PAUL C in the War Room - XXVII : Crossing the Pyrenees with Laurie Lee

To the barricades!

The Spanish Civil War where the opposing forces of European Fascism and Communism flexed their respective muscles. Where the so called Liberal Democracies stood to one side and watched the carnage and the idealistic youth of a generation went to fight and die for hope and desperation.

The Opening Words

For the War Room I am reading The Battle for Spain by Antony Beevor




"On an unsurfaced road in Andalucia or Estremadura, one of the first automobiles in Spain has broken down. In the photograph a young man grasps the steering wheel. He is not very good-looking, due to a large nose and enormous ears. His brilliantined hair is parted in two and he has a moustache. The driver of the car is King Alfonso XIII."

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

Books Read January to September

January

1. Dear Future Boyfriend by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz (2000) 90 pp Poetry / 150Y Challenge 15/150
2. Pax Romana by Adrian Goldsworthy (2016) 420 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 16/150
3. The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff (1959) 306 pp Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 17/150
4. Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken (1964) 286 pp Fiction / BAC / 150Y Challenge 18/150
5. Carthage Must Be Destroyed by Richard Miles (2010) 373 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 19/150
6. When We Were Warriors by Emma Carroll (2019) 248 pp Fiction / War Room / 150y Challenge 20/150
7. Double Indemnity by James M Cain (1936) 136 pp Thriller / 150Y Challenge 21/150
8. Persian Fire by Tom Holland (2005) 376 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 22/150
2,235 pages

February

9. North Woods by Daniel Mason (2023) 369 pp Fiction 150Y Challenge 23/150
10. The African by JMG Le Clezio (2004) 106 pp Non-Fiction / 150Y Challenge 24/150
11. The British are Coming by Rick Atkinson (2019) 564 pp Non-Fiction / War Room
12. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather (1927) 297 pp Fiction 150Y Challenge 25/150
13. Redcoat by Bernard Cornwell (1987) 405 pp Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 26/150
1,741 pages

March

14. Fatal Colours by George Goodwin (2011) 239 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 27/150
15. R.S. Thomas : Selected Poems by R.S. Thomas (2003) 343 pp Poetry / BAC / 150Y Challenge 28/150
16. The Maiden by Kate Foster (2023) 370 pp Fiction
17. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan (2024) 334pp Fiction / Warm Room
18. The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright (2023) 273 pp Fiction
19. The Brothers York : An English Tragedy by Thomas Penn (2019) 572 pp Non-Fiction / War Room
20. Pet by Catherine Chidgey (2023) 323 pp Fiction
21. Brotherless Night by VV Ganeshanathan (2023) 341 pp Fiction
22. Breakdown by Cathy Sweeney (2024) 217 pp Fiction
23. Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas (1954) 108 pp Drama / BAC / 150 Y Challenge 29/150
24. Bosworth: Psychology of a Battle by Michael Jones (2002) 220 pp Non-Fiction/ War Room / 150Y Challenge 30/150
3,340 pages

April

25. The Sweet Science by A.J. Liebling (1956) 232 pp Non-Fiction / AAC / 150Y Challenge 31/150
26. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (1955) 249pp Thriller / 150Y Challenge 32/150 / 1001 Books
27. Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad (2023) 319 pp Fiction / War Room
28. Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym (1977) 186 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 33/150 / BAC/ 1001 Books
29. A History of the Crusades I by Steven Runciman (1951) 281 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 34/150
30. Loot by Tania James (2023) 289 pp Fiction
31. Field Work by Seamus Heaney (1979) 56 pp Poetry / 150Y Challenge 35/150
32. A History of the Crusades II by Steven Runciman (1952) 385 pp Non-Fiction / War Room
33. A History of the Crusades III by Steven Runciman (1954) 401 pp Non-Fiction / War Room
34. Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy (2023) 233 pp Fiction
35. The People of Hemso by August Strindberg (1887) 152 pp Fiction / 1001 Books / 150Y Challenge 36/150
36. Five Children and It by E. Nesbit (1902) 237 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 37/150
37. The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope (1875) 766 pp Fiction / BAC / 150Y Challenge 38/150
38. The Details by Ia Genberg (2022) 151 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 39/150
3,937 pages

May

39. Napoleon by Alan Forrest (2011) 331 pp Non-Fiction / War Room
40. The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey (2024) 449 pp Fiction
780 pages

June

41. Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris (2022) 550 pp Thriller / War Room
42. Selling Manhattan by Carol Ann Duffy (1987) 52 pp Poetry
43. A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley (1939) 392 pp Fiction / BAC / 150Y Challenge 40/150
44. The Fox by D.H. Lawrence (1922) 123 pp Fiction / BAC / 1001 Books / 150Y Challenge 41/150
45. Peace by Richard Bausch (2008) 171 pp War Room / 150Y Challenge 42/150
46. The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (2019) 304 pp Fiction / BAC
47. River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure (2024) 339 pp Fiction
48. Minor Detail by Adania Shibli (2017) 112 pp Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 43/150
49. The House of Broken Bricks by Fiona Williams (2024) 377 pp Fiction / Alternate Women's Prize
50. Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger (1920) 296 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 1001 Books / Anita Memoriam / 150Y Challenge 44/150
51. A Move in the Weather by Anthony Thwaite (2003) 67 pp Poetry
2,783

July

52. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (1989) 137 pp Fiction / War Room / 150 Year Challenge 45/150
53. The Middle Daughter by Chika Unigwe (2023) 305 pp Fiction / Women's Alternative Longlist
54. The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon (1961) 255 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150 Y Challenge 46/150
55. The Kreutzer Sonata by Leon Tolstoy (1891) 76 pp Fiction / 1001 Challenge / 150 Y Challenge 47/150
56. The Way Back by Erich Maria Remarque (1931) 286 pp Fiction/ War Room/ 150Y Challenge 48/150 / Anita Memoriam Read
57. Berlin Cantata by Jeffrey Lewis (2012) 248 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 49/150
58. The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld (2020) 359 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 50/150
1,666 pages

August

59. Poems : MacNeice by Louis MacNeice (1935) 37 pp Poetry / 150Y Challenge 51/150
60. Red Dragon by Thomas Harris (1981) 421 pp Thriller / 150Y Challenge 52/150
61. Chess by Stefan Zweig (1941) 83pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 53/150
62. The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang (1997) 230 pp Non-Fiction/ War Room /150 Challenge 54/150
63. The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan (2021) 435 pp Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 55/150
64. The Grand Alliance by Winston Churchill (1950) 629 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / BAC / 150 Y Challenge 56/150
65. A Farewell to France by Noel Barber (1983) 787 pp Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 57/150
66. Laughter in the Dark by Vladimir Nabokov (1933) 197 pp Fiction / 150 Y Challenge 58/150
67. War Diaries 1939-1945 by Viscount Alanbrooke (1957) 721 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150 Y Challenge 59/150
68. Close Quarters by Michael Gilbert (1947) 190 pp Thriller / 150 Y Challenge 60/150
69. The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron (2015) 390 pp Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 61/150
4,120 pages

September

70. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (1974) 355 pp Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 62/150
71. Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse (1965) 300pp Fiction / War Room / Anita Memoriam / 150Y Challenge 63/150
72. An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen (1882) 82 pp Play / 150Y Challenge 64/150
73. Academy Street by Mary Costello (2014) 179 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 65/150
74. 33 Days by Leon Werth (1940) 116 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 66/150
75. Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald (1980) 200 pp Fiction / BAC / War Room / 150Y Challenge 67/150
76. Counter-Attack and Other Poems by Siegfried Sassoon (1918) 63 pp Poetry / War Room / 150Y Challenge 68/150
77. Marius the Epicurean by Walter Pater (1885) 267 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 69/150
78. The Boys from Brazil by Ira Levin (1976) 258 pp Thriller / 150Y Challenge 70/150
79. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (1962) 146 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 71/150
80. Mrs. Ames by E.F. Benson (1912) 301 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 72/150
81. The Story of a Life by Aharon Appelfeld (1999) 191 pp Non-Fiction / 150Y Challenge 73/150
82. The Edwardians by Vita Sackville-West (1930) 285 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 74/150
83. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1884) 305 pp Fiction / AAC / 1001 Books / 150Y Challenge 75/150
84. Love and Obstacles by Aleksandar Hemon (2009) 210 pp Short Stories / AAC / 150Y Challenge 76/150
85. Payment Deferred by C.S. Forester (1926) 187 pp Thriller / 150Y Challenge 77/150
86. Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov (1900) 45 pp Drama / 150Y Challenge 78/150
87. Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson (1988) 862 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 79/150
88. Gigi by Colette (1944) 57 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 80/150
89. The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea (1963) 181pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 81/150
4,590 Pages

