ReneeMarie's 999

I think I have my categories fairly set, but if something isn't working one of the categories may have to change:

1. I Read Dead People - autobiographies, biographies, journals, and letters


2. Ain't I a Reading Woman - women's studies


3. Read This Write Away - books on writing and authorship


4. Kill a Few Hours Reading - military history


5. Kids Read the Darnedest Things - children's literature


6. How Do I Read Thee? Let Me Count the Ways - poetry


7. Voyage of the Dawn Reader - fantasy and science fiction


8. East of Readin' - classics


9. Read Hereafter - historical fiction

Sorry. Couldn't resist....

Books will be chosen as I go along. I am a frequent library user, but nonetheless I own several thousand unread books. The plan is to read as many of my own TBR as possible.

If a book is listed in a category, I've finished it.




Additional Information
٭ List of books read outside the challenge here.
٭ List of potential 2010 categories here.

A. I Read Dead People

1. The John Deere Story by Neil Dahlstrom & Jeremy Dahlstrom (178p; 31 August 2009)


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Books that would fit in this category are in my own library tagged "Biography and Autobiography" and "Diaries and Letters."

B. Ain't I a Reading Woman

1. Women Who Kept the Lights by Mary Louise Clifford & J. Candace Clifford (155p; 11 November 2009)


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Books that would fit in this category are in my own library tagged, among other things: "Women's Studies," "Scribbling Women," "History of Sexuality," "History of Marriage and Family," "History of Feminism," and "Suffrage."

C. Read This Write Away

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Books that would fit in this category are in my own library tagged, among other things: "Authorship," "Scribbling Women," "Literary History," and "Transcendentalism."

D. Kill a Few Hours Reading

1. This Republic of Suffering by Drew Gilpin Faust (271p; 7 February 2009)


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Books that would fit in this category are in my own library tagged "Military History." I also use tags for "American Revolution," "Napoleonic Wars," "American Civil War," and "World War One," but those and other war-specific tags will return works of fiction, as well.

E. Kids Read the Darnedest Things

1. The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick (217p; 21 January 2009)


2. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (486p; 16 February 2009)


3. 100 Cupboards by N. D. Wilson (289p; 27 February 2009)


4. The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley (284p; 11 March 2009)


5. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (280p; 12 March 2009)


6. Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams (375p; 14 March 2009)


7. The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson (274p; 26 April 2009)


8. The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene (180p; 16 September 2009)


9. the Red Blazer Girls: The Ring of Rocamadour by Michael D. Beil (298p; 26 September 2009)

NOTE: Most of the children's books I own (few of which are listed at LT yet) are historical fiction. This category is intended to make me explore some of the popular children's books and series we sell at the bookstore. In the past, I've read books in the following series: The Clique, Gossip Girls, Pendragon, Charlie Bone, and Septimus Heap.

F. How Do I Read Thee? Let Me Count the Ways

1. Delights and Shadows by Ted Kooser (59 poems; 7 January 2009)


2. North by Seamus Heaney (29 poems; 7 January 2009)


3. Valentines by Ted Kooser (23 poems; 14 January 2009)


4. One World at a Time by Ted Kooser (49 poems; 11 March 2009)


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Books that would fit in this category are in my own library tagged, very originally, "Poetry."

G. Voyage of the Dawn Reader

1. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (215p; 14 January 2009)


2. Miracle and Other Christmas Stories by Connie Willis (328p; 24 March 2009)


3. The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov (3 July 2009)


4. Druids by Morgan Llywelyn (400p; 3 August 2009)


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Books that would fit in this category are in my own library tagged "Fantasy Fiction" or "Science Fiction." Some may also be tagged "Doctor Who" or "Time Travel Fiction."

H. East of Readin'

1. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie (184p; 31 January 2009)


2. The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West (188p; 8 March 2009)


3. Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos (427p; 5 April 2009)


4. Candide, or Optimism by Voltaire (130p; 5 June 2009)


5. Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie (210p; 7 August 2009)


6. The Circular Staircase Mary Roberts Rinehart (205p; 10 October 2009)


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Books that would fit in this category are in my own library tagged "Classic Literature." They may also be tagged "Rutgers AWW" (Rutgers American Woman Writers series), "Oxford WWIE" (Oxford Women Writers in English 1350-1850), "Oxford EAWW" (Oxford Early American Woman Writers), "Penguin Classics," "Modern Library Classics," or "Broadview Press" ( check them out ).

I. Read Hereafter

1. The Glory Cloak: A Novel of Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton by Patricia O'Brien (342p; 5 January 2009)


2. The Widow's War by Sally Gunning (300p; 2 March 2009)


3. The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier (348p; 5 April 2009)


4. Execution Dock by Anne Perry (306p; 19 April 2009)


5. Regeneration by Pat Barker (250p; 31 May 2009)


6. Marrying the Captain by Carla Kelly (275p; 25 June 2009)


7. The Surgeon's Lady by Carla Kelly (277p; 26 June 2009)


8. A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd (329p; 29 June 2009)


9. Beau Crusoe by Carla Kelly (294p; 25 July 2009)

Books that would fit in this category are in my library tagged "Historical Fiction." I also tag historical fiction by century (e.g., "19th Century") and by place (e.g., "@United States"). "@" is only used with works of fiction. Centuries are also noted when applicable to works of history. Historical fiction may also be further identified as "Historical Romance" or "Historical Mystery."

What clever categories! :)
--BJ

I love it when people get clever with their categories and category names.

Hilarious! LOL

The Lightning Thief in the Percy Jackson series is awesome. In the past month, I've listened to book 1, read book 2, and have 3 and 4 ready for a car ride at Christmas.

Renee--

Great categories! We share 3 categories--Classics, Fantasy, and Poetry. I'll enjoy seeing what you read next year.

My son started reading The Lightning Thief this week (he's an adult) and says it is great. I'm considering swapping it out with one the fantasy books I have on my list that I'm ambivalent about. Since he lives in the same town borrowing is no problem.

14> Thanks for the suggestion. Rick Riordan's series is definitely on my radar -- I like the story I heard that they grew out of stories he told his son. And they've been super popular.

For younger readers, I also (currently) plan to try one of Garth Nix's books with the day of the week in the title, an Artemis Fowl book, and maybe Judy Moody. Beyond that, I haven't thought.

For teens, I'm definitely going to read Scott Westerfeld and Sarah Dessen. Probably Anthony Horowitz and Stephenie Meyer. Possibly Libba Bray.

I'm open to suggestions. It's such a huge field and only 9 spots in the category....

15> Classics will be dictated by what I have to read for book group. And possibly filled with other titles, too, because we may be reading "fat books" over multiple months.

It would be a shame to leave a book out because of length, but the months the group members picked _David Copperfield_ and _Gone with the Wind_ were NOT successful. Another member wants to read _Les Miserables_, and I want to pick _War and Peace_. The rest of the group hates us. :-)

I do also have a large number of Broadview Press titles languishing in my apartment. I LOVE Broadview Press. They're one of my favorite publishers. They're tagged -- although I think I've missed some, since the search I just ran didn't pull them all up -- in my library as "Broadview Press."

Fantasy will probably involve the Naomi Novik books I wanted to read this year but didn't get to in the 888. Beyond that, not sure. Sharon Shinn, Linnea Sinclair, Sheri Tepper, George R. R. Martin, and Sharon Lee/Steve Miller are all waiting patiently. Some of my Connie Willis is unread, too.

Poetry will start with my favorite modern poet, Ted Kooser. I've loved his work since I was introduced to it in college. Especially "Abandoned Farmhouse." Most of what I have will be re-reads, but I haven't opened _Delights and Shadows_ yet, and haven't bought _Valentines_ yet. I thought I'd also read some of the WWI poets. Beyond that, no idea. Maybe some of the Pulitzer winners.

I tried to find your category listing, but didn't see it on the first screen of threads (did I miss it?) and "Next" is still broken. I'll have to try search later. Which fantasy novel(s) are you ambivalent about?

ETA: "Next" seems to be working on the groups pages again. I get the little red "Loading" box rather than the error message in the footer of the browser.

Wonderful category titles ReneeMarie - makes me feel so inadequate... ;>)

Now the problem is coming up with names for 2010's categories, assuming a challenge is built similar to that of 2009. As someone else said, I'm not up to 10x10x10 -- which my brain keeps interpreting as 1000 titles, even though I know it's 100.

