PGMCC explores the Biblioverse in 2026: instalment THREE

Books completed in 2025

Title; Author; Start/end date; Number of pages
The Green Man's Holiday by Juliet E. McKenna, 29/12/2025 - 01/01/2026, 322 Pages
Christmas Ghost Stories edited by A. R. Wells 04/01/2026 - 14/01/2026 249 Pages
Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard 25/12/2025 - 12/01/2026 297 Pages
Tradecraft: Writers on John Le Carré edited by Federico Varese 09/01/2026 - 172 Pages
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg 15/01/2026 - 06/02/2026 267 Pages
One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson 20/01/2026 - 27/01/2026 526 Pages
Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett 26/01/2026 - 31/01/2026 288 Pages
Kolymsky Heights by Lionel Davidson 03/02/2026 - 22/02/2026 454 Pages
Everyone this Christmas has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson 16/02/2026- 20/02/2026 240 Pages
The Immaculate Deception by Ian Pears 23/02/2026 - 26/02/2026 213 Pages
When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson 27/02/2026 - 06/03/2026 497 Pages
A Flutter of Wings by Mervyn Wall 27/02/2026 - 219 Pages
All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles 03/03/2026 - 10/03/20/2026 352 Pages
The Riverside Villas Murder by Kingsley Amis 10/03/2026 - 12/03/2026 224 Pages
Big Steal by Caimh McDonnell 16/03/2026 - 23/03/2026 348 Pages
Outline by Rachel Cusk 13/03/2026 - 15/03/2026 258 Pages
Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkins 25/03/2026 - 04/04/2026 480 Pages
Christine Falls by Benjamin Black/John Banville 03/04/2026 - 09/04/2026 400 Pages 54% DNF
Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope ? - 608 Pages
Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie 10/04/2026 - 17/04/2026 160 Pages
Trip to the Moon: Understanding the True Power of Story by John Yorke 11/04/2026 - 01/05/2026 466 Pages
This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum 03/05/2026 - 07/05/2026 369 Pages
Solace House by Will Maclean 10/05/2026 - 26/05/2026 565 Pages
A Night of Strange Dreams by SF Russell 01/05/2026 - 06/05/2026 ? Pages
Platform Decay by Martha Wells 26/05/2026 - ? Pages
The Castle of Ollada by Francis Lathom 29/05/2026 - 192 Pages

Happy new thread, Peter!

>2 haydninvienna:
Thank you, Richard.

>1 pgmcc: Happy new thread!

Happy new thread!

Happy New Thread!

Happy New Thread!

Clearly you're chugging right along this year! Happy new thread! (Oh, and by the way, >7 clamairy:, I love the happy little spool there.)

Happy new thread! I enjoyed the account of your and Catriona's successful mission shopping trip in your last thread.

Happy new thread!

>4 Karlstar:, >5 terriks:, >6 Alexandra_book_life:, >7 clamairy:, >8 jillmwo:, >9 Sakerfalcon:, >10 Narilka:

Thank you everyone for the happy new thread wishes.

>7 clamairy: I love the spool of yarn. I laughed out loud when I saw it.

Tonight my book club met. We were discussing Outline by Rachel Cusk. The person who proposed it loved it. The rest of us were not so enthused. We all agreed it was well written, but for most of us it did not do much for us. I summarised it as miserable people discussing the miserable things that have happened to them.

The book proposed for next month is Christine Falls by Benjamin Black, the pseudonym of John Banville. I have read a couple of John Banville's "literary" books and they are not for me. Christine Falls is the first of a detective series he wrote under his pseudonym, "Benjamin Black". I have intended to read one of his books in this series, so it is an opportune selection for me. The book is the first in the series.

Apparently new editions of his detective stories are being published under his real name, John Banville.

Every year the libraries in Dublin nominate a book under a campaign called, "One City, One Book". It is aimed at encouraging reading and in particularly promoting Irish writers. Christine Falls is this years selection for One City, One Book.

Discussion led to other books and one that piqued my interest is The Library of Traumatic Memories by Neil Jordan. I snagged the Kindle version and am looking forward to finding out what it is like.

>9 Sakerfalcon:
I am glad you liked our mission shopping report. It was a great day.

Christine Falls has mixed reviews and I gave it 2 1/2 stars. Eh. Didn't make me want to read any more of them or anything else by him.

>12 pgmcc: miserable people's miserable things is my perhaps uncharitable conception of literary fiction as a genre. I've been curious about Banville's mysteries, although Ive assumed they're quite literary and a parade of miserable.

>12 pgmcc: I did Christine Falls back in 2016 with the Township Library Book Group. But I can't find my notes or feedback. I think it was well-written but not necessarily something I wanted to revisit. (But remember that YMMV)

Here you go, a Jeopardy question from last week.

>17 Karlstar:
I admire your level of Elephant Awareness.

There is always an enormous herbivore.

>14 Bookmarque: >15 libraryperilous: >16 jillmwo:

I approach Christine Falls without high expectations. This may work some psychological trickery on me and result in my liking the book. Be aware that I am not betting any money on this happening.

Oh dear! I have just visited an Oxfam bookshop; the only charity shop in Ireland dedicated to selling books.
Yes! Of course I bought books.
Details to folliw.

>20 pgmcc: Oxfam bookshops are very dangerous places. It's impossible to escape without buying books.

>20 pgmcc:. I am not sensing even a single iota of remorse here. But, as you note, a full report outlining the individual titles and the associated rationale for acquisition is in order.

>21 Sakerfalcon:
We both know that from Oxford.

>22 jillmwo:
I do not do remorse where book buying is concerned.
:-)

I am using my phone to post so will only give an overview at this point:

Three book by Anthony Trollope

Two books by C P Snow

One of the Trollopes is a Folio edition I needed to complete my Barchester Chronicles set. Well pleased with finding it.

By pure accident I fell into Hodges Figgis and came out with a Roberto Bolaño book; The Spirit of Science Fiction.

>25 pgmcc: At the rate you're going, you will be restricted to eating bread and butter the next time you're visiting the French countryside. No wine, no cafe au lait or tea, no croissants, just plain bread and butter.

