bonniebook's 50 book challenge in 2009, chapter 2

My first 50-Book Challenge thread was very hard to give up as it was also "my first" on Library Thing. Loved making new friends and the discussions, but at 300+ messages even I was having trouble downloading it. I've created the link here to my first 50-Book Challenge if you ever want to stroll down memory lane with me.

Note: I actually started my 2009 challenge a few days early (in December, 2008) because I was snowed in over the holidays and separated from my family. Per Petterson's book was a great start and felt way too relevant! I'm still not very good at saying in a few words what I loved, liked, or hated about a book, but I'm going to keep trying because I so enjoy what you-all have to say in response. So please don't stop adding your funny, wise, caring, and/or sarcastic remarks. I love them all!

I don't "star" books (I'm too indecisive), but here--in the order read--are some favorites of 2009 so far:

The White Tiger
Special Topics in Calamity Physics A re-read
Housekeeping vs. Dirt
A Complicated Kindness
Property
The Cellist of Sarajevo
Ex-Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader
The Yiddish Policemen's Union
Mudbound
The Help

Books I've read for my 50-Book Challenge, 2009:

01. Out Stealing Horses - Per Petterson (12/23/08)
02. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lin See (12/24/08)
03. The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga (12/26/08)
04. Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery (12/30/08)
05. Strange as This Weather Has Been - Ann Pancake (12/31/08)
06. Tree of Smoke - Denis Johnson (1/01/09)
07. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (1/02/09)
08. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - Jamie Ford (1/04/09)
09. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer (1/04/09)
10. Talent is Overrated - Geoff Colvin (1/5/09)
11. The Pursuit of Alice Thrift - Elinor Lipman (1/09/09)
12. The Secret River - Kate Grenville (1/10/09)
13. Outliers: The Story of Success - Malcom Gladwell (1/11/09)
14. Special Topics in Calamity Physics - Marisha Pessl (1/12/09) re-read/book group
15. The Scarlet Feather - Maeve Binchy (1/15/09)
16. The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery (1/18/09)
17. The Optimist's Daughter - Eudora Welty (1/18/09)
18. Dreams From My Father - Barack Hussein Obama (1/20/09)
19. The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop - Lewis Buzbee (1/23/09)
20. Women Who Love Books Too Much - Brenda Knight (2/02/09)
21. Happiness Sold Separately - Lolly Winston (2/06/09)
22. Beethoven was One Sixteenth Black and other stories - Nadine Gordimer (2/07/09)
23. Gardens of Water - Alan Drew (2/09/09)
24. A Case of Exploding Mangoes - Mohammed Hanif (2/12/09
25. Mister Pip - Lloyd Jones (2/18/09)
26. Digging to America - Anne Tyler (2/20/09)
27. Proust and the Squid - Maryanne Wolf (2/24/09)
28. A Northern Light - Jennifer Donnely (2/28/09) book group
29. American Rust - Phillip Meyer (3/04/09)
30. A Version of Truth - Jennifer Kaufman (3/07/09)
31. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak (3/14/09)
32. Housekeeping vs. Dirt - Nick Hornby (03/15/09)
33. Black Swan Green - David Mitchell (3/21/09)
34. Away - Amy Bloom (3/26/09)
35. Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen (4/04/09)
36. Gods Behaving Badly - Marie Phillips (4/05/09)
37. A Complicated Kindness - Miriam Toews (4/06/09)
38. Dreamers of the Day - Mary Doria Russell (4/08/09)
39. Property - Valerie Martin (4/10/09)
40. Someone Knows My Name or The Book of Negroes - Lawrence Hill (4/12/09
41. Lush Life - Richard Price (4/17/09)
42. The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur - Daoud Hari (4/18/09)
43. The Butcher Boy - Patrick McCabe (4/19/09)
44. Shakespeare Wrote for Money - Nick Hornsby (4/20/09)
45. The Cellist of Sarajevo - Steven Galloway (4/22/09)
46. The Florist's Daughter - Patricia Hampl (4/24/09)
47. When You are Engulfed in Flames - David Sedaris (4/24/09)
48. The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family - Annette Gordon Reed (4/24/09)
49. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith (4/27/09) re-read
50. The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield (5/03/09)
51. I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti - Giulia Malucchi (5/06/09)
52. How Sex Works: Why We Look, Feel, Smell, Taste, and Act the Way We Do - Sharon Moalam (5/06/09)
53. Ex-Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader - Anne Fadiman (5/07/09)
54. Bad Mother - Ayelet Waldman (5/13/09)
55. The Yiddish Policemen's Union - Michael Chabon (5/17/09)
56. Oscar and Lucinda - Peter Carey (5/21/09) re-read, book group
57. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz (5/23/09)
58. Family Man - Elinor Lipman (6/05/09)
59. Mudbound - Hillary Jordan (6/06/09)
60. 26A - Diana Evans (6/19/09)
61. Olive Kitteridge - Elizabeth Strout (6/22/09)
62. Brain Rules - John Medina (6/09) re-read
63. The Lucky One - Nicholas Sparks (6/27/09) :-( Biggest regret of the year!
64. The Help - Kathryn Stockett (7/02/09
65. The Outlander - Gil Adamson (7/04/09)
66. A Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers - Xiaolu Guo (7/08/09)
67. Ms. Hempel Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum (7/9/09)
68. The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood
69. The Hearts of Horses - Molly Gloss (7/09)
70. The Seven Sins of Memory - Daniel Schacter (7/09)
71. Half a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (7/19/09)
72. A Boy of Good Breeding - Miriam Toews (7/20/09)
73. Jim the Boy - Tony Earley (7/21/09)
74. The Good Thief - Hannah Tinti (7/22/09)
75. The 19th Wife - David Ebershoff (7/24/09)
76. Sorry - Gail Jones (7/26/09)
77. The Spare Room - Helen Garner (7/29/09)
78. Isabel's Bed - Elinor Lipman (7/31/09) a comfort food book
79. The Flying Troutmans - Miriam Toews (8/03/09)
80. The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Gilman (8/04/09)
81. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie (8/07/09)
82. Nixonland - Ron Perlstein (8/08/09) Didn't really "finish" finish it, mostly skimmed, but going to count 'cas it's a fat book.
83. The Best American Non-Required Reading 2008 - ed. by David Eggers (8/08/09)
84. What is the What - David Eggers (8/08/09)
85. A Lucky Child - Thomas Buergenthal (8/13/09)
86. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - John Boyne (8/15/09)
87. The Coroner's Lunch - Colin Cotterill (8/16/09)
88. Weekends at Bellevue - Julie Holland, M.D. (8/21/09)
89. Hotel du Lac - Anita Brookner (8/22/09) a re-read
90. Agent ZigZag - Ben Macintyre (8/25/09)
91. During the Reign of the Queen of Persia - Joan Chase (8/27/09) A re-read
92. Water for Elephants - Sarah Gruen (9/02/09) A re-read
93. The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls (9/04/09)
94. Persuasion - Jane Austen (9/06/09) A re-read
95. The Earth Hums in b Flat - Mary Strachan (9/08/09)
96. We are all Welcome Here - Elizabeth Berg (9/09/09)
96. Lark and Termite - Jane Anne Philips (9/10/09)
97. Shake the Devil Off - Ethan Brown (9/10/09)
98. Blessed Unrest - Paul Hawken (tbc)
99. Banker to the Poor Muhammad Yunus (tbc)
100. Overthrow - Stephen Kinzer (tbc)

26A by Diana Evans. Yeah! First picture.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. Picture coming soon... I really liked, even loved, some of Strout's writing at times--as well as some of the chapters--but it felt much more like a collection of short stories with overlapping characters than a novel, and I much prefer novels. (I want to escape into a story, to forget I'm even reading, and I can't do that with shorter stories.) I'm not sure why the author had to mix up times and characters so much other than to add to your desire to keep reading just to figure things out. I wondered whether some of the chapters even needed to be in there; it was almost like I was reading the development of character and/or story ideas created during a writer's workshop. Yes, they sometimes gave me another view of Olive, whom I found engaging and mostly real (and enjoyably unlikeable at times) but they also distracted and detracted from my overall enjoyment of Strout's book.

Edited to bold title.

Brain Rules by John Medina. Pictures and discussion coming soon...

Edited to bold title.

it was almost like I was reading the development of character and/or story ideas created during a writer's workshop.

LOL!!

I think Strout should have divided her book in two; one book could have been "Olive Kitteridge", the other book, one of short stories. I would not have minded if Olive were still in the short stories.

Bonnie, have you read any of Strout's other books? Amy and Isabelle is very good and worth reading.

*pauses to go up and star your new thread*

I think some people are going to feel cheated if they're expecting a typical novel. I agree with you.

Yeah, I did read Amy and Isabelle. I've read it twice actually, but I just thought it was OK. (I guess we aren't twins separated at birth after all!) Neither the story nor the characters particularly captivated me. In fact, I think it bothered me a bit. Didn't the daughter have an affair with a teacher while still in school? OK, now I'll have to leave to go check out my memory. ;-{

You made me curious as well. I went back to see what I thought of Amy and Isabelle when I read it. It was 1999 when I read it, and I gave it 4 stars. :)

Hi Bonnie;
found you and you've been starred.
So far the books I have read by Elizabeth Strout I have found to be BORING to me. Now that is just my take on her and I have only read 3 of them. I did receive Olive Kitteridge the other day as an ARC/ER (don't ask me--I thought it had been around for a while) and I haven't read it so I am hoping for a different take on it.
Well, catch you girls later.
belva

Hey, Bonnie!
You have read lots of books this year already! Yea! I have been curious about that book called Olive Kitteridge, so I glad to see that you read it. I always enjoy getting your take on things. Have a great day!
--BJ

Good morning Bonnie.
Hi--BJ **waves**

I just went online and got airline tickets for me to go see my older daughter, Robbi, near Dallas, Tx in August!~! I am so excited. I haven't seen Robbi for almost a year and I didn't think I was going to get to go this year either. I provide childcare for our daughter, Sarah, who lives up here.
But my husband is off the entire month of August and offered to take on the daycare duty so I can go. Yippee!~!~!
Sadly, Robbi has no internet----so no LT for 2 weeks. She has a computer, but no service. Oh well, I will just appreciate all of you all the more when I return.
Hope you all have a good day. Is it sunny in Seattle this A.M. Bonnie? Very overcast down here, though at 4:30 there were clear patches. So I am hoping it breaks through.
catch you girls later,
belva

Whoo-hoo! I'm feeling the same excitement! Both my sons are both coming home for a visit (one from NYC, the other from college) beginning this weekend, so I might not be on as much either (or maybe more?), we'll see. There's always the library, Belva, or free wi-fi spots! When are you leaving?

Hey Bonnie! Thanks, I've finally found you! I'm thinking after your review that Olive is gonna have to take a back seat. That lessons my guilt load a little, so thanks!

># 12:
Not going until the middle of August. Whoa, that's a long time to be excited!
And I know how it is when the kids come home to visit. Mine are usually off seeing old friends and old places rather than hanging out at home with us. Funny, how that works. But I still get to do their laundry. Gotta love it.
I'm glad your boys are coming home. Will they be home for the summer?
belva

Hi Bonnie, and thanks for starting a new thread. The old one was giving me vertigo. :-) Couldn't help but notice that Mudbound is one of your favorite books this year. Mine, too, although it doesn't get much recognition on LT it seems.

That is interesting that Olive Kitteridge was recently sent to you by the ER program. I received it through the same program in December of 2007 when it really was an ARC. Btw, I really liked it. Maybe because I am beginning to become a crotchety old woman? I recently received Scottsboro through ER, and it too has been out awhile. Wonder why these rereleases?

Hey Donna! Yes, Mudbound was great! You're probably one of the reasons I read it. Since your library is the second most similar to mine (I count you as #1 because our libraries are more even in number), I really pay attention to your reviews if you read a book that sounds like I'd be interested in it too. I'm really loving The Help too. Have you read it?

Nah! I didn't get Olive Kitteridge as an ER. Had to buy it, darn it! I tend to be pretty critical of books, so people are thinking I didn't like it, but I did! I just didn't love it. The one major annoyance/disappointment being that it didn't feel like a novel, more a collection of interrelated short stories.

>13 Berly:: Glad to help, but I would say don't not read it, Kim. I'm just a very emotional reader--and picky! And by "picky" I don't mean discriminating in an intellectual way. More in a 2-year-old, I want what I want kind of way. :-)

You know, bonnie, I have Olive Kitteridge on my TBR listing as a book of short stories so someone at some point in time recc'd it to me as shorts. I keep separate listings for my short story wish list and my book wish list TBRs.
So, obviously, you aren't the only one who read it like that.
I guess I can now remove her from my list!~! I hope to enjoy her.
catch you girls later,
belva

Hi Donna: **waves**

#13 I heartily endorse the authentic, "picky" child within, which is why I now feel entitled to throw a tantrum. I mean should I read it or not? What to do, what to do... I don't want to put Olive BACK on my TBR list.. it's already too BIG!!!!!!!!!! If I was still two I'd stick my thumb in my mouth and find my blankie while pondering...

Hi Bonnie, just found your new thread . . . Did you like 26a as much as I did? I am one of the ones who really, really liked Olive Kitteridge, so I'm sorry that you didn't get the same reaction to it! I also have Mudbound on the teetering pile and am very keen to read it; but I am very keen to read all of those books on the teetering pile, so I might go get my dummy and my blankie and have a bit of a lie down as well!!!!!

Hey Bonnie - just checking in with your new thread! I'm just home from a week's holiday so I'm wading through my catchups everywhere: 200 emails, phone calls to make, forms to fill in, books to pick up for the shop, LibraryThing, Facebook... Now I've found you, one more thing is set to rights!

Yeah! Nice to see you, elliepotten! Glad you got a vacation. When I was working, I would come back from a vacation with so much to catch up on, I sometimes wondered whether the vacation was worth it! Hope yours was soothing, relaxing, full of good reads and sunshine--though when you're a book reader, curling up with a good book and listening to the rain on the roof is a good experience too. When does your bookstore open?

