inge87's Books of 2017, Part I: A Year of Beauty

Hello and Welcome! My name is Jennifer, and this will be my fifth year of reading way more than 75 books. In real life, I'm a community college librarian in Bell County, Texas (between Austin and Waco), which means I'm an expert at book-bullets. Forewarned is forearmed, and you have just been forewarned. I read a little bit of everything and a lot: fiction and non-fiction, genre and "mainstream" (whatever that is). If I hear it's good, I'll try it, and if I like it, I'll certainly let everyone know.

Topics you're likely to find here: historical fiction, fantasy, historical fantasy, natural science, travel, memoirs, Catholicism, picture books, obscure classic novels, Germany and Central Europe, politics, ancient history, what it means to be educated, Texas, translations, handcrafts, interesting ways of living

I challenged myself to read a Shakespeare play a month, with bonus points for ones I haven't already read, so expect the Bard to have a big presence on the thread this year.

And with that, let's get started!

Currently Reading:



The Rise and Growth of the Anglican Schism by Nicolas Sander
Real Music: A Guide to the Timeless Hymns of the Church by Anthony Esolen
The Ballad of the White Horse by G. K. Chesterton+
Walking the Llano: A Texas Memoir of Place by Shelley Armitage

Books Read in April

50. Lord Fenton's Folly by Josi S. Kilpack (2)
51. My Fair Gentleman by Nancy Campbell Allen (3)
52. Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson (3)
53. Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson (4)
54. The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen (3)
55. Come Rack! Come Rope! by Robert Hugh Benson (5)
56. Canticle of the Sun by St. Francis of Assisi and Fiona French (3)
57. Flight into Spring by Bianca Bradbury (3)
58. The Age of the Vikings by Anders Winroth (3)
59. Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture by Anthony Esolen (5)
60. The Blackbird's Nest: Saint Kevin of Ireland by Jenny Schroedel & Doug Montross (4)
61. Nothing Superfluous: An Explanation of the Symbolism of the Rite of St. Gregory the Great by James W. Jackson, FSSP (4)
62. Saint Fernando III: A Kingdom for Christ by James Fitzhenry (4)
63. The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise by Robert Cardinal Sarah & Nicolas Diat (4)
64. A Heart for Europe: The Lives of Emperor Charles and Empress Zita of Austria-Hungary by James & Joanna Bogle (4)
65. Saint Dominic and the Order of Preachers by Simon Tugwell, OP (3)
66. The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst (2)
67. A Ring of Truth by Michelle Cox (4)
68. Holy Water and Its Significance for Catholics by Henry Theiler, OCSO (4)
69. Floodpath: The Deadliest Man-Made Disaster of 20th-Century America and the Making of Modern Los Angeles by Jon Wilkman (5)
70. The Litany of Earth by Ruthanna Emrys (3)
71. The Shadow over Innsmouth by H. P. Lovecraft (3)
72. Twenty Tales of Irish Saints by Alice Curtayne (4)
73. Happy the Land by Louise Dickinson Rich (4)
74. Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo (3)
75. Henry VI, Part 2 by William Shakespeare (3)

Monthly Total = 26 Books Read

* = re-read
+ = owned and unread for at least a year (Mt. TBR)
^ = foreign language book

1 star = Did trees really have to die for this?
2 stars = Almost a good book
3 stars = A solid, good book
4 stars = A very good book
5 stars = An amazingly good book

Books Read in January

1. Sting by Sandra Brown (3)
2. War of the Whales: A True Story by Joshua Horwitz+ (4)
3. The Populist Explosion: How the Great Recession Transformed American and European Politics by John B. Judis (4)
4. As You Like It by William Shakespeare (4)
5. The Power of the Positive Woman by Phyllis Schlafly (3)
6. St. Thomas More of London Town by Charles A. Brady (4)
7. The Marches by Rory Stewart (5)
8. Sermons on Advent and the Christmas Season by St. Bernard of Clairvaux (3)
9. A Dead Bore by Sheri Cobb South (3)
10. Texas Rivers by John Graves and Wyman Meinzer (3)
11. William Cobbett by G. K. Chesterton+ (4)
12. Family Plot by Sheri Cobb South (3)
13. Too Hot to Handel by Sheri Cobb South (3)
14. The Princess and the Beggar: A Korean Folktale by Anne Sibley O'Brien* (4)
15. I Sing a Song of the Saints of God by Lesbia Scott* (4)

Monthly Total = 15 Books Read

Books Read in February

16. When Smoke Ran Like Water: Tales Of Environmental Deception and the Battle against Pollution by Devra Davis (4)
17. Banned: A History of Pesticides and the Science of Toxicology by Frederick Rowe Davis (3)
18. One Fine Day by Mollie Panter-Downes* (5)
19. The Etruscans: A Very Short Introduction by Christopher Smith (4)
20. The Remembered Land: Surviving Sea-level Rise after the Last Ice Age by Jim Leary (3)
21. The Story of Father Emil J. Kapaun by the Father Kapaun Guild (4)
22. Mystery in the Channel by Freeman Wills Crofts (3)
23. The Idol of Mombasa by Annamaria Alfieri (3)
24. The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer (2)
25. The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare* (3)
26. Myths of the Norsemen: Retold from the Old Norse Poems and Tales by Roger Lancelyn Green (4)
27. The Country of Marriage by Wendell Berry (3)

Monthly Total = 12 Books Read

Books Read in March

28. Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë (4)
29. The Lives of the Northern Saints by St. Aelred of Rievaulx+ (4)
30. The Faith of Our Fathers by James Cardinal Gibbons (5)
31. Spring: An Anthology for the Changing Seasons by Melissa Harrison (ed.) (3)
32. Texas' First Lady: Margaret Lea Houston, Wife of the President by Rita Kerr (3)
33. Christ Acts through the Sacraments by A.-M. Roguet (3)
34. The English Way: Studies in English Sanctity from St. Bede to Newman by Maisie Ward (ed.) (4)
35. The Saints Who Pray the Mass with Us by Amleto Cicognani (3)
36. Beauty and the Clockwork Beast by Nancy Campbell Allen (3)
37. For the Love of Wine: My Odyssey through the World's Most Ancient Wine Culture by Alice Feiring (4)
38. See America: A Celebration of Our National Parks & Treasured Sites by Creative Action Network (2)
39. The Darkness Knows by Cheryl Honigford (3)
40. Compline by the Catholic Church+ (4)
41. A Crisis of Saints: Essays on People and Principles by George William Rutler (4)
42. The Religion of the Plain Man by Robert Hugh Benson (5)
43. Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations by David R. Montgomery (3)
44. Christianity and the New Age by Christopher Dawson (3)
45. A Very Pukka Murder by Arjun Raj Gaind (3)
46. Oveta Culp Hobby: Colonel, Cabinet Member, Philanthropist by Debra L. Winegarten (3)
47. Henry VI, Part I by William Shakespeare+ (4)
48. The Seat of Magic by J. Kathleen Cheney* (4)
49. After the War by J. Kathleen Cheney* (3)

Monthly Total = 22 Books Read

Books Read in April

Monthly Total = 0 Books Read

Books Read in May

Monthly Total = 0 Books Read

Books Read in June

Monthly Total = 0 Books Read

Several Centuries of Reading (adopted from Dejah_Thoris who adopted it from souloftherose)

12th century Sermons on Advent and the Christmas Season by St. Bernard of Clairvaux
c.1155-60 The Lives of the Northern Saints by St. Aelred of Rievaulx
1224 Canticle of the Sun by St. Francis of Assisi

c. 1591 Henry VI, Part 1 & Henry VI, Part 2 by William Shakespeare
c. 1594 The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
1599 As You Like It by William Shakespeare

1847 Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
1876 The Faith of Our Fathers by James Cardinal Gibbons

1900
1901
1902
1903
1904
1905
1906 The Religion of the Plain Man by Robert Hugh Benson / Holy Water and Its Significance for Catholics by Henry Theiler, OCSO
1907
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912 Come Rack! Come Rope! by Robert Hugh Benson
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925 William Cobbett by G. K. Chesterton
1926
1927
1928
1929 I Sing a Song of the Saints of God by Lesbia Scott
1930
1931 Mystery in the Channel by Freeman Wills Crofts / Christianity and the New Age by Christopher Dawson
1932
1933 The English Way by Maisie Ward (ed.)
1934
1935
1936
1937 The Shadow Over Innsmouth by H. P. Lovecraft
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946 Happy the Land by Louise Dickinson Rich
1947 One Fine Day by Mollie Panter-Downes
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952 Christ Acts through the Sacraments by A.-M. Roguet
1953
1954
1955 Twenty Tales of Irish Saints by Alice Curtayne
1956
1957
1958 The Saints Who Pray the Mass with Us by Amleto Cicognani
1959
1960 Myths of the Norsemen by Roger Lancelyn Green / Compline by the Catholic Church
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965 Flight into Spring by Bianca Bradbury
1966
1967
1968
1969 St. Thomas More of London Town by Charles A. Brady
1970
1971
1972
1973 The Country of Marriage by Wendell Berry
1974
1975
1976
1977 The Power of the Positive Woman by Phyllis Schafly
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987 Texas' First Lady by Rita Kerr
1988
1989
1990 A Heart for Europe by James & Joanna Bogle
1991
1992
1993 The Princess and the Beggar by Anne Sibley O'Brien
1994
1995 A Crisis of Saints by George William Rutler
1996
1997
1998
1999

2000
2001 Saint Dominic and the Order of Preachers by Simon Tugwell, OP
2002 Texas Rivers by John Graves and Wyman Meinzer / When Smoke Ran Like Water by Devra Davis
2003
2004 The Blackbird's Nest by Jenny Schroedel & Doug Montross
2005
2006
2007 Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations by David R. Montgomery
2008 A Dead Bore by Sheri Cobb South / Saint Fernando III by James Fitzhenry
2009 Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo
2010
2011
2012 Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson
2013 The Unwinding / Blackmoore / The Tutor's Daughter
2014 War of the Whales / Family Plot / Banned / The Etruscans / Oveta Culp Hobby / The Seat of Magic / The Age of the Vikings / The Litany of Earth
2015 The Remembered Land by Jim Leary / Lord Fenton's Folly by Josi S. Kilpack
2016 Sting / The Populist Explosion / The Marches / Too Hot to Handel / The Idol of Mombasa / Spring / Beauty and the Clockwork Beast / For the Love of Wine / See America / The Darkness Knows / A Very Pukka Murder / After the War / My Fair Gentleman / Nothing Superfluous / The Power of Silence / The Queen of Blood / Floodpath
2017 Out of the Ashes by Anthony Esolen / A Ring of Truth by Michelle Cox

LC Classification Spread My reading according to the Library of Congress Classification System.

BL Myths of the Norsemen (1)
BR The Lives of the Northern Saints (2)
BV I Sing a Song of the Saints of God (2)
BX St. Thomas More of London Town (14)

DA The Marches (2)
DB A Heart for Europe (1)
DG The Etruscans (1)
DL The Age of the Vikings (1)
DP Saint Fernando III (1)

E The Unwinding (2)
F Texas Rivers (3)

GC The Remembered Land (1)

HN Out of the Ashes (1)
HQ The Power of the Positive Woman (1)

JC The Populist Explosion (1)

NC See America (1)

PR As You Like It (8)
PS Sting (19)
PZ The Princess and the Beggar (2)

QH Banned (1)
QL War of the Whales (1)

RA When Smoke Ran Like Water (1)

S Dirt (1)

TC Floodpath (1)
TP For the Love of Wine (1)

The ubiquitous "just in case" post

Okay, that's it for now! Who wants cake? (mmm . . . Donauwelle . . . )

2017 Book I'm Excited about #1: Arabella and the Battle of Venus by David Levine, due out July 18.

In Arabella of Mars, she went from Mars to Earth and back, now Arabella is going to Venus and who knows what she'll encounter there!

I was told there would be cake here?

Oh, hello, >9 inge87:.... :)

Hi Jennifer! Happy new year of reading!

I'll be reading The Unwinding, too, and am looking forward to it. How is it so far?

>11 katiekrug: Hi! So far, The Unwinding is good, but a bit scattered. You kind of lose the narrative because of all the changes in perspective. I'm hoping it will become clearer as I get farther in.

Jennifer, you read almost as quickly as I post!

I will enjoy trying to keep up with your reading (and posting) in 2017.

Welcome back!

Hi, Jennifer! I'm looking forward to your 2017 thread. I'm particularly eager to see your comments on Sermons for Advent and the Christmas Season, as I've not read it. This Advent season I began going through Bede's Homilies on the Gospels, Book One: Advent to Lent.

>13 PaulCranswick: & >14 drneutron: Thanks!

>15 harrygbutler: Thanks. So far, Bernard has been an interesting and enlightening read. I've never read any Bede except his Ecclesiastical History, so I'll be interested to see what you think of his sermons.

2017 Book I'm Excited about #2: Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture by Anthony Esolen, due out January 30.

One of today's most important Catholic thinkers tackles the subject that became the focus of the past election cycle: how to fix America.

Hi Jennifer! Onto my to-read list goes Out of the Ashes.

Any Shakespeare you have in mind? The Shakespeare festival in Stratford, Ontario has Twelfth Night and Timon of Athens in 2017 so those are on my list for next year.

Happy reading!

>18 jennyifer24: Thanks. I haven't really set myself a schedule—I'd only break it if I did—but I did decide to try for ones I haven't read yet. Twelfth Night is an old favorite; I read it in 2015 so I probably won't read it this year (unless I do). However, I've not yet read Timon of Athens, so that's a definite possibility.

Hi Jennifer!

>20 kgodey: Hi!

2017* Book I'm Excited about #3: Not Without a Fight: The Autobiography by Helen Zille, *due out December 30, 2016.

The autobiography of the former leader of South Africa's official opposition party. She was an anti-Apartheid activist and journalist who exposed the murder of Stephen Biko and went on to become Mayor of Cape Town and Premier of the Western Cape. Considering how crazy national politics have been in South Africa under Jacob Zuma, this should be enlightening.

Happy new thread, Jennifer! And that cake looks seriously lovely! I've just looked up Under Another Sky and discovered that it's on the shelf at ALL of the borough's libraries. That's got to be some sort of sign, I feel...

