katylit’s thread

Where to start after such a long time away. Hello all my dear friends. I’ve missed you. I think I’m back this time for good. Facebook just isn’t cutting it for me these days despite the positive pages I subscribe to on bird watching, wildflowers, art and music. Politics and negativity seem to creep in everywhere.

I’ve had a tough time concentrating on reading lately too and find myself bouncing from book to book, especially with my audiobooks. But I think I’m back in the groove now. I just finished Stranded by Bracken Macleod which was a little creepy, inexplicable and page-turning. Now I’ve started Her Fearful Symmetry and so far so good.

Since the beginning of the year I’ve been reading comforting old friends, like Little Men and Jo’s Boys, My Side of the Mountain and some Nancy Drew. Persephone Books always guarantee a good read and I’ve read Miss Ranskill Comes Home, Patience, and Mariana, each a delight. Add to that some mildly creepy supernatural stories like 14, The Sun Down Motel, The Seance and The Animals at Lockwood Manor rounded out with some steadying non-fiction like The Bedside Book of Birds and The Consolation of Philosophy and I’m good, lol.

I think this is going to be a year of re-reads more than anything else. I recently got The Folio Society’s sets of all the Horatio Hornblower stories and I’m really looking forward to spending time with him again. Plus I think it’s time to visit Middle Earth again too.

I’ll take my time and browse through what you have all been reading, as much as I can.

❤️

I can't begin to tell you how happy I am to see you back again, Katherine. Please do stay!

Rereads and comfort books are the best for trying times like these. Enjoy, and take your time (or feel free to complete skip) reading the threads. Everyone will understand!

❤️

Welcome back! It's lovely to see you!

Georgette Heyer is one of my comfort reads...I've probably read six in the last two months. And Diana Wynne Jones.

Yay! Welcome home, Katherine! What's the song say? "It's so great to see you back where you belong".

I too recently returned after a long period of drifting. It feels good, doesn't it?

It does Mary Lou, like a reunion.

Welcome back!

Glad that you're back!

Good to have you back with us again.

A huge welcome back!

Cheese?

>1 katylit: I think I must have joined after you last visited, but welcome back and it’s nice to meet you!

Aha! I was wonder if it would be appropriate to break out the cheese when someone re-joins, but then cheese is always appropriate, isn't it! Welcome back @katylit, and glad to meet you!

>12 haydninvienna: Stray thought: do you get camel cheese in Qatar? (I once got to sample roast leg of camel in Kenya. It was dry.)

>13 hfglen: Not encountered camel milk cheese, Hugh, but I’m sure it exists. I have encountered chocolate made with camel milk in Dubai. Seemed OK, but expensive. I understand that there’s a restaurant here that will roast you a camel for a big party.

ETA Trust Australia. A quick google turned up this place: https://summerlandcamels.com.au/dairy-products/. They seem to have quite a few stockists listed in SE Australia.

EATA:Re the roast camel: https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/whole-roasted-camel. The restaurant exists and has a website, but Safari reports it as insecure (in that it doesn't use https://), so no link.

>14 haydninvienna: Interesting .... I wonder what it tastes like.

Welcome back Katherine! It's lovely to have you back in the Pub!

So lovely to see you here again, even as my attendance has been spotty lately. I am checking in as time allows though.

"Happy dance with our returned family."

Thank you everybody 😊

It is nice to be back.

You haven't bailed on us already, have you? :o(

No! No! I’m back (again). I’m working my way through The Stand , wow! It’s a long book! Now granted I’m listening to it mostly before I go to sleep, but I also have it on my Kindle. I’m also trying to finish Her Fearful Symmetry which isn’t turning out to be as good as I hoped, but still good enough that I don’t want to give up on it. I did read The Lost Ones which was a fun, light, gothic style ghost story. Engaging but not intense.

There is nothing better these hot, humid days, then sitting in my cool, dimly lit library, relaxing with a book, or my knitting and an audio book. 😁

No! Not at all. Lol. I wrote up a post and it didn’t “Take”! What’s up with that? 🥴. Try again.

Anyways, I’m working my way through The Stand, figured it’s apropos for the times. Man! It’s a long book! Now, granted, I’m mostly listening to the audio version just before I go to sleep, but I do pick up my Kindle version too. I’m also trying to finish up Her Fearful Symmetry which isn’t as great as I’d hoped it would be, but good enough not to give up on. Then I found a book at Costco The Lost Ones, which is a light, gothic style ghost story that was fun and engaging to read. I also found some more old Nancy Drews at an antique shop and have been spending some pleasant afternoons with Nancy and her pals. I love the old editions, from the ‘30’s and ‘40’s. They’re so politically incorrect 😉.

