Paul C Back to Basics in 2019 Part 5

The last thread had Kyran and Yasmyne dancing for joy in New Zealand. Here Belle, Hani and I soak up the delights of Amsterdam in 2011 - the year I joined LT and the 75ers.

I am Paul Cranswick, sometime group statistician, Malaysian correspondent - construction project manager and avid book accumulator.

Father of three - Yasmyne, Kyran and Belle - the first two already studying in university in the UK and hopeful of a return to the UK in the none too distant future.

Had a tough few years and this affected badly my reading last year which was the first that I have failed to reach 100 books. This year - hope springs eternal so let's see.

2019 Books

January

1. Findings by Kathleen Jamie BIAC
2. Black Robe by Brian Moore
3. Love on the Dole by Walter Greenwood
4. Football in Sun and Shadow by Eduardo Galeano
5. The Rider by Tim Krabbe

February

6. Exercises in Style by Raymond Queneau
7. My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok (AAC)
8. The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker (BIAC)
9. A Thief in the Village by James Berry
10. The House of Arden by E. Nesbit (BIAC)

March

11. The Hanging Garden by Ian Rankin (BIAC)
12. Still Midnight by Denise Mina (BIAC)
13. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
14. Naomi by Junichiro Tanizaki
15. The Room on the Roof by Ruskin Bond
16. A Place of Execution by Val McDermid (BIAC)
17. Just William by Richmal Crompton

April

18. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne (BIAC)
19. The War with the Newts by Karel Capek
20. This Earth of Mankind by Pramoedya Ananta Toer
21. Came a Hot Friday by Ronald Hugh Morrieson
22. Petersburg by Andrei Bely

May

23. Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (AAC)
24. The Four Feathers by A.E.W. Mason (BIAC)

The Good Companions by J.B. Preistley & Petersburg by Andrei Bely

BRITISH ISLES AUTHOR THEME CHALLENGE 2019



January 2019 - The Natural World https://www.librarything.com/topic/296824#6632759
February 2019 - Pat Barker and Peter F. Hamilton
March 2019 - The Murderous Scots https://www.librarything.com/topic/296824#6637458
April 2019 - Rosamond Lehmann and John Boyne
May 2019 - The Edwardians https://www.librarything.com/topic/299559#6656870
June 2019 - Nicola Barker and Wilkie Collins
July 2019 - YA Fantasy Series https://www.librarything.com/topic/299559#6660927
August 2019 - Anita Brookner and Jim Crace
September 2019 - Biography and Memoir https://www.librarything.com/topic/299559#6674204
October 2019 - Rose Tremain and Louis de Bernieres
November 2019 -The Jewish Contribution https://www.librarything.com/topic/301575#6688724
December 2019 - Zadie Smith and Michael Morpurgo
WILDCARD - Back to the Beginning - LIVELY and ISHIGURO

Here is a link to the thread:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/301916

American Author Challenge



American Author Challenge 2019

I will be joining Linda's challenge where I can this year and have started:

January 2019 - Chaim Potok - My Name is Asher Lev
February 2019 - Louisa M Alcott
March 2019 - Jon Clinch
April 2019 - Jesmyn Ward - Sing, Unburied, Sing

CHALLENGE - A BOOK A YEAR SINCE 1900

120 books in this challenge so I am going to have to do much better than last year!

To date : 24/120

1902 - The Four Feathers
1908 - The House of Arden
1916 - Petersburg
1922 - Just William
1924 - Naomi
1933 - Love on the Dole
1936 - The War with the Newts
1947 - Exercises in Style
1950 - Pippi Longstocking
1956 - The Room on the Roof
1964 - Came a Hot Friday
1972 - My Name is Asher Lev
1975 - This Earth of Mankind
1978 - The Rider
1985 - Black Robe
1987 - Thief in the Village
1995 - Football in Sun and Shadow
1998 - The Hanging Garden
1999 - A Place of Execution
2005 - Findings
2006 - The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
2009 - Still Midnight
2017 - Sing, Unburied, Sing
2018 - The Silence of the Girls

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 BOOKS

Third attempt at this tough challenge which I have failed miserably at twice.


Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

1. United Kingdom Kathleen Jamie
2. Canada Brian Moore
3. Uruguay Eduardo Galeano
4. Netherlands Tim Krabbe
5. France Raymond Queneau
6. USA Chaim Potok
7. Jamaica James Berry
8. Sweden Astrid Lindgren
9. Japan Junichiro Tanizaki
10. India Ruskin Bond
11. Ireland John Boyne
12. Czechia Karel Capek
13. Indonesia Pramoedya Ananta Toer
14. New Zealand Ronald Hugh Morrieson
15. Russia Andrei Bely

READING PLAN

NEXT IS YOURS

Happy new thread, Paul!

Happy New Thread!

Happy new no bake macaroni and cheese free thread, Paul!

Happy new thread, Paul.

>11 jessibud2: Thank you, Shelley and quickly into the fray!

>12 mahsdad: Cheers Jeff.

>13 kidzdoc: Shouldn't be free from food or good books or great company, Darryl and it is off to a good start I think.



I like it slightly less dry than this but baked pasta can be scrumptious.

>14 Matke: Lovely to see you here Gail. xx

Happy new thread, Paul :)

Happy new thread!

Fettuccine Alfredo, stove top mac'n'cheese in Italian disguise.

Happy new one, Paul.

Just checking in to the new thread, Paul!

Happy New Thread, Paul!

Happy new thread Paul.

The baked pasta pic looks great.

>18 figsfromthistle: Thanks Anita. xx

>19 quondame: Good old Alfredo, Susan.

>20 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara. I see that you have finally started a new one too and I'll be over there shortly.

>21 ronincats: Always welcome Roni. HUGS

>23 fairywings: Thanks Adrienne. The picture made me hungry anyways.

>22 SandDune: Thank you, Rhian

Happy New Thread, Paul. Love the family topper. We hope to get to new Zealand, late next year.

Attending a Meet Up today. Jim is in town for a conference, so Joe, Linda and I are meeting him at a German Beer Hall. Of course, we are. Grins...

Cheers to your brand new thread, Paul!

Happy new thread, Paul!

I couldn't resist checking out The War with the Newts, having never heard of it. It intrigued me so much that I looked on Amazon and was able to buy the Kindle version for US$.99.

>16 PaulCranswick: Yum. I have three lasagna recipes I use, depending on how much time I want to spend in the kitchen. Baked pasta is quite wonderful.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread!

>16 PaulCranswick: Yum! I'd like a slice or two, please.

Happy New Thread, Paul. Love the photo of you and Hani and young Belle in Amsterdam.

Did I miss it? What did you think of War with the Newts? I've never read it.

Happy new thread!

Good bechamel, I mean gravy, a new thread after only 324 posts! You'll be using up all cyberspace soon. *tsk*

>27 msf59: I certainly want to return to NZ, Mark. Sweden, Greece and Portugal are on our radar when we finally make the move back to England.

>28 Carmenere: Thank you Lynda. xx

>29 karenmarie: I hope you'll have fun with War with the Newts which is a strange little classic, Karen.

>30 drneutron: Thanks Jim.

>31 foggidawn: Thank you Foggy. xx

>32 kidzdoc: Thought you might like that one, Darryl!

>33 jnwelch: It is a strange book, Joe, but strangely prophetic considering that it was written just as Hitler and Stalin were about to decimate civilisation for a generation.

>34 witchyrichy: Thanks Karen.

>35 richardderus: I know RD - I just don't have your sense of patience!

If you please
Pasta with cheese;
Some say gratin
Beats cooking in a pan
The eyes taste what the stomach sees.

Happy new thread!

to continue a conversation from the last thread.

Wegman's is the best. I had the pleasure of going to the one in Lakewood, N.Y. last summer and was simply blown away by the selection. It was like going to the Redding Market in Philadelphia. Wonderful place.

I really like baked zitti, but it has to be home made. Good stuff.

Happy new thread Paul.

Happy new thread, Paul!
>1 PaulCranswick: I hope you will visit our country again in the next few years :-)

Happy new thread Paul!

>41 amanda4242: Thanks Amanda. Wouldn't be the same without a visit from you.

>42 benitastrnad: I must say Benita that the pictures of Wegmans online encourage me to say that they are obviously the Supermarket chain to follow stateside.

>43 benitastrnad: I am not a snob when it comes to pasta, Benita, as I believe that the sauce maketh the meal. Packet pasta is good generally.

>44 johnsimpson: Thank you John. Good to see you mate.

>45 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita. For sure we will. The Netherlands will always be one of my favourite places to be.

>46 swynn: Thank you Stephen.

A few additions to report:

64. The Overstory by Richard Powers
65. Warlight by Michael Ondaatje
66. Happiness by Aminatta Forna
67. Past Tense by Lee Child

Noticed that Richard Powers won the Pulitzer Prize with The Overstory very recently.

The Pulitzer is a prize that I really ought to catch up with more.

There have been 94 winners

I have read 15 of them only.

I have a further 36 of them on the shelves unread.

