Paul C's 2018 Part 11

Still in Hutton Cranswick. Will probably visit this month.

Poetry

Despite my base in tropical climes, December always speaks to me of cold and of fields resplendent under a blanket of white.

This is Wallace Stevens poem The Snow Man

One must have a mind of winter
To regard the frost and the boughs
Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;

And have been cold a long time
To behold the junipers shagged with ice,
The spruces rough in the distant glitter

Of the January sun; and not to think
Of any misery in the sound of the wind,
In the sound of a few leaves,

Which is the sound of the land
Full of the same wind
That is blowing in the same bare place

For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.

I ME MINE



This is an image of two elevations of the latest project I am involved in. Menara KL118. 118 storeys on the site of the stadium where Malaysia's independence was declared. It will be known as Merdeka Tower or Indepedence Tower and will be completed by the beginning of 2021. I will be assisting the Main Contractor, Samasung C&T as their Contract Manager on that project and the KLCC Sapura Tower.

So life is busy just now.

Married with three children (although they are bigger than I am - well except my eldest). Yasmyne is 21, Kyran 18 and Belle is 14. Yasmyne is entering her final year in University and Kyran is about to embark upon his own academic adventures. There is every likelihood that Belle will also start studying in the UK in September so I may see them all sparingly unless I get my finger out and get my projects moving in the UK.

I have a certain notoriety for buying more than I read, although slightly straitened circumstances have made me seem more reasonable even though my "Cranswickian" urges are barely suppressed.

Books Read in 2018

January

1. The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien (1960) 224 pp
2. The Debt to Pleasure by John Lanchester (1996) 251 pp
3. Girl with Green Eyes by Edna O'Brien (1962) 256 pp
4. Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance (1996) 257 pp
5. Lupercal by Ted Hughes (1960) 63 pp
6. Girls in their Married Bliss by Edna O'Brien (1964) 199 pp
7. The Luck of Ginger Coffey by Brian Moore (1960)
8. Wild Tales by Graham Nash (2013) 345 pp
9. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (2016) 300 pp

February

10. The Map and the Clock edited by Carol Ann Duffy and Gillian Clarke (2016) 669 pp
11. The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan (2013) 448 pp
12. Felicia's Journey by William Trevor (1994) 213 pp
13. Elegies by Douglas Dunn (1985) 64 pp
14. The Judge and His Hangman by Friedrich Durrenmatt (1951) 124 pp

March

15. An Armenian Sketchbook by Vasily Grossman (1962) 207 pp
16. The Road to Lichfield by Penelope Lively (1977) 216 pp
17. A Book of Common Prayer by Joan Didion (1977) 272 pp
18. 100 Best-Loved Poems edited by Philip Smith (1995) 93 pp
19. The Lady Vanishes by Ethel Lina White (1936) 256 pp
20. Time Present and Time Past by Deirdre Madden (2013) 224 pp
21. Jamilia by Chingiz Aitmatov (1957) 96 pp
22. The Spartans by Paul Cartledge (2002) 254 pp

Books Read in 2018

April

23. Night Without End by Alistair MacLean (1959) 373 pp
24. Pandorama by Ian Duhig (2010) 55 pp
25. The Sword and the Circle by Rosemary Sutcliff (1981) 374 pp
26. The Light Beyond the Forest by Rosemary Sutcliff (1979) 164 pp
27. The Road to Camlann by Rosemary Sutcliff (1981) 159 pp
28. The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell (1995) 495 pp
29. Enemy of God by Bernard Cornwell (1996) 473 pp
30. Arabian Sands by Wifried Thesiger (1959) 330 pp
31. The Vegetarian by Han Kang (2007) 183 pp
32. A General Theory of Oblivion by Jose Eduardo Agualusa (2012) 243 pp
33. Pietr the Latvian by Georges Simenon (1930) 162 pp

May

34. A Drinking Life by Pete Hamill (1994) 265 pp
35. Excalibur by Bernard Cornwell (1997) 480 pp
36. No Continuing City by Michael Longley (1969) 38 pp
37. A Boy in Winter by Rachel Seiffert (2017) 237 pp
38. The Dry by Jane Harper (2016) 401 pp
39. Mystery Mile by Margery Allingham (1929) 222 pp
40. An Exploded View by Michael Longley (1973) 42 pp
41. Seven Ways to Kill a Cat by Matias Nespolo (2009) 246 pp
42. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby (1997) 139 pp
43. The Ultras by Eoin McNamee (2004) 256 pp
44. Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari (2016) 456 pp
45. Man Lying on a Wall by Michael Longley (1976) 32 pp

June

46. Slow Horses by Mick Herron (2010) 328 pp
47. Echo Gate by Michael Longley (1979) 50 pp
48. The Dinner by Herman Koch (2009) 309 pp
49. Generals by Mark Urban (2005) 313 pp
50. The Journeyman Tailor by Gerald Seymour (1992) 361 pp
51. Behind Closed Doors by Laurence Rees (2008) 411 pp

Books Read in 2018

July

52. Gorse Fires by Michael Longley (1991) 32 pp
53. A Nest of Vipers by Andrea Camilleri (2013) 274 pp
54. The Road to Valour by Alli McConnon (2012) 260 pp
55. The South by Colm Toibin (1990) 254 pp
56. Goodbye Columbus by Philip Roth (1959) 221 pp
57. Cockroaches by Jo Nesbo (1998) 437 pp
58. The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma (2015) 412 pp

August

59. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (2008) 321 pp
60. Something to Answer For by PH Newby (1968) 285 pp
61. Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash by Eka Kurniawan (2014) 209 pp
62. Britain Since 1900 : A Success Story? by Robert Skidelsky (2014) 406 pp
63. Doctor Who : Rose by Russell T Davies (2018) 197 pp

September

64. The Great Prize Fight by Alan Lloyd (1977) 180 pp
65. One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus (1998) 493 pp
66. A Moment of War by Laurie Lee (1991) 122 pp

Books Read in 2018

October

67. Reykjavik Nights by Arnaldur Indridason (Around the World in 80 Books #23)
68. A Very English Scandal by John Preston
69. Purge by Sofi Oksanen (Around the World in 80 Books #24)
70. Puckoon by Spike Milligan (British Author Challenge)
71. Death Sentence by Mikkel Birkegaard (Around the World in 80 Books #25)

November

72. The Silence and the Roar by Nihad Sirees (Around the World in 80 books #26)
73. Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo (British Author Challenge)
74. Age of Iron by J.M. Coetzee (Around the World in 80 Books #27)
75. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami (Around the World in 80 Books #28)
76. Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Around the World in 80 Books #29)

December

77. The Midnight Line by Lee Child
78. Hanging Woman Creek by Louis L'Amour (American Author Challenge)
79. Colonel Sun by Kingsley Amis (British Author Challenge)
80. Long Way Home by Michael Morpurgo
81. Left Field : A Footballer Apart by Graeme Le Saux
82. How Many Miles to Babylon? by Jennifer Johnston (Irish Author Challenge)
83. Cairo Modern by Naguib Mahfouz (Around the World in 80 Books #30)
84. The Iliad by Homer (Around the World in 80 Books #31)
85. Borderlands by Brian McGilloway (Irish Author Challenge)
86. Pyramid of Mud by Andrea Camilleri

BEST OF 2018

BRITISH AUTHOR THEME CHALLENGE 2018

JANUARY - DEBUT NOVELS - https://www.librarything.com/topic/275745#6259410
FEBRUARY - THE 1970s - https://www.librarything.com/topic/276329#6262597
MARCH - CLASSIC THRILLERS - http://www.librarything.com/topic/276329#6266669
APRIL - FOLKLORE, FABLES AND LEGENDS - https://www.librarything.com/topic/276329#6264065
MAY - QUEENS OF CRIME - https://www.librarything.com/topic/275745#6260378
JUNE - TRAVEL WRITING - http://www.librarything.com/topic/276329#6266685
JULY - THE ANGRY YOUNG MEN - http://www.librarything.com/topic/276329#6266706
AUGUST - BRITISH SCIENCE FICTION - http://www.librarything.com/topic/276329#6265570
SEPTEMBER - HISTORICAL FICTION - http://www.librarything.com/topic/276329#6266539
OCTOBER - COMEDIC NOVELS - https://www.librarything.com/topic/276329#6266707
NOVEMBER - WORLD WAR ONE - https://www.librarything.com/topic/275745#6258461
DECEMBER - BRITISH SERIES - https://www.librarything.com/topic/276796#6268684

WILDCARD - THE ROMANTICS - https://www.librarything.com/topic/276796#6271176

The format of the British Author Challenge next year will be slightly different in that it will be based upon themes.
That said for guidance I will choose 10 books each month to help and guide that theme along but, as you know me, you can then read what you jolly well like anyway!

