Spot the Orange Penguin? Charl08 (Charlotte) reads in 2016 #17

Seeing as I'm starting this thread on St Andrew's Day (in the UK)...


From the William Speirs Bruce expedition
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1972391.stm

Total read 338

December 28
Vita Brevis (UK, F, Novel)
The Snow Kimono (Australia, M, Novel)
Rotten Row (Zambia, F, Short Stories)
Over the Moon (Pakistan/UK, F, Poetry)
Maigret and the Tall Woman (Belgium, M, Novel)
The Elusive Lord Everhert (US, F, Novel)
The Ministry of Pain (Croatia, F, Novel)
Bad for Me / Rock Canyon (US, F, Novel) x2
Defiance: the life and choices of Lady Anne Barnard (? South Africa, M, Biography)

The Hating Game (US, F, Novel)
Blackshear Family Book 1 (US, F, Novel)
One Secret Thing (US, F, Poetry)
The Evenings (The Netherlands, M, Novel)
Under the Visible Life (Canada, F, Novel)
Coming Through Slaughter (Canada, M, Novel)
What Happened Miss Simone (US, M, Biography)
The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers (US, M, fiction)
Charlotte (France, M, biography?)
A Just Defiance (South Africa, M, History/Law)

Of Mutability (UK, F, Poetry)
The Naked Duke (US, F, Novel)
The Naked Marquis (US, F, Novel)
Three Daughters of Eve (Turkey, F, Novel)
Fool's Gold Christmas (US, F, Novel)
Speak Gigantular (UK, F, short stories)
The Book of Harlan (US, F, novel)
All the Beloved Ghosts (Canada, F, short stories)

November 26
Oil on Water (Nigeria, M, Novel)
The Lonely City (UK, F, Memoir/ art history)
Hag-seed (Canada, F, Novel)
Days Without End (Ireland, M, Novel)
The Gene: an intimate history (US, M, Popular Science)
The Power (( UK, F, Novel)
Transit (UK, F, Novel)
Mistress of the Just Land (UK, M, Novel)
Dear Amy (US, F, Novel)
As Far as I know

The Rogue Not Taken (US, F, Novel)
Miss Treadway & The Field of Stars (?, F, Novel)
The Boy is Back (US, F, Novel)
Blue Light Yokohama (Spain, M, Novel)
Lady Louisa's Christmas Knight (US, F, Novel)
The Return: fathers, sons and the land in between) (UK/Libya, M, Memoir)
A Day in the Death of America (UK, M, Politics)
A High Mortality of Doves (UK, F, Novel)
The Chibok Girls (Nigeria, M, Politics)
You Drive Me Crazy (?, F, Novel)

The Angel of History (Lebanon, M, Novel)
Darktown (US, M, Novel)
The Dark Circle (UK, F, Novel)
Secrets of a Perfect Night (3 Novellas, different authors)
The Dinner (Netherlands, M, Novel)
Friend Zoned (US, F, Novel)

Plus GNs
Rolling Blackouts (US, F, Graphic Memoir/Travel)
Paper girls Vol 1 (US, M)

December
F 20 M 8
Europe 6 (UK 3) Australia 1 Africa 2 Asia 2 US & Canada 15
Fiction 20 Poetry 3 Non-fiction 4
Library 13 Netgalley 8 Digital 2 Mine 3 Borrowed 1

November
M12 F13
Africa 3 Europe 12 (UK 9) Middle East 1 US & Canada 7 +2?
Fiction 20 Non-fiction 5 Poetry 1
Library 10 (2 digital) Netgalley 14 Mine 2

Previous reads here:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/235788
http://www.librarything.com/topic/223566
http://www.librarything.com/topic/230395
http://www.librarything.com/topic/220427

American / British /Canadian challenges books read

I was doing so well, and then the wheels came off in August.

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

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

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

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

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

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

July

AAC
BAC Bernice Rubens The Sergeants' Tale Read
CAC One of the lovely Anne of Green Gables books

August
(Pass for African reading - my excuse, and I'm sticking to it!)

October
Michael Chabon - I'm a fan, but can't find the one of his I haven't read!
Kate Atkinson - I think I've read everything she's written
Laurence Hill - Reading The Book of Negroes

Gratuitous lighthouse picture



And the swimming continues too

I managed to get my Netgalley response rate up to 40%
(Until I asked for another book!)

Still outstanding though...
(Dates or 'now' refer to publication availability in the UK)

Three Daughters of Eve Elif Shafak now reading
Feb 2017

The Wangs vs. the World Jade Chang

To the Bright Edge of the World Eowyn Ivey
Now

Defiance Stephen Taylor

The Road More Travelled various

Homegoing Yaa Gyasi Jan 2017

Rotten Row ( available now)

Happy new thread Charlotte, I am getting addicted to those Penguin-pictures ;-)

Thanks Anita! I enjoyed reading about your donation to the library. Hopefully the next visit the staff will have more time to show you round?

Happy 17, Charlotte - It looks as though you have many enjoyable hours of Netgalley reading ahead of you. Congrats on getting up to 40% - is that good?

>8 BLBera: Thanks Beth. There's plenty there to keep me going.

I was hoping noone would ask about the recommended number - it's supposed to be 80% apparently. Oops :-)

I picked up the new Medicus novel Vita Brevis today, so the shiny new book has won.
In other news, mum endorses my recommendation of Darktown. She reads far more crime than I do, and is very particular about historical crime. What further persuasion does anyone need?!!

Happy new one, Charlotte!

Just skip all the rest and read Homegoing, pleaseandthankyou :)

Thanks for that Katie. I'm telling myself to save it so that I have a treat to look forward to...

Happy New Thread, Charlotte! And hooray for Mum warbling about Darktown. She knows her stuff.

I am with Katie- Read Homegoing!!

Hi! Happy newest thread! Glad to see the penguins have made the transition, as ever ;)
>3 charl08: "the wheels came off in August" sounds like a great name for your autobiography.

Happy new thread, Charlotte.

>12 msf59: She was thinking about setting up a thread. I am worried she will point out all the things I should be getting on with instead of reading!

>13 LovingLit: And also in September?! I did wonder if this particular penguin could've complained about animal cruelty. Bagpipes... Argh.

>14 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul. I forgive you about Owen Sheers (!!)
Didn't that young cricketer do well despite a broken finger!

I hope your Mom decides to start a thread. Is she a power reader like you or just a regular old reader, like many of us?

Happy New Thread, Charlotte! I too often read past my bedtime :) Hmmm I hope your mum decides to get a thread, but I know if my mom got a thread, she'd be phoning me to ask - you said what? you read that? etc :)
Great work with the swimming !

>17 msf59: Now she's retired she usually gets through a book every couple of days I think. But much more crime than me, so I think her Darktown vote probably counts for more.

>18 vancouverdeb: I'm already champion googler in this house Deborah, so I suspect that would happen. I do like the idea of having all the books catalogued though. Most have been stuck on a shelf and could do with being rediscovered.

>19 charl08: Yes, I understand you want these books catalogued, Charlotte, so they can easely be found.

When my parents moved to the assisted living home, all children could choose from the books they culled. What was left was given away. They only have 4 or 5 bookcases now.

>20 FAMeulstee: I sorted them out about ten years ago, categorised the NF and put the different subjects in different areas of the house. It lasted a couple of years and now it's a big muddle! (Not that the house is big, just that there is e a bookcase in every room plus one along the staircase to the loft).

Happy new thread, Charlotte!

Happy New Thread, Charlotte!

I found this vintage group and thought of you.



P.S. That photo in >1 charl08: is really something. You could run a caption contest. "Getting ready for the dance"?

Happy Thursday, Charlotte! I just purchased Orwell's Nose. I am blaming you.

Happy new thread, Charlotte!

>22 scaifea: Thanks Amber. Please feel free to wear your Hittite hat here any time.

>23 jnwelch: Nice picture. I'm not jealous of that stack. Much.

I am still stuck on it being cruelty to penguins. My five minute "commute" to the office in Edinburgh involved walking past a bagpipe shop. Cruel and unusual punishment.

>24 Crazymamie: Give me a tick and I'll find the name of the person who passed on the link to me! Let me quickly just pass the buck...

Seriously though, Sutherland's a great writer, so should be a good read.

>25 susanj67: No Kermit meme? (Sulks)

Vita Brevis

This is the ?seventh episode in the Medicus series, based on the career of a doctor with the Roman legions in Britain. Beyond saying he's now in Rome, I'll put the rest in spoiler tags, as plenty has happened since he began his career.
Tilla and Ruso have moved to Rome and left the army, following the former tribune Accius, who turns out not to be as able to offer as much in the form of work as promised.

Filing in for another doctor turns out to be a poisoned chalice, Tilla is tempted (again) to join the local Christians (they have good songs) and both have to get used to life with a child, having adopted an unwanted baby at the end of the last book. For me the crime usually takes a back seat to the historical medicine, but here the medicine is the key to the case, so it worked even better than usual. I liked the nods to contemporary issues too: as a Briton in Rome, Tilla is repeatedly told to 'go home, treated as an ignorant migrant, assumed to be easy prey. There's plenty of food for thought here.

I'm at 80% at Netgalley, though I haven't requested anything in quite a while, and won't be much next year.

>28 The_Hibernator: I'm impressed. In my defence, I got several books that were really terrible at the beginning. I think I should have just posted a review saying 'not for me, couldn't finish'.

Thanks Susan :-)

Reading What Happened Miss Simone.

Mother has just reminded me she saw her in concert in the 60s. I am very jealous.

Oh, Joe has gifted you with quite the pile of Penguins! By the way, I recall my sister loved The Dinner by Herman Koch. She likes off beat books for the most part.

I only request books from major publishers anymore because of the less than stellar books I was getting in the beginning.

>33 vancouverdeb: I think The Dinner definitely fits the off beat category. Fascinating stuff though, very different reactions to it.

>34 The_Hibernator: Yes, I am trying not to request everything now. Although it is hard. 'Free books' is a tricky thing for me to turn down.

Hi Charlotte - I've been wanting to read one of the Medicus series; maybe over break. ;)

>36 BLBera: How many books are you up to on your list for break?! Good luck :-)

I've just had a very interesting morning resisting the urge to play my own version of NGO jargon bingo. More seriously, there was some very nice fruit available.

I am trying not to quote the entire book but Rotten Rowis brilliant. Calling all short story fans...

....became a warrior using the only weapons he had at his disposal. The rallying cry of the Second Chimurenga, the war against the settler regime had been: Tora gidi uzvitonge: Pick up the gun and determine your own fate. Fortune’s rallying cry along with his rowdy comrades in the new Chimurenga, which, on Twitter they call the Twimurenga, was tora keyboard uzvitonge, tora unlimited broadband uzvitonge, tora Photoshop uzvitonge. With these three weapons, Fortune became an Avenging Crusader and Keyboard Warrior. The Dare reTwimurenga

Love love love the "I read past my bedtime" image :)

Happy new thread, Charlotte! Ditto what Megan said ^

>37 charl08: Hah! There are too many to count. :)

Rotton Row sounds great.

>39 LovingLit: I wonder if it is too late to ask for one for Xmas from the etsy store... Temptation.

>40 Carmenere: Thanks Lynda. Sometimes I wish I didn't. (I overslept this morning).

>41 BLBera: Good to have choices I think, Beth! Rotten Row is wonderful. Not a dud story so far.

Happy new thread, Charlotte. Over 300 books - can you lend me your reading mojo so I can finish all the books I need for the challenges and just 'cause I want to read them, by the end of the year?

>43 Familyhistorian: Thanks Meg. Have the mojo whenever you like!

Guardian Reviews - more roundups than reviews this week


The Tobacconist by Robert Seethaler reviewed by Christian House
"...ominous tale about growing up fast in pre-war Austria. It’s 1937, and 17-year-old Franz Huchel leaves the calm shores of the Attersee for an apprenticeship with a Viennese tobacconist. The city is heavy with threat..."


Christmas Days by Jeanette Winterson reviewed by Alfred Hickling
"...But for all the tidings of comfort and joy, it’s remarkable how often Winterson’s fundamental narrative resurfaces in a succession of tales featuring young children locked out of doors, abandoned in department stores, trapped inside chests or condemned to die in 18th-century ice houses."


The Visiting Privilege: New and Selected Stories by Joy Williams reviewed by Neel Mukherjee
" That the general British readership is unaware of perhaps the greatest living master of the short story, the 72-year-old American writer Joy Williams, is a matter of some shame – but also cause for exultation, because an enthralling discovery awaits."


The Hotel Years by Joseph Roth reviewed by Lucy Scholes
" Each of the 64 pieces collected here (published together in English for the first time, ably translated by Michael Hofmann) is an evocative vignette of a bygone era: a soldier wounded in the first world war who now sells newspapers on the streets of Vienna, a dog riding on his back; two Gypsy girls with their skirts billowing in the winds, looking “like two wandering flags”; Russian émigrés, bringing with them “the wild aroma of their homeland, of dispossession, of blood and poverty, of their singular romantic destiny”; even the president of Albania makes an appearance."

Best of the year lists are here again...

Paperbacks
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/nov/29/nicholas-lezards-best-paperbacks-o...

Authors choose their favourites...
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/nov/26/best-books-of-2016-part-one

Best of the children's books...
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/03/best-childrens-books-2016-julia-ec...

From We Found a Hat


From The Wolves of Currumpaw


From The Journey by Francesca Danna

I want this book!

Happy Saturday, Charlotte. Wow! I have never heard of Joy Williams. And one of the great American short story writers too? And I call myself a reader...

>46 msf59: One to add to the TBR then Mark?

I must have The Journey. I can add it to the dozen books I've already bought for Scout. :)

I'm another who doesn't know Joy Williams. Off to search Amazon and the public library.

Have a great weekend, Charlotte, and thanks for the reviews. Christmas Days sounds interesting.

>48 BLBera: It looks so beautiful Beth. I want my own copy.

Interesting about Joy Williams? Anyone reading this read her?

