Lori (lkernagh) Binge Reads through 2019

Lori (lkernagh) Binge Reads through 2019



Hi everyone! I toyed with the idea of not doing a category challenge in 2019, but the various CATs/KITs (in particular, the TBRCAT and the SeriesCAT) reeled me in. According to the LT stats, I have 432 series in various stages of completion. Apparently, I am really great at starting a new series, and completely bollocks when it comes to sticking with most of them. Hoping to make a dent in some of those series in 2019. I have set up this challenge so that it will help me continue to read books off my TBR piles and allow me the freedom to treat myself to some author/series binge reading. I am not going to set any minimums.... I am just going to let the reading lead me and see what the stats look like at year end.

Looking forward to reading and following everyone's threads in 2019!

Author: This is where I will list my reading when I author binge read (unless it fits in the Series category).

1. Kent Haruf: - Oeuvre completed on January 30, 2019
- Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf - read Jan 23 to 24, 2019 - (review)
- The Tie That Binds by Kent Haruf - read Jan 25 to 27, 2019 - (review)
- Where You Once Belonged by Kent Haruf - read Jan 28 to 31, 2019 - (review)

Series: This is where I will list all my series reading (which can include continuations and trilogies).

1. Inspector Montalbano series by Andrea Camilleri - All Caught Up with English translations - January 19, 2018
- The Fourth Secret Novella by Andrea Camilleri - read Jan 1 to 2, 2019 - (review)
- A Voice in the Night by Andrea Camilleri - read Jan 2 to 6, 2019 - (review)
- A Nest of Vipers by Andrea Camilleri - read Jan 12 to 14, 2019 - (review)
- The Pyramid of Mud by Andrea Camilleri - read Jan 15 to 19, 2019 - (review)

2. Plainsong trilogy by Kent Haruf - Trilogy Completed - January 20, 2019
- Plainsong by Kent Haruf - re-read Jan 4 to 6, 2019 - (review)
- Eventide by Kent Haruf - read Jan 6 to 12, 2019 - (review)
- Benediction by Kent Haruf - read Jan 17 to 20, 2019 - (review)

3. Dublin Murder Squad series by Tana French - All Caught up with Series - February 14, 2019
- The Likeness by Tana French - read Jan 20 to Feb 3, 2019 - (review)
- The Secret Place by Tana French - read Feb 3 to 8, 2019 - (review)
- The Trespasser by Tana French - read Feb 9 to Feb 13, 2019 - (review)

4. Flavia de Luce mystery series by Alan Bradley - All Caught Up - February 7, 2019
- The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley - read Feb 3 to 9, 2019 - (review)

5. Blinney Lane series by Drea Damara - All Caught Up - February 14, 2019
- Beyond Farwin Wood by Drea Damara - read Feb 8 to 14, 2019 - (review)

Europa Editions: I currently have 24 Europa Editions books languishing on my TBR piles, so this category is to help with my ROOT reading.

Monthly CATs / KITs: Because I cannot resist dipping in to the various monthly challenges

January
- SeriesCAT - Series in Translation; AlphaKIT - "A" - The Fourth Secret by Andrea Camilleri -
- TBRCAT - First in/Last out; AlphaKIT - "A" - The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy -
- RandomCAT - Your Name in Print - "Laurie / Lori" - Beekeeping for Beginners by Laurie R. King -
- SeriesCAT - Series in Translation; AlphaKIT - "A" - A Voice in the Night by Andrea Camilleri -
- AlphaKIT - "Q" - Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain -
- SeriesCAT - Series in Translation; AlphaKIT - "A" - A Nest of Vipers by Andrea Camilleri -
- SFFKIT - Excuses, Excuses... - The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher -
- SeriesCAT - Series in Translation; AlphaKIT - "A" - The Pyramid of Mud by Andrea Camilleri -

February
- TBRCAT - A Borrowed Book - The Secret Place by Tana French -
- AlphaKIT - "O" - The Wolf and the Watchman by Niklas Natt och Dag -

March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

1. author uses middle name or initial - Benediction by Kent Haruf -
2. debut novel - The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy -
3. about or featuring siblings - The Tie That Binds by Kent Haruf -
4. book bullet
5. mentioned in another book
6. related to medicine or health
7. animal in title, cover, significant role - The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher -
8. artistic character
9. Eastern European author or setting
10. children's or young adult
11. alliterative title
12. part of a series - A Voice in the Night by Andrea Camilleri -
13. read a CAT - A Nest of Vipers by Andrea Camilleri -
14. prize-winning book
15. weather word in title or book involves weather event - The Pyramid of Mud by Andrea Camilleri -
16. short stories or essays - Beekeeping for Beginners by Laurie R. King -
17. made into a movie - Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf -
18. fairy tale - Beyond Farwin Wood by Drea Damara -
19. graphic novel
20. main title has 6+ words
21. cover has at least 2 human figures - The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley -
22. book in translation - The Fourth Secret by Andrea Camilleri -
23. food-related title or topic
24. LT rating of 4.0+ - Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain -
25. title contains homophone word - Plainsong by Kent Haruf -

Group Reads:

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth - In Progress

This thread is now open for business! Feel free to make yourself at home, although I may not be around much until 2019.


Sitting Room - Dennis Jarvis - as posted to Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Wow, fancy digs, Lori. I definitely removed my shoes before coming in. I'm glad you are participating in the 2019 Category Challenge and I look forward to following along.

Great thread! I learn something new on LT (I won't say every day) often. I'd never heard of Europa editions, but a quick check shows me I should check it out further. And I show I have 425 series somewhere in my lists - a few not started yet, but obviously I have the same problem as you - hello - my name is Betty and I'm a series addict.

Good idea to focus on those series! They sure have a way of multiplying. Glad to see you back:)

Good luck with your reading!

That's an awesome room for having coffee. Thanks for the invitation!

Lori I love the new thread. Glad you are going to read A Suitable Boy with us next year.

Enjoy your binge reading!

Good luck with your series focus! That has been my focus for 2017 and 2018 and will be a core part of 2019 as well. Your thread prompted me to look at my LT statistics in this area and I will join you and Betty with this addiction - 718 whoa!!!

>9 DeltaQueen50: - Lovely to see you stopping by Judy and LOL, I figured, might as well splash out a bit, although I have to admit, I have a sneaking suspicion that the room in >8 lkernagh: is probably larger than the whole apartment my other half and I occupy!

>10 dudes22: - Thanks Betty! I have been a huge fan of Europa Editions for a number of years now. Not every story is a stellar read (I wasn't as taken with Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels as other readers have been, but I have discovered a number of wonderful reads through this press. Glad to see I am not alone in being a series addict. ;-)

>11 rabbitprincess: - They sure have a way of multiplying. LOL.... Yes, series do have a nasty habit of multiplying, don't they? Kind of like rabbits. Yes, I am in a puny mood. ;-)

>12 Tess_W: - Thanks Tess!

>13 MissWatson: - It is, isn't it? I almost feel as though I should be serving high tea in that room.



... That is much better.

>14 luvamystery65: - Hi Ro! I am looking forward to the group read!

>15 thornton37814: - Thanks Lori! It is going to be fun to let my reading lead me.

>16 LisaMorr: - Thanks Lisa and happy to see another series addict tackling Mount Series in our midst!

>17 lkernagh: Oh, how lovely! Would you mind terribly if I pinch one of those cucumber sandwiches?

I'm glad to see you back! Thank you for the walking inspiration :)

>18 MissWatson: - Feast away! I am a sucker for scones and cakes. ;-)

>19 Jackie_K: - Thanks, Jackie. I am looking forward to following your reading and walking!

>17 lkernagh: What a spread! Looking forward to following your reading in 2019 especially with treats like that!

I love the vintage illustrations you've used to decorate your thread! And I'm very glad you've decided to join us again. It wouldn't be the same without you! :)

>21 VivienneR: - Thanks Vivienne! Refreshments and books tend to go hand in hand. ;-)

>22 christina_reads: - Thanks Christina and a bashful "Awe shucks" to your wonderful comment.

-------------------------
My fingers are itching to start 2019 reading, but I probably should finish my 2018 challenge first.

We're thinking along the same lines. I feel like all I want to do is sit and binge read series. (Even re-read some of them).!

>24 mysterymax: - Re-reads and binge reading... perfect! I know I will be doing some re-reads in 2019. Some series I started so long ago I need to re-read at least the book I left off with, just to get my mind back with the characters. ;-)

I can hide my own Easter eggs too... I'm finding I have to reread a lot. It's not just memory...too many are starting to sound alike.

>26 mysterymax: - I think you're right. I think when there's a formula that seems to work for one author, others try the same thing in an effort to be successful also. There was some series I was either reading or heard about recently that I thought sounded just like something else.

>26 mysterymax: and >27 dudes22: - LOL on the Easter eggs and I agree with both of you. There do seem to be some "formula" writers out there, making it challenging to remember each story individually when nothing noteworthy is there to make them stand out and become memorable reads.

Thanks for the invite to the cozy sitting room. :) 432 is a big number, so I wish you the best of luck for your binge reading!

>29 Chrischi_HH: - Lovely to see you stopping by! It is a rather embarrassingly large number. If I can get caught up on some series, and not start any new ones, that will at least be progress. ;-)

Wow, 432 series? That's pretty impressive! I have 420-something books on Mt TBR, which I thought was daunting enough!

>31 Jackie_K: - LOL, I think my series count is so high because I tend to read the first book (or two) in a series and then become distracted by other books. It is rare for me to actually follow through on any series reading, so I am hoping 2019 will help me along. ;-)

>32 lkernagh: learned my lesson, don't buy book 2 in a series UNTIL I'm ready to read it!

>33 Tess_W: - I hear you! I tend to get carried away with ebook deals so I don't mind buying the first three books in a series if it is bundled as one ebook - and I am saving money in the process! - but I try not to get sucked in unless I know I like the author's writing. ;-)

"Tis the season, so stopping by to wish Season's Greetings to all who celebrate and wishing everyone a healthy, happy and prosperous 2019!

Looking forward to your being able to finish some series and still play with picking up new books and enjoying them. Category challenges are wonderful and I hope I can leave my calling card from time to time and join you in reading some series in the lovely sitting room!

>36 threadnsong: - Thanks! Feel free to stop by anytime! I love visitors and I love visiting other challenge readers threads!

I love the vintage drawings in your challenge and I'm very glad I didn't know you were contemplating leaving us until you decided not to. I'm going to believe that all those 432 series will keep you around for a few more years!

>38 RidgewayGirl: - Once I saw the thread topper image, I just knew what "look" I was going for with this challenge! LT captures a lot in its series list so I am pretty sure I have completed some of the series. Unfortunately, my on-going ebook purchases appear to be adding new series to my list, so I think it is safe to say series reading will remain "a work in progress". ;-)

Series do multiply don't they?

Dropping in to say hello.

Hallo, Hallo Lori,

Ooh dear stars, is there someone else out there who starts/stops reading SERIES? Oyy vie. We're bookish twins, then! I have this #epicfail syndrome myself when it comes to reading series - according to your theory of thought (checking my LT stats) -- I have (208) series currently attached to me -- (whoa!) how did that happen? I'm sure the number is a LOT higher - I don't have all my books on LT (dearly need a cuecat) and of course, I'm not sure I finished any of the series I ever started reading at any stage of my reading life! (shocking!)

This is actually what inspired the very first reading challenge I undertook as 'new' for me in 2019: #BeatTheBacklist as I knew there were series (3x mainly: Mary Russell, Lady Emily and Aunt Dimity) out there I ached to dive back inside as much as the fact *most!* of the #mustread books I'm itching to devour are honestly 'older titles'!!

Here's to achieving our serial goals and finding inspiration along the route!!

Maybe we'll share a few in common? Hmm.

Bookish dreams to you!

>40 hailelib: - Lovely to see you stopping by!

>41 joriestory: - Hello and love the #BeatTheBacklist hashtag! Yes, series do seem to multiply (and I am not trying to be deliberately puny!) Wishing you the best with your series reading. I figure, so long as I can claim to be caught up or completed with some series by year end, I have accomplished my 2019 reading goals. ;-)

Time to unveil my new walking challenge for 2019. This time, I decided to make this a one year challenge. I thought it would be fun to tie the distance walked to the year - 2,019 KM walked in 2019. Because I wanted both start and end points to be locations visitors to my thread might recognize, I have decided to virtually walk the U.S. interstate highway 5 S (the I-5 S) from the Peace Arch border crossing at the British Columbia/Washington state border to Disneyland Park in California, a total distance of 2,048 kilometres. Close enough to the idea of 2,019 KM in 2019. ;-)

For those of you who are new to my walking challenge, the weekly updates will be easily identifiable, based on the template below. As with my previous walking challenge, I will post points of interest either along the virtual walking route or things I see/do locally as part of my walking. Comments are always welcome.

---------------------------------

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

.






Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 0 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session to reach Disneyland Park: 0
Kilometers walked in total: 0
Current province/state: . (BC/WA)
My current location on the map: The Peace Arch on the BC side of the Canada/United States border crossing in Surrey, BC, ready to start tracking my walking starting January 1st.

I had already starred your thread as I liked your categories. But now it has become a whole lot cooler! Look forward to armchair travelling with you!

Wonderful setup Lori! Good luck!

>43 lkernagh: Excellent set up of a new walk, I look forward to discovering it with you! I need to start looking out for pictures and sorting out a Google map for mine!

That sounds like an excellent route for a new walk.

Excellent idea for a new walk. Look forward to following in your digital footsteps.

Yay, a new walk! I'm looking forward to following your progress :D

Good luck with the walk!

Good luck with the series reading. I apparently have 457 series going, but I can only think of three that I'm not caught up on. I find it useful to "reread" series on audiobook in the car - I don't have to pay very close attention to the details or worry about arriving at my destination just as something exciting is happening.

Happy New Year!

>44 JayneCM:, >45 The_Hibernator:, >46 Jackie_K:, >47 hailelib:, >48 Helenliz:, >51 rabbitprincess: and >52 mysterymax: - Thank you Jayne, Rachel, Jackie, Tricia, Helen, RP and mysterymax for your support of my new walking challenge! This should be a lot of fun! Glad to know that you all will be following my walking progress.

>49 thornton37814:, >50 Tess_W: and >53 BookLizard: - Thank you Lori, Tess and BookLizard for your Happy New Year wishes! I am hopeful that 2019 will be a fabulous year.

>53 BookLizard: - I love the idea of re-reading with audiobooks while driving. I tend to listen to audiobooks while walking and really enjoy it, and it REALLY helps with my reading stats. ;-)

As we are closing out 2018, I want to wish everyone a safe and happy New Year Eve and best wishes for 2019!

Happy New Year Lori. Maybe we'll take photos of the same subject this year again. In any case best wishes for good reading.

Hi Lyle, and Happy New Year to you, as well! Anything is possible and I do love happenstance when we find the same things post worthy. ;-) Wishing you a wonderful reading year in 2019!

Happy New Years day, everyone! I love the first day of the new year. I am not a stickler for New Year's resolutions or anything like that, but it still feels uplifting to know that the "stuff" we did not enjoy in 2018 can be shelved and face the new year with shiny, happy thoughts.