Books Read October to December

October

90. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien (1990) 233 pp Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 82/150
91. The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1892) 70 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 83/150/ 1001 Books
92. Ratlines by Stuart Neville (2013) 399 pp Thriller / 150Y Challenge 84/150
93. Another Part of the Wood by Beryl Bainbridge (1968) 165 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 85/150
94. Holes by Louis Sachar (1998) 233 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 86/150 / Anita Memorial Read.
95. A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde (1893) 80 pp Drama / 150Y Challenge 87/150
96. Say Uncle by Kay Ryan (1991) 76 pp Poetry / 150Y Challenge 88/150 / AAC
97. The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux (1975) 379 pp Non-Fiction / 150Y Challenge 89/150
98. The Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald (1969) 175 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 90/150
99. Martha Quest by Doris Lessing (1952) 333 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 91/150
100. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom (1971) 221pp Non-Fiction / 150Y Challenge 92/150 / War Room
101. Summer by Edith Wharton (1917) 194 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 93/150 / 1001 Books
2,558 pages

November

102. Journey's End by R.C. Sherriff (1928) 95 pp Drama / 150Y Challenge 94/150 / War Room
103. Held by Anne Michaels (2023) 220 pp Fiction / Booker Shortlist
104. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (1929) 293 pp Fiction / War Room / 1001 Books / 150Y Challenge 95/150
105. Geneva by Richard Armitage (2023) 280 pp Thriller
106. World War One British Poets ed by Candace Ward (1997) 71pp Poetry / War Room
107. The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey (2017) 429 pp Thriller
108. Box 88 by Charles Cumming (2020) 482 pp Thriller
109. The First World War by Hew Strachan (2004) 331 pp Non-Fiction / War Room
110. The Safe Place by Anna Downes (2020) 399 pp Thriller
111. Anecdotal Evidence by Wendy Cope (2018) 66 pp Poetry
112. Autobibliography by Rob Doyle (2021) 236 pp Non-Fiction
113. Orbital by Samantha Harvey (2023) 136 pp Fiction / Booker Winner
114. The Tenant by Katrine Engberg (2020) 354 pp Thriller
115. The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen (2021) 233 pp Fiction / Pulitzer / AAC
116. Under Fire by Henri Barbusse (1916) 183 pp Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 96/150
117. Tension by E.M. Delafield (1920) 207 pp Fiction / BAC / 150y Challenge 97/150
4,015 pages

December

118. James by Percival Everett (2024) 303 pp Fiction
119. And Yet : Poems by Kate Baer (2022) 100 pp Poetry
120. The Searcher by Tana French (2020) 392 pp Thriller
121. The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati (1940) 193 pp Fiction / 1001 Books
122. The Battle for Spain by Antony Beevor (2006) 479 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 98/150
123. Love's Bonfire by Tom Paulin (2011) 52 pp Poetry
124. A Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffiths (2012) 344 pp Thriller
125. The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham (1957) 220 pp Sci-Fi
126. Bismarck's War by Rachel Chrastil (2023) 439 pp Non-Fiction / War Room
2,522 pages

Currently Reading

The War Room



JANUARY - Ancient Wars (Greeks/Romans/Persians/Carthage/Egyptians/Alexander, etc) https://www.librarything.com/topic/356820
1. Pax Romana by Adrian Goldsworthy
2. The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff
3. Carthage Must Be Destroyed by Richard Miles
4. Persian Fire by Tom Holland

FEBRUARY - The American War of Independence : https://www.librarything.com/topic/358097#n8402612
1. The British are Coming by Rick Atkinson
2. Redcoat by Bernard Cornwell

MARCH - The War of the Roses : https://www.librarything.com/topic/358941
1. Fatal Colours by George Goodwin
2. The Brothers York : An English Tragedy by Thomas Penn

APRIL - Wars of Religion https://www.librarything.com/topic/359824#n8524265
1. Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
2. A History of the Crusades I by Steven Runciman
3. A History of the Crusades II by Steven Runciman
4. A History of the Crusades III by Steven Runciman
5. Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

MAY - Napoleonic Wars : https://www.librarything.com/topic/360466
1. Napoleon by Alan Forrest

JUNE - English Civil War : https://www.librarything.com/topic/361198
1. Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris

JULY - Colonial Wars : https://www.librarything.com/topic/361750#n8568832
1. The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon

AUGUST - WW2
1. When We Were Warriors by Emma Carroll
2. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan
3. Peace by Richard Bausch
4. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
5. The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang
6. The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan
7. The Grand Alliance by Winston Churchill
8. A Farewell to France by Noel Barber
9. War Diaries 1939-1945 by Viscount Alanbrooke
10. The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron
11. Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse
12. 33 Days by Leon Werth
13. Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald
14. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

SEPTEMBER - American Civil War : https://www.librarything.com/topic/363081#n8612485
1. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
2. Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson

OCTOBER - American Follies (Korea, Vietnam, Gulf-War, Afghanistan) : https://www.librarything.com/topic/364666
1. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

NOVEMBER - WW1 :
1. Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger
2. The Road Back by Erich Maria Remarque
3. Counter-Attack by Siegfried Sassoon
4. Journey's End by R.C. Sherriff
5. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
6. World War One British Poets ed Candace Ward
7. The First World War by Hew Strachan
8. Under Fire by Henri Barbusse

DECEMBER - Spanish Civil War
1. The Battle for Spain by Antony Beevor

WILDCARD - Pick your own fight
1. Bismarck's War by Rachel Chrastil FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR 1870

BAC

British Author Challenge (Hosted by my friend Amanda)



JANUARY - Joan Aiken & Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle : Black Hearts in Battersea
FEBRUARY - Emma Newman & Ronald Firbank
MARCH - Welsh Writers : Selected Poems R.S. Thomas; Under Milk Wood
APRIL - Barbara Pym & Anthony Trollope - Quartet in Autumn; The Way We Live Now
MAY - Time Portals : A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley
JUNE - Kiran Millwood Hargrave - The Deathless Girls & D.H. Lawrence - The Fox
JULY -
AUGUST - Winston Churchill - The Grand Alliance
SEPTEMBER - The 80s - Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER - EM Delafield - Tension

American Author Challenge (Hosted with occasional assistance this year by my friend Linda)



JANUARY - Mark Twain - Huckleberry Finn
FEBRUARY - Susan Sontag
MARCH - Truman Capote
APRIL - Non-Fiction - The Sweet Science by AJ Liebling
MAY - William Maxwell
JUNE - Queer Authors - Say Uncle by Kay Ryan
JULY
AUGUST - Jeffrey Lent
SEPTEMBER - Adoptive Americans - Love and Obstacles by Aleksandar Hemon
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER - Jewish Americans - The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen
DECEMBER

150 YEARS OF BOOKS

150 years; 150 books; 150 authors; 15 months

Done:
Row 1 : 1874, 1875, 1882, 1884, 1885, 1887


Row 2 : 1889, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1900, 1902


Row 3 : 1904, 1908, 1910, 1912, 1915, 1917, 1918


Row 4 : 1920, 1922, 1923, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1933


Row 5 : 1935, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1944, 1945, 1947


Row 6 : 1950, 1951, 1954, 1955 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963


Row 7 : 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977


Row 8 : 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991


Row 9 : 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008


Row 10 : 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

BEST BOOKS OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

NYT made their list so here is mine:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/362027#8586025

Books Added in 2024

January books 1-31
https://www.librarything.com/topic/357215#8360403

February books 32-73
https://www.librarything.com/topic/358698#8432568

March books 74-104
https://www.librarything.com/topic/359405#8476551

April books 105-130
https://www.librarything.com/topic/360210#8513437

May books 131-144
https://www.librarything.com/topic/360952#8540231

June books 145-160
https://www.librarything.com/topic/361445#8558052

July books 161-182
https://www.librarything.com/topic/362027#8578805

August books 183-200
https://www.librarything.com/topic/362737#8601627

September books 201-234
https://www.librarything.com/topic/363372#8623252

October books 235-270
https://www.librarything.com/topic/364990#8646900

November

271. The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson
272. The Walled Garden by Sarah Hardy
273. Anecdotal Evidence by Wendy Cope DONE
274. The Great Transformation by Karl Polanyi
275. The Gathering by CJ Tudor
276. This Little Family by Ines Bayard
277. Little, Big by John Crowley
278. Claimed! by Gertrude Barrows Bennett
279. The Ratline by Philippe Sands
280. End Times by Peter Turchin
281. Ancient Sorceries by Algernon Blackwood
282. Alphabet by Inger Christensen
283. Autobibliography by Rob Doyle DONE
284. November 1942 by Peter Englund
285. The Experience of Pain by Carlo Emilio Gadda
286. The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers
287. Judas 62 by Charles Cumming
288. The Plot: The Political Assassination of Boris Johnson by Nadine Dorries
289. Good Chaps by Simon Kuper
290. Illuminations by Alan Moore
291. An Ordinary Youth by Walter Kempowski
292. Covenant : The New Politics of Home, Neighbourhood and Nation by Danny Kruger DONE
293. This Way to Departures by Linda Mannheim
294. Clear Bright Future by Paul Mason
295. The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk

Book Stats

Books Read : 126
Pages Read in completed books : 34,287 pp

Longest book : Battle Cry of Freedom : 862 pp
Shortest book : Poems : Louis MacNeice : 37 pp
Mean book length : 272.12 pp

Books written by men : 74
Books written by women : 52

Non-Fiction : 27
Fiction : 67
Poetry : 12
Thriller : 15
Drama : 5

1870's : 1 book
1880's : 4 books
1890'S : 3 books
1900's : 2 books
1910's : 4 books
1920's : 7 books
1930's : 6 books
1940's : 5 books
1950's : 11 books
1960's : 7 books
1970's : 6 books
1980's : 7 books
1990's : 6 books
2000's : 9 books
2010's : 18 books
2020's : 30 books

UK Authors : 58
US Authors : 33
Ireland Authors : 8
Sweden Authors : 2
France Authors : 5
Malaysia Authors : 1
New Zealand Authors : 1
Palestine Authors : 1
Germany Authors : 2
Nigeria Authors : 1
Russian Authors : 3
Austria Authors : 1
Japan Authors : 2
Norway Authors : 1
Israel Authors : 1
Bosnian Author : 1
Netherlands Author : 1
Canada Author : 1
Australia Author : 1
Denmark Author : 1
Italy Author : 1

Nobel Winners : 1 (79/120)
Carnegie Medal Winners : 2 (7th overall)
Women's Prize Winners : 1
Pulitzer Fiction Prize Winners : 2
Booker Winners : 1
1001 Books : 14

Read : 126 books
Added : 305 books

Change to TBR : +179

Welcome to my 27th thread of 2024 and, based on progress, most likely my penultimate thread of this year.

Happy new one!

>14 figsfromthistle: Quick on the draw as always, Anita.
Lovely to see you up first, dear lady.

Congratulations on having 27 threads! You are amazing!

>16 Whisper1: Lovely to see you dear Linda.

As to your last comment - pot-kettle-black!

Happy new thread. I enjoyed all those Laurie Lee books and happy to say that I've read the Beevor book, very comprehensive.

>18 avatiakh: I actually met Laurie Lee in my youth, Kerry, and spent some time in his company. He was a lovely, lovely man and I do think that his book Cider With Rosie is one of my most treasured companions.

Paul, I'm adding Cider With Rosie to the TBR pile.

I was going to add Cider With Rosie but found that I already added it in 2012. I'll be sure to read this and move it up to the top.

Happy new thread, Paul.

>20 Whisper1: It is a really lovely book, Linda. Very poetic.

>21 Whisper1: I always recommend this one and Watership Down to children of all ages from 12-90.

>22 Kristelh: Thank you, dear Kristel.

Happy new thread to you, Paul, and happy December. I hope you are safely away from the Malaysian flooding I have been reading about.

Happy new thread Paul!

>25 AMQS: A lot of rain here in Kuala Lumpur but not any flooding of note in the city centre. We have enormous storm drains to discharge the water but sometimes the journey home from work can be tiresome. Lovely to see you, Anne.

>26 quondame: Thank you, Susan.

I am going to instigate what I will term as reading cycles in order to read more and with more variety.

I will therefore read in blocks of five books:

1. New work of fiction (must have been published in this decade of the 2020s)
1. Older work of fiction - i.e. before 2020
1. Thriller/Mystery
1. Book of Poetry or drama
1. Work of Non-Fiction

I will aim to achieve one per week in order that when up to speed I can finally break my 200 book barrier (it would be 260 actually).

First reading cycle:

James by Percival Everett
The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati
The Searcher by Tana French
And Yet by Kate Baer
The Battle for Spain by Antony Beevor

Happy new thread!

Happy New Thread!

>29 amanda4242: Thank you, Amanda.

>30 louisisaloafofbreb: Thanks Lily!

Happy New Thread, Paul!
And thank you for being an essential part of the group.
Have a wonderful day.

Happy New Thread!

>32 SirThomas: Thank you, Thomas. I do hope that you will have a great weekend, my dear friend.

>33 SilverWolf28: Thanks Silver. Four books finished this weekend and another couple being possible.

Happy New Thread, Paul. 27 threads? You da Man! What do you think of James so far?

>36 msf59: Whizzing through it, Mark. I don't think that American authors should be eligible for the Booker Prize but it is a much better book than the winner this year.

I agree with you about the Booker. I wish they would change it back but that said, James was the best book that I had read of the nominees and I really liked Orbital too.

>38 msf59: I thought Orbital was mercifully short, Mark. I didn't hate it but there was a complete absence of plot which I need to properly enjoy fiction.

>1 PaulCranswick: I highly recommend Gerald Brenan’s The Spanish Labyrinth as background to understanding this civil war. Brenan was an Englishman, an associate of the Bloomsbury Group, who moved to Spain in 1919 at the age of 26 and lived there the rest of his life. He brings together an outsider’s perspective and in-depth knowledge of Spanish society at the time. I found him particularly helpful in giving context to the outbreaks of murderous violence against the Catholic church which were a feature of the conflict.
Of course one wants to read Homage to Catalonia, and there are many other novels and memoirs written by Popular Front supporters. I was surprised to discover that Mordecai Richler, the author of the Canadian classics The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and Barney’s Version, set his first novel, The Acrobats in Spain, revisited by Canadians who fought with the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion in the Spanish Civil War. The Roman Persuasion by Bernard Bergonzi is a rare example of a novel exploring the thinking of an Englishman who goes to Spain to fight on the Nationalist side.

Hi Paul! Happy newest thread.

Line in the sand again, I’m afraid. 2.5 months, 4 full and two partial threads later, here I am. I will try to keep caught up, but can't promise. 😊

September stats are gratifying with me in the top 6 women and US residents. September thread posting stats of 6 and 1932 and November thread posting stats of 6 and 2388 are gratifying. My normal mathematical 8 contortions elude me right now, but I might come back to them. The 88 is pleasing to look at, of course.

>5 PaulCranswick: I’ll be reading James later this month for my book club’s January discussion. We read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in October. I’d abandoned it in high school and was glad to read and love it in October.

>13 PaulCranswick: Penultimate is one of my favorite words.

>28 PaulCranswick: Impressive goal for a man whose reading taste is already impressive and eclectic.

Cost per page, in your Oct 8 reply to my message of the same date, is an intriguing thought.

Thank you for everything you bring to this group and to LT.

>40 booksaplenty1949: I can highly recommend Homage to Catalonia. Orwell shows the messiness, both literal and figurative, of a civil war. He presents a gritty, realistic view from the perspective of a participant. It remains one of my favorite books on war.

Paul, thank you for visiting my sadly-neglected thread. Between two back-to-back hurricanes and the election results, many of us who live in Florida have been knocked out of the loop for a bit.

Agree completely about the Booker.

And wow! 27 threads! I can’t imagine doing that. Congratulations!

Happy new thread, Paul!

Sounds like a good scheme, your five-book cycle.

Happy December! Happy new 🧵!

>40 booksaplenty1949: I will go and look for Brenan's book which does seem like something I should go for.
I also need to get the new thread up today for the War Room - I am a sloth in this as always.

>41 karenmarie: I do so look forward to your posts, Karen!
Penultimate is a lovely word isn't it, despite being so close to the end?

>42 Matke: I was also deeply affected by Orwell's book but disappointed to later find just how much he relied on his wife in reality without ever giving her any credit.

>43 Matke: I am a little surprised that Florida is no longer a purple state but, by all accounts, for all of his baggage, De Santis does seem to be an effective administrator when the chips are down. I am hoping that 2025 will be a good year for all of us but then again I am an eternal optimist with no empirical data to support my optimism!

>44 EllaTim: Lovely to see you as always, Ella.
My Book Cycle is off to a decent start, I'm pleased to announce.

