SylviaC's 2017 Reading Extravaganza! (Part 2)

Even though I haven't managed to do a lot of reading in the last couple of months, my first thread is pretty long now. I'd like to read more books in the next few months, but my renovation is still dragging on, I have company coming and a family reunion to attend, a son to get ready for university, and summer is just generally a slow reading period for me. Although I've been reading fewer books overall, a higher proportion of them than usual have been audio books, a trend which is likely to continue for a while.

I read for pleasure, roughly equal amounts of fiction and nonfiction, and am quite willing to abandon any book that I'm not enjoying. I read paper books, ebooks, and audio. I only write a proper review if I really have something to say about a book, but I'll always give at least a brief reaction. My star ratings are based on how much I enjoyed the book.

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The Chalet School Group is here: LibraryThing Goes to the Chalet School

Useful:
The New How To Do Fancy Things In Your Posts Thread

Well, I'm always glad to catch up with whatever it is you're reading and thinking about. Starring the new thread.

The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters. I finally got around to starting this series, which has been frequently praised in the Green Dragon. As apocalyptic fiction it is excellent, looking at the different ways people behave when faced with the certainty of impending disaster. Like On the Beach, the main focus is on a character who tries to carry on as usual. While not as beautifully written as Nevil Shute’s classic, I think the range of human reactions was more realistic. As a mystery, it was okay, but by the halfway point, I knew the solution. (I suspected it earlier, but by then I was certain.) The pacing was good, with facts about the apocalypse and Henry's background presented gradually. Henry's combination of obsession and detachment made him an interesting narrator. He could give very precise observations of crime scenes and other physical things, but his readings of personalities and social interactions tended to be naive. Violence and gore levels were a little higher than I like, but not unbearable. I'm looking forward to continuing the series.

>3 SylviaC: I did enjoy this one. I'm very curious to see what you think about the second in the series.

>3 SylviaC: I'm on the fence about reading this.

"He could give very precise observations of crime scenes and other physical things, but his readings of personalities and social interactions tended to be naive."

Traits like that tend to bother me.

>5 stellarexplorer: I sometimes find it easier to relate to a character who is socially inept than one who has excellent social skills. If Henry lacked compassion, I wouldn't like him much, but he does care about other people—he just isn't good at understanding them. Sometimes he is too trusting, and at other times he seems completely callous. It's a type of narrative character that works for me, but I can see why it wouldn't appeal to everyone.

>3 SylviaC: I liked that series a lot, despite some flaws that bothered me. And it did make me think of On the Beach, even though it's very different. In one of the books there is an explicit reference to the Shute novel, just to let us know he knows it.

>3 SylviaC: >5 stellarexplorer: I attributed this part of Hank's character to his being relatively new to being a detective. A more seasoned veteran on the force would likely be better at that sort of thing.

I enjoyed the entire series but it is rather dark in places so may not resonate with all readers. Parallels with On the Beach notwithstanding, I found myself favorably comparing this story more with Lucifer's Hammer.

>8 ScoLgo: >6 SylviaC: My apologies! I must have read too fast. If those are traits of the character, that's fine. It's just who he is. I somehow got the idea that that was a flaw of the writer. My bad!

Eye of the Beholder by Kay Hooper. This was a brief, light detour from my apocalyptic fiction series, depressing book club book, highly detailed linguistics book, and a history of genetics. No wonder I'm not finished much—I need to focus. Eye of the Beholder is a romance from the 1980s featuring an artist and an archaeologist. That pretty pretty much describes the entire plot. The characters were cute, but we spent too much time in the heroine's head as she kept repeating the same thoughts over and over.

>10 SylviaC: Which of your current reads is the linguistics book?

>11 Meredy: It's the audiobook of Louder Than Words: the new science of how the mind makes meaning, by the same author as What the F. It's a lot drier than What the F, but interesting in an overly detailed sort of way. He presents every detail of every study that supports his points.

Countdown City by Ben H. Winters. The second book in The Last Policeman trilogy. Henry searches for a missing person as society breaks down. Things have deteriorated considerably since the end of the first book. This is definitely less about the mystery than about Henry himself and human nature. We learn more about what motivates him in his single-minded determination to carry out his investigations, as he displays his combination of intuition, naiveté, kindness, and callousness. As with the first book, I could have done with less gore, but it was interesting to get to know Henry better, and to watch the world fall apart.

>13 SylviaC: And it's so comfortable and fascinating watching the show in the abstract, when it's not actually happening outside your door.

>14 2wonderY: Exactly!

>13 SylviaC: One of the most interesting things, I thought, was that the various ways of falling apart seemed to define entire communities. Henry labels them with colors. A whole community goes mad and loots and riots, and another struggles to maintain stabilizing institutions, and another manages to band together and remain calm. All seemed plausible to me.

Aaagh! My iPad ate my review! Now I'll have to recompose. In the meantime, I'll just say that I agree with >16 Meredy: That was one of my favourite things.

World of Trouble by Ben H. Winters. I gulped this one down in one shot. My favourite of the trilogy, though the first two provide a necessary base for it. This book covers the last few days before the predicted arrival of the asteroid, and Henry remains as single-minded as ever as he searches for his sister. He trudges on, despite his ever more battered body, seeking truth at any cost. Even he knows that his investigations are pointless now, but they are what keep him going for the time that is left. He is still accompanied by his faithful dog, and has acquired a criminal sidekick. We continue to see a variety of responses to the impending catastrophe. I thought that the first book seemed to focus more on individual reactions, the second brought in more broad societal responses, while this one covers variations in community behaviour. The range of responses is believable, from cooperation to isolation to violence, with various shadings in between. Much as I would like to have known more about the aftermath, I loved where Henry was at the end of the book. I've grown quite fond of him, despite his faults, and I'll miss him now that the trilogy has ended.

Edited to fix potential spoiler.

>18 SylviaC:

I don't think there was an aftermath. It's the end of the world

>19 suitable1: I was thinking this line might need a spoiler tag too: covers the last few days before the asteroid impact Right up until the last few words of the book--which were, I thought, handled masterfully--I was hoping there'd been a mistake.

>20 Meredy:

I reckon that you are right.

>18 SylviaC: Okay, maybe I'll give it a whirl. I wasn't thrilled with the second one so I stopped after I finished it. But if you liked the third even better than the first I shall give it a go. (I have nothing to lose as they're free to borrow.)

Sorry. Double post.