On the reading front, I have hit the ground running starting my first audioread of 2019 - The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy - for the January TBRCAT (first in, last out). I was listening to the book as I was dismantling our tree and festive trimmings and thought," This book is not flowing very well." Went online and discovered that I had downloaded from the library an abridged version of the story. Once I got over the shock that abridged versions exist in audio format (why, I don't know... for some reason I always thought Reader's Digest had the market on abridged books... the things one learns), I quickly located an unabridged version through the library system, borrowed and downloaded that version and.... life returned to normal.

Wishing everyone a wonderful start (and not the jarring experience I just encountered) to their 2019 reading!

Happy New Year, Lori. I'm astonished that there is an abridged version of The God of Small Things -- the book is not that long. I got out of packing away the Christmas ornaments as my husband had insomnia last night, so I woke up to a large task already finished!

>59 RidgewayGirl: - I know! What is shocking is that the abridged version is just under 6 hours listening time (that should have triggered warning bells in my head, but as you say, the book isn't all that long) while the unabridged version comes in at close to 12 hours listening time, so you know they cut an awful lot out of the story!

ETA: How lovely that your other half tackled the packing away of the ornaments, but sorry to learn he has insomnia. My other half is nocturnal by nature but he still didn't chip in and surprise me by de-decorating our place.

Hi Lori, Happy New Year! I'm so glad you are sharing another walking experience in your thread!

>61 VivienneR: - Happy New Year, Vivienne! I have to admit, I couldn't resist setting up another walking challenge, so happy to share my continuing walking journey with my visitors. ;-)

>58 lkernagh: I'm glad you discovered that your version of The God of Small Things was abridged, and got the real deal. I read the book some years ago now, and although it's not a book I'd say that I *loved*, it had a profound impact upon me and am so glad that I read it. Much to feel, think and ponder in that book.

Hi Lori, happy new year! I've decided that this is the year to make a return to the forums and am looking forward to plenty of book inspiration for 2019. So starting as I hope to continue, I'm doing some visiting and dropping some stars. Love your thread topper!

Hey Lori - Happy New Year! Looking forward to your walking challenge. I love the interesting tidbits you give us along the way.

>58 lkernagh: I've been shocked to realize that I was listening to an abridged book, too - I was horrified, lol! I'm glad you were able to get your hands on a full length version so quickly.

And happy New Year!

>58 lkernagh: >66 Dejah_Thoris: That disaster has befallen myself, also; but after listening to the abridged version, I decided against listening to the unabridged version because I didn't like it well enough. I'm very careful now when I purchase something. The same thing happened when I read Emma, nowhere on the book, even in fine print did it say abridged.

58>I hate abridged anything. I think they do it to audiobooks because it takes longer to read something out loud than it does to just read it in your head.

>63 kac522: - I am happy I managed to switch from abridged to unabridged versions! While that made it somewhat easier to follow the story, I am thinking that The God of Small Things would have worked better for me as a physical read. I found myself getting confused in certain parts of the story. Oh well, that just means I might be motivated to re-read the book again at some point. I can see how "loved" is not the word to use to describe the book's impact on a reader. ;-)

>64 SouthernKiwi: - Hello Alana! So lovely to see you back in the group! That is fabulous. Looking forward to following your thread.

>65 dudes22: - Happy New Year, Betty! I am stoked that I was able to come up with a one-year walking challenge. Now if only I can get the local weather to cooperate... ;-)

>66 Dejah_Thoris:- Horrified is the feeling I experience when I discover the book is *shudders* abridged. ;-) I do love my local library system and how they have multiple formats available for a number of popular reads. I still don't know why anyone would want to listen to an abridged version but, hey, different strokes for different reading folks, I guess.

Happy New Year!

>67 Tess_W: - Oh no, you too?! I can understand not wanting to invest the time to go back to the start of a book when you discover you have been listening to an abridged audiobook. I was only 1 hour in, so not that much time invested and I was motivated as I wanted to "read" the book as a TBRCAT for this month. I have to say, the fact that the copy of Emma did not provide any indication that it was an abridged version smacks of false advertising to me. So frustrating!

>68 BookLizard: - That makes sense, but I wonder where they get the abridged text to hand to the narrator? I am puzzled that abridged books may, in fact, be more popular or more common place than I thought. The new things I am learning so early in 2019!

Hello visitors! Wow, this week has been a strange one. I am always a little off-settled when a holiday falls middle of the week. Not complaining... love getting a day off from work mid week, but it does make for a bit of a discombobulated feeling when you blink and all of a sudden it is Friday.

Will be posting my first walking update on Sunday. For though hoping to follow my walking, I will try and stick to the routine I had for my last walking challenge and post updates on Sundays.

On the reading front, I have managed to completed my first two books (with reviews ready for posting): a short novella for my first series binge read (Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano series) and TBRCAT / ROOT read.

Plans for this weekend.... no clue. I think we are just going to wing it.

... now for those reviews.

Book #1 - The Fourth Secret by Andrea Camilleri - translated from the Italian by Gianluca Rizzo and Domiunic Siracusa
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: SeriesCAT - Series in Translation; AlphaKIT - "A"
Bingo DOG: Book in Translation
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: eBook
Original publication date: 2014
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 77 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the google book listing web page:

"There have been six events euphemistically called “tragedies in the workplace” in the past month. Six deaths caused by an inexplicable disregard for safety regulations. When the local magistrate opens an investigation, Inspector Montalbano is on the case. But Montalbano soon discovers that these seemingly unrelated incidents are only part of a larger network of crimes."

Review:
Dipping back into Camilleri’s Inspector Montalbano series after a bit of a break. A novella at a mere 77 pages in length, this one suffers from the same issues I usually encounter with novellas: the constraints of character and plot development produce a weaker story than expected. I also found the writing to be on the weak side. While some stories suffer in translation - this one was not translated by skilled Stephen Sartarelli, translator for the English versions of the full length stories in the series – some online information indicates this one may have been written early in the series and published later. If this is correct, that could explain the lack of polish, although some commentators have listed this one is poorly translated. That being said, this is still a decent read. Salvo is still Salvo and the crime is interesting enough to keep my attention. This was a good story to read as a refresher before I dive back in to the series midstream as most of the regulars in an appearance here, with Cat gets extra “screen time” in this one.

Book #2 - The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy - audiobook narrated by Sneha Mathan
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category, ROOT
CAT/KIT: TBRCAT - First in/Last out; AlphaKIT - "A"
Bingo DOG: Debut Novel
Category: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback / Audiobook
Original publication date: 1997
Acquisition date: February 22, 2009
Page count: 321 pages / 11 hours, 45 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.70 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from audiobooks.com book listing web page:

"A brilliantly plotted story of forbidden love and piercing political drama, centered on the tragic decline of an Indian family in the state of Kerala, on the southernmost tip of India. Armed only with the invincible innocence of children, the twins Rahel and Esthappen fashion a childhood for themselves in the shade of the wreck that is their family-their lonely, lovely mother Ammu (who loves by night the man her children love by day), their blind grandmother Mammachi (who plays Handel on her violin), their beloved uncle Chacko (Rhodes scholar, pickle baron, radical Marxist, bottom-pincher), their enemy Baby Kochamma (ex-nun and incumbent grandaunt), and the ghost of an imperial entomologist's moth (with unusually dense dorsal tufts).

When their English cousin and her mother arrive on a Christmas visit, the twins learn that things can change in a day. That lives can twist into new, ugly shapes, even cease forever. The brilliantly plotted story uncoils with an agonizing sense of foreboding and inevitability. Yet nothing prepares you for what lies at the heart of it...."

Review:
Roy’s debut novel, while written in luminous prose, was a challenge for me to follow in audio format. Roy takes an unusual – but not unheard of – non-sequential approach to the story: she starts the story with its ending in 1997 and, through a complex patchwork of 1969 flashbacks and segues into side stories, leads the reader to the start. I probably would have had an easier time following the shifting focus of the story if I had been reading it in print format, but no matter. At it’s heart, this is a multi-generational family saga virtually overflowing with themes to generate thought and discussion. The illicit breaking of the “Love Law” (theme of forbidden love) acts as the centre to the widening rippling rings of the story. Roy’s prose is lush and inviting, even when the story takes unpleasant, disturbing and tragic turns, while Roy skillfully maintains a sense of foreboding of something to come. It is a story where children lose their innocence and trust. Where cultures and language collide as Western influences permeates the Indian culture. Where sexual and caste conflict have wide reaching impact.

Overall, a satisfying read that may have had a larger impact on me if I had chosen to read, instead of listen, to the story.

I see you started the year with Montalbano which is always a winner with me! Looks like that one wasn't as strong as some in the series though.

>73 thornton37814: - Hi Lori! Novellas tend to be a bit choppy for me when I am used to the details a full novel contains, but it appears that The Fourth Secret was probably an early story, written when Camilleri was still settling into his characters and getting his writer's rhythm. Still, a decent - and quick! - read.

The God of small things is a book bullet for me.

I decided that a complete lack od structure would be good for this year so I've got a thread going over in the Club Read group, but I'm sure 2020 will see me putting together a category challenge again :-)

>75 SouthernKiwi: - Lack of structure is the perfect way to read! I will find and star your thread over in the Club Read group.

You are off to a great start with your reading, Lori. And I love your walking plans, it will be fun travelling the I-5 with you.

>77 DeltaQueen50: -Thank Judy! The audioreads do help, for both reading and walking. ;-)

Book #3 - Plainsong by Kent Haruf - audiobook narrated by Tom Stechschulte
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: Title Contains Homophone Word - Plain
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: October 1999
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 320 pages / 9 hours, 4 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing web page:

"In the small town of Holt, Colorado, a high school teacher is confronted with raising his two boys alone after their mother retreats first to the bedroom, then altogether. A teenage girl—her father long since disappeared, her mother unwilling to have her in the house—is pregnant, alone herself, with nowhere to go. And out in the country, two brothers, elderly bachelors, work the family homestead, the only world they've ever known. From these unsettled lives emerges a vision of life, and of the town and landscape that bind them together—their fates somehow overcoming the powerful circumstances of place and station, their confusion, curiosity, dignity and humor intact and resonant."

Review:
This was actually a re-read for me - I first read the book in 2016 - in preparation for reading the next two books in the trilogy and for a bit of planned Haruf binge reading. It was so easy to slide back in step with the characters in the fictional small town of Holt. This time through, I was able to draw better appreciation for Haruf's skill as a writer. With straightforward, unapologetic writing, Haruf's characters continue to resonate with me. From the quietness of Bobby and Ike, the kindly knowledgeable Maggie to the delightful McPheron brothers, this story is a quiet, contemplative meditation on the importance of family, community and the positive power and good a sense of belonging brings.

A touching story and I am now ready to dip into Eventide.

Book #4 - Beekeeping for Beginners by Laurie R. King - audiobook narrated by Robert Ian Mackenzie
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: RandomCAT - Your Name in Print
Bingo DOG: Short Stories or Essays
Category: N/A
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: July 2011
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 74 pages / 1 hour, 40 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.50 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing web page:

"Sherlock Holmes is fending off a particularly dark mood as he roams the Sussex Downs, in search of wild bees. The Great War may be raging across the Channel, but on the Downs, the great detective nears terminal melancholia—only to be saved by an encounter with headstrong, yellow-haired young Mary Russell, who soon becomes the Master’s apprentice not only in beekeeping but in detection.

Holmes instantly spots her remarkable ability, but his sharp eyes also see troubling problems. Why is this wealthy orphan who lives with her aunt so shabbily dressed? Why is she so prone to illness and accident? Is she herself the center of a mystery? These are questions that the great detective must answer quickly lest his protégée, and his own new lease on life, meet a sudden, tragic end."

Review:
This was a fun short story/ novella to read. While published 17 years after The Beekeeper's Apprentice, the first book in the Mary Russell series, this story is best read as a companion piece to the first book. Told predeminantly from the point of view of Holmes, the story starts off at the same place The Beekeeper's Apprentice does, with Russell and Holmes' chance encounter in the Suffex countryside. King keenly captures Holmes' personality and mindset while providing Holmes with a new lease on life as he works behind the scenes to protect Russell.

Overall, a very quick and satisfying read for this Holmes fan.

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

.






Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 1 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 27.21
Kilometers walked in total: 27.21
Current province/state: (BC/WA)
My current location on the map: Due north of Bellingham International Airport.
Points of interest along the way: First week of the virtual walk saw me travel through Blaine, Custer and Ferndale on my way to Bellingham.


Welcome to Blaine, Washington - J Stephen Conn - as posted on Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Blaine is the shared home of the Peace Arch international monument and a small town with a population of roughly 5,000. Blaine was incorporated on May 20, 1890, and, rather ironically IMO, was named after James G. Blaine (1830−1893), who was born in western Pennsylvania and was a U.S. senator from the state of Maine - Yup, waaayyyyy over on the other side of the U.S. ;-) Blaine's motto is "Where America Begins": the community is also known as "The Gateway to the Pacific Northwest", and the "Peace Arch City". Not surprising, given the waterfront location, Blaine was home for a number of decades to one of the world's largest salmon canneries. A book that I really enjoyed set in and around this area is Border Songs by Jim Lynch, a delightful story if you haven't read it yet.

Custer, the second community I passed through, was named after its first postmaster, Albert W. Custer and is identified as a census-designated place with a population of roughly 350. Claim to fame: Country singer Loretta Lynn was a resident of Custer in the 1950s and early 1960s when she was a young wife and mother at the start of her legendary career.

Ferndale, roughly twice the size of Blaine, was originally called Jam, due to its proximity to a log jam on the Nooksak River but was renamed Ferndale when the area's original schoolteacher felt they community needed a more pituresque name. Interesting sights near Ferndale is this double cantilever rail bridge over the Nooksack River:


ail bridge over the Nooksack - Joe Mabel - as posted to Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Pioneer Park, owned by the city of Ferndale, lets visitors step back in time and get a sense of what life was like for the early European settlers to this region of Washington State. The village includes a collection of 12 original cedar slab log cabins built by the pioneers of the 1800s (https://www.bellingham.org/insider-blogs/pioneer-park-in-ferndale-features-the-worlds-largest-collection-of-original-cedar-slab-pioneer-cabins/):


Parker House General Store - Joe Mabel - as posted to Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

>79 lkernagh: - I feel that I may have to reread this before I continue with the others too.

>80 lkernagh: - Maybe I'll try this as my first audio book since it's less than 2 hours listening time.

>82 dudes22: - That is a problem I will be facing with a number of trilogies I have started and never finished. I am hoping to finally finish Jane Gardem's Old Filth trilogy but I will have to re-read Old Filth before I dip into the other two books. ;-)

Beekeeping for Beginners was a quick read! I finished it while out for my walk today, which took me into town for some errands.

Book #5 - A Voice in the Night by Andrea Camilleri - translated from the Italian by Stephen Sartarelli
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: SeriesCAT - Series in Translation; AlphaKIT - "A"
Bingo DOG: Part of a Series
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: eBook
Original publication date: 2012; 106 for English translation
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 281 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.35 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing web page:

"Montalbano investigates a robbery at a supermarket, a standard case that takes a spin when manager Guido Borsellino is later found hanging in his office. Was it a suicide? The inspector and the coroner have their doubts, and further investigation leads to the director of a powerful local company.