>23 susanj67: Thanks! I'm 2/3 through Under Another Sky, and so far it's been a very enjoyable journey around Britain and its history. I think you'll like it.

2017 Book I'm Excited about #4: Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman, due out February 7.

Neil Gaiman goes Norse. Do I really need to explain this one?

>26 The_Hibernator: Thanks! Happy New Year to you as well.

I am part of the group.
I love being part of the group.
I love the friendships bestowed upon my by dint of my membership of this wonderful fellowship.
I love that race and creed and gender and age and sexuality and nationality make absolutely no difference to our being a valued member of the group.

Thank you for also being part of the group.

Happy reading in 2017, Jennifer!

>28 PaulCranswick: Thanks! Happy New Year to you as well.

>29 FAMeulstee: Thanks!

Dropping a star, Jennifer. I'm Mamie, and your topper and intro pulled me in. Also there was cake. Looking forward to following you in 2017.

Happy New Year! Just dropping off a star and hoping to do a much better job of keeping up with threads in 2017. I hope to squeeze in The Unwinding in January or February. Under Another Sky is on my wishlist so I'll be watching for your comments!

Happy New Year, Jennifer!

>31 Crazymamie: Welcome, there's plenty of cake to go around. :)

>32 cbl_tn: Thanks. Under Another Sky was actually my last book of 2016 (I needed it to complete my CAT challenge), but since several people have mentioned it, I'll post my review over here too.

>33 harrygbutler: Thanks, Happy New Year to you as well!

As promised:



Under Another Sky is a blend of ancient history and travel memoir, as the author travels around the Island of Britain exploring the lingering traces of Rome that can be found there. From settlements and villas in the south to the wilds of Scotland in the north, there is seems there is nowhere that the Romans did not reach, in spite of the fact that Britannia was one of the most remote outposts of the Roman Empire. In the process, we learn a lot about Roman life in Britain, from the first landings somewhere in Kent to the final departure sometime in the fifth century. The greatest impression though is of how little we actually know of life in Roman Britain and how much of what we know is guesswork based off of a few meager clues and or a few lucky finds.

Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in Roman Britain or travel memoirs that focus on history.

>35 inge87: I think you just delivered the first book bullet of 2017.

Happy new year, Jennifer! Going to try and keep up with you this year. :)

Hi, Jennifer!

Ooof, I am also extremely exciting about Gaiman's Norse Mythology book - I have it pre-ordered, of course.
And I'm also a the beginning of what I'm calling The Great Shakespeare Re-read, although mine will most definitely not go at the break-neck pace of one per month, I suspect.

Happy new year!

>10 inge87: Is that a schooner space ship??? The artwork alone is intriguing.

>35 inge87: I've seen Under Another Sky recommended before. Looks a great read and I've added it to the wishlist.

>35 inge87: I think the only reason Under Another Sky isn't my first BB of the year is because you got me with it last year :-) And the library opens again tomorrow!

>40 SandDune: It's a very interesting book.

>41 susanj67: :)

Today (Jan. 3rd) would have been J. R. R. Tolkien's 125th birthday!



After a rather miserable ending to 2016, it feels good to commemorate something positive.

Sting by Sandra Brown



Source: Irving PL
Recommendation: it's fun, escapist fiction
Year of Original Pub.: 2016
LC Call #: PS 3552 R718 S75 2016
Rating: 3 stars / 5

Sting is a Sandra Brown thriller, which means that no one is as they seem and the truth won't come out until the last chapter. They may be predictable, but for those who enjoy the formula, they sure are fun. This one is no exception.

Set in New Orleans and rural Louisiana, we have the sister of a ponzi scheme mastermind kidnapped by a would-be hit man with a lot of money coming if he can kill her. But he doesn't and instead takes her on the run as he attempts to extort more money from his client while remaining a few steps ahead of the FBI. Because his victim's brother has run off from witness protection and they want to get to the bottom of things. But in a world where nothing is as it seems, the bottom is very, very far away.

First Line: Three days earlier, Shaw had been sunning himself beside a sapphire-blue swimming pool, watching two topless girls cavort in the shallow end, catching a buzz from a tall, pastel drink from which a hibiscus blossom sprouted, enjoying the hedonistic lifestyle that could be bought with new money in Old Mexico.

War of the Whales: A True Story by Joshua Horwitz+



Source: me (11/14)
Recommendation: CultureCAT
Year of Original Pub.: 2014
LC Call #: QL 737 C4 H67 2014
Rating: 4 stars / 5

War of the Whales is the thrilling account of how the mass stranding of beaked whales on a warm Bahamian day led to the discovery that sonar could be deadly to marine life and eventually forced the United States Navy to change their culture of sonar secrecy.

It was just a normal day for whale researcher Ken Balcomb, until reports of stranded whales started coming in from all over the Great Bahama Canyon. Reports of whale strandings being linked to naval exercises had been trickling in for a while, but the fight that Balcomb would begin that day would eventually bring awareness of the issue and force the Navy to admit and submit to things it had never had to before. By joining forces with a non-profit legal advocacy group, he would be able to fight back against the conspiracy of silence surrounding sonar and make the Navy begin to play by the rules instead of doing whatever they wanted. The details are at times harrowing, especially the part that details just how sonar killed the beaked whales, and the writing is compelling. Whether you like your battles on the beaches or in the courtroom, there's something to like here. Highly recommended for anyone who likes true crime, conservation battles, whales, or well-written narrative non-fiction.

First Line: Powered by his second cup of coffee, Ken Balcomb was motoring through his orientation speech for the Earthwatch Institute volunteers who had flown in the night before.

Jennifer, both of those look good! The library lists some by Sandra Brown...

>46 susanj67: Sandra Brown has been churning out thrillers for over twenty years, so that doesn't surprise me. She has a formula, but it works.

2017 Book I'm Excited about #5: Strangers in a Strange Land: Living the Catholic Faith in a Post-Christian World by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, due out February 21.

America's first Native American archbishop tackles the question of how to get on as a Catholic in a post-Christian world.

2017 Book I'm Excited about #6 (we're playing catch-up with my other thread): The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden, due out January 10.

Historical fantasy featuring Russian folktales. Who could resist that?

2017 Book I'm Excited about #7: No Friends but the Mountains: Dispatches from the World's Violent Highlands by Judith Matloff, due out March 7.

A journey into mountain regions around the world, where ancient traditions meet modern instability. I love political travel memoirs, and this one looks quite good.

2017 Book I'm Excited about #8: A Ring of Truth: A Henrietta and Inspector Clive Novel by Michelle Cox, due out April 4.

In which we get to discover how many of my predictions for the second book I got right, as well as solve mysteries and explore the fancier side of depression-era Chicago.

>49 inge87: Saw that on my library's new acquisition list and it piqued my interest too!

Wow, Jennifer - those last three all look good. I am not familiar with Michelle Cox, so I'll have to check out that series - I love a good mystery!

>52 drneutron: There's lots of buzz about that one. I'm waiting for a library copy because I know I'll either love it or hate it, and it's better to be safe they sorry.

>53 Crazymamie: Cox's first book, A Girl Like You came out last year. I really liked it, as the heroine felt more authentic to her time period than those in a lot of historical fiction, who often seem to be modern girls in period clothes. Plus, it's an excellent mystery with good suspense and a hero who recognizes the heroine's inner strength and admires her for it (when he's not cursing her stubborn determination to do whatever it takes to solve the crime).

>49 inge87: I'm excited about that one too. The description intrigued me when I first saw it listed as an upcoming book. I think every librarian here is excited about it.

>55 thornton37814: It has a lot of potential. and so far from what I've heard, it's living up to it.

The Populist Explosion: How the Great Recession Transformed American and European Politics by John B. Judis



Source: Austin PL
Recommendation: a certain famous New York Times list
Year of Original Pub.: 2016
LC Call #: JC 423 J83 2016
Rating: 4 stars / 5

The Populist Explosion is a brilliant little book on the history and modern manifestations of populist movements in the United States and Europe. Originally an American phenomenon born in Kansas in the 1880s, populism can exist on the left and on the right. Claiming to put the common man first, populists frequently make headway during times of strife, only to have their ideas absorbed by the main parties and subsequently get pushed aside (see FDR, Nixon, etc.). In Europe, populists are mainly associated with the right, although leftist populism has made appearances in Greece and Spain in the twenty-first century. There populism has only really taken off since the 1970s; however, with the current political situation they are quickly making up for lost time. Overall, the author does a very good job of giving the reader the information he needs to understand a political philosophy that appears to be sprouting up everywhere. It may be THE book to pick up on the subject for those looking for an accessible, but thorough introduction to the subject.

My one complaint is that the book was written before the American election (but after Brexit), and the author was unable to imagine Trump winning that he never actually discusses what such a victory would mean for populists on the right in the way that he discusses what a Clinton victory would mean for Sanders' supporters. It's an omission that is only annoying, because it's the scenario that actually ended up happening, and with the author's knowledge on the subject, I would have been very interested to hear his thoughts. Otherwise, it's an impeccable book, and one I'll be suggesting widely. Highly recommended.

First Line: Populist parties and candidates are on the move in the United States and Europe.

I saw this one on our library's new book list. I should probably give it a go.

>58 drneutron: It was nearly a five-star book for me. I can highly recommend it.

Speaking of beautiful things, I finished this shawl Thursday night. It's the Old Shale Shawl, which is available for free on Ravelry. The lighting in my apartment totally fails to show how sparkly it is (the yarn is cream with a gold metallic thread running through it), but I'm very happy with the finished product.



In other news, I'm almost finished with Saint Bernard. There's only a few sermons on the Sunday after the Octave of Epiphany (this Sunday) and one on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul (Jan. 25th, I had to look it up) to go. I've also started in on As You Like It, my Shakespeare play for the month, and am trying to decide on whether to start with Maria Chapdelaine or The Shuttle for my first big novel of 2017.

>60 inge87: Gorgeous! Well done, you!

>61 scaifea: Thanks!

>60 inge87: That's an impressive shawl, Jennifer.

As the Bede volume I'm reading goes until Lent, I'll be reading it for awhile yet. I do still need to get the second volume, covering the rest of the year.

The shawl looks lovely!

>63 harrygbutler: & >64 susanj67: Thanks!

As You Like It by William Shakespeare



Source: work
Recommendation: January's entry in my 2017 Shakespeare-athon
Year of Original Pub.: c. 1599
LC Call #: PR 2803 A2 Q5 1965
Rating: 4 stars / 5

As You Like It is comedy of politics, family, and forest written around 1599. The old duke has been deposed by his brother and exiled to the Forest of Arden. Now many years later, his daughter Rosalind is handed the same fate. Her cousin Celia, the new duke's daughter, follows her there out of love, and they live together disguised as shepherds, with Rosalind adopting a male persona. Meanwhile, her love, Orlando, also finds himself in the forest, and goes about posting rather horrible poems of devotion to her on the trees. Eventually the two meet, and Rosalind in her male guise agrees to pretend to be his Rosalind and help him work on his technique. The forest in Shakespeare is a place of wonder and magic, and it is no different here. For, while the situation of its inhabitants may seem hopeless, all is not lost as long as there is still play to be acted.

I liked this one. There are hints of Twelfth Night and A Midsummer's Night Dream in its plotting that will please fans of those plays, but there is also a more serious note that resembles the darker comedies like The Merchant of Venice.

First Line: As I remember, Adam, it was upon this fashion: a' bequeathed me by will but poor thousand crowns and, as thou say'st, charged my brother on his blessing to breed me well: and there begins my sadness . . . My brother Jaques he keeps at school, and report speaks goldenly of his profit: for my part, he keeps me rustically at home, or, to speak more properly, stays me here at home unkept: for call you that 'keeping' for a gentlemen of my birth, that differs not from the stalling of an ox?

The next book is a direct result of TIOLI. For challenge #15, read a book by or about someone who passed away in 2016, I was going to read something by or about Antonin Scalia, since pretty much everyone I know who voted for Trump voted thus in order to keep his seat on the Supreme Court bench conservative. I figured that kind of beyond-the-grave influence was worth reading about. But naturally, the library where I work didn't have anything. So I got to thinking and realized that there was another conservative icon who died in 2016 and could fit the bill: Phyllis Schlafly.

What follows is a review of the only book by her my library had—and boy was it a doozy. If you've ever wondered how conservative women viewed the world in the 1970s, it's a great book; otherwise, it's a just rather dated screed against the ERA and "libbers". Admittedly her side won that fight, so maybe its a more insightful work than I give it credit for.

The Power of the Positive Woman by Phyllis Schlafly



Source: work
Recommendation: TIOLI #15 (see post above)
Year of Original Pub.: 1977
LC Call #: HQ 1426 S33 1977
Rating: 3 stars / 5

The Power of the Positive Woman is a relic from another time. It's 1977, and Schlafly is deep in the fight against the ERA. This book is her manifesto for why the ERA harms women instead of helps them and women's liberation is really anything but. As such, it provides excellent insights into the ways in which the ERA was promoted and received across the country. It's very dated, but it is interesting to see why concepts Schlafly promotes survived the 70s and which didn't. It would probably gall her to hear me say this, but you can see some of the roots of difference feminism in her work, particularly in its arguments for the uniqueness of women in comparison to men and against the untold evils of "unisex personhood".

As an intellectual exercise in understanding how a certain group thought at a certain time, it's more valuable as an historical document than as a leisure read. Probably only of interest to those with an interest in the history of the women's movement or American conservatism, but not completely without value.

First Line: The cry of "women's liberation" leaps out from the "lifestyle" sections of newspapers and the pages of slick magazines, from radio speakers and television screens.

And now for fun and entertainment, a 1524 Scottish curse against cattle raiders ("reivers") by the Archbishop of Glasgow:

"I curse thair heid and all the hairs of thair heid; I curse thair face, thair ene, thair mouth, thair neise, thair toung, thair teith, thair crag*, thair shulderis, thair breist, thair hert, thair stomok, thair bak, thair wame, thair armes, thair leggis, thair handis, thair feit, and everilk part of thair body, frae the top of thair heid to the soill of thair feit, befoir an behind, within and without.