IRISH AUTHOR CHALLENGE 2018

Format

I will select five males and five females and there will be two special months.

January : EDNA O'BRIEN
February : WILLIAM TREVOR
March : DEIRDRE MADDEN
April : Samuel Beckett
May : IRISH CRIME WRITERS
June : ANNE ENRIGHT
July : COLM TOIBIN
August : MOLLY KEANE
September : RODDY DOYLE
October : POETS & PLAYWRIGHTS
November : EMMA DONOGHUE, JENNIFER JOHNSTON, MAGGIE O'FARRELL
December : JOHN BANVILLE, SEBASTIAN BARRY, COLUM MCCANN

American Author Challenge



American Author Challenge 2018

January - Joan Didion - Book of Common Prayer COMPLETED
February - Colson Whitehead
March - Tobias Wolf
April - Alice Walker
May - Pete Hamill - A Drinking Life COMPLETED
June - Walter Mosely
July - Amy Tan
August - Louis L'Amour - Hanging Woman Creek COMPLETED
September - Pat Conroy
October - Stephen King
November - Narrative Non-Fiction
December - F Scott Fitzgerald

ANZ Author Challenge



I will be doing Kerry's ANZAC Bingo Challenge 2x12

ANZAC Bingo 2x12
1: Read a book about conflict or war DONE THE NARROW ROAD TO THE DEEP NORTH
2: Read a book with more than 500 pgs
3: Read an Aussie crime novel DONE The Dry
4: Read a book using word play in the title
5: Read a book about exploration or a journey
6: Read a book longlisted for the IMPAC Award
7: Read a book that's part of a series
8: Read a memoir/biography (can be fiction)
9: Read a book written under a pen name
10: Read a book with a musical plot
11: Read a book with water featured in title/cover :
12: Read a book with an immigrant protagonist :

OTHER CHALLENGES

Guardian 1000 (998) Books - 333 read https://www.librarything.com/topic/270237#6197972

1001 Books First Edition - 289 read https://www.librarything.com/topic/268508#6162704

Booker Prize Winners - 28 read https://www.librarything.com/topic/268508#6165614

Nobel Prize Winners Read - 63 out of 114 laureates read something. https://www.librarything.com/topic/270794#6207224

Pulitzer Prize Winners (6 main categories) - 23 read https://www.librarything.com/topic/270794#6207348

National Book Award Winners (Fiction) - 16 read https://www.librarything.com/topic/270794#6208562

Women's Prize Winners - 5 read https://www.librarything.com/topic/270794#6208568

Giller Prize Winners - 6 read https://www.librarything.com/topic/270794#6208574

Miles Franklin Winners - 5 read https://www.librarything.com/topic/270794#6208578

Walter Scott Prize Winners - 2 Read https://www.librarything.com/topic/270794#6209474

Baillie Gifford Winners - 3 Read https://www.librarything.com/topic/270794#6209503

James Tait Black Winners - 17 read https://www.librarything.com/topic/270794#6209513

Whitbread/Costa Winners (4 categories) - 24 winners read https://www.librarything.com/topic/270794#6209540

Dublin International Literature Award - 7 winners read https://www.librarything.com/topic/270794#6209556

PEN Faulkner Award Winners - 3 read https://www.librarything.com/topic/270794#6209725

National Book Critics Circle Awards - 6 read https://www.librarything.com/topic/270794#6209733

CURRENT READING

DECEMBER READING PLAN

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 BOOKS

BRITISH ISLES AUTHOR THEME CHALLENGE 2019



January 2019 - The Natural World https://www.librarything.com/topic/296824#6632759
February 2019 - Pat Barker and Peter F. Hamilton
March 2019 - The Murderous Scots https://www.librarything.com/topic/296824#6637458
April 2019 - Rosamond Lehmann and John Boyne
May 2019 - The Edwardians https://www.librarything.com/topic/299559#6656870
June 2019 - Nicola Barker and Wilkie Collins
July 2019 - YA Fantasy Series https://www.librarything.com/topic/299559#6660927
August 2019 - Anita Brookner and Jim Crace
September 2019 - Biography and Memoir https://www.librarything.com/topic/299559#6674204

Next is yours

Happy new thread!

>19 amanda4242: Thank you Amanda. At my present rate of knots this could be my last thread of 2018 so I hope it is a good one.

Happy New Thread! How can it not be a good one, they're all good ones.

Happy new thread. We have to fill this one up fast so you can reach an even dozen!

Happy new thread :)

Happy new thread, Paul. Love the toppers. Congrats on reaching and passing 75.

>21 mahsdad: Hahaha thanks Jeff. I'll try to live up to billing.

>22 quondame: Well if I revert to my old ways I would be thinking about four threads in December but somehow this month, I just can't see it, Susan. xx

>23 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita.

>24 BLBera: Thanks Beth. 2018 has been a real struggle so I hope that 2019 will be kinder to me.

Happy New Thread, Paul!

Happy new thread, Paul!

Wrap up the old year with lots of good reading, Paul! Begin the new year (and I also hope it's a kinder one to you) the same way!!!!
Your project is breathtaking. Thanks for the pictures.

ETA: I'm a Wallace Stevens fan, but I didn't know "The Snow Man." Thank you for it!

>27 ronincats: Thank you Roni. I will definitely get across to catch up with you this weekend.

>28 foggidawn: Thanks Foggy xx

>29 LizzieD: I have 24 books to read in 31 days to meet my 100 book minimum target, Peggy. Don't want it to be the first time I have not made it to three figures as an adult.

Tender little poem for the season, I think. xx

Happy new thread, Paul!

You could read some childrens books to reach your goal ;-)

Happy new thread, Paul!
>20 PaulCranswick: every of your threads is a good one.

Happy new thread, Paul!

>32 FAMeulstee: No Anita. If I do it I'll do it by reading what I normally do. I don't want to reach my target by short cutting unnecessarily as I'll be cheating myself.

Lovely to see you as always.

>33 SirThomas: Thanks Thomas and very kind of you to say so!

>34 msf59: Thanks mate. I will be making rounds soon and you'll be one of the first stops!

Happy new thread, Paul! Congratulations on 75 and good luck on 100!

I have 24 books to read this month to reach 100 books and I have only beaten that amount once in 90 months in the group. I did a spectacular 27 books once.

These are the targets:

>37 harrygbutler: Thanks Harry. I'm gonna need it.

The above isn't quite as bad as it looks:

4 Booker Winners
4 Nobel Winners
1 classic of Greek literature

It is helped by the fact that I have actually made a start on 12 of them already.
First one should be done today

>39 PaulCranswick: Twelve underway is quite a few, Paul. Hanging Woman Creek should be a fast read. I think I read Colonel Sun many years ago, probably around the time I read Lucky Jim, but I have no recollection of it.

>40 harrygbutler: I've been wanting to read Colonel Sun for a while Harry and I would hope that it and Devil May Care and Trigger Mortis and Carte Blanche and Solo could join the canon as movies in the future.

>41 PaulCranswick: Aside of course from Fleming's originals, I read a couple of the John Gardner Bond books when they were new but didn't keep going with them and have not read any more recent Bond books by other authors. And I dropped out of watching the movies sometime in the Brosnan years, if I recall correctly. I may eventually give the more recent movies a try, but they haven't yet sounded appealing enough to get me to watch.

Hi Paul!

Congrats on your new thread and on reaching 76. I hope you hit your goal - lots of good reading up there.

I bought my daughter The Silk Road last year and wish I'd bought a copy for myself, too.

>38 PaulCranswick: I think the most I've read in a month was 15, when I wasn't working. I generally read 5-6 a month normally. Good luck with your goal Paul, a few chunksters in there too I see.

>38 PaulCranswick: >39 PaulCranswick: Nice goal. My copy of Milkman arrived last week from Book Depository. I've got several ARCs and book challenges for December ahead of it, but perhaps I'll get to it.

>42 harrygbutler: I think the Daniel Craig movies are generally a return to form. Of the four, the second was a little weaker but the first and last were wonderful movies.

>43 karenmarie: Looks excellent and I will start it this weekend. I have two doorstoppers in Non-fiction - that one and Three Swans. There are 5 first edition 1001 books in there too for December!

>44 Caroline_McElwee: I probably average 10 books a month over my time on LT so it is a bit of an ask for me Caroline. I'll give it a go though. Pretty much 8000 pages to read in total when I normally would manage half of that in a decent month.

>45 thornton37814: It is one of the 12 that I have started and I like it, Lori. Unique narrative voice which may grate over a full length novel but so far I'm fine with it.

Whoa! 24 in one month is a huge amount! I don't think I've ever read more than 15 or 16!