Meanwhile, a girl is found brutally murdered in Giovanni Strangio’s apartment—Giovanni has a flawless alibi, and it’s no coincidence that Michele Strangio, president of the province, is his father. Weaving together these two crimes, Montalbano realizes that he’s in a difficult spot where political power is enmeshed with the mafia underworld."

Review:
While a good read, I found this was not up to the snappy, witty standard I have grown to expect for the Inspector Montalbano stories. Imagine my relief to discover the author's note at the end where Camilleri mentions that the novel was written a number of years ago and that the secret alchemy of publisher's schedules are to blame for a disconnect in some aspects of the story's development. Good to know. The story itself is a decent police procedural / crime/ mystery story. This time, Camilleri showcases an integrated web of mafia, terrorism and politics that at times left my mind swimming. Who do you trust in a system like that? On the downsides, Salvo's struggles with accepting his 58th birthday and his nightly phone conversations with Livia are a bit "over the top" drama-wise, but Montalbano has bigger fish to fry, even if it means resorting to some rather unlawful means to get the job done. Good thing he has friends like the TV journalist Nicolò Zito to help set the record straight publicly, with Enzo and Adelina making sure his is properly fed. Always fun to watch Montalbano tapdance his way out of his own transgressions, and I have to say, the experience with the octopus at the start of the book is priceless! As for Cat, Fazio and Augello, nice to see somethings never change.

Overall, another decent - and fun - police procedural story set in Camilleri's Sicily.

<81 Good information about towns that I usually zip past on my way to the shopping in Bellingham! ;)

>85 DeltaQueen50: -I hear you on the "zip past" enroute to Bellingham!

Currently Reading:
.

Audiobook:
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain (audiobook narrated by Kathe Mazur) - Letter "Q" for the January AlphaKIT. Currently 1/3 of the way through and really loving the insight I am gaining about my introverted self and why the Tony Robbins and Dale Carnegie sessions don't work for me.
ebook:
TBD
Physical books:
Eventide by Kent Haruf - A ROOT read, and for my 'series' reading category as I binge read my way through Haruf's books

I'll be interested in your thoughts of Quiet once you get done with it Lori. I loved her TED talk but for some reason have hesitated over picking up the book.

>87 lkernagh: I read Quiet several years ago and loved it. I’m extremely introverted and practically everything she said was applicable to me.

How does Haruf hold up to having his novels read one after the other? They are such quiet, understated books.

And I'm enjoying your journey so far.

>88 SouthernKiwi: - I did not know that Cain has a TEDtalk! I must go track it down. I did find Quiet to be an interesting read. It worked quite well as an audioread... always a bonus.

>89 casvelyn: - Cain had some interesting insights. I seem to fall more on the pseudo-extrovert / situation introvert part of the spectrum. Sounds like you and Cain would have a lot to discuss!

>90 RidgewayGirl: - So far, so good. I am curious to see if I start to waver in my appreciation by binge reading, but we shall see. I am only 1/2 way through Eventide, but hope to make good reading headway this weekend.

The walking journey is really helping my January fitness walking, that is for sure. ;-)

--------------------------------
Happy Friday, everyone! It has been good week. Not much to report... just the usual work, home, eat, bed and repeat. A couple of windy nights have left me a little cranky/groggy with lack of sleep so looking forward to no alarms tomorrow morning. I did manage to finish my audioread of Quiet today, so at least I have a review to show for what I have been up to. ;-)

Book #6 - Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain - audiobook narrated by Kathe Mazur
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: AlphaKIT - "Q"
Bingo DOG: LT Rating of 4.0+ - 4.03
Category: N/A
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2012
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 368 pages - 10 hours, 30 minutes
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing web page:

"At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over working in teams. It is to introverts—Rosa Parks, Chopin, Dr. Seuss, Steve Wozniak—that we owe many of the great contributions to society.

In Quiet, Susan Cain argues that we dramatically undervalue introverts and shows how much we lose in doing so. She charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal throughout the twentieth century and explores how deeply it has come to permeate our culture. She also introduces us to successful introverts—from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. Passionately argued, superbly researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how they see themselves."

Review:
As a self-professed introvert “of sorts”, I was curious to learn what wisdom/insight I would glean from Cain. What did I learn? That I probably best identify as a pseudo-extrovert/situational introvert. That I present more extrovert tendencies in familiar surroundings and only do well in the spotlight if my performance is not subject to scrutiny or if the audience is comprised of total strangers I will most likely never encounter again. My work colleagues have learned that while I am social while working, I prefer to recharge with solitary walks at lunch time and turn down offers to join co-workers for group walks or chat sessions at the coffee shop.

Some sections of the book were more interesting than others and while I generally find case studies informative, I would have to say that a good part of this book was more a confirmation of what I already thought/knew, as it covered a fair bit of familiar ground from my university/Psychology major days. That being said, I was very interested with the theory that the stock market crashes could potentially have been the result of risky trading by more extroverted individuals. Some readers may view this as a self-help book for introverts, but I would disagree. I think this book is geared towards a broad audience: parents who want to understand their children; educators wanting to provide the best education experience to all types of students; businesses that want to maximize employee productivity and get best advantage out of team decision-making; and extroverts who want to learn more about the introverts in their lives, and more about their extroverted selves.

Overall, a good read that helps set the record straight about personality types, how our North American world is more tailored to promote extrovert behaviour, that introversion is not as uncommon as some might think (30% to 50% of the population is introverted in nature) and that shyness does not equate to introversion.

>92 lkernagh: I have borrowed this from the library and look forward to reading it. I am definitely an introvert and I guess we think there are less of us as we are quieter! :) Modern society with all the social media and 'look at me' mentality is definitely not geared for the introvert so I am trying to read some books on this to help with business strategies.

It's a good read. I agreed with some parts and other places I disagreed.

>93 JayneCM: - I hope you find Cain's book to be an informative read for you! I don't agree with everything in the book, but I like that Cain and I appear to be of a like mind that labels can only be used as markers, but not as fixed describers of an individual.

>94 mysterymax: - That makes sense to me. I believe that any approach to categorize personality needs to be examined with some skepticism as everyone is different and categories demean the importance of individuality. I didn't agree with everything, but I think the book is a good place to start a conversation.

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Happy Sunday, everyone! It has been a great weekend. I love weekends that manage to be productive and relaxing at the same time. So, I am taking on a new gardening project that I would love my visitors to chime in on. My other half loves to surprise me with flowers from time to time and gave me a dozen cut roses for New Years. The flowers have shriveled up but the stalks have some very healthy new green shoots that I am thinking of trying to grow in a planter pot. I have never attempted to grow cuttings before, so any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

Time for a book review, a walking update and an update to my Currently Reading.

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

.






Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 2 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 46.66
Kilometers walked in total: 73.87
Current province/state: (WA)
My current location on the map: Northwest end of Burlington, due south of Chuckanut Junction.
Points of interest along the way: Bellingham, the largest city in Washington state's Whatcom county, is a frequent "day trip" location for Canadians crossing the BC/WA border, mainly for the convenience of shopping. Not surprisingly, I came across a 2016 article that Bellingham has been named one of the 50 worst cities in America, mainly because of the cost of housing (or, the lack of affordable housing). Bellingham is home to Western Washington University. Some interesting sites are Whatcom Museum, housed in Bellingham's old city hall:


Whatcom Museum ~ Old City Hall - Onasill ~ Bill Badzo - as posted on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The techno geek in me would make a bee-line for Spark Musuem and the Tesla coil MegaZapper:


Tesla Coil MegaZapper at Spark Museum - screen shot of video posted to YouTube by Bellingham Herald

Interestingly, Bellingham is one of only a few cities in the continental United States that experience astronomical twilight for the entire night, with the phenomenon occurring between June 14 and June 28. South of Bellingham, I virtually walked past Lake Padden Park and Lake Samish, a summer vacation lake community. Notable residents of Lake Samish include actress Hilary Swank who grew up in a trailer park next to the lake.

The remainder of the virtually walking for the week took me through the census communities of Alger and Belfast on my approach to Burlington.

Book #7 - Eventide by Kent Haruf
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category, ROOT
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Series
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: 2004
Acquisition date: May 5, 2013
Page count: 299 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing web page:

"Kent Haruf, award-winning, bestselling author of Plainsong returns to the high-plains town of Holt, Colorado, with a novel of masterful authority. The aging McPheron brothers are learning to live without Victoria Roubideaux, the single mother they took in and who has now left their ranch to start college. A lonely young boy stoically cares for his grandfather while a disabled couple tries to protect their a violent relative. As these lives unfold and intersect, Eventide unveils the immemorial truths about human beings: their fragility and resilience, their selfishness and goodness, and their ability to find family in one another."

Review:
I continue to love Haruf's straight-talking, "tell it like it is" approach to story telling. In this sequel to Haruf's debut novel, Plainsong, we are back in the fictional township of Holt, Colorado, roughly 2 years later. I call Holt a township as the story also captures the farming community, through the McPheron farm. Continuing his quietly expressive writing style, Haruf takes this story up a notch. We are introduced to new characters, get to revisit with familiar characters and, if you are like me, emotionally experience some really heart-wrenching, "unexpected punches to the gut" scenes. Not all outcomes are cheery, but Haraf's writing captures a snapshot of small town life, so it is not surprising that some of the events have a sad/ negative resolution or remain unresolved. That is life. Haruf's message remains steady and true: The ability to accept/overcome loss, face adversity or just carry on with life after it has kicked you to the curb, can be helped along with the comforting power of family/ friendship/ community.

Another wonderful story and I am looking forward to starting the third book in the trilogy, Benediction.

Currently Reading:
...

Audiobook:
The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher - Book 1 in the Cinder Spires series. Fantasy/ Steampunk/ Adventure read, for the SFFKIT "Read an SFF you meant to read in 2018, but never started/completed". Currently 30% of the way through and after a rather prolonged start, the story is now attaining a nice adventure clip. Also, a perfect fit for BingoDOG square "Animal in Title, Cover, Significant Role", as there are some interesting talking animal characters in the story. ;-)
ebook:
A Nest of Vipers by Andrea Camilleri - Yes, I am continuing my binge reading of the Inspector Montalbano books. Hoping to get caught up with the English translations over the next couple of weeks... hopefully in time for the next installment coming for release sometime in February, I believe?
Physical books:
A Suitable Boy by Virkram Seth - Just about to start the year-long group read, so this one will continue to show up in future Currently Reading updates for, probably the remainder of 2019 unless I get ambitious and jump ahead of the group.
Benediction by Kent Haruf - A ROOT read, and as the third book in the Plainsong trilogy, perfect for my 'series' reading category as I continue to binge read my way through Haruf's books.

>97 lkernagh: I have wanted to get to these Kent Haruf books for a while. They must be worth it, if you are planning to keep reading!

>99 JayneCM: - The first two books have been worthy reads so I am curious to see how the third book in the trilogy holds up, and then on to Haruf's stand alone novels (my excuse to read the books that have been languishing on my TBR piles). :-)

-------------------------------
What can I say.... it is Tuesday, the weather this week has been fabulous (cold with blue skies and no rain, always a bonus at this time of year), work is not overly annoying me and both my walking and reading are ticking along nicely, so no complaints. ;-)

I stumbled across this rather interesting Washington Post perspective piece that puts an interesting spin on introversion/extroversion. The author mentions Susan Cain's Quiet, and while I don't agree with everything they say, it is an example of how each of us has a different point of view on the world of introverts and extroverts.

Book #8 - A Nest of Vipers by Andrea Camilleri
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: SeriesCAT - Series in Translation; AlphaKIT - "A"
Bingo DOG: Read a CAT
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: eBook
Original publication date: 2013
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 272 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.95 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing web page:

"Inspector Montalbano enjoys simple pleasures: delicious food, walks along the water, the occasional smoke—yet these are just the backdrop to his duties as a detective.

His latest case is the killing of the wealthy Cosimo Barletta. Thought to be a widower living out a quiet life by the sea, Cosimo’s sudden death, by gunshot to the neck, opens up his past to scrutiny. What Montalbano uncovers is Cosimo’s trove of salacious photographs, used to extort young women, and a history full of greed and corruption. Montalbano, though resolved to find the killer, muses on where justice lies—in his pursuit of a suspect or with one of Cosimo’s innumerable victims getting the revenge they deserved?"

Review:
After reading 20 earlier installments in the series, I did not think that Camilleri could surprise me, but surprise me he did. Not with the characters. They remain the loyal, unwavering, unique personalities that are a big part of the reason I continue to enjoy the Inspector Montalbano books. That, and the interesting mind games that Montalbano plays on some of the suspects (not always by the book, if you know what I mean). No, the surprise was in the unveiling of the crime(s) this go around. As the clues are uncovered, and disturbing layers to the case are revealed, I kept saying in my head, “No, it cannot be that… say it isn’t that”. Every now and then Camilleri takes readers, like me, outside of our comfort zone, making me squirm uncomfortably. He sure did this time! Some readers may be tiring of the “bickering” relationship between Salvo and Livia, but I can see where Camilleri uses that relationship as a foil for some of Montalbano’s frustrations.

Another wonderful installment in an entertaining series.

>101 lkernagh: I just started this series last year and since I have a while before I get to this one, I went ahead and read your review. I might need to binge read a few to start and catch up.

>102 dudes22: - It is a fun series, Betty and the food descriptions tend to make my mouth water. No worries on reading my reviews... I make the reviews as spoiler free as possible so that the story is still a surprise for readers. ;-) As for catching up, it appears that Camilleri is churning out a story a year (if not more than one!) so I think the publishers for the English translations are trying to space out each new release.

I love Jim Butcher, and I really liked The Aeronaut's Windlass. Wish he'd come out with more of the series.

I love the wonderful variety of the books you're reading. No one can accuse you of being in a rut!

>104 The_Hibernator: - The Aeronaut's Windlass is my first Butcher book. Definitely a fun adventure read. Wondering if I should give his Dresden Files series a read... not that I am on the look out to add more series to my reading. This year I am trying to get caught up with some of my series reading! ;-)

>105 RidgewayGirl: - Thanks! Gotta mix things up a bit. Nothing worst than finding oneself stuck in a reading rut. ;-)

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Happy Friday and Happy Weekend, everyone! Wind and rain forecast for this evening so looking forward to changing into my PJs and curling up with a book. ;-0

Book #9 - The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher - audiobook narrated by Euan Morton
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: SFFKIT - Excuses, Excuses...
Bingo DOG: Animal in Title, Cover, Significant Role
Category: N/A
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2015
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 643 pages / 21 hours, 34 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.65 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing web page:

"Since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity. Within their halls, the ruling aristocratic houses develop scientific marvels, foster trade alliances, and maintain fleets of airships to keep the peace.

Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship Predator. Loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is damaged in combat, Grimm joins a team of Albion agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring his ship.

And as Grimm undertakes this task, he learns that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. Humanity’s ancient enemy, silent for more than ten thousand years, has begun to stir once more. And death will follow in its wake..."