A heads up, everybody! I was feeling really weighted down by all the books on my wish list, so narrowed it down to these 10 books that I'm for sure going to be reading over the next few months:

Adamson, Gil - The Outlander
Atwood, Margaret - The Robber Bride
Evans, Polly - On a Hoof and a Prayer
Gaskell, Elizabeth - Wives and Daughters
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins - The Yellow Wallpaper (on dailylit)
Jones, Gail - Sorry
Roth, Joseph - The Radetzky March
Toews, Miriam - The Flying Troutmans
Tsiolkas, Christos - The Slap

My favorite independent new and used bookstore is having a 40% off sale on all used books today. Wish me luck! :-)

>20 judylou:, Hi judylou! Yes, I did really like 26a, especially the middle part. (I want to say lots more about this part, but I'm heading off to the bookstore...I'll be back!) It's easier for me to talk about the other parts, so will quickly say I don't normally like mystical realism but it really worked in this book. SPOILER ALERT! Because of the direction the book took, I can't say this book is going to be a book I would want to read again, so it's not going to be in my "Top 100," but I could tell that this author really knew the impact of depression, both on the person suffering from it as well as those who love her. Even though the MR played a significant role in this section of the book, the story of how each family member coped felt very real..

More on 26a: Very strange beginning. Wasn't sure I was going to like it at first; it was a definite heads-up that this book was going to include mystical realism. The middle part of this book was the best for me; I'm such a sucker for a coming-of-age story. The twin's relationships with each other as well as with their siblings, mother, and father were all so beautifully described from their odd/quirky, naive point of view. The writing style of the author most reminded me of another book in my library of a boy growing up in Africa (going to have to go look for that title) even though this book is primarily set in England. Loved the Gladstone conversations, their father's demands for pudding, their mother's conversations with her mother that are part of the details that make you feel like you know this African-English family. I think I want to read it again--at least the first two thirds of the book.

40% off? That is practically free! Have a wonderful time book shopping. Let us know what you get!
--BJ

Hi Bonnie - I was so glad to find your new thread. I like your list of upcoming reads and will be watching to see your recommendations. - I just visited a new used book store near my house with my daughters, who all love to read as well, and it is amazing how much can still be spent when you are buying for 4! I alone came home with about 20 more books for the TBR pile - I seem to collect them faster than I can read them! Don't you just love a book store though? I could spend a day in one and love every minute.

Bonnie;
Good morning.
I have to confess as I just finished reading her, that I too am one who really, really loved Olive Kitteridge. But I do so love a great book of short stories and I think that Strout, like Capote is better with a short story than a novel.
But just another example of what is so awesome about LT. We all have our little quirks and preferences and it's all okay.
I hope you are enjoying what you are reading right now. I am in the middle on one I think I would like to put down, but will finish as I need it for my 999 challenge. I have read 2 of his previous novels and loved them both: Snow Falling on Cedars and East of the Mountains but Our Lady of the Forest by Guterson just isn't doing it for me.
Ah well, such is the life of a reader.
catch ya later girlfriend,
belva

Hi, Belva! Beautiful day, huh? I should be out weeding, but instead am curled up on the couch with my laptop trying to catch up a couple of posts before I get cracking here. My younger son is home, but sleeping in as usual, so really enjoy this quiet time to talk to you-all and find out what's going on in your reading lives. I really liked Snow Falling on Cedars because it was a love story that included important history about the exportation of Bainbridge farmers who were of Japanese descent. You know, I never learned about the internment camps until I was an adult! I think that's shameful that our history books didn't include this information nor did our teachers talk about it.

Right now I'm reading The Help--and still loving it--as well as The Robber Bride. The other evening I read The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks. I think you like his books and movies, Belva, so sort of hate to say this, but I want to be honest on my thread--and it's just my opinion anyway, so here goes:

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks. I wanted to see if I liked Nicholas Sparks's books better than his movies--nope! Thank goodness this was a library book--really mediocre writing, and that explains the movies. Anybody who wants to be a writer and wonders if they ever have a chance of being published, should read The Lucky One. They would be encouraged! (His writing reminds me of my dreams; they can be very satisfying at the time, but so silly and trite when you think back on them after you wake up!) And talk about telegraphing ahead! It was so bad, I felt like I knew where Sparks was going almost before he did. I kept reading, even though I knew where I would be going at all times, because I just wanted a lazy read, but the climax/ending, which was PREDICTABLE, unrealistic, and schmaltzy, was the final straw. I vow never to waste my time on a book like this again!

Edited to bold title.

I have had to drop the last couple of Spark's books I have read also. There have been a couple that I loved. Message in a Bottle and The Notebook; I loved both of those and the movies also. But pretty much the rest of his stuff is just 'eh for me. I have never tried The Lucky One, but I tried The Wedding, and the one about him and his brother taking a bonding trip together; I am not a huge fan. I did really love the two I mentioned above, but other than that I find his work pretty boring. There is a sameness to them that tires me. I wish they were all as good as those I named above.
I think he is rather a formulaic writer and kind of just pounds them out.
Like Grisham. Grisham has found a formula that works for him and he uses it time and time again. Now for the most part, his formulaic plan tends to work for me. I like most of his stuff. Didn't like Testament and didn't like L one. But I did like all the rest.
So say away about Sparks. You are not going to hurt my feelings. We should all feel free on here to be honest about how we feel about a particular book. That is the beauty of LT.
DIVERSITY.
It's a good thing.
belva

belva, I never read Grisham, but found one of his books that blew me away. It was called The Innocent Man and was a nonfiction book receommended to me by my husband. It's the story of a man who was put on death row for a murder he did not commit. It's very sad. I most highly recommend that book.

Another Grisham book that I liked and found to be a fun read (I listened to both of these books that I mention in this post on CD) was called Playing for Pizza. This was a very short and cute novel about a football player who could not make it in the US so he ended up playing on a football league in Parma, Italy. If you like reading travelogues at all, this light novel is very entertaining.

By the way, did you know that Parma, Italy, is where Parmesan cheese originated?!

Hey Bonnie! Lovely holidays thanks - it involved a black cat called Spooks ('borrowed' from the cottage's owners next door!), a swing in a mulberry tree, Wimbledon, cheesecake, Haagen Daaz, chocolate buttons, tea, a huge garden... and yes, a whole lot of reading. Bliss.

The shop opens Saturday and so our lives have descended into chaos - everyone wants us to buy their books at the last minute, there are still books to shelve and displays to finish off, we need fairy cakes to be iced and drinks in the fridge for opening day, and come Saturday we will be committing to practically living in the shop until Christmas! Plus I have a haircut booked slap bang in the middle of the day on Friday (to look gorgeous for opening day, as you do) which may turn out to be a bit of a pain if we're still rushing around like headless chickens!

AAAAAAAAAARGH! OK, panic over for the next five minutes.

Ellie, my dear, chill.
Have a little sit down, take a few deep breaths, every lil thing goin' be all right. It will all come together. I am sending in the "bookshop gremlins" tonight to aid you.
belva

Hey Chu;
Did not care so very much for The Innocent Man, but agree that what happened was very sad.
Nor did I care for Playing for Pizza. Sorry girl, we are batting a thousand here.
I do, however, enjoy his "formulaic" courtroom dramas. I know, I know, but we all have our vices. I'm not fixated on him or anything and haven't had anything new of his for a long time other than the one you mentioned. Also did not, did not, and did I mention that I did not, in fact I hated his Skipping Christmas!~!
"Turrable", just a "turrable" book!~!
As for: "By the way, did you know that Parma, Italy, is where Parmesan cheese originated?! " No, I did not. Makes sense though. Hmmmm. I cannot ponder on that, that was yesterday's word. How about ruminate? Ahhh, sweet Italia!~! Would so love to be there right now!
Well Squeak and Ellie (now I have even forgotten whose thread I'm inhabiting at the moment), I will catch you both later. Have a great day Chu. Ellie, take it easy on yourself. Be kind to your circulatory system.
later,
belva

belva, I think I'm through with Grisham, at least for the time being. I have no desire to read lawyer or courtroom drama. I have a few Grisham books (paperbacks) that I think I'll be wild-releasing for Bookcrossing. In fact, I saw someone reading a Grisham paperback today on the Metro train. Although I craned my neck and squinted, I don't know which one it was. :(

You silly girl!~!
I have been through with Grisham for quite some time because I have read everything he has that I want to read.
I think I am going to do my Steinbeck that I am working on: The Log from the Sea of Cortez, the current segment (which I've yet to begin, but will do in an afternoon) of Anna Karinina, and then just kind of kick back and do light stuff through the group read of "Pillars". I feel like I need a rest. I grabbed Anne of Avonlea to relax with and it felt pretty good.
Well me deary, I am glad you didn't get a kink in your neck whilst attempting to see what the other passenger was reading. LOL!~!
Can see it all now:
EMERGENCY!
EMERGENCY!
NECK KINK ON TRAIN #9!
Catch ya tomorrow.
belva

Neck kink on the Metro train in Maryland (DC area Metro) is way better than fatal accident on the Metro train in Maryland. Since the fatal accident on the Red Line (the line I ride) last week, there was another death on that track - a suicide. The trains are going very slowly this week, travelling at 35mph instead of their usual 59mph.

G'night!

*waves to Bonnie*

ETA: Bonnie, you really belong on the 75 books challenge!!

ETA #2: I decided to release a Harlequin Romance instead of a Grisham.

Good thinking on the Harlequin there old girl.
Wow, didn't realize riding the Metro was that dangerous. I just thought it was the people on the Metro that you had to be wary of. Were you involved in that accident Squeak?
belva

The Metro is really safe to ride. One is less likely to be involved in an accident on the Metro train than in one's own car. I wasn't working on the day of the accident. The accident actually occurred on the other end of the line than the on one which I travel.

I released the Harlequin novel this morning on a bench at the Metro station, and this afternoon it was gone. The Harlequin, not the bench or the Metro station! :D

Chu funny girl!~!
Is that what you do? Just go off and leave the book somewhere and wait for someone to pick it up and split? Kind of like littering? But not??
I need to check into this. It sounds like a lot of fun. I think thekookaidmom does it also.
How fortunate that you were not on that Metro. I sounded very serious.
Happy 4th Squeak!~!
belva

Oh, this is Bonnie's thread. I am embarrassed now. Sorry Bonnie. I just took off on it like it was SqueakyChu's.
How are you? Do you have special plans for the 4th with your boys home? Will you go down to Elliot Bay and watch the fireworks?
We are building fence and then the kids will probably come in and want to BBQ so I am sure we will do that, but that will be it for us.
Have a safe one girlfriend.
belva

Hi Bonnie,

I just finished American Rust, after having tossed it aside once and then reluctantly picked it up to finish. I didn't like it, but saw that you thought the book had good writing. That book made me crazy in so many ways!! What was it that especially appealed to you? I hated the story, and especially hated the characters (except for poor Fur, Police chief Harris's dog). The setting was effective though. However, a setting does not a story make! :)

Tell me more about why you liked the book - as I hate to put down a debut author's novel in a review, but I really, really did not like it (for me, that is) and always feel I should be honest in a review.

Madeline

P.S. Have a safe and happy holiday weekend everyone!

P.P.S. to belva: Is that what you do? Just go off and leave the book somewhere and wait for someone to pick it up and split? Kind of like littering? But not??

Exactly. LOL!

Thanks, Madeline and Belva, for keeping the action going on my thread while I was away. Madeline, who said I liked American Rust? :-)

Bonnieeeeeeeeee.....

This is the first line of your own review:

"This is good writing, but an oh-so-depressing story set in small-town, Pennsylvania ....

Yeah, your review does get more negative as it progresses. I did notice, though, that you did not give it a star rating.

Squeakeeeeeee... 2 stars! There are you happy now? ;-) I thought I gave a fairly critical review of American Rust but that's the problem with the written word versus oral language. Or maybe it's just a problem for me--I so hate to write!

I hate to start the whole starring process, because the number of stars mean different things to different people. I decided I would star the books that I reviewed (though not really reviews, more just comments). Even in this case, the stars are more an emotional reaction rather than a rating regarding the overall quality of the writing. I'm not even sure what my stars mean to me so don't you dare ask me, Squeaky! ;-).

In my library, my stars aren't really stars; they're more a way of communicating how many times I've read a book, or would be willing to read a book--which I guess is sort of a rating. But, it's not really, because I might not reread a book that's amazing, but will reread a book that's entertaining/comforting. Now that I've starred some books as part of the review process, they're not going to reflect my original intent, so may have to go to a more conventional starring system. I know I've already confused some visitors and made them think I didn't like a book...sigh! What to do?

LOL! The explanation of your star system is hilarious!!!!!!

Well, at least our two stars for American Rust agree.

Well, here's something interesting. Patricia Cornwell rates American Rust as one of her favorite books. Of course, I don't read Cornwell's books either...

http://www.newsweek.com/id/204052

Good morning Bonnie.
How are things in good old Seattle? We are overcast and misting this A.M. Kind of nice for a change from the recent weather. But we certainly had some good weather for the 4th. That was a pleasant change. It got up over 100 one day and we put in 2 small a/c units in the bedrooms.
The kids and grands came for the 4th and we had BBQ and set the pool up. It was brr cold and only the pup and 6 yr old would go in.
Our 16 yr old granddaughter is spending the week with us so we are very happy about that as we don't see her nearly often enough.
I hope you have a really good day. We have a busy one planned and then the week should be smooth sailing. (I hope)
catcha later,
belva

Hi, Belva! I guess I'm a Northwester through and through 'cas I love this cloudy, cool weather. It's perfect for curling up with a book--though I have to admit that any weather is perfect book-reading weather. I'm trying to decide whether I should go out there and make it rain. I know if I don't water my plants, it won't rain, so debating...

Oh Bonnie, you are funny. Are you one that just knows if you wash the car it will rain as well?
Did you have a good 4th with the boys? Are they home for the summer?
I hope the answer to both is yes, because I know you miss them.
If I can get away and get up to Elliott Bay Book Company or another in August, would you like to meet for a cup of tea? (as I know you don't like coffee and I cannot have the caffeine)
later dayz n happy reading,
belva

For sure! Give me a call when you know you're coming. I'm going to be home most of the summer. It's been a long time since I've gone to Elliot Bay (I go to their Third Place Stores), so that will give me a chance to dig up, and use, some old gift certificates from there.

My sons are in Portland now, but my older son is coming back tomorrow. Today I helped a friend test all her students (she's teaching summer school), and we're going to go over all the results and I'm going to help her decide on what to teach them over the next four weeks--so interesting to me. Tomorrow, I'm tutoring all day, and Thursday I'm spending with my son before he heads back to NYC. Friday is errands day (got to get my driver's license renewed), but then I'm going to r-e-l-a-x! I just got a bunch of books from the library, so I'm going to spend all of next weekend reading. Remember my list from msg. # 22? I got almost all of them this week from the library, so I think I'm going to have a great time reading these next couple of weeks.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Love, love, loved it! This book goes back and forth between the Black nanny/cook/housekeepers' stories (primarily Aibileen and Minny's) about what it was like to work for their white employers versus a young woman's attempt to get their stories written as well as find out what happened to her much-loved nanny who was fired while she (Skeeter) was away at college. There's a little romance thrown in there too as Skeeter finds her voice as a woman, independent thinker, writer, and supporter of human rights.

