lit_chick's 2016 Reading (6)

All aboard for 2016's literary adventures, everyone!

This is my sixth year with our most articulate 75 Books Challenge group. I do not structure or plan my reading at all. My book choices are made on the fly and in the moment. One might say I like to fly by the seat of my pants. This works for me!

I live in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley with my magnificent three-year-old, jet black, feline rescue, Cairo. My thread toppers this year will feature Biblio Beauties, a series of paintings of women reading done by assorted artists.



Robert James Gordon, The Reader, 1877




December
91. News of the World, Paulette Jiles
90. The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah
89. The Wars, Timothy Findley
88. Breath, Eyes, Memory, Edwidge Danticat
87. Journey to Munich, Jacqueline Winspear
86. A Gift from Bob, James Bowen
85. The World According to Bob, James Bowen
84. The Break, Katarena Vermette
83. A Dangerous Place, Jacqueline Winspear
82. Empire Falls, Richard Russo

November
81. Leaving Everything Most Loved, Jacqueline Winspear
80. Miss Jane, Brad Watson
79. Blade of Light, Andrea Camilleri
78. Work Like Any Other, Virginia Reeves
77. Game of Mirrors, Andrea Camilleri
76. A Street Cat Named Bob, James Bowen
75. The Wonder, Emma Donoghue
74. Elegy to Eddie, Jacqueline Winspear
73. The Granny, Brendan O'Carroll

October
72. Do Not Say We Have Nothing, Madeleine Thien
71. Angelica's Smile, Andrea Camilleri
70. A Lesson in Secrets, Jacqueline Winspear
69. The Memory Keeper's Daughter, Kim Edwards
68. The Mapping of Love and Death, Jacqueline Winspear
67. The Chisellers, Brendan O'Carroll
66. Treasure Hunt, Andrea Camilleri
65. The Chosen, Chaim Potok

September
64. The Chocolate War, Robert Cormier
63. Glory Over Everything, Kathleen Grisson
62. The Kitchen House, Kathleen Grissom
61. Did You Ever Have a Family?, Bill Clegg
60. The Glorious Heresies, Lisa McInerney
59. The Dance of the Seagull, Andrea Camilleri
58. Among the Mad, Jacqueline Winspear

August
57. The Marco Effect, Jussi Adler-Olsen
56. The Paying Guests, Sarah Waters
55. When the Moon is Low, Nadia Hashimi
54. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
53. The Age of Doubt, Andrea Camilleri
52. Hell's Bottom, Colorado, Laura Pritchett
51. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson

July
50. This Dark Road to Mercy, Wiley Cash
49. The Potter's Field, Andrea Camilleri
48. The Track of Sand, Andrea Camilleri
47. Career of Evil, Robert Galbraith
46. Go Set a Watchman, Harper Lee
45. An Incomplete Revenge, Jacqueline Winspear
44. Ordinary Grace, William Kent Krueger
43. Messenger of Truth, Jacqueline Winspear

June
42. Rules of Prey, John Sandford
41. H is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald
40. Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi
39. The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis
38. The Silver Chair, C.S. Lewis
37. The Mammy, Brendan O'Carroll
36. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C.S. Lewis
35. When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalinithi
34. The House of Sky, Ivan Doig
33. Prince Caspian, C.S. Lewis

May
32. The Nature of the Beast, Louise Penny
31. The Horse and His Boy, C.S. Lewis
30. The Magician's Nephew, C.S. Lewis
29. The Paris Wife, Paula McLain
28. The Improbability of Love, Hannah Rothschild
27. Pardonable Lies, Jacqueline Winspear
26. The Story of the Lost Child, Elena Ferrante
25. Ruby, Cynthia Bond

April
24. The Book of Memory, Petina Gappah
23. The Widow, Fiona Barton
22. Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, Elena Ferrante
21. The Yellow Birds, Kevin Powers
20. Our Souls at Night, Kent Haruf

March
19. The Story of a New Name, Elena Ferrante
18. Fifteen Dogs, Andre Alexis
17. South Riding, Winifred Holtby
16. My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante
15. The Wings of the Sphinx, Andrea Camilleri
14. All My Puny Sorrows, Miriam Toews
13. August Heat, Andrea Camilleri

February
12. Crooked Heart, Lissa Evans
11. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson
10. Road Ends, Mary Lawson
9. Remembering Laughter, Wallace Stegner
8. Birds of a Feather, Jacqueline Winspear
7. Trespass, Rose Remain
6. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr

January
5. Crow Lake, Mary Lawson
4. Stars Go Blue, Laura Pritchett
3. Watch How We Walk, Jennifer LoveGrove
2. Maisie Dobbs, Jacqueline Winspear
1. How It All Began, Penelope Lively

Because one never knows when one might need a fainting couch ...

Jeepers, I think I might be numero uno! Happy new thread Nancy and sure glad to see the fainting couch. Has it been redone in some gorgeous new upholstery.?

And Mary makes me second up. Happy new thread Nancy. xx

>3 mdoris: Hi Mary, you most definitely are numero uno! Glad you like the upholstery on our fainting couch.

>4 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul, pull up a chair.

Happy new thread!

Happy new one, Nancy!

Happy new thread, Nancy :-)

I'm late to the party, Nancy! Happy New Thread! Love the topper! Only 6 books to go! Wow! Way to go!

>6 drneutron:, >7 Crazymamie:, >8 susanj67:, >9 vancouverdeb: Thank you, Jim, Mamie, Susan, and Deb! I'm excited that I will probably make 75 books this year! It's only happened once, in 2011 the year I joined. Woot!

Oooh, shiny new thread! Happy new one, Nancy!

Where do I sign up for the fainting couch?

Happy new thread.

Happy new one, Nancy.

Hi Nancy, happy new thread my dear, sending love an hugs.

>11 katiekrug:, >12 charl08:, >13 BLBera:, >14 johnsimpson: Thank you, Katie, Charlotte, Beth, and John. No need to sign up for the fainting couch, just make yourself at home.

LOL, the chaise lounge makes a comeback :)
That would be me soon, if only I hadn't accepted a job for the final part of the year! Silly me, what was I thinking?

Happy new thread! >15 lit_chick: Lucky you mentioned it. I was going to push someone off the couch, but...

>16 LovingLit: The fainting couch has become a staple, Megan. What were you thinking, indeed, taking a job when you might have been swooning on the sofa over here!

>17 nittnut: Thanks, Jenn. Now, no pushing, LOL!

70.
A Lesson in Secrets, Jacqueline Winspear



Rating: 4/5

2011, Harper Collins, Read by Orlagh Cassidy

Publisher’s Summary: from Audible.com
In the summer of 1932, Maisie Dobbs' career takes an exciting new turn when she accepts an undercover assignment directed by Scotland Yard's Special Branch and the Secret Service. Posing as a junior lecturer, she is sent to a private college in Cambridge to monitor any activities “not in the interests of His Majesty's government.” When the college's controversial pacifist founder and principal, Greville Liddicote, is murdered, Maisie must stand back as Detective Chief Superintendent Robert MacFarlane and Detective Chief Inspector Richard Stratton spearhead the investigation. She soon discovers, however, that the circumstances of Liddicote's death appear inextricably linked to the suspicious comings and goings of faculty and students under her surveillance.

My Review:
Following the death of Maurice Blanche in the last novel, Maisie steps into her beloved mentor’s shoes with her first foray into working with the British Secret Service. And our girl rocks it! (not that there was ever any doubt that she would). Hindsight being what it is, it is clear to readers that the activities being investigated at Cambridge as concerns the rising powers of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei – the Nazi Party– in Britain – foreshadow the coming of WWII.

There’s much to celebrate, too, in A Lesson in Secrets. Maisie, who was surprised in the previous novel to find herself caring for a certain gentleman – is now deeply in love. And Billie and Doreen Beale will announce wonderful news at the end of the novel. Full credit here to Winspear whose characters have become so endeared to me.

Highly recommended!

Hi Nancy - Nice review of the Maisie Dobbs. I also enjoy the series.

Great review of A Lesson in Secrets, Nancy! The image of Maisie " rocking it" makes me chuckle just a bit! :) Maisie is quite proper - I'm sure the idea of " rocking it " has never occurred to her. LOL! I agree, one does get very attached to all of the characters in the series. I find that it is less the mysteries and more the character development arcs that really grab me! Of course one needs both!I hope we can both find a new series to love this much when we catch up to the author's books. I read somewhere that a new book in the series is coming out next spring . Now, that Rocks! :)

Very windy here today, as well as windy. Crossed fingers that we don't lose our power over the next couple of days.

>20 BLBera: Thanks, Beth.

>21 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deb. While Maisie might disagree, I figured it was high time she rocked it, keeping company sith the secret service and all, LOL. I have grown so fond of the Beales, was just delighted when the announced a new baby daughter!. Yay for a new book in the series.

I'll keep my mouth shut, but there is so much more ahead for Maisie and her " compatriots." Just marry James Compton already, and if they are living together as " man and wife" - pretty wild back in the 1930's - really, just get married ! And yes, the storm are over and we did manage to keep power in our area. And now out with me and Poppy.

>23 vancouverdeb: Deb, you echo my thoughts on Maisie's behaviour with a certain, ahem, gentleman. Very glad to hear you've maintained your power throughout your wild weekend. Big hello to Poppy girl : ).

71.
Angelica's Smile, Andrea Camilleri



Rating: 3/5

2014, Blackstone Audiobooks, Read by Grover Gardner

Publisher’s Summary: from Audible.com
A rash of burglaries has Inspector Salvo Montalbano stumped. The criminals are so brazen that their leader, the anonymous Mr. Z, starts sending the Sicilian inspector menacing letters. Among those burgled is the young and beautiful Angelica Cosulich, who reminds the inspector of the love-interest in Ludovico Ariosto's chivalric romance, Orlando Furioso. Besotted by Angelica's charms, Montalbano imagines himself back in the medieval world of jousts and battles. But when one of the burglars turns up dead, Montalbano must snap out of his fantasy and unmask his challenger.

My Review:
Camilleri has an exciting premise here: a pack of thieves execute a series of perfect burglaries, targeting vacation homes of the wealthy elite. The thieves, while burglarizing said ostentatious vacation homes steal keys to the owners’ even more ostentatious city homes. That said, Angelica’s Smile did not really work for me. For one, I found the whole medieval thing over the top – and Montalbano’s fantastical dreams in which he is Angelica’s knight in shining armour – even more over the top. Angelica herself is charming, but of herself she is not enough to carry the story. On a brighter note, Montalbano and Livia do have great makeup sex – nothing graphic or gratuitous, of course, not from Camilleri.

Can’t recommend this one so much, but I do highly recommend the series as a whole and look forward to the next installment, Game of Mirrors.

Even reading your summary, my memory of this one is fuzzy.

I have series that I think of as my favourite, but individual books are okay. That is, I'd rate each individual book as 4 stars, but the series as 4.5 or 5. The whole is greater than its parts. Montalbano is like that.

>26 raidergirl3: Hi Elizabeth, yes, Montalbano is definitely a series where the whole is greater than its parts. My library has the DVDs too, and the ones I've watched are well done: I'd give the DVD series the same rating.

So far, the Montalbano series has yet to catch me. Sorry this particular book in the series did not work for you. I'd love to see a Maisie Dobbs DVD, but she has so much interior dialogue, it would be difficult to transfer that to a screen. Nice review !

Hi Nancy,
Grey and rainy here, hope you are getting more sunshine and seasonal weather than we are. I loved the Montalbano DVDs. My previous library had them all and I zoomed through them. Have read a few of the books too and liked them too but not hooked to the series.

>28 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, I think you're right about Maisie Dobbs being very difficult to transfer to DVD in terms of interior monologue. But Montalbano definitely works on screen.

>29 mdoris: Delighted you loved the Montalbano DVDs, Mary. We've had some sunshine but also our fair share of gray. Winters in the valley are mostly very gray ... of course, one way to fix that is to take a drive up to the ski resort.

>25 lit_chick: The books in the series do sort of meld into a sort of contiguous gloop at some stage, Nancy, I would agree. The only thing is that it is my favourite style of gloop and the whole is swallowed up gladly whether I can remember and/or differentiate the different parts or not.

Have a lovely weekend.