The Merdeka tower looks amazing. You wouldn't get me past the second floor though. Feet on terra firma, that is me.

>48 sibylline: And yet you always manage more books in a year than I do, Lucy, with my lofty ambitions. Speaking of lofty, I sent one of my staff this morning to site to check some issues which are delaying our progress. He asked me if I wanted to join him as he felt he could benefit from my experience. The core is currently at the 39th floor and a trip up there is - shall we say - bracing. I told him that I would rely on his judgment!

Happy New Thread, mate. Love the Hutton Cranswick photo up top, and the Wallace Stevens poem. Very Buddhist (probably unintentionally), the latter.

That looks like a mammoth project for which you're Contract Manager! Along with the other tower. Lots of hard work, no doubt, but that should help pay for University, right?

I may have missed your comments. How did you like Chronicle of a Death Foretold? I thought that was one of his better ones.

Happy New thread! That's an ambitious list for December. We'll be cheering from the sidelines.

Happy New Thread Paul! Wishing you good luck with your 100 books goal. (maybe start out with the Daleks?)

Good luck with the end-of-the-year numbers. I happily hit 100 yesterday, so I'm going to coast in December. I don't think I've ever read more than 13 or 14 books in one month, and that would have included some very short ones (children's books, etc.).

Happy new thread, Paul, and best of luck with your reading goals.

39 floors? Yikes. I don't blame you: couldn't he live chat/FaceTime with you to get the benefit of your experience?!

Happy New one - good luck with meeting your goal this month.

Good luck with your reading, Paul. I was behind on my reading but some timely novellas, a few graphic novels and a sprinkling of children's books helped push me ahead.

Paul - the 2018 Irish Challenge awaits your concluding words!

When do you leave to join The Family in England?

And, yes, from all sane Americans, we also wish that 2019 is a sterling year.

Happy new thread, Paul. And good luck with those stats!

Happy new thread mate and looking forward to seeing you and Hani sometime in December. I saw on Facebook from Hani that your mum was out of hospital and at home so that is good news but sorry to read that your SIL has stage three cancer mate, that is not good but as you say she is a fighter so fingers crossed and we both send thoughts and prayers and lots of Yorkshire love and hugs to here in her fight against this horrible disease.

A great win for your beloved Leeds at Sheff Utd in the lunchtime lick-off, they seem to have got over the little blip and will be hoping for a really good December and Christmas and New Year period. Less said about my team the better at the moment, I really don't know what is going on at Old Trafford at the moment but something is not right.

Hope you are having a good weekend mate and see you soon.

>50 jnwelch: Thanks Joe. I am sort of being pulled back to my roots with Hutton Cranswick.

I did like the Garcia Marquez - all very Latin American with the machismo and perverse morality sublimely underwritten with the farce of possibly getting the wrong fella.

The projects are challenging, Joe, for sure and KL118 has the added complication of American Project Managers for the Employer who are not entirely familiar with the common law system and how contracts work in Malaysia. You are right that it is helping pay the bills!

>51 cbl_tn: Thanks Carrie - I will need it I fear. Still as I will show a little later, I have already gotten one down.

>52 EllaTim: Haha Ella, I probably better save the Daleks for when I am desperate and in fear of my goal being EXTERMINATED.

>53 laytonwoman3rd: Well done, Linda! I have managed to beat that number before but very, very rarely. I am hoping that the long flight will enable me to make some headway too.

>54 DeltaQueen50: Thank you Guru. Lovely to see you as always.

>55 charl08: I pulled rank on the poor fellow completely Charlotte. I am one for banter as anyone who knows me will attest and the poor chap is a little on the plump side (but not anywhere close to as plump as me) so when he returned to the office out of puff and sweating profusely I happily informed him " Sarj, keep it up and you'll soon be as slim as me." "It is my aim in life, Boss." he replied. Touche and good lad.

>56 avatiakh: Your reading has always impressed me as you well know, Kerry. I would love to be able to mix up my reading with the aplomb you do.

>57 m.belljackson: I should be back on around the 21st, Marianne. Just going through flights with Belle.
I will round up the Irish Author Challenge with some remarks and thank you so much for being one of its most dedicated followers!
It will be just down to sterling I am afraid with Brexit looming.

>58 jessibud2: Thanks Shelley - I am going to need it.

>59 johnsimpson: Thanks John. Yes it was great news that she has already made it home and she has a very capable nursemaid there too!

Will see you in the month and give my best to Karen.

Yesterday's game at Sheffield sounded a rugged affair as the Blades were trying to kick their way to victory. I do hope that this is the year for us.

Mourinho is no longer the Special One is he? A change of direction is needed for them, I fear.

RACE TO 100

1 DOWN 23 TO GO

#77 The Midnight Line by Lee Child



Narrative drive meets implausible plot.

Narrative drive wins.....just.

>65 PaulCranswick: LOL Love your summary!

Happy new thread and good luck with your countdown to 100. That is a lot of books in one month! But a flight will definitely help.

>66 thornton37814: Thanks Lori. It is the first, ahem, review that I have done in a goodly while.

>67 Familyhistorian: Thank you Meg. I reckon that I will get close to the target.

Happiest New Thread, Happy Countdown and Happy December! And lots of good wishes to your mum and SIL.

>49 PaulCranswick: 39!!! floors?!? *shudder*

>65 PaulCranswick: I'm racing through his Past Tense. I no longer worry if they are good or bad, just love reading them.

Happy new thread, Paul!

>69 Deern: Thank you, Nathalie.

I don't struggle too much with heights but getting up there gets me seriously out of puff.

>70 avatiakh: Exactly right, Kerry. A bit like Camilleri's Montalbano, I chew them up pretty much as soon as I come by them.

>71 humouress: Thank you kindly, neighbour. xx

>38 PaulCranswick: Oh, The Bone People! A fun, fun read. Well...the language is fun, playful, always tricking you and hiding from you at key moments. The story's pretty quotidian.

Hi, Paul. Just skulking through. Good luck with the December challenge you've set yourself.

My own December challenge is to read nothing but women-authored books. A last-minute scam to improve the gender balance in my reading.

>74 richardderus: It does have fun language, RD. Not sure that having a mute boy turn up unannounced at your home is so quotidian mind.

>75 weird_O: Mmmm a ladies only December, Bill! That does appeal in life as well as reading.

>76 PaulCranswick: A Stranger Calls is an evergreen plot device used extensively throughout storytelling, all the way back to Enkidu's unheralded appearance before Gilgamesh.

>78 richardderus: OK RD I'll give you that one.....you and JB Priestley.

Happy new thread! Glad to see you’re back in the saddle again. 😀

>80 drneutron: Thanks Jim. I feel somewhat refreshed (he says at 4:38 am on Monday!)

Hi Paul! I am taking advantage of a quiet Sunday to finally get caught up with various threads. Congratulations on passing the magic "books read" number. So very sorry to read the health news regarding your SIL. Sounds like she has the right attitude and will be keeping her in my prayers. Also, happy to see you will continue to host the BAC, now as a British Isles author and theme challenge. I just might dip in in 2019!

>38 PaulCranswick: - You have quite the interesting selection of books lined up for your December reading. The only one I have read is the Roddy Doyle book. It appears that I am behind with my Andrea Camilleri / Inspector Montalbano reading, something I will need to address. :-)

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

>82 lkernagh: Lovely to see you, Lori.

Would be a nice new year present if you were to "dip in in 2019!"

Happy new thread, Paul! And good luck with your ambitious book plans!

>84 banjo123: Thanks Rhonda. I am making decent headway so far.

Happy new thread, Paul!!

>86 Carmenere: Thank you, Lynda. Always great to have you stop by.

A bit late but Happy new thread.

I hope your SIL and mother are both better soon and that you have a great time when you get to the UK.

I'm another one who wouldn't want to climb a tall building

Hola Paul - hope SIL is on the up now? Seems like she is staying positive so sending many positive vibes.

Any more challenge reads to roll out ;)

I mean... not that I'm partaking. No, nope, not me!

>88 calm: Thanks Calm.
One of these days we'll get to West Wales!

>89 BekkaJo: I will be finishing off the selections for the British Isles Author Challenge in the coming week, Bekka. Not that you're interested of course.

I have managed to read 83 books so far this year. That is my largest total ever since I started keeping track. I joined LT in 2008 and 83 is the most I have read in LT.

I have had a stellar Nonfiction year with some really great books. I haven't taken time to rank them, but am sure that I have at least 10 great Nonfiction works this year. I think that is due to Suzanne's Nonfiction challenge, which I have managed to complete at least one title for each month. Suz has had some outstanding categories, and while conversation on the threads sometimes lagged, the topics were hot.