I curse thaim gangand**, and I curse thaim rydand; I curse thaim standand, and I curse thaim sittand; I curse thaim etand, I curse thaim drinkand; I curse thaim walkand, I curse thaim sleepand; I curse thaim rysand, I curse thaim lyand; I curse thaim at hame; I curse thaim fra hame; I curse thaim within the house; I curse thaim without the house; I curse thair wiffis, thair bairns, and thair servandis participand with thaim in thair deides."

According to Rory Stewart in his excellent The Marches, whence this came, the archbishop goes on to "curse their corn, cattle, wool, sheep, horse, pigs, geese, hens, vegetable patches, ploughs, and harrows" (p. 209). This was clearly a man who was fed up and wanted people to know about it.

*neck
**going

>69 inge87: I enjoyed The Marches as I have all of Rory Stewart's other books if you have not read them before.

>70 Oberon: I grabbed The Marches off the new arrivals shelf at the library on a whim, because that's the region of origin for most of my ancestors, both Scottish and English (The Stewart side can only trace their family back to Ulster, but being Stewarts, it's obvious that that's not where they actually came from). So it's perfectly possible that it's some of my relatives being cursed. I'm around 2/3 way through the book right now, and so far it's amazing. I especially love the father/son dynamic. Rory Stewart is officially on my radar now.

The Places in Between while set in Afghanistan sets the stage for a lot of The Marches.

>72 Oberon: Yes, I've noticed that. It's really obvious that his time in that country had a great effect on Stewart. It's gone on the TBR list.

2017 Book I'm Excited about #9: The Habsburg Empire: A Very Short Introduction by Martyn Rady, due out June 1.

Oxford's "Very Short Introductions" are such great little books! And this one's on a topic I can never say no to.

St. Thomas More of London Town by Charles A. Brady



Source: me (1/17)
Recommendation: Shower of Roses (where I discover a lot of my juvenile Catholic books)
Year of Original Pub.: 1969
LC Call #: BX 4700 M717 B73 1969
Rating: 4 stars / 5

St. Thomas More of London Town is a biography of Thomas More written for older children. It starts off humorous and showing the everyday family life of the More household through the eyes of their pet monkey, but just as the events of More's life grow more serious, so does the story, which follows More to his execution and beyond. It is a story well-told, and the excellent writing is supported by quality illustrations. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in More's life as told from a Catholic perspective.

First Line:

The Marches by Rory Stewart



Source: Irving PL
Recommendation: New arrivals shelf impulse grab
Year of Original Pub.: 2016
LC Call #: DA 880 B72 S75 2016
Rating: 5 stars / 5

The Marches is a tale of the the history of the Borders region of Scotland and northern England as told through the travels of Stewart with and without his father—who may just be one of the most adorable old men to make an appearance in recent memoirs. Beginning with a journey down Hadrian's Wall and then continuing through further treks around Cumbria and the author's native Scotland, we begin to discover the hidden depths of British history (he works his way chronologically from the prehistoric to the Roman to the Medieval and then Early Modern periods). Meanwhile, we learn a lot about Stewart and his father, both diplomats who spent extensive time in Asia (China and Southeast Asia for the father, Afghanistan and Iraq for Rory). Plus, did I mention that his father eventually became Assistant Head of MI6? It's very well done, with the different narratives of history and memoir playing and building off each other, instead of competing. If you have an interest in British history, be it ancient or modern, you really must pick this up. This is the one that will set the standard for 2017. Highly recommended.

First Line: I was five years old and it was just before six in the morning.

Sermons for Advent and the Christmas Season by St. Bernard of Clairvaux



Source: me (11/16)
Recommendation: spiritual reading
Year of Original Pub.: 12th century
LC Call #: BV 4254.5 B4813 2007
Rating: 3 stars / 5

Sermons for Advent and the Christmas Season is a collection of homilies written by St. Bernard for Advent, Christmas, and various other holy days and feasts stretching until the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul on January 25. This being Bernard, a lot of it is brilliant, but it can seem mediocre or repetitive at times. Also, the organization is lacking a bit and could have been done better. But if you are looking for some seasonal devotional reading you could do far worse than Bernard, he is not only orthodox but also an excellent stylist who knew how to turn a phrase.

First Line:

>76 inge87: I wondered if that book would be worthwhile when I saw pre-pub notices on it. Glad you enjoyed it.

A Dead Bore by Sheri Cobb South



Source: Irving PL
Recommendation: I wanted something fun
Year of Original Pub.: 2008
Series: John Pickett Mysteries (2/?)
LC Call #: PS 3569 O755 D43 2008
Rating: 3 stars / 5

A Dead Bore is the second John Pickett mystery, but you don't need to have read the first one to understand it (the library only had books 2, 3, & 5, so that's what I read). Suffice to say in the first book, Lady Fieldhurst was accused of murdering her husband and John got her off. Now she's happily widowed but having a very unhappy time visiting an acquaintance in Yorkshire. Especially once the vicar dies under suspicious circumstances. She thinks that it was more than a simple death in a fire, and writes to London to get Pickett to investigate. And investigate he does. But the differences in their stations is making things complicated, even if friendship is really what they want. Still they're not going to let some discomfort keep them from solving the mystery, after all, while the reverend might have been a bore, he didn't deserve to be a dead one.

A light, fun Regency mystery. Recommended for those who enjoy the genre.

First Line: The weather on this June morning was particularly fine, but no ray of sunlight illuminated the Berkeley Square drawing room where two ladies sat drinking tea.

>78 thornton37814: It's a book very much worth picking up if the subject interests you.

Texas Rivers by John Graves and Wyman Meinzer



Source: work
Recommendation: I ♥ John Graves
Year of Original Pub.: 2002
LC Call #: F 392 A17 G73 2002
Rating: 3 stars / 5

Texas Rivers is an account of the stories of several Texas rivers, most located in the western part of the state, written by one of the legends of Texas nature writing, the late John Graves (of Goodbye to a River fame). His text is accompanied by gorgeous photos by Wyman Meinzer. If you enjoy nature photography or have an interest in the scenic wonders of Texas, it's definitely a book to look for.

First Line: This book is not a comprehensive or even a representative study of Texas rivers.

>78 thornton37814: I just had thought that might be of interest to you. The Marches would be a book that would appeal to many people interested in genealogy who have ancestors from the Border region. Stewart does a very good job of discussing and describing the harsh and violent way of life there during the medieval and early modern periods, with all the tit-for-tat murders and cattle raids. You begin to understand why so many emigrated to Ulster and America and to see aspects of their culture that are very much still with us today (at least in the American South and areas settled predominately by Southerners). That's an interest group I hadn't thought of, when I wrote the review.

William Cobbett by G. K. Chesterton+



Source: me (11/15)
Recommendation: Felt like it
Year of Original Pub.: 1925
LC Call #: DA 522 C5 C4 2011
Rating: 4 stars / 5

William Cobbett is an excellent short biography of the great English farmer-journalist written by one of the mightiest wordsmiths of the early 20th century. Cobbett was a man before his time and also one deeply interested in his country's past and the lives of its common people. His reformist writings inflamed hearts and minds across the country and got him numerous court dates and prison sentences, as well as two periods of exile in America. He believed in reforming the system to bring the power to the people and clearly saw the industrial progressivism that would soon personify the Victorian Age as a threat. In short, he was a man after Chesterton's own heart, and you can feel the author's affection for his subject on every page. A kind of proto-populist, Cobbett is a man whom more people should know. And this book is a pretty good place to start that acquaintanceship.

First Line: This chapter is here called "The Revival of Cobbett."

And now, because you can never have too much Chesterton, some thoughts on Sir Walter Scott:

'Scott was merely sentimental about Mary Stuart, as he was about Charles Edward Stuart; he was singing "Will ye no' come back again?" to people who would have been a horrible nuisance to him if they had come back again. But Cobbett was not sentimental about Mary Tudor; he did solidly believe that with her the good times went; and he did really want them to return.'

William Cobbett, p. 80.

>76 inge87: Glad to see it was a success for you. I enjoyed it but I was a bit biased given my Rory Stewart fandom.

>82 inge87: That was exactly what appealed to me, but I wasn't sure if it would work. I'll make sure I add it to my wish list.

ETA: It was there already. I should have known I would have put it there.

>85 Oberon: I think I may be coming down with a strong case of Rory Stewart fandom myself. :)

>86 thornton37814: You'll have to read through the first half of the book to get to that part, but I do think you'll find it interesting.

Family Plot by Sheri Cobb South



Source: Irving PL
Recommendation: continuing series
Year of Original Pub.: 2014
Series: John Pickett Mysteries (3/?)
LC Call #: PS 3569 O755 F36 2014
Rating: 3 stars / 5

Family Plot picks up not long after A Dead Bore left off. Lady Fieldhurst misses John Pickett, although she can't admit to herself why, and John knows his case is hopeless and avoids her as best he can. So when she is packed off to Scotland with her late husband's now illegitimate children and decides to take them to the beach instead, she doesn't think it will be a problem to use his last name as her alias—until a mysterious young woman washes up on the beach who may just be the local squire's long-lost daughter. Naturally, who should be put on the case but John Pickett? What follows is not the most original plot (if you've read Mary Stewart's The Ivy Tree, you should figure out a major plot point quite quickly), but it is fun, which in this genre is almost the most important part. Non-mystery-wise, the relationship plot arc is moving along nicely, with a new twist revealed at the book's end that promises to make things very interesting for our mismatched couple.

For fans of Regency mysteries or other historical cozy genres.

First Line: The opening night performance was over.

Too Hot to Handel by Sheri Cobb South



Source: Irving PL
Recommendation: continuing series
Year of Original Pub.: 2016
Series: John Pickett Mysteries (5/?)
LC Call #: PS 3569 O755 T66 2016
Rating: 3 stars / 5

Too Hot to Handel quickly finds John Pickett unconscious after an undercover gig goes up in a ball of flame. Luckily, Lady Fieldhurst is with him and decides that since he's technically her husband (something covered in depth in book 4, which the library did not have), she is going to nurse him back to health. And the sooner the better, because he may be the only one with the knowledge needed to solve the crime. A bit different than the previous books due to Pickett's medical absence from much of the activity, we now reach the end of the first plot arc and the beginning of a new one that promises to be just as interesting. For those who enjoyed the previous books; at this point, you'll be a bit lost if you haven't read some of them.

First Line: As an evening of amusement it was a disappointment on all fronts, reflected Julia, Lady Fieldhurst, widow of the sixth Viscount Fieldhurst.

The Princess and the Beggar: A Korean Folktale by Anne Sibley O'Brien



Source: me (1/13)
Recommendation: childhood favorite
Year of Original Pub.: 1993
LC Call #: PZ 8.1 O227 Pr 1993
Rating: 4 stars / 5

The Princess and the Beggar is a retelling of the Korean folktale "Pabo Ondal" ("Ondal the Fool"). Ondal is a poor boy who lives a half-feral existence in the countryside and becomes a byword across the kingdom. Meanwhile the King's youngest daughter drives him crazy with her constant weeping. One day he is so exasperated he threatens to marry her off to Pabo Ondal, and indeed one day he does so the weeping princess is expelled from her home to make a new one with the local idiot. And this being a folktale, you know everyone will turn out more edified in the end.

This was one of my favorite books growing up. I credit it for my long-standing interest in Korea and Korean culture. The story is great, and so are the oil pastel illustrations. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in folktales or Korean culture.

First Line:

I Sing a Song of the Saints of God by Lesbia Scott*



Source: me (1/16)
Recommendation: the text is one of my favorite hymns
Year of Original Pub.: 1929
LC Call #: *Juv* BV 353 S38 1981
Rating: 4 stars / 5

I Sing a Song of the Saints of God was one of my favorite hymns that we sang in Episcopal elementary school, so when I discovered that someone had turned it into a picture book, I couldn't not buy it. The song discusses how all kinds of people became saints, and the illustrator, Judith Gwyn Brown, has interpreted the lyrics though the medium of a parish play. The artwork has just the right touch of nostalgia, but I'm not sure if that was done on purpose or just the effect of 35-year-old fashions in art. I really liked it. If you ever sang "I Sing a Song of the Saints of God" in an Episcopal or Anglican church, you'll like it too. But you may also like it if you're interesting in good, quality illustrations or picture books about saints. Highly recommended.

First Line: I sing a song of the saints of God,
Patient and brave and true,
Who toiled and fought and lived and died
For the Lord they loved and knew.

January Round-Up!

Books Read: 15 (29 in 2013, 25 in 2014, 15 in 2015, & 26 in 2016)

Genre
Non-Fiction - 9 - 60%
Fiction - 6 - 40%

Sources
Irving PL - 5 - 33.33%
Me (other) - 5 - 33.33%
Work - 3 - 20%
Austin PL - 1 - 6.67%
Me (this month) - 1 - 6.67%

TBR and Rereads
TBR books - 2 - 13.33%
Rereads - 2 - 13.33%

Authors
Male - 9 - 60%
Female - 6 - 40%

Edition Language
English - 26 - 100%

Original Language
English - 13 - 86.67%
Korean - 1 - 6.67%
Latin - 1 - 6.67%

Series
Stand-Alone Books - 12 - 80%
Series Books - 3 - 20%

Average Original Date of Publication (with the early stuff)
1909

Average Original Date of Publication (without the early stuff)
1992

Median Original Date of Publication
2002

Ratings Distribution
1 star - 0 - 0%
2 stars - 2 - 14.28%
3 stars - 7 - 50%
4 stars - 4 - 28.57%
5 stars - 1 - 7.14%

Average Rating
3.29

Best of the Month



Fiction: As You Like It by William Shakespeare

Non-Fiction: The Marches by Rory Stewart

Discovery of the Month



The Populist Explosion: How the Great Recession Transformed American and European Politics by John B. Judis

First Line of the Month

"I was five years old and it was just before six in the morning."