>31 PaulCranswick: You made me laugh, Paul! Montalbano is my favourite style of gloop, too! You have a lovely weekend as well, and big hi to Hani and family.

Stopping by to wish you a happy weekend, Nancy!

>33 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deb, same to you, my friend : ).

72.
Do Not Say We Have Nothing, Madeleine Thien



Rating: 4.5/5

“’A life can be long or short but inside it, if we’re lucky, is this one opening … I looked through this window and made my own idea of the universe and maybe it was wrong. I don’t know anymore, I never stopped loving my country but I wanted to be loyal to something else, too.’” (260)

Vancouver, 1991: Ten-year-old Marie and her mother have invited a guest into their home: Ai-Ming, a young woman who has fled China following the protests in Tiananmen Square. Ai-Ming tells Marie the story of her family in Revolutionary China – from Mao Zedong’s ascent to power, to the Cultural Revolution, and finally to the events leading to Beijing demonstrations of 1989.

China (Shanghai/Beijing) 1950s-1989: Three musicians – the genius composer Sparrow; his ethereal cousin and talented violinst Zhuli; and their best friend, the enigmatic and headstrong Kai, a gifted pianist – study at the Shanghai Conservatory in the 1960s. Through Mao’s Cultural Revolution, they struggle, each in their own way, to remain loyal to the China they love, to each other, and to the music they have devoted their lives to. As the relentless denunciations and humiliations of contemporary society force them to re-invent both their private and their artistic selves, their decisions and their fates will reverberate through the years – and have deep and lasting consequences for both Marie and Ai-Ming.

It’s no surprise that Do Not Say We Have Nothing is sweeping the literary prize world. The novel is hauntingly intimate as well as historically ambitious – and beautifully written. For one who knew so little of Revolutionary China, I put this book down feeling better informed as well as fulfilled by a remarkable story. Thien’s characters – and the lives they lived in Revolutionary China – are unforgettable. My single suggestion for improvement is that a more ruthless editor might have made the novel a somewhat shorter one. But Do Not Say We Have Nothing is a highly recommended read! I will be following Thien to see what she does next.
_______________

Most Powerful Quote: on the emotional distance between people, even family, who survived Revolutionary China:
“People lost one another. You could be sent five thousand kilometres away, with no hope of coming back. Everyone had so many people like this in their lives, people who had been sent away … You couldn’t live against the reality of the time but it was still possible to keep your private dreams, only they had to stay that way, intensely, powerfully private. You had to keep something for yourself, and to do that, you had to turn away from reality. It’s hard to explain if you didn’t grow up here. People simply didn’t have the right to live where they wanted, to love who they wanted, to do the work they wanted. Everything was decided by the Party.” (417)

That sounds fabulous, Nancy, and a great review, too!

Nancy what a great review of Do Not Say We Have Nothing I double checked and I am #141 of 289 in the queue at my new library system. I realize now what a spoiled brat I was in my old system. Oh well.....It is a very nice day here on the coast, that is, it is NOT raining!

Fabulous review, Nancy! Thumbed! I'm so happy that you enjoyed it. I've got my fingers crossed that Do Not Say We Have Nothing takes a sweep of prizes. It's up for the Man Booker, The Giller and something else Canadian. . I agree, at the same time as being so sweeping, it is also a very personal, intimate story.

>36 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura : ).

>37 mdoris: Thanks, Mary. Oh my goodness, that is quite a library queue!

>38 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deb. I'm rooting for Thien and Do Not Say We Have Nothing to sweep some prizes, too, Deb. What an accomplishment!

>25 lit_chick: Hi Nancy! I see you are keeping going with the Inspector Montalbano series! This year I started listening to the series on audiobook during my commute. I like that they are interesting but not too serious as I can't really concentrate on heavy books while driving! I'm up to book 9 now.

I love the phrase 'hauntingly intimate'. Great review.

>25 lit_chick: Hi Chelle, delighted to "see" you! The Montalbano series would be perfect audio for a commute. Glad you are enjoying.

>41 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte : ).

Drat! The Sellout by Paul Beatty wins the Man Booker. I read about 30 pages into the book and took it back to the library. Oh well.

>43 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, was just about to post the Booker Winner. But based on your assessment, I won't be in a rush to read it.

Booker Prize Winnter:
The Sellout, Paul Beatty



Synopsis: from The Man Booker Prize
*haven't read this, just wanted to post the synopsis of the Booker Winner*
Born in the ‘agrarian ghetto’ of Dickens on the southern outskirts of Los Angeles and raised by a single father, a controversial sociologist, the narrator of The Sellout spent his childhood as the subject in racially charged psychological studies. He is led to believe his father’s pioneering work will result in a memoir that will solve his family's financial woes. But when his father is killed in a police shoot-out, he realises there never was a memoir. All that’s left is the bill for a drive-through funeral.

Fuelled by this deceit and the general disrepair of his hometown, the narrator sets out to right another wrong: Dickens has literally been removed from the map to save California from further embarrassment. Enlisting the help of the town’s most famous resident – Hominy Jenkins – he initiates the most outrageous action conceivable: reinstating slavery and segregating the local high school which lands him in the Supreme Court.

What follows is a remarkable journey that challenges the sacred tenets of the United States Constitution, urban life, the civil rights movement and the holy grail of racial equality – the black Chinese restaurant.

Did you read the The Sellout or are you just posting info about the Sellout? I know it was not just me that panned The Sellout , it was Darryl, Paul, Charlotte that stand out among others readers. Oh well. Such is life. Perhaps someone found it of value - clearly the Man Booker Panel did. It sounds interesting until you try to actually read the book! Not to put you off :-)

>46 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, no, haven't read The Sellout, was just posting the synopsis as Booker Prize Winner Based on your assessment, I'm not sure I will read it. And it sounds like you're in good company.

>46 vancouverdeb:, >47 lit_chick: I wondered the same thing! I was about to ask, "but did you like it?!" I made it a personal project to read all Booker winners and have remained current but this one isn't calling to me based largely on LT opinion.

Well, Ellen gave it 3. 5 stars, so she found some " redeeming value" in The Sellout, or at least she said she is glad that she read it. You can at least take it out of the library. I did, twice -even before it was in the Booker line up , because it was in the new books area. Not my cup of tea. Nancy, on my thread I posed some Net Flix questions to you. If you get a moment, let me know the answers - though of course I have yet to pose the question to Dave - who will groan and moan over it all. "What!" he'll cry . We hardly watch the channels that we have etc. " I'll just get it set up without him and he may not notice for several months. :)

>48 lauralkeet: Hi Laura, I've confused several visitors, I think, by posting the synopsis of the Booker winner. I've edited that post now with a note that I haven't read it ... should have done that in the first place, LOL! What a great personal goal to read all Booker winners! This one isn't calling to me either, but I thoroughly enjoyed Do Not Say We Have Nothing from the SL.

>49 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, honestly, with so much fabulous reading out there, I'm looking for better than 3.5*. I'll be right over to answer your Netflix questions : ).

>35 lit_chick: I have seen several really good reviews of Do Not Say We Have Nothing. I will have to bump it up on the pile. But not until after I finish my 2 non-fiction door stoppers. Sigh. They feel like the Never-Ending Gobstopper at the moment, Lol.

>50 lit_chick: Nancy, on the strength of your rec I will probably get to Do Not Say We Have Nothing sooner. I probably need to relax my self-imposed rule of reading all the winners.

>51 nittnut: Hi Jenn, had a good chuckle over your Never-Ending Gosbstopper reads. You have to do something about that!

>52 lauralkeet: Hi Laura, would be curious to know what you think of Do No Say We Have Nothing. I hear you about needing to relax some of your own rules ... can relate!

Nancy! I have a book that you must read and it's only about 99 pages long.! I think you should make it part of your English Classes! Wenjack by Joseph Boyden. It is newly out, but I had read about it and also was lucky to find it at my library. It is written for adults, but I really think a younger audience would benefit by reading it too.

Mary, this one you are going to have to " splash out " and make a purchase! :)

>54 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, was interested to read about Wenjack on your thread! Thanks for the recommendation, and particularly for noting that it would do well in English class to a younger audience. Like!

73.
The Granny, Brendan O'Carroll



Rating: 4/5

Agnes Browne, loveable and comedic heroine, warms my heart and tickles my funny bone once again in The Granny. Agnes’ six children are all in their twenties now, several of them doing remarkably well for themselves in the furniture décor world, the art world, and in publishing children’s books. There are a handful of grandchildren, too, whom Agnes adores. And she continues to enjoy her French lover, who becomes determined in this installment to turn his woman into “a sexual animal.” You can only imagine what ensues!

Indeed, Mrs Browne’s life is rich: full of family and loved ones. Her only regret is that with her children so far-flung, it is nigh impossible to get them in the same room – and so family weddings and such always seem to be missing one or more of the brood. But tragedy brings them back together again -- and love keeps them that way forever.

Brendan O’Carroll has completely charmed me with his Agnes Browne trilogy, and The Granny is a fine conclusion. Highly recommended!

Hi Nancy--You've been doing some great reading lately! Of course, several of them I would have to start at the beginning and I certainly do not need another series at this point! LOL But maybe later. : )

Number 73 already , Nancy! I'm going to have to pad my numbers at this rate! :) Lovely review ! So glad you enjoyed The Granny. We have Lori to thank for that rec. And though I'm not finished Another Brooklyn I can safely say , yes, put a hold on it at your library. It is wonderful read so far. I should be finished it later today, or else tomorrow.

>57 Berly: Beth, I just commented on someone else's thread that I need another series like I need a hole in the head, LOL. So I am with you ...

>58 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, yes, thanks to Lori for finding ans recommending O'Carroll's trilogy. I was so moved at the conclusion of The Granny.

I've already put a hold on Another Brooklyn at the library. I love it when a book grabs me right away and doesn't let go.

Hi Nancy :) O'Carroll's books look very entertaining. I'll have to add them to the pile.

Happy Halloween Nancy. Hope that you had a great day! 🎃

>35 lit_chick: ooooh, you have me with that one. I'll keep my eye out for it.

>61 mdoris: Hi Jenn, you'll love O'Carroll's books! It's hard not to love them!

>62 LovingLit: Thanks, Mary.

>63 lit_chick: Hi Megan, I hope you can find Do Not Say We Have Nothing. Think you'd really enjoy.

Hi Nancy - I like the couches in >1 lit_chick: and >2 lit_chick:!

>35 lit_chick: A thumb for your review Nancy and Do Not Say We Have Nothing has gone on the library list. Now that work is slightly less hectic I'm starting to feel as if I might have enough brain to venture out of my comfort zone a bit and try some contemporary literary fiction. I have The Buried Giant on loan from the library so will see if I can manage that one.

Hi Nancy, I am just doing the rounds as I have been a bit neglectful of late. Hope you are well my dear and I have loved reading your book reviews and comments. Sending love and hugs my dear.

>64 souloftherose: Hi Heather, don't those couches look like wonderful reading spots?

Thanks for the thumb! I do hope you will enjoy Do Not Say We Have Nothing. It really is a good read!

>65 johnsimpson: Hi John, I've been terribly neglectful of threads myself. Just don't seem to be enough hours in the day. Hugs to you and Karen.

Love the cover for The Granny, Nancy - glad that the trilogy turned out so charming and funny. It does sound like a rich and full life - even becoming somewhat of a sex machine :)

I'm slowly starting to read some again, so hopefully there will shortly be some activity on my thread again - when I've cleared the dust a bit.

>67 ctpress: Carsten, you were missed here on LT! Good to see you! Yes, O'Carroll's trilogy is rich and full of life, even with Agnes' sex-machine adventure!

Delighted you're starting to read again, will be haunting your thread : ).

Hi, Nancy! I thumbed your review of *Have Nothing* too, and you make me think that I must have it as soon as I get back to reading again.

>69 LizzieD: Thank you, Peggy! Thumbs are appreciated : ). When you're able to get back to reading again, I predict you'd really enjoy Do Not Say We Have Nothing. And I'd love to know what you think of it.

74.
Elegy to Eddie, Jacqueline Winspear



Rating: 4/5

2012, Harper Collins, Read by Orlagh Cassidy

Publisher’s Summary: adapted from Audible.com
Early April 1933: To the costermongers of Covent Garden – sellers of fruit and vegetables on the streets of London – Eddie Pettit was a gentle soul with a near-magical gift for working with horses. When Eddie is killed in a violent accident, the grieving costers are deeply skeptical about the cause of his death. Who would want to kill Eddie – and why?

