joycepa's reckless 80 in '08

Normally, 80 books a year would be well within my range, but my free time has just about vanished with the start of the dry season and the first year of production on the farm here. Sooo....we'll see!

My reading plan this year is to have a minimum of 3 books going:

a) a Pulitzer Prize winner
b) a Steinbeck work until I'm thourgh wiht the 3 volumes that I have
c) another one

plus "reading relief" if I need it in the form of rereads, say, of Martha Grimes. These I don't plan on logging here. However, anything I haven't read before, no matter how fluffy, will make it here.




1. The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington. Pulitzer Prize winner for 1919, 2nd year the prize was awarded. A morality tale about the rise and dramatic fall of a Midwestern dynasty in the 3rd generation. Remarkable for its description of the profound effect the automobile, the resulting dispersal of the American people, and unchecked industrialization had on cities.

2. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck. Much the same structure as Tortilla Flat but more complex--and it has Doc and one of the greatest parties in literature!

Ooops! I don't think I can count this--I started it in December. Oh well.

Fooey! Of course you can count it. There are no rules. I love Steinbeck.

You read it, so it should count for either 2007 or 2008. Personally, I'd count it for 2008 when you finished it.

You can do whatever you want! It's your challenge! I think I started my first 08 book on NY Eve. I count from when I finish.

It's always good to have folks around who can pull me out of one of my Purist Modes! OK, great--means I can count my LT Early Review book, too. Thanks, gang! teelgee, when are you going to start War and Peace? I, too, have the new translation sitting on my TBR shelf, but haven't decided when to tackle it.

Not for awhile. I'm waiting on an early review book yet to arrive that's I think ~600 pages (I better like it!!!) - don't want to start anything "heavy" before that comes; and I plan to read Anna Karenina first. It may even be later this year before I get to it.

I just received the new trans. of W&P too. Haven't decided when I will read it. I'm going to need some kind of support system just to hold it up---reading it in bed will be out of the question, I fear!

>8 laytonwoman3rd: LOL, see my post #13 here.

I bought the new translation of War and Peace with a Xmas gift card. It sits on my shelf, taunting me. Maybe it would be easier to tackle as a group read.

If there's a group read of WaP, please count me in. (It doesn't have to be soon ~ it will take me awhile to "gird my loins" (so to speak) to tackle such a heavy tome.)

I don't have my own copy yet, so perhaps I can get some suggestions on which translation to get? Thanks!

I think the idea of a group read is a fun one! I'm not planning to read it soon, so, teelgee, we could fit it around what seems to be your schedule (since I know I really don't have one!).

As for translation, rebeccanyc was extremely enthusiastic about the one I finally got, thanks to her posts. Seems to me I've also read one to her post(s) about these translators, not necessarily of War and Peace. They are Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.

The new one, Storeetllr - Richard Pevear & Larissa Volokhonsky. It's what all the recent War and Peace fuss is about - apparently they're the primo Russian translators.

Hmm. I thought I posted this but it hasn't shown up.

I think a group read would be a lot of fun. We could work it around your schedule, teelgee, because I don't have one. OK by me to wait until later in the year when I for one will have more time.

I bought my copy based on the enthusiastic post(s) of rebeccanyc and then one other post but not necessarily about War and Peace--about the translators. Who are Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.

Thanks! I have some credits at Borders which will come in handy.

So shall we start a new group now or when we start to read it? We probably shouldn't continue to use joycepa's 80 in '08 thread to discuss the group read. ;-)

Ok, I've now lost 3 posts to the downtime. Once more, with feeling--I vote for a group/thread when we start reading but am interested in any way it goes. Hopefully this will make it through the downtimes!

I'll join you on this group read, whenever it comes up! I agree that we should definitely have a separate thread--I will keep a look out for it whenever you all decide on a schedule. I am pretty sure that I read this many years ago, and I know I liked it, but I think it would be fun to read it together with a group.

A group read of War and Peace sounds great - I don't think I'd get it read otherwise, and I would like to. Count me in! (I think... eek, what am I getting myself into?!)

I wouldn't mind joining a group read of War & Peace myself - I've been putting off tackling it for way too long but if I'm being 'swept along' with others the momentum will probably carry me through - I'll look out for the thread as well

Those interested in a War and Peace reading group: given that teelgee has just started Anna Karenina, which I don't think even she is going to complete within a few days, why don't we aim for, say, a mid-February start-up date? That will allow some planning, at least in my helter-skelter reading life, and give those who are immersed in a weight-training program via reading a chance to recover.

FYI - there is a Yahoo group who is reading War and Peace - I think they already started, but you may be able to steal some ideas from them. Good luck!

Good idea, Joycepa. Would you like to start a new thread now, and maybe put a link on this thread so you can get back to using it for your reading journal?

I'm in on this group read of War and Peace - been asking around in other threads as well. There might be some people in the Reading Globally Group who are interested.

OK, people, I've been overwhelmed here and have no time even to read!! Tells you just how bad things are! :-)

I'll start the thread in this group and then people can join at their own pace. it'll be a little while for me since I'm still working on three books, one of which, an Early Review, is getting critical.

So, here goes.....

3. The Pastures of Heaven by John Steinbeck. This is a collection of short stories held together by its locale, a valley outside of Monterey and Salinas. Each chapter is a story about a family or person, most of whom recur. I always remember Steinbeck for his characterizations, but had forgotten how stunning his descriptive prose is. A beautiful, beautiful book.

4. All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren. You always read that this book is about American politics and a Huey Long-like figure. But that actually is the subplot, in a way, because the book is not really about Willie Stark but about the evolution of Jack Burden. The writing itself is dense, with long, convoluted sentences and a great deal of repetition. In the end, I can't say that I liked it, although it was fascinating and at times powerful. Overall, an uneven book.

Interesting comments about AKM, Joyce. It's been one of my favorite American novels since I "discovered" it in the early '70's. I think I've read it 3 or 4 times. I have always thought Jack Burden's story doesn't get enough attention in discussions of this work. As a Faulkner fan, I'm somewhat prejudiced in favor of the dense style and long "convoluted" sentences, but I don't remember thinking there was a great deal of repetition...I may have to read it again!!

AKM is probably my first experience with the Faulkner style, since i have never read Falukner himself--a lack that will be corrected in a "little while", however long that is! I had a hard time getting into the book--I found some of the writing around Jack a little precious--no other word seems to fit--a little cute.

There's no such thing in this book as a quick example, but let me quote out of the 1st chapter:

"His lips were a little meaty, but they weren't loose. Not exactly. Maybe at first glance you might think so. You might think he had a mouth like a boy, not quite shaped up, and that was the way he looked that minute, all right, leaning over the bottle and the straws stuck in his lip, which were just puckered up. You would see that they were hung together, all right, even if they were meaty. His face was a little meaty, too,, but thin-skinned and had freckles."

Lots of repetition of words and phrases. This is one of the shorter examples I could find in a hurry. The whole book is filled with them.

I'm not sure what I'm going to think of this book when I reread it, which I will surely do--only no time soon.

5. Darkest Fear by Harlan Coben. This book is a step towards the more serious type of mystery. Same humor, but not so much of it, and a considerably darker story.

6. His Family by Ernest Poole. The first Pulitzer Prize winner (1918), it's an odd book by today's standards. It basically is concerned with the clash of the "old" way of living--pre-WWI America--with what emerged in the country, as seen in New York City, at the turn of the century. The writing feels dated, but the story is compelling for all that.

7. The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly. The 4th in the Harry Bosch series, it is excellent. Michael Connolly is one of the two authors of the "hard-boiled" detective genre (the other being Ian Rankin) that I can stand. Connelly, like Rankin, produces well-written novels that happen to be police procedurals.

8. Promise Me by Harlan Coben. Another dark story in the latest of the Myron Bolitar mystery series. The resolution is strained--the plot somewhat improbable at that point. But until the denoument, another well-written story. Coben here explores more fully a favorite theme--where does one's responsibility for others' well-being begin and end?

9. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. 1921 Pulitzer Prize winner. Sharp prose that describes an age when form was everything in Old New York society. The story of Newland Archer who is trapped in that form and his ineffectual struggles to escape what he sees as his duty. A beautiful book with a quiet, heart-rending end.

10. The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell.
The chronological first in Farrell's Empire trilogy, The Siege of Krishnapur takes place in 1857 just before and during the Sepoy Rebellion. The book is something of a spoof on the "mutiny genre" which was spawned by this historical occurrence. it has highly comical aspects interspersed between scenes of real horror from the reality of a siege. the heroes are not quite so heroic, the damsels not quite so fair. Excellent writing and meticulous research as can be seen from Farrell's list of sources.

>10 mcna217: Very interesting Joycepa! I'm on a quest to read all Booker Prize winners so I always like reading others' impressions of these books. I didn't know much about The Siege of Krishnapur, but it's one I'd like to get to this year.

Siege of Krishnapur is not what I expected--although I couldn't tell you, exactly what exactly it was that I expected! Very different style from the usual historical fiction, and a lot more heft to the book than I expected.

The Introduction in my copy is excellent.

also, my copy is the New York Review of Books Classics, and is very fine. I have everything from rather beat-up mysteries, usually, from used book stores, to used books from Amazon Marketplace to brand-new mass market to Library of America and everything in between. There is no question that really well-produced books add to my pleasure. Good paper, well-bound for a paperback--my copy was a delight to pick up even before I started reading.

I have the other two books in the series, and will start on Troubles--about the 1916 Easter uprising in Ireland--soon.

11. To A God Unknown by John Steinbeck. Very, very bizarre book for Steinbeck. Same lyrical prose describing the land he obviously loved but from the first page on, a sense of impending doom, even of horror lies over the book. Makes Stephen King look like a neophyte. The impact is probably greater right now since we are in the midst of our summer, it's hot and dry, and it's easy to imagine a killing drought.

12. Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington. His second Pulitzer Prize winner--which I found to be much less impressive than The Magnificent Ambersons. A morality story about a post World War I middle-class family whose socially ambitious mother basically ruins the family. The daughter, the Alice of the title, goes through a shattering but revelatory experience. The writing, especially parts of the dialogue ascribed to Alice's father felt very dated, something I didn't feel with his 1919 book.

13. Baptism in Blood by Jane Haddam. Yes, let's face it, fluff by one of my favorite mystery authors, just because I like her characters. But a very different one this time, centering around fundamentalist religion in a small Southern town. Not what you would expect. Better than most of her recent entries.

Got to have something mindless to read, given the literary load I've taken on at the moment!

14. Skeleton Key by Jane Haddam. I simply HAD to read this sequel to #13 as I couldn't wait to find out what happened with Gregor and Bennis (can't say more without risking spoilers). After a series of so-so books, Haddam has really picked up with Baptism in Blood and now this one.

15. True Believers by Jane Haddam. Another outstanding entry in the Gregor Demarkian series. Haddam has written several books in the series exploring religion, and this is the best so far. An intriguing ending.

16. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. Done! Took me one month to read this vast, sprawling book, but what a month!

I loved it, but was taken aback by the Epilogue, which is in two parts. Part 1 tells what happens to the main group of characters in the years after Napoleon's invasion of Russia, but Part 2 is a long and ultimately boring (talk about beating a dead horse!) section on Tolstoy's interpretation of history, which he interjects frequently in the main part of the book itself. I'll take him at his word in the appendix--he wasn't writing a novel. But still--to end a book with a discourse on astronomy?

Deserves its reputation, though, as one of the best novels of all time--even if it isn't a novel, really.

WOW!!! Congrats for knocking it off

I imagine it's like running a marathon--pacing your self in the early and middle stages and then pouring it on at the end. I just took hours off this weekend and sprinted for the finish line.

Well done, Joyce! I look forward to the finish line too - tempting to skip that second epilogue though. I'm at the .25 mark and enjoying it immensely.

I just started W&P this weekend--on page 47. I hope it doesn't take me a whole month--I have other books to read! I know it will be worth it, though, even if it does through my pace way off...

>46 sussabmax: suss -- Joyce is a pretty fast reader! I think it will take me six weeks to read it; I'm also supplementing though, with commuter books and some others to break it up a bit. Although, I am really getting into the book now and may not be so interested in supplemental reading. I found it pretty slow going at first, and having to refresh my memory a lot with character lists and so forth. But now it's moving right along.

Do you know about the group read for W&P? find it here:

http://www.librarything.com/groups/groupreadsliterature

It's a little difficult to talk about the Epilogue (Part 2). It really is Tolstoy's argument on freedom and necessity in human actions. It's interesting--i for one love that sort of discussion--but it takes 20 pages of mind-numbing hammering away at a single point to get to the essence. I wouldn't skip the epilogue but just prepare yourself fro some grim reading. BUT, once past that point--not too bad. And the Appendix is very good.

I love the book, always have--but must have read editions that didn't contain part 2 of the Epilogue because I don't remember any of it. of course, I didn't remember whole sections of the book proper, either!

Late last week, I received the DVDs of the original 1968 movie, the Russian version, which is extraordinarily faithful to the book (has to cut out several subplots for reasons of time, I assume), and has superb actors/acting. I heartily recommend seeing that movie as you are reading the book. It's a wonderful companion.

And sussabmax, let me tell you, I'm delighted to get back to my "normal" reading life! I had put the book down at one point for several days, taking time off to read light stuff just to clear my mind--but I found that it was better to keep reading W&P without lengthy interruptions; this weekend, I read nothing else.

Congrats, Joyce, on finishing W&P. That's quite an accomplishment. I loved your marathon analogy. =)

I do know about the group read, thanks, teelgee! I just finished the first part last night, so I think I will head over and see what people are talking about. I am really enjoying it so far. I went ahead and took it on my commute yesterday, since I get a lot of my reading done then. I couldn't walk and read this book at the same time, as I often do with other books (walking down the train platform, the one block I need to walk to work, walking to the elevator), but I did get some good reading in on the train.

I may have to check out that DVD, Joyce, thanks for mentioning it!

17. One of Ours by Willa Cather. 1923 Pulitzer Prize winner. Cather wrote such easy-reading prose, and this is no exception. About a Nebraska farm boy who winds up fighting in France during World War I. Excellent, although I still think that Death Comes for the Archbishop is her best book (at least of those I've read).

18. Troubles by J.G. Farrell. The 2nd in the Empire trilogy. A really weird book, whose characters are bizarre--you'd think that they're comic except somehow they're not. Set against the Irish Troubles in south Ireland, which then became the Republic of Ireland. Absolutely outstanding.

>52 Joycepa:, Joycepa - Great ticker! Congrats on your progress this year!

fannyprice: Thanks! I fooled around with the ruler a bit until I happened on this one. I think they are the greatest fun!