>45 Storeetllr: Thank you, dear Mary.

>47 PaulCranswick: And the letters reprinted in the last volume of The Collected Essays, Journalism, and Letters of George Orwell make it clear that the widowed Orwell married Sonia, his second wife, from entirely self-interested motives as he “battled,” as we put it nowadays, tuberculosis. She was the last of several younger women he proposed to shortly after his first wife died. The only bright spot I can see in his personal life is his commitment to his adopted son. Everyone expected Orwell to return him to the adoption agency when Eileen Orwell died unexpectedly a few months after the adoption took place, but he remained committed to the project.

>31 PaulCranswick: Your very welcome Paul

>49 booksaplenty1949: He was a complicated fellow without a doubt but overall I think he just about merits being termed a great man. Of his time certainly.

>50 louisisaloafofbreb: Hope you have had a good weekend so far, Lily.

>1 PaulCranswick: The so-called Workers’ Paradise—the Soviet Union—also stood to one side, for the most part. Russia signed the Non-Intervention Agreement in 1936 along with 26 other countries. As was evident elsewhere in Europe in the 1930s, Communist Party leaders were not interested in co-operating with other leftist groups in the struggle against Fascism.

>51 PaulCranswick: I try to resist judging a writer’s literary merit in terms of his biography.

>52 booksaplenty1949: Stalin was presumably too busy purging his party.

>53 booksaplenty1949: Yes, indeed. I used to say that to myself whilst admiring Ezra Pound's poetry.

CARTOON

As political sleaze continues unabated despite a change in government in the UK. My local MP has had to step down as Transport Minister due to a "conviction" for falsely claiming her phone had been stolen and getting a replacement paid for by her company. To be fair it was a long time ago and followed her being mugged, but the Prime Minister knew about it and then dropped her when it came to public light.

>51 PaulCranswick: I have! I had 5 whole days off school :)

>57 louisisaloafofbreb: I also took Saturday off work.

BOOK #118



James by Percival Everett
Date of Publication : 2024
Origin of Author : USA
Gender of Author : Male
Pages : 303 pp

I don't think I am spilling any secrets in informing that this is a sort of retelling of Huckleberry Finn from the point of view of Jim.

It is less picaresque and more coherent. Whilst it retains some of the humour of the original, it is a much darker work also. It takes us much further than Twain's slightly sugar coated original.

I will admit that his novel The Trees left me a little bit cold, but I thought this was simply fantastic.

Highly recommended.

>59 PaulCranswick: I've not read this one yet, but I did read Erasure, which I thought was excellent.

>60 ChrisG1: I thought it was wise and propulsive, Chris. Up there with the best fiction I have read this year.

THE WAR ROOM CHALLENGE for December is up and we will be featuring that precursor of the Second World War - THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR.

Spain has always been one of my favourite countries to visit, but I am glad I was not of this generation.

https://www.librarything.com/topic/366176

It has just been announced that Joe Biden has pardoned his son Hunter on his Tax and gun charges.

Doesn't set the greatest of examples perhaps (and he had promised not to do it), but it is a thoroughly understandable act of paternalism. Sympathize fully whilst disagreeing in principle.

As a lover of books and English Literature, I had reported sadly about a month ago of one of the Canterbury Universities axing their English Literature degree and it seems that the malaise is going deeper.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/wokeness-english-literature-degree/

BOOK #119



And Yet : Poems by Kate Baer
Date of Publication : 2022
Origin of Author : USA
Gender of Author : Female
Pages : 100 pp

If ever a poet needed a better and more critical editor.

Poetry is a medium that tests your wits against the poet - are we smart enough? Are we tuned in sufficiently to be on the same wavelength? Do you understand all the cultural references and in-jokes?

Well my answer to all three questions above is "no, not really".

There were a few poems that found their mark but I would hazard that she would not have had the artistic liberty to have foisted some of these poems on the readership. A good 20% of this was execrable and where she did hit the mark it was so rare that it took me completely by surprise.

Not in good conscience recommended.

BOOK CYCLE 24/1 : 1st day of six



Books finished :
James by Percival Everett (new fiction)
And Yet : Poems by Kate Baer (poetry/plays)

Books started :
The Battle for Spain by Antony Beevor (non-fiction) - 1st chapter

Pages to read in cycle : 1,467
Pages read in cycle : 415
Pages to go in cycle : 1,052
% complete in cycle : 28.29%

A good start to my first reading cycle spurred on by the excellent Percival Everett and his re-imagining of Huckleberry Finn.

Happy new thread, Paul! I hope all is well with you.

Happy New Thread Paul!! And Thanks for your kind words on my thread!! I am so thankful for this site and these threads and this group of people.

>67 alcottacre: Everything is A-OK, Stasia. xx

>68 hredwards: Thank you, Harold. Great to see you my friend.

Hiya, Paul. Like you, I loved Cider with Rosie and James.

It’s helpful to see your reaction to Orbital. I’m sorely tempted to read it. I guess if I can read poetry, I can read a book without a plot.

>65 PaulCranswick: “And Yet”—-a NYT bestseller. Just in case we think this means anything.

>70 jnwelch: Haha so true on Orbital and it has certain advantages:

1. Undoubtedly well written;
2. Not overlong
3. Does develop a distinct and well researched sense of place

>71 booksaplenty1949: I would hazard that if she sent half of those poems to poetry periodicals under a pseudonym they would have no chance of publication.

Paul, I'm hopelessly behind on the threads, but wanted to stop by and wish you a joyous holiday season.

>72 PaulCranswick: I looked up a few on-line. Reminded me of poems that used to appear in women’s magazines, not poetry periodicals.

Happy new thread, Paul!

>41 karenmarie: >46 PaulCranswick: "Penultimate" is also one of my DH's favorite words.

>73 tymfos: You will never be hopeless, Terri!
Lovely to see you.

>74 booksaplenty1949: I just felt that some of it wasn't very poetic.

>75 atozgrl: It is funny Irene isn't it how certain words sound better than their meaning probably is!

BOOK CYCLE 24/1 : 2nd day of six



Books finished Previously : James & And Yet

Books Read from :
The Battle for Spain by Antony Beevor (non-fiction) - 1st part
The Seeker by Tana French

Pages to read in cycle : 1,467
Pages read in cycle : 575
Pages to go in cycle : 892
% complete in cycle : 39.20%

The first eight chapters of The Searcher are very promising.

>77 PaulCranswick: Yes, that is true!

>28 PaulCranswick: I admire your new cycle challenge. I would never be able to cram in enough books to tackle something like that.

>79 atozgrl: I haven't got much reading done yet today as I had a Cooperative Meeting last night and then was online with Kyran and Hani celebrating my son's graduation at Birbeck College.

So proud of him.

>80 PaulCranswick:, congratulations on son's graduation. That's always a good feeling!

>76 PaulCranswick: Yes, my point.

CARTOON

The Ex-Transport minister who has resigned when it was revealed she had a police conviction for fraud is still a source of amusement:

>80 PaulCranswick: Parenthood has its challenges and lows, but then there are the moments of pride and satisfaction that compensate for all that. “There’s my son/daughter, wearing a special gown/hat/hood/whatever. Life is good.”

In other news, taking a break from last hundred pages of Judgment at Tokyo to read an Inspector Montalbano mystery, on Mr Cranswick’s recommendation. Recently listened to a Donna Leon audiobook, Dressed for Death, but have to say that The Shape of Water paints a picture of policing in Italy that strikes me as more authentic. Maybe I’m just cynical.

>81 Kristelh: It was a very bittersweet moment for me, Kristel, because of course I was not there to share in the joy of the occasion.

I had to gulp back a tear yesterday as a result of an exchange of WhatsApp messages between father and son:

Father (me) : Kyran, I love you to bits and I am so sorry that I cannot be there for your graduation.
Me and your mum are really proud of you. I am especially pleased that you have fulfilled your potential.
This is only the beginning so please continue doing us proud.

Son (Kyran) : Hey dad. Love you too and thank you for the kind words. Its Ok u can't make it dad, you've done so much to facilitate the process in the first place. Thank you for allowing me to graduate debt free.

>82 booksaplenty1949: I sometimes get aggravated when I see some of the sloppy stuff that gets published in the false name of poetry these days.

>84 booksaplenty1949: Indeed so, my friend. I will try to put up a photo shortly of a proud mother and son celebrating his achievement.

>85 booksaplenty1949: I'm sure it was more authentic! Over time I grew to love the characters in the book - the bumbling Cat, the amorous Augello, the statistically minded Fazio, the gullible Commissioner, Livia and Ingrid but most of all the lead protagonist, Salvo who was a good friend on dull days - his insight and foibles both.