There's a great warmth, humor, and charm to this story even though it takes place in Jackson, Mississippi during the dangerous time of Medgar Evans's murder, beatings, bombings, lynchings, and other famous/infamous civil rights happenings there. The author, by writing from these Black women's points of view, helps you to understand how dangerous--and incredibly courageous--it was for African-Americans living in the South to speak the truth. But, most importantly for me, Stockett introduces you to two great storytellers, Aibileen and Minny, who make you want to keep listening to their lives.

This is just the kind of book I like to read in mostly one setting, but instead read it in dribs and drabs whenever I was at a bookstore. (I did buy other books; I just don't like to read hardbounds--theyre too hard on my wrists and thumbs.) I will definitely buy The Help when it comes out in paperback and read it again.

Edited to remove bolding.

The Outlander by Gil Adamson. Spoiler Alert! I always find it interesting how much I take the narrator's point of view, even when they do very bad things. I really enjoyed the tension created in Outlanders by not knowing fully the circumstances that caused "The Widow" to kill her husband and then flee from those ominous brothers. The writing was so good. I felt her panic, her desperation, her mental confusion...I was totally on her side.

But I have to say I was disappointed a bit by the end of the story. I still wanted to know more. The tension actually went down for me earlier than that, once she was in the mining town. Which makes sense because she was no longer running. There were a few plot points that weren't all that great for me as well. (e.g., When the brothers showed up at the barn, but waited until the next day to confront the occupants of the house--which conveniently gave "The Widow" the opportunity to escape in the night; the Indian waiting for days to see the owner of the horse come down the mountain; that there were no other women in the mining town--not realistic). And the while the ending fits with the story in multiple ways, I just couldn't imagine any woman actually doing that in real life. It felt very clever on the author's part (it resolved and balanced her story on so many levels) but not real.

So, I enjoyed Outlander, but didn't love it. Primarily, because I was disappointed by not feeling like I really knew yet why "The Widow" killed her husband. I could guess, and even empathize with her reasons, but I guess I didn't learn enough to be totally sympathetic. I actually even started to empathize a bit with the brothers, in spite of how consistently negative they were portrayed. Why wouldn't they chase relentlessly after the woman who killed their brother? Why wouldn't they want her to be tried and punished?

The Help looks wonderful -- thanks for your thoughtful comments. On to the wishlist it goes!

AMQS - Normally, I don't care whether people like the books I like, or whether they want to read the same book I do, but I really do hope lots of people read Help. I'm for sure going to recommend it to my book group once it comes out in paperback.

Hi Bonnie!

I also absolutely loved The Help. I don't remember why, but I didn't expect to like it as much as I did, so I was pleasantly surprised.

I also loved The Outlander so I'm curious to know whether or not you liked it.

Bonnie;
Good job on getting the grab on most of your summer wish list. I am proud of you. Now you can just kick back, relax and read them. You go girl!~!
belva

The Help sounds great - thanks. I haven't seen it over here but will go and investigate the library website...

edited to add that it's on 262 other Bookmooch wishlists! eek!

>54 bonniebooks:: The Help was one of 3 books waiting for me at the library when I got home from vacation. So many on LT have loved it that I couldn't resist. Now....to find time to read...

Lucky you!

A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo. I didn't like this book that much. I think I thought it would be sweeter, more charming, more romantic. Spoiler Alert. The actions of the main character, Zhuang Xiao, didn't always feel real to me (e.g., how and why she was in England in the first place, the "girly show" scene, her actions on her trip through Europe) including her knowledge/use of the English language. And I thought the relationship between her and her English boyfriend, which happened precipitously by my standards anyway, was creepy because of their 20-year age difference. I didn't particularly like him or her, so I didn't enjoy reading about the intimacies of their life together. A bit ironic to me, as this was also a major issue for them as well.

I do think this book would be good to discuss for the language and cultural issues, as well as the typical man-woman/how do I want to live my life, and do I want you a part of it-issues it brings up, so I'm not not recommending it. I just didn't like it nearly as much as I thought I would.

Edited to try to fix Touchstones.

Ms. Hempel Chronicles by Sara Shun-Lien Bynum. Loved it! This was a good antidote to A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers. Unlike the latter, I recognized this teacher (she was real to me) and liked her a lot, so wanted to read more about her thinking and her life even when I didn't agree with her. BTW, ignore the cover! Didn't match how I pictured Ms. Hempel at all.

Edited to remove book #

Good morning Bonnie.
I think both of those books are over my head, but wanted to say howdy anyway. Do you have special plans for the weekend?
I think we will be doing more fencing as the pup has gone over the back gate and the front fence. My poor hubby's shoulders will be killing him again. Other than that, our granddaughter who has been here since Saturday will be leaving Sat. night :-( and I just want to rest from a very busy week of kids and mother and catch up on my reading.
belva

Over your head? Not for you, Belva! You're reading Steinbeck! These are easy reads. Have a great weekend of reading and relaxing. Both my sons are gone, I have a ton of good books lined up, and am going to do the same thing. Happy reading!

To you also my dear friend.
I hope you have a great weekend.
belva

>54 bonniebooks: re: The Help you said, 'Normally, I don't care whether people like the books I like, or whether they want to read the same book I do, but I really do hope lots of people read Help.'

That's how I feel about Cellist of Sarajevo.

And so, I will also put The Help on my ever-growing list!

Ooh! Now I feel nervous, Louanne! Those books are so different, but I did love them both.

The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood.

Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss. Had to read this for book group. I liked Wild Life by this author a lot better, but this was a comfortable read.

The Seven Sins of Memory by Daniel Schacter.

Half a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A Boy of Good Breeding by Miriam Toews. I stopped reading this book. At first, I wasn't sure just who the main character of this book was. But it seems to be evolving into Hosea Funk, the mayor of the potentially "smallest town in Canada" (officially 1,500 people), who spends all his time dreaming about the potential honor of having the Prime Minister visit his town on July 6th while worrying about the lives and deaths that will impact whether his town will be picked. For example, he won't marry his girlfriend from another town, or even ask her to move in with him because it would be one more person in his town. This guy is incredibly pathetic and boring and sometimes his thoughts, comments, or actions just don't ring true. I don't usually quit in the middle of a book, but I have too many good books waiting for me. What a disappointment since I loved A Complicated Kindness by the same author.

Jim the Boy - Tony Earley. This is a quiet, simple, sweet story about one year in the life of a 10-11 year-old boy in rural North Caroline during the depression. His father died when he was born, and he is being raised by his mom and his three loving uncles on a small farm in a small town. It reads like an excellent book for late elementary students in terms of plot, but the writing is perhaps too "poetic" (I don't know how else to describe it) to hold the interest of that age group. Maybe it would work better as a book to be read by parents, teachers--or, better yet, by grandparents to make their pasts come a little more alive for their grandchildren.

The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti. Quite the opposite tone in another children's book. Or at least it appears to be written for this age-group, though this adventure-filled, Dickens-styled tale seems way too violent for kids! Some of the details of the killings, the grave-robbing and the harvesting of dead bodies wouldn't be something that I would want younger children to have to listen to. How did this book win so much good press?!! I don't think the story is particularly original and I don't think the plot holds up as a book for adults, so who's reading and loving this book?

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff.

Better be careful Bonnie or you are going to get in deep doo-doo with St. Richard for reading really "good books". Some of these titles carry a lot of weight behind them. You are reading some good stuff here girl!~!
b

Shhhh! Don't tell him, B! :-) I don't think he, or anyone else, will be much interested until I get some comments added. And I will eventually do that. I do think I've read some good books lately and have more on my shelf to get through, but am not finding the motivation to review them. Thought I should at least get them on my thread so people will know that I am reading. Maybe other LT-ers comments will jog me into sharing my own opinion.

Hae you read all those in the last week?!
Looking forward to the comments. HOAYS is in my "eternal TBR" pile, and I've seen lots of good comments on here on the 19th Wife too.

ok, I'e succumbed and hae just opened the Wgtn city libraries website in another window! Both 19th wife copies are out... but lots of copies of the Miriam Toews book. I haven't read any of her books yet.

I've been in and out of a bunch of books and finally just finished them. I really don't like reading that way and it may have impacted my reaction to them. Ignore Jim the Boy (sweet!) and The Good Thief (a little too gruesome for children, reads like an old-fashioned tale ala R.L. Stevenson), they're children's/YA books. I didn't finish A Boy of Good Breeding, so obviously don't recommend that, but I did love A Complicated Kindness by Toews. The Hearts of Horses was a "comfortable ride" but nothing great. Enjoyed The Robber Bride, but if I were to make a suggestion based on what little I know (and like) about you, I would say that you would most enjoy Half of a Yellow Sun. And, if you go back a teensy bit further: The Help is in my Top Five so far this year--and it's about jobs, right up your alley! :-)

What an amazing list!

First, I must say I think about The Cellist of Saravejo each time I spot it in a store. I haven't grabbed it yet. I take it, I should?

I still haven't read Out Stealing Horses or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn...

Honestly, how is Olive Kitteridge?

I didn't care for The Good Thief all that much. I read it as an Early Reviewer. I hate when I don't like an ER book, but I am honest in all my reviews. Others seemed to have liked that book a lot. Again, that's a genre (swashbucklin' adventure) that's not a favorite of mine. I wasn't expecting that sort of book when I read the ER blurb. I was thinking more along the lines of "Poor kid. He's an orphan. Now what?"

Bonnie- Good list! I loved Jim the Boy. I loved the simple yet poignant prose!
>LheaJLove- IMHO, I loved Olive Kitteridege, I've been singing it's praises! Also, crazy for Out Stealing Horses.

Mark, I agree with you regarding Jim the Boy. I did think it read like a children's book in terms of plot, though not sure a preteen or even a teen would appreciate the poetic style. Did you see it as a children's book or a coming-of-age book for adults?

Lhea, I'm not as big a fan as Mark is of Olive Kitteridge. I think she could have left out a couple of chapters in the middle and made it a more coherent story. It read like short stories to me, and I prefer the immersive qualities of a novel, but there is some good writing there.

Out Stealing Horses is a quiet, subtle story. A bit cold, like the setting; or maybe it felt that way because I was reading it at home over Christmas, separated from my own family because of a beautiful but isolating snow fall. It wasn't a favorite because I didn't always like the narrator/main character that much: stoic, not much of a talker, withdrawing from the world, even from family. But I did like the very last sentence of the book; it was a perfect explanation of why he was the way he was and I felt much more empathy for him because of it.

Sorry by Gail Jones. The outline of this story is an interesting, and important, one in terms of Australian history and the writing is often exquisite, but it was the writing that kept me at a bit of an emotional distance as well. I'm a very emotional reader, but I just can't feel as much for a story told in third person. I can't help but contrast this book to some of my favorites (Ellen Foster, This Boy's Life) and think that this story could have been so much more powerful had it been told in first person. Sorry!

I'm an easy audience sometimes. I loved The Good Thief, Out Stealing Horses, Olive and Jim the Boy. I loved the way Jim was written. The simple style was a perfect fit for the simple story. I thought it was rather elegant. The Good Thief was just a great fun adventure and I think a good story for 12 and up.

I know you didn't like it, Madeline, but what category do you think this book belongs in?


I don't know. Perhaps a young adult story?

Hi bonnie;
Just sticking my big nose in here to say that Olive Kitteridge is a book of short stories rather than a novel. That might help the "chapters" to make a little more sense to you. Hope that helps you out a bit.
hugs,
belva

Belva, well, then I like it just fine, but I still would like to take out a few of the stories to make it better! Oh, what's that you say? It won the Pulitzer for "Best Fiction?" Well, The Sea and Elizabeth Costello won prizes too. Enough said!

Coppers, you are easy! ;-) I thought Jim the Boy was beautiful too; I just wondered whether kids would like it as much as adults, yet it is definitely a YA book, don't you think?

I'll always admit to being a critical reader. Sometimes I think I should maybe tone it down, but I figure it's my thead; I might as well be myself. It's so much easier! And if people don't like what I have to say, they can just ignore me. That's what I love about LT; there seems to be room for all of us! :-)

Hiya Bonnie! I don't think Jim the Boy was marketed as a YA book but would make an excellent crossover. My sixteen yr old would never pick it up for pleasure but I know if he had to read it as an assignment, he would like it (grudgingly)!

Bonnie, me dear friend;
We would not want you if you were anything but yourself. And if I liked every book I read, I would sicken myself.
I did not realize that Olive Kitteridge had won any prizes. I just got the book from the ARC/ER program, read it, reviewed it and discussed it. I had never heard of it before.
So I guess I need to read The Sea & Elizabeth Costello of which I have not heard anything either. Are they not good? Help me out here.
hugs,
belva

So I guess I need to read The Sea & Elizabeth Costello of which I have not heard anything either. Are they not good?

They were the most boring, disappointing "prize winners" I've ever read!! But then, it's me, so don't know what to tell you. I wouldn't go rushing to read them, but you may (probably will) appreciate them more than I did, Belva. :-)

P.S. Thanks for the positive feedback re: my thread. I sooo love LT!

I think I read somewhere that Jim the Boy was being used in HS curricula, so I definitely think it could be classified as YA lit.

Oops! LT is really slow tonight. I'll have to use this for my next posting.

Bonnie;
Stop beating yourself up please. I like and enjoy you so much just the way you are!~!
None of us like, nor would we wish to like, every book that we read. That would mean we were mindless and unworthy of the literary world that we so love. (or we wouldn't be here, right?)
And if we were all the same, what a boring world this would be.
(And I love LT too. In fact some days LT is all I do. Quite the lazy daisy some days.)
You take care Bonnie.
I will talk to you later.
belva

P.S. This was in response to your second post, just in case it doesn't make sense to anyone else.

It is slow. My message double posted when it finally did go through. I just thought it was my piece of crap computer and booted the thing. Glad to know it wasn't just my computer.