19. Touchstone by Laurie King. King has well established her claim to the post World War I era with her Mary Russell novels. This stand-alone novel is a thriller set in that period. BUT it's odd--it really doesn't get rolling for quite some time, although the last 30 pages are nail-biting!

20. and 21. Absolution by Murder and Shroud for the Archbishop by Peter Tremayne. First and 2nd in the Sister Fidelma mystery series set in 7th century Ireland. Touted as a Brother Caedfel competitor, this series is held up mainly by it setting and the details Tremayne puts in about history, culture. Writing is very stilted compared to Ellis Peters' prose. At times, I wonder if Tremayne isn't being paid by the word, since he takes so long to get a scene where it's going. However, the 2nd is marginally better than the first.

22. Suffer Little Children again by Tremayne. eh! somewhat better. Although I have to say that the stand-and-deliver Nero Wolfe style of denoument has been replaced by a court scene, a trial, and is definitely better.

23. The Subtle Serpent by Tremayne. OK, so there must be something to the plotting (because the writing is mediocre) that kept me up last night to finish this book. It's the best of the series so far. What i really like about this one and the previous, is that there are really TWO plots--not subplots--but two separate sets of nastiness going on, and Fidelma has to sort it all out. But the writing makes you cringe from time to time, as you recognize whole sentences and paragraphs from previous books. And people blink a lot.

24. The Singapore Grip by J.G. Farrell. Nowhere near so good as its two predecessors, but still worth reading for the description of the fall of the Malay Peninsula and Singapore to the Japanese.

>57 Joycepa: And people grimace a lot. :) I don't know why, but I actually like the books. I agree with you that the writing is mediocre at best; however, I will say that he improves a lot on that front as he writes more. (I think I noticed that it was remarkably better from The Leper's Bell onwards).

#59 christiguc: Yes, yes--more so than blink! For all that I rant on, I'm going to continue to read the series. If nothing else, the plots really are good--I can sort of glide over all the blinking and grimacing on a selective speed-read! :-) Good to hear that the writing does get better--practice, I suppose.

25. City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende. Normally I don't read Young Adult fiction, which is what this is, but I saw it in our one and only new (very small) bookstore in probably the western half of Panama, and it's Allende, and so I bought it. Teenagers in the Amazon basin--standard adventure plotting, some stereotypes, but very, very good information on what happens there--and, since it's Allende, good writing.

26. Somebody Else's Music by Jane Haddam. Until a few books ago, this series was good but light mystery genre reading. I almost felt guilty about recording it as one of my books for 2008. But the last three have been at least one order of magnitude better; this one is outstanding. For the genre and the sort of thing Haddam writes--she's not the Michael Connelly type and that's fine. This is about high school, the kids who are just not socially acceptable and become targets of collective abuse by the "in" gang. It's as if you're reading a sociological study that happens to be mixed up with a murder o two. I couldn't put it down.

27. Conspiracy Theory by Jane Haddam. Haddam breaks out of her formulaic writing in this book to write a very interesting mystery that has the conspiracy theory nuts as central characters. The writing is very good, although the book could have used some more editing to eliminate some redundancies. Still, excellent. She says all the Web sites she lists in the book are real or were at the time of writing. I always knew there were those crazies out there, but it is depressing to know just how many people listen.

28.The Headmaster's Wife by Jane Haddam. I used to say that the Gregor Demarkian series was fluff, light reading. Well, the last 4-5 books have at least made the jump from lightweight to middleweight. another good book about shenanigans at a private boarding school. Well plotted, good writing.

29. Path of Empire:Panama and the California Gold Rush by Aims McGuinness. It seems that the current trend in historical research and writing is for transnational history, a recounting that takes into account the mutual effects of a particular event in one nation's history on the history of other nations. This is an excellent account of how the California gold rush affected the history of Panama and vice versa. It was an eye-opener for me, and I thought I had no illusions about US imperialism in Latin America.

30. Literary Murder by Batya Gur. A friend sent us three books by this Israeli journalist cum mystery writer. She writes a series starring Superintendent Michael Ohayon of the Jersualem police. The writing is pretty plain and workmanlike but good--serves the purpose. The plot of this one centers on two murders at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Part of the plot are several discourses on poetry--interpretation, structure, meaning, etc. i struggled to understand most of it, then gave up and just read through to get through to the end. It really didn't interfere that much with the story. Clearly such ideas are important, even a passion of Gur's, but they really didn't (for me) do that much for the story.

31. Murder on a Kibbutz by Batya Gur. this was really unsatisfactory--dragged on, and then suddenly within 2 pages the murder was resolved, making almost no sense--just more or less baldly stated. The information about the changes in the kibbutz movement were interesting, but not enough to justify reading the book.

32. A Death in Vienna by Daniel Silva. I don't know of anyone who can write an international spy thriller like Daniel Silva does in his Gabriel Allon series. Allon is an Israeli intelligence operative. In this novel he tracks down the Nazi officer responsible for the mass coverup of millions of Jews murdered in the Shoa. Excellent writing, fast paced--just top of the line in the genre.

33. The Able McLaughlins byMargaret Wilson Pulitzer Prize winner for 1924. About a Scotch community in Ohio during the mid 1860s. this has been compared to one of our own and other Cather writings, but while the writing is good, it has nowhere near the sophistication of Cather's. The portrayal of different members of the community is excellent; the dialogue is particularly fine.

34. Prince of Fire by Daniel Silva. another and possibly the last in the Gabriel Allon series. His cover blown, Allon searches frantically to find a terrorist before another major bombing occurs. If this is the end of the series, Silva has wound it up with one of the best installments. Great writing.

35. The Painter of Battles by Arturo Perez-Reverte. I can't even talk about this book yet. the point of view is so dark. It unfolds and as it unfolds, the horror of that point of view just grows. One of the best books I've read in years.

36. In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck. I never thought I'd ever say, about a Steinbeck book, that it was irritating and actually dull. This book supposedly was the run-up to The Grapes of Wrath but about the only thing they have in common is picking fruit in a California valley. The characters are too simplistic, the dialogue doesn't feel authentic, and the writing is choppy and too simplistic. I just slogged through until it was finished.

37. Hardscrabble Road by Jane Haddam. NOT one of her best. She takes on politics in this one. As far as I can tell from her Web site, she's a libertarian, which is fine, except that she's not a writer who can talk about her political agenda without letting it get in the way. and it does in this book.

38. Glass Houses by Jane Haddam. Haddam returns to a higher standard of writing in this book. What I really like about the series is that she not afraid to explore social topics within her stories. These give the stories more complexity, more texture than would be the case in what is very formulaic plotting and writing. Here she continues on the gay theme in one subplot, and does so in a very intriguing way.

39. Trunk Music by Michael Connelly. 5th in the Harry Bosch series. It seemed to take forever for this book to get anywhere but the last 20% made up for the 40 Years Wandering in the Desert. Excellent because the way Connelly wrapped it up made everything that went before excellent as well.

40. Pushing Up Daisies by Rosemary Harris. Eh! Feels like Chick Lit Meets Mystery Genre and the offspring isn't that impressive. An ER book. Better luck next time.

41. The Spider's Web by Peter Tremayne. Well, at least Tremayne's writing has improved, from mediocre at best to adequate. And miracle of miracles--his characters have stopped "blinking", although they're still "grimacing" away. and someone should shut off his supply of Perry Mason reruns--bad way to resolve a story. But I read on, I read on.

42. The Monk Who Vanished by Peter Tremayne. Another Sister Fidelma mystery--and I swear Tremayne has taken a writing class! His characters now don't blink at all, they only occasionally grimace--but I have to say they do pale a lot!

MUCH better plot (and I've always liked his plots), much, much better overall, although the characters are still wooden and one-dimensional. STILL...good for Tremayne!

#41 and 42 I'm chuckling away at the characters and their facial tic's!!

In the earlier books, it was REALLY bad--they were all grimacing every other sentence!

43. A Game of Thrones by George Martin and
44. A Clash of Kings, same author. Installments 1 and 2 of A Song of Fire and Ice "fantasy" series, although it read far, far more like Arthurian-type fiction just tinged with fantasy. Absolutely outstanding. Told from about 6-8 different points of view in short segments, the books pull you in and keep you enthralled. If you like knights in less-than-shining armor and a VERY realistic look at war, this is it.

45. Jar City by Arnaldur Indridason. A very highly praised mystery set in iceland that I found so-so. Wasn't bad, wasn't good, nothing to make it remarkable except the location.

Joycepa, I'm reading A Game of Thrones too at the moment and fully agree. Your 'just tinged with fantasy' comment is very true - the idea of 'magic' is barely present, if there at all, and the fantastic creatures are almost there but hover backstage. Realistic people with realistic actions and reactions, in an imaginary world. Enthralling is right :)

ChocolateMuse, later on, in the other books, the fantasy gets stronger but still you have to wonder whether it's fantasy or sci-fi. depends on your definition, I suppose. But even when it becomes a stronger element, it's still not your typical warlocks and witches kind of thing.

I'm about half way through Book 3, and it gets so intense that it's actually exhausting, thanks to the way he's structured the novel, writing from so many different points of view.

ooh, I look forward to it. Thanks :)

46. A Storm of Swords. Book 3 in the Song of Fire and Ice series. I think that the best thing to say about this is that the saga continues, with more twist and turns, and with the same intensity and excellence as the first two books.

47. A Feast for Crows by George Martin. 4th in the A Song of Fire and Ice series. Not as gripping as the other 3, in part due to a slight change in the way the novel is structured--longer chapters for each point of view definitely slowed things down. Still good, however--Talbin has hit the nail on the head by calling it a journey book, as the major characters travel on their way to where they need to be. Clearly, Martin is setting up for the end, the confrontation. going to be fascinating, given what's happened in this book, to see how it happens.

# 48. Dead Famous by Carol O'Connor. My first exposure to Mallory, and while I thought the plotting and story line was excellent, I was a little putt off by Mallory herself. I have no problems with a sociopathic protagonist; it was just too many wheels within wheels within wheels with her planning.

#49. Sharpe's Eagle by Bernard Cornwell. 8th or 9th installment in the series, and still a cracking good story. But I think a somewhat lower standard of writing than in previous books. A real page turner, though.

50. Sharpe's Gold by Bernard Cornwell #9 in the series. Each book is getting a little more lightweight than the last, and you can tell Cornwell was in a hurry to write them. I complain mightily about Peter Tremayne in the Sister Fidelma books--the characters grimace every other sentence. Well, all I gotta say is that the napoleonic Wars must have been more laughs than a barrel of monkeys for the ordinary British soldier, because they grin all the time, often twice in the same sentence! too bad. But the stories are still good.

Hey, Joycepa ~ Dead Famous wasn't one of my favorite Mallorys; also, it wasn't the first of the series (that is Mallory's Oracle, which wasn't a favorite either but necessary to Mallory's story). I hope you give the series another try. However, if you just don't like Mallory, O'Connor wrote a wonderful stand-alone called Judas Child that you might like better, and I understand her next book which is due out in a few months is another stand-alone.

Don't worry, Storeetllr, I don't intend to abandon the series. Overall, I thought the writing was very good--story got a little jumpy here and there but I still really liked the plotting. I only started with Dead Famous because it was available in the only half-way decent English-language bookstore we have in the province, which is a used book store. Generally speaking, it sucks, but from time to time, I can pick up mystery stories. This one happened to be available.

I want to visit the store again soon, and see what's on offer. I've cut down drastically on my orders from Amazon to about 10 per month because shipping costs are now, depending on the book, as much as or up to twice the cost of the book itself. So I'm choosing somewhat carefully what I order.

Got it. I forgot you live in Panama. It must be maddening to not have access to English-language books anytime you want it. I'm sure I've mentioned that I moved to my current apartment because, in part, the L.A. Central Library is within a 5-minute walk. I am sooo spoiled! :)

BTW, I started The House of the Spirits by Allende and am completely charmed by it already (just after the part where the one sister dies).

51. Sharpe's Escape This one had more heft than the previous two, and there didn't seem to be quite so much of a party atmosphere with soldiers standing around grinning a lot in the midst of a battle.

I really like the series, but then I'm a nut about historical fiction and I enjoy reading about war--realistic war. Cornwell can write a battle scene with the best of them. And his characters are real.

52. Sharpe's Fury by Bernard Cornwell. I'm just continuing on with the series because it's so good. This is military historical fiction at its best. I have two more books in my possession, so it's on to the next--Sharpe's Battle.

53. Sharpe's Battle Peninsular War, 1811

54. Sharpe's Company Ditto, 1812

Both outstanding. I was thinking, after I wrote a blurb on one of the threads, that another reason why both Cornwell and O'Brian wrote such readable books is their attention to detail. In both cases, they took information about weather, for example, or battle conditions from the diaries and accounts of participants. Gives the books a solid sense of authenticity.

Now to turn to totally different reading.

Joyce, do you know that COrnwell did not write the Sharpe books in chronological order? Sharpe's Eagle, for example, was written quite early. All the India-based stories were written later. So you may be perceiving an improvement in his style over time, when you're reading an book that took place earlier, but was written later in his career. Here's a link for you. With thanks to my daughter (lycomayflower) for this info, as she is the Sharpe fan, not me.

Thanks, Linda--and I will follow up on the link--but I did know that. I'm reading them in historical order, And yes, no question, that there are two "in the middle" that are not quite so good as the others.

Thank your daughter for me for the link! :-)

55. This Republic of Suffering by Drew Gilpin Faust. A book I've been working on for two months. Not a fast read--not just dense with information, but the subject--the Civil War dead and what that meant to American society both North and South--is not one you gloss over lightly.

It's an excellent book giving a remarkable socio-historical look at the country from the perspective of the carnage of the war--how people viewed death before the war, what that meant for both those who died and those who survived, the massive effort to identify the dead, the change in attitude of the US government towards its responsibilities to the dead and their survivors, and lots more.

What struck me from the beginning was her tone. I've searched fro 2 months for the right way to describe it, and what I come up with is "quiet"--a quiet regard. "Respect' doesn't seem right but "regard' does--or is as close as I can come to it now. Whatever it is, Faust's prose is masterful and perfect for her topic.

#55 I just read your full review of this book, Joyce. I recall hearing a discussion of it somewhere before,probably on NPR while driving, but it passed from my memory. Two days ago, I visited Bleak House, in Knoxville, TN, a private home used as headquarters by General Longstreet during the seige of Knoxville. He chose it partly because of its location overlooking the river, and partly because it had a tower--a perfect sharpshooter's nest. Three (only three) men were killed in that tower; there are still bloodstains on the plaster. It's an indescribable feeling to stand in that space and feel their presence. I'm glad you've brought this book back to my attention just now. I'll be looking for it.

Isn't it funny how your perspective can change. Before I read this book, just knowing the slaughter, I'd have said, yes, only three. Now I can't look at it that way, not after this book.

