Spot the Orange Penguin? Charl08 (Charlotte) reads in 2016 #10

Starting this thread with the lovely themed bag Suzanne sent me.

Reading this month



Total read 183

July 5
Latest Readings (Australia, M, lit crit/ memoir)
Shtum ( UK, M, Novel )
Dinner Along the Amazon (Canada, M, short stories )
The Judge's House ( Belgium, M, crime fiction )
A Quiet Life ( UK, F, Novel )

June 26
The Lost Time Accidents (US, M, Novel)
Work Like Any Other (US, F, Novel )
The Night Watch (France, M, Novella)
Moskva ( UK, M, Novel - crime thriller)
Eligible (US, F, Novel )
Evicted ( US, M, Non-fiction Sociology/Anthropology)
The Embassy of Cambodia (UK, F, Novella)
Chains of Sand (UK, F, Novel)
The House by the Lake (UK, M, Non-fiction - history)
The Investigation (South Korea, M, Novel )

LaRose (US, F, Novel )
This Must Be the Place (UK, F, Novel )
The Genius of Birds (US, F, Non-fiction)
White Noise (US, M, Novel )
Negroland (US, F, Memoir )
A Country Road, A Tree (UK, F, Novel)
Golden Hill (UK, M, Novel)
Summer Requiem a book of poems (India, M, Poetry)
Nature powers and spells: Landscape change, John Clare and Me by Carry Akroyd (UK, F, Non-fiction Art/ Nature)
This is Your Life Harriet Chance (US, M, Novel)

Moonstone : the boy who never was ( Iceland, M, Novella?)
Paradise Lodge (UK, F, Novel )
The Violet Hour (US, F, Biography/ lit crit)
Maigret at the Coroner's (Belgium, M, Crime fiction)
Murder in the Marais ( US, F, crime fiction )
Sunset in Central Park ( UK, F , Novel )
Plus GN Isaac the Pirate

Stats

July
M 4 F1
Australia 1 Europe 3 ( UK 2) Canada 1
Non-Fiction 1 Fiction 4
Library 5

June
M 12 F 14
US 11 Europe 13 (UK 10) Asia 2
Fiction 19 Non-fiction 6 Poetry 1
Digital 6 Library 20

Previous reads here:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/223566

Current allotment status:

I forgot to take a picture yesterday! Mostly potatoes, gourds and beetroot spinach standing up to the slug onslaught, although more carrot seed has gone in and new beans have been transplanted (with hope!)

Here's a lupin (and some strawberries) in the garden instead


Current swim status

American / British /Canadian challenges books read

January
AAC Anne Tyler The Tin Can Tree
BAC Barry Unsworth Pascali's Island.
Susan Hill Strange Meeting
CAC Kim Thúy Ru
Robertson Davies What's bred in the Bone

February
AAC Richard Russo On Helwig Street (Read)
BAC Agatha Christie biography and White Mughals William Dalrymple read
CAC The Collected Stephen Leacock Read a couple of articles, decided it wasn't for me.
True story the life and death of my brother by Helen Humphreys (Read)

March
AAC Jane Smiley didn't fit this in - will have to try harder.
BAC Ali Smith The Firstperson and other stories Read
CAC Farley Mowat My Father's Son and Anita Rau Badami The Hero's Walk (Read)

April
AAC Poetry
BAC Middlemarch oops
CAC The Handmaid's Tale oops and Sweetland Read

May
AAC Work Song Read
BAC Jane Gardam The Sidmouth Letters Read
and Robert Goddard
CAC Emily St John Mandel Last night in Montreal Read

June
AAC Annie Proulx Barkskins currently reading
BAC Joseph Conrad The Secret Agent currently reading
CAC Timothy Findley Dinner Along the Amazon read

Happy new thread, Charlotte! I love that bag up top - too cute!

Happy new thread, and love the bag! *want one*

Happy newest thread! You are all set to go, by the looks of things. Certainly with the reading challenges.

Happy new thread, Charlotte. Looks like you are finding the challenges as much of a challenge as I am.

>5 Crazymamie: Hey Mamie
Penguins in sweaters salute you for being first

>6 Helenliz: I'm not using it yet - too pretty.

>7 LovingLit: Plenty still to be read. My copy of Middlemarch in particular keeps giving me resentful looks....

>8 Familyhistorian: I must try harder Meg!

Happy New Thread, Charlotte! The Penguins would not like the Midwest at the moment. Warm & Muggy! Ugh!

Happy new thread, Charlotte.

Currently reading Paradise Lodge, The Genius of Birds and This Must Be the Place.

>11 msf59: We've had lots of rain here. The veg are happy.

>12 BLBera: Thanks Beth.

Happy New Thread, Charlotte! Total read 163 book is so amazing! Congratulations on that. Paradise Lodge looks like it will be fun - let me know.

Wow! There was no way I could catch up on your earlier thread, but I'm happy to join you here now. You are a reading machine!!! Keep at it!

Happy new thread, Charlotte.

We had rain here too but not more than usual. Glad the veggies are as flourishing as your threads are. xx

A penguin salute! I am honored!!

Isn't it an interesting coincidence that the North American professional hockey championship was won by...the Pittsburgh Penguins!

Just want to jump in here before your thread races completely out of my sight to say:

Hi, Charlotte, oh you reader extraordinaire.

      

Lovely new thread AND new bag!

>6 Helenliz: Your wish can come true. I have two more. They got orange juice spilled on them, but it washed out, so they are (almost) as good as new. PM me with your address, and one of 'em can be on its way to you.

Happy new thread, Charlotte.
Have a snack!

>15 vancouverdeb: I'm enjoying Paradise Lodge. Not as funny as her memoir Love nina, but still amusing. Felt I needed something a bit lighter in amongst the grief and science.

>16 LizzieD: Thanks for visiting! Keeping up is not obligatory...

>17 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul. We mostly seem to be feeding the rabbits and slugs so far, but hope springs eternal.

>18 Crazymamie: And one of them even wore black tie to mark the occasion. Impressive stuff.

>19 weird_O: Do they wear black and white Bill? Enquiring minds...

I can't match the detail of your reviews - but then quantity vs quality may well apply here.

>20 ronincats: I'm adding it to my geeky penguin bag collection. Rather getting out of hand...

>21 Chatterbox: A giveaway on my thread. Cool :-)

>22 DianaNL: Thanks Diana. I'm not sure I could bear to eat them though!

Negroland just came into the library *waves to Susan*

Hi Charlotte! And happy new thread :-) I'm going to pick my copy up at lunchtime if I can get away from the needy people. I hope* I don't accidentally borrow even more things.

*sort of

Ooh, I could use a couple of those frozen banana penguins, later today...

Hi, Charlotte! Glad the garden is doing well.

Happy new thread, Charlotte!

>26 susanj67: Hope the trip was successful Susan (either way!)

>27 msf59: How could you eat them Mark? They're too cute to eat...

>28 scaifea: Thanks Amber. Your thread visiting is as impressive as ever (and appreciated).

Still reading The Genius of Birds. I want to visit New Caledonia.



Bird scientists commenting on their jobs "People have the mistaken impression that science is all about thinking and experimenting.... when a lot of time is actually spent chopping tomatoes or cutting beef into tiny cubes."

*sits down to await the news of what Susan accidentally borrows*

Happy Wednesday, Charlotte!

Love the birds!

I can't wait to hear what you think of the new O'Farrell. I love her! I have it on reserve at the library, but it hasn't arrived yet.

>29 charl08: Charlotte, it's a very slender book, which is good news for the overbooked.

>31 Crazymamie: Mamie, I found some self-control at the bottom of my bag. That's where it's been hiding!

>33 susanj67: Aw, shucks.

Happy New Thread, Charlotte!

Pittsburgh Penguins win, frozen banana penguins, this is the place to be.

Ditto on the O'Farrell - I've read a few of hers and am eagerly awaiting the most recent.

>31 Crazymamie: Ha Mamie :-)

>32 BLBera: It's great so far... Have been having fun watching out bird visitors. A baby blue tit and mum, and a very fluffy looking sparrow which might also be a baby. Plus the two collared doves are back - always in a pair, very sweet.

>33 susanj67: Oh no. Self control?!

>34 Crazymamie: I share that sentiment!

>35 jnwelch: All penguins welcome here Joe.

>36 vivians: I've liked her previous books and this one has not disappointed. I'm very envious of the library cpy - my new hardback has a beautiful map as the cover binding. Ooh. Want.

>36 vivians: That's on my list to hand off to you, so do not buy, unless you want an audiobook or are desperate to read in the next few weeks.

So many darling penguins on your thread, Charlotte! I took your advice and I put Last Orders by Graham Swift on hold at my library and I'm now in the queue for Mothering Sunday, which it seems the library now has.

>39 Chatterbox: :-)

>40 vancouverdeb: Hope you enjoy them Deborah. I think Last Orders should make my list for Ellen's rereading challenge

>37 charl08: I know! But I used it all up at lunchtime. Last night instead of reading I spent half an hour laughing my head off at "If dogs could text" on Facebook http://www.boredpanda.com/texts-from-dogs/ , sending it to a friend with dogs and then wasting time. Very poor. I read none of my country house book at all.

Well, dogs have got their own fitbits, why not a smartphone next?!

I finished This Must Be the Place not sure what to say about it other than I really liked it!

Gorgeous binding (just get a little bit of the map underneath here where the lettering is...)

And while I'm on the subject of books I wish I owned, these ones aren't even out yet...

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jun/13/penguin-modern-poets-series-gets-2...

>45 charl08: Oooooh, want.

>45 charl08: Oh! Those are lovely!

Happy Thursday, Charlotte!

>42 susanj67: Those are really funny! Thanks for helping me waste my time! Worth every minute!

Some of my best reading this year has been novellas. Both Last Orders and Julian Barnes' new novella about Shostakovich.

>46 scaifea: >47 Crazymamie: Tried to add them to my shopping basket to wait for a lottery win but not there yet...

>48 Dianekeenoy: Good stuff :-)

>48 Dianekeenoy: I liked the Julian Barnes a lot. Spare, in a good way.

Horrified by the murder of Jo Cox.

"Jo Cox, however, was not just any MP doing her duty. She was also an MP who was driven by an ideal. The former charity worker explained what that ideal was as eloquently as anyone could in her maiden speech last year. “Our communities have been deeply enhanced by immigration,” she insisted, “be it of Irish Catholics across the constituency or of Muslims from Gujarat in India or from Pakistan, principally from Kashmir. While we celebrate our diversity, what surprises me time and time again as I travel around the constituency is that we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.”
Labour MP Jo Cox dies after being shot and stabbed

http://gu.com/p/4ydz5?