My Review:
I loved reading about the costermongers – an occupation of times gone by. And, while Winspear writes eloquently of Eddie’s gentle soul, and of his gift with horses – she doesn’t shy away from the fact that Eddie is severely mentally challenged. I like that Winspear is clear about the respect paid him by the costers and by Maisie, hence Elegy to Eddie – respect was not always Eddie’s experience, as one might imagine in the early 1930s. Maisie is learning to live as a wealthy woman, and what that means in terms of setting boundaries around “helping” others. In terms of her personal life, I find myself growing frustrated with her: she commits to a relationship, and then as the relationship progresses, proceeds to find reasons why she can’t commit (read Andrew Deene and now James Compton).

On the historical front, Elegy to Eddie, like A Lesson in Secrets before it, continues to foreshadow the coming of WWII: illustrating for readers the British political maneuvering taking place as Hitler gradually rises to power.

Thoroughly enjoyed Elegy to Eddie, the ninth installment in the Maisie Dobbs series. I’ve forgotten to mention for some time that Orlagh Cassidy is perfect for this series, just perfect. Highly recommended, both novel and series!

Good thoughts on this Maisie Dobbs-crime. Interesting that we now move into another war and how will that change the series if it goes on....

Still look forward to continue with the series at some point. I've only read two, but you must be up to date with the series by now I guess.

>72 ctpress: Hi Carsten, I've got 2-3 more to read, I think, before I catch up with the series. I do hope it continues through WWII. Very much enjoying, and I hope you will too.

Great review of Elegy for Eddie. I've discovered that there is a new Maisie Dobbs coming out in spring of 2017! Yay! In This Grave Hour: A Maisie Dobbs Novel . Supposedly March of 2017. There is book to look forward too! :)

>74 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deb. A new Maisie Dobbs book coming? Wahoo! That is fine news!

And yes, apparently in this new book In This Grave Hour: A Maisie Dobbs Novel , Maisie is in the midst/ start of WW11 ! I've got it on my wishlist! :)

from the book description : As Britain becomes engulfed in a second World War, the indomitable Maisie Dobbs is plunged into a treacherous battle of her own when she stumbles on the deaths of refugees who may have been more than ordinary people seeking sanctuary on English soil, in this enthralling chapter in Jacqueline Winspear’s enormously popular New York Times bestselling series.

Hi Nancy! How are you? Love your reviews for the Agnes Browne trilogy - I loved those.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

>46 vancouverdeb: Going way back just to say Nancy that I did indeed pan The Sellout; I thought it the worst of the Longlist that I have read. That said I wouldn't want negativity on my part to put others off from reading it. You may find the redeeming features Ellen was talking about.

On the opposite scale to negativity, I simply must look for the Agnes Browne trilogy.

Have a lovely Sunday.

>78 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul, re The Sellout. Doubt I'll bother with this one. There's so much fabulous stuff out there to read ... and so little time.

I think you would adore the Agnes Browne trilogy. Heartwarming and hilarious and ...

Hi Nancy--stopping by to see what you are reading. I notice you are a few books ahead of me in both the Maisie Dobbs and the Montalbano series. These are some of the books I turn to when I need a new audiobook and they never let me down.
It looks like I've missed most of the LT chatter on The Sellout and it seems maybe I don't have to rush out and read it.

Nancy, I am on tenterhooks about the Giller Prize which is announced tomorrow sometime in " Eastern Time" ( says Deborah wearily). Let's make the Giller Announcements on Pacific Time, which we all know is where the action really is. Here in B.C.

>81 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, great minds! I was just on the Giller site looking to see when the winner would be announced. And I just finished The Wonder, review to follow. I think either it or Do Not Say We Have Nothing would be worthy recipients.

75.
The Wonder, Emma Donoghue



Rating: 4/5

What collective madness had the townspeople in its grip? "If they're concerned that a child is being allowed to kill herself, quotation mark Lib demanded, quotation mark why don't they stormed the cabin?" (261)

In mid-nineteenth century rural Ireland, eleven-year-old Anna O’Donnell has been fasting for four months, existing only on what she calls “manna from heaven.” Chants of “miracle” have reached fever pitch now – tourists flock to the small village in droves, hoping to glimpse first-hand this tiny miracle of God. An international journalist has been sent to cover the spectacle, too. It is into this madness that Lib, a Nightingale-trained English nurse arrives – having been hired to watch over Anna, day and night – to determine whether the child is fraud. But as Lib’s young charge wastes away, she cannot but feel compelled to get to the root of why the child may actually be the victim of murder in slow motion. Most distressingly, what of the child’s parents, and of the village doctor and priest? – so imprisoned by their Catholicism that they hope and pray the child is a miracle, or a saint – but fail to encourage her to eat?

Donoghue writes beautifully – The Wonder is cast in that same spare, compelling prose that made Room such a success. Tense and multi-layered, she asks big questions here about faith and about human nature, while at the same time telling a simple, uncomplicated story of two strangers who will transform each other’s lives. Highly recommended.

"None are so blind as those who will not see." (287)

Yay! I haven't reached my goal of 75 books since 2011, the year I joined LT. So I'm excited about this!

Congrats, Nancy!!

Wow Nancy good for you. Extremetly impressed!!!! 75.

>83 lit_chick: woohoo! Nice one!
I am decidedly off track for 75 this year, but am having fun trying :)

LOVELY!!! Congratulations on your 75, Nancy!!!
Now you can relax and read!

>85 katiekrug:, >86 mdoris:, >87 LovingLit:, >88 LizzieD: Thank you, Katie, Mary, Megan, Peggy. It's fun to have reached 75. I have been off track for several of my LT years, Megan; but, as you point out, I've always had fun trying!

Congratulations on reaching the Big 75 this year, Nancy! Wonderful review of The Wonder. It is a fascinating read and a page turner too! Great book to read for number 75! Delighted for you and review thumbed!

>90 vancouverdeb: Thank you, Deb, and thumb appreciated. Yes, The Wonder was a great book to hit on 75!

Congrats with the 75, Nancy. And plenty in time. "The Wonder" sounds like a good story with ethical and moral substance.

First time 75! Way to go, Nancy! I've made it a few times since 2007, but not recently.

The Wonder sounds excellent.

Congratulations on reaching 75!

Beautiful review of Do Not Say We Have Nothing.

Congrats!

Congrats on hitting 75, Nancy!! And you got me with the Agnes Browne trilogy.

>92 ctpress: Thanks, Carsten! You're spot-on about The Wonder: sounds like a good story with ethical and moral substance.

>93 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. I made 75 in 2011, the year I joined LT, but not since. So I'm excited, LOL! The Wonder is indeed a superb read: I think Carsten (above) said it better than I did.

>94 sibylline: Thanks, Lucy. Do Not Say We Have Nothing was an excellent read.

>95 drneutron: Thanks, Jim.

>96 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie. Oh, you will love the Agnes Browne trilogy!

Congrats on hitting 75 this year! Yay! And I love Emma Donoghue too!

Hi Nancy, congratulations on hitting your 75 my dear, sending love and hugs.

Nancy, I received a new " social media lesson " yesterday, this time by my niece. We had a family get together for my sister's birthday. As I pulled out my I phone to take a picture of the lowly looking cupcakes, my niece( age 24) not my daughter in law , mentioned that pictures of food should only be posted to facebook or Instagram " in an ironic way." In fact that was what I planned, but who knew that there were so many rules that a Dinosaur like me was unaware of? Never mind me trying to sort out netflix.
Life as an old lady - it ain't easy, baby!

>98 ChelleBearss: Thanks, Chelle. Emma Donoghue rules!

>99 johnsimpson: Thanks, John, hugs to you and Karen.

>100 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, you're becoming quite adept at social medical with all of your lessons! Who knew is right that there were rules about food and irony? I so hear you, my friend, and thanks for the chuckle: Life as an old lady - it ain't easy, baby!

2016 Winner:
Do Not Say We Have Nothing, Madeeiene Thien

Just checked and I am delighted! I won't feel obligated to read the other Giller Contenders, unless I want too! :)

>103 vancouverdeb: Yes! I feel just the same way, Deb.

76.
A Street Cat Named Bob, James Bowen



Rating: 3/5

"There’s a famous quote I read somewhere. It says we are all given second chances every day of our lives. They are there for the taking, it’s just that we don’t usually take them.” (Ch 1)

Failed musician and recovering drug addict, James Bowen, is living hand-to-mouth in sheltered accommodation in London when he finds and nurses back to health a beautiful ginger tomcat he names Bob. When Bob is well again, James expects that he will return to his life on the streets, but Bob has other ideas. When the cat follows James onto a bus one day, James begins to think that perhaps the two of them can make a life together. James, used to being invisible on London’s streets, finds that having the handsome feline reclined on his shoulders, or curled up in his guitar case as they busk in Covent Garden, has changed society’s perception of him:

“Seeing me with my cat softened me in their eyes. It humanized me. Especially after I’d been so dehumanized. In some ways it was giving me back my identity. I had been a non-person; I was becoming a person again.” (Ch 6)

A Street Cat Named Bob is not going to win any literary prizes for writing, but it is a quick study, and a charming, feel-good story. I understand Bob is coming to the big screen and wanted to acquaint myself with him before then.

Great review, Nancy! Yes I think you are correct, it is coming to the ' Big Screen". I know my mom really liked the book a few years ago too. I imagine being a big fan of Cairo like you are, though Cairo is black not ginger, you are very much enjoyed the story. There is more to it than I suspected, not paying much attention to my mom's read of A Street Cat Named Bob. Glad you enjoyed!

Uh, oh, I can't thumb your review because it leads to the "Quick Read" of A Street Cat Named Bob. I think original version and the quick version may have become erroneously turned into one book. Not sure.

ETA - found your copy - just 1 of them and thumbed your review. There are three version with the more or less the same name. I have to run, but maybe you or I can take that to the" Uncombiners" later on?

>106 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deb. Gotta love a feel good story about a man and a cat : ).

>107 vancouverdeb: Oh, no! I don't know how to "uncombine" the versions ... do you?

I got behind on your thread, Nancy. LT is going by too quickly for me these days! I'm glad you continue to enjoy Maisie Dobbs. I'll give her a trial run one of these days. I read series very slowly because of all the great new stand-alone books that I can't keep up with. I am happily making my way through Do Not Say We Have Nothing and am very happy it won The Giller Prize. Thanks for your lovely review which was one of my motivations for reading it.

>109 Donna828: Hi Donna! I certainly understand how it's difficult to get through a series while trying to keep up with all the great new stand-alone books. Can't keep up either! I've got so many in my iPad waiting, many of which have been there longer than I care to remember; library books are coming in constantly, and they're piled on the my dining table. Argh! In any case, I am delighted you are enjoying Do Not Say We Have Nothing.

Belated congrats from me on the 75. Great to read the Thien love here too. I must try and find some of her earlier books - hopefully they will be republished here.

77.
Game of Mirrors, Andrea Camilleri



Rating: 3.5/5

2015, Blackstone Audiobooks, Read by Grover Gardner

Publisher’s Summary: adapted from Audible.com
Inspector Montalbano and his colleagues are stumped when two bombs explode outside empty warehouses – one of which is connected to a big-time drug dealer. Meanwhile the alluring Liliana Lombardo is trying to seduce the inspector over red wine and arancini. Between pesky reporters, amorous trysts, and cocaine kingpins, Montalbano feels as if he's being manipulated on all fronts. That is until the inspector himself becomes the prime suspect in an unspeakably brutal crime.

My Review:
… someone is toying with Italy's favourite detective. In a big way, and on multiple fronts! Game of Mirrors, indeed! Several seductive culinary scenes here, the ones I’ve come to expect (and love) from Camilleri – and by seductive, I mean delectably appetizing as well as the other seductive the Inspector is so well known for. Problem for me: outside of Liliana, several of the characters failed to hold my interest, and the story seemed unnecessarily convoluted at times. As other readers have noted, I miss Livia – although she did phone and hang up in her usual vigorous style at the beginning of the novel.

