VivienneR's 2016 Category Challenge - Volume 2

Springtime and time for a new thread! My third Category Challenge is simple: 8 words, 8 categories. I'll try for 120 books but there are no limits in any category. As much as possible I'll be choosing from Mt. TBR so that I can find new owners for some books and make room for shiny new ones.

I can also be found over at Club Read, another great group: VivienneR's Club Read 2016

Hello - new or recent acquisitions
Tsundoku - collecting dust on the tbr shelf
Tenterhooks - mysteries, suspense
Muliebrity - by or about women
Serendipity - borrowed from the library
Gallivant - GeoCAT choices
Classify - DeweyCAT choices
Chance - RandomCAT choices

BingoDOG, BingoPUP and AlphaKIT books will be integrated in the categories above.

September: I'm doing well this year so I've raised the goal to 150. Might be tough as I've never read that many in one year before.




Up Next
Samuel Maclure, Architect by Janet Bingham
Now may you weep by Deborah Crombie
Résistance: a woman's journal of struggle and defiance in Occupied France by Agnes Humbert
Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell
The Dead Hour by Denise Mina
Big little lies by Liane Moriarty
Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje

Hello - new or recent acquisitions

1. A walk in the woods : rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
2. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
3. Miss Petitfour by Anne Michaels
4. The Queen's Man by Sharon Kay Penman
5. Benediction by Kent Haruf
6. Miss Moon, Wise Words from a Dog Governess by Janet Hill
7. Far from the Rowan Tree by Margaret Gillies Brown
8. Last Orders by Graham Swift
9. Wilful Behavior by Donna Leon
10. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
11. Unfinished Portrait by Anthea Fraser
12. Mr Mercedes by Stephen King
13. And thereby hangs a tale by Jeffrey Archer
14. Lost in Shangri-La: A true story of survival, adventure and the most incredible rescue mission of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff
15. Through early Yellowstone: adventuring by bicycle, covered wagon, foot, horseback and skis edited by Janet Chapple
16. A Death in the Family by James Agee
17. Slide by Norah McClintock
18. The Toad : the disgusting critters series by Élise Gravel
19. The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

Tsundoku - collecting dust on the tbr shelf

1. Person or persons unknown by Bruce Alexander
2. Untold Stories by Alan Bennett
3. The Clothes They Stood Up In and, The Lady in the Van by Alan Bennett
4. Train Dreams by Denis Johnson
5. Johannes Cabal, the necromancer by Jonathan Howard
6. The Magical Adventures of the Wishing-Chair by Enid Blyton
7. No Time for Goodbye by Linwood Barclay
8. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
9. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Other Jazz Age Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald
10. Q & A by Vikas Swarup
11. Leaven of Malice by Robertson Davies
12. A Mixture of Frailties by Robertson Davies
13. The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
14. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
15. Murther & Walking Spirits by Robertson Davies
16. Echo Burning by Lee Child

Tenterhooks - mysteries, suspense

1. A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen
2. Death of a Bore by M.C. Beaton
3. Be Careful What You Wish For by Jeffrey Archer
4. Mightier than the Sword by Jeffrey Archer
5. The Magdalen Martyrs by Ken Bruen
6. The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal by Lilian Jackson Braun
7. The Dog Who Knew Too Much by Spencer Quinn
8. Diamond Solitaire by Peter Lovesey
9. A Murder of Quality by John le Carré
10. The Good Thief's Guide to Vegas by Chris Ewan
11. The Music Lovers by Jonathan Valin
12. The Hanging Garden by Ian Rankin
13. From Russia with Love by Ian Fleming
14. The Lake District Murder by John Bude
15. Bandits by Elmore Leonard
16. Death of My Aunt by C.H.B. Kitchin
17. Perfect Hatred by Leighton Gage
18. Gently with the Painters by Alan Hunter
19. A beautiful place to die by Malla Nunn
20. Graveyard shift: and other stories from Night Shift by Stephen King

Muliebrity - by or about women

1. Virginia Woolf by Nigel Nicolson
2. Dressing Up for the Carnival by Carol Shields
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
5. The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran
6. Who asked you? by Terry McMillan
7. The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley
8. End of the Wasp Season by Denise Mina
9. What Was She Thinking: Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller
10. No Fixed Address: an amorous journey by Aritha van Herk
11. Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin
12. The Light of Evening by Edna O'Brien
13. A Far Cry from Kensington by Muriel Spark
14. The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
15. Wait for me!: memoirs of the youngest Mitford sister by Deborah Devonshire
16. The Hours by Michael Cunningham
17. Wilderness Tips by Margaret Atwood
18. Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers
19. Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb

Serendipity - borrowed from the library

1. Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
2. George Harrison: Behind the Locked Door by Graeme Thomson
3. Photograph by Ringo Starr
4. The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece by Jonathan Harr
5. Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton
6. Plainsong by Kent Haruf
7. The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondō
8. The Phantom Major: the Story of David Stirling and the SAS Regiment by Virginia Cowles
9. Going Solo by Roald Dahl
10. Boy: tales of childhood by Roald Dahl
11. The Roald Dahl Omnibus: Perfect Bedtime Stories for Sleepless Nights by Roald Dahl
12. Tender: a cook and his vegetable patch by Nigel Slater
13. The Catering Queen by Alison Lawrence
14. Macbeth by William Shakespeare
15. The Garden at Chatsworth by Deborah Devonshire
16. Chatsworth: The House by Deborah Devonshire

Gallivant - GeoCAT choices

January: South America:
Miracle in the Andes: 72 days on the mountain and my long trek home by Nando Parrado

February: Central Asia:
Fifteen Days: stories of bravery, friendship, life and death from inside the new Canadian Army by Christie Blatchford

March: Eastern Europe and Russia:
A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov

April: Polar regions, Islands, Bodies of Water:
1. A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper
2. The Solitude of Thomas Cave by Georgina Harding

May: North America (including Mexico):
A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews

June: Australia & New Zealand:
Sorry by Gail Jones

July: Central America and Caribbean:
1. The Dame by Richard Stark
2. Gutshot Straight by Lou Berney

August: Sub-Saharan Africa:
A House in the Sky : a memoir by Amanda Lindhout

September: Southern Asia

October: Eastern Asia

November: Northern Africa and the Middle East

December: Western Europe

Classify - DeweyCAT choices

January: 000:
A Peter Gzowski Reader by Peter Gzowski

February: 100:
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

March: 200:
The Warden by Anthony Trollope

April: 300 - 354:
You Had to Be There: an intimate portrait of the generation that survived the Depression, won the War, and re-invented Canada by Robert Collins

May: 355 - 399:
What we talk about when we talk about the tube : the District line by John Lanchester

June: 400:
Grammar snobs are great big meanies: a guide to language for fun and spite by June Casagrande

July: 500:
Longitude: the true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time by Dava Sobel

August: 600:
In the midst of life by Jennifer Worth

September: 700:

October: 800:

November: 900 - 939:

December: 940 - 999:

Chance - RandomCAT choices

January: Embrace your uniqueness:
Best of Women's Short Stories
Monsieur Pamplemousse Afloat by Michael Bond

February: It Takes Two: The World of Jeeves by P.G. Woodhouse

March: Celebrate:
Celebrations at Thrush Green by Miss Read
The Féte at Coqueville by Émile Zola

April: Earth Day:
Pomegranate Soup by Marsha Mehran

May: Colour Your World:
Red Glass by Laura Resau

June: I do, I do!
The Marriage Casket by Deborah Morgan

July: Good times:
The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan

August: Camping:
Wild: from lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

September:

October:

November:

December:

BingoDOG



1. Less than 200 pages: Best of Women's Short Stories edited by William John Locke
2. Senior citizen as the protagonist: Mr Mercedes by Stephen King
3. Survival story: Miracle in the Andes: 72 days on the mountain and my long trek home by Nando Parrado
4. About an airplane flight: Lost in Shangri-La: A true story of survival, adventure and the most incredible rescue mission of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff
5. About a writer: Virginia Woolf by Nigel Nicolson
6. About the environment: A walk in the woods : rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
7. Author born in 1916: Going Solo by Roald Dahl
8. Autobiography or memoir: Untold Stories by Alan Bennett
9. Adventure: The Phantom Major: the Story of David Stirling and the SAS Regiment by Virginia Cowles
10. One-word title: Benediction by Kent Haruf
11. Title has a musical reference: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Other Jazz Age Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald
12. Title uses wordplay: The Dog Who Knew Too Much by Spencer Quinn
13. Read a CAT: A Peter Gzowski Reader by Peter Gzowski DeweyCAT January
14. A body of water in the title: The Lake District Murder by John Bude
15. About an indigenous person: Sorry by Gail Jones
16. Food is important: Monsieur Pamplemousse Afloat by Michael Bond
17. Published before you were born: The Magical Adventures of the Wishing-Chair by Enid Blyton
18. Features a theatre: Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
19. Debut book: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
20. In translation: A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov
21. Focus on art: The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece by Jonathan Harr
22. Coming of age story: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
23. Comics, graphic novel, manga or BD: Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton
24. Self-published
25. You want the protagonist's job or hobby: Death of a Bore by M.C. Beaton

BingoPUP



1. About a female ruler: The Queen's Man by Sharon Kay Penman
2. Women in science: Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin
3. Less than 10 years old: Fifteen Days: stories of bravery, friendship, life and death from inside the Canadian Army by Christie Blatchford
4. Short story collection: Dressing Up for the Carnival by Carol Shields
5. Women in non-traditional roles: End of the Wasp Season by Denise Mina
6. Published before 2000: A Far Cry from Kensington by Muriel Spark
7. Afro-American author: Who asked you? by Terry McMillan
8. About a spy: A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen
9. Different genre by same author: Miss Petitfour by Anne Michaels
10. Award winner: A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews
11. Autobiography, memoir, correspondence: A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper
12. Women in combat
13. By or about a woman: The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran
14. A new-to-you author: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
15. Set in Latin America or Asia
16. African author: A beautiful place to die by Malla Nunn
17. Made into a movie: The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley
18. Set in Europe, Australia or New Zealand
19. About a female critter: The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal by Lilian Jackson Braun
20. Author over 60 years of age: Wait for me!: memoirs of the youngest Mitford sister by Deborah Devonshire
21. 1920-30's detective fiction: Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers
22. Author from the Middle East: Pomegranate Soup by Marsha Mehran
23. From your TBR pile: The Light of Evening by Edna O'Brien
24. Poetry or plays: The Catering Queen by Alison Lawrence
25. Male pseudonym: The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

