PAUL C WITH A CLEAN SLATE IN '22 - Part 16

SCENES FROM MY PAST

My very shortlived cycling "career" was spent over two summers in France. I was based in the beautiful old town of Vannes which is the gateway to the Gulf of Morbihan. I love this part of the world and definitely want to spend some time there again when I relocate.

The Opening Words

The Moon and Sixpence was my W Somerset Maugham pick in my 100 Book / 100 Authors list. Maugham would have been my favourite author along with Zola in the first 40 years of my life.

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" I confess that when first I made acquaintance with Charles Strickland I never for a moment discerned that there was in him anything out of the ordinary. "

Interested?..........

Books Read First Quarter

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
4. Somewhere Towards the End by Diana Athill (2008) 183 pp - (NF Challenge) NF
5. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk (1998) 671 pp - (Asian Book Challenge{ABC}) Fiction; 1001
6. The Thief and the Dogs by Naguib Mahfouz (1962) 158 pp - (World Books/Food) Fiction
7. The Children Who Stayed Behind by Bruce Carter (1958) 216 pp - (BAC) YA Fiction
8. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (2021) 114 pp - Fiction
9. Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar (2020) 343 pp - (ABC) - Fiction (?)
10. Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings (1982) 192 pp - SF/Fantasy
11. Days in the History of Silence by Merethe Lindstrom (2011) 230 pp - Fiction/Holocaust
12. The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty (1972) 208 pp - Fiction; Pulitzer
13. My Two Worlds by Sergio Chejfec (2008) - 103 pp Fiction/Rebecca NYC reads
14. Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine (2002) - 131 pp Non Fiction / Holocaust
15. Last Train to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin (2002) 384 pp Fiction / Asian Book Challenge
16. Up With the Larks by Tessa Hainsworth (2009) 278 pp Non Fiction
17. Cheryl's Destinies by Stephen Sexton (2021) 88 pp - Poetry
18. Hotel Bosphorus by Esmahan Aykol (2001) 246 pp - Thriller/Mystery / Asian Book Challenge
19. The List of Books by Frederic Raphael (1981) 154 pp - Non Fiction / Reference
20. Disquiet by Zulfu Livaneli (2017) 163 pp - Fiction / Asian Book Challenge
21. Turkey : A Short History by Norman Stone (2017) 185 pp - Non-Fiction
22. Black Out by Ragnar Jonasson (2011) 247 pp - Thriller/Scandi
23. The Wild Iris by Louise Gluck (1992) 63 pp - Poetry
24. A Foolish Virgin by Ida Simons (1959) 216 pp - Fiction
25. Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson (1928) 329 pp - Fiction / 1001 Books
26. The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens (1969) 224 pp - Fiction / Booker Winner

5,715 pages

FEBRUARY

27. The Nest by Kenneth Oppel (2015) 244 pp - Fiction
28. Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World by Fareed Zakaria (2021) 156 pp Non-Fiction/ABC
29. Redemption Ground by Lorna Goodison (2018) 164 pp Non-Fiction
30. The Blue Between Sky and Water by Susan Abulhawa (2015) 288 pp Fiction /Asian Book Challenge
31. Door into the Dark by Seamus Heaney (1969) 44 pp Poetry
32. The Yellow Wind by David Grossman (1988) 218 pp Non-Fiction/Asian Book Challenge
33. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (2017) 343 pp Fiction / Booker Winner
34. If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin (1974) 197 pp Fiction
35. The Wrecking Light by Robin Robertson (2010) 90 pp Poetry
36. The Others by Sarah Blau (2018) 239 pp Thriller /ABC
37. Portable Kisses by Tess Gallagher (1992) 80 pp Poetry/ AAC

2,063 pages

MARCH

38. Rise Like Lions : Poetry for the Many edited by Ben Okri (2017) 258 pp Poetry
39. Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin (1958) 179 pp Non-Fiction
40. Intimacies by Katie Kitamura (2021) 225 pp Fiction / Asian Book Challenge
41. Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi (2013) 283 pp Fiction/ Asian Book Challenge
42. Songs of Mihyar the Damascene by Adonis (1961) 116 pp Poetry/Asian Book Challenge
43. Tales of the Tikongs by Epeli Hau'ofa (1983) 93 pp Fiction /Short stories
44. The Twits by Roald Dahl (1980) 87 pp Fiction /YA
45. The Historians : Poems by Eavan Boland (2020) 67 pp Poetry
46. Night Haunts by Sukhdev Sandhu (2007) 144 pp Non-Fiction
47. The Old Boys by William Trevor (1964) 170 pp Fiction
48. Autumn by Karl Ove Knausgaard (2015) 244 pp Non-Fiction/Memoir
49. The Fell by Sarah Moss (2021) 180 pp Fiction
50. Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner (1926) 203 pp Fiction
51. Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi (2018) 243 pp Fiction / Asian Book Challenge
52. Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney (2021) 337 pp Fiction

2,829 pages

Books Read Second Quarter

APRIL

53. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (1979) 180 pp Science Fiction/1001
54. Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy (1874) 389 pp Fiction/Re-read Reassessment
55. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (1961) 128 pp Fiction/Re-read Reassessment
56. Mrs England by Stacey Halls (2021) 425 pp Fiction
57. The Moon and Sixpence by W Somerset Maugham (1919) 215 pp Fiction /Re-Read Reassessment
58. Poems : Giosue Carducci by Giosue Carducci (1907) 175 pp Poetry / Nobel Prize winner
59. White Mughals by William Dalrymple (2002) 501 pp Non Fiction / Shared Read (Stasia)
60. Weaveworld by Clive Barker (1987) 722 pp SF/Fantasy; BAC; Guardian Books
61. The Saddlebag by Bahiyyih Nakhjavani (2000) 253 pp Fiction /Asian Book Challenge
62. Pilgrims Way by Abdulrazak Gurnah (1988) 281 pp Fiction
63. A Village Life by Louise Gluck (2009) 71 pp Poetry/AAC wildcard
64. Brighton Rock by Graham Greene (1938) 269 pp Fiction/Re-Read Reassessment

Currently Reading

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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 : 2 (36 / 57)
The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

PULITZERS READ BY DEC 31 2021 : 19 / 94
PULITZERS IN 2022 : 1 (20 / 94)
The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty

NOBEL LAUREATES READ BY DEC 31 2021 : 74 / 118
NOBEL WINNERS IN 2022 1 (75/118)
Poems by Giosue Carducci

1001 BOOKS FIRST ED READ BY DEC 2021 : 319
1001 BOOKS IN 2022 3 (322)
My Name is Red
Tarka the Otter
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

GUARDIAN 1000 BOOKS READ BY DEC 2021 : 349
GUARDIAN BOOKS IN 2022 4 (353)
My Name is Red
Lolly Willowes
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Weaveworld

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

BRITISH AUTHOR CHALLENGE



January - YA - The Children Who Stayed Behind by Bruce Carter
February - Mo / Renault
March - Between the Wars - Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
April - Weaveworld by Clive Barker

AMERICAN AUTHOR CHALLENGE



January - Graphic Books - The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 by Khor Shing Yin
February - Tess Gallagher - Portable Kisses
March - Bernard Malamud
April - Louise Gluck (Wildcard) - A Village Life

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
1. My Name is Red
2. Last Train to Istanbul
3. Hotel Bosphorus
4. Disquiet

FEBRUARY - The Holy Land - Israeli & Palestinian Authors
Link to thread : https://www.librarything.com/topic/339017
1. The Blue Between Sky and Water
2. The Yellow Wind
3. The Others

MARCH - The Arab World - Writers from the Arab world
link to thread https://www.librarything.com/topic/340000
1. Frankenstein in Baghdad
2. The Songs of Mihyar the Damascene
3. Celestial Bodies

APRIL - Persia - Iranian writers
link to thread : https://www.librarything.com/topic/340943#n7802013
1. The Saddlebag

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
1. Homeland Elegies
2. Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World
3. Intimacies
4. Night Haunts

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.

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
48. Turkey - My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk ASIA PACIFIC
49. Egypt - The Thief and the Dogs by Naguib Mahfouz AFRICA
50. Argentina - My Two Worlds by Sergio Chejfec - AMERICAS
51. Iceland - Black Out by Ragnar Jonasson - EUROPE
52. Jamaica - Redemption Ground by Lorna Goodison - AMERICAS
53. Palestine - The Blue Between Sky and Water by Susan Abulhawa - ASIA PACIFIC
54. Israel - The Yellow Wind by David Grossman - ASIA PACIFIC
55. Iraq - Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi - ASIA PACIFIC
56. Papua New Guinea - Tales of the Tikongs by Epeli Hau'ofa - ASIA PACIFIC
57. Oman - Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi - ASIA PACIFIC
58. Iran - The Saddlebag by Bahiyyih Nakhjavani - ASIA PACIFIC
59. Tanzania - Pilgrims Way by Abdulrazak Gurnah - AFRICA


Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

WOMENS PRRIZE LONGLIST 2022

The Women's Prize Longlist has just been announced and as usual I didn't forecast so accurately:

https://www.womensprizeforfiction.co.uk/features/features/news/announcing-the-wo...:

Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith OWNED
Careless by Kirsty Capes OWNED
Creatures of Passage by Morowa Yejidé
Flamingo by Rachel Elliott OWNED
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead OWNED & READ
Remote Sympathy by Catherine Chidgey OWNED
Salt Lick by Lulu Allison OWNED
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason OWNED
The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki OWNED
The Bread the Devil Knead by Lisa Allen-Agostini OWNED
The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson OWNED
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton OWNED & Reading in Apr 22
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak OWNED
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller OWNED & Reading in Apr 22
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich OWNED & Reading in Apr 22
This One Sky Day by Leone Ross OWNED