During these hot, humid summer days when I can’t get to the lake, I’m enjoying my cool, dimly lit library, a nice glass of iced tea and my books.

>20 katylit: Yay! & >21 katylit: Yay! :o)

>21 katylit: I felt the same way about Her fearful symmetry. I wanted to finish it even though it wasn't as good as I'd hoped. It wasn't a keeper though.

Exactly.

>21 katylit: & >23 Sakerfalcon:

I loved The Time Traveller's Wife and have Her Fearful Symmetry but have not read it yet. Your comments have helped me set the latter at an appropriate priority level.

>25 pgmcc: Same. I might have moved it to the 'maybe never' pile.

Yup, definitely don’t be in a rush to read it.

I finished The Stand last night. And now I’ve spent the day in a loss, missing the characters. I do enjoy King’s writing.

But onward, and as a break, I’ve picked up The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware and also started listening to Peace Talks last night, just didn’t want to wait any longer.

>27 katylit: Enjoy! That reminds me, I was halfway through a Ruth Ware (The Turn of the Key) last Fall and couldn't finish it before I had to return the file. Also, for some reason it was bugging* me, but I still find myself wanting to know how it ended. LOL I may have to revisit it, or just read a synopsis somewhere.

*It felt like a modern rip-off of the Turn of the Screw in many ways, but I see it's pretty highly rated in here, so perhaps it improved.

I'm done with Ruth Ware. She fooled me twice. Once with her first book In a dark, dark wood which was meh, but I put it down to first novelitis. Then I read The Death of Mrs. Westaway and that did it. No more for me. I don't think my reviews are spoilery, but you might want to wait to look at them. Maybe not if you liked her books.

>28 clamairy: I did some serious hate reading of The Turn of the Key. My favorite worst part in this book was this scene: in a garden full of poisonous plants like foxgloves, aconite and whatnot, the MC is getting a mental break down when she sees a sign with the name Urtica Dioica on it, your run-of-the-mill garden nettle, claiming it´s the most lethal thing in that place. Yeah, right. Just slap a latin name on it and it´s becoming the most toxic thing ever. I didn´t know whether I should laugh or throw the book across the room at that point.
Suffice to say that I didn´t like the framed narrative with the letter writing to the lawyer and the predictability of the plot.

>30 Lille_lara: I like your turn of phrase - hate reading.

I know the feeling. There is a sort of horrified fascination when you can't stop reading because you are wondering how much worse it is going to get!

>30 Lille_lara: Yes, this reminds me why I didn't put up much of a fight when I set it aside. Why am I so willing to accept magic and space travel but have so many issues with books set in my own time?

>30 Lille_lara: >31 -pilgrim-: seconding the idea of hate-reading. Not going to give nay examples though. Perhaps Ms Ware should visit the Alnwick Poison Garden.

>31 -pilgrim-: Exactly. I´m pretty ruthless when it comes to DNFing books (I already DNF´d 20 books this year), but occasionally there is that one book I have to finish even though I don´t particularly enjoy it.

>32 clamairy: Tbh, most of the time books with magic or space travel make more sense than books by modern mystery / thriller authors, which more often than not have inconsistent plots and TSTL main characters.

>33 haydninvienna: Oh my, that garden looks amazing. I´ll have to keep that one in my mind, should I ever visit that part of the UK.

>34 Lille_lara: As an extra inducement, Barter Books is just down the road.

>33 haydninvienna: I want to go!

>35 haydninvienna: >36 -pilgrim-: I want to go there, too :). Barter Books looks amazing.

Barter Books looks fabulous!

So, I’m obviously not as discerning with my reading these days, but I’m enjoying Mrs. Westaway. It’s certainly not Booker Prize material but I really am focusing on light, escapist reading this year and it works for me.

>36 -pilgrim-: >37 Lille_lara: >38 katylit: Barter Books is one of the biggest second-hand-book stores in Britain, it says here. Lots of fun. Alnwick is a pretty place. The Poison Garden is part of the Alnwick Garden, next door to the Castle. And just to get in another book connection—I understand that the Castle provided the exteriors of Hogwarts School.

>38 katylit: I hear ya! Whatever you have to do to stay sane(ish.) I'm just so glad you're back.

And my apologies for starting off the thread hijacking.

Lol, no worries dear clam, hijack away.

haydninvienna, sadly I think my opportunity for travelling to England has passed me by, but it sounds so wonderful.

Finished up The Death of Mrs. Westaway last night. A fun read, took me back to my teenage years of romance thrillers by the likes of Phyllis Whitney, Victoria Holt and their ilk.