>89 bonniebooks:: I, too, am a critical reader. As far as I'm concerned there are few "perfect" (i.e., 5-star books) out there. I could probably find some fault with the two books that I've given 5 stars to in '09 -- Lark and Termite and The Indifferent Stars Above, but they had emotional impacts on me that superseded everything else.

Just yesterday, I wrote a favorable review of The Help and gave it 4.5 stars. I neglected to point out that it missed 5 stars when it crossed the line with the character of Hilly, the out-of-control hate mongering Junior Leaguer. Stockett made her just a little too mean to have as many friends as she did in the book. Also, the prowler incident was over the top in my opinion.

I guess my point is: I have reasons for the ratings that I give, but I try and step back from my personal feelings most of the time in order to be fair. However, I just couldn't do that with Little Bee. I was seeing red by the end of that book even though I thought it a well-written book with a good message.

Yes, I agree with you, Donna, about Help--even though I did love it! Hilly was a bit over the top, wasn't she? Though, I have known some pretty selfish, manipulative, power-hungry women during my Guild and school co-op days. (Never friends with them though.) Problem is, in real life those same women can be extremely smart, funny, energetic, accomplished, talented women--that's why they manage to become leaders. I think Hilly would have been more scary if the author had shown more of her strengths, but then I think about how men manage to get control of businesses, or even whole countries, through the willingness to be more vicious than everyone else, so I can imagine there could be women like that as well.

I also think the author could maybe have included a little more history to help us understand why those three women stayed such good friends over the years. They had been friends since childhood, right? And through college? People are complex, aren't they? They can be super loving to friends and family while being awful to those they work with, or come in contact with in the outside world. Why did they stay friends? Maybe it was the bridge? :-) My mom plays bridge with some people who are so opposite in their political thinking, yet she still chooses to partner up with them every week.

One more thing: I can imagine the prejudice of these women being so omnipresent that they wouldn't even notice it in each other. An example of how fast that can happen: I was a Big Sister for about five years to a girl who here in the Northwest had best friends who were African-American. They played practically every day after school, had sleep-overs. Then my Little Sister moved to Baton Rouge. Less then ten years later, she came back to visit me. Walking out of my house, she suddenly gasped and ducked back into the doorway when she saw a Black guy walking down my street. "Oh my gosh!" she said, "You would never see that in the South. I would be very afraid if I saw a Black person in my neighborhood!" Over lunch, she went on to talk about how Black and Whites never have anything to do with each other socially and all the reasons why. I was thoroughly shocked at how prejudiced she had become in those ten years.

This was a girl who had had close friends who were Black, who stayed overnight in their homes! Who didn't move to the South until she was in middle school, and this was in the 90's! So, yeah, I can imagine lots of women like Hilly who, in the 1950's, having never been confronted directly about their prejudices, being very nice to the people they love, or think deserving, while acting hatefully toward Blacks, including the people who clean up after them and take care of their children.

Good morning Bonnie.
I totally agree with you and Donna and have to say that I am one of the guilty parties. But I guess that I rate on an "emotional" level rather than an "intellectual" one. Thusly, I am much more likely to rate higher.
We are none of us going to rate all the books we read the same because none of us are the same. But that's okay. Diversity is a wonderful thing is this universe of ours. It allows me to be me and you to be you and I think that we can be different and still be caring LT friends.
Get ready for a stinker of a hot day up there. It was 105 in Chehalis yesterday and 102 here. Whew!~! A body would think we were in Texas or Oklahoma.
hugs,
belva

Have added The Help to my teetering tower. Love your thread and all the discussion!! Hugs.

You presented a nice case for Hilly's complex characterization. That's why I didn't mention it in my review -- because I knew in my heart that those people did (and do) exist. I really like the way you think about what you read. That's why I try to write a review on most everything I read. It helps me to clarify my thoughts.

Try to stay cool! My husband is on a business trip in the NW -- Portland and Seattle -- and wishing he was back here in relatively cool Missouri.

Hey gal;
My son-in-law just picked the boys up and if you know where Elbe is (between Eatonville and Mt. Rainier), it is thundering and lightning to beat the band and pouring down the rain!~! Yea!~! He works on Ft. Lewis. He is a commercial electrician and they have a 3 year contract with the bases. But he comes through there every day on his way to and from work. I hope it (the rain) is coming this way and your way too. Hopefully it will cool things off a bit.
Well kiddo, I will talk to you later.
Keep your powder dry.
belva

Well, we didn't get the rain, but it has cooled down from 107 to 75. Tonight we get to sleep!~! Yes!!!!!!!!!!!
Were you able to find some a/c? Sure hope so.
I would hate for you to have to spend the night in the tub. I was telling my daughter about that when she stopped by on her way home from work and she thought it quite clever of you and wondered why she hadn't thought of it. She has a tub and is addicted to Sudoku puzzles.
We had a horrible thing happen this evening Bonnie. My husband got called out (he is the assistant fire chief and our fire dept runs the ambulance here in town) on a suicide right after he got home from work. It was a lady just 4 doors down the street from us. She had shot herself. She had a stroke about 2 years ago and her husband was taking wonderful care of her at home. She was just beginning to get out. They would go for little walks. She was only 73. When he came home and told me, I just felt sick to my stomach. She had the prettiest flower garden on the street. And until her stroke she did all the work herself. I had waited on her at the bank for 23 years and we both have known her all our lives. Just heartbreaking. I hurt for her husband. He was so gentle with her. I cannot imagine his pain tonight.

Oh Belva, I'm sorry... condolences and a big hug - suicide is always such a shock no matter how you knew that person. Time for a good drink, I'd say. xx

Would do Ellie but not good to mix the drink with the psyche meds. Ha!
But I thank you for your kind words. It has been a rough night. I've not been to bed yet and it is 6:30 here. My husband is totally angry (not at me, but the situation) and he is never angry so I am having a bit of a time coping with that as well. But he will get up in an hour and go to work and be busy all day and hopefully be able to get his mind off it. The grandchildren arrive just shortly before he leaves so then I will be busy with them and my mind will be occupied elsewhere also. Just not a good night.
later and back atcha.
xxoo
belva

A stiff cup of tea and some cake, then... A girl I was at uni with killed herself at her student house just after I left and it really knocked me for six. Gets the reflective thoughts and the heavy sadness floating around in your head until not much else will fit. I'm sending happy thoughts your way... and sweet dreams, too, when you finally get to sleep, xx

P.S. Sorry Bonnie - here's a smile to counter all the morbidity we've injected into your thread! :-D

I'm taking your Rx too, elliepotten! I say tea and cake for everyone! :-)

Best prescription I have had all day!~!
I agree! Tea and cakes. Those little pretty nummy ones. Mmmmmm.

Bonnie and Ellie--you ladies are real sports.
thanx,
belva

I should be lounging down by the lake (I only live a few blocks away from it), or at least lying on my couch reading a good book (I've got plenty of them). Instead, I'm choosing to strip beds, flip mattresses and clean out the hottest closet in the hottest room of my house on one of the hottest days of the year! What-am-I-thinking?

Donna, I so want to read Lark and Termite! Glad you liked it; it's definitely just the kind of book I go for. May have to buy it today to have something to go with my tea and cakes.

Bonnie- Also a huge fan of Lark and Termite! Fighting for the top spot for the year. Amazing read!

Belva, I am so sorry to hear about your neighbor.

I really enjoyed Lark and Termite, too. Lounging by the lake sounds good. While you've had a heat wave in the NW, we've had a cold & wet spell in CO. It was about 55 this morning -- very unusual for July.

>#113:
Thank you Anne. I appreciate your kind words.
belva

Hi Bonnie.
Did you get some sleep last night?
I cannot believe all the energy you have lady!~!
And where can you buy a mattress these days that you CAN flip? We haven't been able to find any for a few years now. They all have that funky bottom like the top of the box springs. They are such a better mattress and last much longer if you can flip them. Kind of hard on your back to do it by yourself though.
Did you? (do it by yourself)
And with this heat----I don't know what you were thinking!~! If not at the lake, you should have been in the tub reading and listening to APR or whatever that is. (I need a radio)
Our fence is up and finished (Yea!~!) and looks great and we love it and our precious Abby is safe from harm now. The only thing is that it looks funny running one link of it from the middle of the front yard to the porch and splitting the front yard in half. But we wanted to do that because the kids and the delivery people, especially the UPS and FedEx guys always leave the gates open so it looks kind of funky but we are happy and feel more secure for her with it like this and that is what counts.
So Lark and Termite; I've not yet read it either. Donna gives good recs and if Mark is sold on it; he has never steered me wrong yet so I guess that one has to go down on the list as well. It has been bandied about LT for quite a while now so it must be good if it is getting all that chatter.
Well girl, I need to check a couple more threads and then finish my book as tomorrow begins a dedicated month of reads for me so I must finish by midnight.
You take care and again thank you for being such a good "listener". I appreciate your kind heart.
belva

I've been back home for a couple of days and posting on other people's threads, but avoiding updating mine. What's up with that?

The Spare Room by Helen Garner. Not sure why someone thought this should be a book.

Isabel's Bed by Elinor Lipman. It was just too hot to concentrate--or sleep. This funny book was just the diversion I needed.

The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews. Supposedly-sane sister comes to the rescue of suicidal sister's two children (disaffected 15 yr-old boy, and insanely smart 11-yr-old girl, who are both messed up from having spent too much of their lives taking care of mom) when crazy sister gets committed to the hospital. Auntie doesn't know if she can, or wants, to take care these 2 stressed, already out-of-control children, so she decides to take the kids on a road trip to find their long-lost dad with very little information on how to find him. Lots of whacky, sad times, but really funny ones too. Yes, the dialogue coming out of 11-year-old girl's mouth is unbelievable, and the actions of all three characters are over the top at times, but the writing is so good, so clever, who cares? And there are actually lots of good, serious issues to discuss from this book.

A reader doesn't have to have someone in their family who is mentally ill to relate to this story. If you have someone in your family who is seriously ill or addicted to alcohol, or drugs, you know how complex relationships can get, and how much each member of the family is impacted. And how hard it is to ferret out whether you're doing the right thing for the wrong reasons or the wrong thing for the right reasons. It hardly ever feels like you're doing the right thing for the right reasons. Life is never that easy!

Edited to fix spelling.

Sounds like a good book but I don't think I could read it. Just a little too close to home.
How are you today Bonnie? Any cooler up there? Way cooler here!~! Yea!~!
I'm gonna lounge, read, nap, visit my mom, read, nap and lounge my way through the day. Just feels like the day to do something like that. I've already got the work I wanted to do today done other than hanging some curtains and I will get that done before I hit my book.
Hope you have a good one up there.
I'll talk to you later Bonnie.
hugs,
belva

I wondered about that, Belva. Even as I was laughing, when I think about some of these things happening to real people, I feel sad and anxious too. I like how Miriam Toews represents a complex picture of the mother too--though it's through the eyes of her sister. The mom is smart, funny, creative, a loving sister, and a great mother, except when/that she's often seriously depressed and wanting to die. I think the book gets across how biological/chemical these feelings are, but maybe I'm just reading into the story all that I know personally (my mom has had bouts of depression, though only one as serious as described in this book) and professionally (remember I was a Psych. major).

It's actually cold and I've loving it!

I did like you synopsis on the book but......
And I know you understand. Many thanks for that Bonnie.
And the weather:
Me too, me too!~! I never thought I would feel this good being cold!~! Love, love, love it!~!
later babe,
belva

Well,, I am back in Portland, having timed our trip perfectly to miss all the hot weather! I have The Flying Troutmans but haven't been up to reading it yet and I shall have to add lark and Termite to my list. Summer has not been a great time to read...just too much going on with the kids. I am enjoying the group read of Pillars, and am on the prowl for something else to accompany it. I refuse to go buy anything because I have stacks everywhere of other books just waiting for me. Here's to cooler weather!! Hugs.

I had my whole message ready to post and it went bye, bye into the netherland of unposted messages!~!
Ah well, I will just try again.

**Hi Berly, waving madly**

Hello Bonnie.
How are you doing? Isn't this weather nice after all that heat? I am really enjoying it.
This week end is our annual "Logger's Jubilee" and I am going to ignore the entire thing if I can. Usually I work it, but this year I told Sarah, the daughter, that I would take on child care so she could do the ticket taking for the Athletic Association like she was wanting to do. That just settled things nicely all round.
I am going to give Lipman a try. I have heard really good things about most of her work and have not read her yet.
I am almost finished with "Pillars" (I didn't want to have to take it to Texas with me and I didn't want to wait until I got home to finish late.) I am only taking one book with me (plus my daughter's gift book that I got for her) and I want mine to last me the full two weeks. I will probably do the same with "Anna". It's just too hard to do group reads on the road. Then when I come home I will be all set and fresh for the next one I want to do.
Do you enjoy the group reads Bonnie?
I will catch you later my dear.
big hug,
belva

Hi, Belva! Lipman is a fun read, and perfect for a summer vacation read. Inn at Lake Devine or Isabel's Bed are my favorites.

I haven't done a group read yet; I'm too impatient! I like to read fast, have my own undiluted thoughts and emotions first, then discuss after. I don't want to hear other people's comments before I've finished a book, and I know my comments reflect my own personal idiosyncrasies, so don't want to foist them on someone else until they've had the chance to read the whole book through. That said, I've enjoyed lurking and might be tempted to join in a discussion of a book that I've recently read--but that would be cheating, huh? :-)

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. This was a collection of writings, but I only read the one story. I don't know what the fuss was all about. The author's explanation as to why she wrote the story was more interesting to me than the story itself, but then her comments wouldn't have much meaning without the story, so I guess I would just say I hope the story had the effect that the author wished for. The Yellow Wallpaper could also be the start of a good discussion regarding depression and its recognition as a disease and treatments over time, but I wouldn't rush out to buy or borrow this book.

Edited to add bolding and correct #.

