Hi Ho, Hi Ho, Up Mount TBR in 2016, Peace2 goes! (part 2)

My plan at the beginning of the year was to...

read approximately 1000 pages from the TBR pile per month (this allows for the fact that sometimes I'm picking up a whole series of short books or one or two larger doorstops or any mix in between and also for the fact that over the last two years I've read 4000+ pages per month, so it gives me 3000 pages of free choice from anywhere - or library and work related stuff to fit into that bit) - on track with this one

the TBR pile classes as anything in the house on 31 Dec 2015 having to be careful as I'm reading and acquiring lots

new books into the house must not exceed books finished or abandoned from the TBR pile - library books do not count for either category (no doubt I'll fail on this one!). - oh dear - need to up the number read and not allow anything book shaped into the house!

I'm hoping that I'll still keep a balance between male and female writers and that I'll also keep a regular input of non-fiction into my reading diet, but I'm not going to give it a specific number and leave it to finding things that interest me at the time - I know there's plenty on the TBR pile balance so far - books by male authors - female authors is 69-72, different male authors to female authors is 63 to 52 (so I'm reading more series by female authors at the moment), non-fiction to fiction 27 - 140 which is 84% to 16% (it was running at about 80-20 until June when I didn't finish any of the non-fiction I was reading)

And keep a tracker - just so I can see how many books I get through, but it's not my specific goal.




So with the exception of books into the house, things are going well!

>1 Peace2: "So with the exception of books into the house, things are going well!"

I think every one of us are having this issue. What it means is, booklovers simply have to have a life plan which includes getting a larger home about every 10 years to house our collections. ;)

>2 MrsLee: And presumably living until eternity in order to have time to read everything they've bought!

>3 Peace2: which will, of course, give you infinite time to buy new books, requiring more years to read them in, during which time there will be more new books to buy ... etc.

>4 hfglen: Are you suggesting that I go out and buy Downton Abbey now, just to house the collection I've amassed by 2040?

May not be a bad idea, unless there's a LARGE abandoned mine near you that you could use. At least until you can get a connection to L-space.

I live 15 minutes from the world's largest salt mine. It's still operating, but there must be a lot of empty space down there. And the salt should keep the books from getting damp.

I am Doomed, I say DOOMED! Mount TBR is going to overwhelm me and there's no way I can move somewhere new and bigger (or even old and bigger) *sob* HELP!

Hmmmm! This discussion regarding the link between number of books owned, time required to read them prompting more books etc... suggests to me that buying books could be the path to eternity. Unfortunately the exponential growth of books bought will ultimately fill up all the available space and present a limit to growth...so we had better hurry up with that link to L-space.

Books are a lot cheaper than all those pharmaceuticals promising to extend life and have a lot less side effects too. See? Mount TBR is for your health AND helps save money :D

I so wish . . . Nope, I have absolutely no willpower at all when it comes to books - I had two more arrive in the post on Friday and then had to pop into town on Saturday for an appointment and figured I'd drop back a library book I'd finished with . . . I picked up another while I was there which sounds okay doesn't it . . . until I confess to having also wandered through the charity shops on my way back to the car and then driven to the other side of the island to do the food shop (and visit another charity shop) and at this point I admit that along the way I accumulated another 7 books. I've only finished 2 over the weekend so far. If the weather were a little better, I'd be walking home and listening to more of my audio books and sitting out for at least part of my lunch time and reading an actual book - as opposed to taking the bus and reading the book on my phone.

July Book #1 Talking about Jane Austen in Baghdad: The True Story of an Unlikely Friendship by Bee Rowlatt and May Witwit

The book is a series of emails exchanged between two women, one a part-time British journalist and mother, the other a university lecturer in Baghdad during the years of Iraq's isolation and the presence of the US army. It shows their contrasting lives, the different struggles the two faced in dealing with their every day lives, the support they offered each other and the efforts of the British journalist, Bee, to help her friend find a way to leave Iraq with her husband at a time when some of her colleagues were being murdered and her name was on a list of people to be watched and possibly killed at some point. The difficulties faced by 'ordinary' people in Iraq during this period gives a real insight into how things like the embargoes placed on trade effect the general populace of a country - needless to say those in power still had both the money and the means to obtain whatever they needed. I found this most interesting from the perspective of what I learned about May's life, although I admired Bee's tenacious persistence in helping her friend at times my view of her was that she, even by British standards, was fortunate and somewhat spoilt.

July Book #2 No. 6 volume 6 by Atsuko Asano and Hinoki Kino

I continue to enjoy this manga dystopian series - I can't really say too much more without spoiling either this or earlier books in the series.

I had heard of Talking about Jane Austen in Baghdad but I'd not gotten enough of a sense of what it was really about to know whether or not I would want to read it. I'm much more tempted now.

>11 Peace2: I admire your support of charitable institutions.

>14 pgmcc: My book acquisition habit is almost responsible for the entire running of certain of the institutions I feel - although it has to be said that one of the shops I went into was running a 30p for one paperback - buy 3 for £1 - which did help curb the spending slightly. (I did point out that it wasn't quite the bargain they were suggesting to the counter staff).

>15 Peace2: I suppose they told you that it was quite the bargain from where they were standing.

It reminds me of my visit to the dentist a few years ago. He was about to do a procedure without any numbing injections. I asked if it would hurt and he reassured me he would not feel a thing.

>16 pgmcc: Ah, dentists they have such wonderful senses of humour - I saw one last year and as I was being going to be put under a level of anaesthetic for a procedure, they fitted one of those things to my finger to monitor my pulse (pulse oximeter?). As he approached with the injection to the other side, the machine began to wail supposedly indicating my pulse had stopped - his comment to the two nurses, "Everybody please note, she dropped dead before I did anything" he looked at me, grinned and then said, "Or we could just fit that properly onto her finger this time".

>17 Peace2: *laughing out loud*

>17 Peace2: :-)

July Book #3 Storm Front by Jim Butcher

Quite enjoyed this one, not completely convinced but not put off either. I'm sure I've read on other threads that the series strengthens as it goes along - I have a couple more on the shelf so will continue at some point (not sure when yet).

July Book #4 Hawkeyes by Jeff Lemire

Disappointing and confusing. I enjoyed the Matt Fraction run that preceded Jeff Lemire's, but my enjoyment has steadily diminished with these.

July Book #5 Authority by Jeff VanderMeer

Felt as if this dragged much more than the first and then picked up and became really attention grabbing in the last section. I get that part of the lack was to build the atmosphere but I don't really feel like we've got very much further along in this section. I haven't rushed to get part 3, but will continue on when the mood takes (or when the book is a bit cheaper!). There are other more attention grabbing things out there at the moment.

Thankfully some of the ones I'm making my way through at the moment will rate higher than these!

>20 Peace2: After book 3 for me, was when the Dresden series took off and I became a fan. Book 2 was torture the first time I read it, but I've read it twice since then and not been bothered as much.

>21 MrsLee: I'm pretty sure it's books 2 & 3 that I've still got on the shelf, then a high numbered one and a short story collection (not sure where it fits in the flow) - they don't come up often in the bookshop and charity shops here and the library has none, so I'll plod on for a while before being tempted by a trip to Amazon!

Finished three yesterday unbelievably! But then a couple were easy reads.

July Book #6 Jennie Churchill: Winston's American Mother by Anne Sebba

An interesting look at the life of Jennie Churchill. Although American, she actually spent very little of her life living there, moving from Europe to England and then marrying Randolph Churchill. Not at all what I expected as a background for someone like Winston Churchill, I had imagined a settled homelife. Yet Jennie and Randolph were both characters and the book discussed some of the questions over their fidelty or infidelties, their health and made it clear what it had evidence for and what may have been true but could not be fully substantiated. It discusses her relationship with her sons and with money and her life after Randolph's death. All in all, interesting.

July Book #7 Gumbles in Summer by S.A. Wakefield

As a young child one of my favourite books was Bottersnikes and Gumbles, this is a sequel to that (which I assumed I'd read, but having read it now, I know I didn't - I'd have been too old - it didn't come out until 1979 in Australia, or in paperback until 1982 - by which time I'd have been about 13 and not sure if they were ever published in the UK - I figure I read them when I was 7 or 8ish). I didn't like this quite as much as the other two I've read, but it's not terrible - I did particularly like one conversation between some of the Bottersnikes. For those not familiar with the series - the Bottersnikes and Gumbles live in the Australian bush, the Bottersnikes are bad tempered selfish and constantly trying to catch the Gumbles to make them do all the work (fetching food, making shelters etc) while the Gumbles are friendly and happy, look out for the other bush creatures, like to tidy up, giggle and play in shallow water (something the Bottersnikes avoid as they shrink when wet). Anyway at this point, the Bottersnikes are debating whether to make the Gumbles do a job for them and it goes as follows:

"Make the Gumbles do it," Chank said. He had dried out to half-size and was starting to get bossy again.

"Couldn't trust 'em," Glob said flatly. "You couldn't trust Gumbles to do anything right. Put two pairs of Gumbles together, you couldn't trust 'em to make four."

"They're unreliable," Snorg said. "If you had a race with just two Gumbles in it, one of 'em would come third."

July Book #8 No. 6 volume 7 by Atsuko Asano and Hinoki Kino

Continuing the dystopia manga series I've been reading eagerly - can I resist starting volume 8 immediately? Probably not for long - I will finish some of the others I've got on the go first... I will!

First DNF for a while - The Unknown Universe by Stuart Clark

I've got this in audio and there is just too much scientific information for me to take in with nothing else to help - it's not that it's not interesting, it's purely that it is too technical for me without the backup of things to look at and re-read - text/pictures etc. I'm probably only taking in about 5 - 10% of the book which is a waste - at some point I may see if the library has it in a different format, because I am interested, but that isn't enough right now.

July Book #9 Blake's 7 : The Sevenfold Crown by Barry Letts (also included The Syndeton Experiment)

Terrible. Much as I love Blake's 7, this particularly production felt wrong in all sorts of ways - as if the writer barely knew the TV series at all. This is not the first time I've listened to the productions but I decided to come back to it after the Big Finish productions that I was listening to earlier in the year. I won't get rid of it (still) but only because it's an autographed copy (by the late Peter Tuddenham who played Orac, Zen and Slave), but I also can't see me listening to it again.

July Book #10 Black Butler Volume 2 by Yana Toboso

The adventures of Sebastian, the Butler with an added something and his master Ciel, Earl of Phantomhive continue. This is a manga series and I've only read the first two, but quite enjoyed them so far - set in Victorian Britain with a difference. Quite a fun read, hopefully it will continue to be so.

July Book #11 Slaughterhouse-5 by Kurt Vonnegut

I found this book hard going - just couldn't really get into it. I expected something that was going to grab me more - given its popularity, the fact that the copy I had was a reprinted 'classic', that claimed it was humorous and moving. The humour for the most part wasn't the kind that appealed to me and while moments were moving, the overall was far more of a slog than I expected for a relatively short book. I read a Vonnegut short story last year and had enjoyed it and had hoped that this would go down the same way - but no. It didn't work for me.

July Books # 12 and 14 No. 6 volume 8 and No. 6 volume 9 by Atsuko Asano and Hinoki Kino

The final two parts of the dystopian manga series that I'd been reading - I'm even more determined in my intention to acquire a copy of Atsuko Asano's original novel from which the manga was developed. Bearing in mind that this is manga, the story was well developed, the characters well built - I loved Shion and Rat and the development that the two of them went through over the course of the series. As central characters they get the most development but some of their associates also change as the story develops. To outline the general premise of the series - it's a not far in the future world in which the elite live in the higher echelons of the city of No. 6. Shion is growing up with his mother as part of the elite when one night he helps a boy who has escaped from the correctional facility. Later, Shion and his mother lose their elite status and the two of them are rehoused in a poor quarter of the city where he begins work. When he witnesses the death of a colleague, Shion ends up running for his life accused of murder and escaping the city walls where he falls in with Rat - the boy he had helped years before. Over the course of the story, Rat's back story is gradually built in along with that of the city. All in all I was pleased with the series - suitable for mid teens I would say - there is quite a degree of violence and some moments that hit my squeamish spot which would put me off giving it to younger readers. I loved the art of the series and the bonus in book 8 of getting some special colour pages was great - loved it.