>80 PaulCranswick: Congratulations to Kyran!

>87 PaulCranswick: Well, some poetry is the bad stuff. Still poetry, but it's regrettable when sentimental drivel pushes real content out of the field. Unfortunately poetry is one of the areas where sentimentality is mistaken for deep feeling by substantial percentage of the audience.

>89 quondame: Susan, thank you.

On poetry which as a workaday practitioner I feel I have some stake in commenting, I just find some of it so sloppy. It isn't even the gawky sentimental stuff - it is reading shopping lists dressed as poetry pretending to be shopping lists! All a question of taste and some of the stuff isn't to my taste at all.

Proud mother and son. Hani at Kyran's Birkbeck graduation 3 December 2024.

Congratulations to Kyran and to you and Hani too!!! That's a GREAT picture, which you added while I was typing the rest of this.

I can only scroll through your new thread quickly; I think we're supposed to say, "Like Topsy."

I look forward to James sometime soon. I've picked it up and put it down once. I wonder whether you've read Norman Lock's The Boy in his Winter, also a sort-of retelling of the Huck Finn saga. It blew me away and made me quite a fan of Lock's American Novels series.

Your new book cycle looks like my reading organized except that I substitute science fiction or fantasy for poetry!

>91 PaulCranswick: Congratulations to Kyran on his graduation! And as Stasia said, congratulations to you and Hani as well! That is a great picture. And best wishes to Kyran on all his future endeavors.

>92 LizzieD: Thanks Peggy. I will include an occasional SF/Fantasy with any of the three fiction picks. In fact I will be reading The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham in my 2nd cycle this month.

>93 atozgrl: Thank you, Irene. Kyran loves London and wishes to teach somewhere thereabouts. He is currently getting experience as a relief teacher.

>91 PaulCranswick: Great picture of the happy grad and proud Mum.

Nice to see that you liked James. I have that book home from the library along with many, many more books but I'm making my way through my first read of Huckleberry Finn and will wait to start Everett's book until I have done that.

>95 Familyhistorian: I thought that I might not take to it, Meg, as I did not particularly enjoy The Trees but I was captivated by it.

Congratulations to the son and the proud parents!

Congrats to Kyran! Great photo of them both. I am sure you are very proud.

>91 PaulCranswick: Awwww. What a wonderful photo. Congrats~

What a great photo, Paul. Such nice words from your son. I can see why you teared up.

What a lovely photo of Kyran and Hanni! Congratulations to you all.

Wonderful photo!! Congratulations!! You all did good!!!!

>91 PaulCranswick: Congrats to Kyran on his graduation and to you and Hani for being so supportive so he could get there! Great picture! They both look so proud, and Hani’s looking lovely!

Sadly a little late, but happy new thread!

Great photo and congratulations!

>97 SirThomas: Thank you, dear Thomas.

>98 msf59: I am proud and sad, Mark. Proud of my boy who did good. Sad that this bloody job is still keeping me away.

>99 figsfromthistle: Thanks Anita. xx

>100 Kristelh: Thank you, Kristel, he is a good lad.

>101 CDVicarage: Thank you, Kerry. Nice to see them so happy. They were even happier later on as they enjoyed a lovely Japanese meal together to celebrate. Hani's favourite cuisine.

>102 hredwards: Thanks Harold.

>103 Storeetllr: Missing my good lady wife especially just at the moment, Mary. She really is a force of nature with the biggest heart of any person that I have ever known (though I am obviously biased). She did a stellar job in raising my three terrors and she makes me a better person every single day wherever she is.

>104 drneutron: Never too late, Jim, especially for you!

>105 torontoc: Thank you, Cyrel, and lovely to see you here.

BOOK CYCLE 24/1 : 3rd day of six



Books finished Previously : James & And Yet

Books Read from :
The Battle for Spain by Antony Beevor (non-fiction) - 1st part
The Seeker by Tana French

Pages to read in cycle : 1,467
Pages read in cycle : 698
Pages to go in cycle : 892
% complete in cycle : 47.58%

My work commitments curtailed my reading to an enjoyable 123 pages of The Searcher, which I will finish today.

Paul, would next week be a good time to tackle Wyndham?

>112 ChrisG1: Can Chris. Monday?

>91 PaulCranswick: Oh, what a great picture! Congratulations on Kyran's graduation, Paul.

Happy whatever, brother.

BOOK #120



The Searcher by Tana French
Date of Publication : 2020
Origin of Author : Ireland
Gender of Author : Female
Pages : 392 pp

Rollickingly good mystery thriller.

Cal Hooper has retired from the Chicago force and has decided to spend his retirement years is seclusion in the sleepy West of Ireland. Doesn't quite work out as he has planned.

I love thrillers that have well drawn characters and a good sense of place. This has both of those in spades.

Highly recommended.

>114 alcottacre: Thank you my dear Stasia. xx

CARTOON

Oh dear Joe, what have you done?

>115 PaulCranswick: I can see that this is behind your recommendation of The Shape of Water/the Inspector Montalbano series, which I am very much enjoying.

>113 PaulCranswick: Great - sounds like a plan!

>118 booksaplenty1949: I love that series and it is one that I will almost certainly re-read in its entirety at some stage.

>119 ChrisG1: That is good, Chris. I have it ready!

>117 PaulCranswick: My DH has a valid insight, we think, that we haven't heard anybody else mention about the pardon. I doubt they could find a prison in the country where most of the personnel were not Trump supporters. Hunter would not fare well in their hands, and his father would likely have pardoned him even if Ms. Harris had won the election.

As to books, I have a Montalbano but have never gotten to it. Peculiar!

Finished Judgment at Tokyo and plan to reward myself with the rest of The Shape of Water before moving on to more stuff about war. “Good God, y’all—-what is it good for?—-absolutely nothing!”—-and yet strangely fascinating.

>121 LizzieD: If I was Joe Biden, I would have pardoned my son, I'm pretty sure of that, but he should not have spun for the longest time that he had no intention of ever doing so or have his press secretary do the same thing. I think the world ought to give him that indulgence to be honest but I also think his son is reprehensible and did his father a lot of damage. Your point, Peggy, about the prison population is quite probably true, and thankfully those incarcerated cannot vote, unless on remand.

>122 booksaplenty1949: As the song would say....."say it again!"

>123 PaulCranswick: As to Hunter Biden, I just can't care.
But I care about universal suffrage a great deal. I think taking away someone's vote is inexcusable. In addition, prisoners are counted as residents of the states where they are confined, but cannot vote there. Just another way the USA discriminates and makes product out of people.
It may seem logical to deny the right to vote to felons, but I don't think it is unless your logic requires convicted felons to be fundamentally different than other people.

>124 quondame: Yes, you make a good point - I certainly don't think that time served felons should be denied the vote, the incarcerated I am less sure but I can see an argument for that on both sides. It does seem reasonable that the incarcerated do suffer some suspension of full constitutional rights but whether that should include the right to vote I suppose is not entirely a cut and dried issue. They obviously lose 2nd amendment rights whilst in prison but should someone on Death Row retain the right to vote - would he or she care?
I certainly think prison reform is needed to make the experience more humane, more restorative and less prone towards violence, but which constitutional rights are retained requires more careful thought than I have so far given it, Susan.

>58 PaulCranswick: That sounds nice- and wait- you have to work on a saturday???

>126 louisisaloafofbreb: I work every Saturday morning until midday, Lily.

Congratulations to Kyran on his graduation and to you and Hani as well. ! What a great picture.

>128 vancouverdeb: Thank you, Deb. I hope that you are Dave are doing a bit better - you were both very much in my thoughts and prayers in this last week or so after the accident.

Friday Lunchtime Additions:

296. The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths
297. Now Then by Rick Broadbent
298. Time of the Flies by Claudia Pineiro
299. Big Caesar and Little Caesar by Ferdinand Mount
300. Inside Enemy by Alan Judd

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/366284

Thank you, Silver

>127 PaulCranswick: Whatttt- i have never heard such a thing as working on a Saturday-

>133 louisisaloafofbreb: Guess you’ve never been in retail.

>133 louisisaloafofbreb: Billions of people work on Saturday - did you ever order a McDonalds on a Saturday?

>134 booksaplenty1949: For sure. I have been a Saturday worker most of my working life.

>135 PaulCranswick: According to the scholars of Wikipedia, there are variations on the structure of the “weekend” in various parts of the world. However, for most, but clearly not all, workers who do not deal with the public, Saturday is a day off. Malaysia seems to be an exception.

