CBL's Literary Adventures in 2016 Part 4

My name is Carrie, and I'm back for my 6th year in this group. I've been reading non-stop since the age of 4. I'm a baby boomer, but just barely since I was born at the tail end of that generation. (I identify more with Gen Xers since I was the oldest child/grandchild in my family.) I'm a librarian who is learning to live with the reality that there will never be enough time to read all the fascinating books that cross my radar. I have one "furbaby", Adrian (named for Adrian Monk), a very sweet 4-year-old Shih Tzu I adopted from the Humane Society in September 2013. You'll see photos here from time to time.

My reading is fairly eclectic, but I have a special love for classic mystery authors like Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, and Josephine Tey. And I have a growing appreciation of Rex Stout, who I recently discovered is my 3rd cousin 3x removed. I also try to fit in books about local, state, regional, or U.S. history and genealogy as part of my family history research, which I've been actively pursuing since middle school.

This is one of my favorite photos of Adrian. He has a piece of rawhide in his mouth that makes him look like he's smiling. It makes me smile to look at it!

Best of the year to date:
The Library at Night by Alberto Manguel (5) - Review here
Hell Is Empty by Craig Johnson (4.5) - Review here
The Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes (4.5) - Review here
Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies & Alison Leslie Gold (5) Review here
Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan, 1839-42 by William Dalrymple (4.5) Review here
How We Got to Now by Steven Johnson (4.5) Review here
As the Crow Flies by Craig Johnson (4.5) Review here
The House by the Lake by Thomas Harding (5) Review here
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (4.5) Review here

Books read in March
24. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (3.5) - completed 3/4/16
25. How to Be Both by Ali Smith (4) - completed 3/7/16
26. Pilgrimage to the End of the World by Conrad Rudolph (3.5) - completed 3/8/16
27. The Tragedy of King Lear by William Shakespeare (4) - completed 3/11/16
28. Celebrations at Thrush Green by Miss Read (2.5) - completed 3/11/16
29. Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture by Adam S. McHugh (4) - completed 3/13/16
30. A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley (4) - completed 3/14/16
31. Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler (4) - completed 3/16/16
32. The Social Life of DNA by Alondra Nelson (3.5) - completed 3/21/16
33. Then by Morris Gleitzman (3.5) - completed 3/25/16
34. How We Got to Now by Steven Johnson (4.5) - completed 3/25/16

Books read in April
35. Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld (1.5) - completed 4/1/16
36. Growing Up Amish by Ira Wagler (2.5) - completed 4/2/16
37. The Journals of Susanna Moodie by Margaret Atwood (4) - completed 4/2/16
38. Emma, Volume 1 by Kaoru Mori (4) - completed 4/3/16
39. Bury Me Standing by Isabel Fonseca (3.5) - completed 4/4/16
40. The Cursed Canoe by Frankie Bow (3.5) - completed 4/6/16
41. Divorce Horse by Craig Johnson (4) - completed 4/7/16
42. As the Crow Flies by Craig Johnson (4.5) - completed 4/9/16
43. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (4) - completed 4/10/16
44. The Hero's Walk by Anita Rau Badami (4) - completed 4/10/16
45. Emma, Volume 2 by Kaoru Mori (3.5) - completed 4/17/16
46. Pollution and the Death of Man by Francis A. Schaeffer (3.5) - completed 4/17/16
47. A Few Figs from Thistles by Edna St. Vincent Millay (4) - completed 4/23/16
48. Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein (4) - completed 4/23/16
49. The Orchid House by Phyllis Shand Allfrey (4) - completed 4/24/16
50. Emma, Volume 3 by Kaoru Mori (3) - completed 4/26/16

Books read in May:
51. The House by the Lake by Thomas Harding (5) - completed 5/7/16
52. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (4.5) - completed 5/7/16
53. Work Song by Ivan Doig (3.5) - completed 5/8/16
54. Oedipus the King by Sophocles (4) - completed 5/9/16
55. The Siamese Twin Mystery by Ellery Queen (2) - completed 5/14/16

Books added in March:
12. A Journal of the Disasters in Affghanistan, 1841-42 by Florentia Sale (free ebook)
13. The Lively Place: Mount Auburn, America's First Garden Cemetery, and Its Revolutionary and Literary Residents by Stephen Kendrick (Feb. ER book)
14. The Light on the Island: Tales of a Lighthouse Keeper's Family in the San Juan Islands by Helene Glidden (purchased)
15. The Cursed Canoe by Frankie Bow (Mar. ER ebook)

Books added in April:
16. Pilgrimage to Dollywood by Helen Morales (free ebook)
17. Just William by Richmal Crompton (free ebook)
18. Middlemarch by George Eliot (free ebook)
19. A Few Figs from Thistles by Edna St. Vincent Millay (free ebook)
20. Agatha Webb by Anna Katharine Green (free ebook)
21. Start Here: Read Your Way into 25 Amazing Authors edited by Jeff O'Neal & Rebecca Joines Schinsky (free ebook)

Books added in May:
22. Sayonara Slam by Naomi Hirahara (April ER book)
23. The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial by Peter Goodchild (L.A. Theatre Works production) (free audio download)
24. Divine Collision: An African Boy, An American Lawyer, and Their Remarkable Battle for Freedom by Jim Gash (free audio download)

@PaulCranswick's British Authors Challenge

JANUARY
Barry Unsworth - Land of Marvels - COMPLETED 1/5/16
Susan Hill - The Various Haunts of Men - COMPLETED 1/25/16

FEBRUARY
William Dalrymple - Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan, 1839-42 - COMPLETED 2/29/16
Agatha Christie - Crooked House - COMPLETED 2/21/16

MARCH
Thomas Hardy - Far from the Madding Crowd
Ali Smith - How to Be Both - COMPLETED 3/7/16

APRIL
George Eliot - Middlemarch

MAY
Robert Goddard - Into the Blue
Jane Gardam - Old Filth

@Smiler69's Canadian Authors Challenge

JANUARY
Kim Thuy - Ru - COMPLETED 1/9/16

FEBRUARY
Helen Humphreys- The Frozen Thames - COMPLETED 2/15/16

MARCH
Anita Rau Badami - The Hero's Walk - COMPLETED 4/10/16

APRIL
Margaret Atwood - The Journals of Susanna Moodie - COMPLETED 4/2/16

MAY
Emily St. John Mandel - Station Eleven - COMPLETED 5/7/16

@msf59's American Authors Challenge/@weird_O's Pulitzer Prize Challenge

JANUARY
Anne Tyler - Saint Maybe - COMPLETED 1/27/16

FEBRUARY
Richard Russo - Elsewhere - COMPLETED 2/18/16

MARCH
Jane Smiley - A Thousand Acres - COMPLETED 3/14/16

APRIL
Take Hold!: An Anthology of Pulitzer Prize Winning Poems compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins
A Few Figs from Thistles by Edna St. Vincent Millay - COMPLETED 4/23/16

MAY
Ivan Doig - Work Song - COMPLETED 5/8/16

@Chatterbox's Nonfiction Reading Challenge

JANUARY - Biography/memoir/autobiography
The Upstairs Wife by Rafia Zakaria - COMPLETED 1/15/16
The Richest Woman in America by Janet Wallach - COMPLETED 2/2/16

FEBRUARY - History
Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan, 1839-42 by William Dalrymple - COMPLETED 2/29/16

MARCH - Travel
Pilgrimage to the End of the World: The Road to Santiago de Compostela by Conrad Rudolph - COMPLETED 3/8/16
Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey by Isabel Fonseca - COMPLETED 4/4/16

APRIL - Religion
Growing Up Amish by Ira Wagler - COMPLETED 4/2/16
The Bloomsbury Reader on Islam in the West
Pollution and the Death of Man by Francis A. Schaeffer - COMPLETED 4/17/16

MAY - The Arts
The Feud That Sparked the Renaissance by Paul Robert Walker

My Commonwealth Challenge

The Orchid House by Phyllis Shand Allfrey (Dominica) - completed 4/24/16

I'm in the middle of a multi-year quest to read Agatha Christie's works in publication order. I'll list them here as I finish them.

Crooked House (3.5) - completed 2/21/16

I've been reading books about Jane Austen or books about or inspired by her novels. I'll list them here as I finish them.

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld (1.5) - completed 4/1/16

I'll be following the Hogarth Shakespeare project that began with Jeanette Winterson's retelling of The Winter's Tale as The Gap of Time. If I haven't already read the play, I'll read it first. Next up is Howard Jacobson's retelling of The Merchant of Venice, Shylock Is My Name.

Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler (The Taming of the Shrew) - completed 3/16/16

I've been reading for as long as I can remember thanks to the adults in my life. This is my paternal grandmother reading to me when I was about two years old (or nearly two). You'll notice that my grandmother is pointing to the words as she reads. Most of the adults who read to me did that. I was reading on my own at 4 years old, and I can't help but think that this practice contributed to my early learning.

Currently reading:

Happy New Thread, Carrie! (I hope I'm not too early.)

>13 cbl_tn: Thanks Ellen! Not too early at all!

Happy new thread, Carrie. Nice to see you zipping along so handily this year. xx

>16 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul!

Can anybody else see Paul's new thread (#9) in any of your talk views? I can't see it in any of my Talk views, but it's visible in the Groups interface. I stumbled on it by following the continuation link in Paul's last thread. I have access to my father's account and I can't see it in Talk there, either, so I don't think it's just me.

If you want to say hi to Paul on his new thread, it's here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/220569

Happy new thread, Carrie!

How is Eligible? Should I temper my excitement a bit?

Hi Carrie, and happy new thread! That picture of Adrian is so cute -- he does look like he's smiling!

I can see Paul's thread. Hoping whatever may have been glitching is now resolved.

>19 katiekrug: Hi Katie! I like Eligible less and less the more I read. Why am I still reading it? It's so bad that it's entertaining with each new low. I loved The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet, so it's not modernization in general that I don't like. It's this one.

>20 AMQS: Hi Anne! I'll tell Adrian that you like his photo! I still can't see Paul's thread in my Talk views. This is a very strange glitch.

>21 cbl_tn: - Oh, dear.

>22 katiekrug: I'm not a contemporary romance reader, so that may be a big part of the problem. Maybe you shouldn't worry until you see what regular romance readers think of it!

>20 AMQS: Paul's new thread is finally showing up in my Talk views. The glitch must have fixed itself!