Review:
The world build in this story is really quite something! Not sure I agree with the steampunk label that has been applied to this one, but there is no questioning the solid fantasy world setting of cities/nations on spires high in the sky build by mysterious, long-lost Builders. Travel between spires is accomplished via crystal-powered airships and, as to be expected with any action-packed adventure, two spires (Albion and Aurora) are involved in an on-going cold war, with sabre-rattling, behind lines incursions and outright attacks one would expect. Throw into the mix a secret ops mission lead by a dishonored military airship captain, a motley crew of merchant marines under his command, three new spire Guard trainees (two still wet behind their ears) and two highly, highly eccentric Etherealists – kind of like a mentalist/psychic/magician – and good luck trying to guess what is going to happen next. If that is not enough, we also have sentient cats (including a rather snobby cat, Rowl), poisonous spider-like monsters, genetically modified warrior race and energy-blasting crystals. *Whew*.

Favorite character, for me anyways, is Folly, the young etherealist apprentice who communicates in the third person, usually to her crystals. I love quirky characters and Folly is a delight! High born Gwen is – well - really annoying, but she does have her uses. Rowl (the cat that is part of the mission team) is eye-rollingly arrogant. At least Butcher captures the typical feline aloofness, so cat lovers will probably find Rowl more delightful than I did. Parts of the story dragged a bit – Butcher's attention to detail was a bit pedantic at times – but I loved the airships (think wonderful wooden, air-borne schooners!), the crystal powered technology and the air battle scenes.

For a first book in a new series, it has some room for improvement but overall, it is a solid piece of fantasy/ adventure writing and I am intrigued enough to want to read the next book in the series.

>107 lkernagh: Having just added this to my own collection I'm glad to see that you enjoyed it enough to want to continue with the series whenever he gets around to producing it that is.

>108 AHS-Wolfy: - Hi Dave. I may be judging the Butcher read a tad harshly, probably in part due to my love for Westerfeld's Leviathan series and Wooding's Retribution Falls for high flying airship adventures. I am pretty confident that you will find Butcher's book an entertaining read. ;-) I am also curious to see when the next book in the series comes out!

----------------------------
Crazy weather day, turning my morning into an insane game of "dodge the short term rain storms" while out running errands. Took advantage of down time this afternoon to finish the next installment in the Inspector Montalbano series. Happy to report that I have now caught up (until the next English translation installments comes out) so big ""WHOOT!"


Photo Credit: Charles M. Schulz - Peanuts

Book #10 - The Pyramid of Mud by Andrea Camilleri - translated from the Italian by Stephen Sartarelli
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: SeriesCAT - Series in Translation; AlphaKIT - "A"
Bingo DOG: Weather Word in Title or Book Involves Weather Event - Torrential Rain Storms
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: eBook
Original publication date: 2014
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 266 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing web page:

"On a gloomy morning in Vigàta, a call from Fazio rouses Inspector Montalbano from a nightmare. A man called Giugiù Nicotra has been found dead in the skeletal workings of a construction site, a place now entombed by a sea of mud from recent days of rain and floods. Shot in the back, he had fled into a water supply system tunnel. The investigation gets off to a slow start, but all the evidence points to the world of construction and public contracts, a world just as slimy and impenetrable as mud.

As he wades through a world in which construction firms and public officials thrive, Montalbano is obsessed by one thought: that by going to die in the tunnel, Nicotra had been trying to communicate something."

Review:
This story has to be,in my personal opinion, Montalbano (or maybe I should say Camilleri?) at his best/ top of his form, even if we find Montalbano is subjected to wading and slipping through mud created by never ending rain storms and the potential mafia corruption of public constructions works. That alone is enough to make any sane person want to pull the blankets up over their heads, stay in bed and hope all weather and crime problems just dry up and go away. That may work for the weather, but not corruption. Interestingly, Montalbano and his team find themselves caught up in a highly orchestrated drama of false confessions and a larger criminal activity to unravel. Camilleri has mastered the skill of creating intricate crimes that take a fair bit of "noggin' (head) work" to suss out and is part of the reason why I find these stories so interesting to read. Caterilla is as entertaining as always, but I enjoying seeing Fazio getting some good screen time where he gets to flex his researching skills.

On the downside, the story also delves into Montabano's girlfriend Livia's depression. If you are like me, and have read the previous installments, you might be wondering "What depression?" but it comes clear rather early on that Livia's depression seems to be directly linked to an event that occurs three installments back, in A Beam of Light. So, based on this jarring disconnect I experienced, this book is another book in the series that has potentially been published "out of sync". That kind of detail stuff drives me batty.

On the good news front, I am now all caught up with the currently published English translations in this series!

>110 lkernagh: Well, they need to translate some more for you! I'm not caught up yet, but I hope to read/listen to a few more this year.

>111 thornton37814: - *snickers* The good news is that they are supposed to be releasing the next English installment in early February. I have already placed my hold with my local library so will probably be reading it in early March after they receive the book and enter it into their system. ;-)

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Sunday are supposed to be relaxing days. Good thing I didn't have much planned for today as the other half has gone and strained his hamstring so I have an invalid on my hands to fetch and carry for. On the bright side, having him stationary will make it a lot easier for me to vacuum and clean the floors. ;-0

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

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Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 3 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 47.90
Kilometers walked in total: 121.77
Current province/state: (WA)
My current location on the map: South of the Tulalip Resort Casino, heading for Marysville and Everett.
Points of interest along the way: This week my virtual walking took me through Burlington (nicknamed the "Hub City"), a small city in Skagit County that is probably best known to Canadian travellers for its outlet shoppes. According to Wikipedia, Burlington began as a logging camp in 1882 and was officially incorporated on June 16, 1902. Annual event held in Burlington is the summer Berry Dairy Days, started in 1937 as the Strawberry Festival and celebrates Burlington's history of agricultural and farming communities. FUN FACT: A 1954 article reporting on the Berry Dairy Days described a gigantic strawberry shortcake that was the centerpiece of that year's festival: it consisted of 60 sheets of sponge cake that took 12 hours to bake, and claimed to be the largest strawberry shortcake in the world.

Next stop on my walking journey is Mount Vernon, the county seat for Skagit County and is known for its annual Tulip Festival Street Fair. Notable buildings in Mount Vernon includes the historic Lincoln Theatre:


Lincoln Theatre - photo source Jo Mabel - as posted to Wikimedia Commons (GNU Free Documentation License / CC BY-SA 3.0)

Originally built in 1926 as a vaudeville and silent movie house, the Lincoln Theatre continues to host live theatrical performances and concerts. The Lincoln is one of only 98 theatres in the US that still possesses its original Wurlitzer theatre organ, which continues to be played at the start of each performance:


LincolnTheatreWurlitzerConsole - photo source tj9991 - as posted to Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

FUN FACT: Mount Vernon's sister city is Chilliwack, BC.

Rivers crossed this week include the Skagit and the Stillaguamish. The Skagit River is the only large river system in Washington that contains healthy populations of all five native salmon species and two species of trout.

Currently Reading:
...

Audiobook:
Benediction by Kent Haruf - A ROOT read, and as the third book in the Plainsong trilogy, perfect for my 'series' reading category as I continue to binge read my way through Haruf's books. Flipping over to audiobook from trade paperback, thanks to my local library digital offerings!
ebook:
Beyond Farwin Wood by Drea Damara - A November LTER book that finally arrived in my inbox this weekend and book two in the Blinney Lane series. First book, The Weeping Books of Blinney Lane was a fun story so I am looking forward to reading this one!
Physical books:
A Suitable Boy by Virkram Seth - Plan to read Part 1 this week to stay on track with the year long group read.
The Likeness by Tana French - A perfect fit as a ROOT read, my "now oldest TBR book" for the TBRCAT (First in/Last out) and, even better, an excuse to get caught up with French's Dublin Murder Squad series, a series I have been reading a bit out of sequence, I have to admit.

>112 lkernagh: - How do you know which ones have been translated? When I'm reading a series, I usually use fantasticfiction.com to see the order of the series and I wouldn't know from looking there I don't think. I've only read the first two so I have a long way to go.

>115 dudes22: - I love the fantasticfiction.com website but you are correct, that is not where I am getting information about which Inspector Montalbano books have been translated. For that information, I am relying on the bibliography table on the Andrea Camilleri Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Camilleri

Book #11 - Benediction by Kent Haruf - audiobook narrated by Mark Bramhall
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category, ROOT
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: Author Uses Middle Name or Initial - Alan Kent Haruf
Category: Series
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback / Audiobook
Original publication date: 2013
Acquisition date: May 10, 2014
Page count: 272 pages / 8 hours, 48 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.85 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the book back cover:

"Dad Lewis lost his estranged son to an argument, and now after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, he knows he will soon lose his life. His wife and daughter work to make his final days comfortable, but subtle changes in their quiet community, like the arrival of a new preacher from Denver, have stirred up dormant memories. Supported by his wife and daughter, and surrounded by the community of friends and neighbors, all of whom are dealing with their own private challenges, Lewis approaches his fate with such reckoning that his story transcends being about death, and becomes instead a touch meditation on the connections, and separations, that make a life."

Review:
While Benediction is the third book in Haruf's Plainsong trilogy, this story is set some 20-30 years after the second book and has a completely different cast of characters, so the common ground in the trilogy appears to be the setting of small town Holt, Colorado. That, and the quiet desperation that haunts certain characters in all three books. Beyond those similarities, Benediction reads very much like a stand alone novel. It takes on a more meditative/ reflective/ melancholy posture, but still employs Harauf's sparse prose. The story weaves through multiple story lines - some connecting, some not - but in the end, this is a story about how some actions, no matter how thoroughly repented, cannot be erased. Sometimes we are denied the very redemption we seek. For these reasons, this is a harder hitting story and really brings home the saying "Time is always shorter than we think".

Of the three books in the trilogy, I have to say, this one did not quite stand up well against the first two books, mainly because, with its billing as the final book in the trilogy, I went in with certain expectations. It really should have been left as a stand alone novel. That way, the book can stand on its own merits and not be compared/ contrasted with the earlier books, like I did.

>116 lkernagh: - Oh - ok - I'll check that out.

>117 lkernagh: - I've only read book 1 so far but I've got both books 2 & 3 on my radar for this year.

ETA: ok - I was worried they were translating out of order. I've got plenty of time to catch up.

>117 lkernagh: - It would be annoying if the English translations were being published out of sync with the original Italian! Sadly, Camilleri admitted in the afterwards of A Voice in the Night that that novel was written a number of years ago and that the secret alchemy of publisher's schedules are to blame for a disconnect in some aspects of the story's development. Not much we can do about that, I guess, unless someone takes the time to come up with a story chronological order for readers to follow.

Yes, you do have plenty of time to catch up. Camilleri seems to be quite the prolific writer!

One of my original plans for this year was to pick some series I was behind in and try to catch up with them. But once the Cats were decided, I didn't think I'd be able to fit them in so I change to concentrate on the Cats and Bingo. Maybe next year.

>120 dudes22: - Well, the good news is that the series will all still be waiting to be read next year, or whenever you decide to series binge read. ;-)

Another week down, and another weekend ahead. It has been one of those weeks. Crazy stuff you don't expect to happen but have to push through anyways.

I never know what I will encounter on my walks but my lunchtime walk today had a novelty I was not expecting. Walking through a quiet neighbourhood street near the office, I noticed a parked car that had what appeared to be steam rising up from the front hood. My first thought: overheated radiator. That wasn't the case, as I soon learned from the two men watching the car, one on the phone. Nope. Engine fire. Sure enough, we heard a pop and there was a momentary flame that rose out from under the hood. It took 10 minutes for the fire department to arrive and in that time, I was stunned to see how many cyclists and pedestrians would obliviously approach the car or, even worse, drivers driving past would slow down beside it like moths drawn to a flame - no pun intended but seriously that was what was occurring! I should mention the car was parked on a narrow, one-way street and the three of us had to keep telling everyone to move on and stay clear. Now, this may be just be me, but a car with an engine fire (a lot of smoke and occasional flames licking out) and my personal first instinct is to get clear of the vehicle, just in case, I don't know, it explodes or something. Apparently, I am in a minority for thinking that way. Who knew! Absolutely blows my mind. Good news is the fire crew arrived, put the fire out and the damage was contained to the vehicle and nothing else. The poor owner of the car - a late 20-something guy - showed up while the fire crews were dealing with the situation, but I didn't stick around to find out possible cause or anything. Like I said, some unexpected excitement today.

On the reading front, I am continuing my Kent Haruf binge reading and have another review ready for posting.

Book #12 - Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf - audiobook narrated by Mark Bramhall
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: Made into a Movie
Category: Author
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2015
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 179 pages / 3 hours, 28 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.40 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"In Holt, Colorado, Addie Moore pays an unexpected visit to a neighbor, Louis Waters. Her husband died years ago, as did his wife, and in such a small town they naturally have known of each other for decades; in fact, Addie was quite fond of Louis's wife. His daughter lives hours away, her son even farther, and Addie and Louis have long been living alone in empty houses, the nights so terribly lonely, especially with no one to talk with. But maybe that could change? As Addie and Louis come to know each other better--their pleasures and their difficulties--a beautiful story of second chances unfolds."

Review:
This is the best Haruf read for me so far, and sadly, the last book of his to be published, that I am aware of anyways. While time seems to stand still in Holt, Colorado – the fictional town Haruf’s stories are set in – Haruf gives us enough subtle clues (like Addie’s 6 year old grandson Jamie having his own cell phone) to place this story squarely in Haruf’s time when he wrote it. This time the main characters are two neighbours, both widowed and in their twilight years. Their platonic nights spent together at Addie’s house give Louis and Addie a new lease on happiness, even if their attempts to keep their nights together unobtrusive fail as the town gossips start to make comments about what “they think” is going on.

As with his other books, this story is multi-generational, with a focus on family and community, but it is not all sweetness and light. In this story, Haruf continues his theme that some of the most destructive elements can be found within one’s own family, and that “family” as a positive support is not necessary determined by blood relation. Some opinions and actions in this story are harsh. It is always shocking to me how people who do not approve of someone else’s behaviour (even when it has nothing to do with them) still feel they have a right to dictate change: “I don’t like what you are doing, so YOU have to change”, with no regard for the thoughts or feelings of the other person. That kind of attitude makes me see red, so my emotions while reading this one went through the whole spectrum of happiness, sadness, anger, grief and laughter. Haruf knows how to emotionally draw me into a story and it was a delightful surprise to discover Haruf delving into a bit of meta-fiction fun at one point with Louis and Addie engaging in a conversation about fictional books about Holt (Plainsong is easily recognizable in their conversation!) and how much they would not want to be the subject of another fictional Holt book.

Beautifully written, this story will hopefully renew your belief in happiness, even if it is never secure and there can be unexpected risks and bumps along the way.

>123 lkernagh: on my wishlist it goes!

>123 lkernagh: - For some reason I read this one first. I think I didn't realize there were more. I just need to read book 2 now and am planning it for sometime this year.

>124 Tess_W: - As you have probably noticed, I am rather liking my Haruf binge reading! Such a great writer.