>123 PaulCranswick: Paul, I really do not believe that Biden lied when he said he would not pardon his son. I believe he truly meant it. Then Trump got elected and started selecting crazy people to be head of the Justice Dept. and the FBI, and Joe saw that his son would be subject to ongoing harassment and changed his mind. That's what it looks like to me.

>133 louisisaloafofbreb: Those of us who work in libraries, especially public libraries, have to work on Saturdays. Most libraries have Saturday hours. I got lucky with a job in a government library that mostly followed M-F hours, although the genealogy section was open on Saturdays, and I rarely had to work on a Saturday. Earlier jobs in academic libraries though did include Saturday or Sunday work.

>136 booksaplenty1949: There are variations on the structure of the weekend in Malaysia itself as a few of the states (Malaysia is a Federal nation with 12 states) have Friday as their off-day but the country has a five and a half day working week of 44 hours.

>137 atozgrl: Whatever his intentions at the time, Biden has lied, because he promised repeatedly not to do what he has in fact done. Again I will repeat that, in his shoes, and with the power to do so, I would not have allowed my own son to go to prison, so I sympathize with his actions but not his prior words. His reasoning that Hunter was targeted because of politics is also hugely disingenuous as he almost got the sweetheart deal of all sweetheart deal if not for a rightly unwilling judge. Sometimes, because we don't like Trump, we fail to call out when wrong is on both sides. I would have thought that some of his actions on or around January 6 were actionable but all the other stuff against him was brazenly political.
I would certainly agree that Matt Gaetz was a particularly odd and scary choice as potential AG and thankfully he has realized that even the Republicans in the Senate would not have confirmed him. His alternative though - the previous Florida AG is difficult to term crazy but she might prove to be illiberally efficient so will probably turn out worse than Gaetz would ever have been.

>138 PaulCranswick: I agree that as a parent I would have done the same. The fact that as a US President I would have this power is, however, disturbing. This is not a power available to other democratic leaders, as far as I know. It seems quite mediaeval.

Belatedly visiting your latest thread, Paul. I too really enjoyed James and it'll be among the top reads of the year for me. And congrats to Kyran on his graduation!

>139 booksaplenty1949: Yes, it is true and there is certainly the question of Trump pardoning himself opened wide because of this.

>140 bell7: Lovely to see you, Mary and thank you. xx

>138 PaulCranswick: Personally, I don't think of something as a lie when a person says something and believes it at the time. If they change their mind and do something different at a later time, that doesn't make the earlier statement itself a lie. It does mean that they have broken a promise, however.

The trial that was held for Trump in New York this year may have been mostly political. However, the investigation in Georgia was legitimate, because Trump corruptly tried to change the results of the vote in that state. Also, the documents case in Florida was the most straightforward case of all. He flat out broke the law, and refused to return all the documents in his possession despite multiple requests from the Archives and the FBI. That was an open and shut case, and was only stopped because that Florida judge appointed by Trump deferred to him and failed to follow the law. Those documents belong to the American people, not to Trump personally. And if it's true that they included classified material, he is doubly guilty. We have the same types of law in NC, and when I was working for the State Library there, we had to rigorously follow records retention schedules. That's the way government record keeping works.

My belief is that there should be a law that prevents any president from pardoning a family member, business associate, or anyone that they had some kind of personal relationship with. I hope that in the future we can get Congress to pass something like that.

ETA - And yes, that law should also explicitly state that no president can pardon him-or-herself.

>142 atozgrl: I agree with you essentially Irene and on the Georgia matter specifically although there were certainly issues with it too as to present RICO charges seems a stretch too far and the state attorney has clearly besmirched her office with her behaviour further undermining what was a decent case on its merits. I am not as convinced about the Florida case since all Presidents have been "guilty" of the same transgressions and this seems pretty selective, although more egregious too. Biden's own matter in that sense was actually worse given that it stemmed from documents obtained firstly as a Senator which he cannot have come by legitimately. For me the best case against Trump was that proffered in Washington as he did - I think - quite clearly wish to impede the proper transfer of power. That should have been a disqualifying factor for him to stand for re-election but was not realized.

I also agree with you about Presidential pardon powers being outdated and that they should be prevented from pardoning themselves or family members. Sadly I fear we are going to hear more about these things in months to come.

Whether Biden lied or broke his promise is essentially an exercise in semantics but either way it does undermine the rule of law or that all should be equal under the law.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend, Paul. I had a small book haul today as well.

>91 PaulCranswick: Lovely graduation photo.

>144 avatiakh: Thank you, Kerry.

I am enjoying the cricket (much more than you are I would guess!), but the most enjoyable part is seeing what a beautiful ground the Basin Reserve is and how lovely Wellington is too.

I am reading, somewhat behind schedule, Son Excellence Eugène Rougon for the Zola Challenge. Chapter 9 is a wonderful set piece of a political leader’s day with the spoils system in place. Outside his office door is a vast waiting room full of people who have come to ask favours: jobs, awards and honours, interventions in legal proceedings. Did not expect Zola’s novel to be so depressingly timely.

>146 booksaplenty1949: I have struggled the last day and a half too because I have had to vet documents (the Expert Reports for one of our Arbitrations) but I am back in the groove today.

hej Paul, hope you're doing well. I am slowly recovering from my prescribed inactivity ... just come by to say hello. Wish you a quiet Christmas time

>148 paulstalder: What a lovely surprise, Paul, I am so pleased to see you back posting.

>149 PaulCranswick: well, I am not so much back, but I like librarything and the people I got to know a bit online. I can't keep up with everything which goes on here, but I like to post on your thread, my friend

>150 paulstalder: You will always be welcome here, my friend - the first and original Paul in the group!

BOOK CYCLE 24/1 : 6th day of six



Books finished Previously : All of 'em

Books Read from :
The Battle for Spain & The Tartar Steppe - both finished

Pages to read in cycle : 1,467
Pages read in cycle : 1,467
Pages to go in cycle : 0
% complete in cycle : 100%

I will admit that I completed it 8 hours late but I am quite satisfied given my work commitments.

>117 PaulCranswick: No worries there...Trump will take care of that once he gets in office. 😀

Happy Weekend, Paul. I just finished listening to All Things Must Pass. It definitely proves he was much more than the third Beatle.

BOOK #121



The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati
Date of Publication : 1940
Origin of Author : Italy
Gender of Author : Male
Pages : 193 pp
Challenges : 1001 Books

This is an interesting but somewhat disturbing read drawing comparisons with Kafka and Hesse.

The conflicts of time, duty, ambition and futility collide in this story as our hero, Drogo, takes up his role in a remote mountain outpost full of energy and hope. But is heroism waiting in vain for something to happen?

>153 msf59: Nice to see you buddy. I despair of American politics but then again ours in the UK isn't much better and South Korea is a stunning farce. My Samsung colleagues were in an aghast stupor the other day as news sounded about the declaration of martial law there.

George never got anywhere near All Things Must Pass in the remaining years of his life but it is a great album.

I have been listening to Rory Gallagher and The Jayhawks this weekend so far. Wonderful stuff.

BOOK #122



The Battle for Spain by Antony Beevor
Date of Publication : 2006 (an earlier version was published in 1982)
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Male
Pages : 479 pp
Challenges : War Room / 150 Y Challenge

Comprehensive and well written.

What a heartbreaking and vicious conflict this was. Tragic in the most distressing of ways.

A time of reprisal, wanton violence, incompetence and disorder. A war by proxy as the Germans, Italians and Soviets tested out their armory for coming times. The Condor battalions were obviously vital to the Nationalist victory but more important to it was the hopeless failure of the other side to combine cohesively or obtain support from a frankly shameful Britain and France.

Recommended.

SECOND BOOK CYCLE

1. New work of fiction (must have been published in this decade of the 2020s)
1. Older work of fiction - i.e. before 2020
1. Thriller/Mystery
1. Book of Poetry or drama
1. Work of Non-Fiction

I will aim to achieve one per week in order that when up to speed I can finally break my 200 book barrier (it would be 260 actually).

Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon
The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham
A Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffiths
Love's Bonfire by Tom Paulin
Bismarck's War by Rachel Chrastil

1,331 pages

>134 booksaplenty1949: Im 15 i havnt worked a day in my life- yet obviously :/

>135 PaulCranswick: Not that i know of, but I think my mother used to work in retail- she works at an airport now

>158 louisisaloafofbreb: Plenty of time for that, Lily!