Morning, Carrie! Happy new thread! I love the Adrian topper - so funny! You are doing great with your challenges this year - I'm about to take a dive if I don't get it together and finish my March reading. I have been too distracted by Sookie.

Happy new thread, Carrie! I love that picture of you reading with your grandmother :-)

Happy new thread, Carrie!

What a sweet picture of your grandmother reading with you! My memory is the same - my grown-up's finger under the word as they read to me - and I was an early reader, as well.

Love that picture of you with your grandmother. Beautiful.

I'm really sad Eligible isn't good - I had high hopes. Maybe I'll just reread Longbourne instead!

By the way, Carrie, I love the photo of you and your grandmother. I agree with your appreciation for the adults who helped me learn to love reading.

My sister is about 17 years older than I. She left for college shortly after I was born but would return during holidays and summers. She tells stories of my early love of reading. She says that as soon as I could walk I would come up to her with a stack of about ten books for her to read to me. She would make me choose two. Apparently, after she read the two, I would reach over and grab another, so she would read that one. And then another, so she would read that one. To hear her tell it, I always got my ten books read to me! Something about my big brown eyes.... heh.

She also says she told my parents when I was three that she could teach me to read and they forbade her from trying. She said "she's ready" and they said "wait until she goes to school." That was during the days when there was apparently some concern that harm would come to a kid who progressed too quickly. Whatever.

>25 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie! I haven't tried the Sookie series. If they're that distracting, maybe I should leave well enough alone!

>26 susanj67: Thanks Susan! My other grandmother was the fun grandmother who rode bikes with us, baked cookies with us, creeped in the dark (what we called hide & go seek with the lights out), etc. This grandmother was more practical, and she taught me lots of skills that I use on a daily basis, like reading, writing, and touch typing. She was also responsible for my lifelong interest in genealogy, and left me her books and research notes. I was blessed to have two grandmothers who loved me and met my needs in ways that suited their personalities!

>27 scaifea: Thanks Amber!

>28 countrylife: Thanks Cindy! It's interesting that we both seem to have learned to read the in the same way!

>29 charl08: Thanks Charlotte! I've read (or nearly read) all of the Austen Project books. I liked Northanger Abbey and Sense & Sensibility. Emma was just OK. Eligible is my least favorite of the four books.

>30 EBT1002: Thanks Ellen! Thanks for sharing your experience with your sister. How sweet that she was willing to spend so much time reading to you! I don't think early reading hurt me in any way. The adults didn't realize that they were teaching me to read by the way they read to me. One of my earliest memories is of standing on the back steps while my mother was hanging laundry on the clothesline, begging her to read to me. Of course, she wanted to get the laundry hung and didn't want to stop. I remember stomping my foot, telling her I'd just read it myself, and sitting down on the steps and beginning to read aloud. Of course, my mother dropped everything and came running at that point. My parents thought I might have memorized the book, so they gave me a magazine I'd never seen before and I read from it. Yes, I was reading!

>18 cbl_tn: Thanks for keeping my thread in view against the evil machinations of the group administrators, Carrie!

It still seems to be working imperfectly with the author touchstones still not coming out to play.

>33 PaulCranswick: I wonder if we'll ever know why it wasn't showing up properly last night? That was one of the strangest things I've encountered on LT.

Happy new thread, Carrie. Wonderful picture of you and your grandmother. My favorite aunt used to read to us when she was home for holidays to get out of doing the dishes.

>35 BLBera: Thanks Beth! My brother and I used to beg to do the dishes at our grandmother's house. Our parents got a dishwasher about the time we were old enough to start doing dishes, so we never had to do them at home. It didn't seem like a chore at our grandma's house!

Morning, Carrie!

>32 cbl_tn: That is a great story, Carrie. I don't know when I actually did learn to read. I suspect that it was before I went to first grade despite my parents' worries (this is so weird to me -- I mean, I know it was the 1960s but my dad was an English professor, for pete's sake!).

>37 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie!

>38 EBT1002: Ellen, I can remember reading to the other children in kindergarten. None of us thought it was strange at the time. I'm sure the adults did, though!

Morning, Carrie! Happy Thursday!

>32 cbl_tn: Love that first reading story. How great that your family remembers the moment.

>40 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie!

>41 charl08: Sadly, I'm the only one left to remember it. My parents are both gone, and my brother was too young to remember it. I do still see my kindergarten teacher regularly, though.

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

I made a valiant effort to finish one more book this evening, but I grew too sleepy to finish it. My April plans may be too ambitious since I still have a couple of March books to finish.

Morning, Carrie! I have leftovers from March, too - I still need to get to A Thousand Acres. Whoops.

Happy belated new thread, Carrie! Have a lovely weekend!

>43 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie! I feel better knowing I'm not alone!

>44 Carmenere: Thanks Lynda! I'm looking forward to some down time and hanging out with Adrian. I have several library holds to pick up tomorrow. Yay!

March Recap

Best of the month: How We Got to Now by Steven Johnson
Worst of the month: Celebrations at Thrush Green by Miss Read

Physical books owned: 2
Physical books borrowed: 1
Ebooks owned: 2
Ebooks borrowed: 3
Audiobooks borrowed: 3

April's free University of Chicago ebook is Pilgrimage to Dollywood. I usually read travel literature to visit places I've never been. I'm very curious about this one since I know Pigeon Forge and Dollywood well. I started going to that amusement park when it was Goldrush Junction, then Silver Dollar City, and now Dollywood. When I was a teenager, my father spent two or three summers preaching for the church inside the park on Sundays, and our family had season passes to what was then Silver Dollar City. I have quite a few friends and acquaintances who have worked at Dollywood over the years, some as part time craftsmen and others as full time employees. I go to church with a man who used to drive the train. It will be interesting to look at Dollywood from a different perspective.

>47 cbl_tn: I like the sound of this! I've only seen Dollywood on TV though...

Have sent off an email for my free ebook. Thanks!

Morning, Carrie!

Congrats on your shiny new thread, Carrie. Wishing you a relaxed weekend.

Happy new thread Carrie! Hope you have a good weekend.

>48 charl08: I hope you enjoy reading about Tennessee! I've been to all of the sites in the book except for Loretta Lynn's ranch. (Although I can't remember now if I took the Graceland tour or just saw it from the outside. I've seen so many photos of the inside that it seems like I've been there!)

>49 Crazymamie: Morning, Mamie!

>50 Ameise1: >51 souloftherose: Thanks Barbara & Heather! I have some light cleaning I need to do. And If I can tear myself away from the Fixer Upper marathon, I'll go pick up my library holds this afternoon.

I'll download and plan to read Pilgrimage to Dollywood, too. A good friend of mine grew up in Sevierville, TN, and his mother, who was a grade school teacher, used to work at Dollywood in the summer months.

>53 kidzdoc: I hope you like it! I read the first chapter last night after I downloaded it and it seems promising.

Dollywood seems to be a good employer. A lot of the people I know who work (or have worked) there are very loyal to Dollywood and they look forward to each new season. Dolly has also done a lot to promote education and literacy in through college scholarships and the Imagination Library.

I finished a couple of books today (the audio of Growing Up Amish and The Journals of Susanna Moodie) and I'd like to finish two or three more tomorrow. I'm nearly finished with Bury Me Standing and I'd like to at least read the manga I picked up from the library this afternoon (Emma, Volume 1). I also need to catch up on reviews. I'm three behind now.

>55 cbl_tn: Just catching up with you, Carrie. You are reading lots of interesting books. I got excited about the Susanna Moodie book because I thought it was a book that she had written, not one that was written about her. Hope you have a great rest of the weekend and that your allergies/asthma behave.

>56 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg! The afterword mentions two books by Susanna Moodie, Roughing It in the Bush and Life in the Clearings. Margaret Atwood says she found the books disappointing. She says of this collection of poems "I suppose many of them were suggested by Mrs. Moodie's books, though it was not her conscious voice but the other voice running like a counterpoint through her work that made the most impression on me."

Happy Sunday, Carrie!

Happy Sunday! We must have cross-posted. I was just visiting your new thread!

Morning, Carrie! Happy Sunday!

Afternoon, Mamie!

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We've had lots of local news coverage of the Brussels attacks because the husband of the young American couple who were killed was from Gatlinburg. I found out at church this morning that he is related to a family I know well.

Once again, I think I've been overly ambitious in my reading plans. I still have to March reads to finish - Bury Me Standing by Isabel Fonseca and The Hero's Walk by Anita Rau Badami. I polished off a couple of quick reads this weekend, hoping it would provide some momentum for the long haul. My April list includes:

The Orchid House by Phyllis Shand Allfrey (Category Challenge GeoCAT)
We the People: The Modern-Day Figures Who Have Reshaped the Founding Fathers' Vision of What America Is by Juan Williams (ER book)
The Bloomsbury Reader on Islam in the West (review copy; Category Challenge DeweyCAT)
Middlemarch by George Eliot (BAC)
As the Crow Flies by Craig Johnson (group read)
Take Hold!: An Anthology of Pulitzer Prize Winning Poems (AAC)
The Journals of Susanna Moodie by Margaret Atwood (CAC) - COMPLETED!
Pollution and the Death of Man by Francis A. Schaeffer (Category Challenge RandomCAT)
Island Exiles by Jemima Garrett (Category Challenge GeoCAT)
The Cursed Canoe by Frankie Bow (ER book; Category Challenge GeoCAT)
Emma, Volume 1 by Kaoru Mori - COMPLETED!
The Lively Place by Stephen Kendrick (ER book)
Audiobooks:
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (April Autism read)
Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein (Reading Through Time)

Currently reading:

I read Atwood's The Journals of Susanna Moodie and Roughing it In the Bush at about the same time. They really complement each other nicely. Although I liked Atwood's poetry version of the story, I'm glad I read the original to give it a bit more depth.

I read Life in the Clearings several years later and was disappointed with that one.

>61 cbl_tn: That makes the 'far away' terrorism hit very close to home in our ever smaller world. Hugs for you and your friends.

>63 streamsong: I'll have to read Roughing It in the Bush sometime. I'll download it from Project Gutenberg into one of my reader apps so it will be handy whenever the mood strikes.

Thanks for the good wishes. It reminds me of the 2005 London bombings. I was worried about who I might know that was affected since I lived in London for 4 years. As it turns out, the two American sisters who were injured in the tube bombing were from Knoxville. I didn't know them, but I knew lots of their friends.