AlphaKIT

January: D and U
Person or Persons Unknown by Bruce Alexander
Untold stories by Alan Bennett
Dressing Up for the Carnival by Carol Shields
The Clothes They Stood Up In and, The Lady in the Van by Alan Bennett
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

February: J and B
Train Dreams by Denis Johnson
Johannes Cabal, the detective by Jonathan L. Howard
The Lost Painting by Jonathan Harr
The World of Jeeves by P.G. Woodhouse
Be Careful What You Wish For by Jeffrey Archer
Mightier than the Sword by Jeffrey Archer
The Magdalen Martyrs by Ken Bruen
Benediction by Kent Haruf
No Time for Goodbye by Linwood Barclay

March: L and Q
The Dog Who Knew Too Much by Spencer Quinn
Diamond Solitaire by Peter Lovesey
A Murder of Quality by John le Carré
Last Orders by Graham Swift
Wilful Behavior by Donna Leon
Q & A by Vikas Swarup

April: V and H
The Phantom Major: the Story of David Stirling and the SAS Regiment by Virginia Cowles
What Was She Thinking: Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller
The Good Thief's Guide to Vegas by Chris Ewan
The Music Lovers by Jonathan Valin
No Fixed Address: an amorous journey by Aritha van Herk

May: O and P
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
The Light of Evening by Edna O'Brien

June: F and R
A Far Cry from Kensington by Muriel Spark
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Unfinished Portrait by Anthea Fraser
The Hanging Garden by Ian Rankin
The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
From Russia with Love by Ian Fleming

July: K and A
Mr Mercedes by Stephen King
And thereby hangs a tale by Jeffrey Archer
A Death in the family by James Agee
Death of My Aunt by C.H.B. Kitchin

August: G and S
The Toad : the disgusting critters series by Élise Gravel
Wild: from lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
Gently and the Painters by Alan Hunter
The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers
Sweetness in the belly by Camilla Gibb
Graveyard Shift: and other stories from Night Shift by Stephen King

September: C and M

October: I and W

November: N and Y

December: T and E

Year-long: X and Z
What Was She Thinking: Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller
Lost in Shangri-La: A true story of survival, adventure and the most incredible rescue mission of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff

Happy New Thread! Looks like a few of us are starting a new thread for a new quarter. You've had some good reading in the first quarter. And I like your smaller Bingo cards. I need to go fix mine.

Beautiful new thread! I need to review those words periodically to have any chance of remembering them!

>13 dudes22: & >14 mamzel: Thanks for dropping by. Spring is just right for a new thread.

Your new thread looks good, Vivienne. It looks like you are well on your way to a very successful reading year.

Thanks Judy. I seem to have read more books in this first quarter than I usually do.

Happy new thread! You've had a great first quarter. Thanks for the reminder that I need to get back to Denise Mina -- End of the Wasp Season is the next Alex Morrow book for me!

Thanks RP! You'll enjoy The End of the Wasp Season. It seems the biggest job Morrow has is with her colleagues!

For Serendipity

The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondō

My home is very well-organized and the local charity shop benefits regularly, so I thought none of Kondō's advice would be of use to me. Nevertheless, I picked up a number of tips to better organize my life. Take photos for example: boxes of them have been waiting for years to be organized in the nice albums that have waited alongside. That will be a priority. And instruction manuals - I've even got manuals for the most basic things like the coffee-grinder, hair-dryer. At last someone said it's OK to discard them.

On the other hand, I am very happy with my method of collecting and organizing books, so I'll take a pass. If she thinks for a moment that I would get rid of unread books because I have too many, she's barking up the wrong tree! Her folding methods are excellent, but do not fit with my furniture so that's another of my methods that will remain in effect.

No, I won't follow her instructions to the letter, even though I will definitely take a lot of her advice. All in all, I enjoyed this book, it was inspiring and fun to read. I enjoyed her YouTube videos on folding too.

Happy new thread! The movie Slumdog Millionaire is very different from Q & A - only the frame story and a few details in common, FYI.

Thanks Eva! The movie was more celebrated, but then hype counts for a lot. I only just heard about the book recently.

For Serendipity although borrowed from my son, not the library.

And Bingo: Adventure story

The Phantom Major: the Story of David Stirling and the SAS Regiment by Virginia Cowles

The Special Air Service, SAS, was the brilliant idea of David Stirling. In 1941 with the rank of Lieutenant he talked himself into a job leading a new detachment. Noting that airfields were poorly guarded, he realized that small groups of his men could attack and get away under the cover of darkness. A group of five men attached bombs to enemy aircraft. Stirling even had a hand in developing the bomb used, a hand-held combination of explosive and incendiary, weighing about one pound. The result did more damage that RAF bombers in the area prompting Rommel to refer to him as the Phantom Major. In fifteen months he destroyed over two hundred and fifty aircraft, dozens of supply dumps, and hundreds of vehicles. All this with an astonishingly small loss of life. Eventually the regiment was created from the group, and Stirling promoted to Colonel - although it took time to win over traditional army brass who were wary of anyone operating outside their methods.

Stirling had the support of all his men. He never ordered them to do anything, but instead would suggest "wouldn't it be fun to..." He was tall, athletic and had a charming personality that won over many. In 1948 he formed the Capricorn Africa Society that promoted an Africa where all races, colours, and creeds might live in harmony.

Cowles' book, written from SAS notes and interviews with the group describes a charming, appealing adventurer that conjures up a cross between Action Man and James Bond. She created an exciting story that has not faded in the intervening decades since it was written.

My son pressed me to read this and I agree, it was excellent.

For Tsundoku and Robertson Davies Group Read

Leaven of Malice by Robertson Davies

Grant us so to put away the leaven of malice. Who can separate the leaven from the lump once it has been mixed.

When a fictitious announcement is made in the Salterton Evening Bellman that Solly Bridgetower and Pearl Vambrace are to be married on November 31st, everyone is impacted by the deceit. Professor Vambrace, Pearl's father sees it as a personal attack because, like the Montagues and Capulets, his family and the Bridgetowers have always been at loggerheads. He threatens to sue the Bellman for libel, even though the newspaper is a victim too. Solly and Pearl are not so interested in legal action, their discomfiture is personal. Finally lawyers on both sides seek to discover the identity of "X", the person responsible for the humiliation and outrage.

In the 1940s and 1950s, Davies was editor and publisher of the Peterborough Examiner. In reading this book, it is very apparent that he had a lot of fun writing it, especially creating Gloster Ridley, his fictional counterpart. The other characters are equally rich in eccentricity. His writing is intelligent, polished, sprinkled with many clever allusions. Written in 1954 this is as fresh as ever. Highly recommended.

Happy new thread, Vivienne! And thumbs up for all the great books you read in Q1! :)

>25 Chrischi_HH: Thanks for dropping by. I made some good choices in the first quarter. I see you are reading Waterland by Graham Swift. I'll be interested to read your opinion on it.

For Gallivant (aka GeoCAT) April: polar regions, islands, water
and Bingo: autobiography, memoir or correspondence

A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper

Who can resist a story set on a small island, with a crumbling castle inhabited by minor teenage royalty and a mad king? Sixteen year-old Sophie, a princess on the island of Montmaray in the Bay of Biscay, received the gift of a journal giving her the perfect opportunity to write the history of the island. In doing so she recaps much of her history lessons describing the origins of the impoverished family. With the possibility of war on the horizon and the location of the island, life looks uncertain. This is a story of a fictional place enriched with real history, but mainly it's an adventure story even though most of the action doesn't take place until the second half of the book.

April DeweyCat (aka Classify) 305.26

You Had to Be There: an intimate portrait of the generation that survived the Depression, won the War, and re-invented Canada by Robert Collins

Written in 1997 when the author was 72, the generation he describes has since gone through even more change wrought by time. By interviewing 181 men and women he portrays the despair, struggles, and joy they experienced, ranging from the Great Depression through the Second World War, into the fifties, and beyond. Collins calls them Generation M, for mature. Because of the times, they were a tremendously influential generation in a era of vast change. However, younger generations absorbed a different set of lifestyle changes in the second half of the 20th century that left the two groups alienated. Collins attempts to explain how it all came about and lightheartedly invites young Canadians to take a second look at the lives of their grandparents (or great-grandparents) to appreciate how it happened. Some of the stories of hardship are heartbreaking but they are balanced by some very funny memories - including any involving sex education or the absence of it. Although this book describes the experience of Canadians, it has relevance just about anywhere. Most of the information is well-known, but Collins provides very personal firsthand accounts that are expressive and meaningful. This is an interesting and entertaining book.

For RandomCAT April: Earth Day and Women's BingoPUP: Author from Middle East

Pomegranate Soup by Marsha Mehran

Marjan, Bahar, and Layla Aminpour are three sisters who fled from Iran in the early days of the revolution. First to London where the two eldest found careers and Layla settled in school. When a violent husband tracked down Bahar, they took flight again to a village in Co. Mayo, Ireland. There they opened a cafe offering traditional Persian food that seemed to have a bewitching effect on some - not all - of the villagers. This was a sweet story with a serious background, considering what the sisters had been through before leaving Iran. However, their problems were not yet over in the tight-knit, traditional community in Ireland. Mehran's writing is poetic in places, which pairs well with the enchanting, mystic quality of the ingredients used. Each chapter opened with a tempting recipe mentioned in the story.

The author was born on the eve of the Iranian Revolution that began in 1977 with the overthrow of Reza Shah. Her family escaped to Argentina where they opened a Middle Eastern cafe. Her husband is Irish.

I had planned on reading the sequel Rosewater and Soda Bread but will put it off until a later date.