>20 Meredy: Oops. My original review worded that differently. I'll change it in this one.

>22 clamairy: The second one was the weakest for me, but this one kind of pulled it together. I think you should go for it.

Fishy, Said the Admiral by Elizabeth Cadell (also published as Last Straw for Harriet). One of those family stories that Cadell does so well. There is no plot, just Harriet and her family and guests spending time together at home. I thought I was reading this for the first time, but there was one scene that was so familiar that I must have read it before. I don't know how I managed to forget it, because it was very good, and both titles are quite distinctive. I really liked Harriet as she dealt with her offspring with a good helping of sarcasm. The leading man for the romantic part of the storyline was interchangeable with several of Cadell's young men, but the rest of the characters were distinctive and entertaining (even the annoying ones). Very light, and lots of fun.

Bride of New France by Suzanne Desrochers. For book club. In the grand Canadian Literature tradition: well written and utterly depressing. And, sadly, probably historically accurate. Laure starts off in an institution for paupers and criminals in Paris in 1669, and things just keep getting worse from there. She is labelled a troublemaker and shipped off to Canada with other women destined to marry settlers and produce French babies. She has a ruthless streak and bursts of independence that both help her survive and get her into serious trouble. I read the book quickly, with less skimming than I expected. My only problem with the writing style was the use of present tense, which didn't seem to fit the context. The story is dismal and the heroine unlikeable, but the historical details are interesting and the writing is fairly engaging.

The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley. Reread. @jillmwo posted a link to an article about "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" on her thread, which led me to reread McKinley's retelling of the story. After that, naturally, I had to reread the other three stories in the book, too. All of the stories have McKinley's beautiful prose, but the first story, "The Stolen Princess", drags on too long. It's obvious where it's going, but it takes the scenic route to get there. "The Princess and the Frog" is a short but interesting take on the fairy tale. "The Hunting of the Hind" is also short, with a nice, understated heroine. The strongest of the stories is "The Twelve Dancing Princesses". It's the same length as the first one, but doesn't meander. It is a close to traditional retelling, and focuses strongly on the soldier. While the princesses' personalities are never really explored, the soldier is a well-developed and likeable character. Altogether, a light, enjoyable collection.

The Nonesuch by Georgette Heyer. Reread. This was never one of my favourite Heyer books, and I last read it about 30 years ago. My feelings for it have shifted from indifference to annoyance. It is quite tedious, and why on earth would an otherwise sensible woman immediately jump to the worst possible conclusion about a man who has never given her the slightest reason to question his respectability? And that misconception could have been cleared up with a simple question. Far from Heyer's best.

The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer. Audio. I tend to forget about this one between readings, but when I do read it, I always enjoy it. Eleanor is wonderfully sarcastic, but her titular reluctance becomes rather annoying. Her response to the proposal at the end is excruciating. Carlyon's way of overruling everyone is not particularly endearing, either. Despite those complaints, I still like the story. It has (not terribly suspenseful) suspense, humour, and just a touch of romance. It also has a not very well-trained dog. Cornelius Garrett's narration was the best I've yet encountered in any of the Heyer books I've listened to so far.

>28 SylviaC: I must've blocked that bit and I do not recall it now. --places hands firmly over ears-- I do recall not being a fan, but when I read it in the last year or so, I really enjoyed some of the characters and put it on my mental re-read list.

>29 SylviaC: yes'm I also find her reluctance and his overbearing ways to be a bit much. The flashes of understanding they have about one another really speak to me in this one. When it exists between the heroine and hero in these books, it is my favorite part. So a balm to the soul to be really understood.

ETA: I'll leave the yes'm in because it amuses me, but I have never deliberately used that phrase in my life. I do hear yes, Ma'am pretty regularly when my work life brings me in to contact with military or former military folks.

>25 SylviaC: I had the same reaction to what thought was my first read of Last Straw for Harriet/Fishy said the Admiral. I cannot imagine how/when I would have a chance to read it, though. I remember very clearly having a boyfriend check out Around the Rugged Rock/The Gentlemen Go By from his library system so that I could read it, for instance.

I agree about the heroes being interchangeable. Rather odd, really when you consider how well written the other characters, even the minor ones, are written.

>26 SylviaC: think I'll give that one a miss.

>31 MDGentleReader: It was the part about Henry and Aunt Adelina and the phone call, and the scramble at the play as he tries to talk to her. Could she have reused the same plot line in more than one book? I also have no idea how I could have read that book before, and it didn't seem like a really distant memory to me, either. The ending also seemed vaguely familiar, but that wasn't as distinct as the other part.

>28 SylviaC: That's not in my top ten list either, mostly because Tiffany is just so very annoying. It's curious how Heyer is so spot-on in some of her books, and so off in others.

>33 Marissa_Doyle: Tiffany is excessively awful. And the whole book seems to revolve around finding ways to set Tiffany off.

>32 SylviaC: I've read the book now 2 or 3 times and the 2nd or 3rd time I was waiting for that very scene. And yes, the ending seemed pretty familiar, too. Like you, I did not remember the ending as clearly. The other scene, though? Very clear. I cannot imagine which other book would use that same scene, though.

>33 Marissa_Doyle: and >34 SylviaC: Tiffany. Ugh. Do you think when Georgette Heyer wrote the book she was in contact with someone like Tiffany and was looking for ways to set her off?

El Deafo by Cece Bell. A memoir written for children, in the format of a graphic novel. The author tells of losing her hearing as a young child, her feelings of isolation at school, and her search for a good friend. The characters are drawn as rabbit-like creatures reminiscent of Little Critter. A wonderful job of conveying experiences and emotions.

>36 SylviaC: That is a really good one.

>37 MDGentleReader: I think I heard of it from you. I really liked it.

Three picture books:
There is a Bird on Your Head! by Mo Willems. This is the first of Willems' Elehpant and Piggie books that I've read. Cute and funny, but I think I prefer the Pigeon books.

Slightly Invisible by Lauren Child. I had forgotten just how delightful the Charlie and Lola books are, with their humour, imagination, and creative typography. This one even has an invisible character!

Beware of the Storybook Wolves by Lauren Child. This is the first book about Herb, who interacts with characters from his picture books. This was lots of fun, too. I'll have to look for the other Herb book.

>36 SylviaC: I have yet to read this one, although many of my students have. They enjoy it.

>39 SylviaC: I love Mo Willems! Piggy and Gerald are awesome! They are great to help teach social skills.

>40 catzteach: I think you would really like El Deafo.

