tymfos tentative 1010 try

Well, I'm going to try this -- I can surely do 10 categories, as long as I choose how many in each category. I don't want to do a "step" program -- too hard to decide which category only gets 1!

I think I'll start by aiming for 5 in each category. That will be 50, and leave 25 "wildcard" reads to fill out my 75 challenge.

My 2010 75 Challenge thread is here:
#1 http://www.librarything.com/topic/78980
#2 http://www.librarything.com/topic/83758
#3 http://www.librarything.com/topic/88141
#4 http://www.librarything.com/topic/90698

My 2009 75-Challenge threads are here:
#1 http://www.librarything.com/topic/69362
#2 http://www.librarything.com/topic/74808

I already see that there are a lot more books in some categories that I want to read in the next year. Perhaps I will do 10 books in one or two of my favorite categories. (Would that make this a 5 &10 thread?)

I'm tentatively listing my categories as:

1. "Blue vs. Gray" (US Civil War, non-fiction/historical fiction)
2. "Whodunit?" (mystery/suspense fiction)
3. "Strange but True?" (supernatural folklore, paranormal investigations, parapsychology, etc., non-fiction)
4. "Kid Stuff" (juvenile/YA fiction)
5. "Destroyed in Seconds" (disaster/rescue/recovery)
6. "A Matter of Faith" (Christianity / world religions/spirituality/devotional)
7. "Start Your Engines!" (motor sports, cars)
8. "20th Century, USA" (20th Century US history, non-fiction)
9. "Interesting People" (non-fiction: memoir, biography, etc.)
10. "Scary Fiction" (horror/gothic/ghost stories)

(Plus, Anna Karenina -- I understand there's going to be a group read!)

I understand some folks are starting in October -- 10/10 sounds good to me, I'll start on the 10th of this month, and (maybe) end 10/10/10.

Category 1 : BLUE VS. GRAY US Civil War, non-fiction/historical fiction

1. Battle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson (finished 4/27/10)
2. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (re-read finished 4/30/10)
3. The Madness of Mary Lincoln by Jason Emerson (finished 5/13/10)
4.
5.

currently reading and/or candidates:
4. Winfield Scott Hancock: A Soldier's Life by David M. Jordan (started 06/13/10)
Fort Sumter to Perryville (Civil War, Vol. 1) by Shelby Foote
Fredericksburg to Meridian (Civil War, Vol. 2) by Shelby Foote
Red River to Appomatox (Civil War, Vol. 3) by Shelby Foote

Category 2. WHODUNIT? mystery/suspense fiction

This is a category where I know I'll read more than five!

1. Thou Shalt Not Grill (started 10/10/09; finished 10/17/09)
2. Easy (Depoy, by Phillip Depoy (finished 10/28/09)
3. When Day Breaks by Mary Jane Clark (started 11/5/09; finished 11/9/09)
4. Look Again by Lisa Scottoline (started 11/10/09; finished 11/19/09)
5. Cross by James Patterson (started 12/7/09; finished 12/9/09)
6. A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny. (Started 12/10/09; finished 12/20/09.)
7. Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin (started 1/10, finished 1/29/10)
8. Raven Black (Cleeves) by Ann Cleeves. (started 2/3/10; finished 2/4/10)
9. Murder With Peacocks by Donna Andrews (started 3/26/10; finished 3/31/10)
10.The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (finished 4/8/10).

This category is completed (Though I'll surely read more mysteries!)

Category 3: STRANGE BUT TRUE? paranormal non-fiction: supernatural folklore, parapsychology, paranormal investigations, etc.

1. Ghost in the Mirror: Real Cases of Spirit Encounters by Leslie Rule. Finished 12/27/09.
2. Ghost: Investigating the Other Side by Katherine Ramsland. Finished 12/29/09.
3. Haunted Deland and the Ghosts of West Volusia County by Dusty Smith. Finished 3/22/10.
4.
5.

candidates:
William James on Psychical Research
The Haunting of America: from the Salem Witch Trials to Harry Houdini by William J. Birnes and Joel Martin
Ghosts, Apparitions and Poltergeists: An Exploration of the Supernatural Through History by Brian Righi

Category 4: KID STUFF juvenile / YA fiction

1. Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko. Finished 12/6/09.
2. In The Woods, by Robin H. Stevenson. Read 1/11/10
3. Over My Dead Body by Kate Klise; illus. by M. Sarah Klise. Read 1/11/10
4. Scat by Carl Hiaasen. finished 1/13/10.
5. Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn. read 1/25/10.
6. Anything but Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin. Finished 3/13/10.
7. Mockingbird (Erskine) by Kathryn Erskine. Finished 4/19/10

this category has met the goal of "5" but I'm aiming for "10"

candidates:
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
Rules by Cynthia Lord
Curse of the Blue Figurine by John Bellairs
Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko

Category 5 (how appropriate, like a very big hurricane!)
DESTROYED IN SECONDS! disasters & rescue/recovery, non-fiction
this is another category where I'll almost certainly exceed five books:

1. Report from Ground Zero: The Story of the Rescue Efforts at the World Trade Center, by Dennis Smith (started 10/28/09; finished 11/05/09.)
2. Fire in the Grove: The Cocoanut Grove Tragedy and its Aftermath by John C. Esposito. (started 11/5/09; finished 11/8/09)
3. Nine Minutes, Twenty Seconds by Gary M. Pomerantz. (started 12/9/09; finished 12/12/09.)
4. The Wreck of the Whaleship Essex by Owen Chase. (finished 1/31/10)
5. When the Mississippi Ran Backwards by Jay Feldman (started 5/21/10; finished 6/13/10)

This category has met the goal of "5" but I'm aiming for "10"

Currently Reading and/or candidates: :
Last Man Out: The Story of the Springhill Mine Disaster by Melissa Fay Greene
Disaster on the Mississippi: The Sultana Explosion by Gene Eric Salecker
The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough

Category 6: A MATTER OF FAITH Christianity / world religions / spirituality / devotional

1. Tracks in the Straw (Loder) by Ted Loder. (Started 12/5/09; Finished 12/23/09)
2. A Child Shall Lead Them: Lessons in Hope from Children with Cancer by Diane M. Komp. (Read 12/31/09),
3. Strength to Love by The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Finished 2/26/2010)
4. Why Me? A Doctor Looks at the Book of Job by Diane M. Komp, M.D. (read 3/29/10)
5. Spirituality and the Autism Spectrum: Of Falling Sparrows by Abe Isanon (finished 4/25/10)
6. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller (finished 5/14/10).
7. Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott (finished 5/23/10)

This category has met the goal of "5" but I'm aiming for "10"

Currently Reading and candidates:
8. UnChristian by David Kinnaman (started 5/10)
Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott

Category 7: START YOUR ENGINES! motor sports, cars (mostly non-fiction; may throw in a novel or two on the subject)

1. He Crashed Me, So I Crashed Him Back by Mark Bechtel. (Finished 2/28/10)
2. They Call Him Cale: The Life and Career of NASCAR Legend Cale Yarborough by Joe McGinnis (Finished 3/1/10)
3. St. Dale by Sharyn McCrumb (re-read in honor of visit to NASCAR Hall of Fame, started 6/20/10; finished 6/25/10).
4.
5.

candidates:
A.J.: The Life of America's Greatest Race Car Driver by A.J. Foyt with William Neely
Alan Kulwicki: NASCAR Champion Against All Odds by Fr. Dale Grubba
Once Around the Track by Sharyn McCrumb

Category 8: 20th CENTURY, USA non-fiction, 20th century U.S. history

1. A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger (Started 12/13/09; finished 12/13/09)
2. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman (finished 5/13/10).
3. Columbine by Dave Cullen (started 5/14/10; finished 5/22/10)
4.
5.

candidates:
We Are Not Afraid by Seth Cagin
Ghosts of Mississippi by Maryanne Vollers
All the President's Men (re-read) and The Final Days by Woodward & Bernstein
The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan

Category 9: INTERESTING PEOPLE non-fiction: biography, memoir, etc.

1. Singing God's Work: The Inspirational Music, People, and Stories of the Harlem Gospel Choir by Allen Bailey. 159 pages. (Started 11/23/09; Finished 12/5/09.)
2. The Story of My Father by Sue Miller. 171 pages, memoir. (Read 1/24/10)
3. Critical Care by Theresa Brown. 189 pages, medical memoir. (Finished 4/12/10)
4. Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (finished 5/1/10)
5.

candidates:
Rebel: The Life and Times of John Singleton Mosby by Kevin H. Siepel

Category 10: SCARY FICTION horror/gothic/ghost stories
This is another category where I am sure I will read more than 5 books.

1. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (started 10/10/09; finished 10/16/09)
2. Fear (Hubbard), by L. Ron Hubbard (started 10/17/09; finished 10/18/09)
3. Ghost (Lightman) by Alan Lightman (started 10/19/09; finished 10/20/09)
4. The Face by Dean Koontz (Started 10/21/09; finished 10/27/09)
5. The Haunted Rectory (Valentine) by Katherine Valentine (finished 11/21/09)
6. Sleep No More (Rolt): Railway, Canal, & Other Stories of the Supernatural, by L.T.C. Rolt (Started 12/9/09; finished 12/10/09)
7. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (started 1/1/10; finished 1/9/10)
8. The Tale of Halcyon Crane by Wendy Webb (finished 3/15/10)
9. The Man in the Picture by Susan Hill (started & finished 3/15/10)
10.Sumner Island by Michael Cormier (finished 5/9/10).

This category is completed. (though I'll surely read more scary fiction!)

I like your categories - I'm very interested in seeing what you put in the "Disasters" category. I have a biography/memoir category and not sure what to put in it, so I'm also curious to see who you choose for that one.

#12 Thanks, owlie13! I tried to make the categories fun.

I haven't really chosen books yet. I'm really planning to decide as I go on most of the books. (I'm a fairly "moody" reader, and not good at being locked into particular titles.) I mainly chose topics where I have quite a bit on my Wishlist /TBR pile which will fit -- things that are on my shelf or that I know I can get at area public libraries.

If you peek at my library, you'll see that I have quite a few books tagged "disaster" and "disaster/rescue" -- some that I've read, some wishlisted or TBR. That is a category which fascinates me, for some reason. Part of it involves the lessons that can be learned for future situations; part of it is amazement as to how the same mistakes play out over and over, disaster after disaster, when everyone thought it couldn't happen again! I'm not sure exactly which books I'll read. I read some great ones this year for my 75 book Challenge. (If you're curious, I have a thread on the 75 challenge group with the books I've read this year.)

I have several bios/memoirs that could either be used in that category or in one of the more "topical" categories, like Civil War or motor sports or pre-Y2K history. I'll have to see how it all shakes out.

Great categories - anxious to see how you fill them!

#14 Thanks for stopping by! I can't wait to get started reading for this challenge! That's why I'm starting 10/10, instead of waiting until January.

I said I wasn't going to lock myself into specific titles, but now I'm getting a real sense of what I want to read, I am starting to fill in a few . . . can't help it! I reserve the right, however, to change my mind! Also, some of the books could fit several categories . . . so I may move them around!

I'm finding that somewhat frustrating about books fitting into different categories. I'm thinking I'm going to try to fill the ones I think will give me the bigger challenge first. Who knows if it will work.

