PAUL C WITH A CLEAN SLATE IN '22 - Part 1

Places from my past.

In the late 1980s I worked a Dounreay Nuclear Power Station for a short while and used to travel up there over a weekend and stay three weeks before coming back. I lived in a small coastal town called Thurso which was windswept and largely a tough place to stay in late Autumn. The late summer had though been a lovely period of weekend walks. This is Holborn Head and on a clear day we were looking out at the Orkney Islands.

The Opening Words.

How a book starts can make a huge difference. Does it draw you in or not. I will be reading My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk which starts thus:


I am nothing but a corpse now, a body at the bottom of a well. Though I drew my last breath long ago and my heart has stopped beating, no one, apart from that vile murderer, knows what's happened to me.

Interested..............................

BOOKS READ

JANUARY

1. American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 by Khor Shing Yin (2019) 160 pp (AAC) - GN
2. The Forward Book of Poetry 2022 by Various Poets (2021) 155 pp - Poetry
3. Absolution by Murder by Peter Tremayne (1994) 274 pp - Thriller/Mystery

CURRENTLY READING

BOOKERS, PULITZERS, NOBEL WINNERS, 1001 BOOKS FIRST ED. & ETC

I have an ongoing challenge to read all the Booker Winners, all the Pulitzer Fiction Winners, something by each Nobel and all the 1001 Books First Ed Books. I will track my progress here:

BOOKERS READ BY DEC 31 2021 : 34 / 57
BOOKERS IN 2022

PULITZERS READ BY DEC 31 2021 : 19 / 94
PULITZERS IN 2022

NOBEL LAUREATES READ BY DEC 31 2021 : 74 / 118
NOBEL WINNERS IN 2022

1001 BOOKS FIRST ED READ BY DEC 2021 : 319
1001 BOOKS IN 2022

GUARDIAN 100 BOOKS READ BY DEC 2021 : 349
GUARDIAN BOOKS IN 2022

WOMEN'S PRIZE WINNERS READ BY DEC 2021 : 7 / 26
WOMEN'S PRIZE WINNERS IN 2022

AROUND THE WORLD IN BOOKS SINCE 2021

Around the world in books challenge. I want to see how many countries I can cover without limiting myself to a specific deadline. Continued from last year.


1. United Kingdom - The Ways of the World by Robert Goddard EUROPE
2. Ireland - The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde EUROPE
3. Lithuania - Selected and Last Poems by Czeslaw Milosz EUROPE
4. Netherlands - The Ditch by Herman Koch EUROPE
5. Armenia - The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian ASIA PACIFIC
6. Zimbabwe - This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga AFRICA
7. United States - Averno by Louise Gluck AMERICA
8. Australia - Taller When Prone by Les Murray ASIA PACIFIC
9. France - Class Trip by Emmanuel Carrere EUROPE
10. Russia - The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov EUROPE
11. Denmark - Fear and Trembling by Soren Kierkegaard EUROPE
12. Democratic Republic of Congo - Tram 83 by Fiston Mwanze Mujila AFRICA
13. Canada - I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven AMERICA
14. Italy - The Overnight Kidnapper by Andrea Camilleri EUROPE
15. New Zealand - Dove on the Waters by Maurice Shadbolt ASIA PACIFIC
16. India - A Burning by Megha Majumdar ASIA PACIFIC
17. Libya - The Return by Hisham Matar AFRICA
18. Pakistan - Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid ASIA PACIFIC
19. South Korea - Diary of a Murderer by Kim Young-Ha ASIA PACIFIC
20. Morocco - The Curious Case of Dassoukine's Trousers by Fouad Laroui AFRICA
21. Thailand - Arid Dreams by Duanwad Pimwana ASIA PACIFIC
22. Norway - Echoland by Per Petterson EUROPE
23. Belgium - I Choose to Live by Sabine Dardenne EUROPE
24. Sweden - Still Waters by Viveca Sten EUROPE
25. Trinidad - Half a Life by VS Naipaul AMERICAS
26. Sudan - Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih AFRICA
27. Uruguay - Springtime in a Broken Mirror by Mario Benedetti AMERICAS
28. Syria - My Country : A Syrian Memoir by Kassem Eid ASIA PACIFIC
29. Ghana - The God Child by Nana Oforiatta Ayim AFRICA
30. Austria - Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E Frankl EUROPE
31. Germany - Cat and Mouse by Gunter Grass EUROPE
32. South Africa - No Turning Back by Beverley Naidoo AFRICA
33. Mauritania - Arab Jazz by Karim Miske AFRICA
34. Cuba - The Kingdom of This World by Alejo Carpentier AMERICAS
35. Nigeria - Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie AFRICA
36. Portugal - The Return by Dulce Maria Cardoso EUROPE
37. Japan - Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids by Kenzaburo Oe ASIA PACIFIC
38. Senegal - At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop AFRICA
39. Malta - The Hiding Place by Trezza Azzopardi EUROPE
40. Chile - A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende AMERICAS
41. Lebanon - The First Century After Beatrice by Amin Maalouf ASIA PACIFIC
42. Spain - The Watcher in the Shadows by Carlos Ruiz Zafon EUROPE
43. Somalia - The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed AFRICA
44. Malaysia - Strangers on a Pier by Tash Aw ASIA PACIFIC
45. Mexico - Sudden Death by Alvaro Enrigue AMERICAS
46. Latvia - The Hedgehog and the Fox by Isaian Berlin EUROPE
47. Malawi - Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver AFRICA


Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

ASIAN BOOK CHALLENGE 2022

Here is the link to the General Thread

https://www.librarything.com/topic/337731#n7692635

These will be the monthly jaunts for the ABC challenge.

JANUARY - Europe of Asia - Turkish Authors link to thread https://www.librarything.com/topic/338244
FEBRUARY - The Holy Land - Israeli & Palestinian Authors
MARCH - The Arab World - Writers from the Arab world
APRIL - Persia - Iranian writers
MAY - The Stans - There are 7 states all in the same region all ending in "Stan"
JUNE - The Indian Sub-Continent - Essentially authors from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
JULY - The Asian Superpower - Chinese Authors
AUGUST - Nippon - Japanese Authors
SEPTEMBER - Kimchi - Korean Authors
OCTOBER - INDO CHINA PLUS - Authors from Indo-China and other countries neighbouring China
NOVEMBER - The Malay Archipelago - Malaysian, Singaporean and Indonesian Authors
DECEMBER - The Asian Diaspora - Ethnic Asian writers from elsewhere

I was able just about to cover the whole of the continent and I didn't include one for Russia as most of the authors are decidedly European in their ethnicity and leaning.

BRITISH AUTHOR CHALLENGE

BOUGHT AND READ IN 2022 / TBR STATS

BOOK STATS

Books read : 3
Books added : 0

Days per book : 0.67
Projected total : 545 (yeah right?!)
LT yearly best : 157

Pages read (completed books) : 589
Daily average : 294.50
Projected total : 107,493

Gender
Male : 1
Female : 1
Various : 1

Genre :
Graphic Books : 1
Poetry : 1
Thriller/Mystery : 1

Origin :
USA : 1
UK : 1
Various : 1

Challenges :

American Author Challenge : 1

Now it is over to you.

Happy new thread Paul.

Wow that is quick, Adrienne. You are first!

Hope that this little shelf is filled with books for you.

Well hello have a star

>14 BBGirl55: Thank you, kindly, Bryony. xx

Happy new thread for the new year, Paul!

>16 jessibud2: Thanks Shelley. I will be looking for your thread shortly. xx

Welcome back, Paul. That is a gorgeous opening pic!

I’m planning to start the Asian Author Challenge with My Name is Red - it’ll be interesting to compare notes.

Happy reading, Paul!

>18 drneutron: I am itching to get going with that one, Jim.

There was never any doubt about my not being back again this coming year.

>19 London_StJ: Thanks LSJ. It is always a pleasure to see you around here. x

Welcome to the Right-Thinkers' Brigade, Comrade Cranswick.

>21 richardderus: Isn't it alRight to be sometimes on the left, RD?