Paul--Happy new one. And just FYI--At this rate, this won't be your last thread of the year!!! Good luck with your December book reads--you can do it. : )

Hope the week is going well Paul - ambitious targets as always!

>92 Berly: Thanks Kimmers. I should have a couple more done very soon.

>93 charl08: It is a very tough week work wise but I'll get through it, Charlotte, hopefully.

Happy new thread

>91 benitastrnad: Congrats on reading 83 books!

>65 PaulCranswick: Ambitious targets. You can do it! :)

Good luck on your year end reading, Paul!

>95 paulstalder: Thanks Paul

>96 figsfromthistle: Indeed Anita; whenever we exceed our best totals it is always a splendid feeling.

>97 figsfromthistle: I'm not convinced I can Anita but I will try to certainly.

>98 kidzdoc: Thank you Darryl.

Your weekend should have started already, wishing you a quiet and happy one with some reading time.

>101 Deern: Thank you Nathalie. I plan to read 700 pages this weekend to stay on track so let's see.

>102 PaulCranswick: I hope you managed to read some of your 700 pages, Paul.

>102 PaulCranswick: Good grief, Paul. Seven hundred pages. Is your weekend longer that the two days we're used to in the USA? :-)

Aw, sure. YOU can do it. Happiness, my friend.

> 1 What an incredible project. I can only imagine how thrilling, and difficult this must be to get everything in order.

Best of luck with finding time to get in your 700 pages, Paul.

>103 FAMeulstee: Some of "em Anita, yes. xx

>104 weird_O: Haha Bill, those darned time zones do get confusing don't they?

>105 Whisper1: The projects are complicated, Linda. The 118 storey building in particular due to an extremely intransigent Project Management team.

>106 Familyhistorian: Well I did get some of them done, Meg.

RACE TO 100

2 DOWN 22 TO GO



Hanging Woman Creek by Louis L'Amour

Seems to me we work out our destinies subject to a lot of accident, incident and whim. The men I'd seen die, died mostly because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the kind of men they were mattered not in the least. The good seemed to go as easily as the bad, the brave as quickly as the cowards.

Pronto's views on fate suggested a man who would weigh the odds and choose carefully. Of course of 150 pages he did no such thing, but then again in the Western genre what would you expect? Good fun.

I've given up on 100 but Go, Paul, Go!!!!!!!

>110 EBT1002: It is getting harder, Ellen, but I haven't given up just yet!

Paul, use children's picture books, "shorts," or heavily illustrated books (such as art books) . . . but you can do it!

*shaking pompoms* Go Paul!

>113 BekkaJo: ^^^what she said (and did)

>112 thornton37814: I may have to change one or two of my books to make it to the number. I have high hopes of polishing off a fair few of the books, part finished, this week, Lori. I don't have any picture books but I may add one or two poetry anthologies and a couple of YA books if I am really struggling as a long plane ride could see me polish off plenty of those!

>113 BekkaJo: Thank you Bekka!

>114 richardderus: The image of Bekka shaking pompoms is an undoubtedly pleasant one; the image of RD doing the same is a slightly disturbing one; the intention that prompted both posts one that gives me good cheer.

Graphic novels- read some = some are really good and a fast read!
Spy or mystery novels- a fast read for me ( I am always curious to see " who did it".)

>117 torontoc: Thrillers may come into play, Cyrel. I don't have a stock of graphic novels, I'm afraid.

>116 PaulCranswick: To be honest RD shaking pompoms is probably less disturbing than me doing the same...

>119 Berly: Thank you Kimmers!

>120 BekkaJo: I don't think a vote on that would be remotely close, Bekka, but I am happy to have two of my favourite pals in the group (three now with Kim) shaking for me!

Hi Paul!

Small books or YA or poetry all work - books is books.

Best of luck getting to 100.

GO PAUL!! GO PAUL!!!

>122 karenmarie: Yes, I agree but i don't want it to be too much of an artificial number, Karen!

>123 richardderus: Thanks RD. That is one heck of a distracting cheer leader.

>124 amanda4242: Poor little fellow looks like he has given up the ghost but I haven't ..........just yet.

BRITISH ISLES AUTHOR THEME CHALLENGE 2019



APRIL 2019

Our lady for April 2019 is ............

ROSAMOND LEHMANN

BRITISH ISLES AUTHOR THEME CHALLENGE 2019



APRIL 2019

ROSAMOND LEHMANN

Novels
Dusty Answer (1927)
A Note in Music (1930)
Invitation to the Waltz (1932)
The Weather in the Streets (1936)
The Ballad and the Source (1944)
The Gipsy's Baby (1946)
The Echoing Grove (1953)
A Sea-Grape Tree (1976)

Collections
The Gipsy's Baby and Other Stories (1946)

BRITISH ISLES AUTHOR THEME CHALLENGE 2019



APRIL 2019

Our gentleman for April 2019 is ............

JOHN BOYNE

>38 PaulCranswick: You're not cutting yourself any slack with that pile, Paul. Good luck to you! I won't make the 75 this year, and although I'm sad, I can live with myself about it. Do read The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind soon. It's written on a YA level, and you'll breeze right through it. I think he's a marvel and well worth your time. Worth a tear or two too.
As to the Latin American magical realists, I'm currently reading in my monster by the best Cuban writer you've never heard of, Javier Pablo Zabala. (That's not my description; I wish it were.) The book is The Mad Patagonian, which I got through ER. I'd never have found it any other way or been able to afford it if I had. My favorite among the big writers is Vargas Llosa. I'm not sure that Zabala will push him into second spot, but it's going to be close. I'll have to read Conversation in the Cathedral before I decide. JPZ was a friend, or at least a correspondent, of R. Bolano, and I was knocked out by 2666. There. Way too much information.
Enjoy Lehman! Looking forward to reading Boyne! Great choices!

BRITISH ISLES AUTHOR THEME CHALLENGE 2019



APRIL 2019

JOHN BOYNE

Novels
The Thief of Time (2000)
The Congress of Rough Riders (2001)
Crippen (2004)
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2006)
Next of Kin (2006)
Mutiny on the Bounty (2008)
The House of Special Purpose (2009)
Noah Barleywater Runs Away (2010)
The Absolutist (2011)
The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket (2012)
This House is Haunted (2013)
Stay Where You Are And Then Leave (2013)
A History of Loneliness (2014)
The Boy at the Top of the Mountain (2015)
The Heart's Invisible Furies (2017)
A Ladder to the Sky (2018)
My Brother's Name is Jessica (2019)

>131 PaulCranswick: Wow. That's a prolific writer.

More cheers from me: Good luck with your reading challenge! I'm hopefully going to hit 300 (with a fair wind: Brussels sprouts may help here). Although the Toibin I'm reading just now isn't helping: very dense (but good).

>132 charl08: Ah! so the secret to speed reading is Brussels sprouts?!

Now I know how to set my goals for 2019. xx

Oh, yay for John Boyne! I've loved every single one of his books I've read so far and plan to read them all.

>134 scaifea: April will be a good excuse for you then, Amber dear. xx

I really feel for poor Mr. Boyne. His creep of an insupportive husband leaving him, Andrew Sean Greer using their emotional *eyeroll* affair as food for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel...been a bad year for the guy.

Oh, good--Rosamund Lehmann. I have at least three of her books on my TBR piles.

>126 PaulCranswick: He hasn't given up; he's just not as ebullient as others. Good luck with your reading!

>136 richardderus: Yeah, John Boyne hasn't had a great time of it recently has he with a sort of half-hearted suicide attempt. The end of a relationship of more than 11 years is something difficult to overcome whether someone writes about it or no.

>137 laytonwoman3rd: It will be my first time reading her, Linda.

>138 amanda4242: Me too, Amanda. What I lack in ebullience, I shall endeavour to forestall by fortitude.

As if it was meant to be The boy in the stripped pyjamas was sitting in pride of place in the charity shop yesterday. 79p for very good condition copy? Why thank you. I think I will.

I may be cracking up a bit. Much love.

>141 BekkaJo: Opportune, I'd say, Bekka! Love returned aplenty.

Go Paul!! Good luck with your race to 100! I was aiming for 150 and I'm going to be at least 10 short :(

Good luck with the mystery and thriller reading, Paul. That sounds like a good plan.

>143 ChelleBearss: I was aiming a lot higher than 100 too, Chelle but have fallen short as usual!

>144 Familyhistorian: I hope so Meg.

So I got to 100, Paul. Hope to digest another five in the remaining weeks of 2018. That would make me happy.

Good reading to you. Hope you make your goal.

Happy weekend and good reading!

Happy weekend, Paul! Hope you're able to get all that reading in.

