose: I'm still on the first of that series. :) But it was pretty good.

Happy Spring!

Delurking to say Hi! Hope your energy comes back and that your other half feels better soon, too. You are still reading up a storm!! ; )

Catching up and been BBed by The Aeronaut's Windlass. I've also asked my library to purchase the audio, though I'll grab their paper copy if they don't. I only read the first two in his Dresden File series and I didn't finish the second book. I've read a lot of books lately with an animal or two as characters and have just started a cute children's one about a fox and a boy, Pax.

Congrats on being up to date with the Song of Ice and Fire series. I'm up to A Feast for Crows and can't decide if it's worth reading the 2 books now or waiting for him to finish the series.

>118 souloftherose: I keep meaning to re-read Among Others. I think I lost some enjoyment of it the first time because I was confused about her mother (more to do with myself struggling to be a mum than any inconsistency in the book though). I'm sure when I read it again I'll be able to relax about that relationship and just enjoy it.

>116 souloftherose: I have mixed results with retelling stories, but this one is about someone that finds she has a lot in common with Jane Eyre, the character. I have loved everything I've read from Lyndsay Faye so she gets a go from me. I'll let you know how I like it.

Have a wonderful Easter.

Heather, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

I loved Among Others, too, Heather. Great idea to re-read it. I should do that.

Hope you're having a good weekend.

Happy Easter, Heather!

Thank you to all visitors and Easter well-wishers - Roni, Barbara, Rachel, Kim, Kerry, Jo, Roberta, Paul, Barbara, Diana, Kim, Joe and Lynda :-)

>119 ronincats: Hi Roni! Yes, Aeronaut's Windlass was just pure fun and exactly what I needed last month. Despite the length it raced by.

>123 avatiakh: Hope you enjoy The Aeronaut's Windlass Kerry.

>124 eclecticdodo: Yes, I can see Among Others not being a comfortable read from that point of view.

>125 luvamystery65: Jane Steele is starting to sound intriguing Roberta. I'll probably wait and see what you think about it :-)

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

I've been very busy at work over the last few weejs which has meant less time for LT (although not really less reading) so books read and not reviewed has got a little out of control....

#36 Domestic Manners of the Americans by Frances Trollope
#39 Miss Ranskill Comes Home by Barbara Euphan Todd
#40 The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage by Sydney Padua
#42 Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm
#43 Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie
#44 Heap House by Edward Carey
#45 Black Widow Volume 1: The Finely Woven Thread by Nathan Edmondson
#46 The Mystery of Mrs Blencarrow; and Queen Eleanor and Fair Rosamund by Mrs Oliphant
#47 My Real Children by Jo Walton
#48 Meeting God in Paul by Rowan Atkinson
#49 Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner

*flexes fingers*

In reverse order:

Book #49: Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner - 4.5 stars



Stand on Zanzibar is long (650 pages) and complex but ultimately very rewarding. Published in 1968 it's set in 2010 in a world where overpopulation means there are strict eugenic rules about who can have children and even people with clean genotypes are restricted to no more than two children. The title refers to an early twentieth-century claim that the world's population could fit onto the Isle of Wight - Brunner extrapolated from this and predicted that in 2010, with a population of 7 billion*, the much bigger island of Zanzibar would be needed.

What really makes this book stand out from other dystopias is the structure which was inspired by/borrowed from John Dos Passos' USA Trilogy (I'm grateful to wikipedia for this because I've never heard of it) - there is a plot, but this is only one thread amongst many in the novel and the chapters change from the plot ('continuity'), side stories and characters ('tracking with close-ups') and chapters made up of headlines, songs, book extracts, news reports etc. taken from this world ('context' and 'the happening world'). The result is a very absorbing and very real world. I was also impressed with how little the novel seems to have dated - perhaps mostly because a lot of the issues Brunner was concerned with then haven't really gone away. There's a strong beatnik influence which a modern novel probably wouldn't have and some of the language feels dated now, but although the two main (male) characters are both American, one is an African-American Muslim and large parts of the story are set in Africa or a fictional Indonesia which struck me as quite contemporary.