The Snow Kimono

Picked this up in the library. I had no idea what it was about, hasn't heard of it before, labeled as a crime novel. It was a novel with a crime in it, but not really crime fiction. A retired police inspector in Paris meets a Japanese law professor in his apartment block. The Professor tells him the story of his adoption of his friend's daughter. Only there's a secret about her parents, and he chooses not to tell her it. Alongside this, Jouvert has just had a letter after many years from Algeria, where he was part of the French colonial forces. Both men are trying to address questions of memory, and regret.

An interesting book, atmospheric, but just didn't quite catch my imagination. I just kept thinking why didn't the friend of the evil charismatic character dump him? Odd.

Guardian reviews are interesting this week, Charlotte. "New" work by Joseph Roth in english is a must and Joy Williams? Neel Mukherjee is right because I haven't heard of her either!

Have a lovely weekend. xx

>51 PaulCranswick: I think it's the time of year where the 'best of' articles start to outpace the new books, Paul. I was reading the history one this morning and getting annoyed: in a list of about six books, three were about the Third Reich. Really?

I finished Rotten Row - wonderful book.
The highlight of Jah T’s life had been his presence at Rufaro Stadium the night Bob Marley played the Independence Concert. It was also the night of his conversion: Jah T claimed that it was the combination of the tear gas fired by the police to dispel an excitable crowd and the music of the Wailers that had set him on the path away from the Methodist church and on the way to being a Rastafarian of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. It appealed to Samson’s sense of the absurd that after Prince Charles had lowered the old flag and a new flag waved in its place, the first words said in independent Zimbabwe had been, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, Bob Marley and the Wailers.’

Brilliant collection of short stories that draws upon Gappah's own expertise in international law (a story where an aid worker goes to Sierra Leone) and more 'ordinary' family and criminal cases, although as stories show, Zimbabwe's economic and political free fall has many different effects. Characters weave their way through multiple stories, and encounter chatrooms and Twitter as well as 'traditional' medicines for infidelity and concerns about brideprice. Laced with humour and a playfulness with multiple languages. Recommended.

I've actually heard of Neel Mukherjee and his book The Lives of Others. I've not read anything by him, but maybe I should. Love the children's books pictures!

I don't think I've read any Mukherjee either Deborah. I'm hoping my library will get a copy of The Journey. So beautiful.

I still need to read The Book of Memory, Charlotte, so I guess I can wait until Rotten Row is available here.

>55 BLBera: She is currently writing a new novel, so all this may change, but based on her current published work, the short stories win for me.

Too bad Snow Kimono wasn't too fantastic. It has a really good title and sounds like it had a promising plot.

Hi Charlotte, I finished the first Bernie Gunther book (March Violets) this week and indeed it was a treat!
Happy that I have two more waiting :-)

>57 The_Hibernator: I think it was supposed to be deep and meaningful, but it rather passed me by.

>58 FAMeulstee: Glad you liked it Anita. Those first three books are really great.

>3 charl08: Lol. My wheels came off in August too. Ah well, the point really is to enjoy the journey, right? I tend to get caught up in my goals and get annoyed with myself for not meeting them, and yet, already reading 100+ books a year...

>45 charl08: My kids got a kick out of We Found a Hat, although they feel they may be a bit too old for picture books. IMO, one is never too old for picture books. The Journey looks gorgeous.

>60 nittnut: Yup, the journey. I'll try and remember that!

I agree, picture books for everyone. Maybe the kids would accept reading them for your benefit!?!

Finished Dear Friend, From My Life I Write to You in Your Life, another Netgalley. I started off really loving the writing - a literary memoir, strikingly honest about her breakdown. By the end I'd kind of lost interest though. I felt that she kept reiterating the same points about her own isolation and not really going any further, or developing the story (and ignoring her obvious connections: with family, with other writers).

To think people used to be able to disappear easily: borders crossed, names changed, evidence destroyed, connections severed. No one seems to mind the absence of Miss Havisham or Mrs. Rochester. A father in a Jean Stafford novel walks out of a cobbler’s workshop and is never seen again. Maidens from Dream of the Red Chamber or The Tale of Genji, when heartbroken or abandoned, humiliated or disillusioned, become Buddhist nuns, their stories ending long before their lives do. An uncle, my mother’s eldest brother, vanished on the eve of the Communist victory over the Nationalist army, and an orphan girl, half maid and half daughter in the family and raised as his future bride, had to be married off to another man.

There was a lot about what she didn't want to do: her aim not to be autobiographical, to resist the reader's attempt to make her writing about herself, or political. Which is fair enough: but then I was never too clear what she did aspire to write. The funny thing is so much of her story (conscription into the Chinese army) would have made a fascinating book but instead was restricted to short anecdotes.

I did not see myself in Scarlett O’Hara; or Anna Karenina or Tess Durbeyfield or Jane Eyre; nor did I look for myself in Jean-Christophe or Nick Adams or Paul Morel or the old man fighting the sea. To read oneself into another person’s tale is the opposite of how and why I read. To read is to be with people who, unlike those around one, do not notice one’s existence.

Just started Defiance: the life of Lady Anne Barnard. Fascinating opening to a biography - Anne grew up close to members of the Edinburgh enlightenment. I know very little about this period, but intriguing so far.

Um...Monday again, Charlotte.

It is indeed Mamie. Just to add to the joy, I am preparing for another interview. Argh.

Crossing my fingers and toes for you, Charlotte.

Thanks Mamie. I'm hoping that at some point my brain will kick into gear, because at the moment the only person home is Ms Nervous.

Good luck on your interview. Nerves get the adrenaline going! It's good to be nervous.

Thanks Beth!

I'm trying to regain some equilibrium with a book. Defiance: the life of Lady Anne Barnard continues to read as if it were fiction. Couldn't make it up.

One possible husband comes to nothing:

Mademoiselle Vanloo, as Wentworth’s mistress was known, had been a family governess to the Noels and acquired a hold over the heir by seducing him in his youth, bearing him two children. On perceiving a threat to her influence, she had gone through his papers, found Anne’s letters and ‘beat him so violently with the wicked flute which had played soft airs to me that it was necessary to send for a surgeon to tie up his wounds’. Wentworth was later seen wandering around ‘with a head like a plum pudding’.

Ooh, I had to look up Defiance. And then I reserved it :-) I'm second in the queue.

All the best for the interview (is it today?) And look on the bright side - at least you didn't have to spend a Friday doing prep.

*sigh* my heart misses books/ novels. My head doesn't. And the only non-politics stuff it reads from the guardian is Rikh with his weekly kitchen gadget column. :(
Well, the books won't run away I guess. :)

Happy thread and happy week to you!

>69 susanj67: It's very good. The author tells a good story, as well as all the footnotes. The interview is over. Back to the applications for me.

>70 Deern: Whatever makes you happy Nathalie. Hope the tofu on the Xmas market hasn't run out yet.

>71 charl08: I am sorry the interview did not go well, Charlotte, I hope somthing will pop up for you soon.

>71 charl08: I relate to the interview/application process. Not for me personally, but my husband's life in post-doc and visiting positions in academia means that this time of year is all about endless poring over job posting, submitting applications, hoping for interviews ... not much fun. He has an interview on Monday for a job we don't want, but obviously a job we don't want is better than no job.

>71 charl08: What Anita said! I really hope the right job is going to open up/ become visible very soon!

Well, I'm sure there's plenty of tofu left with just one strange person eating it.

I've added Rotten Row by Petina Gappah to my wish list based on your enthusiastic warbling.
And now I added The Visiting Privilege based on one sentence from the Guardian review. I'm a pushover. :-)

I'm still pulling for you, along with your substantial fan club here, to find that next job that is a magnificent fit. My fingers and my toes are crossed!

What Ellen said.

>72 FAMeulstee: Aw! Thanks Anita. And I'm sorry about the bad dog history in the Phillip Kerr. Amazing the range of knowledge in this group. I feel like I learn a lot.

>73 ursula: I really admire you both for being so flexible and able to move on and keep applying. Hope a really good one comes off this year (would you go back to Italy? It looked so beautiful).

>74 Deern: Thanks Nathalie. I've never had a good tofu experience, but I'm sure you know some great recipes.

>75 EBT1002: Thanks Ellen. It was better than the last one, so hopefully it's an upward curve?!! And hope you enjoy the Gappah. She's one of my favourite new authors.

>76 BLBera: Thanks Beth. I've got some stuff to work on I think. In better news, an agency called so hoping I might have some more work next week.

Been cheering myself up with The Secret Life of Five Year Olds. There was a nice bit in the latest episode where a little boy who struggled with losing games had a chance to practice what losing gracefully might look like.
I couldn't find a clip from the latest series, but the Nativity one from last year was also lovely.


https://youtu.be/rn2Uy7-gXEI

For some reason, that reminded me of a link my daughter sent me - things you say to drunks and toddlers.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/meredith-masony/things-you-can-say-to-both-your-to...

>77 charl08: Maybe you just have to wait until the perfect job comes along.

Ha! Please hold my hand in the carpark...

A perfect job would be lovely :-)

Over the Moon by Imtiaz Dharker

Stab

Stab the page. Stab it in the heart.
Find the word that is not a word.
Find the word that is a blade.
Slash the empty space
to fall into the teeming dark,
find the face.

Make one mark.

>77 charl08: It's flexibility or a dead-end job in a crappy place (which is what we were doing for the 2014-2015 academic year). We're hoping for the best out of what's out there, but unfortunately Italy is off the table. Jobs in the universities there are hard to come by. We got the temporary one we had by knowing someone who had funding to bring us over. Permanent jobs don't exist, and we unfortunately don't know anyone with spare money this year. :)

>81 ursula: No chance we can persuade you over to the UK? I know a few US scholars who seem quite happy here.

Has anyone read IQ by Joe Ide? It's supposed to be a version of Sherlock Holmes in LA...

Over the Moon
Loved this collection. Travels from Glasgow to India, with several poems about terrible British trains. She lost her partner, so this is also a memoir of grief through poetry.
This one I can relate to.

Say his name

Not standing by graves.

Say his name in conversation
when glasses are raised.

Say his name where you live
in the company of friends.

Best of luck with the job hunting. I hope a good one comes along soon.

What! The fools did not hire you? I'm glad the agency called you. Via my nephew who is working on his PHD in the UK, I understand the job market is quite tight. My nephew just visited with a former colleague , who has his doctorate in what ever Bio/genome sort of thing that my nephew is into, and apparently the colleague is living home with his mom in France, with his two kids and wife because he cannot find work. I know my sister is a bit concerned about the path of my nephew - whether he will pursue " post- doc stuff" or look for work after he gets his PHD. Not that I know much about all of that , but it seems that it is difficult to find work in teaching and research at the Doctorate/ Post Doc level.

>45 charl08: That Jeanette Winterson one sounds interesting. And like The Glass Castle maybe.

>84 Familyhistorian: Thanks Meg. As much luck as possible would be great.

>85 vancouverdeb: My impression is that it's tricky even for scientists, which is not what they tell you at school when you're making job choices. Funding is short term for most projects, and with European funding now not accessible, there will be big changes. There are lots of careers programmes run by the universities though. I hope your nephew is able to access them. There aren't enough hours in the day when you are writing a thesis.

>86 LovingLit: I've liked all the Winterson I've read, am hoping this might turn up at the library before the festivities are over.
I'm rooting for you re the scholarship. You deserve something brilliant, working so hard to ace home and academics.

>77 charl08: In the next book the dog breed is accurate, Charlotte, the St Bernard was well known at that time ;-)

>83 charl08: Love that little poem, no one is completely gone as long as he is remembered...

Glad to hear it Anita. I love St Bernard's, but they must be a handful at home!

In other news, I have been offered a job. I guess it went better than I thought.

>89 charl08: Yay, Charlotte, a job offer!
What kind of job is it?

>89 charl08: Fabulous news, Charlotte! Yay!

Yay! :D

>89 charl08: WOOT!!! Congrats!!

Thanks folks - forgive my superstition, but I'll wait until the ink is dry before I say any more! Thanks for all the good wishes, and encouragement whilst I've been applying too. It's much appreciated.

*whispers: AWESOME!!!!!!!!*

No, really, I was whispering.

I've added Over the Moon to my wish list. Your thread is dangerous.

Thanks Ellen - whispering or not! I really loved these poems. Hoping to get some of her other collections too.

Hi, Charlotte! The poetry collection sounds good. Always looking for new ideas on that front. Good luck on the job offer. Fingers crossed.

I am so, so happy about the job news Charlotte. Wonderful! I had fingers, toes, arms and legs crossed from afar.

So excited of for you! I understand your need to know the ink is dry. As for my nephew, I'll know more about things as he is coming home for Christmas . I understand him to have funding from the EU for a total of three years, and I think he is about 1 1/2 year through. As you say, according to what my sister says about my nephew, never enough time to write that thesis. I think the programme he is in offers a career path with a few large companies, Unilever is one of them, but he has his heart set on a university teaching position , or research, though visiting his buddy in France may have changed his mind. Always tough to know what is the best way forward.

CONGRATS! I can't wait to hear the details.

Over the Moon has also been added to my list.

Sweet Thursday, Charlotte! And *whispers* congrats on the the job. Most exciting!

Hi, Charlotte.

I'm enjoying those Imtiaz Dharker poems. I admire writers who can pack a lot into a little, like she does in those.

I thought you'd get a kick out of this Penguin-reading penguin.

*also whispers* Congratulations on the job offer, Charlotte! Upward curve indeed!

Did a bit of window shopping today.

>97 msf59: I liked this one, will try and find her other collections too.

>98 mdoris: Thanks Mary. It's a relief.

>99 vancouverdeb: Sounds like he has plenty of options Deborah. Hope he finds something he likes that has some security.

>100 BLBera: Thanks Beth. It will be good to have it sorted.

>101 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie. It's a weird feeling to get a good call not a 'thanks but...'.

>102 jnwelch: There are a few in there that are really very moving. She lost her husband, so reflecting on his illness, on not seeing him in places, on trying to still live, alone. Its impressive stuff. Love the penguin.

>103 ronincats: Thanks Roni! It's like everyone is being super quiet...

Lovely book on the penguin theme...

>86 LovingLit: >87 charl08: oops, I muddled up Jeanette Walls with Jeanette Winterson. I have tried to spread Sexing the Cherry by the latter, but haven't got too far with that one yet. Which of hers are a little easier to be drawn into ,could you say?