I’ve got one more of these to read – well, listen to – Blade of Light, which is on tap. These audiobooks are superbly done by Grover Gardner! (And good news: Camilleri has written #20, A Voice in the Night, though it is not yet been released in Canada.)

You have blown through that series like a bag of Halloween Candy, Nancy. Glad you enjoyed them all and that one is on tap . Great review!

>113 vancouverdeb: I love Deborah's "blowing through that series like a bag of Halloween candy". I'm doing that with Scott and Bailey on Netflix and feeling some guilt about it. Oh well! Glad Nancy that you are enjoying the Montalbano audio books. Love your reference to the culinary scenes. Almost all seafood don't you think? And can you imagine the wonderful wines that go with....... Fun to be hooked in!

>113 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, oh you made me laugh with your Halloween candy line. Yes, I rather have blown through the Montalbano series.

>114 mdoris: Hi Mary, I binge watched Scott and Bailey too. But I did not feel one bit guilty about it! Delectable Italian cuisine in the Montalbano books: read about arincini in this latest one, and my mouth was watering.

I notice that tonight that Scott and Bailey is on Knowledge Network , so I'm recording it. Hmm- I don't care for seafood in the remotest way, so that won't pull me into the Camilerri series.

I guess Livia is out in the cold - or is it Montalbano? Having fun reading your reviews of Camilleri's crimes. And Deborah's remarks :)

Hi Nancy - I can't believe how long it's been since I've been by. The Wonder sounds great - a good choice for 75! Congrats.

I'm a fan of Maisie Dobbs but have never warmed to the Montalbano series. I need to try the Scott and Bailey series.

Have a great weekend.

>116 vancouverdeb: Deb, not to worry, there's lots of wonderful non-seafood cuisine in the Montalbano books : ). Let us know what you think of Scott and Bailey.

>117 ctpress: LOL, Carsten! Yes, I'm not sure which is out in the cold, but certainly one of them. Deb's remarks never fail to entertain, do they?

>118 BLBera: Thanks, Beth, I think you'd enjoy The Wonder. Deb feels the same way about Maisie and Montalbano, so you're not alone there. They're very different series.

Off to see what "arincini" is all about! I live with a fishetarian so i have no choice! I love in the DVDs the restaurant where Montalbano chows down. Seafood, wine and amazing views of the sea. Can it get any better? Oh and I love that he is a swimmer!
.........
Okay so research is over now. arincini, deep fried cheese/rice balls. Wow, that sounds good! Sign me up!

Hi Nancy, hope you are having a good weekend my dear and send love and hugs.

>120 mdoris: That was my thought, Mary: sign me up!. I would love to enjoy eating fish, but that's not my reality.

>121 johnsimpson: Hugs to you and Karen, John.

Well done Nancy for getting beyond 75. Given that you always prioritise quality over quantity that is some achievement.

>123 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul, lovely comment. I don't hit 75 very often!

78.
Work Like Any Other, Virginia Reeves



Rating: 4.5/5

1920s Alabama: Roscoe T Martin’s life work, training, and passion is electricity. But when his wife Marie inherits the family farm from her late father, he gives up his livelihood – at great cost to himself, his marriage, and his family. Roscoe is not a farmer – in fact, he resents the farm and all that has come with it. In an effort to improve their rural lives, Roscoe concocts and carries out a plan to siphon off state electrical power to bring electricity to the farm. And the plan works – the farm prospers, and life gets better. That is, until a young man employed by Alabama Power is electrocuted and Roscoe is arrested and incarcerated at Kilby Prison. What’s worse, their loyal and long-employed black farm hand, Wilson Grice, is charged, too. Needless to say, the penal system in early 1900s rural Alabama deals with the two men very differently. Marie, strong and reasonable and disciplined – and cold – abandons Roscoe, who must learn to carve out a place for himself in Kilby Prison.

Work Like Any Other is a stunning debut novel: rich with gorgeous, spare writing, insight, and imagery. Reeves explores primarily love, redemption, family, and guilt. There is a scene in which Marie is canning peaches with Moa, Wilson Grice’s wife, which is set in my mind – and which Reeves uses brilliantly to illustrate Marie’s relationship with both her farm and her husband:

“The stone of the peach had always pleased Marie, its wrinkles like furrows in a newly plowed pasture or the deeply created forehead of an old woman – like things soft to the touch. The stone was rough, though, nearly to scratching, and hard. Only a sick peach showed a weak stone, splitting with the flesh when cut, exposing the soft, flat seed inside. The fruit of those peaches clung to the sides of their stones, forcing her to hack away at the flesh in sloppy chunks. When the farm had been at is most prosperous, she’d allowed herself to throw those peaches out.” (157)

Highly, highly recommended!

Beautiful review, Nancy. I'm hooked. Sounds like there's some big moral questions/dilemmas in this one.

>126 ctpress: Thanks, Carsten. I'm fairly certain you will enjoy this one, a lot! Yes, definitely some big questions here. It'll be one of the 2016 Bests.

A wonderful review of Work Like Any Other. I've got an even better book to recommend , Miss Jane, which I so briefly reviewed on my new thread. It calls to mind Kent Haruf and also Work Like Any Other, though the topic matter of Work Like Any Other is very different from Miss Jane. You and Carsten would both love it, I'm quite sure. Donna has a much more thorough , lovely review of Miss Jane than I created.

Great review, Nancy.

>128 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deb. Miss Jane is on tap! (It's that great minds thing again). You know how I feel about Kent Haruf, so I'm looking very forward to it. I recall reading Donna's wonderful review.

>129 BLBera: Thanks, Beth.

Oh I know! Do you think we might be identical twins born by two different mothers in two different parts of the country and also likely born in different years with our great minds think alike? I've no other explanation.

>131 vancouverdeb: Well, that sounds perfectly plausible, Deb, not a stretch at all, LOL!

>131 vancouverdeb: >132 lit_chick: Thanks for the chuckle ladies :-)

Loved your review of work like any other. The canning quote is lovely- but not something I'd particularly noticed. One of my favourite things discovering and rediscovering books on everyone's threads. Thank you!

Super review of Work Like Any Other. Doing my best to catch up!

>133 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte. I agree: love discovering and rediscovering wonderful books on others' threads. Can't say what made that canning quote stick with me: but it was one of those passages that I read, read again, and came back to read again a few pages later.

>134 sibylline: Hi Lucy, thank you! I think we are never caught up around here, but you're doing a commendable job!

Wow, I come over here to say hello and see my name mentioned. *blushing* Thanks so much for liking my review, Deborah and Nancy. Your review of Work Like Any Other reminds me how much I enjoyed that book, too. So many great books out there. I just finished one that I didn't like nearly as much as most of the LTers who have read it. Oh well, we can't all like the same kind of books.

79.
Blade of Light, Andrea Camilleri



Rating: 4/5

2015, Blackstone Audiobooks, Read by Grover Gardner

Publisher’s Summary: adapted from Audible.com
When Inspector Montalbano falls under the charms of beautiful gallery owner Marian, his longtime relationship with Livia comes under threat. Meanwhile, he is also troubled by a strange dream as three crimes demand his attention: the robbery and assault of a wealthy merchant's young wife, stolen works of art, and a search for arms traffickers that leads him deep into the countryside, where the investigation takes a tragic turn.

My Review:
As Blade of Light opens, our Sicilian detective is having the strangest dream – one of those which makes absolutely no sense in the moment – but which begins manifesting itself in reality shortly thereafter. I was surprised to feel saddened when Montalbano’s relationship with Livia comes under threat – in spite of their differences and their drama, I had hoped for better for both characters. I like that Camilleri has introduced three crimes here: as the story unfolds, the crimes are not so unrelated as they initially appear to be. And Camilleri writes a great scene in which Montalbano breaks out in a cold sweat as a particular piece of the puzzle clicks into place. I loved the conclusion of Blade of Light which, among other things, finds Montalbano taking a ten-day leave.

Taking a break from this series now until Camilleri’s latest installment, A Voice in the Night, becomes available on audiobook in Canada.

HI Nancy,
I can see why you were a wee bit upset with Livia's permanent departure, but to be able to be reading/hearing about 3 crimes maybe makes up for it. Sounds like you are right up to date with Montalbano''s crime solving. Now for patience until the next one becomes available. Good review.

I just looked it up in our library system and it's called A Beam of LIght Weird that book/audio titles for the same story would be different!

>83 lit_chick: Great review of The Wonder Deb - definitely added to the library list. And congratulations on reading 75 books!

Hi Nancy - I'm really enjoying catching up on your thread and have just added two of your books to my list - Do Not Say We Had Nothing and Work Like Any Other. They both sound great. And you are so far ahead in the Montalbano series!! I think I'm up to Rounding the Mark.

>138 mdoris:, >139 mdoris: Hi Mary, I am continuing to enjoy Montalbano, and it's great to be invested in characters' personal lives. I also noticed there are two titles for this one. Confusing!

>140 souloftherose: Thanks, Heather, I think you'll enjoy The Wonder.

>141 cushlareads: Hi Cusha! Always happy to help out with book bullets : ). Both Do Not Say We Have Nothing and Work Like Any Other are likely to be on this year's BEST list.

I could never work out why Livia stayed so long...

>143 charl08: Nor could I, and yet I still found myself mourning the potential loss of their longtime relationship. I know that sounds contradictory ...

Aagh! I have about ten books with Livia left, I think.

I decided she stayed because of the beautiful views from the house...

>137 lit_chick: I love Montalbano as read by Grover Gardner! Hopefully I'll be able to locate one for my next long drive.

Oh man those VIEWS, could create lots of forgiveness opportunities when the going gets rough! Montalbano's housekeeper always has something wonderful waiting in the fridge too!

>145 cushlareads: Enjoy, Cushla!

>146 charl08: I'll go with that, Charlotte!

>147 thornton37814: Hi Lori, agree Grover Gardner is a fabulous narrator! Hope you can find one, too!

>148 mdoris: LOL, Mary, I think you've said it all! Oh, that made me chuckle.

Loving the Livia / Montalba talk. Absence is supposed to make the heart grow fonder but it seems to make one of them grumpy and the other elusive (being kind to him).

Have a great weekend, Nancy.

>150 PaulCranswick: LOL, Paul, what an apt description of Livia/Montalbano. You and yours have a great weekend, too.

I hope you are enjoying Miss Jane. Nancy. Great review of Blade of Light and I'm glad that you are enjoying the series so much!

Nancy, just coming over to say that I got The Mammy from the library, and I read it all in one sitting. I LOVE Agnes Browne! Thanks so much for recommending the trilogy - can't wait to get to the next one.

Hoping that your Saturday is full of fabulous!

>152 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deb. Thoroughly enjoying Miss Jane ... some reading on my agenda for this afternoon, now that I'm finally sitting down.

>153 Crazymamie: Oh, Mamie, I'm delighted you read The Mammy in one sitting! Agree that Agnes Browne is priceless! Hope you enjoy the next two as much as the first.

Looks like you have a few well-rated books passing by you recently! A good run, and may it continue :)

Eta, adding the all-important 5th word in that sentence! Oops.

>155 LovingLit: Hi Megan, yes, I'm loving a great run of great books this past while.

Great review of Work Like Any Other, Nancy.

>157 BLBera: Thanks, Beth.

I'm late to the party but just catching up with your thread. Congrats for reaching 75 and beyond, Nancy.

>159 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg! You are always welcome at my party.

Blade of Light was one of the good ones from Camilleri, I take? Sad to hear that Livia seems to be written of, although not a reader of the series I follow Montalbanos life, vicariously on this thread :)

What to do now, Nancy, as you wait for the next.....ScandiCrime?

>161 ctpress: Hi Carsten, yes, I thoroughly enjoyed Blade of Light. I think Livia is not written off just yet ... I loved the ending of Blade of Light, but can't say more : ).

I'm hoping to finish the Maisie Dobbs series, too, before year end. Then back to Scandi Crime is a fine idea!

Hi Nancy, I have just started Messenger of Truth and although I have only just got going with it I am enjoying it as I did the first three in the series.

>163 johnsimpson: Hi John, Maisie Dobbs is wonderful series! I hope you will enjoy as much as I am.