It wouldn't be the same here without you here, RD. Especially at this time of year.

Dropping a star. Good to be back reading old friends’ threads.

I'll be looking through my book piles to find one by Orhan Pamuk for the Asian Author Challenge.

Happy reading!

Dropping a star, Paul, and looking forward to seeing what you get up to in the New Year.

Hiya Paul, I've added my star for another year of happy reading. I hope it's a good one for us all.

Looking forward to doing a better job of keeping up with the mega-posters this year. But making no promises! My Name is Red does have an intriguing beginning. I hope it continues well for you.

Hi Paul, i have starred you again my friend, looking forward to your 2022 reading challenge and hopefully some good Cricket news.

>23 Helenoel: Lovely to see you, Helen.

>24 torontoc: I hope you can find one, Cyrel, as it would be great to have you along.

>25 amanda4242: Amanda, I couldn't have my threads without you visiting them. xx

>26 Crazymamie: Mamie! I expect a busy year. What between finishing off PNB118 building which is the world's second tallest building to an almost certain relocation back to the UK.

>27 ArlieS: That is a good thought, Arlie. I am a glass-half-full guy and I am pretty sure that 2022 will be kinder to all of us.

>28 laytonwoman3rd: I struggled to keep up myself at times, Linda, but I am thrilled with a visit whenever you are able to. Didn't see anything for the American Author Challenge?

>29 johnsimpson: You had better follow along here, Mr. Simpson because don't forget I know how to find you!!

Change the people running the game and we will enjoy cricket more, mate. I will be interested to see how Darren Gough gets on at Yorkshire.

>33 PaulCranswick:, I had better get my 2022 thread sorted out so that you can reciprocate matey. It will be very interesting to see how Yorkshire do under Gough.

>34 johnsimpson: I will of course reciprocate, John, although you would have more trouble physically tracking me down!

Happy new year's thread!

'llo Paul. I loved My Name is Red. If I come across it in my library purge I'll have to snag it out for a reread. I DNF'ed The Museum of Innocence, however. The museum became a bit much for me.

>36 quondame: Thank you, Susan. Great to see you will be with us again in 2022. xx

>37 AuntieClio: Stephanie what a lovely surprise to see you back amongst us! I am looking forward to the Asian Book Challenge.

Welcome to your new thread Paul!
I’ve been struggling to think of a theme for my threads this year. I hope you don’t mind me copying your idea of ‘Places of my Past’? I’ve lived in a few different places and this might work for me.

>39 SandDune: Of course, Rhian, please work away and be my guest - no copyright on our experiences xx

I'm always pleased to see my friends safely coming over the other side and into the new year's group.

>32 PaulCranswick: I'm working on the American Authors Challenge threads for 2022 this week, Paul. The list of authors and themes for the coming year is here on the 2021 discussion thread, in case you missed it.

>41 laytonwoman3rd: I didn't want to pressure you by asking, Linda, but I am very happy that you'll be doing it again.

January Planning

Will 2022 be the first year on LT I manage to read 200 books and the first since my book-ridden college days.

I won't keep it up but I have some days off in January and the chance to really make a dent in the year. My record reading month is 27 books and I am aiming for a book a day with some chunky ones too. Here is my plan

Group Reads :
1. Redemption Ground by Lorna Goodison - if it ever arrives! Books of Colour
2. Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings (Belgariad 1 - with Nina and Stasia)
3. Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar (Group read with Stasia)

Long Term Projects
4. War by JMG Le Clezio (NOBEL WINNER)
5. Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre (BOOKER WINNER)
6. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (PULITZER WINNER)

Poetry
7. The Wild Iris by Louise Gluck
8. Cheryl's Destinies by Stephen Sexton
9. The Forward Book of Poetry 2022 by Various COMPLETED

British Author Challenge (YA)
10. The Children Who Stayed Behind by Bruce Carter
11. Flamingo Boy by Michael Morpurgo
12. Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian

Thrillers
13. Absolution by Murder by Peter Tremayne (New Series) COMPLETED
14. The Sicilian Method by Andrea Camilleri (Existing Series)
15. Blackwater by Kerstin Ekman (Scandi)

Special Reads
16. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (1001 Books)
17. Malice Aforethought by Francis Iles (Reread)
18. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Recent Addition)

Asian Book Challenge (1)
19. Farewell by Ayse Kulin
20. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
21. The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

Asian Book Challenge (2)
22. Disquiet by Zulfu Livanelli
23. Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali
24. Mehmed, My Hawk by Yasar Kemal

Non-Fiction
25. Up With the Larks by Tessa Hainsworth
26. Somewhere Towards the End by Diana Athill (Biography / Memoir) - Non Fiction Challenge
27. SPQR by Mary Beard (History)

Around the World Book Challenge
28. Crossing by Pajtim Statovci (Europe - Kosovo)
29. Black Moses by Alain Mabanckou (Africa - Republic of Congo)
30. Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado (Americas - Brazil)

American Author Challenge
31. The American Dream : A Journey on Route 66 COMPLETED

I'm sure that I will get side-tracked but only after January please!!

Oh! Vernon God Little! I read that book back in 2010. It was such a fun read. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

I have to laugh because you read about as many books in one month as I read in one year!

Wishing you and your dear family a safe, healthy and happy new year.

Happy New Year, Paul, I hope this year will be the one where you will be able to have your family together again.

I have set up my 2022 thread - early for me it's usually a last minute thing - so now I feel ready to read through the other new threads, although yours hardly looks new any more!

>44 SqueakyChu: I haven't read 'em yet, Madeline!

>45 CDVicarage: I will get along to your thread after I have had a short sleep, Kerry.

ed!!

>47 Berly: I think you know I will be following you too, Kimmers. x

: )

Finally getting to your first 2022 thread, Paul. Happy New Year!

>50 bell7: Thank you, Mary. I am sort of hanging back until the new year to go full tilt.

Happy new thread! Happy New Year!

You caught me with Absolution by Murder, Paul, but then I'd found out I read it! It was a good one. My library doesn't have the next in the series or anything near but does have some more, hmm. Anyway it is a bit early to be getting BBs. Good luck on reading 200 in 2022. That's my aim too. I didn't quite make it in 2021.

>52 witchyrichy: That is nice and early, Karen! Thank you.xx

>53 Familyhistorian: I had a look a couple of days ago for the second book in the store here but, alas. I will order the next couple if I like this one.

I am still in the fight to reach 150 this year with several books on the go and it would be a decent return for me having lost a couple of months to tragedy this year.

Happy new thread and new year, Paul! I'm dropping a star, and will be joining you for My Name is Red (and the Asian Book Challenge).

Happy new thread! Got you starred.

>55 AnneDC: Yay, yay and thrice yay!!!

>56 figsfromthistle: Thanks Anita. You will of course always be on my rounds. x

Hi Paul! Merry Christmas and happy new year! I hope you enjoy the Asian author challenge! That's a good one
😊

>58 The_Hibernator: Lovely to see you, Rachel. I will be along with Happy New Year wishes soon. Trying to concentrate on my reading!

Happy New Year, Paul!
I have been following the Asian Author challenge thread and hope to join in for a few reads.

Happy New thread, Paul! Happy New Year! I wish you a safe and healthy one. I didn't do very well with the various challenges this year and I don't see much changing in 2022 but I definitely would like to do more shared reads. I do enjoy those.

>60 jayde1599: Thanks Jess. Will love to have you along for however many of the reads makes you comfortable.

>61 msf59: Great to see you Mark. Wouldn't be the same around here without you buddy.

I thought I'd already left my paw print in here Paul, but it seems not. With every good wish for the new year ahead. Hoping your plans to return to the UK move nearer to fruition, and that you and your loved ones all remain healthy and happy. Ooh, and that there are many good books in the year too.

>63 Caroline_McElwee: All great things to wish for, Caroline. xx

I greatly value your friendship in this wonderful group.

>65 mstrust: Thank you, Jennifer. The good health one, I need to do something about. x

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE CRANSWICKS.

This was from a few years ago (Belle is taller than her mum now) but we haven't all been together for 30 months with this damned pandemic.

