MerryMary Takes On Her First Challenge

And a worthy one it is. I too have many many lovely volumes that I have accumulated without reading. In 2010, I hereby vow, I shall read AT LEAST one of said volumes per month. In fact, I shall start in December with Princess Academy.




Decided to add a list to the first message:
1. The Crucible - Arthur Miller
2. The Worst Hard Time - Timothy Egan
3. The Princess Academy -Shannon Hale
4. Christmas With Ed Sullivan
5. The Perfect Summer - Juliet Nicolson
6. Washed Up - Skye Moody
7. A Hoosier Romance - James Whitcomb Riley
8. The Quiet Little Woman - Louisa May Alcott
9. Mother Mason - Bess Streeter Aldrich
10. Bizarre Books - Russell Ash
11. Unbuilding - David Macaulay
12. Mortal Danger - Ann Rule
13. Day of the Starwind - Douglas Hill
14. The Last Trail - Zane Grey
15. The Library at Night - Alberto Manguel
16. Bride of Pendorric - Victoria Holt
17. The Book of Great Books - W. John Campbell
18. Alien Child - Pamela Sargent

Welcome to the group! I'll be looking forward to reading about your progress!

MerryMary, that is such a good book! I enjoyed it. Hope you do too!

Glad you've joined the group!

Honestly, I am reading Princess Academy - and enjoying it. But books just sort of sneak up on me. All of a sudden I'm more than half though a new copy of The Crucible that I just bought at a thrift store.

This particular edition has copious notes by Arthur Miller.

Good luck!

I want to move my train, so I'm counting The Crucible. It's kinda new, but I do own it, and it is on my shelves, and..., and...

I just really want to move my choo-choo.

LOL. I see why they call you "Merry", Mary!

Gotta love the choo-choo! Just keep on chugging through those books . . .

Move that choo-choo, MerryMary!

I like your ticker a lot.

I just finished The Worst Hard Time, a nonfiction history of the Dust Bowl and Depression in the High Plains of Texas and Oklahoma. What a terrific book. I was captivated by the story. It was really well written and so much of it broke my heart.

That book has stayed in my mind. What they lived through! It has made me read a lot more about the depression. What sticks in my mind most is the woman ironing her walls to kill the centipedes.

I have The Worst Hard Time sitting on my TBR shelf . . . I really must get to it!

Ah heck, now you're making me want to see if the library has it. You see, this is why I set such a modest goal for myself for reading my TBRs--there's always something new being recommended!

Just finished The Princess Academy. I spent a good-sized chunk of my life as a k-12 school librarian (media specialist), and I love YA lit.

I really enjoyed The Princess Academy. I identified with Miri, and I was interested in the evolution of the girls in their learning. Once a teacher, always a teacher, I guess. And there's plenty of adventure and just a whisper of romance. All around, I'd recommend it any time.

Merry,
I love YA lit also. I am not including books I read for my job (HS library) in this challenge. I read Hush by Donna Jo Napoli last week. It has had a lot of check outs and I wanted to see what the draw was. There were a couple of very vague rape scenes (what else would you expect when a beautiful Irish princess is kidnapped by Vikings) but the history was very interesting. Early case of Stockholm Syndrome.

I have read and enjoyed Napoli before. I loved Stones in Water.

Now that I'm retired, I can count everything. I must say, though, that the reading for my job was nearly always a pleasure.

Just finished an old Christmas book I found last year at Goodwill. It is called Christmas With Ed Sullivan. Chock full of 1950s celebrities and their Christmas memories, plus some lovely Christmas stories by the likes of Pearl Buck, Ring Lardner, Bret Harte, and Damon Runyon.

Such a lot of fun. I'm definitely adding this to my "read every year at Christmas" list.

"Christmas with Ed..." sounds good I'll have to add it to my flea market/yard sale list.

Sounds like a book that the 50-Something Library Thingers, like me, would enjoy!

It's on my list now, too, although Ed's had a pedestal bump recently. Maybe everyone knew this, but he was instrumental in the House Un-American Activities Committee's blacklisting in the 50's, and was personally responsible for coercing Jerome Robbins to "rat" on others in order to keep his bisexuality secret. This was on a Jerome Robbins American Masters show on PBS. It kind of made me sad.

Me too. I hadn't heard that.

I knew him mostly as the Sunday night guy with the great show and the weird face.

PS. While I am still a member of the 50-Something group, I have technically graduated, since my birthday in September.

>Merry - 50-11 still fits. Please stay.

Just finished another book, but I'm not counting it here because it's new. Books: A Memoir by Larry McMurtry is a quick fascinating read about the used/rare book business. Just a bunch of interesting stories and memories strung together for a peek into that world.

PS: I'll stay. I like being 50-11!

Hurray! I love the 50-something group, and I hate the thought of losing anyone. Glad you're staying!

