TBR@60 Robertgreaves's challenge for 2017/2018 part 2

Continued from Part 1.

I have 72 books on the physical TBR shelves and 123 books on the virtual TBR shelves.

In an atttempt to bring the burgeoning TBR shelves (physical and virtual) (not to mention my burgeoning weight) under control I have decided that I will only buy books as follows:

1. 2 books as a reward for each kg I lose;
2. next in a series (if I am up to date on the 6.5 books per month needed to reach my goal);
3. bookclub book.

Currently reading:
Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth
What Is Your Dangerous Idea? by John Brockman.

The ticker:

an elegant transition, Robert - look forward to following your 2018 ROOTing.

I've had quite a few BBs from you in the last year or so, looking forward to some more great reviews! Hope the weight loss and book acquisition plan is going well!

Welcome back, Robert! Happy ROOTing.

P.S. Don't forget to become a member of the ROOTers 2018.

Hi Robert, glad you are here! I was reading your goals, 1 book for every 2kg lost....so if you gain, do you have to take those books back?!!!!!!

Welcome back and have a great reading year!

>5 Tess_W: no, no, no, 2 books for every 1 kg. I will return books when I can also return calories for dishes that aren't as good as they look on the menu.

>7 Robertgreaves: if only.........!

Starting my No. 65, Three Stones Make a Wall by Eric H. Cline. I am reading this for my online bookclub, and it also fits the AlphaKIT.

My review of Call The Midwife:

Reminiscences of a midwife working in the East End during the 1950s, extended back in time to the beginning of the century in conversations with patients and other midwives.

Wonderful, terrible stories showing poverty, humanity, hope, degradation, and humour. Reading the story of Sr Monica Joan at the concert I thought I was going to be in need of medical attention myself.

>9 Robertgreaves: LOL in need of medical attention yourself! And there is a PBS series by the same name. I have not watched but friends of mine rave about it.

It's from the BBC. I've seen the Christmas specials but not the series proper. The only storyline I recognised was the one about Mrs. Jenkins, the ex workhouse inmate.

Indeed, Christmas telly is quite predictable: Dr. Who, Strictly, and Call The Midwife.

It sounds like you have a very interesting challenge for this ROOTing year. Good luck with the ROOTing and the weight loss.

I read Call the Midwife last year (having also not seen the series but caught the odd Christmas special) and loved it. That scene at the concert was very funny; I also laughed a lot at the farting district nurse nun (whose name has just escaped me). And yet a couple of pages later, you'd be nearly in tears.

Starting my No. 66 From Solon to Socrates by Victor Ehrenberg. This is my second ROOT for 2018. I'm reading it now for the AlphaKIT.

My review of Three Stones Make A Wall:

Interesting material but arranged geographically rather than chronologically, which I would have preferred.

A friend who doesn't keep books once he's read them has given me The Sparsholt Affair by Alan Hollinghurst, which takes the physical TBR pile back up to 72.

I've also lost a kg, so have bought two ebooks, The Radium Girls by Kate Moore and Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes by Cory O'Brien.

The Radium Girls was one of my Christmas purchases, after taking a BB from several people on LT last year. Another one I think I'll have to brace myself to read, though.

Well done on the kg lost!

Well done on the weight loss! So far I've only managed to watch a tv programme about dieting. :(

RIP Ursula Le Guin

Good job on weight loss, Robert. You lost them, I think I've found them!

Welcome back!
I like your criteria for buying books, wish I could be that disciplined.

>19 Tess_W: >20 cyderry: Unfortunately, I found it again yesterday after a lunch at work to celebrate one of the partners' birthdays.

Starting my No. 67, The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin in memoriam as a break from From Solon to Socrates, which is very heavy and academic. This is my third ROOT for 2018, and reduces the physical TBR pile to 71.

My review of The Lathe of Heaven:

George Orr has a disturbing ability: certain of his dreams change reality. His psychiatrist tries to direct George's dreams by hypnosis, but just how benevolent are the changes he tries to bring about.

I was a bit distracted by just how much worse Le Guin thought a world with a population of 7 billion would be than it actually is even in one of the more crowded parts where I live. But that minor niggle aside, dreams changing the world is a great idea to play with.

Not wanting to carry From Solon to Socrates around with me yesterday because it would have meant a bigger bag, I read a short book as my No. 68, The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier. It was my fourth ROOT for 2018.

My review:

When they die, the dead cross over into the City, live there for what may be days and may be decades and then vanish. One speculation is that they only stay for as long as there is somebody alive who remembers them.

This book started off beautifully, magically, but after the first few chapters it left me with so many questions about life in the City. I felt the penultimate chapter could have been trimmed back a bit.

Starting my No. 69, The Fire Gospel by Michel Faber. This brings the books on my physical TBR shelves down to 70. It is my fifth ROOT for 2018. I'm reading it now for the AlphaKIT and the Colour CAT.

My review of From Solon to Socrates:

Mainly political and military history of Greece (mainly Athens) in the sixth and fifth centuries BC, with some glances at social, intellectual and artistic life.

Densely academic prose with a small font. It was sheer stubbornness that kept me going.

Interested to see what you think of The Fire Gospel - I'm wishlisting it anyway, but maybe need to brush up my Greek mythology first to appreciate it?

>26 This-n-That: Thanks for dropping by, Lisa. See >9 Robertgreaves:

My plans for reading in February 2018:

Starting my No. 70, Shifting Reality by Patty Jansen. I got this book from BookBub because it's set on a space station called New Jakarta. I'm reading it now because it fits the AlphaKIT. It is my sixth ROOT for 2018.

My review of The Fire Gospel:

Theo Griekenperl discovers some papyri hidden in a statue in a bombed museum in Iraq. They turn out to be an eyewitness account of Jesus's last days on earth written by Malchus, the high priest's servant mentioned in the gospels. Theo's life changes dramatically when he publishes his translation of the papyri.

It's an excellent black comedy satirising the publishing circus of "The Da Vinci Code" and other books purporting to expose the truth behind the gospels. But the connection with the story of Prometheus is tangential at best. There are some explicit references to "Prometheus Bound" at one point but otherwise it's a real stretch, you have to be really looking for it. But then maybe that's the point?

An encouraging review of The Fire Gospel - I've acquired Robert Graves' The Greek Myths to read first (in true obsessive-completist style)

I should point out that Robert Graves's view of Greek mythology is not widely shared.

Ah, that's probably why it was on a buy one get one free deal from Audible. What would you recommend?

If you ignore everything Graves says about the White Goddess, it should be OK. A more mainstream view would be the books by Edith Hamilton or even Bulfinch's Mythology (no touchstones this evening). More modern re-tellings tend to focus on individual stories rather than an overview, though I have heard good things about Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes by Cory O'Brien.

Thanks, Robert!

Starting my No. 71, A Preface to Paradise Lost by C. S. Lewis. This is my seventh ROOT for 2018 and brings my physical TBR down to 69.

My review of Shifting Reality:

Melati lives on a space station called New Jakarta and teaches constructs, batches of genetically engineered children. One of her pupils insists that he is somebody else, downloaded into the wrong body. Could this be related to the brewing social conflicts on the space station, the strange behaviour of her cousins, Rina and Ari, and the war between the ISF and the Allions?

I enjoyed the character of Melati and her life straddling the life of the technocratic echelon on the space station and the more traditional life of her family and friends amongst the lower echelons. To me, it is a very convincing future Indonesian based society. However, the author does seem to have bought into the stereotype, common in some circles in Indonesia, of Chinese as grasping, exploitative business people, which did leave rather a bad taste. Li Wei is such a minor character he could almost have been left out, and perhaps he should have been.

Starting my No. 72, Paradise Lost. This is my eighth ROOT for 2018. It comes from my older shelves as a re-read rather than the TBR shelf.

I can't read Paradise Lost through a heavy cold. I struggled with Book 1, so am taking a break with something lighter, The Copenhagen Connection by Elizabeth Peters. It's my no. 73 and brings the TBR shelf down to 68. It's my ninth ROOT for 2018. It fits the AlphaKIT and MysteryCAT.

Get well soon, Robert!

I hope you feel better soon - there are a lot of bugs doing the rounds, it seems! Definitely calls for light reading!

commiserations from a fellow cold sufferer - hope you're better soon!

Thanks all. I did go into work yesterday as something urgent came up but I'm taking today off.

