SusanJ's 75 Books Challenge - Thread 3

Hello, and welcome to my third thread for 2017.

I'm Susan, a Kiwi living in London for the past 20 years. During the working week I'm a lawyer so I love nerdy legal stuff, which crops up in more books than you might expect.

Over the past few years I've started to read a lot more non-fiction, so my reading is now more non-fiction than fiction. I typically aim for 150 books, with a 100 NF/50 F split. While I read mostly from the library, I do have a fair few books that I've bought (mostly for the Kindle) and I need to keep my eye on those so that I actually read them instead of just accumulating them. This year I want to read at least 50 books from Mount TBR (which counts as anything I own) so I'm adding a ticker for that too.

Books read during 2017



By Dick Mudde - Own work, Public Domain, Link

January

1. The Trials of the King of Hampshire by Elizabeth Foyster
2. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
3. Make Me by Lee Child
4. The Bible: The Biography by Karen Armstrong
5. Before We Kiss by Susan Mallery
6. Until We Touch by Susan Mallery
7. Night School by Lee Child
8. Under Another Sky by Charlotte Higgins
9. Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg
10. The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf
11. Defiance: The Life and Choices of Lady Anne Barnard by Stephen Taylor
12. The Last Grain Race by Eric Newby
13. The Improbability of Love by Hannah Rothschild
14. Hold Me by Susan Mallery
15. Kiss Me by Susan Mallery
16. Thrill Me by Susan Mallery
17. Toast by Nigel Slater
18. The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan
19. The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths
20. Hell's Bottom, Colorado by Laura Pritchett
21. The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
22. The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee
23. Looking for Alaska by John Green



February

24. China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
25. The Tidal Zone by Sarah Moss
26. The Perplexing Theft of the Jewel in the Crown
27. The Riviera Set by Mary S Lovell
28. Five Star Billionaire by Tash Aw
29. The Dinosaur Hunters by Deborah Cadbury
30. Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
31. Evicted by Matthew Desmond
32. China's Disruptors by Edward Tse
33. Oil on Water by Helon Habila
34. Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb
35. Bleak House by Charles Dickens
36. The Unwinding by George Packer



March

37. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
38. The Butcher, The Baker, The Candlestick Maker

Last year I started a new NF challenge, which is to read the non-fiction winners of the Pulitzer prize. I stole this idea from Reba, who is doing a fiction challenge. Hi Reba! This is a long-term project, rather than something to be completed in a year or two. If I can't find the relevant non-fiction winner easily in the UK, I propose to substitute the winner of the history category.

Last year I read about eight books from the list. This year I'd like to do the same, but I have five already and I'll focus on those.



Here's the full list:



2016 Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS by Joby Warrick
2015 The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert
2014 Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation by Dan Fagin
2013 Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King
2012 The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt
2011 The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee
2010 The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy by David E. Hoffman



2009 Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas A Blackmon
2008 The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945 by Saul Friedländer
2007 The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright
2006 Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya by Caroline Elkins
2005 Ghost Wars by Steve Coll
2004 Gulag: A History by Anne Applebaum
2003 A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide by Samantha Power
2002 Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama, the Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution by Diane McWhorter
2001 Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan by Herbert P Bix
2000 Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II by John W. Dower



1999 Annals of the Former World by John McPhee
1998 Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond
1997 Ashes To Ashes: America's Hundred-Year Cigarette War, The Public Health, And The Unabashed Triumph Of Philip Morris by Richard Kluger
1996 The Haunted Land: Facing Europe's Ghosts After Communism by Tina Rosenberg
1995 The Beak Of The Finch: A Story Of Evolution In Our Time by Jonathan Weiner
1994 Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days Of The Soviet Empire by David Remnick
1993 Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America by Garry Wills
1992 The Prize: The Epic Quest For Oil, Money & Power by Daniel Yergin
1991 The Ants by Bert Holldobler and Edward O Wilson
1990 And Their Children After Them by Dale Maharidge and Michael Williamson



1989 A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam by Neil Sheehan
1988 The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes
1987 Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land by David K Shipler
1986 Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American Families by J Anthony Lukas
1986 Move Your Shadow: South Africa, Black and White by Joseph Lelyveld
1985 The Good War: An Oral History of World War Two by Studs Terkel
1984 The Social Transformation Of American Medicine by Paul Starr
1983 Is There No Place On Earth For Me? by Susan Sheehan
1982 The Soul of A New Machine by Tracy Kidder
1981 Fin-De Siecle Vienna: Politics And Culture by Carl E Schorske
1980 Godel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R Hofstadter



1979 On Human Nature by Edward O Wilson
1978 The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan
1977 Beautiful Swimmers by William W Warner
1976 Why Survive? Being Old In America by Robert N Butler
1975 Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
1974 The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker
1973 Fire in the Lake: The Vietnamese and the Americans in Vietnam by Frances Fitzgerald
1973 Children of Crisis, Vols. II and III by Robert Coles
1972 Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-1945 by Barbara W Tuchman
1971 The Rising Sun by John Toland
1970 Gandhi's Truth by Erik H Erikson



1969 The Armies Of The Night by Norman Mailer
1969 So Human An Animal by Rene Jules Dubos
1968 Rousseau And Revolution, The Tenth And Concluding Volume Of The Story Of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant
1967 The Problem of Slavery in Western Culture by David Brion Davis
1966 Wandering Through Winter by Edwin Way Teale
1965 O Strange New World by Howard Mumford Jones
1964 Anti-Intellectualism in American Life by Richard Hofstadter
1963 The Guns of August by Barbara W Tuchman
1962 The Making of the President 1960 by Theodore H White

Other projects for 2017

The Pulitzer challenge has no end date, but for 2017 I want to read Boswell's Life of Johnson which I have in a slightly different (i.e. cheaper) version than this handsome Penguin Classic. But it's the unabridged version, so yay.

There are all sorts of reading challenges around (quite apart from LT) and I thought I'd have a go at the Better World Books challenge, which is as follows (with some thoughts for books in each category where I have thoughts. Or books):



A food memoir Toast by Nigel Slater COMPLETED
A young adult novel Looking for Alaska by John Green COMPLETED
A National Book Award Winner The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead COMPLETED
A book under 200 pages Hell's Bottom, Colorado by Laura Pritchett COMPLETED
A book by a female writer The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf COMPLETED
A book set in Asia China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan COMPLETED
A book translated from another language Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg COMPLETED
A fantasy novel Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb COMPLETED
A book that’s more than 100 years old Bleak House COMPLETED

Still to go:

A collection of short stories

The First Person by Ali Smith (a gift that I haven't read, not really being a short story person)

A book with a color in the title

If "Fiery" is a colour, then The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery by Eric Foner

A book you picked based on its cover

The Leveller Revolution by John Rees

A book set in a place you want to visit

The Greenlanders by Jane Smiley

A book based on a fairytale

Snow White by Matt Phelan

A book that takes place in a forest

A romance that takes place during travel

Somehow I don't think this one will be too difficult...

A book over 400 pages

Catherine the Great & Potemkin by Simon Sebag Montefiore

A banned book

1984 by George Orwell

A nonfiction book about nature

Weatherland by Alexandra Harris - another gift that I haven't quite got to

A book by a person of color

The Pillow Book

A book of poetry

Poem for the Day, which I didn't quite keep up with last year.

A book about immigrants

A book about a historical event

Hitler's Beneficiaries by Gotz Ali

A book with a child narrator

A book that’s been adapted into a movie

The Life of Pi

Is it safe to wish you a happy new thread now?

>7 cbl_tn: Hi Carrie! Yes, it is safe. And thank you :-)

Happy new thread!

I'm wondering if I know of a book set in a forest? Hmm.

>9 charl08: Thanks Charlotte! I wonder if a fairytale-type book might be set in a forest. Ooh, or the next one in the Last of the Mohican series. I've read the first one and there was a lot of forest in that... I really need to add some pictures to that post, as it's so boring!

Oh, you could read Barkskins. That has an awful lot of forest in it, despite the best efforts of all the loggers in the book. They even make it to NZ to cut down trees there.

Now I'm wondering if you've read it already though.

>11 charl08: Charlotte, I did read that one, last year. But you're right about the forest! I wonder about The Snow Child. There is a forest on the cover, but someone said that you can't always judge a book by its cover.

Ooh, or, I could reread Juliet Marillier's Daughter of the Forest, which is the first in the Sevenwaters trilogy. I read books 1 - 3 a few years, and you might think that's all the books there *are* in a trilogy, but there are now books 4, 5, 5.5 and 6 too, and I'd love to find out what happened next.

There's Blue Heaven, a stand-alone by C. J. Box. Mrs. Mike is a Canadian classic. Gene Stratton-Porter was both a novelist and a conservationist, and most of her books have a natural setting. Freckles is the most forest-y one of her books that I've read. Or what about Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House in the Big Woods?

>14 cbl_tn: Thanks Carrie! I actually have Blue Heaven - it's in an ebook box set that I was saving for when the Joe Pickett books ran out. The others also look good.

Happy new thread, Susan!

Congrats on the new thread!

Happy new thread, Susan!

Sorry about the lack of snow... maybe tonight?

Happy new one, Susan. Is The Janus Stone book up there the Ruth Galloway series? If so, the author's last name is Griffiths not Smith.

For a book with a child narrator, I love Dodie smith's I Capture the Castle if you have not read that one yet.

Happy new thread, Susan!
>13 susanj67: I read Sevenwaters 1-6 last year, I didn't know 5.5 existed... ah that one isn't translated.

>16 scaifea: Thanks Amber. I'm still smiling after my visit to your thread - what a cool day you had with Charlie's class.

>17 inge87: Thanks Jennifer!

>18 katiekrug: Thanks Katie. We're certainly going to have a heck of a fog. It's closing in now.