>107 LovingLit: Oranges are not the only fruit is based on her own life although fictional, growing up gay and bookish in an extreme Christian sect. It's wonderful.

Great news on the job front, but I understand your superstition. I am like that sometimes :)

Ohhh nice window shopping, Charlotte!

>104 charl08: Lovely window display!

>106 charl08: I saw that very book in the bookstore earlier this week and thought about you. :-)

I just realized I haven't congratulated you yet, so: Congratulations! I am totally superstitious about stuff like that. I have made Morgan stop telling me anything about the jobs he applies for until and unless it gets to the interview stage, and even at that point I only want limited information. I've looked up too many cities and towns just to be disappointed. And I remember with the last job, I must have asked a hundred times if it was *really* guaranteed before the contract was signed!

Congrats on the job offer! I agree with the superstition--I hardly believe in it until the first paycheck.

And seconding the recommendation for Oranges are not the only fruit. Also, her later memoir Why Be Happy When you can be Normal

Oh, I'll third that. Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal is one of my all-time favorite memoirs. Five stars.

>109 katiekrug: Thanks Katie. There was a bit of an academic horror story recently where a researcher was offered a post, tried to negotiate the salary, and had the offer withdrawn. Nice.

>110 vancouverdeb: I was very good, Deborah. No drool on any of the lovely books.

>111 EBT1002: I was very tempted to get my dad one by the same artist, which is illustrations of collective nouns of birds and animals. So lovely, but in the end went for one on untranslatable words.

>112 ursula: Thanks Ursula. I wish I could do that with my own applications! Fingers crossed for something great for your SO next year.

>113 banjo123: Thanks Rhonda. I was thinking last night that for some reason Winterson doesn't trigger my dislike of books about Christian fundamentalists. Maybe because she is so feisty, I don't worry about her or the character.(I realise this is not logical!).

>114 EBT1002: Great Ellen. I liked it too. Although she had me at the title, to be fair.
Hopefully Megan can get hold of both!

Congratulations on the job offer.

Congrats! It's hard to find a good job. I've been underemployed considering my PhD for a while. But I'm working on fixing that problem right now. Getting clinical experience which should make me more employable.

>117 The_Hibernator: I'm wary of asking, but given that your PhD is about bears, I'd like to know what clinical experience in your field would look like.

>116 avatiakh: Thanks Kerry.

I've just been looking at the list you posted on Paul C's thread. It's so interesting. I did wonder about Things Fall Apart though - it's studied to GCSE here as well as being studied in Ghana and Nigeria.
But I'm tempted to use it as a list for next year.

>117 The_Hibernator: Thanks Rachel. Before I start in January I've signed up for some temping. I'm going to be manning a murder mystery next week! Looking forward to it.

Hope you get something that matches your skills and abilities soon.

Lol. That's my problem. I have none. I'm currently working as a dialysis technician at DaVita Dialysis.

>120 The_Hibernator: That sounds safer than sitting in a cave, hunched over a satellite connection, typing very quietly so as to not wake up the sleeping bears.

>119 charl08: I mentioned the list Kerry posted on Paul's thread but forgot to post it again.

http://ideas.ted.com/required-reading-the-books-that-students-read-in-28-countri...

I've cherry picked the books - missing out Canada, the US and a couple of books I'd read already. Hopefully this is doable.*

Albania
Kronikë në gur (1971) by Ismail Kadare
What it’s about: Known in English as Chronicle in Stone, this novel is told through the eyes of a child and shows how different conquering forces — Italian fascist, Greek and Nazi — ravage a small Albanian city during World War II.

Austria
Faust (1787) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
What it’s about: In this play, a scholar named Faust makes a pact with Mephistopheles — the devil — because Faust is dissatisfied with life. The devil says he will grant Faust a transcendent moment, but in return, Faust must act as his servant for eternity in hell. Through the devil’s intervention, Faust falls in love with a beautiful young girl named Gretchen. Tragedy ensues.

Bosnia; Serbia
Na drini ćuprija (1945) by Ivo Andrić
What it’s about: Known in English as The Bridge on the Drina, this novel sweeps through 300 years in a small town near the Mehmed Pasha Sokolović bridge. Its story begins in the 16th-century Ottoman Empire, when the bridge was built, to World War I, when it was partially destroyed.

Brazil
Morte e vida Severina (1955) by João Cabral de Melo Neto
What it’s about: Known in English as The Death of Severino, this play in verse is about the arduous journey of a man who is fleeing the drought- and poverty-stricken northeastern region of Brazil in search of a better situation and the city.

Bulgaria
Under the Yoke (1894) by Ivan Vazov
What it’s about: This novel looks at a Bulgarian village under Ottoman rule and depicts a failed insurrection in the 1870s that helped trigger the country’s eventual breakaway. The large cast of characters includes villagers on both sides of the rebellion.

Chile
Sub Terra (1904) by Baldomero Lillo
What it’s about: This short-story collection is about the backbreaking, impoverished, dangerous existence of coal miners in southern Chile in the late 19th century.

Cyprus
The Murderess (1903) by Alexandros Papadiamantis
What it’s about: This novella is about an old woman named Hadoula who lives on the island of Skiathos. She murders poor young girls as a kind of mercy killing, since she views their future prospects to be limited and bleak.

Egypt
The Days (1935) by Taha Hussein
What it’s about: This book is the autobiography of intellectual and writer Hussein, who lived from 1889 to 1973. He became blind at the age of 3 but grew up to be the minister of education in his country and is one of the most influential figures in Egyptian literature.

Finland
Seitsemän veljestä (1870) by Aleksis Kivi
What it’s about: Known in English as Seven Brothers, this book is about a quarrelsome family of seven brothers and their struggles in rural Finland. They eventually grow and mature into decent members of society.

Indonesia
Laskar Pelangi (2005) by Andrea Hirata
What it’s about: Known in English as Rainbow Troops, this novel is based on a true story about ten students from a remote village in Indonesia who, with the help of a pair of inspiring teachers. learn to stand up for themselves and their community.

India
Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth (1927-1929) by Mohandas K. Gandhi
What it’s about: The Indian leader’s memoir covers his life from his childhood to his early 50s.

Iran
Poems by writers such as Hafiz, Sa’Addi, Ferdowsi, Rumi and Khayyam
What they’re about: Love, beauty, joy and other themes.
Why they’re taught: “In Iran, the novel is a relatively newer form of literature,” says Ne Da. “But among our literary classics are abundant poets and poetry. Each poem speaks to a different value.”

Ireland
Ice Man: the Adventures of an Irish Antarctic Hero (2010) by Michael Smith
What it’s about: It’s a biography of Tom Crean, an Irish boy who ran away from home at the age of 15 to join Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Antarctic voyage. He was also a member of Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance expedition.

Italy
I Promessi Sposi (1827) by Alessandro Manzoni
What it’s about: Known in English as The Betrothed, this novel takes place in northern Italy in the first half of the 17th century. Italy was not yet a nation, and this book shows the lives of villagers living under repressive Spanish rule as well as the impact of a deadly plague that killed many people.

Philippines
Noli Me Tangere (1887) by Jose Rizal
What it’s about: Rizal went on to be a hero of the Philippine revolution, and his novel — the English-language title is Touch Me Not — shows life in the Philippines society under cruel, repressive, arbitrary Spanish Catholic rule.

Vietnam
Truyện Kiều (1820) by Nguyễn Du
What it’s about: It’s an epic narrative poem about a young woman named Truyen Kieu who is driven to sacrifice herself to save her family.

*See me try to avoid a hostage to fortune.

>119 charl08: >122 charl08: It was an interesting list and I like the annotations about each book. I'm also inspired to try reading some of them though your list is much more ambitious than mine will be.

Lots of books I've not heard of before - just hoping that I can get hold of them all. Thank you for posting it!

Sounds like everything is falling into place, Charlotte, and you have lots to look forward to.

>125 Familyhistorian: Hope so. It would be nice!

>120 The_Hibernator: >121 RidgewayGirl:

Tournament of Books list is out. Of 120, I have read just 19 (and most of those were on the Booker or Women's Prize lists). There's even a spreadsheet :-)

http://www.themorningnews.org/article/the-year-in-fiction-2016

I love lists! Thanks Charlotte. I've bookmarked both of them to look at...

Have fun Beth!

Guardian Reviews - Fiction


School of Velocity by Eric Beck Rubin reviewed by Diana Evans
“...writes with grace and exactitude, giving a tangible, animated quality to the sensual world of his story. We can almost hear those piano keys, “jabbing and undercutting, hiding and pouncing”.


A Horse Walks into a Bar by David Grossman reviewed by Ian Sansom
“...a comic novel by Grossman: no. But a novel about a comic by Grossman? An unexpected delight. Readers should be warned….A Horse Walks into a Bar is neither remotely funny nor an easy read.”


The best recent crime novels – review roundup The Dry by Jane Harper; The Hermit by Thomas Rydahl; The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer; The Watcher by Ross Armstrong; The Beautiful Dead by Belinda Bauer
The Watcher sounds intriguing… “When troubled birdwatcher Lily turns her binoculars on her neighbours from her new-build flat, she realises that something sinister is happening in the marked-for-demolition block over the road. An elderly neighbour, Jean, tries to phone Lily just before she is killed, and, when the police are dismissive, Lily decides that she must investigate ... An intriguingly unreliable narrator, plenty of suspense and the added bonus of name-spotting fun for Hitchcock aficionados.”
Mamie, are you reading this?
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/08/best-recent-crime-novels-review-ro...

The month in comics
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/07/the-month-in-comics-slam-ad-after-...

Non-Fiction Reviews


Mansions of Misery by Jerry White reviewed by Simon Callow
“Mention of Dickens reminds us that if we know the name of the Marshalsea at all now, it is because of the immortality conferred on it by the great novelist in a series of works successively transmuting his childhood experience of his father’s incarceration there, through the high jinks of The Pickwick Papers at the beginning of his career to painful autobiographical self-revelation in David Copperfield, and culminating, in his grim maturity, with Little Dorrit’s vision of the world as a prison. One of many remarkable aspects of Mansions of Misery is its majestic progress through social history into literature, from sharp description of the reality of the prison and its inmates to a concluding celebration of its metaphorical existence, achieving by the end a quite extraordinary resonance.”
This just sounds wonderful! BB.


Christmas and the British by Martin Johnes reviewed by John Mullan
“His authorities are either admirably wide-ranging or oddly assorted, depending on your viewpoint. Hilda Ogden in Coronation Street is quoted several times, as if this fictional character were a good representative of the attitudes of her times. “
Not so keen.


Treasure Palaces: Great Writers Visit Great Museums reviewed by Alexandra Harris
“The 24 essays gathered here came about when distinguished writers were given what sounds like a most appealing brief: choose a museum that has played a part in your life, go back and write about it…..Still, Richard Ford demurred, explaining that his eyes fail to focus after 45 minutes in a museum; David Sedaris said he prefers the cafe and gift shop."
Now this is my bag. BB.

Too early to think about Obama’s legacy? Not according to the Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/10/obamas-legacy-lorrie-moore-richard...

An app that gives you recommendations from authors? Sounds good to me…
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/06/book-choice-app-alexi-aims-to-free...

>122 charl08: Great list, Charlotte! But you've missed Afghanisatan :-P I see they also missed New Zealand, which would be anything by Katherine Mansfield, Witi Ihimaera or Patricia Grace. Your choice :-)

I had a look at the spreadsheet too, but I think I'll wait till they narrow it down a bit :-)

Thanks for the Guardian reviews. I bags the Jerry White one. I've read his Zeppelin Nights and from memory it was good. And Christmas and the British sounds interesting.

Happy Saturday, Charlotte! Hooray for Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal. One of my favorite memoirs.

Mansions of Misery sounds really good.

I am loving A Gentleman in Moscow. Expect waves of warbling...

>122 charl08: I read The Bridge on the Drina a few years back (it's on the 1001 Books list), and when I mentioned it to a Croatian friend, she was super impressed that I'd heard of it, let alone read it. A couple of years later when we were in Croatia, she told all the other Croatians we were with about it - "she's read Andric!" It was funny, but also made me realize 1. what a big deal he is in those countries and 2. what it's like when your country's best-known author is not even a blip on the radar of other countries.

>130 susanj67: Gosh, how did that happen. And what was their book again? ;-)

There's no way I could read all those TOB books, but I want to practise some excel and this looks like a way I could do this (and still enjoy the books).

>131 msf59: Mansions of Misery sounds great - and makes me want to fill in the holes in my Dickens reading. Warble away please - I like the enthusiasm.

>132 ursula: That's a great reason to read some of the books Ursula. That sense of being forgotten about by the world is a depressing one. Felt it in Romania.

>122 charl08: Oooh, very cool list! I Promessi Sposi in particular is excellent.

I think I can escape adding any of the Guardian books to my list today. I went overboard looking at the ToB spreadsheet. I'm always humbled when I see how many books I haven't read.

Happy Saturday.

I can't wait to hear about the job (whispering).

Congratulations on your job offer, Charlotte!

Thanks as always for posting the Guardian reviews. I enjoy David Grossman's writings, and after I read the full review of A Horse Walks into a Bar I've added it to my wish list.

>122 charl08: I have favorited this list for future reference. Thanks to Kerry for the work she put into it!

And I've been pouring over the Tournament of Books long list all morning. This is my favorite of the book prizes; for it's transparency, for the wonderful, informed and lively conversation in the comments section of each day's match, but mainly because it's a list that very much stretches my reading and brings attention to the very kind of book that deserves a greater audience - the offbeat and innovative in literature today.

I've only read ten of the long listed books and am in the middle of the eleventh, but this list will be the center of my reading through March. So much fun!

>134 scaifea: Did you read it in the original Amber? Very impressive! I won't be (although if I can find a copy, might have a crack at reading the Brazilian book alongside the English translation).

>135 BLBera: So much tempting fiction Beth. I'm going to be working the spreadsheet...

>136 kidzdoc: Thanks Darryl. I don't think I've come across him before, so good to hear an endorsement from you.I wondered how long the book had taken to be published in English? And great to hear you're reading the real paper not just my extracts. They need all the ad revenue they can get. Thanks for sharing the links.