#17 That's sort of my approach, Amy-Sue. For instance, I have lots of Civil War books I want to read this year, so I put the bios and memoirs from that category into my "interesting people" category, for which I really don't have anything at the moment. I put the biographies of auto racers in the "start your engines" category, because I don't have other books at hand for that category at the moment.

But who knows where they will all wind up at the end -- or if I'll wind up reading different books altogether?

I'm already editing one or two of my categories to fit my most recent book purchases . . . I am hopeless!

Great selection of categories and a creative way to handle 10/10 category without it being a "burden." I'm also planning 10 categories for next year (but I will be doing my posting on the 75 challenge and not starting until January). One of them will be about "disasters" and The Johnstown Flood is on my list.

I'll also have a Civil War category--continued from this year. I read Battle Cry of Freedom this year and highly recommend it--it should be read early in the category because it gives so much background that helps when reading other books. (IMO) I just bought the 3 Shelby Foote books at a used book store this month. I think I will be doing well to get one of them done next year! I'll be watching for your comments on your Civil War books.

I have Woman in Black scheduled to read this month--with luck this weekend!

It will be fun to see how your lists "evolve" as you progress. On my 999 challenge my first list bears very little resemblance to my final list. I, too, reserved the right to change my mind--and I exercised that right! :-D

One of my favorite books actually fits three of your categories - A Prayer for the Dying by Stewart O'Nan.

It's a short novel inspired by a true story of a small town in Wisconsin that found itself in the path of a forest fire while under quarantine for a diphtheria epidemic. It's right after the U.S. Civil War and the main character is a just-returned veteran coping with that as well. And it's quite gothic in tone to boot.

Caveat: Written in second person. But very memorable.

It looks like they still have the first chapter up for preview on the New York Times website. Published in 2000.

#20 I, too, reserved the right to change my mind--and I exercised that right! :-D

That may be the only exercise I get this year, with doing so much reading! :-}

#21 kristenn, I read another book by Stewart O'Nan, The Circus Fire, which was really well-written, with excellent research. I'll have to look into A Prayer for the Dying. It sounds fascinating.

Well, it is after midnight, 10/10, and I am starting my 1010 Category Challenge NOW!!

I'm starting with The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, which will fit my Scary Fiction category and also be part of the Halloween group read.

I'm off to read!

Very exciting to get going, isn't it?

Congrats on starting! I can't wait to get going later on today.

I must admit, after looking at your categories, I am entirely too lazy to do this kind of challenge. Best of luck to you!

#25 & 26 auntmarge64 (Hey, I actually have an aunt named Marge) and Amy-Sue:
It is good to get started. I'm very annoyed that I had NO time to read at all Tuesday. But I read a lot over the weekend.

27 Stasia, I don't know how I'll do with this challenge, but it will be fun to try.

Book #1 of the 1010 challenge. First book in my "Scary Fiction" category.

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. Fiction, Gothic, 608 pages.

Last night, I finished The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. I did it as part of the Halloween group read on the 75 challenge, but t wasn't the kind of Halloween-ish scary that I expected.

I'm still going to put it in "Scary Fiction" because it was a kind of scary, I guess, just the suspense of wondering what was going to happen. (Though it was a form of mystery, it really doesn't fit the "Whodunit" category, as it was pretty obvious fairly early on who the bad guys were.)

>29 tymfos: I read The Woman in White in 2007 and had a similar reaction. I was expecting a ghost story and it was much more of a thriller.

I think part of that expectation for me was caused by all of these in the culture : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Lady_(ghost)

#30 Absolutely! I'm familiar with a lot of the "woman in white" and "white lady" ghostly legends, as one of my hobbies is collecting folklore of the paranormal/supernatural. I'm sure that background influenced my expectations of the novel.

#29, 30, 31 -- Ack I'm sorry to see you both had misleading expectations of the book, and I hope those didn't taint enjoyment. The Woman in White is one of my favorite novels of all time, and though it's not ghostly, it is truly frightening, I think--for instance, the ease with which a woman could be incarcerated in a mental institution, based on only the word of her husband and the signature of a doctor.

Hey Tymfos, I'm just dropping by to say hello - glad to have another 75er here!

#32 It's OK, I really did enjoy The Woman in White very much. It was different from what I expected, but an excellent read. Collins created a great atmosphere, and really interesting characters. There was lots of suspense, and I liked the way the story was presented from the different viewpoints of various characters through their journals and other writings.

#33 Hi, Cait, thanks for dropping by! I'll be watching your thread here, too!

Book #2 of the 1010 challenge, first of the "Whodunit" category.

Thou Shalt Not Grill (A Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery) by Tamar Myers. Fiction, cozy mystery, 250 pages.

I always enjoy reading these mysteries, told from the point of view of Magdalena Yoder, hostess of the fictional Penn Dutch Inn of Bedford County, PA. (Perhaps it is because I live not so very far from where they are set, and so recognize the names of places that are mentioned.)

The books in this series are admittedly light on plot but full of laughs (of the very silly variety). I tend to read them to "balance out' weightier or more suspenseful books read at the same time.

#34 Oh good, I'm so glad! Collins' The Moonstone is also quite good if you haven't read it (it's more of an actual 'whodunit' than The Woman in White). I noticed that you have Kate Summerscale's excellent The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher in your library, and the case described in that book was in some respects an influence on The Moonstone.

#36 Actually, The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher is on my Wishlist. I've seen it in bookstores and almost purchased it several times, but I keep delaying in the hope that our public library system will acquire it; I do want to read it. Several people have mentioned The Moonstone; I think I'm going to add that to my Wishlist as well, as it sounds like everyone I know of who has read it has really thought it was very good.

Book #3 of the 1010 challenge, 2nd of the "Scary Fiction" category.

Fear, by L. Ron Hubbard. Fiction, horror, 188 pages.

This book was on the Halloween group read list from the 75 Challenge group. I started it just to try it and see what it was about; I planned to quickly abandon it if I didn't like it.

I didn't think that it would be my cup of tea. I didn't expect to like it, even though the dust jacket contained glowing recommendations from Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, and Isaac Asimov -- all favorites of mine.

The writing style seemed somehow odd to me, from the start. Other than the seemingly odd style (the nature of which I can't quite put my finger on), the story seemed normal enough for the first chapter. Then it got really, really weird in a hurry. It was bizarre, it was unreal, it was madness . . .

I couldn't put it down; read straight through to the end, way past midnight.

I can't exactly say I enjoyed it, but I needed to see where the heck he was going with this crazy story. Then the ending really threw me for a loop, and I had to look back for a few minutes and try to re-think the story with the ending in mind.

I like Tamar Myers Penn Dutch mysteries too. My in-laws live really close to Penn Dutch area, so I have fun with the area closeness too.

Wierd endings are just bizzare. I felt that way about Hannibal. I think I read the ending to that 3 times. Books that you can't put down are good though.

Book #4 Ghost, by Alan Lightman. Fiction, 244 pages. Third in the Scary Fiction category.

This hardly fits the "Scary Fiction" category where I had pegged it, as the ghost encounter itself hardly seems scary to the reader. Indeed, the reader doesn't really get a descrption of what the man saw until about halfway through the book -- it's usually just "something" that "can't be explained," etc.

But the book is still scary in a different sense, because of all the fallout of the experience, both his internal questions (he had never believed in the "supernatural" before) and the reactions of others when he shares his story.

Frankly, I found much of what was described (not the ghost, but all the hubbub that followed the sighting) pretty unbelievable. But it was still a well-written book that held my attention. Not a favorite, but thought-provoking.

Book #5 The Face by Dean Koontz, Fiction, suspense/horror, 608 pages.

No question that this one goes in "Scary Fiction" -- #4 in that category. It gave me nightmares! It also was a very good read. The plot took some amazing twists and turns. It was really a good book.

Book #6, Easy, by Phillip DePoy (A Flap Tucker Mystery; 278 pages).
(a link because the touch stone doesn't work:)http://www.librarything.com/work/373147

For the Whodunit category

From my review:

What do the murders of a tall, red-headed transvestite found dead inside a crude drawing of a pentagram and a couple of topless dancers found decomposing in the trunk of a Buick have in common with each other and with the disappearance of the alleged wife of Flap's friend Lenny? And was Lenny really married to the missing woman? And did she even really exist? And what, if anything, does Tibet have to do with it all?

The answers to these and other pressing crime issues -- along with some laughs and a few neat plot twists -- can be found in the pages of Easy.

(Note: DePoy has another, more recent series, the Fever Devlin series, which are set in rural Georgia. I like those books, too.)

Nightmares are the reasons why I'm afraid to read Dean Koontz! I know some of his books are amazing though, so some day I just need to suck it up and do it for the experience of a good scare.

Phillip Depoy is a new author to me. I will be checking him out. I used to be well acquainted with rural Georgia so I will probably try those first. Although Easy sounds enticing, also.

#44 FYI, Easy and the rest of the Flap Tucker series are set in Atlanta. DePoy is definitely a Georgia author!

One thing I like about the Fever Devlin series is that Fever is a retired folklore professor, and so folklore is woven into the mix of the stories. Also, there's usually a (mostly subtle) supernatural element in the stories. Not scary, nightmare horror stuff, but just there. (Have you ever read Sharyn McCrumb? I love many of her books for similar reasons, though DePoy has a different style about him.)

BTW (I said this on my 75 challenge thread, but I want to note it here, too) my thanks to lunacat for teaching me how to put book covers in my thread!

#45

I put both series on my wishlist and a soon as I finish the 6 books I currently have out from the library I plan to request the first one in each series--I love to read books placed in Georgia! Thanks for introducing me to this series. BTW I also love books that use folklore as part of the story.

#43 Amy-Sue

I have felt the same way about Koontz. Right now I'm trying to read my first one for Halloween month--Odd Thomas. I was told it wasn't as creepy as his usual stuff--but I'm finding it creepy enough that I'm having trouble sticking with it. He's a great writer and I really want to know what happens but I'm not sure I have the fortitude to stick with it to the end! Maybe if he weren't such a good writer I would have an easier time--I wouldn't be so drawn into the story. I could remain detached as I mentally criticized his writing! :-D

Book #7, Report from Ground Zero: The Story of the Rescue Efforts at the World Trade Center, by Dennis Smith. Non-fiction, 366 pages.

I guess it's fitting that my "disaster" category should begin with this most terrible of man-made disasters in American history.

From my review:
It is impossible for anyone who wasn't there to really, really grasp the reality of Ground Zero on 9/11 and the days that followed. But this book gave me a clearer glimpse than I've ever had before. It takes us into the heart and soul of the disaster at Ground Zero and of those on its front lines.

Recommended.

My full review can be found here:

http://www.librarything.com/work/55219/reviews/52490505

Sounds like a good book! I'm adding it to my planned reads for next year, in my New York category.

#47 Excellent review.

#48 I hope you find the book as worthwhile as I did.

#49 Thanks for the kind words!

Wow, that really sounds like one of those books that you carry with you long after you've finished reading it. Good review.

#51 Yes, this is definitely one I'll be thinking about for quite a while. I'm glad that came through in my review.

Now I'm several chapters into Fire in the Grove: The Cocoanut Grove Tragedy and its Aftermath, by John C. Esposito, which recently arrived via Interlibrary Loan. I had read shorter accounts of the fire in several other books, but so far this has quite a bit of information of which I was not previously aware. Also, a diagram of the labyrinthine nightclub is provided, which is extremely helpful in understanding how so many people were trapped in the blaze.