Happy new year! I hope 2022 sees you all together again!

Happy New Year, Paul. Hopefully 2022 will bring better things and families can once more be together.

Happy New Year, Paul!

I didn't get as much reading done in 2021 as I had hoped, but maybe things will change in 2022. Looks like you have some great reading planned. I look forward to following along.

>68 drneutron: Thanks Jim; I hope so too!

>69 DeltaQueen50: Lovely to see you, dear Guru. Happy new year. xx

>70 alphaorder: Made my day - the first early morning of 2022 - to have you and Judy call here, Nancy. xx

Happy New Year and new thread, Paul!

Thank you dear Rhonda. x

Happy New Year Paul!

Happy reading in 2022, Paul!

>75 SandDune: Thank you, Rhian.

>76 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita. I can't promise to keep up with you reading wise but I will do my best!

They say that your body is a temple and well, mine must be overcrowded.

I start the year at my heaviest ever at a scary 124 kg (273 ilbs).

I am determined to spend time before it is too late to address that and 22 kilos (48 lbs) off in the first half of 2022 will help. I breakfasted on porridge oats with honey and I will have salmon later.
Going for a swim later and will take close precautions on how much and what I consume this year.

I will update regularly on my progress.

>1 PaulCranswick: I love that picture!

>78 PaulCranswick: Paul, if you want or help any need on this journey, I will be happy to help. I have been on my own weight loss journey for the past year. I have lost 50 pounds and have more to go.

At least you aren't on a 2nd thread when I visit for the first time! Hope you have a great year of reading!

>67 PaulCranswick: I understand. Christmas marked 3 years since I've seen Emily as well.

Happy New Year Paul! Although your family is far and wide this time, I am sure it won't be long until there is a reunion. 30 months is a looong time!!! I feel for you.

Also, >6 PaulCranswick: Chris Bohjalian is Armenian? Who knew!?

>79 alcottacre: Thank you, Stasia. I had leftovers from our Korean meal last night for an early supper. No rice. Coffee still in and water.
I will also have a small apple but that will be it.
I may need to call on you to mentor me a little if I hit a wall. x

>80 quondame: You picked a great image too, Susan. I look forward to another great year following you around the threads this year.

>81 thornton37814: What can I say, Lori, I am getting older!

>82 ursula: Hard times aren't they, Ursula? At least I have this group to vent to occasionally.

>83 LovingLit: Thanks Megan. Always lovely to see you. Chris Bohjalian qualified because his father is Armenian (his mother Swedish).

2021 Reading Round-up

Number of Books Read : 151
Number of Pages Read : 36,298
Daily Page Average : 99.45

By Gender :
Books Written By Men : 93
Booke Written By Women : 58

By Nationality : UK 83, USA 22, France 4, Italy, Russia, Trinidad and South Africa 2, 32 countries 1

1001 Books : 15 (319)
Bookers : 3 (34)
Pulitzers : 3 (19)

Books of the Month

January : The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
February : Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg
March : The Return by Hashim Matar
April : Life of Pi by Yann Martel
May : The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley
June : Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
July : The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
August : I am I am I am by Maggie O'Farrell
September : A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende
October : The Promise by Damon Galgut
November : Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
December : At Freddie's by Penelope Fitzgerald

My Book of the Year

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead.



Runners Up
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell &
The Promise

>88 HudsonCoventry: Hey spam! Happy New Year to you too!

Happy New Year and happy first thread of 2022, Paul!

>2 PaulCranswick: My copy of My Name is Red is due from Amazon January 5 – 10. I’m excited.

>11 PaulCranswick: My goodness! What a drastic reduction in the number of opening messages.

>43 PaulCranswick: Impressive plan, good luck.

>67 PaulCranswick: Nice to see this picture of all 5 of you, sad that it’s been 30 months since you’ve all been together.

>78 PaulCranswick: Good luck with this goal. Speaking from recent experience, I wish I’d addressed my weight problem prior to having my heart attack. I’m not losing lots of weight right now, but have dropped 15 pounds since mid-November’s event.

>87 PaulCranswick: Great statistics. Impressive that you read books by authors from 39 countries.

>89 PaulCranswick: I spent a bit of time flagging the troll.. so glad he’s gone. Unfortunately, he’ll probably be back.

Hey Paul, so nice to see your thread again for another year! Thanks for always keeping up with my threads as well. Lovely topper photo!
Will be interested to see your weight/health journey as I am on one as well. Best of luck and best of health!

Happy New Year, Paul. Inspiring to read your ambitious reading plan. Looking forward to follow your year of reading.

Happy New Year, Paul! I wish you a happy and healthy 2022.

Great list of 2021 reading. You have some of my favorites on it.

>90 karenmarie: I started it today, Karen, and it is an interesting and quite unusual way of telling a complex story by flitting between narrators each telling his/her own part of the tale. It is going to be a good one for me, I think, but a challenging one.

I thought that 25 set up posts was starting to pall on my friends and it also took me quite a time to do. More manageable for myself and my visitors!

I need to read almost 300 pages a day, which is almost three months reading from last year but I have gotten off to a good start. I did start at exactly 00.00 hours on 1 January 2022 LT time!

Yasmyne will go to her mum in the coming month and then home to me and then hopefully me and the two girls back to the UK for a full get together of all the family thereafter.

It is funny, Karen, because I was disappointed that it was only 39 countries!

I have to say that I find the incursions of these dimwit trolls amusing. I cannot conceive that they ever made a sale from it!

>91 vikzen: Thanks Vic and lovely to have you visit.

I have done well on 1 January with only :

Porridge Oats (milk and honey; no sugar) this morning
Korean beef stew with kimchi and tofu this late afternoon
An apple.

Nothing late one.

Plenty of black unsugared coffee and a good amount of water,

Happy new year, Paul! My Name is Red! What a great start. That is my all time favorite novel. Enjoy!

>92 ctpress: I'm great at making plans, Carsten, but less reliable in carrying them off! Maybe this is the year. I hope we see plenty of you in 2022 - you have been missed.

>93 BLBera: What can I say, Beth, I always use you as a yardstick of good taste (good taste being that coinciding with my own!!). Seriously, your thread is always a place for me to pick up reading tips.

>95 Carmenere: Lovely to see you, Lynda. I can see how it could become so. It has a pretty unique way of drawing the reader in by stealthy degrees.

Thanks for stopping by my thread with a New Year's wish! I wish the same for you.

>87 PaulCranswick: I love your wrap-up. I enjoyed four of you 12 as well, and added a few more to my wishlist, thanks to you

I had a great year in terms of enjoying my reading, but not in terms of numbers. I have decided not to do an analysis, and rather turn to the page to 2022 reading!

>78 PaulCranswick: Paul, I am among those sharing this goal with you. I helps to know others in the same challenge. I cannot follow quite as spartan a plan as you, but have dropped 5 lbs in about three months.
More books, fewer snacks!

>98 alphaorder: I always think that quality beats quantity, Nancy, but always complain and worry about my numbers!

Lovely to have you visit. xx

>99 Helenoel: That is a good adage, Helen, thanks for that:
MORE BOOKS, FEWER SNACKS!

I do worry because I was a very active and reasonably successful sportsman in my late teens and early twenties and have gone from 70kgs to 124 kgs in 25 years of marriage. Some of that is contentment but most of it is sloth and a general lack of due care and attention.

>43 PaulCranswick: HOLY MOLY, Paul! That's ... quite a challenge. Good for you!

>101 London_StJ: I need to get back to the books already, LSJ. X

Happy New Year, Paul! I hope you have a great reading year!

Happy New Year!

>103 cbl_tn: Thanks Carrie. I am off to a decent start so far.

>104 SilverWolf28: Thank you, Silver!

Happy New Year from me n Miss Po!

>106 sibylline: That is cute, Lucy! Hope 2022 will be kind to you and Miss Po.

>87 PaulCranswick: The Nickel Boys! Interesting choice, certainly worthy of the attention it got...but very favorite read elevates a choice to an entirely different level. Especially when that choice is made by one among the planet's most voracious readers.