>159 louisisaloafofbreb: The working culture in Asia is quite different to Europe and North America. Much longer hours - I work 8.00 am to 6.00 pm Monday to Friday and 8.00 am to 12.00 pm on a Saturday and it is custom that staff do not leave the office until their boss goes home. None of my staff would dream of going home before I do although thankfully for them I don't often stay back too late.

>160 PaulCranswick: I guess thats true, i dont know what I would work as for my first job

Huh- that's interesting really, that's like- 4 hours maybe? Im not that good with time- or well math in general

Congratulations to Kyran, Paul.

>137 atozgrl: 1337 pages a week! It seems like a lot. Good luck.

>161 louisisaloafofbreb: You should aim to do something you enjoy and not aim only for the money.

>162 EllaTim: Thank you, Ella.
Actually it is 1,337 in six days. I have just rattled off 1,467 in the first six days of the month.

>163 PaulCranswick: But who’s counting? Ha-ha.
Lack of pagination on the otherwise very useful Project Gutenberg on-line books is a problem for me. I tend to set reading goals—-x number of pages and then I’ll water the plants or change the bed or whatever—-and chapters are sometimes too long or too short to be useful in this respect.

>163 PaulCranswick: Indeed! I do love stats though and I have always kept a page count. If I fail to make an average of 100 pages a day over a year, I consider it a complete fail! I don't often read e-books and never audio books so it doesn't normally stop me in this regard.

CARTOON

In the UK we have stormy weather (Storm Darragh) and my poor wife looked particularly windswept yesterday as well as political storm with the new government already running third in the opinion polls:

>165 PaulCranswick: I read a few books on Project Gutenberg this year apropos of the War Room Challenge. Books I felt I could live without owning, and not available from the library. I also find it handy to look at an English version of a book I’m reading in French. Still recall taking my professor’s advice and not looking up unfamiliar words as I read novels for my first university French course. He pointed out, accurately for the most part, that one would pick up the meaning from the context, as one did when first learning to read one’s first language. Using a dictionary just breaks up the text. But knew something important was going on in the aristocratic family where Julien Sorel was working as a tutor in Le Rouge et le Noir after leaving the seminary—-shouting, tears, doors banging—-and finally broke down and looked up “enceinte.” Turns out it means “pregnant.” Light dawned.

>167 booksaplenty1949: I have never been quite proficient enough to read a book in French although I can get by in conversation if the French speaker has a little patience! Malay I can manage.

>168 PaulCranswick: My experience is the reverse. When I bought myself a nice French copy of In Search of Lost Time and proudly told the (French) salesclerk that I had already read the whole thing she literally laughed out loud.

>168 PaulCranswick: I really ought to re-acquaint myself with French in 2025.

>170 PaulCranswick: Simenon’s Maigret novels are short and simple.

>163 PaulCranswick: I think i may work at an adoption center for pets then- cause they make me happy.

>171 booksaplenty1949: And relatively easy to come by, too.

>172 louisisaloafofbreb: Each to their own, Lily, because I would have thought that would be quite a stressful job, even though a rewarding one.

>173 PaulCranswick: Its stressful, but rewarding- which is more of a plus than a minus in my books

>174 louisisaloafofbreb: Good luck anyway if that is what you decide you want to do.

Wow, Syria has fallen very fast today.

>176 avatiakh: Yes, Kerry, that is a pretty amazing turn around. I must admit that I have not been watching events there too closely there recently and I only hope that the country does not descend further into chaos as some of the other nations did post kicking out their respective despots.

>177 PaulCranswick: Seems a further indication of Russia’s weakness. Putin’s support saved the Assad regime in 2011. No soldiers/planes to spare in 2024. Russia also has, or had, two major military bases in Syria.

>178 booksaplenty1949: The group that seems to have prevailed had a bust up with ISIS a few years ago because they felt ISIS was too extreme. Hopefully better days for that embattled nation but I am sure that there will be difficult days too.

Not a good day for Putin or Iran clearly. Will it help bring about peace in Ukraine?

Just sweeping rapidly through your thread—belated but heartfelt congratulations to Kyran and his proud parents.

>175 PaulCranswick: Thanks for the luck Paul :)

>180 Matke: Thank you Gail. xx

>181 louisisaloafofbreb: I hope good luck finds you always, Lily. A positive attitude towards life is a good beginning.

>177 PaulCranswick: There is no knowing of what will come, but seeing the political prisoners released from jail is a relief. Knowing that Iran's influence has again been diminished is good too. I really hope the people of Iran can soon be free.

>183 avatiakh: I feel the same, Kerry, but a little apprehensive that their ambitions for power coincide with the wider benefit of the people there.

>143 PaulCranswick: I agree overall, Paul. I do think that Trump far overstepped when it comes to the documents he took, as he knew he had them and refused multiple requests to return everything he had. And directed his staff to move and continue to hide them. The fact that others also had documents that they should not have had unfortunately undermines things a bit, but I think in most of the other cases it was accidental. I'm not entirely sure in Biden's case, but at least he did self-report and turned everything over.

By far the best case would have been to bring Trump up on charges related to January 6th, but all the delay tactics Trump's lawyers pursued worked, unfortunately for all of us. It all goes back to the fact that the Republican senators should have had the backbone to vote to impeach him in the first place.

And I agree completely that it does undermine the rule of law and that everyone should be treated equally. Unfortunately, America has fallen far from her ideal in our current point in time.

>185 atozgrl: The powers of the President, especially when self-serving, need to be addressed constitutionally but there seems insufficient will in Washington to take this up. This applies as much to the Presidential right to declassify documents as it does to their seemingly unfettered right to pardon.

As an outsider without a pig in the poke I don't see much daylight between the behaviour of one President and another except in one huge matter. The essential difference being that one of them tried to frustrate the transfer of power and got away with doing so.

>186 PaulCranswick: Agreed completely. It has occurred to me that since the pardon power is granted in the Constitution, it might take an amendment to limit it, and I don't see any chance of that happening in my lifetime. *Sigh*

>187 atozgrl: Yes apparently it does require a constitutional amendment although it is possible that self-pardon may face legal challenge as to its constitutionality.

CARTOON

Not the USA or the UK today as Syria sweeps both embattled nations off the drawing board:

RE : DEBORAH - arubabookwoman

Deborah has long been a fitfully gifted member of this group. Her wonderful reviews and opinions on so many books have often enlivened my day.

Myself and others have noted her prolonged absence from this group and wanted to enquire of other friends as to whether they have any news or updates on our friend, Deborah.

More than a little worried. Her visits were often sporadic in nature but she has never been gone from us for so long and I also noticed that she has not visited the Club Read group where she was also often present.

I would be very grateful if anyone has any news to share with us.

>190 PaulCranswick: Paul, she posted on kidzdoc's Club Read thread on Nov 29. I remember noting it at the time.

>190 PaulCranswick: She posted a review today.

https://www.librarything.com/reviews/arubabookwoman

>191 avatiakh: Fantastic, I am getting a little too old in that I worry too easily these days.

>192 amanda4242: Mightily relieved.

Thank you Kerry and Amanda. xx

>4 PaulCranswick: Happy new thread and season's greetings!

>194 ocgreg34: Thank you, Greg.

I also need to get around the threads very soon.

>196 Wakeel: & >197 Wakeel: Thank you for the recommendation, Wakeel. I'm not convinced that it is quite my thing.

BOOK #123



Love's Bonfire by Tom Paulin
Date of Publication : 2011
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Male
Pages : 52 pp

This is a seemingly short collection that you keep getting drawn back to. A work for which words take time to form meaning - at once thrown together and at the same time honed deceptively.

He is one of ours - born in the same West Yorkshire as Simon Armitage and Ted Hughes - but he is also unmistakably fused to the Northern Ireland he grew up in and whose landscape inhabits much of this.

I found it difficult to grasp yet regretted its passing.

Another poet.

Nikki Giovanni passed away today aged 81.

This is one of her heartfelt lyrics.

>200 PaulCranswick:. Such nice words about freindship.

>193 PaulCranswick: Don’ t want to sound morbid, but is there a process, when someone passes away, by which those handling their affairs can close social media accounts and such things?

>201 Kristelh: Sometimes simplicity is a virtue in good writing, Kristel, isn't it?

>202 booksaplenty1949: Gosh, I must be probably the least appropriate person to advise on this, being entirely a live-for-today and glass-half-full chap! I have absolutely no idea although I would have thought that there must be some provision or procedure to do this.

>203 PaulCranswick: Live and learn! https://trustandwill.com/learn/what-happens-to-your-social-media-when-you-die?sr...