>51 charl08: very very sad.

>21 Chatterbox: squeeee! How very very kind. I would be delighted to give penguin the attention he deserves. But only if you'll let me pay postage.

Horrific news. She sounds like she was a real treasure - what a loss.

Just terrible news. She sounds like a voice that was needed just now.

>52 Helenliz: >53 vivians: It's just beyond words. For someone to travel internationally for years to places in the middle of crises and then to be murdered at home.

Shocking news. Stuck in bed with a cold and high fever and listening to this... wish I could write it off as a hallucination, but nope.

>55 charl08: You know, I had traveled in weird places, including some where folks had said I really shouldn't go on my own. Then the one time I literally see people sliced into pieces in front of my own eyes? On my way to work on 9/11 in New York, on a bright sunny day. It's the meshing of the absurdly normal quotidian stuff with the utterly horrific that completely does a number on your mind. Suddenly you're trapped in some kind of weird movie, like one of the ones with aliens invading the planet. So yeah, you go safely through these crisis areas, and take precautions because you know you should, and where you feel safe -- your home, the streets of a town in your constituency -- turns out to be the most dangerous place of all. Sickening.

>52 Helenliz: penguin bag wrapped up and ready for dispatch...

>54 ctpress: And that. In the middle of listening to people being interviewed about migration 'it should stop'. Argh! Whole country built on migration for thousands of years. Harumph.

>55 charl08: If only it was (a dream). I can't imagine what it would be like to witness that.

So sorry to hear about the murder of Jo Cox. I had read about on the Canadian News, just in brief , but it did not state that perhaps it is politically motivated. That was earlier thought that I read it, so perhaps that aspect was not known. So sorry.

>45 charl08: Pretty colors!

I'm looking forward to hearing about This Must Be the Place; my library has not yet ordered it... (hmph)

God. More tragic news. I can hardly stand it. This world we live in can be so beautiful (like, there are penguins!) and it can be so brutal and humans can be so horrible. Sigh.

>58 vancouverdeb: I don't know Deborah. It's truly shocking to me.

>59 EBT1002: Hope you can get hold of it Ellen. It's a mixed up world isn't it.

I can completely understand how shocking it would be to you, I think , Charlotte. If an MP in my area - or indeed my Country, was shot due to his/ her political beliefs, I'd be really shocked. I'm not sure we've ever had the happen in Canada. I recall way back in 1970, when I was just a little kid, we had the FLQ crisis, - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Crisis but that is it, as far as I know. One fellow was kidnapped and killed over the idea that Quebec might want to separate, but that sort of thing is long past us now.

Very sorry.

This Must Be the Place

I am an O'Farrell fan, so I guess it's not surprising I raced through this undistracted by other books (which is what tends to happen when my reading isn't gripping me). She even credits one of my favourite cafes in the acknowledgements, so my bias should be be recognised. Here she takes the idea of a celebrity actor going off the radar and looks at it from many tangents, with different styles and perspectives, even including a faux auction catalogue of the actor's paraphernalia. Underneath the tricks of this is a story about human mistakes (marrying the wrong person, missing the right person, using alcohol to deal with grief) and the weight of them over the years. The characters feel real and I cared about their misunderstandings, the struggles to 'move on' for the over 400 pages (and wished it had been longer).

>45 charl08: I can confirm that I'll be buying the lot as soon as they hit the shops.

Have a great weekend, Charlotte.

>51 charl08: I was also upset by the sad and utterly needless death of Jo Cox from my home area of West Yorkshire. A lovely lady by all accounts and one almost certainly otherwise destined for high office. Pleased by the attitude of Cameron and Osbourne in the wake of the tragedy and I will accept their comments as heartfelt and genuine. Not putting up a candidate against Labour in the enforced by-election is palpably the right thing to do and although I am and always be anti-Tory credit where it is due.

She leaves behind two very small children and the events have saddened the hearts of all that knew her and all those who cherished the principles she stood up for.

I'm far from catching up, just wanted to check in during a quiet moment at work to wish you a very happy weekend before I return to my still inet-free home.

I am very saddened about the murder of Jo Cox. Only this morning I remembered that last year the refugee-friendly candidate for the mayor's office in Cologne was attacked, stabbed and almost killed by someone who felt justified by his nationalism as well. He thought he was doing it 'for the country'. I don't 'get' it, that hatred and fanatism.

>63 PaulCranswick: Well that's a lovely idea.

>64 PaulCranswick: I've been avoiding the news as it seems to just go round and round without much content. Media wallow?

>65 Deern: Thank you!

This poem is apparently being widely shared - hit the nail on the head I think.

Good Bones by Maggie Smith
http://waxwingmag.org/items/Issue9/28_Smith-Good-Bones.php#top

Love the poem, Charlotte.

I know what you mean about media wallow.

That's a touching poem by Maggie Smith. Here in Canada the government has given a tribute to Jo Cox. One MP in particular was friends with Jo Cox and teared up during his tribute to Maggie Smith. I know what you mean about the news seeming to go in circles as no one knows for certain just what the perpetrator's were, or whether he suffered with a mental illness or some combo of both.

I'm glad that you enjoyed This Must Be The Place. A diversion during times like this is always welcome.

>67 BLBera: I am always surprised how little news makes it into the rolling news.

She must have written the poem months or even years before but it speaks to me now.

>68 vancouverdeb: Thanks Deborah. I always recommend O'Farrell!

Still reading The Genius of Birds, wonderfully distracted by the bird parents in the garden who seem to be using the seed feeder as a teaching post! I can well believe her arguments about the intelligence of many different kinds of birds.

A Bower bird's work to attract a female

Guardian Reviews Fiction


New Selected Poems by Derek Mahon reviewed by David Wheatley
"...a dominant theme of Mahon’s work in the last two decades has been the vindication of the everyday, as against the overwrought and the apocalyptic."


The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin reviewed by Stuart Kelly
"....we now get the showdown with the Biggest Bad, and an exemplar of how a great concept and a satisfying closure are not necessarily related."


Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler reviewed by Viv Groskop
"...the process of commissioning these works ramps up the pressure and gives the whole enterprise an artificiality that is hard to overcome. In some ways it’s a noble and bold gesture, potentially bringing new readers to the classics. But let’s admit that it’s also marketing gone mad."
Let's not.


The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry reviewed by M John Harrison
"...a novel of ideas, though its sensibility is firmly, consciously, even a little cheekily, gothic."


The Last of Us by Rob Ewing reviewed by Tim Clare
"For all the gore, not a lot happens."


A Quiet Life by Natasha Walter reviewed by Christobel Kent
"Its indelible image – a woman whose calmly conformist femininity conceals shocking subversion – leaves us wondering about our own mothers and grandmothers, and what went on beneath the surface of their quiet lives. "

Happy Saturday, Charlotte! The Mahon collection sounds interesting. Have you read him?

Happy belated new thread, Charlotte and a happy new thread as well!!!!
I quickly scrolled up the screen and spotted The Sexy Serpent. Oops, I need another cup of coffee apparently it is The Essex Serpent.

>72 msf59: I have not, but the quotes in the review sound tempting.

>73 Carmenere: Oops indeed! Hope the coffee has helped.

I was so sad to read about Jo Cox, Charlotte. I can't even wrap my head around it.

Thanks for those Guardian fiction reviews - I am so thrilled to see one I have actually read. Ha! Happy Saturday to you, dear!

Hi Charlotte - Hah! I thought Vinegar Girl was fun. A Quiet Life and The Essex Serpent sound interesting this week. Thanks for posting. Have a lovely weekend.

Are you harvesting yet?

Vinegar Girl got some love here, so it's on my "someday" list... Nothing else really appeals from today's reviews.

Have a good Saturday, Charlotte!

Happy New Thread, Charlotte and have a nice weekend.

So sad about the death of Jo Cox, we live in sad times :'(

>66 charl08: Thanks for sharing the poem, Charlotte.

>66 charl08: Woo. Amazing poem, Charlotte. Is that THE Maggie Smith?

>75 Crazymamie: Glad there was one you'd read Mamie. I can't get my head round what happened to Jo Cox either. She stood for such good things, not least as one of the MPs who lobbied to change government policy so that thousands of unaccompanied refugee children could be brought safely to the UK.

>76 BLBera: I'm still waiting for Vinegar Girl.

We've got some strawberries and green beans, but that's about it. Oh and lettuce. Tomatoes are still green but looking good. Mostly the rabbits are harvesting the veg on the plot, so far.

>77 katiekrug: It amuses me that this is the second bad review I've read of a reimagining (the other was of the Sittenfeld P&P ) where the reviewer almost objects to the idea in principle - not sure why the G didn't find a reviewer who had a more open viewpoint.

>78 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara. Hope you've got some quiet time this weekend to relax after your working week.

>79 FAMeulstee: It's difficult to understand Anita. Glad you liked the poem.

>80 jnwelch: Not the actress. I hadn't even linked the name! Bit slow today.

More about the Maggie Smith poem.

Poem about struggle 'to love this world as it is' goes viral

http://gu.com/p/4yteq?

>83 charl08: It deserves it.

Guardian Reviews Non-fiction


Final Solution by David Cesarani reviewed by Nikolaus Wachsmann
"...historians now tend to see the path to the Holocaust as “twisted”. In fact, they don’t see a single path at all; there were many paths and dead-ends, detours and reversals on the way to Auschwitz. Cesarani aimed to bring this conclusion to a wider readership"


Anxiety for Beginners by Eleanor Morgan and Mad Girl by Bryony Gordon reviewed by Fiona Sturges
"...a potential lifeline for others in her position who might be suffering in silence."


Groovy Bob: The Life and Times of Robert Fraser by Harriet Vyner
"...anecdotes from a seemingly endless party remind the reader just why the 60s are endlessly raked over: ex-army colleagues, poets, footballers, pop stars, actors and artists mingle in Fraser’s world, along with drug dealer Spanish Tony and a suggested underworld of rent boys and rough trade"


The Age of Em: Work, Life and Love by Robin Hanson reviewed by Steven Poole
"...fanatically serious attempt, by an economist and scholar at Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute, to use economic and social science to forecast in fine detail how this world (if it is even possible) will actually work."

I love your Guardian reviews! Thanks for that ! Vinegar Girl is definitely on my list. It is relatively short, so I will likely read it on my kindle. You are making me very curious about The Genius of Birds. I understand from just going about my everyday business and reading the news paper that crows have very good memories, and if they dive bomb you for getting too close to their nest, they remember faces and will dive bomb you again. Glad I have not crossed a crow lately! :) Apparently it has been a problem in my city.