One reason I made a goal of posting an entire, separate post of Burgoined books on my blog was to address the "I've read it but never made comments about it" issue I run into a lot. The last Sunday of each month the post will go live, but I'll be adding things to it all month long or it simply won't ever get done.

>108 richardderus: It was just one of those that grabbed me, RD, as did a fair few last year to be fair. I want something with a plot and that delivered one.

I was thinking of doing a summary reading diary this year for self serving reasons that I know that to keep one will keep me reading.

>109 PaulCranswick: I am 100% behind that decision! Make it public and be surprised how much interest others will take in it...keep it private and be shocked how much it sharpens your recollections of what you've read.

There's no downside that I've yet found.

>110 richardderus: If I had to choose a counsel, I would most likely call on you, RD, so I will take that counsel.

Thank you for the New Year's wish on my thread Paul. All the best to you and your family this New Year's day and the best of luck slimming down.

Happy new year, Paul! I'll do my best to keep up with your threads in 2022, but no promises ;)

>78 PaulCranswick: Good luck shedding the pounds. I have to lose a few, too. I want to look young (wish) and fit at my daughters wedding this fall!!

>84 PaulCranswick: I am more than willing to help. I need to get back on track myself!

I am surprised you are not on your second thread for 2022 yet!

Hey there, Paul. Thank you for the lovely New Year's greeting on my thread. I'm glad to be back in the fold.

So sorry it has been so long since your family has been together. We may have had a little too much togetherness the days before and after Christmas. My son in CO was here with his family for a week and when the rest of the clan came in there were 14 people to feed. I spent way too much time in the kitchen, but we had a great time and made some good memories. I'm ready to start reading again...

It sure doesn't take you long to pass 100 posts on a thread! I'm also attempting to lose some weight. Incentive - they won't let me get a knee replacement until I do.

>87 PaulCranswick: OMG Nickel Boys was so heart wrenching. I have others by Whitehead on my TBR. I have put off writing my review because it was so intense.

Hi Paul--Thanks for visiting my new thread!
Many of your favorites for 2021 are also favorites of mine--I include Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, Did You Ever Have a Family?, and I am I am I am in particular.
Weight loss is always hard. I started a new diabetes medicine this year, and have lost 25 lbs. without even trying. (It's also much hotter in Florida than Seattle, so I sweat more). That same drug was just approved by the FDA as a weight loss drug, though in much higher doses than I am taking.
And I sympathize at how covid has made it so much more difficult to see our families. I just went to Texas in November to see my mother for the first time in 3 years, although part of the reason for it being so long was my husband was not medically stable for quite a long time after his transplant.
I have joined your Asia challenge, and we shall see how long I can keep it up. I have gotten a good start with Memed My Hawk, which I am enjoying very much so far.

>112 RBeffa: Thank you, Ron. I do feel a little bit of hunger pangs this morning given my very reduced intake yesterday and I must embrace that feeling a little in order to face it down.

>113 curioussquared: Lovely to see you, Natalie. No pressure about trying to keep up but every visit is a little treasure to me, whether you are up to date or not. x

>114 Berly: Despite your seeming ability to have accidents and mishaps, Kimmers, I am pretty sure that your TKD keeps you in pretty good nick. I will post up my progress once a week and I hope for there to be a noticeable difference by the end of this month.

>115 alcottacre: Hahaha; there does have to be some balancing off if I am going to reach my reading goals, Stasia. Gone are the days of 10,000 posts a year but I am happy with my start and pleased to see our RD flying again.

>116 Donna828: It was a lovely, if hoped for, surprise earlier to see your thread, Donna. I am sure that i hardly need tell you that you have been missed.
I am looking forward to similar family get togethers in the near future and I will definitely be spared the kitchen duties!

>117 ChrisG1: Lovely to see you, Chris. That is some incentive to lose weight!

>118 AuntieClio: Wasn't it just, Stephanie? I don't know why, but I wasn't expecting it to be quite that good and his ability to tell a difficult story was revelatory.

>119 arubabookwoman: Lovely to see you out and about on the threads, Deborah.
I must admit that I followed your travels across America and worried about your husband's health issues and the obvious strain it placed upon you. I do hope that he is coping well there.
I think that the stifling humidity here has contributed to my obesity and I keep clinging to the hope that a return to the UK will give me some impetus but I realised that I simply cannot wait that long.

I have Memed, My Hawk also pencilled in for later this month and will be keen to get your fuller thoughts on it.

>109 PaulCranswick: I can't imagine you'd let anything keep you from reading. But imagination isn't always reliable.

>124 quondame: On a slightly serious note, Susan, I do have a tendency for losing reading mojo and as with many quite sensitive individuals I am prone to despondency on occasions. If I am posting plenty strangely enough I will also be reading plenty.

I love this time of year in LT terms in particular.

Happy whatever, Paul!

Happy new year Paul

>126 alcottacre: Same to you, Stasia. Almost done my first book of the year.

>127 fairywings: Thank you, Adrienne. I am looking forward to keeping up with you in 2022. x

Hey, I know a way to re-mojo yourself! Set up an "If it's January, this must be Turkey" thread!

I'd planned to start my read of Like a Sword Wound today to start out the Asian Shindig but Godborn: Gods of Bronze grabbed my eyelashes and refused to let go of them. So it's probably best because there wasn't a place to go!

>130 richardderus: Hahaha I am on to it, RD. Just saw yours and Deborah's post on the General Thread and I guess you are right in that it will get confusing the year long if I don't set up monthly threads.

>131 PaulCranswick: Teşekkürler!

>132 richardderus: Rica ederim, RD. I don't know how to modify my keyboard to be more authentic.

The January Asia Book Challenge thread is now up.

Here :

https://www.librarything.com/topic/338244

Happy 2022, Paul!

Beyond reading 75 books this year, my other reading goal will be to keep up with your threads. I look forward to it!

>1 PaulCranswick: Beautiful!

>135 Copperskye: I would love that, Joanne. It is wonderful having good friends stop by. xx

BOOK #1



The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 by Khor Shing Yin
Date of Publication : 2019
Origin of Author : USA (Malaysian born)
Pages : 160 pp

Read for American Author Challenge January 2022

This is a homage to kitsch over culture as Shing Yin travels from West to East on Route 66 from LA to Chicago.

There isn't much to really add if I am honest other than I learnt very little about the America that she travelled through other than it was dilapidating. As an undertone and perhaps the take-away here was the feeling of dislocation the writer brought and her noting some fairly incipient racism at the "takeover" of motels by American Asian Indians. She does also record plenty of welcoming people along her journey.

The illustrations are for the most part "cartoony" but there is the occasional gem when she has sketched sunset scenes.

Quote :

"I have a lot of thoughts in my head about immigrant America and the quiet coding of outsiderness, but right now I am just busy feeling grateful for the friendship and family offered to me."

America in a nutshell?

Not terrible, especially if graphic books are your thing.

>130 richardderus: I am trying so hard not to get hit with Godborn: Gods of Bronze you evil man you.

>138 AuntieClio: The gentleman is officially charged with incitement to read, Stephanie!

BOOK # 2



The Forward Book of Poetry 2022 by Various Poets
Date of Publication : 2021
Origin of Authors : Various but mainly the UK

I try to look out for these collections when I can as it helps me very much both to keep up to date with the poetry "scene" but also to find poets who I want to read much more of than the extracts in this anthology.

There are 65 poets represented here and some of them sang off the page to me and some bemused me or left me cold and unmoved. Tishani Doshi, Stephen Sexton, Fiona Benson, Denise Riley, Dom Bury, Victoria Kennefick and Jude Nutter of poets I have yet to read stood out for me. There was work by Christopher Reid, Daljit Nagra and Robin Robertson of more familiar purveyors reminded me of their excellence.

This is the poem by Christopher Reid - "Death of a Barber". I think we can all identify to some extent with this simply expressed poem. I will look out for his recent collection The Late Sun.

Not Mustafa, but one of his colleagues
cut my hair today.
That’s when I learned that Mustafa
had passed away,
a victim of the virus.

Intimate work, the barber’s:
fingers, scissors and razor
titivating
with professional gentleness
crown, sides, back and neck.
Almost a caress.