Favourite winners amongst those I have read:

The Grapes of Wrath
To Kill a Mocking Bird
The Fixer
The Old Man and the Sea
The Good Earth
The Shipping News

least favourite winner I read:

Tinkers

>51 PaulCranswick: I've read 9 and liked only 3 of them: The Age of Innocence, Gone With the Wind, and A Confederacy of Dunces.

Happy new thread, Paul!

One of my library patrons highly recommended The Overstory and I'm hoping to read it perhaps sometime this year.

>52 amanda4242: I read The Age of Innocence but didn't fall in love with it. I much preferred her short novel Ethan Frome.

>53 bell7: Thanks Mary. I will hopefully read The Overstory this year.

I've only read five Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winners:

The Underground Railroad
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
The Known World
Middlesex
A Confederacy of Dunces

All were very good, but Whitehead's book is easily my favorite.

ETA: Your opening photo has made me realize that the Rijksmuseum and Amsterdam Centraal look quite similar at a quick glance.

>51 PaulCranswick:

Paul, for more Pulitzers, skip the racist, jaw-dropping stereotypes in GONE WITH THE WIND
and A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCESmight end up being a great one to Pearl.
For the big build up, to me it simply wasn't funny.

Pulitzer Chat.

I've read 28, this list and the Hugo winners are pretty much the only "reading lists" that I follow. Its a noble ambition, but I'm not ashamed to put one down if it doesn't grab me. Some of the older stuff might not hold up as well.

My favorites (based on my star ratings)...
To Kill A Mockingbird
All the Light We Cannot See
My Father Bleeds History (Maus - Graphic Novel)
The Hours
Lonesome Dove
The Orphan Master's Son
The Amazing Adventrus of Kavalier & Clay
Confessions of Nat Turner

I've DNF'd 2 so far; Beloved and House Made of Dawn

Happy new thread, PC.

Checking out the new digs. And now I want pasta...

Ooh, a list! Fun stuff.
Is it just me or do the Pulitzer seem to do the same thing as the Oscar - give the award to an author for the wrong book?

1940: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
1961: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
1962: The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O'Connor
1983: The Color Purple by Alice Walker
1988: Beloved by Toni Morrison
1989: Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler
1994: The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx
1995: The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
1999: The Hours by Michael Cunningham
2000: Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
2001: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael
2002: Empire Falls by Richard Russo
2004: The Known World by Edward P. Jones
2005: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
2006: March by Geraldine Brooks
2007: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
2009: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
2011: A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
2014: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
2019: The Overstory by Richard Powers

I liked the runners up The Great Believers and There There more than The Overstory though.

Unsurprisingly, being Murrikin, I've read a lot of the Pullet Surprise winners; I almost always think, like Charlotte says, that they give the prize to a deserving winner for the wrong book. This year's winner I wouldn't even review I was so snortingly dismissive of its precious, unfulfilling, gimmick-joke of a conceit. The Great Believers deserved this win, IM never-remotely-humble O.

>51 PaulCranswick: >55 kidzdoc: >57 mahsdad: >60 charl08: I counted 24 winning titles I've read and a couple of finalists.

1925: So Big by Edna Ferber
1928: The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
1932: The Good Earth by Pearl Buck
1937: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
1939: The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
1940: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
1947: All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
1951: The Town by Conrad Richter
1953: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
1955: A Fable by William Faulkner
1961: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
1963: The Reivers by William Faulkner
1977: Roots by Alex Haley
1983: The Color Purple by Alice Walker
1983: Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler (finalist)
1986: The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler
1987: A Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor
1988: Beloved by Toni Morrison
1989: Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler
1994: The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx
1995: The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
1999: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (finalist)
2005: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
2009: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
2015: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
2017: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Several other titles, including a winner and finalist for this year, are on my "to be read" list. There were a couple others I may have read--like the one by Willa Cather from the 1940s and one other one earlier than it. I just couldn't remember. Not bad.

>57 mahsdad: Back in 2006 when I finally recovered from graduate school, I decided to read all of the Hugo winners for best novel. Took me 3 years to get through all of them. Well, so many Vorkosigan books had won, I decided I should just read the entire series, start to finish. And I'd already read a bunch of them.

Some books kept me bouncing off the walls for days and chattering about all the concepts that were explored (say, The Diamond Age or Parable of the Talents. Others made me feel like it must have been a really slow year in publishing, and I would try to figure out what about the book appealed so much to receive the award (like Double Star or The Wanderer). Some of them just kinda left me feeling like I wasn't the audience and really missed much of the meaning (A Case of Conscience and A Canticle for Leibowitz).

It's been 10 years now...maybe I should catch up with the category.

I got all excited about how much I enjoyed the personal challenge and printed lists of other awards including the Pulitzer and Booker, but then never followed through.

>63 justchris: Isn't Diamond Age fabulous? I just wish Neal Stephenson had supplied all the wow, wiz, bang stuff with a plot worthy of it. Still, it's a favorite as it is. I know Octavia Butler is worthy of all the acclaim she has received and more, but I didn't really enjoy the books and can't make myself want to read or re-read them.

Before I answer your lovely messages let me rate the Pulitzer winners I have read in order of my preference:

1. The Grapes of Wrath
2. To Kill a Mockingbird
3. The Fixer
4. The Good Earth
5. The Old Man and the Sea
6. The Shipping News
7. The Confessions of Nat Turner
8. Breathing Lessons
9. A Thousand Acres
10. The Age of Innocence
11. The Yearling
12. March
13. A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain
14. The Bridge of San Luis Rey
15. Tinkers

In addition I have read 9 "losing" finalists and also the "winner" in 1941 For Whom The Bell Tolls which was rejected by the Board of Trustees.

>64 quondame: I guess I can see what you mean about the plot of The Diamond Age, but I found the premise of 3 different girls in 3 very different contexts received theoretically identical smart books (I can't remember what they were called) and the profoundly different outcomes pretty darn interesting. Not to mention all the rest of it.

I wouldn't say that I enjoyed Parable of the Talents. Actually, it was quite upsetting. The only other book I can think of that caused such a deep emotional reaction in me was Catspaw by Joan D. Vinge. Both books are very memorable for just that reason. And again, a really interesting premise: a heroine inspired to found a religion and lead a movement into space as a way to motivate humanity to strive for something larger and better instead of indulging in the worst that humanity can be as the character was witnessing all around her (and experiencing all too directly too).

>66 justchris: I'll have to re-read Catspaw! My impression of it is of an adventure. Yes, Octavia Butler's books upset me, but in my case more for the disruptions of human-human interaction.

>61 richardderus: Oh, I loved that too. The ending really hit me hard. I thought he was safe!

>68 charl08: re: spoiler...that was Makkai's evil intent.

Ah! I've owned War with the Newts for forever. I really should read it, if I can find it.

>55 kidzdoc: I haven't read any of your winners, Darryl, but I do have all of them on the shelves. I reckon I may start reading one a month until I get most of them done.

>56 m.belljackson: I do find some of the racial content of pre 1960s novels a bit disturbing, Marianne, but I try to consider them in the context of their time. For example I found Hemingway's To Have and Have Not extremely uncomfortable and bigoted reading.

>57 mahsdad: I have also read Maus, Jeff but I didn't include it as I was only looking at the best novel or fiction award. 28 is an impressive number.

>58 richardderus: Thank you RD. I hope you are 100% fit again dear fellow.

>59 BekkaJo: Lovely to see you Bekka and this is for you



Fettucine puttanesca a favourite of mine.

>60 charl08: I would agree to an extent, Charlotte. Some of them won but not with their best books for sure. 20 is a decent number.

>61 richardderus: I haven't read anything by Richard Powers but I had hear his The Echo Maker was his best, no?

>62 thornton37814: Pretty impressive reading, Lori. Not in the least bit surprised though!

>63 justchris: I checked and surprised myself by having read 5 of the winners. Le Guin, Gaiman, Walton, Willis and Susannah Clarke. All good as well.

>64 quondame: I have a number of Stephenson's books on the shelves but the font is so bloody small and the books so bloody long that they tend to put me off.

>66 justchris: I cannot add anything to the discussion on Stephenson, Chris, but it does encourage me to look at reading some of his work soon.

>67 quondame: I quite enjoyed Kindred, Susan, as I thought the premise of it was quite interesting.

>68 charl08: I always find comments, especially enthusiastic ones, about books I haven't yet read creates an almost insatiable urge to pick it up and read it. Not on my shelves unfortunately.

>69 richardderus: Been married 23 years so evil intent is something..............no I'm only kidding, honestly.

>70 The_Hibernator: You should, Rachel.

>74 PaulCranswick: Permaybehaps; I myownsrlf think Generosity: An Enhancement is his best.