80.
Miss Jane, Brad Watson



Rating: 4.5/5

1918, Mississippi: Miss Jane, a beautiful blue-eyed baby, is born to the Chisholms, both parents surprised to be having another child because of their later years. And, well, because neither particularly remembers the occasion on which she was conceived: the father inebriated on his favoured apple brandy, and the mother compromised by laudanum. Immediately, Dr Ed Thompson realizes that something is terribly wrong. As he will later explain so lovingly to Jane, her privates were not fully formed at birth – a misfortune which will leave her incontinent and at a loss to ever know an intimate relationship with a man or to bear children. In 1918, of course, a woman’s role did not extend beyond marriage and children, so Miss Jane is left to carve an unconventional life for herself.

And carve she does! Jane is a beautifully developed character – the more admirable because she is based on Watson’s great aunt. Fearless (but for horses), she is full of a strength and grace that most of us would be hard pressed to achieve. With a penchant for simply getting on with life, there is no time in her world for self-pity, not even when she loses to her deformity the one young man she might have made a life with. Dr Ed is Jane’s saving grace: her dear friend and sole human comfort. The two are fast friends until the doctor’s death. This is not to say that Jane’s parents and her older sister are not well written – they are! But their characters are weak and self-centered: none of them any match for Miss Jane.

– a beautifully written, quiet, thoughtful novel. Most highly recommended!

>165 lit_chick: - Great review, Nancy!

And that cover is gorgeous! Hard to resist....

The cover is beautiful - and everyone who has read it seems to love it. Wonderful comments, Nancy. I have to check to see if my library has it.

>166 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie. Isn't that a gorgeous cover! Peacocks play a lovely role in the plot, too.

>167 BLBera: Thanks, Beth, I think you would thoroughly enjoy. I love the cover, too!

>165 lit_chick: Excellent review of Miss Jane, Nancy! And thumbed. a beautifully written, quiet, thoughtful novel Did it remind you of a Kent Haruf novel in that way, or was that just me? As for the dog barking, not sure what the status is of yet. The property manager placed a called to our local humane society and I am not sure what else as yet. I also phoned the local humane society as well the Noise By- Laws here in my city. Just about blew up when I heard that barking dog city by- laws do not apply to those living in a strata!!!! ????Apparently we have to just send letters and fine the people who own the dog,. What? I pay property taxes. How do noise complaints from a dog outside not apply to a strata property? Anyway, have not heard back from the property manager, but let me tell you , though I do fear retribution from our new neighbours, ( normally I would just politely knock on the door and ask them if they could keep their dog quiet) I feel ready to ring their doorbell day and night every time I hear the dog cry, bark , howl etc.

I do feel very bad for the poor dog, but I think the bar might be high before the SPCA or local humane society can actually do much about a dog.( Like perhaps the dog has to be emaciated, or injured, not sure. ) I hope I am wrong about that. Tomorrow is the Annual General Meeting, so perhaps then I will know more. At least the strata council and the property manager got onto quickly.

Really exhausted and frazzled today.

Nancy, I can't catch up, but at least I can speak....
Hi! Hope you're doing well!

>169 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deb. Miss Jane was a beautiful read. Yes, somewhat reminiscent of Haruf with its quiet, spare tone.

Glad your property manager is addressing concerns about the barking dog in a timely manner. City bylaw not applying to strata makes absolutely zero sense ... seems to be a prerequisite for city bylaws. It sounds to me like the animal is in distress, and that's concerning. I do hope the SPCA is able to step in.

>170 LizzieD: Hi Peggy, not to worry about catching up ... that's almost impossible around here. Lovely to see you.

Beautiful review, Nancy. Thumb. And Jane sounds like a beautiful character, one I think I would love. Your and Deborah's reviews makes it hard to ignore.

Great review. I'm another one who thinks they've done a great job with the cover too. Hope that I can get hold of a copy soon.

Lovely review. Very tempting!

>172 ctpress: Thanks, Carsten, I hope you will be unable to ignore Miss Jane ... would love to know what you think. Beautiful read!

>173 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte. I hope you can get hold a copy soon, too!

>174 sibylline: Thanks, Lucy. Miss Jane is worth the temptation!

Way behind on LT, but congrats on blowing past 75!! And thanks for the great reviews. :)

>176 Berly: Thanks, Kim ... and you're most welcome : ).

WOW, have you really done it? Blown past 75. Amazing and fabulous!

>178 mdoris: LOL, yes, I've done it, Mary!

81.
Leaving Everything Most Loved, Jacqueline Winspear



Rating: 4/5

2013, Harper Collins, Read by Orlagh Cassidy

1933: Maisie Dobbs is contacted by an Indian gentleman who has come to England in the hopes of finding out who killed his sister two months ago. Scotland Yard failed to make any arrest in the case, and there is reason to believe they failed to conduct a thorough investigation. The case becomes even more challenging when another Indian woman is murdered just hours before a scheduled interview. Meanwhile, unfinished business from a previous case becomes a distraction, as does a new development in Maisie's personal life.

My Review:
Excellent mystery story here of the challenges faced by immigrant women in a system working against them. Usha Pramal is a gifted young woman and a hard worker, but these traits can’t save her from those who would exploit her – nor from those who know only racism towards those different from themselves. The fact that Scotland Yard fails to investigate the women’s murder seriously hits rather close to home – a problem we continue to see in our modern, “advanced” society when crimes against marginalized groups are “investigated.”

Leaving Everything Most Loved closes a crucial chapter in Maisie’s personal life and thus marks a pivotal moment in the series. I look forward to following her to India, and to wherever else her travels take her. Thank you, Jacqueline Winspear and Orlagh Cassidy for the continued engaging adventures of Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator. Highly recommended.

Glad this series continue to be of high quality, Nancy. Thumb. Yes, the title do suggest a closed chapter in her life. Interesting.

I've found out that my library's global audiobook service have several of the novels - so I've just lended nr. 3 in the series, read by Orlagh Cassidy. Looking forward to that.

>181 ctpress: Thanks, Carsten. Yes, Maisie Dobbs is definitely a series of high quality. I'm delighted that you've found some at your library! I hope you will enjoy as much as I have!

Gasp! You are all caught up to me in the Jaqueline Winspear series Nancy! Leaving Everything Most Loved closes a crucial chapter in Maisie’s personal life and thus marks a pivotal moment in the series. So true, Nancy! I can't wait to read the next in the series. Excellent review!

>183 vancouverdeb: Gasp! Make me chuckle, Deb! Once the goal appeared to be in sight, I decided I'd like to finish Maisie Dobbs, along with Montalbano, this reading year. Can't thank you enough for putting me onto Maisie Dobbs. A Dangerous Place I've just begun ... but the backstory from where Leaving Everything Most Loved ended and where Maisie is now ... it's heartbreaking! What grief! And yet, of course, on she soldiers ... that's our Maisie.

Nancy, I'm trying to portion out my Maisie Dobbs reads so as not get to the end of series too quickly! :) Good thing there is a new book coming out in the series next spring or fall, I forget. Maisie Dobbs has been a gift to both of us. I have no idea what made me pick up the first book - but I sure am glad that I did.

>185 vancouverdeb: I am also very glad you picked up the first Maisie Dobbs, Deb. Something called to you ...

That's the last Maisie I've read, Nancy. It sounds like I should pick up the next one -- maybe on winter break.

>187 BLBera: Hi Beth, I love lining up my reading for winter break ... Maisie Dobbs would be one good choice.

Both Karen and I love Maisie Dobbs as well as other 1920's/30's cosy crime and we have a local author Frances Brody with her Kate Shackleton novels but we haven't started them yet.

I realized I had A Dangerous Place on my e-reader, Nancy, so I started it yesterday while I was at the gym. Poor Maisie!

>189 johnsimpson: Hi John, great to know that you and Karen both love Maisie Dobbs, too! And how wonderful to have a local author you've yet to explore.

>190 BLBera: Hi Beth, I know! My heart just broke for her when I learned the circumstances of her grief.

I haven't read any Maisie Dobbs but if it's good enough for Nancy, John and Karen, I guess I'll be smitten sometime soon.

Have a lovely Sunday, Nancy.

>192 PaulCranswick: LOL, well said, Paul. Wishing you, Hani, and family a happy Sunday, too.

Hi Nancy. I hope you have had a great weekend. I've only read one Maisie Dobbs. I liked it, can't think why I haven't read more... Oh yeah, so many books. :)

>194 nittnut: LOL, Jenn, yes so many books is the reason I've missed reading a lot of things!

82.
Empire Falls, Richard Russo



Rating: 4.5/5

Miles Roby, who has been managing the Empire Grill in the small New England town of Empire Falls for decades, is dying of mediocrity. For as long as he’s been working the Grill, he has hoped to eventually inherit it, on the good graces of Francine Whiting – a savvy, manipulative, and very wealthy widow (I expect the last was the result of good planning rather than misfortune). Francine owns most of the businesses and many of the people in Empire Falls, and has a lengthy history with the Roby family – a history has nothing to do with good graces and everything to do with retribution. Grace, Miles’ long deceased mother, had an affair with C.B. Whiting, Francine’s husband, after which Francine took Grace into her employ service, where she remained until her death.

And so life for Miles drones on in Empire Falls – complete with hard knocks, hilarity, and pains in the ass. He is embroiled in a divorce he doesn’t want from Janine – a walking irony who likes to "piss and moan and rant and rave and sob her heart out" (426) – and is intent on marrying the "banty rooster" and gym-rat, Walt Comeau. Miles is having difficulty with Jimmy Minty, too, the local on-the-take cop, who is “sneaky and mean and envious and dangerous” (99). And his father, Max, who "smelled rancid and was a pain in the ass" (123), has him nearly to the point of distraction. The only bright light in Miles’ existence is his adolescent daughter, Tick: precocious and full of teenage angst, and totally disgusted with her mother for making Walt Comeau her stepfather. The novel takes a gut-wrenching turn I didn’t see coming when tragedy lambasts Empire Falls – and Miles might easily have lost her …

One of the accolades – one-liners and so often cliché – on the back cover of Empire Falls notes, Richard Russo can write small town like no other. That he can! This a story and a cast of characters that is not to be missed!
_______________

Favourite Moment of Hilarity:
Max and senile elderly priest make off with the church's tithes and Crown Victoria and hit up the Florida Keys for some sun: "His father wasn't too bad a driver when he was sober, but of course he wouldn't be sober until their money ran out. Father Tom hadn't been too bad a driver when he still had his mind, but now he was easily confused, and Miles doubted he had much experience at freeway driving, or any driving, really, outside of rural mid-Maine ... In the keys, once the money ran out, Max would tire of the old priest's company and probably call St. Cat's and tell Father Mark where to come and pick him up. Miles just hoped Father Tom would not return with an ass full of obscene tattoos." (341)

Great comments on Empire Falls, Nancy. I loved that Russo.

>197 BLBera: Thanks, Beth. Empire Falls was my first Russo! Will read Nobody's Fool next.

I've heard of that before - isn't it made for television now? Glad it turned out so well. Great review, Nancy.

>199 ctpress: Thanks, Carsten. Yes, it's also a movie, which I've just put on request from my library. Sounds like a great cast with Ed Harris, Paul Newman and others.

Great review, Nancy, Empire Falls was my first Russo too, some time ago. I'm not sure why I waited so long to read more -- I loved both of the "Fool" novels which I read earlier this year.

>201 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. I saw on the book's main page that you'd read this one, too ... or at least had it in your library. Russo is a keeper, for sure. What is the other "Fool" novel besides Nobody's Fool? Just went to his page, but I'm not sure ...

Great review of Empire Falls, Nancy. Francine Whiting – a savvy, manipulative, and very wealthy widow (I expect the last was the result of good planning rather than misfortune). Uh oh! Sounds like a bit unsavoury! I thought I'd read a book by Richard Russo but I have not, but I have both Empire Falls and Nobody's Fool in my TBR pile(s).

>203 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deb. Francine Whiting is a piece of work, no doubt! I hope you will read Russo; would love to hear your thoughts. I will read Nobody's Fool next year, I hope.

Oh I loved your take on "good planning rather than misfortune' for the weatlthy widow! Read Empire Falls so long ago that it was wonderful to read your review to do some remembering. Nancy, glad that you liked it so much!

>202 lit_chick: Russo's latest book is Everybody's Fool. It's a sequel set several years later than Nobody's Fool. And very good!!