BRITISH ISLES AUTHOR THEME CHALLENGE 2019



MAY 2019

The Edwardians

Poor old Bertie. He waited to be King for such a long, long time but his age was a fleeting one - 1901 to 1910. Despite this it was a time of great change in the British Isles with the stirrings of a nascent Welfare State via a reforming Liberal government, the start of the Suffragette movement which eventually gave ladies the vote, the stirrings of an arms race with Imperial Germany and the Triple Entente with France and Russia which helped to push the Empire to war a few years after Edward's demise.

The proximity of Edward's death to the commencement of the Great War normally means that the Edwardian Age is often considered to be extended to the commencement of hostilities in 1914. Therefore I'll accept also works published in 1911-1913.

Some great works of fiction too:

The Founding of Fortunes by Jane Barlow
Peter and Wendy by J.M. Barrie
Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm
Clayhanger by Arnold Bennett
Mrs Ames by EF Benson
A Waif's Progress by Rhoda Broughton
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler
The Prodigal Son by Hall Caine
Napoleon of Notting Hill by GK Chesterton
The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers
Nostromo by Joseph Conrad
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Fifth Queen by Ford Madox Ford
A Room with a View by EM Forster
A Man of Property by John Galsworthy
Three Weeks by Elinor Glyn
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Anna Lombard by Victoria Cross
Kim by Rudyard Kipling
Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence
The Four Feathers by A.E.W. Mason
The Magician by W. Somerset Maugham
The Lake by George Moore
The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
Hadrian the Seventh by Frederick Rolfe
When William Came by Saki
The Purple Cloud by MP Shiel
The Masquerader by Katherine Thurston
Princess Priscilla's Fortnight by Elizabeth Von Arnim
Kipps by HG Wells

BRITISH ISLES AUTHOR THEME CHALLENGE 2019



MAY 2019

The Edwardians

OOOh I like that. I have Zuleika Dobson lined up for next year anyway. And I've been meaning to read Sons and Lovers.

Happy weekend :)

>146 weird_O: Well done Bill. I hope I can follow you but I am going to have to start turning half read books into finished ones quickly.

>147 amanda4242: Thanks Amanda and the very same to you. xx

>148 bell7: I am trying, Mary (some would say very trying!). If only I didn't have to work!

>151 BekkaJo: I have read a dozen of the books listed above including Sons and Lovers which I really enjoyed as a late teenager.

>149 PaulCranswick: Some of my favorite books are on that list!

Paul, it's been ages and ages. I'm not even trying to keep up. Not enough hours in the day, reason being I sleep about 12-14 hours or more per day so you see, keeping up with individual threads is not possible, starting with my own, mind you. I've been cheating on LT with GR besides, though a good many folks have been on it for some time and just now wrote a review that directly concerns you and so putting it right here to make sure you don't miss it and also so NOBODY goes saying I've been talking behind your back saying NASTY THINGS. 😜

Here goes:



Rumpole at Christmas by John Mortimer (Author), Bill Wallis (Narrator) ★★★★½

December 16, 2018 — Just finished my second listen of this earlier this evening and really enjoyed it. I have no idea what it's like EYE-reading Rumpole, having only taken him in via audiobooks so far with narrators I've dearly enjoyed previously who make the experience a big part of the fun. Another part of the fun is that I only became aware of Rumpole via a book friend on another bookish platform called LibraryThing. Paul is originally from England but lives in Malaysia with his Malay wife and always mentions her as "SWMBO" and when asked, is happy to say it's an acronym meaning "She Who Must Be Obeyed" taken from this Rumpole series, which made me of course curious to discover the hapless barrister who talks of his wife thusly, and as I'm listening to these humorous short stories about court proceedings which always seem headed for disaster, and a marriage based on mere politeness at best, I always think of Paul fondly because he clearly loves his wife very much and has a wonderful dry British sense of humour of the kind I've always enjoyed. And as I'm not in touch with Paul very often, Rumpole is my way of wishing Paul well, even though he might not know it. All quite warm and fuzzy feelings centred around a rather grumpy but after all kind old geezer of an English barrister at the Old Bailey's court. Perhaps not to everyone's taste, but I'm definitely fond of the old codger and as I don't celebrate Christmas and this is a very sad season for me which too vividly reminds me of the distance I've had to put between family and myself, it's nice to have a tradition of sorts I can return to thanks to John Mortimer and his plonk drinking fat old boy. Paul was a good one to share a heartbreaking personal story or two with here and there too... which reminds me I should probably send him a note, as it's been a while.

*****

Wishing you well my friend. I do think of you warmly more often than you know, I'm sure. Always been one to live in my head an awful lot! :-)
Warm hugs. xo

>149 PaulCranswick: Excellent theme! So many great authors to chose from!

>153 PaulCranswick: As someone who had to work today, all I can say is I feel your pain :)

>154 cbl_tn: Pleased to see that Carrie. I have missed you on LT this year as we both have not been around to our usual degrees and i do hope that you'll join us next year at least on the Edwardians' read. xx

>155 Smiler69: What a lovely surprise and post Ilana. It can be seen occasionally in the books that the "Old Codger" does actually love his wife! My dear wife is a tough cookie and we have had our moments during 22 years of married life. I have been apart from her for nearly three months and will be reunited on Friday so I am looking forward to it for sure.

I also keep you in my thoughts very often, Ilana, and am pleased to see that you are in a relatively happy place at the moment all things considered and long may that continue. XX

>156 amanda4242: I'm glad you like it, Amanda. xx

>157 bell7: I'm already back to the grindstone. Counted last night and I have 14, yes, FOURTEEN, books ongoing. Get those done this week and I'll be close to my goal.

>158 PaulCranswick: "I also keep you in my thoughts very often, Ilana, and am pleased to see that you are in a relatively happy place at the moment all things considered and long may that continue."

I wish I could confirm this to be so Paul, but in fact I am pretty much at the bottom of the barrel, as I seem to be pretty much every year around this time. I hang on because I have good friends and a wonderfully patient and steadfast companion and hope things can get better, but it's a very good thing my inner landscape is invisible to everyone but myself because the world would be a very bleak place indeed and few people would keep the will to live in it, I assure you. But I soldier on and am grateful for all the authors who give us all these countless books we can escape into. The good ting about being pretty much at the bottom... is you can only get better from there, right? It's either sink or swim. xoxo

Hi Paul; I haven't had a chance to visit LT lately due to the demands of RL. The school year is over and now time to convince the boys to use the holidays to catch up on all the work they should have learned during the year - next year is an IGCSE year for us. But we did take a few days to sneak in to Johore and visit Legoland for a short break.

Good luck with your 100; I'm still trying to reach my first 75. It's do-able this year, but then it has been a couple of times in the past, too.

>160 Smiler69: Despair is a state I have gotten a little familiar with, Ilana and certainly don't wish it on you dear lady.
Keep reading and keep as happy as you can. xx

>161 humouress: I hope to complete two books today and maybe even three.

Do you have a delicious day off Paul?

>163 Caroline_McElwee: No time off for me yet, Caroline, but on Friday we will be England bound!

RACE TO 100

3 DOWN 21 TO GO

Colonel Sun by Robert Markham (Kingsley Amis)



Kingsley Amis was the first writer to be approached by the Fleming family to continue the Bond books and this was his only contribution. Well written, this is Bond without gadgets as the Chinese plan to usurp the Cold War and set USSR against the UK. Quite forward looking in some sense in anticipating the possibility of a thawing between the Soviets and the West but full of racial slurs against the Chinese which make difficult reading today.

Good plot and would have been a good base for a Bond movie although, given politics, that ship may have sailed.

BRITISH ISLES AUTHOR THEME CHALLENGE 2019



June 2019

Who is our June lady.........

Nicola Barker

BRITISH ISLES AUTHOR THEME CHALLENGE 2019



June 2019

Nicola Barker

Series
Thames Gateway
1. Wide Open (1998)
2. Behindlings (2002)
3. Darkmans (2007)


Novels
Reversed Forecast (1994)
Small Holdings (1995)
Five Miles from Outer Hope (2000)
Clear: A Transparent Novel (2004)
Burley Cross Postbox Theft (2010)
The Yips (2012)
In the Approaches (2014)
The Cauliflower (2016)
H(A)ppy (2017)

BRITISH ISLES AUTHOR THEME CHALLENGE 2019



June 2019

And our Gentleman?

Wilkie Collins



Not sure how he worked with that beard!