How Can I Help?: a week in my life as a psychiatrist by David Goldbloom and Pier Bryden. A "Forest of Reading" book. This is the best book I've read so far this year.

Doctors Goldbloom and Bryden set out to demystify mental illness and psychiatry, and to encourage people with psychiatric disorders to look for help. The narrative is written from Dr. Goldbloom's perspective, laid out as a week in his practice bracketed by a medical crisis in his own family. The "week" is really a composite week, rather than a literal one. Each half day looks at a different area of psychiatric practice, and different illnesses and treatments are described. It is not just a recital of everything he does in a day, but a framework for public education, science, history, ethics, case studies, social commentary, advocacy, and personal thoughts and emotions. They look at the history of how mental illnesses have been recognized and treated, and the current state of research and treatment; what is known and what is unknown. We learn about the evolution of psychiatry, and the areas and issues that still need to be addressed.

The focus of the narrative is well balanced between the patients, education about mental illness, history and current issues in psychiatry, and the doctor's own life, opinions and emotion. Some of the patients are real people who have agreed to their inclusion, and others are fictionalized or composites. All are described with compassion and respect. Goldbloom admits to his own limitations and biases. He talks about patients who he feels he has helped, and also those times that he wishes he had done more. The tone is personal, concerned, and sincere. Ethical issues are raised, and the ramifications are seriously considered. The conflict between individual liberties and personal and public safety is considered in different contexts. The importance of public education and the need for supportive social policies are recurring themes, as is the role of family in supporting people who are coping with mental illness.

The authors' goal in writing the book is ambitious, and they do an impressive job of executing it. There are no wasted words, with every incident in the book contributing to increasing the reader's understanding of issues relating to mental illness and psychiatry, and trying to lower the stigma attached to them. They have brought issues to my attention that I had never given much thought to before. I highly recommend this book, and hope that other readers will find it equally enlightening.

The ebook version is very affordable on Amazon Canada. I'm not sure about US availability.

Oh wow, that sounds fascinating.

>42 SylviaC: That's great praise coming from a person who reads as voraciously as you!

>42 SylviaC: Ooooh!
ETA: It's paper only. :o(

Louder Than Words: the new science of how the mind makes meaning by Benjamin K. Bergen. Audio. I was hoping for something as entertaining as What the F, but this one was a lot drier and covered a much narrower range of ideas. In fact it only featured one idea, which was stretched out for 8 hours. Bergen's theory is that we use embodied simulation when we decode language. This involves the use of the motor, spatial, temporal, and most of all, the visual areas of our brains. It is an interesting and plausible theory, and was backed up by extremely detailed research (mostly his own experiments). There were dozens of studies, all very similar, all described in minute detail, and all coming to basically the same conclusion. So an interesting idea, but a tedious presentation. It probably would have worked better as an article, or as a chapter or two in a book about language theory. Obviously, I was interested enough that I listened to the whole book, and I retained a reasonable understanding of what it was all about, but I wouldn't really recommend it unless you are a hardcore language nerd.

>46 SylviaC: Oh, that's too bad. You probably would have liked it more had you listened to it first.

>47 clamairy: That could be...my expectations were too high.

The Triumph of Seeds: How Grains, Nuts, Kernels, Pulses, and Pips Conquered the Plant Kingdom and Shaped Human History by Thor Hanson. Audio. Enjoyable popular science about the botany of seeds and the impact different seeds have had on human history. Partly science and history and partly personal meditation. Not highly technical—kind of reminded me of Tom Standage's books.

>49 SylviaC: Oooh! My kind of audio!

>50 clamairy: Yes, I think you would like it. It has accurate science, but since it is not highly technical or data heavy, it works well in audio.

That sounds lovely. I'd like to make it up to Nova Scotia some day too.

Words on the Move by John McWhorter. Audio. To be fair, I read much of this while riding on trains, which probably detracted from the audio. Interesting ideas, well read by the author, but it never really grabbed me.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming. Audio. Nice children's book, though not quite as good as I recall the movie as being—but that was an awful long time ago.

>58 pgmcc: Loved the audio! Did you listen to the one that David Tennant narrates?

>59 jillmwo: Yes, it was very well done. I borrowed it through Hoopla.

Not to rub anything in, but here is the view from my aunt's house, where I was staying.

>61 catzteach: If you are not rubbing it in, what exactly are you doing?
:-)

>58 pgmcc: I think this may be the first disagreement we've had over a book! I remember being thoroughly offended by the movie, because it so clearly had nothing at all to do with the story as originally conceived. I know that the bad guys in the book are likely less impressive to modern sensibilities, but the "bad guys" in the movie were silly marshmallows and completely unbelievable. (OTOH, I did like some of the movie's musical numbers, "Up From The Ashes Grow The Roses of Success")

Having said that, my most vivid recollection of reading that book was learning the new word, gelignite. Jelly.

And the picture of Nova Scotia is lovely.

>61 catzteach: Glorious view! Is that salt water or fresh? (Or an estuary? LOL)

>61 catzteach: beautiful! Looks very peaceful and relaxing.

>63 MrsLee: My opinion on this one is exceedingly uninformed. I only saw the movie once, about 30 years ago, and just remember that I liked it a lot—but that tends to be the default for anything starring Dick Van Dyke. And I listened to the audiobook while riding the train with an antsy teenager, which is not conducive to concentration. So I am willing to defer to your judgement on the matter.

>64 catzteach: Saltwater. The lighter water is a bay, and the narrow dark blue strip beyond the point is the Strait of Canso. The hazy strip on the horizon is Cape Breton Island.

My aunt has lived in that neighbourhood all her life, and still fully appreciates the view.

I am one who loves the book of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang more than the movie, and David Tennant's reading of it the best. But then my first memory of this book is my mother reading it to us while my father "looked around outside" to see if the Easter Bunny had been the r yet.

I haven't seen the movie in forever! But I remember thinking while listening to David Tennant reading that the book didn't sound like the movie I remember. I think I will always love the theme song, though.

>68 SylviaC: "We. Love. Chitty-chitty, Bang-bang, Chitty-chitty, Bang-bang, we love you!" Something like that, wasn't it?

>69 pgmcc: it is! I wonder if today's kids even know about Chitty Bang Bang.

My super busy summer is over, so now we can get back to our regularly scheduled programming. I'm caught up on my print and audiobook cataloging, but I still have dozens of Kindle books to enter. Sadly, I have not been reading at anything remotely like the rate at which I've been acquiring. But I did finally finish a print book last night. (I started it over a month ago.)