-but that would be cheating, huh? :-)

Not at all!~!
hugs,
belva

Good morning Bonnie.
How's you?
We are all exhausted after the Logger's Jubilee this past weekend.
All of us just want to hang our and rest today except the 6 year old and he is quite hyper for some reason. I think he is so excited that papa is here for the month to help care for him that he is just beside himself (and beside papa as well). Poor papa cannot take a potty break without the little guy wanting to know where he is.
I am sorry The Yellow Wallpaper didn't do it for you. Hopefully your next read will be an amazingly good one.
Well, I will catch up with you later bonnie.
hugs,
belva

Good morning Bonnie.
Well, today I am down to getting the house, pet food, and fridge ready for hubby and grands for while I am gone and packing. Then we will leave early tomorrow for Portland and he and the boys will dump me off at the airport and go on to the Portland OMSI and stay overnight, come up the coast and spend a night in Long Beach at our favorite inn and use the pool and then come on home on Friday. I bet they have a blast.
I think I will have to wait about 4 or 5 hours for my flight, but I am taking a good book (Battle Cry of Freedom) and I want them to be able to have a full day there so I don't mind. It was actually my idea for them to just drop me off and go.
I am not looking forward to the weather down there, but cannot wait to see my Robbi!~! One or the other of us has been calling daily to ask: how many more wake ups til I'm there!~! LOL
It will be all good.
Catch ya later babe,
belva

I'm excited for you, Belva. Yeah, I much prefer being dropped off at the airport too. Well now, that's all you can do with airport security. But I used to hate it before, trying to make small talk for an hour or more before someone's, or even my, plane left. I say, "Yeah for security!" As long as you have a good book, you're set. And, hey, don't make it too easy for "hubby!" You want him to appreciate how much you normally do! ;-) Have a fun trip visiting with your daughter. My son is coming back home again in a week or two.

Belva--

Are you going to be coming back through the Portland, OR airport? Let me know...maybe I could meet up with you there...

Hugs,

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie. Unlike some novels that are included in the "YA" lists because they're popular or appropriate for young adults, this book is written directly to children/young adults, and even sounds like it's being written by a teenager. I'm not criticizing the book--really liked it, actually. The author's just given it a style/voice (including lots of comic drawings) that makes it sound like a young teenager talking to kids. This books really hits all the problems facing Native-Americans in a way that makes you care, but doesn't drag you down. And it's not just a book about Native American issues; it's just as much a book about growing up and using your smarts and determination to make the best of your life. I'd even give it to late-elementary-age students except it has a few masturbation comments that would make me feel uncomfortable about giving it to any kid but my own. If you're a parent considering it for your child, I'd read it first. Or if you're reading it to a kid, you could just skip over the "I love to masturbate" comments.

Nixonland by Ron Perlstein. I'm cheating by adding this to my "finished" list. I mostly skimmed this book, but it's so fat (morbidly obese, actually) that I'm going to count it as read. I will go back and read it more thoroughly because it's really well-written--not dry at all, considering all the details included. It's just not the kind of book I want to be reading in the summer. Do highly recommend it though, and will maybe discuss it a bit more when I really finish it.

The Best American Non-Required Reading, 2008 edition - Edited by David Eggers. This is the book that I've kept in the car and grabbed when I knew I would be waiting in line (e.g., Dept. of Motor Vehicles), waiting for friends or family, or eating alone. Now what am I gonna do?

What is the What - David Eggers. Here is a great link for explaining why and how David Eggers chose to write a "fictionalized autobiography" of Valentino Achak Deng, one of the 27,000 "Lost Boys" of Sudan who were displaced and/or orphaned during the second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005, about 2 million were killed according to Wikipedia). This is a terrible-to-read, but oh, so inspiring story that is made more bearable by Eggers juxtaposing Deng's childhood/young adult experiences with his current not-so-great life. Even though Deng has been beaten and robbed in his home, I know he is alive; he has survived. And it gives Deng a chance to begin to "talk" as he lies bound and gagged, waiting to be rescued: "If you only knew..." Well, now I do know, and I would have to have a heart of stone not to do anything after listening to Deng's story. And to think that it's been happening all over again in Dafur. This is where we should be--not Iraq and Afghanistan. Will figure something out, and in the meantime, will write to my congressional respresentatives.

Hey Bonnie- Glad you got the book! Hope you enjoy it! I was just discussing Rick Perlstein with my cousin. He was currently reading Before the Storm, Perlstein's 1st book, in a projected trilogy, and he was loving it. I've heard very good things about Nixonland. Hope you can finish it. I'm in the home stretch on "Pillars", plan on being done real soon! :-)
Mark

Hey, Mark! I guess we posted at the exact same time. I'm going to continue reading Coroner's Lunch tonight. Gotta eat first, though, or I might not be able to after! ;-) Oooh, shudder, love that first page! Nixonland is really one of the best political books I've read--it didn't deserve to be put aside, but sometimes you just gotta pay attention to your moods. Recently, we've been getting rain, so I could start up with it again, but my LT friends keep giving me books! :-) Thanks again, Mark. I owe you one.

Bonnie, I keep forgetting which thread I'm talking to you on. Never mind.
I'm 23 pages into Nixonland now and laughed at "morbidly obese"!
Mark, it's good to hear that about Perlstein's Goldwater book. If I ever finish Nixonland I might read it...

Bonnie- I loved the opening page of "Coroner's" also. I was sold right there!
cmt- please let me know your thoughts on Nixonland. I hear he is currently writing the last book of the trilogy, which takes place in the years just before Reagan.

Cushla- Yeah, I read multiple threads of people too. I'm trying to catch up my two threads, so at least I'm talking about the same books at the same time. This one's quite a bit behind right now. Earlier in the year, I was going to combine them into one thread, but I couldn't figure out which group to leave (love people on both, not everyone overlaps) so have stuck it out. Next year I will just choose one or the other and hope that anybody who wants to talk will star me. That's what I've done, but then, like you, I can't remember when and where I've talked to LT-ers like Judylou. I think I've got her starred in four places! Not good for my ADD.

Where are you in your school year? Weren't you supposed to be writing mid-term exams? :-) I'm going to go back to Nixonland so I'll have someone to talk to about it.

Bonnie- I saw you added Confederates in the Attic! Another excellent book, by an author I need to read more of. You are on a roll, girl!!

To my wish list, dear sir, to my wish list.

The Coroner's Lunch - Colin Cotterill.

Why I read this: I don't normally read mysteries, sort of OD'd on them at a young age, but Mark (as in msf59) sent this book to me, and I so needed a break from thinking about all the awful things that people do/have done to each other in the name of religion, country, or culture. If you need a break too, read on.

My prejudicial comments: I LOVED The Coroner's Lunch, especially the first half. Very fun, funny, and witty characters! Loved the relationships among Siri and his staff, as well as the conversations with his best friend. Also enjoyed getting some Laos history along the way. Makes me want to read a more serious book about Laos.

Since mysteries aren't my favorite genre (OD'd on them at a very young age), I was pleasantly surprised that I really liked The Coroner's Lunch all the way through...up to the very last line which was AWFUL! It screamed sequel, and I did too in surprise and frustration!

Ignoring that last line, The Coroner's Lunch was a very satisfying meal. (I would even say I gobbled it up, but then you would be groaning.) Being an analytical, logical person--some would say suspicious--I don't normally get surprised about "Who dun it?" and I did this time. The crisis point and wrap-up of the mystery (the denouement?) was done in a typical way, but that was OK, I expected that. Overall, good entertainment! I'm sure most mystery lovers, and maybe even reluctant readers like me, will be coming back for seconds! Ha! Ha! **laughing at my own joke**

Edited to take out #

I had the same reaction to What is the What--it's good to see others reading it as well. If you ever get a chance to hear Eggers speak, it's a really interesting and eye-opening experience. His chain of literacy stores alone is inspiring, and with his work on What is the What added in, he really is something. I recently read You Shall Know Our Velocity! by Eggers, and while it's still not a traditional novel and not everyone's cup of tea, it's a much easier read, and a fascinating journey in itself--more light-hearted, too! Take care, and good reading....

I also had the same reaction with What is the What, I'm guessing the fiction part is due to the whole million little pieces fiasco. It read very true, unfortunately, and you are right, it is going on again/still in Darfur and many other places. It makes us look at our lives and the lives of children and be every so thankful for the fortunes we have, and how our hardships really aren't.

I'm pretty sure Eggers was actually working on What is the What long before the Million Little Pieces scandal. Eggers took on the project with Deng expecting it to be something like a six month project if I remember correctly, but it ended up taking up about five years. Deng was adamant that he wanted his story to be told in a way that would best reach and resonate with an American audience, and the fictional autobiography was the form that finally got decided (after quite a few re-starts). Sorry to jump in again and hi-jack your thread, bonnie, but I had to comment just one more time! Good reading, everyone!

Hi Bonnie!! :)

On a similar vein as What is the What, They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan is a heartbreakingly true account.

Yes, David Eggers mentions that book in the link I provided. Sounds like another one that is hard to read, but important to make yourself do it. Have you reviewed it? It would be interesting to compare the two while the Eggers book is relatively fresh in my mind, but in spite of what I just said above, don't think I can make myself do it right now. Good to get the title out there, though, so thanks! :-) Hope you're having/had a good weekend. I'm taking a break from The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - John Boyne. I finished this children's book a couple of days ago, but didn't want to comment on it right away. I have very mixed feelings about it. I think my reaction to it might have been different if I hadn't just read A Lucky Child by Thomas Buergenthal which is a true-life account of his miraculous survival of Auschwitz as a very young boy. That book was so distressing to me. I couldn't help but think about my own boys at that age. I couldn't imagine them surviving, and I couldn't bear to think about them having to see and experience all that to survive. For those of you who loved The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, please forgive the harshness of my critique of Boyne's book, but the realities of what life was like for a little Jewish boy in the ghettos, then the work camps, in the railway cars, and not even finally in Auschwitz were still too present in my mind while reading Boyne's book.

Spoilers ahead: I liked the premise of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, being introduced to this little boy who didn't know who the "fury" was, and getting to experience his family, and the world, through his eyes. I just couldn't imagine the 9-year-old boy, Bruno, in Boyne's book being that naive even back in Berlin with all that was happening on the streets, but especially at Auschwitz. Looking out his bedroom window at the camp, or walking along the perimeter of the camp every day, Bruno would have seen too many emaciated, sick people getting screamed and yelled at, attacked by dogs, or beaten and killed, to not know more. He would have smelled the stink of human flesh burning in the ovens and seen the smoke. At nine, if he had not absorbed the prejudices of those around him, he would have still seen enough to be afraid and disgusted, and would have never wanted to go inside the camp.

Certainly Shmuel, the little "boy in the striped pajamas" on the other side of the fence wouldn't have had the freedom, or the time and energy, to come sit by the fence waiting for Bruno everyday. Shmuel would have seen too much to not know what happened to people who were marched off. He would have known what happened to his mother, his grandfather, and finally his father. He would have been too afraid, or too numb, to risk his own life to bring Bruno inside the camp. Shmuel, as young as he was, wouldn't have had the freedom to be so naive about purpose of the gas chambers, or the reason for the smoke stacks. The prisoners who survived, even the children, had to be constantly working to survive, to understand what was going on if they were going to survive; they needed the help of others. Shmuel could never have been as naive, or as independent of others, as Boyne had to create him to make this story evolve as it did.

Again, Boyne had a good idea in having these two boys meet, but I couldn't get past knowing that there never could have been any place along the perimeter of Auschwitz that would have escaped attention by the guards with rifles in the watchtowers above or the patrolling soldiers and their dogs, that the 2 boys could meet day after day unnoticed by other prisoners, at the same place...hold hands through the fence, and finally crawl under the fence--it was electrified for heaven's sake.

But this is just a children's book you say. It's simplified, some of the harsh realities have to be left out...and I would agree with you. I wonder if children should even be reading books like this. I remember my boys reading books like Number the Stars in middle school and thinking this is too young for kids to have to be reading about The Holocaust--it's too overwhelming for them. I remember how distraught I was at first learning the details--seeing the old newsreels of the emaciated prisoners as the concentration camps were being liberated, seeing the evidence of the mass burials, bodies stacked up like cords of wood. I was in high school and it was emotionally devastating to realize there was so much hatred and cruelty in the world. It didn't matter that it was twenty plus years before, I was afraid and intensely sad. Remembering this, I wonder how much of the world's problems, past and present, we should share with young children when they are truly helpless to do much about them. This story felt like it was being written for a third grader, but who wants a third grader to have to think about being trapped in, and dying, in a gas chamber? Kids this age don't always separate the past from the present, the far away from the near, and/or the real from the unlikely when trying to assess danger to themselves and their families.

Maybe this book was written for older children, and you believe they should read about the Holocaust, including the realities of the concentration camps. Well, fine! Make it at least reflect more of the truth then. Don't insult the survivors of these camps--and those 6 million men, women and children who didn't survive--by creating a story in which a child in a place like Auschwitz can wander around as freely as Shmuel did, sit around for hours as he did, escape the attention of the guards or other prisoners day after day as he did, be as naive as he is... And have Bruno still be so naive one year later as he was. And the ending is really a moralistic, sentimental "What if" kind of fairy tale written especially for children too, isn't it? Oh, that father is going to be sorry now... As if only the death of his own child suffering the same fate would make him notice and care about what's happening to the thousands of human beings in front of him.

Edited to fix touchstone.

Heartfelt review, Bonnie. I think your points are valid and since I am not a big fan of Auschwitz literature (I have read more than a few), I think I will skip this one. Thanks for sharing.

Bonnie- Good job with the review! It looks like I will take a pass and anyway I saw the film version a couple months ago and thought it stunk.
BTW, thanks for NPR suggestion, on Wait Wait... I now have it in my itunes and have DL the last 2 episodes. I will let you know!The Bill Moyers podcast is also free!

Okay. I am currently DLing Wait, Wait. Can always use a laugh!

Brilliant, thoughtful review Bonnie. Maybe I'll go for Buergenthal over Boyne for my 'B' read (my new plan for tackling my TBR pile - reading alphabetically by author!)...

With regards to your comments about at what age children should learn about the holocaust... I know I was in elementary school when I was taught about the war and the Holocaust. Maybe that was because I am in The Netherlands, and you can hardly avoid the war here, but I think I was about 9 or 10 the first time we learned about it. We used to go to the war museum, which had tanks and bunkers and of course the very visual photographs of what happened. We were warned in advance, but if you're that young, you aren't scared of anything. I do remember it being too intense for some kids. Also, the mother of my teacher came to school each year to tell us about her war experiences, how she was caught in the cross-fire as a young girl. She had one shorter leg because of shrapnel, which impressed us mightily.
I remember we had class projects in which we were encouraged to ask our grandparents about their experiences. Unfortunately mine weren't that talkative about their experiences, though later on I learned bits here and there. My boyfriend's grandparents do talk about it a lot, but it is difficult for them.

Right now, I don't go to war museums (and if I have to, I skip the holocaust sections). My boyfriend does want to see it, so we did go to Buchenwald, but I skipped the museum. I wouldn't read a book about the second world war, I read to be happy, not to feel bad... In short, what I wanted to say was, good review!