BRITISH ISLES AUTHOR THEME CHALLENGE 2019



June 2019

Wilkie Collins

Novels

Iolani (1840)
Antonina (1850)
The Twin Sisters (1851)
Basil (1852)
Mr Wray's Cash Box (1852)
Nine O'Clock (1852)
A Passage in the Life of Perrugino Potts (1852)
Gabriel's Marriage (1853)
Hide and Seek (1854)
A Stolen Letter (1854)
The Dream Woman (1855)
The Lady of Glenwith Grange (1855)
Mad Monkton (1855)
The Yellow Mask (1855)
After Dark (1856)
Anne Rodway (1856)
The Black Cottage (1857)
The Dead Hand (1857)
The Dead Secret (1857)
A Fair Penitent (1857)
The Family Secret (1857)
The Biter Bit (1858)
Fauntleroy (1858)
A Plot in Private Life (1858)
Blow up with the Brig (1859)
The Parson's Scruple (1859)
The Woman in White (1859)
The Fatal Cradle (1861)
No Name (1862)
Armadale (1866)
No Thoroughfare (1867) (with Charles Dickens)
The Moonstone (1868)
Man and Wife (1870)
Poor Miss Finch (1872)
The Law and the Lady (1873)
Miss or Mrs? (1873)
The New Magdalen (1873)
Fatal Fortune (1874)
John Jago's Ghost (1874)
Miss Jeromette and the Clergyman (1875)
Mr Captain and the Nymph (1876)
The Two Destinies (1876)
Miss Bertha and the Yankee (1877)
Mr Percy and the Prophet (1877)
Miss Mina and the Groom (1878)
Mr Marmaduke and the Minister (1878)
The Devil's Spectacles (1879)
The Fallen Leaves (1879)
The Haunted Hotel (1879)
Mrs Zant and the Ghost (1879)
My Lady's Money (1879)
A Rogue's Life (1879)
Jezebels Daughter (1880)
The Black Robe (1881)
Miss Morris and the Stranger (1881)
Mr Cosway and the Landlady (1881)
Who killed Zebedee? (1881)
Fye! Fye! or the Fair Physician (1882)
Mr Lismore and the Widow (1883)
I Say No (1884)
aka The Love Letter Answered
Mr Lepel and the Housekeeper (1884)
Mr Medhurst and the Princess (1884)
The Poetry Did it (1885)
The Evil Genius (1886)
Farmer Fairweather (1886)
The Guilty River (1886)
Miss Dulane and My Lord (1886)
A Sad and Brave Life (1886)
The Legacy of Cain (1888)
Blind Love (1890) (with Sir Walter Besant)


Collections

The Frozen Deep (1857)
The Queen of Hearts (1859)

>166 PaulCranswick: & >168 PaulCranswick: Interesting combination. Love to know your reasoning for it.

>170 amanda4242: I wanted a modern writer paired with a much older one, Amanda. Nicola Barker was overdue for selection, I think and Wilkie Collins is one of the Victorians who was both prolific as well as having plenty of work still being in print.

BRITISH ISLES AUTHOR THEME CHALLENGE 2019



July 2019

YA FANTASY SERIES

AVIARY HALL BOOKS by Penelope Farmer
LORD OF THE RINGS by JRR Tolkien
GORMENGHAST by Mervyn Peake
THE DARK IS RISING by Susan Cooper
CHRESTOMANCI by Diana Wynne Jones
WOLVES CHRONICLES by Joan Aiken
HARRY POTTER by JK Rowling
ARTEMIS FOWL by Eoin Colfer
REDWALL by Brian Jacques
CHRONICLES OF NARNIA by CS Lewis
HIS DARK MATERIALS by Philip Pullman
THE BORROWERS by Mary Norton

It is summer after all and what better way to while away some time in the garden?

>172 PaulCranswick: I've read all of those pictured except the Penelope Farmer--I've read nothing by her.

>173 ronincats: The page is having a bit of trouble loading but I do realise, Roni, that this month's books will be quite familiar to many. XX

>171 PaulCranswick: Nice practical reasoning. :)

>172 PaulCranswick: EEEE! So many wonderful series!

Oy! You are ramping up the call of those British authors, Paul. Not sure I'd respond to every month's challenge, but some of them. I think I'll wait until you have all the authors/categories consolidated in a mammoth post to see what attracts me. Are you doing an Irish challenge?

Don't toast you eyes/brains/etc. in an effort to meet your self-imposed reading goal for 2018.

>175 amanda4242: I thought that there would be plenty for you to get your teeth into with the July choices, Amanda.

>176 weird_O: I have sort of combined the IAC and the BAC, Bill for next year. British Isles Author Challenge.

It is a source of pride to me that I have always read at least 100 books a year since the age of 14 or 15 so I do really want to make it.

RACE TO 100

4 Down 20 to Go

Long Way Home by Michael Morpurgo



Heartwarming YA tale about a foster child finding love and kinship on a Devonian farm.

RACE TO 100

5 Down 19 to Go

Left Field : A Footballer Apart by Graeme Le Saux



Soccer players are not meant to be erudite.

Le Saux was a Guardian reading footballer who struggled to adapt to the "Lads" culture at the top of the English sport. Adapt he did and this is his well told story.

Go Paul!!!

And love the selections.

>180 BekkaJo: Thanks Bekka. xx

Thanks Paul, taking the time to select and post for the challenge! Much appreciated.

I think July will be an easy month for me, I have read most of those, but a new one will be fun.

>172 PaulCranswick: >173 ronincats:

Wonder if Paul plans to read them all too?!

>180 BekkaJo: He sounds nice.

Go Paul! Make that 100!

ETA Simon Armitage got some swanky-sounding thing from the Queen.

I see you are making progress with your race too 100! Go, Paul, Go!

>182 EllaTim: It is my pleasure certainly, Ella.

>183 m.belljackson: There is no chance of that, Marianne, but I shall read some!

>184 richardderus: I will get close-ish RD.

Armitage deserves the Queen's Medal if anyone does. He was even able to get a grumpy pal of mine to enjoy a work of "poultry".

>185 ChelleBearss: Thanks Chelle. xx

>186 PaulCranswick:

Ah, well, and I was going to offer a trade (which some might say was 'owed' after the leaderless Irish) -
joining the ACA for the first time in exchange for the, well, you know...

>188 m.belljackson: We Irish (I'll claim that due to my Gran's bloodline) have always failed due to the lack of leaders! Sorry Marianne but RL did for me in 2018.

>189 PaulCranswick:

Yes, 2018 Real Life was a challenge for many of us
(Irish, French, German, Scotch, & a little Puerto Rican here),
including Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive.

The Blue Wave people of the U.S. no long know what Real Life actually will mean anymore.

Hope you are soon on your way to the Family Reunion, with even more Hope for Good Health All Around!

>190 m.belljackson: Thank you dear lady.

I am 16 hours from flying off to the UK and hopefully a Christmas forgetting most of my pecuniary issues.

I had no idea Wilkie Collins was such a prolific writer, Paul. You learn something new...

Best wishes for safe travels. I have been watching the chaos at Gatwick on the breakfast news this morning and have fingers crossed you won't be affected by that.

>192 charl08: Yikes, I hope not, Charlotte. We fly into Manchester so hopefully it will be ok.

Good decision!

>193 PaulCranswick: Maybe we can meet up over the festive season, I'll PM you when I am back to Blighty.

RACE TO 100

6 DOWN 18 TO GO.

How Many Miles to Babylon? by Jennifer Johnston



A short but powerful novel of the trenches.

Two Irish boys leave their village - they are separated by class, by rank and by political leanings but retain a friendship to the the very end.

>196 PaulCranswick: That was one of my best reads of the year.

Safe journey.

Safe travels, Paul and the happiest of holiday reunions with those you love

Safe home to Blighty, and kisses to Hani.

Safe travels, buddy. Please give Hani a hug for us. Happy Holidays!

Safe journey Paul.

Don't forget us poor folks in these warm tropical climes.

>197 amanda4242: Thanks Amanda. I enjoyed it too.

>198 jessibud2: Thank you, Shelley. It seems a long, long time since I was together with Hani.

>199 richardderus: Thanks RD. I think a kiss or three can be arranged.

>200 jnwelch: Et tu Joe. Hugs will not be in short supply.

>201 humouress: I'll never forget tropical climes, Nina, after 24 years here already.

Have a good flight, Paul. Happy Holidays to you and yours.

Safe travels, Paul!

Have a safe trip, Paul. I bet it will be nice to be back with the family.

safe travels Paul!

Safe travels and happy reunion!

Find the Light—Reflect the Light—Be the Light

Happy Yule 2018!

Safe travels Paul. May they be drone free. Greetings of the season to you and yours. Having the family around you will be a treat after so long apart Paul.

Have a good trip, Paul!

>205 weird_O: Thanks Bill. Not uneventful exactly but safely accomplished at least! The two flights (from KL to Dubai and then Dubai to Manchester) were full to the brim and then Belle decided to vomit the only thing she ate during the whole journey (a chocolate mousse) just before landing.