>26 jillmwo:
You can be so cruel.

:-)

Bread and paté rations.

Here is my book acquisition report of my activities yesterday.

From left to write in the multi-book picture below, i.e. the books I bought in the Oxfam bookshop.

The Macdermots of Ballycloran by Anthony Trollope.
Being a Trollope fan I could not resist picking up what is apparently his first novel.

Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope.
I like the Barchester series and over the years I have managed to pick up folio editions of all the books in the series, except Doctor Thorne. This was a totally fortuitous find and as you can imagine this is the one book above all others that made the spur of the moment decision to visit the Oxfam shop worthwhile. This pleased me.

The Claverings by Anthony Trollope.
I know nothing of this book, but it is a Trollope, a Folio edition. Having picked all its Trollope shelf companions there is no way I could leave it there all by itself. You never know who might pick it up.

The Masters by C. P. Snow
I have enjoyed any Snow work I have read or seen and had to pick this up.

The Conscience of the Rich by C. P. Snow
See comments under The Masters.

Having left the Oxfam bookshop we walked over the Grattan Bridge to the other side of the Liffey and on to The Leprechaun Museum. We were booked in for the 3pm storytelling session. It was our older son who was performing and we really enjoyed the three stories he told the audience. It is well worth visiting The Leprechaun Museum if you are in Dublin. It is a great introduction to traditional Irish folklore surrounding the little people.

Later in the afternoon I found myself in Hodges Figgis and spotted a book by Robert Bolaño that I was not aware of, The Spirit of Science Fiction. Being a fan of his writing and having dabbled in Science Fiction I had to acquire this volume.

End of Report.

I forgot to mention that before visiting the Oxfam bookshop we had lunch in our favourite restaurant, Chez Max. Always a good place for lunch.

Also, I have to include pictures of our son in full flight telling stories in The Leprechaun Museum. You can see from one picture that we were all shrunken down to the size of leprechauns for the occasion.

>29 pgmcc: Thank you for these!

I am pretty sure I own at least one book by CP Snow but I have not read any of his works. Do you have a favorite?

>29 pgmcc: Great pictures! That looks like so much fun!

>30 clamairy: I have a nagging feeling that I've heard of CP Snow, too - but couldn't mention a single book.

>30 clamairy: & >31 terriks:
The Search was referenced by Dorothy L. Sayers in Gaudy Night. It is probably a good one to start with.

I am glad you liked the photographs. As I said in my post, I recommend a visit to The Leprechaun Museum, and I am not just saying that because my son works there. I visited the museum years ago and found it a great place to hear the traditional tales of Ireland. Yesterday was my second visit since my son started his storytelling role.

>32 pgmcc: Well that looks like a very interesting premise. I see the ratings on here are not that high, but I might give it a go. I poked around my shelves and cannot find the one I own, and I see it's not in my catalog either. I do know in the early days I had trouble entering books that didn't have an ISBN, and sometimes I gave up.

>29 pgmcc: I like your book acquisition reports :)

Thank you very much for the photos!

>33 clamairy:
I found I had to enter books with no ISBN manually on occasion.

>34 Alexandra_book_life:
I am glad you like the reports and pictures.

Thanks for sharing your pictures! That museum is on my bucket list. :)

>29 pgmcc: Thanks for the pictures, that looks like fun.

>28 pgmcc: You made some good choices there. Depending upon how much family time you anticipate over the weekend, you might settle in and read one of the Trollope selections. (I'm not persuaded that the Bolano book has anything to do with science fiction as we know it...)

>38 jillmwo:
I enjoyed the other Bolaño books I have read, so I am expecting some interesting views and ways of looking at things.

I am hardly likely to get to Trollope this weekend, but Dr. Thorne is the next on in the series that I am due to read. I have Wordsworth Classics edition and will read that. I will probably bring it to France with me.

This weekend will be busy. A nephew is getting married on Easter Sunday and we will be going to that, so Sunday is out for reading.

>36 catzteach: & >37 Karlstar:

I am glad you liked the pictures.

>36 catzteach: I hope you get to it sooner than later. I look forward to meeting up when you get to Ireland.

>37 Karlstar: It certainly is fun. One of the things I like about the museum is that despite what people think of its name it is very good at spreading knowledge of the real folklore and tales of Ireland. Its shop has some excellent books on the myths and legends of Ireland.

Today I committed a mortal sin. We popped down to the village for a couple of items and met our objectives very quickly. I suggested a cup of tea at the local garden centre and my wife agreed leapt at the opportunity. Well, my mortal sin is that we went to the garden centre and I did not have my book with me. To recover the situation somewhat I used my phone to read on the Kindle app. Not having the physical book I am reading I started our book club read for April, Christine Falls*. I have read the preface and chapter 1. Have not made my mind up about it but it is at least readable.

*The touchstone identifies the author as Benjamin Black. This is correct, but Benjamin Black is a pseudonym for John Banville and the book has recently been republished using John Banville as the author name.

>39 pgmcc: I watched a Dr. Thorne mini-series on PBS a while back. (It might have been five years ago, but it also might have been ten...) It was decent. I'm sure the book will be better.

>41 pgmcc: How was the reading experience using your phone?

>41 pgmcc: Always carry a book!

>39 pgmcc:. I loved Doctor Thorne - both book and that PBS adaptation. It's a lovely novel. (The good end happily and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means.... Yes. I know that is Oscar Wilde and not Trollope but the theory is solid.)

>41 pgmcc: it is rare that I don’t have a book with me. But I do have the Kindle app and have had to resort to it on occasion.

>42 clamairy:
Your comment on Dr. Thorne is encouraging. I have not been disappointed by Trollope so far, so I am expecting a pleasant read.

I have read on the phone several times. I used to do it a lot some years ago but I do prefer the bigger kindle screen. One of the advantages of using the phone is that it is one of the devices that allows synchronisation of the book you are reading across to the kindle. Not every kindle app does this.

>43 Karlstar:
I know, Jim. That is the mortal sin I committed. I failed to abide by that commandment.

>44 jillmwo:
You and @Clamairy are getting me excited about picking up the book.