>42 Robertgreaves: Feel better soon! Hope your reading is just what the doctor ordered.

Starting my No. 74, Unruly Passions by Kate Charles. This is an ebook which I've had long enough for it to count as my tenth ROOT for 2018.

My review of The Copenhagen Connection:

Elizabeth Jones gets the chance to work as a temporary secretary/assistant for her idol, the famous historian and novelist Margaret Rosenberg. But the next day, Margaret disappears. Elizabeth helps Margaret's son, Christian, look for her.

Let's just say there are reasons Elizabeth Peters is better known for her Amelia Peabody series.

I hope you are feeling better, Robert!

A little clogged up still, but basically over it, thank you. And more importantly, I have lost another kg. So, looking at my wishlist to see what to get.

>46 Robertgreaves: LOL. Go get one!

I got two. An Arsonist's Guide To Writers' Homes in New England by Brock Clarke and Eden's Past by Adam Carpenter

Finished Unruly Passions, so back to Paradise Lost.

My review:

Two boys find an abandoned car with a body inside -- sex unrevealed. We flashback to find out how the body got there. The cast includes the best-selling novelist, and her lover, who is the publicist for her publisher; the Archdeacon and her handsome husband, who works as a decorator, though rich enough not to need to work at all; and the widowed Vicar and his second wife, and their 7 year-old daughter with Down's syndrome.

The reader learns fairly quickly where our sympathies are meant to lie and so who we hope the victim and murderer are, but the tension till we get there in case the wrong person ends up dead or a murderer is almost unbearable - and even if other characters are not murderer or victim can they possibly come through this unscathed? Excellent work.

My No. 75 is my Lenten reader for this year Daily Devotions for Lent 2018 by Ann M. Garrido. This is my eleventh ROOT for 2018, and brings my TBR pile down to 67.

Another break from Paradise Lost as I start my No. 76, I Am Livia by Phyllis T. Smith. It's an ebook which I've had long enough to count as my twelfth ROOT for 2018. I'm reading it now for my online book club.

Good work with the weight loss, Robert. So have you lost 2 kg in total or the same 1 kg twice?

>52 Familyhistorian: 2 kg. I have to get lower than I have done so far this year for it to count.

Starting my No. 77, The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch. This is my thirteenth ROOT for 2018 and brings the TBR pile down to 66.

I have finished Paradise Lost, which I found much heavier going than when I read it before. In fact I regularly dozed off while reading it.

I have also finished I Am Livia. My review:

In her old age Livia reminiscences about her early years down to the future Augustus's return from the battle of Actium and taking control of Egypt.

After a somewhat shaky start, I really enjoyed this one. This is not Sian Phillips's dragon lady but a very believable and likeable character.

Starting my No. 78, Pastrix by Nadia Bolz-Weber. This is my fourteenth ROOT for 2018. I'm reading it now for the AlphaKIT and as a Lenten read.

My review of The Furthest Station:

Ghosts are appearing on the Metropolitan Line. They want to deliver a message, but unfortunately the recipients forget all about the experience about 5 minutes afterwards. Peter Grant investigates.

A very quick read, almost a novella rather than a novel. It doesn't advance the main story arc at all, just shows us one of the Folly's less dramatic cases.

Starting my No. 79, The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. This a new-ish ebook and so does not count as a ROOT. I'm reading it now for my RL book club.

My review of Pastrix:

Amusing, thought-provoking, and all round brilliant memoir by a woman Lutheran pastor.

Starting my No. 80, What the Bible Really Teaches by Keith Ward. It is my fifteenth ROOT and brings the TBR pile down to 65. I have read it before and found it unconvincing despite a sympathy for his position but other LT-ers were discussing it last year (or possibly the year before) so I've decided to give it another go. It fits the ColourCAT and of course is suitable for Lent.

My review of The Girl on the Train:

Rachel passes her old house where her ex husband and his new wife live on her daily train commute. She fantasises about the couple who live just down the road and then the wife in that couple disappears. Rachel knows she saw something relevant that night but she was so drunk she can't remember what it was.

If it had been a physical book and I hadn't been obliged to read it for book club, I would have hurled this book from me at great force by the end of the first chapter. I hope I would be more sympathetic in real life but the thought of 200+ pages of Rachel wallowing in self pity was just too much. However, I persevered but although the mystery of what happened did get more intriguing, the book never really recovered from that initial first impression.

>57 Robertgreaves: I remember that discussion - I thought it was great when I read it, but that was several years ago. Since then I've seen him give a talk, and I fell asleep in it! I would like to read it again at some point. Maybe for next year's Lent (I've already chosen and started my Lent book for this year).

Starting my No. 81, Bel Canto by Ann Pratchett. This brings the physical TBR pile down to 64. This counts as my sixteenth ROOT for 2018. It counts for ColourCAT and AlphaKIT.

My review of What The Bible Really Teaches:

Keith Ward explains what he thinks fundamentalist Christians get wrong about the Bible.

He argues for the primacy of love and God's desire to reconcile humans to himself and that the Bible must be interpreted in that light. He is not afraid to say some parts of the Bible must be jettisoned as conflicting with the general spiritual principles underlying the overall message. Although I have great sympathy for his approach, I do wonder if it is overly intellectual, making Christianity a religion that only speaks to people with a certain level of education.

>59 Robertgreaves: look forward to seeing what you think of Bel Canto - just about to read it too.

Books I'm hoping to read in March:

A Very Short Introduction to 20th-century Britain! I will be interested to see what sort of topics it covers.

The VSI British History series is actually a single book called The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain split up into 8 volumes (one VSI for each chapter of the original work), so now I've got the whole set I might read them straight through.

Ah, that makes sense.

Starting my No. 82, Catullus' Bedspread by Daisy Dunn. I've had this ebook long enough for it to count as my seventeenth ROOT for 2018. I'm reading it now as the March book for my online bookclub.

My review of Bel Canto:

A South American country is throwing a gala birthday party at the Vice-President's official residence for a Japanese industrialist who they hope will build a factory and bring in investment but who is only attending because his favourite opera singer will be singing. Unfortunately the party is interrupted by a group of terrorists hoping to kidnap the President. Since the President is not there, the terrorists take the Vice-President and the guests hostage. The siege lasts for months rather than days.

The characters are beautifully described and their interaction is entirely believable as hostages and terrorists find ways of living together in such a way as to make the time feel like a wonderful bubble of happiness in a not so happy real life. It ends as we knew all along it would have to even if we were rooting for an escape from the inevitable. The epilogue was a bit of a disappointment and really rather unnecessary. The ending of the body of the book was quite sufficient.

>65 Robertgreaves: Not only is it unnecessary, it kills the mood of the main narrative, IMHO :-/

I remember reading this in a day many years ago and absolutely hating the epilogue! I kept asking myself "Why include this?" and I still don't know the answer! I always recommend skipping the epilogue when others have mentioned that they were reading Bel Canto.

>65 Robertgreaves: >66 Tanya-dogearedcopy: currently reading - recommended epilogue avoidance noted!

>66 Tanya-dogearedcopy: >67 floremolla: I think Year of Wonders still holds the award for worst epilogue of all time, but if I'd been a beta reader I would certainly have advised Ms Patchett against including it.

A friend has passed on a copy of "Beautiful People" by Simon Doonan (no touchstone for book or author), so the TBR shelves are back up to 65.

>65 Robertgreaves: >66 Tanya-dogearedcopy: yes, 100% agree with you both!

>68 Robertgreaves: oh dear, that's on my wishlist...

Hard time at work this week so I can't cope with the book about Catullus. I need a book which needs absolutely no brain power. I've chosen for my No. 83 The Hardest Thing by James Lear. This is my eighteenth ROOT for 2018.

My review of The Hardest Thing:

Ex marine Dan Stagg is asked to guard a "secretary" whose boss wants him out of New York for a few days for unclear reasons.

Having parodied Agatha Christie in his previous series, James Lear turns his attention to the hardboiled action hero in this sex filled romp. Plot? What plot?

Starting my No. 84, Aristotle: A Very Short Introduction by Jonathan Barnes. This is my nineteenth ROOT for 2018. It fits the ColourCAT and AlphaKIT.

My review of Catullus' Bedspread:

Daisy Dunn uses Catullus' poem No. 64 as a framing device to write a biography of the poet using information gleaned from the poems and snippets in other ancient authors.