>206 FAMeulstee: Thank you Anita. I was extremely tired after queueing for more than an hour to pass immigration as the drone misery which closed Gatwick airport saw unprecedented numbers passing through Manchester and the staffing ill equipped to deal with it.

>207 msf59: Thanks mate. Hani was relieved to see us finally emerge a little bedraggled after a long journey and Belle complained quickly that her mother's driving skills had not improved much in our absence as our lady-rally driver proceeded to get us across the Pennines into Yorkshire.

>208 Whisper1: Thank you Linda. Saw my mother and she looked pleased to see us too. Hani was starving after waiting for us a long time so we bought Indian and (yes and) Chinese take-out from a village nearby my Mum's place. Judging by the familiarity of both places with my dear wife - she has eaten from there more than once recently!

>209 Deern: Thanks Nathalie. Yasmyne and Tobias will drive down from Edinburgh today and we'll make arrangements to collect Kyran too.

>210 richardderus: That's lovely RD. The light was waiting at the airport for her dullard thank heavens!

>211 Caroline_McElwee: Thank you, Caroline. Not completely drone free, actually as Manchester airport was clearly bearing some of the brunt of the turmoil with the numbers passing through there. I did see some genuine distress on the faces of people at the airport whose luggage had gone missing.

>212 ChelleBearss: The end justifies the means, Chelle as it is very nice to be home again.

Slightly productive reading pre-and-during-trip

RACE TO 100

7 DOWN 17 to Go

Cairo Modern by Naguib Mahfouz



Faustian type novel from the great Egyptian laureate.

A poverty stricken student stops at nothing to get along in the world and does not make himself happy in the doing.

RACE TO 100

8 DOWN 16 TO GO

The Iliad by Homer (translated by Stephen Mitchell)



Oh those interfering Gods, by Zeus
Oh for haughty Achilles whose fate was sealed
As Athens and Troy made no truce
And boy wonder proved not to be so well heeled.

Of course I enjoyed weighing through the gore to the end but I am not sure Mitchell's version is as poetic as could be.

RACE TO 100

9 DOWN 15 TO GO

Borderlands by Brian McGilloway



First book in the Inspector Devlin series set as the title suggests in the hard Borderlands of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. Devlin is across on the Southern side in my hereditary homeland of Co. Donegal.

Very promising first outing for our flawed Inspector with well fleshed out characters and a well plotted tale.

RACE TO 100

10 DOWN 14 TO GO

The Pyramid of Mud by Andrea Camilleri



Maybe it was the protracted journey but I found this 22nd outing for Montalbano a bit of a trudge.

Plot wise ok but there seemed to be less bravado and vim to the characters than usual.

Glad you arrived safely Paul, but poor Belle!

Hoping your holidays are filled with good friends and good books

Glad you are safe and sound (and weren't going through Gatwick!). Poor Belle - I used to be the same on planes. One time around age 10 I was so proud not have vomited and was saying as much to my Mum as we waited to disembark. And then I threw up. Sigh. My poor Mother!

>221 EllaTim: She is happy today, Ella, as we have walked up and down the city of Sheffield on a drizzly Saturday afternoon.

>222 Carmenere: Thank you Lynda. Enjoying some down time and reading today.

>223 BekkaJo: Gatwick would have been a tough one to take, Bekka.
Belle is not a good traveller to be honest.

Happy Holidays Paul!

The Pyramid of Mud should get a pass just based on the fact that it has 23 older siblings...how can one distinguish oneself in that crush of bodies?

(Or in other words, Happy Christmas, to you and yours!)

Happy Hollidays!

Happy holidays, Paul, to you and your family

>227 richardderus: It does that, RD. I think I was just too tired travelling.

>228 SandDune: The very same to you and yours, Rhian, in whatever language.

>226 The_Hibernator: Almost missed you somehow, Rachel! And with such a cute snowman too!

>229 quondame: The same to you Susan xx

>230 jessibud2: And to you, Shelley. xx

Hope you and your family have a lovely holiday, Paul.

Thank you, Judy.

Enjoy the holiday time with your family (and books)!

>235 banjo123: All doing so far, Rhonda. xx

Have a wonderful time in the UK, Paul. You're making good progress to 100. Only a few more days to go. Keep up the good work. Merry Christmas to you and your family.

>237 Familyhistorian: Another couple hopefully tomorrow, Meg. If I fall short, I am going to give it a good go.

I will be round tomorrow or the next day to wish all my friends a wonderful festive season.

Glad you made it safely to the UK. Poor Belle, but at least it sounds like it wasn‘t a bug, just air sickness. And you managed to read a lot!

Train to Germany was full as well, TG I booked first class. Lots of families with kids travelling to grandparents for the holidays. Almost everyone was carrying a panettone along with their luggage.

Wishing (((((you and your family))))) very happy, relaxing holidays, filled with joy and love, and with enough time to get those remaining 14 books read.

May you have a wonderful holiday season with your family :)

Hi Paul, sounds like you had a bit of a journey but I did chuckle at your description of Hani's driving skills across the pennines.

Hi Paul, we would like to wish you, Hani, Yasmyne, Kyran and Belle a very Merry Christmas and send seasonal love and hugs from both of us mate.

the light is born (a nativity scene from Riehen)
Wish you a happy Christmas time. Hope you can spend some good time together as a family.

>239 Deern: Lovely image of you hurtling towards Germany in a train full of Panettone!

I will be across today to wish all my friends a wonderful festive season.

>240 figsfromthistle: Thank you so much, Anita.

>241 johnsimpson: We went to change the car yesterday, John, so I had another dose of it.

>242 johnsimpson: Same to you all mate. Let's do try and meet up over the holidays.

>243 paulstalder: Wow Paul that is some picture.

Have a peaceful holiday dear fellow.

I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a peaceful time.

>247 SirThomas: Thank you Thomas

>248 Ameise1: Thanks dear Barbara

Hope you are enjoying some family time, Paul. Merry Christmas to you!

You are making progress in your reading! I've got 8 to go to hit 300 (and 2 of those are year-long reads that will be easy to complete). I've got several Kindle singles downloaded that are around 70-100 pages. I'm getting ready to tackle a couple of those!

To Paul and Family, Merry Christmas. May the new year bring health, joy and new adventures.

Here is something for your Christmas tree.

Stopping by to wish you a wonderful season of peace and light and a magical new year!

Hi Paul, stopping by to wish you and your family peace, joy and happiness this holiday season and best wishes for 2019!

Merry Christmas to you and yours! Looking forward to a very bookish 2019

Enjoy this holiday season with your family, Paul!

>250 ChelleBearss: Chelle, it has been very good so far. We had a glorious turkey yesterday lovingly cooked by SWMBO. Some debate about the wine being added to the gravy but overall very satisfying.

>251 thornton37814: I'm not so sure, I'll make it Lori, but I am pretty confident that you will. xx

>252 Caroline_McElwee: What more could a man want? Thank you, Caroline.

>253 witchyrichy: Thank you, Karen.

>254 lkernagh: Lovely to see you, Lori. Thank you dear lady and the very same to you. xx

>255 mahsdad: Thank you, Jeff. You are indeed a ball of light.

>256 harrygbutler: Thanks so much, Harry.

It sounds like you are having a great time with family, Paul, and a much needed break. Have a Happy Holiday Season.

Thank you so much, Meg.

Merry Christmas from Philadelphia, Paul!

>262 kidzdoc: Thank you, Darryl.

I do hope that your Mom is on the mend dear fellow.

>264 Kristelh: Thanks Kristel. xx

>257 PaulCranswick: Don't leave me in suspense, did the wine get added to the gravy and was it good?

Enjoy your Christmas day!

>266 ChelleBearss: Yes and sort of yes. First taste I wasn't sold but after a couple of tastes, I was.

^I hope you had a wonderful holiday with the family, Paul. I bet it is great being all together.

Merry Christmas, Paul. Hope it's been a good one.

>268 msf59: It is like old times, Mark, for sure.

>269 Fourpawz2: Lovely to see you, Charlotte. xx

I see you're enjoying being back with your family Paul. In case you're missing the tropics:



Seasons Greetings from Singapore! Wishing you and your family joy, peace, good fortune and good health now and in the coming year.

A wonderful Yorkshire holiday to you and your family, Paul, and here's hoping for Peace in 2019.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas Paul!

>271 humouress: I will be back to tropical climes soon enough, Nina!

>272 amanda4242: Thank you, Amanda.

>273 kac522: Nice to see you Kathy. Peace is always to be wished for.

>274 EllaTim: Thanks Ella. I trust that celebrations in the Netherlands are going swimmingly.

Best wishes to you for a very merry Christmas!