There is one little format issue that I find annoying. I'll address that in my review when I'm done reading. And I'm truly disappointed by the fact that there are no footnotes/endnotes or bibliography.

This is another book that might haunt me for a while, as almost 500 people died in this blaze. Nowhere near the total who died at Ground Zero, but still a terrible toll of human lives.

#21 kristenn, I finally added A Prayer for the Dying by Stewart O'Nan to my Wishlist. It really does sound memorable! In fact, I think I'm going to make it a "priority" to get my hands on it.

A Prayer for the Dying was inspired by a history/photography book called Wisconsin Death Trip by Michael Lesy. It's primarily a photographic record of the diptheria epidemic. If you can get your hands on it, it's a haunting read.

Judging from the description & reviews here on LT, Wisconsin Death Trip sounds like it would be a very haunting read, indeed!

Book #8 Fire in the Grove: The Cocoanut Grove Tragedy and its Aftermath, by John C. Esposito. Non-fiction, 254 pages, including index.

#8a (re-read) The Cocoanut Grove: Heat, Smoke, and Panic , Chapter 7 of Boston on Fire: a History of Fires and Firefighting in Boston by Stephanie Schorow.

from my review of Fire in the Grove: (full review is at: http://www.librarything.com/work/2654493... )

Obviously, this is for my disaster category.

The Cocoanut Grove was considered THE place to go for nightlife in Boston. But on Saturday evening, November 28, 1942, fire flashed through the Grove. It was the deadliest fire in Boston history, killing nearly 500 people.

Fire in the Grove shows us the factors which made Cocoanut Grove disaster waiting to happen . . .

The writing is fairly straightforward. The author provides background on the nightclub’s history, introduces us to some of the people who were at the Grove that night, and offers a sometimes gripping account of the fire, rescue/recovery efforts, and the legal and political wrangling that followed all.

For those wanting a basic narrative of the Cocoanut Grove fire and its aftermath, Fire in the Grove is more than adequate. If you want detailed documentation, however, you will probably find this book lacking.

The Schorow book Boston on Fire, with its excellent chapter on the Cocoanut Grove fire, does contain both a bibliography and end notes. For a somewhat different perspective on the fire (her book tends to look at things more from the firefighters' perspective) and excellent source documentation, I recommend Boston on Fire.

ETA for touchstone.

Book #9 When Day Breaks by Mary Jane Clark. Mystery fiction, 326 pages.

For the Whodunit category.

From my review:
Even without reading the description on the dust jacket, it's pretty obvious, from the start, who is going to get murdered in this book. Beneath her down-to-earth public facade, Constance Young is your stereotypical selfish, egotistical celebrity, and her enemies are legion -- hence, the available pool of suspects is even deeper than the swimming pool where her lifeless body is found.

If Constance is a stereotype, so are many of the supects.

I found this to be a fast-paced, competently-written mystery, but nothing special.

Full review at: http://www.librarything.com/work/book/51302220

Book #10 Look Again by Lisa Scottoline. Fiction, 336 pages.

I guess this fits the "Whodunit" category, because there was a mystery involved. I didn't like this one much. I only read it for a discussion group.

review:http://www.librarything.com/work/6725660/details/52202166

That's two in a row that were disappointing.

Book #11 The Haunted Rectory, by Katherine Valentine.

Christian fiction/horror/cozy/suspense? 436 pages large print + discussion guide.)
(link because touchstone failed: http://www.librarything.com/work/book/51302290)

This counts as book 5 in my Scary Fiction category.

This was an odd one.

First, to really get into this story, you need to accept the reality of "second sight," Hell, and demonic forces; and the fact that the power of God can triumph over the real, physical forces of Evil (with a capital E). I have no problem with that, but that worldview might lose some readers.

Next, you have to deal with a book that tries to combine The Exorcist with a "cozy" format, and vestiges of Dan Brown -- top secret Catholic orders/organizations and the like.

It didn't quite work for me. I probably wasn't the only one; the book was clearly designed to be first of a series, but no sequels have been forthcoming (as far as I can determine) since its publication in 2006. However, I did keep reading to see how it would all end.

I need to think about this one before I try to write a full review.

I just finished a book which I probably won't count toward this challenge. Rescue Warriors: The US Coast Guard, America's Forgotten Heroes, by David Helvarg, contains elements of disaster/rescue -- but it is much more than that. It contains elements of 20th-century US history -- but it reaches beyond that century, both backward and forward in time.

If I try to put it anywhere, it will probably go in "interesting people." The Coast Guard is full of interesting people! But it is more than that, even. And that's not quite what I had in mind for the category, which was meant for biographies and memoirs.

Ah, well. . .

I guess this will fit in the Interesting People category:

Book # 12: Singing God's Work by Allen Bailey. 159 pages.

Memoir of Allen Bailey's life and the story of the Harlem Gospel Choir, which he founded and directs.

In a few words: In his own words, the story of a man raised in economic poverty in Harlem, who did many remarkable things and founded a wonderful music ministry that sings all over the world. Perhaps a bit self-promoting, with quite a bit of name-dropping, written with terrible punctuation, but a nice, uplifting story.

My review:
http://www.librarything.com/work/9045118/reviews/53436195

Book #13: Al Capone Does My Shirts, by Gennifer Choldenko. YA.

This is for the "Kidstuff" Young Adult category.

This story is set on Alcatraz Island in 1935, when it was common for families of prison guards and other prison employees to live on the island. Young Moose lives on the Island with his mother, father (a guard/electrician), and sister Natalie, who had special needs. Natalie is clearly autistic, but never called that in the book, as that specific diagnosis did not exist at that time. (Note: the author discusses this in her Author's Note at the end. She has dedicated the book to her sister Gina, who was diagnosed with severe autism.)

Poor Moose seems to bear the brunt of all the family's problems; his mother is too focused on Natalie's needs, and his father too focused on humoring (not the right word, but I can't find the right word tonight) the mother.

Add in a dictatorial warden, the warden's trouble-seeking daughter, and assorted escapades and misunderstandings, and it makes for an interesting read.

My choice of this book was influenced by the fact that I met the author at a Children's Literature conference and was very impressed by her presentation.

Book #14: Cross by James Patterson. Fiction, mystery-suspense, 293 pages. (Obtained from the public library.)

What can I say? I love the Alex Cross series. Cross is just one of the neatest crime-fighting series characters I've found. The book maintains the usual level of fast-paced suspense and action. Definitely a page turner.

My full review:
http://www.librarything.com/work/993429/reviews/47306647

I like Alex Cross stories as well. You are really moving along on this challenge. I can hardly wait to start it in January.

Book #15: Sleep No More: Railway, Canal, & Other Stories of the Supernatural, by L.T.C. Rolt. Fiction: short/stories, ghost/horror stories, 162 pages. (Obtained through Inter-Library Loan.)

For Scary Fiction category.

Oooh, the perfect read for a stormy winter night!

Review:
http://www.librarything.com/work/8931092/reviews/50541500

Book #16: Nine Minutes, Twenty Seconds by Gary M. Pomerantz. Non-fiction; 287 pages. (Obtained from public library.)

I thought this book was really excellent. Pomerantz made me feel like I got to know the people involved -- enough so that I shed some tears when reading about those who didn't survive. He also explained the technical side of things in plain language that I could understand. And he explored the physical and emotional aftermath of the crash for those who survived.

Full Review here:
http://www.librarything.com/work/72796/reviews/54038492

I definitely have to add Nine Minutes, Twenty Seconds to my list for my 1010 disaster category. Thanks for reviewing it--I'd never heard of it before.

Happy to be of service in adding to your TBR pile, Linda!

I'm not sure how I first heard about Nine Minutes, Twenty Seconds. Nothing shows in "Conversations" about it except my posts. I'm thinking it may have been a "automatic" LT recommendation for me, presumably based on all the disaster books I read. I know it was already on my list when I saw it being cataloged at the public library and said, "aha!"

Book # 17: A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger. Non-fiction, 266 pages. Purchased used 8/09 at Frogtown Books in Toledo, OH.

I bought this, completely on impulse, strictly on the basis of:

1) the author: I'd just read The Perfect Storm, so Junger ruled, in my opinion.

2) the title and particularly the town involved: Belmont, Massachusetts, where I spent some time over a decade ago.

3) I got an almost mint-condition used copy of the book for $1.

This is more than just a true-crime book about a murder. This is a book about race and justice and the tumult of the 1960's. I found it a very compelling read.

Full review here:
http://www.librarything.com/work/520493/reviews/49217016

Wow, a couple of great reviews. Now I want both books! And congrats on being listed under the "Hot Reviews".

Book #18: A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny (Canadian edition title: Dead Cold). Second in the Three Pines Mystery series featuring Inspector Armand Gamache. Mystery fiction, 311 pages. Purchased earlier this year, used, via Amazon.com.

I love Louise Penny's Three Pines mysteries. I like the setting, the quirky characters, and the plot twists. I enjoy her literary allusions and her wry sense of humor. I like the way the reader never quite knows all that's going on -- sometimes even at the end of the last page. That "unsettled" quality that Penny leaves at the end of the book is so much like real life.

I need some time to put together a full review, but my short version is that I liked it.

ETA to add: Here is the link for my review:
http://www.librarything.com/work/2705703/details/49464643

Book #19:Tracks in the Straw: tales spun from the Manger by Ted Loder. Devotional, 174 pages. Requested and received as birthday gift, 2/09. Category: A Matter of Faith.

This is the first book read for my "A Matter of Faith" category.

This book is a collection of writings looking at the Christmas story from unusual points of view -- animals in the stable where Jesus was born, a maid at the Inn where there were no rooms, the Innkeeper, etc. My favorite of the lot was the one set in modern times: "Gum on the Altar," about two friends in a mental hospital at Christmas time.

The previous books I've read by Ted Loder, Guerillas of Grace and My Heart in My Mouth, contained passages which spoke to me in a deep, deep way. This one really didn't.

Book # 20 : Ghost in the Mirror: Real Cases of Spirit Encounters by Leslie Rule. Non-fiction, 231 pages. Strange But True category. Purchased at Books a Million (I think) sometime in 2009. Finished 12/27/09.

This is the first entry of the challenge in the "Strange-But-True?" category. It's probably appropriate that I hit my goal with a book from one of my favorite genres -- a collection of purportedly true ghost stories.

I grabbed this book off my shelf because it looked like a quick, easy read and I wanted to be sure I finished at least one more book this year to reach my goal in the 75 challenge!

I've always thought that some of the creepiest stories involved people looking in the mirror and seeing someone who isn't supposed to be there . . . I thought this book would be full of stories like this. In reality, while each section featured such a story and the theme was emphasized throughout the book, there were lots of other kinds of ghost stories, too. These are all accounts that purport to be true. Some were pretty creepy, some less so. There was some theorizing about mirrors as portals into the nether realms, etc., that I don't necessarily buy into.

Rule includes contact information for those haunted places that are business establishments, such as restaurants and inns. That always makes me feel a little skeptical, wondering how many of the stories are real, and how many are just PR to draw business from people fascinated by the paranormal. Rule does seem to do a fair amount of investigating as far as the history behind the alleged hauntings, pointing out some legends which aren't supported by fact. (It's not unusual to see hauntings attributed to an event that supposedly happened years ago which, according to historical records, never really happened. . .)

This is a genre I enjoy and collect, and this was a fairly standard entry in my collection.