>137 RidgewayGirl: Hi Kay, great to hear more ToB enthusiasm. I was struck by how many new-to-me books there were - which is brilliant. I'll be over to your thread to check out the books you're choosing...

>138 charl08: Parts of it I read in the original, but mostly for this one I read a translation.

Maigret and the Tall Woman (Belgium, M, Novel)
The Elusive Lord Everhert (US, F, Novel)
The Ministry of Pain (Croatia, F, Novel)

Realised I missed off the last two reviews in all the excitement this week. In the first one Maigret solved the crime, and in the second the couple got together after a five year gap, and (spoiler alert?!!) all the romance meant everything was fine in the end.

In the Ugresic one nothing was fine, no (war)crimes were solved and everyone was rootless, lost and generally wondered how they would ever feel at home either in the Netherlands or in their new/old country Croatia.

Teaching a group of students from the former Yugoslavia, a doctor in Yugoslavian language and literatures wonders what her job means as Croatians, Bosnians, Serbians work to try and make their languages as different as possible, deny the common stories and prop up nationalistic ambition. This is the second book I've read by Ugresic and in both she led the reader quite gently at first and then the last act takes the reader into the wilds. So long as you don't mind that, a great read.

At one point a student says to the teacher that they moved to the Netherlands, as how could anyone live in a country where the curses are so macabre. As if to underline the point, the book ends with two pages filled with one-liner curses.

I do like to mix up my reads.

>128 charl08: I'm reading an older David Grossman book at present and have A horse walks into a bar waiting for me at the library to pick up. I enjoy his work.
School of Velocity looks to be good.

Another list: Gifts and misses: publishers pick their books of 2016 - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/09/gifts-and-misses-publishers-pick-t...

>137 RidgewayGirl: No work, just posted the link on Paul's thread.

I've only read the Stewart O'Nan book on the Tournament of Books list though there are several I've heard of and many I haven't.

>141 avatiakh: Great! Any more Grossman fans out there?

The publishers' comments are fun to read. Several there I did not like at all (or half as much as they do). Takes all sorts, I suppose. I loved Golden Hill though, which Faber mention. Just a wonderful piece of historical fiction.

>142 charl08: I read Someone to run with by David Grossman in April, it was recommended by Kerry. I had A horse walks into a bar from the library but returned it unread....

>143 FAMeulstee: I thought of you Anita whilst reading The Ministry of Pain - she's not very flattering about The Netherlands. But in quite a comic way...

>126 charl08: only heard of Hag-Seed on that list.

I own Bridge in the Drina and its predecessor Bosnian Chronicle, but have not read either. I understand that you don't have to read them in order. I dated a Bosnian guy for a while. He had bad PTSD from the seige of Sarajevo.

Just browsing through and I need to get the dog out into the slushy mess. Hmm, from your list @ 122 says Canada assigns The Wars by Timothy Finlay for high school students. Not that I am aware of. Not in my time, nor my kids time. The books that seemed to be High School necessities here in Canada were The Lord of the Flies - both me and my kids , plus a smattering of Can Lit .

Nancy might have a better handle on what Canadians must read in highschool, since she teaches English to Highschoolers.( or Secondary School - whatever one calls it )

I still have not read The Wars - I guess I should.

>145 The_Hibernator: I'll try and remember to shout when I start reading it, in case you're interested.

>146 vancouverdeb: Yup, I think it's a bit subjective. I cut the bit from the original article which explains how the authors compiled the list, and they did acknowledge that there are hardly any *really* compulsory books anymore. Funny that noone you are aware of reads it though!

I'm not quite conquering all of my computer glitches, but have at least managed to fix some of them. After the music being uploaded, have finally managed to sort out photos. And in the process found some pictures of some African penguins.



ETA This is my picture - they are very tame/ unbothered by the tourists.

Charlotte, as you love a list of books, here's "The 100 Best Books of 2016" from the New Zealand "Listener" magazine. http://www.noted.co.nz/culture/books/the-100-best-books-of-2016/ It used to be the main NZ TV/radio listings magazine, but now seems to be more current affairs. The list is not just NZ books, but there are a few in there, just in case you run out of things to read...

Just a quick hello and Happy Sunday, Charlotte.

>148 susanj67: I am thinking about a comparative spreadsheet Susan. All the lists and the cumulative list of lists... Oh, the excitement... (!)
But not until I have done some exercise. Possibly.

>149 Ameise1: Hi Barbara! Great to 'see' you around the threads again.

Ooh, Spam! There's a first time for everything.

>147 charl08: Nice picture, Charlotte, where was it taken?

>153 FAMeulstee: Cape Town. There's a colony of the penguins and a nature reserve. What the pictures leave out: it's quite smelly.
https://www.sanparks.org/parks/table_mountain/tourism/attractions.php#boulders

Hi Charlotte:

More lists! I love them. It gives me a great excuse to delay reading more student writing!

The Ugresic is on my wishlist - about the 5000th book from you. :)

Happy Sunday, Charlotte!

Just stopping by to say hello, Charlotte.

Gosh, I haven't read a Maigret book in forever. I used to love reading those.

>155 BLBera: I came back from my walk and just about slumped in front of the TV before falling asleep, so no reading or spreadsheets, but I'm imagining there are going to be all sorts tomorrow.
Possibly. I also have to find the Xmas tree lights.

>156 scaifea: Thanks Amber. Love the latest photo toppers. Very cute. Any chance of Charlie with a penguin? ;-)

>157 jnwelch: Thanks for stopping by Joe. The new translations are very readable. For me they're like a little slice of French social history too.

Just found a whole new rabbit hole. I googled 'penguin fabric' after the comment above to Amber. I think my sewing skills are up to cushions... This is so lovely!

LOVE the penguin fabric, Charlotte! Have been wanting to sew some new pillow covers for my bedroom ... have two different size throw pillows and want to update my look. Eventually ...

It's fun isn't it. I'm clearly going to have no trouble spending a salary...

Now reading The Evenings newly translated into English by Pushkin Press. Very odd.

I'm sure you will have no trouble spending a salary. Love the cover of The Evenings. I'll have to look into that one. Love your penguin fabric!

>161 charl08: The cover for The Evenings makes it look like a graphic novel, but it clearly isn't from the reviews which seem to be a mixed bag. Nice penguin fabric!

Charlie with a penguin, you say? Well, it's not exactly a recent photo, but perhaps it'll do...



And did you find that fabric on Spoonflower? They have some pretty amazing stuff.

>162 vancouverdeb: Ha Deborah. I suppose that there will be benefits to working again!

>163 Familyhistorian: Nope, definitely not a GN. I know what you mean though - quite a few artists seen to be inspired by then recently. The penguin classics spring to mind...



>164 scaifea: Very cute Amber. Google images to spoonflower, yes. Can't decide on cotton, flannel or something in between!

>122 charl08: WOW! It'll be interesting following you and that list. Still haven't read I promessi sposi as I'm ambitious to read them in the original and 600 pages of older Italian... well, I also got the audio now. Maybe next year. Or so. Faust is great and used to be required reading in Germany as well when I was in high school. I hope you'll get a good translation twith the rhymes, then it can be quite fun.

>129 charl08: Mansions of Misery might be a future BB for me as well.

>147 charl08: Aaaww - African penguins! :))
I saw a colony in Australia once (Philip island?), but don't remember it as smelly.
It was almost unreal watching them when they arrived in waves from the sea in the evening and waddled home. There was one, then 5 then suddenly hundreds at once (or thousands?).

>164 scaifea: Double-aaawwww! :D

Finally got caught up after my travels to Johor Bahru to, ahem, celebrate the circumcision of my nephew (poor little blighter!).

First and foremost and, despite being a tad late, congratulations on the job offer. I guess that puts my efforts to coax you over here to work must be put on the back-burner. xx

Glad you put up Kerry's list of books studied in their countries. It is a fascinating one and got me thinking of having some sort of international theme to my reading this next year. Came up with about twenty African countries that I have authors associated with. Approximately 30 in Europe. A dozen or so in the Americas and about 18 in Asia Pacific. About 80 countries I could summon up writers for.

The Guardian reviews look a bit thin this week don't you think?

>166 Deern: I am wondering about trying to speak with someone who studied each book at school - did you just self nominate?!! I'll look out for a rhyming one.

I went to the same (or perhaps just a similar) Australian island. They were much more timid than the cape ones. I think the ones in Cape Town smell so bad because they are just pooping on the beach and in the bracken - they don't tunnel. At least, that's my theory! I don't think I took any pictures. I can't find any, anyway.

>167 PaulCranswick: Your poor nephew. On the plus side, at least he doesn't have to run around in a special camp with no clothes on, run by someone who may or may not know what they're doing. The SA government keeps trying to regulate the coming of age ceremonies, as young guys die from bad ops, but with limited success.

Am international theme sound like a great idea. I would like to read more authors from 'less published' African states, as well as the Nigerian and South African books I read. I think Darryl is planning something similar.

Defiance: Lady Anne Barnard

This was a great biography, I can't recommend it highly enough. The author has grasped that whilst the details of someone's life are fascinating, sometimes less is more. So I've finished 'her story' wanting to go and read the original memoirs written by Anne herself, rather than wanting never to hear about the person again. Also, he doesn't do the really annoying 'why my person is so significant reading this book is going to change your life'.* The book speaks for itself.



Anne had a fascinating life: she was a young witness to the Edinburgh Enlightenment, meeting Hume and Rousseau. She was a friend of the mistress (then wife) of the Prince of Wales. She turned down repeated offers of marriage, gained a reputation as a flirt, and had her heart broken by one leading British politician, and rejected another. But she is famous for her diaries and letters recording her time in the Cape as the wife of the Secretary to the Governor.

I really liked this. If you're interested in the regency period, colonialism, early travel narratives, or even Scottish history (even Walter Scott appears) you might like this too.



*Cough cough, Nina Simone's biographer.

Forgive me, I've never heard of Lady Anne Barnard ! But your review is excellent! I checked with Nancy, our resident Canadian highschool English teacher here on LT , and she is not aware of The Wars by Timothy Finley being on the BC approved listed of books to teach. She tells me that yes, just like back in " my day" Lord of the Flies, Fahrenheit 451 and Animal Farm are still on the " approved/ recommended list. She tells me that she has been able to teach things like Coventry and other books that she has a enjoyed and feels would be appropriate ( likely has to get permission from the local school board? ) . I suspect it also comes down to $$$ for school boards.

I did google The Wars by Timothy Finley and apparently in Ontario it is taught, but not without controversy over some of the topic matter. http://www.macleans.ca/education/uniandcollege/dont-ban-the-wars/ The Wars...Parents in the Owen Sound area of Ontario are petitioning to have the book removed from all classrooms under the Bluewater District School Board’s jurisdiction. Why? In a meeting with board trustees, one parent remarked: “The book includes a number of very explicit and detailed descriptions of sexual encounters, most of them exploitive and violent.” It is “inappropriate to be presented to a class of young people,” she said.... The book depicts violent exploits (it is war, after all), a scene in a whorehouse, and an act of gang rape by Canadian soldiers. Undeniably, The Wars is not a feel-good tale. But then again, war stories rarely are. Interesting.

I'm also spending time in "seedy" :) Edinburgh of Ian Rankin and enjoying it very much.

>122 charl08: Fascinating list. I will consider adding some of these to my intentionally-more-global reading in 2017.

>159 charl08: That is a charming fabric!

>126 charl08: Uh oh, still more lists. :-)
eta: The Tournament of Books encourages supporting Powell's. No problem there!

>166 Deern: I remember that in Australia you weren't allowed to take any pictures as flashes might give the penguins a heart attack. Before that I wasn't much interested in penguins, just went because my friend I was travelling with adored them. So glad I did it, it was so impressive!

Checked the original list. When I went to school, the Holocaust was much discussed in every subject that wasn't science, but Anne Frank wasn't required reading then. I guess it was thought to be "too soft". The diary is nice to bring home to younger kids that it "could have been me and my family", but it really shouldn't end there.

Faust part one was required reading if you chose German literature for a so-called "Leistungskurs" in the last 2 years, i.e. 6 lessons a week and a subject for the exams. I voluntarily also read the very confusing part 2. I re-read part 1 a couple of years ago and loved it even more. Quite a wild ride for its time! The second Goethe we had to read was Werther.

My second Leistungskurs btw. was English, where my very leftwing teacher refused teaching us Shakespeare because he found him boring(!). We did one year "melting pot USA", reading Alice Walker and one year "Ireland" (add to that "and the evil Brits"), reading Cal and I don't remember what else. Very hard-to-digest books, and the reading level in our class was low as English was second foreign language only after Latin. I believe I was the only student who finished the English books and didn't buy a German translation, and I was struggling a lot then. No-one finished with an A grade then - those were the strict good old times - and my exam was the best of the Bs.

Btw we couldn't nominate books ever - it was all our teachers' choices then, and some very weird ones. I'll never get over the Brecht overdose we got aged 11-13. We also read the first Max Frischs way too early and got to some medieval middle-high-German aged 10.

>170 vancouverdeb: I do find these comments about the Finley really interesting Deborah. I don't agree with banned books anyway, but the idea that getting young people to read a book that highlights how awful war is, is somehow a bad thing for young people? That's really odd to me. Surely it would be better to discuss sexual violence in a classroom than to leave young people to find all those horrors on the internet without any chance for support. I don't know.

I wasn't wanting to read it, but now I'm thinking maybe I do, just to get a sense of what is being objected to...

>171 EBT1002: The spreadsheet from ToB is really dangerous - comes with a link for each book to the purchase page!

>172 Deern: That sounds right about the flash. They were so timid coming out of the sea. Really fun to watch. In contrast, my aunt says she's seen tourists pick up the Cape ones and reposition them for a photo (very much Verboten) and the penguin hasn't even bitten the person.

I'll circle back to all the literature comments - thank you for the advice/ warnings about Faust. There is a copy in my library system, but no idea about good (or bad) translations. My mum reads some German, so hopefully she will want to help.

Hurrah! Netgalley response rate now up to 42% (!)