Friends, Moments, Countryside: Selected Columns from Canadian Living, 1993-98 by Peter Gzowski. (Information for those who are not Canadian: Peter Gzowski was an iconic radio personality, writer, and champion of literacy. He was well known even to people like me who aren't radio listeners.) These were nice little bites of Canadiana. His love for Canadian people and places really shone through.

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book? by Lauren Child. A picture book by the author of the Charlie and Lola books. Herb finds himself trapped inside his book of fairy tales, where the characters object to his earlier treatment of the book. Lots of fun, with creative pictures and fonts.

>69 pgmcc: & >70 MrsLee:
I always get a kick when I am reminded that Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was written by Ian Fleming. No wonder the car could fly.

Dick Van Dyke plays James Bond.

Perhaps someone could do a mash-up of the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang trailer in a James Bond theme.

>73 stellarexplorer: I could see Dick Van Dyke as a Bond. A deadly funny Bond who dances and sings his way into your secrets. Is that how you started out in the biz? Hmmmm?

>74 catzteach: I think you're onto something! That explains his injuries.

>74 catzteach: & >75 SylviaC:

Chat noir on a hot tin roof.

>42 SylviaC: The best book you've read this year - wow. I have a stake in the topic, so I may have to give that a try. On the other hand, one often reads to get away from RL...

>72 pgmcc: hmm, would it be good to use to teach kids how to treat books?

>77 SylviaC: As someone who has so far had no firsthand experience in the field (as a patient or professional), I found it very informative. I would be interested to hear a more informed opinion of the book.

>72 pgmcc: Yes, I think it would, and it's fun to read, too.

Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths. Audio. This was far more interesting than the title implies. The authors take computer algorithms and apply them to real life dilemmas, like which house to buy, who to hire, and how to organize your books. Sorting into subsets or ”buckets”, such as A-D, E-H, etc., then ordering the books within those sets works best. But their conclusion on book-sorting is that it is probably most efficient not to sort at all, because sorting them all will take more time and effort than just looking for the books you want. It turns out that leaving your paperwork in piles on your desk is more efficient than using a formal filing system, because the ones on top are most likely the ones you'll need soonest. The connections they made between computer algorithms and real life decision making seemed natural and mostly sensible, although they sometimes oversimplified the messiness of human life, especially in situations like choosing a spouse.

The writing was engaging, and all of the algorithms were explained clearly, without getting bogged down in technical material and formulas. Apparently the print book has extensive endnotes, but they aren't available for the audio. One of the authors narrates the audio version, and speaks so slowly that I played it at 1.5x speed, and it still sounded normal.

The main message I took away from the book was that we tend to overthink things, and that too many choices and too much data just bog down our decision making processes. In a store, I like to check out every detail of every option available to me. My daughter grabs the first relevant item she sees, without considering options at all. The optimal level lies somewhere in between.

The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami. Very good. A novel about the people connected with a second hand shop in Tokyo. There isn't much in the way of a plot, as the focus is mainly on relationships. The story is told from the point of view of Hitomi, the socially awkward store clerk. She observes the interactions amongst Mr. Nakano, his sister, his mistress, and their customers and associates, while always trying to understand her own relationship with her co-worker, Takeo, who is even more socially awkward than Hitomi. There is a dreamlike quality to the book, and the sense that we are only touching the surfaces of complex characters. I'm now feeling the urge to reread Strange Weather in Tokyo by the same author.

>80 MrsLee: "...their conclusion on book-sorting is that it is probably most efficient not to sort at all, because sorting them all will take more time and effort than just looking for the books you want."

Sheesh! I suspect these researchers don't have enough books. It would take me a very long time to find a book if I hadn't shelved mine systematically. Not to mention that sorting books isn't a chore, it's a challenge, a task that reflects the identity and personality of the sorter, and a pleasure.

>81 SylviaC: I bought this as soon as I saw the paperback planning to read it at once. Of course, other books have leapfrogged it since then! But your praise will bump it up the queue again.

>82 SylviaC: I can't imagine not shelving my books in order. And it would certainly be worth my while trying to organise the books that I have in boxes, in the loft, and in piles on my floor, because I waste a lot of time searching for titles among them. A task for a rainy few days.

>82 SylviaC: Hear! Hear! I think you hit the button on the nose (or some metaphor), they don't even imagine how many books most book-lovers own.

>82 SylviaC: >83 Jim53: >84 SylviaC: I agree! Scanning for books works if you have a couple of hundred books, but not for a couple of thousand. And sorting books is fun.

>83 Jim53: I think I slightly preferred Strange Weather in Tokyo, but will have to reread that one to be sure. Both books have a similar feeling to them.

The kids each gave me one of their favourite children's books to read. My conclusion is that they have pretty good taste.

The Magic Half by Annie Barrows. Miri is the only child in her family who is not a twin, and often feels left out. Shortly after the family moves into a new house, she magically travels back to 1935, where she meets a girl her own age, who needs Miri's help to escape from her abusive relatives. The characters are well drawn and there is a nice amount of humour, with enough menace to give a sense of urgency. Some younger readers might actually find the villain a little too realistically threatening. I found out there is a sequel, so I will probably look for it.

Jack Plank Tells Tales by Natalie Babbitt. Jack is an out-of-work pirate who is looking for a land job. None of the available jobs suit him, and he has a tale to tell each time to explain why not. Jack is a likeable character, and there are no lessons to be learned, just entertainment.

>86 Jim53: Do you know the target age range for The Magic Half? It sounds like something my granddaughter might like, but I bet it's a little old for her.

>87 Meredy: I would say about 9-11. For the most part it would be just fine for younger kids, but Molly's situation is quite frightening. No physical abuse occurs on the page, but it is quite clear that it does happen and that the threat is serious. Most of the book is quite lighthearted, it has some positive messages, and a couple of capable and determined girls. I guess it would just depend on how the individual reader would handle the scary parts.

Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami. Reread. Now that I've reread it, I can say that although The Nakano Thrift Shop is good, this one is better. Strange Weather is narrowly focused on a single relationship, but it has more depth than Nakano. This really is a lovely book.

>88 pgmcc: thanks! That's still a few years away.

>81 SylviaC: You can add a notch to your keyboard for that one. Luckily my library has it.

I considered picking up Strange Weather a few times. Your comments are pushing me towards doing just that. I shall let you lnow when the bullet actually hits me.