Thinking WAY ahead to 2010, consider:

* I think I'd like a "history of science and technology" category.
* Bring (historical) romance back.
* Maybe read the history Pulitzers, or the Bancroft Prize winners.
* Bestsellers, for much the same reason I'm reading children's literature this year -- must be titles I would not pick on my own, perhaps by much published authors.
* Classic literature by women -- read my Broadview Press titles and those in the Oxford Women Writing in English and Rutgers American Woman Writers series.
* Historic travel writing (e.g., Charles Dickens and Fanny Trollope and Isabella Bird)
* ARCs, for incentive to get them read while the books are still unpublished or less than 3 months on the shelf.
* In search of Enlightenment (the historical period, not the "spiritual condition")
* All Civil War fiction, or all WWI fiction, or all Napoleonic Wars fiction, or simply all military historical fiction
* Time travel or time slip fiction/romance/fantasy/literature
* Novels set in multiple time periods (like Smith's _River God_, Sussman's _Lost Army of Cambyses_}
* Fiction and non-fiction about the Beechers
* Books with "castle" in the title (e.g., _Castle Rackrent_, _The Man in the High Castle_, etc.)
* Novels with the word "history" in the title (e.g., _Brief History of the Dead_, _Short History of a Small Place_)

This message is just intended as a reminder to self and will be updated as ideas occur.

All I can say is WOW...

Too early for such thoughts? Or too completely uninteresting as categories? Or?

I really like those categories! History of science and technology is a great one.

It's never too early to plan....

#19 ReneeMarie

We do think alike! Ever since I finally set my categories for 999 I started think of categories I could use next year--although I'm not sure about 10-10-10! But I love the idea of reading several books related by category. One of the categories I've thought about is The Brain--because I've been reading some books this year and still have many more to go--and I'm sure many more to discover!

I've also thought about several others--but I didn't write them down! When they pop back in I will make a note of them.

Or you could do what I do and edit / add categories throughout the year? That's how my 888 became an 8 (+ books) -10 (categories) - 200(8) challenge as the year progressed.

I'm not sure if I'll formally add a category, or simply track the reading I do outside the 999. It didn't occur to me until too late that 3 categories should be reserved for my 3 book groups.

Luckily I have a lot of classics and historical fiction in my TBR mountain range, so those AND the titles I *have to* read for my classics and historical fiction book groups will all work.

One of my picks for my museum book group is This Republic of Suffering by Drew Gilpin Faust (how American citizens dealt with the losses and death of the American Civil War), which will fit in my military history category.

Not sure if I'll stick to a single war, or mix it up. I probably have the most books on the ACW from when I was reenacting, but I also have a fair number on the Napoleonic/Peninsular Wars. I have maybe one on the Crimean War, one on WWII. I don't think I have nonfiction on WWI, though. And I think the only book I own that covers the Viet Nam war, besides Stanley Karnow's Vietnam: A History, is Shook Over Hell, which actually looks at PTSD in the ACW & Viet Nam.

I'd also like to read John Kagan's Face of Battle at some point, since it looks at Agincourt and I just got an ARC of Bernard Cornwell's new novel on same. Kagan's book also looks at Waterloo and the Somme. I own it, but would have to find it in my apartment. :-(

A book I don't have but want to read/acquire is Casualty Figures. Maybe with my tax refund. Or maybe when (if) it hits paperback.

'Kay. I'm just babbling now so I'm going to go have dinner....

Note to self: Below are listed as many as I can remember of the "top 10" military history books according to an article in the current issue of _Military History_ magazine.

* Iliad by Homer - already read for classics book group
* The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides
* On War by Carl von Clausewitz - own it
* War and Peace by Tolstoy - own it
* Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane - already read it
* Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson - own it
* The Face of Battle by John Kagan - own it
* We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young by Harold Moore
* Personal Memoirs of US Grant by Ulysses S. Grant

Frell. That's only 9 of 10. I may need to look at the article again. (Was 8 of 10, but I'm pretty sure Grant's memoirs were in there. HOW could I forget that?!)

May need to get a book from the library -- tonight I read the dust jacket of The Last Stand of Fox Company by Robert Drury. It's about Korea, which I've never been all that interested in, but apparently it describes a modern day Thermopylae.

#26

Great list! I'm going to copy it and put it in my "book lists" in my reading journal

I'm doing a Civil War category in 999 and I'm afraid I will have more that 9 books to read! I gave Personal Memoirs of US Grant to my husband for Christmas because when he retires in July we both plan to read in my civil War category. I'm starting the category by reading Battle Cry of Freedom because I think it will give me some background for the other books I plan to read. I read Red Badge of Courage this year--which sort of started my newly found passion for the Civil War. That, and the fact my husband has always had a passion for it and it will be fun to read some thing together!

I've read Iliad a couple of times and War and Peace a long time ago--I will want to reread that. I own Peloponnesian War but haven't read it The other three are new to me and I will have to find them.

I guess I will be reading about war beyond 2009!

I love your categories. I'm definitely going to keep track of your reading list. :)

First book I finished this year is one I'm reading for my February historical fiction book group meeting: The Glory Cloak: A Novel of Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton by Patricia O'Brien.

O'Brien has invented an orphan named Susan who comes to live with her cousins, the Alcotts, after her parents' deaths. Susan grows up in the family, goes with Louisa to nursing duties in D.C. during the American Civil War, goes home with her when Louisa gets sick, and then separates from her for reasons I won't go into here.

The story was definitely interesting reading. However, since O'Brien made Susan not only an observer but also a lever in Alcott's life (and a bit in Barton's, too), I also found it annoying. Their separation is supposedly the reason there's no mention of Susan in the semi-autobiographical _Little Women_ and _Good Wives_. The other thing the author did that irritated me is combine two REAL people from history, one more of a footnote than the other, into a single person for the purposes of her story.

I'm a little worried now about another of the author's works sitting on my shelf (well, a stack on the floor) in hardcover: how much did she mess about in the actual life histories of Harriet and Isabella Beecher?

I've read three books of poetry so in the last two weeks:
* Delights and Shadows and Valentines by Ted Kooser
* North by Seamus Heaney

Of the three, I'd have to say my favorite was _D&S_. I like poems that invoke or consider history. Kooser's poetry often contains musing on objects, imagining their past and their owners, as well as close examination of the natural world. I enjoy both of those tendencies. I love his metaphors and similes. In one short poem, e.g., he sees a biker (motorcyclist) take off from a stop and in the movements of his leg and the sound of the engine imagines him to be kicking away from a growling dog. My favorite poem in _D&S_, though it made me cry, is "The Beaded Purse."

_Valentines_ is a collection of the poems that Kooser has been sending to a mailing list every Valentine's Day through 2007. In that year, postage for a mailing list of 2500 individuals cost him a couple hundred dollars. The end. Some of the poems are more closely associated with the day than others. Some are also fairly melancholy, possibly due to his advancing age, recognition of mortality and loss. Some of the poems are rather slight, written perhaps because they were expected of him at a certain date in the year, a point Kooser himself seems to acknowledge in an introduction and in one of the poems. Still, I always find Kooser worth reading.

Heaney's _North_ attracted my attention originally because of the cover: a woodcut looking longboat full of Northmen. The poems that deal with bog bodies are my favorites here. The problem I faced reading these is one of culture and language. I know some basic Irish history, but am not versed (pun not intended) in it. I would most likely understand the poems better if I understood more of the history. Plus, he uses words that I had to look up. And while scop (I know skald, and bard, but not scop) is in my dictionary, gombeen and pampooties are not. And I wasn't near a computer as I read.

Members of my classics book group get to take turns picking what we read, the only request is that we not stretch our elastic definition of "classic" too far. Still, I couldn't bring myself to put the February meeting title in my classics category here.

I read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. While it provoked the occasional smile or chuckle from me, it seems like that's the only point of the book: humour. And sometimes it tries very hard to be funny, even if it wants you to simply laugh at a funny name. Like Zaphod Beeblebrox. Or Slartibartfast. At the end it left me asking myself: is that all there is? And I mean all there is to it, NOT oh, no, it's over, I want more.