>84 jnwelch: I agree Joe.

>86 vancouverdeb: I am hoping for good things from Vinegar Girl.

And yes, you're right, crows come across as pretty bright in this book. Apparently researchers have been remembered by crows years later (and not in a good way).

Hey Charlotte! I am taking advantage of a less than wonderful summer day to spend sometime indoors getting caught up with LT threads.

Going back to your previous thread, BOO on slugs! I see them some days on the sidewalks while walking to work. I don't like slugs. I especially don't like slugs now that I know they are after your garden goodies. :-( YAY for first greenhouse tomato!

Happy new thread! I continue to love all the penguin-themed pics and references. I am also saddened and horrified by the recent attack and subsequent death of the British MP.

I have to say that the media agenda to link the horrifying murder of Jo Cox to the level of debate in the Brexit campaign and by a stroke make her a cause celebre to force a Remain vote is disgusting. I am not the most enthusiastic supporter of the EU and half think the bureaucratic monster it has become should be dismantled I am only just in the Remain camp based largely on the message it would send to the rest of the world of Little England (intended or not). I hate the nonsensical demonising on both sides - uncontrolled immigration on the one and economic disaster on the other. Both positions are untenable, I actually think that the UK, with a progressive government, could be better-off economically out and I will still cast to Remain.

Jo Cox became a target for such depravity for the wonderful work she did promoting the rights and interests of refugees, especially from Syria and it was not Brexit fuelled from what I can glean. The level of debate has been poor but the usurping of a lovely ladies' passing for shabby politics is to be mourned as well as the passing of the lady herself. Give the family space to grieve.

On the Guardian reviews I'll take Tyler, Mahon and the book on the Holocaust this week.

>88 lkernagh: Hi Lori,
Sorry to hear your weather has not been so good (but glad it led you here). I'm hoping for some sun today as rosebuds are looking promising... I must take a picture of the tomatoes. I am quite pleased with them.

>89 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul, I don't know what his motives are and I really am trying to avoid discussion of it in the media now. Susan says there is a charity fundraiser set up in her name and I will look into that. I am firmly pro Europe - not that it is perfect, but that our states should be regularly meeting to maintain peace as far as possible. The alternatives scare me.

Charlotte, the Go Fund Me page is here: https://www.gofundme.com/jocox

I think I've escaped unscathed from the Guardian reviews this week, which is just as well in the circumstances. I love seeing them, though :-)

Wow! They've raised so much money already. Feeling cheered up that 22,000 people (ish) want to donate to three such good causes. Thanks Susan.

The Genius of Birds

I got this as an ARC through Netgalley, which meant the formatting of chapters was a bit off. I'll be very tempted when the paperback comes out to get my own copy, as it looks Iovely.

I thought this was a very readable look into research into the Iives of birds around the world, including the more bizarre (like the Bower Bird above) and the everyday sparrow. She includes all sorts of mad anecdotes about bird behaviour (such as the homing pigeon that turned up five years late) along with a sense of humour. She considers the role intelligence may have in different kinds of birds, how birds are dealing with environmental change, as well as considering how some species manage such significant migration pattern (maybe even by their sense of smell). By the end of the book, where she was describing how researchers cut olfactory nerves in birds, and may have caused birds to abandon nests due to early tagging, I did begin to wonder how permission was approved for some of these experiments. Some if the material overlapped with Attenborough documentaries I've seen, which meant I had a picture in my head to go with her more detailed discussion.

I guess I should read something focused on this subject - not the topic of Ackerman's book.

>90 charl08: & >91 susanj67: & >22 DianaNL: The three charities closest to Jo's heart are certainly ones worthy of support. I have a feeling that the 22,000 donators number will snowball. A fine testament to her, I think.

I have to confess that I think both the Hogarth Shakespeare and the Jane Austen project are marketing gone mad projects. I say this having read every book published so far in the latter, and having attempted or read those books published so far in the former (only having succeeded in completing Vinegar Girl, and not liking it that much.) Both are cool ideas, but I've stalled in both the Winterston and Jacobson novels, and several of the Austen-version novels have been quite bad.

>89 PaulCranswick: Re Jo Cox, it does seem as if her murderer may have shared some of the sentiments of the pro-Brexit campaigners, or at least the ultra-nationalists, even if that wasn't the motive for the murder, based on his statements in open court when asked to identify himself. Clearly, her murder should not be a reason to vote one way or another; to cause people to reconsider their views. That said, it might well -- indeed, I'd argue, it should -- be a reason to stop and think about the level of vitriol in public discourse. One reason that the media may be focusing on this is that we routinely get relatively serious threats to our security these days in ways that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago from ordinary readers, who choose to read into what we right meanings that weren't intended or aren't there. The Guardian's U.S. offices have some very serious private security guys, in addition to the usual building security common in New York offices these days. They are armed and sit in the lobby. There's a reason for that: the nature and level of threats of physical harm to individual journalists, that have escalated dramatically. Look at the way that Donald Trump encourages crowds at his rallies to harass the media. The journalists feel it, and I suspect anyone in public life is equally vulnerable, because they speak out and are visible, and the mood is extremely ugly and hostile. I'm sickened and saddened, but in a strange way, not surprised, except that it happened in the UK and not the US. Perhaps because in the US, there is a security mentality and an awareness of crazies and the gun culture. What I'm trying to say is that I think it's inevitable that the linkage of Cox's murder to the level or nature of the debate is being made. To the extent that anyone takes it a step further, and suggests that people must vote a certain way because of what happened, that is utterly unacceptable.

Happy new week Charlotte!

The news in the past few weeks has been disheartening. Hope things take a more positive turn soon. Have a great week, Charlotte.

>94 PaulCranswick: They've already reset the target amount a couple of times - at time of writing now for a million.

>95 Chatterbox: I suspect because I liked Eligible I am pro the series. Plus I think they're good to just get people talking about the original texts. Forgive me not engaging re the Brexit. I just feel so sad about it all.

>96 The_Hibernator: Thanks! Hope you have a good one too.

>97 Familyhistorian: Me too. I have everything crossed for better things.

White Noise
I finished it. I read an essay about it which told me why it was so good. I pretty much disagreed (but satire generally doesn't work as far as I'm concerned, so don't take my word for it!)

Negroland
I was hoping for something a bit more detailed, I realised, rather than this short and episodic account of Jefferson's experience as part of an elite African American professional class in Chicago. I found her at her most interesting when she was writing about her experience as a small child, one of a small minority in a newly integrated school, where good intentions were not enough. Having read some lit about black women writers some of the wider narrative about pioneers was familiar to me, other names I want to follow up.

Nella Larsen's novels from the 1920s were republished in the late 1960s and 70s....given the cheapest paper and crudest design the publishers could get away with. Her own heroines would have disdained to buy them.
For they are touchy and proud, these Jazz age heroines...

I liked the first half of White Noise SO much better than the second half - the ending was the only thing that saved the second half for me. And I still can't decide how to review it.

As you can see, I have nothing useful to say about it! I quite like these reminders of a differing tastes among us though.

Uh oh! I just put a hold on Negroland at library. It doesn't sound like you enjoyed it much. Well- as you say, we do have differing tastes - and in any case, it's a library book. I was quite surprised my library actually had the book. I hope you have a better week, this week, Charlotte.

I liked it, just not so much as I thought I would Deborah. I did feel quite smug about having got the library to buy a copy - since I requested it, it was serialised on the radio and now four people are in the queue for it.

>99 charl08: I hated White Noise when I read it.

I agree that Negroland was very vignette-y. It was sometimes disorienting (especially on audio, I think) the way she would jump from one moment or topic to the next, but I liked the book overall.

I was mostly bemused by White Noise. Ah well, I guess I can chalk it up to experience. I would agree - overall I liked Negroland, just not quite what I was expecting.

Now reading A Country Road, A Tree , about the playwright Samuel Beckett and his time in occupied France. It's wonderful so far...

Hmm - I'm conflicted about A Country Road, A Tree. I loved Longbourn, but I confess I know very little about Samuel Beckett. Looks like you enjoyed Negroland . My copy should come into the library fairly soon. Good on you for getting Negroland purchased at your library :)

I've just picked up a copy of A Country Road, A Tree; WWII France, Samuel Beckett and written by the author of Longbourn - there was no way to avoid this one.

>106 vancouverdeb: I know little about Beckett Deborah - I think it works as a novel abut someone facing moral choices in WW2, not just for fans of the playwright.

>107 RidgewayGirl: I bought The Telling and disliked it, so I'm glad this one worked. Wonderful read.

Thanks Diana. I shall mostly be wearing large hats!

A Country Road, A Tree
(Every time I write comments about books I enjoy I want to write "I really liked this book.." So apologies for the repetition)

I really liked this book (cough), er, ok, but I did. It just swept me up, from the opening in Ireland where he is deeply unhappy with his mother, and she with him. Despite the declaration of war he returns to France. The bulk of the book is his time there, trying to avoid the French and then German authorities, first because he doesn't have the right papers, and then because he is unable to sit idly by and watch the occupation. I loved the way she wove Beckett's (real? Fictional?) love of trees into the book, from the opening where he is a small boy trying to fly, to the safety of a tree's highest branches in a park in Paris at night, as men with dogs search beneath. She shows how fighting 'the good fight' doesn't just mean risking your life but also the small comforts of secure relationships, doing what your partner asks you not to do.



There is so much in this book that I suspect you can read it in many different ways: I've never been to a Beckett play, not known anything about them beyond the oddness, the difficulty, but didn't find that this impaired my enjoyment at all. She writes an afterword explaining how she came to write the book - also fascinating reading - arguing for the significance of this time on his writing, the role of the dilemmas and terrors he faced in the characters he would go on to create.

'There's still the oldest and the best reason. Even in war, even in any circumstances, really. That still applies.'
'What's that then?'
'Spite,' she says.
He snorts.
'No, I'm serious,' she says, not very seriously. 'You need a bit of spite, a bit of venom, to keep you going. Particularly at the start, when no one gives a damn what you're up to.'
'Well, yes, I suppose so.'
'And then, of course, it's necessary.'
'Necessary?'
'If one is not writing, one is not quite oneself, don't you find?'
And he thinks: the sweaty nights in Ireland, heart racing, battling for breath.... The two things are connected: the writing and the panic....
'It's like snails make slime,' she's saying. 'One will never get along, much less be comfortable, if one doesn't write.'