>45 catzteach:
The kindle app on the phone is a handy emergency fall-back.

I finished reading Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson. It is one of the Jackson Brodie novels.

I was not totally comfortable starting this one due to one of the issues involved* and because I thought one of the characters acted out of character, but it quickly caught my interest and pulled me along.

Would I read another book by this author?
Yes. I have the next Jackson Brodie novel sitting ready to read.

Would I recommend this book. and, if so, to whom?
Yes. Anyone interested in murder mysteries that are not gory, contain interesting characters, and have a generous serving of humorous observations and comments on life and the human condition.

Did this book inspire me to do anything?
Yes. As soon as I finished it I went to find the next book in the series.

Was this book engrossing?
Yes.

*One character is starting to develop Alzheimer syndrome and I found it slightly upsetting to read. It was a vital part of the plot, and I quickly got into the swing of the story.

Despite Christine Falls being a book club selection I am finding it growing on me. I am about half way through chapter 2 and am getting to know the main character and to enjoy his encounters with others.

>47 pgmcc: Interesting review - now you have my curiosity piqued. I have #s2 and 3 on my shelves - not trying to hurry through this series.

I took a detour to read Rules of Civility by Amor Towles to stop myself from gorging on Kate Atkinson. How silly of me - as soon as I finished Rules of Civility, I picked up A God In Ruins. It's wonderful so far, but some of the reviews warn that it's a bit of a weeper. I'm going slowly for that very reason.

>49 terriks: I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. It amazes me that she is capable of writing the Brodie books and something like A God in Ruins. So very different.

Book 9 in Caimh McDonnell's Dublin Trilogy is to be published on 27th August, 2026.



The Kindle edition is available to preorder on Amazon UK at £3.99.

I forgot my 20 year Thingaversary. It was on Monday.

So far this year I have acquired forty-five books. I think that covers any Thingaversary obligation.

Congrats!

>53 clamairy:
Thank you!

>52 pgmcc: Oh, I think not. Forgetting a Thingaversary of twenty years entails quite a substantial penalty. You may have to quadruple that number of 45 before the end of the second quarter. :>)

>55 jillmwo:
Do you think I won't?

:-)

The picture below is particularly for @haydninvienna as of where he previously lived. It is also for @jillmwo because she is so fond of Dickens.

>52 pgmcc: 20 is a lot! Congratulations!

>57 pgmcc: Funny.

>52 pgmcc: This is cool! Congratulations! :)

>56 pgmcc: Well, if you're asking if I'm calling your bluff, I think I might be. Aren't you headed to France at some point soon? You usually minimize your acquisitions when traveling incognito...

>57 pgmcc: Ha!

>52 pgmcc: Congrats on 20 years at LT!

>60 jillmwo:
We are sailing on 15th of this month.

>61 terriks:
Thank you!

>56 pgmcc:. If you were to quadruple your 45 titles, that would put the grand total of titles needed to 180. 180 books by June 30 when you're traveling on the 15th of the month to the gentle climate of France? You'll never make it. The enforcers will be on your doorstep in no time.

All of the enforcers can be easily bought off with fine French cheeses, Peter. So be sure to keep your refrigerator well stocked.

>64 jillmwo:
I have started: Trip to The Moon: Understanding the true power of story by John Yorke, author of Into the Woods.

>65 clamairy:
That is the plan. That and a good cellar full of wine.

>66 pgmcc: Perfect.

I have abandoned Christine Falls at 54% read. Another miserable book from the book club.

Elephants Can Remember will be my next read. It is a BB from @Sakerfalcon.

>68 pgmcc: Christine Falls started out all right, then rapidly got worse for you?

>69 Karlstar:
That about sums it up. I found it clichéd with some very stereotypical wooden characters. Its portrayal of 1950s Dublin was accurate, but the main character was flawed in ways that lacked verisimilitude. It was very depressing and did not have any glimpse of light relief. It left me feeling I do not wish to read anything else by John Banville.

Many contemporary Irish writers seem to focus on depressing and well trodden miseries of Irish history and societal failings. While it is important to record and examine these issues some book releases appear to exploit the human misery rather than providing a forum to examine and learn from them.

Another thing I felt Banville did was to pile too many issues into the one story.

There was a dreadful event that was signalled quite a lot and when it happened I gave up reading the book. It was just too much cliché stacked on top of an already teetering pile of cliché. I stopped reading at 54% telling myself I could be spending my reading time more usefully by reading something else. I will be starting a BB from @Sakerfalcon; Elephants Can Remember.

I hope the elephants will purge any mental ick left over from the book club book.

Nothing against Christie or her publishers, but there are neither African nor Asian elephants in Elephants Can Remember. It was false advertising....

>71 Sakerfalcon:
That is what I am hoping.

>72 jillmwo:
The copy I have is the first time in paperback edition from 1975 making it 51 years old. There are African elephants on the front cover. I am only twelve pages in so cannot comment on what elephants may or may not lie within, but as you know, there is always an elephant.

Oooops! Page 13 has the first mention of an elephant.

>70 pgmcc: Ugh, sorry it was so much worse for you since you are Irish. The only parallel I can think of with US history is slavery and/or what Europeans did to the Native Americans, but I don't know that it has much appeal in stories, either that or I'm not as widely read as I think I am.

Page 19 sees Chapter 2 begin. The chapter heading is fake news. It is “The First Mention of Elephants”, but elephants were mentioned on page 13.

To be fair, the nationality of any elephants has not been mentioned to date.

>74 Bookmarque:
Banville has rolled in alcoholism, sectarian bigotry, illegal export by nuns of babies for adoption, the dreadful treatment by nuns of girls who have “gotten themselves into trouble”, hypocrisy of members of elite Catholic organisations, nepotism, marital strife, child killing, poor housing conditions, the power of the church both in Ireland and the US, etc…

That should give you an idea of the misery piled high in this book. I haven’t even mentioned the unrequited love, the sibling rivalry, the parental domination, the secret societies, unsavoury characters, poverty, abuse of servants, and more.

I don't remember a lot of it, but I do remember it was a slog. Bleah. Nicer to spend one's time with better company.