I had been going for ages
to the little shop he used to have,
festooned with climbing plants
and budgerigars in cages,
before I learned Mustafa’s name
and something of his life
but, as etymology tells us,
touch and tact are the same.

For months now, no one had touched me
except my wife,
and I was looking forward
to a needed trim.
I got one, as expert and luxurious
as any of Mustafa’s,
But it was not from him.

Recommended
.

Two books on day one completed and progress with another three. Can't keep it up of course but it is comical seeing my projected stats breaking all records!

HI Paul, I am late to the party in wishing you and family a very Happy New Year. Your reading plans look amazing for 2022 and I always at this time of year love to read people's best of books and sure appreciate yours >87 PaulCranswick:. I too really was amazed by The Nickel Boys.

>142 mdoris: Lovely to see you, Mary. I come to really look forward to your visits and comments and will be following your threads closely too. Do you have yours up yet? Let me go and check.

Paul's Reading Diary of 2022

1 January

The calm tropical air of a Kuala Lumpur at rest supported my reading together with my faithful Erni Idrus with her regular supply of South East Asia's finest arabica creations.

a) My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk . I am 97 pages in in the reading of this intricately layered novel of the late 1500s on the banks of Bosphorus. Read for my Asian Book Challenge and splendidly good thus far. "A letter doesn't communicate by words alone. A letter, just like a book, can be read by smelling it, touching it and fondling it. Thereby intelligent folk will say, 'Go on then, read what the letter tells you!' whereas the dull-witted will say, 'Go on then read, what he's written!'"
Immerses you senses and all in the sights, sounds and smells of a city teeming with life, death and mysteries.

b) The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 by Khor Shing Yin. Read for the AAC and my first completed book of the year. Review at >137 PaulCranswick: .

c) The Forward book of Poetry 2022 by Various Poets. Enjoyed this one and will almost certainly result in my writing some apeish verse of my own very shortly. Completed also. Review at >140 PaulCranswick:

d) Red Clocks by Leni Zumas. This is a shared read as part of Kimmers' Indie-spensable Books. Must say that pungently odiferous vaginas was not the way I anticipated starting my new year thank you very much! She can write certainly but let's see whether she can do so sufficiently to overcome my distaste over certain turns of phrase. A mere 18 pages in on this.

e) Absolution by Murder by Peter Tremayne. This promises to be an enjoyably throw-away mystery set in Northumberland in the early Christian Period. A delegation arrives to the Abbey at Whitby to attend a synod to discuss the direction of the Church in those lands - Roman or Ionic? It seems to Sister Fidelma that some of the interested parties will go to murderous lengths to carry their arguments. By a curious twist of fate Hani was in Whitby yesterday with no religious duties awaiting her and thought it meet and proper to send me a picture of her fish n chips from there - nasty and much beloved woman! 45 pages in and enjoying it.

Total books completed : 2
Total books read from : 5
Pages Read : 475 pp
Running totals in 2022 (same as above silly - it is day one!)

HI Paul,
The wind is howling, the daughter (#4) and grand-daughters are visiting (lots of fun!) so no thread yet (I am chained to the kitchen). Soon though. Always great to follow your thread. Looking forward to it!

>145 mdoris: I will keep my beady eye open for your thread, Mary. x

>144 PaulCranswick: Yes, I was certainly put off by that same phrase in Red Clocks. And none of the characters have intersected yet. Hoping things improve. Continuing on...

>125 PaulCranswick: I am the same way, Paul. After I had to retire last year, I went into a huge reading funk even though I had more time than ever to read!

>128 PaulCranswick: I am not even close. I am reading some chunksters at the moment, although not all of them are that big. I think it comes from reading 13 or so books at a time, lol. Congratulations on getting your first 2 of the year out of the way!

Happy New Year, Paul!

>147 Berly: Unnecessarily a confrontational piece of writing, I thought, Kimmers. She is clearly a good writer though so onward and hopefully upwards.

>148 alcottacre: Most of my friends and acquaintances think that I am a very sociable and outgoing fellow, Stasia, but it has become almost a defence mechanism. I am noted at work for being constantly unperturbed in meetings, never overawed and always being able to respond in defence of our position but inside it is a totally different thing. I trained myself by having complete dummy-run meetings played out in my mind to anticipate almost any scenario that could conceivably be raised and rely on my prodigious memory to see me through. If my memory starts to fade I will be in trouble!

I have decided to limit it to 5 books on the go at any one time and clear the cycle of five before moving on. If I cannot make any meaningful progress with one of the 5 when the other 4 have been read, I will set it aside for now and move on. Life is too short!

>149 swynn: Great to see you here, Steve. I trust that you will have a wonderful Sunday.

Something strange happened just now. I went to KLCC for shopping (there is a Japanese owned supermarket there; "Isetan" where I can buy things like sashimi, smoked mackerels and so on. (I am determined to give myself every chance to lose the 22kgs as quickly as possible).

Well I went straight to the supermarket and thence straight home with no trip to the bookstore; my bookstore!

>152 PaulCranswick: Oh wow Paul, is that a first?

>1 PaulCranswick: A beautiful picture, Paul!
>2 PaulCranswick: I got hit!
The year is just beginning and I've already missed over 150 posts and got hit by the first BB of the year.
Looking forward to the year with you, the books and the group!

>153 avatiakh: I cannot remember it happening before, Kerry! I cam home and had to lie down.

>154 SirThomas: Lovely to see you dear fellow and it means a lot to me to have you accompany me (and me you) on our reading journeys this year.

Dear Paul, happy new year and all the best for 2022!

>156 PersephonesLibrary: Ah Kathe! I am so pleased to see you come back to the group for 2022. xx

Oh, dear- not going into a nearby bookstore! That is serious!

>158 torontoc: Exactly, Cyrel! And, and, and I believe that it is possible I may actually read more than I buy in 2022 for the first time on LT. I feel faint.

Hi Paul!

69 posts since I posted yesterday. My my, we are all so chatty right now.

>94 PaulCranswick: I’m glad to hear you like My Name is Red so far. I’m excited about this challenge and am determined to try to meet each month’s challenge.

I’m happy to hear that Yasmyne will visit her mum, then you, then you and the girls will get to the UK!

>134 PaulCranswick: Thanks for the January thread link!

>150 PaulCranswick: I have decided to limit it to 5 books on the go at any one time and clear the cycle of five before moving on. If I cannot make any meaningful progress with one of the 5 when the other 4 have been read, I will set it aside for now and move on. Life is too short! Very sensible.

>152 PaulCranswick: How odd. No fever? No chills? I hope you recover quickly!

>89 PaulCranswick: roflmao

>78 PaulCranswick: >79 alcottacre: >90 karenmarie: >99 Helenoel: >114 Berly: Good luck on all of your health improvement journeys. I'm on one of my own, focussed on exercise and fitness, along with healthy eating - weight's not the primary issue for me, but pre-diabetes is one of my problems, along with insuifficient fiber, so I am trying to drastically improve my eating habits.

Maybe we need a health improvement thread somewhere. To keep it on topic for the 75 books challenge, we could share our how-to reading. (E.g. I currently have a cookback waiting for me at the library, with three more on hold - if I like the recipes, I'll buy my own copy; otherwise, I won't have wasted my money.)

Happy New Year to you, Paul. Wow, 30 months is a terribly long time for your family to not be together. I'm sure all of you miss each other terribly.

Good luck with your weight loss and fitness goals. I need to get. move on as well, after talking it about it for too many years. There's always something preventing me from sticking to something, and after so many years of this it seems the common denominator is me.

>159 PaulCranswick: Wow! Good luck with that!

>150 PaulCranswick:, >147 Berly:, >144 PaulCranswick: I Pearl-Ruled it. UGH

>152 PaulCranswick: Are you sick? Aside from avoiding the bookshop, what are your symptoms? Dr Stasia is on the case! lol

>152 PaulCranswick: Oh! An intervention may be required!

>152 PaulCranswick: Who are you and what have you done with Paul?

>168 amanda4242: Just had to say, “hehe”!

