SusanJ's 75 Books Challenge - Thread 10

Hello, and welcome to my tenth thread for 2018.

I'm Susan, a Kiwi living in London for the past 23 years. During the working week I'm a lawyer so I love nerdy legal stuff, which crops up in more books than you might expect.

Over the past few years I've started to read a lot more non-fiction, so my reading is now more balanced between F and NF than it typically has been. I think I spend more *time* reading NF than F, but NF books tend to be longer and more complicated than a quick novel.

While I have been reading mostly from the library, I do have a fair few books that I've bought (mostly for the Kindle) and I need to keep my eye on those so that I actually read them instead of just accumulating them. This year I want to focus on reading my own things (famous last words).

Here are my tickers. I'm aiming for 150 books in 2018 as I want to read some NF chunksters and I also want to read more magazines and internetty things. I can feel a bit pressured by a stack of library books, so I'm going to take it easy (and yes, I can hear that laughing from the cheap seats).

Books read during 2018

January

1. The Women's Room by Marilyn French
2. Snow Blind by Ragnar Jonasson
3. Orientalism by Edward Said
4. Roseanna by Maj Sjowall
5. Testosterone Rex by Cordelia Fine
6. Radical Technologies by Adam Greenfield
7. Long Road From Jarrow by Stuart Maconie
8. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
9. The Spy Who Couldn't Spell by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee

February

10. Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
11. The Confession by Jo Spain
12. Cure: A Journey Into the Science of Mind Over Body by Jo Marchant
13. In Search of Mary Shelley by Fiona Sampson
14. Pandemic 1918 by Catharine Arnold
15. Artemis by Andy Weir
16. This is How it Ends by Eva Dolan
17. With Our Blessing by Jo Spain
18. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil de Grasse Tyson
19. Black Edge: Inside Information, Dirty Money, and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street by Sheelah Kolhatkar
20. The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar
21. The Case Against Sugar by Gary Taube
22. The Monk of Mokha by Dave Eggers
23. The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner by Daniel Ellsberg
24. The Midnight Line by Lee Child
25. The Twelve-Mile Straight by Eleanor Henderson

March

26. Close to Home by Cara Hunter
27. Young and Damned and Fair by Gareth Russell
28. Exposure by Helen Dunmore
29. Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor
30. Hearts and Minds: The Untold Story of the Great Pilgrimage and How Women Won the Vote by Jane Robinson
31. Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky by Patrick Hamilton
32. The Dark Angel by Elly Griffiths
33. The Power by Naomi Alderman
34. Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton
35. The Clocks in This House All Tell Different Times by Xan Brooks
36. Dark Blood by Stuart MacRae
37. The Almighty Dollar by Darshini David

April

38. Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance
39. Man of Iron: Thomas Telford and the Building of Britain by Julian Glover
40. Common Ground by J Anthony Lukas
41. Flat Broke With Two Goats by Jennifer McGaha
42. The Last of the Greenwoods by Clare Morrall
43. Paradise in Chains by Diana Preston
44. Exceeding My Brief: Memoirs of a Disobedient Civil Servant by Barbara Hosking
45. Reliquary by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
46. World Without Mind by Franklin Foer
47. The Deep Blue Goodbye by John D. MacDonald
48. Trouble in Paradise by Kathy Marks
49. A Problem from Hell by Samantha Power
50. The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
51. Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo
52. The Black Echo by Michael Connelly

May

53. The Ministry of Nostalgia by Owen Hatherley
54. The Circle by Dave Eggers
55. The Net Delusion by Evegeny Morozov
56. Love Story, With Murders by Harry Bingham
57. The BBC: The Myth of a Public Service by Tom Mills
58. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
59. Wired for War by P W Singer
60. Rules of Prey by John Sandford
61. Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney
62. The Disappeared by C J Box
63. The Bone Keeper by Luca Veste
64. The Mesmerist by Wendy Moore

June

65. The Vaccine Race by Meredith Wadman
66. Monk's Hood by Ellis Peters
67. The Future of Humanity by Michio Kaku
68. Arms of Nemesis by Steven Saylor
69. Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves by Rachel Malik
70. Secret Pigeon Service by Gordon Corera
71. Bookworm by Lucy Mangan
72. MI5 and Me by Charlotte Bingham
73. Slow Horses by Mick Herron
74. Chasing the Harvest by Gabriel Thompson
75. To Be a Machine by Mark O'Connell
76. The Master Algorithm by Pedro Domingos
77. Lonely Hearts by John Harvey
78. Alt-America: The Rise of the Radical Right in the Age of Trump by David Neiwart
79. Charlotte's Web by E B White
80. 97 Orchard by Jane Ziegelman

July

81. The Leavers by Lisa Ko
82. The Romanovs by Simon Sebag-Montefiore
83. Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
84. Proof by Dick Francis
85. If Only They Didn't Speak English: Notes from Trump's America by Jon Sopel
86. The Legend of de Marco by Abby Green
87. The Call of the Desert by Abby Green
88. Murder at the Grand Raj Palace by Vaseem Khan
89. Old Baggage by Lissa Evans
90. Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark
91. The Billion Dollar Spy by David E. Hoffman
92. Damaged Goods by Oliver Shah
93. The Other Woman by Daniel Silva
94. Smoke and Ashes by Abir Mukherjee
95. A Shot in the Dark by Lynne Truss
96. The Murder Wall by Mari Hannah
97. Joining the Dots by Juliet Gardiner

August

98. Sleepless in Manhattan by Sarah Morgan
99. Sunset in Central Park by Sarah Morgan
100. Miracle on 5th Avenue by Sarah Morgan
101. Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd
102. The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte
103. The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil
104. Extreme Cities by Ashley Dawson
105. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
106. Clock Dance by Anne Tyler
107. Settled Blood by Mari Hannah
108. Mr Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood
109. Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood
110. My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal
111. The Dorito Effect by Mark Schatzker
112. Hangman Blind by Cassandra Clark
113. Bring Me Back by B A Paris

September

114. All The Colours Of The Town by Liam McIlvanney
115. After The Party by Cressida Connolly
116. The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh by Linda Colley
117. Born Trump by Emily Jane Fox
118. Small Country by Gael Faye
119. Rough Treatment by John Harvey
120. Warlight by Michael Ondaatje
121. Into the Fire by Manda Scott
122. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
123. Texas by James Michener
124. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
125. Concussion by Jeanne Marie Laskas
126. Endeavour: The Ship and the Attitude that Changed the World by Peter Moore
127. A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne

October

128. Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
129. Grey Mask by Patricia Wentworth
130. Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie
131. Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward
132. Still Life with Breadcrumbs by Anna Quindlen
133. Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella
134. Where The Dead Men Go by Liam McIlvanney
135. I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
136. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
137. Cutting Edge by John Harvey
138. The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis
139. Anne of Green Gables by L M Montgomery
140. Agent Jack by Robert Hutton
141. Macbeth by Jo Nesbo
142. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
143. The Mistletoe Murder by P D James
144. The Girls of Mischief Bay by Susan Mallery
145. The Death of Truth by Michiko Kakutani
146. A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena
147. Viceroys by Christopher Lee
148. Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis

November

149. The Case is Closed by Patricia Wentworth
150. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick
151. Reading Allowed by Chris Paling
152. The Number Devil by Hans Magnus Enzensberger

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

Last year I didn't make great progess, so I'd like to read at least five this year.

Here's the full list:



2018 Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America by James Forman
2017 Evicted by Matthew Desmond
2016 Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS by Joby Warrick
2015 The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert
2014 Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation by Dan Fagin
2013 Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King
2012 The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt
2011 The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee
2010 The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy by David E. Hoffman



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



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



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



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



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

Last year I did the Better World Books reading challenge, which was mostly fun. This year I'm doing the Popsugar challenge https://www.popsugar.co.uk/smart-living/Reading-Challenge-2018-44211686 and I've started sketching out my choices for each category. As I read them, I'll add the covers here.



15. A book about feminism - The Women's Room - COMPLETED
5. Nordic noir – Snow Blind - COMPLETED
32. A book from a celebrity book club - Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan - COMPLETED
2. True crime - The Spy Who Couldn't Spell by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee - COMPLETED
30. A book with characters who are twins - Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi - COMPLETED
34. A book that's published in 2018 - The Confession by Jo Spain - COMPLETED
16. A book about mental health - Cure: A Journey Into the Science of Mind Over Body by Jo Marchant - COMPLETED
8. A microhistory – Pandemic 1918 by Catharine Arnold - COMPLETED
27. A book set on a different planet – Artemis by Andy Weir - COMPLETED
35. A past Goodreads Choice Award winner - Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil de Grasse Tyson - COMPLETED
14. A book by an author of a different ethnicity than you – Black Edge: Inside Information, Dirty Money, and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street by Sheelah Kolhatkar - COMPLETED
20. A book by a local author - The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar - COMPLETED
9. A book about a problem facing society today - The Case Against Sugar by Gary Taube - COMPLETED
22. A book with alliteration in the title - The Monk of Mokha by Dave Eggers - COMPLETED
38. A book with an ugly cover – The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner by Daniel Ellsberg - COMPLETED
8. A book with a time of day in the title – The Midnight Line by Lee Child - COMPLETED
3. The next book in a series you started - The Dark Angel by Elly Griffiths - COMPLETED
40. Your favorite prompt from the 2015, 2016, or 2017 POPSUGAR Reading Challenges – A book that's been on Mount TBR too long – Common Ground - COMPLETED
26. A book with an animal in the title – Flat Broke With Two Goats by Jennifer McGaha - COMPLETED
9. A book about a villain or antihero – Paradise in Chains: The Bounty Mutiny and the Founding of Australia by Diana Preston - COMPLETED
12. A book with an LGBTQ+ protagonist - Exceeding My Brief: Memoirs of a Disobedient Civil Servant by Barbara Hosking - COMPLETED
18. A book by two authors – Reliquary by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child - COMPLETED
39. A book that involves a bookstore or library - World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech by Franklin Foer - COMPLETED
36. A book set in the decade you were born – The Deep Blue Goodbye by John D. MacDonald - COMPLETED
28. A book with song lyrics in the title – Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo - COMPLETED
4. A book involving a heist - The Black Echo by Michael Connelly - COMPLETED
1. A book made into a movie you've already seen - The Circle by Dave Eggers - COMPLETED
6. A novel based on a real person – Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney - COMPLETED
11. A book with a female author who uses a male pseudonym - Monk's Hood by Ellis Peters - COMPLETED
10. A book recommended by someone else taking the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge - Slow Horses by Mick Herron - COMPLETED
31. A book mentioned in another book – Orientalism by Edward Said - COMPLETED
10. A book about death or grief – To Be a Machine: Adventures Among Cyborgs, Utopians, Hackers, and the Futurists Solving the Modest Problem of Death by Mark O'Connell - COMPLETED
6. An allegory – Charlotte's Web by E B White - COMPLETED
5. A book with a fruit or vegetable in the title - 97 Orchard by Jane Ziegelman - COMPLETED
37. A book you meant to read in 2017 but didn't get to – The Romanovs by Simon Sebag-Montefiore - COMPLETED
7. A book set in a country that fascinates you - If Only They Didn't Speak English: Notes from Trump's America by Jon Sopel - COMPLETED
13. A book that is also a stage play or musical – Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood - COMPLETED
25. A book set at sea - The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh: A Woman in World History by Linda Colley - COMPLETED
23. A book about time travel – The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton - COMPLETED
1. A bestseller from the year you graduated high school – Texas by James Michener - COMPLETED
19. A book about or involving a sport – Concussion by Jeanne Marie Laskas - COMPLETED
4. A book tied to your ancestry - Endeavour: The Ship and the Attitude that Changed the World by Peter Moore - COMPLETED
29. A book about or set on Halloween - Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie - COMPLETED
21. A book with your favorite color in the title – Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - COMPLETED
33. A childhood classic you've never read – Anne of Green Gables by L M Montgomery - COMPLETED
24. A book with a weather element in the title – The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey - COMPLETED
3. A book that was being read by a stranger in a public place - The Mistletoe Murder by P D James - COMPLETED
7. A book by an author with the same first or last name as you - The Girls of Mischief Bay by Susan Mallery - COMPLETED
2. A cyberpunk book - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick - COMPLETED
17. A book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift – The Number Devil by Hans Magnus Enzenberger - COMPLETED

I have a few series on the go, so in this post I'm going to list them so that I don't forget where I'm up to. Reading in order is important to me :-)

Series I have started and still have squillions to go *happy sigh*

I'm going to list these in date order, because why not.