Book # 21: Ghost: Investigating the Other Side by Katherine Ramsland. Non-fiction, 300 pages. For strange but true category. Purchased at library sale sometime in 2008. Finished 12/29/09.

This is the second book in my "strange-but-true?" category.

This is a book that sat over half-read for much of this year. I'm not quite sure why I put it aside for so long. I suspect I was having trouble digesting some of Ramsland's adventures as she stumbled through her efforts to have a true paranormal experience.

This story grows out of her experiences researching her book on the Vampire sub-culture, during which she recieved a ring with a questionable history, and a possible ghost -- a not-so-nice ghost -- attached. For someone who purported to believe in the possibility of the supernatural as something with some power, she seemed to take a lot of reckless risks. She sought out all kinds of conflicting spiritual techniques and philosophies, sort of a paranormal smorgasbord, and ignored a lot of the advice she had sought out. It seemed that she alternately questioned and believed everything anyone said.

I suspect her attitude mirrors that of many people today: skeptical yet wanting to believe there's something more than what science can measure and explain. Struggling with all the conflicting theories of the paranormal which are out there claiming to be right. Drawn in by one convincing argument after another, some of which are mutually exclusive.

I kept waiting for her more critical investigative attitudes to reassert themselves, which eventually they did to some extent. Agreed: the field of paranormal investigation is not well served by those who blindly accept everything odd as paranormal, without looking for natural explainations. It makes it that much harder to objectively study those things which truly do seem unexplainable.

Which doesn't mean that her final actions in the book were all that sensible . . .

This book offered an interesting look at the very many ways people look at and deal with the paranormal, including some of the cutting-edge (or far-out fringe, depending on your viewpoint) developments in spirit communication.

(No image available) Book # 22: A Child Shall Lead Them: Lessons in Hope from Children with Cancer by Diane M. Komp, M.D. Non-fiction; 168 pages plus endnotes.

This is the second book in my "A Matter of Faith" category.

A word of disclaimer: I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Komp when I was part of a chaplaincy training program years ago. She made such an impression upon me that I have sought out her writings.

From my review: Diane Komp is on the faculty of Yale Medical School, and a practicing pediatric oncologist. As such, her practice is not only devoted to the care of children with cancer, but she treats many of the sickest of the sick: those whose poor prognosis causes their families to seek out the most expert of care. And her career began at a time when the word "cure" was hardly even in the vocabulary for childhood cancer patients. I can't imagine a more difficult job. . . In this book, Dr. Komp shares her spiritual journey, as her experience of the suffering of children led her first away from, and then back to, faith in God. She shows us the strength of the young patients she treats, and how they can be an example to all of us as we face the issues of life and mortality.

full review here: http://www.librarything.com/work/758601/reviews/51671783

Book #23:Title & Author: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Classic fiction, horror, 349 pages. (Started 1/1/10; finished 1/9/10).

This is the seventh book in my "Scary Fiction" category.

This book has been in my library since college days, at least. I had read it years ago, after seeing a TV version which, as I recall, was fairly faithful to the book. When the group read was proposed, I was eager to re-read it and see how the years might affect my perception.

I enjoyed the re-read, even knowing what was going to happen. There are sections which I found rather somewhat tedious, but overall it is a good story which gives one much to think about.

Boook #24:
Title and Author: In The Woods by Robin H. Stevenson (no touchstone for it)
Genre: YA
Length: 124 pages.
Source: public library
Dates: read 1/11/09
Challenges: 75 challenge, 1010 category challenge, "Kid Stuff" category #2
Notes: read for work
This book is about a boy who finds an abandoned baby in the woods. But it's not that simple. His "Miss Perfect" sister sent him on the odd errand which led to the discovery of the baby. Does she know more than she's letting on? And what is he going to do about it? This book is written on a simple reading level, and deals with a delicate, mature subject with clarity and honesty.

Book #25:
Title & Author: Over My Dead Body by Kate Klise; illus. by M. Sarah Klise
Genre: Juv/YA Fiction
Length: 116 pages.
Source: public library
Dates: 1/11/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge, 1010 category challenge, "Kidstuff" category #3
Notes: Book 2 in the 43 Old Cemetery Road series.
This book is told mostly through letters and postcards, with an occasional issue of the Ghastly Gazette thrown in. A writing team comprised of an 11 year old illustrater, a grumpy writer, and a true GHOST writer faces interference from a busybody who wants to ban Halloween and ghost stories. A quick, fun read for middle schoolers.

I really like the Klise sisters. Their books are a lot of fun.

#79 This was the first book I had read by them. I thought it was really cute!

Book #26:
Title & Author: Scat by Carl Hiaasen
Genre: YA
Length: 369 pages
Source: local public library
Dates: 1/11/10-1/13/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge, 1010 Category Challenge, "Kid Stuff" book #4
Notes:

I loved this book! At times it was LOL funny, other times it brought a tear or two to my eyes. But I need to think about it a bit before I write much more. It's hard to figure out how to describe it without any spoilers.

Hi! Just trying to catch up. What a lot of great reads. I love Fatal Grace when I read it last year. I'm looking forward to the next one. Nine Minutes, Twenty Seconds sounds like it would be good, too. But right now I'm working on the 'Off the Shelves' project. Dorian Gray will fit that category for me! On the TBR it goes. :-)

Hi, Carolyn!

I just finished an Early Reviewer book that doesn't fit any of the categories for this challenge nor the off-the-shelf thing . . . it is over on my 75 thread. *yawn* I stayed up to finish it and I'm sure I'll be sorry . . . *yawn*

(I'm not yawning at the book, just the lack of sleep.)

Looks great, I'm going to check back again!

#84 Hi, and thanks! Drop by any time!

Terri, I was just looking at your categories again and noticed the Civil War category. If all goes as planned this year for the presidential challenge, I should be close to Lincoln and so probably have at least one, maybe two, Civil War categories for next year.

Even though I live in Illinois and have read a lot of American history, I don't know all that much about Lincoln or much beyond the basics of the Civil War. I think the Shelby Foote books would be terrific to remedy the gap in my knowledge. I recall him being in the Ken Burns documentary.

I'll be curious to see what you read in that category and also in disasters.

#86 Linda, Civil war books and disaster books are favorite categories of mine. I collect them and savor them!

Several people have said that The Battle Cry of Freedom is a good overall Civil War book, and I plan to read it this year.

If you like historical fiction, Michael Shaara's Pulitzer-winning novel The Killer Angels is wonderful, and I'm considering a re-read of it this year to see if it's as good as I remember. (It's the basis for the movie "Gettysburg.") I found his son Jeff's books, covering pre-Gettysburg and post-Gettysburg, less enjoyable but still pretty good.

There are a bunch of Lincoln books I want to read, including one about his wife Mary Todd Lincoln. (I probably could justify putting them in my Civil War category.)

I will probably fill my disaster category, and then some. ;)

I read Battle Cry last year and really enjoyed it. It gave me a great overall background for my other Civil War reads--I'm planning to continue in that category this year also. I Still have plenty of books on the shelves for that one! :-) Including the Shelby Foote trilogy--but not sure I'm up to tackling that one yet.

I have two out of the three of Foote's trilogy (two Footes? two feet?) and the other I can get via the county library. I am planning to read them this year. I absolutely plan to read Battle Cry of Freedom soon.

Book #27 (second in "Interesting People" category)
Title: The Story of My Father
Author: Sue Miller
Genre: Non-fiction, memoir
Length: Main Text: 171 pages
Source: Owned; purchased from Buck-A-Book bin at Ollie's, Fall 2009
Dates: 1/24/10 (into 1/25 if strict about midnight EST as start of new day)
Challenges: 75 Challenge; Books off the Shelf challenge; 1010 challenge -- Interesting People category book #2
Notes: Novelist Sue Miller's memoir revolving around her father's struggle with Alzheimer's disease.

from my review: ( http://www.librarything.com/work/177620/details/51154140 )

I don't read a lot of memoirs, so I'm probably a poor person to review one. I don't know if this is good or bad, as the genre goes; but it was a compelling read, which I felt I wanted to stay up and finish.

It's hard to talk about "enjoying" a book like this. The prospect of oneself or a loved one developing Alzheimers is quite naturally terrifying to most people, I think. Certainly it is to me: my family history -- and therefore my likely gene-pool -- is loaded with the dread disease.

Yet the book is fascinating to read. Alzheimer's progresses differently in different people, depending on the parts of the brain damaged; Miller's father developed hallucinations/delusions fairly early on, but maintained his recognition of his family and friends almost to the end -- though the disease was cut short from running its course by another fatal physical illness caught too late, likely cancer (as was the case with my own father).

Of course, Alzheimer's takes a terrible toll on all closely involved. Miller does not shy away from talking about her feelings, and her Afterword analyzes her motivations for writing the memoir in detail.

A fascinating, though very sad, book.

Book #28

Title: Deep and Dark and Dangerous
Author: Mary Downing Hahn
Genre: YA Ghost Story
Length: 187 pages
Source: Public Library
Dates: 1/25/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge, 1010 Challenge "Kid Stuff" category (YA)
Notes:

When Ali goes to spend the summer at Sycamore Lake with her Aunt Dulcie and cousin Emma, she encounters a strange child and a decades-old secret that has haunted her mother and Aunt Dulcie since childhood.

I sort of figured out where this story was headed, for the most part, fairly early on, but I believe that was intended by the author. As the pieces fell together, there was a sense of "AHA!" that was enjoyable, and a few surprise touches at the end. The characters were complex -- none totally good, none totally bad. I cared about what was happening, and neglected some of my evening tasks to finish the book.

Not an absolutely stellar read, but a satisfying exploration of the price of keeping guilty secrets -- and a nice, creepy little ghost story, too!

Book #29:
Title: Mistress of the Art of Death
Author: Ariana Franklin
Genre: Historical Fiction / Mystery
Length: 400 pages
Source: gift from Linda (Whisper 1), October 2009
Dates: 1/29/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge; 1010 Challenge, book #7 in "Whodunit" category; Books off the Shelf Challenge
Notes:

Wow! this was a great read! VERY well written! And very original. My thanks to Linda (Whisper1) for recommending it and sending me her copy! I will be back to post a link to my review. Just wanted to get it listed here now.

ETA to add link full review here:
http://www.librarything.com/work/1718023/details/52157933

Book #30:
Title: The Wreck of the Whaleship Essex
Author: Owen Chase
Genre: non-fiction, sea story, memoir
Length: 120 pages (including intro & afterward by editors)
Source: Inter-library Loan
Dates: finished 1/31/10
Challenges: 75 challenge; 1010 challenge, 4th book in "destroyed in seconds" (disasters) category -- though it could be categorized as a memoir, too.

Owen Chase was first mate of the Essex when it was rammed and wrecked by an enraged sperm whale. He survived to tell -- and write -- the tale.

This slender volume is most notable as containing the story which inspired Herman Melville to write Moby Dick. While traveling at sea, Herman Melville met Owen Chase's son, who gave him a copy of his father's book. However, The Wreck of the Whaleship Essex is a compelling read in its own right, a thoroughly readable first-person account of a harrowing experience at sea.

Nathaniel Philbrick drew heavily on Chase's record for his retelling of that episode in In the heart of the sea which was also very good. I recall most vividly his description of cannibalism and speculation as to the details.