>19 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie :-) And, um, I've fixed that touchstone *wonders now who Elly Smith is* so thanks for that. I read I Capture the Castle many years ago - maybe it's time for another read.

>20 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita! It's so long since I've read the original three that I'll have to start again (oh, the hardship :-) ) but I enjoyed them a lot. And Juliet Marillier is a Kiwi too!

Happy new one, Susan.

Well I, for one, was pleased to miss the snow in the UK.

Happy new thread, Susan.

>6 susanj67: Ha! Oh, the humanity!

Happy new thread. We're getting part of that blizzard that Katie is talking about. All the courts are closed, so I get to stay home. The Governor asked everyone to avoid driving if they could -- so I did!

A good day for catching up on LT!

>22 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Reba :-)

>23 PaulCranswick: Paul, yes, it's a novelty for about ten minutes in London and then the complaining starts :-)

>24 michigantrumpet: Marianne, that sounds like the best thing to do. I hope you get all caught up.

I am about to brave the supermarket, and then the bus. as I've been staring at a screen all day, working on complicated documents, I think tonight might be TV, although I could always do a few more chapters of things. Bleak House is going well on the bus - I finally took the new Fire out of the house.

Happy new thread, Susan.

Happy new thread, Susan.
>6 susanj67: - Hah! I have that on my office door.

Happy New Thread, Susan!

>26 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara :-)

>27 BLBera: Thanks Beth. Yes, it's one of my favourites :-)

>28 ronincats: Thanks Roni!

Still no snow, but it's very foggy, as I predicted, and I can barely see north as far as Poplar. I read about 40 pages of Five Star Billionaire last night, and it remains weird. Mostly, though, I watched TV, including the new Netflix series "Santa Clarita". No-one watch it if they're feeling a bit off-colour.

Just stopping by to say hi and a Happy New Thread, Susan!

>30 ASplashOfMusic09: Hi ASplashofMusic, and welcome!

I happened to notice that the library had added some new ebooks. But I have NOT borrowed Moonglow (Hi Beth!) even though it's sitting right there, all available and everything. Five minutes now, and staying strong :-) I might reserve it tomorrow, by which time no doubt I'll be 14th in the queue.

Now seven minutes. Just saying.

I made myself a "Buddha Bowl"-style salad in the canteen at lunchtime, insofar as that is actually possible on a flat plate. But it looked pretty good. Today's global cuisine was "Best of British", which is basically just fish and chips, so that didn't appeal.

Maybe I should go for a short walk in the mall, to take my mind off the ebooks.

Moonglow looks excellent and has gotten such good reviews.

Just saying...

>33 katiekrug: Katie! You are not good for a person's willpower. It's still there. No-one has seen it yet. But it does look long, and I am a bit overbooked already. I should probably at least finish Bleak House first. How is your snow?

Oof, Bleak House. Yes, maybe best to wait...

Snow is pretty and the streets are mostly clear. No major problems getting to and from the train station this morning...

>35 lunacat: Thanks Jenny. I am glad to make it to Friday, and a do-over of the weekend.

>36 katiekrug: Katie, it's still there. Gaaargh! But I am enjoying Bleak House a lot, so I'm going to keep going and wait. Excellent news about the snow being picturesque but not annoying. And how great that plowing etc is included in the rent!

According to Amazon, Moonglow is only 430 pages, Susan. so really a drop in the bucket for you. Just saying...

>38 Crazymamie: Um, thanks Mamie. I think :-) I had also looked up Amazon! I'm so naughty. I really should have a reading-packed weekend, except already I'm planning a trip to an exhibition on all the cool stuff they found digging the new Crossrail line, and a lunch at Pret. At least it will be some steps, if not words.

>39 susanj67: That sounds like a lovely way to spend some time. Is it the exhibition at the Museum of London? I'm really keen to go and see it - I might see if TheBF fancies a trip into London to go and do history stuff soon.

>40 lunacat: Jenny, yes, it is the Museum of London one, but at the Docklands branch (nearest tube Canary Wharf: nearest DLR West India Quay). I love the Docklands one - small but with some great things. The Sugar and Slavery gallery (permanent) is also worth a look. Tomorrow is the first day of their half-term programme, but the screaming is usually confined to downstairs.

Ah, I didn't know there were two branches. I think I've only been to the main one so I really need to go on a visit. Has the exhibition got an end date? I'd hate to miss out on it.

Half term visit to a museum? Bonus points, surely.

>42 lunacat: Jenny, it ends on 3 September.

>43 charl08: Charlotte, in fact it was fine. They have a "Mudlarks Gallery" next to the cafe area where kids can go and do kid things, and I could see some colouring in going on. Plus I went early :-)

The exhibition is really cute - not huge, but very well done, and there's something in it for everyone - infrastructure nerds (*raises hand*), Londoners, archaeology buffs and really anyone who's walked past all the Crossrail hoardings in central London over the last few years and wondered what was going on behind them. There was a grown-up commentary on the wall at grown-up height, and then at about thigh-height there were orange circles with the kids' commentaries in them, and questions for them to answer. There were also pottery fragments to touch, videos to watch, flaps to lift and buttons to push. Fun for any age :-)

I didn't walk there in the end because it started snowing, and it's still snowing! Exciting. I went to the supermarket afterwards and got the tube home, so I'm not worn out. I may not even need a nap. I want to finish Five Star Billionaire today, read a bit more of Superhubs and start something else.

28. Five Star Billionaire by Tash Aw

I found this at the library when I was looking for more novels about modern China, after finishing China Rich Girlfriend. It's a totally different sort of book, but it didn't really work for me. I liked the setting of modern-day Shanghai and how fast it is developing, but it's told from the points of view of five characters and it was all a bit confusing to me. So not a hit this time, but I have a NF one about China at the moment too, and I would still like to read more.

Well. I started Land of Love and Drowning but then realised that I've actually already read it. So I picked up Superhubs and just couldn't be bothered. It's all about network science applied to the super-rich bank bosses and hedgies, but I think the real reason they run the world is because none of them dares to blow the whistle on any other one, or they'll all come tumbling down together. Hmmm, I might write that up as a book proposal and send it to Verso...

Now I'm down to two library books. Yikes! Twenty minutes ago I had four. Maybe it's time for some dinosaurs.

Hooray for the snow, Susan! Most exciting! And only two library books?! Say it isn't so.

Snow!!!

Verso sent me a notification ad for their sale Susan. I want All The Books.

Totally write the proposal.

Hey, Susan, I just discovered I have seven library books waiting for me. Want a couple?

Funny that you already read Land of Love and Drowning; it must not have stuck with you...

Maybe you'll have to go for a walk to the library and get in some steps.

>47 Crazymamie: Mamie, I was pretty excited about the snow! It actually snowed on me as I was walking down the street from the tube station. It's only 150 yards to my front door, but still. And yes, only two books. But there are two coming in, so it's probably just as well. I can catch up with Mount TBR as well.

>48 katiekrug: Katie, I know! It's stopped now, but it's very snow-like out there, so maybe I will wake up to a winter wonderland tomorrow.

>49 charl08: Charlotte, I think the issue is that there are just Too Many Books. But what can we do?

>50 BLBera: Beth, maybe :-) Land of Love and Drowning stuck with me enough to remember I'd read it, but evidently no more than that. A shame, really. I think tomorrow might be a quiet day at home, but I'll see what it looks like when I get up.

I read some more of Boswell's Life of Johnson this afternoon, and finally (200 pages in), Boswell has actually *met* Johnson. He was very excited about it, and then wondered whether he'd said/done the wrong thing (never meet your idols) but he's now friends with Johnson and quoting things that he'd written in his journal after his meetings with the great man. I wonder what Johnson thought, and whether he felt like a large, famous ship that had just acquired another barnacle. Maybe I'll find out in the next 600 pages. It's quite a challenge but then it's not a race.

The Boswell sounds good, but as you say, a project.

I'm glad to hear the exhibition is worth going to. I suggested the idea to TheBF and he seemed very keen so hopefully it will end up in the diary at some point :)

I was almost sure that I had Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson in the NF TBR piles, but apparently I don't. Hoping you find it a great book so that I will have to get it.

>52 BLBera: Beth, yes, my vague goal is 20pp per day, but I haven't reached it so far. Darned library books...

>53 lunacat: Jenny, you could make a good day of it - do the whole museum (there's a cafe on the ground floor or restaurants along West India Quay for refreshment breaks) and then have a walk around Canary Wharf. The museum is free with a suggested donation, and there's no exhibition fee (at the Docklands branch), so you're not stuck inside once you get there, trying to see everything all at once.

>54 Fourpawz2: Charlotte, I'll keep you posted!

Meanwhile, I used the time saved by yesterday's two library book fails to finish another one from Mount TBR:



29. The Dinosaur Hunters by Deborah Cadbury

This is an excellent look at the earliest discovery of dinosaur remains in the UK, and the rivalries between various collectors (chiefly Gideon Mantell and Richard Owen) as they tried to work out just what they had found and, frankly, why. What *were* these giant bones, and how did they fit with God having created everything all at once? Were they really steps in evolution, or something else? This must have been a truly strange (but exciting) time to be alive. For us, I suppose it would like finding an alien in a forest - we'd have absolutely no idea what we'd come across, where it had come from or what it meant for us. Cadbury's research is meticulous, but the book is very clear ( although some knowledge of geological periods would help, event though they mostly seem to have been renamed since the mid-1800s). And just as people thought they'd found some of the answers, along came Charles Darwin and changed everything. Highly recommended for anyone who likes natural history. Or whose dogs bark at the dinosaurs in Crystal Palace, and who wants to know how they got there :-)

Next up, I think I'll start Assassin's Apprentice, because it's cold and dull outside and I may still be in my jammies.