For Muliebrity and AlphaCAT: April H and Year-long Z

What Was She Thinking: Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller

As Barbara, the narrator, nears retirement from teaching in a London school, Sheba, a new art teacher, arrives. Barbara takes some trouble to develop a friendship and to discourage Sheba other potential friends. She keeps notes about Sheba that eventually include her love affair with a fifteen-year-old student. These notes form the story. Nasty people are plentiful: Sheba's husband, her daughter, her mother, the school principal, other teachers, even Barbara, that the book's success is all the more amazing. It's hard to appreciate that these unpleasant characters can hook the reader but combined with the psychological twists of jealousy, obsession, shifting loyalty and variations of love, you have a winner, albeit a creepy winner.

I saw the movie with Judi Dench years ago but can't remember enough of the details to be able to compare it to the book.

Coming by to say hi and Happy New Thread! You've had a whole string of reads that sound good to me, in particular A Brief History of Montmaray.

>31 mstrust: Thanks for dropping by, Jennifer. Who can resist a princess story?

Borrowed from the library so this one goes in Serendipity and BingoDOG: Author born in 1916.

Going Solo by Roald Dahl

In 1980 Dahl said that life is made up of a great number of small incidents and a small number of great ones. The first half of this book, which is set in East Africa, he wrote only about moments he considered memorable. In the second part dealing with the time he was flying with the RAF, he considered every moment "totally enthralling".

The book begins in 1938 when at age 22, he went to work for Shell in East Africa He relates a few anecdotes from that time, of which a favourite has to be Simba, the story about how a lion took the cook's wife. Fortunately, the lion carried the woman gently like one of her cubs, and she was uninjured. Dahl sent an eye witness account to a Nairobi newspaper, for which he was paid five pounds - his first published work.

His experience as an RAF pilot in Africa, Greece and Palestine is "totally enthralling" to the reader too. He writes with good humour and a lightheartedness even when facing the utmost danger. He, like others, were frustrated by the lack of organization in the RAF command in the area. On one occasion he was sent in the wrong direction in the desert, misdirection that almost cost him his life. Of the original 16 pilots in his group, thirteen were killed.

I loved this book! It's a smashing adventure story that can be enjoyed by young and old, fans and neophytes alike. Dahl's writing style is straightforward and crystal clear. He has a talent for description that can conjure up a picture in the mind like magic.

At the end of the last page I rushed out to get more books by Dahl.

Coincidentally, while reading his account of the Battle of Athens I realized that it had happened seventy-five years ago, almost to the day on April 20th, 1941.

I might keep this in mind for the Dewey Cat month for the 800s.

Good idea! It also fits several BingoDog squares.

For Tenterhooks

The Good Thief's Guide to Vegas by Chris Ewan

Mystery writer and part-time thief, Charlie Howard, is in Vegas with his publisher Victoria for some relaxation. The antics of Charlie as he performs some minor theft is always entertaining. As usual there are a number of laugh-out-loud moments. Victoria has picked up some gambling tips from her Monte Carlo gambling father, which comes in handy for paying debts to the local gangsters. Let's hope Charlie's mystery writing is better than his light fingers. For light reading, you can't beat Ewan's Good Thief series.

For Gallivant. Although I already filled April's GeoCAT, this one will be a second because it was perfect for the category.

The Solitude of Thomas Cave by Georgina Harding

Arctic whaler Thomas Cave, took up a wager to spend the winter of 1616 alone at the whaling station. He was given generous provisions that would last until the following summer when the appropriately named ship Heartsease would return. Darkness and solitude played with Cave's mind bringing visions of his wife and child who both died at the birth, explaining the heartache that moved him to take on this self-induced penance. Harding's writing is poetic and sonorous, recreating 17th century style. Descriptions of the gory whaling compares starkly with the pristine icy wilderness coinciding with a revelation of sorts to Cave who recognizes the repellent nature of the work. In beautiful prose, Harding has created a moody, thought-provoking story with foreshadowing of modern ecological danger.

Just catching up on your thread!

Nice to see you dropping in. I will never catch up on threads, they grow quicker than I can read! :)

My reading has just about come to a standstill but I finished these two books before making a trip to Banff, Alberta to meet up with relatives from Australia where we had fun in the snow!

Both fit April's AlphaKIT V & H



For Tenterhooks

The Music Lovers by Jonathan Valin
A hard-boiled mystery in the Harry Stoner series. This one involves music-loving LP collectors. Not a great read, but what a fun way to spend an evening, and it has a nice twist in the tail.



No Fixed Address: an amorous journey by Aritha van Herk
"Only recently have we come to enjoy some freedom from clothing designed to create an aesthetic of beauty based on physical impairment, elongated waists, squeezed breasts, and bound stomachs and buttocks. It is a wonder we can still walk. And who will be responsible for what those tortures have created? The existence of smelling salts, hysteria, frigidity and shrewishness can all be attributed to uncomfortable underwear."

Arachne Manteia is a heroine like no other. She is a mercurial adventurer who has a secret hankering for a suburban home, irreverent without actually being disrespectful, a loner yet in need of a partner for her nonchalant sexual liaisons, a panty sales rep peddling them to all the small towns in Alberta yet personally eschewing the product. According to Ovid, Arachne was a great weaver who boasted that her skill was greater than that of the older Athena. In van Herk's allegorical story, Arachne divulges her secretive life only to her friend Thena. Spidery allusions are abundant and clevery woven into the story. As usual with van Herk, her feminist symbolism is hugely entertaining!

I'm sorry to say I've had this 5-star book on the shelf for a long time. I could have, should have, enjoyed it years ago.

As I enjoyed Going Solo so much, I added this quick read to Serendipity

Boy: tales of childhood by Roald Dahl

These biographical stories from Dahl's early life demonstrate how he developed into the children's storyteller we know and love. Written in 1984 when Dahl was 68 years old, he has related some of the most memorable moments of his young life. A story such as The Headmaster that describes vicious floggings administered by a headmaster (who went on to become the Archbishop of Canterbury), is unpleasant and shocking, but it certainly fits with the memorable tag.

I've never heard of Boy but is sounds really interesting and I'll put it on the WL. Dahl was such an entertaining writer but I've read only his fiction. Thanks for the review!

It shows where his quirky stories originated!

I've been reading Gun Street Girl, an Irish mystery by Adrian McKinty but after a week I'm still only on page 48. So it's on the way to a new home.

>44 VivienneR: I love the title (Tom Waits!), but the first book in that series was a disappointment for me so I haven't tried any others. Sounds like I'm not missing much.

>45 rabbitprincess: Thanks for that reference! I didn't even notice and I'm a big fan of Tom Waits. Rain Dogs is one of my fave albums too. I too was disappointed with the first McKinty but I had to give this one a try to be sure.

>44 VivienneR:
I've read his Falling Glass, which I remember liking a lot, but it was an audiobook and the reader was really good and that helped.

>45 rabbitprincess:
Agree - great title. And even greater song!

Eva, if I get around to trying another McKinty, I'll remember Falling Glass.

With a female forensic physician of the 12th century, this belongs in Muliebrity

It also fills Women's Bingo square: Women in science

Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin

This was a good companion to the first episode of the tv series Britain's Bloodiest Dynasty that I watched recently. When a pair of skeletons were discovered at Glastonbury, Adelia Aguilar is charged by Henry II with the task of determining if they are Arthur and Guinevere. In doing so she uncovers other related mysteries. Franklin's story illustrates some the legal changes Henry II made that were the basis for English Common Law. Some interesting information about forensic research of the 12th century added to the interest of the novel.

Ariana Franklin's series remains on top of my favorites list!

>50 mamzel: It may have been a BB from your direction that inspired this read! It was my first and probably not the best one to start with, but I will continue with the series. I appreciated notes by the author regarding details of actual events that she changed to fit the story. I find the era fascinating.

For Random Choice May: Colour your world

Red Glass by Laura Resau
Sixteen-year-old Sophie is afraid of almost everything. When her boyfriend was attacked and robbed in Guatemala she decided to travel there from Mexico to rescue him, proving that she can overcome her fears. With characters from multiple countries and lifestyles the author maintained an unprejudiced view, showing a remarkable understanding of the mix of cultures. This beautiful story will inspire and encourage young adults as well as informing them that underprivileged people, even those from dangerous war-torn countries, can be just as generous, hospitable and friendly as anyone else.

I am planning on reading Red Glass for the May's GeoCat but probably won't get to it until later on as a pile of library books are waiting for me to pick up and I like to get them read and returned. Sounds like I can look forward to it!

I'm sure you will enjoy it, Judy. As I was reading a couple of Canadian books at the same time that will fill GeoCAT I used this one for RandomCAT.

For GeoCAT May and Women's Bingo: Award winner

A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews

Nomi Nickel's soliloquy about her life in a Mennonite community shows a combination of innocence and gullibility along with wisdom and awareness that makes her believable. Toews speaks with a personal knowledge of life in a Mennonite community and Nomi is the perfect person to tell the story. She rebels against the absurdities uttered by church elders and her school principal yet the tourists who come to stare at the quaint village are no more reasonable. With limited exposure to outside influences, these people form the extent of Nomi's worldly knowledge. No wonder she is confused and cynical. Toews' characters are all well-drawn but Nomi is a masterpiece of humour and heartache. She will remain in my thoughts for a long time.

For May's DeweyCAT

What we talk about when we talk about the tube : the District line by John Lanchester

This is Lanchester's intelligent and well-written submission to the Penguin series celebrating the 150th anniversary of the London Underground and Tube. It is not only entertaining but immensely interesting. He brought up many topics that I have not heard discussed before, such as how the Underground has affected demographics, who travels on it, why there are few movies set on the Underground as there are on, say, trains. Fascinating. This book was a wonderful surprise and now I am looking forward to reading more by Lanchester.

>56 VivienneR: This sounds fascinating!

I got raised eyebrows when I told my husband he must read it. But yes, it was excellent.

>56 VivienneR: - Although I don't live in London and haven't visited there yet, it does sound like an interesting book. Sooo many books, Sooo little time....

The nice thing is that it's short - an afternoon's read. It's one of those books that, as I read, it brought back all the sounds of the underground, like a mini-trip to London.

>56 VivienneR: That's a BB for me, definitely!