>51 PaulCranswick: >55 kidzdoc: >57 mahsdad: >60 charl08: >62 thornton37814:

I think I'm down there at the bottom with Darryl (in order of year of prize):

Laughing Boy (enjoyed it)
The Grapes of Wrath (high school English class, appreciated it)
The Old Man and the Sea (high school English class, hated it)
To Kill a Mockingbird (loved it)
Angle of Repose (enjoyed it)
Lonesome Dove (enjoyed it)
Beloved (appreciated it)
The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love (enjoyed it)
The Shipping News (enjoyed it)

Audiobook:
A Thousand Acres (very memorable)

Heard the radio adaptation:
The Magnificent Ambersons (meh)

Read other book by Pulitzer winner:
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair (high school English class, appreciated it)
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon (appreciated his talent and the story, but also didn't enjoy the prose)
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy (not the author for me)

Own but not yet read (may never read):
The Good Earth
The Age of Innocence (bought for some LT challenge years ago, failed to follow through)
The Caine Mutiny
The Color Purple

I mostly read genre fiction, which is why I don't have many of these winners in my past.

I didn’t think I had read many of the Pulitzer winners for Fiction and when I tallied them all up I surprised myself. I have read 15 of them. Winners and honor books.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Gilead by Marilyn Robinson
Empire Falls by Richard Russo

These were my favorites.

I don’t understand how To Kill A Mockingbird won any awards and can’t believe that william Fulkner won it twice.

I didn’t care much for Orphan Master’s Son either, but at least I could finish it. Can’t say that for anything I have tried to read by Faulkner.

>73 PaulCranswick: Looks fabulous! I have always been a fan of the dairy-based white sauces. But I can't have them anymore. That one looks very doable with my current dietary restrictions (assuming I am careful with choice of fettucini).

>76 PaulCranswick: I've only read the one Stephenson book, but it really impressed me, and I would like to try others. Just haven't gotten around to it yet. So you're ahead of me in terms of having collected some of his stuff. But I hear you about not wanting to jump into such big works. It's a big commit.

I haven't yet read Kindred, though it's probably the best known/most widely read of Butler's works. It's certainly the only one that is still most readily available in regular bookstores. I want to get through the Patternist series first. I should probably just get the books from the library rather than waiting to find them in used bookstores. It's that hard to find older editions of Butler's works.

>78 richardderus: I think I have that one somewhere, RD.

>79 justchris: Not a shabby tally at all if you ask me!

>80 benitastrnad: We've read the same number, Benita to date.

I am a little surprised by your comments on To Kill a Mockingbird - you could be the only person I know that doesn't like it!

>81 justchris: & >82 justchris: The sauce literally means in the style of a prostitute! Olives, anchovies, tomatoes and garlic with normally a little bit of chili to give it some kick.

I must brave the small font and huge volume of pages and give Stephenson a go sometime soon.

Couple more additions to write home about:

68. Circe by Madeline Miller
69. We, the Survivors by Tash Aw

>85 PaulCranswick: That reminds me, need to get back to both! Hope you are having a good weekend, Paul.

>85 PaulCranswick: Ooohhh, Circe was so wonderful a read for me. I hope it is for you as well.

Hi Paul!

>51 PaulCranswick: You know how much we all love lists. I surprise myself - I’ve read 23 of them and 5 others mentioned as either finalists or Special Awards. I’ve abandoned 4 and have 10 on my shelves waiting to be read.

>61 richardderus: Agree, RD. The Great Believers should have won, although I haven't read and have no intention of reading The Overstory.

>85 PaulCranswick: I’m anxious to read Circe for my RL book club discussion in June.

Happy new thread and a peaceful and restful Easter to you and yours, Paul.
And thank you for mentioning me War with the Newts - a pleasure to read and stuff to think about it.

>86 charl08: I will probably read the Tash Aw soon for my 2019 read and for Malaysia in my around the world in 80 books challenge.

>87 richardderus: I enjoyed her debut novel RD. Would you say that Circe is better?

>88 karenmarie: What would your favourite have been, Karen, of the the Pulitzer winners?

>89 SirThomas: I'm glad you enjoyed War with the Newts, Thomas.

>84 PaulCranswick: I'm not fond of To Kill a Mockingbird, either.

>90 PaulCranswick: I think The Song of Achilles was nearly perfect in its storytelling, as befits a book that had so many years of growth and change in it. Circe is an excellent story, like Achilles, because it's from a new perspective; that it is well-written on top of that is proof that Achilles wasn't a fluke. So not better but still high quality.

>92 amanda4242: Et tu, Amanda?!

>93 richardderus: No fluke is good enough for me, RD. Thanks.

>84 PaulCranswick: Small font and many pages is enough to send me to the fainting couch!

Hi, Paul.

I agree with RD on Song of Achilles, and disagree on The Overstory. The latter is a great book, IMO, and well worth your time. The only other one of his I’ve read is The Gold Bug Variations.

I invested in the last few years to reading Pulitzer winners. I've read a fair number of the winners in General Nonfiction, History, and Biography categories, and even a couple or three of the drama winners. Here are the fiction winners I've read. (I know, what a showoff.)

The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington
The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Hemingway (Recommended but nixed by the Pulitzer board)
A Bell for Adano by John Hersey
All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
The Town by Conrad Richter
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow (Recommended but nixed by the Pulitzer board)
Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor
A Death in the Family by James Agee (posthumous win)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron
Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
A River Runs Through It by Norman MacLean (Recommended but nixed by the Pulitzer board)
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (posthumous win)
Rabbit Is Rich by John Updike
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Ironweed by William Kennedy
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx
The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
Independence Day by Richard Ford
American Pastoral by Philip Roth
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
March by Geraldine Brooks
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

In the TBR Closet^TM

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
So Big by Edna Ferber
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Late George Apley by John Phillips Marquand
The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk
A Fable by William Faulkner
The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter by Katherine Anne Porter
The Fixer by Bernard Malamud
The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever
The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer
The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos
Rabbit at Rest by John Updike
The Hours by Michael Cunningham
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Known World by Edward P. Jones
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

There’s nothing like a list of books to get us going. I find I’ve read 26 of the fiction/novel winners and enjoyed most of them. The one that stands out as a disappointment is The Magnificent Ambersons. An interesting if not particularly profound book was, IMO, completely spoiled by a hackneyed ending.

I’m interested in your take on Ethan Frome. Having grown up in New England, I know how claustrophobic those winters can be, even now. One edition of “Frome” is printed paired with Summer, also by Wharton. That one leaves the reader with at least a little hope. Now that I’ve said all that, I’d like to add that The Age Of Innocence is one of my favorite books of all time. It’s quite a surprise to realize who the “innocent” party—in terms of being worldly-wise—really is.

Happy Easter weekend, Paul.

Happy Easter Paul - hope the Easter bunny has been :)

Happy Easter mate, What are your beloved Leeds up to? it is going to be edge of the seat stuff until the end of the season mate to see if they get an automatic promotion spot.

Sending love and hugs to you, Hani and the kids mate.

Hope it's been a good one for you, Paul!

Happy Easter and happy newish thread, Paul. I hope this post doesn’t auto correct on me this time! Mac and cheese isn’t exotic but can’t say I eat that much either.

>95 LovingLit: My eyes really struggle with those, Megan.

>96 jnwelch: I've generally read great reviews of the book, Joe. RD is a chap of strong opinions and I agree with him on a majority of occasions so let's see.

>97 weird_O: 40 is some number, Bill. i am ambivalent about whether to include Hemingway, Pynchon and Bellow's winners that were rejected by the oafish board.
Of those I have 2 on the shelves and have read the Hemingway.

>98 Matke: I must have been in the right mood for Ethan Frome, Gail, because I really loved it when I read it (20 or so years ago).

>99 Ameise1: Thank you Barbara.

>100 BekkaJo: No chocolate for me this weekend, Bekka. I have a smallish health issue and will go to see a specialist today. I have little appetite and am a bit uncomfortable.

>101 johnsimpson: Thanks John. Leeds never make things easy for their fans. How they were able to lose a game with nearly 80% possession and 38 attempts on goal, heaven only knows.

>102 mstrust: Thank you Jennifer. Sunday was a lazy day for the most part.

>103 Familyhistorian: I agree Meg. Not exotic and I don't eat it at all in truth.

Book #20



This Earth of Mankind by Pramoedya Ananta Toer

Date Written Down : 1975 (20 of 120)
Origin of Author : Indonesian ( 13 of 80)
Pages : 359 (5,761 in total)

The first book in the Buru Quartet. It was so named as the author conceived his novel cycle and took down the book by way of recitation in the prison on the island chain Buru. My maid, Erni, incidentally hails from the same area (the island group not the prison).

The novel tells the story of Minke, a native student, who rails against colonial prejudice and inequality in turn of the century Dutch East Indies. It is a memorable novel but one not without its flaws as melodrama sometimes gets in the way of common sense.

He creates two main female characters, Nyai the concubine sold to a Dutch businessman and their daughter Annaliese. The former is a wonderful creation the latter an insipid disappointment.

Well worth reading though.

Hi Paul. I am taking advantage of a rainy Easter Monday to try and get caught up with some threads. A lot of news to get caught up with. Belated congrats on the wedding anniversary and hugs to your son over the loss of his friend.