July Book #13 Gumbles in Trouble by S.A. Wakefield

The final part of the Bottersnikes and Gumbles (although order beyond the first book is not absolutely essential) following the creatures' lives in the Australian Bush. I like this more than book 3, further adventures of the escapades of the two groups, with the Gumbles tricking the Bottersnikes into allowing them to escape while the Gumbles have fun and are taken in by the Bottersnikes' traps. Great kids series - shame it seems to be out of print now.

July Book #15 Quest in Paradise by David Attenborough

David Attenborough's own account of one of his early trips for the BBC and London Zoo which took him to Papua New Guinea in search of birds of paradise. Interesting and informative, David Attenborough presents his experiences well in a very accessible way (much like his TV programmes) to people like me who know little about some of the places he went and the animals he researched.

How do I keep getting so far behind in my own thread?

Anyway further reading this month...

July Book #16 Kolymsky Heights by Lionel Davidson

I kept losing track of what was going on - too distracted and not entranced enough by the book to commit enough attention to it. Supposedly it was a thriller, but it didn't thrill me!

July Book #17 Hope for Hannah by Linda Mitchelmore

Hannah lives with her mother and works as a teacher's assistant in order to help keep them. She enjoys reading and often goes out to do this in the open air when she gets a chance. While out there she meets two men on separate occasions who are brothers - one kind and considerate, the other arrogant and self-centred. The story revolves around how her life and theirs become entwined and where it leads them all. The story was short and was a random selection from the library shelves. It was okay, but not great - from my perspective.

July Books #18, #22 and #24 further volumes in the Black Butler series (volumes 3 - 5 - link is to the third volume) by Yana Toboso

Continuing the manga series following Sebastian the butler and his master Ciel, Earl of Phantomhive and their pursuit of Jack the Ripper and then into Anglo-Indian politics with an appearance from Queen Victoria. I'm still enjoying these - although not quite as much as I enjoyed the No. 6 series by Hinoki Kino and Atsuko Asano

July Book #19 Wolves of the Northern Rift by Jon Messenger

Initially this was set up to be a steampunk story something I've not read a lot of (one or two short stories only), but although it is that, in some respects that plays a very small part in the story. Simon, an Inquisitor and his assistant Luther are sent to investigate reports of werewolves in the northern town of Haversham. There they have to uncover what's really happening - why are the rumoured werewolves only attacking the properties belonging to Gideon Dossett and so on.

Things I like about it - it actually melded a little light-steampunk with magic and the supernatural and Sherlock Holmes type investigation. - pace is good, the story moves along at a good clip and even as some revelations are made, others are still waiting.

Things I didn't like so much - the two main characters were a little too much like Holmes and Watson in their characterisation with one jumping to conclusions and the other having no idea how he got there. Token female although she became more important in the latter stages and was shown as strong and independent thinking (given that she was the character shown on the cover) - but she doesn't actually appear until chapter 15 and then vanishes again until chapter 23 - quite a long way to go and I only remember one other female character (beyond the maids) who appears intermittently and is never fully developed. What felt like overuse of the word gubernatorial - variously gubernatorial estate, mansion and guards. I guess because it's not a word I'd come across before it stood out each time it was used - as this was an ebook, I've just done a search to see just how many times it was used - turns it out is was only ten! Felt like more than that. Point of view changes - at times the narrative swapped from Simon to Luthor (or vice versa) and I had to backtrack to work out which.

Overall, I liked it more than I didn't and as it's the start of the series, I may at some point continue.d

July Book #20 The Great Ghost Rescue by Eva Ibbotson

A light children's book that had been lurking on the pile for a while - Rick lives in a boarding school and wakes up one morning to find a ghost on his bed - a friendly one. It turns out the across the country, ghosts and other supernatural creatures are being turned out of their homes as people renovate and get rid of the damp etc or turn old buildings into ones with all mod cons. Rick sets out to rescue them and just when all appears to be sorted, they discover a betrayal and so further rescuing is needed.

Great for children of about 8 - 10 I would say.

July Book #21 The Van: Barrytown Trilogy by Roddy Doyle (why do so many books try linking to Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone? The Van wasn't even an option until I added the Barrytown Trilogy at which point it wanted to link to the omnibus version)

The final part of the trilogy that began with The Commitments - I liked this more than the first, not as much as the second The Snapper. In this Jimmy Rabbite Senior finds himself unemployed with little chance of finding a new job. He begins to adjust, but life for the whole family is difficult with the reduction in income and the change in their roles. When his friend Bimbo also loses his job but gets a redundancy payout, he ultimately 'invests' in a chipper van and so Bimbo and Jimmy Rabbite Senior go into business together. There is plenty of humour scattered through the book, but it also has some deeper serious tones with the effects of redundancy, unemployment and depression on individuals and families, also bickering and betrayals alongside petty jealousies. A good one to listen to. Glad I continued with this series.

July Book #23 The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A collection of short stories some set in Nigeria, some in America focusing on people who had immigrated there from Nigeria. A mix of stories focusing on different women's experiences - but touching often on the conflicts the women experienced or were witness to (tensions between changing cultures, religious and/or political tensions) Some of the stories were more engaging than others, but overall worth the read.

And that's me up to date for the moment (thank goodness!)

July Book #25 Mister Monday by Garth Nix

I got off to a bit of a slow start to this one, getting distracted a couple of times, but once I hit my stride I began to quite enjoy it. Arthur unwittingly finds himself the holder of the minute hand for Mister Monday and from there gets drawn into a world unlike our own, the world of the Lower House controlled by Mister Monday. But despite having initially given Arthur the hand, Monday now wants it back and sends his Noon to retrieve it. Written by the author of Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen, this is the first in a series The Keys to the Kingdom - I have several of the Morrow Day books and so expect to move on to Grim Tuesday fairly soon. I would say that this is aimed at a slightly younger audience than the Old Kingdom books, but enjoyable nonetheless. There are a few snippets in there that I'm not sure would mean much to a younger audience (there is reference to someone not wearing any trousers and being concerned that they might have a Marilyn Monroe moment for instance and another one refers to characters being dressed like Charlie Chaplin) but they are minor and don't detract from the whole.

I figure it's late enough in the day to say I'm not going to finish another book this month and so with that I'll do my monthly stats instead.

July Summary

Total Number of Books Read : 25
Books Retained After Reading : 12

Books on Shelf Prior to 1st Jan 2016 : 8
Books on Shelf Prior to 1st Jan 2015 : 6

Books Abandoned : 1 (4%)
Series Finished as far as I intend reading : 5 (4 series complete - 1 won't be continued further, there is a possibility of more in one of the series I'm listing as complete but for now it seems finished)

Non-Fiction Reads : 3 (12%)
Fiction Reads : 22 (88%)

Male Authors (first time to read that author this year): 5 (20%)
Female Authors (first time to read that author this year): 3 (12%)

Books by Male Authors : 12 (48%)
Books by Female Authors : 8 (32%)
Books by Collaboration : 5 (20%)

Books acquired : 29

Goal to read 20000 pages from Mt. TBR by the end of the year : 1903 read (3256 pages remaining)

To add to my reading challenge for the year I have also decided to do the 'Walk to Mordor' challenge. Working on the theory of approximately 3 miles per day, it should take about 1,200 days (just over 3 years!). I found the distances online and have set up a spreadsheet and am calculating how far along the way I am.

Since the beginning of May, I've walked 286.81 miles which takes me a little over half way from Hobbiton to Rivendell. I should complete this first stage of the journey round about the 22nd September, if I keep my average to about 3 miles a day. (If only the weather would improve, I might stand a chance of getting there sooner!)

That set me wondering how far a 'Walk to Mordor' would take Dragoneers if, like Frodo, they went from A to B by a practicable route. For example, that walk from my home (in Durban, South Africa) would end within matatu-taxibus range of Awassa in Ethiopia! Where would such a walk take our other regulars?

>29 hfglen: Just to do the 'to Mount Doom' stretch of the journey (the challenge I'm trying actually gets Frodo back to Bag End with an option to keep going on to Grey Havens) - would take me from here (off the coast of France) to St Petersburg in Russia with a little to spare (about 35 miles) travelling through France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Russia (better make sure my passport has all the relevant visas!)

or to Luleå in Sweden which would mean diverting in Germany to head for Denmark and a second ferry crossing (unless any giant eagles happened along I suppose).

>29 hfglen: From here in the Seattle area in the USofA, I would end up walking south through Oregon, Idaho, Utah, then all the way across both Wyoming and Nebraska to finally cross the Missouri river to land in Council Bluffs, Iowa. In fact, that would leave me ~14 miles short of reaching Mordor - which is not actually in Iowa, (at least I don't think it is! ;-). Or, I could just walk north to Anchorage, Alaska. Looks to be about the same distance. Or Amarillo, Texas. If I walked directly south, I would end up somewhere in Baja, Mexico. Not too much of an option to walk west from here...

Incidentally, I did the Seattle to Omaha drive four years ago. Day 1 was 8 hours to Boise, Idaho. Day 2 was 10.5 hours to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Day 3 was another 8 hours to Omaha, Nebraska.

Walk it? Not. A. Chance.

>30 Peace2: Fortunately the route I worked out only needs 2 visas in a South African passport: Tanzania and Ethiopia. And the only ferry crossing is the Zambezi at Kazungula (in the absence of eagles I guess you could go to Victoria Falls in Zim and cross on the bridge, though. Treat yourself to one of the world's scariest bungee jumps while you're there, if you're totally certifiably bonkers.)

>31 ScoLgo: Interesting. We would expect to take a week or more to drive to Nairobi, and 2-3 days from there to Awassa. Until recently the A2 from Marsabit to Moyale (Ethiopian border) was considered the worst main road in East Africa, where it could take weeks to do 246 km; but I gather it's been tarred in the last coupe of years.

August Books #1 and #3 Black Butler Volumes 6 and 7 by Yana Toboso

I continue to enjoy the series overall although some elements are less enticing than others.

August Book #2 The Name of This Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch

I was half drawn to this book by the title and the author's name, curious as to what it was going to be about, so when I happened across a copy in such good nick a while back in one of the charity shops it seemed like fate. Well, this is a children's adventure story. The central characters are Cas and Max-Ernest, two children who find themselves on the outside at school. Cas is a survivalist, she carries a backpack with her supplies and is always looking out for danger, Max-Ernest tells unfunny jokes in the hope of someone laughing. The two end up interacting and begin a tentative friendship which leads to them both becoming involved in a mystery that must be solved and will need both of their skills and their ability to cooperate with each other.

The story is told by an outside narrator, who is continually trying to 'protect' the reader from the danger the story represents, after a while I found the narrator somewhat tiresome. On the upside (thinking in terms of being interested in children improving their vocabulary through their reading and such like) it does use some interesting vocab and very often explains things or encourages the reader to look up the word.

As I have the next one in the series on the shelf already(along with part 4 for some reason), I probably will give at least one more a go before giving up.

August Book #4 Bucky Barnes Winter Soldier Vol 2 by Ales Kot

Really didn't like it - if it had been any longer I'd have given up on it.

August Book #5 The Gift by Alison Croggon (also titled the Naming - in the US I think)

Maerad begins the story as a slave in Gilman's Cot until she meets Cadvan, who helps her to escape and introduces her to the life of the Bards - healing, music, speaking to animals and so on. But more is afoot as they travel together than either of them initially realises.