Morning, Carrie!

Hi Mamie!

Wow, Carrie, you sure are ambitious with your reading plans! I have reading plans in my head that I follow loosely. I am trying to read as many of the Bailey's Woman's Long list that appeals to me and I try to fit in a few Canadian author challenges when the mood strikes me. I suppose also in my mind I always have Can Lit books that I hope to read - but I commit nothing to paper or Library think until I am 60 or more pages into a book. I have a very cautious personality , I suppose. I don't want to publicly did not finish :)

Enjoy The Rosie Project - I found it to be a lot of fun. Sorry for your close call with Brussels.

Poppy is running amok in the river with my husband today. The weather here is fairly warm - 50 - 56 F , and while again I am much more cautious with Poppy, Dave thinks she ought to have lots of fun. ;) Men.

>67 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah! I found that I enjoy reading more when I plan reads. I will deviate from the plan on occasion, but I like having a plan!

I took Adrian with me to a friend's house this evening so that the friend could take a look at my car, which has been acting a little funny lately. They have a large, wooded property and Adrian and I walked around a little bit while he looked over the car. He didn't spot anything seriously wrong with it, but recommended an alignment and even recommended a garage. I'll call them tomorrow and see if I can get an appointment for Friday.

As far as planning our reads go I guess like most things, variety is the spice of life - some of us love to plan, others of us, like me - keep it vague :)

Glad that you got your car looked at. It is always great to have a friend who knows cars so that when you go to a garage, you don't get the feeling that they are " ripping you off."

I was reading you and Ellen's discussion re how we learned to read, @ 30 and 32. I do think early exposure to books is a great thing. I recall one of my two grandma's in particular loved to read to me and my sister. She read us fairy tales, children's poems and could put on the best voices - scary, fun etc. My parents had 5 children in 9 years, so as the eldest of the five, you can imagine my parents did not have a lot of time to spend reading to us - but my mom really tried hard to carve out time to read to us, and took us to the library frequently and my parents were keen reader's themselves. I recall that my best friend had a birthday two months earlier than me, so she was able to start grade 1, whereas with my January birthday I had to wait another year to start Grade 1. I was sad that I could not have " readers and workbooks" like my friend had, so I asked my mom - could I please have readers and work books like Jane so I could learn how to read. So my mom got me some old grade school readers books and new workbooks and I am sure she must have helped me, but mostly I was keen to just learn so as to keep up with my friend. I think I sort of learned by " osmosis." With my own two boys, I decided it was such an advantage for me to have been able to start school as a fluent reader and writer, my poor two sons got read to from birth on and picked up reading the same way I did. I remember our older son calling out " McDonalds" and " "Stop " and " Safeway" when we saw the signs , and he was about 3 or so, so I thought - might as well get some flash cards. It was a lot of fun.

>69 vancouverdeb: Yes, I'm always fearful of being duped into having unnecessary work done to my car because I don't know any better.

>70 vancouverdeb: That's really interesting! I remember reading somewhere recently an average number of hours that children needed to spend with books in order to learn to read. If they're read to often as preschoolers, they get those hours in before they start school. I agree that it was an advantage to have learned to read before starting formal education. I was often allowed to read in school while the other children in class learned something I already knew. So, the payoff was more reading! :-)

Morning, Carrie! Happy Tuesday to you!

Howdy, Carrie ! I'm sorry to read that Belgium hit so close to home. I saw the story and their pictures on television. So sad!

My you do have ambitious plans but if anyone can do it, you can!

>72 Crazymamie: Happy Tuesday, Mamie!

>73 Carmenere: Hi Lynda! The world truly is small.

This is one of our busy seasons in the library, so my April reading list may be too ambitious. I'm enjoying my reading so far. My current ebook (The Cursed Canoe) and my current audiobook (The Rosie Project) are both making me laugh.

35. Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
TIOLI #18: "T" is repeated 3 times in the author's name

Readers of this retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice will either love it or hate it. I’m in the latter camp. I enjoyed Val McDermid’s Northanger Abbey and Joanna Trollope’s Sense & Sensibility, and I found Alexander McCall Smith’s Emma tolerable. I loved Bernie Su and Kate Rorick’s The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet, a Pride and Prejudice modernization based on the Lizzie Bennet Diaries vlog. So why didn’t Curtis Sittenfeld’s take on P&P work for me?

For one thing, I do not imagine Jane and Lizzie Bennet as pushing 40 years old when the story opens. I believe it would be possible to successfully reimagine Austen’s original with a slightly older, yet still young, Jane and LIzzie. (Example: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries) The modern Lizzie of my imagination would not be gullible enough to carry a torch for a man like Jasper Wick (Wickham) for 16 years, nor would she carry on an affair with him after he had married someone else. The modern Lizzie of my imagination would not proposition Darcy for “hate sex”, nor would she get drunk and make a fool of herself in a crowd while being filmed for reality television. (Kitty and Lydia, yes. Lizzie, definitely not.) Sittenfeld substitutes political correctness for Regency etiquette, and feminism trumps romance. I can think of no other explanation for giving the self-satisfied and resolutely single Mary Bennet the last word.

This novel will be enjoyed to the extent that Sittenfeld’s fans and Austen’s fans overlap. Other readers may find it more disappointing than entertaining.

This review is based on an electronic advance reader’s copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

1.5 stars

>71 cbl_tn: I was also an early reader but remember a time that the teacher called on me to pronounce a more difficult word because I was ahead of the class. I couldn't do it but then, pronunciation wasn't my strong point when reading to myself.

Morning, Carrie! Looks like you took one for the team with Eligible - I read the spoilers, and no. Just no.

Ouch, Carrie. I might have to rethink reading Eligible. I've liked the Sittenfeld that I've read and was expecting good things.

>62 cbl_tn: Bury Me Standing, looks interesting! I look forward to catching up with your thoughts on it once you've read it.

There seem to be so many re-telling of stories lately, I just came from Shakespeare re-tellings on Mamie's thread, I suppose there are enough classics out there now that they are ripe or the picking!

Ditto what Beth said. I will probably still read it, but it sounds like she maybe got a little carried away with placing it in a modern setting and put it at odds with the spirit of the original.

>77 Crazymamie: I had such high hopes when I started, but it went downhill pretty quickly.

>78 BLBera: I haven't read anything else by Sittenfeld, and it's likely that I won't in the future. It might work better for you than it did for me. I'd suggest getting it from the library so that if it doesn't work for you, either, you can just return it to the library!

>79 LovingLit: I finished Bury Me Standing a couple of days ago, and just need to find time to review it. I have a backlog of reviews. I learned a lot from it, but I think it could have been organized better. Just a little more polish would have made it flow better.

>80 katiekrug: it sounds like she maybe got a little carried away with placing it in a modern setting and put it at odds with the spirit of the original.
Exactly! I think that's what I was trying to convey in my review, but couldn't come up with the words to capture that thought. I'm sure she was aware of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries/The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet so she had to come up with something different than that.

I will definitely be checking it out of the library.

I enjoyed the story of your learning to read early, Carrie. I think I learned at the "proper" time but I did catch on quickly. Yes, following the words with a finger is a good teaching tool. It lets the child know that those strange marks at the bottom of the page are as meaningful as the pictures. I'm glad I remembered something from my masters' degree classes. Like you, I've kept the "important" papers such as the thesis I slaved over.

I didn't get to my reread of A Thousand Acres and probably won't bother now that we're in a new month. So many books...

Morning, Carrie!

Have a great day, Carrie.

>75 cbl_tn: Still planning to read this (I am a dyed in the wool Sittenfeld fan after Prep), but your review has given me pause. Will hope it hits me better.

>83 BLBera: Good plan!

>84 Donna828: Hi Donna! I think you will like A Thousand Acres whenever you get around to reading it. At some point, I guess we all have to accept that we'll never have time to read all the books that are worth reading.

>85 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie!

>86 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg! It was a busy one, but it's been good so far.

>87 charl08: If you're already a Sittenfeld fan, you may like it better than I did. Hopefully your experience will be more like my experience with Anne Tyler's Vinegar Girl and not like my experience with Alexander McCall Smith's Emma. Both of those books were written by authors I already knew I liked. Vinegar Girl worked for me, but Emma did not, because it seemed to be more in the style of Alexander McCall Smith rather than in the spirit of the Jane Austen.

36. Growing Up Amish by Ira Wagler
TIOLI #19 - Title contains two consecutive embedded words (row, in)

Ira Wagler was the ninth of eleven children in an Old Order Amish family. Wagler shares memories of his childhood in Canada, and recalls the growing restlessness of his teenage years in Iowa. Wagler was one of several teenage boys who left the Iowa Amish settlement for life among the English. This was the beginning of a decade of departures from and returns to the Amish fold. Wagler chafed under the strict rule of life presided over by the Amish bishops. When he was away from home, he missed his family and friends, but every time he determined to give it another try, it wasn't long before he again grew restless and left.

Wagler's memoir stalls in a detailed description of a cycle of departures and returns. He might have maintained the momentum of the earlier part of his memoir by writing of his goings and comings collectively rather than serially, and selecting a few significant episodes to illustrate that period of his life.

Wagler wrestled with the guilt of disappointing his family and friends, and with his inability to do what was required to maintain his membership in the Amish Church despite his belief that it was the only path to salvation. Wagler seems to expect that the way in which his internal conflict was resolved will surprise his readers, but it's actually a familiar story. Wagler discovered a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through prayer and Bible reading. He left the Amish church for good and joined a Mennonite church, as many Amish people have done before and since.

2.5 stars

Next up in audio: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

37. The Journals of Susanna Moodie by Margaret Atwood
TIOLI #16 - Author is one of 8 featured so far in Canadian Author Challenge

Susanna Moodie was a real woman who emigrated to Canada in the 19th century and settled in a rural, undeveloped part of Ontario. Moodie wrote books about her experience as a settler. Atwood's series of linked poems are inspired by Moodie's books, particularly by the undercurrent of emotion that seems to contradict Moodie's words. Atwood's poetry reveals the hardships and loneliness of a woman's life on the frontier. It's accessible to readers who rarely read poetry, and it will appeal to poetry lovers.

4 stars

I will definitely look for The Journals of Susanna Moodie; I haven't read all of the poems. It's nice that you finally had a good one after a couple of disappointing reads.