Ongoing reading (to try and finish before the end of the year?)

Non-Fiction
The Long Long Life of Trees
What Happened Miss Simone
Congo
Between Parentheses
Uncle Tungsten
Second hand Time

Fiction
The Evenings
Under the Udala Trees
The Wangs vs The World
Three Daughters of Eve

Hi, Charlotte! Good luck finishing those books. You can do it! I have heard some buzz about The Wangs vs The World but not much on LT. You can kick it off. Not familiar with any of those NF. Waiting to be enlightened.

>173 charl08: I know it's wrong, and I would not do it in real life (aren't they supposed to smell fishy?) but I now long to pick up and rearrange penguins.

Good Luck with your end of year reading, I have a similar list and same deadline, though 12 hours less than you to get there.

Another best of book list that's worth linking through to for the gif at the top of the page: https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-bloomberg-book-list/

I know what you mean about rabbit (penguin) holes.

ooh! Penguins with scarves. Tempting...

So, the List of Lists project. First go on the spreadsheet, and I've remembered to use the CountA function, which seems like a Good Thing.

I've logged the Booker, Prize formerly known as Orange longlists, and then added the (Enormous) ToB lists and the NPR lists (excluding the NF, children's and YA). I've also added in about 20 books for the PEN longlists for Authors of Colour and Books in translation.*

Weirdly, although there is some relationship between the lists, the only one that appears on four out of the five is My Name is Lucy Barton. These ones made three though:

All That Man Is
Behold the Dreamers
The Book of Memory
The Vegetarian
What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours

Given that I've read all of them except for The Vegetarian, I guess I should read The Vegetarian...

*If I manage to do an NF one, I'll go back to the lists again. Oof.

>175 msf59: Thanks Mark - I'd have to read it first! I am being a bit distracted with the reading just now. Fully anticipate new books appearing mysteriously on the lists...

>176 RidgewayGirl: I watched a doc about the folks who intern / volunteer at the Cape looking after penguins. There are a lot of them!
I don't think you're the only one wanting to get a bit closer.

>177 avatiakh: Thanks Kerry. Good luck with yours too. I think I'm going to get distracted. Plenty going on.

Stopped by the library earlier today and picked up a copy of The Wars. Not sure when I will get to it, but I got curious about it too. You have quite a list of of books to read ! I'm at book number 68 or something, but I don't think I am going to make to 75 this year. Such a busy time of year. Today was the dentist. Ugh.

Well, I've already got sidetracked. The cafe next to where I volunteer has a free books shelf, and they had a copy of Coming Through Slaughter - jazz, the 1900s, New Orleans. It's wonderful so far.

>181 vancouverdeb: Oh Deborah, that sounds like a Big Book! I'd be really interested to hear what you think - even if you only dip in. I was surprised at you saying there isn't a clear 'canlit' book that everyone reads. But saying that, I'm not sure there is a British novel read that way here, either.

Such a good day - I helped out with a murder mystery team building afternoon. Really rather funny. And educational - apart from humans, what other two mammals have fingerprints?!

And more lists (sorry for all the posts, but if I don't, I forget...)

Darryl's list of 100 (minus if they were ones I'd read or tried to read in the past)

1. Kobo Abe, The Woman in the Dunes

3. Tahmima Anam, The Good Muslim
4. Nathacha Appanah, The Last Brother

6. Tash Aw, Map of the Invisible World
7. Gerbrand Bakker, The Twin

9. James Baldwin, Go Tell It on the Mountain

14. Horacio Castellanos Moya, Dance with Snakes

17. Javier Cercas, Soldiers of Salamis
18. Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote
19. J.M.G. Le Clézio, Desert

22. Julio Cortázar, The Winners
23. Amanda Craig, Hearts and Minds
24. José Donoso, The Obscene Bird of Night
25. Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, The Colonel

26. Jean Echenoz, Running
27. Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
28. Shusaku Endo, The Sea and Poison
29. Shusaku Endo, Silence

36. Amitav Ghosh, Sea of Poppies
37. Abdulrazak Gurnah, By the Sea

39. Jane Harris, Gillespie and I
40. Emma Henderson, Grace Williams Says it Loud

44. Ha Jin, War Trash
45. Tahar Ben Jelloun, This Blinding Absence of Light
46. Elias Khoury, Gate of the Sun

49. Naguib Mahfouz, Palace Walk
50. Jamal Mahjoub, Travelling with Djinns

53. Saiichi Maruya, Grass for My Pillow

55. Carson McCullers, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

57. Dinaw Mengestu, Children of the Revolution (a.k.a. The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears)

60. Timothy Mo, The Redundancy of Courage

64. Shiva Naipaul, The Chip-Chip Gatherers
65. V.S. Naipaul, A House for Mr Biswas

68. Caryl Phillips, A Distant Shore
69. Caryl Phillips, Dancing in the Dark
70. Caryl Phillips, Foreigners: Three English Lives
71. Ross Raisin, God’s Own Country
72. Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front
73. Evelio Rosero, The Armies

78. José Saramago, Death at Intervals
79. José Saramago, The Stone Raft

81. Samuel Selvon, The Lonely Londoners
82. Indra Sinha, Animal’s People

84. Kamila Shamsie, Burnt Shadows
85. Dag Solstad, Novel 11, Book 18

87. Roma Tearne, Brixton Beach

98. Alexis Wright, Carpentaria

100. Stefan Zweig, Journey into the Past

I am adding the books we sold in 2005 and found this cover, and of course I thought of you ;-)

I love that cover! So bright.... Thanks Anita.

Christmas classics special playlist. I can't decide if my favourite clip is David Bowie or the one from Its a Wonderful Life...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0848m3d

I admire the folks that can do these best of lists! It is too daunting for this old guy! I am starting to break down my best of the year reads. Now, that I can handle. What an amazing year, it has been for book releases.

I've been trying with a best of novels 100 list - I got to 80 or so and stopped, exhausted.

Rhonda posted this lovely article about visiting bookshops in places. I've been to the Glasgow and London ones, and the ones in Israel sound fascinating.

http://nyti.ms/2gKWJ7V

Thought you might like this.



Posted with the comment, "Who would have believed that the perfect Wikipedia photo caption could have been improved upon?"

>188 charl08: I've gotten as far as thinking about a best 100 list....

On the other hand, I also see a summation of 2016's reading looming in my future, so one thing at a time.

>189 RidgewayGirl: That is hilarious.

>189 RidgewayGirl: Mwahahaha.

>190 ursula: Oh. That feels like homework. Might pass! (I'll happily read everyone elses though.)

>189 RidgewayGirl: Too funny!

Happy Thursday, Charlotte! Your thread always brings a smile to my face. Last night I could not sleep, and so I opened my Kindle to see what I might read - I completed my last Kindle read, so I was ready for a new pick. My eye came to Smilla's Sense of Snow, and I remembered that both you and Roberta LOVE that book, so I decided to give it a go. The writing is so beautiful, which I was not expecting in a crime novel. Anyway, I am loving it, so thanks for mentioning it - am I remembering right that you said it's a comfort read for you?

Good morning, Charlotte. Lots of penguin antics going on here!

Hmmm, might be a book to check out.

Ooh. I love the look of that book! I was sorely tempted in the shops today - penguin sweaters, socks, biscuits (and even pants!)

I'm also working on reading more globally. For several years, I've been keeping track of my international (both setting and authors) reading here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/188308 I'll be interested to see what you and Paul are doing, and especially interested in my long list of countries I haven't read from yet. I read from about twenty countries last year, with six of them - Antigua, Belarus, Palestine, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Turkemenistan being new to me.

I suspect the Finley opposition is polite speak for 'OMG look at all the homosexual sex - and a gay author! - can't have that in the classroom!' My book club read it a few years ago. :-)

That unspoken agenda is so grim. I did wonder why they were objecting to the sex and violence: what do they think is in Shakespeare, fgs? I was speaking to a lit teacher about Triomf, a book she taught to ugrads but that I gave up half way through because of the abuse and violence, which was so coldly described. Said she'd not had any students even mention that. I tend to think she's right - that resilience in teenage readers. Aside from having an opposition to censorship.

Re international lit - I tend to read authors from Africa when I see their work - but tracking down new authors, those published that don't get reviewed, is tricky. Asian reading is poor, and I've noticed recently that I need to pay attention to how the double bind of gender shapes which African authors reach western markets.

Thanks for your link - I'll have a look.

Thinking about bookriots' 'read harder' challenge:

Read a book about sports.
Read a debut novel.
Read a book about books.
Read a book set in Central or South America, written by a Central or South American author.
Read a book by an immigrant or with a central immigration narrative.
Read an all-ages comic.
Read a book published between 1900 and 1950.
Read a travel memoir.
Read a book you’ve read before.
Read a book that is set within 100 miles of your location.
Read a book that is set more than 5000 miles from your location.
Read a fantasy novel.
Read a nonfiction book about technology.
Read a book about war.
Read a YA or middle grade novel by an author who identifies as LGBTQ+.
Read a book that has been banned or frequently challenged in your country.
Read a classic by an author of color.
Read a superhero comic with a female lead.
Read a book in which a character of color goes on a spiritual journey (From Daniel José Older, author of Salsa Nocturna, the Bone Street Rumba urban fantasy series, and YA novel Shadowshaper)
Read an LGBTQ+ romance novel (From Sarah MacLean, author of ten bestselling historical romance novels)
Read a book published by a micropress. (From Roxane Gay, bestselling author of Ayiti, An Untamed State, Bad Feminist, Marvel’s World of Wakanda, and the forthcoming Hunger and Difficult Women)
Read a collection of stories by a woman. (From Celeste Ng, author Everything I Never Told You and the forthcoming Little Fires Everywhere)
Read a collection of poetry in translation on a theme other than love. (From Ausma Zehanat Khan, author of the Esa Khattak/Rachel Getty mystery series, including The Unquiet Dead, The Language of Secrets, and the forthcoming Among the Ruins)
Read a book wherein all point-of-view characters are people of color. (From Jacqueline Koyanagi, author of sci-fi novel Ascension)

>196 charl08: Agree with your comments regarding reading internationally. I've been working to read more diversely, and I find there's just so much less available. On the other hand, especially in regards to books published in the US and the UK, the books by authors of color tend to be of a higher quality, reflecting, perhaps, the greater difficulty they have in getting published at all?

>197 charl08: Hmmm. I always want to take on a bunch of challenges towards this time of year, and then I remember that I am absolutely horrible at keeping up with them.

I've flirted with the Global Challenge before, but I think it would be too hard for me to keep track of. Maybe if life slowed down a little bit.

I like that Read Harder took some suggestions from authors for 2017. I don't remember that being a thing in previous years.

I think you missed me up there (>192 Crazymamie:), Charlotte. Hoping that Thursday is behaving itself.

>191 charl08: It's not as momentous as all that. I just meant looking back and figuring out the best reads of the year. So smaller but similar to compiling a list of 100 books.

I like some of the Read Harder challenges, and some can be thrown right out for me (read a collection of poetry ... I don't even need to see what the rest of that one is).

Those "Read Harder" challenges look like fun!

>192 Crazymamie: Ack! Sorry Mamie. I do love Smilla. She is up there on my list of books for rereading for Ellen's challenge. I've not had any luck reading any of his other books, but that one wins. There is something about it that is very comforting to me - which sounds crazy to say about a crime novel!

>198 RidgewayGirl: It is frustrating sometimes. My library is great, but I could so easily spend a lot more on books, especially supporting the newer publishers like Kwani. But that said, I google to find an independent African publisher (my memory fails me) recently opened in the UK, and instead find this list of books from the continent featuring many books I've not read.
http://lithub.com/25-new-books-by-african-writers-you-should-read/

>199 rosylibrarian: I'm probably being wildly overoptimistic given new job starting in January, and that I would dearly like to move into my own flat. I picked the list from litsy, where there were some complaints about the specificity of the challenges - but I quite like that they are the individual challenges of these authors.

>200 Crazymamie: Sorry!

>201 ursula: OK. If it's just picking favourites, maybe I won't run off into a corner and hide under the blanket! :-)

Maybe the trick would be to take a number of the challenges.
(One every other month?) I'm wondering if I really want to read a sport book!

No, I actually get that - I almost always choose crime fiction for my comfort reads, too. Of course, come to think of it, I do profess to be crazy. And no worries about missing me earlier - I just always tell people because I would want them to tell me.

Cassava Republic Press!
And now I have to add Longthroat Memoirs: Soups, Sex and Nigerian Taste Buds to my wishlist. Sounds great.

>204 Crazymamie: Oh yes, being told is definitely the way forward. Glad my reaching for the scandicrime makes sense!

Hi Charlotte -

I will do my best of 2016 reading, but the top 100? It DOES sound like too much work.
>192 Crazymamie: I loved Smilla's Sense of Snow - it's been years though.

>197 charl08: A very doable list. I think I probably have come close this year.

>203 charl08: It is a challenge to search out new writers published by small presses.

I wish I could remember the titles of the books about penguins that they read at story hour a couple of weeks ago. I took Scout, and she was enthralled, and a couple of the books were really good.

Hi Charlotte! I got a copy of The Wars out of the library and I hope to read it within my 6 week reading time via the library. It might not be a particularly cheerful book for Christmas time, but I am curious to see what people find objectionable in the book for highschoolers. There have been many books over the years that parents have objected to for high-school readers, including The Handmaiden's Tale, I think due to the " graphic nature of it. By the time kids are off to university or college, that is not longer an issue.

Yes, there is nothing that is " the great Canadian Novel, or even The Canon of Canadian Literature. I did find a list of 100 books "that make you proud to be a Canadian", according to the CBC ( Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) akin to the BBC. Here it is - http://www.cbc.ca/books/books100.html

Lists, so many of them! ;)

>207 BLBera: I'm still stuck at 80 something. I don't know whether to include the novels I read as a teenager/ugrad and loved but now barely remember now...

I want a copy of Penguin Problems... Hope you remember Scout's penguin books!

>208 vancouverdeb: I appreciate 18 is an important legal age, but wonder if at 18 I was any more worldly wise than I was at 15 Deborah. Lots of books read though! We did Talking Heads when I was 17/18 at school, which has some sly' wink wink nudge nudge' kind of references to sex. I don't think I was irreparably damaged.
Thanks for the list!