>77 Bookmarque:
Hear! Hear!

>76 pgmcc: Perhaps you should add the book to this thread: https://www.librarything.com/topic/350178

I've read books where all or many of those things were discussed but the book ended on a positive note. The writing has to be just right.

Elephants Can Remember is proving to be the palate cleanser I was hoping for.

@jillmwo has set me the task of acquiring 180 books by the end of June. I may not reach that number but at least I have made a start with a new book from John Yorke, author of Into The Woods: A Five-Act Journey into Story, a brilliant book on story structure that I enjoyed a lot. The new book is entitled, Trip to The Moon: Understanding the True Power of Stories.



Yes, it is a white cover with black writing. It does not best suit posting an image here, but when I saw it in Books Upstairs it leapt from the shelf and grabbed me by the wallet. It is a 2026 publication and is only available in physical form as a hardback at present. There is a kindle version but this is a book I want to study, annotate, and feel its heft in my hands. Hardback is just the thing.

>75 pgmcc: Did you think I was passing out misinformation? I was very precise in my statements regarding the elephants in Agatha Christie's novel.

>80 pgmcc: Let us be clear. I did not "set" you the task of acquiring 180 books by June 30. I was again very precise in #64 when I said that I did not think you would be able to do so. The fact that you took it as a challenge is on you. (And let's be honest. You'll need to acquire multiple books each day if you are to make it to that magic number. If John Yorke's book "leapt from the shelf" into your arms, that's still only a single book.)

We are having real Irish weather today. At 2pm this afternoon a nephew is hosting a family BBQ. This morning was very sunny and fresh*. It was lovely when I was walking the dog. A few minutes ago, 13:10 hrs to be precise, the hailstone started. The definition of an Irish BBQ is the host standing at the grill preparing food and holding an umbrella over his head while all the guests watch and project support from inside the house. :-)

>81 jillmwo: I would never believe you to be passing out misinformation. You have been very precise in your comments about elephants in that, as I said before, the nationality of the elephants concerned has not been mentioned explicitly. I would, however, suggest African elephants were in Mrs Oliver's mind as she talked about very big tusks. Page 28: "Great big elephant tusks." Of course, she may not have been aware of the difference in the sizes of African and Indian elephant tusks and would regard any tusk as being a "Great big elephant tusk". Just saying, but hastening to repeat that you were perfectly precise in your comments.

I can surely be forgiven for inferring that you have challenged me to acquire 180 books by the end of June from your comments in posts >55 jillmwo: and >64 jillmwo:. @Clamairy has at least offered me the resolution to my potential enforcer related predicament by using bribery and corruption to sate the enforcers' appetite for punishing me by using cheese and wine. This approach has saved many a poor soul from spending endless days in Azkaban.

By the way, we will be home for almost a couple of weeks in May which will provide another window for book acquisition. We are then heading back to the secret base for another spell.

*In Ireland "fresh" in relation to weather means "a bit chilly but not too bad".

>82 pgmcc: Well, I'm sure that bouts of hailstones would drive anybody into the nearest bookshop for cover. Speaking of which, I saw that a new Waterstones will be opening there in Dublin at some point soon. Had you been aware?

In passing, I will point out that Ariadne Oliver was not noted for her careful inclusion of accurate details when writing about her Finnish detective (whose name I can never recall -- beyond Sven). She found that fans who quibbled over such missteps (as the size of elephant tusks) were apt to be tedious.

>80 pgmcc: And due to the Publishing Powers That Be, I cannot obtain the new book by John Yorke here in the US (unless I choose to license the ebook). The print version is not yet available on this side of the Atlantic.

>83 jillmwo:
Thank fully the hailstone only made a five minute appearance at our nephew's house. The rest of the time we had lovely sunshine, however, the risk of more precipitation ensured we dined inside although our host did grill the food outside.

I read about the new Waterstones opening in Dublin only this morning. It was only the headline I saw so I have no idea where it is opening. Waterstones had two stores under the Waterstones title in Dublin some years ago. Waterstones owns Hodges Figgis. Hodges Figgis has an over 250 year history in book publishing and selling and has such a reputation it is given great leeway to maintain its own identity and book selling strategy.

The two Waterstones stores were closed some years ago but Waterstones maintained its store in Cork. The Cork store is very nice.

One of the old Dublin Waterstones was located directly across the road from Hodges Figgis. The majority of people did not know that Waterstones owned Hodges Figgis. I, of course, purchased books from both shops. One of the funny things I discovered by experience was that if a customer was looking for a specific book and entered one of these two stores and found the shop did not have the book in question, asking a member of staff where one might get a copy of the query would prompt the shop assistant to direct the customer to bookshops in Dublin but never to the bookshop across the road. I tested this phenomenon several times in both stores and had the same result every time. Friends tested it too and found the same outcome. I never worked out if it was sibling rivalry or a deliberate policy to create disgust in the customer that they would not recommend the shop across the road and result in the customer going to the sister store simply to snub the churlish advice they had just received.

Hurrumph! Tedious indeed.

Oh dear, no Trip to the Moon for you in the near future. It is a hefty tome, 465 pages (including notes and appendix), but I think I will bring it with me to France. I have read and enjoyed the introduction and am looking forward to following Yorke's line of thought and analysis. As you can imagine, he is using all his knowledge of how stories work to tell his story in an engrossing fashion. If it were a boring read it would call into question his credibility for writing about the power of stories. You can be assured I will report on my reading of this book.

You've been relatively silent for five whole days. Was there difficulty in crossing over to France on the 15th? Or has there been an issue in getting the safehouse utilities flipped on? Enquiring minds have concerns...

OTOH, perhaps you've just beens breaking the most recent secret code while taking advantage of an abundance of croissants? One can't really type well if one hand is busily cramming pain au chocolate into the mouth.

>85 jillmwo: I just realized he hasn't been posting on Facebook either. Hopefully he is just having issues with his phone.

Edited to add that he sent me a funny video overnight via the Threads app. So maybe he's just having trouble accessing LibraryThing.