Karen O

>160 karenmarie: So far I am really enjoying the challenge, Karen and it was one of my better ideas in recent times, I think.

>161 ArlieS: Always nice to be polite, but I mean why do they bother really?!

>67 PaulCranswick: Lovely picture of your family! Wishing you time together in the coming year!

>162 ArlieS: A thread is not a bad idea, Arlie, but let's see first how well I go in the first few weeks. If I'm failing I may need to do something - so far so good, I think.

>163 AMQS: Even the normally stone faced Belle admitted missing her sister this week, Anne! Let's hope that good health permeates the group in 2022. x

>164 ArlieS: I have started so many years with the same intention and am way beyond the boy crying wolf at this stage!

>165 richardderus: Yes, RD. I haven't read any of it today but it might get the same treatment. I see Mamie did the same too.

>166 alcottacre: Well my arm is aching from the turning of pages Doc?!

>167 quondame: I think the bookstore may organise one, Susan, if they don't see me for a couple of weeks. I am convinced that I am the difference locally between survival and closure.

>168 amanda4242: What can I say? This is a pre-recorded message.

>169 klobrien2: Good evening/morning Karen. I can see the knowing smiles when I suddenly break and buy 20 or 30 books in pent-up book-buying-fever!

>171 witchyrichy: Thank you, Karen. I do hope it will not be too far into the new year. xx

Happy New Year Paul!

Loved the poem you cited.

>177 EllaTim: Thanks Ella. I thought it got its message across very effectively.

>141 PaulCranswick: One of the books I'm reading at the moment is a poetry collection. As I've been reading it, I began pondering the change in poetry over time. I wondered when we quit worrying about rhyme and meter and began to use free verse almost exclusively. Any thoughts? Certainly most of the poetry (although I wouldn't say all) I studied in school in the 70s rhymed. I remember studying the rhyme schemes and the meter of the poems as well. So different today!

Clean Slate. I like that.

Hi Paul! My clean slate is that I hope to be more present in 2022 than I was last year. I think 2021 was my least active LT year since I joined in 2011. Time to turn the page!

Wishing all the best to you and yours in 2022, my dear friend!

>179 thornton37814: I am a bit conflicted by this too, I must admit, Lori as I do feel that some of it trying to pass as poetry hardly fits the bill. Free verse is fine but I do feel that the wording has to have some rhythm or flow and at least have an elevation of the language either by alliteration or the encapsulating of an idea in a very concentrated form.

I know the collection you are reading as I have read it myself and I recall nary a couplet in it.

I have thawed a little over the years as almost everything I wrote back in the day would have a rhyming structure of some description and I do feel that the rigour of writing within the confines of such a structure is a necessary skill for poets to master before they venture into the less formal realm of the form.

>180 EBT1002: Lovely to see you, Ellen. I have to admit that I had been a little worried that we may see even less of you this year given the difficult balancing of time you faced last year. I am relieved that I still have another good friend with us again for 2022.

I always enjoy your lists. You read quite a bit of good books in 2021.

Thanks for the incredibly beautiful opening image!

I hope to visit more often in 2022. In the meantime, know I wish you a wonderful year filled with good books and time to read them.

Congrats on two books already! I have three going now but anticipate being kept busy by prepping for my next dogsitting job (I'll be away from home for two months), so don't really expect to finish anything until the weekend.

Given my comments in >181 PaulCranswick: above in response to Lori's question, I thought I should post a poem I typed directly onto the Asian Book Challenge January thread earlier today.

As background it was in response to a video put up by Ursula of a stroll she took through the streets of Istanbul. It, erm, doesn't rhyme!

I Watched It Thrice

A downward path;
shrubbery defiantly
verdant

even as its
presence is questioned
for being. Just being.

Graffiti decorates the way
towards coffee shops
and galleries -

the sleek and the skewed
cohabit; orderly intersected
by tidy sidewalks.

The people of the town
have occupation
and preoccupation;

pregnant in parkas,
adjusting hydrants amid
the reek of local tobacco

and vehicle fumes
from saloon and scootering,
indifferent to you

as you advance,
now an upward path
to a waiting friend.

>182 Whisper1: I am truly blessed by my friends in the group, Linda, and it wouldn't be the same here without you. I miss the regular visits of so many of my friends who are no longer in the group and realise we are become a more compact unit these days!

I dearly hope that this year will result in the elimination of pain for you dear lady and just perhaps that Hani and myself might get a fall visit stateside.

>183 bell7: It is just now three books, Mary, as I have finished another one! I hope that you'll catch me up quickly as I am so used to our numbers being near identical! xx

Happy New Year, Paul! Wishing you a great year of reading in 2022.

>162 ArlieS: >163 AMQS: >172 PaulCranswick: If there is serious interest in a "healthy 2022" thread, I would be happy to start one. Just let me know.

BTW, Paul - I am giving up on Red Clocks. I read 50+ pages and just do not care at all what happens.

>186 harrygbutler: Great to see you back, Harry. I shall go and look to see if you have a thread yet. I missed your films for most of last year!

>187 alcottacre: Early days I know and can't read anything into it but I decided to weigh myself every second day and always at the same time (6.30 am) and this morning I was down to 122kg. (268 lbs) so I have quickly dropped 5 pounds. I expected to do that really but I would be pumped if my next weigh continues the trend.

I am up for the support group thread.

I may be tossing it too, Stasia. It is a shame because we had it as a shared TIOLI but life is short and books are many.

>187 alcottacre: Red Clocks has already been ditched by Richard, Mamie and me. I agree that it is a shame, but life is too short and I have too many other books to get to.

I will set up a support group thread and ask Jim to add it to the wiki.

BOOK #3



Absolution by Murder by Peter Tremayne
Date of Publication : 1994
Origin of Author : UK
Pages : 274 pp

First in the Sister Fidelma series

This was a stress free if largely unchallenging mystery as the feisty Sister Fidelma investigates the murder of a friend who was due to advocate on behalf of the Celtic Christian faith in opposition to the Roman Christian faith in a synod called to settle liturgical disputes which were descending to violence.

Suspicion falls on the Roman caucus but Fidelma is committed to truth & justice and all is not as it seems.

This will not become a favourite series but I was titillated enough to want to read the next one.

>189 alcottacre: Then I'm folding on it too, Stasia. I will shoehorn in something else

Actually I just realised that I brought this one and not My Name is Red to work with me and I will lose the two hours reading time that presents if I don't soldier on. So soldier on I shall. It is unlikely to win my book of the month though!

I'll look out for the support group thread and thank you for doing it. xx

>191 PaulCranswick: The thread is up here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/338329

I have already taken Red Clocks off the TIOLI wiki for myself. I just cannot make myself go on with it even though I was 50+ pages into it. I hope you get more out of the book than I was!

>190 PaulCranswick: I read that one eons ago. It is probably a series I should revisit at some point.

>190 PaulCranswick: This is the first book that prejudiced me against a word. He uses autumnal repeatedly and it just grated after a while. I read a few more since the period interests me, though I'm rather not into idolizing long gone cultures and I found The Book of Kells a warmer, more welcoming take, if not more realistic.

Happy New Year, Paul! I'll start Snow by Orhan Pamuk later this week, and this month I'll make Imam bayildi, whole eggplant stuffed with onion, garlic and tomatoes, and simmered in olive oil, especially since my mother loves eggplant.

>187 alcottacre: Stasia, that would be awesome! I saw downthread that you would, so I'll look for it. I bought a scale at the end of the school year last year and it has remained stubbornly in a zone I don't want since then, despite healthy eating, lots of walking, etc. I have been avoiding it since I developed plantar fasciitis about 6 weeks ago and stopped the minimal exercise I was doing and began my holiday plow through the cookies, etc, but when I tried it today I was pleasantly surprised to be lower than I thought! So more cheese! More cookies! And yes, a group to support me would be amazing, thank you!

>192 alcottacre: I'm not in a good place with it either, Stasia, but I will give it this work day to see whether I will complete it or not.

I wasn't blown away by it but it wasn't a bad series start either.