Should have been interesting but it left me feeling 'meh'.

Starting my No. 85, An Uncertain Place by Fred Vargas. This brings the TBR pile down to 63, and is my twentieth ROOT for 2018.

My review of Aristotle: A Very Short Introduction:

A good overview of Aristotle's work.

>63 Robertgreaves: That sounds very interesting! I'll have to keep my eyes peeled at my local used bookstore - or wait for a coupon from one of the big retailers. I own (unread, of course) A Short History of England by Simon Jenkins, and I wonder how similar or dissimilar they are.

Hope you're enjoying your Sunday!

>75 LauraBrook: Thanks for dropping by Laura.

Adding The Universe in a Nutshell to the TBR shelves to re-read in memoriam, so they are now at 64.

Starting my No. 86, That Undeniable Longing by Mark Tedesco. It is an ebook that I've had long enough to count as my twenty-first ROOT.

My review of An Uncertain Place:

What is the connection between feet detached from their bodies found at Highgate Cemetary, and some particularly grisly murders in Paris and Vienna? And is someone trying to frame Adamsberg for them?

Very enjoyable, full of twists and turns. But can we have a break from the mysterious figures from Adamsberg's past?

Starting my No. 87 Roman Britain: A Very Short Introduction by Peter Salway. It's a re-read now that I've got the whole VSI British history series, so I've had for long enough to count as my twenty-second ROOT for 2018. It also counts for AlphaKIT and ColourCAT.

My review of That Undeniable Longing:

The author's journey to becoming a Roman Catholic priest and then his withdrawal from that role because he was unable to reconcile that with being a gay man.

Much more about the journey to than the journey from. It was interesting but it was written in a curiously detached style so that although strong emotions were talked about they weren't really conveyed. Having said that, I would still recommend it to anyone interested in the topic of gays and religion.

My No. 88 is the next in the series: The Anglo-Saxon Age: A Very Short Introduction by John Blair. As a re-read it counts as my twenty-third ROOT for 2018. It also counts for the AlphaKIT and ColourCAT.

Next up is my No. 89, Medieval Britain: A Very Short Introduction by John Gillingham and Ralph A. Griffiths. This is my twenty-fourth ROOT for 2018. It also counts for the AlphaKIT.

On to my No. 90, The Tudors: A Very Short Introduction by John Guy. This is my twenty-fifth ROOT for 2018. It also counts for the AlphaKIT.

I have added one to the physical TBR shelf today: The Complete Poems by Andrew Marvell, making them 65.

Oh here's your (not so) new thread!! I've been gone waaaay too long. ;p
Glad to see you're doing so well w/ the ROOTing!
I'm excited about the Litsy "merger"... hope it goes well!

Thanks for dropping by, Aletheia. The Litsy merger is exciting, isn't it. I got very little work done the day it was announced looking at all the reactions here, on Litsy, and on the FB page.

Onto the next one, Stuart Britain: A Very Short Introduction by John Morrill, my No. 91. This is my twenty-sixth ROOT for 2018, and counts for the AlphaKIT and ColourCAT.

Next up is my No. 92, Eighteenth-Century Britain: A Very Short Introduction by Paul Langford. This is my twenty-seventh ROOT for 2018 and counts for the AlphaKIT and ColourCAT.

And now No. 93, Nineteenth-Century Britain: A Very Short Introduction by Christopher Harvie and H. C. G. Matthew. This is my twenty-eighth ROOT for 2018 and fits the AlphaKIT.

You're racing through those Very Short Introductions, Robert!

Each one is only about 100 pages long. The 19th century is the longest at 150 pages, more than double the shortest, which was 60 something pages.

The last in the series is my No. 94, Twentieth-Century Britain: A Very Short Introduction by Kenneth O. Morgan. This is my twenty-ninth ROOT for 2018 and brings the physical TBR shelves down to 64 books. it counts for the AlphaKIT.

Starting my No. 95, The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin. This is my thirtieth ROOT for 2018 and brings the TBR shelves down to 63 books. I'm reading it now in memoriam. It fits AlphaKIT, SFKIT, and ColourCAT.

ETA I think the theme of deforestation and exploitation of forest peoples also brings this into the RandomCAT.

My review of Twentieth-Century Britain: A Very Short Introduction:

First published as a chapter in the Oxford Illustrated History of Britain in 1984 and presumably expanded in 2000 for the Very Short Introduction series, it runs from the outbreak of the First World War to the millennium.

I found it a bit weird reading events I lived through being treated as history. Almost 20 years later I wonder if a re-issue would end on quite such a positive note.

Overview of the series:

For the most part first published in 1984, this is a very traditional history firmly focussed on political history with the occasional excursus on intellectual, spiritual, and cultural matters.

Women hardly get a look in except for Matilda and the female Tudors. By the time we get to Mary II, Anne, and Victoria, the focus has shifted to Parliament rather than the monarch.

Having said that, it does give the reader a good chronological framework to fit social and cultural currents in.

Starting my No. 96, A Song of War by H-Team. It is my thirty-first ROOT for 2018. I am reading it now for my online bookclub. I actually got it as one in an ebook box set, Songs of Blood and Gold. I already had the other two books in the box set but it was cheaper to buy the boxset than the third book individually.

My review of The Word for World is Forest (unchanged since I last read it in 2012):

The presence of a yuman colony on Ashthe poses a threat not only to the way of life of the local life form but to their very existence as they are cruelly enslaved and the forests on which they depend are cut down for timber to be shipped back to earth. Pushed beyond endurance the Ashtheans start to fight back, but this in itself involves killing other sentient beings which irrevocably changes their culture.

Ursula K. Le Guin does a great job alternating between the yuman and Ashthean viewpoints, though a few shades of grey might have been welcome rather than having all the yumans as weak, stupid, or evil and all the Ashtheans as noble, wise, and peace-loving.

Also currently reading my No. 97 The Complete Poems of Andrew Marvell. I only bought it recently, so it's not a ROOT.

I went a bit overboard at the Big Bad Wolf Sale today and bought 11 books.

>95 Robertgreaves: *applause*

So, the physical TBR shelves now stand at 73 books.

My probable books for April are:

>95 Robertgreaves: Way to go! :D

>95 Robertgreaves: wooo! good for you! :))

I've got Sapiens on my TBR too - look forward to your verdict.

ETA hope you have a lovely Easter!

Currently reading my No. 98 Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers. This is my thirty-second ROOT for 2018. I'm re-reading it now because some friends were discussing it on FB and I realised I remembered very little about it. It also fits the AlphaKIT and MysteryCAT.

While LT was down I finished A Song of War and The Complete Poems of Andrew Marvell.

>99 floremolla: Easter was good, thank you, though rather sad as it was the last Sunday our pastor was serving. Did you have a good one?

Starting my No. 99, Greek Fire, Poison Arrows and Scorpion Bombs by Adrienne Mayor. This is my thirty-third ROOT for 2018. It fits the RandomCAT as the author's birthday is in April.

>101 Robertgreaves: I did thanks, Robert - hosted a family get together. Took me a week to recover but it was lovely and we still have lots of chocolate left!

Hi Robert, just popping in to say Hi. I'm hoping to catch up on threads and not get behind like usual.

Thanks for dropping by, Connie

Starting my No. 100, The Color of Water in July by Nora Carroll. This is my thirty-fourth ROOT for 2018. I'm reading it now for my RL bookclub.

My review of Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs, which I forgot to mention was off the physical TBR shelves, which now stand at 72 book.

Adrienne Mayor looks at how the ancients weaponised nature through the use of animal and vegetable poisons, disease, animals, and various forms of petrol and other flammable substances.

Fascinating, full of interesting tidbits. There really is nothing new under the sun.

Starting my No. 101, Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. This is my thirty-fifth ROOT for 2018 and reduces the physical TBR shelves to 71 books. It counts for the AlphaKIT.

My review of The Color of Water in July:

When Jess's grandmother dies, leaving her a lakeside cottage in Michigan, Jess returns to the cottage for the first time in 16 years intending to sell it. When she gets there, however, she has to confront her memories from 16 years ago and what she was told of the family history, particularly that of her grandmother and great-aunt.

It was OK, but I didn't really get into it, perhaps I didn't really feel the shock horror gasp I was supposed to feel at one point.

>107 Robertgreaves: I've heard lots of good things about Sapiens, hope you enjoy it! (wondering if this will be my next BB?)