No One Noticed the Cat by Anne McCaffrey. One of McCaffrey's less familiar children's/YA books. Royal intrigue with just a hint of magic, and a most impressive cat. I'm not really into this kind of story any more, but I got caught right up in it and enjoyed it very much. Then I passed it along to my daughter, who seldom takes my recommendations, but will probably read this one because of the cat.

>93 2wonderY: Cats make the best spies.

>94 SylviaC: Absolutely—and this one has the further advantage of being "not quite black". Who would ever suspect a cat that isn't noir?

>95 SylviaC: :-)

Mum's the word.

>81 SylviaC:, >91 SylviaC: Me 2.

Hospital Summer by Lucilla Andrews. Lucilla Andrews has been a favourite author of mine ever since I first wandered into the grown-up section of the library. She wrote nurse romances, several of which were set in WWII, and often drew on her own nursing experiences. This is one of her earlier ones, first published in 1958. This is the first time I've read it, and I think it's one of her best. (There's something very satisfying about discovering a gem when you've read almost everything an author wrote.) The romance aspect was not the strongest part of the book, but the nursing part is excellent. The descriptions of wartime nursing are immediate and gripping, as bombs are dropping and casualties are moved in and out as quickly as possible. The mundane details like cockroaches and shortages of essential supplies are also included. I did notice several small episodes and remarks that she reused in later books, but that wasn't a failing of this book, since they were used here first. I'm glad I finally found this one.

I just discovered that Lucilla Andrews' books are being reissued as ebooks, and hopefully in print, too. Only 2 ebooks available so far.

The two titles of hers that Amazon (US) lists as being available for Kindle are One Night in London: A Hospital in Wartime and The Print Petticoat. Are those two titles that you might recommend? The first one in the series sounds really interesting (if a bit hair-raising).

>100 pgmcc: I enthusiastically recommend One Night in London!!! (And the second book in that series when it is released. I didn't care for the third.) It is short but intense, as it really does take place over a single, eventful night. The Print Petticoat wasn't one of my favourites when I was younger, but I'm going to reread it to see whether I appreciate it more now. I believe they're being released in publication order, except for the series. Most of the WWII books were written late in her career, with the exception of the one that I just read.

I intended to read something more complex next, but I was sidetracked by an irresistible title: The Trouble with His Lordship's Trousers by Jayne Fresina. With an irrepressible heroine, a disheveled hero named "Dead Harry"(!), a risqué newspaper serial, and a dilapidated stately home, this regency romance was a charming confection. Even though the humour veered into the slapstick at times, it didn't degenerate into complete silliness. The main characters are eccentric, likeable, and compassionate. As soon as I finished, I bought the other two books in the series.

That is an irresistible title. Unfortunately my library has managed to resist it so far. I'll have to look for it elsewhere.

>102 pgmcc: I am not sure I would love that book but I took great delight from reading your post. It is literature in itself.

>103 jillmwo: I suspect it may only be available as an ebook.

>104 SylviaC: Thank you! No, I don't think it would be your cup of tea. My next book will probably appeal to you more.

>105 SylviaC: Now you have me intrgued. What can it possibly be?

>102 pgmcc: Oddly, the entry here in LT isn't linking to the Amazon editions (neither Kindle nor the PB). I'm filing the title away for a future reading gap. But I think I'll likely read the hospital novel first.

>106 Lukas22: Ah, the suspense...

>107 Marissa_Doyle: Amazon doesn't show an ISBN for it, so maybe that's why it doesn't link. https://www.amazon.com/Trouble-Lordships-Trousers-Ladies-Unlikely-ebook/dp/B01D0...
Sadly, it's no longer 99c.

The Last House-Party by Peter Dickinson. I can't say I liked this. I am always drawn to Peter Dickinson's writing, even though it is often unsettling, and this is probably the most disturbing of his books that I've read. He wrote an impressive range of books for children and for adults: science fiction, fantasy, mystery, historical fiction, suspense. This one might be considered mystery or suspense, I guess, or psychological fiction, and is definitely written for adults.

Most of the story takes place at Snailwood Castle in 1937 and 1980, bouncing back and forth in time, with isolated episodes occurring at various times and places in between. The main timelines are tied together by a spectacular tower clock with moving figures. The effects of events that happened at the house party in 1937 are still being felt in 1980. What happened at the house party? We don't find out until over two thirds of the way through the book. There is no traditional mystery structure. As often happens, Dickinson's conclusion leaves us with as many questions as it answers.

I found the book hard to get into at first, because political discussion was pretty central to the 1937 stream of the story. But I kept going because I wanted to find out what the crime was. By the time I got to the crime—and it was a nasty one—I was deeply invested in the characters and had to finish. Both the crime and the solution were disturbing, but I can't help admiring Dickinson's skill at creating the puzzle, building suspense, and messing with my expectations.

The cover illustration on my copy of The Last House-Party is excellent. It perfectly matches the descriptions of the castle clock. And the back cover shows a scene from the book with the clock tower in its courtyard. It's nice to see a cover that so accurately matches the story.

oh :D

>109 SylviaC: That may be a bullet...

>111 SylviaC: His writing is very good. I think you would also like King and Joker.

And in case anyone is interested, Peter Dickinson was Robin McKinley’s husband.

My Daughter, Nicola by Ruth M. Arthur. This one has been on my TBR pile for over 30 years. It's by a favourite author whose books are hard to find, so I held onto it all this time, even though it wasn't calling to me to read it. So I finally decided its time had come, and took a whole two hours to read it this evening. It was a nice enough story, but not one that I'm likely to want to revisit again in the next 30 years. A little girl in Switzerland goes to great lengths to prove to her father that she is just as good as a son. It's aimed at younger children than most of her books are, and doesn't have the supernatural element that is in most of them. I did enjoy reading it, it just didn't measure up the author's other books.

>112 SylviaC: I read one of his mysteries a year or two ago--umm--Death of a Unicorn, I think. And I don't remember a bit of it, but not sure if that's my fault or the book's...

>114 SylviaC: I remember that one reasonably well, but mainly because I was trying to figure out what was going on most of the time. Sometimes the plot gets obscured by too many layers.