#94 We have the Philbrick book at our library. I was wondering if it was good. Thanks for the info! I'm hoping to read it, too, before the Moby Dick group read is done.

I recall reading In the heart of the Sea right before reading Moby Dick for the first time (one of my few rereads). The two dovetailed nicely.

Book #31:
Title: Raven Black
Author: Ann Cleeves
Genre: Mystery (#1 in series)
Length: 375 pages
Source: Local public library
Dates: 2/3/10 through 2/4/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge, 1010 Challenge: 8th book in Whodunit category

I thought this was an awesome mystery. It kept me guessing right to the end, and I did not figure it out. The atmosphere was spellbinding. I knew pretty much nothing about the Shetland Islands before reading this; I trust I've learned something, and the islands in winter would seem the perfect locale for a good murder mystery.

The characters were intriguing. I can't say I really felt I got to know any of them really well (and one that I thought I had figured out a bit, it turned out I didn't know at all in the end). I think this may have been by design. The fact that there was some mystery to each of the characters made for a grand pool of suspects.

In other threads, I have seen readers comparing this volume and those which follow in the series with other favorite series -- one of which I know pretty well, Louise Penny's Three Pines series (which is also a favorite of mine). If I were to compare, I would say I prefer the setting of Three Pines in that I'd want to live there. I love Penny's characters and witty dialogue, the way she makes me smile and occasionally laugh out loud at the turn of a phrase. Cleeves' writing does not quite do that for me. Perez is a good detective, but he doesn't capture the imagination the way Armand Gamache does in the Three Pines mysteries.

But for plot -- especially a plausible plot -- based on this first installment, I would give Cleeves my vote. Sometimes Penny's plots push the envelope of plausibility and get a bit convoluted, but in 133993::Raven Black I found a seamless plot that kept me turning pages and guessing to the end. And while I wouldn't want to live on the Shetland Islands, nor want a lot of these folks for neighbors, it is DEFINITELY a great atmosphere in which to set a murder mystery -- at least in winter.

But the Penny books are cozies and the Cleeves books aren't, are they? I am eager to read the series, but I had based that on the idea that they were not cozies.

#98 I personally don't think of the Penny books as cozies at all, though some people call them that. There is a dark edge to them -- despite the beautiful setting, oddball characters, and healthy dose of humor -- that I don't typically find in the books I consider "cozies." They have a depth, a literary quality, that I don't normally associate with cozies. Most of the cozy series I read are creampuffs compared to Penny's books which deal with some really heavy issues and situations.

BUT Penny's books have more in common with a "cozy" than Raven Black does, which definitely was not cozy at all.

Penny's books have been described as "village mysteries." I'd say that fits her books -- and I think one could argue that it fits Cleeves, too, if Raven Black is typical. Both series have plots which prominently feature the inter-relatedness found in small town / village life.

I tried to read Still Life, but it just wasn't really my thing and I gave up after 100 pages (heresy, I know). I could certainly see its appeal, but it was too self-consciously charming for me as I like my mysteries with a hard edge to them. Cleeves is on my wishlist and I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't setting myself up for disappointment.

Cleeves definitely has a harder edge than Penny.

>101 tymfos: I agree! Raven Black is definitely harder-edged than any of the books in Penny's Three Pines series. The second book in the Cleeves series, White Nights, is closer to the cozy genre than the first, though. I didn't like it quite as well as Raven Black.

#102. I haven't gotten to White Nights yet, and our library system doesn't have it. I'll have to buy it or get it through statewide Inter-library Loan. If it isn't quite as good as Raven Black, maybe I'll wait a bit. Thanks for the heads up!

#100 Heretic!

The Three Pines books are actually far less cozy than is usual for me but I can see how they're probably not for everyone.

You just never know when someone, unexpectedly, is not going to like something that "everyone" else seems to love.

Everyone has been raving to me about the Anne Perry Monk series so I finally gave it a try. I've been trying to slog through the first one off and on for a week. The time to give up is rapidly approaching.

I thought the definition of a "cozy" was that the sleuth was an amatuer - not a professional investigator or police officer/detective. I didn't think that was the case with the Three Pines books. I also tried to read Still Life and gave up pretty quickly. I still intend to give it another try someday. I've had Raven Black on my list for a while, but have kept putting it off. Thanks to your comments, Terri, I'll move it up.

>103 tymfos: White Nights was only a slight let-down from Raven Black. I still thought it was quite a bit better than average. I gave Raven Black 4 1/2 stars and White Nights 4 stars.

Oops! I fixed the touchstones.

#104 If we all liked the same books, life and LT would be much more boring!

#105 To be honest, I don't really know the formal definition of a cozy. I always think of cozies as, well yes, an amateur sleuth generally; but, also, as those kinds of mysteries which are sort of light and humorous (sometimes to the point of silliness), and often rather domestic with recipes or knitting patterns or such. Tamar Myers' Penn Dutch series would be cozy; Donna Andrews' bird-themed series; probably Katherine Hall Page's Faith Fairchild catering mysteries; Joanne Fluke's dessert-themed mysteries (which I haven't read yet, but a Carrot Cake Murder HAS to be cozy, doesn't it?). They contain the stuff of everyday life, but generally don't dwell on the major existential questions; someone gets killed so there's a crime to solve, but there's little in the way of overt violence or graphic descriptions thereof. That's what I think of when I hear a mystery described as "cozy."

#106 Thanks for the clarification. I'm sure I will get hold of it to read sooner or later!

Typically, at least for 1010 purposes, I think of cozies as including amateur sleuths but there can be cozy-type cop books, too. Further, not all amateur sleuths are cozy.

Hmm, for instance, Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot is a professional but the series is still clearly considered cozy.

Offhand, I can't think of a good amateur sleuth that isn't cozy but Ellen Hart's Jane Lawless books feature an amateur sleuth but aren't all that cozy--Jane is a lesbian restauranteur in Minneapolis and there's some violence in these books.

Malice Domestic, the annual conference for cozies, actually calls them "traditional mysteries" and defines that as "loosely defined as mysteries which contain no explicit sex or excessive gore or violence." The murder usually takes place offstage.

I think of Louise Penny's books as cozies due to the puzzle element involved.

Book #32:
Title: Strength to Love
Author: The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Genre: A collection of sermons
Length: 155 pages
Source: A treasured resident of my bookshelf for decades
Dates: finished 2/26/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge, Books off the Shelf Challenge, 2010 Category Challenge ("A Matter of Faith" category, book #3)
Notes: A re-read (probably, a re-re-read)

I wanted to read something with spiritual depth for the first week of Lent. I needed something for my "Books off the Shelf" challenge. I felt inspired to do a re-read of this book, which I first read in graduate school. Unlike many of my books, this volume was replete with dog-eared pages and much highlighting. The book clearly spoke to me in my youth, and speaks to me even more strongly now as I read with older, wiser eyes.

I will place this in the "faith" category, rather than the "20th-century history" category where it could have resided given Dr. King's role in the Civil Rights movement. While the book clearly reflects the circumstances of its time and place of origin -- the U.S. Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam war, and nuclear proliferation -- the book transcends time and place, dealing with timeless and universal issues and principles.

My full review: http://www.librarything.com/work/373641/reviews/46071346

Most highly recommended!

Great review! I've added Strength to Love to the TBR list.

Thanks, Mary! Glad you stopped by!

The Cutting Room was about as bleak and graphic as they get, although the "sleuth" was an amateur. I would add to the cozy definition as mysteries in which the personal relationships (not necessarily romantic) and daily lives of the characters are as important, or more important than the mystery. Also, the characters tend to be just that, characters. Whimsical or quirky or charming, but not ordinary. The setting also tends to be whimsical, charming or quirky, instead of the mean streets. Does that sound close?

#112 That pretty well makes sense. It's a lot of what I think of when I think "cozy."

On a lot of those fronts, Louise Penny's Three Pines series fits the cozy definition. I do think the subject matter was a bit grimmer and meatier than the typical cozy.

Book #33
Title: He Crashed Me, So I Crashed Him Back
Author: Mark Bechtel
Genre: Non-fiction (popular)
Length: 294 pages + source notes, bibliography, and index
Source: LT Early Reviewers Program
Dates: Finished 2/28/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge; 1010 Challenge (1st book in "start your engines" category)

“He Crashed Me, So I Crashed Him Back,” by Mark Bechtel, tells the story of the pivotal 1979 season of NASCAR (then) Winston Cup racing (today’s Sprint Cup series) – the highest level of US stock car racing. As the title would suggest, much is made of the various feuds and rivalries which existed in NASCAR at the time. However, Bechtel captures the nuances and complexities of the relationships between drivers and crew members on NASCAR’s top circuit better than most journalists.

I enjoyed this LT Early Reviewer book very much. It was a great ride through some of the glory days of stock car racing.

Full review here:
http://www.librarything.com/work/9341345/details/56832177

Book #34
Title: They Call Him Cale: The Life and Career of NASCAR legend Cale Yarborough
Author: Joe McGinnis
Genre: Biography
Length: 203 pages + appendix
Source: My bookshelf, purchased 2009 from Books-A-Million
Dates: Finished 3/1/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge; 1010 Challenge (2nd book in "start your engines" category), Books off the Shelf Challenge

This is the second book in the "Start Your Engines category."

This was a pretty basic biography of the great racer Cale Yarborough, the first man to win three consecutive NASCAR Winston Cup Championships. I wasn't particularly impressed with the writing, though there were no glaring errors, factual or editorial, that I detected. The format, with many sidebar quotations, seemed a bit cheesy.

The last chapter laid on the hero worship a bit thick. Mind you, Yarborough's a favorite of mine from my youth, but I prefer my books to be a bit more objective.

When I looked at the source notes at the back, I got more of a sense what was wrong. The source materials were Yarborough's autobiography, and a bunch of web sites. (This after just reading another NASCAR-themed book with a 2-page bibliography, the author of which had interviewed many NASCAR insiders for the project.)

I probably would have done better to read Cale's autobiography.

You are rocking on your challenge! I just stole a bunch of books from your list to add to my pile. I think I'm going to hit the maximum number on my hold list at the library once I enter them all. On second thought, maybe I should wait to enter some of them so they don't all come in at the same time!

I really can't wait to read The Wreck of the Whaleship Essex. I visited the Nantucket Whaling Museam a few years ago and learned about the ship and became fascinated with the subject. I read In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick after which is also about the Essex and was very well written. I still haven't been brave enough to read Moby Dick, but I keep telling myself someday.

#116 Thanks! Glad you dropped by! I hope you enjoy the books you discovered on my thread.