Steven Saylor's Gordianus the Finder (about 100 BC)

Roman Blood
Arms of Nemesis

Ruth Downie's Medicus (Britannia, 108)

Medicus
Terra Incognita

Priscilla Royal's Eleanor, Prioress of Tyndal (East Anglia, 11th century)

Wine of Violence

Ellis Peters' Cadfael (Shropshire, 1135 - 1145)

A Morbid Taste for Bones
One Corpse Too Many
Monk's Hood

Bernard Knight's Crowner John (Devon, 1190s)

The Sanctuary Seeker
The Poisoned Chalice

Michael Pearce's Mamur Zapt (Egypt, 1908)

The Mamur Zapt and the Return of the Carpet

Patricia Wentworth's Miss Silver (England, 1920s/1930s)

Grey Mask
The Case is Closed

John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee

The Deep Blue Goodbye

Mal Sjowall's Martin Beck

Roseanna

John Sandford's Lucas Davenport

Rules of Prey

Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch

The Black Echo

John Harvey's Charlie Resnick

Lonely Hearts
Rough Treatment
Cutting Edge

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's Agent Pendergast

Relic
Reliquary

Harry Bingham's Fiona Griffiths

Talking to the Dead
Love Story, With Murders

Mari Hannah's Kate Daniels

The Murder Wall

Stuart MacBride's Logan McRae

Cold Granite
Dying Light
Broken Skin
Flesh House
Blind Eye
Dark Blood

Manda Scott's Ines Picaut

Into the Fire

Susan Mallery's Mischief Bay

The Girls of Mischief Bay

Series I'm caught up with and waiting for the next one *tapping foot*

Lee Child's Jack Reacher, obvs
C J Box's Joe Pickett
Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon
Elly Griffiths' Dr Ruth Galloway
Vaseem Khan's Baby Ganesh Agency
Abir Mukherjee's Sam Wyndham
Lynne Truss's Constable Twitten

Not really a series but I need to keep track of my Dick Francis finishes (Hi Julia!)

Proof

Happy new thread, Susan. Somehow I've lost you.
>6 susanj67: LOL

>7 Ameise1: Hi Barbara! Thank you :-)

I am currently reading:

You are zipping through the threads this year! Already 10.

>6 susanj67: *snort* Yup, that's a pretty good picture of me too!

>6 susanj67: LOVE this!

Happy new one, Susan!

>6 susanj67: Love it! It looks like me in class. :)

You're reading some books that have gotten a lot of love here on LT; I can't wait to hear what you think of them.

Happy new thread, Susan.

Happy new one, Susan!

I don't think I congratulated you on finishing Texas, so... congratulations!

>6 susanj67: is brilliant.

>6 susanj67: Nope, no (self) recognition there (!)

Happy new thread.

Happy new thread! Can't wait to read what you think about Washington Black.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread. Congratulations on finishing Texas and on already having read 125 books. Wow!

>9 thornton37814: Thanks Lori! I'm trying to catch up to Amber. Maybe not this year :-)

>10 Helenliz: Helen, I saw it and it seemed to express my mornings perfectly :-)

>11 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie!

>12 BLBera: Thanks Beth! I'm really enjoying Washington Black.

>13 katiekrug: Thanks Katie! I am very glad to be finished it :-) I would like to read more about the place/times, but not 1,000 pages all at once.

>14 charl08: Thanks Charlotte!

>15 figsfromthistle: Thanks Anita - I hope to finish it in a day or two.

>16 drneutron: Thanks Jim!

>17 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Reba :-)



126. Endeavour: The Ship and the Attitude that Changed the World by Peter Moore

FABULOUS. That's my one-word review of this excellent book, which caught my eye because Captain Cook "discovered" New Zealand in the Endeavour, and it used to be (and maybe still is) on the reverse of the 50 cent coin. It's literally something that we carried around constantly. But this is about much more than just discovering New Zealand (which, in truth, had been discovered hundreds of years early by the Maori, and then later by Abel Tasman. Cook was the first to sail all around the coast of both islands and map it).

The Endeavour originally set off to observe the transit of Venus in Tahiti, and its adventures after that were an add-on as everything seemed to be going well and the crew was healthy. Now the voyage is best-known for other aspects of the visit to Tahiti and the New Zealand and Australian parts, and the vast number of specimens collected by botanist Joseph Banks and his colleagues. The author also looks at what happened to the Endeavour after she returned from her most famous voyage, and why she was almost certainly scuttled off Rhode Island during the American Revolution. It was a slightly spooky coincidence that, just as I started this book, there was an announcement that she'd been found at last: https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/09/captain-cooks-hms-endeavour-found-off-th...

I'd recommend this very highly to anyone with an interest in the Enlightenment, adventuring, the history of the South Pacific, marine history - there is something in this for just about everyone. This may well be my book of the year.

Endeavor sounds great even for someone who doesn't have a NZ link. Will definitely look for that one at the library.

Happy new thread, Susan. Love >6 susanj67:, I can relate, or could but now I am retired - happy dance. I am interested to see what you think of Washington Black. I am still on the reserve list for that at the library so probably won't get to read it before I see Esi Edugyan at the Vancouver Writers Fest in October.

I was thinking of you today and feeling remorseful as I spilled ice cream on a brand new library book. :(

>19 rosalita: Julia, yes, it is super-interesting, even without a South Pacific link.

>20 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg! I am enjoying Washington Black, but need to get on with it as I only have it for a few more days.

>21 BLBera: Beth! Oh no :-(



127. A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne

Heh :-) This is superb :-) I got it from one of the "best of" lists, I think, or Charlotte's Guardian reviews, and read most of it in one sitting yesterday. If you don't know much (or anything) about the book, don't read the reviews, just take my word for it and read the book. I knew nothing, and loved the way that the truth slowly dawned on me. Very well done indeed.

>22 susanj67: I keep striking out when looking for your recent recommendations at the library, Susan, but I've added them to my spreadsheet to look for.

>23 rosalita: Julia, it's very new, so you should find it at some point :-)

I just returned a couple of books and took nothing out. A good start to Stoptober (library book version. Ordinary Stoptober here is smoking). I still have some to finish though. And I seem to have a Hercule Poirot ebook for the PopSugar Hallowe'en category, but it's book 36 in the series (?!) and I haven't read the other 35 so I can't say too much about it because there are people who disapprove of that sort of thing.

I feel like I should promise to no longer eat when I'm reading library books, but I know I probably wouldn't keep that promise. I am very careful...

>24 susanj67: Wait a minute — are you not one of those people who "disapprove of that sort of thing"?! I seem to recall ...

>25 BLBera: Beth, at least you weren't chain smoking at the same time :-)

I've completed two weeks of my Spanish course now and I had a question for you: We have learned tú/usted, and the course materials say "In Spain the informal tú is used increasingly not just with friends and family, but among people of the same age in general. Nowadays usted is restricted to formal situations or when addressing elderly people, as a mark of respect, courtesy or polite distance. In Latin America the use of usted is the norm in most countries, sometimes even among family members, and tú is used in very few situations. There are differences from country to country, with the use of tú being more widespread in the coastal Caribbean areas, whilst in the Andean areas of Colombia or Venezuela usted is used even between siblings."

I was watching Narcos over the weekend (set in Colombia) and I did notice quite a few instances of "usted". But what do Spanish speakers in the US say, or does it depend on where they originate from? And if, say, someone from a tú region is talking to someone from an usted region, will one of them change which version they use?

>26 rosalita: Julia, I think you must be confusing me with someone else.

:-)

>28 susanj67: Where is the real Susan? What have you done with her?!

>29 charl08: Right?! She's gaslighting us, Charlotte.

>29 charl08:, >30 rosalita: I thought this was Susan's thread, but it seems I'm in the wrong place. Sorry for disturbing.

>29 charl08:, >30 rosalita: Why, I'm right here! Just arranging these NF books in colour order, which makes so much more sense than those little numbers. Then I'm going to arrange the fiction by size, mixing in some NF just for fun.

*backs away from the thread slowly so as not to disturb the inmates*

>31 Helenliz: Hi Helen! I don't know what's wrong with Julia and Charlotte.

Dammit, must empty my ashtray...

>33 rosalita: But Julia, there's no need to leave! Someone has put a pile of books in the corner to throw out, but it's obvious that they've only been borrowed by 497 nose-pickers, so they can jolly well go back into circulation until they reach 500.

Just smile and wave, smile and wave...
I thought it was the end of October that was supposed to bring out the strange and unusual.

That's a good question, Susan. I don't know. I think if you are talking to a stranger, someone older, a boss, you are safe using Ud. I would always start there. You can see how the other person responds. If they use tú, you can use that. Does that make sense?

In San Diego, usage would be pretty much as you described. Tú is familiar and used with family, close friends and children. Usted would be used with acquaintances, older persons and strangers. Note that I live 15 miles from the Baja Mexico border and worked 8 miles from it in a 70% Hispanic district.

Spain and Latin America don't have the same conjugation. I go with Roni.

>36 Helenliz: Helen, the *end* you say? But it is the end. Wait, maybe people mean the *other* end.

>37 BLBera: Thanks Beth - it sounds like it may be similar to the use of tu and vous in French, although vous is also plural...We haven't done plurals in the Spanish course yet. We are learning how to introduce ourselves and others, and ask/say what languages we speak. I am desperate for an opportunity to use "encantada", but none has presented itself yet.

>38 ronincats: Thanks Roni! I suppose no-one ever got into trouble for being too formal :-)

I should have asked Former Office Roomie what they use in his house, because the nanny is Colombian, so his daughter is learning the Colombian variety of Spanish :-) That reminds me of another question - are there different regional accents in Spanish like there are in English (for example, English, Scottish, US, Canadian, Australian). Would someone from, say Mexico, know immediately if someone else was Colombian just by their accent?

We also have vocab lists each week, and watching Orange is the New Black and Narcos has pretty much given me all the swear words, which I doubt the course will cover. I'm not going to write those down in my notebook, though...

>39 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara! That is one of the most interesting things - seeing how language changes when it leaves the mother country. There are American English terms that we see as very old-fashioned or "different" here in the UK, but they are the old words from English which went over in the very early days. Usage changed here, but didn't in the US. "Fall" is one example. And my two favourites, "oftentimes" and "gotten". I also remember reading some years ago that the Portuguese dictionary was having new words added to it that were not actually used in Portugal, but rather by the much bigger Portuguese-speaking population in Brazil.

I'm always amazed reading in different languages from different countries how language changes. BTW the Spain Spanish is much more formal than tha Latin American Spanish.

>42 Ameise1: Barbara, I would have expected the opposite, so that's good to know!