Starting my No. 102, Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris. It fits the RandomCAT and ScaredyKIT. This is my thirty-sixth ROOT for 2018. The physical TBR shelves now stand at 72 because I added two books to re-read, Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.

My review of Sapiens:

The story of how a few primates from the genus homo came to dominate planet Earth in a story spanning millennia rather than centuries.

An exhilirating read, it's at its best in the early parts and the end where the author feels free to speculate tying disparate ideas together than in the more prosaic middle sections dealing with what we are more familiar with as history. There are some annoying misprints (two which particularly stand out are the Roman emperor Valence - damn you autocorrect - at the battle of Adrianople and the invention of monotheism by Akhenaten in 350 BC.) but it really is a glorious roller-coaster ride of a book.

>109 Robertgreaves: well, I won't be coming at Sapiens with your background knowledge but it sounds great and I hope to get to it next month.

Second in the Midnight trilogy is my No. 103, Day Shift. It's an ebook but I've had it long enough to be my thirty-seventh ROOT for 2018.

My No. 104 is the third in the Midnight trilogy, Night Shift. It is my thirty-eighth ROOT for 2018 and brings the TBR shelf down to 71.

My review of Day Shift:

When a client dies during a personal consultation with Manfred, her son accuses him of having robbed her of her jewellery. The denizens of Midnight rally round to help Manfred clear his name while also coping with the very strange boy left in the Rev's care and the mysterious re-opening of the town's hotel.

Some questions from Midnight Crossing get answered, but other questions are raised in this fun series which is excellent for switching off the brain.

Starting my No. 105, The Bees by Laline Paull. It is my thirty-ninth ROOT for 2018 and counts for the ColourCAT.

My review of Night Shift:

The inhabitants of Midnight face a threat that faces not only Midnight but the whole world.

There are incompatibilities between this book and the first two. The map in the front gives the population of Midnight as 261 while the text strongly implies that the fourteen or fifteen named characters plus half a dozen guests at the hotel are the only inhabitants. Early on it mentions as a long time practice the holding of town meetings at the pawn shop but before the meetings in so far as there were any seemed to happen at the restaurant.

It was an enjoyable story and we learnt the answers to most of the mysteries about the characters plus quite a bit about their back stories. It did feel a bit jampacked, as if the author had originally planned a longer series but decided to make it a trilogy instead.

Starting my No. 106, Courtiers by Lucy Worsley. This is my fortieth ROOT for 2018 and brings the TBR shelves down to 70.

My review of The Bees:

Life in a beehive as seen by Flora 717.

Fun way to learn about bees. I was a bit thrown off course as I had a vague idea it was a murder mystery along the lines of Three Bags Full. Still, despite a couple of longeurs it was interesting and seemed to be informative, though I would have appreciated an author's note on just how factually based it was.

Putting Courtiers on hold, although I'm only half way through, so that I can start my No. 107, Empires and Barbarians by Peter Heather, an online book club choice, the first four chapters of which have to be read by Thursday. It's an ebook that I've had long enough for it to count as my forty-first ROOT for 2018.

Yesterday, I was browsing in my local bookshop and picked up The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale, which brings the physical TBR pile back up to 71.

The books I'm hoping to read in May 2018:

I'm giving up on Empires and Barbarians despite it being a bookclub choice. It's just too technical and very long, and I'm just not in the mood for it. So, my new No. 107 is The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. As a re-read, it counts as my forty-second ROOT. It brings the physical TBR shelves down to 70 books.

My review of Courtiers:

Inspired by this painting on the King's Staircase in Kensington Palace:



Lucy Worsley writes about the people who lived at court in the early Georgian era (1714 - 1760), the royal family, their servants, lovers, and friends, with the focus on the personalities rather than the politics.

Of course anyone we know anything about, even those low down on the social scale, was comparatively privileged. But nevertheless, it is a fascinating glimpse into other people's lives and there was just as much interpersonal drama as in the more popular Tudor and Regency periods. Very interesting reflections on the change in views of female sexuality just after the end of this time period. The sufferings of poor Queen Caroline at the end of her life were horrendous. I did feel quite melancholy when the book wrapped up with the death of the old king and a quick round up for those who survived him -- not many.

Apparently it was my 12th Thingaversary on Monday. I am going to be a teenager soon. You have been warned.

>119 Robertgreaves: Happy Thingaversary, Robert. * hiding behind the couch to avoid pre-teen stuff *

>119 Robertgreaves: Happy thingaversary, Robert. Thanks for the warning!

>119 Robertgreaves: Happy Thingaversary, Robert! Will you treat yourself to anything special to celebrate? ;)

>119 Robertgreaves: Happy Thingaversary. I now have this in my head, and won't be able to imagine you any other way now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-6DvwO-EiE

>118 Robertgreaves: Making note of Courtiers as a gift for myself my mum.

Happy Thingaversary!

Thank you, all. I decided to treat myself with something from my wishlist and got Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome. I loved this as a child, and caught part of the film on TV a month or so ago but didn't remember any of what they showed, so I thought I'd better re-read it some time.

Starting my No. 108, Sunshine on Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith. I've had this ebook for long enough for it to count as my forty-third ROOT for 2018. It also fits the ColourCAT and RandomCAT.

Starting my No. 109, the next in the series, Bertie's Guide to Life & Mothers (touchstones not working today). This is a new ebook and so it is not a ROOT. It fits the ColourCAT.

My review of Sunshine on Scotland Street:

It's been quite a while since I read any in this series, so I'm glad there were lots of story so far flashbacks in the first few chapters. Otherwise it was more of the same, with the author's gentle wisdom and humour and all the likeable characters apart from the one we all love to hate, Bertie's mother, Irene.

Starting the next in the series, The Revolving Door of Life as my No. 110.

My review of Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers:

Another delightful day spent with the denizens of Scotland Street.

The next in the series, The Bertie Project is my No. 111.

My review of The Revolving Door of Life:

The soap opera continues with some new characters making an appearance and one old character making a re-appearance (boo, hiss).

I am very much a series junky but I do find when I read a series through one after the other, although the enjoyment is there, each installment makes less of an impact on my memory.

Reading the latest in the series, so far, A Time of Love and Tartan as my No. 112.

My review of The Bertie Project:

Well, we were well and truly led down the garden path with that one, though we should have seen it coming.

Starting my No. 113, Batavia's Graveyard by Mike Dash. This brings the physical TBR shelves down to 69 and is my forty-fourth ROOT for 2018. I'm reading it now for my RL Book Club.

My review of A Time of Love and Tartan;

The latest and possibly last in the 44 Scotland Street series.

Although the comedy scenes were just as funny as ever, I found the satire a lot less gentle than is McCall Smith's usual wont.

Starting my No. 114, The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson. This is my forty-fifth ROOT for 2018. I'm reading it now because of comments at the end of Batavia's Graveyard suggesting that Jeronimus Cornelisz was a psychopath.

My review of "Batavia's Graveyard"

The story of what happened after the 1629 wreck of the ship "Batavia" in the Houtman Abrolhos off the coast of Australia on a voyage from Amsterdam to Batavia (now Jakarta).

We are definitely in Lord of the Flies territory rather than Swiss Family Robinson with somewhere between 110 and 125 survivors of the wreck being killed by Jeronimus Cornelisz and his followers, who had been plotting a mutiny on the ship.

The sections on the historical background discussing the early days of the VOC and Dutch life at the time were the most interesting. However, the book definitely needed a better editor. I spent a long time wondering whether the island referred to in the text as the High Land to the north of the wreck site was the same as the island on the map called the High Island to the northwest of the wreck site. A list of characters might have been useful as the author would often refer to one person 3 times in 2 sentences once each by their first name, surname, or rank, and there seems to have been a distinct shortage of names in the 17th century Netherlands. A map of the relevant parts of Australia would also have been useful -- too much of they may have landed at place I've never heard of and couldn't tell you where it is or at another place I've never heard of and couldn't tell you where it is.

>132 Robertgreaves: Hi Robert. I read your review of Batavia's Graveyard with real interest! Anything Dutch, you know ;-) I like maps and list of characters for books too. Especially when there are lots of characters and different names are used for one person. I don't know if there was a shortage in names in The Netherlands around that time but that could be true. Name giving was not influenced by foreign countries. It would be awkward to name a boy Kevin or Dennis.
I always wonder why everybody in a book has a different name. In RL you can have 2 friend with the same name so why not in a book. That might be confusing to the reader but hey....those things occur in RL too.