>202 banjo123: I missed you! Sorry!
The Read Harder challenges do seem to have encouraged people to read more diverse lit. There are certainly categories that would mean I'd have to get out of my comfort zone...

Charlotte, I don't mean to say that books should not be read at the high school age, just that parents have some control over what is on a school curriculum. But once you are off to University or College, it would be extremely rare for a parent to interfere with what is prescribed as reading. Public school is mandatory, university or college is not.

^Thinking of you...

>197 charl08: That's a great challenge list and in any other year I'd jump on that train. Now I'll simply save it for later. Many categories are easy to check off though, maybe the two hardest woulde be "set within 100 miles" (doable, but very boring) and romance, with or without LGBT.

>211 vancouverdeb: Ah, I misunderstood. Sorry! How to educate the parents...

>212 msf59: Aw, that's sweet. I wonder if it's based on a real place?

>213 Deern: One of the things I liked about the list was that it had links on the website to help you find books that fitted. But I get the not in the mood thing.

I love lists. But I've never been good at picking favorites.

The Read Harder challenge looks good, though I'm challenging myself enough next year. The Bible is out of my comfort zone, though that's weird to say as a Christian. Lol But I'm going to bully through!

I think you're going to be busy enough with your existing challenges!

Handed in the paperwork for the job today. I'm going to be a Research Coordinator for a dept at the local university.

Congrats!!!!

>216 charl08: - Woot!

>217 The_Hibernator: Thanks!

>218 katiekrug: Still don't quite believe it's real...

>216 charl08: Oh that's great. You'll have access to a university library now!

>216 charl08: Sounds exciting! I'm glad the paperwork is done now, making it all official!

>197 charl08: I half read half the challenge 12/24

>216 charl08: Well done, Charlotte. I am guessing you be brilliant at such a role.

Have a lovely weekend.

Congrats, Research Coordinator sounds very important. What kind of research will you be coordinating? Can you share details now?

Congrats on the new job, Charlotte! Very exciting!

Congratulations! As Beth says, Research Coordinator sounds very important. Are you sure you'll still be willing to chat with us here?

Ohhh! Congratulations on your new role as Research Coordinator. Will you still have time for the likes of us? So happy for you!

Congratulations on nailing down the new job!! (loudly!)

>216 charl08: Charlotte, great news! It must be lovely to have it all sorted out before Christmas for a January start.

>220 avatiakh: Yes! I am pretty pleased about that.

>221 ursula: Thanks Ursula.

>222 PaulCranswick: half read? You're ahead of me Paul, I'm just aiming for 2017 reading...

>223 BLBera: Thanks Beth. There's a lot of pressure on all universities here to increase their staff research output, so the idea is to try and help with that. More details once I start I think.

>224 msf59: Thanks Mark! I'm looking forward to it.

>225 RidgewayGirl: Ha! Not at all. I'm not sure I'll read as much though. Might start counting research studies!

>226 vancouverdeb: Thanks Deborah. All the support is much appreciated.

>227 ronincats: Ha! At whatever volume you like :-)

>228 susanj67: Thanks Susan. Looking forward to a very different 2017.

I've been (and am still) reading a very dark, odd book The Evenings.

Both The Hating Game and Blackshear Family Book 1 were light relief, the first a contemporary romance and the second a historical. I liked how the first one stayed in the first person, and how the author of the second had a community deal with a bully, a novel form of 'rescue'.

One Secret Thing (US, F, Poetry) was wonderful and I rather want all Olds' poetry now. This end part of 'The signal' is part of a series of poems about war.

After everyone else
on his boat was dead
he continued to signal, then he, too,
was killed, but the other boats had seen him
and turned back. They gave his wife the medal,
and she buried him, and at night floated through
a wall of smoke, and saw him at a distance
standing in a boat, facing her,
the gloves blazing on his hands as he motioned her back.

Guardian Reviews

As Paul noted last week, this seems to be a scanty time for Guardian reviews, so I've put the fiction and non-fiction together.


Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts by Christopher de Hamel reviewed by Jan Morris
"...the power of this volume lies not so much in its scholarship as in its love."

Want! Want!


A Yorkshire Tragedy: the rise and fall of a Sporting Powerhouse by Anthony Clavane reviewed by Adrian Tempany
"Yorkshire sport has been in decline for decades."

Sorry all Yorkshire fans, but no thanks...


Midwinter by Fiona Melrose reviewed by Melissa Harrison
"Finely judged writing like this comes from a place of instinct, and it marks Melrose out as someone to watch."

Sounds amazing.


The Museum of Cathy by Anna Stothard reviewed by Jane Housham
"...expert at intense feelings that teeter on a knife edge between terror and erotic charge."

Not sure...


Severance/Intercourse by Robert Olen Butler reviewed by Matthew Adams
"...most of what we are offered is repetitive, perfunctory and lacking attentiveness and imaginative rigour."

Ouch.

Other stuff - A.S.Byatt on Beatrix Potter
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/17/as-byatt-beatrix-potter-and-the-be...
- John Mullan on Xmas books
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/17/christmas-chaos-in-literature-from...
-Henry Jeffreys on drinking in books
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/17/history-booze-books-brideshead-rev...

www.guardian.co.uk/books

>216 charl08: I am so happy for you, Charlotte !!!!

>230 charl08: So you haven't abandoned The evenings yet, good girl ;-)

Nope, I've not abandoned The Evenings - but what a weird book! I have no idea what to make of it. And thanks for the encouragement :-)

>231 charl08: I am sure that 'A Yorkshire Tragedy : The Rise and Fall of Sporting Powerhouse' is a pretty good book of its sort, Charlotte. I read and really enjoyed another Anthony Clavane book last year and it really ought to have been on my 100 NF books, if I hadn't rushed the list down.

>216 charl08: WOOHOO!!! Congrats on the new job!!

>233 charl08: I started The evenings today, am two chapters in now.

Congrats on the new job!

>196 charl08: The Global Reading group that I linked to is merely a place to keep track of your reads by country. The Reading Globally Group is the active group with quarterly reads, etc. I do try to read a bit in their challenges, but living in a very small town in a very empty state, it can be a challenge of its own finding books.

I've been lucky getting books offered by LTER, but I see that few of them are offered in the UK. :-(

>203 charl08: Love the list of African authors and have added it to my list of resources.

>234 PaulCranswick: This is why the first challenge in the Bookriot list is hard for me - I'm not big on sport books... The only one I really liked was A Season in Verona. But really, that book is about the anthropology of a group - who happen to be football fans.

>235 scaifea: Thanks Amber. Much appreciated. Hope your library app is successful.

>236 FAMeulstee: And...? What you expected? Not? I think I was expecting something more like The Assault.

>237 streamsong: Thanks re reading globally.
I do like my library, and if it's published in the UK they're pretty good. Don't get me started on the ER situation...I've stopped even looking.

Thanks for the reviews, Charlotte. Midwinter is the only one that really catches my eye today. Off to see when it will be available here.

I would say I'm generally not interested in sports books either, but I enjoyed The Boys in the Boat, and of course, all those books about Everest and the like that I read are "sports books".

>238 charl08: Mulisch and Reve don't have much in common except that they are both Dutch ;-)
From the Dutch "Big Three" I like Harry Mulisch and W.F. Hermans more than Gerard Reve.

The book is somewhat what I expected, it won't be a favourite, but I will be glad I read it.

>239 BLBera: Midwinter does look like a good read.

>240 ursula: I bought the boys in the boat, so I suppose I must have thought I like some sports books?!

>241 FAMeulstee: Yup, based on reading The Assault and The Evenings I'd agree! I don't think I've read any Hermans - where should I start?

I finished The Evenings but I'm not sure what I can say about it. Certainly different!

I've started Under the Visible Life which I think someone here recommended.... (Sorry!)

The official paperwork - your new job is closer to reality. Does it start right at the beginning of January?

Congratulations on your new position, Charlotte!

Thanks for highlighting my top 100 novels list. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

>242 charl08: Mulisch is most common loved I guess, I have his The discovery of Heaven on my chunkster TBR list.
With Hermans you could try Beyond Sleep or maybe The darkroom of Damocles.

The evenings was written shorlty after the war and was his first book. Most of the established writers critisided it, so it became popular by the younger generation as it described the post war dull Dutch life that wasn't shaken up until the 1960s.

A book for you -
_
'Set against Argentina's turbulent years following the collapse of the corrupt Perónist regime, this is the heart-warming story of Juan Salvador the penguin, rescued by Tom from an oil slick in Uruguay just days before a new term. When the bird refuses to leave Tom's side, the young teacher has no choice but to smuggle it across the border, through customs, and back to school.'

>244 Familyhistorian: It's still tbc: Hoping before my folks jet off to Cape Town though for their annual swallows trip.

>245 kidzdoc: Thanks Darryl. Lots of new-to-me authors I want to find.

>246 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita. I am toying with writing something about 'The books we had to read' (for myself rather than any external person). Whether I can transfer my enthusiasm for books about books into my own, is key...

>247 avatiakh: Thanks Kerry. An intriguing premise, and the cover on the right is just lovely.

Thinking some more about Bookriot challenge for 2017

Read a book about sports.The Boys from the Boat The kindle!

Read a debut novel. Kintu The TBR pile.

Read a book about books. (I have an Alberto Manguel on the shelves to read. Just have to find it!)

Read a book set in Central or South America, written by a Central or South American author. (Help!)

Read a book by an immigrant or with a central immigration narrative. The Journey

Read an all-ages comic. Paper Girls vol 2

Read a book published between 1900 and 1950. Travels with Charley

Read a travel memoir. Help! I'd like to read more women travel writers - any recommendations?

Read a book you’ve read before. Narrowing this down is going to be hard...

Read a book that is set within 100 miles of your location. The Daylight Gate (about the Pendle witches)

Read a book that is set more than 5000 miles from your location. Latin America or southern Africa would fit...

Read a fantasy novel. (Tempted to read the sequel to a Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, but not sure if that's in the spirit of the challenge!)

Read a nonfiction book about technology. Not sure.

Read a book about war. I've got a few books about Syria on the horizon.

Read a YA or middle grade novel by an author who identifies as LGBTQ+. No idea. Help appreciated.

Read a book that has been banned or frequently challenged in your country. More research required.

Read a classic by an author of color. James Baldwin or The Lonely Londoners I think.

Read a superhero comic with a female lead.Hoping to read more Kamila Khan soon...

Read a book in which a character of color goes on a spiritual journey (From Daniel José Older, author of Salsa Nocturna, the Bone Street Rumba urban fantasy series, and YA novel Shadowshaper) this one has me stumped.

Read an LGBTQ+ romance novel (From Sarah MacLean, author of ten bestselling historical romance novels) I will be heading over to the Smart Bitches site for tips.

Read a book published by a micropress. (From Roxane Gay, bestselling author of Ayiti, An Untamed State, Bad Feminist, Marvel’s World of Wakanda, and the forthcoming Hunger and Difficult Women) Well, researching this one is going to be fun!

Read a collection of stories by a woman. (From Celeste Ng, author Everything I Never Told You and the forthcoming Little Fires Everywhere) Too much choice, but possibly Doris Lessing who is on mount TBR...

Read a collection of poetry in translation on a theme other than love. (From Ausma Zehanat Khan, author of the Esa Khattak/Rachel Getty mystery series, including The Unquiet Dead, The Language of Secrets, and the forthcoming Among the Ruins) I don't know, but look forward to finding out!

Read a book wherein all point-of-view characters are people of color. (From Jacqueline Koyanag, author of sci-fi novel Ascension) Maybe Homegoing? Does this fit?

I like that Bookriot challenge, although I won't participate in it this year.

For the Central or South America challenge I would highly recommend reading a book by my favorite living author, Mario Vargas Llosa. His novels are readily available in the UK, based on me seeing many of them in numerous bookshops in and outside of London. If I'm interpreting your post of my top 100 novels list correctly you've already read my favorite books of his. I'm also very fond of Horacio Castellanos Moya, Roberto Bolaño, José Donoso, Juan Gabriel Vásquez and Julio Cortázar, and there's always Gabriel García Márquez.

Happy Sunday, Charlotte! I hope you can find time to read Homegoing. It may end up being the best novel I read this year.

Hello, Charlotte! Homegoing would definitely fit that challenge. For travel memoir, I would highly recommend Travels With Herodotus, if you haven't read it already. I know the author is not a woman, but it is just so fabulous.

>250 kidzdoc: Thanks Darryl.

I've tried Llosa and not had much success. I have liked Bolaño's work. The tags for Moya made me laugh - one of them is 'Darryl likes this'. Fame at last?

I'd like to read Reputations - it made the NPR list, and their description sounded intriguing. Thinking about it reminded me that I want to read Clarice Lispector - I have a lovely penguin classics edition of her short stories.

>251 msf59: This is definitely a case of having a book in mind and fitting it to the challenge Mark! Good to hear your enthusiasm.

>252 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie - Travels with Herodotus is in my TBR pile, so that would be perfect.

travel memoir (women)...... I would suggest one I loved that takes place in the outback of Australia Tracks by Robyn Davidson

YA novel by a LGBTQ author? That's narrowing it down a bit! I mean, what does it matter what the author identifies as? The only one I can think of that I've read is Clive Barker - you could read Abarat or Thief of Always. But neither, as far as I recollect, has anything outwardly to do with LGBTQ. There's also David Leviathan. I've never read any of his books. But he's written several that are supposed to be good.

>254 mdoris: Thanks! I'm allowed (!) to read more than one in each category, and I like travel a lot as a genre....

>255 The_Hibernator: That seems to be the verdict from some of the Litsy people too.I did find this list which has some suggestions that sound good - but more YA with lgbt protagonists, than by author orientation.
https://www.bookish.com/articles/the-15-best-lgbt-ya-books-of-2016-so-far/

Yeah, there are YA LGBTQ books galore. The hard part is to Google the author's sexual orientation, which seems an invasion of privacy to me.