Interesting fantasy, quite dense descriptions, some characters and settings are given quite a lot of work only to have their part last a few pages. It would probably classify as young adult as Maerad is about 16. The relationship between the characters is familial rather than romantic, which I prefer although as it's the start of a series who knows where it will go. There are themes of good versus evil, trust, loyalty, treachery and betrayal.

Overall I enjoyed it (but wouldn't go so far as to say I loved it) and am now looking to track down the next in the series (as I already own part 3 and 4) so that I can continue with it.

August Book #6 The Hunted by Tarn Richardson (Twilight? Seriously how do these touchstones work? There are masses of books entitled The Hunted and it links to Twilight?)

This was a free ebook from iBooks, the start of a series and only short. The book opens with a priest seemingly falling to his death in Sarajevo just as Archduke Franz Ferdinand is about to visit the city in 1914. Inquisitor Tacit Poldek uncovers the reasons for the priest's death, along with the reasons for his own presence in the city and uncovers a bigger plot. Elements of the supernatural combine with crime mystery. Poldek is not a character that it's easy to warm too (even taking into account that this is relatively short - it says 300 pages on the promotion page on iBooks but I'm pretty sure my copy was less than 100 pages long.

It is geared as a prequel to The Damned the beginning of a trilogy which was published in May of 2015 with the book ending with the set up of Poldek being sent to a new location. Speaking personally I didn't enjoy this book and I won't be pursuing the series any further.

Need to buckle down and get to the end of some of the other books that I've got on the go at the moment - but they are of reasonable length and I've been busy of late - having said that I'm making reasonable progress with Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, The Name of the Wind, Puck of Pook's Hill and Russia: A 1,000 year Chronicle of the Wild East.

>34 Peace2: I have the Russia book that you are reading on my Tbr pile. I will be very interested in your thoughts on it.

>35 Sakerfalcon: The book is interesting in part - this version is more of a radio series than an actual audio book version of a book - but it's a little strange when he says things like 'And here I am in front of xxx' and you can hear people moving past him or cars or such - I think I'd rather have read a version and had pictures. There is a lot of history there - some interesting perspectives so far about why every time Russia throughout its history has begun to make moves towards a more liberal or democratic society something or someone holds it back and forces it to revert to an authoritarian autocracy. There's a lot to take in and I'm sure more of it might stick if I read the book - which I see the library has a copy of, so I may borrow that when I'm a bit more up to date with the TBR pile (and other library loans).

August Book #8 Puck of Pook's Hill by Rudyard Kipling

A couple of children find out some of the history of their locale with the help of Puck who introduces a number of the historical residents of the area. Interesting idea, fairly quick to read although lots of dated language (it was written in 1906). I'd got both a tree and an ecopy and so was able to read it on the bus. I've grown to like the dictionary function on the e-versions of books but even that couldn't keep up with the language here.

August Book #9 The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

I'd had the tree version of this on the TBR pile for a little while as I read a few comments that were slightly less than enthusiastic, when I happened across an audio copy. The downside to audio is of course the length of time it takes to listen to the book and this is a real tome. Initially I wasn't keen on the narrator, but I have to say that it didn't take too long to get used to his voice and come to feel that it fit well. (My initial reticence may have been just needing to acclimate to American narrator - although this isn't the first US narrator I've listened to by a long way). In the end I think I enjoyed this more because of listening (and following along in the tree copy at times). It was a bit on the verbose side at times and therefore, felt slow moving, but overall I was content and would keep my eye out for sequels (particularly in audio form).

August Books #7, 10 and 11 Black Butler Vol 8 along with volumes 9 and 10 by Yana Toboso

A locked room mystery with added 'Sherlock Holmes' tributes hit Earl Ciel Phantomhive of Phantomhive Manor and his butler Sebastian in these next three in the manga series. I'm still really enjoying these - just wish they were - longer per volume, less expensive to acquire and easier to acquire (having said that I've spent too much money at Book Depository to acquire the next 5 in the series).

August Book #12 Summer Daydreams (for some bizarre reason this keeps trying to link to Gone Girl - completely the wrong type of book!) by Carole Matthews

This was an audio book that had lurked in the 'they belong to me audio books, so when I'm up to date on my library audio borrows, I should tackle these'. I'd acquired it a couple of years ago and put it on my mp3 player to listen to on walks home from work. It's taken a while to get through - It was about 11 hours or so long which would be about 18 walks - but that presumes it's not raining and I'm not walking with someone else, so it did take longer.

The story of Nell McNamara who works in a chip shop but has a certain artistic flair. The story begins with her redecorating the chip shop for her boss to try and regenerate business which of course is a roaring success. Her boss then goes from borderline broke and closing down to lending her money left right and centre to go to College and set up her own business. As the story progresses, she faces hurdles which are initially overcome, love challenges and family/work balance decisions. It's far-fetched and does involve some degree of suspension of belief in reality. Can't see me keeping this to listen to again. The narrator did a fairly good job, but I definitely didn't love the story itself.

Back to otherwise stated scheduling, as I continue to listen to Russia, a 1,000 year Chronicle of the Wild East when I'm at home, next up for walking is The Crow Road by Iain Banks (a bit concerned about this one as I haven't got on too well with my Banks prior choices) and I'm still making my way through Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children which I'm quite enjoying, I've got Becoming Human on my phone for reading on the bus and am over halfway through I am David and expect to finish that shortly.

>36 Peace2: Thanks! I have a tree copy so hopefully I won't have the problems with it that you did with the audio. I believe the book is based on a BBC series, but I can't remember if it was TV or radio.

August Book #13 Russia, a 1,000 year Chronicle of the Wild East by Martin Sixsmith

Having already commented on this one when I was part way through, I shall just add that I'm glad I tried it - it's sparked a further interest in finding out more about Russia's history, but that the radio presentation of this meant that I didn't take in as much as I'd have liked.

August Book #14 I am David by Anne Holm

A children's/young adult book that I have a recollection of having read round about when I started secondary school (30 some years ago). It's the story of a young boy who escapes from a concentration camp. It is never specifically stated where the camp is but he is told at the beginning to head south to Salonica and catch a boat to Italy before heading north. Following his journey, there are a lot of 'convenient' circumstances that provide him with the information or help he needs to get him to the next part of his journey and ultimately to learn what his end goal is. David is a distinctive character, his conversations with his God of the green pastures and the things he has learned about how it is alright to hate them (his captors) but he must always rise above behaving in the same way so that he does not become like them, make him very different to any other similar book that I have read. Some points when reading as an adult do seem far-fetched, but the overall effect of the book (given the target audience) is positive. I'm popping it back on the shelf to keep for now and not considering passing it on.

I remember reading I am David in elementary school, probably sometime between the ages of 10 and 12. It made an impression at the time, though I can't remember many details all this time later.

>37 Peace2: I might steal your idea of listening to The Name of the Wind, because I also keep putting it off. The best thing about audio is I can zone out when things get dull.

>28 Peace2: What a great idea! I'm late to the discussion, but now I have to do some calculations. I can hunt Pokémon while I'm walking to Mordor!!!

>41 clamairy: while I'm walking to Mordor!!!

We had a Danish visitor to our offices yesterday. He is working on a project with some of my colleagues. His name is Soran! As you can imagine, I have been having great fun warning my colleagues about his evil eye.

>42 pgmcc: Bwaa haa haa. Poor guy. That's actually a lovely name.

I'm going to do this starting September 1st. I should really wait until Bilbo & Frodo's birthday on the 22nd, but I'm impatient. I already walk somewhere between 20 to 30 miles most weeks, but I'm going to start keeping track of where that puts me on the Middle Earth map. Thank you for the great idea!

>43 clamairy: Good luck with the walking - I'm still sticking with it and plodding along (not with anywhere near Hobbit pace it has to be said!)

August Summary

Total Number of Books Read : 16
Books Retained After Reading : 8

Books on Shelf Prior to 1st Jan 2016 : 6
Books on Shelf Prior to 1st Jan 2015 : 4

Books Abandoned : 0 (0%)
Series Finished as far as I intend reading : 4

Non-Fiction Reads : 1 (6.3%)
Fiction Reads : 15 (93.7%)

Male Authors (first time to read that author this year): 5 (31%)
Female Authors (first time to read that author this year): 3 (18.7%)

Books by Male Authors : 6 (38%)
Books by Female Authors : 9 (56%)
Books by Collaboration : 1 (6%)

Books acquired : 9

Goal to read 20000 pages from Mt. TBR by the end of the year : 2658 read (598 pages remaining)

Although it doesn't look like as many books this month - more of this month's books were chunky in size - my average number of pages per book rose from having been anything between 211 and 248 to this month being 303.

So a pretty good month for tackling a few larger books and not too bad for tackling books that have been in the house a while, even if the number of books was down pretty substantially and the number of pages per month is lower.

And for my other challenge, I've now walked 400.7 miles in total (towards Mordor) which means I've got 57.3 miles to go to get to Rivendell (approximately 20 days at 3 miles a day). Onward....

I happened across this dress in the Cath Kidston shop today http://www.cathkidston.com/dresses/story-books-cotton-slub-sleeveless-dress-1018... - even though it's not at all the sort of thing I would wear, my mind went 'Oh books, I need one of those!' - I think this only further underlines the fact that I have no chance of tackling Mount TBR! (I did not however buy one of these dresses!)

No, no, you're not looking at it in the right way. It's not about not getting through all the books on your tippling TBR. It's about how strong you are in resisting spending the money on the dress (even if you wouldn't ever wear it). That's the cue for the rest of us to all stand back in awe and applaud. Some suggest that you should spend the same amount of money on books that the dress might have cost you as a reward because you've been so incredibly virtuous.

>47 jillmwo: Can I have a dispensation to spend it on wine and cheese to go with the books I already have as I'm going on a couple of days sojourn to la belle France next week? Maybe I could put my feet up in the garden with the wine and spend some time... reading!!

Somehow post >48 Peace2: combined with "tippling TBR" in post >47 jillmwo: just seems appropriate. Although for myself, I find that drinking alcohol severely limits my reading abilities.

>49 MrsLee: Yes, a perfect combo. Was wondering if that was a Freudian Typo on Jill's part.

Ditto on the alcohol and reading. One glass of wine or a small martini with dinner has little impact, but beyond that. Ouch!

>44 Peace2: Thank you!

>48 Peace2: Investing in wine and cheese is certainly appropriate; the dispensation is granted. As for the "tippling TBR", the real isssue was that I couldn't think if I wanted tipping or tumbling as the word but knew I didn't want to say falling over. It's been a rough work week and the brain is fuzzy from over-exertion. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it...

Looking back over the posts above it seems I read 16 books in August and only commented on 14 of them. So the last two were another in the Black Butler series - I continue to enjoy these enough to keep going with the series and am sad to see that I'm 'nearing' the end of the published volumes - and Protect and Defend by Vince Flynn with which I will call it a day. I'm not a fan of the Mitch Rapp character and this is the second I've tried (both because I ended up with the books in the TBR pile - but I'm not sure where from!) - if any more turn up, I shall pass them to people who are more fond of the genre.

August and now September are proving to be slower months reading wise for me, mainly due to tiredness - most of my reading is either on the bus to work in the morning, during my lunch hour or listening to audio book as I walk home (if I walk home). Even my few days away in France didn't see me getting through as much as I'd hoped to finish - mind you I was pretty busy - eating, exploring, chatting, so I'm not too worried by that particular lack of progress. I even came back with some books! 1 was entitled The Carnac Alignments and the other Celtic Legends of Brittany.

So reading wise this month, there has been

September Books #1, 4, 7, 8 and 12 were continuing the Black Butler series - some of these do appeal more than others, but none of them are stand alone as the story progresses from one to the next (I'm now up to volume 16).

