Torontoc reads from her TBR tower in 2019

Hello
I will set as my goal- 30 books read from my book towers- they have to have been in my possession for over 6 months.

Welcome to the 2019 ROOTers, Torontoc. Happy ROOTing.

Good to see you again! Happy reading!

Welcome back and have a great reading year!

Thank you!
1. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie I think that everyone must have read this book by now but I found it recently somewhere in one of my book towers. I enjoyed reading it. The author himself had been "re-educated" in the Cultural Revolution. He writes about two young teenagers who are sent to a remote village in the mountains and have been separated from their now disgraced middle class parents. They make the best of a bad situation and befriend the daughter of the tailor. They still have to work at manual labour but find ways to exchange back breaking work for other activities. They help another exiled teenager who would be able to leave if he can collect revolutionary songs from the local people. The story of how they try to hoodwink a very old miller is very funny. The boys mange to steal books - a collection of many European classics that have been translated into Chinese. How they use the stories to entertain the Tailor's daughter and some of the villagers shows cleverness. However they don't realize how the words and ideas of Balzac will change the seamstress's life. This is really good book to read!

2. The Lost A Search for Six of Six Million by Daniel Mendelsohn In this part memoir/history book the author searches for the true story of how his great uncle, aunt and cousins died in the Holocaust. Mendelsohn remembers his mother's father telling stories about his family-the Jaegers- in the town of Bolechow. (Part of the Austrian-Hungarian empire, then Polish then Ukrainian.) His older brother, Shmiel had actually emigrated to the U.S. in 1913 but went back to his home town, prospered, married and had four daughters. Mendelsohn's grandfather had letters from Shmiel begging for help as late as 1939. The reader is introduced to the complex story of this family and the author's growing interest in finding out what really happened to them. Interspersed with telling of the trips to the Ukraine, Israel, Australia and Sweden with his brothers, sister and other friends, Mendelsohn writes about his study of the torah and the commentary of the scholar Rashi( 11th century French Rabbi) and recent scholar Rabbi Richard Friedman on several passages that seem to related to the search for the histories of the Jaeger family. The author meets many older people with stories about Shmiel and his family and the town-some true and some perhaps not true. Mendelsohn discovers that the stories of how the family lived is as important as how they died. Some of the people he interviewed have amazing stories of their own on survival.This book is about more than dead relatives. Mendelsohn discovers some heroes and heroines who helped his family. It is both historical and personal as the reader learns about one family and the different journeys they took to either life or death in the 20th century.

>6 torontoc:
That sounds utterly fascinating - I am always intrigued by memoir/nonfiction mixes (like The Hare with the Amber Eyes, for example) and will definitely have to add this one to the list!

>7 Caramellunacy: this is the second time that I started to read this book- the first time I had to put it down but I am glad that I came back to it!

3. Strangers with the Same Dream by Alison Pick Alison Pick is a very interesting writer- she wrote a novel that drew on her own personal family history and then wrote a memoir about her conversion to Judaism. This novel is structured like a Japanese film. ( the name I have forgotten) There are three main characters, Ida, David and Hannah, and we read about the same history told from their points of view. The time is 1921 and the place is Palestine where all three are building a communal farm in the north of what becomes present day Israel. The plot is more about the relationships that develop and those that deteriorate than the political. Ida is a young impressionable newcomer to this part of the world having escaped from a pogrom where her father was killed. David is the leader of the group that is establishing the new farm. He had been sent from another community as he had made a terrible mistake that jeopardized the relationships between the Jewish settlers and the neighbouring Arab community. Hannah is David's wife and has much resentment towards David for his actions. The reader see that the building up of farmland came with many sacrifices- from malaria, lack of medicine to treat what are today common ailments to inexperience. The building of this new society was not easy or necessarily understandable to the modern reader. I think that the author does convey the terrible conditions of clearing swamp and stone ridden land, the contradictions of rules agreed to by the new settlers and the problematic dealings with the neighbouring Arabs who are depicted in a sympathetic way. I do think that part of the story does become a little melodramatic but it is an interesting book.

>8 torontoc: Rashomon? I'm fascinated by the sideways perspectives that those kinds of alternating viewpoints give!