Bloodstains on the plaster. Three very real men died there. Gives me the shivers now, and I've been reading about the Civil War for over 50 years.

Good anecdote--thanks. One to remember.

That book is going to haunt me for a long time.

I have read many Civil War scholars but never DGF. The Republic of Suffering has been one I have considered reading. Have you read her other books? I still want to get to Mothers of Invention...one day! =)

Jill: I fully intend to get Mothers of Invention--one day! :-) According to the Acknowledgments, the idea for This Republic of Suffering came out of her work for the former book. She spent 10 years on TRS.

Two of her other books appeal to me:The Creation of Confederate Nationalism and A Sacred Circle: the Dilemma of the Intellectual in the Old South, 1840-1860, which is a period of time that interests me.

They all seem interesting, don't they? Tooooo many books, so little time!

Tell me about it, tell me about it! :-)

Joyce - we have a chat thread and would love you to come over to introduce yourself The thread is 'A gathering place to chat'.

Great! But are you really sure?! I really can run on and on! :-)

We really like people who run on and on - glad to meet you Joyce!!

56. A Dog About Town by J.F. Englert. An endearing entry in the mystery genre, told by that super-sleuth of Manhattan, Randolph, an overweight and out-of-shape black Lab (look out, Harry Bosch!). It's a funny but at times very touching viewpoint, as Randolph talks about life from a pet's point of view. I love dogs and thought there was very little new I could learn about caring for them, but this book made me think as well as giggle.

#107 And yet another book to add to the ever-growing, soon-to-be-toppling-down TBR pile. :)

It really does sound good. I can't wait to read it.

#108: Yes, it's fun--nothing heavy, but fun. Englert has another book out now in the series--something with Diplomat in the title. The "mystery" is uncomplicated but the whole situation gives Englert a chance to have Randolph do some very creative doggy things to aid his out-of-it owner, Harry!

57. A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane. This is a stunning book, one wants to say raw, except that there is actually far less violence in it than in others. Of course, only if you discount a gang war, but even then, the descriptions of the blood and gore are kept to a minimum.

The only quibble I have with the book--and it is that--is that Lehane tries to pack in sociological observations about black/white relationships, and it doesn't quite come off, although I personally agree with his stand. It feels uneasy to me, as if he wasn't completely convinced that he should insert the topic at all.

58. Darkness, Take My Hand by Dennis Lehane.

2nd in the Kenzie/Gennaro series. Better than the first, if that's possible.

This book is almost as scary as The Alienist and Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr, which are my standards against which I measure all other thriller mysteries. delves into the world of the true psychopath, who kills for no other reason than pleasure. It also touches on (as in the first book) the killer that lives within all of us, something which none of us who have any decency really want to face.

There is a book review in today's New York Times of Black Flies, which is on the same theme: how constant exposure to violence numbs the soul and sensibilities. In this case, it's the world of Emergency Medical Technicians who, right along with police, see the horrors of he results of accidents and what human beings are capable of doing to one another, and how it desensitizes those exposed to it.

59. Killing Critics by Carol O'Connell. I dunno. i continue to feel that there's something not quite right with this series. It has some really interesting scenes and characters, nice plotting, but Mallory is not quite real for me. One of the things I most strongly object to is being told that something is the case without being shown that it's so. We're constantly told that Mallory is an ice-cold sociopath but there are very few convincing scenes where this feels real--one or two, tops.

Also, again at the end I feel as if somehow the plot has jumped around without leaving me a clear trail to follow--I can't quite connect the dots to the resolution.

I have one more book of the series that I picked up at our used book store. If I still feel the same way, I'm going to abandon the series and put my shipping money into other books.

>59 christiguc: I agree, and I feel bad for thinking so because many people here on LT rave about the series! But I gave her two tries, and it didn't work for me either.

>112 Joycepa: & 113... Me too. I like them, but not really and keep thinking if all of these wonderful people love it so much I'm going to find something to love (eventually). It's her, I think, she just doesn't resonate for me.

>111 Joycepa:... After reading the NYT review of Black Flies, I want to read it but also fear that it would hurt too much. It sounds searing.

I have Black Flies down on my To Be Bought list, although I do have the same sort of dread. And yes, "searing" is a good word for what it sounds like. Still--I suppose I'm enough of a ghoul to get the book, one of these days.

I'm reading the last one I have in the mallory series, Crime School, but have stopped in order to read elizabeth George's latest, Careless in Red, which just came in today. I LOVED the Thomas Lynley series but was really disappointed in her last book, What Came Before he Shot Her. The title gave it all away, and by the time I was a quarter into the book, everything was clear--where the book was going, what was going to happen. No tension lefft, nothing. It read like a sociological study, and that's not what I wanted. I never finished the book, which is reare for me, practically unheard of.

So now I'm reading where Lynley picks up after Helen's death. It's very surprising--not like her others in the series. Her writing in the other books is composed of beautifully crafted sentences, each a gem of the English language, precise. I used to reread the books just for the pleasure of the language. This writing style is much looser, much freer. She's structured her book differently, too. Not sure how I'm going to like it.

Funny, I keep thinking about paintings with her writing style. It's as if the earlier books were like one of the old Dutch Masters, precise, detailed, still as if it were caught in a moment of time. while this one is like an Impressionist. Mary Cassat, maybe. Gauguin.

60. Careless in Red by Elizabeth George.
This was good, but not up to expectations. George has changed her style, which is not necessarily a bad thing, and also changed the structure of her novel from what she' done previously. Personally, I prefer the previous structure, but an outstanding author like George ought to be allowed to experiment. See #59 for additional comments.

The plot was very good. George spends a lot of time on Lynley's emotional state as he tries (or not tries) to recover from the devastation of Helen's loss. Havers makes an appearance about half way through the book.

The book kind of stutters along in an ok fashion, and doesn't really pick up until the last quarter.

Good but not outstanding.

That's about what I thought about Careless in Red, Joyce. I liked it, but not nearly as much as her earlier novels. It was a VAST improvement on What Came Before He Shot Her, though!

#117 sussabmax: I agree totally about the comparison with What Came Before He Shot Her.

61. First Drop by Zoe Sharp. This is a solid if not really exciting mystery; it's drawback is mainly just better than mediocre writing. But the plot is good.

It's beginning to look like anything is better than Carol O'Connell. I'm struggling to finish Crime School. The more I read of this series, the more put off I am by Mallory. Which is really too bad because the plots are very good and the characters other than her recurring ones--Mallory, Riker, and Butler--are unusual and fascinating.

I may not even count it here if it continues to turn me off the way it's doing now.

I'm sorry you aren't enjoying the Mallory mysteries, Joyce, but really, don't force yourself to finish it if you're really suffering! :) If you want to read something by O'Connell that isn't about Mallory, she has one stand-alone that I liked a lot, Judas Child.

Because my life is a perverse one, after I wrote #119, I finished Crime School, which actually got better in the last half of the book. Still not thrilled about Mallory, but the plot resolved itself in a much better fashion than usual.

Funny enough, I have Judas Child. I thought it was part of another series. I haven't started it yet because I want to get on with some other reading.

Thanks for the encouragement, Mary! But I am one of those I-will-finish-this-book-no-matter-how-much-I-hate-it-even-if-it-kills-me types, and I'm afraid that advanced age has not only not made me any more reasonable but has actually increased my stubborn pigheadedness (of which I had more than my share at birth).

62. The Rule of four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason. Eh! Ok--don't see exactly why the big fuss about this book. The medieval puzzle/mystery is a good one, and I really like that it was centered around a book. The writing varied depending on who was writing, as did the structure, which I saw as detracting from the book overall.

I also think I'm getting less forgiving as the cost of bringing books into the country increases.

63. Winterkill by C.J.Box. 2nd in the Joe Pickett mystery series.

Box is comfortable for me. I have no idea why he's so highly praised because I think his writing is acceptable but little else. in this novel, he mostly rises above that--much better than in the first two--but STILL--nothing to get all excited about.

What he does have is very good plots, believable characters and a point of view that takes all sides equally seriously. His books center around serious issues in the West, such as environmentalism, and he has a very even-handed approach, which I really like.

although this is a series and you know good ol' Joe is going to come out of it, that's about all you can depend on, because he can make some surprising plot decisions.

also, there is absolutely no way that these stories could take place in any other place than 12 Sleep County, Wyoming! He does a superior job with the locale.

so, while there are much better writers in the genre, I continue to read him and to like him.

64. Trophy Hunt by C.J. Box. Wow, this is an order of magnitude better than Winterkill in terms of the writing. I suspect that's because Box doesn't have to try to depict emotional states or reactions in his characters in this novel, which he doesn't do well. The story is a little woo-woo, but is interestingly complicated. The best in the series so far.

65. Out of Range by C.J. Box #5 I think in the Joe Pickett series, and another excellent novel. I love the way ox brings in issue of the "New West", such as environmentalism, forest and wildlife management. This one centers around the impact of development, using the resort town of Jackson Hole, WY, which sits on the edge of some of the wildest habitat in the lower 48 states. Both the plot and the way Box handles issues are excellent.

66. Cheating at Solitaire by Jane Haddam. The previous 4-5 novels in the Gergor Demarkian mystery series have been top-notch. Haddam has one serious flaw as a writer--she can take some "character defect" or attitude and pound and pound on it over and over again until it's seriously annoying. Unfortuantely, she returns to this type of overkill in this her latest novel.

The story is set in a thinly-disguised Martha's Vineyard (Margaret's Harbor)off Cape Cod and uses the current American mania for following the lives of celebrities and the entire industry it has spawned as her matrix. Haddam most definitely has her opinion about these people, and you are never in any doubt as to what it is. However, it can get boring at times.

The plot is good although not outstanding. Demarkian seems a little too confused in this book to be able to figure out a complex murder plot. Maybe that's just in his private life, since Bennis and the rest of the crew on Cavanaugh Street have basically thrown him out of Philadelphia in order to get on with planning the wedding. I wish they'd get it over with so we can get on with the series.

I think you mentioned it on a different thread, but how do you get your books? Amazon.com? Bookmooch or one of those trading groups? What you wrote in 122 made me want to send you a box of my favorites (presumptuous of me, I know, but I can't stand to think of you not being able to just walk a couple of blocks to the library or bookstore and pick up whatever you want whenever you want). :(

What a dear you are, Mary! I get them through Amazon. Paola Sergi sent me the name of a wonderful used book store that will ship internationally and cheaply but I don't dare use it because our post office is open erratically--supposedly two days a week, but I have yet to see that happen. It's supposed to go back to full time "shortly".

so I do Amazon and Amazon marketplace--and any time you want to send me books, let me know and I'll give you my Miami shipping address!

67. Sharpe's Sword by Bernard Cornwell. #7241 in the Richard Sharpe series but still terrific for all that. Started a little slowly but then picked up and turned into his typical superbly-written war chronicle.

And laytonwoman3, Mary is now hooked on the Sharpe series, so we're going to have to get the DVDs of the series!

68.The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Umberto Eco. An incredible book, a real tour de force. a 60 year old rare book seller wakes up in the hospital after a stroke and is perfectly ok--except that he has lost all personal memories. he knws word perfect every book he's ever read--but has no idea of who he is, what he's supposed to feel like. there are amazing passages where he explores what his skin feels like, for example. He doesn't recognize his wife, his children or grandchildren. so he goes back to the family home outside of Milan to try to recover his childhood and hopefully his memories.

Which is the setting for an amazing excursion into his first 16 years, many of which were lived during WWII. the history in itself would be worth the read.

The book is amazing, with illustrations from comic books, illustrated story books for boy, newspapers, old cigarette packs, stamps, posters, magazine covers, propaganda material. There are poems, nationalistic Fascist ones side by side with the song lyrics of the day. it's magnificent.

And the end is superb. Period. Don't miss this.

it led me to realize that while I know a good deal of what happened in Italy in WWI, thanks to A soldier of the Great War,I really know nothing at all about what happened there in WWII. You'd have to be deaf and blind not to know about Nazi Germany, what with the books, movies, etc--but there is a really curious dearth of the equivalent for Italy. What I know I got through reading William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich and only as an adjunct of Shirer's account of of Nazi Germany.

definitely a gap in my knowledge I want to fill.

The book was so good that, rather than start a new book, I've picked up Foucault's Pendulum and am rereading it. I LOVE Eco--one of the great modern writers.

69. Valley of the Shadow by Peter Tremayne. #6 in the Sister Fidelma series. I inadvertently read this out of order, after The Monk Who Vanished, which is #7. And of course just after I swore I would not have anything further to do with the series, this particular installment is actually pretty good! He really doesn't do that much with Fidelma except to go through a 7th century police procedural on what is a very nice plot. He leaves out the personal stuff which is good because Tremayne can't seem to make a character real. However, even though this is one of the best in the series, it's not good enough to justify my buying more.

70. Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. This is a reread for me, but nearly 20 years have elapsed between the first reading and now. I had forgotten entire sections of the book and had remembered mainly the main plot, NOT the staggering scholarship that went into it. In addition, I would have had no reason to remember particularly the Brasilian section, which is impeccable. It's hard to believe that he didn't spend considerable time there.

For someone like me, this book can't be read in the normal way. There's just too much to keep track of, too many names both of people and organizations. so, you do what you can to keep hold of the main threads--and there are many--and not worry about the details except to marvel as they come up. for a history freak like me, it makes me want to spend all my time researching the Templars and the Rosicrucians.

A bizarre but tremendously satisfying little detail: for those of us Harry Potter freaks, the first book has as one of its characters the alchemist Nicolas Flamel--who turns out to have been a historical figure!! Bravo once more to J.K. Rawling.

An absolutely superb book.

Joyce, you have me moving Eco up up up the TBR pile---He intimidates me, and fascinates me at the same time. I must get to him soon.

Linda, I most certainly think that he can be intimidating if you let him. I had forgotten how complex Foucault's Pendulum is. Just don't let the complexity blow you away--relax and enjoy it!

He published the book in 1988. A computer is actually a main player, but as he says in the story, in 1988 computers were just starting to become widely available. I had one then but it was absolutely laughable compared to what's available now. I say this only because I can't even begin to imagine the task of keeping track of the characters and how they intertwine in the plot without a computer's help.

I wouldn't start with this book, though. i've read comments on LT where readers found The name of the Rose irritating because of the journey to the monastery. I haven't read it in many years and don't have it in my library at the moment (but will order it soon) but I remember racing through it. I'd start with The name of the Rose myself or else The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana which I think is marvelous and utterly accessible.

I could be very wrong but I think--given publication dates--that Name of the Rose was the first medieval mystery book and Foucault's Pendulum was the first of the ancient secret society type books, the forerunner of The Da Vinci code, but I'll tell you, once you read Foucault's Pendulum, you'll think that Dan Brown was writing for grade schoolers compared to Eco.