I guess I had higher expectations, having known of the book for so long before reading it. I knew it was supposed to be funny. I just didn't know it wasn't anything else. Maybe that's down to its origins. If it was written serially for radio, off the cuff....

And now for something entirely different. I hope.

Renee

I found the same problem when I read Heaney a few years ago (don't remember the name of the book). I have never read Ted Kooser. I need to look him up. Thanks for the review--and a "new to me" poet!

Wahoo! As of 1:02p.m. CST, I am current on all 999 threads. Now to do something about the 1600 messages in my inbox....

Finished my first children's book, since it was one I already had checked out of the bookstore: The (Mostly) True Adventures of Homer P. Figg (note that link goes to Amazon since nobody at LT seems to own it yet).

If Smith by Leon Garfield, which I read for my 888 challenge, is Charles Dickens lite for children, then TMTAOHPF would have to be Mark Twain lite for children.

Homer and his older brother Harold have lost their parents. They are under the guardianship of a man who decides to sell Harold to the Union army when the man needs money and the boys irritate him sufficiently. Homer, locked in the barn which has been the roof over his head since his mother died, overhears enough of a conversation to learn that it's not legal and binding since the draft hasn't started yet and Harold isn't 18 yet. So he digs his way out, hops on his trusty steed, an old horse named Bob, and away he goes from the pine swamps of Maine to find his brother.

Homer is a good little liar, although unaware that adults recognize many of his lies. During the search for his brother he falls in with -- and falls out with -- a number of characters. A brief stay with a good samaritan lands him in the bathtub. Not, unfortunately, the only hot water he finds himself in on a trip that ends at Little Round Top during the battle of Gettysburg.

Good historical fiction for children that, while humorous, has some very serious moments and some realistic emotions expressed by the brothers.

>21 ReneeMarie:: WOW - first because you have already generated a great list of categories for 2010, and secondly because you ARE ALL CAUGHT UP on 999 threads. I'm woefully behind, and not sure I will ever catch up, because I still want to read some books too! ;P

Enjoying your thread!

You're all caught up on 999 threads?? That's amazing.

Thanks for your note on my challenge. Great job on your category titles. And I've never heard of The Glory Cloak - hm ... I wonder if I could fudge that into my "recommended" category ...

=)

Checked out Dark of Night and read it within 24 hours. Suzanne Brockmann books do not remain unread long in my vicinity. Not sure what it is about her characters/writing/plotting, but I enjoy them immensely. I find them hard to put down.

Rather than a formula, I think of it as a chemical equation -- she doesn't know me, but she knows how to leave me with a positive reaction. I especially enjoy the sense I have of her leaving clues to her political beliefs, subtly, in the text of her romantic suspense novels.

This book is part of a series centering on the interwoven lives of operatives, most of them former SEALs and CIA agents, working for a private security firm (Troubleshooters). I would not recommend starting with this title, if you decide to try Brockmann, since many of the characters appear in novel after novel. It is romantic suspense, so which pair of characters -- or which pairs of characters, since there are usually multiple plot lines going -- has precedence changes from book to book.

I believe Unsung Hero is the first book in this series of hers.

Spent the day reading The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Christie. It's the pick for classics book group for March. My Dos Passos Three Soldiers pick is up next for that group.

TMAAS is the book that introduces Hercule Poirot, the little Belgian detective. He and five or six Belgian war refugees are domiciled in a home in the little village of Styles St. Mary's. Hastings, invalided home from the war, has been invited to spend some of his month off at Styles Court, home of the Cavendishes. The two, who knew each other in Europe, run into each other here in rural England.

When the matriarch of the Styles Court family, stepmother to Hastings' friends and benefactor of the Belgian refugees, is murdered by strychnine poisoning, Poirot naturally takes an interest in the case.

Hastings is a transparent, fairly unsubtle goofball, which I suppose explains the deceptions Poirot practices on him while attempting to solve the case & capture the criminals without giving the game away. Still, up to the denouement, added to the fact that Poirot goes off where the story narrator can't relate what he's doing, this felt a bit like cheating.

I think I'll see if I can get a filmed version to examine before March, to see how the Hastings-Poirot relationship is played there. I've seen Poirot on film, but this is the first time I've read a Poirot book. The verbal mannerisms seem the same, but he is much more antic in the book.

Also reading two ER books, my February museum book group title, my March historical fiction book group title, and the first Artemis Fowl book, which is nothing like what I expected. Started Twilight, but finding it easy to put down so far.

Not infrequently I find a book or an author's body of work to love. However, I don't gush over every book I love. The last book I gushed over, that I adored and had to let everyone know I was reading it and how much I liked it, was the novel The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Before that, it might've been Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea. That one cost me a fair bit of money because it was nonfiction and I found as many books as I could on the same subject. Step back, because I'm about to gush again (and probably spend money again).

I loved Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes. It's about tracing the spread of humans out of Africa and around the globe by looking at the control region of mitochondrial DNA and estimating how many mutations have occurred since a group of people was in contact with another group of people with similar DNA.

If you think you're not a science person, don't let that scare you off this book. I majored in English, not science, in college. We're all readers here, and as long as you can read the written language for comprehension, you should be able to easily understand 95-98% of it. Sykes explains the concepts clearly and often with humor. I can't tell you how many times I laughed while reading this. And yet I found it as gripping as a detective novel. And in imagining the lives of the 7 "clan mothers" who bequeathed their particular mitochondrial DNA to the people of Europe, Sykes creates science-based historical fiction that looks at familial relationships, migration routes, animal domestication, the coming of agriculture, and on and on.

Did I mention I loved this book? I'm supposed to finish the Drew Gilpin Faust book I'm reading for my museum book group that meets Monday night (and should be getting ready for classics book group tonight), but all I want to do is start another Sykes book I own, Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland. And I'm going to see if I can fit a visit to the library in to pick up Olson's Mapping Human History and Sykes' Adam's Curse, etc., etc. on the way to book group.

I'd like to find out more about the early lives of modern humans. He doesn't mention much about anthropometry, but I know that height, for example, doesn't and hasn't increased in a straight line. Hunter-gatherers in the Mediterranean area were taller on average than 20th century man. (I think it was mentioned in an article in Scientific American sometime in fall 1990.) I'd also like to find out how likely monogamy, even serial monogamy, was among the early populations. Especially since he says that from an evolutionary standpoint, the purpose of sex is to combine DNA to find genes that advance/improve the human race.

I also find that I really want to get my DNA tested to find out where I fit in.

Highly recommended to everybody.

(And if anybody has any recommendations of books of similar subjects, let them fly. Do not worry about being an enabler. :-)

>26 ReneeMarie: glad that I am not the only person who is working on the list for next year. I am thinking of making a permanent list, should I sitck to 10 or do 12 for 12 books in 12 categories in 12 months is the big question. I mean I do have a life sometime :-) I am finding that it is helping me focus my non-fiction wish list additions. The permanent list is different from the 2010 list, which I have decided is too heavy on history but I am not going to change becuase I want to books that I have picked out for 2010.

My 2010 list is:
1-Shakespeare (person, not the works, which are under Classics)
2-Classics (Shakespeare - by group-comedy, tragedy etc, will be audio books, but also other classics)
3-History (heavy on Elizabethan)
4-Science (being a Dr Who fan its heavy on nature of space and time)
5-Sci-Fi/Fantasy
6-Autobiography/biography
7-Read the book/see the movie - books from the www.misfit.org club
8-mixed bag/stolen from others peoples lists
9-Medici History
10-Romance/mystery/alternate history

I of course have added The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society to my wish list, I see that a lot of people are talking about it. And I also added Seven Daughters of Eve, Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland and Adam's Curse, but THAT IS IT for genetics! Really, I mean it. Ship of gold in the Deep Blue Sea looked good too but really I have to draw a line somewhere! I guess these will be for my 'outside of the 999 group' list, Bruce says that I will be done with the list by June anyway. . .good thing too it looks like from June to mid-October I won't have a spare minute.

DS

Monday night is my museum book group, so I finished This Republic of Suffering just in time. I picked this one for the group and think it will prove useful to us as interpreters. Not only do we have an annual (American) Civil War event, but also in recent years we've added a Decoration Day (Memorial Day) event.