>85 jillmwo: & >86 clamairy:
Let me put your minds to rest. The packing, travelling, getting the bunker in order and other such issues have reduced my screen time. Still do not have wifi for my laptop but hope to put that to right shortly.

I have been popping in on my phone every so often and while I wanted to post responses I was put off by the idea of lengthy keying in my phone. This lengthy post is motivated by the kind concern you two have shown over my silence. I could not let your suffering go on.
:-)

Thank you for your concern. It is one of the things that makes The Green Dragon my favourite pub.

>87 pgmcc:. Let's be clear. The important thing is that no one drop dead without six months notice to the Pub at large. It's not enough to quietly ghost people or communicate via brief DM. I mean, my hair is so very grey with worry at this point. (Although, to be honest, I kind of thought that if a ferry had gone down with all aboard, it would still have made the news here.)

But yes, we're glad you're still breathing.

>88 jillmwo:
The crossing was quite rough for the first half of the night, but thankfully we stayed afloat and docked at 7am French time. We arrived at the secret base about 5pm. There were some brief, heavy April showers in the morning which cleared as we progressed.

Thank you for your caring nature. Sorry to cause you any concern. If I intend dropping dead I will certainly make an announcement in advance.

>87 pgmcc: I am happy that the crossing went fine and you have things under control :)

>90 Alexandra_book_life:
Thank you!

Sunny and 22C here. Started the day eating a croissant, drinking a café au lait and reading Trip to The Moon: Understanding the true power of story by John Yorke.

Yorke’s book is proving fascinating. His inside knowledge of the television channels he has worked for has given him real insight into what drives the choice of programmes by commercial channels. His analysis of how reality TV programmes took off and continued to grow is interesting. I had always considered the fact that they are cheap to produce was the main reason. That is key, but he also points out that they contain all the key elements of engrossing stories, they are repetitive in structure and story which is attractive to mass audiences, and they provided a non-scripted option during the 2007 writers’ strike in the US.

By the way, I finished Elephants Can Remember last evening. More to follow when I have my wifi sorted. Still tapping on the phone.

ERRATA: 22C

>89 pgmcc: 🤣

If I intend dropping dead I will certainly make an announcement in advance.

>89 pgmcc: Glad to hear that you made it and have no plans to make an announcement.

>92 clamairy: & >93 Karlstar:

Well, I have no intention of making an announcement like that. Other announcements may be made such as book purchases, books read, cheese eaten, wine drunk, …

Just on that subject we just finished off our déjeuner with some Galet de La Loire spread on fresh baguette washed down with a nice Cotes de Gascogne. Mmmmmmmm!

I do not intend to gloat, but MMMMMMMM!

>94 pgmcc: Wait a minute. You had wine with BREAKFAST? Surely not even the French open the day in that fashion...

>87 pgmcc: Glad you made it safely! Enjoy the bunker's stash of croissants, cheese and wine.

>94 pgmcc: and >95 jillmwo: Wine with breakfast is allowed when on vacation, is it not?

>97 catzteach: Many things are allowed in life, but how many of us do as many of them as @pgmcc does? The man buys books at the drop of a hat, he eats dessert frequently, and now I discover that he has wine with breakfast. It's just too much to take in.

>94 pgmcc: I think I have new life goal: to have wine with my breakfast 😆

>95 jillmwo:
It was our déjeuner we had finished; our lunch. Breakfast is petite déjeuner, little lunch.

>96 terriks:
Thank you. It is our intention to follow your advice. We have made a good start in fulfilling our objectives. :-)

>97 catzteach:
Hear! Hear!
Also, in France it is almost de rigueur to have chocolate at breakfast.

>98 jillmwo:
I would love you to come visit us in France. We will soon see how quickly you will fall into the natural rhythm of daily life here. We still have not visited the local tabac. That is a wonderful place for getting some reading done while sitting in the shade of a large umbrella, eating a croissant and sipping the coffee.

>99 Alexandra_book_life:
There are worse life goals to have.

My review of Elephants Can Remember.

>100 pgmcc: Oh no, you've already been there too long, you said "sipping the coffee."

Enjoy!

>102 Karlstar:
@jillmwo does not believe in having wine for breakfast.

I am really enjoying John Yorke's Trip to the Moon: Understanding the true power of story. It is a great eye opener. This is a good follow-on from his book Into the Woods: A Five-Act Journey Into Story, in which he talked about the structure of stories. In Trip to the Moon he explains why stories work and why they are as powerful as they are.

>104 pgmcc: Glad you are enjoying it! That might be going onto my wishlist.

You both look very comfy. Am I correct in assuming George was left behind? (I do realize cats don't often travel well.)

>105 clamairy:
You are correct. George is at home with our son. He does not travel well. You do not need to know how that manifests itself. We are in polite company here.

Was he signing his name on every vertical surface with bodily fluids? 😃

>106 pgmcc: I've driven with cats long distances, many times. Sometimes that goes well, sometimes things come up.

>107 clamairy:
Let’s just say that once the engine starts you have to make sure the windows are open.

>108 Karlstar:
With George it has gone well only once, a success never repeated since.

>109 pgmcc: Poor George. Belle used to have similar issues every time I put her in the carrier to go to the vet. She is now on a low maintenance dose of Prozac because of a chronic autoimmune condition that makes her very itchy. The side effect has been that I can get her to the vet without having to open the windows.

>108 Karlstar: In the old days veterinarians used to give you low dose sedatives for traveling with animals. Apparently they don't do that too often anymore.

Sounds as if cats are of the belief that if one must get somewhere, one is best served by walking (a slow process) or by being carried in the arms of a human (who is walking). The other options are unacceptable. I'm sure their attitude is one of questioning why the vets be made to travel and come to the patient. In an environment where the cats know all the hidey holes well.

>104 pgmcc: Even a bad book club book would be improved by the reading position in that photo! It looks like the perfect spot.

>110 clamairy:
The vet gave us something to calm George down during his car journeys. We tried it twice. I think George is immunt the calming drug. It never worked. :-(

>111 jillmwo:
I think George would agree with you wholeheartedly.

>112 Sakerfalcon:
That might be a bit of a stretch, but it would certainly help.