Oh, I almost forgot! today I ordered the first two DVD collections of Sharpe's Adventures, with Sean Bean. Do tell your daughter!

And yet another addendum! One of the most amazing things about Foucault's Pendulum is how Eco uses a device which, in ordinary hands, can be deadly if overused--exposition. Normally, you don't want to talk about action--you want to write it, or the book can get deadly dull.

When you examine the story, in actuality, very little happens in the book except at the end! Meantime, what you have, really, is subplot after subplot after subplot--books within the main book--all explained by various characters. Yet the stories told are so fascinating in and of themselves that you don't really notice that nothing is happening in the main novel!

When you look at what he's done, he's actually written a history of History told from a single, very narrowly focused, bizarre perspective.

Well, that does it. I've got to read Foucault's Pendulum now! :) I remember very much liking The Name of the Rose when I read it 20 some years ago, so perhaps I'll be able to handle this one.

Let me know what you think! But just remember, the cast of characters and organizations in this book makes War and Peace look about as complicated as Run, Spot, Run! :-) Just don't let it overwhelm you. The Brasilian episode is brilliant, utterly brilliant.

You're scaring me, Joyce.

:)

I have to admit, even though I've enjoyed all the Eco I've read, I feel like I've never stopped being intimidated when I approach one of his books. My first read was Foucault's Pendulum in college, which I read because someone told me it was like a more cerebral version of The Illuminatus! Trilogy. Which now that I think of it is kind of a weird comparison; maybe there were just less novels about secret societies back then.

#135 CarlosMcRey: Thanks for the information that there was at least one work on secret societies before Eco's. I've been trying to figure out (without putting any effort into it!) whether or not he was the first with Foucault's Pendulum.

The one book of his I never was able to get through was The Island of the Day Before. I could not make sense of that book, but that was when it came out. I'm more used to cunning authors now!

Oh, heavens, Mary! A reading warrior like you!! You'll just scarf this book down, I know. In fact, I may have to be more careful than others because I'm the kind of personality that when confronted with a web of relationships like this, wants to sit down and do a network chart, with nice little lines connecting all the names (with dates) and understand EVERYTHING.

Actually, that sounds like a nice little project! :-) (God help me, I'm lost for sure if I start that.)

Anyway, for sure let me know--Linda, Mary, and/or anyone else--what your reactions are to Eco when you read any of the books.

What was interesting to me was I read it right after reading The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana (which is great). I don't know if Eco uses these themes in his other works (I can't imagine it in Name of the Rose), but I was struck immediately by a) his use of his childhood growing up in Mussolini's Fascist Italy b) guilt from that era, even though he was 10-12 years old and c) a First Love Lost theme. all three come out in both books, more powerfully and more developed in Queen Loana.

I do want to do a search for material on Mussolini's Italy because as I've mentioned, there's a surprising lack of popular books on the subject. In fact, all suggestions on that are very welcome! Please let me know.

By the way, anyone read A Soldier of the Great War?

71. The Watchman by Robert Crais. I normally don't go much for the hard-boiled thriller type of novel but this was surprisingly good. Very fast-paced, lots of bodies but not much gore, very satisfying ending and left me wanting to read more joe Pike and/or ellis cole installments in this series.

72. The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin. and nothing could be more opposite from the former book than this one! it's a delightful romp in teh police procedural genre set in 1876 Russia; teh protagonist is a 20 year old Tom Jones kind of character in that he's constantly getting into life-threatening scrapes and constantly just barely managing to escape. it's got everything imaginable.--murder, spies, bad disguises, terrorists, the works. Intriguing ending that sets up the rest of the series. Light-hearted but very, very well done.

73. Sanctuary Sparrow by ellis Peters. #7 in the Brother Caedfel series. this is no one's idea of a heavyweight series, except I like peters' writing and her protagonist, Brother Caedfel.

What's interesting is that I'm also reading Sharon Penman's when Christ and His Saints Slept which covers exactly the same period of time in English history--the Civil War between Stephen and Maude for the English throne. In Peters' series, Stephen, who is king basically by usurping the throne, is portrayed as a good guy. The second book does talk about Steven's siege and taking of the castle at Shrewsbury but with again, Steven as the much put upon, nice guy king.

I'm enjoying Penman's account, because she gives quite a bit of play to Maude's side as well. Penman is pretty even-handed--there wasn't much to choose between Maude and Steven--both had severe flaws--but it's a much better look at the times than in Peters' novels.

Just a note here about Kindle: I finally decided that it was time to look into getting a Kindle--and discovered that you don't have service everywhere in the US. As for outside of the US (well, didn't look at Canada)--forget it. So, it turns out not to be an option for me.

Have you thought about getting an iPod and downloading audio books from iTunes?

No! Can you do that? Wow! That would help.

You can! =)

74. Sacred by Dennis Lehane

75. Gone, Baby, gone by Dennis Lehane

76. Prayers for Rain by Dennis Lehane

I have found this Kenzie/Gennaro series utterly terrific. I usually have a lot of time to read on weekends, especially Sunday, which meant that I started and finished the last two books yesterday. I just couldn't put them down. The cover blurbs describe them as the new noir writing, and they cover pretty grim topics, especially child kidnapping/sexual abuse in the 2nd one, but Lehane has an interesting moral viewpoint, one that points out the ambiguity, the difficulty of making a "right" decision. It's stronger in some books than others, but influences his writing. also, his characters do not stay static, always a plus.

Joyce, I read the first one of these A Drink Before the War and really enjoyed it. Glad to hear they hold up as you go along. But, really? Two in one day? I am soooooo jealous.

Well, I had two things going for me--first, I do read fast, and 2nd, it was sunday and I almost never do anything more strenuous on Sunday besides make pancakes for breakfast!

Plus, I'm not kidding you--I could NOT put the books down! I finished Sacred in the morning, instantly picked up Gone, Baby, Gone, knocked that off by afternoon late, immediately started Prayers for Rain, which is an unbelievable book, and just kept at it until I finished!

I'm a great fan of Michael Connelly and Ian Rankin but I consider that so far, this series is better than either of theirs.

77. Angels Flight by Michael Connelly. Excellent but I tell you, his writing, while really good, is not up to Lehane's. Connelly every once in a while breaks down and just gets "sappy", usually over how wonderful the LAPD is or during Bosch's introspective bouts of philosophizing. Still a top notch series, but I think Lehane is THE standard.

78. Sharpe's Enemy by Bernard Cornwell. Well, if you can't have Dennis Lehane, Cornwell certainly makes up for the lack. Although late in the chronological sequence, this was one of the earlier books, and the writing shows it, in that Cornwell has a slightly more difficult time getting the action off the ground. I've noticed it with his other early books, too. However, this is simply in comparison, because taken by itself, this is yet another terrific episode in Cornwell's saga of a British soldier in the Napoleonic wars.

79. Sharpe's Honour by Bernard Cornwell. 16th in the Sharpe series. Not as heavily dependent on descriptions of battle scenes, at which Cornwell has no peer, it's still a good installment. Sharpe is always at his best (and so is Cornwell), when fighting; there is a scene in Burgos castle that is a highlight of the book. Cornwell's Historical Notes are always excellent and this one is even more fascinating in its description of the plunder after the Battle of Vitoria. Not quite as engaging as some of Cornwell's later writing, but still an outstanding read.

80. Sharpe's Regiment and 81. Sharpe's Siegeby Bernard Cornwell. Two more excellent installments, with all of Cornwell's strengths showing. What's interesting about these last books in the series is that the plot does NOT revolve around a particular battle, the way nearly all the first 2/3 did. Much more interesting plot development in these, the earliest books. Clearly he figured out what would sell, what he was really good at, and wrote the fill-in books accordingly--exciting descriptions centered around battles in Wellington's campaigns.

82. When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Kay Penman. I've been working on this book for quite a while now--it's massive, over 700 pages. It's a historical novel about the Civil War between Stephen of Blois and the Empress Maude for the English crown, and introduces Maude's son , Henry II as well as Eleanor of Aquitaine.

It took me a while to get into Penman's style of writing but once I did, I found the book fascinating. What struck me was what a balanced job Penman did with Maude. Whatever you read of that period usually is very favorable towards Stephen and paints Maude like a witch. Penman restores the balance, showing the positive and negative sides of both characters.

Definitely a must for lovers of historical fiction.

83. Sharpe's Revenge and Sharpe's Waterloo by Bernard Cornwell. Sharpe's Waterloo is the very best of the series, because it is nearly 100% Cornwell at his strength--describing battles. I think he's excellent with his characterization (even with Sharpe's overactive libido, which is done tastefully), but the real power is in the battles. The book Waterloo is almost totally a description of the 4 days over which the battle took place.

Another reason why I liked the book so much is that I really had no idea what Waterloo was like. Cornwell's research is as usual superb, his Historical Note ditto, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have learned so much so easily!

One more left in the series, which I'm working on right now.

85. Sharpe's Devil by Bernard Cornwell. Normally, when a series has as its climactic point a blockbuster like Waterloo, a book written after that can be a real letdown. However, not so with Sharpe's Devil, which is a whacking good story on its own and is a fitting end to the series.

86. Lincoln by David Herbert Donald. A dense, scholarly book written in a somewhat pedantic style. There is an enormous amount of information about Lincoln's years before becoming President that throws a great deal of light on his behavior in the White House. Much more interestingly, Donald attempts to show the nuances behind the decisions that Lincoln made during his White House years.

He isn't always successful in what he tries to do, especially during 1864, the darkest year of the War. There are times when you wonder just where this political genius of Lincoln's was hiding when you read the text. Yet, later Donald rejoins the chorus of proclaiming Lincoln's political astuteness. But this is a minor fault. Certainly the biography gets away from the mindless adulation that Americans find necessary to give their heroes, and makes Lincoln more believable as a human being.

Even though his writing style is fairly dry, once donald hits the white House years, there is no escaping the drama and the excitement, simply because of what the Civil War was.

And I have to say that the last paragraph of the book left me in tears.

Highly, highly recommended.

87. The Hatchet Man by William Marshall. The 2nd in the Yellowthread Street series. Nowhere near so funny as the first but a much more solid police procedural, with a strong recurring cast of characters. His minor characters provide much of the humor as well. All, in all, a really good read.

88. The Book of Lamentations by Rosario Castellanos. Set in the 1930s in the state of Chiapas, this complex, dense book is based loosely on a Mayan uprising that took place in 1862. Most of all, it's a devastating critique of the oppression of the Mayan Indians by the Ladinos. It has a number of subplots that Castellanos weaves together to make the one main story. It's not pretty and was never meant to be. an outstanding novel written by Mexico's foremost female author.

Hi, Joyce ~ Looks like you've been getting a lot of good reading done lately! I just love everything I've read by Penman, and When Christ and His Saints Slept is on my list of must-reads. Glad to hear it's good as it is long. I'm also putting Lincoln on my TBR list, as well as The Book of Lamentations. And I may look for the Yellowthread Street mysteries based on your reviews. So, thanks for them, and hope all is going well with you.

Joyce, I read The Book of Lamentations last year. I like your comment, It's not pretty and was never meant to be. So true.

Hi, Laura and Mary!

I think Penman does a cracking good job of handling those multiple points of view, sticking to history and writing a GREAT story! I certainly want to read more of her. And yes, the book is long but in a way, you really don't notice it because you're absorbed in the story. She structures the book really well, too--her chapters are segmented according to time and events, and that moves the book along beautifully.

There's not a lot more to say about Castellanos, although I have yet to write the formal review. A powerful writer. I was interested to read that actually she wrote against the Latin American literary style of he times--her book is not "magical realism". It's pretty gritty.

I know that there are other biographies out there of Lincoln--I've just read this one. I'm not sure anyone can do much more with Lincoln's earlier years-- although that murder case is mentioned just in passing and I wouldn't have even noticed it if you hadn't mentioned it, Mary. I think Donald shines in his handling of the war years. Although I'm reading something else right now on the Civil War--a 3 volume history of Gettysburg (back to blood and guts!)--lurking in the near background is Team of Rivals. I'm very curious to see how she handles the material on Lincoln's cabinet as opposed to Donald's point of view.

I've only read the first two in the Yellowthread Street mysteries and am going to track down some more. They're out of print--at least many of them are.

All is well here--just busy! :-)

89. Gettysburg: The First Day by Harry Pfanz. something I've wanted to do for a long time--really study the Gettysburg battle. I read Pfanz's book in conjunction with The Maps of Gettysburg, which of course covers the whole campaign, not just the first day.

Just as well I did so because as is usual in books of this kind, the maps are never adequate. Also, Pfanz brings in an enormous amount of material from personal memoirs and official reports to describe the different phases of the engagement. While it adds a great deal to the depth of understanding, it also, unfortunately, is confusing. There are just too many names to keep track of, for one thing. I scanned the Order of Battle and printed it out, and that helped to keep track of who was in charge of what unit. while I suppose this book could be read by the casual reader, to appreciate it fully you do have to work some.

But it still is an excellent book. I'm about to start his Gettysburg: the Second Day.

Joyce, have you been to the battlefield? It's so much easier to understand troop movements and so on when you've seen where it all happened. Still, it takes me several readings, and preferably several different accounts, interspersed with visits (I think I've been to Gettysburg 4 times) to really internalize this sort of information.

Hi, Linda--yes, I was there--50 years ago! What I remember best is the view from The Angle--even then, i could see clearly the murderous cross fire that the Confederates faced during Pickett's Charge.

The other thing that made an indelible impression was Devil's Den. It's hard to imagine how anyone survived.

I went to college at Dickinson, in Carlisle, so am familiar with the area. The roads and approaches, the small towns--or what used to be small towns!--near there, because of that, are not just names on a map for me.

One of my biggest wishes is to go back there and spend a week going over the battlefield again--this time, armed with a lo more knowledge.

Every single account I read gives a lightly different slant on the battle and is therefore most welcome. I'm at the point now where specialized, detailed looks are what i crave, down to the regimental and when possible company level. This Pfanz does really admirably.

His book on the second day looks to be even better than the one I just finished, which is actually the 3rd one he wrote about the battle. There's another book that looks in detail at the fight for Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill on both July 2 and July 3. I have that, too, and will read it after this one on Day 2.

Joyce, we live ~2 hours from Gettysburg but it's been years since we last visited. We're now talking about doing so because they recently opened a new visitor center. Over July 4 weekend a PA cable TV station broadcast a number of ranger-led battlefield tours that looked pretty interesting as well.

So if you ever manage to come up this way do let me know! I'd want to tag along just to benefit from your knowledge!

Oh, and so the "PA" in your LT name does refer to Pennsyvlania! I always wondered if it were that, or PAnama ... or both!

I know what you mean about Devil's Den. I love rocks and boulders, but I was spooked walking around there.