READ 1/16

100 NOVELS 100 AUTHORS

1 Things Fall Apart Achebe, Chinua
2 Watership Down Adams, Richard
3 Half of a Yellow Sun Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi
4 Jack Sheppard Ainsworth, William Harrison
5 Northanger Abbey Austen, Jane
6 The Twin Bakker, Gerbrand
7 Another Country Baldwin, James
8 The Black Sheep Balzac, Honore de
9 Silence of the Girls Barker, Pat
10 The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett
11. Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres
12 The Sheltering Sky Bowles, Paul
13 Orenda Boyden, Joseph
14 Rumours of Rain Brink, Andre
15 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
16 Wuthering Heights Bronte, Emily
17 The Good Earth Buck, Pearl
18 The Plague Camus, Albert
19 Jack Maggs Carey, Peter
20 O' Pioneers Cather, Willa
21 The Woman in WhiteCollins, Wilkie
22 To Serve Them All My Days Delderfield, RF
23 David Copperfield Dickens, Charles
24 Crime and Punishment Dostoevsky, Fyodor
25 Justine Durrell, Lawrence
26 Invisible Man Ellison, Ralph
27 The Round house Erdrich, Louise
28 Passage to India Forster, EM
29 The Promise Galgut, Damon
30 Sea of Poppies Ghosh, Amitav
31 I, Claudius Graves, Robert
32 The Quiet American Greene, Graham
33 The Growth of the Soil Hamsun, Knut
34 The Return of the Native Hardy, Thomas
35 The Go-Between Hartley, LP
36 Plainsong Haruf, Kent
37 The Rainbow Troops Hirata, Andrea
38 Les Miserables Hugo, Victor
39 A Prayer for Owen Meany Irving, John
40 The Dig Jones, Cynan
41 Mister Pip Jones, Lloyd
42 The Far Pavilions Kaye, MM
43 Small Things Like These Keegan, Claire
44 The Dictator's Last Night Khadra, Yasmina
45 Darkness at Noon Koestler, Arthur
46 The Unbearable Lightness of Being Kundera, Milan
47 To Kill a Mockingbird Lee, Harper
48 The Grass is Singing Lessing, Doris
49 If Not Now, When? Levi, Primo
50 The Road to Lichfield Lively, Penelope
51 How Green is My Valley Llewellyn, Richard
52 Lovely Green Eyes Lustig, Arnost
53 Palace Walk Mahfouz, Naguib
54 The Fixer Malamud, Bernard
55 A Place of Greater Safety Mantel, Hilary
56 One Hundred Years of Solitude Marquez, Gabriel Garcia
57 The Moon and Sixpence Maugham, W Somerset
58 Bel-Ami Mauppasant, Guy de
59 The North Water McGuire, Ian
60 Docherty McIlvanney, Hugh
61 A Fine Balance Mistry, Rohinton
62 The Redundancy of Courage Mo, Timothy
63 The Colour of Blood Moore, Brian
64 The Bell Murdoch, Iris
65 A House for Mr Biswas Naipaul, VS
66 The Financial Expert Narayan, RK
67 Hamnet O'Farrell, Maggie
68 1984 Orwell, George
69 Jean de Florette Pagnol, Marcel
70 Cry, the Beloved Country Paton, Alan
71 The Sunne in Splendour Penman, Sharon
72 The Memory of the Forest Powers, Charles T
73 The Yellow Birds Powers, Kevin
74 The Shipping News Proulx, Annie
75 The Wedding Queffelec, Yann
76 All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
77 Shame Rushdie, Salman
78 The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark
79 Fame is the Spur Spring, Howard
80 Golden Hill Spufford, Francis
81 The Grapes of Wrath Steinbeck, John
82 This Sporting Life Storey, David
83 Waterland Swift, Graham
84 The Gift of Rain Tan Twan Eng
85 The Heather Blazing Toibin, Colm
86 Lord of the Rings Tolkien, JRR
87 The Road Home Tremain, Rose
88 The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists Tressell, Robert
89 The Children of Dynmouth Trevor, William
90 Breathing Lessons Tyler, Anne
91 Sacred Hunger Unsworth, Barry
92 Rabbit, Run Updike, John
93 The In-Between World of Vikram Lall Vassanji, MG
94 Fingersmith Waters, Sarah
95 Ethan Frome Wharton, Edith
96 The Nickel Boys Whitehead, Colson
97 Night Wiesel, Elie
98 A Picture of Dorian Gray Wilde, Oscar
99 The Shadow of the Wind Zafon, Carlos Ruiz
100 Germinal Zola, Emile