>9 detailmuse: Yes- I agree
On Saturday night I saw a play - The Virgin Trial by Kate Hennig. This play had been produced at the Stratford Festival and this is a revival.The playwright has written three plays about the Queens of England- the first about Catherine Parr The Last Wife , this one about Elizabeth and the third-Mother Daughter about Queen Catherine and Queen Mary to be presented this coming summer.The weather was really cold ( -30C windchill) but since all the performances were sold out, I put on many layers of clothing and ventured out with two friends. We were glad that we did. The play concentrated on the time when teenaged Elizabeth was questioned about the behaviour of her stepfather Thomas Seymour and his intention for revolution against King Edward. The dialogue was contemporary and the costumes were set in moderns times as well. The portrayal of Elizabeth as a very smart young woman who cannot be bullied and who can hide her true thoughts was really riveting. The plot may take liberties with accepted truths but it was so interesting!And because of that i pulled out a biography of Elizabeth and re-read

4. Elizabeth The Struggle for The Throne by David Starkey Ah- what can i say- Starkey chose to concentrate on the young Elizabeth and the beginnings of her reign.He showed how she did negotiate through some dangerous situations when she was threatened with treason and later how she worked through the problem of Protestant versus Catholic religious practices. A great re-reread

5. Eternal Life by Dara Horn I am not sure about this novel. The idea is interesting but does it have a resolution in the plot? No. Do I understand the motivation of the two main characters? Not sure. Dara Horn writes well with a thorough grounding in Jewish History and religion that is a main thread in this story. My verdict is still out after finishing this read. Rachel is the daughter of a scribe in Roman occupied Jerusalem. She becomes the lover of Elazar the son of the High Priest. She marries another man but in order to save her son from dying, she undergoes a process that gives her eternal life. After she discovers that Elazar had done the same thing, Rachel meets him in different disguises throughout the years. After living a long life, if Rachel burns then she is reborn so it seems as an eighteen year old and can live a new life. The reader sees her dilemma as she tires of being reborn. I still have problems with where th plot leads us the reader.

6. The Golden House by Salman Rushdie In this novel the reader is introduced to a most unusual family who live in a big mansion that borders the Macdougal-Sullivan Gardens Historic District in Greenwich Village in New York City. Their story is narrated by a young man, Rene, who lives nearby. Rene manages to become a friend and observer of the Golden family as he imagines their lives as film that he wants to make. The Golden family appear suddenly in the area- they have come from India and are enormously wealthy. Nero ,the father has asked his three sons to take on names of Roman nobility. Each son has a story that will lead to tragedy. Nero marries a young Russian woman who will also change his life and that of Rene. The reader learns about corruption and the inter-gang rivalries that led Nero to leave India. Interspersed in the narrative are lengthy discussions about philosophy, literature, film, and the contemporary politics of the time of the Obama and later Trump presidencies. Those musings are not necessary in my opinion. This is not my favourite Rushdie novel.

7. Stroll Psychogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto by Shawn Micallef I have had this book on my TBR tower for a while now. It was published 8 years ago and some of the chapters were published in a weekly Toronto magazine. However it is still a good read and a guide to walking around the city. The author ( who has columns in a daily newspaper and publishes a great urban magazine -Spacing) has chosen some usual and unusual places for his walks. Some obvious areas ( Kensington Market) are not covered. I did discover some places that I had not considered. The information is not all historical- there are thoughts about the people who live in the area and the future plans for change and development. Some of those plans have been finished and are very successful- the Regent Park plan and the West Don Lands. Some are still controversial-the Portlands area.
Micallef discusses areas all over the boundaries of the city. He gives a good mix of information that helps the reader understand the city. The book is nicely published by Coach House Press ( an important Toronto literary press) and has good illustrations and a nice fold out map by Marlena Zuber.

>5 torontoc:
I read Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress years ago for my bookclub and thought it was okay, but then we met and discussed it and I realized how fabulous it was.

>12 torontoc: This is not my favourite Rushdie novel.

Ha! I agree, although of the 4 I've read, I can't say I loved any of them.

8. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid. This novel is written beautifully- many paragraphs and phrases are so wonderfully expressed. The novel has an element of fantasy to it. It is hard to describe without letting the readers of this review know some of the essential details. However I think that the " surprise" part of the plot is important to the reading experience. The reader learns about two young people in an unnamed country somewhere in the Middle East or Indian continent region. Saeed lives with his parents. Nadia is more of a rebel and lives independently in a culture that is disapproving of such an action. The two become lovers in a time when there is a revolution breaking out. The menace of the life that they lead changes when they are able to escape. How and why lead to a very different life and the stresses that the two young people face. I have to recommend this book without revealing much of the very interesting plot.

9. Molly's Game by Molly Bloom I saw the film and I must admit- I liked it better than the book. However the book really fleshes out the whole story of the author's work in creating the poker games that made her famous. I gather that she only used real names of the players if they had been mentioned publicly elsewhere. It is a story of greed and unlimited money and what those who have it , do with it.

10. One Night, Markovitch by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen This was an odd book to me. I wasn't sure whether I had trouble with the wordy prose because of the translation ( the original is in Hebrew) or maybe it was just the author's style. The story is about a number of people who live in Palestine prior to World War 2 and then early in the state of Israel. The main premise is that a number of men from Palestine are sent by the Irgun organization to Europe to marry an equal number of Jewish women fleeing from what becomes the Holocaust. When they reach Tel Aviv, the plan is that these couples will divorce. However , one man, Yaakov Markovitch is so entranced by his wife, Bella, that he refuse to divorce her. This refusal sets off a number of events. Bella lives in Yaakov's house in a small farming village and refuses to talk to him. Yaacov's friend, Zeev Fienberg has his own issues ( some caused by what we now call PTSD) and soon there are a number of liaisons that cause babies to be born, and secrets soon revealed to the detriment of all. It gets confusing and no-one is happy( spoiler but the reader can see what is happening fairly early.) I did finish the book- there is some nice writing but also some puzzling and coarse descriptions that I don't think helped the story, One of my friends loved the book- I did not.

11. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles I re-read this book for my book club meeting- still a wonderful story!

>18 torontoc: my book club is trying to figure out when to read this one. I hope it's soon!

> 19 definitely read this book- my book club really liked it

>17 torontoc: It may have been an odd and confusing book to you, but to me it sounds really interesting.

> 21 I had mixed feelings about the book

12. The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook by Eleanor Davis I am always for looking books that might interest my great nieces and nephew. I picked this one up at a conference in the fall and finally got around to reading it-the intended gift receivers will visit in June. I liked the story about children with super science powers-one is a boy who is great at building innovative things but is not good at tests in school. I did think that the illustrations were kind of hyperactive but will have to ask the experts when they arrive in the summer.

13.. Motherhood by Sheila Heti This novel reads like a memoir- in fact I have to remind myself after reading some very intense passages that is not the author's personal story but you wonder.... The narrator is deciding whether she will have a baby or children for that matter. She has a husband who already has a daughter by a previous relationship. The choice is up to the narrator who wrestles with the idea of nurturing another being versus what she feels would change in her life. She is a writer and solitude is important to her. As well, she sees the changes in life that friends have made when they have a baby. The arguments for and against are measured, thought out and finally decided upon. In this journey, the narrator relates the story of her grandmother and mother and the decisions that they had to make. The writing is excellent although I thought that the arguments went on a little too long for me.

>24 torontoc: Ooh, that actaully sounds right up my street - it's on the wishlist!

>25 Jackie_K:- it was very well written.

14. Toronto Then and Now by Doug Taylor I read this book for the non-fiction challenge in June- read a book that tells the story in visuals. This book shows pairs of photos of Toronto landmarks with an abbreviated history of the buildings. Many of the places were familiar to me. It was nice to see the differences and some similarities. The original use of the buildings have changed over the years. Some have become part of the Toronto Museum system.

>24 torontoc:

Ah you beat me to it!

I've had my eye on this book since before it got published and it's finally arriving on my doorstep on Friday. I just checked the tracking even on my Amazon shipping.

>27 lilisin: Sheila Heti writes really well!

15. Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld I reread this book for my bookclub meeting. I think that they will like it. This is a modern day interpretation of Pride and Prejudice The author does a credible updating but there are a few awkward " I think that I have to put this character in although he/she doesn't really have much to do in the modern day plot line". The three younger Bennet sisters are the best transfers in personality.And I enjoyed the read.