I'm currently reading a novel called Sharpshooter, and one episode in it took place during the Siege of Knoxville. My daughter lives there now, and a couple months ago we visited Bleak House, which overlooks the Tennessee River, and was Longstreet's headquarters during that battle. The narrator (the sharpshooter of the title) describes being in the tower of Bleak House, drawing faces on the wall to commemorate three other men who were shot there; it's utterly chilling. The drawing is there, and there are still bloodstains on the walls. Talk about bringing history to life...

Wow! What a wealth of messages this morning!

Laura, it does stand for both, although I have to admit that I never even thought about the Pennsylvania connection until you mentioned it!

I would myself take every ranger-guided tour offered. Let the experts do their jobs and benefit from their training. Pfanz served for ten years as a historian at Gettysburg.

I had a friend quite some time ago who used to travel a lot for business--quite a sophisticated woman who'd been to Europe--well-traveled. She told me, though, that any time she went to some new city, she would always take one of those guided tours. She said it was the fastest way she knew of to learn about a place.

But I'd sure come with the best detail maps I had!

I'd really like to make the trip. The problem is getting away from here for any length of time. But it's something I really want to do. The work load is decreasing here, and maybe, just maybe I can get away next year. Maybe by that time I'll have all the maps memorized! :-)

Linda: spooked is a good word for Devil's Den. I don't know if they still have it but when I was there so long ago there was a plaque, I believe, that said that the ricocheting bullets and the noise were so horrific that men actually went mad. Now they have a name for that kind of breakdown, although I can't at the moment remember what it is. But just walking around there, I could see it, easily.

I think the western war doesn't get anywhere near the attention that it deserves because the battles in Virginia were so dramatic, the Army of Northern Virginia so "romantic" and Lee so charismatic. I love reading about the western war myself, and have a whole bunch of books waiting to be read on various aspects. One of them is a small volume that is devoted entirely to Longstreet's performance at Knoxville.

As for that drawing at Bleak House and the bloodstains--it gives me chills just reading your description of it!

I can not get enough of history which seems to me to be far more entertaining than most novels.

How do you like Sharpshooter? I'm always up for reading a good novel based on solid history. I think that's why I liked the Richard Sharpe series so much (outside of the fact that Cornwell is a superior writer in the genre, that is!)--the history was so fascinating.

I'm enjoying Sharpshooter. I like the style and he does a fairly good job of making the history work. The author grew up in Knoxville, and has obviously spent a lot of time at historical sites there and elsewhere that remain much as they were during the war.

This is all absolutely fascinating. I want to go to Gettysburg now too. Guess I better start reading up on it.

A friend of mine died awhile back and left me a Springfield rifle that has the year 1863 engraved on it. He thought it might have been used by a Union soldier in the Civil War. I still have it and perhaps one day will research the serial number to see if I can find its history.

Well, heaven knows I'd be up for a party of people! Wouldn't that be fun!

I've not paid too much attention to armaments; you can't read much about any battle and not note the kind of weapons carried. What a historical treasure, an 1863 Springfield! do you have it mounted anywhere or is it stored? Quite a conversation piece, I would say.

I've been to the Gettysburg Park site to look up some things, but have paid very little attention to any information about the park itself. I have a book I'll be reading shortly called The Battle Between the Farm Lanes about Hancock's defense of the Union center on July 2--yes, there are entire books out on one aspect of one day of the battle and never mind Little Round Top!--and one of the appendices gives a driving and walking tour just of that part of the battle. I want to look up what guided tours are available as well.

What I always have wanted to do is first go on as many different guided tours as are available, then go over the battlefield on my own. It's one thing to have all those nice abstract maps in books with the neat little bars showing the movement of this regiment or that one. But it's quite another to be faced with the actual terrain, especially since it has been changed by addition of roads, etc. Just looking at some of the photographs tells me that I, anyway, would need orientation.

For anyone who wants to read up on the battle, there are two books I would strongly recommend: one is Stars in Their Courses by Shelby Foote, which is an expanded version of his chapter on Gettysburg in volume 2 of his trilogy The Civil War:Fredericksburg to Meridian. I've not read the separate book itself but if his separate book on Vicksburg--same idea--is an example (and I do have that and have read it), it's a gem. No one can get you into the Civil War like Foote can. Also, Foote, I think, has the best maps.

The other book is by Edwin Coddington, The Gettysburg Campaign. There is some agreement that this is the best single volume on Gettysburg. I watch some of the Civil War threads, which tend to be dominated by retired (male) soldiers and others of equal mind set. I made some remark on one of them about studying Getttysburg. I had a very kindly, well-meaning retired naval officer, I believe, post on my profile that all I really needed to learn about Gettysburg was to read Coddington. I'd already done so. In fact, I have two copies of the work, one paperback, which is getting worn out with rereading and the other an out-of-print hardback which I got for my birthday last year. I could just feel the pat on the head and the "That's quite enough for your pretty little head." Fortunately, no one has to answer these sorts of remarks and I ignored him.

Coddinton's style is very accessible and his maps are better than most. He has one overall map showing the movement of both armies from June 4 to Gettysburg that is good but is work following. I bought this year The maps of Gettysburg by Gottfried which is absolutely terrific for showing how the armies moved that month--the best visual explanation I know about.

I personally would start out with Foote, either book(and I defy you not to get sucked into the whole history after reading him!), and then go on to Coddington if you want more detail. only a nut like me buys the book of maps; a good library should have it and if it doesn't, urge them to get it for high school students as well (assuming that high schools teach such ancient history anymore).

Mary and I are starting to talk about when I could get away from here, and my guess is July-August. I think they do re-enactments; I'm REALLY leaning towards on going if they do, along with 10 million other people, maybe staying on afterwards. I have to research the Gettysburg site and see what is available. I may also combine it with a trip to the Chancelorsville-Wilderness area--I want to see the only place where Grant got caught with his pants down.

but one thing for sure--gettysburg.

90. Tooth and nail by Ian Rankin. I needed a break from Day 2 of Gettysburg, and Rankin is always good for absorbing entertainment. no disappointment with this one--a serial killer in london, and Rebus gets "loaned" to the Metropolitan police to help out on the case. Fast-reading, page-turning thriller--stayed up too late finishing it.

Early this year I read Gettysburg: A Testing of Courage by Noah Andre Trudeau, which was very good. I don't know how many overviews of the battle you're interested in, but if you're looking for one more, the Trudeau is quite fine.

#169 rocketjk: You mentioned the book in the general weekly thread, I think--and believe me, I've had it on my wish list since then! :-) Each author has a different point of view, and I enjoy reading all of them. I think you learn something different each time.

So thanks again for the recommendation! I appreciate it.

I second Joyce's opinion on Shelby Foote--I swear the man was THERE. And the battlefield guides (I mean the humans) are wonderful.

Foote spent 20 years writing the three volumes of his Civil War narrative, 10 on the last one alone. And while I'm sure his superb skills as a novelist contributed to the absolutely amazing narrative pace of nearly 3000 pages of history, it's interesting that it's not his fiction style. I have all but one of his novels, and they are quite different--incredibly good but not the narrative that the Civil War trilogy is.

My only objection to his Civil War opus is that it's so bloody hard to HOLD ON TO, even in three volumes. My ickle hands get very weary.

No sympathy, Linda--lift weights, squeeze little rubber balls, train hard! :-)

91. Dead Souls by Ian Rankin. Still on my break from the hard work of Gettysburg: The Second day. However, this was nowhere near the treat that Tooth and Nail was. I never thought it could happen--an Inspector Rebus book that was just kind of blah. It's much further along in the series than the former book, and Rebus has degenerated into one of those alcoholic, non-stop smokers that frankly are getting boring. Plot's good, writing kind of insipid (for Rankin)

92. In Plain Sight by C.J. Box. I like this series (this is #6). I enjoy Box's love of the high mountain West and wildlife along with his interest in New West issues, such as eco-terrorism. While his writing has been good, excellent actually when describing the outdoor beauty of the area, it's definitely been sort of hackneyed in other areas. In this book, while the story is a little less interesting than usual, his writing has really improved to where it's pretty much consistent throughout--except for his almost lyric prose about the Wyoming landscape. That continues to be one of the outstanding features of the series.

93. Free Fire by C.J. Box. A return to form in this book. The "mystery" is good but the premises on which it's based are outstanding. In this installment, Yellowstone national Park, its geology and the peculiarity of the legal status of the 50 mile strip that is within the state of Idaho's borders is not only crucial to the plot but makes fascinating reading on its own. It's so bizarre that I looked it up to make sure Box wasn't exaggerating--he isn't. The issue that he takes on is biomining. Since the book was written, several legal steps have been taken to address those issues.

Also, Box continues to improve as a writer, which makes it even better. He does have this weakness in plotting for sooner or later having Joe's family in danger, which is annoying by this time in the series, but it's a minor flaw.

94. The Eight by Katherine Neville. Published the same year as Foucault's Pendulum, 1988, this is a very different book along the same lines--age-old secret of power--Da Vinci Code type stuff. Problem is that both Dan Brown and Umberto Eco are better writers. Good story but a style that makes me want to say 'juvenile"--more YA than adult.

95. A Darkness More than Night by Michael Connelly. Excellent. Stars not only Harry Bosch but Terry Caleb, former FBI agent. I read this out of order--should have read Blood Work first which lays all the background, but that's ok. I think Connelly sort of loosens up his style with Caleb as the main protagonist. Nice contrast.

96. A Dog Among Diplomats by J.F. Englert.
This is the lightest and fluffiest of genres, a gentle spoof on the police/private eye procedural starring my favorite kinda "person", a black Lab. I really enjoyed the first one, A Dog About Town. It was funny, moved right along, and had interesting things to say about the dog/human relationship. Plus, how can you beat the mind-boggling intelligence of a Guatemalan tree sloth?

This one is nowhere near so good. for one thing, it took far too long to get going, and given how light-weight this sort of thing is, that's deadly. Once it DID find its way, it was good but nothing outstanding. It had just enough fun twists and improbable turns to keep me reading until the end--but that was it.

97. The Fire by Katherine Neville. An ER book. Sequel to The Eight.
Unfortunately I found this to be a really bad book.
1) EXACTY the same format as she used in The Eight--exactly, down to the way the love interest comes off. It looks as if she just took the outline for The Eight and superimposed new names.

2) The Eight strained credulity with the way the perils developed but this book goes 'way beyond that. Over the top.

3) OK, for anyone who has every played a game or two of chess: two Grand Masters are playing a game, observed by a chess expert, and White is stumped--can't see a way out. Nor can the expert. Over toddles a three year old and in one move, using the White knight, checkmates the Black king. Oh gimme a break! IN ONE MOVE? THAT NEITHER GM SEES? You have to be totally ignorant of chess to fall for that one. and that one partial scene says volumes about the book's plot.

I give her full credit for her historical research. But even then, as in the first book, she weaves in historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson, Lord Byron, into this plot and again, over the top.

The writing is better than in the first book, but she still lapses into what always flashes through my mind as a juvenile style.

Unless you just want to read this for the puzzles--which are ok--don't bother.

Hi, Joyce: I am reading a book now that may be of interest to you: Coal Black Horse by Robert Olmstead. Have you heard of it? It's a story of a teenage boy who's looking for his solder father because his mom wants her husband home from the war. I am only about 70 pages in, but it's very interesting. Reminds me a bit of Cold Mountain.

Haven't seen it, Jill, except I think on your site where you show what you're reading. I'll keep a close watch on what you think of it.

98. The Paper Moon by Andrea Camilleri.
Major disappointement.
I reread the entire series so that I could be "up" for Camilleri's latest. Until this last book, the series was wonderful. It had everything--humor, great plotting, great characters, that utterly authentic flavor of Sicily, and a unique protagonist.

This book feels as if Camilleri is getting tired of the series. The plot is excellent--one of his best--but the humor is almost nonexistent, and the recurring characters, one of the great strengths of the series, badly handled. The word that kept flashing through my mind as I read it was "subdued". For series that is best characterized by its gusto for life, it seemed like a death knell. Hopefully, the patient can be revived.

Too bad.

99. The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton. this is an old favorite that I hadn't read for a good 30, probably more, years. It's Merton's autobiography, but it's much more--it's the record of a spiritual journey, which is what has made it so famous--and it's really the beginning of the record of one person's spiritual maturing. Merton achieved practically mythological status even while he was alive, but this book shows the beginner--the flashes of arrogance, religious intolerance, at times smugness, occasional sexism of the 33 year old who went on to be one of the most influential spiritual influences of the 20th century. He certainly wasn't perfect, which is comforting. He grew.

It's worth reading the entire book for the last page.

Wow, sounds really good. I've read some of Merton's writing, but not that one. The Seven Storey Mountain is going right onto the top of my TBR list. Thanks for the review.

The formal review will go up some time today.

It's not a short book and the subject matter could have given pause--but Merton was also a poet and believe me, it shows in the book. When he talks about how really what are mystical experiences--or bordering them anyway--he's lyrical.

What it's done is propel me back into practices I tend to do off and on and have not done for well over a year.

The edition I have is the 1998 one, published on the 50th anniversary of the appearance of the first edition. There are two essays in the introduction: one by Robert Giroux who knew Merton, and an excellent one by William Shannon, which I think is a must-read to appreciate the time frame of the book and the way the book is really 3 books in one. I found it extraordinarily informative.

Joyce

I have a first edition of The Seven Storey Mountain---it's one of my most valued (note I do not say "valuable") books. It was given to me when I was about 17 by a family friend who had once contemplated a monastic life for himself. He was a childhood friend of my parents, but I related very well to him because he always treated me as an absolute intellectual equal. He was the closest thing to a personal spiritual advisor I ever had. I think it's probably time I reconnected with Merton. I'm very glad you mentioned him.

Wow, a first edition! Yes, I understand the difference and understand why you said that. What an excellent story! You were very fortunate, at least form my point of view.

I've read a number of his works, but somehow Seven Storey Mountain, like so many other books, disappeared from my collection. I have two other works of his, but intend to get more.

This was a reread for me but decades since I last read the book. I remembered overall the tone of the book, his struggle. But it's funny--with really good books, you get something different each time, particularly as you age. I was struck this time more by his humanity than anything else. AND found out that he had something important to say to me gained from his own experience.

This time, anyway, he has me back to doing the Office, which I haven't done for some time.

Joyce

Ye gods, almost forgot--Linda, evven though you have that first edition, I don't think it has the introducotry essays that are in the 5oth anniversary one. the one by Giroux is good but can be skipped--mostly reminiscences although there is a fascinating paragraph about how they got Merton to edit the book. That's incredibly interesting--just goes to show how important good editing is.

But the more important essay is by Shannon. it really, really helped me as I was reading.

If you can get a copy easily enough, like from the library, it's definitely worth the effort.