>125 dudes22: - If it helps any, Betty, my Haruf reading has not exactly been in publication order. I seem to have left his first two published works as the last two that I have still to read. I figure so long as I read a series in series order, I am not too fussy about reading stand alone books out of publication order. ;-)

-------------------------
I am having a rather unproductive Saturday. Well, maybe "unproductive" is not the correct term since I did get the usually weekend shopping done as well as two loads of laundry, but other than that, just kind of futzing around, having a lazy weekend. Just shipped the other half off to a gaming night with his buddies, so I might settle in for some chick-flick TV streaming. ;-)

...before I do that, here is the weekly walking and currently reading updates.

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

.






Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 4 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 39.86
Kilometers walked in total: 161.63
Current province/state: (WA)
My current location on the map: Squarely within the Seattle metropolitan area, more specifically in the Meridian Park/North City area, due north of Ronald Bog Park.
Points of interest along the way: This week my virtual walking had me traveling past Marysville and Everett, both cities that are captured within the Seattle metropolitan umbrella. According to Wikipedia, Marysville was established in 1872 as a trading post by James P. Comeford, but was not populated by other settlers until 1883, and then incorporated in 1891. Nicknamed "The Strawberry City" due to the abundance of strawberry fields in the area. Marysville holds an annual strawberry festival in the third week of June, which is highlighted by a grand parade on State Avenue and a nighttime fireworks show. The first annual strawberry festival was held in 1932 to celebrate the city's strawberry growing industry, and has only been cancelled during World War II (from 1942 to 1945) and in 1949 due to a polio outbreak. The Marysville skyline is dominated by views of Mount Pilchuck and the Cascade Mountains to the east and the Olympic Mountains to the west. Notable buildings in Marysville include the Marysville Opera House, built by the Independent Order of Oddfellows in 1911 at a cost of $20,000 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982:

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Marysville Opera House exterior/interior - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by SounderBruce/B2 (CC BY-SA 2.0/public domain)

Traveling from Marysville to Everett, one crosses over Union Slough and the Snohomish River, passing near Steamboat Slough. Steamboat Slough is a tidal channel connection the Snohomish River to Puget Sound. According to this 2014 seattlepi.com photo article, countless boats have been abandoned/dumped by uninterested owners, turning the water channels near Spencer Island in to a boat graveyard.

Everett is built on the Port Gardner peninsula. The peninsula was originally inhabited by local Coast Salish tribes, including the Snohomish. Everett is the county seat and largest city in Snohomish County and the seventh largest city in Washington State. American settlement on the Everett peninsula began in the 1860s, with several sawmills built to serve the area's growing timber industry. Everett's economy transitioned away from lumber and towards aviation after World War II, with the construction of Boeing's aircraft assembly plant at Paine Field in 1967. Boeing remains the city's largest employer, alongside the U.S. Navy, which has operated Naval Station Everett since 1992.

Everett is home to the Imagine Children's Museum. The museum is designed as an activity center for children between the ages of one and twelve years, with over 20 exhibits. Some of the exhibits are reflective of life in Snohomish County, including a child-sized airplane cockpit, a bus donated by Everett Transit, and a theater stage. The museum's rooftop was converted into an outdoor playground in 2005, including a two-story wooden tower, climbing wall and other play areas.

Everett has three sister cities:
- Iwakuni located in Yamaguchi, Japan
- Sligo, located in County Sligo, Ireland
- Sovetskaya Gavan, located in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia

Public art always fascinates me, so I was happy to stumble across this one for Everett:


Public art in front of old county courthouse - as posted to Wikipedia Commons by Emersb (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Unfortunately, I have been unable to find out the story behind this piece of public art. If anyone knows, do please post a comment!

Currently Reading:
....

Audiobook:
Where You Once Belonged by Kent Haruf - A ROOT read and my last Haruf book (*sniffles*), which I will be starting on Monday or as soon as I finish The Tie That Binds. While I can juggle multiple books at a time, I try not to read two books by the same author at the same time.
ebook:
Beyond Farwin Wood by Drea Damara - A November LTER book and book two in the Blinney Lane series. Hoping to get started on this one sometime this week.
Physical books:
A Suitable Boy by Virkram Seth - Finished Part 1 last week and I am already sucked into the sweeping family saga this looks to be.
The Tie That Binds by Kent Haruf - A ROOT read. Currently 70 pages in and so far, really loving it!
The Likeness by Tana French - Hoping to get started on this one soon as I am close to wrapping up my Kent Haruf binge read and will be switching over to a Tana French binge read. This one will fit as a ROOT read and potentially a January TBRCAT, but only if I manage to get started on it!

>123 lkernagh:

Have you seen the movie based on that book?

>129 hailelib: - No, I have not. Must investigate!

*hurries off to investigate movie details*

OMG... Fonda and Redford playing Addie and Louis!!! Sadly, my local library does not have this movie available in their DVD/BluRay or digital collections.

*pouts*

Safe travels -- remember, they have guns down there, so keep your wits about you.

>131 Nickelini: - Lovely to see you stopping by, Joyce! I know, they have guns - we do too (and a lot of them!) - we just have different laws. I think this YouTube video sums the differences between the two countries nicely (but the data needs to take population differences into account and the data is a tad dated): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE0MiJeCzN0

Short answer: If the US had a federally mandated registration system (instead of the hodge podge it has), one wonders what the crime stats would be.

>128 lkernagh: Looks like you are on a Haruf roll! I plan to get to some Tana French novels this year. I'm behind on her books.

>133 thornton37814: - Hi Lori. Yes, I am enjoying my Haruf binge reading. ;-) One more book down which means I have only one more Haruf left to read before I complete his oeuvre.

Book #13 - The Tie That Binds by Kent Haruf
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category, ROOT
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: About or Featuring Siblings - The Tie That Binds by Kent Haruf
Category: Author
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 1984
Acquisition date: August 24, 2015
Page count: 246 pages
Decimal/ Star rating:4.65 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"Colorado, January 1977. Eighty-year-old Edith Goodnough lies in a hospital bed, IV taped to the back of her hand, police officer at her door. She is charged with murder. The clues: a sack of chicken feed slit with a knife, a milky-eyed dog tied outdoors one cold afternoon. The motives: the brutal business of farming and a family code of ethics as unforgiving as the winter prairie itself. Here, Kent Haruf delivers the sweeping tale of a woman of the American High Plains, as told by her neighbor, Sanders Roscoe. As Roscoe shares what he knows, Edith's tragedies unfold: a childhood of pre-dawn chores, a mother's death, a violence that leaves a father dependent on his children, forever enraged. Here is the story of a woman who sacrifices her happiness in the name of family--and then, in one gesture, reclaims her freedom."

Review:
Having read four of Haruf’s novels before dipping into this, his debut novel, I am immediately struck by two things: how well written this story is, and some stark differences to his later works. If you love Willa Cather’s stories – so far I have only read O’ Pioneers! and My Antonia, both of which are, IMO, fabulous stories – then I think The Tie That Binds may appeal to you. Both Haruf and Cather have a skill for capturing, with eloquence, the lonesomeness of the vast high plains/prairies. Haruf’s story is a story of two families – the Roscoes and the Goodnoughs (with a focus on Edith Goodnough) – and spans some 80 years. While we know right at the start that the story has a tragic event at its root, Haruf’s takes his time telling it, making use of 50 year old Sanders Roscoe as our meandering storyteller. Sanders takes his time because he wants the reader to fully understand the events leading up to that fateful day.

This is a deeply affecting, tragic story with themes of love, loyalty, responsibility and sacrifice. Edith is an amazing character. Her fortitude/ resilience is powerful. So how does this differ from Haruf’s other novels I have read? For me, this story is more focused. Everything dove-tails towards Edith. While Haruf’s stories tend to include difficult family situations, the unrelenting nature of the sadistic/ overbearing influence Edith and her brother endure makes this such a shocking read.

If you are like me and gravitate towards stories, like this one, written in clear, straightforward prose with a raw subject matter that emotionally draws you in, I can highly recommend The Last of the Crazy People by Timothy Findley.

Thanks to >129 hailelib:, I have now completed my first Bingo line. ;-)

>132 lkernagh:
LOL. You know who else has a lot of guns per capita? Switzerland. Yet, I never feel so safe as when I'm in Switzerland. Funny that. (Did you see Trevor Noah's bit on the Swiss & their guns?)

>137 Nickelini: - See, I never would have pegged the Swiss to be huge gun owners. That is interesting and your are right, one does feel safe when in Switzerland. No, I have not seen Trevor Noah's bit on the Swiss and their guns.... must investigate.

Here you go -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNpl9Nh85TM

I think there is a part 2 -- if I find it, I'll post it here

That is very informative. Thank you so much for sharing the link!

>135 lkernagh: - I still have a few of his books to read, this being one on my TBR. I love his writing and am drawing it out know there are only so many.

Just catching up on your Kent Haruf reading spell. I loved Our Souls at Night and recommended it to a friend. I know she secretly did an eye roll because her taste and mine were very dissimilar. In the end I hounded her so much that she picked it up from the library and of course, became a loyal fan of Haruf.

The story of Haruf writing the book is just as endearing, as told in this article:

https://www.oregonlive.com/books/index.ssf/2015/06/kent_harufs_last_novel_is_a_b...

>142 dudes22: - I hear you on drawing out reading Haruf's stories! I am now feeling very sad that I have - as of today - completed the oeuvre and all I have left is re-reads. ;-(

>143 VivienneR: - Lovely that your friend finally came around, Vivienne, picked up the book to read it and then became a Haruf fan! Thank you so much for sharing the link to the article!

--------------------
Wow, here we are at month end. I don't know about you, but January just flew by for me! One last review, January wrap-up and updated Currently Reading to enter February coming up.

Book #14 - Where You Once Belonged by Kent Haruf - audiobook narrated by Kirby Heybourne
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category, ROOT
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Author
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback / Audiobook
Original publication date: 1990
Acquisition date: February 8, 2015
Page count: 180 pages / 6 hours, 9 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.35 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the panmacmillan.com listing webpage:

"Heavy-built Jack Burdette is quite literally too big for his boots – and too big, certainly, for the small-town attitudes of Holt, Colorado. But when he fails to make the grade as a college footballer, and takes a job with the local farmers’ cooperative, it seems he has finally settled into the rhythm and routine of everyday life. Outward appearances can be deceptive, however, as Jack proves: returning from a weekend conference with a new wife in tow, then leaving her behind and skipping town with a bundle of other folks’ money.

Nearly a decade later, no one has forgiven or forgotten, and when Jack reappears, resentment runs high. Once again though, it is Jack whose presence – even more than his eight-year absence – proves the most devastating.."

Review:
With this one, I have now finished reading all of the novels in Haruf’s oeuvre. Yes, it seems a bit odd to end off with his second book but I wasn’t reading them in publication order. This one did not capture my attention to the same extend as the other books did. With this one, Haruf seems to be experimenting with setting and story structure. Maybe he was still trying to find his writing groove. While still set in the fictional town of Holt, this one takes extra side trips outside of Holt to other urban centres. While this story starts near the ending, once we dip back in time, it has a more traditional story structure with a linear progression of events. I guess every community has its “bad seed/ bad apple”, which in this story is Jack Burdette. Haruf straightforward prose is still evident, but there is an awkwardness to the writing that seems to suit the characters, almost as if the story was writing itself.

While Haruf is known for his seemingly simple stories with some tension/ undercurrent simmering below the surface, this story wasn’t as compelling or, IMO, as powerfully written as his other stories. It is not that I have grown tired of Holt and the town folk. Each of Haruf stories – with the exception of Plainsong and Eventide – is populated with predominantly new characters to get to know and different time periods to settle into (although some time periods across the books do overlap). I just wasn’t that interested in reading a story about a small town high school football player and the decisions he makes. I actually perked up when the town’s hopes for retribution falls apart as it meant that Finally something was going to happen. Well, what happened wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but maybe that is the point. Maybe the story with a message about family and community and the bonds we make like Haruf’s other stories. Maybe in this case, it is about the bonds we break or cannot hold onto, or maybe, it is just a story.

JANUARY RE-CAP:

BOOKS READ:
1. The Fourth Secret by Andrea Camilleri -
2. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy -
3. Plainsong by Kent Haruf -
4. Beekeeping for Beginners by Laurie R. King -
5. A Voice in the Night by Andrea Camilleri -
6. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain -
7. Eventide by Kent Haruf -
8. A Nest of Vipers by Andrea Camilleri -
9. The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher -
10. The Pyramid of Mud by Andrea Camilleri -
11. Benediction by Kent Haruf -
12. Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf -
13. The Tie That Binds by Kent Haruf -
14. Where You Once Belonged by Kent Haruf -

January STATS:
No. of Books read: 14
ROOTs read: 5
Largest book read by page count: - The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher at 643 pages
Smallest book read by page count: - The Fourth Secret by Andrea Camilleri at 77 pages
# Pages read: - 3,798 pages
Average # pages per book read: - 404 pages
Average # pages read per book: - 271 pages
Average # pages read per day: - 123
Audiobooks / eBooks / Physical Books: - 4/2/8 - with two books being counted as audioreads to get physical reads off my TBR pile.
Male vs. Female Authors: - 11 vs.3 - not surprising given my Andrea Camilleri and Kent Haruf binge reading during the month.
Fiction vs. Non-Fiction Reads: - 13 vs. 1
Average Decimal/ Star rating for books read: 3.86 out of 5 /
Publication date range of books read: 1984 to 2015

BingoDOG Update:

1. author uses middle name or initial - Benediction by Alan Kent Haruf -
2. debut novel - The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy -
3. about or featuring siblings - The Tie That Binds by Kent Haruf -
7. animal in title, cover, significant role - The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher -
12. part of a series - A Voice in the Night by Andrea Camilleri -
15. weather word in title or book involves weather event - The Pyramid of Mud by Andrea Camilleri -
17. made into a movie - Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf -
22. book in translation - The Fourth Secret by Andrea Camilleri -
25. title contains homophone word - Plainsong by Kent Haruf -
16. short stories or essays - Beekeeping for Beginners by Laurie R. King -
24. LT rating of 4.0+ - Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain -
13. read a CAT - A Nest of Vipers by Andrea Camilleri -

I am off to a fine start with my BingoDOG reading but I usually start off quick and then peter out as the months progress. I admit I got lucky with a number of books that, unplanned, happened to fit squares.

... Hum, just realized that while I have managed to get caught up/competed two series and one author's complete books, I have not even cracked a book for my Europa Editions category. Will definitely try to rectify that in February.

Currently Reading:
..

Audiobook:
TBD
ebook:
Beyond Farwin Wood by Drea Damara - A November LTER book and book two in the Blinney Lane series. Yes, I will get around to starting this one,at some point... maybe this weekend.
Physical books:
A Suitable Boy by Virkram Seth - Hoping to start reading Part 2 this weekend.
The Likeness by Tana French - Currently 140ish pages into this one and loving being back in French's police procedural world! NO way I will finish it for the January TBRCAT, but will still count as a ROOT read and the lead in to my next author/series binge read.

I haven't read any Kent Haruf yet, but Our Souls at Night is on my shelves, so I'm excited to see that you gave it 4.5 stars. Also, I hope you enjoy The Likeness!

>148 christina_reads: - Hi Christina, Our Souls at Night is a wonderful read. I hope you do enjoy it. I so want to see the movie adaptation (starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford) but I am struggling to locate a copy.