Ooh, and one more question, this time about names. We learned that Spanish people have two surnames - one which is their father's surname and one from their mother. Also that women do not change their name when they marry. But in Narcos, Pablo's wife is Maria Victoria Henao Vellejo, and yet everyone calls her "Senora Escobar". So it seems that women have their own name (for e.g. bank accounts) but also a "Senora" surname if they are married. Is that right? Isn't it confusing? I'm thinking of, say, schools, where Maria Victoria Henao would arrive to collect Juan Pablo Escobar, and staff would be expected to know that she's his mother. Is that also the same in the US, or is it changing so that whole families are known by the same surname?

The third Charlie Resnick novel was available as a reserve this morning, but once again I managed to get out without picking up anything else. Day 2 of Stoptober and I'm still strong.

And then an astonishing thing happened. I was looking up the Royal Academy website, to buy a ticket for their brand new Oceania exhibition which only started on Saturday, and the website said:

"Entry to the exhibition is free for New Zealand and Pacific Island passport holders. Show passport at exhibition entrance. No need to book in advance. There may be a short wait at busy times."

!!!!! Delighted. Also delighted because NZers are inevitably lumped in with Australians and forgotten about, and the voyage being commemorated is Cook's Endeavour voyage of 1768/69, which went to Australia, and here they are not. I was, however, amused to see that the principal sponsor is not a bank or an insurance company, but "New Zealand". A whole country.

In other news, someone has just emailed me the text of Boris Johnson's speech to a fringe event at the Tory conference, which includes:

"We cannot, must not and will not let this weaselly cabal of superannuated Marxists and Hugo Chavez-admiring anti-semitism-condoning Kremlin apologists anywhere near the government of this country."

A thousand sub-editors must be groaning at having to make up just one headline from it all.

128. Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

This is a Booker prize shortlisted book, so I felt pretty fancy getting it from the library. And it started well. The section in Barbados was excellent. But then I thought it fell apart a bit, and didn't really know where it was going. And it went all over the place. It was also very long. So not a great one for me, at least after the beginning, which was very good.

Now reading:



Grey Mask is the first in a series I saw on Julia's thread (Hi Julia!) and I *love* it - I started it yesterday and I'm nearly finished. In fact, I was hoping that the bus might be held up this morning, but I still managed a respectable 35 pages. Viceroys is coming along, although I haven't actually got to the bit where there are Viceroys - the author is still doing the history of the British in India before 1857.

>45 susanj67: I saw that NZ and the Pacific Islands were sponsoring the exhibition. How cool you get free tickets. I really want to see this exhibit but not sure I'll get to London in time.

>47 susanj67: Glad you are enjoying Grey Mask, Susan. If you hurry, you can catch up and read along with Liz and I in our shared read of the series. We are on Book 12 this month, and we read one every other month.

Sorry about the dud in >46 susanj67:, though.

>46 susanj67: I probably still want to give that one a try, but I'm not in quite as big of a hurry to get to i.

You are asking lots of good questions, Susan. Regarding accents, I would say most native Spanish speakers can guess where others are from. Even I can tell some differences.

Names vary quite a bit from country to country. I would say it would be odd to be called by a husband's name, but places closer to the border, for example US border with Mexico may be more likely to use US naming conventions.

And in quite a few countries, while everyone has two last names, a lot of times, people use the first one mostly and drop the second, unless they're in formal or legal settings. Again, this varies quite a bit.

>48 charl08: Charlotte, yes, I am still unreasonably delighted about the free entry :-)

>49 rosalita: Julia, it is very tempting to binge on them!

>50 thornton37814: Lori, I'm sure it's really excellent - I just don't tend to "get" a lot of literary books. I like the baddies clearly signposted and for good to triumph in the end. Hence my Jack Reacher addiction :-)

>51 BLBera: Thanks for the answers to my questions, Beth! We have offices in Spain and I have noticed that our people only use their first surnames in their email addresses and the office directory. But then in their email signatures they will have their full names, which I suppose is necessary because they are registered with the relevant supervisory authority under their full names.

I got a bit sidetracked by "Manhunt: Unabomber" on Netflix last night (it's excellent) so I didn't manage to finish Grey Mask. But I spent most of the day reviewing documents on-screen, so I wanted a break from words.

Well. I thought the start of construction of the Canary Wharf ice rink was bad enough (it goes up every Christmas - "Christmas", mind...) but then I went into the Waitrose Food and Home and there are CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS. Trees and everything. Lights. Tinsel. OMG. It's 4 October, and I suspect it's been available since Monday. (This is in the John Lewis part - the actual Waitrose supermarket is still doing Hallowe'en, in the apparently never-ending hope that it will actually take off here as a thing).

It's too early, isn't it. (Note the lack of a question-mark at the end of that, um, question).

AND I have discovered that the Advent calendar I was going to get is full of matt lipsticks so now I have to find another one. Truly I am having a day of first world problems.

But in book news, today is "Super Thursday", when more books are published than on any other day of the year https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/oct/04/super-thursday-one-day-sees-544-ne...

And the new Bob Woodward book Fear is waiting for me to pick up at the library.

It is not Christmas season. It is not Christmas season. It is not Christmas season. It is not ... (picture me scrunching my eyes tightly shut and stomping my foot)

Sorry about the Advent calendar setback, though better to find out now, I reckon. I like the idea of matte lipstick but the execution is usually fairly grim, at least for me.

Good luck with Bob Woodward. I'll look forward to your report. NPR interviewed the Chinese ambassador to the U.S. this morning, and he said a lot of foreign diplomatic staff in Washington D.C. have bought the book (including him) to try to figure out what the hell is going on in the White House. Sad and funny at the same time.

>54 rosalita: Julia, I really wish matte lipstick would go out of fashion. There is so much of it, and what is wrong with lip gloss like in the olden days. Or a lipstick with a nice sheen to it. I like the look of the Bare Minerals calendar, particularly as there is a shop here at the Wharf and I still have my Wharf gift card from work from last Christmas so that will make it considerably cheaper :-) I may start the Woodward on the bus home, as I'm sure it will be reserved by someone else and I always prioritise those.

>54 rosalita: What?! No ruby red slippers? How can this be?

Abby looks amazing in matte lipstick, but I think I would look truly scary in it. So perhaps a good Halloween look for me - look at me finding the joy.

Christmas starts on 23rd December and no earlier. I am prepared to admit that I seem to be in a minority in that opinion.

>56 Crazymamie: Mamie, well done on All The Joy! I like a matte face, with a bit of a sheen in a lipstick and satin finish eye-shadow. Abby no doubt has gorgeous young skin and can carry off matte lipstick. (The beauty videos are always going on about "dewy" skin, which seems to be the thing for young people today. So dewy skin and a matte lip I can understand).

>57 Helenliz: Helen, I think you're in the minority with 23 December, but most people would surely say not before mid-November at least. I would say 1 December, but that's because of Advent calendars and my Emma Bridgewater Christmas mug for the office. I like to get at least a month out of it every year.

Further Advent calendars which have come to my notice: Holland and Barrett! And not nuts and protein shakes, but beauty products. They have some pretty nice things, although I can also see a nail polish in there, which is no use to me. And Pukka tea, for just £9.00. Nine pounds for 24 tea bags, though, looked at another way. Probably not.



129. Grey Mask by Patricia Wentworth

This is a series written (and set) in the 1920s and 30s, and I loved this first instalment. Although the series is called the "Miss Silver" series, Miss Silver played a comparatively small role in this story, which was about a moneyed young man returning from an extended overseas trip to get over being jilted by his fiancee, and immediately coming upon shady goings-on in his own house (empty because he was living in a hotel, naturally. And "empty" apart from the staff, that is). My favourite character was the leading man's best friend, Archie, and the very annoying young woman who Never Stopped Talking ran a close second. I expect Miss Silver will appear a bit more in future books.

Somehow, despite it being Stoptober, I have reserved the next one in this series. And a new Julia Quinn. And yesterday I impulse borrowed something from the new NF display when I went to pick up Fear, although I had seen it reviewed. Um...

Fear has started well. And by "well" I mean "terrifyingly".

We usher in the Christmas season as soon as Thanksgiving is over - this is because Craig's birthday is on December 5th, and he likes to have the house all decked out for Christmas by his birthday. And we have to leave it up through the New Year, which is also Craig. He is like a big kid, really, when it comes to Christmas. I love the idea of the adult advent calendars - I might have to get me one this year.

>58 susanj67: I snagged this on Kindle since you and Julia liked it - it's just $1.99 this month here.

>59 Crazymamie: Mamie, I think post-Thanksgiving is fine for the start of Christmas. And I love that Craig keeps the decorations up till the New Year :-) Advent calendars really seem to have taken off in the last few years. I'm most interested in the beauty ones, but QVC has a pork scratchings Advent, which is apparently legendary. I'm not sure if the US has pork scratchings, but they are a snack. I hope you like the Patricia Wentworth - I liked the authentic language. I read The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle recently, which is a newish novel set at a similar time, and there were some really jarring modernisms in it.

Holy carp - I just got an email from the Westfield mall near me, and a Morphe (cosmetics) shop has just opened. I'm amazed it isn't at the other one (which is fancier) but I plan to visit very soon.

Aldi will apparently be bringing their wine advent calendar to the US this year.

I'm tempted...

Have a great weekend, Susan!

Hubs had a beer advent calender last year. Some of them were really nice, some of them he refused to even try (toffee beer, anyone?). The ones he didn't want I used in beer traps to kill slugs in the garden, so it didn't go to waste. I like the idea of the wine or prosecco advent calanders, but as my average weekly intake of wine is 3 glasses, I fear I'd spend all of December sloshed!

I fear I'd spend all of December sloshed!

'Tis the season!!!

>58 susanj67: Hi Susan! Good review of Gray Mask. It was disconcerting to me when we first embarked on this shared read of the Miss Silver series that she wasn't the focal point the way most detectives are in series novels. But she's grown on me, with her incessant knitting and her funny hairnet and all. I like that she's a sharp cookie and not a spring chicken. I'm glad you're continuing with the next, even if it did make you break your Stoptober pledge. :-)

I’m way behind here but thought I’d share the amusing-to-me fact that I was told by Spanish speakers in western South America that Argentinians speak Spanish with an Italian accent.

>53 susanj67: Some years ago, they started Christmas decoration in shops in early October too. A few years ago, customers stood up and told them that they hate it so early. Now, it starts in the end of October which in my opinion is still too early.

Happy weekend.

>65 RebaRelishesReading: I don't know if that's true about the accent, Reba, but certainly there was a lot of Italian immigration to Argentina. In fact, the father of professional basketball player Diana Taurasi was the son of Italian immigrants to Argentina. I've never heard him speak Spanish, though, so I don't know what sort of accent he has! :-)

>61 katiekrug: Katie, it's available here from 4 November, so keep an eye out! https://www.aldi.co.uk/wine-advent-calendar

>62 Helenliz: Helen, you could open the doors in December but spin out the tasting till the end of January :-)

>63 katiekrug: ...As long as you can avoid bad influences...

>64 rosalita: Julia, it's interesting that she seems to be almost a secondary character!

>65 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, how funny!

>66 Ameise1: Barbara, I'm sure people hate it here too, but I suppose the shops want people spending on Christmas things over as many paydays as possible.

>67 rosalita: Julia, I didn't know that!

I went to the Oceania exhibition today and it was excellent, and not just because I got in for free. Wait, did I mention that? :-) "Oh, you have a New Zealand passport" said the assistant on the door. She didn't actually say "I thought there were only 5 million of you but we've already had twice that many since we opened", but she may have been thinking it. I'd be interested to know just how much takings are down as a result of the free entry.

It's a fairly big exhibition with some excellent things in it, and the little description cards did in some cases say "Confiscated from...". But, as they also made clear, not all things were confiscated or the spoils of war. People were pretty keen to trade items, and a lot of collectors did actually collect rather than loot. I thought the merchandise was a bit weak - this fellow was one of the stars of the show (he's covered in feathers) and to me he cried out to be on a fridge magnet, but someone wasn't listening.





130. Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie

I read this for a PopSugar category, so I'm glad I can tick it off but I didn't really enjoy it as a book. It was written in the 1960s, and Christie went on and ON about how most crime was committed by mentally ill people released into the community and how moral standards were so much lower than they had been in the past and many victims of crime had only themselves to blame. Still, it's finished now!

Now reading:



I'm prioritising Fear, because we don't need that picture popping up all the time, and also it's reserved at the library which isn't surprising.

In non-book news, I'm trying a new app called Curable, which is for people with chronic pain. The first few parts of it are free, and then it moves to a subscription model but they send you a 20% discount for that. Has anyone else tried it? Some of the science is really interesting.

>69 susanj67: Hope the app works, Susan. I upgraded and suddenly have more space for apps on my phone. My detailed OS map, previously only pulled out for walks, now gets to stay permanently. Rather Pleased. (Not sure why I might need it, maybe emergency walking?)

I was at the library today, and it's a good job I wasn't doing Stoptober, as I struggled to just come out with just one that wasn't pre-ordered.

Love that NZers are taking advantage of the exhibit. Smart, clearly. Was there an exhibition book?

>70 charl08: Charlotte, the app looks promising so far. There are mindfulness and mediation exercises, but also writing exercises and brain training, which are more my sort of thing. Today I listened to the "Word swap" training, which is about using different words to describe pain. For example, instead of "my shoulder feels tight" you say/think "my shoulder is not as loose as I would like". Or instead of "I'm in terrible pain" you say/think "I am not as comfortable as I would like to be". The idea is that using different language breaks the cycle of "pain catastophising" (guilty as charged) which just leads to more pain. It's literally training the brain to take a different path.

Excellent news about your phone upgrade. There are so many great apps out there. And a map may indeed come in useful if there is emergency walking. I am always amazed at the Wharf when the Jubilee line goes down at how many people have literally no clue where they are or how to get anywhere else.

There was an exhibition book in hardback and paperback, and it looked good but heavy.

I just watched a couple of episodes of Killing Eve, which one of my pals from work said I had to watch as it was better than Bodyguard. But she's watching it week by week on TV. Another one has seen the whole thing on iPlayer. Tricky. Then I watched the vote for the Supreme Court justice in the Republic of Gilead. Yeesh.

131. Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward

OMGOMGOMG.

It's amazing that we're all still here. That's pretty much the conclusion to be drawn from this. It turns out that it's *not* unreasonable to want a fast-forward button to January 2021 when it will all be over (touch wood).

What stood out for me was that, despite the widespread hating of the people on the President's team in the White House, those people are actually doing their level best to stop the madness.

Terrifying.

In other news, I was googling around yesterday to see whether I should replace my PVR, as the new ones all have "Freeview Play", which includes the iPlayer plus the catch-up hubs from ITV, All4, My5 etc, as well as Netflix, but the reviews seemed to be largely "meh". So I've ordered an Amazon Fire TV stick instead. It's not a recorder, but it will give me access to all the catch-up services, and lots of stuff is available for months on those services anyway. I have a Netflix app on my TV, which works fine, so I don't really need Netflix access, but the iPlayer app on the TV seems to have stopped working altogether now, and I really wanted access to that. I can get it on various gadgets, but I don't want to watch TV on tiny screens when I have a great big one sitting there. It should arrive Thursday/Friday. Exciting! And if I ever run out of stuff to watch (giggle) I can sign up for Amazon Prime Video.

>72 susanj67: Tell me about it. And after confirming another predator to the Supreme Court yesterday, I am not hopeful for our near future. I've been in a rage all week.

>73 BLBera: Me, too, Beth.

Hooray for new technology, Susan - hoping you love your new Fire tv stick. I have thought about one of those, so I will await your report.

>73 BLBera: Beth, I can empathise with the rage. And he's only 54. He could be sitting for another *30 years*. I feel so sorry for Justice Ginsburg who says she doesn't feel that she can retire given the current state of things.

>74 Crazymamie: Mamie, I am quite excited about it. It looks easy enough to set up, so I hope that it really is.

I have a NOW TV stick that does a similar thing. Lets me have access to i-player and the other catch up services. It was dead easy to set up, and I'm a bit of a clutz when it comes to technology.

In fact I'm feeling very techsavvy, as I'm now posting this from my new laptop, which I've set up myself this afternoon. Transferred all my files and got mail working. Feeling very smug. >:-D

>76 Helenliz: Helen, I considered the NOW TV one a while ago, but I wasn't sure whether it only worked if you had a NOW TV pass for the Sky content. Good to know that it works without one! Well done on the new laptop - you deserve to feel smug :-)

I finished "Manhunt: Unabomber" yesterday on Netflix, which I thought was excellent. I'm also four episodes in to "Killing Eve", and juggling podcasts and the Curable app. I really need to retire.

>77 susanj67: it offers you a fortnight's free trial of the Sky contnet to start, but it has carried on working fine for the catch up services since I cancelled that element.

I hear you on the retirement. I always thought I needed to work, but I've since discovered its my brain that needs to be kept active and there's a myriad of ways to do that. I could quite happily fill my days with a host of other activities! I already have my retirement planned, I'm going to do a degree in English Literature (period undecided, but probably early) or Art History. I went down the science route, and I think retirement might be the time to go back and try the alternatives.

>78 Helenliz: All these new techie things really are a marvel. My former roomie (the one just left, not FOR) and her husband only watched from Netflix/Amazon and catch-up - they literally never watched anything at the time it was broadcast.

I plan to do some courses at the V&A, including their year-long London history one, which looks excellent. And apparently refreshments are included :-)

The other thing I'm going to do is read my entire Mount TBR.

132. Still Life With Breadcrumbs by Anna Quindlen

Charlotte recommended this, which was on the shelf at my library. And it was FABULOUS! Such a great (and fun) read. The main character is a famous photographer who moves to a small town while she sublets her New York apartment in order to make some money, and it's all about what happens to her there. I loved it, and everyone should go and get it ASAP.

My library has two others by this author, and I was quite proud of myself this morning for not borrowing one. Then I happened to glance at the New Fiction display, and the Jo Nesbo Macbeth was right there all new and lovely. So far, Stoptober isn't really going that well.

Now reading:



Purple Hibiscus is for the "Favourite colour" category of the PopSugar challenge. And Viceroys is now up to the Indian Mutiny or, as we used to call it in my office, the First War of Independence. So there should be viceroys soon.

>80 susanj67: - I've got this on my shelf!

>81 susanj67: - I'm going to read Purple Hibiscus for the same category :)

>80 susanj67: Hurrah! Glad you liked it.

I love that edition of Purple Hibiscus - I wanted all the reissued ones with print inspired covers and have none! Admirable will power or a bad memory?

>79 susanj67: The other thing I'm going to do is read my entire Mount TBR. I got a chuckle out of that one, Susan. There aren't enough hours in the day.

It has been a while since I read any Miss Silver. You and Julia are tempting me to pick them up again.

>82 katiekrug: Katie, you should read it ASAP!

>83 charl08: Charlotte, she's my new-fave-author, I think. I now want to get everything. And I'm going to go with "will power" for your question :-)

>84 Familyhistorian: Meg, I have to hope ;-) Someone really needs to invent more hours, though. Forget all this going to Mars stuff and finding out the meaning of life - more hours in the day would make more of a difference.



133. Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella

This was a total impulse borrow from the library, but I like Sophie Kinsella's novels and it was brand new. Sylvie and Dan go for insurance medicals and the doctor tells them that they're in great shape, and may have another 68 years of their happy marriage ahead of them. Sixty-eight years. They both freak out and worry about how to keep their relationship alive for all that time. The answer, they think, may be to surprise one another. But then Sylvie gets a surprise that she wasn't expecting at all. (Non-spoiler: it's not a baby). Fans will enjoy this, although it's a bit darker than some of her others.

At the bus stop this morning, a mother arrived with her son, who was maybe 2, and who was walking alongside his pushchair. "The bus is going to be a while," (five minutes) she said, looking at her phone. "Shall we walk, or wait and wait and wait?"

"Wait and wait and wait," he said. So they started a game of I-Spy, looking for something RED. I wanted to guess the postbox, but didn't really feel I could join in, and the answer turned out to be the bench in the bus stop anyway.

>86 susanj67: What a charming little story, Susan - thanks for sharing. And I keep sneaking back to your thread just to see >79 susanj67:, which makes me giggle every time.

>86 susanj67: Mamie, he's a sweet little boy. He goes to the Montessori school two stops away from me, but there are two roads to cross, and quite an uneven pavement, so I can see why they sometimes take the bus. He must actually be older than 2 if he's at school, thinking about it - maybe he's in pre-school so he would be 3 (I think). He hasn't so far been entrusted with the Oyster card to tap it on the reader, though, and that's usually the first demand they all make :-)

It's a gorgeous day here, so I went for a walk at lunchtime as I finally got my Fitbit synced again and got all my steps counted and it seemed like a good time to add some more. I went to the library branch about 20 minutes away, and I think we know how the rest of this story turns out. They only have one self-service machine now, in the kids' section, so it has a cartoon jungle theme. Fortunately I didn't need the little step-stool to be able to reach the buttons. And nor did I trip over it at any point. Win!

>86 susanj67: I'm not sure I'd have been able to resist joining in.
You may like to know that I have caved and bought an advent calender. It's from Teapigs, so I will remain sober in December.

>89 Helenliz: Helen, it was tempting. I also hadn't heard I-Spy played like that before - I thought it was "something beginning with..." but that would be no use with kids who are too young to know the alphabet. Excellent news on the Advent calendar! I am still deciding. I'm leaning away from a beauty one now, and more in the direction of something edible.

I've had a day of holiday today, which nicely coincided with the royal wedding :-) I think Eugenie has won royal wedding dress of the year - she looked stunning. And the royal family's outfits were good too, although there were some sights among the other guests.

My Fire TV stick is supposed to be arriving today, before 9pm. 9pm! That's virtually bedtime. Well, I suppose it's not today. I snuck out to the supermarket, as we have a porter to take in deliveries until 4pm. It's windy out there, as watchers of the wedding will have seen, but surprisingly warm.

And now I have 12 library books out (plus an ebook), so I really need to get on.

Yay, my Fire TV stick came! And it was super-easy to set up. The hardest part was getting the TV stick to recognise the remote, but that's because of the way the batteries go in. You know how usually two batteries go in negative to positive and then positive to negative? Yes, well these ones both go into the remote the same way round. Huh. It took me a while to realise that, but then it was easy. And now I have a YouTube make-up video playing :-)

Everyone is reviewing the Urban Decay Naked Cherry palette, which is all pinks and russet tones. I have a palette which is, um, *inspired* by the UD/Huda Beauty/Anastasia Beverly Hills pink/rose palettes, and this morning I tried it out and I think that the colours might look best layered over something else, so that they're not quite so...bright. Had pink been around in the 80s I would have been all over it, but now maybe not so much. I'm looking forward to experimenting a bit more though.

134. Where the Dead Men Go by Liam McIlvanney

This is the second book in what's described as a trilogy about Glasgow journalist Gerry Conway. But so far there doesn't seem to be a third book. This was a decent story, set a few years after the first book, which means that Conway has a new girlfriend and a new son, and he has to take steps to protect them after war breaks out between local gangsters and he finds himself in the middle of it.

Argh. Just about escaped from the Urban Decay website with my wallet intact. The librarian recommended book came in today: now I'm nervous it's not going to be any good. What will I say if I see her again?