Mort by Terry Pratchett. I started to read Mort a couple of years ago as an audiobook, but stopped about halfway through because I wanted to read it at my own pace. So I finally got a print copy, started over again and read the whole thing. I thought it was my own discomfort with reading fiction in audio that stalled me the first time, but when I reached the same point in print, I found I had to really drag myself through the rest of the book. It was disappointing, because I really liked the characters and the concept, and wanted to love the story. The parts where Mort meets Death and learns the business were great, but from the point when Death sends Mort out on his own, it started to seem kind of predictable and even a bit boring. So overall I enjoyed it, but not as much as I wanted to.

When I was reading the audiobook, I'm sure that Death's daughter was named Susan, but in my print book she was Ysabell. Is my memory getting worse than I thought, or does her name change in different editions?

>116 SylviaC: Was Death's granddaughter named Susan in Hogfather? Yes, and in Soul Music, which I've seen in cartoon, and also in Thief of Time, which I haven't gotten to yet.

>117 SylviaC: Maybe that was it. I haven't read any of those ones, but maybe I came across her in another one.

>117 SylviaC: Yes, Susan is Death's granddaughter.

#117 and >119 ScoLgo: There must have been a mention of her in one of the other books that I read, and the name just stuck in my head. Thanks for straightening that out for me.

Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie. I liked Ancillary Justice a lot, and this was even better. The pacing is better and the narration flows more smoothly. Since the bulk of the world-building occurred in the first book, this one could focus more on plot and character development. The complexities of Breq's personality continue to unfold, and complicated relationships are forming between the characters. I'm going to start reading Ancillary Mercy right away, because I can't wait to see what happens next.

>121 SylviaC: I loved this trilogy. Glad you are enjoying it too!

>121 SylviaC: >122 ScoLgo: I enjoyed Leckie's trilogy too. In some ways, it reminded me of Ursula Le Guin's work. Especially the 2nd book, where it was set mostly on the planet. The whole societal structure there seemed very UKLG-ish to me.

>123 Sakerfalcon: I read the Earthsea books many years ago, but I can't remember having read any others. I should really read some more of them.

Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie. This one continues fairly directly from the last, and brings the series to a satisfying, though not entirely conclusive, conclusion. A couple of new significant characters are introduced, but the rest are all familiar. Ann Leckie does an amazing job of gradually increasing the warmth of the books as Breq grows emotionally over the course of the series. The first book actually begins in the snow, with only two unfriendly characters, and by the third book she is at the centre of a large cast of characters with complex relationships. I think part of that feeling of growing warmth was achieved by increasing the level of humour throughout the series. Justice was a pretty serious book, Sword had flashes of humour, and Mercy has scenes that are outright funny. (Significant spoiler) I had been dreading the final confrontation between Breq and Anaander because I was sure there would be fighting and probably characters dying, so I was delighted when it turned out to be about the funniest scene in the series. And I was happy that we got through the book without losing any of Breq's companions, which is pretty unusual for this kind of space opera. Breq is a fascinating character, with her strong sense of justice and her unstoppable determination. The series raises many thought-provoking questions about equality, privacy, and free will. Thank you to @aviddiva for introducing me to this series through SantaThing. It's not something I would likely have selected myself, but has turned out to be a favourite.

>124 SylviaC: I should have mentioned that I was drawing the comparison with Le Guin's Hainish books more so than Earthsea. The Hain books are firmly science-fiction while Earthsea is steeped in fantasy tropes.

Since you seem to have enjoyed Leckie's Ancillary series, I recommend trying Le Guin's Hainish books & stories. There are a lot of them but you can jump in just about anywhere since each novel is stand-alone.

I always get a kick out of Le Guin's advice on the reading order. I love where she says, "Please do not try to explain this to me. I will not understand." And, "In between novels, I forget planets. Sorry." Priceless.

>125 SylviaC: That Breq moves from isolation to being part of a community is one of my favourite aspects of the trilogy too. I agree with ScoLgo that Le Guin's science fiction would be a good companion read to Leckie's work. I just read three of her early Hainish novels in the collection Worlds of exile and illusion which are very good. There aren't really any prominent female characters though; Le Guin seems to have been late in starting to write female protagonists.

>126 catzteach: Those quotes from Le Guin are awesome!

>126 catzteach: >127 SylviaC: That FAQ page alone is enough to make me want to read more Le Guin!

I just realized I missed an audiobook a couple of weeks ago: The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff. A fun little philosophical trifle.

>129 MrsLee: I forgot about that book! I saw it a while ago and thought it would be fun to read. Thanks for the reminder!

>130 SylviaC: Simon Vance narrated the audio version, and he did a very nice job with the voices of Pooh and his friends.

>131 SylviaC: I'll have to see what my library has.

>131 SylviaC: Simon Vance is one of my favorite narrators. I have been known to buy books I wasn't yearning to own, simply because he narrated them.

>133 catzteach: I thought I had read several of Simon Vance's audiobooks, but when I checked my library, The Tao of Pooh and Canterbury Tales are the only ones that show up—and he's just one of seven narrators for CT. He's so iconic that I assumed I must have heard him more often.

A Guide to the Geology and Landforms of Grey and Bruce Counties. About the counties to the north of mine, which have much more interesting rocks than mine does. Here the geology is mostly covered in dirt (which is good from an agricultural perspective), but in Grey and Bruce much of it is visible. Very well written, engaging, lots of photographs and diagrams, maps in the back pocket, glossary, appendices...it has it all. Everything is explained in a way that is easy to understand, but doesn't seem dumbed down at all. @nhlsecord, if you find a copy of this, I think you would really enjoy it.

The Horologicon by Mark Forsyth. Audio. It's sad how many useful and descriptive words have dropped out of English language usage over the centuries. This was another fun book to listen to from the author of the Etymologicon. He moves through the course of the day, connecting each word to those around it. It's full of humour, sometimes a bit off-colour. I love listening to these books in audio (read by Don Hagen), because the pacing is just right, and the books are both informative and entertaining. The only problem is that I have no idea how some of the unfamiliar words are spelled.

>131 SylviaC: bummer! My library does not have the audio version!

>136 ScoLgo: that sounds great. Put another notch on wherever you keep them.

The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier. An unusual apocalyptic novel. The apocalypse itself is in the background as the novel alternates between the the recently dead in the City, and a survivor in Antarctica. The book is mostly an exploration of the concept of memory, but also reflects on relationships, the environment, and corporate greed. I enjoyed watching the two storylines unfold, and the gradual revelation of their connecting points. (Not that there were any surprises; everything was pretty clearly signaled ahead of time.) There were a few things in the "real world" chapters that I found difficult to believe, but on the whole I was impressed with the writing and the originality of the work.