Hi! Just trying to catch up a bit. I like the remembrances of early reading. I was an early reader, too. My mom read to me a lot -- as I recall, she pointed to words, too. We also did flash cards, both words and phonics. She never realized just how much I'd learned to read independently until one day I read a newspaper headline to her!

>90 cbl_tn: This sounds wonderful, I will look out for it.

I am also hovering over the Amish memoir - I have found personal stories like this engaging in the past (although not I think from an Amish perspective).

>93 charl08: Have you read I Am Hutterite? It's a memoir if a woman who spent her early childhood in a Hutterite community in Canada. She had to adjust to a different way of life when her parents decided to leave the Hutterites when she was 10 or so. It's an interesting life story and well told. I've read enough memoirs to recognize that Growing Up Amish isn't well written.

Happy Friday, Carrie! I listened to The Rosie Project too. Looking forward to your comments.

Morning, Carrie! Happy Friday! Friday!

Morning, Mamie! I'm having Saturday today, and tomorrow will be Friday since I have to work. ;-) I did have to go to a meeting this morning, but now I'm home doing laundry. After lunch I will drop Adrian off at the groomers and then take my car to get it aligned.The alignment shop is very close to the Knoxville National Cemetery so, if it's not raining, I'll stop and see if I can locate the grave of a ggg-uncle (by marriage) who died in Knoxville during the Civil War. He was here with the 130th Indiana Infantry, and I believe he died from disease, not from a battle wound. I've visited cemeteries all over central Indiana and southwest Ohio to locate graves of ancestors, but I've never been to visit the one who's buried right here in Knoxville!

38. Emma, Volume 1 by Kaoru Mori
TIOLI #1 - Book of manga

Emma is a romance novel with a Victorian London housemaid as its protagonist. In the first volume, Emma is working for a widowed former governess who receives an unexpected and long-overdue visit from one of her former charges, William Jones. The young man is smitten by Emma, but their difference in class doesn't provide him with many opportunities to see her. Then there's the problem of William's father, who has a suitable match already picked out for William.

This was my first experience with manga. I love historical fiction, and particularly fiction set in England, so this series seemed like a good fit for me. I love the detail in the drawings, which are clear and expressive. I didn't notice any problems with the English translation. I knew that I needed to read this volume from back to front (from my perspective) and left to right, but I was never quite sure what was the right order for reading the panels when two shorter images are stacked to the right of a longer image on the left. I turned the last page to find a diagram illustrating the order in which a page should be read. It was placed there for first-time readers who are used to reading from left to right. It would have been more useful to me if it was placed at the beginning of the book as well as at the end. Emma's story isn't complete in this volume. It's only the beginning. Emma's story continues in the next several volumes of the series. I don't know if manga on other subjects will appeal to me, but I did like this series debut well enough to seek out the rest of the volumes in order to find out what happens to Emma and William.

4 stars

>94 cbl_tn: Nope! I'll add it to the wishlist.

I did make it to the National Cemetery this afternoon. I was the only visitor there, and the man working there seemed glad for an excuse to talk to someone. He helped me locate the gravestone for my ancestor and told me a little bit about the national cemeteries. I did locate the grave I was looking for. Although he died in 1864, the stone was newer than many of the other Civil War gravestones. The man who showed me around suggested that a limb from the tree near the grave possibly fell on the stone and damaged it, requiring it to be replaced. He said that the trees there are very old and some of them have actually grown around some of the stones.

I have I am Hutterite in the tbr pile somewhere. Glad to know that it is a good pick.. Oh! a 2. 5 star read. Ouch! Poppy says hi to Adrian. She had a nice warm sunny day today , out on our walk and met plenty of friends, incuding Stanley the cute West Highland White. Nice weather here! :)

>100 cbl_tn: What good luck finding some in the cemetery to help you find your ancestor. Glad you found him.

Happy weekend, Carrie.

Morning, Carrie! SO happy that your mission was a success - and how great that the groundskeeper took the time to show you around and talk to you.

Happy Saturday, dear!

>101 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah! I Am Hutterite was a 5-star read for me. It's worth digging out of the pile!

Adrian says Hi to Poppy. He went to the groomers yesterday so he looks handsome and he smells nice. We're in the midst of a cold snap so I'm sure he's freezing! He spent most of his evening snuggled up on my lap.

>102 Familyhistorian: I'm glad I finally got around to visiting our National Cemetery! It's something I should have done a long time ago.

>103 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara!

>104 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie! I think the man I met is more than a groundskeeper. I think he works for the VA. He told me that he's based in Chattanooga, and that Knoxville is under Chattanooga's administration. I got the impression that there isn't anyone in Knoxville full time because of budget cuts, so they periodically come up from Chattanooga to check on things.

Morning, Carrie! I guess by groundskeeper, I meant someone responsible for the grounds - not the person who mows the grass, but the person who can direct you and keeps an eye on things. What do you call that position?

>75 cbl_tn: Eligible definitely sounds like one for me to avoid.

>100 cbl_tn: Fascinating stuff!

>106 Crazymamie: I've been poking around since I got back from the cemetery yesterday to try to figure out what this man's job would be. I finally found job descriptions and it looks like the National Cemetery Administration has administrators, caretakers, and representatives. I don't think this man is an administrator, so he's either a caretaker at a supervisory level or a representative. I got the impression from him that he wouldn't normally have been mowing if not for the budget cuts, but maybe he just meant that he would do all of his mowing in Chattanooga if not for the budget cuts.

>107 souloftherose: Glad I could help! I just realized that the catalog record credits Jane Austen with co-authorship. I think I can hear her turning in her grave!

Now that I know where it is, I may try to go to the Memorial Day service at the National Cemetery next month.

Caretaker! Yes, that's the word I was trying to think of, Carrie!

>109 Crazymamie: :-)

39. Bury Me Standing by Isabel Fonseca
TIOLI #19 - Title contains consecutive embedded words (tan, din)

Isabel Fonseca spent several years among the Gypsies in Central and Eastern Europe, observing their way of life and listening to their stories about themselves. It reads like anthropological field work notes, yet apparently Fonseca didn't study anthropology. Wide and thorough reading about Gypsy history and culture combined with several years of personal observation goes a long way in making up any deficiencies in professional training. Fonseca identifies the origins of the Gypsies in India based on her study of the literature on this subject. Linguistic scholars in the 18th century surmised that the Gypsies had originated in India based on the similarity of the Romani language to the Indic languages. Since the publication of Fonseca's book, DNA studies have bolstered this theory of Indian origins

I learned a number of new things about Gypsies and their history from Fonseca's book. I didn't know that Gypsies had been slaves in Romania for centuries. I didn't know the extent to which the Gypsies suffered during the Holocaust. The Nazis began imprisoning them in German concentration camps in 1934. The promise of more interesting facts is what kept me reading this book. It was a more difficult read than I expected. The book seems randomly organized, and there isn't a narrative connection between chapters. It's still a worthwhile read, and its extensive bibliography makes it a useful resource for students.

3.5 stars

40. The Cursed Canoe by Frankie Bow
TIOLI #21 - Book published pseudonymously

I love mysteries set in unusual locations, and I love mysteries set in academia. A mystery that offers both is irresistible to me. Molly Barda is a business professor at a public university in Hawaii. Molly feels guilty when a woman from the Student Retention Office dies while practicing for a Labor Day canoe race. Molly had been wishing her ill just before she collapsed and died, and now she's blaming herself for the woman's death. There were seven people competing for six spots in the paddling crew, and Molly gradually begins to suspect that the seventh person might have had a hand in Kathy Banks's death.

The mystery plot fell a little short for me. I enjoy the challenge of spotting clues and trying to solve the mystery before the fictional detective. In this case, it isn't possible because some information is withheld from the reader. The Hawaiian university setting and Molly and the supporting characters offset my disappointment in the mystery plot. I would have enjoyed reading about Molly and her friends even without a mystery. It was a fun read that had me laughing out loud at several points. I'll be on the lookout for the other books in this series.

This review is based on a complimentary electronic copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

3.5 stars

41. Divorce Horse by Craig Johnson
TIOLI #22 - Gave me joy

This short story finds Wyoming's Sheriff Walt Longmire still recovering from the physical damage he sustained in Hell Is Empty. This time, Walt is called on to find a missing race horse. Since he's short of deputies, he's assisted instead by his best friend, Henry Standing Bear, and his lawyer daughter, Cady, who's still around to keep an eye on her father's recovery and to do some of the planning for her upcoming wedding. The mystery isn't difficult to solve for someone with Walt's knowledge and experience. This leaves plenty of time for entertaining banter between Walt, his daughter, and his best friend. Recommended for fans of the series.

4 stars

>111 cbl_tn: interesting, from my understanding, people make a lot of assumptions about the Gypsies, so this book would be good reading.

Morning, Carrie!

>114 LovingLit: Yes, I learned a lot about the Gypsies and their culture from this book! I just wish it was better organized.

>115 Crazymamie: Evening, Mamie! The day before Tuesday has been a busy one!

42. As the Crow Flies by Craig Johnson
TIOLI #2 - APRIL rolling challenge

Walt Longmire and his best friend, Henry Standing Bear, are on the Reservation looking at a potential site for Walt's daughter, Cady's, wedding when they see someone fall to their death. Walt is already way behind schedule with his assigned tasks for Cady's wedding, and a suspicious death isn't going to help. Although Walt is out of his jurisdiction, the new and inexperienced chief of the tribal police grudgingly accepts his help with the investigation. Walt will be in big trouble with Cady if the case isn't wrapped up in plenty of time for the wedding.

I loved the Reservation setting for this series installment. Henry Standing Bear is one of my favorite characters, and I was glad to see so much of him in this book. I love that Walt and Henry know each other so well that they each know that the other has his back without a need for verbal communication. Another of my favorite characters, Lonnie Little Bird, makes an appearance in this book. Um hmm, yes, it is so. I am not a fan of the on-again-off-again romance between Walt and his deputy, Vic Moretti, and I didn't miss her in this one. She spent most of the book at a training seminar in Omaha. Unfortunately, the tribal police chief's vocabulary is almost as colorful as Vic's, so there wasn't a noticeable decrease in profanity in Vic's absence.

I do wish that Craig Johnson would come up with names that aren't so similar. I had a hard time keeping track of Lolo (tribal police chief), Lola (Henry's Thunderbird), and Lena, (Cady's future mother-in-law and Vic's mother).