I can vouch for David Leviathan, his books are great. I heard him talk a couple of times when he was in Auckland a few years back and he was quite captivating. I'd probably go for his Boy meets boy or Will Grayson Will Grayson.

Another LGBTQ YA author is Patrick Ness, he doesn't write from this POV or talk about it, but he is another wonderful speaker for the YA audience, I've also been to hear him talk several times when he's visited New Zealand. The rest of us just live here, or his Chaos Walking trilogy.

Just found a list of LGBTQ authors https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LGBT_writers

Note that Bill Konnegsburg is a YA author. Gregory Maguire wrote Wicked that's not far off from YA, is it?

Malinda Lo wrote a lesbian YA retelling of Cinderella, Ash and she fits the criteria.

Read a non fiction book about technology. I have an idea! I read this in 2015 and thought it was very good.
The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nick Carr. Just a thought!

>257 The_Hibernator: >259 The_Hibernator: I struggled with this when I started labelling authors to make myself accountable for the diversity of my reading. I've done enough reading about race, orientation and gender to question simplistic, countable definitions of identity. But I want to read a wider range of authors, and give myself a poke when I slip, and stats help!

>258 avatiakh: >260 avatiakh: Thanks Kerry. Will add them to my TBR list.

>261 mdoris: Sounds intriguing. Will have a look at the library catalogue.

I've also been looking at micropresses. £2 seems very reasonable for a literary map...
http://www.pennedinthemargins.co.uk/index.php/2016/11/the-lost-poets-of-the-magn...

In the course of reading about micropresses, discovered that someone on good reads doesn't ever buy paper books because they 'hate the waste of printed books'.

I like my Kindle, but this comment makes me want to go lie down in a darkened room.

Hi, Charlotte.

Nice excerpt from a Sharon Olds poem up there. She's so good.

It may not fit the challenge, but I can recommend the sequel to A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. I enjoyed A Closed and Common Orbit as much as the first one.

Also will recommend middle grade novel George by Alex Gino (genderqueer). A beautiful book.
https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/sep/09/alex-gino-george-tr...

Central/South America - lots to choose from, The secret in their eyes by Eduado Sacheri, The Tunnel by Ernesto Sabato (excellent novella). I've read a novella by Clarice Lispector and it was ok. Juan de Recacoechea is Bolivian and writes crime novels if you want something a bit different. I'm hoping to read Kiss of the spiderwoman next year at some stage, been on the tbr for a while.

For South America, I'd recommend Kamchatka which I read around the beginning of this year.

(And now that I've typed that, I'm thinking maybe you already have read that one?)

Read a YA or middle grade novel by an author who identifies as LGBTQ+ . Lot of ideas from Canadian authors - Timothy Findley who wrote The Wars and it studied by highschoolers in Ontario as we discussed earlier. Here is another list that I found online : http://robinstevenson.com/8-lgbtq-canadian-ya-novels-you-might-have-missed-and-s...

I'm sure Canada has plenty of micropresses as well.

>263 jnwelch: Thanks Joe. I loved the Olds book. Would like to read her entire back catalogue, but will have to persuade the library first. I think I will read the sequel to A long Way anyway, so am wanting to try and read something I hadn't come across.

>264 avatiakh: Thanks Kerry. Recacoechea is new to me, thank you.

>265 katiekrug: Yes, you already successfully recommended it Katie!

>266 vancouverdeb: Thanks Deborah. I hadn't thought of Findley for that category, you're right.

Female travel writing: The gates of Damascus, Mali Blues or Back to the Congo by Lieve Joris.

>253 charl08: Ha! Dance with Snakes was clever, laugh out loud funny, and short.

I bought The All Saints' Day Lovers by Juan Gabriel Vásquez when I visited London in September, but I haven't bought or read Reputations yet. I've liked everything I've read by him, so I'm sure that I'll get it at some point.

>268 FAMeulstee: Following up on Anita's comment, I plan to read Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria by Noo Saro-Wiwa for the second quarter Reading Globally theme, travel writing by non-European and non-North American authors.

Congrats, Ms. Research Coordinator! What a nice Christmas present!!

The BookRiot challange looks so very tempting but I will, once again, read off my bookshelves especially since one is collapsing and no where else to put these books. *sigh*

>268 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita. My mum is a big travel fan, so she as well as me is sending thanks for those recommendations!

>269 kidzdoc: I like your reading plans for next year Darryl. Will be following along closely.

>270 Carmenere: Thanks Lynda. I'm going to try and read some of my TBR to meet the challenges, but you sound much more self-controlled!

I got distracted by lists and recommendations and forgot to write reviews...

The Evenings
Anita has read this too, and her comments reflect a much better understanding of Reve's context than mine. Just reading it as a novel, is a profoundly depressing experience. Frits is an unpleasant young man, unhappy, bored and deeply frustrated with his elderly parents. He is obsessed with his friends' receding hairlines, manipulates his friends and shows little signs of joy or enthusiasm for his young life. There signs of a sadistic side to his personality too.

Having read Anita's comments it's possible to rethink the sense of tedium reading the novel creates to show Frits and his friends' sense of being stuck in Amsterdam. Still poor, still dealing with the effects of war - but noone taking about it, and all those of the older generation (perhaps) content with normality. Knowing Reve as publicly out, I expected a more explicit novel about the experience of a young gay man: this is not that book.

Under the Visible Life
This is part of an unwitting jazz season in my December reading. Two women pianists from very different background come to New York to play and record, but their lives as well as the music are connected. A fascinating book, with compelling voices of very different female musicians, although I think I would have been less tolerant of the forced marriage storyline, which seems such a cliche of literature about the Asian diaspora, had it not been for the quality of the writing and the alternating POV of the two women.

Coming Through Slaughter (Canada, M, Novel)
Book two of my jazz season! Ondjaate is in seedy, turn of the century New Orleans, where prostitution and jazz go hand in hand. In fragments of poetry, memories, reported interviews and descriptions of photos; the story of a troubled musician who disappears, returns and finally is incarcerated in a mental institution. A short book but compelling, for all the oddness of the structure.

Drawn to opposites, even in music we play. In terror we lean in the direction that is most unlike us. Running past your own character into pain

His practice reached us upstairs, each note a finger on our flesh. The unheard tap of his calloused fingers and the muscle reaching into the machine and plucking the note, the sound travelling upstairs and through the door, touching her on the shoulder. The music was his dance in the auditorium of his enemies... God, to sit down and play, to tip it over into music! To remove the anger and stuff it down the piano every night....
Bullets of music delivered onto the bed we were on.

Nice comments, Charlotte.

The Book Riot challenge sounds fun. You have come up with some great choices.

>272 charl08: Your review of The Evenings is spot on. I think in his later works there is more gay content, in 1947 that was unthinkable, even in the 1960s he got in trouble with it.

I he Ondaatje book sounds good, added to mount TBR.

>273 BLBera: Thanks Beth. I do love a list. Plenty to be keeping me busy!

>274 FAMeulstee: I'm intrigued to see how his style might have changed over the years. But not enough to want to pick one up just now... I love Ondjaate's writing, always want to pick up his books when I see them.

Warning, may cause book related crossness.
The Christmas my in-laws threw out my treasured books

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/21/christmas-that-changed-me-...

>276 charl08: Charlotte, that is such an awful story! I have given away a lot of my books over the years, particularly children's books, but there's a world of difference when it's my own choice! In the comments, though, someone said the same, or similar, had happened to her, and she was trying to think positively that now some new people would get a chance to read them.

>276 charl08: That has not happened to me, but it reminds of the year/ summer that my husband took all of my saved baby clothes and special blankets from our two sons to use as " rags for the garage and cars" etc. That was about 18 or so years ago and I've moved on from that. But I was so shocked and disappointed with my husband for raiding my boxes of precious baby things and " mistaking " them for cleaning rags. Men. Sometimes.

>277 susanj67: I'd struggle. I remember someone from university saying their parents had completely redecorated when she was away for the first term. I can see why they might, but it was still quite a thing. And one of the comments was from a parent saying they'd had a clear out when their children were away at university thinking they wouldn't remember.
What?!

>278 vancouverdeb: Oh Deborah. Even though you've moved on, sorry to hear that. I'm sure he wouldn't have done it deliberately. I guess different people invest memory in things in different ways.

What Happened Miss Simone
The third in my trip of jazz books (although Nina Simone herself might have been annoyed at me describing her music that way). A biography linked to the documentary (which I have yet to see), it was interesting reading. Her childhood as part of a large family where her mother was a preacher and her father struggled to get work in the depression. Her musical talent was spotted early and community members sponsored first piano classes and then boarding school. Simone's failure to get a scholarship to a conservatoire is discussed: rather than rejected on the basis of racism the author suggests the competition was beyond fierce. It's difficult to be sure as clearly those involved were unlikely to shop themselves.

Simone created an audience for herself in a bar, playing and then singing, and for her early years was incredibly successful as a popular musician, despite having an ambiguous attitude to popular music. That this early success ended is attributed to Simone's unwillingness to tour exhaustively, her suspicion of the state, and white audiences' resistance to her increasingly angry reaction to opposition to civil rights.

Following financial problems, relationship problems, and mental health difficulties, a small team of supporters managed to rein in her greater excesses to enable her to tour, as a new audience found her in the 80s and 90s through the use of her music in advertising.

A readable biography, if a little overreliant on the same talking heads. I most enjoyed the early part about her childhood and youth.

Charlotte, we were sitting here this morning - Abby, Birdy, and I, and I was telling them that you had posted a link to a story about someone's in-laws giving their books away. We were all aghast, so I followed the link and read the story out loud. Now we are just sitting here in stunned silence and wanting to cry. How devastating that must have been, and how illuminating the husband's reaction was.

>278 vancouverdeb: Deborah, that's horrible.

Nice review of What Happened, Miss Simone?, Charlotte. I own it as well, but haven't read it yet.

I mostly liked another recent biography about her, Princess Noire: The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone by Nadine Cohodas, although I thought it focused too much on her eccentricities and ended abruptly with no significant analysis of the woman behind the stage persona.

>280 Crazymamie: I'd be interested to know at what point she (Carol Birch) started writing Mamie - maybe the silver lining(s) were her successful publications?

Sorry for the non-festive effect on you all...

>281 kidzdoc: I just looked at your review of Princess Noire - interesting stuff. Although Light's bio did (briefly) cover her death and funeral, the stuff about her significance was pretty much all in the intro. I'd have rather had it at the end! More on her musical skill, and her civil rights work (which was dealt with, but just briefly) would have made the book more compelling to me. Maybe that's a different book though?!

So sad about her mental health. Can't help feel better care might have meant a longer and happier life.

>276 charl08: Woo, horrible, Charlotte. In our family we keep handing them down - e.g., our son has my old Oz books, which he loved and loves, and our daughter has my (and my sister's) old Agatha Christies.

Book-related crossness, indeed. And what an ignorant husband.

>283 jnwelch: Passing them down is a lovely idea, Joe. My sister and brother are not book fans, and I've tried to be explicit with my parents (who are) that I want the books.

A poetry collection Of Mutability has arrived at the library. Some great lines.
Traffic swarmed and swam
Round Vauxhall Cross, like crazy fish, with teeth.

>282 charl08: Me, too. And no worries about spoiling the festive mood, it just made me sad. Bad enough if the books had been ones she personally collected, but the fact that some of them had belonged to her Dad...

I will never forgive my father for getting rid of my mother's collection of Trollope novels. I did rescue her set of Jane Austen, at least....

I hope this will work. I was perusing the National Geographic Travel Photo contest site.

Loved this image and thought of you:



I don't think I can download the image, but the site is worth checking out. Needless to say, the image I was wanting to post here involved penguins. Lots of penguins.

Oh, no, my husband did not mean any malice in using the baby clothes and blankets as rags for the garage. As far as I could tell, he was quite surprised by my horror. That is why I say" men." :) I have a cedar chest from my grandma that I'd put the most precious of things in , - like a hand knit baby blanket and home made quilts from family and friend and also I'd kept baby books for my two sons , so not all was lost. Still, I was not overly pleased. In Dave's defence, there are many times when he has gone above and beyond. I had a bad episode of depression when I was about 26 years old and my husband took my wedding ring out and had diamonds put into the band to show me how much he loved me. When I lost a baby boy 4 months into a pregnancy, Dave went out and purchased me a heart shaped necklace with the expected baby's birthstone, so Dav is quite a keeper for many reasons. But he has his lapses. :)

Nowadays he is much improved about throwing stuff out.

>285 Crazymamie: Yes, the family ones, you want to hold onto those (or at least, I do).

>286 katiekrug: I fell down the rabbit hole of beautiful images on the National Geographic website Ellen. Some lovely ones, including the penguins. Thanks!

>287 EBT1002: Glad to hear it Deborah. Your cedar box sounds very nice.

I'm still reading The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers. It took a while to warm up, but I'm now gripped. Sadly, I now have to do Chores for Xmas. Argh.

Argh. I just broke a beautiful pot I bought in Cape Town about ten years ago, whilst hoovering. I think I should stick to the books.

>290 charl08: Oh no. Is it savable?

>276 charl08: Yep, that would have ended my marriage.

>290 charl08: Sorry, Charlotte. Monday night my son broke the first of the plates I had purchased in Germany before we left. Now we can have no more than seven people around our table for dinner. These small reminders that life is fleeting and breakable are always a little sad. I think, why couldn't he have broken that bowl I don't like, but that is too good to just get rid of?

>291 rosylibrarian: It's not looking good...


Although on the plus side, no need to buy a jigsaw this year.

>292 BLBera: I (still) can't get my head round why someone would do this. Why?!

>293 RidgewayGirl: It is silly of me, as it matches nothing, and no-one will miss it except me. But it was a 'big' purchase that I thought a lot about, and came from an art shop I loved full of things I would have also have bought had I the cash. So. Sigh. Move on.

Ok, I think I need to go back to bed and start again.

We have had to call out a plumber for blocked drains, so the house smells delightful.

And I just got quite annoyed by the customer service people at Amazon. According to them, they are refunding my money from an accidental kindle purchase 'as a courtesy'.(At which point, I think I was supposed to act grateful).

Um, no. Think it's a legal requirement, actually. Maybe I should email Amazon this link?
http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/i-want-to-return-something-bought-...