>55 susanj67: Still being in your jammies is an excellent state to be in. I am in the same situation, though I will have to get dressed soon as I think it would look a little odd playing badminton in my pjs! Have a lovely day.

Hooray for jammie time on Sundays.

Sounds like a good plan for Sunday. Hoping today is not as bitter. I was properly cold when I came in yesterday.

>56 DianaNL: Thanks Diana!

>57 lunacat: Jenny, yes, they probably wouldn't work for badminton. Rather you than me with the exercise...

>58 BLBera: Beth, it was a very chilled day :-)

>59 charl08: Charlotte, this morning is blowing a gale out here at the Wharf - even more than usual, I mean. Ridiculously cold. I was nearly glad to arrive at my desk :-)

>60 lunacat: Jenny, standing tall I get, but Mamie's advice for a Monday is that you must NOT look directly at it, and just do the best you can with it. Moving toward the nearest Tuesday I can definitely get on board with, though.

Assassin's Apprentice is going really well, despite a small diversion into the Netflix at one point yesterday afternoon. OK, three points. I've discovered "Reign", which is so dreadful that it's compulsive viewing. It's about Mary Queen of Scots, who goes to "French Court" to marry Francis. I don't know why "French Court" doesn't have a "the" in front of it, but everyone calls it "French Court" like it's a shopping mall. At one point, Queen Catherine sends someone to keep Mary "on-task". I'm just waiting for "like" to creep into every sentence. And, amazingly, although the cast has good English accents, I have never seen any of them before. Weird.

Hmm, two different tactics on management of Mondays. Perhaps we should try an experiment, which works best ;)

If you look Monday directly in the eye, you are on your own. I cannot be held responsible. Also, I think that calling attention to yourself by waving your arms and making loud noises is a mistake.

Abby has watched "Reign" and talked me into watching a few episodes with her. "...so dreadful that it's compulsive" is exactly right. Ha!

>63 Crazymamie: Perhaps it's possible to scare Monday off by being loud and calling attention to yourself. I'm considering it as a more proactive approach than hiding my head under the pillow and pretending it's not happening, though I could well end up being painfully wrong ;).

I guess I think of Monday as more of a snake than a bear, in which case it is better to avoid startling it. No need to hide, but stealth is required.

That only works if you're not an absolutel klutz like me. I have a tendency to trip over Monday, alarming both of us so our hackles are raised. It all goes downhill from there!

>62 lunacat:, >63 Crazymamie:, >64 lunacat:, >65 Crazymamie:, >66 lunacat: Ladies, I can announce that Monday is nearly over, and I stuck with not looking directly at it. Or making loud noises. I just did what I could with it.

And, glancing at the Evening Standard as I log off and tidy up, I was delighted to see that the painting American Gothic is coming to London as part of an exhibition at the Royal Academy! Woo-hoo! https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/america-after-the-fall It looks *excellent*, and I am definitely going to go.

>61 susanj67: "Reign" sounds like something I could torture Mr SandDune with, if I'm ever really annoyed with him about anything. He's a stickler for historical accuracy!

>67 susanj67: American Gothic is one of our favorites pieces of art to see when visiting the Art Institute of Chicago. Well worth the look in!

>68 SandDune: Rhian, it would be perfect for that! Last night King Henry was wearing a *jumper* in one scene (sweater for US readers - not a pinafore dress) with a fur gilet over the top of it. In another scene, he was cavorting with a laydee, *wearing his crown*. Mary's ladies in waiting (Greer, Lola, Kenna and Aylee, those well-known Scottish names) look like they're on their way to the super-posh bit of Glastonbury, and everyone (French, English, Scottish) speaks with an English accent *except* the Portuguese prince who showed up last night, and sounds foreign. I also noticed that Netflix has The Tudors, which might be another candidate for historical annoyance.

>69 michigantrumpet: Marianne, I'm looking forward to it. The whole exhibition looks good. I hope they have decent merchandise :-)

Verso has a sale on "anti-Valentine's reading" http://www.versobooks.com/blogs. Of course they do.

I just bought a couple more picture books for F-O-R's little boy. I'm making him a "big brother bag" for when the baby comes, with some stories about new babies and some Duplo. And a card with a badge which says "I'm a big brother". I asked for advice in Waterstone's after only finding Mog and the Baby, and the assistant was excellent. I bought a Topsy and Tim book about new babies, which apparently talks about being careful with them (perhaps useful after they had to rehome the cat due to over-enthusiasm. It lives in Scotland now, with one set of grandparents). There was another good one but it had a button to press to make a sound, and I don't buy things with sounds. I already have one in which a Knight tries to find the softest pillow in the kingdom for a new princess, but only her big brother can stop her crying. The baby is due in the first week of March, so I thought I'd better finally get organised. It will be nice to have some *good* news, after a sad start to 2017. Two very close friends have lost their fathers in the last couple of weeks - one just last night.

Wondering how many exhibitions I can get round on one trip to London...

That big brother bag sounds like a lovely gift Susan. Off to check out anti-Valentine's day.

Back to add that Red Rosa is one of the books on sale. I thought this was very well done, and to get it for less than nine quid...!

>72 charl08:, >73 charl08: Charlotte, they do seem to have some good things in the sale. But I have resisted!

I did just go to the library to pick up Evicted, though. And they had Moonglow right there, brand new! I did pick it up. But then I put it back. I randomly borrowed Waves of Prosperity instead. Hmm, no touchstone. This one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Waves-Prosperity-India-Global-Transformed-ebook/dp/B01E...

The Unwinding came in on Monday and I'm about a hundred pages into that, so pretty busy on the NF.

Morning, Susan. Happy New Thread. I hope you're having a good week.

That does sound pretty busy with NF! I'm feeling a bit ashamed of myself, as I failed to realise I can't renew the books I've maxed out until Friday. Argh. 60p fine. Not going to break the bank, but still, it's the principle!

It's so quiet in the office today I'M hoping to get some (work related) reading in. I love that my job includes reading again.

>75 thearlybirdy: Hey Birdy! The week is going OK. And now it's lunchtime Wednesday, which means I'm half-way there :-)

>76 charl08: Charlotte, I thought I'd better get going on the NF, as my goal is two-thirds NF to one-third F and currently I've finished 11 NF and 18 F. Yay for work-related reading, at least if it's interesting.

30. Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

I read this for the fantasy novel category in the Better World Books challenge, and also because it had been lurking in the hall cupboard for years. I enjoyed it a lot, and have already checked the second one out of the library as an ebook :-)

I started Evicted on the bus home last night, and by the time I went to bed I'd read half of it. I should finish it tonight as there's nothing distracting on the TV, provided I don't answer the siren call of the Netflix.

Today's "awww" story - the seven-year-old who applied for a job at Google, and the response from the CEO :-) Her letter is so sweet.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/google-ceo-sundar-pichai-seven-y...

Morning, Susan. That was such a sweet story. She deserves an "awww" for sure.

>80 thearlybirdy: Birdy, I loved where she said that it was only the second letter she'd written - the first being to Father Christmas :-)



31. Evicted by Matthew Desmond

I read this because it's getting so much attention on LT, and it was certainly an interesting read. Tenants seem to have few rights in the places the author was writing about, and the slumlords were dreadful people. But the tenants were also nightmares. I doubt that anyone could say, hand on heart, that they would rent to the people featured in the book. The author says that fundamental change is needed to the housing system, and cites the UK housing benefit as an example of a system that works. (He also seems to think that nearly everyone here gets it). Um, no. And it creates terrible problems, driving up rents because landlords know that the state will pay, while many tenants still live in terrible conditions. True, more notice is required here when landlords want the property back, but still not very much, and landlords do still punish people for wanting repairs by evicting them and finding someone else. But it irked me when he said that the people he featured "just wanted the best for their children". Wanting the best for your kids is not having three kids before you're 20, without a father in sight. Wanting the best for your kids is not having six that you can't possibly afford, and having four of them taken into care. So there was much that I disagreed with in this book. But at least now I know what everyone is talking about.

Good morning, Susan. ^I liked that part of the letter too.

>82 thearlybirdy: Birdy, and it was so nice of the CEO to take the time to answer :-)

Today's "awww" - the internet's favourite 5-year-old feminist:
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/five-year-old-feminist-channel-4_uk_58a6c1...

Way to go, girl power at a very young age.

>81 susanj67: I don't think we're ever going to agree about housing policy Susan! I was intrigued about how many people lived in council housing in this country.

17% of people (albeit according to Wikipedia) lived in a council house in 2010. I wonder what that stat would be if you include those who bought their council house. Was that more or less than you thought?

>83 susanj67: Love that! Thanks for sharing, Susan. And Happy Friday to you!

Thanks for the Awww moments! Too bad Eva can't run for President here!

>84 thearlybirdy: Birdy, it was cheering to watch :-)

>85 charl08: Charlotte, that was probably about the number (or at least I'm not hugely surprised by it). I was more alarmed at his suggestion that the housing benefit system we have here was one that the US could copy, given all the problems with it. There would still be slumlords like the dreadful Sherrena and Tobin, and still insecurity of tenure unless there were a lot more changes to the system (which we could also do with here).

>86 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie!

>87 michigantrumpet: Marianne, so true!

I went to Westfield this morning and bought a set of Duplo for the Big Brother Bag - it's pretty old-school in that it has very few shaped pieces, but you can make an elephant and a toucan and crab and another bird and some trees, and there's a sun umbrella. That should keep the Granddad busy while the grandparents are babysitting :-) There is a finely tuned plan for child care on the day/night involving FOR's brother as the front line, for immediate deployment, until the grandparents drive up from Sussex and take over. There is also, apparently, a document setting out 24 hours in the life of the two-year-old, for following by everyone involved. I have all my instructions for FOR's various newsletters that I am overseeing during his paternity leave, so now everyone is just waiting :-) Paternity leave doesn't start here until the baby is born so preparation is key.