This book might work alright as a stand-alone, but it would work better if read in order. Walt's personal life is as important as his job, and his relationships with secondary characters develop over the course of the series. There are references to events from the earlier books in the series, although I didn't notice any glaring spoilers.

4.5 stars

>100 cbl_tn: Isn't it over by Old Gray?

>12 cbl_tn: What a lovely photo and story. Actually, my great grandmother lived next to the public library. She learned to read at age 70! We read The Dick and Jane books together as we both tried to discern that the waagooon issss red!

>118 thornton37814: Yes, right next to Old Gray!

>119 Whisper1: That's a great story about your great-grandmother! What a wonderful memory, and what an inspiration she must have been to her family and friends!

It's been a while since I posted a new photo of Adrian. I wish there wasn't a shadow on his face, but I have a very narrow window of opportunity to take a photo of him. He doesn't stay put for long!

What a wonderful little soul!

>122 Whisper1: He is! And I'm blessed to have him.

Morning, Carrie! I kind of like that part of his face is in shadow - it's such a sweet photo!

>124 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! I especially enjoy Adrian in the morning and at night. Those are the times he likes to snuggle up on my lap. He's such a sweet dog!

Morning, Carrie!

Morning Carrie! How fortuitous to meet up with the cemetery caretaker. All my ancestors were still in Europe in 1864 so I think its absolutely fascinating that you found an ancestors gravesite.
I like the shadow effect on Adrian. He looks mysterious. You never would have got that shot if you tried for it.

>126 Crazymamie: Morning, Mamie! Different morning, though!

>127 Carmenere: Hi Lynda! What part of Europe did your ancestors come from? Almost all of my ancestors were here before the Revolutionary War. Most of them came from Great Britain and western Europe. My direct paternal line is Dutch.

Adrian is so photogenic that it's hard to get a bad picture of him if he's not moving!

Happy Friday, Carrie!

Happy Saturday, Carrie!

>129 Crazymamie: >130 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie! I'm trying to motivate myself to do a little cleaning this morning since I have guests coming this evening. I'll reward myself with reading.

>121 cbl_tn: Cute photo of Adrian, Carrie!

>131 cbl_tn: This week will be my spring cleaning week, although I probably won't do much of that today. Have a nice time with your guests tonight!

Have a great weekend, Carrie.

>132 kidzdoc: Thanks Darryl! My guests and I accomplished what we intended to this evening. I have a conference in Oregon in June, and a couple of friends are flying out with me. We booked our flights this afternoon. One has family there, and she'll stay 10 days longer than the other friend and I will stay. They'll be sightseeing while I'm at my conference, but I should have time on Monday before the conference starts and Friday before our red eye leaves to see some sights with them.

>133 BLBera: Thanks Beth! I got my cleaning done this afternoon so I can spend the evening reading or watching a movie without feeling guilty!

>134 cbl_tn: Excellent, Carrie! I'm sure that you'll have a great time with your friends in Oregon. I do need to visit the Pacific Northwest sometime in the future, as I've never been there.

Happy Sunday, Carrie.

>135 kidzdoc: Whatever else I do, I'm hoping to at least get to Powells!

>136 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara!

>137 cbl_tn: I think Powells is near the top of both our lists! I'm hoping to get there maybe Sunday night after I arrive and tour the Japanese Garden.

>138 thornton37814: I looked at the conference schedule this morning and Powells is an optional activity on Tuesday evening.

>139 cbl_tn: I can go scope it out first! LOL Might need to make more than one trip there.

Hi Carrie! What a darling photo of Adrian. He is a very handsome boy!

>111 cbl_tn: I bought this book ages ago. Still haven't read it, though my mother borrowed it from me after she had lived in Prague for a year. She said people there are openly hostile toward and prejudiced against Gypsies. She didn't think too highly of the book, though.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

>140 thornton37814: You can be our tour guide on Tuesday evening!

>141 AMQS: Hi Anne! I hear you've had snow out your way today. I am very happy to say that we have not. It's been a beautiful, sunny weekend - perfect for the Blue Angels air show.

From what I read in the book, in some countries the Gypsies are routinely the targets of what would be considered hate crimes in the U.S. The book was written right after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Apparently the Soviet policies were restrictive enough to prevent a lot of this. The new governments either didn't have laws that protected the Gypsies or, if they did, the police and prosecutors weren't enforcing those laws.

It's being called Snowmageddon 2016. We have about 2 feet here, and 3+ at my school:) This wet spring stuff doesn't last, though, and it's supposed to be back in the 60s and 70s later in the week. It's predicted to snow in the mountains tomorrow, so there's a possibility I could have a snow day tomorrow.

Oh fun to go to Oregon! Have a great time! I'd love to get to Powells . Have fun! Really interesting information about the Gypsies, or as I know them, the Roma's.

Poppy says hi to Adrian and she really loves his new photo!

>143 AMQS: A snow day in April! That's a rare occurence here.

>144 vancouverdeb: I'm looking forward to the trip. I've never been to Oregon before, and it will be nice to have a local guide.

Adrian says Hi to Poppy. He's excited about this week. Stella's parents are goong out of town, and Stella will be staying with us through Saturday. She'll arrive at lunchtime today. Two lapdogs and one lap keep things interesting.

>145 cbl_tn: I guess I should avoid your house this week so I don't get bitten!

Morning, Carrie!

>146 thornton37814: I guess so!

>147 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! Happy Tuesday!

43. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
TIOLI #5 - Characters travel between continents
Autism April

Don Tillman is a 30-something genetics professor at an Australian university. He also has Asperger syndrome. (It wasn't clear to me if he is aware that he has Aspergers, although he is aware that social perception is a problem for him.) His only friend is Gene, a psychology professor at the same university, and Gene's wife and children. Don believes that it will be almost impossible for him to marry given his social shortcomings, and he seems to have accepted this until he gets the idea for what he calls the Wife Project. He will design a questionnaire that will help him locate a woman who is ideally suited for him. Womanizer Gene takes a great interest in Don's Wife Project and sends him a wild card candidate – a woman who is practically the opposite of Don's ideal partner. Rosie is looking for her biological father. The candidates are limited to her mother's medical school classmates. It isn't long before the Wife Project takes a back seat to the Father Project, and Don is finding more and more excuses to see Rosie again.

This romantic comedy is as much about friendship and relationships as about romance. I listened to the audio version, and the laugh-out-loud scenes made it difficult to listen to in public. There is lots of humor, but it's not at Don's expense. It reminded me of the kind of humor in my favorite TV series, Monk, with its OCD main character. I thought it was easy to assume where the plot was heading, but there was a twist toward the end that took me by surprise. I can easily imagine this as a film, so it's not surprising that the film rights have already been optioned.

4 stars

Next up in audio: Rose Under fire by Elizabeth Wein

>149 cbl_tn: I was sent The Rosie Project by kiwiflowa (Lisa) a couple of years ago and still haven't gotten round to it.

I am slowly getting caught up after some time overseas, Carrie.

Nice review of The Rosie Project, Carrie.

>150 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! I'm glad you made it home safely. The Rosie Project would be great for those times when you need a light distraction and you don't want to focus on something heavy.

>151 kidzdoc: Thanks Darryl! It was a fun book.

>134 cbl_tn: A conference and Powell's - that sounds like a great trip Carrie. Is it a genealogy conference and do they hold them in Oregon every year?

>153 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg! Not a genealogy conference. A library conference. It's held at a different location each year. Last year it was at Lori's school. Next year it will be in Grand Rapids.

>154 cbl_tn: Ah, no wonder they are organizing a trip to Powell's. I hope that you will have lots of space in your luggage for your acquisitions, Carrie.

Hi Carrie! Unfortunately a snow day is not too rare here -- April is a very snowy month. And as it turns out, we didn't get one, which is just as well. Snow days are wonderful, but our district doesn't budget for too many of them, so at this point we'd have to make the day up. At this point in the year, no one wants to extend the school year!

I was completely unprepared for Powell's. I mean, we have the Tattered Cover here in Denver, so is Powell's really so different? YES! YES! A THOUSAND TIMES YES!

Hope you enjoy Rose Under Fire. I checked it out of the library awhile back but never really started it. I loved Code Name Verity so much, perhaps I just wasn't ready for Rose.

>155 Familyhistorian: I'll have to keep the return trip in mind when I pack!

>156 AMQS: Hi Anne! I'm glad you didn't get snowed in! It took longer for me to warm up to Rose Under Fire than to Code Name Verity. I didn't like the narrator as well until she started doing accents for the Eastern European characters. Also, there isn't as much tension since Rose tells her story after the fact instead of as it unfolded. I am completely absorbed in the story now, and I can't wait to find out how it will end.

Hi Carrie! Just getting caught up a bit, and WOW you are reading some awesome stuff so far this year!

I've been feeling the genealogical itch lately myself, and I want to go and talk to my "Aunt" Shirley who is turning 90 this year. Last year when my Mom and I went for a visit she didn't have a ton to say about things. Not in a secretive way, just in a "that's all there is" kind of way. But I know there has to be more, she's got such a great memory! And with my Dad's side of the family being the paranoid people they are (and them telling me that my ancestors on that side of the family "aren't any of my business" - seriously!) I'm resigned to the fact that my Mom's side is the one where I should focus. Luckily, we have some 1800s diaries and tintypes and things from the Stephenson side, and some info about family trees so that helps. The hard part there is that there were multiple Robert Oliver Stephensons, and no one was a Jr or Sr or I, II, III, etc, so it's a bit confusing. At some point I'll have to take a trip to Pennsylvania, where they're mostly from, and investigate there.

Code Name Verity was one of my favorite reads a couple of years ago, and I'm glad to hear Rose Under Fire is good, though maybe a bit slow. Hope you're having a good Thursday!

Morning, Carrie!

>149 cbl_tn: Thanks for this great review!

>158 LauraBrook: Hi Laura! Genealogy is so addictive. I hope you're able to convince your aunt to share some of her memories with you. The stories are what it's all about for me. Like the story about my great aunt who went to a department store and asked for slippers with "leather holes and seals", and then corrected herself: "I mean, leather seals and holes". Or my grandmother going to the candy counter for cashews. (If you remember when department stores had candy counters, the nuts were always off to one side.) My grandmother asked "Do you wait on the nuts here?" When she realized what that sounded like, she started laughing so hard that she couldn't speak and she left without buying any nuts.