I read Eligible poolside in Mexico last year. It was a good vacation read, but I tend to like P&P retellings.

Just popping in to say Hi!

Thank you!

16.A Boy in Winter by Rachel Seiffert The author sets this novel in the Ukraine, 1941. She follows a number of people who are impacted by the invasion of the Nazis. Pohl is a German engineer tasked with building a road in the difficult terrain of a small town. He has misgivings about the Nazis and has tried to shield himself from the army. Two small Jewish boys run away from their home as their family prepares to pack and follow German commands. A young teenager, Yasia tries to find her sweetheart, Myko who has joined the Ukrainian police force working with the German army. Each person faces decisions that will change their future. This story is well written. I have to think about my thoughts about new stories based on the Holocaust. I think that this one- with the theme of actions taken based on moral ideals works so well. Maybe other books that I was not happy about were just badly written.

17. The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine by Alina Bronsky. The author was born in Russia but moved to Germany when she was a teenager. This book started off promisingly. The narrator, Rosa, is always scheming to better the life of her daughter, Sulfia, and later her granddaughter Aminat. Rosa pressures Sulfia into marriages which don't work out, and later into an almost relationship in order to move the family to Germany. Nothing really works out for Sulfia although Aminat changes her own life in a way that Rosa could not have planned. The beginning of this novel was interesting and sometimes funny. The story then became tiresome to me and I cannot recommend it.

18. Memories of the Future by Siri Hustvedt What a pleasure it is to read the wonderful prose of Siri Hustvedt! This novel is a multi layered account. An older writer recalls her first year living in New York City in 1978. Identified by her initials, S.R. or her nickname " Minnesota", the young woman moves to New York for a year of writing and reading before she takes up graduate studies. The older S.R. discovers her diary of that first year and the reader has the benefit of both the young woman's account as well as her older self recalling what she remembers. The diary is about S.R.'s life and her relationship with her next door neighbour ,Lucy Brite. Lucy seems to talk to her self or others about a tortured past with a dead daughter falling from a window to her death. S.R. listens through the walls to Lucy who talks incessantly through out the night. S.R. also writes a mystery novel that the reader is able to read although real life trauma and rescue lead to S.R.'s abandonment of her mystery characters. This is a story about maturing and lessons learned through experience. A great read.

19. Cleaving A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession by Julie Powell. This can be an off-putting book. The author takes up butchering- she worked as an intern in a butcher shop in a small town in New York State. There are many descriptions of the "how " to take apart different sections of the animals that we eat. However, this memoir is also a story of the author's relationships with her husband, Eric, and her lover know as "D". Although she lives with her husband in New York City, ( he also had an affair ), Powell obsesses over "D" as well as determining to master the art of butchering. After six months at the butcher shop, Powell takes overseas trips to Argentina, the Ukraine, and Tanzania . She wants to learn as much as possible about meat and local customs about meat. The personality of the author seems very different in this book than her previous memoir Julie and Julia. In this book she is tougher and not as sweet ( and certainly not like the portrayal in the film). So it is interesting but her relationship issues are not resolved ( well it is a memoir and not a novel).

20. Mystic River by Dennis Lehane. Summer reading for me means mysteries. And hopefully a book from my too large book towers. I hadn't read any of this author's work before today. His mystery story is well written- the reveal of
" who killed the victim" is a bit of a surprise but plausible. Three boys, Sean, Jimmy and Dave survive a terrible event although one of the boys- Dave- does go missing but escapes.. They go their separate ways as adults. A terrible tragedy leads to their reuniting. Sean has become a policeman and he is trying to solve the murder. Jimmy tries to get through the loss of a loved one. And Dave is married to a cousin of Jimmy's wife. The reader learns about clues that could lead to the killer. The story is well paced . I thought that the novel was well written with good character revelations.