Finished The Perfect Summer by Luanne Rice. A nonfiction study of the the summer of 1911 in England. The story tracks the Royal Family (the Coronation was that summer), the rich, the monied (the two groups are different!), the striking workers, the servant class, the politics (including a impetuous young Home Secretary named Winston Churchill), the saber-rattling of the King's cousin Kaiser Wilhelm, and through it all the abnormally warm weather.

I was fascinated throughout.

ETA: tutu was right - see below. This book is by Juliet Nicolson

MM...I wasn't aware Luanne Rice wrote nonfiction! When I looked at this book, I was sure it was another seaside fiction/mystery that was similar to her Sag Harbor. Is the touchstone taking me to the wrong book? Did you mean Perfect Summer by Juliet Nicholson?

I'm not sure. I finished the book just before I left for Christmas at my daughter's, and then I got snowed in. I've come part-way home and am spending the night at my mother's while she is in the hospital - so I still haven't been home. If you say the author is wrong, it probably is.

It's what I get for trying to catch up without the book in hand. I'll fix it as soon as I can.

Oh I've done that more than once ---I'm famous for taking the laptop to a spot and getting settled in and then not having the book to look up the spelling of a name, the quote i'd bookmarked, etc. I sure hope you get home safely, and that your mom will be ok....

I got home tonight - about 6:30 my time. The cat may in time forgive me. She alternates between crawling all over me and ignoring me completely.

Mom is going well. When she is alone, she doesn't eat properly, and she get dehydrated and her body chemistry gets out of whack. We have signed her up for Meals on Wheels, and take turns calling and checking up on her.

PS: I fixed the citation for The Perfect Summer. tututhefirst was right - of course.

I hope your Mom does okay. Raising kids was one thing, but this raising parents is a whole different ball game!

I haven't been on here for awhile, for which I apologize. As you can see, I have been reading. I'm up to 11 now!

The saga of Mom's health continues. She has been in the hospital 3 times this month. Some of you may have read on another thread that the doctors finally found a nasty ulcer that is causing all these problems. We have moved her into the local nursing home where Dad is for the winter, so she can be looked after every day and not be alone. That way I can stay home a little more. That will make me happy. I love Momma, but I need my own bed!

Glad to hear that they found the problem - makes it so much easier to treat! Best wishes for her recovery, and welcome home!

I have copy The Perfect Summer so I will bump it up the TBR list. I had it in the fiction section for so long and just recently realised that it's not. D'oh!

ETA: Sorry, I totally skipped over the momma part. Sounds like progress can be made now that she is diagnosed and has round-the-clock care. Fingers crossed for ya.

(started a new message because trying to add this to my message above meant re-doing the touchstone and it wasn't working)

Hope all goes well with your Mom, Mary. It must be a relief to know she is able to be in the same nursing home as your Dad.

Best wishes for your mother's speedy health improvement!

Thanks, everybody. We've got her in Lincoln to see a specialist tonight, so I welcome any little progress.

I haven't said too much about the books I've been reading, although I've reviewed most of them in My Library.

Washed Up was about "stuff" in the world's oceans. About pollution, yes, but also about ocean currents, and the Sargasso Sea. I found it really interesting.

A Hoosier Romance by James Whitcomb Riley was a hoot. And old fashioned lovers-obstructed-by-mean-parents story told in rhyme with lovely Victorian line drawings to illustrate. I'm going to have to check with another addition, though. I may be missing the last page to two. I can't really tell.

The Quiet Little Woman is collection of 3 stories by Louisa May Alcott. She wrote them for the benefit of some little girls she knew who were publishing a little family newspaper. They are really quaint and sweet and evocative of their time.

Mother Mason is by Bess Streeter Aldrich, a Nebraska author who is a favorite of mine. Set around World War I, and just a very episodic collection of adventures of this nice family that lives in a small town, and seems to find lots of joy and laughter in life.

Enough for tonight. I'll get the rest of them tomorrow. Like I said, longer reviews are in my library, if you are interested.

I hope your Mom is feeling better.

Eleven off the shelves is a great effort! Glad your mum is being well looked after and you're back in your won own bed.

I'm headed back to Lincoln tomorrow to take my turn staying with Mom. (My sisters can come on weekends, but I'm the only one retired!)

Rest assured I'm taking my laptop and a bag of books from my vintage shelves. Mom sleeps and I read. It's a great arrangement!

PS - Miss Nebraska is in the final 12! Who woulda thunk it?

To catch up with the thumbnail reviews of the books on my train track:

Bizarre Books was a lot of fun. It is a collection of strange titles, double entendres, odd author names and other listable nonsense. I loved it.

Unbuilding is another David Macaulay book that show showcases his meticulous attention to detail and his bizarre sense of humor. In this scenario, an eccentric mideast prince has bought the Empire State Building and is intent on taking it apart piece by piece to move it to the Arabian Desert.