—Rory Stewart, The Marches

When Smoke Ran Like Water: Tales Of Environmental Deception and the Battle against Pollution by Devra Davis



Source: work
Recommendation: the internet and CultureCAT
Year of Original Pub.: 2002
LC Call #: RA 565 D385 2002
Rating: 4 stars / 5

When Smoke Ran Like Water is a very personal, compelling account of industry's long tradition of polluting the environment and hiding the evidence. Beginning in her own hometown of Donora, Pennsylvania, the site of a smog incident in 1948 that killed 20 outright and also led to thousands of premature deaths in later years. Having seen the effects of pollution up close in her family's history, Davis goes on to explore how companies and industries are often totally aware of the dangers of their products or actions, but don't care enough to fix them and usually attempt to hide and cover up the evidence of their wrongdoing. A major example of this is leaded gasoline, which was clearly deadly from the beginning, but ignored thanks to the power of lobbying and advertising until it simply couldn't be anymore (and even then it took decades to phase out in the US and is still being sold in some countries today). Scientists who attempt to speak out are often blackmailed with the threat of ending their careers (after all, it is the industries that fund much of the research at universities). They also buy scientists who seek to muddy the waters and make the obvious less clear to give politicians wiggle room to ignore issues even deaths as breast cancer and other pollution-caused illnesses skyrocket.

As someone whose congressman is known as "Smokey Joe" because he's owned by the Midlothian, Texas, cement industry—which everyone knows are causing cancer in the area even if good ol' Joe refuses to admit or do anything about it—I found this book an engrossing read. If you've ever suspected that you're not being told the whole truth about pollution, it's because you're not. And as an experienced public health official, Davis is well-placed to write the exposé.

Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in public health, pollution, or well-written narrative non-fiction.

First Line: Donora, Pennsylvania, was the kind of place where an adventurous three-year-old like my brother Marty could wander five miles away from home and never really be lost.

Banned: A History of Pesticides and the Science of Toxicology by Frederick Rowe Davis



Source: work
Recommendation: it sounded interesting
Year of Original Pub.: 2014
LC Call #: QH 545 P4 D38 2014
Rating: 3 stars / 5

Banned is a history of toxicology, the study of how substances affect living organisms. Beginning with its origins in a series of medical poisonings, the author traces its evolution from a few scientists with an idea to a recognized science. He also traces the history of pesticides and the awful compromises that were made in the name of increased productivity. Both sides converge in the late 20th century when Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (which inspired the author to write this book), suddenly brought them out of the shadows and into the bright lights of public attention. Not that DDT's replacements were much better for the environment, as the author's narrative carries the reader into the 21st century. What is remarkable, but sadly not surprising, is how little the chemists cared about the health consequences of what they were doing and how easily the agriculture industry was able to buy the politicians off.

The science segments can be a bit technical, so maybe not for absolutely everyone, but an excellent, readable look at one of the major issues of the 20th and 21st centuries. Recommended for those with an interest in environmental science, particularly in the issue of pesticides, as well as those interested in public health.

First Line: In 1893 the city of Chicago announced to the world its arrival as a major metropolis through the Columbian Exposition.

One Fine Day by Mollie Panter-Downes*



Source: me (8/08)
Recommendation: felt like it
Year of Original Pub.: 1947
LC Call #: PR 6031 A398 O5 1986
Rating: 5 stars / 5

One Fine Day is a gem of a novel about a family's coming to terms with having survived World War II and having to live on. Taking place over the course of a single July day, the reader watches Laura, her husband Stephen, and their daughter Vicki as they attempt to navigate a world that has been irreversibly changed by the Second Wold War. Laura has to keep house without any real help besides a shared housekeeper, and Stephen can't find anyone to mind the garden. But as they go about their daily routines they realize an important truth: it's a wonderful thing to be alive.

Every time I read this book, I can't believe I've forgotten how wonderful it is. It's quite short but a gem of a novel. Anyone interested in contemporary fictional portrayals of post-war life, should definitely pick it up, as should anyone who enjoys good prose and doesn't need a lot of action. Highly recommended.

First Line: The day promised to be hot.

>94 inge87: This looks interesting. When you say technical do you mean beyond ordinary, popular science books or are we talking about detailed graphs and analysis?

>96 Oberon: There are some passages, especially in the middle of the book, of serious chemical and toxicological analysis that require some background in chemistry to understand and interpret. You can skim over them without missing much if any of the narrative (that's what I eventually did), but they are very much there.

The Etruscans: A Very Short Introduction by Christopher Smith



Source: me (2/17)
Recommendation: It sounded interesting
Year of Original Pub.: 2014
LC Call #: DG 223 S565 2014
Rating: 4 stars / 5

The Etruscans is a very nice short history of the Etruscan people and their culture—at least of the bits and pieces we've managed to figure out. Flourishing in what is now Tuscany from the 900s to the 600s BC and lingering on until the beginning of the 1st century AD, they were in many ways a people unto themselves, strange and mysterious and speaking a language unlike any of their neighbors—or were they? Smith goes on to show that rather than being aloof, they were major traders with connections across the the Mediterranean. He covers their language, their religion, and their history, as well as a brief history of Etruscology. If you've ever wondered at their ceramics or just have an interest in Ancient Italy or Tarquin the Proud (who was of Etruscan descent), this book is for you. Highly recommended.

First Line: From around 900 to 400 BC, the most innovative, powerful, wealthy, and creative people in Italy were the Etruscans.

More fun with excerpts:

"Detection is very much like any other constructive work. The solution of every difficulty becomes the premise of a further problem. Such work advances by the overcoming of a never-ending series of difficulties, each of which is raised by the preceding success. In this case the conclusion that the murderer had been injured raised the more difficult question of how his injury had been received."

—Freeman Wills Crofts, Mystery in the Channel, p.68

The Remembered Land: Surviving Sea-level Rise after the Last Ice Age by Jim Leary



Source: work
Recommendation: Choice
Year of Original Pub.: 2015
LC Call #: GC 90 N77 L32 2015
Rating: 3 stars / 5

The Remembered Land is an interesting book that discusses what it must have been like to live in a place that is being engulfed by rising seas. But not the low-lying islands of today's news, but a swath of land surrounding in what is now the North Sea and the British Channel that once connected Britain to the European Continent. A lot of the book is speculation, as is any volume on prehistorical archaeology, but when it comes to discussing landforms and how the sea would have rising, it's firmly based in science. But it isn't just about significant places and prehistoric cultures—it's a book about what it means to be connected to a place and what happens when this place becomes lost. How do we connect to this "remembered land"? It gives you lots to think about on a philosophical level.

Recommended for anyone with an interest in prehistoric northern Europe, the effects of climate change, or books that make you think.

First Line: Sitting in my hotel room in India in 2005, or maybe 2006, something caught my eye on the television.

The Story of Father Emil J. Kapaun



Source: me (2/17)
Recommendation: interest in the subject
Year of Original Pub.: ?
LC Call #: BX 4705 K32
Rating: 4 stars / 5

The Story of Father Emil J. Kapaun is a short pamphlet about the life of army chaplain Capt. Fr. Emil Kapaun, the son of Czech immigrants who felt a call to the military chaplaincy and eventually gave up his life to serve American POWs in Korea. Born in the small farming community of Pilsen, Kansas, Kapaun was a good student who joined the priesthood and had plans to teach. But a stint as an army chaplain in Burma and India during World War II opened him to a new calling, and when the Korean War began, he sought permission to rejoin the army. On November 2, 1951, at the Battle of Unsan, Kapaun volunteered to stay behind with the wounded and was captured and sent to a reeducation camp. He eventually died there of malnutrition and neglect, and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in 2013.

Kapaun's is definitely a life to inspire, and this short biography is a good introduction to a man whose name everyone should know.

First Line:

Mystery in the Channel by Freeman Wills Crofts



Source: Irving PL
Recommendation: I've enjoyed other British Crime Classics
Year of Original Pub.: 1931
Series: Inspector French (7/30)
LC Call #: PR 6005 R675 M97 2016
Rating: 3 stars / 5

Mystery in the Channel starts with a cross-channel ferry coming upon a drifting yacht with no living person in sight. It soon becomes apparent that murder has taken place, but where did the murderer go? After all, you can't walk away from a crime committed in the middle of the English Channel! Back on shore, it is discovered that the victims were heads of a major financial house that is on the brink of failure and a lot of money is mysteriously missing. Were they trying to escape to France with the last of the money? Or is something else going on? It will be up to Inspector French to figure it out.

A fun mystery with some very 21st century themes. Recommended for fans of the Golden Age mysteries or interesting variants on locked-room mysteries.

First Line: The captain lowered his six-diameter prism binoculars.

The Idol of Mombasa by Annamaria Alfieri



Source: Irving PL
Recommendation: I wanted something light and kind of liked the first book
Year of Original Pub.: 2016
Series: Vera and Tolliver (2/?)
LC Call #: PS 3601 A4454 I36 2016
Rating: 3 stars / 5

The Idol of Mombasa is the second book in Alfieri's Colonial Kenya-set historical mystery series. It has the same blend of mystery and melodrama as the first book. Back from their honeymoon, our intrepid duo now finds themselves in Mombasa, where the Inspector has been newly posted. They arrive just in time for a state visit by the Grand Mufti of Cairo. The authorities are determined that nothing is going to disturb the peace for this visit, so when first an escaped slave and then a local slave dealer are murdered, they really just want the problem to go away. The actions of a local missionary seem to place the focus on him, but Tolliver is not convinced. As usual, Vera tries to help the investigation, which only increases the strain on her husband. Meanwhile, his faithful sergeant falls in love with one of the local prostitutes, who may be more useful than anyone would expect. But no matter how hard they try, the murder's identity remains illusive.

More enjoyable for their exotic locations than the quality of the mystery, it's still a book worth picking up if you enjoyed the first one (Strange Gods) or have an interest in historical fiction set in Colonial Africa.

First Line: As always, the dhow approached Malindi harbor under cover of darkness on the night of the new moon.

The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer



Source: me (11/16)
Recommendation: NYT & Group Read
Year of Original Pub.: 2013
LC Call #: E 839 P28 2013
Rating: 2 stars / 5

The Unwinding is a book I wanted to like. It's about a topic that I find highly interesting and which has recently become extremely relevant: the downfall of the American working and middle classes. The problem is that the way it is written so dilutes and distorts the narrative flow, that it is difficult to tell that there is actually one there. Individual profiles of people famous and unfamous are spread out in roughly chronological order, but there are so many people that it can be hard to keep track of who's doing what—especially when it's been fifty pages since you last met that person. Definitely a book to try at the library first.

First Line: No one can say when the unwinding began – when the coil that held Americans together in its secure and sometimes stifling grip first gave way.

The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare*



Source: free online ebook
Recommendation: My Shakespeare Challenge
Year of Original Pub.: c. 1594
LC Call #: PR 2804 A2 M58 1993
Rating: 3 stars / 5

The Comedy of Errors is one of my favorite Shakespearean comedies. A riff off Plautus' Menaechmi, it is a tale of two sets of twins, separated in infancy, and the chaos that erupts when on set arrives in the other's town. Suffice to say it's lots of fun, and totally worth reading if you like such things.

First Line: Proceed, Solinus, to procure my fall
And, by the doom of death, end woes and all.

Myths of the Norsemen: Retold from the Old Norse Poems and Tales by Roger Lancelyn Green



Source: me (1/17)
Recommendation: Interest in the topic
Year of Original Pub.: 1960
LC Call #: BL 860 G68 2013
Rating: 4 stars / 5

Myths of the Norsemen is a nice, readable collection of Norse myths, adapted into a single narrative story. I wasn't sure it would work, but it does. Quite well, actually. Beginning with the creation of the world, Green winds his way through most of the Norse legends known to us all the way to the death of Baldur and the coming of Ragnarok. But instead of individual episodes, it is written in such a way as to read like a novel with a single narrative, a rather brilliant trick that makes the book accessible to readers of all ages. Although the Puffin Classics line is meant for children, this is one volume that is easily worth reading for adults as well. In fact, anyone with an interest in the Nordic gods and their stories will find something to enjoy hear. Highly recommended.

First Line: In the northern lands the summer is short and the winter long and cold.

The Country of Marriage by Wendell Berry



Source: me (1/17)
Recommendation: Trying to read more Wendell Berry
Year of Original Pub.: 1973
LC Call #: PS 3552 E75 C64 2013
Rating: 3 stars / 5

The Country of Marriage is a short collection of poems that were originally published between 1971 and 1973. Most are brief but all have the Wendell Berry touch. So there are bits about farmers and rural life, as well as bits about courtship and marriage, as one might suspect from a volume with this title. If you like Berry or enjoy well-written contemporary poetry, you may want to pick it up.

First Line: Shrugging in the flight of its leaves,
it is dying.

February Round-Up!

Books Read: 12 (23 in 2013, 21 in 2014, 20 in 2015, & 25 in 2016)

Genre
Non-Fiction - 7 - 58.33%
Fiction - 5 - 41.67%

Sources
Work - 3 - 25%
Irving PL - 2 - 16.67%
Me (last month) - 2 - 16.67%
Me (other) - 2 - 16.67%
Me (this month) - 2 - 16.67%
Free Online E-Book - 1 - 8.33%

TBR and Rereads
TBR books - 0 - 0%
Rereads - 2 - 16.67%

Authors
Male - 8 - 66.67%
Female - 3 - 25%
Unknown - 1 - 8.33%

Edition Language
English - 12 - 100%

Original Language
English - 12 - 100%

Series
Stand-Alone Books - 10 - 83.33%
Series Books - 2 - 16.67%

Average Original Date of Publication
1958

Median Original Date of Publication
2008

Ratings Distribution
1 star - 0 - 0%
2 stars - 1 - 8.33%
3 stars - 6 - 50%
4 stars - 4 - 33.33%
5 stars - 1 - 8.33%

Average Rating
3.42

Best of the Month



Fiction: The Country of Marriage by Wendell Berry

Non-Fiction: When Smoke Ran Like Water: Tales Of Environmental Deception and the Battle against Pollution by Devra Davis

First Line of the Month

"No one can say when the unwinding began – when the coil that held Americans together in its secure and sometimes stifling grip first gave way."