Glad to be of assistance, Jackie :)

For Tsundoku and the Robertson Davies Group Read

A Mixture of Frailties by Robertson Davies

This story might have been titled "The Revenge of Solly's Mother"! It is generously laced with Davies' distinctive humour as well as his extensive knowledge of music, theatre, and the business of newspapers. Although Monica evolved into a sophisticated singer and left her fundamentalist life behind, I just could not believe her love for boorish, ungrateful, Giles Revelstoke. This is an elegant third episode of the Salterton trilogy which has given us the traditional format that includes tragedy, comedy, and satyric drama. Despite a somewhat slow section in the middle, this is an excellent finish to the series.

>56 VivienneR: Have you read any of the others in that Tube 150 series? I have a few of them but can't remember which ones off the top of my head. I think the Lanchester was my favourite, but I also liked A Northern Line Minute. They really do make you feel like you're in London, don't they!

For Tsundoku and AlphaKit: O & P

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

Ondaatje's prose is beguiling to say the least. Here he has told a story that like real life, is a fusion of many characteristics. This is a blend of love, peace, war, secrets, history, spies, memories, set in post-war Tuscany. Having poetic language, a good story, and Ondaatje’s inimitable languid air, this was engaging, but in a slow-moving, ethereal way in which a tragedy almost slipped in under the radar. In a strange way, spots that were implausible added to the shadowy quality rather than detracting.

Just realized my 9th Thingaversary is tomorrow. Next week's library booksale would have been the ideal time to buy books to celebrate but I'll be out of town. However, at the rate I add books to my collection, I could have a Thingaversary every month.

Happy early Thingaversary! Whenever you celebrate, I hope it's a good haul :)

Happy thingaversary!

>67 rabbitprincess: and >68 MissWatson: Thank you!

Happy thingaversary!

>63 VivienneR: It's been about 25 years since I'd read Mixture of Frailties but I remember liking it very much then. It's definitely time for a reread of the Salterton trilogy!

Happy Thingaversary to you!

Happy thingaversary :-)

For Serendipity

The Roald Dahl Omnibus: Perfect Bedtime Stories for Sleepless Nights by Roald Dahl

The sub-title Perfect Bedtime Stories for Sleepless Nights is ambiguous - these stories are more likely to cause sleepless nights! Dark, funny, creepy, or surprising, they are all creative and entertaining. Like any short story collection it is perfect for dipping into occasionally, reading one or two at a time.

I'm not a fan of short stories, but enjoyed this collection.

Happy Thingaversary! I put my Thingaversary haul off a couple of months, so there's no need to rush. ...I could have a Thingaversary every month...love the thought!

Happy Thingaversary!

I could have a Thingaversary every month
That's giving me a bad idea!

Happy Thingaversary!

Thank you everyone! We've had so many guests that my reading has slowed down considerably - but there is always time to buy books!!

Happy Thingaversary, Vivienne.

Thanks Judy!

For Tsundoku and AlphaKit O & P

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

I don't know how or when I learned about this story, but I've known the basic plot for a long time. It's never been part of my reading plans because I thought it just wasn't for me, that it would be just a silly melodrama. And yes, it is kind of silly, with Lady Blakeney being so clever, such tiny exquisite hands, so perfectly beautiful. The writing isn't great, with much repetition - the word "merrily" is used often, very often. Despite all this, I loved the book. It's a swashbuckling adventure story, a romance. It has a fabulously brave, clever, handsome hero, and of course the aforementioned beauty of Lady Blakeney. All this and a setting of the French Revolution as a bonus. Excellent!

For Serendipity

Tender: a cook and his vegetable patch by Nigel Slater

Here we have many traditional favourite dishes given Slater's special touches. Chapters are arranged alphabetically by vegetable and include information about growing as well as cooking. His writing is pure poetry, like this entry about cabbage:

"The dead of winter, all is silent, the world hushed by a thick covering of snow. The point in the year when strident flavours are needed: game birds, smoked bacon and dank mushrooms that have waited patiently in the fridge... The cabbage family is suddenly allowed back into the kitchen. Each dark-green leaf somehow seems as if it will fend off our winter ills. Elephant ears of crinkled green, sparkling with dew; tight buds of young sprouts; black plumes of cavolo nero like the feathers on a funeral horse, and the dense, ice-crisp flesh of red cabbage. Strong flavours indeed."

Slater's book was informative, a very enjoyable read and all the recipes I've tried so far have been excellent. What more can a cook ask for? This one gets five stars!

This has been on the shelf for a couple of years so belongs in Tsundoku

Murther & Walking Spirits by Robertson Davies

"I was never so amazed in my life as when the Sniffer drew his concealed weapon from its case and struck me to the ground, stone dead."

Gil Gilmartin walked in on his wife and her lover who whacked Gilmartin with a weapon concealed in his walking stick, killing him instantly. Gilmartin immediately realizes he is dead yet able to watch, unseen, as his wife and the lover, Allard Going, nicknamed the Sniffer, try to cover up the murder. Then, after this excellent opening, the story goes in a different direction. Gilmartin, like Going, is a newspaper film critic and follows Going to a film festival only to find his viewing is different from any other. His films detail his ancestors from the American Revolution to modern times. It is an examination of how Gilmartin - or Davies, as the film is said to have closely followed Davies' own origins - came to be the person he is - or was, in this case.

As a perusal of personal history, it must have been fascinating for Davies, but while I found some parts quite interesting, other sections were less so. Reading slowed, interest lagged. However, the ending was perfect. The lineage continues and the pretentious Sniffer receives fitting justice. Entertaining, but this turned out to be my least favourite from Davies.

These are the books I acquired in the week of my 9th Thingaversary (see >66 VivienneR:). Some of them haven't actually arrived yet, but have been ordered.

Big little lies by Liane Moriarty
Duchess of Death by Richard Hack
Brixton Beach by Roma Tearne
No signposts in the sea by Vita Sackville-West
Lucky Us by Amy Bloom
A House in the sky by Amanda Lindhout
The Knights Templar by Sean Martin
Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff
Effie: the passionate lives of Effie Gray, John Ruskin and John Everett Millais by Suzanne Fagence Cooper
China Trade by S.J. Rozan

>84 VivienneR: Yay! A lovely pile of books to keep you busy :)

>85 rabbitprincess: Thanks, I can't wait to get busy on them!

For
  Muliebrity
  BingoPup: from your TBR pile
  May AlphaCAT

The Light of Evening by Edna O'Brien

This is a story about the intense relationships that can occur between mothers and daughters. From her hospital bed the elderly Dilly remembers her youthful journey to America, and her time spent working for a family in Brooklyn - a story similar to O'Brien's own mother's story. Now suffering from cancer, Dilly is concerned about her daughter, Eleanora, a writer, married to a controlling jealous man - again, in the same league as O'Brien's husband Ernest Gébler from whom she was divorced in 1968.

O'Brien's portrayal of Ireland in the early and mid-twentieth century is remarkably accurate. There were many young people who longed to go to America and like Dilly's experience, they were not happy journeys. In time she looks back on Brooklyn with affection. The letters Dilly received in New York from her mother are delightful in their candour. Her letters to her own daughter, Eleanora, are just as unfeigned but have more heartfelt strength of feeling. O'Brien's writing is lyrical, rhythmic at times, and filled with implicit emotion but how I wish her women were more confident. Not only do they leave unsaid all that should be said, but they are dominated by the worst of men. Without doubt this deserves top rating for writing.

>56 VivienneR:
Ooh, I've been wanting to read that series - thanks for prompting me to look for them again as it now seems they are most (if not all) available on Kindle!

>82 VivienneR:
I have his Toast on Mt. TBR, but had forgotten about it. Oops.

Happy Thingaversary!!

>88 -Eva-: I haven't read the others, but Lanchester's contribution to the series was excellent.

I loved Slater's Toast.

Thanks for the Thingaversary wishes. As usual, I'm still buying books, Thingaversary or not!

For Gallivant - aka GeoCAT - June: Australia and BingoDOG: About an indigenous person

Sorry by Gail Jones

With vacations and visitors, my reading just about came to a standstill this month. However, I hit the jackpot with this excellent book and have given it five stars! No time to write a review at the moment, I'll try to get one done soon.

Glad to see you are ok, Vivienne, I was beginning to worry about you.

Oh that was nice of you. I've never been away from LT for so long. And I am so glad to be back!

For Classify aka Dewey June: 400s

Grammar snobs are great big meanies: a guide to language for fun and spite by June Casagrande

This was an audiobook with excellent narration by the author. Although text might be the preferable format for this topic, it was easy to follow. Casagrande is entertaining in this humorous and light-hearted grammar lesson. The good news: grammar rules are not nearly as scary as you think. It was not only worthwhile, but an enjoyable book.

>89 VivienneR:
Yey, found an ebook omnibus of all 12 - looking forward to it!

>94 -Eva-: Great find! I'll look forward to hearing about it.

For June's RandomCAT "I do, I do!"

The Marriage Casket by Deborah Morgan

Ex-FBI agent Jeff Talbot is now an antique picker. When he begins work on his latest acquisition, the contents of the house of a deceased hoarder, he finds a suspicious bloodstain suggesting that the her death was not an accident as thought. The story, a cozy mystery, is set in Seattle and helped along by the antique trade background and his home life with an agoraphobic wife, a zany sister-in-law, and an inherited mansion complete with butler.

For Muliebrity and BingoPUP published before 2000

A Far Cry from Kensington by Muriel Spark

Spark perfectly captures the atmosphere of 1950s London and the publishing business in this story. It's a comedy of a sort, yet combined with tragedy in a clever way. The text is conversational, as if Mrs Hawkins, an editor with a publishing house, is telling her story personally. The style keeps the reader involved in the matter and in each of the characters from the Kensington rooming house where she lives. The story mostly revolves around a hack author who becomes a thorn in the flesh of Mrs Hawkins who dubs him a pisseur de copie, to his face no less, thus unleashing a series of events that no one anticipated. Spark tied up the plot very nicely, leaving no loose ends - well maybe one, but that one is up to the reader to decide. Highly recommended.

I love the image on the cover of the Penguin copy that wraps around the back and shows a genteel street, typically Kensington of the 1950s.

For Hello and AlphaKit June

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

As old age and death approach, Reverend Ames, remembers his life in a memoir written to his young son. In it he philosophizes about everyday life, faith, and his role as parson, father, son, friend, in a small Iowa town. There are some beautiful passages but I was unprepared for the amount of theology, which shouldn't have surprised me considering Ames' profession, but it was more than I care for. It seemed more like a long sermon.