I have just finished my notes on Christine Falls by Benjamin Black/John Banville. Due to aa fortunate an unfortunate diary error I may not make it to our Lockdown Book Club so I am sending my notes to the chair of the club to be revealed at the most dramatic moment. For your edification I am presenting them here.

NOTE: At the club we rate books out of ten marks so my socre of 4 is equivalent to 2 stars here.

Christine Falls by John Banville

I welcomed the opportunity to read Christine Falls as I had been planning to read one of Banville’s crime novels ever since I realised he had written them. Having read two of his mainstream books and finding them not to my liking I was approaching this book with modest expectations.
The preface and the first two chapters worked their charms on me and I felt the book growing on me. While the characters did not bowl me over I did enjoy some of their interactions. This was not a trend that would continue.

As I read on, Banville fell back on cliché and started on the well-trodden Irish authors’ path of including as many Irish scandals and societal failings as he could. Banville has rolled in alcoholism, sectarian bigotry, illegal export by nuns of babies for adoption, the dreadful treatment by nuns of girls who have “gotten themselves into trouble”, hypocrisy of members of elite Catholic organisations, nepotism, marital strife, child killing, poor housing conditions, the power of the church both in Ireland and the US, etc… I haven’t even mentioned the unrequited love, the sibling rivalry, the parental domination, the secret societies, unsavoury characters, poverty, abuse of servants, and more.

While it is important to record and examine these issues some books appear to exploit human misery and scandals rather than providing a forum to examine and learn from them. I feel Christine Quirke is one of those books.

Characters came across as stereotypical and two dimensional which did not encourage me to like the book. It was hard to like any of the characters and it grew more and more difficult to like or identify with Quirke. Quirke’s alcoholism, his high position and his high performance at work did not gel with me. It is clear that the hero has to have faults but Quirke’s character did not strike me as credible. Banville over-egged the lily on this one.

The final straw was the killing of the baby. I could see this coming from a mile away and was hoping the book was not going to rely on that, yet Banville went ahead and killed the child right at the midpoint of the novel, the vital location for a turning point in a novel. I abandoned the book at 54% as I felt I did not want to read more misery involving miserable people.

From a literary point of view it was quite well written but the problem with the characters was due to trying to horseshoe in stereotypical characters that Banville wanted to use to demonstrate specific points, e.g. there had to be a Protestant suiter for Quirke’s niece; Quirke’s staff had to include assistants who were Protestant and Jewish so he could slip in stereotypical attitudes towards these characters; the adoptive father of the baby in the US had to be a red-neck to stereotypically explain the killing of the child; etc…

Coincidence was also unnecessarily present. The nurse who transported the baby to the states manages to get a job nursing the tycoon who owns the company the adoptive father works for. This coincidence also included a dramatic change in the nurse’s character. When she is introduced she is portrayed as a young, innocent and naive girl. As the tycoon’s nurse she is presented as a much more confident and mature person whose strength of character got her the job.

The book is very depressing and does not give any glimpse of light relief. It left me feeling I do not wish to read anything else by John Banville. I’m done with miserable books.

Banville has had a lot of experience writing literary books so his writing was good and 1950s Dublin comes across as accurate. I think Banville’s failings with this book are the result of his trying to jump on the bandwagon of writing about the Irish scandals and miseries of the days and forcing his characters to fill slots he felt he needed in the story.

My score: 4/10

>114 pgmcc: Having read your clear and well-reasoned comments I'm amazed you are as generous as 4/10 in your rating! Thank you for encouraging me to continue to steer clear of Banville. (I actually read one of his literary books a long time ago, The sea. I remember nothing about it).

>115 Sakerfalcon: I own a physical copy of that, and the 3.5 ratings in here were enough for me to keep shifting it to the 'maybe someday if there's nothing else to read' pile. >114 pgmcc: has just strengthened my resolve.

>115 Sakerfalcon: & >116 clamairy:

It is nice to be amongst like minded people.

It says a lot that Banville is considered one of the leading figures in the Irish literati. So too is Joseph O’Connor, someone who has disappointed me with three of his novels.

Reading Update:

I am still reading Trip to the Moon: Understanding the true power of story by John Yorke.

This is a great book and I have been taking my time over it. I have just finished the main body of text and am starting the appendices which are detailed. Once I have finished the appendices I am going to be going over the book again extracting some of the gems it contains.

>118 pgmcc: How virtuously you note the time you are spending in reading (as you sit in the shade of the flowering trees surrounding your historic French chateau). This is to distract us all from asking about the fine cuisine and wine you're enjoying.

That said, I am laughing because you sound like another friend of mine who moons over the footnotes in the biographies she reads.

I'm glad that you're getting such value Trip to the Moon.

>119 jillmwo:
I am glad you approve, and yes, I have gained great value from this book.

As of five minutes ago I have finished reading the book…for the first time. I am taking a break to carry out a little commission I have received from a friend. I will send a direct message with the specifics.

>114 pgmcc: Thanks for saving us from that one and that author. I agree with >115 Sakerfalcon:, I'm surprised you gave it 4 stars.

>121 Karlstar: Looks like he gave it a 4/10 rating. That's 2 stars!

>122 clamairy: & >121 Karlstar:
Yes, it is 2 stars by my LT rating. My 3 star rating means it is a good book.

If I think a book is so bad I think it should never have been printed I give it a half star. It i left it with no star rating people would think I hadn't read it rather than that I read it and thought it was a blot on the landscape.

>122 clamairy: You're right, I was thinking 4 stars, not 2. Still too many! :)

Well, the book club meeting failed to happen. Apparently our host is in hospital and undergoing tests.

On a brighter note I finished reading a book called, This Story Might Save Your Life. It was engrossing and interesting. After the first chapter I was not too enamoured with it. However, I got caught by the storyline once I read on and ended up making excuses and time to read it. I will give it 4 starts (out of
5).

More to follow.

I am currently reading and enjoying A Night of Strange Dreams by SF Russell.

>126 pgmcc: Oh, nice! I am looking forward to your thoughts.

>127 Alexandra_book_life: They will be positive.