Drew Gilpin Faust's book covers the experience of death for people during and after the Civil War. It looks at the soldiers, relatives on the home front, and non-combatants who lived in areas where battles were fought. Chapter titles are simple: "Dying," "Killing," "Burying," "Naming," "Realizing," "Believing and Doubting," "Accounting," "Numbering," and "Surviving."

Faust looks at everything from the expectation that soldiers will die a "good death," to their occasional refusal to cause the death of another human being; from the pomp and circumstance of Stonewall Jackson's and Abraham Lincoln's funerals, to the efforts by the Sanitary Commission, Clara Barton, and eventually the US government to make sure the soldiers were found, named, and buried decently (well, the Union soldiers anyway, and the response of the Southern citizenry to ensure care for their own dead).

Much food for thought on the pages. Faust has even made me change my mind about reading Dickinson -- I now want to read her poetry written during the war years. (And works by Whitman, and Melville, and Bierce.) I may even choose White Heat as a book for my I Read Dead People category.

No bibliography, but references are listed in the endnotes. I'm going to have to e-mail a friend of mine to make sure she knows Faust read -- or at least consulted -- her book. (And if Faust read the acknowledgements, she read my name!) My wishlist has grown thanks to those endnotes, too.

Novels that may be worth reading in association with this book include: The Glory Cloak by Patricia O'Brien (Clara Barton's efforts on behalf of missing soldiers & the dead of Andersonville) and A Prayer for the Dying by Stewart O'Nan (ACW veteran is sheriff/preacher/mortician dealing with an epidemic & a fire).

I am surprised that Faust didn't at least mention the private cemetery at Carnton House, which served as a hospital during the Battle of Franklin of November 1864, and where Confederate and Federal alike are interred. It seems to have been fairly rare, judging by Faust's narrative of mistreatment of Federal corpses by Southerners and lack of care for Confederate corpses on the part of the Federal government. She does discuss efforts on behalf of a Gettysburg-area man named Weaver to ship Confederate corpses south.

For novels that deal with the battle and Carnton House, see The Black Flower by Howard Bahr and Widow of the South by Robert Hicks (link goes to YouTube tour of Carnton/self-promotion by Hicks).

Recommended.

If you please, feel free to nudge me toward one of the books listed below. They are all under consideration as the next book in my military history category.

* With Courage and Delicacy : Women and the U.S. Sanitary Commission by Nancy Scripture Garrison
* The Union Soldier in Battle by Earl Hess (the experience of combat)
* Debris of Battle by Gerard A. Patterson (the impact on Gettysburg of those wounded there)
* Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson (overview of period, prize winning)
* The Better Angel: Walt Whitman in the Civil War by Roy Morris
* Secret War for the Union by Edwin C. Fishel (military intelligence)

Feel free to suggest another title, too. I listen to all advice and sometimes even follow it. :-)

Thanks, Renee

#42 I highly recommend Battle Cry of Freedom if you haven't already read it. Of course, I may be biased since I haven't read any of your other choices yet.

#39 Seven Daughters of Eve sounds facinating. I also love this subject. The last book I read on this topic was, well, I'm going to have to go look it up. And I also want to have my DNA checked to see where I fit in!

ETA The last book I read on the Genographic Project was Deep Ancestry by Spencer Wells. I remember reading another book, though, that I think I liked better. Unfortunately, it was pre-LT, so I have no record of it. :-(

42> I vote for Secret War for the Union, but then I find anything about 'intelligence' interesting.

DS

43 & 44> Yikes - two different votes. Anybody want to be a tiebreaker? (BTW, I think it's interesting that the votes went to the two *fattest* books on the list! And with me still thinking about Alighieri, Cervantes, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy.)

I've read Deep Ancestry already, but checked it out from the library again recently, along with Journey of Man, which goes along with Wells' documentary of the same name. I found another book I may just have to buy: After the Ice by Steve Mithen. Looks like it answers some of the questions raised by Sykes' book (which is also in a fairly extensive bibliography in the back).

I'm actually at the library at the moment, since my dial-up access is kerflooey. Going to go get a new phone cord, see if that helps. If not -- oh, heck. Got to make this quick, since time's limited.

This week I finished two more books, neither of which count.

First up was What I Did for Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. This read a bit like a roman a clef: the heroine is a sort of Jennifer Aniston, in that her actor hubby ran off with a save-the-world type. Except in this case, the heroine had a co-star on her sitcom with whom she had a love-hate relationship. The story was light, if a bit too alpha in parts for my taste. Lots of quirky characters and screwed up relationships, most of which work themselves out by the end of the book. I enjoy reading SEP, but don't feel the need to buy her books.

Not sure if someone here at LT mentioned Death on Demand by Carolyn Hart, but it was on my radar recently so I got it from the library. In the story a writer was about to announce what dirt he had on his fellow mystery authors when he was done in by a poison dart in a "locked room" -- a mystery bookstore. The prime suspect for the island police is the store owner. She and her friend Max Darling attempt to clear her by figuring out who killed him (and murdered two other people at or prior to the beginning of the book).

It's fairly dated now that people have laptops and cell phones. The characters also have a bit of an over-the-top, cartoony feel to them. I'm not likely to rush out to get more in the series, even though it does take place in a bookstore.

Finished three more books, but only one counts toward my categories. So I've either read 9 or 15 books this year, depending on your point of view. And I still have empty categories. The first book that doesn't count:

Gardening in America, 1830-1910 by Patricia Tice is a short book (74p) corresponding to an exhibition put together for the Margaret Woodbury Strong Museum. It's required reading for an upcoming museum book group meeting. It looks at the changes brought about by plant collectors/expeditions, industrialization, water sources (shipping routes as well as municipal water supplies), immigration, and population density.

As an exhibition guide, it's really more of an overview. I would've preferred more in depth information. Luckily, many primary sources are listed in it, and I have hopes of finding digital copies at Google Books. The historic gardener at our museum is researching Peter Henderson right now, and his work is mentioned in the guide. It also lists some secondary sources that seem more in tune with what I want to know, especially the origin of many of the plants we take for granted now: which ones came to the US with immigrants and when?

The second book that didn't count is also the second Bryan Sykes book I've read: Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland.

I didn't enjoy it as much as Seven Daughters of Eve, as I found it harder to read. He covers a lot of history in relatively few pages, and sometimes the same people are mentioned many chapters later because he addressed the isles geographically and those people didn't stay in one place. The two LT reviews saw the history as padding, but I'm not sure if they didn't miss the point.

Sykes looked at the mythologies and oral histories of the isles, told us what he'd expect if the mythologies and histories are correct, and then took a look at archaeological and DNA evidence (this time not only mitochondrial, but also Y-chromosome) to see if they back the stories up. One of his conclusions, for example, was that those raping and pillaging Vikings he expected seem to have brought more of their own women with them than you'd expect of raping and pillaging Vikings.

I also found his men-are-genetically-altered-women comments interesting, along with his discussion of the amount of "junk" DNA on the Y-chromosome. Which makes me want to move on to Adam's Curse. And he threw out a comment about genetics and personality, so now I want to read Matt Ridley's Genome. And more.

Although not as wonderful as Seven Daughters of Eve, still worth a read. Especially if you're interested in history along with genetics.

The Mysterious Benedict Society I read for my Kids Read the Darnedest Things category. And unlike the first book listed in that category, it actually is very popular in our bookstore -- meeting my criterion.

Initially I was drawn to the book by its fatness, interesting cover, and intriguing title. Another bookseller read it and considers it a step along in age and reading ability from, but similar in feeling to, Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events. Four children out of many applicants go through testing and are selected by Mr. Benedict to become a team and perform a world-saving mission.

As I read it I started by liking it, briefly loved it (the testing near the beginning of the book and the various ways the kids got through it), and then went back to liking it for the rest of the book. It had a bit of an old-fashioned feel to me, but that might mean it's more timeless than books that reference current technology and culture more intimately. I did have an "oh, come on!" moment near the end of the book, but otherwise enjoyed the adventures of these imperfect heroes.

Not running out to get book two, but will probably meander toward it someday.

I went out and got Seven Daughters of Eve based on your review here, and I've also got What I did for Love here to read too. So, what shall I read next month? :-) Or do I get to pick for you next?

I'm really looking forward to SDofE, now that I've read your latest comment. I love this topic. Normally, I really like Susan Elizabeth Phillips, but for some reason am not as excited about this new book as I normally am - consistent with your lukewarm response.