>139 Jim53: Good to hear that you liked this one! I just bought The Brief History of the Dead last month. Hoping to squeeze it into my 2017 reading, (somehow).

>140 SylviaC: Looking at the reviews, it seems to be a "love it or hate it" book. I though it was very good, despite a few flaws.

>139 Jim53: I think you've winged me with that one. It sounds fascinating.

>139 Jim53: Oh my, it's dangerous coming over here these days! Got me again.

>142 Narilka: I think this is something that you would like.

>143 SylviaC: I’m trying to make up for my dry spell over the summer!

All My Friends Are Still Dead by Avery Monsen and Jory John. A continuation of the cynical picture book for adults, All My Friends Are Dead.

>139 Jim53: Crap. Another one for the wish list :)

>146 pgmcc: Oops!

>147 SylviaC: That, "Oops!", came across as being a bit smug.

:-)

>148 Sakerfalcon: You are most perspicacious.

>149 SylviaC: Name calling doesn't hurt me.

:-)

Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin. This is post apocalyptic fiction in the format of an anthropology report. Le Guin writes as a present day anthropologist interviewing and observing the Kesh people who “might be going to have lived a long, long time from now in Northern California.” The story of Stone Telling, a Kesh woman, is the primary narrative, but is divided by different stories, poems, maps, illustrations, cultural observations and definitions, and other bits and pieces. I ordered it through interlibrary loan because I thought it looked like an interesting concept, and it turned out to be more concept than story. I liked it, but there was just too much of it. I did read most of it, just skimming some of the poems and plays, but wasn’t helped by the fact that I am not particularly interested in folklore. (As a child, though, I read the entire Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend. Maybe I overdosed.) Le Guin sets out a strong environmental and social message in this book, but I think she also had fun putting her world-building on display.

>151 SylviaC: I have been reading this very slowly for the last year or so. I couldn't read it all in one go for the reasons you mention - too much stuff and not enough story. Reading a section or two at a time though is working well for me.

>152 SylviaC: That is probably a good way to go if you have easy access to the book. Reading it straight through is kind of overwhelming, since it is more like a reference book than a novel.

>151 SylviaC: Hmm, I've had that one on my wish list for five years. Sorry you didn't enjoy it more. (I'm thinking I might just delete it from my wish list now.)

Get Well Soon: history's worst plagues and the heroes who fought them by Jennifer Wright. Audio. As soon as I started reading this, I realized that the author's style was similar to Mary Roach's. Since I've burned out on Mary Roach (although I enjoyed her for a couple of books), I was afraid I would find the author's humour annoying. By the time I read the first few chapters, I was quite interested and eager to continue. Every chapter features a different plague, and ends with a moral. (The author doesn't call it a moral, but it is.) These morals mostly come down to: be kind, be compassionate, do the science and don't lie to the public. So the book is a mixture of irreverence and preachiness that could have been quite off-putting, but somehow it worked for me.

@clamairy, have you read this yet? It seems like your thing, and I'm pretty sure you bought it when I did.

>154 SylviaC: I actually did enjoy it quite a bit. There just could have been less of it.

>156 hfglen: agreed. That's the only LeGuin that I remember having trouble getting through. I saw it as a very interesting experiment, but not especially enjoyable.

>157 Darth-Heather: It felt like something that she wrote for her own enjoyment, without worrying about readability.

I think familiarity with Northern California, and the Napa Valley in particular, would add another layer of interest to the experience.

>151 SylviaC: & >158 hfglen: Well, now I'm interested in it. Living in Northern California, makes me want to see what she wrote about its future. If I ever come across it, I may read it as you did, skimming when I need/want to. I haven't read LeGuin, so I won't take it as her typical writing.

>159 MrsLee: Wot??!! Not read any LeGuin?! The shame of it! Lee, you have a treat in store. I positively insist that you latch on to The Earthsea Quartet at the first possible opportunity.

>160 SylviaC: a treat indeed! I finally got around to A Wizard of Earthsea earlier this year, after years of avoidance, and now I don't know why I waited so long. It is very well done, and so much deeper than I expected it to be. I have the next two in my TBR and hope to get to them soon.

>161 SylviaC: *high five* Enjoy!

>160 SylviaC: Haha, LeGuin is on my radar, along with a couple of other authors, but I am very reluctant to enter new fantasy worlds, so it may be awhile. Believe it or not, fantasy is not really my preferred genre. :D I just like to hang out with all you folks!

I'm not that into fantasy anymore either. I read a lot when I was in my teens and twenties, but much of it doesn't particularly interest me now. I did read and enjoy the Earthsea books many years ago, but don't feel the urge to revisit them again. I would like to try out more of Le Guin's science fiction, though.

Coming Clean by Kimberly Rae Miller. Audio. The author's account of growing up with parents who are hoarders, and of the ongoing effects in her adult life, is candid, engaging, and sometimes horrifying. While she expressed anger and frustration with her parents, she also portrayed them as lovable people, with distinct personalities beyond their hoarding behaviour.

Five Windows by D. E. Stevenson. Reread. This is the current group read for the D. E. Stevenson mailing list. It's a lovely book with a really nice main character. The only thing I have a problem with is the way the romance (which is a small part of the book) is handled.

My Favorite Universe by Neil deGrasse Tyson. Audio. A series of lectures on some of his favourite topics about the universe. It's Neil deGrasse Tyson...what more do I need to say? I love his enthusiasm.

The Adventure of English by Melvyn Bragg. Audio. Excellent. An interesting history of the English language. I've had an exceptional run of audiobooks in the last couple of months, and this one was also wonderful to listen to. The writing and narration combined to make the book sound almost like poetry—not something one expects of a 12-hour long nonfiction book. Listening to the language samples as the narrative progressed through time was fascinating, as the words and grammar gradually became more and more familiar. I do have a Kindle copy of this, too, so if I ever want to focus more on the printed words, I can read that as well.

>167 SylviaC:

>168 Bookmarque: That might have been a direct hit.

Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton. A collection of Kate Beaton's comic strips, many of them based on history and literature. My favourites were the ones that took a real book cover, then created a comic strip story to match the image on the cover. There was one set of these done for covers illustrated by Edward Gorey, and another for Nancy Drew books. I intend to build my Kate Beaton collection.

>169 SylviaC: I actually thought of you when I was listening to both of those. 😀

I just noticed that The Adventure of English is the companion book to a TV series. If I ever start watching Tv again, I should look for it.