Apparently, this is now considered to be part of a set of four novels Brunner wrote which all look at the near future and consider what will happen if a current problem isn's resolved. Stand on Zanzibar is the first and seems to be considered to be the best. The others are The Sheep Look Up (environmental devastation and domestic terrorism), The Jagged Orbit (racial tensions and weapon enthusiasm) and The Shockwave Rider (computers and organised crime)

*He wasn't far off, estimates in 2010 had the world's population at 6.8 billion but thankfully this hasn't led to the sort of overcrowding and other issues shown in the novel.

Book #48: Meeting God in Paul by Rowan Williams - 4 stars



I find Rowan Williams' books can require a lot of attention/concentration, not because his writing is unclear but because he packs so many ideas and insights into his writing. So that explains partly why this book of less than 100 pages took me almost 6 weeks to finish.

Williams opens by referring readers to Tom Wright's recent 1,700 page study, Paul and the Faithfulness of God if readers want a deeper look at Paul(!) and then goes on to discuss Paul and his ideas in three short chapters: the first on Paul's world and Paul himself, the second on Paul's revolutionary concept of universal welcome in the Christian church (no Jew or Greek, slave or free man, male or female) and the third on Paul's views of the new creation. Williams' aim is to help readers see past the controversy that often surrounds Paul to understand how radical he was being when compared to the social view at the time he was writing and how he, along with the rest of the chruch, was wrestling to work through and understand all the implications of this Jesus person in the decades after his death. That's a lot to try to do in less than 100 pages and I don't think I took it all in (probably less than half went in) but it did give me new ideas to chew over and I can see it being a book I revisit in the future.

Book #47: My Real Children by Jo Walton - 3.3 stars



Jo Walton's work can be a bit hit or miss for me - I love some of her books but there are others where I wonder what all the fuss is about. This was more towards the latter - Patricia Cowan is suffering from dementia and looking back on her life from a nursing home but the life she remembers seems to change from day to day. Did she marry Mark, have four surviving children and then get divorced? Or did she have a life-long relationship with a woman named Bree and have three children between them? Events in the wider world are also different between the two lives. But the focus of the book is really on the detail of the two lives Patricia had and I found this readable and absorbing but thought at 300 pages this was really too short a book to have room for enough detail about those two lives - it became a list of things that happened and names of who they happened to. I'm also not really sure I 'got' the ending.

>133 souloftherose: I too loved Stand on Zanzibar when I read it a few years ago. It was so fascinating and, as you say, not really dated. It's on my long list of things I will reread one day.

A BB for me with Stand on Zanzibar though when I'll read it is another matter. I saw copies of The Aeronaut's Windlass at the local bookshop today, wasn't expecting it to be a doorstopper.

Heather, I can see why you would need to flex those fingers! I'm intrigued by Stand on Zanzibar, and, looking it up in the library catalogue, I see there are two copies in Newham (oddly, nowhere else in London). That might make a perfect stepping adventure for next weekend!

I hope you're having a good Bank Holiday and don't have any plans that involve getting blown about. The wind seems to be dropping a bit here, but I don't have to make any decisions until a load of washing is finished :-)

Hi Heather, not sure whether you have Easter Monday as a holiday, but I hope so. And belated Happy Easter.

Don't know Jo Walton's work, but I really like the cover of My Real Children.

>133 souloftherose: Stand On Zanzibar looks fascinating but I find long books very intimidating!

>135 souloftherose: My Real Children has been on my radar for a while, but there seem to be quite mixed reviews. Some people love it. Some think it is over-rated. The one thing most people seem to agree on is that it's too short for what she was aiming to accomplish. I find dementia an intriguing subject.

Hope you had a good Easter weekend - lots of relaxing and lots of reading, that's what you need...

Hugs

>134 souloftherose: I'm 20% of the way through Paul and the Faithfulness of God right now.