>159 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie!

>160 Whisper1: Hi Linda! You're welcome!

Morning, Carrie! Happy Friday!

I hope the weekend provides time for reading.

Hi Carrie! I tried The Rosie Project a while back and just didn't get into it. It seems like a book I would like so maybe I should give it a second try.

In the meantime, I hope you are well and that you have a good weekend ahead of you.

>162 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! It's finally Saturday! My guest dog gies home today. She is a lot noisier than Adrian, so the house will seem very quiet when she's gone.

>163 Whisper1: Thanks Linda! I hope so, too! I'd really like to finish a couple of books this weekend.

>164 EBT1002: Hi Ellen! I suspect that The Rosie Project is one of those books you have to be in the right mood to read. I picked it up at a good time for me.

Books and chocolate are a great combination. I'll have to see what I can sort out. I did find some ice cream last night without corn syrup, maltodextrin, or dextrose so I may binge on that this weekend.

Happy Saturday, Carrie! Hooray for a quiet house - I am looking forward to that later today myownself.

Told my mum that I was interested to look up our family tree.
"We had some lovely larch trees in the garden, you know Paul, when you were a boy."

I'll bring the subject up again when she's a little better.

Have a glorious weekend, Carrie.

>166 Crazymamie: Stella's "bubba" is coming to pick her up in a few minutes. She's spent the last 20 minutes or so sitting on the back of the sofa and barking, seemingly at nothing. :-( Adrian is also sitting on the back of the sofa, and he hasn't made a peep.

>167 PaulCranswick: That reminds me of the famous interview when Barbara Walters asked Katharine Hepburn what kind of tree she would be!

44. The Hero's Walk by Anita Rau Badami
TIOLI #16 - Author featured in the Canadian Authors Challenge

Sripathi Rao lives in the house in which he was born in a coastal Indian town. The house used to be grand, but it has deteriorated due to time and lack of money for keeping up such a large house. Sripathi supports his wife, his elderly mother, his spinster sister, and his twenty-something son, who prefers activism to gainful employment. He never mentions his daughter, Maya, who lives in Canada with her husband and daughter. He shut Maya out of his life when she chose to marry a Canadian man she met while studying at a Canadian university. Then a phone call changes everything. Maya and her husband have died in an accident, leaving their 7-year-old daughter, Nanadana, an orphan. Maya's husband had no family, so Sripathi makes a journey to Canada to bring Nandana back to India. Grief takes a toll on each member of the family. Can they hold on to what they still have, or will grief drive them even further apart?

This novel reminds me of Anne Tyler's work. The author takes an ordinary family and looks at the impact of a major event on each member of the family and the changes in the family dynamic. It's not a demanding book, but it's not necessarily a quick read, either. The combination of strong characters and a vivid sense of place make this a book that will stick with me for some time.

4 stars

Stella's "bubba" just came to pick her up, and in her excitement she flipped my laptop upside down as I was trying to set it on the coffee table. It is still working, and I have my fingers crossed that it will keep working.

>169 cbl_tn: I liked this one a lot. As you say, there are similarities with the way Tyler looks at an ordinary family (although I hadn't thought of the comparison when I read it).

Hope the laptop keeps behaving.

>171 charl08: Have you read any of her other books? The public library has Tamarind Woman, so I guess that's the one I'll get to next.

So far, so good with the laptop!

45. Emma, Volume 2 by Kaoru Mori
TIOLI #1 - Manga

The second volume of Emma sees Emma's circumstances drastically changed by the end. William Jones still has feelings for Emma, but his family is actively trying to keep them apart. William's father wants William to marry Eleanor, a young woman of their class. Emma is ready to accept that their class difference will keep them apart, but William hasn't quite given up. I'll have to continue with the series to find out if William will find a way to see Emma again.

The second volume in this series wasn't quite as enjoyable as the first volume. The art work is similar to the first volume so there were no surprises there. The new characters introduced in this volume, William's siblings, are all unlikeable. I'll read volume three since it's available from the public library. Then I'll have to decide whether to stop there or purchase the subsequent volumes to continue Emma's story.

3.5 stars

>172 cbl_tn: I haven't read any others - I think this was the only one the library had. Hope your second is as good.

>174 charl08: I hope so, too! I'll be by later today to check out this week's Guardian reviews. The extra dog this past week seems to have eaten into my LT time.

Somehow I'm back up to four unreviewed books:
Pollution and the Death of Man
A Few Figs from Thistles
Rose Under Fire
The Orchid House

I hope to catch up soon!

Morning, Carrie! I am also behind in my reviews again.

>176 cbl_tn: Different problem and worse, Carrie; I am up to speed with my reviews but not finishing any books!

It's Tuesday, Carrie - where are you?

Hope your laptop is still working, Carrie.

>177 Crazymamie: >179 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! I'm here! It's graduation week at school so busier than usual. Hopefully things will slow down a bit soon.

>178 PaulCranswick: Oh no, Paul! That is worse! I just finished another book so I'm now 5 reviews behind. Ugh!

>180 Familyhistorian: Still working, Meg. No harm done, I guess!

Well, okay then. Just wanting you to know that you are missed.

>182 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie! I'm here twice in one day, on my own thread. Things must be getting better already!

*grin*

Morning, Carrie! I am also up early today to the threads!

Hi Mamie! As much as I'm enjoying thread hopping this morning, work is calling. I'd better get myself moving!

Good morning, Carrie! I see I've been absent for way to long!!
>128 cbl_tn: I think it would be pretty darn awesome to have ancestors from Great Britain. I think in another life I must have spent time there because I want to see it so badly. (To answer your question) My grandparents came over from Romania, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. I think that is how they identified themselves but Hungary covered much of that land back in the day. Maternal grandmother was born in the US in 1899 the others came through Ellis Island in late 1800's/ very early 1900's as children. Their parents were basically farmers in Europe, records are non existent, end of story. :0(

Good luck with your 5 reviews! I find, if I don't do them almost immediately I never will. I know you're much more conscientious than I.

>149 cbl_tn: that sounds like a lovely book. I had my own ideas about what that was about (all ideas came from the title and the cover and none were right).

>188 LovingLit: It's not a demanding read, but a nice story well told. I picked it up at a good time, too.

46. Pollution and the Death of Man by Francis A. Schaeffer
TIOLI #2 - APRIL rolling challenge

Francis A. Schaeffer was a theologian and apologist whose works addressed worldview and the problems of civilization. This book is a response to articles published in 1967, one by Lynn White, Jr. and one by Richard L. Means. Schaeffer counters White's suggestion that Christianity is the cause of the world's environmental problems, and Means's proposal of pantheism as a solution to environmental problems.

Schaeffer cautions Christians to avoid a Platonic dichotomy, where nature is valued only as a proof of the existence of God. He concedes that White is correct when “he looks back over the history of Christianity and sees that there is too much Platonic thinking in Christianity where nature is concerned.”

Schaeffer concludes that a biblical view of nature is the answer for environmental problems:

On the basis of the fact that there is going to be total redemption in the future, not only of man but of all creation, the Christian who believes the Bible should be the man who—with God's help and the power of the Holy Spirit—is treating nature now in the direction of the way nature will be then. It will not now be perfect, but there should be something substantial or we have missed our calling. God's calling to the Christian now, and to the Christian community in the area of nature...is that we should exhibit a substantial healing here and now, between man and nature and nature itself, as far as Christians can bring it to pass.

3.5 stars

Morning, Carrie! I eagerly await the flying pigs - just four more reviews to go!

>190 cbl_tn: That looks like an interesting book, Carrie.

I am just polishing off Bertrand Russell's Why I am Not a Christian? and I am not sure that the august master of philosophy would quite agree with your theologian's conclusions. That's what makes books about theories and opinions so great; you don't need to agree with the views expounded whilst you can appreciate the force and lucidity of their arguments.

Have a lovely weekend.

>191 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! Ihope to catch up before I finish another book. Maybe this weekend? We'll see!

>192 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! That's a good point about reading opinion-based books. Even if the opinions aren't persuasive enough to change your own views, you can still learn from them.

>169 cbl_tn: Thanks for your wonderful review. This book has been on the tbr pile since 2009...It is time to move it up.

>194 Whisper1: Thanks Linda! I hope you enjoy it when you get to it!

47. A Few Figs from Thistles by Edna St. Vincent Millay
TIOLI #4 - Flower in the title

This is one of the collections that earned a Pulitzer for Millay. The poems are infused with the passion of youth. They express a sense of restlessness, and a desire to live a life more full than the average woman's of her day. Whether or not it's what Millay intended, the message I took from these poems is “carpe diem.”

4 stars

48. Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
TIOLI #4 - Flower in the title

At 18 years old, American Rose Justice is one of the youngest pilots in the Air Transport Auxiliary, ferrying planes from one point to another. She longs to fly to France, but the female pilots aren't being sent there. Rose finally gets her chance, but the result isn't what she expected. Rose is captured and sent to the Ravensbruck concentration camp, where she meets the “Rabbits” - Polish political prisoners who were used in medical experiments by Nazi doctors. Rose becomes especially close to the youngest Rabbit, Roza.

I was happy that I happened to listen to this book during National Poetry Month. Rose is a poet, and there are poems throughout the novel. Poetry was a comfort to Rose during her imprisonment, and she recited poems to entertain, encourage, and comfort her fellow prisoners. Some are Rose's poems, and others are poems she had memorized. Edna St. Vincent Millay is Rose's favorite poet, and listening to this book inspired me to locate and read one of Millay's collections.

Rose's story is told in three parts. The middle section in the Ravensbruck concentration camp is the most compelling. The ending seemed anticlimactic. I listened to the audio version. The reader did an excellent job with the Polish, Russian, German, and French accents. Rose's American accent wasn't nearly as expressive. The audio production of the middle part of the book makes it a worthwhile listen. Rose Under Fire doesn't have as much dramatic tension as its predecessor, Code Name Verity. There is never any doubt that Rose has survived her ordeal in Ravensbruck. I will likely re-read Code Name Verity at some point. I probably won't read this one again.

4 stars

Next up in audio: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

I will also be reading Station Eleven in May for the CAC, Carrie.

>191 Crazymamie: Flying pigs?