I chose this book because of the high praise it received, to say nothing of a Pulitzer prize. But in the end, it disappointed.

I read Gilead years ago, and at the time I thought it was beautiful. I also appreciated the gentle and humble main character. But when I look back on it I kinda shudder a little. Not sure what that's about.

I too enjoyed the gentle and humble main character - in the beginning. It wore off.

Ha ha! I sort of remember losing patience with it, but it was a while ago so I'm not sure. Maybe that's my shudder explanation. I've heard Robinson interviewed and she's super intelligent and quite interesting. I just don't want to read her books (I got free copies of others, but they're languishing in my tbr pile).

. . . to say nothing of a Pulitzer prize.

Pulitzer prize is hit or miss with me. Just this spring I abandoned not one but two PP winners -- The Grapes of Wrath and All the Light We Cannot See. I don't abondon books very often. When I look at the long list of winners, the only ones that really stand out in a positive way for me are The Age of Innocence and the The Hours.

Without hearing that interview, I can tell Robinson is "super intelligent" by the quality of her writing. I love your "shudder" designation, it's a good one, crystal clear. If you don't mind I'm going to store it away for future use.

Regarding the prize, I feel the same about the Booker, which can be hit or miss too. For me, All the Light We Cannot See was saved by the location of St Malo, a place I remember well, but I can understand the wildly differing ratings. I read The Grapes of Wrath decades ago when I felt I should like it, but don't remember any enjoyment.

The good news - I have both The Age of Innocence and The Hours on the tbr shelf and your comment prompts me to move them forward.

>98 VivienneR: Sorry you were disappointed in Gilead. I loved it.

>104 thornton37814: There are so many readers who felt like that, Lori. If I'd read more about the book I would have realized it was not for me.

For Hello and AlphaKit

Unfinished Portrait by Anthea Fraser

In this cozy mystery, biographer Rona Parish has been asked to write a biography of artist Elspeth Wilding. She accepts the commission but is worried that, because Wilding has been missing for eighteen months, she might get involved in another crime investigation. Is the biography intended as a ploy to have the disappearance investigated or to create interest in the artist and raise the value of her paintings? It's an implausible story that side-tracks a lot to fill in for the fact that nothing much happens. Skip this one.

I've been reading The Hanging Garden by Ian Rankin in conjunction with this book, which showed up all Fraser's flaws only too clearly.

I once picked up an Anthea Fraser mystery by mistake because I confused her with Antonia Fraser. Plodding and dull, consistent with your review. But Antonia is pretty good!

I agree, Antonia Fraser is good whether she writes mystery or history. I picked up Anthea Fraser because the plot outlined on the dust jacket looked promising. Then I kept going hoping it would get better.

For Tenterhooks and AlphaKit

The Hanging Garden by Ian Rankin

A suspected war criminal, gang warfare and sex trafficking from Eastern Europe, are the current caseload to test Rebus and his attempt to stay off drink. His daughter Sammy suffers a hit and run that Rebus suspects is punishment for him in connection to his investigations. Rankin is able to take wildly diverging storylines and knit them all together neatly and with satisfaction. Although he can bring out the worst of Edinburgh in his gritty stories, Rebus takes the edge off with his pragmatic approach and a classic rock song title appropriate to the moment. This is another enthralling page-turner featuring Rebus, as usual flawed but endearing. In an afterword Rankin obligingly describes the actual event that was the source of his war crime component.

I haven't gotten that far in the Rebus series but I will eventually because I'll keep with it. Glad you liked it.

I haven't been reading Rankin's books in order, just whatever I've been able to get my hands on. RidgewayGirl mentioned somewhere that the Rebus series is fine read out of order. So far, I agree, but I know that's anathema to many people.

>111 VivienneR: I'm reading out of order too! Have to raid my parents' library for some more. Maybe my next one will be Black and Blue. Or maybe Even Dogs in the Wild, although I can't take that one home with me. Because it's a signed copy (that *I* bought and got signed), The Library of Mum and Dad has designated it "in-library use only" ;)

>112 rabbitprincess: Maybe it was you (not RidgewayGirl) who said they were fine out of order. In any case I'm glad of that. If there is a postal strike, my choices will be limited to what I have on the shelf or what is in the local library - all interlibrary loans and loans from the local network will be nixed - almost like your Library of Mum and Dad :)

For Muliebrity and AlphaKit

The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald

This is one of those books that kept me up all night to finish it - well, most of the night, it's a slim book. I hoped things would work out for Florence Green and her move to an East Anglican town to open a bookshop in her home. But she had the town's aristocratic Mrs Gamart against her so it was a losing battle from the beginning. Not only is Florence occupying a building Mrs Gamart wants for an Art Centre, but she's new to the town, an incomer, with no established supporters. Even the eleven-year-old helper blames Florence for her failure to pass her eleven-plus exam and gives her the cold shoulder. Fitzgerald has given us a story that is beautifully written, but with many mean-spirited characters and characteristics we'd prefer never to experience. However, I will look for more by Fitzgerald.

For Tenterhooks and AlphaKit

From Russia with Love by Ian Fleming

With James Bond I am revisiting my teen years when Fleming's books were passed around among my friends until we had read them all. In this yarn Bond is annoyingly and utterly gullible, taken in by an unlikely line from a beautiful KGB agent. Sillier than the usual offering from Fleming.

I don't remember Bond's taste in books being mentioned before. While on the flight from London to Rome he read The Mask of Dimitrios by Eric Ambler. Unsurprising.

This is my last book for June.

For Classify aka DeweyCAT

Longitude: the true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time by Dava Sobel

Sobel has told a complex story very clearly, staying with the toplc closely and without straying into related events and issues - although she does include many fascinating snippets from history. It is focused on the central character of John Harrison and his achievement of inventing a chronometer that would determine longitude. Her admiration is clear. I pitied Harrison, who spent his life on the job yet parliamentarians were reluctant to award the £20,000 Longitude prize. Thanks to Sobel's writing ability, this short book is a wonderful story, skillfully told.

This was my second reading of Sobel's book and enjoyed just as much as the first time.

Hi Vivienne, I had to giggle at how you originally read the Bond books, my girlfriends and I did the same thing. I remember thinking how sophisticated and grown-up we were but I am afraid to revisit those books as I sadly fear they would be both dated and juvenile.

Remember how they were all dog-eared and limp by the time they got around to everyone? Yes, they are very unsophisticated now, but they're still a lot of fun. Bond was particularly annoying in From Russia With Love. I mean he lapped up every word about how this beautiful girl he'd never met was in love with him. Really!

I remember loving Dr. No a lot, but looking back all I can remember is the exotic setting. James Bond was irresistible to women, it seems that in every book one beautiful woman was trying to kill him while another was falling in love with him! Of course, if we hadn't had James Bond, we wouldn't have had Austin Powers!

I love Fleming as a guilty pleasure but I must admit he does the female gender no favors at all. I do take it for what it is - escapism.

>119 DeltaQueen50: When I try to remember a favourite, what usually comes to mind are snippets of the movies!

>120 VictoriaPL: I have to admit, there were a couple of lines in this one that were shocking.

>121 VivienneR: My favorites (of the books) are Dr. No and Live and Let Die.

Thanks, I have the whole set so my next one will be one of those two. I just remember that Goldfinger was not much to my liking.

For RandomCAT July: Good Times

The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan

Buchanan provides some interesting historical information about Canadians in WWI, early hydroelectric power, and dressmaking fashions. The romantic part of the story was less appealing to me.

Mine was an audio version of the book that I do not recommend. It was read by Karen White whose narration was annoyingly whiny and had an effect on my opinion. It was only later that I realized the print version had photographs that would have added reality to the book, possibly moving the focus away from snobbery and romance.

For Serendipity and BingoPUP: Poetry or Plays

The Catering Queen by Alison Lawrence
This comedy was a sold-out hit at the Toronto Fringe festival in 2006, garnering several awards. The action takes place at a Christmas cocktail party that is being catered. Mel, the catering supervisor, is shocked to see her ex-boyfriend Nick, among the guests, even more shocked with Julia, the glamorous young lawyer on his arm. The elderly host fancies Timothy, one of the help, and suffers a heart attack when he is rebuffed. What unfolds is the Catering Gig from Hell.

This play performed on stage would be a lot of fun. Reading it was entertaining too. The best part of reading a play is that the reader can ham it up for each part. I may not have been much as Nick, but taking on Mel and Julia was a blast!

The Day the Falls Stood Still looks interesting to me, but thanks for the warning about the audiobook. I'll definitely go for the book with the photos.

>126 mathgirl40: Wise move. I might borrow the book from the library just to compare and for the photos too.

For Hello and AlphaKit July: K & A

Mr Mercedes by Stephen King

Whether fiction or non-fiction, the best kind of book is one that hooks the reader on page one. King accomplishes this to perfection. His attention to detail in the story makes it realistic and gives the characters believable personality. And those characters are so mis-matched - a retired detective on the verge of suicide, a teen computer whiz heading to Harvard, and a disturbed middle-aged woman - that there are few authors who could make the combination work. I have only read one of King's books previously, but had to try this one when I discovered it was a mystery, with no supernatural elements involved. It is assuredly a page-turner; I couldn't put it down until I flicked over the last page. Now I am looking forward to the rest of the series. Highly recommended to those who enjoy thrillers!

Even better, I just realized Mr Mercedes fits the "senior citizen as protagonist BingoDog square!

For Tenterhooks and BingoDog: a body of water in the title

The Lake District Murder by John Bude

This was a very slow read. It was not my favourite of the British Library Crime Classics series. When what appeared to be the suicide of a petrol station owner turned out to be murder, Meredith begins by investigating a petrol fraud that may be linked. What followed was a detailed investigation requiring multiple locations to be kept under surveillance for days. Police budgets were not even mentioned. Neither was breaking the law to get information. Need to search a property? A break and enter will handle that. The fraud investigation continued for so long that even Inspector Meredith had forgotten about the murder. He was not the only one. After filling half the book with the petrol fraud investigation it was found to have no basis and the inquiry took a different turn. Written in 1935 when women seldom had a major role in crime fiction by male authors, their absence is glaring in this yarn. Pity - a woman like Miss Marple would have found the solution much quicker that the ineffective Inspector Meredith. One thing I liked was the name of the petrol company - Nonock.