Loving the food discussion started on the previous thread! I am in the NO camp about Kraft Mac and Cheese (or any processed/packaged foods) but will never say no to homemade pasta dishes. ;-)

Wishing you a wonderful week, Paul.

>110 lkernagh: Lovely to hear from you, Lori.

Join me in the no Mac n Cheese brigade. Had Penne Arrabiata for lunch with heaps of parmesan on top. Yummy!

>111 PaulCranswick: Does that mean you are feeling better, Paul? Hope so.

>112 charl08: Actually no, Charlotte.

I am in a great deal of discomfort actually. Not really pain but discomfort. Since I have never been one to hide my light under a bushel, the problem is that I felt some discomfort in my testicles on Saturday evening and by Sunday evening one of the blighters had swelled on me to a fairly alarming and uncomfortable degree.

I went immediately to a specialist yesterday and was put through a physical examination and then had an ultrasound examination and testes, bladder and kidneys. The latter two were thankfully ok. The former were not and one in particular is infected. It is of course not STD but the Doctor felt it could be a problem related to using the fairly communal toilets on two different construction sites and the cleaning facilities that accompany them. I also had a rather tortuous prostate examination which identified that the prostate was very marginally enlarged and that my flow rate (how fast I pee in our terms) is slightly below average.

I am on antibiotics but so far no reduction in swelling.

Hi Paul - I've been away from the threads lately and am away from home at present, in Napier for a few days. Must confess that I prefer a good classic baked lasagne over mac n cheese anytime.

So sorry to hear about Kyran's friend, just terrible. I hope everyone is coping ok, there are so many awful stories out there.

I'm doing slow reads, meandering through Murukami's latest which is now overdue to library, so will have a small fine to pay when I return home.

>114 avatiakh: He has coped remarkably well, Kerry. I speak to Kyran every few days and every time he impresses me more and more by his maturity. He has worked extremely hard this year and his results thus far have exceeded all our expectations.

I am considered something of an expert in construction contract law in Malaysia (I'm not entirely sure that that is justified though) and I am quite enthralled that contract law is his favourite subject.

Murakami is a challenging read isn't he?

Hi Paul!

>91 PaulCranswick: Here the three Pulitzer Prize winners that have left the biggest impression on me:

1961: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
1975: The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
2007: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

It’s hard to choose, but if I could only keep one on my shelves for a re-read, it would be The Road.

>113 PaulCranswick: I’m sorry about your discomfort, glad you went to a specialist and are on antibiotics.

>113 PaulCranswick: Keep taking those antibiotics :/ Hoping it clears up soon.

Dear Paul - These are not exactly The Great Balls of Fire that many men dream of, so hope to hear soon that the treatment has worked and it's all a minor concern.

>113 PaulCranswick: what >117 BekkaJo: said.

Speaking from experience, the flow issue is most likely the prostate's fault. If you've managed to get a UTI and it's made its bacterial way into the prostate, it will be some time...some considerable time...before the antibiotics work. Patience! They *will* work. Meantime, ice the boys down.

Oh, and if you're a tighty-whiteys kinda guy, get the pouch-front pants. Y-fronts apply uncomfortable amounts of pressure in wrong places.

A bit miffed that we have been offline for a good while this morning (evening for most of you guys) - glad that the LT gremlins have been sorted out.

>116 karenmarie: I haven't read The Road or The Killer Angels, Karen. I do appreciate Cormac McCarthy and I feel that he is one of the most innovative writers alive and writing in an style that could only be American.
Of the candidates from the US who could possibly win the Nobel Prize:

Cormac McCarthy
Thomas Pynchon
Joyce Carol Oates
Don DeLillo
David McCulloch
Louise Gluck
Sharon Olds

He would probably be my pick.

>117 BekkaJo: Thanks Bekka. Still uncomfortable.

>118 m.belljackson: Well they're not great, Marianne but at least they are not on fire!

>119 richardderus: Yes the prostate was slightly enlarged RD but the flow rate not so poor either. Good advice on the patience side dear fellow as they (the meds) don't seem to be making much impression yet.

>120 richardderus: I'm more into Boxers to be honest but getting comfy is a trial at the moment even without anything holding them in place!

>123 PaulCranswick: These. Srsly. Best thing EVER.

Munsingwear Comfort Pouch.

>124 richardderus: Will set SWMBO the task to go and find them RD. I could certainly do with a little bit of comfort!

>124 richardderus: Well, that's not something I expected to see on this thread. ;)

Hope you feel better soon, Paul.

>126 amanda4242: RD is always an innovator.

Unfortunately it looks like I will be admitted tomorrow.

>113 PaulCranswick: >127 PaulCranswick: I hope they can fix you swiftly Paul.

Paul - Sure hope Your hospital visit brings the same quick relief as Hani's did.

Prayers and kind thoughts coming across continents and oceans to you.

Keeping you in my thoughts, Paul, and hope you get relief soonest!

>128 Caroline_McElwee: I hope so too Caroline. The Doctor confirmed that he definitely had the right anti-biotic for the bacteria but that the medicine was not halting the infection's progression. He wants to admit me and administer the drug intravenously and overpower it. He is worried that an abscess could develop or that I could lose one or both testicles if I don't take it seriously.

>129 m.belljackson: Thanks Marianne. I hope so too.

>130 karenmarie: Thank you, Karen.

Just dropping by to wish you a speedy recovery!

SWMBO needs to get those pants for you ASAP for when you're out! Which I hope will be soon.

All the best, Paul, and ONLY the best.

Yikes, best wishes to you. Infections are nothing to go easy on, especially when dealing with your delicate bits. Metaphorically, I say; Kill it, Kill it with Fire! (and by fire I mean intense doses of anti-biotics)

Hi Paul, so sorry to see that you have an infection in your testicles, it does sound a bit worrying but I think it best to have the drug intravenously mate. Karen sends her love and hopes that your Nuts (good old Yorkshire term) get better with the drugs and that you are back on top form mate. Nothing funny when the nether regions swell up, I know from my vasectomy and the sooner they are back to normal size the better.

Looks like it is a big weekend for the Whites on Saturday but the Blades do seem to be in the box seat for automatic promotion, the two recent losses will be on the players minds and that is not good at this time of the season mate.

Sending love and hugs to you, Hani and the family mate from both of us.

Hoping all goes well in hospital, Paul, so you can return to your usual more comfortable self.

>133 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita.

>134 richardderus: Right ho, RD. I'll get her on to it right away.

>135 weird_O: Cheers Bill.

>136 mahsdad: Thank you Jeff. I am determined to save my prized assets!

>137 johnsimpson: Yes, John, the nuts will hopefully soon be mended. Love to Karen.

We have well and truly blown it. So frustrating when we have dominated all bar two or three games in the whole season and failed so often to convert our chances. That absence of devil in front of goal and the intention to always score the perfect goal has let us down badly.

>138 FAMeulstee: Thank you, Anita. I really hate hospitals!

>124 richardderus: I am definitely a boxer/briefs kind of guy.

Hi, Paul. How did it go at the doctor's visit? I hope all is well.

I had hopes that time in the hospital would mean that you would be cruisn’ the threads without pause. Hope you are feeling better.

Trying to catch up with some threads. Regarding the prize pulitzer, I was a little surprised how many I have read and reviewing the list of winners is a reminder of how many more I probably should read. You have certainly read more than me however. Among my favorites in fiction were:

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (2015)
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (2009)
March by Geraldine Brooks (2006)
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (1986)
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (1975)
The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway (1953)
A Bell for Adano by John Hersey (1945)
The Good Earth (1932)

There are several more I probably should add but these are ones I think I could heartily recommend.

I am sorry to see you have a serious problem with the crown jewels. All the best wishes are being sent that the antibiotics set things right soon.

>142 msf59: I'm in the hospital fora couple of days Mark. I'll try not to worry about my testicles and look at it as an opportunity to read!

>143 benitastrnad: It is a bit slow Benita. Probably everyone has the same idea!

>144 RBeffa: Ive read three from your list, Ron and enjoyed all of them.

I'm normally reluctant to go to see the doctor but a pain in the "crown jewels definitely required the promptest of actions.

Hope you feel better soon, Paul and have lots of books on hand to keep you occupied.

I'm not a huge fan of hospitals either, Paul, and I hope your stay is short and your recovery quick. Thinking of you, friend.

>146 PaulCranswick: IV anti-biotics are No Fun for the body, so I'm hoping that you're ready to repopulate the dead gut bacteria as soon as you're out. Yogurt! Pro-biotics! Nothing fun or interesting to eat or drink for a month!

Paul - Good that the infusion is starting to work and you are relaxed enough to read!

Maybe the Mantra is: "Thank God for The Hospitals We Love to Hate."

>147 charl08: I've got seven books with me, Charlotte. Made the doctor a bit non-plussed that my bag had more books than clothes and further when I had three on my bed as he wanted to give me an examination!

>148 scaifea: Hear hear to that Amber. Thank you xx

>149 richardderus: I do like yoghurt RD, but not that much. Nothing interesting to drink for a month does sound extremely tedious though.