—George Packer, The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America

Discovery of the Month



Myths of the Norsemen: Retold from the Old Norse Poems and Tales by Roger Lancelyn Green

Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë



Source: Irving PL
Recommendation: CAT challenge
Year of Original Pub.: 1847
LC Call #: PR 4162 A7 1985
Rating: 4 stars / 5

Agnes Grey is the original Brontë governess novel. It was actually completed before Jane Eyre, but Anne's publisher held onto it longer than her sister's did. Agnes, the titular heroine, is the daughter of a curate and a disinherited heiress. When her father's financial speculations fail, she decides to go to work as a governess to help support her family and get them out of debt. The first family is a disaster, with spoiled children and unsupportive, deluded parents. The second attempt goes a bit better, with two older daughters, one of whom is about to be presented and is expected to make an excellent match. Meanwhile, Anne falls in love with the local curate, but is unsure of his affections after her charge, who is never happy unless she is being admired, sets her sights on him as a sport. Family obligations cause Anne to leave the family after the daughter's marriage, and she opens a school with her mother. Will she ever find happiness? Will the spoiled daughter get her comeuppance? You will have to read to the end to find out.

A different, more realistic take on governessing than Charlotte's. Many of the problems she encounters will be recognized immediately by anyone who's ever been involved in education. And none of them involve bigamous marriages or madwomen in attics. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a short-ish Victorian novel or with an interest in 19th century education.

First Line: All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut.

>109 inge87: But where's the fun in governessing without a madwoman in the attic? ;)

>110 MickyFine: Handsome curates and half-blind little old ladies?

>111 inge87: I suppose that's all right as a consolation prize.

>112 MickyFine: :)

The Lives of the Northern Saints by St. Aelred of Rievaulx+



Source: me (4/09)
Recommendation: I read the first life back and January and wanted to finish the rest of the book
Year of Original Pub.: c.1155-60
LC Call #: BR 1710 A35 2006
Rating: 4 stars / 5

The Lives of the Northern Saints is a collection of three works by St. Aelred of Rievaulx concerning religious figures and holy miracles. The first is the life of St. Ninian, who evangelized Scotland and worked many wonders in the process. This is followed by the lives of the saints of Hexham, a sermon commemorating those holy people whose relics were housed in the cathedral. The final story is not that of a saint, but of the strange and (in)famous tale of the Nun of Watton. It's a nice group, even if the Watton story doesn't quite fit with the others, as the "Life of Ninian" makes up for it. But if you have an interest in early English saints, medieval Christianity, or the history of northern Britain, you may want to seek it out.

First Line:

The Faith of our Fathers: Being a Plain Exposition and Vindication of the Church Founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ by James Cardinal Gibbons



Source: me (12/16)
Recommendation: I'd left all my planned Lenten reading at my Dad's and this was on my shelf
Year of Original Pub.: 1876
LC Call #: BX 1751 G53 1980
Rating: 5 stars / 5

The Faith of our Fathers is a complete explanation of the Catholic Church and her teachings, written in a highly engaging, narrative style. Published in the late 19th century Southern US, the author is writing for an audience with a background in Episcopalianism (i.e. Anglicanism), but anyone with an interest in the basic ground rules of the religion should definitely pick it up. Whether your interest is the truth of the Church, the Papacy, the sacraments, or the role of the Virgin Mary, it's all here. Unlike many catechisms, this is not done in a question-and-answer format, but is organized thematically by chapter and told in a standard non-fiction narrative format. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to learn more about Catholicism, especially those with a background in liturgical Protestantism.

First Line: The Catholic Church teaches that there is but one God, who is infinite in knowledge, in power, in goodness, and in every other perfection; who created all things by His omnipotence, and governs them by His Providence.

Spring: An Anthology for the Changing Seasons by Melissa Harrison (ed.)



Source: me (2/17)
Recommendation: Seasonal reading
Year of Original Pub.: 2016
LC Call #: PR 1309 N3 H37 2016
Rating: 3 stars / 5

Spring is a collection of British non-fiction, poetry, and fiction about springtime. Mostly short nature writing writing for the the volume in 2016, there are also older poems and fiction and non-fiction experts from writers as varied as A. E. Housman and George Orwell. It's fun and really gets you feeling the joy of spring as the coldness of winter gradually fades into flowers and songbirds. If you enjoy nature writing, you may want to pick this up, it's UK-only so those elsewhere will have to use Book Depository or go second-hand.

First Line:

2017 Book I'm Excited about #10: A Patient Fury by Sarah Ward, due out September 7 in the UK and hopefully later this year in the US.

The next book in Sarah Ward's Darbyshire-set mystery series that is known as the DC Childs Mysteries in the UK and Inspector Francis Sadler Mysteries in the US. I've enjoyed the previous two books and can't wait for this one.

Note: This is the UK cover. Amazon doesn't have a listing for the US book yet, but based on the last one, I'd expect it to come out sometime in October or November.

Texas' First Lady: Margaret Lea Houston, Wife of the President by Rita Kerr



Source: me (4/16)
Recommendation: clearing out the TBR pile
Year of Original Pub.: 1987
LC Call #: *Juv* F 390 H824 K47 1987
Rating: 3 stars / 5

Texas' First Lady is a biography of Sam Houston's wife, Margaret, written for young people. We follow Margaret from her life as a young girl in Alabama to her eventually meeting and marrying a much older Sam Houston through their life together and Margaret's eventually widowhood and death from yellow fever. What it lacks in objectiveness, it makes up with its obvious love for its subject. Also worth noting is that when this was written in the 80s, you could portray slaveholders as good if you showed how benevolent they were, and this book is no exception.

Unfortunately, the only other biography of Margaret that I know of, Sam Houston's Wife by William Seale, has such a condescending take on Margaret that it at times seems almost misogynistic, which makes for a rather unpleasant read (if you don't like or respect your subject why write about them?). So we're rather stuck with this one and all its flaws. But it's a fun read about an interesting woman who deserves to be known more widely than she is right now.

First Line: "Who is she?

Christ Acts through the Sacraments by A.-M. Roguet



Source: me (5/16)
Original Title: Les sacrements, signes de vie
Recommendation: Lenten reading
Year of Original Pub.: 1952
LC Call #: BX 2200 R6713 2008
Rating: 3 stars / 5

Christ Acts through the Sacraments is a relatively short book about the significance of sacraments in the Catholic Church. It is divided into three parts: the first discusses what a sacrament is, the second goes into detail about the meaning of each sacrament, and the third takes a step back and describes sacraments affect our lives. It's interesting stuff, and I found the section about confession to be particularly useful for my spiritual life. If you have an interest in the sacraments of the Catholic Church and their meaning, this is a book you may want to pick up.

First Line: 'The sacraments are acts of Christ.'

The English Way: Studies in English Sanctity from St. Bede to Newman by Maisie Ward (ed.)



Source: me (8/16)
Recommendation: Lenten reading
Year of Original Pub.: 1933
LC Call #: BX 4676 W3 2007
Rating: 4 stars / 5

The English Way is a nice collection of biographical essays covering English saints and other holy worthies, stretching from St. Bede to John Henry Cardinal Newman. The focus is probably on medieval luminaries, Because each essay is written by a different author, some famous like Chesterton and Belloc; others who were well-known then but have since faded into obscurity, they are somewhat uneven in quality, but none of them are truly bad. If you're looking to learn a bit more about English saints as part of devotional reading, this is a very useful volume to have.

First Line:

The Saints Who Pray the Mass with Us by Amleto Cicognani



Source: me (3/17)
Recommendation: Lenten reading
Year of Original Pub.: 1958
LC Call #: BX 2230.5 C52 2017
Rating: 3 stars / 5

The Saints Who Pray the Mass with Us is a short book containing brief biographical sketches of all the saints whose names are mentioned in the Roman cannon. The length of each entry varies on how much we know about each saint. And when it comes to some of the earlier ones, that's precious little at all. Still, the book allows the reader to deepen their knowledge and thereby deepen their experience during mass. When the saints become more than mere names, they become our companions on the way, which can never be a bad thing. Recommended for Catholics who attend a mass that regularly uses the Roman Canon and wants to learn more about the names they hear each Sunday.

First Line: In the Canon of the Mass the Holy Sacrifice is called "this Sacrifice of Praise—Sacrificium Laudis."

Beauty and the Clockwork Beast by Nancy Campbell Allen



Source: Irving PL
Recommendation: It looked fun
Year of Original Pub.: 2016
LC Call #: PS 3551 L39644 B43 2016
Rating: 3 stars / 5

Beauty and the Clockwork Beast a Gothic, steampunk romance set in a world where modern advances clash with supernatural beings. Our heroine, Lucy Pickett, is a botanist dedicated to the fight against vampires. However, a panicked note from her favorite cousin Kate brings her back to England to try and get to the bottom of things. Because ever since her recent marriage, Lucy's cousin has been getting weaker. No one, not the doctors, not her new husband can figure out what is wrong, and a ghostly visitor soon has Lucy agreeing that something is definitely wrong. It doesn't help that the owner of the estate, and Kate's husband's older brother, is the infamous Earl of Blackwood, whose wife and sister died suspiciously within days of each other around a year earlier. Is the house cursed or the Blackwood women? Lucy is determined to find out, even if the Earl, who is keeping his own secrets, would rather she leave for her own safety rather than get into trouble investigating. Because in a world where not all monsters are human, but many appear so in daylight, things can get dangerous fast.

A fun paranormal, Gothic, steampunk romance. If you like any of those genres, you'll find lots to enjoy in this book as our heroes run for their lives towards their Happily Ever After.

First Line: It had never been proven that Lord Blackwell had killed his wife, but then the man in question hadn't actually denied it, either.

>122 inge87: That one sounds fun.

>123 MickyFine: It's a nice blend of genres. I'm always up for a good Gothic romance, but a Gothic romance with shapeshifters, vampires, and murder? Even better.

For the Love of Wine: My Odyssey through the World's Most Ancient Wine Culture by Alice Feiring



Source: Irving PL
Recommendation: Kirkus
Year of Original Pub.: 2016
LC Call #: TP 559 G2 F45 2016
Rating: 4 stars / 5

For the Love of Wine is an engaging memoir of wine and travel, or should it be travel for wine, in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. Nestled in the Caucasus Mountains, Georgia may have the oldest tradition of wine-making in the world, and the people there still make wines like none other, including whites fermented like reds and underground fermentation chambers. Feiring discovered these unique wines on accident and quickly fell in love. This book chronicles her travels around the country and all the culture, food, and wine she encounters along the way. You also learn a lot about Georgian history, and how their amazing wine culture was almost destroyed in the name of Soviet modernization. I've always wanted to visit Georgia, and this book has cemented that desire. I may never make it, but at least I can experience the country vicariously through this book. Plus, did I mention there's a Georgian recipe at the end of each chapter?

If you like travel memoirs, wine books, or have an interest in the culture and history of the Caucasus, this is the book for you.

First Line: After another gulp of an amber-hued wine, all I could think of was bed.

See America: A Celebration of Our National Parks & Treasured Sites by Creative Action Network



Source: Irving PL
Recommendation: It looked fun
Year of Original Pub.: 2016
LC Call #: NC 1849 T68 S43 2016
Rating: 2 stars / 5

See America is collection of selections from an art project that created unofficial promotional posters for the National Parks in the spirit of the famous modernist ones of the 1930s. Each poster or series of posters (for more popular parks) is acompanied by a brief description of that park and its history. The idea is good, but the execution is somewhat lacking, and some of the posters are simply bad. It all seemed a bit pointless by the end. A gift book for National Park lovers only.

First Line: In 1833, the Washington National Monument Society formed to build a monument to America's first president.

The Darkness Knows by Cheryl Honigford



Source: Irving PL
Recommendation: I always enjoy a good historical mystery
Year of Original Pub.: 2016
Series: Viv and Charlie Mysteries (1/?)
LC Call #: PS 3608 O4945 D37 2016
Rating: 3 stars / 5

The Darkness Knows is a fun historical mystery set in Depression-era Chicago. Viv has had a lucky break into radio stardom, and it looks like her career can only go up from here. That is until she stumbles upon the body of a fellow radio veteran, and evidence points to her as being the next victim. Not willing to stand by and wait for an attack, she joins up with Charlie, a private detective employed by the radio station, to get to the bottom of things before the bottom of things gets her. But the secrets they are discovering is making people nervous, and danger may be closer than she thought. Will they solve the case in time? You'll have to read to the end to find out.

A nice enjoyable read, it's not the greatest mystery of 2016, but it's definitely worth reading if you like historical mysteries.

First Line: Vivian's scream was a thing of beauty—startling and pitch-perfect, as usual.

Compline by the Catholic Church+



Source: me (6/13)
Recommendation: Lenten Reading
Year of Original Pub.: 1960
LC Call #: BX 2000.68 A1 2012
Rating: 4 stars / 5

Compline contains everything you need to pray the office of Compline according the the 1960 rubrics. The standard nature of the office makes the book easy to use, and the propers for the few exceptional dates like Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and All Souls' Day, are included in the appendices. It has chant notations for all the sections, including all the seasonal variations for the hymn and both simple and solemn tones for the Marian antiphons. If you've ever wanted to pray the office, Compline is a good place to start because of its brevity and regularity, and this book is the perfect guide to help you do just that. Highly recommended.

First Line:

A Crisis of Saints: Essays on People and Principles by George William Rutler



Source: me (2/17)
Recommendation: Fr. Rutler has been on my to-read list for a while
Year of Original Pub.: 1995
LC Call #: BX 1752 R878 1995
Rating: 4 stars / 5

A Crisis of Saints is a collection of seven essays on various subjects. Rutler being Rutler, most deal in some way with the clash between faith and modern secular culture. Some are better than others, so it's probably best suited for those familiar with the author's other works. But at the same time, if you are looking for a taste of Rutler's writing style, you would certainly get that here as well.

First Line: When Pope Pius IV died on the ninth of December in 1565, neither Rome nor the world around Rome looked very promising.

The Religion of the Plain Man by Robert Hugh Benson



Source: me (2/17)
Recommendation: I'm a great fan of Monsignor Benson
Year of Original Pub.: 1906
LC Call #: BX 1751 B43 1906
Rating: 5 stars / 5

The Religion of the Plain Man is a theological outline of the teachings Catholic Church told through the story of a man named John, who travels from disbelief to Anglicanism to Catholicism. Through his research and questioning of ministers and theologians of various denominations, Benson helps show the faults and shortcomings of Protestantism and the truths of the Catholic Church. It makes theology easy to understand and is highly readable. Anyone with an interest in Catholicism would benefit from reading it.