>133 connie53: Connie, did you already know about the Batavia shipwreck? Is it well known in the Netherlands?

>132 Robertgreaves: Kobo keep recommending The Psychopath Test to me - I really like Jon Ronson, but I'm not sure I could stomach the subject material, so I'll wait and see what you think of it!

>134 Robertgreaves: No, I did not know that! But that does not mean anything, maybe I just have a bad memory ;-)
I don't know if it's a thing that is taught in history classes.

>136 connie53: The Dutch version of the Wikipedia page has a Dutch translation of the book in the bibliography:
Dash, Mike (2002) De ondergang van de Batavia (5e druk), De Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam

>137 Robertgreaves: Thanks Robert! I will check it!

Starting my No. 115, A History of the End of the World by Jonathan Kirsch. It's my forty-sixth ROOT for 2018. I'm reading it now for the AlphaKIT.

My review of The Psychopath Test:

The title comes from a checklist of symptoms for psychopathy drawn up by a psychiatrist called Robert Hare. The book, however, is much more about the author than about psychopathy. He wanders about interviewing psychiatrists, psychopaths, possible psychopaths, people with other mental problems, and people sceptical about the whole approach of psychiatry. He asks good questions I would like to ask myself but doesn't really get to grips with any of the issues, which left me frustrated, wondering when the book this was all a long introduction to was going to start.

Starting my No. 116, The Metamorphosis, The Penal Colony, and Other Stories by Franz Kafka. This is my forty-seventh ROOT for 2018. It's from the physical TBR shelves, but they now stand at 69, because I bought one book and was given another:

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

My review of A History of the End of the World:

A history of apocalpytism from Daniel and Revelation and how they have been interpreted down to the present day.

Unfortunately the author has no sense of history at all. I found errors in the first few chapters where Biblical books and classical authors just don't say what he says they say. He uses Van Eyck as an illustration of something in the 13th century, and seems to think the Pilgrim Fathers were leaving behind Blake's Satanic mills. Reviews I've read say the last two chapters on apocalyptism in the US are the best but I'm not sure I trust him not to try and pull the woool over my eyes when discussing things I'm more ignorant about.

I admire your courage. The Penal Colony is by far the scariest thing I have ever read in my life and I've steered clear of Kafka ever since. I'm sure I'm missing something, but his writing is of such clinical precision and so vivid that it made my stomach turn.

Starting my No. 117, John Dryden: Everyman's Poetry. I haven't had this ebook long enough for it to be a ROOT. It counts for the ColourCAT.

My review of The Metamorphosis, the Penal Colony, and Other Stories:

A collection of Kafka's shorter fiction published in his lifetime with some travel writing as an appendix.

This is the first Kafka I've read. I can see why 'The Metamorphosis' is well known but I found the rest of the collection to be pretty much hit or miss, with some weird tales and others that just left going "so?". 'The Hunger Artist' was interesting, but actually my favourite was 'The Aeroplanes at Brescia', a piece of travel writing about a trip Kafka made in 1909 by train and car to see the air show at Brescia in 1909 - the whole idea of doing such a thing in 1909 seems so unexpected.

Some books to choose from in June:

Starting my No. 118, Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine. This is my forty-eighth ROOT for 2018. It works for AlphaKIT and SFFKIT.

Well, that's very odd. My post from this morning has disappeared. Oh, well. I am currently on my No. 119, the next in the Great Library series, Paper and Fire. This aso fits the AlphaKIT and SFFKIT but is not a ROOT.

My review of Ink and Bone:

The Great Library of Alexandria survived but has evolved into a dictatorship of knowledge, ruthlessly supressing all attempts to invent the printing press in order to maintain its power. We follow an international group of students competing for the chance to become librarians, but one of them, our hero, Jess, comes from a family of book smugglers and another, but who?, is a Burner, somebody who resists the Library by burning books.

I enjoyed the actual plot and the characters and there are references to Aylesbury library, where my sister works, though I hope under less trying circumstances.

However, I have so many questions about the world the author has created and how it differs from our own. Some things are not explained so we just don't know, some things are different such as locations and I'm not sure whether that is the author saying this world is different or because she hasn't done her research properly.

So on balance I will keep on reading in the series in the hope that at least some of my questions get answered. If not, I will save them up to ask the author.

Next in the series is my No. 120, Ash and Quill. This is a new ebook and so not a ROOT. There is another one in the series due out in July.

My review of Paper and Fire:

Jess's rescue mission leads him and his friends further into the darker side of the Library.

Some aspects of this world I was wondering about have come into clearer focus, but although the series junkie in me is pushing me onward I'm losing interest in the story. If there was more than one or at the most two still to go in the series, I would probably leave it here. The cliff hanger isn't really.

Starting my No. 121, An Unnatural Vice by KJ Charles. This is an ebook which I've had long enough for it to be forty-ninth ROOT for 2018.

My review of Ash and Quill:

The gang's adventures in America and afterwards.

Well-paced and a good cliff-hanger. Actually the best in the series so far.

My No. 122 is the third in the Sins of the Cities trilogy, An Unsuitable Heir. As a new ebook, it doesn't count as a ROOT.

My review of An Unnatural Vice:

Nathaniel Roy is a gay investigative journalist in Victorian London, working on an exposé of fake mediums, one of whom is the very attractive Justin Lazarus, who also has connections to the mysterious goings-on involving Nathaniel's friends Clem and Rowley in the previous book. Danger threatens.

An enjoyable mix of Victorian melodrama, mystery novel, and gay romance. Since I read the first in the series a year ago I had forgotten a lot of the details, including some characters, and had to look back. Moving on to the last part before I forget this one.

My No. 123 is A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin. I haven't had this long enough for it to be a ROOT but it counts for the SFFKIT and AlphaKIT. At the same time, I have also started my No. 124, Arrival by Ted Chiang, which is my fiftieth ROOT for 2018 and brings the physical TBR shelves down to 68 books.

My review of An Unsuitable Heir:

As this is the last in the trilogy, I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to say the missing heir is found, the killer unmasked, and all major characters are paired off.

There were times I found this installment rather preachy, but overall I have enjoyed the trilogy. I'm not sure whether I would have continued if it had just been romance without the historical mystery elements being included but it was a very satisfying mixture. As far as I could tell, the author had done her research and the killer wasn't who I'd thought it was for a book and a half, and yet it was a satisfying solution. I'll keep an eye out for the author's other works.

I'm impressed that the trilogy was designed as a trilogy and the loose ends seem to have been tied up! Long series seem to be the thing these days, so just three books seems refreshingly concise.

If a way could be found to visit the characters again without involving them in a wholly improbable and ahistorical crime wave, I'd be open to it.

I've just got back from a few days' break at a spa hotel up in a mountain resort. While I was there, I:

Finished off A Wizard of Earthsea.
Read through my No. 125 The Tombs of Atuan, the second in the series, not a ROOT.
Started my No. 126, Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson, a bookclub choice which is my fifty-first ROOT for 2018.

Now that I'm back I am starting my No. 127 The Farthest Shore, the third Earthsea book, not a ROOT.

Sounds like a productive vacation! :)

My review of Neither Here Nor There:

In 1990, Bill Bryson tries to recreate a trip round Europe he did in the early 1970s to see what has changed.

The book had a strong opening with his trip up to Northern Norway to see the Northern Lights and there were good descriptive passages throughout. Unfortunately, Bryson's humour doesn't come across so well in this book. In his other books, covering the US, the UK, and Australia, there is an element of us laughing at ourselves which doesn't come across when he's roaming round continental Europe - it easily degenerates into they talk funny and eat funny in furrin parts. I also found his obsession with topless sunbathers and an Italian actress I'd never heard of tedious.

Starting my No. 128, Greeks and Their Heritages by A. J. Toynbee. I think this holds the current record for being on the physical TBR shelves the longest, so is definitely my fifty-second ROOT for 2018. It fits the AlphaKIT.

My review of The Farthest Shore:

All over Earthsea, wizards are forgetting their magic and singers are forgetting their songs. Ged, now the Archmage, and the young prince of Enlad go on a quest to find out why and to combat whatever is causing it.