We are having a Caribbean vortex here in London, and I did have unzip my puffa while I was out. True, I was in a mall, but still. It is bright and sunny outside so I might sit and read and enjoy it this afternoon. I also want to try a new recipe that involves hemp hearts (which are actually just hulled seeds, and not a thing like artichoke hearts at all) and apples. There may also be some custard involved.

Morning, Susan. It sounds like you've been busy this morning.

>88 susanj67: Gosh, you're brave with the hemp hearts.
After the baking debacle this morning I'm relieved I've got some previously tested chilli to defrost for my tea.

>89 thearlybirdy: Birdy, I've run the errands I needed to run, so I have to count that as a win :-)

>90 charl08: Charlotte, good to hear that chilli will save the day :-) I'm going to make the hemp heart thing shortly - it's this: https://juliedaniluk.com/recipes/wild-rice-hemp-apple-bake.html All I needed was the hemp and a couple of cooking apples. I am now a person who can rustle up a cup of cooked quinoa with no special purchasing *proud*. (Holland & Barrett has the hemp, btw, should you fancy it http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/linwoods-shelled-hemp-60083439 Also a buy-one-get-one-half-price offer on, so I bought a pack of flaxseed, cocoa and berries too)

I read about an excellent-sounding new extension for Chrome on Nora's thread - it's this one: https://www.libraryextension.com/ And it means that, as you're browsing Amazon (and even LT!) it tells you which books are available in your local library catalogue. My library isn't on there (coverage for the UK is meagre) but they said to email with suggestions, so I did. I have long dreamed of a way to look up stuff without a separate window open for the library catalogue, so this sounds perfect.

>61 susanj67: I was laughing at your comments on "Reign." It reminded me of one of Roxane Gay's essays in which she admits to watching bad TV, mostly reality shows. It was very funny.

>83 susanj67: Aww. I got tears in my eyes.

You must get Moonglow - it was my first read of the year and still one of the best.

Great comments on The Assassin's Apprentice and Evicted.

I'll have to check out the Amazon/library connection. I wonder if we have it. It would be great.

Susan I have to admit at this point that the teff is still sitting in the cupboard and that I really have to get braver with my cooking. I've said I'll have some of the refugee guys and volunteers over for tea and am now thinking about what I'm going to cook. This would not be problem living in London, I'd err on the side of caution and get halal but I don't even think there is one closer than Liverpool. Maybe I'll go veggie for a night instead.

That library link sounds really dangerous. Imagine the books you could access without a single delay... I wonder if there is an app for android coming?! :-)

>92 BLBera: Beth, I'm now completely addicted to Reign. It is the new Sons of Anarchy. Well, you know what I mean :-) As long as you just accept that its only relationship to actual history is that there once *was* someone called Mary Queen of Scots, then it's just a good story with nice outfits :-) Nostradmus is a bit of a pain, though - always popping up with doomful prophecies. Mary has just left French Court, riding fast on a horse as Francis looks winsomely after her. I think she goes to Scotland next. I can't wait. I definitely want to read Moonglow, but I'm resolved to finish Bleak House first, and then add myself to the waiting list for the ebook. It didn't last long before someone borrowed it, and removed the temptation.

>93 charl08: Charlotte, I am very unbrave with the cooking, but just pick one recipe and go with it to start with. If it works, you can make it over and over :-) I think vegetarian would be a good choice for a mixed group, because even if people like some meat they might not like all of it, which adds another complicating factor. And, as the host of the Food Network's Indian cooking programme said the other night, half a billion Indians can't be wrong :-) The library link does sound dangerous, and I wonder what Amazon must think of it, although presumably if people are going to cross-check with the library they are doing that anyway and it will just be easier, rather than a whole new thing. They say they are doing one for Firefox, but that looks like it so far.

The hemp and apple thing is nearly done. I halved the recipe, which made me wonder about the cooking time, but it's going to take about as long as the recipe says, regardless.

I've read some more of The Unwinding this afternoon, which is very good. I've also started a book about the new entrepreneurs of China, and I need to read another novel from the library which is due back next weekend. Fortunately the TV looks unpromising this evening.

32. China's Disruptors by Edward Tse

This is an interesting look at how China's entrepreneurs are changing the way business is done (and life is lived) in China. The author discusses about a dozen successful entrepreneurs and their businesses, including Alibaba, Lenovo, Tencent, WeChat and Haier, which are making an absolute fortune, but are largely ignored by the West on the basis that they are just copycats of what other countries are doing. But he argues that that's not the case - that they are uniquely good at knowing what Chinese customers want, and that some of them have seen off (or bought out) international competitors who try a "one size fits all" approach to their overseas marketplaces and fail because they don't take the time to understand China. With a billion people and rising incomes, its not a market that can be ignored, and shortly the number of Chinese university graduates will be greater than the entire US workforce. R&D budgets are still not as high as the US, but they're getting there. China had a lot of catching up to do after it entered the WTO in 2001, but once it's done that, then who knows? Chinese products are getting better all the time, although I think here in the UK, anyway, it is still associated with the "cheap junk" end of the market, but then so was Japan when I was a kid, and look at it now. It's a thought-provoking read.

Interesting comments about what sounds like an interesting book. Thanks Susan.

Reba, it's a good read. I think the West has a view of China that looks at the way it is governed, and the lack of basic human rights like free speech, and condemns it outright, as if such a country could have nothing going for it. It was interesting to read about how entrepreneurs have succeeded *despite* that, working within the system but still bringing products and services up to date (even if they do have to hire a lot of censors to make sure no-one says anything that they shouldn't).

When I was a child, China was a very poor place (and, as I was born just a few years after the end of the Great Famine, that's probably not surprising), as was India. (You can imagine the alarm in New Zealand when Britain abandoned us to join the EU, because those two enormous markets we know today just didn't exist then). I think we (in the UK, anyway) know more about India, because (a) many more Indians live here than Chinese people and (b) English is an official language in India, so it's easier to keep up with what's going on (the roomie, for example, went to University in India but her degree was taught entirely in English). China is much more of an unknown quantity here (it may be different in the US, which has a much higher Chinese population). So I've pretty much gone from thinking of it as a poor country to being amazed at how far it's come, knowing relatively little about how it got there.

And the best piece of trivia from the book: the Chinese equivalent of eBay is a site called Taobao, which means "digging for treasure". Far cooler than eBay :-)

"Digging for treasure" -- I like that. I don't think most Americans know much about either China or India. Sadly, US news it so US-centric that it's difficult to know much about the rest of the world and I don't really think most Americans try too hard either. We do have a lot of recent Indian immigrants, highly skilled computer people but they tend to be located in only a few places and, as a percent of the population aren't really that many.

All of that said..I'm going to try really hard not to be drawn off to a non-Pulitzer book until I finish that list!!

>97 susanj67: Sounds intriguing Susan. I have a book about the famine that I still haven't read, patiently sitting in my kindle. Do they talk about the car market much? I saw something about how Chinese factories started off just illegally copying western brands and then went on to design their own. It's all vague though. I'm reading Once Upon a time in the East, which is pretty critical of the health and environmental impact of all the industrial development. Of course, the plus with memoir is it's just one perspective rather than any need for balance!

>98 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, I admire your concentration on the Pulitzers!

>99 charl08: Charlotte, is your famine book the one you mentioned last year, possibly by Frank someone (ETA: Frank Dikotter - check out my memory from a wishlist of 197 things!), and the middle one of three? I wishlisted the first one and am now motivated to actually go up to Whitechapel and get it. Or have it sent down here. Heh. One of the companies discussed was Geely, which is a car manufacturer (it bought Volvo, oddly, and it also owns Manganese Bronze, the company which makes black cabs). The author admits a problem in China with a general lack of respect for intellectual property, but says some people are starting to campaign for the rule of law to play more of a part in the country generally. And the chap who founded Alibaba has now turned his attention to environmental issues. We do seem to get a lot of stories here about the state of the air in Beijing. Overall, I think what we read about China is very negative - rule of law issues, pollution, one ruling party, lack of innovation, Government spying, computer hacking etc, and yet despite all that, a lot of people are flourishing. I watched a sneery TV interviewer grill a Chinese analyst a while ago about China, focusing only on the bad things, and she said that bringing x million people out of poverty/hunger was a good thing, expanding the availability of education and raising standards was a good thing, and so on. He made her sound like an apologist for the Government, but she did have a point. Not a complete answer, but a point.

The hemp and apple bake was amazing, by the way. It does taste "healthy", but it was quite a novelty to have something with no refined carbs. I had it with custard on Saturday, and then with natural unsweetened yoghurt. Mmmm. I will look for more hemp recipes.

I spent much of yesterday afternoon's reading time on Royal Assassin, which is the second book in the Farseer trilogy. I see from the author's website that there are three trilogies in the series! Yay! Nine books, as she sticks to a trilogy being three. I also discovered that she writes as Megan Lindholm, and has written a pair of books that will appeal to fans of Clan of the Cave Bear. I *loved* that series, save for the last one, which was a book too far. I think I'm taking refuge in fantasy, which is not like me. But with all these terrible fake massacres going on, what's a person to do? I didn't even turn on the news this morning, but just had the radio on the Heart breakfast show, which is mostly nonsense with songs.

>95 susanj67: Sounds interesting, Susan. Onto the list it goes.

I am NOT going to start "Reign." It sounds like the kind of thing that could be very addictive...:)

>101 BLBera: Beth, I don't blame you re Reign. I keep thinking I'll just finish the season and then have a break, but it just keeps going. The scriptwriters have given Queen Catherine and King Henry some cracking lines: C: "Whore-monger!" H: "Devil! But, endearments aside..." and there was a very funny Downton-style scene involving the disappearing of an accidental death, but overall it is quite po-faced. Last night Mary de Guise showed up, and she was an Aussie. I mean really.