>150 m.belljackson: Nice thought Marianne. I'll stick with disliking them for now, xx

Oooh, I missed the Pulitzer talk. I've been trying to chip off winners over the years, and have found they varied between absorbingly wonderful to eye-rollingly pretentiously tedious. I think Gone With the Wind is my sentimental favourite from the lot - it's not the best book, but it's the one I've re-read the most!

Just dropping by and I find you're in the hospital for treatment of the, uh, guys. Hope things go well for them!

Get well soon, Paul!

Speedy and full recovery, Paul. I am sure the books will get you through and certainly help pass the time.

Seven books sounds like a reasonable start, Paul! Best wishes to you on the recovery front and the reading front.

Wishing you a speedy recovery.

I'm hoping you are more comfortable today and well on your way to a quick recovery.

Ouch! Feel better soon, Paul.

>122 PaulCranswick: I love seeing Sharon Olds on this list. I love her poetry, and we got to see her perform - so impressive.

Hope for your quick recovery Paul.

>153 evilmoose: I haven't read that one, Megan, but I do know that it divides some due to its depiction of race. I will get around to it someday soon and I do have it on the shelves.

>154 drneutron: You know Jim, I can imagine all the guys visiting here leave with a little moisture in their eyes. I think the twins are responding to TLC.

>155 kac522: Thank you, my dear. xx

>156 jessibud2: Thanks Shelley. The surroundings made for a fitful night and the visitors slowed down my reading!

>157 karenmarie: I do hope that I am long gone from the hospital before I make inroads too much on the seven books, Karen!

>158 Ameise1: Thank you, Barbara.

>159 quondame: I am certainly in more comfort than Wednesday afternoon, Susan, which was a trial of agony. It is now Friday morning here and I am sitting typing this as the the rush hour traffic goes by my hospital window of a city I love.

>160 Donna828: Ouch indeed, Donna. Thanks for stopping by. xx

>161 jnwelch: Joe, John Ashbery whose poetry I found tough and unlikeable; Richard Wilbur whom I admired and Mary Oliver whose lovely gentle poetry always moved me have all gone and without a one getting recognition from the Swedes. Olds has to be amongst the leading candidates left, if the Academy still bother about poetry to the extent that you and I do.

>162 brenzi: Thanks, Bonnie.

Chiming in on the wishes for good recovery

I am so sorry to read about your suffering, Paul. Hopefully you will be on the mend soon, but for now listen to the doctor and be a good patient. :)

Yikes! That sounds painful and worrisome. Hope you are better soon.

>168 swynn: Thanks Steve

>169 DeltaQueen50: I don't think I'll ever be a good patient, dear Guru, but I am always polite to nurses and doctors as especially they have needles and things to be inserted!

>170 banjo123: Thank you, Rhonda.

I am discharged!

Doctor was pleased with my response to the IV and put me back on the normal antibiotics.

>172 PaulCranswick: Yay! Have a good day!

>172 PaulCranswick: Huzzah! Glad to hear it!

Stopping by wishing you a speedy recovery, I am happy about the good news.
>113 PaulCranswick: and the flow rate below average, see it as a sign of wisdom. At our age we don't need to win a peeing contest anymore ;-).

Oh, wonderful! I'm so glad to hear that you're getting better!

Get well soon Paul. Look after yourself.

Paul - That's the Best News = Up and Out and ready to be 100% again!

>175 SirThomas: Ha!! Perfect.

IV antibiotics stopping is an excellent sign. I'm happy for this as an omen for the rest of your weekend.

>173 quondame: It is nice to be home, Susan. The staff on my Sapura Lot 91 Project were rather surprised to find their Contract Manager back in the office despite a 5 day Medical Certificate and the IV bandaids still fresh on the back of both hands.

>174 mahsdad: I am mightily relieved Jeff as you can imagine!

>175 SirThomas: That is a great idea, Thomas, you clever man! I'll take that.

>176 scaifea: Thanks Amber. I hope I'm able to get around all the threads this weekend.

>177 sirfurboy: Thanks Sir F, I will do my best to take things a little easier.

>178 m.belljackson: I have gone from no more than 10% on Wednesday to about 40% on Thursday to 70% on Friday and being pleased with the direction of the graph. Thanks Marianne.

>179 richardderus: I hope to make use of my improving assets as soon as practicable RD.

Paul - Today's ATLAS OBSCURA features BOTH Staffordshire Oatcakes

AND the "Club Devoted to Celebrating Britain's Great Puddings" - there's some fun if you need a break at work!

Joke making a little obvious, yet bet Dickens, Oscar Wilde, and Shakespeare would have given us some great candidates.

>184 m.belljackson:
I have had a few jokes sent me over the last few days from friends well meaning and otherwise, Marianne. Obviously the jokes have centred more upon testicles than puddings as for example this one sent to me by one of my staff, obviously not interested in promotion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-ACzpbM3IY

That was a quick hospital stay, Paul, although I'm sure it didn't feel like it. Being taken out of everyday life like that is definite incentive to take good care of yourself. I hope you got lots of reading done while in hospital as they are not places for sleeping.

>186 Familyhistorian: I was booked in for five days, Meg and took 7 books to gleefully and peacefully enjoy my stay. It wasn't too bad I suppose, but when the doctor announcing himself pleased with my scrotum this morning I was as happy as Larry and not even thinking too much about the surreal nature of the conversation I was having with him.

Dr. Goh is a sincere and dedicated physician and I thank him from the bottom of my .....erm....heart for getting me on the road to recovery.

Great news, Paul. Onward and forward!

Unfortunately, your staff's solution won't work for me and my headaches.... ;-)

>172 PaulCranswick: Yay! Get well soon and have a lovely weekend!b

>185 PaulCranswick: Ha! That's was too funny. Glad you're feeling better.

Glad you were released and are home Paul, but shouldn't you still be resting up a bit?

>188 jessibud2: Thanks Shelley. I should hope you wouldn't require Jethro's solution!

>189 amanda4242: Thanks Amanda. I hope to complete another book at least this weekend.

>190 mahsdad: Thanks Jeff. I was, as you can imagine, able to see the funny side.

>191 Caroline_McElwee: That does seem to be the consensus, Caroline. I am enjoying the work though and am mindful of how much the Korean's are paying me for my advice. The fact that it is slowly helping me stabilise myself and the family is another reason for me going a little further than I may otherwise to help them.

Book #21



Came a Hot Friday by Ronald Hugh Morrieson

Date Published : 1964 (21 of 120)
Origin of Author : New Zealand ( 14 of 80)
Pages : 234 (5,995 in total)

Black comedy set in rural New Zealand; a hardscrabble community of ex-soldiers, wannabees, shysters and the down at luck. Scams and schemes prevail; fires for the purpose of insurance claims and a betting scam. All succeed and go wrong at the same time.

Morrieson created some memorable characters in this vivid and enjoyable romp. As with all decent black comedy it was able to stop you short occasionally as things got serious.

Not a well known book. It should be.

Whew, I'm just getting caught up a bit, Paul - what a whirlwind couple of days you've had! Glad to hear you're on the mend and back from the hospital. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

>194 PaulCranswick: And of COURSE it's unknown to Ammy...no US edition ever published...but it sounds like fun. Glad you enjoyed it!

>195 bell7: Certain parts of my anatomy are still a little, ah, tender, Mary, but I am still managing an occasional grimace smile. Thanks for the good wishes. xx

>196 richardderus: Let me see whether I can send you a version of it, RD. It's macabre nature appeals.

>197 PaulCranswick: I'd try to dissuade you, but I don't want to. Don't forget I'm in Long Beach, NY, now!

>198 richardderus: I'll PM you RD for your address when I have it ready to despatch to you.

One thing about coming late to the party is that I can go through your whole ordeal and know that you are safely home and improving, however sore you may still be. Feel better, Paul!
As to Pulitzers - I've read 17 from '48 to the present. I didn't know that Overstory had won this year. I haven't read it yet, but I'm pretty sure that I'll disagree with RD yet again and love it because I have loved Powers from The Gold Bug Variations on. Echo Maker won the American Book Award, and I loved that one too. My favorite my still be The Time of Our Singing.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Gah, I missed almost a whole thread!
Hope all is well in your world

>200 LizzieD: Thanks Peggy.

I must get to reading some Richard Powers. Looking at the reviews page several of our number - Donna, Ellen, Bonnie, Deborah and Mark - loved The Overstory but there were a couple of very negative reviews too.

>201 ChelleBearss: I'm going to take some rest today, Chelle, I am glad you made it before I got too close to another thread.

Hi Paul and glad that you’re home and on the road to recovery.

>185 PaulCranswick: That’s a riot. Never heard of Jethro before…

Happy Sunday, Paul. Glad to hear you are on the mend, and everything is intact. Do not believe the negative reviews of The Overstory, trust your LT buddies instead. Grins...

>203 karenmarie: That one is good isn't it, Karen?