>205 mdoris: Hi Mary, I wonder how many wealthy widows are good planners, LOL? So glad you also enjoyed Empire Falls.

>206 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura! Everybody's Fool hits the list.

So many books, Nancy! I even have a copy of Empire Falls, and I loved Straight Man, but apparently I'm waiting. Thanks for the encouragement though!

Really great review of Empire Falls, Nancy. I also loved that one, and it was my first Russo, too. You are in for a treat with Nobody's Fool - even better, IMO. I can't decided whether or not I want to read the sequel, as I really liked where the story ended.

>208 LizzieD: Hi Peggy, don't wait to long for Empire Falls. Great read!

>209 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie! I am in good company apparently, in choosing Empire Falls as my first Russo. Can't wait to read Nobody's Fool! Hmm, I wonder how I'll feel about its sequel ...

83.
A Dangerous Place, Jacqueline Winspear



Rating: 4/5

2015, Harper Collins, Read by Orlagh Cassidy

Publisher’s Summary: adapated from Audible.com
Spring 1937. Maisie’s been gone from England four years and has endured the deepest tragedy a woman can endure. Now all she wants is the peace she believes she might find by returning to India. But her aging father, Frankie Dobbs, is not getting any younger, and her stepmother has summoned her home. But on a ship bound for England, Maisie realizes she isn't ready to return. Against the wishes of the captain, who warns her, "You will be alone in a most dangerous place," she disembarks in Gibraltar: a British garrison town teeming with refugees fleeing a brutal civil war across the border in Spain.
Days after Maisie's arrival, Sebastian Babayoff, a photographer and member of Gibraltar's Jewish community, is murdered. Maisie becomes entangled in the case, drawing the attention of the British Secret Service. Maisie is pulled deeper into political intrigue on "the Rock" – arguably Britain's most important strategic territory. At a crossroads between her past and her future, Maisie must choose a direction, knowing that England is, for her, an equally dangerous place but in quite a different way.

My Review:
As A Dangerous Place opened, I wanted only to know whether Maisie, after six months of international travel, had finally accepted James Compton – this is the arrangement they’d made at the close of Leaving Everything Most Loved. I was not prepared to learn of the devastating tragedy she had experienced around their union. Just heartbreaking!

Winspear delivers yet another strong mystery story here, too, and Maisie works tirelessly, always patient in fitting together each piece of the puzzle. Admittedly, international political intrigue is not my forte, and I occasionally struggled to keep alliances and characters straight. But no matter, my primary interest in A Dangerous Place was in Maisie’s personal recovery – how would she move forward? when would she return to England, and how would she manage? would she return full-time to her work as psychologist and investigator?

Well done, Jacqueline Winspear and Orlagh Cassidy. Highly recommended.

84.
The Break, Katherena Vermette



Rating: 4.5/5

Publisher's Summary: from Amazon.ca
When Stella, a young Métis mother, looks out her window one evening and spots someone in trouble on the Break ― a barren field on an isolated strip of land outside her house ― she calls the police to alert them to a possible crime.

In a series of shifting narratives, people who are connected, both directly and indirectly, with the victim ― police, family, and friends ― tell their personal stories leading up to that fateful night.

My Review:
"In her dream, the break is land like any other land, just a place covered with snow. The sky is clear, the stars are bright and blinking, and the moon is full and bright. She can see all its dents and curves, and the light that reflects back somehow feels as warm as fire. The wind is the winter kind, huge and overpowering and in her ears. It's all she hears but it doesn't make her cold ... So her dream self walks that way, all the way, and doesn't look back. (273)

Set in contemporary Winnipeg, The Break is a stark and shocking portrayal of the aboriginal residents of the city’s North End. Stock characters – the older and jaded cop Christie; and the useless, abusive Charlie, Kookom’s ex –portray the racial prejudices of police officers toward the aboriginal community and the violence perpetrated against women by their partners. This latter revelation, not new by any means, renders the crime against Emily – unthinkable violence against women by women – the more disturbing.

In turn, Emily’s tragedy makes the strength of the female characters – Lou, Stella, Paulina, Cheryl, Kookum – the more palpable: enormous cultural and emotional strength that has prevailed in the face of abuse, violence, degradation, addiction, alcoholism – generation after generation.

Vermette takes her place among Canada’s best with The Break. I’d be pleased (and not surprised) to see her take 2016’s Governor General’s Literary Award for fiction. Most highly recommended, to those interested in Canadian literature, and in the experience of aboriginals living in Canada’s more Northern communities.

Have to admit I'm just quickly browsing the Dobbs-review - hopelessly behind but maybe I will get up to date in 2023 or so.

"The Break" sounds like a dramatic - and important- story. Thanks for pointing out new Canadian literature, Nancy.

So pleased you enjoyed The Break so much. I really felt like you, that it Vermette takes her place among Canada’s best with The Break. Such timely, insightful read! Great review, Nancy.

Edited to add - your touchstone for The Break leads to Mockingjay. :)

>213 ctpress: LOL, Carsten, we'll shoot for 2023 then! The Break is dramatic, and, as you point out, an important story that needs to be told.

>214 vancouverdeb: Deb, thanks for another great recommendation in The Break. Important literature! *I fixed the touchstone ... gah!*

Great review of The Break Nancy. I will keep my eyes peeled for it.

>216 mdoris: Thanks, Mary. It's an excellent read!

Great reviews, Nancy. I'm in the middle of A Dangerous Place right now and enjoying it. The Break sounds spectacular and is firmly toward the top of my list.

>212 lit_chick: Sounds like a wonderful book - a great review. I'll hope it's published here soon and look out for a copy.

>218 BLBera: Thanks, Beth. Delighted to have another Maisie fan on board. The Break is fabulous; will look forward to your thoughts.

>219 charl08: Yes, a wonderful book indeed, Charlotte! Hope it's published there soon, too.

Say, Nancy, I have a question for you. On Charlotte's thread and else where, there is a link to what students are supposedly reading in other countries. Here - http://ideas.ted.com/required-reading-the-books-that-students-read-in-28-countri... Apparently our high school students are reading The Wars by Timothy Findlay. I confess , no one I know read that book in high school. Not me, not my two sons, not my sisters, none of my friends off hand, - no one that I know of. Perhaps it is taught in other parts of the country? Googling it I see it is contentious book in some school districts in Ontario, and maybe elsewhere. I wondered is it on the BC Curriculum of books to be taught? The only books I can recall being taught in school that everyone seemed to have to read ( including my sons, which took me back ) was Lord of the Flies, Fahrenheit 451 and Animal Farm. Just wondered what your take on that would be. My grade 11 and 12 English teacher , was really into "existentialism and so we read a far bit of T.S Eliot and hopeless sort of books, as well as some Shakespeare.

My only sin in English was talking to much in class, but I don't suppose that is a surprise to you. Part of English 11 and 12 was watching Cool Hand Luke and either reading / or watching One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest. I must have had a somewhat depressed English teacher, though he was a very good teacher and I liked him very much.

Are there many recommended reads for high school English in BC ? Of course the school boards have to fund getting the books. No wonder Lord of the Flies etc has remained a mainstay.

Hi Deb, I'm not familiar with The Wars and it is not listed on ERAC with other approved materials for BC currciulum. Lord of the Flies, Farenheit 451 and Aminal Farm remain approved novels, though I don't know to what extent they are taught anymore. I do have Golding in my English 11 class as an option. But in recent years, I've gone looking for newer/different literature, like The Kite Runner and Coventry. How interesting that you studies One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest in senior English. I like that! I don't recall studying anything that interesting, LOL!

Last week of work before a lovely holiday. I confess I am more than ready! Now, need to finish breakfast, coffee, and it's hi ho hi ho ...

85.
The World According to Bob, James Bowen



Rating: 3/5

"I still don’t know whether I found Bob or he found me. What I do know, however, is that without him I’d be utterly lost."

Bob continues to charm! C’mon, the handsome and wise tabby seems to say to James: you nursed me back to health when I was injured and hadn’t a soul in the world to care about me. Now I’m going to help us from relying on the streets to earn our living so that we might find a gentler, kinder life together. But never in James’ wildest dreams did he imagine Bob might repay his kindness with a book deal!

86.
A Gift from Bob, James Bowen



Rating: 3/5

Not even the hardest hearted will be able to resist Bob as he instructs his human in the placement and decoration of the Christmas tree. The lovely ginger tabby reminds James of the gift that is Christmas, and, more importantly, reminds him of what it is like to live with hope:

"The fact that I could now appreciate and enjoy a Christmas like this was just one of the blessings Bob had bestowed upon me. It was part of the even greater gift he had given me, probably the most wonderful one I’d ever received. Bob had given me a new life, a new life that was full of happiness and hope. As he, Belle and I curled up on the sofa that cold December night, I made another promise. I was going to treasure that gift, not just this Christmas, but for as long as we remained together.”

I tell you my grade 11 and 12 English teacher must have been disposed to depression. I'm not really sure if we " studied " One Flew Over a Cuckoo's Nest or Cool Hand Luke except to watch it on the ye olde black and white TV in the classroom and have a discussion afterwards. He was really a nice man and a great teacher, even if his taste was somewhat unusual. Of course, I was desperately bored by both movies, as Grade 11 and 12 students tend to be :) Studied The Hollow men by T.S.Eliot in great detail. And maybe one Shakespeare - ? Hamlet - can't remember anything else. Wonderful that you can teach your classes more up to date material, like Coventry and The Kite Runner. Does the school budget allow for it, or do the students have to pay for their copies?

Great reviews of The Cat Named Bob and A Gift from Bob. How is Cairo feeling about Bob? :)

Hurrah for Christmas holidays!

>225 vancouverdeb: Your memory is far better than mine, Deb, in terms of what you studied in secondary English. I do recall doing a Shakespearean play every year and I recall such classics as To Kill a Mockingbird. I think the art of the school budget is timing, LOL.

Cairo is eyeing up Bob's scarves and wondering whether one might be functional in this cold weather! Probably not.

Good luck to you and Cairo if you decide to go with a scarf!!!!! (Tully, scarfless, is sitting on my lap and purring his good wishes too.)
I guess I shouldn't respond to secondary English novels here since you and Deborah are talking Canada. I'll just say that way back in the dark ages of my high school career, we read Silas Marner and Julius Caesar in the 10th grade, nothing much in the 11th grade since I can't remember anything, and Macbeth and a good chronological survey course of British lit in the 12th grade.
"The art of the school budget is timing...." ABSOLUTELY!!!!!

>227 LizzieD: Hi Peggy, lovely of you and Tully to drop in; Cairo appreciates the purring good wishes. Funny, I don't recall many of the novels I studied in high school, but I do know that the Shakespearean plays we read were, from grades 9-12, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Hamlet.

Funny to read about Bob & James. Not familiar with these stories but I bet that the last one would put you into the right Christmas spirit :)

My high shool teacher made us read old classics - and he also leaned heavily toward the more depressing/tragic stories, but it got me interested in the classics so I'm thankful for that. I clearly remember reading Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther - maybe not the best choice for a moody teenager....

>229 ctpress: Yes, Carsten, A Gift from Bob is full of Christmas spirit! I discovered these books by accident, so to speak. I was web surfing one day and came across an advert for the upcoming movie, "A Street Cat Named Bob". Yes, the beautiful ginger is coming to the big screen!

A teacher who got you interested in the classics is a treasure, for sure. You made me laugh with maybe not the best choice for a moody teenager, LOL!

Good luck with grading, Nancy. Have a wonderful break. I, too, am ready.

HI Nancy, Thinking of you with your well deserved break coming up. Enjoy!

Hi Nancy, good reviews on the Bob books, I have only read the first one but Karen has read both of them. Hope you are having a good week my dear and send love and hugs.

>231 BLBera: Thanks, Beth. Just need to make it across the finish line!

>232 mdoris: Thanks, Mary. I will most definitely enjoy!

>233 johnsimpson: Hi John, delighted you and Karen are also familiar with Bob. Hugs back to both of you.

Hi Nancy, I haven't had much time for LT lately but have read several hot reviews by you. Keep 'em coming! I have my copy of Nobody's Fool pegged for my first book read in January. Russo's books are favorites of mine.

This has been a slow reading month for me. I have a few short ones left to read which is about all I can handle this time of year. The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a blur of shopping, wrapping, baking, socializing, etc. I am so looking forward to January.