And speaking of people turning up, the Prime Minister is in the House of Lords at the moment, listening to the Brexit debate: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/theresa-may-turns-up-at-lordss-brexit-de... She's in the top left of the picture, in the black trouser suit. This is very rare, apparently, and she had to sit on the steps to the throne. I love living in a country which has steps to a throne that people can sit on.

Also on the Ye Olde Englande theme, I was reading a judgment today which contained the following:

"If a balancing exercise was ever required in the case of legal professional privilege, it was performed once and for all in the 16th century, and since then has been applied across the board in every case, irrespective of the client's individual merits." And then it cited a case from 1577 and one from 1579. I nearly read it out gleefully to the roomie, but she is busy on something with a midnight filing deadline (really) so y'all can enjoy it instead :-)

Wow. That is an excellent historical precedent.

I'm not sure about the China book.I just remember it as being one where the % marker never seemed to move, and I got demoralised!

Very funny about Reign. I saw all the available episodes last year and spent a lot of time alternately grumbling to Jane and occasionally yelling at the iPad about stupid stuff that was driving me nuts. The names are dreadful and all of the pretty, pretty people are ridiculous. In particular all of Mary's drivel about Scotland annoyed me; the real Mary had no memory of Scotland as she had been in France since she was a very small child and was - understandably - of the opinion that France (and 'French Court' - I loved that too!) was the center of the world. I think the current season is the last. Part of me wants to finish it, but am not sure if I can really stand to watch two more seasons of it.

>103 charl08: Charlotte, isn't it?!! I love that sort of thing. Proper history. It's because I grew up in a country where 1840 was pretty much the kick-off date. My favourite piece of legal trivia is that "time immemorial" means before 1189.

>104 Fourpawz2: Charlotte, another Reign fan! Yay! (if that's the right expression. Actually one of the ladies in waiting has probably said that. Henry described Mary as a "teenager" a few episodes ago). I found a ranty blog somewhere complaining about just how inauthentic it was, and there was a good post on the costumes, which pretty much look like prom dresses. (ooh, found it! http://blog.cnbeyer.com/tv-and-movies/reign-fashion-disasters-or-dear-gods-kill-... ) But this is my very fave - Lady Kenna in knee-high socks and a nightshirt:



I managed not to watch any last night, but every day is a temptation :-)



33. Oil on Water by Helon Habila

I read this after I saw it on Beth's thread, and because it was right there at the library, requiring no reserving. It's a shortish read, but very good - all about a young journalist who sets out to try and find a British woman who's been taken hostage by Nigerian militants in the delta region. Parts of it (topic-wise) reminded me of the book I read last year set in Nigeria but written by a Canadian. The name of that escapes me at the moment. I'll look for more books by this author at the library. Thanks Beth!

Hurrah for Helon Habila. Both earlier books are good too.
Was the earlier Canadian book 419?

>106 charl08: Um, thanks to Beth and Charlotte for Oil on Water. And yes! It was 419.

A Gentleman in Moscow has arrived at the library so I'll pick that up after work.

I've just been for a walk with Super-Fit Friend. I'm sure my Fitbit actually squeaked in protest at the numbers going so high.

Oh that wasn't meant as a hint Susan. I am a bit of a fan when it comes to Habila. Him and Ali Smith would be my ideal book event I think.

>108 charl08: Charlotte, I know, but I feel bad when I just credit the last place I read about it even though other people have mentioned it before :-) Memory of a goldfish...

I feel a Reign binge coming on this evening, after my lunchtime exertions. I can't be expected to go home and read NF while exhausted.

Of course not. French court sounds like the perfect solution to that...(!)

All these Reign comments are making me laugh - you are going to make me go back and finish up that first season.

>110 charl08: Charlotte, I'm almost getting used to it! Just went to the library and they had that book about the census ;-) I borrowed it, but resisted the one about the Russian revolution and a couple of others.

>111 Crazymamie: Mamie, go on and then you can disapprove too ;-) i've borrowed A Gentleman in Moscow after your review - looking forward to it.

Since I know very little about Mary, Queen of Scots, I might enjoy 'Reign' purely for the entertainment value!

Oh, that census book sounds good. If only I hadn't maxed out my reservations (!)

Will you be going to the Diana exhibit? BBC news seems keen...

>113 katiekrug: Katie, I'm sure you would :-)

>114 charl08: Charlotte, that's a shame about the reservations. Not really a surprise, though :-) I'll let you know what I think. I won't get to it immediately as I always read my reserves first, and it was just sitting on the shelf. I hadn't seen the publicity for the Diana exhibition, but probably not. I will remember all those outfits from the first time round :-) There is something a bit dismaying about going to an exhibition full of stuff you remember as a kid (well, teenager in my case). A friend and I went to one at the V&A a couple of years ago which included a section on 80s pop, and there were music videos playing on a loop. It just looked like an episode of Ready to Roll (NZ chart show) which we'd already seen :-) And there it was, in a *museum*.

I read a bit more of The Unwinding last night, which is excellent. But Reign got me for two episodes, and then I watched a BBC 2 programme about a notorious drug trial gone wrong. Must Do Better tonight, but there's something about Marianne North on BBC Four at 8pm which looks good.

So happy you loved Oil on Water, but I heard about it from Charlotte, so she gets the credit. It IS difficult to remember who recommended what. I have a library book THe Madwoman Upstairs that I know someone liked, but I have no idea who. Oh well.

I love the time immemorial definition!

Hooray for steps.

>116 BLBera: Beth, it is difficult - I am so swayed by whatever I read most recently on people's threads! I can't remember now where I read about time immemorial, but it's the sort of thing that sticks in my mind. I love legal nerdery.

Today's Google doodle is a delight: https://www.google.co.uk/ I'm not sure if they're the same everywhere but it's the one about the discovery of some exoplanets. Super-cute.

The bus took forever last night, but there were only a few people on it, and I had my Kindle, so it could have been worse. Royal Assassin is going well. I need to keep going with the hard copies, though. But I did manage not to watch any Reign. Today is storm Doris, so there will be no lunchtime walks. And working high up a tower isn't awesome either.

I loved the Google doodle too.

Hope the tower behaves itself. I used to get quite unnerved by the way the 25th floor in Victoria moved in the wind. Odd experience.

>118 charl08: Charlotte, it's the best one I've seen in a while. I love the waving planet :-) Oops, exoplanet. The tower is OK - we don't tend to get swaying but I hate the noise of the wind. It's calmed down a bit, though. There is even some sun. It should be better by the weekend, when I want to go museuming. I want to go to the Lockwood Kipling exhibition at the V&A: https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/lockwood-kipling-arts-and-crafts-in-the-punjab...

Repeated from the Book sale thread:

According to Book Riot, the BBC is offering The Underground Railroad FREE as an audiobook: http://bookriot.com/2017/02/21/bbc-releases-free-underground-railroad-audiobook?...

Here's a link straight to the BBC site http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08ff18j#play I hope this works for overseas people. As Book Riot is a US organisation I think it should.

The exhibit loos like they have some beautiful things. I would like to know more about art from this time/ location. The images in the Dalrymple book showing families and homes were fascinating.

The radio 4 books programmes are always free (I think for a month) but they are abridged Susan. I know some people get bothered by that. I've been told before that the listen again thing on the BBC will work abroad on a pc but not a phone, for some reason. I don't know if that's still the case.

>120 charl08: Charlotte, I didn't realise that about the abridgment. Sort of like a Reader's Digest condensed book, then (shudder).

I checked the Google Doodle here, and it is the same. Adorable!

I've had Oil on Water on the WL for a while now - really must find a copy...

I was looking at airBNB yesterday for suitable places to say on my (still theoretical) visit to London in July. And then I was getting all excited about said trip and decided I should probably stop looking until I find out if said trip will move out of the realm of the theoretical... *sigh*

>122 katiekrug: Katie, I still have that week highlighted in my diary, to stop people putting in meetings. Heh. I hope you can come! Oil on Water is definitely worth finding. I think my library has another one or two but currently I have other things...It's like I have no self-control.

>121 susanj67: I thought you'd have mentioned it if you did know!

I'm wondering if I should call work and offer emergency accommodation- several of the local motorways seem to be having problems.

>117 susanj67: I've got the same on google. It's lovely.
Sorry to hear that the weather is so awful at your place.

I loved today's doodle - just wish we could rush over there and see what's going on!

>124 charl08: Charlotte, I hope things are calmer up there today. It's still windy down here, but also sunny.

>125 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara. I just want it to be OK for tomorrow!

>126 drneutron: Jim, I wonder whether they're saying the same thing!

This morning's breakfast radio show was asking people to ring up and say what they'd lost and what they'd gained in the storm. One lady had lost a gazebo but gained a pot plant. Another one (with a fifth floor balcony) had lost a watering can but gained the bottom shelf of an oven (alarming). Then they read out a text which said "Do you still have the details of the lady who lost the trampoline? Because it's in my garden." I gained nothing else overnight, which is a relief.



34. Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

This is book 2 in the Farseer trilogy, and I love these books! FitzChivalry has to battle all sorts of baddies, including Prince Regal who is determined to become King-in-Waiting. I very much want to download book 3, but I'm determined to finish Bleak House first. It's starting to drag, and Esther and Mr Jarndyce? Really? I can see what people mean when they complain about the role of women in Dickens' novels.

Yet another library book came in this morning. It's The Templar Legacy, which is the first in a series that Barbara recommended. It took ages, and it could be in better shape, but it looks like a good read.