As for The Likeness, I am loving the story! Give me a dilapidated (or partially restored) old Georgian manor house, Gothic atmosphere, a crime/murder mystery to solve while assuming the identity of the dead person (who had assumed a police manufactured identity) and I am a happy reader. ;-)

Woo hoo, a bingo already! Excellent work :)

Thanks for taking me along on your Haruf project!

>150 rabbitprincess: - Thanks! That one just crept up on me. ;-)

>151 RidgewayGirl: - Lovely to have you following along with my Haruf reading! Next project is Tana French (reading the books I haven't already read, that is). ;-)

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It is the weekend, and even better, it is a wet, rainy night and the forecast is for cooler temps (nothing near what everyone caught in the polar vortex is experiencing!) and the "potential" for some snow on Sunday night. As an Alberta/prairie girl, I kind of miss the snow living on the island so I am giddy with excitement that the white stuff might actually come (even if it won't last). I have Monday off so "someone" is looking forward to a day or two spend in pajamas surrounded by books and some Acorn TV streaming.

On the reading front, I took a quick peek at my various early reviewer books and suddenly realized that February will be my Tana French and early reviewer book month. Only digression planned so far for February is to curl up with the latest Flavia de Luce mystery by Alan Bradley, The Golden Tresses of the Dead. *BAG = Big Ass Grin*

Lori the thing I believe Tana French excels at besides atmosphere is group dynamics. The Likeness and The Secret Place showcase her skill so well. I honestly haven't read anything bad at all by her.

>153 luvamystery65: - I agree, Roberta! The group dynamics are great, especially in The Likeness. Because I have been reading her books out of publication order, it is a little strange to read such a cocky Frank Mackey in this story where as in Faithful Place, the next book in the series, he is more beaten down.

I really love the idea of an author project. I would like to get back to Tana French too, I've only read her first one and as much as I liked it, I've never gotten to any of the others. I have read all of the Flavia books with the exception of the new one, it's on hold at the library. I can only think of two other series I'm caught up with. The list of authors who don't write series is long too, I would particularly like to read and reread Wallace Stegner.

>155 clue: - I am very bad about falling in love with an author's book, having full intentions of reading more of their works and then getting distracted by other books. Go figure. ;-) Hopefully my loose category challenge this year will help me make a dent - albeit a slight dent - in all the authors and series I want to read and get caught up with. Flavia is such a delight I was saddened to learn that this one may be the final book in the series. Bradley is 80 years old so maybe not surprising, but still sad if true.

I have never read anything by Wallace Stegner so your comment has peaked my interest. Is there a favorite Stegner book of is there one you would suggest as a good starting point?

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Happy Sunday and Happy Super Bowl Sunday for all who like to watch. I take advantage of this day to get in a lot of reading time, so I am always happy when Super Bowl Sunday rolls around. Time for a walking update and I think I might do a little intro to my Tana French project reading to set things up.

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

.






Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 5 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 45.27
Kilometers walked in total: 206.90
Current province/state: (WA)
My current location on the map: South of Seattle- Tacoma (SeaTac) International Airport, due west of Kent and heading for Federal Way and Tacoma.
Points of interest along the way: Seattle is a lovely weekend getaway spot for Victoria residents like me, especially with the Victoria Clipper, a passenger ferry operating daily service between downtown Victoria and downtown Seattle.

According to Wikipedia, Seattle's official nickname is "The Emerald City" but it is also known as the "Gateway to Alaska". Seattle has 21 sister cities (wow!) and is the seat of King County with an estimated resident population of 730,000, a drop in the bucket compared with the metropolitan area's population of 3.87 million. The area was inhabited, based on archaeological excavations, by Native Americans for at least 4,000 years. First European visitor was explorer George Vancouver in 1792. The area's first permanent European settlers, Arthur Denny and the Denny Party, settled in the area in 1852.

Logging was Seattle's first major industry to be replaced with shipbuilding and commerce during the Klondike Gold Rush. Growth in the region after WWII was due in part to Boeing, which had established Seattle as a centre for aircraft manufacturing. Other large multinational corporations that were founded in the region include: Microsoft, Amazon, clothing manufacturer Eddie Bauer and coffee icon Starbucks.

Seattle has a noteworthy musical history and had a strong jazz night club scene from the 1920s to the 1950s. Seattle is the birth place of rocker Jimi Hendrix and the origin of bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Foo Fighters.

Books I have read set (or partially set) in Seattle that I can recommend include:
Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford - set in the 1930's depression era with fabulous descriptions of Chinatown and the theatre district;
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple - which takes fun swipes at Seattle's high tech sector;
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest - a Dystopian steampunk alternate history where Seattle is a walled city with air ship pirates and zombies (cannot forget the zombies!)

My "must visit" place every trip to Seattle includes Pike Place Market, a public market that overlooks the Elliot Bay waterfront. The market opened on August 17, 1907 and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States.


Pike Place Market - as posted to Flickr by Kirt Edblom (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Of course, if you visit Pike Place Market, you might as well stop by the Market Theater Gum Wall located in Post Alley under the market Fun Fact: In 2009, the gum wall was named one of the top 5 germiest tourist attractions, second to the Blarney Stone in Ireland.


Gum Wall - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Tana French - Author/Series Project Read:

Dublin Murder Squad Series:

.....

In The Woods - Read Jan 29 to Feb 11, 2016 - 4.20 out of 5.00 /
The Likeness - Currently reading
Faithful Place - Read Mar 13 to Mar 18, 2018 - 4.85 out of 5.00 /
Broken Harbour - Read Mar 22 to Mar 27, 2018 - 4.15 out of 5.00 /
The Secret Place - To read
The Trespasser - To read

Stand Alone Novels:



The Witch Elm - To read

--------------------------------

Previous Reviews:


In the Woods - 4.20 out of 5.00 /
I do like to read the occasional police procedural but only occasionally as I tend to find them rather grim, dark and gritty reads. Some of them can also be rather graphic in their descriptions of the crime. That doesn't sit well with me. French’s novel has all of the elements of a police procedural that I enjoy - the investigation into the crime scene, the rounding up of suspects and the questioning of witnesses/neighbours – with the grim, gritty and graphic aspects muted and not in your face every page. What makes this one even better than the average police procedural read for me is the focus French places on the relationship between the two lead detectives, Cassie and Ryan, and the sharp introspective detail of Ryan’s narrative. It is a slow-building story, another aspect I appreciated as I am not a big fan of stories that are all about adrenaline pumping action. I like my mysteries/thrillers to be sleepers, more about getting analytical and figuring out the details, not the ‘shoot first and ask questions later’ stuff. French really knows how to build the psychological profile of the character while still stringing the readers along, letting them think they have a handle on the situation. The only quibbles I have are my dislike of some choices made by Ryan and how he tries to justify those choices/decisions. Well done, but just rubs me the wrong way and lead me to dislike Ryan as a character.


Faithful Place - 4.85 out of 5.00 /
French knows how to weave a spellbinding story! The "who dun it" bit was not a huge surprise but French focuses more on building the psychological profiles of her complicated characters than on hiding the mystery to the bitter end. Even so, she can really sling some fascinating 'whiplash' surprises to grab the reader's attention. Family dynamics can always be complicated, but trust French to ensnare those complications into an amazing web of secrets and deceit. At one point, I really started to wonder if I even knew which way was up... and kudos to French for twisting this reader around so much!

Definitely a brilliantly written crime story that had my full attention. Can recommend this as a great mystery/crime read for anyone looking for a different December/Christmas based story. Thankfully, French's Dublin Murder Squad series is really a loosely based series, because I still need to go back and read The Likeness... yes, I am reading this series a bit out of order.


Broken Harbour - 4.15 out of 5.00 /
With this installment in the Dublin Murder Squad series, French continues to delve deep into the psyche of her characters, something she does so darn well! This time, we get to learn more about Mick "Scorcher" Kennedy, the homicide detective from French's earlier published book, Faithful Place. Scorcher's own fractured family life - past and present - comes into play, even as he drives himself to clear a high profile murder case with a rookie detective still wet behind the ears for a partner.

French has a skill for setting the scene. For me, it is not about the murder or solving the crime. It is all about the characters and the psychology... getting inside the characters' minds to learn what drives them to do the things they do and to make the decisions they make. French brings a level of hard reality to her stories and this time, the list of damaged individuals runs rather high, making this a glum, depressing read for me. I tend to struggle with books where everyone is hurting, at some level and there is no "happy solution" - no grand satisfaction on solving the murder - more a deadening realization that this is one of those "no win" train wrecks that just stab you in the gut. It takes skill to write such an story and still keep my attention.

If you like gritty police procedural with a dark, psychological edge to them, you will probably appreciate this one.

Book #15 - The Likeness by Tana French
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category, ROOT
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Series
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2008
Acquisition date: May 16, 2010
Page count: 466 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.90 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the book back cover:

"Six months after a particularly nasty case, Detective Cassie Maddox has transferred out of Dublin's Murder squad and has no plans to go back. That is, until an urgent telephone call summons her to a grisly crime scene.

It's only when she sees the body that Cassie understands the hurry. The victim, a young woman, is Cassie's double and carries ID identifying herself as Alexandra Madison, an alias Cassie once used on an undercover job. Suddenly, Cassie must discover not only who killed this girl but, more importantly, who is this girl? And as reality and fantasy become desperately tangled, Cassie moves dangerously close to losing herself forever."

Review:
This is probably the first time I have ever used the term “pitch perfect” to describe a novel. I absolutely loved everything about this story. This one is a slow building, psychological suspense story. French takes her time to really lay the foundation, setting up a highly atmospheric, Gothic-styled murder mystery to solve. Yes, there is a crumbling mansion (Whitethorn House), a secluded location of labyrinthine lane-ways, a village that freezes out the newcomers and enough secrets (“No pasts”, Daniel keeps intoning) to keep a reader happily guessing alongside our protagonist. Normally that would be enough to provide for a satisfying suspenseful story, but the twist employed by French – that the dead girl bears an uncanny resemblance to detective Cassie Maddox (the titled “likeness”) – sets in motion an undercover tight rope walk that notches up the suspense, as the smallest slip up could blow Cassie’s cover. As Cassie immerses herself into her role, the reader experiences the allure of the life Lexie and her friends have created for themselves, even if that bucolic image has a dark thread woven through it. As with other novels in the Dublin Murder Squad series, we encounter the dance of some detectives: Frank (undercover operation lead) likes to run things his way and not always by the book while Cassie starts to withhold certain information for her own reasons as she develops a close relationship with the enigmatic suspects. The group dynamics – something French has a knack for – are just as enthralling as the mystery itself.

Overall, a fabulous follow up to French’s debut novel, In the Woods. For those of you new to the Dublin Murder Squad series, this is a loosely connected series. Each book has a different lead protagonist and while it might help to read the books in publication order, it is not necessary.

Excellent reading and walking, Lori! And you weren't kidding about the binge reading, were you, lol?

Wow! That is some serious binge reading! Tana French would not be my choice of authors to binge read since I seem to be the one person on earth who does not enjoy her books. However, I'm glad you were able to have such a satisfying time with them.

>160 Dejah_Thoris: - Thanks! The walking has been going quite well, especially for this time of year, and yes, binge reading has and will continue to occur here. Thanks for stopping by!

>161 LittleTaiko: - He, he, he, I am having a lot of fun with my reading plans this year. It feels as though I have no plans, which is rare for me. I can see where Tana French's books will not appeal to everyone, but in-depth psychological profile style is how I like my police procedural stories to be. Three more books to go and I will be up to date with all of the Tana French books.

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Well, today was a snowy, windy Friday. Super quiet in the office (love when that happens!) and no special plans for the weekend, especially as the currently slushy road and sidewalk conditions will be deteriorating to rutted ice over night. Not the best for walking or driving so a perfect opportunity to have a long lie in bed tomorrow morning. ;-)

Book #16 - The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: Cover Has At Least 2 Human Figures
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: Hard cover
Original publication date: 2019
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 301 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"Flavia de Luce, the twelve-year-old chemist and amateur detective, is eager to turn professional. She and her father's valet, Dogger, have founded a detective agency, Arthur Dogger & Associates, and unexpectedly cut into their first case during the revelry at her sister Ophelia's wedding reception. After an eventful ceremony with a missing best man and spontaneous ventriloquist act, spirits are high as Feely and her new husband head for the towering and beautifully iced wedding cake. But as Feely slices into the first piece, a scream rings out--the bridal cake contains a severed human finger. Delighted, Flavia wraps the finger in a napkin and whisks it away to her chemical laboratory. By studying the embalmed skin, the indentation of a ring and the slope of the fingernail, she'll not only be able to determine the identity of the victim--but also point a finger at a killer."

Review:
I do enjoy my visits to Bishop’s Lacey (and environs) through Bradley’s Flavia de Luce series. With this one, I found myself missing the younger, more precocious Flavia of the earlier books in the series. Yes, I know the character should be growing up as the stories progress, but Flavia now seems to be in that awkward phase of coming across sometimes as wiser/kinder beyond her years and other times as highly immature. I don’t recall seeing mention of her age in the book but if she is still a pre-teen (12 years old?) than this probably makes sense. While we have Flavia’s young cousin, Undine to try and fill Flavia’s earlier precociousness, Undine comes across as a manipulating annoyance, at least she does to me. Also missing – except for one delightful spat between Flavia and Ophelia (Feely) at the start – the story is pretty much devoid of the charged sibling squabbles and pranks, another aspect of the earlier Flavia books that I so enjoyed. As for the mysteries to be solved – yes, there is more than one – the murder is well crafted, where as the “surprise” found in the wedding cake is like some strange add-on to the story. While it is nice to see Dogger playing a more prominent role in this one, it is obvious his role is to be the guiding hand behind the investigations.

Overall, not sure I can given this one more than a nodding acceptance, making me hearken back to the Flavia and crew of the earlier books in the series.

Book #17 - The Secret Place by Tana French - audiobook narrated by Stephen Hogan and Lara Hutchinson
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: TBRCAT - A Borrowed Book
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2014
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 480 pages - 20 hours, 36 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"A year ago a boy was found murdered at a girlsʼ boarding school, and the case was never solved. Detective Stephen Moran has been waiting for his chance to join Dublin’s Murder Squad when sixteen-year-old Holly Mackey arrives in his office with a photo of the boy with the caption: “I KNOW WHO KILLED HIM.” Stephen joins with Detective Antoinette Conway to reopen the case—beneath the watchful eye of Holly’s father, fellow detective Frank Mackey. With the clues leading back to Holly’s close-knit group of friends, to their rival clique, and to the tangle of relationships that bound them all to the murdered boy, the private underworld of teenage girls turns out to be more mysterious and more dangerous than the detectives imagined."