>204 msf59: Continuing to improve, Mark. Will follow the consensus on The Overstory but RD is a critic I generally respect despite his blips with Chuckles and Poultry so I will expect to be moved rather than blown away!

Hi Paul! I wasn't crazy about Overstory; although it has some good parts, and was disappointed to see it win the Pulitzer, though I haven't read the other finalists yet.

>206 banjo123: That makes you and RD, Rhonda who have not been over enthusiastic about it.

Hi Paul, glad you're on the mend.

Glad to hear you are discharged intact - fingers crossed everything is back to normal soon.

>194 PaulCranswick: I read that one a few years back and loved it. A couple of months ago we watched the 1985 film starring Peter Bland and the marvellous Billy T James as The Tainuia Kid.
https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/came-a-hot-friday-1984/background

Glad to see that you bounced back after your hospital stay.

Glad to see that you are now back at home. At least you were able to use the downtime to catch up on some reading :)

Wow, stopping by to get caught up and discovered that you have been admitted - and then discharged - from hospital since I last stopped by. Glad to see that you are on the mend.

Glad you've been discharged and are on the mend!

>208 fairywings: Thank you, Adrienne. I'm still not 100% but getting better.

>209 BekkaJo: When the Doctor originally mentioned the possibility of an operation I must say I cringed, Bekka. Glad it wasn't actually necessary.

>210 avatiakh: I thought when reading it how good a movie it would have made, Kerry!

>211 figsfromthistle: Yes, Anita, I was able to read a bit but could have probably done with another couple of days!

>212 lkernagh: I think I would have gone stir crazy had I got stuck with the Doctor's original five day assessment but three days would have been nice, Lori!

>213 The_Hibernator: Thanks Rachel.

Sorry to hear about the hydraulics problems, my friend, and hope you are recuperating well!

>217 ronincats: Getting there, Roni, getting there. xx

Paul, I have not gotten to your thread in quite a while, but so pleased to hear that you are home and you are feeling better. Several years ago I had to have IV treatment for cellulitis in my elbow, and while I did not enjoy going into the hospital each morning for my IV infusion, it sure beat an actual hospitalization. I had to the have the IV thing - a - ma -jig in my wrist for the four days - even at home - and it was a hassle for sure, but just turning up once a day for the infusion was so much better than staying in the hospital. There appeared to be a number of people doing the same thing - they had a room just for IV infusions. Some of the people had to be in every 12 hours! Dreadful that. But I guess some problems are best kept an eye on right in the hospital.

>219 vancouverdeb: My problems started Deb because they struggled to find a suitable vein in my hand. The first one they identified burst when they put the needle in it. The antibiotics that way was strange because I could taste the medicine when it was introduced into my vein - strange feeling!

Ah, that is why you got stuck in the hospital for a day, Paul. They had a bit of trouble finding a vein for me too, but nothing big. The way they dig around to find a vein, not fabulous. Luckily I am not too squeamish. Despite leaving a the IV in , twice they had to dig a new spot for the IV in my case. Apparently after 3 days , the IV vein was " toast" and on the second day, the indwelling IV thing had gone crooked or something. I dread actual injections, but I'm okay with them digging around in my veins, so I preferred them digging around in my wrist area. But I have friends that have real trouble with veins as you did and needed an anesthetist to insert the IV. We are all so different.

Indeed, weird that you could taste the medicine when they first introduced it into your vein. Not pleasant. I'm glad you are are on the mend.

Book #22



Petersburg by Andrei Bely

Date Published : 1916 (22 of 120)
Origin of Author : Russia ( 15 of 80)
Pages : 580 (6,575 in total)

This is a difficult novel which has taken me the best part of three months to get through.

The story of a city in crisis; a family in subdued crisis and a revolution in the air. This book meandered through to the end in a fractured symbolist manner. The author's writing style was unique but the product was less than satisfying ultimately.

Petersburg made a huge impact on Russian lit, I'm informed by Wikipedia; somehow I find that falls short in the inducement department. I will accept your three-month ordeal-march through it as having washed me clean of the need to read.

>223 richardderus: RD, the book had its elevated moments but they were too few and far between. You won't miss giving it a miss.

May Reading Plan

Double your number.

I got through April reading 22 books and I aim to double that in the next 31 days:

This is the plan:

1 The Four Feathers by AEW Mason (1902) BIAC
2 The Nebuly Coat by John Meade Falkner (1903) BIAC
3 Hadrian the Seventh by Frederick Rolfe (1904) BIAC
4. The Lake by George Moore (1905) BIAC
5. Eminent Victorians by Lytton Strachey (1918)
6. Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger (1920) GERMANY
7. Zeno's Conscience by Italo Svevo (1923) ITALY
8. In the American Grain by William Carlos Williams (1925)
9. Journey by Moonlight by Antal Szerb (1937) HUNGARY
10. The Silver Darlings by Neil M Gunn (1941)
11. The Echoing Grove by Rosamond Lehmann (1953) BIAC
12. Unknown Soldiers by Vaino Linna (1954) FINLAND
13. Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado (1958) BRAZIL
14. The Last Battle by Cornelius Ryan (1966)
15. Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay (1967) AUSTRALIA
16. Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga (1988) ZIMBABWE
17. The General in his Labyrinth by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1989) COLOMBIA
18. Misspent Youth by Peter F Hamilton (2002) BIAC
19. The Last Gift by Abdulrazak Gurnah (2011) TANZANIA
20. Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi (2013) IRAQ
21. Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (2017) AAC
22. We, the Survivors by Tash Aw (2019) MALAYSIA

12 countries to add to the Around the World in 80 Books

Some of them have been started already.

Oh, hope you have a good month of reading Paul. I'm a fan of Nervous Conditions and Frankenstein in Baghdad was so different from anything I'd read before.

>225 PaulCranswick: There are three books on that list I'd clutch your elbow and hiss urgently in your ear, "YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK NOW OR DINOSAURS WILL EAT YOUR CHILDREN AND LICE WILL NEST IN YOUR WIFE'S HAIR":
In the American Grain because prose by poets and history by unhistorianly persons is never, ever going to be practiced better
Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon because the Male Gaze has seldom been less toxic
Picnic at Hanging Rock because, well, that film and the story and the author's unique life

So. I have spoken. Your desire to heed is all that stands between you and book-Paradise with its seventy-two eternally new-to-you reads and its endless feasts in company with the wittiest, most amusing authors of all Eternity.

Re: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese - We're poor. Therefore there is always some Kraft M&C in the pantry. There is more processed food available at the food shelf than fresh. It's just the way it is. We make "Beef Mac" and "Turkey Mac" with ground beef (or turkey), frozen mixed vegetables, cheddar and Parmesan cheese added to the Kraft. Tonight it's Turkey Mac.

Re: Pulitzer (16)

(And 28 of the Hugo Award winners plus 2 DNFs and 4 Retros. And 54 finalists - had to make sure to get that in!)

Winners:
1928: The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder (8/10)
1932: The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (8/10)
1937: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (8/10)
1939: The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (4/10) - Worst
1940: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (7/10)
1953: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (7/10)
1961: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (8/10)
1983: The Color Purple by Alice Walker (9/10) - Best
1986: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (6/10)
1988: Beloved by Toni Morrison (6/10)
1992: A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley (7/10)
1994: The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx (7/10)
1999: The Hours by Michael Cunningham (6/10)
2003: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (8/10)
2006: March by Geraldine Brooks (8/10)
2007: The Road by Cormac McCarthy (8/10)

DNF:
1981: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (posthumous win)
2001: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

Finalists:

1999: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (7/10)
2006: The March by E. L. Doctorow (7/10)

Hmm. I think I need to read more Pulitzers. This list (7.2) has better than the average rating for my regular reading (6.75.)

Re: Naughty Bits

I'm so glad you are back home and can walk without looking like you have ridden a horse for decades.

All kidding aside, it must have been horrible and infections are nothing to mess with. I *am* happy you are feeling better.

>226 charl08: Charlotte, I want to spend a month reading like you!

>227 richardderus: Fascinating to see which books do it RD. I would imagine those three are all very different from each other.

>228 Morphidae: I certainly wasn't deriding mac n cheese on commercial grounds, Morphy and the fact remains that I have never eaten mac n cheese in any form - perhaps I should be less of a food snob.

Our numbers on the Pulitzers are similar and even on which ones read as I've done 15 but 9 shared with you.

I am continuing to improve health wise.

>230 PaulCranswick: What!? Not even Lasagna? Or other Italian versions?

>230 PaulCranswick: I know you aren't, hon. It's just not something you are exposed to. Like I've never had curry. (Don't really want to either, I don't like the feeling of burning in my mouth. I don't even use pepper.)

>231 quondame: No of course, Susan. I love lasagna - I have just never eaten pasta with only a cheese sauce as I anticipate it may be a tad sickly. I love pasta al forno but usually with some form of ragu - like lasagne. I don't mind cheese in a sauce just not on its own! I know, I'm a strange fellow.

>232 Morphidae: One day maybe we'll cook for each other, Morphy! I'll try to persuade your palette and you can work on mine! I am determined to get Stateside within the next 12 months and a trip to Minnesota is on my bucket list.