Hi, Charlotte! Sorry, to hear White Noise & Negroland fell short for you. I will probably still give them a shot, at some point.

Glad, A Country Road, A Tree, (cough) worked better for you.

Lovely review, Charlotte - you are making me want to get to that one, and you know I already have it in the stacks. I was wondering whether I needed to read up on Beckett first, and you have answered that, so thank you.

Happy Tuesday, my friend!

>112 msf59: Definitely would say read both Mark. I was well aware as I was reading White Noise that I was Missing The Point.

>113 Crazymamie: I hope you like it as much as I did Mamie. She's on a roll as far as I'm concerned.

>111 charl08: That's a helpful review, Charlotte, thanks. I love Samuel Beckett's books and plays, and know almost nothing about his life. I loved Longbourn, too. Added this one to the WL!

Checking in to see what you've been reading. I'm so far behind on threads. It's been a busy couple of weeks.

>115 jnwelch: Hey Joe. I'd love to know what a Beckett fan thinks of the book. Suspect there is plenty there to enjoy if you know the plays.

>116 thornton37814: Thanks for visiting Lori. I've a feeling I've missed yours, so will go check now...

>117 charl08: The three novels, which I read combined way back when, are not to everyone's taste, but they're awfully good. I still think about them all these years later. Three Novels: Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable.

>118 jnwelch: I should read them. She mentions a biography, which I also want to get to.

I am completely pooped after a morning trying to clear the weeds between paving stones (harder than it ought to be, as I have left it too long) and an afternoon session weeding at the plot. Envious of the guy next to us who has enormous gooseberries (not a euphemism). Still no sign of carrots despite plenty of rain and all the cabbages have been chewed to the roots. My dad's potatoes are however doing beautifully: flowering away. The cucumbers look good and so does the spinach. Some beans have survived so far...

I am getting super annoyed with unpegging the netting we've got set up each time I hoe/weed so am contemplating a cloche tunnel instead. No pictures, I forgot.

Currently reading Golden Hill

Envious of the guy next to us who has enormous gooseberries (not a euphemism).

Snork!

:-) Katie

Hurrah, the Vikram Seth poems, that I requested back in JANUARY has come in at the library (I just checked the catalogue). Happy Dance.

Great review of A Country Road, A Tree. Thanks for letting me know that I don't need to know that I don't need to research Samuel Beckett to enjoy the book!

>123 vancouverdeb: Happy to oblige Deborah. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Golden Hill
A young man arrives on New York, early colonial America. He refuses to confirm or deny why he has come, but he holds a huge promissory note which local business will struggle to refund. Entertaining, written in a contemporary style (whilst making a point about what those accounts leave out) this was another good read for me. I really enjoyed the period detail of a tiny New York based only on Manhattan, relatively clean but with limited resources, from the erratic flow of money to news from 'home' (London).

Eee! I read a review of Golden Hill in the FT this afternoon and went straight to the Kindle shop (they compared it to Hilary Mantel and that was enough to hit the button). I'm happy to see you enjoyed it.

>125 cushlareads: I'm not sure that I'd say Mantel, although I certainly found it that compelling. Nowhere near as dense, certainly!

Hey Charlotte! Hope you're having a great day!

>119 charl08: I know, last week I finally had the last weeds removed from the front garden... it had been growing since I broke my arm in October :-(
So now I have started in the backgarden, I have sprayed the most resistent weeds (dandelion) a few times with vinager to get rid of them and do the rest by hand. Waiting for cooler weather to continue...

Sorry about the cabbages :-(

Golden Hill sounds good! Hadn't heard of it before...

>126 charl08: Less dense is good. The frst 2 pages were great then I fell asleep!

>127 Carmenere: Lynda it's all very sunny here, and I've been for a long swim, and bought some cloches for the garden...

>128 FAMeulstee: It's so silly, by I felt quite attached to the cabbages (I had grown them from seed). I've still got lots to do in the front garden - my dad would usually do most of the day to day stuff but he has been struggling with breathlessness so I am trying to step in.

>129 katiekrug: I really liked it Katie. Kind of reminded me of Tom Jones, that kind of humour.

>130 cushlareads: That made me laugh Cushla. Sounds like you needed the zzz's.

I'm reading Nature, Powers and Spells: Landscape change John Clare and Me a lovely book by printmaker Carry Akroyd inspired by the poet John Clare.



Gorgeous images

Lovely, Charlotte. I just added A Country Road to my wishlist. Off to check to see if my library has a copy.

Oh I hope so Beth. Beautifully written and lots to think about.

Sorry about the cabbages. I had not read about them being chewed up earlier. Lovely images indeed! I am sorry to read of your dad's breathlessness. I hope he is feeling better soon.

Just picked up my copy of White Noise and am reading it with an eye for satire. We'll see how it goes!

Oh! And I forgot. I found this for you...they are made out of Tootsie Rolls, which I love!

A chair to rest in after a hard day of gardening . I am not good at sizing , so sorry for the large size.

>135 vancouverdeb: Thanks Deborah. Hoping that it will improve and he can get back to being as active as he was before the asthma and chest infection. He knows a lot about veg growing, I'm not sure that I would have the confidence to do the whole plot by myself. More cabbages going in today, fingers crossed they will make it...

>136 Berly: Kim, hope you enjoy that one!

>137 Berly: Wow. What is a tootsie roll? I have heard of the name, but that's it!

>138 vancouverdeb: Perfect Deborah!

Hi Charlotte! Is it 10pm yet? Oh. It's not. I'm appalled by the quality of the "filler" news this morning - I know they can't talk about the referendum (which is actually a blessed relief) but surely there must be something happening elsewhere in the world. Sky's lead story is about kids having takeaways delivered to the school gate. We've been deluged with rain down here overnight - a massive electrical storm. There are worries about whether it might mean people don't go and vote.

Sorry to hear your Dad's feeling poorly - I hope he's soon on the mend.

I just bought The Genius of Birds. Thank you. :)

Hi, Charlotte! Unfortunately I am going to have to return my copy of The Genius of Birds, but I plan on buying a copy, somewhere down the road.

It's worth owning, right?

>140 susanj67: Tell me about it Susan! So sick of the whole thing. I was saying to my mum I passed four people talking about politics as I went to meet her. I used to wish people would be More Engaged, but they were all talking Rubbish.
She tells me: Just because they don't agree with you doesn't mean they're talking rubbish...
*Can't Compute*

>141 nittnut: Ha! Can I tell Netgalley my review has meant at least one sale?!

>142 msf59: I want it. Such a gorgeous cover, even if the contents weren't fascinating (which it is)...

Maybe I'll ask for The Genius of Birds for my birthday. It's coming up next month.

Sounds like a plan Mark!

More gardening for me today. Warm as anything down on the plot...




(Grown by me but the second row put in by my dad, who also put in brocolli and beetroot seeds whilst I was mostly weeding and trying AGAIN with cabbage seedlings...)

>143 charl08: Charlotte, did you see Leavers? Oh my word :-) The press down here seem to be furious that the referendum is ruining their Best Weather Story in ages. That's why the Guardian live blog has lots of photos of flooded polling stations. And probably why people hate Londoners...It's probably sunny everywhere else, but you'd never know it. There are some nice pictures of dogs at polling stations, though.

Admire your gardening, Charlotte! A green thumb I am not!

Happy Thursday, Charlotte! Hoping that your Dad is feeling better. Your garden is looking good. My best wishes for the cabbage. *fingers crossed*

>146 susanj67: Nope Susan. Should I?

There was a rather smug weather discussion on north west tonight Susan. It all changed tone when the future weather was discussed though...

>147 lit_chick: I'm mostly feeding slugs at the moment Nancy!

>148 Crazymamie: Hey Mamie. He did loads today, put me to shame! Thanks for the cabbage wishes... Fingers crossed.

I really love Vikram Seth's poetry. It's staightforward but full of beautiful images. Summer Requiem: a book of poetry is an enjoyable read, although some of the poems are quite bleak. I liked one of the translations of Giacomo Leopardi 'To the moon'

O gracious moon, I recall how last year
I came to this hill and watched you, full of pain,
And you hung there over that wood, just as
You do now and fill everything with light.
But nebulous and tremulous through the tears
That filled my eyes, your face appeared to me,
So troubled was my life; and is; nor has
It changed its style, beloved moon. And yet
It gives me pleasure to remember and
To count the stages of my sorrow. How
Pleasant it is, when one is young, and the path
Of hope is long and that of memory short,
To call to mind once more things from the past,
However sad, and though the pain endures.

>149 charl08: I thought, as you're a Remainer, the people talking political rubbish must have been Leavers :-) I've just read a funny Guardian guide about when to nap and when to make the strong coffee if you're staying up all night to watch it. http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/23/referendum-night-when-to-nap-and... . I won't be staying up, but as I'm incapable of staying asleep all night I might well sneak a look at the coverage when I wake up at odd times. It's supposed to be stormy again too.

>151 susanj67: I voted, I didn't take a dog (I don't know, trust the British to make something trivial out of a serious decision). I won't be staying up until breakfast time for the result either. I'll probably be up before the result is announced, so will have the radio on while I start work.

>150 charl08: "Like"

Me, too.

>151 susanj67: I thought it was some bizarre euro tv programme I'd missed (face palm). They've kind of blurred but one woman I passed was saying that the prediction was for all the banks collapsing. Huh?!

>152 Helenliz: I won't stay up either. I'd rather be reading!

>153 jnwelch: >154 Crazymamie: Glad to hear it!

Now reading Barkskins...

Fingers crossed for your cabbages!

Thanks Anita! I've a new cloche, so hoping that does the trick...

Urgh, Brexit. And by such a narrow margin. Where can I move to (apart from Scotland, which appears to be entirely pro 'In').

Sending waves of sympathy from across the world. Ugh, I cannot believe it and have been staring at news websites on and off for several hours in disbelief.

You could move to New Zealand! Our books are dearer here though...

Nature powers and spells: Landscape change, John Clare and Me by Carry Akroyd

Well this was a nice calm read this morning, as the news came in that

Lovely book about the artist's reading and interpretation of John Clare in her images. I was particularly keen on the fenland pictures as it's a familiar landscape to me. And the birds too.



I am mightily tempted by the cards on her site.
http://www.carryakroyd.co.uk/sales/cards/sales.html#expanded

Come to Canada, Charlotte! We'd welcome you with open arms. My heart goes out to you. Big sympathy hugs. And such a close call! Arrggh! Here in Canada we've had Quebec vote to leave Canada several times but not since 1995 and I think the Quebec separatist movement is fairly calm now. Oh Charlotte! And then here in Canada we have to worry about that crazy Donald Trump running for President. I am so sorry.