September Book #2 Becoming Human by Eliza Green - this is the first part of a sci-fi trilogy - Humans are settling on the planet Exilon 5 after Earth has become increasingly uninhabitable due to pollution but not all is as it seems and just who are the indigenous people? There was a lot of set up in this the first of the series, a lot of seemingly disparate threads although some of the links are becoming clearer but not resolved by the end (presumably to draw one into wanting the next book). I picked this up as a freebie from the I-books store but haven't bought the sequel at this point, but when I've got through a few more of the other ongoing series or when the price drops a little more to jump it up the queue.

September Book #3 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll read by Scarlett Johansson - Although I knew the story of Alice from other sources - films, extracts, books using this as a jump off point (like Splintered) etc, I realised a little while ago that I'd never actually read the whole of the original. Scarlett Johansson actually did a great job with the reading - I really enjoyed listening to her and time flew by as I listened. It really was quite a bizarre world that Lewis Carroll created.

September Book #5 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs - I was determined to read this one before the movie came out (which I managed to do - as I think it's out this weekend here). It was not quite what I'd expected, although to be honest, I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting. Although I'd heard lots of hype about it being great and really unusual and original, in many respects it wasn't as unusual as I thought it was going to be. The tying in of the photos with the story was quirky rather than creating a story as unique as I thought. There were a few nit picky niggles as it went along in things that characters said or did. It was curious and I'm glad I read it to see what the hype was about - I'm not going to rush to see the movie unless someone convinces me I really need to see it or to read on in the series, but equally I'm not going to completely ignore them if they happen across my path.

My feelings about Miss Peregrine were similar to yours. It was okay, but never quite managed to pull me in completely. The picture idea was neat, but sometimes it seemed like characters were only introduced so the author would have an excuse to include a particular photo. I have the second book on my Kindle, but I'm not in any hurry to read it.

>53 SylviaC: Sometimes I think all the hype some books/movies get actually makes it harder reading them later because they can't live up to the expectation.

September Book #6 The Crow Road by Iain Banks

This was an audio book that had been lurking in a box for a year or two, in part because I'd previously had Transition and The Wasp Factory. The former of these I'd felt very meh about, I finished it but hadn't felt anything too positive about it (nothing completely negative either). The latter was an abandon, not my thing. So I had kept pushing this one further down the pile, because I was just so unsure about it. But lots of people rave about Iain Banks and I figured the book was there so I should really give it a go.

It was alright. The narrator did a great job at making it listenable although at first with changing timelines for the part of the story being told I was a little confused at times, until I became more familiar with the characters. Watching the families and the different generations within them interact, as people grow and change was interesting. Following the search for answer for past family mysteries made me curious. I smiled at some of the incidences along the way.

I've got a few more Banks' books on the TBR pile and I feel somewhat less wary about giving them a try.

September Book #9 The Carnac Alignments by Jean-Pierre Mohen

I bought this while visiting the menhirs (standing stones) and dolmens in the Carnac area of Brittany, in France because I wanted to know more. The first thing to add was that I picked this from a small collection of books available in English on site. It was more of an overview of all the areas that one could want to look at then a deep insight with chapters on the archaeology of the discoveries and attempts to decipher and find out more about the period, the people and the reasons for the constructions, the mythology, the ecology as well as an overview of the different shapes, and the overall structure. It also gives a little information on nearby churches and although the main focus is on the standing stones and enclosures - Menec, Kermario and Kerlescan, it also gives information about some of the other structures in the area such as La Grande Brise at Locmariquer which would have been the largest standing stone found - it's now broken and lying down - if it had ever stood (no one is sure whether it did), it would have been about 64 feet (20 metres) tall. Unfortunately we didn't have time to get down to see that as well. It also references other European structures of similar period or origin - for instance Stonehenge. Overall, it was interesting but just a taster - this will go on a list of things I'd like to know more about in future.

>55 Peace2: Banks's non-Science Fiction work varied in its appeal to me. I found Transition "Meh!" too. It was the only one of his books published under the name, "Iain Banks", on the Eastern side of the Atlantic, and under, "Iain M. Banks", in the US.

I found The Crow Road to be good, but nothing wonderful. I loved The Wasp Factory but it is black humour that not everyone would appreciate.

The Bridge is one of his best, if not his best, non-SF books.

Walking on Glass is a great book, but again it would not appeal to everyone. It has three story lines with one of them being in the very far future. There are links between the three stories but, having seen Iain Banks explain the links, they are not links that everyone will get. I know I did not get half of them but I still enjoyed the book. Possibly this should not be your next Iain Banks novel.

Espedair Street turned out to be a lovely book. I found the ending very rewarding.

Canal Dreams left me thinking Iain had done too much research and was determined to get all his research into the book. I describe this novel as his Fredrick Forsyth novel because of the level of detail included. It moved a bit slowly for me at first but the ending picked up with an action packed conclusion.

Complicity Is a great book, but if you do not like violence you may be shocked by some of the scenes. The story is about the hunt for a serial killer and it includes detail of the murders. Apart from that one point the novel is a good story with an interesting structure and it has a very strong socio-economic message.

Whit I described as his Agatha Christie novel. It is quite gentle and pleasant. There are things in it that date it, such as bus conductors who collect fares from passengers on buses. This is a job that has disappeared in recent decades.

A Song of Stone is a story told in a lyrical style. Iain was very proud of it and felt it did not get the recognition it deserved. I thought it was a waste of time. (Sorry, Iain.)

The Business was so-so. As one of my friends stated, it would have been a wonderful first novel for a young author but for Iain Banks it was very disappointing.

Dead Air was a bit like "The Business" in terms of disappointment. Some people thought "Dead Air" was Iain's return to form, but I was not one of those people.

The Steep Approach to Garbadale was, in my opinion, his return to form and I enjoyed this quite a lot. It is about a family business; a very big family business, and the story includes detail of the family members and the relationships. As I worked for such a family business at the time (not my family I hasten to add) it really struck a chord with me.

Stonemouth was ok, but not brilliant. I appreciated it a lot because it includes story elements that touch my own life and because I know the areas of Scotland that he was talking about. ("Stonemouth" is a made up Scotish city but its components are easily recognisable as specific parts of the country.

The Quarry, his last novel, was completed after he was diagnosed with cancer and told he had only a short time to live. This book meant a lot to me as I was familiar with all his work, and knew his views on politics and religion. It may not be as meaningful to someone who has not been as familiar with Iain's work and world view.

In non-fiction Iain wrote, Raw Spirit: In Search of the Perfect Dram, in which he tours the distilleries of Scotland and provides history of each one. Again, knowledge of Scotland, Iain's work and an awareness of his political views made this book much more interesting to me that just a book about whisky. Iain was a whisky connoisseur and his publisher asked him to undertake the tour and commissioned the work. If you love Scotch you may like this book.

In summary, if you are to read more Iain Banks novels you will need to choose carefully if you are to find one that you like. I suppose in the parlance of our time, I am providing Trigger Warnings.

PS If you are interested in his Science Fiction work I can tell you those books are more consistent in their quality with only a couple of novels trailing the pack.

>56 pgmcc: Thank you so much for that overview - it will definitely guide my next choice - I did wonder at the time if I was missing something with The Wasp Factory as the librarian who recommended it to me described it as the best book on the shelves - is it one that I needed to stick with longer to begin to see the humour? That's always my biggest worry with books that I abandon and if I remember correctly I had the audio version of this and abandoned after just 1 disc.

The others that I've got on Mt TBR are The Steep Approach to Garbadale and Walking on Glass and then from the SF side I've got The Use of Weapons and Matter (oops near miss with the touchstones - this was heading in the direction of Little Women!). Although I've not yet tried any of his SF books, I can see how or perhaps I should say why Transition might have been released using that name rather than Iain Banks. Here's hoping I haven't got the pack trailers on the pile - although I'm hesitant to start those, and thinking more that at some point I will borrow the earlier ones in the series from the library first so as to tackle them in order (I'm presuming that is necessary or at least advisable?)

>57 Peace2: If you didn't find The Wasp Factory interesting after a full disc of reading then there is a possibility you will not find it amusing. The humour is very black. Did you reach the bit about the rabbits? If you did and did not feel like going on, then do not resume reading that novel.

Use of Weapons is good. I prefer Player of Games. While it is not essential to read the SF novels in sequence it is beneficial to do so as one acquires knowledge of Banks's style and it helps build the atmosphere for subsequent novels if you are familiar with certain things.

My introduction to Banks was a chance pick up of Consider Phlebas while on holiday. I had no books with me and took a chance with this one. I loved it. Having loved that and discovered Banks had mainstream (and yes, this is stretching the meaning of the term) novels I tried "The Wasp Factory" and loved that too. I think those were the only two books to have been published at that time so I was able to read his works as they came out.

Since Banks died I have been re-reading some of his books and when I returned to "Consider Phlebas" I found so much more in it than I had discovered on my first read.

Matter is not regarded as great by many people. I enjoyed it but it may not be the best one to start with. "Little Women" just popped up as the Touchstone for "Matter". I have just corrected it. "Matter" was the third work on the list of Touchstones. "The Complete Works of Shakespeare", was number two.

(You just cannot make this stuff up.)

>52 Peace2:, >53 SylviaC: My feelings on Miss Peregrine echo yours. I can't say just why it didn't hit the spot for me, but it certainly wasn't the extraordinary book I'd expected. Maybe that's it - the photos are so surreal and odd but the story is just ordinary.

>58 pgmcc: I shall hang on for now then until I either happen across the first SF in the series or until I'm ready to try borrowing it from the library - I am struggling timewise to get through the current library fiction loan and have had to renew it - I seem to do better about getting through the non-fiction and audio books in a timely fashion.

>59 Sakerfalcon: I wonder sometimes if some of the problem is the volume of hype that accompanies some of the books. That our expectations become too high. Hmmm, I'm not sure though.

September Book #10 War Horse by Michael Morpurgo

This one is a children's book by a former children's laureate about a horse during World War 1. The story follows the horse's journey from being trained as a farm horse, to being sold into the army and the events that the horse experiences during the War. It's emotive stuff. The whole story is told from the horse's perspective. As a children's book, it provides an insight into a period and from a perspective that brings the negatives of war into focus - it doesn't have the depth of understanding of the reasons behind the war, but shows rather the ground level effects on those forced to the front - the horse is remarkably insightful in its observations and understanding. I can't say I really enjoyed the book but I did become emotional at several points. I also have to admit that I preferred it to some of the other Michael Morpurgo books that I've read in the past (Sparrow and Outlaw spring particularly to mind at this point). This book has also been made into a film (with Tom Hiddleston) and a stage play - I have seen neither - but thought I'd mention them in case people were familiar with those and not with the book.

September Book #11 Wheat Belly by William Davis, M.D.

So for medical reasons I'm currently trying a wheat exclusion diet (and it's quite a challenge in terms of buying things off the shelf) and was advised that reading this might be of interest. Now I've not been given much advice beyond - cut out the wheat and see what happens - so what I was hoping for in this was a book that might tell me nutritionally what to replace wheat with. That isn't what the book gives - rather it actually suggests that replacing wheat with other grains is not necessary and that we've become over reliant on firstly wheat but actually grain generally and that evolutionarily speaking we aren't designed to eat as much grain as many of our diets now include. The book focuses on the failings of wheat - what we buy now is not the wheat of our own childhood, but most definitely not the wheat of our parents' and grandparents' childhoods. It's been hybridised, modified almost beyond recognition and without the need for the rigorous testing and standards that accompany such changes today. Wheat used to grow tall and yield was moderate - now its yield is many times what it was and in order to both make it grow upright and spend less time/energy before achieving the yield, it's been modified to grow shorter - easier to bring the crops in and less of the 'waste' from the stalk. It's been developed to be resistant to certain fungus, pests etc. But each of those changes also effects how well or not we are able to digest it. The original changes were aimed at curing world hunger, increasing profitability for farmers and so on but now we have a fundamentally different crop to the one we started with in more ways than just those we set out to create.