I'm hoping to read In the Heart of the Sea sometime soon. I've always meant to read Moby Dick, and am finally getting to it. There is a group read of Moby Dick going on over on the 75 challenge group. (Anyone is welcome.) We started in mid-January, and are doing about 100 pages per month.

notes copied from my 75 challenge thread
Book #35:
Title: Anything but Typical
Author: Nora Raleigh Baskin
Genre: Juv. Fiction (interest level: middle school)
Length: 195 pages
Source: Public Library
Dates: Finished 3/13/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge; 1010 Challenge ("Kid Stuff" category #6)
Notes: 2010 Schneider Family Book Award winner

This novel is written in 1st person from the POV of a 12-year-old with high-functioning autism. Reading it, of course, I think of my 13-year-old son with autism. I would say that the character Jason is much more verbal than my son is. My son would never name "language arts" as his favorite subject for any reason whatsoever. But there are points where I can see traits of my son in this character, and times when I read his POV and wonder if it offers some insight I may have missed. It was a good story.

this entry is copied from my 75 challenge thread

Book #36
Title: The Tale of Halcyon Crane (Advance reader's edition / uncorrected proofs)
Author: Wendy Webb
Genre: Fiction, Gothic
Length: 328 pages (regular first ed. listed at 352 pages)
Source: LT Early Reviewers Program
Dates: Finished 3/15/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge; 1010 Challenge ("Scary Fiction" category, book #8)
Notes: Author's debut novel

Since this is an LT Early Reviewer book, I want to think a bit more before I post the formal review. Suffice it to say for now, this book grabbed me and I had a hard time putting it down, even when I had to. I had a very busy weekend, and I carried this book with me to grab reading time as I could -- a few pages while waiting at the railroad crossing, a chapter before choir practice, etc. There was one thing about it that drove me a bit crazy because I thought it was giving something away prematurely but as it turned out at the end, I think that may have been intentional.

Hallie has her world turned upside down with the arrival of a letter. She ends up in an ancestral home she never knew about -- a place that holds plenty of secrets -- among neighbors who don't all welcome her presence. And then, really strange things begin to happen . . .

I do think there are some things the author could have done to make the book more effective, but overall it was a very good read. This debut novel definitely shows that the writer has some potential!

Note: Halcyon Crane is scheduled to be released to the public in April.

copied from my 75 challenge thread:

Book #37
Title: The Man in the Picture
Author: Susan Hill
Genre: Gothic Fiction
Length: 145 pages
Source: Recent gift
Dates: Read in practically one sitting, 3/15/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge, 1010 Challenge, #9 in Scary Fiction category.

My hearty thanks to Richard for sending me this wonderful book after I commented about wanting to read it!

Susan Hill is a master at creating atmosphere, painting living pictures with words. And the images she creates in this book are as eerie as the title painting, which seems to be a living, growing, menacing thing. Perhaps not since Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray has the story of such a sinister painting been penned by an author.

What to say without spoiling the rich surprises? This is a storyteller's book, a volume of stories within stories. By the firelight on two winter's nights, Oliver's old professor, Theo Parmitter, tells Oliver the eerie story of a painting which hangs in his rooms at Cambridge -- including the story told to him by a previous owner, whose life the painting cursed. Indeed, this painting seems to be a pox upon anyone who has contact with it -- as Oliver will learn all too tragically in the end.

This short (145 small-sized pages) book packs a powerful punch. Five stars!

I found a slender volume to make my "quota" for Books-off-the-Shelf. I thought I was getting brain candy for a paranormal buff, but this turned out to be slightly more serious stuff. Still, I read it cover-to-cover in the course of the late afternoon and evening, with breaks for necessary family care.

Book #38:
Title: Haunted Deland and the Ghosts of West Volusia County
Author: Dusty Smith
Genre: Ghost stories (true/legend/folklore)
Length: 126 pages
Source: TBR shelf; purchased from author after Daytona Beach ghost tour, January 2009.
Dates: Finished 3/22/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge; 1010 Challenge, #3 in "Strange But True" category; Books off the Shelf challenge.
Notes: Author sold her books out of the back of her car after the ghost tour! This copy is autographed to me, "Happy hauntings! With grave regards, Dusty Smith 1/09"

Dusty Smith is a paranormal investigator, a ghost tour operator, and cemetery preservationist in the Daytona Beach area. Unlike some of her other books, which often offer up documented paranormal investigation cases, this is more in the realm of regional legends and folklore.

I wanted a quick, easy read today and thought this would be it. Actually, it's deeper than many books of this genre, and more unsettling. The unsettling part has less to do with unearthly things that go bump in the night, and more to do with the all-too-earthly historical record which is recounted in the telling of these stories. Most ghostly folklore brings one in contact with a piece of history if it is told even moderately well. Smith includes a lot of historical detail and even photographs. I must say, I had an especially difficult time with the chapter dealing with the ghost of the KKK member. Not brain candy at all.

This is pretty much the same posting I put on my 75 challenge thread

The Inter-library loan I ordered as a Lenten read arrived yesterday. Since there's not much left of Lent, I started reading right away, and kept at it until the end!

Book #39:
Title: Why Me? A Doctor Looks at the book of Job
Author: Diane M. Komp, M.D.
Genre: Non-fiction, devotional/Bible study
Length: 122 pages plus notes and resource listings
Source: Inter-Library loan
Dates: 3/29/10
Challenges: 75 challenge, 1010 challenge, "A Matter of Faith" category

I included a book by Dr. Komp near the end of my 2009 challenge. She is a pediatric oncologist, Professor of Pediatrics Emeritus at Yale Medical School. I met her briefly 2 decades ago and was deeply impressed by her deep faith and her dedication to the children in her care.

In this slender volume, Komp brings together her acquaintance with suffering children and families (and other personal experience) with the famous Biblical story of Job's suffering. I found the book sensitive, theologically sound, and incredibly literate. Many commentaries and works of literature have been written about or based on the story of Job, and Komp cites extensively from various writers.

But, beyond all that, the book just resonated with me. Komp does not try to spoon out easy answers to the question of suffering: there are none. Some readers might find that unsatisfying; I found it refreshingly honest. She also ponders carefully the role of Job's infamous "friends," with all their unhelpful comments, and how easy it is for modern-day "helpers" to fall into the same mistakes.

Each chapter delves into a portion of the Biblical text; each begins with two relevant quotations from literature, and ends with two sets of questions to ponder: one for "Modern Jobs" and one for "Job's Caregivers." I think this book would be excellent for use with a group Bible Study of the book of Job.

Many thanks to the Christian School of York Library -- the only library in the Pennsylvania ILL system listed as owning this book -- for sending it to our local library so that I could read it!

Having read it, though, I may purchase my own copy somewhere. I think it's worth having around.

this entry is very similar to the one on my 75 thread

Last night, I was hyper and couldn't relax, let alone go to sleep, so I picked up one of the books I was reading to try and put me in a better mood. And I stayed up and finished it. I was, indeed, in a MUCH better mood after reading; but it was 2:30 a.m.! (yawn!)

My mood brightener:

Book #40
Title: Murder with Peacocks
Author: Donna Andrews
Genre: cozy mystery
Length: 296 pages
Source: newly purchased via Amazon marketplace
Dates: 3/26/10 through 3/31/10 (2:30 a.m.)
Challenges: 75 challenge; 1010 challenge, category "whodunit"
Notes: Book #1 in Meg Langslow series

This book was a delight! Zany and loveable characters (and a few you love to hate!) dealing with mysterious deaths amidst multiple weddings.

I can't wait to read the next installment (which I have now -- the next two, in fact -- courtesy of a kind LT friend!)

Unfortunately, I probably need to wait, as I have to get some of the stuff I'm reading finished. And it's Holy Week, so our family will be a wee bit busy.

this entry is largely copied from my 75 challenge thread

Book #41:
Title: The Cruelest Month
Author: Louise Penny
Genre: "Cozy with a twist" Mystery
Length: 384 pages
Source: A local friend (en route to being gifted to public library)
Dates: Finished 4/8/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge, 1010 Challenge: Whodunit category
Notes: Book #3 in Three Pines / Armand Gamache series

Oh, I love this series! I want to live in Three Pines and eat dinner every night at Olivier's, and buy my books at Myra's bookshop. But, then, I'd probably be the next suspicious death Gamache would have to investigate to see if it was a murder. As Beauvoir reflected in one of my favorite passages:

Didn't anyone die a normal death in Three Pines? And even their murders wren't normal. Couldn't they just haul off and stab each other, or use a gun or a bat? No. It was always something convoluted. . . Very unQuebecois. The Quebecois were straightforward, clear. If they liked you, they hugged. When they murdered you, they just whacked you over the head. Boom, done. Convicted. Next.

Admittedly, the murders in Three Pines do seem a little over-the-top in their convolutedness sometimes. But it's fun watching Gamache put the pieces together, sniffing out the killer.

Less fun are the politics of his law enforcement agency. I know nothing about what this agency is really like in real life, but if they are half as corrupt as in the books, I'm surprised I haven't heard about it, even if they are in a whole 'nother country. And if they're not, I wonder how they feel about Penny's portrayal of them?

Despite these lingering questions, Penny's books are a delight! Her way with words astounds me. She can summon a chuckle, a shiver, and a tear in a single page. These clever, literate books are a breath of Canadian fresh air.

Book #42:

Title: Critical Care: A New Nurse Faces Death, Life, and Everything In Between
Author: Theresa Brown
Genre: Medical Memoir / ARE
Length: 189 pages (Advance Readers edition from uncorrected proofs)
Source: LT Early Reviewer program
Dates: 4/10/10 through 4/12/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge, 1010 Challenge: Interesting People category
Notes:

Critical Care is Theresa Brown's account of her first year as a nurse, after making a mid-life career change. (She was previously an English professor who taught writing, so she does know how to write.) Brown brings us the tremendous highs and lows and the absolute minutiae of nursing.

This arrived Saturday, and I didn't mean to start reading it right away -- I had another book I needed to read stat for a book discussion group. But I peeked inside the cover and was soon reading away. I fretted when I found myself with time on my hands, wishing I had the book with me. I read a chapter during my lunch break today. And, as soon as I got home from work, I finished it.

Obviously, I found it engrossing. It also had its gross aspects. A whole chapter about "poop" -- surprisingly interesting. And the story of her first "Condition A" -- what they call it at her hospital when a patient experiences sudden, unexpected cardiac arrest -- came complete with a massive respiratory hemorrhage, the details of which could give a squeamish reader nightmares.

But this is the stuff of nursing, along with dispensing meds and charting and all the other details of work in a medical oncology unit. In one chapter, the details of her work briefly became tedious. Yet, she achieved exactly what (I believe) she set out to do in that chapter -- demonstrating effectively the conflicting demands and details which occupy much of a nurse's typical shift at work.

The danger of all memoirs is that they are "I" centered upon the writer, and can become self-serving. Brown doesn't pretend to be "the expert" in all things medical. She admits to the steep learning curve at work which left her, at times, feeling totally insecure. I think she does come across, sometimes, as a little too good to be true. I'm sure she often goes the extra mile for her patients as she indicates, but everyone has a day now and then when they just have to do the job that's there, without heroic efforts.

In the end, the book left me feeling a bit depressed. The nature of her work in oncology means that many of her patients wind up dead. And her total lack of religious belief means that she sees that as "The END." How depressing to see death as the end, rather than the gateway to eternal life!

I couldn't stand to do the work she does, with that viewpoint. But Brown obviously sees it as her mission to make what time her patients have as comfortable as possible, and to do all that she can to help her patients live in as long and healthy a way as possible. She takes seriously her role as patient advocate. I think she genuinely cares about people. And that made me care about the patients about whom she was writing -- which is probably why the book was so hard to put down, and what made the book a worthwhile read.

Book #43
Title: Mockingbird (Erskine)
Author: Kathryn Erskine
Genre: YA
Subject Matter: Aspergers Syndrome, grief, friendship, empathy
Length: 235 pages
Source: Local public library
Dates: 4/19/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge, 1010 Challenge: "Kid's Stuff" category #7
Notes:

This book for young people is narrated by a ten-year-old Caitlin, who has Aspergers Syndrome and is dealing with her own and her father's grief after the sudden death of her big brother -- the one person in the world who seemed to understand her.