>204 booksaplenty1949: That is interesting. I also must admit that I didn't know that Facebook owns Instagram. Talk about giving people the monopoly power!

BOOK #124



A Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffiths
Date of Publication : 2012
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Female
Pages : 344 pp

It is pleasurable to spend time in the company of Ruth, Nelson, Cathbad et al.

This one stretches credulity a little with its Aboriginal "The Dreaming" narrative for the repatriation of stolen bones and so on but it is overall satisfying and ultimately immersive.

I do like this series.

>205 PaulCranswick: No specific advice about LT, my only social media indulgence. I was looking, apropos of Voltaire, at old “Talk” posts apropos of a member who though apparently once a friendly sort started getting into “edit wars” where authors would be split/combined, have “Canonical” names taken away, etc—-back and forth at 2 am, with accompanying threats and insults. She was eventually tossed off LT and all traces purged except mentions by other members, so management does have that power, which presumably could be exercised at the request of one’s executor.

>207 booksaplenty1949: I do have Facebook but more of a remnant from when Hani and I used to share the platform for reasons I cannot now conceive, but I only spend social time here.

>208 PaulCranswick: Would that be where I saw a wedding picture of the two of you?

>209 booksaplenty1949: Yes, it could well have been. Missing her rather a lot at the moment although we speak every day.

>210 PaulCranswick: Not the same as being together, let’s just say.

Sorry Paul that you're missing Hani. Any plans to see each other soon?

>210 PaulCranswick: Indeed it is not.......I get a lot less bruises!!

>211 booksaplenty1949: I am hoping soon, Kristel but I do rather over promise and under deliver in that department!

CARTOON

Whoever said that the Middle East was a pack-of-cards:

Hi Paul, I am posting before you move on to another thread. "28" is my favorite number so I will be looking forward to the new one.

I agree with you on James. It is going to be high on my Best of 2024 List. I also saw Joe's mention of Cider with Rosie which I recall is one of your very favorite books. I have owned it for a while and will make it a priority for winter reading in the new year.

Loved the picture of Kyran and Hani. Congratulations to the new graduate!

>215 Donna828: Thank you, Donna, and it is lovely to see you as always.
Cider with Rosie is a joyous book.

Just about finished :

Glorious Exploits &
The Midwich Cuckoos

Reviews upcoming

Paul- can i ask for relationship advice- ur like the only person I could think of

>218 louisisaloafofbreb: Of course, Lily. I will always try my best to advise you fairly and I do at least have the advantage of having made loads of mistakes in my life to learn from.

Okay- so what would you do if your boyfriend was possibly cheating on you- I have a suspicion my bf is cheating on me and I have no idea on what to do.

>220 louisisaloafofbreb: I think issues get resolved best by honest exchanges, Lily. Therefore as difficult as it may be it is always better to address the matter openly. Tell your boyfriend as calmly as possible of your concerns and ask if you have any cause for concern. If your suspicions are unfounded you will be at peace but if they are for good reason then at least you find out the truth without prolonging of pain or upset.

>221 PaulCranswick: Even if i do message him, he ignores basically all of them, he even puts heart emojis next to texts for other people without putting a tonetag for platonic next to it. I just messaged him and I feel like its going to just be ignored, like all my other messages sent to him.

Stopping by to say, Paul . I've not had much time to read.

>222 louisisaloafofbreb: Sometimes our affections are unrequited ones, Lily, and we have to accept that and move on. If he doesn't reply to you it may be a better thing to prepare to move on.

>223 vancouverdeb: I can totally understand that, Deb. I do hope that you and Dave are doing ok and that his recovery is complete or close to it.

>224 PaulCranswick: Yeah, i should probably start doing that instead of crying all night because of it.

Finally finished Son Excellence Eugène Rougon. An interesting portrait of the pursuit of power for its own sake. Curious as to why Zola put it second in the “reading order” of the Rougon-Macquart series, despite its being the sixth novel in order of composition. Guess I’ll have to read next novel in the series to find out. Plan to finish Death in a Strange Country as a reward and then read some books I didn’t get to in November’s War Room Challenge.

Good morning, Paul! I love the picture of Kyran and Hani further up. Congratulations to him!

If you are finding yourself with nothing to do on 22 June, "my" Chorale kids will be performing in KL with the Young Choral Academy at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre. While I have mostly "retired" from the Chorale, I am still involved, and my nephew Tre will be on the tour.

>225 louisisaloafofbreb:

Things have gotten a lot worse....he did respond but it apparently turns out I'm a source of his depression....so I dont know...

>225 louisisaloafofbreb: Indeed, Lily.

>226 booksaplenty1949: Not one of my favourites of the cycle but it is still Zola.

>227 booksaplenty1949: Double posted?

>228 AMQS: If I am still in Malaysia then, I guarantee I will be in attendance, Anne!

>229 louisisaloafofbreb: Move on, Lily. Sometimes you have to give space to breathe.

>232 PaulCranswick: I dont need to give them space anymore they broke up with me earlier today- and they have been ignoring me afterwards....

>232 PaulCranswick: As I said, Lily, better to know early so now you can move on. Life is too short to waste it on people who don't care enough about you.

>234 PaulCranswick: Yeah, Im helping them by being one less thing to love, which hurts but I have to push through all of that

>235 louisisaloafofbreb: Don't mistake your feelings and emotions for theirs. It is their choice just as it is your choice who to allow into our hearts. Surround yourself in positivity and share your time with those who want to share their time with you.

>236 PaulCranswick: I will be for sure, as my father and other family members actually care for me, so I will be surrounding myself with them.

BOOK #125



The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham
Date of Publication : 1957
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Male
Pages : 220 pp
Shared Read with Chris.

Period Science-fiction from probably Britain's pre-eminent protagonist since H.G. Wells.

The village of Midwich goes to sleep for a day plus and thereafter all the village women become pregnant. 121 children are born all with golden eyes, speedy physical development and telepathic.

A tad slow moving and dated if I am being perfectly honest but there is plenty to ponder also about moral quandaries here to make this a more than worthwhile read.

>237 louisisaloafofbreb: That is a good idea, Lily.

Friday Lunchtime Additions

301. The Hunter by Tana French
302. The Home Child by Liz Berry
303. The Passenger by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz
304. The Road by Christopher Hadley
305. The Lightning Tree by Emily Woof

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/366438

Thank you, Silver

>238 PaulCranswick: Definitely not thriller-paced. I think Wyndham was going for more of a "slow-reveal." For me, being dated was a feature, not a bug. The cold war era setting fit the story well.

>243 ChrisG1: I also didn't mind it being a period piece quite so much as it did move a little too slowly.

>238 PaulCranswick: I read pretty much all of John Wyndham's work in my teens and early twenties, but this is probably the one that has stayed with me least for some reason.

Are you enjoying Leeds' current run of good results Paul? Mr SandDune keeps me informed on this sort of thing.

>245 SandDune: I think I have read most of them too, Rhian, but I don't remember The Midwich Cuckoos being quite so ponderous.

I am of course wallowing in our team's progress and I look forward to the day when I can get back to the UK and invite you and MrSandDune to my brother's box at Elland Road when we will be able to eat together again and celebrate another Leeds' victory.

Finished Death in a Strange Country in a day. Not quite the light break I was looking for, as it was by no means a “cosy” mystery. I did enjoy the description of the American Army post in Vicenza, in whose campground I pitched a tent on a number of visits before the Commies quit on us and the NATO military infrastructure was vastly reduced.

>247 booksaplenty1949: That is fascinating (Vicenza) and I do need to get back to that series at some stage. Not my favourite but I do like Brunetti.

CARTOON

Prince Andrew is once again in the news negatively as he seems to have been unduly close and taking money from a Chinese spy. He is the British version of Hunter Biden.

>248 PaulCranswick: I recently read my first Commisario Montalbano mystery, which you recommended, and I did find it better-written than Leon’s works.

>250 booksaplenty1949: Montalbano is on a different plane entirely

>91 PaulCranswick: Belated congratulations to Kyran. I'm sure you are a proud father too Paul.

>249 PaulCranswick: Ha.

>249 PaulCranswick: I hadn't heard that news about Prince Andrew, Paul. He does not seem to have the best judgment, does he?

>252 Caroline_McElwee: Thank you, Caroline. I will be having a scheduled chinwag with him later.

253 He is a completely terrible individual who has brought shame on the institution of royalty and deserves this dubious limerick in his "honour"

The Duke of Pork.

Could I convince
You that Andrew, Prince
Is bankrupt, morally
and entitled, horribly,
Or would you just wince?