>94 charl08: Charlotte, I will read it next. Technically I have another crime novel at the top of the pile, but I fancy a change, so I'll read the thriller and then if you hate it and I like it, at least you can say that someone liked it :-)

>94 charl08: You say, "Thanks for the recommendation. I would never have read that on my own."

:-)

>96 rosalita: Ooh, that's even better! I will file it away under D for Damning With Faint Praise :-)

It is so HOT here today! I went out in a short-sleeved t-shirt and a light cardigan and I was far too hot. I've got the balcony door fully open and I'm still hot. Crazy. I need to turn some pages today, although I'm not going to pretend I haven't been playing with the Fire TV stick. I just watched the first part of the Assad documentary that was on the BBC earlier in the week and it's well worth a look. It's so nice to have a reliable iPlayer :-)

I bow to your tech savviness in setting up your new TV thingie, Susan.

I am also in awe at your goal of "read(ing) my entire Mount TBR." Let me know when you're done.

I loved Purple Hibiscus and will give the Quindlen a try - I only read one of her novels, probably the first one and didn't really like it and never revisited her fiction. I trust your judgment however.

>85 susanj67: The added hours would be great, maybe then the TBR could be read (if those extra hours didn't include any book buying, of course).

You are very tech savy. I had to look up a Fire TV stick and I am still not sure how to use it.

>98 BLBera: Beth, things really are easy to set up these days. I remember getting a TV and video years ago and a man had to come and hook them up because it was so complicated. Do try the Quindlen - she has a lovely droll style that I really enjoyed.

>99 Familyhistorian: Meg, I only have 12 more library books to go till I can make a start on Mount TBR, so that's something :-)

It's raining today, although after yesterday's insane humidity/heat it's a relief. And it means I can just read and read and read, without feeling like I should be going out.



135. I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

Oooh! This was a recommendation from Charlotte's librarian, and it was a great read! Very twisty and turny - really well done. I definitely want to look for more by this author. Thank you Charlotte('s librarian)!

I love your I-spy story. Little guy sounds adorable. I'm jealous you got to see Eugenie's weeding. We were traveling that day but I hope to see some photos soon (must go looking when I finish up here on LT). Glad you're enjoying the warm weather. It's in the 40's (4's in celsius) here today but it's warm in the house and cool in the bedroom at night, and it's my own lovely bed, and it's very dark and quiet at night so I'm sleeping really well (not a trace of jet lag :)) so I'm very happy.

>101 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, I did enjoy the wedding. The official photos have been published now too and while I would never recommend anyone enter the madness that is the Daily Mail website, they have them all. It's good to hear that you're adjusting well back to US time!

Today at the bus stop: A workman arrived wearing full hi-vis gear - bright orange jacket with the fluorescent silver stripes, matching trousers, and proper work boots - and sat down to wait for the bus. A little boy being walked to school with his sister stopped and stared in envy, and had to be nudged by his mother to continue walking :-)

As an avid royal watcher, what do you make of today's news?

>103 Helenliz: Helen, I think they're very lucky it's happened so quickly, but if they really did tell the other royals at the wedding on Friday then that's a Very Poor Show. I know they had to leave for Australia, but still. They could have told the family earlier and waited to announce it to the world. Or waited until the tour was over, as apparently they are not changing the itinerary to avoid the Pacific Islands with the zika.

>102 susanj67: I did Google the wedding and saw several photos yesterday (may have been Daily Mail site...not sure). Anyway, I agree the dress was stunning. Actually I've loved Catherine's, Megan's and Eugenie's equally unlike Fergie & Diana's which I disliked equally back in the day. (I also hope they didn't really steal Eugenie's thunder with announcement at the wedding).

I too am an avid royal watcher. I'm not sure if Meghan and Harry told people prior to the wedding or not. I hope so. You are right, at the age of 37 that Meghan is at, they have no time to lose. I wonder if they told the world so that if Meghan needed a bit of rest, or looked pregnant, the world would already know ? There was already speculation that Meghan was pregnant. I guess they had to put that to rest. I don't know. I'm still not sure if it's a true " love match" or if Meghan is a social climber and Harry needed someone to marry. Harry did not need someone to marry the same way that Prince Charles did with Diana, but Harry had not had a lot of luck finding a girl that was willing to take on the Royal Mantle and all of the scrutiny and restrictions that brings.

I cracked and looked at the photos of the kids at the wedding: very cute. More reserved books turned up at the library: I almost got it "down" to 17...

>105 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, there are lots more photos online today of their Australian tour, which seems to be going well so far. They might need a second plane to carry all the stuffed toys home, though :-)

>106 vancouverdeb: Deborah, she is very petite so probably would have begun to show pretty quickly. I suppose that's why they did it. The articles I've read said that she had had her 12-week scan (the Editors' Code of Practice here frowns on pregnancy stories before that) but no-one has said *when* she had it - i.e. whether she is actually just 12 weeks or further along. They look very happy together in Australia.

>107 charl08: Charlotte, you were so close to, um...I mean, you very nearly...Only 17! Wow :-) I have been good this week (*note to self: it is only Wednesday morning*) but I have a few still to come in.



136. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I read this for the "favourite colour in the title" category of the PopSugar challenge, and I'm really glad because it was superb. So good, in fact, that instead of just reading it on my phone on the bus, I continued at home last night until it was finished. Very highly recommended.

>108 susanj67: Phew. This is one of my favourite books. Also covers.

>108 susanj67: - I'm glad to hear you liked it so much - I'm looking forward to getting to it by the end of the year!

>108 susanj67: Yes, they were all over the web when I logged on. They do look happy and I'm glad for them that her pregnancy seems to be going well (easier than poor Catherine's).

>109 charl08: Charlotte, I can definitely see why!

>110 katiekrug: Katie, you will love it, and it's a very quick read because it's so good that you just have to keep going.

>111 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, yes, she does seem to be having an easier time of it.



137. Cutting Edge by John Harvey

This is book 3 in the Charlie Resnick series. People are still writing letters and ringing landlines, but in this book someone does appear with a "portable telephone", so it's inching forward, time-wise :-)

138. The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy by Michael Lewis

This came in as a reserve at the library yesterday and I started it on the bus on the way home, and then had to keep reading because it is SO GOOD. Depressing, yes, but a really important read, not just for Americans but for everyone in countries where governments do things and people don't really appreciate how much.

It's primarily about the failure of the Trump transition team to engage in the transition process but also a fascinating look at exactly what the Federal government does, and why the transition failure is so alarming. It starts with the Department of Energy, which got its briefing materials ready well in advance, made desks available for the team, and parking spaces, and waited to welcome them on the morning after the election. But no-one came. They didn't come the next day either. Or the day after that.

Government departments started to get nervous, because there was so much for the incoming people to learn, but no-one seemed to be interested. Alarmed at the rhetoric they were hearing, some started moving data onto public-facing websites (I assume that this was so it could be copied and stored elsewhere until saner heads prevail, because later some was removed from the websites by the new office-holders. There is a distinct Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu flavour about it despite the fact that the US is a first-world country and it was 2017). Eventually, people were nominated to be secretaries of energy, commerce, agriculture and so on. None had any experience. None read the briefing materials. Instead, they just started cutting off funding to some key programs that the Federal government had run for years. That includes funding that is vital for keeping the US (and the world) safe from threats as diverse as nuclear weapons and e-coli.

I know the President thinks that other countries should do more, and I don't disagree with that, but it needs to be a phased process. The book is excellent on the subject of what the government actually does, and the public servants who have dedicated their working lives to doing it. For example, the Department of Commerce doesn't actually have trade as its key focus. Maybe ten percent of what it does relates to trade. Much of its funding is actually spent on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which does weather forecasting: "Each and every day, NOAA collects twice as much data as is contained in the entire book collection of the Library of Congress." Another example is that the Office of Science in the Department of Energy is not the Office of Science FOR the Department of Energy, but for all science in America. Cutting funding has unexpected results when you don't actually know what that funding relates to.

As the book jacket says: "In The Fifth Risk, Michael Lewis reveals the combustible cocktail of wilful ignorance and venality that is fuelling the destruction of a country's fabric."

It's America right now, but there are lessons for everyone.

Even your review is making my BP go up, so maybe might not. And I still haven't read the Bad-Ass Librarians. Poor.

>113 susanj67: - Welp, now I have to read this or consider myself a bad American - and world - citizen....

>113 susanj67: Susan, if you keep reading and referring such great books I will never catch up!! :)

>115 katiekrug: Fortunately I have long since acknowledged that I don't play nicely with others. As such I am not under the same guilt loading. >;-)

>113 susanj67: Nice review, Susan. I saw Michael Lewis interviewed last night on a TV news show and thought this was one of the few books about contemporary politics that I might actually read. Even though it's terrifying. I do believe that this is the stuff that will leave the most lasting damage once Trump has finally been evicted.

As Lewis said last night, the government is set up to work on a big-picture, long-term basis, and to do the research and answer the questions that can't be monetized. And right now we have a president who is focused solely on monetizing government or twisting it to advantage the most narrow commercial interests at the expense of the rest of us. His example was the CEO of AccuWeather, a commercial forecasting company, has been put in charge of the National Weather Service. This is a guy who has fought for years to stop the government from providing free weather forecasting because it infringes on his profits.

>114 charl08: Charlotte, I never thought I'd be likening the situation in Timbuktu to that of the US, but there are definite parallels.

>115 katiekrug: Katie, yes! It's really worth it, and, at 217 pages, not a huge time commitment.

>116 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, um, sorrynotsorry? :-)

>117 Helenliz: Helen, it's still good, though!

>118 rosalita: Julia, yes, the AccuWeather man was one of the worst examples in the book. Not only for not understanding or caring what the Department of Commerce did, but for actively working to undermine it. The section on weather forecasting was really interesting. It looked not only at how to predict tornadoes, for example, but how to get people to take action on warnings. (Most people think bad things will happen to everyone else).

There were also lots of little facts like the Department of Agriculture being responsible for meat safety while the FDA is responsible for all other foodstuffs. Sometimes it's not obvious who does what, or why. One concern of the DoA people was that the killing lines for chickens would be speeded up at the behest of the chicken producers, which doesn't immediately seem that problematic, but every single chicken is inspected, apparently, so faster lines with no more inspectors would mean a risk of bad chicken making it into the food chain. And then you get an outbreak of food-borne illness which kills people.

Just a de-lurking check in. Happy Friday!

>120 BekkaJo: Hi Bekka! Lovely to see you :-)

>100 susanj67: Aren't you the library patron who bemoans the fact that you have no more reserves left? Are you really going to give up the library so you can conquer mount TBR?

>122 Familyhistorian: Of course she isn't, but I think we're meant to pretend that we think she will, Meg, so that she will support all of our reading delusions. I think that's called co-dependency...

OH! Hi, Susan.

:-)

>123 rosalita: - Snork!

>122 Familyhistorian: Meg, no, I am not going to give up the library. But when I'm retired I will read Mount TBR during the times I am currently at work, you see, and fit everything in. Even if some people don't think so. Not naming anyone in particular...

>123 rosalita: Hi Julia!

>124 katiekrug: Hi Katie!



139. Anne of Green Gables by L M Montgomery

I picked this for the PopSugar category of a childhood classic that I had never read. I'm not sure why I never read it, unless someone thought it wasn't an appropriate choice for a red-head...

But I ADORED it reading it all these years later. And, to be honest, I think some of the dry humour might have gone right over my head if I'd actually read it at the "right" age. Lovely Matthew and his "Well now, I dunno", and Marilla always trying to add something moral onto the end of a sentence, lest Anne get completely carried away with herself. I have all the books as a single download from Amazon, and I'll definitely read the others. I would start immediately but I'm determined to finish the PopSugar challenge and I still have a few things left. Plus library books.