>288 vancouverdeb: I meant it was terrible that it happened, not that Das was terrible or that it was done on purpose.

>290 charl08: Oh, sorry about the broken pot! A sign from the Universe to stop hovering, for sure. I always think it's the things that don't match anything, that aren't part of a set, that hurt the most to part with because you acquired them just for their own unique beauty or because they spoke to you.

>295 charl08: Hmmmm. Smelly houses. Ours still smells a little too. But I'm not calling 911 this time. lol

Charlotte, sorry to hear your day just isn't working out. But at least the drains didn't announce themselves on Christmas Day, I suppose. Poor pot - it doesn't matter that no-one else will miss it, as it was yours and you will. Sit down quietly now and turn some pages. You know it makes sense.

Sorry about your pot, Charlotte. The universe is telling you to sit down and read. It's almost Friday?

Ugh, you seem to be having a lousy Thursday, Charlotte. I hope Friday is better. LOTS better!

Oh no about the blocked drains and broken pot. So sorry . Yes, the world is telling you to just read and take it easy.

Sorry to hear about the blocked drains and broken pot but at least timing was good. Better now than having to live with it and not being able to fix it because no one is working due to Christmas. >276 charl08: The story of the books given away is one that only true book lovers would understand the impact of. Chilling. My mother did something similar to me when I went away to university. She cleaned up my room by getting rid of my books. Granted there were no heirlooms among them but they were my books, but then she was my mother - what could I say?

Just flying by here. Happy reading to you!

Charlotte, I finally caught up with The Big Life Fix, and I've now watched all three episodes. Thank you for alerting me to them - they were great, and show that there are some amazingly talented people out there.

I hope your Friday goes better than Thursday.

>296 Crazymamie: I tend to do this, so my Knick Knack collection is rather, err, diverse!

>297 The_Hibernator: You did completely the right thing. I'm glad this isn't the summer - we're operating on a waste bucket system for the sink. Thank goodness the bathroom is different pipes.

>298 susanj67: Went to bed early. Seemed to be a good solution!

>299 BLBera: Thanks Beth. I listened to the Universe..

>300 EBT1002: Mostly glad I don't have to shop or drive today. News predicting Doom...

>301 vancouverdeb: I listened! Thanks for the sympathy!

>302 Familyhistorian: That's a hard one: probably better to say nothing, as you say. We're hoping for a repeat plumber visit today- fingers crossed.

>303 LovingLit: Thanks Megan. Hope the boys are enjoying the anticipation...

>304 susanj67: Thanks Susan. I'm cooking the ham with my dad, so fingers crossed I'm less clumsy....
I am glad you liked the documentary. The Parkinson's writing solution alone will hopefully make a difference to many lives.

Happy Friday, Charlotte! Sorry to hear about your plumbing issues. I hope it all gets taken care of.

Hoping today is turning out better for you! I hate it when things like that break. :/

Oh dang, I'm sorry about the broken pot and the aromatic house. Here's hoping today is much better!

Happy Holidays, Charlotte.

Wishing you a better Friday ~~ and weekend!

I hope today was a better day, Charlotte.

>306 msf59: Thanks Mark. The plumber never reappeared. Odds on getting a plumber on Xmas Eve, anyone?

>307 ursula: I'm not bitter. Mum very kindly said she'd get me another: was very sad to point out that it was a handmade thing.

>308 scaifea: Thanks Amber. My brother's home, so at least there's someone else to help.

>309 BLBera: Thanks Beth! And to you.

>310 EBT1002: Ha! Thanks Ellen. And to you.

>311 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita. Times like this reminds me I am very lucky to live in a plumbed in place with lots of water. When I'm not annoyed at the plumber!

Sorry about the blocked drains and broken pots. I hope things get better today.

I am thinking about doing the BookRiot challenge as well. One recommendation on LGBTQ youth lit is Forgive Me If I've Told You This Before by Karelia Stetz-Waters. I didn't realize it was YA until after I read it, and really liked it.

On a separate note, here is my wish for the season....

Merry Christmas Charlotte! 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.

Very sorry for you horrible clogged drains. HOpe it gets sorted very soon.
PLease have a visit to my thread as there are some penguins and a video highlighting penguins waiting for you. Have a very Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Charlotte! I hope your drains are fixed quickly! Looking forward to reading He Wants with you shortly! I bet you'll read it in 30 minutes, whereas I will labour over the 186 pages or so for a three days! :)

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!

>313 banjo123: Added that one to my wishlist! In loving that the challenge has led to so many recommendations.

>314 EBT1002: Thanks Ellen. Hope that 2017 proves peaceful.

>315 nittnut: Thanks Jenn. Hoping 2017 sees you and the family settling into your new digs.

>316 mdoris: Thanks Mary - love the penguins on your thread!

>317 vancouverdeb: Thanks Deborah. Me too re the drains.
Your comments about the first Moore book make me think I should go back and read it again, as there is more to get from it.

>318 PaulCranswick: We can hope Paul. And maybe do a little bit here and there as individuals.

Happy holidays everyone. Forgive me if I don't make all the threads today. Thank you for all the kind thoughts and support in 2016.

Merry Xmas

Merry Christmas, Charlotte! Hope you can make the best of your holidays.

Yay! My brother and his friend have fixed the drains! Happy holidays...

Excellent news! Unplug the Airwicks and celebrate!

Yay for fixed drains! :-)

Happy Christmas Charlotte! Have a great 2017.

Merry Christmas, Charlotte!

>320 avatiakh: That is Mark. Glad to hear your load was light today.

>321 msf59: Love those penguins. So cute. Thanks!

>322 charl08: Exactly Susan. Carols from Kings and my book. Very nice.

>324 FAMeulstee: That's it Anita.

>325 SandDune: Thanks Rhian! Hoping 2017 is a better year...

>326 Crazymamie: Lovely picture Mamie. Hope all at the Paradiso are enjoying the season.

Unseasonal readings... from the Kindness of Enemies by Leila Aboulela

So, according to the guidelines, how should his response be classified? Did he tick this particular box or not? According to the guidelines, a student was who 'vulnerable to radicalisation' would have symptoms of regression, a hankering for an idealised past, a misguided belief in authenticity.

This is the Christmas tree at the end of the Pacific Beach Pier here in San Diego, a Christmas tradition.

To all my friends here at Library Thing, I want you to know how much I value you and how much I wish you a very happy holiday, whatever one you celebrate, and the very best of New Years!

Charlotte, all the best for Christmas and for 2017 in your new job. I hope the ham worked out, the lack of labels didn't cause too much confusion on the present front, and the drains continue to behave :-)

Merry Christmas, Charlotte.

Great news about the drains and just in time for Christmas too. I hope it is a good one!

Thanks Mary, Roni, Barbara and Meg. Susan, the ham is very tasty, and I managed to dig out some labels before gift donations proceeded. And everyone, I'm wishing you all behaving drains for 2017. No small thing, I've found.

I've been distracted this week, so my reading pace is a bit rubbish.

The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers (US, M, fiction)
I picked this up because of Darktown - this is good, but not as gripping as that. I still don't quite get the point about the resurrection of the gangsters. But I was happy to go along with it. Loved the period setting: made me want to reread The Grapes of Wrath.

Charlotte (France, M, biography?)
This was a beautiful little piece of prose poetry based on the author's obsession with the life of Charlotte Salomon, a talented artist who was a victim of the Holocaust. I am keen to track down a copy of her work Life or Theatre?. Has anyone read it?

A Just Defiance (South Africa, M, History/Law)
This book has kept me sane today (and yesterday). Fascinating look at the last big treason trial in apartheid South Africa, by the legal counsel unafraid to admit his own shortcomings. To say I found this refreshing is an understatement. The courage of those he worked with, as well as the moral debates about what it might be right to do in the face of 'The struggle' made for compelling reading - alongside the trial, the secret police's hidden hit squads were exposed, and a bomb is built. In places, it felt like a thriller.
Recommended.

Behaving drains! It's the little things ;)

Merry seasonal greetings to you, enjoy what will hopefully include food books ans rests.

>334 LovingLit: It's the thought that counts, right? Hope your two got what they wanted from Santa (and/or what Santa considered appropriate!)

I've picked up Lives of the Novelists, an enormous book of potted bios. Author number two is Aphra Benn, who I only know as the author of Oroonoko. Sutherland manages to go beyond the debate over whether she was in Surinam with her father or just made it all up...

Hope you have a relaxing day too, Charlotte!

Thanks Linda. Not quite. Families, eh?!

Now reading Second hand Time about living in post communist Soviet states:

In school I sold blue jeans on the side... In Soviet times, you could get three to five years for that if they caught you. My father would chase me round the house with his belt, screaming, You profiteer! I spilled blood defending Moscow only to raise a little shithead!'

Amuses me that US anti-communists might have a very similar story...

My reading has been rubbish too, over the past few days. Glad you got your drains cleared!

It was a relief Deborah. Hopefully the reading is picking up again.

From Three Daughters of Eve
Refusing to be discouraged, obsessed with nuances, she kept on collecting dazzling words. They reminded her of the spiral shells and pink corals, smoothed by countless tides, she had picked up as a child when her family went to the seaside. Except, unlike those pretty but motionless keepsakes, words were breathing, alive.

Char--Hopelessly behind on your thread, LOL. Hope the reading picks up again and I love the quote above. Merry Day-After Christmas!! : )

Thanks Kim! Hope things calm down a bit for you soon.

Happy Holidays!


I love the piper and the penguin at the top!

The Naked Duke The Naked Marquis
Part of a bundle of six books by Sally Mackenzie. I was enjoying the light escapist fantasy-regency nature of it all, when the author threw in something that threw me out of the story.

Three Daughters of Eve
This was an ARC. Shafak is not afraid to approach the difficult issues, here approaching the rights of Muslim women, Turkish politics and debated about God. Peri grows up in a household in Istanbul split between her mother's religiosity and her father's secularism. The family is hard hit by Turkish political extremism, but Peri is able, nonetheless, to apply and gain acceptance at Oxford. There, lonely and depressed, she falls under the influence of an extrovert Iranian-British student and a charismatic lecturer.

Unlike her other fiction, this story felt more like a vehicle for Shafak to say some interesting things about belief, about Turkish life and about studying abroad as an international student (in this case, in Oxford). The characters seemed to get lost in the whirl of opinion. Peri is so indecisive as to make me as reader uncertain why I am following her story. Told alongside a dinner party discussion 'now', the tie between her past self and the mother and wife she had become, never seemed to be made. Some beautiful quotes though.

...her true companions were always books. Imagination was her home, her homeland, her refuge, her exile.

She had brought along a few of her favourite books, some in Turkish, others in English – Sadegh Hedayet’s The Blind Owl, Alice Munro’s The Love of a Good Woman, Zadie Smith’s White Teeth, Michael Cunningham’s The Hours, Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things, Ogˇuz Atay’s Tutunamayanlar, Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World.

The students . . . disadvantaged in knowledge, advantaged in age, quick to judge and self-centred to the core . It never occurred to them that their teachers, too, had a story, a secret, a life elsewhere. Azur had created a Tower of Babel with them. He had pushed them as far as he could. He had failed.

Before they went their separate ways, Ibn Rushd asked Ibn Arabi, one last time, Is it through rational consideration that we unveil the Truth? ‘And what did Ibn Arabi say?’‘He said yes, and he said, no. “Between the yes and the no,” he said, “spirits fly from their matter and minds from their bodies.”

Thanks Lucy. I love that picture. A 'spot the dog' competition?!

I want to read more Shafak next year, Charlotte.

Happy new year; I hope to see you around in 2017, for more excellent recommendations.

"My brother and his friend have fixed the drains!"
That was an excellent holiday gift for you! :-)

>345 BLBera: Me too Beth. I have The Bastard of Istanbul on the shelf to read...

>346 EBT1002: It was, wasn't it!

But he also got me Poorly Drawn Lines, a collection of very silly cartoons.You can check out the cartoons at the website of the same name. My favourites include the penguins at the start of the new year thread....

ETA here - http://www.librarything.com/topic/244294#5849578

That cartoon is wonderful!

>343 charl08: Well, my library doesn't have the bundle, but it does have the individual novels, so I've checked the first one out. I now have all five loan slots filled, and two reserves which could come in at any time. I may have to spend tomorrow reading romance, and I will have to blame you :-)

Three Daughters of Eve sound very interesting, Charlotte. I have Honour by the same author on my TBR shelves and I'll have to try to get to it soon. ( cant find the touchstone ). The Bastard of Istanbul sounds really interesting too.

>348 EBT1002: I'm really enjoying the little book Ellen.

>349 susanj67: Did it happen Susan? I can take it...

>350 vancouverdeb: Sorry about your dinner Deborah. Hope you have a better NY. I recommend The Forty Rules of Love.

Took a trip to the sales today, winding up at Waterstones. This branch is in a rather lovely converted bank. Picked up The Last Mughal, which I have coveted since the BAC read Dalrymple, and Mum got a cookbook by the Bake Off winner, Nadiya's Kitchen. I'm totally cooking her fish curry recipes...

You've probably seen this but it made me think of you and I wanted to share.....

I watched a fascinating penguin docu on German TV on the 27th where they had cameras in penguin disguise in three different places (Antarctica, Argentina and somewhere warm) to get as close as possible. Of course I thought of you and that you probably have seen the same docu at some point. :)

As I missed my Christmas round this year, I'd like to leave at least all the best wishes for the New Year and a "Safe Slide" (Guter Rutsch) into it!

Happy Holidays, Charlotte!

I really liked Darktown, too. I'd welcome him doing another one with those characters.

>352 EBT1002: I love that. One day I'm going to have it on the door of my office (in my dreams!)

>353 Deern: Thanks Nathalie. I love the idea of a safe slide. I'll be in Edinburgh. Can't wait!

>354 jnwelch: Joe, I would read a sequel too. I've got another book of his to read to keep me busy until then.

This thread is so long and unwieldy now my phone is protesting. Will keep updating the booklist, but move onto my new one for 2017.

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

Happy New Year, to you Charlotte. I hope your job is all you could hope for. Good luck!