50 GENRE BOOKS
BEST GENRE PICKS

BOUGHT AND READ IN 2022

1. Appaloosa by Robert Parker
2. The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare.
3. Without a Claim by Grace Schulman
4. Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
5. Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller
6. There, There by Tommy Orange
7. Intimacies by Katie Kitamura READ MAR 22
8. Last Train to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin READ JAN 22
9. Another Now by Yanis Varoufakis
10. A Separation by Katie Kitamura
11. Travelling in a Strange Land by David Park
12. Free Food for Millionaires by Lee Min Jee
13. Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller
14. The Lady from Tel Aviv by Rabai Al-Madhoun
15. Run Me to Earth by Paul Yoon
16. Manchester Happened by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
17. The Others by Sarah Blau READ FEB 22
18. The Order of the Day by Eric Vuillard
19. Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay
20. King Cnut by W.B. Bartlett
21. Dear Future Boyfriend by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
22. Ottoman Odyssey by Alev Scott
23. Has the West Lost It? by Kishore Mahbubani
24. A Kind of Intimacy by Jenn Ashworth
25. A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet
26. Blanche on the Lam by Barbara Neely
27. Days in the History of Silence by Merethe Lindstrom Open Library Loan READ JAN 22
28. My Two Worlds by Sergio Chejfec (Open Library Loan) READ JAN 22
29. Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine (Open Library Loan) READ JAN 22
30. Benjamin's Crossing by Jay Parini
31. Outlawed by Anna North
32. Bestiary by K-Ming Chang
33. The Ruin of Kasch by Roberto Calasso
34. Roundabout of Death by Faysal Khartash
35. The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans
36. Salt : A World History by Mark Kurlansky
37. The Greek Myths : The Complete and Definitive Edition by Robert Graves
38. Liar by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen
39. The Histories by Tacitus
40. Silent House by Orhan Pamuk
41. The Generation Game by Sophie Duffy
42. Wild Grass by Ian Johnson
43. This Living and Immortal Thing by Austin Duffy
44. Until I Find Julian by Patricia Reilly Giff
45. The Boy With the Tiger's Heart by Linda Coggin
46. The Day of Silence and Other Stories by George Gissing
47. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams READ APR 22
48. The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney
49. Beast by Paul Kingsnorth
50. The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe
51. Heading Inland by Nicola Barker
52. Rift by Beverley Birch
53. The Cry of the Go-Away Bird by Andrea Eames
54. Modern Gods by Nick Laird
55. Swing Hammer Swing! by Jeff Torrington
56. The Sands of Mars by Arthur C Clarke
57. Coromandel Sea Change by Rumer Godden
58. A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons by Geoffrey Hindley
59. The Profiteers : Bechtel and the Men Who Built the World by Sally Denton
60. In the Wolf's Mouth by Adam Foulds
61. Daydreams of Angels by Heather O'Neill
62. The Red-Haired Woman by Orhan Pamuk
63. Opium by Salar Abdoh
64. The Nest by Kenneth Oppel READ FEB 22
65. Three Light-Years by Andrea Canobbio
66. Prague : A Novel by Arthur Phillips
67. The Lie of the Land by Amanda Craig
68. The Dark Circle by Linda Grant
69. Portable Kisses by Tess Gallagher READ FEB 22
70. Down Among the Wild Men by John Greenway
71. Fate is the Hunter by Ernest K. Gann
72. The Lover of Horses by Tess Gallagher
73. The End of the Day by Bill Clegg
74. The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan
75. The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
76. Mad Boy by Nick Arvin
77. Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World by Fareed Zakaria READ FEB 22
78. Sleeping on Jupiter Anuradha Roy
79. Son of the Century by Antonio Scurati
80. Political Order and Political Decay by Francis Fukuyama
81. The Manningtree Witches by A.D. Blackemore
82. Vertigo by WG Sebald
83. In Memory of Memory by Maria Stepanova
84. Redemption Ground by Lorna Goodison READ FEB 22
85. The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk
86. A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam
87. Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry
88. The Powerful and the Damned by Lionel Barber
89. The Better Half by Sharon Moalem
90. Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
91. Downsizing by Tom Watson
92. Desert Flower by Waris Dirie
93. Common Ground by Naomi Ishiguro
94. The Blue Between Sky and Water by Susan Abulhawa READ MAR 22
95. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari
96. They by Kay Dick
97. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
98. The Silence of Scheherazade by Defne Suman
99. Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford
100. Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa
101. The Tyranny of Merit by Michael J Sandel
102. Surviving Autocracy by Masha Gessen
103. In the Darkroom by Susan Faludi
104. The Inequality Machine by Paul Tough
105. 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson
106. The Fell by Sarah Moss READ MAR 22
107. Beautiful World, Where Are You? by Sally Rooney READ MAR 22
108. Learwife by JR Thorp
109. Matrix by Lauren Groff
110. Ghosted by Jenn Ashworth
111. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers
112. The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey
113. I Will Miss You Tomorrow by Heine Bakkeid
114. The Fine Art of Invisible Detection by Robert Goddard
115. All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton
116. The Late Sun by Christopher Reid
117. A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself by Peter Ho Davies
118. The Interpreters by Wole Soyinka
119. Things in Jars by Jess Kidd
120. A Vicious Circle by Amanda Craig
121. How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue
122. The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
123. The Collapse of Globalism by John Ralston Saul
124. Land : How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World by Simon Winchester
125. Moonglow by Michael Chabon
126. We Are All Birds of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan
127. The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
128. Fault Lines by Emily Itami
129. Tenderness by Alison MacLeod
130. The Cold Millions by Jess Walter
131. The Great Level by Stella Tillyard
132. The Pact We Made by Layla Alammar
133. Spring by Ali Smith
134. Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith
135. The Bread the Devil Knead by Lisa Allen-Agostini
136. The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
137. The Book of Form & Emptiness Ruth Ozeki
138. This One Sky Day by Leone Ross
139. The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton
140. The Push by Audrey Audrain
141. When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
142. A Very Nice Girl by Imogen Crimp
143. Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia
144. The Familiars by Stacey Halls
145. Ill Feelings by Alice Hattrick
146. How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
147. Burntcoat by Sarah Hall
148. We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates
149. Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
150. Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung
151. Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
152. Assembly by Natasha Brown
153. The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley
154. Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson
155. The Colony by Audrey Magee
156. For the Good Times by David Keenan
157. The Anarchy by William Dalrymple
158. The Lost Girls of Rome by Donato Carrisi
159. Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
160. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
161. Imperium by Ryszard Kapuscinski
162. Only Killers and Thieves by Paul Howarth
163. Southernmost by Silas House
164. A Man by Keichiro Hirano
165. Signs for Lost Children by Sarah Moss
166. Songbirds by Christy Lefteri
167. Pandemic by A.G. Riddle
168. The Philosopher Kings by Jo Walton
169. Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
170. Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
171. My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
172. The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
173. Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
174. Male Tears by Benjamin Myers
175. Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy READ APR 22
176. The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
177. The Moon and Sixpence by W Somerset Maugham READ APR 22
178. The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene
179. The Bell by Iris Murdoch
180. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
181. The Sandcastle by Iris Murdoch
182. Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
183. Call it Sleep by Henry Roth
184. The Clocks in this House All Tell Different Times by Xan Brooks
185. The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
186. O'Pioneers by Willa Cather
187. The Four Winds by Kristin Hann
188. The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy
189. Nostalgia by Mircea Cărtărescu
190. Mansfield Park by Jane Austin
191. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
192. The Kingdom by Emmanuel Carrere
193. Push by Sapphire
194. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
195. Brighton Rock by Graham Greene READ APR 22
196. Dignity by Alys Conran
197. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark READ APR 22
198. Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
199. A Burnt Out Case by Graham Greene
200. The Rack by A.E. Ellis
|201. Autumn by Karl Ove Knausgaard READ MAR 22
202. Winter by Karl Ove Knausgaard
203. Spring by Karl Ove Knausgaard
204. Summer by Karl Ove Knausgaard
205. The Magician by Colm Toibin
206. Cakes and Ale by W. Somerset Maugham
207. Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
208. Careless by Kirsty Capes
209. Pilgrims Way by Abdulrazak Gurnah READ APR 22
210. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
211. The Angel of History by Rabih Alameddine
212. The President's Gardens by Muhsin Al-Ramli
213. In the Country by Mia Alvar
214. Poetry Will Save Your Life by Jill Bialosky
215. Multitudes by Lucy Caldwell
216. Confession of the Lioness by Mia Couto
217. Transit by Rachel Cusk
218. West by Carys Davies
219. In the Name of the Family by Sarah Dunant
220. The Informers by Bret Easton Ellis
221. The Witches of St. Petersburg by Imogen Edwards-Jones
222. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
223. The Turner House by Angela Fournoy
224. A Tall History of Sugar by Curdella Forbes
225. Old Men in Love by Alasdair Gray
226. The Quiet American by Graham Greene
227. The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths
228. Delicate Edible Birds by Lauren Groff
229. The Evening Road by Laird Hunt
230. Hitman Anders and the Meaning of it All by Jonas Jonasson
231. The Transition by Luke Kennard
232. A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline
233. Under the Net by Iris Murdoch
234. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
235. The Man Without a Shadow by Joyce Carol Oates
236. Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje
237. Almost Love by Louise O'Neill
238. The Portrait by Willem Jan Otten
239. First Love by Gwendoline Riley
240. Looking for Mr. Goodbar by Judith Rossner
241. The Humbling by Philip Roth
242. The Butt by Will Self
243. The World to Come by Jim Shepard
244. The Gallery of Vanished Husbands by Natasha Solomons
245. The Dictionary of Animal Languages by Heidi Sopinka
246. In the Days of Rain by Rebecca Stott
247. The Neighborhood by Mario Vargas Llosa
248. Remember Me by Fay Weldon
249. Kipps by HG Wells
250. Resolution by A.N. Wilson
251. Animalia by Jean Baptiste Del Amo
252. The Autumn of the Ace by Louis de Bernieres
253. White Chrysanthemum by Mary Lynn Bracht
254. The Mother by Yvette Edwards
255. The Human Factor by Graham Greene
256. Memory of Departure by Abdulrazak Gurnah
257. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
258. Pandora's Jar by Natalie Haynes
259. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
260. Writers & Lovers by Lily King
261. Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
262. The Painted Veil by W Somerset Maugham
263. The Razor's Edge by W Somerset Maugham
264. On Politics by Alan Ryan
265. The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson
266. Batlava Lake by Adam Mars-Jones
267. Dottie by Abdulrazak Gurnah
268. Vilette by Charlotte Bronte
269. Sovietistan by Erika Fatland
270. Mother Mother : The Sunday Times Bestseller by Annie Macmanus
271. Evelina by Fanny Burney
272. Go Big by Ed Milliband
273. Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles
274. A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson
275. 20 Fragment of a Ravenous Youth by Xiaolu Guo
276. Bomber by Len Deighton
277. Mrs England by Stacey Halls READ APR 22
278. The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoevsky
279. Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
280. Elective Affinities by Johann Wolfgang Goethe
281. The Cruel Way by Ella Maillart
282. Travels With Herodotus by Ryszard Kapuscinski
283 The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
284 The Abyss and Other Stories by Leonid Andreyev
285 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
286 The School for Good Mothers Jessamine Chan
287 Dear Child by Romy Hausmann
288 Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz
289 The Answer to Everything by Luke Kennard
290 Good Neighbours by Sarah Langan
291 The Couple Next Door Shari Lapena
292 Pleasantville by Attica Locke
293 She Lies in Wait Gytha Lodge
294 How to Disappear by Gillian McAllister
295 Little Girl Lost by Brian McGilloway
296 Paradise Lost by John Milton
297 The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid
298 Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
299 On the Eve by Ivan Turgenev
300 Ten Great Works of Philosophy commentaries by Robert Paul Wolff
includes:
301 The Death of Socrates by Plato
302 Poetics by Aristotle
303 Meditations on the First Philosophy by Rene Descartes
304 An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David Hume
305 Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics by Immanuel Kant
306 Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill
307 The Will to Believe by William James
308. The Waves by Virginia Woolf
309. The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford
310. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
311. The New Oxford Book of War Poetry edited by Jon Stallworthy
312. The Wish Child by Catherine Chidgey
313. Peril at End House by Agatha Christie
314. The Foundling by Stacey Halls
315. Remote Sympathy by Catherine Chidgey
316. Prep by Curtis Sittenfield
317. The Years by Virginia Woolf
318. Darkness Visible by William Golding
319. The Last Family in England by Matt Haig
320. Seasons of Purgatory by Shahriar Mandanipour
321. Painting Time by Maylis de Kerangal
322. Naked Earth by Eileen Chang
323. Child of God by Cormac McCarthy\
324. River by Esther Kinsky
325. Stet by Diana Athill
326. Animal by Lisa Tadeo
327. The Silent Woman by Janet Malcolm
328. Sonnets by William Shakespeare
329. The Italian by Ann Radcliffe
330. Flamingo by Rachel Elliott
331. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (replacement as someone borrowed it and failed to return it)
332. Suttree by Cormac McCarthy (I closed the book and left it on the train station platform)
333 Dark Avenues by Ivan Bunin
334 The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
335 The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen
336 Wild Palms by William Faulkner
337 Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez
338 The Mother by Maxim Gorky
339 Cathedral by Ben Hopkins
340 Lady Chatterley's Lover by DH Lawrence
341 The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy
342 The Wall by Jean-Paul Sartre
343 Desiree by Annemarie Selinko
344 In America by Susan Sontag
345 Smoke by Ivan Turgenev
346 Virgin Soil by Ivan Turgenev
347 The Castle of Otranto by Hugh Walpole
348 The Attack on the Mill by Emile Zola
349. The Cutting Room by Louise Welsh
350. The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
351. Things I Don't Want to Know by Deborah Levy
352. Real Estate by Deborah Levy
353. Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin
354. Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
355. Dark Neighbourhood by Vanessa Onwuemezi
356. Katalin Street by Magda Szabo
357. The Confusions of Young Torless by Robert Musil
358. The Devil's Dance by Hamid Ismailov
359. The Behaviour of Love by Virginia Reeves
360. A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos
361. All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
362. Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy
363. Complete Poems of John Keats by John Keats
364. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
365. Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann
366. Martin Eden by Jack London
367. War and War by Laszlo Krasznahorkai
368. Selected Poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley by Percy Bysshe Shelley
369. After the Sun by Jonas Eika
370. Selected Poetical Works of Blake by William Blake
371. The Poetry of Lord Byron by George Byron
372. Daughters of the Labyrinth by Ruth Padel
373. Gigi by Colette
374. Zorrie by Laird Hunt
375. Love in Idleness by Amanda Craig
376. Myra Breckinridge by Gore Vidal
377. The Slaughterman's Daughter by Yaniv Iczkovits
378. Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
379. Blaming by Elizabeth Taylor
380. Salt Lick by Lulu Allison
381. Wilhelm Meister by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
382. The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
383. Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah
384. Middle Passage by Charles Johnson
385. The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez
386. First Person Singular by Haruki Murakami
387. Salka Valka by Halldor Laxness
388. My Cleaner by Maggie Gee
389. The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz
390. The Diving Pool by Yoko Ogawa
391. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
392. A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin
393. Enon by Paul Harding
394. Purposes of Love by Mary Renault
395. The Guts by Roddy Doyle
396. Lanterne Rouge by Max Leonard
397. In One Person by John Irving
398. Lucky Breaks by Yevgenia Belorusets
399. Lean Fall Stand by John McGregor
400. The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
401. The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante
402. Murmur by Will Eaves
403. The Pugilist at Rest by Thom Jones
404. My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson
405. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

ADDED : 405
READ : 21
BALANCE : 384

BOOKS OF THE MONTH

January - Small Things Like These
February - If Beale Street Could Talk
March - Intimacies
April - Mrs England

BOOK STATS

Books read : 64
Books added : 405

Days per book : 1.88
Projected total : 195
LT yearly best : 157

Pages read (completed books) : 14,216
Daily average : 118.47
Projected total : 43,240

Longest Book : 722 pages
Shortest Book : 44 pages
Average Book Length : 222.13

Gender
Male : 36
Female : 26
Various : 2

Genre :
Graphic Books : 1
Poetry : 11
Thriller/Mystery : 4
Non Fiction : 12
Fiction : 33
SF/Fantasy : 3

Origin :
USA : 13
UK : 23
Turkey : 3
Germany : 1
Egypt : 1
Ireland : 4
Norway : 2
Argentina : 1
Canada : 2
Iceland : 1
Netherlands : 1
Jamaica : 1
Israel : 2
Iraq : 1
Syria : 1
Papua New Guinea : 1
Oman : 1
Italy : 1
Tanzania : 1
Iran : 1
Various : 2

Challenges :
British Author Challenge : 3
American Author Challenge : 3
Non-Fiction Challenge : 1
Asian Book Challenge : 15
New Nobel Laureates : 1
1001 Books First Edition : 3
Guardian 1000 Books : 4
Around the World Books : 12
Holocaust Reading : 2
Booker Winners : 2
Pulitzer Winners : 1
Rebecca NYC Reads : 1

Next is yours

happy new one!

Happy new thread!

>18 figsfromthistle: Two threads in a row, Anita, you take the virtual bookshelf:

>19 amanda4242: Lovely as always to see you here bright and early, Amanda. x

Happy new thread!

>1 PaulCranswick: Oh, who wouldn't like to return to such beauty?!?

>22 quondame: It really is a lovely part of the world, Susan with Quimper and Quimperle a little farther along the coast being favourites of mine too.

Happy new thread.

>24 WhiteRaven.17: Thanks Kro - it is great seeing you settle into the group so quickly.

>2 PaulCranswick: Hopefully I will be getting to that one next month. Maugham is a favorite author of mine, especially in my younger days. I do not read him hardly any more, which is a shame.