Now, and this is one of the main reasons I left LT, because I have no self-restraint and am highly susceptible to suggestion 🙄, I’ve started Gideon the Ninth because clam enjoyed it. And I’ve got the Murderbot series lined up next. Lol.

>42 katylit: But we are an influence for GOOD. And this venue is so much safer than hanging out in back alleys waiting for the next fix. ;)

>43 MrsLee:
And the light in most alleys isn't very good for reading

Lol, true, so true.

Continuing on with comfort reads I have discovered O. Douglas and luckily most of her books are available as free downloads. They’re all lovely, simple stories of people in England, between the wars, their social activities, thoughts, appreciation of home, family, friends and nature. I’ve been hooked and just finished The House that is Our Own, and before that Pink Sugar, The Proper Place, The Day of Small Things, and Jane’s Parlour. When I think about describing them I have to laugh. I recently discovered that my SIL has never read Jane Austen, so I lent her my favourite Northanger Abbey, confident that she would love it and be eager to read all the rest of Austen. Imagine my dismay when she brought it back saying “It started out well enough, parts were even funny. But it was just so boring! Nothing ever happens! I couldn’t be bothered finishing it”. !!!!! ☹️ So I won’t be recommending O. Douglas to her. Nothing ever really happens in her books either. Lol.

I’ve been listening to Mary Stewart’s Merlin books, and just finished The Last Enchantment. Lovely to visit with beloved stories. Now I’m listening to Peace Talks again and will follow that up with the latest Battle Ground.

I’ve also been dipping into lots of my favourite ghost stories and reading Christopher Paolini’s latest To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, which has really hooked me.

I really do have to pick up the pace with my reading. There’s so many books on my Kindle that I’m looking forward to delving into, new Naomi Novak, Julie Czernada, Megan Whalen Turner, and Susanna Clarke. Plus I discovered a cool free ebook site of old books www.fadedpage.com which is so tempting! Lol.

I just took a bullet (or several) on O. Douglas! Your aim remains unerring.

I enjoyed the O. Douglas (Anna Buchan) books that I've read, including her autobiography, Unforgettable, Unforgotten. She defends her choice to write lighthearted novels instead of ones that look at the grittier side of life. She was also very proud of her brother, the adventure novelist John Buchan, who also just happened to have been Governor General of Canada. Her descriptions of touring Canada on the Governor General's train are fascinating.

>46 katylit: Uhoh. At least they're free... LOL Just added Penny Plain to my library.
Thank you, I think...

Northhanger Abby is one of my favorites as well. Maybe show her the PBS miniseries.

Glad you haven't given up on your thread.

I just finished To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. What a delight. I was staying up to read late at night, reading while standing in line for the grocery store, stirring my pasta sauce while reading - I couldn’t get enough. Very fun science fiction, space opera, with lots of adventure, tensions, bad guys, good guys all zipping around the galaxy. Sad now that it’s over.

Now it’s on the spooky stories. I just started House of Leaves in dead tree format and The Broken Hours on my Kindle.

>50 katylit: I hope you enjoy your spooky stories. I have heard a lot about House of Leaves, but have never read it. (I'm a wuss when it comes to spooky.) What I have heard, tho, is that it works best in the tree-book format.

>46 katylit: I've found very few Czerneda ebooks around, I don't know if that's just a UK restriction (thanks publishers) I do enjoy her writing, but limited availability is annoying

Penny Plain sounds delightful.

>50 katylit: So glad you enjoyed that new Paolini. I suspect it's destined for a movie screen or series.

I've been reluctant to try the new Paolini because I found Eragon very disappointing. But I'm seeing such great reviews that I'm tempted ...

>55 Sakerfalcon: I didn't finish that series. I made it halfway through the second book but couldn't make myself go on. I still might wait until a few more people dip their toes into this one before I proceed.

>55 Sakerfalcon:, >56 clamairy: I made a start on Paolini's sci-fi and quickly realized it wasn't right for me. I imagine it would appeal to lots of sci-fi readers. I just wasn't in the mood for a lengthy novel that obviously was written with film rights in mind. (I am not against that in the slightest! I may try it again later, because the plot sounds interesting.)

>56 clamairy: Same here as regards the first series. I'm glad I didn't go ahead and buy all four books.

>57 libraryperilous: I do like SF but may wait for this as a library read. I wasn't keen on The martian because to me it read like it was written for film (and I did think the film was better).

>58 Sakerfalcon:
I thought The Martian was too much like MacGyver in Space.

man yall were having a party and didn't invite me im hurt

>58 Sakerfalcon: Sci-fi is my favorite genre, but I'm picky within the genre, lol. I liked The Martian but found the space cowboy aspects off-putting. I definitely felt like I was reading an extended script treatment.