I am catching up on my reviews. I finished This Story Might Save Your life. The title is accurate.

>129 pgmcc: I think I am interested :)

>129 pgmcc: My my - I'm certainly intrigued by this!

>130 Alexandra_book_life: & >131 terriks:

I hope you enjoy it if you read it.

I started Solace House by Will Maclean today. Two chapters in and finding it interesting.

Sam Leigh, literary editor of the Spectator, wrote a review of Solace house and described it as gothic and at the same time almost poking fun at itself. He enjoyed the book and I have come to respect his judgement having read several pieces by him and his book, Write to the Point. I am not regretting the decision to get this book.

>129 pgmcc: This sounds really good. I've put it on the list to order for our fiction collection at work.

>133 pgmcc: I read a review of this that made me add it to my wishlist*. I look forward to your thoughts.

*I just checked and it was also the Sam Leith one!

>129 pgmcc: I’ve been hit!

>133 pgmcc: Another one that won't be available in the U.S. until the Fall. *sigh* (In your review, can you clarify whether this is more properly cataloged as being Gothic or as being Horror? The marketing materials are a bit "scattered" in their vocabulary.)

>136 jillmwo:
I would regard Gothic as a form of horror. Leith’s looked on it as a Gothic pastiche, with sinister overtones. His article suggests the author was almost lampooning the Gothic style.

It has taken me a few chapters to get into it. A bit slow to start with, but the weirdness and tension is slipping into it now.

I knew I had a few books on pre-order in anticipation of their release dates approaching. As I was not sure of all the books on pre-order I did a trawl of my order history and the list, in anticipated release date, is below:

Beasts with Five Fingers: Strange Tales of Disembodied Hands by Brian J. Showers (Editor) 26th May, 2026

Heaven’s Graveyard by Grace Curtis 18th June, 2026

Death Writ Large by Susie Dent13th August, 2026

The Man Comes Roundby Caimh McDonnell 27th August, 2026 (Hardback)

The Tapir Man* by Nick Harkaway 22 October, 2026 (Kindle); 5th November, 2026

A Case of Fear and Favour by Sally Smith 21 January, 2027

*Another Smiley novel.

>138 pgmcc: Ooh! A new Harkaway! I have added it to my list.

(your asterisk may be mis-positioned)

>138 pgmcc: Oh, dear. I haven't yet read Susie Dent's first mystery, Guilty by Definition and now you tell me there's a second one due out next month. I grabbed the first one solely on the basis of your recommendation. (NOTE: I went and checked and fortunately here in the US, Death Writ Large won't be out until Feb of 2027.)

I think Tales of Disembodied Hands might be worth a look, just because one wonders if there is sufficient material to make up a good collection. OTOH, it might not work as bedtime reading. I mean, are we talking incorporeal extremities or the actual crawling flesh kind?

>139 ScoLgo:
Thank you. Asterisk moved to its appropriate position.

>140 jillmwo:
"Death Writ Large won't be out until Feb of 2027."

The price you pay for living in a literary backwater.

>138 pgmcc:
My post was incomplete. I forgot I had ordered a book that is a BB from @jillmwo, Trace Elements. I ordered it on ABEBooks and it arrived today.

>141 pgmcc: I'm not sure how I missed Jill's mention of Trace elements, but the bullet has struck home. Unfortunately I can only find copies that ship from the US, which doubles the price of the book. I will have to add it to my wishlist and keep an eye on availability.

>142 Sakerfalcon:
I think I got the last remainig UK copy.

>143 pgmcc: Well done!

>144 Sakerfalcon:
I apologise for deprieving you of a copy that was relatively easily acquired. All the other options were coming from the US.

Today was a nice day. I travelled down to the Dublin docklands (now a maze of modern office blocks, coffee shops, apartment blocks, convenience stores, yippie, pubs, etc...) to meet a friend who is working there. We had a nice hour together before he had to go back to work (hee, hee, hee!). Afterwards I headed straight home via a circuitous route that brought me to Hodges Figgis bookshop. How did that happen?

Long story short: two books were acquired.

Wisdom Takes Work by Ryan Holiday

and

Ms Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami. Translated by Louise Heal Kawai.

On the reading front I am currently enjoying Solace House. It took a couple of chapters before I got into it, but now I am about 33% way through the 565 pages I am appreciating it. It is a slow build for a Gothic novel. It is building the tension slowly with a million possibilities of what is happening or what is going to happen.

>146 pgmcc: Why did you choose to buy the Wisdom book? I thought you were one of those white-haired sages who had already acquired depth of wisdom and were choosing to share it with others. Am I wrong?

>147 jillmwo:
The book starts with a quote from Epicurus.

"Let no one be slow to seek wisdom when they are young
nor weary in the search when they have grown old. For no
age is too early or too late for the health of the soul. And to
say that the season for studying philosophy has not yet
come, or that it is past and gone, is like saying that the season
for happiness is not yet or that it is now no more."

I think that answers you question admirably.

>146 pgmcc: Solace House looks interesting. I will wait until you are done and check out your review.

And I don't think any of us are surprised that you found your way into a bookshop, or that you left with some acquisitions!

>149 clamairy:
Am I so obvious? Am I not mysterious? Have I no secrets? Am I such an open book?

>150 pgmcc:. I suspect that >149 clamairy: would be warm and kind in her response so I'm stepping up to the plate in her stead because this is an occasion for friendly snark. Are you so obvious? Yes. Mysterious? Only occasionally and never when it pertains to finding a bookshop. Are you an open book? I'm sure there are depths to your innermost soul that are rarely glimpsed in public. Which is why we're all eagerly awaiting the publication of your memoirs regarding the various covert ops in which you've been so active.

Although really, you'll publish your memoirs primarily for the purpose of using it as an excuse for finding your way into more bookshops. Because if you're going to be in a shop signing your own book for store patrons, you may as well spend some time picking up books by other people.

>151 jillmwo: 🍿

>148 pgmcc: Excellent quote.

>152 terriks:
I hope you enjoy the show now that Jill has stripped me naked and paraded me around the place.

>153 Karlstar:
I thought it interesting and appropriate.