>233 PaulCranswick: I frequently just put oil and cheese, sometimes oil that's fried a bit of garlic, it's true, on pasta for supper. Usually it's my Italian deli's mix of Parmesan and Romano, but sometimes it's grated cheddar. It's pretty much equivalent, isn't it?

I loved Picnic at Hanging Rock, read it as a teenager after watching the movie. I hope you enjoy it.

Glad to read you are improving and at home, Paul.

>222 PaulCranswick: I had Petersburg from the e-library, but didn't get to it. Sorry you didn't enjoy it. I might give it a try later this year.

>225 PaulCranswick: That is aan ambitious list for May.
Zeno's Conscience is waiting on the shelves and Storm of Steel on my library wishlist.

>234 quondame: I don't mind pasta with some olive oil, a bit of chili and some freshly ground pepper AND a sprinkling of parmesan or grated cheddar on it to taste. If that can be termed as mac n cheese, Susan, then I'm in.

>235 fairywings: I am looking forward to it, Adrienne. Got three of my targets on the go at the moment:

Sing, Unburied, Sing
The Four Feathers and
In the American Grain

>236 FAMeulstee: I wouldn't overly discourage you from reading Petersburg, Anita as parts of it are very good. I just found it too long and strangely delivered.

I am hopeful of my best reading month for ages.

Go for it, Paul! Glad you have your reading mojo back.

Thanks Ella.

>233 PaulCranswick: The LAST thing we'd make for you when you come to Minnesota is Kraft M&C, LOL! Most likely we'd make reservations (ha!) but if we did cook, perhaps we'd make our Chicken Penne with Spinach and Mushrooms (other ingredients are olive oil and Parmesan.)

I'm glad that your hospital stay was a short one, Paul.

>237 PaulCranswick:

Nah - REAL Macaroni and Cheese needs to be baked,

with some of us adding slices of tomato over the top.

That may qualify as lasagne!

Then there's Pizza with M & C over the top...

Good luck on your May reading plan, Paul!

>241 Morphidae: It's a date, Morphy!

>242 kidzdoc: So was I Darryl!

>243 m.belljackson: That is the same as Darryl told me, Marianne.

>244 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen.

>225 PaulCranswick: Do you ACTUALLY sleep Paul?

>247 Caroline_McElwee: Not so much, Caroline. xx

Moving past Pasta and Testicles, When will THE Baby arrive?!?

>249 m.belljackson: Hahaha - I need carbs for most things but an attempt to make the Guinness Book of Records is way beyond me!

>97 weird_O: I must steal that list.

>225 PaulCranswick: that sounds like a challenge that would put me under!!! Double your reading!?? Love it though, of course :) Good luck!

Joe has listed some rheumatoid arthritis links on his site that may relate to your Mother.

>251 LovingLit: Nice to have you drop by, Megan.

>252 m.belljackson: Thanks Marianne. She has done well in controlling it with omega fish oil tablets to be honest.

I've been away from LT for a couple of weeks so had missed your hospital stay and nasty infection, Paul. I'm glad to see that you are recovering now. Mr SandDune has been very unhappy about Leeds as well - he says that they don't deserve to be promoted.

>255 SandDune: Thanks, Rhian. I am almost fully recovered.

As for my beloved Leeds United, we shall see. Mr SandDune of course follows the wrong team in West Yorkshire but I have to say that Leeds have played exhilarating football at times this season and have averaged almost 70% possession per game. They have created far more goal scoring opportunities than any other team in the division but failed to convert as they should have done.

I am hopeful of a return for my great old club - most of the teams already in the EPL would want them and their drawing power back there.

Wish you a relaxing weekend and further recovery

>257 paulstalder: Thank you Paul. I wouldn't have wished the discomfort I felt in my nether regions to anyone so I am mightily relieved that I am on the mend.

I remember (I think!) loving Sing Unburied Sing - although not exactly a 'light' book. Beyond impressed at your goals despite everything else you have going on.

Some healing book therapy additions:

70. Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi (2010)
Nominated for the Man Booker International Prize. Oman is another possibility for my Around the World in 80 Books challenge

71. French and Germans, Germans and French by Richard Cobb (1983)
This one caught my eye in the history section next to a new biography of Napoleon. Boney can wait.

72. The Storyteller by Pierre Jarawan (2016)
Half Lebanese half German's hit first novel.

73. The Bamboo Stalk by Saud Alsanousi (2012)
Kuwaiti novelist's story of a born born from a liaison between a Filipina maid and a Kuwaiti employer won the International Prize for Arabic fiction

74. Seven Lives and One Great Love : Memoirs of a Cat by Lena Divani (2013)
Europa special in Kinokuniya with a free bag with purchase. Greek author.

75. The Penalty Area by Alain Gillot (2015)
Another Europa edition; another bag

76. The Most Beautiful Book in the World by Eric-Emmanuuel Schmitt (2006)
Another Europa Edition; another bag

77. Dispute Over a Very Italian Piglet by Amara Lakhous (2013)
Another Europa Edition; another bag

78. The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted by Robert Hillman (2018)
Cover caught my eye. Romance and bookshops - what's not to like?

>259 charl08: And I am doing OK, Charlotte. Should get three done this weekend.

Happy Weekend, Paul. That is a mighty book challenge ahead of you. Good luck. I have only seen the film version of Picnic at Hanging Rock. I should get to the book.

I hope you enjoying Sing, Unburied, Sing. Linda has been doing a fine job hosting the AAC. I am not surprised.

>263 msf59: She has done well, especially having to follow you in the job!

I hope to get some plentiful reading in this weekend, Mark.

Nancy is coming down from Milwaukee tomorrow morning and we are going to go on a hike and then do lunch. Joe is busy, otherwise he would have met us. Mini-Meet ups, also work just fine.

Hi, Paul! I'll start reading Celestial Bodies today.

>265 msf59: Sounds like fun, Mark. I'm going to loll beside the pool tomorrow and enjoy some reading. It will be my last opportunity to do so for a while as Ramadan starts here on Monday - I hope to lose 7 kilos in the next month!

>266 kidzdoc: I might fast track it too Darryl - looks interesting.

>261 PaulCranswick:, >262 PaulCranswick: Some super-yummy reading there, PC, and may you find the minutes to devote to them! That's really the challenge, isn't it.

>268 richardderus: I do ok with minutes, RD, but I could really do with hours to devote to them!

Paul--So sorry to hear that you had a hospital visit!! And very glad you are on the mend. Your reading mojo certainly seems to be back. : ) Wishing you a wonderful, relaxing weekend my friend.

Somehow I missed reading about your hospital visit until you were home. Hope you continue to recover!

>260 PaulCranswick: I think you need more bags.



Also, I'm going to keep Celestial Bodies in mind for Oman for my own Around the World (lifetime) challenge.

Well, I've missed all the drama over your...ummm...gonads...but I'm glad the medical team has done the necessary and brought the flames under control. I really need to keep up better with your threads, but it's a true challenge.

>270 Berly: Thanks Kimmers. I haven't seen you around as much this last month so I am mightily pleased to have you visit.

>271 thornton37814: I think I am almost back in the pink, Lori. xx

>272 Morphidae: Hahaha, a guy can never have enough bags to put all those books in Morphy.
I managed to find authors from Kuwait and Oman yesterday so I was pretty pleased with myself.

>273 laytonwoman3rd: I think that it is the first time in 9 years in the group that testicles have taken centre stage on my thread and I hope that it is at least another 9 until they get too much of a mention again!

Stopping by to say hello, Paul.

Glad your recovery is going well. That is an ambitious plan of reading for May - looks terrific, although I haven't read any of them. :) I went back to review the Pulitzer list - I have read 15. Many more are on Mount TBR.

I spent last weekend in Seattle for Independent Bookstore Day. I gave myself the freedom to purchase because one has to support indies. I came home with 20 new books. They make me happy.

>276 alphaorder: We managed the same number of Pulitzer fiction winners, if I exclude For Whom the Bell Tolls anyhow.

20 new books is something I yearn for!

Book #23



Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Date Published : 2017 (23 of 120)
Origin of Author : USA
Pages : 285 (6,860 in total)

When a boy is sensitive enough to see his grandfather's pain and his sister's neglect.

When a daughter is beset by her demons; her lust for her love, her need for meth oblivion, her guilt for children who get in the way of her being.

When a Patriarch tries to hold things together despite the brutalities of his youth and the miscarriages inflicted by racism on his offspring.

When a Matriarch clings to a sort of life, cancerous invasive to her body as contagion besets all those she loves and has loved.

When the dead still sing and communicate with those still living to eke out their stories and move on.

Then we have a novel that will stay in the memory and receive my recommendation.

Book #24



The Four Feathers by A.E.W. Mason

Date Published : 1902 (24 of 120)
Origin of Author : UK
Pages : 284 (7,144 in total)
BIAC Challenge May

Queen Vic was near departed and the Empire was sentimentalism and an imperial view of honour. This is echoed in Mason's novel where all the soppiness could have been avoided with a little direct honesty at the beginning.