The real heavy weight I started this week is Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville - just in case you want to follow my lead for a change!

Democracy in America was actually my pick (two, really, since we read half of it in two, nonconsecutive months) for classics book group. Do you see why they hate me sometimes? :-)

I may have to read it again, without the pressure of turning pages for a book group meeting. Since I can't follow you in that regard, I guess I'll pick Battle Cry of Freedom for my Kill a Few Hours Reading category. I'm taking this as a sign, since nobody broke the tie for me.

Right now I'm reading Three Soldiers, The Widow's War, The Making of Milwaukee, 100 Cupboards, and Death and the Maidens, among others. Unfortunately, DATM is due back to the library Monday, so it will probably suffer the fate of Twilight and get returned and, eventually, checked out again.

Hope you enjoy SDOE as much as I did.

That is too funny. Hope you enjoy Battle Cry of Freedom - I'm in the middle of a re-read right now. About 1/2 way through it, and taking a couple of weeks off to read other things before I get back to it.

I've been wanting to do Democracy in America for quite a few years, but was afraid to take it on. I've been looking off and on for an audio version, but never found one that was unabridged. (I hate abridged audio books.) So, I just got it and decided that I would either read it or decide not to. I've been reading just 20 pages or so each day. It helps to read it out loud, and I am loving it. I may follow your lead, though, and take a break after the first part before finishing the 2nd part - as I am doing with BCOF right now.

Last night I picked up What I did for Love and ended up reading it straight through to the end. Not great literature, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. More than I was expecting to, actually.

I'm embarrassed to say how many times I take a book back to the library and then re-check it later before it finally gets read. Some times it takes several tries before I either give up or finally finish it.

I recently finished The Mysterious Benedict Society and really enjoyed it. Although, like you, I'm not running to buy the sequel; I still thought it was a great children's book.

I agree with you on the timeless quality. It never really specifies a broader setting, which sometimes might bother me, but not in this instance.

I added Democracy in America to my wish list, it looks good. I am surprised that it isn't already in our library, but that's more Bruce's kind of topic, it's a bit recent for me. I tend to look for titles on-line then shop for them, he mostly gets what catches his eye.

I too have been reading books that aren't on my 999 list. Maybe I should have a ghost list . . .

DS
(Bruce's evil twin :-))

Thanks... my mom was actually the one to come up with "ReLiterate." I like how all your category names have something to do with reading. Very cool :)

I noticed as well that you seem to be a big history buff. Perhaps you could suggest something that would fit into my Royal Reads section. I am mostly interested in biographies of female monarchs, and would love to hear if you know of any good ones!

aliform

I didn't even notice that your category titles all had reading in them - I was too busy looking at the actual content of the categories. They are very creative, I like them!

55>I noticed as well that you seem to be a big history buff.

I am a freak for history. I had a cashier at the bookstore where I work ask me once why I kept buying "snoozes." Ye gods and little fishes! Oh well, more for me.

Anyway, my recommendations -- such as they are -- can be found on your thread.

Beleive it or not I hear that there are actually people out there who only read when they have to for school or work! I can't imagine not reading! I mean we would have to start talking to each other or something. . .

DS
(Bruce's evil twim :-))

Added 11 books to my lists: 8 to the categories at the top of my thread, 3 to the these-don't-count list farther down. Will try to provide reactions to the titles soon.

In the meantime: Down the Rabbit Hole was my favorite of the four children's books added. Of the three books I read that don't count, Crossfire: A High Risk Novel was the most forgettable.

And I discovered something I have in common with Connie Willis: we both LOVE "Miracle on 34th Street." And HATE "It's a Wonderful Life." Such good taste she has. :-)

58> My dad still has a gift certificate I gave him soon after I started working at the bookstore. I've worked there for over 10 years. I think he's more amenable to reading now that he's retired. When I was a kid (probably after the Johnny Cash movie or similar on TV), I briefly entertained the thought he might be illiterate, because the only thing I ever saw him reading was the newspaper, and I wasn't sure a) that counted, since it wasn't a book, and b) that he was really reading. Stupid kid.

Going to bed now.

Just popped in to see what you've been reading. I don't recognize any of your recent titles, so will be waiting for you to provide comments when you have time.

Re the story about your dad. At least you paid attention and thought about whether or not he read. My dad also never read anything except the newspaper, but after he retired he began reading books. It was only after seeing him with a book in his hands that I realized that I'd never seen him reading anything before. Now I'm a little ashamed of myself that I didn't even care enough to worry about him before!

Well, I'm sure if you had also had the benefit of Johnny Cash's assistance to make a fool of yourself... :-)

I occasionally try to get him books, but I'm not sure how happy they make him. The record-your-life-story book went over like a lead balloon. The crossword puzzle books to keep him busy and his mind working, may have been picked up. Or not.

I did manage to get him a book autographed by the author, a trainer for the Packers. That got passed around to all the guys in the neighborhood. And I got him a commemorative book of the Packers mid-90s Superbowl victory, autographed by the game MVP. Otherwise I just stick with books on WWII, in which one or two of his older brothers served.

He's tough to buy for, but I don't want to give up and just hand him gas cards and those gift "credit cards." Although I do resort to those, too.

I think it's a "guy" thing - the older men get, the harder they are to buy for. I'm beginning to notice it even in my husband.

I'm thinking about getting my dad a subscription to a book-of-the-month club offered by a local independent bookstore - they specialize in mysteries, and will send a questionaire to the person to find out what kinds of things they like, then they choose a book and send it to them every month. Then they bill the person giving the gift for the book and shipping. Maybe you could find something like that for your dad.

Managed to knock off two more books in the last week, despite feeling a bit under the weather and doing federal taxes and downloading a program I need (did I mention I'm on dialup?) to do my state taxes.

Both do count toward my 999 challenge: Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos for my East of Readin'/classics category, and The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier for my Read Hereafter/historical fiction category. I've got most of my museum book group title left to read for April, and only a week to do it in. Should be able to catch up on recording my thoughts on each book after that.

And then maybe, since I've already read all the books for my May book groups, I'll be able to keep going entering my library here at LT. There's a lot ahead of me.

Off to take some cold medicine....

Feel better! A spring cold is such a depressing thing.

Hey stranger! You alive over there? ;) What did you think of "Case Histories"?

59 - I read a collection by Connie Willis called Miracle and Other Christmas Stories that has a story twist on Miracle on 34th Street.

65 > Sorry, I'm still going to be down for the count for a while. My PC has a bad case of the stripes.

Until I can get it to someone to fix it (fingers crossed it's fixable and doesn't cost a mint), I'm relying on the library, which gives me 60 minutes of Internet access up to twice a day. I'm down to 24, and still have stuff to do tonight. Half the time was spent typing in and e-mailing my sour cream apple pie recipe to someone I used to work with at Old World Wisconsin.

As far as Case Histories goes: I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. It reminds me a little bit of "The Last Detective," the BBC police show starring Peter Davison. And from an author standpoint -- a bit of Anita Brookner's depressive tendencies crossed with a bit of Ruth Rendell's freakiness. Along the lines of the weird people who occasionally show up in another BBC police show, "Midsomer Murders."

Incidentally, until I get my PC fixed, I've had to go cold turkey on DVDs, too. :^{

66> Yup, that's exactly where I found out Connie Willis and I both have good taste in Christmas movies. I really enjoy her writing.

Fifteen minute warning just posted....

Heading home now to check on Tripod and give her her subcutaneous fluids. She didn't have a very good night (puking again), and still seems under the weather. :^{ :^{

At the library. Not much time left. Added two books, both historical romances by a favorite author, to my Read Hereafter/historical fiction category:
Marrying the Captain and The Surgeon's Lady by Carla Kelly.

She doesn't toss about lots of dukes and earls. She doesn't spend all her time in the bedroom. She does do research and ground her story in the events of the time. I enjoy her work very much. These books are the first two of what will probably be a trilogy. Can't wait for number 3.

Just requested her RITA award-winning Beau Crusoe through interlibrary loan. (She's published by Harlequin Historicals now that the regency publishers have mostly closed down, and my bookstore doesn't carry those, so I miss them sometimes, and series romance has a VERY short shelf life.)