Wishing you a relaxed weekend, Heather.

>136 Sakerfalcon: Glad to hear from someone else who enjoyed Stand on Zanzibar Claire. Now that I've read it and enjoyed it so much I'm a bit ashamed to think how long it's been lingering on my TBR pile (nearly 7 years...).

>137 avatiakh: The Aeronaut's Windlass is a bit of a doorstopper, Kerry, but it reads really fast.

>138 susanj67: Hi Susan/ I'll have to check your thread to see if you made it over to Newham library :-)

>139 lit_chick: Thanks Nancy. Yes we do have the Easter Monday off as a bank holiday. The cover for My Real Children is quite an unusual one but I'm not sure how it relates to the book.

>140 eclecticdodo: It is long, but I think Stand on Zanzibar is worth it. The chapters are also quite short which helps to break it up a bit.

>141 ronincats: So only 1,300 pages to go, Roni? :-) I look forward to your thoughts on it whenever you finish. I found the first two books in that series fascinating when I read them a few years ago and want to reread them and then go on to the later books but I just don't seem to have the brain-power for that kind of serious reading outside of work at the moment.

>142 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara - beautiful daffodils!

I am still being really bad at writing book reviews....

Book #40: The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: With Interesting & Curious Anecdotes of Celebrated and Distinguished Characters: Fully Illustrating a Variety of Instructive and Amusing Scenes; As Performed Within and Without the Remarkable Difference Engine by Sydney Padua - 4.5 stars



This is an amazing and quite unique book. Which of course makes it really hard to review. It's part graphic novel, part alternate history, part biography, part social commentary, part fantasy...

It all started when artist Sydney Padua did a very short webcomic to illustrate the life of Ada Lovelace - the original comic is still on her website here but Padua was saddened to see that Babbage and Lovelace both died without achieving their promise and added an ending where the difference engine was built and Lovelace and Babagge went on to have adventures and fight crime!



And then she was inundated with requests for the rest of the webcomic showing the promised adventures which she did eventually research and write and they were eventually published in book form last year.

The adventures themselves are all fictional and fantastical - neither Babbage's difference engine or analytical engine were built in the 19th century - but Padua has done so much research into the period that it's hard not to feel that if they had been built, this is what would have happened. The research is included in footnotes, endnotes and appendices so as well as an alternate history graphic novel you also feel like you've read a biography about Lovelace and Babbage too. Where possible, dialogue has been taken from letters and the letters used as sources are included in appendices at the back of the book alongside explanations of the difference and analytical engine. There's so much detail that it reads very differently from a graphic novel and for me it required about as much concentration as a weighty non-fiction book. It's also very, very funny and a joy to read for anyone interested in the 19th century. I read a library copy after putting in a purchase request but I think I may end up buying my own copy.

Book #39: Miss Ranskill Comes Home by Barbara Euphan Todd - 5 stars



This was a lovely and profound book: Miss Ranskill returns to England in 1943 after spending the last four years living on a remote desert island with only a man known as 'the Carpenter' for a companion. At the beginning of the book we meet Miss Ranskill on the island as she buries her companion and manages to finally escape from the desert island only to return home to a completely different country to the one she left four years ago. World War II has changed everything and Miss Ranskill struggles to adjust to all the war time rules and restrictions. Her friends and family also struggle to adjust to her and the new perspective she has on life. It's a satire on some of the attitudes and prejudices of the time as well as being about Miss Ranskill's own personal development - I was expecting something quite light and amusing (a bit like Winifred Peck's House-Bound) but whilst it was both those things I also found it profound and emotional. I read the whole thing in about 24 hours and cried at the end (in a good way).

Book #46: The Mystery of Mrs Blencarrow; and Queen Eleanor and Fair Rosamund by Mrs Oliphant - 3.8 stars



This Persephone edition contains two 19th century novellas by Mrs Oliphant looking at women and marriage related problems. This is the first time I've read any of Mrs Oliphant's works (although I have another in the TBR) and I was impressed with her writing.