>158 charl08: I'd like to know what the plan is now. The Chinese curse, "may you live in interesting times" springs to mind...

>161 vancouverdeb: It's an interesting idea Deborah. Weirdly, my mum was all set to go work in Canada when she left nursing school, but cried off when it emerged that every time she moved area they would ask her to register again and do some kind of exam. Since the idea was to move around, they changed their plans.

>162 Helenliz: Feeling immediately sorry for all those folk who have made their careers (and lives) in Brussels and Strasbourg working for Britain. The rest of it I guess we will see?

>158 charl08: I don't know, Charlotte, the world is changing... and not in a way I like. Poetin, Trump, LePen and some others are happy with this outcome :-(

>158 charl08: Come to Italy! Okay, they don't speak much English here, but they're happy to learn and veggies grow very well. Italians love dogs btw.
So sorry about the outcome. *******! Sending hugs, and hope it won't be as bad as it looks like now, just judging from readers comments. Also hoping that the jubilant voices in the serious and conservative (yet not anti-EU) German paper FAZ don't really show the general opinion. Not anti-British jubilant, it's all anti-EU. This isn't a funny child's game called "breaking apart Europe", readers. All that "we were better off in the 70s/80s..". Were we really? It was a different world! *sigh*

I read a week or so ago that lots of British people living and working in Berlin or Frankfurt have applied for (additional) German citizenship to avoid the visa procedures for the future, should the Brexit come through. I'd better get my papers for Italian CS finished, who knows how much longer it will last?

>164 FAMeulstee: Watching Al Jazeera with a parade of Europe's right wing (and reportedly Putin) delighted with the result. Double Urgh.

>165 Deern: All of this is not great at all is it! I hate the thought that any European friends (and other friends who moved to the UK) would feel unwelcome. There has been some politicians popping up this morning talking of reconciliation and business as usual. I know some if this is just rhetoric but I did find it quite reassuring that they were taking the nos into account too.

I'd love to just *visit* Italy (and many other places in Europe), never mind the chance to live and work there. I need to get going with work and everything else (sigh).

In better news - this opened today!

>150 charl08: I like the Seth poem. I did not realize he also wrote poetry. I have had A Suitable Boy on my T.R. for ages.

Ooh, Barkskins. Fine choice. I have it saved on audio, but later in the year.

>167 charl08: Oh I LOVE passionflowers, they are so pretty!

Oh I will certainly offer you a berth in Malaysia, Charlotte. We would do well surely with me adding books at a frenzy and you reading them just as quickly.

Even though I came quite cagily into the Remain camp, it is quite a sad though strangely exciting day to be British today. I think we got the vote wrong and I only hope the consequences are bearable.

Have a lovely weekend. xx

Hi Charlotte - Lots of news from your part of the world today. What Paul said.

Good luck with the cabbages. Your flower is pretty.

The Ackroyd card is gorgeous.

>168 msf59: If you can find a copy Mark, I'd recommend The Golden Gate, his novel in verse. It's funny as well as being an impressive thing to write a long story that way. And Barkskins is great so far: French colonial intrigue.

>169 FAMeulstee: I'm so pleased this one opened - I only planted it this spring. If they sell the plants next year I think I'll buy several - they were a bargain.

>170 PaulCranswick: Ha Paul. I've heard great things about your part if the world. One of my friend's family is Chinese Malaysian so she visited regularly.

Not a lot can do about the EU but wait and see I think.

>171 BLBera: I went from the cards to looking at the prints on the artist's website. I'd love to have her art on the wall, the landscapes and the poetry together in particular I like a lot. It's on the wishlist...

Now reading This is Your Life Harriet Chance - sufficiently frothy for the current state of mind.

A frothy read--I like that! Just what is called for sometimes. Have fun with it.

It was an easy read Kim. Kind of a cross between A Man Named Ove and Where'd you go Bernadette ( but not as comic). I thought this story of one woman's life, jumping back and forth was ok, but didn't grab me in quite the same way.

Reading Barkskins
Duke is deep in the forests of Maine, looking for a rival forester.

He could not count all the streams and bogs. The treetops dazzled, the flashing wings of hundreds of thousands of northward migrating birds beat above him. He saw snowy owls drifting silent through the trees...

>173 charl08: I enjoyed This is Your Life Harriet Chance. At times, frothy is the perfect thing. Well, it looks like there is no shortage of people and countries that would like to welcome you in. I'm sorry that you mom decided against moving to Canada, but moving countries would not be an easy thing, I suppose. My son's wife immigrated with her parents and sister from Hong Kong when she was about 5 years old. I think they are now well settled in the Vancouver area, but must be difficult to leave behind all of your family. My brother's wife met my brother in the Maldives - both were temporarily working there and so my now sister in law immigrated from Germany. I am not sure I could be as brave.

>143 charl08: Of course. :)

>178 nittnut: Cheers Jenn.

Well the folks down the road have opened their garden, the sun is almost shining, and there is hopefully some cake in my future...

Guardian Non fiction reviews


A Burglar's Guide to the City by Geoff Manaugh reviewed by P D Smith
"...devious misuses of the city's buildings and infrastructure are the subject of this highly original book."


String theory: David Foster Wallace on Tennis by David Foster Wallace reviewed by William Skidelsky
"...often been described as the best tennis writer of all time."


Fluke: the maths and myths of coincidences by Joseph Mazur reviewed by David Shariamadari
"...demands a lot of the casual reader. Lucky you if your grasp of odds and algebra is good enough to sail through."


Free Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World by Timothy Garton Ash reviewed by Faramerz Dabhoiwala
"...a hybrid of journalism, manifesto and wonkish musings on the legal and technological impact of the internet."


Jacobites: a new history of the '45 Rebellion by Jacqueline Riding reviewed by Colin Kidd
"a fresh and historically convincing perspective, as an account of communications in the early modern world."


Tribe: on homecoming and belonging by Sebastian Junger reviewed by Matthew Green
"Rather than asking hoe we can save our returning servicemen and women, Junger challenges us to take a hard look in the mirror and ask whether we can save ourselves."


Empire of Things: how we became a world of consumers by Frank Trentmann reviewed by Adam Tooze
"...a rich picture of the variegated human impulses that have impelled the history of consumption..."


The Middlepause: On Turning fifty and In My Own Time: Thoughts and Afterthoughts reviewed by Melissa Benn
On Marina Benjamin's book "...a restrained but wonderful guide to the convulsive changes of 50 and over."
On Jane Miller's book "a remarkable collection, a reflection not just of a later life well lived, but a distinct political and personal sensibility."

My weekend got of to a better start with a parcel in the post, >21 Chatterbox: I now own a cute little penguin bag to match that in post >1 charl08:.

And, as if prompted by the picture in >167 charl08:, my passionflower's finally decided to burst into flower, after seeming to be heavy with buds for several weeks. Oh, and my cucumber plant is heading for world domination and is producing more cucumbers than I could eat in months - all at once.

I've mown the lawn and got the mower away just as the heavens opened. That's be a day indoors then...

Happy weekend, Charlotte.

>177 vancouverdeb: I missed you! Sorry! Harriet Chance took just the right amount of concentration after the disappointing news. I was glad I picked it up.

>181 Helenliz: Its a lovely bag, isn't it!

Lots of cucumbers sound wonderful. Cucumber water, cucumber pimms, cucumber with dips... Well done on mowing. I'm ignoring that job.

>182 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara! And to you.

Guardian fiction reviews


The Muse by Jessie Burton reviewed by Anthony Quinn
"...an intricate story of imposture."


The Mirror Thief by Martin Seay reviewed by Mark Lawson
"...a writer of exceptional and eclectic intelligence."


Everyone Is Watching by Megan Bradbury reviewed by Miranda France
"I have reservations about the ubiquity of the present tense, about fractured narratives, and, to be honest, about real people appearing in novels. Everyone is watching uses all three techniques - and I loved it."
I've ordered this from the library.


The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood reviewed by Sandra Newman
"...a savagely, unapologetically feminist book; a throwback to writers like Joanna Russ and Angela Carter, who landed blows on the patriarchy without worrying about being in d the man-haters. And indeed, men come off badly here."
Can a pink cover be ironic?


The Long Cosmos by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter reviewed by Jenny Colgan
"...not so much stories as travelogues."


Beautiful Pictures of the Lost Homeland by Mia Gallagher reviewed by Claire Kilroy
"...astonishingly good at dramatising inner turmoil." "...it is original, it is flawed, it is moving, it is fascinating. It is art."

Happy Saturday, Charlotte! Ooh, The Mirror Thief. Warble, warble...

I have the Junger book, saved on audio. I really like his work.

I was able to renew Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride for a couple more weeks. Yah!! Just started in this morning.

Hey Mark, some great warbling there. All three sound good! Happy Saturday :-)

Charlotte, I've reserved Empire of Things, and wishlisted the Jacobite one, and Tribe. And the library has the free speech one. And I'd love the burglars one too, but it's not showing up. And now there are more fiction books up there than when I looked a few minutes ago! I've reserved the Proulx you mentioned, too. I'm next for it. Better get on with those pages!

Hi Charlotte: The Jacobite one looks good to me as well as the David Foster Wallace on tennis. The Natural Way of Things looks interesting, too. Thanks for posting and have a great weekend.

Nice comments on Harriet Chance.

I have pre-ordered the book about the Jacobites, which comes out in the US in early July, and will use some of my monster e-book settlement from Amazon for that. I'd like to read The Mirror Thief, but it's a $20 Kindle book, which is absurd, so I'll have to track it down in a library. I have an ARC of Jessie Burton's novel, have read the Junger (quite good) and plan to read Timothy Garton Ash's book. Took a book bullet with The Empire of Things, which I've had on my watchlist for a while.

>188 susanj67: Crumbs Susan. Way to fall off the reading your own shelves wagon! Good stuff.
I almost did an all night read last night with Barkskins but I was Determined to swim early this morning so didn't.

Weird reading setendipity though, I don't think I've ever read a reference to colonial era wars being referred to in the colonies by the name of the monarch (so 'Queen Anne's War'). Frances Spufford mentioned it in Golden Hill, and I just came across it in Barkskins (but from the French perspective). I can't say that I've ever watched Game of Thrones, but that whole knocking off characters unexpectedly thing? Proulx has that down to a fine art.

>189 BLBera: I've never read anything by Wallace Beth, but I'm wondering if this is the one I should pick up. The reviewer's description of his writing, and the Wimbledon imminentness makes me think hmm....
(Pause here to avoid saying something very rude about John Inverdale and his sexist comments to the winner of Eastbourne. Argh.)