First Line: It would appear ludicrous undertaking to attempt to deal with the Catholic Church in six lectures, when we consider the volumes that have been written, the theological learning poured out, the libraries that yet remain to be composed on this enormous fact.

>127 inge87: Trying to resist the siren call of that one but I do love a noir-ish mystery.

>131 MickyFine: Not sure if this helps, but plot-wise, it reminded me a lot of Victoria Thompson, only set in 1930s Chicago instead of turn-of-the-century New York. The heroine is also much more naive than Thompson's. Maybe I'd call it cozy-noir? Is that even a thing? It just lacked some of the grit I associate with the noir genre.

Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations by David R. Montgomery



Source: work
Recommendation: somewhere on the internet a very long time ago
Year of Original Pub.: 2007
LC Call #: S 590.7 M66 2007
Rating: 3 stars / 5

Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations tells the story of the relationship between agriculture and soil loss in the context of the rise and fall of civilizations. Crop production depends on the availability of fertile top soil; however, ploughing almost inevitably results in soil loss through erosion. This results in ever decreasing yields, until there is no soil at all and the land is abandoned. Furthermore, the eroded soil ends up chocking rivers and bays resulting in lost ports and waterways higher than the land around them. Irrigation further harms what's left of the soil by leaving increasing amounts of sail behind as the water evaporates. Eventually, very little will grow in the salty soil. This may sound overblown, but realize that much of the proverbial weathered limestone of Greece and the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa were once breadbaskets that thanks to the effects of agriculture now support only a tiny fraction of the harvests they once did. And the Dust Bowl taught us that soil loss can happen in the literal blink of an eye. Luckily, Montgomery doesn't just describe the problem, he also provides solutions. But considering how man has always put production above conservation, one wonders whether anyone will listen.

A must read for anyone with an interest in environmental history, gardening, or conservation, plus those who enjoy well-written non-fiction. If you like this, you'll probably enjoy Thirst: Water and Power in the Ancient World, which covers some of the same ground except it deals with water instead of soil.

First Line: On a sunny August day in the late 1990s, I led an expedition up the flank of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines to survey a river still filled with steaming sand from the massive 1991 eruption.

Christianity and the New Age by Christopher Dawson



Source: me (2/17)
Recommendation: Lenten Reading
Year of Original Pub.: 1931
LC Call #: BR 115 C8 D29 1985
Rating: 3 stars / 5

Christianity and the New Age is a short book that attempts to describe how and why Christian societies are more dynamic than non-Christian societies. The answer lies in the very nature of Christianity itself. The topic is interesting; however, the delivery is not so much. Probably only for those interested in comparative religion and/or the works of Christopher Dawson.

First Line: For centuries a civilization will follow the same path, worshiping the same gods, cherishing the same ideals, acknowledging the same moral and intellectual standards.

A Very Pukka Murder by Arjun Raj Gaind



Source: Irving PL
Recommendation: it looked interesting
Year of Original Pub.: 2016
Series: The Maharajah Mysteries (1/3)
LC Call #: PR 6107 A39 V47 2016
Rating: 3 stars / 5

It's New Year's Day 1909, and the Maharajah of Rajpore is bored and pessimistic about the year before him. But then he receives word that the British Resident (British official in charge of the area) has been murdered, and his day brightens instantly. Because there is nothing the Maharajah enjoys more than solving a murder, and this one turns out to be A Very Pukka Murder indeed. Because the Resident had both power and secrets, a very potent mix in the wrong hands. And it goes without saying that his were definitely wrong ones, because it turns out almost everyone had a reason to want him dead but no one wants to talk about it. Especially to the Maharajah, who lives in a world where he is a barely tolerated almost second-class citizen in his own kingdom. But he's determined to get to the bottom of things, not matter what it takes. After all, it's the most interesting thing that's happened to him in months.

The first in a projected trilogy. I look forward to seeing more of our intrepid monarch and his adventures on the edge of Colonial British society. The author certainly does not pull any punches when describing the racism experienced by Indians under British rule, so if those kind of things bother you, you may want to skip this (or it may make you want to read it more). Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys historical mysteries with a retro feel but no sugar-coating.

First Line: From the northernmost borders of icy Kashmir to the shark-infested shores of the Malabar Coast, Major Wiliam Russell, the Resident of the princely state of Rajpore, was renowned for being a man of unshakeable habit.

Oveta Culp Hobby: Colonel, Cabinet Member, Philanthropist by Debra L. Winegarten



Source: work
Recommendation: info cram for work
Year of Original Pub.: 2014
LC Call #: E 840.8 C46 W45 2014
Rating: 3 stars / 5

Oveta Culp Hobby is quite possibly the most important woman of the 20th century you've never heard of. The daughter of a lawyer and politician in Killeen, Texas, she went onto become a Houston media mogul, found the Women's Army Corps, and eventually even serve as the only female cabinet secretary of the Eisenhower administration. But because she valued her privacy, a biography was never published during her lifetime. And even now, all we have is this book. Which is a nice book, but because it's geared at the intermediate/YA reading level, reads a bit like it was written in the 50s. But it's better than nothing, and a lot better treatment than some of Oveta's fellow historic Texas ladies have received. If you are interested in women's involvement in World War II, famous Texans, or biographies of strong women who don't take no for an answer, then you may want to pick this up.

First Line: Lynn Culp opened her front door and reached out to hug her older sister who was visiting from Washington, D.C.

Henry VI, Part I by William Shakespeare+



Source: me (late 1990s?)
Recommendation: My personal Shakespeare Challenge
Year of Original Pub.: c. 1591
Series: Shakespeare's First Tetralogy (1/4)
LC Call #: PR 2814 A2 B8 2004
Rating: 4 stars / 5

Henry VI, Part I is the first of three plays about that king's troubled reign, which along with Richard III form Shakespeare's First Tetralogy. This first volume describes the beginning of Henry's reign, starting with his father's early death, and focuses on both the physical war in France and the political war at home. We also get to meet Joan of Arc, who is either a divine maiden or a demonic witch. Either way, she gets some good results against the English and is helped by internal infighting amongst leaders of the opposite camp. This is the play with the famous rose-picking scene, although I think I enjoyed the death of the Talbots ("Stay, go, do what you will, the like do I; / For live I will not, if my father die.") the best. It may not be Shakespeare's greatest history play, but it is certainly worth reading.

First Line: Hung be the heavens with black, yield day to night!

After the War: A Novella of the Golden City by J. Kathleen Cheney*



Source: me (8/16)
Recommendation: felt like it
Year of Original Pub.: 2016
Series: The Golden City (5/3)
LC Call #: PS 3603 H4574 A38 2016
Rating: 3 stars / 5

After the War is set twenty years after the end of the The Shores of Spain and tells the story of "João" a young laborer who lost his entire memory during World War I. A chance encounter at a bar changes his life when he bumps into people who knew him in his previous existence—one of whom claims to be his wife. But somewhere in the depths of his memory lurks a secret, one which someone appears to be desperate to uncover. Can he remember himself in time, or will he and his new old friends be able to improvise their way to the bottom of things? You will have to wait for the end to find out.

A fun novella, possibly the best installment in that world since The Seat of Magic. I had hoped for more news of our old friends from the trilogy, but the novella format really didn't allow for much (except that Marina and Joaquim appear to have finally grown up sometime in the last twenty years). If you like your fantasies with a bit of history and mystery, this may be for you, but to truly understand everything, you'll want to start with The Golden City first.

First Line: The Café Martinho da Arcada at the Parça do Commercio had a sign in their window, advertising that Serafim Palmeira would be singing there that evening.

The Seat of Magic by J. Kathleen Cheney*



Source: me (11/14)
Recommendation: I probably read this at least once a year
Year of Original Pub.: 2014
Series: The Golden City (2/3)
LC Call #: PS 3603 H4574 S43 2014
Rating: 4 stars / 5

The Seat of Magic is the sequel to the absolutely amazing The Golden City. It's been over two weeks since Oriana left the Golden City, and Duilio is starting to get nervous. Especially once it turns out that he is not the only one concerned about the situation. His quest to solve that mystery leads him to the palace where he makes some new friends and gets the key to bringing Oriana back. Meanwhile, someone is killing magical creatures in the Golden City, and our dynamic duo quickly find themselves pulled back into the world of police investigation. Plus, after ten years of separation and two years of actively avoiding each other, Oriana's father has decided that he wants to reconcile, which opens a whole new can of worms for a sereia already facing the important decision of whether or not to remain in the city and play at being human the rest of her life. It kills her to hide her sereia nature, but the heart wants what the heart wants.

What makes this a good middle volume, something fairly rare in trilogies, is how it manages to build on the world Cheney built in the first book without merely being filler and a set up for book 3. Now that we know Oriana and Duilio, it's time to learn more about them and the things that make them tick. It turns out that not all the bad guys were caught in The Golden City, so it's time to make some new friends and do some mopping up. So that by the time the book's done, we know so much more than when we started, and are totally primed for book 3.

More fun adventures with everyone's favorite siren and her half-selkie partner-in-crime-fighting. If you liked the first book, there's no excuse not to pick this one up.

First Line: The library of the Ferreira home housed a collection of items Duilio's father had brought back to the Golden City from his travels on the sea.

March Shelf-Clearing Round-Up!

Books Read: 22 (22 in 2013, 21 in 2014, 17 in 2015, & 42 in 2016)

Genre
Non-Fiction - 14 - 63.64%
Fiction - 7 - 31.82%
Both - 1 - 4.55%

Sources
Me (other) - 9 - 40.09%
Irving PL - 6 - 27.27%
Me (last month) - 4 - 18.18%
Work - 2 - 9.09%
Me (this month) - 1 - 4.55%

TBR and Rereads
TBR books - 3 - 0%
Rereads - 2 - 16.67%

Authors
Male - 10 - 47.62%
Female - 9 - 42.86%
Unknown - 2 - 9.52%

Edition Language
English - 22 - 100%

Original Language
English - 19 - 86.56%
Latin - 2 - 9.09%
French - 1 - 4.55%

Series
Stand-Alone Books - 16 - 72.73%
Series Books - 6 - 27.27%

Average Original Date of Publication
1920

Median Original Date of Publication
1991

Ratings Distribution
1 star - 0 - 0%
2 stars - 1 - 4.55%
3 stars - 11 - 50%
4 stars - 8 - 33.36%
5 stars - 2 - 9.09%

Average Rating
3.5

Best of the Month



Fiction: Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë

Non-Fiction: The Religion of the Plain Man by Robert Hugh Benson

First Line of the Month

"After another gulp of an amber-hued wine, all I could think of was bed."

—Alice Feiring, For the Love of Wine: My Odyssey through the World's Most Ancient Wine Culture

Discovery of the Month



The Faith of our Fathers: Being a Plain Exposition and Vindication of the Church Founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ by James Cardinal Gibbons

>132 inge87: Good to know. Still managing to resist for now.

>122 inge87: - "a Gothic, steampunk romance" A definite BB taken for that one! Great review! Even better, my local library has access to the audiobook via Hoopla. ;-)

>139 inge87: - That one - I should say that series - looks interesting.

Your thread is a dangerous place to visit.

>142 lkernagh: Beauty and the Clockwork Beast is not the greatest book ever written, but it is a fun one. The Golden City trilogy (The Golden City, The Seat of Magic, and The Shores of Spain) is one of my favorite series. I read at least part of it every year.

>118 inge87: Margaret Lea Houston is today's featured article on Wikipedia. If my review of Kerr's book made you wonder about her at all, check it out, it's pretty good.

Through it, I discovered that there is at least one more book about Margaret Houston that I wasn't aware of: Star of Destiny: The Private Life of Sam and Margaret Houston by Madge Thornall Roberts. It can't be worse than Seale, so off to the TBR list it goes.

Lord Fenton's Folly by by Josi S. Kilpack



Source: Irving PL
Recommendation: felt like something light
Year of Original Pub.: 2015
LC Call #: PS 3561 I55656 L67 2015
Rating: 3 stars / 5

Lord Fenton's Folly is a historical romance that promises a great plot only to fall into pathos and cliche. Lord Fenton is an unhappy man who acts out against his parents until his father refuses to take it anymore and threatens to disinherit him. As a result, he needs to find a wife—and fast. The daughter of an old family friend will do quite nicely. Unfortunately, she doesn't realize it's a marriage of convenience until right before the wedding, which is just the way to start things off right. He's not thrilled about it either, since with his parents' miserable example, he never really wanted to marry anyway. When his mother gets sick, off everyone goes to a remote estate, where all the family's darkest secrets will be revealed (and our couple will—naturally—fall deeply in love). If only I didn't feel like info dumping and therefore feel completely ridiculous.

If you enjoy romances about reforming rakes, you may want to read this. Otherwise, skip it.

First Line: Lord Fenton — Charles Archibald Theler — moved his adolescent arms and legs as fast as they could go toward the small shed just past the tree line, not sure if he was running more from the fire or from someone's notice of his proximity to the scene.

My Fair Gentleman by Nancy Campbell Allen



Source: Irving PL
Recommendation: I was on a romance reading roll
Year of Original Pub.: 2016
Series: My Fair Gentleman (1/2)
LC Call #: PS 3551 L39644 M94 2016
Rating: 3 stars / 5

My Fair Gentleman is a loose, gender-flipped retelling of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. Jack is close to achieving his dream of captaining his own ship, when he receives a message summoning him to his grandfather's bedside—the same grandfather who had disinherited Jack's father for marrying his mother. But the Earl is dying and can't stand his heir, so he makes Jack an offer he can't refuse. After all, it's a lot easier to support a mother and sister on an earl's income than a sailor's. So an earl he becomes, or at least that's what he will be if his tutor Lady Ivy has her way. Lady Ivy sets out to make Jack the perfect earl, even if he requires a lot of polishing. However, it appears someone wants him gone and is not afraid to use lethal force if necessary. Will all Lady Ivy's lectures be in vain, or will they be able to get to the bottom of things in time?