Happy new thread, Juan :)

>26 alcottacre: Thank you, Juana.

He was a tremendously observant fellow when it came to the finer points of human nature

Happy new thread, Paul!

>1 PaulCranswick: Lovely place. I would love to go there some day.

Happy new thread!

Wordle 303 3/6

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Happy new thread, Paul. What a stunning topper!

Happy new one! It is a beautiful pic.

>28 FAMeulstee: I'm sure that you would like it in Brittany, Anita.

>29 Kristelh: Thanks Kristel

>30 Kristelh: 3 is a good score with that word.

>31 jessibud2: Thanks Shelley!

>32 drneutron: Thanks Jim

Happy New Thread!

Thanks to your favorites list. I read The Plague by Camus this month, and I really enjoyed it. Scarily prescient with what's occurred around here the last couple years. :)

ETA - years, not days

Hi, Paul! Happy new thread! Lovely photo up top. I'd like to spend some time there too! Unfortunately, my traveling days are pretty much over, I think. Unless, by the time we get the pandemic under control (for real), I find more energy (and money).

Anyway, cheers!

That's a beautiful French town topping your thread!

Happy new thread Paul

Another new thread! Beautiful photo up top.

>27 PaulCranswick: Oh, yeah. One need only read his short stories to find that out!

Happy whatever, Paul.

Happy new thread! I love the topper photo. I'm currently listening to one of the Bruno, Chief of Police audiobooks. The series is set in France, and the books always make me want to visit. Not on the coast, though.

Hi Paul, happy new thread mate. Not a bad weekend with Yorkshire getting a good win away to Gloucestershire and in Division two another Compton making his mark with a third century in three innings. I was disappointed that he wasn't able to join an elite group in carrying his bat in both innings with a hundred although by all accounts it was a shocking LBW decision against him.

Three double hundreds in the Derbyshire V Sussex game with Sussex young captain, Tom Haines getting 243 and involved in a stand of 351 with Cheteshwar Pujara who completed his double hundred to go with Shan Masood's 239 for Derbyshire.

So Rob Key is the new managing director, let's see what happens now as he is known to be unhappy with how the County Championship is structured and wants changes.

>36 mahsdad: Thanks Jeff. Glad that I helped introduce The Plague as it is a really powerful work.

>37 Storeetllr: Hi Mary! When travel settles down somewhat I am definitely going to try to make up for lost time with a few LT meet-ups prioritised.

>38 thornton37814: The Brittany towns Vannes, Quimper and Quimperle have a real olde world charm about them Lori - beautiful places!

>39 ArlieS: Thank you Arlie. Always a pleasure to have you visit.

>40 AnneDC: Thanks Anne - onward and upward in thread #16!

>41 alcottacre: He is also extremely quotable, Stasia and with his short story ability drags you straight into his tales.

>42 cbl_tn: Carrie, I am not one of the Brits who hates the French - always loved their culture, their literature, their film, their gastronomy, their women!

>43 johnsimpson: Key is an interesting choice and I am pleasantly surprised because he is quite a down to earth character. Only reservation is that he is a Crawley cheerleader and - for me - someone who can barely average 30 should not be our great batting hope. His opening partner at Kent though, Compton, has come from nowhere and l\ooks to be made of the right stuff - three innings three centuries career average in the sixties. Parkinson also showed why is is obviously the best English spinner.

Happy new thread, PC.

I envy all your travels throughout your life! I stop by to say hello and thank you for continuing to visit my thread even though I haven't been active.

Soon, I hope all will be well and my attention span will not be limited. All good wishes to you!

>48 richardderus: Thank you RD.

>49 Whisper1: Your threads will always be a port of call for me, Linda - I always remember my friends. xx

It is funny that I am casting backwards over the places I have been to and spent time in having been marooned here since 2019.

>46 PaulCranswick: I agree!

>53 PaulCranswick: Here he is with an observation on the female nature:

"for I did not know then how great a part is played in women's life by the opinion of others. It throws a shadow of insincerity over their most deeply held emotions."

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Real skin of the teether - spent a fair few minutes on the last guess to avoid my first loss.

Finished Bleak House today. I enjoyed it and must say I did not appreciate (or maybe even recognize?) Dickens' humor when I was young. The Bagnets just killed me: "Discipline must be maintained."

>54 justchris: Never did catch you up, Chris but I will be right behind you! So pleased that you enjoyed it.

Book #56

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Mrs England by Stacey Halls
Publication Date : 2021
Origin of Author : UK
Pages : 425 pp

This is a thoroughly absorbing work of historical fiction.
Wonderful sense of place and with excellent characterisation, the real winners here are her splendid narrative drive and the reader who is treated to an immersive experience that is rare in today's modern fiction.
Kudos to Ms. Halls and I will certainly go and gobble up her two earlier novels.

>56 PaulCranswick: That looks interesting, though I prefer my historical fiction a bit more, well, historical by a couple of centuries.

>57 quondame: Yes, Susan, it is firmly grounded in the North of England in Northern England and she does recreate the atmosphere of a mill owning family. I do give it an unreserved recommendation.

Hi Paul - just checking in. I missed a thread (or possibly two, I've lost track).
Love the topper - never actually been to Vannes, but Brittany is one of my favourite places. The smaller areas along the coast mainly - Guilvinec area and that whole coast line. I'd love to get back there this summer (heads off to search for Gites).

>59 BekkaJo: If I do make it back to Europe this year then I can see a few short trips on the horizon including revisits to Brittany and Amsterdam.

Always a pleasure to see you Bekka\

Happy new thread, Paul.

This morning I have finally started to read a book again, and I'm relieved that I still know how to do it.

>62 PaulCranswick: I am overjoyed to see you here and back reading. xx

>59 BekkaJo: I hadn't paid much attention to the topper until you said something. It does look like a beautiful area.

Paul, to bring up a convo from the previous thread--how did you come to your particular blend of supplements to manage your BP? It certainly sounds interesting.

>63 justchris: It is a special place and the Bretons are a wilful and proud bunch.

I can't remember exactly where I stumbled upon the information on my BP controls but it was via plenty of reading and Internet searches on natural BP remedies. I experimented a little and while they work for me I am not so sure that everybody is the same! I was sure in my case though I didnt want the side effects from pharma induced treatments.

I look forward to your opening images of beautiful places where you lived.. Do you go over many memories as you post the images?

In hindsight, I wish I would have purchased the family home located in a small town north of where I currently live. There were so very many wonderful memories. However, I never liked small-town life and the gossipy people who somehow found their way into the details of the lives of those living in the town. Yet, I cannot take the house and physically move it to another town. The memories are all a part of the local color.

Sending wishes for a wonderful day to you!

>52 PaulCranswick: I despise authors who know how I am by nature, and insist on telling me things I didn't know and still don't believe about myself.

>65 Whisper1: The thought processes that go into deciding my thread opening locations definitely evoke a lot of memories - mostly but not all of them positive ones, Linda.

I know exactly what you mean about moving the right home from the wrong place and I would have gladly transported my apartment to Europe these last years.

>66 ArlieS: I think it would be a tiresome world, Arlie, if the only writers we could enjoy were those whose world view we agreed with. Maugham was a terrible cynic but had fizzing dialogue, great turns of phrase and the ability to tell a story like few others could.

>10 PaulCranswick: re your worldwide reading challenge....you have to hit China! That would give good coverage for your map (#readingstrategically). ;)

Happy new one! The top image is wonderful, I love the look of that beach.

I'll be starting Weaveworld this weekend, Paul. Think you'll be able to join me?

Weaveworld! That’s good one. I hope you enjoy it.

>69 LovingLit: I was just over at your trendy new digs, Megan, similarly wishing you!
July is come what may China in the Asian Book Challenge so the map will get coloured in very soon!

>70 amanda4242: I hope to mix the past and the future this weekend with two books 130 years apart - Bleak House and Weaveworld

>71 drneutron: it has been on my bucket list for 25 years, Jim! As you know I have a big bucket!

>64 PaulCranswick: Clearly, I haven't done enough reading yet. Right now, I'm tackling the exercise angle. Though I did skip my aqua aerobics class tonight. I do hope to make it to the running class tomorrow, having missed the first 2 weeks. I'm sure it'll be a painful restart for me. Plus, a commitment to run outside of class for homework. Interval training, which is doable, I think. I miss my jobs that had all the exercise built into them. And yet I don't miss them too.

>74 justchris: Vigorous exercise is a difficult but probably very sustainable way of resolving most health issues in the medium term, Chris. I would certainly recommend that you add more garlic to your diet and see whether it has beneficial properties for you.

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Steady but sure!

Wordle 305 5/6

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>77 Kristelh: Different avenues to the same destination, Kristel!

Happy new thread, Paul! I haven't always commented on your thread toppers, I think, but they've all been lovely and this one is especially gorgeous.

Your reading is still blowing me out of the water this year. Have you ever reached 75 as fast as you're on pace to do this year? I'm looking to be right around my usual of 120-130 so far, up to 39 and anticipating finishing at least a couple more books in the next ten days.

Hope you have a great day!

BOOK #57

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The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham
Publication Date : 1919
Origin of Author : UK
Pages : 217 pp

Read for Maugham author reassessment Book 1/6

There are so many things to love about being told a story by Maugham - a narrative style that is clear and always entertaining, fizzing dialogue, plenty of wit - it is easy to see that he often wrote for the stage.

There is also more cynicism than I recall of story of artistic single-mindedness which takes some liberties with the life of Gauguin.

I still loved this but I am not as sure it is really any longer a contender for absolute favourite.

BOOK #58



Poems of Giosue Carducci by Giosue Carducci
Collection Published in English : 1907
Origin of Author : Italy
Pages : 175 pp

Carducci was the first Italian writer to win the Nobel Prize and translations in English are rare.

His was a very hyperbolic style, pastoral, passionate and largely overwrought. There is something quite Blakean about many of the verses in this dual language edition although when he slips into narrative poetry he can call to mind Tennyson.

Whilst there were couplets that moved me it is plain to see why the early Nobels have not stood the test of time

>81 PaulCranswick: Hm. Pukey prize-winning poetry from Piedmontese person. Color me stunned.

>80 PaulCranswick: Appreciation without veneration is a pretty good result after decades of not re-reading, IMO. It's an experiment I'm afraid to undertake very often for fear of some major disappointments.

Happy Thursday in a few hours.

>82 richardderus: Heh. I have had such disappointments along the way, such that I too fear to revisit early beloveds.

>82 richardderus: Reading Carducci, RD, makes me realise where your love of poetry comes from. Some of it really was "pukey".
I have read so much of the six authors that I chose that major disappointment is unlikely but readjustment is probable. "Appreciation without veneration is a lovely phrase.