>151 jillmwo:
What can I say? How do I recover from this? How do I rebuild the walls secrecy around me? How do I maintain a carefully created legend while having my inner soul exposed to the public?

It is at times like this that one must dive deep, meditate on one’s existence, and return to have another glass of the Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon we opened last evening for dinner.

Solace House by Will MacLean is proving to be engrossing. It is dragging me into the intrigue and showing many possibilities.

>154 pgmcc: Oh, don't mind me. I love a good floor show.

Enjoy that wine; it sounds delicious!

>156 terriks:
The wine is proving quite drinkable. It is a good match with chilli, as we discovered last evening.

I have just finished Solace House by Will MacLean. It was a roller-coaster of a read. It will take a while for me to put my thoughts about it together. It will be a 4 star rating from me.

>157 pgmcc:. Really, chili? You're dining out during your summer holidays in France and you're eating CHILI? (Please note, for the record, chili doesn't have two "L"s. in it. I know you're typing on your phone but these things matter....)

>159 jillmwo:
On this side of the Atlantic it does. And it was chilli that we made ourselves. I have not dined out since our posh breakfast on the ferry.

>160 pgmcc: Well, now I have to wonder if Europeans are even eating the authentic thing. What do you put in yours? To be clear, a good recipe wouldn't include foie gras as an ingredient. You might need to check with the chef.

>161 jillmwo:
I have spoken to myself, i.e. one of the chefs. I would never consider foie gras for a chilli. I would chop up onions and fry them in a pan. Add some garlic followed by some minced meat, usually beef but I have used minced turkey on occasions. Once the meat is cooked I would, not necessarily in this order, add chopped up bell pepper, diced carrot, tomato purée, spices including chilli powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, paprika, oregano. After that I would add chopped tomato, kidney beans, chickpeas and baked beans. Beef stock can be added. Then the simmer begins and people drool with aticipation at the smell of the feast bubbling away teasing their taste buds and forcing them to wait until it is just right.

Depending on how we feel we may serve it with rice or pasta. Sometimes with some nice bread. In Cincinatti it is served with spaghetti.

Does this pass your test of a real chili/chilli/hot stuff?

>162 pgmcc: I'm on board with kidney beans and/or black beans. I'm definitely not on board with the baked beans or the chickpeas. LOL (My sister makes chili with no beans at all.)

>162 pgmcc: I fear the addition of baked beans, which are cooked in molasses, brown sugar, or both, would offset the heat and flavor from your spices. If you're going for a sweeter, rich, non-spicy chili, (note the lone "L") then you would have succeeded.

Kidney beans - both light and dark red - are a more traditional bean addition.

But taste is relative! If your family loves this recipe then it's good. Prepared for others, not expecting to encounter sweet baked beans, you might see a few raised eyebrows.

>164 terriks:
The baked beans are added as a “whatever we have in the cupboard” ingredient. I suspect baked beans here might be different from what you are used to. Ours come in tomato sauce.

ETA:
From the ever more unreliable Google search:
“ American beans tend to be sweeter and smokier, British beans are more savory, with a tomato-based sauce and subtle seasoning”

I started reading Platform Decay last evening.

>162 pgmcc: chopped up bell pepper, diced carrot, tomato purée, spices including chilli powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, paprika, oregano. After that I would add chopped tomato, kidney beans, chickpeas and baked beans.

I have absolutely no issue with your selection of spices. However, as >163 clamairy: and >164 terriks: have noted the inclusion of baked beans is an "interesting choice" on your part. Because when my husband throws together his favorite chili recipe in the crockpot, we just use black beans or red beans. Someone I used to know made a halfway decent vegetarian chili but we always use your basic hamburger. (And yes, we always have tomato sauce in there as well.)

But it is interesting to read what the Europeans do. Because it's not really an authentic chili recipe, but I imagine that the change in spelling signals that shift... (For the record, I believe American baked beans do generally include tomato sauce to some extent.)

But nothing like having three American women telling you how you may be mucking it up, is there? Maybe it's time for a Great Transcontinental Chili Cook-Off thread here in the Pub with everyone comparing their versions.

>167 jillmwo:
We will have to recruit Willy Wonky to invent taste-a-vision to accompany his smell-a-vision so we can all sample the dishes properly.

I take it the US baked beans are sweeter than ours. That probably adds to the reaction against my putting them in a chilli. Ours are quite savoury and the tomato sauce adds to the tomato theme of the dish.

It is understood that the over abundance of corn syrup in the US is a reason for its use in many US products. We no longer have a sugar industry* so there is not so much sweet additives in food produced here.

*Ireland used to grow sugar beat and we had a successful sugar industry with our own sugar company and brand. It was negotiated away as part of international agreements to reduce competition for sugar producers in underdeveloped countries. It was a big blow to our farmers and led to cleaner country roads in October and November. I used to do a lot of driving around the country for work and spent many a dark rainy Friday evening stuck behind lorries carrying sugar beat and shedding mud on the roads which was then splashed up onto my windshield. A five hour drive up from Cork in those conditions was tiring.

>168 pgmcc: Oh yes, US baked beans will contain brown sugar and often unnamed "natural sweeteners." Depends on the brand.

Most scratch recipes will call for brown sugar, molasses, or both! But you can modify sweetness by making them yourself as opposed to buying them canned.

A popular brand is Bush's, and they have a wide variety of additives for various flavors.

The "original" recipe (that's navy beans behind the icons on the top right) - note that brown sugar is the third-listed ingredient!

What are they doing adding brown coloring? LOL What color were they before that?

I have just finished Platform Decay and started The Castle of Ollada by Francis Lathom, a BB from @jillmwo.

>169 terriks:
The ingredients for the brands I have include unnamed sweeteners but no sugar or molasses.

>170 clamairy:
One is afraid to ask.

I'm looking forward to your review of Solace house. I'm glad you've reached your secret lair holiday place safely and are all stocked up with the essentials.

>174 Sakerfalcon:
Bottom line, I enjoyed Solace House. I will give a more informative response later. It is the type of book that is good at playing with your mind and also playing with the minds of the characters.

Time for a new thread. See you all over there.