Thanks, Berly. Very diplomatically said. :-) I appreciate the support. Sometimes I worry about myself. I sort of got my "knickers in a knot," didn't I? But, oh well, no one will ever accuse me of holding back!

Ellie, between those two choices, I would definitely choose A Lucky Child. I was surprised at how good his book was, considering how long Buergenthal took to write it, and how many other books on this topic I've read. Each story brings something new though. And it won't be long before we don't have anybody left who can give their first-person accounts.

I'll be thinking of you when I listen to my latest Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Have you tried the Moth podcasts yet? Not all of them are great, but most are really good and entertaining. I usually go to sleep listening to one of them, Charlie Rose, Wait, Wait..., or This American Life--which is my all-time favorite radio hour. I'll add Bill Moyer in there too as he always has very informative guests and he, himself, has quite the soothing voice.

Thanks for your comments, as well as your personal story, Divinenanny. I think you're so right. We in America didn't have the same WWII experiences as you did in Europe, not having been occupied and so directly involved in the war. I imagine it's much more a part of your personal consciousness, and it's taught much earlier in school as well. When I was growing up, The Diary of Anne Frank was usually the first, and most, read book on the subject of the concentration camps and the extermination of Jews, and I didn't read it until high school. Children, nowadays, tend to read it--and books like--it in middle school now.

Bonnie- I want to thank you! I listened to my 1st "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" program today. It was the latest and it was so good. I was walking the route, smiling & chuckling! Cutting edge stuff! BTW, I also listened to the latest Bill Moyers Journal and it also was excellent. He's the best! He is a steady beacon in this sea of insanity. I owe you one!

Nah! We're even. I wouldn't have thought to listen to Bill Moyer. Glad you love Wait, Wait...too. I don't think I've ever been disappointed in that show. What are you reading now? I tried out a couple of books that I grabbed off the front shelves of the library, but think I'll stick with my LT recs.

I'm just finishing up City of Thieves and it's been a marvel. I highly recommend it. I'll post a short review on my challenge. Will be starting Await Your Reply an ER book I've been sitting on for awhile. I love LT dearly but what an avalanche of books!!

I haven't even requested an ER book in months, because I want to get to some in my TBR Tower first!

Yeah, I didn't like any of the books I got, and don't like to write in general, so thought, "Why am I giving myself this work?" and stopped requesting until just recently.

Re: City of Thieves, I don't know, Mark... It's a YA book, right? It's an important part of history that I haven't read very much about, but after The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, I suspect my reaction will be closer to MellowOwl's.

Bonnie--I finally figured out that's why I have been neglecting my own poor thread: the reviews are killing me! But I am all caught up again. I think certain people who write these AMAZING reviews have intimidated me, so I am trying to be less erudite and just offer up my little ol' opinion. That's much easier.

Berly, Berly, Berly! You're smart, funny, and your reviews are excellent! As I recall, you're good at telling me enough about a book to decide whether or not I want to read it without telling me too much. I'm one of those people who want to know as little as possible beforehand; I don't even read the back covers anymore--they give too much away as far as I'm concerned.

That said, I know what you're talking about. I'm a reader, pure and simple, while some LT-ers are both readers and writers. I can enjoy their reviews, recognize and appreciate the good writing, but as with a good book, a fine painting, beautiful music, or even one excellent meal prepared by an experienced and creative chef; enjoying and appreciating doesn't mean I can replicate it.

Most LT-ers are like us, though, struggling to get beyond the, "It was great! Read this! I loved it (or didn't)" kind of commentary and, really, that's good enough for me--in both directions.

Thanks Bonnie!

Bonnie-Well said! I feel the same way with reviews revealing to much. Keep it brief and to the point. I try to do the same in my mini-reviews, unless I inadvertently stumble and you are suddenly there, to right my ship.
No, City of Thieves is not YA. I finished it today and it is truly an excellent story. Benioff is a major talent!

Hi Bonnie - Just a coincidence- you had mentioned The Moth podcasts a few days ago and I'd never heard of them but I just read the author bio on the book I just finished at it mentions that she "appears as a storyteller with The Moth in NYC". I'm assuming it's the same Moth. I'll have to look it up in itunes. The author's Joyce Maynard, btw.

And here I come to butt in - City of Thieves is a fantastic story set during the siege of Leningrad and is based on stories told by the author's grandfather.

I had tried to read the striped pj book a while ago but it was way too YA for my taste.

I'm laughing, Mark! Because I'm thinking about my long rant re: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas as I'm reading your compliments and comments about liking reviews that don't reveal too much. Bad timing on my part, huh? You're actually much better at this than I am. But I wouldn't call my comments "reviews" anyway. I'm mostly talking about my thinking or feelings, and if I know I'm going to share details, I'll warn people with a "spoiler alert."

I should say that I don't care how long or short other people's reviews, or comments, are. I love the diversity at LT--both in the types and kinds of responses people write in their threads--especially when the conversations get started about different reactions to a book or author. I read, and greatly enjoy, the longer posts frequently. But if I think there's the possibility that I'll want to read a book, I'll read just enough to tip me one way or the other then stop.

Thanks, coppers! I'm much more apt to read a book if I get a thumbs up from more than one LT-er. I think I already added it to my wish list, but it not, I'll note that you're recommending it too. I'm trying to tag my wish list books that way, so I know who to go back to when I've finished the book.

Oh, and thanks for your comments too re: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas; I feel so bad when I rant about a book that other people love--especially when I really "know" and like those other people.

I can enjoy their reviews, recognize and appreciate the good writing, but as with a good book, a fine painting, beautiful music, or even one excellent meal prepared by an experienced and creative chef; enjoying and appreciating doesn't mean I can replicate it.

Bonnie, perfectly said! I feel just the same. I tend to just put a couple of thoughts together about each book I read. Its only the ones that I think are really bad or really good that encourage me to write more.

You know, it is the differences in this LT community that make it work. Imagine if we all loved every single book we read. How boring. We would have one positive review posted and then a whole thread full of posts that said nothing more than "yeah. I agree".

As you know, I liked The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (note my insistence in spelling it the Aussie way :) but I read it with a very different experience of life to you. We don't read a text in a vacuum. We bring every prejudice, preference, mood, experience, etc, etc, with us to the story. I know for a fact that I can read a book and absolutely love it, yet I can reread it some years later and find it to be inane, boring rubbish. So, I guess what I am saying is no-one should have to apologize for their response to any given book. Every response is valid whether you personally agree with it or not. I know I enjoy reading reviews/comments that disagree with how I feel about a book; it makes me think about it more critically and consider my response to the book more carefully.

Now that my rant is over, can I just say that I have enjoyed reading through your many posts tonight and I have agreed with lots of what you have said and disagreed with some of it. But have appreciated every comment for the thought you have put into saying it.

oh, and by the way, I have added quite a number of titles to my tbr list as well :o)

Beautifully put, both of you! I couldn't agree more and will look at every message with new respect after your eloquent reminder of LibraryThing's best qualities... :-D

>169 judylou: judylou:

You said: 'Every response is valid whether you personally agree with it or not. I know I enjoy reading reviews/comments that disagree with how I feel about a book; it makes me think about it more critically and consider my response to the book more carefully.'

That's so true. That's why I love LT, and why I love my book club. We have different cultures, religions, ...we have lived different lives. We each bring our own unique perspective to a book. Even the books that I didn't love were enhanced by seeing it through another person's eyes.

I'm agreeing with everyone about the fact that you're not going to agree with everyone--even yourself! :-) Since joining LT, and hearing so many people talk about books I've already read, I've wanted to go back and re-read some of my favorites. But then I keep reading about all these other books that I need to read... It's a real dilemma. For the first time in my life, I'm actually feeling the anxiety of so many good books, so little time. Maybe it's because I'm going to be 60 next month. For the first time, hitting a new decade is really bothering me. I know, I know, it's better than the alternative, but...

This week I read a horrid book picked up at the library (which will remain nameless, because it doesn't deserve to be talked about). That experience, combined with my increased anxiety (which I'm blaming completely on you LT-ers who are constantly talking about all the many good books you're reading) has me determined to be lots more picky about what I'll read from now on. That doesn't mean I won't read some "junk," but it's got to me my kind of junk.

My plan for picking out the best of the best for me, is going to badger all the rest of you to tell me your top 10 books for this year so far. You can ignore me, of course, as I will you if your favorites aren't in my favorite genres. Oh that, too. I'm going to mostly stick within the areas of reading I most enjoy. I may miss out on some great books, but I'm hoping I will also be more likely to miss out on the clunkers too. Again, "clunkers" for me. I can truthfully say to many authors as I say goodbye to them: "It's not you, it's me!"

Oops! I'm already changing my plans. I have books (about 10) that I've already bought that I will read because it's impossible for me to not read a book that I've paid money for, and that is actually sitting on the shelves in my house, but I'm going to return the borrowed ones unread. Some of them are excellent books, not junk at all, but I'm only going to read books that I really, really, yes REALLY want to read. Oh, yes, and I'm going to start wearing more purple! ;-)

Ignore you....No way Jose'!~!~! You are unignorable!~!
I have loved catching up on your thread. A lot of very interesting dialogue going on and I really like that. Thanks for letting me skulk and lurk today as I caught up with you.
luvs & hugs,
belva

Bonnie, if you re-change your plans again, I can hear the list-making cogs turning already... You KNOW we'd all rise to the challenge, it's just part of our bookish cataloguing freakiness to love a good list!

Bonnie;
Sixty is good. So are red and purple!~! We are of an age where we can do as we like, say as we like, be as we like. I think the 60's are better than the 50's.
love ya,
belva

>176 rainpebble:: Right on, Belva! But I do understand your feelings, Bonnie. I turned 60 almost two years ago and, I can honestly say, it did give me pause. I pondered my life so far and decided to make some changes. As I prioritized, I discovered what was really important to my wellbeing. Books are right up there, but not No. 1. I quit my art group and some other things I was doing out of "peer" pressure. Kinda silly to do those things that we don't really enjoy at our ages, don't you think?

Anyway, I survived, and you will, too. I'm feeling really good about myself these days and will feel even better when I get my Social Security pittance. Look out bookstores!

Amen Donna and right on!~!~!
We are "woman"!~!
belva

Thanks, you guys. I admire your positive energy, humor, and intelligence, etc., so feeling slightly less down. And, Ellie, I still want the lists! I just wanted people to know why I'm reading about Agent Zigzag--not one of my favorite people or genres--after I made such a strong Declaration of Reading Independence. ;-)

Bonnie;
If you don't like it.................put it down. Isn't that what you told me? And just why are you reading about Agent Zigzag? And please "answer me like I am a six year old."
hugs,
belva

Bonnie--What are the other 10 books you have to read first? I'd love to know.

Arggggggggggggggggggg; so confused!~!

--> 176

"Sixty is good" and sixty-one is even better! :)

Hmm, I'm still trying to get used to 50...

So why exactly are you reading Agent Zigzag if you're not liking it?! (I was one of the ones who *did* like it, but I get why some people wouldn't. )

Will be back with my top 10 list so far in 2009 when I work it out... and when I finish the vacuuming!

ok bonnie, you wanted a top ten . . and then you didn't . . but I just can't help myself . . if someone mentions "list" I'm jumping in fully dressed . . so . . . this is mine as of today (it might change tomorrow; it might not) . . . in no particular order . . .

A Complicated Kindness, The Stone Diaries, The Good Mayor, Alias Grace, Maus, A Fine Balance, The Earth Hums in B Flat, De Niro's Game, Mister Pip, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, and because I can't stick to limits - no 11 is Half of a Yellow Sun.

Ha! I can ignore your 11th suggestion, Judy, since I've already read it! But I do want your list--and everyone else's list too. I'm going to use them to create my own very special challenge for next year. I just meant that I'm still going to read those ten books that I already bought even though they may not fit within my new goals. Bottom line: I want your lists!

Belva and Cushla, It's not that I'm not liking Agent Zigzag. I just don't like or respect Eddie Chapman as a person--at least not so far. I could have skipped reading this book without regret, but wanted to read it because my son liked it, and I want to be able to talk to him about it. He's interested in joining the military which scares me to death, so like to know more about what he's thinking.

Deborah, I actually have at least 10 books in the NF socio-political genre, and then some other very good books that I bought based on LT recommendations, but which I'm no longer excited about reading. Which may lead some of you to wonder why I want more recommendations from you all, but the reason why those books don't appeal is that I didn't read a little bit of the books myself before I bought them. Plus, I got carried away and bought too many books at one time. For some reason, once the books are in my possession, I don't feel as excited about reading them.

oh yeah, I know that feeling of buying books then getting more excited about other ones. I had a library trip just like that today - 4 books just bumped a few hundred sitting here at home!

ok, list coming. I've only read 40 so far, so top 10 might be too many.

Here's my list... I've left the book numbers in in case you want to look at my thread for more comments.

1. The Untouchable by John Banville
7. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
6. The View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro
11. The Lost Traveller by Antonia White
26. The Island Walkers by John Bemrose
29. Paris 1919 by Margaret MacMillan
40. Smiley's People by John le Carre
36. The File by Timothy Garton-Ash
19. Acheson: The Secretary of State Who Created the American World by James Chace
14. At the Still Point by Mary Benson
13. Waiariki by Patricia Grace

Oh, and I get that you're not liking Eddy Chapman. I didn't either. He was a bit of a git. But I still liked the story.

Bonnie- I love your attitude and drive! It's been an excellent reading year, so far. Here are my choices and all can be found on my challenge, along with my patented mini-reviews:
1. Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada
2. Lark and Termite by Jayne Anne Phillips
3. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
4. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
5. What's the Matter With Kansas? by Thomas Frank
6. Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
7. The Lost City of Z by David Grann
8. The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
9. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
10.The Guards by Ken Bruen
*with several more in the wings!!

OK, 1) it's a rainy quiet day in the shop, and 2) lists are the best thing after books, so I have decided to bestow upon you TWO lists, just for the hell of it. Both are in no particular order because, well, that's just beyond me on this grey, miserable day...