Enjoy The Templar Legacy and happy Friday, Susan.

Wow, quite a storm!!

Meanwhile, good work on the part of your parliament! Although I wish they had voted against a visit of any kind.

>127 susanj67: Well a car just round the corner from where I work gained a new roof which was much too large for it and which I'm sure it didn't want at all! Building next door lost one roof ...

>128 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara :-)

>129 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, yes it was, for London anyway. We don't get much weather down here :-) I also wish the vote had been for any visit, but now that he's banning news organisations like the BBC and CNN from press briefings, at least we won't have to watch it on TV.

>130 SandDune: Rhian, that does sound scary.

Today is grey and a bit blah looking, so I've decided to hunker down and have a Booky Boot Camp. I'm going to try and get seven hours of reading done, in between housework and other stuff I have to do. First up, finishing Bleak House. Now, where's my wind-up timer?

35. Bleak House by Charles Dickens

Finished! The Group Read prompted me to pick this up and actually read it, instead of thinking that I must. I have the Penguin Classic one in the picture, but I read most of it on the Kindle for the same of my arms. It's very long, but overall I enjoyed it, although I did miss the footnotes from the hard copy edition at times. I want to watch the BBC version of it, which I have on DVD somewhere. But not right now!

36. The Unwinding by George Packer

I read this because everyone else is, and it's excellent. Packer follows a variety of people in the US through years of change in their lives, as the "get a good education and a decently-paid job and all will be well" thinking is slowly eroded. His case studies are far more sympathetic than those in Evicted, so this was a better read for me. Anyone bewildered by the current state of things in the US will find this interesting.

I've read for 3 hours and 45 minutes, so now I might tackle some filing (omg) before continuing. I think my next start will be A Gentleman in Moscow.

Happy Saturday, Susan. I hope your weather is improving.

The sun is out this morning, and eventually I will have to do some shoveling, but I'll enjoy my coffee in my jams for a while first.

>134 BLBera: Thanks Beth :-) It's not windy, but it still looks a bit bleak, so I'm not going out. I saw the snow on your thread - what a lot. I hope you don't have to shovel too much to clear the path you need to.

Congratulations on finishing Bleak House. I'm really not a Dickens fan so I'm extra impressed.

Yep, banning news agents...his idiots already only believe his tweets and I imagine (hope) the real news outlets will share info given the dangers we're facing but still, it's a very scary time over here.

Sounds like your reading group scheme is going well. I have been distracted by a visit to the garden centre. If the rabbits permit, I have chard and cabbage in my future...

>136 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, historically I haven't been a Dickens fan, and even now I think "fan" might be pushing it, but he's so often quoted that I knew I was missing things. I think the reason this seemed long is (a) it is, in fact, long, but also (b) I kept getting distracted and reading faster-paced modern things instead of just sticking with it. It would be a good one for a verrrry long flight. I am reading about the latest nonsense online - still not watching the news, which is going remarkably well :-)

>137 charl08: Um, Charlotte, Katie has the groups. I have Booky Boot Camp! It has gone well - I've clocked nearly six hours today and started A Gentleman in Moscow and Waves of Prosperity (a NF with no touchstone) but it might be time for a change. By which, yes, I mean the Netflix. Heh. Also, there is a very silly-looking series on the Blaze channel (Freeview 83) tomorrow about Vikings, which looks even worse than Reign (in a good way. Wait - oh, never mind.) It's on at 10pm so I'm going to record it.

Hmm, I just made a chocolate mug cake from the Pioneer Woman, and am now all sugared up. Wheeeee! http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/chocolate-cake-in-a-mug

I would only use 1 tablespoon of sugar and a bit less oil next time, but it's all fudgy and lovely. And it took 90 seconds in a 1000-watt microwave. I'm not sure what she was using, but as there's no egg in it I thought it wouldn't matter if it was still a bit squidgy. Rather that than too dry. I had mine with some unsweetened natural yoghurt instead of ice cream, mostly due to not having any ice cream.

Argh sorry Susan.
Or Sudan, as my phone would prefer to call you. I don't know what I did there.
Glad it's going well. A Gentleman from Moscow is taking a very long time to get to the library here, so I envy you that one.

I love the idea of a Booky Boot Camp!

>139 charl08: Charlotte, it's easily done. A Gentleman From Moscow is absolutely brand new. In the olden days, I would have had to cut the pages. Bliss!

>138 susanj67: Katie, it's a useful way of focusing. Also a good excuse not to do dull things like the filing, except that I collected it all together and punched holes in everything, so now I just have to actually file it away. But the ring binders are in the hall cupboard, which is not the warm living room, so I haven't quite got to them yet.

I've managed three episodes of Reign, in which Mary wowed people with a "statement dress" (yes, really) and a whole lot of people died of plague. That might be enough for today.

Oh I do love getting brand new books from the library. How nice that one was a clean one! Hopefully 'my' copy will turn up soonish. My brother has given me a new copy of Waterlog (which does look a lot better than the very battered library one I didn't manage to finish before having to return).

>142 charl08: Charlotte, I think I just reserved it at a time they got a lot of new stuff in, and FLA told me that they try to keep new things in the borough for six months before they send them out to other consortium members. So yay! I had to look up Waterlog, which looks excellent (and what a clever title!). There's a copy at the tiny branch down the Isle of Dogs a bit. Hmmm. Maybe a lunchtime excursion one day this week.

I have done the paperwork filing, save for a December bank statement, which is on the loose somewhere in the house. I thought it might be fraternising with the water bill (left out to remind me to pay it) but no. Now I'm having a SusanLatte, which is instant coffee stirred into hot milk. Not everyone thinks this is an actual latte (Hi Mamie!) but it will do. I have a load of washing on, and picked a new programme I hadn't used before, thinking it might be quicker, but now I realise it only spins at 900 instead of 1400. D'oh! I should probably have read the instruction book at some point in the three years I've had the machine. Officially I'm walking to the Wharf for groceries in time for their midday opening, but we'll see. My neck feels a bit ominous and I have a busy week coming up so I don't need a giant headache. I'm really enjoying Waves of Prosperity, which is this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Waves-Prosperity-India-Global-Transformed-ebook/dp/B01E... I don't know why it doesn't have a touchstone, but it is new, and also written by a Kiwi, so it might not be that well known.

>132 susanj67: It is a quite readable Chuckles isn't it? Having said that I am not that far in with it and have no chance of finishing it this month.

Trust that your weekend has gone ok despite recalcitrant bank statements. I loved coffee into hot milk when I was younger and I wish I had known its name at the time. xx

Finding the time to get caught up with some threads and just wowed at the fact that you have already read 36 books so far this year.... and one of those books was Bleak House! Well done, Susan!

I really liked Waterlog (well, the bit that I got through) so it was a good gift call. Although I would have been happy to loan his copy - perhaps this links to the discussion elsewhere about whether you loan books. Maybe I am not a good borrower.

Echoing >145 lkernagh: - I fear my average book length has decreased. Cees Nooteboom is great but a bit longwinded for me, just now, if I am brutally honest.

Hope you have a good week Susan, and that your neck behaves.

>144 PaulCranswick: Paul, yes it was good (having now finished it!) It's just very long. Mamie says the coffee is a cafe au lait, but I'm going to stick with my name :-)

>145 lkernagh: Hi Lori :-) I'm not doing too badly this year, although the fiction seems to be taking over, and that's always a quicker read (maybe not Bleak House).

>146 charl08: Charlotte, Waterlog appeals. I used to swim all the time as a kid, and I was pretty good, too. I haven't been in the water in maybe 30 years, though. I'm not a big lender of books, although I did once get back a brand new copy of a Diana Gabaldon novel after a friend from work took mine overseas on holiday and dropped it in the pool.

Yesterday was pretty quiet, in the end. The neck/head threatened all sorts of mischief, so I didn't dare go out and make it worse. I read a bit, and watched the Netflix. I started Marco Polo (shows potential promise) and watched Cropsey, a documentary about some unsolved child disappearances on Staten Island. It was OK, but Making a Murderer has raised the bar considerably for those sorts of programmes. Then I watched a bit of an unfunny comedy, and then Heartland, wondering all the time why I'd never seen any of the actors before. It's Canadian, that's why. I'll take The Unwinding back at lunchtime, and try not to be tempted by anything.

You can call it whatever you want, Susan, and personally I like SusanLatte. Just remember that if you are ordering it out, and you want coffee and steamed milk, then it's cafe au lait. I used to order one of those every morning after I dropped either Daniel or Abby at preschool. I would drive through the school drop off, head down the back alley and swing left into another alley that came out right at the drive-thru window for the MT Cup, which was a lovely little independently owned coffee shop. They had three different flavors of coffee every day, and they were all delicious - you could pick which coffee to have made into an au lait. My favorite was the hazelnut coffee. They were also where I first discovered my love of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. I miss that place. It had a used bookstore just down from it called The White Rabbit, where there were always treasures waiting to be discovered, and in between the two shops there was a pizzeria that had the best pizza sauce ever. *sigh*

It's Pre-Tuesday - remember not to look it directly in the eye.

>148 Crazymamie: Mamie, that sounds like a lovely memory :-) I wondered what the difference was between a cafe au lait and a flat white, which is now quite the thing here after being invented in New Zealand. (I'm not sure where the coffee love came from as back in the 70s a jar of Nescafe instant coffee was about as fancy as it got, but anyway now they are All About Coffee). It seems the cafe au lait is made with drip coffee and the Flat White is made with espresso. I just had Pret's Vegetarian New Yorker on Rye for lunch, which sounds ridiculous but is AWESOME. No coffee, though. I had a cup this morning when I got to work, and that's enough. I have to spend the afternoon dictating, and I already talk quite fast :-)

The flat white is similar to a latte (both are made with espresso), but the milk is prepared and poured differently, so the flat white is usually a smaller drink, but not just a small latte. The latte uses the milk from the bottom of the steamed milk, and is often topped off with a bit of froth from the top of the steamed milk (cappuccino uses just the froth). A flat white uses the milk in the middle - the microfoam part, which is why the barista has to swirl the milk as they pour it. I am endlessly fascinated by coffee drinks and what makes them different from each other - so nerdy.