>198 PaulCranswick: I am well into the audio of Station Eleven already. I wasn't sure it sounded like my cuppa before I started. I love it so far. It isn't anything like I expected.

>199 Familyhistorian: Sheep danced on Mamie's thread when she caught up on her reviews. I tokd her I thought pigs might fly if/when I catch up on mine!

>200 DianaNL: Hi Diana! I'm smiling now after seeing that adorable cat! And I'm a dog person!

Hi Carrie - I just haven't been able to keep up lately.

A Hero's Walk sounds good, as do the Millay poems and the Wein book. I loved Code Name Verity, but it sounds like I should lower my expectations for this one?

I'll watch for your comments on Station Eleven. I loved it. Paul's comments are interesting. I think it does defy expectations a bit.

Have a great weekend.

Hi Beth! I think lowered expectations for Rose Under Fire would be a good way to approach it. It's a good book, but it lacks the spark that makes Code Name Verity such a special book.

Adrian and I had to get our walking in this morning since I have to go to graduation this afternoon. It will spill over into the evening. I listened to Station Eleven while I walked, and I'll get at least another hour of listening in on the way to and from graduation.

Morning, Carrie! Two more reviews!! WahHOO!! *goes to make popcorn and get the binoculars*

>204 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! Keep those binoculars handy!

49. The Orchid House by Phyllis Shand Allfrey (Dominica)
TIOLI #4 - Flower in the title

This autobiographical novel is set during the decline of the colonial era on an unnamed Caribbean island which, if it isn't Dominica, is modeled on it. The story is mostly narrated by an English-speaking (as opposed to French-speaking) black nurse, Lally. She is called out of retirement to care for the sons of two of the three daughters she had nursed for the family when they were children. Life changed for the family after the World War I. The Master, when he finally returned, was suffering from what would today be called post-traumatic stress, from which he never recovered. The three daughters left the island when they reached adulthood. Years later, they're all returning. First comes Stella and her son, with her romantic/nostalgic bent. Then Joan with her son, bent on organizing the island's black laborers. Finally the wealthy widow, Natalie, arrives. Each daughter tries to save what's left of the family in her own way.

Although Allfrey descended from the white colonial ruling class, her sympathies were with the black laborers. Her life was much like that of the novel's middle daughter, Joan. Allfrey's novel depicts the shifting balance of power between the downwardly mobile European colonial rulers, the upwardly mobile mixed race population, the black population still stuck at the bottom, and the Catholic Church.

4 stars

50. Emma, Volume 3 by Kaoru Mori
TIOLI #1: Manga

Volume 3 of Emma takes the young maid out of London to a new position in Yorkshire. Meanwhile, William Jones is (somewhat unsuccessfully) trying to forget Emma by throwing himself into society to please his family. So far each volume in this series has concluded with a short afterword by the artist (in graphic form, naturally!). In this volume, Mori responds to some questions from readers about volumes 1 and 2. I thought this volume was a bit slow and somewhat disconnected. Mori must have realized that at least some readers are looking for a little more action. She explains that she was still introducing major characters in this volume. She promises more plot development in the next volume now that all of the characters are in place. My local library system doesn't have volume 4, and I don't think I'm enjoying the series enough to pay full price for the rest of the series. I'll have to look for the rest at used book sales.

3 stars

April Recap

Best of the month: As the Crow Flies by Craig Johnson
Worst of the month: Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

Physical books owned: 1
Physical books borrowed: 7
Ebooks owned: 2
Ebooks borrowed: 3
Audiobooks owned: 1
Audiobooks borrowed: 2

Well done Carrie getting 50 up and still just in April.

This is also the 1000th post on your threads this year - way to go!

>210 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul! The 50 books includes several short ones. I'm having trouble finishing longer books right now, except for audiobooks. I'm still working on Middlemarch for the April BAC, and I'll be lucky to finish it in May at the rate I'm going.

My reading plans for May include completing three books I wasn't able to finish in April:
We the People by Juan Williams (ER book)
Middlemarch by George Eliot (April BAC)
The Bloomsbury Reader on Islam in the West (April DeweyCAT)

as well as:
Work Song by Ivan Doig (AAC, Reading Through Time)
The House by the Lake by Thomas Harding (NetGally ARC)
Into the Blue by Robert Goddard (BAC/RandomCAT)
Bosnia's Million Bones by Christian Jennings (DeweyCAT)
The Feud That Sparked the Renaissance by Paul Robert Walker (Non-fiction challenge)
The Lively Place by Steven Kendrick (ER book)
Old Filth by Jane Gardam (BAC)
The Light on the Island by Helene Glidden

Audiobooks:
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (CAC)
Oedipus the King by Sophocles (Reading Through Time)
Overture to Death by Ngaio Marsh
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White

Stopping by , Carrie! Poppy says hi to Adrian! We have had lovely weather here and my time on the threads is suffering for it. Glad you enjoyed The Rosie Project - I loved it too. I also read The Hero's Walk a year or two ago and very much enjoyed it. Have a wonderful rest of the weekend !

>213 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah! Adrian and I have been spending mire time outdoors as well. It's supposed to rain today sonI don't know if we'll be able to get a walkin this afternoon.

>212 cbl_tn: Some great plans for May, Carrie. Wishing you lots of success with next month's reads.

Carrie, you have earned the coveted Flying Pig Pin. Well done, my friend. Well done.

>216 Crazymamie: Thank you, Mamie! Maybe wearing the pin will be an incentive to stay caught up on reviews. ;-)

>215 charl08: Almst missed you, Charlotte! I hope my May plans aren't overly ambitious. I have a weekend road trip with friends in the middle of the month that will cut into my reading time.

Morning, Carrie! Happy Pre-Tuesday!

Well done for catching up on your reviews Carrie! I got 2 written today and now I am only 9 reviews behind..... Enjoyed your thoughts on The Orchid House and Rose Under Fire.

>219 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie! As pre-Tuesday's go, this one was alright!

>220 souloftherose: Thanks Heather! Sheep danced on Mamie's thread when she caught up on her reviews, and pigs flew on mine when I caught up. I wonder what will happen on yours?!

I know you've just read Rose Under Fire as well. Have you read The Orchid House? I think it's one you might like.

>221 cbl_tn: Well, let's ope it's not hell freezing over because I have to spend that day with my MIL.

I am out soon on my walk with Poppy and it is 23 - 24 C which I think translates into about 73 - 75 F. Too warm too quickly for me. But tomorrow it is supposed to cool off a little.

>222 Crazymamie: Sorry you're booked that day. I'm sure there will be quite a few other entertaining activities to choose from!

>223 vancouverdeb: We seem to go straight from winter to summer here. We've had temperatures well into the 80s F in the last week. The storms that have come through in the last couple of days have cooled things down to a pleasant 70 F. But they've also left the ground wet, and Adrian doesn't like getting his paws wet. :-(

Morning, Carrie! Happy Tuesday! I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens when Heather catches up with her reviews. *laughs nervously*

>225 Crazymamie: Happy almost-Wednesday, Mamie! Tuesday is my busiest day during the school year. I work the evening shift on Tuesdays, and in my time off during the day I get my allergy shots and run errands on my way to and from town. Today I stopped at the library, bank, and post office on my way in to town and the grocery store and county clerk's office on my way home. I had just enough time to do a bit of cleaning and laundry and feed and walk Adrian before going back to work. No wonder I'm tired this evening!

I'm also a fan of Station Eleven so I'm glad you are enjoying it, Carrie.

>227 ronincats: Hi Roni! I'm 2/3 of the way through the audio and still enjoying Station Eleven very much!

Hi Carrie!! Happy Hump Day!

Morning, Carrie! Happy Wednesday! Your Tuesday made me tired, so try to take it easy today.

>229 Carmenere: Thanks Lynda! Saturday will be here before we know it!

>230 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! I have an important meeting tomorrow, so I'm going to chill at home with Adrian this evening. I just put a sirloin tip roast in the roaster. Other than cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, there's nothing else I need to do this evening. There's a mystery movie I haven't seen yet on the Hallmark Mysteries & Movies channel so I'm not sure I'll even get around to reading this evening!

I'm afraid my husband might draw the line at putting Poppy in a stroller or carriage, Carrie! :) Our last dog did have to wear diapers as in her final months and my husband was fine with that, but since Poppy is healthy 2 year old dog, I think that might put him over the edge. I imagine that yes, Poppy likes the coolness of the grass and likes to leave her scent - and pick up others. A nice wind picked up and it is lovely today at 17 C - 65 or so! Perfect!

>232 vancouverdeb: The stroller is as much for me as it is for Adrian. I can get my execise in while he's in the stroller. Otherwise I would need to leave him at home sometimes while I walk. The stroller is a good compromise!

Just stopping by to say hello! Too far behind to properly catch up, but I saw an adorable photo of Adrian as I was skimming!

>234 tymfos: Hi Terri! I hope Sig is well and continuing to entertain you with his antics.

Wishing you a happy Friday, Carrie! Happy dance in order?

>236 Carmenere: Definitely a happy dance! This is the first day of summer for me! Yesterday was the last day of finals. I don't have to work nights or weekends in the summer.

Woo Hoo! I see lots of reading time ahead of you in my crystal ball!!

Wow, I made it to your thread before you moved to a new one. Way to go Rachel. :) Hope you're having a great first day of summer!

Morning, Carrie! Happy Friday!

>238 Carmenere: Not nearly as much as I would like. I have a busy summer in store. But at least I don't have to work nights for a while!

>239 The_Hibernator: Thanks Rachel! It's been good so far!

>240 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie!

I'm hoping to do. Fir bit of reading this weekend. I have an ARC of The House by the Lake that expires in a few days so it's my top priority right now. I'd also like to finish an Early Reviewers book that I stalled on last month, and maybe finish the audio of Station Eleven. And I'm still working on Middlemarch.

Happy Friday, Carrie - it looks like you have some good reading planned for the weekend.

>242 BLBera: Thanks Beth! I hope I don't get distracted by Netflix this weekend!

Trust that you'll have a fabulous weekend, Carrie.

Hani is a devotee of netflix so I can see at first hand its dubious attractions.

>244 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul! My love of mysteries extends to crime dramas, and I'm drawn to those on Netflix.

Morning, Carrie! Happy Saturday! Crime dramas are my favorite, so I hear you with the Netflix distraction.