In the time since these changes have been made, there has been an increase in heart disease, diabetes, weight related conditions, skin conditions, bone conditions (such as osteoporosis), as well as conditions such as Coeliac and Crohn's and the list goes on. The author argues that the high grain/fibre diet that is promoted as being heart healthy is in fact anything but. He gives examples of people who've seen a complete turn around in their health from a vast array of conditions after excluding wheat. He gives some medical evidence of tests that seem to back up what he's saying but also points out that the many of the tests haven't got far enough to give absolute incontrovertible evidence - why? Because so many of the studies are funded either by the drugs companies who are supplying the drugs that counter the conditions or by the grain companies that are profiting from selling the grain - the last thing either of those entities want is a global reduction in the need for their product.

I'm not certain that he's right about everything that he says - I have nowhere near enough understanding of health or medicine to comment - but I came away with the impression that even if not everything is spot on, there's enough evidence that wheat shouldn't play such a prominent part of my own diet as it does and so for now, I'm doing my best to be wheat free - two weeks in and I'm not convinced that I'm feeling any better yet but in the last week, I've started to lose a little weight, which is good in itself, but not why I've headed for this journey.

This book is readable for the layman (or woman in my case). I won't say that I understood everything in it, but I understood enough for his message to be clear and the book to be an interesting read.

>61 Peace2: War Horse has been one of my favourites of what I've read of Morpurgo's work as well. Like you, I can't say that I enjoyed reading it (it's just not a subject matter to be enjoyed, I think), but it is a very emotional and powerful book. I liked the film a fair bit too, though losing the horse's narration creates a very different narrative experience.

>62 dovelynnwriter: I'm not sure that I'd want to see the film although I've heard it's a good one. I guess the difference in the narrative is understandable - hard to do that kind of film with so many people from the horse's perspective. I felt this book was much better written than the other two that I mentioned above. I've also read Kensuke's Kingdom which was like this one of his better ones (in my opinion).

Last two books of September to comment on.

September Book #13 The Wheat-Free & Dairy-Free Cookbook: Over 100 Sensational Recipes from the Stamp Collection by Terence Stamp

Another library loan. Now to be fair I don't usually comment on recipe books, but I did actually have a good look at all of the recipes in this one - a page by page look rather than my usual browse and flick. Things I liked about the book - although it's wheat and dairy free (cow - it does use goats cheese and eggs), it didn't seem like a book that was about skimping on what you were eating and making the best of a reduced lot. It was about making a variety of filling and tempting dishes. Another positive - measures will in imperial, metric and cups - aiming to hit a wider audience. Unfortunately living where I do, there are still quite a lot of ingredients not so readily available. Having said that I've come away with a few recipes to try. I read the introduction to this - Terence Stamp (yes the actor one), has lived himself with the need for an exclusion diet and knows other people who do the same - the book is based on real life feeding and living with that necessity, so it is about enjoying it. So overall, worth a look at - particularly if you can borrow it from a library and pick through. Oh, another thought - 'meat' dishes were only fish or fowl - no red meat recipes were included (this is neither a good nor a bad thing - just an observation in case people wanted to know).

September Book #14 Numero Zero by Umberto Eco

The only other Eco book that I've read was The Name of the Rose and that was about 10 years ago, so my memory is indistinct. I borrowed the audio version of this from the library. It prompted various thoughts in me that I continued to think about in between listening. The story is about a group of journalists who are writing a fake newspaper - yesterday's date with yesterday's news - as if they already knew what was happening in advance. It highlighted various journalistic tricks that left me questioning what is the truth and who controls it? Just how much power do journalists and newspapers and the people behind them actually have.

Journalists make claims, imply events and motivations but do so in such a way that if they are later countered, they've covered their own backs - 'a 45 year old witness said....', 'some people believe that....'. It talks about presenting the two sides of a situation, but in such a way that you can't be accused of bias but you have actually swayed part or all of your target audience to a particular viewpoint of a story.

Throughout one of the journalists is working on uncovering a conspiracy surrounding the death of Mussolini, another battles sexist attitudes and the storyteller himself is 'undercover' while working as the assistant editor, he is also writing the biography of the editor and his journey with the creation of the paper.

The book is set just before the explosion of cell phone and internet use - if I remember correctly it's the editor who makes a comment along the lines of how the interest in mobile phones will soon die out, after all who would want to be seen with such a ridiculous piece of equipment in public.

The story itself hasn't stuck with me, but the thoughts and questions it provoked in me have.

September Summary

Total Number of Books Read : 14
Books Retained After Reading : 7

Books on Shelf Prior to 1st Jan 2016 : 2
Books on Shelf Prior to 1st Jan 2015 : 1

Books Abandoned : 0 (0%)
Series Finished as far as I intend reading : 2

Non-Fiction Reads : 3 (21.4%)
Fiction Reads : 11 (78.6%)

Male Authors (first time to read that author this year): 7 (50%)
Female Authors (first time to read that author this year): 1 (7%)

Books by Male Authors : 6 (42.9%)
Books by Female Authors : 7 (50%)
Books by Collaboration : 1 (7%)

Books acquired : 20

Goal to read 20000 pages from Mt. TBR by the end of the year : 704 read (-106 pages remaining - goal achieved)

End of Third Quarter Summary of 2016

Total Number of Books Read : 222
Books Retained : 83

Books on Shelf prior to 1st January 2016 : 81
Borrowed from Library (but not to match existing titles on shelf) : 57

Books Acquired: 196

Total Number of Books by Male Authors : 92
Number of Different Male Authors : 80

Total Number of Books By a Collaboration: 35

Total Number of Books by Female Authors: 95
Number of Different Female Authors: 60

Total Number of Fiction : 188
Total Number of Non-Fiction: 34
Total DNF number:13 (approx. 6% of total books attempted)
Actual books: 137
E-books: 13
Audio books: 56

>64 Peace2: I enjoyed your comments and thoughts on Numero Zero. You really hit the nail on the head with some of your points:

It talks about presenting the two sides of a situation, but in such a way that you can't be accused of bias but you have actually swayed part or all of your target audience to a particular viewpoint of a story.

The story itself hasn't stuck with me, but the thoughts and questions it provoked in me have.

>67 pgmcc: Thanks :D

Oh, just thought as part of my monthly summary I forgot to comment on my walking to Mordor. On September the 14th I reached Rivendell. As of 30th September I've now walked 516.71 miles with 403.29 miles to go until I reach Lothlorien. I'm currently predicting an arrival sometime next February (depending on how inclement the weather is during the winter months!).

Halfway through October and I haven't commented on my reading at all - partly because it is going slowly and partly because I have no idea where the time is going just at the minute.

October Book #1 Room by Emma Donoghue

After numerous people told me how fantastic this was and they couldn't wait for the film, when a copy ended up in my possession I figured I really ought to at least try it - even saying that it languished on Mt TBR for 10 months. I have to admit that I wasn't really looking forward to it, despite the endorsements. So, the story is told by a five year old, a little boy who is mature in some respects and very sheltered in others. Jack and his mother live in a room, after his mother was taken about 7 years previously and kept captive. Jack has no idea there is an 'outside' and that things he sees on TV are real. The first half of the book builds on their world and the life they live inside Room and then on his and his mother's conflicts about the prospect of any possible escape.

By allowing Jack to tell the story rather than his mother, the story shelters the reader from some of the brutality and horror of what is happening, so although I didn't always find his narration to be authentic, there is a sense of being protected and at one step from the real horror in the same way his mother protects him.

The second half of the book moves much quicker and glosses over a lot to progress to an ending - almost too quickly given the pace and build up of the first. I won't go into events or specifics because it would spoil too much for anyone who might be thinking of reading it.

Overall, I liked it more than I expected to given the subject matter. I don't feel any need to see the film.

October Book #2 and #6 Black Butler volume 17 and Black Butler volume 18 (apparently I wanted Macbeth and The Tempest according to the touchstones!) by Yana Toboso

Continuing Ciel Phantomhive and his butler, Sebastian's investigations for Queen Victoria. Major events at Weston College are drawn to a close before Ciel is sent off to Southern Germany for a new line of inquiry. I'm still enjoying these as a little lightly devilish relief.

October Book #3 Acceptance by Jeff Vandermeer

I found this tremendously disappointing. I read Annihiliation and was intrigued and excited. The thrall paled somewhat during Authority which seemed to drag somewhat but this took the biscuit. I spent a good portion of it confused by the ever changing viewpoints and timelines and at the end there was no answer and no resolution.

The thing is the actual specifics of the writing seems adept and interesting but it's the overall that for me personally doesn't work. What a shame.

October Book #4 Wheat-free Living for Dummies by Rusty Gregory

I preferred Wheat belly. Having read the two books so close together, there was a lot of repetition between the two, but this one seemed to labour the point more (possibly that is just perception having started this straight after the other), and by the end of the book it's clear that the author doesn't just want the reader to be wheat-free but also grain and sugar free.

Like the other book, this is a pretty good intro to the subject. This does tackle more on the subject of motivation and SMART goal setting, and also ways to deal with eating wheat free when eating away from home (the idea of taking all my food with me when going on holiday doesn't really sit well - particularly knowing that customs regulations in various countries do not allow food over the borders). There is a world of difference for people who absolutely have to be completely gluten free (for instance for coeliac sufferers) and those who choose to be wheat free because it is beneficial to their health.

It still frightens me somewhat that these books are saying that wheat/grains are so bad for our health, when government is still promoting wholegrains as such a large part of our daily intake. But speaking personally I've now been wheat-free for a month and I think it's helping (although I'm slightly worried about a trip I've got to London at the end of next month and how I'm going to get wheat-free meals three times a day - maybe I will be taking at least some wheat free breakfast snack bars tucked into my suitcase!).

Talking of London - has anyone been recently? Can anyone recommend any particular good shows that are on and worth trying to get a ticket for? (I dread to add - any easy to find/worth a visit bookshops... particularly of the second hand variety). I really must get some more books read before I leave so that I can justify a trip to a 'proper' bookshop.

I don't think you'll starve in London. If you can't buy it there, you can't buy it anywhere! Most supermarkets have at least a small section of ...free products. Not sure about shows. Wicked is excellent but has been around a while and I have not seen any of the new shows. (Usually wait till they come on tour locally)
I will recommend the British Library at St Pancras if you are in that area. Their "Treasures" are free to see and their tour is interesting if you can get on it. They usually also have special exhibitions on.

>70 Peace2: Amadeus will be on at the NT from 19th October, with performances on 28-30th November. Most NT productions are worth checking out. Also have a look what's on at the Almeida and Young and Old Vic. For food, if you can eat rice then you'll have no problem with Indian, Thai or most other Asian food, which is plentiful in London. Gluten-free diets are becoming quite commonplace and I'm sure virtually any restaurant or cafe will have something you can eat. As for second-hand bookshops, Any Amount of Books on Charing Cross can be good, and the Oxfam bookshop on Bloomsbury Street is always worth a visit. I haven't been for a while but there was a good Amnesty bookshop at Hammersmith, and a couple of stops further on the District line, another decent Oxfam bookshop at Turnham Green. Skoob books in Bloomsbury is a little pricier but very good too. For new F & SF, Forbidden Planet on Shaftesbury Avenue is a must (books are in the basement) and you shouldn't miss Foyles in its lovely new home in the old Central St Martin's College building on Charing Cross Road.
Hope that has whetted your appetite for the trip!

I shall have to make a list of all the bookshops and figure out which one/s are closest to where I'm staying/heading on my days out! From what I can see on googlemaps I'm close to both a DLR station and a tube station for the Circle and District lines so I'm guessing getting around won't be too difficult - I shall print out a few plans before I go and then I can looked organised!