Bit mushy but an enjoyable if far fetched yarn nonetheless.

>278 PaulCranswick: I’d like to be able to read it but I can’t read anything that painful right now,

>280 Morphidae: Yes, Morphy, it is isn't exactly the jolliest of reads.

>278 PaulCranswick: No thanks.

>279 PaulCranswick: Um. On balance, not until the worldwide book drought hits.

Happy Monday, Paul. Hope you and the Boys are all comfy and healed.

>278 PaulCranswick: Great review of Sing Unburied Sing. I agree, really a book that sticks with you.

>282 richardderus: I don't have to position myself too carefully now before sitting down, RD, which has to be good.

>283 banjo123: Thanks Rhonda. Got me off to a decent start this month anyway.

Fasting month has officially started.

I think I am in a minority of one in the group, "celebrating" Ramadan, but it is also a time for prayer and reflection so I shall be thinking about all of you. x

>278 PaulCranswick:

For those seeking an alternative Sing review, mine is up.

My brother and his wife recently returned from Tunisia, Paul. My borthers in-laws have an apartment in Tunisia , though his in-laws actually live in Germany now. They were careful to leave Tunisia prior to Ramadan, so as not to have to fast. My brother Rob's father - in - law is relaxed Muslim, but he used to fast for Ramadan, but now as he is older, I understand that fasting is not required for older people. Our days right now in Vancouver are about 15 hours long. I don't know how people can fast for so long.

Paul, does one say Happy Ramadan? Is that the appropriate thing or is there some other way to acknowledge the occasion, and wish you an easy fast?

>287 vancouverdeb: I read an article somewhere about Muslims living in Scandinavia and what they do when Ramadan falls in the summer and there is no sunset; they go by the hours of observance in Mecca instead, and do the same if it falls during winter so they're not "cheating" by having a significantly shorter fasting period.

As always, best wishes for you and yours, Paul.

>286 m.belljackson: On the book work page, Marianne?

I'll go look for it.

>287 vancouverdeb: My fasting is about 14 hours, Deb. Those too infirm to fast are excused from doing so. I am also, you may have guessed a fairly relaxed muslim (whatever that is!) but I do enjoy fasting.

>288 jessibud2: Yes it is quite in order, Shelley. Selamat berpuasa is the Malay greeting for fasting.

>289 amanda4242: Parts of Scandinavia would make observance a real trial, Amanda. There are two school of thoughts on the alternatives - either to follow the times at Mecca or your own home area.

>291 PaulCranswick: Selamat berpuasa, Paul. 14 hours of fasting is quite a feat, I think. But here in Holland it's even longer, more like 17 hours!

>292 EllaTim: I'm a lucky guy! Basking in the aftermath of my first successful day of fasting. 29 to go.

Ramadan Mubarak, Paul! Did I get that right?

Sorry to hear about your hospital visit, and I’m glad you’re feeling improved.

I liked Sing, Unburied, Sing, too. As you said to Morphy, not the jolliest of reads, but awfully good.

>294 jnwelch: Sort of Joe. The celebrations for Eid Mubarak will come in 29 days time but I am sort of celebrating the fasting too.

Not universally liked, Ms. Ward's book, but I am on the same side of the argument as you - I thought it very good.

Nice comments about Sing, Unburied, Sing, Paul. It's a very important and worthwhile read, about people who may not be entirely likable or laudable, but are real characters whose stories should be told and heard.

>296 kidzdoc: The real characters made it a very good novel Darryl, but I do think the unreal ones stopped it from being a great one. The narrations by Richie didn't quite do it for me and were a distraction that was probably unnecessary.

>297 PaulCranswick: We'll have to agree to disagree on that point, Paul. I thought that Richie was an effective and powerful spokesman for the horrors that my people suffered during slavery and in the Jim Crow South, which may make some people, especially Americans who prefer to hide their heads in the sand, uncomfortable or recoil at the sheer brutality of what my ancestors had to face.

>290 PaulCranswick:

Yes, Review is on the Sing Book Page.

My reviews are often deep into many unpopular views - being a Lutheran/Buddhist,
organic vegetarian,
mother to an Irish/French/German/Scotch/African-American/Cherokee/Puerto Rican,
hater of gruesome murder tales and the recent spate of books which must include graphic horrifying animal cruelty,
organic gardener,
sensitive animal, plant, and tree lover,
mostly political Progressive,
sick of phony misogynist cutsey males,
hater of hunters,
hater of Confederates who killed my unarmed Union supporting Tennessee ancestors in cold blood,
married three times when hope and common sense collided,
with zero tolerance for religions against birth control and hypocrisy -

also, 50 years ago chose to leave Southside of Chicago City Life to live on farms or in rural America...

and still seeking MORE Peace, Love, and Kindness!

Sure hope that your religion permits the drinking of water during a fast!

Ramadan Kareem, Paul.

>290 PaulCranswick: May your fast be a good one Paul.

>298 kidzdoc: I thought that story well enough told via the interaction of Pop and Jojo, Darryl. I thought the device of using a ghost so prominently a bit stilted and I think the brutality part better told by Pop to his grandson.

>299 m.belljackson: Wonderfully vivid self-portrait, Marianne - I think you are my only Lutheran-Buddhist friend!

>300 richardderus: Thank you, kind sir.

>301 Caroline_McElwee: Or you should say "may your fast not be too slow!". xx

Hello Paul! I hope all is well with you.

I just finished Bird Box and enjoyed the story and style quite a bit.

>304 brodiew2: I saw the film, Brodie, and thought it pretty good too.

Selamat berpuasa, Paul and good health for you.

>306 SirThomas: Thank you, Thomas.

I am happy to see that you have added a few Europa Editions books to your inventory. In general I like those books and almost always find them worthwhile reads.

I am not doing the Ramadan fast but I am striving to leave work at 5 everyday during May, so that I get some break from work. So far it isn't working as the earliest I have managed to leave work is 6:00 p.m. But I will keep striving so that I can get some real reading time in the evenings.

>308 benitastrnad: My reading is also good during fasting month, Benita, so let's see how many i can really get finished this month.

Couple more books to report

79. John Adams by David McCullough
80. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon



The former because I have always wanted to read McCullough. The latter because I love the TV series.

>311 jessibud2: - I have read the first 4 in the Outlander series and loved them. I read them almost consecutively then took a break. I own most of the rest but have not yet got back to them. Gabaldon is a wonderful and very funny lady. She was in Toronto several years ago to speak at a local bookstore (now gone), and she signed books. I have some photos of her in my LT gallery somewhere.

>310 PaulCranswick: The US finally gets the first two seasons of the OUTLANDER show on Netflix May 27th. Those of us too cheap/broke to pay Starz's war reparations-level fees will get to ogle all the pretty scenery at last.

>278 PaulCranswick: Very clever review of Sing, Unburied, Sing, Paul. I just finished Salvage the Bones by Ward. It made Sing seem quite jolly!

Happy Reading and Happy Fasting!

>312 richardderus: Sam Heughan is some *very* pretty scenery and well-worth ogling.

Happy weekend, Paul!

>311 jessibud2: Shelley, I simply love the TV series which I am able to watch on Netflix in Asia. The characters are memorable and the premise of the story excellent.

>312 richardderus: I am a real sucker for this sort of historical, cheesy romp, RD. I am sure that you'll like it. The leading lady is heaven to look at and I am sure that you'll appreciate more some of those strapping fellows in kilts.

>313 Donna828: Thank you, Donna. I have Salvage the Bones on the shelves and I will get to it before too long. Probably when I am in the mood for a sob!

>314 amanda4242: Just a thought; could Sam Heughan be a candidate for the next James Bond?:

Catriona Balfe is one of my favourites these days - elegant, beautiful and sexy:

>316 PaulCranswick: *discreetly wipes drool off chin* I certainly wouldn't say no to him playing Bond!

>312 richardderus: mmm hmmmmmmmm

>314 amanda4242: Tobias Menzies ain't no slouch, neither.

>316 PaulCranswick: Ginger Bond!! Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

>310 PaulCranswick: Slinks away from all the Outlandish mania... I read the first book and did not take to it. Catriona and Sam are pretty though.

>318 amanda4242: I thought you'd be pleased.

>319 richardderus: What a nice way to spread happiness on a balmy Saturday morning in the tropics.

Poor Randall :

>320 quondame: I am coming to the book (s) after watching several seasons of the show. I expect the TV show will carry me through any issues with the prose.

They are a good looking pair though, Susan, as you concede.

With that I believe that a new thread is in order.

>310 PaulCranswick: I read the John Adams book last year. A very interesting work.

>324 sirfurboy: So far I am enjoying it, too. McCullough has a lovely writing style.

>316 PaulCranswick: I'm liking this guy....but seriously, do we NEED another Bond? I think I'm all through with him.

>326 laytonwoman3rd: Perhaps you're right, Linda, but he is sort of an institution already. A bit like Doctor Who but on the Silver Screen.