You're right, Joyce. There is no introductory material at all in the 1948 edition. I will have to seek out those essays.

#100. Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher. I really don't read much fantasy, but I think it was Storeeteller--Mary--who thought highly of this book. so I got it and liked it. Again, fantasy is never going to be a major genre preference, but this was good. Nice action, good characters, interesting world setup--army patterned after the old Roman legions, could do lots worse. I will get the next in the series.

Well, that's high praise coming from you, Joyce! Esp. since you're not a fantasy lover. Glad you enjoyed it. I thought Butcher's Fury series got better as it went along ~ now we're waiting for the 5th in a series of 6 planned books.

And here I thought it was just a trilogy! It's something to look forward to, if the series gets better. I don't think it's anywhere near so good as A Song of Fire and Ice series, but then that, for me, is the standard by which to judge all else.

Well, all I know is, I wasn't enamoured of The Furies of Calderon, but, on the assurance of other LTers that it would be worth sticking with it, I read the next three and am glad I did. I found each book got progressively better, both in characters and plot.

I wasn't able to get through the first of the Fire & Ice series. Perhaps I was just not in the mood when I tried. I'll have to give it another go ~ after I finish about 10 books I am committed to read before November 1 when NaNo starts and I stop reading for a month.

It's not as if I'm going to give this book a high rating, because I'm not. But I don't expect as much of fantasy as I do other genres. Furies of Calderon is on a level, in my estimation, with medium-good mysteries--ones I like for various reasons but don't consider top-drawer.

Personally, I think it's a question of taste. I really liked what Martin did with the Fire and Ice series, and am looking forward to the 5th book which is coming out at the end of this month, I think. What's interesting is that it doesn't re-read all that well--the first book did but I'm somewhat bored with the 2nd book the 2nd time around. Or maybe just too distracted--there's entirely too much going on in my life right now.

101. Vita Nuova by Magdalen Nabb. Her last book--she died last year--and her best.

Nabb is in my opinion at least the equal of Donna Leon. She does not have the recognition that leon does nor the audience base, but her books are excellent--there isn't a bad one among them, and Leon had a real dud, Through A Glass, Darkly. Marshal Guarnaccia, Nabb's protagonist, is nowhere near so sexy as Brunetti of Leon's series, but he is much more subtle and the books as a whole are that way. Nabb spent almost her entire adult life in Florence, and it shows in the books.

I had worried that maybe the book was sort of a raw manuscript doctored up to be publishable. If anyone's had a hand in doing so, by the end of the first 20 pages, it sure isn't obvious. It reads like authentic Nabb.

any mystery fan who hasn't read this series is missing a great deal.

I should add that I reread all of the previous ones in the series before I started this book--10 or 11 of them--and I'm glad I did.

Haven't heard of Nabb before, but the series sounds like something I'd enjoy. I fell in love with Firenze when I was there, and I never tire of reading about it!

So, yet another author to add to the list, which (thanks to LT in general and you in particular) is getting rather longish now, of authors whose work I simply must sample.

102. Blackout by Luiz alfredo Garcia-Roza.

Here's another not-to-be-missed, absolutely outstanding mystery author, a Brasilian one, whose protagonist, Inspector Espinosa, lives in Rio de Janeiro. this is his 6th book in the series, and it's yet another outstanding one.

Espinosa lives and works out of the Copacabana area of rio. I've never been to Rio and before I started reading this series, never wanted to, but Garcia-Roza makes the Copacabana of cariocas (the people who live in Rio), not tourists, come alive. Now, I'd love to go and visit the real Rio. the beaches, which are the playgrounds of some of the most sophisticated thieves in the worlds, have never attracted me, because the beaches in the northeast of Brasil are just as fantastic and a lot safer.

The plots are uniformly excellent. He really isn't a formula writer, so you never know what to expect from one book to the next.

this one is the usual page-turner. It's relatively short, like all of his books. Still, I read it in one day--I couldn't put it down until I finished it entirely too late last night.

I'm terribly sorry, Mary--but I'm afraid that this is another must-read author to add to your already overly-long list! :-)

Stop! You're killing me, Joyce! (Just kidding ~ keep 'em coming! I love to learn about great new authors.)

I went to the library at lunch (always a dangerous thing to do) to drop off a book that was due (Gargoyle which was, as I mentioned in the message I left you on your profile page, amazing) and walked out with two books by authors I've never read before. One is called Let Me In, a horror story by new Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist, and the other is The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes, which was an ER novel a couple of months back. I can't wait to dive in!!!!

Be sure to let me know what they're like as you read--I always love to get "progress reports"!

Gargoyle, BTW, is now on MY list!

Have you considered that we're not very good for one another, feeding each other's "habits" the way we do? :-)

102. In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming. I just received this book (and others by spencer-fleming) and simply couldn't wait after all the rave reviews she's had. At first, I couldn't understand it: the plot was good, the characters really good, but the writing had me puzzled. It seemed pretty pedestrian. But the more I read the more I realized that she has used a vocabulary and sentence structure--style--that is perfectly suited to her characters and setting, and that each character has a voice of his/her own. Her style, while understated, is tough--again, perfectly suited to the situations and the characters.

I particularly like what she's done with one of the main protagonists, clare, the episcopal priest. Having spent a good deal of time around various religious, missionaries and dedicated laity, the character is absolutely right on with a good many people I know, like, and admire.

A very good book. Sent me right on to the next one, I can tell you!

Oh, I've heard so much about Julia Spencer-Fleming on LT but haven't yet been sucked in. I hear a faint sucking sound now ...

Do you also hear a groaning sound? That would be me, groaning under the weight of my TBR list! lol

Sounds good, Joyce. Yet another author to look forward to!

this series is really good! Because I bought the first 4 books in different ways, I'm waiting for #2 to arrive from an Amazon vendor, so I was "forced"--gun at head, mind you!--to start book 3 in the series, To Darkness and To Death. Very, very good so far.

Yeah, well, Mary I might have more sympathy if I didn't note how my own TBR list has expanded, thanks to you! :-)

103. To Darkness and To Death and 104. Out of the Deep I Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming. HOW did I ever manage to read these out of order? i NEVER DO THAT! Except I did.

all I can tell you is that the books just keep getting better and better. she's got great plot imagination, her writing serves beautifully, and I am frothing at the mouth waiting for Book #2 to show up in David so that I can devour that!

What a terrific series!

105. Vale of Tears by Robert Levine. An historical account of the Canudos massacre, popularized by Mario Vargas Llosa in The War of the end of the World. About 15,000 (possibly many more) people were slaughtered by Brasilian troops in 1897 following an assault on a conservative, millenarian Christian community led by a charismatic lay preacher known as Antonio Conselheiro. While Vargas Llosa's book gives an excellent, hsitorically accurate description of conselherio and the community of believers who followede him to a remote valley in the backlands of Northeast Brasil, Levine attempts to give an explanation of whythe movement happened and why the fragile Brasilian republic acted with such brutality against people who only wanted to be left in peace to follow their vision of a New Jerusalem.

It's excellent, although Levine repeats and summarizes, summarizes and repeats. It seems to me that the book could have been shortened by at least a quarter form it's 245 pages. The index is not that good, which is disturbing from someone of Levine's high reputation. Still, worth reading if, as I am, you are fascinated by Brasilian history.

interesting to read ur comments on book #105. i just recently read Llosa's fictionalized version, and was fascinated by the subject. would certainly want to read about the WHY from a historical perspective, so would be on the lookout for this title...thanks for the short review.

Levine sets Canudos in historical perspective, which Vargas Llosa does not--which is nothing against the novel which I think is superb. According to Levine, Canudos is treated as a unique event, which it was not. there were many such movements, they were not the result of crazed fanatics, and they all took place in the social, economic and religious culture of the Northeastern backlands. It really is excellent if you wish to understand Canudos. I've spent a great deal of time in that area--north of there, but in the backlands--and it most certainly is different from the coast and from the other sections of Brasil, especially with respect to the way religion is taken--very, very seriously.

I'll put up a longer, more formal review in a day or two.

106. Blood Work by Michael Connelly. for some reason, I had a hard time getting into and finishing this book. I like Michael Connelly--I think his Harry Bosch series is one of the best in the genre. But I just couldn't seem to get into the story or the characters. The plot was too contrived for my tastes, I think. I also think it's time to take a real break from mysteries! :-)

107. Wicked byGregory Maguire. ah, I like this weird little fantasy--I think maguire has a nifty imagination! I never red the original wizard of Oz tale by Frank Baum, so I can't tell how close Maguire stayed to the original--all I remember is the film with Judy Garland, Bert Lahr and the rest of the gang. there was enough correspondence between the film and this book to make the whole thing fun. Lightweight but imagination candy.

I do have to say though that I think the witch killed herself more by paranoia than by anyone's definition of evil.

Joyce, my daughter is reading Wicked. Can't wait to compare her reaction to yours. I know the play was a great favorite of one of her best friends, who is a Broadway fanatic.

It's a fun book, and I enjoyed Maguire's use of language. I wouldn't mind seeing the play--I'd love to know how they wound up treating the book.

I've read the book and seen the show ... they are quite different, actually. There's so much detail in the book, I think it's hard to pack it all into a theatre production. They take liberties with the plot on stage as well. But I quite enjoyed the show, mostly because I loved the music. I wasn't as enamored of the book as you were, Joyce ... thought the first half pretty good but then my attention began to wane.

Oh I agree about the first half being better than the second. the writing and imagination are much better. there are only flashes in the 2nd half of the weird sense of humor that maguire employs in the first half.

I'm not sure I would say that I was "enamored" of the book. It was fun, and I'm glad I reread it (I read it when it first came out) but it's no Heavyweight--or even Middleweight--Champion of literature. It took me a while to get through it, always an indication of loss of interest. But still, I think it's fun.

108. A fountain Filled With Blood by Julia spencer-Fleming.

I had read Books 1, 3, and 4 (in the order 1-4-3), thinking that Book 2, this one, had not arrived yet. Then the other night, looking for something else, I ran across it, buried in a TBR ile. That's when I surveyed my life and found it a bleak wasteland, filled with despair--not enough appropriate bookcase space! I had missed the thing thanks to that lack!!!

Derpessed, I started the book.

It's ok--not anywhere near so good as the other 3, but good. the writing is not up to her usual standard--for example, her favorite verb in this book is "snorted"--she actually uses it twice in the same paragraph at one point. also, as is common now in a certain subsection of the genre, this is a 'themed' book--environmentalism and gay-bashing--which is fine. I cite C.J. box's terrific use of Western issues in his Joe Pickett books--but spencer-Fleming does not handle these that well, and while integral to the plot, I found both poorly presented and as a result, boring. She only show flashes of Clare's wonderful startled retrospection in reaction to events that makes that character so good. However, there are still great sections.

109. Murder on the Eiffel Tower by Claude Izner. An Early Reviewer book.

Well, what to say. A debut book of a projected series. It's set in 1889 at the time of the 4th Universal Exposition in Paris. One of the main protagonists owns an antiquarian bookstore in Paris. It's really written by two sisters who are second-hand book sellers on the left-bank of the Seine and who are experts in 19th century Paris. And that's what this book seems like for a good part of it--a showcase of their knowledge of the Expo. the characters are pretty much one-dimensional, which might be deliberate since it seems to me that they wrote the book imitating 19th century style French murder mysteries, of which there appear to be plenty.

The plot is interesting enough. It seems to be de rigueur these days that we have to have cameo appearances by famous people in mysteries, so yes, Anatole France shows up, and we see the announcement for the protest show of Gauguin and other artists at the Expo. also, a visit to a tiny paint supply place, where some canvases by unknowns like van Gogh and Cezanne are on display, traded in payment for oil paints, brushes and other necessaries. It really doesn't add anything the plot. And I'm getting really bored really fast with the device, which was horrendously abused in The Fire.

so I'll give it 3/5 stars and that's being generous.

110. The Iron Brigade by Alan T. Nolan. An account of the actions of the famous Black Hats, Iron Brigade--the 2nd, 6th, and 7th Wisonsin, 19th Indiana and 24th Michigan-- of the Army of the Potomac, from its formation in 1861 to what was really its end at Gettysburg, where its heroic stands on the first day resulted in the greatest number of casualties for a single unit in that battle. one regiment sustained 80%: 8 out of 10 men mustered died in one day's fighting.

It's a good history. the author is not a professional historian but actually an Indiana lawyer whose avocation is military history. some of the maps are not easily utilized but the drawings of the individual actions in which the brigade was involved are excellent. It suffers the way all unit histories suffer, from too many names; it's hard to keep track of the officers, especially given the number of casualties. but that's what you buy into with unit histories.

But still, great reading. I found it wonderful in giving details of engagements that for obvious reason have to be treated in lesser detail in general histories.

It's excellent.

...and she's back reading Civil War stuff! =)

Jill, I started Tara Revisited yesterday, and I'm telling you, that book reads like a novel! I'm just ripping through it--it's outstanding.

yep, you betcha fersure, I'm back to reading Civil War stuff! (wink, wink)

I think next up is Gilpin's Mothers of Invention.

yep, you betcha fersure, I'm back to reading Civil War stuff! (wink, wink)

Joyce, I think Sarah Palin just hacked your thread. :-)

My, my, can you imagine! wonder how she did it?
:-)

Ask any hockey mom on Main Street, Palin has invaded! LOL.

Joyce, I am glad you are liking the book!

This book is yet another example of why I actually prefer history to historical novels. Yes, I suppose a novel could cover some of the topics but not in depth and would have to do a lot of other things to maintain interset, tension, etc. The Civil War needs no devices to artificially maintain tension--there's plenty there just in the facts.

I'm on p. 92n now, in the section about the women who were spies and smugglers. I'd be further along except that I've been working on a major house project and have been sleep-deprived thanks to one of the cats who is just lucky he lives in the tropics or he'd be the fur lining to a pair of gloves by this time. The miserable wretch tends to start howling around 3:30 am. i get up early as it is. I don't need to get up any sooner. this morning, he set a record by screaming at 2:45.

i throw him out in one of the dog crates outside--he does NOT get rewarded for anti-social behavior--but it usually means that I'm awake for good. Results in early nights, believe me.

111. Tara Revisited by Catherine Clinton. Excellent, just excellent. A very good look at the roles of women, both black and white, during the Civil War. The last chapter is particularly fascinating, as clinton makes a real case for the pervasiveness of the "Tara legend", the rewriting of history by Southerners to depict a rosy slavery era past that never existed. she gets a little too politically correct in my opinion, sometimes coming to conclusions that are not justified by what she's presenting, but this is pretty minor. the chapter is an eye-opener.

Normally I'd move on to some other aspect of the Civil War, but now I'm going to read Mothers of Invention to see how Faust handles the subject.