This oddball back story makes possible the "unbuilding" of the iconic structure, and we can see how the building was built as it is slowly dismantled. Fascinating.

The ending is in keeping with the offbeat humor of the author - can't reveal it here, but I laughed out loud. (In real life I probably wouldn't have...)

The review for Unbuilding isn't exactly "thumbnail," is it? Can you tell I haven't written the regular review yet? I think I'll do some cutting and pasting. This isn't bad.

Finished Mortal Danger by Ann Rule. I always find her true crime books interesting and well written. These stories - like so many of hers - all take place in the Pacific Northwest. She sets her scenes with skill, and follows the twisted trail of the crimes with passion and a strong sense of justice. She made sure to emphasize the cautionary aspects of these 4 or 5 stories - just in case someone recognizes the signs of a overly-controlling relationship before tragedy strikes again.

One of the stories was an unsolved murder she had written about before, that she was able to finally put "solved" to 30 years after it occurred.

#44 I may look that up. I haven't read any of Ann Rule's books in a while.

I still vividly remember her book The Stranger Beside Me, about Ted Bundy, which I read years ago.

You are up to 12 books off the shelf! Very good!

Just finished Day of the Starwind by Douglas Hill. A YA science fiction story that I quite enjoyed.

An episode in a continuing story about an enhanced human seeking revenge for the murder of his planet, aided by a small winged alien and a mysterious group of superbeings. In this episode, he battles clones of the warriors of his civilization, as well as a deadly wind force that periodically scours the planet of all life.

Well written, non-stop action, a good introduction to sci-fi.

You're doing a great job of reading books off your TBR shelf! Me, I'm getting distracted by other reading material. . . and non-reading interests, too.

You just keep that train chugging along on your tracker . . .

Finished a really good Zane Grey - The Last Trail. I still prefer Louis L'Amour, but Grey really knows how to write about strong silent men in love.

The story is of early pioneers in the Ohio Valley. A "borderman" has given up all hope of a personal life in favor of his duty to the pioneer settlement. He knows he can never have a family of his own - he must put his duty first, and he is living on borrowed time. Of course, a lovely young thing from the East comes to settle in the valley, and breaches his defenses and his heart. The course of events does not run smooth (when did love ever?) and warfare and traitors must first be overcome.

The stereotyping of the Native Americans was troublesome, but infrequent. I expected worse.

Finished a lovely meditation about books and libraries called The Library at Night. Wonderful book.

>49 MerryMary: I just finished that too! Not from my shelf, sadly.

Still working on that one - lovely stuff!

Definitely written to savor.

Finished a reread of Bride of Pendorric by Victoria Holt. A classic Gothic romance, with a dark brooding house, a dark brooding man, and looming peril. Loved it - again.

I'm almost embarrassed to admit I read The Book of Great Books from cover to cover. I was fascinated, but I blush to reveal I could now talk intelligently about books I've never read, if I wanted to.

The author presents 100 World Classic Books in pocket form - discussing plot, symbols, characters, style, critical responses, and author backgrounds for each one. I enjoyed the insights I gained from the books I have read - symbolism sometimes escapes my notice. And I will admit I also enjoyed reading about books I haven't read. At the very least, this book gives me an idea about which books I'd like to read - and which books I wouldn't like at all.

54> If you are blushing about talking about (and enjoying) books you've never read than I must be as well. That is one of the things I'm really enjoying about this challenge is reading everyone's opinions and reviews on books they have read. I realize there isn't enough time for me to read every book but I can read books through others or at least get a glimpse of what I'm missing. I think The Book of Great Books is a must read for me!!!

The Book of Great Books certainly sounds interesting to me. I also get the feeling that sometimes I'm missing out on some parts of books and a guide like this would point them out to me and hopefully teach me to notice them for myself in the future.

However for the most part this book just looks like a giant bound wishlist! So I think I'll avoid it for now.

Read another good YA - Alien Child by Pamela Sargent. A post-apocalyptic story of a young girl living in a research facility. She thinks she is the only one of her kind in existence, but finds that there is more to her world that she ever suspected.

I have read Sargent before, and knew I was in for a good read. Loved it.

Well, I sort of disappeared from this thread - for a month. So sorry. I am, of course, still reading, but not as many older ones. I buy too many wonderful books, that I must then fight the urge to read. And I don't fight very hard sometimes.

I've been cataloging Mom's books like crazy. Hauling the boxes up from the basement is royal pain in the wazoo, but I love seeing what she has squirreled away.

You can have a look at maryalice48.

I'll post about more reads from my shelf later.

I looked at some of your Mom's books. Wow, I'll bet you're having a fabulous time! You'll have to start another thread for MBOTS (Mom's Books Off The Shelf)!