Really missing my home computer....

Another Read Hereafter/historical fiction entry: A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd. This was an ARC for a book that will be out in September 2009.

Todd (actually a man and his mother who write under his name) usually writes Inspector Ian Rutledge mysteries set just post-WWI, but does sometimes publish standalone mysteries. From the "A Bess Crawford Mystery" on the cover, I presume this is a new series.

Starts with a bang: Crawford's a nurse on the Britannic in 1916 when it hits a mine and sinks. She decides she needs to fulfill a promise she made to a dying soldier she cared for, before something happens that prevents her keeping the promise. She heads to his childhood home but finds the response from his brother to the soldier's last words less than satisfactory. And ends up investigating, somewhat unwillingly, a 15-year old murder.

Charles Todd's one of my favorite mystery authors. Lucking into the ARC at work was the highlight of the week. Of course, I should've been reading The Gods Themselves by Asimov for book group Friday night. {sigh}

Fingers crossed I can get my PC fixed soon and stop using the library computer (and start reading everyone else's threads again) ....

That sounds really good.

70> It was, although his/their depiction of one of the main characters is occasionally a little ... questionable. Don't want to say too much.

If you've never tried Charles Todd, you might want to try A Test of Wills. That's the novel that introduces the Inspector Rutledge character. And according to the cover of one of the editions, was named one of the 100 best mysteries of the century -- by mystery bookstores, I think.

We read it for historical fiction book group and it was one of the best received of all of the titles we've read since the group began in 2001. And we very often don't agree on the books we read.

And yay for me: I'm almost through the Asimov title; will have it done by tomorrow night. I have to look up the copyright date on that one, because Asimov is a bit of a sick puppy in it. Not what I expected.

I'm enjoying your thread and hope you get your computer fixed soon! I love mysteries and have added Charles Todd as an author to check out. If you like the historical aspects of the books--post WWI--have you tried the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear. I have enjoyed that one and look forward to getting the new one which just came out.

I just found a nice used HB edition of The Foundation Trilogy by Issac Azimov. I'm exploring Science Fiction and Fantasy this year. Have you ever read it? I just finished The Left Hand of Darkness last week (review is on my 999 thread)--reading the comments on the LT page for The Gods Themselves there seems to be one element of the alien cultures that might be similar. LH takes place on a planet where the population is bi-sexual, each individual sometimes being female and sometimes being male. Assimov evidently has a tri-sexual society--I wonder how that happens?! I'll be interested in your review of The Gods Themselves.

72> I have the first Winspear book. Autographed, I think. Unread as yet. I believe it's "in the hat" for the historical fiction book group, and I tend to leave those until they get picked.

I own the first book in the Foundation trilogy, if not all three. They were one of the first purchases I made years ago during my first bookstore job ever. Umm, those are unread, too. I was more into fantasy than science fiction -- still am. Not sure where the impulse came from to buy Asimov.

As far as The Gods Themselves goes, I must confess that I'm not sure why it won the Hugo and the Nebula (unless he won the awards "cumulatively"). I agree with one of the central themes: that, like babies, people often need to be given another toy to play with before they'll let go of the one they have.

The story is about our universe and a para-universe, linked by an Electron Pump that provides free and abundant energy to both worlds. The problem is that continued use of it could result in our world blowing up. But who's going to agree to stop using energy?

Like A Canticle for Liebowitz, it was apparently written as three separate stories. And it shows. And I think it was less successful that way for Asimov than for Miller. In Asimov's story, you get the humans first in a politico-academic world, then the aliens having lots of alien sex (three partners: two male and one female make a "triad") together as well as alone, then back to the humans, this time on the moon with a potential rebellion brewing. The theme would make a wonderful op-ed piece. As a novel, it doesn't inspire me to read more Asimov.

It's been a bit of a disappointing month. I have to leave in a few minutes to head for historical fiction book group to discuss a book I didn't and don't plan to finish reading. Mary: A Novel by Janis Cooke Newman is about the life -- in every detail -- of Mary Todd Lincoln. It's from her point-of-view, and frankly I quit reading because I couldn't care less about her as a character, especially once we see Lincoln from her eyes.

I'd rather see the relationship from his, or from a bystander who knows both fairly intimately. If I ever read a biography about either or both of them, maybe Epstein's The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage, I may change my mind and get the doorstop from the library again. Maybe.

And next month's book is another doorstop with a title that doesn't draw me in: Druids by Morgan Llywelyn. Has anybody read it? Any thoughts or encouragement?

Renee

Thank for the detailed reply! I'll give The Gods Themselves a pass--too many other things I know I want to read to take a chance on a book that doesn't sound that good and that I would have to track down. :-) I do have Canticle for Liebowitz and plan to read it this year. I didn't realize it was three stories. I'm taking my first steps into apocalyptic novels this year--Earth Abides is my first one. I'm reading it now and surprisingly liking it so I decided to read the two that I own but haven't read--the other one is On the Beach. As for Foundation I bought the trilogy in a nice hardbound for a dollar so I will at least try it for my sci-fi category. If I love it,, I''ll let you know.

I hope you enjoy Maisie Dobbs. I'm a big fan of Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter series and the Maisie Dobbs series gives a view of about the same time period (the "Long Weekend"--interval between WWI & WWII), only from lower end of the social and economic scale rather that the aristocratic end.

My main computer crashed yesterday, leaving me in a "mess"--luckily I have a laptop so I can still access LT. Now I'm trying to figure out how I can use the laptop to do all my business and other things I did on my desk top. I'm not in a position to buy a new desktop very soon.

Two books in a row that you have to read for your book group? That's a bummer! How big is your book group? Maybe you can skip this next one?

75> There are about 6-7 regulars in the historical fiction book group. I'd rather *not* be the person who didn't read something because they didn't feel like it, though. I may not look forward to a particular title, but I always give it a try. I don't think it's fair to the book group, otherwise.

We don't read the titles in advance of suggesting them for book group, so sometimes the books turn out to be clinkers. I wasn't expecting to dislike Newman's book about Mary Todd Lincoln. (About half of our book group didn't like it, and I wasn't the only one who chose not to finish it.)

Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised by Druids. If it's less on the druids and more on the military campaigns of Julius Caesar, maybe I'll enjoy it. And maybe, even if it is on druids, Llywelyn will write well enough I'll enjoy it anyway.

Anyway, if I hold on, the book we chose from the hat for September is Kept: A Victorian Mystery by D.J. Taylor. I bought that when it hit paperback last fall, and I've been looking forward to reading it.

74> Sorry you're having computer problems, too. I'm at the library again with the clock ticking away. My part-time job is in season now, so with that and the willpower to leave convenience food and books(!!) unpurchased, maybe I'll be able to get my PC fixed in a couple of weeks. I hope.

-------------------------
Renee is currently reading:
* Haroun and the Sea of Stories for classics book group
* Druids for historical fiction book group
* Rudeness and Civility for museum book group
* The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
* The Tory Widow by Christine Blevins
* Throw Out Fifty Things by Gail Blanke (ha!)
* Between the Lines by Jessica Morrell

Throw Out Fifty Things by Gail Blanke (ha!)

I so need that book!

I'd rather *not* be the person who didn't read something because they didn't feel like it, though. I may not look forward to a particular title, but I always give it a try. I don't think it's fair to the book group, otherwise.

Yeah, I'm the same way, and it means that I read more books/genres that I might not otherwise, so that's good. I've stopped recommending books to my book groups that I haven't read first. That means I read it twice, but we have gotten some real "clunkers" when other members didn't read their book before recommending it to the group, and I'm just not willing to be one of those members who does that. There are pros and cons to both ways of doing it. Your way is definitely more adventurous! Hope the future readings are better for you! :-)

Finished one book that counts (to finish my easiest category) and one book that doesn't.

In my Read Hereafter / historical fiction category, I finished reading Beau Crusoe by Carla Kelly, which won a RITA award from RWA (best regency, I believe). A man stranded on a Pacific island for five years has been rescued along with a treatise on crabs he wrote while there and for which he is to receive a medal from the Royal Society.

His host-to-be has an attack of gout and asks his goddaughter to look after the man, but asks the man to solve all the problems of his goddaughter's family. The man succeeds; love ensues. The book is funny and serious by turns. Enjoyable, but I think I like Surgeon's Lady better.