A lovely review, Joyce. So glad you enjoyed the book. I look forward to reading your thoughts on Mothers of Invention. =)

I'm already into it, Jill. First of all, Faust focuses only on white slave-holding women, narrowing the focus considerably. Second, the book is longer, so she's treating some topics that Clinton just touched on in depth. Third--and there's no getting away from this--while Clinton is a very good writer, Faust is top-notch.

I don't want to take anything away from Tara Revisited--it's really worth reading if only for the illustrations, which are terrific and hammer home her points.

Formal review coming tomorrow.

I will definitely get to Faust some day!

She's really superior. This Republic of Suffering is unique in my knowledge--I don't know of anyone who has treated the subject of death in a war in the fashion she has. she is Virginia-born and speaks quite fondly of the really strong women in her life--two grandmothers and her mother. I think you and I have already exchanged messages about her prologue to this Mothers of Invention book where she talks about her background.

Wonder how's she doing as Harvard's first female President?

I am sure she's doing fine - haven't heard any mutterings one way or another.

Quiet is good, definitely! :-)

112. Coal Black Horse by Robert Olmstead. A very good book that could have been infinitely improved if Olmstead's editor had been a little more active. I liked the mystical, dreamy language that Olmstead used to follow Robey Childs, a 14 yr old boy from (probably) W. Va as he embarks on a classic coming-of-age search to find his father who is fighting on the southern side in the Civil War. the horse is given to him by a neighbor, and represents the instinctive, intuitive side of Robey, no doubt, as he sheds his innocence step by step in what he sees and experiences on his search.

Fine, and it was an excellent exercise, until Olmstead just couldn't resist descending into the murky depths of totally incomprehensible philosophy which he ascribes to a 14 year old. Granted, 14 year olds can be that way, having survived three of them myself, but somehow it's not quite that flowery. It annoyed me no end--some authors just can't duck the temptation to be "profound".

Other than that, the story is very, very good and well-handled. Olmstead goes too quite a bit of trouble to show us some of the more dreadful aspects of the war, and I wonder aobut a few of the incidents--I have never read anywhere anything at all about them, but then who knows. The real, documented stuff is bad enough. It had a touch of the forced macabre to it.

Still, a very good story.

I couldn't wrap my arms around Robey and the girl, but people married younger during those times so I sort of shrugged it off. What I did like about the book is what you summarized in your first paragraph - the coming of age tale in the midst of a brutal war.

And I liked the horse. He had some personality. LOL.

Glad you liked it, overall.

The horse was the only one with any sense! :-)

I did like it--I thought the language was beautifully suited to the first part of the book, Robey's travels through a magical landscape. But I thought Olmstead did an absolutely terrible job with the same language trying, as I said, to be "profound". I reread several section at least twice to try to figure out what he was saying--and couldn't, so gave it up as a bad job and moved on.

but all in all, I thought it was an unusual handling of what could have been a really trite story. Trite it wasn't.

the other interesting thing, Jill--did you pick up on the fact that at least Robey's father had to have been well-educated? these were no hillbillies. Robey talks about what his father taught him and geology is right up there, among other things. Also, defending a river. Other snippets like that.

I was very intrigued that the motivating crisis for Hettie sending Robey off was the death of Stonewall Jackson. It most certainly does pinpoint the time to right after Chancellorsville but it made me wonder if the locale wasn't somewhere around Lexington, W. VA.

I was very intrigued that the motivating crisis for Hettie sending Robey off was the death of Stonewall Jackson. It most certainly does pinpoint the time to right after Chancellorsville but it made me wonder if the locale wasn't somewhere around Lexington, W. VA.

I wold have to agree about somewhere in Virginia or West Virginia. I know West Virginians fought on both sides, and it would explain the valleys and distance he had to cross to get to Pennsylvania.

I couldn't imagine sending my young boy on such a trip. But times are different now.

Children grew up so much faster then. They had to take on major responsibilities when very young. Now we extend childhood into the 20s.

113. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Just outstanding! Loved her evocation of the old-time train circus. Yes, some grim points, but not overdone. Good story, great ending.

114. Eldest by Christopher Paolini. Ah well, so it's not the finest literature in the world, and the writing in this second of the series is definitely even more mediocre than the first, but it's fantasy. one of the things that has always amused me is that fantasy is supposedly free to be so creative and yet I find it the most predictable and boring of the major genres (always excepting chick lit--I can't even imagine the lives of those who follow it avidly). So--why knock the kid? He's got room to grow.

Actually the only recent fantasy I've found worthwhile is Martin's Song of Fire and Ice cycle--it's terrific, IMHO. Buta s for the rest? hey, Paolini is just as good--or bad--as anyone else.

Good escapist reading in between watching an even better escapist fantasy, the crash of the world wide stock markets.

115. Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

A superb book, a real masterpiece of a thriller! A 10 year old in Barcelona chooses an obscure book from the Cemetery of Forgotten Books and sets off a decade-long quest for the author which leads to murder, old secrets--you name it. Set after WWII in Franco's Spain, it gives you a good view not only of Barcelona but what life was like under the dictator.

116. Augustus by John Williams. another superb book--I'm really on a roll these days. Beautifully done novel--the story told by means of letters, diary extracts, official acts. Williams did a great job in capturing different voices--for the major characters, you wouldn't even have to know ahed of time who was writing, the voices are that distinct.

A must read.

Hi, Joyce: I loved Shadow of the Wind too, and your review of Augustus has piqued my interest. I haven't head of that book before, but it looks like one I would enjoy!

Hi, Jill!

Until I started reading the book, I had no idea that John Williams was the author of Stoner, which has received rave reviews here on LT and elsewhere. His prose is beautiful. The only quibble I might have with it is the ending is a little long, but it's so beautifully written that it doesn't matter.

I can't praise the prose enough. And the history is just terrific. You can't go wrong with this one.

117. Montana 1948 by Larry Watson. Another truly remarkable book. What really sets this book apart is the prose--told from the point of view of a 12 year old boy, this is a page-turning story in remarkably quiet, flat prose that somehow or another works beautifully to underline the tension of the story. And the boy himself--his emotions and often lack of them or seemingly inappropriate--just nails the story even more.

If you haven't read this one, put it on your list.

You're doing me in, Joyce! Those last three all sound like my kind of reading.

Augustus and Montana 1948 are on my wishlist now, too! I liked Shadow of the Wind when I read it last year.

I was really glad to see you liked Shadow of the Wind. I'm planning to read it next month! Marise's endorsement just adds to its cred.

Been on a real roll these last days. I think Shadow is a brilliant book. But Augustus and Montana 1948 are right at the top of the best books I've read this year.

right now, I'm reading two books that are slow-going although for different reasons. one is hardly likely to be a best-seller--a Naturalist on the River Amazonas by henry Bates, a mid-19th century English naturalist. It's utterly fascinating. I'm at the point where he's describing his 4 years in an area on the Upper Amazon that I have visited extensively and know very well--and I hardly recognize it! but it's slow reading.

the other is one of the strangest books I've ever read--the Savage Detectives, by the Chilean roberto Bolaño. good god, what a book! I started out rather hating it but grimly kept on--and now--i dunno--maybe I'm just used to the weird style but it's interesting. a series of fictional interviews with people prominent in the Mexican poetry scene of the 70s and 80s and based on the lives of Bolaño and his closest friend. Details that bohemian life so minutely you'd think it was boring. But actually it isn't. Cant' really say I like it but i don't hate it eiterh. Interesting enough to keep going. but slow.

Reading some others for relief as well. Shelby foote's Love in a Dry Season which is totally wonderful.

I haven't had as much time as I usually do, because mary is in the states visiting family and the weather here is at its rainy season worst. Been trying without much success to keep up on maintenance and get some other projects done.

aaargh.

118. Love In A Dry Season by Shelby Foote. I'm still on a mighty roll! this book is superb. you are reminded that there are only so many plots--what, six?--and this is one of the classic ones. but leave it to Foote to write his own version of he classic love triangle and make it come out 'his" way.

the prose is perfect--pure Foote--and the story is absorbing. couldn't ask for a "better' set of characters than the oddities who populate this novel.

When you read it, you just marvel at Foote's touches, his phrases, his uses of idioms.

Another one for the wishlist! Slow down, I can't catch up! ;)

Oh, believe me, I think the next one will not exactly hit anyone's All-Time Favorites list! :-)

I wish Shelby Foote had been a part of my family---I can just imagine him at Thanksgiving dinner...

I love the Ken Burns PBS series on the Civil War for many reasons, one of the main ones being Foote's appearances.

One of the books I want to get one of these days is that of his correspondence with Walker Percy. Whose picture of an old mansion is on the cover of my copy of Love In A Dry Season. I'd like to know more of Foote's personal side.

Yes, Thanksgiving dinner with a great old story teller. mmm. How nice.

119. The Naturalist on the River Amazons by Henry Walter Bates. Now here's the book you've all been waiting for! :-)

Bates was a very famous mid-19th century English naturalist who spent 11 1/2 years in the Amazon River area, eventually going from the outlet at the Atlantic at what is now Belem to the border of Brasil with peru. He collected thousands of specimens of EVERYTHING--birds, mammals, especially insects, many of which were unknown at the time. many of his specimens now reside in the British Museum.

In those days, a "naturalist" was no specialist. it is a marvel to me to read today of someone who is knowledgeable not only in all of the above but a massive variety of plants as well. today, a botanist would specialize maybe in one family of palms, let's say.

The book is well written, but the structure is not the easiest to deal with--paragraphs very long, tons of information although not too specialized. Bates became famous for many things but not the least his exposition on what are now known as army ants! he also wrote extensively on the native populations he found living along the River; it's interesting to read, because while he praises many aspects of their culture (for most although not all tribes), he considers them without imagination and without creation myths! It's hard to judge 150 years later. Bates spoke both Portuguese and Tupí, the common Indian language, fluently, so it wasn't a lack of language skills.

he spent 4 1/2 years in Ega which is now Tefé, where I've spent a lot of time. his descriptions were fascinating.

anyway--I'm fairly certain no one is going to be telling me to slow down on THIS book! :-)

You're right, I think I'll skip that one! ;)

120. The Messenger by Daniel Silva.

This might be one for your list, marise. :-)

I think Daniel Silva has no peer in the international spy thriller genre, but at first I thought I was going to be disappointed. the book starts off somewhat below his standard of writing, but it isn't long until silva is smack into his hallmark page-turning Israeli Intelligence Service field operations, which leave you unable to put the book down.

I suppose that the main thing that turned me off in the beginning was an attack on a famous landmark that didn't happen in reality. I'm not fond of that kind of thing, always feeling that it's a substitute for imagination. It instantly takes away the suspense for me. but once the book got beyond that, it was his usual superior work.

121. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. Ye gods, Lehane never lets up, does he! At first, I thought it was a little boring, not up to the rest. Little did I know! just his way of luring you right in and then hitting you with a double whammy!

Great book!

#122. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth. Ye gods, that book was longer than War and Peace! My wrists are going to ache for a week.

An excellent book--and you know, in some ways like War and Peace. Looking at life in 1951/1952 India, 5 years after independence, 4 after partition. India as it was then as experienced by the members of 4 middle class families and a cast of characters from other families. A fascinating look at Indian politics and some of the major characters. a real eye opener as to how much the Indian middle classes really were Anglicized. a wonderful view of Hinduism and its festivals. A real tour de force as far as being a snapshot of a particular period of time in a complex society.

The book is NOT a fast read but seems very quiet until before you know it, you're dragged into the lives of these people, and it becomes a page turner.

I've read another of Seth's books and know that his writing style ins not that of this book. What intrigued me is how true it was to what I remembered of an Indian friend of decades ago who came from the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Seth writes just like my friend used to talk--same rhythm, same phraseology and same feeling I used to get from Rao.

an excellent book.

Really well done.

Well, I was wondering what you'd gotten up to. Now I understand !!

A Suitable Boy is one of my all-time favorite books, and Vikram Seth is one of my favorite authors; each book of his is completely different. When I was reading A Suitable Boy, I was so caught up in the characters' lives that I slowed down as I got near the end of the book -- I didn't want to leave them.

I can also highly recommend Two Lives, Seth's memoir about his great-aunt and -uncle, with whom he lived for a while in England. He delves into their individual pasts, which together paint a picture of some of the worst moments of 20th century history.

And, on a completely different note, The Golden Gate, a novel in verse(!) was quite charming, and I read it (appropriately) while visiting San Francisco.

I have to say, though, I couldn't get into An Equal Music at all, but I do admire Seth for trying something different with each of his books.

#256: Yeah, I bet it seemed as if i'd fallen off into a deep hole! Not to worry, just reading.

#257: I liked An Equal Music but it is nowhere near the book that A Suitable boy is. I'll put Two Lives on the totally unwieldy To Be Bought list. (sigh)

123. The Pillars of he Earth by Ken follett. I've certainly been going for the long ones recently.

Superb! Loved the history. Was glad that I had read penman's When Christ and His Saints Slept first so that I had a background.

124. All Mortal flesh by julia spencer-fleming. 5th in the series, not the absolute best, but still that woman can write a denouement up there with the best of them! Not to be missed, this series.

125. I Shall Not Want by Julia spencer-fleming. tops them all so far. what a twist at the end!! No idea where she's going to take the series, but for sure it won't be dull.

Been without Internet access for 8 days thanks to the weather here--just got it back today.

I understood Spencer-Fleming intended I Shall Not Want to be the last book in the series. Have you heard otherwise? (I have not read it or All Mortal Flesh yet myself.)

#260: No! I had no idea that that was what she intended. I'll have to go to the Web site (assuming that our Internet access stabilizes enough for me to do non-essential tasks online) and see what's up.

Laytonwoman3rd: Just went to her Web site, and ther eis no indication there at all that she intends to terminate the series with I Shall Not Want. so we'll just have to see. Hope fervently that she continues, because the series is really great.

Joyce, I may be behind in my information. I know when she published the first book, she had a finite number in mind. I dug through her website, and found this: "This is the first in a series of five books she would like to publish featuring Clare and Russ." Since she has now written six books, and you feel after reading NO. 6 that another is warranted, I assume she gave up that notion. I really hope she doesn't wear her characters out, though. I've seen that happen with a couple of my favorite authors.

Linda: Certainly the way she left #6 implies at least one more book. Or something to resolve the situation between Clare and Russ. the big question is--how do you fit what happened in book 6 into a mystery genre? I don't want to do any spoilers for you, so I won't comment further. I loved I Shall Not Want--among the best in the series. the way she ended the book gives a lot of scope for continued character interest.

126. Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters. Outstanding lesbian coming-out type book set in late Victorian England. The characters are great, settings great, history on music hall era and performers ditto. I personally was surprised to discover the liveliness and variety of lesbian life in that generally hostile era. I'm looking forward to reading more of Waters. I know Fingersmith has gotten rave reviews here on LT.

re 265: I loved Tipping the Velvet. I read it a couple of years ago and just couldn't put it down. It's my favorite of the Sarah Waters books I've read.