Where has the time gone? A very quick round up of the rest of the books for October and then a monthly summary before I start on this month's reading.

So October Book 6 and 7 were Black Butler volume 18 and Black Butler volume 19 by Yana Toboso both of which I continue to enjoy enough to carry on with the series following the escapades of Ciel Phantomhive and his butler Sebastian.

The final book of the month was one I borrowed from the library When the Floods Came by Clare Morrall. It's a future post-apocalyptic set in England that didn't really make a whole heap of sense. The story is told by the eldest daughter of a family who live alone in a high rise near Birmingham. England is plagued by extremes of weather, particularly flooding - to the extent at which for months they can be trapped inside the tower block and the lower floors are below water. The population of Britain has been decimated by a virus and so now the survivors are required to pass fertility tests and marry suitably matched partners. Roza and her family are awaiting the arrival of her future husband to be. Their tranquility is disturbed when another young man turns up and infiltrates their lives. Rosa's parents have brought them up in isolation because of a distrust of the authorities. However, they still accept supply drops which apparently come from other countries such as China - no explanation is given as to why England appears to be the only country experiencing such weather extremes (presumably the case if everyone else is still able to produce 'supplies'), but reference is made repeatedly to whether the other countries will continue with the drop donations if England isn't contributing anything and isn't recovering its stability. There is a running Nursery rhyme theme through the book which began to grate on my nerves after a while. The appearance of Aashay stirs things up for Roza and her family, but his behaviour is bizarre from the start as are some of the family's reactions to him.

All in all it left me dissatisfied.

October Summary

Total Number of Books Read : 8
Books Retained After Reading : 3

Books on Shelf Prior to 1st Jan 2016 : 0
Books on Shelf Prior to 1st Jan 2015 : 0

Books Abandoned : 0 (0%)
Series Finished as far as I intend reading : 21

Non-Fiction Reads : 1 (12.5%)
Fiction Reads : 7 (87.5%)

Male Authors (first time to read that author this year): 1 (12.5%)
Female Authors (first time to read that author this year): 3 (37.5%)

Books by Male Authors : 2 (25%)
Books by Female Authors : 6 (75%)
Books by Collaboration : 0 (0%)

Books acquired : 8

Goal to read 20000 pages from Mt. TBR by the end of the year : 0 read (-106 pages remaining - goal achieved)

November Book #1 Dead in the Water by Ann Granger

The fourth in the Campbell and Carter mysteries was disappointing. A dead body floats down a flooding river and turns up lodged against a jetty from the garden of a well-known writer. The story follows the investigations of the local police to find out who the dead body is and ultimately who the murderer was. I've read and enjoyed some of Ann Granger's books before but this one didn't work for me, I just found it tedious - it might just be the wrong time, or it might have been that for me this just wasn't as good as some of the others, but I only gave it two and a half stars at the end of the day.

November Book #2 Black Butler Volume 20 by Yana Toboso

The continuing manga adventures of Sebastian the Butler and his master Ciel Phantomhive. I really do like the artwork in this series, I think that even more than the stories might be what draws me in, but the stories are good too. I've got a couple more of these left on the TBR pile before I've caught up with the series as it stands - I think that's going to make it hard - the waiting for future releases. Urgh!

November Book #3 The Crowded Shadows by Celine Kiernan

What a disappointment! I was really hoping for something much better than this after I'd finished the first in the trilogy. The story continues straight on from the first part and has the characters wandering around in a wood and blundering into people who they either end up fighting or end up trying to get along with. At the end of the book, I didn't feel like we'd really got very much further than we had at the start in either story or real character development. I have moved straight on to part 3 and not given up, but only because I've got the audio version of it, so I'm hoping for some kind of explanation for all the difficulties that have pervaded since the beginning and some kind of resolution.

November Book #4 The Riddle by Alison Croggon

This one took an age to read and I don't really have a good reason for that, because it wasn't a bad book. A bit wordy at times, but there is some degree of character development, some plot progress, still a quest without answers but the search is throwing up some bits that feed into that (or at least I hope they are), new questions and it's not badly written at all. It was just me being slow and distracted I think.

>74 Peace2: I too found When the floods came to contain a lot of plot holes and odd character motivations. There were some good scenes in the book, but overall it didn't really work.

>78 Sakerfalcon: I think it was a case of don't judge a book by its cover! It sounded interesting...

November Book #5 Shon the Taken by Tanith Lee

The thing with Tanith Lee's writing is that I often seem to love it or hate it but I can't predict in advance which one it will be. This falls somewhat between the two. Shon lives in a rough village community and at the beginning of the story is setting out on a hunt with the other men of the village and is hoping to be the one to bring down a boar. The events that follow lead to Shon being separated from the other hunters and left in the forest by night. Myths and legends abound as to what happens to anyone left in the forest by night and Shon finds out just what the truth is about some of those legends. Published in 1979, my edition of the book is only 144 pages long (would that be a short story by today's standards?) Overall it's quite an interesting idea, but despite Tanith Lee's ability to draw pictures in my imagination with her words, a lot of the events and characters are brushed over quite quickly and lightly without the kind of development that you would see in other authors' works. So it's not going to be a favourite, but I don't really hate it either.

Some favourite phrases/sentences though - "... even now a huddle of sheep was billowing down one of them like a curdled cloud." and another "Emerald below, sapphire above, the world passed by." At times she seems to have a real magic with her words. These are just a couple of examples.

November Book #6 Black Butler Volume 21 by Yana Toboso

I'm going to be upset and suffer withdrawal symptoms when I get to the end of this series (or catch up to the ones that have been translated into/published in English). I've got one more left on my pile and one more is due before Christmas - who knows when the next will be out?

November Book #7 Married to a Bedouin by Marguerite van Geldermalsen

This is an autobiography of a young woman who went backpacking and visited Petra with a friend. While there she and her friend met a Bedouin who invited them back to his cave for tea. She becomes friends with the man, Mohammed and when her friend leaves the area she remains behind and ultimately marries Mohammed. The book tells of her life, how she adjusts and gradually fits in and changes bit by bit to become one of the tribe and community in which she is living. It is an interesting book and while she admits that she hasn't included everything and has for the most part dwelt on the good things that happened in her life, she does highlight some of the struggles she faced and some of the hardships the people around her lived through and with. There are some sad events during the book but overall it's a positive and enlightening piece and I'm glad I read it. She talks about some of the things she loved about living in Petra and in a newly built community nearby (houses built to try and bring the Bedouin living in the Petra area out of the valley and its surrounding caves) and how she sees life in the positives of where she is living - one place is not better than another, it's different and there is something everywhere to be grateful for - the peace and beauty and the community spirit of living in the caves in Petra aren't better but they were worth treasuring and were worth returning for after they spent some time living in New Zealand. I haven't explained that very well and she does a far better job, but I don't have the book to hand as I've just passed it on to someone else to try. (I'd literally just finished it).

It did rekindle my desire to one day visit Petra and see the beauty of the area for myself and learn more of the history as well.

I think I've found heaven! Forbidden Planet basement on Shaftesbury Avenue in London. Books! Books and more books! Fantasy and sci fi, graphic novels, manga, comics, steampunk.... please can I move in?

Forbidden Planet is where a large chunk of my paycheque ends up each month....

>81 Peace2: That's a very dangerous discovery. I used to walk home past it on a regular basis. Or rather, I used to walk home through it on a regular basis. Changing jobs definitely slowed my acquisition rate...

>81 Peace2: >82 Sakerfalcon: I found Foyles as well - all I can say is that it was a good job that I was very aware of the weight limit for baggage for the return journey otherwise there could really have been a major problem.

November Book #8 Grim Tuesday by Garth Nix

Continuation of a series started with Mister Monday. This is an older children's book (as in for older children, although it is also about 12 years old now as well!). Further escapades and adventures as Arthur returns to the House to try and save both worlds from imminent disaster. The book leads, I presume, directly into the next into the series - this is a definite cumulative series and cannot be read out of order based on what I've seen so far). Not bad, I intend to continue.

November Book #9 and 12 Black Butler Vol. 22 and Black Butler Vol 23 by Yana Toboso

Sad to have caught up to the current release of the series as I'm still enjoying it although I wouldn't rate these quite as highly as the early ones. The art work is every bit as high a standard by the stories are beginning to develop a feel that is a little like replays of earlier themes. Still enough difference and enough questions to keep me reading.

November Book #10 The Shack by Wm Paul Young

This was a real struggle to finish - it took me about three attempts to get through it as I kept abandoning it, but determined to make it through I took it on holiday and didn't let myself start anything else until it was done or I gave up permanently. It is the story of a man's journey from a personal tragedy to a meeting with God that transforms his life. I found the writing of the initial part of the story poor, I couldn't engage with the events or the people. The meeting with God was probably slightly better in terms of the writing, although still not really my kind of reading for enjoyment. I found some of it interesting and thought provoking, some ideas that were not completely misaligned from my own, some questions that it through up for me to consider. However at other times it seemed like wading through treacle to get through it. So overall I didn't like it, but there were a few points that provoked thought in a good way.

November Book #11 The Rebel Prince by Celine Kiernan

The final part of the Moorehawke trilogy. So the series started going wrong from my perspective in the previous book, but this unfortunately didn't redeem that. The 'main character' of Wynter Moorehawke tells the story, but actually she does nothing (almost nothing). We finally meet Prince Alberon, the missing prince who has driven the conflict in the earlier books and when we finally catch up with him, for me, he's a real disappointment. There is definitely more action in this than in the previous book but for me it still fell short of being a good read and I struggled to keep going all the way to the end.

I'm glad to know I didn't miss anything by stopping after book 1 of the Moorehawk trilogy.

>86 Sakerfalcon: If I hadn't bought all three audio books at once, I'd have given up earlier! I'm sorry to say that you probably did the right thing and I really don't like giving up on books like that.

How's the wheat free diet coming along? Let us know, please. (I've cut back, but I can't go cold turkey.)

>88 clamairy: I've got a couple more days to go to the three month mark on the wheat free diet and I've just had another round of blood tests done (will get the results in the middle of next week I hope!). I did go cold turkey and for the first few days I felt terrible, but that soon passed. Now things are easier. Unfortunately, not all of the health issues that I was hoping would vanish have, although some have improved (some joint issues are vastly improved, muscle pain level is generally lower). I'm now keeping a food diary to see if I can pinpoint when things are flaring up to see if there is another trigger alongside the wheat. I'm also going to have occasional wheat including days (on the doctor's advice) to see what effect they have, but as I've mostly adjusted to being wheat free I don't think these will be too frequent.

There are certain things that I miss - the convenience of toast and sandwiches would be the main one, being able to join in when someone else brings in cakes or biscuits to work would be another. But apart from that I don't miss it too much. I've come up with a coconut flour muffin recipe that I toy with that makes an okay alternative but I'm still trying to adapt the taste buds to things like almond flour. I was hoping to lose some weight but that doesn't seem to have particularly happened (possibly a couple of pounds but nothing more).

I've found a couple of shops that do wheat free ranges that aren't bad to eat (and don't go off ridiculously quickly which was what I found with the first bread alternatives that I tried or that they were too sweet) but some of them are a bit on the expensive side, so they're treats rather than frequent purchases. Cooking at home is relatively straightforward - there's almost no wheat in the house.

Eating out isn't always as straightforward as one might hope - I've discovered a ridiculous number of restaurants who say they have gluten free options on the menu actually only offer steak as the gf option - although I'm a meat eater, I don't personally like steak. My favourite brand of soup has wheat in all bar one of my favourite soups. It's silly things like that that become frustrating .

In short, overall, I'm feeling a bit better for being wheat free but it hasn't solved all the problems I was hoping to find resolutions for.

Better late than never, right?