Hey Nancy - really interesting to read the compulsory school book discussion between you and Deborah. I'm cherry picking countries to read next year. I have a pipe dream to go visit each country mentioned too - so maybe I'll start with the closer places....

>235 Donna828: Hi Donna, I will read Nobody's Fool next year, too, but I'm in the library queue, so I'm not sure it will be my first of 2017. Russo is, for me, a new discovery and a fine writer.

Yes, I expect that with your Thanksgiving so close to Christmas, the space between the two holidays is a blur, for certain.

>236 charl08: Hi Charlotte, cherry picking countries to read sounds like a wonderful idea!

Only one more day til Christmas Break, Nancy! Woo hoo!

Yes the countdown 'til freedom!

>238 vancouverdeb: Ah, made it, Deb! I'm always so worn out by the time the holidays come round ... they seem perfectly timed!

>239 mdoris: Yes, ring in the freedom, Mary! Bring.It!

>240 lit_chick: Perfectly timed perhaps not quite I could do with a few extra annually!

Have a lovely weekend, Nancy.

I remember LOVING the first day of holidays as the rest is all stretched out ahead to be greatly enjoyed. Have a good one!

>241 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul, wishing you and yours a lovely weekend, too.

>242 mdoris: Hi Mary, yes, I'm the very same!

87.
Journey to Munich, Jacqueline Winspear



Rating: 4.5/5

2016, Harper Collins, Read by Orlagh Cassidy

Publisher’s Summary: adapted from Audible.com
It's early 1938 when Maisie is intercepted by Brian Huntley and Robert MacFarlane of the British Secret Service and sent to Hitler's Germany on an undercover mission. The German government has agreed to release a British subject from prison, but only if he is handed over to a family member. Because the man's wife is bedridden and his daughter has been killed in an accident, the Secret Service wants Maisie – who bears a striking resemblance to the daughter – to retrieve the man from Dachau, on the outskirts of Munich.

My Review:
Knowing the inimitable relationship Maisie had with her mentor, Dr Maurice Blanche – and knowing the confidence he had in her abilities – it is gratifying to witness her being called to serve in his place. Before Blanche died, he told Maisie she would be called upon, and so she is, in Journey to Munich. Trouble is, it is not only the British Secret Service that is interested in Maisie’s travel plans. Her nemesis, Canadian newspaper magnate John Otterburn – the man she holds responsible for James’ death – is desperate and has asked her for help. Otterburn’s selfish, spoiled, daughter, Elaine – who was to have piloted the fatal test flight James took – has deserted her husband and infant, and he believes her to be in Munich.

Winspear nails the thrill of danger and intrigue in Journey to Munich. And Orlagh Cassidy is just the one to narrate the tale. When I started the Maisie Dobbs series, this twelve installment was the last available novel, and I presumed incorrectly it would be the finale. Its ending is highly satisfying – and it surely would have worked very well as a conclusion. That said, I’m thrilled to learn that a thirteenth novel will be available in Canada in spring 2017: In This Grave Hour –’ll be waiting!

... and a little Christmas cheer from the sideboard in my dining room. I love burlap!

Nancy that looks so very nice. Lovely!

So pretty!

>245 lit_chick: Very pretty.

I'm reading A Dangerous Place right now, Nancy. It's good to know that another good one awaits.

I have to look away from your review of Journey to Munich because I've yet to read it. I'm sure you created a wonderful review, Nancy. Lovely looking Christmas Cheer! Purchased my mom a Christmas present over the weekend, and I just purchased a gift for myself from my mom. :) It's a very cool secrid mini wallet that I'd looked at about a month ago . Nice small wallet for carrying along with me when I walk the dog. My mom will be pleased that I sorted out something for myself :)

>246 mdoris:, >247 raidergirl3: Thanks, Mary and Elizabeth!

>248 BLBera: Thanks, Beth. If you're enjoying A Dangerous Place, I know you'll enjoy Journey to Munich. I think I like the latter even a bit better!

>249 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, you will love Journey to Munich. Glad you found a mini wallet, sounds both lovely and useful.

>221 vancouverdeb: at our school we had Lord of the Flies, Hamlet, King Lear, Gallipoli, Catcher in the Rye, um....um. I wasn't a reader til my twenties :)

>222 lit_chick: I love that you pick different / newer books. Seems to me that they woukd get kids hooked more effectively than "old" books

Beautiful Christmas photo, Nancy. Decorating are we? Enjoy your Holiday.

I've also skipped the review not to have anything revealed - but thumbed because I know it's great :)

I'm beginning to feel that Christmas spirit. Had a wonderful time enjoying Händel's Messiah in one of the oldest churches in Copenhagen last night. What a wonderful performance.

I love your Christmas cheer, Nancy! And I'm hoping to start the Maisie Dobbs series next year -- thanks to your enthusiastic reviews!

>251 LovingLit: Hi Megan, yes, I love to explore newer novels with my students, and I always like them to have a choice in what they read.

>252 ctpress: Thanks, Carsten. Yes, my little LR space is looking very lovely. And I LOVE my Christmas holiday. Händel's Messiah sounds beautiful, and what a setting!

>253 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. I hope you will enjoy the Maisie Dobbs series as much as I have. Winspear does such a fine job (and Orlagh Cassidy, of course!)

So, I'm obsessed with lists! Here's a great one Deb found published by CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation): 100 Novels That Made You Proud to be Canadian. I'm 31 in out of 100, and I've got several more of these waiting in the wings. I've also found several new titles to add to my ever-burgeoning piles.

Hi Nancy - love your holiday decorations! I am partial to elegant and understated decorations like yours. If only I could find my Christmas stuff in all these boxes...

Fun list in >255 lit_chick:. I own lots of those but have read only a few. Guess I need to get cracking!

>255 lit_chick: Nancy, that list is also on LT at the Lists feature, so you can add to it as you read them. I'm at 40something books read.

>256 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie. We have the same style in elegant and understated. You need to find your Christmas stuff!

>257 raidergirl3: Hi Elizabeth, I don't know how to use the Lists feature on LT. I guess I need to spend some time figuring it out!

I just figured out how to find the lists on LT yesterday. If you go to your home page, you will see a " list" of different options. One of those is " lists" and that will take you to the Canadian List. I think I've read about 23 from the Canadian list.

As for my decorating taste, it would be less is more, but in reality it is messy . A sign of a brilliant mind? ;)

>259 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, thanks for the tip on Lists ... will explore more later.

In terms of decorating, less is more also works for me, but not messy, LOL! Although I have heard that a messy desk is a sign of a brilliant mind.

88.
Breath, Eyes, Memory, Edwidge Danticat



Rating: 4/5

“One time I asked her how was that I was born with a mother and no father. She told me the story of a little girl who was born out of the petals of roses, water from the stream, and a chunk of the sky. That little girl, she said was me." (47)

Sophie Caco, raised by her Tante Atie in a small Haitian village, is summoned to her mother in New York at the age of twelve – a mother she only barely remembers. There, she will learn secrets that no young girl should need to bear – secrets which have caused her mother to live a legacy of shame, and which Sophie had been protected from in Haiti. And she will be subjected by her mother to the an age-old Haitian tradition which becomes Sophie’s shame, and which creates a long and resentful rift in the mother-daughter relationship – one that cannot be healed until Sophie returns to Haiti with her infant daughter, to the women who first raised her and loved her: Grandmother Ife and Tante Atie.

Breath, Eyes, Memory is Danticat’s engaging debut novel about several generations in a family of Haitian women. The novel’s strength is in its exploration of how the women come together to reconcile their Haitian roots – particularly the practices which inhibit women – with their hopes and dreams for a better future, for Sophie and for Brigitte, her infant daughter. Other readers have pointed out, and I agree, that the novel’s conclusion is a weak spot, but this is forgiven in a new writer. Recommended!
_______________

Beautiful Quotes:
"The men in this area, they insist that their women are virgins and have ten fingers. According to Tante Atie, each finger had a purpose. It was the way she had been taught to prepare herself to become a woman. Mothering. Boiling. Loving. Baking. Nursing. Frying. Healing. Washing. Ironing. Scrubbing. It wasn't her fault, she said. Her ten fingers had been named for her even before she was born. Sometimes, she even wished she had six fingers on each hand so she could have two left for herself." (151)

“I come from a place where breath, eyes, and memory are one, a place from which you carry your past like the hair on your head. Where women return to their children as butterflies or as tears in the eyes of the statues that their daughters pray to. My mother was as brave as stars at dawn. She too was from this place. My mother was like that woman who could never bleed and then could never stop bleeding, the one who gave in to her pain, to live as a butterfly. Yes, my mother was like me.” (234)

Beautiful quotes indeed, Nancy. Very convenient for the men that the ten fingers are named like that. Great review, thumbed.

>262 ctpress: Thanks, Carsten. Yes, convenient indeed: the Haitian women faced so many struggles.

Breath, Eyes, Memory - another book for the my wish list. Great review and you have me intrigued . I noticed that you are currently reading The Wars by Timothy Findlay . I have it out from the library right now and I'm considering reading after my discussion with Charlotte about the book. I'm not sure if it is the sort of reading I want to do over Christmas, so it might have to wait a week or so. I'll be eager to read you review.

I've piled in some TBR for the holidays , library books as well as two new books from amazon - The Patron Saint of Liars , because it appealed to me. I also noticed that Alison Moore of The Lighthouse short listed Booker fame ( that me, you and Carsten all read close together ) has a new book out , He Wants. I'm just pages away from finished my current read , and I'm not sure what will appeal to me next. Always good to have a selection on hand. :)

Great review of Breath, Eyes, Memory, Nancy. I love Danticat, and this was the first of hers that I read. It was a wonderful first novel.

>264 vancouverdeb: Deb, I think you would enjoy Breath, Eyes, Memory, my first foray into Haitian literature. I'm just over half way through The Wars and very much appreciating it. It was your discussion with Charlotte that prompted me to pick this one up; don't see why it would not be able to be included in BC's curriculum.

Ah, I remember The Lighthouse. May have to look into Moore's new work, too.

>265 BLBera: Thanks, Beth, good to have your endorsement of Danticat. Will need to look for more of her work.

>266 lit_chick: Good to know, Nancy. I'm not sure what I want to read next. The Wars, He Want's or a nice familiar Ian Rankin. You know how it is over Christmas. Not that many brains to shake together for a little while.

>267 vancouverdeb: Yes, I do know that Christmas can be a very busy time, Deb, with few brains to rattle, LOL. Perhaps because my regular working time is so crazy busy I choose Christmas to be very low-key. Will be standing by, of course, to see what you pick up next.

eta: I just reread my review of Moore's The Lighthouse, 4.5* and a glowing review. And just by chance, the library has a copy of He Wants checked in at the moment. I've got another errand to run tomorrow.

Happy holidays, Nancy.

>269 BLBera: Thanks, Beth! Merry Christmas to you, too.

89.
The Wars, Timothy Findley



Rating: 5/5

Publisher’s Summary:
Robert Ross, a sensitive nineteen-year-old Canadian officer, went to war — The War to End All Wars. He found himself in the nightmare world of trench warfare, of mud and smoke, of chlorine gas and rotting corpses. In this world gone mad, Robert Ross performed a last desperate act to declare his commitment to life in the midst of death.

My Review:
I have no idea how I’ve managed to miss this masterpiece by Findley, published in 1977, until now – but I’m grateful for two things that happened recently, which put it into my hands. First, a friend asked me about it out of the blue, and days later, I spotted it on on CBC’s list, 100 Novels That Make You Proud to Be Canadian. Indeed. I knew I had to read it.

Robert Ross comes from an upper middle class family in Toronto. His most precious relationship is with his disabled sister, Rowena, whom he adores. Shortly following her untimely, accidental death, Ross enlists, looking for a purpose, and for a way forward out of his grief. What he finds is another matter altogether. In Ypres, where the novel is primarily set, the horror he experiences defies imagination. Ypres marked the first mass use by Germany of poison gas on the Western Front – casualties numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Touchingly, Findley reminds us throughout the novel of the animals who also served, or were displaced by war. Ross and his comrade, Rodwell, empathize with the universality of suffering, both animal and human. Ultimately, their empathy will be their undoing. In fact, in the novel’s Prologue, Ross’s first interaction is with horses. When the narration switches focus, I wondered, “What happened to the horses?” I was hooked.