>246 Crazymamie: Happy Saturday Mamie! Adrian says thanks for letting him visit your thread yesterday. :-)

51. The House by the Lake by Thomas Harding
TIOLI #6 - Book that has something to do with spring cleaning (title word - "house")

Author Thomas Harding is the grandson of a German Jewish woman whose family left Germany in the 1930s and established homes and lives in England. His grandmother, Elsie, never forgot the vacation house that her father built by Groß Glienicke lake on Berlin's western outskirts. The family spent several happy summers there before the ever-increasing restrictions and pressures on Germany's Jews caused them to leave Germany. Several years before her death, Elsie took her grandchildren to Germany to see the house that her father had built. Two decades later, Harding returned to find the house in disrepair and in danger of being torn down for a redevelopment project. Harding set out to see if there might be a way to save the house. In the process, he researched the history of the land, the house, and all of the families that had lived in the house. The history encompasses the entire 20th century, including landmark events such as the Nazi era, the post-World War II denazification process, the Russian administration of East Germany, the construction of the Berlin Wall between the house and the lake, the East German Stasi and its monitoring and control of East Germans, and the eventual fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany. While there is an undercurrent of sadness and loss throughout the book, ultimately it's a story of reconciliation and hope. Highly recommended for readers with an interest in the history of Germany's Jews leading up to the Holocaust, the history of Berlin, the border regions in the Cold War era, and the reunification of Germany.

This review is based on an electronic advance reader's copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

5 stars

Hi Carrie! I keep seeing The House by the Lake at the library but it looks a bit daunting. If you've given it five stars, though, maybe I should be brave and borrow it.

I've finished Sons of Anarchy. What will I do now?!!

>249 susanj67: Susan, it's not a difficult read, and there are quite a few photographs breaking up the text. The end notes, bibliography, acknowledgements, and index also take up quite a bit of space. I think you could easily read it in a day or two. And just think how much reading time you've freed up now that you've finished Sons of Anarchy! ;-)

Wow, Carrie. The House by the Lake looks great. I'm off to see if my library has a copy.

>251 BLBera: Beth, you probably won't be able to get a library copy until summer. It's been out in the UK for a while, but the US edition won't be released until July, I think.

52. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
TIOLI #3 - Title and author's name includes two Ms and an I

One night in Toronto, aging actor Arthur Leander has an attack on stage and dies during a performance of King Lear. Several participants in this event, as well as Arthur Leander's friends and relations, are affected in unexpected ways. The course of the novel spans about fifty years, shifting back and forth from Arthur's youth, to the present, to the near future when civilization as we know it has ceased to exist as the result of a devastating pandemic.

There were times as I listened to the audio that I was so caught up in the description of the post-civilization world that my own environment seemed slightly unreal. A doomsday cult in a post-apocalyptic world isn't surprising. What is surprising is that it's only one of several linked stories in the book. The Traveling Symphony is a reminder of what has been lost, but also a symbol of aspiration as civilization is rebuilt. The book isn't quite perfect. One of the story lines fizzles out well before the end of the novel, and another story line isn't developed quite enough. I would have preferred the book without Jeevan's story line and with more background about the Prophet and how his cult was formed. This book lends itself to conversation and discussion, and it would make a great book group selection.

4.5 stars

Next up in audio: Oedipus the King by Sophocles

53. Work Song by Ivan Doig
TIOLI #5 - Scrabble challenge

When readers last saw Morrie Morgan, he was teaching in a one-room school in Marias Coulee, Montana. A decade later he's back in Montana, this time in the mining town of Butte, home of the Richest Hill on Earth. He aims to try his luck as a bookkeeper. Fortunately, he's flexible. After a short stint as a cryer, he lands a job at Butte's public library. Tension is high between the Anaconda mine executives, the local union, and both sides fear the incursion of the radical Industrial Workers of the World (Wobblies). As a newcomer, Morrie finds himself under suspicion and must walk a fine line. He's helped by the advice of his widowed landlady and his fellow boarders, two retired Welsh miners. This book isn't as weighty as The Whistling Season. The eccentric characters and the somewhat absurd situations make it a fun, light comedy that will appeal to many cozy readers.

3.5 stars

Nice comments on Station Eleven, Carrie. I'm glad you liked it. My students' all wish for more of Jeevan; for some reason he is a character they love.

>255 BLBera: Thanks Beth! It's not my usual kind of book, and I'm glad I ventured into unknown territory for me. I don't think Jeevan is integrated as well into the structure of the novel as the rest of the characters are. I'm not sure that anything essential would be missing if he was edited out of the novel.

54. Oedipus the King by Sophocles
TIOLI #4 - Title contains consecutive letters in alphabetical order (ST)

An oracle tells Oedipus that he will murder his father and marry his mother, so he flees Corinth, vowing never to return, to avoid his fate. King Laius of Thebes is told by an oracle that he will be killed by his son, so he arranges to have his son killed shortly after his birth. You know where this is going, right? The point seems to be that you can't avoid fate. The gods are either controlling human action, or at least omniscient about the future. The Naxos audio production is very good, although I was thrown by the pronunciation of Creon as “crayon”. I kept imagining a box of Crayolas. I think P.D.Q. Bach missed an opportunity when he wrote the lyrics for “Oedipus Tex.”

4 stars

Next up in audio: The Siamese Twin Mystery by Ellery Queen

Morning, Carrie! I agree with your spoiler comments about Station Eleven - such a great read!

Aaaaand..... I'm all caught up! Go me!

Hi Carrie :-)

>258 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! Great minds and all! ;-)

>259 katiekrug: Yay Katie, all caught up! At least one of us is!

Carrie, you are reading some fine books lately…and you won the Flying Pig Award. Good for you! You are in for a special treat when you get to Old Filth. I was charmed by the trilogy. I have two Gardam choices on my shelves. Decisions, decisions. Happy Tuesday to you!

Lots of good reading going on here, Carrie. Hope you are enjoying your week.

Lots of good reading going on here, Carrie. Hope you are enjoying your week.

Morning, Carrie!

Happy Hump Day, Carrie! Very good reviews of O the King, The House by the Lake and Station Eleven. I wish I could have enjoyed SE more than I did but maybe it just wasnt' the right time for me.

>221 cbl_tn: 'Sheep danced on Mamie's thread when she caught up on her reviews, and pigs flew on mine when I caught up. I wonder what will happen on yours?!'

Well, I am chipping away at them but finding it much easier to read a book than to review one (as always) so I'm not convinced I will catch up. The backlog is decreasing slowly though....

I have read The Orchid House (a couple of years ago, maybe) and it was good. It inspired me to read Wide Sargasso Sea by another Dominican author which I also enjoyed.

>253 cbl_tn: Glad you enjoyed Station Eleven. I only just got round to reading it too and enjoyed it more than I thought I would (not really sure why I thought I wouldn't enjoy it that much - just feeling the pressure because so many people had loved it).

>262 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg! It's been mostly meetings at work this week. As meetings go, they're enjoyable.

>264 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie!

>265 Carmenere: Hi Lynda! Not hump day for me this week since I'm taking Friday off! Just one more day of work this week, half of which will be spent in a meeting. Road trip Friday with friends. I have a Ngaio Marsh audiobook downloaded and ready to go for the drive. I think our taste in books is more similar than our taste in music. :-)

>266 souloftherose: Hi Heather! I usually enjoy writing reviews, so I don't know how I managed to fall so far behind. I also enjoyed Station Eleven more than I thought I would. I had formed the mistaken impression that it was set somewhere other than Earth. I suppose some of the reviews mentioned a different world and I took that more literally than they intended.

"As meetings go, they're enjoyable."

I don't understand this. Meetings and enjoyable *never* belong in the same sentence... ;-)

>268 katiekrug: You understand!

>267 cbl_tn: Enjoyable meetings, those are few and far between! But it will be an enjoyable week - enjoy your Friday road trip!

I'm really enjoying I am Hutterite. What a fascinating story - a page turner, really. Glad you enjoyed it too. I'm nearly finished - maybe this evening. Poppy says hi to Adrian .

>257 cbl_tn: I'd likely have the same problem with the word " Creon" turning into Crayon - or else Creosote. Funny how an unknown word can do that to us. Me at least.

Morning, Carrie!

Morning, Mamie!

Wow. I go away for awhile and come back to over 200 new posts on your thread! Loved your reviews of The House by the Lake and The Orchid House. Also appreciated your take on The Rosie Project, because I felt very similarly about it. Some mentioned that they thought the humor was at Don's expense, so didn't like the book. Then I began questioning myself. I'm glad you saw it the same way I did.

>Hi Cindy! I think the narrator's tone of voice helped in The Rosie Project. I suppose the humor might have been more ambiguous if I had read it rather than listened to it.

>253 cbl_tn: I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I need to read that :)

Woo Hoo for road trips and enjoyable Friday meetings! Enjoy the weekend, Carrie!

>276 LovingLit: Yes, you do!

>277 Carmenere: Thanks Lynda!

Happy weekend, Carrie.

Morning, Carrie! Happy Saturday!

>279 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara!

>280 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie! We're getting ready to hit the road for home. We're hoping we left enough time to stop at the Berea Artisan Center and doma bit of gift shopping.

55. The Siamese Twin Mystery by Ellery Queen
TIOLI #9 - Book published during the decade of my mother's birth (1930s)

On their way back to New York from a vacation in Canada, Ellery Queen and his father, Inspector Queen, are trapped on a burning mountain seemingly with no way out. The only way to go is up, where they discover a large house with strange occupants. The owner, Dr. Xavier, reluctantly opens his home to them when he realizes that fire gives him no alternative. Dr. Xavier is murdered during the night, and the investigation gives Ellery and the Inspector something to do while they're trapped by the fire.

Ellery Queen mysteries are usually convoluted, and this one is even more convoluted than most. The dying man leaves a cryptic clue, the murderer leaves complex red herrings, and another unrelated crime complicates matters. All the while the fire keeps creeping closer. It's so poorly plotted that it's laughable. Just ask the friends who listened to most of this with me on a road trip.

2 stars

Next up in audio: Overture to Death by Ngaio Marsh

>282 cbl_tn: At least you got some laughs out of it then! Sounds like a miss for me.

Hope you had a safe trip home, Carrie. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

>283 charl08: By all means, give it a miss, unless you want to read it for the laughs.

>284 Familyhistorian: Thanks Meg! I've been catching up on sleep this afternoon.