This morning I went to the "Roman Dead" exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands, which was good if a bit gruesome. The great thing about London is that nearly every construction project throws up something museum-worthy. In this case it was a stone coffin discovered in Southwark during excavations for a new block of flats. The rest of the exhibition was Roman things already in the Museum's collection from all over London, including quite a few from very near me. I *love* living in so much history.

Then I went over to the supermarket. Canary Wharf is usually pretty casual on the weekends but today I saw someone wearing a tiara, and someone else with light-up sneakers, clutching a dinosaur. I felt like I should make more of an effort.

Now reading:



I've renewed Viceroys so it's at the bottom of the pile. Agent Jack is due back next and has started well.

>126 susanj67: That's quite a range there Susan! Hope you're having a good weekend.

>127 charl08: Charlotte, there's certainly no danger of mixing up what's in each book! Agent Jack is excellent. I'm not loving the Nesbo, but I'm going to stick with it to see what he does. It's very long.

I've just started The Great Believers, which is very good. I am doing what I'm told (The librarian said to read it first, as there is a hold on it! ).

>129 charl08: Charlotte, you are just lucky to have librarians who say sensible things :-) My library catalogue is down today, for upgrades. I have known about this for three weeks and yet I still feel cross.

140. Agent Jack by Robert Hutton

Most histories of World War II focus on Britain pulling together to defeat Hitler. Blitz spirit, and all that. But there were quite a few people hoping that Hitler would win, and invade. This is the story of a man working for MI5 who was responsible for finding out who they were, and keeping an eye on them. There's a quote on the cover which says "Fans of Ben Macintyre will love this book" and I would agree with that. As more and more papers are declassified, we are likely to learn more about this aspect of the war, and it really conflicts with the narratives that we've believed for so long.

>131 susanj67: I should read this: Kate Atkinson talked about using the files from the National Archive as a source for Transcription, and it was fascinating.

Oh, Anne of Green Gables! I loved those books as a young teen and I'm currently watching a CBC production ( Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ) Anne with an E, - aka not your grandmother's Anne of Green Gables . It's a darker version than the book, but I'm on the second season and really enjoying it. I think it's also available via netflix.

I picked up a book called Marilla of Green Gables. I'm not what it will be like, but it is supposed to be the story of young Marilla.

>132 charl08: Charlotte, it must be an interesting process, but there is apparently still a lot redacted in war-related records. I've only been to the National Archives once, when I was looking up something about the Boer War for a former colleague in NZ. He had certain information about a prisoner of war taken from an official form years earlier, but wanted to check that it had been accurately copied over. I got the original form and found an additional column that hadn't been copied, and the information in that column gave him what he needed to pursue his research further. That's my cool National Archives story :-)

>133 vancouverdeb: Deborah, yes, Anne with an E is on Netflix, and I intend to watch it now that I have read at least the first book! I can see why Prince Edward Island is such a popular tourist destination for Anne-related locations. I kept wanting to consult a decent map while I was reading, to try and work out where everything was :-)

I watched mountains of TV over the weekend, and downloaded a radio app onto the Fire stick so now I have Absolute 80s via the TV :-) I have quite a few radio stations on the TV anyway, but that's a digital-only one and my very favourite. I watched or finished:

Mystery Road (Australian crime drama recently on BBC Four - vg)
The Alienist (Netflix, about a New York serial killer at the end of the 1800s, not bad)
The Menendez Murders: Erik Tells All (recent five-part A&E documentary from the US, which I found on the UKTV Play hub. I think it might originally have been on the BBC here)
Making a Murderer (Netflix - I watched the first three episodes of the new series)

>134 susanj67: I haven't watched any of these. But I am looking forward to the new le Carre series. Hopefully it will still be on iplayer when I get back :-)

Susan, I just saw that 'Bodyguard' is coming to Netflix in the US. Thanks to you, it's added to the queue :)

>136 katiekrug: What Katie said.

>135 charl08: Charlotte, I haven't seen anything about that one. I wonder whether there are any previous ones that I should try and find...

>136 katiekrug:, >137 Crazymamie: Yahoo! It is excellent. Have I mentioned how excellent it is? But DON'T reading anything about it before you start watching, as you have to be surprised at the right time(s).

I hope to finish Macbeth tonight. It is very long.

Disappointing news about the new Le Carre (!)
"BBC's new John Le Carré adaptation 'will not show Tom Hiddleston's bum for fear of offending Americans'"
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/10/22/bbcs-new-john-le-carre-adaptation-wi...

We are such a weirdly prudish/libertine country. Endless graphic, gory violence? No problem! Tom Hiddleston’s bum? Pass the smelling salts, Martha!

>139 charl08: I say this with all due respect, but stuff* the Americans! How can a bum be considered offensive? I give up, I really do.

* I was going to use a slightly stronger word, but decided against on the grounds it might offend.

>139 charl08: This made me giggle because Tom H is not actually *in* the new Le Carre series. The article says that there will be no nudity *like there was* in The Night Manager, but the sub-editors have shoehorned in an entirely gratuitous reference to his bum.

>140 rosalita: Julia, yes, it is very strange. Also the prudery *and yet* the voting into office of someone who boasts about grabbing women in certain places. It's a strange disconnect.

>141 Helenliz: Helen, it seems to be all nudity according to the article. I think when we see nudity in US programmes they must be for subscription services like HBO or Netflix. I think the main networks are pretty strict about it.

I finally have some finishes to report!

141. Macbeth by Jo Nesbo

This is one of the Hogarth Shakespeare series. I've read most (I think) of the others, but I struggled a bit with this one. It's 600 pages long, and I can only grade it "ehhh". It's set in the early 1970s, in a dystopian version of Scotland, and the characters are mostly police offices, although Macbeth's lover, "Lady" (so irritating) is a casino owner. I've never read any Nesbo and this doesn't make me want to rush out and get any. Good news for Mount TBR, at least!



142. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

This, on the other hand, was a lovely read. I chose it for the PopSugar category which required a weather element in the title. It's set in 1920s Alaska, where Jack and his wife Mabel have settled to get away from sadness in their lives. It's based on a Russian fairy tale, and while it's not my usual sort of thing I liked it a lot. It's set mostly during winters, so it's very cold in atmosphere, and will fit nicely into Mamie's list of cold books. If anyone is doing the challenge and needs a book for the "celebrity book club" category, this would also work for that, as it was a Richard & Judy Book Club choice.



143. The Mistletoe Murder by P D James

I read this for the PopSugar category of "A book that was being read by a stranger in a public place" because I saw someone on the tube with it a couple of weeks ago and it looked nice and short. In fact it is four short stories, set at Christmas, and was a very quick read. I'm not the biggest fan of short stories because I like very long ones, but it's another category ticked off, and I do like P D James's writing style.

>143 susanj67: I found the audiobook of the James book and really loved it when I listened earlier this year.

>143 susanj67: Drat! I have already read that one. I do agree that it is lovely.

I saw the Nesbø when i was at the library yesterday, and had I not already had my hands full, I would have nabbed it. I love his writing, and I am curious about his version of Macbeth, although I agree that 600 pages is long. I was tickled that you didn't like it, but your description of it made me want to get to it soonish.

Loving all the conversation about Tom Hiddleston's bum.

>144 thornton37814: Lori, I can see it would work well as an audiobook - each story is short enough not to forget the characters and what's happening.

>145 Crazymamie: Mamie, that *is* a drat that you have already read it! I kept thinking how good it would be for your list. Try the Nesbo if it's at the library - you have nothing to lose :-)

I'm down to nine library books now. I took two back today and I managed to get out without borrowing anything. They see me come in now and usually they say "Oh, there's a reserve for you." I must have a bit of a reputation...

And I have just three more to read for the PopSugar challenge - a book by someone with the same name as me, a cyberpunk book (I already have the electric sheep one from the library) and a book I was given or which I borrowed. There are a few possibilities for that one :-) I should read something NF to get my NF number up, really.

>125 susanj67: Read mount TBR during the times you would regularly be at work - well, a girl can dream, Susan. (But really, retirement is not like that.)

>148 susanj67: Meg, I've been giving a bit of thought lately to what it might be like, and I'm really not sure (for myself, anyway). I don't have anything obvious to spend more time doing, but realistically I could probably only read non-stop for about three days before I got bored with doing nothing but reading :-)

I started The Death of Truth: Notes on Falsehood in the Age of Trump last night - a small book which is nevertheless alarming. But, on the plus side, I did learn what postmodernism is.

144. The Girls of Mischief Bay by Susan Mallery

I chose this for the PopSugar category which involved a book by an author with the same name as me. Plus I love Susan Mallery's Fool's Gold series. She's continued the romances in her Happily, Inc series, but the Mischief Bay novels are more "women's fiction" than romance. They're like a hipper version of Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove novels. This one is the first in the series (there are currently four). While I gobbled it up as usual, there were several plot points that I didn't like, mostly involving the character who thought she was so OLD and UGLY and got BOTOX and was thinking about a FACELIFT. She was 50. I won't say what happened to her next, but that annoyed the heck out of me too, because I just don't know any 50-year-olds who would behave that way. Another one "settled", frankly, and could have done better for herself. The third one seems to be the main character in book 2, so I still have hopes for her :-) When I closed it down in the Kindle app, it reminded me that I already book 2 and provided a button with which to download it. Now I also have books 3 and 4. Ahem.

145. The Death of Truth: Notes on Falsehood in the Age of Trump by Michiko Kakutani

This is a fairly short book, at just 173 pages, and also very small. However, it is terrifying. *Terrifying*. The author looks at how we got to this "post-truth" age, and all the various malign attacks on truth in favour of points of view. Or, you know, "alternative facts". I've read several longer books about various of these things, but this one says it better, I think. The author also recognises that even when people want, and try, to keep up with the actual truth, it's such an energy-sapping endeavour to fight your way through all the nonsense that it's easier just to give up and withdraw from the fray. And that is perhaps the biggest danger of all. If you can only bear to read one book about the madness we are living through, make it this one. Although it's focused on the US for obvious reasons, it makes the very good point that this is happening in lots of other places too.

A warning: Despite being short, there are references to all sorts of interesting sounding books which you may struggle unsuccessfully not to reserve from the library. Just saying.

"If you can only bear to read one book about the madness we are living through, make it this one. "

OK. Will do.

Hi Susan - I hope you're having a lovely weekend. I can't believe fifty posts have passed and I haven't visited. Lots of great reading.

Regarding the TV version of Anne of Green Gables, the original with Megan Follows is far better than the new one. You should watch that one.

I've added both The Fifth Risk and The Death of Truth to my list; my library has them, so I probably won't get them until after the election, which - fingers crossed - will restore some balance to our government. Then these books won't be so depressing.

The Snow Child is my book club's November selection, so I'm happy to have something to look forward to.

I'm so glad you loved Purple Hibiscus; I love all of Adichie's work, if you need something to read...

I only have 14 books checked out right now.

>151 charl08: Charlotte, very good :-)

>152 BLBera: Beth, I don't think I can easily get the other Anne series, so I will have to risk the Netflix one. You are probably wise to wait till after the election for the Trump-related books. Assuming the election goes the right way...I've read Adichie's Americanah, but not the others, so they're in my future at some point.



146. A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapeña

I loved this author's first book, The Couple Next Door, and this one was just as twisty and turny. It's also a very quick read, if anyone needs to get their numbers up in a hurry.