Review:
Given that French tries something new/different with each of her books, it was not surprising that she makes use of a different narrative strategy with this one. This time, the story alternates between two different chronological timelines: events leading up to the murder and the ramp up of a year old investigation when new evidence suddenly crops up. The big question is: does this narrative strategy work? Answer: kind of does. The reader is slowly exposed to pre-murder events and the post-murder questioning, allowing French latitude to make the reader privy to more information than any single character has access to. French has brought back Frank Mackey (Frank now holds the record as the character to crop up the most frequently of all of the characters in the Dublin Murder Squad series), but the investigation team is a interesting mix: Cold Case detective Stephen Moran and Murder Squad detective Antoinette Conway. Both want desperately to prove themselves - Moran wants out of Cold Case and into Murder and Conway is still new to the Murder squad and has yet to prove herself - so this case means A LOT to both of them. French is really good at interpersonal dynamics so not surprisingly, there is a fair bit of focus on the Moran/Conway team as they learn, over the course of one day, how to work together effectively. The case is a good one but this story really dragged for me. I am just not that interested in teenage group dynamics, especially when your line of suspects is a group of girls with posh, private school attitudes (some with more attitude than others, but still, not something easy for the detectives to investigate). Added wild card is Frank Mackey's daughter Holly, the one who brought the new evidence to Moran's attention but I just wasn't that interested in the whole teenage social cliques, boy/girl and peer group dynamics.

Overall, the weakest book in the Dublin Murder Squad series so far, for me, but I would definitely read another book with the Moran/Conway detective team. I like their interpersonal dynamics.

Yesterday (starting Friday evening, actually) was quite the wild weather ride! I don't mind the occasional skiffs of snow falling, but 90km winds gusts I could have done without. The winds finally let up early this morning and so far we have wonderful blue skies but the forecast is for more snow this evening. Oh well, it is February and still winter. Of course, the cherry blossoms that budded out at the end of January are probably not amused with the turn in the weather. ;-) I bought new winter boots (London Fog Andes II) back in December 50% off so happy to have the opportunity to make use of them now:



On the home front, noticed last week that my oven wasn't quite working properly. Discovered that the temperature sensor is no longer kicking in to regulate the temperature (basically it doesn't matter what I set the temp to, the oven just keeps on heating) so will have a technician out this week to check it and see if it can be repaired or if the oven needs to be replaced. Not overly inconvenienced as the stove top still works fine and we have a counter top convection oven. It's not like I am planning on doing any baking in the next little while, so making do.

Time for a walking and Currently Reading update. Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead!

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

.






Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 6 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 42.09
Kilometers walked in total: 248.99
Current province/state: (WA)
My current location on the map: South of Lakewood, due southeast of American Lake, heading for Dupont and Olympia.
Points of interest along the way::
Federal Way strikes me as a very interesting name. It is a city in King county - I love the fact that I seem to get to enter new counties almost every weekly update! - but I should point out that Federal Way is still considered to be within the greater Seattle metropolitan area. So what makes Federal Way special? Originally a logging settlement, the area was first called Federal Way in 1929. It's name is derived from Federal Highway U.S. 99. The area was incorporated (after numerous previous attempts) in 1990. As a nod to its logging history, Federal Way has a large public log clock:


Federal Way Log Clock - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by Vmenkov (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Federal Way's motto is "Its all within reach". With a population of roughly 95,000 the bigger attractions for the area include the Wild Waves Theme Park, owned by Six Flags:


Hooks Lagoon at Wild Waves - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by Jeff Sandquist (CC BY 2.0)

Next stop on the walking journey is Tacoma. Interestingly, Tacoma is located in Pierce county - two counties in one week! - and is the county seat. According to Wikipedia, Tacoma adopted its name after the nearby Mount Rainier, originally called Takhoma or Tahoma. Here is an impressive shot of Mount Rainer with the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in the foreground:


As posted to Flickr by Washington State Department of Transportation (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Tacoma is locally known as the "City of Destiny" because the area was chosen to be the western terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad in the late 19th century. In 2006, Tacoma was listed as one of the "most walkable" cities in the country (something this walker likes to see!)

Fun Fact: Notable people associated with Tacoma, WA include the singer/actor Bing Crosby, and actors Dyan Cannon and Blair Underwood.

Currently Reading:
..

Audiobook:
The Trespasser by Tana French - Last book in her Dublin Murder Squad series. So far two chapters in so still getting settled into the story but very happy to see that detectives Moran and Conway are back!
ebook:
Beyond Farwin Wood by Drea Damara - A November LTER book and book two in the Blinney Lane series. I finally started reading this one yesterday afternoon while doing some laundry and happily getting re-acquainted with the residents of Blinney Lane.
Physical books:
A Suitable Boy by Virkram Seth - Finished Part 2 yesterday and really loving the descriptive details. Trying to keep straight the growing list of characters... thank goodness for the family trees in the start of the book!

Nice boots!

You stole our snow -- I started watching for it Thursday night and finally gave up late Friday. My daughter was annoyed as she wanted to borrow my car several times and I don't have snow tires, so it remains parked.

Nice pic of Tacoma.

>168 Nickelini: - Thanks Joyce! I needed new winter boots and I try to find boots that will work for the rainy, slushier winters we get here on the coast (the new boots are waterproof) and the cold, drier snow that my family experiences in Alberta (the boots have a lovely faux fur lining). ;-) Apologies for snagging the snow. I am sure a number of Victorians would have happily sent the snow over your way. Smart move to keep the car off the road as a precaution. We have a Jeep with all season (M+S) tires and even I was a little hesitant about going out to run errands yesterday morning until I was certain that the majority of the roads were clear.

>165 lkernagh: Faulty temperature sensors must be contagious -- I think Judy's oven was doing the same thing recently!

Nice new boots! I'm hoping to get one more winter out of mine, at least. For the next pair I'm thinking of looking into the boots with built-in retractable ice grips -- it has not been fun walking around after freezing rain or the melts/flash freezes we've had recently. I used to have a pair of YakTrax but found them really hard to put on and take off (and walk around on indoors).

>170 rabbitprincess: - I like the idea of built-in retractable ice grips for boots! I have never seen any before, but nice feature, for sure.

>163 lkernagh: I hope I like that Flavia one better than you do when I get to it later this year. I'm currently listening to the one before that one.

>169 lkernagh: Apologies for snagging the snow. I am sure a number of Victorians would have happily sent the snow over your way.

I spoke too soon -- we had about 11 hours of snowfall yesterday, which added up to 11 centimetres. I hear there is more on the way and I also hear you're expected to have snow every day this week. Is that completely unheard of? Especially for February!

>172 thornton37814: - Hi Lori. The latest Flavia is still a decent read and I know there are others here on LT that enjoyed it so you can count my review as not in line with the majority of other readers here. ;-)

>173 Nickelini: - LOL. I have also heard that more snow is on the way. I guess they were right when they said we were in for a colder second half of winter compared with what we had in December and January. Bundle up!

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Enjoying a "work from home" Monday, not because of the snow that fell last night but because I have a parcel out for delivery that needs some one home to receive. My own fault for not selecting "pick up at store" when I placed the online order last week.

Well, I thought after three days of snow we were finally finished, but nope. We have another snow fall warning for this evening and overnight. I can see the snow coming down as I type so I guess they were correct. Another evening of snow. I don't mind the big, fluffy flakes when I am at home and can curl up in a chair beside the window with a cup of tea and just take it all in, just don't like the idea of having to walk on ice-laden sidewalks that haven't been properly cleared since the snow started falling earlier this week. ;-)

Book #18 - The Trespasser by Tana French - audiobook narrated by Hilda Fay
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2016
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 464 pages - 20 hours, 6 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"Being on the Murder squad is nothing like Detective Antoinette Conway dreamed it would be. Her partner, Stephen Moran, is the only person who seems glad she’s there. The rest of her working life is a stream of thankless cases, vicious pranks, and harassment. Antoinette is savagely tough, but she’s getting close to the breaking point. Their new case looks like yet another by-the-numbers lovers’ quarrel gone bad. Aislinn Murray is blond, pretty, groomed to a shine, and dead in her catalogue-perfect living room, next to a table set for a romantic dinner. There’s nothing unusual about her—except that Antoinette’s seen her somewhere before. And that her death won’t stay in its neat by-numbers box and everything they find out about Aislinn takes her further from the glossy, passive doll she seemed to be. Antoinette knows the squad harassment has turned her paranoid, but she can’t tell just how far gone she is as she notices a shadowy figure that has taken to lurking at the end of her road. Is this case another step in the campaign to force her off the squad, or are there darker currents flowing beneath its polished surface?"

Review:
I was super excited when I discovered that Moran and Conway – the detectives on the case in The Secret Place – were back in this latest installment in Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad series. I was a little bummed that the story is being told from the point of view of Conway as I find Moran a more interesting character but mixing things up is in keeping with French’s habit of always doing something different with each book. The murder is a good one, starting out looking like a simple open and shut case of domestic violence, only to quickly prove to be otherwise. French takes the reader down rabbit holes and spins us (and our investigating detectives) around. I like murder mysteries that have twists and turns, to keep me guessing. The downside – for me – with this one is that it has its lulls – I tend to get bored with the interrogation room tactics and this book fills enough pages it could be subtitled “Dublin Murder Squad Interrogation Playbook”. That, and the “reveal” of the shadowy figure that lurks at the top of Conway’s street comes across, to me, as some strange add-on for suspense build. I just wasn’t satisfied with the rationale for including it as a sub-plot in this story. Beyond those downsides, I still found this one to be a kraken’ good read. Not my favorite in the series, but still a good one.

-----------------------

... and with this review, I am now caught up with the Dublin Murder Squad series.

I'm glad to see you enjoying the Dublin Murder Squad so much. I loved The Likeness, too.

I need to get back to this series, too. I had been thinking of doing a series catch-up theme this year also and am seriously thinking I'll do it next year. I just get sucked into the CATs, etc, instead.

>65 dudes22: Hi Lori. Yes, my oven was doing the exact same thing and it was going to cost a lot to fix it so a new one was ordered. As it was a special order it's taken a while for the new one to be built but I have finally heard that my new oven will be installed late next week. How about yours? Was it fixable or is a new one in the picture?

>177 RidgewayGirl: - I am happy to be able to check Completed/ Up To Date for another series! The Likeness is my favorite in the series, but overall, I think French has been a consistent writer with her attention to details and group dynamics. Good stuff. This weekend I hope to start The Witch Elm.

>178 dudes22: - I am really enjoying getting caught up with my series reading, Betty! Of course, that means my CATs reading has been suffering this month - I have only had one CAT read so far and that wasn't even planned. ;-)

>179 DeltaQueen50: - To be honest, Judy, I don't know where the oven repair/replacement is at the moment. The technician was supposed to return on Wednesday but with the snow and all, I am not sure when he will be back. Not a huge concern right now as I am more of a stove top cooker (which is working fine) and have a counter top convection oven that has been working as a substitute for now. I will try to remember to post more once I know what the outcome is. I am hoping it an be repaired, but they don't makes things like appliances like they used to and as you mentioned, the cost repair over replace pretty much makes the decision.

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The snow gods have finally relented and I happily woke up this morning to temps above 0'C! All of our roads are clear but a number of the sidewalks - ones with no business of building in front, are still accidents waiting to happen as the accumulated and packed down snow has gone through a thaw and freeze.... but no worries as the city has been working to clear the bike lanes - because pedestrians are the lowest on the city's priority list. :-(

On a brighter note, the sun is trying to shine and I have a four day weekend this weekend, so not all bad.

Another review to kick off the weekend:

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Book #19 - Beyond Farwin Wood by Drea Damara
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: Fairy Tale
Category: Series
Source: LTER
Format: eBook
Original publication date: April 11, 2019
Acquisition date: January 19, 2019
Page count: 368 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.65 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the bhcpress.com book listing webpage:

"Anything Can Happen on Blinney Lane. Agatha Blinney’s curse is unleashed when Franci Doltman dresses up as her favorite movie star. Now the storeowners on Blinney Lane must rally together to save Franci before the possession claims her forever. Valerie Millville is tired of her controlling mother, disappointing men, and being misunderstood. Determined to escape her life on Blinney Lane, she and troublemaker Ricky Allister volunteer to find a cure by venturing inside one of the cursed weeping books. From mythical lands to peculiar allies to other worldly creatures, Valerie learns not all stories are written in stone—or even in one dimension. Can she and Ricky save Franci in time or will their friend become another casualty of the curse that binds Blinney Lane? Will Farwin Wood show them secrets undiscovered or are mysteries merely in the eye of the beholder?"

Review:
Having enjoyed The Weeping Books of Blinney Lane, I was looking forward to a return visit to Blinney Lane, and hopefully to Farwin Wood. This time, Agatha Blinney’s curse takes an interesting – and at times comical – form as shy, mild-mannered Franci transforms into an outspoken and high maintenance movie star who believes Blinney Lane resident Reggie, Franci’s platonic friend, is the movie star’s husband/love interest. Poor Reggie (and the other residents) have their hands full with this altered Franci! To save the day, 20-something and resident herbalist Valerie Millville offers to take a trip into the book (visit Farwin Woods) with Ricky to try and find a cure, but also to get away from another relationship gone wrong and another fight with her mother. Yes, Valerie has a chip on her shoulder, which might not sit well with some readers, but I kind of liked her feisty attitude (it sure did come in handy at times!). The title is an apt one in that we learn there is a whole larger world beyond Farwin Woods in the magical book. The adventure angle is covered off nicely with more wonderful fantasy creatures, traversing dangerous geography (both land and water) and even having to deal with, yup, another curse. Where The Weeping Books of Blinney Lane was a rather sweet fantasy adventure story, Beyond Farwin Wood go further with more adventure, more comedy IMO (and more older YA/adult-oriented romance). I really enjoyed the surprise twist to the story – no, I am not going to provide any details here – and loved how the story ended… with a perfect lead in for further installment(s) to come.

A delightful adventure, fantasy romp.

>180 lkernagh: Pedestrians are a low priority here too, and as for clearing bus stops, forget it. People have to climb over snowbanks that are at least waist-high, sometimes chest-high, and sometimes only the front-door area is sufficiently clear, so you have two-way traffic over the snowbanks :-/ It's actually making buses late because it takes so long for people to get on and off.

>182 rabbitprincess: - Your description takes me back to when I lived in Alberta. Very similar lack of snow removal. I think BC Transit hired some contracted teams (two guys and a truck) to drive around and shovel the bus stops, which I thought was impressive, but no one was shoveling the long stretches of sidewalk beside the unused railway tracks or the waterfronts with no businesses. Not sure who is responsible for snow removal in those circumstances. This morning I saw a rather, to me anyways, disturbing scene: two joggers running in the bike lane (because the sidewalks are dangerous). Not a dedicated bike lane with a barrier, but the side of the road with just a line of white paint separating them the vehicles. Even worse, they were running with the flow of traffic so they had no sights lines on vehicles approaching them from behind. I love that people are into fitness but, seriously, risky.

>182 rabbitprincess:

And you live in Ottawa? Pardon me, but I find that terrible! When I was in Switzerland last winter, even in small villages, all the roads and sidewalks were cleared. They had snow plows and snow blowers that blew the snow into trucks and taken away and dumped. None of this "push it to the side for someone else to deal with" nonsense. I can see not being set up for that here on the west coast, but places like Ottawa should have that as a given.

>184 Nickelini: It happens in the U.S., too. We plow our driveway ourselves and the then the county plows the road and pushes all the snow back into our driveway and covers up the mailbox so we can't get to it!