The effects of the disturbance to the Balance meant Le Guin was writing against the grain of the world she'd created and her style, making it difficult to enter into what was going on. I found it rather heavier going and more explicitly preachy about the author's Taoist views.

Starting my No. 129, a re-read of Road Rage by Ruth Rendall. This is my fifty-third ROOT for 2018 and brings the TBR shelves down to 66. I decided to re-read this because I bought a duplicate last year so obviously had no memory of it. It fits the AlphaKIT now.

My review of The Greeks and their Heritages:

Toynbee's last work, written in 1974 but not published till 1980, describes the effect of the Greeks' consciousness of their long heritage.

At times interesting even if sometimes I did get bogged down because of the details.

Starting my No. 130, Toleration by John Locke. This is not a ROOT.

My review of Road Rage:

The body of a missing hitchhiker is found in woodland which is about to be cut down to make way for a new by-pass. Eco-terrorists take hostages in a bid to get the by-pass project cancelled. Is there any connection?

Enjoyable quick read. I read it soon after it came out in the 1990s but retained almost no memory of it. Will I still remember it 15 or 20 years from now? Probably not.

Starting my No. 131, I, Claudius by Robert Graves. This is my fifty-fourth ROOT for 2018. I'm reading it for my online bookclub and it fits the AlphaKIT.

Starting my No. 132, Logic: A Very Short Introduction by Graham Priest. This is my fifty-fifth ROOT for 2018 and it brings the physical TBR shelves down to 65. It fits the AlphaKIT and the ColourCAT.

my review of I, Claudius

The memoirs of the emperor Claudius.

I found Graves's over Anglicising a bit irritating at times, and the book is definitely overshadowed by the very close TV adaptation. But nevertheless it deserves its position as a classic of historical fiction.

I stopped being able to follow Logic: A Very Short Introduction fairly early on so have abandoned it. My replacement No. 132 is Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny. This is my fifty-sixth ROOT for 2018 and brings the TBR shevles down to 64. It fits the AlphaKIT and ColourCAT.

Possible reading for July 2018:

Starting my No. 133, State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. This is an ebook, but I haven't had it long enough for it to be a ROOT. It fits the AlphaKIT.

My review of Lord of Light:

The Buddha, aka Sam, and various other names, fights against figures from the Hindu pantheon, who are actually enhanced humans who have the technological ability to transfer consciousness from one body to another.

A gleeful 1960s romp which I found great fun going along for the ride as the history of the epic struggle is gradually revealed. Quite what a Hindu would make of it all, I don't know.

Starting my No. 134 The Etymologicon by Mark Forsyth (not a ROOT).

My review of State of Wonder:

Dr. Marina Singh is sent by her company to report on the progress in medical research into a fertility drug in the Amazon jungle after the company's previous representative died of a mysterious fever.

Rich characters, fascinating ethical/philosophical conundrums. I only wish this book was longer so that we can see what happened next and how the characters spent the rest of their lives and lived up to what was forecast for them - or not.

Having read the first 40 pages of The Etymologicon I'm already out of breath, so I'm going to keep this for dipping into, and in the meantime am starting My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises by Fredrik Backman as my No. 135. It is my fifty-seventh ROOT for 2018 and also fits the AlphaKIT.

>164 Robertgreaves: It is a breathless kind of book! It made very good train reading, though.

>165 rabbitprincess: I will probably keep it for the loo

Starting my 136, Britt-Marie Was Here, Fredrik Backman's sequel. It's a new ebook and so not a ROOT.

My review of My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises:

When almost 8 years old Elsa's beloved grandmother dies, she leaves her a quest involving the other inhabitants of the apartment building where she lives.

I spent most of the book either on the verge of tears or actively weeping but without feeling manipulated by the author. The book was also great fun, attempting to decode the grandmother's stories and relate characters' back stories.

Starting my No. 137, Aristocrats by Stella Tillyard. This is my fifty-eighth ROOT for 2018 and brings the physical TBR shelves down to 63. It fits the AlphaKIT.

My review of Britt-Marie Was Here:

Acknowledging that her husband has been having an affair, Britt-Marie walks out and gets a job in a leisure centre in a small village.

Britt-Marie was the character we loved to hate in "My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises" but she is treated much more sympathetically here. It was very suitable reading for World Cup season, but I question whether anybody could be quite so ignorant of football as Britt-Marie is portrayed, especially if she's a keen cruciverbalist. The usual splendid mixture of laughter and tears.

Also reading my No. 138, Sleeping Angel by Greg Herren. This ebook counts as my fifty-ninth ROOT for 2018. It fits the AlphaKIT.

My review of Sleeping Angel:

Eric Matthews wakes up after a two-week coma from concussion from a car crash. The dead body of an estranged high school friend was in the back of his car, shot through the chest. Unfortunately Eric has amnesia and can't remember his own mother, let alone why the dead body was in the car or who killed him.

The cover promises something rather more salacious than we actually get in this YA mystery novel. Still it was a quick, enjoyable read which successfully dangled one red herring in front of me. But I did think the telepathy gimmick was rather unnecessary.

Hello

New here and not sure how things work

Saw a reference to Call The Midwife, early on and thought you might enjoy

Bread, Jam and a Borrowed Pram by Dot May Dunn

Her memories as a young nurse health visitor in the late 50s/60s

I see she also wrote Twelve Babies on a Bike but I haven't yet read it.

>171 roomsofbooks: Hello, and welcome to LT. It can be a bit overwhelming for newcomers, but you might find this thread helpful.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll keep an eye open for it.

Starting my No. 139, Sins of the Fathers by Ruth Rendell. This is my sixtieth ROOT of 2018 and brings the physical TBR shelf down to 62. It fits the AlphaKIT and MysteryCAT.

My review of Aristocrats:

The lives of the four daughters of the Duke of Richmond in the 18th century.

Fascinating look at a set of women's lives that included elopements, good and bad marriages, defiance of convention, royalty, radicalism and revolution.

Starting my No. 140, The Best Man to Die, another Inspector Wexford book. It's a new ebook and so not a ROOT.

My review of Sins of the Fathers:

Because his son wants to marry the daughter of the man who was convicted of the murder and hung, Henry Archery attempts to re-open Wexford's first murder case from 16 years ago.

The resolution did cross my mind early on, though I was soon distracted away from it. Still, I must have missed something because I don't really see how the characters arrived at that deduction.

>173 Robertgreaves: I have that on my TBR shelves.

I am sure I will enjoy it but it's big and I am constantly being tempted by smaller, more thrilling titles and it is also tempting to 'knock off' the smaller ones and see the effect...

I need another head to just concentrate on reading and try to catch up - but as I get older, I need another BETTER brain that RETAINS info.

I also want a footnotes bar to that head, so when I retain the interesting fact, I can find the ref to WHERE I read it.

I did try to keep a book doing that but so often I was so thrilled at what I was reading, i wouldn't stop to write it down... Plus I used to then lose the book - I had to have it with me 24 hours a day, in case I read something.

>175 roomsofbooks: I know the feeling. There are times when I've forgotten the beginning of a book by the time I get to the end, let alone what I read last week.

Starting my No. 141, A Guilty Thing Surprised by Ruth Rendell. As a new ebook, it's not a ROOT.

My review of The Best Man to Die:

After Jack's stag night in the local pub, Jack Pertwee and Charlie Hatton, his best man, go their separate ways. The next morning Charlie is found in the river with his head bashed in and the large sum of money he was carrying missing.

This novel dates from 1969 and both author and the characters are very keen to impress on us that although Jack and Charlie are very close friends they are not gay. It was a satisfying solution to the mystery but nevertheless, I think prefer the later Wexford novels, where although he seems to be about the same age, Wexford has mellowed a bit. Still, I'lll continue reading some of the earlier ones to see how his character develops.

Starting my No. 142, the next Wexford book, No More Dying Then. Again, a new ebook so not a ROOT.

My review of A Guilty Thing Surprised:

Kind, generous Elizabeth Nightingale is found battered to death in the woods outside her home. But whodunnit and why?

Wexford is maturing more into my memory of him from the later books. A good, logical, but unexpected solution. But this ebook is full of misprints.

The next Wexford, my No. 143, is Murder Being Once Done. Not a ROOT.

My review of No More Dying Then:

A little boy teased by his friends on a playground runs away and vanishes. Is the case related to the disappearance of an older girl six months before?