I also finished reading Throw Out Fifty Things, since I had to return it. The first part of the book addresses physical clutter, the second mental clutter. All organizing books motivate me while I'm reading them. Not sure much of this one will stick.

Finished two books this weekend. Will count one toward my Voyage of the Dawn Reader / sf/fantasy category. One doesn't count because I've already "finished" the historical fiction category.

Read River of Darkness by Rennie Airth. Police inspector in post-WWI England, marked by the loss of his wife and child before the war and his experiences in the war, finds himself chasing a serial killer who has all the signs of being an ex-soldier. For fans of Charles Todd and Anne Perry. I enjoyed it and will read more by this author. (This one doesn't count.)

Also finished Druids by Morgan Llywelyn for my book group that met tonight. Half the group didn't like the book or didn't finish it, but contrary to expectations I quite enjoyed it. Having read Sykes book on Saxons, Vikings, and Celts added some to the experience. The novel is the story of a chief druid, soul friend to Vercingetorix, who ends up taking on Gaius Julius Caesar to try to keep Gaul free. There was (of course, since it's about druids) a bit of the paranormal about it, which is why I'm classifying it as fantasy. It ended up being a bit of a page-turner, although I knew it would end badly. I will probably go on to read The Greener Shore, and may even chase down Caesar's story of his exploits in Gaul.

Next up for historical fiction book group will be Taylor's Kept: A Victorian Mystery, followed by Poland by Michener.

Just finished reading Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie for classics book group. It's written fabulously (as in fable and as in amazing vocabulary). Enjoyed it, didn't love it.

I read somewhere that it was intended as a political statement, and in its descriptions of a battle between the people of Gup, who gossip and talk, and of Chup, the people who must zip their lips, that's fairly obvious. Nice touch is that the Gup people aren't without their faults, not the Chup people without their virtues.

I just recently bought my first Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children, but I'm not looking that forward to it--just finally feel like I absolutely should read it. Do you think you'll read any more Rushdie?

81> LauraBrook is probably the one to give you a recommendation. She mentioned at classics book group on Friday that she loved Midnight's Children and has read it at least twice.

She's also the one who picked Haroun and the Sea of Stories for the group read. She says it's the least-Rushdie of the Rushdie novels, so apparently it's not representative of his work. She picked it because some members of our group aren't usually overjoyed by fat classics, and this one was the skinniest of the Rushdies. :-)

I mostly read historical fiction of all kinds, so when I go for the classics, it's the 18th and 19th century stuff I gravitate to. Next month is my pick, which is The Red and the Black by Stendhal.

On the positive side of the ledger, I did enjoy the Rushdie I read well enough, even without it being my usual type of time expenditure.

Just finished another Suzanne Brockmann romantic suspense: Hot Pursuit. Yup, another book that doesn't count. Interesting thing about this book in her (12+) Troubleshooters series is that the ending is not an ending. They solve the crime, but the romance is put on hold, probably to be continued in the next book, which she says is her last in the series, at least for a while.

Still at the library (and only ~24 minutes left today) to use their PCs, so I'm hauling bags of books from my apartment to get them entered into LT.

Con: Heavy, inefficient.
Pro: All the "ooh, I own that?!" moments as I find books I forgot I bought, like this morning when I came across Secret Service: British Agents in France 1792-1815 by Elizabeth Sparrow. (Hmmnn, still loading - touchstone may not work, but I can't believe I'm the only one who owns it.)

Renee

I looked up Secret Service: British Agents in France 1792-1815 to check it out and there are 10 members who have this book but no reviews. I checked on Amazon and the review there the reviews were positive. I'll be looking to see what you think before I try to track it down. It seems to be out of print and my library doesn't have it.

I'm hauling bags of books from my apartment to get them entered into LT.

Wow! Really?! I'm impressed by your determination. That sounds like a lot of hard labor. I hate having to haul my 3-6 books to and from my car when I go to the library. I used to borrow hundreds of books at a time (as a teacher), so I've been there, but I'm wondering...

It does feel really good to get those books into your online library, but have you ever thought of just making a list (Title, author, ISBN) at home, and bringing that to the library? Even though I have a computer at home, I found the fastest way to input most of my books (primarily the popular fiction) was to find a larger LT library to go through. Then I just clicked the titles that I knew I had to add them to my library.

Hope I don't sound too nosy! The end result is going to be satisfying however you get it done.

84> Yikes. You may have a bit of a wait on this. Every day I'm adding 20 or so titles, and often come across an ooh-worthy one. Although I would love to be able to read every book that interests me at once, I am incapable of this. It's nearer the top of the towering pile than it used to be, however.

85> I wouldn't be too impressed. I work at a bookstore, and am used to hauling boxes of books around. Plus, I have actually had other library patrons take one look at the pile of library books I'm carrying, and offer to help me in or out. And then there was the wit who saw me coming out of the library one day and asked me if I'd left anything on the shelves for him....

I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to entering my titles. I stopped going through Amazon as soon as I heard the anti-recommendation for them as an information source. I try to clarify which volume I have in a series, so it doesn't tell me I have a duplicate, etc. And I try to make sure the correct cover is showing, even if it means I have to scan it in (back when I could still do this at home).

A list wouldn't be terribly efficient for me. Much faster to throw the books in a bag or two and bring them along. And I can 9-key the ISBNs in fairly quickly. When I started at the bookstore, we didn't have portable scanners yet, so everything you needed to put away, you had to type the ISBN in first.

The biggest problem is how many more days of 20-30 books I have ahead of me before I can get my entire library in. I'm up to ~1400 books, and I have not yet begun to type. And I think I may have put in one of the Shelby Foote volumes of the Civil War narrative he wrote before I knew that library cataloging of multivolume works sucks. Not sure if I did the same one twice, or it simply thinks I did. I don't have shelves, just boxes and stacks, so I'm trying to put the books in by "zone" so I can have some method of finding the book in my apartment (LT has a date entered field that helps).

Got to get typing, though, before my session ends.

(And nope, not nosy. I tend to be a bit of a verbal exhibitionist -- a bit TMI at times, probably.)

#86 Renee

No hurry--I have at least 250 books on my TBR and wish list piles so I won't be bored. ;-) I know what you mean about finding books that you really want to read --immediately! I always have a hard time settling into just one book because so many are calling to me!

This is off-topic, but I haven't heard the anti-recommendation against Amazon. Why aren't you using it as a source? Just curious, because that's what I always use.

89> What I've heard 'round LT (mostly the Librarians Who Library Thing Group, but other places, too) is that Amazon isn't the best data source. One person called it "useful but ugly."

And it just seems to me when I think about it that a library is always going to be a better source of data. They tend to have more *information* professionals.

I have a set of libraries I try to see if they have the book I'm trying to add. Most of the time I can find it there (ILCSO and ACCESS Pennsylvania are two of my favorites), but occasionally I do have to manually input the titles. The most usual problem: it may be too old for a library to still have it (or too esoteric), or too new for the library to have acquired it.

I'm with you about the book covers! I often have change them to match the cover I've got after I add them.

I'm a zone person too. It just makes more sense to me and I can almost always find a book I want pretty fast.

P.S. I'm, in effect, "zoning" my library too; I don't think most people would want to go through all my children's books to see what I have in my adult library--or library for adults, I should maybe say. ;-)

91> Unfortunately, in my case "zone" usually means in-the-order-I-bought-them- and-stacked-them-in-piles-or-boxed- them-up. :o}

Finally put one in my I Read Dead People biography category. It's a week or two overdue at the library. Sometimes I'll keep a book to finish it and simply pay a fine on it if I can't renew it. Often it's very worth it. This time it wasn't.

The John Deere Story by Neil Dahlstrom & Jeremy Dahlstrom is less a story about John and Charles Deere than it is a story about Deere & Company. I had to read it for my museum book group since I couldn't get my hands on the 500+ page book I was supposed to read on the same topic. (Written, apparently, by the uncle of a man I work with at the bookstore, I found out today when he saw me reading this book on John Deere.)

For a university press title, it's very disappointing. There are typos, which increase near the end of the book where words are missing or transposed. Yikes. And the author gets away with really stupid statements like telling us that John Deere was born in 1804, and then telling us that he didn't have to fight in the War of 1812. Umm, should I have assumed that an 8-year old would be expected to shoulder a musket??!!! There also seems to be some confusion about relative ages of family members. Double yikes.