I recently read A Stranger in the House, Susan and I enjoyed it too. As for Anne of Green Gables, I'm in the midst of watching the second season of Anne with an E, the new one and very much enjoying. I was a big Anne of Green Gables fan when I was younger and read every book that she wrote. Recently I read a biography of Lucy Maude Montgomery and it was really quite sad. When I first began watching Anne with an E - the one available on netflix, I was surprised that it varied from the books, and it is definitely darker than the books and things happen that never happened in the books. But overall, it's quite true to the books and Anne , Marilla and Matthew are perfectly played by the new folks. I think you will enjoy it. I can't bear to miss an episode . As they say here in Canada, " it's not your grandma's Anne of Green Gables"- though I am grandma and I quite like it. ;-)

Here is a trailer from season 1 . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb28ROCQMHU

I even had the good fortune to to visit Prince Edward Island and Anne of Green Gable's house when I was 16 years old. My siblings were bored to death in PEI, but I loved it, as did my mom. My dad just kept quiet about it all and we visited the various historical forts he enjoyed, and bored the rest of us. Family holidays! :-)

>154 vancouverdeb: Deborah, Shari Lapeña does know how to keep those pages turning! I'll get her new one at some point, but No!vember starts on Thursday. It's the month when I just say NO to reserving stuff and random library borrowing. And as Stoptober didn't go well I have to make a big effort. Thanks for the Anne With An E information - I saw mixed reviews when it came out but I think it's hard for people to see something so loved make the move onto the screen where the actors look nothing like the characters in their heads. I can't watch the TV version of Outlander for that very reason :-)

Home time thank goodness. Today has been a trial. But I have managed not to say what I really think on more than one occasion, so at least my diplomacy skills are looking good. I took over a newsletter from FOR when he left, and it's written by a different young person every week and formatted by another different person every week after the only good person moved on to a better role. I am supposed to be supervising everyone. I decided to reclaim the drafting, as I am a control freak and there were too may people involved. I then discussed the formatting situation with the good formatter who is no longer supposed to be doing it. "How hard," I asked, "would it be to learn it myself?" I now have two tipsheets and a video :-)

I'm down to seven library books at home (yay!) but one is due back on Saturday and can't be renewed so I have to go home and hide the Fire TV stick until it's finished.

That's so cute that you think you are going to curtail your library use in November, Susan. "A woman's reach must exceed her grasp ..." and so on. :-D

>156 rosalita: Julia, let's come back at the beginning of December and see who has to eat their words, hmmmm?



*considers potential hostage to fortune*
*runs away*

147. Viceroys by Christopher Lee

This was a book about the viceroys of India - i.e. those representatives of the monarch during the Raj, which lasted from 1857 until independence in 1947. A lot of it was about India prior to the viceroys, which may have been necessary for scene-setting but not as such a chunk of the book. And the viceroys ruled over such a long period that the rest of it felt a bit rushed. You can't "do" India in a single book, which I think was this book's main failing. And the writing style stumped me multiple times - I found myself having to reread bits over and over and I still didn't understand some of them. So overall not recommended - there are lots of better books out there.

I'm down to six library books now, with four reserves "in transit" (some via Neptune, it seems) and four others "active" which means "not actually active yet".

I think there is something understanding your own failings and working within them. Anything else might just be setting yourself up for a fall. I'm on a getting fit kick, and I know I should shun all cakes, sweets, chocllate and other yummies. Only I know I can't cut out cake and chocolate from my life entirely and not be a grumpy guts, so I'm allowing them at certain times.
If I were Susan, I'd be aiming to keep library books at less than, I don't know, say about 10. Going cold turkey sounds far too hard...

Looking forward to the end of November result of the experiment, but not with unalloyed optomism.

>157 susanj67: Don't get me wrong — I'm rooting for you to succeed, Susan. If you can do it, there's hope for the rest of us.

>159 Helenliz: That's a sensible approach, Helen!

>159 Helenliz: Helen, I really should be able to do it for one month, I think. I have plenty already reserved, so I'm not going to run out :-) And Mount TBR is stressing me out a bit.

>160 rosalita: Julia, I will try and be a beacon of hope for all the over-booked :-)

I also have four things reserved from the elibrary. Gulp. I'm #1 on 1 copy of the new Minette Walters novel The Turn of Midnight, which is the sequel to her recent one about the Black Death. I'm also #1 on 1 copy of Red Clocks, which someone on here recommended...And I'm #3 on 1 copy of Ma'am Darling and #5 on 1 copy of the new Barbara Kingsolver.

At home I have the following in hard copy from the library:

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (PopSugar)
Fifteen Dogs (Beth)
The Case is Closed (Julia)
Reading Allowed: True Stories and Curious Incidents from a Provincial Library (random library book)
The Lightkeeper's Daughters (Charlotte but perhaps also Deborah?)
Because of Miss Bridgerton, which is the first in a new Julia Quinn series (Charlotte/Katie but I have always like Julia Quinn so I take some responsibility for it too :-) )

Susan, I am hoping for you to fail in spectacular fashion because it brings me joy to know I am not alone in being unable to resist the lure of the library book - especially the new ones. I mean, I'm just saying...

Abby and I have watched the first several episodes of Bodyguard, and we are hooked.

>162 Crazymamie: Mamie, yes, it's those new ones that are the real problem. So pretty and clean. Today I managed not to move the new Stella Tillyard novel from the new NF to the new F, which I was very proud of because it was really annoying me being in the wrong place. However, the desk wasn't busy and the new NF shelf is in direct sight of it. I needed FLA to come along and have a conversation while I was holding it, and then I could have absent-mindedly put it on the correct shelf at the end of the conversation. But he didn't. I didn't borrow it either, so that was something, although mostly due to the fact that I didn't like her last one.

I'm so glad you're enjoying Bodyguard! I was worried I might have been too keen on it, but my brother emailed me overnight and mentioned that they'd just watched it and loved it, so that was good :-)

>150 susanj67: The library has that available, Susan, so I immediately requested it. Thank you!

>164 ronincats: Excellent, Roni! I hope you get it soon.

>161 susanj67: I really enjoyed Fifteen Dogs. And after seeing Bladerunner several times I was really surprised to see that Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep does have a sheep in it! (Even though it was an electric one.) Just couldn’t imagine Harrison Ford with the sheep somehow ...

Yes, I agree, Susan. For some people, certain movies or TV shows can ruin the book or vice versa.

As for your books that you have home from the library, I have read Fifteen Dogs. I enjoyed it , but didn't love it. It was a prize winner here in Canada. I forget what prize, off hand. I do have The Lightkeeper's Daughter on hand, but have yet to get to it, but yes, Charlotte read it recently and enjoyed it. Happy Halloween!

ETA - yes, Fifteen Dogs won quite a few prizes here in Canada and others from other countries. I liked it, but I think I had trouble with the fact that I own a dog and it was difficult for me to think that my dog could have such " base" emotions and motives! :-)

>166 SandDune: Rhian, I have always wondered about the sheep! I just wish I had a nicer copy than the library one. I'll have to read it quickly.

>167 vancouverdeb: Deborah, I had the same reaction to Fifteen Dogs - liked, but didn't love. I finished it last night. Mostly it just made me want to get the next Chet and Bernie mystery (Spencer Quinn, if you haven't already discovered them) because I do like the concept of a doggy narrator.



148. Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis

Hermes and Apollo debate whether animals would be as unhappy as humans if they had human intelligence, and decide to give that intelligence to some dogs in a veterinary clinic. The (15) dogs escape, and take their new intelligence out into the world. But are they happy or not? The story is told from the point of view of several of the dogs. It's different to my usual sort of book and I enjoyed it, but it wasn't a "Wow" read for me.

This morning on the bus I started Reading Allowed, which is good so far - very short, beautifully observed chapters on the comings and goings at a large provincial library. I'll have to see if FLA has read it when I take it back.

The first day of No!vember is going well so far. I took Fifteen Dogs back to the library at lunchtime, and didn't borrow anything. In particular, I did not borrow the new Shari Lapena novel even though I really want it. Or a Debbie Macomber which looked cute. Twenty-nine more days to go.

#stayingstrong

Good luck with the project Susan.
(I'm not really with Mamie, er, honest). Did I mention I have 15 library books unread at home?

>169 susanj67: Good luck, Susan. So, just to clarify, you can pick up ones you've already reserved but not reserve new ones?

>170 charl08: I also have 15 library books, Charlotte, but I know some are going back unread because I haven't been able to get to them.

Reading Allowed sounds good.

There's a sequel to the Minette Walters? I haven't read the first one yet! And it looks good.

I have 5 books out of the library to read, one on CD that's being listened to, one just finished and ready to return and one to collect.
I feel really quite light on the library book pile in comparison to some!

>170 charl08: Thanks Charlotte! Day 2 has dawned without an overwhelming urge to break the rules, so yay!

>171 BLBera: Beth, the rules are:

1. No reserving of anything for the entire month (but picking up existing reserves is fine because someone has to keep the system ticking over, as FLA has pointed out to me in the past)

2. No grabbing anything from the shelves, including shiny new things, no matter how shiny or new or how pretty the covers. And no matter how sad I will be to see the books again in a few months once the chain-smoking nose-pickers have got to them.

The rules are, however, silent on wishlisting stuff, which is therefore allowed. This includes adding new things to my Amazon wishlist if they have not appeared in the library catalogue, as a reminder to myself to check again when a bit of time has passed.

To be honest I didn't *love* the first Minette Walters, but it was good enough to want to see what happens next. I hope there is a bit of re-capping, though.

>172 Helenliz: Helen, that sounds very manageable. I want to finish (which in two cases also involves starting) three books this weekend. Two are large print because that was the only format available when I reserved them, but I always feel guilty borrowing those in case as I don't need the large print. So those will be my focus.

If anyone's out at Canary Wharf over the next week/weekends, there is a Remembrance Art Trail which is worth a look. Details are here: https://canarywharf.com/arts-events/events/remembrance-art-trail-nov-2018/?insta...

One of the pieces is outside my building, so today I picked up a map and set out to see the others. I didn't manage all of them, but it's on till the 11th and there are apparently stewards at each piece to explain what they're all about. I only saw a couple of stewards, but there will probably be more over the weekends.

Susan - Thanks for clarifying. I'm going to try to join you. I'm number one on the list for several reserves, so I'm not sure it's going to help, but it's worth a try.

>175 BLBera: Beth, yay! Welcome to No!vember. Together we will conquer the naysayers. They know who they are...

:-)

I'm #1 on a couple of e reserves but I reserved them ages ago and they're only novels so won't take long. And I've moved up to #3 on the Barbara Kingsolver, but that could well arrive after Christmas. Four hard copy books have been "in transit" for ages, so they are unlikely to show up immediately. And I will finally get to pick something from Mount TBR again :-)

Oh, I forgot to reserve the Kingsolver. Off to do that now. Thanks for the reminder!

>177 charl08: Charlotte, always happy to help :-)

I actually have the Kingsolver! When I finish the Peter Carey I'm currently reading, that is next. The Carey is set in 1950s Australia.

Finally caught up here - sort of. When I say 'caught up' I mostly mean that I've added umpteen million of you-recommended books to my wishlists. Okay - umpteen million is a slight exaggeration. It's probably more like ten or so. But it seems like umpteen million.

I probably won't be doing No!vember - mostly because I am more in need of restraint when it comes to the dragging home of actual physical books. And the people who are responsible for those book donation bins aren't helping any because in my neck of the woods most of them - perhaps all of them - have disappeared. Gone! Vanished! Poof! So next week I'm going to to have truck a whole bunch of stuff to the library that is 3 towns away. It was a lot easier when I could use the bin that used to be on the grounds of the Senior Center in the next town on my way to the market. But it's gone. And the one for clothes is gone too. Not happy!

Hope you are doing well, Susan. From what I saw as I skimmed through the 179 messages above you seem to be fine. Hopefully I will be back here before the next 179 are posted.