Wexford is now fully realised as the character I know from some of the later books. Burden's sufferings are sympathetically portrayed, perhaps more so than they would be nowadays. However, the solution is not quite so satisfying as in some of Rendell's other works.

Starting my No. 144, Rivals of the Republic by Annelise Freisenbruch. This is my sixty-first ROOT for 2018. I'm reading it now for my online Reading Group. It also fits the AlphaKIT.

My review of Murder Being Once Done:

Staying in London with his nephew on sick leave, Wexford becomes involved in the investigation into the murder of a girl whose body was left in a local cemetary.

Very badly proofread ebook edition -- enough to spoil the enjoyment even though I read it to the end.

Starting my No. 145, Machiavelli: A Very Short Introduction. It fits the AlphaKIT and the ColourCAT and is my sixty-second ROOT for 2018. It's from the physical TBR shelves but as I want to re-read Utopia at some point, they remain at 62.

My review of Rivals of the Republic:

Hortensia, daughter of the (still?) king of the Roman orators, is asked to look into the death of a Vestal Virgin whose body was fished out of the Tiber.

I found the character of Hortensia (a real person but involved here in fictitious events) fascinating and I would like to read more stories about her. Unfortunately the chief baddy was too much of a stereotype villain to be credible and Hortensia's relationship with her henchman also strained credibility. Also I'm starting to wonder if there aren't too many investigators rubbing shoulders with the famous characters of Republican Rome. Half the time I was expecting Hortensia to bump into Gordianus.

Starting my No. 146, Videssos Cycle Volume One by Harry Turtledove. This is my sixty-third ROOT for 2018 and brings the physical TBR shelves down to 61.

My review of Machiavelli: A Very Short Introduction:

Basically, what it says on the tin, though I would have welcomed a final chapter on his influence and reactions to him down the ages.

Starting my No. 147, Second Treatise of Governmentby John Locke. This is not a ROOT.

The Videssos Cycle Volume One is a 2-book omnibus but I only read the first one, The Misplaced Legion. My review:

When a Roman tribune crosses magic swords with a Gaul, three Roman cohorts plus the Gaul are magicked into another world where they enrol as mercenaries fighting for the Videssian Empire.

Apparently, the book started life as a Lord of the Rings fanfic in which the Witch King of Angmar comes back to life in the Fourth Age and attacks Gondor. However, the Videssian Empire is basically our Byzantine Empire. Although the Emperor is called Mavrikios (= Maurice), the story seems to be the build up to what I think must be the Battle of Manzikert, which makes the semi-demonic Ashvar and his forces Turks.

The characters were engaging enough but the cross genre mixture of fantasy and historical fiction just didn't work enough for me to want to read a four book series.

Starting my No. 148, The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker. As this is the ebook which has been waiting patiently on my ereader for the longest, it definitely counts as my sixty-fourth ROOT for 2018. It also fits the AlphaKIT and the ColourCAT.

Possible reads for August.

I took today off work because I have a terrible cold. This morning I didn't feel up to reading anything, let alone The Blank Slate. This afternoon I read a Japanese manga, in translation of course, as my No. 149, My Brother's Husband: Volume 1 by Gengoroh Tagame. I've had it for 3 or 4 months, but not long enough for it to be a ROOT. It does fit the ColourCAT.

My review:
Yaichi is a single father bringing up a daughter, Kana. His deceased twin brother's Canadian husband comes to stay, forcing Yaichi to confront some of his assumptions.

The summary makes it sound really heavy in tone, but actually it was very light with some gentle cross-cultural fun poking. It was my first manga and now I can't wait for the second volume to come out in September.

Also started my No. 150, Protector by Larry Niven. This is my sixty-fifth ROOT for 2018 and brings the TBR shelf down to 60.

Get well soon, Robert!

Feel better soon! There's nothing quite like a cold to make you feel thoroughly miserable.

>187 MissWatson: > 188 Thank you both. I'm getting over it but still clogged up. Back to The Blank Slate.

My review of Protector:

Phssthpok needs a project. If he's not protecting the welfare of his descendents or failing that the whole Pak species, he will lose his appetite and die. Researching in the Library, he finds an intriguing reference to an expedition in space to colonise another star system, ours. He is on his way to protect the lost Pak.

I last read this as a teenager. It's still a good story but some flaws stand out a lot more than they did. The female characters are so inconsequential that the most important of them has her name flip-flopping at certain points between Alice and Sally.

Starting my No. 151, John Dies At The End by David Wong. It's not a ROOT but fits this month's AlphaKIT and possibly the SFFKIT.

My review of The Blank Slate:

Steven Pinker explores what was the latest research in evolutionary psychology and human nature in 2002 and how it puts to rest what he portrays as three hoary myths of the Blank Slate, the Noble Savage, and the Ghost in the Machine.

I don't have the background and technical knowledge to assess whether Pinker is right about what advances in the scientific study of human pyschology are showing us, but it sounds plausible. Certainly, his accounts of the pitchfork-and-torch waving mob reaction to those whose research and conclusions are deemed to transgress against what some want to be true of human psychology on ideological grounds ring even more true in the days of increased social media.

Hi Robert, just trying to catch up on Threads and saying HI!

>190 Robertgreaves: I'm inching up the holds list for this one (the library has only one copy). I'll be interested to read it! It also sounds like an updated edition might be interesting, if that were something Pinker wanted to do.

>191 connie53: Waving at Connie.

>192 rabbitprincess: Yes, I did wonder at some points if current events and trends would change his mind.

Also currently reading my No. 152 The Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives edited by Mike Ashley as a book of short stories to be read in and around other books. This is my sixty-sixth ROOT for 2018 and brings the physical TBR shelves down to 59. It fits the AlphaKIT and MysteryCAT.

Abandoning John Dies At the End, and starting Dream Boat by Marilyn Todd instead. This fits the AlphaKIT and MysteryCAT and is my sixty-seventh ROOT for 2018.

Starting my No. 153, the next Claudia Seferius adventure, Dark Horse. This also fits the AlphaKIT and the MysteryCAT but I haven't had this ebook for long enough for it to be a ROOT.

My review of Dream Boat:

Claudia Seferius's stepdaughter has been abducted and although sorely tempted to let the kidnappers keep the sullen little so-and-so, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Especially when her bodyguard has been arrested on a capital offence and Marcus Orbilio has also been placed under house arrest when a skeleton is found in the extension work he was doing on his house.

All good rollicking fun despite some really nasty moments.

Starting my No. 154, A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. This brings the physical TBR shelves down to 58 but is not a ROOT. It is my book club's choice for August.

My review of Dark Horse:

After her bookie finds out that she's been nobbling race horses Claudia Seferius decides to accept an invitation to view a vineyard using revolutionary methods only to get involved with pirates, murders, and an alleged vampire. Fortunately Marcus's investigation of robbery at upper class parties keeps him close at hand.

Although I enjoy watching the sparks fly in Claudia and Marcus's scenes together, the hint at the end that they might actually get together properly is a good thing.

Starting my No. 155, Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. This ebook is my sixty-eighth ROOT for 2018. It fits the AlphaKIT and the SFFKIT.

My review of A Little Life:

The life of Jude St. Francis from college onwards with extended flashbacks to his childhood.

I found the beginning rather confusing, not because of the mystery of Jude himself but because of the locations. I felt something was being said by the choice of locations, that they had sociological implications as much as geographical ones but I didn't know what they were.

In some ways I found the book too literary. Perhaps it had to be given the raw subject matter, but I found the changes from third person narrator to first person addressing the reader distancing, to the point where at certain points I was feeling not outrage at this happening to Jude but outrage at the author for putting him through this.

Having said that, I found the book very difficult to put down and would give it more than 5 stars if I could. Highly recommended and I'm really looking forward to my bookclub's discussion of it.

Currently reading The Struggle for Mastery by David Carpenter as my No. 156. It's off the TBR shelves but they stay the same as I bought a book today The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman -- well, the bookshop had a sale to lure the unwary in. These days most of the books in there are books as decoration for a hipster lifestyle rather than for actually reading so I was putting the book out of its misery, really.

My review of Good Omens:

In the 1980s we narrowly missed the Apocalypse as foretold by Agnes Nutter in the 17th century. This is how the world was saved by an angel and a demon and an unfortunate mix-up in a maternity hospital. This is the story of what happened.

Witty rather than funny. I was smiling at the cleverness of it rather than laughing out loud. Still excellent fun.