Only two more squares in BingoDOG and five more to fill in BingoPUP!

>130 VivienneR: That one is on my TBR list, but your review doesn't make me in a hurry to read it.

>131 thornton37814: I'll be interested in your opinion Lori. You may like it more than I did. I usually enjoy the old mysteries no matter how implausible but I kept falling asleep with this one :)

>131 thornton37814: Asleep is definitely not what I want in reading at the moment. I'm having enough trouble staying focused on print books. I did finish one this morning that I need to review.

>133 thornton37814: I stayed up late a few nights trying to finish it only to find after an hour or two I'd only read a dozen pages :) And yet, I couldn't abandon it.

For Hello and AlphaKit

And thereby hangs a tale by Jeffrey Archer

Fifteen stories, all entertaining and ranging from pleasantly entertaining to darkly eccentric. Each one has an ending to catch the reader off-guard. Although it's difficult to pick favourites, Where there's a will, The undiplomatic diplomat, Better the devil you know and Caste-off head my list.

For Hello & BingoDog: about an airplane flight & AlphaKit

Lost in Shangri-La: A true story of survival, adventure and the most incredible rescue mission of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff

On May 13, 1945 a group of US Army servicemen and WACs stationed in New Guinea were taken on a sight-seeing tour over the jungle to view a remote valley nicknamed Shangri-La. The plane, a Gremlin, named for Roald Dahl's children's book, crashed in the uncharted area, killing all but three. Corporal Margaret Hastings, Lieutenant John McCollom (whose twin was also on the flight) and Sergeant Kenneth Decker were stranded in the rainforest with a stone-age people said to be cannibals on one side, and Japanese troops on the other. All three had severe injuries that quickly showed signs of becoming gangrenous. A yellow tarpaulin salvaged from the wreckage was spotted by a search plane after a few days. The parachutes dropping supplies were also spotted by the natives who came to ogle their visitors. Eventually two medics and a rescue party parachuted in. The problem in bringing about a rescue was that no one had any idea how to achieve it. The final plan to tow and release a glider on a cleared area, then snatch it up tethered to a another plane stretched the imagination. That journey on June 28 was horrific. As the canvas peeled away from the bottom of the glider Hastings said it was like a glass-bottomed boat with no bottom. The process was repeated three times to get everyone out.

The Dani people used no metal, and had not yet discovered the wheel. They were constantly at war with their neighbours believing war to be necessary. Although they had no religion, they chopped off the fingers of girls to satisfy the ghost of a relative killed in war. They counted only to three, any more was "many". Just as legend predicted, a new age dawned in the ensuing decades. Shangri-La is now known as the Baliem Valley. An interesting travel section in The New York Times describes it here http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/06/travel/papua-indonesia-frugal-traveler.html?_r...

Press interest in the crash at the time was intense but was eclipsed by the news of war ending. More than sixty years later Zuckoff met with the last remaining survivor who was able to show him diaries, photos, scrapbooks, military bulletins, maps, letters, and ground-to-air radio transcripts as well as film footage of events as they happened. Zuckoff's research paid off. Without glossing over attitudes prevalent at the time or straying off topic, he has produced an excellent account, written with a lot of flair.

>136 VivienneR: How fascinating!

<Interesting. I may look into getting this for my husband for his birthday.

>137 VictoriaPL: & >138 dudes22: It was enthralling as well as interesting. I really enjoyed it.

I've been dipping into this Early Reviewer book since I received it over a month ago.

Through early Yellowstone: adventuring by bicycle, covered wagon, foot, horseback and skis edited by Janet Chapple

This anthology of early writings about Yellowstone records the accounts of early visitors to the park during the period from 1871 to 1928 no matter their means of transport. It makes for an excellent companion to Chapple's earlier comprehensive guidebook Yellowstone Treasures. This book is considerably enriched by the reproduced watercolour paintings of Welsh artist Thomas H. Thomas. Anyone interested in national parks, especially the historical aspect, will enjoy this very much.

I don't remember requesting this Early Reviewer book so not sure how I was chosen to receive it, however, it is a gem, one that I will treasure.

For Hello and AlphaKit

A Death in the Family by James Agee

In beautiful lyrical writing the story examines the emotions and thoughts after a death in the family. Jay Follet is called to see his father who is ill. On his return journey to his wife Mary and children, he is killed in a car crash.

Early in the story Jay and Mary's son Rufus asks excellent, but difficult to answer questions about death, heaven and God. "Will the cat be in heaven too? And the rabbits? Will they still be all bloody?" In a way, it was a childish version of what the adults would consider later, when they were trying to come to terms with Jay's death. Agee describes so well the literal way that children react to death. Although the pacing is slow as events are described in excruciating detail, the beautiful writing keeps this book engaging.

>141 VivienneR: I read A Death in the Family about 20 years ago but parts of it have stuck with me. I need to reread it.

>142 VictoriaPL: I imagine a lot of it will stick in my mind forever too. It's that kind of story.

Believing that the setting was Nicaragua, this was chosen for July's GeoCat, but it turned out the story stayed entirely in the U.S. Second choice on the way! This one will go in Tenterhooks instead.

Bandits by Elmore Leonard

Leonard manages to inject this hard-boiled yarn with humour and an offbeat flavour. Jack Delaney works at his in-law's funeral home and gets talked into a scheme to rob a Nicaraguan warlord so that they can rebuild the hospital he destroyed as payback. The collection of diverse characters added to the entertainment value.

The Dame by Richard Stark

This was my second try for July's GeoCat challenge.

This whodunit is set in a mansion in the jungles of Puerto Rico. Richard Stark is a pseudonym of Donald Westlake and while the genre is still hardboiled, Stark's style is slightly softer - very slightly - Edward G. Robinson or James Cagney would be at home here. Yet with all the toughness, the detective, Alan Grofield, came across as an insipid character: neither heroic nor efficient. The humour I expected was meagre. However, of all the crime novels I have read in my life, the denouement in this one was ground-breaking.

>145 VivienneR: a ground-breaking denouement... interesting!!

Victoria, it could be that Stark just ran out of ideas. It was a first but hardly likely to be repeated by anyone :)

For Tsundoku and AlphaKit July: K & A

Death of My Aunt by C.H.B. Kitchin

Malcolm Warren, a junior, rather likeable young stockbroker, is summoned by his aunt to give advice on her vast wealth. Right away, one wonders why the aunt would consider her inefficient nephew’s advice. During his consultation with her, she takes some of a new "tonic" and promptly dies. Avoiding suspicion is hardly possible, so he sets out to solve the crime. There are several candidates for the deed: aunt's new husband, a younger man, out of her class and with no money, an insolent chauffeur, and numerous needy relatives of which Malcolm is one. Published in 1929 when Kitchin was enjoying huge success, this is a treasure from the Golden Age of mystery writing. The elegant writing with subtle wittiness is reminiscent of Evelyn Waugh, with just a hint of E.F. Benson.

As well as lawyer, Kitchin also was a stockbroker although much more successful than Malcolm Warren.

Thanks for the review, that sounds like a good one. I just happened to finish a re-read of The Murder of My Aunt. What's with the aunt haters?

I guess rich, powerful aunts are a prime target!

I don't have wealth or power so I don't need to worry.

Oh good, my niece and nephew have another aunt whose a corporate executive. I'm safe!

Trying to get caught up on threads (yes, really - procrastination on other tasks helps!) and for my efforts have taken 5 BBs from your thread!

Looking forward to Phantom Major, Pomegranate Soup, What Was She Thinking, No Fixed Address and A Complicated Kindness.

>149 mstrust: to >151 mstrust: I am enjoying this conversation and glad my brother doesn't have kids ;)

>151 mstrust: Ahh, but are your books willed to niece or nephew? If so, better not tell them.

>152 LisaMorr: I'm glad someone is catching up on threads, I don't think I ever will. Happy to be of service, they are all good choices.

>153 rabbitprincess: That's the only way to stay safe :)

>153 rabbitprincess: Now just keep a close eye on business partners and younger husbands. Mine is two years younger than me and gave me under-cooked salmon once. ; )
>154 VivienneR: I can say with confidence that neither of them would lay a finger on my books unless there were $20 bills hanging out the sides.

>136 VivienneR: I read Lost in Shangri-La earlier this year and also thought it was very well done. My husband has also read it and for someone who mostly reads westerns and war stories, he liked it as well.

>156 DeltaQueen50: It was well done and much more interesting than I thought it would be.

For Muliebrity & BingoPup: Author over 60

Wait for me!: memoirs of the youngest Mitford sister by Deborah Devonshire

I've heard snippets about the six Mitford sisters over the years but not enough to create a cohesive picture, probably because the scandalous sisters were so diverse. In 2010, when she was ninety years old, the youngest, Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire wrote her biography that includes details about her family and involves much of the history of the last century. Practically everyone of note from the era makes an appearance from movie stars to world statesmen, art and literary luminaries, royalty, the Kennedy family, even Hitler. Her husband's elder brother who would have inherited the title, was married to Kick Kennedy, the sister of childhood friend Jack Kennedy. The Devonshires attended President Kennedy's inauguration and funeral, described in two appendices. She was amazed at how Americans handled the inauguration so informally compared to the minute planning of Queen Elizabeth's coronation.

Her life was interesting, with many achievements. The deaths of Andrew's elder brother in the war and his father not long afterwards, incurred enormous death duties that were not fully paid until 1974. They transformed Chatsworth into a profitable business, now one of the biggest tourist attraction in Britain and employing 600 locals.

I suspect Debo wrote this frank detailed biography to provide the last word on her life and family, thus curbing inaccuracies in other renderings. It's a complex story arranged by topic rather than chronology, giving it depth although it appears to jump around. It is not simply name-dropping on her part but a history of the world she knew and naturally, the people involved. This is Downton Abbey on a grand scale, combined with an international Who's Who of the 20th century.

Among her other books are Chatsworth: the house and The Garden at Chatsworth both of which I've also enjoyed browsing as companion reading.