>179 BLBera: Beth, I hope you enjoy it. I'll watch for your comments as it will be a while before I get it if all the e people take three weeks each.

>180 Fourpawz2: Charlotte! I just saw that you'd updated your own thread, so I will gallop over shortly. Sorry about all those recommendations - ahem. You can adapt No!vember to anything you need help with, btw. It's a way of saying "No!" to any habits you wish weren't habits. So you could do it for hard copy books you bring home. How annoying about the bins disappearing. I have nowhere to get rid of hard copies, not since the book exchange at work was so cruelly axed, so I know what you mean. I think I'll start offering them on here to people who want them. But I need to finish them first...



149. The Case is Closed by Patricia Wentworth

This is the second in the Miss Silver series, but once again Miss Silver played quite a small role. Most of the investigating was done by Hilary Carew, who had just broken up with her fiance and was at something of a loose end. This was written in 1937, and nowadays we would say that Henry Cunningham was an "emotional abuser", as he had told Hilary who she could and could not see, talked over the top of her all the time, was distant and quite the mansplainer. Not a great catch. In a modern novel he would be the ex from whom Hilary was lucky to escape, but apparently things were different in 1937. The library system has the third one, which I will get once I am allowed to reserve things again.

Nice to see you continuing on with Miss Silver, Susan! I did mention they get better, right?

>182 rosalita: Julia, yes you did :-) But actually it is interesting to read something from the time - things written now but set in the past are too often politically correct and conform to other modern standards and usages. This was, at least, authentic. And I like seeing how much language has changed in a relatively short time. They "telephone to" people, for example. How did we get from that in 1937 to "ring" or "call" now?



150. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick

I read this for the PopSugar category which required a cyberpunk book. It confirmed that sci-fi is not a genre I get on with :-)

But I only have one PopSugar book to go, which is a book that someone gave to me or that I borrowed. Tempting though it is to say that everything from the library is borrowed, I've gone with an odd book that must have come over from NZ at some past time. First, however, I have a Julia Quinn novel as a reward for finishing the sheep. I love Quinn's writing, despite the fact that the books are all set in what I call Georgian DisneyLondon, which bears zero relationship to the actual time or place. Heh :-) Great stories, though :-))

>183 susanj67: Sadness. That is one of my favorite books.

>183 susanj67: Georgian Disney is a good term for it.

>184 Crazymamie: Mamie, sorry :-(

>185 charl08: Charlotte, she's about the only writer I can forgive for doing things like that :-)



151. Reading Allowed: True Stories and Curious Incidents from a Provincial Library by Chris Paling

The quote on the front form the Mail on Sunday describes this book as "frequently funny, sometimes sad and occasionally troubling". I mostly found it sad and *very* troubling.

The author took a job as a "causal" in a large library system somewhere outside London, promising himself that he would get on with his own book when he wasn't at work. The very short chapters are vignettes of his days in the library, beautifully written but troubling. Most of the patrons seem to be drunks, druggies, thieves, vandals, the homeless and deeply seedy characters like the creep who was banned for stalking the female staff after hours. Perhaps they were just the most "worthy" of observation, but books seemed to take a back seat behind crowd control. I recognised a lot of my own library in it, and it seems that lunatic schemes like the colour-coded book displays aren't unique to my borough. The one bit of the book I did giggle at was when they tried a display of yellow books, with the old-timer staff mumbling that nobody would care, only for the books to start flying out of the door, leaving only two or three with yellow covers in the entire library.

The book was written on either side of the Brexit vote but in the depths of austerity, with huge staff cuts taking place towards the end of it, and plans to have some of the smaller branch libraries staffed with just a single person (and the creepy stalker on the loose). The author makes the point that libraries have value as a place where the community can meet, quite apart from the books aspect of them, but also acknowledges that a community space doesn't need skilled staff, and in fact doesn't need to be run by a local authority at all, but could become a commercial space available for rent.

Overall I would recommend this, but it's a disturbing read.

>183 susanj67: Congratulations on reaching 2 x 75, Susan.
Sorry it wasn't a better read.

>187 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita! I can see why it's an iconic book, but it's just not a genre that I like.

I have three books to return to the library at lunchtime, so I will have to be strong and just run in and out. But I have completed four days of No!vember without any lapses, so go me!

>183 susanj67: Yes, it's interesting how words evolve. The one I always notice in books of the early 20th century is the use of "motor" both as a verb instead of "drive" ("they were motoring to Brighton") and as a noun instead of "car" ("he parked the motor outside the inn"). It always sounds odd to me, although as I'm typing this I wonder if that's more of a British usage rather than being dated?

I liked the android sheep story a lot, but if you don't like sci-fi, you don't like sci-fi. No shame!

>186 susanj67: This sounds interesting but maybe not in all the right ways.

>189 rosalita: Julia, "motor" for "car" is still a British usage, although most people would say "car". There is, however, a well-known song called "Ullo John Got a New Motor?" by a "comedian" pretending to be a Cockney, and I think that's what most people would immediately think of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGMTCfjnP6Y

Yes, the library book was interesting, but it seems that the noble ideals of free access to information and literature have more or less been replaced by the provision of somewhere warm to sleep, and toilet facilities. I know that's because so many other services have been cut, but it doesn't make for a great atmosphere for people who actually want to use the library to work quietly or read things. I haven't seen fights break out in my library, as happened in the book, but there are definitely people sleeping in it.

>190 susanj67: Ah, the joys of austerity and privatization measures. The cuts to social services were the cause of the homeless using libraries in ways they were not intended for because they have nowhere else to go. Then the same &*#%^ officials who cut the social services budget and caused the problem point to the homeless-in-the-library problem as a reason to cut library funding. Pardon me while I scream quietly into my sleeve.

Thanks for the crash course on the use of "motor" in British English. I've bookmarked the video to watch at home. :-)

I had no idea who that song was by!
My library doesn't have people sleeping there, but some folk are certainly using it as somewhere to stay warm in the winter. Argh austerity.

>191 rosalita: Julia, there doesn't seem to be any sense to many of the decisions. I hate the expression "joined-up thinking" but that's what I mean.

>192 charl08: Charlotte, I hope you don't hear that song going round and round in your head for days. I think I might...

Only two library books left. Excitement! (at finally getting to pick something from Mount TBR very soon). I wish I knew what next year's PopSugar categories were going to be, because then I would save appropriate things for those categories. For example, I want to read Serpent in Paradise, which is about Pitcairn Island, but a serpent strikes me as a useful thing to have up my sleeve. As it were. Ditto The Beak of the Finch. And anything with a colour in the title. I may be over-invested in challenge-related planning.

I looked again today to see if the 2019 PS challenge had been posted but no such luck. I think by the end of November it will be...

>194 katiekrug: Katie, I checked yesterday :-) And the end of November is WEEKS away! I'm being so good with the library books that I feel I deserve a treat, even if it's just making a list of stuff. Wait, I don't know why I put "even" there...

I couldn't decide what to read for the "Book that you borrowed or were given as a gift" prompt, and then I thought "AHA! She's so devoted to our challenge, I should read the book Susan gave me at our first meet-up (and which I - shamefully - still haven't read)" so Londoners it is :) I think I might do it in print and audio, as it's a bit of a chunkster (for me, anyway) and time is growing short...

>196 katiekrug: Katie, good thinking! I was going to read The Buccanneers that you brought me, but then I thought that it might be useful for a Classics category next year, or a category with a pirate-related word in the title. Because that could totally happen. I used your 97 Orchard this year for the category with a fruit or vegetable in the title :-)

For my final category, which was the given/borrowed book, I chose this one instead, which must have come from New Zealand at some point. I wonder if they *meant* to send something like Alex's Adventures in Numberland, which I would like to read. But this one is actually for kids. However, it does make a surprisingly good companion to the three-part series about maths which was recently on BBC Four (well worth iPlayering for those in the UK, although it does require quite a bit of attention).



152. The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure by Hans Magnus Enzensberger

Here's the Amazon blurb: "Twelve-year-old Robert hates his maths teacher. He sets his class boring problems and won't let them use their calculators. Then in his dreams Robert meets the Number Devil who brings the subject magically to life, illustrating with wit and charm a world in which numbers can amaze and fascinate, where maths is nothing like the dreary, difficult process that so many of us dread. "The Number Devil" knows how to make maths devilishly simple."

It's a good reminder of some basic maths concepts, including some that amaze even grown-ups :-) But I still don't understand, either from this book or the BBC programme, how, if you have two sets of numbers:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 etc to infinity,
and then just even numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, etc to infinity,

the number of numbers in both sets is the same. Because *surely* there would only be half as many numbers in the giant set of even numbers.

But, that aside, I have now finished the PopSugar challenge. Woo-hoo!

And, if anyone in the UK would like The Number Devil, PM me and it's yours.

>197 susanj67: Over the years at our library, I've noticed the math books we get tend to be the most fun! That one sounds like it's a winner. I'm certain one of our retired professors would have already placed an order for it.

>198 thornton37814: Lori, there seem to be a few maths books around, and some of them do look good!

I just picked up a couple of reserves from the library (which is allowed under the rules for No!vember). One of them is Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations, which I thought might be the perfect thing for a diehard Gabriel Allon fan. It's 631 pages! But reviews on Amazon say it's a fast and exciting read, so I hope they're right. I also got Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming, which I read about in The Death of Truth. And my current Kindle read from Mount TBR is Five Giants: A Biography of the Welfare State, so I will soon be in urgent need of a light romance.

>199 susanj67: Yikes, sounds like you have got some heavy reading ahead of you. I read some of the book about Joseph Conrad, Dawn Watch yesterday. I had got bogged down in the introduction, but skipping it meant a much more straightforward biographical read.

I was really surprised to find one of the old sailing ships I visited this week had a past as a transporter of migrants to NZ. There was a fascinating display of a ship's 'newspaper' put together by some of the passengers.
They complained about the toilets (!) Also a spreadsheet of the names of people who had travelled, and what happened to them (if known) during the voyage. I really liked it.

Hi Susan, I'm hijacking the top threads around here to spread the word. Its time to join the Christmas Swap festivities. Come on over...

http://www.librarything.com/topic/298577

Susan the book on libraries sounds interesting. I started started Susan Orlean's new one, The Library Book! Great minds. It's about the fire in the LA main library. I think it will be a page turner. I just started it and since it's a cold, gray day here, I would like to curl up with it. Unfortunately, there is grading to be done.

Hi Susan! I have a 'Bodyguard' related question. When Budd goes to interview Nadia, the 1/10 almost-bomber, there is an "appropriate adult" in the room with her, along with her lawyer. What the heck is an "appropriate adult"?

Please note: I still have two episodes left to watch so no spoilers :)

>203 katiekrug: I am interested to know this too.

Hey Susan!

>202 BLBera: Beth, that one sounds really good. It hasn't been published here yet, but I will add it to my Amazon wishlist as a reminder to check the library catalogue :-)

>203 katiekrug: Hi Katie! An "appropriate adult" sits in on police interviews/procedures like searches etc when the interviewee is under 18 or a "vulnerable adult". A vulnerable adult typically means someone with a learning disability, but someone like Nadia would have an appropriate adult if they were thought to have been coerced into what they did, and therefore perhaps unable to think/act for themselves. For children, the appropriate adult is often a parent or guardian but could also be a social worker. More broadly, though, an appropriate adult can be any responsible person over the age of 18. They are there to support and protect the person being interviewed and to ensure that the police do not go beyond what they are supposed to do. If the Manitowoc County police had been required to have an appropriate adult in the room when they interviewed Brendan Dassey, we would probably not have had Making a Murderer.

>204 charl08: Hi Charlotte!

I am about to start a new thread, because look how long this one has got!