>83 justchris: Anticipation more than trepidation here, Chris.

Happy new thread, Paul. Will the book buying cease once Hani gets there?

>85 Familyhistorian: Great to see you, Meg.

Undoubtedly!

>84 PaulCranswick: It seems like a fitting concept, eh what? You're not that reader anymore, but you can still see what he saw.

>84 PaulCranswick:, >83 justchris: The risks don't really match the potential rewards anymore, or mostly they don't, so there are fewer and fewer re-reads. I find I don't miss 'em.

>87 richardderus: As you know, RD, I am not really a re-reader and with 5,000 or so books unread on the shelves I had better not be. Specifically I am doing a reassessment of a few writers but it won't become a habit

>56 PaulCranswick: I already have that one in the BlackHole or I would be adding it again.

>80 PaulCranswick: I will be reading that one next month. I am not sure I have ever read that one of Maugham's or not.

>80 PaulCranswick: I would wholeheartedly recommend Mrs England, Stasia. Super book.

>90 PaulCranswick: I just need my local library to obtain a copy!

>91 alcottacre: In terms of sheer reading pleasure, it is probably the best thing that I have read in 2022 thus far.

>88 PaulCranswick: TBH this is the reason I get a little antsy...projecting my response onto your as-yet-unknown one!

Hello Paul! I love your thread topper. I have only been as far as Nantes where Bretagne is concerned, although my brother and the family of our exchange student just spent their Easter holidays there. Someday...

Hope you're having a good week.

>93 richardderus: Hahaha no problem, RD, I am sure that I won't take to re-reading other than as an exception to a rule. We are far more alike in our reading outlook than either of us probably credits - Chuckles and poultry occasionally to one side.

>94 AMQS: Nantes is not perhaps the most picturesque that Brittany gets, Anne, but it is a fine city. I spent more time in Rennes than there but I do recall visiting a time or two. My cycling team was actually based in the city of Rennes but I stayed in Vannes for the most part.

>92 PaulCranswick: That's an enticing recommendation, Paul, and my library has it on order.

>92 PaulCranswick: Wow, that is saying something!

>97 Familyhistorian: It has also helped me get my reading mojo back in harness which had been slipping somewhat. Since finishing it on Monday, I have completed three more books and made good inroads with another three. Go and borrow it Meg!

>98 alcottacre: I just thought that it was good old fashioned storytelling, Stasia.

I've read 3 Somerset Maugham; Of Human Bondage, Razor's Edge, and The Painted Vale. I've rated all of them high. I gave Of Human Bondage 5 stars and the other 2 4 stars. The one that sticks with me the most is The Painted Vale. The remaining one for me to read is Cakes and Ale

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Happy new thread, Paul!
>1 PaulCranswick: what a wonderful picture of a wonderful area.
I wish you a wonderful day.

>100 Kristelh: I have read everything by Maugham, Kristel and he has never let me down. It may be a typo or auto correct but it is The Painted Veil not "Vale". Although to be fair your title is more poetic!

>102 SirThomas: Great to see you Thomas. The day is irksome because my keyboard seems to have given up the ghost completely and I am on my phone.

>104 PaulCranswick: Probably on strike again for better working conditions 😉.
It may need more coffee breaks....

>105 SirThomas: Hahaha that is a good idea, Thomas!

>103 PaulCranswick: careless of me, of course, generally the reason for spelling errors. But The Painted Veil was very good. I thought it should be on the 1001 list.
Wordle 306 5/6

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>107 Kristelh: I am on this blasted phone, Kristel and it auto corrects with its predictive text function pretty much every other word so I need to be careful!

Knopf Poetry online has a poem you might enjoy "The Train Arriving at Platform Two"

>80 PaulCranswick: Being reminded that I should read more of Maugham. I liked his play The Constant Wife - really loved The Painted Veil - and some short stories I read years back.

I sneaked in while you were posting reviews, so you missed me in >79 bell7: 🙂

I'm about fifty pages into Weaveworld and see what you mean about needing to devour it!

>109 m.belljackson: Thanks Marianne, I will go and look for that.

>110 ctpress: Nice to see you Carsten. You can tell that he was an accomplished playwright in his excellent dialogue.

>111 bell7: I hate missing posts, Mary, so I am pleased that you let me know.
To answer your earlier question I have managed 75 in June before so I am well ahead of "normal".

>112 amanda4242: Told ya! I read 200 pages of it yesterday and I also read from two other books!

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/341325

>1 PaulCranswick: Beautiful picture, Paul. Would love to visit, that coastline looks so interesting.

Have a good reading weekend!

>116 SilverWolf28: Thanks Silver. It will help me whizz through Bleak House and Weaveworld all being well.

>117 EllaTim: Brittany is very underestimated, Ella. Not as warm as the Cote D'Azur (nowhere near as expensive either) but it is one of the two places that I love to return to the other being the Languedoc-Roussillon coast near Perpignan (Argeles sur Mer, Collioure and Port Vendres) another place that I frequented often in training camps (which were usually at the less idyllic Canet Plage).

Happy whatever, Paul!

>119 alcottacre: same to you Stasia as you glide towards the weekend

Added this lunchtime:

349. The Cutting Room by Louise Welsh
350. The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
351. Things I Don't Want to Know by Deborah Levy
352. Real Estate by Deborah Levy
353. Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin
354. Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
355. Dark Neighbourhood by Vanessa Onwuemezi
356. Katalin Street by Magda Szabo
357. The Confusions of Young Torless by Robert Musil
358. The Devil's Dance by Hamid Ismailov
359. The Behaviour of Love by Virginia Reeves
360. A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos
361. All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
362. Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy

Wordle 307 3/6

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>122 PaulCranswick: Wow! That one came easy.

>121 PaulCranswick: So Hani's not home yet, eh?

When's Ramadan done?

>122 PaulCranswick: A sudden flash of light, RD!

Hani isn't on her way just yet but her BP is improving slowly.

Yasmyne will be here on Tuesday though and I will be seeing my eldest for the first time in three years!

I think the last day of fasting is on the 2nd of May, dear fellow.

Hopefully a weekend filled with books:

Weaveworld to finish (I am past halfway already)
The Paper Palace
Pilgrims Way
Bleak House
and
The Saddlebag

>125 PaulCranswick: I'm at forty percent on Weaveworld so I'm catching up despite your head start!

>127 PaulCranswick: Knew ya would! I'm at almost 2/3ds of the way through and I reckon it will get completed tonight.\\\

Well, Paul, I’m two entire threads behind even if it’s only been 23 days. Happy new thread, #16.

From your 14th thread, message 150: 46th with 30 books read. 46 – 30 = 16, = 2 times my lucky number 8.

Glad to hear that Kyran can return to Malaysia and study online.

I’m sorry that Hani’s blood pressure is so high. I’m glad she’s going on medication and hope that she can successfully bring it down enough to fly soon.

You have a bad case of tsundoku, my friend. In the best possible sense of the word, because I know you intend to read/re-read most, if not all of them. *smile*

>124 PaulCranswick: I’m so glad you’ll get to see Yasmyne on Tuesday and that Hani’s BP is slowly improving.

>128 karenmarie: Lovely to see you, Karen. I am a bit more absent these few days - firstly because I am engrossed in books but mainly because of computer keyboard issues.

I am so much looking forward to seeing Yasmyne as it has been far too long. Hani will soon join her in her rightful place here in Malaysia.

Not sure what is "ailing" me at the moment but I do seem to have a bit of an urge to retrospection just at the moment.

Wordle 308 4/6

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No scares today.

>130 PaulCranswick: 307 was scary indeed.

>125 PaulCranswick: The Saddlebag looks excellent! Another cursèd book-bullet from you, foul fiend!

>131 richardderus: I was not as inspired with #308, RD.

Only a little way into The Saddlebag but so far I seem to have picked a good one.

>124 PaulCranswick: Glad the family will start landing soon Paul.

>132 PaulCranswick: I bought this a while back, I should nudge up the pile.

I really should read some more Maugham soon. What I read, I read in my 20s. I certainly have The Painted Veil somewhere, and his notebooks.

>133 Caroline_McElwee: Maugham is a writer from my past and I am facing the fact as Richard predicted that I have changed in my tastes but I am also re-confirming that my likes and prejudices are pretty much what they were! Great writer in terms of the telling of tales.

>121 PaulCranswick: re your recent Cormac McCarthy purchases...I hear he has two new ones coming out in a few months. I loved the All the Pretty Horses trilogy, so will look forward to eventually reading something new from him.

>135 LovingLit: I want to read all of his books, Megan. I did read Blood Meridian but was in a bad place when I went through it and skimmed a lot of the bits that I couldn't then stomach and I need to do it justice. I also read The Road which was powerful but not entirely enjoyable.

He must be a candidate for the Nobel prize this October/November.

Oh, a Nobel for McCarthy would be awesome.

Hi Paul, Just looked it up and C. McCarthy will publish The Passenger Oct. 25th and Stella Maris Nov. 22nd and a box set of the two Dec. 6th. I must get to his third in the trilogy!

>137 drneutron: It seemed perverse to me, Jim, as much as I admire the songwriting of Bob Dylan, that he won the Nobel whilst people like McCarthy was overlooked. I have a feeling that Asia Pacific will get a turn this year but hopefully in 2023. I have a feeling that Japan or China will win the award this time and my money is on Yoko Ogawa - the Nobel Committee is too perverse to give the award to Murakami.

>138 mdoris: I will also look forward to a new book from him as it does seem to have been a while.

>139 PaulCranswick: Never read any Ogawa - guess I’ll have to fix that!

>141 drneutron: She is just the kind of leftfield choice they may throw into the mix but they could just as easily look to Ukraine with Oksana Zabuzhko or Andrey Kurkov.

The former in particular is a pretty impressive character. Here she is addressing the European Parliament last month:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOegUdSOHlc

And this is Kurkov two weeks ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D_s1TLKGcc

You are not helping me burn down my TBR, friend! 😀

>143 drneutron: Not trying to either Roc Doc!

I must buy Kurkov's new novel, Grey Bees (even if to show I'm not helping myself either!)

Happy weekend, Paul! Good luck on your reading.

>145 banjo123: Thanks Rhonda. Some completion soon to announce, I hope!