I enjoyed that one as an audio, too. It’s the pronunciation and the rhythms and cadences that make audio perfect for language books.

>172 jillmwo: Yes, and I really liked the quotations and poems he selected. Even the word lists flowed.

*Plugging ears firmly* La la la la la la la la

*sneaks off to wishlist*

>171 clamairy: I bought it from Audible last December, so it must have been on sale! (Probably right after >172 jillmwo: read it and raved about it.) Just haven't gotten around to it yet. :o)

(Nice to know you're thinking of me!)

>168 Bookmarque: Seriously tempted, which is bad because the plumbers have been in this month and we need to pay for that rather than for reading materials.

Searle's Cats by Ronald Searle. Funny but creepy cat cartoons. I'm not a big fan of Searle's art, but I enjoyed this.

The audiobook that ended my run of excellence: 36 Books That Changed the World. From The Great Courses series. It turned out that the lecture for each book was plucked from a different course, so it was very disjointed. They were just orphaned. The professors would refer to themes and information relating to the original courses, but there was no context. It was also discombobulating to have the professor change every half hour.

That’s a shame. So many of the Great Courses are outstanding.

>179 SylviaC: Yes, and each of the parent courses may well be excellent, but pulling pieces out of each and just tacking them together doesn't work well.

I forgot to say that I gave up after the first six or seven lectures.

More Than a Month of Sundays by Lynn Johnston. An early collection of For Better or For Worse colour comic strips. FBFW is one of my favourite comic strips, and one where the characters age in real time. The comics in this collection are from the first two years of the strip's 29 year run. It's been a long time since I revisited the Patterson family in their earlier years, and found them even more relatable than ever, since my own family has passed through that stage. A few of them have become dated—in the second strip, Ellie swats her son, which would not have been published today—but most of them still resonate.

The Art of Cartographics. I couldn't resist this when I saw it in a bookstore. A book of beautiful maps, some practical, some purely art. Most of the maps are of physical environments, be they real or imaginary. My favourites are some stunning maps of Middle Earth. Others are more conceptual, mapping various aspects of human cultures, activities, and interactions.

Baking With Kafka by Tom Gauld. A new collection from one of my favourite literary cartoonists. I was afraid I might have seen most of them online already, but there were lots that were new to me. Very funny.

>182 stellarexplorer: I would love this book! Cartography was my favorite class in college.

Here by Richard McGuire. An amazing graphic novel, showing vignettes of the same location from three billion years in the past to twenty thousand years in the future. Most of the book focuses on the living room of a twentieth century house built on the location, and the family that lives there. Every page is drawn from exactly the same perspective, as if we are always standing in the same spot and looking looking in the same direction, indoors during the lifetime of the house, outdoors before and after the period that the house is there. The scenes are not chronological at all, and a single scene may include insets from multiple points on the timeline. I loved it.

>185 SylviaC: Is it at all reminiscent of those (mostly children's) books about cities, with semi-transparent overlays allowing you to see what the city looked like at various times in the past?

>186 stellarexplorer: It is, sort of, because you are able to see pictures from multiple years at the same time on most pages. And you get that same sense of continuity.

And the story itself, locality continuity aside?

>188 SylviaC: The closest thing you get to a continuous storyline is the 20th/21st century family growing and aging, and even that jumps back and forth in time. There are a few other brief recurring storylines from the past and the future that keep popping up. The organization is more by theme than by chronology, though. One of the most cohesive stories is a 10 page section in which a famous historical figure visits his son and they have a political fight. (They are the only identifiable historical figures in the book, and the author's note at the beginning emphasizes that everything that happens in the book is fictional.) Although the background and main action of these pages all occur in 1775, there are smaller frames, like windows on different times, that show events that may echo the 1775 timeline in some way. This scene ends with the argument, and is followed by several pages of insults and objects breaking in other times, which segues into things that have been lost. Meanwhile, that entire section of the book has a thread of images of damage being done by water, which leads into pictures of the far, far past, and the future. The book has layers and layers, with some things seeming to be interconnected while others are apparently random.

Thanks. Sounds intriguing.

>190 SylviaC: I think it's something that might appeal to you, as long as you aren't expecting a straightforward narrative. It's interesting to see how the author has imagined both the past and the future.

I read through a stack of old cartoon collections that I acquired at some recent book sales:

Giles #33 - I always like Giles. A lot of these were familiar, and must have been reprinted in the later retrospective collections.
Peter Arno's Hell of a Way to Run a Railroad
Peter Arno's Sizzling Platter - Arno's buxom young women and lecherous old men haven't aged very well, but there are a few gems if you can get past all the cleavage.
The Dedini Gallery - again, heavy on the cleavage, but more variety than Arno.
The Best Cartoons from Punch and
The Punch Line - two collections of cartoons from Punch selected to appeal to "an American sense of humor" - whatever that means. Nothing really stood out, anyway.
The Nutty World of JAK - his art is reminiscent of Giles, but couldn't quite measure up immediately after I read a Giles collection.

Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain. Audio. Long but entertaining. A combination of history, geography, autobiography, and travelogue, seasoned with a good helping of exaggeration and tall tales.

The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester. Audio. I expected to like this one, but after listening for almost two hours, I just couldn't get into it.

George Speaks by Dick King-Smith. Audio. Just a short children's book about a precocious baby who had an adult vocabulary and intelligence by the time he was four weeks old. Unfortunately, I found George obnoxious, and his doting family didn't even mind him bossing them around.

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. There were some sections that were very interesting, but I found much of it kind of boring and repetitive. He provided plenty of evidence, but failed to tie it together into cohesive ideas.

>196 SylviaC: Agreed, and he’s also the popularizer of others’ ideas. But still, for me the central idea of instant preconscious recognition, familiar though it may be, was useful to be reminded of.

>197 SylviaC: It might have held my attention better if it hadn't been covering territory that was examined more coherently in other books that I read fairly recently. This was our book club book this month, and it did provide us with plenty of discussion, especially about unconscious prejudices.

A Big Apple Christmas. A romance anthology. Nothing special.

My Man Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse. Audio. Early short stories, half of them featuring Bertie Wooster and Jeeves, and half with Reggie Pepper, who is basically Wooster without Jeeves. Funny as one would expect.

I don't usually start a new thread this close to the end of the year, but I'm at 200 posts now, and I intend to read a lot in the next two months. So you can find me at the link below.