>266 lycomayflower: So how come you didn't tell ME about Sarah Waters? I have Fingersmith waiting around to be read too. Didn't know you had read Tipping the Velvet. Bring it home with you if you have it.

re 267: I am SURE I mentioned it when I was reading it. ;-p

But I will certainly bring it home for you.

Love these mother-daughter exchanges, don't you? :-)

I don't want to intrude on the mother-daughter lovefest, but ...

I enjoyed your review, Joyce. I have Fingersmith in my December reading queue. I've been advised to read it when I'm not working, and don't have to get up in the morning, so I'm saving it for Christmas or New Year's week. But I'm really looking forward to it -- it will be my first Sarah Waters book and I've heard such wonderful things about her writing.

LW3, why don't you join me in reading Fingersmith this month?

>269 Joycepa:/270. We have to talk sometime. It's not like she calls me two-three times a day with the unlimited minutes plan on the cellie. ;>)

>270 lauralkeet:. I just may do that, lind-not-a.

Now that I have Internet access again and am about through almost catching up, I must trot over to amazon and buy Affinity and Fingersmith.

>271 laytonwoman3rd:: lind-not-a. THAT'S IT!!! I've been thinking of changing my screen name to something more meaningful. Eureka. LOL.

Eureka. Not bad. Although it's all Greek to me.

Joyce, I just started Water's The Night Watch and loving it so far.

Hey, Jill, I ordered Affinity and Fingersmith yesterday and wondered (afterwards) if I should have ordered The Night Watch as well. Oh well, next batch of books, which will be after Christmas.

I'll be watching for your review. :-)

126. Accordion Crimes by Annie Proulx. another bizarre but fascinating book from Proulx. Traces a green accordion, made by a Sicilian in the late 19th century and brought over to the US, through 100 years as it passes from the hands of one member of a particular ethnic group to another. It's the history of accordion music of ethnic groups as well as a mini-shot of the histories of these groups as well. Bizarre ending but it's a bizarre book. there are no such things as ordinary human lives in Proulx's viewpoint. going to have to get Postcards now.

Annie Proulx is an author I must get to in 2009. I have The Shipping News on my shelf.

While I really liked both books--think them excellent--IMO The Shipping News is the better of the two. If you really like that, then don't miss Accordion Crimes. I think Proulx is one of those outstanding authors who is not for everybody--not everyone is going to appreciate her tilted angle on life.

I loved The Shipping News. Thanks for reminding me about Accordion Crimes---it's on one of my TBR shelves...somewhere.

>273 lauralkeet: lindsacl often gets called "Linda" by mistake; a trick of the eye when you look quickly at her user name. So she and I have a running thing about her not being me, since we tend to show up in a lot of the same places on LT. Clearer now?

By the way, all, I just couldn't stand it, so I wound up ordering yet another batch of books, this time with Night Watch in it. Darn, I forgot Postcards! Gotta get that on my Wish List.

I think Accordion Crimes is one of my favourite Proulx books.

#282 judylou: Have you read Postcards? If you did, what did you think of it?

I was really impressed with Accordion Crimes and the way she structured the story. My only real beef with it was that those long sentences got draggy towards the end. I was fascinated, however, with the way she used them--list after list after list--and how amazingly apt they were.

One of the results of reading the book was that I believe Proulx is one of the finest masters of language writing today. Two vastly different styles in the two books but amazing manipulation of the language to achieve her desired effects.

One thing about Sarah Waters: she tells a cracking good story, and I love good story tellers. Also, there is a hysterically funny section for those of us who love Mozart, where she slyly and wonderfully has her protagonist trash The Marriage of Figaro. Great fun.

127. Cold Granite by Stuart MacBride. A sort of imitation Ian Rankin, only set in Aberdeen, Scotland. I will say that MacBride has a good plot--only problem? he can't write. Does ruin things. don't bother with this one.

>127 Joycepa: Darn, I hate when that happens. Nothing spoils a good story like bad writing.

The resolution was bad enough--weak enough--but it was written insipidly, is the only way I can describe it. Oh well.

128. Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith. Excellent international mystery/thriller set mostly in Moscow in 1977, in the Brezhnev era. Published in 1981, this book shows no sign of datedness--the writing is excellent, the plot good, setting very evocative. good read.

I remember that one---even remember physically reading it. Isn't that bizarre? I got it soon after it appeared in paperback, and I remember reading it in the apartment we lived in then. My daughter was about 2, I was working part time, and reading time was scarce. I guess what I did read then stands out!

I enjoyed Gorky Park and the movie was pretty good too, as I remember.

Hey, Joycepa! I'm new to LT so reading your postings from the very beginning. Just wanted to let you know that I'm adding Montana 1948 to my "Wish List" because of your postings and review. One question: How do you get your titles in blue and clickable?

For example, for Montana 1948, enclose it in single brackets . for the author, Larry Watson, enclose in double brackets . these will show up as a sidebar to your post. Be warned though that the author touchstone, as it's called, too many times doesn't work and you wind up with the author in red on your sidebar.

Welcome to LT! Seattle, hmm? I lived on Whidbey Island before moving to Panamá. I have very fond memories of Eliot Bay Bookstore.

Oh, duh! I never bothered to read the touchstone comments until you explained the process. Thanks big time! Yeah, Elliot Bay was a favorite. Now they have Third Place Books with lots of comfy chairs ala Barnes & Nobles, but without the guilt!

129. Polar Star by Martin Cruz Smith. 2nd in the Arkady Renko series, and a fascinating setting on a fish processing factory ship in the Bering Sea. while the plot is very good, the descriptions, as usual, of life under the Soviet bureaucracy make the book stand out. fascinating look at Siberia. Good entertainment.

130. Death's Half Acre by Margaret Maron. Latest in the Deborah Knott series which has my vote for the best long-running mystery/police procedural series. This is the 14th book, and she has done a masterful job of directing the series to keep up interest. Her latest books are far more police procedurals than earlier ones in the series, her characters have evolved, she has the greatest set of recurring characters that I'm aware of, and her touch with Southern culture and dialgue is superb. You're not going to find complicated plots, but they're perfectly adequate for her setting, and her strengths are in Deborah Knott and the rest of the gang and her extremely skillful writing. This is a great addition to an outstanding series.

131. Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong. this is a very straightforward police procedural. What makes it utterly special is the view of Chain in 1990--the author does a superb job of using hte plot to illumine both daily life in Shanghai and the political state of China as a whole. the writing is problematical. mostly short declarative sentences and formal (no contractions) english, making it stiff. but still an excellent read if you can get beyond the style.

132. Affinity by Sarah Waters. Ye gods, yet another terrific book from Waters! I am NOT a fan of the Gothic genre, but Waters has written a beauty that has the most superb twist in it. She's doneher research abut women in victorian prisons, and it's powerful stuff.

On to fingersmith, but later, later--gotta draw these last two out.

133. Have mercy on Us all by Fred Vargas who is a French female historian/archeologist who, I guess, writes best-selling mysteries in her spare time.

this is an off-beat police procedural set in Paris and excellent, although i did find the style a bit off-putting. don't think it's the translation, either, which is into English English, and uses those idioms and spellings.

#130 I'm going to have to investigate this series, I can see that.

#132 I think Fingersmith may be my first read of 2009.

LW3, don't miss Affinity if you haven't already read it (can't remember).

I'm closing in on the end of Fingersmith, at a point where I'm sneaking pages during every spare minute. It's my first Sarah Waters but I can highly recommend it!

Darn, it really is ggoing to be a major problem, keeping to my resolution not to read it soon--like in the next 5 minutes!

Maybe if I hide the book somewhere.....

134. Fault Line by Barry Eisler. I'm about to give up on Early Reviewer books. this "thriller' is the latest in a steady line of awful books I've had from the ER program. Badly written, matchstick characters, a plot that is hackneyed, despite its attempts at being 'now' with today's issues. I may quit the program because, while the books are free, I have to pay shipping and customs duties to get the book into my hands;$8 in such fees was $8.50 too much. i could put that $8 towards bringing in the LoA flannery o'connor (which would probably cost me $12 since it's a hardback and heavier, but I'd be 3/4 of the way there).

What a waste of time and money.

That's disappointing isn't it, Joyce? I confess I have dropped off the Early Reviewer planet myself. I received two books, pretty early in the program. I rated one only 2 stars and the other I couldn't finish. I would probably be better off with early reviews from familiar authors vs. debut novelists, but then I'm not sure the successful authors "need" ERs as much. Anyhoo, I have not requested an ER book since.

I think that's what's going to happen for me, too, Laura--i simply can not afford to subsidize trash. Too many good books out there that I really want and have to prioritize in buying because of shipping costs.

Eisler is not a debut novelist but has written a thriller series. That's why I took a chance on the book--I figured he must have something going for him.

Not.

Oh well--live and learn.

I was amazed to see you'd set a 150-book goal for 2009 since this thread set your goal at 80. Then I saw how close you were to 150. Kinda ironic, considering your opening statement in #1: Normally, 80 books a year would be well within my range, but my free time has just about vanished with the start of the dry season and the first year of production on the farm here. Sooo....we'll see!


BTW, did you know there's a 100 Book Challenge group? I don't want to scare you away from the 75ers but thought I'd mention it ...

You know, I searched for the 100 book one, didn't find it. think I'll stay with this one, though.

It's a long, long story but I had to radically alter my plans and hopes for what i want to do here. Plus, thanks to our part-time handyman/gardener. I'm actually doing less this year than i have in past years. that's a mixed blessing, but it does mean i have more free time than I thought i would back almost a year ago.

Also, i knew I read fast, but really didn't realize just how fast until I kept track this year! And I probably read a lot more fluff than most people--many of the series I enjoy are hardly challenging books and read quite fast.

Given some of the books I plan on reading this coming year, I may not be able to make it to 150. i know I won't this year. But it's fun to see how far I get.

#135. The Promise by Chaim Potok. I started writing just a few sentences, and it wound up the basis of what I'll write in my review.

i don't even know how to describe it briefly. Potok had the ability to totally absorb a reader into the world of orthodox Judaism, make it totally real, and completely relevant. There are two side-by-side struggles going on--Reuven Malter struggling with his conservative seminary teacher and his best friend Danny Saunders struggling to save the soul of a young boy. old against new, what to save and what to modify--it's all there and in remarkably beautiful prose that at times becomes poetry.

I've loved this book and its prequel, The Chosen, for decades.

136. The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano. Well, I accomplished a major pre-New Year's Resolution--I've finished this book. It took me (only) 3 solid months! I have rarely had such difficulty with a book, trying to figure out a) what is it really about b) do I like the thing and c) why do I keep on reading it?

It's one of the strangest books I've ever read--a detailed account of broke and on the take poets and writers in the 70s in Mexico city and the lives of two of them up through the 90s. I't s all narrated in the first person by dozens of different characters. It's both interesting and boring at the same time--don't ask, I have no idea why.

but it's done, and I feel triumphant.

Congratulations Joyce! Based on your description I'm not sure I could have done it. A nice way to end the year!

Yeah, I gave 2666 (by the same author, also published after his death) to my son for Christmas because of all the good reviews, but no thanks! Normally, I like to sneak a peek, even read in full (sly grin!) the books I give to others--one of the perks of buying books as gifts versus, say a sweater--but this time I happily resisted. Just not the themes for me; I applaud your determination. Happy New Year! I look forward to looking at what you're reading.

It took me several months at the beginning of the year to read The Savage Detectives, and I only kept going because of encouragement here on LT. In the end I liked it (but am not sure I understood all of it -- and, yes, being interesting and boring at the same time is a good description, Joyce). So 2666 is on my 2009 TBR.

#310: I think I finally wound up "understanding" it, thanks to the very last chapter. but ye gods, getting there! One of my difficulties with the book is that I'm not much for picaresque novels, and this is one --with not one but two such protagonists.

Crazy way to end up the reading year!

Well, Happy New Year, everyone!

OK, to sum up the year, here are my favorite reads

Fiction
1. War and Peace by Tolstoy
2. All The King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
3. One of Ours by Cather
4. Painter of Battles by Arturo Perez-Reverte
5. A Game of thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords by George Martin
6. A Drink Before the War, Darkness Take My Hand, Sacred, Gone, Baby, Gone, and prayers For Rain by Dennis Lehane. An incredible series.
7. Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
8. The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Eco
9. The Book of Lamentations by Rosario Castellanos
10. Vita Nuova by Magdalen Nabb Why did she have to go ahead and die?
11. Blackout by Louiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza
12. In The Bleak Midwinter, To Darkness and To Death, Out of the Deep I Cry, and I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming
13. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
14. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
15. Accordion Crimes by Annie Proulx
16. Tipping the Velvet and Affinity by Sarah Waters
17. Water For elephants by Sara Gruen
18. Shadow of the Wind by Carlos ruiz Zafon
19. Augustus by John Williams
20. Love In a Dry season by shelby foote
21. Montana 1948 Larry Watson

Nonfiction
1. Path of Empire by Aims McGuinness
2. This Republic of Suffering by Drew Gilpin Faust. this makes my top 5 for 2008
3. Lincoln by David herbert Donald
4. Vale of Tears by Robert Levine
5. Tara Revisited by Catherine Clinton
6. The naturalist on the River Amazons by Henry Walter Bates

I'm suffering with a PC keyboard set up for Spanish no less for the next two weeks or so until I get my new iMac. I can't figure out where the brackets are to put in the touchstones.

Joyce, are your favorites listed in any particular order? Because if so, I'm thrilled to find one of my all-time favorite novels, All the King's Men so near the top of the list. You've had an excellent reading year, I'd say. I have also loved The Chosen since first reading it close to 40 years ago. But oddly, I cannot recall whether I read The Promise or not. I know I read My Name is Asher Lev and Davita's Harp and was not as taken by them as by The Chosen.

No real order, Linda. I loved My Name is Asher Lev because of the agonizing dilemma in which the artist found himself and how he chose to resolve it. I found it profoundly human, touching again on an aspect of Orthodox Jewish life I never would have dreamed existed. I didn't much care for Davita's Harp, either.

My Top 5 would be This Republic of Suffering, A Suitable Boy, Foucault's Pendulum, and A Painter of Battles. But tomorrow, I might choose a different five! With the exception of This Republic of Suffering. All The King's Men would make my Top 10.

Hey, hey--I found the brackets!

And these are just this year's! For example, all-time favorites would include Shelby Foote's Civil War trilogy AND his Jordan County. I think the latter is one of the best fiction books I've ever read. You and I both go ga-ga over teh Civil War trilogy. Plus I know you're a fan of his fiction as well.