Undoubtedly, the novel’s narration is one of its primary strengths. In writing The Wars, Findley relied on family photographs, the wartime letters of his uncle, and interviews with some who could “still be met in dark old rooms with nurses in attendance” (8) – and, in doing, so, created a narrator who is an anonymous, ghostly presence. Guy Vanderhaeghe, another Canadian writer whose work I admire, writes in the Introduction that this “unnamed figure is above all a cunning narrative strategy.” (xiii) I can attest to this, given my own reading experience: Who is he? Or she? What is the relation between this presence and Ross that compels him or her to so relentlessly pursue his story?

Vanderhaeghe goes on to write that “The Wars is the finest historical novel ever written by a Canadian, and serious historical novels are always as much about the present as they are about the past.” (xiv) We are agreed, on both points. I think the greatest gifts of literature are that it informs us of our past, teaches us about our present, and offers direction for our future. I can only compare The Wars to All Quiet on the Western Front – and this I do not do lightly: while the novels are very different, both are powerful indictments of war. A must read!
_______________

Most Powerful Quotes:
“People can only be found in what they do.” (9)

“What you people who weren't yet born can never know is what it meant to sleep in cities under silent falls of snow when all night long the only sounds you heard were dogs that parked at trains that passed so far away they took a short cut through your dreams and no one even woke. It was the war that changed that. It was. After the Great War for Civilization - sleep was different everywhere.” (44)

“I doubt we will ever be forgiven. All I hope is – they'll remember we were human beings.” (164)

Hi Nancy, Karen and I would like to wish you a very merry Christmas and whilst we celebrate take a moment to think of those less fortunate than ourselves due to war, starvation and natural disasters. Sending love and hugs.

Excellent review of The Wars, Nancy. I am so glad that you read it, so I can go ahead and do the same. I've read the prologue by Guy Vanderhaeghe and few pages into the story. Perhaps I''ll try to read over Christmas afterall. Thumbed! Merry Christmas, Nancy!

>271 lit_chick: Wonderful review. Deborah's comments made me have an interest in this book, and your review makes me even keener...

You and Vanderhaeghe make a great case for "The Wars". Powerful review and quotes, Nancy.

I wish you a Merry Christmas.

>272 johnsimpson: Thank you, John. Love, hugs, and Merry Christmas to you and Karen : ).

>273 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deb, The Wars was a great recommendation! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

>274 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte. In my experience, Deb has a keen eye for fabulous recommendations!

>275 ctpress: Thanks, Carsten. I wish you a very Merry Christmas, too.

Nancy what a wonderful review of The Wars. I know I read it a long time ago but now I feel it is due for a re-read after reading your review. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas. Star dropped!

Wouldn't it be nice if 2017 was a year of peace and goodwill.
A year where people set aside their religious and racial differences.
A year where intolerance is given short shrift.
A year where hatred is replaced by, at the very least, respect.
A year where those in need are not looked upon as a burden but as a blessing.
A year where the commonality of man and woman rises up against those who would seek to subvert and divide.
A year without bombs, or shootings, or beheadings, or rape, or abuse, or spite.

2017.

Festive Greetings and a few wishes from Malaysia!

>271 lit_chick: Great review Nancy. I must read that book.

>277 mdoris: Thank you, Mary. I do hope you'll reread The Wars and let us know your thoughts. What a fabulous novel! Merry Christmas to you, too!

>278 PaulCranswick: And peace to you and yours, Paul, from Canada. Thank you.

>279 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul! Yes, you must! Would love to know what you think of it.

To all of my wonderful LT friends ...

Happy Christmas, Nancy! Have a great 2017.

Merry Christmas!!

>261 lit_chick: I really liked that book - I like the way Danticat writes.

Merry Christmas to you! Thank you for your time, your kind words and the books we enjoy together. However you celebrate, I wish for it to be full of joy.

Merry Christmas, Nancy!

Happy Holidays!

>283 ChelleBearss:, >284 nittnut:, >285 Crazymamie:, >286 sibylline: Thank you, Chelle, Jenn, Mamie, and Lucy.

90.
The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah



Rating: 4/5

2015, MacMillian Audio, Read by Polly Stone

FRANCE, 1939 Carriveau, France. Vianne Mauriac bids goodbye to her husband as he leaves for the Front. She does not believe that the Nazis will invade France … but, of course, invade they do, in droves – and mercilessly. When two different German officers requisition Vianne’s home, she and her children must live with the enemy or leave and lose everything. Vianne’s younger sister, Isabelle, impetuous and often foolish, refuses to live with the enemy. She marches headfirst into the Resistance Movement, and never looks back. The Nightingale relates the experience of the two women from 1939-1946 – an experience that is eerily similar in spite of their different choices. Both will make heartbreaking sacrifices in their fight to not only remain alive themselves, but to help others. And both will know War in all of its blackness and brutality.

Hannah does a superb job of capturing the panorama of WWII and illuminating an intimate part of history: the women's war. Her writing is superb, and Polly Stone is sublime as narrator. I probably would have rated the The Nightingale somewhat higher, but for a couple of glaring inconsistencies that grated: (car still in Vianne’s barn, years into the occupation? lipstick? really?) Still, I highly recommend!

I'm happy to see you getting some good reading time, Nancy. I had never heard of The Wars, but you certainly recommend it strongly. Thank you!
Hope your holiday is restful and stimulating and that 2017 is a great year for you!

>289 LizzieD: Hi Peggy, I love a quiet, restful holiday where I can just read, relax, walk, sit in front of the fireplace, and play with Cairo ... it's so restorative. I hope 2017 is a wonderful year for you, too.

91.
News of the World, Paulette Jiles



Rating: 5/5

“They came to a destroyed cabin and he pulled up and went inside ... Here were memories, loves, deep heartstring notes like the place where he had been raised in Georgia. Here had been people whose dearest memories were the sound of a dipper dropped in the water bucket after taking a drink and the click of it as it hit bottom. The quiet of evening. The shade of the Devil's trumpet vine over a window, scattered shadows gently hypnotic. The smell of a new calf, a long bar of sun falling into the back door over worn planks and every knot outlined." (170)

1870. Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, veteran of two wars and elderly widow enjoys his solitary existence, travelling through northern Texas, giving live readings from newspapers to paying audiences hungry for news of the world. When he is offered $50 in gold to return orphan Johanna Leonberger to her only living relatives in San Antonio – a journey of some 400 miles – he is unable to refuse help to the 10-year-old girl. Four years earlier, the Kiowa had killed Johanna’s parents and sister, sparing only her, whom they took to raise as their own. For Johanna’s part, however, she is being torn one more time from the only family she knows.

As the Captain and Johanna journey south through difficult and dangerous territory, the two – at first wary of distrustful of one another – slowly forge a heartfelt bond. When at last, they arrive to the girl’s aunt and uncle in San Antonio – neither of whom she remembers – they find the reunion an unhappy and unwelcome one. Captain Kidd, an honourable man, faces the impossible decision of abandoning Johanna to her fate, or becoming – in the eyes of the law – a kidnapper himself.

News of the World is beautifully written, and Jiles has created two absolutely unforgettable characters (think True Grit). The Globe and Mail writes, “Paulette Jiles is at her best when writing about Texas.” She is an author new to me, but this I intend to happily set about discovering this for myself – I look forward to more of her work. A must read!

In getting ready to wrap up another year, I've been more than a little surprised stunned to discover two books in the last five minutes of 2016 that will make this year's list of Bests!: The Wars and News of the World. Thanks to Deb and Beth respectively for pointing me in the direction of these. Wow! What a finale!

Nancy--What an awesome way to wrap up the year!! Congratulations. Wishing you a belated Merry and an early Happy!! : )

Fantastic final spurt, Nancy. Ending 2016 with two "Best of the year". Great review.

>291 lit_chick: ooh I'm so excited to read this 5-star review! This will be my first book of 2017, a January book club read. I was in a longish library queue but on Christmas Day it was a Kindle deal so I snapped it right up!

Shoot. It was a Kindle deal on Christmas, and I passed it up. Oh well. At least its' on my radar now.

Hi Nancy - I am so glad you loved News of the World. Great comments on The Nightingale as well. I've loved all Jiles' work that I've read, especially Enemy Women

>293 Berly: Hi Kim, thanks! Late Merry and early Happy right back at you!

>294 ctpress: Thanks, Carsten! I'm just thrilled with this final, fantastic sprint! I've had a fabulous reading year.

>295 lauralkeet: Oh, Laura, I'm tickled that New of the World will be your first 2017 read! I hope you love it as much as I did!

>296 LizzieD: Peggy, here's hoping Kindle does another deal on this one, and you can grab it. Would love to know what you think.

>297 BLBera: Hi Beth, thank you again for your endorsement of New of the World. Superb read! I've just requested Enemy Women and The Color of Lightning from the library. Apparently, Captain Kidd makes an appearance in the latter.

Sounds like 2 wonderful reads and certainly wonderful reviews that you have written. Aren't holiday breaks the best!

>299 mdoris: Thanks, Mary. I adore holidays, LOL!

Fun fact.
Patti Smith had a cat called Cairo.
Cool!

Nancy, I really preferred The Nightingale to All of the Light We Cannot See , as The Nightingale seemed more " plausible " to me . So glad that you gave it a go. Great reviews of both The Nightingale and News of the World. Delighted that you had two five star reads so close to the end of the year! Way to go! My daughter in law showed me the app for lightbot , a coding game that teaches to her kindergarteners and I've been having a bit of fun with the challenge of low level " coding" :P I'm stuck on a level, and I might need to get the solution from my son or DIL :)

>301 LovingLit: Thanks for the fun fact, Megan : )>

>302 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb, I thoroughly enjoyed both The Nightingale and All the Light We Cannot See. One or both of these needs to come to big screen ... you have any connections in Hollywood? Will definitely check out Lightbot, sounds fun!

Popping up out of nowhere Nancy, to see what everyone is listing for their favorite books of 2016 and thought I'd add that I read The Wars earlier this year and also gave it five stars. I've read 27/100 of the books on the CBC list and have several on my shelves so I will hopefully get to some of them in 2017. And I have a cousin who is a producer at the CBC. Just thought I'd throw that in lol. Happy New Year to you and your family.

>304 brenzi: Happy New Year, Bonnie, and how wonderful to "see" you, my friend! Love that you also read The Wars earlier this year and gave it 5*. Great minds, you know ... I also hope to get to more of CBC's list of great Canadian reads this year. Fun fact that you have a cousin working for CBC : ).

2016 Wrap-Up:
2016 was an absolutely FABULOUS reading year for me. Not only did I year more books than I ever have in a single year (90), but I read more 4.5-5* books than I ever have in a single year. So much so, that some of the books listed under The Rest here were 5* reads!

The Best:
(Top 5 Reads)
Crow Lake, Mary Lawson
South Riding, Winifred Holtby
Hell's Bottom, Colorado, Laura Pritchett
The Wars, Timothy Findley
News of the World, Paulette Jiles

The Rest:
(Top 10 Reads)
Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi
Do Not Say We Have Nothing, Madeleine Thien
Miss Jane, Brad Watson
Our Souls at Night, Kent Haruf
Work Like Any Other, Virginia Reeves

Fabulous Series:
Masie Dobbs, Jacqueline Winspear
The Neapolitan Novels, Elena Ferrante

And here's the end of another year. Come and visit at my new 2017 thread. I've also posted my 2016 Wrap-Up over there.

I love seeing HEll's Bottom, Colorado on your Best list, Nancy! You certainly did have a great year!

And not to hijack your thread, but HI BONNIE!!!! I MISS YOU!!!

>307 lit_chick: - The link goes to your first 2016 thread, Nancy :)

Link is FIXED! Thanks, Katie. Come on over to my new 2017 thread, everyone!

Great list, Nancy. Happy New Year. I will certainly be following you next year.

Hi Nancy, Karen and I would like to wish you a very Happy New Year and a prosperous and healthy 2017 my dear, sending love and hugs.

Nancy, Ilana's CAC picks for 2017 are up!

http://www.librarything.com/topic/244656

Looking forward to your continued company in 2017.
Happy New Year, Nancy