Your Pret sandwich sounds delicious. And good thinking with the coffee.

>150 Crazymamie: Holy carp, Mamie - so complicated! My granules + microwave option seems to lack a certain sophistication. Apart from the name, of course. The sandwich *is* delicious. They trialled it a while ago and the roomie and I had several, and now it's back, officially still on trial but it's looking permanent. Here are the details (but no picture): https://www.pret.co.uk/en-gb/1704-sandwiches-veggie-new-yorker-on-rye.aspx

True - and then your drink is only going to be as good as your barista. Heh. Sometimes less sophistication is better.

I would definitely try that sandwich. It seems like all the things I fall absolutely in love with always turn out to be "limited editions".

I"m dying to know what the Veggie New Yorker is, but my computer keeps forcing me to the Pret US site :( Usually, anything "New York" is full of various meats, so.... ?

Love the coffee talk. I make regular drip coffee at home, which I drink with flavored creamer. I like a good latte when I'm out and about, and a decaf cappuccino after a good meal.

>152 Crazymamie: Mamie, Pret is getting into vegetarian and vegan options more and more. They opened a vegetarian (or maybe vegan) pop-up in the West End a while ago, mostly for research purposes rather than making money, and it was a huge success. They are trying to decide whether to have entirely vegetarian branches, or more vegetarian options in all branches. I think the latter makes more sense, for people eating together who might like different things.

>153 katiekrug: Katie, here's what they say about the Vegetarian New Yorker:

*****
Mature Cheddar - Gherkins - Pickled Cabbage & Carrot - Mustard Mayo - Rocket - Rye Bread

Pret's twist on the New Yorker on Rye done veggie style! Tangy mustard mayo combined with mature Cheddar, gherkins, pickled cabbage & carrot and finished with rocket perfectly sandwiched between our rye & caraway bread.

*****

They also do a traditional New Yorker ("A generous handful of salt beef with crunchy gherkins, topped with crispy onions, fresh spinach, pickled cabbage & carrot and finished with mustard mayo on our dark rye bread"), but if you want one of those then Birley is the place to go rather than Pret. They make them to order but the queue is always long.

I am once again having a coffee from the machine - a proper latte this time :-) Last night I read another couple of chapters of Waves of Prosperity, in which the Kiwi author is quite snarky about how backward the English were when it came to shipping in the 1500s, and some more of Assassin's Quest, which is the final one in the first Farseer trilogy.

Waterstones (an actual one, rather than one masquerading as an independent bookshop https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/feb/27/waterstones-chief-defends-decision... has a big display of Russia-related books at the moment, to tie in with the paperback edition of The Romanovs (cheaper on the Kindle than in paperback, though). There are so many tempting things! I must not go past it again.

This post is making me really hungry. Also to want a coffee. Sigh. My rice salad lunch is looking less attractive.

I feel like there an awful lot of books about the Romanovs, but maybe I'm just noticing them more.

>155 charl08: Charlotte, I hope you feel better after the salad. There do seem to be a lot of Russia books - maybe it's because of the 100th anniversary of the end of the Romanovs. (*pauses to wonder exactly when that was/is*). They had my edition of War and Peace, too. "Read it!" I thought smugly.

I was stuck on a call for FORTY minutes after the canteen opened, and today is butternut falafel day. One of my favourite days! I got there in the end, and it now comes with a free drink, which is a type of mint iced tea thing - not too sweet, which is good. It used to be possible to go and pay while they were assembling it, but if you do that now you have to get a stamped receipt to take back to the counter. There must have been falafel fraud of some type. There are also pancakes, but only American style ones, when today is really about crepes. Now I am in a falafel coma, which is unfortunate as the afternoon is going to be busy.

ETA: The Romanovs were executed on 16 July 1918, it seems.

The Pret sandwich - both vegetarian version and non - sound good! The Wayne has added Pret to his rotation of lunch spots. I'm not sure what he gets but it's probably whatever has the most meat on it. And no mayo....

>157 katiekrug: Katie, they do put a lot mayo on in the UK, anyway. They now do a few things without, after protests :-) There's also the coriander issue...I accidentally found the US menu when I was looking for the UK one for my last post, and there seems to be a more limited choice of sandwiches, but maybe more wraps, and their baguettes are good too. Today I think I'll try a new beetroot and radish thing that I saw on their site, as the canteen choices aren't looking amazing.

The salad was ok. I think I am done with lentil based soups, however, based on the offering today. More exciting recipes are definitely required.
I love Pret's avo and chicken sandwich, although it is almost impossible to eat without falling apart.

>159 charl08: Charlotte, I think variety is important, but when I'm cooking for just me I find myself with lots of the same thing over and over. Today I had Pret's channa chaat flat bread, which is excellent.

The Jaipur Lit Fest London is going to be at the British Library this year, and the site is now up: http://jlfatbritishlibrary.jaipurliteraturefestival.org/index.html# There's not much on it yet, but it runs for two days (20 and 21 May) so I might go on the 20th. Programme details are still to follow but they have a few speakers up, including Meera Syal!

Happy Wednesday, Susan! Seems like you have completely recovered from the falafel coma, which I am sure was totally worth it. The Pret sandwich discussion is making my mouth water - they all sound good.

Oh Susan, that's tempting. I am going to be in London for the Sunday...

>162 charl08: Thanks Mamie! Fortunately Wednesday is over now as it has been a looong day. I discovered that the Pret downstairs doesn't have the beetroot and radish thing I saw on their website, so it is now my mission to find it at another branch. I do love a project...

>163 susanj67: Charlotte, isn't it?! I'll post again when I see programme and ticketing details. It should be possible to get a ticket for just one day instead of the whole thing. I doubt my poor skeleton would let me sit for two whole days without repercussions, even if Sunday wasn't on the agenda.

Off to Waitrose. Sigh.

Today's Link of Awesome: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39129674

I'm going to have to buy these, just because they exist (or will soon).

Pages read last night: 0
Episodes of Reign: 1
Other nonsense: Benidorm, series 9 episode 1, as it was broadcast (so old-fashioned!)

>164 susanj67: Oh, this link is absolutely gorgeous. Thanks for sharing it.
Sweet Thursday, Susan,

>164 susanj67: Very cool!

The girls and I have been binge watching The Great British Baking Show and loving it. Have you seen that one?

>165 Ameise1: Hi Barbara! Thursday is going OK, but could be better. Or over.

>166 Crazymamie: Mamie, it's "The Great British Bake Off" over here (I take it Bake Off isn't a US phrase!). I haven't watched it, but there are endless news stories about it so it's hard to escape. Up until now it has been on the BBC but the next series has been bought by Channel 4, which has ads, so fans are dismayed. There was vast coverage when that happened, prompting petitions to Parliament and a probe by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/24/great-british-bake-off-channel-4s-acq...
Mary Berry won't be making the move to the new channel - I'm not sure if they've decided who will be doing it. I think it has its own spin-off commentary show too.

The ads for Mary Berry's new show seem to produce a pavlovian response in me, I'm hungry as soon as she starts talking.

I'm back on the veg soup today. Hmmm. This weekend is search for exciting soup recipe time...

>168 charl08: Charlotte, I haven't seen those ads, but I would probably have a similar reaction!

No finishes to report - hardly any progress, in fact. Last night I managed a couple of chapters of Assassin's Quest but mostly it's just workworkwork. Including much of the weekend, it seems. Boo.

Sorry to hear that you have such a lot of work. Hang in there.
Happy Friday, Susan.

That's rubbish Susan. Sorry to hear about having to work this weekend. I hope you can have some good food and good wine to get you through it.

Howdy Susan! Boo to working the weekend.

Re: "Bake Off": Pillsbury (they sell packaged cake mixes, and other baking mixes and goods) has had a recipe contest called the Pillsbury Bake-Off since 1949. People would develop recipes using one of Pillsbury's products. Hugely popular. I remember there being lots of discussion abut what recipes had won each year. Apparently the Bake Off hasn't happened in the past two years, as Pillsbury claims it is reassessing how to be relevant to today's bakers.

I don't think the concept is directly analogous, but it is a cooking contest.

Sorry you have to work. :-(

I hope work doesn't fill all of your weekend.

Echoing the work comments. Hope you get some time to relax or at least some time off in lieu?

I thought I would have to miss volunteering as I'd missed the bus replying to emails but managed to get a cab at the last minute. I was so glad to be able to switch off from work mode for a bit.

Sorry about the weekend working. Bright side? Be happy you're not a teacher; we work every weekend.

Love the coffee talk. I love my lattes in the morning. I steam my milk. I don't like flavors for coffee, although I have enjoyed a mocha from time to time. Chocolate and coffee? What could be wrong about that?

>170 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara :-)

>171 lunacat: Jenny, it would be more like M&S...but I salvaged yesterday. I have to do a bit later today, though.

>172 luvamystery65: Hi Roberta! I've had one day off, which is something :-)

>173 michigantrumpet: Marianne, if you do have "Bake Off" then the change in name must just be a licensing thing. I believe Dancing With The Stars started here as Strictly Come Dancing.

>174 DianaNL: Thanks Diana :-)

>175 charl08: Charlotte, there is never time off in lieu, but I did get yesterday. This coming week is going to be nuts, so I really wanted at least one day that didn't involve speed reading and drafting.