>193 quondame: My antennae maybe need adjusting then, Susan, because I can honestly say I didn't notice that. I did notice that some of the characterisation was a bit on the wooden side but I expect that the characters would grow into their roles as it progresses. I mean I wasn't sold on Montalbano until about book 3!!

>194 kidzdoc: Oh yum. I still have a bit of the custom doctored caponata in the fridge to meat my eggplant cravings. That's actually extra comforting since my trip to the deli where the base comes from was fruitless due to holiday closures.

>194 kidzdoc: Lovely to see you dear Darryl. And YUM! I read Snow maybe 15 years ago and remember liking it although it is quite dark.

Let me ponder my favourite Turkish dish, but meanwhile yesterday I had a delicious salmon fillet grilled and served with a fresh salad with radishes, mini bell peppers, pickled onions, wild rocket and lovely Roma tomatoes.

>195 AMQS: I am determined that this year will be the one when I turn back the tide a little in terms of my weight, but also as I reduce to slowly ramp up an exercise regime that leaves me feeling much better.

>197 quondame: You guys are making me hungry! It is only 9 am here and I have three hours to go before a light lunch of soup.

>196 PaulCranswick: There are some things it's better not to notice. At the time I'd never noticed the word before and it seemed a bit grandiose for the usage. Since then I haven't stopped noticing it and it is often used as Tremayne did, just not as often.

A problem I found with trying to reduce my weight is that I spent so much more time thinking about food. But Mediterranean is healthy yes? even if it's the Black Sea.

>200 quondame: I am going to guffaw next time I read that word in his writing and I don't care how long it is until I read him again. I won't forget!

Good point about the healthy nature of the Mediterranean diet. Olives, and olive oil have to be good and impart a wonderful flavour. I really miss Hani's wonderful ratatouille at this moment.

OH yes, ratatouille is yummy. Haven't made it in ages.

>202 mdoris: Nutritious and healthy. Also substantial enough to be eaten without carbs. I may try to make it myself at the weekend but I cannot compete with Hani on such things.

Happy New Year Paul! And happy reading.

Here's what I've learned about weight control. You've got to keep moving. I mean almost always. So sitting down for hours with your favorite book won't help. But reading while you walk around the house wearing a path in your rug? That helps. And I mean that. Of course you still have to watch what you eat but if you're not moving, a lot, you're not going to lose much. I've been doing this a long time and I weigh about what I did when I was in seventh grade. Do you have a Fitbit or an Apple Watch to count your steps? Big help.

>201 PaulCranswick: I really miss Hani's wonderful ratatouille at this moment.

Hani's ratatouille is wonderful. I've made it twice so far, including earlier this week, and my mother loves it; she had it again for dinner this evening.



If this big dummy can make it, so can you.

>204 brenzi: Thanks for that Bonnie and I am sure that you are right.

My Samsung phone records my steps and I do have a fitbit.

I guess that the initial drop in weight will be less difficult as "less stubborn" fat and simply smaller portions getting digested will help but I have to keep ramping up the exercise as the weight starts falling otherwise it will stop and I will regress.

I'm not looking for a miracle cure as I think I have to earn the reduction in weight and the increasing cardio-vascular performance. I am trying to take ownership of why I got in this position in the first place and take steady steps to turn it around. xx

>205 kidzdoc: That is splendid, Darryl. I know that you and Hani are regularly exchanging recipes and comparing notes.

Give your mum a little hug for me.

>207 PaulCranswick: Will do. Hani and Caroline (@cameling) are in a class of their own; I'm a minor leaguer by comparison.

>208 kidzdoc: I thought that I could cook before I met Hani, Darryl and made her a beef stroganoff that I was inordinately proud of. She tasted it, named all the ingredients and promised me her version of the dish. I have never cooked it since!

>209 PaulCranswick: I can't say I'm surprised. I have no doubt that she (or Caroline) and I could make the same recipe side by side, and hers would be vastly superior to mine.

>210 kidzdoc: I can tell by sharing a table with Caro, as I have done a good number of times, that she is a proper food person and tales of her spreads in Boston are legendary! One day Darryl I hope that there are a good number of us in an idyllic location awaiting a spread prepared for us by the two good ladies! The Portuguese coast perhaps or somewhere or Nantucket or perhaps on a Greek island or in Istanbul. You can tell that I have been marooned here too long!

I spent some of the lunch hour with Red Clocks which has proven ill-advised.

It is Pearl Ruled . I need to replace it with something else.

Paul, you are not helping yourself with all this food talk.
Another healthy breakfast is shakshuka, I make the sauce and have it several mornings in a row with the eggs and no bread.

eta: Menemen or Turkish scrambled eggs is good too.

Paul's Reading Diary of 2022

2 January

The end of my LT day is funnily enough also my lunchtime here if that makes a blind bit of sense. Back to work and because I am recording my reading on LT time it is actually just after 1 pm here on 3 January.

a) My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk . No progress unfortunately as I decided to concentrate on finishing Tremayne's book first and savour this one, because it is goooood. I will concentrate on this one when I go back home and have the long evening before me.

b) Red Clocks by Leni Zumas. And why no progress on a) later in the day is that I took this one to work with me instead. It was a mistake. A serious story here to be told and I can see the awful portents of making abortion from conception a crime in the Texas legislation but really did she have to talk quite so much about the vagaries of the female genitalia. I grew up on the Bronte's and I don't recall ever seeing them use the word "vadge" as a noun, verb or adjective. A wasted lunchtime and I'm binning this one. I will have to minus off the 18 pages yesterday too, so boo hoo.

c) Absolution by Murder by Peter Tremayne. I got this one done and it was perfectly serviceable.
Review at >190 PaulCranswick:. I also guessed the killer at a fairly early stage but i'm not so sure that is always a good thing. Mildly recommended.

Total books completed : 1
Total books read from : 1 (plus one Pearl Ruled)
Pages Read : 229 pp
Running totals in 2022 (same as above silly - it is day one!)
Books completed : 3
Books Read from : 4
Pages Read : 686
Average per day : 343

>213 avatiakh: I do very much like an omelette made with plenty of onions and plenty of pepper.

Believe it or not I have never had shakshuka but a girlfriend used to make me eggs scrambled with tomatoes that was excellent and very nutritious.

I will try to make shakshuka soon as Hani has some great recipe books for me to choose from.

Happy New Year and happy new thread Paul!



Happy New Year! Wishing you and your family the very best in joy, friendship, health, happiness and lots of good books for 2022.

I've been putting off tackling the longer threads - but they just get longer. Skimming through.

>1 PaulCranswick: Atmospheric topper!

>78 PaulCranswick: Good luck with the diet. I need to lose weight, too, but it doesn't seem to work.

>152 PaulCranswick: Gasp! Shock! Horror! Are you on a book diet?

>215 PaulCranswick: You don't have any cook books in your huge collection? Books K has a few shelves worth ...

>195 AMQS: I am so glad that you are good with the idea, Anne. I am hoping that we can build a thriving community on that page too.

>212 PaulCranswick: This year seems to be getting off to a bumpy start, especially for me. I have now Pearl Ruled 2 books in 2 days. Yikes!

That's an impressive (very early) daily average page reading :)

Watched Chelsea-Liverpool last night - the first half was some of the most entertaining football in a long time. Unfortunately, only Man C was probably happy with the result.

>212 PaulCranswick: Paul--I am still continuing with Red Clocks, although I am clearly in the minority now. I'll let you know my thoughts after I finish. And I'll have to look for the "Healthy 2022" thread--I am in!

>216 humouress: No book diet, Nina unless I get so bloody hungry I start eating them!

Plenty of cook books in the house - Hani has quite the collection and I will study a couple of them for ideas this evening.

>217 alcottacre: I will, for one, definitely need the help and support. Thanks again for setting it up, Stasia.

>218 alcottacre: I very rarely Pearl Rule books but I do put them aside for another day but I cannot conceive of trying that one again!

>219 ctpress: I am back at work though, Carsten, so I won't be able to keep that up.

There is quite the issue in the EPL at the moment about the consistency of refereeing. How Mane stayed on the field after a clear and intended elbow I really don't know. I was pleased that we ended a losing streak (my beloved Leeds United) and beat Burnley 3-1. We should be better than at least three other clubs this year.