A fun, if somewhat ridiculous romance.

First Line: Clarence Fuddleston, solicitor of the Earl of Stansworth's estate, stood at the threshold of Tilly's Tavern and clutched his satchel to his chest.

Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson



Source: Irving PL
Recommendation: Christina (christina_reads)
Year of Original Pub.: 2013
LC Call #: PS 3604 O5345 B53 2013
Rating: 3 stars / 5

Blackmoore is the story of Kate, a girl whose life is dominated by the scandals of her mother and sisters to the point that she wants nothing more to escape and journey with an aunt to India. But not before she has visited Blackmoore, her best friends' family estate. But just when it seems that things are finally going her way, her mother intervenes and it looks like all is lost. But then her friend Henry suggests a bargain: Kate is allowed to travel to Blackmoore, and if receive three marriage proposals, she'll be allowed to go onto India. Having seen the disasters that are her relatives' marriages, Kate has promised never to marry, and thinks that finding and rejecting three proposals shouldn't be that difficult. Except that's exactly what happens. Because it turns out that she's not as welcome at Blackmoore as she thought, and because the price for her proposals will be secrets that threaten to shatter the armor that is all that keeps her together. Still she's determined, because if she doesn't escape now, she may never have another chance.

A nice historical romance, if a bit too angstful for my taste. Still, if you like the genre, you'll want to pick this one up.

First Line: A woodlark sings of heartbreak.

Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson



Source: Irving PL
Recommendation: It was on Hoopla
Year of Original Pub.: 2012
LC Call #: PS 3604 O5345 E34 2012
Rating: 4 stars / 5

Marianne has been living a closeted life in Bath with her grandmother and spinster aunt ever since her mother died and her father left for France. She has a suitor who would be much better for her aunt than herself and the odd letter from her twin sister Cecily who is enjoying the season in London, and not much more. Needless to say she feels abandoned. So when an invitation to visit the home of an old friend of her mother's arrives, she jumps at the chance. Edenbrooke is exactly what she hoped it would be and more, even if she was attacked by a highwayman on the way there. Her sister has set her cap at the owner, and what Cecily wants, she gets (so don't even bother trying). But friendship with his brother should be okay, right? Except Philip is keeping secrets, and may not be as available as she thought. Even though she feels unloved and worthless, can Marianne find the strength to finally fight for what she wants?

I really, really liked this one. There are definite shades of Jacob I Have Loved here, with Cecily as the sun and Marianne viewing herself as the moon that reflects her sister's light, but it manages not to go overboard into the ridiculous. The friendship between Marianne and Philip is well done, and you can definitely feel the chemistry, even when Marianne can't. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys historical romances, or just good romances in general.

First Line: It was the oak tree that distracted me.

How good is Edenbrooke? The author spends the entire book giving baronets' wives the wrong title—"Lady Firstname" instead of "Lady Lastname"—and I still gave it four stars.

The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen



Source: Irving PL
Recommendation: impulse grab
Year of Original Pub.: 2013
LC Call #: PS 3611 L3665 T88 2013
Rating: 3 stars / 5

The Tutor's Daughter is a rather formulaic romance set in the wilds of Cornwall. Emma is the daughter of a schoolmaster, who has lost the last of his pupils due to his increasing distraction after his wife's death. So when the father of some old pupils offers to him the job to come to his estate and tutor his two youngest sons, they jump at the chance for some change. However, when they arrive, the welcome is not at all what they expect. Because there are some definite secrets here, and it soon appears that someone is very eager to make sure that they stay that way and Emma will have to face the consequences.

Not the greatest thing ever, but I was free through the library, so I can't complain. Only for fans of the genre, I think.

First Line: Something is amiss, Emma thought, immediately upon entering her tidy bedchamber.

Come Rack! Come Rope! by Robert Hugh Benson



Source: me (3/17)
Recommendation: Lenten reading
Year of Original Pub.: 1912
LC Call #: PR 6003 E7 C6 2016
Rating: 5 stars / 5

Come Rack! Come Rope! is a classic novel of the Elizabethan persecutions. Robin and all his family circle are recusants—those who refuse to attend the new authorized church services of the Queen and instead hear Catholic masses in secret. Life is difficult, but not impossible. He has even found love with an old childhood friend. However, all this changes when his father informs him that they'll be receiving communion at the church on Easter. After much struggle, he defies his father and eventually leaves England to study for the priesthood with the goal of returning to help the Catholics of England. Which he does, but as we all know, there is no such thing as safety for fugitive priests. A wanted man the moment he sets foot on his native shore, he can only watch as his friends are rounded up one by one. It's only a matter of time before he gets captured himself, and that's when his battle will truly begin.

A stirring novel of adventure and Popery. Reading it, you begin to understand why there are so many British saints from this period (some of whom we even get to meet in the book). Highly recommended for fans of good Catholic novels or Edwardian historical fiction.

First Line: There should be no sight more happy than a young man riding to meet his love.

Canticle of the Sun by St. Francis of Assisi and Fiona French



Source: me (4/17)
Recommendation: Lenten reading
Year of Original Pub.: 1224
LC Call #: BV 489 F7313 2006
Rating: 3 stars / 5

Canticle of the Sun is a lovely adaptation of St. Francis's poem set to interesting illustrations by Fiona French done in a style mimicking mosaics. A nice way to introduce the poem to younger readers. Older readers will enjoy it as well.

First Line: Most High, Almighty, good Lord, thine be the praise, the glory, the honour, and all blessing.

Flight into Spring by Bianca Bradbury



Source: me (4/17)
Recommendation: the internet somewhere
Year of Original Pub.: 1965
LC Call #: PZ 7 B716 Fl 2005
Rating: 3 stars / 5

Flight into Spring is the tale of Sally Day, a young woman from a Unionist family in Maryland, who marries a solder from Connecticut and discovers that sometimes it's the simplest things that are the hardest. Because things are very different in Connecticut from her home state, and she and her in-laws rub each other the wrong way immediately. She can do very little to please them, and they are convinced she's a Confederate and won't even call her by her real name because they think it's ridiculous. All her husband can do is ask her to be patient. But one can only be patient for so long, right? Especially in a New England winter.

My biggest issue with this book is that even though it tries to have a happy ending, I really can't see Sally Day ever truly being happy in Connecticut or in her marriage. She would have been much happier if she'd married her other suitor, and that's a fact. We can only hope her husband starts to figuring things out and find a model of marriage different from his father's, otherwise it's going to be a miserable road for everyone. Best described as what I like to call "proto-YA", this will probably be best enjoyed by young people with an interest in the Civil War era, especially girls.

First Line: "This is the longest war that ever was," Sally Day Hammond said gloomily.

The Age of the Vikings by Anders Winroth



Source: me (3/17)
Recommendation: Choice?
Year of Original Pub.: 2014
LC Call #: DL 65 W63 2014
Rating: 3 stars / 5

The Age of the Vikings is a solid, readable history of Viking Scandinavia. Instead of moving chronologically, it is organized thematically into chapters with names like "Violence in a Violent Time", "At Home on the Farm", and "Arts and Letters". By book's end, the reader has been taken a very nice survey of Norse culture and history and has travelled around the known world from Vinland to Constantinople and beyond. It's a nice book and one worth picking up if you have an interest in Medieval Scandinavia and the cultures it spawned. Highly recommended.

First Line: Finally the chieftain took his high seat.

2017 Book I'm Excited about #11: The Dire King by William Ritter, due out August 22.

In which Jackaby and his friends reach The End.

Cue the suspenseful music.

Oooh!

>154 inge87: Sounds interesting!

>156 MickyFine: I know!

>157 drneutron: It was a very nice book and gave a nice comprehensive look at medieval Scandinavian society without just focusing on Viking raiders, as sometimes happens with other books.

Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture by Anthony Esolen



Source: me (2/17)
Recommendation: I'm a great fan of the author's work
Year of Original Pub.: 2017
LC Call #: HN 65 E86 2017
Rating: 5 stars / 5

Out of the Ashes takes a look at the world today and all the chaos and misery it contains and seeks to find a way forward that will help us regain control and take back what has been lost. If you've read Esolen before, then you know what to expect. For those who haven't, this is just as good a place to get started as any. Each chapter is dedicated to ideas for how to recover a particular aspect of society, such as beauty, school, manhood, or play. The author discusses how things were, what has gone wrong, and then provides some ideas for how to make things better. Like most of Esolen's works, it's hard to put down once you get started. Conservatives will probably get more out of this than progressives, and Catholics more than Protestants, but there is much here that everyone can agree on. Highly recommended for Esolen fans, those interested in building a better society, or Catholic social teachings.

First Line: In this book I shall indulge myself in one of civilized man's most cherished privileges.

The Blackbird's Nest: Saint Kevin of Ireland by Jenny Schroedel & Doug Montross



Source: me (4/16)
Recommendation: clearing out the TBR pile
Year of Original Pub.: 2004
LC Call #: *Juv* BX 4700 K4 S37 2004
Rating: 4 stars / 5

The Blackbird's Nest is a retelling of the legend of St. Kevin of Glendalough. As a boy he was unruly but thanks to a wondrous experience he has in the woods, he learns to be patient and to mend his ways. Indeed, he would go on to become a famous monk and Glendalough a famous monastery. A solid piece of writing backed up by excellent illustrations. Perfect for anyone looking to expand their picture book horizons beyond the usual saints or those with an interest in Ireland.

First Line: Early one morning, when all of Ireland slept beneath a quilt of wintry white, a baby boy was born.

Nothing Superfluous: An Explanation of the Symbolism of the Rite of St. Gregory the Great by James W. Jackson, FSSP



Source: me (2/17)
Recommendation: the internet
Year of Original Pub.: 2016
LC Call #: BX 2230.3 J33 2016
Rating: 4 stars / 5

Nothing Superfluous is a step-by-step walk through the symbolism of the holy mass according to the Rite of St. Gregory the Great (also known as the extraordinary form, Tridentine mass, or "Vetus Ordo"). Beginning with the importance of symbolism as a religious experience, the author then proceeds to take the reader on a tour of the mass from beginning to end, uncovering the deep meaning of what is going on and making it available to a wider audience in the process. It makes for great spiritual reading and really helped to make me re-think some of my attitudes about mass and why things happen the way they do. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in liturgy and liturgical symbolism, whatever rite you attend, although some familiarity with the older form would probably be helpful.

First Line: There is a pearl of great price, a treasure hidden in a field, that gives life its meaning and that the contemplatives of the Church search for and would not exchange for all the gold in the world.

Saint Fernando III: A Kingdom for Christ by James Fitzhenry



Source: me (2/17)
Recommendation: Fr. Longua (apparently)
Year of Original Pub.: 2008
LC Call #: DP 140 F58 2011
Rating: 4 stars / 5

Saint Fernando III is a narrative biography of King Ferdinand III of Castile and Leon, a great leader of the Reconquista. You won't find many footnotes, but you will find adventure, intrigue, and plenty of daring-dos. The book recounts the saint's entire life from his childhood at his maternal grandfather's court in Castile through his tumultuous young adulthood being used as a political pawn between factions in Castile and his father, the King of Leon. Finally, we see him come into his own as King of Castile, bringing a measure of political calm to the domestic politics and beginning a long, but successful campaign to take back Spain from its Moroccan overlords. It's this last bit that takes up the majority of the book, but it also makes for incredibly interesting reading.

If you like biographies that read like adventure novels or have an interest in Spanish history or the Reconquista, this book is for you. Highly recommended.

First Line: There are only two paths by which a man may travel: one is broad and easy, the other narrow and difficult.

The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise by Robert Cardinal Sarah & Nicolas Diat



Source: me (4/17)
Original Title: La force du silence: Contre la dictature du bruit
Recommendation: God or Nothing was one of my top 5 of 2015
Year of Original Pub.: 2016
LC Call #: BV 4509.5 S2713 2017
Rating: 4 stars / 5

The Power of Silence is the much anticipated follow up to Cardinal Sarah's memoir God or Nothing (if you haven't read that, stop what you're doing and go read it now—it's a life-changing book). In this volume, his focus is on the importance of silence, a virtue which has seemingly been discarded by modern society as useless or boring. In response, he and his trusty interviewer/sidekick, French journalist Nicolas Diat, explore the meaning and purose of silence as well as the venerable Carthusian Order—a monastic order in which silence plays a major role in daily life. The end of the book includes a discussion between Cardinal Sarah, Diat, and the Prior of Grande Charteuse about the order and about silence. A necessary book, and one I can highly recommend to anyone with an interest in the subject or in Cardinal Sarah.

First Line: Why did Robert Cardinal Sarah decide to devote a book to silence?

A Heart for Europe: The Lives of Emperor Charles and Empress Zita of Austria-Hungary by James & Joanna Bogle



Source: me (3/17)
Recommendation: The life of Bl. Charles seemed a good Lenten reading topic
Year of Original Pub.: 1990
LC Call #: DB 92 B634 1993
Rating: 4 stars / 5

A Heart for Europe is a good double biography of the last Emperor and Empress of Austria-Hungary, Bl. Karl I and his wife Zita. The authors do a good job of covering both their lives, although Karl gets a bit more attention at times, as befits his station as a head of state. Beginning with childhood, the book follows the subjects as they find themselves unexpectedly hurdled into places and situations they never expected to be, all while Europe falls apart around them. The postwar situation is covered well, and helps lay the groundwork for understanding why Karl is currently on his way to being recognized as a saint (Blessed is the second-to-last stage of the canonization process). If you've ever wondered if some of the bloodshed and slaughter of the twentieth century could have been avoided, Karl is a man whose story you need to read. And his wife is an inspiration in her own right. My only complaint is that they could have cited their sources better, but they were writing when many of the people who knew the Imperial couple were still alive, which has benefits of its own. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in Central European history, World War I, or interesting biographies.

First Line: When its last Emperor was born, Austria was geographically the third largest county in Europe and the fourth largest as regards to population.