>184 Nickelini: I am in Ottawa, and yes, it is terrible. They seem to be taking an inordinately long time to bring in snow-removal trucks to take snow to the snow dump. I don't know whether the snow dumps are getting full or what, but today was the first time I'd seen a snow-removal truck all week :-/

>185 Tess_W: -- Grrrrrr

>186 rabbitprincess: --- I'm relieved to hear that you at least have snow removal trucks. To us Vancouverites, we were amazed to watch them in action, especially because we were in a very small town tucked into an obscure corner of the country.

>184 Nickelini:, >185 Tess_W:, >186 rabbitprincess: and >187 Nickelini: - Sounds like Switzerland has a great snow removal plan! Oh well, the rest of us just have to make do, I guess. ;-)

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

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Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 7 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 25.23
Kilometers walked in total: 274.22
Current province/state: (WA)
My current location on the map: In Olympia (Eastside), heading for Capital Lake and then south to Tumwater.
Points of interest along the way::


Boardwalk Mural - Olympia, WA - posted to Flickr by Ted McGrath (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Given the winter weather impact to my walking this week, I am happy to have made it to Olympia, the capital for Washington State and county seat for Thurston county. According to Wikipedia, European settlers claimed the area in 1846 and the area was historically dependent upon artesian springs and efforts have been underway to protect and preserve the free-flowing artesian well located in downtown Olympia. For me, my most memorable experience of Olympia was visiting the state legislature building and receiving a personal tour of the legislative library (sorry, unable to find any sharable pics of the library):


State Legislature - Olympia, WA - posted to Flickr by Ted McGrath (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Currently Reading:
..

Audiobook:
The Witch Elm by Tana French - Now switching over to French's stand alone novel. So far 2 hours, 45 minutes into this 22 hour audioread. First impressions: I think the only reason this one is a stand alone and not part of her Dublin Murder Squad series, is because the story, for now anyways, does not include a murder and is told from the point of view of the victim of a home invasion (not from the point of view of a police detective). Curious to see how this one plays out.
ebook:
The Wolf and the Watchman by Niklas Natt och Dag - A NetGalley read (North American/English translation publication date March 5, 2019?), is the Swedish author's debut novel (named best Debut of 2017 by the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers) and billed as The Alienist set in eighteenth century Stockholm. Currently seven chapters in and so far, LOVING THIS ONE!
Physical books:
A Suitable Boy by Virkram Seth - Still paused at the end of Part 2. Probably won't dip back into this one until some time next week.

I'm reminded by your Tana French reading that I really need to get back to her! And that I need to read some (or all!) books by Kent Haruf.

>191 LisaMorr: - Apologies for the reminder/book hits you took stopping by, Lisa. :-0 I am having a lot of fun free-wheeling my reading plans this year, and getting in some really good reads in at the same time. Both Haruf and French have the odd book that wasn't a stellar read for me but overall, both are solid author so wishing you happy reading!

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Hello everyone. This past week has been a strange one. A short work week due to the long weekend and just weird stuff. I am not a fan of weird stuff so here is hoping that this weekend is uneventful (for lack of a better word). In the meantime, maybe I can distract you all with my latest book review (I actually have two books finished but will not get around to the second review until sometime this weekend).

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Book #20 - The Wolf and the Watchman by Niklas Natt och Dag - translated from the Swedish by the author
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: AlphaKIT - "O" - och
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: N/A
Source: NetGalley
Format: eBook
Original publication date: Original Swedish - 2017; English Translation - March 5, 2019
Acquisition date: January 14, 2019
Page count: 384 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.65 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"One morning in the autumn of 1793, watchman Mikel Cardell is awakened from his drunken slumber with reports of a body seen floating in the Larder, once a pristine lake on Stockholm’s Southern Isle, now a rancid bog. Efforts to identify the bizarrely mutilated corpse are entrusted to incorruptible lawyer Cecil Winge, who enlists Cardell’s help to solve the case. But time is short: Winge’s health is failing, the monarchy is in shambles, and whispered conspiracies and paranoia abound. Winge and Cardell become immersed in a brutal world of guttersnipes and thieves, mercenaries and madams. From a farmer’s son who is lead down a treacherous path when he seeks his fortune in the capital to an orphan girl consigned to the workhouse by a pitiless parish priest, their gruesome investigation peels back layer upon layer of the city’s labyrinthine society. The rich and the poor, the pious and the fallen, the living and the dead — all collide and interconnect with the body pulled from the lake."

Review:
If you like murder mystery/thrillers with historical settings that involve gruesomely heinous crimes and are steeped in Gothic/noir horror atmosphere, then Niklas Natt och Dag’s amazing debut novel, The Wolf and the Watchman is probably the perfect read for you. I found this to be a shocking, highly compelling, page-turning read. I just could not put it down, even when I read parts that really disturbed me. I was that riveted to what was playing out on the pages. The place (Stockholm) and the time period (1793) are captured in amazing detail, vividly portraying a city teeming with disease, wallowing in squalor and oozing with corruption and mercenary opportunism. Yes, if you hadn't guessed already, there is overall dark, sinister aspect to this story that goes way beyond the discovery of the mutilated body, which makes this such an amazing novel. It defies being lumped into a set genre. It's a historical fiction, it's a murder/crime, it's a mystery, it's a thriller, it's a horror... it is all of these genres rolled into one story. Talk about impressive! Told in four parts, the story unveils in stages, revealing surprising connections, shocking depravity and gut-wrenching desperation. Each character is exquisitely drawn, exposing the reader to the dilemmas they face, and the hard choices they must make. The investigative team is a curious match: A wiry, incorruptible lawyer (the wolf) with a sharp intellect and steely determination who happens to be gravely ill with consumption and a physically and emotionally war-damaged ex-soldier (the watchman) whose daily alcoholic intake is to try and quell the nightmares that haunt him. An odd pairing (a thinker and a fighter) but well suited as both men pursue the case, with dogged determination, for their own reasons. This story is not for the faint of heart. There are some really graphic descriptions that may unsettle some readers, so consider yourself forewarned in that respect.

Overall, a chilling, brutal and relentless genre-bending novel that dives into the dark side of the human psyche. An absolutely outstanding novel and I am not surprised that it was named Best Debut of 2017 by the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers.

I would like to thank Simon and Shuster Canada and Atria Books for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Found time to get the latest Tana French book reviewed so posting a review, a Tana French project read update and a new project read.

Book #21 - The Witch Elm by Tana French - audiobook read by Paul Nugent
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Author
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: October 8, 2018
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 528 pages / 22 hours, 9 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 2.95 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

"Toby is a happy-go-lucky charmer who's dodged a scrape at work and is celebrating with friends when the night takes a turn that will change his life - he surprises two burglars who beat him and leave him for dead. Struggling to recover from his injuries, beginning to understand that he might never be the same man again, he takes refuge at his family's ancestral home to care for his dying uncle Hugo. Then a skull is found in the trunk of an elm tree in the garden - and as detectives close in, Toby is forced to face the possibility that his past may not be what he has always believed."

Review:
I wanted to like this one, I really did, but Toby is such an annoying character! I had a hard time feeling sympathy for any of the characters - except for Uncle Hugo who is a fabulous character! - and really struggled with the dragging plot. If I am honest, I swear that French, for some crazy reason, felt that a stand alone novel needs to be longer in length than any of her Dublin Murder Squad books, and wrote accordingly. She could have easily shaved off 150 pages, which would have resulted in a tighter packaged story that "might" have keep me riveted. Hum... condensing the story might not have helped in a huge way as Toby would probably still have been annoying, but one can ponder. *sighs*

Now that I have vented my frustrations, I can be a little more objective with this review. Yes, French continues to implement her signature style of group dynamics and psychological profiles as part of the story. Mixing things up - and probably the only reason this one is being billed as a 'stand alone' novel, separate from her Dublin Murder Squad series - is because this time, the story is told from the point of view of the Toby and not a cop assigned to the case(s). Different perspective, different story. Got that. The only thing saving this story from being a total stinker dive in the star rating, for me anyways, is the fabulous setting of Ivy House, the ancestral home for Toby's extended family, and French's ability to weave a story that leaves the reader guessing the "who" and the "why". Beyond those positives, this was not a great story. In fact, the ended had me tempted to bang my head against the desk top....I was that frustrated with the story.

Overall, not the best foray into a stand alone novel and I can easily recommend other Tana French novels from her Dublin Murder Squad series as a good starting point. This is not one I would recommend, to anyone.

Tana French - Author/Series Project Read: - Completed Feb 22, 2019

Dublin Murder Squad Series:

.....

In The Woods - Read Jan 29 to Feb 11, 2016 - 4.20 out of 5.00 /
The Likeness - Read Jan 27 to Feb 2, 2019 - 4.90 out of 5 /
Faithful Place - Read Mar 13 to Mar 18, 2018 - 4.85 out of 5.00 /
Broken Harbour - Read Mar 22 to Mar 27, 2018 - 4.15 out of 5.00 /
The Secret Place - Read Feb 3 to Feb 8, 2019 - 3.10 out of 5 /
The Trespasser - Read Feb 9 to Feb 13, 2019 - 4.10 out of 5 /

Stand Alone Novels:



The Witch Elm - Read Feb 15 to Feb 22, 2019 - 2.95 out of 5 /

Alina Bronsky - Author Project Read:
Switching genre so that I can get in a couple of books that have been languishing on my TBR piles off the shelves (and to get some Europa Editions reading time in). I will be borrowing Baba Dunja from my local library and, depending on how I find this "new to me" author's writing, I might have to break down and purchase Just Call Me Superhero, just so that I can complete all her English translated books.

Stand Alone Novels:

...

Broken Glass Park - TBR pile/ ROOT read
The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine - TBR pile/ ROOT read
Baba Dunja's Last Love - Local library/ To read
Just Call Me Superhero - To source/ To read

>193 lkernagh: Sounds like a BB to me and with a title like that how can I resist? Onto the wishlist it goes.

>197 lkernagh: - A worthy BB to take, Dave!

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Hard to believe that Saturday is already winding down. There just never seems to be enough time in the weekends to get everything done that needs getting done. Stayed up waaaaaayyyyyy too late last night so an early night tonight, I think. We now have all of our tax receipts, etc so part of tomorrow will be spent get the taxes done (so I can forget about it until next year). I am not a procrastinator. I prefer to get the nasty jobs over with as soon as possible.

In the meantime, I do have my weekly walking and Currently Reading updates ready for posting.

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

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Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 8 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 38.34
Kilometers walked in total: 312.56
Current province/state: (WA)
My current location on the map: In Blakeslee Junction, directly east of Fort Borst Lake and Fort Borst Park and directly west of Hayes Lake, heading for Chehalis.
Points of interest along the way:: This week's walking took me through Tumwater - I love that name! - past Millersylvania State Park and Scatter Creek Wildlife Recreation Area, through Grand Mound and into Blakeslee Junction. Tumwater is derived from Chinook Jargon and means "waterfall", a fitting name for the area given the cascades on the Deschutes River:


Upper Tumwater Falls - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by Joe Mabel (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Tumwater is also home to the Schmidt House, built in 1904 and the family residence for the founders of the Olympia Brewing Company (founded in Tumwater in 1896).


The Schmidt House - as posted to Flickr by Michael and Sherry Martin (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)


Old Olympia Brewery - as posted to Flickr by raschau (CC BY 2.0)

Grand Mound was founded in 1851, with stage service arriving to the area in 1854. In 1913, the Washington State School for Girls (also known as the State Training School for Girls) was created, and it opened the following year in Grand Mound, where it was renamed to Maple Lane School in 1959, and closed in 2011. Of course, this caught my eye, so a little online research confirmed that this was a reform school. According to this article:

"Most of the crimes committed by the youth, according to a 1915 article about the school, were listed as "incorrigibility." This was because, "charging a specific crime and making it a matter of record against the boy is not in harmony with the spirit of work which should follow such a commitment. The fact is recognized by this simple charge, 'incorrigibility'".

The school had no fences and the children sometimes simply walked away. The railroad line ran close to the school grounds, providing a convenient method of escape. Not until the 1970s, however, would fences enclose the grounds and police diligently track down escapees."

Well, I don't know about you, but I found that was interesting to learn!

Currently Reading:
..

Audiobook:
Edge of Eternity by Ken Follett - Book Three in Follett's Century Trilogy. I am taking advantage of my local library's downloadable audiobooks to finish the trilogy I started reading last year. Given that the book is 972 pages (and the audiobook runs to 36 hours and 50 minutes of listening time) this should keep me going for a while.
ebook:
Nothing at the moment
Physical books:
Broken Glass Park by Alina Bronsky - First book in my current Author Reading Project. Just started it, so early days on any thoughts or comments.
A Suitable Boy by Virkram Seth - Finished Part 3 this afternoon. While the first two parts were more colourful background and introductions to characters, we are now getting deeper into socially imposed race and religious barriers.

>193 lkernagh: I took a BB for The Wolf and the Watchman. The combination of historical fiction, mystery and horror sounds perfect!

>202 mathgirl40: - It is such a good read, Paulina! So disturbing and yet, so good. (I know, hard to explain the impact without looking like a bit of a weirdo). ;-)

I want to read The Wolf and the Watchman so much. And I have a copy of Broken Glass Park, so I'm awaiting your review with eagerness.

I love being surprised by debut novels! The Wolf and the Watchman is such a good story. I am hoping to spend an enjoyable afternoon of reading so I might manage to get the Bronsky book finished and reviewed before end of the month.

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Taxes are done! Damn, but it feels good to get that done. Will drop the return off at the local Canada Revenue Agency office during one of my lunch time walks in town. Plans for the rest of the day involve staying in PJs and reading. ;-)

>205 lkernagh: a BB for me!

>206 Tess_W: - :-)

>196 lkernagh: I've enjoyed following your Tana French author read! I've read the first three books in the Dublin Murder Squad series and liked each one better than the last. Next up for me is Broken Harbor, which I'm hoping to get to soon.

>208 christina_reads: - Happy to learn you enjoyed following my French author read, Christina!

I doubt that I will get any more books read before month end so time for a monthly recap and then a new thread.

FEBRUARY RE-CAP:

BOOKS READ:
15. The Likeness by Tana French -
16. The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley -
17. The Secret Place by Tana French -
18. The Trespasser by Tana French -
19. Beyond Farwin Wood by Drea Damara -
20. The Wolf and the Watchman by Niklas Natt och Dag -

February STATS:
No. of Books read: 6 - considerably down from the 14 read in January!
ROOTs read: 1
Largest book read by page count: - The Secret Place by Tana French at 480 pages
Smallest book read by page count: - The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley at 301 pages
# Pages read: - 2,463 pages
Average # pages per book read: - 410 pages
Average # pages read per day: - 88
Audiobooks / eBooks / Physical Books: - 2/2/2 - Talk about a reading balance!
Male vs. Female Authors: - 2 vs. 4 - My binge reading plans will skew these numbers
Fiction vs. Non-Fiction Reads: - 6 vs. 0
Average Decimal/ Star rating for books read: 3.93 out of 5 /
Publication date range of books read: 2008 to 2019

BingoDOG Update:
February squares - Total to date
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21. cover has at least 2 human figures - The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley -
18. fairy tale - Beyond Farwin Wood by Drea Damara -

As predicted, my Bingo reading has dropped off, considerably.

New thread is up. Come on over...