Just getting through life under ordinary circumstances is a battle for Caitlin, whose classmates and teachers don't understand her. Her guidance counselor works with her to get her to learn how to understand other people's point of view and to have empathy, but everyone -- sometimes even including the counsellor -- seems unable to understand and empathize with how Caitlin views the world.

Caitlin is a literal thinker who sees things in black and white without shades of gray. She hears the word "closure" on a news broadcast about the community tragedy which took her brother's life, and seeks out a dictionary definition of the word -- and then the reality of what it means.

I believe Erskine creates very believable characters -- Caitlyn herself, struggling to understand herself and her world; the good-hearted but dense and grief-stricken father; the well-intentioned but sometimes clueless guidance counsellor; the teachers with their varying degrees of understanding; and the other kids who can sometimes be monsters without meaning to. And Devon, the deceased brother, is a genuine character in the book as he is fleshed out by Caitlyn's fond memories.

The book has some stylistic idiosyncracies because it is written in Caitlin's voice. Dialogue is italicized. Capital letters appear in odd places -- but not odd at all, once you get into Caitlin's worldview. I found her voice very authentic and powerful.

In the place where a dedication would normally be placed, Erskine simply writes: In hopes that we may all understand each other better. I think this book may be a step in that direction.

A very moving book!

Book #44:
Title: Spirituality and the Autism Spectrum: Of Falling Sparrows
Author: Abe Isanon
Genre: Non-fiction
Subject Matter: Spirituality of those on the Autism spectrum and their caregivers
Length: 122 pages plus bibliography and appendices
Source: Inter-library loan
Dates: 4/25/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge; 1010 Challenge, "A Matter of Faith" category #5
Notes:

This book was a bit of a disappointment. It really didn't seem to tell me much that was helpful. Much of it was information about autism which was already well established in my knowledge base. Also, I felt that -- after arguing for chapter after chapter that everyone on the autism spectrum presents with a unique combination of the spectrum's characteristics -- the author based way too much of his argument on the experience of ONE case study, a person who was only on the borderline of the autism spectrum (and who is very different in temperment from my son, who is the reason I read the book).

Do you call it a SPOILER when you reveal the point of a non-fiction book? Anyway, his point at the end was to look at the spirituality of autism from the viewpoint of what's commonly known as Liberation Theology, which focuses on God's love for the oppressed people of the world. Certainly those on the autism spectrum have experienced much oppression. But that left me feeling that it said more to me in my spirituality as a carer for one of the "oppresed" and not a lot about how I might nurture my son's spirituality -- other than to provide him with a (flawed) earthly example of God's (perfect) love. I hope I'm already doing that.

Despite all that I've said above, I do find certain nuances of the autistic experience as he described it affecting my attitude toward my son and toward a world which still marginalizes the way he experiences the world.

Hmmmm......

My thanks go out to the Bloomsburg (PA) University library -- the only library in the PA ILL system listed as having this book -- for sending it to our library so that I could read it!

Book #45:
Title: Battle Cry of Freedom
Author: James M. McPherson
Genre: Non-fiction
Subject Matter: US Civil War
Length: 862 (footnoted) pages plus (extensive) "bibliographical note" and index
Source: TBR shelf; purchased at library sale during vacation in August, 2009
Dates: finished 4/27/10 (12:30 a.m. EDT)
Challenges: 75 Challenge, 1010 Challenge: Blue vs. Gray category #1; Books off the Shelf Challenge
Notes: Considered by some to be the finest single-volume account of the US Civil War

FINALLY! I finally finished it! And it was well worth the effort. It's good that such a lengthy volume fits all three of my challenges.

I'm not going to do a formal review; I doubt that I can say anything that hasn't already been said about this marvelous account of the US Civil War. It's meticulously researched and footnoted, packed with detail, and yet a thoroughly readable narrative of what happened leading up to and during the war between the states.

I'm really glad I read this one!

#128 I'm so glad to see that you liked Battle Cry of Freedom. I've read it twice now and think it is fabulous.

#129 I've read it twice now and think it is fabulous.

It is indeed!

congrats and glad you liked it! thats on my wishlist as well. right now I'm reading his Nothing like it in the world about building the transcontinental railroad. It's also pretty good and very readable, if you're looking for another Ambrose book.

#131 Another Ambrose book? I haven't read him; the one I just read was by James McPherson.

But Nothing Like it in the World sounds right up my alley. I love anything about railroads! Thanks for the suggestion!

wait - you're right, I merged them in my head somehow. I think maybe because the intercontinental railroad was thought up during antebellum years and its story continues through the war.

Ambrose wrote the train book and the one about Lewis and Clark (and a bunch of others on ww2)

McPherson is the Civil War guy.

my bad.

#133 Actually, not so bad! I do think I might be interested in nothing like it in the world. Glad you mentioned it, however it came about. :)

ETA to add And, hooray, our library has it! I'm adding it to my list.

Thanks for your review of Mockingbird, I have added it to my wishlist.

I hope you enjoy it, DeltaQueen! I found it very insightful and thought-provoking.

134> You may also want to consider Empire Express by David H. Bain, which came out the year before Ambrose's story of the same events.

I own both. Bain's book got a slightly better review from Publishers Weekly than Ambrose's did. And I admit I'm shallow: I love big, fat history books with great covers. Bain's book looked great in hardcover. :-)

#137 Ooh, that looks good, too!

Book #46:
Title: The Killer Angels
Author: Michael Shaara
Genre: Historical fiction
Subject Matter: US Civil War, Battle of Gettysburg
Length: 355 pages
Source: Longtime resident of my bookshelf
Dates: finished 4/30/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge, 1010 Challenge: Blue vs. Gray category #2; Books off the Shelf Challenge
Notes: Pulitzer Prize winner; re-read of a favorite novel

I have been wanting to re-read this for some time. If anything, the passing years have made it an even better read for me. I finished reading with tears streaming down my face. Of course, I feel that the "right side" won the battle; but oh, the cost on both sides was horrific. A brilliantly-written, emotionally stirring book.

This could go in my "Destroyed in Seconds" category because it is about Hurricane Katrina, but for now I'm putting it in "Interesting People" because A. Zeitoun is definitely an interesting person!

Book #47:
Title: Zeitoun
Author: Dave Eggers
Genre: Non-fiction
Length: 335 pages
Source: Purchased from Waldenbooks last fall
Dates: finished 5/1/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge; 1010 Challenge: (Interesting People category); Books off the Shelf Challenge

I'm having a very difficult time wrapping my feelings about this book up in words. It is a powerful book.

This book is about A. Zeitoun, resident of New Orleans when Hurrican Katrina hit -- a businessman who stayed in the city to look after his properties; his family, who evacuated from the city; those who were supoosed to be helping and keeping order in flooded New Orleans; and the total breakdown of the legal system following the storm.

Amazing man, fascinating family, horrible injustice, amazing resilience. Not sure what else to say. Eggers' straightforward narrative style drew me in and carried me though the whole incredible saga of Zeitoun's efforts to help his flooded neighbors, and how some very bad things happened to a good man.

I'm having a hard time deciding what category this book belongs in. It could definitely fall into the disaster category. It could also fit the bill for "interesting people." I'll have to think about it a little more.

#139 I've just got to read this book someday.

#141 It is definitely a worthwhile read!

It's too late at night for any witty comment, but I'm enjoying your thread all the same!

Thanks! And thanks for dropping by! (Witty comments not required at any hour!)

Book #48:
Title: Sumner Island (Early Reviewers edition; uncorrected proofs)
Author: Michael Cormier
Genre: Ghost Story
Length: 263 pages (ER edition)
Source: LT Early Reviewers program
Dates: Finished 5/9/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge, 1010 Challenge (Scary Fiction category #10)
Notes:

I'm still figuring out what to say about this one. Heck, I'm still figuring out what I think about this one! I rather enjoyed most of it, but it got a little too weird for me near the end, I think. People complain about mixing metaphors . . . I think he mixed too many types of paranormal activity/theories, etc. I must think more, and then write a real review!

(And what was the deal with the moths, anyway????? Yes, moths!)

Book #49:
Title: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
Author: Anne Fadiman
Genre: Non-fiction
Length: 288 pages plus source notes, bibliography, index, and readers' guide
Source: Loan from member of local book discussion group
Dates: Finished 5/12/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge, 1010 Challenge, "20th Century USA" category
Notes:

I believe I owe Darryl (kidzdoc) thanks for first bringing this book to my attention -- though I've heard positive comments about it from many folks here on LT.

This is an excellent account and analysis of the collision of two cultures. And it is a sad tale, indeed.

Lia is the child of Hmong refugees living in Merced, California. When she begins having seizures, her parents take her to the local hospital's emergency room. Soon Lia is a "regular," one of the hospital's most challenging cases of chronic illess. The language barrier is difficult. The cultural barriers are even more daunting. The Hmong view illness in spiritual terms. Modern American medicine has a very different approach. Neither side understands what the other is thinking or feeling or where they are coming from.

Lia's parents speak no English. They can't read a thermometer or the labels of her medications. They are also fearful of the medicine and what it might do to her spirit. Doctors treating Lia constantly break Hmong taboos and behave in ways that Lia's family misunderstand. It seems that no one tries to understand what Lia's family believes.

The resut, predictably, is a disaster.

Fadiman looks at the story from all points of view, trying to see what (if anything) might have changed the course of events toward a happier outcome. There are sympathetic people on both sides of the divide (though there a few real bigots, too).

She also looks at the broader issues of the Hmong experiences helping the CIA in the "Quiet War" in Laos and their plight when the Americans pulled out; their ordeal as refugees, and how their resettlement in America was mishandled.

Fadiman does a great job giving the reader the "big picture." And it is a story very much worth telling, and told in a compelling style.

Book # 50:
Title: The Madness of Mary Lincoln
Author: Jason Emerson
Genre: Non-fiction
Length: 190 pages (including appendices) plus notes, bibliography, and index
Source: Local public library
Dates: 5/12/10 through 5/13/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge; 1010 Challenge, "Blue & Gray" category. (This could also go into "Interesting People" category, but I believe the fascination with Mrs. Lincoln stems largely from her role as First Lady during the Civil War.)
Notes:

Mary, the wife/widow of Abraham Lincoln, is a fascinating figure in history. In 1875, she was found insane by a jury and sent to a mental hospital. The controversy over this forced institutionalization echoes through the years. Was Mary the vicitm of a money-hungry son who wanted to put her away for his own reasons? Or was Robert T. Lincoln a concerned son genuinely seeking the well-being of his mentally-ill mother? It's pretty clear where author Jason Emerson stands on the issue.

This book draws upon recently-discovered copies of some of Mary's long-lost correspondence, as well as other documentation regarding Mary's state of mind and the actions taken by her son to have her committed. The long-lost correspondence was actually tracked down by the author himself during the research of this book.

Emerson tells Mary's story, glossing briefly over her early years, with increasing focus during her time in the White House and the aftermath of her husband's assasination. The greatest depth is reserved for the time period leading up to and following her 1875 trial.

The appendices include the text of the newly-discovered letters and an analysis by a modern psychiatrist of Mary's symptoms as evidenced in the sources available. There are also extensive notes and a bibliography and an index.