>190 Chatterbox: Just a little light reading for you then Suzanne? All that sounds great. I've not had a lot of luck with Scottish history (a bad interview experience, I'll say no more) but maybe this one would change my mind? I like TGA so will be interested to hear what you think on that one particularly.

I'm interested in the Foster Wallace as well. He did some tennis writing in Infinite Jest, of course. I'm intrigued.

Moonstone: the boy who never was



I blame Mariella Frostrup and her programme on the radio for this one. I was underwhelmed by the Guardian review which made me think it was one of those weird experimental books (because who has time for those?) Well, it kind of is a bit, but not in a pretentious or difficult way. Máni has sex for money in Reykjavik in 1918, which is problematic as it's illegal, so the sex is behind closed doors, buildings and other dark places. There's no angst about his orientation despite the state attitude: instead Máni is twisting himself in knots trying to track down a local young woman who he's convinced himself is the heroine of his favourite vampire films. And then the Spanish flu arrives by boat from Denmark, and the townspeople fall like flies. Sjón fits an awful lot into 130 odd pages.

In the radio program Sjón said he wanted to put back those who are not in the earlier history of Iceland because their lifestyle didn't fit what *some* people wanted to believe about Icelanders back then. The programme made a comparison between the experience of flu in the book and the experience of HIV/AIDS before the discovery of retrovirals: if not clear before, this is explicit in his dedication of the book in the last pages to his uncle who died of AIDS in 1993.

An ominous hush lies over the busiest, most bustling part of the town. No hoofbeats, no rattling of cart wheels or rumble of automobiles, no roar of motorcycles or ringing of bicycle bells. No rasps of sawing from the carpenters' workshops, or clanging from the forges, or slamming of warehouse doors. No gossiping voices of washerwomen on their way to the hot springs, no shouts of dockworkers unloading the ships, or cries of the hawkers on the main street. No smell of fresh bread from the bakeries...

This looks rather cute

Happy Sunday, Charlotte! Oof! You have gotten me again with those Guardian reviews - I want the Empire of Things book and Everyone is Watching - I already had The Mirror Thief on the list thanks to Mark.

Whew, all caught up here! Golden Hill was a Guardian review BB for me a few weeks ago. I'm glad to see it fulfilled its promise for you!

The Jacobite book caught my eye in this week's reviews. Making a note of it.

I thought of you as I read Gerald Durrell's Two in the Bush. Penguins made an appearance in the New Zealand section of the book.

>195 Crazymamie: I'm hoping to get to Everyone is watching tomorrow Mamie. Go Mark with the warbling. Sounds like a great read.

>196 cbl_tn: Golden Hill is definitely recommended. I need to read more Durrell.

Well I'm back watching the birds fighting over what must be some very tasty sunflower hearts. So far today greenfinch bullfinch, chaffinch, blue and great tit and of course, robins... have managed to avoid eating a face full of cake* despite serving others some delicious home made goodies. The open garden day has raised several thousands of pounds for charities, so good to feel a small part of that.

*Well, I did have the one bit of coconut lime. It was amazing.

Lovely pictures, Charlotte! Your day sounds like fun. I'm watching the craziness on the news. It's amazing what can happen on either side of a nap. Even a short one.

Oh Susan I'd been having a news free day and then read about the anti-Polish leafletting including the 'very sad' little boy who picked up one that was left outside his school.

Aw. Meanies.

I think I'll go back to trying to work out where to put my three new plants...

I don't believe that you can learn how to die, or gain wisdom, or prepare, and the work that I have done in this book has, if anything, confirmed that suspicion, but I do think you can look at a death and be less afraid.

The Violet Hour

Oh the garden looks lovely, Charlotte! It sounds like you are quite the expert birder. I love the look of The Detective Dog. Such a cute cover.

>45 charl08: wow, those poetry editions would look so great on my shelf :) How clever the Penguin people are.

>193 charl08: brilliant review :) (who has time for those weird experimental books: indeed!!)

Looks like the Guardian non-fiction outshines the fiction for once this week. I fancy reading of the Jacobites and the thoughts of Wallace on tennis but none of the fiction - possibly the Bradbury excepted - is calling to me.

>201 vancouverdeb: It's a gorgeous garden Deborah. The couple who held it work very hard on the gardening and all the getting ready. It's lovely.

>202 LovingLit: I want those poetry books!

I was trying to think of an example and the best I could come up with was the descriptions of the Morrissey novel which just sounded awful to me. Apologies to anyone who read it and thought it was well worth the time...

>203 PaulCranswick: Looks like that tennis book might find a good audience xe Paul. I'm still on the fence about looking out for it!

I was looking for a books that might fit Suzanne current affairs thread and somehow ended up clicking on an article about new crime novels.

So I've requested the new Easy Rawlins and have downloaded samples for a couple of (new to me) other crime fiction including Cara Black's first, Murder in the Marais. Burn what will Burn also sounds intriguing, although no sign of it in the library so far!

Oh! I liked Murder in the Marais! As you know, I just snagged the first fourteen books in that series earlier this month when they were part of a Kindle deal. Off to look up Burn What Will Burn.

Happy Pre-Tuesday, Charlotte!

Oh crumbs Mamie. Memory like a goldfish over here. I had not realised that was the same series you had bought as a job lot (well done on that).

In a bid to be healthy (and to get some weeding done) I have been to the plot. Blackcurrants are almost ripe, and I picked some spinach. It was lovely and peaceful, and I thought why not walk home. After being on my feet (to serve teas and cake) yesterday, and swimming the full 2k on Sat, I am pooped. As I had scissors with me anyway, I took out some of the spikiest bits of the overhanging hedge as I walked down the path (it's particularly terrifying as it's a narrow path, there is a 50 mph limit on the road, so it's thorns vs being run over).

Just watched Willis win his match. Makes me laugh how such an early win makes everyone happy!

Has anyone read The Death of Ivan Ilyich? It keeps coming up (well, twice) in The Violet Hour .

I've read The Death of Ivan Ilyich, but it was so long I cannot be useful as far as what the message was. I do recall it was quite short , so not a tough read. I know my dad enjoyed it and encouraged me to read it, once again, not useful. :)

Beautiful Pictures of the Lost Homeland and Everyone is Watching have gone right on the wish list.
And the comment about pink cover irony is classic. :-)

True about Willis and the early win, but on the other hand, 774 in the world beating 54 in the world is an exciting result no matter which round it is!

>208 charl08: Yep I read it last year. Not a favourite of mine as I recall.

ETA It wasn't last year; how time flies. I checked and I read it on 23 February 2014.

This is part of my review :

Ivan llych is figured by many to be a great short story and it certainly grated on me. Ilych's marriage and its retreat from happiness to drudgery and the onset of his illness and consumation of enlightenment at his passing is hardly a work of great subtlety. Some books get on the 1001 books list because they are great and some merely because they were written by Tolstoy. This wasn't great but it was written by Tolstoy.

I read it not too long ago and totally forgot it. Really - I should never ever buy new books again.

I am going to reply to everyone but just wanted to share this article about a book list by Ann Patchett and the staff at Parnassus.

Ooh I love a list...

http://parade.com/485659/annpatchett/the-75-best-books-of-the-past-75-years/

How many have you read? Any decades of shame? (By which I mean no books read from the list, not anything else...)

>209 vancouverdeb: A short classic appeals Deborah, so definitely useful, thank you!

>210 EBT1002: They are both tempting. I am trying to finish The Violet Hour before starting another new one, but I am tempted to just jump straight into Everyone is Watching.

>211 ursula: It is exciting (especially for him and his family). He's said he'll pay of his credit cards - all very different from the heights of Team Roger (although I love Roger, so no offence meant).

>212 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul. Your review made me laugh. I've never read *any* Tolstoy so I probably should read something, just to see...

>213 Deern: No! Don't say that...

>214 charl08: I've read about 24 ("about" because I counted one for the Rabbit novels although I've only read 1 of them so far and 1 for Old Filth, which I abandoned). The 1940s are a decade of shame for me, which doesn't surprise me at all because I know it's a decade that just hasn't been very well-represented in my reading up to this point. I also haven't read any of the 2010s books yet.

>194 charl08: I love the look of Detective Dog, the Guardian selection doesn't do much for me this week.

>216 ursula: I think I've only read 15. I put the hero with a thousand faces on reserve as I liked her comments about it.

>217 avatiakh: Yes, a books about a dog who investigates book loss sounds like My Kind of Book!

>214 charl08: probably 8. oops. Must try harder.

Oh, I love me a list!! Thanks for posting the link, Charlotte! I have only read 19 of those, so I have a long way to go. That being said, I am really not interested in Philip Roth or John Updike.

*Back to add that I have ten of the ones I haven't read on my shelves.

Like Mamie, I can't resist lists like that! I've read 20 of the books (or at least part of them - I know I've read the titular story and some others in the FLannery O'Connor collection, so I counted it...)

>220 Helenliz: >221 Crazymamie: >222 katiekrug: Glad to see I'm not the only one who can't resist a list. I thought it was quite American focused, but that makes sense given that the shop is in the US (and that they only widened it to include Rowling!!)

I'd love to visit her shop - sounds like the staff are passionate about books.

Paradise Lodge

I really liked Love, Nina ( and am enjoying the BBC series with the same name), where Stibbe collected the letters she sent home during her years nannying to a literary editor with two football obsessed sons. Paradise Lodge goes for the same tone, but for me didn't quite have the same charm. Liz is a teenager struggling with her mother's remarriage. She wanders into a job as a carer in a failing nursing home, peopled with eccentrics characters including a unqualified Matron and an elderly man trying to escape the clutches of his stepdaughter. Her work means that she's cutting school and risks messing up exams and her assumed path to university. I wonder if it might be more appealing to younger readers closer to Liz's age and experiences.

The Violet Hour

In the end the deaths are all the same. They all die. The world releases them.

Roiphe writes about the deaths of writers, pulling together interviews with friends and family, private papers and published writings to make powerful accounts of last days. Her discussion of Maurice Sendak and Dylan Thomas particularly gripped me: both men had ongoing obsessions with dying. Sendak because he was so sick as a small child his parents were convinced they would lose him, and Thomas due to a weird conviction that all poets were sickly. The messages in Sendak's art - from the labels referring to his much missed dog to the child threatened with being sent to an oven (echoing his parents' comments about his cousins dying in the Holocaust) were startling to me. I'd not known much about Sendak or Thomas - it was a shock to me too that Thomas had barely written in the last six years of his life, forced to read his old poems when he toured, fearing he could not write more. Sontag's deliberate avoidance of using her own experience of illness (she had life threatening cancer three times) has made me want to revisit her books.