>134 souloftherose: I'll be ordering that one for the library where I work! We have Paul and the Faithfulness of God, but not this one.

>144 souloftherose: I'm intrigued by this one. Ada Lovelace came up in one of my recent audiobooks, Steven Johnson's How We Got to Now. I had heard of her before, but didn't know that she was Byron's daughter.

Heather - Both the Todd and Oliphant books sound really good. I'll look for them.

Lovelace and Babbage sounds awesome! Thanks for posting the pictures. I'm hooked!

>145 souloftherose: I'm an Oliphant fan, and recently finished her Chronicles of Carlingford, which I have in VMC editions. I didn't realize Persephone had published her work as well. There you go again, tempting me to buy Persephones. :)

Hi, Heather! Hope you're feeling 100% and enjoying the weekend. *sigh* Jane Eyre. I think I'm ready for a reread too, and there's nothing more comforting than rereading. I'm currently rereading Tad Williams's *Memory, Sorrow and Thorn* fantasy, which I love. I've set aside the monster first part of the last book, but I'll pick it up again soon, I'm sure.
Meanwhile, you have me with Stand on Zanzibar - wish-listed! and maybe Miss Ranskill Comes Home. Thank you, ma'am.

Oh, you hit me with a book bullet with Miss Ranskill Comes Home, Heather. I read Stand on Zanzibar as a young guy; I wonder how different my reaction would be now. Good review.

>134 souloftherose: Meeting God in Paul sounds like an interesting book. I've always been a fan of Paul. :)

I still have't made it to the Discworld series yet, but I did just read Good Omens by Neil Gamon and Terry Pratchett and I loved it--so funny!

Hi Heather! I'm finally caught up with you.

I wasn't going to put The Aeronaut's Windlass on the ol' wishlist, but when I saw that it had talking cats, how could I not? I really want a talking cat or even a talking dog if no cat is available..

>146 cbl_tn: Hi Carrie. I didn't know much about Ada Lovelace before reading this and Padua did a good job of telling her biography as well as imagining the fantastic adventures she might have got up to if things had been different. She was apparently a maths whiz. And yes, also Byron's daughter though I don't think they had much contact.

>147 BLBera: & >151 jnwelch: Hope you enjoy Miss Ranskill. I should probably add an if you can find a copy to that - I don't know if it's in print other than the Persephone edition and I'm not sure how easy they are to find in the USA. A fun fact I forgot to mention: Barbara Euphan Todd is better known as the author of the Worzel Gummidge children's books. I can't remember if I ever read the books but I do remember the children's TV series starring Jon Pertwee.

>148 Berly: Thanks Kim!

>149 lauralkeet: I'm such an enabler :-) The Carlingford Chronicles are definitely on the list - perhaps I'll start them once we've finished Trollop's Palliser books (only 2 to go).

>150 LizzieD: You're welcome, Peggy :-) There is a lot of comfort in rereading the right book. I can't remember if I mentioned this on your thread but I have added wishlisted the Memory, Stone and Thorn series - at least it's just a trilogy....

>152 The_Hibernator: I hope you enjoy it Rachel :-)

>153 Berly: Oh Kim, I haven't reread Good Omens for ages - must add it to the reread pile. Glad you enjoyed it!

>154 Fourpawz2: Hi Charlotte! The Aeronaut's Windlass is definitely worth a try - hope the library gets a copy for you.

Still a ridiculous number of books to comment on for March so attempting very brief comments:

Book #36: Domestic Manners of the Americans by Mrs Oliphant - 3.3 stars



In which Frances Trollope does not like America....

I've put off writing my thoughts on this because I still haven't read the introduction to my edition but as I seem to not be getting round to actually reading the introduction, I'm just going to comment anyway. I don't think travel narrative is my favourite genre - this book sometimes had too many descriptions of scenery and nature when what I'm really interested in is the people and customs. When there were descriptions of the people and customs, I enjoyed reading these although it doesn't seem like Frances Trollope enjoyed her experience of those people - I did wonder whether her experience of America was really this bad or whether she only included the negative bits in the book (because, sales)!