My Top 10 Books of 2009 (so far!)
1) The Pleasure of Reading by Antonia Fraser
2) Books, Baguettes and Bedbugs: The Left Bank World of Shakespeare & Co. by Jeremy Mercer
3) Remotely Controlled: How television is damaging our lives and what we can do about it by Dr. Aric Sigman
4) The Complete Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby
5) Firmin by Sam Savage
6) My Autobiography by Charles Chaplin
7) Robbing the Bees: A Biography of Honey - The Sweet Liquid Gold that Seduced the World by Holley Bishop
8) Gold by Dan Rhodes
9) The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde
10) Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction by Tom Raabe

My Top 10 Books of All Time
1) The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
2) The Secret History by Donna Tartt
3) The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
4) Notes from a Big Country by Bill Bryson
5) Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
6) Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
7) A Book Addict's Treasury by Lynda Murphy and Julie Rugg
8) The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman
9) Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament by Kay Redfield Jamison
10) Books, Baguettes and Bedbugs: The Left Bank World of Shakespeare & Co. by Jeremy Mercer

Have fun!

>172 bonniebooks: - has me determined to be lots more picky about what I'll read from now on. That doesn't mean I won't read some "junk," but it's got to me my kind of junk

I like that attitude! I read "my kind of junk" all the time and refuse to feel (too) guilty about it. :-) Here's my top reads for the year so far in no particular order (I read a lot of YA so you'll find that a few of these are teen reads):

1. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
2. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
3. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing Volume 1 by M.T. Anderson
4. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
5. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
6. The Pleasure of Reading edited by Antonia Frasier
7. Housekeeping vs. The Dirt by Nick Hornby
8. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
9. Maus (I and II) by Art Spiegelman
10. Labor Day by Joyce Maynard

ETA: Oh darn, this is what I hate about listmaking - I always forget a good book and have to agonize over which one to replace! I can't do it! Anyway, I remembered that I really loved Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. I guess if I have to, I'll drop The Last Lecture to fit this one. It gets an honorable mention at 11, I guess.

Yeah....if you read for pleasure, and are not feeling pleasured, then what's the point???? Read what you want, dump something if it just doesn't feel right (on that day) and read what makes you feel ALIVE and HAPPY!!!!

That said, I was attempting to get through my TBR pile. I made a list of the next 10 books I would read! 8 of them were definite, and I left myself some room to fudge, with 2 optional choices. Okay, as of yesterday, I have read 7 of the 10, and I am chucking the list to read the goodies that I REALLY REALLY want to read!

THANKS FOR THE INSPIRATION!!! I'm feelin' kinda free!

My fave reads so far for 2009:

When The Emperor Was Divine - Julie Otsuka
The Master of Go - Yasunari Kawabata
Crow Lake - Mary Lawson
Rat - Andrzej Zaniewski
Goat: A Memoir - Brad Land
The Tennis Partner - Abraham Verghese
The Big Year - Mark Obmascik
The Wasp Eater - William Lychack
The Dawning of the Day : A Jerusalem Tale - Haim Sabato
The Twitter Book - Tim O'Reilly

OK Bonnie, here is my list. I'm not sure how helpful it will be, we have read some of the same books already this year, but here goes...

The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larsson
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
The Given Day by Dennis Lehane
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Inn at Lake Devine by Elinor Lipman
Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabom
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Be aware, there are still many months left of the year, and more recommendations are bound to come along. We are not too quiet around here when we find a good book!

Oh darn touchstones, the only one not showing up - The Art of Racing in the Rain will make my top 3 of the year. It was really good.
(sure here the touchstone works - go figure)

It is fun reading everyone's list. I keep a running list of my favorite reads for the year on my Profile. So far, I have eight books listed.

I share Lark and Termite with Mark (msf59), The Help with bell7, and The Given Day and Mudbound with sydamy.

I love lists, but won't be posting my Top Ten until the end of the year because who knows what I'll read between now and then. You are compiling a wonderful list, Bonnie. I've read many of the other faves listed above in previous years, and now I have some new titles to look up. Many thanks!

ETA: The Help...let's see if the touchy touchstone works now.

My faves from the past 4 years, in no particular order:

FICTION
The Help
Out of Africa
The Handmaid's Tale
Peace Like a River
Sunshine (this was vampire fluff but I loved it)
The Power of One

NONFICTION
Collapse
1491
Three Cups of Tea
My Life in France
Omnivore's Dilemma
White Man's Burden
The Third Chimpanzee
Team of Rivals
Post-American World

Well, I can't resist a list. These are in no particular order.

My 10 Favorite Books of 2009 (Thus Far)
1. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
2. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
3. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
4. Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow
5. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
6. French Milk by Lucy Knisley
7. Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
8. The Ten-Cent Plague by David Hajdu
9. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
10. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (Yes, I know that I said I wasn't impressed with this when I read it, but I'm having second thoughts.)

My 10 Favorite Books Not Read in 2009
1. The Wooden Sea by Jonathan Carroll
2. King Dork by Frank Portman
3. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
4. The Raw-Shark Texts by Steven Hall
5. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
6. Maus I and II by Art Spiegelman
7. Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
8. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Sussanna Clarke
9. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
10. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Thanks, Cushla! Don't you hate it when Touchstones don't work? And now that we can just click on the book to add it to our wish list, I'm too lazy to check the others out right now. How bad is that?! But good news! LT says I will love both The View From Castle Rock and At Still Point, but is more certain about The View From Castle Rock. Which is probably just as well, as I haven't been able to find those Virago Modern Classics.

I knew I shouldn't just pop over to have a quick look here before I go to work this afternoon. I need to spend half an hour just adding books to my wishlist!

Hi, Mark! Coroner's Lunch is making the rounds to rave reviews! OK, what to pick from your list. This is so fun! All these lists coming in are like going to a Buffet of Books--I can try a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Or maybe I should say a "Bucket of Books" (pronounced appropriately, of course!)

Let's see...I already know that I really want to read Lark and Termite, and I've read #3, 4, 5, and 9 too (Peace Like a River is one of my all-time favorites btw) and I've read books by Thomas Frank and Wally Lamb. I'm going to go check out The Lost City of Z again. (Gone for awhile.) LT says I'll like it, but knows that I'll love Lark and Termite--better stick with that and The Hour I first Believed. I'll "tag" you on both of those, if I haven't already. Thanks, Mark!

Ooh! Ellie, you're getting me back, aren't you? You want my tbr's to be stacked as high as yours! ;-) Almost all your Top Ten are new to me--well, except for having read your reviews of them. I'm sure I'll like The Pleasure of Reading and I adore the cover! Gotta buy it for that reason alone. And I remember I was really intrigued by your review of Gold--Wait! I'm going to see what LT says... Oops! Not so much. Hmmm! Who to trust? LT or myself, myself or LT? For sure, I want to read Rebecca again; it's been 30+ years since I've read it. I think that's probably more years than you've lived, right? Thanks, Ellie!

Well, bell, I loved The Help, Housekeeping vs. Dirt and the Maus books too, and the Last Lecture by Randy Pausch was inspiring as well as a real tear-jerker. Don't think I have to read his book though--does it include more than his lecture? Labor Day sounds like a good book for me--love those coming-of-age stories. And I'm divorced with 2 boys, so there's another connection. You're tagged! Thanks!

Whoo hoo! Me too, Louanne! Love getting all these lists though. Do you have a favorite or two? or ten?

OK, it's really not after 2:00--only about 11:30, but I'm tired and am going to go to bed happy, and knowing that I have more lists to peruse tomorrow morning.

I think Gold is going to be one of those books where people either 'get it' or they don't... it's such a simple premise, but done right, if you see what I mean? Think about it a bit longer, you're not lacking for book ideas in the meantime!

And it's definitely time to reread Rebecca... and yes, I'm 22! I think I'm going to like Daphne du Maurier more with each novel I read.

Hey Bonnie- Enjoy your "Buffet of Books" or is it "Bucket of Books". Whatever it is, I think you have your work cut out for you. BTW. glad The Coroner's Lunch is such a hit!

>203 bonniebooks: I haven't seen his lecture, though I know it's up on Youtube. I think the book was more about how he came to write the lecture he did and some of the stuff that went on in his life before and after. It kind of reminded me of Tuesdays with Morrie, except written by the guy who was dying instead of his protegee.

Enjoy all your book recommendations! I'm looking forward to reading your impressions of them.

Madeline, even though we read some of the same books, we "favorited" quite different ones, huh? If you liked When the Emperor was Divine that much, I would sure love for you to read Nisei Daughter by Monica Sone. I really loved Crow Lake too. Remember, I read it, then immediately read it all over again on the same day--that doesn't happen very often. Let's see, I know myself--won't have the patience for The Master of Go. Read Wasp Eater and can't remember what I thought about the book, though remember feeling sad for both son and father. OK, now we're getting to the good stuff: a book about competitive obsessive compulsives (The Big Year), a vermin's life experiences (Rat), addiction (The Tennis Partner), or fraternity hazing (Goat)? Oh, what the heck, they all sound like books that I would like to read; I'll tag you on all four. Thanks, Madeline!

Bonnie--to add to your Bucket of Books

1. Into the North Urrea
2. The Twin Bakker
3. Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Alexie
4. Inkheart Funke
5. Thousand Splendid Suns Hosseini
6. Lamb Moore
7. The Book Thief Zusak
8. The Shack Young
9. Tinkers Harding
10. Last Night in Montreal Mandel

Happy Reading!!

You picked some good ones with those four.

I'd have to say that The Tennis Partner was the one I liked the most. It was a very touching story. I'll be looking for more books by Abraham Verghese.

Rat was unlike anything I'd ever read before. I'm a "rodent" person, having bred hamsters before, so much of the rat's life seemed vaguely familiar! :)

Goat was outrageous because it was a true story. A very sad one at that.

Even better than The Big Year was To See Every Bird on Earth by Dan Koeppel. Also about birding, that was a book I read the previous year but liked better. Either way, having done some "birding light" (watching birds through binoculars from inside my house), I was fascinated by the trouble and expense through which these compulsive birders go to see as many birds as they can. Koeppel's book is really kind of sad. He wrote the story about his dad. Birds sort of took away his dad's relationship with him. Go for Koeppel's book first.

I just put Nisei Daughter on my wish list. Thanks for the suggestion.

Do you like to read short stories?

Do you like to read short stories?

Not as much as novels--I just can't escape as much as I want to in a shorter story. But I have my favorite collections. OK, confession, I deleted Goat and The Big Year off my wish list. I think my "love" for you got me a little carried away. The Tennis Partner is the one that I would probably read first, so glad that you liked it the best. Cutting for Stone is on my wish list as well, but I'm waiting for that to come out in paper.

Berly, A Thousand Splendid Suns is one of my 10 books (you know, the ones I bought so feel I have to read), so I'm glad to know it's one of your top ten. I really want to read The Twin. I think I've already got you tagged on that one. And Into the North does sound good; glad you liked it too.

Hi Bonnie -

My 10 favorites so far this year, and as of today:

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
Columbine by Dave Cullen
The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper
Jim the Boy by Tony Earley
Labor Day by Joyce Maynard
When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka

3 are non-fiction which is pretty unusual for me!

I've read all of your fiction favorites--except Sunshine--and loved them all!

Since you're choices in fiction are so good, I'll have to check out some of your non-fiction faves. I've heard of several of them and there are some really good authors there. Thanks, Karspeak!

>198 missrabbitmoon:: No fair, myquillisquick! 20 titles to tempt me?! I have The Road, and have been avoiding it, so it's nice to know that it's one of your favorites. Loved The Time Traveler's Wife myself. I for sure want to read Sharp Teeth; I'm just waiting for it to come out in paperback. I like that you gave me a list of older favorites. I should have better luck borrowing those titles from the libraries or finding a used book. I loved Memoirs of a Geisha, Maus and Life of Pi too. What would you recommend first: #1, 2, or 4?

>214 Copperskye:: Hey, coppers! I've read seven of your favorites. Pretty good overlap, huh? I tagged you for Labor Day, thanks!

I just posted this on Louanne's thread in response to some comments by her and thought it timely to post it here as well. One thing I didn't say was that I think I'm much better at choosing what I put on my list in the first place. Thanks all of you for taking the time to list your favorites for me to pore over. Loving it! :-)

Louanne: It's funny. We all seem to like making and having 'THE LIST', but sometimes those lists are wearying. You should see me in the bookstore and library, all serious business with my LIST!

What would it be like to simply wander around the library or bookstore, and just pick a book, at random, just cause. Just cause the title is different, the cover is beautiful, the author's name is the same as the boy I had my first crush on....just cause. end of Louanne's wise comments.

I so relate! My first experience with list making and taking happened just last January. I had been building a wish list since joining LT a few months before. I think I found 17 books on my list, many of them used, and used my "christmas money" to buy them up. It was weird. I felt satisfaction in finding a good deal on the books I thought I wanted to buy, but it also felt strangely flat--partly because some of the covers were ugly or boring, and also because I was a machine, methodically working my way through the stacks for a book on my list without taking the time to look at books that did appeal to me. And I didn't even read a bit of the first chapter to see if I liked the writing style; I just dropped them in my basket and bought them. I was excited at the store, but when I got home, having 17 books to choose from just sort of weighed on me. I couldn't make up my mind about what I wanted to read, especially since some of them weren't all that appealing once I started to read a few lines. (If I had just read the back covers, I probably would have left half of them back at the bookstore, but I was on this crazy book-buying mission!)

Those 17 books (or at least the half of them still unread) have continued to cause me problems, because I think of them and feel guilty every time I go into a book store. Why am I considering buying new books, when I still have all those books bought in January? But this experience did cause me to use my list differently from then on. I've happily gone back to my wandering, stopping to look at the books whose titles and/or covers catch my eye. I usually grab a handful of books and sit down to read a bit of each one before choosing one or two--not 17--to buy. But I do like having my list, to remind myself of a book that I wanted to check out, or to refer to when I'm going through books on the sale table. I always ignored those tables because I assumed they were unpopular, poorly written books, but I've found some treasures there (e.g., The Cellist of Sarajevo, Black Swan Green, 26a). And I started using the library again; with my list it's so convenient to reserve the newer titles that everyone's talking about and then just go pick them up when they come in. So, over all, I think I'm in control of my list instead of the other way around.

Bonnie--

Funny you should bring "The List" up. I just left mine at home yesterday and went to the store to browse. Was drawn to one book's cover, and another comes next in a series I like and I just can't wait anymore. End result: purchased four books that intrigued me and I am very excited to read! I have decided if a book isn't calling to me, then it's time hasnt' come yet! (Even if I have it and my friends have recommended it.) This is supposed to be my escape, my reward. Shouldn't it be fun?!