I went to Kino to see if they had any books by Oksana Zabuzhko. They didn't but I didn't waste the opportunity:

363. Complete Poems of John Keats by John Keats
364. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
365. Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann
366. Martin Eden by Jack London
367. War and War by Laszlo Krasznahorkai
368. Selected Poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley by Percy Bysshe Shelley
369. After the Sun by Jonas Eika
370. Selected Poetical Works of Blake by William Blake
371. The Poetry of Lord Byron by George Byron
372. Daughters of the Labyrinth by Ruth Padel
373. Gigi by Colette
374. Zorrie by Laird Hunt
375. Love in Idleness by Amanda Craig
376. Myra Breckinridge by Gore Vidal
377. The Slaughterman's Daughter by Yaniv Iczkovits
378. Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
379. Blaming by Elizabeth Taylor
380. Salt Lick by Lulu Allison
381. Wilhelm Meister by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
382. The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
383. Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah
384. Middle Passage by Charles Johnson
385. The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez
386. First Person Singular by Haruki Murakami
387. Salka Valka by Halldor Laxness
388. My Cleaner by Maggie Gee
389. The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz
390. The Diving Pool by Yoko Ogawa
391. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
392. A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin

>147 PaulCranswick: Wow!

Zorrie should have landed here last week, but is delayed to between 12 May-17 June apparently, though sometimes delayed books do land earlier than estimate.

ETA: It's due to land today.

>148 Caroline_McElwee: I have been looking out for that one for a while, Caroline and I was pleased to see that one and Salt Lick. The Alma Classics are a great boon for me and there are lovely volumes added recently with Keats, Shelley, Blake, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton and Byron now in single volumes at home.

Wordle 309 4/6

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My most usual score!

Went back through my records and I have now played 99 games. Here are my stats:

Played 99
Won 99

1 guess = 0
2 guesses = 2
3 guesses = 19
4 guesses = 46
5 guesses = 22
6 guesses = 10

>151 PaulCranswick: I've played 84 games with a win rate of 98%. Like you, I'm heavily 4'd...up to 30 now, with today's 4.

>147 PaulCranswick: I hope your creative shelving skills are in top form, or Hani's B.P. is due for a scary event.

>152 richardderus: She will be able to see a lot more cramming if she looks very carefully!

>154 KaitlynDowie: Happy Sunday spammie!

>147 PaulCranswick: Well done, Paul!

There was a small bookshop here in Amsterdam, that had more books than space. They had double sliding bookcases. You might start looking into some option like that? ;-)

>121 PaulCranswick: >147 PaulCranswick: Nice hauls, Juan! You are beating me, hands down, these days.

>156 EllaTim: Thanks Ella - feeling a bit guilty but not so much!

>157 alcottacre: I am flying with additions, Stasia, but reading 'em is a different matter!

>136 PaulCranswick: I read Blood Meridian for a class in high school (a senior elective called Violence, Morality, and Human Nature) and probably wouldn't have ever picked it up otherwise! I know I wrote an essay on it but have no idea what it was about at this point. I did love The Road and All the Pretty Horses when I got to them on my own; I should continue with the next two books of the AtPH series at some point. I think I have The Crossing on my shelves. Agree that McCarthy would be a worthy Nobel recipient.

>160 curioussquared: I am sure that he would be a worthy winner, Natalie. He is one of the few modern writers who scholars of classics laud.

Wordle 310 5/6

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My 100th game and it was a strange one. 100 games and 100 wins.

>147 PaulCranswick: “didn’t waste the opportunity…”

29 books. Yep, you didn’t waste the opportunity! 😂

>162 PaulCranswick: First time ever I had no yellow letters at all.

Wordle 310 3/6

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I've finished Weaveworld! I would have rated it five stars except I've read Imajica and know Barker is capable of even grander wonders.

>163 drneutron: Bit worried Roc Doc with you calculating the rockets - there are 30 books!

>164 FAMeulstee: Interesting way to get all your ducks quickly into a row, Anita!

>165 amanda4242: I have also just done finished it and it is a solid 4 star read. Great imaginative fiction and strong storyline but I thought the occasional descent into crudity a bit jarring even from the open-minded fellow!

>167 PaulCranswick: the occasional descent into crudity a bit jarring even from the open-minded fellow!


Yeah, Barker's not one to shy away from, well, anything!

>168 amanda4242: That is true although I have to say that I will read his other books now safe in the knowledge that he is a storyteller par excellence.

>147 PaulCranswick: I hope you love #378 as much as i do. I very rarely fall in love with a book. #366 is partly set where I grew up.

Ah, there you are Paul. Happy newish thread!

The area in your thread topper looks beautiful, though I have no idea where it is. I've been looking at pictures of Cornwall recently because we're hoping to visit it (for the first time!) in June and they look similar (though with more cliffs).

>170 RBeffa: You were in my thoughts, Ron, actually as I had your glowing review in my mind when I came across the book in the store. Shows the value of the group in terms of generating book sales!

Martin Eden is set mainly in San Francisco isn't it?

>171 humouress: The photo is of the Morbihan coast in Brittany, Nina. Cornwall is a favourite of mine with places like Fowey and Mevagissey being particularly good sports that I have visited previously.

>166 PaulCranswick: Fortunately, I don't have to count to make rockets... Differential equations, on the other hand, nailed 'em. 😀

>172 PaulCranswick: Yes Martin Eden is set in and around San Francisco, as are many of London's stories. If I remember correctly there is a scene where he is hiking somewhere where I went when I was much younger. I found it a disappointing read some years ago. I hope you have a better reaction. I seem to have deleted it from my LT catalog. Nowadays I mark the books as read but unowned when I send them off to find new homes.

I'm re-reading parts of the Setterfield novel at the moment before starting a new one. There is such a large cast of characters and stories that it can be a little overwhelming in the early part of the novel but when little pieces of the puzzle connect it becomes very satisfying.

>173 drneutron: Differential equations, on the other hand, nailed 'em.

...commence lethal flop-sweat emission in 3...2...1...

I'm surprised you are enjoying Clive Barker at all. His books are lewd, crude, o.t.t.-fests.

Have a wonderful whatever, Paul!

>175 richardderus: His books are lewd, crude, o.t.t.-fests.

You say that like it's a bad thing. ;)

>177 amanda4242: No, not for me it's not, but our Cranswickulus is not built of such coarse and unrefined materials as thee and me.

Well, apparently it's at least we three... Loved Barker's stuff, need to reread!

>173 drneutron: Well said Jim! Can't argue with that one now!

>174 RBeffa: Yes, I have read such mixed reviews of that one too, Ron, from absolute love to real disdain for it.
If a novel makes such an impression on a pal of mine it will definitely prick my interest!

>175 richardderus: Yeah countdowns could be fun, RD, but Jim'll be fine so long as they don't ask him to countdown as far back as 30! (Sorry Roc Doc you know I'm pulling yer leg).

Some of the language used was clunky, RD, but one cannot deny Barker's imaginative skills and his ability to drive narrative in weird directions.

>176 alcottacre: Thanks Stasia. xx

>177 amanda4242: I think RD was evaluating my expected reaction not judging Barker, Amanda!

>178 richardderus: Ah yes and I was right. I think his choice of words could have oftentimes have been better, RD, but whilst it dented my sensibilities they weren't breached entirely due to credit built up for his storyline.

>179 drneutron: Nah Jim, again I'm not picking on you but it is four! Amanda, RD, Paul and Doc Roc!

I wouldn't vote for a Cormac McCarthy book to be burned because it would add unneeded carbon to the air. It would make for a good carbon sink at the bottom of the ocean. Maybe. I can't imagine him as being any kind of a candidate for any literature prize - unless it would be one for Completely Over-the-Top in descriptions of horrible violence, rape, and just plain bad sex, and for books with ridiculous plots that are designed to appeal to male readers who are fixated on violence, rape, and general mayhem. I have never managed to finish any book by him that I started, and am unable to find a plot teaser for a book by him that appeals to me. If there were a contest for bad writing I WOULD vote for Cormac McCarthy. If you can't tell - I think his work is over-rated and over appreciated by the male dominated hierarchies that run most of those award committees.

Even though I think that Haruki Murakami writes the worst sex scenes (name me a book by a Japanese author that has any good sex scenes in it?), I think he is leagues ahead of that total wipe-out Cormac McCarthy, but I totally agree that he will never win a Nobel Prize for literature.

>184 benitastrnad: As usual Benita you need to stop pulling your punches and sitting on the fence! :D

appeal to male readers who are fixated on violence, rape, and general mayhem. - well that nicely generalises and pretty much puts down all of us who appreciate the quality of writing and meta-realism of McCarthy's writing. For the record I am certainly not fixated on rape, violence or mayhem. So I am either an exception to your rule or your rule is wrong.

We agree about Murakami pretty much.

I thought you might find that statement amusing. Let me be plainspoken about this - I do NOT find the work of Cormac McCarthy literary-prize-of-any-kind worthy. Mostly because I don't think that he could find a plot if one was staring him in the face. His plots consist of shoot something, or beat something up, and when you are done with that, maybe have sex with it, or various combinations thereof. I think his work is words written to appeal to 25 year old and under males whose brains are fueled by excessive doses of testosterone. There might be meta-realism in his books somewhere. Probably of the excessive violence and general mayhem kind. The question is where? Most likely, the reality is the kind found in a Sam Peckinpah movie. (Who is another so-called artist that I don't much care for.) And, as a side note, as an academic, I highly doubt the veracity of meta anything, let alone metarealism. (Can't trust those Russians, you know.)

>186 benitastrnad: Entirely valid opinion, Benita, but that is exactly what it is - an opinion.
He has won a Pulitzer and whilst there are a number of winners of that award that have underwhelmed me, undoubtedly The Road is generally considered as one of the strongest winners this century. A books described by the New York Times as "an exquisitely bleak incantation—pure poetic brimstone."

Doesn't negate your opinion at all and that is one of the joys of reading that we all have our views, our prejudices and our preferences that make this place a great place to be. What I don't agree with though is the belief that someone who enjoys a particular book or writing or a film etc is revealing something underlying about their own character. That is like saying anybody who appreciated Serpico or Scarface is a drug dealing cokehead.

>183 PaulCranswick: Make it five Barker fans. Tho, Its been years since I read his stuff, but still love him. When I was a youngster, and I was in my horror phase, it was all King and Barker's Books of Blood series for me. Couldn't get enough. I believe I've mellowed. I'm not sure if its a first edition, but I do have a copy of Weaveworld that I'm pretty sure I purchased new in 87 or 88. I should read it again

>186 benitastrnad: I think that in the main, I'd come down on your side in evaluating Clive Barker as an author based on my review (I'd totally forgotten I'd read anything by him, another indicator) of Imajica:
"blasphemies bland and the debaucheries commonplace and the whole work of more value as fertilizer for what other authors have grown from its substance than for itself"
It would be interesting to see how he's rated by men vs women vs self-defined.

>188 mahsdad: My praise is not unreserved, Jeff, but there is praise there, certainly.
I will read more of his stuff but I would definitely change the choice of some of his words.

>189 quondame: Benita's beef is with Cormac McCarthy, Susan, but the point is the same one. The first enthusiast for Barker was Amanda, just saying, but that does not undermine your point decisively either. I was a bit conflicted as I thought some of the sexual references were a tad unnecessary.