What made the book most engaging for me was Roiphe's wilingness to explore her own fears, touching on severe childhood illness and her father's death. One of the reasons I read this book was because of the death of two family members. It was a relief to read that the idea of the missed perfect final conversation with a dying person is a common one. As she says, the concept is predicated on all those things that exist in the living relationship (awkwardness, misunderstandings, or whatever) stepping aside for words that work.

I liked this quote about the consolations of reading

To me religion has never been consoling. I can't get anything out of even the cadences of it. It feels like a foreign language. I sometimes find the reassurance I imagine other people getting from religion in passages of novels, in poems. The words transform, tame. The perspective shifts. The world alters a little, for a few moments, to make death bearable or almost bearable.

I tried an ARC of Sister Eve and the Blue Nun but after a couple of chapters am giving up: too much exposition and the threat of Dan Brown themes that just don't suit me! I was hoping for something Father Brown ish, so on this one, No Thanks.

>204 charl08: I was trying to think of an example and the best I could come up with was the descriptions of the Morrissey novel which just sounded awful to me
I started it and couldn't go on after a few pages. And it was short too!! I get the feeling he was trying to get a few too many ideas into each sentence, from what I did read.

>227 LovingLit: I am not at all inclined to try it!

I've picked up a Maigret from the library. Lovely comfort reading after the dentist (who after scaring me with the prospect of a crown, just appeared to stick something like polyfiller in, and I was done...)

>214 charl08: I read that article, perused the list on the train ride to Portland earlier this week. It's a fun list. I've read more than I would have expected. I don't know that I'll shoot for completion of the whole list of 75 (although I do like the symmetry of it being, um, 75 books over 75 years!), but it's still another fun list to guide some reading.

>225 charl08: Got me with that one.

>229 EBT1002: I did like her discussion of the staff lobbying for their favourites. Her bookshop is on my wishlist to visit. Not one I'll be following religiously, but I did order one of the ones I'd not heard of The Hero with a thousand Faces.

Maigret at the Coroner's
The usual, except this time Maigret is in Arizona, watching a coroner's court. Five young airmen and a young woman go into the desert, and her body was found on the tracks the next day. What happened? And is the case really as directionless as Maigret first thinks.

This wasn't as easy to get into for me as usual with Maigrets. His confusion attempting to understand the context of the crime didn't appeal - I don't know much about crime in Arizona but I doubt Simenon did either. I'll hope the next one I read is set back in Paris...

Arizona? What was he doing on Arizona?

He was on a study visit Mamie. Onward and upward!

>214 charl08: I have read 21 of the books Patchett has listed. Must admit that I am surprised to see Burr on the list which I remember being pretty turgid stuff.

Thank you by the way for your kind and thoughtful comments on my thread earlier. xx

I am another list-o-holic but only have read 16 on this list. I have a couple on my shelves to read and I added a couple of titles to my wishlist as well. I can't tell you how please I was when my granddaughter pulled out her current book when she came for dinner last night - A Wrinkle in Time.

Oh I do love a list Paul. I've not come across Burr at all, and from your comment I'm not tempted!

And if course you're most welcome - I do hope things work out.

>234 DeltaQueen50: Ooh, simultaneous posting. Another list lover!
I don't think I've ever read A Wrinkle in Time...

>236 charl08: A Wrinkle in Time is a wonderful children's sci-fi/fantasy or at least that's the way I remember it from 50 (or so) years ago. I think this will make a perfect book for me in Ellen's Re-Read Challenge next year. Got to keep up with the grandkids!

>237 DeltaQueen50: A Wrinkle in Time is one of Birdy's very favorite books. If the granddaughter likes it, then she might want to read When You Reach Me, which is fabulous and in which A Wrinkle in Time plays an important role. So fun!

>237 DeltaQueen50: I do like he sound of reading along with family!

I have 7 more hours of Barkskins to go according to the kindle. It is good, just so long!

I am enjoying Clive James' latest book, short essays on his rereading of books - I'm still not tempted to pick up Master and Commander, although some of the others I am hovering over.

>238 Crazymamie: Intriguing stuff. Thanks Mamie!

Currently reading:

Charlotte - I love lists of books! I have read about 45 of the books. I was happy to see Burr there. I loved that although my favorite Vidal was Lincoln.

What's the title of the James? I have a couple of his sitting around somewhere...

The Violet Hour looks really interesting. I am going to look for it.

>241 BLBera: Think that's the highest number so far Beth. The Clive James is Late Readings. He's still funny, but umdurlrisgivfb (ETA lol, this was supposed to be 'Underneath') his diagnosis, there is also a bleak note running through it. (If a note can run?)

>242 banjo123: I felt I got a lot out of it Rhonda. Hope it works for you.

Hi, Charlotte.

Looks like lots of good reading up there. I liked David Foster Wallace's Consider the Lobster and want to read more by him.

Happy Thursday, Charlotte! How are you liking the Cara Black?

>244 jnwelch: I don't think I've read anything by him Joe. Weirdly, all the praise kind of put me off. Sometimes it works like that.

>245 Crazymamie: I'm enjoying it. It reminds me a bit of Sara Paretsky.

I've done a tiny bit of weeding the paving stones (a job I hate) and felt like my back was complaining so stopped - but then 'just picking up the leaves and generally tidying' the back border, a job I like (proper flowers) carried on for at least half an hour. Hmmm. I'm going to have to start keeping some kind of book with a planting map - today after clearing out dead leafage found two plants underneath the cornflowers. No idea what they are...

Stopping by to say hi! I need to go more de -cluttering but like you , I can only do so much until my back and shoulder say no! I also find it challenging to get rid of some things -and of course, after filling up a garbage bag of stuff, my husband says - "are you sure" -- which does not help. I was chatting with a friend yesterday and he says he has the same problem with his spouse when he tries to de-clutter. I'll have to check out the Cara Black. She is an author I've not heard anything about.

Another bookshop list I like is The Women's Bookshop Top 50 Women Writers of the last 50 years (1965-2015), they update this every 5 years. http://www.womensbookshop.co.nz/pages/208-5050Women

Nice list.

>247 vancouverdeb: And were you sure Deborah? I admire you chucking things out. I struggle!

>248 avatiakh: >249 BLBera: It's a fun list. I've read six of the top ten...

So winding up June -


I read Murder in the Marais. I must admit, I struggled with the key plot point that someone could be running for high office and hold a fake identity undiscoveredbut then I realised it was written before google, and it made sense again. I do find it weird reading these books written in the recent past (I was reminded of Paretsky) - descriptions of what then is 'high tech' in the PI world, and now is so straightforward as to be taken for granted. And yet I Iove histoically set fiction, so I'm not sure what the difference is...


Sunset in Central Park bugged me a lot - I'd found the first book (in a planned trilogy) pleasant undemanding stuff. But but but... this second one left me with far too many wtf moments. As far as I was concerned, the main character needed therapy, not a boyfriend. To be fair, these stories rely on suspension of disbelief (a lovely job and a lovely home in your early twenties in the most expensive city in the world?!), and I think I find that a lot easier in a Heyer style regency setting than I do here. As Susan says, Morgan can be relied upon to write well - but this just didn't work for me.


Latest Readings was a sad read as well as an interesting one, as the writer, Clive James is living with terminal leukaemia - but living a lot longer than originally anticipated. As a result, he rediscovered the time to reread some favourite books. He is a genius at the clever funny line, making me want to pick up the books that he has here. Hemingway and Conrad both make repeated appearances, along with authors I've not come across before (the kind of short taster criticism I like).

I was sad he ventured into politics (dismissing critics of Australian refugee policies as part of comments on a political biography ) - I'm not sure he needed to go there, as the bulk of this little book on writers and reading is so rich.

In real life, many writers are liars. (On Hemingway)
Stephen's chief function is to fall through hatches or off the back of a ship...(he is) everyone's dream of a ship's doctor...It makes you wonder what kind of surgery he is doing down there below decks when the ship is reeling under the impact of massed French cannon. (On the Jack Aubrey novels)
...he checks his facts until they weep with boredom... (on Bob Woodward)
All his books are good for your German, but I'm not sure they're good for your soul. (On reading Albert Speer)
...reminds me of some of my fellow writers, when I was young, who were so gifted that they practically had to fight to achieve obscurity. Late in my life I still find it remarkable that they attained their aim. (Who knows?!)

I struggle a lot with de- cluttering , Charlotte, but yes I am sure. Last night my son and daughter - in - law stopped over to visit. My daughter - in - law is teaching elementary school and she was happy to take some art/ card making supplies to use at school. Oh that made it so much easier. I'll be filling more bags with her in mind and that makes it so much easier.

Nice June wind - up. I used to read Sarah Paretsky but when her character more or less stayed the same age and I didn't - well, I could not read about V.I Washersky ( sp) any more. :) Hmm - I'll check Kerry's list. I've read 11 of the book out of the 50 .

Glad to hear the decluttering is going well! I still pick up the Paretsky but (whisper it) not in any kind of order...

Still reading Barkskins - have cracked 50%
Hurrah!
I read an article where Proulx talked about the dramatic ways people died in ye olden times. She wasn't kidding...

I have that Clive James down for reading in for the Nov/Dec ANZAC challenge. I've only read his memoir of his childhood many years ago.

Re decluttering: I must do some this year especially books. I got the life-changing magic of tidying up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing out from the library but it will go back only partly read. The woman is not on my wavelength, is she on anyone's wavelength?

>254 avatiakh: I'm to lazy too read a book about de- cluttering! :) I find it hard enough to get rid of stuff -so when the mood strikes me I just try to act. My daughter - in - law and son just stopped by again and I was able to give her more stuff for her classroom . That makes getting rid of stuff so much easier, Kerry, at least for me. She is so appreciative it really helps to know my stuff is going somewhere happy! :)

I agree. The book was on a '2016 most popular books list' I came across online so I was curious, though not enough to put up with her obsession to not own hardly anything. I find cluttered households more interesting and real. My problem is I'm helping my mother out by taking her clutter and I own too many books so really need to get rid of the 'not necessary' ones.

Kerry, my household is very real! :) Too real, if messy is real! :) I've got two or more big boxes of books to take to the 2nd hand book store, and the ones I don't think the book store will take, one of my son's tells me that he can take them to be shipped off to Africa, for those who are learning English. It really helps to know that they are going to a good cause. I'm not willing to not own anything - my goodness, our dog has two small boxes of dog toys! Ridiculous! I know what you mean about keeping those favourite books - some I can get rid of, some not .