Bonnie, Bonnie, Bonnie;
You are giving me brain fever with all this list making. hee hee
I absolutely cannot whittle it down to 10 at this point in time. Just too much going on what with attempting to play catch up at my mother's and here at home and still give attention to the grandsons and hubby. He was so good to let me off the hook for 2 weeks.
But I will give you what I can with your understanding that there are still 4 months to go in the year and all can change within that time.

So my 2009 faves in no particular order:
1) Battle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson
2) The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
3) Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
4) Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
5) One Extra*Ordinary Day by Harold Myra
6) The Minotaur by Benjamin Tammuz
7) The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck
8) Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
9) Dream When You're Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg
10) Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman
11. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
12) Capote: A Biography by Gerald Clarke
13) The Land of Spices by Kate O'Brien
14) The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
15) The Moment Between by Nicole Baart
16) The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian
17) To a God Unknown by John Steinbeck
18) Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Sorry Bonnie, that is the best I can do at the moment. I promise to whittle it down when my addlepated brain is functioning better.
luvs n hugs,
belva

No problem, Belva! If I take out the books about war and religion, plus Steinbeck (I'm not quite as love with him as you are, though he was handsome guy), I've got quite a manageable list. ;-) The easiest read in this list, I imagine, would be Elizabeth Berg's book. I enjoyed her other books, so I'm going to tag you on this one, maybe on Atwood's too. Thanks, Belva! I look forward to seeing your final assessment in December, as well as all your recx in between.

Loved the discussion about having 'The List'... I agree with everything you said! I have a huge long wishlist so sometimes if I know I have a bit of money to burn in a bookstore I go through, write down some of the ones I 'fancy' most right now, then use it at the store. But I do sometimes get that cold feeling you mention, that feeling that I'm not immersing myself in the bookshopping experience as much as I want to. I remember more fondly the time I first went to the rickety three-storey bookshop along the valley and combed the whole place top to bottom, or the time on holiday when I came across a little dusty second-hand shop with all the genres and authors mixed up and just BROWSED. Neither time involved a list.

Often now I leave my wishlist for ages then go through it online, one book at a time, read new reviews or check out the first few pages on a 'search inside' engine, and realise that I can cut out half of them because I don't really want them after all. I have waaaaaaaay too many TBR books (hence the current A-Z discipline) and seem to hunger for ever new books once the 'old' new books are home. I'm actually finding that by combing each alphabetical section of my library for this new challenge I've set myself, I'm reconnecting with my passion for the books still waiting to be read, and remembering books I'd forgotten were awaiting me!

The short version of this little discourse: too right, Bonnie!

I curled up with During the Reign of the Queen of Persia by Joan Chase yesterday when I should have been getting ready to go down to help my sister. Have I already talked about this? This is one of my "comfort food" books. It's for sure my third time reading it and maybe even my fourth.

#216: 1, 2, or 4? That's hard to say. 1 and 4 are very similar in style and spirit. They are both very bizarre stories about love. 2 is a young adult novel, and is the funniest. I really don't know which one you should read first, I would just go by what type of story you're in the mood for. It might be hard to get your hands on The Wooden Sea. Jonathan Carroll is not a very well known author, unfortunately.

And just so you know, Sharp Teeth is in paperback. I have a paperback copy.

I have several Lists.... I have my main wishlist, my wishlist of books that looked interesting but are not Need To Have Right Now, and lists of recommendations (Amazon, LT etc.) that I want to look into a bit more.

I usually only buy books when I am in the UK (on business mostly). When I go there I have only a little time in a bookstore, so I have to plan. I work through my lists to make a list of the books I want right there and then. I run through the store, working myself through the list. Not romantic, but since I am saving about 50% or more on books, it will have to do. I guess the romance is in making the master list... ;)

And then at home, I read backwards from buying date (new books first).... Trying to make sure I read what I bought last, first...

--> 224 (and bonnie)

I just so happen to have an international BookCrossing bookray for The Wooden Sea. In fact, that book is my currently most travelled bookray, having had stops at the homes of 41 journalers!!

Jonathan Carroll is one of my favorite authors. I even follow him on Twitter! He is much more well known in Europe than he is in the US.

Hooray for Jonathan Carroll and his very interesting writing! My favorite book of his is The Land of Laughs. It's simply great!!

ETA: I bought another copy of Rat yesterday hoping to make it into yet another bookray. I don't seem to have any takers yet. :(

Just so you know Bonnie, the Berg book is about the homefront during WWII. I wanted to mention that in case you did not know.
hugs,
belva

Hi, Bonnie!
I finally got caught up on your thread. Lots of good conversations and recommendations going on here! :) Also, I wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Hope you had a great day!

My sweet doggie was trying her darnedest to get into the dog treats last night. Don't know why. Maybe the diet kibbles? She was pretty proud of herself for her self-help attempts.

Well, I am off to check out the tennis. Hope you have a great day and sorry that I have taken so long to catch up.
--BJ

BJ! How did you know it was my birthday today?! You clever, kind person, you! Or was I that obvious? I can relate to your doggie story. My sister has three dogs. One of them is half lab, half mastiff or something--huge--and very friendly, but I thought the other two were going to eat me. A huge bag of "Beggin Strips" got me into the kitchen, and regularly handing out bits of cheese and meat while cooking has made me their new best friend.

I read Water for Elephants again. It's a "comfort food" kind of a book for me. I also found the Glass Castle in a bookstore down here. I realized that I've read at least the first part of it; it may have been excerpted in a magazine, but hope I haven't forgotten that I read the whole book. Turning sixty is already tripping me up...aaack!

Oh Bonnie! I'm so glad I stopped by today - Happy, Happy Birthday to you!!

BTW, I loved The Glass Castle, not to mention Water for Elephants. Both would be great rereads.

Bonnie- Happy Birthday LT friend!! Hope you are having a great day!
I loved Water For Elephants and The Glass Castle!

Thanks you two. I'm down at my sisters, missing celebrating with my friends and my kids on my birthday, so I'm appreciating being able to connect with my LT friends!

Happy Birthday to our bonniebooks.
We've set aside a great many cooks
To bake you a cake of all sugar n spice
Because we think you are just that nice.

Make it your day girlfriend.
love you,
belva

Hi Bonnie--

Happy Birthday to you. Do you at least get a cake?

Deborah

eta--I see Belva slipped in with the cake while I was writing my note to you. :)

Thanks, Belva! The way that cake is bouncing up and down, it reminds me of angel food cake--which I love. And it even has strawberries on it! Yum!

Deborah, thanks for coming over to wish me happy birthday too. I traditionally request pie on my birthday (one of my sons does too, isn't that weird), but today the only pie I'm eating is pizza pie, and it's good!

Have to get back to my sister's, but really appreciate checking in with you all.

Birthday greetings, Bonnie!! Have a great one!

Hey, Bonnie,
I did not actually realize that today was the day. I just knew that it was coming up and I did not want to miss it. Hope your day was great! :)
--BJ

Thanks, Squeaky (aka Madeline)!

Happy birthday Bonnie - hope you have a fantastic day!! (and decade!)

Thanks, Cushla! It was quiet, because my sister is so sick, but I'm glad I got to spend it with her. BJ, now see what you started by guessing?! And I'm glad you did! It's amazing how much love you can feel from people you've never met!

Bonnie, Berly, Arubabookwoman,and Teelgee:
I no longer work. I do watch my grandsons but if you make the plans I can arrange for my daughter to make other plans for the boys after school that day if it is on a weekday. If on a week end, we rarely have plans that take us off our place. So I am yours whenever, pretty much. I could hook up with you at the junction of I-5 and Hwy 12 that cuts East to Yakima and just ride on down with you if that would be your pleasure. So those of you with commitments, let's work around your plans.
It would be so awesome to hook up with y'all.
Let's do it!~!
hugs,
belva

I'm heading back up north tomorrow. Won't have internet access until late tomorrow night, so will talk to you all then. I don't know when I'm going to have to come back Grants Pass. I'm willing to make a date, but things are so up in the air with my sister, I may have to cancel. OK, Girls, now just talk amongst yourselves! :-)

Can I be an honorary "West-Coaster"? At one time, I was going to move to San Francisco. Okay, I know it's a long way from Washington state, but I live near Washington, DC. It would be fun to meet "y'all" in person. Too bad you're more than 3,000 miles away. :(

By the way, I host a LibraryThing-BookCrossing Meet-up at the National Book Festival each year. Anyone going to be in DC on September 26th? If so, I could meet you! :)

Belated birthday wishes, Bonnie! And I loved The Glass Castle, too; hope you like it! :-)

Great cake, Belva!

Thanks, Marie! Nothing like reading about another messed up family/childhood to make you feel better about yours! I started reading it while waiting for my sister at the doctor's office; now I need to try to ignore it until I get my work done here! But then I'm on LT instead of doing something to help my sister. Oops!

Another slightly belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to add to the glittery pile of LT best wishes! Hope it was a nice one even in its quietness... xx

Message 160: nannybebette

>#157:
Bonnie;
Need I say it?????? Damn!~!~!~!
I am not familiar with that thread. Please hook me up with a link and I will attempt to satisfy your sadistic qualities (and apparently my masochistic ones ) by answering all said questions.
***********heavy sigh*******************

just in case you didn't see it on my thread.
belva

Hey Bonnie.
Just copied this from copper's thread so I could answer it for you.

"Belva, my brother-in-law had this really old edition of Tortilla Flat--you would have loved it! Because you like Steinbeck so much I was really interested in reading it, but immediately found it boring and offensive. Well, not really offensive, because I knew that the comments reflected the prejudices of the time, but the story just wasn't good enough to look past them. I realize my reaction was a strongly personal one, though, because I have very little patience for reading about people who spend so much time drinking. I also didn't like the "thees" and "thous." It reminded me too much of religious texts. I'm sure I didn't read enough to appreciate the book, but just off the top of your head, what do you remember about this story that made you think, "I'm so glad I read this?"

I am sure that most likely I will offend you with my answer, but here goes:

For one thing the "paisanos" absolutely cracked me up the whole way through. And who doesn't get drunk when they come home from war. I know all three of my brothers who were in Viet Nam gathered up their buddies and went out on a binge. Just like Danny did in Tortilla Flat.
Then there was the house thing. Danny had inherited 2 of them so he rents one out to a couple of his buddies. When they can't come up with the rent money, they sublet it out to another buddy, but they all live there.
As I recall, I merrily laughed my way through the entire book. I remember finding it extremely funny. The same with Cannery Row.
And I found the writing in both books to be wonderfully original, and just exceptionally good. I loved and still love both books as I do most of Steinbeck's books.
I am sorry you found no redeeming value in Tortilla Flat but books are as all things in life: some things you like, some things you don't.
No sweat, my friend. I am not offended that you don't enjoy what I read and I know that what you read, while I am interested, does not bother me in the least. Even though what we read does say something about us, we are not what we read. A book is just that. A book. It has no more nor any less power than what we give it. And I give mine very little. I just enjoy them or not, as the case may be.
hugs,
belva

Good morning Bonnie;
I hope you are enjoying your 3 day weekend, even though it has been pouring down the rain.
How did the wedding go next door? Hopefully, they had some canopies to keep the guests dry.
Hope you have something good to read on this dreary weekend.
Talk to you soon.
hugs,
belva

After all that pouring rain, my neighbors were so lucky because it was late in the afternoon and no rain! I felt lucky too, because I got to hear all the laughter! It sounded like the happiest wedding after!

Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen. Last week I was traveling and helping my sister who's sick, so I took along some books that I thought would be a comforting distraction. Because I, myself, needed an escape in the evenings back in my motel room, I felt lots of sympathy for rascally, old Mr. Jankowski who deals with the frustrations and humiliations inherent in assisted living and his increasing forgetfulness, by escaping back to memories of his early years with a second-rate traveling circus during the Great Depression. Gruen packs in a lot of history and information about what it would be like to work in a circus. Lots of dramatic tension, good and bad guys, plus just enough romance to make this a satisfying read.

Hi Bonnie,
Glad you liked it - I did too!

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. Loved it! Keep in mind, though, that this is just the kind of book that hooks me. Nothing like truly crazy, dysfunctional parents to make you feel better about your childhood and/or your parenting. Truly terrible things happen to these children, but Walls is so smart, funny, and matter-of-fact in the telling of her story, that I also couldn't help feeling a little jealous every once in a while as well.

I loved that one too!! It was one of my top 10 books for last year.

I think I knew that! :-) How are you doing on Nixonland? I'm tending toward "easy reads" right now, but want to read that one again more thoroughly.

Bonnie- I am a fan of both Water For Elephants and The Glass Castle. I enjoyed your comments and I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend!

I keep getting sidetracked by shorter books... Must Try Harder! I really like it once I get reading, but it's so dense.

Bonnie;
I have had Water for Elephants on my TBR listing for so long. Looks like I need to bump it up. Also The Glass Castle; I read a review that made me cross it off my list, but between you, Cushla and Mark recking it I put it right back on. With all three of you enjoying it, I don't see how I could go wrong.
I am glad that the weather cooperated long enough for the wedding next door and that you were able to enjoy some of the lightness and laughter. Hope you had a great weekend.
love,
belva

I also think that it must have been wonderful to have a wedding next door. Hope you had a great weekend!
--BJ

A wedding so close - how fun!

I like your thoughts on Water for Elephants and The Glass Castle Bonnie. Both are favorites of mine - in fact I may read the former again.

I just finished Water for Elephants and really liked it also, enough that I have passed it on to a fellow reader. We read The Glass Castle for my book club earlier this year. It was a big hit. A few of us were all thinking the same thing while reading it... "Really, this can't be true, really, this couldn't have happened, what, a 3 year cooking hotdogs??" and on and on. What a crazy life. It does make you thankful for what you have.

I loved Water for Elephants and The Glass Castle almost as much as I loved The Help. Waiting for The Cellist of Sarajevo from PBS which, judging from everyone else, I will also love.

Hey, you all! I'm creating a new 50-Book challenge, using people's top picks of 2009, yours included. You're welcome to come over and add to your list and/or change it at: bonniebook's Best of Your Best, 2009

Oh Bonnie! I haven't been here is so long, I missed your birthday!! Happy belated!!!!!!!!!! Hopefully, now that the kids are back in school, I will be a more faithful reader on your thread. You are always such a lift to my spirits. :)

I also loved both Water for Elephants and The Glass Castle. Two of my very favorites.

Bonnie;
I really like the challenge/group thingy you did. "bonniebook's Best of Your Best, 2009". Very original!~! Kudos, my dear. That was a great idea. And fun too.
Hope you are having a great weekend and enjoying the weather.
hugs n stuff,
belva