Saint Dominic and the Order of Preachers by Simon Tugwell, OP



Source: me (4/17)
Recommendation: A lifelong interest in the Dominican Order
Year of Original Pub.: 2001
LC Call #: BX 4700 D7 T85 2001
Rating: 3 stars / 5

Saint Dominic and the Order of Preachers is a nice, short overview of the life and career of St. Dominic de Guzmán, founder of the Dominican Order. As one might expect there is an emphasis on his public life and how he managed to form the Dominicans from almost nothing with little support and a great deal of opposition. After all, no one had ever had an order dedicated to preaching before. Not to mention the fact that his base of operations was in the middle of a war zone. If you've ever wondered about the man behind the Order of Preachers, but don't want to commit to a large book, this is worth picking up.

First Line: The Church, in the words of Psalm 44, has always been 'clothed in variety', not the least splendid aspect of which is the variety of her saints.

Congratulations on reaching 75, Jennifer!

Congrats!

>166 FAMeulstee: & 167 Thanks!

Jennifer, congratulations on reading 75 already!

Congratulations on reaching 75, Jennifer!

>169 susanj67: & >170 harrygbutler: Thanks, as well!

The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst



Source: Irving PL
Recommendation: New Arrivals Shelf impulse grab
Year of Original Pub.: 2016
Series: The Queens of Renthia (1/3)
LC Call #: PS 3604 U77873 Q43 2016
Rating: 2 stars / 5

The Queen of Blood is the middling first volume of a planned three-volume epic fantasy set in a world in which humans are only allowed to exist through the bargains their Queens make with the elemental spirits who live there. Every Queen has Heirs and Champions who help her keep the peace. But something is dreadfully wrong in Renthia. Our heroine, Daelina, is well aware of this, because the spirits destroyed her village when she was a child. She was inspired to leave home and enroll in a school to train her magical abilities so that she could potentially become first a candidate and then, if she did well enough, an heir to the Queen in order to help control the spirits she knows are dangerous—even if no one believes her. She isn't the best student, but she tries. Eventually, she is selected by a champion to train as a candidate, but he has secrets that run perilously close to knowledge that people are willing to defend at all costs, even at the cost of Renthia itself.

A series of cliches (determined girls, magical contests, political corruption) that never manage escape the realm of predictability. Even "surprises" become expected. Not worth the effort, unless you have nothing better to do.

First Line: It's a child's chant.

A Ring of Truth by Michelle Cox



Source: me (4/17)
Recommendation: I loved A Girl Like You
Year of Original Pub.: 2017
Series: Henrietta and Inspector Howard (2/?)
LC Call #: PS 3603 O965 R56 2017
Rating: 4 stars / 5

A Ring of Truth finds Henrietta about to meet Clive's parents. While those who have read the previous book know he comes from a wealthy family, his fiancee didn't—until now. Suffice to say, it's hardly love at first sight. Henrietta feels unworthy and his parents silently agree, but not before Ma's secret starts to leak out. Clive has to go back to work, but Henrietta stays in Winnetka to learn how to be a "proper" woman of his class, and quickly becomes lonely and unhappy. So when she uncovers a mystery concerning a former servant's missing ring, she quickly throws herself into things. Clive thinks it's a waste of time and wishes she'd stay out of trouble. But of course, that only means that the issue is far more than it seems. Both our lovebirds see the crack forming between them. When they were inspector and witness they were equals, but as a business heir and the daughter of a factory worker? Their relationship may have survived a killer, but may not survive their families.

Not quite as good as the first book (But which second book is?). For those who like their mysteries character-driven and with a dose of melodrama. Highly recommended.

First Line: Henrietta shifted uncomfortably as she stood next to Clive outside the massive oak double doors of the Howard family home—Highbury, he called it—in Winnetka.

Holy Water and Its Significance for Catholics by Henry Theiler, OCSO



Source: me (4/17)
Original Title: Das Weihwasser und seine Bedeutung für den katholischen Christen
Recommendation: It sounded interesting and was on sale
Year of Original Pub.: 1906
LC Call #: BX 2307 T513 2016
Rating: 4 stars / 5

Holy Water and Its Significance for Catholicsis a short, highly readable explanation of what holy water is and how Catholics can use it. The author reaches back to holy water's Biblical and Patristic roots, with a particular focus on the writings of Tertullian. He then goes on to describe the purpose of sacramentals like holy water and then just how the blessed water does what it does. This is followed by a discussion of how to use holy water and why you should do so.

In short, it has almost anything you ever needed or wanted to know about holy water, all in under 100 pages. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the subject.

First Line:

Floodpath: The Deadliest Man-Made Disaster of 20th-Century America and the Making of Modern Los Angeles by Jon Wilkman



Source: work
Recommendation: somewhere on the internet
Year of Original Pub.: 2016
LC Call #: TC 557 C3 S2495 2016
Rating: 5 stars / 5

Floodpath tells the story of the St. Francis Dam disaster of 1928, when a poorly-located and -designed dam failed and killed hundreds of people along the Santa Clara River in Southern California. The author puts the event in the context of the cult of William Mullholland (of Mullholland Drive fame) and the Owen Valley Water Wars. If this sounds like something out of Chinatown, that's because it partly inspired the film. Suffice to say, everyone believed that the dam would hold, even when evidence emerged that all was not well with the dam. When it finally failed just before midnight on a cold March night, residents were caught by almost complete surprise. What followed was a night of terror as the waters made their way to the Pacific Ocean. Many were swept away, some became heroes, and Mullholland became a broken man as trials were held to establish blame for the events. However, as Wilkman reveals, it would be many decades before a true model of events would be established, and we could understand how the disaster unfolded. Whether we've learned anything from it is another question.

An excellent piece of non-fiction that is as gripping as any novel. If you enjoy well-written non-fiction about natural disasters or American history, you'll want to pick this up.

On a personal note, I was especially interested when I discovered that the town of Saugus (now part of Santa Clarita) would feature. That was the first place her family lived after her father was transferred to LA from Oklahoma City by Sun Oil. It was interesting hearing about the place from someone other than her (she was not a fan).

First Line: Tik, tik, tik, tik . . . a rotating sprinkler arched spray across a lawn in the San Fernando Valley suburb of Chatsworth.

The Litany of Earth by Ruthanna Emrys



Source: me (4/17)
Recommendation: It sounded interesting and was only 99 cents
Year of Original Pub.: 2014
Series: Innsmouth Legacy (0.5/?)
LC Call #: PS 3605 M886 L58 2014
Rating: 3 stars / 5

The Litany of Earth is a prequel novella to Emrys's series of Lovecraft-ian historical fantasy. Set in San Francisco after World War II, our heroine is Aphra Marsh, one of the last Marshes of Innsmouth—and one of the last Innsmouth-ians, period. After the events of "The Shadow over Innsmouth", her people were sent to desert internment camps, where almost all of them died except Aphra and her brother. She now lives with Japanese-American friends who were interned in her camp during the war while trying to regain her strength and figure out her next steps. Then one day an FBI agent turns up at the bookstore where she works and asks her work for them to take out a potentially dangerous cult. She wants nothing more than to refuse, but in the end this task may be the very thing she needed.

A nice, well-written novella that sets up the reader well for Winter Tide, the series's first book, which came out in early April. You don't need to have read Lovecraft to appreciate this one, but some things will make more sense if you have. And at only 99¢, it's a pretty good deal, even if it is on the shorter side.

First Line: After a year in San Francisco, my legs grew strong again.

>176 inge87: Have you read Winter Tide? I read this novella and liked it and was wondering how it went from there.

>177 Oberon: I have plans to pick up a copy this weekend. From what I've seen on the Amazon preview (which is extensive), it's off to New England to fight Soviets and deal with some of the baggage of the past. I'm optimistic that it's going to be good.

Congratulations for passing 75 books read already, Jennifer.

The Shadow over Innsmouth by H. P. Lovecraft



Source: the internet
Recommendation: I'd enjoyed The Litany of Earth
Year of Original Pub.: 1937
LC Call #: PS 3523 O833 S53
Rating: 3 stars / 5

The Shadow over Innsmouth is a novella, in which Lovecraft explores his own horror of miscegenation through a series of events in the small port city of Innsmouth, Massachusetts. Our narrator is travelling through the area and wanting to save some money, takes the bus through Innsmouth instead of a more direct route to his destination. He has heard stories about the strange people who live there, and learns more upon his arrival. Just what is wrong with the people at Innsmouth, who seem abnormal and deformed and who are definitely hiding something. Our hero decides to do a bit of investigating, and what he finds is shocking.

Something is fishy in the port of Innsmouth! Very fishy, indeed. Just what the secret is will keep you haning on the edge of your seat. Just the right amount of horror to keep it interesting without making it unreadable. Ruthanna Emrys is currently writing a revisionist series set after World War II and told from the Innsmouth-ians' perspective that promises to be good. Highly recommended for those who enjoy older, fantasy stories or fantasy stories with just a touch of horror.

First Line: During the winter of 1927–28 officials of the Federal government made a strange and secret investigation of certain conditions in the ancient Massachusetts seaport of Innsmouth.

Twenty Tales of Irish Saints by Alice Curtayne



Source: me (4/17)
Recommendation: interest in the topic
Year of Original Pub.: 1955
Series: Tales of Irish Saints (1/2)
LC Call #: BX 4659 I7 C8 2004
Rating: 4 stars / 5

A Ring of Truth is a collection of various legends of twenty different Irish saints, retold for young people. Curtayne has a very engaging writing style and knows how to tell a tale well (she is Irish after all). Most of the saints are from the early period, although there are a couple of medieval ones. Whether you want stories of monks, stories of animals, or stories of wily schoolboys, there's a little something for everyone here. All of the expected people (Patrick, Brigid, Columba, Columbanus, etc.) are here. The only surprise omission was St. Kevin, but maybe she felt she had enough stories of that type, and didn't need his. It also appears she wrote another volume, More Tales of Irish Saints, so maybe it's in there. Either way, if you enjoy the miraculous Irish stories of their saints, you'll want to pick this one up.

First Line: This is a story about St. Patrick and two little princesses, Ethna and Fedelma.

>179 PaulCranswick: Thanks!

Happy the Land by Louise Dickinson Rich



Source: me (12/16)
Recommendation: CATwoman
Year of Original Pub.: 1946
LC Call #: F 25 R53 H36 1946
Rating: 4 stars / 5

Happy the Land is the follow-up volume to the author's excellent memoir of living off-the-grid in Maine, We Took to the Woods. From the very beginning we know that her husband has since died, and that this book is in part a tribute to him. We get to experience more of the small wonders of everyday life in rural Western Maine, recounting stories of her family and their friends (neighbors is a bit of a stretch when you're talking about the Maine backwoods), and we also get to experience some of her widowed life in small-town Maine since it's too dangerous for a single person to live alone in the woods. No matter what happens to her, she never seems to lose her pluck and zest for life.

There's something about Rich's writing style that makes her stories compelling, no matter how trivial the subject. It's like we're all sitting around the campfire and she's telling you all about her life. Absolutely brilliant stuff and anyone who wants to learn how to write well could benefit by reading and imitating some of her style. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys interesting memoirs, Maine, or well-written non-fiction.

First Line: For the past twelve years, I have lived on the Rapid River, a beautiful and torrential stream connecting the last two of the Rangeley lakes, Lower Richardson and Umbagog, in this extreme northwestern portion of Maine.

Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo



Source: Corsicana PL
Recommendation: LibraryJournal
Year of Original Pub.: 2009
Series: Kate Burkholder (1/?)
LC Call #: PS 3603 A8758 S96 2009
Rating: 3 stars / 5

Sworn to Silence is the first of many Kate Burkholder mysteries, focusing on a small-town Ohio police chief who happens to have been raised Amish. Her background makes her an excellent choice as an officer for a town with a large Amish population like her own. She's good at her job and happy with her situation—until the bodies start turning up, that is. It seems that an old killer has returned to renew his hunting in the area. Except that Kate knows who the old killer was, and killed him herself all those years ago. So who is killing now? The city council wants the problem to go away, and when Kate doesn't act fast enough, asks from help from the state police. In response, they get John Tomasetti, a washed up officer with a past that they can't fire but want to. He quickly spots that Kate is hiding something, but can't figure out what. Things come to a head as the killing escalates. Because if Kate didn't kill the killer as a teenager, who did she kill, and more importantly, who is killing now?

A nice police procedural, which manages to balance character-building with the gruesome thrills of the genre. If you like contemporary police mysteries set in unusual places, you'll enjoy this one.

First Line: She hadn't believed in monsters since she was six years old, back when her mom would check the closet and look beneath her bed at night.

Henry VI, Part 2 by William Shakespeare



Source: work
Recommendation: Shakespeare challenge
Year of Original Pub.: c. 1591
Series: Shakespeare's First Tetralogy (2/4)
LC Call #: PR 2815 A2 R5 1952
Rating: 3 stars / 5

Henry VI, Part 2 begins with Henry VI agreeing to a political marriage on terms so bad (they involve giving up most of France) they have to be kept a secret. His new wife is ambitious, and her ally Suffolk has plans to gain some power himself. Meanwhile, discontent is brewing and the Duke of York senses an opportunity. It all begins to fall apart when Suffolk snares the Lord Protector's wife in a trap and catches her in the act of necromancy. With Gloucester removed from his position in disgrace (and later murdered) there is no one to save Henry from his own weakness, much less from the mechanization of those around him. Consequently, war becomes inevitable.

If you like your Shakespeare full of political intrigue and ambitious women, this is the play for you.

First Line: As by your high imperial majesty
I had in charge at my depart for France,
As procurator to your excellence,
To marry Princess Margaret for your grace,
So, in the famous ancient city, Tours,
In presence of the Kings of France and Sicil,
The Dukes of Orleans, Calaber, Bretagne and Alencon,
Seven earls, twelve barons and twenty reverend bishops,
I have perform'd my task and was espoused:
And humbly now upon my bended knee,
In sight of England and her lordly peers,
Deliver up my title in the queen
To your most gracious hands, that are the substance
Of that great shadow I did represent;
The happiest gift that ever marquess gave,
The fairest queen that ever king received.

And there's number 75! I'll put a new thread up for May's reading sometime tomorrow, but there's no reason we can't have some cake now to celebrate.

Congrats on reaching the magic number!

Congrats!

>187 MickyFine:, >188 drneutron: Thanks!

The new thread is up, so come join me there!

wrong thread