And the authors take a hagiographical approach to both Deeres and the company. It's very hard to take them seriously, and they don't provide any real insights into who the Deeres were. So much for being a biography. Very much anti-recommended.

Renee

Wow! That one sounds like a mess. "There should be a law!" against wasting paper on stuff like that. Hope your next one is better!

94> Actually, my next one wasn't better. I'm not sure anybody in classics book group finished The Red and the Black by Stendhal, and I'm not sure I'm going to do so. The consensus was that "it sucked." Ohmigod, a WHOLE chapter about holding hands and probable and actual reactions and perceptions and strategic planning. And then in the next chapter more talk about handholding.

However, I am reading Kept: A Victorian Mystery by D.J. Taylor, and am enjoying it. Didn't finish it by historical fiction book group, but plan to keep going until I do finish.

And I just added another one to my Kids Read the Darnedest Things / children's books category. Not very long ago I purchased the original Nancy Drew mystery movies starring Bonita Granville (filmed in the '30s), and enjoyed them so much I decided to see how close they were to the books.

I finished The Secret of the Old Clock today, and would just like to say that I am a big Trixie Belden fan. Oh, that's right, this was Nancy Drew. Well, it was okay.

In the beginning, I thought the writing/storytelling was crap. I either got used to it, or "Carolyn Keene" got better. Or something. I may read one or two more, but the first one isn't much like the movies. And I did get tired of the treacle -- did anybody dislike Nancy in the books, ever, without being the villains of the piece?

---------------------------------
Currently reading for book groups:
* Poland by James Michener
* Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color that Changed the World by Simon Garfield
* Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Renee

Oh, dear! The Red and the Black is on my TBR oist for next year. Maybe I should read Charterhouse of Parma instead. I need to read a Stendhal--and I own both of those.

When I was young I loved Nancy Drew--it was the only series I really got into. I read them in the fifties and collected the first 32 of them. We moved when I was thirteen and Mom though I had outgrown them so they didn't make the trip--I was devastated when I found out (I was at camp when the packing was done). But that was a different age so the mores were different. I liked the tomboyish George--but that was definitely a different type of girl than most of the books I read. I thought Bess was too "girlie" and somewhat annoying in how she always reacted nervously to the "dangerous" situations. But in some ways Nancy Drew foreshadowed the emergence of the independent woman which fostered the feminist movement that followed.

BTW I will be reading Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her later this month. I guess I will get to check to see if the "Analysis" I just offered you holds water! :-)

How do you like Confederacy of Dunces? I gave that one a try when it first came out--a lot of hula-ba-loo about the book prompted me to buy it. I just couldn't get into it so i didn't bring it with me when we moved. Should I give it another chance? Sometimes I need to be in the right mood for a book to click.

I enjoy your thread and the comments you make.

Hi Renee,

You know, I have been thinking about our collective, let's say, "dislike", of The Red and the Black, and it seems like a lot of other people really love it. Do you think it was just us? I don't think so, but could it be? I read somewhere, probably here on LT, that it's a favorite romantic novel. Oy. It's certainly too soon for me to try to re-read it, (maybe you are up for it, MusicMom41?) but I should be getting the movie version next week. I'll have to fill you in at bookclub...or here. Well, probably here, since I can't seem to go a day without wasting, I mean, productively spending at least an hour here on LT.

Have I ever thanked you for turning me on to LT? Well, thanks a lot! (I mean this both literally and sarcastically.) :-)

I haven't started either Poland or Confederacy of Dunces...I should probably get a move on. I'm stuck reading Keri Arthur's Riley Jensen series. Darn her and her readable, cheesy, slightly pervy, mystery / thrillers! I love them and the crazy world she has created. Darn her! If only I weren't slightly embarrassed by the covers, I could read them in public, and I'd already have them all read! And by the way, I received my latest LTER book today. Just add it to the pile!

Looks like you're doing well on adding books into your library here. Maybe you shouldn't get your computer fixed? Just kidding.

Talk to you soon!
Laura

96> Not only do I have The Red and the Black and Charterhouse of Parma in my home library, I also have a book he wrote called Love (for which I could find no touchstone). Three to potentially dislike. Yay.

As far as Nancy Drew goes, I'll give her another couple of tries. Her friends haven't shown up yet. The storytelling that annoyed me at the beginning of book one was mostly of the how do I get my character to express her thoughts when she's alone type. And in book one she does surprise me by changing her own tire when she gets a puncture. I'm all in favor of the independent woman type.

You may also want to look into The Girl Sleuth by Bobbie Ann Mason. I have that book fairly near the couch, and will be reading it sooner than later.

So far, Confederacy of Dunces is striking me as darkly comic noir. Unfortunately, so far Ignatious is not endearing. Ain't nobody to like yet. We'll see if it gets better as I get farther along. (And, to be fair, the Stendhal was getting better just before we met for book group -- of course, that was 150+ pages in, so it was a long wait. But I don't really like the main character, and that's a problem for me.)

Thanks for the compliment. I have to admit your thread (which I caught up on yesterday) is always dangerous for me. I have the McCrumb Bimbos of the Death Sun on the pile because I love books at writer/reader conferences. Didn't know the Zombies book was a sequel.

More tomorrow to you and Laura since I have less than 3 minutes before I'm kicked off the library computer.

I've put The Girl Sleuth on my wishlist. I'd like to compare it with the Rehak book, Girl Sleuth which I am really enjoying. So far it is history and biography and about the series book written at the beginning of the 20th century (and even late 19th century). I've found out a lot about the two women who wrote the books but we haven't gotten to Nancy Drew yet. I'm learning a lot about women's issues in the eary 20th century--fascinating!

When I tried Confederacy of Dunces I had exactly the same problem with the main character--it's why I gave up about a third of the way through. I'll probably give The Red and the Black another try next year when I plan to read several classics I had hoped to read this year!

I have my own computer and I'm still struggling to find time to get on LT and catch up on threads--fall is one of my busiest times for both my jobs.

Short on time again because I start at the bookstore at noon today. Errands to run between now and then, too. So....

97> Hey, Laura, I'm pretty sure you had the book addiction gene before I ever told you about LT. :-) And, no, I really do want to get my computer fixed, even though you're not the only one who noticed August & September have been very productive for me from a book count standpoint. Too annoying not to have the access at home whenever I want it.

I need to spend the weekend reading. At least the part of it when I'm not at the Civil War reenactment on Sunday. I have to find a chemise and some stockings. Pick up some lye soap for someone in historical fiction book group.

I'm not far in Poland, either. I didn't think it was that thick a book, but wow is the print small. As far as The Red and the Black goes, I think taste is subjective, and everybody isn't going to like the same kind of book. We like Wilkie Collins, and we're in classics book group, so we voluntarily read different narrative styles. I wasn't a big fan of Madame Bovary, which Stendhal's book reminds me of, but I didn't have as strong a reaction to it. And Anne liked Madame Bovary more than I did, but had the same reaction to Stendhal that we did.

96> A recommendation for you if you like Sharyn McCrumb: her story "Gentle Reader" in Foggy Mountain Breakdown and Other Stories is one of my favorite short stories ever.

And now I've got to RUN! I hope to have more time on the PC tomorrow.

Finished my Kids Read the Darnedest Things / children's books category with The Red Blazer Girls: The Ring of Rocamadour by Michael D. Beil.

It's a mystery novel, first in a series, of girls who attend private religious school who solve the mystery of where an archaeologist left a ring he intended for his granddaughter's birthday but died before he got the chance to give her. The problem: he left the clues for her in puzzles she had to solve, the card detailing the gift & hunt lay hidden in a book for years.

It was a bit of Mysterious Benedict Society meets Key to the Treasure meets Trixie Belden/Meg Duncan. I enjoyed it but didn't love it. (BTW, the books in the series that includes Key to the Treasure are some of my favorite from childhood.)

Sorry a bit behond here - Oh my gosh Secret Service: British Agents in France 1792-1815 is listed on Amazon for almost $100.00! I guess I won't be getting that anytime soon :-( Put it on my wish list, maybe i will find it in some dusty used book store. . .

DS
(Bruce's evil twin :-))