21. Happiness by Aminatta Forna This is a beautiful novel. The writing is so good and the story gives the reader hope. Attila is a psychiatrist from Ghana who travels all over the world to consult on trauma. He is in London where he will give a keynote speech at a conference. Jean is an American , living in London where she researches the habits of foxes. Jean and Attila meet and work together to find a runaway boy-the son of Attila's niece. They engage with Jean's network of hotel doormen, traffic wardens, and street sweepers who help find the boy. Jean uses her network to track the city's foxes. At the same time Attila is concerned with a former colleague and lover, Rosie, who has Alzheimer's disease and lives in a residence. There are a number of plots that " seem to twist together" as the readers learns the backstory of both Attila and Jean. Attila realizes that to live a good life involves more than the pursuit of happiness.

22. Salt Fat Acid Heat Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat This is a very different cookbook than most. The author discusses the role that salt, fat ( think olive oil and butter) acid and heat play in cooking. Nosrat gives clear explanations of the chemical reaction that these elements play in the change in vegetables, fruit, grains, and meat when cooked or baked. In addition, she provides cooking lessons in cooking techniques and gives the reader a wide variety of recipes to try. I learned a lot and have bookmarked several of the recipes for use.

23. Frederick H. Varley by Peter Varley I decided to read some of the art books that I own. Frederick Varley was a member of the Group of Seven but did go his own way for the majority of his career. Although he painted some wonderful landscapes, today he is known mainly for his portraits.This book not only shows photos of his paintings but has three accounts of his life- by his son Peter, art historian Joyce Zemans and former director of the National Gallery of Canada Jean Sutherland Boggs. The story of Varley's life is grim. He did not sell many of his paintings and survived with the help of his friends. He was unfaithful to his wife and really couldn't support his children. His affairs did produce some excellent portraits. The descriptions of Varley's work and the influence of his travels are key points in this volume.

24. Splendors of Imperial China Treasures from the National Palace Museum. Taipei by Maxwell K. Hearn I went to the museum in Taipei many years ago. I also went to see this exhibit in 1996 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This is the catalogue that I bought in New York. The author gives an overview of Chinese history with an emphasis on the development of painting, calligraphy, pottery, lacquerware and jade carving. I was reminded how wonderful this collection is. I know the history of how it got to Taipei. No matter the politics- it is important that the collection exists.

25. Hidden Figures The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterley O.K. this is one case where I liked the film better than the book. I wasn't prepared for the dense compendium of facts. Now they were interesting- with the stories of how the women got their educations, their interests and the development of the NASA agency. It is just that the individual stories of these very accomplished women got lost in the presentation of the background in the 1940's and 1950's attitudes towards Blacks in the southern states. I didn't know how the state of Virginia defied to the order to desegregate public schools but shutting them all down for a number of years. I missed the account of the work done by the women employed as human computers and later engineers. I think that the film did simplify the story but did the women justice by focusing on their work.

26. Our Hearts Were Young and Gay by Cornelia Otis Skinner and Emily Kimbrough Every once and a while when everyday life ( politics, bad cold) get to me I reread a comfort read and this is one of my favourites. In the 1920's the authors took a trip to London and Paris when they were nineteen. They sailed on the Empress of France and the stories of their adventures always make me laugh- from wearing money belts that swung near their knees while dancing, trying to save a drowning man by throwing a deck chair overboard that nearly rendered him unconscious to sneaking through British customs while disguising a bad case of the measles. In truth, reading this memoir reminded me that there were some phrases that are not used today. However, the story of two real innocents abroad ( the story about logging in the brothel is funny) gave me much pleasure.

27. By A Lady :Celebrating Three Centuries of Art by Canadian Women by Maria Tippett This book has been on my shelf for a long time. The author was very upset that a popular history of Canadian Art didn't mention many or very few women. Maria Tippett set out to write a detailed account about the women artists who painted for the past three centuries. She describes style, and training of the many women who painted in Canada. Tippett makes the point that these women were not taken seriously.(hence the title referring to how women's work was described) Recognition was something that happened in the 20th century. There are many women artists described. I was surprised but happy that Tippett was able to write about out the many women artists and have examples of their work in this book. A nice discovery.

28. Water-Based Screenprinting Today by Roni Henning I am giving a silkscreen workshop in a few weeks and wanted to review some techniques from this book. Some of the work is very sophisticated and needs highly specialized equipment. However there are directions ,samples and illustrations of screen printing that is accessible to the beginner. This is a good resource book for the artist/teacher.

29. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard I have been reading this account of the rise of Rome for a while now. The author is refreshingly candid as she uses evidence from recent archeological excavations and digs to describe the beginnings of the Roman empire. She corrects the stories and myths about Rome and its leaders. The reader gets a sense of the scope of the city, the empire, and the rulers both early kings, the senate, and later emperors. I really enjoyed Mary Beard's understanding of the evidence of Roman rule and accomplishments.

>44 torontoc: This is in my TBR pile and I'm looking forward to it (although it's pretty hefty! My wrists are very happy it's an ebook!).

>45 Jackie_K: it is really interesting!
Well I reached my goal for this year of 30 books that I have owned for a while!

30 The Dinner Party a symbol of our heritage by Judy Chicago This is a reread of the first of two volumes on the origin and making of Judy Chicago's massive art piece. I remember that I saw this exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario-the only reason there was a show was that the Women's Committee( since disbanded but oh how valuable) made arrangements to bring the piece to Toronto. This book is about how the Dinner Party originated, the collaborations that were established and the descriptions of the plates and the floor. There were biographies of all the women who were chosen to have their names inscribed on the tile floor. There are illustrations of all the plates and the women that they honour. It was good to do this reread and remember all that we take for granted today.

Congratulations on reaching your goal!

>47 MissWatson: Thank you!

31. Embroidering Our Heritage The Dinner Party Needlework by Judy Chicago This is the second volume of the catalogue on The Dinner Party. This book shows the work and techniques that made up the personal embroideries that were part of the place settings for the clay plates. Each woman honoured at this installation had unique works of art created that took the history of needlework popular during their lifetime. I was interested to read about the research and care that went into the design and creation of the cloths. There were many women who worked on this part of the artwork. The photographs refer not only to the designs created but also serve as a guide to the role of women craftsmen throughout the ages. This is really a valuable reference book to the history of needlework and the changing roles of women.

32. Gilded Lions and Jeweled Horses The Synagogue to the Carousel Jewish Carving Traditions by Murray Zimiles I decided to pull out some of the books that my late brother gave me over the years- this is a catalogue about an exhibit at the American Folk Art Museum. The exhibit and book trace the history of carving by Jewish artists in Europe and later the United States. The history covers the carving of arks and synagogues in Eastern Europe ( many were destroyed), grave stone symbols, intricate paper cutting and finally carousel horses in the United States. There were many Jewish woodcarvers who worked for companies that produced carousels in the US. The author shows the transference of skills used for religious artifacts in synagogues to the secular depiction of horses on the carousel. The history was really interesting and the images show how motifs from arks for the synagogue show up later in secular work. I must admit I learned a lot about the meaning and importance of symbols used in all the examples.

Congrats on reaching your goal! Good job.

Thank you!
I sort of had a reading funk- not interested in what I had on my book pile or in the case of the following -just a hard one to read.
33.. Yiddish Civilisation The Rise and Fall of a Forgotten Nation by Paul Kriwaczek I have mixed feelings about this history. The topic was interesting as the author traced the development of Jewish or Yiddish language and people from the time of the fall of the Roman Empire through to the medieval times. The development of Yiddish words from Latin and Greek was interesting. The descriptions of Jewish society and movements from the west of Europe to the eastern areas of what is now Ukraine and Poland was new to me. However the author used only secondary sources in his study and made the decision to have his work extend to the 1930's in the US and England. I would have liked this book to give more information on the medieval sections and perhaps use more primary sources. The author also made statements about how certain people in his study " probably would have" done certain things. I admit that in this day and age there is little physical evidence to support certain conclusions and the author's guesses are probably right. So, an interesting study but I think that I wanted more.

34. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen I never get tired of re-reading this novel. I use it as a " cure" when I get into a " non-book reading" period of time. I really wasn't happy with some of my book choices in Dec. I abandoned them, watched really bad TV ( I don't have Netflix) and then read this book/. I love the language, the manners and ideas about relationships. ( especially Mr. and Mrs. Bennet's ). So I read, enjoyed and am now interested in a number of books - it helped that my nieces gave me some really interesting books for Hanukkah!

Glad to hear that you were able to get out of the reading slump. Enjoy your new books!

>52 torontoc: Good for you. A reading slump is not a nice place to be in.