A second book for GeoCAT July: Central America and Caribbean

Gutshot Straight by Lou Berney

This is the first of a series featuring professional wheelman Shake Bouchon. Within hours of his release from jail - and solemn vows to stay out of trouble - he is propositioned, knowing full well that although it sounds innocent, it is definitely not. Through this job he meets Gina, who appears to be wholesome and demure, then turns out to have a talent for lying. The action takes them to Panama where Shake would just like to fulfill a dream of owning a restaurant and cooking his specialty: good simple food with local ingredients.

This was an enjoyable story (warning: there is an "ick" factor) with excellent characters. I hope Berney continues with this series, it was all fun.

>159 VivienneR: Gutshot Straight sounds like a fun book and I am looking forward to getting my hands on it!

>160 DeltaQueen50: You'll enjoy it, Judy.

This is an Early Reviewer book that will go in Hello

Slide by Norah McClintock

Fourteen year-old Rennie struggles with the relationship with his father, "the Major". He also suffers with grief and guilt after the death of his mother. Things are looking up when the Major has to go out of town and arranges for Grandma to stay. This adventurous Grandma immediately takes Rennie out of school to set off on a ski trip.

Many teens will be able to relate to the feelings that Rennie experiences in the coming-of-age story that is woven with adventure and mystery. This engaging book has enough action and suspense to keep the reader turning pages.

For Tenterhooks

Perfect Hatred by Leighton Gage

A mystery set in Brazil that explores the possibility of a relationship between what appears to be individual crimes: the assassination of a politician, an explosion at a community event, the murder of a woman and kidnapping of her child. Complex yet clearly written, with a surprising twist in the tail.

For Serendipity - even though this wasn't one from the library.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

It wasn't in my reading plans, but today when I came across "the Scottish play" I couldn't resist. What can I say that hasn't already been said? It is astonishing just how far ambition can push a person, and how difficult it is to live with the results. This is one of my favourites from Shakespeare. It never fails to entertain whether on the stage or on paper.

>164 VivienneR: Mackers is my favourite Shakespeare play! I'm always up for seeing an adaptation of it. If you can get a copy of the Shakespeare's Globe production, featuring Billy Boyd as Banquo, that's a good one :)

>165 rabbitprincess: Thanks for that recommendation! Always good to get a trustworthy opinion. I see it is available on dvd so I've ordered a copy.

For Muliebrity

The Hours by Michael Cunningham

Cunningham's novel pays tribute to Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway by providing a connection in the stories of a single day in each of the lives of three women - Virginia Woolf in England 1941, Clarissa Vaughan, nicknamed Mrs Dalloway, in contemporary New York, and Laura Brown in 1949 California. Their lives are so diverse yet Cunningham adeptly describes how they are linked and brings them all together in a brilliant ending.

I have seen the movie and to be honest, remember little about it. The book, so beautifully written, is much more memorable. This is especially recommended for fans of Virginia Woolf.

>167 VivienneR: I've read it twice and seen the movie countless times. Love both of them.

>168 Nickelini: I may revisit the movie again just to compare. When I look at the movie tie-in cover, it only brings to mind a vague memory.

Just catching up on a review. I read this in June when life was unusually busy and I'd no time to scribble a review.

Sorry by Gail Jones

Stella, a lady's companion, is obsessed with Shakespeare. Nicholas, is a would-be anthropologist, a study chosen as the most likely to generate distinction for him. They met as he was finishing his studies at Cambridge after a lengthy interruption brought about by WWI. When these two uncommunicative introverts marry, it appears it is not for any feelings for each other but because marriage is a thing to do, convenient. They moved to Australia so that Nicholas can write an anthropology paper on Aboriginals. In a primitive shack in Western Australia, they became emotionally distant parents to their child Perdita, who narrates the story. Although Stella and Nicholas regard themselves as superior (so much for the validity of the anthropology paper) the local Aboriginals become neglected Perdita's loving family. When Nicholas is found stabbed to death, Perdita's closest friend Mary confesses to the crime while the unstable mother hysterically recites Shakespeare. It is a long time before Perdita, still a child, is allowed to visit her friend in prison during which time she receives counselling for the stutter developed since her father's murder, the same counselling that recovers her memory of the event. Perdita's story is built around Australian history of which the injustice of Mary's imprisonment is an example of extensive wrongs against Aboriginals and others.

Jones has written a sad story in beautiful prose with unforgettable poignancy, a story Australians can be proud of. I recommend it highly.

For Aboriginal people, "sorry business" is the term given broadly to matters of death and mourning. When Prime Minister John Howard refused to apologize to Aboriginal Australians for past treatment, a National Sorry Day was declared May 1998, since re-named in 2005 as the National Day of Healing for All Australians, intended to indicate new hope.

For GeoCAT challenge : Sub-Saharan Africa

A House in the Sky : a memoir by Amanda Lindhout

Canadian Amanda Lindhout was the typical young person of her day, backpacking as many countries as possible, in her case, inspired by reading thrift store copies of National Geographic. She earned money to pay for the travels from waitressing tips, working to save enough to travel and returning to work when funds were depleted. When she decided to try and earn her way as a freelance journalist - meaning without qualifications or affiliations - she lost carefree backpacker status and entered "the most dangerous place in the world" ignoring the risks. She admitted that it was naive. She and her photographer partner were captured after just three days. What followed was 460 days of being brutalized and tortured, with more severity for Lindhout, because she was a woman. Her ability to to mentally remove herself from the savage atrocities by building an imaginary house in the sky and other such mind games helped her through the nightmare. Her experiences in this book helps to partly understand the mindset of the captors although it’s a long way from understanding how a group of men can justify these actions. She is to be thoroughly praised for her sense of forgiveness and for creating the Global Enrichment Foundation offering, among other benefits, university scholarships to women in Somalia. I'm sure her recovery will require a lifetime but Lindhout shows a capacity for the human spirit that is inspirational.

It is difficult to rate memoirs at the best of times and in this case more so because of the subject matter. The second half of the book relates the time she was held prisoner and is well-written without becoming emotional or sentimental in any way. However, the first half of the book describing the minutiae of early travels was a tad long.

Short stories are not my preferred format, and I strayed from Atwood a few years ago. This slim volume was a pleasant trip back to a favourite author.

For Muliebrity

Wilderness Tips by Margaret Atwood

Like all collections of short stories, some are - not necessarily better - but enjoyed more than others. Hairball was downright creepy. They all show essential qualities that the characters usually keep hidden. I've been told that Atwood fictionalized portrayals of Canadian literary contemporaries in her stories. Hack Wednesday, one of my favourites, is said to be drawn on the journalist June Callwood. Selena in Isis in Darkness is a tribute to poet Gwendolyn MacEwen. I don't know MacEwen well enough to guess how it might have been received, but I think she'd have liked it.

  

Borrowed from the library so they belong in Serendipity.

I've been browsing through these two beautiful books since reading Wait for me!: Memoirs by the same author.

The Garden at Chatsworth by Deborah Devonshire

Not a gardening book in the usual sense but a tour of Chatsworth landscape. The Duchess describes the changes that have been made to the garden since the first Cavendish bought the land in 1549 providing a glimpse of history as well as the magnificent garden now encompassing 105 acres.

!n 1980 the family granted a 99 year lease at a rent of £1 per year for Chatsworth House, the contents, garden, park and woods to a charitable foundation with the object being the preservation of Chatsworth for the benefit of the public. An endowment fund was created from the sale of works of art from the private side of the house and family resources. The income from the endowment goes towards the upkeep of the house, garden and park. The Cavendish family still live in the private part of the house.

Chatsworth: The House by Deborah Devonshire

In 1547 when Bess Hartwick married Sir William Cavendish, Treasurer to the Chamber of Henry VIII, she persuaded him to buy property in Derbyshire including the land where Chatsworth now stands. There was an inconveniently-placed house on the site so Bess started building Chatsworth. The history of the family in relation to the house is fascinating. Nowadays the house is planned to accommodate visitors and family without either groups crossing paths. The house was home to the author Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire from 1950 until 2005 when she moved into the Dower House, Edinsor. A remarkably interesting and beautiful book.

An Early Reviewer book that will go in Hello and fits this month's AlphaKit: G

The Toad : the disgusting critters series by Élise Gravel

This is a charming informative book about toads for early readers. It not only includes the type of humour appreciated by the young but has beautiful simple illustrations to accompany the text proving that some "disgusting critters" really are cute. This is the kind of fun book that children love to read over and over again, while calling out all their favourite lines.

For RandomCAT August: Camping
And, AlphaKIT S

Wild: from lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

Strayed wrote this memoir describing her 1,100 mile solo hike along the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert in California through Oregon and into Washington. Aged 26 and without any hiking experience, she set out alone on the trek after being devastated by the death of her mother.

I really liked the hiking story itself - how she prepared (or didn't prepare, in this case), what she was afraid of, what made her confident, the landscape, the physical challenges. Although she mulled over her life in flashbacks, these reflections added little to the story, and did not lead to any conclusions or realizations. It is to be expected that personal information is necessary to let the reader know how and why she came to decide on such an extreme undertaking, but Strayed returned often to her use of heroin, promiscuous sex, and her mother's death, which detracted from the main story - or maybe that was the main story. Half a star off for the gratuitous sex encounter near the finish that I preferred to skip. In the end, I enjoyed this interesting and entertaining memoir. Kudos to Strayed for her huge achievement.

>175 VivienneR:
I've had this on my "scale" for a while and it keeps tipping back and forth between for and against. I'd like to read the hiking story, but I have a feeling that I will dislike her and that's not a good start. Scales over on "against" again... :)

>176 -Eva-: Give it a try Eva. I didn't dislike her at all, even though in one or two places it was a case of "too much information". The hiking story was great. Go back to the "for" side.

edited to correct italics

>177 VivienneR:
Hmm, I'll leave her on an even keel right now (yes to mixing my metaphors!). :)

For Tenterhooks and AlphaKIT: G

Gently with the Painters by Alan Hunter

When the sole female member of an art group is murdered and dumped outside police headquarters, Gently is brought in from London to search for the killer. In addition to the jibes from affronted local police, he has to contend with the eccentricities of the artists and the murdered woman's superstitious husband, a former bomber pilot with the RAF. The story flowed well until an extended interview near the end, supposed to show off Gently's style, instead became tedious. Hunter, who was also an RAF pilot in WWII, wrote and set his George Gently series mid-20th century, capturing the era distinctly.