November Summary

Total Number of Books Read : 12
Books Retained After Reading : 5

Books on Shelf Prior to 1st Jan 2016 : 6
Books on Shelf Prior to 1st Jan 2015 : 3

Books Abandoned : 0 (0%)
Series Finished as far as I intend reading : 3 (1 series complete - 1 won't be continued further, 1 I've read up to current publishing point but it could be a while before the next one comes out so for the moment I'm classing it as complete)

Non-Fiction Reads : 1 (8%)
Fiction Reads : 11 (92%)

Male Authors (first time to read that author this year): 1 (8%)
Female Authors (first time to read that author this year): 1 (8%)

Books by Male Authors : 2 (16%)
Books by Female Authors : 10 (84%)
Books by Collaboration : 0 (0%)

Books acquired : 10

Goal to read 20000 pages from Mt. TBR by the end of the year : 2112 read (2218 pages surplus to goal)

It was a bit of a disappointing month in that I didn't rate anything higher than 3 and a half stars, and only 4 of the books managed that.

ETA Late update on Walking to Mordor - I've now walked 715.93 miles (as of 30 November 2016) which still puts me on track at just a fraction over an average of 3 miles a day. (Roll on the summer when I can walk home from work again to get that average up a bit more - it's not as much fun when it's cold and dark and potentially raining - the average is in danger of dropping below the 3 miles a day that I'd like).

December Book #1 Magyk by Angie Sage

A very slow month reading wise - this is the first book to get finished. Anyway it was a good one, suitable for older children/pre-teens. The Heap family go on the run with their daughter when her safety is threatened. As a result, various truths and lies are uncovered amidst the mix of magyk and adventure. I enjoyed this and will be continuing on with the series as I have several others available. Although having said that I'm going to try and finish a couple of the other series that I've got on the go first.

Over halfway through the month and . . . where is the time going and why am I reading sooooooo slowly?

December Book #2 A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

I enjoyed this one although it took me a while to get through it (partly because the greater part of it was read only while riding the bus which isn't my quickest way to get through a book). Vampires, witches and daemons, conspirators, allies and enemies. I hope to continue to part two before too long. I hope the trilogy continues as strong as the first part.

December Book #3 Tell it to the Skies by Erica James

Urgh! A real struggle to finish this one. An English woman living in Italy has a shock when her stepdaughter appears with a new boyfriend who looks disturbingly familiar. As a result she is forced to relive and retell the story of her life before she went to Italy. It was a story that should have stirred the emotions, it just left me cold and as for the thrown in sex scenes, well I just skipped them. I'm surprised that of the small number of reviews it has here, they are so relatively positive and that some people describe it as light holiday reading. Too long for what it was and I'm looking cynically at the other Erica James on my shelf and debating getting rid of it without even trying it. If anyone is thinking of trying it, it does feature an abusive childhood, religion pays a part in that. Definitely one I'll be getting rid of.

December Book #4 The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt

A children's picture book. I'd read the first of this series last year The Day the Crayons Quit and to summarise it features letters from the crayons in Duncan's collections and their feelings on how he treats them (blue is now short and stubby because he's used so often to colour skies and water and so on, orange and yellow are at odds over who is the colour of the sun, grey would like to be used for something small and interesting rather than just really big things like elephants and rhinoceroses and so on). The second book in the series is a series of postcards from crayons that have been lost or abandoned over the years (with one thrown in from his little brother's big chunky crayon who's fed up of being used to draw on walls and eaten), there is one that was left by a pool when he was on holiday, another left in the basement after being used to draw scary glow in the dark monsters on the wall, one that snapped after dropping beneath the couch cushions and so on and orange and yellow make a re-appearance. Lots of fun for the young reader/listener. Worth a look.

December Book #5 Fade to Black by Francis Knight

I picked this audio up a couple of years ago on a trip to a bargain book shop in the UK and have only just got around to listening to it. In the meantime I'd heard some things about it that meant I wasn't actually expecting to like it. So it surprised me and if I come across the sequel I may well give it a try, not something I'd dismiss out of hand, but not something I'd completely rave about either. Rojan is a pain mage - a mage who has gets a certain amount of magical power from causing himself pain. He uses his power to locate missing people. The city he lives in is a dark and sinister place, controlled by the Ministry, Rojan's magic is a secret with few people knowing about it. After his brother is shot and his niece kidnapped and taken into the Under, Rojan goes in pursuit and finds many of the Ministry secrets.

It's interesting world building, dark and dirty, but bringing things vividly into the imagination, but told by the main character, Rojan isn't as compelling as I would want such a central character to be, nor are a number of his traits very likeable. There is a 'love' interest aspect but it's not convincing, but at the same time that doesn't seem to matter, although it's one of those 'I'm going to do the right thing because I love you and I don't want things to end this way for you, even though it's not how I want things to be' type of scenarios. There is a bit of a twist to the reveal towards the end, but it didn't feel as big as it could have been, as if the main character wasn't as invested in that aspect as one might have thought him to be.

So interesting but not quite as good as it could have been.

>92 Peace2: I recently aquired A Discovery of Witches, I kept it because of the good reviews from my fellow Green Dragon members.

>93 MrsLee: I hope you enjoy it when you get to it. I had acquired it a while ago based on both a friend's recommendation and comments hereabouts, then it was free on I-books so I popped it on my phone for reading on the bus.

So I admit defeat - I'm not going to finish any of the books I'm currently reading given 2016 is now over - so my final book of the year was RustBlaster by Yana Toboso

So I liked it, but not ecstatically so - the artwork (it's a manga) is strong - that was a big part of the draw to read the Black Butler series earlier in the year, but the story is less well developed. This was the author's debut and is about a school of vampires that only drink packaged blood and the 'token' humans who go to the same school. One of them turns out to be not so 'token' after all when he's crucial to the survival of the world as they know it. It feels somewhat rushed like the story needed more time - I almost found myself filling in the things that had happened in between but there was also the sense of a set-up for something further to come - which doesn't appear to be the actual case as it predates the Black Butler which is still progressing at 23 volumes. So good but not as good as it could have been.

And that is it for the reading in 2016. I'll just go and figure out my stats for the month and the year and then it'll be on to 2017...

December Summary

Total Number of Books Read : 6
Books Retained After Reading : 2

Books on Shelf Prior to 1st Jan 2016 : 3
Books on Shelf Prior to 1st Jan 2015 : 3

Books Abandoned : 0 (0%)
Series Finished as far as I intend reading : 1 (if at any point I happen across another in the series I might try it but I'm not expecting to as in the two and a half years since I acquired this I've not seen it or any other part of the series anywhere)

Non-Fiction Reads : 0 (0%)
Fiction Reads : 6 (100%)

Male Authors (first time to read that author this year): 1 (16.7%)
Female Authors (first time to read that author this year): 4 (66/7%)

Books by Male Authors : 1 (16.7%)
Books by Female Authors : 5 (83.3%)
Books by Collaboration : 0 (0%)

Books acquired : 10

Goal to read 20000 pages from Mt. TBR by the end of the year : 1520 read (3738 pages surplus to goal)

I didn't seem to be getting anywhere with books this month - everything has been on a go slow. It's making me think seriously about what I want from my reading next year.

End of year update on Walking to Mordor - I've now walked 801.53 miles - I've had a few days where making the average 3 miles a day hasn't happened - that's the problem when it's cold and dark so early. Still we're past the shortest day so hopefully it won't be too long before I'm back to walking home from work.

End of Fourth Quarter Summary of 2016 (End of Year)

Total Number of Books Read : 248
Books Retained : 98

Books on Shelf prior to 1st January 2016 : 93
Borrowed from Library (but not to match existing titles on shelf) : 63

Books Acquired: 224

Total Number of Books Read by Male Authors : 99
Number of Different Male Authors : 91

Total Number of Books By a Collaboration: 35

Total Number of Books by Female Authors: 116
Number of Different Female Authors: 71

Total Number of Fiction : 211
Total Number of Non-Fiction: 37
Total DNF number:13 (approx. 5% of total books attempted)
Actual books: 155
E-books: 13
Audio books: 80

Most interesting part for me was seeing just how many more books by female authors I had read compared to the books by male authors but more of those were parts of series so I've read twenty more male authors than female but 17 more books by women then men.

The three longest books tackled were Magician by Raymond Feist, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness.

The three oldest books (according to LT's CK) were The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving, Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

Twenty of the books I tackled this year had been on my shelf since at least 2011 and 95 of the ones tackled were acquired this year.

Ratings

I only gave 7 books all year 5 stars - 6 were part of the manga series No. 6 by Atsuko Asano and the other was A Man Called Ove which heartily deserved it.

8 books got 4 1/2 stars - 4 were manga, 3 non-fiction and 1 fiction

40 got 4 stars

67 got 3 1/2 stars

45 got 3 stars

81 got less than that.

So a lot of books were finished but not enough great books unfortunately.

I'm not expecting to get through so many next year as I've changed jobs and also I've got a lot of chunky volumes on the shelves that I need to start tackling. I also need to shift the balance back away from the manga I've enjoyed this year - that's an expensive habit to have developed as not much manga is available here which means too many amazon or ebay orders and too many new books instead of tackling Mt TBR! I don't intend to stop but just to shift the balance a little.

Final set of stats for the year

Although I was reading a lot more in the early part of the year than in the last few months, I averaged over the whole year

4.77 books per week
20.67 books per month

1162.7 pages per week
5038.25 pages per month

I think I can confidently predict that I won't manage anything like those figures in 2017.

Does anyone know how many messages there need to be in a thread before you can link it to a new one?

I think it's somewhere around 150 posts.

>101 Peace2: Yeah, my thread isn't long enough either. I can't link mine officially, but there are ways you can sorta fake it.

What is the advantage of linking posts instead of just starting a new one?

>104 BookstoogeLT: Just a matter of convenience for others mainly.

Ahh. Thanks...

I've been known to lose my own threads.... And LT's search feature is a dinosaur.

Also, if you have a person's journal starred then their continuation will be automatically starred for you. But at this point I have so many starred threads they're almost pointless.

I'm digging my heels in and staying here on my old thread for the moment. I really don't want to start the year with a DNF and as that's happened, I'm going to put off starting the new thread until I've got something good to talk about (or at least better).

Rebel: The Bravehearts Chronicles by Jack Whyte (apparently this is also known as The Forest Laird)

This is an audio book that's been lurking on the shelf/in a box for a number of years (since 2014). All round disappointing. It was supposed to be 'action-packed'. It was to an extent interesting in that I wanted to know more about the history of William Wallace and the conflict between Scotland and England. Firstly I have no idea how fictionalised this account was, but while some of the story was interesting, rather than being action packed, it felt too heavy and like it was dealing with the wrong things. The story is told by James Wallace, cousin to William - the two grew up together after the death of James' parents - who became a Father. James is alongside William as the two run from the death of William's family and the soldiers who attacked them, taking refuge firstly with an outlaw and later with an uncle. I have listened to over 11 hours of the account and James has only just made it to being 'Brother' and the story is spending as much if not more time on James' story than that of William. This book has about another 8 hours of listening to go and having looked at the Librarything page - it's not the end, this is only the first book in the series...

The thing is it's quirked my interest enough to make me want to know more, but it's also bored me enough that I just can't keep going any longer.

>108 Peace2: That sounds like it could've been a great topic if it were written better.

Record of my DNBR day (8th January) begins here for perusal by enforcers of Thingaversaries and anyone else who wishes to comment!

7:10 am - 8:25 am Book 1 The Peppermint Pig by Nina Bawden - finished remaining two chapters to complete the book

Book 2 March Violets by Philip Kerr - commenced reading - four chapters read - who uses descriptions like 'I woke with a whore's drawers in my mouth' ? I think that gives some indication of the type of main character in the book.

8:25 - 8:35 Bathroom Break and logged on to computer to record current progress through the day.