The book is well-researched and adequately written. There were a few places where the notes seemed a little murky. For instance, in one place Mary was quoted as saying something with no footnote for a source given; then statements by others suggesting she did NOT say it were mentioned, with citations. Also, Emerson has a habit of dropping little bombshells at the ends of many chapters -- sort of like the "cliff hangers" in movie serials of old -- that do tend to make one want to keep reading. Example: they seemed relatively unconcerned by her behavior. That is, until they found her gun. (End of chapter 7) A little tacky, but effective.

Book #51:
Title: Blue Like Jazz
Author: Donald Miller
Genre: Non-fiction/Spirituality
Length: 242 pages
Source: Purchased at library sale during vacation, August 2009
Dates: finished 5/14/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge; Books off the Shelf challenge; 1010 Challenge, "Matter of Faiith" category
Notes:

I bought this book on a whim, used, for $1. I liked the title. I liked the cover. I liked the description of the author (in one of the blurbs) as "Anne Lamott with testosterone." And I loved the author's note:
I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. But I was outside the Bagdad Theater in Portland one night when I saw a man playing the saxophone. I stood there for fifteen minutes, and he never opened his eyes.
After that I liked jazz music.
Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way.
I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened.

This book is a bit uneven in quality. Some of these autobiographical essays were less than impressive to me. But others stopped me in my tracks. This is a book with which many Conservative Christians might be uncomfortable. Miller has his complaints about the church, and about the way many Christians view faith and interact with those around them -- especially those who are different from them. He has no use for empty ritual (though its clear that not all ritual is empty to him), or being judgmental of others, or of the kind of morality that is almost obsessed with sexual behavior.

He does acknowledge the reality of what traditional theology calls "original sin" -- the fact that all people, and the world, are broken and need fixing. He zeroes in on the sins of self-righteousness and self-centeredness, and the primacy of the commandment to LOVE. In this, I believe he is a faithful follower of Jesus.

He has problems with religion, with Christianity (as an institution), with "religious people," but loves Jesus and invites the reader to love Him, too. He does all this with an honesty about his own failings and shortcomings that is refreshing. He gave me some things to think about, so I consider the time spent in reading this book worthwhile.

Summary of progress as of 5/14/10:

Total 50 books.
Categories:
1: "Blue vs. Gray" -- 3 books completed
2:"Whodunit?" (mystery/suspense fiction) -- 10 books completed. category closed
3. "Strange but True?" (supernatural folklore, paranormal investigations, parapsychology, etc., non-fiction) -- 3 books completed
4. "Kid Stuff" (juvenile/YA fiction) -- 7 books completed
5. "Destroyed in Seconds" (disaster/rescue/recovery) -- 4 books completed
6. "A Matter of Faith" (Christianity / world religions/spirituality/devotional) -- 6 books completed
7. "Start Your Engines!" (motor sports, cars) -- 2 books completed
8. "20th Century, USA" (20th Century US history, non-fiction) -- 2 books completed; book #3 started.
9. "Interesting People" (non-fiction: memoir, biography, etc.) -- 4 books completed
10. "Scary Fiction" (horror/gothic/ghost stories) -- 10 books competed category closed

Book #52:
Title: Columbine
Author: Dave Cullen
Genre: Non-fiction
Length: 358 pages text plus timeline, acknowledgments, notes, bibliography, and index
Source: purchased at Waldenbooks, Fall 2009
Dates: finished 5/22/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge; 1010 Challenge, 20th Century USA category; Books off the Shelf Challenge
Notes: Recently won an Edgar award (2010 Factual Crime)

This was a heavy one. Marvelously researched and well-written, it dispels many of the myths which abound about the school killings near Littleton, Colorado at a school whose name -- for too many people -- has become synonymous with the carnage which happened there on April 20, 1999.

Everyone wants to believe that two young men snapped and went on a rampage because they were bullied as outcasts. The truth is much, much scarier.

An excellent book.

Columbine was one of my top reads of 2009. Glad you "enjoyed" it.

I see that Columbine won the 2010 Edgar Award for Best Factual Crime. I really must get to it soon.

Book #53:
Title: Grace (Eventually):Thoughts on Faith
Author: Anne Lamott
Genre: Non-fiction memoir/essays
Length: 253 pages
Source: purchased on vacation at bookstore in Saranac Lake, NY in 2008
Dates: finished 5/23/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge; 1010 Challenge ("A Matter of Faith" category); Books off the Shelf Challenge

Ah, Anne Lamott. I love her spunk, her honesty, idealism, and faith. Sometimes her political rants/snipes drive me a little crazy, even in those cases when I agree with her. I found more snipes than outright rants in this book. Since her biggest rant in this book involved protesting the closing of an entire city's library system, I could hardly fault her this time.

How could I not appreciate someone who helped organize a massive emergency read-in to protest the closing of libraries?

Anne's non-fiction writings are always slices of life, filled with children, pets, friends and neighbors, nature, everyday problems, and humor. She never tries to make herself look too good. She always seems to pull some sort of spiritual lesson from her struggles. She offers simple words of wisdom in a complex world:

On protesting the closing of libraries:
We came together because we started out as children who were saved by stories, stories read to us at night when we were little, stories we read by ourselves, in which we could get lost and thereby found.

On confiding/confessing to a friend:
. . . as I told her my bleak and embarassing story, it felt like dirty clothes. I'd been trying to wash and dry it inside myself, in my embarrassed mind, which doesn't really make much sense, laundry-wise. When you hang things outside, they get air, warmth, light; and you see that even with the stains and frayed collar, the garment has kept you covered and warm for a long time.

And this:
The best way to change the world is to change your mind, which often requires feeding yourself. It makes for biochemical peace. It's almost like a prayer to be needy, to eat, to taste, to be filled, building up instead of tearing down."

It's sentiments like these that make me enjoy Anne Lamott's writing.

I loved Columbine as well. I didn't expect it to be so well written.

#151 Yes, -- "enjoyed" in quotation marks, Linda. Frightening subject matter, but handled beautifully!

#152 Please, do read it -- you'll learn a lot of things that were never widely reported -- including how seriously injured students fared in their recoveries, long-term.

#154 I thought it was very well written -- and such complex subject matter, too!

Book #54:
Title: When the Mississippi Ran Backwards
Author: Jay Feldman
Genre: Non-fiction
Length: 241 pages, plus endnotes & index
Source: Inter-Library Loan
Dates: started 5/21/10; finished 6/13/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge. 1010 Challenge (Disaster category)
Notes: Read to temporarily join the Missouri readers for their group read of this book

I shall refrain from posting my comments on this until tomorrow, when the group read discussion officially starts!

My next non-fiction book is David M. Jordan's Winfield Scott Hancock: A Soldier's Life. My husband read this several years ago, and says that he found it quite good. So good that when I got it out to read and asked him about it, he grabbed it and started reading to me . . . and continued reviewing it to himself . . . and I haven't got my hands back on it yet. :) So it must really be good!!!

It will count toward all three of my challenges!

Aha. I think I get it now. For some reason, I thought you were in Missouri Readers but then you said something about Pennsylvania and I got to thinking that maybe you were an honorary Missourian, too.

I don't live there but I visit St Louis several times a year.

#157 Linda, the "other Terri" (Loeffler) is the "real" Missourian. I just accepted the invitation when she asked if anyone wanted to join in with the Missouri Readers on this group read. This book had been on my radar for several years, ever since I saw a TV show that dealt with the New Madrid earthquakes.

I finally started reading Winfield Scott Hancock: A Soldier's Life, and am enjoying it as much as my husband did.

Yes, I think I was confusing the Terri's.

Someone who knows the author is participating in the Missouri Readers discussion, too.

I need to find another book about the New Madrid earthquakes. That one left me wanting to know more.

I need to find another book about the New Madrid earthquakes. That one left me wanting to know more.

If you find one, please let me know!

Someone somewhere mentioned that she'd found another but it didn't have much more info about the quake itself than the Feldman book did.

UPDATE: This is the other one on my list: The Big One: The Earthquake that Rocked Early America and Helped Create a Science.

#161 I just popped over to take a look at that book - according to the first review, there are only 2 chapters on New Madrid, but that the rest of the book is a good presentation of plate tectonics in general and other geology stuff. Better, but not quite there.

Checking the library catalog, I found these: The Earthquake That Never Went Away: The Shaking Stopped in 1812 but the Impact Goes On by David Stewart (the catalog discription includes this: "150 original photos, figures & tables on the New Madrid seismic zone of faults, fissures, & scars in the landscape still visible from the great earthquakes of 1811-12 and how they still affect you today") and Reelfoot and the New Madrid Quake by Juanita Clifton. Not sure how widely available they are, but I'm going to make note of these titles for later.

Don't own it and haven't read it, but it sounded intriguing enough to keep in mind: The River Wife by Jonis Agee is a novel set in part during the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811.

I'm sure you're looking for nonfiction, but thought I'd mention it anyway....

#161, 162, 163 Thanks to all of you for the info! I may look into them. The one that focuses more on the geology probably won't be my cup of tea. The Stewart and Clifton books sound like possibilities. And I won't rule out related fiction reads, either!

#163 The Missouri Readers group did The River Wife last year. The earthquake is at the beginning of the book and the rest of the story follows the life of the teenage girl who was orphaned during the quake. As I remember, the group liked it pretty well. Lots of good descriptions of life alongside the river in the 19th C.

Book #55:
Title: St. Dale
Author: Sharyn McCrumb
Genre: fiction
Length: 311 pages
Source: Purchased used at The Book Barn, Niantic, CT
Dates: started 6/20/10; finished 6/25/10
Challenges: 75 Challenge; Books off the Shelf Challenge; 1010 Challenge, "Start Your Engines" category
Notes: re-read, in honor of first visit to NASCAR Hall of Fame

I just love this sweet, tender, insightful look at a bunch of "pilgrims" on a Dale Earnhardt memorial tour, a year and a half after his death. Sharyn McCrumb indicates in her "author's note" that she wanted to write a book about the phenomena of "secular sainthood" -- the way people idolize certain heroes in life and even more in untimely death (can you say "Elvis?") and the impact it has on their lives. She found the perfect subject in writing about a bunch of Earnhardt fans touring race tracks in the southeast.

We see the tour from a wide variety of perspectives -- that of "true blue" fans; a pair of newlyweds married in the infield at Bristol Motor Speedway; a clergyman, new to NASCAR and more comfortable touring medieval pilgrimage sites, accompanying a sick child on a "last wish" trip; a NASCAR-disdaining judge "dragged" along by her fanatic sister; a southern aristocratic lady NASCAR fan; a man who "inherited" the tour ticket from the father he never met; and the tour guide, a jaded ex-racer who wants back into the sport and who didn't really like Dale all that much.

I love how she takes all those assorted, clashing, jumbled up perspectives, this unlikely band of pilgrims, and weaves a yarn that eventually has them all pulling together in a crisis.

I love that it's written so that a newbie to NASCAR can understand it, but I also love the little "insider" references. (I caught more of them this time through).

OK, so the end is a little hokey -- maybe cornier than Kansas in July -- but that's OK with me.

This thread is becoming rather slow to load, so I've decided to start a new thread for the rest of the year:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/94529

ETA to add: My mid-year summary (next thread) forced me to realize that I had a counting error -- I had labeled two different books as "#30.} So I just re-numbered the last 25 books on this thread. (NOT how I planned to spend my day off . . .)