>277 AMQS: Thanks dear Anne.

Dear Paul, I am sending you good wishes for Everything Merry and Bright from Southern Missouri. I hope that 2019 brings more Paul to the LT threads! Enjoy the holidays with your family.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays Paul. My laptop gave up for a couple of days but decided to start up ok this morning.

Hi Paul, hope you had a good Christmas day mate and felicitations of the season, it would be nice to meet up. Karen is a little under the weather but is better during the daytime, we are intending to go down to Meadowhall tomorrow morning so possibly meet there or sometime around lunchtime if that is suitable mate.

Hey Paul, hope you're enjoying the lovely British weather (!) or more seriously, time with family.

>279 Donna828: Lovely to see you Donna.

>280 sibylline: Thank you Lucy.

>281 avatiakh: Laptops are notoriously recalcitrant beasts, Kerry. Belle had trouble with hers so I had to buy her another for Christmas!

>283 charl08: I am so grateful for the cold weather, Charlotte. It is wonderful not to wake up soaked with sweat.

>282 johnsimpson: Had a meet-up with John Simpson (together with Hani, Kyran and Belle) this afternoon after taking Mum to hospital.

I treated John to a fish n chip lunch in one of my favourite local establishments - The Kingfisher. Afterwards John and I caught a coffee at Starbucks and continued to chew the fat there whilst Hani and the kids visited my father. Visitors here will remember that he and I are estranged due to him cheating my brother out of his share of a business they had started together a number of years ago. He isn't in wonderful health though so I did say a few words to him by telephone.

Despite my troubles with him Hani wanted the kids to know their Grandfather and I think that on balance she is right to do so.

>286 PaulCranswick: I hope your Mum is or will be OK. This is a rough season to need the hospital. I am grateful that estrangements in my family were brief and resolved to the level of no one needing or wanting to stay away from holidays or events.

>286 PaulCranswick: It is always good to meet with fellow LTers, Paul, nice to read you and John had a good time together :-)

>287 quondame: The heal with my dad will not be an easy one, Susan, but I don't want to prevent my kids from knowing their Grandpa.

>288 FAMeulstee: We are old buddies already, Anita so there were no preliminary seeing if we got along. Your achievement in passing 500 books and heading for 7x75 was mentioned of course!

>289 PaulCranswick: For some breaks there is no heal that preserves integrity.

>286 PaulCranswick: A lovely LT meet-up, photos please Paul!

Was your mum's hospital visit routine?

Hani is probably right about the kids knowing their grandfather, they'll make their own minds up about him in time.

>286 PaulCranswick: Oh, you are in England. I'm glad you got to meet with John. I'll echo the others in the photo request.

Hello, Paul! Christmas had some unexpected occurrences, so I didn't make the LT rounds. But I see you are in England and I am very jealous of your meet-up!! Hope your mum is doing okay and I am glad your kids got to see their grandpa. Wishing you happy holidays and I sincerely hope that time and work allow us more of your presence in 2019.

Oh! And two of my books arrived! Thank you Secret Santa. : )

>290 quondame: That is a nice phrase, Susan!

>291 Caroline_McElwee: She was seeing the nurse to take care of some post-operative distress, Caroline. She was in and out quickly anyway.

I'll check with Hani as to whether she got any photos.

>292 thornton37814: England is chill, Lori, but I am appreciating that after so long sweltering in Kuala Lumpur.

>293 Berly: Yay! Im always relieved when books arrive you still have another to come, my dear.

I also hope that I'll be around with more regularity in 2019.

BRITISH ISLES AUTHOR THEME CHALLENGE 2019



AUGUST 2019

Our lady for August 2019 is ............

ANITA BROOKNER

BRITISH ISLES AUTHOR THEME CHALLENGE 2019



AUGUST 2019

ANITA BROOKNER

A Start in Life (1981)
aka The Debut
Providence (1982)
Look At Me (1983)
Hotel Du Lac (1984)
Family and Friends (1985)
A Misalliance (1986)
A Friend From England (1987)
Latecomers (1988)
Lewis Percy (1989)
Brief Lives (1990)
A Closed Eye (1991)
Fraud (1992)
A Family Romance (1993)
aka Dolly
A Private View (1994)
Incidents in the Rue Laugier (1995)
Altered States (1996)
Visitors (1997)
Falling Slowly (1998)
Undue Influence (1999)
The Bay of Angels (2001)
The Next Big Thing (2002)
aka Making Things Better
The Rules of Engagement (2003)
Leaving Home (2005)
Strangers (2009)

BRITISH ISLES AUTHOR THEME CHALLENGE 2019



AUGUST 2019

Our gentleman for August 2019 is ............

JIM CRACE

BRITISH ISLES AUTHOR THEME CHALLENGE 2019



AUGUST 2019

JIM CRACE

Continent (1986)
The Gift of Stones (1988)
Arcadia (1992)
Signals of Distress (1994)
Quarantine (1997)
Being Dead (1999)
Six (2003)
The Pesthouse (2007)
All That Follows (2010)
Harvest (2013)
The Melody (2018)

Collections
The Slow Digestions of the Night (1995)
The Devil's Larder (2001)

Check and check.

Hope all is going well in the UK. X

For Brookner my librar has got A Start In Life and Strangers. For Crace: The Melody

Have a lovely day, Paul. Great to hear that you had a good time with John.

>300 BekkaJo: So far so good, Bekka. Tomorrow off to Leominster to spend New Year with friends.

>301 Ameise1: Thank you Barbara.

Hi again, Paul, and hope that 2019 is a fantastically better year for All of Us!

Have you ever read Knausgaard's first My Struggle where he deals with his reconciliation with his father...?!

>296 PaulCranswick: I am so glad to see Anita Brookner on the list! I've been meaning to read Hotel du Lac for ages...

For anyone looking for a January read, you might check out the Thwaites Wainwright Prize lists.

>301 Ameise1: For Anita Brookner my library has lots of options. For Jim Crace there are five titles, three translations. The melody or maybe Harvest?

Have a happy New Year, Paul!

Hi Paul, hope you are enjoying your Northern Hemisphere winter romp and zipping through some good reads. Happy New Year.

Also wishing your mother good health.

BRITISH ISLES AUTHOR THEME CHALLENGE 2019



SEPTEMBER 2019

BIOGRAPHY / MEMOIR

Some possibles from this wonderful store of British and Irish Writing

Bad Blood by Lorna Sage
De Profundis by Oscar Wilde
The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell
Eminent Victorians by Lytton Strachey
Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves
Testament to Youth by Vera Brittain
The Naked Civil Servant by Quentin Crisp
Harriet Wilson's Memoirs by Harriet Wilson
The Invisible Woman by Claire Tomalin
The Vanishing Man by Laura Cumming

Sounds like you are having a wonderful holiday season in England, Paul. Keep up the good work.

>303 m.belljackson: Marianne, I haven't read Knausgaard yet but maybe in a book-filled 2019?! Have a wonderful new year yourself.

>304 cbl_tn: She is probably overdue, Carrie, but then again you could probably say that about most of the picks.

Thanks for the Wainwright link. It will be an award that is very useful for January's challenge.

>305 EllaTim: Thanks Ella. Looks like Crace and Brookner are popular enough in the Netherlands.

>306 avatiakh: I am enjoying but not exactly zipping, Kerry. No reading at all pretty much for two days means that for the first time since I was 15 years old I will not reach 100 books in a year.

Will just have to do better in 2019!

>308 Familyhistorian: Thanks Meg. Good work ongoing!

Paul, check out the 2018 BAC general thread, where Amanda has posted her final list of 142 BAC reads in 2018. I think she deserves one of those OBE or MBE honors, or maybe an OCE -- Order of the Cranswickian Empire.

>312 kac522: Amanda is in every way a champion! I like the idea of an OCE but I think most would think that I was getting far too big for my boots!

Hi Paul, wishing you, Hani, and the kids a very happy new year mate, let's hope that 2019 is a far better year than 2018 on all fronts. Love and hugs to you all from both of us dear friend.

Hi Paul! I hope that your mum is doing well and that you're having a wonderful time in England.



Wishing you a new year filled with joy, happiness, laughter, and all the wonderful books you could wish for.

Hi, Paul! How wonderful you're spending the holidays in England and enjoying the cooler weather and meetups with LT friends!

I loved Hotel du Lac when I read it awhile back and have been meaning to read more by Brookner. Could this be the year?

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year's Eve!!

Happy New Year!

Wishing you and yours a happy and joyous 2019, filled with peace, love, and great books.

Happy New Year to you and yours, Paul!

I wish you from my heart a healthy 2019 filled with happiness, satisfaction, laughter and lots of good books.

Happy new year to you and yours!