Starting my No. 157, Oronooko by Aphra Behn. It's not a ROOT but counts for the AlphaKIT.

My review of The Struggle for Mastery, which I forgot to mention was my sixty-ninth ROOT for 2018:

A history of Britain from 1066 to Edward I's conquest of Wales.

For once it really is a history of Britain with each chapter giving if not equal time at least proportionate time to the different British nations. It had a lot I didn't know from more Anglocentric accounts about the early history of Scotland and Wales.

It was fairly heavy going in places but worth persevering. I would have liked to know whether the move to a more bureaucratic, record-keeping state was in line with a general European movement, or lagged behind such developments on the Continent, or whether England was a front runner.

Starting my No. 158, The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt. This is my seventieth ROOT for 2018 and it fits the AlphaKIT. It comes from my TBR shelf as a re-read but the number of books remains the same at 58 because I am replacing it with Roxana by Daniel Defoe.

My review of Oroonoko:

The African prince Oroonoko is kidnapped by slavers and taken to Surinam.

This was written in the early days of English involvement in the Atlantic slave trade as a protest. Oroonoko is very much a noble savage ill equipped to deal with treacherous white men. Although the African section is something of a fantasy, the Surinam section draws on Behn's stay there when she would have had the chance to see how the plantation owners treated their slaves.

I found the story mildly interesting but it didn't really grip me. I suspect it's mainly read these days by those interested in the history of women's writing or slavery and race relations.

My possibilities for September reading:

Starting my No. 159, The Monk Who Vanished by Peter Tremayne. This ebook is my seventy-first ROOT for 2018 and counts for the AlphaKIT as the author's real name is Peter Beresford Ellis.

Starting my No. 160, Pax Romana by Adrian Goldsworthy. I haven't had it long enough to be a ROOT and I am reading it now for my online reading group.

My review of The Monk Who Vanished:

During a diplomatic visit by the Prince of the Uí Fidgente, would-be assassins shoot both the visiting prince and Sister Fidelma's brother Colgú, King of Cashel. Although neither of them are killed, accusations and counter-accusations of treachery fly and Fidelma and Eadulf have to sort out who was actually behind the attempted assassinations.

Another good historical mystery, though here's another romantic pair oblivious to their mutual attraction who need their heads banging together.

Starting my No. 161, The Boy in the Book by Nathan Penlington, which is my seventy-second ROOT for 2018 and brings the physical TBR shelves down to 58. I'm reading it now for the AlphaKIT.

Starting my No. 162, Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. This is my seventy-third ROOT for 2018 and brings the physical TBR shelves down to 57. I'm re-reading it now for the RandomCAT.

My review of The Boy In the Book:

When the author buys a set of children's books on ebay he finds in one of the books scraps from a teenager's diary talking of bullying, running away, suicide plans. They prey on his mind to the point where he decides to try and track down the diarist to see if he made it into adulthood alive.

A very uneven book. When the author was writing about the quest and about his own childhood and teenage years, I couldn't put it down. When he tried to generalise the story into this is what everyone's teenage years are like, I found it unconvincing and trite. Still, I'm glad I read it and would love to see the stage show version.

Starting my No. 163, Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie. This ebook is my seventy-fourth ROOT for 2018. It counts for AlphaKIT and the RandomCAT.

Starting my No. 164, The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht. This is a new ebook so is not a ROOT. I am reading it now for my bookclub but it also fits the RandomCAT.

My review of Why Didn't They Ask Evans?:

While playing golf with the local doctor, Bobby Jones finds a dying man at the foot of some cliffs. Although the inquest rules that the cause of death was misadventure, Bobby and his friend Frankie (Lady Frances Derwent) believe there was more to it, especially after Bobby falls victim to an attempted poisoning, so they decide to investigate.

Lots of twists and turns as the two Bright Young Things do their stuff. For some reason I thought this was a Poirot case and so I was even further off track than usual.

>208 Robertgreaves: Ooh, yet another one that is on my TBR (The Tiger's Wife). I'll keep an eye out for your review. I've heard good things about it.

Starting my No. 165, The Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know by Brent Hartinger. This is my seventy-fifth ROOT for 2018 and fits the AlphaKIT.

My review of The Tiger's Wife:

In the days after her grandfather's a death, a young doctor in a fictional Balkan country rebuilding after the wars reflects on his life and the two stories it involved, the story of the tiger's wife and the story of the deathless man.

I read the first half, not loving it, not hating it, mildly interested in the incidents showing how countries rebuild themselves after breaking off violently from a larger entity and interact with each other. Then I hit chapter 7 in which we get to explore the backstory of a character who repeatedly beats up his wife. One of the reasons the author gives for this is that he is secretly gay. If it hadn't been a book club book I would have deleted it off my reader there and then. I WILL be making my displeasure at this homophobic nonsense felt.

>210 Robertgreaves: Ugh, don't think I'll be rushing to bypass the Jar of Fate to read that one then!

Starting my No. 166, Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. This is my seventy-sixth ROOT for 2018; however the TBR shelves stay the same at 57, with an early birthday present, Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram.

My review of The Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know:

Russel Middlebrook is 23, living on a houseboat in Seattle, and working two dead-end jobs, as a lifeguard and a bakery assistant. When he compares himself to his housemates he feels he and his life are lacking something.

I didn't realise this was part of a series - two series in fact. This is the first in a second series following the adult lives of characters who already had a YA series. I found the beginning and end of this book sweet and insightful, but the middle was rather preachy, giving the author's views on various issues in a rather heavy-handed way. When I was reading the middle I was close to deciding not to bother with the author's other books but the ending convinced me to give them a try - at least put them on the wishlist.

Starting my No. 167, Enigma by Robert Harris. This ebook is my seventy-seventh ROOT for 2018 and it fits the RandomCAT and the AlphaKIT.

My review of Being Mortal:

A surgeon shows how medicine has lost its way, trading extra weeks or months of life for quality of life now, and how necessary changes in the way medicine deals with terminal illness are coming about through the hospice and other movements.

Thoughtful and moving book.

Starting my No. 168, Roxana by Daniel Defoe. It fits the RandomCAT, and more importantly it is my seventy-eighth ROOT for 2018, which means I have reached my goal.

WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO

Although the book comes from the physical TBR shelves, but has been replaced with Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd so the number of books on the shelves remains the same.

My review of Enigma:

Tom Jericho, a cryptanalyst working at Bletchley Park during WWII, returns from sick leave to find that his girlfriend, Claire Romilly, has disappeared. Had she been stealing secret information?

I didn't find the plot particularly interestiing but the picture of life in wartime Britain beyond the Blitz was fascinating. I actually spent 3 or 4 years of my childhood on the same street as Bletchley Park, though this was in the 1960s before it became generally known what went on there and although I must have gone past it many times, I have no memory of it at all. I do remember a lot of the other places mentioned and had great fun looking at them on Google Maps.

Congrats on meeting your goal!!

>214 Robertgreaves: Congratulations on meeting your goal, Robert! Great achievement - 78 is awesome!

Starting my No. 169, Straight Up by James Lear. This is a new-ish ebook so doesn't count as a ROOT.

Starting my No. 170, Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes by Cory O'Brien. Another ebook which I haven't had long enough for it to be a ROOT, but it fits the SFFKIT and AlphaKIT.

My review of Straight Up:

Members of a squad of marines who were sent on a special mission in Iraq are now being murdered or disappearing, just as their commander lands a White House job. Coincidence? Dan Stagg, gym manager and occasional private investigator, thinks not and decides to look into it, especially as he was one of the squad.

As usual, the plot is merely a device for Dan to have lots of sex. Fine if you like that sort of thing, and I do. Avoid if you don't.

Starting my replacement No. 170, Gilded Cage by Vic James. Another new-ish ebook which is not a ROOT. It fits the ColourCAT.

My review of Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes:

Re-telling of stories from world mythology. I lasted half an hour before the author's grating style got too much for me.

Starting my second replacement No. 170, Arabella of Mars by David D. Levine. Again, not a ROOT.

My review of Gilded Cage:

I read the first three chapters of this and gave up. The story of the family going into service with the Cardines was intriguing and if it had just been that I would have read it but I could tell the story of Luke, who was sent to the milltown, was going to be harrowing and it already felt like the author was piling the harrowing on for harrowing's sake, and I just wasn't in the mood.

The saga continues here