In fairness to Mrs T though, the things she hates are also things I would not like to experience, namely:

- men spitting everywhere
- men gobbling food
- pigs/hogs - in the street, in the woods, being slaughtered (blood, carcases everywhere)
- over familiarity - 'coarse familiarity, untempered by any shadow of respect'
- mosquitos
- crazy religious fervour (in Mrs T's eyes this just shows the dangers of there being no state religion)

The other thing that was interesting was contrasting the American idea of equality ("all men are created equal") with the English view of that time (1820s/1830s) and comparing both to our 21st century view. Mrs T gets very angry about the American idea of equality - partly because she doesn't believe in equality in the way we would think of it and partly because she thinks the Americans are huge hypocrites to claim they do believe this when e.g. there is slavery. However whilst Mrs T is against slavery, she is still very much for the lower classes knowing their place and keeping in that place which the American culture of that time doesn't seem to have to the same extent. From a 21st century viewpoint it's clear that both Mrs T and the American people have massive blindspots which are very easy for us to see but it left me wondering what my own culture's massive blindspot is.

Those really weren't brief comments.....

>156 souloftherose: Heather, I think Frances Trollope was the Katie Hopkins of her day :-) I loved the book when I read it. I couldn't tell whether she was mostly writing for her audience and playing to common prejudices to increase sales as you mention, or whether she really did think all those things, but either way it was a great read.

Book #42: Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm - 4 stars



I seemed to be having a bit of a classic science fiction kick - this is the 1977 Hugo award winner, now reprinted as an SF masterwork by Gollancz. It's a post-apocalyptic/dystopia where the only viable way to continue the human race is through cloning. Perhaps a little dated in that modern books and films seem more concerned with how we (the 'normal' humans) will treat clones rather than seeing clones as 'other' in some way which this book does. Still, an interesting take on what a society of clones would be like and the benefits of individuality - I liked the writing and the characters and will look out for more of Wilhelm's work.

Book #43: Dumb Witness (aka Poirot Loses a Client) by Agatha Christie - 3.5 stars



I don't have much to say about this one except that AC writes the dog really well - you can tell she was a dog lover.

Book #44: Heap House by Edward Carey - 3.7 stars



This was a fantastical, gothic and macabre story about the inhabitants of Heap House who control the enormous dust heaps that surround them. I'm not really sure if it's a children's or adult book - the main characters are teenagers and the book is illustrated but it didn't feel children's or young adult (and I don't really know what I mean by that). Anyway, looking foward to the rest of the trilogy and thank you to Ilana for the recommendation!

>157 susanj67: I'm very embarrassed to admit I had to google Katie Hopkins.... I'm not a great traveller and am sure I would struggle to adjust to another culture so I could sympathise with her finding that so difficult. It made me want to read some more American history because I honestly had no idea what somewhere like Cincinnati would be like at that time.

>156 souloftherose: I loved Domestic Manners of the Americans when I read it several years ago. I had ancestors who lived near Cincinnati in the early to mid-1800s, so I was glad for her descriptions of the landscape and natural environment as well as the culture.

Wonderful reviews, Heather. You've got my attention with Frances Trollope and Domestic Manners of the Americans.

159 I honestly had no idea what somewhere like Cincinnati would be like at that time.
I grew up in Cincinnati! And as a result, I had a fair share of Ohio history in school although it would not have been from the point of view presented in this book. But now, dammit! You've hit me with yet another book bullet! *shakes fist at Heather*

>159 souloftherose: I'm very impressed that you had to google Katie Hopkins, who mostly slags off people in her own country. It's a piece of knowledge most of us could well do without.