8.35 - 9.50 Two more chapters of March Violets.

I decided I needed a change of pace so I swapped books and have read two chapters of Planetes Volume 1 by Makoto Yukimura.

9.50 Logged back into computer to make this post and am now going to take a break to shower and get some breakfast. (I hope current progress is deemed acceptable - 2 and a half hours reading so far)

9.50 - 10.20 Shower and Breakfast

10.20 - 11.45 Oh *groan* I spent time reading the first eight chapters of an unpublished book by an acquaintance (friend of a friend who I may have to reassess after she volunteered me to read this 'book'). I'm intending not touching it again today. Let's just say at this point that I know why publishers are at best returning it and at worst not even acknowledging its existence.

11.45 - 12.30 Two more chapters of March Violets - there really are some strange descriptions in this book. "When he turned around there was tabasco in his eyes." I figure I can work out what he's getting at but it feels somewhat forced. Another example was '...a skinny little comedian with joined up eyebrows, who was about as risque as a wafer on an ice-cream sundae."

12.30 - 12.45 Logged on and posted here - going to stretch legs quickly, possibly get a hot water bottle and then resume reading with Planetes.

Current reading time completed: 4 hours and 40 minutes.

>110 Peace2: But you have to admit "whore's drawers" would roll off the tongue nicely, like "hell's bells."

Good job on the accounting of reading time! (I'm not one of the enforcers, though.)

>114 Peace2: There is definitely a certain ring to that one. It has a particular je ne sais quoi.

Didn't bother with the hot water bottle. So one more hour of reading completed. Chapters 3 to 6 inclusive of Planetes are now complete.

Bend and stretch, bend and stretch, and back to reading.

Current total reading time = 5 hours and 40 minutes

>115 Peace2: You remind me that I have to spend some time today reading some short story/chapters from a husband of someone my husband used to work with. "My wife reads a lot, why don't you send her what you've written?" That and the bookshelf reorganizing incident are not gaining him any points!

Carry on, you are a champion! I'm not one of the enforcers either, but I've got your back!

I'm applauding you for your dedicated approach to a DNBR day, @Peace2! But I have to ask -- how does the hot water bottle fit into your DNBR Day tool kit? Are you reading in bed? Is it for your feet or for your back? Does it take the place of a cat?

At the same time, I commend your attention to the need for exercise -- Bend and Stretch. Sound body, sound mind.

I shall be following you throughout the day. *Waving pom-poms*

>116 MrsLee: I wish you better luck with yours than I had with mine! Between the typos, the misused words, the missing words that would in fact be useful to make things make sense, the deluge of apostrophes (how anyone can regularly spell don't with two and can't with three is beyond me - regularly as in two or three times in a page) and the fact that possession seemed not to warrant the use of the words 'his' but rather 'its' (e.g. 'He felt a sudden stabbing pain in its arm', or 'It had been eight years since he'd become a shoulder in the army', "It was time that they integrated him" - it should have been interrogated).

Reading a lot should actually excuse us from having to face things like this, shouldn't it?

Another 1 hour and 5 mins completed on March Violets. Taking the total to 6 hours and 45mins. Energy is flagging a little at this point and I'm stiffening up despite the bending and stretching.

>117 jillmwo: It was a combination of trying to keep warm from being stationary while the heating was off and fend off the aches of being stationary for too long. Also short of kidnapping (catnapping? Hmmm that doesn't work does it?) one of next door's cats, no cat was available for lapwarming and arm/hand exercising purposes.

In fact the lack of fresh air is beginning to take its toll and it's taking me longer to get through chapters, so I'm going to load up the audio book and go out for a walk in the fresh air (combined with the fact that my sister has just texted an invite to dinner - I figure that although it will interrupt my progress somewhat it will add to the DNBRness of the day if I don't have to cook for myself).

I will keep a track of time spent on the audio and resume the rest of my reading time when I return to make up the minimum of 8 hours of actual reading.

>118 Peace2: Heavens! If I'd written like that even in upper primary school (what I call standard 5 and is now called grade 7) I'd have been stood in front of the class and shot!

>121 hfglen: I marked better pieces when I was teaching in a primary school so yeah... It is obvious why the wanted responses from publishers aren't forthcoming! There was talk of self-publishing - which makes it obvious why that gets such a bad name.

BTW, it just came to me why I think what you're providing the world by documenting your DNBR day. We always hear that people are "too busy" to read -- that they want to read more but can't figure out how to fit it in. You've noted how you managed to get through 6 hours and 45 minutes so far and shown the need for mixing it in with food, exercise breaks, and everything else. That kind of thing can spark some one else into trying it. Yours is a single day in the life but and it might not match any other day in the life (in the future) but it's an interesting diary to read. (At least I think so.)

This has been a very interesting experiment to watch! Please allow me to offer my sympathy for some of the horrendous writing you’ve endured.

As a cat owner, I’d also like to suggest that a DNBR day without a cat probably deserves bonus points for lack of distractions. I can't get any reading done when my cat is in one of his energetic phases of the day. Yesterday evening, I heard a loud bang in the kitchen and then the scrambling noise of cat claws. I ran to see what was going on, and there he was hanging by his front claws on the tiny edge of trim above my closed pantry door, with nowhere to go except to slide back down the door. I tried desperately to get my phone out in time to capture the moment, but I was too slow. How could anybody read with such shenanigans going on?!

>123 jillmwo: I have to say that I couldn't often fit in DNBR days without substantial planning - I made sure that shopping and washing were done in advance, that basic tidying were done so that I could have the day. Having said that, it is like you say a matter of fitting it in - wanting to fit it in. I know that I changed jobs last June and my ability to find time/energy to read has steadily decreased - but there was still the 'want' to fit it in and so I never stopped just slowed down.

I've enjoyed today, but as the day has worn on, it's been more difficult to keep up the sustained concentration (hence the swapping of books). Taking a walk and eating with family has refreshed my brain enough that I'm reading to tackle the rest of the evening now. I feel revived.

>124 YouKneeK: I'd be impressed with you getting any reading done at all with that kind of distraction - shame you missed getting a photo!

It's been a good day so far, and I'm settling down for the evening to continue now.

1 hour 10 mins of actual reading (as opposed to audio) completed - another 3 chapters of Planetes completed (3 more will finish it) and 2 of March Violets.

Walking to my sister's I listened to approximately 20 minutes of The Atopia Chronicles by Matthew Mather.

Counting actual reading of physical books rather than the audio I've now managed 7 hours 55 minutes. If I include the audio I'm up to 8 hours 15 minutes. Off for a quick bit of movement to get the blood flowing all the way up to the brain and then I'll try for another hour before bed.

I love this :) Your blow by blow of DNBR day is fun to follow.

>128 Narilka: Glad you're enjoying it!

Another 45 minutes and a couple more chapters of March Violets.

Reading time now complete - 9 hours! Or 8 hours 40 minutes if audio is not included.

Think I might head to bed and try for one last stint there and try to finish Planetes. Don't think I have the brain energy to get to the end of March Violets today.

Any books that do get finished today won't have a comment left about them until later in the week, as I've been focusing on the reading.

Finished Planetes.

Time spent reading now stands at approximately 9 1/2 hours

Or 9 hours and 10 minutes without the audio.

I'd quite like to try and get on top of everything else during the course of the week and then try for another DNBR day next weekend - but it would have to be dependent on just how much I can achieve during the week. Also I have plans for lunch with a friend next Saturday which may also hinder taking another day.

I'm fairly pleased with the day's progress - 2 books finished The Peppermint Pig and Planetes Omnibus Volume 1 and significant headway made with March Violets (185 pages out of 261 complete). There was also a little forward progress on the Atopia Chronicles 20 minutes but that's not much when it's over 14 hours long really.

I'm impressed. Even if I planned things I don't think I could focus my brain to read for 9 hours in one day. (Unless I was reading something that really sucked me in. Which does still happen, happily. Just not as often as I would like.)

>135 clamairy: There were times when my brain was flagging - heading out for a walk and a little interaction with other people certainly helped revive me somewhat to continue. Not sticking with one book, having a change of pace also helped. I guess it depends on what and how you're reading as well - if you're a one book person, a multi book reader.

Although I think also one of the books that I was reading benefitted from me making the effort to read it. I don't think I'd have immersed myself quite so deliberately into March Violets without taking this day - I think it might have been one of those books that dragged on and on - too good to give up on, but not quite hitting the mark as one I would have got straight into.

I'd call that a successful DNBR day!

You've given many of us something to think about! I don't know if I can really manage a DNBR day, but at least I have some pointers to consider now.

First off, let me tell you that I am full of admiration for how you managed your DNBRD. You have been exemplary.

I heard some of the enforcers speaking, and they said your performance was so excellent that you should be rewarded. They mentioned a reward involving buying yourself more books and that you can add these books onto the Thingaversary books you will be buying. Well done!

I am sorry you started with a book that you were not enjoying that much. You probably deserve another couple of books for the endurance you demonstrated with that title.

*groan* How kind of the enforcers to allow me more books, I am so grateful! Are the enforcers willing to help me find somewhere else to live so that I can fit these books in without causing structural damage to the building?

Probably not, but they will help identify good sources for purchase of additional bookshelves. And really, do you need all that OTHER furniture in the house? One good reading chair and floor lamp and really, you're set for life.

Out of curiosity, has anyone read any of Carola Dunn's Daisy Dalrymple books? Are they good? Did you enjoy them?

Congratulations! I'm really impressed at your care in logging the progress of your DNBR day. And how kind of the Enforcers to reward you with more books! You may also have hit me with a book bullet for Planetes.

Who needs to store food in the refrigerator? It makes wonderful book storage. ;)

>142 Peace2: I have listened to several on audio and enjoyed them a lot. I would do more except for my pocketbook and groaning shelves.

>144 MrsLee: The refrigerator is great for your really cool books.

>144 MrsLee: >145 pgmcc: In that case maybe I'll just empty the rest of the kitchen cupboards as well!

>144 MrsLee: I came across a few the other day (I haven't acquired them) but unfortunately they were random titles - not in sequence.

>146 Peace2: You mean you haven't done that already?

>148 pgmcc: Clearly my priorities are all wrong in trying to keep my energy levels up to enable my ability to read... I'm sure you'll all put me right before I can blink too many times.

>149 Peace2: Don't blink. Whatever you do don't blink. (Dr. Who allusion - Episode called "Blink". Makes a great standalone story.)

>142 Peace2: They're so busy putting your books into the fridge that they never bothered to answer your question about the Daisy Dalrymple books. I have tried two or three of them, but didn't find them particularly enjoyable. They just struck me as too cute at times. However, I want to be honest and tell you that I find the Rhys Bowen series A Royal Spyness to suffer from the same issue and there are many folks who love that one. So your mileage may vary.

BTW, is that red wine out so it can breathe? Or should it be put back down in @Peace2's wine cellar? Or have you moved all the books down into the cellar?

>147 Peace2: & >151 jillmwo: - The few I have read have not been in order, but then I'm not a stickler for that. A qualification, I don't mind a cute story now and then so long as the author can write. They are nothing on the level of Dorothy L. Sayers for intellectual content, but can be a fun romp and restful for the mind. Love would be too strong a word from me, but enjoyable for what it is suits.

>151 jillmwo: >152 MrsLee: Thank you both for the comments. I shall forgo them for the moment (when I went back today there weren't as many left on the shelf and they were looking a bit the worse for wear.

Still due to the enforcers' great kindness in not allowing me to skip buying books for my Thingaversary by spending time on DNBR days instead, I have commenced purchasing my Thingaversary books - unfortunately despite heading to 5 different charity bookshops, I only managed to find 2 books to add to my collection. The Magician's Apprentice by Trudi Canavan and Real World by Natsuo Kirino (which, touchstones, is not Huckleberry Finn!)