>186 benitastrnad: >190 PaulCranswick: Oops. I see how that happened.... OK I own The Road, but haven't read it, so no opinion.

>191 quondame: And I have only properly finished The Road - I tried to read Blood Meridian at the wrong time, a time of great stress and skimmed it and I left Suttree on the train before finishing it so I am no defining judge of his work and you'll see that none of his books are on my "100 Books, 100 Authors" list as yet, but it is fair to say that of all American authors (possibly together with Joyce Carol Oates who is prolific to Balzacian proportions) he is the one most talked about when American authors and the Nobels get mentioned. I think that to simplify his oeuvre into a mere and distasteful glorification of violence, physical and sexual, does the obvious quality of his prose a grave disservice and misunderstands what he is doing. But, hey, that is just my humble opinion.

>190 PaulCranswick: I totally hear you. TBH my "praise" for Barker is set at least 25 years ago and I am a very different person now, my reading tastes have changed a lot. It can be the iffy thing about rereading favorite books from your past, they may hit VERY differently now. I know Heinlein is that way for me. I used to love his stuff, and for the most part I still do, but a reread of Stranger in a Strange Land was very different. I loved it when I read it in my 20's, only sorta liked it when I was in my mid-30's and I read it again when I was 47 and, it hit me the wrong way. I don't think I'll read it again.

>193 mahsdad: You have said in a slightly different way, Jeff, exactly what Richard predicted to me and I felt it a little bit with The Moon and Sixpence and I certainly saw a much darker side to The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie than I appreciated first time around.

Wordle 311 2/6

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The boy done good!

I just left you a message on my thread regarding the books on the list you mentioned. I have now ordered all of the books on the list that I do not already own (yeah, the whole 2 that I own, lol) so will have them in sometime in the near future.

How is it that we keep stumbling into shared reads together, Juan? Speaking of shared reads, have you started (or finished, for that matter) Reading Lolita in Tehran?

>196 alcottacre: Cut. From. Same. Cloth.

Simple, Juana.
Saw that you had already taken the bait :D

>197 PaulCranswick: Yeah, you laid it out there for me on purpose, Juan. I just know you did!

>198 alcottacre: Guilty as charged!

>199 PaulCranswick: OK, brother from another mother, you are on! Be forewarned though - it will likely take me the entire month to read it. I take the TIOLI challenges very seriously.

Hi Paul!

>147 PaulCranswick: I wish you luck in hiding them all from Belle and Hani. Your tsundoku is alive and well.

>150 PaulCranswick: My usual score is 4, too.

>153 PaulCranswick: I recommend whole rows behind existing rows. Keep the lines simple, don’t put books on top of other books – dead giveaway!

>186 benitastrnad: Tell us what you really think Benita!

>187 PaulCranswick: I agree with the NYT quote about The Road, “"an exquisitely bleak incantation—pure poetic brimstone." There is that glimmer of hope at the end, though. In fact, I may need to re-read it soon.

>191 quondame: If it’s already on your shelves, Susan, and you’re in a mood where bleak is okay, I recommend it.

>195 PaulCranswick: Two! Wow. I took 5. Teach me to Wordle before coffee.

>201 karenmarie: Good advice with the bookshelf arranging, Karen.
Benita has a perfect right to express her opinion and she does so in her inimitable way, but I really think it is problematic to dismiss McCarthy as a mere pedlar of gratuitous violence - I get that it is not everyone's cup of tea but there is surely literary merit there, no?

>202 richardderus: Look at my stats - I cannot teach simple good fortune, RD.

>203 PaulCranswick: I can never get past the violence. The road is the one and only I finished. Very bleak but I felt it offered nothing new to dystopian fiction.

Piling into the Cormac McCarthy debate. I have read No Country for Old Men and The Road. Neither of them are comfortable books, but I was glad I read both of them and I thought that they both had literary merit. He wouldn't be my first choice of read but I would certainly read another of his books if prompted. (I read The Road as it was a RL book club choice, and I think I read No Country for Old Men when Jacob was doing it at school and wanted a bit of assistance).

>204 RBeffa: That is fair Ron and to be clear I haven't got beyond The Road either - my only point being that there is - whatever your preferences - literary merit in his writing.
I also took issue with the argument that we are what we read.

>205 SandDune: Pretty much my position also, Rhian.

Yasmyne is home! We had a bit of a palaver at the airport as she returned using an emergency passport (she cannot disclose her dual nationality here as it isn't allowed!) and she was queried as to why it took her so long to use it. Poor kid was kept three hours in the airport before they let her through and it turned into an anxious wait. Not the nicest welcome home but I am a very happy daddy right now with both my daughters together and the return of the one who talks!

>207 PaulCranswick: Anxious hours are hard. I'm glad it worked out and Yasmyne is with you again! Happy conversations, and I hope she is careful about what she says to whom! Or have you already put all the books away unobtrusively?

>207 PaulCranswick: Hurray!

>207 PaulCranswick: So glad to read Yasmyne has arrived!

>208 quondame: She is a book lover too, Susan, so would be an ally if anything. The books are fairly sorted. I have missed her personality - she adds so much warmth and fun to the family home - even bringing Belle out of her shell.

>209 amanda4242: A really big hurray!

>210 FAMeulstee: Three years is way too long to be separated from our loved ones but the re-connecting is so joyful.

Wordle 312 3/6

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Inspired continues!

Glad to hear Yasmyne made it home.

>207 PaulCranswick: Yay! Glad she made it safely home despite the passport hassles.

>214 thornton37814: Thank you, Lori!

>215 alcottacre: Thanks Stasia. She has already requisitioned my car though!

I am very happy for you that your daughter is home safe.

I'm just stopping by to say hello, Paul. I'm so glad for you that Yasmyne is home safely.

Glad that Yasmyne is home at last!

Yay for Yasmyne coming home! Now...your young man and She Who Must Be Obeyed soon...closer to full house is always good.

>207 PaulCranswick: yay!!!!so happy for you and your family!

>217 RBeffa: Thanks Ron. I was a bit stressed waiting three hours in the airport for her but it was well worth it - she really lights up a room and the impact on Belle is so joyful. Now to get Hani and Kyran home.

>218 Oregonreader: Thank you, Jan. Such a lovely surprise to have you visit. xx

>219 figsfromthistle: We took our food this early morning and it was wonderful having a back and forth with both my girls and sharing world views with them on issues as varied as gender, race, war and life in general. They are both so grounded and basically so positive and decent people that I am inordinately proud of the job Hani has done in bringing them up (with a little bit of help from me). I have missed her so much, Anita!

>220 richardderus: Hani is not in the best possible place, RD, as the news on her mum continues to be troubling and Yasmyne will not be able to go so quickly to Singapore given that her emergency passport and the old one were both confiscated yesterday. I will help her resolve it but apparently she is supposed to wait 30 days before renewing the passport!

>221 cindydavid4: Thank you Cindy. I do suppose that some happy breaks are overdue given the tough times we have all faced since 2019.

>207 PaulCranswick: Yay! I'm glad she's made it home.

>223 PaulCranswick: That bit about the passport rather bites. I really hope it can be sorted out fast.

>207 PaulCranswick: I'm happy for you, Paul!
May the complete family be united soon.

>225 ArlieS: Thanks Arlie. She was so peeved yesterday but to be fair the authorities were doing their job - even if they were doing it painfully slowly.

>226 SirThomas: That could be on 1 May 2022, Thomas. She goes to the hospital today. Her BP is slowly improving.

Congrats on the family being together, Paul. I don't understand the issues regarding the passports but the main thing is that she is home. May it not be too much longer till the other 2 complete the circle.

Haven’t been around much because of traveling back north to Minnesota. Happy to hear that Yasmyne is home.

I’ve read The Road, No Country For Old Men, Blood Meridian, and All the Pretty Horses. The violence is tough but I did not get the feeling that it was gratuitous. I would never be able to watch any of these as movies because I cannot watch violence. I think of these, my least favorite was Blood Meridian.

Glad Yasmyne has landed at home, despite the airport red tape. Hopefully Hani won't be far behind with Kyran, Paul.

>228 jessibud2: Part of the issue was self inflicted, Shelley, but part of it was due to Malaysia being out of step with most of the world! A matter of days before Hani and Kyran come along too.

>229 Kristelh: Lovely to see you, Kristel and to note that you made it safely North.
McCarthy's objective to glean poetry in the vicious and the visceral is his oeuvre and for me it is commensurate with the story he is telling.
I do get why Benita has such a reaction against him but I believe we can have aversion to subject matter whilst still recognise the penmanship that goes into the work.

>230 Caroline_McElwee: She is starting to look at dates which is great, Caroline!

>147 PaulCranswick: Quite a few of those sound interesting, and the couple I've read were good, I'll look forward to hearing what you make of them

So happy to hear your family is coming together Paul!! It is so nice to have our loved ones close by.

I've never traveled outside the US, but in todays climate I would be so nervous about the passport stuff, they would probably flag me immediately because of my nervousness!

>231 PaulCranswick:
If McCarthy's work is poetry it may be the reason why so many people don't like it.

I do think the violence is gratuitous, because it serves no purpose other than to shock people and sell books to a certain portion of the population who find that kind of description OK. I find his writing to be on the same level as that of the screen writers doing the latest Marvel Comic shoot-em up bang bang movies. Kill, maim, and create general mayhem because that is what a certain segment of the population likes to read and watch. (The perfect antidote to that is a book called Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots, which examines what really happens to all those innocent bystanders in those movies and books.) By-the-way, I say the same thing about other authors - like George R. R. Martin. I read two of his books and quit because I think that the subtitles of his books should read Game of Thrones: One Thousand and One Creative Ways to Kill, Torture, and Maim People While Calling It Literature.

It takes little talent to write about blood and gore.

Hi Paul - Sure hope that Kyran and Hani's passports are not the Emergency ones and that Yasmyne is as happy to be home as you and Belle are to have her!

>216 PaulCranswick: You probably weren't using it for anything anyway, right?

Happy whatever, Paul!

>233 feca67: Thanks Sam. I don't know when I'll get to them all but some will get read sooner than others for sure.

>234 hredwards: I do think that they can tell the bad guys somehow at airports, Harold, so I am pretty certain you'd be fine.

Nice to see you here as always my friend.

>235 benitastrnad: I think I have realised that Cormac McCarthy might not be quite your cup of tea, Benita. Cheap shot about poets and poetry noted sadly but I suppose I left my chin out there.

>236 m.belljackson: I'm still walking on air and Hani & Kyran (plus Kyran's girlfriend Yasmeen, who will also stay with us) are arriving on 3 May 2022 which is Eid.

I am happy to see you here, Marianne, I have missed you around for a while.