>253 charl08: *fingers in ears* la la la la la...

Barkskins sounds like quite a read! It's coming soon for me. I put the ebook reservation on hold for a couple of weeks, but after that :-)

I've just got home from the supermarket, and it was sunny on the way there and back, but has now clouded over. Someone is kidding me.

>254 avatiakh: >255 vancouverdeb: >256 avatiakh: >257 vancouverdeb: Certainly not on my wavelength- I read one LT review saying she recommended only keeping a couple of books. Oh I could not live like that!

I will have to get on and clear some stuff at some point. But not right now...

Guardian Reviews Non-fiction

Peacock & Vine: Fortuny and Morris in Life and at Work by AS Byatt reviewed by Fiona MacCarthy
"...brings together so many of the themes of Byatt's larger and more obviously ambitious works."
I'm not reading any more Byatt. Life's too short.


Track Changes: a literary history of word processing by Matthew G Kirschenbaum reviewed by Brian Dillon
"..unexpectedly engaging.."
Hmm.


The Girl Who Beat ISIS by Farida Khalaf and Andrea C Hoffman reviewed by Rachel Aspden
"...a compelling testament to the suffering of ordinary people caught up in violence far beyond their control - and to the particularly terrible price it exacts from women."
Wavering on this one... sounds grim but important.


What we cannot know by Marcus du Sautoy reviewed by Jonathan Rée
"Will nature yield up its last secret one day? Will our questions all be answered? Will scientists abandon their laboratories and take up poetry, painting or tap dancing instead?"
Not for me!


The Red Virgin and the Vision of Utopia and The Last Communard reviewed by Owen Hatherley
"These two books about celebrated communards, however, deal in myths and legends. "
I've requested the first one, as I liked their last GN.


Pimp State: Sex, Money and the Future of Equality by Kat Banyard reviewed by Sarah Ditum
"...a detailed account of the case against the sex industry..."
Ordered this from the library.


A Life Beyond Boundaries by Benedict Anderson reviewed by Joshua Kurlantzick
"...the autobiography mostly serves as a gentle polemic, and one in favour of a rather conservative view of scholarly life."


The Swordfish and the Star: life on Cornwall's most treacherous stretch of coast by Gavin Knight reviewed by Patrick Gale
"...has gone in search of old smells and danger and found them in spades. There are extraordinarily evocative stories here, of the mad bravado of scarred, de-fingered fishermen and the stoicism of their women."

Ack Susan I missed you. I think if I just read Barkskins for the day I might finish it, but because it's am e book I don't really feel the urge to read it like that. I did get a bit of a shock when I opened it on the non kindle e book reader and it told me I only had x days left to read it. What?!!

>200 charl08: I like this quote from The Violet Hour and the quote from your review. Sounds like an interesting review.

Happy Saturday, Charlotte. Did you finish Barkskins?

I want my own copy of The Violet Hour Mark. Hey ho.

Still going through Barkskins. 54% read, only four something hours to go (!!)

>260 charl08: Ooh, Track Changes, please! A shame the library has never heard of it. I've wishlisted the Cornish one, which does appear in the catalogue.

>261 charl08: Yes, that Overdrive "days remaining" feature is a bit irritating, isn't it? It may as well say READ ME NOW. But as I have just finished a library ebook for pretty much that reason, it seems to work :-)

I do NOT recommend The Last Communard. An exercise in historiography, essentially, and a real slog.

>264 susanj67: It sounded surprisingly good. The review also got my dad reminiscing about his days with printing machines, which I like.

I'm impressed at your reaction to deadlines!

>265 Chatterbox: I'm sticking to the pictures Suzanne (well, I am if the library gets me a copy).

>259 charl08: I will have to get on and clear some stuff at some point. But not right now...

I feel the same!

Glad I'm not the only one, Anita!

Shtum
I picked this up at the library today (I had no reservations: when I checked this evening, I had four!). Ben and Emma's son Jonah is autistic - at ten he can't speak and is doubly incontinent. Emma's come up with a plan to convince the council to look favourably at their appeal for a specialist boarding school for Jonah. Ben will have to move out with Jonah's and be a single dad, living with his own father, a Hungarian Holocaust survivor. Blackly comic as well as deeply sad, this was an engrossing read that left me wondering how so many people caring for family with conditions that are difficult to deal with manage.

I've been waiting for Shtum to come into my library. I must have read a review somewhere.

I wold have said I read about it on LT, but I can't find the mention on the work page

Finished Dinner Along the Amazon. I'm not sure this collection of short stories has aged very well.

Nothing for me in this week's Guardian NF.

I've read about 12 on Ann Patchett's list. (Just the first Harry Potter so far) and 12 on the NZ women's writers list. Clearly 12 is my magic number. ;-)

Happy Sunday, Charlotte!

Happy Sunday, Charlotte. Looking forward to your thoughts on The Red Virgin when you get your hands on it.

>273 Crazymamie: 12 sounds like a healthy number!

>274 jnwelch: The sunshine's out here Mamie :-)

>275 charl08: The library has put it on order for me Joe...

Light on fiction reviews this week...


Beast by Paul Kingsnorth reviewed by M John Harrison
"There's a kind of aching attentiveness needed to read Beast..."


Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan by Ruth Gilligan reviewed by Oona Frawley
"...documents the Irish-Jewish community in aim and form reminiscent of Colum McCann's Transatlantic."


War and Turpentine by Stefan Hertmans reviewed by Neel Mukherjee
"...all the markings of a future classic."


Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett reviewed by Lara Feigel
"...conscious shades of Faulkner's As I Lay Dying"


Songs of a Dead Dreamer by Thomas Logotti reviewed by Scott Bradfield
"Horror fiction isn't anywhere near as bad as real life. Which is probably why people should read more of it."

Read & commented on the Hertmans last week; fascinating.

Have got Imagine Me Gone on my massive TBR stack -- an ARC from ALA Midwinter. Sigh.

Since I've yet to read Kingsnorth's previous oeuvre, not yet tempted by this one.

Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan sounds intriguing. It's not out over here until next January...

>277 Chatterbox: There was also a crime roundup that mentioned Frederic Dard in new translation (ETA Pushkin Vertigo)- compared as French equivalent to Agatha Christie. Guess you've come across them in the original though?

>278 katiekrug: I heard her speaking on the radio - she just sounds *so* young and enthusiastic. It rather made me get all cynical about it. But on the other hand the plot sounds like the kind of novel I enjoy!

>279 charl08: Actually, nope... That's a new one for me. (Perhaps because I'm not a massive fan of Christie?) Although I did read her books when I was starting to read in French, as they were relatively simple and straightforward prose. I think my first full-length adult book in French, the summer that I was 13 and we were visiting Quebec City, was Mort sur le Nil... :-) I remember very, very vividly reading it, for some reason, as it was a hot and muggy August and I had run out of other books. The cover had the big King Tut sarcophagus on it. (For the same reason, I remember just as vividly reading Gone With the Wind the previous summer; another hot summer, in our back yard in Ottawa. Perfect escapism.)

>280 Chatterbox: Summers spent reading sound good. I was always running out of things to read! Will be interesting to see if these new translations take off - the new Maigret ones seem popular.

Thanks for posting the reviews, Charlotte. Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan sounds like a possibility.

Currently reading A Quiet Life . Despite it being told in flashback, I have no idea where it's going...

Pleasure Beth. Fascinating subject for a novel.

Update on appalling amount of library reading outstanding

Nine parts of desire : the hidden world of Islamic women Still not read this despite best intentions. ..

Questions of travel I'm stuck half way through and beginning to wonder do these two Ever Meet?

Boy, Snow, Bird Mum nobbled this one.

Congo : the epic history of a people see comment re Islamic women book

The secret history of Costaguana This is about Conrad, but I've not read him or this.

The virgin of flames I put this down after reading g a couple of pages...

Black Deutschland Has lots about architecture, which I hadn't realised.

Unfinished business : women, men, work, family Goal is to read this for the non-fiction challenge this month...

The interpreters
In the house of the interpreter : a memoir
The English Civil War : a people's history Just haven't felt like picking these up

My life on the road someone else has asked for this, so I need to get on with it...

>248 avatiakh: Nice list, Kerry. I have read something by 28 of the 50 authors listed and have something unread on the shelves by all but two of them.

>260 charl08: I like the look of the two Communard books but especially the book on Cornwall by Gavin Knight.

>276 charl08: Nothing either grabs or repels from the fiction list this week.

>283 charl08: I also remember being non-plussed by that one when I read it about 18 years ago.

Oops Paul - it's the new one by Natasha Walter I meant. I've fixed the touchstone in >283 charl08:

>284 charl08: Oh my word, that English Civil War one is *at my library*!!! The only one in the borough! I bet it's huge though, isn't it. Humph.

It is massive. I think the flaw is that I'm not reading in mini egg season, so I can't bribe my way through like with Jenny Uglow's book...

Currently reading The Judge's House

Struggling to keep my eyes open (I very childishly raced someone in the pool instead of taking it steady and am now pooped). Lovely French atmosphere in The Judge's House: dodgy marriages, nosy neighbours and some very out of date ideas about mental health, in coastal village in the Vendee.

>288 charl08: * bribe your way through with mini eggs* LOL! Not much in my newspaper re new releases either.

A Quiet Life is proving completely engrossing. It woke me up. I was only going to read a few pages. Famous last words. Spying, but really prosaic spying - so I'm not sure how the author manages to make it so involving...

>291 vancouverdeb: I've settled for a flake instead. I always feel like I should be eating them in a really glamorous location, but no, just on the sofa with a book...

A Quiet Life

Gripping account of (fictionalised) life of Cambridge spy (inspired by life of Donald McLean's wife). Reminds me of American Wife where Sittenfeld set out to try and make comprehensible Laura Bush's apparently odd life choices. Not a simple picture of blind faith to a cause but a complex picture of a growing, ageing human being, with shfti g attitudes and priorities.

Even now, sitting here on the balcony and looking out over a lake in the long evening, this is the memories that flattens the horizon, that shuts down the light. You can excuse yourself, Laura tells herself, over and over again as the memories rise. Remember, you had no idea, you planned nothing, you asked for nothing except safety. They did it all. You did nothing.
There are always excuses.

>288 charl08: LOL! Too bad.

A Quiet Life sounds good, Charlotte.Yes, mini eggs are a wonderful reward for almost anything.

Nice library selection. ;)

Thanks Beth. Mini eggs seem like a good note to end the thread on...