>220 Berly: I really did want to like it, Kimmers, especially as the underlying theme is an important one and one which I do feel reasonably strongly about. As usual with me I wouldn't be quite at the extreme of the debate - I do value the life of the baby and do believe that sensible deadline has to be reached on the right last day a decision should be made and, whilst I think I am unqualified to say what that time is, I don't think it goes right to the intended birth date. On the other hand I am pro-life to the extent that a woman should have the final say on her body at least until the time when she is hosting a viable life form inside of her (if that makes sense at all). It seems to me that the Texas legislation is a fairly underhand way of denying a woman that choice and I think, without having the benefit of going through the verbiage of the legislation, it sets a principle - effectively preventing abortion, that most right-minded people would dissent from.

Maybe the point of the four characters will coalesce and the distaste will subside but I'd rather read something else to be honest than find out.

>218 alcottacre: Well, that's 2 more books than I've read.

>219 ctpress: Chelsea is my oldest son's team, I've been given Liverpool and my youngest son supports Man City. Only my husband, with Man U, didn't 'have skin in the game'.

>222 PaulCranswick: Hey!

>224 humouress: I thought he was a lucky boy yesterday, Nina. I am a big admirer of Liverpool and I wouldn't want Chelsea to beat them but I think he thought he would get away with it so early in the game and he did.

Having Pearly-Ruled Red Clocks, I am left with needing to replace it in my race to 31 books this month and I have considered 2 mates (Stasia and Madeline) and chosen Up With the Larks by Tessa Hainsworth as it fits the TIOLI challenge set by my buddy from the Lone Star State.

Looks a nice warming read with not a hint of genitalia under indecorous discussion.

>209 PaulCranswick: I envy you for having a family member who cooks that well. In my household, no one actually likes cooking, so our results tend to be uninspired.

>223 PaulCranswick: Texas is an interesting state. I recently read a reddit thread from a young man in Texas who celebrated his eighteenth birthday by sneaking out to get vaccinated against covid, once he was finally legally permitted to make his own medical decisions. (He described his parents as having already several times refused vaccination on his behalf.)

Happy New Year and happy new thread! (Well, at least I managed to hop on the first thread while it was still the active thread!)

>227 ArlieS: I am also not a bad cook, Arlie, just not on the same level as SWMBO.

>228 ArlieS: Yes that certainly wouldn't happen in Malaysia. The jabs are not mandatory as such but without them here you can virtually have no social interactions and I would certainly not be in my job now had I refused them (not that I wanted to). Those sorts of decisions - taken by Samsung in this case and not the government of Malaysia - do not occasion the same hue and cry they would in the West.

>229 foggidawn: Always a pleasure to see you here, Foggi. xx

Happy 2022 Paul!!
Looks like you are off to a good start!!

>232 hredwards: Good to see you back Harold!

I am doing ok so far to be honest.

I have my booster jab today (Tuesday) and hopefully it will not lay me low.

>234 PaulCranswick: Dropping in to say hello. Hopefully not but take care of yourself! I got my booster (3rd) in November and I felt okayish.

>235 leperdbunny: Thanks Tamara and lovely to see you here. I have a few friends who have had trouble after the booster but hopefully I will be ok.

>234 PaulCranswick: I hope the booster does not give you the COVID symptoms as I have seen others in the group come down with. Kerry and I still need to get ours.

Hope you have a good reaction to the booster, Paul. I was a little sore after, but my reaction to my booster (3rd of Pfizer) was the easiest to handle of the three. I'm very much in the minority that I had the hardest time with the first shot.

Hopefully you don't have any big side affects Paul.

Lots of places in Australia (especially government jobs) are making it mandatory to have the needles. I am double vaxed of my own volition but it is now mandatory for education workers to be vaxed. I don't get my booster till March.

>237 alcottacre: Let's hope so, Stasia, but I am expecting to take the next day off almost as a precaution.

>238 bell7: So far my two AZ shots were ok, Mary, but I am not sure what I will be getting as a booster.

>239 fairywings: Thanks Adrienne. I have said elsewhere that I am not in favour of mandating the shots but I certainly see the obvious benefits of getting them myself. I would forego the booster in favour of some of the third world getting better access to the doses but I don't get to make public policy and I do have a duty of care at least to my family to take care of myself.

Malaysia mandates by stealth but Samsung was pretty open that with the SOP for working on construction sites from the government it would be impossible for them to retain unvaccinated staff.

In the beginning the government send pfizer to the Pacific Islands, which made it harder for us to access it, but we had relatively low numbers here compared to the rest of the world. Made it a long wait to get vaxed but what can you do.

There was a lot of talk about whether or not the government should mandate vaccinations, they originally didn't want to. In the meantime a lot of businesses did take the decision on themselves and wanted all staff to be vaccinated.

>242 fairywings: I have stopped calling them vaccines, Adrienne, as they clearly do not provide the immunisation expected of a vaccine and to be fair the producers never claimed they did (only governments did).

I take them because they reduce the risk of infection, seem proven to lessen any impact of contracting the virus, because I am in an obvious high risk group and because I want to travel and won't be able to without it. Not because it is a vaccine because it isn't that.

Happy ‘22, Paul!

>244 jnwelch: Thanks Joe. Nice to see you in these parts. It seems like such a long while since we were all chewing the fat in London. Hopefully one day again and soon.

>243 PaulCranswick: That is true Paul

>246 fairywings: Yes it is true, Adrienne, but somehow because of politics it still seems to annoy certain people.

>215 PaulCranswick: I had shakshuka for the first time when I met Paul Harris (@Polaris-) at Café Also in North London, where I met you and Hani for the first time a couple of years later. I have made something similar in the past, Indian-Spiced Tomato and Egg Casserole, and I'll look through the cookbooks I own by Yotam Ottolenghi for Israeli shakshuka recipes as early as tomorrow.

>248 kidzdoc: Hani also has one of Ottolenghi's books at home so I will have a good look too.
Looks a filling dish!

I remember that lovely London lunch and at least two of our number ordered the dish.

>249 PaulCranswick: It is very filling and quite tasty. My cousin from Michigan will be coming here later this week, weather permitting, and that would be a good time to make this dish again, as it's best served fresh rather than reheated, IMO.

>250 kidzdoc: I will probably try a version of it sometime this month as I want to eat one egg based dish per week. I will make my version of a Spanish omelette on Saturday.

>251 PaulCranswick: Sounds good. My favorite egg based dish, which I normally make once a week but haven't made in a month, is huevos a lo pobre con patatas, or Spanish Poor Man's Eggs and Potatoes, which dates to the Renaissance era and is both simple and very delicious!

>250 kidzdoc: >251 PaulCranswick: We’ve already had our shakshuka this week!! My husband and I love Spanish Poor Man’s Eggs and Potatoes. I’ve made it several times since you posted the recipe. In fact that recipe made it onto a 4x6 card into my recipe box. My husband loves it as well.

>253 SqueakyChu: I may make huevos a lo pobre con patatas for breakfast tomorrow, as my mother and I have had oatmeal for several days in a row. As you can see in my photo I like to use a red or orange bell pepper and chopped flat leaf parsley, to give the dish more color.

>252 kidzdoc: Yes, Darryl, that looks just the thing for me!

>253 SqueakyChu: Maybe I'm doing that instead of my normal Spanish omelette, then Madeline.

Eggs, potatoes, bell peppers, onions and parsley?

>254 kidzdoc: Ah, I see, Darryl, looks like I have the basic ingredients right.

>256 PaulCranswick: Right. I created a link to the recipe in >252 kidzdoc:. Alternatively, you can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiqYX70zlDA

>257 kidzdoc: Thank you, Darryl - I need far more help than my good lady!

Time for a new thread, methinks.

>224 humouress: Liverpool too for me. At least your son will be happy this year. I don't think Liverpool will catch them this year.

>258 PaulCranswick: We all need more help than Hani!

>261 kidzdoc: Except maybe Caro, but believe me, because I've seen them together, they are two peas from the same pod.