>237 alcottacre: No and she will take it today also, Stasia, as she will go to the Immigration/Passport department to see if she can get her new passport quickly as she wants to go to Singapore to spend some time with her Grandmother.

Wordle 313 6/6

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I struggled today and with two guesses left I thought I was toast.

>239 PaulCranswick: So pleased for you Paul that Hani and Kyran will be arriving May 3rd and all the family will be together. That is wonderful news!

>239 PaulCranswick: Biden and Kamala's handling of Ukraine has darkened my spirit.

>242 mdoris: I am in a permanently good mood at the moment, Mary. Even some dope driving into the back of us on the way home from breaking our fast yesterday failed to dampen my spirits. Not much damage to be honest and the poor young Malaysian Chinese chap was so aghast at his carelessness that it was almost funny.

>243 m.belljackson: You know how disappointed I am in that ticket which I had high hopes for, Marianne. I am trying hard not to weigh in too much on what is happening over there as it is so upsetting. Hunter Biden will bring down his father, I am sure, as the taint of his criminality will rub off on the President (who I am not suggesting has done anything criminal by the way).

The liberal media erstwhile supportive of him seem to be preparing to jettison him and only Kamala's own unpopularity is stopping the Democrats using the 25th Amendment to remove him. Sometimes it is so sad to see him stood there bungling and looking so confused, taking directions from Easter Bunnies, shaking hands with fresh air and making faux pas after faux pas.
The world needs a new and younger set of leaders but I don't know where they are.

I'm glad to hear that Yasmyne is back home and that Hani and Kyran will follow soon.

>241 PaulCranswick: I will tackle that one tomorrow morning and hope that I have a slightly better result (though honestly, as long as I get it, I'm pretty relieved!).

I haven't read Cormac McCarthy so can't really weigh in except to say that he doesn't seem like my cup of tea, but one of my brothers likes beautifully-written-but-depressing books and has liked McCarthy's work.

Last night we went out for a Korean meal yesterday to a mall nearby our home that I have visited for a while and we noticed afterwards that the mall's bookstore was sadly/gladly having a closing down sale. In truth most things had already been picked over but I bought for the princely sum of $8.

393. Enon by Paul Harding
394. Purposes of Love by Mary Renault
395. The Guts by Roddy Doyle
396. Lanterne Rouge by Max Leonard
397. In One Person by John Irving

Harding won the Pulitzer for Tinkers which frankly underwhelmed me but this sophomore effort was only $0.75 so I became more prepared at granting second chances! Mary Renault's debut was discovered and the sequel to the Barrytown Trilogy of Doyle. Irving is a writer I greatly appreciate for Meany and Garp but I don't understand why I haven't yet read any more of his. For those who do not know the "Lanterne Rouge" or 'Red Lamp' is the name given to the rider who is last overall in the Tour de France and so named due to the early monster stages finishing after dark and the last rider on the road needing more light than others! Very Gallic humour to celebrate the suffering and accomplishment of someone proving to be the very worst in the grueling race but still soldiering on.

>245 bell7: Cormac McCarthy won't float everybody's boat, Mary, for sure and I would be guarded in recommending him to others but I find it difficult to not find anything at all of merit in his writing.

Lovely to see you. xx

THE WOMEN'S PRIZE SHORTLIST WAS ANNOUNCED TODAY:

Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
The Bread the Devil Knead by Lisa Allen Agostini
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

I have all of them but have thus far only completed Shipstead's which must be a strong contender. Hope to get through the shortlist before the prize winner is announced in early June.

>244 PaulCranswick: I'd vote for Amal Clooney.

>249 m.belljackson: Nice thought Marianne but she was born in Beirut and is ineligible - not sure that she is even an American citizen as she is generally listed as British/Lebanese.

Wordle 314 2/6

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I'm doing well recently.

Added a few more yesterday:

398. Lucky Breaks by Yevgenia Belorusets
399. Lean Fall Stand by John McGregor
400. The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/341450

>253 SilverWolf28: Thanks, Silver.

>239 PaulCranswick: Woohoo! I'm glad that's scheduled. 5 days left.

>239 PaulCranswick: I am a happy chappy, Arlie and Hani will even bring me four new books home - she was impressed that my request was so modest!

>256 PaulCranswick: she was impressed that my request was so modest!

Little does she know what you've been up to in her absence!

>246 PaulCranswick: Nice, Juan!

>248 PaulCranswick: I saw the list posted on Mary's thread. I am reading The Island of Missing Trees this month. I have already read The Sentence, which I loved, and Great Circle. Unfortunately, my local library does not have any of the others.

>252 PaulCranswick: I actually own The Paris Library. I am sure it is here somewhere, just not sure where :)

>256 PaulCranswick: Congratulations! Now, where are you hiding all of the rest of the books you have bought?

>257 amanda4242: Precisely, Amanda! Another reason for celebration!

>258 alcottacre: I will try to get to all of them next month, Stasia, I have read Shipstead and started Erdrich. Ozeki is a chunky one and Shafak is also an Asian Book Challenge book (Turkey), The Bread the Devil Knead is an interesting one with a disturbing plotline whilst I have hear good things about Sorrow and Bliss.
It is obvious why I bought The Paris Library given the TIOLI this coming month.

The books are more or less stowed.

>259 PaulCranswick: OK, if you say so, but it is not obvious to me. . .

>238 PaulCranswick: >234 hredwards: Not sure what that says about me. We landed in New York to live there for a couple of years while my husband worked there, just a month before the planes crashed into the Twin Towers and after that security on domestic flights was tightened, including random spot checks of passengers at the boarding gates. Guess who got randomly picked almost every time?

Good to know you're family is back/ on the way back, Paul.

>249 m.belljackson: >250 PaulCranswick: I’m really don’t understand the U.S. method of picking a president. I know ours is bad enough at the moment but the whole process in the U.S. seems fatally flawed. And what can the president actually do when they are in office anyway? They seem to have a lot of power when it comes to the military but virtually none when it comes to domestic policy.

>260 alcottacre: Isn't there a challenge on a book with the word "library" in it?!

>261 humouress: Do you look really look so shifty, Nina?!

>262 SandDune: I cannot come up with a single fellow who has done a great job as President. Barack Obama is, I think, a great man, but I really don't think things aligned to make him a particularly successful President.

Final additions in April.

401. The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante
402. Murmur by Will Eaves
403. The Pugilist at Rest by Thom Jones
404. My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson
405. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

>263 PaulCranswick: I didn't think so but 🤗

>266 humouress: And I am sure that you're not at all, Nina. xx

Yeah, Paul, happy news regarding your family being together.
Sending you sunny thoughts today..and always!

Paul, I am so happy that Yasmyne is home and that your house will be completely filled with love and laughter when Hani, Kyran, and friend arrive next week. Have you met the new girlfriend yet? I hope she’s a reader.

>268 Whisper1: Linda, I am walking on air at the moment - I am so happy to have my eldest back home as she lights up the room.

I am also so pleased at the positive change in Belle with her big sister back - from taciturn to voluble.

>269 Donna828: Thank you dear Donna. I have waited rather impatiently for these days to be honest.
Kyran's girlfriend is Yasmeen which may lead to some confusion given my similarly named eldest. I have met her before and she does have the benefit of Hani's approval. Her father is Gujerati, mother is half Vietnamese and half something else and she herself is a US citizen who grew up and studied here. I think she does like to read, thankfully!

>261 humouress: Not so random then.

>263 PaulCranswick: I thought you were talking about your challenge, lol. OK, I may have to find my copy of it now.

>265 PaulCranswick: Only because April is fixing to be done, right?

Happy whatever, Paul!

ETA: I have found my copy of The Paris Library, Paul, so it is now listed under challenge #2 for May :)

>264 PaulCranswick: Lincoln?

>250 PaulCranswick: Hey - we voted for Barack and he was born in Kenya.

>265 PaulCranswick: Oh, Murmur! I hope you are as moved as I was by it.

You are definitely in the Cranswickian haul mode for 2022. If you continue at this rate, you'll easily surpass 1000 for the year.

Hi Paul, great news that Yasmyne is home with you and even better news that Hani, Kyran and his girlfriend Yasmeen will be with you on the 3rd May. Sending Yorkshire love and hugs to all of you from both of us mate.

>271 ArlieS: Hahaha

>272 alcottacre: Almost written off April by now, Stasia!

>273 m.belljackson: To be clearer, Marianne, I meant in my lifetime, - Lincoln, FDR, Washington, Teddy R were all a little before my time!

>274 m.belljackson: Wrong, Marianne!!!! He was born in Hawaii. That was Republican fake news to try and prevent him from running. Had he been born in Kenya he would have not been eligible to be your President.

>275 richardderus: The story is a sad one to be sure, RD, the destruction of a national hero because they didn't care for his sexuality is a stain on the British government of that time.

>276 thornton37814: Hani will bring me crashing back down to earth, Lori. Still I have already added more this year than last year!

>277 johnsimpson: Thanks John. This Harry Brook guy is going to be one heck of a player isn't he?
Love to Karen.

>147 PaulCranswick: You are a prolific book buyer. I felt guilty for buying six more titles at the L.A. Times Festival of Books over the weekend...

>282 ocgreg34: It does become a compulsion, Greg, I am afraid. Having SWMBO back in the fold should cause me to slow down a little...

Wordle 315 5/6

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A little bit tougher for me today.

>279 PaulCranswick: Kenya was a joke, Paul - Oahu more like it.

>285 m.belljackson: I rather hoped you were kidding, Marianne!

Good to see that Yasmyne is home, Paul. It will be even better when the rest of the crew shows up. Where are you hiding all of your recent purchases?

>287 Familyhistorian: In plain sight, Meg, it is the safest and surest way to do it.

Wordle 316 5/6

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I thought today's game was a toughie - took me ages to figure it out.

>271 ArlieS: 🥲 At first it was amusing but finally I got fed up of being pulled out of the boarding queue every single time (it felt like) - especially standing next to my hulking great husband - and I asked what it was about me, but they still insisted it was random. My husband was a bit miffed that I ’threw him under the bus’ though :0)

>290 humouress: It is certainly irritating being singled out in such a way - I had a spell when I always seemed to get stopped for them to check my baggage.

Saw this and thought of the 1972 music discussion we had

>292 RBeffa: The playing on that album is brilliant, Ron and the album cover itself iconic.

>293 PaulCranswick: the band is playing close by to me. I am however still extremely reluctant to go to a packed club or theater because of covid. When I realized that the band has only one original member now, I was less disappointed and just played the album instead.

>294 RBeffa: I think that I have gotten to the stage where I am just going to live what is left of the rest of my life, Ron, but a packed club is not my idea of fun particularly. An open air show would be great.

Re-listened to it yesterday.