>107 souloftherose: I have wanted to red Jane Eyre for years. Boy, I need to pick up my game :)

>156 souloftherose: In which Frances Trollope does not like America....
Ha! Great summing up. I am still chipping away at that one, when Im in the mood for it, it is fantastic reading. She has such a polite snark! My latest funny part (which I was moved to read aloud to my lovely other) was when she noted that in a theatre, the men were deliberately removing their coats in order to cool their arms. SHe was shocked, I don't need to tell you.

Happy weekend, Heather.

>160 cbl_tn: Hi Carrie. I can see that knowing you had ancestors living in the area at that time would make those bits particularly interesting. I think I found the Cincannati sections the most interesting - it was all the descriptions of scenary as she travelled to the East coast that got a bit much.

>161 lit_chick: I hope you enjoy Domestic Manners Nancy!

>162 lauralkeet: Sorry Laura! Cincannati is one of the few places in America I've visited (the other is Disneyland, Florida) and I really enjoyed seeing the city and learning about its history although as we were there on a choir tour we didn't get as much time as I would have liked to see that side of the city - I would have loved more than the hour we got at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Centre for example.

>163 elkiedee: Ha! Luci, unfortunately I did recognise her when I saw her picture :-)

>164 LovingLit: Glad to hear you are also enjoying Domestic Manners, Megan and I do remember that section about the men removing their coats :-)

>165 Ameise1: Beautiful tulips, Barbara - thank you.

Book #45: Black Widow Volume 1: The Finely Woven Thread by Nathan Edmondson - 3.8 stars



A good start to this Marvel comics series that focuses on Black Widow. Like the Hawkeye comics, this is mostly about what Natasha is doing when she isn't being part of the Avengers. It's darker than Hawkeye as Natasha is even more alone - from her point of view this is by necessity as she feels anyone she allows to become close to her (even a stray cat) could become a target. It will be interesting to see where Edmondson takes this in later issues

Book #50: Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte - 3.8 stars



I've always had a soft spot for Anne Bronte - she seems to stand very much in the shadow of her older sisters' more well known works and whilst Agnes Grey can seem at first to lack the passion of Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights, I think it deserves more praise than it gets by being a far more realistic look at what life would have been like for a governess. And perhaps the storyline seems predictable to us now, but this was written before Jane Eyre and Charlotte only wrote Jane Eyre after reading Agnes Grey. To me Agnes Grey is the Mansfield Park of the Bronte novels - the one that's often overlooked and the heroine is often considered to be a bit prissy and boring. But if you have the patience there's a lot to enjoy in this short novel.

There's a good article from The Guardian last month about Anne Bronte here and a couple of TV programmes about the sisters which aired recently and which are waiting for me on iplayer.

Book #51: Venetia by Georgett Heyer - 3.8 stars



Another fun and unconventional Heyer heroine with a romance based on a growing friendship and a lot of information about the social mores of the time. One thing I was confused about was why did Damarel suddenly change his mind at the end and agree to marry Venetia?

And now I am all caught up with all my March books!

Hi Heather, great reading! Must add Agnes Gray to my list, and it's time to take in another Heyer, too.

I'm a big fan of Ann Bronte too.

And I've wl'ed the Ranskill. Dangerous thread here!

Really enjoyed your comments on Anne Bronte. I bought The Tenant of Wildfell Hall recently -- have you read it?

>169 lit_chick: Hope you enjoy Agnes Grey, Nancy :-)

>170 sibylline: Lovely to see another fan of the overlooked Anne, Lucy and hope you enjoy the Ranskill.

>171 Cait86: Thanks Cait. I have read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall at least twice but not for many years now. I am slowly rereading all the Bronte novels so am hoping to reread it this year. It was my favourite of Anne's books - longer and darker than Agnes Grey with a very courageous main (female) character. I think it was considered very coarse and shocking when originally published. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it when you get to it!

I have a new thread - see you there!

Oh, alright; I'll take a BB for The Aeronaut's Windlass. The Brontës (all two that I've read) haven't been favourites, but maybe I should give them another go.