Oh, good! That's a Gently I didn't know about. Thanks for the review and for hitting me with a BB.

Glad to be helpful :) One thing that strikes me about Gently stories is the amount of smoke produced from all those pipes, cigars and cigarettes. It's amazing that anyone survived!

For Hello and AlphaKit August : G & S

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

Thou entanglest thyself in thine own work like a silkworm - John Webster

Cormoran Strike's private detective agency is enjoying prestige and increased business secured by the success of the Lula Landry case in The Cuckoo's Calling. In this, the second of the series, Galbraith brings a darker investigation involving an author who is killed by the same method described in his latest, as yet unpublished book, a book that is scathing in its description of his friends. The colourful characters are well-drawn and the murder is satisfyingly grisly. But what Rowling does best is in the details: the cold weather is believable; whether the restaurant is upscale or greasy spoon, the reader experiences the surroundings; the physical and emotional scars of Strike's devastating injury in Afghanistan are achingly transparent. A minor criticism is that towards the end of the book some scenes were drawn out too much with a long interview that reduced the impact of the resolution. However, I look forward to the next instalment and hope that the series continues for a long time. Cormoran Strike and his sidekick Robin are currently my favourite detective pairing.

>182 VivienneR: - I have this on my radar for later this year. It works for my challenge and fills in a Bingo Pup block for me. I enjoyed the first one and am looking forward to this one too.

>181 VivienneR: Ha, that's true. It's been so long since I was over there, but I recall being amazed by everyone puffing away in the U.K. Seemed like anyone tall enough to reach the shop counter smoked. But I think there are fewer smokers everywhere now.

>184 mstrust: you wouldn't see that now, we have a UK-wide smoking ban in place in enclosed public places. Now you see all the smokers huddled in the doorway blocking the street :)

>185 Jackie_K: I expect it's about the same as here, but around here the smokers are shooed away to a side of the building. My father had a real problem after they made restaurants all non-smoking, which was fantastic for the rest of the family

>183 dudes22: I liked the first one too, now I'm looking forward to the third that I have already on the shelf.

>184 mstrust: & >185 Jackie_K: I think most countries have changed a lot regarding smoking. I used to find it funny to see hospital patients outside the hospital door in Edmonton's (northern Alberta) severe winter weather.

At a university library where I worked, I found a stash of ashtrays in a storage room. I couldn't believe that smoking had been allowed in every department at one time. It was the only "smoking" library that I've ever heard of. Considering its beginnings in Gently's 1960s it shouldn't be so surprising.

For August DeweyCAT 610.73

In the midst of life by Jennifer Worth

First of all I have to admit it that I thought this book was about Worth's experiences as a nurse in the 50s and 60s. Instead I found a thought-provoking discussion about death including the "death-defying tactics" used by the medical profession who will not allow a patient to die where there are advanced levels of medical care that might delay death even at the expense of the patient's comfort. Worth also speaks of care homes, many whose first priority is to their shareholders, not patients, similar to hospital management that is based on business models. She makes some excellent points until reaching the topic of euthanasia or assisted death when she sank into an irrational religious argument strangely at odds with what she had written before. Ironically, at an advanced age, she was found "dead" at the bottom of a swimming pool and resuscitated successfully, knocking her earlier arguments against resuscitation on the head.

>187 VivienneR: At a university library where I worked, I found a stash of ashtrays in a storage room. I couldn't believe that smoking had been allowed in every department at one time. It was the only "smoking" library that I've ever heard of. Considering its beginnings in Gently's 1960s it shouldn't be so surprising.

I was stunned when my friend told me about how she used to smoke while doing homework in the Simon Fraser University library in the 1980s. Now there's a sign in front that says no smoking anywhere near the doors or vents.

I remember having a designated smoking area outside my high school in Ottawa. Then at college we could smoke just about anywhere. Of course this was way back in the late 60's/early 70's.

My Vancouver high school had a "smoking pit" outside the cafeteria. Officially students weren't allowed to smoke anywhere on campus, but they turned a blind eye in that spot. Occasionally a teacher would stroll through to make sure that kids were smoking only cigarettes.

>189 Nickelini: The circulation desk staff where I worked were always complaining about smoke coming in through the book return slot.

>190 DeltaQueen50: & >191 Nickelini: How times have changed.

>171 VivienneR: I read your review of A House in the Sky with interest. This is our region's "One Book, One Community" selection this year, and I've got a library copy on hold.

>193 mathgirl40: I hope you find it interesting. She's a remarkable woman. I'll be interested in seeing your opinion.

For Tenterhooks and BingoPup 16: by an African author

A beautiful place to die by Malla Nunn

Detective Emmanuel Cooper is dispatched to the small South African community of Jacob's Rest to check on a phone call received at headquarters that provided no information, a possible hoax. Instead Cooper is led to the body of the police captain who was shot and dragged into the river where he was left face down. Like the captain's family, Cooper is stunned to find himself investigating the murder alone, instead of with a squad of detectives. When assistance arrives it's in the form of a couple of Security Branch thugs who have an agenda of their own and know how to wring a confession from their chosen suspect. Cooper, by necessity has to investigate behind their backs. It is 1952, just after apartheid laws were introduced, bringing more complications to an already tense inquiry.

Nunn, a filmmaker by profession, is skilled at evoking the African countryside, illustrating the harsh political and social issues of the 1950s, and creating outstanding and memorable characters. As well, there is the captivating mystery, filled with action until the last page.

This is the first in the series. I have previously read later books and was hooked. I'm looking forward to more. Highly recommended.

For Muliebrity
& AlphaKit August: G & S
& BingoPup 21: 1930s detective fiction

Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers

When Harriet Vane attends a reunion Shrewsbury College, an event known in Oxford as a Gaudy, she is the recipient of a minor but malicious anonymous letter, one of several offences that have been occurring. It is understandable that the college scholars would ask Vane to investigate the series of nefarious happenings on the strength of her being a mystery writer - I think Sayers must have had a chuckle about that. However, it meant they would avoid the possibility of having the college discredited by a police inquiry.

Among the many serious topics brought up by Sayers, there is some lighthearted humour: the discussion about the type of shirt fronts men wore and how each man has his own style was an example of a private joke among women. Funnier still when Miss Pike, that lover of facts, disconcertingly asked Wimsey for the reason for the "popping" sounds that may be made by stiff shirt fronts. His serious reply was as clever as it was hilarious.

Sayers is genius at re-creating Oxford of the 1930s, the literary discussions, the feminism, the strong value placed on education. And well she might, this was her world. But Sayers gives us so much more, the characters are rich in not only detail, but also with those quirky qualities that academics are often endowed. Lord Peter Wimsey abandons the silly act he's been known to adopt in other books. The result is an intriguing mystery, much intellectual conversation and the pleasing relationships between Harriet, Wimsey, and undergraduates, one of whom is Wimsey's nephew who refers to Vane as Aunt Harriet. A foreshadowing?

This is my favourite of Sayers' books, one that I recommend highly.

>196 VivienneR: Great to see such a positive review. It's been on my shelf for ages - sounds like I should get to it sooner rather than later.

>197 LittleTaiko: Thanks Stacy, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

For Muliebrity and August AlphaKit G & S

Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb

While living in Morocco, Lilly, the child of a couple of nudist hippies was orphaned and left to be brought up in a Sufi mosque there, later fleeing to Ethiopia. Even though a devout Muslim, she was always denigrated as a "farenji" (foreigner) because she was white. When eventually she went to live in London, her accent and religion again labelled her a foreigner. This was a close look at Muslim society and culture in Ethiopia, including a detailed account of the barbaric practice of female circumcision. The people of London did not fare any better, displaying just as much intolerance. Gibb has obviously done her research (she lived for a year with a Muslim family in their compound in Harar, Ethiopia). Although the theme of ethnicity, displacement, and identity are the essence of this story, I found the characters remained oddly unlikeable. I expected a book about Muslim women as refugees but instead learned more about the restrictions of Islam. The dreamy, pensive, reflective style of writing does not appeal to me, and despite the attempt to keep the text lyrical, the topic romantic, Gibb, the academic, has written a book that is more ethnography than novel.

I've had this on my TBR pile for quite a while now, but think maybe I'll take it off and pass it on. There are too many other books that I want to read.

I should point out that according to the reviews here on LT and everywhere else, my opinion goes against the grain. I have another book by Gibb on the shelf but like you there are too many other books that I want to read. It will probably end up in the donation box for the booksale.

>173 VivienneR: Have you been to Chatsworth? Such a stunning place!

Many of the books in my TBR pile have been picked up at library sales so it may have been that I liked the cover or only briefly read the description. I haven't packed it for the move yet either, so it's easy to let it go.

>202 Chrischi_HH: I've been to many beautiful estates in the UK but sadly, not Chatsworth. It will head the list if I am ever back there.

>203 dudes22: Gibb's books do have beautiful covers, very appealing. I knew the other book The Beauty of Humanity Movement, will sit on the shelf forever, so along with Sweetness in the belly it was donated to the booksale today.

Graveyard shift: and other stories from Night Shift by Stephen King

A short, short story collection to squeeze into August's AlphaKit: G & S and category Tenterhooks.

Like all collections of short stories, they vary in entertainment value. However, there is no doubt that King is a master at spinning a yarn, scary or otherwise. And, some of them fit in the "otherwise" class for I found myself laughing at a couple of "scary" bits. All in all, a couple of hours of fun.

>182 VivienneR:
Such great characters! I can't wait for the fourth one to come out. Hope she's writing like the wind! :)

>206 -Eva-: Have you heard about a fourth? I'll be able to read Career of Evil if there is a fourth one imminent. Must spread out treats like Galbraith.

>207 VivienneR:
I think it's still firmly in the "forthcoming" and "untitled" category, unfortunately. But there was a nice twist at the end of book 3, so she had better write on! :)

That's good to hear. Sounds like she's not ready to wrap up the series yet.

I've continued my thread in Volume 3 here.