>176 BLBera: Beth, I will remember that bright side :-) I'm a mocha fan too, although the machine at work makes it far too sweet. I suppose I could start with an espresso, add an extra hot milk and then stir in some cocoa powder. The roomie and I jokingly call it coffee machine cuisine. She reckons she can whip up a pretty good chai latte using just a Bollywood tea bag and the machine :-)

At last! A March finish!



37. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Thanks to Mamie for this recommendation :-) This was a very good read, about a member of the Russian aristocracy sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol Hotel in Moscow in the early 1920s. As a Former Person, his prospects don't look great. I loved the Russian history part of this, as well as the charming Count and his memories of life before the revolution changed everything.

I love the phrase "coffee machine cuisine"! Happy Sunday, Susan! So glad you enjoyed A Gentleman in Moscow - did your copy have deckle edged pages?

I really must get to A Gentleman in Moscow. A copy with deckle edged pages might convince me to spend some birthday money on it. Decisions, decisions.

Happy Sunday, Susan. Sorry about the work part...

Mine didn't have deckle edges. It was a lovely clean copy from the library though. That I definitely didn't spill water on...

Happy Monday Susan. I've got my head down and hoping it's Tuesday sharpish...

>177 susanj67: I must say that that is a very fetching cover. When I was a {more} callow youth and encountered my first book with deckle edges I was convinced that it was store damaged!

>178 Crazymamie: Mamie, no deckle edges, but I'm not sure that they would work for a library book (at my library, anyway). More surfaces for things to get stuck on - ewwww.

>179 lunacat: Jenny, check whether the UK version does have deckle edges - there might be a non-library one that does.

>180 katiekrug: Katie, it was OK in the end. And I've just done this morning's presentation to the new trainees. No-one fell asleep. Win!

>181 charl08: Charlotte, so was mine :-)

>182 PaulCranswick: Paul, it's embossed, too (if that's the word for the lettering standing up). And the gold is very gold in colour.

There is still no sign of FOR's daughter. Well, they know where she is - she just won't come out. She was due on Thursday last week, and has three more days of grace before Steps Are Taken. FOR is in today, but says he will work from home for the rest of the week. I sent him the latest panda video, which I saw tweeted with the comment "Working from home with kids in the house". He said it is spookily accurate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcHOzhqjggM

Love the pandas, thank you for posting that. Reminded me of trying to have a conversation with a friend in the car, with two small people in the back determined to Have Their Say.

Hope you have a good day.

>184 charl08: Charlotte, it's the cutest one I've seen in a while. I'm currently waiting to go into a meeting at a fancy legal chambers, which has involved lots of public transport. But I made it, and I was early enough to stop at the large Pret opposite for a latte and a pain au raisin. And to answer the emails I couldn't do on the bus because there were people behind me.

Well, for International Women's Day there is a new tiny girl - FOR's daughter was born in the early hours of the morning. Lovely news, particularly as last time there was drama of some sort, but this time everything was fine and everyone is well.

This means I am now in charge of his newsletter-writing trainees for three weeks, so I hope the power doesn't go to my head.

Still no finishes to report but I'm closing in on the one about the census, which has become a lot better than its very dull start.

Hurrah for FOR's daughter's arrival. And what an apt day to be born :)

>187 lunacat: Jenny, how apt :-) But at last the home stretch of hump-day has arrived.

Verso has 40% off its feminist reading list, and apparently I'm supposed to be on strike today. Humph.
http://www.versobooks.com/blogs/1907-women-strike-a-reading-list-for-internation...

How lovely that all went well with the birth and how cool that she was born on Day of the Woman!!

>189 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, yes, I was really pleased for them. And it was good to get some *good* news for a change - 2017 is off to a bad start for me in terms of bad news about friends' parents etc. So a whole new person is cause to celebrate. I've just seen some photos and she looks sweet - she seems to have dark hair like her mother, but in most of the photos she was wearing a hat. I asked FOR what their little boy thought of her and he said that he's only seen photos so far and he seemed interested, but they didn't know what he would make of her in person. I'm not sure how long they'll be in hospital for.

Aw. Lovely news. Hope you get to meet her soonish. And no leading the trainees astray ;-)

>192 susanj67: Charlotte, they're sharing their parental leave, so FOR is taking three months off later in the year and I expect he'll bring her in then. Meanwhile, I'm sure I'll see many pictures :-)



38. The Butcher, The Baker, The Candlestick Maker by Roger Hutchinson

This doesn't seem to have a touchstone, but it's the history of the UK census since it started in 1801. It's an uneven read, but overall interesting. The beginning part was dull, but once the census was up and running it got better, and there were lots of extracts which were good. I hadn't realised that there had been a debate after the 2011 census about whether it should be continued, but we will have one in 2021 at least. It costs half a billion pounds, though, and given all the other ways the Government has of collecting information about us, that is a lot of money.

I'll be in court all day today, so I must log off and get ready.

Belated congratulations to FOR and family. How lovely.

>192 susanj67: As a genealogist, I would hate to see the census go away, but I really question how accurate the last U.S. one was. I was also disappointed so many received the "short" forms rather than the long ones. I know many genealogists who downloaded and mailed back the long forms rather than the short ones they were sent. I'm mainly concerned with UK records from 17th century and earlier since most of my ancestors were here by that time and those who weren't were from other parts of Europe.

Sad news, Susan... the Wayne probably won't be coming to the UK with me this summer, so you won't have the pleasure of meeting him :( I am still determined to at least spend a few days in London on my own, so don't erase that diary entry!

Hope court went well. They didn't haul you off to prison, did they? ;-)

>193 Helenliz: Thanks Helen. The sibling meet-up was scheduled for yesterday so I hope it went well.

>194 thornton37814: Lori, it certainly seems to be something we're used to. The book had a bit about the debate over which questions should be included each time, particularly on language issues. There was also a census of the Empire in 1901, which doesn't sound like it was particularly accurate. They didn't try it again. I think we could fill it out online last time, as I remember a two-part code I had to enter, and voter registration isn't that complicated so I'm pretty sure it was the census.

>195 katiekrug: Katie, that's a shame. But good that you're still coming! Court has expanded into today, so I'm on another bus (full this time) into the City, from where I can walk. Yesterday we had a Pret buffet for lunch, which was lovely.

No reading yesterday - March is looking very bad from a ticker point of view!

"not particularly accurate" census of Empire. Ha! I had to read something about that way back when. Even the official reports in West Africa talked openly about problems, at which point you know it must have been *really* dire. People have made whole careers out of studying the ones in India and how officials misunderstood and misrepresented what they saw.

I was really annoyed they paid an outside contractor to do the last census. I couldn't understand what we have an ONS for if they're not doing this. Or, why when they claim to catch everyone, they need to "adjust" the stats. What?

My folks are home, so hoping for an official Dad-cooked roast dinner for the first time in months this weekend :-)

>198 susanj67: Charlotte, yes I was surprised they attempted an Empire census, but maybe they were only collecting lots of info from the ex-Brits, and less about the locals. I hope they didn't outsource the latest UK one to the opinion polls people. I suppose the ONS has been downsized to a point where they didn't have the people to do it.

Court (or, to use a Reign-like expression, Law Court) is over for this hearing, but it was another full day. True, I was only listening and taking an occasional note, but there was a lot to listen to, and my neck didn't like it. I'm standing up on the bus so I'm not sitting again, and also I am wearing my nice coat and it doesn't deserve the seats on the number 100. Maybe a tiny bit more of the latter.

Today's link of awesome: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/mar/10/south-korea-expert-interrupted-bab...

I'm saving this one for FOR to watch when he gets back. The bit where the baby appears - laugh out loud funny.

I hope you get to take this week end off, Susan, after working so much lately. I am declaring a Booky Boot Camp at least for tomorrow because I like the sound of it…and I deserve it. I don't have a "real" job but I did keep my granddaughter for a day this week, had too many bridge games to tax my brain, and cleaned house, so it's me and the books tomorrow. Glad you liked A Gentleman in Moscow. It was my top book of the year for 2016. I wonder what will get that honor this year. I am still waiting for a knockout book!

>198 susanj67: Glad your hearing is over Susan and that you will have a weekend to relax and catch up on reading.

I had a pretty tiresome Expert Witness report to finish off earlier in the week which had been bothering me for a while. I was asked by the Plaintiff to look into the defects in his extremely substantial property and the likely costs of rectification and/or the diminution in value of his property. Whilst there were certainly defects and some of them pretty serious I cannot shake the feeling of dislike I have for the Plaintiff who is certainly an archetypically litigious fellow who really wants to play the matter to its extreme. I have told the lawyers who recommended my commission that I am going to relocate and, if the chap doesn't settle the matter he will have to get another Expert.

>200 Donna828: Hi Donna :-) I do indeed have this weekend off, and I want to finish a couple of books. I hope your Booky Boot Camp goes well :-) And I think minding a granddaughter is far harder than most jobs! I don't know where little kids get all their energy. I did enjoy A Gentleman in Moscow - I liked both the story side of it and the history. We do seem to be getting a lot of Russian-themed books for the 100th anniversary of the revolution.

>201 PaulCranswick: Paul, I am well into the relaxing. Your export report sounds like a chore, particularly if the plaintiff is being unreasonable. In England, an expert's first duty is now to the court, which it was hoped would stop experts being pressured to come out in favour of a particular side. I'm not sure whether they still get that, though. But you definitely don't want to be flying back and forth to Malaysia for hearings.

Ooh, 202 posts! Time for a new thread. BRB, as the young people say.

Okey dokey - here it is: http://www.librarything.com/topic/251269

>202 susanj67: It is the same here, Susan, but "clients" don't really appreciate it. I had one case last year where the other side's Expert report was so obviously and markedly biased that I was pretty sure that my clients would prevail and they did.